Ann Isacke Born: September 28, 1803; Cripplegate, London, England Married: John Burnside Farnes Died: July 23, 1891; Logan, Cache, Utah Immigration Date: Fall 1862 on the "Amazon;" Daniel McArthur Co.

Ann Isacke

Ann Isacke was the fifth child of Susannah Short and George Isacke. She was born Sept. 28, 1803, at Cripplegate, London, England. Ann's mother, of St. Giles Cripplegate, London, England, was bom about 1773. (St. Giles Cripplegate is located on Wood Street just outside the London Wall.) Her father, of St. Andrew Holborn, London, England, was born in March of 1762 and was forty-one years of age at the time of her arrival. They were married March 29, 1790, at Christ Church, Spitalfields, London, England. The father, George Isacke, earned his living as a brush maker. The Isacke family into which Ann's father was bom was more advantaged when it came to an education than were the people of England generally. George Isacke's mother, Ann Stanton, received from her uncle, John Stanton, late of Bombay, India, a portion of his estate, which amounted to several hundred pounds sterling, for the education of her children.

Ann was preceded in the family by three brothers and a sister. They were George, born in 1792; William, born about 1796; Susannah (Susanna), born July 9, 1797; and James, born July 22, 1799. Later Sarah, born in 1805106; John, born about 18 10; Sutton, born May 19, 1811; Thomas, born about 1812; and Elizabeth, no birth date recorded, joined the family to make a total of ten children. Thus Ann grew up in the company of six brothers and three sisters. All the children were born in the City of London, and Ann was born at Cripplegate, a ward in the county of London.

John Burnside Farnes was born December 30, 1806, in the parish of St. George in London, Surrey, England, to Mary Hipwell and Thomas Farnes. The year following Thomas' death, Ann's eldest brother George passed away and was buried August 16, 1829. Shortly thereafter Ann's parents also died. In May of 1830 her father, George, age sixty-eight, died at Golden Lane, London, England. He was buried June 2nd at St. Giles, Cripplegate, London, England. During the month of September 1835, Ann's mother, Susannah, died at Bury and Sutton St., London, England. She was buried at St. Giles, Cripplegate, on October V.

Seven children were born to Ann and John as they resided in and around London. Their first child, Mary Ann, was born August 2, 1830, in the parish of Clerkenwell, in the City of London, Middlesex, England. Their second child and daughter, Francis, was born October 29, 1834, at St. George in the East, London, Middlesex, England. At that same location their third child and first son, George Isacke, was born April 29, 1838. Their next three children were born at Dagenham, Essex, England, (about twelve miles east of London). Their birth dates are as follows: Mathew Henry, May 17, 1840; Ebenezer, February 4, 1843; and Matilda Sarah, May 23, 1845. Their seventh child, Jane McKenzie, was born January 10, 1849, in the parish of Shoreditch, in East London, Middlesex, England.

Their children received very little schooling. Ebenezer, for example, received only six weeks of formal schooling, and this he obtained by the time he was eight years of age.

Ann faced with great patience, faith, and labor the many trials and hardships that came her way. In 1847 the family moved to London. They resided in several different places in the heart of London. John was a book binder, which trade he learned at an early age. He labored in his own shop where his wife assisted him. By this means they earned a meager living.

In some unrecorded way, Ann's youngest living brother, Sutton, who lived at Clerkenwell, became converted to Mormonism. He was baptized January 1, 1850, and with the enthusiasm of a new convert, began at once to spend his evenings visiting people and carrying the message of the restoration. Eagerly Sutton called upon his sister Ann an declared he had found the gospel they had been seeking. Sutton and Ann were the only ones in their large family who had never before joined a religious sect, all the others had allied themselves to one or another of the various Christian denominations. Sutton promised Ann that if she would accept the gospel and be baptized she would be cured of the asthma which afflicted her. Ann was a religious person and had always been a reader of the Bible. Her visits to the Mormon meetings gave her the same conviction. On April 1, 1850, she too was baptized by Elder Powell. Upon her baptism, asthma no longer held her captive. She was forty-six years of age at the time of her baptism.

Ann's home was always open to the Mormon missionaries who came to London. Among the frequent missionaries made welcome there were Brigham Young, Jr., Heber C. Kimball, Amasa M. Lyman, Thomas 0. King, and Charles W. Penrose. Ann, who was very religious, had a great influence in the lives of her children. Each of them were converted and baptized at various times during the next several years. At first John opposed the church. This caused a division in the family and made it difficult for Ann to live the gospel principles. John resistance toward the church continued until Matilda took desperately ill with the measles and lost her speech. The Elders were called in to administer to her. Soon she began to whisper and in time she completely recovered. This had a great influence on John who prior to this time had not been able to accept the new gospel. Such experiences caused him to become a firm friend and supporter of the missionaries, to desire baptism, and to emigrate to America with his family. When Ann would urge him to be baptized he would say, "Wait until we get to Brother Brigham's. I want him to baptize me." He referred to President Brigham Young's son, Brigham, who had stayed at their home many times while in England on a mission. Brigham played a great part in the conversion of the members of the Farnes family. John was very fond of him.

Encouraged by the missionaries, the members of the Isacke family and their children who had joined the church decided to emigrate to Utah. Mary Ann and her husband, Samuel, were the first to leave their native land.

Another member of the family, not before mentioned, was John Lyons Farnes. From the best information that is available today, it appears that George Isacke Farnes was the father of John Lyons Farnes. The story is as follows: John employed Elizabeth Lyons, a girl from a poor family, to help Ann in their home (probably during an illness). Their son's association with Elizabeth led to the birth of an infant boy. He was born December 17, 1859. Although Elizabeth was very beautiful, intelligent young woman, she and George never married. Instead George and his brother Mathew emigrated to America. On March 30,1860, three months after the birth of John Lyons, George and Mathew, sailed from Liverpool on the ship "Underwriter". On May 14, 1862, Ebenezer, age nineteen, departed for America on board the ship "William Tapscott".

John Burnside Farnes (age fifty-six), Ann (age fifty-nine), Matilda (age eighteen), and Jane (age fourteen) made preparations to depart for America. Going in company with them were John Lyons (age three), Mary Ann Barham (listed as age twenty-five), Mary Ann French (age twenty-one), Sutton Isacke, his wife Martha, and Ellen Shackleton (a thirty year old spinster).

When Ann and John were ready to set sail for America, Elizabeth let them take John Lyons with them and adopt him. This they readily did for they dearly loved little John. For a while Elizabeth kept in touch with her young son through letters and sent him many lovely things. Then the Farnes family received a letter from her telling them of her forthcoming marriage to a wealthy man. Elizabeth informed them she would correspond with them no more because she did not wish her fiancee to know about her son. She was never heard from again.

For two days people, mostly in family groups, had wended their way up the gangplank of the packet ship "Amazon" while it lay in the London Harbor. Ann and John and their accompanying kin and friends made up one of these groups. After boarding the ship some of the family overheard a conversation among the sailors who asked if the ship was fit for an ocean voyage. One of the sailors replied by saying that the ship was only taking some Mormons to the United States--inferring that it did not matter whether it reached its destination or not.

By sailing time on the hot, sultry day of June 4, 1862, 882 saints and Captain Houey and his crew of one hundred were on board. The saints traveled under the direction of William Bramall. The "Amazon" was one of the first L.D.S. emigrant ships to sail from the London Docks located on the River Thames. Most of the saints sailed from Liverpool Harbor. During the ocean voyage of six weeks and three days only one bad storm was encountered. Many whales blowing spouts of water were seen. The emigrants arrived in Castle Garden, New York, on July 18, 1863, and stayed there three days for inspection.

From that point most of these saints and the Farnes group took the train by way of Niagara Falls into Canada. Due to the Civil War then in progress railroad travel through the states was very hazardous. Part of the way they traveled in cattle cars, After they left the train at St. Joseph, Missouri, John Burnside Farnes would not continue on until his family could get more to eat--for they could obtain only hard boiled eggs at five cents a dozen. For three days they stayed in cotton sheds white they waited for further transportation. The soldiers in that area sent work that they were coming to see them the second night and get all the pretty girls. The Farnes group, which included five single girls, felt quite helpless and afraid. Kind providence intervened and sent a heavy rainstorm. Matilda described it as the worst she had seen in her entire life. This prevented the soldiers from coming. The next day a steamboat captain heard of their plight and took them aboard. Thus when the third night approached, the Farnes group had departed. After leaving the boat and while making preparations to cross the plains, the group beheld for the first time square dancing and other American entertainment as well as the American Indian. During the trek Matilda had her first taste of watermelon. A man by the name of Dave Chittister, in commemoration of his birthday, obtained a watermelon from some unknown place and gave her a piece. During the course of their travels the Farnes traded away all of their English money.

At Florence, Nebraska, the saints prepared themselves for their trek across the plains. John B. Farnes was equipped with a wagon, oxen, and provisions. On August 6th the Farnes group resumed their journey numbered among the five hundred members of the Daniel McArthur Co. In that company were seventy-five wagons and a cotton factory for Utah's Dixie. The company's diet consisted mostly of soda bread and biscuits, bacon or ham, beans, rice, and brown sugar. Sometimes after a meal was prepared, the wind would blow the sand so fiercely that the food would be made uneatable.

The trek across the plains was a very difficult one for the Farnes family. Jane related that she walked nearly all the way. Often at night her feet would be blistered and bleeding, and it didn't seem possible to her that she and the others could go on the next day--but they always did. Ann and Matilda became very sick with mountain fever. For some time John had been in poor health. Then it appears he contracted a sickness and fever. When they reached the Three Crossings of the Sweetwater River, Matilda noted that her father was very ill. Thus at midnight the evening of September 17, 1863, John Burnside Farnes, age fifty-six, passed away. The next morning before they left camp he was wrapped in canvas and laid to rest in a grave located near the campsite on the East Crossing of the Three Crossings of the Sweetwater River in Wyoming. Ann at the time was too ill to even raise her head. In great agony the grief stricken and ill family left John B. Farnes in a grave along the trail and continued on.

Mathew came from Logan with a wagon and team to meet the group. Matilda remained very ill the rest of the journey. Because she, and most likely mother Ann as well, could go no farther, they stayed at the home of James Harrison in Salt Lake City. After Ann and Matilda's recovery, they went to Grantsville where they stayed until Christmas time with Mary Ann House. After Christmas time George returned to Logan, taking with him his wife Mary Ann, mother Ann and Matilda. There Ann made her final home.

At times through the years Ann corresponded with her father's family in England. It is apparent from the letters she received that one of her main reasons in doing so was to gather her family genealogy.

For many years Ann had suffered severely with a bleeding at the nose. On May 31, 1884, her nose started bleeding and continued until it seemed she had but a few hours to live. Her children, thinking she would die, fetched Dr. Armsby who reported he could do nothing for her. She bled more or less every day until June 8th when three sisters from the temple washed and anointed her. They promised her that she would live and go to the temple to have a young man adopted to her whom she had brought up from infancy. He had been waiting for her to attend to this ordinance, for he could not take his wife in her name until this ordinance was attended to. Accordingly, on June 18th, Ann and John Lyon Farnes went to the Logan Temple and there he was sealed to her and her late husband, John Burnside Farnes. The other children were sealed to Ann and John sometime later.

In a July 1972 interview with Emily Farnes Smith (Ebenezer's daughter) the following is learned. "Ann Farnes wasn't very tall, just medium. She was nice looking, wearing her hair in curls on each side of her face. She always wore a black net cap, which she wore all the time--night and day. She was well educated and used good language. She loved to teach us children things. She taught me to mold bread. I was between seven and ten years old and stayed at nights with her. I never remember being around grandmother when she wasn't cheerful and happy. She was also sharp of tongue. . ." From John Lyons' family it is learned that Ann was a very beautiful woman with flawless skin that felt like velvet. Ann's family deeply loved and respected her.

Ann had no home of her own. Because of this she lived at times with her children and at other times in rooms provided by them. When Ebenezer lived in Salt Lake, Ann would go there to visit him. Emily Farnes Smith recalls that because her father's home was small, she and her grandmother Farnes would sleep on a feather bed in the comer of the front room. Her children and grandchildren lovingly cared for her old age.

It was on Thursday, July 23, 189 1, in Logan, Ann Isacke Farnes passed on to what her niece Clara Ada in England termed "a better country." Following her funeral on July 26th, she was laid to rest in the Logan Cemetery. Ann, who died at the age of eighty-seven, was survived by her eight children.

Edited from The Story of Ann Isacke Farnes and Her Family compiled by Marilyn Austin Smith from the material gathered by Glenna King Austin, 1972-1973.

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