Usually, when you’re doing family history research, you can just find bare bones of a life, the births, marriages and deaths, addresses and jobs from censuses. But occasionally, you find yourself finding a far richer story, whether it’s been born in a workhouse and left in England when your parents emigrate to the US, or dying after falling on own sword and being treated by Queen Victoria’s surgeon. The stories are not always about direct ancestors, but their families, and they’re discovered as you’re trying to cross reference other information. That was the case for the story of Ann Slater, who was born in 1797 and baptised in Shirland, Derbyshire but died in Kaysville, Utah in 1874.
I’ve been going back through my records, cross referencing them and adding new sources. As more parish records are digitised and the wealth of online family history grows, you never know what else you can find and what walls can be broken down. I’ve often not looked at the records for a decade and a lot more has been added since to then to the research resources.
This was the case for John Slater and Hannah Renshaw, my 7x great grandparents. These were some of the earliest ancestors I’d recorded and added to the database, but I’d pretty much copied these lines from someone else’s research and often only had basic information, so wanted to go and find the actual records to confirm everything.
I noticed that one of their children was recorded as having died in Utah, which is not that usual for my families, most of whom stay in the same relative area.
The Slater Family
John Slater and Hannah Renshaw married on 25 April 1796, both being resident in Tansley, Derbyshire, a small village that had a few 100 people. John was born just about 30 miles away in Burton-on-Trent in 1767 and possibly moved for work as Tansley, which was growing as a quarrying and brickmaking location. Hannah was born in 1770, in Tansley. Given John was nearly 30 when marrying, Hannah may have been his second wife.
A few months after their marriage, their son Edward was born, my direct ancestor. They went on to have 6 further children:
- Edward Slater Jul 1796- Apr 1845
- Ann Slater Dec 1797- Dec 1874
- John Slater Apr 1800-Mar 1848
- Hannah Slater Dec 1802-Jan 1848
- Elizabeth Slater Jul 1805-Dec 1851
- Sarah Slater Aug 1807-??
- Joseph Slater  Jul 1810-May 1878
A quick look at Edward Slater
Edward married Ann Cooper in Duffield on the 28 November 1815. Their second (of six) child was Hannah, my ancestor. They were not a rich family at all; in 1831, it looks like they applied for relief from the Parish and they were subject to a Settlement Examination to assess which parish were responsible for paying this.
“Edward SLATER Crich, lab 34 born Higham of parents settled on Burton on Trent. Wife Ann, Thomas, Hannah, John, Edward, Elizabeth. Received relief from Tansley”.
In the 1841 census, this family were in Brampton, with Edward listed as a Brickmaker. Four years later he was dead, at the age of 48. His wife Ann remained in Brampton with her children. By 1848, she was lodging with (or co-habiting) with a man called Henry Young, a widower in the area, along with the children Elizabeth (aged 18), John (aged 25) and Edward (aged 20). After a few months, the family had left and moved nearby; 2 weeks after moving out they returned to Young’s house to collect belongings when they got into an argument, over money owed by Edward. Henry Young seized her round the neck, punched Ann and threw her out the door, threatening to kill her next time. Two days later, she was dead, from a brain injury. Young was put on trial and convicted of manslaughter, serving 2 months with Hard Labour. Why manslaughter and not murder? Ann had a spinal defect and someone else may not have died according to medical experts. (HAH! it was murder!!! My guess was this was not the first time Young had been violent) (Report was in the Derbyshire Chronicle, June 10, 1848)
Back to Ann Slater!
Ann probably had a normal childhood for the time, quickly put into work most likely as a cotton operative. The next mention we have is of her marriage to James Bunting on 15 Mar 1819, at the age of 22. Her residence was recorded as Breen (or Bream) Field, which is just outside Wirksworth where James was living and where they were married. A year later, they were found in Tansley, about 6 miles north where their first child was born. The couple went on to have 5 children.
- Mary Bunting Feb 1820 – Feb 1900
- Ellen Bunting Sep 1822-Dec 1898
- Sarah Bunting Mar 1823-Feb 1899
- John Slater Bunting Apr 1825 – Nov 1902
- Ann Slater Bunting Jun 1837-Jan 1875
The last child was born 3 months after the death of her father. Ann was not completely alone – there were family and siblings in the same area, but it would have had a major impact. The family ended up moving south, presumably chasing work. In the 1841 census they were found in Ockbrook, Barrowash, just east of Derby and about 25 miles south.
The 1841 listing was:
- Ann Bunting, 40,
- Mary Bunting, 20, Cotton Operative
- Sarah Bunting, 15, Cotton Operative
- Ellen Bunting, 15, Cotton Operative
- Ann Bunting, 4,
As you can see, all but the youngest child was out working for the family. You’ll notice that John is not present. In 1841 he was in Brampton, with his Uncle John Slater, a Brickmaker. John was also listed as a Brickmaker, so looks like he was learning that trade.
Over the next few years, Ann, and her family got involved with the Mormon church, or the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to give it the full name. Ann, Ellen and the younger Ann were baptised in the church on 28 Jul 1849.
The Introduction of the Mormon Church in England
The church was formerly established by Joseph Smith in 1830; if you’re trying to grow a church, finding people who speak the same language makes sense and in 1837, a group of 7 missionaries headed to Liverpool to start their proselytising. Whatever they were selling, it resonated; having landed 20 July, they were preaching on 23 July and baptising their first converts on 30 July. One week later they had formally founded the first church in Preston. The message seemed to be particularly favoured by Methodists, as some groups converted totally.
They continued to send their missionaries, and the church spread. It was recorded that Ann Bunting was one of the first in Tansley to open her house to worshippers (this was in an obituary in the Millennial Star, 17 Oct 1874). We know from records that the wider family were non-conformists of various kinds, so it’s not a surprise they may have wanted to change churches. By 1850 there were more members in the UK than there were in the US and that was despite a large number of them emigrating to the US and making their way across the country to the heart of the church at Salt Lake City. By 1877, half of the members there were from Britain. There were facilitators for emigration, who brought together large groups and commissioned ships for them to sail together, instead of relying solely on general commercial shipping.
Emigrating to the US
Ann Bunting and all of her children decided to make the journey across the Atlantic, on a number of ships. Ann and 3 of her daughters along with their husbands all sailed on the Emerald Isle ship, from Liverpool to New York, on 28 November 1855. The shipping record had the following information:
- Ann Bunting Age 58, Widow.
- Samuel Ward, 26, Labourer. Ann, 18 his wife
- Samuel Ashton, 40, Labourer. Mary, 35 his wife
- William Young, 25, Wood Turner. Ellen, 29, his wife
- James Bunting, 4
All were listed as being from Tansley, Matlock Derbyshire. Curiously Ann Bunting had another note, that her payment would be charged to Ismail Evans, Derby, who paid on 1st March 1856. This was a commissioned journey, made up of 350 “Saints”
James was the son of John Slater Bunting, who had travelled earlier that year, on the Juventus, from Liverpool to Philadelphia. He sailed on 31 Mar 1855, arriving 5 May 1855
- John S Bunting, 30 Tape Weaver,
James was a widow at this point, his wife Ann dying in 1852 and his younger son dying in 1853.
The final family member was Sarah Ann, who had married John Bosworth. They, plus children, did not travel until 28 Mar 1857, from Liverpool to Boston on the George Washington.
- John Bosworth, 26, JW Knitter
- Sarah Bosworth, 34, Wife
- William Bosworth, 15
- James Bosworth, 13
- Sarah Jarvis, 26, Spinster
It looks like they were living in Nottingham at that point; Part (or all?) of their passage of £2 was paid by John Taylor of New York.
Living, working and travelling in the US
On landing at Castle Garden, Ann and family did not travel onwards as some of their shipmates did, but settled initially in Flander Hill, PA. The men found work in the coal mines there. They continued to grow, with Ann Slater Ward having her first child, naming her Emma Ellen, in Sep 1857. At some point, they moved on, with another child, Mary Pearl Ward being born in Painesville, Ohio in Oct 1859. They continued to drift west, being found in Iowa in the 1860 Census, finally getting to Florence, Nebraska, where they joined the John Smith Company, a train of 39 wagons and 359 people who started across the plains to Utah in later that June. Mary Pearl did not make it though; she died at age 10 months but was buried in Salt Lake City.
They stayed in Salt Lake City about a year, before moving to Kaysville, Davis, Utah, Ann’s final residence. Ann’s other children – John and Sarah – also made their way to the area.
Fame and Infamy
On May 10th 1869, Ann and family were visited by a party associated with the Union Pacific Railroad. Charles Savage, a Mormon he reportedly knew Ann from the UK, even through he was from Southampton, had heard where they were and visited them when he was taking images of a “Golden Spike”, where the trans-continental railway had been joined in Promontory, Utah. He was joined by a party that Included an Andrew Russell, another photographer. A number of images were taken of the extended family outside of Ann’s cabin.
Russell’s version of this photo was later exhibited a number of times with the name “Polygamy in the Low Life”, apparently illustrating the Mormon lifestyle of polygamy due to Samuel Ashton being the only adult male in the picture. It was being used in propaganda by the Presbyterians to campaign against polygamy in the Mormon church.
A few months later, on 27th Dec 1879, a letter appeared in the Deseret Evening News, which had previously published a copy of the picture being “peddled by the Presbyterians”. Charles Savage was annoyed enough to write to the paper to set the record straight, relating his understanding. During the outing to take pictures of the railway, the group had stopped at Kaysville.
“Having been acquainted with her in England, she was very glad to see me, and after a friendly chat and knowing our business, she remarked to me, that as all her living daughters were there at the same time we were, it would be a good chance to have their portraits taken in one picture, that she might be able to send one back to England“
Samuel Ashton was present on the day and was placed in the picture; when all of this was taking place, Russell also asked to take an image, of a Mormon country home. As Savage says:
“I took no further notice of the matter, and thinking Major Russell to be a man of honor, never had a doubt or suspicion of the picture being used to the damage of the Mormon community, and judge my surprise, when a friend of mine, who had visited New York City, told me that the picture was exhibited in New York as polygamy in low life, by this same Major Russell – who knew well that he was publishing a lie when he exhibited the picture“
Various family members got involved in many local trades, bringing their skills to grow the new community. The back of Ann’s gravestone in Kaysville cemetery reflects this:
Bunting Children
Mary Ashton, Sarah Ann Bosworth, John Slater, Helen Young, Ann Slater Ward
Attributes – Endeavors – Skills
Unusually tall Faithful
Established orchards Nursuries Brick Kilns
Surveyor Tape-Weaver Painters Midwives Nurses Spinning Weaving Knitting & Netting
Ann Bunting died 30 Sep 1874 at the age of 76. She was buried 3 Days later, 2 Oct in the cemetery in Kaysville, with the gravestone reading:
BUNTING Ann Slater 1797-1874 Wife of James 1794-1837 Who died at Tansley, Derbyshire, Eng Families are forever
Ann’s Children
Her children remained in the area, sometimes moving, but never too far. There are still family in the area, and they’re the ones who have collated family histories and other information on Ann. (see the familysearch page).
Mary and Samuel Ashton: Mary and Samuel travelled to Utah in a handcart company in 1856 – her gravestone recorded that she pushed the cart the whole way, often with Samuel in it as he was ill. They lived close to Ann but had no children. Samuel died in 1890; Mary died 2 days after her 80th birthday in 1900.
Ellen and William Young: William had been an apprentice carpenter in England; he had married Ellen in secret before his apprenticeship was complete. William’s parents were staunch Methodists and apparently disowned William when the found he had converted. William started off with carpentry work on Williamsburg, NY before the family made their way to Council Buff, Iowa, where he found work as a Labourer in a packing plant. A few years after arriving in Salt Lake City, William fought in a “war” against the Black Hawk Indians. Ellen and William had no children and in 1870, William entered into a second marriage with Julia Widowson; on the 1880 Census both women are listed as wife. Julia died in 1897, and Ellen continued to look after the family before dying in 1898; William eventually died in 1919.
Sarah Ann and John Bosworth: Sarah Ann and John had 2 children, who travelled with them to the US. John was a painter and they stayed in their landing port of Boston for a while painting ships; both sons were also painters and the family used these skills as they slowly moved across the country before joining a wagon train in 1861, ending up in Kaysville with the rest of the family. Sarah died in 1899, with John following 6 months later.
John Slater Bunting: John was the first to emigrate, in Mar 1855. He’d been married to Ann Shardlow, who had died in 1853, a few months after their second son who had only lived a few days. He left his eldest son with his mother, both of whom sailed in the November. Â James and his father were never reunited, as James died in 1859, most likely in Ohio. Â John appeared to have hurried across the continent, as he was making a second marriage to Mary Read (nee Doxey) in early November 1855 at Salt Lake City. Mary was also from Derbyshire, a few years older and had also recently travelled across. John and Mary had no further children before Mary died in 1888 after 33 years of marriage; it looks like John did not take a second wife as his sister’s husband had done. But he did not wait long; 6 weeks after Mary’s death, he married again, to Margret Helgadottir, originally from Iceland. Margret was 35 years younger than John, who was now 63. This did not stop him, and he proceeded to have 5 Children with Margret. John died in 1902, Margret living until 1945.
Ann Slater and Samuel Ward: On arriving in the US with the bulk of the family, they stayed in Pennsylvania working in the mines to build up money. Once in Salt Lake City, Samuel Ward started off making pegs and matches, later moving into brickmaking, with the company being taken over by his son. Â Ann died in 1875 of Pneumonia; Samuel re-married Catherine Norman, 20 years younger in 1879 and had a further 7 children.
From all I’ve seen, there are still descendants of this family in the Kaysville area, one day I may visit and see where a group of people from the Midlands made there home. Meanwhile, I’m onto the next family to research.
