Mary Woolerton

By Claudia Spencer Salder

Mary (the 5th wife of Daniel Spencer was born in Thrussington, Leicestershire, England on June 1, 1826. Her father, George Woolerton (1793-) was a blacksmith in the community. Her mother, was Mary Chamberlain (1793-1828). Mary's father was previously married and had four children. He had seven children by Mary Chamberlain, and Mary was the sixth born in that family. Mary first heard about Mormonism in Thrussington as a schoolteacher. Some of her relatives and friends joined the church, but Mary 's family did not. Mary decided to leave England and go with relatives and friends to America and further investigate Mormonism. She left England on a Mormon immigrant ship in 1843 (Mormon ship rosters were not kept until 1849). The ship docked at New Orleans. She went up the Mississippi River by steamboat to Nauvoo. While living in Nauvoo she became acquainted with Joseph Knight Sr. and his family. Mary was baptized in Nauvoo in the Mississippi River on March 19, 1844. She made the exodus from Nauvoo with the Knight family and stayed with them at Winter Quarters until they were assigned to go to the Salt Lake Valley. Mary remained at Winter Quarters until 1849, at which time she traveled west in Ezra Taft Benson's pioneer company; and this was the fifth company to leave that year for the valley. They started from Kanesville, Iowa, located across the Missouri River from Winter Quarters on July 4, 1849 and traveled with the George A. Smith Company. She arrived in the valley October 28, 1849. Daniel hired Mary as a domestic servant to help in his household. She was well educated and an excellent seamstress and was her responsibility to take care of Mary Leone (age6). Mary (age 24) married Daniel (age 56) and became his first plural wife on September 10, 1850. The ceremony took place in Orson Spencer's home at 3:00 p.m. and was performed by Brigham Young. Daniel's wife Emily was opposed to polygamy, and so Mary was sealed to him in name only, so that if Mary did not marry anyone else she would have someone to be sealed to in the next life. She received her endowment on June 21, 1851. After living in Daniel's home for nearly -two years and just prior to his departure for a mission to England, she asked to have her-sealing annulled. Brigham Young canceled it on June 7, 1852. On November 14, 1852, Joseph Knight Jr. (age 44) took Mary (age 26) as his fourth plural wife. Joseph Knight's first wife was Betsey Covert who disapproved of polygamy and refused to let her husband take any polygamous wives. She had been with her husband since the beginning of the Church in Colesville, New York, where the Knight families resided. She had experienced the growth of the Church at Kirkland, Far West and Nauvoo. She felt, after going through many persecutions, that no woman had a right to become a plural wife to her husband. With the prophet's insistence Joseph married Adeline Johnson and Abba Welden in name only, but never lived with them because of Betsey's strong opposition. Brigham Young insisted that Joseph take Mary as his wife. When Betsey found she was fighting a hopeless battle she left her home and never returned. She had her sealing to Joseph cancelled. Brigham Young promised Joseph that if he took, Mary as his wife he would have male heirs. Mary was a shy individual. She was hurt deeply by the friction caused from not being accepted by Betsey and felt that she had broken up a-.marriage. Mary's first child died as an infant; and she went to her neighbor, a wife of Orson Pratt's and asked if there was a motherless family in the area with a baby that she might raise. She raised a son whose name was Lucius Sherwood Cantwell and she and Joseph adopted him and named him Hiram. Joseph Knight died in 1866; a year after Mary's last child was born. She never remarried, and to support her young family, she was a seamstress and made baskets and hats. Mary refused to have her picture taken and she never talked about her childhood in England nor would she relate to her children any stories about her pioneer life. At age 78 she died in Salt Lake City on February 2, 1904 and was buried in the City Cemetery on February 5, 1904.