Dear Ellen: Two Mormon Women and Their Letters

Dear Ellen, Page 065

The Romance find the Realities like the old William the family remembered. William devised means to run three saws and a lathe from his water power. He employed "a great many hands in the shop," turned out "a great deal of furniture," but was obliged to "take in grain then sell thai to freighters for money." But by early 1867 William was burdened by debts and mortgages and everyone was crying "hard times," "there is no money in the country . . . there is no sale for any thing." Ellen was admonished by her mother to encourage William with cheerfulness and contentment, "and if he governs his temper, he shall be blest." But business troubles led to other troubles, and William became involved with another woman. All led to a divorce between Ellen and William. "Ellen will never get much from him," Frances wrote her father. William owed more than he was worth, but "Ellen seems quite cheerful since Will quit troubleing her, they are entirely alienated from each other. W- says he feels as though there was a great weight sold off of him, and Ellen says she feels as though she was let out of prison and more cheerful than she has for a long time past, she says she has always felt as though there was nothing secure for her anywhere while she stayed with William." That summer of 1867, Ellen took her two children, six and four, to Beaver to be with her mother and sisters. On the second of October she gave birth to Aurora Frances. Two weeks later, her William Addison died. Ellen wrote her father: Oh! Father I thought I had trouble enough before that came, coming at such a time as it did when my babe was so young and I so unable to attend on him it seemed almost more than I could bear and my heart clung to him in my loneliness and trouble and he was .such an affectionat little fellow it seemed as if I could hardly live without him; if he ever saw me shedding tears he would .say, "dont cry mama, your little boy is here with you." Oh! how liis little tones haunt me day and night he was such a healthy little fellow I thought I could keep him I thought there was nothing to hinder his living a long and useful life and my heart was full of hopes for him and of lessons I would teach him 65