Journal of Fanny Parks Taggart
Autobiography of Fanny Taggart, daughter of William and Fannie Parks
I was born in the town of Livonia, Livingston County, New York, October 25th, in the year 1821. My father, William Parks, was born March 21, 1787 in the town of Lebanon in the state of Connecticut. My mother, Fannie Hyde, was born April 21st, 1790 in the town of Bethlehem, Hartford Co., Connecticut. My grandfather, Elijah Parks, died in 1790 in Lebanon, Connecticut and my grandmother was left with nine children to take care of and all of them at home. Soon after his death my grandmother moved to Schoharry Co, New York, and there my mother, Fannie Hyde, was married to William Parks. Soon after their marriage my father moved to Livonia, Livingston Co. New York, bought him a farm and settled down to farming. I will here state that my mother was married at the age of 16 in 1807 on the 2nd of April. My grandmother's maiden name was Anne Beaumont (on my father's side). Grandfather Hyde's name was Benjamin and Grandmother's, Mary Umpstead; my grandfather, Elizaj Parks died from the breaking of a blood vessel when my father was only three years old. These are the names of my grandfather Parks family, namely: Samuel, Sheldon, Beaumont, Annie, Euramy, Polly, Allice, William and Betsy. Aunt Annie married Mr. Thatcher; Euramy, Mr. Boyington; Alice, Mr. Bacon; Betsy, Mr. Arnold Clark. Betsy was the youngest, only one year old when grandfather died. They all lived to be old people; my father died the youngest of all. He died in 1856 his 67th year, and my mother died July 6th, 1837. The names of my grandfather Hyde's family are: Polly, Timothy, Harry, Nancy, Fanny, Emely, Prudence, Nancy died at the age of 17, consequently I never saw her or Timothy, I haven't any recollection of him. I will now give a brief sketch of my life.
In the fall of 1831 my father moved to the state of Ohio. Soon after our arrival there my mother's sister, Polly Bishop, came to visit from the town of Kirtland and brought the Book of Mormon. This was the first time I had seen the book and then I did not look inside of for my father was vexed with them and told them that if they could not come to visit him without bringing that book and preaching to him they might stay away, and as a matter of course I thought it something awful, but my aunt kept coming and in process of time got my mother somewhat inclined that way and she persuaded my mother to go to Kirtland, but father dare not let her go without he went along to keep her from joining the Mormons, so accordingly they all went to Kirtland and while there my father became so convinced in his own mind that he had found the people of God that he invited John P. Green to come and preach in our house. This was the first sermon I heard, I think this was in 1834, and then and there in the town of Euclid, brother Green baptized my mother, and my father was so convinced of the truth that commenced to prepare for baptism at the water’s edge, but held himself back thinking he might be deluded and thus he stayed two years, and in this time my sister, Harriet, became convinced of the truth of this work and was baptized in Kirtland, Ohio. There was a small branch raised up in the town of Euclid (near the city of Cleveland) where we lived and I with my younger sisters and my sister, Harriet, attended meetings. And as was quite common in those days some of the sisters had the gift of tongues. When my father heard us telling that Harriet had talked in tongues, he was quite astonished and said if I could hear my own daughter talk in tongues, I should know that it was a gift from God, for I know she knows no other language. And the next meeting he went and was convinced and satisfied.
My father and mother had both become disgusted with the sects of the day and made up their minds not to join any church until they could find one with the gifts promised by the Savior. As time progressed and my powers of mind began to expand, I looked into the subject for myself and became satisfied of the truth and in January 15, 1837, I was baptized and confirmed into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Andrew T. Squires. I was baptized in a small stream on my father's farm. It was a very cold day and the ice had to be cut, and all the neighbors stood around, but I felt well and did not care if I was laughed at. In July 6th, 1837, my mother died rejoicing in the truth and anxiously watching and praying for the angels to come and take her home, and her last words to my sister and myself were to remember the covenants we had made at the waters of baptism. And ever since that day if I am tempted in the least to doubt, those words come fresh to my mind, and I am now in my 58th year and have traveled nearly all the rounds that the saints have been called to travel and feel that I want to still go on and help in building up the kingdom of God on the earth. After my mother's death, my father took himself another wife, and in the fall of '39 we started for Far West, Missouri, but on our arriving at the Mississippi River, we were informed that the saints were driven from the state at the point of a bayonet. We accordingly stopped on the Illinois side and stayed until spring as the people on the opposite side of the river in the town of Louisanna seemed friendly and wished us to move there as my father was a mason. Accordingly we stopped there and my father and my brothers and my brother-in-law hired out to cut cord wood for a Mr. Brunett who owned the ferry-boat at that place. Father and the boys erected three small log cabins near the river in the midst of the timber and here we lived until spring. Father and the boys worked at masonry and the following fall we moved to the town of Clinton, about one half mile below Louisanna. There is one incident that occurred while living here that I would like to relate.
One day as we were all seated around the table my sister, Julia, noticed a man walking on the water. Our home is near the river. We all left the table and stood on the door step and watched him cross the river and climb up the bank, walk a few rods, climb a fence and was soon lost from sight among the timbers. This was no imagination, there were eight of us and we all saw him plainly. The water rippled behind him and seemed to come just to his ankles, he kept his arms extended right and left of his body until he left the water. He had on a black stove pipe hat. The people there laughed at us and said it was a mule swimming across the water but that made no difference to us. We saw a man just as plain as could be.
My brother-in-law was not a member of the church, he returned to Euclid, Ohio and took my sister with him, and I have not seen her since. His name was Franklin Skinner. She was my sister, Harriet, and she had her name taken from the Church books some time before still we were in hopes she would see her folly. Father thought in persuading them to come with us that when they got with the body of the saints they would be content but Mr. Skinner was never satisfied until my sister left the Church although he promised my father he would never oppose her religion, but such promises are of no avail as we see them so often broken and our sisters and daughters dragged to ruin with such men. My sister, Harriet, was the first to join the church, I think, but about that time there was considerable apostasy in the church and she left and joined the Baptists. Two of my brothers joined but later one of them joined the Josephites and the other turned infidel. My sister, Sophronia left the church and later joined the Campbelites, so two out of nine are all that gathered with the saints.
As the saints had no certain abiding place my father bought a farm four miles from Louisanna, where he moved his family and I think we lived there two years, then when the saints became located in Nauvoo father arranged his affairs so as to go there, but in the mean time I became anxious to go to Nauvoo and with the assistance of my brother, I went and arrived there just as they were finishing the laying of the corner stone of the Temple. I felt like one alone and in a strange land and knew not what to do. I stopped at the lower store house and finally I went on the hill to view the Temple grounds and hoping I might meet some friends or acquaintances whom I might stay with until I could find employment or someone with whom I might stay with for a time. There were a number of saints here that I had known in Ohio. I was not long in finding the family of Brother Asa Davis whom I had known since early childhood. Emerett Davis was married to Alford Randal, and she invited me to her home. Brother Ezra T. Benson lived in their home at this time and I was made welcome to stay as long as I cared to. I worked for sister Randal whenever she had anything for me to do and sometimes went and helped the sick for a few days. As soon as Bro. Benson could do it he built a small log house and moved his family into it. At this time they had only one child and his name was Charles. I still lived with sister Randel. I later lived with the Benson family and the year that Permela Emma Benson was born, I lived there all winter. While I was there my brother William came to Nauvoo intending to join the Church but when he found that free masonry was being practiced by the heads of the Church, he held back and returned home without joining, but while the saints were at Kanesville, he came there and was baptized by Elder Orsen Hyde, but I did not see him as I then lived about thirty miles above Kanesville in Harris Grove, but my brother never gathered with the saints, and is now an infidel.
While I was living at the Benson home, I was given a blessing by Brother Isaac Morley and Brother Benson was scribe. My father still lived in Missouri and I decided to go and visit my home and see him and see how they were all getting along, both temporal and spiritual, for there was no chance for holding meetings in that vicinity, and as my younger sister had not joined the Church, I thought I may persuade father to bring the family to Nauvoo. I accordingly went home, found my step-mother did not agree. I stayed and cared for her and as soon as father could dispose of his property he took his family to Nauvoo, remaining there for some time. My sisters remained where they were. My sister Julia later came to Nauvoo and has always remained true to her religion. When the saints left Nauvoo in 1846 my father took his family and went back to Missouri, but I stayed in Nauvoo as I was then married, and when the saints stopped at the Bluffs he came there and stayed until the saints left for the Valley. Then he went back to Louisanna, for there were the most of his oldest children, and he died there among his children, on February 12, 1856 in his 67th year, being the father of 20 children, 15 by my mother and 5 by my step-mother. The names of my mother's children are: Horatio Nelson, Zervia, Theron, Harriet, Maria, Sophronia, William, Fanny, Julia, Nancy, James Monroe, Prudence Amanda, Susan, Emeline, Francis Marion. My step-mother's children are: Susan Annie, Moroni, Sariah Elizabeth and Mary Millesent.
While I was in Nauvoo, I became acquainted with George Washington Taggart, and on the 12th of July, 1845, was married to him by Father John Smith, the prophet's uncle. In the month of February, 1846 we were called on to go into the temple for the purpose of receiving our endowments and on the 17th of the same month my husband was called on to go as one of the guard for the artillery in the camp of the saints bound for Salt Lake Valley, and I was left in the care of John Mills with the understanding that he should take me to Council Bluffs with the avails of some property we hoped to sell, but there was no sale for anything, but brother Mills was very kind to me. Then the call came for 500 men to go in the Battalion, my husband was one of them. I was still back there and it seemed awfully hard to me. I had no one to look to and not a penny of my own, but Brother Mills did all in his power to make me comfortable and said for me to stay with his family and if he went I should go, but he had neither team nor wagon and no one to help him as the children were small so it looked very discouraging.
I will here say that when I married Mr. Taggart he was a widower with one little girl left by his first wife, Harriet Atkins Bruce, and the little girl’s name was Eliza Ann. Through all the hardships and trials to come I had her with me, but she was a great comfort to me. consequently when I arrived at Winter quarters (now called Florence) I was alone, but I was blessed with kind friends and never was without food and raiment nor shelter, although sometimes I had to live on hulled corn for several days together, for there was no mill nearer than Missouri and our cattle all poor and if one was killed to eat it was too poor to be good meat and in consequence of being without vegetables, many of the people had the land scurvy and many died. I had a touch of it but was not prostrated. When my husband left me in Nauvoo I was sick with the chills and fever, but as the weather got warmer I got better and my health was good the most of the time while he was gone which I considered a great blessing.
Brother Mills took his family into Iowa opposite Nauvoo and went to work to get ready to go to the Bluffs as that was the stopping place for the time being, but he had no team and there seemed to be no way opened for him to get one and as he was a wagon maker he made himself a good wagon with a very large bed that projected out wide enough to make beds in very comfortably, but as I have said there was no sale for anything and the team was still lacking. One day sister Mills and myself were talking on the subject and she mentioned that her father lived below there in Illinois and belonged to the church and that he had plenty of teams and maybe he would take a notion to come out and help them to a team also, and I felt as though that might be the way that might open for us to come, so accordingly we concluded to write to her father at once and it fell to my lot to do the writing for her and it seems as if I was inspired. I wrote quite a long letter telling him of our situation and asked him to come and go with us. He soon answered the letter saying he would come and bring teams for us all and thus the way was opened for us to come as far as Winter Quarters for that is near the Bluffs. But the old gentleman never unpacked his things but turned around and went back to his old home, so he was moved upon to bring us out, and I have often thought of it for it appeared he had not much of the spirit of the gospel in him or he would not have went back, but in this I can see the hand of the Lord in bringing me thus far on my journey to the valleys of the mountains. But as trials seem to be the lot of the saints, so it seemed I had them before me for when I arrived at Winter Quarters I was looking for the families of the Battalion to be assisted, but everyone had to do the best they could and as I had no relatives there I did not know how to act nor what to do, so I went to President Brigham Young and asked him what I had better do and told me to hunt up some acquaintances and get in with them until I could get myself a house. On my hearing this tears came in my eye and I felt like having a good cry, and to hide my tears I turned quickly away and said nothing. Well thought I, this will never do, I must do something, then wiping my eyes looked up and saw a tent and in the door stood one of the sisters. I went to her and inquired if she could tell me where Father Asa Davis lived. She showed me his house and I went there and was made welcome to such accommodations as they had. Their house was a small log one with no floor nor window, but a piece had been sawed out of one of the logs for the light to enter. When it was not too cold I slept in their wagon, then made my bed on the floor and in the day put it on another bed. We used hay for floors and I had a good feather bed. They had a place fixed in one end of the house where they could make two beds by putting a pole across from one side of the house to the other end then a support in the center formed the two beds. These were called "Mormon" beds, as we moved from place to place so often and were not able to take any furniture or articles of any kind and everything had to be made temporary.