[From "Glimpses" Compiled by Lyle Rawlins]

Early life of Sarah Adeline Lindsay

(From the Ancestors & Descendants of Lt. Daniel & Mary (Marks) Burbank)

On November 6, 1851, on the plains of Missouri in Pottawattamie County a baby girl was born. She was named Sarah Adeline Lindsay and known to her associates as Adeline. Her father, Edwin Reuben Lindsay, was born in Johnstown, Leeds, Ontario, Canada. This was described as a beautiful place, with trees, flowers, and grass. Fat cattle grazed on the meadows. The people had good homes, but the family was not content. They moved to the Untied States, settling first in Galena, Illinois. In 1839 they moved to Wisconsin later Edwin Reuben moved to Nauvoo, Illinois. Sarah's mother Tabitha Cragun was the daughter of Elisha and Mary (Osborn) Cragun, both of whom died and were buried on the plains after leaving Nauvoo.

Grandmother came to Utah as an infant in 1852. The family first lived in Centerville, Utah. They next moved to Kaysville and again to Brigham City. Sarah grew up as other pioneer children, with plenty of work and very little education. She has a sweet voice and learned to play the accordion, but was very shy about doing either for the entertainment of others.

In Brigham City, she met a young man by the name of Daniel Mark Burbank, Jr., whom she later married. It is said that her father once told Grandpa that he would give him his oldest daughter for a certain amount of work. Like Jacob of old, he received his pay. They were married in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City on 20 April 1867. Grandpa was just over 14 years old at the time. They settled in Brigham City. Their first household furniture would perhaps seem crude, but none could have been more appreciated. The handiwork of the young husband proved useful for nearly all the furniture made by him. The wooden block plane that he used to plane the boards is in the city hall of Montpelier, Idaho to this day.

Shortly after her first baby was born her mother died leaving twin babies. These she took and tried to raise, but later they both died. About 1874 or 1875 they moved to Deweyville, Utah. They lived in Deweyville for twelve years. In the meantime grandpa married a second time, a sister of Adeline, Mary Jane Lindsay. At the time of the crusade against plural marriage, he took Adeline and family to Bear Lake County, Idaho, settling in Bennington. Her home was built up on the hill next to the mountain by a little cold spring. This was about three miles from the town. The location was a very pretty place in the summer, but impossible to get away from in the winter. The children went to school in a bob-sleigh, going over the fences on top of the snow in the coldest weather.

Grandpa and Grandma had twelve children, six sons and six daughters. It was very hard to get the bare necessities of life. Very often the grain would be frozen and the farmers had to fight continuously to save it from squirrels and other pests. Grandma would take in washings and ironing a, piece quilts and sew carpet rags on shares. She had a large spinning wheel about four feet in diameter which had to be run with her hand. On this she would spin yarn far into the night, standing by the wheel and using the light of candles. Often she would spin the wool on shares to get yarn for knitting stockings for the children. She would take the children and gather wool off the fences where the sheep had gone through, spin it into yarn or cord it into batta for quilts. In the fall of the year, she and the children would go into the grain fields and gather the heads of grain that were missed by the binders, put them into sacks, then feed these heads to the chickens in the winter. She gathered wild fruit for herself or sold it for a little necessary money.

The first break in the family came on 7 December 1896. Daniel Mark and Sarah Adeline were in church when a messenger came saying there had been an accident. Uncle Joseph, who was about fourteen, had found the muzzle loading shot gun which had been carefully hidden, and in attempting to load it, was shot. He died a few hours later.

After the first of August, 1908, word was received that David, who had married and moved to Canada, was very ill. With money that had been laid away a little at a time, they went to Canada, arriving just a few minutes before the funeral. He died August 5, 1908.

Grandma was very active both physically and mentally all her life. She was very timid about taking part in a public way but did what was asked of her the best that she could. She was a district teacher in the Relief Society for many years, iri which she was very faithful. Grandpa and Grandma celebrated their Golden Wedding Anniversary in 1917.

At this time the children were nearly all home. She died just two years and a few months later, November 16, 1919 (68 years and 10 days old) and was buried in the Bennington, Idaho Cemetery.

Children by (1) wife, Sarah Adeline Lindsay

  1. Sarah Abigail, born 11 November, 1868, Brigham City, Utah.
  2. Mary Adeline, born 17 November, 1870, Brigham City, Utah.
  3. Daniel Lindsay, born 24 July 1873, Brigham City, Utah.
  4. David Lindsay, born 24 March, 1875, Deweyville, Utah.
  5. Alba Lindsay, born 28 April, 1877, Deweyville, Utah.
  6. Adell Lindsay, born 11 December, 1879, Deweyville, Utah.
  7. Joseph William , born 19 July, 1882, Deweyville, Utah; died 7 December, 1896, Bennington, Idaho, age fourteen years.
  8. Olive Lindsay, born 11 November, 1884, Deweyville, Utah.
  9. Hyrum Lindsay, born 8 October, 1886, Deweyville, Utah.
  10. Chester Lindsay, born 12 December, 1889, Bennington, Idaho. (Twin)
  11. Lester Lindsay, born 12 December, 1889, Bennington, Idaho. (Twin)
  12. Dorothy Lyona , born 18 August, 1892, Bennington, Idaho.

Children by (2) wife, Mary Jane Lindsay

  1. Edwin Lindsay, born 7August, 1871, Brigham City, Utah, died 15 August 1871, age 8 days.
  2. Emma Tabitha , born 7 September, 1872, Brigham City, Utah.
  3. Laura, born 7 November 1874, Deweyville, Utah.
  4. Esther Lindsay, born 13 March, 1877, Deweyville, Utah.
  5. Cora May, born 1 July, 1879, Brigham City, Utah
  6. Rachel, born 15 May, 1882, Deweyville, Utah.
  7. Reuben Lindsay, born 28 March, 1885, Deweyville, Utah, died 17 September, 1906, Bennington, Idaho, age 21 years, 5 months, 19 days.
  8. Ephriam Lindsay, born 14 October, 1888, Deweyville, Utah.
  9. Trisha Lindsay, born 16 April 1896, Bennington, Idaho, died 11 January, 1902, Bennington, Idaho, aged 5 years, 8 months, 26 days.

 

Back to top