Emma Everett
of
Mendham, England
March 6, 1854
February 4, 1885
When I was a young adult my grandmother, Mildred Everett Davis, handed me a
history written about her grandma Emma Everett. It sat in a file for many years. After
the death of my grandmother I felt a desire to do something for her she was unable to do
herself. I knew Emma was important to Grandma, because she often brought her name
up. I knew she wanted to know more about her. So I began a serious research of Emma.
My goal was to obtain documentation of the things written about her. Her birth
certificate, death certificate, burial place, and information about her brother George, were
the easiest things to find, but I wanted to know more. I began to research historical
information, which turned out to be a ten-year adventure. The history of Salt Lake City,
Utah and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, with Emma in it, all began to
unfold. I soon had a file of documents that told a story that only I knew. Because of this,
I organized my research into this story.
This story has been written from the research and documentation of Christine J. Flanders.
© 2010 by Christine J. Flanders. All rights reserved.
2
This is a copy of Emma’s history given to me by my grandmother Mildred Everett
Davis. Mildred is one of the daughters of Charles Edward Everett. Charles Edward
Everett is the son of Emma Everett. I believe someone other than Emma wrote her
history, and I believe it was written some time after her death.
Emma Everett
Emma Everett was the eighth daughter of Charles Everett and Elizabeth Wright.
She was born 6 March 1854 at Mendham, Suffolk, England.
Married ---She had 2 children, William, who died when but a small boy of about 3 years old.
Charles Edward Everett, who married Emily Ada Rose.
Joined the church, and came over with the Norwich Branch of converts. They
sailed on the steamship “ABYSINNIA” on October 21, 1882 with son Charles who was 9
years old.
Just before leaving, she took her maiden name of Emma Everett, not saying what
her married name was.
When she arrived here she went to live with her brother George Everett and his
wife Emma Freestone Everett. His family consisted of Emily, William, Annie, Joseph,
Jack, and Ruth. In a little doby house on the south west corner of South Temple and
West Temple, where the Grey Hound Bus Station now stands, across from the
Tabernacle.
They then moved down into the old 16th ward that was located on 3rd North
between 6th and 7th West. After getting settled she obtained a job at what was then called
the L.D.S. Hospital that was located then on 2nd West, across from what is now known as
the West High School.
While working there she contracted typhoid fever and consumption (Annie had a
premonition while Emma was working there. She felt as if something was going to
happen and told her mother that if Emma came home with the fever either she or her
father would die. Annie died of the fever.)
As Emma lay sick she pierced the ears of her niece Emily and gave her a pair of
earrings which she had brought with her from England. She had won them at a jockey
race while there.
Emily Everett Younger is still wearing these earrings at this writing at the age of 83
years.
She told us this story summer of 1956.
3
Emma’s Early Years
Emma was the ninth of ten children born to Charles Everett and Elizabeth Wright.
Three siblings, who were born before Emma, died as infants. They were Phoebe, born
September 22, 1838, Thomas and Edward. Seven children survived to be adults.
Emma was born March 6, 1854 in Mendham, England, which is a parish partly in
the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk.1 “The village of Mendham stands on the river
Waveney at the boundary with Norfolk.”2
In the year Emma was born “the population consisted of 877 souls covering
about 3000 acres of land, of which 291 souls and 1,200 acres were in Norfolk, adjoining
Harleston; and all the rest of the village, with the church, are [were] in Suffolk, 2 miles
S.E. of Harleston.”3
Census records show that Emma’s parents, Charles and Elizabeth Everett, lived in
Mendham from the time they were married in 1835 until some time before the 1871
census when they are found in Withersdale, a short distance from Mendham. Charles
was an agricultural laborer all of his life. Agricultural laborers worked hard and were
poor people. This meant that Charles worked wherever he was needed, and the same
farmer probably did not always employ him. It can be assumed Charles and Elizabeth’s
children went to work as soon as they were old enough to help with the finances at home
as was the case for Emma.
Emma Everett Begins Working
Emma appeared in the 1861 census, as a seven year old, living with her parents as
a child scholar.4 In 1871, Emma was seventeen years old. She appeared on census
records working as a servant and dairymaid for John Durrant in Mettingham, Suffolk.
Mettingham is a distance of seven point one miles from Mendham where she was raised.
Jon Durrant’s occupation was a farmer of 277 acres. John Durrant employed 11 men, 4
boys, and 2 women.5 The census record inaccurately lists Emma’s place of birth as
Mettingham. Because of this we cannot be one hundred percent sure that it is Emma
Everett, daughter to Charles and Elizabeth. Census recorders were not always accurate as
they recorded information.
By 1881 Emma was twenty-seven years old and working in Redenhall with
Harleston, Norfolk. She’s employed as a housemaid in the home of John (?) Holmes.
John Holmes was the Justice of the Peace for the county of Norfolk.6
Not only had Emma’s job changed, but her father was a widower living in
Withersdale Suffolk. Emma’s mother passed away February 13, 1880, at the age of
1
General Register Office, London England, Certified Copy of an Entry of Birth, Index Referance June
Quarter 1854, Hoxne District, Vol. 4a pg. 516. Birth of Emma Everett 6 March 1854, Certified 13 May
1969.
2
Wilson, John Marius. The Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales. Edinburgh: A. Fullarton, [18701872]
942 E5i Vol. 4 p. 313. Family History Library.
3
GENUKI. Francis White’s History, Gazetteer, and Directory of Norfolk 1854, p. 380
E C (Paddy) Apling 2000-2007, August 13, 2007. GENUKI. (www.genuki.org.uk).
4
Great Britain Census Office.Census Returns for Hoxne 1841-1891, Film Number 052764.
Family History Library
5
Great Britain Census Office. Census Returns for Mettingham 1841-1891, Film Number 830825, pg.14.
Family History Library.
6
Great Britain Census Office. Census Returns for Redenhall 1841-1891,
Film Number 1341473 piece 1965 Foli 102 pg.6. Family History Library.
4
sixty-six.7 The 1881 census record of Withersdale shows her father has a grandson
living with him by the name of Charles. Charles the grandson, is seven years old. His
grandfather, Charles, is seventy-six.8 Young Charles is the son of Emma Everett. His
name is Charles Edward Everett. He was born on September 26, 1873.9 The exact
circumstances behind the birth of Charles Edward are unknown. His fathers name does
not appear on his birth certificate.
Emma Everett Joins the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church was organized on April 6, 1830, twenty-four years before Emma was
born. During the early years of its organization, missionaries were sent first to the
Indians of the western United States, the Eastern States, and then to Canada. It wasn’t
until 1837 that missionaries were sent to England and European countries. Emma’s
parents had only been married three years when the first missionaries arrived in England.
Many people accepted the gospel message; and by 1840 the prophet Joseph Smith had
made a formal announcement directing those first missionaries to preach the doctrine of
the gathering - to come to America to build Zion. 10
By the time the church made this announcement, immigration was already
beginning to develop into an industry, featuring emigration agents, propaganda offices,
and even shipping rebates.11 With the machinery all in place, the emigration of the Saints
did not seem so strange or unusual. There was a worldwide “Spirit of Emigration”
already in place. The first trip of emigrating Saints was made in 1840, and the organized
“Mormon” migration continued until 1890.
Mr. Conway B. Sonne wrote a book called Saints on the Seas and in it he explains
the environment and feelings that existed during the years of the Mormon migration. He
said, “Of all the Mormon doctrines perhaps none had a more profound influence [on the
people] than the gathering. The spirit of the gathering permeated the literature, [its]
discourses, and the music of the church. As taught in the Book of Mormon and by
Joseph Smith, a gathering was necessary to build the Kingdom of God. . . After their
baptism many converts said they experienced a compelling desire to leave their family
and friends and travel to Zion. They attributed this nostalgic longing to the influence of
the Spirit.” 12
Newly converted members had a desire to be a part of this movement despite
reservations and hardships. Again, from Sonne’s writing, the feelings of one emigrant
was expressed like this, “I believed in the principal of the gathering and felt it my duty to
go although it was a severe trial to me, in my feelings to leave my native land and the
7
General Register Office, London England, Certified Copy of an Entry of Death, Index Reference March
Quarter 1880. Hoxne District, Vol. 4a pg 434. Death of Elizabeth Everett, 13 February 1880 Certified 12
May 1969.
8
Great Britain Census Office. Census Returns for Hoxne, 1841-1891,
Film Number 1341449 piece 1857 pg. 5. Family History Library.
9
General Register Office, London England, Certified Copy of an Entry of Birth, Index Reference Dec.
Quarter 1873, Hoxne District, Vol. 4a pg. 546. Birth of Charles Edward Everett, 26 September 1873,
Certified 13 May 1969.
10
Hafen, Leroy R. and Ann W. Handcarts to Zion. Glendale, Calif: A. H. Clark Co., 1960, p.17.
11
Allen, James B., Esplin, Ronald K., Whittaker, David J.
Men with a Mission. Salt Lake City, UT: Deseret Book Co. 1992, p.18.
12
Sonne, Conway Ballantyne.
Saints on the Seas: A Maritime History of Mormon Migration, 1830-1890 Vol. 17, p.xv.
Salt Lake City, UT. University of Utah Press, 1983. Family History Library
5
pleasing associations that I had formed there; but my heart was fixed. I knew in whom I
trusted and with the fire of Israel’s God burning in my bosom, I forsook my home.”13
Most of the Saints who emigrated had never traveled more than a few miles from their
homes, but they were fired with a faith and a purpose.14 So was the case with Emma.
She caught the “spirit of gathering” after her baptism, which family records
reported was in 1881. She made her trip from England in 1882 with her son Charles
Edward Everett who was just nine years old, she twenty-eight years old. She came on a
British ship called the Abyssinia.
The Abyssinia, built in 1870 at Glasgow, Scotland, began its journey from
Liverpool, England with Emma and Charles aboard on October 21, 1882. There were
388 emigrating Saints and 28 missionaries aboard. George Stringfellow, a missionary
returning home from England, was in charge of both the returning missionaries and the
emigrating Saints from the Nottingham Conference, an area in the British mission.
Captain Edward Bentley commanded the ship.15
“The British vessel was the earliest Cunard mail steamship built to carry
emigrants. She provided quarters for 200 first class passengers and 1050 steerage-class.
Cunard sold her to the Guion Line. Shortly thereafter she was ceded to the Elder shipyard
and used in the Pacific trade. The Abyssinia was built with a single screw and inverted
engines. She had three masts, one funnel, and an iron hull.”16
Emma and Charles probably traveled as steerage-class passengers. The steerage
lay deep down in the hold of the ship, or the bottom. It was often a foul-smelling place
reached by steep, slippery stairs. Men, women and children generally all bunked together
for the duration of the trip.17 However, the Saints who emigrated with the church had
quite a different experience. All the details for the emigration of the Saints was planned
and organized for the benefit of the Saints.
“Before sailing, the ship was dedicated and rules of behavior and cleanliness were
adopted. The sexes were separated except in the case of married couples. During the
voyage morning and evening prayers were held, and regular meetings for religious
worship and instruction were conducted. Quarters were scrubbed and often sprinkled
with lime. Bedding was aired, and passengers were required to spend periods of time on
deck. Meals were carefully planned and prepared. The sick were given medication and
care and – most certainly – anointed with consecrated oil and blessed. In brief, the line
between the temporal and spiritual well being of the Saints was often
indistinguishable.”18
13
Sonne, Conway Ballantyne.
Saints on the Seas: A Maritime History of Mormon Migration, 1830-1890 Vol. 17, p.xv.
Salt Lake City, UT. University of Utah Press, 1983.
14
Sonne, Conway Ballantyne.
Saints on the Seas: A Maritime History of Mormon Migration, 1830-1890 Vol. 17, p.29.
Salt Lake City, UT. University of Utah Press, 1983. Family History Library
15
Sonne, Conway Ballantyne.
Ships Saints and Mariners A Maritime Encyclopedia of Mormon Migration 1830-1890
Salt Lake City, UT. University of Utah Press. 1987, 3.
16
Sonne, Conway Ballantyne.
Ships Saints and Mariners A Maritime Encyclopedia of Mormon Migration 1830-1890
Salt Lake City, UT. University of Utah Press. 1987, 3.
17
Freedman, Russell. Immigrant Kids. New York: Puffin Books, 1995.
6
It’s recorded in the Millennial Star that, “On Saturday October 21, 1882 per S.S.
Abyssinia of the Guion Line, the fifth and last company of the current season’s
emigration, sailed from Liverpool. . . . The vessel, with all on board, steamed down the
Mersey River late in the afternoon, everything was in good condition, promising a
pleasant and prosperous voyage.”19 We can only imagine the anticipation that Emma and
Charles must have felt as they boarded ship.
From a letter written by George Stringfellow we read that upon their departure
they “steamed out of the Harbor of Cork, and had not proceeded far before the sea, which
up to that time had been beautiful, became very boisterous, increasing in violence until
the following Saturday. . . Notwithstanding the exceeding rough weather and its
consequent inconveniences, the Saints as a rule were cheerful, uncomplaining and happy.
Fear was a thing spoken of always in third person, for his power in the preservation of the
Saints has so often manifest, that a doubt as to our safe arrival was not expressed. . .
From Saturday the storm decreased until Monday, when, much to our joy, the sea became
smooth and calm, and the deck was once again crowded with a happy rejoicing people.”20
“The voyage across the Atlantic Ocean lasted thirteen days on account of
unfavorable weather, but the company reached New York safely November 3rd. From
there the journey was continued westward by train to Ogden and Salt Lake, [where
Emma and Charles arrived with the other emigrants] on November 10, 1882.”21 Emma
and Charles were fortunate to have family already established in Salt Lake. George,
Emma’s brother, had emigrated three years earlier with his wife and family. They lived
in a little “dobby” house on the Southwest corner of South Temple and West Temple
where Emma and Charles joined them.22
Emma’s Brother, George
Emma Everett’s brother, George with his wife Emma Freestone Everett were the
first in the Everett family to join the “Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints”. They
brought their children to Utah arriving three years before Emma. They sailed on the ship
“Arizona” and arrived in Utah November 5, 1879.23 His children wrote about his
conversion and immigration to America.
George’s history states, “Some time after George Everett and his wife Emma
Freestone were married, the Mormon missionaries visited Emma [Freestone’s] parents
home. Emma’s family [the Freestone’s] were all converted and baptized. Her mother,
[Mrs. Freestone] asked [her daughter] Emma if she would be interested in hearing the
Elders, and she was, but she could not get George interested. However she continued on
her own to learn about the gospel and was baptized in January of 1875, without telling
her husband what she was about to do. . . .When she came back home her husband said,
“You’ve been baptized, haven’t you?” She answered, “How do you know?” He said, “I
can tell by the look on your face – how happy you are. . . .” Then Emma began teaching
George the gospel, but for some reason, it took him over three years before he finally
18
Sonne, Conway Ballantyne. Saints on the Seas: A Maritime History of Mormon Migration, 1830-1890
Salt Lake City, UT. University of Utah Press, 1983, 138.
19
Smith, John Henry ed. The Latter-Day Saints Millennial Star, Vol. 44 Liverpool, England, 1882.
20
Smith, John Henry ed. The Latter-Day Saints Millennial Star, Vol. 44 Liverpool, England, 1882.
21
Jenson, Andrew. History of the Scandinavian Mission, Salt Lake City, UT. Deseret News Press 1927.
22
Emma Everett A history written by an unknown author, handed down as part of our genealogy.
23
Taylor, Margery. Worldwide LDS Ship Register Salt Lake City: LDS Church Family History
Department, 1991.
7
accepted it. He was baptized on October 16, 1879. His parents and family did not
approve, and turned against him when he joined the Mormons, and we have little
information about his family.” 24
George Everett and Emma Freestone Everett, with their children Harriet
Elizabeth, George, Emily, and Annie Elizabeth joined the Pulham Market Branch of
Saints in England with Emma Freestone’s parents, Elizabeth and Alfred Freestone.25
George’s biography says, “In May of 1878 the Freestone’s, (George’s in–laws)
emigrated to America sailing on the ship “Nevada”. They took their boys with them but
left their married daughters, Emma and Elizabeth, and their families in England, until
such time as they could get enough money for them to emigrate, also. The family
members on both sides of the Atlantic worked hard to save enough money. In about a
year, Emma’s mother sent enough [money] for Emma, her husband, [George] and [their]
children to all emigrate. They sailed for America on October 18, 1879 on the ship
“Arizona”. They brought all of their children with them to America. When they got to
Ellis Island, they were delayed by illness for several weeks. . . . Emily was the first one in
the family to come to Utah, traveling west with another family. Emily stayed in
Bountiful with her Grandmother Freestone until her own family arrived.”
“Not long after [George and his family] got to Bountiful, George Everett took a
job with the Union Pacific Railroad.” George and Emma Freestone Everett resided in the
Salt Lake area all of their lives.26
Emma Everett In Zion
Emma first resided in the Salt Lake City 14th Ward with her brother George. At
the time of her arrival, she reported Charles’ father as James Day and she, Emma Everett,
his mother.27 When Emma came to Utah, she may have seen an opportunity to divulge
who Charles’ father was, but this is the only record found with this information.
Besides the report of who Charles Edwards’ father was, these early church
records indicate that Emma was rebaptized on January 2, 1883. She and Charles were
confirmed January 4, 1883. Thos. Taylor (Thomas Taylor) who was bishop of the 14th
ward confirmed Emma. John Taylor confirmed Charles.28
In 1856/57, long before Emma was a member of the church, a reformation, or
rededication, took place within the church, sparked by Jedediah M.Grant who was the
second councelor to Brigham Young. “This reformation was an effort to persuade the
Saints to renew their dedication to righteous living. . . Members were called upon to
repent and rededicate themselves fully to the work of the Lord and to seal their
rededication with baptism. . . Rebaptism became a symbolic gesture for good health,
entry into the United Order, or preparation for marriage and going to the temple, if they
24
Merrilyn H. Everett, Biography of George Everett 1842-1915 Compiled from family records and written
and taped recollections of his son, John Edward Everett, by Merrilyn H. Everett, 1999.
25
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . Pulham Market Branch, Record of Members 1861-1880.
Salt Lake City, Utah: Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1954. Film Number 0087028. Family
History Library.
26
Merrilyn H. Everett, Biography of George Everett 1842-1915 Compiled from family records and written
and taped recollections of his son, John Edward Everett, by Merrilyn H. Everett, 1999.
27
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Record of Members 1856-1940, Film #0026,695
Salt Lake City, UT: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1951.
28
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Record of Members 1856-1940, Film #0026,695
Salt Lake City, UT: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1951.
8
had not been there for some time. This practice, not considered essential for salvation,
was finally discontinued in 1897.”29 Emma came in the midst of this reformation and
rededication and was rebaptized when she arrived in Utah.
Emma’s history states that once she was settled she went to work at the LDS
Hospital, but research proved that the hospital she must have worked at was the Deseret
Hospital. The Deseret Hospital was located on Fifth East between First South and South
Temple and had just opened its doors for patients on July 17, 1882, just before Emma’s
arrival of November 10, 1882.30
Emma Gets Married
Emma met and married a man by the name of Thomas Simpson shortly after her
arrival. He too was from England and had been in Utah a short time. Elias Smith, who
was the Probate Judge for Salt Lake County, in the Utah Territory, married Emma Everett
and Thomas Simpson on July 12, 1883.31
According to the newspaper, shortly after their marriage Thomas Simpson heard
that Emma was the mother of two children in the old country. She acknowledged it to
him and then he jokingly told Emma he left a wife in England.32 His supposed wife from
England made her appearance to Utah on November 14, 1883, just four months after
Emma had married Thomas. The newspaper said, that Thomas and Emma’s domestic
infelicity [infidelity] increased until Emma locked Thomas out of the house and then he
went to live with [Hannah] Jane Powell.33
Thomas had known Hannah Powell in England. Hannah herself admitted that she
had known Thomas Simpson for twelve years but had never married him. However, some
folks in the Utah community had heard Thomas talk of having a wife in England. One
witness in particular said that Thomas expected his wife to come to Utah, in the fall, and
then upon her arrival he saw her baggage marked “Mrs. Simpson”.
Hannah was married to Samuel Powell 25 years and had two children; a son aged
24, and a daughter 20. Her husband had been sick and in the hospital for many years and
had died in London about four years previous. Thomas frequently visited Hannah both
before and after the death of her husband; and after her husband passed away Thomas
renewed their relationship. “Marriage was talked about but it never took place. Thomas
came to America with the understanding that if the country suited him, he would send for
her, and they would be married here. . .”34 When he arrived he sent money twice through
church emigration agents to bring Hannah to Utah, but she did not come and his money
was returned to him. Thomas then married Emma on July 12, 1883. Hannah finally
arrived in Utah on November 14, 1883 and stayed with Thomas’ mother. When Emma
locked Thomas out of the house he went to live with his mother.
29
Allan, James B. and Glen M. Leonard. The Story of the Latter-day Saints
Salt Lake City, Deseret Book Company 1992. p. 287 & 430.
30
Noall, Claire. Guardians of the Hearth. p.158. Bountiful UT. Horizon Publishers 1974.
31
Hansen Judith W. and Norman Lundberg compilers. Marriages in Utah Territory 1850-1884: from the
Deseret News, 1850-1872, and the Elias Smith Journals, 1850-1884, Salt Lake City: Utah Genealogical
Association, 1998.
32
Salt Lake Tribune, Another Polygamy Case, Salt Lake City, Utah: December 23 1884.
33
Salt Lake Tribune, Another Polygamy Case, Salt Lake City, Utah: December 23, 1884.
34
Deseret News, The Simpson Polygamy Case The Testimony All In, Salt Lake City, Utah: March 18,
1885.
9
Thomas applied for divorce in December of 1883, but it wasn’t granted for a
whole year. Finally on December 11, 1884 their divorce was final.35 According to the
Salt Lake Tribune dated December 23, 1884 Thomas Simpson was arrested for the crime
of polygamy by marrying Emma Everett, when he already had a wife, Hannah Powell
Simpson.36
Thomas was called up to trial February 2, 1885. Emma passed away February 4,
1885 while working at the Deseret Hospital. She had contacted typhoid fever and
consumption.37 Her death certificate confirms her marriage to Thomas Simpson.38 She
is buried in the Salt Lake City Cemetary where her brother George would later be buried.
By June of 1885 the trial was over and Emma had passed away. The Deseret
News stated that “The case of the United States vs Thomas Simpson, for polygamy, was
argued before the Territorial Supreme Court, and submitted June 8, 1885, and was
decided this morning.
The defendant, Thomas Simpson, was indicted for polygamy, tried, convicted and
sentenced to the penitentiary, in the Third District Court of this Territory. “The
substantial averments [arguments] of the indictment were, that he intermarried with one
Emma Everett, while at the same time his lawful wife, Hannah Powell Simpson, was
living.”39
Thomas Simpson was tried and convicted under the Edmonds Act of 1882, a law
that provided punishment for both polygamy and unlawful cohabitation at the same time.
This law stated that “anyone who had a husband or wife living and then married another
was guilty of polygamy. Under this law a person could be sentenced to a $500 fine and
five years in prison.”40 It cannot be determined if Mr. Simpson ever served jail time.
Utah was under siege by the United States government for the practice of plural
marriage, and had been for almost thirty years before Emma’s arrival. There were a
number of bills passed over the years to control and stop plural marriage. Despite these
laws, and the hardships the Saints faced, they continued to live the doctrine. It wasn’t
until 1890 that plural marriage was abolished within the church when President Wilford
Woodruff issued a press release announcing its end.
35
Utah Probate Court. Divorce Records, 1852-1856, 1877-1887, Salt Lake City, Utah: filmed by the
Genealogical Society of Utah 1966. FHL US/CAN Film 431227.
36
Salt Lake Tribune, Another Polygamy Case, Salt Lake City, Utah: December 23 1884.
37
Emma Everett A history written by an unknown author, handed down as part of our genealogy.
38
State of Utah Certificate of Death for Emma Everett, February 4, 1885, No file number is given but can
be found in Vital Records of the Utah State Health Department.
39
Deseret News, Judge Power’s Opinion In the Simpson Polygamy Case, Salt Lake City, Utah: June 17,
1885
40
Allan, James B. and Glen M. Leonard. The Story of the Latter-day Saints
Salt Lake City, Deseret Book Company 1992. p.402
10
Charles Edward Everett
At the time of Emma’s death Charles Edward was just twelve years old. George
and Emma Freestone Everett became Charles Edward’s family. They were very good to
him and treated him as their own, but it was Emma Freestone Everett’s mother, Elizabeth
Barnes who actually became his guardian.41
Elizabeth Barnes was married to Alfred Freestone when she became a widow for
the second time in 1885, the same year that Emma died. She was living in Bountiful,
Utah at the time, and according to Mildred Everett Davis, his own daughter, Charles
Edward went to live with his aunt Mrs. Freestone in Bountiful Utah.42 He became known
as Charlie Freestone.43 Mildred Everett Davis said, “He did chores, cut wood, and helped
in every way he could to pay his way. One of his memories was buying tobacco for Mrs.
Freestone. She smoked a corncob pipe. This encouraged him to start using it too, but he
only used it for a short time.”44
In 1897 he met Emily Ada Rose at a sleigh riding party and married her August
19, 1897. It was at this time the family encouraged him to take on his own name of
Charles Edward Everett. February 28, 1911 Charles Edward Everett and Emily Ada
Rose were married in the Salt Lake Temple. He reported to the church at this time that
his father was James Everett, different from what Emma reported when she first arrived
in Salt Lake.45 The true identity of Charles’ father cannot be determined.
Married Life
The City In-Between, which is a history of Centerville Utah, explains that
“Charles Edward Everett and Emily Ada Rose rented a four room adobe house facing
East on 400 East, between 300 and 400 South. One day an east wind blew the roof off
the adobe house they lived in. When this happened they moved to Ogden where Charles
worked for the railroad. They stayed two years and returned to Centerville to purchase
the property where the adobe house stood. . . After they had lived there for a while they
had [another] east wind which blew the south wall down. The family lived there with
just three walls until Charles finished building the red brick house, which is on the south
west corner of the property.
“Charles worked hard clearing the ground of dead apple trees and rocks. He built
a barn east of the brick house and worked long hours planting fruit trees, and crops of
vegetables each spring. He was a truck gardener and sold his produce on the growers
market in Salt Lake City. It was necessary for him to leave at two a.m. in the morning
41
Smoot Mary Ellen and Marilyn Sheriff, The City In-Between Bountiful, UT. Carr Printing Company
1975, 339.
Interview with Della Bailey Everett of Centerville, UT by Christine J. Flanders, 1997.
42
Merrilyn H. Everett. Biography of George Freestone and Elizabeth Barnes, Compiled from the statistical
data in the Ancestral File and the references in the biographies of their descendants. 1999. In procession of
Christine J. Flanders.
43
Interview with Della Bailey Everett of Centerville, UT by Christine J. Flanders, 1997.
44
A short history written by Mildred Everett Davis of her father Charles Edward Everett. In procession of
Christine J. Flanders
45
A short history written by Mildred Everett Davis of her father Charles Edward Everett.
Family History Library TIB film # 1,267402 shows James Everett to be Charles’ father.
11
traveling with a horse and wagon to arrive at the market when it opened. He was one of
the first farmers to purchase a Model T truck in Centerville.”46
Charles and Emily had a large family of twelve children. Their first baby, Emma
Eliza, was born March 19, 1898 and passed away at the age of two years. Another baby
named Alma, their fifth child, was born January 7, 1905 and passed away a few hours
after birth. Both are buried in the Centerville Cemetery. The other ten children lived to
be adults and had families of their own.
My grandmother Mildred Everett often referred to the pleasant disposition of her
father. He loved children, and was very well liked by everyone. George and Emma
Freestone Everett visited him and his family often and in 1925 when Charles Edward
Everett became very ill, and later developed cancer Emma Freestone Everett came to
Centerville frequently to help Emily take care of him. After much suffering, he passed
away August 14, 1927 at the age of fifty-three, leaving six children at home to be raised
by their mother. Charles Edward Everett was laid to rest in the Centerville Cemetery.47
Personal Notes
Charles Edward Everett’s father is not recorded on his birth certificate. When his
mother came to Utah, she reported James Day as his father.48 Later, when Charles
Edward married he reported his father as James Everett.49 It cannot be determined who
Charles Edwards father is and because of this Charles Edward was sealed to his
grandparents Charles Everett and Elizabeth Wright on March 26, 2003.
Whom Emma married in England and the facts about her son William are still
unknown.
Emma’s death certificate states she died of consumption February 4, 1885. She is
buried in the Salt Lake City Cemetery located at Fourth Avenue and N. Street. She is
buried in the same plot with her brother George, and his wife Emma Freestone Everett.
A headstone was placed where Emma is buried in Aug 2009.
46
Smoot Mary Ellen and Marilyn Sheriff, The City In-Between Bountiful, UT. Carr Printing Company
1975, 339.
47
A short history written by Mildred Everett Davis of her father Charles Edward Everett.
48
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Record of Members 1856-1940, Film #0026,695
Salt Lake City, UT: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1951.
49
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Temple Records Index Bureau. Endowment Index 1846-1969
Salt Lake City, Utah: Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Film #1267402, found in Special
Collections.
12