WRIGLEY, JOHN

BRIEF SKETCH OF JOHN WRIGLEY


(The paternal Great, Great Grandfather of Sarah Wrigley)

Written by Ann W. Larsen, ad great, great granddaughter

(Material in parenthesis and italisized was added by
Carolyn Johnson Christensen)

John Wrigley was born in Barnby Don, Yorkshire England (on September 7, 1774, the sixth child born to John Wrigley and Mary Tyson). (A 4th great granddaughter, Carolyn Johnson was able to visit this small town and take pictures of the Parish Church there. Even though John Wrigley did not belong to the Church of England, it was a law that their birth and death records be kept in the Parish Church, and she was able to see the orignal entry of his birth.) John Wrigley belonged to the Weslyean Methodist Church. Lucky none of them belonged to the Catholic faith, showing they were of the spiritual nature and of the right linage to mold into God's ways.

John Wrigley was a shoemaker by trade. He belonged to the British Militia.

He met Hannah Morgan in North Ireland, and took her to Barnby Don, Yorkshire, England and married her. (Since their first child was born in 1803, they probably married near that year.) Hannah died at the birth of her eight child, Thomas Morgan Wrigley on 27 February 1816 in Dewsbury, Yorkshire England. (Hannah was probably in her late 30s or early 40s when she died. John would have been 42, a working father, with 7 children and a baby to raise.) John put his small son, Thomas, with a family by the name of John Wright and Mary Launcers. This family was very good to him, and raised him to manhood. (Thomas eventually married Grace Mary Wilkinson on 25 September 1837, joined the L.D.S. church on 21 March 1842, and traveled to Zion, settling in American Fork. He and his wife were sealed in the Endowment House. None of Thomas' brothers and sisters joined the church to our knowledge. Thomas was our ancestor.)

After the death of his first wife, John Wrigley married Sarah Butler. (She had been born in 1786 making her 12 years John's junior. Sarah and John Wrigley had one son, James in 1826 indicating their marriage was probably near that year. At that time, John's oldest child would have been 23, and his youngest son who was living elsewhere would have been about 10 years old.) Sarah died September 29, 1860 at the age of 74. John Wrigley died May 1, 1853, at the age of 79.

One son of John Wrigley, William, came to American where he established a soap factory and incorporated it in 1870 in Philadelphia. Later he went into the gum manufacturing business.

LIFE SKETCH OF JOHN WRIGLEY

                                                                       Life Sketch
                                                                             of
                                                                     John Wrigley
                                              (Parenthesis added by Carolyn J. Christensen)

John Wrigley, oldest son of Thomas Wrigley and Grace Mary Wilkinson was born 9 January, 1836 at Doncaster, England. He left England with his mother (Grace Mary), Brother Joseph and Sister Mary on the 15 January 1844. They sailed in the bark Fanny, with Captain Peterson and Elder W.T. Layor Kay, President of the company of saints. After about six weeks good sailing, they arrived in New Orleans. They sailed up the Mississippi River on the Maid of Iowa and after about one month of toil and hardships on the river they arrived in St. Louis, Missouri on the 7 April 1844 to meet his (John’s) father (Thomas) who had come ahead of them to work for money to pay their way. His father, mother and family landed (arrived) in Salt Lake City, Utah the 21 September 1852 with one wagon and two yoke of oxen. Nine of the poor people traveled with them.

The wagon and two yoke of oxen were donated to the Perpetual Emigration Fund, by the St. Louis Branch to help carry provisions from Iowa to Salt Lake City for the Saints. Brigham Young called his (John’s) father, Thomas Wrigley to go to American Fork, Utah to establish a cooperative mercantile business. They arrived in American Fork 5 February 1864. John at this time was twenty six years old. His father went to work in the Coop Store. This left John and Alonzo, fourteen, to break up the ground, make ditches, and plant crops to make a new home. Alonzo passed away 15 April 1865 which left John alone to farm. With grief and lack of help it made hardship on the whole family.

On the 31 October 1870 John (age 34) married Catherine Cunningham, daughter of Robert Cunningham and Ann Wilson in the Salt Lake Endowment House. To them were born six children. John was a sickly man, and made his living from gardening, raising sugar cane (for) molasses, milked cows and raised chickens. He died of dropsy (an old term for the swelling of soft tissues due to the accumulation of excess water) on 24 December 1892 at the age of fifty-four years, five months and fifteen days. He was buried in American Fork, Utah.

Children of John Wrigley and Catherine Cunningham

Name                              Date of Birth               Date of Death
Ann Wrigley                   12 January 1872          15 June 1951

John Eland Wrigley        14 October 1873         20 September 1934

Alexander Wrigley         20 February 1876        12 December 1953

Grace Mary Wrigley      10 December 1878       10 May 1968

Robert Lacoran              10 November 1883       31 January 1964

Frank Desota Wrigley    10 December 1888        1 January 1938