Moses and Lucretia lived in Nauvoo. They moved there shortly after they were married and joined the Church. There were no other Gay family’s that came at that time that we knew of. Charles A. Davis, Lucretia’s brother came with them. They suffered many hardships that the pioneers suffered through at that time. When they crossed the plains, she brought her spinning wheel and when the company would stop for the night, she would spin. During the day, she would knit while riding. They arrived in S.L.C., Utah on Oct. 1852 in A.Z. Stewarts Company. They didn’t stay long in Salt Lake. They went to Palmyra and lived in the Old Palmyra Fort. Many Indian up—risings. Johnson’s Army came through and Lucretia sold cloth and clothes to them. Moses and Lucretia then moved to Spanish Fork.
One day, Moses saw 2 dogs fighting and became very frightened and died, leaving Lucretia with 7 sons and 1 daughter with the oldest child being age 19.
Moses Brigham Gay was Lillie’s father. She wrote a paragraph on the hardships he suffered. He was 7 when they came to Utah. He remembered running through the snow with no shoes and eating berries and roots. He said he hoped his family would never have to suffer such things. Moses Brigham Gay was born Sept 14, 1845 in Nauvoo, Ill. They also wore skins for clothing. All very active in the Church.
(This history was copied by bits and pieces from the D.U.P. History Library, top of Main St., S.1.C., Utah on Dec 9th, 1982 by Gloria Gay Bradshaw It was submitted by Lillie A. Gay Pearson)
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Lucretia Davis Gay - Patriarchal Blessing
blessing by patriarch John Smith Patriarch on Jan. 1, 1845, upon the head of Lucretia Gay, daughter of James and Miranda Davis, born May 21st A.D. 1809 in Worcester County, Mass.
Sister Lucretia:
I lay my hands upon thy head having authority from Jesus Christ to bless the fatherless in His name. I seal upon thee a Fathers blessing Thou art of the same lineage with thy companion even of the house of Joseph and an heir to the same Priesthood and blessings which were sealed upon his daughters in the days of old and also thou hast a right to all the power, the privileges and blessings which are sealed upon thy companion in common with him. It is thy privilege to have faith to heal the sick in thy house, and to drive away the destroyer from thy habitation. Thou shalt have the ministering of Angels to comfort thee in the absence of thy companion. They shall counsel thee and often bring word to thee from him when he is in foreign lands, which will cause thy time to pass away cheerfully. Thou shalt be mistress in a large house having servants at thy hand to do thy business. With all the riches of earth which your heart desires and the riches of eternity shall be withheld from you. Thy posterity shall be numerous and be honorable forever. Thy name shall be honorable forever. Thy name be had in honorable remembrance to all generations. Thy years shall be many even according to the desire of thy heart, to stand on the earth to see the winding—up scene of this generation. You will have a part in the first resurrection, come up with thy companion to inherit thrones and dominions in the house of Israel and in the presence of thy God forever. With a continual perpetuation of lives to all eternity. If thy faith fails not, not one word or promise which hath been spoken shall fail, even so, Amen.
(copied by her great, great granddaughter Gloria Gay Bradshaw from a photostatic copy of the original document found in the Churches archives)
Sister Lucretia:
I lay my hands upon thy head having authority from Jesus Christ to bless the fatherless in His name. I seal upon thee a Fathers blessing Thou art of the same lineage with thy companion even of the house of Joseph and an heir to the same Priesthood and blessings which were sealed upon his daughters in the days of old and also thou hast a right to all the power, the privileges and blessings which are sealed upon thy companion in common with him. It is thy privilege to have faith to heal the sick in thy house, and to drive away the destroyer from thy habitation. Thou shalt have the ministering of Angels to comfort thee in the absence of thy companion. They shall counsel thee and often bring word to thee from him when he is in foreign lands, which will cause thy time to pass away cheerfully. Thou shalt be mistress in a large house having servants at thy hand to do thy business. With all the riches of earth which your heart desires and the riches of eternity shall be withheld from you. Thy posterity shall be numerous and be honorable forever. Thy name shall be honorable forever. Thy name be had in honorable remembrance to all generations. Thy years shall be many even according to the desire of thy heart, to stand on the earth to see the winding—up scene of this generation. You will have a part in the first resurrection, come up with thy companion to inherit thrones and dominions in the house of Israel and in the presence of thy God forever. With a continual perpetuation of lives to all eternity. If thy faith fails not, not one word or promise which hath been spoken shall fail, even so, Amen.
(copied by her great, great granddaughter Gloria Gay Bradshaw from a photostatic copy of the original document found in the Churches archives)
Aaron Gay
by Maud Lorie Gay West
Aaron Gay was born 22 Aug. 1848 in Pottawattamie Co., Iowa near Council Bluffs, Iowa, while his family was crossing the plains with the Mormon Pioneers. His father was Noses Gay and his mother was Lucretia Davis, both were born in Mass.. His family arrived in Utah in 1853 and they went directly to Spanish Fork. In 1854 his father died, leaving his mother with six Sons and one daughter. His life was the same as all boys in the early days in Utah. They used to bring the cows home from where they had been feeding, bare footed. He fought the Indians, having to move to Palmyra, Utah, for some time, but the Indians stole their cattle and so they moved back to Spanish Fork.
As a young man he guarded the homes from the Indians. While guarding the house of Charles Packet, he met and fell in love with my grandmother, Emeline Packet, and in March of 1872 they were married in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City. He had a freighting company and hauled all kinds of freight to Pioche, Nevada. And at one time he was Marshall of Spanish Fork.
When they were first married, they lived in Spanish Fork where his children were born. They later moved to Lake Shore, Utah, and bought a 75 acre farm. This they farmed for some time. During this time he was called to go on a mission. He and grandmother talked this over and decided he should go then. Their oldest son William Aaron Gay (my father) was 19 years old and helped run the farm and care for the cattle while he was away.
In those days, traveling was very slow. He finally arrived in England and was sent on to Scotland, where he preformed a wonderful mission. But owing to the cold and hard walking and scarse food, his health broke down from which he never fully recovered. At one time, he and his fellow missionaries were sent to another town, which meant traveling by boat. He was impressed by a warning, so he and his companion stayed there. When the boat was part way, it caught fire and part of the people were killed. He was gone two years on his mission. I suspose he worried exceedingly about his small family left at home. But, on coming home, he decided to go into business with his brother, who, doing to his inability as a businessman, they went broke and my grandfather lost his lovely farm. They also had a lovely ranch up Spanish Fork canyon which they also lost.
They moved to Mammoth, Utah, a thriving mining town. He tried his hand at carpenter work. While working there, a large rock dropped on his head and they thought he would die before they could get him out. But he lived many years after this. His wife, Emeline had to support the family by sewing and keeping a boarding house.
In 1900, they moved to Provo, Utah, living in the Provo 2nd Ward for 10 years. He wasn't well the rest of his life. Their daughter died leaving a baby girl to raise and they took the baby to raise. She only lived 10 months. Their son—in—law died leaving 3 small children which they helped to take care of, while their mother worked.
My grandparents went to the County Infirmary to work. He was head of the farm work, and she was an attendant. But this work was too much for him, so they quit the Infirmary. He died 14 Oct. 1910. My grandfather Gay was a tall man, well built, weighing 200 lbs. I remember him as a kind man and very generous. He was buried in Spanish Fork Cemetery.
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Obituary of Aaron Gay Deseret News 20 Oct. 1910
Aaron Gay died yesterday from general disability. The deceased was born 22 Aug. 1848 in Iowa. He came to Utah in 1852 with his parents and located in Spanish Fork, when he moved to Provo. The deceased leaves a wife and three children and several grandchildren and other relatives and a large circle of friends.
The funeral services will be held at the residence — 1046 W. 6th S. Friday at 10:00 o'clock. After which the body will be shipped to Spanish fork for burial services will be held in Spanish Fork also.
Aaron Gay was born 22 Aug. 1848 in Pottawattamie Co., Iowa near Council Bluffs, Iowa, while his family was crossing the plains with the Mormon Pioneers. His father was Noses Gay and his mother was Lucretia Davis, both were born in Mass.. His family arrived in Utah in 1853 and they went directly to Spanish Fork. In 1854 his father died, leaving his mother with six Sons and one daughter. His life was the same as all boys in the early days in Utah. They used to bring the cows home from where they had been feeding, bare footed. He fought the Indians, having to move to Palmyra, Utah, for some time, but the Indians stole their cattle and so they moved back to Spanish Fork.
As a young man he guarded the homes from the Indians. While guarding the house of Charles Packet, he met and fell in love with my grandmother, Emeline Packet, and in March of 1872 they were married in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City. He had a freighting company and hauled all kinds of freight to Pioche, Nevada. And at one time he was Marshall of Spanish Fork.
When they were first married, they lived in Spanish Fork where his children were born. They later moved to Lake Shore, Utah, and bought a 75 acre farm. This they farmed for some time. During this time he was called to go on a mission. He and grandmother talked this over and decided he should go then. Their oldest son William Aaron Gay (my father) was 19 years old and helped run the farm and care for the cattle while he was away.
In those days, traveling was very slow. He finally arrived in England and was sent on to Scotland, where he preformed a wonderful mission. But owing to the cold and hard walking and scarse food, his health broke down from which he never fully recovered. At one time, he and his fellow missionaries were sent to another town, which meant traveling by boat. He was impressed by a warning, so he and his companion stayed there. When the boat was part way, it caught fire and part of the people were killed. He was gone two years on his mission. I suspose he worried exceedingly about his small family left at home. But, on coming home, he decided to go into business with his brother, who, doing to his inability as a businessman, they went broke and my grandfather lost his lovely farm. They also had a lovely ranch up Spanish Fork canyon which they also lost.
They moved to Mammoth, Utah, a thriving mining town. He tried his hand at carpenter work. While working there, a large rock dropped on his head and they thought he would die before they could get him out. But he lived many years after this. His wife, Emeline had to support the family by sewing and keeping a boarding house.
In 1900, they moved to Provo, Utah, living in the Provo 2nd Ward for 10 years. He wasn't well the rest of his life. Their daughter died leaving a baby girl to raise and they took the baby to raise. She only lived 10 months. Their son—in—law died leaving 3 small children which they helped to take care of, while their mother worked.
My grandparents went to the County Infirmary to work. He was head of the farm work, and she was an attendant. But this work was too much for him, so they quit the Infirmary. He died 14 Oct. 1910. My grandfather Gay was a tall man, well built, weighing 200 lbs. I remember him as a kind man and very generous. He was buried in Spanish Fork Cemetery.
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Obituary of Aaron Gay Deseret News 20 Oct. 1910
Aaron Gay died yesterday from general disability. The deceased was born 22 Aug. 1848 in Iowa. He came to Utah in 1852 with his parents and located in Spanish Fork, when he moved to Provo. The deceased leaves a wife and three children and several grandchildren and other relatives and a large circle of friends.
The funeral services will be held at the residence — 1046 W. 6th S. Friday at 10:00 o'clock. After which the body will be shipped to Spanish fork for burial services will be held in Spanish Fork also.
William Aaron Gay
by Laurel Gay Gibson
Just two days after Christmas, in 1872, my father, William Aaron Gay was born. A son of Aaron and Emeline Packett Gay, he first opened his eyes to the wonders of this world in a little farm house in Spanish Fork, Utah.
He grew up much as all boys who live on a farm do and when he reached young manhood, instead of the serious religiously devoted person his parents had hoped and wished that he would be, he was rather a harum scarum young scamp.
He did nmothing malisiou but he was far more interetsted in drinking and smoking than he was religious. His parent were devoutly religious and it grieved them deeply to see how little the Gospel meant to him.
He was a very practical young man and he told his father the Gospel would have to be proved to him on a scientific basis and on natural principles.
He finally met a beautiful young girl named Clara Stewart. They fell deeply in love with each other but when he asked her to become his wife she told him she would not unless he would go thru the Temple with her. He couldn't see things this way at all but she stayed by her ideals and when he realized that was the only way he could win her he consented.
He went to the Bishop and applied for a recommend. The Bishop asked him if he thought he really deserved a recommend to the House of the Lord. He gave my father a very good talking to and also the recommend. Father and mother were married in the Salt Lake Temple January 31, 1895.
Soon after they were married they moved to the mining town of Mammoth, Utah. Mining towns in those days were very wild and this one was no exception. Father fell in with a wild crowd and it wasn't long before he was drinking and smoking again. This nearly broke my mother's heart but she stayed by him.
They had had three children by this time but my little brother, John William, died when he was six months old. His death sobered my father somewhat and for a time he really tried to be a better man.
My little sister, Maud Lorie, was a delicate child and was ill most of the time. Mother wanted to return to her home in Provo, but dad wanted to stay in Mammoth.
Once, int he middle of the night, mother thought she heard dad call to her. She went to look for him but couldn't find him. She called her father-in-law and together they looked for him all around the house. When they failed to find him, mother knew that he had been hurt. Sure enough he had been in a fight and had been severely injured. After this incident, mother persuaded him to come to Provo.
After coming here he had one job after another. He finally took the civil service examination and as a results was appointed to the position of letter carrier. This position he held for twenty—five years.
With this appointment and a more sober way of living he began to take more interest in the Church. Consequently in 1904 when my sister Arthella was a baby, he was appointed President of the Y.M.M.I.A. in the Provo 2nd Ward. Even after his appointment he occasionally drank and smoked. According to the teachings of the Church he knew it was wrong for him to hold this important office and still indulge in liquor and tobacco. He knew he must give up one of the two so he decided against the Church.
Mother’s step—grandfather, John Stevens, or Uncle John as he was lovingly called, was a wonderful man and very religious. Previous to his death prior to this time, my father had been a very devoted admirer of him and thought the world of him. He appeared to father in a dream one night and showed him what a mistake he was making in giving up his Church and how wrong it was to do it. This dream impressed father very much. He awakened Mother and told her that he had decided to give up smoking and drinking. This resolution he kept from then on.
He was later sustained as Superintendent of the Sunday School in the Provo Second Ward. It was while holding this position that he inaugurated the 'perfect attendance' plan and the music and memory gem, which are still used throughout the Church today. He did a most wonderful work in this capacity.
In 1915 he dreamed that he had only thirteen more years of life left to him. He dreamed also that two very close friends of his were to precede him in death. This dream made a deep impression on father.
His two friends died just as he had dreamed they would and he lived just thirteen years and six months from that date. Mother followed him six years later.
One morning in 1913 he told mother something terrible was going to happen but he did not know what it was. My brother Grant had one of his fingers chopped off. We asked him if that was it but he said that it was not. Later my brother Royal had his arm run over by a sulky plow and badly crushed. Again we asked father if this was the terrible happening but again he said that it was not. Then one day I took sick at work and had to be taken home. The doctor said I must have my appendix out immediately. Father was sent for and when he arrived I asked him if this was it and he answered this time in the affirmative. I was unconscious for three days and large purple spots broke out on me. I nearly died but our prayers were answered and I was spared.
In 1920 Dad had another dream or vision, call it what you wish. He didn’t tell the folks this for some time. He finally told mother. She told him to tell the rest of us and he did. We persuaded him to write it down and he did.
During all these years my father had been a great lover and grower of flowers. He was known as ‘Gladiola Bill’. At his death his friends knowing of his great love of beautiful flowers, brought bouquets from their own gardens rather than from the florists to pay their respects to him. The chapel was a mass of gorgeous bloom.
The speakers at his funeral emphasized the different sides of his nature. One spoke of his religious or spiritual side. Another of his worker temporal side. Still another spoke of his great love of flowers and all they stood for. He died May 20, 1929.
Dad wasn’t blessed with riches or financial power but he had many friends. At the time of his death he held the office of High Priest in the Church.
Just two days after Christmas, in 1872, my father, William Aaron Gay was born. A son of Aaron and Emeline Packett Gay, he first opened his eyes to the wonders of this world in a little farm house in Spanish Fork, Utah.
He grew up much as all boys who live on a farm do and when he reached young manhood, instead of the serious religiously devoted person his parents had hoped and wished that he would be, he was rather a harum scarum young scamp.
He did nmothing malisiou but he was far more interetsted in drinking and smoking than he was religious. His parent were devoutly religious and it grieved them deeply to see how little the Gospel meant to him.
He was a very practical young man and he told his father the Gospel would have to be proved to him on a scientific basis and on natural principles.
He finally met a beautiful young girl named Clara Stewart. They fell deeply in love with each other but when he asked her to become his wife she told him she would not unless he would go thru the Temple with her. He couldn't see things this way at all but she stayed by her ideals and when he realized that was the only way he could win her he consented.
He went to the Bishop and applied for a recommend. The Bishop asked him if he thought he really deserved a recommend to the House of the Lord. He gave my father a very good talking to and also the recommend. Father and mother were married in the Salt Lake Temple January 31, 1895.
Soon after they were married they moved to the mining town of Mammoth, Utah. Mining towns in those days were very wild and this one was no exception. Father fell in with a wild crowd and it wasn't long before he was drinking and smoking again. This nearly broke my mother's heart but she stayed by him.
They had had three children by this time but my little brother, John William, died when he was six months old. His death sobered my father somewhat and for a time he really tried to be a better man.
My little sister, Maud Lorie, was a delicate child and was ill most of the time. Mother wanted to return to her home in Provo, but dad wanted to stay in Mammoth.
Once, int he middle of the night, mother thought she heard dad call to her. She went to look for him but couldn't find him. She called her father-in-law and together they looked for him all around the house. When they failed to find him, mother knew that he had been hurt. Sure enough he had been in a fight and had been severely injured. After this incident, mother persuaded him to come to Provo.
After coming here he had one job after another. He finally took the civil service examination and as a results was appointed to the position of letter carrier. This position he held for twenty—five years.
With this appointment and a more sober way of living he began to take more interest in the Church. Consequently in 1904 when my sister Arthella was a baby, he was appointed President of the Y.M.M.I.A. in the Provo 2nd Ward. Even after his appointment he occasionally drank and smoked. According to the teachings of the Church he knew it was wrong for him to hold this important office and still indulge in liquor and tobacco. He knew he must give up one of the two so he decided against the Church.
Mother’s step—grandfather, John Stevens, or Uncle John as he was lovingly called, was a wonderful man and very religious. Previous to his death prior to this time, my father had been a very devoted admirer of him and thought the world of him. He appeared to father in a dream one night and showed him what a mistake he was making in giving up his Church and how wrong it was to do it. This dream impressed father very much. He awakened Mother and told her that he had decided to give up smoking and drinking. This resolution he kept from then on.
He was later sustained as Superintendent of the Sunday School in the Provo Second Ward. It was while holding this position that he inaugurated the 'perfect attendance' plan and the music and memory gem, which are still used throughout the Church today. He did a most wonderful work in this capacity.
In 1915 he dreamed that he had only thirteen more years of life left to him. He dreamed also that two very close friends of his were to precede him in death. This dream made a deep impression on father.
His two friends died just as he had dreamed they would and he lived just thirteen years and six months from that date. Mother followed him six years later.
One morning in 1913 he told mother something terrible was going to happen but he did not know what it was. My brother Grant had one of his fingers chopped off. We asked him if that was it but he said that it was not. Later my brother Royal had his arm run over by a sulky plow and badly crushed. Again we asked father if this was the terrible happening but again he said that it was not. Then one day I took sick at work and had to be taken home. The doctor said I must have my appendix out immediately. Father was sent for and when he arrived I asked him if this was it and he answered this time in the affirmative. I was unconscious for three days and large purple spots broke out on me. I nearly died but our prayers were answered and I was spared.
In 1920 Dad had another dream or vision, call it what you wish. He didn’t tell the folks this for some time. He finally told mother. She told him to tell the rest of us and he did. We persuaded him to write it down and he did.
During all these years my father had been a great lover and grower of flowers. He was known as ‘Gladiola Bill’. At his death his friends knowing of his great love of beautiful flowers, brought bouquets from their own gardens rather than from the florists to pay their respects to him. The chapel was a mass of gorgeous bloom.
The speakers at his funeral emphasized the different sides of his nature. One spoke of his religious or spiritual side. Another of his worker temporal side. Still another spoke of his great love of flowers and all they stood for. He died May 20, 1929.
Dad wasn’t blessed with riches or financial power but he had many friends. At the time of his death he held the office of High Priest in the Church.
William Aaron Gay - Patriarchal Blessing
A Patriarchal Blessing given by Albert Jones, Aug. 1, 1915, upon the head of William Aaron Gay, the son of Aaron and Emeline Packet (Paquette) Gay, born 27 Dec. 1872 at Spanish Fork, Utah Co., Utah.
Brother William Aaron Gay, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I lay my hands upon your head according to your request to bless you with a Patriarchal Blessing and I bless you with health and strength, with energy and strength, that you may be physically fit to perform your labors, and that your mind may expand to understand the granduer of the Gospel and its wide scope which it has for the salvation of the children of men, both in the present life and in the future.
I bless thee with wisdom, with financial ability and executive skill and administrative force, that thou mayest govern and direct thy family in the path of truth and in those lines that will make them of value in the service of the Lord.
I bless thee that thou mayest have good judgment, that justice and mercy may characterize thine actions and thy thought in dealing with thy fellow man, that thy soul may be led out to throughly understand the business of this life and that thou may be blest with plenty for the sustenance of thy family. Be of good cheer, thy power for the doing of good shall be increased. Be wise, be honest and meet every obligation both of spiritual and of temporal nature and God shall prosper thee in the way thou goeth, and men shall hold thy name in honor.
Defend the truth and thy tongue shall be loosed to utter such words that shall bring joy to thy soul and steady thine own feet more firmly in the principles of the Gospel, be liberal and liberally shall thou receive.
Thou are of Ephraim the favored son of Joseph, and if thou are faithful, entitled to all the blessings of that favored race. I seal thee up against the power of the destroyer, and sickness and disease shall not overtake thee if thou art wise. Strength shall come to thy mind and thy judgment shall be clear and thy body shall be made strong if thou will observe the laws of life such as thou knowest thou should follow.
Brother William, I bless thee with all the power of the Priesthood conferred upon me by the voice of the people of this Stake of Zion. And pray God’s blessing upon thee, in the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ, even so, Amen.
Brother William Aaron Gay, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I lay my hands upon your head according to your request to bless you with a Patriarchal Blessing and I bless you with health and strength, with energy and strength, that you may be physically fit to perform your labors, and that your mind may expand to understand the granduer of the Gospel and its wide scope which it has for the salvation of the children of men, both in the present life and in the future.
I bless thee with wisdom, with financial ability and executive skill and administrative force, that thou mayest govern and direct thy family in the path of truth and in those lines that will make them of value in the service of the Lord.
I bless thee that thou mayest have good judgment, that justice and mercy may characterize thine actions and thy thought in dealing with thy fellow man, that thy soul may be led out to throughly understand the business of this life and that thou may be blest with plenty for the sustenance of thy family. Be of good cheer, thy power for the doing of good shall be increased. Be wise, be honest and meet every obligation both of spiritual and of temporal nature and God shall prosper thee in the way thou goeth, and men shall hold thy name in honor.
Defend the truth and thy tongue shall be loosed to utter such words that shall bring joy to thy soul and steady thine own feet more firmly in the principles of the Gospel, be liberal and liberally shall thou receive.
Thou are of Ephraim the favored son of Joseph, and if thou are faithful, entitled to all the blessings of that favored race. I seal thee up against the power of the destroyer, and sickness and disease shall not overtake thee if thou art wise. Strength shall come to thy mind and thy judgment shall be clear and thy body shall be made strong if thou will observe the laws of life such as thou knowest thou should follow.
Brother William, I bless thee with all the power of the Priesthood conferred upon me by the voice of the people of this Stake of Zion. And pray God’s blessing upon thee, in the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ, even so, Amen.
Clara Ann Page Stewart Gay
by Laurel Ann Gay Gibson
My mother, Clara Ann Page Stewart Gay, was born on Nov. 25, 1874 at Provo, Utah. Her people were sturdy pioneer stock, her grandmother coming to this country from England. She was a widow with two small daughters. It was while living in St. Louis that she was again widowed.
When the saints crossed the plains she brought her own prairie schooner and supplies and hiring a teamster crossed the plains, with her two small children (this was Lydia Ann Hicks Page). Lydia arrived in ut Lake City, Utah in 1862 and later drove her own ox team to Provo. Lydia’s daughter, Julia Ann Page Stewart, was Clara’s mother.
My Mother’s father, Louis Stewart, crossed the plains several times to help bring the saints to Utah. Of such sturdy stock my mother came.
She lived at a time when conditions were most depressing and being the eldest of 5 children, four girls and one boy, she had to help out as much as possible. Her people were thrifty and industrious, but everyone had his share to do, so at the age of 10 she went out to do housework. For the next 10 years she helped out as best she could, getting her schooling between times. My mother was a very beautiful girl. My father’s sister tells me she was the most beautiful person she had ever seen with large blue eyes, brown hair and a most lovely pink and white complexion. Her pictures show her as beautiful and it is no wonder my father fell in love with her at first sight.
She was visiting her cousin in Lake Shore, Utah at the time. He was rather shy and could not bring himself to ask her to marry him so when she went home he sent a letter he had copied from a magazine asking her to marry him. She was insulted and told him by letter. He finally mustered up the courage and rode 18 miles on horseback to ask her.
She told him she wouldn’t marry him unless he would go to the temple. That stopped things for a time, but finally dad decided if he wanted her he would have to comply with her wish and so on Jan. 30, 1895 they were married in the Salt Lake Temple. There were 8 children born. One of them dying at the age of six months (John William Gay).
Mother was a great influence for good on my father’s life. Through her constant faith and prayers she kept him in the gospel. He always gave mother credit for his being the kind of man he was.
Two weeks after her marriage, mother had typhoid fever and from then on she had one serious illness after another. She had some of the most serious sick spells one could have and not die. She was promised that she wouldn’t die. Before our last brother was born she knew she would die. On going to the dedication of the 2nd Ward Chapel she met one the the apostles who came for it. As the people passed out of the church everyone shook hands with him. When it came to mother, he took her hand and said, ‘Bless you dear sister, you shall live to have your children’s children call you blessed’. This she surely did.
Mother never had much of the material wealth of life, but she was always good to her family and waited on them hand and foot. I always have said she did too much for us. If her sisters family’s were ill it was always ‘send for Aunt Clara’, and if she was well she always vent. In later life when her grandchildren were ill, she went to them if she was able and helped take care of them.
Mothers life was one of service to her fellowmen and what more can be said of one then that he helped his fellow man. Christ set our example of this.
If anyone of her family were in need of food and she had any, she gave it to them if she went without herself. I have scolded her .ore than once on account of it and told her that was why she never had much herself.
Mother had three great sorrows in her life. Losing her son was one (Johnny), losing father was another, and my brother not being able to do the things he should was the third. She always said to lose one’s mate was the most tragic thing in the world. To lose father, mother and son were bad enough, but a husband was infinitely worse.
Mother was ill six weeks before dad died. One night, about two weeks before my fathers death, I was sleeping with her and she seemed to be in such agony. I raised her up and she said, ‘The spirit said when you're about to die...’. This she repeated several times and finally she said she had been climbing a high mountain. There were two lines of people on the mountainside, one going up and the other coming down. She said she and someone else were going up. When she reached the top she was told that she must go back and the others were to go on. She came back but in about two weeks my father died so we have always thought he was the one to go on.
Mother lived twenty three years after the apostle promised her that she would live to hear her children’s children call her blessed. She lived 6 years after the time father passed on.
Mother was first aid in the first camp of the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers in the Grand View Ward. She was also in the Presidency of the Primary, and the Relief Society block sister teacher for several years. She worked in the temple for her dead ancestors.
Mother was always a home woman. She regretted not having as good an education as my father. Mother suffered for 16 long months before her death, but she loved life so she wouldn’t give up. She lived three days after she told me she was no longer afraid to die.
She never believed fully in tithing but after dad died and before her death she paid tithing on ever cent she received. The Bishop remarked that he couldn’t see how she could think of tithing when she was so ill.
She died 3 March 1935. Just 16 years to the day after moving on the farm in Grandview Ward.
(This is a copy taken from the original writing of my Aunt Laurel Gay Gibson, pertaining to her mothers and my grandmothers history. Copied by Joyce Gay Johnson, grand daughter to Clara Ann.)
My mother, Clara Ann Page Stewart Gay, was born on Nov. 25, 1874 at Provo, Utah. Her people were sturdy pioneer stock, her grandmother coming to this country from England. She was a widow with two small daughters. It was while living in St. Louis that she was again widowed.
When the saints crossed the plains she brought her own prairie schooner and supplies and hiring a teamster crossed the plains, with her two small children (this was Lydia Ann Hicks Page). Lydia arrived in ut Lake City, Utah in 1862 and later drove her own ox team to Provo. Lydia’s daughter, Julia Ann Page Stewart, was Clara’s mother.
My Mother’s father, Louis Stewart, crossed the plains several times to help bring the saints to Utah. Of such sturdy stock my mother came.
She lived at a time when conditions were most depressing and being the eldest of 5 children, four girls and one boy, she had to help out as much as possible. Her people were thrifty and industrious, but everyone had his share to do, so at the age of 10 she went out to do housework. For the next 10 years she helped out as best she could, getting her schooling between times. My mother was a very beautiful girl. My father’s sister tells me she was the most beautiful person she had ever seen with large blue eyes, brown hair and a most lovely pink and white complexion. Her pictures show her as beautiful and it is no wonder my father fell in love with her at first sight.
She was visiting her cousin in Lake Shore, Utah at the time. He was rather shy and could not bring himself to ask her to marry him so when she went home he sent a letter he had copied from a magazine asking her to marry him. She was insulted and told him by letter. He finally mustered up the courage and rode 18 miles on horseback to ask her.
She told him she wouldn’t marry him unless he would go to the temple. That stopped things for a time, but finally dad decided if he wanted her he would have to comply with her wish and so on Jan. 30, 1895 they were married in the Salt Lake Temple. There were 8 children born. One of them dying at the age of six months (John William Gay).
Mother was a great influence for good on my father’s life. Through her constant faith and prayers she kept him in the gospel. He always gave mother credit for his being the kind of man he was.
Two weeks after her marriage, mother had typhoid fever and from then on she had one serious illness after another. She had some of the most serious sick spells one could have and not die. She was promised that she wouldn’t die. Before our last brother was born she knew she would die. On going to the dedication of the 2nd Ward Chapel she met one the the apostles who came for it. As the people passed out of the church everyone shook hands with him. When it came to mother, he took her hand and said, ‘Bless you dear sister, you shall live to have your children’s children call you blessed’. This she surely did.
Mother never had much of the material wealth of life, but she was always good to her family and waited on them hand and foot. I always have said she did too much for us. If her sisters family’s were ill it was always ‘send for Aunt Clara’, and if she was well she always vent. In later life when her grandchildren were ill, she went to them if she was able and helped take care of them.
Mothers life was one of service to her fellowmen and what more can be said of one then that he helped his fellow man. Christ set our example of this.
If anyone of her family were in need of food and she had any, she gave it to them if she went without herself. I have scolded her .ore than once on account of it and told her that was why she never had much herself.
Mother had three great sorrows in her life. Losing her son was one (Johnny), losing father was another, and my brother not being able to do the things he should was the third. She always said to lose one’s mate was the most tragic thing in the world. To lose father, mother and son were bad enough, but a husband was infinitely worse.
Mother was ill six weeks before dad died. One night, about two weeks before my fathers death, I was sleeping with her and she seemed to be in such agony. I raised her up and she said, ‘The spirit said when you're about to die...’. This she repeated several times and finally she said she had been climbing a high mountain. There were two lines of people on the mountainside, one going up and the other coming down. She said she and someone else were going up. When she reached the top she was told that she must go back and the others were to go on. She came back but in about two weeks my father died so we have always thought he was the one to go on.
Mother lived twenty three years after the apostle promised her that she would live to hear her children’s children call her blessed. She lived 6 years after the time father passed on.
Mother was first aid in the first camp of the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers in the Grand View Ward. She was also in the Presidency of the Primary, and the Relief Society block sister teacher for several years. She worked in the temple for her dead ancestors.
Mother was always a home woman. She regretted not having as good an education as my father. Mother suffered for 16 long months before her death, but she loved life so she wouldn’t give up. She lived three days after she told me she was no longer afraid to die.
She never believed fully in tithing but after dad died and before her death she paid tithing on ever cent she received. The Bishop remarked that he couldn’t see how she could think of tithing when she was so ill.
She died 3 March 1935. Just 16 years to the day after moving on the farm in Grandview Ward.
(This is a copy taken from the original writing of my Aunt Laurel Gay Gibson, pertaining to her mothers and my grandmothers history. Copied by Joyce Gay Johnson, grand daughter to Clara Ann.)
Clara Ann Stewart Gay - Patriarchal Blessing
A copy of the blessing given by Abel John Evens, Patriarch in Lehi, Utah 9 Feb. 1930 upon the head of Clara Ann Stewart Gay, daughter of Julia Page and Louis Stewart, born at Provo, Utah, 25 Nov. 1874.
Dear Sister Clara Stewart Gay. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the virtue and authority of the Holy Priesthood, I lay my hands upon thy head and give thee a Patriarchial Blessing as the Lord shall direct. Thy lineage is of Isreal through the loins of Ephriam, one whom the Lord loved, and by reason thereof the blood coursing in thy veins is royal and entitles thee to the blessings of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob. Thy name is written in the Lambs Book of Life and if thou wilt continue to be faithful, it shall never be blotted out, neither erased from the records of the Church to which thou belongest. Thou should be exceedingly greatful that thy spirit was retained in yonder heaven where it was born and thou wast reserved because of having kept thy first estate to come forth in this generation of the world when God has established his work a new and given man authority to bind on earth and it shall be bound in Heaven, and to loose on earth and it shall be loosed in heaven. The greatest authority ever given to man since Jesus Christ, our Lord, was upon the earth.
The Lord is pleased with thy life, dear sister, because of thy love of Him and His son Jesus Christ, as well as the work He has established in this day and generation of the world, and inasmuch as thou hast had the privilege of entering into the house of the Lord and there preforming labor for thyself which shall be eternal, and if thou wilt continue to be faithful and keep the Word of Wisdom and be prudent in what thou shalt eat and drink, I bless thee that thy days shall be long upon the earth and the blessed heritage of thy offsprings shall never be blotted out, and thou shalt ever have a representative upon the earth to honor thy name to the latest generation. I bless thee that thou mayest live when the Lord shall smite the wicked by war, pestilance and famine, and thou shalt see them fall upon the right hand and upon the left hand, and thy heart shall go out in pity for them and thou canst do nothing but weep for God has decreed distruction for the wicked of the inhabitants of this land unless they come to repentance, for that has been the lot of nations who have inhabited this land before and refused to repent though the power of God was manifest in their presence.
I bless thee that thou mayest yet feed the hungry, cloth the naked, and administer unto the wants of the sick and afflicted and in as much as thou wilt be humble and meek before the Lord, the heavens shall be opened to thy cries and men and women be relieved of their distress because of thy humble petitions unto the Lord. Lift up thy head and rejoice for many happy days are before thee and angels shall go before thee and prepare thy way, both spiritually and temporally, for thy table shall never be barron.
Now, dear sister, take comfort and when thou shalt be troubled in thy heart and downcast in thy spirit take this blessing and read it and faith and comfort shall come unto thy soul, be reason of this blessing, because it is pronounced upon thy head through the authority and power of God.
I now seal thee to come forth in the morning of the first resurrection, crowned with glory, immortality and eternal life, to reign in the House of the Lord forever. These blessings are given unto thee and the promises made and conferred upon thee on condition of thy faithfulness to the Lord and those who preside over thee in the Church for I seal them upon thee by the Holy Evangelical calling which has been pronounced upon my head through ordination of the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ, Amen.
Dear Sister Clara Stewart Gay. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the virtue and authority of the Holy Priesthood, I lay my hands upon thy head and give thee a Patriarchial Blessing as the Lord shall direct. Thy lineage is of Isreal through the loins of Ephriam, one whom the Lord loved, and by reason thereof the blood coursing in thy veins is royal and entitles thee to the blessings of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob. Thy name is written in the Lambs Book of Life and if thou wilt continue to be faithful, it shall never be blotted out, neither erased from the records of the Church to which thou belongest. Thou should be exceedingly greatful that thy spirit was retained in yonder heaven where it was born and thou wast reserved because of having kept thy first estate to come forth in this generation of the world when God has established his work a new and given man authority to bind on earth and it shall be bound in Heaven, and to loose on earth and it shall be loosed in heaven. The greatest authority ever given to man since Jesus Christ, our Lord, was upon the earth.
The Lord is pleased with thy life, dear sister, because of thy love of Him and His son Jesus Christ, as well as the work He has established in this day and generation of the world, and inasmuch as thou hast had the privilege of entering into the house of the Lord and there preforming labor for thyself which shall be eternal, and if thou wilt continue to be faithful and keep the Word of Wisdom and be prudent in what thou shalt eat and drink, I bless thee that thy days shall be long upon the earth and the blessed heritage of thy offsprings shall never be blotted out, and thou shalt ever have a representative upon the earth to honor thy name to the latest generation. I bless thee that thou mayest live when the Lord shall smite the wicked by war, pestilance and famine, and thou shalt see them fall upon the right hand and upon the left hand, and thy heart shall go out in pity for them and thou canst do nothing but weep for God has decreed distruction for the wicked of the inhabitants of this land unless they come to repentance, for that has been the lot of nations who have inhabited this land before and refused to repent though the power of God was manifest in their presence.
I bless thee that thou mayest yet feed the hungry, cloth the naked, and administer unto the wants of the sick and afflicted and in as much as thou wilt be humble and meek before the Lord, the heavens shall be opened to thy cries and men and women be relieved of their distress because of thy humble petitions unto the Lord. Lift up thy head and rejoice for many happy days are before thee and angels shall go before thee and prepare thy way, both spiritually and temporally, for thy table shall never be barron.
Now, dear sister, take comfort and when thou shalt be troubled in thy heart and downcast in thy spirit take this blessing and read it and faith and comfort shall come unto thy soul, be reason of this blessing, because it is pronounced upon thy head through the authority and power of God.
I now seal thee to come forth in the morning of the first resurrection, crowned with glory, immortality and eternal life, to reign in the House of the Lord forever. These blessings are given unto thee and the promises made and conferred upon thee on condition of thy faithfulness to the Lord and those who preside over thee in the Church for I seal them upon thee by the Holy Evangelical calling which has been pronounced upon my head through ordination of the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ, Amen.
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