Pioneer Stories - Sarah Franks and George Padley

Sarah joined the Church in April 1848, when she was 16. Because her parents objected, she had to leave home. She began working in a lace factory, saving money to emigrate. When her father died in 1853, she returned to her family. Eventually Sarah helped bring her mother and sisters into the Church, though she was the only member of her family to emigrate in 1856.

Sarah Franks and George Padley were engaged to be married when they left England. Four other couples who were emigrating together had gotten married during the voyage on the Horizon. Sarah Franks and George Padley, however, were waiting to be married in Salt Lake City so they could be sealed. By the time they got to Martin's Cove, both were failing due to hunger and exposure. Sarah was taken into one of the sick wagons. George tried to care for her, but his strength waned. According to one account, he had "overexerted himself in trying to help other members of the handcart company. He had gotten wet and chilled from the winter wind." Suffering from a combination of pneumonia and hypothermia, he died in the cove. Sarah mourned not only the loss of her fiancé but also the inevitable work of the wolves on his body. Her family history relates: "Sarah took her long-fringed shawl from her almost freezing body and had the brethren wrap her sweetheart's body in it. She couldn't bear to think of his being buried with nothing to protect him." Some men then reportedly placed George's body in a tree to protect it from the wolves. 

During one of President James E. Faust's visits to Martin's Cove, President Kim W. McKinnon of the Riverton Wyoming Stake told the story of Sarah Franks and George Padley. President Faust"was very moved by the story. With a tear in his eye he said it had to be one of the great love stories of the western migration."

    

For Sarah Franks, the future seemed desolate without George. Their dream of raising a family together in Zion was over. Already close to death herself, with no family to look after her, with her hopes disappointed, she could have easily lost the will to live. Nevertheless, she persevered and would yet live a life of fulfillment.

Sarah survived the journey but had no relatives or friends to meet her and nurse her back to health. What followed is a powerful example of persevering and making the most of life when fervent hopes are disappointed. One of the wives of Thomas Mackay invited Sarah to come and live in their home. After a few months, in April 1857, Sarah married Thomas Mackay as his third wife. Years later when Sarah was a widow, one of her granddaughters who knew of her heartbreak at Martin's Cove asked if she had really loved Thomas Mackay. Implied in the question may have been a thought that the marriage was only for expedience. But Sarah replied, "Yes, he was a good man. He was good to us."  Sarah and Thomas Mackay had five sons and four daughters. In a way Sarah never had imagined, she was able to raise a family in Zion. Thomas Mackay died in 1880 when Sarah was 47 and their youngest child was 6. Sarah lived 31 years as a widow, dying in 1911 at age 78. During her last years, she lived with one of her daughters in Murray. "She was especially admired and loved for her thoughtfulness of little children," wrote one of her descendants. "She always had a surprise awaiting them when they called to see her. [She] would always bring us a little gift, such as a pretty little china cup and saucer, a little toy, or a box of lovely assorted cookies. . . . She was dearly loved by all."

I love Sarah's example of perseverance. Like many of the handcart pioneers she sacrificed everything (leaving family and the familiarity of home) to come to Zion. She endured incredible heartbreak and had her hopes of marriage and family taken away, yet she continued on in faith.  

President Monson speaking in General Conference just after the death of his wife, Francis said, "When the pathway of life takes a cruel turn, there is the temptation to ask the question “Why me?” At times there appears to be no light at the end of the tunnel, no sunrise to end the night’s darkness. We feel encompassed by the disappointment of shattered dreams and the despair of vanished hopes. We join in uttering the biblical plea, “Is there no balm in Gilead?” We feel abandoned, heartbroken, alone. We are inclined to view our own personal misfortunes through the distorted prism of pessimism. We become impatient for a solution to our problems, forgetting that frequently the heavenly virtue of patience is required.

The difficulties which come to us present us with the real test of our ability to endure. A fundamental question remains to be answered by each of us: Shall I falter, or shall I finish?...

Our Heavenly Father, who gives us so much to delight in, also knows that we learn and grow and become stronger as we face and survive the trials through which we must pass. We know that there are times when we will experience heartbreaking sorrow, when we will grieve, and when we may be tested to our limits. However, such difficulties allow us to change for the better, to rebuild our lives in the way our Heavenly Father teaches us, and to become something different from what we were--better than we were, more understanding than we were, more empathetic than we were, with stronger testimonies than we had before.

This should be our purpose--to persevere and endure, yes, but also to become more spiritually refined as we make our way through sunshine and sorrow...Only the Master knows the depths of our trials, our pain, and our suffering. He alone offers us eternal peace in times of adversity...Whether it is the best of times or the worst of times, He is with us. He has promised that this will never change.  ("I Will Not Fail Thee, nor Forsake Thee”)

I hope you all are having a great week!

Sister McHood