Electa Bensen Bartholomew History

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Electa Benson, daughter of Benjamin and Keziah Messinger Benson was born the 8th of September 1812 in Onondaga County, New York, the eighth child.

She was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day-Saints on the 19th of February, 1832 by Samuel and confirmed the same day in Tip County, Indiana.

When just a small child about eight years of age she took cold and it seemed to settle in her eyes and they were very swollen, she was taken to a doctor and he lanced her eyes. I do not know just what he really did, but she gradually lost her sight until she was almost blind. I understand that she was able to distinguish night from day, but that was the extent of her seeing.

For some reason her sister Polly, who was four years younger, had a great love and understanding for her less fortunate sister and considered it her pleasure and responsibility to care for her.

When they left Missouri for Utah, Aunt Electa was with them and remained with them the remainder of her life.

She was a kind loveable person and a great help to her sister, (My grandmother), knitting all the stockings for the family and when holes were worn in either the heel or toe she unraveled enough to pick up the stitches and knit a new heel or toe in the stocking saying, “it is much easier to knit than to darn.”

She could thread the finest needles and the children and grandmother always took the finest needles to her to thread for them

She cut the blocks and pieced the most intricate quilt tops and helped quilt them. When cutting blocks she had several needles threaded with long double thread and card board patterns to cut blocks by --- as she cut each size and color she put them on separate needles to keep the sizes and colors separated. When she sewed them she could tell color and etc. by feeling.

I remember seeing a quilt, which she had pieced and helped quilt. It was made of home dyed, blue yellow and white tiny pieces; each block formed a star, very even and beautifully done.

She could tell if cloth were clean just by the feel. It seems that when the sense of sight was lost the other senses were very much keener and made up for the loss.

When my mother was born, Aunt Electa took much of the care of her. She was a very thin babe and grandfather told aunt Electa that she could have her. Her twin, Eliza Elvira was a fat little babe. Later she told him that he had given her the thin one thinking it would not live; but with tender loving care she grew and was a happy and a healthy child living to be eighty years old and the mother of ten children.

Aunt Electa was very independent and could move about the house and yard by herself.

She received her endowments on the `6th of September 1872 and was sealed to grandfather Bartholomew. They did not want her to always be single and alone. Grandmother approved, I am sure.

Grandfather was a great reader and as he sat reading the news, grandmother always kept the children quiet so as not to disturb him, but Aunt Electa would say, “ the rattling of the paper is the only sound we hear.”

To know her was to love and appreciate her, she was an example of kindness and patience

I wish that I might have been privileged to have known her, but I feel richer for having known of her and a few of the lovely things, which she did.

She passed away 12th of March 1888 at the age of 75 years, 6 months and 4 days, suffering cancer of breast.

She scraped out turnips making little boats for children to play with.

She was sealed to Joseph Bartholomew Sr. 6 Apr. 1857.