PETTIT, Mary Alice^{[1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15]}

1864 - 1944  (80 years)  Submit Photo / Document

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• Name	PETTIT, Mary Alice
  Birth	9 Feb 1864	Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States   [4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15]
  Gender	Female
  WAC	12 Nov 1884	LOGAN
  _TAG	Reviewed on FS
  Death	16 Oct 1944	Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States   [12, 13, 14, 15]
  Burial	19 Oct 1944	Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States   [13, 14, 15]
  Headstones	Submit Headstone Photo
  Person ID	I51401	Joseph Smith Sr and Lucy Mack Smith
  Last Modified	19 Aug 2021

  
  

  Family ID

  F25710

  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	ASHTON, Brigham Willard ,   b. 11 Sep 1858, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United Statesd. 25 Aug 1912, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States (Age 53 years)
  Marriage	12 Nov 1884	Logan, Cache, Utah, United States   [5]
  Children	1. ASHTON, Blanchard Pettit ,   b. 24 Aug 1893, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United Statesd. 31 Jul 1922, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States (Age 28 years)
  Family ID	F7951	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	24 Jan 2022

  
  

• Photos

  At least one living or private individual is linked to this item - Details withheld.

  
  

• Notes

  Mary Alice Pettit was a daughter of Brower Pettit and Lucinda Abrams Pettit who were natives of Hempstead, Nassau County, Long Island, N. Y. Angus Canon and Wilford Woodruff came to that area as Missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and met in the home of Brower Pettit’s Father, Ezra Pettit. It was there that Ezra Pettit and his wife Sarah (Salley), and Brower Pettit were converted to the church. In 1862 they left their home and family and came to Utah with the Pioneers. By that time Brower Pettit had married Lucinda Abrams who had also joined the church. They came by train to Florence, Nebraska and the rest of the way by oxen and wagons. The total trip took 6 months to make it to Utah. After they arrived in Utah, a daughter, Mary Alice Pettit was born to Brower and Lucinda Abrams Pettit on 9 Feb 1864. The family lived in the 15th ward of Salt Lake City. Mary Alice was the 4th of 6 children who ultimately were part of their family. When Mary Alice was 2 ½ years old, her mother Lucinda went back to New York to visit her family and she took Mary Alice with her. The other children in the family did not go because the President of the Church warned of Indian problems that were being experienced. And because of the Indian problems, they stayed in New York for 2 years before returning back to Utah. When they did leave to come back to Utah, Lucinda’s brother, Lewis Sanford Abrams, had also joined the Mormon Church, AND had married Phebe Amelia Pettit, who also was Mormon, and they traveled back with Lucinda and Mary Alice as they returned home. Mary Alice (age 4 ½ years old) got the nick-name “Lollie” while traveling back to Utah with her Uncle Sanford, and that name stuck with her for the rest of her life. Mary Alice (Lollie) Pettit was baptized at age 10 in Burton’s Fish Pond. When she was 11, her family moved to Mendon, Utah on a farm. She carried eggs from their farm to the store to sell and exchange for groceries and dry goods. One day while riding a horse to the store with the eggs, the horse threw her off and all of the eggs that day were broken. Mary Alice (Lollie) as she grew, was made a teacher in Sunday School. Her family moved back to Salt Lake to a farm in Pleasant Green. She attended school until she was 13 years old. After that, she attended only a couple of quarters each year as that was all that the family could afford. Families had to pay a certain amount for each quarter. She learned the sewing skill and worked for a full year without pay learning the Dressmaking trade, and afterwards was employed in a Dressmaker’s shop where she worked until she was married. She married Brigham Willard Ashton, son of Edward Ashton and Jane Treharne Ashton on 12 Nov 1884 in the Logan Temple as the Salt Lake Temple was still under construction at the time. It was at this time people learned that her real name was Mary Alice, as she had always been called Lollie since her childhood. She and her husband Brigham lived in a small, but new 4 room house in the 15th ward; and they were proud of it. Their 1st child, a daughter, named Lollie, was born in this house. Mary Alice did some sewing on the side to help out with the expenses. After 3 years they moved a bit closer to the city as the water system had been extended and they wanted to have it close to the door of their home. Their 2nd child, Willard was born while living in this home. And a bit later they moved to a new home Brigham had built in the Forest Dale area. The street on which this house was built was named Ashton Ave. as they were the first home to be built there. Seven other children were born while living in this new home. They were (1) Blanchard, (2) Lucinda, (3) Edward Georg or Ted, (4) Jedadiah Lewis or Jed, (5) Georgia, (6) Milton, and (7) Claude. Mary Alice and Brigham lived in this home for 20 years. Mary Alice had to carry water from a neighbor’s home to her home for all uses, including washing and also to provide for the cows and a horse. One day after she brought the water and had started the washing, she had to go into the house to take care of the twins, Ted and Jed. While she was gone, the cows came from the back of the house and drank all of her wash water, suds and all. She served in the Relief Society and in the Mutual while living there. Then one day Brigham came home and said they were moving to a new home on 8th East and Garfield Ave Brigham had served some years as a contractor and had skills to do carpentry work. But he had left the contracting work many years earlier when he had gotten very sick, almost to death. He and his partner had signed a contract to build a $12,000 building before his sickness. By the time he was well enough to work again, the contract had been forfeited (no one quite knew why), and Brigham took responsibility for repaying the money lost. $12,000 was a lot of money in those days. His partner did not want any part in this loss and had left town. Brigham then went back to teaching school and doing other part-time work in the evenings. Mary Alice took in sewing to help with the finances. Brigham placed a bid on the old “Mill School” house when the county decided to sell it, and won the bid. He removed all the interior walls and made the place over for a home for the family. Remodeling this old school to make it a comfortable home was a tremendous job. A Few years earlier Brigham had been elected as the County Commissioner of Education. This responsibility was great, and he was trying to remodel this new home in addition. In May 1911 one of the twins, Ted, came down with Typhoid Fever. Cures for such were not well developed in those days. Ted died at age 12 and it was a severe blow to all of the family and especially to his mother, Mary Alice. It took away the joy of many things that were happening at the time. Brigham finished putting in all the windows and doors and had the house so the family could enjoy its comforts. Mary Alice and her daughter, Lollie, did all the painting except for the front room which Brigham painted. Brigham took an all day horse and buggy trip to visit all of the schools in his area, on Aug 22, 1912, to inspect and to be sure they were all ready for the new school year that would start very soon. The trip was successfully completed and all seemed well. BUT A SUDDEN SHOCK TO EVERYONE. BRIGHAM WILLARD ASHTON DIED ON SUNDAY 25AUGUST 1912 after only 3 days of a serious illness. He was just 54 years 11 ½ months old at the time of his death. He left his wife, Mary Alice, with 8 children and an unfinished home. Mary Alice now was responsible for caring for the 8 children alone. The house was finished by the family under Mary Alice’s direction and was furnished as well as could be. The funeral for Brigham was very large and many fine tributes were paid to this man who had become known as the “Father of Consolidation.” He had championed the move to combine the small church schools that existed in Utah into larger institutions. Brigham had organized the Granite High School and was at the peak of this endeavor when he passed away. He was honored with a beautiful monument paid for by the Students and Teachers placed on his bureal lot in the Salt Lake City Cemetery. This pleased Mary Alice greatly and she loved and honored his memory throughout her life. The children grew and married, with 2 exceptions: Lollie Ashton, who stayed with her mother all her life. Lollie, the daughter, actually helped provide for her Mother until she died. A terrible accident occurred when son, Blanchard, and daughter, Georgia, drowned at a Church party in Idaho, on the Snake River on 31 Jul 1922. Both were good swimmers. Georgia disappeared first and Blanchard tried to find her and he also drowned. It was terribly upsetting to all the family. Mary Alice traveled to the homes of her children often. All of her children had a High School Educations and 4 of them attended the University of Utah. All of her children were taught to be active in the Church and they stayed faithful throughout their lives and to their deaths. Mary Alice worked in the Relief Society and in the Daughter of the Pioneers until she died. She read many of the best books. She sewed and taught her daughters and granddaughters to sew. She and Lollie spent one summer in California. She went with James and Lucinda to the Canyons of Southern Utah; to Yellowstone National Park with Willard, and many trips to the farm in Idaho. One summer, Mary Alice, Claude and Pearl and Lollie went east to Long Island, New York and visited Mary Alice’s family there. That was the only time she was able to visit family from the time she was there when she was two years old. They were very happy to see her, but most of the older folks were dead, and it was their children she met with. Mary Alice always said her greatest desire in the world is, “That all her children will grow into the kind of men and women she would like them to be, good fathers and mothers, loyal American citizens, and good honest Latter-day Saints.” On Sunday, 15 Oct 1944, Mary Alice Pettit visited with family in her home and when meeting time came, she went to meeting. She shook hands with those who were there. She returned home and she and Lollie were going to enjoy the evening. She sat in the big chair where she always sat. She had been there about 10 minutes when she had a cerebral Hemorrhage. Children and a few neighbors were called in but she did not regain consciousness. She died very peacefully the next day, Monday Evening at 7:10 pm on 16 Oct 1944 at her home at 1886 South 8th East. Mary Alice Pettit Ashton had 3 sisters and 2 brothers. She had 9 children, 22 Grandchildren, and 14 Great Grandchildren. She was a widow for 32 years.

  
  

• Sources

  [S101] GEDCOM file imported on 18 Oct 2001. [S103] GEDCOM file imported on 23 Sep 2002. [S32] Unknown, (Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members.), Ancestry Family Tree. http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=32128504&pid=13562 [S232] Ancestry.com, Unknown, (Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006.Original data - Thirteenth Census of the United States, 1910 (NARA microfilm publication T624, 1,178 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Wa), Year: 1910; Census Place: Forest Dale, Salt Lake, Utah; Roll: T624_1604; Page: 11B; Enumeration District: 0076; FHL microfilm: 1375617. [S231] Ancestry.com, Unknown, (Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.Original data - United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Twelfth Census of the United States, 1900. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1900. T623, 1), Year: 1900; Census Place: Sugarhouse, Salt Lake, Utah; Roll: 1685; Page: 23A; Enumeration District: 0064; FHL microfilm: 1241685. [S162] Ancestry.com, Unknown, (Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.Original data - Original sources vary according to directory. The title of the specific directory being viewed is listed at the top of the image viewer page. Check the directory tit). [S803] Ancestry.com, Unknown, (Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.Original data - 1870 U.S. census, population schedules. NARA microfilm publication M593, 1,761 rolls. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Recor), Year: 1870; Census Place: Salt Lake City Ward 15, Salt Lake, Utah Territory; Roll: M593_1611; Page: 669B; Image: 686; Family History Library Film: 553110. [S851] Unknown, (Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 1880 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010. 1880 U.S. Census Index provided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ), Year: 1880; Census Place: Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah; Roll: 1337; Family History Film: 1255337; Page: 70A; Enumeration District: 044. [S192] Ancestry.com, Unknown, (Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.Original data - Fourteenth Census of the United States, 1920. (NARA microfilm publication T625, 2076 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Rec), Year: 1920; Census Place: Salt Lake City Ward 1, Salt Lake, Utah; Roll: T625_1866; Page: 16A; Enumeration District: 95; Image: 77. [S157] Ancestry.com, 1930 United States Federal Census, (Ancestry.com Operations Inc), Year: 1930; Census Place: Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah; Roll: 2419; Page: 15A; Enumeration District: 25; Image: 185.0; FHL microfilm: 2342153. [S156] Ancestry.com, Unknown, (Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.Original data - United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1940. T62), Year: 1940; Census Place: Salt Lake, Salt Lake, Utah; Roll: T627_4224; Page: 4B; Enumeration District: 30-47. [S429] Ancestry.com, Unknown, (Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010.Original data - Bureau of Vital Statistics. Utah Death Index, 1847-1966. Salt Lake City, UT, USA: Utah Department of Health. View Complete Source List.Original data: Bureau of Vital St), Utah State Archives and Records Service; Salt Lake City, UT; Utah State Archives and Records Service; File Number #: 1944004051. [S602] Ancestry.com, Unknown, (Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.Original data - This index was created from cemetery inscriptions and records from the Salt Lake City Cemetery located at 200 N. Street, Salt Lake City, Utah.Original data: This index ). [S168] Utah State Historical Society, comp., Unknown, (Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2000.Original data - Utah State Historical Society. Utah Cemetery Inventory. Salt Lake City, UT, USA: 2000.Original data: Utah State Historical Society. Utah Cemetery Inventory. Salt Lake C). [S160] Ancestry.com, Unknown, (Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013.Original data - Headstone Search. BillionGraves. http://billiongraves.com/.Original data: Headstone Search. BillionGraves. http://billiongraves.com/.).