Individual Details
Ellen BENBOW
(20 May 1825 - )
Ellen Benbow, daughter of Mary Jones and Thomas Benbow and niece of John Benbow, was born 20 May 1825 in Grendon, England. She was christened in the Winslow Parish, Herefordshire, England. Her father died when she was 11 years old and her mother married again. Ellen, with her brother Thomas, were unhappy, so they went to live with her Uncle John Benbow and his wife Jane Holmes. Jane had been unable to bear children, so they were happy for some foster children. They lived at Hill Farm near Castle Frome, Ledbury, Herefordshire. This Uncle John was a wealthy farmer and cultivated three hundred acres of land. John Benbow was a licensed preacher for the United Brethren Church. The church members had been praying for enlightenment from the Lord. About this time, Wilford Woodruff was in Hanley, the northern part of England, preaching to all who would listen. The concluding part of a letter written by Wilford Woodruff to the Times and Seasons (Vol. 2 #9, City of Nauvoo, Illinois) gives the setting. "... During my stay at the Potteries, there were 40 added to the Church and many new doors opening; and in the midst of the prosperity of work, as I arose to speak, before a large congregation in Hanley, on the first day of March, the Lord manifested unto me that it would be the last time they would hear my voice for many days. They marveled for they expected as well as myself that I should spend months in their midst." "In answer to prayer the Lord showed me that it was his will that I should go immediately to the south of England. I conversed with Brother William Benbow, upon the subject, who had lived in Herefordshire and still had friends living there. He generously offered to pay my fare, which I readily accepted. He offered to accompany me to this brother's house." John Benbow sent word throughout the neighborhood that an American minister would preach at his home that evening. Many neighbors came. Again quoting from Wilford Woodruff, "...I preached my first gospel sermon in the house. I also preached at the same place on the following evening and baptized six persons, including John Benbow, his wife and four preachers of the United Brethren Church. I spent most of the following day clearing out a pool of water and preparing it for baptisms, as I saw that many would receive that ordinance. Next day, as I was about to preach, a man entered the door and informed me he was a constable and had been sent by the Rector of the Parish with a warrant to arrest me. For what crime? I said I as well as the Rector held a license for preaching the gospel to the people and if he would take a chair I would wait upon him after the meeting. For an hour and a quarter I preached the first principles of the everlasting gospel. The power of God rested upon me. The Spirit filled the house and the people were convinced. At the close of the meeting, I opened the door for baptism and several offered themselves." All but one of the approximately 600 person United Brethren congregation joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Ellen was baptized by Wilford Woodruff on March 9, 1840.
Ellen, age 16, along with John, age 40 and Jane Benbow, age 42, and her brother, Thomas, left Liverpool, England on September 8, 1840. They sailed on the vessel North America and arrived at New York City on October 11, 1840. On their ocean voyage they experienced a violent whirlpool which swirled the ship around wildly, attempting to suck it down into the sea. Only by the prayers of the Priesthood bearers aboard were the passengers and the ship saved from destruction. The trip from New York to Commerce, Illinois, [later known as Nauvoo] proved difficult and trying. They arrived in Nauvoo on November 24, 1840, ending their journey of over 5,000 miles in 11 weeks and about 10 hours.
In Nauvoo, John Benbow obtained a farm and patterned it after his prosperous farm in England. On it he built a grist mill. William Carter, a convert from Ledbury, Hereford, England, brought his grain to John Benbow's grist mill to be ground and there, he met Ellen. William and Ellen were married by Wilford Woodruff, December 5 1843, in Nauvoo. They were later sealed in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City, Utah on March 6, 1852.
After the Prophet Joseph Smith was killed in June of 1844, William and Ellen, along with other Latter-day Saints, were expelled from their home. They were driven from Nauvoo and went in to Winter Quarters, later known as Florence, Nebraska.
William was called to go with the first company of Saints to cross the plains. He said, "I cannot go, my wife is at death's door." Brigham Young told him, "If you come, I promise you t hat your wife shall be healed and follow you." Ellen was healed and able to drive an ox team and wagon across the plains. She came in the company of her uncle and foster father, John Benbow, entering the Salt Lake Valley in late September 1848.
Ellen was a loving and compassionate woman. When her aunt, Jane Holmes Benbow, died from exposure and hardships at Winter Quarters, Ellen comforted and cared for her uncle, John Benbow.
Ellen managed her home and farm expertly. During William's handcart mission to Canada, Ellen garnered 600 bushels of grain and moved it with her household goods to Spanish Fork, Utah, at the time Johnston's Army threatened to invade Salt Lake City. Bravely, she had not told William that she was expecting a baby. She did not want to stand in the way of the mission.
When William was called to settle St. George, Utah, she stayed in Salt Lake to manage the far m and raise food. Food was scarce in St. George because growing it in the hot desert was difficult. After Ellen traveled to St. George, she raised silk worms and planted mulberry trees. She had been eager to get an early garden started. A few days earlier she had hiked to he r assumed lot, and, with a grubbing hoe and shovel, had cleared a garden space. When the Carters took possession of their lot on March 2, 1862, Ellen discovered she had grubbed on the wrong side of the stake. She went down in history as having done the first road work in St. George. Her mulberry trees produced leaves for the silk worms to eat and the blessing of shade for the settlers.
Ellen was a kind and loving neighbor, having an especially close relationship with William’s second wife, Harriet Temperance Utley. They loved each other like sisters and cried when William provided them with a separate home. Ellen served as a family doctor. Her specialty was setting bones. When a son in the family crushed his leg bone, Ellen set it and cared for it until it mended perfectly.
William and Ellen were given three children, William, Marion and Eunice. Because of the heavy farm work she performed, Ellen developed a hernia from which she suffered much. She died in St. George, Utah on May 6, 1901 aged almost 76 years. Ellen had been a widow five years. She is buried in the St. George Cemetery.
[Taken from Alice Holland's biography of Ellen Benbow]
Ellen, age 16, along with John, age 40 and Jane Benbow, age 42, and her brother, Thomas, left Liverpool, England on September 8, 1840. They sailed on the vessel North America and arrived at New York City on October 11, 1840. On their ocean voyage they experienced a violent whirlpool which swirled the ship around wildly, attempting to suck it down into the sea. Only by the prayers of the Priesthood bearers aboard were the passengers and the ship saved from destruction. The trip from New York to Commerce, Illinois, [later known as Nauvoo] proved difficult and trying. They arrived in Nauvoo on November 24, 1840, ending their journey of over 5,000 miles in 11 weeks and about 10 hours.
In Nauvoo, John Benbow obtained a farm and patterned it after his prosperous farm in England. On it he built a grist mill. William Carter, a convert from Ledbury, Hereford, England, brought his grain to John Benbow's grist mill to be ground and there, he met Ellen. William and Ellen were married by Wilford Woodruff, December 5 1843, in Nauvoo. They were later sealed in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City, Utah on March 6, 1852.
After the Prophet Joseph Smith was killed in June of 1844, William and Ellen, along with other Latter-day Saints, were expelled from their home. They were driven from Nauvoo and went in to Winter Quarters, later known as Florence, Nebraska.
William was called to go with the first company of Saints to cross the plains. He said, "I cannot go, my wife is at death's door." Brigham Young told him, "If you come, I promise you t hat your wife shall be healed and follow you." Ellen was healed and able to drive an ox team and wagon across the plains. She came in the company of her uncle and foster father, John Benbow, entering the Salt Lake Valley in late September 1848.
Ellen was a loving and compassionate woman. When her aunt, Jane Holmes Benbow, died from exposure and hardships at Winter Quarters, Ellen comforted and cared for her uncle, John Benbow.
Ellen managed her home and farm expertly. During William's handcart mission to Canada, Ellen garnered 600 bushels of grain and moved it with her household goods to Spanish Fork, Utah, at the time Johnston's Army threatened to invade Salt Lake City. Bravely, she had not told William that she was expecting a baby. She did not want to stand in the way of the mission.
When William was called to settle St. George, Utah, she stayed in Salt Lake to manage the far m and raise food. Food was scarce in St. George because growing it in the hot desert was difficult. After Ellen traveled to St. George, she raised silk worms and planted mulberry trees. She had been eager to get an early garden started. A few days earlier she had hiked to he r assumed lot, and, with a grubbing hoe and shovel, had cleared a garden space. When the Carters took possession of their lot on March 2, 1862, Ellen discovered she had grubbed on the wrong side of the stake. She went down in history as having done the first road work in St. George. Her mulberry trees produced leaves for the silk worms to eat and the blessing of shade for the settlers.
Ellen was a kind and loving neighbor, having an especially close relationship with William’s second wife, Harriet Temperance Utley. They loved each other like sisters and cried when William provided them with a separate home. Ellen served as a family doctor. Her specialty was setting bones. When a son in the family crushed his leg bone, Ellen set it and cared for it until it mended perfectly.
William and Ellen were given three children, William, Marion and Eunice. Because of the heavy farm work she performed, Ellen developed a hernia from which she suffered much. She died in St. George, Utah on May 6, 1901 aged almost 76 years. Ellen had been a widow five years. She is buried in the St. George Cemetery.
[Taken from Alice Holland's biography of Ellen Benbow]
Events
| Birth | 20 May 1825 | Grendon, Hertford, England | |||
| Christen | 13 Jun 1825 | Winslow Parish, Bromyard, Hereford, England | |||
| Marriage | 5 Dec 1843 | Nauvoo, Hancock, Illinois, USA - William CARTER | |||
| Burial | 6 May 1901 | St George, Washington, UT, USA |
Families
| Spouse | William CARTER (1821 - 1896) |
| Father | Thomas BENBOW (1784 - 1835) |
| Mother | Mary JONES (1787 - ) |
| Sibling | William Jones BENBOW (1816 - ) |
| Sibling | Thomas BENBOW (1823 - ) |
| Sibling | Jane BENBOW (1828 - ) |