Census Journey Part 12

THE PARKINSONS, WOODWARDS, THIRKELLS & DARLEYS in 1870 Wellsville, Utah

This continues the story of the families of my great-grandparents in the U.S. Federal Census of Wellsville, Cache County, Utah. My great-grandmother was Sylvia Pearl Parkinson ("Ma Pearlie"), and my great-grandfather was Charles Thirkell Darley ("Papa Charley"). 

Ten years have passed since the last report, Census Journey 11, and the date of the census is June 1, 1870. It is still 10 years before Papa Charley's birth and 15 years before Ma Pearlie's birth, but we find their grandparents, uncles, aunts, parents and several of their siblings...

• Ma Pearlie's parents: Henry Fielding Parkinson (born in Lancashire, England) and Betsy Barnes Woodward (born in Nauvoo, Illinois) – in 1870, they are 28 and 26 years old and have 3 children.
• Papa Charley's parents: William Frederick Darley (born in Devonshire, England) and Jemima Brown Thirkell (born in Yorkshire, England) – in 1870, they are 38 and 28 years old, with 5 children.

Note: Besides census records, much of the information in this report comes from these two books, and I hope this report provides a taste of the wonderful things to be found in them :

Timothy Parkinson and Ann Fielding: Their Ancestors and Descendants, Editors Virginia Parkinson Darley Miller and Larie Goss Cory, 1972; and

William Frederick Darley and Jemima Brown Thirkell: Their Ancestors and Their Descendants, Published by the William Frederick Darley Family Organization, 1965.

The 1870 U.S. Federal Census, Wellsville, Cache County, Utah Territory --

The official census date was June 1st, 1870. The enumerators visited the homes in Wellsville between July 12^th and 14^th. The Wellsville section is 23 pages long, with about 40 people per page – a total of nearly 920 people, in over 150 family units.

The Parkinsons --

The 6^th family in Wellsville to be visited by the enumerator were Ma Pearlie's parents and three eldest sisters --

Parkinson, Henry; age 28, Freighting, b. in England
Parkinson, Betsie; age 26, Keeping House, b. in Illinois
Parkinson, Margaret; age 6, At home, b. in Utah
Parkinson, Rozelia; age 3, At home, b. in Utah
Parkinson, Julia; age 1, At home, b. in Utah  

Next door, the 7^th family to be visited, is Henry Parkinson's 2^nd (plural) wife of one year -- she would have her first child in Dec. 1870, 1871, or 1872 (depending on the source):

----------, Agnes; age 18, Keeping House, b. in Scotland

In the 8^th family to be visited was Henry Parkinson's older brother, Timothy:

Parkinson, Timothy; age 29, Freighter, b. in England
Parkinson, Maria; age 30, Keeping House, b. in England
Parkinson, Ellen; age 3, At home, b. in Utah

Notes on family no. 8: Ellen Parkinson , the 3-yr-old girl in the home of Timothy and Maria Parkinson, was actually their niece. Henry and Timothy's older brother Charles Parkinson, a photographer and painter in Grantsville, Tooele County, had 8 children when his first wife Hannah died in March, 1869 (just one year before this census). See notes.  The two youngest children were sent to live with family members who had no children of their own, and Ellen (at age 2) came to live with her Uncle Timothy and Aunt Maria in Wellsville. She was raised as their daughter. Timothy later had several children of his own with his (plural) second wife, Jean or Jane Greer, whom he married later in 1870. Those children were raised with Ellen, as one family, and considered Ellen to be their sister. On page 134 of the Parkinson book, it says that "Ellen was a beautiful child with long black hair and dark eyes. ... [She was] a beautiful singer. ...For many years, she sang the lead soprano parts and solos in the Anthenis." Ellen grew up to marry Daniel Hill Maughan, son of William Harrison Maughan and Elizabeth Bryce Hill.

Ellen's great-granddaughter is family history researcher Arlene Maughan Henley. Arlene and her mother are currently finishing a book on the Maughan family, which includes over 36,000 names.

Value of Timothy Parkinson's real estate: $500. Personal estate: $900.

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Notes on family no. 7 (eighteen-year-old Agnes Parkinson): On the last two pages of the Parkinson book (pp. 386-7) is information about Henry Parkinson's (plural) second wife, Agnes Archibald Kerr:

• See family group record of Henry Parkinson and Agnes Archibald Kerr.

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Some notes on family no. 6, Henry and Betsy Parkinson's family:

• Betsy and Henry had lost their first child, Henry, to whooping cough around the age of one year.
• Rozelia's name is hard to read in the record -- she was called Rose or Rosella.
• Value of Henry Parkinson's real estate: $900. Personal estate: $1200.
• Six-year-old Margaret Parkinson had attended school within the year. Mother Betsie Parkinson could not write, but could read.

Eldest sister Margaret Parkinson, here age 6, was 21 years older than Ma Pearlie. Margaret grew up to be the wife of Daniel Jones, a farmer in Wellsville. They had 9 children. The Parkinson book paints a lovely picture of her family, saying, "There was always plenty of good food ready for family and friends," and "Food always seemed to taste better at their table." Margaret lived to be 82, passing away in 1947.

2^nd sister Rose Parkinson (here age 3) married Charles Brown, a freighter like her dad, and moved to Boise, Idaho. According to the Parkinson book, "[Rose's] three oldest children were born at the Parkinson family home in Wellsville. Although their home was in Boise at the time, Rose's parents wanted her to return to Wellsville so her mother could be with her when each child was born." The Parkinson book also relates that:

"Rose's oldest son, Charles Leo, was about the same age as Rose's youngest sister, Sylvia Pearl. After having given birth to Leo, Rose developed a breast infection. Rose's mother was nursing her baby, Sylvia Pearl, so she nursed Leo, too, until Rose's infection cleared up and she was able to nurse Leo herself."

Rose and her husband later moved to Nevada City, California, where Charles Brown continued freighting. It was to their home in Nevada City that youngest sister Sylvia Pearl (Ma Pearlie) went alone by train in 1908, to marry Charles Thirkell Darley (who had proposed to her by mail, enclosing a diamond ring).

Rose and her husband lived in many more places, such as: Oakland, CA; a lumber camp in Oregon (where Rose helped by cooking for all the men in the camp"); a potato farm in Oregon, and Salt Lake City. Rose and Charles were living in Logan, Utah, when she died at the age of 80. She had four children.

3^rd sister Julia Parkinson, here aged 1, also married a freighter. The Parkinson book relates that:

"When Julia was approximately twenty-one years old, she went to Boise, Idaho to stay with her older sister, Rosella and while there she met Robert A. Grant who was in the freighting business. Julia and 'Bob' were married on December 18, 1888 and settled down to a long and happy life in Boise and Murphy, Idaho."

Julia died in 1949, at the age of 81. She had two children.

The freighting business was the equivalent of today's trucking business. In her section of the Parkinson book, Ma Pearlie says of Henry Parkinson:

"My father made a fortune freighting from Utah to Montana. He had two freight strings which consisted of two wagons to a string and six horses for each wagon. He traveled from Wellsville to Corine, Utah where the railroad ended and loaded his wagons with supplies from the train. Then he would go to Butte, Dillon, Bannock, Virginia City and other places in Montana with supplies for the stores in those booming mining towns. This was very hazardous country and he would have been scalped by the Indians but he had learned to talk their language and always carried gifts for them. The storekeepers paid him in gold pieces and I remember hearing the story of how he offered my sister, Rose, this big pan of gold coins if only she could lift it. She tried, but to no avail."

• See family group record of Henry Parkinson and Betsy Barnes Woodward.  

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Parkinson family patriarch, Timothy Sr.

In another part of Wellsville, in the 130th family (next door to the Thirkells), was Ma Pearlie's grandfather, Timothy Parkinson, with his fourth wife:

Parkson, Timothy; age 64, Farmer, b. in England
Parkson, Rebecca; age 58, Keeping House, b. in England

Is "Timothy Parkson" really Timothy Parkinson? --

According to the FamilySearch website, Timothy Parkinson's 4^th wife was Rebecca Wood, whom he married on Oct. 4^th, 1869. It also says that Timothy Parkinson was born in 1806, which matches well with Timothy Parkson's age here of 64 (though, in the census 10 years before, Timothy Parkinson had been 44!). Timothy Parkinson died in Wellsville in 1892, and there is no other matching person anywhere in this 1870 census for Wellsville. I think this "Timothy Parkson" is probably my 3rd great-grandfather, Timothy Parkinson.

• See family group record of Timothy Parkinson and Ann Fielding.

Timothy Parkson's real estate was worth $800, and personal estate $400.

The Woodwards --

Betsy Barnes Woodward Parkinson's parents and younger siblings lived elsewhere in Wellsville, in the 50^th family to be visited by the census taker:

Woodward, Joseph; age 59, Farmer, b. in England
Woodward, Margaret; age 45, Keeping House, b. in England
Woodward, Joseph; age 19, Farm Labor, b. in Iowa
Woodward, Rachail; age 17, At School, b. in Iowa
Woodward, Margaret; age 15, At School, b. in Utah
Woodward, Martha; age 15, At School, b. in Utah
Woodward, Hyrum; age 13, At School, b. in Utah
Woodward, James?; age 11, At home, b. in Utah

Joseph and Margaret Woodward were my 3rd great-grandparents, the maternal grandparents of Ma Pearlie. They had come from Manchester and Salford, England, by way of Nauvoo, Illinois, where there eldest daughter Betsy was born. Their two eldest sons had been born in England, but both had died, one in England and one probably sometime after they left Nauvoo. 

• See family group record of Joseph and Margaret Woodward.

According to the 1860 census and also www.familysearch.org, grandmother Margaret Woodward's age should be 55 here. However, it pretty clearly says 45 (the same age she was 10 years earlier). This could be the census taker's mistake, or it could be another case of ages being quite "fluid" in the old days.

Ma Pearlie's Aunt, Rachel Woodward (here age 17), would in 1871 become the fifth wife of William Harrison Maughan, the leader of Wellsville.

The Darleys and Thirkells --

In the 128^th Wellsville family to be visited are Papa Charley's parents, elder brothers and sister:

Darley, William; age 38?, Carpenter, b. in England
Darley, Jemima; age 28, Keeping House, b. in England
Darley, William; age 11, At home, b. in Utah
Darley, Thomas; age 10, At home, b. in Utah
Darley, John; age 6, At home, b. in Utah
Darley, Clarinda; age 3, At home, b. in Utah
Darley, George; age 1, At home, b. in Utah

Next door, in the 129^th family, are the Papa Charley's grandparents and aunt, the Thirkells. John and Mary Thirkell always lived with or next to the family of their daughter, Jemima Darley. They were still living with the family at the time of Papa Charley's birth, ten years later.

Thirkell, John; age 55, Farmer, b. in England
Thirkell, Mary; age 55, Keeping House, b. in England
Thirkell, Emalie; age 15, At home, b. in Utah

Nearby, in the 139^th family, is Jemima Darley's younger sister, Caroline Thirkell Mitton, with her family -- her children were Papa Charley's first cousins:

Mitten, Edwin; age 30, Farm Labour, b. in England
Mitten, Caroline; age 26, Keeping House, b. in England
Mitten, Edwin; age 8, At home, b. in Utah
Mitten, John; age 5, At home, b. in Utah
Mitten, Harriet; age 2, At home, b. in Utah

Notes on these three families:

• William Darley's real estate was worth $1300, and personal estate $250.

• John Thirkell's real estate was worth $1200, and personal estate $250.

• Edwin Mitton's real estate was worth $200.

Father William Frederick Darley did many kinds of work, and in later years he was well-known as the operator of the co-op store and post office in Wellsville. In this 1870 census, he is listed as a carpenter. A description is found in the Darley book on p. 27:

"At the time the meeting house was being built [1865], William Frederick Darley and David Stoddard owned and operated a shingle mill and furniture manufacturing shop. It was their great honor and privelege to make the shingles and furniture for the church. They were especially particular about furnishing armed chairs to be placed on the stand to accommodate the bishopric and other officials attending meetings there. Furniture was made for the homes as well."

According to the Darley book, William had been "working in the shipyards as a carpenter apprentice" as young man, before leaving England.

The Darley children –

There is a wonderful photo in the Darley book (p. 24) of William and Jemima Darley and their 10 children. It was taken about 1898 or possibly earlier, judging from the appearance of the 3 youngest children. In the middle are Jemima and William, about age 56 and 66. Behind them are their 6 grown sons (Papa Charley's older brothers) and 1 grown daughter, Clarinda. At their feet are their 3 younger children – I would guess that Elizabeth is about 13, Papa Charley about 18, and Sarah about 15.

According to the Darley book, written in June, 1965:

"Of the eleven children born to William Frederick Dunn and Jemima Brown Thirkell Darley, ten grew to adulthood, and all have passed the eightieth milestone. The youngest reached her four score on April seventeenth, 1965."

The ages of the eleven children at the time they died were, according to the FamilySearch website: 88, 80, 3 mos., 86, 88, 81, 96, 84, 101, 88, and 99. Two of them (Charles and Elizabeth) lived until the 1980's. The last living member of this family was youngest sister Elizabeth, who died on November 4^th, 1984.

On page 88 of the Darley book is a description of the childhood pursuits of the older Darley sons, William and Thomas:

"Thomas did not learn the store business from his father; but instead he learned the farming business from his grandfather, John Thirkell. His older brother, William, and he would go with their grandfather to the north field before they were big enough to be any help to him. Their grandfather's interest in them was no doubt partly due to the fact that he had no sons of his own, and that these were his first grandsons. On the farm at an early age, then, these boys learned such arts as handling horses, irrigating, cutting hay and grain with a scythe or a sickle, the binding of the grain into bundles, and many other useful things about the farm. Both became splendid farmers."

The older Darley boys had little schooling:

p. 54 - William: "I had very little schooling; I attended school only two or three months a year. ... I learned to read from the New Testament, and my spelling words were taken from the New Testament. I paid for my schooling with wood which I got from the canyon."

p. 229, about John: "His formal education was sketchy as he never got beyond the 'second reader' in school, but his practical education was almost limitless. He had a good memory and an analytical mind, and used both to educate himself by reading, talking with people, and by way of radio in his later years."

Brothers William H., Thomas, John, George, and Frederick later ran a dairy, popularly called the Darley Dairy. Their father William F. was "not adapted to farming", but stocked many of his sons' products in the co-op store that he ran. In the Darley book, p. 230: "It was remarked by one of the sons, 'Father kept us boys farming to keep the store from going on the rocks.'" It seems that these older Darley boys loved farming the land, in any case!

Photos: some of Papa Charley's elder siblings -- William H., Thomas, Clarinda, George and Frederick Darley

The Darleys' grandfather John Thirkell was a farmer, as shown here in the census, but he was also very active in the Church. According to the Darley book, he was ordained "a High Priest in Wellsville on the nineteenth of September, 1869." He also made the prophecy that a temple would be built where Logan Temple now stands, and that there would be "many houses and thousands of people in them" (p. 42-43). This was in 1857. More on John Thirkell, from the Darley book:

"John Thirkell was six feet tall and well built; his arms were long, his skin clear, and his eyes and hair brown. His teeth were so strong he could swing by them, and they were still good until his death at age seventy.

"After coming to Utah he still wore the short buckskin breeches, as they were called, that he had worn as a gamekeeper in England. When dried and shrunken after the rains and the washings, they were halfway up to his knees. It was in this attire that he stood, pointing to the northeast of Wellsville, or toward Logan, when he made the above prophecy." ... "One day while still living in Grantsville, a man asked John why he still wore the short buckskin pants; his answer was, 'For the same reason any man wears pants.'"

John Pinock Thirkell died April 10, 1884, in Wellsville, and was buried on April 13, 1884 in Wellsville City Cemetery. He was survived by four of his seven daughters, and he and his wife Mary had37 grandchildren, about 26 of whom lived to adulthood.

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The Maughans -- An important family in the community of Wellsville:

The Maughans were and are still a very influential family in Wellsville. In the Darley and Parkinson books they are mentioned many times as friends and spouses of various relatives, though they are not directly related to my particular branch of the family. Peter Maughan and his son, William Harrison Maughan, led the first scouting group that chose the site for the town. Peter later moved to Logan, but William became Bishop of Wellsville.

In this 1870 Wellsville census, in the 147^th family to be visited by the census enumerator:

(Maughans who married members of my family are in bold type)

• William Maughan, age 36, Bishop of Wellsville, born in England;

• Barbra Maughan, age 35, Keeping House, born in Wales;

• Their seven children, born in Utah: Ruth, 15, at school; Mary E., 13, a telegraph operator; Peter, 11; William, 9; Sarah, 7; Agnes, 5; and Thomas, 1;

Next door, in family no. 148:

• Elizabeth Maughan, age 38, Keeping House, born in Canada;

• Six children, all born in Utah: Emaria? (should be Emerine), 13, a telegraph operator; Margaret, 9, at school; John, 7; Daniel, 5; Alexander, 3; and Robert, 1;

Next door, in Wellsville family no. 149:

• Margaret Maughan, 27, Keeping House, born in Scotland;

• Three children, born in Utah: Martha, 6, at school; Jane, 4; and Esther, 1;

Next door, in the 150^th family visited by the enumerator:

• Mary Maughan, 23, Keeping House, born in Wales;

• One child, born in Utah: Catherine, age 1.

• Also 3 farm laborers: Joseph (Maughan?), age 20; John Coburn, age 26; and Joseph Fordham, age 28.

Rachel Barnes Woodward was William Maughan's fifth wife --

On checking the FamilySearch website to learn more about the Maughans, I was surprised to learn that William Harrison Maughan's fifth wife was Ma Pearlie's aunt, Rachel Barnes Woodward! She is shown above in the 1870 census still living with her parents, age 17. Her marriage to William H. Maughan was on Dec. 11, 1871. They had eight children, two of whom died as infants.

William H. Maughan had a total of six wives. As an esteemed leader of the community and financially suitable person, he would have been allowed by the Church to have a greater number of wives than most other men in Wellsville, who seem to have had either one or two wives.

The Maughans were friends and brothers-/sisters-in-law of my direct ancestors. Besides Rachel Barnes Woodward, three other relatives found in this census also married Maughans:

• Ellen Parkinson , age 3 here, niece of Timothy and Maria Parkinson; she grew up to marry Daniel Hill Maughan, age 5 here, son of William H. Maughan and Elizabeth Bryce Hill.

• William H. Darley , age 11 here, eldest son of William F. and Jemima Darley; he married Esther Nibley Maughan, age 1 here, daughter of William H. Maughan and Margaret Wilson Nibley.

• Clarinda (Chloe) Darley, age 3 here, eldest daughter of William F. and Jemima Darley; she grew up to marry Heber Lloyd Maughan, son of William H. Maughan and Mary Jane Lloyd (Heber is not shown here, although his older sister Catherine is here, age 1. Heber was born one year after this census).

On page 343 of the Parkinson book, Ma Pearlie lists her 11 close friends. The 12 girls nicknamed themselves the "dirty dozen", and there is a wonderful photo of them all. Two Maughan girls, Eva and Millie, were part of this group. I think they were the 8^th and 9^th children of William H. Maughan and his fourth wife, Mary Jane Lloyd. They were the younger sisters of Heber, who was married to Clarinda Darley.

Sarah Darley, Papa Charley's younger sister, was also one of Pearl Parkinson's close friends. The two friends would later be sisters-in-law.

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What are some of the most popular last names in Wellsville today? Today, Wellsville has a population of just under 3,000 – three times what it was in 1870. An internet white pages search of Wellsville showed the number of listed phone numbers registered to the following names (my four Wellsville family names, other early Wellsville names, and the U.S. 10 most common names of 1990 - Smith, Johnson, Williams, Jones, Brown, Davis, Miller, Wilson, Moore, and Taylor):

41 phones - Leishman

32 phones - Maughan

17 phones - Murray

15 phones - Parker

14 phones - Cooper, Glenn

12 phones - Archibald, Lindley

11 phones - Parkinson, Bailey

10 phones - Gunnell

9 phones - Leatham, Roberts, Jones, Johnson

8 phones - Wilson

7 phones - Darley, Smith, Mitton, Poppleton, Stuart

6 phones - Haslam

5 phones - Hill, Brown

4 phones - Allen, Bradshaw, Hendry

3 phones - Riggs, Miller, Thompson

2 phones - Stoddard, Woodward, Davis, Gardner, Bryan, Baxter, Robbins, Spence, Wyatt

1 phone - Baugh, Moore, Taylor, Williams, Williamson, Young, Stewart

No phones - Adamson, Barnes, Bickmore, Crowther, Eckersell, Edwards, Hamblin, Hughes, Jenkins, John, Nibley, Obery, Park, Pool, Ramsden, Rees, Stringham, Thirkell, Walters

I'm guessing this may represent about ¼ or more of the listed phone numbers of Wellsville, based on the population.

Of course, as the Thirkells had only daughters, it would be unlikely to find any Thirkells in Wellsville today! In fact, this search found no Thirkells listed in all of Utah, and only 38 in the whole U.S. However, the Darleys shown above are probably all descendants of Jemima Thirkell. In addition, some Mittons and others may be Thirkell descendents. Woodward is still represented in Wellsville, and the Parkinson and Darley names are still going strong!

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Go to top of page Wellsville families main page Home

This story will continue in Census Journey 13, a report on these families in the 1880 Wellsville census.

Sources:

• Timothy Parkinson and Ann Fielding: Their Ancestors and Descendants , Editors Virginia Parkinson Darley Miller and Larie Goss Cory, 1^st Edition, July 1972, Carr Printing Company, Bountiful, Utah

• William Frederick Darley and Jemima Brown Thirkell: Their Ancestors and Their Descendants, Published by the William Frederick Darley Family Organization, 1^st Edition, June 1965, Carr Printing Company, Bountiful, Utah

• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, internet genealogy search site: http://www.familysearch.org

• Wellsville history: http://www.media.utah.edu/UHE/w/WELLSVILLE.html

• Website about Peter Maughan: http://freepages.rootsweb.com/~pmaughan/index.htm

• Whitepages search: www.switchboard.com

• Census records at http://www.ancestry.com -- Census roll no. M593_1610, images 219 to 240.

• Email from Mrs. Arlene Maughan Henley (about Ellen Parkinson, Nov. 2002)