John Tanner and his family

Page 276

266 John Tanner and His Family Missouri to Illinois was a nightmare for everyone; what terror it must have held for a young mother with babe in arms wondering if she could bring her to the relative safety of Illinois. That she did is a in Utah attests to Maria's to and her matter of history good management with growth possibly a maturity bit of good luck thrown in." Safely on the east side of the Mississippi River, Maria would have a year's respite before encountering the physical dangers she had experienced in Missouri. But her restless husband would be on the go constantly, and Maria would never know the comforts and satisfaction of a permanent home. Maria's second child, Francis Marion, was born in Goodhope, lilinois, January 12, 1840. The year before his birth may have been one of the most happy and restful Maria would have for years. Her a rather little girl Matilda was three years and two months old - long interval between babies among mothers of the frontier. This was fortunate; it had given Maria a little time to enjoy her lovely she was now past little girl and a little time for her to mature could gather, both twenty-one. She would need all the strenght she - physically and emotionally, for the years ahead. in 1840 Amasa built a cabin on the "Half Breed Tract," Montrose. This was near where John Tanner and his three mar­ ried sons were developing their large farm. From a practical point­ of-view, this seemed to be a wise arrangement since Amasa was gone But in a short time Maria moved so much on church business. Early near Nauvoo to be nearer her husband, who found he could see her more often if she was closer to his work. But she was moved again and again. If Maria ever expected to be with her beloved, she would have to give up any idea of a settled life; and Amasa meant more to her than the comforts of a tranquil home. to was never the sunshine girl who stirred you with her ways. Even had she been, her experiences after moving to Kirtland in 1835 would have been a severe strain on such a disposition. One of the few times she opened her heart so others could see inside was in a letter she wrote in November of 1841. It said: "The reason Maria out-going I have not written before, I had nothing good to write. We have either been harassed about, or some of us sick, or Amasa in prison. You have undoubted heard that a mob had him and some others chained in Richmond jail for some time. He has been home but very little; he travels and preaches a great part of his time, as he has done ever since he joined the Mormons.'?"