Mary Harriet Burgess Bullard

1842 - 1936

Mary Harriet Burgess Bullard was the daughter of William Burgess, Jr. who was the son of William Burgess, Sr. and Mariah Pulsipher, who was the daughter of Zerah Pulsipher and Mary Brown. Mary Harriet was born in Nauvoo, Ill. 22 May 1842. William Burgess, Sr. was the son of John Christian Burgess, who was born in Hesse, Germany. He was with the hired Hessian Soldiers, they fought with the British Army in the Revolutionary War. After a period of service, he became sympathetic with the cause of the colonist and deserted the British Army and went into hiding in Eastern New York and around Port Ann to avoid capture. He changed his name to Burgess. He married Hannah Newland, 15 Feb 1727 under the name of John Waters. He was from the Royalty in Germany. Her father’s mother's maiden name was Vilate Stockwell.

Following is a sketch of her life as told by Mrs. Mary Harriet: "I was born in Nauvoo in 1842 and came to Utah in 1848 with my parents. I was baptized in Salt Lake City in City Creek, which then ran down through the valley. I was married when quite young to Ezra Nelson Bullard and have had a large family of fifteen children.

In 1867, I was very sick. To all human appearance their was no show for me to get well. We were poor and could not keep hired help. My relatives had quite a bit of sickness and could not be with me all the time. My husband was out in the lot watering the garden. I was alone, and one of the Old Nephites visited me. He came up to the bed and took hold of my hand and said to me, "My dear Sister, you are very sick. You think you are going to die, and so do all your relatives and neighbors."

I said, "Yes." Then he shook his head and said, "No! No! the Lord has a great work for you to do. You will live and raise a large family. You shall have power over the Evil One to save the lives of your children and many of Saints lives." He told me I was too ambitious and went beyond my strength, and that if I would be careful and take care of myself I could live to be a hundred years old or more, just as long as my heart should desire, "Why, he said, you would not lie in bed like this any longer. If you only had faith enough, you could get up right now and dress yourself. But do not go to work, sit up awhile, then lie down and get up again. Be careful and take care of yourself and you will be well and about."

He held my hand all the time he was talking to me. He than let go of my hand and took out of his vest pocket a little book and went to writing something. He looked up to me and said, "Dear Sister, how long have you been in the valley of the Mountains?" I said, "twenty-two years this fall." He said, "No! No!, twenty-three years this fall."

My eyes were quite weak. I shut my eyes and when I opened them, He was gone. I got right up and hunted for my clothes and dressed. When my husband came in I was sitting up in a chair. He said, "Why who has been here to help you?" "Nobody", I said. "I've just made up my mind to get well, and I am going to, I'm not going to lie in bed any longer, only when I want to rest." I didn't tell anybody. I thought they would try to make me believe I had been dreaming. I knew I had not. The third day I went across the block to my father's, and the question he asked me was on my mind night and day until I asked my father how long we had been in the mountains.

He said, "I don't know; twenty-two or twenty-three years."

"Well, I said, I want to know."

He was reading a Bible, he bought from Immigrants, the fall we came to Utah. He wrote his name in it and dated it. He looked and said, "twenty-three years this Fall."

He then turned to me and said, "Now Mary, I want you to tell me what has brought this great change in you. It is some over-ruling power. You can't fool me."

So I then told him. He told me it was one of the Old Nephites,and that he had visited him once when he was sick. He told me just how he was dressed, and it was the same. He was just a medium-size, not very large, and was dressed in coat, vest, pants all alike, dark gray. I soon was called to go among the sick and found that was the work the Lord had for me to do. I worked among the sick for about thirty years and was the means of helping many souls in the world, I've had many pat me on the shoulder and say, 'God bless you, you are laying up treasures in heaven. You saved my life.' I can say that the Lord did bless me in my labors. I helped many poor people and would take no pay, as I thought they needed the pay worse than I did. I can say the Lord blessed me greatly in my labors. I never knew what it was to be at home with my family a week at once. I am now in my 94th year. I am the mother of 15 children and I have about 90 grand-children and 125 great grand children and 35 great-great grand children and 77 of the sixth generation.

I was First Councilor in Relief Society for 17 years in Wayne County. Then I resigned on account of sickness. I was also a Councilor in the Primary at the same time. My husband died and soon we moved to Lawrence, Emery County, Utah. There I was put President of the Primary, which position I held for two years. Then I resigned on account of sickness and death. I was also a teacher of a religion class. We moved from Lawrence to Ferron, where we still live. I am able to go to Sunday School and Meeting, and do quite alot of sewing, mending, and darning, and I go to Relief Society meetings which I dearly love. I have been a member ever since I was 18 years old. My husband has been dead for 33 years. I never married again. My youngest boy never married, he stays with me an we get along fine. I have never suffered badly for anything. I have been greatly blessed all my life, and I thank my Heavenly Father for his goodness to me.

My father was William Burgess, Jr. and my mother's name was Mariah Pulsipher. They joined the Church in the beginning and went through all the persecutions and troubles, and lived good faithful Latter-Day Saints.

I have got up out of bed when I was pretty sick, and went and waited on the sick, but I always came home feeling better. I have crossed Dirty Devil River, I think at about every crossing, and have been tipped over in the river and been thrown off the wagon in the river from top of a double bed wagon in the cold winter, I have ridden from one mile to twenty-five as fast as they could travel, sometimes on horseback, sometimes on a wagon. I have been called for all kinds of sickness, typhoid fever, scarlet fever, diptheria, measles, all kinds of diseases, and never carried a disease to my family or taken on of them myself.

When in Wayne County, I was the first one called when their was a death to help taken care of them. I don't know that I ever had an enemy in the world. Even the Indians all were great friends to me. Ready to do anything they could for me. Our Bishop used to say, 'You beat any woman I ever say, traveling and going all the time. You will outlive them all yet, and me too!' And he has been dead several years. I have been a very hard worker all my life, I had to earn all of our clothes for the family. I never thought of going to bed before twelve O'Clock. Sewing and patching all our clothes and made them too."

I wrote this to get it typewritten, but have not been able to get it done. I was going to put it in my genealogy book, but haven't been able to do so. My eyes are bad,I could not write

anymore, so send this. if it is worth anything for you, do just as you think best with it.

Yours Truly,

signed- Mary Harriet Burgess Bullard

Sister Bullard was 94 years old, 22 May 1936, still living and active. She went to the picture show to see Shirley Temple in "The Little Rebel". Elizabeth J. Barney met and shook hands with her on this occasion. She had not seen her in thirteen years.

Another interesting incident in the life of Mrs. Bullard is as follows: Her fourth son, when in his 14th year, was ill with heart trouble, not bedfast, but miserable. One night, about 11 O'Clock, he said, "Mother, don't cry, I'm going to live with my sister Rier. She's coming after me when the rooster crows three times."

He started to sing, "Oh, My Father". After he sang the first verse, the rooster crowed, then he sang the second verse and the rooster crowed again, then he sang the third verse and the rooster crowed again, just as he drew his last breath.

They were living in Thurber, now called Bicknell. He was buried there as also her husband, two sons and one daughter, one of them being the twin brother of Vandeta.

She crossed the plains in 1848 when she was six years old. Her brother was born during this journey. One child, a friend was drowned in the Platte River, while gathering buffalo chips with which to make a fire.

She died 4 Oct 1936, age 94 in Ferron, Utah. She was also buried there.

THE FAMILY OF EZRA NELSON BULLARD

Ezra Nelson Bullard (farmer), b. 15 Mar 1833 in Hussack, Albany, New York, son of John Gould and Prudence McNamara, md. Mary Harriet Burgess 27 Jul 1856, b. 22 May 1842 in Nauvoo, Hancock, Ill., dau. of William and Mariah Pulsipher, she died 10 Oct 1936 in Ferron, Emery, Utah, bur. 12 Oct 1936 in Ferron, Utah.

To this union the following children were born:

1- Prudence Mariah, b. 30 Aug 1857 in Salt Lake City, Utah, md. John Willson 1873, she died 5 Jun 1884.

2- WILLIAM AUSTIN BULLARD (x), b. 29 Nov 1859 in Salt Lake City, Utah,

md. MARY ELIZABETH JOHNSON Apr 1884, he died 24 Dec 1942.

3- Mary Ellen, b. 30 Jan 1862 in Salt Lake City, Utah,

md. Benjamin Clark 4 Dec 1877, she died 24 Apr 1939.

4- Orpha Estella, b. 28 Apr 1863 in Pine Valley, Utah, she died 8 May 1863.

5- Ezra Nelson, b. 8 Sep 1865 in Pine Valley, Utah,

md. Mary Ann Brinkerhoff 16 Nov 1877, he d. 28 Apr 1946.

6- Olive Clestia, b. 19 Nov 1868 in Pine Valley, Utah,

md. Hyrum R. Huntsman 31 Mar 1884, she died 29 May 1929.

7- Charles McNamara, b. 2 Nov 1871 in Pine Valley, Utah,

md. Jennie Vivian Mangrum 16 Mar 1896, d. 11 Aug 1936.

8- Violia Vilate, b. 23 Apr 1874 in Pine Valley, Utah,

md. Andrew Mortenson 3 Nov 1905, she died 15 Jan 1933.

9- Edward Franklin, b. 30 Oct 1876 in Pine Valley, Utah,

he died 9 Aug 1888.

10- Margaret Burgess, b. 25 May 1879 in Bicknell, Utah,

md. 1st George W. Dalton 30 Jun 1898 (div); 2nd James Keele, 1904, she died 5 Sep 1929.

11- John Ellis, b. 2 Nov 1880 in Bicknell, Utah, he d. young.

12- Lilly Maud, b. 21 Sep 1884 in Bicknell, Utah,

md. Aurthur Warren Coombs 15 May 1901, she d. n.g.

13- Frederick (twin), b. 2 Sep 1889 Bicknell, d. 18 Sep 1889.

14- Francetta (twin), b. 2 Sep 1889 Bicknell, Utah,

15- child, b. abt. 1891 in Bicknell, Utah, died n.g.

EZRA NELSON BULLARD, died 8 Sep 1899 in Thurber (now Bicknell) Wayne, Utah,

he was buried 10 Sep 1899 in Bickell, Utah