GEORGE LAVENDER
George Lavender was born of goodly parents
in St. Paul's Parish, Bedford , Bedfordshire, England on 6
January, 1817, the son of John Lavender and Mary
Munton Lavender. He had two older brothers, James
and Thomas, and sister Sarah.
George's mother, Mary Munton Lavender,
must have died when George was small, as his father
married Sarah Lowe 9 January 1823 in St. Paul's
Bedford, Bedfordshire, England. George was only 5 when
this marriage took place.
When he was 21 years old, George Lavender
was married to Hannah Long 4 June 1838 in the St.
Paul's Parish, Bedford, Bedfordshire, England. They were
married by Thomas Lovelidge, witnessed by Thomas
Lavender and James Downs. Their residence was on
Beauchamp Row.
They had a little girl that was christened on 9
September, 1838 in the Parish of St. Paul, Bedford,
then a little son named John, who was born 22 June,
1840. He died the same day, having only lived two
and one half hours. Then two days later, on the 24
th
of June, 1840, Hannah passed away of consumption.
George was left alone to care for his little two year old
daughter. Times were very hard then.
About this time there was a family living in
St. Paul's Parish that had a beautiful daughter named
Mary Ann Coles. Her parents were William and Mary
Ann Booth Coles.
On 7 January, 1842, George Lavender and
Mary Ann Coles were married. His brother, James
Lavender, had also been married about the same time.
James and his wife were coming to America to join the
saints and tried to persuade George and Mary Ann to
accept a loan from him and come with them and they
would certainly have loved to come together. But
George and Mary Ann were not sure how they would
pay back the loan, so they refused the loan and
promised to save and come as soon as they could.
George could read and write. Neither Hannah
nor Mary Ann could. They had to sign their marriage
licenses with an X, as neither one had been able to go
to school.
George's father, John Lavender, on George's
marriage certificate, said he was a gardener. Mary
Ann's father, William Cole, was a shoemaker.
On 12 October, 1842, George and Mary Ann
had a baby boy whom they named John William,
probably for each of their fathers. His birth certificate
states that his name was John. Two years later on 3
July, 1844, another baby boy arrived to bless their
home. They called him James. Little James only lived
to be six months old and passed away 6 January 1845
of inflammation of the lungs.
On 27 January, 1846, they were blessed with
a beautiful baby girl whom they called Ellen. This
little girl was born on Chondos Street in St. Peter's
Parish, Bedford, Bedfordshire, England. They now had Ann
Elizabeth, John William, and Ellen.
George was listed as being a labourer at this time.
On 26 October, 1847, another little girl came
to their home. They called her Emma Gloria. Her
birth certificate just used Emma. Mary Ann was born
18 February, 1850.
On 2 January, 1852, little Sarah Jane was
born to them, and they were to leave England on the
10 January, 1852. They had to carry Mary Ann on the
boat in a bed with her new baby.
On the 10 January 1852, they left Liverpool
on the ship
Kennebec. They had borrowed money
from the Perpetual Immigration Fund to make the trip
to America. He now listed his profession as a brick
maker.
Before the ship would sail, the local Church
leaders would organize the emigrants. As the
emigrants boarded the ship, the British Mission
President or his agents would assign them berths.
Four to six persons were packed into berths of
wooden slats measuring six feet square. Two people
might share a berth six feet long and three feet wide.
The berths were sometimes made of green wood and
would creak horrendously as the ship rolled. In a
storm, temporary berths were known to come tumbling
down. William Clayton wrote that "such sickness,
vomiting, groaning and bad smells I have never
witnessed before, and added to this, the closeness of
the berths almost suffocated us for want of air."
Many blessing of health were given to those
who requested them. But aside from the spiritual
healings of the Priesthood, the emigrants did their best
with medicines. One potion for bruises was an
oatmeal poultice with some oil. Sometimes a little
cayenne pepper was used to cause a sweat. Castor oil
was much used for colds and bowel problems.
Stomach problems accompanied by chills were treated
with a little brandy in warm gruel. Colic was treated
with a dose of peppermint and laudanum, with
reported success.
They were sailing on the ocean 62 days, a Mr.
Smith was the captain. There were 33 passengers
aboard and it was a new ship. About midway a terrible
storm came upon them. The wind was so terrible it
was thought the ship would be dashed to pieces. The
storm lasted three days. Then the skies cleared and the
ocean calmed and the ship sailed again.
The Lavender family crossed the plains in the
Abraham O. Smoot Company, traveling with ox teams
and wagons, and arrived in Salt Lake City, Utah in
October, 1852.
While on the journey, little Mary Ann, only
two years old, became very sick and died. There was
not material with which to make a coffin. She was
dressed and wrapped in a blanket and put in the grave.
Some brush was laid on before the grave was filled
with dirt, then rocks were put on and a brush fire was
made to disguise the grave from Indians.
While living in Salt Lake, George worked in
the grist mill (flour mill) and worked for Brigham
Young. They were assigned their jobs when they
arrived.
On May 5, 1854, little Hannah was born,
bringing joy to the family.
They decided to move to Ogden and do a little
farming, so they moved to Marriott Ward, right at the
edge of Ogden City, three miles from the center of
Ogden.
On 29 August 1857 Eliza Annie was born to
them. Martha Isabelle was born 11 April 1858 in
Marriotsville, Weber, Utah.
George built a cozy little home, and it was
lovingly named the "Lavender Lodge."
In the early spring of 1858 President Brigham
Young ordered the evacuation of all the northern
settlements to Utah County because of the approaching
troops of Johnston's Army. This happened when there
was a tiny baby sister in the family, and again Mary
Ann was moved in a bed. The weather was cold and
there was snow on the ground, but George fixed the
sleigh with a cover and a small fire, and the family
were warm while traveling. When the scare was over
the settlers came back to their homes.
In 1859 little Jane was born, and later Mary
Cordelia was born.
In 1864 George and Mary Ann traveled to
Salt Lake City to go to the Endowment House to be
sealed for time and eternity on Saturday 17 August.
There were no children sealed in the Endowment
House, so that had to be done later when the temples
were opened.
Since a young woman, Mary Ann had
suffered with gall stones, and she died of the ailment
September 1871, at the age of 53 years.
George was very lonely after Mary Ann died.
He then married Anna Katherine Anderson, a Danish
lady that had been left alone, to spend his last golden
years.-
George became ill and Anna so lovingly cared
for him. On 18 April, 1904, after suffering very badly
for twelve hours, he passed away. The cause of death
was peritonitis. He was buried in the Ogden Cemetery
by his wife, Mary Ann on 21 April, 1904. The stone
reads:
"In Loving Remembrance of M. George Lavender,
Died April 18, 1904, age 87 years--
Mary Ann Lavender,
Born October 1, 1820, Died September 29, 1871."
On the other side:
Peaceful be thy silent slumber,
Peaceful in thy grave so low,
Thy no more will join our numbers,
Thy no more our sorrows know."