By Her Daughter, Nora Harrison Williams 

My mother, Emma Dredge Harrison, was born on 27 September 1866 at Malad, Oneida, Idaho. Her father, Jesse Richard Dredge, and her mother, Ellen Rhees, were the parents of 13 children, with my mother, Emma, being the seventh child and the first to be born in Malad. 

My mother had 12 brothers and sisters as follows: (1) Ellen Harriet, born 24 March 1855 and died 1 August 1860, (2) Sarah Ann, born 27 October 1856 and died 11 August 1860, (3) David Charles born 18 February 1859 and died 23 July 1860, (4) Elizabeth Ann born 5 March 1861 and died 27 February 1921, (5) Hannah Adelia born 28 March 1863 and died 26 March 1895, (6) Lucy Jane born 13 May 1865 and died 23 December 1865, (7) Emma (my mother) born 27 September 1866 and died 31 December 1957, (8) Alice born 7 December 1868 and died 5 June 1952, (9) Nora born 14 February 1871 and died 16 September 1890, (10) Jesse Horatio born 29 March 1873 and died 27 May 1957, (11) Hettie May born 3 May 1875 and died 28 December 1957, (12) Richard Henry born 16 January 1878, (13) William Rhees born 28 May 1880 and died 8 May 1947. 

Her parents received a testimony of the truthfulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints while they were in England. In 1861 they left Gastershire, England, and came to America. After reaching New York they started to head for Utah. On the way across the plains, her father was chosen to go back and help other companies journeying to Utah. Her mother and family continued on to Utah and arrived in the Salt Lake valley six weeks before her father and the other company. 

The first night in Salt Lake her mother sat on her little box of belongings the entire night and held her baby. The next day she found some friends who let her work for her board and room until her husband could come and join her. 

After her husband joined them, they made their home in Kaysville, Utah. In the spring of 1866 they left Kaysville, Utah, and came to Malad, Idaho, to make their home. They left with great faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and taught the teachings of Jesus Christ to their children. 

In July 1874, Emma was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She was a little older than eight years at the time of her baptism. Something happened at that particular time which she always remembered. It had been planned that she would go with some other children to be baptized. Saturday afternoon her mother took her to town to buy her a pair of shoes that she could wear to Church on Sunday to be confirmed. When they reached town and returned home, all of the other children had been baptized. Through some misunderstanding they had been baptized earlier than expected. She cried and cried and felt so bad that she was not able to be baptized with the other children, so her father baptized her the same day so she could be confirmed the following day at church with the other children by George Adams. Her father often told her of the great testimony that he received at the time, and she was very grateful that her father was able to baptize her. 

Prior to her baptism she had been sick and was healed by the power of the Lord. About three days after her baptism she became ill again and she told her parents, “I don’t care if I die now because I am a Mormon.” Since that time her faith had grown stronger and she received many testimonies of the healing power of the Lord. 

On 26 November 1884, she married James Parry Harrison in the Logan LDS Temple, in Logan, Cache, Utah. They were sealed one to another by President Merrills of the Logan Temple. After their marriage, she lived with her husband and his other wife, Elvira Ann Williams for sometime. They lived together peacefully until the persecution became so severe that the officers were seeking after those men and women who were living the law of plural marriage and she had to go away at this time. She left in the night riding in a wagon with a man and woman who were also going in the “underground.” At Collingston she bought a ticket and as she was afraid she might be seen by someone she knew if she rode in the passenger car, she rode in the caboose of a freight train to Hot Springs, then she walked to to her Uncle’s place to find that her Aunt and Uncle were moving from the place to keep away from the officers. It seemed to her that she had, “Jumped from the frying pan into the fire.” But they let her stay with them and work for her board, doing housework and helping in the fruit orchard. 

They had to watch the road to see that no officers or “Deps” as they were called were coming. While they were working in the orchard fields, they listened for bells. Two bells meant dinner and three bells meant danger. They scattered in all directions and hid in the trees and brush in the hills when they heard three bells. If they met anyone while they were hiding, they told them they were looking for pigs. 

Her husband, James Parry Harrison, was very active in church duties and served as Bishop of the St. John Ward for a period of 24 years. He also went to work on the church farm. 

When he went to work on the church farm, his first wife, Elvira Ann, drove horses and buggy to Salt Lake alone from Malad to get Emma and bring her back home. The next time Emma had to go away, she went to Salt Lake and stayed with her husband’s parents. She had a little boy, about two and a half years old, which she left with the old folks while she went out doing washing for 50 cents a day. All washings were done by hand on the wash board. She stayed in Salt Lake for sometime until her husband was counseled by the Church authorities to give himself up to the officers. He was tried in court and sentenced to serve six months in jail, which he did rather than give up his second wife. He served the six months in the Boise prison. 

Emma, his second wife, always respected her husband for this and she taught all of her children to love, honor and respect their father and his first wife. She never did try to separate them. Through the help of her Heavenly Father, she was able to rear her family almost without the help of her husband who was very busy with church duties and working to keep the two families with something to live on.  

My mother, Emma, bore her testimony to her children that she prayed in earnest and in secret that the Lord should make known to her if the principle of polygamy was right and she testified to her children that she did receive an answer. Therefore, she said to them, “Never raise your voices against it. If you cannot understand it, don’t say anything about it. For My testimony to you is that the principal is true and if lived right, and we have tried to live it and tried very hard, with all of our weaknesses, and the Lord has blessed us as a family.” 

The two wives lived together and worked doing almost anything they could until their husband returned from prison. 

For three weeks, Emma worked for Nephi Lewis and took wheat for her pay. During this time Elvira Ann took care of Emma’s little boy and the farm. Emma also worked for Dan Kent and took wood as her pay. Thus she kept wheat and flour and the bin full of wood to keep them warm from the blowing winter. 

When her husband returned she had to go away again. This time she moved to Portage, Utah. Here her second child was born. She lived here for about two and a half years. During this time her baby took sick and died. This left her very lonely and also her little boy who was five years old at the time. 

Eight children were born to James Parry Harrison and Emma Dredge as follows: (1) James Exile born 30 October 1885 and died 23 August 1905, (2) Angelina born 20 December 1888 and died 26 December 1890, (3) Nora born 20 June 1891, (4) Zeniff Dredge born 31 January 1894, (5) Jesse Dredge born 20 September 1897 and died 3 July 1939, (6) Ellen Lucille born 15 March 1900 and died 1 October 1942, (7) Emma Priscilla born 14 March 1902, (8) Parry Dredge born 13 March 1908 and died 23 May 1955. 

Mother took her family and moved to Deep Creek, just east of Malad, when I was about 13 years old. We lived in a shanty with dirt floors but we white washed the walls. Father built us a cabin not too long after and my brother and I helped him bring the logs down from the canyon. 

Shortly after we moved to Deep Creek, our mother took very ill with spotted fever and I sent Jesse to tell Grandpa Williams. When father found out, he came and took her to Auntie’s place. We called Father’s first wife, Elvira Ann, auntie. She took care of Mother for one month. It took Mother a long time to get over her illness. 

My mother had been actively engaged in Church work most of her life. She worked in the Primary organization, being president of the Ward organization in the St. John Ward for several years. She also was active in the Relief Society and served as a teacher in that organization most of her adult life. She was a member of the Genealogical Committee in the Second Ward for many years and had also worked in many other church capacities. 

For over 17 years, my mother was a practical nurse in the Malad Valley. She helped doctors in times of illness.  

My mother and father celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on 26 November 1934. My beloved mother, Emma Dredge Harrison passed away on 31 December 1957, at her home in Malad, Oneida, Idaho. She was 91 years of age at the time of her death. 

She was survived at the time of her death by two daughters and one son: Mrs. Arthor (Nora) Williams of Malad, Idaho, Mrs. Glenn (Priscilla) Facer of Salt Lake City, and Zeniff Dredge Harrison also of Salt Lake City. One brother, Richard Henry Dredge of Parma, Idaho. Thirty-five grandchildren, eighty-two great-grandchildren and twenty great-great-grandchildren survived her at the time of her death. 

My full desire here on earth is to live a life so that when I meet her again someday as I know I will, that she will say to me, “Come dear daughter you have earned a Mother’s blessing.” 

This history was written and compiled by Nora Harrison Williams, second daughter of James Parry Harrison and Emma Dredge Harrison. 

Here is a little item about Mother that may be of interest to others which was sent in by another daughter, Priscilla H. Facer: 

I can’t remember just how old I was, maybe 10 or 12 years, or the year it was, but I do remember that it was in the early spring. 

We had an early thaw and rain fell and the fields were almost covered with water. Late one night or early morning, I can’t remember for sure which, we were awakened by someone calling Mother from outside and some distance from the house.  

Mother went downstairs (we slept upstairs most of the time in the house on the farm. We had only one bedroom downstairs.) She went to the front door and found the caller to be a neighbor, Edwin Williams, who at that time lived across the fields in the old Ralph Harding house, about a mile away. 

He was across the road just inside their fence, calling to Mother. Ed’s wife, Bertha, I think her name was, was expecting a baby. Ed wanted mother to come stay with her while he went to town for the doctor. 

Mother never turned down a call for help. She put on a coat and rubber boots (to her knees) and trudged through the water, mud, and cold to Ed’s house, climbing fences as she went. 

Those were the days of horse and buggy and it took some time before the doctor and Ed returned. The baby was born about 20 minutes before they got there, but Mother took care of everything and all was well. Mother stayed for several days to look after Bertha and the baby as we were old enough to take care of ourselves for a few days. 

This is only one incident of many similar ones where Mother helped others, as she was always doing.