Martha Harriet Dean Patterson

Martha Harriet Dean was born in Burnley, Lancashire, England on September 15, 1857, the daughter of John Dean and Martha Holdsworth. When Martha was five years old she went to work in the factories where she learned to knit. When Martha was seven years old, she emigrated to America. Most of the family was married, namely William, James, Ellen, Eliza, and Joseph. Those still at home were Heber, Jedediah, and Martha. They lived in upstate New York for 15 months to get money for their trip to Utah. They sailed from Riften Glen, New York, to New Haven, Conneticut, then took the train to St. Joseph, Missouri, took another boat to Florence, Nebraska, and then came to Utah by ox team under Joseph Rawlins. They arrived on September 28, 1865. They lived in Kaysville until 1869, then lived in Sugar House until June of 1870, when they moved to Beaver.

They settled in Beaver because there were so many English people from the same area of England that they came from. When Martha was 14 she went to work at the Beaver Woolen Mills where she worked for five years with her brothers William, Joseph, Heber, and Jedediah.

Martha married Edward Nelson Patterson on February 7, 1878 in the St. George temple. They had 12 children, 7 boys and 5 girls: John Edward, Thomas Morgan, Lettie Mabel, Martha Jane, Heber (who died at 4 months old), Edgar Roy, Alice Maud (who died at 4 years old), Wilford Elmer (who died when he was five), Dean (who died when he was six), Edna Darle, and William Chester. The morning before she had Martha Jane, Martha cooked breakfast for 40 thrashers. Martha Jane was born at 8 a.m.

When Martha was about 36 she fell across the front doorstep and broke her arm. Edward set it and bandaged it in wet sage brush and tea cloths with splints on it. In three weeks it was well. When she was 39 years old a cow hooked her and broke her nose, which remained crooked. When she was 70 years old she was operated on for gall stones. Her incision drained for five years and then healed up. In 1936 she was healthier than she had been for years.  

Martha walked across the plains, rode behind and ox team and a mule team, rode horses, rode in autos, and flew in an airplane. She used to sing in public and was a pretty good singer. Her favorite popular song was "The Gypsy's Warning."