The Hocquard family move to Utah

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The Hocquard family
move to Utah




The story of a Jersey Mormon family and their
emigration to Salt Lake City

Elizabeth Hocquard, daughter of Francis and Elizabeth Jeunne. Born St Brelade, 8 June 1827 and baptised in December 1853 by A L Lamoreaux. Married John Carlisle on 8 February 1857 in Salt Lake City. Died Salt Lake, Utah, 14 February 1916.

Family

Elizabeth was the fourth child of six children: Francis, John, Phillip, Elizabeth, Fanny Sophia, and Charles. She went to school until she was nine years old, then her father would not let the children go any more. Schools began to teach the English language and her father wanted his children always to be French and speak the French language, so he would not let them go to school. They must have been taught at home because Elizabeth was well educated.

Elizabeth Jeune was baptized in 1853 and Francis Hocquard the following 24 February. They left Jersey on 17 March 1854 and sailed on the Marshfield with A L Lamoreaux to Liverpool, and on 8 April 1854 they set sail for America and arrived in New Orleans on 29 May. They left a nice home in Jersey and Francis provided well for his family. They always had a hired girl and his wife never did any rough work. She served as an apprentice for seven years and learned the trade of tailoring. She was very expert at her work and did a lot of sewing before and after her marriage.

Seafarers

Francis Hocquard followed the sea for 50 years. He was a sea captain but his wife did not want the boys to go to sea so she bound them out as apprentice boys to learn a trade. It did no good, as they finally all went to sea. So when the Hocquard family wanted to come to Zion the boys were out at sea. The youngest boy, Charles, was favorable toward the church but he did not want to come for another year. So Elizabethr stayed to get him to come to Zion. They were afraid if someone didn't stay he would change his mind. She also had a sweetheart who was not very favorable toward the church.

So because of her sweetheart and brother, Charles, she stayed another year. Her brother Charles left the Isle of Jersey with her, but her sweetheart would not join the Church so she left him. Her brother John was living in Liverpool, so they went to visit him and say goodbye. They stayed all night and by that time John had talked Charles out of going to Utah. So he went back to the sea and all of the brothers except John were finally buried at sea.

Elizabeth left Liverpool on 17 April 1855 on the Chimborazo. There were 431 saints; 74 of them from the French mission, one of them was Elder Stevensen who had charge of the group. When Elizabeth left her home in Jersey she wished to bring some of her prized china, silverware, and a feather bed. As she had plenty of money Elder Lamoreaux gave her permission to bring them with her, so she gave him enough money to bring herself and her belongings to Salt Lake City. When it came time to get on board the ship they were not going to let her come because her passage had not been paid. She told the authorities everything, so they hunted for Lamoreaux and he confessed he had taken the money and used it to buy nice things for his folks in Utah.

Elizabeth was allowed on the boat but she lost her possessions. She was very angry but it did not diminish her testimony of the gospel. She knew that the fault was with the man and not the gospel and she told Elder Lamoreaux that he would never live to see Utah because he had robbed the saints. She spoke the truth as it proved later. When the saints arrived at St Louis the Elder contracted cholera and died. He begged to have his body taken to Salt Lake but that was not possible and he was buried there.

Elder Stevensen and Thomas Jeremy took good care of the Saints and they arrived in Philadelphia on 21 May 1855. They learned the S Curing had arrived in the harbor and would join them and then leave for Pittsburgh. Grandmother was sick and had to lie in bed all the way. They traveled from Pittsburgh to St Louis arriving there on 3 June 1855.

St Louis

Taken from the St Louis summary:

"Late Saturday 3 June 1855, from 500 to 600 souls of saints arrived by the excellent steamship Amazon under the direction of Elder Stevensen. They were all anxious to get to Salt Lake City and when it was finally decided they could get transportation they were delighted.

They stayed there two weeks and Elizabeth had to sell some of her things to get money to come to Zion. They went on board the steamer Ben Bolt, which sailed from St Louis to Atchison on 19 June 1855. They were under the direction of Elder Francis St George. They started for the trip across the plains on 24 July 1855 with ox teams. Elizabeth was in the Milo Andrus Company. She was not very strong and she was afraid of water. One day as they came to a stream the captain was going to make her cross by herself. She took her shoes off but she fainted when she got into the water, so from then on a large man by the name of Charles Harper would always take her across the streams in his carriage. She walked from Big Mountain into Salt Lake Valley hungry and weak on 23 October 1855 and went right on to Alpine, Utah County, where her folks were. Alpine was called Mountainville at that time.

Alpine

The Hocquards and Jeunes helped pioneer Alpine and endured all the hardships of that time. In 1855 and 1856 when the grasshoppers did considerable damage, they were compelled to dig roots and use greens for food.

The first time Elizabeth went to a meeting in Alpine, she saw John Carlisle and she felt that he was the man she would marry. They married on 8 February 1857 in the old Endowment House located on the northwest corner of the Temple Block.

After they were married they lived in Alpine for a few years. John purchased some land and farmed and Elizabeth continued her tailoring. In the winter of 1857 John had to go to help keep Johnston’s Army in the canyon. He had no warm coat so Elizabeth made him one from a warm petticoat she had.

She was an active church worker all her life. When the Relief Society was first organized in Alpine Mrs McCullough was president and Elizabeth H Carlisle was first counselor. She taught Sunday School and Relief Society in Alpine and also in Mill Creek.

Sewing

John and Elizabeth were very good to the solders from Johnston's army and made many friends with them and their wives. Many of the soldiers joined the church although they had been sent here by the government to fight the saints. Elizabeth did sewing for some of the officers’ wives. One day one of the women said to her: "You see that baby dress on the line, well that lady said no one will ever be able to get one like it. I will give you ten dollars if you will make one just like it."

Elizabeth said if she could borrow the dress long enough to get the pattern she would make one like it. So the dress was borrowed, the pattern taken from it and the mother gave her the material. The next week Elizabeth went to the camp and took the finished dress. The woman gave her the ten dollars and she was very happy for money was very scarce at that time. She made more money than her husband that winter. The women who lived at the army camp were very generous with their money and because she was such an expert tailor they paid her well for everything she did. She made men’s suits and overcoats and also fine sewing.

She had six children, all born in Alpine. After all the children were born John Carlisle decided Alpine was such a small place that he moved his family back to Mill Creek. He acquired about 20 acres of ground. He and the children made the adobes and built a two-story home which is occupied at the present time (1960). They built well without the material and tools in use today.

Crusade

During the crusade when many of the church leaders were arrested and jailed, their’s home was open to receive them. Many of them stayed there and among them were John Taylor, who had been on a mission in Jersey. Elizabeth knew him very well, also William Taylor, and she taught them French, which she spoke very well. John Taylor was President of the church and Elizabeth always spoke well of him. She said he was such a fine humble man and when they were in need of help she was proud to have them stay at her home. George Q Cannon and some of the Apostles would come and stay for weeks at a time. George Cannon's wife had two babies born at the Carlisle home. They had to be careful not to be seen outside as officers were hunting for them. Elizabethhad two clothes lines and she would hang quilts on the lines so they could walk between them for exercise.

Elizabeth and John made their home lovely with trees and flowers. They had two flowing wells, which gave them plenty of water and the soil was very fertile. They raised good gardens, had strawberries, raspberries and many fruit trees.

  • This account was written by Eliza Bowden Machios, granddaughter of John and Elizabeth.
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