| Home Surname List Name Index Sources Email Us | Fourth Generation17. Elizabeth "Betsy" MCNUTT was born on 17 August 1820 in Harrison, Pueblo County, OH.3 She appeared in the census in 1830 in Harrison Township, Preble County, OH.3 (She was listed as age 5-10.) She appeared in the census in 1840 in Colerain Township, Hamilton County, OH.6 (She was listed as age 10-15.) Betsy died on 21 September 1897 at the age of 77 in Lamoni, Decatur County, IA.1 Elizabeth "Betsy" MCNUTT and James J. STRANG were married on 19 February 1852.19 THE FIVE WIVES AND FOURTEEN Copied from the book; "THE KING STRANG STORY" Contributed by Jane Bonny....thank you so much Jane. Disaster overwhelmed the Saints on the shores of Beaver Island's Paradise Bay in late june and early July, 1856, disillusioning the four polygamous wives of James Strang. It is impossible to comprehend their feelings, knowing then, that each carried a child of their shared husband and "king." Strang's mortally wounded body, near death at the home of his parents at Voree, signaled chaos in the family and the end of the Beaver Island Kingdom of God. MARY PERCE STRANG. The only legal wife of James J. Strang, Mary Perce, was not on the island during those fateful days. A requested separation took place during May of 1851 after Strang wrote to her on the island and asked her to leave. However, a semblance of their marriage still existed, perhaps as late as 1855. It is apparent that Mary remained passively loyal to her husband in spite of public unmasking of his polygamous revelation during July, 1850. Due to policy objections on her part, as a member of the Council, Strang requested her departure. She had been made a Council member early in 1851, nearly two years after her husband married Elvira Field in polygamy. Strang's marriage to Mary on November 20, 1836, in New York State resulted eventually in his solemn disposition toward Mormonism. In 1843, the family moved west to Burlington, Wisconsin. A brother, Benjamin C. Perce, and a brother-in-law, Moses Smith, had moved there eight years earlier. Aaron, a brother of Moses, also resided at Burlington. All were devout Mormons, although Mary was a Baptist, her father having been a Baptist clergyman. With Strang and MAry went Myraette, their second child, born in 1841. Another child, Mary, died in infancy. Two additional children were born in Wisconsin, the first, William J. in 1844 and Hattie in 1847. Aaron Smith and Strang made a journey to the headquarters of Mormonism at Nauvoo in February, 1844. Strang became a convert at this first meeting with Joseph Smith. Hyrum Smith and Sidney Rigdon were also present, and witnessed the baptismal. Contrary to general belief, Mary was not present when Strang died by assassins' bullets at the home of his parents at Voree. Mary moved temporarily to Elgin, Illinois, in 1851. She spent her last years living with her son, William J. Strang, a Terre Haute, Indiana, railroad conductor. Myraette lived with her brother and mother, never marrying. No record is available to this writer concerning the career of Hattie Strang. In "The Kingdom of Saint JAmes," Quaife failed to record her name as the foruth child of Mary, though he mentioned a fourth. ELVIRA ELIZA FIELD STRANG. Elvira Eliza Field was born in Streetsborough, Portage County, Ohio, July 8, 1830. At maturity she became the first of four polygamous wives of James Strang. Elvira was a descendant of grandfather Thomas Field and father Reuben Field, born in 1801, both having lived in Massachusetts and Connecticut, as did her mother Eliza Granger, born in 1798. Two years after her mother and father were married in May, 1827, they moved to Streetsborough. A son, Albert, was born June 20, 1828, and a sister, Anna, December 26, 1832. Anna died six years after birth. Albert and Elvira moved to Eaton County, Michigan, with their parents in 1844, where Albert lived for nearly seventy years, except while on Beaver Island. From 1844 to 1846, Elvira lived with an uncle, Israel Smith, in Washtenaw County, Michigan. Here she learned the tailor's trade while attending school. In nearby Milan, she became a Presbyterian. At sixteen, Elvira signed a twelve week contract to teach school in Henrietta for $1.00 per week and her board. In 1847 she taught in eaton Rapids, and in 1848, at a school in Eaton township, near Charlotte, where she received $1.25 per week and board to twenty-two weeks. As a girl, Elvira enjoyed hunting with a firle. She could kill a hawk on the wing. A love of outdoor life led to reporting weather data for the Smithsonian Institution at Washington, recording three times daily for five years. The parents of Elvira were Mormon, even before Strang became a convert. After the murder of Joseph Smith in 1844, they became believers in Strang's prophetic succession. In the spring of 1848, Elvira, with her parents, attended a conference at Voree and met James Strang for the first time. Within a year, George Adams offered Elvira the honor of becoming the first plural wife of Strang. On July 13, after the 1849 conference held at the new City of James on Beaver Island, Strang and Elvira exchanged Mormon vows. This marriage represented the beginning of a new society, the restablishment of the Kingdom of God, according to Strang, by commandment. The establishment of plural marriage in the Kingdom meant gossip among its members was assured, especially after the conference when Strang and Elvira toured New York, Philadelphia, and Boston for converts. Confusion and scandal became paramount when secrecy of the marriage was attempted by grooming Elvira as a young "nephew" and dressing her in male attire. In New York, one of the prime accusors was Lorenzo Dow Hickey. He had received a letter from his wife on Beaver warning him of "scandalous doings at the island." Mrs. Hickey renewed gossip which had been suppressed by Strang before he departed for the eastern mission. In spite of her famininity, Elvira played this role of nephew and private secretary rather successfully, traveling with Strang as "Charlie J. Douglass." The first of four children born to this union was Charles J. Strang, born April 6, 1851. Eva, who later married M. C. Baldwin, was born April 18, 1853; Clement J., December 20, 1854; and James J., January 22, 1857. James was the fourteenth and last child of "King" Strang. Elvira was forced to leve Beaver Island with her three small children, aged five, three and two, during the violent turmoil following the assassination. Sthe returned to Voree where she lived for several years in poverty and hardship. Elvira then moved to her fomer home in Eaton County, Michigan, where, in 1860, she was stricken with a supposedly fatal illness. As a result the children were given to the care of friends. Four years later, fortunately having recovered, and again able to be independent because she was a skilled tailoress and a school teacher, Elvira was able to talke care of three of her children. The youngest had been adopted into the family of Mr. David Grier, near Charlotte. His name was then changed to Charles J. Grier. In 1865, Elvira met a widower with five children, a Mr. John Baker. They were married on November 26. On April 22, 1868, a daughter, Emma (Mrs. Jones) was born. She died at age thrity-one. A second daughter, May (Mrs. Buckley), was born October 1874 in Lake County, a location to which the Bakers had moved in 1873. Later in life the Bakers moved to Kent County to be nearer the younger members of the family because of the infirmities of age. Elvira was confined only two days to her bed before she died on June 13, 1910 at the home of Mr. Warren Baker, in Courtland. She was buried in the Courtland cemetery. Surviving Elvira was her husband, then past 91 years of age, five children, 21 grandchildren, and 12 great grandchildren. The seven years tht Elvira lived with James Strang on Bever Island she considered very happy ones. Evidence that her life was influenced by STrang was her hatred of profanity and objection to tobacco and the use of liquor. She was a lover of nature, calling most of the common flowers and shrubs in their botanical names. Elvira, as did Strang, led an honorable and industrious life, and she taught all her children to do the same.
Sunday supplements again reveled in the Beaver Island sex story after marriage to Betsy. In addition to plural marriages, untrue murders and uncounted whippins were double-spread stories in national newspapers, complete with illustrations depicting the Saints in all ther vilent pursuits. Sexual life on Beaver Island was actually serene by comparision. Physical violence was primarily caused by the incessant prodding by Gentiles. There was one murder on Beaver and that was the assassination of "King" Strang himself. Betsy hinted marriage to Strang, according to pious Wingfield Watson, when she bantered words with friendly Saints at one of their numerous social gatherings. After all, she was 31, plain looking and well on her way to becoming an old maid. Betsy considered it an honor to be married to Strang, as did the other three polygamous wives. The McNutt-Strang vows were spoken two and a half years after Strang's marriage to Elvira Field. The ceremony took place on January 19, 1852. During the succeeding three years, three children were born; Evangeline, David and Gabriel. David died in infancy on Beaver Island. It is assumed that Betsy and her family left the Island on June 28, on the propeller Louisville, with her mortally wounded husband, who had been shot by assassins 12 days earlier. Betsy and her children were at the deathbed of Strang. On January 1, 1857, her last child arrived, number 13 for Strang. Between that fateful July 9 and the birth of Abigail, Betsy had moved to Jackson County, Wisconsin, where she experienced difficulty in earning enough to hold her family together. When Evangeline married John Denio of Lamoni, Iowa, Betsy went to live with them. Abigail made her home in St. Joseph, Missouri and died there in May, 1921. Gabriel died in Texas in September, 1935, at the age of 82. Though none of the Strang wives followed his teachings after death, Betsy did become a member of the Reorganized Church. She later joined another Mormon faction. Her four and a half years with James Strang were eventful and happy ones. Betsy never remarried, reminging faithful to his memory until her death on September 22, 1897. SARAH ADELIA WRIGHT STRANG. Sarah Adelia Wright was the third polygamous wife of James Strang from their marriage, on July 15, 1855, to his death less than a year later. At the time of her marriage she was 19, having been born in Leeds County, Canada, November 25, 1835, according to her death certificate. Historian Quaife recorded her age at marriage as 17, though 19 appears correct. This union, against the wishes of her father, Phineas Wright, she sincerely considered an honor. Though Sarah never followed the teachings of the Prophet-husband after his death, she did remarry a Mormon in Jackson County, Wisconsin, a Doctor Wing. Previously she had fled to Racine, Wisconsin, as a very disillusioned young lady. Four months after her arrival at Racine, Sarah gave birth to child number 12 for Strang. The child was born on November 11, 1856. This son was christened James Phineas Strang. In "The Kingdom of Saint James," Quaife erroneously recorded his name as James J. Strang Jr. It is not surprising, considering that the same name and initials appear so frequently in this plural family. James P. Strang was brought up as James P. Wing. Not until he was a grown young man did he have any knowledge of his real father. Doctor Wing influenced the life of Sarah during their brief stay in Jackson County. After moving to Springville, Utah, his practice of medicine gave Sarah sufficient knowledge to become a medical practitioner, herself. It is fortunate she gained this knowledge, for Doctor Wing also had an interest in polygamy, causing a termination of the marriage. In naming her son "James," Sarah followed the family tradition of honoring the father. Strang had seven sons, all of them named James as a first or second name. Six of them were from his plural marriages, their names undeniably complimentary to him. This should refute that animosity existed within the family. The Prophet was a sincere husband and a good father. Hazel Strang McCardell, respectfully referred to several times in this volume, included the following paragraph in her letter of October 30, 1965: "My father was brought up as James P. Wing, for he was very small when my grandmother married Dr. Wing. It was not until he married my mother that he took his rightful name of Strang. He courted mother as "Jim Wing." He and my grandmother would have been persecuted had any of the Utah Mormons known of their Strang heritage. When my father and mother were married they were BOTH disenchanted with the Mormons and made no bones of the fact they were Strangs. In fact, I think they were both itching for a fight against Mormonism as it was practiced, for they had both suffered under polygamy." The mother of Hazel McCardell, the former Lydia Houtz, was, herself, the daughter of a polygamous marriage. When Lydia wed James P. "Wing" Strang at Springville, Utah, she happily accepted the Strang name, although her husband had been "Wing" most of his life. This speaks very well of "King" Strang. Respect felt for him within the family group is certainly worthy of special attention by any historian making a study of his life. From the James P. Strang - Lydia Houtz union, seven children were born between 1880 - 1897. All arrived at Springville, Utah. The writer wishes to record their births in memory of the late Mark A. Strang, author of "The Diary of James J. Strang" and of his sister, Hazel Strang McCardell, without whose assistance many family observations would have been impossible: James Jesse, October 8, 1880; Mark A., January 1, 1883; Jacob Claude, December 16, 1885; Vere, Septmeber 7, 1887; Anna Bebe, August 8, 1889, Sarah Hazel, April 24, 1891; Gail Eugenia, November 17, 1897. Regarding the education of these children and further observations onher grandfather, Hazel McCardell wrote the following on October 30, 1965: "We were never allowed to attend the public school. All seven of us were sent to private Mission (Presbyterian) school where tuition had to be paid. I don't know how my parents ever did it in those days of dire struggle, but we were all kept strictly away from any Mormon influence all of our lives. In those days of religious ferment no movement could hope to succeed unless tied to a religious motive...expediency if you like. These minor things, made so much of by writers, have never detracted in any way from his genius, in my view." Hazel McCardell expressed her feelins about James Strang as a man, when she wrote: "All the sensational sordid things written and sold for gain cannot erase from my mind and soul the fine courageous and selfless image of the MAN who was my grandfather." During her busy Canadian life, Hazel McCardell has lived this proud feeling. It is fortunate she inherited Strang qualities. To her credit, she developed these as a teacher, writer, musician and amateur astronomer. As Hazel Strang in Claresholm, before her marriage on November 9, 1917, she had won gold medals as a pianist at the Lethbridge music festivals. She also sang professionally as a lyric soprano. On July 1, 1921, Mrs. McCardell, with her husband and pilot Major Thompson, flew from Edmonton to Henry House, Jasper, thereby becoming the first woman ever to fly over the Canadian Rockies. An examination of the Wright genealogy chart, especially prepared for this volume, reveals that Sarah's great-great uncle, Silas Wright, was Governor of New York state, 1844 - 1847. Wright was a considered candidate for the presidency of the United States at the time of his untimely death on August 27, 1847. Sarah Adelia Strang Wing died at Boise, Idaho on August 18, 1923, at the age of 87. Through sheer determination, she won her fight for a good life. She had won in circumstances not imagined possible on that terrifying day 68 years before on the shores of Beaver Island. PHOEBE WRIGHT STRANG. On October 27, 1855, James J. Strang, three months after his marriage to Sarah, took into his now crowded home on Beaver Island, a fourth and final polygamous wife, Phoebe Wright. Phoebe, born in Leeds County, Canada, July 25, 1836, was a cousin of Sarah. She was a girl of 18 when she married Strang. The Wright genealogy clearly illustrates the branching off of these cousins who shared the same husband, along with Elvira and Betsy. Little is known of her private life. That she suffered a great personal loss due to her exile to Jackson County, Wisconsin, is understandable. On October 28, 1856, Phoebe Strang gave birth to the11th child of the Prophet, noting here that this was the final marrige of the "King." All polygamous wives gave birth to children conversely to their marriage dates, leaving a legitimate record of four single posthumous births. The child of Phoebe was christened Eugenia, a family name. When Eugenia grew to womanhood, her mother lived with her as she was then beginning a teaching career at Black River Falls, Wisconsin. Previous to this, Phoebe had lived in the home of her parents at Black River Falls, helping to take care of her invalid mother. Because she also had a brother at home and because of the teaching position, Eugenia was able to move into a rented house. In a letter to Hazel Strang MCCardell, dated June 6, 1936, Eugenia wrote of the lifelong devotion of her mother to the memory of her father. Phoebe never remarried. Her life with the Prophet of eight months' duration was one of devotion, through she admittedly felt some dissatisfaction with polygamy during this short marriage. For 48 years, Phoebe lived with a mixed memory of Beaver Island love and hate and the memory of being among the mourners at the deathbed of her husband at Voree. Phoebe died on November 9, 1914, at age 66, another disillusioned wife and Saint who had abandoned the Church and teachings of her earthly Prophet in the flesh. Eugenia Jesse never used the name Strang, nor did her mother after the death of her husband. She called herself Mrs. Phoebe Jesse during her remaining life. When Rev. A. N. Somers wrote his narrative "An American King" for the May, 1901, issue of National Magazine, his "Princess Eugenia" was this same daughter of "King" James Strang. Rev. Somers, later of Westboro, Massachusetts, had been a preacher at Black River Falls, Wisconsin, about 1890. Here he became familiar with this segment of the Strang family history, accounting for this brief narrative." . James J. STRANG was about 1844.19 He was the leader of the "Strangite Mormons." "You have found the true Mormon church, a small group of primitive Latter Day Saints that has been in continuous existence since 1830, but remained in the Midwest when Joseph Smith was martyred in 1844. We support the Prophet Joseph’s written revelation appointing a successor named James Strang on June 18, 1844, just nine days before the Prophet Joseph was killed. The Prophet James was ordained to that sole office by angels the same hour that Joseph was killed, and with witnesses later found brass records buried in a Wisconsin hill. The closest associates to the Prophet Joseph were numbered with us, including his wife, his mother, his only surviving brother and his sisters, three of his apostles, the bishop of the whole church, the Nauvoo stake president, and the Book of Mormon witnesses. The Prophet James was martyred in 1856 and our members have become few in number as prophesied in the scriptures. After Brigham Young argued that the Prophet Joseph would not have a successor, a minority of members elected Brigham as their president anyway en route to Utah in 1847. That new organization grew rapidly in the West, changed dramatically, and are a modern worldwide organization today. They no longer claim new prophecies, visions, revelations, or translations. You should join us if you prefer the Mormons in the days of the Prophet Joseph. Since 1830, we have had no membership requirements except faith, repentance, baptism, and confirmation. We are the 'Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints'”. . |