My great-great-great grandmother, Ann Ham Hickenlooper, left England and a fiance after hearing the missionaries speak and gaining a testimony. It broke her heart to leave her fiance but he told her he could never support her new found faith. She was part of the first handcart company to come to Utah. She writes in her journal of the joys and sorrows that company had. President Brigham Young and others came to help them and they brought a present of watermelons which were wonderful. Ann tasted the watermelon and it brought back her voice. She had suffered with a sore throat and could barely speak for three weeks. When she told the prophet this, he became emotional and could only whisper "God bless you sister." Because of this story, I have decided to start the tradition of having a watermelon every year on the 24th of July.
She married William Haney Hickenlooper. She was a nurse and she and her husband would be called to the bedside of the sick all the time. She would take care of them as a nurse and he would administer Priesthood blessings. Her husband was said to have the gift of healing. They were a terrific team.
My great-great-great aunt was Olympia Brown, a staunch supporter of women's suffrage. She went to college and was told in her speech classes that women weren't required to memorize their speeches like the men. She memorized every single speech. She became the first women ordained minister. Because she was such a fabulous speaker, Susan B. Anthony continually sought her help with the suffragist movement. She delivered 300 speeches in one summer.
Another great-great-great grandmother was Mary Ann Burnhope Wallace. She gave birth to 11 children and only raised two to adulthood. She had three sets of twins and all died except one. Her husband was in a polygamist marriage and when his second wife came down with small pox, Mary Ann nursed her night and day until she died. That wife left behind one little boy and when she saw her husband worrying about what would become of his son she said, "No one but me can have him, for he is yours," and she raised him and loved him as her one. She studied obstetrics and practiced as a midwife for many years.
My great-great-grandmother Elizabeth Carlton Wallace Hickenlooper loved theater and loved to dance and sing. She met her husband because she had been cast as the lead in a play and Orson Hickenlooper and another boy volunteered to go pick her up and drive her to the hall each night for rehearsals. After Orson's turn the first night, he told the other boy that his services would no longer be required. She lost every single one of her sisters due to tragic illnesses. When she herself was sick with small pox, her father prayed to know what to do and was given the answer to make her cinnamon tea, which helped with her symptoms.
There was another woman who came up in these stories who inspired me and made me very curious, she was the sister of Mary Ann and aunt of Elizabeth. Her name was Betsy and both women talk of her coming to take care of them during difficult times. I don't know much else about her, other than she had a rather large family of her own to take care of. But both Mary Ann and Elizabeth talk of her coming for long periods of time and the sweet and tender care she gave. I want to learn to minister like Aunt Betsy.
I also got a chance to read a journal that my grandma kept. That was precious. I loved reading things about her I didn't know. We weren't particularly close, but I felt so much closer to her after that. She wrote about a time when I came to visit and we went to the beach. She loved the Oregon Coast more than anything. She really was a writer and expressed herself so beautifully through those journals. She even chose a pen name, based partly on the love she had for copper dishes. Hmm...loved Oregon, writing, and dishes. Sound like anyone you know? 😉 I had to chuckle about how many times she used the word "delightful" to describe something in her day. I use that word all the time! No, she wasn't the ideal grandma, but she was mine and I love her for it.
This was a wonderful experience. I treasure these stories and hope to learn many more. I highly recommend getting to know your ancestors through their stories. I loved it!
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