Daughter of Eliphas Marsh and Hannah Husted

• Married Jacob Lance, Aug 1845 in Nauvoo, Hancock, Illinois
• Married William Ford, Mar 5, 1857, Endowment House, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah
• Married John Cornelius Brink White, in about 1860
• Married Samuel Thompson, Aug 20, 1867, Endowment House, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah

Mary Jane Marsh was born on 1 Sep 1829 in Louisville, Jefferson, Kentucky to Eliphas & Hannah Husted. Very little is also known about Mary's early life. Her parents moved to Ohio after hearing about a new religion. They then moved to Kirtland, Ohio, and were baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

They loved the Prophets Joseph Smith and would follow him anywhere. The children would gather with him wherever he was and he often taught them the Gospel in a way they could understand. He was always helping the saints including the Marsh family in their troubles with his kindly smile and words of encouragement. Mary Jane would tell with pride that she was the 3rd cousin of the Prophet Joseph Smith.

She remembered when they built the Kirtland Temple, how thrilled they were, and how they went without food many times to give to the men working on the Temple. The Marsh family lived close to the Prophet and his family. Mary Jane's father, Eliphas March, helped guard the Temple at night so the mobs could not tear down what had been built. Every family grew flowers, had gardens, and helped in the fields. When the Kirtland Temple was completed, the people rejoiced. The Children were dressed in their best clothes and stood for hours around the Temple block. The Marsh family lived in the United Order until it was given up and the lesser law" the Law of Tithing", was established in 1828.

Mary Jane was baptized by the Prophet Joseph himself in 1838 and was later rebaptized on 30 Jan 1846. Mary Jane remembered many of the trials and sacrifices that the Saint had to go through in Kirtland. In her words I was just a small girl living with my parents, when the mob was so bitter against us that we had to flee for our lives. My mother, with some of my small brothers and sisters, rode on one horse, while my sister who was sick with a very young baby rode on another horse. No room on the horses for me so I took hold of the horse's tail, and let the horse pull me along trying to keep up with them, I never could run fast so I stumbled in the dark and fell, They did not miss me for some time and then they returned for me. We hurried through the dark woods, for it was night. We came to a barn and went in and all crawled in the chaff & straw, afraid every moment that some of the mob would come & kill us. We heard some moan or peculiar noise, we waited breathlessly and soon heard it again, we were frightened. My mother decided to find out what it was. She crawled along. feeling around in the straw and chaff, finally finding a setting hen. The next morning we went into a house close by and there already on the hearth was a meal all cooked, but no one was there so we did not dare eat it. After the excitement was over we returned to our home.

June 27th, 1844, was a day Mary Jane never forgot. That day the beloved Prophet Joseph & his brother Hyrum Smith were murdered, after all the trials, hardships, hunger, illness, being driven from many homes, the beautiful Temples left in the hands of enemies and now to have the Prophet killed. It was almost more than the people could bear. The wagon with the two crude boxes in it covered with an Indian blanket drove into the city. There were sobs and weeping everywhere. The bodies were taken to the Mansion House and prepared for burial. Mary Jane went with her parents and family to see them lying in state in the Mansion House, she would never forget the grief she felt. She never knew until later that the bodies were buried in the unfinished Nauvoo house in the night and that bags of sand were deposited in the intended graves. In the fall of the same year, the bodies were taken up and interred in the rear of the house where Joseph had lived. The saints were preparing to move on.

On 20 Aug 1845 Mary Jane Marsh and Jacob Lance were married, later on 30 Jan 1846 Jacob & Mary Jane went to the Nauvoo Temple at 8:00 am and were sealed for time & eternity. On the 8th of Feb 1846, her parents and others in their family went to the Temple to receive their endowments and to be sealed.

They traveled in Company #20 with Henry William Miller as the Captain and Apostle Orson Hyde as their leader. This company consisted of about 200 Saints. The family lived in Salt Lake for some time and then President Young called them to settle in American Fork.

Mary Jane & Jacob were very active workers in the branch of the church in American Fork as long as they lived there. During the latter of 1856 Jacob Lance was traveling to Salt Lake City, he usually took loads of lumber, potatoes, or produce up north. The wagon crashed down a ravine, turning over on him and killing him. Mary Jane became a widow with four small children. After the tragedy, Mary Jane moved back to Salt Lake.

She met and married Cornelius Brink White. They moved to Midway, Utah. Her husband Cornelius White was killed by lightning while he was working close to their home in Midway.

On the 20th of Aug 1867, Mary Jane married a plural second wife to Samuel Thompson, the President of the High Priest Quorum in Midway. Mary Jane & Samuel Thompson lived many years together, Brother Thompson died at the age of ninety years.

Mary had a picture of the Prophet Joseph Smith by her bedside and when she was ill her family & relatives would hear her plead, "Joseph, please come and get me". About 1909, she suffered a stroke and passed away on 29 Oct 1913 in Park City, Utah. She was buried at the Midway Cemetery. She died at the age of 84 years. She was the mother of 10 children, grandmother of 81 grandchildren nearly uncounted great & great great children. Her faith remains strong in the Gospel that she had sacrificed so much for.

Complied by Clara Melissa Billings, Mary Eliza Musser, Alice White Vail, and Ruth Musser Workman