Mary Clift Turley
1815-1850

Born: 16 June 1815 in Clifton, Gloucestershire, England1
Christened: 9 July 1815 at the Redland Chapel in Westbury on Trym, Gloucestershire, England2
Died: 30 March 1850 in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah3
Buried: 31 March 1850 at the Salt Lake City Cemetery in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Utah4
FamilySearch ID: KWV9-C8K
FindaGrave Memorial ID:  37273224

Mary Clift was the daughter of Robert Clift and Elizabeth Cantle.

Mary became a plural wife of Theodore Turley in Nauvoo, Hancock, Illinois, but the exact date was not recorded. Traditionally, the family has put their marriage around January 1842. Historical records, however, suggest a date of 1844 or later. Theodore and Mary were sealed on 3 February 1846 in the Nauvoo Temple.5 Mary Clift had four children:

  1. Jason L. Clift (1842-1843) – son of Gustavus Hills
  2. Ephraim Turley (1845-1845)
  3. Theodoreus Turley (1848-1848)
  4. Frances Kimberley Turley (1850-1914) m1. Benjamin Franklin Parsons (divorced), m2. Thomas William McIntosh.
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Life Sketch

Mary Clift and her twin sister, Martha, were born 16 June 1815 in Clifton, Gloucestershire, England, a suburb of the port city Bristol.6 Mary and Martha were the second and third children, respectively, of Robert Clift and Elizabeth Cantle. Robert and Elizabeth were married 26 November 1812.7 Mary and Martha were christened at the Redland Chapel near Clifton on 9 July 1815.8 The family’s residence was at Lime Kilns, and their father’s occupation was gardener.

Christening record of Mary and Martha Clift (1815)

Mary’s twin sister, Martha, died at the age of eight months and was buried 25 February 1816 at the Holy Trinity Church in the parish of Westbury on Trym, another suburb of Bristol.9 A year later, a fourth child was born to Robert and Elizabeth in Clifton, Sarah Ellen Clift.

Within a couple years, the family moved north to the small town of Dymock on the edge of Gloucestershire, near the borders of Herefordshire and Worcestershire.10 While in Dymock, four more children were added to the Clift family. Of the eight children born to Robert and Elizabeth Clift, three died young.11

In the spring of 1840, Elder Wilford Woodruff, a missionary from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, began preaching in Herefordshire near the town of Dymock. Mary Clift was the first of her family members to be baptized, on 10 April 1840.12 Mary’s little brother, James, was baptized the following day, and Mary’s parents, Robert and Elizabeth Clift, were baptized later that month.

Baptisms of Mary “Cleft” and James Clift in Wilford Woodruff’s journal (1840)

The Clift family was very active in their new religion. Mary’s father, Robert Clift, was put in charge of the Church’s branch in Dymock in June 1840.13 They were among several families in Dymock who opened their homes to the missionaries, and some elders mentioned staying at the Clift home in their journals.14

Mary Clift and her brother, James, were among a large group of Latter-day Saints who departed England in September 1840 to sail to America. Their group was led by Theodore Turley, and they sailed on the ship North America. James Clift was noted on the passenger list as a wheelwright, while Mary Clift’s occupation was a servant. They arrived in New York City in October 1840.15

James and Mary Clift on North America passenger list (1840)

On 13 October 1840, Mary and the other passengers departed the North America and boarded a steamer, the Congress, to take them up the Hudson River.16 The steamer arrived at West Troy, New York, a few days later. At that point, the group divided themselves and their luggage among various small boats to journey along the Erie Canal to Buffalo, New York.17 The separated Latter-day Saints finally regrouped at Buffalo at the end of October. Unfortunately, there was not enough money to send all the Saints on to Nauvoo. Theodore Turley and other leaders of the company met with a church leader from Kirtland, Ohio. It was decided that those who could pay the extra fare would go on ahead across the Great Lakes and continue their journey to Nauvoo. The remainder would winter at Kirtland. It’s likely that Mary and James went with the poorer company to Kirtland.18

In the summer of 1841, the remaining Clift family members in England made the journey to America. The family met up in Nauvoo and resided in the Nauvoo Second Ward by the beginning of 1842. In Robert and Elizabeth Clift’s household were daughters Sarah Ellen “Settlewen” and Mary Clift, grandson George Augustus “Settlewen,” and sons Robert Clift Jr. and James Clift.19 Mary’s sister, newlywed Eliza, resided separately with her husband, George G. Fidler, in the Second Ward.20

Clift family members in Nauvoo Second Ward census (1842)
Clift family members in Nauvoo Second Ward census (1842)

Mary found herself in an uncomfortable spotlight towards the end of 1842. By the end of summer, the unmarried Mary Clift was visibly pregnant. A case was brought before the Nauvoo High Council against Gustavus Hills, accused of having “illicit intercourse” with Mary “by which she [wa]s with child.” Gustavus Hills, a married man, was also accused of telling Mary Clift that church leaders did the same and “the time would come when men would have more wives than one &c.” Mary Clift signed two affidavits and underwent questioning by Hills himself to testify to the facts of the case. After an investigation and the testimony of witnesses, Gustavus Hills was found guilty and disfellowshipped.21 Two weeks later, Gustavus Hills and Robert Clift, Sr., (acting on behalf of his daughter) signed a paternity agreement. Hills agreed to pay Mary Clift twenty-five dollars annually for the first three years of the baby’s life.22

Mary Clift’s son, Jason L. Clift, was born 20 October 1842 in Nauvoo.23 Unfortunately, he only lived a year and six days. Jason died on 26 October 1843 from black canker (diptheria) and was buried in the Old Nauvoo Burial Grounds.24

Jason L. Clift in Nauvoo death records (1843)

In April 1844, Mary Clift’s sister, Sarah Ellen Clift, was married as a plural wife to Theodore Turley.25 It’s possible that Mary Clift was also married to Theodore Turley at this time.26 On 11 February 1845, Mary Clift had another son, Ephraim, born in Nauvoo. He only lived four months, dying on 6 July 1845 from inflammation of the brain.27 Like his brother, Ephraim was buried in the Old Nauvoo Burial Grounds.28

Mary Clift and her sister, Eliza, received their endowments in the Nauvoo Temple at the beginning of February 1846.29 Both Mary and Eliza were sealed as plural wives to Theodore Turley the following day.30

Mary Clift, with other members of the Turley family, left Nauvoo shortly afterwards and traveled westward across Iowa. They arrived in Winter Quarters, Nebraska, by the end of the year. The Turley family remained on the Nebraska side of the Missouri River for about two years, suffering the loss of seven family members from disease. Four of those losses were Sarah Ellen Clift, Mary’s sister, and three of Sarah’s four children.31

In 1848, the Latter-day Saints agreed to abandon their settlements on the west side of the Missouri and consolidate on the Iowa side of the river. The Turley family spent about a year living in Kanesville (now Council Bluffs), Pottawattamie County, Iowa. It was likely in Kanesville where Mary Clift had her third son, named Theodoreus Turley after his father. He was born 28 May 1848, but only lived seven months. He died on the last day of December and was likely buried in the old Mormon cemetery in Kanesville.32

In the summer of 1849, the remaining eight members of the Turley family began their overland journey to Utah with the Silas Richards Company.33 They rolled out with three wagons, twelve oxen, one cow, four loose cattle, one dog, and three guns.34 The eight family members were Theodore Turley, five children from Theodore’s first wife (Mary Ann, Frederick, Sarah, Isaac, and Charlotte), Mary Clift Turley, and Mary’s nephew, George A. Selwyn.35 Mary had no living children of her own, and she likely took seriously her role of stepmother to her nephew, George, and to the children of Frances Amelia Kimberley.

Mary Clift among the members of the Turley family in the Silas Richards Company schedule (1849)

The Silas Richards Company arrived in the Salt Lake Valley at the end of October 1849, and Theodore obtained land along South Temple at 500 East.36 Theodore had previously sent a letter to Brigham Young requesting that he set aside some building materials for them to build a small house to winter in.37 He and his family members likely began immediately to build a residence and blacksmith shop after entering the valley.

The thirty-four-year-old Mary was apparently pregnant at the time the family entered the valley. She and Theodore welcomed a baby girl on 22 March 1850 at 9am. This was Mary Clift’s first and only daughter. She was named Frances Kimberley Turley, a tribute to Theodore’s first wife, Frances Amelia Kimberley, who passed away at Winter Quarters.

Unfortunately, Mary suffered complications and passed away a week later. Theodore wrote, “Mary Turley Wife of Theodore Turley Died on the 30 of March 1850 in Child Bed. Buried on the 31 of March in the Valley of the Great Salt Lake.”38

Mary Clift Turley’s death recorded by Theodore in her family memorial (1850)

Mary Clift Turley was laid to rest in the Salt Lake City Cemetery on Sunday, 31 March 1850. Theodore’s friend, Hosea Stout, mentioned in his journal that he “assisted to bury Br T. Turley’s wife.”39

A few months later, Mary was mentioned in a First Presidency letter published in a Kanesville newspaper. She was among the few Latter-day Saints to have passed away in the Salt Lake Valley over the winter. “The health of the Saints in general, is good, and there has never been any prevailing sickness in our midst, and but very few deaths. Since last mail, Brothers Absalom Perkins, George W. Langley, Erastus Snow’s eldest son, Claudius V. Spencer’s wife, Sisters Jane Hall, Turley, Steward and Thompson, are all we recollect, and those mostly from consumption, and other symptoms of disease contracted long before they came to the Valley.”40

Mary Clift Turley’s death mentioned in Kanesville newspaper (1850)

Related Links

Timeline

1815
June 16: Mary Clift and her twin sister, Martha, were born to Robert Clift and Elizabeth Cantle at Clifton, Gloucestershire, England. 41
July 9: Mary and Martha Clift were baptized at the Redland Chapel of Westbury on Trym, Gloucestershire, England. The family’s residence was at Lime Kilns. Mary’s father, Robert, was a gardener.42

1816
February 25: Mary’s eight-month-old twin sister, Martha Clift, was buried at Holy Trinity Church in the parish of Westbury on Trym, Gloucestershire, England.43

Between 1817 and 1819, the Clift family moved from Clifton, a suburb of Bristol, to the northern Gloucestershire town of Dymock.44 Dymock is five miles south of Ledbury, Herefordshire. It was here that the family encountered Elder Wilford Woodruff, a missionary from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the spring of 1840.

1840
April 10: Twenty-four-year-old Mary Clift was baptized by Elder Wilford Woodruff at Greenway, near her hometown of Dymock, in Gloucestershire, England.45
April 11: Mary Clift’s brother, thirteen-year-old James, was baptized by Elder Wilford Woodruff at Greenway.46
September 8: Mary Clift and her brother, James, departed Liverpool on the ship North America with a group of two hundred British Latter-day Saints led by Theodore Turley. On the passenger list, Mary’s occupation was listed as a servant.47
October 11: The North America arrived at New York City.48
October 13: Mary and the other passengers departed the North America and boarded a steamer, the Congress, to take them up the Hudson River.49
October 16: The steamer Congress arrived at West Troy, New York. The Latter-day Saints transferred their luggage to various smaller boats for their journey along the Erie Canal to Buffalo, New York.50
October 24: At Buffalo, the group of Saints separated into two companies. There was not enough money to send all the Saints to Nauvoo. Theodore Turley and other leaders of the company met with a local church leader from Kirtland, Ohio. It was decided that those who could pay the extra fare would go on ahead and continue their journey to Nauvoo. The remainder would winter at Kirtland. It’s likely that Mary Clift went with the poorer company to Kirtland.51

1841
May 10: Back in England, the remaining Clift family members departed Bristol, England, on the ship Harmony in a group of Latter-day Saints led by Elder Thomas Kington.52
June 25: The Harmony arrived at the quarantine station at Grosse Isle in Quebec.53
Late summer: Mary’s parents and remaining four siblings arrived in Nauvoo, Illinois.54

1842
Early 1842: The “Cliff” family was enumerated living in the Second Ward of Nauvoo, Illinois. Their household consisted of Robert Clift, Elizabeth Clift, Sarah Ellen “Settlewen,” Mary Clift, George Augustus “Settlewen,” Robert Clift Jr., and James Clift.55 Mary’s sister, Eliza Clift Fidler, also resided in the Second Ward.56
September 3-4: A case was brought before the Nauvoo High Council against Gustavus Hills, accused of having “illicit intercourse” with “a certain woman by the name of Mary Clift by which she is with child.” Hills was also accused of telling Mary Clift that church leaders did the same and “the time would come when men would have more wives than one &c.” Gustavus Hills was found guilty of the charges and disfellowshipped.57
September 15: Gustavus Hills signed a paternity agreement committing to financially support Mary Clift and their unborn child.58
October 20: Jason L. Clift, son of Mary Clift and Gustavus Hills, was born in Nauvoo, Illinois.59

1843
October 26: Jason L. Clift died at the age of one year and six days from black canker (diptheria).60 He was buried at the Old Nauvoo Burial Grounds.61

1844
April 26: Mary’s sister, Sarah Ellen Clift, was married to Theodore Turley as a plural wife.62 It is possible Mary Clift also became Theodore’s plural wife around this time.
June 20: Mary’s mother, Elizabeth Cantle Clift, died in Nauvoo from cancer. 63 She was buried at the Old Nauvoo Burial Grounds.64

1845
February 11: Mary Clift had another son, Ephraim, born in Nauvoo, Illinois.65
July 6: Four-month-old Ephraim died from inflammation of the brain.66

1846
February 2: Mary Clift and her sister, Eliza, received their endowments in the Nauvoo Temple.67
February 3: Mary Clift and her sister, Eliza, were sealed as plural wives to Theodore Turley in the Nauvoo Temple.68

The Turley family left Nauvoo in February 1846 and traveled westward across Iowa. They arrived in Winter Quarters, Nebraska, by the end of the year. The Turley family remained on the Nebraska side of the Missouri River for two years, suffering the loss of many family members from disease. Two of those losses were wives of Theodore Turley: Frances Amelia Kimberley and Sarah Ellen Clift.

In 1848, the Latter-day Saints agreed to abandon their settlements on the west side of the Missouri and consolidate on the Iowa side of the river. The Turley family spent about one year living in Kanesville (now Council Bluffs), Iowa.

1848
May 28: A son was born to Mary Clift and Theodore Turley. They named him Theodoreus.69
December 31: Theodore and Mary Clift‘s seven-month-old son, Theodoreus Turley, died. It’s likely Theodoreus was buried in the old Mormon cemetery in Kanesville (now Council Bluffs), Pottawattamie County, Iowa.70

1849
July 10: The Turley family began their overland journey to Utah with the Silas Richards Company. “About 100 wagons were in the company when it began its journey from the outfitting post at Kanesville, Iowa.”71 According to the company schedule, the Turley family consisted of eight individuals: Theodore (45), Mary Clift (35), Mary Ann (22), Frederick (16), Sarah Elizabeth (13), Isaac (11), Charlotte (9), and George A. Selwyn (8).72 They had three wagons, twelve oxen, one cow, four loose cattle, one dog, and three guns.73
Late October: The Turley family entered the Salt Lake Valley with the Silas Richards Company.74 They resided at the southwest corner of South Temple and 500 East.75

1850
March 22: A daughter was born to Mary Clift and Theodore Turley. She was named Frances Kimberley Turley, after Theodore’s deceased first wife.76
March 30: Mary Clift Turley died from childbirth complications in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Utah.77
March 31: Mary Clift Turley was buried in the Salt Lake City Cemetery. Hosea Stout recorded in his journal, “Assisted to bury Br T. Turley’s wife.”78

Important Places

Gloucestershire, England: Mary was born in Clifton, Gloucestershire, a suburb of Bristol. Her family later moved to Dymock at the northern edge of Gloucestershire, close to the borders of Herefordshire and Worcestershire. In April 1840, Mary Clift became the first member of her family to be baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Elder Wilford Woodruff. In September of that year, Maryand her brother, James, departed with a group of two hundred British Saints to sail to America. Her group was led by Elder Theodore Turley.
Nauvoo, Illinois: By the end of 1841, Mary resided with her parents in the Second Ward of Nauvoo, Hancock County, Illinois. Mary Clift had two sons born in Nauvoo: Jason L. Clift and Ephraim Turley. Both died as infants and were buried in the Old Nauvoo Burial Grounds. Mary Clift was a plural wife to Theodore Turley, and they were sealed in the Nauvoo Temple in February 1846.
Winter Quarters, Nebraska: In 1846, Mary Clift traveled with the other members of the Turley family across Iowa to Winter Quarters, Nebraska. She likely lived there until early 1848 when the main body of Saints moved the river to Kanesville, Pottawattamie County, Iowa. She had a son, Theodoreus Turley, in late May 1848. He died in December of that year and was likely buried at the Kanesville Mormon Cemetery.
Salt Lake City, Utah: Mary Clift traveled with Theodore and his children across the plains in the Silas Richards Company, arriving in the Salt Lake Valley late October 1849. In March 1850, she had a baby girl, Frances Kimberley Turley. Within a couple weeks, Mary Clift died. She was buried in the Salt Lake City Cemetery. In 2016, a headstone was installed for Mary Clift at her unmarked grave, paid for by members of the Theodore Turley Family Organization.

  1. Nauvoo and sealing record “A”, 1846-1857, p. 523-524, entry for Mary Clift, FHL 183374.
  2. Bristol, England, Church of England Baptisms, 1813-1918, Bristol, Redland Green, Register of Baptisms in the Chapelry of Redland-Parish of Westbury on Trym, 1813-1846, p. 6, nos. 47-48, Mary and Martha daughters of Robert and Elizabeth Clift, 9 Jul. 1815, image at Ancestry.com.
  3. Family Memorial-Mary Clift; Utah, Salt Lake City Cemetery Records, 1847-1896, Record of the Dead Book A, p. 2, interment no. 37, Mary Turley, 30 Mar. 1850, image 7 of digital film 7420258 at FamilySearch.org, digitized from FHL 1299167, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9CR-TBBP?i=6&cc=2094273&cat=23661, accessed March 2021. Related blog post: “In the Valley of the Great Salt Lake.”
  4. Juanita Brooks, ed., On the Mormon Frontier: The Diary of Hosea Stout ,1844-1861 Vol. 2 (Salt Lake City, Utah: University of Utah Press & Utah State Historical Society, 1964), 365; Family Memorial-Mary Clift; Utah, Salt Lake City Cemetery Records, 1847-1896, Record of the Dead Book A, p. 2, interment no. 37, Mary Turley, 30 Mar. 1850, image 7 of digital film 7420258 at FamilySearch.org, digitized from FHL 1299167, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9CR-TBBP?i=6&cc=2094273&cat=23661, accessed March 2021.
  5. Nauvoo and sealing record “A”, 1846-1857, p. 523-524, entries for Theodore Turley and Mary Clift, FHL 183374.
  6. Nauvoo and sealing record “A”, 1846-1857, p. 523-524, entry for Mary Clift, FHL 183374.
  7. Bristol, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1935, Gloucestershire, Westbury on Trym, Holy Trinity, Marriage Register 1803-1812, p. 47, no. 183, marriage of Robert Clift and Elizabeth Cantle, image at Ancestry.com.
  8. Bristol, England, Church of England Baptisms, 1813-1918, Bristol, Redland Green, Register of Baptisms in the Chapelry of Redland-Parish of Westbury on Trym, 1813-1846, p. 6, nos. 47-48, Mary and Martha daughters of Robert and Elizabeth Clift, 9 Jul. 1815, image at Ancestry.com.
  9. Bristol, England, Church of England Burials, 1813-1994, Gloucestershire, Westbury on Trym, Holy Trinity Church, Register of Burials, 1813-1849, p. 11, no. 84, Martha Cleft, image at Ancestry.com.
  10. William Clift, was baptized at Dymock on 7 January 1820. Gloucestershire, England, Church of England Baptisms, 1813-1913, Dymock, Register of Baptisms 1813-1844, p. 39, no. 309, William son of Robert and Elizabeth Clift, 7 Jan. 1820, image at Ancestry.com.
  11. Robert and Elizabeth’s eight children were Eliza (1813-1882), twins Mary (1815-1850) and Martha (1815-1816), Sarah Ellen (1817-1847), William (1820-1820), Ann (1821-1824), Robert Jr. (1824-1859), and James (1826-1862).
  12. Wilford Woodruff journal, 1840 January-December, image 19 of 286, Mary Cleft, Church History Library, https://catalog.churchofjesuschrist.org/assets?id=01ff33da-9cab-4400-8b3a-f7abe97ae0da&crate=0&index=18, accessed March 2021.
  13. Wilford Woodruff journal, 1840 January-December, 14 Jun. 1840, image 133 of 286, Church History Library, https://catalog.churchofjesuschrist.org/assets?id=01ff33da-9cab-4400-8b3a-f7abe97ae0da&crate=0&index=132, accessed March 2021.
  14. Elder Levi Richards (31 Mar. 1841), Elder Wilford Woodruff (12 Mar. 1841), and Elder John Needham (many nights in March 1841).
  15. For more information about the voyage, see Theodore Turley: A Biography chapters 33-40. William Clayton, Journal 1840-1842, p. 70, 8 Sep. 1840, digital images at Mormon Missionary Diaries, BYU Library Digital Collection, https://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/digital/collection/MMD/id/59454/rec/1, accessed March 2021; “Liverpool to New York 8 Sep 1840-12 Oct 1840,” Saints by Sea: Latter-day Saint Immigration to America, https://saintsbysea.lib.byu.edu/mii/voyage/304, accessed March 2021; New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists, 1840, Oct. 12, North America, p.1, Mary Clift, image at Ancestry.com.
  16. See Theodore Turley: A Biography 41: Steaming Up the Hudson.
  17. See Theodore Turley: A Biography 42: The Erie Canal.
  18. See Theodore Turley: A Biography 43: What to Do?
  19. Nauvoo Stake, Nauvoo 2nd ward census, image 26 of 33, Church History Library, https://catalog.churchofjesuschrist.org/assets?id=2febcd71-25e6-470f-94c1-d1bcb53cdfca&crate=1&index=25, accessed February 2021.
  20. George Fidler was enumerated directly above “elivia” Fidler. Nauvoo Stake, Nauvoo 2nd ward census, Church History Library, https://catalog.churchofjesuschrist.org/assets?id=2febcd71-25e6-470f-94c1-d1bcb53cdfca&crate=1&index=23, accessed February 2021.
  21. See Nauvoo High Council Minutes and Paternity Agreement. John S. Dinger, ed., The Nauvoo City and High Council Minutes (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 2011), p. 424-426; Gary James Bergara, “‘Illicit Intercourse,’ Plural Marriage, and the Nauvoo Stake High Council, 1840-1844,” John Whitmer Historical Association Journal 23 (2003): 75-77.
  22. See Nauvoo High Council Minutes and Paternity Agreement. Gary James Bergara, “‘Illicit Intercourse,’ Plural Marriage, and the Nauvoo Stake High Council, 1840-1844,” John Whitmer Historical Association Journal 23 (2003): 76-77.
  23. Theodore Turley recorded Jason’s surname as Turley in his family memorial. Family Memorial-Mary Clift.
  24. Family Memorial-Mary Clift; William D. Huntington records, 1839-1884, Nauvoo cemetery record, 1839-1845, image 242 of 252, Jason L. Clift, 26 Oct. 1843, Church History Library, https://catalog.churchofjesuschrist.org/assets?id=43801da4-6d22-4f24-9fbf-20712836a4f7&crate=0&index=241, accessed March 2021; FindaGrave.com, memorial page for Jason L. Clift (1842–26 Oct 1843), memorial no. 44889390, citing Old Nauvoo Burial Grounds, Nauvoo, Hancock County, Illinois, USA.
  25. Family Memorial-Sarah Ellen Clift.
  26. There are several reasons to suspect Mary may have been married to Theodore Turley at the same time as her sister, Sarah: (1) Mary Clift’s next child, Ephraim, was born nine months later, on 11 February 1845. (2) Theodore’s family memorial for Sarah Ellen Clift has cryptic notation for their 26 April 1844 plural marriage, with additional notes possibly documenting a second sealing “allso.” (3) Theodore misstates his Nauvoo Temple sealing date in Mary Clift’s family memorial as 19 January 1846. This was his sealing date to Frances Amelia Kimberley and Sarah Ellen Clift. He was not sealed to Mary Clift and her sister, Eliza, until 3 February 1846. This suggests that he associated his marriage to Mary Clift with his marriage to Sarah Ellen Clift.
  27. Theodore Turley wrote Ephraim’s surname as Turley in his family memorial, but Nauvoo cemetery records have him listed as “Ephraim Ridge.” His death date, 6 July 1845, and age, four months and 26 days, match the information in Theodore’s record. Family Memorial-Mary Clift; William D. Huntington records, 1839-1884, Nauvoo cemetery record, 1839-1845, image 220 of 252, Ephraim Ridge, 6 Jul. 1845, Church History Library, https://catalog.churchofjesuschrist.org/assets?id=43801da4-6d22-4f24-9fbf-20712836a4f7&crate=0&index=219, accessed March 2021.
  28. FindaGrave.com, memorial page for Ephraim Turley (11 Feb 1845–6 Jul 1845), memorial no. 45359398, citing Old Nauvoo Burial Grounds, Nauvoo, Hancock County, Illinois, USA
  29. Eliza is consistently recorded in temple records under her maiden name, Eliza Clift, despite her 1841 marriage to George G. Fidler. Devery S. Anderson and Gary James Bergara, The Nauvoo Endowment Companies, 1845-1846: A Documentary History (Salt Lake City, Utah: Signature Books, 2005), 554 and 562.
  30. Nauvoo and sealing record “A”, 1846-1857, p. 523-524, entries for Theodore Turley, Eliza Clift, and Mary Clift, FHL 183374. Eliza Clift, under the name Eliza C. Fidler, testified to a Scott County, Iowa, judge in 1850 that she and her two daughters had been abandoned by her first husband, George G. Fidler, in February 1845. Scott Co., Iowa, Divorce records, 1837-1940, case no. 967, Eliza C. Fidler v. George G. Fidler, image at FamilySearch.org, FHL 1643738.
  31. The other three family members who died at Winter Quarters were Frances Amelia Kimberley (Theodore Turley’s first wife), Frances A. Daniels (Theodore’s daughter), and Frances G. Daniels (Theodore’s granddaughter). All three of these individuals were buried together.
  32. Family Memorial-Mary Clift.
  33. Sometime prior to this journey, Mary’s sister, Eliza, had left with their father, Robert Clift, and settled in eastern Iowa. Mary was the only remaining wife of Theodore Turley.
  34. Related blog post: “Crossing the Plains with the Silas Richards Company.” Camp of Israel schedules and reports, 1845-1849, Silas Richards company, 1849 September, p. 5, Church History Library, https://catalog.churchofjesuschrist.org/assets?id=0cb1643e-a096-4f99-ab02-a39eb733285b&crate=0&index=4, accessed March 2021.
  35. George was a son of Sarah Ellen Clift. As a stepson to Theodore Turley, George was often listed with the surname “Turley” in early records.
  36. See blog post “In the Valley of the Great Salt Lake.”
  37. See Theodore’s 1848 Letter to Brigham Young.
  38. Family Memorial-Mary Clift; Utah, Salt Lake City Cemetery Records, 1847-1896, Record of the Dead Book A, p. 2, interment no. 37, Mary Turley, 30 Mar. 1850, image 7 of digital film 7420258 at FamilySearch.org, digitized from FHL 1299167, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9CR-TBBP?i=6&cc=2094273&cat=23661, accessed March 2021.
  39. Entry for Sunday, 31 Mar. 1850. Brooks, On the Mormon Frontier Vol. 2, 365.
  40. “Third General Epistle of the Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, from the Great Salt Lake Valley, to the Saints Scattered Throughout the Earth,” The Frontier Guardian (Kanesville, Iowa), Wednesday, 12 Jun. 1850, p. 3, col. 1, Archive.org.
  41. Nauvoo and sealing record “A”, 1846-1857, p. 523-524, entry for Mary Clift, FHL 183374.
  42. Bristol, England, Church of England Baptisms, 1813-1918, Bristol, Redland Green, Register of Baptisms 1813-1846, p. 6, nos. 47-48, Mary and Martha daughters of Robert and Elizabeth Clift, 9 Jul. 1815, image at Ancestry.com.
  43. Bristol, England, Church of England Burials, 1813-1994, Gloucestershire, Westbury on Trym, Holy Trinity, Register of Burials 1813-1849, p. 11, no. 184, Martha Cleft, image at Ancestry.com.
  44. Mary’s sister, Sarah Ellen Clift, was baptized at the Redland Chapel of Westbury on Trym on 8 June 1817. Mary’s next sibling, William Clift, was baptized at Dymock on 7 January 1820. Bristol, England, Church of England Baptisms, 1813-1918, Bristol, Redland Green, Register of Baptisms 1813-1846, p. 12, no. 92, Sarah Ellen daughter of Robert and Elizabeth Clift, 8 Jun. 1817, image at Ancestry.com; Gloucestershire, England, Church of England Baptisms, 1813-1913, Dymock, Register of Baptisms 1813-1844, p. 39, no. 309, William son of Robert and Elizabeth Clift, 7 Jan. 1820, image at Ancestry.com.
  45. Wilford Woodruff journal, 1840 January-December, image 19 of 286, Mary Cleft, Church History Library, https://catalog.churchofjesuschrist.org/assets?id=01ff33da-9cab-4400-8b3a-f7abe97ae0da&crate=0&index=18, accessed March 2021.
  46. Wilford Woodruff journal, 1840 January-December, image 19 of 286, James Clift, Church History Library, https://catalog.churchofjesuschrist.org/assets?id=01ff33da-9cab-4400-8b3a-f7abe97ae0da&crate=0&index=18, accessed March 2021.
  47. For more information about the voyage, see Theodore Turley: A Biography chapters 33-40. William Clayton, Journal 1840-1842, p. 70, 8 Sep. 1840, digital images at Mormon Missionary Diaries, BYU Library Digital Collection, https://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/digital/collection/MMD/id/59454/rec/1, accessed March 2021; “Liverpool to New York 8 Sep 1840-12 Oct 1840,” Saints by Sea: Latter-day Saint Immigration to America, https://saintsbysea.lib.byu.edu/mii/voyage/304, accessed March 2021; New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists, 1840, Oct. 12, North America, p.1, Mary Clift, image at Ancestry.com.
  48. See Theodore Turley: A Biography 40: New York. William Clayton, Journal 1840-1842, p. 79, 11 Oct. 1840, digital images at Mormon Missionary Diaries, BYU Library Digital Collection, https://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/digital/collection/MMD/id/59463, accessed March 2021.
  49. See Theodore Turley: A Biography 41: Steaming Up the Hudson.
  50. See Theodore Turley: A Biography 42: The Erie Canal.
  51. See Theodore Turley: A Biography 43: What to Do?
  52. “Bristol to Quebec 10 May 1841-12 July 1841,” Saints by Sea: Latter-day Saint Immigration to America database, https://saintsbysea.lib.byu.edu/mii/voyage/160, accessed February 2021; Transcript of Mary Ann Weston Maughan Journal, Joel E. Ricks Collection of Transcriptions, Merrill-Cazier Library Special Collection and Archives, Utah State University, book 1, page 17, digital images online at USU Digital History Collections, https://digital.lib.usu.edu/digital/collection/Diaries/id/16984, accessed February 2021.
  53. House of Commons, Parliamentary Papers, Vol. 31 (London: William Clowes & Sons, 1842), 16 and 286, digitized at Google Books.
  54. George G. Fidler, husband of Mary’s sister, Eliza, was recorded on a petition in Nauvoo on 3 September 1841. “Petition from Jeremiah Curtis and Others, 3 September 1841,” Nauvoo, IL, Records, 1841-1845, Church History Library, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
  55. Nauvoo Stake, Nauvoo 2nd ward census, image 26 of 33, Church History Library, https://catalog.churchofjesuschrist.org/assets?id=2febcd71-25e6-470f-94c1-d1bcb53cdfca&crate=1&index=25, accessed February 2021.
  56. George Fidler was enumerated directly above “elivia” Fidler. Nauvoo Stake, Nauvoo 2nd ward census, Church History Library, https://catalog.churchofjesuschrist.org/assets?id=2febcd71-25e6-470f-94c1-d1bcb53cdfca&crate=1&index=23, accessed February 2021.
  57. John S. Dinger, ed., The Nauvoo City and High Council Minutes (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 2011), p. 424-426; Gary James Bergara, “‘Illicit Intercourse,’ Plural Marriage, and the Nauvoo Stake High Council, 1840-1844,” John Whitmer Historical Association Journal 23 (2003): 75-77.
  58. Gary James Bergara, “‘Illicit Intercourse,’ Plural Marriage, and the Nauvoo Stake High Council, 1840-1844,” John Whitmer Historical Association Journal 23 (2003): 76-77. A transcript of the agreement is available online here.
  59. Theodore Turley recorded Jason’s surname as Turley in his family memorial. Family Memorial-Mary Clift.
  60. Family Memorial-Mary Clift; William D. Huntington records, 1839-1884, Nauvoo cemetery record, 1839-1845, image 242 of 252, Jason L. Clift, 26 Oct. 1843, Church History Library, https://catalog.churchofjesuschrist.org/assets?id=43801da4-6d22-4f24-9fbf-20712836a4f7&crate=0&index=241, accessed March 2021.
  61. FindaGrave.com, memorial page for Jason L. Clift (1842–26 Oct 1843), memorial no. 44889390, citing Old Nauvoo Burial Grounds, Nauvoo, Hancock County, Illinois, USA.
  62. Family Memorial-Sarah Ellen Clift.
  63. Elizabeth was recorded as fifty-eight years old, giving an approximate birth year of 1786. William D. Huntington records, 1839-1884, Nauvoo cemetery record, 1839-1845, image 230 of 252, Elizabeth Clift, 20 Jun. 1844, Church History Library, https://catalog.churchofjesuschrist.org/assets?id=43801da4-6d22-4f24-9fbf-20712836a4f7&crate=0&index=229, accessed March 2021.
  64. FindaGrave.com, memorial page for Elizabeth Cantle Clift (1790–10 Jun 1844), memorial no. 43402134, citing Old Nauvoo Burial Grounds, Nauvoo, Hancock County, Illinois, USA.
  65. Family Memorial-Mary Clift.
  66. Theodore Turley wrote Ephraim’s surname as Turley in his family memorial, but Nauvoo cemetery records have him listed as “Ephraim Ridge.” His death date, 6 July 1845, and age, four months and 26 days, match the information in Theodore’s record. Family Memorial-Mary Clift; William D. Huntington records, 1839-1884, Nauvoo cemetery record, 1839-1845, image 220 of 252, Ephraim Ridge, 6 Jul. 1845, Church History Library, https://catalog.churchofjesuschrist.org/assets?id=43801da4-6d22-4f24-9fbf-20712836a4f7&crate=0&index=219, accessed March 2021.
  67. Devery S. Anderson and Gary James Bergara, The Nauvoo Endowment Companies, 1845-1846: A Documentary History (Salt Lake City, Utah: Signature Books, 2005), 554 and 562.
  68. Nauvoo and sealing record “A”, 1846-1857, p. 523-524, entries for Theodore Turley, Eliza Clift, and Mary Clift, FHL 183374.
  69. Family Memorial-Mary Clift.
  70. Family Memorial-Mary Clift.
  71. Silas Richards Company (1849), Pioneer Database 1847-1868, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, https://history.churchofjesuschrist.org/overlandtravel/companies/5/silas-richards-company-1849, accessed March 2021.
  72. Sometime between 1846 and 1849, Eliza Clift separated from the Turley family and settled in Davenport, Scott County, Iowa with her daughter, Emma, and father, Robert Clift.
  73. Related blog post: “Crossing the Plains with the Silas Richards Company.” Camp of Israel schedules and reports, 1845-1849, Silas Richards company, 1849 September, p. 5, Church History Library, https://catalog.churchofjesuschrist.org/assets?id=0cb1643e-a096-4f99-ab02-a39eb733285b&crate=0&index=4, accessed March 2021.
  74. According to the Pioneer Overland Travel Website, the Silas Richards Company departed Council Bluffs, Iowa, on 10 July 1849 and arrived in the Salt Lake Valley 25-29 October 1849. See https://history.lds.org/overlandtravel/companies/5/silas-richards-company-1849.
  75. Related blog post: “In the Valley of the Great Salt Lake.”
  76. Family Memorial-Mary Clift. Related blog post: “In the Valley of the Great Salt Lake.”
  77. Family Memorial-Mary Clift; Utah, Salt Lake City Cemetery Records, 1847-1896, Record of the Dead Book A, p. 2, interment no. 37, Mary Turley, 30 Mar. 1850, image 7 of digital film 7420258 at FamilySearch.org, digitized from FHL 1299167, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9CR-TBBP?i=6&cc=2094273&cat=23661, accessed March 2021. Related blog post: “In the Valley of the Great Salt Lake.”
  78. Entry for Sunday, 31 Mar. 1850. Brooks, On the Mormon Frontier Vol. 2, 365; Family Memorial-Mary Clift; Utah, Salt Lake City Cemetery Records, 1847-1896, Record of the Dead Book A, p. 2, interment no. 37, Mary Turley, 30 Mar. 1850, image 7 of digital film 7420258 at FamilySearch.org, digitized from FHL 1299167, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9CR-TBBP?i=6&cc=2094273&cat=23661, accessed March 2021.