On the day the Horizon left Liverpool, President Franklin D. Richards and a few other mission leaders went on board to address the Saints. One of these leaders, Elder Cyrus Wheelock, told the group that among them were some of England's first converts, Samuel and Margaret Pucell. When the first missionaries came to England 19 years earlier, Margaret Pucell attended their first meeting. She was baptized a few days later in the River Ribble, the second woman in England to receive the ordinance. Samuel was baptized a month later. Although the Pucells were poor, they gave the first sixpence to the missionaries and continued to support them, sometimes pawning clothes or going hungry to provide them food.
The Pucells had sacrificed and saved for nearly 20 years before they were able to emigrate. Five of their ten children had died before the family left England. The rest of the family traveled together as far as Boston, where the three oldest children decided to stay and work until the next year. Samuel and Margaret took their two youngest children, Margaret (14) and Ellen (9), on to Iowa City. A daughter-in-law and baby grandson traveled with them.
President Gordon B. Hinckley described what happened as this family approached and then crossed the Platte for the last time: "Margaret became sick. Her husband lifted her onto the cart. They were now climbing in elevation toward the Continental Divide, and it was uphill all the way. Can you see this family in your imagination?—the mother too sick and weak to walk, the father thin and emaciated, struggling to pull the cart, as the two little girls push from behind with swirling, cold winds about them, and around them are hundreds of others similarly struggling. They came to a stream of freezing water. The father, while crossing, slipped on a rock and fell. Struggling to his feet, he reached the shore, wet and chilled. Sometime later he sat down to rest. He quietly died, his senses numbed by the cold. His wife died five days later. I do not know how or where their frozen bodies were buried in that desolate, white wilderness. I do know that the ground was frozen and that the snow was piled in drifts and that the two little girls were now orphans...The two orphan girls, Maggie and Ellen, [made it to the Salt Lake Valley but] were among those with frozen limbs. Ellen's were the most serious. The doctor in the valley, doing the best he could, amputated her legs just below the knees. The surgical tools were crude. There was no anesthesia. The stumps never healed."
William Palmer, who knew Ellen personally, tells the story of her feet in more detail: "Nothing could be done to save her feet. When they took off her shoes and stockings, the skin with pieces of flesh came off too. The doctor said her feet must be taken off to save her life. They strapped her to a board, and without an anesthetic the surgery was performed. With a butcher knife and a carpenter's saw they cut the blackened limbs off. It was poor surgery, too, for the flesh was not brought over to cushion the ends. The bones stuck out through the ends of the stumps, and in pain she waddled through the rest of her life on her knees."
Sometime after arriving in Utah, the orphaned Pucell sisters were taken to Cedar City. When Nellie was 24, she married William Unthank. Continuing with her story, President Hinckley said: "She grew to womanhood . . . and bore and reared an honorable family of six children. Moving about on those stumps, she served her family, her neighbors, and the Church with faith and good cheer, and without complaint, though she was never without pain. Her posterity are numerous, and among them are educated and capable men and women who love the Lord whom she loved and who love the cause for which she suffered."
William Palmer relates more of what Nellie endured in her daily life: "Year in and year out she scarcely moved outside the limits of her own dooryard. Pain was the price of every step she took, and her physical world was bounded by the vision from her own humble doorstep. . .Those stumps were festering, running sores as long as she lived. She never knew a moment of freedom from pain. [A doctor] offered to fix her legs by cutting the bones off farther up and bringing the flesh down over the ends so they would heal and enable her to wear artificial limbs, but the horrors of that first amputation were so vivid in her memory that she could never consent to another operation."
To try to make Nellie more comfortable, her husband hollowed some pieces of aspen to fit her legs and then filled the holes with wool. Toiling on these clogs, Nellie spent her life serving her family, neighbors, and church. William Palmer elaborates: "William [Unthank] was a poor man and unable to provide fully for his family, so Nellie did all she could for herself. She took in washing. Kneeling by a tub on the floor, she scrubbed the clothes to whiteness on the washboard. She knit stockings to sell, carded wool, and crocheted table pieces. She seldom accepted gifts or charity from friends or neighbors unless she could do a bundle of darning or mending to repay the kindness. The bishop and the Relief Society sometimes gave a little assistance which Nellie gratefully accepted, but once a year, to even the score, she took her children and cleaned the meetinghouse. The boys carried water, the girls washed the windows, and Nellie, on her knees, scrubbed the floor. . . . In memory I recall her wrinkled forehead, her soft dark eyes that told of toil and pain and suffering, and the deep grooves that encircled the corners of her strong mouth. But in that face there was no trace of bitterness or railings at her fate. There was patience and serenity, for in spite of her handicap she had earned her keep and justified her existence. She had given more to family, friends, and to the world than she had received."
Ellen Pucell Unthank died in 1915 at age 69. In 1991 a life-sized bronze sculpture of her was placed on the campus of Southern Utah University in Cedar City. More than 1,000 people attended the unveiling, including President Hinckley, who offered the dedicatory prayer. Honoring Nellie's faithful endurance of her crippled condition for nearly 60 years, the sculpture is titled "She Stood Tall on Her Knees;" however, it portrays Nellie as a vibrant young girl, smiling, her hair and dress flowing. What may at first appear to be a carefree pose on closer examination reveals much more about Nellie. Standing on a pedestal, she is looking far ahead, as if she sees what coming to Zion would cost and knows that the sacrifice would be worth it. Not only is she looking forward, in the sculpture—as in life—she is moving forward, standing on slender bare feet, the right one poised for the next step.
Nellie's older sister Margaret (Maggie) turned 15 toward the end of the handcart trek. She reportedly was able to keep her legs from freezing by walking rather than riding. Like Nellie, she married and raised her family in Cedar City. She had 11 children. She died in Cedar City in 1916 at age 75.
Nellie's determination in spite of her situation and the kindness of those who cared for her exemplify the faith and willingness to sacrifice of these early Church members. Their example is a legacy of faith to all Saints who follow them. This week, I've been thinking a lot about faith. Today as I read the story in Daniel, chapter 3 of When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego refused to bow down and worship a golden image set up by the king, and Nebuchadnezzar told them that if they would not worship as commanded, they would be cast into a burning fiery furnace. The three young men quickly and confidently responded, “If it be so [if you cast us into the furnace], our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand.” On the surface this might seem like simplistic faith, but then they demonstrated that they fully understood what faith is. They continued, “But if not, … we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.” That is a statement of true faith. It is the "but if not" that truly exemplifies faith. Time and again in these pioneer stories we see this principle played out. I'm sure that Margaret Pucell prayed for her husband's life to be spared. I'm equally certain that the two orphaned daughters prayed for both of their parents to survive. But they showed remarkable faith in accepting Gods will for them and remaining faithful to the Gospel, despite the hardships they endured. They knew that they could trust God, even if things didn't turn out the way they hoped. It is a great lesson for all of us, as the "but if not's" lead to amazing blessings and learning.
Have a great week!
Sister McHood
The Pucells had sacrificed and saved for nearly 20 years before they were able to emigrate. Five of their ten children had died before the family left England. The rest of the family traveled together as far as Boston, where the three oldest children decided to stay and work until the next year. Samuel and Margaret took their two youngest children, Margaret (14) and Ellen (9), on to Iowa City. A daughter-in-law and baby grandson traveled with them.
President Gordon B. Hinckley described what happened as this family approached and then crossed the Platte for the last time: "Margaret became sick. Her husband lifted her onto the cart. They were now climbing in elevation toward the Continental Divide, and it was uphill all the way. Can you see this family in your imagination?—the mother too sick and weak to walk, the father thin and emaciated, struggling to pull the cart, as the two little girls push from behind with swirling, cold winds about them, and around them are hundreds of others similarly struggling. They came to a stream of freezing water. The father, while crossing, slipped on a rock and fell. Struggling to his feet, he reached the shore, wet and chilled. Sometime later he sat down to rest. He quietly died, his senses numbed by the cold. His wife died five days later. I do not know how or where their frozen bodies were buried in that desolate, white wilderness. I do know that the ground was frozen and that the snow was piled in drifts and that the two little girls were now orphans...The two orphan girls, Maggie and Ellen, [made it to the Salt Lake Valley but] were among those with frozen limbs. Ellen's were the most serious. The doctor in the valley, doing the best he could, amputated her legs just below the knees. The surgical tools were crude. There was no anesthesia. The stumps never healed."
William Palmer, who knew Ellen personally, tells the story of her feet in more detail: "Nothing could be done to save her feet. When they took off her shoes and stockings, the skin with pieces of flesh came off too. The doctor said her feet must be taken off to save her life. They strapped her to a board, and without an anesthetic the surgery was performed. With a butcher knife and a carpenter's saw they cut the blackened limbs off. It was poor surgery, too, for the flesh was not brought over to cushion the ends. The bones stuck out through the ends of the stumps, and in pain she waddled through the rest of her life on her knees."
Sometime after arriving in Utah, the orphaned Pucell sisters were taken to Cedar City. When Nellie was 24, she married William Unthank. Continuing with her story, President Hinckley said: "She grew to womanhood . . . and bore and reared an honorable family of six children. Moving about on those stumps, she served her family, her neighbors, and the Church with faith and good cheer, and without complaint, though she was never without pain. Her posterity are numerous, and among them are educated and capable men and women who love the Lord whom she loved and who love the cause for which she suffered."
William Palmer relates more of what Nellie endured in her daily life: "Year in and year out she scarcely moved outside the limits of her own dooryard. Pain was the price of every step she took, and her physical world was bounded by the vision from her own humble doorstep. . .Those stumps were festering, running sores as long as she lived. She never knew a moment of freedom from pain. [A doctor] offered to fix her legs by cutting the bones off farther up and bringing the flesh down over the ends so they would heal and enable her to wear artificial limbs, but the horrors of that first amputation were so vivid in her memory that she could never consent to another operation."
To try to make Nellie more comfortable, her husband hollowed some pieces of aspen to fit her legs and then filled the holes with wool. Toiling on these clogs, Nellie spent her life serving her family, neighbors, and church. William Palmer elaborates: "William [Unthank] was a poor man and unable to provide fully for his family, so Nellie did all she could for herself. She took in washing. Kneeling by a tub on the floor, she scrubbed the clothes to whiteness on the washboard. She knit stockings to sell, carded wool, and crocheted table pieces. She seldom accepted gifts or charity from friends or neighbors unless she could do a bundle of darning or mending to repay the kindness. The bishop and the Relief Society sometimes gave a little assistance which Nellie gratefully accepted, but once a year, to even the score, she took her children and cleaned the meetinghouse. The boys carried water, the girls washed the windows, and Nellie, on her knees, scrubbed the floor. . . . In memory I recall her wrinkled forehead, her soft dark eyes that told of toil and pain and suffering, and the deep grooves that encircled the corners of her strong mouth. But in that face there was no trace of bitterness or railings at her fate. There was patience and serenity, for in spite of her handicap she had earned her keep and justified her existence. She had given more to family, friends, and to the world than she had received."
Ellen Pucell Unthank died in 1915 at age 69. In 1991 a life-sized bronze sculpture of her was placed on the campus of Southern Utah University in Cedar City. More than 1,000 people attended the unveiling, including President Hinckley, who offered the dedicatory prayer. Honoring Nellie's faithful endurance of her crippled condition for nearly 60 years, the sculpture is titled "She Stood Tall on Her Knees;" however, it portrays Nellie as a vibrant young girl, smiling, her hair and dress flowing. What may at first appear to be a carefree pose on closer examination reveals much more about Nellie. Standing on a pedestal, she is looking far ahead, as if she sees what coming to Zion would cost and knows that the sacrifice would be worth it. Not only is she looking forward, in the sculpture—as in life—she is moving forward, standing on slender bare feet, the right one poised for the next step.
Nellie's older sister Margaret (Maggie) turned 15 toward the end of the handcart trek. She reportedly was able to keep her legs from freezing by walking rather than riding. Like Nellie, she married and raised her family in Cedar City. She had 11 children. She died in Cedar City in 1916 at age 75.
Nellie's determination in spite of her situation and the kindness of those who cared for her exemplify the faith and willingness to sacrifice of these early Church members. Their example is a legacy of faith to all Saints who follow them. This week, I've been thinking a lot about faith. Today as I read the story in Daniel, chapter 3 of When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego refused to bow down and worship a golden image set up by the king, and Nebuchadnezzar told them that if they would not worship as commanded, they would be cast into a burning fiery furnace. The three young men quickly and confidently responded, “If it be so [if you cast us into the furnace], our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand.” On the surface this might seem like simplistic faith, but then they demonstrated that they fully understood what faith is. They continued, “But if not, … we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.” That is a statement of true faith. It is the "but if not" that truly exemplifies faith. Time and again in these pioneer stories we see this principle played out. I'm sure that Margaret Pucell prayed for her husband's life to be spared. I'm equally certain that the two orphaned daughters prayed for both of their parents to survive. But they showed remarkable faith in accepting Gods will for them and remaining faithful to the Gospel, despite the hardships they endured. They knew that they could trust God, even if things didn't turn out the way they hoped. It is a great lesson for all of us, as the "but if not's" lead to amazing blessings and learning.
Have a great week!
Sister McHood
No comments:
Post a Comment