ANN MORSE CAMP
Ann Morse Camp was born August 9, 1862 in Mountain Ash, Glamorganshire, Wales to Margaret Evans
and William Morse. Her father worked in the coal mines and it was while still
in his teens, that he first heard and received the Gospel. Because of his
conversion he was hissed at and scorned by his companions, but he didn't falter
in his belief. Both of her parents were natives of Carmarthenshire but William
had gone to Merthyr Tydfil
to work. Before Ann's birth they moved to Mountain Ash where he continued to
work in the mines.
The spirit of gathering to Zion
had come to her parents and although her mother's folks had disowned her
because she had married a Mormon she was willing to set out with her husband
for America.
They left Wales by train for London from which place they sailed 4 June 1863 on
the ship Amazon, bound for New York.
My mother was not yet one year old when this long journey
was undertaken so you can understand the strain on her dear mother. Her little
sister Mary Jane was a child of three but nothing daunted the converts who gave
up home, friends and loved ones to face an uncertain future in a strange, new
country.
Ann's family crossed the plains with the Thomas E. Ricks company leaving Florence, Nebraska
by ox team and reaching Salt Lake City
October 4, 1863. They spent
the first winter with a relative, William Davis, in Logan
but in the spring William Morse was busy with plans to build a home of his own.
During the winter he worked wherever he could find a job and stood guard with a
gun against the Indians who were very hostile in Cache
Valley. The details of their life
in Logan and the move to Samaria,
Idaho are told in the story of Ann's
parents.
When in her teens, she worked for different friends to
help out with the family income. South of Samaria she worked for the Joseph
Hawkins' family with the housework also helping to milk cows. Every day she
helped skim the milk and as there were no separators nor
creameries, they had to churn the cream and make butter and cheese. She worked
for seventy-five cents a week with long hours and hard work.
While living in Samaria
she met and married Williams P. Camp, Sr. at the age of sixteen on March 6, 1879 at the Salt Lake City
Endowment House as the Temple was
not yet completed. The trip to Salt Lake City
was made in a wagon and they were accompanied by his mother, Amelia Evans
Davis.
They returned to Samaria
where her husband had a new log house that he had built himself. He also built
the furniture. They lived here for several years where three of their children
were born: William Peter, Jr., Ann Morse, and Albert Morse. Ann died the same
day she was born.
While living in Samaria
her husband was called on a mission to the Southern States and left October 28, 1884. As
their means were limited and with herself and two children to support, she took
in washing, ironing, and sewing. She
sewed for others, too. With the
help of the Samaria Ward he served a two-year mission, getting his release
March 7, 1887 and returning home March 13, 1887.
After his return they homesteaded a dry farm at Pleasant
View. There they had many hardships and long hours of hard
work for the sagebrush was so tall they couldn't see over it. They lived
in a log house they had built. Lacking modern machinery, it took long hours of
hard work and patience to clear the sage and plant a crop. They lived in a log
house until 1890 when they built a frame house which still stands. There the
rest of their family were born: Alvin M., Margaret,
Amelia, Deseret, Richard,
Emma, Joseph, Olive. Two died without names and one stillborn, making 14 in
all.
They went through many hardships here and were frightened
many times by the Indians. When they came to the Warm Springs to camp, the deer
came to the Big Ditch to drink and were used for food as they were plentiful.
Mushrooms and watercress were also plentiful and useful for food.
After moving from Samaria
to Pleasant View, she continued as president of the Primary at Samaria
because Pleasant View was not a Ward at that time. The only way of
transportation was in a wagon or by walking. When the horses were in use on the
farm, she walked all the way and took her small sons, carrying one part of the
way. Albert had died of typhoid-pneumonia in 1898.
They had the post office in their home for several years
and she took care of the Pleasant View mail. During her married life, her husband
held many responsible positions: secretary of the MIA at Samaria
and in Pleasant View. He was a bishop's counselor, stake missionary, home
missionary, on the Sunday School Stake Board, and secretary of the Stake MIA, a
ward teacher and religion class leader. She and her husband were called as
missionaries to the Logan Temple,
and she held this position until the time of her death.
They lived in Logan
for a few years where they moved to educate their family. They also lived in
Holbrook during the summers for a few years as they owned and operated a dry
farm there. They spent three winters
at Malad City
living in part of the home of their son-in-law and daughter, William E. and Deseret Moon. They sold their home and farm in Holbrook and
took back their home in Pleasant View which had previously been sold. There she
lived the rest
of her life. She died June 14, 1942 of heart trouble and hardening of the
arteries. She is buried at the Pleasant
View Cemetery.
She would have been 80 years old in August of that year.
Deseret
C. Moon, Daughter
