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Historical OverviewMercie Hunt was born 3 April 1863 in the small village of Denby, Derbyshire, England.
Her mother, Hannah Hunt, was working as a nurse in the home of Henri Guilmant in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, about 29 kilometers (18 miles) north of Denby. In the fall of 1862 Hannah was 19 years old and found out she was pregnant with Henri's child. I don't know all of the details surrounding her relationship with Henri and the circumstances of her getting pregnant, but we do know that he supported her during the pregnancy. Henri sent Hannah at least two letters and medication during her pregnancy. The letters were handed down to Mercie, from her mother, later on in life. Some family members made some copies of these letters, although it appears some pages are missing.
Merci was born on 3 April 1863, and by the next year her mother and grandmother, Sarah (Bardell) Hunt, had joined the Mormon church and decided to leave England and make their way to the Utah territory to join the rest of the Mormons. The three arrived in Liverpool mid-late May 1864, and on 21 May 1864 they boarded the General McClellan and departed England. They never returned to England after their departure. Their voyage lasted about a month. You can learn more about their trip across the ocean here. Although the three are not listed as passengers on this website, you can view the passenger list here to see that indeed they were aboard the ship. The ship arrived in New York on 23 June 1864.
After arriving in New York, the group of church members, which consisted of most of the ship, made their way up the Hudson River to Albany where they boarded a train to head west. Hannah's original plan wasn't to end up in Fountain Green, but she met and married James Collard. James 'adopted' Mercie as his own. Hannah and James had 3 children. Although many family trees show that James Collard was Mercie's father, he was not her biological father. Mercie married George Washington Ivory on 2 October 1879 in Fountain Green. She was 16 and he was 24. Together they had 11 children between the years of 1880 and 1905. Like her mother, Mercie learned the practice of nursing and healthcare. Mercie became a midwife and served many families in Fountain Green and surrounding areas. Mercie died on 13 September 1931 in Fountain Green. She was 78 years old. She was buried on the 17th of the same month in the Fountain Green Cemetery. Mercie's story is a lot more detailed than my brief summary above. I will continue adding more stories and details as time goes.
- Last updated by A.C. Ivory on 10 May 2020 |
Disclaimer: All of the information on this site is according to my personal knowledge from conducting thorough research. There are many online trees and other information available online that may have more information than this site, but I do not add information to this site unless I have verified or discovered the information myself. Also, at any time I may change/update information on this site based on new evidence. If you have any questions about the information on this page or you are a distant cousin, let me know!