Edward Bennett
1848
I,
Edward Bennett, was born January 3, 1848 in Connah’s Quay, Flint, No. Wales. A
son of Captain John Bennett and Jane Roberts.
When 5
years old, I went to school at St. Marks National for a small fee of 2 pence
per week, under the tutorship of Robert Piercy. We held devotional every
morning and evening. The school house had 2 rooms, one for boys and one for the
girls. The teacher would stand in the doorway and lead the singing, “awake my
soul and with the sun”, in the evening “Doxology”. The Lord’s prayer was
repeated morning and evening. Mr. Piercy taught the boys and his wife taught
the girls. School was orderly. In about three years, another teacher came- Mr.
Hugh German and his sister. He was a good teacher in all branches, especially
in music in which he had contests. I attended school two winter quarters after
I was ten years old.
When
nine I was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
in the River Dee, by Elder John Kay on June 2, 1857 and was confirmed by John
Scott on the same day.
My
grandfather Benjamin Bennett was a licensed pilot; my father, his oldest son,
was called Captain Bennett, as he was captain of a tug boat for 11 years.
Father had 3 brothers, two of them did the same work as himself, the other one
was a sail maker and athlete. He had 2 sisters and they came to Utah. My
brother Ben and I naturally took their trail following the waters, we adopted
the fishing occupation. We often went as helpers to find the other fishermen.
Then we decided we could manage the job alright, so father bought us a boat and
net. Some nets we made ourselves. We employed a good hand to go with us the
first summer, Robert Dodd, one of our neighbors. We went fishing for salmon and
were very successful. We were very young to man a boat and nets, being only 10
and 12 years of age, but we became regular fishermen. We would go fishing at a
certain time of the tide with other men, mostly at night, so we slept during
the day. When salmon season was on, we would go down 10 or 12 miles as the tide
was going out and would in some eddy or wash caused by the drains of the
channel of the river for flat fish, fluke and flounders. We’d place the nets
across the wash, then go above and plunge with our oars and frighten the fish
back into the nets. Sometimes we would get a good haul and then again not, but
we would keep trying until the tide came in, then we’d go home. We use to have
some very stormy times whenever the wind blew down the river. We had to row
hard to get home. Father met us a few times. He could guess about where we were
and would walk down the beach. We could see him coming on the sands and I tell
you that would be a happy meeting.
One
time we were washing our nets in a strong current tide, we had the drudging
about half thru when it caught and our nets got away from us. We felt very bad.
When we rowed ashore, we were met by father, mother and Elder E.L. Sloan. We
cried as we told them how we lost our nets, three of them fastened together
which were 240 yards long. Elder Sloan said, “Don’t cry, you will find your
nets and they will be full of fish.” We had quite a good catch of fish that day
and mother took it to Chester market. The next day when the tide went out,
father and Ben went down to the river to hunt the nets and found them full of
fish, but could not get them until the next tide. We anchored about where the
nets were and waited until the tide went out, then we got the nets with all the
fish the boat could hold. We went to the same place a number of times with the
same results.
Now our
aim was to come to Zion. That was our greatest desire and whatever we put our
hands to do we were exceedingly blessed.
The
members of the church in our family in 1860 were: my grandfather John Jones, my
grandfather Benjamin Bennett, grandmother Catherine Jones, father, mother, and
father’s sister Elizabeth Bennett and my father’s family.
Our
education was limited. My brother Benjamin had two years start of me. He was an
exceptionally good student and was chosen at the age of 12 years with three
others for college. Our teacher was a fine man. He was six feet tall. He taught
us to sing anthems, part songs, and rounds. He told us about men getting drunk,
blaspheming, using tobacco, and wanted us to make a pledge with him never to
indulge in the habits, so we did. Benjamin and I were studying the Word of
Wisdom as revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith in the Doctrine and Covenants at
the time.
We made
a place of shelter for the winter by getting some cedar posts, and made a shed
built between the posts with brick casings, leaving a place for a door at the
end. We put a table up to it at night to keep cats and other things out. The
roof was made of poles across with willows or burch to hold the cane pumices to
keep out the storm. The roof took fire several times, but we kept close watch
so it didn’t do much damage.
Early
in February 1864, my father (John Bennett) and oldest brother Benjamin went to
Deseret to work on the dam. They were there for about a month the first time.
We moved down in the spring, lived in a blacksmith shop belonging to George
Lovell. Some of us slept in the wagon box and some in a room 10x12 belonging to
John Elliott. They had dirt floors, and willow and dirt roofs. In the summer we
made some adobes and built a two room house and covered it with willows and
mud. My father helped set the poles for the telephone line from Kanosh to Cove
Fort.
At
Deseret we had to stand guard and protect ourselves against the Indians- they
took some of our stock. We built a fort in 1856 and held a celebration on the
24th of July in a bowery in the northeast corner of the fort.
Colonel Callister and many visitors from Fillmore were there. We had a good
time for several days. In 1868 my brother-in-law, John Hunter and I went to
work on the railroad in Echo Canyon near Ogden. I was 20 years old. I was
called home on account of the sickness and later death of my father. I walked
most of the way from Echo Canyon coming thru coalville, up Chalk Creek and over
to Deseret, taking 4 days to make the trip. In the fall of 1868, we moved to
Holden and took up city lots.
I
married Elizabeth Jane Wood in the St. George Temple on March 2, 1877. I left
for a mission to Great Britain on November 9, 1887. I spent 12 months Wales and
about a year in Manchester conference over which I presided for 5 months before
being released to come home by President George Teasdale of the European
Mission. I went over and came back on the steamship Wisconsin (church
Chronology p. 178, October 5, 1889 reads as follows: “The steamship Wisconsin
sailed from Liverpool, England with 142 Saints, namely 194 English, 13
Hollanders, arrived in New York on October 17 and in Salt Lake City on October
25, 1889.”)
My
occupation at home was with sheep, cattle and farming. I was a bishop’s
counselor for 14 years. After coming back from my mission I was ward clerk for
9 years. I was manager of the Holden Co-op for a number of years and later on I
held the position of water master on the Sevier River and county assessor for
Millard County for one term. As a Blackhawk, was a veteran, for service in
Deseret 1866-1867 I received a pension.
The
following written by Jane Bennett Whitwood, a daughter of Edward Bennett:
My father was always kind to the Indians and whenever they
called at his home he fed them well, took care of feeding their horses and gave
them food and clothing to take with them. They would stay overnight at his
place. He would furnish quilts for this purpose. Quilts were kept for this
purpose and hay food. He said that the white men had taken the Indians land and
should give them food and other necessities in return. He would always feed
strangers that called at his home and made them as welcome as his friends.
Once
when he was out at the sheep camp a stranger came along who was entirely
without means. Father gave him $5.00 to help him on his way. The man was very
grateful and asked the name of the giver. Father gave his name and address.
About 20 years later a man called at the John Wood store asking for Edward
Bennett. He was told that Mr. Bennett was not at home so he handed Mr. Wood
$5.00 to give to father saying, “He gave me $5.00 many years ago when I was
sadly in need of help.” Father was honest in all his dealings. He always
practiced the Golden Rule and always paid his tithing and strictly kept the
Word of Wisdom. These things he taught thoroughly to his family. He was trusted
by all who knew him as a man of his word. He was a good bass singer, loved
music and was ward chorister for many years.
He
bought an organ for his home shortly before he went on his mission so that his
family could sing and enjoy music in the home. We spent many evenings together
as a family singing and playing to friends and relatives who enjoyed the
entertainment.
