Jane Elizabeth Crawforth Brough By Eva B. Hansen (her daughter) "I want to tell you about my own dear mother My mother was Jane Elizabeth Crawforth Brough. She was born June 17, 1855 in Mormon Grove, Missouri, on their way to Utah. Her parents came to Utah in the William Grover Company. There were 573 persons in that company. She was baptized September 1, 1867 by Charles Miller at Provo, Utah and confirmed by J.F. R. Johnson. When my mother was born, the rain was pouring and the tent blew down twice in the night. My grandfather was out taking care of the camp so that the Indians would not disturb them. There my grandmother lay with her new baby and she laid there for three days under the wet bedding. Then she rode in the wagon for two weeks, but after that she walked most of the way to Utah. "They stayed in Salt Lake City until little Jane Elizabeth was about three months old and then they moved to Provo. Houses were scarce to find in Provo, so all they could do was live in a dugout. In this dugout there were rattlesnakes that would crawl across their beds in the daytime and at night as well, but the snakes never did hurt them or disturb them. My grandfather laid dobies and soon built them a house to live in for which they were very grateful. One year they didn’t have enough food to eat, only moldy bran, nettles and thistles. There was not food for them to get anywhere and my grandmother was very ill. She was afraid my mother would get sick and pass away. My grandmother had some beautiful clothes which she had brought from England. They knew a neighbor who had some flour. They thought, “Oh, if they could get just a little flour so they could make some bread”. My grandfather went to this neighbor and told her that they didn’t have any money, but that she had these nice clothes. The neighbor could have one of my grandmother’s nice dresses or any of the clothes she wanted, if only she would give them a little bit of flour to make bread. The lady looked at my grandmother. My grandmother was crying and the lady said, “Oh don’t cry Sister Crawforth, you know it’s only six weeks until harvest”. So they didn’t get any flour. But soon after this, another neighbor, know how destitute, hungry and sick they were, went up on the bench in Provo and found a dead animal. It looked like it hadn’t been dead very long. He knelt down and prayed. He said, “Dear Lord, if we could just have a piece of this meat so that it would not hurt anyone, to make a little broth to save some of our people”. He took the nicest piece of meat down to my grandmother and she cooked it on the stove. It meant so much to them and it did make them feel so much better. A few days later, this man came back again and asked my grandmother, “Did you get along alright with the stew you made? “Yes” she said, she was so grateful. Then he told her the experience he had in finding the dead animal. How he had prayed to the Lord that eating this dead animal would not hurt the people.
"When my mother was about thirteen years old, she was riding on a load of hay. A large snake crawled around her neck. My grandfather noticed the snake and shouted, “Be careful or it will bite you: My mother very carefully pulled it off with her hands. But she was not afraid for she had seen so many of them. My mother married George W. Brough on January 5, 1874 in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City. They had five sons and three daughters."
Jane Elizabeth died 31 December 1948 in Tremonton, UT. She is buried in Riverveiw Cemetery, Tremonton, UT.
Documents related to Jane Elizabeth Crawforth:
 |
| LtR back Fanny Susanna, Charles Lawson, Sarah Ann, Frances Moore..? front John William, Martha, Charles, Jane Elizabeth, James Moore, all Crawforths |
