Margaret Eliza Shoemaker Clement's Cupboard

As mentioned previously, Margaret Eliza Shoemaker Clement is the daughter of Margaret Taylor and the one to whom we owe much of the memories we have of Margaret Taylor. One of the treasured keepsakes of Margaret Eliza and Thomas Alma Clement is the cupboard they purchased while living in Menan, Idaho. Thankfully it survived when their Mesa home burned. Granddaughter, Alta Clement Willis, tells about this cupboard in the podcast to the left labeled "Margaret Eliza Clement's Cupboard."
Margaret Eliza Shoemaker Clement is shown with her husband, Thomas Alma Clement in the inset above.

Margaret Eliza Shoemaker and Thomas Alma Clement's home in Menan Idaho is pictured above.

The new home of Emily Maude Johnson and Lester Elden Clement is pictured above.

Granddaughter Mary Clement Johnson is shown above with her husband Tone Johnson. She was the first to store the cupboard after Maud and Lester Clement's deaths.

Grandson, Donald Clement is shown above in his younger years. Donald was the second grandchild to store the cupboard.

Granddaughter Nione Clement Larsen is shown with her husband Roger Larsen. Roger and Nione restored the cupboard to its present condition.

The restored cupboard of Margaret Eliza Shoemaker and Thomas Alma Clement.

Fire Claims Margaret Eliza Shoemaker Clement's Home

Further memories of Margaret Eliza Shoemaker Clement are shared by her granddaughter, Alta Clement Willis. [Margaret Eliza Shoemaker Clement is the daughter of Margaret Eliza Taylor Shoemaker.] You can listen to these memories through the podcast to the left labeled "Fire Claims Margaret Eliza Clement's Home." Below are photos of some of the people who are mentioned in these memories.



Lester Clement is the youngest child of Margaret Eliza Shoemaker and Thomas Alma Clement. He is also Alta's father who she fondly remembers as "Papa."

Emily Maud Johnson Clement is Alta's mother ("Mama") and wife of Lester Elden Clement.

Lester and Maud's family a few years after this incident. Margaret (sitting on your right) was a toddler at the time of the fire.

Margaret Shoemaker Clement, daughter of Margaret Taylor, was about 68 years old at the time of the fire. She is Lester's mother and Alta's grandmother.

Alex Clement was Margaret Eliza Clement's son and Lester's older brother. Margaret Eliza was visit his home (also in Mesa, Arizona) at the time of the fire.

Margaret Clement shown here as a toddler with her older sister Mary. She had followed her mother, Maud, outside and therefore escaped the fire. Margaret and Mary are Alta's older sisters.

Margaret Eliza Shoemaker Clement's home after it was rebuilt.

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Roger Larson, digitized photos.

Alta Willis Clement, Memories of My Grandmother, Margaret Eliza Shoemaker Clement, interviewed by daughter, Janet Willis.

Margaret Eliza Shoemaker Clement

Margaret Eliza Taylor's daughter, Margaret Eliza Shoemaker Clement was instrumental in the details we know about Margaret Eliza Taylor. In her later years she gave a history that included many details about her mother and father and their experiences. Alta Clement Willis is her granddaughter and a living link to her past. Alta lived near Margaret Eliza Shoemaker Clement during her final years. Although just a young girl at the time, Alta retains some memories of Margaret Eliza Shoemaker Clement, held strong through the bond of love she developed for her soft-spoken, loving grandma. A debt of gratitude is owed to Alta for sharing these memories and to Janet Willis, her daughter, for recording them. You can listen to a portion of these memories as you look through the following photographs. Just click the black button to the left labeled "Margaret Eliza Shoemaker Clement daughter of Margaret Taylor."
Margaret Eliza Shoemaker and Thomas Alma Clement family photograph. Their youngest child, Lester, is Alta's father and is sitting on Margaret Eliza's lap.

Lester Clement's home, which he moved near his mother's home to help her in her aging years.

Margaret Eliza Taylor's home in Mesa, Arizona. She moved to Mesa from Menan, Idaho in 1906.

Alta Clement (Willis) is shown here as a young girl. Her grandmother passed away on February 14, 1929 at the age of 81 years. Alta was 7 years old at the time.

Alta's sister, Dora was born in April of 1928, giving a reference to about the time the following photos were taken.

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Larson, Roger and Nione Clement Larson. Digitized Photographs.

PODCAST
Kearns, Richard. "Study 6." Studies for piano. Wikimedia Commons. Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license, 2000. Posted 29 September 2009. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category: Piano_solos. Accessed 3 March 2011.

Willis, Alta Clement. Memories of Margaret Eliza Shoemaker Clement. Recorded by Janet Willis.

Unanswered Questions

Margaret Taylor and Alexander Morain Shoemaker married on 29 October 1835 in Pendleton, Kentucky. They appear on the Quincy, Adams, Illinois census in 1840.[1] Between those two dates, there is some conflicting information as to the timing and whereabouts of their moves.

[1]

On 16 July 1836 their first child, Sarah Ann was born. She died 10 months later on 24 May 1837. These are dates from New Family Search, with both Illinois and Kentucky recorded as the birthplace. I do not have documentation on these dates yet, but it is likely they were obtained from Margaret Taylor herself, as she was involved in church and temple work until she died in 1906.

Alexander Morain Shoemaker's obituary states they moved from Kentucky to Illinois "shortly after marriage...where he heard the gospel and was baptized into the Church."[2] This is likely where the birthplace of Illinois came from.

[2]

Daughter, Margaret Eliza Shoemaker, says her father told her they were in Missouri at the time the Saints were being mobbed. It was there they first heard the gospel.[3] The Taylor were in Platte County, Missouri at the time of the 1840 census. [4]

[4]

[1 male under 5 (Mark born 1837); 2 males 5 to 9 (Heber born 1832 and Samuel born 1830); 1 male 10 to 14 (John born 1826); 1 male 15 to 19 (Joseph H. born 1824); 1 male 20 to 29 (James born 1820, married in 1841 in Platte Co., MO); 1 male 40 to 49 (joseph born 1796); 1 female 30 to 39 (Nancy born about 1804). Note Margaret born 181 was married, Rebecca, born 1822, was likely married, Mary Ann died in 1838 and Nancy Jane died in 1833.]

Margaret's brother, James Taylor, was married to Martha Petty in Pettis Township, Platte County, Missouri in 18 Nov 1841.[5] Both these facts back Margaret Eliza Shoemaker's statement that Alexander and Margaret moved to Missouri before moving on to Illinois.

[5]

Taking all this into consideration, it is likely Sarah Ann was born and died in Kentucky. Another possibility is they moved to Missouri before Sarah Ann was born or perhaps before she died.

At the present time, my research is focusing on Mid-Atlantic States research with Margaret's grandfather, Adam Holiday Taylor in Pennsylvania. In April I begin a class on Midwest U.S. research. I hope to find a few more details on these and other discrepancies during that time.

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1 1840 U.S. Census, Quincy, Adams, Illinois, population schedule, digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com), citing NARA publication M704, record group 29, roll 54, page 52, no. 4, family 17, accessed 9 November 2009.

2 Deseret News (Salt Lake City, Utah), microfilm publication, 30 reels, vol. 21 (7 Feb. 1872-29 Jan. 1872), 15 May 1872, page 212, column 1, first entry, FHL US/CAN Film 26,593.

3 Margaret Eliza [Shoemaker] Clement, life history dictated to Belva Watson, sometime between 1920 and 1929; typescript privately held by Alta Clement Willis, her granddaughter, 2011.

4 1840 U.S. Census, Platte County, Missouri, population schedule, digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com), citing NARA microfilm publication M704, record group 29, roll 228, page 103, accessed 7 December 2009.

5 "Missouri Marriage Records," digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com), accessed November 2009.

Truth Over Rumor

When Margaret Eliza Taylor and Alexander Shoemaker first came to Missouri, they were not members of the church. In fact, Margaret seems to have been convinced the rumors that circulated concerning the Mormons were true. Margaret and Alexander's daughter, Margaret Shoemaker Clement, later said:

"I remember very well of hearing my parent relate the incident that brought them into the church. They were living in Missouri at the time the Saints were being mobbed and being driven from their homes, but they were known only as "desperadoes" and nearly every one joined to fight and exterminate them. A cold rainy period was on, and it had been raining for several days, when a "hello" was heard at the door. My father opened it. He was told that a whole company was coming and wanted shelter. He answered the inquiry with a strong "I will furnish shelter and protections." As the messenger turned and was gone, my mother objected to having a house full of "desperadoes" and said she could not live with them. He met her strong opposition by telling her she could stay upstairs. In spite of the fear she had for them, a large company of them came and they were made very welcome.

"My father and mother knowing the truth when they heard it was baptized six months later and my father proved a very able man to save the Saints from falling into traps the mobs or neighbors would set for them."[1]

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1 Margaret Eliza (Shoemaker) Clement, life history dictated to Belva Watson, sometime between 1920 and 1929; typescript privately held by Alta Clement Willis, her granddaughter, 2011.

Missouri and the Church

The next move took Margaret and Alexander Shoemaker as well as the Taylor family into Missouri. It is here that they first had contact with the Mormons. To give a background of the Church in Missouri there is a timeline from information found in Church History in the Fulness of Times Student Manual chapters 9, 11-12, 15-17 and Our Heritage: A Brief History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints chapter 4. Both of these books are found online at http://lds.org/churchhistory/history.

Remember that Margaret and Alexander were married in Pendleton County, Kentucky on 29 October 1835, so their move to Missouri was after that date. However, we also know from Margaret Shoemaker Clement's history that her parents were "in Missouri at the time the Saints were being mobbed and driven from their homes." As you can see from the timeline below, the Saints were driven from several counties in Missouri at vaying times during the 1830s.

1831
3 Jun - Joseph Smith received a revelation to go to Missouri.
July - The Colesville Saints arrived in Independence, Missouri.
2 Aug - The land of Zion was dedicated.
3 Aug - The temple site in Independence was dedicated.

1832
June - Elder Phelps published the first edition of the Evening and Morning Star.

1833
April - There were over 1000 Saints in Missouri. The first signs of persecution arose.
20 July - A mob of 400 demanded the Saints leave Jackson County. The printing house was destroyed. Bishop Partridge and Charles Allen were tarred and feathered
Nov-Dec - The Saints were expelled from Jackson County and moved into Clay County.

1834
May - Zion's Camp left Kirtland to help the Missouri Saints.
19 Jun - A mob of 300 Missourians met Zion's camp but were stopped by a fierce storm.

1836
Summer - The Saint remained in Clay County until they were asked to leave. They began settlying in Far West.
Dec - Caldwell and Davies Counties were created for the Saints through the help of Alexander W. Doniphan. Far West was named the county seat of Caldwell County.

1837
Nov - Joseph Smith briefly visited Far West.

1838
14 March - Joseph Smith arrived to settle in Far West.
May - Joseph Smith identified the Valley of Adam-Ondi-Ahman.
4 July - The cornerstones for the temple were dedicated.
6 Aug - Persecution began again when a mob of 100 wouldn't let the Saints cast their ballots in Gallatin, Daviess County.
7 Sept. - Joseph Smith and Lyman Wight were tried before Judge Austin King.
27 Oct - Governor Boggs issued the "extermination order."
30 Oct - The Haun's Mill massacre occurred in Caldwell County.
1 Dec - Joseph & Hyrum Smith, Sidney Rigdon, Lyman Wight, Caleb Baldwin, and Alexander McRae were sent to Liberty Jail in Clay County.

1839
26 Jan - Brigham Young began organizing for the removal of the Saints.
Feb - 8,000 Saints left Missouri for Illinois.
22 Apr - Those in Liberty Jail joined the Saints in Illinois.

Joy Amidst Sorrow

Two of Margaret's siblings died in childhood. Nancy Jane Taylor died in 1834, the year following her birth. Mary Ann Taylor died in 1838 at about 10 years of age.

In the middle of the tragedies, a joyful event unfolded. Margaret Eliza Taylor married Alexander Morain Shoemaker. We find two documents in Pendleton County, Kentucky Clerk of the Court, Marriage Records proving this happy event. The marriage license entry is found on the bottom of page 233, dated 27 October 1835. It reads, "Alexander M Shoemaker and Margaret Taylor. License obtained by Joseph Taylors personal consent who is the father of Margaret. Said Shoemaker being of full age."[1] Margaret was 17 years old at the time of her marriage.

I would assume that Margaret's father was fully happy with this arrangement. Not only did he give his consent, but he also had named his last son with the Shoemaker name (Heber Shoemaker Taylor, born 21 August 1834).

The second record (found on the bottom of page 244) records their marriage. "I hereby certify I have joined in Matrimony Alexander M. Shoemaker and Margaret Taylor this 29 day of October 1835 both of this County of Pendlton and State of Kentucky. George Graden."[2]


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1 Pendleton County (Kentucky), Clerk of the County Court, Marriage Records, 1799-1962, microfilm publication, 24 reels (Salt Lake City: Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah 1962, 1990, Morgantown, KY: E&K Microfilming), 233.

2 Pendlton County (Kentucky), Clerk of the County Court, Marriage Rcords, 1799-1962, 244.