Adam Patterson Hunter Made a Promise

After the Hunter family was reunited in 1851 at St. Louis, Missouri. They were anxious to leave because the plans for the Salt Lake Temple had been completed. Work would begin soon. Unfortunately, Adam came down with cholera. Elizabeth's mother and brother did also, both of whom died. The disease was raging all up and down the Missouri and Mississippi River communities. People were dying from the illness they knew little about and its unknown cause.

The Hunter family's goal was to travel to Zion in Salt Lake City. But, how could they make the journey without their father and protector? Adam tried to get better and did everything he could, including having the elders give him a Priesthood blessing. Adam prayed to Heavenly Father, pleading that he be spared from this dreaded sickness. He trusted in the Lord and made a promise. 'If Heavenly Father would heal him, he would serve the Lord where ever needed all his life.' He had great faith.

Miraculously, Adam Hunter was made well. The family purchased the needed supplies for their trek to Zion and to keep them fed for a year. They left the end of May 1852 with a small company. The journey was long and hard. The group made it to the Red Quarry Canyon just east of the Salt Lake Valley on Sunday, August 19. True to his word, Adam, found work the very next day helping in the quarry. He donated his team of oxen to haul the stone from the mountain to the temple site. Adam managed the Little Cottonwood Quarry when it was decided the sandstone was insufficient to support the temple.

From 1852 to 1878, twenty-six years, Adam worked at building the temple. He longed for the day when it would be completed. It was not to be. This faithful servant donated his skills and services to the building of the Salt Lake Temple for the remainder of his life. How blessed we are to be the posterity of this righteous saint.

Great, Grandma Elizabeth - Saved Her Baby From Being Tossed Overboard

Shortly after Adam and Elizabeth joined the Church, they began making plans to come to America. In July of 1849 Adam left for St. Louis. He got a job in the Crowley Coal Mines earning money to send for his family. In November Elizabeth gave birth to their fourth child, Mary. Just two months later she, her mother, step-father and their children boarded passage on the Josiah Bradley ship bound for New Orleans.

During the journey, many passengers came down with small pox. The captain and ship's doctor threatened to throw the seriously ill people overboard. They enforced the rule and to stop the disease, the worst cases were sent to a watery grave.

Tiny baby Mary became ill with the pox. Mother Elizabeth, could not bear for her to be tossed into the ocean. Two of the children stood as guards and warned their mother, when they had sickness checks. The baby was placed under the straw mattress, until the coast was clear. She never cried or made a peep. Many times, Elizabeth wasn't sure if the baby was alive or not.

With many prayers, Mary, got well. She lived to old age. Finally their family arrived in New Orleans. The brand new Big St. Louis steamboat took them to St. Louis on the Mississippi River. They had a happy reunion with their beloved father, Adam.

Great, Great, Great Grandma Elizabeth is Scottish

I didn't even know I had Scottish blood, until great grandmother Patterson popped up on the horizon while preparing a report on an ancestor. Born October 6, 1822, in Devon, Scotland, she was the oldest of three children and loved to help rock her younger brothers to sleep. Tragically her dear dad died when she was only five years old. Her new father, Thomas Sharp, expected Elizabeth to earn her keep.

At seven she began to work in the coal mines, crawling through the narrow tunnels looking for coal. The carts were too heavy for her to push, so she used her head with those strong little arms to get them moving. After years of working with all her earnings going to her step-dad, a lump formed on the top of her head. This didn't keep her from being happy and singing her heart out down in those mines.

As a teen she began to learn the Highland Fling and other Scottish dances with such precision that she won many contests. She got the attention of her first cousin, Adam Patterson Hunter, who also worked in the mines. A quiet, hard working, honest young man four years older than Elizabeth, really admired her. His mom and Elizabeth's father, William, were siblings.

When Elizabeth was nineteen, Adam surprised her by proposing. They married April 25, 1842. After starting a family in 1847, they met the Mormon missionaries and were impressed. Many of their questions were answered. Both were baptized in September after receiving strong witnesses that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was true. She had thirteen children. All but one lived to adulthood. Once when someone asked how many she had she stated proudly, “I ha’ thirteen and na’ne to gie away!"

I will share more interesting tidbits next time, because I know you are anxious to hear more.