Joseph Elijah Blake

Other Events and Attributes:

• FamilySearch ID: KWCZ-6P6
• Initiatory (LDS): 5 Aug 1908, SLAKE

Other Events and Attributes:

• FamilySearch ID: K2MW-QG5
• Initiatory (LDS): 20 Jan 1881, SGEOR

Notes:

Joseph Wammer Ellicock was born June 7, 1862 to Samuel Ellicock Jr. an d M ary Ann Bowler, in Leicester, Leicestershire, England. He was the se con d child, with Samuel Bowler being born two years earlier. Samuel, how ever , died at age 4. That same year Ann Elizabeth was born, and later Sa rah J ane, and James Samuel Bowler were born .
When Joseph was about 10 years old (1872) his parents divorced, becau s e his mother and father disagreed about their religious affiliations. M ar y Ann was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saint s an d his father was not. His father, in fact, was quite bitter agains t his w ife’s religious beliefs and Mary Ann felt she should leave her hu sband, S amuel. At that time Mary Ann and her children, including Josep h moved t o Nottingham to live with Mary Ann’s younger brother, James Sam uel Page B owler, who was also a Latter-Day Saint.
By 24 May 1879, it was arranged for Mary Ann and her two youngest child r en, Sarah and James to go to St. George, Utah in America. Joseph had be e n working out and stayed in Nottingham along with his sister Elizabeth . J oseph served seven years apprentice in the shoe trade with Uncle Jame s S. P. Bowler at Nottingham.
Joseph became interested in the Gospel when he was fourteen and aske d t o be baptized. When the Elders came they talked to him and made him w ai t another month just to impress upon his mind the importance of this s te p he was taking. He was baptized 22 December 1975.
In America Joseph’s mother had married a Bro. Benjamin Frederick Blak e a nd Mr. Blake’s son, also named Benjamin, had seen pictures of Elizabe th a nd wanted her to leave England and come to Utah and marry him. So i t wa s arranged that Elizabeth and Joseph would travel to Utah. Elizabeth ’s fa re was paid for by her intended spouse, but money was borrowed fro m Josep h’s step-father for his fare, with the intent he would pay it bac k afte r his arrival in Utah. Joseph arrived in Salt Lake in June 1881, t here h e stayed three weeks with Brother Dunbar, who was in charge of th e tithin g office or building. Joseph went there nearly everyday where h e met Bish op Bunter whom he liked very much. This man impressed upon hi s mind the i mportance of tithing, which he never forgot .
Joseph then traveled to St. George, arriving 4 July 1881. Joseph got wo r k and paid back the money for his passage. And Bro. Blake adopted the f ou r children and they took the name of Blake. Also, all the children wer e a ll re-baptized, when they got to St. George.
Joseph went to Leeds, Utah for two years and worked for a Mr. Pixto n i n his vineyard and orchard. And in 1886 he met Harriet Ellen Fuller “ Nell ie” of Leeds whom he married on 3 April 1887 in the St. George Templ e. Jo seph was now 24 years old. A few days after the wedding, Joseph an d Harri et moved to Mill Creek, Utah, near Salt Lake City. But later in t he autum n of that year, he heard of some very promising land near Gree n River, So uth East of Salt Lake. Joseph took his team and wagon to Sal t Lake to ge t supplies for himself and his brother Samuel to move with . But while i n Salt Lake, Joseph met Samuel Carter, the brother to the m an who convert ed his mother to Mormonism. Samuel Carter suggested that J oseph instead o f going to Green River, move to Deseret, South West of Sa lt Lake. Josep h took the recommendation and they moved to Deseret, in Mi llard County, U tah. Here Joseph and Harriet’s first child was born, Jose ph Elijah Blake . The next year they moved to Salt Lake where James Walla ce was born. I t was difficult to have this son only live 3 days. But i t was while Josep h and family were living in Salt Lake, that Joseph ha d the opportunity t o work on the Salt Lake Temple for a short time.
On 16 Mar 1890, they moved back to Deseret. On 24 May 1891, the Hinckl e y Ward was organized by Francis M. Lyman. The Blake family then belong e d in the Hinckley Ward. It was here that the last five of their childr e n were born. Joseph and his wife also took five other children into the r e home and raised them. (Herbert M. Bjorhoude, Fred R. Allen, etc.)
Joseph built a log house. He worked and got well piping and hand dril l ed a well. He planted a row of trees along his 160 acre farm. You cou l d see his trees from anywhere in the valley. (A few were still alive i n 1 960).
With Joseph’s large amount of acreage, he gave half to his brother Jame s , when he came from St George. Then Sister Theobald, President of the R el ief Society, asked for 1/2 acres for a Relief Society Building. This h e l ater gave to her. He gave 1/2 acre to Bishop Pratt for a church house , bu t for some reason they built the church house 1/2 mile farther south . Yea rs later, however, Bishop Stratton saw a need of a new church and i t wa s built on the land Joseph had given the Hinckley Ward years before . He a lso gave 10 acres to the LDS Church, on which they built the Milla rd Acad emy.
Joseph earned his living by bailing hay, threshing grain and farmin g i n Hinckley and Bawley Mountain. He never went to school a day, but le arne d to read and write. In 1904, at age 42, he spent 2 years on a missi on t o Denver, Colo. He converted and baptized members into the LDS Churc h. On e family by the name of Payne, who lived in Rocky Ford, Colorado, w ere ba ptized by Elder Blake. It was an amazing thing to leave your home , famil y and farm to serve away as a missionary and the chores fell to t he wif e and children to carry on until the call was fulfilled.
Joseph returned to Hinckley and his family and was later elected mayo r f or two terms being the second mayor of Hinckley. He taught Sunday Sch oo l and was second counselor to Bro. Garder in the Office of Stake Relig io n class. Also, he was first counselor to Supt. Garder of the Sunday Sc hoo l. His brother James was Sheriff. And in 1918, there was a flu epidem ic i n Hinckley, 12 died, and Joseph’s youngest brother James was nearl y lost .
During the Christmas Holiday, Joseph and his brother, James, and thei r d aughters Alta and Lois visited Joseph’s mother and other relatives i n St . George. Joseph’s brother wrote:
“During this visit our hearts were turned to our own father Samuel Elli c ock and we went to our Bishop for recommends to do temple work. Bro. Da vi d H. Cannon met us outside the church after Sunday Meeting. All at onc e h e said, "Boys what are you doing for your father?" He urged upon us t he n ecessity of doing the work and told us to visit him in his office i n th e Temple and he would make known just what to do. Our recommends cam e b y mail and a nice letter from our Bishop. Bro. Cannon told us to ge t ou r own father Samuel Ellicock and Mother Mary Ann Bowler sealed toget her a nd us children sealed to them, as well as the dead ones. This wor k was do ne 29 Dec 1915. Father Samuel Ellicock and mother Mary Ann Bowle r were se aled in the St. George Temple. Joseph Wamner Ellicock Blake sta nding in b ehalf of his father, who is dead. The following children wer e sealed to o ur parents. Our good brother-in-law Henry Tennyson Atkin ac ting for fathe r Samuel by proxy, Joseph Wamner for his brother Samuel (d eceased) and i n behalf of himself. Ann Elizabeth Blake Schmutz for and i n behalf of he r dead mother, Ann Elizabeth Taylor Ellicock Blake. Sara h Jane Ellicock A tkin and James Samuel for themselves. Mother Mary Ann B owler Ellicock Bla ke standing for herself. Bro Cannon stated we must con tinue to be known i n the world and elsewhere as Blake's and that both se alings would stand . And that in the morning of the Resurrection, if ou r own father Samuel E llicock was faithful, father Blake being a just man , would turn us over t o our own father and we will be connected by thi s Temple work to him. Thi s work was most pleasant.”
Later there was a point when Joseph was having a bad time and lost mo s t of his holdings. Then his wife died, leaving him with Alta, their unm ar ried daughter, to take care of. Four years later, Alta got sleeping si ckn ess while going to school at BYU in Provo .
Joseph always enjoyed fine health and after his wife died, he spent o n e winter in St George doing Temple Work. He had outlived all his brothe r s and sisters, his wife and all his children, except his oldest son Jos ep h Elijah. At the age of 78 years, he went every month to Manti and di d te mple work for the dead. In March 1940, he went on a six day trip, o n th e temple bus, and did temple work in the Mesa Arizona Temple and th e St . George Temple. While on his trip he had the pleasure of going to t he Gr and Canyon and to Boulder Dam. This was a very inspiring trip fo r a man o f 78 year.
Joseph Wammer Ellicock Blake died four years later, 6 Jan 1944 in Prov o , Utah at the age of 82 years, in an old folks home.


Letters written by Joseph W. Blake to his family while on his missio n t o Colorado.
Victor, Colo. 29 Sep 1906
My Dear Wife and loved ones at home ,
I just received your most very welcome letter and was glad to learn th a t you were getting along pretty well. I was sorry to hear that grandma r d oes not get better very fast, if she only had my appetite, she woul d ge t along alright for that is what she needs. If she could get to eati ng ri ght good, she would soon get fat. It seems as though I can eat mos t anyth ing that comes along, like ice cream. I was just going over to Cr ipple Cr eek to get some for Sister Daines, for she makes it fast and i t tastes ho me like. We are going to hold a street meeting there tonigh t and also tom orrow night. All is going well so we will have a good tim e visiting man y friends over there tomorrow.
We have held two street meetings here in Victor this week. One day it r a ined all day. But the weather is very nice now again. I guess that i t i s getting quite cool down there now and maybe then you will want a st ov e in grandmar’s room, so she will keep warm and she will stand more co l d when she gets better. But I hope that this letter will find you all s om e better. I am well and getting on fine .
Good for James. Has he got off on his Mission at last. That is good f o r him, it will be the making of him, just what he needs. It will be th e b est thing that ever happened to him. Who will take his place in the S unda y School Class? They seem to be awaking the people around about Hinc kle y County, sending so many Missionaries. It shows that we have good pe opl e there. I guess that they will send Bro. Nuttalls from Salt Lake t o Denv er and then they may send him from there to these parts. But it i s hard t o tell much about it.
Remember me to Rich Cropper and tell him that two years out here wil l b e better then two Thousand Dollars to him and surely he can get alon g wit h the people all right when an old buggar like myself can get alon g wit h him. For I have always got along the best kind and have made frie nds wh erever I would go and that is the foundation of success to the Mis sion wo rk.
Tell Vilate that it does not look much like they are through with me he r e yet, so I guess that I will not get to see her. Say good luck and by e b ye.
I married a young couple the other day, so you see that I am in a fin e b usiness here. There was a large crowd there to see them married, bu t th e best of it was after the weddin’ we partook of one of the finest s upper s that I ever seen in all my life, and you know Dear such things a s tha t agrees with me the best, for that is the good part of a mission .
I pray the Lord to bless you one and all and I hope that all will be we l l with you and hope and pray that grandmar will soon be alright. Rememb e r me to all our friends and tell them that I am just as happy as ever a n d so is Bro. Hengen and wife getting along this season.
Bless the little family.
Good bye, J.W. Blake
Compiled by Lorie Stout, 2002.

Joseph married Harriet Ellen Fuller on 5 Apr 1887 in St. George, Washington, Utah, United States. Harriet was born on 4 Nov 1869 in Harrisburg, Washington, Utah, United States; died on 23 Jan 1928 in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States; was buried on 25 Jan 1928 in Hinckley City Cemetery, Millard, Utah, United States. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• FamilySearch ID: KWZ3-Z13
• Initiatory (LDS): 31 Mar 1887, SGEOR