Lydia Standley

Lydia Standley was born Dec 13, 1846 in Ponca Camp, Nebraska Territory to Alexander Scoby and Philinda Upson Standley.

History

When Lydia was born, her family and members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were being pushed out of their homes and killed for their beliefs. They lived in poverty and on scarce provisions for many years. The Standley family joined the Thomas C.D. Howell Company on June 7, 1852 and arrived in the Salt Lake Valley on Sep 2.

"From there we went to East Weber where the cattle could live by browsing on the cottonwood limbs as we had no hay for them.

"The boys made a dugout in the side hill with willows rushes and dirt for a roof and dirt floors. In May 1853 we went from there to Bountiful where we built a log house near the Jordan Island."1

Lydia married Wallace Kendall Burnham as his polygamous wife on April 11, 1865. Wallace's first wife was Lydia's older sister, Philinda. From this marriage, Lydia moved to Richmond. Just a couple of years after moving to Richmond and having her first child, Lydia's sister died. Lydia began raising her 5 nieces and nephews and had 12 children herself.

Lydia worked hard raising her children and her sister's children. In 1882, when the Richmond Ward Relief Society was making plans to build a Hall, Lydia was one of the main contributors to its construction.

In 1907, when the Daughters of Utah Pioneers of Richmond was organized, Lydia was one of the recognized living Pioneers. In 1929, the Daughters asked Lydia to name their camp. Lydia named them the James Hendricks Camp, after the father of Mormon Battalion member and first Mayor of Richmond, William D. Hendricks.

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