Jane Elizabeth King was born April 14th 1828 at Stokes County, North Carolina to Thomas Benjamin King (1803) and Elizabeth King (King) (July 13th 1810). Jane's father Thomas Benjamin King was born to John Hobson King (July 6th 1774) and Elizabeth Parker (February 17th 1770). John Hobson King bound out his son Thomas Benjamin King to his brother as a bond servant. Thomas Benjamin King was indignant about being made a bond servant and ran away to Stokes County, North Carolina.
Later Thomas Benjamin King's father John Hobson King was stabbed by a negro at the fisheries and died. His widow Elizabeth Parker (King) married a man whose last name was Hartman and they, with her daughter moved to Virginia.
After Jane's father Thomas Benjamin King's arrival in Stokes County, North Carolina he met Elizabeth King the daughter of James King and Patsy Sanders. Thomas Benjamin King married Elizabeth Sanders King on August 10th 1826. (Don't be confused by the fact that two Kings married each other.)
To Thomas and Elizabeth were born three children:
1. Jane Elizabeth King was born April 14th 1828.
2. William Augustine King was born April 5th 1832.
3. John Quincy Adams King was born December 19th 1834.
In time Thomas Benjamin King prospered. He owned two large plantations, a mercantile business and many slaves. During Jane Elizabeth King's early life she learned how to do various housekeeping and homemaking skills. She attended a girl's boarding school for a year where she learned, among other things, how to sew. All sewing was done by hand and she became an excellent seamstress. This knowledge and skill became very valuable to her in later years when she was raising her children. When still a young girl, Jane Elizabeth took charge of the household duties and cooking at one of her father's plantations, while her mother took care of the household duties and cooking at the other plantation.
A negro slave made shoes for the King family and Jane Elizabeth would tap dance for him so that he would make her shoes dainty and tight. This made her feet appear smaller than they were; but the under sized shoes pressed her toes tightly together, consequently she was bothered with bunions all her life.
Jane Elizabeth King married Calvin Gordon Stone
When Calvin Gordon Stone was 22 years old he married the 15 year old Jane Elizabeth King on September 12th 1843. Their first child Thomas Jefferson stone was born August 21st 1845 in Pilot Mountain.
Calvin and Elizabeth lived on a plantation located a few miles north of Pilot Mountain. Pilot Mountain had less than 1300 inhabitants in the year 2000.
The main house on the Calvin Stone plantation was two stories high. Close to the main building were two small buildings; one was used for storage; the other was where all of the cooking was done. Like other southern plantation owners they owned negro slaves. Because Calvin Gordon Stone's family had been devout Baptists, he had been raised to believe in family units; therefore, his slaves were not separated, but were allowed to live together as families. They lived in smaller houses behind the main building and were given the same fare to eat as the members of the stone family.
Elizabeth Francis Stone was born next on March 1st 1847. Their third child was named William Francis Stone after being born January 22nd 1849. How they must have sorrowed when William died only one month and a few days after his birth.
Their fourth child Emma Jane Stone was born April 11th 1850. Calvin Augustin Stone was born February 2nd 1852, Calvin and Jane's fifth child. Joseph Adams Stone was born next on November 30th 1853.
Calvin and Jane's seventh child was Brigham Erastus Stone. He was born December 12th 1855. He as all the other children were born in Mount Pilot, Surry County, North Carolina. The 8th child who was named Julia Ann Augusta stone was born December 21st 1857.
Calvin and Jane's 9th child Enoch Hampton was born October 5th 1859. Their 10th child Nathaniel Columbus Stone was born August 2nd 1861. Children number eleven and twelve were John Quincy Stone, born September 5th 1862 and James Walter Stone born December 11th 1864.
This large family would continue to grow as three girls and a boy were born to total sixteen children. Phoebe Rosetta Stone was born February 23rd 1867, Eliza Olive Stone was born March 3rd 1869, Stacy Lee was born April 6th 1871 and last but not least Julius Gideon Stone was born May 22nd 1873.
Even though they owned slaves, the children were taught to work at an early age. With the help of their slaves, Calvin labored with his sons to accomplish such tasks as hoeing corn, potatoes, tobacco, etc. however, sometimes they were able to mix work with pleasure. There were chestnut trees thirty to forty feet high that the children climbed to shake down nuts. After the burrs were peeled off, the nuts were stored for later use. Sometimes the children made two to three foot long whistles from chestnut saplings.
The girls learned to spin and weave cloth for blankets and spread, to knit socks and stockings, to embroider and crochet, to make quilts and feather beds and to do sewing of all kinds and some tailoring; for, in those days, ready to wear clothing was not available. They cooked, made laundry soap, washed and ironed, tended the garden, and did anything else that was required of them.
Whatever the plans for the day, each morning began with a good breakfast. Almost always there was tasty hot bread and most of the time it was cornbread. Jane Elizabeth was an excellent cook of southern dishes and her family surely, throughout their lives, enjoyed being the recipients of this talent.
The children attended school when there was not work to do on the farm and the parents paid the teacher to teach their children. In the first grades there was only one book for the whole class, a blue speller. Elizabeth, who was educated, also helped the children at home.
The land at the foot of Pilot Mountain is continuous rolling hills and ravines and, because of the heavy rainfall, the tops of the hills are farmed and the gorges are left in natural forest and grass so that the ground won't erode. Strawberry plants grew wild in the ravines and delicious red strawberries were picked and eaten in season. There were deer and other animals in the forest, as well as pheasant, turkey and other fowl. The boys and men hunted these birds for food.
For instance, when Joseph Adams was small, and older black man taught him to play an instrument called the "little Joe," the banjo, and the violin (actually, he was more of a fiddler). He played fast music for what was called "step dancing," and he played very well. He also learned to play the harmonica, and he learned how to step dance (which is much like clogging). He loved music and he loved to sing.
When Jane's son Hampton grew older he had a severe case of rheumatism. Before he was disabled he made himself a banjo, out of a cheese hoop and sheepskin, which seemed perfect in tone. And even after he was crippled he would play and sing the old darky songs almost every morning, and many times his step-son fell asleep by his music in the evening.
As the children were growing up they played with the black children who lived on the plantation and, in the evenings and on Sunday afternoons, Stone family members sat around and sang songs of the south with the blacks. Through their association with the black people, musical skills were acquired which gave them pleasure throughout their lifetime.
During the 33 years of their marriage Calvin and Jane became parents of 16 children, six girls and ten boys. All the children but Julius were born on the plantation, he was born in the town of Pilot Mountain.
When their 16th and final child was born Jane was 44 and Calvin was 52 years old. Sadly Calvin would leave many young children when he died three years later at age 55. Jane was thus left to raise a large family alone.
Calvin and Jane King join the Mormon Church
Around 1851 after their fourth child was born, Calvin and Jane met the Mormon missionaries who were proselytizing in the Surry County area. Calvin was a staunch Primitive Baptist, as were his parents, and bitterly opposed having anything to do with the missionaries. Jane professed no particular religion and was willing and eager to hear the message of the young men. Jane studied the literature that the Elders had given her while Calvin was working, in order to read in peace. Jane became thoroughly convinced that what she read was true and she told Calvin that she was going to be baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Calvin still opposed the message at that time but he investigated further and after a time said that if his wife was baptized, he would be also. After 26 years all of their children were baptized members of the Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Of the 14 children that lived to adulthood, all immigrated to Utah except Thomas Jefferson, Emma Jane, and Julia Ann.
When the Civil War started in April of 1861 Brigham Erastus Stone was only six years old. His father Calvin was quite crippled with arthritis and his brothers were also too young to fight so none of them fought in the Civil War. The war still significantly affected their lives never the less. Two of Calvin's brother's died while in the service of the army of the confederacy in 1863. They were Enoch M. Stone, who died in the Battle of Gettysburg and John A. Stone.
Throughout the war, members of the Confederate Army made regular visits to the Stone plantation and took their food, their farm machinery that had metal on it to make bullets and things for the war, their male slaves, their mules and anything else they needed. Calvin was always paid in Confederate money for everything they took. When the war ended in April of 1865 there weren't any animals left on the farm, there wasn't any farm machinery and there was no money except for a trunk full of worthless confederate bills. After the war the slaves that were left were freed.
Without money they couldn't pay the freed slaves to work for them. They sold the plantation and moved into a house they had purchased in Pilot Mountain Township, Surry County, North Carolina.
Calvin and Betsie lost a second son shortly after the Civil War started. He was named Nathaniel Columbus Stone and was born on August 2nd 1861 and died the day of his birth.
After the Civil War ended the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sent missionaries to the southern states again. The Elders often enjoyed the hospitality of the Calvin Gordon Stone family. They were always welcome in their home and they were given good meals to eat and the best beds.
Two of the Elders who were proselytizing in the Surry County area in 1867 were Henry G. Boyle and Howard K. Coray. The people were very responsive to their message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and many were baptized. Brigham's brother Calvin Agustin Stone and his sister Elizabeth Frances Stone were baptized in February. In March his brother Thomas Jefferson was baptized and his parents were re-baptized.
Calvin was re-baptized on March 3rd 1868 at Tom's Creek, Surry County, North Carolina by Elder Henry G. Boyle and confirmed by Howard K. Coray. His wife Jane Elizabeth was re-baptized on March 12th 1868 at Stoney Creek by Elder Henry G. Boyle.
Jane's father, Thomas B. King died on July 30th 1856 when Jane was about 28 years old but her mother Elizabeth King lived nearby. Jane's mother, the widow Betsie King and her two brothers John Quincy Adams King and William A. King, often had the Mormon missionaries as their guests.
When Elder Henry G. Boyle returned to Utah in July of 1869 after having served his mission, he brought with him a group of saints. Among them were Brigham's uncle William A. King, William's wife and family, his brother Calvin Augustine, and his sister Elizabeth Frances. It was the desire of Brigham's parents that they emigrate as soon as they could.
Within two years after the Civil War ended their oldest son, Thomas J., and their second daughter, Emma Jane, found their spouses and settled in homes of their own.
Like so many of the other saints, Calvin and Jane had the desire to immigrate to Utah also. In 1874 they sold their home and property and were preparing to move to Utah when Calvin Gordon became ill and the long journey could not be made.
The money that Jane and Calvin received from selling their property was used to purchase another place in Pilot Mountain Township. The building they purchased had at one time been a tavern, used as such by people passing through the county.
On September 11th 1876 at the age of 55 years, Calvin Gordon Stone died. He was buried in the fenced in burial plot on the plantation that he and Jane owned when they were first married at Pilot Mountain, Surry County, North Carolina.
The following are Calvin and Jane's 16 children:
1. Thomas Jefferson was born August 21st 1845 in Pilot Mountain, Surry Co. NC. Married Charlotte Temperance Venable in 1866. Died November 7th1901.
2. Elizabeth Francis (Johnson) was born March 1st 1847 in Pilot Mountain, Surry Co. NC. Married Amos Partridge Johnson April 19th 1870 and sealed in the Endowment House May 2nd 1870. Died March 31st 1890 in Fountain Green, Utah at age 43.
3. William Francis was born January 22nd 1849 in Pilot Mountain, Surry Co. NC. (Died after a month)
4. Emma Jane (Hill) was born April 11th 1850 in Pilot Mountain, Surry Co. NC. She married John Westley Hill about 1865. Died April 21st 1930.
5. Calvin Augustin was born February 2nd 1852 in Pilot Mountain, Surry Co. NC. Married Eliza Emiline Taylor in Salem, Utah October 29th 1873. They were sealed March 17th 1886 in the Logan Temple. Died February 12th 1928.
6. Joseph Adams was born November 30th 1853 in Pilot Mountain, Surry Co. NC. Joseph married Phoebe Belinda Taylor October 15th 1871. They were married by William H. Taylor, Justice of the Peace, at Evan Taylor's home, Pilot Mt., Surry County, North Carolina. On October 24th 1878 they were sealed in the Endowment House. Pheobe died September 30th 1891. Joseph married Carolina Augusta Johnson January 11th 1893 in the Manti Temple. Joseph died February 12th 1928.
7. Brigham Erastus was born December 12th 1855 in Pilot Mountain, Surry Co. NC. Brigham was sealed to Nancy Oyler on September 25th 1879 in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City. He died February 22nd 1935 at age 79.
8. Julia Ann Augusta (Tucker) was born December 21st 1857 in Pilot Mountain, Surry Co. NC. She married Benjamin Robert P. Tucker in 1874 in Pilot Mountain NC. She died May 18th 1886 at age 28.
9. Enoch Hampton was born October 5th 1859 in Pilot Mountain, Surry Co. NC. Married Eliza Emiline Taylor on March 21st 1880. He died December 8th 1932.
10. Nathaniel Columbus was born August 2nd 1861 in Pilot Mountain, Surry Co. NC. Died the day of his birth.
11. John Quincy was born September 5th 1862 in Pilot Mountain, Surry Co. NC. Married Matilda Beddoes November 16th 1884 in England. They were sealed in the Logan Temple May 4th 1887. He died in Blackfoot Idaho June 28th 1842.
12. James Walter was born December 11th 1864. Died November 12th 1888 at age 25.
13. Phoebe Rosetta (Davis) was born February 23rd 1867 in Pilot Mountain, Surry Co. NC. She married Robert Henry Davis. Died December 5th 1882. Age 15.
14. Eliza Olive (Flygare) was born March 3rd 1869 in Pilot Mountain, Surry Co. NC.. She married John Whitmore Flygare. They were sealed in the Manti Temple October 10th 1894. Died January 19th 1906.
15. Stacy Lee (Cloward) was born April 6th 1871 in Pilot Mountain, Surry Co. NC. Married John Mason Cloward. They were sealed in the Manti Temple July 3rd 1889. Died November 4th 1906 at age 35.
16. Julius Gideon Stone born May 22nd 1873 (born after they moved into the Pilot Mountain Township). Married Selena Ellen Hiatt. They were sealed in the Salt Lake Temple October 8th 1909. Died June 18th 1942.
Jane lost her husband Calvin Gordon Stone in 1873 when she was 48. Her son Brigham Erastus Stone was baptized four years after his father's death and traveled to Utah in the spring of 1877. Brigham arrived in Utah about six months prior to his brother Calvin Augustine's death.
The rest of the Stone family move to Utah
In December 1879 the remainder of the Stone family including Jane Elizabeth Stone and Jane's brother John Quincy Adams King started west by train. Jane's remaining children Phoebe R. Stone, Eliza Olive Stone, Stacy Lee Stone and Julius Stone also went with them to Utah. James Walter Stone is recorded to have traveled with them also.
Jane's sons Brigham and Joseph and Joseph's brother-in-law Hector Taylor took a team and wagon to the Ogden railway depot to meet their family. What a joyous reunion it was. Jane moved to Salem where her son Joseph had been living for some time.
In March of 1880 Jane moved to Payson for a year with her son Brigham. She then purchased a piece of land in Salem where a one-room log cabin with an attic was built for her by her sons. Here she started to teach school and do other honorable jobs in order to provide for her family.
Around 1890 Jane sold her log house and her son Brigham built her a three-room (plus pantry) brick house across the road south of the log house. Brigham had also moved his family to Salem by this time. How Jane must have enjoyed the view from her home on top of the hill overlooking Salem Pond. It was marvelous in any season of the year, and at any time during the day.
After moving to Salem, Jane's son Joseph and her daughter in law Phoebe became the parents of six more children. They were Joseph Oliver, James Calvin, Robert Henderson, Effie Ann, Maggie Angeline, and Wesley Ervin.
Before Phoebe had a chance to build her strength after Wesley's birth, she became ill with typhoid fever and died September 30th 1891. In Joseph's home there were now eight children (one of which was two-month old baby Wesley), but no mother.
Jane's son Joseph was a good father and a wonderful baby tender. He could take a colicky baby and walk the floor with it and pat its back and soothe and comfort it as well as any woman; but, he needed help in caring for the children and so his mother Jane Elizabeth, then 63 years old, moved into his home to help care for Joseph's infant son Wesley. Jane kept an eye on the other children who were home also.
In the fall of 1892 Joseph began to court Caroline Augusta Johnson, daughter of Ole Christian and Nellie Mathea Johnson. Caroline Augusta was born May 10th 1870 in Norway and was a baby when her family immigrated to Utah after they had joined the LDS church in Norway.
Caroline Augusta, then almost 23 years old, accepted Joseph's proposal and also the responsibility that would be hers to care for the six children of Joseph and his first wife Phoebe who were still living at home. Baby Wesley was then one and one half years old.
On January 5th 1893, the day before they went to Provo to get their marriage license, the ice was broken on Salem pond and Joseph and Caroline were re-baptized in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
In January of 1893, about 16 months after his wife's death Joseph married Caroline Augusta Johnson. His mother Jane then moved back to her home.
Jane's life was intertwined around the lives of her children and grandchildren. She spent many enjoyable hours with her daughters visiting and working together making carpet rags, sewing quilts and other activities.
Jane's sons were literally town builders who took part in the construction and landscaping of the school house, church house, and social and civic buildings. John participated in the development of the telephone, electric lights and the Utah and Salt Lake Railroad. In 1902 John was elected to the State Legislature from Utah County. Jane's sons held important positions of trust in the community. Joseph was a school trustee for more than 15 years, a member of the Salem Canal Board for several years and a member of the Salem Town Board for several years. Brigham served three times as member of the town board, one term as President of the Board, and one term as treasurer of the school board.
Jane's family who lived in and around Salem were all members of the of the Salem Ward, Utah Stake until January 20th 1901 when they then became members of the newly organized Nebo Stake. They attended their stake conference meetings in Payson, Utah. Members of the family living in Payson were members of the Payson Ward. They were active members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and had good testimonies which helped them to have the faith and courage to endure their trials.
Jane experienced the pride felt in the accomplishments of her family, She was concerned with their illnesses, their accidents and their problems of any kind. Jane had a sense of peace and happiness when a child or grandchild found a suitable mate or when another sweet healthy grandchild was born into the family. Jane used to tell people how many descendants she had and then add that they were all born normal and healthy/ This was a fact which she was very grateful for.
Jane felt grief when death took a loved one. She lived as a widow for 34 years. These loses not only affected the lives of her children and their families, they also affected Jane Elizabeth's life as well. The depths of her soul were reached by constant recurrences of joys and sorrows during her life. Her faith in God and in His plan for His children burned brightly through the years and sustained her.
In the evenings just as the sun was setting, the scene was especially beautiful if the sun, shining brightly behind fluffy white clouds, lined them with silver, or hues of red and pink tinged with orange or yellow across the sky just above the shadowed mountains of dark blue and purple in the west. A striking contrast for the pond and its surroundings which seemed to have become more tranquil, as if ready to rest after a long day of use.
The water supply for Jane's culinary needs came from a well just west of her house. A rope was fastened to the handle of an oaken bucket which was dropped into the well to draw up the water when a wooden crank was turned.
Her boys grubbed out the sagebrush on her land and planted small fruit trees. She also had a good vegetable garden. Jane planted some flowers: hollyhocks, caster beans, gourds and morning glories.
Being with Joseph's children made Jane lonesome and for several years grandchildren stayed at night with her in her home.
The following are quotes of some of the grandchildren: John Q. Jr.: "As we lived near grandmother's, I spent most nights with her and listened to stories of North Carolina. She had a wonderful memory and was a wonderful entertainer. I shall never forget the 1896 Presidential election. Grandmother Stone was a very strong Democrat and so were several of her children."
John R. Cloward: "Grandmother loved children and when we went there always gave us something good to eat. She had an old fashioned music box which she would play for us. She would also let us put the rollers on it and we would turn the crank which caused the roller to revolve and play the tunes. She always seemed to have time to enjoy her children and grandchildren."
David A. Stone: "I remember grandmother well from the time I was about six, when I attended her school in her little one-room log house. She was very industrious, kind, progressive and courteous to everybody. While living in Surry County, her home was open to all Elders, and she was truly a saintly woman and mother of the highest type. I shall always remember her as one of the grandest women I have ever met.
"Jane E. King Stone was one of the most remarkable women who has ever lived. I am proud to be her grandson."
On the evening of April 14th 1895 all of the children of Jane Elizabeth who lived in Utah and their spouses traveled by bob sled to her home where they had a surprise birthday party in honor of Elizabeth's 67th birthday. Everyone had a wonderful time. The next morning Joseph's wife Caroline Augusta gave birth in their home to a tiny baby girl whom they named Nellie Elizabeth after her two grandmothers.
Years later Jane Elizabeth gave this same granddaughter a card on which she had written the following.
"Hitch your wagon to a star and always try to do your very best. That is the way your grandmother has always." She was a shining example to her posterity. She always taught them to aim for the best.
In the year 1899 Joseph Adams was called on a mission to the Southern States for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. While there he baptized his sister Emma Jane Stone Hill. Now all of the Jane E. children had been baptized into the church. Joseph hadn't been in the mission field very long when he became ill and had to return to Utah (1900). Having brought the entire family into the church at last must have still made him feel his mission was a success.
In the year 1901 Joseph's second wife Caroline Augusta died of diphtheria after having cared for their daughter Laura who had passed away from the same disease three and a half weeks before. In 1902 Joseph married Mary Johnson, the sister to his second wife.
In 1901 Jane's last child Julius married Selena Hiatt and they lived in part of Jane's house. In 1905 her daughter Emma Hill came to Utah to visit after her husband died. She returned to North Carolina a year later because she missed her family and friends who lived there.
Jane Elizabeth King Gordon goes to the temple
Temple records indicate that Jane took out her endowments in the Salt Lake Temple April 8th 1903 although her sealing to Calvin Gordon was eventually done by proxy we have no record of her being sealed to him while she lived.
Some of Jane Elizabeth King Stone's personality is found in this letter to her son Calvin Augustine Stone is in her history.
Jane had lived a religious life. Religion as interpreted by the Latter-day Saints, built upon faith in God and His Divine Plan.
A faith backed by works.
In her older and declining years Jane began to have a difficult time waiting on herself. She lived for several years with her son John Q. and his wife.
During those last years Eliza gave loving and devoted care to her mother. She and her husband John made Jane's old age a happy time. Her son Brigham built his mother a room onto Eliza and John's House and Jane Elizabeth moved in. But it wasn't long after this that she died at the age of 82 years.
Later Thomas Benjamin King's father John Hobson King was stabbed by a negro at the fisheries and died. His widow Elizabeth Parker (King) married a man whose last name was Hartman and they, with her daughter moved to Virginia.
After Jane's father Thomas Benjamin King's arrival in Stokes County, North Carolina he met Elizabeth King the daughter of James King and Patsy Sanders. Thomas Benjamin King married Elizabeth Sanders King on August 10th 1826. (Don't be confused by the fact that two Kings married each other.)
To Thomas and Elizabeth were born three children:
1. Jane Elizabeth King was born April 14th 1828.
2. William Augustine King was born April 5th 1832.
3. John Quincy Adams King was born December 19th 1834.
In time Thomas Benjamin King prospered. He owned two large plantations, a mercantile business and many slaves. During Jane Elizabeth King's early life she learned how to do various housekeeping and homemaking skills. She attended a girl's boarding school for a year where she learned, among other things, how to sew. All sewing was done by hand and she became an excellent seamstress. This knowledge and skill became very valuable to her in later years when she was raising her children. When still a young girl, Jane Elizabeth took charge of the household duties and cooking at one of her father's plantations, while her mother took care of the household duties and cooking at the other plantation.
A negro slave made shoes for the King family and Jane Elizabeth would tap dance for him so that he would make her shoes dainty and tight. This made her feet appear smaller than they were; but the under sized shoes pressed her toes tightly together, consequently she was bothered with bunions all her life.
Jane Elizabeth King married Calvin Gordon Stone
When Calvin Gordon Stone was 22 years old he married the 15 year old Jane Elizabeth King on September 12th 1843. Their first child Thomas Jefferson stone was born August 21st 1845 in Pilot Mountain.
Calvin and Elizabeth lived on a plantation located a few miles north of Pilot Mountain. Pilot Mountain had less than 1300 inhabitants in the year 2000.
The main house on the Calvin Stone plantation was two stories high. Close to the main building were two small buildings; one was used for storage; the other was where all of the cooking was done. Like other southern plantation owners they owned negro slaves. Because Calvin Gordon Stone's family had been devout Baptists, he had been raised to believe in family units; therefore, his slaves were not separated, but were allowed to live together as families. They lived in smaller houses behind the main building and were given the same fare to eat as the members of the stone family.
Elizabeth Francis Stone was born next on March 1st 1847. Their third child was named William Francis Stone after being born January 22nd 1849. How they must have sorrowed when William died only one month and a few days after his birth.
Their fourth child Emma Jane Stone was born April 11th 1850. Calvin Augustin Stone was born February 2nd 1852, Calvin and Jane's fifth child. Joseph Adams Stone was born next on November 30th 1853.
Calvin and Jane's seventh child was Brigham Erastus Stone. He was born December 12th 1855. He as all the other children were born in Mount Pilot, Surry County, North Carolina. The 8th child who was named Julia Ann Augusta stone was born December 21st 1857.
Calvin and Jane's 9th child Enoch Hampton was born October 5th 1859. Their 10th child Nathaniel Columbus Stone was born August 2nd 1861. Children number eleven and twelve were John Quincy Stone, born September 5th 1862 and James Walter Stone born December 11th 1864.
This large family would continue to grow as three girls and a boy were born to total sixteen children. Phoebe Rosetta Stone was born February 23rd 1867, Eliza Olive Stone was born March 3rd 1869, Stacy Lee was born April 6th 1871 and last but not least Julius Gideon Stone was born May 22nd 1873.
Even though they owned slaves, the children were taught to work at an early age. With the help of their slaves, Calvin labored with his sons to accomplish such tasks as hoeing corn, potatoes, tobacco, etc. however, sometimes they were able to mix work with pleasure. There were chestnut trees thirty to forty feet high that the children climbed to shake down nuts. After the burrs were peeled off, the nuts were stored for later use. Sometimes the children made two to three foot long whistles from chestnut saplings.
The girls learned to spin and weave cloth for blankets and spread, to knit socks and stockings, to embroider and crochet, to make quilts and feather beds and to do sewing of all kinds and some tailoring; for, in those days, ready to wear clothing was not available. They cooked, made laundry soap, washed and ironed, tended the garden, and did anything else that was required of them.
Whatever the plans for the day, each morning began with a good breakfast. Almost always there was tasty hot bread and most of the time it was cornbread. Jane Elizabeth was an excellent cook of southern dishes and her family surely, throughout their lives, enjoyed being the recipients of this talent.
The children attended school when there was not work to do on the farm and the parents paid the teacher to teach their children. In the first grades there was only one book for the whole class, a blue speller. Elizabeth, who was educated, also helped the children at home.
The land at the foot of Pilot Mountain is continuous rolling hills and ravines and, because of the heavy rainfall, the tops of the hills are farmed and the gorges are left in natural forest and grass so that the ground won't erode. Strawberry plants grew wild in the ravines and delicious red strawberries were picked and eaten in season. There were deer and other animals in the forest, as well as pheasant, turkey and other fowl. The boys and men hunted these birds for food.
For instance, when Joseph Adams was small, and older black man taught him to play an instrument called the "little Joe," the banjo, and the violin (actually, he was more of a fiddler). He played fast music for what was called "step dancing," and he played very well. He also learned to play the harmonica, and he learned how to step dance (which is much like clogging). He loved music and he loved to sing.
When Jane's son Hampton grew older he had a severe case of rheumatism. Before he was disabled he made himself a banjo, out of a cheese hoop and sheepskin, which seemed perfect in tone. And even after he was crippled he would play and sing the old darky songs almost every morning, and many times his step-son fell asleep by his music in the evening.
As the children were growing up they played with the black children who lived on the plantation and, in the evenings and on Sunday afternoons, Stone family members sat around and sang songs of the south with the blacks. Through their association with the black people, musical skills were acquired which gave them pleasure throughout their lifetime.
During the 33 years of their marriage Calvin and Jane became parents of 16 children, six girls and ten boys. All the children but Julius were born on the plantation, he was born in the town of Pilot Mountain.
When their 16th and final child was born Jane was 44 and Calvin was 52 years old. Sadly Calvin would leave many young children when he died three years later at age 55. Jane was thus left to raise a large family alone.
Calvin and Jane King join the Mormon Church
Around 1851 after their fourth child was born, Calvin and Jane met the Mormon missionaries who were proselytizing in the Surry County area. Calvin was a staunch Primitive Baptist, as were his parents, and bitterly opposed having anything to do with the missionaries. Jane professed no particular religion and was willing and eager to hear the message of the young men. Jane studied the literature that the Elders had given her while Calvin was working, in order to read in peace. Jane became thoroughly convinced that what she read was true and she told Calvin that she was going to be baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Calvin still opposed the message at that time but he investigated further and after a time said that if his wife was baptized, he would be also. After 26 years all of their children were baptized members of the Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Of the 14 children that lived to adulthood, all immigrated to Utah except Thomas Jefferson, Emma Jane, and Julia Ann.
When the Civil War started in April of 1861 Brigham Erastus Stone was only six years old. His father Calvin was quite crippled with arthritis and his brothers were also too young to fight so none of them fought in the Civil War. The war still significantly affected their lives never the less. Two of Calvin's brother's died while in the service of the army of the confederacy in 1863. They were Enoch M. Stone, who died in the Battle of Gettysburg and John A. Stone.
Throughout the war, members of the Confederate Army made regular visits to the Stone plantation and took their food, their farm machinery that had metal on it to make bullets and things for the war, their male slaves, their mules and anything else they needed. Calvin was always paid in Confederate money for everything they took. When the war ended in April of 1865 there weren't any animals left on the farm, there wasn't any farm machinery and there was no money except for a trunk full of worthless confederate bills. After the war the slaves that were left were freed.
Without money they couldn't pay the freed slaves to work for them. They sold the plantation and moved into a house they had purchased in Pilot Mountain Township, Surry County, North Carolina.
Calvin and Betsie lost a second son shortly after the Civil War started. He was named Nathaniel Columbus Stone and was born on August 2nd 1861 and died the day of his birth.
After the Civil War ended the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sent missionaries to the southern states again. The Elders often enjoyed the hospitality of the Calvin Gordon Stone family. They were always welcome in their home and they were given good meals to eat and the best beds.
Two of the Elders who were proselytizing in the Surry County area in 1867 were Henry G. Boyle and Howard K. Coray. The people were very responsive to their message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and many were baptized. Brigham's brother Calvin Agustin Stone and his sister Elizabeth Frances Stone were baptized in February. In March his brother Thomas Jefferson was baptized and his parents were re-baptized.
Calvin was re-baptized on March 3rd 1868 at Tom's Creek, Surry County, North Carolina by Elder Henry G. Boyle and confirmed by Howard K. Coray. His wife Jane Elizabeth was re-baptized on March 12th 1868 at Stoney Creek by Elder Henry G. Boyle.
Jane's father, Thomas B. King died on July 30th 1856 when Jane was about 28 years old but her mother Elizabeth King lived nearby. Jane's mother, the widow Betsie King and her two brothers John Quincy Adams King and William A. King, often had the Mormon missionaries as their guests.
When Elder Henry G. Boyle returned to Utah in July of 1869 after having served his mission, he brought with him a group of saints. Among them were Brigham's uncle William A. King, William's wife and family, his brother Calvin Augustine, and his sister Elizabeth Frances. It was the desire of Brigham's parents that they emigrate as soon as they could.
Within two years after the Civil War ended their oldest son, Thomas J., and their second daughter, Emma Jane, found their spouses and settled in homes of their own.
Like so many of the other saints, Calvin and Jane had the desire to immigrate to Utah also. In 1874 they sold their home and property and were preparing to move to Utah when Calvin Gordon became ill and the long journey could not be made.
The money that Jane and Calvin received from selling their property was used to purchase another place in Pilot Mountain Township. The building they purchased had at one time been a tavern, used as such by people passing through the county.
On September 11th 1876 at the age of 55 years, Calvin Gordon Stone died. He was buried in the fenced in burial plot on the plantation that he and Jane owned when they were first married at Pilot Mountain, Surry County, North Carolina.
The following are Calvin and Jane's 16 children:
1. Thomas Jefferson was born August 21st 1845 in Pilot Mountain, Surry Co. NC. Married Charlotte Temperance Venable in 1866. Died November 7th1901.
2. Elizabeth Francis (Johnson) was born March 1st 1847 in Pilot Mountain, Surry Co. NC. Married Amos Partridge Johnson April 19th 1870 and sealed in the Endowment House May 2nd 1870. Died March 31st 1890 in Fountain Green, Utah at age 43.
3. William Francis was born January 22nd 1849 in Pilot Mountain, Surry Co. NC. (Died after a month)
4. Emma Jane (Hill) was born April 11th 1850 in Pilot Mountain, Surry Co. NC. She married John Westley Hill about 1865. Died April 21st 1930.
5. Calvin Augustin was born February 2nd 1852 in Pilot Mountain, Surry Co. NC. Married Eliza Emiline Taylor in Salem, Utah October 29th 1873. They were sealed March 17th 1886 in the Logan Temple. Died February 12th 1928.
6. Joseph Adams was born November 30th 1853 in Pilot Mountain, Surry Co. NC. Joseph married Phoebe Belinda Taylor October 15th 1871. They were married by William H. Taylor, Justice of the Peace, at Evan Taylor's home, Pilot Mt., Surry County, North Carolina. On October 24th 1878 they were sealed in the Endowment House. Pheobe died September 30th 1891. Joseph married Carolina Augusta Johnson January 11th 1893 in the Manti Temple. Joseph died February 12th 1928.
7. Brigham Erastus was born December 12th 1855 in Pilot Mountain, Surry Co. NC. Brigham was sealed to Nancy Oyler on September 25th 1879 in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City. He died February 22nd 1935 at age 79.
8. Julia Ann Augusta (Tucker) was born December 21st 1857 in Pilot Mountain, Surry Co. NC. She married Benjamin Robert P. Tucker in 1874 in Pilot Mountain NC. She died May 18th 1886 at age 28.
9. Enoch Hampton was born October 5th 1859 in Pilot Mountain, Surry Co. NC. Married Eliza Emiline Taylor on March 21st 1880. He died December 8th 1932.
10. Nathaniel Columbus was born August 2nd 1861 in Pilot Mountain, Surry Co. NC. Died the day of his birth.
11. John Quincy was born September 5th 1862 in Pilot Mountain, Surry Co. NC. Married Matilda Beddoes November 16th 1884 in England. They were sealed in the Logan Temple May 4th 1887. He died in Blackfoot Idaho June 28th 1842.
12. James Walter was born December 11th 1864. Died November 12th 1888 at age 25.
13. Phoebe Rosetta (Davis) was born February 23rd 1867 in Pilot Mountain, Surry Co. NC. She married Robert Henry Davis. Died December 5th 1882. Age 15.
14. Eliza Olive (Flygare) was born March 3rd 1869 in Pilot Mountain, Surry Co. NC.. She married John Whitmore Flygare. They were sealed in the Manti Temple October 10th 1894. Died January 19th 1906.
15. Stacy Lee (Cloward) was born April 6th 1871 in Pilot Mountain, Surry Co. NC. Married John Mason Cloward. They were sealed in the Manti Temple July 3rd 1889. Died November 4th 1906 at age 35.
16. Julius Gideon Stone born May 22nd 1873 (born after they moved into the Pilot Mountain Township). Married Selena Ellen Hiatt. They were sealed in the Salt Lake Temple October 8th 1909. Died June 18th 1942.
Jane lost her husband Calvin Gordon Stone in 1873 when she was 48. Her son Brigham Erastus Stone was baptized four years after his father's death and traveled to Utah in the spring of 1877. Brigham arrived in Utah about six months prior to his brother Calvin Augustine's death.
The rest of the Stone family move to Utah
In December 1879 the remainder of the Stone family including Jane Elizabeth Stone and Jane's brother John Quincy Adams King started west by train. Jane's remaining children Phoebe R. Stone, Eliza Olive Stone, Stacy Lee Stone and Julius Stone also went with them to Utah. James Walter Stone is recorded to have traveled with them also.
Jane's sons Brigham and Joseph and Joseph's brother-in-law Hector Taylor took a team and wagon to the Ogden railway depot to meet their family. What a joyous reunion it was. Jane moved to Salem where her son Joseph had been living for some time.
In March of 1880 Jane moved to Payson for a year with her son Brigham. She then purchased a piece of land in Salem where a one-room log cabin with an attic was built for her by her sons. Here she started to teach school and do other honorable jobs in order to provide for her family.
Around 1890 Jane sold her log house and her son Brigham built her a three-room (plus pantry) brick house across the road south of the log house. Brigham had also moved his family to Salem by this time. How Jane must have enjoyed the view from her home on top of the hill overlooking Salem Pond. It was marvelous in any season of the year, and at any time during the day.
After moving to Salem, Jane's son Joseph and her daughter in law Phoebe became the parents of six more children. They were Joseph Oliver, James Calvin, Robert Henderson, Effie Ann, Maggie Angeline, and Wesley Ervin.
Before Phoebe had a chance to build her strength after Wesley's birth, she became ill with typhoid fever and died September 30th 1891. In Joseph's home there were now eight children (one of which was two-month old baby Wesley), but no mother.
Jane's son Joseph was a good father and a wonderful baby tender. He could take a colicky baby and walk the floor with it and pat its back and soothe and comfort it as well as any woman; but, he needed help in caring for the children and so his mother Jane Elizabeth, then 63 years old, moved into his home to help care for Joseph's infant son Wesley. Jane kept an eye on the other children who were home also.
In the fall of 1892 Joseph began to court Caroline Augusta Johnson, daughter of Ole Christian and Nellie Mathea Johnson. Caroline Augusta was born May 10th 1870 in Norway and was a baby when her family immigrated to Utah after they had joined the LDS church in Norway.
Caroline Augusta, then almost 23 years old, accepted Joseph's proposal and also the responsibility that would be hers to care for the six children of Joseph and his first wife Phoebe who were still living at home. Baby Wesley was then one and one half years old.
On January 5th 1893, the day before they went to Provo to get their marriage license, the ice was broken on Salem pond and Joseph and Caroline were re-baptized in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
In January of 1893, about 16 months after his wife's death Joseph married Caroline Augusta Johnson. His mother Jane then moved back to her home.
Jane's life was intertwined around the lives of her children and grandchildren. She spent many enjoyable hours with her daughters visiting and working together making carpet rags, sewing quilts and other activities.
Jane's sons were literally town builders who took part in the construction and landscaping of the school house, church house, and social and civic buildings. John participated in the development of the telephone, electric lights and the Utah and Salt Lake Railroad. In 1902 John was elected to the State Legislature from Utah County. Jane's sons held important positions of trust in the community. Joseph was a school trustee for more than 15 years, a member of the Salem Canal Board for several years and a member of the Salem Town Board for several years. Brigham served three times as member of the town board, one term as President of the Board, and one term as treasurer of the school board.
Jane's family who lived in and around Salem were all members of the of the Salem Ward, Utah Stake until January 20th 1901 when they then became members of the newly organized Nebo Stake. They attended their stake conference meetings in Payson, Utah. Members of the family living in Payson were members of the Payson Ward. They were active members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and had good testimonies which helped them to have the faith and courage to endure their trials.
Jane experienced the pride felt in the accomplishments of her family, She was concerned with their illnesses, their accidents and their problems of any kind. Jane had a sense of peace and happiness when a child or grandchild found a suitable mate or when another sweet healthy grandchild was born into the family. Jane used to tell people how many descendants she had and then add that they were all born normal and healthy/ This was a fact which she was very grateful for.
Jane felt grief when death took a loved one. She lived as a widow for 34 years. These loses not only affected the lives of her children and their families, they also affected Jane Elizabeth's life as well. The depths of her soul were reached by constant recurrences of joys and sorrows during her life. Her faith in God and in His plan for His children burned brightly through the years and sustained her.
In the evenings just as the sun was setting, the scene was especially beautiful if the sun, shining brightly behind fluffy white clouds, lined them with silver, or hues of red and pink tinged with orange or yellow across the sky just above the shadowed mountains of dark blue and purple in the west. A striking contrast for the pond and its surroundings which seemed to have become more tranquil, as if ready to rest after a long day of use.
The water supply for Jane's culinary needs came from a well just west of her house. A rope was fastened to the handle of an oaken bucket which was dropped into the well to draw up the water when a wooden crank was turned.
Her boys grubbed out the sagebrush on her land and planted small fruit trees. She also had a good vegetable garden. Jane planted some flowers: hollyhocks, caster beans, gourds and morning glories.
Being with Joseph's children made Jane lonesome and for several years grandchildren stayed at night with her in her home.
The following are quotes of some of the grandchildren: John Q. Jr.: "As we lived near grandmother's, I spent most nights with her and listened to stories of North Carolina. She had a wonderful memory and was a wonderful entertainer. I shall never forget the 1896 Presidential election. Grandmother Stone was a very strong Democrat and so were several of her children."
John R. Cloward: "Grandmother loved children and when we went there always gave us something good to eat. She had an old fashioned music box which she would play for us. She would also let us put the rollers on it and we would turn the crank which caused the roller to revolve and play the tunes. She always seemed to have time to enjoy her children and grandchildren."
David A. Stone: "I remember grandmother well from the time I was about six, when I attended her school in her little one-room log house. She was very industrious, kind, progressive and courteous to everybody. While living in Surry County, her home was open to all Elders, and she was truly a saintly woman and mother of the highest type. I shall always remember her as one of the grandest women I have ever met.
"Jane E. King Stone was one of the most remarkable women who has ever lived. I am proud to be her grandson."
On the evening of April 14th 1895 all of the children of Jane Elizabeth who lived in Utah and their spouses traveled by bob sled to her home where they had a surprise birthday party in honor of Elizabeth's 67th birthday. Everyone had a wonderful time. The next morning Joseph's wife Caroline Augusta gave birth in their home to a tiny baby girl whom they named Nellie Elizabeth after her two grandmothers.
Years later Jane Elizabeth gave this same granddaughter a card on which she had written the following.
"Hitch your wagon to a star and always try to do your very best. That is the way your grandmother has always." She was a shining example to her posterity. She always taught them to aim for the best.
In the year 1899 Joseph Adams was called on a mission to the Southern States for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. While there he baptized his sister Emma Jane Stone Hill. Now all of the Jane E. children had been baptized into the church. Joseph hadn't been in the mission field very long when he became ill and had to return to Utah (1900). Having brought the entire family into the church at last must have still made him feel his mission was a success.
In the year 1901 Joseph's second wife Caroline Augusta died of diphtheria after having cared for their daughter Laura who had passed away from the same disease three and a half weeks before. In 1902 Joseph married Mary Johnson, the sister to his second wife.
In 1901 Jane's last child Julius married Selena Hiatt and they lived in part of Jane's house. In 1905 her daughter Emma Hill came to Utah to visit after her husband died. She returned to North Carolina a year later because she missed her family and friends who lived there.
Jane Elizabeth King Gordon goes to the temple
Temple records indicate that Jane took out her endowments in the Salt Lake Temple April 8th 1903 although her sealing to Calvin Gordon was eventually done by proxy we have no record of her being sealed to him while she lived.
Some of Jane Elizabeth King Stone's personality is found in this letter to her son Calvin Augustine Stone is in her history.
Jane had lived a religious life. Religion as interpreted by the Latter-day Saints, built upon faith in God and His Divine Plan.
A faith backed by works.
In her older and declining years Jane began to have a difficult time waiting on herself. She lived for several years with her son John Q. and his wife.
During those last years Eliza gave loving and devoted care to her mother. She and her husband John made Jane's old age a happy time. Her son Brigham built his mother a room onto Eliza and John's House and Jane Elizabeth moved in. But it wasn't long after this that she died at the age of 82 years.
Jane Elizabeth King was born April 14th 1828 at Stokes County, North Carolina to Thomas Benjamin King (1803) and Elizabeth King (King) (July 13th 1810). Jane's father Thomas Benjamin King was born to John Hobson King (July 6th 1774) and Elizabeth Parker (February 17th 1770). John Hobson King bound out his son Thomas Benjamin King to his brother as a bond servant. Thomas Benjamin King was indignant about being made a bond servant and ran away to Stokes County, North Carolina.
Later Thomas Benjamin King's father John Hobson King was stabbed by a negro at the fisheries and died. His widow Elizabeth Parker (King) married a man whose last name was Hartman and they, with her daughter moved to Virginia.
After Jane's father Thomas Benjamin King's arrival in Stokes County, North Carolina he met Elizabeth King the daughter of James King and Patsy Sanders. Thomas Benjamin King married Elizabeth Sanders King on August 10th 1826. (Don't be confused by the fact that two Kings married each other.)
To Thomas and Elizabeth were born three children:
1. Jane Elizabeth King was born April 14th 1828.
2. William Augustine King was born April 5th 1832.
3. John Quincy Adams King was born December 19th 1834.
In time Thomas Benjamin King prospered. He owned two large plantations, a mercantile business and many slaves. During Jane Elizabeth King's early life she learned how to do various housekeeping and homemaking skills. She attended a girl's boarding school for a year where she learned, among other things, how to sew. All sewing was done by hand and she became an excellent seamstress. This knowledge and skill became very valuable to her in later years when she was raising her children. When still a young girl, Jane Elizabeth took charge of the household duties and cooking at one of her father's plantations, while her mother took care of the household duties and cooking at the other plantation.
A negro slave made shoes for the King family and Jane Elizabeth would tap dance for him so that he would make her shoes dainty and tight. This made her feet appear smaller than they were; but the under sized shoes pressed her toes tightly together, consequently she was bothered with bunions all her life.
Jane Elizabeth King married Calvin Gordon Stone
When Calvin Gordon Stone was 22 years old he married the 15 year old Jane Elizabeth King on September 12th 1843. Their first child Thomas Jefferson stone was born August 21st 1845 in Pilot Mountain.
Calvin and Elizabeth lived on a plantation located a few miles north of Pilot Mountain. Pilot Mountain had less than 1300 inhabitants in the year 2000.
The main house on the Calvin Stone plantation was two stories high. Close to the main building were two small buildings; one was used for storage; the other was where all of the cooking was done. Like other southern plantation owners they owned negro slaves. Because Calvin Gordon Stone's family had been devout Baptists, he had been raised to believe in family units; therefore, his slaves were not separated, but were allowed to live together as families. They lived in smaller houses behind the main building and were given the same fare to eat as the members of the stone family.
Elizabeth Francis Stone was born next on March 1st 1847. Their third child was named William Francis Stone after being born January 22nd 1849. How they must have sorrowed when William died only one month and a few days after his birth.
Their fourth child Emma Jane Stone was born April 11th 1850. Calvin Augustin Stone was born February 2nd 1852, Calvin and Jane's fifth child. Joseph Adams Stone was born next on November 30th 1853.
Calvin and Jane's seventh child was Brigham Erastus Stone. He was born December 12th 1855. He as all the other children were born in Mount Pilot, Surry County, North Carolina. The 8th child who was named Julia Ann Augusta stone was born December 21st 1857.
Calvin and Jane's 9th child Enoch Hampton was born October 5th 1859. Their 10th child Nathaniel Columbus Stone was born August 2nd 1861. Children number eleven and twelve were John Quincy Stone, born September 5th 1862 and James Walter Stone born December 11th 1864.
This large family would continue to grow as three girls and a boy were born to total sixteen children. Phoebe Rosetta Stone was born February 23rd 1867, Eliza Olive Stone was born March 3rd 1869, Stacy Lee was born April 6th 1871 and last but not least Julius Gideon Stone was born May 22nd 1873.
Even though they owned slaves, the children were taught to work at an early age. With the help of their slaves, Calvin labored with his sons to accomplish such tasks as hoeing corn, potatoes, tobacco, etc. however, sometimes they were able to mix work with pleasure. There were chestnut trees thirty to forty feet high that the children climbed to shake down nuts. After the burrs were peeled off, the nuts were stored for later use. Sometimes the children made two to three foot long whistles from chestnut saplings.
The girls learned to spin and weave cloth for blankets and spread, to knit socks and stockings, to embroider and crochet, to make quilts and feather beds and to do sewing of all kinds and some tailoring; for, in those days, ready to wear clothing was not available. They cooked, made laundry soap, washed and ironed, tended the garden, and did anything else that was required of them.
Whatever the plans for the day, each morning began with a good breakfast. Almost always there was tasty hot bread and most of the time it was cornbread. Jane Elizabeth was an excellent cook of southern dishes and her family surely, throughout their lives, enjoyed being the recipients of this talent.
The children attended school when there was not work to do on the farm and the parents paid the teacher to teach their children. In the first grades there was only one book for the whole class, a blue speller. Elizabeth, who was educated, also helped the children at home.
The land at the foot of Pilot Mountain is continuous rolling hills and ravines and, because of the heavy rainfall, the tops of the hills are farmed and the gorges are left in natural forest and grass so that the ground won't erode. Strawberry plants grew wild in the ravines and delicious red strawberries were picked and eaten in season. There were deer and other animals in the forest, as well as pheasant, turkey and other fowl. The boys and men hunted these birds for food.
For instance, when Joseph Adams was small, and older black man taught him to play an instrument called the "little Joe," the banjo, and the violin (actually, he was more of a fiddler). He played fast music for what was called "step dancing," and he played very well. He also learned to play the harmonica, and he learned how to step dance (which is much like clogging). He loved music and he loved to sing.
When Jane's son Hampton grew older he had a severe case of rheumatism. Before he was disabled he made himself a banjo, out of a cheese hoop and sheepskin, which seemed perfect in tone. And even after he was crippled he would play and sing the old darky songs almost every morning, and many times his step-son fell asleep by his music in the evening.
As the children were growing up they played with the black children who lived on the plantation and, in the evenings and on Sunday afternoons, Stone family members sat around and sang songs of the south with the blacks. Through their association with the black people, musical skills were acquired which gave them pleasure throughout their lifetime.
During the 33 years of their marriage Calvin and Jane became parents of 16 children, six girls and ten boys. All the children but Julius were born on the plantation, he was born in the town of Pilot Mountain.
When their 16th and final child was born Jane was 44 and Calvin was 52 years old. Sadly Calvin would leave many young children when he died three years later at age 55. Jane was thus left to raise a large family alone.
Calvin and Jane King join the Mormon Church
Around 1851 after their fourth child was born, Calvin and Jane met the Mormon missionaries who were proselytizing in the Surry County area. Calvin was a staunch Primitive Baptist, as were his parents, and bitterly opposed having anything to do with the missionaries. Jane professed no particular religion and was willing and eager to hear the message of the young men. Jane studied the literature that the Elders had given her while Calvin was working, in order to read in peace. Jane became thoroughly convinced that what she read was true and she told Calvin that she was going to be baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Calvin still opposed the message at that time but he investigated further and after a time said that if his wife was baptized, he would be also. After 26 years all of their children were baptized members of the Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Of the 14 children that lived to adulthood, all immigrated to Utah except Thomas Jefferson, Emma Jane, and Julia Ann.
When the Civil War started in April of 1861 Brigham Erastus Stone was only six years old. His father Calvin was quite crippled with arthritis and his brothers were also too young to fight so none of them fought in the Civil War. The war still significantly affected their lives never the less. Two of Calvin's brother's died while in the service of the army of the confederacy in 1863. They were Enoch M. Stone, who died in the Battle of Gettysburg and John A. Stone.
Throughout the war, members of the Confederate Army made regular visits to the Stone plantation and took their food, their farm machinery that had metal on it to make bullets and things for the war, their male slaves, their mules and anything else they needed. Calvin was always paid in Confederate money for everything they took. When the war ended in April of 1865 there weren't any animals left on the farm, there wasn't any farm machinery and there was no money except for a trunk full of worthless confederate bills. After the war the slaves that were left were freed.
Without money they couldn't pay the freed slaves to work for them. They sold the plantation and moved into a house they had purchased in Pilot Mountain Township, Surry County, North Carolina.
Calvin and Betsie lost a second son shortly after the Civil War started. He was named Nathaniel Columbus Stone and was born on August 2nd 1861 and died the day of his birth.
After the Civil War ended the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sent missionaries to the southern states again. The Elders often enjoyed the hospitality of the Calvin Gordon Stone family. They were always welcome in their home and they were given good meals to eat and the best beds.
Two of the Elders who were proselytizing in the Surry County area in 1867 were Henry G. Boyle and Howard K. Coray. The people were very responsive to their message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and many were baptized. Brigham's brother Calvin Agustin Stone and his sister Elizabeth Frances Stone were baptized in February. In March his brother Thomas Jefferson was baptized and his parents were re-baptized.
Calvin was re-baptized on March 3rd 1868 at Tom's Creek, Surry County, North Carolina by Elder Henry G. Boyle and confirmed by Howard K. Coray. His wife Jane Elizabeth was re-baptized on March 12th 1868 at Stoney Creek by Elder Henry G. Boyle.
Jane's father, Thomas B. King died on July 30th 1856 when Jane was about 28 years old but her mother Elizabeth King lived nearby. Jane's mother, the widow Betsie King and her two brothers John Quincy Adams King and William A. King, often had the Mormon missionaries as their guests.
When Elder Henry G. Boyle returned to Utah in July of 1869 after having served his mission, he brought with him a group of saints. Among them were Brigham's uncle William A. King, William's wife and family, his brother Calvin Augustine, and his sister Elizabeth Frances. It was the desire of Brigham's parents that they emigrate as soon as they could.
Within two years after the Civil War ended their oldest son, Thomas J., and their second daughter, Emma Jane, found their spouses and settled in homes of their own.
Like so many of the other saints, Calvin and Jane had the desire to immigrate to Utah also. In 1874 they sold their home and property and were preparing to move to Utah when Calvin Gordon became ill and the long journey could not be made.
The money that Jane and Calvin received from selling their property was used to purchase another place in Pilot Mountain Township. The building they purchased had at one time been a tavern, used as such by people passing through the county.
On September 11th 1876 at the age of 55 years, Calvin Gordon Stone died. He was buried in the fenced in burial plot on the plantation that he and Jane owned when they were first married at Pilot Mountain, Surry County, North Carolina.
The following are Calvin and Jane's 16 children:
1. Thomas Jefferson was born August 21st 1845 in Pilot Mountain, Surry Co. NC. Married Charlotte Temperance Venable in 1866. Died November 7th1901.
2. Elizabeth Francis (Johnson) was born March 1st 1847 in Pilot Mountain, Surry Co. NC. Married Amos Partridge Johnson April 19th 1870 and sealed in the Endowment House May 2nd 1870. Died March 31st 1890 in Fountain Green, Utah at age 43.
3. William Francis was born January 22nd 1849 in Pilot Mountain, Surry Co. NC. (Died after a month)
4. Emma Jane (Hill) was born April 11th 1850 in Pilot Mountain, Surry Co. NC. She married John Westley Hill about 1865. Died April 21st 1930.
5. Calvin Augustin was born February 2nd 1852 in Pilot Mountain, Surry Co. NC. Married Eliza Emiline Taylor in Salem, Utah October 29th 1873. They were sealed March 17th 1886 in the Logan Temple. Died February 12th 1928.
6. Joseph Adams was born November 30th 1853 in Pilot Mountain, Surry Co. NC. Joseph married Phoebe Belinda Taylor October 15th 1871. They were married by William H. Taylor, Justice of the Peace, at Evan Taylor's home, Pilot Mt., Surry County, North Carolina. On October 24th 1878 they were sealed in the Endowment House. Pheobe died September 30th 1891. Joseph married Carolina Augusta Johnson January 11th 1893 in the Manti Temple. Joseph died February 12th 1928.
7. Brigham Erastus was born December 12th 1855 in Pilot Mountain, Surry Co. NC. Brigham was sealed to Nancy Oyler on September 25th 1879 in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City. He died February 22nd 1935 at age 79.
8. Julia Ann Augusta (Tucker) was born December 21st 1857 in Pilot Mountain, Surry Co. NC. She married Benjamin Robert P. Tucker in 1874 in Pilot Mountain NC. She died May 18th 1886 at age 28.
9. Enoch Hampton was born October 5th 1859 in Pilot Mountain, Surry Co. NC. Married Eliza Emiline Taylor on March 21st 1880. He died December 8th 1932.
10. Nathaniel Columbus was born August 2nd 1861 in Pilot Mountain, Surry Co. NC. Died the day of his birth.
11. John Quincy was born September 5th 1862 in Pilot Mountain, Surry Co. NC. Married Matilda Beddoes November 16th 1884 in England. They were sealed in the Logan Temple May 4th 1887. He died in Blackfoot Idaho June 28th 1842.
12. James Walter was born December 11th 1864. Died November 12th 1888 at age 25.
13. Phoebe Rosetta (Davis) was born February 23rd 1867 in Pilot Mountain, Surry Co. NC. She married Robert Henry Davis. Died December 5th 1882. Age 15.
14. Eliza Olive (Flygare) was born March 3rd 1869 in Pilot Mountain, Surry Co. NC.. She married John Whitmore Flygare. They were sealed in the Manti Temple October 10th 1894. Died January 19th 1906.
15. Stacy Lee (Cloward) was born April 6th 1871 in Pilot Mountain, Surry Co. NC. Married John Mason Cloward. They were sealed in the Manti Temple July 3rd 1889. Died November 4th 1906 at age 35.
16. Julius Gideon Stone born May 22nd 1873 (born after they moved into the Pilot Mountain Township). Married Selena Ellen Hiatt. They were sealed in the Salt Lake Temple October 8th 1909. Died June 18th 1942.
Jane lost her husband Calvin Gordon Stone in 1873 when she was 48. Her son Brigham Erastus Stone was baptized four years after his father's death and traveled to Utah in the spring of 1877. Brigham arrived in Utah about six months prior to his brother Calvin Augustine's death.
The rest of the Stone family move to Utah
In December 1879 the remainder of the Stone family including Jane Elizabeth Stone and Jane's brother John Quincy Adams King started west by train. Jane's remaining children Phoebe R. Stone, Eliza Olive Stone, Stacy Lee Stone and Julius Stone also went with them to Utah. James Walter Stone is recorded to have traveled with them also.
Jane's sons Brigham and Joseph and Joseph's brother-in-law Hector Taylor took a team and wagon to the Ogden railway depot to meet their family. What a joyous reunion it was. Jane moved to Salem where her son Joseph had been living for some time.
In March of 1880 Jane moved to Payson for a year with her son Brigham. She then purchased a piece of land in Salem where a one-room log cabin with an attic was built for her by her sons. Here she started to teach school and do other honorable jobs in order to provide for her family.
Around 1890 Jane sold her log house and her son Brigham built her a three-room (plus pantry) brick house across the road south of the log house. Brigham had also moved his family to Salem by this time. How Jane must have enjoyed the view from her home on top of the hill overlooking Salem Pond. It was marvelous in any season of the year, and at any time during the day.
After moving to Salem, Jane's son Joseph and her daughter in law Phoebe became the parents of six more children. They were Joseph Oliver, James Calvin, Robert Henderson, Effie Ann, Maggie Angeline, and Wesley Ervin.
Before Phoebe had a chance to build her strength after Wesley's birth, she became ill with typhoid fever and died September 30th 1891. In Joseph's home there were now eight children (one of which was two-month old baby Wesley), but no mother.
Jane's son Joseph was a good father and a wonderful baby tender. He could take a colicky baby and walk the floor with it and pat its back and soothe and comfort it as well as any woman; but, he needed help in caring for the children and so his mother Jane Elizabeth, then 63 years old, moved into his home to help care for Joseph's infant son Wesley. Jane kept an eye on the other children who were home also.
In the fall of 1892 Joseph began to court Caroline Augusta Johnson, daughter of Ole Christian and Nellie Mathea Johnson. Caroline Augusta was born May 10th 1870 in Norway and was a baby when her family immigrated to Utah after they had joined the LDS church in Norway.
Caroline Augusta, then almost 23 years old, accepted Joseph's proposal and also the responsibility that would be hers to care for the six children of Joseph and his first wife Phoebe who were still living at home. Baby Wesley was then one and one half years old.
On January 5th 1893, the day before they went to Provo to get their marriage license, the ice was broken on Salem pond and Joseph and Caroline were re-baptized in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
In January of 1893, about 16 months after his wife's death Joseph married Caroline Augusta Johnson. His mother Jane then moved back to her home.
Jane's life was intertwined around the lives of her children and grandchildren. She spent many enjoyable hours with her daughters visiting and working together making carpet rags, sewing quilts and other activities.
Jane's sons were literally town builders who took part in the construction and landscaping of the school house, church house, and social and civic buildings. John participated in the development of the telephone, electric lights and the Utah and Salt Lake Railroad. In 1902 John was elected to the State Legislature from Utah County. Jane's sons held important positions of trust in the community. Joseph was a school trustee for more than 15 years, a member of the Salem Canal Board for several years and a member of the Salem Town Board for several years. Brigham served three times as member of the town board, one term as President of the Board, and one term as treasurer of the school board.
Jane's family who lived in and around Salem were all members of the of the Salem Ward, Utah Stake until January 20th 1901 when they then became members of the newly organized Nebo Stake. They attended their stake conference meetings in Payson, Utah. Members of the family living in Payson were members of the Payson Ward. They were active members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and had good testimonies which helped them to have the faith and courage to endure their trials.
Jane experienced the pride felt in the accomplishments of her family, She was concerned with their illnesses, their accidents and their problems of any kind. Jane had a sense of peace and happiness when a child or grandchild found a suitable mate or when another sweet healthy grandchild was born into the family. Jane used to tell people how many descendants she had and then add that they were all born normal and healthy/ This was a fact which she was very grateful for.
Jane felt grief when death took a loved one. She lived as a widow for 34 years. These loses not only affected the lives of her children and their families, they also affected Jane Elizabeth's life as well. The depths of her soul were reached by constant recurrences of joys and sorrows during her life. Her faith in God and in His plan for His children burned brightly through the years and sustained her.
In the evenings just as the sun was setting, the scene was especially beautiful if the sun, shining brightly behind fluffy white clouds, lined them with silver, or hues of red and pink tinged with orange or yellow across the sky just above the shadowed mountains of dark blue and purple in the west. A striking contrast for the pond and its surroundings which seemed to have become more tranquil, as if ready to rest after a long day of use.
The water supply for Jane's culinary needs came from a well just west of her house. A rope was fastened to the handle of an oaken bucket which was dropped into the well to draw up the water when a wooden crank was turned.
Her boys grubbed out the sagebrush on her land and planted small fruit trees. She also had a good vegetable garden. Jane planted some flowers: hollyhocks, caster beans, gourds and morning glories.
Being with Joseph's children made Jane lonesome and for several years grandchildren stayed at night with her in her home.
The following are quotes of some of the grandchildren: John Q. Jr.: "As we lived near grandmother's, I spent most nights with her and listened to stories of North Carolina. She had a wonderful memory and was a wonderful entertainer. I shall never forget the 1896 Presidential election. Grandmother Stone was a very strong Democrat and so were several of her children."
John R. Cloward: "Grandmother loved children and when we went there always gave us something good to eat. She had an old fashioned music box which she would play for us. She would also let us put the rollers on it and we would turn the crank which caused the roller to revolve and play the tunes. She always seemed to have time to enjoy her children and grandchildren."
David A. Stone: "I remember grandmother well from the time I was about six, when I attended her school in her little one-room log house. She was very industrious, kind, progressive and courteous to everybody. While living in Surry County, her home was open to all Elders, and she was truly a saintly woman and mother of the highest type. I shall always remember her as one of the grandest women I have ever met.
"Jane E. King Stone was one of the most remarkable women who has ever lived. I am proud to be her grandson."
On the evening of April 14th 1895 all of the children of Jane Elizabeth who lived in Utah and their spouses traveled by bob sled to her home where they had a surprise birthday party in honor of Elizabeth's 67th birthday. Everyone had a wonderful time. The next morning Joseph's wife Caroline Augusta gave birth in their home to a tiny baby girl whom they named Nellie Elizabeth after her two grandmothers.
Years later Jane Elizabeth gave this same granddaughter a card on which she had written the following.
"Hitch your wagon to a star and always try to do your very best. That is the way your grandmother has always." She was a shining example to her posterity. She always taught them to aim for the best.
In the year 1899 Joseph Adams was called on a mission to the Southern States for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. While there he baptized his sister Emma Jane Stone Hill. Now all of the Jane E. children had been baptized into the church. Joseph hadn't been in the mission field very long when he became ill and had to return to Utah (1900). Having brought the entire family into the church at last must have still made him feel his mission was a success.
In the year 1901 Joseph's second wife Caroline Augusta died of diphtheria after having cared for their daughter Laura who had passed away from the same disease three and a half weeks before. In 1902 Joseph married Mary Johnson, the sister to his second wife.
In 1901 Jane's last child Julius married Selena Hiatt and they lived in part of Jane's house. In 1905 her daughter Emma Hill came to Utah to visit after her husband died. She returned to North Carolina a year later because she missed her family and friends who lived there.
Jane Elizabeth King Gordon goes to the temple
Temple records indicate that Jane took out her endowments in the Salt Lake Temple April 8th 1903 although her sealing to Calvin Gordon was eventually done by proxy we have no record of her being sealed to him while she lived.
Some of Jane Elizabeth King Stone's personality is found in this letter to her son Calvin Augustine Stone is in her history.
Jane had lived a religious life. Religion as interpreted by the Latter-day Saints, built upon faith in God and His Divine Plan.
A faith backed by works.
In her older and declining years Jane began to have a difficult time waiting on herself. She lived for several years with her son John Q. and his wife.
During those last years Eliza gave loving and devoted care to her mother. She and her husband John made Jane's old age a happy time. Her son Brigham built his mother a room onto Eliza and John's House and Jane Elizabeth moved in. But it wasn't long after this that she died at the age of 82 years.
Later Thomas Benjamin King's father John Hobson King was stabbed by a negro at the fisheries and died. His widow Elizabeth Parker (King) married a man whose last name was Hartman and they, with her daughter moved to Virginia.
After Jane's father Thomas Benjamin King's arrival in Stokes County, North Carolina he met Elizabeth King the daughter of James King and Patsy Sanders. Thomas Benjamin King married Elizabeth Sanders King on August 10th 1826. (Don't be confused by the fact that two Kings married each other.)
To Thomas and Elizabeth were born three children:
1. Jane Elizabeth King was born April 14th 1828.
2. William Augustine King was born April 5th 1832.
3. John Quincy Adams King was born December 19th 1834.
In time Thomas Benjamin King prospered. He owned two large plantations, a mercantile business and many slaves. During Jane Elizabeth King's early life she learned how to do various housekeeping and homemaking skills. She attended a girl's boarding school for a year where she learned, among other things, how to sew. All sewing was done by hand and she became an excellent seamstress. This knowledge and skill became very valuable to her in later years when she was raising her children. When still a young girl, Jane Elizabeth took charge of the household duties and cooking at one of her father's plantations, while her mother took care of the household duties and cooking at the other plantation.
A negro slave made shoes for the King family and Jane Elizabeth would tap dance for him so that he would make her shoes dainty and tight. This made her feet appear smaller than they were; but the under sized shoes pressed her toes tightly together, consequently she was bothered with bunions all her life.
Jane Elizabeth King married Calvin Gordon Stone
When Calvin Gordon Stone was 22 years old he married the 15 year old Jane Elizabeth King on September 12th 1843. Their first child Thomas Jefferson stone was born August 21st 1845 in Pilot Mountain.
Calvin and Elizabeth lived on a plantation located a few miles north of Pilot Mountain. Pilot Mountain had less than 1300 inhabitants in the year 2000.
The main house on the Calvin Stone plantation was two stories high. Close to the main building were two small buildings; one was used for storage; the other was where all of the cooking was done. Like other southern plantation owners they owned negro slaves. Because Calvin Gordon Stone's family had been devout Baptists, he had been raised to believe in family units; therefore, his slaves were not separated, but were allowed to live together as families. They lived in smaller houses behind the main building and were given the same fare to eat as the members of the stone family.
Elizabeth Francis Stone was born next on March 1st 1847. Their third child was named William Francis Stone after being born January 22nd 1849. How they must have sorrowed when William died only one month and a few days after his birth.
Their fourth child Emma Jane Stone was born April 11th 1850. Calvin Augustin Stone was born February 2nd 1852, Calvin and Jane's fifth child. Joseph Adams Stone was born next on November 30th 1853.
Calvin and Jane's seventh child was Brigham Erastus Stone. He was born December 12th 1855. He as all the other children were born in Mount Pilot, Surry County, North Carolina. The 8th child who was named Julia Ann Augusta stone was born December 21st 1857.
Calvin and Jane's 9th child Enoch Hampton was born October 5th 1859. Their 10th child Nathaniel Columbus Stone was born August 2nd 1861. Children number eleven and twelve were John Quincy Stone, born September 5th 1862 and James Walter Stone born December 11th 1864.
This large family would continue to grow as three girls and a boy were born to total sixteen children. Phoebe Rosetta Stone was born February 23rd 1867, Eliza Olive Stone was born March 3rd 1869, Stacy Lee was born April 6th 1871 and last but not least Julius Gideon Stone was born May 22nd 1873.
Even though they owned slaves, the children were taught to work at an early age. With the help of their slaves, Calvin labored with his sons to accomplish such tasks as hoeing corn, potatoes, tobacco, etc. however, sometimes they were able to mix work with pleasure. There were chestnut trees thirty to forty feet high that the children climbed to shake down nuts. After the burrs were peeled off, the nuts were stored for later use. Sometimes the children made two to three foot long whistles from chestnut saplings.
The girls learned to spin and weave cloth for blankets and spread, to knit socks and stockings, to embroider and crochet, to make quilts and feather beds and to do sewing of all kinds and some tailoring; for, in those days, ready to wear clothing was not available. They cooked, made laundry soap, washed and ironed, tended the garden, and did anything else that was required of them.
Whatever the plans for the day, each morning began with a good breakfast. Almost always there was tasty hot bread and most of the time it was cornbread. Jane Elizabeth was an excellent cook of southern dishes and her family surely, throughout their lives, enjoyed being the recipients of this talent.
The children attended school when there was not work to do on the farm and the parents paid the teacher to teach their children. In the first grades there was only one book for the whole class, a blue speller. Elizabeth, who was educated, also helped the children at home.
The land at the foot of Pilot Mountain is continuous rolling hills and ravines and, because of the heavy rainfall, the tops of the hills are farmed and the gorges are left in natural forest and grass so that the ground won't erode. Strawberry plants grew wild in the ravines and delicious red strawberries were picked and eaten in season. There were deer and other animals in the forest, as well as pheasant, turkey and other fowl. The boys and men hunted these birds for food.
For instance, when Joseph Adams was small, and older black man taught him to play an instrument called the "little Joe," the banjo, and the violin (actually, he was more of a fiddler). He played fast music for what was called "step dancing," and he played very well. He also learned to play the harmonica, and he learned how to step dance (which is much like clogging). He loved music and he loved to sing.
When Jane's son Hampton grew older he had a severe case of rheumatism. Before he was disabled he made himself a banjo, out of a cheese hoop and sheepskin, which seemed perfect in tone. And even after he was crippled he would play and sing the old darky songs almost every morning, and many times his step-son fell asleep by his music in the evening.
As the children were growing up they played with the black children who lived on the plantation and, in the evenings and on Sunday afternoons, Stone family members sat around and sang songs of the south with the blacks. Through their association with the black people, musical skills were acquired which gave them pleasure throughout their lifetime.
During the 33 years of their marriage Calvin and Jane became parents of 16 children, six girls and ten boys. All the children but Julius were born on the plantation, he was born in the town of Pilot Mountain.
When their 16th and final child was born Jane was 44 and Calvin was 52 years old. Sadly Calvin would leave many young children when he died three years later at age 55. Jane was thus left to raise a large family alone.
Calvin and Jane King join the Mormon Church
Around 1851 after their fourth child was born, Calvin and Jane met the Mormon missionaries who were proselytizing in the Surry County area. Calvin was a staunch Primitive Baptist, as were his parents, and bitterly opposed having anything to do with the missionaries. Jane professed no particular religion and was willing and eager to hear the message of the young men. Jane studied the literature that the Elders had given her while Calvin was working, in order to read in peace. Jane became thoroughly convinced that what she read was true and she told Calvin that she was going to be baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Calvin still opposed the message at that time but he investigated further and after a time said that if his wife was baptized, he would be also. After 26 years all of their children were baptized members of the Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Of the 14 children that lived to adulthood, all immigrated to Utah except Thomas Jefferson, Emma Jane, and Julia Ann.
When the Civil War started in April of 1861 Brigham Erastus Stone was only six years old. His father Calvin was quite crippled with arthritis and his brothers were also too young to fight so none of them fought in the Civil War. The war still significantly affected their lives never the less. Two of Calvin's brother's died while in the service of the army of the confederacy in 1863. They were Enoch M. Stone, who died in the Battle of Gettysburg and John A. Stone.
Throughout the war, members of the Confederate Army made regular visits to the Stone plantation and took their food, their farm machinery that had metal on it to make bullets and things for the war, their male slaves, their mules and anything else they needed. Calvin was always paid in Confederate money for everything they took. When the war ended in April of 1865 there weren't any animals left on the farm, there wasn't any farm machinery and there was no money except for a trunk full of worthless confederate bills. After the war the slaves that were left were freed.
Without money they couldn't pay the freed slaves to work for them. They sold the plantation and moved into a house they had purchased in Pilot Mountain Township, Surry County, North Carolina.
Calvin and Betsie lost a second son shortly after the Civil War started. He was named Nathaniel Columbus Stone and was born on August 2nd 1861 and died the day of his birth.
After the Civil War ended the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sent missionaries to the southern states again. The Elders often enjoyed the hospitality of the Calvin Gordon Stone family. They were always welcome in their home and they were given good meals to eat and the best beds.
Two of the Elders who were proselytizing in the Surry County area in 1867 were Henry G. Boyle and Howard K. Coray. The people were very responsive to their message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and many were baptized. Brigham's brother Calvin Agustin Stone and his sister Elizabeth Frances Stone were baptized in February. In March his brother Thomas Jefferson was baptized and his parents were re-baptized.
Calvin was re-baptized on March 3rd 1868 at Tom's Creek, Surry County, North Carolina by Elder Henry G. Boyle and confirmed by Howard K. Coray. His wife Jane Elizabeth was re-baptized on March 12th 1868 at Stoney Creek by Elder Henry G. Boyle.
Jane's father, Thomas B. King died on July 30th 1856 when Jane was about 28 years old but her mother Elizabeth King lived nearby. Jane's mother, the widow Betsie King and her two brothers John Quincy Adams King and William A. King, often had the Mormon missionaries as their guests.
When Elder Henry G. Boyle returned to Utah in July of 1869 after having served his mission, he brought with him a group of saints. Among them were Brigham's uncle William A. King, William's wife and family, his brother Calvin Augustine, and his sister Elizabeth Frances. It was the desire of Brigham's parents that they emigrate as soon as they could.
Within two years after the Civil War ended their oldest son, Thomas J., and their second daughter, Emma Jane, found their spouses and settled in homes of their own.
Like so many of the other saints, Calvin and Jane had the desire to immigrate to Utah also. In 1874 they sold their home and property and were preparing to move to Utah when Calvin Gordon became ill and the long journey could not be made.
The money that Jane and Calvin received from selling their property was used to purchase another place in Pilot Mountain Township. The building they purchased had at one time been a tavern, used as such by people passing through the county.
On September 11th 1876 at the age of 55 years, Calvin Gordon Stone died. He was buried in the fenced in burial plot on the plantation that he and Jane owned when they were first married at Pilot Mountain, Surry County, North Carolina.
The following are Calvin and Jane's 16 children:
1. Thomas Jefferson was born August 21st 1845 in Pilot Mountain, Surry Co. NC. Married Charlotte Temperance Venable in 1866. Died November 7th1901.
2. Elizabeth Francis (Johnson) was born March 1st 1847 in Pilot Mountain, Surry Co. NC. Married Amos Partridge Johnson April 19th 1870 and sealed in the Endowment House May 2nd 1870. Died March 31st 1890 in Fountain Green, Utah at age 43.
3. William Francis was born January 22nd 1849 in Pilot Mountain, Surry Co. NC. (Died after a month)
4. Emma Jane (Hill) was born April 11th 1850 in Pilot Mountain, Surry Co. NC. She married John Westley Hill about 1865. Died April 21st 1930.
5. Calvin Augustin was born February 2nd 1852 in Pilot Mountain, Surry Co. NC. Married Eliza Emiline Taylor in Salem, Utah October 29th 1873. They were sealed March 17th 1886 in the Logan Temple. Died February 12th 1928.
6. Joseph Adams was born November 30th 1853 in Pilot Mountain, Surry Co. NC. Joseph married Phoebe Belinda Taylor October 15th 1871. They were married by William H. Taylor, Justice of the Peace, at Evan Taylor's home, Pilot Mt., Surry County, North Carolina. On October 24th 1878 they were sealed in the Endowment House. Pheobe died September 30th 1891. Joseph married Carolina Augusta Johnson January 11th 1893 in the Manti Temple. Joseph died February 12th 1928.
7. Brigham Erastus was born December 12th 1855 in Pilot Mountain, Surry Co. NC. Brigham was sealed to Nancy Oyler on September 25th 1879 in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City. He died February 22nd 1935 at age 79.
8. Julia Ann Augusta (Tucker) was born December 21st 1857 in Pilot Mountain, Surry Co. NC. She married Benjamin Robert P. Tucker in 1874 in Pilot Mountain NC. She died May 18th 1886 at age 28.
9. Enoch Hampton was born October 5th 1859 in Pilot Mountain, Surry Co. NC. Married Eliza Emiline Taylor on March 21st 1880. He died December 8th 1932.
10. Nathaniel Columbus was born August 2nd 1861 in Pilot Mountain, Surry Co. NC. Died the day of his birth.
11. John Quincy was born September 5th 1862 in Pilot Mountain, Surry Co. NC. Married Matilda Beddoes November 16th 1884 in England. They were sealed in the Logan Temple May 4th 1887. He died in Blackfoot Idaho June 28th 1842.
12. James Walter was born December 11th 1864. Died November 12th 1888 at age 25.
13. Phoebe Rosetta (Davis) was born February 23rd 1867 in Pilot Mountain, Surry Co. NC. She married Robert Henry Davis. Died December 5th 1882. Age 15.
14. Eliza Olive (Flygare) was born March 3rd 1869 in Pilot Mountain, Surry Co. NC.. She married John Whitmore Flygare. They were sealed in the Manti Temple October 10th 1894. Died January 19th 1906.
15. Stacy Lee (Cloward) was born April 6th 1871 in Pilot Mountain, Surry Co. NC. Married John Mason Cloward. They were sealed in the Manti Temple July 3rd 1889. Died November 4th 1906 at age 35.
16. Julius Gideon Stone born May 22nd 1873 (born after they moved into the Pilot Mountain Township). Married Selena Ellen Hiatt. They were sealed in the Salt Lake Temple October 8th 1909. Died June 18th 1942.
Jane lost her husband Calvin Gordon Stone in 1873 when she was 48. Her son Brigham Erastus Stone was baptized four years after his father's death and traveled to Utah in the spring of 1877. Brigham arrived in Utah about six months prior to his brother Calvin Augustine's death.
The rest of the Stone family move to Utah
In December 1879 the remainder of the Stone family including Jane Elizabeth Stone and Jane's brother John Quincy Adams King started west by train. Jane's remaining children Phoebe R. Stone, Eliza Olive Stone, Stacy Lee Stone and Julius Stone also went with them to Utah. James Walter Stone is recorded to have traveled with them also.
Jane's sons Brigham and Joseph and Joseph's brother-in-law Hector Taylor took a team and wagon to the Ogden railway depot to meet their family. What a joyous reunion it was. Jane moved to Salem where her son Joseph had been living for some time.
In March of 1880 Jane moved to Payson for a year with her son Brigham. She then purchased a piece of land in Salem where a one-room log cabin with an attic was built for her by her sons. Here she started to teach school and do other honorable jobs in order to provide for her family.
Around 1890 Jane sold her log house and her son Brigham built her a three-room (plus pantry) brick house across the road south of the log house. Brigham had also moved his family to Salem by this time. How Jane must have enjoyed the view from her home on top of the hill overlooking Salem Pond. It was marvelous in any season of the year, and at any time during the day.
After moving to Salem, Jane's son Joseph and her daughter in law Phoebe became the parents of six more children. They were Joseph Oliver, James Calvin, Robert Henderson, Effie Ann, Maggie Angeline, and Wesley Ervin.
Before Phoebe had a chance to build her strength after Wesley's birth, she became ill with typhoid fever and died September 30th 1891. In Joseph's home there were now eight children (one of which was two-month old baby Wesley), but no mother.
Jane's son Joseph was a good father and a wonderful baby tender. He could take a colicky baby and walk the floor with it and pat its back and soothe and comfort it as well as any woman; but, he needed help in caring for the children and so his mother Jane Elizabeth, then 63 years old, moved into his home to help care for Joseph's infant son Wesley. Jane kept an eye on the other children who were home also.
In the fall of 1892 Joseph began to court Caroline Augusta Johnson, daughter of Ole Christian and Nellie Mathea Johnson. Caroline Augusta was born May 10th 1870 in Norway and was a baby when her family immigrated to Utah after they had joined the LDS church in Norway.
Caroline Augusta, then almost 23 years old, accepted Joseph's proposal and also the responsibility that would be hers to care for the six children of Joseph and his first wife Phoebe who were still living at home. Baby Wesley was then one and one half years old.
On January 5th 1893, the day before they went to Provo to get their marriage license, the ice was broken on Salem pond and Joseph and Caroline were re-baptized in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
In January of 1893, about 16 months after his wife's death Joseph married Caroline Augusta Johnson. His mother Jane then moved back to her home.
Jane's life was intertwined around the lives of her children and grandchildren. She spent many enjoyable hours with her daughters visiting and working together making carpet rags, sewing quilts and other activities.
Jane's sons were literally town builders who took part in the construction and landscaping of the school house, church house, and social and civic buildings. John participated in the development of the telephone, electric lights and the Utah and Salt Lake Railroad. In 1902 John was elected to the State Legislature from Utah County. Jane's sons held important positions of trust in the community. Joseph was a school trustee for more than 15 years, a member of the Salem Canal Board for several years and a member of the Salem Town Board for several years. Brigham served three times as member of the town board, one term as President of the Board, and one term as treasurer of the school board.
Jane's family who lived in and around Salem were all members of the of the Salem Ward, Utah Stake until January 20th 1901 when they then became members of the newly organized Nebo Stake. They attended their stake conference meetings in Payson, Utah. Members of the family living in Payson were members of the Payson Ward. They were active members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and had good testimonies which helped them to have the faith and courage to endure their trials.
Jane experienced the pride felt in the accomplishments of her family, She was concerned with their illnesses, their accidents and their problems of any kind. Jane had a sense of peace and happiness when a child or grandchild found a suitable mate or when another sweet healthy grandchild was born into the family. Jane used to tell people how many descendants she had and then add that they were all born normal and healthy/ This was a fact which she was very grateful for.
Jane felt grief when death took a loved one. She lived as a widow for 34 years. These loses not only affected the lives of her children and their families, they also affected Jane Elizabeth's life as well. The depths of her soul were reached by constant recurrences of joys and sorrows during her life. Her faith in God and in His plan for His children burned brightly through the years and sustained her.
In the evenings just as the sun was setting, the scene was especially beautiful if the sun, shining brightly behind fluffy white clouds, lined them with silver, or hues of red and pink tinged with orange or yellow across the sky just above the shadowed mountains of dark blue and purple in the west. A striking contrast for the pond and its surroundings which seemed to have become more tranquil, as if ready to rest after a long day of use.
The water supply for Jane's culinary needs came from a well just west of her house. A rope was fastened to the handle of an oaken bucket which was dropped into the well to draw up the water when a wooden crank was turned.
Her boys grubbed out the sagebrush on her land and planted small fruit trees. She also had a good vegetable garden. Jane planted some flowers: hollyhocks, caster beans, gourds and morning glories.
Being with Joseph's children made Jane lonesome and for several years grandchildren stayed at night with her in her home.
The following are quotes of some of the grandchildren: John Q. Jr.: "As we lived near grandmother's, I spent most nights with her and listened to stories of North Carolina. She had a wonderful memory and was a wonderful entertainer. I shall never forget the 1896 Presidential election. Grandmother Stone was a very strong Democrat and so were several of her children."
John R. Cloward: "Grandmother loved children and when we went there always gave us something good to eat. She had an old fashioned music box which she would play for us. She would also let us put the rollers on it and we would turn the crank which caused the roller to revolve and play the tunes. She always seemed to have time to enjoy her children and grandchildren."
David A. Stone: "I remember grandmother well from the time I was about six, when I attended her school in her little one-room log house. She was very industrious, kind, progressive and courteous to everybody. While living in Surry County, her home was open to all Elders, and she was truly a saintly woman and mother of the highest type. I shall always remember her as one of the grandest women I have ever met.
"Jane E. King Stone was one of the most remarkable women who has ever lived. I am proud to be her grandson."
On the evening of April 14th 1895 all of the children of Jane Elizabeth who lived in Utah and their spouses traveled by bob sled to her home where they had a surprise birthday party in honor of Elizabeth's 67th birthday. Everyone had a wonderful time. The next morning Joseph's wife Caroline Augusta gave birth in their home to a tiny baby girl whom they named Nellie Elizabeth after her two grandmothers.
Years later Jane Elizabeth gave this same granddaughter a card on which she had written the following.
"Hitch your wagon to a star and always try to do your very best. That is the way your grandmother has always." She was a shining example to her posterity. She always taught them to aim for the best.
In the year 1899 Joseph Adams was called on a mission to the Southern States for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. While there he baptized his sister Emma Jane Stone Hill. Now all of the Jane E. children had been baptized into the church. Joseph hadn't been in the mission field very long when he became ill and had to return to Utah (1900). Having brought the entire family into the church at last must have still made him feel his mission was a success.
In the year 1901 Joseph's second wife Caroline Augusta died of diphtheria after having cared for their daughter Laura who had passed away from the same disease three and a half weeks before. In 1902 Joseph married Mary Johnson, the sister to his second wife.
In 1901 Jane's last child Julius married Selena Hiatt and they lived in part of Jane's house. In 1905 her daughter Emma Hill came to Utah to visit after her husband died. She returned to North Carolina a year later because she missed her family and friends who lived there.
Jane Elizabeth King Gordon goes to the temple
Temple records indicate that Jane took out her endowments in the Salt Lake Temple April 8th 1903 although her sealing to Calvin Gordon was eventually done by proxy we have no record of her being sealed to him while she lived.
Some of Jane Elizabeth King Stone's personality is found in this letter to her son Calvin Augustine Stone is in her history.
Jane had lived a religious life. Religion as interpreted by the Latter-day Saints, built upon faith in God and His Divine Plan.
A faith backed by works.
In her older and declining years Jane began to have a difficult time waiting on herself. She lived for several years with her son John Q. and his wife.
During those last years Eliza gave loving and devoted care to her mother. She and her husband John made Jane's old age a happy time. Her son Brigham built his mother a room onto Eliza and John's House and Jane Elizabeth moved in. But it wasn't long after this that she died at the age of 82 years.
Family Members
Children
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Thomas Jefferson Stone
1845–1901
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Elizabeth Frances Stone Johnson
1847–1890
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Emma Jane Stone Hill
1848–1930
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Calvin Augustian Stone
1852–1877
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Joseph Adam Stone
1853–1928
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Brigham Erastus Stone
1855–1935
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Julia Ann Stone Tucker
1857–1886
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Enoch Hampton Stone
1859–1932
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James Walter Stone
1861–1884
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John Quincy Stone
1862–1942
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Phoebe Rosetta Stone Davis
1867–1882
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Eliza Stone Flygare
1869–1940
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Stacy Lee Stone Cloward
1871–1906
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Julius Gideon Stone
1873–1942
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