Alperton

by

The Amazon, 126 Company

I thought it would be important to share the story of one of the ships that traveled to America in 1863. Among the millions of family history records preserved of the LDS western migration is an entry for one family among the thousands who sailed for Zion that year.

William Stoker and children:
Thomas
Alice
Janet
Alfred
Mary A.
Sailed on the Amazon.

On 4 June 1863, the Amazon, a packet ship departed London with 895 Latter-day Saint emigrants, the 126 Company. William Edward Stoker, a journeyman saddler born in Crateford, Staffordshire, England, was 36 years old. His wife, Emma Eames Stoker, had died of tuberculosis just five weeks earlier, on 28 April 1863, at their home at 18 Albert Street, St. Mary’s Parish, Reading, Berkshire. Their youngest child, Mary Ann, had been born on 24 February 1863. Emma had lived only two months after her daughter’s birth. William boarded the Amazon as a widower with five children, the youngest not yet four months old.

William Edward Stoker

That infant, Mary Ann Stoker, later raised by an adopted family and known all her life as Lillie, grew up in Utah. She was raised by George and Victorine Musgrave of Plain City, and married Milo Riley Sharp on 11 May 1879 in the Episcopal Church in Plain City, Weber County, Utah. She is my 2nd great grandmother. William Edward Stoker is my 3rd great grandfather.

The Voyage

The Millennial Star, the official publication of the LDS Church’s British Mission, reported the Amazon’s departure as follows:

“The splendid packet ship “Amazon,” Captain H.K. Hevey, sailed from London, England June 4, 1863, with a company of 895 souls of Saints on board, under the presidency of Elder Wm. Bramwell, who acted with Elder Edward L. Sloan and Richard Palmer as counselors.

“On the 3rd the company passed the government emigration officer, who eulogized the order and general appearance of the emigrants. After this President George Q. Cannon, accompanied by other Elders from various parts of the British Mission, held a meeting in which the organization took place the officers of the ship. The cabin passengers and visitors on board listened with marked attention. A brass band from South Wales, the performers being members of the Church on their way to Zion on the “Amazon,” discoursed sweet music on the poop deck before and after the meeting. The Presidency having been appointed and Elder Wm. McLachlin nominated as clerk, President Cannon dedicated the ship.

“It is worth of note that the departure of the ship “Amazon” from London laden with Saints is another instance of the fulfillment, in some years ago, while Elder Eli B. Kelsey was laboring in London, he predicted in a public meeting in that city that the ships should yet leave that port filled with Saints emigrating to Zion. It was with no intention of bringing about the fulfillment of the prophecy that we chartered the “Amazon,” for we were entirely ignorant of the utterance of such a prediction until we heard it stated at a meeting of the Saints held on Sunday the first instructions three days before she sailed. Indeed the chartering of this vessel was not a matter of choice, but of necessity. We could not obtain a vessel in the port of Liverpool suitable to our purpose — vessels of this description being almost unprecedentedly scarce this spring, and we were therefore compelled to go to London. Thus were the circumstances over ruled to bring to pass the word of a servant of God.

“Of the Elders who sailed on the “Amazon” four were Utah Elders, namely Wm. Bramwell, Richard Palmer, Edward P. Edwards and A.W. Van Der Moulde. Among the Elders who emigrated to Zion as passengers were Edward L. Sloan, Thomas Crawley, John Berrett and Joseph Morgan.

“Before sailing from Liverpool the company was fully organized. The emigrants were divided into fifteen wards under the supervision of the following officers: 1— John Wells; 2— James Poulton; 3— Joseph Wilson; 4— A. Cox; 5— J. Kimber; 6— S. Liddiard; 7— S. Evans; 8— D. Williams; 9— A. Sutherland; 10— W. Fowler; 11— W. Van Der Moulde; 12— J.W. Morgan; 13— J. Berrett; 15— E.T. Edwards. E. Larkin was appointed Sergeant of the Guard and George Braithwaite, lamp lighter and trimmer.

The Ship and Its Passengers

George Q. Cannon, who dedicated the Amazon before departure, was at the time president of the British Mission. He would later serve as a counselor in the First Presidency under four Church presidents, one of the most influential figures in nineteenth-century Latter-day Saint history. His presence at the ship’s dedication was a mark of the importance the Church placed on the emigration program.

The Amazon carried some remarkable passengers. George Sutherland, later an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, appointed by President Warren G. Harding in 1922, was among the emigrants. George William Larkin also traveled with the company; after arriving in Utah he was appointed by Brigham Young to oversee the Ogden cemetery, and in 1885 he began the family tradition that grew into Larkin Mortuary. Also aboard was Elijah Larkin, whose journal notes that on 16 and 20 June, Thomas Stoker, William’s eldest son, then thirteen years old, was administered to because of a sickness since leaving Liverpool.

The Amazon’s departure also caught the attention of Charles Dickens, who visited the ship before it sailed and wrote of the Mormon emigrants in his essay collection The Uncommercial Traveller. Dickens had expected to find the kind of misfit and desperate crowds he associated with emigrant ships, instead he found something that surprised him entirely. He described the Mormon emigrants not as misfits and scoundrels but as the “pick and flower” of England, orderly, healthy, purposeful people. William Stoker and his five children, traveling in grief just weeks after Emma’s death, were among those Dickens observed.

Stoker Sisters — l-r: Mary Ann Stoker Sharp, Jeanette Stoker Rogers, Henrietta Stoker Weston. Three of the five children who sailed on the Amazon.

The Journey West

The Amazon landed at Castle Gardens, New York, on 18 July 1863. From there the company traveled by rail to Albany, then through Detroit to Florence, Nebraska — the traditional jumping-off point for the overland journey to Utah. From Florence they traveled by wagon the remaining distance across the plains.

The company arrived in Salt Lake City on 3 and 4 October 1863 — just in time for General Conference. Several members of the company recorded that Brigham Young came out to greet them and offer counsel. The journey from London had taken exactly four months.

William moved almost immediately to Ogden, Weber County, Utah, where he set up his leather and saddlery trade. He remarried Eliza Sinfield in Ogden on 18 May 1864. The five children from his first marriage were distributed among other Plain City families. Mary Ann with George and Victorine Musgrave, who called her Lillian/Lillie and raised her as their own. It is through the Musgraves that she came to know the Sharp family, and through that connection to Plain City’s Episcopal congregation that she met Milo Riley Sharp.

Mary Ann Stoker Sharp

William, Mary Ann, and their overland journey through Devil’s Gate and Independence Rock are part of the larger story I told in Casper Wyoming Temple Open House — where I counted ten of my own ancestors who crossed the Mormon Trail through that same ground. William Edward Stoker and infant Mary Ann were among them.

For the full story of the Stoker family — William and Emma, the five children, and what became of each of them — see Stoker-Eames Wedding. For Lilly’s life in Plain City and her marriage to Milo Riley Sharp, see Sharp-Stoker Wedding. For Emma’s brother Thomas and the Eames family in Alperton, Middlesex, see T. Eames Grocery and Provision Store.

William Edward Stoker older
by

T Eames Grocery and Provision Store

T Eames Grocery and Provision Store in Alperton, England.  We do not know the name of the lady in the picture, probably family.

This photograph was just provided to me this past week.  I think it is a fascinating photo, the lady was not sure if it was related to us.  The Eames name immediately caught my attention as did the English design of the home and the lady’s clothes.  I did a little research and this is what I know.

This grocery and provisions store was on High Street in Alperton, Middlesex, England.  Thomas Eames is the brother to my Emma Eames Stoker.

Thomas Eames lived in Alperton/Wembley, Middlesex, England his entire life.  The 1851, 1861, 1871, 1881, 1891, and 1901 censuses each have him living within the same square mile.  The majority of these years were all on High Street, west of the railroad.  He was a laborer and carpenter by trade.  In the 1871 Census it shows his wife is a general shop keeper.  I have a suspicion they took over a shop from his wife’s family.  By 1881 he had become a postmaster and was running that within the store as well.  In 1891 he was still the postmaster but he had turned the shopkeeping business over to his son, John Eames.  By 1901 Thomas no longer worked but still lived next door, or in the same house, as his son John.  The censuses do not make it entirely clear to me if these are separate households in separate homes or separate households within the same home.  Most of them appear to be living in the same house.

I do not believe this building is still present.  The stretch of High Street in the censuses are all to the west of the railroad.  Much of this street has been modernized.  Working down the street on Google Maps does not provide any buildings with the same design or brick pattern over the windows.

Thomas had a home named Vine Cottage.  As shown from this document, it was registered in 1937 and was located at 332 Ealing Rd, Wembley, Middlesex.

11998245_10153593039149493_86648626_n

We know some of Thomas and his family.  He was born 28 June 1826 in Harrow, Middlesex, England to Thomas and Elizabeth Eames.  We really do not know a whole lot more about his parents.  I suspect he was actually born in Alperton, just that since Harrow was the name of the civil parish Alperton is within and that explains why it shows as where he was born.

He married Harriet Shettick 31 January 1847 in St Mary’s, Harrow on the Hill.  She passed away at some point with no known children.  He remarried to Christiana Leader in 1853.  They had five children, Thomas (1854), Christiana (1856), Alfred (1860), John (1861), Emma (1864).  Christiana passed away in 1896.  He again remarried to Annie Clayton in 1896.  We don’t know anything more about her and doubt any children were born to this marriage.

I know some more of some of the grandchildren, but I think I will leave that for another time.  If anyone is related to this Eames line or knows anything more, I would be glad to hear from you.

Reposted with updates from 13 October 2012.

by

Stoker-Eames Wedding

Elizabeth and the late Thomas Eames are pleased to announce the marriage of their daughter Emma to William Edward Stoker, son of Thomas Stoker and the late Ann Nightingale Stoker.  William and Emma were married in St. Johns Church of Wembley, Middlesex, England 29 July 1849.

I have not seen the records, but apparently William Edward Stoker was born 9 January 1827 in Crateford, Staffordshire, England.  I am unsure where Crateford exactly is since the online map services do not list it as a town.  I know it is near Brewood, Staffordshire, England and can find the Crateford Road outside of town to the northwest, but I am not sure much more is available without actually visiting the area.  He was baptized/christened 4 February 1827 in Brewood.  His father, Thomas Stoker, worked as a coachman and remained so until he became too old to work.

Emma Eames was baptized/christened 21 February 1830 in St. Mary’s Church of Harrow on the Hill, Middlesex, England.  She is the third of at least 5 children we know of.  The only other sibling we know much about is her brother Thomas.  Her father, Thomas Eames, was listed as a wheelwright at the time Emma was born.  By the time Emma married to William her father is listed as a servant.

William and Emma would have six children together. William worked as a saddler, leather-worker, and harness maker throughout his life.  I do not know why the family moved around so much, probably for work, but they do not seem to have been too poor.  Staffordshire, Shropshire, Middlesex, and Berkshire were all homes of the Stoker family.

William Thomas Stoker born 4 June 1850 in Alperton Hollow, Middlesex, England.  He died 21 October 1908 in Plain City, Weber, Utah.  He would end up marrying three times to Fanny Amelia Tucker, Ellen Hemmings, and Callie Oliver.

Alice Stoker born 21 September 1851 back in Brewood.  She died 11 September 1869 in Ogden, Weber, Utah.  Per family notes she never married, though she was sealed by proxy to James England in the Logan Temple in 1887.

Jeanette Stoker born 3 February 1856 in Wolverhampton, Staffordshire, England.  She died 5 February 1941 in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah.  She married Charles David Rogers in 1875.  I posted a picture and quick biography at this link: Jeanette Rogers.

Alfred Stoker born 21 September 1859 in Hendon, Middlesex, England.  He died 3 November 1927 in Pocatello, Bannock, Idaho.  He married Elizabeth Branson in 1881.

Mary Ann Stoker born 24 February 1861 in Reading, Berkshire, England.  She died 6 May 1935 in Plain City.  She married Milo Riley Sharp in 1879.  I have written previously about this family at this link: Sharp-Stoker Wedding.

George Stoker born 28 October 1862 in Reading, Berkshire, England.  He died in March 1863 in Reading, just weeks before his mother Emma.

Emma contracted tuberculosis (listed as phthisis on the death certificate) and passed away 28 April 1863 at 18 Albert Street within St. Mary’s Parish after a year struggle with the disease.

Emma joined the LDS church on 7 August 1856.  William Thomas joined 5 December 1860.  William Edward and Alice joined the LDS church 27 May 1863.

The family wasted no time in gathering to Zion.  The Stoker family departed from London on a ship called “Amazon” 4 June 1863.  George Q Cannon dedicated the ship which was entirely of Saints (880+) headed for Zion.  It was this same ship that Charles Dickens wrote that the Mormons were not taking misfits and scoundrels, but the “pick and flower” of England.  Even George Sutherland, future U.S. Supreme Court Justice was on this ship.  Here is a link to the story by Charles Dickens: The Uncommercial Traveller.  The LDS church also tells of the story that day at this link: Amazon Departure.  The ship sailed to Liverpool before finally heading out for America.  Elijah Larkin, who would help found Larkin Mortuary, noted that on the 16th and 20th of June, Thomas Stoker was administered to due to a sickness since leaving Liverpool.

The “Amazon” landed at Castle Gardens, New York, New York on 18 July 1863.  The Saints took rail to Albany, Albany, New York and then to Florence, Douglas, Nebraska through Detroit, Wayne, Michigan.  From there they hoofed it on to Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah Territory arriving 3 and 4 October 1863 (depending on which of the two companies), just in time for General Conference.  Several of the company wrote of Brigham Young coming out to greet them and giving them advice.

William moved almost immediately to Ogden, Weber, Utah and set up shop working with leather.  William wasted no time in remarrying to Eliza Sinfield in Ogden 18 May 1864.  While Mary Ann is listed as a child for William and Eliza on the 1870 Census, she was actually living with the Musgrave family and Jeanette with the Garner family.  Additionally, the other children from this first marriage were also being raised by other families.  I just cannot tell for sure since the families sometimes listed these children as their own with their own last name.  Family lore indicates that William and Eliza could not afford to raise these older children and farmed them out to families that could afford to take care of them.  Other evidence points that they were not all that poor, but it is not likely we will ever really know.

Eliza Sinfield was born 24 January 1842 in Eversholt, Bedfordshire, England.  She and William married 18 May 1864 in Ogden.  They lived there the rest of their days.  I cannot tell for sure where they lived.  The 1880 Census puts them on 6th Street, but then this address is near Franklin Street, which is now located 20 blocks or more away.  The next page of the census has the Academy of the Sacred Heart which is also near 25th street in Ogden.  Therefore, another 6th street once existed in Ogden, or the census taker jumped all over town, which is unlikely.  The 1870 Census does not give street addresses, so we have no leads there.  At any rate, William and Eliza had six children.

Emma Stoker born 24 March 1865 in Ogden and died 10 October 1878.

Agnes Stoker born 1 October 1866 in Ogden.  She married George Shields in 1885.  She died 6 September 1921 in Ogden.

Henrietta Stoker born 10 October 1868 in Ogden.  She married Simon Heber Weston in 1885.  She died 10 June 1942.

Eli Benjamin Stoker born 9 July 1870 in Ogden.  He married Sarah Jane Thomas in 1899.  He died 17 May 1952 in Silverton, Shoshone, Idaho.

Albert Stoker born 12 May 1873 in Ogden.  I do not know of a marriage for him.  He died 8 February 1949 in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah.

Victoria Stoker born 28 May 1878 in Ogden.  I do not have a marriage for her either.  She died 20 November 1888.

William and Eliza continued to live in Ogden until he passed away 12 April 1899 in Ogden.  He was buried in the Ogden City Cemetery, along with most of his already deceased family.  Later family members would also be buried near him.  Eliza died 3 April 1912.  Here is the only other picture we have of William Edward Stoker as a much older man.  You can see the tuft of hair in the middle that has not changed.  The increased bag lines under the eyes and the same man greatly aged.  If you look, you can see some of the resemblance in his sons.