Kaziah Carson

Kaziah Butler Carson, by Mark Gunther Hodge: Kaziah Butler was born March 13, 1844, at White Mere in the parish of Ellesmere, Salop County, Shropshire, England. Her parents were William Butler and Ann Dodd. William was born February 11, 1822, in Hamner, Flintshire, Wales, to Richard Butler and Ann Moyle. Richard was a shoemaker. Ann was the daughter of John Dodd and Catherine Evans and was born January 18, 1824, in Hamner, Flintshire, Wales. John was a laborer. William and Ann were married on January 19, 1843, in the parish church in Ellesmere, England. They were living in Birch & Lyth at the time of their marriage. William and Ann had one other child, Edwin. He was born February 12, 1846, at Colemere, in the parish of Ellesmere, England.

When Kaziah was only three years old, her father died of peritoneal inflammation on July 22, 1847, in the Parish of Welsh Hampton, Ellesmere, England. The family was living in Bettisfield at the time. Kaziah’s mother joined the Mormon Church at some time and immigrated to America with her two children in 1849. They left Liverpool, England on March 5, 1849, aboard the ship Hartley which carried 220 passengers. William Hulme was the church leader on board. They arrived in New Orleans, Louisiana on April 28. On May 1, they boarded a steamship and traveled up the Mississippi River to St. Louis. From there they boarded another steamship and traveled up the Missouri River, making their way to join the Saints in Kanesville, Pottawattamie County, Iowa.

In the summer of 1850, Kaziah’s mother married Abraham Close Hodge in Kanesville, Iowa. Ann Dodd became the second wife of Abraham through the church practice of plural marriage. However, because this polygamous marriage took place without proper church approval, both Abraham and Ann were disfellowshipped from the church for a time. Abraham Close Hodge was born in Pompey, Onondaga County, New York on July 10, 1806, to Jacob Hodge and Sarah Williams. He married his first wife, Rebecca Rhoads, on August 11, 1831, in Selinsgrove, Union County, Pennsylvania. They moved to Illinois in 1838, where they joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1840. The Church was forced to leave Illinois due to mob violence and threats of extermination in 1846 and relocate in western Iowa. This is where Abraham and Ann met.

Abraham and Rebecca had five children who lived to adulthood. Kaziah now had three step-brothers and two-step sisters. They were: Franklin, born 1832; Sarah Catherine, born 1834; Helen, born 1837; Lyman, born 1840; and Jacob, born 1844. Kaziah and her step-brother Jacob were born only 12 days apart.

Two children were born to Abraham and Ann. James Hodge was born in September 1850, in Kanesville, Iowa, and Rebecca Ann Hodge was born later on January 11, 1853, in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Utah.

In July 1852, the Hodge family crossed the plains to the Great Salt Lake Valley. They left Harris Grove, Iowa with the Allen Weeks’ ox train company, consisting of 110 people. They arrived in Salt Lake City on the cool, clear Tuesday of October 12. The Hodge family then settled in the Sugarhouse Ward in Salt Lake City.

The Hodge family moved to Stone City (now called Cedar Fort) in Utah County later in 1853. Abraham Hodge became the town’s first Justice of the Peace. Settlement of Cedar Fort began in the spring of 1853. Many of the settlers were from the Harris Grove Branch in Iowa, including the families of Abraham Hodge, Allen Weeks, Eli Bennett, John Nay, and James H. Glines. Allen Weeks became the first bishop of Cedar Fort.

Abraham Hodge and his son Franklin were among the first blacksmiths in Cedar Valley and they made some of the first mole-board plows that were used in the fields in the valley. The early 1850's were a difficult time for Kaziah and her family. When Kaziah was only ten years old, her mother died on Monday, March 20, 1854, in Cedar Fort at the age of 30. She was buried in what is now the Old Pioneer Cemetery. Kaziah, Edwin, James, and Rebecca Ann were then raised by their step-mother, Rebecca, who loved them and treated them like her own children.

The Hodge family moved to the Sugarhouse Ward of Salt Lake City in 1856. This move was most probably a result of the hard winter of 1855-56, which was one of the worst in the history of Utah. This severe winter was preceded by two summers of drought and an infestation of grasshoppers and crickets which destroyed most of the crops. The summer of 1856 also witnessed a terrible famine throughout the Utah Territory.

The Hodge family was living in Fairfield, Utah County by about 1858. Abraham continued working there as a blacksmith. Rebecca Hodge was the first president of the Fairfield Relief Society.

False reports circulated in Washington, D. C. that the citizens of Utah were rebelling against the government. Without investigating these claims, U. S. President James Buchanan sent an army to Utah to stop the supposed rebellion. General Albert Sidney Johnston’s army arrived in Cedar Valley on July 4, 1858, and established Camp Floyd next to Fairfield. The arrival of the army caused many settlers to leave. The army stayed there until July 1861, when they left to fight in the Civil War.

By September 2, 1861, only 18 families remained in Fairfield. One of them was the Hodge family. Abraham’s grandson William Cluss Thomas had recorded that Abraham, “who lived then about where Hi Wilkensen’s wagon shed is located, with his two sons Jacob and Frank, did most of the blacksmith work for [Johnston%E2%80%99s] army. There was always more than enough work. The day the army left, he found a big log house jammed full of carpets, rugs, and fine furniture...”

It was here that Kaziah met William Franklin Carson, son of John Carson and Elvira Egbert, owners of the Carson Hotel, also known as the Stage Coach Inn, in Fairfield. William was born August 20, 1843, in Leharp, Hancock County, Illinois. William and Kaziah were married about 1867 in Fairfield. They had two children- William Carson, born 1868, and Mary Ann Carson, born 1871. Kaziah and William were later divorced. The winter of 1868 also brought hard times for Utah County and was known as the “Hard Winter.”

Kaziah’s second marriage was to Samuel David Carson on October 20, 1876, in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City, Utah. This was a polygamous marriage. Samuel’s first wife was Amelia Marintha Burton. They were married August 31, 1867, in Fairfield. Samuel, who was a cousin to Kaziah’s first husband, William Franklin Carson, was born April 3, 1847, in Garden Grove, Decatur County, Iowa to William Huff Carson and Corilla Egbert.

Samuel and Kaziah had five children who lived to adulthood. They were: David Edwin, born 1878; Daisy Rebecca, born 1879; James Abram, born 1881; Nellie Louise, born 1882; and George Alma, born 1885. They also had two children who died in infancy. They were Agatha, in 1887, and Lillian, in 1888. Kaziah’s step-father, Abraham Hodge, passed away on August 5, 1879, in Lehi, Utah County, Utah. He had moved to Lehi in January 1873 when he sold his property in Fairfield on Block 26, Lot 4 and Block 29, Lot 2 to Thomas Walter. Kaziah’s step-mother, Rebecca Rhoads Hodge, moved to California in 1884, where she passed away on July 20, 1887, in Los Angeles.

The children’s Primary organization of the Fairfield LDS Ward was organized on August 29, 1892. Kaziah was called to be the Primary President.

Kaziah passed away at the age of 69 on January 17, 1914, in Fairfield. Her obituary reads:

Mrs. Kaziah Carson, Fairfield Pioneer, Dies”, American Fork Citizen, Saturday, January 24, 1914:

“Mrs. Kaziah Carson, widow of the late Samuel Carson, died in Fairfield last Saturday. She had been afflicted with rheumatism for several years and for the past two years has been unable to walk, so death came as a sweet release. “Mrs. Carson was a half sister of Jacob Hodge and formerly resided in Lehi. She was among the first settlers of Fairfield and has resided there during most of her life. Her children are James, David, William, Alma, Mary and Nellie, all of whom reside in Fairfield. Funeral services were held in Fairfield yesterday afternoon.”

SOURCE: Family Search.org

• Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Mar 6 2016, 20:53:34 UTC

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Birth: Mar. 13, 1844 Death: Jan. 17, 1914

Family links:

Parents:

 Ann Dodd Butler Hodge (1824 - 1854)

Spouses:

 William Franklin Carson (1843 - 1911)

 Samuel D Carson (1847 - 1897)*

Children:

 William Carson (1869 - 1928)*

 Mary A Carson (1871 - 1961)*

 David Edwin Carson (1878 - 1917)*

 Daisy Rebecca Carson McKinney (1879 - 1943)*

 James Abram Carson (1881 - 1971)*

 Nellie Louise Carson Wilson (1882 - 1936)*

 George Alma Carson (1885 - 1921)*

 Agatha Carson (1887 - 1887)*

 Lillian Carson (1888 - 1888)*

Siblings:

 Kazia Butler Carson (1844 - 1914)

 Edwin Butler (1846 - 1883)*

 James Hodge (1850 - 1905)*

 Rebecca Ann Hodge Thomas (1855 - 1928)*