52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 13 - My Mormon Pioneers - Charles Coulson Rich - The Later Years

Charles C. Rich's legislative duties in Salt Lake City and his church responsibilities kept Charles's life full and added to his family income. Charles would leave in April 1862 for a mission with Amasa Lyman to Europe. They would return in late summer or possibly early fall of 1862. 

In September 1863, Charles was called upon to begin the colonization of the Bear Lake Valley region. He made two trips to the Bear Lake area in August and September 1863 to explore the area and begin plans for colonizing the area. In June 1864 the Rich family moved to Bear Lake. The photograph of Charles to the left is from The C.R. Savage Collection at the BYU Harold B. Lee Library Digital Collection.

In 1879, at age 70 he began organizing an expedition to build a Mormon community in Star Valley, Wyoming about 40 miles from Bear Lake. I would imagine that his decades of experience in planning & organizing large expeditions, as well as his knowledge of building Mormon communities would have make him invaluable. At around this same time, Charles was involved in the building of the Temple in Logan. He and the settlers of the Bear Lake community were tapped to supply labor and supplies for the building of the Logan Temple. This was a great sense of pride to the Mormon community. Charles and those who followed him were never idle for very long. They were always given new challenges and new opportunities as a result of these challenges.

Charles suffered his first paralyzing stroke in October of 1880. This first stroke affected the left side of his body and he nearly lost his ability to speak. As was his nature he fought to reclaim his capabilities of movement and speech. When news of the stroke was learned, Church President, John Taylor stayed in constant communication with Charles's eldest son Joseph C. Rich. President Taylor also sent for Charles's wife, Sarah DeArmon Pea Rich and her family so that they could get to Bear Lake and be with him and the rest of their family. Joseph reported to President Taylor that he had had a conversation with his father and that it had been decided that it was best if he returned to Utah for the winter. However, Charles was requesting the advice of fellow Church brethren for their advice in the wisest course of action and that he would abide by their decision.

So in early November 1880 the Rich family including Mary Ann and Emeline began their trek to Logan, Utah. They then boarded a train in Logan bound for Salt Lake City. Charles would spend the next for months receiving treatments and recuperating at the home of his first wife, Sarah DeArmon Pea Rich, the only one of his wives who still lived in Utah. Emeline wrote in a letter to Charles O. Card, (founder of Cardston, Alberta, Canada, the first Mormon settlement in Canada) she described Charles's condition as a gradual improvement in his limbs and appetite. She also said that twice a day she would get him to sit up in chair for two to three hours each time and that his speech was improving as well.

When Charles returned to Paris, Idaho in late January or early February of 1881, the Union Pacific Railroad Company provided Charles with a private car which would take him to Evanston, Wyoming. Upon arriving in Evanston, he was met by his sons who would take their father by wagon back to Paris. They arrived in Paris on February 22nd, 1881. Many of the settlers of Bear Lake were there to greet their highly respected leader.

Through the tender loving care of his wives, who made him as comfortable as they possibly could, saw little change in Charles's condition. Not long after arriving back in Paris, Charles began putting his affairs in order to the best of his ability. He struggled to pay his debts that were incurred from his illness. He wrote his will and left instructions for his funeral and burial. One source of strength during this period in Charles's life were the letters he received from his friends. One such friend was Niels Wilhelmsen of St. Charles, Idaho. Niels was in Scandinavia serving on mission and he wrote several letters to Charles in which he expressed his thanks for the many encouraging letters he had written to Niels.

It was also during this time that his thoughts turned to his family. He and his fifth wife, Emeline Grover lost their eldest son, Thomas Grover Rich in July 1878 when he was thrown from a racehorse. His second wife, Eliza Ann Graves had passed away in June of 1879 and his daughter Phoebe Jane with his fourth wife, Sarah Jane Peck died of typhoid fever in October of 1879. At this point in time, 14 of his children were deceased. His wives Sarah DeArmon Pea, Eliza Ann Graves, Emeline Grover and Harriet Sargent each lost one child either in infancy or childhood. His third wife, Mary Ann Phelps, lost four children and his fifth wife, Sarah Jane Peck, lost six children. The pain and loss of child is never easy but during the time period of the 1840's and the 1870's the infant mortality rate was very high on the western frontier. 

Charles would continue to have "attacks", I am thinking that these attacks were likely  mini or mild strokes between late 1880 and his death in November 1883. By October of 1881, Charles was completely paralyzed and confined to bed. These "attacks" would have left the state of his health in fragile circumstances in these last years. In April of 1883, President John Taylor and several of his church colleagues were in Bear Lake Valley and stopped to visit Charles and described him as being feeble. They returned in mid summer of the same year to find that Charles was confined to his bed and no longer able to speak. He lapsed into unconsciousness in November of 1883 and died on November 17th, 1883. 

Charles left specific instructions for his burial and requested that his wives wash and prepare his body as was the custom of the Church. He would have been dressed in the customary white clothes along with his Mormon Temple clothes. His funeral was on November 20th, 1883 and attended by many people from his community and the surrounding area as well as by many officials of the Church of Jesus Christ and the Latter Day Saints. He is buried in Paris Cemetery, Paris, Bear Lake, Idaho.

Charles Coulson Rich led an extraordinary life. A life that saw him as leader. He fought for his beliefs in Missouri and Nauvoo where he was a general with the Nauvoo Legion and again in the Mormon War of 1857. He answered the call of the Church for many missions that took him all over the Midwest, Utah, California, Idaho and England. These missions caused him to be away from his family from weeks or months to a few years. He helped to settle the city of San Bernadino, California and the community of Bear Lake Valley, Idaho.  He served as a politician for two years in the Utah Territorial Legislature for Davis County.  Charles lived his life to the fullest and with distinction, devotion and dedication in his belief of God, his family and the foundations of the Church of Jesus Christ and the Latter Day Saints. At the time of his death in 1883, Charles had been an Apostle in the Church for more than three decades and was third in seniority behind then President of the Church, John Taylor.

He knew the movers and shakers who formed and built the community known as the Church of Jesus Christ and the Latter Day Saints. He knew the Prophet Joseph Smith, Jr., as well as his father, Joseph Smith, Sr and brother Hyrum Smith. He knew Brigham Young, the first President of the Church and answered his call time and again to settle and build communities in San Bernadino, California and Paris, Idaho. When President Young called Charles to go on a mission to England he went and spent nearly two and half years away from his family. The Charles C. Rich Family Association held a memorial hike and dinner in April of 2014 to honor Charles and other settlers of the Bear Lake area which also coincided with the 150th Anniversary of the Rich family's move to the area.

This is not the end of Charles Coulson Rich's story however, it will be the last piece for 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge for now in regards to Charles and his family. I am currently working on several pieces that specifically deal with areas of Charles life that I have only briefly touched on in previous posts. These pieces will be posted in my blog series, My Mormon Pioneers at a later date.

Sources:
Title: [Charles G. Rich bust portrait], Call Number: MSS P 24 Item: 149, Photographer:Savage, C. R. (Charles Roscoe), 1832-1909, Photographer: Charles Roscoe Savage, Collection: Charles R. Savage Photographic Collection, Original Publisher: Fine Art Bazar, Salt Lake City, UT, Date of Original: ca. 1870-1875, Electronic Edition File Name: 207_MSS_P_24_B2_F7.jpg , Digital Publisher: L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University, Date Digital: 2004-07; (http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/Savage/id/831 : accessed 5 Sept 2014) 
Ancestry.com. LDS Pioneer and Handcart Companies, 1847-1856 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com, 2013.
Ancestry.com. Membership of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1830-1848 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013.
Charles C. Rich - Mormon General and Western Frontiersman, Leonard J. Arrington, Brigham Young University Press, Provo, Utah, 1974, pp. 293-296, PDF Download digitally imaged at _ Family Search_ (https://dcms.lds.org/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?dps_pid=IE96564&from=fhd : accessed 14 September 2014).
Nina W. Palmer, Compiler, Charles C. Rich and His Six Wives, PDF Download, digitally imaged at (https://dcms.lds.org/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?dps_pid=IE4786662&from=fhd : accessed 1 March 2015).
Nina W. Palmer, Compiler, Charles Coulston Rich - San Bernadino Years 1849-1856, PDF Download, digitally imaged at (https://dcms.lds.org/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?dps_pid=IE4530532&from=fhd : accessed on 1 March 2015)
Jeanene Watkins Scott, Compiler,  Ancestral File 4.23 printouts for Charles Coulson Rich and wives : Pea, Sargent, Phelps, Peck, Grover and Graves, PDF Download (https://dcms.lds.org/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?dps_pid=IE4573484&from=fhd : 1 March 2015).
Find-A-Grave, database (http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=6495544&ref=acom : accessed 5 September). 
Charles C. Rich Family Association, (http://www.ccrich.org/ : 1 March 2015). 
 
Copyright © Dawning Genealogy/Dawn M Kogutkiewicz 2014-2015, All rights reserved.  

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 12 - My Mormon Pioneers Charles Coulson Rich and Harriet Sargent Part 8

Source: City of San Bernadino California Library Services

Harriet Sargent was chosen to be the sixth and final wife of Charles Coulson Rich. A decision made by Charles and his first wife Sarah DeArmon Pea Rich. 

Harriet was born on October 23rd, 1832 in Fountain County, Indiana to Abel Morgan Sargent, Jr and his wife Sarah Edwards. When she was nearly two, her father moved to Ohio where the Church of Jesus Christ and the Latter Day Saints began. From there he followed the church from county to county, state to state until finally the Mormon community was chased out of Missouri by a violent and angry mob of neighbors. 

Like Charles's other wives, Harriet's family was one of the early families practically from the beginning of the Mormon church. As Harriet's family fled from Missouri, her mother Sarah became very ill and possibly injured from a fall and as a result her father took his wife to her family in Indiana. Sarah was pregnant with her 10th child and was expecting to be "confined" soon however, she began her confinement early. Harriet was seven years old when her mother and baby brother died in March of 1839.

After the death of her mother, Harriet's father stayed in Indiana through the summer but decided he would move his family to Nauvoo, Illinois, now the home of the Mormons who had fled Missouri. Unfortunately, his father in law, David Edwards was not pleased by the decision as he blamed the Mormon community for his daughter's death and wanted to keep his grandchildren safe with him. Abel gathered his family together and went to the home of friend to hide but Mr. Edwards, who was an officer of the law found them and told Abel that he would follow and bring the children back to Indiana.

Abel built a raft or skiff and with the aid of his brother, he, Harriet and her sisters Martha Jane and Caroline escaped from the home of his father in law, David Edwards. They traveled for nearly 200 miles before they felt safe enough to land their raft/skiff and transfer to a steamboat which carried them another 200 miles to Randolph County, Illinois. Due to his age, the youngest boy, Thomas and his sister Drucilla having a "swelling of her leg", Abel left them in the care of their grandfather. Upon arriving in Randolph County, Illinois, all of the children became ill and they remained so all winter. Since he was an educated man, Abel remained in Randolph County for four years and taught school there until the family finally moved to Nauvoo.

At some point, Abel found homes for his children (for what reason I do not know) and Harriet was placed in the home of Charles and Sarah D. Rich, caring for their children so that Sarah could do work at the Temple. Then in 1846, Harriet's father volunteered to a soldier in the Mormon Battalion. Upon his return, he stole his son Thomas away from the home of David Edwards and they began the move westward to Utah. Abel and Thomas joined a company heading for Utah. This company was stricken with Cholera during this time. Both Abel and Thomas were stricken with Cholera and died as a result. 

After living in the home of Charles and Sarah D. Rich for two years Charles, approached Harriet to ask her about the idea of plural marriages. Several months later he again approached Harriet about plural marriages and explained that two of his brethren were interested in marrying her. They approached Charles for two reasons (1) she was a member of his household and (2) he was the high ranking official during this time in Mount Pisgah, Iowa. The Rich household then moved to Winter Quarters, Nebraska and Charles again approached Harriet about plural marriages but this time he was asking for himself. Harriet then spoke with Sarah D. and with her guidance Harriet accepted the proposal and became the sixth and final wife of Charles Coulson Rich.

As the family made arrangements in Nebraska for the trip to Utah, Charles and Harriet were married on March 28th, 1847. Harriet helped to drive one of the wagons, the one carrying her mother in law, Nancy O'Neal Rich who had been ill through out the journey west. Mrs. Rich died the day after arriving in the Salt Lake Valley. 

In the spring of 1849, Harriet gave birth to her first child, Franklin David Rich. Then in 1851, along with Mary Ann Phelps Rich and Emeline Grover Rich they went with Charles to begin the settlement of San Bernadino, California. Harriet's next three children, Adelberg Coulson, Harriet Tunis and Abel George Rich were all born in San Bernadino. In the spring of 1857, everyone in the colony of San Bernadino were ordered to return to Utah by church President Brigham Young. The reason for being ordered to return was due to the fact that Colonel Albert Sidney Johnson was marching on Salt Lake City and what was going to known as The Utah War. On the way back to Utah, little Harriet Tunis died of a convulsion and was interred upon arriving back in Utah.

 Top Photo: Martha Caroline "Caddie" Rich Parrish. Photo Below L to R: Morgan Jesse Rich, Franklin David Rich, Alvin Orlando Rich and Drucilla Rich Streeper. Source: Charles C. Rich - Mormon General and Western Frontiersman, Leonard J. Arrington

Once the war was over, Harriet and her children settled in Centerville, Utah. It was here that the next two children, Caroline "Caddie" and Harley Thomas Rich were born. When they first settled in Centerville their crops were meager, then Charles was called on to do a Mission in Europe. It was during this time that Charles's wives learned about each other, supported each other and their husband and respective families. By the fall of 1863, Charles was called upon to settle another colony, this time in Bear Lake Valley. It was here that Harriet's last four children, Luna Rosetta, Morgan Jesse, Alvin Orlando and Drusilla Sarah were born.

 Top Photo: Luna Rich Waldo. Photo Below L to R: Harley Thomas Rich, Adelberg Coulson RIch and Abel George Rich.
Source: Charles C. Rich - Mormon General and Western Frontiersman, Leonard J. Arrington

Those first several winters in Idaho were as difficult as any of the other journey's that Harriet had been through thus far. The winters here would have been very long and severe in Idaho which resulted in their grain being frozen which made it damp and moldy. They were still able to perhaps trade and/or hunt wild game and fish. They may have lost some cattle as well as any food that was not properly prepared for storage under such harsh winter conditions. 

Harriet loved music, she sang, played the organ and guitar according to her family. Like the other wives she was excellent seamstress, accomplished at dying yarns and using raw materials such as hides to make clothes for herself and her family. With the help of her daughter Caroline "Caddie" she was able to make a rag carpet for her home. As busy as her home life was Harriet still found time to work with the Women's Relief Society and took a special interest in children who had been orphaned as she had been. Also like the other wives, Harriet made many sacrifices to ensure that her children received an education. The older boys Franklin, Adelbert and Abel went to Brigham Young Academy as did many of their their siblings. The youngest son Alvin along with his sisters Caroline, Luna and Drucilla all earned teaching certificates at the University of Deseret in Salt Lake City.

Harriet Sargent Rich died on July 18th, 1915 in Centerville, Utah and was laid to rest beside her husband in Paris, Idaho. 

To be a pioneer woman during this time you had to be tough, resourceful, industrious, courageous and have faith that what they were doing was for the greater good of their life, their home and their family. As a family they faced many hardships like rain for days at a time, harsh freezing winters, persecution for your religious beliefs, driving teams of horses and/or oxen, crossing dangerous rivers, deserts and plains, droughts, insects, heat, sickness, birth and death. They dealt with hardships, trials and tribulations of their circumstances at that time.

They saw first hand how the Church of Jesus Christ and the Latter Day Saints forged their way from New York, Ohio, Missouri, Illinois, Iowa and Nebraska to the Salt Lake Valley. They watched as their husband, Charles Coulson Rich was called upon time and again to settle colonies in San Bernadino, California and Bear Lake Valley, Idaho and then accept a mission to Europe for more than two years. Lake Valley, Idaho. They also knew that because of Charles duties both civic and church kept him busy and away from home more often than not, it would fall upon them to raise their children.

These six women, Sarah DeArmon Pea, Eliza Ann Graves, Mary Ann Phelps, Sarah Jane Peck, Emeline Grover and Harriet Sargent were amazing women in their own right.  Collectively, these women gave birth to 51 children and of those, 13 died while in their infancy, early childhood or as teenager. They shared their joys and sorrows and depended on one another for support when Charles was away. They believed in their strength, their faith in God and knowing that all that they had endured would be rewarded in the end. It is my privilege to call these women my ancestors!

Sources:
Ancestry.com. LDS Pioneer and Handcart Companies, 1847-1856 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com, 2013.
Original data: Black, Susan Easton. Pioneers of 1847: A Sesquicentennial Remembrance. Provo, Utah: © 1980. Private donor; Black, Susan Easton. Members of the Ellsworth and McArthur Handcart Companies of 1856. © 1982. Private donor and Black, Susan Easton. Members of the Willie and Martin Handcart Companies of 1856: A Sesquicentennial Remembrance. Provo, Utah: © 1980. Private donor.
Ancestry.com. Membership of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1830-1848 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013. Original data: Black, Susan Easton, compiler. Membership of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1830–1848. 50 vols. Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Religious Studies Center, 1989. Private Donor.
Charles C. Rich - Mormon General and Western Frontiersman, Leonard J. Arrington, Brigham Young University Press, Provo, Utah, 1974, pp. 293-296, PDF Download digitally imaged at _ Family Search_ (https://dcms.lds.org/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?dps_pid=IE96564&from=fhd : accessed 14 September 2014).
City of San Bernadino California, Harriet Sargent Rich, digital image (http://www.sbcity.org/cityhall/library/historical_photos/p_r_pioneers/rich_harriet_%28sargent%29.asp) digital image enlarged (http://www.sbcity.org/images/departments/library/csb_jpg/csb_132.jpg : accessed 20 September 2014)
Nina W. Palmer, Compiler, "Emeline Grover Rich" Charles C. Rich and His Six Wives, pp. 264-302; PDF Download, digitally imaged at (https://dcms.lds.org/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?dps_pid=IE4786662&from=fhd : accessed 1 March 2015).
"Utah Death Certificates, 1904-1956," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XZGZ-K9F : accessed 30 March 2015), Harriet Sargent Rich, 18 Jul 1915; citing Centerville, Davis, Utah, United States, certificate 54, series 81448; Utah State Archives Research Center, Salt Lake City, Utah; FHL microfilm 2,229,570.

Copyright © Dawning Genealogy/Dawn M Kogutkiewicz 2014-2015, All rights reserved.  

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks -Week 11 - My Mormon Pioneers - Charles Coulson Rich & Emeline Grover Part 7

Emeline Grover Rich Source: Charles C. Rich and His Six Wives

Charles Coulson Rich and his first wife Sarah DeArmon Pea chose Emeline Grover to be his fifth wife. Emeline was born on July 30th, 1831. She was the second daughter of Thomas Grover, III and Caroline Whiting Grover in Freedom, New York. Her parents converted to the newly formed Mormon church sometime between 1830-1834. As a child, Emeline felt and witnessed first hand the uprisings, violence and persecution that were directed at her Mormon community for their religious beliefs. Emeline's father, Thomas, was a personal bodyguard for the Prophet, Joseph Smith. Because of Thomas Grover's position with the Prophet, the Smith and Grover families were very close.

In 1835 the family moved to Kirtland, Ohio where he helped build the temple. From Ohio, the family moved to Far West, Missouri, where they endured religious persecution. The family fled from Missouri in 1839, went to Quincy and the Nauvoo (formerly Commerce), Illinois, where her mother Caroline and her sister Emma both died in October 1840. This left Thomas alone with six little girls under the age of twelve to care for on his own. How terrified young Emeline must have been during these turbulent times.

By late 1845 or early 1846 Emeline found herself working in the home Charles Coulson Rich. As it became clear to the Rich family that they would be heading out west Charles and his first wife, Sarah DeArmon Pea Rich decided that Emeline should become the fifth wife of Charles. After speaking with Emeline and her father, Thomas Grover and obtaining their consent to marriage, Charles and Emeline went to the Nauvoo Temple where they were married on February 2nd, 1846 by Heber C. Kimball. Emeline was 15 years old when she married Charles Coulson Rich.

The early years of her marriage to Charles could not have been easy for Emeline. She had no sooner wed him, then they were fleeing from Nauvoo and starting the trek to the Great Salt Lake Basin. I can imagine that sleeping in tents or in wagons were not exactly conducive to encouraging this young woman in the intimate and private ways of a husband and wife. This was a journey of hardship for all who traveled in the company. They dealt with the weather, from wind and rain to snow, ice and bitter cold. There were food shortages, illnesses, injuries and death to overcome. The company traveled by wagon, handcarts and of course walking. Due to the Mexican-American War (1846-1848) many of the young men joined the Mormon Battalion, when the federal government came calling for volunteers. This meant that the women of the company had to drive the wagons and pull the handcarts or they would be left behind. 

However, through it all Emeline persevered and accepted the challenges that she faced. When they finally arrived in Salt Lake in October of 1847, there was much to do to prepare for the coming winter. Emeline lived with her father Thomas during that first winter in Salt Lake. She also attended the school which was taught by Alvira Cole Holmes. Then in 1848, her father moved to Centerville, Utah and she was left to manage her father's newly built log cabin home. It was in this home that Emeline began teaching school herself.

By the fall of 1849, Emeline was pregnant with their first child and Charles was called to go on a mission to California. Their son, Thomas Grover Rich was born in December 1849 while Charles was in California. Charles returned in November of 1850 from California. By the spring of 1851, Charles was called to go once again to California. This time he was called upon to  begin the Mormon settlement of San Bernadino, California. Emeline along with two of Charles's other wives, Mary Ann Phelps and Harriet Sargent would make the trek to California. They left Salt Lake in March of 1851, with just over 400 men, women and children.

The trek from Salt Lake to San Bernadino was just as grueling and maybe more so than the journey from Nauvoo. They endured the some of the same hardships as they had previously experienced but now they also faced new ones as well. Within Utah they had had to deal with blizzards, mud and Indian attacks. During this trip they had to cross two deserts, one in Nevada and the other in California and they were long hot, dry, and dusty miles. They had to carry water not only for themselves but for the animals that traveled with them. Once they emerged from the Sierra-Nevada Mountain into the valley of San Bernadino the company halted. For three months they stayed here making repairs to wagons and carts, purchasing food for hundreds with less than $1,000 dollars, and making preparations for the remainder of their journey including the purchase of land for their settlement.

Emeline was thrilled to finally have a home after spending so much time out in the open country. She relished taking care of her home and her son Thomas. After more than a year in San Bernadino, Emeline gave birth to her first daughter in January of 1852. The child was named Caroline Whiting after her maternal grandmother who died twelve years before. During the first few years of the settlement of San Bernadino, Charles would become the second mayor of the community. She and Charles would have another daughter, Nancy Emeline who was born in February of 1854. During the year of 1854, as the community was prospered there were also signs new challenges and old rumblings from the past that were bringing flashes of Far West and Independence, Missouri; Kirtland, Ohio and Nauvoo, Illinois. 

 Caroline Whiting Rich Humpherys Source: Charles C. Rich - Mormon General and Western Frontiersman

In the fall of 1854, Emeline and her children headed back to the Salt Lake Valley in the company of her husband as he was called to return for a general conference. They traveled in a small group with ten other people. Why did Emeline leave San Bernadino at this time while Mary Ann and Harriet stayed? It is said that she no longer felt her services were required there in San Bernadino and Charles must have agreed. However, Emeline was happy to be back and living now in Centerville, Utah. Over the course of the next ten years she would give birth to three more sons, Landon Jedediah who was born in March of 1858, Samuel Joseph who was born in May 1860 and Heber Charles Chase who was born in August of 1863. On the day that Samuel was born, Charles left for his mission to Europe and it would be two years before he ever met Samuel. 

 Nancy Emeline Rich Pugmire Source: Charles C. Rich - Mormon General and Western Frontiersman

With Charles on his mission to Europe his families were left with little means to support themselves. Like Sarah D., Eliza, Mary Ann, and Sarah Jane, Emeline supported her family with her skills as a seamstress making not only her own clothes but her daughters clothes as well. She was always learning some new skill for her needlework. She learned needle skills from the best of her fellow pioneering women and from Native American women she learned the art of sewing buckskin gloves, a skill she shared with other women in her community. 

By June of 1864, the Rich family were moving from Utah, north to the area Bear Lake, Idaho where Charles was once again called upon for a mission to start yet another settlement. At this point, Emeline Grover Rich was thirty-three years old and had six children. The last two children of Charles and Emeline Rich were born in Bear Lake, Idaho, Joel Hezekiah and George Quayle, in March of 1865 and George in March of 1869, respectively. 

Those first several winters in Idaho were as difficult as the other journey's that Emeline had been through thus far. Their home had three rooms with only a fireplace in the front room, the floors were made of dirt while the windows were covered in muslin until glass could be installed. The roof of their home was made from willows, straw and then covered with a heavy layering of dirt. The winters here would have been very long and severe in Idaho which resulted in the loss of cattle and food that was not prepared properly for storage under such conditions. 

Women in these early days of pioneering did not like for male doctors to attend them during childbirth. Doctors were scarce in these early days and matters were not helped when leaders of the Mormon church spoke of their bias against them. For these reasons a midwife system was put in place. Emeline was part of this network of midwives who carried out the role of midwife but also the roles of nurse, physician and pharmacist. In these roles her services were in high demand and while she treated illnesses such as pneumonia, diptheria, typhoid and scarlet fever, small pox and cholera she also set broken bones and on ocassion extracted bad teeth but it was her duties as midwife that made up the majority of her practice.

The Sons of Emeline Grover Rich & Charles C. Rich Source: Charles C. Rich - Mormon General and Western Frontiersman

Charles and Emeline's daughter Nancy Emeline married Vincent McKay Pugmire in 1873 and Caroline married Hyrum Thomas Humphreys in 1874. Their eldest son, Thomas Grover was killed accidently in July 1878 and in 1880, Charles suffered a stroke. In June of 1889, Eliza Ann Graves Rich, second wife of Charles passed away. As the fall of 1881 began, Emeline decided that she would return to Provo, Utah with her five remaining children, Landon, Samuel, Heber, Joel and George. She rented a large house, took in boarders, continued her work as a nurse and would accompany doctors on house calls. She also enrolled the boys at Brigham Young Academy (now known as Brigham Young University). Emeline and the boys returned to Provo again in the fall of 1882 so that they could continued with their education.

At some point Emeline enrolled at The Medical College of Utah, in Morgan, Utah. The college was founded in January of 1880 by Dr. Frederick S. Kohler and after two years was forced to close its doors. The fee for students was $80.00 per term (what a baragin!) and students were taught the latest medical techniques. In 1882 the college announced six graduates, one of whom was listed as Mrs. E. Rich of Idaho. Of the four graduates there is only information on two of them, the first being Benjamin Rush Kohler of Pennsylvania and son of the dean, Dr. F. S. Kohler. Emeline Grover Rich by all accounts a brillant student who had been a practicing midwife for many years prior to attending the medical college. Upon graduation she received her diploma and was listed as a member of the faculty specializing in obstetrics, unfortunately she never never had the opportunity to teach.

In February of 1886, Emeline's father Thomas Grover passed away in Centerville, Utah. After his death, she felt a calling to do Temple work in honor of her family who had died. As the fall of 1890 began, Emeline put her house in order and locked it up, made arrangements for the care of livestock and went to Logan, Utah. She lived with her sons, George and Heber while she pursued her Temple work. The records indicate she did work for her mother, whom she lost at such a tender age, and is credited with obtaining a rare, valuable book on her maternal line of Spauldings. Emeline continued her Temple work until about 1898 at which time she returned to her home in Idaho.

 Emeline Grover Rich Source: Charles C. Rich and His Six Wives

Emeline Grove Rich spent her remaining years practicing medicine, taking care of her home and being active in her community. She was very proud of her children and their accomplishments in life. Emeline learned at an early age that life could be hard and she overcame those hardships to be a woman with grit and determination, self-confident, and a source of strength and hope to her family and her community. Emeline passed away at home on May 4th, 1917 in Paris, Idaho.

Copyright © Dawn M Kogutkiewicz 2014-2015, All rights reserved. 

Sources: 
Ancestry.com. Heart Throbs of the West [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 1998. Original data: Kate Carter. Heart Throbs of the West. Vol. I-XII. Salt Lake City, UT, USA: Daughters of the Utah Pioneers, 1947.
Ancestry.com. Idaho History [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2003.p. 680; Original data: French, Hiram T.. History of Idaho. Vol. I-III. Chicago and New York, USA: Lewis Publishing, 1914.
Ancestry.com. Membership of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1830-1848 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013 citing Susan Easton Black, compiler. Membership of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1830–1848. 50 vols. Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Religious Studies Center, 1989. Private Donor.  
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