Charlotte Emily Newman Talbot Grandmother of Isabell Church Cooper

Introduction:  This is the life history of Charlotte Talbot.  She and her husband have an interesting story:  They were converts of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  Their journey from England was a hard one. They lost a child after arriving in America.  They were called to settle many struggling communities in Southern Utah.  Her husband was one of the Quilt Walk pioneers.   


William and Charlotte Talbot

Charlotte Emily Newman was born on March 10, 1835 in Linkenholt, Berkshire, England to Mary Ann Wesson and Henry Newman.  She married William Talbot on October 12, 1850.  William had become a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints that same year, but Charlotte did not yet belong to the Church.  Shortly after their marriage, she was taken ill and dreamed if she was not baptized that very day she would die.  Charlotte told her husband about her dream and he related it to Elder Ward.  After dark that night the two men carried her some distance to a beautiful little lake and there baptized her.  When she came out of the water, she was instantly healed and walked in her wet clothes to Brother Ward's home several miles away.  There she changed her clothes, ate a good supper and walked home.  She never had a cause to doubt the gospel she had embraced. They remained in their native land until the year 1854.  In December of that year they sailed for America.  They sailed from Liverpool with their two small children, Orson and Mark.

The British Saints had been scheduled to sail to America on the ship “Helios” which was set to sail from Liverpool on November 23, 1854.  During the night there was a storm and the ship was damaged when a small ship called a ‘brig’ collided with the “Helios” breaking the ship’s bulwarks.  The passengers had to find lodging until they could board another ship.  They spent about two months in Liverpool with poor living conditions and a scanty diet until the health of many people had deteriorated.  They finally left Liverpool on January 17, 1855 on a clipper ship, the “Charles Buck” with 403 members of the Church.


Many of the members of the Church were coming to America with the aid of the Church's Perpetual Immigration Fund, the debt being worked off by the recipient once they arrived.  The Church would charter ships for large groups of church members and would stock the ship with provisions for those people.  The provisions stocked on the "Helios" had been described as "excellent and unusually comfortable and a liberal amount."  When they had to leave the "Helios," the provisions were withheld from them by the captain of the ship.  He instead provided them with raw oatmeal, course biscuit, a little rice and flour.  After sailing for about six weeks they began to run out of supplies and the passengers were placed on short allowance of provisions.  This was two weeks before their arrival in New Orleans.  For several days many of the Saints had nothing to eat but oatmeal cakes or porridge, and for three days only two quarts of water was served out to each passenger.  The Talbot history describes the trip as a very rough voyage with much storm.  During this ocean voyage Charlotte and her infant child were very sick.  She was not able to sit up or take care of her baby.

After a very long and trying voyage they landed in St. Louis on the morning of March 14, 1855.  Orson turned three years old the day they landed in St. Louis.  A few days after landing the baby (8 mos), Mark died.  William then became very ill which prevented them from continuing their journey to Salt Lake.  Many of the passengers of the ship came down with cholera.  They were not in very good condition after having to spend several months in poor living conditions in Liverpool, then without sufficient nutrition on their voyage.  Their weakened physical state probably left them vulnerable to the cholera.  As soon as possible they started, crossing the plains with an ox team.  These dear souls passed through all the trying scenes of such a journey.  When they arrived in Fort Bridger, nearly everything they owned was burned.  Can you imagine this loss; losing all they owned after all the previous trials of the journey? 


They arrived in Salt Lake in the fall of 1855, the year of the cricket farming when there was but little raised to sustain life.  Roots were dug to eat and to pay rent.  William spent three days trying to spend fifteen cents for something to eat, but could not get anything.  Heber C. Kimball had a little flour which he rationed out as far as it would go.  Families received a cup of flour a day.


In the year of 1856 they were called to Parowan, Iron County, whey they farmed for a Bishop William Darne.  A small house was built in March, 1857, this was their first home since leaving England.  Daughter Lydia was born on March 19, 1857.  Another daughter was born in Parowan.  Rhoda Jane was born on August 26, 1858 and died two days later on the 28^th.


In the fall of 1860, a call came for them to settle Dixie.  Charlotte had just given birth to Thomas on March 6 of that year.  They willingly left their little home and obeyed the call.  At the beginning of the journey the weather was good, but on reaching Hamilton Fort, it started to rain and continued raining for days.  The water was so thick it was like mud.  Their drinking water had to be hauled for some distance which was no easy task.  The children suffered much at times for a drink.  The rain subsided after a few days and the journey was continued as far as Kanarra where it again began to rain so hard that it was impossible to travel down the Black Ridge, so the family remained in Kanarra for the winter.


Spring came with Charlotte in poor health.  William wrote a letter to the First Presidency of the Church telling them their condition and asked if they still wished them to go on.  The answer was no, that they had made the sacrifice and was now at liberty to settle where it suited them best.


The family went back as far as Cedar City, Iron County, and lived there for a short time.  Their son, William, was born on June 16, 1862.  Afterwards they moved to Summit, Iron County where their last daughter, Charlotte Emily (our ancestor) was born on Jan 4, 1864.


In March 1864, the family started for Panguitch.  The Indians were on the war path so people were not allowed to travel over Bear Valley without a company.  They had a week layover in Paragonah waiting for a company of people to form who were going to Panguitch to make homes for their families.


People in Panguitch were extremely poor and there was little flour in the place.  Wheat was boiled and also pig weeds.  Wheat was ground between two flat stones to make mush.  Charlotte had a few potatoes which she divided with her neighbors.  Some of the children were so hungry, they would get the potato peelings out of the swill buckets and eat them.  There was very little food raised the first year and none too much the second year. 


More trouble with the Indians began and it was not long until the people had to leave their crops and all that had been done to settle Panguitch.   


A call came to go to Circleville to help strengthen the place.  The meeting house was given to William for his quarters.  A number of families lived together there.  They only stayed in Circleville one week.  A number of families were going to Parowan with their grists to the flour mill.  William and his family went with them where they stayed that summer.  They then moved to Beaver where they lived until 1879.


Once again they moved back to Panguitch and lived there the remainder of their days.  William and Charlotte Talbot were the parents of seven children, two died in infancy.   The youngest daughter's personal history, (Charlotte Church), describes her mother (Charlotte Talbot) as a cripple.  The history states that Charlotte, (the daughter), took care of the Talbot family.   


Charlotte Emily Newman died on December 15, 1892 at the age of 67.  She is buried in the Panguitch Cemetery.