Catharine Owens (1791-1876)

Catharine Owens, my great great great great Grandmother Glover. She was married to William Glover III. They are great great grandparents to my paternal grandfather Byron Glover.

This cemetery was a tiny cemetery in West Weber, west of Ogden. When I first pulled up I noticed that all the headstones had the same weird brown color. After pulling in, I realized it was from the water they used. Some of the taller stones were white on top and brown on bottom. The newer stones had weird accents in brown. It broke my heart for the families that had loved ones there. When I turned on the spigot to get some water to scrub Catharine's headstone, a heavy smell of sulfur came with the water. It was a very overwhelming smell. I later learned that the sulfur smell and the discoloration it left on the stones was due to excessive iron in the water.

The grave wasn't hard to find. I had already mapped the location online. I didn't realize however that she was buried by her youngest daughter Jane, and Jane's husband, Stephen Skelton. It makes sense though, because they are the ones that Catharine crossed the plains with. I was able to find a cute story in the LDS children's publication, "The Friend" that I included below her history.

Individual grave marker July 2017

There is not much I was able to find about Catharine. In a lot of places, her name is spelled with an e, Catherine. However, on her headstone, it is with an a, Catharine. I am keeping with what is on her headstone. Additionally, I have realized, after I had visited the cemetery, that there is a small stone with just her name on it that I had missed. At some point I will head back to West Weber and find this stone and I will then add it to my pictures as well. (I returned in July and was able to get the picture to the right.)


I have been unable to find any further documentation other than what is listed on Family Search and Ancestry. I was really curious to know why she and William III didn't come on the Ship Brooklyn with their son and his family. I was not able to find any direct documentation. I did however read in her daughter-in-laws history (Zelnora Snow Glover, William IV second wife) that said she was one of the few that listened to William IV that they needed to leave. Seems people just did not believe that the Ship Brooklyn would be a good option even though they reached California and started building their community a full year before the rest of the saints reached Salt Lake.

I was saddened that I was unable to find additional information on Catharine. She was born in Scotland and emigrated to Canada and died in Utah. There had to have been amazing experiences along the way.

West Weber Cemetery

Catharine Owens Personal History

Catharine Owens was born 1791 in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, Scotland, United Kingdom To Jacob Owens and Sarah Muir. She married William Glover III, 18 Sep 1812. They first came to Nova Scotia, Canada where her husband was a coal miner. Catharine walked all the way across the plains. William being buried somewhere in Nebraska. Sarah, her granddaughter, walked with her. She would say,” Hurry Granny the wolves will get us,” whenever the coyotes and wolves would howl. She was a cheerful lady to all even though she buried her husband coming across the plains. Only those who crossed the plains and had the bad experiences of leaving their husbands and loved ones behind in unknown graves can realize what pain and sorrow it would be. She still trudged on, faithful and courageous, encouraging, to all who knew her.

Catharine died aged 85 and is buried in the West Weber Cemetery.

Catharine's Ordinances Complete

Marriage certificate

William Glover III and Catherine Owens

September 18, 1812 Kilmarnock, Scotland.

Baptism - 26 July 1921 Logan Utah Temple
Confirmation - 26 July 1921 Logan Utah Temple
Initiatory - 1 December 1860 Endowment House, Salt Lake City
Endowment - 1 December 1860 Endowment House, Salt Lake City
Sealing to Parents - 20 February 1982 Idaho Falls Idaho Temple
Sealing to Spouse - 1 December 1860

William III's Ordinances Complete

Baptism - 7 July 1836
Confirmation - 7 July 1836
Initiatory - 7 July 1886
Endowment - 7 July 1886
Sealing to Parents - 8 January 1941 Logan Utah Temple
Sealing to Spouse - 1 December 1860

The following was found in the LDS church publication "The Friend" dated July 1998.

All Is Well, Sarah

By Angela D. Morrison.

(Based on a true incident)For he shall give his angels charge over thee (Palms 91:11).

Sarah walked along the wagon rut. She could see the dust from the wagon train in the distance. Granny Glover walked beside her in the parallel rut. The two lines of wagon tracks wound ahead through the prairie grass as far as they could see. Sometimes I feel like I’ll be walking in these ruts forever, Sarah thought. She and Granny had been walking since their family left Florence, Nebraska, three weeks earlier. Sarah looked out for Granny; Granny looked out for Sarah. 

“Put your bonnet on, lass,” Granny said. Her Scottish brogue rolled across the emptiness of the prairie and was lost in the sway of the grass. Sarah pretended not to hear. “Sarah Jane Skelton, put your bonnet on your wee head, before you’re cooked like a bit o’ back bacon.” 

“Oh, wouldn’t back bacon taste good right now?” Sarah exclaimed, looking up at the sky as if she was searching for bacon in the clouds.

“Aye, lass, it surely would.” Granny followed Sarah’s gaze to the clouds. “But we’ve got naught but dust to eat for many a mile, so slip that bonnet back on your head or you’ll be seeing stars long afore the sun goes down.” 

Sarah dutifully pulled her bonnet back onto her head. “Granny,” she said, “what day is it?” 

“It’s Saturday. Tomorrow we rest.” 

“Do you think we’ll get into camp early enough to wash in the river? Wouldn’t it be wonderful to wash this dust away?” 

“Aye, lass. Surely it would be fine.” They walked on in silence. 

At first, Sarah’s mother had insisted that Granny Glover ride in the wagon. However, the first day’s ride bumped and jostled her so much that by the end of the day she could not stand. 

“I’m old, but I’m not feeble,” Granny had said the next morning. “I’ll walk if you please.” 

“Sarah, stay with Granny,” was all Sarah’s mother had said. So Sarah walked every day with Granny. She longed to play alongside the wagon with her younger sisters or watch the hens with the other girls her age, but her mother said that Granny must not walk alone. Granny walked even more slowly than the oxen pulling the wagons. When the wagons stopped for the night just before sundown, Sarah and Granny usually had an hour’s walk in darkness before they made it to camp. The sounds of the songs of Zion often greeted them long before they reached the wagon train. 

The first week, Sarah was so tired and her body ached so much that all she could do at day’s end was eat a bit of biscuit, wrap up in a quilt, say a short prayer, and fall asleep. Now she was much stronger. She knew that the Lord was helping her and that if she had to, she could walk across the prairie forever. But she dreamed of the day they’d reach the Valley. Her Uncle William was already there. He had written to them about the Zion the Saints were building “in the tops of the mountains.” 

A comfortable quiet settled over the prairie. Sometimes Granny talked about the days when Sarah’s mother was a little girl and they were homesteading in Nova Scotia, Canada. Sometimes she told of her own lively childhood in Scotland. Often they sang their favorite hymns and folk songs. Or Granny recited one of the poems of Robert Burns; she was teaching them to Sarah. 

Today they were happy to just walk quietly together. Sarah pushed her bonnet off her head, letting it hang down her back. Granny Glover pre-tended to not notice. 

Granny and Sarah kept up their slow, steady pace all day. The sun sank lower and lower in the prairie sky. “Do you see the wagon?” Granny asked when it was just about sundown. Sarah’s sharp eyes scanned the trail ahead. 

Sarah’s parents pulled out of the wagon train and waited for Sarah and Granny whenever they could, but Mother was expecting a baby, and Sarah’s three younger sisters were often hungry and tired at the end of the long day’s march. Father had camp duties to attend to on many evenings. 

“No, Granny, just dust.” 

The sun slipped beneath the horizon, and darkness blanketed the prairie. It was hard to see in the dim starlight. Granny stumbled, and Sarah took her arm to steady her. “Thanks, darlin’. It won’t be far now,” she said. 

They walked slowly on through the darkness, carefully following the wagon ruts. In the distance a mournful howl broke the silence. One wolf. Then another. Then another. A chorus of howls filled the lonely night air. 

Granny and Sarah continued their slow pace. The wolves howled again. Sarah gripped Granny’s arm tighter. “Oh, Granny,” she said with fear in her voice, “please hurry. The wolves will get us.” 

Granny placed her hand over Sarah’s and squeezed. “Don’t worry, lass,” she said. “The wolves won’t get us.” 

Sarah turned and looked at Granny. She could see her calm green eyes looking intently at her through the darkness. “We’re on the Lord’s errand, lass. The wolves won’t touch us. There be angels a-guardin’ us all the way to Zion.” 

A calm, peaceful feeling flooded through Sarah’s body, washing her fear away. The wolves continued to howl, but their eerie music no longer frightened Sarah. The peace that enveloped her crowded out her fear. From a distance they heard the Saints singing, “Come, come, ye Saints, no toil nor labor fear,” and saw the flickering campfires glowing against the darkness. 

“All is well, lass,” Granny said. “All is well.” Sarah smiled, filled with a happiness and peace she had not known before.

***To see the purpose of starting this blog, please click here.***