Nancy Jane Rawlins

Nancy Jane Rawlins was born Feb 5, 1845 in Nauvoo, Illinois to Joseph Sharp and Mary Ellen Frost Rawlins. Nancy is a Pioneer of Richmond. Nancy is the mother of William Jasper Kerr.

History

A year prior to Nancy's birth, the Rawlins family had converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and moved to Nauvoo, Illinois to live near the other Saints. The Rawlins family joined the Willard Richards Company on July 3, 1848 and arrived in the Salt Lake Valley on Oct 10. They lived in Salt Lake City, Utah for two years before moving to Draper, Utah.

Nancy married Robert Marion Kerr on Jan 1, 1860 in Draper, Utah. Robert became employed by Nancy's father before their marriage. Soon after their marriage, they moved to Richmond. 

The Kerr family lived in Richmond Fort before building a small log home a little south of Main St. on State St. After some time, they built a larger home about a mile and half "south of town." The home had a brick cellar that had a small stream of cold water to help keep the milk and butter cold. According to family histories, this home was the first in Richmond to have water piped.

Nancy's granddaughter relates about her grandmother:

"After my grandfather’s death, grandmother had a real struggle, but she kept her difficulties to herself, an onlooker would never know but what everything was going along nicely— even up to the hour of her death she never uttered a word of discouragement or complaint.

"She was a very successful doctor of cancers, in so far as she was allowed to practice this art. The recipes for the different salves, killing and healing, were handed down through the different early generations. One of the most, skillful members in each family practiced the curing of cancers then taught someone else the art. Many people who living today can testify to her success even after doctors had given up some cases as hopeless. Grandmother offered to sell the recipes and ideas to physicians but they scoffed at her. However, they did all they could on the sly to find out the names of the ingredients, which she used. Of course during the later years she couldn't practice lawfully without a license but she was willing to pass the remedy on to someone who could use it."

Epilogue