Annie Fowers Byington, the daughter of Jesse and Sarah Fowers, was born in Normanton, Derbyshire, England, June 19, 1848.  She was baptized at the age of eight years in the L.D.S. Church attended school eight weeks, but, although she had very little schooling, she could write very plainly, her spelling was fair, she could read very good and was very familiar with the Bible.  She could quote scriptures from the Bible, in fact she read it through so many times, she could tell just about where to find the answer to any question that came up.   She always said “When I read the Bible, I am reading something worthwhile.”  She never believed in wasting her time on foolish reading.   Her time as a young girl was spent helping her mother.  Her father, being President of the Conference House, made work for her to do, because they had so many Elders.  At conference time they had as many as thirty.  At night when her work was done and the small children were in bed, she would black all the Elder’ shoes, ready for morning.  Grandfather and Grandmother had so many meetings to attend, she would be alone at night to take care of the home, besides it would be around eleven or twelve o’clock, before her work was done and she would be up again at five to get breakfast for the Elders, so that they could get off to their tracting and meetings, and the men off to their work, 

She left her beautiful home in England at the age of sixteen.  They sailed on May 21, 1864, and with her parents, eight brothers and one sister, was at sea nine weeks and three days.  Ten days after they set sail, her mother took sick and with a small baby of two years to care for, made it hard for mother to again do all the work and care for the sick.  Owing to trouble between two captains, they had to sail some distance north to be out of the other captain’s way, he had threatened to sink every Mormon vessel.  With them dodging the other vessel they struck an iceberg, causing their ship to leak.  Captain McClanlen called men, women and all the children that were able to help bail the water from the deck.  Another terrible experience was the death of a small baby on the ship, the parents tried to smuggle it through, but the vessel was attacked by a huge shark, the captain called all together and said something was wrong and if the one, who was hiding a dead body or any such, did not come through, they would all be capsized.  Mother said it was heartbreaking when the mother had to see her little one buried at sea.  She had a beautiful hat blow into the sea, and said she thought that was terrible until it was filled with pretty birds. President J. Bull, of the Mormon company called all the brethren to pray, that they might all be saved, and the Lord was surely on their side.  The captain told them later, had it not been so many Mormons on the ship they would have surely gone down.  They arrived in New York, July 28, 1864, after landing and waiting for their baggage to be transferred to shore, most of it was stolen and they were left with very little clothing. 

They rode in cattle cars as far as St. Joseph, Missouri, from there in cars that had been used in the war, to Wyoming City, Nebraska.  They bought a few cooking provisions and then went on to Omaha.  While traveling on the railroad, they came to a burning bridge and just got across when it went down, again realizing the protection from the Lord.  After reaching Omaha, they secured wagons and three yokes of oxen, and with a company of sixty-two wagons, under the direction of Captain Joseph S. Raulins, they started for Salt Lake City.  Her mother, still being very sick, mother had to care for the two year old baby. He was delicate and would not ride in the wagons,  Mother packed him until she would nearly drop. 

They arrived in Salt Lake City, September 21, 1864, and stayed there a few days, then moved to Ogden. After they arrived in Ogden, her mother took sick with mountain fever, and giving birth to a baby girl, still left the responsibility on mother.  After her mother gained her health, mother started to work out. 

She was married to father, James Stephen Byington, December 6, 1869, in the endowment building at Salt Lake City.  To this union, eight children were born, her first was born in a wagon box in November.  She had seven girls and one boy.  They lived in Hooper and then moved to Franklin, Idaho, where  father became very friendly with the Indians and could talk their language.  They moved back to Hooper and bought their home. One terrible year the grasshoppers took their crop.  Father worked with any kind of work to make a living and though mother was raising her family, she did washing and house cleaning to help get their home. It had been said she could white wash a room and make it beautiful and white.  She was very happy doing this work to help get her own home. 

She was left a widow, April 14, 1884 with seven small children, the oldest being fifteen and a baby girl, born six months after her husband’s death.  When her baby was six weeks old, she again started to work at any kind of work she could get, leaving this small baby with the oldest daughter, of fifteen years.  Her son, now thirteen, helped her work the farm.  Six years after the death of her husband, she lost a daughter, eight years old, who died on December 26, 1890.  Then more trouble for her, her dear father got hurt, by stepping in a hole while walking to church and died, this meaning the loss of her dearest friend and companion, since the death of her husband.  Four years later she lost another daughter, twenty-two years old, who left a three year old baby for mother to care for.  This she did until she married. 

Mother did not only care for her own family but was kind and good to other orphans. So good in sickness, it would be grand to know how many babies she helped into this world and how many her kind hands helped while leaving this world.  It was no trouble for her to get out of her sick bed to help in confinement or when there was a death.  Her motto always was to be kind to others.  She was a counselor in the primary, belonged to the ward choir and a teacher in the Relief Society.  She has been a widow thirty-eight years, has lived an honest life, in fact, I will say a life very well spent, so far, taking care of her family and mothering many others. 

Grandmother died on March 1, 1919, at the age of ninety-nine.  Through all mother’s troubles, grandmother was a comfort to her.  She stayed firm with her faith and although in aged years, she tries to do her bit in helping others. She is now seventy-four and enjoying fairly good health, her posterity number sixty-eight.  Mother helped me write this,  

By her daughter, Mrs. Jesse Fielding 

Mother died on September 1, 1925, at the age of seventy-seven years.  Two months, and twelve days.  She was up to see me, I took her home at dark and took sick at one the next morning and died at seven.  Her memory was good up until she died.  She had a beautiful, shining, black hair, not very gray, when she died her death being a heart attack.  God bless her memory.