Joseph Spendlove Littleton Utah
Last update: Dec 27, 2005
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Joseph Spendlove: early settler of Littleton, Morgan, Utah
Source of following history: [email protected]
Leslie Griffith
The Story of
Joseph Spendlove of Stanion
Extracts of Joseph's journal here
FORWARD
The following history was compiled and published by J. Dewey Spendlove
and Alta C. Spendlove. A tremendous amount of genealogy work on the
Spendlove line is attributable to Dewey. This history is reproduced so
that clearer copies of text and computer copies could be generated. The
pictures are copies of copies and have lost some clarity; originals are
in possession of Dewey Spendlove.
The life of Joseph Spendlove and his wife Harriet Payne is of great
importance to his loved ones and descendants because most of the
interesting story of his life is given directly from the pages of his
diary and own writings as well as the many statements of his friends,
family, and church records.
THE BEGINNING
Joseph Spendlove of Stanion is the son of John and Mary Slawson
Spendlove. His wife, Harriet Payne of Medbourn is the daughter of
Cornelious and Ann Blount Payne.
Joseph Spendlove, an ardent missionary and one of the early settlers of
Littleton, Morgan County, Utah, was born the 18th day of December 1832
and christened the 20 January, 1833, in the old chapel at Stanion,
Northamptonshire, England. He was the sixth son and twelfth child of
fourteen children born to John and Mary Slawson Spendlove. The family
lived in a little two room adobe house built in the west end of this
small English town.
Joseph's birth was not proclaimed to any extent but the statement of
his 13 year old sister foretold the events in his life to be one of
great service and goodness to his loved ones and friend and to be a
strong influence in their lives in seeking the better way. "For," said
Mary, his sister, "my Mother named him Joseph after the great prophet
of the Bible because he was such a bright and quiet baby." Some four
years later, just before the death of their mother, Mary was told,
"Joseph will not be an unruly child to raise."
The memories of Mary Spendlove reveal that she was glad that her
brother, Joseph, was contented, most of the time, as a child for she
said, "He was a good natured baby and I was able to get my work done in
taking care of him and the home." According to her statements, Joseph
seldom smiled or laughed until he was some six years of age and then,
it seems, he became more normal in mind and spirit and joined in the
fun and games with the older children.
From the first year of his coming into the world, Joseph's life was
filled with many interesting and soul stirring events. If the spirit of
inspiration touched him more than it did his brothers and sisters
regarding these happenings that took place in his life, so that he
chose to record them and the story of his doings, in a day-by-day
diary. It was because he possessed an abundance of the spirit of the
Lord and was more in tune with the great plan of his maker and greatly
aware of the true spirit of his day. These spiritual qualities, in his
life, was noted early by his parents and loved ones.
Joseph records in his personal diary, "Not one of my brothers and
sisters have kept a record. I think this is the only one and I trust my
children will read it and profit by it." Joseph begins his diary, or
journal, in the following way (spelling has been corrected from the
original text), "In this journal my intentions are to set forth, in a
brief manner, my proceedings, as I walk through lift and I hope and
trust that I may so be blessed with the spirit of the Lord that I may
write those things that will be acceptable in the sight of Heaven. For
I feel and hope that in my later years these writings will be of great
worth to me and my children and my children's children after them
through the years."
The old church in Stanion, Northamptonshire, England has a cemetery in
the church yard where John and Mary Slawson Spendlove, Joseph's
parents, are buried and some of their children.
THE PARENTS
Joseph writes of his parents in book 1, page 1 and book 2, page 23.
"My father's name was John Spendlove. He was born in the village of
Stanion, on the 6th day of April 1793 (1794). He was a hard working man
and the father of a large family. He was a thick stout man about 5 ft.
6 inches tall with gray eyes and a stern disposition. He loved his
children and I can say he tried to teach us the things, in life, he
wanted us to do the best he know how. My father had narry a brother,
only three sisters-Mary, Ann, and Sarah. (Research in Stanion registers
show there were 6 in the family: Mary, Ann, Sarah, William, John, and
Susannah. William and Susannah died while young.)
My mother's name was Mary Saluston (Slawson). She was born in the
village of Corby, Northamptonshire, England, some two miles from
Stanion, in the year 1794. The day of the month she was born I know
not. (The Corby records show that Mary was christened the 5 October
1794, daughter of John and Mary Dixon Slawson.) My mother was kinda
tall and thin with gray eyes and a kind face. I am not sure, I was only
4 years old when she died. I remember one brother and one sister of my
mother's-Joseph and Rebecca. Whether she had any more, I do not know.
Joseph had one son, and Rebecca had three daughters. My mother never
heard the gospel while she was living and my father heard it but did
not know much about it. This is what I remember of my father and
mother." (Research on Corby records show the Slawson family as follows:
Joseph, Benjamin, John, Ann, Rebecca, and Mary all sons and daughters
of John and Mary Slawson.)
Joseph writes of his mother's death in book 1, page 5.
"Now when I was 4 years old, my mother died. In this my father was left
with a small family and no one to care for us but God and himself.
Mother had gone and would not return until the appointed time of the
Lord that took her. My sister, Mary, then cared for us."
The heartaches were many in the family after their mother's death. The
burdens that were placed upon the shoulders of Joseph's sisters, in the
caring for the children, the youngest only a few weeks old, were trying
ones indeed. As Joseph states in later years, "Perhaps mother died to
make us think and to be more strong in the problems of life."
"We had many happy hours together in our home. My father had one acre
of ground in which we raised a good garden and we all helped to take
care of it for him. My father never married again, but lived to be
about 66 years old.
After my mother was dead, the family began to separate one by one, as
the years went by. Now, I was taken very sick so when I was 9 years
old, I was confined to my bed and most of my friends thought I should
not live. It was about 14 days and I never spoke to anyone. By the
providence of God and his angels, I was restored again to my health and
strength. It was the Tipus (typhus) Fever that had effected my heart to
that extent that it took away my senses and when I got better, I did
not know that I had been ill. The Lord has given his angels to help me
and I now feel that he had a work for me to do and has told me that I
should live to do it. His angels have protected me many times so that I
could live to do this work."
BROTHERS AND SISTERS
Joseph gave no dates in recording his father's family, but he listed
the following names of his brother's and sister's, where they were born
and in the two room home rented by his father in Stanion, and how they
were raised.
"Now the names of my brother's and sister's: John was the eldest, then
Edward, Mary, William, Rebecca, Hannah, James, Joseph (myself),
Benjamin, and Ann. Two died young their names I know not and two were
still-born. My father was the father of a large family."
From the Parish registers of Stanion, received in 1935, a more complete list of Joseph's loved ones has been compiled:
John Born: 10 August 1816 Chr: 22 Dec. 1816
Edward Born: Chr: 13 Sept. 1818
Mary Born: Chr: 2 July 1820
William Born: Chr: 19 May 1822
Susannah Born: Aug. 1823 Buried: 24 Sept. 1824
Rebecca Born: 12 May 1825 Chr: 29 Nov. 1825
Hannah Born: Chr: 25 Feb. 1827
James Born: Chr: 16 Nov. 1828 Buried: 12 Feb. 1829
James Born: 17 Mar 1830 Chr: 15 Aug. 1830
Joseph Born: 18 Dec. 1832 Chr: 20 Jan 1833
Benjamin Born: Chr: 2 Mar. 1834
Ann Born: 18 May 1836 Chr: 23 May 1836
The two stillborn children mentioned were not listed on the registers of Stanion and remain unnamed.
After his mother's death, his sisters Mary, Rebecca, and Hannah
provided the care and help the family needed in the home until they had
all left or were married. "I can remember how my sister, Mary, cooked
our food and took care of our clothes," Joseph wrote, "and my brother
William doing all he could to help my father in the loss of my dear
mother. Edward was an unruly boy and caused my father and Mary much
trouble until he left home and went to Sheffield to work. My brother
John went to Leicester to work. My brother Benjamin got married and
then he later went to Australia."
FAMILY LIFE
Of Joseph's early life, there are few events recorded and most of these
are taken from his own writings. The home life was much the same as in
most parts of England. Family living was close and children were loved,
but strongly made to obey. "We spoke when we were spoken to," said
Joseph.
As a boy, Joseph remembered the event of Queen Victoria and her nobles
coming to the town of Corby and of his going to see her as she and her
court passed by. "It was a grand sight," he wrote. He was very much
impressed with this lovely Queen and spoke well of her, "Queen Victoria
was loved by all and she let the poor Elders come into England and
preach the gospel and protected them when ever she could."
Joseph mentions playing games such as tag, ring-around-the-Maypole, toss over, hide and seek, and some running games.
After his tenth birthday, Joseph states that he had very few hours for
play and spent his time helping his father and working for the farmers
near his home.
"Today, I received a letter from John H. Payne, my nephew. He is living
at Little Oakley about 2 miles from Stanion where I was born. I know
the road to Gt. and Lt. Oakley very well. I have traveled it many times
to visit my aunts and uncles. I used to work there when I was a small
boy herding pigs in the field and scarring the birds from the grain
before the harvest. There were tens of thousands of them in that part
of the country where I lived. They would destroy the crops if not kept
off. I spent many days at this work."
At the age of 14, Joseph left the enduring warmth of family ties and
went out to service at Medbourn in Leicestershire. He bid his father
and sisters good bye. He writes of this in book 1 of his diary.
"When I was about the age of 14, I left my father's family and went out
to service at Medbourn in Leicestershire, 10 miles from Stanion. There,
I stayed for 4 years and worked for Mr. Letts. I was hired to Mr. Letts
and my father received part of my pay. He owned some 250 acres of land.
He was not a hard man to work for but strict in his way. There were 10
laborers on his farm."
SCHOOLING
Joseph's schooling was very limited, as was the case for many of the
children in his day. Although he did learn to read and write very well
and this he acquired after his 14th birthday, he held a very skeptic
though, at first, toward education. In book 1, page 5, he writes, "Now
in my younger days, I had no learning worth naming. I never learnt much
in a school in my life for I thought that the time I spent learning
would never be of any profit to me, in life, and only what I needed for
my work." It was not until after his conversion to the gospel and his
marriage that he began to realize what a great help it would be to have
received a good education.
In his later life, he took an active part in the community to help
build good schools for the children and he obtained many good books and
subscribed to several newspapers, even one from England, and these he
had come to his home. He delighted in reading them to his wife and she
to him. His was one of the few homes in Littleton, Utah, that took so
many newspapers and his neighbors said that they loved to visit him for
one reason-to read the interesting items they contained.
"None of my brother's and sister's could read or write very well," he
wrote, "and whenever I received a letter from one of my brother's it
was usually written by someone else." His sister, Ann, wrote to him
often and was perhaps the best educated of the family. Perhaps this was
one of the reasons that Joseph was the only one of his loved ones that
kept a diary.
COURTSHIP
While working for Mr. Letts, at Medbourn, there were two events, among
many, that were to shape the destiny of Joseph's world and change the
course of his life. These two events are recorded in his diary. One
event was the meeting of his future wife and the other his conversion
to the L.D.S. Church.
In book 5, page 39, written in 1908, Joseph records the first meeting of his future wife:
"The letter from John Payne, my nephew, made me think of the time I
made my first acquaintance with the Payne family. It was in the Spring
of 1847 in the month of March, I believe, in the village of Medbourn.
It was one moonlight evening I met, with some other girls, my dear
wife, Harriet. She was a girl of 14 years old but pretty and beautiful
to look at. I took her hand, after the game, in mine and in my heart I
loved her and my love has never went from my heart from that day to
this. I know the angels whispered to me that she was meant for me and I
have never doubted it."
In book 2, page 129, he writes:
"Now I want to say when I first made acquaintance with Harriet, my
wife, she was but a little over 14 years of ages. She had a beautiful
head of curly brown hair and red rosy cheeks. She was hired to a man by
the name of Letts. Her father worked for the same man. We lived close
to the home of mother Page and she had two girls about the same age and
they all worked together at what, that time, was called 'the lace
works.' I oft times used to have a little fun with them. It was with
them and some others there. This was when I first met my wife, Harriet.
They labored at their work all day and in the evening would make a run
for it. It was then we would have some little games on the play ground
in the old village of Medbourn where I lived for four years."