Mary Emoliza Ellis
The demands of life in a bygone era are something we can’t experience first-hand, but the struggles, highs, lows, and desires of our ancestors confirm that the human condition doesn’t vary too far from the path that God intends us all to walk. I love and respect my ancestors and hope I have a portion of the determination they displayed in meeting their challenges head-on, and I pray that nothing I have written, in any way, demeans them in the perception of the reader.
First person sketch of Mary Emoliza Ellis by Jon Green.
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Mary Emoliza Ellis – 26 October 1805 – 24 October 1865
GGGGrandmother of John Kevin Green
If you listen to Charles, he will tell you how hard his life has been and how hard he has worked to conquer the western frontier. Truth be told, he tends to bring the heaviest burdens upon himself! He always has to have the straightest rows, the healthiest crops, the tidiest house…and all the rest. I knew right off that keeping up with Charles would be my full-time job. I also realized, after we were baptized into the Church, that following the Prophet, being with the Saints, and helping others was always his priority. Being converted to Jesus Christ and being members of the Church changed both of us, but the changes I saw in my husband made me so proud, I loved him even more, and would gladly follow him anywhere…and I have!
Now, I’m not telling you that the road we’ve been down didn’t have some deep ruts here and there, we lost our son, Asa, in Ferryville, or Winter Quarters as some call it. Parents should never have to suffer that kind of loss, I was, for the first time, really worried about Charles being able to put that behind him, but life does go on, and so must we.
Looking back on our life with the Saints, there are times that burn brightly in my memory; our first view of the Kirtland temple and the years that we lived in that beautiful community, and living around the Nauvoo area. We moved from the Morely Settlement to Montrose so we could be on a farm that was closer to the activities in the heart of Nauvoo. Seeing the temple rise up to the sky and be transformed from a ‘building’ to a shining beacon on the hill, a Temple of God, was something I could track from my home on across the River.
For me, it was all about being part of a Christ centered community; I knew from the first time I read the Book of Mormon aloud that it was scripture. I knew that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God the first time I met him. But perhaps the thing that swells my heart the most is recalling the organization of the Relief Society; the purpose, joy, and sisterhood of a group that was organized for good!
Standing at the mouth of Cottonwood canyon, looking out over the Salt Lake Valley, it seams like a lifetime ago. I have come to love this country as well, and the great vista of God’s creation before me, but the days of Nauvoo lay softly on my heart. I know there will be another House of the Lord and I pray that my posterity will find what we had, for a short time, in Nauvoo!
