Simon Webb (1831-1912) and Elizabeth Rowsell (1831-1909)

Simon and Elizabeth Rowsell Webb

Grandpa Simon and Grandma Elizabeth Webb. Great-great-great grandparents on my mom's paternal side. They came from England, directly to Richmond in 1862. I grew up in Lewiston, but Richmond was definitely my second home. As I've previously stated, I've gone to Richmond Cemetery more times than I can count. I always knew where the Webb's were buried. We would go and visit Grandpa (Leon) Webb first, who died in 1980, just before I turned 3, then we would head up to see the other Webbs. Our family was always going to Webb reunions and visiting Webb family members. It wasn't until years and years later it clicked for me, Grandma Webb was married into the Webb family she was not a Webb by birth.

We were so ingrained in the Webb family growing up. I know now it was simply because they were the ones that were closest. Grandma would always tell little histories here and there about different relatives, but I don't remember hearing much about Simon or Elizabeth. I'm sure it is because she did not know him as well as the others. I knew Simon had come to Richmond, from England along with his family. I knew they came across the plains. And I knew where he was buried. That is about all I knew about him. Oh, and his head stone, was on the east side of the cemetery, one of the old creepy ones!

In 2016, my mom's brother, Lloyd Webb and his family went to England. Before going, they did a lot of research about Crewkerne and found the house that Simon and his family lived in before they emigrated to the United States in 1862. (Picture below.)

Also in 2016, my cousin Vicki, Lynn Webb's daughter, gave birth to a beautiful baby boy they named Simon. He is named after Simon Webb, her great great great paternal grandfather and also her husband, Kyle Martin's great great paternal grandfather, Simon Martin.

While reading this history I couldn't help but to wonder if Simon was friends with another ancestor that lived in Richmond, Hyrum Bowman. Im sure they at least knew each other. According to J. Williard Marriott Digital Library, there was a population of only 1,232 in Richmond in 1890. Simon and Hyrum lived in a similar area in Richmond.

Like I said, I've seen Simon and Elizabeth's headstone through my entire life. When I went to get a picture for this blog, the sprinklers were going. I was annoyed, but no big deal. I could go back another day. I wondered around for a while and looked at some other headstones. While there, a group of young women came to the cemetery. It was likely an LDS young women group, but it was on a Friday evening, so it was odd that they would be there as part of mutual. I wondered if any of them really knew much of the history of Richmond.


Saturday morning, after dropping my daughter off for practice, I went back. This time the sprinkler was the next row over. It was nice and peaceful. It was about 9:30am and I was the only one there. I remember thinking it would be a nice quiet place to bring a lunch. I took the picture, then was standing there talking to the Webb graves, yes I admit it, I was talking to grave stones. I was talking about what I've been doing as far as this blog and visiting the grave sites. I told them how I wished that I could talk to them face to face and they could tell me more of what life was like for them. Maybe they could tell stories to Sammy about coming across the plains. 

THEN!! I KID YOU NOT! I HEARD VOICES! 

Fifteen different thoughts went through my head at the same time. One specifically was that they needed to speak up. I couldn't understand what they were saying! Then I realized, there were two ladies walking down one of the roads pushing strollers. While it was a relief to know I wasn't hearing voices from the beyond, I was also disappointed.

Simon Webb and Elizabeth Rowsell
Personal History

Simon Webb was born August 3, 1831, at Crewkerne, Somerset, county, England to Samuel Webb and Ann Furzer. He was the youngest child in a family of thirteen. eight boys,  and five girls. Simon attended school at Crewkerne, England, but very little is known about his early education. However, we are almost sure it was very limited because in England the custom was that as soon as children were large enough to reach the peddles of a loom they were put to work in a factory at the weaving trade.

Simon was very studious and industrious, and did much reading and studying. He was made an apprentice in the factory at a very early age, and although he was only 31 years old when he came to Utah, he had been a mill foreman in England for many years.

He married Elizabeth Rowsell, daughter of Robert Rowsell and Susan Long on Sept. 8, 1851. They joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in 1861, while in England, and were later endowed in the Endowment House in Salt Lake city, Utah on December 23, 1865. Although Simon was not overly religious, he was a good man and attended his church duties and paid all his obligations. His chief reason for wanting to come to Utah was to be near the church and to better his conditions for his family.

2016 Lloyd Webb and his son Logan
at the Simon Webb home in Crewkerne, England.
Simon >Eli >James Walter >Albert Leon >Lloyd.

Simon and Elizabeth and their three children, Eli, age 10, John Robert, three years old and Thomas William, about 10 months old, left Crewkerne, England in the latter part of April, 1862. They went first to New Port, Wales, where two of Simon's brothers, Samuel and Samson were living with their families. Here they visited for two evenings and one day. From there they went to Liverpool, England, arriving the evening of April 30, 1862. That same evening they boarded the ship Manchester with the understanding they would be able to get off the next morning to purchase articles needed for the trip, but come morning the ship was quite a distance out to sea, so they had to get along as best they could. This was May 1, 1862. Their ship was a sailing vessel with more than six hundred passengers on board. The captain reported a fair voyage, but the passengers thought it a very rough one. They encountered huge icebergs and had a very narrow escape from being struck by one of them. Most of the family were seasick and especially William, the 10 month old baby. The food on the ship consisted mainly of pea soup, beef and hard sea biscuits, which were to hard one could not bite into them unless they first soaked them in the soup. Their voyage lasted five weeks and three days.

After landing they were taken to Castle Gardens, New York, where everyone had to have a thorough examination to see if anyone had any contagious disease. After the examination they went to Albany and continued by rail and water until they arrived at St. Joseph, Missouri. Shortly after reaching St. Joseph, the baby William died, on June 15, 1862. This was the first death in the company. It was hard to leave this little body in the shallow grave in St. Joseph, Missouri and continue their journey. Simon carved the baby's name, Thomas William on the trunk of a tree. After spending about half a day there the company got on a boat and went up the Missouri River to Winter Quarters.

Here they waited six weeks for the immigration wagons. The wagons were delayed because of the high waters of 1862. Weather conditions and roads were so bad that they were eight days making 21 miles.

There were many more Immigrants than were expected because of the Civil War breaking out at the time. Twelve persons were usually assigned to each wagon, but to take care of the large group, there were eighteen allotted to each wagon on this trip. Simon and family were assigned to a wagon from Richmond, Utah, which was driven by Judson Shepard. Each wagon had four yoke of oxen and they averaged 10 to 25 miles per day. The Captain of this company was Henry Miller of Farmington, Davis Co. Utah.

While coming from winder quarters, their oldest son, Eli, was very sick with mountain Fever, now called Typhoid Fever. The army doctor who was one of the company did not give them much encouragement in their sons recovery, but with good care he gradually began to improve. There was an abundance of wild game, buffalo, deer and elk, with buffalo being their main source of meat, but the Captain would not allow more animals to be killed than could be eaten. Those in the company that were able to walk, and those that were teamsters, would start out ahead of the oxen and wagons each morning. Simon walked every step of the way across the plains.

As the pioneers neared the end of their journey, Judson Sheperd asked Simon what part of Utah he was going to, and Simon told him that he didn't know as he had no relatives in Utah. Mr. Shepard invited him to come with him to Richmond as it was a new settlement. He accepted and they arrived there about October 12-18th, 1862. They were more than two and a half months on their journey from Winter Quarters to Richmond.

Fort Richmond 1860-61
Photo courtesy:
J. Willard Marriot Digital Library

According to the Marriott Digital Library, "In 1859, seventeen families of Mormon converts built a fort and spent the winter on the banks of the City Creek. After an influx of new settlers beginning in the spring of 1860, the land was planted and roads were built. Irrigation ditches were dug to obtain water from the Cherry and City Creeks. A second fort large enough for ninety families was built in 1860-1861 along present-day Main Street from 200 West to 300 East."

On arriving in Richmond Simon's family was taken to the home of Bishop Marriner W. Merrill, Sr., which was in the fort. The fort consisted of two rows of houses on each side of main street. All were log houses except the Merrill and Christian Hyer homes. When they arrived Bishop Merrill was at conference in Salt Lake City. The Webb family stayed at the Merrill home for three days, then Thomas Titensor came and invited them to come live with them. They accepted and both families lived in the Titensor one room, dirt roof and dirt floor log house during the winter of 1862. There was no stove so all the cooking was done over the fireplace. In the spring of 1863, Simon procured a log house form Issac  Shepard and they lived there for a year.

The Indians were very troublesome at Richmond, demanding four grain, etc. Brigham Young taught that it was better to feed them than to fight them, but after the soldier from Fort Douglas fought the Indians at Battle Creek in 1863, they did not bother the settlers much. Following this battle the Saints were allowed to move in to the city.

In the spring of 1864, Simon moved his family into a home on 1st North and 2nd East. After living in this home for several years he purchased some land from William Thompson.

In 1869, Simon and his oldest son Eli drove to Salt Lake City to meet Simon's brother Samuel, who had come from Wales. Simon recognized a man walking along on a sidewalk. This proved to be Thomas Ashment Sr. of Crewkerne England. These two men had worked together in the knitting mills in England and they had also lived on the same street. He and his family, some close friends who had recently come over from Crewkerne, England. After three days visit in Salt Lake City, Samuel Webb and Thomas Ashment accompanied Simon and Eli back to Richmond. Samuel stayed only for a visit but Thomas Ashment sent for his family and made his home there starting in the spring of 1870. Thomas Ashment taught school in the old log school house. It was a large room with slabs for benches and no desks.

Richmond 1875
Photo courtesy of
J. Willard Marriott Digital Library

In 1869 or 1870 Simon and F.M. Stephenson went to Corrine and purchased a Buckeye Mower and a dropper attachment for the price of $200. It was used to cut both hay and grain. This was the first mower in Richmond and it could keep five or six men busy raking and bunching the hay and raking and binding the grain. All the cutting had been one before with scythe and sickle. At this time Simon traded his oxen for a pair of mules, then later he traded the mules for a pair of grey mares. From these mares he raised horses for his own use.

Simon continued in the farming industry and later on in the dairying and stock raising industry. He sent East for a valuable Red Pole Durnham Bull. The bull became very gentle and was his pride and joy. But one day as he went into the stable the bull gored him. Breaking his collar bone and crushing his ribs and chest. Had it not been a loose board on the manger he would have been killed. He rolled under this loose board and with great pain and difficulty crawled out of the stable and shouted for help. The accident affected him for the rest of his life. After his recovery he was never seen in a stable or pasture where there were animals unless he carried a pitchfork for protection.

Found this in the Richmond Cemetery
while looking at other headstones.
Simon's second wife, Harriet.

Simon Webb married Harriet Brooks Skidmore Knapp on August 3, 1882, in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City. They were married on Simon's 51st birthday. Harriet was a young widow 31 years of age with one child, Rachel. Harriet and her first husband, Silas Knapp had been married in the Endowment House on October 11, 1874. Silas was killed while working in the canyon and May their second daughter died in infancy in 1878.

Simon always kept his homes and surroundings neat and clean. He took a great deal of pride in attending to his very fine orchard, grafting and budding his trees. He had several kinds of apples and some plums all growing on the same tree. His apple trees were his chief delight and the fruit was usually free from worms and blemishes. He kept hives of bees scattered around in the orchard, and they did well. Almost all the food for both the families was raised or produced by them.

After the Manifesto was passed, Harriet went into hiding for years, and her last three children were born after. Simon went to prison for six months because he was still living the law of plural marriage. Harriet's children were taught to hide when a knock came on the door.

Each summer on August 3, Simon's birthday, the entire family would get together on the banks of Cub River and spend the day. They would fish, play games and have a delicious lunch. The two weeks of Christmas and New Years Holidays were always to be remembered also. All the family would take turns entertaining. The group would gather about ten in the morning and stay all day. Sometimes it was so crowded they could hardly move about, but this caused much merriment and fun.

Simon was very interested in astronomy. He studied it and when he predicted the weather, he was usually right. He planted and harvested his crops by the signs of the moon. He always kept Hicks Almanac and every page of it was well studied. He did not let the lack of his formal schooling prevent him from an education. He was a great man, and had a good memory, and keen mind. He could add, subtract or multiply in his head much quicker than the average person could do with a pencil and paper. He was well informed on the topics of the day, and read the newspapers from cover to cover. He did not mortgage his property and was a firm believer in living within his income. He was noted for his honesty and his word was as good as his bond.

In 1903, he was one of the early promotors of the Utah Condensed Milk Factory, now called Sego Milk, at Richmond. He gave three acres of his land to build the factory on and leased a reservoir that was on his property to the factory for 99 years at $10 per year. The company was about to fail so Simon and others doubled their stock so it would not.

Simon studied the Bible and Book of Mormon and was well versed in the scriptures. He was a Ward Teacher for many years, and a High Priest in the Richmond Ward. He also held office of a City Councilman for four years. In the year 1888, he was sent to the Penitentiary at Salt Lake city, Utah for a short time because he was a polygamist. While there, to pass the time, he learned to weave rugs and make wood carvings.

Simon and Elizabeth Webb Family
Front: Simon Elizabeth
Back: Mary Ann, John Robert, Eli, Joseph, Harriet

Simon's two wives and families were very congenial and got along remarkably well. There were seven children in Elizabeth's family and six in Harriet's. Each family had their own home, which were two blocks apart. Simon stayed with Elizabeth six evenings a week and with Harriet on Sunday or the seventh day. He was at both homes almost every day. On April 11, 1909 at the age of 78 Elizabeth Rowsell Webb died and was buried at Richmond. At the time Simon was not well. He moved to Harriet's home and with nourishing food and loving care, he regained his health and strength for a short time. He died October 31, 1912 at the age of 81 years. He was buried at Richmond, Cache County, Utah. He had a posterity of thirteen children, eight boys and five girls, 179 grandchildren, 237 great grandchildren, and 15 great great grand-children as of January, 1960.

Simon Webb died October 31, 1912 aged 81 years, 2 months, & 28 days.
Elizabeth Rowsell died April 11, 1909 aged 78 years, 3 months.
They are buried in the Richmond City Cemetery.


Simon's Ordinances CompleteBaptism - 14 December 1861
Confirmation - 14 December 1861
Initiatory - 3 December 1865 Endowment House, Salt Lake City
Endowment - 3 December 1865 Endowment House, Salt Lake City
Sealing to Parents - 28 March 1949 Idaho Falls Idaho Temple
Sealing to Spouse Elizabeth Rowsell - 23 December 1865 Endowment House, Salt Lake City
Sealing to Spouse Harriet Brooks Skidmore - 10 February 1990 Los Angeles California Temple


Elizabeth's Ordinances CompleteBaptism - 14 December 1861

Confirmation - 14 December 1861
Initiatory - 3 December 1865
Endowment - 3 December 1865

Sealing to Spouse Simon Webb- 23 December 1865 Endowment House, Salt Lake City
Sealing to Spouse Samuel Brown- 1 March 2000 Idaho Falls Idaho Temple



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