Mary Ann Park (1837-1897) 52 Ancestors #2

Mary Ann Park (1837-1897)

One hundred seventy seven years ago today (January 24th 1837), my 3rd great grandmother, Mary Ann Park was born in Warwick, Kent, Canada. Mary Ann's parents were David Park and Ann Brooks, natives of Scotland. Mary Ann's parents joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in 1841 and moved to Nauvoo, Illinois to be with the main body of the Saints in 1846, at about the same time that the Latter-Day Saints were being driven from their homes in Nauvoo, Illinois and starting their trek west.

The Park family stayed for three years in Missouri to raise money to make the trek to the Rocky Mountains, and probably traveled to Utah in 1850. Mary Ann was an excellent seamstress, with many homemaking skills. As a teenager, Mary Ann went to work for the family of George and Bathsheba Smith, where she met Ebenezer Bryce, who was also working on the ranch for the Smith family. Mary Ann and Ebenezer fell in love and were married on 16 April 1854 by mormon apostle George A. Smith at his home in Salt Lake City.

Mary Ann and Ebenezer moved around several times in their lifetimes. Ebenezer was an expert carpenter and was called upon many times to help build saw mills, shingle mills, and flour mills. The Mary Ann and Ebenezer Bryce family spent time in several Utah settlements including Tooele, Rush Valley (Clover), Spanish Fork, East Weber, St. George, and Pine Valley. In 1868, while in Pine Valley, Ebenezer built the famous Pine Valley Chapel, which was constructed like an upside down ship. The Pine Valley Chapel is still in use today.

Pine Valley Chapel

Mary Ann had health problems most of her life, and the Bryce family moved from Pine Valley to a warmer climate (Tropic, Utah) to be better for Mary Ann's health. The canyon near their home there is now Bryce National Park.

Bryce Canyon National Park

Even in Tropic, the winters took a toll on Mary Ann's health and in 1880, the Bryce family moved to Arizona, first spending the winter in Snowflake, Arizona, then in 1881 moved to Bush Valley (now Alpine) then onto Nutrioso, Arizona and in 1882 to Williams Valley, New Mexico. In November 1882 the family moved to the Gila Valley in Arizona, first at Smithville (now Pima), and then in 1884 they homesteaded land north of the Gila River on a settlement named Bryce after her family.

Mary Ann and Ebenezer were the parents of 12 children (8 boys and 4 girls), all of whom lived to adulthood and were married, with the exception of one son (David), who contracted smallpox and died at the age of 29.

Although she suffered from poor health most of her life, Mary Ann did the washing, sewing, and ironing and made soap and candles for her family. She and her daughters also would card, spin and knit the wool from the sheep raised by the Bryce family. Mary Ann was a devoted wife and mother, who endured many hardships of pioneer life. Mary Ann passed away on April 10, 1897 at the age of 60 in Bryce, Arizona. She and her husband are buried in the Bryce, Arizona cemetery.

Bryce Home in Bryce, Arizona