|
Norman Ingles Bliss
Sr. was born to Jesse Bliss and Fanny Tuttle in Hartwick, Otsego, New
York. His father was a farmer and a blacksmith and taught him both. When
Norman was about 23 years old he married Mary Elizabeth Cole. They had one
son, Orley Dwight who was born 25 July 1837 in Hartwick. He and his wife
joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which they
believed was the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. His parents disowned
him, and he and Mary left for Nauvoo, Hancock County Illinois, to be with
other members of the church. Family records indicate that Mary Elizabeth
died on their way to Nauvoo.
When their Prophet was killed by a mob
the members of the church were faced with mobbings and murder. They were
forced to flee, in the winter, across the Mississippi River, beyond the
borders of the United States They escaped only with their lives and
whatever they could carry in their wagons. Norman had two strong
wagons and eight oxen so he must have done well while in Nauvoo.
There were many people who didn’t have
means to escape and so Norman gave one of his wagons to a family didn’t
have one, and he and his young son moved west. Orley was only about eight
years old and drove the wagon while his father drove a supply wagon for
the company.
When the “Saints”, as they were called,
arrived in what is now Florence Nebraska they settled for a time to regroup,
plant crops for those who were yet to follow and prepared for the
remainder of their journey. It is here in around 1845 that Norman married
Elizabeth Ann Bird, the daughter of Charles Bird and Mary Ann Kennedy. They
had a daughter Mary Ann who was born 19 November 1846 in Florence, but the
marriage does not last and Elizabeth left him with the baby.
Besides raising his
two children alone, Norman made several trips east to help rescue people who
had been stranded for want of the monetary means to travel. He was later
paid for this service, in gold, by President Brigham Young.
Upon arriving in the Valley of the Great
Salt Lake Norman built a home and established a blacksmith shop. On 17 Feb
1854 he married, Sariah Lewis the daughter of Timothy and Nancy Lewis. He
was 22 years older than Sariah. He and his young wife are asked by Brigham
Young to with other families to Southern Utah and establish what was
called the “Cotton Mission”. This was a difficult time, the land was hard to
cultivate and there were many hardships, including, hostile Indians who
stole their cattle and killed some settlers. He eventually settled in
Toquerville. Norman and Sariah had six children:
-
Wilford Norman
-
Elizabeth
-
Lucy
Ann
-
Almeda
-
Henry
-
Edgar
Francis
The hardships were finally to much for
Sariah and she left Norman taking with her their three youngest children.
Norman married Lydia Mariah Fisk Stout on
30 April 1871. She was recently divorced with a young son Allen Joseph
Griffith. She was 22 and he was 57. They had the following children:
-
Fanny Melvina
-
Norman Ingles Jr.
-
Lillie Cecelia
-
Sanford
-
Alfred Fisk born 3 days after his father
was killed.
Norman was killed in an accident at
Toquerville 12 December 1882, when he was thrown off a load of hay and
crushes to death under the wagon wheels when the mules pulling the wagon
bolted and ran. He is buried in Toquerville, Utah.
|
