Joseph Spendlove

Joseph Spendlove records the following about his parents :

"My father's name was John Spendlove. He was born in the village of Stanion, on the 6th day of April 1793 (1794). He was a hard working man and the father of a large family. He was a thick, stout man about 5 ft. 6 inches tall with gray eyes and a stern disposition. He loved his children and I can say he tried to teach us the things, in life, he wanted us to do the best he knew how. My father had narry a brother, only three sisters: Mary, Ann, and Sarah. (Research in Stanion registers show there were 6 in the family: Mary, Ann, Sarah, William, John, and Susannah. William and Susannah died while young.)

My mother's name was Mary Saluston (Slawson). She was born in the village of Corby, Northamptonshire, England, some two miles from Stanion, in the year 1794. The day of the month she was born I know not. (The Corby records show that Mary was christened the 5 October 1794, daughter of John and Mary Dixon Slawson.) My mother was kinda tall and thin with gray eyes and a kind face. I am not sure, I was only 4 years old when she died. I remember one brother and one sister of my mother's-Joseph and Rebecca. Whether she had any more, I do not know. Joseph had one son, and Rebecca had three daughters. My mother never heard the gospel while she was living and my father heard it but did not know much about it. This is what I remember of my father and mother." (Research on Corby records show the Slawson family as follows: Joseph, Benjamin, John, Ann, Rebecca, and Mary all sons and daughters of John and Mary Slawson.)"

After the birth of the youngest daughter, Ann, Mary complained of pains in her back and side. She never seemed to get her strength back and passed away on 31 Dec 1836 at 42 years of age. This left John a widower with 10 children from ages 20 years-7 months. Joseph writes: "Mother had gone and would not return until the appointed time of the Lord that took her. My sister, Mary, then cared for us." John never remarried.

This must have been a sorrowful time for the family. Joseph, John's son, later wrote in his journal that his father would stand for hours looking at the spot where his mother was laid to rest believing that he would never see her again as he had known her in this life. The minister of the church had told him this. Mary had been a faithful member of the Church of England. She had taught her children from the Bible, and named her son, Joseph, after the great prophet of the Bible because he was such a bright and quiet baby."

Joseph, also wrote in his journal, that his father (John) told him of a dream his Grandmother, Susannah Mossindue Spendlove had. She related that she had seen, in her dream, her son reading the old Bible to his family when two young men came into the room. They took the old Bible out of his hands and gave him another book that had a shiny cover and after reading from this book, for a while, he got up and went with the strange men. When she awoke she wondered what the new book was and told her son about the dream, saying that something very important would come into his life some-day and he should prepare himself to receive it.

In 1848, John, the oldest son of John and Mary, heard the restored gospel preached by missionaries who traveled in pairs, and preached from not only the Bible, but also from The Book of Mormon, now known as Another Testament of Christ and that was translated from golden plates by the prophet, Joseph Smith. John was baptized and then brought the "good news" to his father, John Sr.

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~jleatham/John%20Spendlove%...

• Residence: Stanion, Northamptonshire, England
• Residence: Stanion, Northamptonshire, England - 1841
• Residence: Lutterworth, Leicestershire, England - 1861
• Residence: Littleton, Morgan, Utah, United States - 1880

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• Emigration: July 15 1864
• Immigration: Sep 20 1864 - Deseret, United States
• Residence: Littleton, Morgan, Utah, United States
  • Reference: MyHeritage Family Trees - SmartCopy: Jan 2 2019, 1:03:38 UTC