Emma (Beck) Evans Coleman, Short Bio by Joseph Neal Heywood, Jr.
DICTATION FROM JOSEPH
NEAL HEYWOOD, GRANDSON OF EMMA B. EVANS COLEMAN,
15 March 1966”
(This dictation and
its title are preceded by the following note:
“Genealogical records show that the name of Emma Coleman was Emma Beck
Evans Coleman. Last year Eliza Coleman,
widow of Evans Coleman, wrote to Mary H. Lewis and told her that BECK was not a
part of the name, that she signed her name Emma B. Coleman to designate it from
Elizabeth Eagles Coleman whose mail would also come addressed to ‘Mrs. E.
Coleman’ so Emma Evans Coleman added the B. to her name for that purpose.”
The dictated
“incidents” are retyped without changes in punctuation or grammar as
distributed at the reunion. Richard N. Heywood)
It has been requested of me to relate incidents of the life of
Emma B. Evans for the reunion of the descendants of the late Bishop David
Evans, which reunion is to be held April 6, 1966, in Lehi, Utah.
When the David Evans Company crossed the plains going to Utah,
Emma B. was a small girl of [space left blank] years. Her mother had died in Nauvoo from
consumption which is now known as T B.
She had two older brothers Israel and Henry Evans. She walked much of the way across the plains,
sometimes lingering behind the company.
One evening it was becoming dark.
A short distance ahead, out at one side, she saw a wolf showing its
teeth menacingly. Ordinarily a child would have screamed and run, but not
her. With her poise, courage, and
judgment, she walked on past the wolf.
It made no attack. Needless to
say, never loitered in the rear again.
This poise, fearlessness and judgment followed her through life.
With the Evans Company came the Coleman family, and several years
later Emma B. Evans married Prime T. Coleman.
The company went to Lehi, Utah where David Evans became Bishop.
For convenience, I shall refer to Prime Thornton Coleman as Prime,
and to Emma Evans, as Emma B. Prime and
Emma B. Became engaged, but Prime was sent down on “The Muddy, a stream in
Nevada. He was sent there as a
missionary. Emma B. suspected that her
father was planning some exchange of daughters with another Bishop, most
likely. He immediately returned and they
were married.
They moved to Pinto, a small town not far from ST. George, and 8
miles from Mountain Meadows where the Missouri emigrants were massacred. Two little orphan girls, whose parents were
killed here, were placed in care of Emma B.
Later, when officers came to claim the little girls for their relatives
and were taking out their official papers, Emma B. said, “You don’t need to
take out those papers. Just take the
children and get them to their relatives.” The massacre was in 1857.
Three of Emma B;s children were born in Pinto—Sarah Francelle, my
mother, Etta, and Prime. They then moved
to Springvalley, Nevada, so named because of the many springs. Evans was born at Springvalley, which is
about 20 or 25 miles out from Pioche.
William B. Maxwell persuaded Joseph Neal Heywood, Sr. to teach
school. He fell in love with Emma B’s
daughter Sarah Francelle Coleman and they were married when she was 15.
Prime used to keep his flask of whiskey and after a hard day’s
work, especially if it were cold, he would have his evening toddy. One evening after a hard day’s WORK THE COLD
he came home and over-indulged.
Realizing that he had too much, he felt ashamed and went out to the
corral where he remained until about 11:00 PM.
Emma B. thought he had gone to the neighbor and didn’t worry, abut when
he came in at eleven, he was chilled through and through. He said, “Emmy, I’ve got a confession to
make. Emmy, I’m drunk.” She regarded the incident with
amusement. I wouldn’t be surprised if
she didn’t give him another toddy or two to warm him up.
One time Prime went to P:ioche on a business trip. He was quite late returning. Emma B. had gone to bed and was asleep,
didn’t hear him when he came in. He
stepped up to her and whisked his whiskers across her face. She quickly snatched a dagger from beneath
her pillow. He had to grab her hands and
hold them until she was fully awake. He
didn’t repeat.
At another time she was alone in the house and a man stepped in
making indecent advances. She back up to
the cupboard and snatched a derringer.
He quickly turned and fled. He might
have been hard to catch, and he didn’t repeat.
Again this shows Emma’s courage and
judgment. Through her life
she never did panic.
The moved to Upper Kanab now known as Alton. Bishop Robinson also lived there and was a
friend of the Colemans. One day Emma B.
visited Mrs. Robinson. That evening
there was to be a dance. In those days
men’s trousers had a lining. The Bishop
was noted as being a fine step-dancer.
Some how the two women got hold of a live mouse and thinking to have
some fun, they cut a hole in the lining of the Bishop’s trousers, put the mouse
in and then sewed up the lining. At the
dance, while doing some lively steps, the mouse ran up and down with its toes
punching through the lining, tickling or scratching the Bishop’s leg. He danced some extra steps.
Emma B. was full of wit and humor.
I have often heard he say, “little ears, little wit; big ears, not a
bit.”
The Colemans and Heywoods left Upper Kanab in the autumn of
1880. They drove milk-cows and horses to
Alpine, Arizona. They ate Christmas
dinner at the Little Colorado, near Black Falls north of Cameron. New Years dinner was eaten at Brigham City,
near Winslow. Just east of Winslow they
drove the teams and wagons across the river on ice. Arrived at Alpine January 15, 1881.
Prime and Emma B. with their two boys prime and Evans went to Williams
Valley, New Mexico where for one or two seasons they raised crops of corn, and
then they returned to Alpine and lived in the Fort until they could build a
[home a few years later.
Prime’s second wife Elizabeth lived in a corner cabin. In 1884 Mar29, during the night or early
morning, she gave birth to a little boy.
Prime went out to his work, but they soon sent for him. She had bled to death. I was standing near the door and heard Prime
weep aloud. She had six children, the
oldest Willard about 17, Susan, Sarah Ida (Doll), John, June, and the baby whom
they named George. Emma B. took these
children in her care as if they were her own which gave her a family of eight. Later when George was possibly six or seven
years of age he bumped his knee just below the knee cap on the end of a pole
which to catch a bird, Emma B. cared for him.
The bump became an abscess which proved to be tubercular and would not
heal. Emma B. gave him the most tender
care, and though they were in poverty, she took George to Dr. Pinkerton in Salt
Lake City. He scraped out the abscess
but the wound would not heal. About
1897, Dr. Platt amputated the leg below the knee.
In alpine, at one time, a peddler came through wishing to enlarge
pictures. He was insistent that Emma B.
give him an order but she was unwilling saying that she did not have the
cash. He said he would be willing to
take her note for the amount and she finally said, “all right!” so she wrote
out a note and handed to him. He was
profuse in his thanks to her. She
suggested he had better look at the note, and after insisting that he look at
it more closely, l he found the note was payable February 30th.
Emma B. and her family moved to Springerville in 1890. She taught school at Amity and moved to
Thatcher about 1898. On the way they
stopped for noon lunch, sat on a rock and saw a long-legged green lizard. As they got back into the wagon to go, they
noticed the green lizard but didn’t pay attention to it. Along the way they came to a country store
and stopped long enough for Prime to do some trading. Presently she called out, “Prime, Prime, come
on.” “All right, in a few minutes,” he
replied. Soon she called again and there was something apprehensive in her
voice that caused him to come. She told
him to climb into the wagon. “Now drive
up,” she said. When they were out of
sight of the store, she said, “Now stop.”
She had been clutching something under her skirt upon her leg. She reached up under her skirt and pulled out
that long-legged, green lizard. ”My
heavens!” Prime exclaimed, “if that had been me, no matter where I was my
trousers would have come off.”
Emma B. spoke disparagingly about a man who was deceitful and had
taken advantage of a widow woman. He
heard about [it] and promptly hunted her up and told her that she couldn’t talk
about him that way. He wouldn’t have
it. With an amused smile she said, “how
are you going to stop me?”
In territorial days Emma B. was a strong advocate for woman
suffrage. One morning while she was
cooking breakfast, while living in Alpine, a big, strong, conceited, very
positive and ignorant man named C. B. came into her kitchen to argue with
her. He finally said, “Well, Mrs.
Coleman, whatever comes into my brain, comes out of my mouth.” She quickly replied, that accounts for the
little brain.” She couldn’t apologize
enough to make him happy.
One time during territorial days, she appeared before the
Territorial Legislature and made a speech on woman suffrage. It received wide praise and acclaim over the
territory.
Emma B. was noted for her charity, quietly visiting the sick or
those in need, sometimes taking food, sometimes irritating Prime though he
never interfered.
One evening Mrs. Jamison came to our house. My husband is in a bad way. He is drunk and threatens to kill me. By way of explanation, Emma B. was a small
woman weighing from 100 to 110 pounds, black, curly hair though now greying,
and in her seventies, but she did not hesitate.
When she reached the home of Mrs. Jamison, she stepped up close and
said, “
What’s the matter here? The
man raised up profaning. A large book
happened to be nearby.
She picked it up and whacked him on the side of the head and face
and knocked him down and when he started to get up, again she repeated and
said, “Now lie there.” He did. Mrs. Jamison said, “I don’t think we need you
any more Mrs. Coleman.”
Emma did much in a public way, working in various organizations
and especially adept at handling children in Sunday School or Primary. She could portray in words a picture of Daniel in the Lion’s Den or Jesus on the
Cross so vividly that it often brought children to tears and sobs. I would say without hesitation that she is
the most unforgettable character I have ever known, this little old grandmother
of mine.
Dr.
Joseph Neal Heywood
