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| Born: | 2 May 1850 | ||
| Died: | 26 Feb 1892 | ||
| Father: | Jacob Mica Truman | ||
| Mother: | Elizabeth Boyes | ||
| Siblings | Martha Ann Truman John Franklin Truman Emma Maria Truman Jacob Boyce Truman George Almus Truman William Thomas Truman Lucius Truman Lucy Elizabeth Truman Albert Henry Truman Mary Lois Truman Lacina Almena Truman Esther Priscilla Truman | ||
| Married: | 11 Aug 1870 Salt Lake City, Utah | ||
| Spouse: | Martha Ann Truman | ||
| Children: | Richard Truman Ashby Jacob Henry Ashby Elizabeth Ann Ashby Alice May Ashby Emma Lualla Ashby Rodney Carlos Ashby | ||
| Married: | 20 Mar 1885 St. George, Utah | ||
| Spouse: | John Powell | ||
| Children: | John Franklin Powell Jesse Truman Powell Nathaniel Ashby Powell | ||
By the time she was a teenager, her father answered Brigham's call to go south, where the family settled in the Mountain Meadows country of Washington County, Utah Territory. It was in that area that she came to know the Ashby family, probably when the Trumans would travel in to St. George for supplies and trade.
Martha married Nathaniel Ashby, on Thursday, August 11, 1870. The couple was sealed in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City. Nathaniel was a newly called Bishop. He had been sustained as the Bishop of the St. George 4th Ward the previous November. 20 year-old Martha joined his family as the second wife. Nathaniel had previously married Mary Virginia Garr and she was not quite 10 years Martha's senior. Nathaniel was almost 15 years older than Martha.
Nathaniel and Martha had 6 children together. Their first child, a son, was born at the home of Martha's mother, in Mountain Meadows. The rest of Martha and Nathaniel's children were born in St. George. They were:
Richard Truman Ashby, b. 2 Apr 1872, d. 14 Oct 1920, md. Minnie Colegrove, 14 Nov 1894Tragedy struck the Ashby home in 1881. Martha’s granddaughter records that diphtheria broke out in their home that summer. The death of 3 children in less than a week would have been a hard trial for anyone to bear. Martha's sister wife also lost a child that same summer. It was a period of great tribulation for the Ashby family.
Jacob Henry Ashby, b. 2 Mar 1874, d. 21 Apr 1881
Elizabeth Ann Ashby, b. 26 Sep 1876, d. 7 May 1956, md. John S. McBride, 19 Jun 1894
Alice May Ashby, b. 8 Apr 1877, d. 22 Apr 1881
Emma Luella Ashby, b. 21 Jan 1879, d. 24 Apr 1881
Rodney Carlos Ashby, b. 12 Dec 1880, d. 1 Nov 1904, md. Jennie Warner, 9 Jan 1901
It appears that the family turned to the Gospel for comfort. Martha received her patriarchal blessing later that year on December 4, 1881 from William G. Perkins. Nathaniel had received his blessing three days earlier. Martha's blessing gives us a small glimpse into her life and character. It states: "Thou art an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no guile...You will go to the central stake of Zion. There you will have a house built unto you in the name of the Lord. You will keep that as a paradise. Your neatness will be admired by all that see it, for the glory of your Redeemer will be there, and you will see as you are seen and know as you are known." She was also blessed that "your children will grow up as men and women in the gospel and accomplish a great and glorious work."
