Our American Connection - The biographies Part 2

Nancy was very disappointed when she learned of her husband’s second and polygamist marriage to a Mrs. Slater in Utah. Mrs. Slater was a widow and the mother of a large family so it took all that John Wilde could earn to support this second family.
Nancy was true to her husband for 15 years and then she married Thomas Buckley. With her new husband and her children, they went to live with Nancy's father. John Cocker was then a widower.
In August of 1868, Nancy, Matthew and her new husband Thomas Buckley arrived in Salt Lake City. The two girls had left for Utah at an earlier time. Nancy, Thomas, and Matthew lived for a period of time with Sarah Jane Wilde Burnett, Nancy's daughter, and her husband William Burnett, who was at the time a guard at the Utah State Penitentiary.
During the winter of 1869 Thomas Buckley and his stepson, Matthew worked in Weber Canyon for $3.50 and board. Nancy and Thomas built a new home in West Weber. The home was a log cabin, 10 by 12 feet. Their table was a box and they had no chairs. Thomas and Nancy slept on the floor and Matthew, the only child still at home, slept in the top of the granary.
Thomas Buckley began working for the Central Pacific Railroad and witnessed the driving of the Golden Spike. Some time later Matthew and William Burnett put up a little adobe room 14 feet by 14 feet and Nancy and Thomas moved in.[1]
Nancy died sometime in 1901 and is buried in West Weber, Weber County, Utah. Records show Thomas Buckley died in 1900. His burial place is also in West Weber. The children were sealed to Thomas Buckley on June 20, 1870.

On Thursday April 22, 1999. Mack and I visited the West Weber Cemetery. Prior to the visit I spoke to Dora Lee Loftus on the telephone 801-731 6039. Dora was at this time in the process of indexing the cemetery. She informed me that old records of the cemetery show a group of (12) burial spots are listed as purchased by Thomas Buckley. She informed me that the plots are located “West of the road on the far east side near the new section of the cemetery and in the center area near the road.” The sight is located to the north of the grave site of Ralph Hunt, south of J.C. Robin and to the west side is a grave with the surname of Voight (a young person). When Mack and I visited the cemetery we found that no markers on the Buckley grave sites.

The information about Nancy Cocker Wilde was taken from the Biography of Matthew Wilde, her son and brother to Sarah Jane Wilde Burnett

Bette Brown Fuller

MARY TYSON SLATER WILDE

Mary Tyson Slater Wilde was the second and polygamist wife of John Wilde. Mary was born on 11 Aug 1811 in Blackburn Lancashire England. On the 7 of February 1828 Mary married James Slater. James Slater was born 17 August 1806 in Clitheroe Lancashire England. Mary and James had 9 Children. It is not known at this time when James and Mary came to America.

On the 18 of May 1854, in Ft Leavenworth, Kansas, James Slater died, leaving Mary with nine (eight, one died in England) children and expecting the 10th. The Slater family was on their way across the plains to Utah. Mary had her 10th child three weeks later in Nebraska. This baby, sex unknown, died the same day.

It is unknown if John Cocker met Mary Slater while crossing the plains or if they became acquainted after arriving in Salt Lake City. As quoted by his great great granddaughter, Laura Slater Pack, John must have been pretty brave or pretty smitten with Mary Slater to have taken her on as a wife along with 9 (8) children. This Slater family were the reason John Wilde was not able to send for his first wife, Nancy Cocker Wilde and their 3 children, Sarah Jane, Mary Ann and Matthew, who remained in England, waiting to join him in America.

This information was provided by Laura Slater Pack, 449 E. 1600 N. Orem, Utah 84097, April 7, 1999. My comments or changes in ( ).

I did some research on my own regarding the family that John Wilde took on in a polygamist marriage and found the following on familysearch.org the file maintained by the LDS Church. James Tyson was born August 17 1806 in Clitheroe, Lancashire, England. He died on May 18, 1864 in Fort Leavenworth, Ft Leavenworth County, Kansas and was buried there in May of 1856, He had married his wife Mary Tyson February 7, 1828 in Blackburn, Lancashire, England. The cause of James death is unknown. The Slater family were on their way to a new home in Utah.