Eliza Kemp Beebe

Eliza Kemp Beebe

Written by Thelma Williams Sanders
for Daughter of Utah Pioneers

Eliza Kemp Beebe

One of the many contributions that the English made to the history of the western United States was through the life of Eliza Kemp Beebe. Eliza was born in 1841 at Carlton, Bedfordshire, England. She was the first child of William and Elizabeth Bilham Kemp to be born at Carlton. Six others would follow--Jane, Samuel, James, Sarah, Heber and Walter John (Willard).

Eliza's parents had moved to Carlton from Bunwell, Norfolkshire, where they had been born. William and Elizabeth Kemp had spent their childhood in Carlton. In that town, they met and married, and it was while living in Carlton that Eliza's father learned the trade of weaving and watch-making. William worked at these trades for almost twenty years.

However, the Kemp family didn't remain in Carlton permanently. After the birth of Walter John, the family moved three times. This movement can be traced through the birth of additional children, For example, they were living in Hackforth, Bedfordshire, when another son, Arthur, was born; and they were in Cambridge when two more children, Daniel Robert and Alice, were born.

The reason for the moves is not known. However, it is guessed that the reason was economic. During these years of movement, it must have been very difficult for William to provide for his large family. It is known that he worked at the weaving and watch making trades, but these probably didn't make him a wealthy man.

It is also suspected that the moves might have been in order to secure apprenticeships in various trades for the older children in the Kemp family. In England at this time, it was the custom for children even as young as eleven years-of-age to enter into an apprenticeship in order to learn a useful trade.

It is known that Eliza's oldest brother, Samuel, did become apprenticed in the weaving trade. Records also show that after the family moved to Lutton, Bedfordshire, Eliza and her sister, Jane, also hired out as domestic servants.

While living in Lutton, the Kemp family was contacted by the Elders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon). Early church records tell us that William Joined the LDS Church in Lutton in the year 1850. Other members of the family were also baptized into the LDS Church--Eliza in 1853, Willard in 1855, and Jane in 1856. Eliza's mother, Elizabeth, evidently didn't join at the same time as her husband. There is no record of her baptism at that time.

The Kemp family lived in Lutton for seven years. According to family stories passed down several generations, there were very hard years. A family of ten didn't help the family fortunes. Also, another reason for the hard times could have been religious discrimination. Discrimination because of the family's conversion to the LDS faith. The LDS Church was having phenomenal success with their missionary program all over England in the 1850's, and other religious leaders were making charges against the Mormons that caused a lot of hatred and discrimination.

As a result of the religious upheaval, the converts to the LDS Church were encouraged to immigrate to America. Many Mormons heeded thin advice and a steady stream of converts caught ships to America.

Also, during this period, the LDS Church was telling the new converts about a new concept called--the New Zion. The New Zion, as it was explained by the Mormon missionaries, was a gathering place for all members of the LDS Church located in the desert region of the American southwest. The Great Salt Lake Valley was the headquarters of the Mormon Church and new converts were encouraged to relocate in Zion if at all possible.

Evidence of the hardship that the Kemp family must have endured in order to make this trip is shown in one incident that tells of their poverty. It tells about a kind deed given to a stranger who came to their door. The stranger asked for a night's lodging which the Kemp's provided. The stranger then asked for food. Food was given to him, and later the man returned and saved the Kemp's from near starvation when he repaid them for their initial kindness. Even under the yoke of poverty, Eliza's father still found time to serve as a missionary for his church. No doubt his membership activities and those of his family strengthened the family's faith in their religion and prepared them for an eventual move to the United States.

The desire of Mormon saints to move to Zion spread throughout England. Ships sailed almost weekly filled to capacity with Mormons headed for the United States.

Church leaders urged members to book passage to America as soon as they could afford the fares.

The Kemp's, however, lacked the financial resources to move to Utah. It took them more than ten years to save the necessary funds. In 1862, Eliza's father put the money that his family saved together with a loan from a friend and booked passage for his family to America. Eliza was twenty-years-old and the other children ranged in age from twenty to about one-year-old.

On the 14th of May, 1862, the Kemp family sailed from Liverpool, England, on the ship "William Tapiscott." After seven weeks on the Atlantic Ocean, they arrived in New York City.

The sailing time of the voyage was about average so the crossing must have been free of storms and rough weather. Probably the only discomfort that the Kemp's suffered was the general problems land people suffered when on the sea.

According to a family story, the Mormons had a strict shipboard routine. Each person worked at an assigned task and Schooling and religious services were conducted as normally as possible. The Tapiscott carried at least seven hundred men, women and children so it was important that all of these converts adhered to a strict community order.

How the Kemp family proceeded from New York City to Council Bluffs, Iowa is not known. It was probably by rail. By 1862, the railroad had been extended as far west as Omaha, Nebraska; and Council Bluffs, Iowa (a Mormon settlement) was just across the Missouri River. It was from Council Bluffs that the Kemp's made arrangements to join a wagon train that was moving west across the Great Plains to Utah.

An immigrant fund had been established by the LDS Church to help converts complete the last leg of their journey to the New Zion. Since the Kemps were not well off, they probably took advantage of the fund to help secure the wagons and teams needed for their trip to the Great Salt Lake valley.

The people who were already settled in the valley of the Great Salt Lake donated their time, wagons, provision and other necessities to go back to the rail head and help the converted saints move to Utah. The people who benefited from the fund were expected to pay back what they could as soon as they could. In this way thousands and thousands of devoted church members wore able to make the trip to Utah during the period just prior to the railroad being completed across the country.

The Kemp's joined the Horton D. Haight Company for the last leg of their journey west. There were 100 people in this company, and each family was assigned to a wagon or wagons and provided with at least one driver. Ten wagons formed a unit and each wagon stayed in their unit for the entire trip.

Although the trail that these pioneers traveled had improved somewhat since the first Mormon saints made the trip, it was still a trip of many hardships and sorrows. Eliza and her family had their share. Being the oldest, she and her sister Jane must have been a blessing to their parents for as adults they could help with meals and the care of the younger children. This was especially true as their mother was expecting another child.

With deep sorrow, the Kemp's saw two members of their family added to the long list of "those who died along the trail." Alice and her baby brother were left behind in tiny graves by the wayside.

It was fall before the wagon train reached the Salt Lake Valley. Eliza's mother had been very ill. According to William's history, Elizabeth gave birth to a son on September 10, 1862. This child died at birth; and Elizabeth, being very ill also, followed her son in death on the 24th of September. Since the death occurred as they were very close to their final destination, the body was brought into the valley and Elizabeth Bilham Kemp was buried in the Salt Lake City Cemetery.

There is a discrepancy in some of the Kemp family records. Another account says that Elizabeth lived to see her family settled in Salt Lake City, and that she gave birth to another child.

It's difficult to know which account is true. However, it is known that Elizabeth died without spending much time in the Salt Lake Valley.

No doubt the members of the 11th LDS Ward, where the Kemp's settled, did all they could to make Elizabeth's death easier to bear.

In a short time, the members of the Kemp family were taken into the home of another church member and those who were old enough found work. The older girls were taken into several homes where they worked for their room and board. This work usually consisted of cleaning, washing and taking care of the family's children.

Eliza and her sister Jane lived with a couple of families before they eventually moved to Provo, Utah, to work for a Mormon family there.

It didn't take long for Eliza to settle her future once she was located in Provo. In December 1862, she married Nelson Paul Beebe, It must have been a quick romance, but one that Eliza was very content to enter into.

Nelson Paul, for one so young, had led a thrilling life. He had sailed down the Atlantic coast to Panama from Connecticut. He had then crossed the Isthmus on foot, took a ship up the west coast and eventually arrived in what is now San Francisco. Rather than join the gold diggers, he engaged in the freighting business. On one of his freighting trips to Los Angeles, he had traveled through San Bernardino.

There he heard the same religious message that was preached to Eliza and her family in England. As she had done, he found the missionary message to be true and joined the LDS Church. By the time of his marriage to Eliza, he was well established in the freighting business. He operated a freighting line from Salt Lake City/Provo to the west coast.

On one of his many trips to Utah, he stopped in Provo for a time and there he met and married Eliza. They were married on 21 December 1862. With a home of her own and somewhat relieved of the problems of her father, Eliza lived for a short time as she wished. However, in a very short time her life was changed once again. Her husband was called by Brigham Young and other church leaders to go to southern Utah (to the St. George area) to help settle the "Dixie Mission," as the colonizing experiment was called.

William Kemp was still having a hard time establishing himself in Salt Lake City so at Eliza's urging Nelson Paul Beebe had his church missionary call transferred to his father-in-law. This was a blessing for William and his three sons. One of Eliza's brothers, James, was employed by Nelson Paul Beebe in the freighting business, and it was also beneficial to the people of St. George, for William and James were soon working on the LDS Temple there. The skills William had acquired in the old country were now transferred to his new homeland. He sewed and helped put in place the canvas that was laid on the temple roof before shingling. He also worked on the St. George tabernacle. He assembled the clock that still hangs in the clock tower. William married again and had other children.

With the rest of her family settled, Eliza's life had one less complication. During the first few years of her marriage, Eliza lived in comparative comfort. She had a comfortable brick home, and like most of her neighbors she was happy to be having and rearing a family. Her first child, a son, was born in 1863. He was named William. Alice, Grace, Maretta, Sarah Jane (who died soon after birth), Paul Henry and Samuel Kemp followed. Nelson Paul was an only child. He had left home at an early age to work as a sailor and consequently he wanted a large family.

Nelson Paul's mother had spent much of her life alone so when he had at last settled down in one place, Nelson Paul asked his mother to join them in Utah. Although she was an elderly lady, Grace Leach Beebe made the trip and spent the last years of her life living with her son and his family. It was a long way from New England to Utah, but Grace made the trip without incident.

Eliza made her mother-in-law as comfortable as possible and Grace aged in relative comfort. Grace Leach Beebe died in 1873 and was buried in the Provo Cemetery.

Eliza's life went quite normally until 1876. In that year, her husband was called to fill a mission for his church in the Southern States. He served as a missionary for about a year and then he was asked to accompany a group of Mormons from the state of Arkansas to settlements in northern Arizona. At that time, Mormon colonization had begun on the Little Colorado River in Arizona and this is where Nelson Paul helped the Arkansas saints move.

He returned to Provo in the fall of 1877. Two years later, the Beebe family began making plans to join the Arizona Territory colonization. Whether Nelson Paul actually received a call to go to this area or whether it was his own wanderlust desire is not known, But in the spring of 1879, the Beebe family was prepared to move to Arizona. Their preparations had been long and complicated. All their holdings, including the home, had to be sold, wagon loads of supplies had to be made ready and Nelson Paul had to sell his business.

Preparations included the packing of clothing, bedding, household supplies, food, farming equipment, and anything else that might be of value to them in a new surrounding. They had to take everything they needed with them because they could purchase very little in the newly established Arizona settlements.

There was one obstacle to an immediate move, however. Eliza couldn't move with the family. During the winter, a new son, David Austin, had been born and he was too young to make such a hazardous trip. Consequently, it was decided that Eliza would remained in Provo with relatives until the following spring.

The Beebe family joined a wagon train and traveled through an unknown, hostile wilderness. Several of children were nearly grown. William was 18-years-old and the three older girls were not much younger. During the trip, the older girls care for the smaller children who were 7, 5 and 3 1/2.

The wagon train moved through Utah and into Arizona without any serious incidents. They reached Shumway, Arizona, without major problems. Shumway was located on the headwaters of the Little Colorado River, and the Beebe's stopped there early enough in the fall to build a log cabin and prepare for the coming winter. Nelson Paul also had enough time to help Charles Shumway build a grist mill. This mill was the first of its kind in the Northern Arizona Territory.

In the spring, Nelson Paul returned to Utah to collect Eliza and David Austin. Eliza was ready to make the journey, and the couple joined another group of settlers bound for the Arizona colonies. However, for this trip a buckboard was needed. The light canvas topping of the buckboard shaded the riders from the sun and its interior provided a good bed for sleeping. Also, there was enough room for cooking utensils and other necessities such as bedding, clothing and food.

Eliza traveled along the same trail that her family had followed. She could then appreciate the kind of terrain they had already traveled across. She also recognized that the threat of Indian attack was very real. Also she experienced the sudden terror of the violent thunderstorms and flash floods that are legendary in the northern mountains of Arizona.

The crossing of the Colorado River at Lee's Ferry was the most hazardous part of the trip. Following the Paria River down through the gorge, the group had to ferry across the treacherous river on small rafts. This crossing was especially dangerous in early spring when the river was at flood stage. When the party made its way safely across the river, then they had to climb a steep ridge in order to make it safely to the other side of the gorge.

This was a very difficult crossing, yet hundreds of early pioneers made this crossing two or three times. Lee's Ferry was the only Colorado River crossing for many years.

Eliza could only imagine how much harder this crossing must have been in order to get a herd of cattle across the river safely. Also, it would have been much more difficult to get a heavy wagon across than it was to ferry a buckboard.

The road was a little easier after leaving Lee's Ferry. Their route took them across the desert with only the Little Colorado River as a final obstacle. Eliza and Nelson made this final crossing without any serious trouble, and finally Eliza was reunited with her family.

When spring came, work on the grist mill had long been completed. The Beebe family was all together again, and it was time to move on. Their original destination had not been Shumway. They were planning to relocate in the newly established settlement of St. David, Arizona. This settlement was three hundred miles south and west of Shumway, near the Mexican border.

St. David was another of the Mormon settlements and it was presided over by David P. Kimball. The San Pedro River ran through this rather flat, fertile land and many new ranches were springing up along the river's banks.

The Beebe's had friends and fellow church members in St. David, and they were anxious to reach this settlement. Their own cattle herd had increased during the time they had been at Shumway. Nelson had taken cattle as payment for his work on the Shumway mill so he was anxious to get his rather large herd to its final destination.

Finally, a caravan of wagons arrived in Shumway and these new settlers were bound for the San Pedro River Valley. The Beebe family joined them, and a long hot summer was spent traveling over an almost trackless desert before finally reaching St. David. At one point on the route, the wagon train had an army escort because the Apache Indians were on the warpath.

In St. David the Beebe's found a very busy group of people establishing a new town, building new homes, fencing in farm land, establishing ranches and changing the course of the river through a series of canals which moved the water into ditches so that the settlers could irrigate their land.

An open range for the cattle was no problem. The area had good feeding grounds along the river bottom, As a matter of fact, it was reported that the area had "grass that reached to the cattle's bellies." All of the members of the Beebe family had assigned tasks. The older children herded the cattle and the younger members of the family helped with the building of a home and the planting of a garden.

A house had to be built and a lot of hard work had to go into the gathering of building materials for this home. As very little timber existed, it was necessary for the builders to gather scrub oak limbs and cottonwoods branches from along the river banks to provide the supports for the roof Because of the shortage of wood, the walls of the house were made of adobe brick and all of the members of the family had to learn to make these clay and straw bricks.

The Beebe's used their wagons as temporary houses until the adobe house was built. They received a lot of help from the other settlers in the community, and in a few months they had a home which they called "Long House." Eliza was to live in "Long House" for the rest of her life.

St. David soon became a thriving community. Several large adobe town buildings were built. One served as both the church house and the school. The younger Beebe children were enrolled in this school and they either resumed or began their education.

In the spring of 1882, Eliza's last child was born. It was a girl, and they named her Nellie.

Not far from the St. David settlement silver was discovered. This discovery soon brought on a mining boom and the area around the Mormon settlers began filling up with miners and prospectors hoping to get rich in the silver mines. Soon a town, called Tombstone, sprang up. Its strange name came from a statement made to the man who made the initial silver strike. Someone said to him that "if he went into those hills, all he would find would be his own tombstone." This warning didn't prove true, and whether the discovery of silver was a boon or a curse to the little Mormon settlement of St. David is questionable. If nothing else, the discovery of silver proved exciting to the citizens of St. David.

Stage coaches and wagons loaded with supplies traveled up and down the streets of St. David almost every day. The road through St. David was the only road between the railroad and the booming mining town, and the traffic of commerce did provide a market for the settler's cattle and farm produce. For a time, everyone prospered.

Tombstone didn't affect Eliza's life or that of her children a great deal. During the first few years that the Beebe family was in St. David, four of Eliza's children were married. Each found a good mate and their lives contributed more than can be estimated to the future colonization of southern Arizona. All of Eliza's children, except Grace, lived out their lives in that territory and their contributions became part of western history.

Eliza's life came to an untimely end in 1888. She was only 47, and could have contributed much more than she had already done if she had lived longer. But, it was not to be. She is buried in a lonely little
cemetery on a dry barren hillside in St. David, Cochise County, Arizona, far from any of her kin, except for two grandchildren who rest near her.

Eliza's eight children, except for two who had died in infancy, became living testimonies of her devotion to

Eliza Kemp Beebe

her religion, her home, her husband and her children.

Eliza was a beautiful woman as her photograph attests. The gracious mannerisms from her early English home were always evident. Her English training was always with her, and all the niceties and skills she was accustomed to she taught to her children. Skills like sewing, cooking, and even the personal care. She had adapted to the changing circumstances of a pioneering life very well. Her older children praised her abilities even though she was stem in her desire to see them be able to carry on their pioneering destiny.

It's a long way from the beautiful English countryside to the desert of the American Southwest, but Eliza Kemp Beebe's life is a testimony of the best of those two worlds, she was an English lady in a pioneer land, but she always believed herself to be a remarkable child of God. Her posterity, which now number in the hundreds and hundreds, should gain inspiration and great love from her beautiful life.