Eliza Ann Bickmore

Eliza Ann Bickmore was born Jan 29, 1830, in Madison, Illinois to William Montier and Christena Bagley Bickmore. 

Early Life & Utah

Eliza Ann became a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints early in its history. By 1846, she had received her temple endowments in the Nauvoo, Illinois Temple. After some time, Elijah Allen returned from service in the Mormon Battalion in 1852. They were married in the same year and moved to Utah and stayed in Provo for many years. They had seven children before Elijah's health began to decline, and later died in 1865. To help care for her children after Elijah's passing, Eliza Ann moved her family to Richmond to live near his family, as most of her own family lived on the West Coast.

Richmond Life

Raising seven children was no easy task. The oldest in the family was Elijah Allen Jr. at 13 years old, and the youngest was Joseph Smith Allen at only three. Many of the older children attended school during the winter with no shoes. When the family moved to Richmond, the family began raising sheep to make or mend clothing, as well as cooking and cleaning all day. The oldest boys began working around with livestock in Richmond or working in mines in Bringham City, Utah.

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