Eliza(beth) Franklin Betts
Eliza Franklin was born in Clapham, Surrey, England at the turn of the 19th century. Surrey is located just south of London, and it has always been a sort of suburb to the capital city, and Clapham is now considered part of Greater London. Clapham, in the early 1800’s was a hotspot of political unrest. Clapham was home to a majority of evangelical Christians, often called the Clapham Sect. These people wanted to end slavery and so-called “cruel-sports,” but they were not radical, as they wanted to preserve the current class system. This was part of the social landscape that Eliza Franklin was born/grew up in.
In 1822 Eliza married Peter Betts, and they lived in the area of St. Pancras, London. Peter Betts was a “Coach Smith,” and he invented a type of spring that made carriage riding more comfortable. Because of this invention, he made a carriage for the Queen and the Royal Family, and then was knighted. Upon being knighted, Peter Betts received a family coat of arms, which still hangs in the Tower of London, or at least it did for a while, I’m not sure if it still does.
Peter and Eliza had elven children, the oldest, Martha, died when she was about fourteen, before the family joined the church. We are descended from the 10th child, John Ebenezer Betts.
Peter, Eliza, and their children joined the LDS church in England and Peter traveled to the U.S., and came back after a year for his family. Unfortunately, Peter died upon his second arrival in Missouri. Eliza and three of her sons, Richard, James, and John, went to the Great Salt Lake city. For reasons I have yet to figure out, Eliza lived with a family in Salt Lake and went by her maiden name Eliza Franklin, I do not think she was a plural wife though, as she was about 20 years older, at least, than the head of the household, and her children convinced her to move to Payson a few years later. I think she lived with the family probably helping with housework. After moving down to Payson, she died in 1868.
