Fidelia Amelia Chapman was born 10 November 1846 in Winter Quarters, Douglas County, Nebraska, United States to Welcome Chapman (1805-1893) and Susan Amelia Risley (1807-1888) and died 16 July 1909 Malad City, Oneida County, Idaho, United States of unspecified causes. She married Richard Babbitt (1842-1917) 12 April 1862 in Salt Lake County, Utah.
Vital Stats
- Daughter of Welcome Chapman (1805-1893) and Susan Amelia Risley (1807-1888)
- 1846-Oct-11 : Birth in Winters Quarters, Douglas Co, Nebraska
- 1848-Summer : Family Relocates to Salt Lake Valley, Utah in Brigham Young's big Wagon Train
- 1851 : Family relocates to Manti, Utah.
- 1862 : Marriage to Richard Babbitt (1842-1917) at the Endowment House, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co, Utah
- 1909-Jul-16 : Died in Malad City, Oneida Co, Idaho (Idaho Death Record)
Biography
Early Life
Fidelia was born in the big LDS refugee camp of Winters Quarters after her family had fled Nauvoo earlier in that year (1846). Her birth is mentioned in the diary of Patty Bartlett Sessions who was known as the best midwife in the Camp of Israel. She helped with Fidelia's birth for a charge of $2.00.
Brigham Young 1848 Pioneer Company
After leading his first historic 1847 Vanguard Company to blaze the trail to the Salt Lake Valley, Brigham Young (1801-1877) and many of the others returned back to Winter Quarters to collect their families and the rest of the church.
This family was numbered with the 1229 pioneers in 397 wagons make the 1,031 mile trek in 86 days (May 26 to Sept 24) and would be amongst the first of hundred plus wagon trains that would make the same journey over the next 24 years.
She is listed with her family in Brigham Young's giant wagon train of 1848. She was about 20 months old then. This train of 1220 souls left 5 June 1848 from Winters Quarters Nebraska and arrived in the Salt Lake Valley on 20 Sept 1848.
For many years her parents lived in Salt Lake City. It is recorded that her father and several of her brothers were stone masons that helped build the Salt Lake Temple.
In 1850, their family moved to Manti, Sanpete Co, Utah. In 1854, her father was called as President of the First LDS Stake organized there. Two years later he was started their the San Pete Coal Company.
Fidelia appears in both the 1850 and 1860 US Census for Sanpete County with her parents. The 1860 Census shows her father supporting three households in Manti. The family moved back to Salt Lake City in 1862 when her father helped with the decorative stones on the Salt Lake Temple.
More of the history of her family life and her parents is presented in the 2009 biography of Mary Ann Chapman Richey (Fidelia's niece), compiled by Alvin Rencher.
Sanpete Valley
From "Times and Places of Welcome Chapman and His Ancestors in North America." Complied by Arlene Mickelson Smith 1996:
Fidelia was the ninth child of Welcome and Susan Amelia Chapman. She was born October 11, 1846 at Winter Quarters. She was only a baby when her parents crossed the plains to Utah. In September of 1850, Fidelia, at age 3, moved to Sanpete with her parents. Her mother served in the first Relief Society Presidency in Sanpete. Her father was called in 1854 to serve as the president of the Sanpete region of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
She was in Manti during the time the settlers and the Indians were trying to live peaceably in the same area. The Indian Chief Wakara, was a very unpredictable individual. Although he had invited the Mormons to move to "his valley," he was very temperamental and would get his feelings hurt for some reason, he and his warriors would then attack the pioneers. This was a very precarious situation. Finally, "The Walker War" was ended in 1854 when an agreement was reached. When Wakara died and Arrowpine became the chief of the Utes things became somewhat better. Fidelia was listed, as age 13, on the 1860 Federal Census of Manti. On June 14, 1869, she and Richard Babbitt married.
Servant to Matthew Ivory
Some records hint that this was a marriage, but the evidence is not there. As she married Richard just a year later.
Matthew Hayes Ivory (1809-1885), was 37 years older than Fidelia. According to the 1860 and 1880 US Census he was born in Pennsylvania and in both he is living in Utah. He first married Mary Cox in Philadelphia in 1830. They had 10 children (birthdays range from 1831-1862). Sometime after this marriage this family converted to the new Mormon religion. Sometime between 1844 and 1854 his family moved to Beaver, Utah.
Second he married Mary Bemus in 1854 in Beaver Utah and had 7 children (birthdays range from 1855-1866) by her.
In the 1860 US Census he is living in Manti City where he would meet and marry Fidelia the following year. One family tradition states that Mary was rather sickly and they needed Fidelia to help take care of the children. She was still only 14 years old at that time.
The 1880 US Census has him as a 70 year old widower living with three of his children in Beaver City UT. No children are found for his marriage to Fidelia. When he died he was buried in Beaver, Utah.
Herb Doctor
The following was submitted by Mollie B. Coon, It was told by Reuben Hurd; a grandson, in 1962:
Grandmother Babbitt was a great herb doctor. She traveled around the country(county?) doctoring people. One time her son got shot through the foot; she used her herbs on the foot and he had no trouble with the foot. Her grandson got shot in the leg. She also treated him with her herb treatment. At one time there was a child that lived in Marsh Valley that was very ill, the town doctor had used all the methods he knew to save the child's life, but finally he told the parents nothing more could be done. The frantic father rushed to get Grandmother Babbitt to bring her herbs and to come to his house to treat his child. She stayed at his home and gave the child constant treatment with her knowledge of herbs, the child's life was saved.
Grandmother used to gather her own herbs, the ridge logs of the upstairs part of the house were always full of bunches of herbs drying and curing she would also gather the roots to make root beer. She made lots of root beer, and it carried quite a wallop. Oh, how good it was! About 1905 there was a lady by the name of Louise Leavitt that lived in Elba, Idaho. She was having trouble with her back, which was so bad she could hardly get around, Mrs. Leavitt's sister, Alice, was a daughter in-law to Grandmother. Alice knew of Grandmother's ability with herbs, so she persuaded Louise to go with her to visit Grandmother and be treated with Grandmothers herbs. The treatment was successful and after a few weeks, Mrs. Leavitt returned to her own home cured of her ailment.
Caring for Grandchildren at Devil's Creek
Grandmother raised us children after our mother, Amelia Elizabeth(Lizzie) died (1907). She cared for us as if we were her own children. One evening when Grandmother and grandfather lived on their homestead on Devils Creek, Grandmother was out in the corral milking the cows. The children heard a noise outside like a lady crying. When the noise became closer, the children could see it was not a lady crying, but it was a cougar. It went to the corral where Grandmother was milking the cows and put it's feet up on the bars and looked around. Then it just trotted off. Grandmother never saw the cougar, but the tracks it made proved that it had been there.
After the sheep had been trailed through the fences to and from the summer range, Grandmother used to go to the fences to gather any of the wool that had been pulled from the sheep as they passed through. This wool was washed, corded and spun into yarn and then knitted into stockings for her family. Her family consisted of 7 boys and 5 girls so this meant a lot of knitting. She also corded batts for her quilts from this wool Their mode of travel was by horses and wagons. It took a day when they traveled the eleven miles from their home in Devils Creek to the town of Malad City , Idaho and back. Grandfather said that when people would drive by their place, he would hear them say, "the damn fool will starve to death here." However, they continued to live there until 1904 or 1905 until he sold that place and moved to smaller place a few miles west of Malad. They lived in the smaller place until 1909 when Grandmother died.
Marriage and Family
Her husband (Richard) was born at sea in July 1842 when his parents were migrating to American from Ireland. This marriage is recorded in the Salt Lake endowment house when she was 22 years old, but after the birth of their first child. Richard appears on the 1860 US Census record in Manti Utah, age 17, birthplace listed as Ireland.
His death certificate shows his occupation as farmer. Both Fidelia and Richard are buried in the Malad City Cemetery.
Their first two children were born in Brigham City, Utah (1867-1869). The next several children were born in the neighborhood of Heber City, Wasatch Co (1870-1876). Then two more born in Honeyville, Box Elder Co. Next was Snowville Utah and then the last children were born in Southern Idaho.
Note: Biography from the book PIONEERS AND PROMINENT MEN OF UTAH by Frank Esshom:
"BABBITT, RICHARD (son of Henry William Babbitt and Elizabeth Taylor). Born July 2, 1842. Came to Utah in 1850. Married Fidelia Chapman (daughter of Welcome Chapman and Susan Amelia Rigley), who was born Oct. 11, 1846, Winter Quarters, Neb.
Brought the first printing ink to Salt Lake City in 1850. Settled in Tooelo valley, and assisted in building forts: moved to Cache valley and sawed his building lumber by hand, enduring all the hardships of pioneering that country. After moving near Brigham City, the call for the move south came, and they went to San Pete valley; here they endured many hardships on account of the hostility of the Indians. Went to Manti, then to Spring City, and from here went on a mission to The Muddy, where he stayed two years, and returned to Brigham City: resided here seven years, when he moved to Malad City, Idaho, where he now resides."
Note in the entry above, he would have been about 8 years old when he was hauling the printer ink to Utah.
Richard Babbitt arrived in Elba, ID – see Elba Ward history, “The First One Hundred Years, Cassia-Oakley Idaho Stake, 1887-1987.
The last child, Emma Babbit, was born in Malad City where Fidelia died sometime later.
Richard Babbitt was married to these other wives:
- Elizabeth Anderson, - Utah Marriage records show they married in 20 Oct 1909 in Salt Lake City, about three months after the passing of Fidelia. The 1910 US Census lists Richard, Elizabeth and 19 year old boy named Lenard. This shows his occupation as carpenter with his own shop.
- Dicey Whitley, - no information
- Jeanette Whitley, - no information
- Margaret - 1870 Census shows her as the wife of Richard Babbitt. She was born in England about 1846. Richard Babbitt's sister Eveline Lovina Babbitt born 27 Feb 1858 in Calls Fort, Utah, is living with them. The census also shows William Welcome Babbitt born 6 Sep 1867, and Amilia Elizabeth Babbitt born 13 April 1869 living with them.
Children
Siblings
Children of Richard Babbitt and Fidelia Chapman
- William Welcome Babbitt (1867-1876) - b. Brigham City UT, died young.
- Amelia Elizabeth Babbitt (1869-1907) - b. Brigham City UT, m. John Hurd
- Susan Fedelia Babbitt (1870-1956) - b. Heber UT, m. John Wesley Taylor
- Jane Angeline Babbitt (1872-1937) - b. Heber UT, m. Joseph Savage
- Richard Chapman Babbitt (1873-1957) - b. Heber UT, m. Emma Kempton
- Thomas Tyler Babbitt (1875-1957) - b. Heber UT, m. Blanche Landon
- Lorenzo Babbitt (1878-1960) - b. Honeyville UT, m. Hannah Stokes
- Samuel Babbitt (1879-1951) - b. Honeyville UT,
- Moroni Babbitt (1881-1931) - b. Snowville UT, m. Mary Callahan,
- Eliza Lovina Babbitt (1883-1950) - b. Snowville UT, m. William Parish
- George Henry Babbitt (1885-1954) - b. Stone ID, m. Flossie Mecham
- Ann Elinor Babbitt (1889-1964)' - b. Elba ID, m. Charles Mecham
- Emma Babbitt (1901-) - b. Malad City ID, m. Lloyd Paige
Vital Records
- Talk: Fidelia Chapman (1846-1909) for more info:
1880 US Census
Taken at "Curlew Precinct", Box Elder County, Utah. All children born in Utah. Census Source.
- Babbitt, Richd (M-38) - Ocp: WagonMaker (Born: Louisiana)
- Fidelia (F-33) Wife, KeepingHouse (Born: Missouri)
- Elizabeth (F-11)
- Susan F (F-9)
- Jane (F-8)
- Richd (M-7)
- Thos J. (M-4)
- Lorenzo (M-2)
1900 US Census
Taken at Malad Village, Oneida, Idaho
- Richard Babet (M) - born at sea / parents born in England / ocp: Daylaborer
- Thidelia Babet (F) - spouse (born in England? Oct 1845?)
- Thomas Babet (M) (b Oct1874) / ocp: daylaborer
- Samuel Babet (M) (b May 1979) / ocp: daylaborer
- Maroni Babet (M) (b Sep 1889)
- Eliza Babet (F) (b Nov 1883)
- George Babet (M) (b Oct 1885)
- Annie Babet (F) (b Jan 1888)
Gravestone
- Location : Block 6, Lot 40, Malad City Cemetery, Oneida County, Idaho.
- Fidelia Chapman Babbitt at Find A Grave
Other Documents
- 24-Sep-1889: Richard and Fidelia sign as witness couple to the marriage of Cumorah Angus Hall (1867-1918) and wife Sylvia Jane Rackard (1874-1891) in Malad City, Idaho.
See Also
- Fidelia Chapman
- Chapman Family
- Chapman in Nebraska
- Chapman in Utah
- Chapman in Idaho
- Welcome Chapman Family Ancestry
- Brigham Youngs 1848 Wagon Train - Mormon Pioneer Trail Database.
- Babbitt History - WikiTree
- First Converts Blog - Scott Hepworth's Blogs
- John Hurd Story - Story of his 1884 marriage to Fidelia's oldest daughter, Amelia, in Malad City, Idaho.
- Welcome Chapman - Wikipedia biography of Fidelia's father.