William Tweedie Cromar (1839-1916) Missionary & Pioneer

William Tweedie Cromar was born 11 Oct 1839 in Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Scotland to Alexander Ramsey Cromar and Isabella Niven.  He was the third and last child of his parents; his older sisters being Jane and Margaret.  Margaret died young, leaving Jane and William to be companions. 

The Howe of Cromar

Aberdeen

William's father was raised in the ancestral home of the Howe of Cromar, a small valley of heather-covered moorland thirty miles inland from Aberdeen along the Dee River, but Alexander moved as a young man to Aberdeen presumably for the opportunities available in Scotland's third largest city.  He was a joiner and cabinet maker.  When William was just 16 months old, his family moved south to Newcastle on Tyne, Northumberland, England.  It was here that William's father died five and a half years later on 5 Nov 1846. Alexander was buried in the All Saints' Church on Pilgrim Street.   William was just seven years old at the time.  

The following summer, on  2 July 1847, his mother remarried.  Jonathan Waller was a musician with the 30th Regiment of Fort Worth North.  Jonathan took his new family to Manchester, England in 1848.  

It was in Manchester that William's family first heard about the Gospel of Jesus Christ from the Missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  William was baptized on 13 Sep 1848 and Confirmed on 14 Sep 1848 by Apostle Orson Pratt and Richard Cook, who was the Mission President.  His mother, Isabella Cromar Waller, was baptized on the same day.  Later the family moved to Louth, Lincolnshire, and then finally to Sheffield, Yorkshire where Jonathan Waller died on 28 Jan 1851.  William's mother was now widowed for the second time.  

Sheffield, Yorkshire

The new family circumstances meant that William had to go to work at the tender age of eleven.  His first job was with a man who was a drunkard, so his mother took him from there and had him work at a Gentleman's house in the village.  His third job was with a watchmaker, and then later he worked for a milliner or hat maker.  The milliner wanted William bound to the master as an apprentice, but William's mother would not allow that, so he was fired.  Finally, he secured a position with a Mr. Rounds at the Electro Plaster and Tudor Works in Sheffield, where he was employed for two years. 

William was ordained a Deacon on 21 Apr 1856.  He was then ordained an Elder on 10 Aug 1856 by Phineas H. Young, W. G. Young, and Peter Robinson.  He was just 16 years of age at the time, but the ordination reflected his steadfastness and maturity in the Gospel.  William was very active in the Church and worked in the Lincolnshire Branch for some time under the direction of President Burrows.  He was soon called to serve a mission in England for four years, and was the companion of Elders Jackson, Burrows, Phineas H. Young, and John Taylor.  He traveled during that time mostly on foot, up to eighteen miles a day, seeking converts.  He was made President of the Hull, Yorkshire Conference on 19 Jun 1859, just a few months shy of his twentieth birthday.  He was noted at the time for being an excellent speaker, stressing to the congregation the Sacrament, the Sabbath, and the principle of Tithing. 

William organized the first Sunday School for children in England, which was held on 17 Feb 1861.  He loved young children and had felt a need for a program that would help them learn the Gospel.  This was one of many positive experiences that he had while working diligently at his calling.  Not all of his experiences were positive, however.  According to one biography, "William witnessed many manifestations while laboring in England. Many times the spirit of the adversary was felt in their meetings. The protesters threw stones at the building, set off fire crackers and did anything to break up the meetings. Once they released a flock of birds to disrupt the meeting and drive out the members but this failed. They threw rocks and broke the windows, piled carts and junk around the house and wired the doors shut where a meeting was being held to discourage the members, but they were not discouraged so easily and through faith and prayer carried on."

It was during this time in Sheffield that he met and fell in love with his future wife, Selina Turner.   She was born in 22 Apr 1839  in Sheffield to George Turner and Hannah Waller.  She was one of five girls.  Although her parents allowed her to be baptized into the Church on 10 Jun 1855, they did not accept the Gospel themselves.  They were particularly concerned about the doctrine of polygamy, which was being practiced by some of the Latter Day Saints at the time.  William promised Selina's parents that he would never take a second wife.  On 15 Apr 1861, William and Selina were married in St. Mary's Church in Sheffield, England.  One week later, on 22 Apr 1861, the young couple sailed for America on the ship "Underwriter".  They came steerage.  William was listed as being 21, a warehouseman at 9 Walker's in Hull.  The cost for the two tickets was over two pounds, a great sum of money at the time.

(William's mother, Isabella Cromar Waller would come later with his sister, Jane.  They sailed on the "Cynssure" along with Jane's future husband Gervis Mansfield and his son, Brigham, arriving in New York on 2 July 1863.)

An account of their journey appeared in the Millennial Star:  

 

The Underwriter

“There are fourteen Conference Presidents who have for a number of years laboured in the ministry in these lands, having gladly availed themselves of the privilege of going to Zion and having sailed on the Underwriter with the blessings of the Presidency, namely: Elders William Moss, John Cook, William T. Cromar, George Teasdale, Joseph Stanford, Willet Harder, E. W. Tullidge and others.

Presidents Lyman, Rich and Cannon visited the ship on Sunday, the 21st, as she lay in the river, and held a meeting giving the Saints their parting blessing and many choice instructions relative to their journey.

The unanimity and good feeling which pervaded the Company, with the joy expressed on the countenances of the people at their long looked for deliverance having arrived, tended to make a fine and intelligent looking Company doubly interesting, and we have no doubt that, under the wise direction of President Milo Andrus, their ocean trip will prove both agreeable and instructive.

May god bless them in their journeying onward to the home of the Saints in the valleys of the mountains.

The Clipper-ship Underwriter cleared on the 22st., and sailed on the evening of the 23rd, from this port for New York having 624 Saints on board, under the Presidency of Elder Milo Andrus, assisted by Elders Homer Duncan and C. W. Penrose as Counselors.”

William and Selina arrived in New York on 22 May 1861, made their way by railway and boat to Winter Quarters, Nebraska on 2 Jun 1861.  There they met up with a company of 200 Church wagons that had brought back men and supplies to help the immigrants reach the Salt Lake Valley.  The group traveled in four companies, walking for eleven weeks and covering some 1200 miles mostly on foot. Selina was expecting their first child at the time of the crossing, making the journey even more difficult.  They finally arrived in the Salt Lake Valley in Sep 1861. 

 Their first home was in Salt Lake City, a small shack-like building located on 4th South between 4th and 5th East.  Later, the moved into Wilford Woodruff's home that was known as the Cottonwoods.  It was into the first home, though, that they welcomed their first child, William Frederick Cromar who was born on 12 Jan 1862.  Emma Selina was born a year later on 10 Dec 1863, followed by Henry Mansfield on 2 Feb 1866.  While they lived in Salt Lake City, William worked first for the Globe Bakers, then as the first freight agent for the Oregon Short Line, and then he worked for Kimball and Lawrence grocers.

In October of 1867, William and his family were called along with 162 other families to serve on the Muddy Mission on the Muddy River, a small tributary Rio Virgin River, which in turn was a tributary of the Colorado River.  (This was located at the corner of Arizona, Nevada, and Utah, south of St. George.)  Their mission was to strengthen the families that were already settled there and to help grow grains and vegetables.  The colony was originally settled with the idea that it would be a good place to grow cotton and semi-tropical plants.  The excessive heat and lack of water was proving to make that goal difficult.  William purchased a wagon and mules from Heber C. Kimball, loaded up his families meager belongings, and took his wife and three small children to their new home in St. Thomas--a two room cabin with a lean-to kitchen and a blanket for a door.  They had a very trying first year.  Indians in that part of the country were harassing the settlers by driving their cattle away and destroying their crops.  William did his best to make friends with the Indians and did  have some success.  In the end, though, they moved to St. Joseph to try to improve their lot.  It was that that their fourth child, Herbert Bayliffe, was born on 25 Jan 1868.  That summer, some of the Elders toured the area and a decision was made under the direction of Brigham Young to terminate the colony.  William was instructed to either return home or resettle elsewhere.  William brought his family back to Salt Lake City in 1869 and settled on a home on Third Ave and H. Street.

It was about this time that William became inactive in the Church.  Only William and Selina know the cause for this, and speculation is useless beyond imaging that it must have been a matter of great importance that troubled him as he had done all that he was asked to do prior to that time.

Walker Bros. Store (inset shows a different angle)

William worked after this time for the Walker Brothers Store as General Manager, and continued to work there for the next 25 years.  He had nineteen men and four boys under his direction.  He was a highly skilled businessman, helping the store reach sales of more than $300,000 dollars one year, a considerable sum at the time.  William's grandson, Wayne Cromar recalls, "I don’t know just exactly when he was first employed by the Walker Brothers Department Store, but I have always heard that he was manager of the men’s clothing department. Walker Brothers was a very large and popular store. Grandpa made the men’s clothing department doubly so because of his good taste and style of apparel for the men who were particular what they wore. Hence, the more wealthy business men of the city came to Grandpa to be fitted out with clothing needs.  Grandpa loved his work and always looked like a “fashion plate” himself. He was a handsome man, about 5 ft. 9 in., his average weight was about 165 lbs. His brown eyes, well trimmed brown hair (gray in his later years) and goatee added to his striking appearance. He was considered one of the smartest dressers of Salt Lake City for his time. As he walked along the street, he attracted much favorable attention with his stripped trousers, frocked coat, and hat in keeping with the style of the times. He completed his regular formal afternoon attire with the walking stick, or cane.

Back Row:  Charles, Henry, Herbert  Front Row: Frank, Emma, William T., Selina, William F., Louisa May Children in the front: Albert, Raymond

During that time, six more children were added to their family.  Charles Francis was born on 20 Apr 1870.  Louisa May arrived on 5 Oct 1872, but passed away at the age of sixteen on 9 Jun 1889.  Frank Atkinson was born on 25 Mar 1875.  Albert Ernest joined the family on 8 Dec 1878.  Laura May was born on 2 Nov 1880, but lived only a few months, dying 6 Jul 1881.  The last child in the family, Raymond Leslie, was born on 3 Jan 1883. 

Some time later, William went into the real estate business with a Mr. Raybould, settling into an office in the Atlas Block.  Eventually, William took over the entire business as sole owner.  He kept that office in the Atlas Block until his death.  He had been given little formal education, but he was noted for his beautiful penmanship and keeping a diary.  He loved music, flowers, and fishing on the Weber River.  After Selina's death in 1908, he lived alone for a year, then sold the home.  He spent winters in California with his daughter, Emma Crosby and summers in Utah with his son Herbert while continuing to take care of his real estate business.

William died at the home of his daughter, Emma Crosby, in Los Angeles, California on 6 Mar 1916 of complications of pneumonia, and was brought back to Salt Lake City to be buried next to his wife on 12 Mar 1916 in the Mount Olivet Cemetery.  Joseph F. Smith, who was in California at the time, said that if he had known of William's death he would have traveled back to Utah to speak at his funeral.   Bishop Clarence Nelson said at his funeral that he had received a check every month from William, and even though it was never noted as such, the bishop felt that it was William's tithing, as paying tithing was one of the principles of the Church that he felt very strongly about.  His grandson, Wayne Cromar, wrote,

"All my life I have heard of Grandpa’s devotion to his religion. As he grew older he was so enthused with the truths of the gospel that he had a great desire to share them with others. Consequently, he filled two missions in England. One when he was called to be President of one of the Branches; and no doubt, one previous when he was a traveling Elder going among the people expounding the truths, no doubt, meeting with much success. However, the Mormon Religion was very unpopular in England at that time. It was only the honest in heart, those who truly had the blood of Israel in their veins, who were baptized.  He was faithful to the Church and always set a good example in the gospel teachings. He and Grandmother were sealed for time and all eternity December 7, 1861, so all their children were born under the covenant. Grandpa was a kind and loving family man; his wife and children adored him.  I’m sure there was a happy reunion on the other side between Grandpa and Grandma and Louise, who died a young lady of 16 years, and Laura, who died as a baby."

Our line:
William Tweedie Cromar m. Salina Turner
Raymond Leslie Cromar m. Ada Adams
Raymond Kenneth Cromar m. Louine Clawson Young
Bruce Young Cromar m. Helga Maria Schneider
Ryan Douglas Cromar m. Heather Solomon

Thomas Richardson (1803-1886) Mormon Battalion

Thomas Richardson was born 23 Sep 1803 in Preston, Lancashire, England to Thomas Richardson and Jane Thornton.  He was Christened 3 Oct 1803 in the Anglican Church of St. John in Preston.  (Early LDS membership records and his headstone list him as being born 18 Feb 1804 in Wigan, Lancashire, but that date cannot be verified with Lancashire Parish Records.  It is possible that there were two boys named Thomas born to Thomas and Jane Richardson, but the proximity of their births would make this seem less likely.)

The cotton mills were the center of work and life in Lancashire at the time, and it appears that Thomas was one of those who worked in the mills.  In several documents he is listed as either a weaver or a cotton spinner.  This life is depicted in Elizabeth Gaskell's 1855 novel North and South, which was also turned into a miniseries of the same name by the BBC.  The first mill appeared in Preston in 1791 and by 1927, there were 60 mills in operation.  It is not known which mill Thomas worked in, but there were hundreds of mills operating in the county at the time.   Preston was on the cutting edge of technology at the time Thomas lived there.  It was the first town in England after London to be lit by gas.  It was also, however, the scene of a major strike in 1842 which led to riots, and another in 1853 which lasted for 23 weeks.  Preston was the inspiration for the town of  "Coketown" in Charles Dickens' novel, Hard Times.

Thomas Richardson married Mary Mallalieu on 12 Nov 1826 in nearby Walton Le Dale at the parish church of St. Leonard.  He was twenty-two and listed as a bachelor.  She was about twenty-four and listed as a spinster.  (The year previous, Thomas was witness to the marriage of Jonathan Mallalieu and Mary Grey in the same church.)  Thomas and Mary had at least ten children together, nine of which were born while they lived in the Preston area.  (Hannah, Mary, Jane, John, Robert, Susannah, Violet, and Sarah, and Benjamin.) Their youngest child, Thomas, was born in 1844 in Montrose, Lee, Iowa.  (A Charles and a George are sometimes listed as also being among their children.)

  Preston became site of the first foreign mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in 1837.  In 1840, Thomas and Mary were baptized into the Church along with several of their children.  Historian Susan Easton Black lists him as the 7th member of the Church to be baptized in Preston, but that is likely incorrect as he wasn't baptized until three years after missionary work had already begun and records for the mission at the time were sketchy if not non-existent for nearly a decade after the mission began. He presided briefly over the Gadfield Elm Conference.  In 1841, he and his family immigrated to the United States and settled in Nauvoo, Illinois.  Thomas lost his first wife, Mary, in Oct 1845, and she was buried in the Old Nauvoo burying grounds.  In Dec 1845, Thomas received his endowment in the Nauvoo Temple, just prior to the expulsion of the Saints from Nauvoo.

 

Thomas married Anne Owens Clark in 1846, a widow with two children by her first husband.  Anne then became mother to all of his children, including his baby son, Thomas, about the time that they had to leave Nauvoo.  By June of that year, they were among the 15,000 Saints spread out across the Iowa plains.  In July, Captain James Allen of the U.S. Army rode into Council Bluffs with orders to enlist 500 men to help fight the war with Mexico.  Thomas Richardson enlisted, becoming a 42 year-old Private in Company E.  The Battalion marched first to Ft. Leavenworth and from there to Sante Fe.  The Mormon Battalion famously completed the longest infantry march in US Army history, but Thomas Richardson did not participate in the entire march.   In November of 1846, he became part of the sick detachment which returned to Sante Fe and then went from there to Pueblo, Colorado to spend the winter.  They traveled more than 300 miles back to Pueblo and in the spring, began their march again, this time northward toward Ft. Laramie.  Thomas Richardson was part of the advance company that met up with Brigham Young on 4 Jul 1847 at the junction of the Big Sandy and Green Rivers.  After arriving in Salt Lake City, Thomas was released from military duty.

Thomas stayed in Salt Lake City for ten days before leaving to go to Pottawatomie, Kansas to be reunited with his family.  Four years later, he brought them to Utah and settled first in Farmington (1852), then in Kaysville, then in Ogden (1854), and then finally went back to Kaysville for a time (1856).  He eventually settled in Slaterville, Weber, Utah where he was the Branch President and later the bishop (1864-77).  Anne died in 1864.  On 12 Jun 1876, he married his third wife, Catherine Brown, who was 55 at the time.  He had no children from either his second or third marriage.

He died on 3 Nov 1886 at the age of 82 and was buried in Richmond Pioneer Cemetery in Richmond, Cache, Utah. 

Our Line:
Thomas Richardson m. Mary Mallalieu
John Richardson m. Lola Ann Amelia Tyler
Valeria Richardson m. George Ortion Bair
AuTossie Ann Bair m. Sylvester George Taylor
Ettie Jane Taylor m. Charles Samuel Solomon
Norman King Solomon m. Mary Leora Mattson
Heather Solomon m. Ryan Cromar