A BRIEF LIFE SKETCH OF ISABELLE MARIA HARRIS
Isabelle Maria Harris was born April 15, 1861, at Willard, Box Elder
County, Utah, and the third child in a family of eleven. She had two older
brothers, Charles Elisha and Alva. Louisa Maria Hall, her mother, born in
Illinois, arrived in Utah by ox team in 1850. Her father, Charles Harris, was
born in Ohio and, driving an ox team, crossed the plains as a young man of
18 in the year 1852. From these pioneer parents she inherited courage,
perseverance, fidelity and a goodly complement of spunk, and from her
earliest childhood she had implicit faith in Heavenly Father and in the
Gospel.
When a mere infant her parents were called by Brigham Young to
assist in the settling of Dixie country. The family was very poor and
suffered much poverty and deprivation. Two more children, Jesse Orson,
who was born in a wagon box being used as a tent, and Mary Adrienne, were
added to the family in Dixie.
About the time Belle arrived at school age the family moved to
Parowan, the largest and most prosperous of all the Southern Utah
settlements, having good schools and a fine church. Her father worked as a
carpenter assisting to erect many of the early homes in Parowan, built a nice
little cottage for his family, operated a saw mill in Parowan Canyon and for
a time was City Marshall of Parowan. He prospered and the family was
comfortable here and active in the affairs of this thriving settlement. Four
more children were born to Isabelle’s parents while they lived in Parowan Eugene, Silas Albert, Ida May and Ole Van.
Bells made unusual progress in school. She had a sharp, fast mind
and learned things easily and thoroughly. She was an avid reader and the
only serious family jars her brother Silas Albert could remember from this
time were the frequent reprimands Belle received from reading everything
she could get her hands on including novels of which her parents greatly
disapproved.
She grew into a beautiful young lady, quite tall and slender with a
lovely straight carriage. She had an agreeable disposition. At sixteen years
of age she was becoming a popular member of the younger social set of
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Parowan but at about this time, in 1877, her father decided to take an
opportunity to acquire the use of a large acreage on the Sevier River in Piute
County and moved his family there. The small community was called
Junction. It was very isolated country and about the only people they saw
were the travelers who were passing thru, those who may have stayed over
night with their family, the cowhands, and quite a rough element that hung
around that part of the country. It was not uncommon to have a murder or
rustling in the neighborhood. The closest ward and school were ten miles
away in Kingstown so their formal learning in both education and church
came to an end. Her father tried to compensate for this by having a room set
apart as a school and the older children teaching the younger ones. He also
bought the standard works of the Church and subscribed to the Deseret
News and Juvenile Instructor.
Two more children were added to the family in Junction, Clarence,
and Mertie.
But this was not an environment in which a lovely young lady would
find a very desirable husband so it is not surprising that when she met
Clarence Merrill a handsome, cultured man of 38, who was having business
dealing with her father she was attracted to him. He and his wife, Bathsheba
Smith Merrill, daughter of George A. Smith, and their children lived on a
ranch in Marysvale that he had recently bought after selling property in
Fillmore. He also had a second wife Julia, in Fillmore. In 1879 there was a
draught in Marysvale and Mr. Merrill got an opportunity to run the Co-op
store in Richfield on shares, so he rented his farm to Belle's father for one
year. It was during this time that he courted Belle, at the encouragement of
her father, and she married him as his third wife in the St. George Temple on
the 8th of October, 1879, when she was 18 and he was 40. She went to
Richfield as a bride and helped her husband in the store.
This marriage was not a happy and satisfying one for Belle. Her
husband was seldom with her and he was not the successful business man
that she had thought he was. Belle was an idealistic and romantic young
lady and this was very disappointing to her. She was also an ambitious and
hard working person. Bathsheba Smith Merrill's money from her father's
estate was paying for a great share of the family's expenses and this was
degrading to Belle as some of the time she had to live with the first family.
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Her first son, Albert, was born in Richfield, Sevier County, on the 16th
of February, 1881, and she was alone except for one of the first wife's
daughters. He was a guest at the home of his wife, Julia, in Fillmore.
Another disappointment.
The following summer she lived on the ranch at Marysvale and
worked very hard and as winter approached she moved to a small house near
Monroe. She was all alone except when her husband came or when her
brother Jesse stayed with her and she was very lonesome and unhappy. She
took to visiting a great deal with her Uncle Dennison Harris who was the
bishop.
One day while she was there she had an opportunity to talk with
Bathsheba Merrill's brother. Apostle John Henry Smith. She was expecting
her second baby at that time. He told her that her husband was not a very
good business man and that there was no financial future for her and her
children. This was important to Belle and this conversation confirmed the
feeling that she had that even though her husband was a good, kind man, he
was not a responsible one as far as being a husband and father was
concerned. She told her cousin later that it was not the hard work, she could
stand that, but it was the futility of it ail. They did not have any quarrel or
harsh words but she went home to her parents.
Her father pled her case for a divorce from Clarence before the
Church Court soon after she got home and there were a great many hard
feelings between Charles Harris and Clarence Merrill. The decree was not
signed by President John Taylor until April 15, 1883.
Horace, her second little boy, was born in Junction, July 19, 1882.
She was home among loving family members.
Marysvale and the small towns close by had many people living there
who were not members of the L.D.S. Church and feelings ran high against
the Mormons and polygamy. Congress had recently passed the EdmundsTucker Law and the Federal Government had established courts to prosecute
the polygamists. When Belle went back to her family home with her baby
and expecting another, word got around. It was probably thought that
because she had left her husband she would be a willing witness against and
when Horace was just two weeks old she was visited by the County Sheriff
and subpoenaed to appear before the Grand Jury at Beaver to answer
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questions about polygamy. Because of the tiny baby, the time was extended
to the next session which would meet in the spring of 1883.
Her father went to Beaver with her early in May, 1883. She was so
young and inexperienced in things pertaining to legal matters and she was
really fearful that she might do something that she should not do, but as soon
as she entered the Court room all fear left her. She answered all of the
questions the Prosecuting Attorney asked,(she felt he was very hostile and
vindictive) until he asked if she had ever been married, where and to whom.
She refused to answer, and was taken before the Grand Jury and refused to
answer again. She was taken before Judge Twiss. He asked the same
questions and with her baby in her arms, she calmly refused again to answer.
The Judge charged her with contempt of court, fined her $25 and sentenced
her to four months imprisonment. She was taken into custody that very day
and in a few days was taken to Salt Lake City arriving May 18, 1883. She
stayed in prison until August 31, 1883. Horace had his first birthday there.
He also got a new name, Horace "G". Someone asked her the baby's name,
trying to trick her into naming his father. She answered, "Horace." "Horace
what?", and she answered’; Horace Greeley." He took it as his permanent
name, Horace G.
She has the distinction of being the first woman prisoner in the Utah
State Penitentiary. She suffered many indignities and humiliations there but
they built a special little room for her away from the men prisoners.
The Salt Lake Saints made her their heroine and many life-long
friends were made in the groups of people who came to visit her at the
prison. They showered her with presents for her and the baby, food,
clothing. The day of her release she was met at the prison gate by a
churning throng and a large band. A public reception was held in her honor
at the home of A. M. Musser. They loved her for her strength of character,
loyalty and being true to the Mormon ideals.
While in prison she had thought a lot about her and her sons' future,
and she had decided to go back to school and prepare to teach. She was 22
years old at the time.
In September, 1884, she left her two boys with her mother and
enrolled in the Brigham Young Academy at Provo. This was a most joyous
year for Belle. She had developed into a beautiful, charming and dignified
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lady, and she was the center of a group of admirers from the beginning. One
of her professors. Nels Lars Nelson, won her attention and she fell totally in
love with him. He was charming, gracious, articulate, and filled every
romantic ideal she had. By the end of the school year they were engaged.
Belle returned home to Junction and N. L. went on a mission to the Southern
States.
She taught two happy years in Richfield among people she already
knew and loved. Her children were in Monroe staying with an English
couple who had no children, Brother and Sister Tidd.
Belle and N. L. were married in the Salt Lake Endowment House,
August 1, 1887 and moved to Provo where he returned to teaching at the
Academy. She brought her two boys; Bert, six and Horace, five, to stay with
them. She and N.L. were very happy for a few years having their joy
increased by the advent of twin girls, Jessie Belle, and Stella Jean on May
12, 1888, but from that very moment duty began to make demands that had
to be paid out of the funds of pleasure. Sterling Harris was born September
14, 1889 and on September 5, 1891, Milo Alva was born. Four children in
three years and four months - and the two older boys. All this imposed a
heavy burden upon their mother.
Though her father's family had had very little formal education, Belle
was imbued with the feeling that education was very important. She
inspired, cajoled, encouraged and supported them to get further schooling.
Under her influence six brother and sisters became school teachers and two
others had terms at the Brigham Young Academy. This zeal was manifest
throughout her life toward nephews, nieces, grandchildren and friends.
During her marriage to N. L. there was almost always someone
visiting or staying with them going to school. Belle felt she was chained like
a galley slave, one arm to the stove and the other to the cradle. She very
rarely got away from home to a social function. N.L. was busy at school and
at the evening functions connected with it, as he had been appointed to
supervise them. Belle began to reproach him, at first gently, then with
growing bitterness. She felt neglected and unattractive in her new role and
she was jealous of his freedom and his association with the young people.
They began to quarrel bitterly and finally one day when their youngest child
was five, he packed a few personal belongings and moved out of the house.
Belle, after the anger passed, hoped and prayed he would return to her, but
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she was too proud to ask forgiveness and he never came back. Each was a
dominant character, fitted to lead rather than to follow. They were later
divorced but he was the love of her life.
Belle Harris was a born leader. She had courage, fortitude,
determination, and if she thought a thing was the right thing to do, she
immediately set in motion a plan to accomplish it, and these attributes were
to show themselves all through her life. She involved herself with people,
she was always ready to be helpful and when she put her mind to something
and her intense energy back of it, things got done. She was a strong woman
with the courage of her convictions and many felt her strength either exerted
for or against them. She often canvassed her family for money to help
someone who was less fortunate. This procedure started when her oldest
sons were in their early teens and lasted all her life.
She had complete faith in God and loved her Church and the Gospel.
She used the power of prayer constantly and prayed often with her family
and friends for guidance and counsel for her and for them.
In about 1912, Belle became acquainted with Robert A. Berry. He
was a widower of several years with six children. When their mother died in
1908, she had left a baby girl, one year old, another girl, three, two boys,
four and seven, and two older girls, ten and twelve1. When Belle met them
four or five years had been added to their ages. They had had a series of
housekeepers, some good, some bad, but they needed personal love and
attention. They looked neglected. Belle noticed this. It is told that it was
even discussed in Relief Society that she would make a good mother for
those children. She and Brother Berry were married the 15th of June, 1915,
in the Salt Lake Temple. The Sunday after they were married, she was so
proud to take those six children to church all scrubbed and in new dresses
and suits and hair combed, that she could hardly contain herself.
She and Brother Berry lived together in Provo for 23 years. She
helped raise his children to become fine citizens, helped him in his dairy
business and they were reasonably happy in their marriage.
Her children, all six, grew to full adulthood and became responsible
people in their communities. Albert, became a successful business man,
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Their names were Edna, Thressa, Claude, Ray, Stella, and Metella.
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Horace, an eye-ear-nose and throat doctor, Stella married a veterinarian,
Jessie, a doctor, Sterling became the owner of a successful hay and grain
business and Milo worked for a railroad. They all had beautiful, healthy
children but Milo. He and his wife never had any. All of her children loved
and honored their mother and her counsel was valued to the day she died.
She died quite suddenly on the 31st of May, 1938, in Provo, Utah, and
high praises were given at her funeral for her valor, courage, fortitude and
strength. She is buried in the Provo City Cemetery.
Thus ends the earthly career of one who always said she wanted to die
whenever the time should come that she could no longer be of service to her
generation. She always did her part and more. She supported her Church
with her means and with her talents, and she was revered by those who knew
her.
Contributed by Madeline Merrill Mills, granddaughter
Albert md. Zeila Seeley
Horace md. Merl Miller
Jessie md. L. Weston Oaks
Stella md. Arthur Vance
Sterling md. Roberta Sorensen
Milo md. Melvina Eliza Hibbert
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