Abigail Sprague
Bradford Gardner 1812-1879
Ralph
Otis Bradley's Great Great Grandmother
Abigail Sprague's
ancestors came from Holland to England about 1560.
A coat of Arms was granted to Sir Hugh Sprague Esquire, by the Queen of
England in 1580. That grant has been passed down to this generation
of Sprague's. Abigail's forefather,
William Sprague, came to America
from England
in the ship "Abigail" in 1628, in the company with Governor
Endicott. William and brothers, Ralph
and Richard, were founders of the city Charleston,
Massachusetts in 1638. Charleston is
now part of Boston. They were persons of character, substance,
enterprise, excellent citizens and public benefactors as were many of their
descendants.
Abigail's grandfather,
Ebenezer Sprague served in the Revolutionary War, first as Sergeant in 1777 and
then as First Lieutenant in Captain Samuel Taylor's 6th Company, Hampshire
County Regiment-commissioned November 18, 1779.
Abigail's father, Hezekiah
Sprague, was born November 10, 1775 in Massachusetts. Her mother, Abigail Jeffers, was born July
18, 1772 in Connecticut. When Hezekiah Sprague and Abigail Jeffers
were married they settled in Oxford, Cananga County, New
York, where eight of their children were born; Ira,
Satira, Abraham, Lucretia, Lois, Rawsel, Ithamer and Gad. In 1809 Hezekiah disposed of his holdings to
his brother Basil and moved about fifty-five miles northwest into Cayuga County, New
York. Abigail
was born here August 14, 1812, and later Henry was born at the same place. About 1822 Hezekiah sold out and again went
west with his wife Abigail and children Lois, Rawsel, Ithamer, Gad, Abigail,
and Henry, and located in the southeastern part of Indiana.
Abigail married Jahial (Hial) Lee
Bradford, of the "Mayflower" family, on August 21, 1830 in Cotton Township, Switzerland County, Indiana. Abigail was only sixteen years old at the
time. In 1831 Hial and Abigail had their
first child, Mary Ann, next Rawsel was born in 1833, then Jesse in 1835 but he
lived only 16 days. Granville was born in
1837 and Sylvester in 1839.
When contacted in 1838 by
the Elders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Abigail was
quickly converted. She allowed the
missionaries to stay in her home, but husband, Hail, was a little slower
accepting the Gospel and took time to check things out. When Hial did join, he was the only one of
his ten brothers and sisters to join the church. Abigail's father was very much opposed to her
allowing the missionaries into her home.
However after being told "they sometimes entertain angels
unaware" he let them come to his home.
He was a learned scholar of the Bible and scoffed at the missionaries at
first, in spite of this he stayed up all night discussing principles of the
gospel, and by the next morning he applied for baptism. Then Abigail's mother, Abigail, and her
brother, Ithamer, his wife and her other brother, Henry all joined the
Church.
In 1839 they all moved to
be with the body of the Saints and settled at Nauvoo, Hancock County, Illinois. There Hial bought a forty-acre farm about 6
miles below the city near the Mississippi river,
he later purchased another forty-acre farm adjoining it. Pleasant, their sixth child was born here in
1843.
Abigail and Hial were
devoted friends and neighbors to the Prophet Joseph Smith and his wife
Emma. Being a man of means, Hial loaned
the Prophet money many times with no security.
The Prophet told him, "they would be neighbors in the
hereafter." Hial was ordained a
Patriarch on June 11, 1843, by the Patriarch Hyrum Smith.
Abigail and Hial both
received their patriarchal blessings November 12, 1841 under the hands of
Patriarch Hyrum Smith. Abigail was
promised that her name should be perpetuated, that she should be honored by
posterity and that the blessings of God should rest upon her descendants. She would be "blessed in basket and in
store" and would gain a knowledge of God and His mysteries that would be a
comfort to her heart in time of need.
These promises with others gave her faith and strength to bear up under
the severe trials so soon to overtake her.
On one occasion their son,
Rawsel had a badly infected arm. They
had done all they could and had exercised all their faith but the doctor said
it must be amputated. On the way to the
doctors they met the Prophet who had been away for some time. They told him of their problem. He examined the arm and blessed him. Then
told them to return home and the arm would be healed, they obeyed the Prophet
and went home and the promise was fulfilled.
Persecutions ran riot in
Nauvoo. When the remains of the murdered
Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum Smith lay in state, Abigail and her
daughter Mary Ann were among the thousands to view him.
Abigail was very ill when her
baby Tryphena was born September 30,
1845. With a high fever and childbirth
she lay at death's door. Everyone in the
house had fever and chills except Mary Ann who was trying to take care of the
family. Hial went for the midwife on a
horse and after he had brought her, he went to put the horse in the barn. He was so long in coming that the family went
in search of him. They found him feeling
his way to the house. He had taken
suddenly and violently ill. Some thought
he had been kicked by the horse others thought he had had a stroke. He died during the night. They’re little
eight-year-old son, Grandville, also died two days later. So in just a couple of days Abigail lost her
beloved husband Hial and dear son Grandville and gained a new daughter. Two vacant chairs met her gaze when Abigail
was able to sit up again. As she grew
stronger, this broken hearted mother resolved to carry on. Her courage and
sacrifice gave her greater faith in God.
Persecutions continued and
the Saints were being driven from their homes.
When definite plans were being made by the leaders to move westward,
Abigail decided to go also. But first
she was able to take out her endowments in the Nauvoo Temple
the January 21, 1846. Her parents also
took out their endowments.
Picture, if you can a
widowed mother and five children making plans for a thousand mile trip to an
unknown country. In the early spring of
1846, Abigail sold her two forty acre farms, with all the tools and implements,
and a two thousand bushel crib of corn, livestock and personal property for two
yoke of oxen and one wagon that was so old it needed a lot of repair before it
could be used for the journey. But
otherwise she had enough means to equip herself and family equal with others of
the company.
When Hial's two brothers
from Indiana
learned of Abigail's intentions to go west, they immediately came to Nauvoo. As
they were well to do, they offered to take her and her children home with them,
where they could be educated and reared in luxury. But first they must deny Mormonism. Abigail's testimony was too strong to be
thrown aside. She trusted in the Lord
and could not be persuaded-no, nor even bought.
Abigail refused to go, or let her children go with them, so they attempted
to kidnap the children, thinking Abigail would follow. But they failed in their
plans and finally left.
She continued her
preparation for the trip. When all was
in readiness, her parents and her brothers, Ithamer and Henry, and their
families, left Nauvoo with the body of the Saints. They each were equipped with ox teams, a cow,
a covered wagon loaded with provisions, clothing and seeds for planting.
They were ferried across
the Mississippi River and took one last look
at all that had been so near and dear to them.
After leaving Nauvoo they encountered many bad roads, much mud and
discouragement. Henry with his wife and
children settled a few miles down the river from Burlington.
He had lost his cattle. In the
search for them he got a few days behind the company, too long to rejoin
them. He never came any further west.
Parley P. Pratt
established a way station at Mount
Pisgah, Iowa. Ithamer and his family decided to stay there
for the winter. They had a great deal of
sickness at the camp that winter, and Ithamer lost his wife and all five of his
children.
Abigail and her children
spent the winter at Winter Quarters with her father and mother. Here her mother, Abigail Jeffers Sprague died
January 22, 1847 and was buried. In the
late spring Ithamer came to Winter Quarters to join with his family for the
trek west.
On June 21, 1847, Abigail
with her father, her brother, Ithamer, and her children, Mary Ann, (sixteen),
Rawsel, (fourteen), Sylvester, (eight), Pleasant, (four), Tryphena, (two), started west.
They traveled in Bishop Edward Hunter's company of one hundred wagons,
Captain Joseph Horne's company of fifty, and Archibald Gardner's company of
ten. Elder John Taylor, who was a member
of the Twelve, traveled in their company.
During the journey one ox
died so they hooked up "Old Lil" the milk cow. Each morning they would milk the cow and put
the milk in the churn and each night a large pat of butter was taken out. The jolting of the wagon did the trick.
The "Old Sow" a
cannon used in the war of 1812, was brought across the plains with them to be
used against the Indians if necessary.
Sylvester Bradford, Al Babcock, and Wiley Thomas took turns riding
it.
Toward the end of the long
trek Abigail's wagon became so "good-for-nothing" that she prayed
night and morning that it would hold together until they reached their
destination. It broke down completely at
the mouth of Emigration
Canyon, almost in sight
of their goal. The next day a company
was sent to meet them, so they landed at Salt Lake
on October 1, 1847, just two months and seven days behind the first company
with Brigham Young.
Upon reaching the valley,
they settled in the "Old Fort" which is now Pioneer Park.
Mary Ann and Rawsel helped make the
adobes that went into their first home in the valley. Since they were the oldest children a lot of
the work fell on them. Hezekiah was
seventy-five years old and badly worn by the journey, but happy at its
completion. He died early in the winter
of 1847, and was buried in Salt Lake
City.
The hardships and hunger
of that first winter in the valley were never forgotten. For six weeks Abigail and her family never
tasted bread, but lived on roots, greens, and old beef. In the spring they planted crops which came
up beautifully only to be devoured by the black hordes of crickets. President Young called on everyone to fast
and pray. Then came the miracle of the
gulls, which glutted themselves on the crickets and then disgorge the dead
crickets. In two days the crickets were
gone. They irrigated the land and
replanted and raised enough grain for bread for the coming year.
With the scarcity of food,
clothing, shelter and paying employment, the problem of caring for the widows
and children became a serious one. President Young felt a very keen
responsibility for them. The doctrine of
plural marriage was now openly taught as a revelation from God. Mary Ann, Abigail's first child, was around
eighteen years old and was a passionate admirer of Archibald Gardner since the
trek west. When Archibald asked her to
be his plural wife she gladly accepted.
They went to President Young to have him perform their ceremony. President Young asked, "Where is the
mother? I want you to marry the Widow
Bradford and be a father to her family too.
Archie, your shoulders are broad and you must help carry the
burden." So on April 19, 1849,
Archibald Gardner married Abigail Sprague Bradford and Mary Ann Bradford, thus
obeying the Prophets council. They all
moved to Mill Creek and became a part of the Gardner household. Rawsel worked at the various Gardner mills, and later married Jane
Gardner, a step cousin. Sylvester,
Pleasant and Tryphena did what they
could and Abigail and Mary Ann cooked for the workmen. Abigail had one daughter with Archibald,
Abigail Gardner in 1850.
At the time of Johnston's Army they all
moved to Spanish Fork with the rest of the Saints. Abigail's brother, Ithamer, brought her a
ten-year-old Indian girl. He had felt
sorry for the girl because she had been stolen from her family by a warring
tribe and was a slave. He bought her for
a pony then gave her to Abigail to raise.
She was adopted into the family and named Fanny. Her brother would come visit once in a while
but when any other Indians came around she would hide. Fanny did not want to go back to her own
people. Abigail learned the Indian
language at this time and made friends with the Indians, and was able to be of
great service when trouble arose. On
different occasions she sat in their circles and smoked the pipe of peace with
them.
Then sometime in 1863
Abigail moved to West Jordan. Her two sons, Sylvester and Pleasant
Bradford, bought farms in Spanish Fork near the river, and her daughter
Tryphena kept house for them. The three of them were all dear to each other all
through their childhood. They were inseparable.
So on October 15, 1864 a triple marriage took place in the Endowment
House in Salt Lake City, and a wedding reception
for the three young couples was held in West
Jordan where Abigail lived. Sylvester was married to Mary Jones; Pleasant
to Mary's sister, Jane Jones; and Tryphena
to George Gillette Hales, all of Spanish Fork. There they made their homes.
Abigail was genial of disposition, and a
wonderful storyteller and took delight in relating to the children tales of
witches and fairies. In her later years
she suffered severely with breast cancer but after being operated on, it ceased
to trouble her.
Through all her trials and
hardships she never once lost faith in the Gospel. She lived its precepts and taught its
precious truths to her children and her children's children.
She died January 16, 1879
at the age of sixty-six at West Jordan, Utah, and was buried in the Salt Lake Cemetery.
Abigail's patriarchal
blessing promised her that her name would be perpetuated and she would be
honored by her posterity. We honor this
great woman who was so fully committed to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, Abigail,
a pioneer of faith.
Compiled by Sherie Sorbonne Demple, August 1999 in Salt Lake City, Utah
Sources;
"The Life of Archibald Gardner" Written by Delila Gardner
Hughes.
"Biographies of Tryphena Bradford Hales and her Parents Hial and
Abigail Sprague Bradford" Author Unknown.
"Biography of Abigail Sprague Bradford"
Daughters of the Utah
Pioneers Book
