A word picture and character sketch by Anna Marie Terry Andrew.

ELIZA JANE PULSIPHER TERRY

Born July 26, 1840, at Nauvoo, Illinois Died May 5, 1919, buried at Panaca Daughter of Zera Pulsipher and Mary Brown Married Thomas Sirls Terry on May 6, 1855

Eliza Jane’s hair was parted in the middle and drawn to the back. All the other Pulsipher family members were white-headed, but Eliza’s hair was brown. She was average in height and build. Her long black skirt touched the ground as she walked, and it had two deep pockets. In these pockets this kind and generous woman could always find a dollar to help some member of the family.

There was a time when Eliza Jane herself had asked for help and was not turned away empty. This is the story of the flour box, and demon¬strates her faith in God and its fulfillment.

It was in Little Cottonwood — 12 miles from Salt Lake City. Her husband had left to go on a mission, and Eliza Jane — a young mother 18 years old, was left on the farm with her young child. Uncle Will Pulsi¬pher was to have stayed on the farm to look after things while Thomas Sirls Terry was away, but the Church called for volunteers to take teams and go to help the handcart company, he had a severe cold and his sweetheart had died of smallpox. His hardships and sorrow caused him to have brain fever and he was very ill for a long time, so Eliza Jane remained alone at the farm to do the chores.

The snow that winter was up to the window sills. She had to dig roots along under the creek bank for food and she froze her feet. That winter the wooden flour box became empty. Nevertheless, Eliza Jane would take her cup to get flour for another meal. As she banged the spoon or hammer against the boards of the flour box she prayed, and she could always get enough flour to help make a meal.

Brigham Young called the Pulsipher and Terry families to help settle Southern Utah and this they did. Eliza Jane and her people went into a new part of the country to make their home.

Eliza Jane had 12 children of her own and waited on all the other women in the country when they gave birth to theirs. This is how she came to undertake this nursing or doctoring career: When Uncle Will Pulsipher’s wife, Esther, was about to give birth to her baby, the mid-wife was ill and couldn’t attend the expectant mother. Eliza Jane’s father, Zera Pulsipher, came to her and said, “Eliza, you are the only woman that can handle the job.” He gave her a blessing and started her out on this new career. Many people came to depend upon Eliza Jane, and feeling the need of further training, she went to St. George and took a course in obstetrics. Her services were much sought after. People would come for her from far away, night or day, in all different kinds of conveyances. She always went where and when she was needed. These journeys took her over long stretches of rough road in all kinds of weather. Her children gained the experience of caring for the home and family while she was gone.

Eliza Jane was very independent. From her nursing she always had money of her own, and even bought and maintained her own home in Panaca. If she needed work done, there were men who owed her for doctor bills that were glad to do it. She dearly loved her husband. They lived in the day when polygamy was taught by the Church, and he endeavored all his days to be a good husband and father. Thomas Sirls Terry married first to Eliza Jane’s older sister, Mary Ann. He married Eliza Jane second when he was age 30 and she was 15. To his first marriage only girls had been born, and it was Eliza Jane who presented her husband his first son. (This child was our grandfather, Zera Pulsipher Terry.) Since Mary Ann’s first children were girls, her family lived in the town of Hebron. Eliza Jane lived on the Terry Ranch so that the boys could help their father. Later, when Mary Ann’s family of boys came along, she moved to the farm and Eliza Jane moved to Hebron until her children were almost all married. Then she bought a home at Panaca, Nevada, where she followed her doctor work the rest of her life.

Thomas Sirls Terry married again to Hanna Leavitt, by whom he raised another nice family of six — 3 boys and 3 girls. Because he had the three families to watch over, Eliza Jane could only have her husband with her part of the time. She never complained over this or any of her hardships during her life. When her husband came, he usually brought fruit that she needed. Eliza Jane was cheerful and even-tempered. She prepared the fin¬est meals and kept her home lovely and clean. She was a devoted wife and a loving mother. This is a picture of my great grandmother, Eliza Jane Pulsipher. Born at Nauvoo, Hancock County, Illinois, she crossed the plains when she was only seven years old. This daughter of leaders, wife of a leader, and mother of leaders, stands in her own right as a leader in the early days of Southern Utah. This industrious woman kept busy serving her family and others as long as she lived. In the declining years of her life she was lovingly cared for by her daughter Eva. And when she died, her funeral was held at Panaca where whe had spent the later years of her active life.

Many people today trace their ancestry to this colorful pioneer figure. Let these words be the measuring stick for the life of Eliza Jane Pulsipher.

“By their fruits ye shall know them. …”

Source:Brent Bunker