Sarah Ann (Atkinson) Merrill (1834 - 1915)

Born 28 Sep 1834 in Sackville, Westmorland, New Brunswick, Canada

Ancestors

Wife of Marriner Wood Merrill Sr — married about 11 Nov 1853 in Utah Territory, United States [uncertain]

Descendants

Died 16 Oct 1915 at age 81 in Richmond, Cache, Utah, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Roland Carter [send private message]

Sarah (Atkinson) Merrill was a Latter Day Saint pioneer.

Biography

Sarah Ann Atkinson, a daughter of William and Phebe Campbell Atkinson, was born in a humble little home at Sackville, Westmoreland County, New Brunswick, Canada, September 28, 1834. Her child-hood and young womanhood were spent in that locality, where she exhibited the traits of character that remained with her through life: self-reliance, self-sacrifice, and humility. Her opportunities for an education were very limited, and she attended school for only a short time; so her education was received mostly from the school of experience. Sarah Ann was religiously inclined and accordingly, in 1850, when the Gospel of Jesus Christ was brought to her father's home she immediately saw the beauties of it and, in the early winter of 1851, when ice 2-feet thick was cut through for the purpose, she was baptized by Elder Skerry and became a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

She soon felt the Spirit of Gathering and in the early spring of 1853, with her father's family, left the homeland for Utah. They were accompanied by her future husband, who had also received the Gospel. They started on their long journey with all their earthly possessions. They crossed the Plains with ox teams and heavily-loaded wagons, Jesse Crosby being in charge of the Company. After the long and tedious journey, they arrived in Salt Lake City, September 11, 1853, and settled in Bountiful.

Just 2 months later, on November 11, Sarah was married to Marriner Wood Merrill by Apostle Ezra T. Benson. Directly after her marriage she went to Salt Lake City to work for Apostle Benson's family, while her young husband went into the canyon to get logs to build a home. In this little home, one log room, their furniture consisting of a fireplace, a borrowed skillet, a borrowed camp kettle, two knives and forks, six tin spoons, a few colored plates which had been brought from Sackville, a homemade bedstead with a straw tick, two 3-legged stools, and her husband's tool chest for a table, they lived happily for 4 1/2 years.

Acting upon the counsel of President Brigham Young, the Saints, numbering 30,000 in the spring of 1858, abandoned their homes at the approach of Johnston's Army and moved south. She and her husband and their two small children were among the number. When they started they did not know how far they would go. They journeyed south as far as Provo and camped on the Provo River where they stayed until July of that year. They were then advised by President Young to return to their home.

In the spring of 1860, the family left Bountiful and moved to Cache Valley and settled in Richmond, where they again started to build for themselves a home and help settle a new place. Here, with the rest of the little company, they lived in the Fort and enjoyed life the best they could under the pioneer con-ditions and trials of the time. On the night of December 24, 1861, they moved from the Fort to a home they had built on the lot where "Auntie" lived the remainder of her life.

On June 4, 1868, the first Relief Society of the Richmond Ward was organized and Sarah Ann was sus-tained as President, which position she held for 7 years. In discharging the responsibilities of the calling, she assisted in caring for the sick, the poor, and those who mourned or were in need of kind, comforting words. She assisted her husband, who was Bishop of the Ward, in all the labors attendant on the settling of a new country. For 55 years she was identified with activities of the Richmond Ward, both in sorrow and in joy. No one ever asked her assistance in vain; she was always ready in an emergency. Charitable in this world's goods, she was likewise charitable in her thoughts of everyone. She did not murmur or say anything against the character of others. A noble example of true womanhood, she lived an exemplary life and was surely one of God's elect daughters.

As a loving tribute to her character and devotion, one of her daughters-in-law once said: "I lived with her for more than a year after my marriage and I can truthfully say that she was the most considerate woman to her sons' wives that I ever knew; she was thoughtful, kind, and helpful and strove in every way for the happiness of her loved ones. To all of her husband's family she was patient, sweet and considerate.

Sarah Ann, the first wife of M. W. Merrill, had 6 sons and 4 daughters. She died at age 81. She had 96 grandchildren, 33 great-grandchildren.

• Fact: Residence (1850) Lowell, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States
• Fact: Residence (1851) Sackville, Westmorland, New Brunswick, Canada
• Fact: Emigration (18 May 1853)
• Fact: Immigration (11 Sep 1853) Utah, United States
• Fact: immigration (1861 or 1853)
• Fact: Residence (1860) Bountiful, Davis, Utah Territory, United States
• Fact: Residence (1870) Richmond, Cache, Utah Territory, United States
• Fact: Residence (1880) Richmond, Cache, Utah Territory, United States
• Fact: Residence (1900) Richmond Election Precinct, Cache, Utah Territory, United States
• Fact: Residence (1910) Richmond, Cache, Utah, United States
• Fact: Burial (18 October 1915) Richmond City Cemetery, Richmond, Cache, Utah, United States
• Fact: Occupation Housewife
• Fact: Cause of Death Unknown
• Fact: Cause of Death Sudden death due to unknown causes
• Fact: http://familysearch.org/v1/LifeSketch SARAH ANN ATKINSON MERRILL

Sources

• "Family Tree," database, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org : modified 15 January 2019, 02:24), entry for Sarah Ann Atkinson(PID https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/4:1:KWJX-FSH); contributed by various users.
• findagrave.com
• 1851 Census, Sackville, NB

Acknowledgements

• Atkinson-2851 was created by Tony Hatch through the import of AQTony7gen-373people.ged on Jul 26, 2014.