George Stuart, the son of Daniel and Agnes Huddlestone,
was born in Kendal, England on February 27, 1845. His
father was a shoemaker, and his mother was of Quaker descent. They all left England
with the second group of immigrant saints from that country after having
embraced the gospel.
Daniel Stuart,
George's father, became acquainted with Brigham Young at Council Bluffs in 1848. Daniel brought his
family to Utah
in 1850. George Stuart was just a small boy when he crossed the plains with his
parents. While a young man, he made four trips overland to the Missouri River
with oxen to bring immigrants to Utah.
He lived in Salt Lake City in the block known as
Pioneer Park until he was married.
George married
two sisters in polygamy. He and his first wife Mary Evans were married October
8, 1865.
Jemima Evans became his second wife April 8, 1874. He married both in the
Endowment
House. He suffered and endured all the hardships of a pioneer and a polygamist,
including jail time.
Mary and Jemima each gave birth to seven children.
George assisted
in the construction of the first telegraph line between Salt
Lake City and points in Montana.
He also helped build the first telephone lines into Malad Valley. From 1862 to 1867, he was employed
by Western Union Telegraph Company.
George held
various important positions in the church, holding the office of Bishop of the Malad Ward for twelve years. He spent three years as a missionary,
first in Scotland and England where he also gathered some genealogy
and then he did the same in the Eastern part of the United States.
He was always
an industrious worker and builder, both in civic and religious affairs, Many
times working against adversity to gain his point. He died August 11, 1919
succumbing to cancer.
Mary
Evans
Mary Evans,
the eldest daughter of Thomas L. Evans and Jane Davis, was born April 24, 1840 in
Glamorganshire, Wales.
When the family embraced the gospel, Mary and her father left the rest of the
family in Wales. They traveled from Liverpool to Utah in 1863. The rest of the
family followed three years later in 1866.
Thomas and Mary
were about six weeks on the ocean. Mary assisted those who were ill during the
journey. She and her father arrived in Utah
in October of 1863. She worked for various families in Salt Lake City. She married George Stuart.
They lived in Salt Lake City about three years, then moved to Ogden,
Utah for about two years. Next
they moved to Corrine, Utah where they resided for three more
years. Finally, they settled in Malad, Idaho
and filed for a homestead there.
Mary lived
on a ranch just south of Malad for a number of years,
then finally moved into town. She was active in
affairs of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. At one time she was
president of the Relief Society and for a number of years she was President of
the Young Ladies M.I.A. Mary died
September 12,1934 and is buried in Malad, Idaho.
Jemima
Evans
Jemima,
the youngest child of Thomas L. Evans and Jane Davis, was born April 2, 1850 in
Glamorganshire, Wales.
At the age of sixteen Jemima left Wales with her mother, Jane and brother, Benjamin
for America. There they joined Jemima's father, Thomas, and Mary, her older
sister, who had immigrated to Utah three year earlier.
Landing in America, they proceeded on the journey to Utah in the
company of Captain Thomas Ricks of Logan. This train
was the first wagon train to make the westward journey drawn by a mule team.
They arrived in Salt Lake City in 1866. Two weeks later they joined Thomas in Malad.
The only schooling Jemima had was when she was in Wales. The
school which she attended
was run by a company operating an iron works. The teacher was Evan Jones.
Jemima would walk two
miles to school. If any of the children were late, they would get two or three
whips on the hand. They
were taught to respect their parents and teachers.
When
Jemima came to this country, there was a mail route that went up Bannock Street. At that
time, Bannock Street
only had six log houses with dirt roofs and floors. She lived in a dugout. It
was built like a cellar with a dirt roof.
She had a
driving ambition to be a good seamstress, inspired by her father being a tailor
in Wales. Jemima was called with others at the age of seventeen
to go to the Endowment House where she received her own endowments. She married
George Stuart in the Endowment House in Salt
Lake City, Utah at
the age of twenty-four.
Jemima
lived on a ranch just south of Malad the greater part
of her married life. She endured the hardships of pioneer life and the
persecutions of polygamy. George and Jemima had three sons and four daughters. Jemima, also raised another boy, her sister's grandson. She
cared for him as her own.
She
donated to the building of churches and public buildings in Malad.
She saw many outstanding improvements during her life; the automobile, radio
and airplane being the most important. Incidents experienced during her life which
were important were: the Civil War, World War I, and the Flu Epidemic of
1918-19.
Submitted by: Lael Christopherson
