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Summary

Name: Sophia Ann Atkin 
Gender: F
Birth: 4 Apr 1844
Empingham, Rutland, England
Christening:
Death: 6 Dec 1924
Phoenix, Maricopa, Arizona
Burial:
Father: William Atkins (Atkin)
Mother: Elizabeth Wann
AFN/PRN:
Notes:
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I have another birth date for Sophia - 24 Apr 1845
JA The birth certificate says 4 April 1844 at Empingham

Sophia Atkin emigrated to America at the age of 12 accompanied by her brother
Levi, age 15, expecting to meet their older brother, William, at Woodriver,
Iowa. William Atkin and his wife, Rachel, had come to America 2 or 3 years
before. Upon arriving at Woodriver, Iowa, in 1856 Sophia found that William
was already crossing the plains with one of the handcart companies. Levi hired out as a cabin boy and went out to sea and was presumably lost as he was never heard of since. Grandmother Sophia, while at Woodriver stayed with a family by the name of Huff and is supposed to have met her future husband, James, at that time. She worked her way back to Wisconsin where she met and married her first husband, John Whetten at the age of 16. Two children were born to her, John Thomas Whetten, and another child whose name is not known. She was widowed at the age of 19. Shortly after she crossed the plains with her father and other members of the family who had arrived from England. She was forced by circumstances to walk all the way and carried my father in her arms at 2 1/2 years old. Upon arriving in Utah she again came in contact with the Huff family and shortly after married James Huff who was born 24 July 1837, to whom she was sealed for time and eternity. They had three children --Henry Whetten of Chandler, Arizona

LIFE STORY OF SOPHIA ATKINS
Sophia was born 24 Apr 1845 at Empingham, Rutlandshire, England. Her parents were William Atkin and Elizabeth Wann. There were 4 sons and 2 daughters in this family who grew to maturity. Four children died in infancy. The Atkins received the Gospel in England between the years 1845 and 1860. It was the custom in those days to emigrate one or two members at a time on account of finances, not having means to emigrate all the family at once.
Their eldest son, William, and wife (Rachel Thompson) and one child came to America a year or more before. Sophia's parents decided to send two more children, so Sophia, 12 years old, and a brother Levi, 14 years old, were sent to America to their brother, William. But he had started for Utah before they arrived. Imagine, two youngsters at their ages in a strange country, not knowing a soul or having a friend. Well, they separated. Her brother, Levi, went to sea as a cabin boy and was never heard from after. Sophia worked her way until she got to Woodriver, Iowa then she went into Wisconsin. Later she married a man by the name of John Whetten. He did not belong to the Church. She had a son she named John Thomas Whetten, he was born 7 March 1862. Later she had a baby girl who died in infancy. When little John was two years old, his father died, leaving Johnny and his mother alone. Her brother, Henry, recently from England came to Wisconsin to be with her. Soon after her father, William Atkin, her only sister, Adalaid Laxton, and family arrived from England. Her mother died in England. In 1864 with her small son, her father, sister, and famly started for Utah. They were in Captain John R. Murdock's Company. They were helped by the teams and men who were called each year to go as far as the Missouri River to help the emigrants who could not help themselves. Her brother, Henry, remained in Wisconsin until later.
Sophia' brother, William, and wife who came before, were in the hard-cart company. On their way they were delayed on account of their cart. When they got to one of those rivers, the company had gone on. They were alone. They prayed to the Lord to help them through, and waded in, at first it seemed to them the deepest water was in front of them, then it was behind them and they passed over without realizing having passed through deep water. After arriving in Utah, Sophia met a man whose family she had worked for in Woodriver, Iowa. His name was James H. Huff. She married him, so now Johnny had a father again. He was a good man but had a roaming nature. He liked to work in timber. He was a machinist. He built saw mills and shingle mills running them by water power. In the summer they would move into the mountains where the timber was, when winter came they would move back to town or lower places. They loved amusements, he played the violin so they went dancing. I have heard her tell about dancing until sunrise, going out to dinner at midnight. She was jolly and laughted a lot. Sophia was about 5 feet tall, heavy for her height, brown eyes and black hair, and olive skin. She was very industrious. She could card wool and spin yarn and how she could knit. She loved to garden, raised lots of flowers and vegetables. She became my grandmother. I am her son 'Johns' daughter. When Grandfather Huff built the shingle mills she would bunch the shingles. They were put into bunches and fastened together. She had two daughters and another son after she married James Huff. The daughters names were Mary Adalaid and Olive. The boy was named James after his father. In the fall of 1868, they moved from Coalville (where her father and sister lived) to Hemfervill locating in a canyon. The men cut ties and bridge timber for the Union Pacific R.R. which was being built across the continent. Sophia cooked for the men. They remained there through the winter. One night a snowlide came down and covered their house completely. Some of the men were sleeping in a bunk house at one side, so they spent the next day digging the family out of the snow. In the spring of 1869 they moved to Kays ward, Farmington in Davis County. Her husband working on grist mills and sawmnills. Later this year they moved to Upton, about ten miles above Coalville. In the fall of 1876 she with her husband and children started for Arizona. They had 3 yoke of oxen, 2 wagons, and 2 cows. On arriving at Circle Valley on the Sevier river, they found a colony of people preparing to start the United Order, so they settled here. This town was later called Kingston. William King was president. They enjoyed very much living in the United Order. While living in Kingston they went to the dedication of the St. George Temple. At the death of President King, the Order was disorganized.
While living in Kingston, her son, John, married Agness Belzora Savage 10 Dec 1878.
In the fall of 1880, grandfather and grandmother Huff and children in company with their son, John, wife and baby Johnny, Peter Nielsen and Christon Sorensen started for Arizona. Arriving at the little Colorado River in January they went to work on the railroad which was being constructed from Holbrook, Arizona to the Pacific Coast. They worked here until spring, then moved to Snowflake, Arizona. Later, as her daughters grew up, Mary Adalaid married George Lewis. Olive married Moroni Stock. Later they moved to Fruitland, New Mexico. In the year 1889, in the month of February, their son, John, and family started by team for Old Mexico. Arriving there 5 May 1889. About the year 1898, grandfather and grandmother Huff decided to move to Old Mexico to be near their son, John, and family. They had a long tiresome trip but finally arrived all well.
Grandfather still like to work with machinery and build and ran shingle mills. They sawed logs into planks. They made an air tight room to put the bocks into to steam them until they were rather soft. Then they pulled them out steaming hot, so hot they needed leather gloves to handle them. Then grandfather put the block under the shingle knife that moves up and down by steam and shave off the shingles.
Grandmother still liked to raise flowers and vegetables, and bunch shingles when the mill ran. However, they did not make shingles every day. After they had been in Old Mexico 3 or 4 years, grandfather's health failed very fast and he passed away in Colonia Juarez October 16, 1903.
Grandmother lived twenty-one years after grandfather's death. In 1909 her son, James, married Allice Belle Thompson. Grandmother's health failed also and she returned to Arizona. She died in Phoenix, Arizona, December 7, 1924.
(JA The above account was given to me by Jessie Larson)


JA 2/1998 Mom (Simona Posey Williams Kempton) remembers Olive and Sophia when she lived as a child in Tucson. Olive had dropsy and mom thought that was pretty interesting the effect that had on her flesh when pressed. Sophia came to visit Olive and mom thought Sophia was the oldest woman she had ever seen. Mom's mother (May Atkin Posey) called Sophia "Aunt Sophie" as every one else called her Sophie.

Marriages

To John Whetten married 27 May 1861
Cross Plains, Dane, Wisconsin



To James Hanring (Henry) Huff married 29 Jul 1865
Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah