A Voice From The Past ~

I recently had a remarkable experience. Following my last post entitled: Family Past and Present, a relative I don't know personally, found the post during a Google search and contacted me. What a precious miracle! It was like a voice from the past. In reading my post, he discovered that I'm related to Mary Ann Dixon Wightman. He told me he found an 1840 edition of the Book of Mormon. It was in poor condition, but he was able to partially restore it. He explained to me that as he examined it, he discovered on the last page, that this copy of The Book of Mormon belonged to Mary Ann Dixon, my  3rd Great Grandmother. He asked if I would like to receive photos of the book. I was ecstatic about his find, and very grateful that he offered to send images to me. 

I looked on #familysearch.org and learned more about this revered ancestor, Mary Ann Dixon Wightman. 

I've included a portion of her story including my 3rd Great Grandfather, William B. Wightman. This is a treasured story of their conversion to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and their association with a prominent historical figure of that era; Martin Harris. They originally settled in Kirtland, Ohio, and remained there until 1862 when they journeyed to Utah to join the main body of the Church.  

CHARLES BILLINGS WIGHTMAN MARY ANN DIXON WIGHTMAN

 Charles married Mary Ann Dixon in 1843 in Kirtland. She was 20 years old at that time, and he was 28. They lived in a large stone house near a maple grove which yearly yielded large amounts of sap for maple syrup and maple sugar, of which the family and children were very fond. The stone for the Kirtland Temple had been taken from a quarry on this farm. Martin Harris was a close neighbor and visited their home often. He told often of seeing the plates and the appearance of the Angel Moroni to him. Charles' daughter Mary Elizabeth told of how she would go to the cellar and get apples for them to eat while Martin Harris was visiting them. In the diary of Martin Harris, he tells of visiting the Charles B. Wightman home and of Charles giving him a pair of shoes to wear.

 Although most of the Latter-Day Saints left Kirtland in the later 1830s and 1840s, the Wightman's and Dixons were among those who had not, and were among those who remained faithful to the Church. (After the Prophet Joseph Smith and other Church leaders had been forced to flee Kirtland in January 1838 because of their lives being in danger, most of the believers who were left in the city soon followed them to Missouri and later Nauvoo. However, since there had never been a formal command to leave Kirtland, some chose to stay. Most of these were disaffected members; others simply drifted away gradually, not having firm testimonies of the gospel. But as stated above, there were some in Kirtland, including the Wightman's and Dixons, who remained faithful to the Church).

The following children were born to Charles and Mary Ann in Kirtland: AMY JANE WIGHTMAN (1844-1929), married Amos REESE MARY (JANE) ELIZABETH WIGHTMAN (1846-1931) married Matthew Henry DALEY. CHARLES BILLINGS WIGHTMAN Jr., (1845 - died as an infant) **JOSEPH WIGHTMAN, (1848-1930, married Emily Johnson) CAROLINE LADELL WIGHTMAN (1851-1926), married John Benton GILBERT; CHARLES HARRISON WIGHTMAN (1853-1926), married Emma Lovina COLLET; MARTHA EMELINE WIGHTMAN (1855-1946), married Charles Willard MORRILL; WILLIAM EDWARD WIGHTMAN (1857-1909), married Effie WYMAN ARTHUR AUGUSTUS WIGHTMAN (1861-1909)

Mary Ann Dixon's parents, Charles Dixon (b. 1766 in Yorkshire, England, d. 1855 in Illinois) and Elizabeth Humphrey Dixon (b. 1778 in Canada, d. 1864 in Payson, Utah) joined the Church in May 1836 in Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada, and moved to Kirtland, Ohio, in October 1837. Mary Ann was baptized in 1838, at about age 15. Grandfather Charles Dixon was our earliest-born (1766) ancestor to join the LDS Church. His family had come to New Brunswick, Canada from Yorkshire, England, in 1771, when he was 5 years old. Grandfather Dixon didn't make it all the way to Utah; he died at 89 years of age on 22 May 1855 in Rock Island, Illinois, before they crossed the Mississippi River. He is buried in Davenport, Iowa, on the west side of the river. Grandmother Elizabeth Humphrey Dixon, who was 77 when she crossed the plains, finished the journey with her daughter and grandchildren, and they settled in Payson, Utah. She later died on 17 Jul 1864, at the age of 86. She is the earliest-born (1778) of anyone buried in the Payson Cemetery, where there is a double marker for her and her husband. Charles Dixon and Elizabeth Humphrey had 11 children, and all who were still living came to Utah with them.

Charles and Mary Ann Wightman and their family of eight children left for Utah in 1862. A great-granddaughter, Blanche Daley Whitelock, writes, "On 15 Jun 1862, Charles B. Wightman's family and the family of Christopher F. Dixon began their journey to Utah. They were the last of the Saints to leave Kirtland and would have left earlier, except that his mother, Amy Sholes Wightman, had fallen and broken her hip, which made it impossible for her to travel. (Apparently, she was bedridden for many years, and they cared for her until she died in Dec. 1861 at age 85). The children told of stopping to wave their last goodbyes to the Temple. They left their lovely home , which overlooked it. On the Temple grounds, some of their loved ones who had passed away were buried."

"They made their wagons and shipped them from Kirtland to the Missouri River, where they assembled them. It was cheaper this way. They traveled from Ohio to Council Bluffs by rail and water. The water was very low on the river, and when they were traveling, and the boat would hit the bottom, they would have to shift the load and the passengers to the other side so the boat would move. The Civil War had broken out in 1861, and the boatmen were rebellious and mean. The children and the passengers were afraid. During the voyage, Charles was robbed and his gun taken away from him ... (Instead of drafting young men for the army at that time, officers would often ride up and take the men and young men from their families at gunpoint. They were afraid this would happen, but they got through all right).

"The Wightman's and Dixons traveled from Council. Bluffs to Salt Lake City in Captain Isaac Canfield's Company, there being forty ox teams in the party. Charles B. did all the blacksmithing work, shoeing oxen , and resetting tires for the whole company. He led the company, and it was said he never used the "cracker" on his whip to make the oxen move. They had one mean ox, and they would have to climb out of the back of the wagon so it would not kick them. The Indians would come up to the wagons and spread their blankets and beg for food. They were always fed. One morning baby Arthur crawled into the campfire. He burned his hand so badly it was crippled the rest of his life.

"They arrived in Salt Lake City 20 Oct 1862 and the following week went on to Payson, where Mary Ann's mother was residing with her daughter Martha Dixon Simons. They had come to Payson in 1854. Jane Dixon Pepper Rust, another sister of Mary Ann, was also residing in Payson."

When he first came to Payson in 1862, Charles Billings Wightman bought a homestead of 168 acres on the south end of Payson from an Indian woman. There was no water for his ground, so Charles started the first "poor man ditch" up Payson Canyon, which was to catch the high waters of the spring run-off. He took his oxen up the canyon and made the first reservoir. Men told Charles B. that the land for his homestead was no good, but he said, "the time will come when this ground will be worth one thousand dollars an acre and will look like a park." This prophecy has come true; today the land is worth far more than that, being the land on 8th South & Main where the old Payson High School and athletic fields, track, park, and the homes and orchards around it stand. He brought apple trees with him from Kirtland and planted them, some of which are still there today. Also, currant bushes brought to Payson by Charles B. Wightman went wild and became native to the area. They grew wild along fences and ditch banks for over a hundred years afterwards. Two more children were born to Charles and Mary Ann Dixon Wightman after they moved to Payson:

ABBY MARY ("May") WIGHTMAN (1864-1941), married Charles Henry WELLMAN, MERTON DIXON WIGHTMAN (1868-1869)

Charles continued his vocation of blacksmithing after he came to Payson. He also sometimes served as the village "dentist" (this type of primitive dentistry being the only kind they had in those days); he used an instrument called the "turnkey" with which he extracted teeth. He never charged for this service and was always willing to help, but we can understand why it sounded more like an execution than anything else. His great-granddaughter, Blanche Daley Whitelock, writes that.

The book THE WIGHTMAN ANCESTRY by Wade C. Wightman says of Charles Billings Wightman, "although well-liked and successful, he was known as 'the most dour man in Utah County.'" Charles Billings Wightman died 31 Mar 1895 in Payson at age 79, and Mary Ann Dixon Wightman died 10 Nov 1903 in Payson at age 80. They are buried in the Payson City cemetery.

 Information Compiled by Karen Bray Keeley

As I read such remarkable stories of Ancestors, my love for them increases. Their trials and life experiences help me increase my faith and courage to forge ahead with my life. I have great hope and trust in my Savior, Jesus Christ. My greatest desire is to keep on the covenant path that leads back to my Heavenly Parents and Savior. I believe in Eternal families, from those who are ancestors to my precious posterity, we are everlastingly connected.