Written by her daughter Esther Clark Pattillo

My mother, Harriet Smuin Clark, was born 22 July 1836 at Radley, Berkshire, England. She was the daughter of Joseph Smuin and Hannah Pearce Smuin. She worked very hard in a tailor and hat making shop with her aunt, Mrs. Hannah Smuin Harvey, in order to save money to come to America. While working in this shop she made the acquaintance of Michael Clark, whom she later married in Salt Lake City.

On 11 April 1859, my mother with her youngest brother, James Smuin and his wife, who had delicate health, left Liverpool, England, bound for America. They sailed on the ship William Tapscot. There were [LDS] 725 saints on this ship under the leadership of Robert F. Neslen. They arrived in New York City, 24 May 1859, and went to Florence, Nebraska, arriving there 25 May 1859. Florence, Nebraska was chosen as the place where they could secure wagons, teams and supplies for crossing the plains.

Mother crossed the plains by ox team in the company of Captain Robert F. Neslen, walking most of the way because there was no room for her to ride. Her sister-in-law had to have a bed.

While the company was resting and repairing the wagons, the women did their washings. One of the men in the company started a brush fire and before it could be put out, it has burned all the company's washed clothes. The company arrived in Salt Lake valley 15 September 1859. Mother lived and worked for a short time at Whipple's home. She was married 24 September 1859, to Michael Clark, and they lived in Salt Lake City during the next few years.

Mother decided to help with home responsibilities so she described the machine for making straw hats to a Mr. Perkins and he made a machine for her. She surprised her husband with a new straw hat, so after that she made hats and sold them. During the year 1867, Father and Mother moved to Kaysville, Davis County, Utah, to take up a homestead. For some time they lived in a room on the Ebenezer A. Williams farm located on the mountain road. Father had taken up homesteading on land south of Haight's Creek, so as soon as he could build shelter for us, we moved there.

Mother put us to bed many times at night to wash our clothes and dry them by the fire place so that they would be clean for morning. We didn't always have new shoes just when we needed them. We would go into the fields in the fall of the year and glean wheat enough to get us each two pairs of shoes. These were supposed to last us a year. These were luxuries that we had to be careful with for there were a large family of us.

In 1868 mother joined the [LDS] Relief Society. She worked with the straw committee because of her knowledge of the kind of straw to gather for braiding and the making of hats.

Mother and Auntie (Eliza Smuin Clark, whom father married before leaving Salt Lake City) made many straw hats which were sold to Holbrook's Millinery store. They gathered the straw from the fields and braided it by hand and took the hats to Salt Lake City to sell, having to walk many times or go with father when he took in a load of produce to market with an ox team.

Mother built herself and children a little home one and a half miles south of Haight's Creek with the money she made at odd times. With this money she also helped the family.

Mother joined the Farmington Ward so she could get work at her trade of making hats. She would braid hundreds of yards of straw at home, then carry it to Farmington to be made into hats. She worked with Mrs. Pheobe Peart and others of the Farmington Ward. She had a group of Farmington girls come to her home one day a week and taught them to braid straw. Sister Stewart, a daughter of Sister Aurelia S. Rogers, was one of these girls which were taught to braid straw.*

She did her own gardening and took care of cows, chickens and pigs. Mother lived in her home until two years before her death at which time she made her home with me. She died in Kaysville, Davis County, Utah on 7 October 1902, and was buried in the Salt Lake City Cemetery.