Mary Jane Clifton was born on January 24, 1853 in Loxley, Birmingham, England to William Clifton and Mary Greenway. She is my great-great-grandmother. She was born near Stratford-Upon-Avon where William Shakespeare and his wife Ann Hathaway were born. As a child, she played on the steps of the Hathaway cottage.
When Mary was about 5 years old, the doctor came to their village to vaccinate every child. Her father was opposed to this, so he had Mary go to the backyard and climb up a tree and stay there until the doctor left. A few years later, Mary did have a light case of small pox.
When she was still a young girl, Mary was placed in the Squire Jones home to do domestic work for which she was payed $5.00 a year. During the time she was employed there, she was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She did not let Squire Jones know this for fear she would be discharged from her job.
At the age of 18, she desparately wanted to go to Utah to join the Saints there. She wrote to her brother, John Clifton, who had moved to Ontario, Cananda. He sent her the money, expecting that she would join him in Canada. She arrived in Liverpool, England on September 5, 1871 and boarded the ship Nevada with other members of the Church. They arrived at Castle Gardens in the USA on September 18th. She decided that she wanted to go on to Utah with the Saints and not go to Canada to see her brother. She didn't think she would get the chance to go on to Utah if she did go to Canada first. She wrote a letter to her brother telling him this, but she never did hear back from him. She arrived in Salt Lake City on October 27, 1871.
Having arrived in Salt Lake City with many dear friends from England, Mary starting working at the home of Franklin D. Richards, who was an apostle in the Church. Every Sunday, Mary went with many young men and women to the services at the Tabernacle. Here she met Ephraim George Holding, who later said that the very first time he saw her, he thought "This is the girl I want for my wife". After courting, they were married in the Endowment House on October 28, 1872. Their first home was two rooms on South Temple and Main Street where ZCMI later stood. They moved a few times while having their first children, and finally settled in a home at 164 So. 400 West, where she lived the rest of her life.
Mary and Ephraim had 11 children, one of whom passed away as a toddler. Their home had a very large living room and dining room combined, where they had a huge table where all 12 of them had their own seats. Mary sold live yeast, which she exchanged for food and money. She made two large crocks of yeast every night and it would all be sold the next day.
Mary was a Visiting Teacher for many years, and in many of the Relief Society testimony meetings she spoke in tongues, which was interpretted by Sarah Kimball.
In the Salt Lake Temple Annex on December 22, 1898, Mary was given a blessing and set apart as a nurse under the direction of the Relief Society. Under a program initiated by President Brigham Young, she studied nursing and helped serve the Saints in the Salt Lake valley, and later worked at what was to become the LDS Hospital. It was while on duty there that she learned that her son Franklin had been struck and severely injured by a train that passed near their home. This was on October 19, 1902. Franklin and 5 other boys jumped on a boxcar when the train came to a stop to turn the switch. They climbed up the ladder to the top. A train man saw them and ran along the cars while the train was in motion. Frank, seeing the switchman coming towards him, started to climb down, but lost his fold and fell beneath the wheels. Several wheels passed over him until a steel coal car came along with the trap door open and this twisted Frank's legs over the track and he was dragged quite a distance. They stopped the train and went back to where he lay on the track. Both of his legs were severed, he had a broken shoulder bone, broken arm and fingers, had a very deep scalp wound, and his ear was torn down. Mary went into the operating room where Frank lay on the table, and told the doctors to save his knee. She fainted and it was some time before they revived her. The doctors said that the grief caused enlargement of her heart and this was the breaking of her physical strength. She remained at Frank's bedside night and day from the time of his accident. A few weeks later, she became so sick that she was taken home and she died three days later on November 26, 1902.
After Mary passed away, Ephraim asked his oldest daughter, Helena, to become the "mother" of the other children in the family. She delayed for 15 years her pending marriage to fulfill that task.
Franklin survived the train accident, wore prosthetic legs, never married, and lived with different brothers and sisters his whole life.
When Mary was about 5 years old, the doctor came to their village to vaccinate every child. Her father was opposed to this, so he had Mary go to the backyard and climb up a tree and stay there until the doctor left. A few years later, Mary did have a light case of small pox.
When she was still a young girl, Mary was placed in the Squire Jones home to do domestic work for which she was payed $5.00 a year. During the time she was employed there, she was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She did not let Squire Jones know this for fear she would be discharged from her job.
At the age of 18, she desparately wanted to go to Utah to join the Saints there. She wrote to her brother, John Clifton, who had moved to Ontario, Cananda. He sent her the money, expecting that she would join him in Canada. She arrived in Liverpool, England on September 5, 1871 and boarded the ship Nevada with other members of the Church. They arrived at Castle Gardens in the USA on September 18th. She decided that she wanted to go on to Utah with the Saints and not go to Canada to see her brother. She didn't think she would get the chance to go on to Utah if she did go to Canada first. She wrote a letter to her brother telling him this, but she never did hear back from him. She arrived in Salt Lake City on October 27, 1871.
Having arrived in Salt Lake City with many dear friends from England, Mary starting working at the home of Franklin D. Richards, who was an apostle in the Church. Every Sunday, Mary went with many young men and women to the services at the Tabernacle. Here she met Ephraim George Holding, who later said that the very first time he saw her, he thought "This is the girl I want for my wife". After courting, they were married in the Endowment House on October 28, 1872. Their first home was two rooms on South Temple and Main Street where ZCMI later stood. They moved a few times while having their first children, and finally settled in a home at 164 So. 400 West, where she lived the rest of her life.
Mary and Ephraim had 11 children, one of whom passed away as a toddler. Their home had a very large living room and dining room combined, where they had a huge table where all 12 of them had their own seats. Mary sold live yeast, which she exchanged for food and money. She made two large crocks of yeast every night and it would all be sold the next day.
Mary was a Visiting Teacher for many years, and in many of the Relief Society testimony meetings she spoke in tongues, which was interpretted by Sarah Kimball.
In the Salt Lake Temple Annex on December 22, 1898, Mary was given a blessing and set apart as a nurse under the direction of the Relief Society. Under a program initiated by President Brigham Young, she studied nursing and helped serve the Saints in the Salt Lake valley, and later worked at what was to become the LDS Hospital. It was while on duty there that she learned that her son Franklin had been struck and severely injured by a train that passed near their home. This was on October 19, 1902. Franklin and 5 other boys jumped on a boxcar when the train came to a stop to turn the switch. They climbed up the ladder to the top. A train man saw them and ran along the cars while the train was in motion. Frank, seeing the switchman coming towards him, started to climb down, but lost his fold and fell beneath the wheels. Several wheels passed over him until a steel coal car came along with the trap door open and this twisted Frank's legs over the track and he was dragged quite a distance. They stopped the train and went back to where he lay on the track. Both of his legs were severed, he had a broken shoulder bone, broken arm and fingers, had a very deep scalp wound, and his ear was torn down. Mary went into the operating room where Frank lay on the table, and told the doctors to save his knee. She fainted and it was some time before they revived her. The doctors said that the grief caused enlargement of her heart and this was the breaking of her physical strength. She remained at Frank's bedside night and day from the time of his accident. A few weeks later, she became so sick that she was taken home and she died three days later on November 26, 1902.
After Mary passed away, Ephraim asked his oldest daughter, Helena, to become the "mother" of the other children in the family. She delayed for 15 years her pending marriage to fulfill that task.
Franklin survived the train accident, wore prosthetic legs, never married, and lived with different brothers and sisters his whole life.
