James Brigham Wright
James Brigham Brett (Wright) was born 2nd of February 1845 in Manchester,
County of Lancaster, England. The eldest son of Sarah Ann Brett, he was
illegitimate and when his mother married Andrew Wright, 16 December 1849,
he took his stepfather's name of Wright.
In 1854 or 1855, Andrew Wright left his wife (Sarah Ann Brett) and ran away
with another woman. Aunt Sarah Ann Broadhead said the woman was Sarah
Ann Brett's brother's wife. They were never heard of again and it was thought
they had come to America. His mother (Sarah Ann Brett) worked very hard in a
factory trying to support her three children, Thomas was born 23 November
1851 and a sister Emma was born 19 September 1853.
James Brigham Wright was baptized when he was eight years old and was a
very studious boy at his age trying hard to help his mother, as they were in very
poor circumstances. When he was nine years old the officers' came and put
them in the poor house. It was a terrible trial to his mother and nearly broke her
heart. However they were only in the poor house nine days as a good Latterday Saint friend of the family heard of her trouble and helped get them out. He
was Edward Chappell.
Edward took James home with him and apprenticed him to learn the clogger or
shoemaker trade and could help his mother support the others. When James
was 11 years old the family was able to come to America with the help of the
Church Perpetual Emigration Fund. They came on the ship "Horizon" under the
direction of Edward Martin. He saw his beloved grandmother, Sarah Upstone
Brett Allcock, buried at sea. It was one of the hardest things he ever had to
bear, to see his beloved grandmother buried in a watery grave and he never
forgot this sad experience.
James walked the entire distance across the plains in the ill-fated Edward
Martin Handcart Company. One day as the Handcart Company was on the way,
James was not feeling well and he felt he could not walk any farther so he
walked out by the side of the road and sat down by a mosquito bush and was
soon fast asleep. The company went on, no one missing him. When the
company camped for the night his mother missed him and went to the captain.
The captain was very angry as they were all extremely tired after the hard day's
travel, but he sent some men after James. When James woke up he saw a pair
of very bright eyes staring at him. When the men found him, they saw him
sitting by the bush and the wolves walking around him. He said he wasn't afraid
as he had prayed to his Heavenly Father to save him and send some one after
him. When they returned to camp the captain was going to whip him as it was
dangerous to leave the company and he had caused a lot of trouble for all who
were so weary. But his mother said, "No, you are not going to whip him, as he
is sick".
Another time James said the best meal he ever ate or the one that tasted the best
was, as the company was traveling, some cattle or oxen would give out and
could not go any further so they would kill them for beef. One day they were
on a little creek and took the animal down to the water to clean it. After it was
all over, James and a few other boys went down where they had butchered the
oxen, and got the entrails of the animal, cut in small pieces about 6 inches long,
turned them inside out and washed them clean in the creek then cooked them
over a fire. The Captain was exceedingly angry with them as the boys could
have killed themselves they were so hungry, for they were extremely short on
food and had been rationed down to one quarter of a pound of meal a day for
cakes or hotcakes and they were like small pancakes.
When James was 19 years old, in 1864, he was called with other young men by
President Brigham Young, to go back to Winter Quarters to help assist other
families to Utah. When he arrived he found his old friends from England,
Edward and Agnes (Boardman) Chappell and their 8 children. James invited
them to ride in his wagon.
The journey was fatal to many in the wagon train. The Chappell family suffered
the loss of the father, mother and four of the children, who were all buried
along the way. Another son passed away before they reached Nephi, leaving
only Sarah Jane, Frederick and Agnes. James Wright took them to the home of
his mother who took them in. Sarah Jane, the oldest, was a lovely young
woman, 19 years of age (born 2 November 1844). James and Sarah Jane
developed an everlasting friendship and more, during the journey. They had
fallen in love and were married 25 December 1864.
James and Sarah Jane lived in Nephi where their 10 children were born, three
died young. James sang in the church choir for 20 years. He loved music.
In the fall of 1898, they came to Canada in covered wagons, spending the first
winter in Mountain View, Alberta. His son-in-law, James Broadhead and
family came in 1899. They all took up homesteads in the Beazer area. The men
hauled logs from the timber and all worked together building homes on their
quarters, under the supervision of their father, he being a carpenter. When the
Beazer Ward was organized in December 1900, James was chosen as
counsellor to Mark E. Beazer who was chosen as Bishop.
James Wright supervised the building of the first church house in Beazer, and
served long and well in the community. He loved flowers and trees and
beautiful surroundings; he made his home a beautiful place. He also loved
horses and always kept a well-matched and well-cared for team and buggy.
Sarah Jane was the first Relief Society President in Beazer. She was a good
mother and homemaker and loved handwork. She had known lots of sadness in
her life and knew how to feel for those with troubles, and was very kind and
thoughtful of others. They were both active in the church and community all
their lives. Sarah Jane passed away on 3 April 1927 in Beazer and James
passed away 21 May 1928 in Cardston.
Their children are: Emily Ann died young
Sarah Ann married James Morris Broadhead
James Brigham died young
Edward James married Alice Marie Warner
Agnes died young
Frederick William married Emma Elizabeth James,
Brigham married Mary Mildred Prince,
Rose married Hyrum Allen
May married Victor Wynder
John Robert married Naomi Brandham.