1847-1916
PHOTOS
Mary Ann was born in 1847 in Cambridge, England
to Joseph Onion Clark and Ann Clark. She came to America with her
parents when she was five years old, and crossed the plains to Salt Lake
City when she was ten years old.
As a seamstress, Mary Ann's mother was gone
much of the time, so Mary Ann took care of the house and older children.
Her mother demanded strict obedience of her children and administered very
severe punishment. She was very impatient, quick tempered, and loved
to scold. Her father was the opposite -- patient, kind, and pleasant.
Although they had been converted to the LDS Church and come west with the
pioneers, after living in Salt Lake City for thirty years and seeing much
wickedness and enduring so much persecution, Joseph and Ann left the L.D.S.
Church. Everyone in the family, except Mary Ann, moved back to Independence,
Missouri and became members of the Reorganized LDS Church.
Mary Ann was short, only five feet tall,
and had brown, curly ringlets. She was much like her father in temperament.
One evening she attended a dinner dance.
At the dinner table, Samuel Stewart placed
her plate on his. When asked why he did that, he said, "She just
as well start eating with me now. She will be my wife anyway." When
Mary Ann was sixteen, they were married.
When Samuel's family came from Scotland
and found he had married, his father was very displeased--but the family
still lived with them for a while. Times were hard and they had little.
Food was mostly bread, potatoes, and molasses. Mary Ann knitted a
pair of socks once to trade for a beef ‘s head. Another time she
knitted a pair for a pig's head, but the cheeks had been cut out, so not
much meat was left.
In her patriarchal blessing, Mary Ann
was told she had the power to heal. She couldn't see anyone or anything
hurt or suffer. She nursed her children through diphtheria.
She prayed to know what to do. A voice told her to go to the cupboard.
In front of the dishes was a little blue box two inches square. She
boiled the contents in water and gave it to the children. They recovered
that very day with no ill effects. Another time she blessed one of
the horses with consecrated oil. It soon recovered.
She fed the Indians many pancakes and
was kind to them during the Indian trials, and they never harmed her.
She was also a visionary person.
Often she had true dreams of situations of the future or someone away.
She was very humble, had a lot of faith and trusted in the Lord.
She was fussy about her appearance. She always had a pleasant expression
and a sunny nature. She always sang at her work, no matter what her
problems. She never slapped or spanked any of her children.
Before she died, all twelve of her children
were married and endowed in the Logan Temple.
PHOTOS
Mary Ann Clark Stewart
Mary Ann's father, Joseph Onion Clark
Mary Ann's mother, Ann Clark
Mary Ann's husband, Samuel Stewart
CHILDREN OF MARY ANN & SAMUEL STEWART
Angeline Vilate Stewart
& Charles William Buttars
James Israel Clark, Jr.
& Julie Ann Stewart
Samuel Clark Stewart &
Selma Dahle
Samuel Clark Stewart (later
years) on a doorstep
James Thomas Birch &
Mary Ann Stewart
Joseph Warren Black &
Sarah Stewart
George Stewart and his
wife Leonie Birch
Joseph William Stewart
& Sarah Ann Godfrey
Parley Smith Richman &
Clara Elizabeth Stewart
James Edward Stewart and
his 3 wives
1) Emily Janet Bassett;
2) Lucy Atkinson Benson; 3) Susie Loosle
Benjamin Isaac Stewart
& Caroline Birch
Hugh Stewart
Andrew Stewart & his
two wives
1) Alberta Elizabeth
Bagley; 2) Sarah Abigail Marble
Sisters (daughters
of Samuel and Mary Ann Stewart)
Julie, Mary, Sadie, Angeline,
Clara
Family group: Samuel & Mary Ann Stewart
and their children
Samuel Stewart and Mary Ann Clark Stewart
Samuel Stewart and Mary Ann Clark Stewart
(later years)
