Margaret Elzirah Frost ^{1 2 3}

   Ancestral File Number: 17QJ-4N.

   General Notes:

Margaret Elzira Frost Rawlins was born April 28, 1830 in Knox Co. Tennessee.
Her parents were McCaslin Frost and Pennina Smith. When a small child, Margaret
moved with her parents to Handcock Co. and thern to Jefferson Co. Iowa. Here in the
spring of 1840, her sister was married. On the day before the wedding, there came a big
turkey before the door, her father shot it and had it for the wedding dinner. Her parents
went to the wedding, leaving Margaret home with a big dog to guard her as it was in a
country where there were lots of Indians.
Shortly after this, her brother Samuel, came to Illinois bringing the gospel to his
people. He converted them and they were baptized during the winter in holes made by
cutting ice which was about two feet deep.
Her father rented a place about 5 miles from Carthage and they lived there for
several years before the prophet was killed and were living there at the time of his death,
when the mob began to burn houses they moved towards the west. They stopped in
Council Bluffs, Iowa, in the fall of 1846. Her father and brother Samuel went about sixty
miles down the river to what was called Nishnabotmy. Her brother bought a place here
and all lived there for a while.
While working at a place where the lady was sick, Margaret did some mending for
the woman and her work was so neat and well done, many others came for her to do work
for them. It was while working here that she married Harvey M. Rawlins on December 3,
1846 and moved to a place called Honey Creek. Her husband went out hunting and got
two large turkeys which they had for their New Years dinner. While here, the men would
herd cattle on the opposite side of the river. They would set their pans of milk out and let
it freeze, then stacked it up and took it to the women, who thawed it out and made cheese
and butter. The people here built a school house and held school during the winter of
1847.
On the morning of April 30, 1848, a baby girl was born to Margaret and Harvey.
When she was two weeks old, they started for the journey to the Rocky Mountains with
two yolks of cattle, three were wild. When starting, they became freightened and ran
over a large stump nearly throwing mother and baby out. They made it to the Missouri
River that day. here they found a great many waiting to cross, and had to stay here
several days before going across. They had a cow and Margaret would put the milk from
the cow in a churn which over their day's travel, would churn the butter for them. They
traveled in the company under the head of Captain Andrew Cunningham. They reached
Salt Lake on October 12, 1848 and stayed in the fort over night. Next day, they drove to
Little Cotton Wood, camping there for a while and then they went on to Big Cotton
Wood, where her husband built a dug out house in a hill and he farmed the land close by
and later built a log house.
In the summer of 1854, the grasshoppers took their crops. Many of the cattle
died that winter and the people suffered a great deal. In 1857, they moved to Draper in a
two roomed adobe house. They now had three children, having buried their second child
as an infant. Here they set out a peach orchard.
On December 10, 1859, she took rheumatism and was helpless for six weeks. Her
eldest daugher was married to Marion Kerr on March 18, 1863 and died in 1865.
On November 1, 1865 they moved to Richmond, Cache Co. and in 1871 they
moved to Lewiston and homesteaded land. Here they built a home in which they lived at
the time of their deaths.
She was the mother of 12 children, ten living at the time of her husbands death.
She was Sunday School teacher for many years. On January 6, 1876 they organized the
Relief Society in Lewiston, of which she was put in as president and served in this position
for 28 years. During those years, she, with the help of the ward, constructed a granery,
Relief Society meeting house and a small dwelling home. She helped lay away about 100
dead and made their clothes. Never was she too busy to go when she was needed either
day or night.
When she was past seventy, she fell and broke her hip, but through constant faith
and good care, she was able to again do her work. In 1900, her husband went blind and
she was ever faithful, caring for him, always at his side until death, which came in
September 9, 1913 at the age of 88 years and 7 months. After his death she was very
lonesome as they had been married 67 years. Whe quilted and pieced many quilts.
In 1916, her eldest son, (who was my father) died thus making the first death
among her children for fifty years. She became rather feeble the remaining four years of
her life and she suffer with a cancer on her cheek the last two months. She died April 4,
1920, just lacking 24 days of being 90 years old.
At the time of her death she had 9 living children, 91 grandchildren and 21 great-
grandchildren.

Her children were:
Born Married
Margaret Elzira April 30, 1848 M. Marion Kerr
James McCaslinJuly 3, 1850
Harvey McGalyardDecember 13,1851
Samuel LafayetteJuly 17, 1854
Franklin ArchibaldJanuary 22, 1857
Pennina JaneApril 6, 1859M. James Leavitt
Mary EvelynNovember 19, 1861M. Joseph Leavitt
Joseph WilliamMarch 4, 1864
Alma FrostOctober 23, 1866
Elva ArmintaMay 14, 1869M. G. A. Hogan
Jasper AlphonzeFebruary 1, 1872
Nancy EllenAugust 1, 1874M. Edward Stocks

Margaret married Harvey Mcgaylard Rawlins, son of James Rawlins and Jane Sharp, on 3 Dec 1846 in -, Nishnabotna, Atchison, Missouri. (Harvey Mcgaylard Rawlins was born on 14 Feb 1825 in -, Applecreek, Green, Illinois, died on 9 Sep 1913 in -, Lewiston, Cache, Utah ⁴ and was buried on 11 Sep 1913 in -, Lewiston, Cache, Utah.)