Hannah Ford was born May 1, 1780 to Thomas Ford and Hannah Rowlandson at Farmington, Hartford County, Connecticut on May 1, 1780.
Urial Driggs was born to Daniel Driggs Jr. and Ruth Graves on April 29, 1780. Urial’s father, Daniel Driggs Jr., was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. After the war Daniel and his family along with other war veterans from Connecticut, were transplanted onto a tract of land on the "Western Reserve," as a compensation for their service. They settled in or near Marcellus, Onondaga County, New York, a short distance west of Syracuse. In checking through history, it seems that Urial was about twelve years of age, when his parents left Connecticut.
This frontier being in its infancy, the prospects for young men were poor. By this time Urial had reached his middle-teens and had a strong desire to return back to the land of his childhood in Connecticut where home industries and manufacturing were beginning to develop. Urial returned to Farmington, Connecticut, the place where Hannah was born and raised, and met Hannah. Their friendship developed into affection, but they were in their middle-teens yet still desired to be married. In those days ministers were few, each one being assigned several congregations which spread over a large territory, which would take a minister with their mode of travel, sometimes as long as three or four years to make the rounds. Under those conditions it was permissible, if, the parents of the young couple gave their consent to the marriage, and, the minister was not available, for the couple to live together as husband and wife. When the minister returned he would marry them officially. This was perhaps the case with Hannah and Urial, as when the minister returned they were married officially, at the Old Northington Church House, at Avon, (a suburb of Farmington), in the Congregational Church, of which Hannah was a member.
It appears they located temporarily at Marcellus, New York, (where Urial's parents were probably still living,) as their names appear on the Census of 1800 of Onondaga County, New York. Both of Urial's parents appear to have died at Marcellus sometime during the first decade of the nineteenth century and are probably buried in that vicinity.
Hannah and Urial resided in Connecticut, as their first six children were born there. Then they became attracted by the reports of the encouraging opportunities to acquire fertile farm land at little or no cost in the Western Reserve Region. They emigrated from Connecticut to Ohio, and made a new home in Ashtabula, on the shore of lake Erie. Five more children were born to them here.
From Ohio the family again moved to the more industrialized areas of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania (near Pittsburgh), where their last four sons were born.
They then moved to Fredonia, Licking County, Ohio, possibly about l822. While living in Licking County two sons, Shadrach Ford and Lorenzo Dow married White sisters, daughters of Henry White of Vermont, and at least three grandchildren were born, the first on record being Benjamin W. Driggs in 1837.
While the family was living in Licking County (some of the older married children were probably living in the Pittsburgh or Ashtabula area as they do not appear to have been in Licking County), Urial and his family living near him joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. After they had joined the church, they were scoffed and scorned beyond their endurance, by their once called friends and neighbors. They and their friends of the same faith moved to the city of Nauvoo so they could be with the main body of the church. They traveled for three weeks when suddenly they got a glimpse of the Mississippi River, then, Nauvoo, The Beautiful, was before them. They bought a piece of land at Upper Nauvoo, where they built a home. They were urged to plant good gardens and raise what crops they could to help to provide food for those who worked on the Nauvoo Temple.
While at Nauvoo, Hannah and Urial enjoyed spending the evenings telling stories of the old days to their grandchildren. There was one incident that was a favorite among the children, "The Blackberry Pie Story". While they were living in the beautiful Mohawk Valley, Hannah sent four of her children into the woods to gather wild blackberries, promising them that she would make them each a berry pie. Giving them each a pail, saying, "now be brisk, and get home by noon," she warned them. Little Shadrach was much happier chasing frisking squirrels, than picking berries. As it got close to noon his stomach reminded him of dinner and the berry pie. Realizing he couldn't fill his pail before noon, he decided to fill his pail nearly full of sweet smelling pennyroyal leaves that grew close by the berry bushes, then he worked hard and soon had the leaves covered with berries. The other children couldn't imagine how he could fill his pail so quickly. When they got home Shad was praised especially for being such a good worker. When the pies were made Shad's was the biggest pie of all. When he cut into it he got a big surprise, it was full of berries mixed with the pennyroyal leaves. ”That taught him a good lesson," the children would always say.
This peace which they had enjoyed did not last long. Soon came the sudden shock of being driven by mobs from their homes. They were forced to take what few possessions they could load onto the covered wagons which Urial and son Shadrach built from abandoned carts used when the Nauvoo Temple was being erected, all seasoned wood having been used up. By this time Hannah and Urial had aged and their health was failing them.
This covered wagon train made their first camp on the West side of the Mississippi River. Being so suddenly driven from their home and worn out with long years of hard work, Urial became bedridden. The jolting over the rutty road, up and down the rolling hills of Iowa, became unbearable for him.
One morning while the caravan was breaking camp, word was passed to the family and friends that Urial could go no farther. His children gathered around the wagon. They did all they could for him, but nothing seemed to help. Just before noon after giving his children a Father's blessing, and asking them to remain true to the faith, and to take good care of their precious mother, he fell into his last sleep. That day the caravan remained in camp. His sons Shadrach, Lorenzo, and Sterling sawed boards from a drv log and made a coffin. This was lined with cloth. After a simple yet impressive funeral service, Urial was laid to rest in a grove near a large walnut tree. Next morning, Hannah and her family moved on westward with the caravan.
After they arrived at Winter Quarters, Hannah body felt that she was not able to undertake another long journey. Her children realizing her physical condition, deemed it best that she remain in Iowa. They set out to find a suitable home for their mother and their sister Ruth, who had never married. They found a place on Pigeon Creek about fifteen miles farther north. After getting them fixed comfortably, Shadrach and Sterling bid their mother farewell and began their journey across the plains. Lorenzo remained there to look after his mother. Hannah’s son Samuel, who remained in Missouri, came to Utah in 1850. Hannah passed away seventeen months after her husband. She was laid to rest on the crest of a hill overlooking the Pigeon Greek Valley. Her daughter Ruth is buried beside her mother.
Edited and compiled by Ruth H. Barker
Source: History in the possession of David McKay Barker
http://www.livinggenealogy.com/?q=node/72
Uploaded by Emily Barker Farrer, 2010