Great grandfather of the contributor, Richard N. Heywood
See Also, Joshua Wood Brown via
See Also, Joshua Wood Brown via
LIFE OF MY FATHER,
JOSHUA WOOD BROWN[1]
By
Margaret Ellen Brown
Smurthwaite
In Preston , Lancashire ,
England the 14th of February 1832 [2],
Joshua Brown came a little babe, to bless the home of Joseph and May Ann Wood
Watt Brown. He being the third child,
the youngest and last was the pride and joy of the family, which consisted of
father and two sons, Robert and James, from his first marriage; the mother with
her two children, George D. and Margaret Watt, from her first marriage; and the
three from the last union, Joseph Jr., Jane, and Joshua Brown. This composed a family of nine.
Not much of
interest is reported, for the subject of this sketch, until he was five years
old. At that time in 1837 a momentous
occurrence came into the life of this family with the introduction of the
Gospel of Jesus Christ into the British Isles . It happened thus: George D. Watt[3],
Joshua’s half brother, lay musing on his bed in the hush of the night; as he
dozed he was accosted by a strange man who introduced himself as a Mormon Elder
of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, telling him he would arrive
in the docks at Liverpool the following
day. Curious, indeed, to him was this
message of the night, and so strong did it take root within him that he could
not eradicate it from his mind; so he followed the injunction to be at the
docks on the arrival of the ship, and there indeed did he see, as he emerged
therefrom, the very man of his night’s introduction.
The stranger
walked directly to him, took him by the hand, repeated the sentence of the
night before and told him his name was Heber C. Kimball. He also told him of his mission in coming to Preston . A
friendship between him and the family was at once formed, and it continued to
grow stronger.
The missionary
work commenced and with it the conversion, and acceptance of its divine
principles, by all the members of the family.
George D. was the candidate and the first baptized on the 30th
day of July 1837. (For baptism of the
first woman in the Church in England
see NOTES OF MARY ANN WOOD BROWN[4]). Joseph, Jr., was the first child baptized,
and Joshua the first baby blessed in Europe . All of this was done under the authority of
Heber C. Kimball and his companion, apostle Willard Richards. At the age of eight years he was baptized by
his brother, Robert, in 1840. As soon as
circumstances would permit, and being moved upon by the spirit of gathering,
the saints arrived in the mountain valleys in about 1854.
While still a
youth in England ,
at the age of 14, Joshua possessed of a somewhat roving nature and loving the
sea, and watching the great vessels plying about, became imbued with a desire
to go to sea. It led to his running away
from home, contrary to the wishes of his parents, and joining the Navy, first
as a sailor on a whaling vessel from South America . In this adventure he met with many
experiences, as the life of a sailor boy would naturally call forth. After the pangs of homesickness had subsided,
he took kindly to his training and the work that was expected of him and his
mates. Being of slight build, he became
an active and fearless climber of the great riggings in calm and stormy
weather. At one time, in a most terrible
wind with waves rolling high, he was sent up to the topmost mast to set sails and,
in his struggle with the flapping canvas, he lost his hold and fell. In his course was the anchor which, if he had
struck, would have meant instant death.
The timely interposition of the ship’s butler, a large husky man who saw
him fall and, knowing the impending dangers confronting him, braced himself and
with outstretched arms caught him firmly as he passed the opening where he
stood. Again his life was spared as it
had been on other occasions from man-eating sharks and perils from drowning,
although he had become an expert swimmer.
Thus was fulfilled a passage in his Patriarchal Blessing where it says,
“The all seeing eye of the Lord has watched over thee, ever since thou came
into the world. He has preserved thy
life from danger on land and sea.”
During his
service of seven years in the Navy he saw much of the world, and a great part
of the time was spent in Australia . Often he visited the gold fields. At one time he found a gold nugget which
weighed several pounds.
However, when
word reached him that his people were all leaving for America, Utah being their
destination, his overwhelming desire to join them could not be pacified; so
watching a good opportunity to act all plans being made beforehand, observing a
vessel in the distance, he jumped overboard as he often did for a swim, and it
was so supposed for no other purpose by the crew, but he swam far out until he
was in hailing distance of the ship.
Seeing the signal, it slowed down and he was taken aboard. His desertion would have been a punishable
offense had he been found. By changing
his name for a time and taking other precautions, he found himself in a short
time safely emigrating to Utah . He left the shores of England on the 27th of February, 1855 ,
on the good ship Sidney . For seven weeks its freight of passengers
sailed on with intermittent storm and shine.
At times being driven back with gales, and once entirely covered with
blackened waves, the ship emerged therefrom safe and sound; and eventually he
was planted on the shores of America . The sail northward up the river soon brought
them to the outfitting places of the Saints.
He worked his way across the plains, and after the usual time in
transit, he found himself joined in happy reunion with his family in Salt Lake City , where he
arrived in October of the same year (1855).
The following
year, 1856, he married Sarah Bailey (Sarah Robbins Bailey Brown (1837-1902)), making their home first in Farmington , Davis County Cache County
During the
reformation in Utah ,
he was rebaptized by Robert Leatham on the 18th of July, 1875 , and was ordained a
Seventy by Albert P. Rockwood on the 13th of September, 1857 .
He and his wife
Sarah attended the spring conference of 1868.
Their main purpose was to go through the old Endowment House, there to
receive the ordinances pertaining to their exaltation, and on the 2nd of April, 1868 ,
they were sealed for all eternity. Their
children, born to them previous to that date, were sealed to them in the Logan Temple the 3rd of May, 1884 . He labored diligently and accomplished the
fulfilling of a patriarchal blessing given by Patriarch O. N. Lolinquist on the 13th of January, 1890 .
At the close of
an active and very eventful life, the end came after a lingering illness of
intense suffering. He was surrounded by
his children when on the 6th
of December, 1903 [6],
he died in full faith of a glorious resurrection. He was interred in the Wellsville Cemetery
The following is an addendum obviously added to the
sketch by one of the children of Margaret Ellen Brown Smurthwaite.
In notes
concerning her father’s life, my mother, the writer of this paper, said that
when here first son, Alfred Tennyson Smurthwaite, was born, she nearly lost her
life. Sister Leatham, the midwife, had
been attending her for hours. Finally,
she went to her father, Joshua Wood Brown, and told him that she had done all
she could. Then she said, “Brother
Brown, I have done all that I know how to do.
Her case should have the care of one with greater skill that I have.”
Mother said,
“Pa knelt and prayed. He talked to his
Father in Heaven as one man talks to another.
He said, ‘Father, I cannot give her up.
Somehow I have to save her and her baby.
Help me, Father, I pray. Help me
save her life.’”
Mother said
that when he arose from his knees, he knew exactly what to do. He did step by step as the Holy Spirit
directed, and he delivered her safely without any other help.
“Pa,” she said,
“was a man of great faith, a man of dignity, and a man of kindness and
devotion.”
A neighbor of
Grandpa Brown’s, Ellen Maughan, saw him walking down the street one day and
said, “If you want to know where the Brown girls get their look of owning the
town, you just come here to the window and look at old Brother Brown.” Indeed, he did walk with his chest high, his
shoulders up and his back straight because he had been trained to walk with a
stately and measured step in the British Navy.
His
granddaughter, Margaret Smurthwaite Heywood, was present when Grandpa Brown
passed away at the old homestead in Wellsville.
Others who had been visiting with him or were present when he died were
__________ and Sadie Jones, Susie and Johnny Baxter, Rose and Will Pitkin, Sam
Mitton and Mary, Harriet and George Spence, Marry Ann Mitton and her husband
and young Doctor Parkinson from Logan .
[1] This
life sketch was amongst papers passed on to me by my parents. It was typed; I have tried to leave spelling
punctuation as it occurred in the original typed document, but may have
inadvertently introduced some errors of my own.
If any who read this know where the original (not typed) story is, I
would like to hear of it and I would like a copy. The author of the addendum is not given on
the typed copy in my possession. Richard
N. Heywood (a great grandson of Joshua),
628 East Alameda Drive ,
Tempe , Arizona 85282 16 September 2001 .)
[2] His
birth was almost 2 years after the organization of the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints which occurred on the 6th of April 1830 .
[3] It is my
understanding that George D. Watts was secretary to Brigham Young for many
years. RNH
[4] If any
know the where these notes are, I would appreciate hearing from them. RNH
[5] He would
have been 50 years of age at the time of his call as a missionary and a father
of 10 children. One additional child was
born after his mission
[6] Age 81.
Joshua Wood Brown
Joshua Wood Brown
in the Utah Cemetery Inventory
| NAME: | Joshua Wood Brown |
|---|---|
| BIRTH DATE: | 14 Feb 1832 |
| BIRTH PLACE: | England |
| DEATH DATE: | 6 Dec 1903 |
| CEMETERY: | Wellsville City Cemetery |
| SOURCE: | Sexton / Grant |
| GRAVE LOCATION: | A-21-9-1 |
| RELATIVES: | Spouse Bailey, Sara Robbins Father Brown, Joseph Mother Wood, Mary Ann |
No comments:
Post a Comment