Helen Alcy Tanner (1839 - 1915)

Born 18 Dec 1839 in Liberty, Adams, Illinois, United States

Ancestors

Wife of Elijah Hiett Maxfield Sr — married 24 Aug 1856 in Salt Lake City, UT

Descendants

Died 16 May 1915 at age 75 in Lyman, Wayne, Utah, United States

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Biography

Death

Death: Y

Date: 16 MAY 1915

Place: Lyman, Wayne, UT

Age: 75

Burial

Burial:

Date: 19 MAY 1915

Place: Lyman, Wayne, UT

• Fact: Mormon Pioneer (from 3 Jul 1848 to 19 Oct 1848) Willard Richards Company
• Fact: Pioneer Overland (10 October 1848) Amasa Lyman Section of the Willard Richards Company , Utah Territory, USA
• Fact: Residence (1860) Salt Lake, Utah Territory, United States
• Fact: census (14 Sep 1870) Cottonwood, Salt Lake, Utah, United States
• Fact: census (8 Jun 1880) Fremont, Piute, Utah
• Fact: Residence (1900) Thurber Precinct Thurber town, Wayne, Utah, United States
• Fact: Burial (19 May 1915) Lyman, Wayne, Utah, United States
• Fact: HeadstonePhoto (15 October 2010) Gravesite M-8 Lyman, Wayne, Utah, USA
• Fact: http://familysearch.org/v1/LifeSketch Helen Alcy Tanner, daughter of Nathan Tanner and Rachel Winter Smith, was born December 18, 1839, at New Liberty, Illinois. In June 1848, her father joined the Amasa Lyman Company and they arrived in Salt lake Valley, October 13, 1848. During that winter she was without shoes as they were not obtainable. On August 24, 1856 she married Elijah Hiett Maxfield, son of John Ellison Maxfield and Elizabeth Baker, born November 5, 1832 at Bedeque, Prince Edward Island, Canada. His ancestors were of royal blood as shown by the Maxfield Coat of Arms.

In 1861, Helen Alcy was set apart by Frances Marion Lyman to be a midwife. She delivered a baby that year when she was but twenty-two years of age. This baby became Doctor James Osterman. She read and searched for knowledge on the subject of obstetrics from every available source. In 1892 she was a student of Doctor Sorensen and received her diploma and in compliance with the law of the Territory of Utah, was licensed to practice obstetrics. This certificate was signed by 7 members of the Board of Medical Examiners. She delivered over 2000 babies. She was proficient in the art of nursing and during epidemics of Diphtheria and Typhoid, she nursed the afflicted during all hours of the day and night, traveling from her home town of Lyman, Utah, to neighboring settlements. She continued her practice in her advanced years, and although crippled with rheumatism, never refused to go to the bedside of an expectant mother. The largest sub she received as an obstetrician was .00; however, she frequently served without pay and took food and clothing into the homes of the unfortunate. She was a strict disciplinarian and kept her home and children in order with love and patience. She, like her mother Rachel Winter Smith, possessed remarkable self control and never showed fear. They resided in Alta, Little Cottonwood Canyon, where her husband served as Deputy Sheriff. An outlaw had threatened to kill him and one morning she observed this drunken criminal approaching their home. She met him at the door informing him that he could not enter, and lent emphasis to her statement by withdrawing from beneath her spotless white apron, a large sharp meat knife. The outlaw, surprised by this encounter with this little lady, whose "voice was ever gentle and low," retired in confusion. Later, when asked why she hadnot called her husband from the adjoining room, she said, "I knew if those two met, one would be killed and I didn't want blood shed in my home." She left a beautiful home in Salt Lake County to pioneer Toquerville, where the first winter the family made their abode in a "Dugout". Later the family became pioneers in Wayne County where the indians outnumbered the white ten to one. As a Relief Society President she took great interest in bettering the condition of the "savages". She also became a counselor in the Stake relief Society and was president of the Primary. > (from the book Descendants of Nathan Tanner)

• Fact: Cemetery Lyman Cemetery

Sources

• "Utah Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel Database, 1847-1868," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QK9B-HNCL : 10 February 2018), Helen Alcy Tanner, 19 Oct 1848; from "Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel: 1847-1868," database, > The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (https://history.lds.org/overlandtravels/ : 2004-).

• "Family Tree," database, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org : modified 03 January 2022, 01:22), entry for Helen Alcy Tanner (PID https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/4:1:KWNV-3XY ); contributed by various users.