Mary Ann Brough & William Curtis

History of

William Curtis (1813-1887) and

Mary Ann Brough (1823-1884)

by the BFO Research Committee, 11 February 2012

William Curtis was born on 29 March 1813 in Horncastle, Lincolnshire, England. His parents were John Curtis, a "Bricklayer", and Ann Ogden, who had ten children who were all christened at St. Mary's parish church in Horncastle. On 5 December 1839, William Curtis married Mary Ann Brough in Horncastle. She was christened on 5 June 1823 in West Ashby, Lincolnshire. Her parents were John Brough, a "Gardener", and Jane (Julia or Judith) Marshall, who had five children.

Following their marriage, William Curtis and Mary Ann Brough lived in Horncastle, Lincolnshire, where William worked as a "Bricklayer". William and Mary had no children.

By 1851, William and Mary had moved to Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, where William worked as a "Bricklayer Journeyman". By 1861, they had moved to Bedminister, Somerset, where William worked as a "Builder-Journeyman". In 1871, William worked as a "Green Grocer" in Bedminister, and in 1873, he was working as a "Farmer".

On 8 June 1873, William and Mary were baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). After joining the LDS Church they decided to leave England for "Zion" (in Utah). On 3 September 1873, they boarded the steamship "Wyoming" in Liverpool, England, and sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to America, arriving in New York City on 19 September 1873. They then traveled by train to Utah, and arrived in Ogden on 28 September 1873. The next day they traveled south to Salt Lake City, where they took up residence in the "5th Ward" area of the capital city.

A historical account of the immigrants of 1873 who left England for Utah aboard the steamship "Wyoming", is described below (via the website: http://lib.byu.edu/mormonmigration/voyage.php?id=493):

"Wed. 3. [Sep. 1873] -- The steamship Wyoming sailed from Liverpool, England, with 510 Saints (291 British and 219 Scandinavian), in charge of John B. Fairbanks. The company, after barely escaping shipwreck near Sable Island, landed in New York, Sept. 20th, and arrived at Salt Lake City, Sept. 29th."...

"On the 3rd of Sept., about 5 p.m., the ship [Wyoming] sailed from Liverpool, but a couple of hours later some of the machinery broke down and had to be repaired, which took two days. Having again resumed the voyage, all went well until the 15th, when the ship ran aground on a sand bank near Sable Island, 700 miles from New York. The captain immediately sent the third mate with five others of the crew ashore for help; he also fired several shots and sent up 14 skyrockets as signals of distress. Then he proceeded to cast overboard ironware, telegraph wire and other heavy articles (with which the ship was in part laden) to the value of about $40,000, which act, together with the coming tide, lifted the ship off the bank, and it proceeded again on its way by midnight, after having stuck in the sand about six hours. The boat sent out to obtain help did not return, but it was supposed, as the weather was fair and the sea calm, that it had either safely reached shore, or that the crew had been taken aboard another vessel. On the 16th the ship passed Sable Island, at a distance of about two miles with the island on the left. After the danger was past, the elders came together and offered thanksgivings and prayers to the great deliverer from the threatened danger. Most of the emigrants did not realize the danger to which they had been exposed until it was all over. On the 19th the ship arrived at the place of quarantine, near New York, and the following day the emigrants were landed at Castle Garden. At 5 p.m. the same day the journey was resumed by rail, via Philadelphia, Pittsburg, Chicago and Omaha to Ogden, Utah, where the company arrived Sunday, Sept. 28th. Those who were going south went to Salt Lake City on Monday (Sept. 29th)…."

In 1879, William and Mary were sealed as a couple in the LDS Salt Lake Temple. In 1880, William worked as a "Master builder" in Salt Lake City and sometimes went by the name of "William Ogden Curtis".

On 15 July 1884, Mary died, and on 27 September 1887, William passed away. They had no children. They are both buried in the Salt Lake City Cemetery.