Born at Red Point, Northumberland, Pennsylvania

Daughter of David Barclay Adams and Mary Cook

Married Urban Van Stewart, 15 Jul 1865, Salt Lake City, Utah

Children: Mary Ellen Stewart, David James Stewart, Urban Van Stewart, John Riley Stewart, Lydia Catherine Stewart, Andrew Adams Stewart, Rosa May Stewart, Levi Stewart, Effie Elizabeth Stewart, Walter Ernest Stewart

History - Ellen Adams was born at Red Point, North Cumberland, an Iron manufacturing district in the state of Pennsylvania. in the beautiful month of May. Nine days had past but on the 10th of May she arrived at the home of David Barclay Adams and his wife Mary Cook Adams. There was James, 13; Annie, 10; Margaret, 8; Mary, 5; and David, 3 years old. Eager to see the new baby Adams would be 2, but he was across the ocean in the cemetery, they had five babies in Scotland and now in America they had added 2 more, a little boy and a girl. A great responsibility in a new land and no home, and labor so uncertain.

About six years as passed since they landed in Pennsylvania and many things had transpired to change their minds and ambitions. The most important part of it all was a testimony of the Divinity of the Gospel taught by the Latter-day Saint Elders. They embraced the Gospel and gathered with the Saints in the Rocky Mountains. It would be a long, hazardous journey and required money to make the trip.

Happily they saved and planned. The baby they had, named Ellen, was the joy of the household, creeping after the children as they played happily on the floor. She was nearly a year old and trying to walk. Sufficient money had been saved and all was excitement preparing for the long desired journey. Passage on the Steam Boat Mary had been obtained, and the family with their earthly possessions were sailing on the Missouri River.

In the fore part of May the children were talking of Ellen's birthday now in four more days. What a change the next day brought to the passengers on the ship. All faces were white with fear, the dreaded Cholera had broken out among the passengers.

Mary Cook Adams was numbered among the afflicted. David Barclay Adams watched his beloved wife, the mother of six children, depart from her body of pain. He begged the Captain to let him bury her on land, but the captain would not break the law of the State. Therefore, he was forced to see the body of her sink into a watery grave. He had little time to think of his loss for his two little daughters, Annie and Mary were seriously ill with the dreaded disease, and on the 11th of May he watched their little bodies lowered into a watery grave, miles away from their mother. What courage, faith and determination he had at this time to face this blow and the future with four children. A long, hard, journey to make, a home to build all alone. An old couple, friends of David Barclay, took baby Ellen and cared for her, what a sad beginning for baby Ellen, no Happy Birthday as had been planned, and taken away from her brothers and sisters and father.

We know nothing of the trip to Council Bluffs, in his new found faith was a knowledge and comfort that strengthened and sustained him. He became acquainted with a young Canadian girl, named Lydia Catherine Mann, who later became his wife. She made a wonderful mother for his children.

They remained in Council Bluffs for a year or two, then went on to Utah. Don't know anything of the family life more than Lydia Catherine Mann Adams first baby was born before resuming their journey to Utah. We know nothing of the trip, but we find next the family at Meadow Creek, Millard County, Utah.

Then in 1854, David Barclay Adams was supervising the Iron Industry at Cedar City, Ellen was now six years old and his wife had three babies of her own with only Margaret and Ellen to help. In the year 1856 they were all living in Beaver where they lived six years.

Ellen used to tell of her going to the dances to take care of the children while their parents danced and of crying when anyone stepped on her toes. In 1863, they were living in Fort Adams, afterwards called Adamsville, named after him. David Barclay Adams would go to Old Iron Town at times to make the things the Area needed. At times, taking the oldest boy with him to help, leaving Lydia Catherine Mann Adams the young family to care for.

There wasn't much money to be had or made so these were lean hard years for the Adams family. If Lydia Catherine Mann Adams hadn't been so versatile and industrious the family would have suffered keenly at times. For when it looked as if there wasn't a way out she made one. When the children needed shoes she made them out of buckskin or denims. She washed wool often shearing the sheep also. When the men folks were gone, she would card it, spin it into yarn and knit their stockings, with Margaret and Ellen helping. She made their table salt from rock salt, boiling and refining it. She made syrup from the juice of beets. Ellen told her how she gathered salaratus from the alkali lands in large quantities and her step mother would boil and refine it for soda, always making more than she needed so she could help others.

Ellen's bare beet were often chappy and the stiff hard grass would cut her feet and make them bleed. They would have to gather grease wood and burn it and save the ashes to soften the water and by running the ashes a louch make their soap with the lye they obtained. When they didn't have grease to make soap, they used the roots of the lovely flowering goose. Ellen became a proficient candle maker. She had a wonderful disposition and personality, so cheerful, willing, and dependable that the family often imposed on her. Her mother had the children gather Rabbit Brush blossoms to color yellow and Squaw Bushes to color brown. She often colored white factory cloth for the children's clothes and could card the black and white wool together to make gray. For some reason her father would nearly always call Ellen to make the fires in the morning.

In 1862, James, Ellen's oldest brother and David Barclay Adams oldest child died, which was a great sorrow to the family. When crossing the plains one of his knees became affected, which later developed into a white swelling and finally resulted in his death. Little George William, Lydia's oldest child, had been previously laid to rest.

Margaret, Ellen's oldest sister had married Philo Farnsworth of Beaver, and was missed greatly for she had been such a help to the family. There still remained eight children in the family.

While Margaret was home to help in the house, Ellen herded sheep during the lambing when extra care was needed. Not a large herd but enough and more for one to take care of and it meant so much to the family to have every one saved. She also herded cows and on one occasion she was told to follow, with the instructions that she should not be seen by the cows. It was early in the morning and the cows grazed along slowly enough that it was difficult to keep warm. After reaching the mountains she stopped and was eating so Ellen climbed upon a big huge rock where she could watch the cows, the dog began to bark, bringing the cow bellowing to the rock and a new calf came out by the side of it.

David Barclay Adams was called to be a bishop in 1862, which increased his responsibilities. Ellen was 14 years old now and beloved by all who knew her. Although she didn't have fine clothes, silk stockings or fine shoes. The tales of her courtship days showed how modest and sensitive she was. She and her girlfriend went out horse-back riding with their boyfriends up in the big canyon northwest of Adamsville. Step mountains were on both sides with thick shrubery. The boys decided to see which one could climb the highest, they were bareback, so they told the girls to put their arms around them and cling tight. When Ellen put her arms around her boyfriend and felt his ribs through his thin shire, she took her arms away and quietly slipped from the horse, but her girlfriend screamed as she felt herself slipping from the horse and her boyfriend tried to hold her on and in doing so pulled her skirt loose from the waist and she was setting on the ground. Then they missed Ellen who they found much nearer the foot of the mountain. The girls soon had the skirt pinned back on the waist with pine needles and enjoyed the afternoon.