Thomas Freestone

THOMAS FREESTONE

Thomas Freestone, the son of George Freestone and Ann Youngman, was born on 19 May 1795, in

Flixton, Suffolk, England.  About the year 1835, he left his home with his sister, Sarah, and her husband, William Ward, and headed for Prince Edward Island, Canada.  Prince Edward Island was green, peaceful and prosperous.  The Indians called it "the home cradled in the waves."

While there, he met and fell in love with Ann Fall.  They were married on August 4, 1836.  He was tall, well-built, muscular, had dark hair, and a serious countenance. 

When their oldest child, George, was almost 2, they left Prince Edward Island on a sea journey along the east coast of America.  As they were almost to the harbor of Boston, their second son was born. They settled in central Ohio.  Three daughters came into their family.  The youngest one died when only two months old.  Two more daughters came later. 

Thomas' second son, James, although only 9 years old, would frequently go into the woods to pray to God that if He had a people on earth, he would be able to find them.  One day two Mormon missionaries came into the neighborhood preaching their message of the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. James heard them and went home and told his parents of the meeting.  His mother, Ann, agreed to go with him.  They were both converted. Within four years, all members of their family were baptized.

In family council, they decided to sell the farm and start for the gathering place of the saints.  They had been told that Mormon emigrants used cows as beasts of burden to pull their wagons, so they hitched their unbroken, untrained and unwilling cows to the wagon. 

They reached Mount Pisgah on Christmas Day in a snowstorm. Ann wrote a letter to the Branch President of Council Bluffs (100 miles away) telling them of their financial plight.  The letter was read in a meeting and many tears were shed.  The President wrote back and told the family that if they could get to Council Bluffs, the branch would help them get through to Utah.

The winter was hard.  They had little food.  Thomas got what work he could.  During the winter, they decided to press forward a little further and went 20 miles to Winterset.  One of their cows died that winter, so they hitched a two year old heifer with the other cow and started out early in the spring, reaching Council Bluffs in April.  They joined a company of 50 wagons heading for Utah.  They were given a better wagon and began their last journey on June 10, 1853.

In 1855 their final child was born- another girl.  In 1858, Thomas went south to look for a new home.  As he was entering the Parowan area, a group of Indians killed him.  According to stories, they had made a pact that the next white man who crossed a certain spot would die.  Unfortunately, he was the one.  No one knows where he was buried, but at least one of the Indians felt remorse for his actions.  He buried Thomas, went through his possessions, tracked down his wife, Ann, and told her what had happened.  But, that is another story!