Betsey Blackham Hales

Betsey Blackham Hales

(Nida Susannah Hales Mother)

1871-1899

Betsey Blackham was born in Moroni, Sanpete County, Utah on November 4, 1871. She was the daughter of John Blackham Sr. who was born in Heaton Norris, Lancashire, England on November 14, 1827. Betsey's mother, Susannah Lees, was born December 11, 1830 in the town of Ashton-Under-Lyne, Lancashire, England. Betsey was the ninth of twelve children. Betsey's parents were converts to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints from England. They emigrated to Zion in 1855. First they sailed on the “Samuel Curling” then crossed the plains in Milo Andrus' company.

Betsey’s mother, Susannah Lees, as a young girl, had a high soprano voice; at one time as she was singing at a Street Meeting in England, Brother John Taylor laid his hand on her shoulder and said, “Sister Susannah the voices of your offspring shall be heard in all the corners of the earth.” Sons, grandsons, great grandsons, and great granddaughters teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ in so many lands have almost fulfilled that promise.

Betsey was baptized June 12, 1881 by Lars Swenson and confirmed by Jens Jenson. Throughout her life Betsey had a strong testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Betsey went to school in Moroni; as a young girl she took a class in dressmaking and was gifted in that art. She was very petite and beautiful.

Betsey's future husband, Hial, was working on the railroad near Evanston, Wyoming around 1893. Here Hial met James Larsen from Moroni, Sanpete County, Utah. They worked together and enjoyed each other’s company becoming lifelong friends. It was through Jim Larsen that Hial met Betsey Blackham, who was a niece to Jim’s wife, Susannah Baily. Hial was introduced to Betsey when he returned with Jim to Moroni after the finish of their job in Wyoming.

Hial immediately recognized the fine qualities of Betsey Blackham and they kept in touch. During this time, Hial attended the Brigham Young Academy in Provo where he invited Betsey to the commencement exercises. In the evening at the dance, Betsey was dancing with a friend of Hial’s and Hial was dancing with a young widow who asked him to take her outside for a drink of water. When they returned, the dance was over and Betsey was alone. This brought a temporary end to their relationship and Betsey returned to Moroni with little interest in Hial for the time being.

Shortly thereafter, Hial was called on a mission to New Zealand, which lasted about four years. During the time of his mission, Hial had not forgotten about Betsey Blackham. It was through the letters of Jim Larsen that Hial had learned about Betsey and she about him. Therefore, soon after his return from New Zealand, Hial made a trip to Moroni to visit his friend Jim and of course he hoped to see Betsey Blackham. The trip was a success and later in the spring Hial and Betsey made plans for a fall wedding. They were married October 12, 1898 in the Manti Temple.

After their marriage, they moved into a new lumber home Hial had built for Betsey in Mammoth, Juab County, Utah. Mammoth was a mining town where Hial worked in the Grand Central Mine. Hial was trying to earn enough money so he could buy a farm some day. Hial's brother, George, and wife, Eliza, and family lived next door.

Betsey and Hial were a very happy couple and enjoyed each other’s company so much.

When Betsey was eight months pregnant, she was restless so Hial would take her on frequent buggy rides. He couldn't get the usual horse so he rented a horse that was a little friskier to pull the buggy. After the ride, when Hial was helping Betsey down, the horse jerked forward and Betsey's leg was cut on the buggy. Her leg became infected, and they think the infection started her into early labor. After the birth of her little baby girl Betsey also developed Septicemia, also known as blood poisoning. The doctor's previous patient had had Septicemia so two infections were too much for her. Betsey was never up from her bed from the day of the birth of her baby until she died four months later.

Hial was a man of great faith, having recently returned from his mission in New Zealand. Many of the immediate relatives have said that it was Hial's great faith that kept Betsey alive so long.

They had a new young Doctor Allen, who had just recently returned from medical school, come to Mammoth to see Betsey. But little could be done for her.

On Sunday the 6th of August 1899, Hial and his brother, Bishop George Hales, gave their darling baby a name and a father's blessing. She was given the name of Nida Susannah Hales, Susannah, after Betsey's mother. This took place in the home, in Betsey's presence, and later it was recorded in the Mammoth Ward records.

Aunt Eliza told how very much Betsey suffered with no complaining, all her thoughts were for the interest and well being of her lovely baby, Nida.

While Betsey was ill, every two weeks different members of her family would come from Moroni with a team and wagon, bring fresh vegetables from their gardens, and a lady to help with the work in the home; then the lady that had been there the past two weeks would return home with the brother. In September, after the children were in school, Matilda Blackham, John's wife (John was Betsey's brother), discussed with her husband and oldest daughter, Nellie (who was 17 and had finished school), if they did not think they could manage their home and the five younger children for a couple of weeks and let her go over to Mammoth and take her turn helping in Betsey's home; they thought they could. So Matilda came over to Mammoth. When she first saw Nida, she said to Hial, "Hial, this is a very sick baby, she is full of canker." He said, "Till, (that is what they called her) don't you do anything but take care of that baby." Aunt Till, who had left her family for two weeks, was away from them for six weeks.

Betsey was very fond of having Hial sing to her, they both loved the hymns. He had a sweet and melodious voice. One particular day when he got home from work, she was asleep. He had found her asleep before, but she would awaken immediately, or at least if he started to softly sing one of her favorite songs, but this day it was difficult to arouse her, and took some time, even pressure.

When she did respond - she said, "Oh, why did you bring me back? I have been in the most beautiful place." She said she had been with Tryphena, Uncle George and Aunt Eliza's little girl who had died in March before Nida's birth in June.

After this experience they dedicated her to the Lord. (That was the pattern in those days, if someone was very ill and it seemed they were not to get well.) Shortly after this Betsey left her husband, baby daughter and all her loved ones in life to go to that place she had not wanted to leave.

Betsey died October 30, 1899. They took her body back to Moroni for the funeral and she was buried in the Moroni cemetery. After the funeral, Hial asked Aunt Till if she would take care of baby Nida for him until he could remarry.

Hial sent a check each month while Nida lived with John and Matilda Blackham, he also came to visit as often as possible. Nida called Aunt Till "Mama Blackham" and Uncle John "Papa Blackham". All the Blackham children made a big fuss over Nida, they loved and adored her and Nida loved and adored them. It was a wonderful household to grow up in. There was always so much going on and lots of music and singing.

When Nida was two, Mama Blackham had a cute baby girl they named Doris. Nida had been fussing so the midwife had said to Nida that if she would be quiet that she would bring Nida a baby. So when Nida heard a baby cry she said, "Bring me my baby!" From that time on Doris and Nida were forever bonded, closer than most sisters.

When Nida was almost four years old her father, Hial, married Mary Brown and Nida moved back to Mammoth to live with them. Nida was delighted to be with her father but oh, how she missed Doris and her other family in Moroni.

Nida says in her history: "The afternoons were so long. There were several times in my life, those first few months, when I lived in Mammoth as I was lying on the floor in the living room that I know my own mother, Betsey, was there teaching me about my Heavenly Father and I was asking many questions about him."