One of my paternal great grandmothers, Elizabeth Susan Ottley, was born at Lower Jennies, Bures Hamlet, Essex, England on December 30, 1861 to Edward Ottley and Harriet Mills.  She was the 6th of 7 children.

    On June 12, 1876, at the age of 15, Elizabeth was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Elder William Paxman. The following September 1877, Elizabeth and her family emigrated to the United States aboard the ship, Wisconsin, arriving in New York on September 30, 1877.  They traveled to Salt Lake City via train arriving October 6, 1877.  The family went to South Cottonwood (present day Murray) to live.

    Elizabeth had many suitors.  In 1879, she met Hans Jorgen Rasmussen who had been in the Salt Lake Valley for quite a few years.  On July 15, 1880, they were married in the Old Endowment House in Salt Lake City.  Elizabeth was 19 and Hans Jorgen was 40.

    On June 9, 1881, their first child, Fredrick William was born in South Cottonwood, Utah.  On September 1881, they took their belongings and moved to Elba, Idaho arriving October 27, 1881.

    On February 1884, Karen Marie was born during a howling blizzard.  Hans left Elizabeth with her sister Sofia and went to get the midwife in Elba about 3 miles away.  The storm was so bad, they didn’t get back home until the middle of the next day. 

    On June 13, 1886, another boy was born but he died the same day.  They named him Hans Jorgen. The third boy born was Jens Edward.  George Henry was born April 1, 1890 but died three days later on April 4, 1890.  Their second daughter, Harriet Elizabeth, was born September 8, 1892.  She died about 4 months later on January 10, 1989.  Their last child, Frank D, was born June 30, 1894.

    Elizabeth’s husband, Hans, had not been well so in the fall after Frank’s birth, he went back to South Cottonwood to get medical attention.  He died there on November 18, 1894.  His body was brought back to Elba for funeral services and burial.

    Elizabeth raised her family in Elba, Idaho, with the help of her oldest son Frederick William who was only 13 years old.  Frederick William and Frank D lived with her and worked the farm in Elba.  She died January 1, 1923, in Declo, Idaho in the home of her daughter, Karen.  She is buried next to Hans in the Elba, Idaho cemetery.

Elizabeth Susan Ottley biograph.pdf

Elizabeth Susan Ottley patriarchal blessing.pdf

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