Ann Louisa Jewell Rowley
- Apr 9, 2022
- 4 min read
Married at 29 and widowed at 42.
Background
Ann Louisa Jewell was born in England on December 5, 1807. When she was 29, she married William Rowley, a widower 22 years older than Ann. She became an instant step-mother to 7 children, many of whom were already married and of a similar age. The couple converted to Mormonism in 1841 and had plans to move to the United States. Unfortunately, in 1849 William passed away, but this did not deter Ann from emigrating. She and her 7 children (along with one of her step-children) travelled to Utah in 1856 with the Willie Handcart Company. She eventually settled in Emery County to be near her children (2).
Ann said of her marriage, "I was 29 years old at the time ... William was a widower with 7 children. I was considered an old maid. I was uneducated, but an excellent seamstress. I sewed for my wealthy sister, making her gowns and draperies. William was 50 years old, but I loved him, this great man and his children. I thought I had made a good catch. He was fairly well-to-do." (1)
Accomplishments
After her husband died, Ann was left a single mother of her own seven children, plus a few of William's children from a previous marriage. Finances were already tight; the crops on their farm had not done well, which forced the Rowley's to sell their home and their farm shortly before William's death. Ann turned to sewing, but it was not enough to support such a large family. Ann eventually went to work for her brother's tailor shop, and her three oldest boys had to go work at a brickyard. These boys were all younger than 15 when they began work. During this hard time, Ann taught her children basic schooling at home and continued attending church services.
Thanks to the Perpetual Emigration Fund set up by the church, Ann was able to secure funds necessary to fulfill her family's goal of moving to Utah. In 1856, with 7 children all younger than 16, they began their journey west. She was accompanied by her step-daughter, Eliza, who was 32 at the time and helped Ann with the children. They were a part of the Willie Handcart Company. This company left Iowa in late July, much later than was recommended. Church leaders in Salt Lake were unaware that this company was coming, so all of the church's re-supply wagons were already returning to Salt Lake. The lack of supplies, coupled with an early and severe snowstorm in October, caused massive devastation to the company. Many died of starvation, frostbite, and exhaustion, as did Eliza, Ann's step-daughter. However, Ann and her 7 children all survived and made it safely to Utah (1).
Stories
Ann and William were introduced to the church through Wilford Woodruff in 1841. They were impressed with his message, and allowed him to stay with them while he preached. One night, a mob came to the Rowley's home looking for Brother Woodruff. William told them he had gone to bed, but the mob persisted. William again said, "If you get him, it will be over my dead body." William was then dragged out of his home and beat him until he was unconscious. While being dragged, William yelled to Ann to lock up. This proved to be a blessing, as the mob returned to the house after presuming William dead. However, they were scared to break into a house by force, and thus left Ann and their children alone. William survived this incident and it did not deter Ann nor her husband from continuing in their faith (3).
One of the most remarkable tests of Ann's courage came from her journey with the Willie Handcart Company. In her journal, Ann recorded this miracle, "There came a time when there seemed to be no food at all. Some of the men left to hunt buffalo. Night was coming and there was no food for the evening meal. I asked God's help as I always did. I got on my knees, remembering two hard sea biscuits that were still in my trunk. ... They were not large, and were so hard they couldn't be broken. Surely, that was not enough to feed 8 people, but 5 loaves and 2 fishes were not enough to feed 5,000 people either, but through a miracle, Jesus had done it. So, with God's help, nothing is impossible. I found the biscuits and put them in a dutch oven and covered them with water and asked for God's blessing, then I put the lid on the pan and set it on the coals. When I took off the lid a little later, I found the pan filled with food. I kneeled with my family and thanked God for his goodness. That night my family had sufficient food." (1)
"I was grateful for my faith in God, for it was only through this faith, that I was able to carry on at all. I confess, it seemed at times, the Lord had deserted us ... However, the Lord had not deserted us and I was ashamed for thinking for a moment, he had." - Ann on the handcart journey
One night in the journey west, two of Ann's children went missing. They tended to play games as they walked and would sometimes lag behind, but always caught up by the end of the day. However, this time, they had become so distracted in their games that they ended up much farther behind the rest of the company. They tried to catch up, but got stuck at a large stream which they could not cross without help. Ann didn't notice until that night, when they didn't show up to camp. The company sent out a search part, who ended up finding the children waiting "on the other side of the river, huddled under an overhanging rock, cavelike formation" (2). Ann says she blamed herself, but her "only consolation was that the Savior's mother had experienced the same thing when Jesus was 12 years of age" (2). She was vigilant from then on, and her children remained close by for the remainder of the journey.
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