Norman Benjamin Taylor (TAYLOR FAMILY)

Norman Benjamin Taylor
(Grandpa Taylor's paternal Great-grandfather, my 3rd great)



         Norman was born on September 15, 1828 in Grafton, Ohio.  His family converted to Mormonism when he was 11, and he was baptized in Nauvoo at the age of 15. When it came time for the Saints to find a new home in the West after much persecution, 18 year old Norman was chosen to accompany the first company across the plains, led by Brigham Young, because of his skill as a wheelwright.  So on July 22, 1847, he drove the second team into the Salt Lake valley- then returned to Winter Quarters 4 weeks later with Brigham Young to help lead more Saints across the plains.  While in Winter Quarters he married Lurana Forbush. 2 years later he married her sister, Lydia, as a second wife- they were married by President Brigham Young and Lydia is my 3rd great- grandmother.
           In the early 1850's, Norman moved to the San Bernadino valley with apostle Amasa Lyman to help colonize- but returned to Utah when Johnston's army was on its way and settled in Santaquin in 1859, becoming its first Justice of the peace.  He then moved to Moab where he built the first ferry boat across the Grand (Colorado) River and opened the first store in Moab. In 1899 he took a journey to deliver some cattle to Chicago and came down with typhoid fever. He died in Salt Lake City on November 25, 1899.  He was buried in Moab.


Norman was never interested in holding church offices or preaching, but he made hard moves at the request of church leaders and was always willing to lend a hand to anyone who needed help.  He was very active even into his old age, and would drive the Grand County's float in the Jubilee parade at 70 years old.  He raised a large family with many of his children becoming prominent in civic, church, and business affairs.  Lydia and Norman had 8 children together, and their oldest child- Ernest Leander Taylor - is my great-great grandfather.

-Taken from his life story on Family Search.

Excerpt from his Obituary:
A Pioneer Passes Away. Death of Norman Taylor ============================ The news of the death of Mr. Norman Taylor of this place, who died at Salt Lake City last Saturday cast a gloom over this valley in which he has taken such a prominent part for so many years. When he left here some weeks ago on a business trip to eastern cities he appeared in unusually good health. He returned in company with his sons but continued on to Salt Lake from Thompson to visit his wife who had been at Salt Lake City under medical treatment for sometime and regarding whose health he had showed much anxiety. It was there where he was taken with his fatal illness. The remains reached Moab on Monday accompanied by his wife, and sons who were at his death bed.

James Niels Skousen (TAYLOR FAMILY)

James Niels Skousen and Sidsel Marie Pedersen
(Grandpa Taylor's great-grandparents, my 3rd great-
ALSO Nana's great-grandparents through her adopted mother Wilmirth Skousen)

The strong, wiry Dane, James (Jens) was born September 30, 1828 in Herslev, Denmark.  His strong will and unwillingness to change his mind once made up, served him well.  This strong will was mellowed by a very jolly nature- he loved a good joke.  Sidsel was born August 23, 1826, also in Denmark.
James nearly drowned twice as a little boy but was rescued both times. He was raised in the household of his uncle until he was 18 and then was on his own.  It seems he took this maternal uncle's last name rather than his father's.  All young men were required to do military service and he dreamed of serving in the prestigious cavalry. Though he was technically too short at 5'8", he worked hard to become an excellent rider, and his persistence paid off when he was finally accepted to the Royal Guard Cavalry, where he got to ride beautiful horses in his red and white uniform.  He soon became a very good boiler engineer.
         In 1856 he married the happy, good-natured Sidsel Marie Pedersen (pronounced Cecil) in the Aarhus Cathedral, after already living in a common law marriage for a few years.  They faced great sorrow when their first baby daughter died at 2 months of age.  He had heard rumors of the Mormon missionaries luring Danish girls to their "harems" in the American West, and went to a meeting at a neighbor's house- Lars O. Madsen- to check them out.
Typical of his decisive, strong nature, he was convinced of the truth of their message and was baptized the same night with his wife.  (March 8, 1857)  He recalled a "dark power" that came over him as he left the house to be baptized, but the dark power instantly disappeared when he came out of the water, replaced with a "new, sweet spirit."  Joining the new church caused him to be fired from his job, jeopardizing their careful plans to emigrate to Zion, but he soon got a better job as an engineer. He was also soon called to preside over a branch of the church in Denmark. Sidsel was a bright young woman who was filled with excitement and couldn't wait to share the gospel message with her family. She was heartbroken at their cold response, especially her teacher brother who responded, "Why do you come to me with such a message?  Am I not better learned than you?"

          James and his family left Denmark for the United States on April 8, 1862, taking almost every penny they had.   By the time their wagon train left Florence, NB for the Salt Lake Valley, Sidsel was big pregnant.  They had two young sons, and had lost two young children before emigrating. While pregnant Sidsel rode in the wagon, James walked the whole way to Zion with one year old Willard astride his shoulders, and 5 year old Peter walking alongside, holding his father's hand.  Their company was headed by John R. Murdock and left July 24, 1862.  The company was largely made up of Scandinavian saints.
          Sidsel gave birth to Hannah Marie (my great-great grandmother) on August 2, 1862 while camped by the Platte River.  I can't imagine what that would be like, to give birth in a wagon camp by a river!  They would have nine children together. They safely arrived in the Salt Lake valley on September 27, 1862.  The total journey from their homeland had taken 5 1/2 months, leaving behind green Danish countryside for a desolate land with scarcely the clothes on their backs.

          James worked as a stonecutter on temple square, but his hands and wrist became so swollen that within a few days he had to stop - and became a farmer, settling near Lehi,and finally near Draper.  During the bitter, snowy winter, he had to walk the ten miles to Draper to get flour and carry it up the mountain.  After 4 years of hardship and farming for others, James was able to purchase some land in Draper with an adobe house of their own.  They learned a hard work ethic that served them well, everyone in the family pitching in.  During the winters they would go up the canyon and haul wood to Salt Lake to trade for needed goods.  In September 1869, James and Sidsel made the trip to the Salt Lake City endowment house to be sealed.  They left their children with Ane Jorgensen Hansen, a recent Danish immigrant who had a hard time finding work because of a crippled knee. They took her in and paid her to help in their home as a way to help her.
         About a year later, Sidsel announced one day that James should marry Ane and raise another family, startling her husband.  He replied with dismay that he could barely take care of one family.  Sidsel replied, "You better make up your mind to marry her, because you're going to take care of her anyway.  She is a cripple, has no home or family to go to, and I'm not turning her out."  He gave in and married Ane as his second wife, he would have 8 more children with her. One day while reading in Doctrine Covenants 89- he threw his pipe into the fire and said he would never use it again.  The Word of Wisdom was more of a suggestion than a commandment at the time, but when James felt strongly about something he never went back.


Ane, Sidsel, and James Skousen

        James was soon called to help settle east-central Arizona.  It was difficult for them to leave all they had worked for on their farm, and many tears were shed.  Some suggested he take one of his families and go for a couple years and then return to his farm after fulfilling his duty.  James responded, "Brigham Young is a prophet of God and when a prophet calls, I will accept the call and do my best to fulfill it."  So he sold his farm and took his families with him to the harsh Arizona wilderness, to live the "Big Table Order," a communal farm. After 3 difficult years of crop failures and dams washing out, they eventually settled in Springerville, then Alpine.
          He was imprisoned in the Yuma Penitentiary in 1884 for "unlawful cohabitation."  (See Prisoner's Diary account on family search)  The prison was known for its harsh conditions, the trials were a farce, and the prisoners were forced to do heavy labor in terrible heat with bad food.  Despite the infamous stories of the prison, the LDS prisoners were treated fairly well, and James was given the assignment of looking after the prison superintendent's two sons- taking them fishing and coming and going as he pleased.  He served an extra month on top of his 6 month sentence because he couldn't afford to pay the $500 fine. Once released, he moved part of his family including Sidsel to Colonia Juarez in Mexico, where Latter-day Saints were settling, in order to avoid further prosecution for polygamy by the U.S. Government.  Ane stayed on the farm in Arizona.  Many tears were shed when James and Sidsel were parted- they had been sweethearts for many years, and Ane considered her a sister.  Some of her children were already living in Colonia Juarez, and they took her with them.  She was 60.
          When Sidsel became seriously ill in 1897, James left his family in Arizona to go and be with her, and was with her when she died on February 20, 1898.  A stake Patriarch, and knowing that his other wife Ane was being cared for by her older sons,  James decided to stay on in Mexico with his older children and moved in with his daughter, Hannah Taylor.  His patriarch calling was transferred to the Juarez stake.  Patriarch James N. Skousen, with his clipped white beard, big grin, and heavy Danish accent, was a fixture in the colonies.  He loved young people and was known walk up to them and put his arm around them while asking if they had found their eternal mate yet.  This was not always appreciated but in his jolly way he would ignore the embarrassment and dirty looks and move on to the next young person!  His grandchildren loved him and would run to him to find the candy that was always in his pocket.  His daughter Hannah was much like her mother and provided a warm home for him.


The Mexican Revolution of 1912 drove most of the Saints back to the States, and James being so anxious to get to his old home in Alpine, hitched a ride with a family heading that way from Thatcher.  Because of the large size of the family, he had to sleep in the cold under the wagon at the age of 84 and caught cold.  He died shortly after on October 21, 1912 in Alpine, and was buried in the cemetery there.  Ane lived four more years and then was buried beside him.
         James was a good natured man of his word, with twinkling blue eyes that could pierce the soul.  It has been said that his face was beautiful to look upon for the love and spirituality that radiated from it, and though his features were strong, they remained soft until the end of his life.  James and Sidsel never accumulated wealth of this world, but they were rich in faith and dedicated themselves to the gospel of Christ from the moment they heard it. He cheerfully gave all he had to the work of the Lord, raising 15 out of 17 children to maturity, and serving as a patriarch for many years. Over 2000 descendants of these faithful pioneers are alive today.  With their natural zest for life, pluck and hard work, and unwavering testimony of the gospel- nothing kept them down for long and they firmly believed that as long as they were doing what was right, things would work out for them.

-Adapted from James' life story "The Gentle Patriarch"- by Max B. Skousen and Meryle M. Galisse on Family Search
-For even more details about their lives, read the full account on Family Search!

A TRIBUTE TO SIDSEL BY PETER C. WOOD Written on Her Birthday Anniversary August 23, 1896 Your yoke was easy, your burden light, For Jesus made it so. And the angels hovered round about Which gave you life anew. An exile for the love of God This we know is true. Because thou will not leave the Lord And do as others do. The Lord has given you great blessings. On your head He did bestow All powers--keys-gifts and blessings That can be given here below. A queen in Heaven you wilt be; Your life seems just begun. Eternal life, we know, awaits you; Your glory is that of the sun. Age is creeping over you, Mother, Three-score-ten you are today. You'll meet the Savior in power and glory, For you we humbly bow and pray. We know thou art a righteous soul A faithful mother, too. A kind and noble parent, To God thou hast been true. Thou didst leave thy native land, All for the love of God. Embracing truth and righteousness, Holding fast the iron rod. Trials great thou hast withstood, You've conquered every foe. Salvation's wrought upon thy brow, Thou art for God we know. When James was taken from thy side, Imprisoned without just cause, Insulted--abused--and mocked, For keeping God's holy laws. Twas then your heart did nearly break. It seemed a heavy stroke. You bowed and prayed to God, "O Lord, make easy my yoke." By: Nate Skousen, Jr. From: "Ladies of the Church: Sketches of the Faith, Sacrifice and Courage of the Pioneering Ladies of the Church"

Francis Ada Williams (wife of Thomas S. Kimball)

Francis Ada Williams Kimball 1862-1942
(Grandpa's great-grandmother, my third great)
*taken from Family Search, and from grandson Thomas' memories

Francis was born in Kaysville, UT on October 27, 1862.

Her parents were converted to the gospel in their native lands of England and Wales, crossing the ocean to America and the plains to Utah in the mid-1850's. Francis grew up in Kaysville, eventually attending the University of Utah in 1880 and becoming a primary school teacher in Kaysville for $40 a month. She ended up in St. David, AZ, where she met and married Thomas S. Kimball on October 16, 1883.  They went back to Utah to be sealed in the Endowment House, where their first daughter Hazel (Grandpa's great-grandmother) was born. Then they went back to Arizona where Thomas ran a sawmill in the Huachuca Mountains. When the mine shut down, they were quite poor and moved to Safford, where they built a small adobe house, with adobe they made themselves. Two children were born in this house, after which they moved to Thatcher in 1899. Thomas and Francis served two missions together- one in 1898 to the Central States, and another in 1919.



                                                                              Fanny and Thomas, with daughter Elizabeth

Francis taught Relief Society and served as secretary; she also served in Sunday School. She also served as secretary for their civil government class, working for women's suffrage. Francis always had a political interest, and her intelligence led her to be chosen as a delegate to Phoenix, and a great advocate for women's suffrage, which was passed in Arizona in 1912.   In 1924 she was even elected as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in New York. But she wasn't finished serving her country yet!  During World War I, Francis was the post master at Thatcher, selling thrift and war stamps, was the Deputy food administrator,  and she also served on the State Welfare Board for four years.

"Aunt Fanny" as she was known, was a tall stately woman as remembered by her grandson, and she was perceptive and wise. She believed in knowledge, and the application of it for righteous purposes. In addition to being an intelligent leader and civil servant, Fannie is also remembered for the extent to which she cared for her husband and family- baking fresh bread and rolls daily, and cooking huge breakfasts every day for her hard working husband.  She died on September 25, 1942, almost 80 years old, due to complications from surgery in Los Angeles.

I love when I can see a little bit of myself in an ancestor- I'm very proud to be descended from a woman's suffragist who was politically active and a community leader- while also maintaining a warm home for her husband and family.  Grandmother Fanny seems to have magnified all of her callings in life, and is a wonderful role model for all of her granddaughters!

Thomas S. Kimball

Thomas Stephens Kimball
(Grandpa's great-grandfather, my 3rd great)
*taken from familysearch, particularly from his grandson Thomas L. Kimball

Thomas was born August 10, 1862 in Salt Lake City.

Thomas- Left

He was tall and broad, weighing over 200 lbs, with a round face and a friendly, booming voice.  When he spoke, people listened! His father (David P. Kimball) was called to multiple missions and settlements while he was growing up, and the family were Arizona pioneers when Thomas was only 14. The journey from Utah to Arizona was long and hard- full of bad roads, hostile Indians, and other obstacles. Thomas even had to drive the ox team himself when his father sprained his ankle along the way.


As a young man, Thomas heard there was fertile farmland along the Gila River and moved there, creating a fine farm with his wife, Frances. He became one of the best horse breeders in the area, having learned the trade from his father, and could calm the most difficult horses.  He also established a freight hauling business from the Gila valley to the copper mines in Morenci and Globe.
Thomas was one of the first to recognize water as the life blood to the arid, developing Arizona  and was a strong advocate of protecting water resources. He advocated the building of a large dam on the upper Gila River with a large reservoir.  He was elected a state senator to help protect water rights and spent his political tenure in federal court protecting Arizona's right to its share of the Colorado River water from California.  Fifty years later, due to his efforts, the Central AZ Project was completed, providing water to the entire Phoenix/Tuscon area.

Thomas, with his mother Caroline, grandmother Albina, daughter Hazel, and grandson Lorenzo
.Thomas, with wife Frances and daughter Elizabeth.


He was deeply religious and took his entire family often into the desert where his father David P. Kimball had his life-changing spiritual experience.  Every year the family went there, and listened to Thomas repeat the story of David's desert vision of his parents, and their ministration to him.   Thomas dearly loved his ten children and many grandchildren and fostered great family closeness.
He passed away October 29, 1939 at the age of 77 and was buried in Thatcher, AZ.

Thomas with some grandchildren- far right is Stanley (my grandpa's father)

Ann Elizabeth Hodgkinson (LARSON FAMILY)

Ann Elizabeth Hodgkinson
(My 3rd great, Grandpa Larson's great-grandmother)


In 1837, the Lord revealed to the Prophet Joseph in the Kirtland temple that Heber C. Kimball should open the door of salvation to the people of Great Britain. Elder Kimball naturally felt weak and shrank from the responsibility but accepted the call. He and the other elders arrived in Liverpool on July 16, 1837. After only a few days they felt constrained by the spirit to go to Preston, 30 miles away. After 8 days of preaching, they had 9 candidates for baptism, including Ann and her husband, Thomas Wamsley.

Ann was born August 24, 1807 in  Chipping, England. Ann was one of the first visits for the missionaries and she had been confined to her bed for months with the dreaded consumption. She was a mere skeleton of skin and bones according to her son, and had been given up for dead many times. When Elder Kimball testified to her of the gospel truths he raised his hand and declared, "Sister Wamsley, I promise you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ that if you will repent and be baptized you shall recover."  Ann believed Elder Kimball and on July 30, 1837, she was carried to the River Ribble and baptized as the first woman convert in England/Europe. 7000-9000 people came to witness the baptisms.  At her confirmation her disease was rebuked and she was healed completely a week later.



After her husband Thomas died, Ann immigrated  to America, suffering the persecutions with the saints, crossing the plains, and married Isaac Palmer.  They settled in Bear Lake, ID, where Ann raised her children and lived to be 82 years old. Rumor has it that Isaac left Ann some time between 1850 and 1860 for the gold mines in California, and never came back.  He later died in Warren, Illinois the same year Ann died in Idaho.  It would seem that Ann had even more trials in her life than initially appear, and ended up raising her children alone in the harsh pioneer conditions.  She bore 11 children and buried three in childhood, one at the age of 22.  Yet she seems to have been a devoted and faithful woman who endured her trials with courage.   Ann was known as an excellent housekeeper, orderly and neat, a fine lady and a humble, devoted member of the church.


Her son, Isaac, said this of her miraculous healing and baptism:
"Through this healing and baptism, President Kimball is responsible for bringing many hundreds into the church, because in her one child, myself, the church has over a hundred members- for I have eleven children, 64 grandchildren, and 32 great-grandchildren."

One of Ann's granddaughters, Zilpha Sophronia Palmer, later married Heber C. Kimball's great-great grandson, Stanley Kimball Larson. And those are my Grandpa Chuck Larson's parents!  Perhaps my own mother inherited some of her great-great grandmother's grit, faith, and courage to raise the six of us mostly on her own. Coincidentally, Ann died the same date my mother was born.  I am thankful for the many great women I have to look up to as examples of faith and courage!

Grandpa Chuck Larson's parents-
Zilpha, Ann's granddaughter, and Stanley, Heber C. Kimball's great-great grandson.

John Van Cott and Lucy Lavinia Sackett (TAYLOR FAMILY)

John Van Cott and Lucy Lavinia Sackett
(My third great, Grandpa Taylor's great-grandparents)

John Van Cott was born September 7, 1814 in Canaan, NY. He was a descendant of the first settlers in Long Island from Holland in 1640.  10 generations back they belonged to the Holland nobility. His parents were Losee and Lavinia- aunt and uncle to Parley and Orson Pratt. John was only 10 years old when his father died. His cousin, Parley Pratt came to stay with his aunt Lavinia, who he loved like a mother, and he brought with him a Book of Mormon.  John and his mother read the book and believed, but John wasn't baptized until 12 years later in Nauvoo in 1845.  By that time he had married Lucy Sackett, who was from a fine family.

While in Nauvoo John and Lucy temporarily lived with Parley Pratt, and John contributed a significant amount of $400 in gold to the temple, plus some lots he had purchased. He and Lucy received their endowments in the Nauvoo temple. In 1846 they are forced out of their homes with the rest of the Saints and lived in a log house in Winter Quarters. They left for the Salt Lake valley in the summer of 1847, in company with Parley Pratt.  Their son Losee was born near Independence Rock in Wyoming. They arrived in the valley September 25, 1847.  John built one of the most substantial houses near Temple Square.  They developed a great friendship with the Prophet Brigham Young, who later married one of their daughters. John was ordained as a Seventy by Joseph Young.

In 1852 John was called on a mission to England, and later transferred to Denmark, where he became president of the Scandinavian mission. He was sent back to Denmark again in 1859 to be the mission president and had such a love for the Scandinavian Saints that he had a special call later to help the emigrants settling in Sanpete County. The Scandinavian Saints loved him deeply in return for his service among them.  By the end of his missions he spoke near-perfect Dutch.

Later when Johnson's Army was marching, John was deputized to stay in the city and set Fire to the property in case the soldiers were hostile, which luckily never happened. He ended up with 5 wives and 28 children. He was a member of the Utah House of Representatives, on the Salt Lake City council, street supervisor, and city marshal. John was a great businessman and missionary, an intelligent and eloquent speaker, full of integrity and courage.  John and Lucy lost four of their seven children in childhood, and passed through many hardships and sacrifices for their faith. I wish I had more personal stories or Lucy, but I will keep looking.

When John died on February 18,1883 at home, he was mourned by the entire church, especially the Scandinavian saints. The Deseret News reported on February 20, 1883: "It would be difficult to find a more exemplary and conscientious man than Brother Van Cott. He was a good man in the broad sense, not negatively so, but as a producer of the goods of a well spent life.  He was one of those whose character and motives seemed so far above reproach, that we doubt if they have ever been the subject of even suspicion. At home or abroad, wherever Brother Van Cott sojourned, he was regarded with esteem, his very presence and appearance inspiring sentiments of that nature."

I visited the Salt Lake Cemetery to find John and Lucy's graves.  It was a beautiful fall day and how glad I was to find them and pay tribute to their memory.