Mary Field

Mary Field was born 1 February 1836, at Stanley Hill, Herefordshire. Mary’s parents were members of the United Brethren and were baptised into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1840. They emigrated shortly after their baptism. The rough voyage took seven weeks.

They settled in Nauvoo. While in Nauvoo, Mary’s father, William, and two sisters, Eliza and Rachel, died, leaving their mother with six children to raise. They were very poor and lived mostly on meagre rations of cornmeal. After the martyrdom of the prophet Joseph Smith, her mother took her to view the bodies of Joseph and Hyrum. The family was driven out of Nauvoo by mobs and suffered hot sun in the day, cold at night and drenching rain. They were cold and hungry when a flock of quail flew into their camp, and they were able to obtain fresh meat. They lived on Nickerson Island in the middle of the frozen Mississippi river all winter in log huts that were used in summer by loggers, being too poor to travel west. Eventually they joined a wagon train of emigrants and travelled as far as Council Bluffs, where they stopped for a while and grew crops. They then started on the long journey to the Salt Lake Valley. On the journey, Indians were always a trouble. An Indian chief wanted to buy Mary from her mother while they were crossing the plains. He liked her bright red hair hanging in ringlets. She had to hide when the chief brought his men to take her away. On arriving in the Salt Lake Valley, Mary says in her autobiography – “I shall never forget the first sight of the Great Salt Lake Valley and rejoicing in every heart, to find a haven of rest from mob violence. We were received with kindness by the Saints and made welcome to Zion, the valley of peace and happiness.”

The family settled in Slaterville, Utah and built a home and farmed the land. Mary married William Garner on 1 November 1856, where five children were born to them. They later moved to Hooper, Utah where an additional five children were born. The family farmed the land around Hooper and raised crops and all kinds of garden vegetables. Mary made all her family’s clothes, and life was hard. She supported her husband while he served a mission to England in 1882 – 84. He died in 1912 leaving her a widow for 27 years. She was the last living person to have seen the prophet, Joseph Smith. She lived 99 years after his martyrdom.

At the age of 105 she wrote in her autobiography “I was 105 years old February 1st, 1941. I have good health, considering my age; my appetite is good. I have never worn glasses, although my eyes are failing now, as is my hearing. I am quite nimble and active. I walk erect and have never used a cane…My advice for a long life is to live a good clean life, eat good plain food, do not use tobacco or liquor, keep the word of wisdom, and take plenty of sleep and rest”.

Mary died in Hooper, Utah in 1943 - Age 107.