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| Charlotte Smith and John Wright |
Charlotte Smith
Charlotte was born in Huntingshire, England. She along with her parents, were members of the Methodist Church. She married John Wright when she was 20. They joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1854. Their first two children had died, so it was with happy hearts in 1856, that they took their new baby to the LDS Church and there hear the elders promise the child a long life and give him the name of Hyrum Issac Wright.
John and Charlotte’s greatest desire was to take their family to Utah, the headquarters of the Church. Through help from the Perpetual Immigration Fund, their joy was full when they boarded the Ship Arkwright in early 1866, with their three children. John was 35 years old, Charlotte was 36, Hyrum was 10, John, Jr., was 7 and Sarah Ann was not yet 3. About four weeks out to sea an epidemic of measles broke out among the children. Hyrum and John recovered from their measles. Little Sarah Ann remained sick and weak. Each day she became worse. Charlotte pleaded with God to let her child live, if only to be buried in Mother Earth, and not at sea where huge sharks followed the ship.
After almost eight weeks on the water, they landed in New York and from there traveled by railroad to Omaha, Nebraska. They joined a company of saints to travel by covered wagon to Utah. While in Omaha, Sara Ann died. Charlotte sat in a shelter of some trees and held her dead child in her arms until morning where she was buried in a board coffin that was hurriedly made. The next morning the family left Omaha and traveled by ox team across the plains. They arrived in Salt Lake City in October 1866, and then traveled south to Pleasant Grove, finally settling in Lindon, Utah.
Charlotte and John were married 43 years. They had 9 children, five living to maturity. She was a widow for three years. Her granddaughter said, “She was very industrious. After churning all morning, she would walk to American, Fork, Utah with her butter and eggs to trade for groceries. She walked along the railroad tracks.” She died at the age of 66
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