Alfred Henson Born: June 24, 1834; Deanshanger, England Married: Mary Ann Sewell Died: November 19, 1902; Franklin, Franklin, Idaho Immigration Date: Approximately 1868

Alfred Henson, third child, first son of James and Hetty (Landcaster) Henson, was born 4 September 1831 (doesn't match date given above?) at Deanshanger, a small hamlet in the parish of Passenham, Northamptionshire, England, two miles west of Stony Stratford, Buckinghamshire.

In the 1841 census Alfred is listed as living at home with his parents age ten years, an agricultural laborer. He must have started to work very young as he talked of going to night school because they must work by day.

In the 1851 census Alfred is listed as age eighteen, unmarried, agricultural laborer, and a lodger at the residence of Hannah Truss, age 62 years, a widow, pauper, lacemaker and her son John age eighteen, also agricultural laborer, at Whittlebury, Nortes. Research found HannahTruss to be Hannah Henson Truss, wife of Edward and a daughter of Joseph and Susan (Smith) Henson.

The year 1852 seemed to be one of important changes in the life of Alfred Henson for on the 28th March 1852 (under age) he married at Potterspury to Mary Ann Robinson, daughter of Elias Baldwin and Sarah Robinson. Witnesses were Sarah Henson, a sister of Alfred and her friend Thomas Smith, they were married in August 1852. They signed - Alfred Henson's X mark and Mary Ann Robinson's X mark.

The next ten years must have been happy busy ones for this new family. Alfred joined with the Elders preaching and singing the Gospel message with his beautiful tenor voice. How he loved to sing the songs of Zion. Alfred Henson was Presiding Elder in England before coming to America.

Children came to bless this home, Alfred Hyrum, Lucy Ann, Alvin Oliver, and Luey Annie. As the dates tell us, sadness came when they buried Alfred Hyrum the same year as his birth at 4 months old. In the 1861 census the family is lifted thus: Alfred Henson at 30; Mary Ann at 30; Lucy (too dim to read); Alvin at 3; Luey at one month.

Illness came to the mother, Mary Ann Robinson Henson, and she left her husband and children by death 28 July 1862, age 31 years. Alfred Henson would say: "Picture a man with a bundle of his dead wife's clothes, followed by a daughter, Lucy, age 9 years and a son, Oliver, age 4 years and in his arms, Luey about a year old, going to the tailor shop of William Sewell to have dresses made over for clothes for the children."

Here he first saw Mary Ann Sewell, age eighteen years, sitting cross-legged on the table, sewing in the tailor shop of her father, William Sewell. Mary Ann suggested that the pieces left over would make a suit for Oliver. The acquaintance continued and Alfred taught Mary Ann the Gospel and on the 16 Sept. 1862, she was baptized and confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Elder Alfred Henson. The friendship grew into love, Alfred Henson, widower, and Mary Ann, spinster, were married 11 Dec. 1862.

This date was given in the family record in the Bible of Hetty Henson in possession of Laura Henson Scott. A certificate was obtained from Somerset House, London, and the date on it was 11 Jan. 1863, at Passenham with William Sewell and Michael Bird as witnesses. They both could write and signed. They had taken Alvin Oliver with them and as he was wandering around to see the church, he burnt his hand on the stove - Mary Ann picked him up and ran home for mother Hetty Henson to bandage the bum - Oliver was yelling all the way: "I'll never get married again, I'll never get married again!" and he never did, but died a bachelor in 1909 at 51 years.

Happiness continued with the arrival of a son Almer Orsen in January 1864, Alfred, the father was a brickyard laborer at Tamworth, Stffrd, residence at Glascote, the child died I Feb 1864 at the same place. By December 1864 the first daughter was received with joy and named Lovina Frances (per birth certificate) and the father was given as a coal miner residing at Willenhall, Stffrd. Soon another son was welcomed and named Alma Orsan (a birth certificate has not been located for this child, only the family record).

Important decisions were to be made, to leave the homeland and go to America! They sailed from Liverpool 20 June 1868 on the ship "Emerald Isle", Alfred Hensen, 36, agricultural laborer; Mary Ann, 25, wife; George, 18, agricultural laborer, a brother; Lucy, 15, daughter; Oliver, 10, son; Luey, 7, daughter (children of the first wife); Lovina, 4, daughter; and Alma, 2, son.

Mary Ann was very weary of the sea after seven weeks in the sailing vessel. There was sickness and distress - Mary Ann was blind with the black measles when the baby, Alma, sickened and died, she could only hear the splash as they buried her baby in the ocean. Grandma says: "They prepared the body for burial, ftmeral services were held, then instead of being placed in a coffin, the body was strapped to a board and weights attached to sink the body, as it was believed that sharks only ate floating objects. It almost broke my heart, I was only able to endure because of the kindness of the people on the ship."

Alfred Henson was 36 years of age at this time, he was a fine looking man, stocky built, about 5'7" in height with blue eyes and light sandy hair. (Livina's description of her father was about 5'8" tall, average weight, 176 pounds, blue eyes and auburn brown hair - quite red.)

Arriving in America at St. Louis, they came up the Missouri River to Florence, Nebraska, where they fitted themselves out with a handcart and began the trek across the plains walking and pulling all their earthly belongings in a small cart. While on the journey, Alfred was assigned as a guard for the company.

After arriving in Salt Lake City, they went to settle in American Fork and Mary Ann used her talents as a tailoress in the United Order under the direction of Brigham Young, who made special comments of appreciation of her beautiful work.

Money was saved and sent to England and the father, James Henson, sailed on the ship "Minnesota" and joined his sons and daughters in America. One thinks James Henson must have wondered as he left his wife, Hetty, in England if they would ever see each other again. Fate was kind and it was a happy family that greeted mother, Hetty, when she arrived in 1871 on the ship "Wyoming". Hetty brought her pillow and needles with colored beads for handles to make the beautiful pillow lace for which she was famous in England. Search in the parish register for marriage and birth or children gives her the name -"Hetty", "Eaty", "Etty", and "Esther". We think "Hetty" was a nickname for "Esther", probably having been named after her grandmother, Esther Howard Berry. We have not been able to verify her birth.

Alfred did not remain in American Fork very long, for the son Albert Sewell Henson was born 3 February 1869, at Franklin, Oneida, Idaho, where Alfred had homesteaded 320 acres and farmed 160 acres of land. In May 1869, a trip to Salt Lake City where at the Endowment House they received special blessings and were married and sealed for eternity.

They moved in January 1870 to the farm one mile south of town, the snow was two feet deep. The oblong house was only half finished, it had only a wagon cover for a partition hung in the center, until Alfred could finish the building, which consisted of two large rooms, a pantry and a porch on the west, when finished.

The log home showed a lot of pride and joy as flowers grew along each side of the path, hollyhocks, bachelor buttons, yellow and pink roses and tea vine climbed the house. Back of the house grew gooseberries and currants and plum trees. A small irrigation ditch ran by the house with a foot bridge across it. In later years it was in this ditch that Aunt Lovinia Monson's small child was drowned - she was carrying the new baby in her arms, walking over to see her mother, the toddler was following behind -she went on ahead to lay the baby down and when she came back for the toddler, he was drowned in the ditch, perhaps fell off the bridge.

Here Alfred commenced the life of a farmer on his OWN land. He raised wheat, oats, hay, and sugar cane. It was a great day when the sorghum mill to grind the sugar cane, to make into molasses for this was the pioneer sweets taking the place of sugar and candy. Alfred also raised cows, pigs, horses, chickens, ducks, and geese. Pillows and ticks made of feathers and down for their beds, and after threshing, some ticks were filled with nice clean straw to last the year to sleep on.

Alfred was an active member of the Franklin Ward. Singing with the choir, he always carried his own pocket sized hymn book. For many years, he was secretary of the High Priest Quorum. The family has a copy of some of the minutes he took, his writing was very plain and easy to read. He was also a Ward Teacher all the years and taught a class in the Sunday School. He was ordained a High Priest by Thomas Lowe, Sr. (no date given, Franklin Ward records checked by Olive Bott, 1947)

Alfred and Mary Ann were re-baptized and confirmed 17 February by John Biggs. In 1876, they undertook a special mission to travel to- St. George with their family and perform labor to help build the temple. Aunt Ella Preece Henson (wife of Alonzo) tells this story: "As Lon's father and mother and several children were traveling to southern Utah in a covered wagon, one of their team of horses gave out and they did not know what to do or how they could go any farther, when a strange horse came up to them and Alfred caught it and harnessed it to the wagon and they went on their way. When their horses became rested he turned the other horse loose."

Alfred Henson also helped quarry granite stone for the Logan Temple that was being built at this time and performed other labor and furnished means to help in its construction. They were present at the dedication and performed service for relatives, therein. As the Salt Lake Temple was also being built at this time, he was helpful with labor and finances and service.

Alfred had a strong testimony of they truthfulness of the Gospel - when he was called before the High Council and threatened to be cut off from the Church for trading with the "outsiders", buying furniture from a store owned by "Gentiles" - he asked forgiveness in Fast Meeting and said: "If it were wrong to buy chairs, table and beds that his family might have a little comfort, he was sorry, but he did not want to be cut off from the Church because he loved the Gospel and had sacrificed too much to loose it and the blessings it offered, he had left homeland and relatives and friends to come to Zion to serve God." There was not a dry eye in the meeting.

Mail carriers were called by the Church in the early day settling of Franklin and paid for their service from the Tithing Office with bacon, flour and other produce. The Tithing House continued as postal center until 1874. Alfred was called to this position and carried mail from Franklin to Oxford, thirty miles north; and from Franklin to Bear Lake Valley east by way of Cub River Canyon about fifty miles. Winter and summer, he traveled on foot. The mail did not go as often as now. In winter times he traveled on snow shoes and tied rags to the bushes and trees to mark the way in the blizzards of snow storms. In the summer these carriers would spend night in the canyon and continue to Bear Lake the next day. The stone church house was under construction when Alfred came to Franklin and he worked on it until it was completed in 1874.

It was while they lived on the farm south of town, that the rest of the children were bom: Livinia Meriam, Ameziah Moroni, Luzette Minnie, Larette Venie, and the ninth child, Alonzo James William, named for both of the grandfather's - James Henson and William Sewell. The Bishop asked Mary Ann if she expected the child to live with such a long name.

Alfred was very proud of his family and took great pride in giving them a name, when they were eight days old, he would give them a name and a father's blessing. When the mother became stronger the child was taken to the Fast Meeting and blessed and the name entered on the church records. The names given the boys all started with the letter "A" and the names of the girls all started with the letter "L". Alfred Henson said the name "Henson" was Swedish before it was English and should be spelled H E N S 0 N, we see it Hensen in many records. We have a cover of an old book and plain pages whereon the birth's of the family were recorded in the handwriting of Alfred and Mary Ann, also death dates.

Alfred was very glad to have his parents James and Hetty Henson come to America and they, settled in American Fork until James died 4 July 1878 and then Hetty came to Franklin and lived with her sons and daughters. Hetty would sit in a big chair with her pillow on her lap and needles with colored wooden beads for handles to move around and weave the beautiful pillow lace and with a beautiful paisley shawl around her shoulders. Livinia, a granddaughter, age ten, would sit on a stool and sop the grandmother's legs with alcohol to ease the pain of dropsy and Hetty would say: "Vinnie, you shall have my pillow and needles and paisley shawl." But she died at a daughter's home - don't know who got them.

We did not have the date of her death in the family record. Livinia said, "I was about ten years old when grandma died." We made a special trip to Franklin, where we were told the records were in Preston, so on we went and found the big record book and the date of the passing of Hetty Landcaster Henson to be 21 Dec. 1881. When we told Livinia (now a great grandmother) "Did you not remember it was December when Grandma Hetty died?" "Oh, yes!" she answered, "we took Grandma in the sleigh."

Mary Ann's mother, Mary Painter Sewell, had died in England on 22 Sept. 1890, William Sewell, her father, was very lonely, so Alfred sent money to bring him to Utah, where he lived for nine years and died 28 Jun 1899 at 79 years and was buried in the Franklin Cemetery.

Harry Sewell and his wife, Esther, a brother of Mary Ann's expressed a desire to come to America, so Alfred sent money for their fare. They came and were not happy so decided to return to England, which they did, soon they returned to America again and lived in a little log house in Franklin and we enjoyed visits with our uncle and aunt. Mary Ann was very grieved because they, nor her father, joined the Church. She was the only one of her family to join. One day Mary Ann was washing clothes on the scrub board in the yard - she listened as she thought she heard her mother's voice saying: "Mary Ann, do the work!" she heard it repeated again, the impression was very strong that her people were waiting for their temple blessings. As she talked with her brother, Harry, if they should do this, his answer was: "They were Baptists when alive, let them stay Baptists."

In order to send money to the relatives in England to come to America, some of the children did not get to attend the school for six weeks at a cost of three dollars tuition. Alfred believed children should learn to work, the girls to cook and sew and be good housekeepers.

In 1902, Alfred's health was not too good so they sold the land to a son-in-law, Levi Allen of Cove and bought a small house from Will Cottle in the town of Franklin and lived there until his death 16 Nov. 1902.

From Henson, One Hundred Years 1868-1968, by Olive Bott.
In 1948, Olive Bott, wrote up her notes of the census and memories told her mother, Livinia Henson Allen. Copies were given to the aunts and uncles and cousins and they were asked to make this account more complete.

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