Charlotte Gailey Clark by daughter Ellen Rowberry Hinckly
Charlotte Gailey Clark by daughter Ellen Rowberry Hinckly
Note: This biography was submitted by L. R. Wrathall and was written by his aunt, Ellen R. Hinckly, a daughter of Charlotte. It was published in several editions of the Clark News.
As I record these memories, the two Charlottes, Mother and my sister, are so interwoven that I can’t seem to separate them. There I find that I keep creeping in, but I shall ask you to forget me. I shall intrude as little as possible.
Mother was the baby of the Clark family, Uncle John, Aunt Elize Murdoc, Aunt Ellen Bryan, Uncle Tom, Aunt Hannah Parkinson, Grandfather and Grandmother Clark were converted to the Gospel by WIlford Woodruff. They belonged to the band of United Brethren. The whole organization was converted. After the Clarks reached the Latter Day Saints in Nauvoo two little girls were born to them, Aunt Mary Ann and Charlotte, my mother.
As I remember Mother she was of medium height and she weighed about 130 pounds, an clear olive complexion, irregular features. She had beautiful black wavy hair (she said when she was a girl it would curl in ringlets and little curls all over her head). She would brush it’s shining length and as a child I loved to run under her falling waves. The perfume of her hair and it’s softness thrilled me. Mother’s crowning beauty was her large brown eyes. They would shine and dance with pleasure – and dim over with pity. They expressed such earnest kindness. When I gazed into their depth I felt a quiet strength coming from her soul, that seemed to say, I have suffered mch and I have conquered much, and if need be I can conquer more. Mother’s charm came from a radiant personality which like a delicate violin expressed every shade and tone of a tender, sensitive heart. Smiles eemed to play constantly around her mouth and eyes. Her warm understanding and sympathy responded to every need of the human heart. No one left her without feeling and uplift in his soul. “The best part of a good man’s life are the kind unremembered acts” and so it was with Mother.
Mother found herself a widow at thirty eight years of age, with five small children to support (Thomas, Charlotte, Ellen, Agnes and Sarah) She was young to face the world alone. She had no particular skill or training to make a living, but she gathered her little flock in her protecting arms and faced the world. Mother did have beautiful, efficient hands which she turned to account in many ways. In our home there were many hardships. Our house always seemed cold. Often the water would freeze in the wash basin in the daytime. Now as I look back Mother must have had a terrible struggle to get fuel. Shoes were another problem. She sometimes asked us not to jump the rope because skipping was so hard on shoes, but she might just as well have requested the birds not to fly as to try to keep Charlotte from jumping the rope. No feat of skill with the rope was too difficult for her.
As a girl Charlotte was rather small. Mother said he had small bones, but she had a plump well built body, very pretty legs and small feet. How proud she was of her foot and tiny ankle. They were always trim and well cared for. She had a wealth of hair, it was thick and it reached almost to her knees, and it was of a rich chestnut color. Her eyes were starry bright and she was so extremely shy. When she and I were sent on an errand Charlotte would say she would go if I would ask or give the message. I was the spokesman and we did errands for the entire neighborhood. We never carried a note and never received a penny in pay. I was larger for my age than was Charlotte and as Mother dressed us alike, strangers often mistook us for twins. Charlotte never failed to see the funny side of everything, and was ever ready to play a joke on someone, often I was the goat. Sometimes she could tease by making jingles about me, and they were rather clever, but usually there was no ripple in our joy as played together.
One of my earliest recollections is being in a lane on a beautiful spring morning, and a ditch ran north of this lane and it’s bank was aglow with dandelions. There were a number of children there. I wore crochet shoes; Charlotte held my hand, how tenderly she guided me over the rough places. There was a strange wonder over everything yet how secure I felt with Charlotte, that feeling never left me.
Another early memory; Mother placed me in and Indian Squaw’s basket. The Indian immediately started out carrying me. Charlotte followed her around the house, and she cried as if her heart would break. Mother told us, when we were older, that the squaw had asked her to put me in the basket to see what Charlotte would do.
Charlotte loved Mother’s babies very intensely. When Agnes was a baby and Mother was in bed, cousins Maria and Mary Ann called to see Mother. They brought some candy and as usual they wanted to buy the baby with the candy. I sold the baby, but Charlotte would have nothing to do with the candy. I sold the baby, but Charlotte would have nothing to do with the candy. She kept saying to Mother, “Tell them to go home and mind their own babies.” I enjoyed the candy with a feeling that Charlotte would not let them take the baby.
I suppose all small children have a feeling of security with their mothers. When a very small tot I wandered away and before long I was 1st in some tall sagebrush. I was filled with a strange fear and awe. Suddenly Mother appeared, then a sudden rapture and a feeling of safety came over me as Mother took me by the hand and led me back. It seemed to us children that Mother was never frightened; she never let us know that she was afraid. We always felt safe with her.
Although Mother was very busy, we were well cared for. At the close of a hot summer day our tired bodies and our burning feet knew the comforts of the evening bath. As we nestled between the sheets, Mother would say, “Little children must be clean and sweet when they go to bed so that the angels may kiss them while they are sleeping.”
With the opening of school in the autumn Mothers work multiplied. The early morning often found her, with needle and thread, bending over some clothing that she was making over or mending for us to wear. Night after night our clothes were washed so as to be fresh and clean for the next day. Mother never complained if our clothes were soiled or torn, but she quickly proceeded to repair them.
One of the first shocks that Charlotte and I received was the word that came to Grantsville from Tooele that our father was very ill. Charlotte took me to a lonely spot in the garden, where we knelt in prayer and how earnestly we pleaded that father would get better. Charlotte was sure that he would get well, but he did not recover. The prayer gave us comfort at the time. Soon after my father passed away, we went to Tooele for the funeral service. How close the mountains appeared to be. We stayed at Sister DeLaMares and had our first experience sleeping upstairs. In the stillness of the night, it seemed that we could touch the mountain and even reach to the heavens and grasp the stars. Father had a large family. Almost all of the older members were making such a fuss (crying and fainting) but mother was so very quiet. I recall that when Eva, the baby, died, Mother shed no tears. She always had perfect control over herself.
Father’s last visit to our home as Mother told it: Grandmother never liked father, she might have been jealous. Father was not feeling at all well, yet Mother and Father had a lovely visit. They discussed Father’s finances, he had lost a greater part of his property and he had a large family to support. He spoke but without bitterness, of some of the brethren of the Stake who would not let him have any job that would bring in an income but he could have any job that was hard work and no pay. Then they talked about the children and how they were to be educated. There were no free schools then; the Methodist Churches were conducting the schools. Father said the schools were a temptation, but Mother replied that she would never send her children there. Father was pleased and said the Methodists were trying to undermine the faith of the Latter Day Saint’s children. He expressed his appreciation of Mother’s unselfishness and also praised her for the way she handled her children. He told her that his own hope for children loyal to the Church was hers. Father was very affectionate and he expressed his love. When he came to our home we children would rush to him for kisses and how we loved to perch ourselves on his knee.
Going back to that last visit, father had told Mother how blessed he had been in her love. Now her sympathy and understanding had sustained him. He said, What a blessing she was, and what a comfort she had always been. He appreciated her faith and courage. Than they walked slowly to the gate, father embraced Mother and kissed her goodbye; he turned and looked at her and came back the second time to repeat the goodbye; and then he came back the third time and gave her such an strange penetrating look and he embraced and kissed her as if he would never let her go. But this time he added, “God bless and protect you, Charlotte.” Mother’s voice would falter and her bright eyes dim as she told us of this goodbye’ she always added, “Your father knew he would never see me again.”
One of Mother’s outstanding characteristics was her remarkable faith. The Gospel to her was a real vital power. She never had a doubt; to her a happy here-after was sure; she would be reunited with her loved ones; and she would progress with them. Faith pervaded our home, we children were sent to primary and to Sunday School. As soon as we came home from primary Mother would ask. “Did they put you on the program for the next meeting?” It seemed they always did, Mother would help us get our parts. She would often say “You must do what they ask you, never say no.” Religion was a practical part of Mother’s daily living. She sought divine guidance constantly; we children were taught to revere the Church officials, never talk against them. I remember President Taylor was coming to Grantsville one Sunday evening to speak. Mother dresses us in our best explaining in reverent tones that we were going to hear the President of the Church speak and he was the prophet of the Lord. When we came home we discussed his looks, his large eyes, and his sermon. Then Mother told us of President Taylor in Carthage jail with the Prophet Joseph Smith and his terrible experience there. This evening was so impressive that I am never happy when Church officials are criticised in my hearing. When things were going bad with us Mother would say “when one door closes another opens,” and it seemed that such was the case. Mother was promised in a blessing that she would be told in dreams of things to come. This promise was fulfilled. She dreamed what to do for Charlotte; when a baby she nearly died of whooping cough. She also dreamed that I had diphtheria (at that time this disease was almost certain in death), and she saw what she must do to save me. Who am I to question, even if I have never experienced anything like it.
Mother said she went to bed one night with a heavy heart, she was greatly worried. How was she going to get the winter’s coal and where was she going to get shoes? It seemed that a man came into her room; he stood looking at her then he pointed his finger at her and said, “Blessed is he who puts not his trust in the arm of flesh, but puts his reliance in the strength of the Lord.” Mother said she turned over, went to sleep feeling sure that things would come out right. Mother said this experience greatly comforted her. One late afternoon Sister Hammond, the Relief Society President, came into our home; she kept quizzing Mother about her financial condition; Mother would say she was getting along fine. SIster Hammond kept on talking on various subjects, finally she demanded to know how Mother’s food supply was. Mother broke at last and confessed that she had very little in the house to eat; her last bit of flour was gone, and that she had no money to buy more. In spite of this Mother protested the help that came that evening. Sister Hammond said she had been impressed all day to come to see Mother; she said she was almost told to take help to Charlotte. How grateful Mother was, yet she insisted upon doing some work to help to pay for the food. But I am sure that evening a thankful prayer went to our Heavenly Father for his blessings.
As a child I never knew that we were poor, mother never complained. Instead of saying we can’t afford it, or that we were too poor to buy the things we often wanted; she would say “We’ll see after a while how things come out.” I appreciate the heritage this gave us more than I can say. I grew up holding my head as high as the next one- proud of my name and proud of my folks. There was no inferiority complex in our home.
I spoke of Charlotte jumping the rope, well in a way she was quite an athlete; she could skate and skim over the ice as swift as the wind. There wasn’t a tall tree in the neighborhood that she hadn’t perched herself in it’s topmost branches. On foot she was fast, winning many races, but the two sports in which she excelled were hopscotch and jacks. I think she was never beaten in playing jacks, and her hopscotch was nearly a tradition at school. Another of her feats was to walk around the block on the picket fences and not to put her foot on the ground. When the old adobe school house was being built and the builders were ready to start putting on the roof, she climbed to the top of the walls and began to walk around on them. Terrorized people came running from all directions to get her down. She was absolutely fearless and would dare anything. Another skill was her jumping, she would jump from high places as well as make her broad jumps, she would almost fly over broad deep ditches. South of our home on the new school block the land was owned by the Clark estate. On their land there was a huge high stack of hay and hear by was a stable; she would jump from the stack and land on the stable; the stable was quite a distance away. Once she coaxed and enticed me to try it, finally I did but I did not make it. I was deathly sick after the fall, I have never forgotten how tenderly Charlotte cared for me until I felt better. We never spoke of this adventure to Mother.
Our chicken coups were rather high and they had a decided slant. One day Charlotte had been gathering the eggs, and she carried them in her apron. Next she climbed on top of one of the coops and as usual she was coaxing me to climb up and she would show me how very easy it was to walk forward and backward. But alas, she walked too far backward, it was really too difficult to unscramble her from the eggs.
While visiting at Aunt Mary Ann’s one Sunday, true to form she climbed on one of the sheds and as she was running along she dropped through into some fresh manure. She was due for a cleaning, Rachel laughingly said, as she took Charlotte into the house, washer clothes, and did her up right.
I suppose all children look forward to Christmas, but few enter more into the spirit of the day than we did. Mother would tell us stories of the Christ Child as well as other types of Christmas stories; the imaginations had full sway. I am glad we had commercial Santas then. For weeks we would try to be good and never quarrel so as to please Santa Clause; then on Christmas Eve we would go to be so early, but before retiring we had the thrilling experience of hanging up our stockings. Our great happiness came in the early dawn of the morning as we huddled in our nightgowns by the dim lighted fire. We would take each article from it’s wrapping, our surprise and joy as each treasure came to light knew no bounds. Mother always contrived to have some kind of surprise for us. Upon looking back at those Christmases, our presents were meager, but our contentment was complete. We anxiously looked forward to a new Christmas book and were never disappointed. Sometimes our dolls and a few of our toys would disappear a month or two before Christmas strings to say our dolls would present themselves on Christmas morning all bedecked in new clothes, and they would often bring strange messages. Sarah sucked her thumb, consequently an sugar-tit or a pig-tail was to be found in the toe of her stocking. In those days the popular candy was hard-tack and the old fashioned stick-candy. This candy was shipped to the store in a good sized box. Mr. Robinson, the store manager, would send Mother the supposedly empty box, but he would leave quite a bit of candy in the box. Mother was so grateful, she would often tell us of his kindness.
Once in a while the town would have a community Christmas tree and a Santa Claus. On one of these occasions Grandmother took Charlotte and me to the program; Mother had prepared us not to expect anything; she told us that Santa would bring our things home, that there would be nothing on the tree for us. We were satisfied, but there were two beautiful wax dolls on the tree, one for Charlotte and one for me. Were we thrilled and happy? On our way home Grandmother told us that she bought the dolls and had dressed them. Grandmother had a lot of pride, she would not let us go without a gift in the public. I am certain my mother knew nothing about the doll.
Mother was a real home-maker; she always made home interesting and exciting. She used to delight our hearts by her singing, how we would beg for a song. We never tired of hearing the ballad of “The Mistletoe to Bow’, “Darling Nellie Gray”, “Butter Cheese and All”, and many others. She knew scores of songs. I don’t know how her voice rated, but to us it was sweet. As children she taught us games such as checkers and simple card games. She was always working up surprises for us. When Charlotte and I were tiny little girls our dolls disappeared, we searched in vain for them. On Easter morning when I opened my eyes, there on the toilet table by the bed stood our dolls, arrayed in new bonnets, coats, and dressed, carrying a basket of colored eggs. With one hilarious cry I sparing out of bed calling to Charlotte. We rushed to Mother for an explanation. She said she supposed the dolls had been to fairyland to get the eggs for East. I never doubted it for a moment.
She had a keen sense of humor and was always ready for a good joke. I shall write just a few samples of them. She had an old clock which she could make strike as many times as she wished. When our boy friends stayed too long at night, or later than she approved of, she started the clock in the kitchen. After it struck thirty or forty times the boys would bid us a hasty good night. On April Fool’s Day Mother was ready with her jokes. Sometimes she would prick and egg shell getting the yolk and white out, then she would fill the shell with batter. She cooked these and served them to Thomas who was very fond of eggs.
When Ira and Sarah were courting they would sit up rather late, sometimes Mother would hide alarm clocks in strange places about the room, these clocks would go off at intervals. One night Mother got up and began rattling the stove. Ira started to beat it; Mother called to Sarah to tell Ira that breakfast would soon be ready.
I had a craze for reading novels. At one time when I had some very exciting reading, I would go to the choke-cherry grove early in the morning and read for hours without even cleaning up. One day Charlotte came to the grove and told me there was some company in the home from the city. She very obligingly brought me the wash basin, the comb, and a clean dress. I made a hasty toilet and with my best society smile I entered the living room. There sat Mother with the funniest little bonnet perched on the top of her head. Agnes was all dolled up sitting in a rocking chair. Mother as serious as an owl gave a dignified little nod and said “How do you do.” You could have bought me with a burnt out match. The lesson went home.
She would make funny comments about some of the hymns that were sung. She told us of going home from the morning conference meeting, when they came back for the afternoon meeting the first song the choir sang was, “O what trials and tribulations have we passed through since last we met.”
Thomas had a lot of hair soft and very thick. One day when Charlotte was using the curling tongs, Thomas suggested that she curl his hair. This she did, making a mass of tiny, tight curls. Thomas looked in despair at these curls. He asked me what he should do about them; I said brush them out thoroughly. His head looked as large as a tub much to the delight of his companions who called him B. H. Roberts.
When a girl I was drawing a map for one of my classes at school and was coloring it with colored pencils. Thomas kept taking them and he would try to color my face, he didn’t make much headway because the pencils were hard. Finally I got him in a corner (he was very ticklish) and was trying to mark his face, he laughed and laughed. Mother passed me quietly and put some soft bright colored chalk into my hand. I made his face every color imaginable. Mother passed me again, took the chalk and put it away. With difficulty I persuaded Thomas to look into the mirror, he was thunder-struck and shocked beyond anything. He went to the hammock and told Charlotte he would give her a half dollar if she would tell him how he got that color on his face. Charlotte replied that he should know for wasn’t he there with his face at the time. Months afterward we told him, he should have known that Mother was in on it.
One afternoon Sarah came home from the store. She brought two boxes of chocolates, she gave us one and put the other one in her trunk. I said Ira is coming tonight, so I took the box of chocolates and tipped the candy in a paper bag. Mother took a long time helping me select round pieces of coal to put in the paper cups. We carefully sealed up the box. Ern and I won. I won’t give Ern or Ellen any, she opened the box and passed it to everyone but Ern and me. No one said a word until she put a piece in her own mouth and bit down on it, then the laugh went up. I brought out the bag of candy saying I have some candy but I won’t give Sarah any. It seemed that Mother was in on all of our jokes.
Two little girls, Charlotte and me, playing under some locust trees. The air is heavy with the perfume of the white blossoms; bees are humming and buzzing and a number of canary birds are singing. Our hats are trimmed with the blossoms (my hat was a calendar turned up-side-down with flowers in the holes). Mother had read in the paper of some children who were poisoned from eating locust blossoms. We wondered whether or not to eat some of the blossoms to see what it would do to us. We did eat a few.
Charlotte although fearless when climbing, etc was very shy of people and she was afraid of the dark. She and I slept together; she was afraid to sleep on the outside of the bed. Mother would say, “Ellen is a brave girl, she will sleep on the outside.” Although a little shaky I would take the outside.
One type of play that afforded us much pleasure was our paper children. We cut them from fashion magazines and we would arrange them in families. There was one shortage and that was me, but being Mormons we played that the men were on missions; sometimes we would baptize these paper dolls. One of our favorite diversions was the concerts we held. We arranged our paper families in rows and then we would recite and sing for them; many a fine story we read for their benefit. Charlotte would do the reading, she was an excellent reader.
Then again Charlotte was very skilled with her needle, we would spend much time sewing for our real dolls. Often Charlotte would make me a very particular dress, coat, or hood for my doll, then I was so thrilled that I would talk her almost to death.
Charlotte had a strange habit when small, she would bury her toys. Mother told of two lovely dolls that were never rescued from their last resting place. Once she persuaded me to let her bury some of our choice paper children for the winter; we marked the place carefully, but the next spring we dug in vain trying to find them. Years later we knew what happened to them.
Grandfather Clark’s family came to Utah in 1852 and were sent out to help settle Tooele Valley, they made their home in Grantsville. We were held breathless as Mother told of her early experiences. COming from Nauvoo she walked the plains, or at least the greater part of the way. She told of trying to get out of the wagon while it was traveling along but she fell and one of the heavy wheels ran over her chest. It seemed to her that someone lifted the weight of the wheel from her body and that she was drawn from under the wagon before the back wheel ran over her. Mother believed that some unseen power protected her. Then she would tell of her life in the old fort and of her narrow escape from the Indians.
There was an uprising of the Indians and it looked as if the settlers of the fort would be massacred. Some of the men, among them William D. Lee went out to meet these Indians. William Lee was given the gift of tongues, he talked to the Indians in their own language and the Indians were won over and the tragedy averted. Brother Lee never lost this gift, the Indians always considered him their friend.
Life with Mother assumed two distinct phases or periods, one as little children the other the teenage and up. During the first period her tender devotion to us brings a catch in my throat. If she went to a party she would slip away to see how we were making it at home. At the old folks’ society, in the course of the evening, she would come home two or three times, often bringing us cake or candy. The second period we took the responsibility of making the living. This relieved her of a great burden.