A couple of weeks ago, I shared the story of Susan Elizabeth Bench, the polygamist who escaped to Mexico after being arrested for the crime of bigamy. Today, we bring you more from Susan, but instead of a first-person narrative story written by myself, we bring you the words of Susan herself, taken from her biography. If you have a biography or journal entry from one of your relatives that you would like to share, e-mail us at thehipsterhistorian (at) gmail (dot) com or share with us on our Facebook page here. Now, without further ado, Part 1 of the biography of Susan Elizabeth Bench Wall.
Susan Elizabeth Bench Wall
“I was born on the 19th of October 1864 at Manti, Utah, the daughter of John L. Bench and Mariah Kirby, of England, pioneers of 1852. I lived there through childhood and enjoyed my parents and grandparents very much. As a child, I remember going to Salt Lake City (Utah) with father and mother to the April and October conference (of the LDS Church). It would take us four days each way with horse and buggy or wagon. We would stay at grandmother Kirby’s. She made her home there-after years had married a man by the name of John Picknell who had a butcher business.
Grandfather (William Bench, 1815-1875) Bench worked all day at blacksmithing, but at the end of the day’s work, Eliza Bench, a cousin, and I would race to meet him as he came home. We had many pleasant romps with him, black and dirty, as he was, he would kick us all as we would try to grab him around the legs. He would run and we would chase him home. Grandmother always had an apple or cookie waiting for us as we went in with him.
William Bench (1815 – 1875)
Often father would go to his friend and we would ride with him or sit on the back of the wagon and let our feet hang out. I remember mother would go; she would always wait on the side of the canal if it was full of water until he returned because she was frightened of water. As a small child she would take me out and we would wait until father came back. I went to school up to the eighth grade. My parents always saw to it that I attended out (sic) duties such as going to Sunday School, Mutual, Sacrament Meeting. When I was older I sang in the ward choir. We sang at the dedication of the Manti Temple and our choir was known as a very good choir—the best of its time. I did some temple work, baptismal word for the dead and father baptized me for 500 souls one time.
Manti Utah Mormon Temple
I was fourteen years old when mother took sick on the ninth of January 1878. She was only sick for three weeks and died on the 21st of January. Her health had been poor and father contributed it to hardships in early life. Father was left along with only myself and my two brothers, John L., 8 years and William Edward, 2 years. Mother had had two other boys, Charles Watson and Urban Lorenzo but they had died in infancy. Mother died of rheumatic fever. I was old enough to know how to do a few things but mother had made the mistake in not teaching me to cook and I did not know much about it, so I kept house and did the best I could for father and the boys.
The Hipster Historian 