Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Maria Bachman 1854 - 1874

Maria was born in Switzerland and died in Utah at the age of 20.  Kent

From the Emma Bachman History: 

One thousand dollars was considered an ample sum to take the
family to Utah and purchase a home. This sum was entrusted to
two Mormon Elders for safe keeping, but they got into some
difficulty with the authorities and it cost them the entire sum
to free themselves. This delayed father for sometime, but he was
determined to go to Zion, and after some months my uncle was able
to give him the remaining thousand dollars. The family
consisting of the parents and five children, Maria, born February
21, 1854, Verena, born February 23rd 1857, Jacob born October
27th, 1858, Elizabeth, born March 14th, 1860, and Emuel, born
August 17th, 1862, set out for Utah


Their second home in Utah, at Liberty, was very cold and they
endured great suffering on account of the lack of food and
clothing. Later they moved to Eden and my father's wife gave
birth to three more children, Rosella born February 26, 1864,
Bertha, born April 19th, 1865 and Alma, born in November 1866.
She died giving birth to Alma her ninth child. This left my
father with a family of eight small children, the oldest girl
Maria only twelve Years old. She with her sister Verena, who was
only nine, were left with the care of the family. It was
impossible for these two little girls to take care of the new
baby and five other small children, so my father got kind
neighbors to take the baby and the two smallest girls.


Annie was born August 19th, 1870. I heard her say she was all
alone, didn't even have a match to light a candle and had to tie
the cord herself. At the age of twenty-three she had three
babies of her own and little help, as father's older children
were working in homes to earn their living. In November 1874,
father's oldest child, Maria, died at the age of twenty. Father
was broken-hearted over her death.