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In far away England years ago lived two young men who were fast friends. Their work threw them together for James Clark was a stone cutter and mason and he often worked on buildings where James Hacking was working as a cabinet maker. Their association did not end with their work day, as they also went around together socially and dated the girls of that community. Among the girls they dated were two sisters, Jane and Elizabeth Pearson. James Clark had an eye for Jane, while James Hacking found Elizabeth very interesting. Dating this way went on for awhile; the just in fun one evening James Hacking dated Jane and James Clark took Elizabeth who afterward became his wife. James Hacking and Jane Pearson also married and became the parents of six children, one of them being John Sampson Hacking.
James Clark and Elizabeth were also blessed with six children, the fourth one being a little girl who was born February 21, 1839, in Preston, Lancashire, England. She received the name of Jane and was a very popular member of the family, being the only girl. Later two sisters came to join her--Alice and Emma. Her brothers were John, James and Thomas. The family was in very moderate circumstances, so each one helped as he grew old enough. The girls learned to sew and to knit at a very early age. Grandma Hacking (Jane Clark Hacking) said that the men wore long stockings above their knees. These were home knit and one of her tasks each day was to knit so far on a stocking. Her mother put a pin in the leg and after she had knitted so many inches from the pin she was allowed to play. One day she removed the pin and placed it farther up the leg but her mother knew at once what she had done so she was not allowed to play that day. She was very young when she learned to sew, and among her treasures was a "sampler" that she had made at the early age of eight. There was a lot of work on it and it was all done very neatly.
While living in Preston she had a chance to go to school for a very short time. A lady said she would pay her tuition and in return she could sew and knit for her. She attended only half-days and had to discontinue after a very short time as the family moved to Holme. They also lived in Lancaster and Benton, their last home before sailing for America.
Jane helped her mother until she was eleven years old. She then went out to service as a maid. Her mistress was rather hard to work for. Her duty, among other things, was to tend the children and see that they had their meals on time. The bibs they wore at each meal were always kept in a certain place. One day when she went to prepare them for dinner the bibs were missing. Jane told the mistress that she was sure she had put them away in the usual place, but the woman scolded her dreadfully and said she was lying. Finally the bibs were found where the mistress had placed them herself. Jane's father was very angry when he was told about it that night by the troubled little girl.
Later the woman accused Jane of stealing some money she had placed in a certain place as bait to see if Jane was honest. Of course Jane denied it, saying she had seen the money but had not touched it. Her mistress would not believe her so she went home in disgrace. The next day the woman came and begged her to come back. She had found that one of her own children had taken the money. Jane's father said, "No, my girl cannot work for anyone who would lay money around to tempt her and then accuse her wrongfully of stealing it." Later she found a position as personal maid for a kind and gracious lady who treated her as one of the family.
She was baptized when she was eight years old. Since she was a little girl she had heard her parents talk of gathering to zion. The truth of the principles of the Gospel had been instilled into her soul and the "gathering to Zion" had been a life-time dream. She knew the sacrifices her parents were making to be members of the Church as Mormons were not looked on with very much favor. The children were chided by their school mates in school--that is, if they were lucky enough to have a chance to go to school. The older ones were shunned and even persecuted by some. Then there was the task of accumulating enough money to make the trip. Not all were unfriendly, and no doubt they left some very warm friends in England.
On October 2, 1850, the family sailed for America on the ship "James Pennell." About the voyage we find in the shipping file, recorded in the Church Historian's office, the following: "Fiftieth Company - James Pennell - 254 souls
on Wednesday, October 2, 1850, the ship 'James Pennell' sailed from Liverpool, England, with 254 Saints on board, under the direction of Christopher Layton, and American Elder, who had been in England on a visit.
"After an ordinary passage, the ship arrived near the mouth of the Mississippi River, and the passengers were jubilant at the prospect of soon landing on the shores of the promised land, when a storm met the ship and drove her far back into the Gulf, breaking her main and mizzen masts, and washing part of her rigging overboard, in this disabled condition, the emigrants, exposed to wind and wave, drifted about for several days until the provisions on board were nearly all consumed and starvation commenced to stare the emigrants in the face; but finally the crippled vessel was found by a pilot boat and conducted to the mouth of the river, where on the 20th of November she sailed up alongside of the 'Joseph Badger' which had sailed from Liverpool with another company of Saints over two weeks later than where they arrived the 22nd of November.
"The next day the emigrants from the James Pennell continued the journey up the river to St. Louis Missouri. There and in the surrounding country they found employment for the winter, and the following year a part of them wended their way to the valley while others remained in St. Louis for years before they continued the journey to Utah."
One thing Jane remembered about the storm was that the ship rocked to and fro with the waves and she said that the trunks and everything had to be tied down to hold them solid. The beds were on the sides in bunks and she was in hers one day when a trunk came loose and the owner tried to hold it still by sitting on it. He clung to it desperately as it slid from one side of the ship to the other as the ship rolled. Jane got to laughing and she laughed so hard she fell out of bed. This was a very embarrassing position for a girl almost 12 years old.
James Clark and his family remained in St. Louis for five and one-half years before starting the journey westward. During their stay in St. Louis there was an epidemic of Cholera where hundreds of people died, among them Jane's brother John. Because of the seriousness of the situation, the law was very strict and the bodies of the dead were taken from the homes immediately after death. Jane remembered that John's body was still warm when it was taken. To rid the city of this plague, barrels of tar were placed along the streets and burned, which was very successful. John Sampson Hacking who had immigrated in 1851 helped with the placing of the tar and the burning.
While they were in St. Louis Jane worked as a maid in different homes. One employer was a doctor, and one of her duties was to wash and iron the white clothes that are a doctor's necessity. There were no electric washers, so the clothes had to be washed in a tub and rubbed clean on a washboard. The ironing was no small job either. She also had to care for the children of the family and was told to take them out to a stream of water near the house and wash them each morning. In summer it wasn't bad, but in winter there was plenty of screaming and fighting as the ice water was applied.
Her wages while she was in St. Louis sometimes amounted to only $5.00 per month. At one home where she was employed the living room was on the second floor. She prepared the meals in the basement and with the help of a Negro boy she carried them up the two flights of stairs where she served them.
She was always of a sunny disposition and her doctor employer once said to her, "Jane, I believe you would be singing if the house was burning down over your head."
John Sampson Hacking had crossed the plains in 1851 with his mother, stepfather (John Fisher) and family. In the journal history, found in the Church Historian's Office, it list John Fisher and six others. They crossed in the second company, or James W. Cummings Company. (1851 December 31, Page 2 of Supplement.) He stayed in Utah awhile, but in 1854, he went to California with a surveying party. After spending some time there he returned to St. Louis by way of Isthmus of Panama and New York. He joined his brother James, who had not emigrated with the family, and the two worked in coal mines and other jobs.
Jane was still working as a housemaid, but the thoughts of the family were always that as soon as they could they would join the Saints in the West. John S. Hacking began seeing a lot of his cousin, Jane, and they eventually decided to get married and join her family on the trek to Salt Lake City. They were married May 5, 1856, and a few days later Jane left with her parents by team for Council Bluffs. John stayed in St. Louis six weeks longer to earn more toward defraying their expenses on their trip west. This accomplished, he took the belongings the family had left and went by steamboat up the river to Council Bluffs, arriving there before the family. He was overjoyed when they arrived for he had heard a rumor that the Clark family, along with his bride, had been massacred. They all crossed the river to Florence, Nebraska.
In the early part of June they started the journey with a company headed by Elder John Banks, but they joined with a group of ten wagons who left the Banks Company because some of the men in that company had refused to stand guard or do any other unpleasant job. They traveled on alone with James Pearson Clark as head. They arrived in Salt Lake City the 27th of September 1856 and continued at once to Cedar Fort where John S. Hacking's mother was living with her family.
This was an entirely different life for Jane. She had always lived in cities. The trek across the plains had been an ordeal and now she had to adjust to this rugged pioneer life. She had always worked hard, but had worked in homes where there was plenty to eat, conveniences in the homes such as were known then, and she could go to the store and buy a spool of thread or other things that were within her means. Here there were no stores, no markets, no mail-order; and if she had not brought it with her over a thousand miles across the plains, she went without. They brought what they could, but that wasn't very much.
As the family increased and their circumstances improved, they felt the need of more house room than they had in the house they first built. Accordingly a large eight-room house was built during the middle seventies. There were four room built of rock, with walls 1-1/2 feet thick, on the ground floor, with a bull basement or cellar. The four upstairs rooms were of adobes. There was also a large attic which could easily have been finished up into two nice large rooms. In this house there was a north door and a south door, and when the wind blew the doors would slam shut, so John S. built another room on at the south "for wind break" he said. But this room became the kitchen and was the most lived in room of the house. For a long time after they moved into the new house the old one was used for a work center. Washings were done there, fruit was prepared for drying, and a lot of other things belonging to work in a home.
Life in Cedar Fort was new for both of them, Jane was a little seventeen-year-old girl, but from now on she must take on the responsibilities of a woman. Three months after reaching their destination they were blessed with their first child, a bright little boy named James after John's father and also his brother. He was almost a Christmas present, but he came on December 23. James, or "Jim" as he was usually called, brought a lot of joy into the home. He was a boy to be proud of and grew into a wonderful man.
Because of Indian trouble the town of Cedar Fort was abandoned during the summer of 1857. For three months the Hackings lived in a dugout in American Fork. They had a dirt floor and a one-post bed. Poles were fastened to the post and to the wall to form the foot and head of the bed, also the sides, and then rawhide or the dried skins of animals were cut in strips and woven back and forth to make a place on which to lie.
One day John S. had been away all day and didn't arrive home until late at night, but he was a proud man. He had acquired a pig--their first pig, just a tiny little thing that he carried home in his coat pocket. He and Jane admired it, then decided to just let it run loose on the floor till morning when he would build it a pen. In the morning they began looking for their pig but it was no where to be found. This was quite a mystery as the door was closed and they could see no place where it could get out. Feeling quite blue, they sat down to breakfast, then John S. left the house and Jane began her morning work. After the dishes were done she picked up her broom, which was made by tieing a bunch of sagebrush together, and began sweeping her floor. As she swept by the bed she saw John's coat hanging on the bed post, so she picked it up to hang it on the wall. To her surprise she heard a grunt, and reaching into the pocket of the coat she found the pig. It had made its way back into the pocket to spend the night. She could hardly wait until John came home to tell him the good news.
Their second child, a daughter, was born in Cedar Fort, November 14, 1858. She was named Harriet Ambrosine, but was lovingly known to a lot of us as Aunt Hattie. Even to children who were no relation at all she was a real Aunt Hattie. To her mother she was more than a daughter as she took on so much responsibility as she grew up and became a second mother in the home, devoting her entire life in helping care for her younger brothers and sisters and some of their families.
In August after Harriet was born, some of the soldiers stationed at Camp Floyd, five miles southeast of Cedar Fort, came during the night and set fire to a hay stack and also fired quite a number of shots on the town from "Minnie Rifles" and killed several animals. The next morning Jane picked up a bullet just outside her door. People in town were terribly frightened because of this incident and most of them left the town a few days. During this move John, Jane with their two children, took shelter in a wagon box.
While her husband worked burning charcoal Jane was left with the chores at home. Some of them she managed fine, but she was a little city girl and not used to farm animals. The idea of milking especially brought terror to her heart. One of the cows she thought must be a half-breed buffalo as it was so large. She always left this one till the last, and by the time she was through milking she would crawl through the bars and drop down outside the corral weak and trembling and exhausted.
December 8, 1860, their third child was born, a little girl, and she received the name of Phebe Ann. She grew to be a lovely woman and a daughter to be proud of. During this time Jane was learning the hard way. She made her own soap and had to first make her own lye to use in the soap. She did it by burning Greasewood, then pouring water over the ashes and letting it settle, then pouring the water into a basin and boiling it down. She often thought of the pretty white clothes she had hung on the line back in St. Louis and looking at her own clothes on the line, which showed the lack of bluing, she sat down and cried. There wasn't much time to cry though as everyone had to keep busy to get by. There were service berries in the hills that they gathered and dried for winter, also choke cherries which they gathered. Ground cherries were also dried. Clothing was all made by hand, as sewing machines were unheard of.
Jane had been taught that marriage was for time and eternity and she knew she was only married for time, so she looked forward to the day when she could be married for time and eternity. The endowment house was opened in 1855 and March 29, 1862, she and her husband went there and were sealed for time and eternity. This made them very happy but there was one thing they felt bad about. There wasn't any sealing of children to parents in Salt Lake City until 1893, and it wasn't until the 17th of October, 1898 that James, Harriet, and Phebe were sealed to them.
Jane Elizabeth was their first child born under the covenant. She was born March 29, 1863. The worry about Johnston's Army had passed then, as they had returned to the east in 1861, but the worry over Indians was still present. While whe was still in bed after the birth of Jane Elizabeth, a drunken Indian came into the town riding a horse and brandishing a gun. Several squaws were in town begging for food, as was their custom, and they became frightened of the drunken Indian and rushed into Jane's house for shelter. They crowded into her bedroom and she became so upset because of it that she got a really lame back. After that every once in a while she would have to go back to bed with a lame back. The Indian did no damage other than killing a dog.
Jane Elizabeth was never very strong and when she was about three years old she had what they called a putrid sore throat. The doctor prescribed a throat wash and her father used to lay her on her back and place his knees on her arms and swab her throat while she kicked and screamed and begged him not to. He wanted to do as the doctor said, but when he noticed little particles of her throat on the swab he did not repeat and consulted another doctor. The second doctor said the first one should be prosecuted for prescribing such a strong medicine for such a small child, but the damage had been done and the palate had been eaten away by the medicine.
While Jim Hacking was a little boy he became ill and nothing his mother did seemed to help him. His father came home with two or three oranges and they gave him the juice. He showed such a marked improvement that his father made a trip back to Salt Lake to get more, and even though he had to pay one dollar for each orange they felt it was worth the price.
March 5, 1865, their daughter Eleanor was born, the only one of the six girls to receive only one given name. She had the same fine qualities as her sisters and mother, and like them, held responsible positions of leadership throughout her life. The four girls worked in the home to help their mother and also in the field shocking grain, getting up the hay, milking cows, and all the other things that had to be done on the farm. Jane Elizabeth did not work in the field as much as the other three girls, as her health would not permit, but she helped what she could in the home.
On June 23, 1867 their second son was born. He was named John Sampson Hacking after his father. John was a very quiet man but dearly loved by all who knew him. He was always ready to help those in need. Henry Franklin was born the 28th of November, 1869. He grew to manhood with a sweet gentle disposition and always had a kind word and a smile for those who needed encouragement.
Charles Lorenzo was born January 18, 1872. He was not as sturdy as her other sons, but was full of life and had a great love for music. The home was made brighter by his playing, and anything that had music in it held an attraction for him. Sorrow came into the home when death came to him at the age of 24. At that time he owned a violin, guitar, mandolin, piccolo, and could play them all. He could also play the piano and organ and often played the organ and harmonica at the same time.
Joseph Pearson was born 5th of February 1874 and received the name of Pearson as one of his names, which was the maiden name of both of his grandmothers. He became a leader and held many responsible positions during his life time. George Alfred joined the family circle April 5, 1876, and had the experience of being the baby twice when Mary Emily, the child following him was taken by death. He remembered getting to go to quilting and other places with his mother when he was quite a large child. He, like his brother, was a man of integrity and was well respected by all who knew him.
Five boys in a row, with a big elder brother, made quite a group of boys. But they were all willing to work to help on the farm or whatever needed. Their mother was proud of her boys as well as her girls.
The next child, Mary Emily, was born April 15, 1878. Although she had ten older brothers and sisters, she was a welcome little girl, but she wasn't permitted to stay very long. When just a little more than a week old she began having convulsions, and had dozens of them, till mother said it was a relief to have death come and release her from her suffering when she was two weeks old. Mother wasn't well enough to go to the cemetery, but Aunt Hattie said the fruit trees were in blossom and they gathered the flowers and covered the little grave completely with blossoms.
Martha Caroline came on March 18, 1880 and her coming eased the ache somewhat in her mothers heart. She was a lovely child and grew into a beautiful woman. She followed her mother's advice and accepted responsibilities when asked by those in authority and could be depended on. She had filled many positions in the Church, and now at the age of 75 is ward chorister and Relief Society teacher topic leader.
On September 16, 1882, Orson Ezra was born on his fathers birthday. Orson Ezra held responsible positions of leadership in the church, also served as ward chorister for a number of years. Thomas William came April 15, 1885, to make a family of fourteen children--six girls and eight boys. He as like his brothers and sisters, a person to be depended on. He liked people and was never too busy to exchange some friendly talk with the people he met. He served as Sunday School Superintendent, member of the Bishopric, Ward Clerk, and filled several other positions during his life time.
While they lived in the adobe house and before they had kerosene lamps she used to read the newspaper by the light from the fireplace. I've heard her remark that it was a wonder she did not ruin her eyes. Other than the fireplace light she used what was called a "bitch"; some kind of oil or grease would be placed in a saucer or can and a rag would have one end in the grease and fire would be set to the other end. Later Jane got some candle molds and made her own candles. Her next mode of lighting was the kerosene lamp, then in March of 1912 she started using electricity. It was quite a change from firelight and "bitches."
Jane kept her reading to her husband in the evening till the last year or two of her life when her health failed. In my earliest memory, the Deseret News came semiweekly, Tuesdays and Fridays, and those nights we sat quietly while Jane, the mother of the family, read the news to her husband. Her husband John Sampson Hacking could sign his own name and do some reading and some figuring, but Jane was the reader and secretary of the family. She always kept a wealth of good reading material in the home and "dime novels" as she called them were not tolerated.
Their lives weren't all hard work, as they started into the social and religious activities of the town. They both liked to dance and did it to the tune of the fiddle, since there were no orchestras. Square dancing was the rule and he was asked to do a lot of calling for the quadrilles. The women had sewing bees where several women got together in the morning and sewed rays together for a carpet or quilted quilts and had dinner then sewed on into late afternoon.
Sometimes they invited a group of young people to the home and pealed and cut apples to dry. Sometimes it was apricots or plums that were cut for drying. This made a sociable evening and helped out with the winter supply of food. Every once in a while though, during the plum cutting a spirit of mischief seized some of the group and they began throwing the fruit at their companions. This called for a return throw and soon the ripe plums were flying through the air and landing on the walls, ceiling and floor, and the Hostess often wished she had tried to do her plum-cutting by herself before she had the mess cleared away.
When Orson was a small boy he fell from a horse and broke his arm. He was taken to Salt Lake City and a Dr. Anderson set it. It did not knit properly so he was taken to a Dr. Pinkerton who said the bone had honeycombed. He said it must be opened up, the bone scraped and wired together, and that it might even have to be amputated. His father and mother would not allow an operation, but took him home and had him administered to. They also sent his name to the Temple to be prayed for. Jane would take him into her bedroom and kneel by her bed and pray that his arm might get well. She sat by the hour and rubbed his arm with consecrated oil and prayed for him. His arm had set by then, being in a sling, so he could not straighten it at all. She took a small bucket and put a little water in it and had him carry it with his injured arm. As the arm could stand it she increased the amount of water till he could carry a bucketful. This she kept up till the arm was healed straight and strong, and it has never given him a bit of trouble throughout his life.
John Sampson Hacking had what he called muscular rheumatism. He was sick and unable to work most of one year, and several times was confined to his bed most of the time for several weeks. His arms hurt him so much and it was hard for him to get them in a position so he could rest. Jane used to rub them for half an hour at a time. He got the most relief by putting his arms above his head on the pillow as he slept.
On May 5, 1908, John S. tried to head off a horse and it knocked him down and jumped on him, breaking some of his ribs away from his breast bone. The doctor came and did what he could but he was in a serious condition for two or three weeks. Jane had him administered to several times. One day he seemed extra bad and she was very worried. She went into his room and looked at him, then came to the kitchen and asked all of the members of the family that were there to come with her. We went to his room and knelt around his bed and united in a prayer for his recovery. We had our prayers answered, as he soon showed signs of improvement, and generally regained his normal health.
In 1872 Emma Drysdale lost three of her children from Diphtheria, two boys and a girl, all within a few days of each other. Her husband, John was also down with the disease. Jane went into their home across the street from her own and helped to nurse and care for them. Then she would return to her own home, change her clothes and wash, and care for her own family. One morning as she came home, her husband eating his breakfast asked, "How are they." She replied, "There is one more dead and John and another child have it." It was 50 minutes until a train would leave Lehi for Salt Lake City. Lehi was 15 miles distant, but he said to some of his sons who were eating breakfast, "Hurry and hook up the team while I get ready. I'm going to Salt Lake for a doctor." The horses were soon ready and he was on his way. He arrived at the depot just as the train was pulling out. The last block he had galloped the horses as he stood up and waved his hat. He jumped from the wagon and threw the lines to a friend, Mr. Hammer, who was standing there. "Please walk these horses around for awhile and take care of them." Then he ran for the train, and the conductor who was standing on the steps of the last car, helped him up the steps and asked what was his hurry. He explained the situation and then went in the car and sat down. When he reached Salt Lake he called at Dr. Benedict's office and was told he was out.
He went several places trying to find the doctor, but at each place would be told that he had just left. Finally he left word for the doctor to come out as soon as he could and then he went into a drug store and ordered some medicines he thought were needed, and as the clerk wrapped them the doctor came in and said, "I hear you have been hunting for me." He was very relieved and explained the situation. The doctor accompanied him to Cedar Fort and prescribed for the sick. There were no more deaths at that time and none of Jane's children contracted the disease even though she had helped the sick and then took care of her own children.
At one time Caroline was very serious with Diphtheria. Nothing that was done for her seemed to help. Jane made it a matter of prayer and was impressed to give her alcohol. She began by giving her a teaspoonful at a time every little while. At first she gave it undiluted, but as the throat improved and got more sensitive she had to weaken the dose and she was soon on her way to recovery.
When Jim got large enough to sit at the table he was placed between his mother and father. When Hattie was large enough, Jim was placed on his mothers right and Hattie between her parents. Then as each child came, the youngest was placed between the parents and the next on their mother's right, and on around the table until the oldest was sitting next to their father on his left.
Jane's talk was always clean with no slang or swearing, She used to say "Keep a good name always for your name travels a lot further than you do." She would say, "Be dependable. If you say you will do something, be sure you are as good as your word and do it," She taught honesty, both by example and by advice.
One day a little motherless boy came to Jane and confessed that he had taken some of her eggs and gone to the store and bought candy. She talked kindly to him and explained to him the evils of stealing. Then she gave him some oranges and told him to be a good boy. In telling about it 65 years later he said he had also taken eggs from Emma Drysdale's coop and from Rebecca Cook's coop. His father had him go to each place and offer to pay for the eggs. Neither of the women would take the money. Emma gave him a hen and thirteen little chicks and said now he could raise his own. His father helped him fix a coop and he was so proud of his chickens. Rebecca Cook also refused the money but gave him some treat and some good advice. And now he says, "They were the best women in the world and the way they treated me did me more good than anything else that they could have done, and I always loved them."
Jane was always an active worker in the Church. September 3, 1880, when the first primary was organized in Cedar Fort, Martha Parker Wilcox was sustained as president and Jane Hacking as one her counselors. She served in this capacity until she was sustained as president September 18, 1887. Elizabeth N. Berry was her first counselor. She held this position till she was released September 23, 1906, and Martha Wilcox Hacking was sustained in her place.
In the early primary all the children sat in one group and one of the officers would give a talk on some good subject. Then there would be singing and reciting by the boys and girls, memorizing verses from the Bible. Recently William L. Cook, who was a small boy at that time, said that the most impressive lesson they taught him was that all have a guardian angel that will come to our rescue in time of danger or temptation if we will try to live right.
Jane was a visiting teacher in the Relief Society of years, and also held the position of Trustee-in-Trust in that organization.
Jane Hacking awoke the morning of her 73rd birthday, February 21, 1912, feeling so ill and dizzy that she was unable to get out of bed. This was accompanied by nausea. She was this way a day or two, then improved in some ways, but could not regain her strength and her nerves seemed to break. She walked around the house and her mind was alert but she was unable to stand any confusion or activity. Her illness lasted more than a year, and on March 3, 1913, she was relieved of her suffering. Her husband, some of her sons and daughters, also some grandchildren were there, and as we grouped around her bed trying to realize that she had left us, Joseph took her by the hand and said, "She was one of God's noblest women." And we all felt the same way about her. Her husband had been so patient and kind to her during her illness and he felt her loss keenly. She left eleven children 54 grandchildren, and 30 great-children.
