Susan Ann Gay

1841 - 1911  (70 years)  Submit Photo / Document    Has 2 ancestors and more than 100 descendants in this family tree.

• Name	Susan Ann Gay
  Birth	13 Jun 1841	De Kalb, Kemper, Mississippi, United States
  Gender	Female
  Initiatory (LDS)	12 Mar 1857	EHOUS
  Census	1870	Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States
  Image Transcript Ln Hhold Given Surname Age BirthDate Gender Race Occupation BirthPlace 19 149 Nelson Whipple 50 abt 1820 Male White New York 20 149 Susan Whipple 29 abt 1841 Female White Missouri 21 149 Martha Whipple 12 abt 1858 Female White Utah 22 149 Nelson Whipple 10 abt 1860 Male White Utah 23 149 Silva Whipple 8 abt 1862 Male White Utah 24 149 Susan Whipple 5 abt 1865 Female White Utah 25 149 Alexander Whipple 3 abt 1867 Male White Utah 26 149 Robert Whipple 8/12 abt 1869 Male White Utah   Transcript ID is  dbid=7163&iid=4267907_00772
  Census	1880	Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States
  Image Transcript Ln Hhold Given Surname Relation Gender Race BirthDate Age Status BirthPlace BirthPlace of Father BirthPlace of Mother Occupation Street 1 45 Nelson Whipple Self Male White abt 1819 61 Married New York Vermont Connecticut 2 45 Susan A. Whipple Wife Female White abt 1842 38 Married Missouri North Carolina North Carolina 3 45 Ellen Whipple Daughter Female White abt 1858 22 Single Utah Territory New York Missouri 4 45 Nelson Whipple Son Male White abt 1860 20 Single Utah Territory New York Missouri 5 45 Syllvia Whipple Daughter Female White abt 1862 18 Single Utah Territory New York Missouri 6 45 Susan Whipple Daughter Female White abt 1864 16 Single Utah Territory New York Missouri 7 45 Alexander Whipple Son Male White abt 1867 13 Single Utah Territory New York Missouri 8 45 John Whipple Son Male White abt 1870 10 Single Utah Territory New York Missouri 9 45 Amey Whipple Daughter Female White abt 1872 8 Single Utah Territory New York Missouri 10 45 Ida Whipple Daughter Female White abt 1874 6 Single Utah Territory New York Missouri 11 45 Amos Whipple Son Male White abt 1879 1 Single Utah Territory New York Missouri   Transcript ID is  dbid=6742&iid=4244809-00236
  FamilySearch ID	KWJ7-2X3
  Death	29 Sep 1911	Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States
  Burial	1 Oct 1911	Salt Lake City Cemetery, Salt Lake, Utah, United States
  Person ID	I364	mytree
  Last Modified	25 Feb 2024

  
  

  Father	Ray Alexander Gay,   b. 11 Feb 1813, Rockingham, Richmond, North Carolina, United States d. 11 Oct 1846, Mount Pisgah, Union, Iowa, United States (Age 33 years)
  Mother	Martha Ann Covington,   b. 8 Dec 1818, Rockingham, Richmond, North Carolina, United States d. 24 Aug 1871, Ogden, Weber, Utah, United States (Age 52 years)
  Marriage	24 Aug 1841	Rockingham, Richmond, North Carolina, United States
  Family ID	F381	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Nelson Wheeler Whipple,   b. 11 Jul 1818, Sanford, Broome, New York, United States d. 5 Jul 1887, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States (Age 68 years)
  Marriage	8 Feb 1857	Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States
  Children	+ 1. Martha Ellen Whipple,   b. 19 Jan 1858, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States d. 20 Oct 1937, Ogden, Weber, Utah, United States (Age 79 years) + 2. Nelson Gay Whipple,   b. 21 Sep 1859, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States d. 2 Apr 1944, Provo, Utah, Utah, United States (Age 84 years) + 3. Sylvia Gay Whipple,   b. 18 May 1862, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States d. 20 Jan 1940, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States (Age 77 years) + 4. Susan Ann Whipple,   b. 3 Nov 1864, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States d. 19 Dec 1935, Bountiful, Davis, Utah, United States (Age 71 years) + 5. Alexander Samuel Whipple,   b. 2 Mar 1867, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States d. 8 Jan 1899, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States (Age 31 years) + 6. Robert John Whipple,   b. 13 Nov 1869, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States d. 6 Nov 1954, Lehi, Utah, Utah, United States (Age 84 years) + 7. Amey Jane Whipple,   b. 15 Dec 1871, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States d. 6 Sep 1962, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States (Age 90 years) + 8. Ida Whipple,   b. 15 Dec 1873, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States d. 21 May 1956, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States (Age 82 years) + 9. Anor Whipple,   b. 25 Mar 1879, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States d. 23 Oct 1967, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States (Age 88 years)
  Family ID	F67	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	21 Nov 2024

  
  

• Event Map

  Birth - 13 Jun 1841 - De Kalb, Kemper, Mississippi, United States Marriage - 8 Feb 1857 - Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States Initiatory (LDS) - 12 Mar 1857 - EHOUS Census - 1870 - Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States Census - 1880 - Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States Death - 29 Sep 1911 - Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States Burial - 1 Oct 1911 - Salt Lake City Cemetery, Salt Lake, Utah, United States  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Histories

  History of Susan Ann Gay by Mavis Greer Clayton

  
  

• Notes

  History of Susan Ann Gay Whipple by Mavis Greer Clayton In her obituary, it was written of my husband’s great grandmother, Su s an Ann Gay Whipple, “Another pioneer woman is called” and that “she ha d t he distinction that few women can boast that of walking more than 1,0 00 m iles through a wilderness, before she graduated into long dresses. ” Susa n Ann was born June 12, 1841 in DeKalab, Kempner, Mississippi to A lexande r and Martha Covington Gay. She had an older sister, Eliza Jane a nd two y ounger brothers, John Franklin and Benjamin. Her father and he r mother we re both born in Rockingham, Richmond, North Carolina. The Gay s and Coving tons were among the early settlers of Richmond County, wher e they were en gaged in cotton growing. About 1840, Susan’s parents lef t North Carolin a and moved to the Mississippi frontier, where they hear d the elders of t he Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints preach . The father was bap tized about 1842, and his wife in March 1844. In 184 6, the Gays again lef t their home to join the saints in Nauvoo, only t o find that most of th e people were leaving for the Rocky Mountains . Alexander and Martha with their four children cast their lot with t h e migrating saints, and although, they were very poorly outfitted, reached Iowa in the autum n o f 1846. In October at Mount Pisgah, the father and baby brother, Benj ami n died of mountain fever (cholera). Susan Ann’s mother married a wido wer , John Warrant Norton. His wife Dorothy and young baby died just a mo nt h before Susan’s father, and he was left with a large family of youn g chi ldren. They endured many hardships and continued for several year s to mak e preparations to journey to Utah. Two little girls, Mary and Na ncy Elvir a, were born in Iowa. On July 7, 1851, Captain John Brown’s handcart company, the Nortons a n d the Gays left the Mississippi River. They were helped by the Perpetu a l Emigration Fund, and after a long, hard journey, with the children a n d mother walking almost the entire way; they entered the valley on Sept em ber 28, 1851. They were met by Uncle Robert Covington, the mother’s br oth er, and taken to his home in Cottonwood, where they were treated ver y kin dly and nursed back to health. In January, 1852, another little sis ter, M artha, was born in Big Cottonwood. Susan’s mother and stepfather h elped s ettle the town of Alpine, Utah, then called Mountainville. This w as a ver y rugged and mountainous area, and the first winter the settler s lived i n wagons and dug outs. Here Susan Ann was baptized and confirme d into th e Church by her step-father on May 4, 1853. In 1854, her littl e step sist er Mary died. About this time, Brigham Young counseled the se ttlers to bu ild a fort for protection from the Indians, which they calle d Wadsworth F ort after William Wadsworth, in whose home church meeting s were held . John Norton was called on a mission to Australia, and Martha Ann mov e d with her children to Salt Lake City where she resumed the name of “Wi do w Gay.” When John returned after a seven year absence, he married agai n a nd their paths separated permanently. In 1857, Martha Covington Gay N orto n, Susan Ann and her brother and sisters had to work hard to help su ppor t the family, but during these trying years, a deep love developed a mon g this family and Susan Ann, throughout her life, maintained close co ntac t with their mother, brother John Franklin and her two sisters. The Gays lived in the 19th Ward and Bishop A. H. Rawleigh advised Nels o n Wheeler Whipple to “take another wife if I could find a good one th a t I could get.” He also received a recommend from Pres. Brigham Young w h o gave him “leave”. Three weeks after they met, Susan was married to h i m as the third wife. This marriage took place on Sunday, February 9, 18 5 7 in Brigham Young’s office by Heber C. Kimball, who was a friend of Ne ls on. Nelson was 23 years older than Susan Ann, who was only 16 when the y w ere married, but theirs was a happy marriage and they were devoted t o eac h other throughout their lives together. Nelson Wheel Whipple was born June 11, 1818 in Sanford, Broom, New Yo r k, the last child in a family of six. His parents were Daniel and Mar y Ti ffany Whipple. He was baptized into the Church in Hendersonville, Il linoi s on April 24, 1844. He was married to Susan Jane Bailey by Elder J ohn Hu ghes on August 5, 1843 at Elyria, Ohio. They were the parents of M arand a Jane, Mary Jenett, George Nelson, Edson and Harriet Emily and a s mall s on who died at birth. They arrived in the valley in 1850. Susan Ja ne beca me ill and he hired a young widow, Rachel Keeling West, whom he m arried i n 1853, to tend his family. Susan died June 6, 1856. Rachel an d Nelson ha d three children, Daniel, Cynthia and Nelson Wheeler Jr. Nelson had been working at a saw mill in North Mill Creek Canyon in D a vis County. This mill was owned jointly by him and Heber C. Kimball. I n t he spring of 1857, after conference, he moved his new wife Susan An n to t he mill. In the summer they came back to the home on Third North a nd Thir d West and plowed and planted crops. Nelson was very good to Susa n’s fami ly and that first year he hired her brother John to work for him . Susan Ann attended the famous 24th of July celebration that year in B i g Cottonwood Canyon with James Townsend and his wife. There the news ca m e that Johnston’s Army was in route to Utah. Her husband was calle d a s a guard in Echo Canyon that winter. The following January 19th, he r fir st child, Martha Ellen was born. She was named for her grandmothe r Gay. W hen the baby was just a few months old, Nelson, Susan Ann and hi s childre n Miranda and George went south to Provo to escape the army. Th ey travele d by ox team and camped on the Provo River for several months . On July 12 , they returned to their home in Salt Lake. What a hectic ti me this mus t have been for Susan Ann! The working habits she had learne d as a youn g child continued in her life as wife and mother. Her husban d was very ad ept with wood working and he made her a precious loom. In 1 859, she mad e cloth and spun 100 pounds of flax that winter. She was liv ing alone whe n her second child, a son, was born on September 21, 1859 . Her husband ha d given up his saw mill in Davis County and was now at w ork in Neff Canyo n. This boy was named for his father with his mother’ s maiden name, Nelso n Gay. Susan Ann spent many years alternating from t he canyon to Salt Lak e in an effort to keep up both places, and worked v ery hard helping her h usband and cooking for many. In 1861 Nelson built a four room house for Susan Ann and they used t w o downstairs rooms for a shop and lived in the two upstairs rooms. Nex t d oor lived Rachel and her children. These years were hard for the Whip ple’ s and Nelson was often away from home working on various jobs. On Ma y 18 , 1862, Susan’s second daughter was born and they named her Sylvia . My hu sband’s grandmother was the next child named Susan Ann for her mo ther, an d born in the 19th Ward on November 3, 1864. In 1865 Susan and h er youn g family again moved, and this time to Big Cottonwood Canyon, whe re Nelso n worked at Daniel H. Well’s saw mill. In 1865, Susan Ann’s half sister Na n cy Elvira Norton married Charles D. Rollins and moved to Cache County. Mrs. Gay (Martha Ann Covington Gay) spent most of her time with the W h ipples. In 1866-67, John Gay was also at their home because of unemploy me nt. Her older sister, Eliza Jane, had married Orson Badger in 1865 an d li ved in Ogden. In January, 1867 Orson came to Salt Lake to visit an d repor ted all the family well. John went back to live with the Badgers . A yea r later he was called to help settle San Pete County. On March, 12, 1867 another boy Alexander Samuel was born to Susan. S h e was very ill and suffered with a gathered breast, which was very pain fu l and her health in general for some time was very poor. This year Rac he l went to the canyon and again Susan Ann was left alone with her child re n in the city. How resourceful and courageous she was. In January, whe n M artha Elle, her oldest daughter, was ten years old, they had a part y fo r her. A group of 15 boys and 20 girls had a square dancing party. M y hus band’s grandfather Robert Widdison and his brother William acted a s calle r and musician for the square dancing for the young people, and t hese par ties were continued during this spring. Susan encouraged her chi ldren i n all the arts and learning. They attended school in the 19th War d school house, which their father helped build . On January 19, 1869 John Franklin Gay married Tirzah Farr and moved to O g den. At this time, Susan’s mother, who evidently was married briefly t o B enjamin Gibson, came to visit for a week from Cache County. In June , whe n Susan was back in Big Cottonwood Canyon, her mother and step-fath er liv ed with them in a house only ten feet by sixteen feet. It must hav e bee n very crowded quarters for nine people to cook, sleep and live in . Tha t November 13, another son Robert John was born and Susan Ann was a gain i n Salt Lake where she was very ill. In1870 they were again in th e canyo n and her brother who was working here at the Peerless mine los t the sigh t in one eye in an accident. In May 1871 Susan and her childre n went by r ailroad to Ogden City. They left Salt Lake a 5 A.M. and visit ed the Badge r and Gay families. Another trip to Lehi and one to Provo i n 1872 and 187 3 were no doubt highlights in Susan Ann’s work filled life . Another sad experience came for Susan. On July 24, 1871, Mother Gay ca m e from Ogden to visit. When they met her at the train station, she wa s ve ry ill. She was up and around for about a week, and attended by tw o loca l physicians, Dr. Lee and Dr. Meeks. She did not improve and got w orse wi th “a kind of consumption.” She died August 24, 1871 at the age o f 52 yea rs in Susan’s home. All of her living brothers and sisters cam e to be a t her home and beside of their mother. Mrs. Gay was buried in O gden. A fe w months later, on December 15, Susan gave birth to another da ughter Am y Jane, and just two years later to the day, Ida Gay was born . That fall, Elvira Rollins again came to visit from Cache County. These v i sits must have been a great source of pleasure to Susan Ann. Another ou ti ng was held on September 7, 1876 that was enjoyable to Susan. The Whip ple s stayed at the home of Brother and Sister Brighton and hiked to Twi n Lak es. In December her daughter Susan Ann hurt her eye with a fork an d it wa s feared that she would lose her sight. Through faith and prayer s of he r parents, she was healed. Susan Ann had been troubled for many y ears wit h her teeth, and no doubt they were the cause of her ill health . In 1878 , Dr. Sharp pulled them and made her a new set for $45.00, whic h probabl y was a great deal of money to the Whipples, but her health imp roved grea tly after this. On March 25, 1879 her last child, a son name d Anor, was b orn. All that summer she and the smallest children stayed i n the city, wh ere she made overalls to sell at the Co-Op store. She als o planted a larg e garden, milked cows and made five to seven pound of bu tter each week t o sell. For four successive Christmases, her husband wa s away from home w orking in the canyons.One of the joys of her life mus t have been the Maso n and Hamlin Organ which her daughters bought for he r. Her husband’s health was now beginning to fail and there was much sickne s s among her children. In 1884, her oldest son Nelson, who had been in E ur eka working as a carpenter was taken to the Deseret hospital with Typh oi d fever. Susan Ann brought him home and for seven long weeks, she an d hi s step-brother George stayed by his side night and day and nursed hi m bac k to health. Her youngest, Ida Gay, was also ill with this dread di sease , but not so severely. On July 5, 1887, her husband who had consump tion d ied and was buried in the Salt Lake Cemetery. Susan Ann’s four eld est chi ldren had married and she continued to live in the home her husba nd had b uilt for her. By renting rooms and with the help of all, she wa s able t o keep her five unmarried children together. The Whipples were proud that they took the Deseret News from the ti m e it was first published and also the Juvenile Instructor. The childre n w ere taught the meaning of industry early in life and many of them wer e en couraged in their artistic talents. Her two oldest daughters worke d at th e ZCMI shoe shop for several years where they made a good wage an d learne d the management of finances. Her sons from the time they were v ery smal l worked in the lumbering business with their father and severa l followe d this trade as their vocation. Susan Ann was ever a faithful L atter-da y Saint and loved the Gospel her parents embraced when she wa s a child. S he attended meeting in the old 19th Ward and later the 28t h Ward. In an a ge when infant mortality was high, all of her children gr ew to maturity . Only one child preceded her in death, Alexander Samuel , who died Januar y 8, 1899 at the age of 32. Her son Anor lived at hom e and cared for hi s mother until her death. She died of “general debilit y” at her home at t he age of 70 on September 29, 1911 and was buried i n the Salt Lake City C emetery. Her funeral was held in the 28th Ward an d was conducted by Bisho p William McMillian and the ward choir furnishe d the music. It was trul y said at her passing: “One of the noteworthy pi oneers of Utah has been c alled home.” Her children and their marriages: Martha Ellen married May 3, 1883 Jacob Kesler, by Daniel H. Wells. The y h ad seven children, Nelson Gay married April 7, 1884 Susannah H. Wanlass a daughter of Willi a m and Mary O’Dell Wanlass. They were the parents of six sons, one dyin g a s a two year old child. Sylvia married Frederik Bateman Margetts on November 13, 1884. They ha d f our boys and four girls. This couple was divorced. She died January 2 0, 1 940. Susan Ann married Archer Walters Clayton on May 26. 1882. He was the s o n of William and Sarah Walters Clayton and they later had a civil divorce. They had fou r s ons and three daughters. One girl died as a baby. She died Dec. 18, 1 885. Alexander Samuel married Sarah Vanetta on February 5, 1891 and died Janu a ry 8, 1899 of a heart attack. Two daughters were born to this marriage. Robert John married Susan Winn, a daughter of William Henry and Martha E v ans Winn. He was a lumberman and lived in Lehi, where five daughters and one son wa s b orn. Mildred and Miriam were twins. Robert died November 6, 1954 an d is b uried in Lehi. Amy Jane was married on June 13, 1900 to John Henry Evans. They had fo u r sons and two daughters. She died September 6, 1962. Ida Gay was married to a dentist, Ezra Oakley Taylor, on June 26, 1895 . H is parents were John and Mary Ann Oakley Taylor. They had four daught er s and two sons. She died May 21, 1956. Anor was married November 15, 1917, after his mother’s death, to Auril l a May Watkins. She was the daughter of William Lampard and Teah Jensia Elgena Johnson Watki n s. They had two daughters and one son. Anor was a noted teacher in th e Gr anite School District and at East and South High in the field of Art . H e attended school at the Art Institute of Chicago and Columbia Univer sity . He died October 23, 1967.