Ann Agatha (Walker) Ridges (1829 - 1908)

Born 11 Jun 1829 in Leek, Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom

Ancestors

Wife of Parley Parker Pratt Sr — married 28 Apr 1847 (to 1857) in Winter Quarters, Washington, Nebraska, United States

Wife of Joseph Harris Ridges — married 4 Mar 1860 in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States

Died 25 Jun 1908 at age 79 in Ogden, Weber, Utah, United States

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Biography

Ann (Walker) Ridges was a Latter Day Saint pioneer.

Ann was born in 1829. She passed away in 1908.

Daughter of William Gibson Walker and Mary Godwin

Married - Parley Parker Pratt, 28 Apr 1847, Winter Quarters, Douglas, Nebraska. Children - Moroni Pratt, Evelyn Pratt, Moroni Walker Pratt, Malona Pratt, Agatha Pratt, Evelyn Pratt, Marion Pratt.

Married - Joseph Harris Ridges, 4 Mar 1860, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah. Children - Wilford Owen Ridges, Louis Pratt Ridges.

Ann Agatha Walker married Parley Parker Pratt, 28 Apr 1847, at Winter Quarters, Douglas County, Nebraska (near Omaha). She drove an ox team across the plains. They had 5 children, Agatha, Malona, Marion, Moroni Walker, and Evelyn.

After Parley P's assassination, 13 May 1857, she was advised by Brigham Young to marry Joseph Harrison Ridges, builder of the Tabernacle Organ. They were married in 1860 and had 2 children, daughter Louie Ridges (who died at age 5), and son Wilford Owen Ridges (Uncle Will Ridges).

She later divorced him to prevent him from being jailed for polygamy. Parley and Ann Agatha were allotted 10 acres on 10th South, West Temple, where they raised crops. (From Deseret Evening News, Wed 29 June 1908. Submitted to Owen Clark, May 1991, by Athleen Pratt Walton, granddaughter.)

Her daughter (#1) Agatha (who was age 9 when Ann Agatha married J. H. Ridges), later married J. H. Ridges herself, at age 18, in 1886. He was age 40 at their marriage. They had 8 children.

History - It was the desire of all new converts in England to come to Zion to join the Saints. Usually only one or two members of a family would be able to come at a time. This was done with great sacrifice and many hardships. So it was with the William Gibson Walker family of Pendleton, Lancashire, England.

When Elders Parley P. Pratt, John Taylor and others completed their mission, Ann Agatha Walker was the one from her family to return with them to America. Ann Agatha Walker was 17 years old, and after this parting from her family, she never saw her mother in this life again.

The group, consisting of 14 persons in all, sailed from Liverpool in the new ship "America" on January 19, 1847. Ann Agatha Walker writes of her experiences:

"When these men returned to America, it was my privilege to immigrate with their company and be the first of my family to come to Zion. Oh how happy t was but the parting with my mother and father sister and brother was almost more than l could do".

It was at Winter Quarters that Ann Agatha Walker was married to Apostle Parley P Pratt. She became his 10th wife. She wrote:

"My wedding day was April 28, 1847. I married Brother Parley P Pratt, an apostle in the latter day saint church - a very fine man, a true and loving husband always. My husband being in charge of the company was extremely busy mending wagons, looking up yoke-bows, making bow keys or pins to hold the bows in the yokes, hunting up the cattle, mating them, finding chains - especially lock chains for bear in mind there were no brakes to hold wagons back going down steep hills in those days. These and a hundred other things occupied his time. Meanwhile, we were busy making and mending wagon covers and in every way aiding and assisting to prepare for the long and toilsome journey.

To aid him, two of us women, which included the Linda Marden Pratt - 6th wife of Parley P. Pratt, thought we would manage without his help to drive our own team which consisted of a yoke of oxen.

The brethren made a large and substantial raft on which to ferry us across 'the Platt' river. The cattle were made to swim over. Coming from a large city and not being used to this kind of life, never having seen cattle yoked together even, still I thought, well what any other woman can do I can do. So shouldering my whip I drove out of Winter Quarters and soon learned to manage my team first class.

l learned to put on the lock chain instantly at the top of a steep hill and would jump out quickly while the cattle were going, and to take it off so that the impetus afforded by the end of the descent would aid them in starting up the other side for we often passed through deep gullies.

On one occasion l was jumping out while the cattle were going and my skirt caught on the tongue bolt and threw me down and before I could extricate myself the right front wheel passed over my leg just above the ankle.

I scrambled into the wagon best way I could. I turned down my stocking expecting to see a bad bruise for it was very painful but low and behold there was no bruise there. I was much astonished but very thankful. The pain soon passed away and I drove my team as usual.

As we neared our destination our journey became wearisome and full of toil. Grass became scarce, cattle began to give out: often when an ox gave out a cow was put in its place. The roads were rough; wagons had to be patched up until sometimes you would wonder how they could go at all. One of my calamities was my lock chain giving out and in going down a hill I had to hold the nigh ox by the horn and tap the off one over the face and keep saying low back, low back and nearly hold my breath until I got down to the bottom then stop and draw a breath of relief, see that all was right, and then on again for others were right on our heals and we had to get out of their way. You can just imaging what a condition our skirts were in.

I never shall forget the last day we traveled and arrived in the valley. It happened to be my turn to drive that day, September 28, 1847. The reach of our wagon was broken and tied together after a fashion, and the way the front wheels that the wiggled about was a sight to behold. I kept expecting every minute to see the poor old concern draw apart and come to grief but it held together and when my eyes rested on the beautiful entrancing sight - the Valley - oh! How my heart swelled within me.

I could have laughed and cried such a co-mingling of emotions I cannot describe. My soul was filled with thankfulness to God for bringing us to a place of rest and safety, a home.

No doubt our valley looks astonishingly beautiful to the strangers who come here now, but it cannot evoke the same emotions as it did to us poor, weary, tired, worn out, ragged travelers.

When I drove into camp, unyoked my cattle and sat down on the wagon tongue and began to realize that in the morning I would not have to hitch up and toil through another day, such a feeling of rest - blessed rest - permeated my whole being that it is impossible to describe and cannot be realized except by those who have passed through similar scenes."

Ann Agatha Walker was the first milliner in Utah and since she had learned the trade from her mother in England she was an expert. Besides hats, she also made shoes for the apostle's wives and other women and girls of Salt Lake. She was widowed at the young age of 28 years and left with 5 children to care for including a babe in arms. She was born on the 11th of June 1829 in England and died just after her 79th birthday, June 25th, 1908 in Ogden Utah.

Her testimony and love for the gospel, her example of faith, sacrifice, obedience, perseverance, sheer determination and hard work has helped her posterity to carry on through difficult times and has given them a great legacy on which to build and pattern their own life.

Sources

• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/25088292/ann-agatha-pratt: accessed 14 January 2024), memorial page for Ann Agatha Walker Pratt (11 Jun 1829–25 Jun 1908), Find a Grave Memorial ID 25088292, citing Salt Lake City Cemetery, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Utah, USA; Maintained by SMS (contributor 46491005).