Half-way up the center aisle on the right-hand side of the Mt. Pleasant cemetery, a modest tombstone proclaims to passers-by that Hannah Madsen Aldrich rests here. This fact, in itself, is not startling, but as one reads on, he wonders whether or not the stone cutter has not made an error in his dates. Born October 1840. Died May 1942. Nearly one-hundred-two years old!
―Bet there isn‘t another one like it in the entire cemetery,‖ my brother remarks drily. Long before she became the occupant of this narrow plot of ground, Grandmother was a vivacious teenager in far-off Denmark. Each day she attended school, and life was filled with the magic of living, loving, of youth. Then one day in early 1856, Mormon Elders knocked on the door of Ole Madsen‘s modest home, and the family heard their compelling message and believed. To Ole and Annie Madsen, the message filled a missing link in their lives. Soon they were meeting in the homes of other interested citizens to study the new religion. In a country in which a state church exists, one is quickly ostracized if he dissents from the established pattern. Ole and his fellow converts were well aware of this fact, but they continued to meet secretly until the inevitable leak of their clandestine meetings.
Ole‘s home was bombarded that very evening by irate neighbors and inflamed citizens who pelted his home with rotten eggs and spoiled tomatoes. He knew now that his moment of truth had come. He must leave immediately with his family if he were to save them from further harassment and persecution. The converts crouched against the walls of the darkened house, hurriedly formulating plans for an early exit.
It was not soon enough, however. Their children were driven from school and former friends and even relatives spurned them.
The valiant band of Danish converts made their way to Liverpool, England, where they met other converts and set sail on the ship Horizon with 856 Mormon converts aboard. They arrived in Boston Harbor on June 30, 1856, after eleven weeks of ocean travel. Because they had little or no money, most of them hastened to Iowa City so they could depart immediately for Mormon Country and permanent homes in the Rocky Mountains before winter set in. Here they built handcarts of green wood. This enabled hundreds of immigrants who had no money for travel by other means to make the trek to Zion. Seventeen pounds of clothing was allotted to each person. Although Brigham Young had warned the Saints not to leave so late in the season, these poverty-stricken people had little or no choice. The last two handcart companies left in July. The James G. Willie Company on July 15th.
The Edward Martin Company with its 756 persons on July 28th. Hannah and her family were included in the Martin Company. Captain B. Hodgett, traveling with an ox team, was told to remain behind the two companies in case they needed help. The companies traveled along the North Platte River, but Hodgett eventually got ahead of the Martin Company which was strung out for miles when early storms slowed them down. Not nearly enough clothing had been allotted to keep the people warm. Had it not been for Franklin D. Richards and other returning missionaries who were traveling by horse teams and who passed the suffering companies and purchased buffalo robes for them in Laramie, Wyoming, probably fewer would have survived the ordeal. As it was, approximately 40 percent of the Martin Company perished from exposure, starvation, and disease. When Richards arrived in Salt Lake, he informed Brigham Young of the desperate straits of these late companies. Brigham, in the midst of his October conference, adjourned it quickly, so he could get help to the hapless victims. The Willie Company was found first. Half of the rescuers remained with this group and half proceeded to find the Martin Company. Snowbound, with almost no food, their feet bruised and bleeding, and some with feet frozen to the knees or so weak they could not walk, the people waited to be taken in their wagons.
In one of her rare conversations about the ordeal, Hannah revealed that some of the members had eaten their own fingers and sucked the blood. When a burial took place, no one looked back, for most bodies were simply buried in snowdrifts and the wolves had found them before the Saints had traveled a block, she said. Since women, children, and the elderly and stick were taken first, Hannah and her family were taken before her father. As she kissed him goodbye, she expected to see him very soon, but Ole Madsen‘s hours on earth were numbered.
That same night he died of exposure and strain and was buried in a shallow grave by the trail, along with twelve other souls who perished with him. Hannah, her widowed mother, and three small children were thus left to make their way alone in a strange land. Hannah was now sixteen years old. She and her sister were able to obtain jobs doing housework in Salt Lake City where Hannah soon met a young Massachusetts convert, who had come to Utah with his mother and two sisters.
Hannah and Martin were married on December 10, 1960. They became the parents of seven living children. At various periods they lived in Circle Valley, Chester, Milburn, Indianola, later making their permanent home in Mt. Pleasant, where they became prominent early-day settlers.
There are many things I remember about Grandma. First of all, she was a lady. I never saw her when she was not ―dressed up.‖ Perhaps this was a carry-over from her days of poverty and ragged clothing. At age 98, she had her hair cut for the first time in her life. No one ever saw her without her earrings and her broach. On her one-hundredth birthday my father brought three new dresses to her home for her to see. She was to make a choice of one for her birthday. Grandmother tried them on and carefully evaluated each one. The she calmly announced, ―I‘ll take them all. I‘ll pay for the other two myself.‖ 12 When one of her nieces brought her a beautiful little orchid, shrug sweater for her birthday, she later brought it to my mother and said, ―Here, Sena, do you want this grandmother sweater!‖ Most amusing was the time one of her nieces insisted upon making Grandmother‘s burial clothes, much to Grandma‘s disgust and horror. After they were completed and presented to her, she brought them to my mother again. ―Please keep these things. I don‘t want to see them.‖
By the time she dies twenty-five years later, the moths had eaten the yellowed garments and they could not be used. Even in death she did not have to see them. When Grandmother became the oldest lady in town, she quit attending the annual Old Folks‘ Party. This was the final blow to her vanity. The day before the party each year she developed a severe headache which kept her from attending. I never remember her being ill at any other time, although her corns did bother her when the moon changed. Each Wednesday promptly at one o‘clock she made her weekly visit to Sena‘s. Mother was expected to visit, not to do any housework. Even the children knew enough to visit or go play. Promptly at six o‘clock we ate dinner and Grandmother departed for her home.
At Christmas time Grandmother made it very plain to all that she wanted no wool stockings, felt house slippers, or housedresses. Red beads, perfume, hair oil, earrings, or fancy combs were properly appreciated, however.
When John H. Stansfield, a prominent Utah artist, decided he would like to paint a portrait of her when she became 100 years old, she willingly agreed. Each day for a week my brother took her on the handlebars of his bicycle to the artist‘s studio for the sitting. She enjoyed every minute of it.
What was the source of Grandma‘s longevity? We believe it was her rigid discipline. At 9 p.m. she retired. She ate well, but sparingly. Certainly her good health, financial security, and her ability to look forward were contributing factors. She lived in the future. If she suffered any scars from her handcart ordeal or the disappointments of life, I detected only one..she sometimes read books and magazines upside down. One week before she died, she became ill. The Doctor said her feet just ―wore out.‖
Sources: ―interview with Hannah Madsen Aldrich‖ by Grace Candland Jacobsen. ―Ordeal by Handcart‖ by Wallace Stegner. Mormon Country by Wallace Stegner. ―Andrew Madsen‘s Journal‖ from Mt. Pleasant. Aldrich Genealogical Records. Records in L.D.S. Church Historian‘s Office from Mt. Pleasant. Author‘s personal knowledge and acquaintance with Hannah.
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