The Hadwen Family of Lancashire

JANE PEARSON HACKING - FISHER by Hacking Family Researcher Ralphena Hacking Dear Family Members: I have been doing considerable work to complete records of our Pioneer families, along with other research work, and realizing that these dear folks are especially interesting to everyone, I am taking this opportunity to give some detailed information relating to the children of James Pearson Hacking Fisher. As you know, James Hacking and Jane Pearson were married by Banns 27 January 1827 at the Parish Church of Burton in Kendal, Westmoreland, England; Their marriage witnessed by William Hacking and Elizabeth Pearson. The following children were born to them in England: No. 1, James, born 23 November 1827, Clawthorpe, Westmoreland, christened 23 December 1827 at Burton in Kendal, married Jane Rogerson in England, and died 18 December 1898 at Acushnet, Bristol County, Massachusetts. Complete record of his family was given in Bulletin No. 3 and a note of special interest was the fact that James' wife Jane died 28 December 1898, just 10 days after her husband. The cause of their death: Record of death for James, "Immediate Cause of Death--Heart failure." Jane, his wife, "Immediate Cause of Death--Natural causes due to heart failure." A granddaughter stated in a letter written the folks at Cedar Fort shortly after the deaths of her grandparents “the medical examiner said `she must have died heartbroken', also with incidents to her age,” which was 79 years. No. 2, Alice, born about 1830, listed as of Preston, died in infancy. No. 3, Harriet, born at Clawthorpe, christened 1 July 1831, at the Parish of Burton in Kendal, Westmoreland. Sealed in the Endowment House to George Gates, 20 April 1852, probably died within the next year, 1853. (I do not have her death date nor place.) No. 4, Jane, born at Clawthorpe, christened 30 June 1833, Burton in Kendal, married 1st to Enoch M. King, 2nd to John Morris King, Sealed to him 12 August 1855 Endowment House, married 3rd to James Hanley O'Brien, died 13 June 1901 Star Valley, Nev. (The account of her death given by her son, James H. O'Brien, Jr.) No. 5, John Sampson, born 16 September 1835 at Preston, Lancashire, christened 29 May 1836, at Burton in Kendal, Westmoreland. Married 5 May 1856 to Jane Clark at St. Louis, Missouri, died 27 July 1917 at Cedar Valley. No. 6, Ann, born about 1837 at Cuerden Green, Lancashire, died in infancy. The father James Hacking, died 14 September 1839 at Cuerden, Leyland, Lancashire, and was buried at Burton in Kendal, Westmoreland, England. Names of the two children, Alice No. 1 and Ann No. 6 were given on Sealing Records of Children to Parents in the Salt Lake Temple 20 October 1898, done at the instance (insistence?) of John S. Hacking. Late in the year of 1840 the widow, Jane Pearson Hacking, married John Fisher at Penwortham, Lancashire and the following children were born to them: No. 1, Alice, born 4 January 1842, Preston, Lancashire, married Deveraux Goodale, died 26 November 1879. (Information for death from Laura Leona Lane Hatch). No. 2, Elizabeth, born 4 January 1842, Preston, Lancashire, twin sister to Alice, death date unknown (at least to me.) No. 3, Moroni, born 24 August 1844, Preston, Lancashire, married to Mary Peterson, died 10 June 1929. No. 4, William, born 12 February 1849 Preston, Lancashire, died in autumn of 1849 as the family reached St. Louis, Missouri. In preparing the family group record of the Fisher children I didn't feel satisfied with the information I had--Alice Elizabeth born 4 January 1842, Moroni and William as given above. I decided to write to Preston, England and request a search to be made in their registers for births and death entries from the year 1842 to 1849, giving them the information as I had it, which gave Alice Elizabeth as one person. I received the following report for them: "I am in receipt of your communication dated 20 Feb. 1959 inst. and would inform you that searches have been make but no trace of any other children of the Fisher family has been found in the birth registers other than those mentioned in your letter. It must be pointed out, however, that there is no record of a child Alice Elizabeth born 4 January 1842, but there are two separate entries (twins), born on that date, namely Alice and Elizabeth Fisher. If you already have a certificate for one of these children please let me know and a certificate for the other will be prepared and forwarded. Searches have also been made in the death registers, but without success." I sent additional fees for the birth certificates for both Alice and Elizabeth, twin sisters, so that there would be no question as to the identity of twin girls, and not just one girl "Alice Elizabeth" as some of us have had. The report from Preston as given, recorded no death date for Elizabeth, and the other children died in the United States. If anyone in the family should happen to know when and where Elizabeth died, please let me know. I will appreciate it very much.The Hacking-Fisher family came to Utah and settled in American Fork, where John Fisher was listed as head of a family in American Fork Ward 28 December 1852. (From Record of Member, Utah Territory, 1852-1853.) It is understood that he died shortly after this in American Fork, but I do not have record of the death date. Life Sketch of Jane Pearson Hacking Fisher by Alice Southam Cook, great-granddaughter Jane Pearson, born 15 February 1808 in Cumberland, England, was the daughter of John Pearson and Alice Saul. Two other children were Elizabeth born 29 March, 1805, Whitehaven, England, and Thomas born 20 February 1817. My grandmother, Jane Clark Hacking, was a daughter of Elizabeth Pearson and James Clark, and she told me that her mother and sister Jane were always very friendly with each other and "chummed" around together. They always made their dresses just alike. One time they had a disagreement and, although they had the material to make dresses alike, they decided to make them different this time. One of them saw a dress modeled in a dressmaker's window and decided to have her dress make like it. She did and found that it was her sister's dress, so they had their dresses alike after all. James Clark, a young stone cutter and mason, often worked on the construction of buildings with another young man, James Hacking, who was a cabinet maker. These young men were fast friends and not only worked together, but went around together socially and dated girls of their community. Two of these girls were the Pearson sisters, Jane and Elizabeth. James Clark began dating Jane and James Hacking took Elizabeth. This went on form some time, then just in fun one evening they exchanged dates and Elizabeth went home with James Clark and James Hacking escorted Jane, whom he married on the 27th of January 1827, in the Parish of Burton in Kendal, in the presence of William Hacking and Elizabeth Pearson. William was James Hacking's oldest brother. Elizabeth and James Clark were married later. James and Jane Pearson Hacking became the parents of six children. Their first child, James, was born 23 November 1827 in Clawthorpe, Westmoreland, England. Their second was a little girl, Alice. She was born about 1830 in Preston, Lancashire, but only stayed with them about two years before she died. The third, Harriet, was born 1st July 1831; Jane was born 30 June 1833, and John Sampson 16 September 1835. The family then moved to Cuerden Green, Lancashire, where another little girl, Ann was born in 1837, but she lived little more than a year and died in 1838. James, the father of the family, had not been well for some time, and he passed away 14 September 1839, of what was reported as consumption, leaving Great-grandmother at the age of 31 with four young children to support. James was 11, Harriet 8, Jane 6, and John Sampson 4. Times were hard and my Grandfather Hacking told about eating "porridge and trickle." He said his mother put the cooked mush in a bowl and then put a spoon in the molasses and let a fine thread of it trickle on to each serving, and that was their meal. When he was grown he never would eat any cereal; he said he ate his share of porridge when he was little. From later events it seemed that James Hacking was entitled to a small estate, but being entailed it could not be claimed until the eldest son, James Jr., was of age. So great-grandmother was on her own and she and her family had a bitter struggle against starvation. They were often hungry, but the mother was too proud to accept charity. John S. and his sister Harriet wandered from home one day and stood shivering at a corner watching the people hurrying past. some of those passing noticed the forlorn children and gave them some coins. They hurried and took the money to their mother, thinking how pleased she would be. But she scolded them severely--"That," said she, "is begging, and my children must not beg!" Nearly two years after her husband's death, Great-grandmother married John Fisher on 31 May 1841. He was a weaver by trade. Ralphena Hacking, our Genealogist, and also Nellie Fisher Eaton have received birth certificates from England showing that twin daughters were born to this couple 4 January 1842, and they were named Alice and Elizabeth. They have found no further record of Elizabeth. John Moroni was born 24 August 1844 and William 12 February 1849. Mr. Fisher contacted consumption and unable to work at his trade, applied to the Parish for easier work so he could support his family. Instead of being given a job, he was sent to the poor house. Grandpa Hacking had been winding bobbins for his step-father when he worked at his trade. He was too young to do any other work so he was sent to the poor house also. It was soon discovered that Mr. Fisher was from another shire, so they were discharged. Grandpa Hacking told us that his brother James, or Jim as he was called, came home one day and his mother had the table set for four of them. He asked if that was all they had for dinner and she said "yes." He turned to Grandpa and said, "Jack, I'll give you this," showing him some money, "if you will eat all the food on the table." Grandpa got busy and soon had it eaten, then took the money and bought some bread and ate that too. Jim had just been paid for some work he had done, so I suppose he bought food for the others. Great-grandmother Fisher was baptized into the Church of Latter-Day Saints in 1844, but it wasn't until 1849 that they came to America. Ralphena Hacking reports the following: "In searching for records of our Pioneer Families, I found a shipping account where James Hacking, brother of John Sampson, signed for the responsibility financially to bring the family to America. At this time, which was 3 July, 1849, the following members, numbering 11, make up the family to emigrate: James Hacking 21 years, his wife Jane 29 years, their baby daughter Alice 2 months; and Harriet Hacking 18 years, Jane Hacking 16 years, and John Sampson Hacking 12 years; the mother and stepfather--John Fisher aged 44 years and Jane Fisher 41 years, with their children Alice Fisher 8, Moroni 5, and the baby William aged 4 months, living at (Ingham) Street, Preston, Lancashire, England. They made their application to sail in September, 1849. However, Great-Uncle Jim's baby daughter Alice died before they left England." They landed at New Orleans, Louisiana in the late fall of 1849. Their money was gone, so Great-grandmother, her husband and their children remained in New Orleans and James took his wife, his brother John S. and their sisters Jane and Harriet by steamboat up the Mississippi to St. Louis. Here the boys found work in the coal pits. Five weeks later their mother wrote that she and her husband were both ill and the family on the verge of starvation. She thought if John could come down they would be all right. so James gave John $2.00 and persuaded the captain of the boat to let him work his passage to New Orleans. Arriving there, John learned that his mother and family had passed him about five miles from St. Louis. Thomas Pearson, his mother's brother, hearing of their plight had paid their passage to St. Louis. It was too late to save the life of the baby boy, William, who the mother said "died of starvation" just as they entered the St. Louis docks. It was 18 months before they earned enough money to continue their journey to Utah. On Friday, 13 June 1851, a group of saints organized into a company to begin the journey across the plains. John Fisher and family were in what was called the 2nd company with Mr. James W. Cummings, Captain of 100, and Alfred Cardon, Captain of 50. The John Fisher family consisted of Great-grandmother Fisher, her husband and their two children, Alice and John Moroni; also the Hacking children--John Sampson 16, Harriet 20, and Jane 18. James and his wife stayed in St. Louis. They started with two wagons, 6 head of oxen, one cow and a pig. In all of that company there were 64 people, 13 wagons, 50 head of oxen, 33 cows, 2 horses and 3 pigs. The journey toward Salt Lake Valley was filled with a variety of experiences. Babies were born, some members of the group died, including newborn babies; meetings were held and conduct agreed upon; sometimes great enthusiasm and at other times discouragement. Wagons broke and had to be repaired, and at one place in the account of their journey, we read from Hammond Document-Church Immigration, Vol. 2: "This is a fine morning. We left camp at 8 o'clock, and found the roads as yesterday. I believe this has been the hottest day we have had and it tired our cattle very much. One oxen died in the road very much weary. Two wagons were turned over. Brother Fisher had the tongue of his wagon broken. We came to part of the camp in Aldredges' Company. They had lost 28 head of cattle and could not get on. We came into camp about 6 o'clock. We are at one part of the Loup Fork. Water good, plenty of wood and feed for the cattle. We came today about 17 miles and all were glad to get rest." One day when they were camped a lot of Indians came and visited with them. They were friendly and Captain Cardon fed them and he ate with them, but the next morning the company moved on real early for fear the Indians would come back. Their food supply wasn't plentiful enough to feed others. Grandpa Fisher's health wasn't good, so when the name John Fisher was called for guard duty, John S. Hacking would stand guard, as he was often called Jack Fisher and he felt that his stepfather wasn't able. He also stood guard when the name John S. Hacking was called. Then some of the men noticed that John S. was doing quite a lot of guard duty and called it to the attention of those in charge, and different arrangements were made. From the Journal telling of the journey we read: "Saturday, September 20, 1851. This was a cool wet morning and we could not leave camp. Many have tried to trade away their poor cattle for the better, which was done. The weather cleared up about 11 o'clock. The rest of the day was fine. A company of wagons passed about 12 o'clock for the valley. The men that trade here do it in a business way, and all seem satisfied with their trade. Brother Fisher has traded his light wagon for a cow..." Another morning we read: "This is a rainy morning. Weather cleared about 8:30 and some of the company wanted to go on, wet or dry. Captain Cardon asked the company to wait one hour as his wife had a baby at 2 A.M. that morning, but they refused to stop. Got the cattle up at 9:30 and started." Captain Cardon arrived with part of his company in Great Salt Lake 4 October 1851. The Fisher family settled in American Fork, where John S. got work when he could. The Hacking girls soon married. Jane married Enoch Marion King 2 February 1852 and lived in Salt Lake City. Harriet married George Gates and lived in Draper. She died there in 1853 and was the third person to be buried in Lehi. John Fisher's health grew steadily worse. He was relieved of his suffering in 1853 and was the first person buried in American Fork. About August of 1853 during the Walker War, Grandpa John Hacking was called with a company of men to go to Fillmore to help with the protection of the people so they could harvest their crops. When he returned later in the fall he found that his mother and family were without food. He bought some wheat and took it to a grist mill at the mouth of American Fork Canyon where it was ground into flour. By noon the next day it had all been loaned to hungry neighbors, except for 50 pounds. He got some more wheat and had it ground, but it soon went the same way. Unable to get more wheat, he gave his mother the bran and shorts he had saved for his horse, used on his trip to Fillmore, and the horse was turned out to forage for himself. In January 1854 he move his mother to Cedar Fort, 17 miles west of American Fork, where he had purchased a house and lot from Eli Bell, on of the first four settlers of that place. The lot was located inside the picket fort that had been built for protection against Indians. May 4, 1854 Grandpa John Hacking left to go to California with a company of men who were surveying a route for a railroad. Great-Grandmother Fisher was left among strangers with her two children, Alice 11 and Moroni 9. She earned her living by nursing the sick. At that time doctors were scarce and when a child was born the mother was attended by a midwife. Great-grandma served as midwife in Cedar Fort for many years. In March of 1856 she attended Mrs. Sophronia Cook, wife of Henry F. Cook who later became the second bishop of Cedar Fort. The babies were twin girls named Janette and Marette. The Cooks were not well-to-do people as we judge now, but they did have cattle and raised grain, so they had all the bread, milk and butter they needed. Uncle Rone Fisher (Moroni) told me that his mother would take him to Cook's when she went to care for the mother and babies. He always received a big slice of bread with plenty of butter on it, and that was a real treat for him. Great-grandmother Fisher was still helping mothers with babies when her grandson, Geo. A. Hacking was born 5 April 1876; she was the midwife. After living in the fort several years, she moved into a house on the corner of the block just west of her son. Grandpa Hacking had returned from California by way of Panama and St. Louis. While in St. Louis he married his cousin, Jane Clark. Grandpa's home was in the corner north of Grandma and her brother; James Pearson Clark lived on the corner west from Aunt Emma. So the four corners there together were occupied by people from England and often jokingly referred to as "Little England." Joel Terry, a resident of Cedar Fort, was unfortunate in the loss of his wife. He had a large family of children and needed help badly. He and Great-grandmother Fisher were married in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City 22 April 1857. This marriage did not last very long, however, as she left him. Afterward, she would call his children into her home when she saw them on the street, looking as if they needed a mother's care. She would wash their faces, comb their hair, and give them something to eat. I was told that it was sympathy for the children that influenced her to marry Mr. Terry. She resumed the name Fisher and was lovingly referred to as "Grandma Fisher" by most of those who knew her. This sealing was dissolved in the Salt Lake Temple and she was sealed to her first husband, James Hacking, 19 October 1898. This was done by the advice of the Temple president. Part of her children were sealed to her 20 October 1898. Her brother, Thomas Pearson, who had given her the money to pay passage on the boat from New Orleans to St. Louis, came through Salt Lake on his way to California. In 1854 he was living in Georgetown, several miles from Shasta City, California, and he owned a dance hall, gold mine and other properties. In 1868 word came that this brother, Thomas, together with his wife, Maria, and daughter Hattie, had been killed by Indians on Friday, 17 April 1868, between Honey Lake Valley and Red Rock Valley, California. They were moving from one ranch to another when the tragedy occurred. Alice Fisher married when quite young and accompanied her husband, Devereaux Goodale to Yolo County, California. Five of their seven children were born there. Later they moved to Elko County in Nevada. Her daughter, Jane Hacking King, was divorced with one son Dave, so she came to Cedar Fort to be near her mother. She married a man by the name of McNiel, a Government Scout stationed at Camp Floyd with Johnston's Army. Mr. McNiel was shot in the back and died, and so did a daughter Josephine, who was born to them. She later married James Hanley O'Brien, a soldier in Johnston's Army. The Civil War broke out in April 1861, and the soldiers were sent East to take part in it. Jane and her two children, Dave and Mary, went with him. He was wounded during the war and died two and one-half months after a son, James H. was born. When the war was ended she made her way back to Cedar Fort with her three children. I tell these things about Great-grandmother's family to show the worries and responsibilities she had through the years. To a mother, her children's troubles are her troubles. Grandma's children went so far away from her. California, Nevada, Washington, and St. Louis were a lot farther away than when we travel the same distance today by train, automobile, or air flight. Occasionally Grandmother would hear from her daughter Alice Fisher Goodale, who was living with her family on a homestead in Star Valley, Nevada. Alice must have painted a pretty fair picture of the country, as Jane Hacking O'Brien decided to take her three children and go to Star Valley and build a home. Grandmother Fisher decided to accompany her and have a visit with Alice and her family. In October 1873 Grandpa Hacking took them to Salt Lake City by wagon, where they boarded a train to Ogden. Here they changed to the Central Pacific, later the Southern Pacific Railway, and got off at the Deeth Station, which at that time consisted of a plank platform with an old box car on it. They took a white sheet and put it on a pole. This attracted the attention of Mr. Samuel McMullen, who ran the Southern Pacific Pump Station (where the engine got water) about a half-mile east of the station. He mounted his horse and came to see what was wanted. They told him they were relatives of the Goodales. "I'll ride to the ranch and tell them you are here,” he promised. Soon a team and wagon arrived to get them. James H. O'Brien tells of it: "We visited with them until my half-brother David King and I got the log cabin built and daubed up with mud. I mixed most of the mud and he put it between the logs with a trowel. Then he laid the floor, put the window and door in, and we moved in. Grandmother Fisher left for her home in Cedar Valley and we settled down to the longest, coldest winter I have ever experienced, starting about November 1, 1873 and lasting until May 15, 1874, with the snow averaging four feet on the level from December 15th on. Snow, snow, snow everywhere and no wood to keep a fire going." It must have tugged at Grandmother Fisher's heart strings to leave her daughter and family in such unfavorable conditions at that time of the year. Her son James and his family lived in St. Louis for several years and then moved to Fall River, Massachusetts. When he received his discharge, after serving in the Civil War, he came to Cedar Valley on a visit. That was the last time Great-grandmother saw him. Jane Pearson Hacking Fisher died 10 March 1878 in Cedar Fort where she had spent the last twenty-four years of her life--most of it in the service of others. She was survived by three sons--John Sampson Hacking and Moroni Fisher of Cedar Fort, who later moved with his family to Ashley Valley in Eastern Utah and helped pioneer that part of the country; and James, the oldest son. She also left two daughters--Jane Hacking O'Brien and Alice Fisher Goodale, Star Valley, Nevada