Sarah Caroline Williams
John D. Lee's wife number 4
September 1985, Cactus Flat Lee Quarterly
Sarah Caroline Williams, the third plural wife of John D. Lee, was born in Rutherford County, Tennessee on Wednesday 24 November 1830. In a journal, began when she was about fifty years old, she uses phonetic spelling throughout, with very few punctuation marks. She beings by stating that she is "the daughter of Isice and Margaret Walkup Williams." The peculiar spelling of her father's name, I-s-i-c-e, is undoubtedly her own phonetic way of sounding out what appears to be the name Isaac.
The 1840 census verifies the presence of Williams families in Rutherford County at this time. One of the "Heads of Household" in fact is an Isaac and probably Caroline's father. The record however, does not list names of family members, so it would be difficult to verify this supposition. Isaac appears again in the 1850 census, but the name of his wife does not appear; probably indication is that she died during years sometime before 1850 and even before 1840 and perhaps reason for Caroline's later leaving home at an early age.
There are two families listed in these census years bearing Caroline's family maternal surname, Walkup. This is such an unusual name that these people would have had to have been close relatives, if not immediate family members of her mother, Margaret Walkup.
Caroline continues, "...joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Later-Day Saints when quite young, came to Nauvoo in 403" (sic, i.e., 40-3 or 43) (see page 128 JDL mss. journal, baptized 20 May 1843, at the home of William Pace). Whether or not Isaac and Margaret were ever members of the Mormon Church is not known. It is likely they weren't for Caroline traveled from Tennessee to Nauvoo with the William Pace family. The Paces were from the same general area as the Williams, and like Caroline, they had been converted through the efforts of John D. Lee.
In Nauvoo, she lived with the Lee family. John writes that Caroline was "adopted" into his family on 19 April 1845. By this, he meant that she was sealed to him as a plural wife.
Less than a year later, the Mormons abandoned they city of Nauvoo. She was among the Lee family members that crossed the river on 4 March 1846. Her journal contains an entry to that effect: "... left Nauvoo with the first company of Saints in 406 [46]. Before leving Nauvoo i was seeled to John D. Lee."
Just eleven days after Lee returned from his mission to Santa Fe, Caroline went back to the settlements in Missouri with her Aunt Marcia Allen. John's journal entry of the account is found under date, December 2, 1846: "...About 3 p.m. Sister Marcia Allen and Caroline Lee started for English Grove in...Missouri." Although he says Sister Allen promised to be like a mother to her and she should have a good home, "it was not however, without feelings of sorrow."
There is here a finality in Lee's words that leads one to suspect that Caroline's move was meant to be permanent, or at least for an extended period of time, for he assumed without question that he would be leaving for the Salt Lake valley in a few months with the first pioneer company of 1847. Those included would be hand-picked by President Young and of necessity, numbers would be limited. Caroline would likely not have been selected. She could not be left alone at Winter Quarters with no close family member to help her. She was only 15 years old.
Subsequently, Lee, much to his disappointment, was assigned to stay at Summer Quarters and grow corn. During that time, he received word occasionally of her welfare and life with Aunt Marica in the settlements. Just two months following her departure, he received information from Missouri by a teamster that "Caroline was doing well." A month later he received a letter from Sister Allen that Caroline is well.
Shortly after the Lee family took their 1848 departure for the Salt Lake Valley, Caroline, it is believed went back to Tennessee and there met and married a man by the name of James Thompson. They later had a child while living in Cannon County, Tennessee and named him James Horton Thompson. His birth date was 26 April 1849.
Caroline nowhere mentions these years. She only says "...have passed throu meny triles. In 18501 [1851] came to Salt Lake." She rejoined the Lee family as John D. Lee's wife and moved south with them to Parowan in 1852. John D. Lee grew very fond of the boy, James Thompson, and often referred to him in his journals as his step-son.
Caroline's first child by John D. Lee was born 1 Oct. 1852 at Parowan. This was the first of 11 born to them over the next twenty years. She had her last child while living at Kanab, Utah at the age of 42. Two of her children, George Albert and Margaret Ann died at Fort Harmony when the walls collapsed during the storms of 1862. Children were:
Harvey Parley b. 1 Oct 1852 at Parowan, d. 4 Feb 1927
George Albert b. 1855 at Fort Harmony, d. 6 Feb 1862
Margaret Ann b. 3 Jan 1857 at Fort Harmony, d. 6 Feb 1862
Rachel Olive b. 6 Nov 1858 at Fort Harmony d. 15 May 1924
Sarah Ann b. 6 Nov 1860 at Fort Harmony d. 21 Dec 1920
Charles William b. 9 Aug 1862 at Fort Harmony d. ?
Mary Elizabeth b. 1 Apr 1864 at Fort Harmony d. ?
Robert Edmund b. 2 Jan 1866 at Fort Harmony d. 24 Apr 1928
Helen Josephine b. 18 Jan 1868 at Fort Harmony d.?
Walter Brigham b. 30 Sep 1869 at Fort Harmony d. ?
Ammon Doyle b. 15 Jan 1872 at Fort Harmony d. 12 Apr 1940
Caroline is often mentioned in Lee's journals during the 1860's, accompanying him on visits to various settlements in Southern Utah. When the Lees moved to Skutumpah, she and her family were there.
In 1871, because of confiscatory action taken by the federal government against individuals practicing polygamy, church authorities sent advice to such members throughout the territory to deed all property over to their wives. John did this.
Thurs., Nov. 15th [1871]. Finished making out my deeds, distributing my property among 5 of my wives and children. Namely, Rachel Andora Woolsey, Polly & Lovina Young, Sarah Caroline Williams & Emma Batchelor acknowledged them before Justice McConnell.
When the family moved to the Colorado River, Caroline remained in Kanab, where she bore her last child. She later moved into the home in Panguitch where she was living when he was captured by federal marshals. When he was imprisoned she was faithful in corresponding and continued to write and encourage him until his execution in 1877.
Four years after his death Caroline, now 51 years old, married William Young. He was a member of the LDS Church. The following year, they moved to the Gila Valley in Arizona. She had commenced keeping records in a daily journal, while living in Utah and continued after moving to Arizona:
"I was with the sick a greate deele of my time. It seems to be my mission here on earth. My labor commenced in Arizona in 1882 as a midwife...and don much of the same labor in Utah before i left thear, but have lost my record."
She follows this explanation with sixty pages of names and dates of those whom she attended in her work. These services were performed in the Pima-central-Thatcher areas of Graham County..."Elizabeth R., daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth Cluff, bornd March 16th at seven o'clock in the morning at Central, 1885...James W., son of Washington ad Lena Jolley was bornd Feb. 7, 1887 at nine o'clock at knight at Thatcher," etc.
Following the death of her husband in 1890, she moved back to Panguitch:
"i went to Panguitch and tuck up my labors amoung the sick women and other duties in keeping house for my youngest son."
She later lived for a few years with some of her children in La Plata, New Mexico, then back to Panguitch.
"August 27, 1902...Ate breakfast with my daughter and the brethren [Visiting general authorities of the church during Stake Conference]. President Roberson tuck me back to Sister Joness and came back for Brother Cimble [J. Golden Kimble]. Sister Jones lingered along until about seven o'clock and through the mercy of the Lord and the assistance of Sister Williams and myself she was delivered of a son. I staid the rest of the night. the 29th came home this morning, milked, feed my chickens then went back...helped to fix her bed, then came home to attend to my work."
In the last years of her life, she continued in much the same manner..."In the year 1907 in my 77th year I put Bishop Stewart[s] wife to bed on the 6 of April with a lovely daughter."
The last entry in her journal was made..."25 Dec 1907 put Seth Jacobs wife to bed with a fine son."
Caroline passed away about this time. Maneta Prince Henrie, in the "Descendants of John Doyle Lee" gives her death as 16 February 1907, the date carved on her tombstone in Torry, Utah. Since Caroline was still writing on 25 December 1907, this is obviously incorrect. It is likely that she died on 16 February 1908.
Though she had no formal education, Sarah Caroline Williams lived a remarkably productive life, raising 12 children almost single handedly and giving of herself to others over many years. Hundreds of those whom she served remembered her kind ministrations. Whatever the date of departure from this life, she must have made the transition with the conviction that she had done her best, lived an exemplary life and was ready to meet whatever lay beyond the veil.