Experience Alemeda Johnson

EXPERIENCE ALMEDA BROWN was her given name, but all her life she went by the name "SPEEDY" due to her quick nature. She was born May 25, 1820, in Leeds, Upper Canada (now Ontario, Canada) just across the border from upper New York state). Her parents, David H. Brown and Lucinda Batchelder, were good honest people. Her father was a blacksmith by trade. She was the second of seven children:

1. MINERVA BROWN (1818- ?) married William B. SMITH in Michigan

2. EXPERIENCE ALMEDA BROWN (1820-1896) married (1) German ELLSWORTH, (2) Philo JOHNSON

3. PEACEABLE BROWN (1822-1866) married (1) Milo KING in Shelby, Michigan, (2) Daniel ELLSWORTH in 1842 in Attica, Michigan

4. JONATHAN DAVID BROWN (1824-1865) married Eleanor Ann STOCKING in Shelby, Michigan

5. EDWARD ROSE BROWN (1826- ?) married Sarah C. WORDEN in Columbia Co., Wisconsin

6. LUCY ANN BROWN (1829- ?) married Lyman R. RUSSELL or Russell R. LYMAN

7. NORMAN H. BROWN (1830- ?) married Emily J. MOSS in Davison, Michigan

Speedy's father, David H. (middle name either Hubble or Hyrum) Brown, was born 5 Feb. 1794, in Bastard, Leeds, Ontario, Canada, and died in Goodland, Lapeer Co., Michigan in 1866 or 1867. Speedy's mother Lucinda Batchelder, was born 23 June 1798, in Bastard, Leeds, Ontario, Canada and died in Shelby, Macomb, Michigan in 1831 or early 1832, when Speedy was 11 years old. Her father then married Elizabeth M. Smith 22 Jan 1832, in Troy, Michigan. After her death he married Prudence Douglass, so Speedy had two step-mothers.

Speedy's grandparents were probably Loyalists who moved from the U.S. to Canada during the Revolutionary War period. Her paternal grandfather, Hyrum (Jesse) Brown, lived in Vermont, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and later Ontario. His wife's name was Peaceable Gifford (1770-1849). Speedy's maternal grandfather was John Batchelder (1757-1820), of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Ontario. His wife's name was Susannah or Sarah Bullard (1763-1838), from Massachusetts. John Batchelder's parents were Nehemiah Batchelder (1716-1810) and Experience Perham (1715-1799) of Massachusetts. Experience Perham's mother was named Experience Powers. (This is where Speedy's first name came from -- she was named after both her grandmother and her great grandmother.) Other family names among Speedy's early ancestors in Massachusetts were Wilcox, Barber, Whipple, Goodale, Killiam, Woodbury, Fletcher, Bank, Shipley, Hailstone, Shepherd, Lord, Wheeler, Warren, Wheelock, and Wilkinson.

Speedy lived in six localities during her life:

1820 - 1830: in Canada

1830 - 1842: Attica, Lapeer Co., Michigan

She married German Ellsworth on 22 November 1837, at age 17.

In 1842 they were converted and went to gather with the Saints.

1842 - 1846: Charleston, Lee County, Iowa, opposite Nauvoo.

1846 - 1849: Kanesville (now Council Bluffs), Pottawattamie Co., Iowa

1849 - 1958: Salt Lake City, Utah

German Ellsworth died a few months after they arrived, leaving Speedy with six small children, the oldest not quite 10 years old.

(Seven children had been born to them, but one had died in Council Bluffs early that same year.)

In 1850 Speedy Brown Ellsworth married Philo Johnson in Salt Lake, and the family lived there until 1857 or 1858.

1858 - 1896: Payson, Utah Co., Utah.

She had fourteen children -- seven by her first husband, German Ellsworth, and seven more by her second husband, Philo Johnson.

ELIZABETH ELLSWORTH b. 29 Dec 1839, d. 1857 at age 17 in Payson

EPHRAIM EDGAR ELLSWORTH, b. 25 Jul 1841, d. 1887 in Spring Lake, Utah, md. Elizabeth Rachel EDWARDS and Mary Frew WHEELER,
EVALINE ELLSWORTH, b. 7 Sep 1842, d. 1892 in Salt Lake city, Utah, md. James Henry ELLSWORTH, Charles McCALL, James ALLEN, and Charles SIMMONS,

ESTHER ELLSWORTH, b. 12 Sep 1844, d. 1918, Payson, Utah, md. William Franklin DOWDLE, Phinneas DALEY, and Amasa POTTER,
NANCY MINERVA ELLSWORTH, b. 16 Jan 1846, d. 1936 in Long Beach, California, md. Harmon Jeremiah ZUFELT in 1861,
ISRAEL ELLSWORTH, b. 14 Apr 1848, d. 1849 at Council Bluffs)

GERMAN ELLSWORTH, Jr., b. 29 Sep 1849, d. 1922 in Payson, Utah, md. Kristina NILSDOTTER in 1869,

PHILO JOHNSON, Jr., b. 15 Aug 1851, d. 1922 i Payson, Utah, md. Lucy Elizabeth SIMMONS in 1880,

EMILY JOHNSON, b. 31 Aug 1853, d 1926 in Salt Lake City, Utah, md. Joseph WIGHTMAN in 1869,
MELISSA JOHNSON, b. 15 Aug 1855, d. 12 Sep 1855 in Salt Lake City - infant

HANNAH MOSLEY JOHNSON, b. 1 Oct 1856, died 1936 in Payson, Utah, md. David Brooks FAIRBANKS in 1873, and Elijah Asa BIGELOW in 1899

REUBEN WILLIAM JOHNSON, b. 9 Sept. 1858, d. 25 Feb 1863 in Payson, age 4)

CELESTIA ADELAIDE JOHNSON, b. 8 Feb 1861, d. 1938 in Santa Paula, California, md. Ralph Jacob FAIRBANKS in 1877;
SPEEDY ALICE JOHNSON, b. 29 Apr 1865, d. 1932, md. William Philo DOWDLE in 1884,

Speedy was a stocky, light-complexioned, blue eyed lady (the most distinctive feature in her picture was her thick, bushy eyebrows). She continued to serve as President of the Relief Society for twelve years. In her later years she was stricken with rheumatism, and in the end she became very sick and weak. She died March 13, 1896, at age 75. Her beloved husband Philo survived her only three weeks, when he too died, on April 3, 1896 at age 81. Of Speedy's son German Ellsworth, Jr. is written:

"As a youth German was unusually alert and vigorous ... tall and straight, slightly under six feet, with abundant dark hair, blue eyes, and full beard (he was a very handsome man, from his picture in the book OUR ELLSWORTH ANCESTORS). He was quick and powerful in action. Every stroke of his saw or hammer was thrust with a set jaw and backed by all of his strength ... few men could fell a tree or score a tie as quickly as he. He taught his (carpenter's) trade to his sons; however, their movements and actions were tempered by the even (slow and steady) disposition of their (Swedish) mother."

Another of Speedy's sons, Ephraim Edgar Ellsworth, was "six feet and three inches tall, and dark complexioned (with thick dark hair and beard)". The Johnson children were also tall and dark, and similarly quick in movement and action. This trait they inherited from their mother, "Speedy". Many descendants of both the Ellsworth and Johnson children were given the names Philo and Speedy, either as first or middle names, showing how much they revered them as parents and grandparents.

Information from Various Sources, Gathered by Karen Bray Keeley, and Craig Lant Shuler
INTERNET Adaptation by Sandra S. Bray

SOURCE: http://www.rootcellar.us/brownspe.htm

FROM: FindAGrave.com:

Salt Lake Tribune (newspaper), March 14, 1896

DEATH OF A PIONEER WOMAN. Mrs. Speedy Brown Ellsworth, Long a Resident of Payson.

[TRIBUNE SPECIAL]

Payson, Utah, March 13. -- "Mrs. Speedy Brown Ellsworth, wife of Philo Johnson, died here today, aged 75 years. She was born in Michigan on May 25, 1820; was married to German Ellsworth in 1838, received the gospel in 1841 with her husband. Moved to Nauvoo in 1842, crossed the Mississippi, made a home at Charleston, from there moved to Council Bluffs, Iowa, crossed the plains in 1849 in Captain Gulley's company. In November of the same year her husband died, leaving her with seven children. Next year, in March, she became acquainted with Philo Johnson and married him. Lived in Salt Lake nine years, came to Payson in 1857 with her family. In 1864 she experienced a great trial, one of her children being accidentally killed -- the youngest son, of 5 years -- with a gun. In 1874 she was appointed president of the relief society and served twelve years. She suffered a great deal with rheumatism since 1888. She was the mother of fourteen children, seven by each husband, eight of whom are still living. "Her husband, Philo Johnson, is very low and will soon follow. Both have been suffering and for weeks the death of both has been expected, not knowing which would be the first. The funeral will be held Sunday afternoon."