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Lois Bent Carrigan, daughter of William and Jane Elliott Bent, was born in Desford, Leicester, England, July 11, 1836. She was one of thirteen children, two boys and 11 girls.
When she was about 16 or 17 years old she heard the gospel preached by L.D.S. Missionaries. She was so impressed with it's teachings that she joined the church and was baptized in 1854, being the only member of her family to accept the gospel. Her family was very prejudiced against this new religion and made home so unpleasant for her that she left.
At her earliest opportunity she left her native country for America and Utah, in company with other converts and Missionaries. She sailed on the 28th of March 1857 on the boat "George Washington", with Brother James Park as President of the company. She crossed the plains by Ox team walking most of the way until she became sick with Mountain Fever, then she was allowed to ride in the wagon. In due time she arrived safely in Salt Lake City, and was present when President Young received word of the Johnson Army at Echo Canyon. She went as far as Provo at the time of the move South.
On December 28 of that same year (1857) she married James Carrigan. A year later a daughter, Mary was born in Salt Lake. In 1862 they, with a few other families, went through Weber Canyon to make their home and to build up the town called Weber City, now known as Peterson. Here they suffered all the hardships incident to pioneer life. Their first house consisted of one large room, petitioned with factory cloth to make two rooms. It was built with logs, with a dirt roof and floor. One settler, Henry Hale, was a little more fortunate than the others. His was the only house that had a board roof and floor. When it rained for very long, the neighbors would bring their beds and put them on his floor for the night. They had no matches and if the fire went out during the night, the next morning would find them looking out to see whose chimney had smoke so they could borrow fire.
When their third child, James W., was a few months old, she and Sister Amelia Croft, who also had an infant boy, walked all the way to Bountiful where their husbands were working on the meeting house. They carried their nursing babies in their arms.
Food was very hard to get. They cooked weeds for greens, picked berries, and dug Sego roots. The wheat in the valley was nearly always frozen and made poor flour, so they often hauled wood to the Salt Lake Valley and exchanged it for flour and molasses. There were plenty of fish in the river and Sister Carrigan supplied the family with as much as was needed.
At times the Indians were annoying. Bands of them would come through the valley, camp for days, then journey on. During their stay they would expect to be fed. They would beg or steal, whichever was more convenient. The people followed the advice of Brigham Young, and fed them. One came to Sister Carrigan's house, noticed a very much prized hand mirror and became eager to possess it. Sister Carrigan refused to let him have it so he took it and threw it across the room, breaking it into many pieces.
In the organization of the first Relief Society, she was made first counselor to Sister Ann Peterson.
Sister Eliza R. Snow, wife of the Prophet Joseph Smith, came to Weber City and organized the first Primary, and she choose Sister Carrigan for the President. Sister Snow had with her the watch that belonged to the Prophet. She let all the children see it and handle it. This impressed them very much.
Sister Carrigan had a good voice, so she started and led the singing in all meetings, there being no organ in the church house at that time. She served as President of the Relief Society for many years, which position she held at the time of her death. She took a great deal of pleasure in this work and fulfilled her duties faithfully. While going to conference in Morgan, she slipped and fell on the ice in front of the Stake House, but she kept on with her Relief Society work and never faltered in the line of her duty.
She died November 29, 1917 a staunch and true Latter Day Saint. She was buried at Peterson, Utah. She was the mother of eight children as follows: Mary Jane, Agnes, Elizabeth, James W., Eunice, Albert Bent, Irven and George Edward.
