26 July 1840 – 6 May 1919

Eliza Jane was born in Nauvoo, Adams County, Illinois, on 26 July 1840. Her parents were Zerah and Mary Brown Pulsipher. She was 7 years old when persecution drove the saints west. She walked across the plains with her family, picking up buffalo chips for fuel. They arrived in Salt Lake in the fall of 1848.

She became the second wife to Thomas Sirls Terry on 6 May 1855, she was not quite 15 years old. She was the youngest sister of Thomas Sirls’ first wife, Mary Ann. From this marriage 12 children were born, 5 boys and 7 girls.

In 1856 Thomas was called on a mission. Eliza Jane spent much of that time with Mary Ann at the farm in Little Cottonwood (while Mary Ann was giving birth to her fourth child in Salt Lake). It was a hard winter with deep snow and severe cold; Eliza suffered because of the hard work and the cold. Her hardships were compounded when her brother William, who agreed to help with the heavy chores, left her alone because of a call from Brigham Young to help rescue the handcart companies in Wyoming. Eliza Jane had great faith and never complained because of these hardships.

In 1862 Eliza Jane and her 3 children along with Thomas Sirls and Mary Ann and the Pulsipher family traveled the long, rough, dusty road to Dixie. She gave birth to her fourth child a few months after arriving there.

Eliza Jane was very independent and very capable. She took a course in obstetrics from a trained nurse in St. George and became a very loving and compassionate midwife, much sought after to attend new mothers and those who were sick from various causes. Because of the loss of 4 of her own children while they were very young, she was very tender with those who were ill. She was a lovely woman with brown hair. She always wore a long black dress with deep pockets, and always had a coin or two in them for anyone who was in need. Eliza Jane and her family spent years building and operating the ranch and state station where she cooked for the drivers and passengers. She had the boys manage the ranch. When pologamy was outlawed, Eliza Jane purchased a home with her own money and moved to Panaca, Nevada, where she lived until her death on 6 May 1919 at the age of 79. Eliza Jane was told to rest in Panaca. Thomas Sirls was not there when she passed away but came soon and spoke at her funeral.

Children

Zera Pulsipher 1856-1949

Thomas Nelson 1858-1938

Eliza Jane 1860-1931

Aluna 1863-1916

Sarah Mariah 1865-1885

John William 1868-1868

Charles Henry 1868-1868

Olive Amelia 1869-1869

Josephine Rebecca 1870-1942

Franklin Durmoth 1872-1952

Tracy Roselee 1875-1876

Eva Elthera 1877-1958

Marker can be reached from Highway 18 near Highway 120.

Courtesy hmdb.org

Credits and Sources: