History of William Gedge and Rachel Bush Gedge
History of William Gedge
Pioneer of 1862
Date born: 31 December 1830
Where: Old Buckenham, Norfolk, England
Date died: 30 December 1912
Where: Salt Lake City, S.L. Utah
Rachel Bush Gedge
Date born: 10 October 1833
Where: Deopham, Norfolk, England
Date died: 15 March 1911
Where: Salt Lake City, S.L. Utah
ARRIVAL IN SALT LAKE VALLEY 2 Oct 1862
WRITTEN BY Deseret Gedge Johnson, Grand-daughter
YEAR WRITTEN 1970-71
CAMP Lydia Schulthies
South Davis, Utah
CAMP HISTORIAN [blank]
COUNTY HISTORIAN Luelle Edwards
William Gedge, the son of Reames Gedge and Lucy Kybird, was one of nine
children born to this couple. There being four girls: Lucy Elizabeth,
Mary (who died as a child) Lois and Mary, and five boys: Reames, George,
William, Elias and Robert.
William’s father, Reames, was a farmer and
his mother Lucy Kybird, the daughter of a shoemaker.
William was born the 31st of December 1830, in Old Buckenham, Norfolk,
England. However, some time before William came to America, he began to
use the date of his father’s birth for his own, which was the 1st of
January.
As was the custom of the times in England, William was apprenticed as a
bricklayer. However, William did not follow this trade for long. Instead
he went to work as a labourer on a farm.
It is not know how William first met the missionaries of the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but as a young man of twenty-two, in
the year of 1852, he was baptized into this Church and was the only one
of his family to join the Church.
It was while William was working on this farm in Old Buckenham, that he
met a young woman who attracted his attention. Her name was Rachel Bush.
Rachel Bush was the daughter of Daniel Bush and Mary Rush, who at the
time of Rachel’s marriage lived on a farm at Attleborough, Norfolk,
England. However, Rachel herself was born the 10th of October 1833, at
Deopham, Norfolk. The Bush family moved around a lot, When Rachel was a
child they lived in a house in the Burying Ground at Great Ellingham,
Norfolk. Rachel was later to tell her children and grandchildren about
how she played among the grave stones when she was a child. Then the
Bush family moved to Besthorp, Norfolk, where Rachel’s father Daniel
Bush, worked as a weaver, Norfolk being known in these times for its
fine woven material.
It did not matter where the Bush family moved to or where the children
were born, they were always taken back to Attleborough to be christened
in the parish church there. This was probably Rachel’s mother’s
influence, as she remained a member of the Church of England all her
life, and at her death was buried in St. Mary’s Churchyard, the parish
Church in Attleborough. Rachel’s father, however, left the Established
Church and joined the sect referred to as the “Ranters.” They were in
reality members of the Primitive Methodist Church, and by 1861 Daniel
Bush had become one of the Trusties of this Church.
Rachel was one of six children, though it is doubtful if she ever knew
her oldest brother, William, because she always referred to her young
brother, Robert, as her only brother. There were three girls in the
family besides Rachel: Mary, Elizabeth and Sarah. Sarah and Rachel were
close all their lives and kept in contact with each other even after
Rachel came to America to make her home.
Sarah married before Rachel did, and as her husband, Thomas Saunders,
worked as a farm labourer and did not get paid much for it, they had a
hard time getting the needs for their family. To have enough money to
buy her children’s clothing, Sarah took a job to clear the rocks off a
field so it would be usable for farming. To do this, she spent many
hours, day after day, filling her apron with rocks and carrying them off
the field.
Horace Sider, Sarah’s grandson, wrote that “Sarah and Rachel were tough,
they had to be.” By being tough, he meant that they had the courage and
self discipline to do the job at hand, even though it might be hard and
unpleasant.
Both Sarah and Rachel learned very young to be skilled dressmakers and
to do beautiful embroidery. Sarah won a prize for hers. There is sewing
that both of these girls did still in existence, and the work is lovely.
[A piece is in the sampler collection at the DUP Museum in Salt Lake
City.]
When Rachel became old enough, she obtained work as a cook’s helper on a
farm in Old Buckenham, the same farm where William worked. Rachel was
conspicuous because of the way she dressed. Being very skilled at
sewing, she copied the frilly dresses and bonnets of the upper classes,
and wore them at a time when plain clothes were considered the proper
attire for people of the working class.
William admired Rachel and began courting her. William Gedge and Rachel
Bush were married the 22nd of November 1855, in the Baptist Chapel and
Kenninghall, Norfolk, England.
After they were married, William, without telling Rachel where he went,
continued going to the meetings of the Church he had joined. Rachel’s
curiosity was aroused as to where William went so often without telling
her where he was going. She began to follow him to see where he went,
and finding out, she listened at the window to see what kind of a
meeting it was. Later, when he was going to go again, she put a chair in
front of the door and objected to him leaving. After talking it over,
William asked Rachel to go to the meetings with him and hear what the
Elders had to say. Rachel went with the idea of pointing out from the
things she heard why William should not go any more, She became
interested and recognized the truth of what was taught, and herself was
baptized in March of 1856, again the only one of her family to join The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. (Mormon Church).
William and Rachel worked hard, and by saving, established themselves in
a comfortable home in Old Buckenham. Two children were born to them,
one that efforts have not been able to identify as yet; the other was
little William, who was born 13 March 1857 and died three weeks later, 3
April 1857. Then to their joy a third child came that lived, a little
girl they named Leah. William especially adored this child. Rachel was
told, however, that another child would cost her her life.
As William and Rachel grew in the Gospel, they felt the spirit of
gathering to Zion, and began talking of making the long trip to the
Rocky Mountains to make their home. Rachel was expecting another child,
and her family and friends were very much against their going. They felt
her condition alone was dangerous enough with the added difficulties of
a long journey. William, too, was fearful for her. One morning Rachel
told her husband that during the night someone had come to her and told
her not to fear to go to Zion because, if she went, she would not even
need a doctor again when her children were born. This comforted William
very much.
One night, in a vision, William was shown the land that was to be his
new home in the land of Zion. With unwavering faith they set about
making the arrangements to leave England for their new home in western
America. Before she left, Rachel walked twenty miles to bid her mother
goodbye, as she felt she would never see her again. When her mother
opened the door and saw Rachel, she shut the door in her face without
even speaking to her. Imagine the aguish of the mother’s (Mary
Rush-Bush) heart to know that not only was her youngest daughter leaving
her native land and going to a new land of hardship, but to know along
with this that her very life was involved because of the expected baby.
That there would be no medical help for her. To the mother it must have
seemed as though she was only going to her death.
With the deep concern of their families behind them, and with courage
and faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ in their hearts, they set out
for the new land with little Leah, who was now about two years old. They
sailed from Liverpool on the 23rd of April 1862, on the ship “John J.
Boyd” and arrived in New York the 1st of June, after six weeks on the
ocean. When they arrived in New York they had enough money left to buy a
wagon and a yoke of oxen, with a supply of beans, flour and molasses to
last the trip, expecting to hunt along the way for other food they
would need.
On the 28th of July, 1862, they left Florence, Nebraska, in the James S.
Brown Company to come to the Salt Lake Valley. Four days later Rachel
took sick and William hurried to the next wagon to get help for her, but
before he could return she had already given birth to twin girls, on
the 1st of August, 1862, literally fulfilling the promise that had been
given to her before leaving England. They named the twins Mary and Lois.
As they traveled along, William became so ill he had to ride lying down
in the back of the wagon, and his life was feared for. Rachel had to
drive and take care of the work that was his. Because of his illness,
William was not able to hunt to provide a good part of their food as
they had planned, so they did not have enough to eat. Little Leah
suffered most, and died two weeks after the twins were born, on the 13th
of August 1862. She was buried beside the trail. Two weeks later, on
the 30th of August, 1862, both the twins were also buried beside the
trail, making five children this couple had already lost, but still they
went on with faith in the Lord their God.
On the 2nd of October, 1862, William and Rachel reached the Salt Lake
Valley. The first winter they were offered employment on an island in
the Great Salt Lake, at that time called Church Island. Before and after
this time the island was known as Antelope Island. At that time it was
called Church Island because of the horses and cattle that had been
turned in by the people for tithing being kept here. On the island
William and Rachel lived in a tent, and it was their job to keep fires
going day and night under the big kettles of salt water that were being
boiled down to get just the salt for the use of the people who were
settling the valleys. The fires were kept going by burning sage brush.
This was very cold and hard work.
When the winter was over they returned to the valley and settled in a
home on the southeast corner of 33rd South and State Street. This was in
the Millcreek Ward. It was while living here that their next daughter
was born on the 30th of August, 1864, and they named her Emma.
The Church was digging a canal from Little Cottonwood Canyon to carry
the rock to build a Temple. William applied for a job and was asked if
he could dig. With the question, he got into the ditch and began digging
to show them. When the time came for him to be paid, he was given fifty
cents more a day than the other men. The man at the head objected,
saying that he had not authorized this. His boss told them to pay him,
as he had done that much more work than the rest. This was
characteristic of William in whatever he did. Even when one of his sons,
some years later, visited Old Buckenham and talked to people who had
known William, this was the thing they remembered about him, that he had
been a very hard worker.
The next home William and Rachel had was in the vicinity of 123th South
and 22 West, in the area that was called Brighton. It was planned to
build a city here and was laid out in ten acre lots. The planner of this
was a man from England, and he called the area Brighton after the
Brighton in England. William and Rachel’s home was a very crude
dwelling, and was made of adobes and willow. Their next two children,
Anna, born the 5th of September, 1866, and William Reames, born the 30th
of June, 1868, were added to the family while living here.
There was a swale near here that was a nesting place for all kinds of
wild fowl. This was certainly a blessing to the families in the area, as
well as the Gedge family, to help with the food problem. The Indians
were also attracted to the area, seeking food.
One day when William had gone to the canyon to get a load of wood and
Rachel was left home alone, two Indians came into their yard and were
letting their horses eat the corn fodder that was in a shock. Rachel
told them to take their horses and go away. When their was no response,
Rachel picked up the axe and started for the Indians, telling them again
to take their horses and go away., This time the Indians took the
horses and left. Courage? Yes, Rachel had it. Home alone with two small
children and ready to fight for the small amount of feed they had for
their own animals.
William attended the School of the Prophets. This was held on North
Temple just east of what they called White Bridge over the Jordan River.
Brigham Young gave the brothers of the Priesthood many teachings and
instructions at this school. One that had great effect on William was
Pres. Young’s advice: “If anything comes up, if it is a necessity, get
it. If a want, turn it down”. The men who attended this school also
drilled, and William along with the rest, bought a gun and large bake
kettle. The kettle was on legs so a fire could be built under it, so it
could be used outside. The advice here was to keep their guns bright and
their powder dry. William later gave his gun and kettle to one of his
neighbors who was called to help settle Arizona.
While living on this ten acres William bought a few sheep, but as the
children were not old enough to watch them and he was away from home so
much, they were always straying, so he sold them.
About 1868, the southwest part of the valley was opened up for
Homesteading. There was a road that went through her called the Bingham
Road that was east of what was later to become Redwood Road. This road
ran a ways south of 21st South and then out in a diagonal line
southwest. William being interested in these homesteads, went out to
look at the ground. As he went south of 21st South, he recognized the
ground he had seen in his dream before leaving England. William made
application and was granted this land. He built a log cabin south of the
ditch that ran through it. This log cabin had one larger room and an
attic where the children slept. It was here in this log cabin that the
last two children, both sons, were born. Nathan, the 10th of February,
1871 and Herbert, the 10th of November, 1872.
It was at this time, too, that Williams’ training as a bricklayer came
to his aid. When a new house was to be built, he made his own adobes by
digging a pit and filling it with water, clay and straw. When this had
been mixed, he put it into forms to make the blocks, then turned them
out, After they had baked in the sun they were piled up until there were
enough to build a house. William set about building his own house for
their use. His family, his children and grandchildren were to live in
this house for many years.
A new road was surveyed and was to run north and south through the
valley. Four by four redwood stakes from California were used to mark it
out, and the road was referred to as the Redwood Line. The name of the
road came from these stakes, and it became the Redwood Road. This road
went through William and Rachel’s place, and after the old road was
closed down it left their neighbors with no way of getting out of their
places, so the ground to the east of Redwood was sold to them to give
them a right-of-way to the road.
Once more William and Rachel began the work of building a home and farm.
William dug irrigation ditches and part of the Brighton Canal by hand
with a shovel. He sank his own wells with a sledge hammer. Even the
weeds under the fences were kept out by hand. William worked early and
late to build his farm.
When William started to farm he had a pair of oxen. One was lazy and the
other one had to be held back or it would try to run away. Not being
very happy with them because he had to walk beside them, holding one
back and whipping the other to make it go, William took an offer that
was made to him to trade his oxen for a pair of mules. In the winter it
was the practice for the pioneers to brand their stock and turn them out
to fend for themselves in the southwest part of the valley. As William
was trying to brand one of these mules, it kicked him in the head. This
made him most unhappy, and he traded them for a team of very skinny
horses. These were the first of a long line of horses that belonged to
the Gedge family over the years.
In the early days of the valley, money was hard to get. For the most
part the needs of the family that they did not produce themselves they
would trade with someone else what they had for the goods that the other
men produced, thus by this trade they were able to provide for most of
the needs of the family. Those who were farmers, as was William would
take their grain to the mill to have flour ground and pay the miller in
grain, which in return he would trade to someone else for his needs. At
one time William traded a whole load of corn for just one pair of
overalls for his youngest son, Herbert.
However, there were things that they needed money for, such as taxes and
goods that were brought the long miles from the east. To obtain this
much-needed money, William would leave his home and go up on the
foothills in the southwest part of the valley and make camp. Then he
would cut the long grass called wild hay. His only way of cutting it was
by hand with a scythe. When he had a wagon load he would return the
long miles home again. The next day he would start the even longer
distance to Fort Douglas on the east foothills above the city and sell
his hay to the army for their horses. This money would be carefully kept
to be used only for those things that could not be traded for. Eggs and
butter were also traded at the stores for other things that were
needed.
Rachel was to write back to England to her sister, Sarah, and her
brother Robert, telling them of her life in the valley. How in the
winter they would cut blocks of ice and pack it in straw to keep for
summer use. Of being snowed in so deep that for weeks at a time they
could not leave their home. That when a new family would move into the
area all would ge together and help put the house up so the family could
have some place to get in out of the storms. That during the harvest
season neighbors would work together to get the crops in so no man was
left to work alone,’’ The harvest at this time was so different to our
days now. All the grain was cut by hand, then would be hauled to where a
big canvas was spread out and put on it a little at a time. Then
everyone, including the children, had a willow branch that they beat the
grain with After this it was put into th large sieve and shaken until
the grain fell through and was separated from the chaff.
Alfalfa was introduced on the farms about this time. William obtained a
very small amount of seed and planted it in the garden where it would
receive better care and be kept weeded. The seed was carefully gathered
and saved until there was enough to plant a field.
Rachel worked hard to teach her family and still did beautiful sewing.
She still loved to make her special dresses, especially for Sunday wear.
All her clothes were kept neat and clean .
They both, with their children, attended the Church meetings. William
was the Elders Quorum president. As there was a branch in Pleasant Green
(Magna) as well as the home chapel in Brighton, it was necessary that
William go to both. After his horses had worked all week, he felt they
should have a rest on the Sabbath, so he would get up early and walk to
his meetings. He lived about four miles from one chapel and twelve from
the other. When it was his turn to take wood to heat the buildings, he
would fill a gunny sack with wood and carry it on his back.
One year the grasshoppers had stripped his fields one by one so there
was only one small patch left to the north of his house that was a yet
untouched William called all his family together and they went out into
this patch and knelt down. William poured his heart out unto the Lord
and told Him if this one small patch could not be saved, his family
would starve. The Lord did answer Williams’s prayer, and that patch was
not eaten by the grasshoppers. They had that one very small patch of
grain for the winter and had to save part of it for seed for the coming
year. There wasn’t much to eat in their home that winter, but hey all
survived the hardship.
Rachel had strong faith in the Lord. Many times during their life she
was given inspiration through His spirit. One day she had been warned
that her son, Natham should not go out this certain evening. When she
asked him to stay home, he refused. She waited up for him and as soon as
he came in the door she asked, “Well, what happened?” The horse that he
had been riding had acted up and lunged into a barbed wire fence, and
his leg was torn open all the way down. Another time Rachel drank some
milk that had formaldehyde in it to poison the flies. This could have
meant instant death for her, but through a blessing given her, the Lord
healed her and she suffered no after effects from the poison.
Rachel taught her granddaughter Lorilla, to sew, knit and read before
she started school. Lorilla was placed in the third grade and did well
all through school. Rachel spent much time, especially as she grew older
during the winters, knitting socks for her grandchildren.
On Saturdays William would make the drive into Salt Lake to take the
eggs and butter. Also to go to the newspaper office to get his copy of
the Deseret News. Then back home where he would read the paper. When any
disease was described, William would imagine that he had it. Then it
was back to Salt Lake in his buggy in the afternoon to buy some medicine
to treat it. The next time it would be different disease. By the time
of his death he had almost enough medicine to stock a drug store.
As William became older and could no longer put in the long hours of
work on the farm he once did, he kept the wood cut for the fires. Then
he would spend long hours reading his Bible. He had always studied it,
but now he had time to read and study as he wished. When the days were
warm enough, he took a chair out into the sun to do his reading, and
also to be able to see the crops.
On the 1st of August, 1863, William Gedge and Rachel Bush Gedge went to
the Endowment House to be sealed. William also began to gather a record
of his family to have the Temple work done for them. William was
ordained a High Priest the 27th of February 1897 by George B. Wallace.
On June the 10th, 1902, he was ordained a Patriarch by Apostle Reed
Smoot.
Sorrow was again to come into the lives of William and Rache Gedge.
Their son Nathan was sent home from his mission to the Southern States,
very ill. He was not to live for long after this, and death claimed
Nathan in June of 1902. He left his wife with three small daughters.
Then their daughter Emma too became ill. Though she was taken to St.
George thinking a warmer climate might be of help, she, too, died in
December of 1906, leaving seven children. Of the ten children that had
been born to William Gedge and his wife, Rachel Bush Gedge, only three
were to live to survive them: Anna, William Reames, and Herbert.
After the Poplar Grave Ward was organized, it was becoming difficult for
William and Rachel to drive the three miles, in all kinds of weather,
to attend the meetings that meant so much to them. Their son, Herbert,
with whom they had lived since his marriage, obtained a home for them
about half a block west of the chapel to make it easier for them. While
they lived here their oldest grandson, Herbert, a boy of nine, died,
Rachel Bush Gedge followed her grandson in death two weeks later,
passing away 15 March 1911.
Wiliam Gedge and Rachel Bush Gedge left an heritage of which their
descendants are proud. Through their accepting the Gospel, and having
the faith and courage to come to this western land and face the
hardships that were here has been a great blessing to their family.
Rachel told one of her granddaughters that the Gospel had been worth all
the trials and heartaches, and she had no regrets.
Mary, Lois, and Leah were sealed to their parents the 1st of May, 1933.
Baby William was sealed the 25th of October, 1967. It is to be hoped
that one day research will reveal the identity of the other child so it,
too, can be sealed to its parents. [Note: An unnamed child was sealed
to William and Rachel 15 September 1995.]
