Elizabeth Harrocks Coulam (1851-1934)

Daughter of Daniel Harrocks and Ann Rutter

Married George Briggs Coulam, 27 Dec 1869, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah

Children - Elizabeth Ann Coulam, George Coulam, John Harrocks Coulam, Daniel Cordon Coulam, Lillie May Coulam, Sarah Coulam, Mary Coulam, Ellen Wray Coulam, Charles Henry Coulam, Gretta Coulam

The families of Daniel and Peter Harrocks, left England and came to America in 1855. Listed on the company roster were those members of the family who were in this wagon train. The name is spelled Horrocks or Harrocks, depending upon which records you find.

History. Elizabeth Horrocks (Harrocks) Coulam was born in Aughton, Lancashire, England, September 21, 1851. Her parents, Daniel and Ann Rutter Horrocks, joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and left England for Zion in February 1855, with their four small children. The family consisted of Jane, Ellen, Elizabeth, and a baby boy just five weeks old. They were indeed filled with the Spirit of the Gospel to undertake a voyage which was bound to be filled with trials and hardships, with so young a baby. They were nine weeks on the ocean, and although little Elizabeth was just three and a half years old, she remembers distinctly many incidents about the trip.

The family landed in New York and proceeded westward immediately. When they reached Mormon Grove, they rested for six weeks and made preparations for the tramp across the plains. They were members of what was called an "Independent Company", having enough money to prepare themselves well with provisions and cattle for the trip. They bought a wagon, oxen, and a cow. Preparations were almost complete and the little family was rejoicing with the prospect of again starting for Zion when the first tragedy of their journey came, the death of the baby brother, on May 29, 1855. He was buried in Mormon Grove and the company started westward again. When they had traveled about six miles, an epidemic of Cholera broke out among the Saints. This brought much suffering and sorrow, as many lives were lost. Among the deceased was Daniel Horrocks, father of this little family. He expired on June 13, 1855, leaving his widow with three little girls to raise. Elizabeth remembered seeing the men take her father's body back to be buried by the side of his little son in Mormon Grove. She remembers watching her mother wash the bedding while they waited for the brethren to return, so they could resume their journey.

After the death of her husband and baby boy, although she was almost brokenhearted, her faith was not shaken in the least, and when her brother-in-law, Peter Horrocks, offered her the money to return to England, she replied, "No - for Zion I have started and to Zion I shall go."

The Horrocks family had given much service to the missionaries in England, and one of them, O.M.Duall, was glad to drive the oxen and help the little widow, in exchange for his board while crossing the plains. The group experienced the usual hardships during the journey and arrived in the Salt Lake Valley in September, three months after starting from Mormon Grove.

The emigrants were directed to the Eighth Ward Square (where the City and County Building now stands), until they could get homes.

The day after their arrival, Ann Horrocks went out to look for a home. She came upon some men building a one-room home located on Seventh East, between First and Second South Streets. They offered to sell her the home for two yolks of oxen and a wagon. She decided to buy the unfinished home and proceeded to move her little family into a dugout at the rear of the lot. They lived in the dugout until Christmas Day, 1855 when they moved into the house.

The family endured many hardships, suffering greatly from cold and hunger. At one period they had no bread for three days. It was necessary to burn the fence posts one winter, to keep warm. The children dug the roots of the Sego Lily for food. The mother worked hard to support herself and her children. She worked for eleven weeks for Isaac Chase, at the Old Mill, for nothing but her board. At one point she was forced to sell her deceased husband's coat to buy flour for her children. Her faith was never weakened by these many trials.

In 1857 Johnson's Army came to the valley, and the family joined the other Saints in the "Move". They were among the last to leave their home, as the mother was cleaning the Lion House for Brigham Young. He said, "No matter what we leave behind, leave it clean". The group had only traveled as far as Provo when the trouble was over, so they returned home.

Elizabeth attended the first show given in the Salt Lake Theater - "The Pride of the Market". Brigham Young gave tickets to all of his employees and their families.

The children all worked to help their mother, as soon as they were able. Elizabeth gathered "cat tails" from the big field below Liberty Park and used them to fill bed ticks for people. She also gathered wheat and threshed it with a flail. The grain was sold for $1.75 a bushel. The children made dozens of tallow candles and also soft soap. The soap was put into large barrels, and Mr. Jennings took it to his store, where it was sold by the quart.

Calico was sixty cents a yard and thread was twenty-five cents a spool, so one calico dress was somewhat a luxury. Flour was twenty-five dollars a sack, and at one time Ann Horrocks went to Henry W. Lawrence to buy a sack for her son-in-law, Charles Livingston. Mr. Lawrence invited her to ride in his buggy to her home, and on arrival, she found that he had sent two sacks instead of the one she had paid for. Upon inquiry, Mr. Lawrence said, "One is for you, Ann, you deserve it."

The family always seemed able to get plenty to do, in one way or another. At one time, a train was derailed into the Green River, thoroughly drenching a carload of starched bosom shirts consigned to the Jennings Store. Mr. Jennings bought a polishing iron and had Mother Horrocks and her girls refinish the shirts.

Elizabeth married George Coulam on December 27, 1869. She was just eighteen years old. They started their married life very humbly, as did most young couples at that time. After working hard all day on her housework, Elizabeth hemmed bed sheets and made her clothing by hand, having nothing but candlelight to work by.

In 1870, the railroad line was completed into the Salt Lake Valley and the young couple walked from Eighth East to the railroad tracks to watch Brigham Young drive the last spike.

George and Elizabeth enjoyed a happy married life for thirty-six years, although they didn't escape the usual trials and difficulties. The union was blessed with ten healthy children, all of whom were stalwart Latter-day Saints. We, her posterity, honor her for what she was - a noble pioneer, a loving wife, mother, and grandmother. She was left a widow in November of 1905, and thereafter was both mother and father, teacher and confidant, to her many children. All of them gained respect for the Church and a love for the Gospel of Jesus Christ through her teaching and example.

Elizabeth served as a Relief Society teacher for more than forty years and she took great pride in fulfilling her assignments with the Church. As an example of integrity, and of loyalty to her family, her friends, and the Church, she gave us a pattern to live by. She always had a kind word of advice when needed. Her ambition was greater than her strength, being a great lover of anything artistic in the way of needlework and sewing. And many of us can attest to her skill as a cook and homemaker.