Nancy Ann Homer Harris

Nancy Ann Homer Harris

The family of Russell King Homer and Eliza Williamson, together with their small son Edmund, were spending the winter of 1840-41 in Logan County, Illinois, as a temporary sojourn on their trek westward. On a blustery day in March, the 23rd to be exact, a little ray of sunshine arrived at their home to warm their hearts, and cheer their lives-a wee baby girl. She was thought by her father to be the grandest baby in the world. He promptly announced she should be named after his mother-in-law, her grandmother Williamson, whom he thought to possess all womanly virtues. She accordingly was named Nancy Ann Homer.

As Nancy grew in beauty and strength, she indeed appeared to have the same warm heart, kind ways, and patience of her maternal grandmother. Being the oldest girl in the family, she early assumed a part of the household responsibilities, and was a great help to her mother in taking care of the large family. Her father always took special pride in dressing her and her sister Anna in beautiful clothes, and escorting them to whatever social functions the frontier life afforded. He bought the material, and with great delight superintended the making of their clothes, being very particular that they were just as nice as they could possibly be. After her family had gone to Iowa and were keeping a hotel and general merchandise store, Nancy was growing into young womanhood, and found plenty of work to do assisting in the family business. When her father made his trips to Utah, he took the oldest son Ed with him, leaving mother and Nancy with the responsibility of running the business and taking care of the family. She came across the Plains with her family in the summer of 1858 in a wagon train, arrivIng in Salt Lake City, October 7 of that year. She occupied her time partly by preparing a lovely trousseau. On November 1, 1859, she was married to Martin Harris, Jr., the son of Martin Harris, one of the witnesses to the BOOK OF MORMON. She and her sister Anna and another couple were all married in a triple wedding, followed by such feasting and dancing as only father and mother Homer knew how to provide. Soon thereafter, the two young couples, Martin and Nancy and Anna and her husband, Willis Lemon, went to pioneer Cache Valley. They were among the first to settle at Smithfield. I have heard them say they attended the first public gathering ever held there. They also assisted in building a fort as a protection from the Indians. Several children were born to them-Martin Harris III, Nancy, Benjamin, and Franklin, all of whom died young. Four other children were born to them - Russell King and Sariah, who still survive, and Roset, who died when a baby, and Ella, who lived to be 22 years of age.

While they were living at Smithfield, Martin suggested to Nancy that he, in accordance with the teachings of the Church, should take another wife. Nancy was a very devout Church member and believed in the principle of polygamy. She thought it her duty to live it as a part of the religion. She consented upon the condition that the second wife be her very dear friend, Mary Corbett, whom she loved as a sister. After this marriage, they all lived in one house, sharing everything, a happy and contented family. The two women loved and respected each other, attended each other when sick, and loved and cared for each other's children. Nancy, not being overstrong physically, did the lighter tasks such as sewing, knitting, and spinning; Mary cheerfully busied herself with the heavier ones of washing, ironing, and scrubbing. Nancy was an excellent seamstress. She used to sit up long hours of the night sewing clothes by the light of a tallow candle, sewing not only for the Harris family, but for many others, some who paid her and some who could not. She took special pleasure in making clothing for old people , and children, even sewing doll clothes for motherless little girls.

In the year 1870, her father-in-law, Martin Harris, witness of the Book of Mormon, came to Utah, as is related elsewhere in this book. He came to make his home with them. Despite the fact that he was very old and feeble, they made him welcome, and gave him every possible care and attention their circumstances would permit. The family arranged to move across the valley to Clarkston where they were living when Martin Harris died. At the time of his death, he was being cared for by Nancy Homer Harris. That same year on December 30, 1875, Nancy gave birth to her last child, Ella. She did not recover from the ordeal of childbirth, but passed away January 4, 1876, leaving three small children to the care of Mary Corbett Harris, who took them willingly and became a real mother to them. She nursed Ella on the breast along with her own little girl, a few months older. When she found she could not feed them both, she weaned her own child, so that Ella might have enough to get along on.

The children of Martin Harris, Jr., and Nancy Ann Homer are:

Russell King Harris ..............Eliza Walker
Sariah Harris Steele............Wm. Steele

Martin, Jr., Nancy Ann, Benjamin, Franklin, Rosette, and Ella all died unmarried.