Anne Elizabeth Gardner

It was in South Shields on a crisp Sunday morning, September 24, 1837, just as the sun broke the mists of the North Sea, a baby girl was born to John and Martha Todd English. This, their fourth child and only daughter was christened “Ann”. Ann was a beautiful baby with blue eyes and red hair that turned to a dark auburn in later years. Red hair was probably inherited from her father’s mother, Elizabeth Redhead, of the “Lancashire Redheads,” whose ancestral name came from their flaming red hair.

Anne’s father, John English, master mariner, was a typical English seaman during the time of iron men and wooden ships, when Brittania ruled the waves and the sun never set on the British Empire. Born of a family of surgeons, his father, William, and his grandfather, Thomas, were both practicing surgeons in South Blyth, Northumberland. John was expected to follow in their footsteps, but his heart was at sea, and as a lad he shipped before the mast as a cabin boy and worked his way up through the ranks until he was a Sea Captain in the might merchant fleet of Great Britain.

Ann’s mother, Martha Todd, had been raised in the coalfields of Tannfield Parish where her father, Luke Todd, was a coal miner from Gateshead. Martha was born at Whitely head on September 1, 1804.

Ann had three brothers: John, the eldest, Thomas, and then William, just 3 years her senior. Their life was a happy one in South Shields. The children’s thoughts were always of the sea. They played on the docks and watched for the appearance of their father’s ship in the harbor or its sails’ disappearance over the horizon. As the children grew older, the boys wanted to go to sea also. For this reason, John decided to find a place with more opportunities for his children.

John moved his family to the port of Sunderland, a town of 17,000 people, Bishopwearmouth. The streets were paved and fronted with nice homes. The streets and homes were lighted with gas and the homes had piped water. The family moved into a residence at number 34, Brougham Street. Inasmuch as John was away to sea continually, Martha decided to open a lodging house to help supplement their income.

Here in Bishopwearmouth and Sunderland, the children grew up, doing the things children have done in English seacoast towns since their beginning. The River Wear abounded with fish, and the boys spent much time fishing from the docks. As soon as Ann was big enough, she accompanied them. These fishing trips helped to supplement their diet, and Ann developed a love for seafood which stayed with her all of her life.

John went to sea first. He shipped out as a cabin boy. Thomas soon followed and then William. Ann and her mother were left quite alone at home. There was always friendly rivalry among the boys and their father to see who could bring Ann the most beautiful and exotic gift.

Ann and her mother grew very close. They were at home for long periods of time with no company except each other.

July 15, 1849, Ann’s father John died the night following his boarding the ship in Amsterdam, Holland, and was buried at sea.

It was after the death of John English that two Mormon missionaries knocked on the door at 34 Brougham Street. Ann and her mother had just gone through a trying time of adjustment and sorrow after the loss of their father and husband. They could not find much comfort or solace with their Anglican faith, but this new church seemed to be what they were looking for. After a period of study and prayer, during which time they were taught the gospel by Elders Ebenezer Gilles, Jacob Secrist and Thomas Squires, they decided to be baptized on January 14, 1853.

On Saturday, January 15, 1853, Ann met Elder Elias Gardner who had arrive din Liverpool on December 20th, after a three-month journey from Utah. He was assigned to the Newcastle Conference, of which Sunderland was a branch.

During the following 2 years, Ann and her mother continued to study the gospel and attend meetings. Elias visited them often in the course of his missionary duties. He stayed many nights in their home and learned to appreciate the delicious seafood dinners that Ann loved and that Martha was so adept at preparing.

Elias was there to comfort them when the news came that William had been lost in a shipwreck at sea. Not long after that, they received word that Thomas was also missing.

All of these events of sadness, together with their lonely life, caused Ann and Martha to talk much of immigrating with the Saints to Utah.

They bade John and his family good-bye and boarded the train for Liverpool on March 21, 1855.

Ann and Martha went aboard the ship Juventa, commanded by Captain Watts. They had to stand a medical inspection on coming aboard to see if their health was good enough to stand the rigors of the voyage. They were organized into a company of 573 members under the presidency of Elder William Glover. President Glover called them all to a meeting on deck where they were all divided in to branches. He appointed presidents and counselors for each branch. The instructions were to rise at 5 o’clock, clean their portion of the ship and throw the garbage overboard. Prayers were to be held in each branch, and then they were to prepare and eat breakfast. After breakfast the ship was to be fumigated and sprinkled down with lime, and the strictest rules of cleanliness observed at all times.

Ann and Martha were to furnish their own beds and bedding, pots, pans, plates, cup, knife, fork and spoon and also a water jug large enough to hold each of their rations of three quarts of water per day. The ship provided cooking apparatus, fuel and a cook for each 100 passengers.

Each passenger was allowed 3 quarts of water day and a weekly ration of 2.5 pounds of bread, 1 pound of wheat flour, 5 pounds of oatmeal, 2 pounds of rice, a half pound of sugar, 2 ounces of tea, and 2 ounces of salt. This ration was to be supplemented during the voyage with 2.5 pounds of sugar, 3 pounds of butter, 2 pounds of cheese and 1 quart of vinegar. Each passenger would be allowed a bunk 6 feet long and 18 inches wide with storage space of 10 cubic feet.

The ship was guided by the currents and winds. The passengers soon fell into the routine of life aboard ship. Programs were held in the evening, and many nights when the weather was fair, Elder William Pitt would get out his violin and play for them to dance. These were the times that Ann loved. She especially liked to dance with Elias, who was an accomplished dancer and he would always seek out the lovely Ann for his partner.

For 11 days, the ship sailed in a south-southwesterly direction. Ten minutes of exposure to the tropical rays gave one a good sunburn. In the vicinity of the Cape Verde Islands, the ship started to gradually change course toward the west.

Fortunately for the passengers on this voyage, they had only one bad storm. However, they had contrary winds most of the journey and spent a great deal of sailing time tacking to the starboard and then to the portside; coming about, sailing downwind, coming into the wind and all the other maneuvers common to a sailing ship at sea in a blow.

A school of sharks which would follow the ship, picking up the garbage, were the first ones ever seen by most of the passengers.

They got their first glimpse of the United States as they sailed through the Florida Straits. The ship sailed up Delaware Bay, took aboard the pilot, and at the mouth of the Delaware River, the steam tugboats tied on to the Juventa and towed it upriver to the port of Philadelphia. After 39 days, on May 8, Ann and her mother, Martha, walked down the gangplank into the promised land.

Within 24 hours after their arrival in Philadelphia, Ann and her mother found themselves traveling through the hills of Pennsylvania with the other members of the Perpetual Immigration Company.

Elder Erastus Snow chartered a boat to take them up the Missouri River. Their landing was at Atchison, about 20 miles above the Army post at Ft. Leavenworth in Kansas. But it wasn’t until July 1, under the command of Richard Ballantyne, that their wagon train made the long-awaited start to cross the plains for Utah. The company consisted of 402 people, 45 wagons, 220 head of oxen, 24 head of cows, 3 head of horses and 1 mule, and was organized into groups of 100s, 50s and 10s.

It was September 24, on Ann’s 18th birthday, that they reached the summit and could see the Salt Lake Valley. The next morning they arrived in Salt Lake City. Ann and Martha stayed the first night with Elder Elias Gardner’s daughter and family, Mary and Thomas Cloward. The next morning they continued on a wagon train to Payson with Elias.

Everyone was glad to see them arrive in safety. Elias had been gone three years. It was good to have him home. The children had grown until Elias hardly knew them. Ann and Martha were made welcome in their home.

Ann had grown to admire this tall dark man with the piercing black eyes, and accepted his proposal of marriage. The marriage ceremony was performed by President Brigham Young at 8 o’clock in the evening on December 4 at the home of James Pace in Payson.

Ann and Elias had 12 children.

Ann died February 22, 1922 in Glenwood, Utah.

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Boaz Brody Thomas Mecham mecham Web Site MyHeritage.com family tree Family site: mecham Web Site Family tree: Mecham Family Tree Smart Matching 550466011-1 MH:S1 Ann Elizabeth Gardner 3 7 SEP 2018 Added via a Person Discovery