- born 25 April 1816, Thrybergh, Yorkshire, England
- died 28 February 1892, Gunnison, Sanpete, Utah
- came to America in 1855
- emigrated to Utah in 1859 with the Edward Stevenson Company
- was known for her ability to cure meats and make pastries
History of Mary
Coucom Wasden
Mary Coucom Wasden was born 25 April 1816 in Thrybergh,
Yorkshire, England to John and Hannah Heaton Coucom. She married Thomas Wasden 6 December 1841, in
Rotherham, Yorkshire, England. Mary and
Thomas were the parents of 10 children.
Alice Penniston born 29 August 1842, John Brooks born 12 May 1844,
Frederick born 22 May 1846, Ellen born 15 July 1848, Orson born 26 September
1850, Willard born 12 July 1852, Sarah Ann born 7 June 1854, Mary born 7 July
1857, Thomas Nephi born 22 May 1859, Eliza Marie born 13 October 1861. After their marriage in1841, Mary and Thomas
operated a small store in Aston, Yorkshire, England to support their
family. The first three children entered
school for a brief time, but school was limited by the necessity of them
working at a book bindery. The family
was in comfortable circumstances since they all worked. In 1847 Mary, Thomas and their three children
joined the LDS Church after hearing the gospel message. By the year 1855 four more children had been
born to them. In 1855 Thomas and Mary
sold many of their possessions in order to immigrate to America. They left Liverpool on 26 April 1855,
traveling on the ship “William Stetson” a square rigged ship with three decks,
a square stern and a billet head.
There were 700 passengers with 293 Mormons among them. They arrived in New York on 27 May 1855. From New York they traveled by boat and rail
until they reached Cincinnati, Ohio where they remained for about four years
since they had run out of funds and needed the time to earn more money in order
to continue their journey to Utah.
During this period in Cincinnati two of the children,
Willard and Sarah Ann died: Sarah Ann on
24 June 1855 and Willard on 3 August 1855.
Because they were so poor, Elder Orson Spencer, missionary and branch
president, provided them with some funds to bury one of the children and
provide other material assistance to them.
Their daughter Mary was born in 1857 while they were living in
Cincinnati.
By 1859 their material circumstances had improved and they
were able to travel by ox team to Florence, Nebraska; where Thomas Nephi was
born. With other families they joined
the Edward Stevenson Company traveling by wagon pulled by two yoke of oxen;
arriving in the Salt Lake Valley on 17 September 1859. Many of the older children walked nearly all
the way across the plains.
From Salt Lake they traveled to Provo where they lived with
Captain Dan Jones through the winter. In
the spring of 1860 they journeyed to Ephraim, Utah where Thomas Nephi
died. In the spring of 1861 they moved
to Gunnison and settled there until moving to Scipio about 1867.
While in Scipio they were able to repay some of Orson
Spencer’s kindness to them by providing food and shelter to two of his
daughters and their husbands who were traveling from Salt Lake City to St.
George in order to do temple work in the St. George Temple.
After a few years in Scipio, they returned to Gunnison where
they owned and operated in Gunnison Hotel for many years; finishing their lives
in this location.
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| Mary Coucom Wasden with her son John Brooks Wasden |
Mary Coucom Wasden was the eldest of eight children born
April 25, 1816 to John and Hannah Coucom.
After her marriage to Thomas Wasden they operated a small store to
support their family, and at a very early age their three oldest children
worked at a book bindery. After joining
the church, they immigrated to America on the ship William Stetson in April of 1855. While in the vicinity of Cincinnati, the
family was stricken with cholera and two of their children died. Mary was confined to her bed for 11 months. They stayed in Ohio for about four years and
were able to bur a wagon and ox team.
They left Ohio early in the year 1859 and after a very hard journey
arrived in Salt Lake City in the autumn with the Edward Stevenson Company. They settled in Ephraim but later moved to
Gunnison. Mary was a good English cook,
knowing how to dress and cure meats. She
baked pastries of marvelous look and taste and was known for her ability to make
jams from local berries. Mary died
February 28, 1892, in Gunnison, Sanpete, Utah.
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| Marriage certificate for Mary Coucom and Thomas Wasden. Notice her "condition" is listed as spinster, she was 25 years of age when she married. |
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