Louisa Collings (1846-1916)
Born:
November 1, 1846
in London, London, England Died:
February 26, 1916
in Pima, Graham, Arizona Buried:
Pima Cemetery
Pima, Graham, Arizona Plot: SEC A-BLK 15-LOT 02A-SITE 04 Parents:
Richard Collings
Emma Lawrence Married:
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Louisa was the second child of Richard and Emma Lawrence Collings.
Louisa was two years old when her older sister, Alice died at the age of four. The Mormon missionaries knocked on their door, they were invited into the house, bringing comfort, hope and faith in the future. The parents were baptized in the year 1849. Louise was baptized in 1854. The family prepared to leave for Utah in 1856 with a group of saints on the ship "Horizon." Louisa was nine years old when she left England. She was as sea sick as the rest of the family during the big sea storm. She was frightened when the ship just about hit an iceburg. Louisa learned, "keep calm, there is no back door to run out of"; this was the attitude of her father. He and most of his children all through life, faced their problems calmly and relied on the Lord for protection and guidance. Louisa was expected to rise at six o'clock in the morning at the sound of a bugle, kneel in prayer at 7:30 by the sound of another bugle, eat breakfast and then help make their beds, and do the housekeeping chores of their small compartment. I feel Louisa must have been a big help to her Mother during the voyage. She would be helping to take care of the four younger brothers, the baby was only a few months old. The boat trip took forty-seven days to reach New Orleans. I'm sure all the new sights of America were exciting to a young girl. Especially of interest would be the dresses and bonnets the girls wore. She would again be a big help to her mother; they lived in the Iowa Camp for three weeks as her father built their handcart to pull 1300 miles across the plains. Louisa (age 9), and Fred (age 7), put on little harnesses to help their father pull the handcart with all of their possessions and provisions. Five-year-old David walked, three-year-old George rode on top of the cart and Mother carried nine-month-old Samuel. As the journey began it was an adventure. There was singing around the campfire at night. Visiting and playing with the other girls in the company. Louisa had her 10th birthday on the trail. Excitement of father going hunting for bear and other animals to eat. After leaving Fort Laramie, the travel became more difficult. October 19th, the family awoke to snow. It was bitter cold and the group came to creeks and rivers to cross. I imagine Louisa gathered up her skirts and waded through some, others she was carried over on the back of stronger boys that arrived to help. At night the children took tin plates to scrape away the snow to pitch their tent for the night. Often, in the mornings, Louisa's hair was frozen to the ground and her family would have to melt the snow to thaw her hair free. Father became very ill from the strain etc and just about died. We can imagine the feelings of this little 10 year-old girl that was old enough to understand the situation. She would have been a comfort to her younger brothers when they were extremely cold and hungry from no food. The family was rescued from Martin's Cove. There were many deaths in this company but Louisa and her family all survived. Louisa continued having faith in her religion and her Heavenly Father. The family settled in Springville, Utah. Louisa met and married John Wesley Johnson on March 6, 1863. (Temple marriage in 1865) Grandmother was seventeen years old. Three children were born while they lived in Springeville, John Wesley Jr., Louisa Lauretta, and William. Baby William died when a few months old. Grandmother and Grandfather were called to go to Monroe, Utah to help settle a new community. There were no houses there, they had to live in dug outs for a time. Four children were born in Monroe. Louisa and John Wesley were called to help settle Smithville, Arizona (Pima), arriving in the year 1981. Louisa's parents had helped settle Monroe and they also were moving to help settle Smithville (Pima). It is written that all of the Collings family (eight living children and their spouses and children) moved to Pima. They made a rather large group. In 1887, after several years of toil and hardship, Father Richard and Mother Emma Collings decided to return to Monroe with some of their married children. Louisa and John Wesley decided to stay in Pima. Grandmother passed away on February 26, 1916 in Pima, Arizona. Laid to rest February 27, 1916 in the Pima Cemetery. She gave us her testimony of courage, and obedience to the covenant of establishing the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. We are enjoying her blessings. Information taken from "Biography of Richard and Emma Lawrence Collings"
Written by Elaine Paulson and Sylvia Collings Musig, granddaughters. Dates and other info written by Alice Jo Cluff Ellsworth, gg-granddaughter |