Sharing our Links to the Past
by Wally and Frances Gray

 

Back to Ann Lewis's Table of Contents

#M14j Sarah GREENWOOD (AFN:1788-CB)

Born: 14 Nov 1844 Burnley, Lanchester, England
Died: 13 Jan 1887 Colonia Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico
Buried: 15 Jan 1887 Colonia Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico

Father: William GREENWOOD (AFN:1BGK:ZH) (4 Mar 1819-11 Oct 1899)
Mother: Anne HARTLEY (AFN:25TX-26) (26 Jul 1821-18 Jul 1897)

Married: Isaac Turley, Sr. 11 Mar 1861 San Bernardino, San Bernardino, California. They had 12 children. See Isaac Turley, Sr. site for names of children. See biography below questioning the place of marriage.

 


Biography. The following information comes to us courtesy of Ella Mae (Turley) Judd who obtained it from a 1976 Turley Family Newsletter. Ella Mae's comments are in brackets. The article was written by Olive K. Turley. (Following this account there is a transcription of a letter written by Isaac Turley to Sarah Greenwood's parents regarding the death of Sarah.)

From Ella Mae Judd: [While exploring an old Theodore Turley Family Newsletter, dated 1976 (probably Spring), I came upon an interesting letter written by Olive K. Turley about Sarah Greenwood. I then looked up the marriage of Isaac and Sarah on the FamilySearch Ancestral File, and sure enough, the marriage is dated 11 March 1861, in San Bernardino, San Bernardino, California. If anything further has been learned about this marriage, please contact the present editor of the Newsletter. Surely we want this information to be correct. Thanks to Olive for the following information, dated May 29, 1976, Woodruff, Arizona]:

From Olive K. Turley:

FROM THE PAST

MARRIAGE OF SARAH GREENWOOD AND ISAAC TURLEY

We have histories of William Greenwood and Ann Hartley Greenwood, also sketches of members of the Greenwood family prepared by Luela White Storrs, a granddaughter of Sarah Greenwood. I also have used the biography written by Hyrum Turley and the letter written by Isaac Turley to Sarah's parents after her death. [This is the letter which has appeared in the last two issues of the Turley Newsletter; back in 1976 Olive had also translated the letter.] We have the letter here (how we rated it, I don't know). Perhaps I should quote the letter on the bottom of this page. I also used the book "Unflinching Courage" about the settling of Joseph City by Adele B. Westover and J. Norris Richards. The stories about the wet sheet and also about the blind midwife I have included on my own. I recall for certain that Pearl Turley Frost, sister of Fred, told me about the midwife but I am not certain if I heard the other story from her or read it-possibly in the history of Lehi, Arizona (we should have a copy but I couldn't find it).

There is another thing I must comment about. I have been disturbed about the sheet we have for Isaac Turley and Sarah Greenwood which says they were married in San Bernardino, Calif. I have wondered and wondered why she went to California. I believe Della gave us a sheet for this family. I had checked on some birth dates and ordinance dates, but nothing about the marriage. The story about Sarah put out by the Greenwoods says nothing at all about her going to California. I DON'T BELIEVE SHE EVER WENT TO SAN BERNARDINO and was likely married in Utah. And we have put this sheet in our books for years and years! [Now, many more years!] I suppose I have tried to check on more things than I was able to keep up with. I looked at an encyclopedia and found that San Bernardino was settled in 1852 by Mormons under Amasa M. Lyman and Charles C. Rich. Sarah Greenwood wasn't 8 years of age until November, 1852 and I don't think she went along with the company. Isaac and Sarah were married 11 March, 1861. We have here a copy of Church Chronology by Andrew Jensen. Page 63 of this book says that Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston, Commander of the "Utah Army" left Camp Floyd (camp of Johnston's Army near Utah Lake) 1 March, 1860 for Washington, D.C. This, then, was after the soldiers marched through Salt Lake City. Brigham Young called the settlers back from San Bernardino during the Utah War, so I doubt that Isaac was still in San Bernardino in 1861 when he married. Also, the same page in this book says that on 7 April, 1860, the Saints who had settled on lower Beaver Creek, Beaver Co., Utah were organized into a Ward named Minersville, by Apostles Amasa M. Lyman and Charles C. Rich. So they weren't in San Bernardino in 1861. It appears that they may have helped some of the returning Saints to settle in Minersville AND THIS IS WHERE THE TWO OLDEST SONS OF ISAAC AND SARAH WERE BORN. I imagine they were married in Utah, likely in Beaver. I am going to read the 1860 census for Beaver County to see if Sarah Greenwood is listed. I may later write to Beaver County Court House to see if they happen to have a marriage record.

[The Isaac Turley letter follows, and then this additional genealogy about Sarah Greenwood's ancestors.]

Ann Hartley Greenwood was baptized into the LDS Church in September, 1840 and her husband, William Greenwood, was baptized June, 1841. William and Ann arrived at New Orleans November 24, 1841 after a seven to nine week trip in the ship Tyrene. They settled in Warsaw, Hancock County, Illinois. Before they could adjust to the new climate, they all came down with the "ague" and were very, very sick for a long time. Ann decided she wanted to go back to England; her parents had promised to send her the necessary money if she ever wanted to go back. William didn't want to return to England but finally consented to go with her and their small daughter, Martha.

Their daughter Sarah was born at Burnley, Lancashire, England 14 November, 1844 after their return to England. William Greenwood returned to the U.S.A. in 1846 or 1847 and Ann, his wife, finally returned in 1848, bringing Sarah with her. [Little Martha, referred to above, died in England in 1844.] The family crossed the plains in 1852, arriving in Utah 5 November, 1852. They resided in Salt Lake City about three weeks, then were called to go to Cedar City, Utah. Conditions here were very discouraging, so the family left and settled in Beaver City, Utah. It was here that Sarah spent most of her early life.

Sarah married Isaac Turley 11 March, 1861. She had black hair, blue eyes, and a swarthy skin. She was very industrious. She knitted a carpet of rags for their home, with much help as her mother could spare from her own household labors.

Isaac and Sarah had two sons born in Minersville, Beaver County, Utah, then six sons born in Beaver City. In early 1877 the family was called to settle in the Salt River Valley of Arizona in the company of Daniel Jones which founded Lehi, near Mesa. They arrived at Hayden Ferry in July of 1877. Sarah was a large woman, weighing 240 pounds, and the Arizona heat, living in a covered wagon without trees to shade it, was more than she could take. The story is that neighbor women wet sheets to put over Sarah to try to alleviate her suffering. Isaac returned to Beaver, Utah in September, 1877 and made a trip to Salt Lake City to confer with President John Taylor. He [Isaac] was released from the Jones Camp and allowed to go to St. Joseph (now Joseph City) on the Little Colorado in northern Arizona. The family stayed here until 7 May, 1881, when they moved to Snowflake. One son, George Albert, was born in St. Joseph.

Three more children were born in Snowflake, the second one being a little girl. Pearl Turley Frost said that a blind midwife assisted at the birth of this only daughter and Sarah felt that this woman tried to assist in the birth more than she should have done which resulted in the death of the baby. Sarah grieved very much that her only daughter did not live.

Because of the persecution of those living in polygamy, Isaac Turley took his wife, Sarah, and her family to Mexico in the spring of 1885. The next spring he returned to Snowflake to get his second wife, Clara Ann, and family.  [See Colonia Juarez Chihuahua Temple]

Isaac Turley with his sons Alma and Edward left for Snowflake 10 November, 1886 to get the rest of their property. They returned to Mexico as soon as they could, and arrived there on the 14th of January, 1887. Sarah had died the day before. She had a tumor which burst, causing her death. Death came to her 13 January, 1887 at Casa Grande, Mexico, at the early age of forty-three. [All emphasis contained in original.]

From Ella Mae Judd: [I WAS VERY HAPPY TO READ THIS ACCOUNT, BECAUSE IT CONFIRMS TO ME THAT THERE EXISTS A MORE DETAILED ACCOUNT OF SARAH'S SUFFERING AT LEHI, ARIZONA. I DISTINCTLY REMEMBER READING SUCH AN ACCOUNT, BUT HAVE SEARCHED FOR IT FOR MANY YEARS AND HAVE NEVER BEEN ABLE TO FIND IT. IF ANYONE HAS A MORE COMPLETE ACCOUNT, PLEASE CONTACT ME, OR SUBMIT IT FOR INCLUSION IN THE TURLEY NEWSLETTER. THANKS SO MUCH. IT WOULD ALSO BE SIGNIFICANT TO KNOW FOR SURE WHERE ISAAC TURLEY AND SARAH GREENWOOD WERE MARRIED, IF ANYONE HAS SUCH DOCUMENTATION. Ella Mae Judd, 6615 West Lupine, Glendale, Arizona 85304.


2. Transcription of Letter from Isaac Turley, Sr., Written February 20, 1887,   regarding the death of Sarah.LETTER.TIF (50546 bytes)

A copy of a letter written from "Casas grandus, Mexico," on Febuary 20, 1887, by Isaac Turley to "William, Greenwood and Ann or Father and Mother Greenwood" was published in the May 1999 Theodore Turley Family Newsletter on page 5. A partial transcription was made of it with several omissions because of the illegibility of the handwritten letter. Ella Mae Judd has looked the letter over and has filled in a lot of the blanks that were published as the transcription. Here is Ella Mae's version of the letter:

Feb. 20th 1887 Casas grandus, Mexico

William, Greenwood and Ann or Father and Mother Greenwood,

I have written and I Suppose you did not get it as the Mail is so uncertain. Sarah your Daughter and my Wife departed this Life on the 13 of January. I and Alma and Edward went back to Snowflake to get the Rest of our Property and I started in 10 of [November or December and] I returned as Soon as I could and I got back on the 14 of January the day after her death. That Tumor burst and it caused her death. She Suffered. She took Sick at 8 o'clock one Evening. She died at 3 the next day. She Suffered a great deal. Still at the last She passed off Easy and without a Struggle.

Sarah was a True Wife to me and has left Some good children. There is 7 here: William, Alma, Joseph, Hyrum, George, Charles and John is 2 years in next April 12th. He the Baby is as large as any child Sarah Ever had. It Seems that the children Sensed all about their Mother's death. Johnny So young Still he has never cried for his Mother. He is So attached to Hyrum as nurse and Sleeps with him. This is a hard Country for to get clothing.

We all Send our love to you. All the Boys send their love to you all, from

Isaac, Turley

[Slight editing by Ella Mae Judd, June 1999 and August 1999.]


Home | Biographical Index |
Frances McNabb Gray Ancestor Chart |
The Theodore Turley Family
Biography and Autobiography of Theodore Turley
Theodore Turley
Colonia Juarez Chihuahua Temple | Clara Ann Tolton
Turley, Charlotte #M15 (Mrs. Jacob Bushman) (Photo)
The Value of Genealogical Stories
More on Isaac Turley

 

©1998-2007 Wallace F. and Frances M. Gray. This web page may be freely linked. To contact us send to grayfox2@cox.net  Their home page is http://geocities.datacellar.net/wallygray25/index.html

1