Mary Ann (Armstrong) Thorn (1784 - 1856)

Born 22 Sep 1784 in Clinton, Dutchess, New York, USA

Wife of Richard Thorn — married 1 Sep 1806 in Clinton, Duchess, New York, USA

Descendants

Died 7 Mar 1856 at age 71 in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, USA

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Biography

Mary (Armstrong) Thorn was a Latter Day Saint pioneer.

Mary Anne Armstrong Thorn: Dutch and English ancestry and was born in 1784 in New York. She was the mother of 13 children.

• children with Richard Thorn:
  

Philip Thorn 1807–1850
Asahel Enoch Thorn 1808–1897
Elizabeth Thorn 1810–1902
Joseph Thorn 1811–1886
Alfred Thorn 1814–1816
Mary Thorn 1816–1908
Abner Thorn 1819–1845
Mary Abigail Thorn 1821–1904
Horace Thorn 1822–?
Lydia Ann Thorn 1823–1901
Richard Thorn Jr. 1825–1907
Methetabel Thorn 1828–?

She joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints. She left her husband because of her faith and took her children to Nauvoo, Illinois where the Mormon Pioneers were planning to make the trip across the plains to Utah. Three of her sons died in Nauvoo.

Mary traveled to Utah with her children and grandchildren in the Daniel A. Miller/John W. Cooley company of 1853 leaving 3 June and arriving in the Valley 3-17 September. 282 individuals and 70 wagons were in the company when it began its journey from the outfitting post at Six-Mile Grove, Iowa.

She settled in the Salt Lake Valley where she shared her nursing skills assisting newborns but died three years after her arrival at age 72 in 1856.

Mary died 7 March 1856 and is buried in the Salt Lake City Cemetery.

• Biography - MARY ANNER ARMSTRONG THORN

By Margaret Johnson Miner great grand daughter.

Mary Anner Armstrong was born in Dutchess Co., New York, Sept. 22, 1784. She was married to Richard Thorn, Sept. 1 1806, in Clinton, Duchess Co., New York. They were the parents of nine children, five sons and four daughters. One son, Alford, died age two years. Another son, Abner, died in Nauvoo, 1846, age twenty-six. The Thorn family had lived in Long Island and Dutchess Co., western border of New York State.

The Thorn family all joined the Mormon Church and gathered Nauvoo, except the father Richard. We do not know that he ever accepted the gospel. It was a sad thing that she parted from her husband. He later married a widow with two children. They moved to Iowa. His youngest daughter Lydia Ann Thorn (whom the family said was her father's pet) went back with, husband Solomon D. Chase, especially to see her father. This was after the railroad had been built. Later he moved to California with his wife and stepchildren. She died before he did. He lived with his stepchildren until he died at the age of 98. His daughter Lydia Ann kept in touch with him.

My grandfather, Richard Thorn, Jr. was born in Cayuga Co., 1825. He was married in Nauvoo in 1846 to Harriet Anna Glines, my grandmother. She was born in Churchville, Ontario, Canada and joined the church there. The family was active in Nauvoo. My father was a member of the Nauvoo Legion. They were among the first to leave Nauvoo. Their story of Nauvoo days has never been written only as among many others who suffered persecution and loss of properties at the hands of the mob. Three of the daughters had married in Nauvoo and were among the earliest pioneers to come to Utah. Abigail was a pioneer of 1847.

The family moved with the saints and settled at Mt. Pisgah. They later settled in Winter Quarters. Pottawatamie, Iowa, where they remained for three years. They built their own wagons from scrap they could pick up and from the native timber near by. Joseph Thorn was a blacksmith and Solomon D. Chase, who had married Lydia Ann Thorn was a carpenter. With the help of all the men in the company, they were well prepared for the journey. The company, all relatives, except two, started to Utah June 1853. They were organized according to Church instructions with Joseph Thorn as captain of 50. Mary Armstrong and another Grandmother, Amy Scott.Chase, were among the party The company landed in Salt Lake City, Sept. 1853. They had suffered very few hardships on the way. Most of the family settled in or near Salt Lake City. Grandmother Thorn spent her time with her children. She was an efficient nurse and went from one family to another as new babies arrived. She died March 7, 1856, age 72. Just three years after coming to Utah she died. She was a loving mother and a devoted wife. She could never forget the Husband she had parted with because of her faith in the Gospel.

- This was the end of her story and this much information had been written along with sketches of her children. But to me this just could not be the end. Like the song "Not Half Has Ever Been Told". I wanted to know more. Who was she? And what was the name of her parents? Where did they come from and how did they live? And so I started searching?

In the Church Historian's office, I found her Patriarchal Blessing. Her father was Ashel Armstrong, her mother, Elizabeth-no surname. Their children, I found later in a microfilm record in the Utah Genealogical Library, Salt Lake City. Their children were born in Poughkeepsie, Dutchess Co., New York. There the name of the mother was given as Elizabeth Nelson. There were so many books and films, which were full of stories of her ancestors. They were among the very first settlers of New York.

The Armstrongs were emigrants from England and the Nelsons had one Dutch ancestor. They all came to America in the early 1600s. They purchased land direct from the Indians and became in time what was known as “Landed gentry”. The heads of the family were known as Esquires, which denoted they were property owners and community builders. I found so many interesting biographies that I have copied. All had signed papers saying they were free men who gave their oath of allegiance to the new country. The Armstrong, Nelson, and Thorn families lived for many years in the same county of Dutchess and Long Island. Relatives had gathered many stories of the Thorn family, which we have copied. But I found the first information about Mary Anner Armstrong.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt helped to publish many books about New York State and its Pilgrim Fathers. Ashel Armstrong lived and died in Hyde Park, now the property of the Roosevelt’s. He was the father of Mary Anner. We owe a great deal to President Roosevelt for helping to publish these many books. When he was a young lawyer, he was county clerk of Dutchess. In 1829 he found the old records torn and scattered so he supervised the project of gathering all the old records including many badly torn manuscripts. Many volumes of vital records were published in printed copies. Many of the oldest manuscript records have since been microfilmed and we read them in their original script. Often pages are gone and sometimes are too faded to read. The name Roosevelt is derived from a Dutch name meaning "Rose Garden." Part of Hyde Park has been set aside as a national monument. There is a world-famous Rose Garden there. Over 500,000 tourists visited there last year. Part of Hyde Park has been left in its natural setting. President Roosevelt loved his Dutch ancestors. He writes that it took the combination of Dutch and English ancestry to make the sturdy New Yorkers of later generations. The English always settled in communities, but the Dutch chose quiet secluded spots in the hills. Many of the old estates stood for hundreds of years. When the automobiles came, the houses were torn down to make new highways. President Roosevelt headed a committee to photograph many of these old houses. The settings were beautiful. The pictures filled several volumes. We found our family name among them. James Fenimore Cooper purchased an old "Thorn Homestead." It was here that he wrote the "Last of the Mohicans" and other Indian novels. In one "Nelson Home. a famous hotel, was where George Washington held many conferences during the Revolutionary War. It stood for several generations. Our Dutch ancestor was a Van Der Vliet. One of them married a Van Der Bilt.

The following information was found in Linfort's guide "From. Liverpool to the Great Salt Lake Valley." This is found in "Journal History", Church Historians Office;

The second company to cross the plains were saints from the Pottawatamie lands in Iowa, being encamped at Six Mile Grove about 6 miles west of Winter Quarters. They were organized for traveling June 9, 1853, in charge of Daniel C. Miller and John W. Cooley. The company consisted of.282 souls and had 70 wagons, 27 horses, 470 head of cattle, 154 sheep, and 2 mules.

The company had difficulty getting started because the men had trouble handling the oxen. Most of these English emigrants had never seen an ox and none of them had ever driven a horse or an ox. After much practice and many delays, the company finally got on its way.

June 10:Traveled 12 miles to a creek which they crossed on a bridge. June 11: The Company traveled 9 miles to Elkhorn River, 27 miles from Winter Quarters. June 12: Sunday. Remained in Camp. June 17: Traveled 13 miles. Camped in the Platte River Bottoms. June 18: Saturday. Traveled 11 miles and camped near the Ferry at the east bank of the Leope Fork. The Company had caught up with Capt. Bigler's Company. (This was our family). In traveling, the latter company did not cross the North Platte at Fort Laramie but remained on the North side all the way. From the Fork they went to the right of Bridger's Butte and not to the left as the other pioneers had done.

The company was divided soon after leaving Elkhorn. The first company arrived in Salt Lake, Sept. 9, 1853. The second company just one hour later. Not at any time had the two companies been more than one half day's journey apart. Those marked X were organized under the direction of Captain Thorn. The balance of the company under Captain Daniel A. Miller. On July 7,the diary says, "Captain Thorn's company passed us while in camp yesterday. Some of the people who were marked in the X company were Asahel Thorn, Joseph and Lurana Thorn, William and Ann Cort, Sissian A.and Miriam Chase, Eric Kasle, Soloman D. and Lydia Ann Chase, Calvin, Perry, and Elizabeth Bingham, Richard and Harriet Anna Thorn, Daniel Bagley, Mary C. Bagley, Joseph and Mary Lush (progenitors of Harold B. Lee). The two grandmothers and the children are not registered.

June 13. Monday. This morning the company ferried across the Elkhorn. Ferried the wagons across at 100 dollars each. Swam the cattle across and camped on the West Bank. (Church Immigration note: This was 2 companies. Next day the camp was divided.)

The Pottawatamie Lands were being vacated. The organizations of the church there were to be discontinued. The saints were instructed to leave the cabins and mills they had built and move on to the Salt Lake Valley, "their new home."

Note: Asahel Thorn had buried Sarah Lester, who died Aug. 19, 1861. Two of his daughters had married two of the Bingham brothers. Another daughter had married a nephew, Bingham. He later married this Mary Lush, but they had no children.

Sources

• "New York Births and Christenings, 1640-1962," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/V2CM-SLD : 12 December 2014), Ann Armstrong, 24 May 1774; citing POUGHKEEPSIE,DUTCHESS,NEW YORK, reference ; FHL microfilm 17,847.

• "Utah Deaths and Burials, 1888-1946," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/F85V-FZ5 : 5 December 2014), Mary Ann Armstrong in entry for Mary Thorn Peck, 30 Jan 1908; citing Provo, Utah, reference p380 dth. #14416; FHL microfilm 26,554.

• http://www.lds.org/churchhistory/library/pioneerdetails/1,15791,4018-1-51408,00.html "Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel, 1847-1868" The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Church History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah. (http://www.lds.org/churchhistory/library/pioneerdetails)

• International Genealogical index, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Family History Library, 35 N. West Temple Street, Salt Lake City, Utah 84150, USA, www.familysearch.org Notes burial: March 1856; Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States

• Record submitted after 1991 by a member of the LDS Church. Search performed using PAF Insight on 5/25/2007 death: 7 March 1885; Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States

• "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/QVL6-TSFC : 11 July 2016), Mary Anner Armstrong Thorn, 1856; Burial, , , ,, ; citing record ID 95275721, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.

• http://www.josephsmithhall.org/ProfileArmstrongMaryAnner.html

• Submitter Info Unavailable, Brøderbund Software, Inc., World Family Tree Vol. 2, Ed. 1, (Release date: November 29, 1995), "CD-ROM," Tree #6090, Date of Import: May 26, 1999. (1995), "Electronic," Date of Import: Jul 6, 1999.