Show samuel francis family reunion set for sunday A reunion of the samuel francis family will be held in the stake tabernacle at 3 p in sunday july 3 when the family gathers tribute will be paid to the anniversary of the birth of samuel francis and the program will be furnished by representatives representative i of his 30 sons and daughters each member of the family will be presented with a copy of the history of mr air francis his wife and each of the 10 children following Follo winf is a brief historical sketch of samuel francis SAMUEL FRANCIS was born bom in trowbridge pe wiltshire england july 3 1830 he was converted to the church of jesus christ of latter day saints and joined the church N when b en he was 17 years of age he was the only member of the family of six children who joined the church for which he was driven from his home by his father who hated the cormons mormons Mor Alor mons because of his earnestness and diligent study mr air francis was soon appointed to do missionary work in the sherborne district he labored in the british mission for four years and was then called by president F D richards to preside over the swiss italian mission it was while on this mission that mr feancis met his future wife esther charlotte E a young german gill who was teaching in a ladies seminary and who had been recommended commended ic to him as a language teacher she being learned in five languages miss recognized mr air francis immediately as she had bad been shown him in a dream during a v very cry serious illness as she lay in a trance she saw the rise lise of the church and the exodus of the people from the missouri river to utah she was also shown the coming of the mormon missionaries to italy and one that would come with three books under his arm with a message for her which she was to listen to she did not tell mr francis of this dream u until antil some time later but she taught him french and german and he taught her english and the gospel esther charlotte emily was born of german parentage in turin italy june 19 1 she joined the church ana and because of this was discharged from her position in the school pres smith gave her a job in the mission office translating english hymns and tracts to french and german on july 1 1837 1857 mr air francis and miss aliss were married by the british consulate geneva switzerland Switz eiland on april 1 IMS 1858 mr air francis was to the british british mission where he labored two and one half years after which he was released having served eleven years in missionary work his release was given to permit them to emigrate to zion they now had two children samuel and joseph both born bom in england they sailed for america on the monarch of the sea arriving june 19 1661 they left florence nebraska by ox team and arrived in salt lake city september 16 1861 mr francis drove teams sawed wood and taught school to make a living they settled first in farmington where alonzo was born in 1663 he be traded an army coat and a rifle for a 25 acre farm in weber valley in 1664 he disposed of the farm in weber valley and moved his family to morgan hurriedly pitching an old leaky tent to shelter his wife while she gave birth to their ath son william As soon as he could he bu built ailt a log cabin with a dirt floor and roof to house the family As a christmas present in 1665 he presented his family with a new log cabin with a shingled roof glass windows and a wooden floor for three years after he be moved his family to morgan he continued to work in ogden at the carding business to earn money to pay for the first farm he bought in morgan county in 1668 morgan city was organized and mr francis was elect elected ed justice of the peace when the county was organized he was elected d county clerk and recorder and later filled the office of county attorney and the probate judge with the help of his wife he be put himself through a course of law and was admitted to the bar in 1888 at the age of 58 years ile he earned on roost most of the legal business in morgan county for many years mr air francis was elected to the territorial legislature for four terms and was a member of the constitutional convention when utah was admitted to the union during these years he was always active in the church trav elling as a missionary in morgan and summit counties in is when morgan stake was organized he be was chosen as a member of the stake presidency after serving in in this capacity for many years he was released and ordained a patriarch mr air francis identified himself in the educational interests of the county and state by working to have schools run by taxation and worked in the legislature for the free public school system in operation today lie he died may 26 1906 of pneumonia I 1 at morgan I 1 mr air francis was always a frail person weighing between 00 and pounds she was advised by her physician to never marry and attempt to raise a family yet through the help of the lord she withstood all the early trials and hardships incident to pioneer life and reared 10 children to maturity for many years she acted as midwife in the different communities and did bedside bed side nursing she had a good knowledge of drugs and their preparation and use she died february 21 1913 the closing words in mr francis diary were well mother we might have and should have done more in this world of ours than we have but if our posterity do as much they will leave the world some better for their having lived in it f |