James Henry and Emily Hart
By Edward Hart from History of Bear Lake Pioneers
James Henry Hart was born 21 June 1825 in Hemingford Abbotts, England, son of Thomas and Elizabeth (Marriot) Hart. He was raised in the Church of England but joined the Baptists in his early teens. His first reaction to Mormonism was opposition, but after much soul searching and mature, prayerful contemplation, he was baptized in 1847. The following February he became an elder and was called on a mission. In 1851 he was called to assist John Taylor in the opening of the French mission and spent over three years there. When he was released he had served continuously as a missionary for seven years.
He married Emily Ellingham 24 Aug 1852 in London England, and she accompanied him on some of his missions in France. A dairy he kept reveals many details of his missionary service. While in London, Emily had a miscarriage which caused both of them to mourn deeply. After completing his seven year mission, he and Emily sailed for America on the S S Germanicus reaching St Louis Missouri 12 weeks later. He was called to the St Louis High Council and given charge of the church publication, The St Louis Luminary. In 1855 he was sustained as stake president of the St Louis Stake. He held that position for two years. In 1857 the Harts again turned westward.
He captained a company of twenty-two ox drawn wagons. This company passed Johnston's Army who were on their way to Utah. In 1858 James was appointed adjutant of a battalion under Major Munro and assisted in recruiting men to march to the settlements on the Salmon River in Idaho to protect the colonists from raiding Indians. This was known as the Lemhi mission.
James was very studious and mastered the French language while he served there on his mission. He read widely all of his life, subscribed to the best magazines, supplied his library with the best books and transmitted to his descendants a love of book and learning. He became a newspaper man, a lawyer, a state legislator and a holder of other public offices.
Children of James Henry Hart and Emily Ellingham
1. Daughter Hart b&d 11 Jan 1854 in St Heiler
England
2. Emily Ellingham Hart b&d 20 Oct 1854 in St Louis Missouri
3. Emily Ellingham Hart b&d 25 Jan 1856 in St Louis
4. James Ellingham Hart b-17 Jan 1857 in St Louis Missouri; d-6 June 1955 in
Salt Lake City Utah
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James married his second wife, Sabina Scheib on 4 May 1861 in Salt Lake City. After several years in Salt Lake, James was called by Elder Charles C Rich to aid the settlement of Bear Lake. James located in Bloomington in the fall of 1864 and then he returned to Salt Lake. The following spring he moved his two families to Bloomington. A small one room log cabin with a dirt floor was erected. The floor was occasionally covered with fresh straw. A quilt constituted a door and a shawl a window. Four sons were born to James and Sabina in this cabin.
Children of James Henry Hart and Sabina Scheib
1. Anna Maria Hart b-22 July 1862 in Salt Lake
City; d-15 July 1872 in Provo
2. Alice Catherine Hart b-14 Sep 1864 in Salt Lake City; d-17 Sep 1942 in
Farmington Utah
3. Charles Henry Hart b-5 July 1866 in Bloomington; d-29 Sep 1943 in Salt Lake
City
4. Eugene Scheib Hart b-16 Dec 1867 in Bloomington; d-28 Dec 1950 in Pocatello
Idaho
5. Arthur William Hart b-16 Oct 1869 in Bloomington; d-7 Apr 1949 in Salt Lake
City
6. Alfred Augustus Hart b-9 Oct 1871 in Bloomington; d-22 Feb 1955 in
Bloomington m-Sarah Cecelia Patterson
7. John Thomas Hart b-22 Jan 1874 in Provo; d-16 Feb 1874 in Provo
8. Sabina Hermonie Hart b-18 July 1875 in Salt Lake; d-1 Oct 1911
9. Emily Rosina Hart b-31 Mar 1880 in Bloomington; d-2 Jan 1940 in Logan
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In the spring of 1872, in order to improve his financial position, James moved his families to Provo Utah where he worked as a bookkeeper. He married this third wife, Mary Elizabeth Thomas on 3 Feb 1874 in Provo. After a few years in Provo, the family returned to Salt Lake and resided in Sugarhouse Ward. During this period James was manager of a nail factory. Then they moved back to Bloomington.
In 1881 James was called to serve as Emigrant Agent for the Church in New York City. He acted as agent for ten years and retained his position as counsel in the Bear Lake Stake. The two wives of James, who had children in Bloomington, had to adapt themselves from the circumstances of well to do London homes, to the hardships and privations of frontier pioneer life and rear families without the aid of a husband. Great men indeed contributed to the building of the church in the Rocky Mountains, but nothing permanent could have been done without such women as these. Sabina was refined and cultured and had find training tin the schools of London. She loved good literature and art and was familiar with the writings of Scott, Dickens and Eliot.
While serving as Emigrant Agent for the church, James was occasionally interviewed by the papes whose interest in Mormons was very high. During all of his mature life, James H Hart wrote voluminously, including many major poems, magazines and newspaper articles. Perhaps his best known work is "An Interview with David Whitmer in August 1883." which is still a favorite work among teachers of church history.
Emily died 1 May 1892 in Bloomington. Death came to James as an after effect of an accident with a team of high spirited horses and a sleigh which overturned, killing his third wife, Elizabeth instantly, leaving him with injuries. Elizabeth was born 26 Mar 1843 in St Mary, Brecknock, Wales, the daughter of D G Thomas and Martha Davis. She died from this accident on 15 Jan 1904 in Bloomington and was buried in the Bloomington Cemetery.
James never recovered thoroughly though he lived about three years longer. He died 12 Nov 1906 in Bloomington and was buried in the Bloomington Cemetery. Sabina died 1 Mar 1919 and was buried in the Bloomington Cemetery.
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Children of Alfred Augustus Hart and Sarah Cecelia Patterson
1. Sarah Ruth Hart b-15 Jan 1907 in Wardboro;
d-1970 in Vernal Utah; m-Harold M Lundell 8 May 1935 in Vernal
2. Flora Sabina Hart b-13 July 1908 in Bloomington; d-25 Mar 1992 in Salt Lake
City; br-Redwood Memorial Cemetery in West Jordan; m-James T Woolston 24 Dec
1934 in Bloomington
3. Alfred Bruce Hart b-29 Aug 1910 in Bloomington d-26 Aug 1966 in Ogden Utah;
br-Bloomington Cemetery
4. Philip James Hart b-7 Sep 1912 in Bloomington; d-14 Aug 2005 in Idaho Falls; br-Provo City
Cemetery
5. Eugene Augustus Hart b-4 Dec 1914 in Bloomington; d-25 Dec 1993 in
Kaysville Utah; br-Bloomington Cemetery
6. Edward
Leroy Hart b-28 Dec 1916 in Bloomington; d-9 Mar 2008 in Provo Utah; br-Provo
City Cemetery
7. Heber Jesse Hart b-17 Sep 1920 in Bloomington; d-14 July 2000 in Bountiful
Utah; br-Paris
Cemetery
8. Lillian Hart b-6 Nov 1922 in Bloomington; d-9 July 2011 in Charlevoix
Michigan; br-Charlevoix Cemetery; m-Carr
9. Lawrence Patterson Hart b-8 Dec 1924 in Bloomington; d-7 May 2000 in Salt
Lake City; br-Sandy Utah Cemetery
10. Baby Hart b&d 27 Apr 1927 in Bloomington; br-Bloomington Cemetery
11. Norma Hart b-1928 in Bloomington
12. Douglas Hart b-1931 in Bloomington