Julia Matilda Cruse
Born 17 June 1823 in Boxford, Berkshire, England.[1] Daughter of James Cruse and Mary Joyce.[2] Due to ill health, lived several years with a married sister on the Isle of Wight.[3] Baptized as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 6 Apr. 1849.[4] Emigrated to the U.S. with her sister Charlotte aboard the James Pennell, arriving in New Orleans, 23 Oct. 1849.[5] Settled in St. Louis, 1849.[6] Married Amos Howe, 8 June 1851, in St. Louis; six children.[7] Migrated to the Salt Lake Valley, 1864, settling in the Salt Lake City Seventeenth Ward.[8] Relief Society teacher and treasurer, 1879–1886; president of the Primary Association, 1881–1895; president of the Young Ladies’ Mutual Improvement Association, 1884–1890; teacher in the Sunday School organization, 1892–1895.[9] Socialized with EBW on numerous occasions; EBW regarded her as a “charming hostess.”[10] Addressed the General Retrenchment Association, 30 Dec. 1893.[11] Died 15 June 1916 in Salt Lake City.[12]
[1] “Endowments of the Living, 1851–1884,” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake Temple, vol. F, 1866–1868, p. 58, line 3, Julia Matilda Howe, 24 Nov. 1866, microfilm 183405, DGS 5270328 (restricted access), FHL. Record of Members Collection, 1836–1970, Seventeenth Ward, Part 1, 1848–1922, book 6300, p. 23, line 856, Julia Howe, CR 375 8, box 6378, folder 1, image 105/558, CHL. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Genealogical Department, Church Historian’s Office, Genealogical Surveys of LDS Members (Autobiographies and Ancestors), 13:263, Julia Cruse Howe. “Family Tree,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org, accessed 4 Oct. 2021), Julia Cruse (KWJW-MZY).
[2] “Endowments of the Living, 1851–1884,” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake Temple, vol. F, 1866–1868, p. 58, line 3, Julia Matilda Howe, 24 Nov. 1866, microfilm 183405, DGS 5270328 (restricted access), FHL. Record of Members Collection, 1836–1970, Seventeenth Ward, Part 1, 1848–1922, book 6300, p. 23, line 856, Julia Howe, CR 375 8, box 6378, folder 1, image 105/558, CHL. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Genealogical Department, Church Historian’s Office, Genealogical Surveys of LDS Members (Autobiographies and Ancestors), 13:263, Julia Cruse Howe.
[3] Howe Family, Howe Family Collection, 1948, 1982, “Julia Cruse Howe,” presented by Margaret M. Cannon at Howe Reunion, Aug. 1982, MS 12900, CHL. “Julia Cruse Howe,” Woman’s Exponent, June 1913, 1.
[4] Howe Family, Howe Family Collection, 1948, 1982, “Julia Cruse Howe,” presented by Margaret M. Cannon at Howe Reunion, Aug. 1982, MS 12900, CHL. “Julia Cruse Howe,” Woman’s Exponent, June 1913, 1.
[5] “Julia Cruse,” Saints by Sea (https://saintsbysea.lib.byu.edu/, accessed 19 Feb. 2019).
[6] Sheri Eardley Slaughter, “‘Meet Me in St. Louie’: An Index of Early Latter-day Saints Associated with St. Louis, Missouri,” Nauvoo Journal 10, no. 2 (Fall 1998): 65. “Julia Cruse Howe,” Woman’s Exponent, June 1913, 1.
[7] “Missouri Marriage Records, 1805–2002: St. Louis, 1847–1852,” database online, Ancestry.com (https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=1171&h=510064498&tid=&pid=&usePUB=true&_phsrc=jif765&_phstart=successSource, accessed 4 Oct. 2021), Amos Howe and Julia Cruse. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Genealogical Department, Church Historian’s Office, Genealogical Surveys of LDS Members (Autobiographies and Ancestors), 13:263, Julia Cruse Howe.
[8] “Julia Cruse Howe,” Pioneer Database (https://history.churchofjesuschrist.org/overlandtravel/, accessed 4 Oct. 2021). Record of Members Collection, 1836–1970, Seventeenth Ward, Part 1, 1848–1922, book 6300, p. 23, line 856, Julia Howe, CR 375 8, box 6378, folder 1, image 105/558, CHL.
[9] Seventeenth Ward, Salt Lake Stake, Manuscript History and Historical Reports, LR 8240 2, CHL.
[10] EBW, Diary, 28 Jan. 1892; 17 Feb. 1892; 11 Nov. 1901; 5–6 Jan. 1903.
[11] Jennifer Reeder and Kate Holbrook, eds., At the Pulpit, Bonus Chapter 4, “A Drone in the Hive of Deseret,” Recorded by Lydia D. Alder (https://www.churchhistorianspress.org/at-the-pulpit/bonus-chapters/bonus-4?lang=eng). “Semi Monthly Meeting,” Woman’s Exponent, 15 Jan. 1894, 85.
[12] Salt Lake Co., UT, Death Records, 1849–1949, p. 200, 1916, Julia Cruse Howe, Salt Lake Co. Management and Archives, Salt Lake City.