Sarah Angeline Williams Glenn


SARAH ANGELINE WILLIAMS was married to Robert Wilson Glenn on December 5, 1853. She was born on 12 November 1837, a daughter of John Williams (abt.1808-1844?) and Marcy Jane Lucas (abt.1812-1896). Sarah Angeline Williams was not quite 16, and R. Wilson Glenn was 40 years old when they married.
Sarah was the second of six children born to John and Marcy Jane Lucas Williams between 1835 and 1844 near Lake Fork and Mt. Pulaski, Logan County, in central Illinois. This was about 120 miles east of Nauvoo. Her brothers and sisters (who, with their mother, all joined the LDS Church and crossed the plains to Utah in 1849), were: 

     AMANDA WILLIAMS (b. 1835 in Logan Co., Illinois,
       married RILEY GARNER CLARK; they lived in Provo, Manti,
       Kanarraville, and Panguitch, Utah);
   **SARAH ANGELINE WILLIAMS (married ROBERT WILSON GLENN) 
       (see below);
     POLLY WILLIAMS (b. 1838 in Springfield, Ill.,
       married JAMES GEORGE DAVIS 1856 in St. George, Utah;
       they lived in Old Fort Harmony, Kanarraville, 
         and Cedar City, Utah);
     ELIZABETH WILLIAMS (b. 1840 in Logan Co., Illinois,
       married (1) GEORGE WASHINGTON SCHURTZ or SHIRTS 1855 
         in Fort Harmony, Utah;
               (2) DON CARLOS SCHURTZ or SHIRTS; 
         they lived in Harmony, Virgin, Manti, Kanarraville, 
	 Panguitch, and Escalante);
     WILLIAM GEORGE WILLIAMS (b. 1842 in Springfield, Illinois,
       married ORILLA McFATE; lived in Virgin, St. George, and
         Kanarraville, Utah);
     MARY ANN WILLIAMS (b. 1844 in Mt. Pulaski, Illinois,
       married JOHN ALMA LEE -- a son of John D. Lee; lived in
	 Old Harmony, Virgin, New Harmony, Kanarraville, and
	 Panguitch, Utah)

Mary Ann Williams' husband, John Alma Lee, was a son of John D. Lee, who later became infamous for his part in the Mountain Meadows Massacre. Interestingly, in the biography of John Doyle Lee by Juanita Brooks, the author writes that Mary Ann Williams was sealed to John D. Lee as a plural wife, when she was about 14 years old. Later this sealing was dissolved and she married John D. Lee's oldest son John Alma Lee. The reason for this strange arrangement was that around 1858, a "reformation" was called for by Church leaders: a period of fasting and repentance, and many people were re-baptized as a sign of their recommitment to live the commandments. In addition, every single person was advised to marry as soon as possible, and in many of the outlying settlements, the saints in their zeal seem to have carried this counsel too far. Many unsuitable marriages were made, and many girls as young as 13 or 14 were sealed to much older men as plural wives, especially to prominent men who were Church leaders. However, especially after further counsel was given from Church headquarters to remedy these problems, these marriages were not consummated until the girls got a little older and were able to decide whether they really desired the man (whom they were sealed to) for their eternal husband. And in case they died young, before the marriage was consummated, then they had the security of being married already, ensuring that they would have a husband in eterity who could take them to the celestial kingdom. But until a girl became old enough to give her consent, it was looked upon as sort of a betrothal instead of a marriage, and the man had to court her. In the case of MARY ANN WILLIAMS, as she grew a little older, she decided that she did not love John D. Lee as a husband, even though he spent quite a bit of time and energy trying to court her and win her favor. Instead, Mary Ann had fallen in love with his oldest son, John Alma Lee, who was much nearer to her own age. As soon as she made her choice known, John D. Lee consented to have his sealing to Mary Ann Williams dissolved and let her marry his son Alma.



John Williams, the first husband of Marcy Jane Lucas, and the father of her first six children, was born abt. 1808. He lived in Louisville, Tennessee, and died in Logan County, Illinois in 1844. Not much is known about him -- since his name is so common, it is hard to trace.

Marcy Jane Lucas was born in Clinton County, Ohio on 25 Dec 1812; the daughter of Thomas Lucas (1788-1831) and Sarah Hoblit (1794-1859) both from western Pennsylvania. It seems that the Lucas and Hoblit families, who were Dutch and German (or Swiss-German, in the case of the Hoblit/Hablutzel family) always lived on the edge of the frontier. Thomas' parents Abraham Lucas (1761-1841) and Marcy Kelsey (1764-1835), together with about two hundred others, had petitioned for the creation of a new state in western Pennsylvania between 1776 and 1780, to be called "Westsylvania." Dr. John F. Vallentine, a professor at the University of Nebraska and later at BYU, and a Lucas/Kelsey family researcher, wrote:

"The story of Abraham Lucas begins in Morris County, New Jersey, in 1761. But Abraham's origins go back to France, from whence his French Huguenot ancestors came (Lucas, Rollaire, Menton and Baudouin families); to Holland from whence his Dutch Reformed ancestors came (Adriaen Hendrikse Aten, b. 1630 in Holland and emigrated to New Amsterdam); and to England from whence still other ancestors came (Skillman, Pettit, Scofield). From New Jersey his story parallels the frontier westward, first to Washington Co., Penn., then to Bracken Co., Kentucky, next to Greene Co., Ohio, and finally to Logan County, Illinois."

The Lucas and Kelsey families had both moved from Morris County, New Jersey to western Pennsylvania, probably in the 1770's, and Abraham and Marcy were married there in about 1785. Marcy Kelsey's father, grandfather, and great-grandfather were all named Thomas Kelsey; before that was Mark Kelsey (1628-1723) and Rebecca Hoskins. Mark Kelsey's parents were William Kelsey (1600-1680) and Bethia Hopkins (1605-1680).

Her father Stephen Hopkins (1581-1644) came on the Mayflower to Plymouth colony. Recent research has also proven that he was the same Stephen Hopkins who had earlier helped settle Jamestown, Virginia. He had only stayed in Jamestown for a year or two, then returned to England, and later brought his family on the Mayflower to Plymouth, Massachusetts, to help found that colony also. He was a "stranger" (not of the Puritan faith), but was a man of wealth and of experience in the New World, so he was a great help to the Pilgrims in establishing their colony.

Thomas Lucas was the second of Abraham and Marcy Kelsey Lucas' twelve children; he was born in 1787 in Washington Co., Pennsylvania, before his family moved to Kentucky in about 1789. He later settled in Ohio. He was named for his grandfather Thomas Lucas (1730-abt.1820), who came from New Jersey to western Pennsylvania, later moving together with a large group of extended family members, to Kentucky and later on to Greene/Clinton Co., Ohio. Thomas' parents were Frans Lucas and Jannete Aten (chr. 18 Apr 1704 in Brooklyn, New York), daughter of Thomas Aten and Elise Skillman of New York.

Thomas Lucas' wife Sarah Hoblit's parents, Johannes Michael Hoblit or Haplitz (1730-1796 - original spelling of the surname was probably Hablutzel) and Anna Katherine Weigle or Van Veigel (1750-1820) had married in western Pennsylvania around 1770, and then emigrated to Kentucky around 1771 (several years before Daniel Boone opened up the wilderness road), and they lived there until 1782, then returned to Pennsylvania for a time. They traveled by raft on the Ohio river. This river, which flows out of western Pennsylvania in a southwesterly direction, forming the southern boundary of the state of Ohio with West Virginia and Kentucky, is a natural emigration corridor which was much used in early times, although it was still very dangerous, and many emigrants were killed by Indians.

Michael Hoblit was said to be a potter, born about 1730 in Germany, who had come to America probably in the early 1750's. It seems that his ancestors, the Hablutzels, had lived in the area around Zurich, Switzerland, but had moved to Germany some time before Johannes Michael came to America and shortened his last name to Hoblit. Both Abraham Lucas and Michael Hoblit served in the Revolutionary War, primarily as Indian scouts or rangers along the western frontier of Pennsylvania and Kentucky. After the revolutionary period, the Hoblit family moved back to Kentucky again about 1789, this time in company with several Lucas families and others, and settled in Mason County, Kentucky, near the south bank of the Ohio River. Later Michael Hoblit moved further west again, to Woodford County, Kentucky, where he died in 1796.

Michael's wife Anna Katherine or Katrina Weigel also had an interesting family history. Her parents were Sebastian Weigel (1732-1807) and Catherine Leib (1736- ?). Katrina named her oldest son Sebastian after her father, but he shortened it to "Boston" Hoblit. Sebastian Weigel's parents were John Martin Weigel (1703-1759) and Dorothy Triddell (1710- ?), who had emigrated from Saalbach, Brandenburg, Germany to Pennsylvania in 1730, just after their marriage. They were members of the Lutheran faith. John Martin Weigel's father was named Valentine Weigel, who lived in the 1600's. Another Valentine Weigel, who lived about 100 years earlier (probably an ancestor, but link not yet proven) was among the early Protestant reformers in Germany. The author of the book "THE WEIGEL FAMILY" writes:

"The name Weigel-Weigl-Weigele goes back to the 12th century, when people adopted family names ... At one time the Weigels were one family. It is likely the spelling of the name was not changed until the family separated, and branches of it settled in different parts of the country (of Germany). There are the Bavarian Weigls, Saxon Weigels, and further north, along the Baltic Sea, the name appeared as Weigele. The Bavarian and Saxon Weigels preoccupied themselves mostly with matters of religion and in printing and publishing books ... The Bavarian Weigls remained Catholics, but some of the Saxon Weigels became followers of Luther. A certain Saxon by the name of Valentin Weigel, frequently referred to as "Der Grosse (Great) Herder," became a follower of Luther and was an Evangelical pastor for a while. Becoming dissatisfied with Luther's preaching, he started a sect of mystics, which he called the "Weigelaner." Born at Naundorf near Grossenhain in 1533 (father: Michael Weigel), he studied at Leipzig and Wittenburg and from 1567 to his death was a preacher at Zschopan, near Chemnitz. He emphasized the necessity of internal unction (an anointing of Spirit; see 1 John 2:20) and illumination. He taught ... that knowledge does not come from without, but from the Spirit operating upon our spirit within. In cosmology, Valentin Weigel stands near Paracelsus ... (After his death), his writings were published from 1604 to 1618 in various places, and Weigelanism became widely spread. His opponents represented him (falsely) as a dangerous revolutionary who aimed at the overthrow of all political and social order."



After her husband John Williams died in 1844 in Illinois, Marcy Jane Lucas married Henry Barney (1815- ?) for her second husband, and had three more children: 

     ALMA BARNEY (b. 1848 in Springfield, Illinois,
       md. ALICE ANN GARDNER in 1871 in Kanarraville;
       they lived in Kanarraville, Panguitch, and Parowan, Utah)
     JACOB HENRY BARNEY (b. 1850 in Provo, Utah; died young)
     MARCY JANE BARNEY (b. 1854 in Manti, Utah,
       md. WILLIAM HENRY DEUEL, Jr.;
       they lived in Panguitch and Escalante, Utah)

Apparently Marcy Jane Lucas' second husband Henry Barney, son of Charles Barney and Mercy Yeoman from New York, was already a member of the Church at the time of their marriage. Marcy Jane had joined the Church on 23 Sep 1839, but it is not known if her first husband John Williams joined the Church before his death in 1844. Another source suggests that he did not die at that time, but instead there was a divorce, perhaps because of Marcy Jane joining the LDS church and moving to Nauvoo. At any rate, Henry and Marcy Jane Lucas Williams Barney came to Utah in 1849, settled in Provo for a time, then moved to Manti around 1851. They later moved south to Iron County and then Garfield County (Escalante was settled in 1876).

During the time the Barney/Williams family lived in Manti, Sarah Angeline Williams met R. Wilson Glenn and married him in 1853, so she didn't move south with her mother and the rest of her brothers and sisters, who all settled in Utah's Dixie. Sarah's mother Marcy Jane Lucas Williams Barney died in Escalante, Utah 20 November 1896 and is buried there. The inscription on her gravestone reads,


"MARCY, wife of HENRY BARNEY,
Dec 25, 1802 - Mar 20, 1886.
Gone but not forgotten."

These dates are almost certainly in error, since Marcy's first child was born in 1835, and her last child in 1854. Also, an etching of the Salt Lake Temple is on her gravestone, and it wasn't dedicated until 1893. The correct year of her death was probably 1896 instead of 1886, and the correct birth year was probably 1812 or 1814. These years appear on family records and in the ancestral file.




The book "How Beautiful Upon the Mountains", a DUP publication about the history and people of Wasatch County, in the section about Wallsburg states that

"Sarah Williams Glenn was the first Primary president of the Wallsburg Ward. She was very active and served the children well because she loved them. She took part in the social activities of the ward for she was a natural leader in sports.

"She acquired the first copy of a three-act play, the first that was ever put on in Wallsburg. This wasn't an easy job to do; parts had to be hand-copied for each one in the cast. Polly Bigelow Allred said that she and Isabell Kerby went to Sarah's home many nights and copied the parts while Sarah read them from the one book. They worked till one o'clock in the morning to get the parts ready before they could even cast the play. With Sarah's patient guidance, this first play was a real success, so many more followed under her direction. Bishop Nuttall and everyone else helped her all they could.

"Sarah had a large woodbox which she always kept full and overflowing, with a good supply of firewood, neatly piled against her wall. This she gathered by picking up chunks of wood whenever coming from town or visiting her neighbors, never coming home empty-handed. She also raised fine pigs which the butchers liked to buy from her, for they always got a better price when selling hers. She raised chickens and sold eggs and young chickens for market. She made delicious chicken soup. She was a very wonderful cook.

"Sarah Williams Glenn was also a school teacher, and for many years in the latter part of her life was school janitor, a very fine one. Just before her death she had cleaned the schoolhouse and washed all the windows which was a real undertaking (the large 3-story Wallsburg school building, built in 1904, is still standing).

"Blood poisoning, caused by a scratch from a chicken, caused her death."



Sarah Angeline Williams Glenn continued to reside at Wallsburg until her death on July 11, 1914 at 76 years of age, after being a widow for 41 years. Both Robert Wilson Glenn Sr. and Sarah Williams Glenn are buried in the cemetery at Wallsburg, Wasatch County, Utah.

Information Compiled
by Karen Bray Keeley

INTERNET Adaptation
by Sandra Shuler Bray