Samuel Eckersley

About

Samuel Eckersley was born Jan 26, 1830 in Unsworth, England to John and Ellen Haddock Eckersley. Samuel is a Pioneer of Richmond. Samuel is a veteran of the Indian Wars.

History

When Samuel was only three years old, his mother died giving birth to his sister. From that point on, his paternal aunt took care of Samuel in his early years. At some point in his younger years, Samuel was converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

While working in a factory, Samuel met Leah Hardman. The factory manufactured cloth like ginghams. Samuel and Leah married on June 4, 1854 in Stand Parish, England. A few years later, Samuel moved to the United States to find better work and opportunities. He was able to afford his family to move to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he was staying, in 1860. Both Samuel and Leah worked in a cloth factory to afford the cost of moving west to Utah.

The Eckerlsey family left Philadelphia on May 1, 1861 to move west. The exact company that the Eckersley Family joined is unknown, but a 'Captain Hunts Company' is present in family histories. While traveling in the company, food became very scarce to the point of starvation. The Church called men to go and take provisions to the company, Neriah R. Lewis, William Thompson, and Joseph M. Bright from Richmond helped the company. Because of these men, the Eckersley family moved to Richmond the same year.

While in Richmond, the Eckerlsey family was one of the only families with a working loom in the settlement. They were able to keep busy working on clothing for the settlement, along with the wool from the sheep they purchased soon after moving to Richmond.

Samuel's daughter Leah Marilda relates,

"Our family were all very happy until my mother died on April 20, 1878, leaving a family of nine children, the youngest being twin boys who were only five months old at that time. Just fifteen months later my sister, Sarah Ellen, then twenty-one years old, died leaving Emaline and me and my father to raise the other children. It was very hard for him but he did the very best he could and he was a wonderful father to all of us."

Indian Wars Service

After the construction of the Richmond Fort in 1860 and other forts in Cache Valley, the Territory of Utah created the Cache Military District on Oct 15, 1861 with Church Apostle Ezra T. Benson as Colonel. On June 16, 1863, Richmond was organized into two companies of Infantry and two squads of Cavalry. James was appointed as a Private.