In the post titled, “Too Cold to Sleep Alone”, I promised to
unravel the puzzle of the Lavender cousins’ plural marriage to William Bateman.
Here is chapter two in that saga.
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| James Lavender |
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| Thomas Lavender |
James and Thomas Lavender were brothers, born at the turn of
the century in 1801 and 1804, respectively, in Cardington, Bedfordshire,
England. Their father was John Lavender and their mother had the delightful
name of Mary Mutton Lavender.
As an adult, James faithfully attended a church in Bedford
which was presided over by the Reverend James Fielding. When Reverend Fielding met
the first LDS missionaries sent to England, news of the restored gospel excited
him and he invited them to come to Bedford and preach to his congregation.
James Lavender was in that congregation and believed the
preaching of the Latter-day Saint missionaries. He was baptized on Christmas day in 1837.
Many others in the congregation were also converted to the faith and soon two Mormon
branches were organized. James was ordained an Elder by Willard Richards to
preside over the branches when the missionaries departed. Three years later James
and his wife Mary Ann departed for America, arriving in Salt Lake City in about
1841.
It is unknown if Thomas was presented the gospel at the same
time that his brother was converted, but he and his family remained in England.
His conditions were described as “very well to do” and he held a position as a “fancy
gardener”.
Fourteen years later James returned to England as the
Mission President of the Bedfordshire Mission. Thomas opened his home to his
faithful brother to use as the mission headquarters. The arrangement was
positive and Thomas’s family was baptized in 1858.
Histories state that when
James returned to Utah at the end of his missionary assignment, Thomas sent his
three daughters (Susan, Mary, and Elizabeth “Betsy”) with him to Utah, however,
ship manifests lead me to believe that James sent the three girls ahead. They
sailed on the boat “Underwriter”, departing March 30, 1860, from Liverpool and
arrived May 1st in New York. James' name is recorded on the ship manifest
the following year along with the name of his brother Thomas.
After they arrived in America the three sisters crossed the
plains to the West. Susan and Mary pulled handcarts, but Betsy was more fortunate. She
was acting as nurse to a man’s sick wife, and was able to ride in the wagon
most of the time.
In Salt Lake City, James had made arrangements for two of
Thomas’s daughters to stay with families that needed domestic help. He had
different plans for Betsy.
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| Sarah Lavender Bateman |
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| Betsy Lavender Bateman |
James had a married daughter, Sarah, who was in very poor
health and was struggling to care for her large family of seven children. James
had persuaded Betsy to become the plural wife of his daughter’s husband,
William Bateman, to help care for her cousin Sarah’s children. It is
interesting that histories don’t mention either William or Sarah’s feelings
about this marriage; only that James felt it was the right course, making it
sound like an arranged marriage. Betsy was fifteen years younger than Sarah. According to church custom at the time, Sarah,
the first wife, would have given her approval of the union. William and Betsy
were sealed in the Salt Lake Endowment House in 1861.
After the marriage, Sarah bore one more child and Betsy bore
three children, bringing the combined total to eleven. The two families all lived together under one
roof in very meager circumstances. Betsy labored diligently crocheting,
knitting, sewing and doing everything she could to help make a living for the
two families.
Less than six years later William passed away and Betsy moved with
her three children, returning again to the household of her Uncle James.
Betsy later married Rosser Jenkins and bore two more
children. This union lasted five years until Rosser died after which Betsy finished
rearing her family alone, providing for them through frugality and hard work.
Betsy is my Great, Great Grandmother, the grandmother of my Grandmother Ethel Hurst Speas.
