Margaret
Pettigreen Hope
Margaret1 was born in Bristol, England, on January 19,
1833 to Thomas Hope and Martha Harris. She had a fairly good education and, at
the age of fourteen years, she entered a dressmaker and millinery establishment
and served as an apprentice for two years.
On February 7, 1853, twenty year-old Margaret married
William Williams Jr. of Cardiff, South Wales. He was born December 7, 1826, in
Cardiff, South Wales, a son of William Williams and Charlotte Bolton. They
joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and, just two weeks
after their marriage, they left for America, leaving their families behind
except for one sister and her husband.
They crossed the ocean on a ship which took about eight
weeks. Sometimes the winds caused delays by pushing them back or by causing
them to stand still. At one time a terrible storm arose and the captain would
not allow anyone on deck. The large number of Saints aboard fasted and prayed
for the Lord’s protection. They were holding a meeting and singing when the
captain came down and asked them, in the name of the Lord, what they were
doing. He said he had traveled the ocean for twenty years and had never seen
anything like that before; he was all the more amazed when the storm died away.
It was a great testimony to all of them that the Lord would protect them. When
they landed, they could hardly walk, being so used to the motion of the ship.
When Margaret, William, and her sister and husband
arrived in St. Louis, her sister and husband became discouraged and would go no
further. Margaret and William lost track of them and never heard from them
again.
Margaret and William crossed the Plains with the Vincent
Shurtleff Wagon Company and endured all the hardships of that long journey with
oxen. During the trek, Margaret had a frightening experience with the Indians.
As the pioneers camped in the evenings to rest, they would often entertain
themselves with singing and dancing. Margaret Williams was a willing
participant. While passing through a territory of friendly Indians, members of
the tribe would often gather around the campfire to be entertained. As the
wagon train moved westward, the Indians would camp nearby so they could watch
the “little white squaw.” One evening, the chief rode up with twenty-three
Indian ponies, wanting to trade for the “little squaw”. Of course the offer was
refused. The next night he returned with a few more ponies. This too, was
refused. At this point the camp leaders became alarmed and decided that
Margaret should hide in a wagon. The Indians were told that she was ill, but
still they followed. After several days, the pioneers held a mock funeral for
Margaret, telling the Indians that she had died. William gave them some flour
and bade them farewell. Even with all this deception, it was necessary for
Margaret to remain hidden until they passed through that territory.
Margaret and William arrived in the Salt Lake Valley on
September 22, 1853, and shortly thereafter, settled in Cedar City. While there,
daughters Margaret Hope and Martha Jane were born to them. They then moved to
Goshen for a short time. Of these early years, the girls remembered the family
gathering leaves from the mulberry trees, washing the honey-dew from them and
boiling down the water until they had about a pint of “sweetening” for a
variety of goodies.
It was during this period that Margaret contracted
Mountain Fever and was ill for a long time; this was a great trial for her as
well as her family. The Indians were also a continuing problem and she was very
much afraid of them.
In April of 1860, the family moved to Hyrum. On August
30th, another daughter, Finnetta Ann, arrived and was the first child born in
the city of Hyrum. Here too, the Indians were troublesome at times and, though
they lived inside the fort, Margaret would sit up all night when her husband
was away, in fear of harm because of her experience with the Indians on the
plains.
Margaret was the mother of nine children, two born in
Iron County and seven in Hyrum. She was a kind, loving wife and mother. She was
very charitable and did much to ease suffering in the early days. A very
hard-working woman, Margaret worked at her trade of dressmaking to help keep
the family, in addition to caring for family and home. When she first came to Hyrum
she did not have a sewing machine so, in order to get one, she canvassed the
area seeking work, often giving $1.00 worth of work for fifty cents. In this
way she was able to buy a sewing machine, which was only the second one in
town, to help with her dressmaking. Dressmaking expanded later into owning her
own millinery shop which she operated for some years.
Margaret served as Secretary and other offices in the
Relief Society. She was also interested in the theater and, in her younger
years, participated in many productions. Later, she took great pride in making
costumes for local plays and musicals and was a member of the choir for years
as one of the lead singers. She was a very good woman and enjoyed the love and
respect of all who knew her. Though beset by many trials in her pioneer life,
Margaret remained a faithful Latter-Day Saint, passing away on February 17,
1897, at the age of sixty-four years, in Hyrum, Utah.
Endnotes
1. The following was copied from Pioneer Women of Faith
and Fortitude, Volume IV, International Society Daughters of Utah Pioneers,
page 3390 (has a better picture of her)
2. Sketch of Margaret Pettigreen Hope Williams written by
her daughter Finnetta Allen and submitted to the International Daughters of the
Utah Pioneers
The text was from a book written by Mikal A. McKinnon
titled “Archibald Graham McKinnon, Julia Wahlstrom and their ancestors,” 2011,
Available at the Family History Library, call number 929.273 M216. Note: The
book version contains tables, additional pictures, and an every name index that
are not included is this text only version.
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