Jane Mills Paxton Ramsay
submitted by: Kira Johnson
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She married Anthony Clark Paxton in 1833 when she was 31 years old. Anthony was a sailor and sea captain. He was gone much of the time shipping things between Newcastle-Upon-Tyne and London. They had 4 children together from 1839 through 1848.
In 1848, the same year their last child was born, Anthony Paxton set sail for London and never returned home. He fell ill while at sea. He struggled with fever for 10 days and died. His ship was in Greenwich, England at the time so he was buried there. Jane and the children received the news several days later.
The loss of their father was a big setback for the family. Jane and her children would now have to work to survive. The children would not be able to go to school.
Jane found work as a nurse and midwife. She would use these skills to help people for the rest of her life. The oldest child got a job at a metal refinery. His income helped Jane to pay the bills.
While working as a nurse, Jane met Dr. John Ramsay. They were married in 1860. Around this same time, two Mormon missionaries came to their house and taught them about their church. The family all eventually joined the church and wanted to move to Salt Lake City, Utah.
Her husband, John, and oldest son went to Utah first to help get things ready for their arrival. The family packed their bags and left England to come to the United States. They took a train to Liverpool, England. There they took a 32 day boat ride across the Atlantic Ocean on a ship called the John J. Boyd. They were all very seasick.
After arriving in New York, they took a 12 day train ride to Florence Nebraska. They arrived on June 12, 1863. From there they headed across the plains toward Salt Lake in a wagon train of 75 wagons. This part of the journey began on August 6. They went 15-20 miles a day and made it to Salt Lake on October 3. The journey took them 58 days.
They were very happy to arrive in the Salt Lake valley. Jane was reunited with her husband and oldest son. They would be called by Brigham Young to help settle the towns of Parowan, Toquerville, Panguitch, Beaver and Kanosh. Kanosh would be the family’s final home.
Jane passed away at age 77 in Kanosh, Utah. She had been a nurse and midwife for many years and helped countless people.