George Powell: Click here for Family Search Profile
Born:14 April 1814 Benthall, Shropshire, England
Baptized: 2 June 1849
Died: 3 February 1893 Glenwood, Sevier, Utah, United States
Buried: Click here for Find-a-grave link
Maria Mousley: Click here for Family Search Profile
Born: 25 March 1819 Aldridge, Staffordshire, England
Baptized: 30 May 1849
Died: 4 June 1903 Glenwood, Sevier, Utah, United States
Buried:Click here for Find-a-grave link
Conversion Story: I added an excerpt about how the finally all met up in Utah
In 1849, a Mormon eider named George Hill converted and baptized George and Maria into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saints. Maria was baptized May 30, 1849, and George on June 2, 1 849. George preached the gospel and held open air meeting and his daughter Emma helped him with the singing and distributing tracts. George worked in the coal mines and in the iron foundry. By 1 863 work in the mines was slow and the men had a hard time earning a living as they only worked part time. Emma’s husband, Edward Payne, went to America to work in the coal mines there and left his family with George and Maria. When George’s employer learned of this, he was angry and notified George that he must either turn Emma and her children out of the house or be turned out himself. Emma went to the boss and he agreed to keep George at work if she left the house. This she did, leaving her oldest son George with her parents. A few months later, George accompanied his daughter Emma and her children and some other families on the journey to America, leaving his wife and family in England. They landed in New York on Christmas day, 1863. He then went to work with Edward in the coal mines of Fallbrook, Pennsylvania, and saved all he could to send for his family. In the spring of 1864, he borrowed some money to help bring Maria and children from England. She had been working night and day at her profession as a seamstress, trying to support the family and save for the emigration. Maria and children and her daughter Ann with her husband James Price and children left York in the middle of June, in charge of Patriarch John Smith. Elder Joseph A. Young, son of President Brigham Young, had charge of the emigration business at New York, and notified all the saints that the Emigration Fund Company had made arrangements to take care of all who cared to go right on to Salt Lake City. They were encouraged to go right on to Utah because of the Civil War. Maria Powell and James Price and others of the family who were coming from England held a council about the matter and finally decided to go to Zion instead of to Pennsylvania. Maria used this expression in giving her opinion on the matter: “For fourteen years we have prayed for the Lord to open the way for us to go to Zion, and now that it is open I feel that we should go.” They wrote for the other family members to join them and go to Zion. After much deliberation, those in Pennsylvania decided that was the best plan, but in order to carry it out, someone would have to remain and work in the coal fields to repay the borrowed money. Edward agreed to stay on condition that George Powell and James Price would take care of Emma and the children until Edward could join them. George and Emma and party traveled by rail to St. Joseph, Missouri, where they took a boat up the Missouri River to Florence. Nebraska and then joined Maria and James and Ann Price and families who had traveled straight from New York to the pioneer camp grounds in Omaha, Nebraska. They stayed here for some time preparing for their journey across the plains. While at the camp grounds, Maria supervised the making of tents and wagon covers. Here she sprained her ankle and was unable to walk, so she had to ride most of the way across the plains. It is said she had erysipelas and after arriving in camp and making a fire of buffalo chips (which were gathered as they traveled along), Maria was buried to her knees in the ground to take out the inflammation. Still, there was something she could do. While Emma mixed bread, and James cooked, and others built fires and fixed camp on the plains, Maria washed all the children and combed their hair. The family was assigned to the Company of Captain Joseph S. Rawlin’s train which was partially loaded with freight. They were assigned to the wagon of William Coleman. All the earthly possessions of fifteen people (George, Maria and three children, James and Ann and three children and Emma and four children) were loaded on top of a part of a load of freight. (There was such a large emigration that year--nearly three thousand saints-that it was necessary to load part of them on the freight train.) George Powell, at age 50, walked all the way across the plains. Two of his little grandsons died on the journey, and a baby granddaughter was born. After hard and toilsome journey, he and Maria and family arrived in Heber City, Utah, on September 23, 1864. They accompanied their teamster, William Coleman there, leaving the rest of the wagon train near Parley’s Peak. They lived in a log school house for a few days, and in a stable for a few days while a log room 1 4 feet square was prepared. All three families moved into this - fourteen people in one room - for a time. George had the duty of providing for both his own and Emma’s family that winter, which was a severe one. The snow was six feet deep on the level. With the help of his son, Charley, and his grandson, George, he provided all the fuel they used by digging the sagebrush out of the snow, tying it in bundles, and carrying it home on their backs. He and James found some employment among the farmers. The stream froze, the flour mill could not run and there was little flour in the valley. They lived for weeks on boiled wheat. They had salt, but no sugar or milk to go with it. In September, 1 865 Edward arrived in Utah and took over the care of his family, relieving George of that responsibility.
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