Ralph Partington
BORN: 16 March 1806 Skippool, Lancashire, England
MARRIED: Ann Taylor
Died: 7 March 1873 Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, USA
Burial: Salt Lake City Cemetery Salt Lake City Salt Lake County Utah, USA
Ellen Maria Partington William Edward Partington Sarah Jane Partington Catherine Ann Taylor (wife of Ralph)
Ralph Partington (March 16, 1806 – March 7, 1873)[1] was a Mormon pioneer.
Ralph Partington was born in Skippool, Lancashire, England, and was married to Ann Taylor. Taylor was among the first English women to join the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints when she was baptized in the River Ribble in 1837.[2] The couple emigrated to Nauvoo, Illinois, with their four children aboard the ship Swanton in 1843. Ann bore a child en route.[3]
When they landed in Nauvoo, the couple both came down with malaria,[4] which kept them from supporting their family. Neighbors Willard and Jeanetta Richards adopted their eight-year-old daughter Ellen to help ease the burden. She was later sealed as the Richards' daughter in the Nauvoo Temple. Another neighbor took the newborn baby, which soon died. When the couple regained health in 1845, Partington found work as a carpenter and Ann gave birth to another child.
When mobs forced the Mormons from Nauvoo in the winter of 1846, the Partingtons ended up across the river in Montrose, Iowa, with no provisions. Instead of heading west with the main body of Latter Day Saints (including Ellen and the Richards family), they moved to St. Louis where Partington found more carpentry work.[5] While there they had another baby, which died at 5 months.
From St. Louis, Partington sent clothing and shoes to Ellen before she crossed the plains with the Richards family.[2] She married in 1851 at age 16 years and 9 months. By 1853, the Partingtons had enough money to leave for Utah. When they arrived in Salt Lake City, Ellen had an 11-month-old child. Their daughter Catherine married Hugh Findlay.
Ralph Partington and Ann Taylor: Pioneers
Complied by Julie Robinson Smith in 2014
Born on 16 March 1806 in Skipool, Poulton le Fylde, Lancashire, England to William Partington and Ellen Esther Seeds, Ralph would very likely have been exposed to maritime activity and mill manufacturing which dominated life in this place and time. His hometown was nestled in the bend of the Wyre River which was an artery very near several ports thriving with commerce due to trade with the West Indies. Flax and cotton were brought to the busy Lancashire mills and commodities of all types such as rum, sugar, and slaves were exported. Smugglers also were abundant. Ralphs early life must have been colorful if only in observation to all going on about him.
Ann Taylor, daughter of William Taylor and Catherine Makepeace was born 1 May 1810 in Maidenhead, near London, England and it was there that she met and married Ralph. The couple settled in Preston, Lancashire, England where they welcomed two daughters Catherine (named after grandmother Taylor) and Ellen (named after grandmother Partington). Ann met the missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and became one of the first women in England to embrace the restored gospel. She was baptized in the River Ribble in 1837.
Three more children joined the Partington family while living in Preston. They were William Edward (named after his grandfather Partington), Henry Ralph (his father’s namesake) and Sarah Jane. Just before Christmas, baby Henry died at nine months of age. Ralph did not share Ann’s faith in the new religion, but she eventually convinced him to join her in emigrating to American to live among the Saints in Nauvoo. Ann was so determined to go to Zion that when Ralph finally agreed, she boarded the Ship Swanton in January of 1842, despite the fact that she was due to deliver their fifth child at any time. Just as the ship set sail outside Liverpool, Ann delivered another son naming him Joseph Hyrum! The journey across the ocean and then up river and over land was very difficult and little baby Joseph Hryum died just after arriving in Nauvoo in Illinois where the family suffered severely from “ague” or Malaria.
Ralph and Ann struggled desperately with illness. They were completely bedridden and unable to work to support their family for a time. Another baby James Taylor was born. Eventually Ralph regained his health and worked as a carpenter on the Nauvoo Temple. It was at this time in September of 1845 that Ralph finally received a witness, after the trial of his faith, and was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. When the Extermination Order was issued demanding the Saints leave Nauvoo, Ralph and Ann were among the poor Saints forced from their Nauvoo homes during the summer of 1846. Their house still stands in Nauvoo (located on lot 2 on the northwest corner of block 103 on the corner of Partridge and White streets.) The Partingtons crossed the river to Montrose, Iowa, knowing they lacked the provisions to continue. Like many Nauvoo Saints, instead of crossing Iowa, they ventured 190 miles down the river to St. Louis in search of jobs. Ralph found work as a carpenter and joiner there and another son Heber George joined the family but this tiny cherished infant died just six months later. In 1853 when the Partington’s finally had sufficient means, the family joined with Captain Moses Clawson's St. Louis Company to cross the prairie and their final son Edward was born.
Ralph and Ann faithfully lived the remaining years of their lives among their beloved fellow Saints in the shadows of the Everlasting Hills, the Rocky Mountains. Both died in Salt Lake City. Ann passed away on 24 May 1860 and is buried in the Salt Lake City Cemetery. Ralph died on the 7 March 1873 and was also buried in the Salt Lake Cemetery Plot 5629 A-11-1.
References:
1. Papers found in the genealogy album of Joyce Anna Grover complied in 1995.
2.Pioneers and Prominent Men page 1089.
3.Partington Files from the Land and Records Office of Nauvoo, Illinois.
4.http://www.scribd.com/doc/52996116/The-Hidden-Places-of-Lancashire-Cheshire-the-Isle-of-Man Book by Peter Long 2011.
5.http://visitnorthwest.wordpress.com/2009/05/31/a-visit-to-skippool-creek/
Ann Taylor Partington
Birth: May 1, 1810 Maidenhead, England
Death: May 21, 1860 Salt Lake City Salt Lake County Utah, USA
Daughter of William Taylor and Catherine Makepeace
Married Ralph Partington on 12 August 1832 in Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire, England. Immigrated 16 January 1843 aboard the ship "Swanton." Crossed the plains in Moses Clawson Company of 1853, arriving in the Salt Lake valley on 15 September 1853.
Mother of: Catherine Findlay (photo below)
Children:
Ellen Marie Kay (1834 - 1903),
William Edward Partington,
Henry Ralph Partington,
Sarah Jane Quayle,
Joseph Hiram Partington,
James Taylor Partington(1845 - 1855),
Heber George Partington
William Edward Partington (1836 - 1903)*
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