THOMAS SIRLS TERRY
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
By a daughter, Maud Etna Terry
On a beautiful little farm called Cherry Hedge and Cherry Land in Bristol Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, on a crisp October morning the 3rd day of the month [1825], there came to earth a tiny red-faced baby boy. The child of a family of eight children. This child was very frail and a few hours after his birth his mother declared his name to be Thomas for his father. His nurse said, “Give him a middle name to distinguish him from his father.” The mother then added Sirls (the surname of the nurse who was a very dear friend).
Thomas Sirls then grew up a very delicate child, small in statue but with a bright intellectual mind. Twice before his second year he was pronounced dead by the family physician and was laid on what was then called his cooling board (A cooling board was a perforated wooden platform on which a dead body would be temporarily stored and prepared for a funeral. Ice was placed beneath it to keep the body chilled, slowing the decomposition process. Holes in the cooling board, which could be made of cane latticework rather than a solid wooden plank, allowed blood and other fluids to drain from the body. It could also be used to display the body for a viewing if the casket was not delivered in time.) His grieving mother hovering over his still little form detected a pulse beat in his hand and hastily began to revive him. The second time she would not permit him laid out but watched for some time and again discovered life.
For all of his delicacy of health Thomas Sirls was still a boy. When about four years of age, he tells of following his elder brother and a neighbor boy into a wood lot to trap squirrels. A tom cat had proceeded them and was caught in a trap. The two elder boys made a gallow and hanged the cat. This act seemed to stimulate a horror against cruelty to dumb animals which was a characteristic of Thomas Sirls his whole life.
The family at one time was well to do for those times, but at the close of the Revolutionary War their property was in ruins with the exception of some few fishing boats which were leased and finally lost at sea. This left the family or the father to build up his own fortune. The father’s health was broken and at the death of his wife’s parents he had taken over the guardianship of her eight younger brothers and sisters rearing them as his own. This large family added to his own children and his broken health necessitated the selling of his home and moving into a city where the family could go to work. They moved across the Delaware River, a little to the south, to Camden, New Jersey. Here the children were placed in the print works to learn a trade and also help in earning their living.
Thus at the age of seven years Thomas, though very frail, went to work at 7:00 a.m. and worked the year around for ten and sometimes twelve hours a day. He often told of the great joy he experienced on his two holidays off -the 4th of July and Christmas. Being a frail lad he was too greatly fatigued after his strenuous hours of service to attend the night school. His mother (Mary Ann Murkins) gave him his lessons at home. She was called quite learned and her teachings account for his flowery accent and refinement of speech. Always, even in his old age strangers mistook him to be of English birth and culture. Thomas Sirls was very ambitious and this made him a great favorite of his associates. He rose from a bobbin boy in the print mills to a cotton superintendent or second floor manager of his department.
The gospel of the Latter-day Saints was brought to their home when he had just turned sixteen. His father’s family was greatly impressed and began an investigation of this doctrine which resulted in the baptism of his parents and their older children in the Delaware River on March 13, 1842. This ordinance was performed by Elder Joseph Newton, a traveling elder.
The family had by this time moved to Philadelphia of Bridsburg, a suburb of Philadelphia. Here in his father’s house a group of converts – 42 in all – met each Sunday for worship and a closer study of the gospel. They were happy and greatly enthused in their newly found religion for some time, until William Smith a brother of the Prophet came to their colony. There William met a beautiful girl and began advocating plurality wives. This resulted in the breaking up of the colony and the apostatizing of most members. When this word was sent to Nauvoo the Prophet sent Jedediah M. Grant to investigate the affair. He succeeded in bringing a few members back. Thomas’ parents had never doubted the gospel so their home was again the gathering place of the saints.
Thomas, from the time of his baptism, had begun to rapidly gain strength and he began to grow until at the age of 21 he was a fairly good-sized man with handsome features – laughing violet blue eyes and dark brown curly hair. He was admired and loved by his friends and fellow laborers. He had always planned in his own mind to go west as soon as he had reached maturity. So on the day he turned 21, his parents, in keeping with an old family custom gave him a coming-out party. They bought him a nice dark greenish-black suit of broad cloth for the occasion. Before the close of the party his father made the announcement that Thomas Sirls had reached his manhood and from then on would continue to live on with his parents until he saw fit to branch out for himself, but he was his own master. Thus given freedom to do as he chose, he began to plan to join the saints and share in their lot. Early the next spring he left his friends and home against their pleadings and tears and started west to join the saints.
At Philadelphia, he joined a company of Mormon immigrants from Boston and New York. Arriving at Winter Quarters, now Florence, he discovered he must have a different lot of clothing than he had. He found that his two broadcloth suits and his work clothing of yarn – jacket and jean trouser – would not last long on such a journey as was before him. He also learned he must supply himself with 1 ½ years provisions and a way of transportation. After taking stock of his finances, he apprenticed himself out to Doctor Richardson for 1½ years for his transportation and board for that period of time. Then buying himself some buckskin clothing, he started west on a hot day the latter part of June. The doctor assigned him as a teamster of a wagon belonging to the doctor’s mother and again he had a motherly figure whom he loved greatly. She learned how eager he was for learning and began to instruct him in penmanship. From her he mastered shorthand, which proved of great value to him in his later life.
He arrived in Salt Lake City, Utah, September, 1847, in the companies of Daniel Spencer’s hundred and Perri-grine Scessions fifty and Elijah F. Sheets ten. During the winter of 1847-48, he was engaged in whipsawing lumber. From this lumber the first thrasher and fanning mill in the state were constructed. Also the first one and one half story house in this part of the west was built. He dug the first well in Utah that first spring.
He always advocated this: “What was worth doing was worth doing well.”
He filled his contract with Doctor Richardson to his own and to the Doctor’s satisfaction. He was released from this obligation early in the spring of 1849.
When Great Salt Lake City was surveyed and laid off, each pioneer head of a family drew a ten acre lot. Each young unmarried man drew a five acre lot. Thomas Sirls drew a five acre lot.
He at once began the improvement of his land. He being without finance began to exchange work for the things he needed. He formed a friendship with Parley P. Pratt. He would go up what is called Parley’s Canyon and cut timber and Apostle Pratt would haul it down. They would make their bed at night and sleep under a feather tick or mattress. There they would lie and talk for hours and from this marvelous author and teacher, Thomas first became interested in astronomy. He borrowed books at first and later he bought books and he became quite a proficient scholar of astronomy and also of different sciences. Psychology or the science of life was the real specialty of this self-learned man.
Hard work and study did not take all of Thomas Sirls’ time. He found time for the recreations that were possible. He tells of the first water fight in the state. It was between Grandma Richardson (his adopted Mormon Mother) and a large burly Scotchman and the fight was of short duration. Brother William Clayton, the church historian came by and took the lady’s part. He would put the dam in the ditch and the Scotchman would take it out. At last Brother Clayton, a small man, sat down in the ditch saying. “Brother, this dam is mine.” Thus the first dispute over irrigation was ended.
Of course, there was romance in Thomas Sirls’ life. He had been reared to think there was no good ever came from a dance but that was the pleasure of the day and according to the old adage “when in Rome do as the Romans do” he decided to learn to dance. He singled out a very pretty young girl by the name of Amanda Nebiker who was a very graceful dancer. He asked her to instruct him in the art of dancing, which she smilingly consented to do. He soon learned her choices favors were reserved for a young man by the name of Boyl, with whom he had formed a real and lasting friendship. He made a compact with this young man to treat the young lady in question as a sister and it was Thomas Sirls’ pleasure to be best man at their wedding which was one of the first in the state.
However, in the spring of ’49 just after building his little room on his land while at church one Sunday in the old Bowery, he was standing in the back of the congregation. There were no upholstered chairs – the seats in this place of worship were of split logs and the floor of dirt. He was talking to a friend when an unknown voice said “There is your companion for all time and eternity”. He looked around but saw no one that he did not know and he went on conversing. Again, the voice said, “There is the girl you are to marry.” He turned and this time he looked down the aisle a short distance from where he was standing. There he met a pair of brown eyes in a beautiful face with rose-carmen cheeks and lips of a deep cherry red. As she turned her head to hide a blush for being caught gazing at the handsome young stranger, the long black curls fell in clusters around her head. He asked his companion who that pretty little brunette was.
Thomas’ friend answered, “Why she is Mary Ann Pulsipher, Brother Pulsipher’s girl. You know Brother Pulsipher, he is one of the first seven presidents of the seventies. He has a wonderful family.”
Thomas was not slow to find this out for himself. A colorful romance followed which brought about a marriage on Christmas Day, 1849. This union was a happy and eventful one. With the exception of four Christmas Days, sixty-four years were celebrated by Thomas Sirls and his wife in thanksgiving for their perfect love.
By this time he had acquired a farm at Union Fort where he and his wife, Mary Ann, had labored hard and had built up a nice little home. They moved on to this farm with a wagon box for a bedroom and a lean-to or shanty for a kitchen. His father-in-law gave them a cow. Thomas Sirls dug ditch for a young sow pig. His wife’s mother gave them a hen and a friend gave them a cat, iron kettle and fire shovel. His wife had a quilt, a sheet and straw tick. Mother Richardson gave him a pillow. He had worked for a quilt and some buffalo hides. Thus this city-bred young man and his beautiful bride began housekeeping thousands of miles from the scenes of his youth. The hardships they passed through – the cricket and grasshoppers, wars with Indians, and other troubles would fill volumes.
The first year the cat and her increase, the hen and her chickens, the cow and her calf, their sow and all her pigs died, but December 14th, 1850, the first of their twelve children was born.
On May 6th, 1855, he married Eliza Jane Pulsipher as a plural wife. (This is our line). Eliza was Mary Ann’s youngest sister. On March 16th, 1856, Zera Pulsipher, the first son of Thomas Sirls was born to this union.
At the April conference, Thomas received a call for a mission to the states. Utah was then a territory. He left his wife, Mary Ann, at Union Fort, his wife, Eliza, with her parents in Salt Lake and set out in May with a company of Elders to fill that mission.
He was assigned to labor in his native state and he received permission to visit his family at Thanksgiving. It is a real touching story the way he tripped up the street to his mother’s gate. His father had passed from earth five years before. His unmarried sister was sweeping the front steps. As he reached the gate she dropped her broom and rushed into his arms.
He was revered by all who knew him- Jew and Gentile, the roving Indian, or thoughtless cowboy. Old men and little children came to pay their homage to him. He lived to the ripe old age of 95 years, 10 months, and 9 days, dying from a broken leg. His body was laid beside his wife, Mary Ann, who had proceeded him in death some 5 years earlier. He passed on blessings to his children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and great, great grandchildren. He left three acting bishops and five high priests from his nine sons. Also, he left many talented and lettered grandchildren – A POSTERITY TO PRAISE THE MEMORY OF THOMAS SIRLS TERRY – PATRIARCH, COUNCILER, AND FRIEND.
Taken from The History of Thomas Sirls Terry Family
Compiled by Nora and Terry Lund – typed by Susan Rosenlof
For Terry Family Reunion July 24th 1954
(pages 17-21)
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