Mary Ann Virgin

Find a Grave

Birth: Jul. 25, 1831, Luton, England

Death: Jan. 14, 1922, Salem, Madison County, Idaho, USA

Burial: Sugar City Cemetery, Sugar City, Madison County, Idaho, USA

Daughter of Thomas Barker and Elizabeth Thompson. Wife of George Thompson Virgin.

Parents:

Thomas Barker (1806 - 1889)

Elizabeth Thompson Barker (1807 - 1895)

After her husband, George Thompson Virgin, was accidently killed in England by being crushed between two railroad cars when the wrong signal was given, Mary, was faced with supporting two sons and a baby daughter. Mary Ann Barker had the great desire to go to Zion. So on May 14, 1862, she with her two sons, Amos Moses and Nephi Charles, and daughter, Mercy Ann, a baby, left England. They went with 800 Saints on board the "William Tappscott" to America.

Amos Moses Virgin was 8 years old, his brother, Nephi, was under 6. But even at this young age, they and their mother and baby sister walked almost the entire distance across the plains. They traveled with the Horton D. Haight Company. At times Amos and Nephi would get so tired they lagged behind. One time they became so tired they lagged quite a ways behind and would have been lost or devoured by the wolves if the provisions wagon had not stopped and picked them up. His baby sister, Mercy Ann, died on the plains near the Utah-Wyoming border on October 6, 1862. They arrived in Salt Lake Valley October 19, 1962. Amos and his family lived in Grantsville, Utah, with some relatives. Two years later they moved to St. Charles, Idaho, in Bear Lake Valley to make their home in October, 1864.

Although Amos Moses was but ten years of age, he did everything possible to earn a living for his mother and brother. This was a hard task during the early years of the valley as homesteads were being made. Becoming a fisher and hunter, Amos Moses also became an expert trapper and shipped furs to an eastern market. He made his own snowshoes to run his traps. He also loved boating, swimming, skating, and sports of all kinds.

They were very poor. His mother, Mary Ann, was forced to glean wheat fields while Amos and Nephi fished and trapped. When Amos and Nephi were looking after their traps at the mouth of the creek that emptied into Bear Lake, their feet and clothing would get so cold and wet that they would take off their socks and wade in the icy water and then put their socks back on. They often laid on the ice where they were fishing until their clothing would dry in the sun. They often became snow blind caused by the glare of the sun on the ice and water.

Daughter of Thomas Barker and Elizabeth Thompson. Wife of George Thompson Virgin. Her husband George died in England in an accident. She traveled to the US alone with her 3 small children.

• Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Nov 1 2017, 3:01:41 UTC