Mary Dean

• Updated from MyHeritage Family Trees via daughter Betsey Jane Dean by SmartCopy: Feb 9 2015, 1:43:12 UTC

CHARLES AND MARY COPE DEAN - The parents of Charles Dean were Thomas Dean and Betty Darlington. Both of them were born in Audley, Staffordshire. England. They both lived there all of their lives and are buried there. Thomas was born 6 December 1788 married 14 Jan 1813. Betty was born 31 March 1790 and died 17 March 1869. They had ten children and eight lived to adulthood. Charles was number eight. The event that caused the family much sorrow was the death of Thomas 12 October 1843 age 54. This left his wife a widow with several small children. She lived on for 26 more years and died at the age of 79. Charles Dean was born 11 March 1829. At the age of seven he went to work in the coal mine. He assisted a lone miner and carried water to other miners, to help support his widowed mother, brothers, and sister. Later when older he became a miner himself with more pay so he could support his own family.

Mary Cope was born 12 March 1834 at Kidds Grove only a few miles from Audley. She was the daughter of John Cope and Hannah Statham. Her mother died when she was a child, leaving her father and four small children, John, Eliza,Mary and Sarah. Her father married again. She grew up under the religious training of the Wesleyan Methodist Faith. Her father was a member of the choir and she, early in life, learned to sing. She sang in the choir and was a great help wherever singing was needed.

Charles 23, and Mary Cope 18, were married 29 January 1852 at Woolstanton, England. They had four children born to them in England, John Cope, 1 January 1853, Thomas, 22 January 1855, Joseph, 4 April 1857, and Charles, 4 November 1859. When on the ship going to America a fifth son was born 22 April 1861. They named him Underwriter (after the ship). He died the next day and was buried in the ocean.

Charles often spoke of the mines. They lived in one of the many unpainted company houses in the mining town. There the dust hung in the air and turned the green hills to grey. The mine shafts were so low he had to dig the coal out on his hands and knees. He had no other occupation. He had black spots on his face where he had been hurt and the coal had been embedded in the skin and never removed. The skin had healed leaving the black spots.

He was a wonderful singer and loved to sing and associate with young people. He also enjoyed dancing. When he was fourteen, he heard the Mormon Elders preach and was convinced that they had something better than he had known. They left and he wasn't baptized at the time but he never ceased to long for more knowledge of the truth.

Charles was built like the average Englishman. Not too tall, and wore a size six shoe, had chin whiskers and mustache, blue eyes, which had a way of snapping at you when he was not pleased at things. He had a strong personality which was made clear in the spirit of kindness, of love, of mercy, and of charity which he possessed. All his thoughts and actions were in the direction of truth and the uplifting of mankind. He was a wonderful singer and loved to sing and mingle and associate with young people. He also enjoyed dancing.

Mary was stocky built, weighing around two hundred pounds, with a merry oval face, and snapping bright eyes. She wore her hair parted in the front, combed smoothly down with a bun in the back. She had a way of always appearing neat and dressed. She was the financier of the family. The grandchildren felt sorry for Grandpa as he always went to her for money.

In 1860 when he was thirty-one years of age the Gospel came into his life again. Benjamin Cook of Iron County, Utah; Edward Cluff of Provo, Utah and Charles W. Penrose of London, England led a meeting at Miles Green. This meeting was held at Thomas Williams home, who was of Welsh descent. (Mr. Williams later came to Utah and settled in Coalville.). Charles was ready to join the Mormons but Mary was not deeply impressed, as she was a Wesleyan Methodist. One time the elders came to her home and played their guitars and sang. They enjoyed the good music and because of grandfathers enthusiasm, she began to investigate the religion and they were baptized June 2, 1860 into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

When it was learned Charles had joined the unpopular religion, he was released from his position in the coal mine. He could not reconsider and join the Parish Church. His employer told him he could not employ him when he was a Mormon. Charles said, "Very Well! I will have work and plenty when you are without work."

This proved to be true. Mary was somewhat afraid to go to America. She didn't think her health was good enough to stand the hardships. Thomas Williams promised her that she could make the trip and her health would be much better in Utah than there in England. This promise proved to be true. When Charles couldn't get work in England he sold all he had and in April, 1861 they left for America. The money that helped them to reach Utah was some Mary's father left her. They left on the ship Underwriter. This was a sailing vessel which had to depend on the wind and waves for traveling power as there was no steam or electricity in those days. They were thirty days tossing with the wind and waves from Liverpool to New York. They had passage in the steerage among the poorest of the poor. Steerage is where the cattle were kept.

They arrived in New York May 21, 1861. There they went by train as far as the line was completed then by Stage Coach to Florence. This now is a part of Omaha, Nebraska. There, Charles bought a half interest in an ox team and a prairie schooner. All walked the distance across the plains except Charles, the youngest child, to Salt Lake City. The trip across the plains was uneventful except they were surrounded with Indians once who were seeking food. They couldn't spare food or any oxen but let them have all the dogs. Their cattle was stampeded a lot by the wild animals. Charles was a good hunter and furnished most of the wild buffalo meat eaten on the trip. They reached Salt Lake City September 13,1861. They remained there for 10 days before going on.

BOUNTIFUL FROM 1861-1872: Bountiful is north of Salt Lake City. It is sandwiched on a small strip of land, at the most five miles wide between the Great Salt Lake and the Wasatch Mountain Range. The land is fertile and most crops can be grown there. The fruit from the trees brings in an important part of their income. Water from creeks is used for growing the crops. Getting enough water for the crops is a problem. This problem has been solved by building a dike on the edge of the lake. Then pumping out the salt water and the fresh water can be stored. This water is them pumped to where it is needed. Bountiful was in the early days of the Church like Springville on the South, a place for people to stop for a while, and give them time to find a more permanent place to live. Their first home was a one room adobe house without windows or doors on the Jedediah M. Grant farm. They worked on his farm when needed. They had to find additional employment to make a living.

Charles became good friends with a man named Thomas Wheatley. They would go down to the lake in the marshes and hunt ducks. Often the ducks would be hit in the air and fall into the lake. Charles didn't know how to swim so Tom had to swim out in the lake to get the ducks. The adobe house was too cold to live in during the winters. Charles and Thomas rented a large one room log cabin from Peregrine Sessions. B oth families moved into it. This made eleven all living together. They fixed wagon boxes where part of them slept. Also much of their living was done outside in the summer. They got along very well and a cross word was never heard between them. They became life long friends. While in Bountiful they farmed, hauled wood, coal and freighted from the terminus on the railroad. They lived for awhile on bran, thistles, squash, pigweeds, roots and acorns to sustain life. Grandmother fasted for three days so her family could have food and as she worked about, she fainted from weakness.

Charles often told of their experiences there. The house faced east and at some times they had severe wind storms which blew things to pieces. In one of these storms the wind was coming from the east. The clouds had settled low like a pillar on the mountain, and as the wind increased, he knew something was going to happen, so he fastened the door. It had a little latch on it, no lock. They piled heavy objects against it, thinking they were safe. The wind began to howl and blew everything loose on the house. It finally blew the door open, sending objects every which way. The snow came tumbling in all over everything. They tried to close the door; but the wind was so strong they couldn't. They were in this condition all day long.

While in Bountiful, they had five children-- Betsey, Mary Hannah, Eliza and twin boys, George and William. The Dean family realized they had to find a better place to live to make a living. Their older children would soon start to get married. Their son, John. had been in Woodruff for two years and liked it. They went there. Woodruff was located about 100 miles north east of Ogden, Utah. To get there one had to cross the Wasatch Mountain Range by going up Ogden Canyon. The land was flat and good for growing dry land wheat. The village of Woodruff only had about 200 people in it. The houses were built fairly close together. It was located on the road between Evanston, Wyoming and Garden City on the Bear Lake. It was about 20 to 25 miles from Woodruff to both of these places. The Bear River runs through Woodruff starting in the high Wasatch Mountain to the south. It flowed north into Idaho, then it turned and ran south and west into the Great Salt Lake.

In the spring of 1872, Charles and the older boys moved to Woodruff to get a place for the family. In June the rest of the family joined them. He and the boys made dobies (adobe brick) and built the front part of the house which is still standing. They built a lean-to later. The house was rather large compared to other homes. The house was on a tract of land they later planted with wheat. In 1873 he worked at Hilliard, Wyoming making dobies for the charcoal kilns which are still standing there. In 1874 he and son Joseph, 16, worked at Evanston, Wyoming, assisting in building the Court House and some of the oldest business houses of that town. They donated all the dobies for the old opera house still standing in December 1935.

He gave his last cent - $10.00 for the log church and he didn't have any flour, but that day Mack McCumber, a non-Mormon, came-and asked if Charles would store some flour for him until fall. They borrowed it from him until they could repay him in the fall. A grandchild said, "Well do I remember the little Church which was. much too small for the large gatherings. On the Fourth of July or other great occasions we would have a bowery. This was built back of the Church of posts placed upright with willows placed on top for the roof. The seats were rough lumber. Here we children loved to come and inhale the fragrance of the green bows that formed the roof and feel the breeze as the wind blew through the open sides. Grandpa would smile and say, "now you will have to keep still and listen, or the seats will remind you." Often this proved true with the slivers we received. Here we would sit without a back to lean on while they read the Declaration of Independence and sang the Star Spangled Banner. They had very little meaning to us, and how we longed for it to end so we could have pink lemonade, hardtack, or rock candy."

Mary was a good Mother and housekeeper and shared in the daily toils for the necessities of life. It was a common event to see her bending over the washtub or performing labor for her family. She was very fond of knitting and knit much of the clothing needs for the family. She could knit a man's sock in one day. After coming to Woodruff she came to the front in entertaining friends and neighbors and even strangers were given a hearty welcome in sharing the hospitality of her home. They were the leaders in singing and music and many people enjoyed evenings with them in their home.

The move to Woodruff was good for Mary Cope Dean. She seemed to blossom out and take an active part in earning a living for the family. For a number of years she managed a country store in the front room of her home. Their farm and home was a way station for the mail carriers. The men and their horses were fed and cared for by them. This helped them financially. She had wonderful endurance and never seemed to tire as long as she had work to do. She was always the first up and the last to bed at night.

E.C. Beckwith got grandfather the job of caring for 100 head of bulls but he wouldn't take the job, so Grandmother took the job and hired the work done. She herded the bulls for Real and Rosedale and made $2,400.00. According to some of her grandchildren, she was a strict disciplinarian and they always knew when she told them to do something she meant it. They remember the pride she took in polishing her stove each morning. She used to say the stove and the floor were where people looked first. Their memory goes back to the great, black stove and the warmth from the oven door which was opened on shivery mornings and when they came in from the cold.

There were always aunts, uncles, and grandchildren there to enjoy the wonderful meals cooked on the dear, old. black range. The table was long enough to cover the kitchen and dining room. The grandchildren were so well behaved but were not afraid of their grandparents-- was it their sweet influence? The evenings after supper they played quietly while Grandpa read the paper and Grandma sat knitting or playing dominoes with them as that was a game she loved. They remember the old clock would strike and they would listen for the hour of nine. That was the signal for Grandpa to fold his paper, lay it on the table and turn his chair toward the center of the room. Each one found a chair and turned it in a circle or knelt by someone while Grandpa prayed. He was a lengthy petitioner when it came to prayers. Oh how our knees ached before he got through--then off to bed we would go. At one time in Woodruff Mary was very ill and the family were all around her for a number of days. Grandfather would go to the pig sty with his old wooden candy buckets, then go to the top of the field and under the three willow trees kneel in broad daylight in humble prayer for her recovery. On one occasion he came in and said. "Children, Mother will live, and she will live longer than I." Both blessings came true.

They both loved their garden and planted many trees. They had currants and three plum trees growing in the garden. They remember Grandmother setting the table so that Grandfather would think dinner was ready if the meal was not started. He would sing until it was served. Wheat was the main way the family earned money to live on. Some years the crops were very good and other years the crops would freeze and the wheat did not mature. ( Mary tells in her story more details on the wheat farming.) They also had good cattle and at one time had valuable race horses. The branding and working with cattle from a horse was often dangerous. One time when Charles had lassoed a calf, the horse jerked back and caught three of his fingers under the rope. They had to remove the ends of these fingers.

The Indians used to camp near his home and would bring fish and wild game in exchange for hot biscuits. One Indian was very sick and Charles nursed him back to health. He used to go to church with him and sit on the Church steps wrapped in his blanket until church was over. This kind act gave him the name "Wyno Man," (heap good). He never had any trouble with the Indians. One time he took the whole family into their camp, held meeting and sang to them, and several of them have been converted to the Church.

Two children were born in Woodruff. They were David and Sarah Emma. They took three boys--Samuel Johnson, Ephraim Winn and William Daly into their home and helped them until they could care for themselves. They always took in and fed anyone who needed food or a bed. Mary won the respect of all by her unselfishness, sweet disposition, and her devotion and consideration for all. She possessed one of the strongest characters and noblest personalities that can be found.

In the early history of Woodruff, she often took care of the women when the babies were born without the help of a doctor. The babies that were delivered with her help numbered in the hundreds. Mary was active in Relief Society and other Church organizations that called for activity and willing service. She was called as President of the Primary on 23 May, 1890, and served until 12 March, 1899. She was faithful in all these duties to the trust given to her. She was willing to obey and honor the great plan of salvation. Among the obligations she and her husband remembered the law of tithing and temple work for their relatives.

Charles was advanced in the Priesthood and was an active worker in the ward. He was Sunday School Superintendent for many years. He always exercised a great deal of faith and many were healed when he administered to them. He started Genealogical and Temple work for his kindred dead. They were strict tithe payers, devoted church members, honest, truthful, and took great care in fulfilling their promises.

They lived a life dedicated to the programs of the LDS Church. They instilled in their children and grandchildren a love of the Gospel along with the need for honest work and integrity. They had 12 children-- 8 boys and 4 girls; 76 grandchildren; 8 great grandchildren. Charles became ill in March 1892 and died September 18, 1896, age 63, and was buried in the Woodruff cemetery. He was truthful and honest and when he was laid in his grave he didn't owe anyone -- not even for his grave expenses.

Mary died in Woodruff, Utah at the home of her daughter, Betsy (Mrs. William H. Longhurst) Monday, 15 March 1909 at the age of 75 from a heart attack. She was buried in the Woodruff cemetery at the side of her husband. The information from which the Dean family Life Stories are taken; was compiled, recorded or written by Mary E. Dean Black and Lucy Dean Wilson, daughters of John C. Dean and Elizabeth Howard Dean.

SOURCE: Family Search.org