Hannah Montgomery Wixom
by Viola Sleight
Hannah Montgomery was born July 28, 1830 at Ernestown, Ontario, Canada. She was the daughter of Steven and Mary S. Montgomery. Her early childhood was spent there until Mormon elders visited their home and taught them the restored gospel. The Montgomery family was converted to the message and joined the new church. This changed their lives because they now felt the need to gather with the Saints. Although Hannah was a very small girl, she underwent the hardships of pioneer life and moved from place to place with her persecuted family. The hardships and difficul-ties strengthened young Hannah as she grew and matured. It was her experience to be with the saints in Ohio, Missouri, and Illinois before they finally moved to the Rocky Mountains.
Hannah married Solomon Wixom on February 20, 1851 at Little Cottonwood. Her husband was an early convert to the church and he had preached the gospel in several states and had undergone severe persecution. He assisted in moving the saints from Missouri and from Illinois. He knew Joseph Smith and was in Nauvoo at the time of the prophet's death. He mar-ried Matilda Johnson in January 1833, but she died three years later. He then married Sarah Avery. She died on the plains in 1849 and left two sons, one eleven and the other thirteen. Han-nah had the responsibility of raising these two children as well as the eleven who came to bless her home.
They moved to various locations in Utah and engaged in livestock raising, farming, and sheep production. They moved to Brigham City in 1860 and remained there until the spring of 1864 when they moved to Bear Lake. They took a load of wheat and crossed the mountains to make a new home in Paris. There was not a flourmill in the valley so they had to grind their flour in a small coffee mill. This was a tedious job and took them most of the winter. Hannah also brought a bolt of white linen that was used for burial purposes in Paris. They braved the cold winters and the deep snows with no conveniences. They lived in dirt roof houses and made their own furniture, soap, candles, butter, and other foods.
Hannah was a good hostess and made everyone feel wel-come at her home. She was a good cook and known for her excellent baking powder biscuits. She was one of the pioneer women who saved and used all the material nature made available. She could fix a banquet out of nothing. She was also a woman of great faith and this helped her carry on when faced with the hardships of pioneer life. She was very active in the church and especially loved the work of the Relief Society.
She kept a genealogy book that is of great value today. Through her efforts and some of her children, they were able to trace the Wixom line back to the Mayflower and Robert Wixom. She was an excellent seamstress and homemaker.
Another of Hannah's traits was patience. She was calm and never complained, bearing her trials without comment. Solo-mon passed away on March 1, 1879 in Paris. Hannah died April 17, 1887 at Liberty.