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Once, there was a family who lived on a green hill in England, and their name was Rowley.
1
There was a father named William, a mother named Ann Jewell, and seven little children who needed feeding every single day.
2
But one cold February, Papa William died, and the world felt very still.
3
Ann was forty-two years old, and her seven children needed her - the oldest just twelve, the youngest only seven months.
4
Ann sat down at the table, and she thought: what can my hands do?
5
Ann Jewell was a very good seamstress - her fingers knew exactly what to do with a needle and thread.
6
She sewed gloves, stitch by careful stitch. She sewed long stockings and smock frocks - anything that someone might buy.
7
Louisa pulled her chair right up beside Mama and learned to sew too, her fingers doing their best to keep up.
8
They sewed in the morning, and they sewed when the candle was lit at night, and the pile of gloves and smocks grew slowly, slowly taller.
9
Louisa was old enough to find work as a maid in someone else's house, and she went - though she always came home.
10
And Ann's boys, John and Samuel, went to work too - all the way to a brick kiln, miles and miles from home.
11
The brick kiln was hot and dusty, and the work was hard for small hands - but John and Samuel did it anyway, because Mama needed them to.
12
At the end of each long day, the boys walked back home - and there was Mama, needle still moving.
13
The parish gave the family seven shillings a week - just enough to buy flour for their bread.
14
Ann took the flour home and made bread, and the bread fed her children, and that was enough for today.
15
Ann's brother Thomas and her sister Sarah came to help when they could - and Ann was glad, even when it was hard to need help.
16
Some days were very hard. But Ann Jewell did not stop - not for one single day.
17
She thought about the feather bed - the one thing she had kept when everything else was sold.
18
She had kept the feather bed so her children would always have somewhere soft and warm to sleep - and there they were.
19
Six years passed. Six whole years of sewing and baking and walking to the kiln and walking home again.
20
The children grew taller. Their hands grew stronger. And Ann's needle never, ever stopped.
21
Ann had wanted to take all of her children to Zion - a faraway place where their new faith had built a home - and she did not let herself forget it.
22
She had worked, and she had hoped, and she had kept them all together - every last one.
23
That is what love looks like sometimes - a needle and thread, moving and moving, keeping everyone warm.
24
The real story
What really happened
Ann Jewell Rowley was a real woman. When her husband William died in February 1849, she was forty-two years old and had seven children, the youngest just seven months old and the oldest only twelve. To keep her family together, Ann did what she knew how to do - she sewed. Her older sons found work at a brick kiln. Her oldest daughter found work as a maid. Every one of them did what they could.
She left a record of those years, and the words on the next pages come straight from it. So do the photographs. Take a look - these are the real people from the story you just read.
The real story · photographs
Ann Jewell Rowley
Samuel Rowley
From the source · 1 of 8
ENGLAND, CRADLE OF OUR HERITAGE and Ann Taylor were married. In 1835, twenty-eight years after her marriage to William, Ann Taylor Rowley passed away. William was about 50 years old when she died. We do not know the makeup of the family at the time. The youngest of the Rowley children, Hannah, would have been nine or ten years old. Some of the older children certainly were married and would have been living on their own. We also do not know how long Ann Jewell had been living in the Rowley home. We do know, however, that William chose Ann Jewell to become his wife.
— 1 —
From the source · 2 of 8
The couple were married in August 1835, and continued to live at Mars Hill, where their lives would soon be dramatically trans- formed by the preaching of the restored gospel in Great Britain. William and Ann Jewell gave birth to seven children between 1837 and 1848. The story of their lives spans more than a century and half the globe. As you read the pages that follow, you will meet real-life characters who were heroes such as one seldom meets in This (is a photocopy of the marriage license showing the names of William Rowley and Ann Jewell. The marriage was performed in the Parish of Suckley,…
— 2 —
From the source · 3 of 8
THE SPIRIT OF GATHERING Jewell held back was their feather bed. We do not know many details about their lives during these dif- ficult years. Some family histories suggest that William was badly injured when he was thrown from and run over by a produce wagon. If the account is accurate, his leg and hip were crushed, and he lay bedridden for many months while Ann struggled to support the family. William was in his sixties and did not have the stamina and vigor of young manhood to help him recover quickly. Ann Jewell continued to bear children during these critical years, one in 1846, and another in 1848. William Rowley died in February 1849, at age 64. Of course, we do not know the exact cause of his death.
— 3 —
From the source · 4 of 8
Some have suggested that he was despondent over his financial losses and the failure of his lifelong business. Some have felt that he was weakened by his injury. Others see in William's passing, the hand of the Lord prepar- ing this family to fill greater purposes than they might have if left in comfortable and contented circumstances. Whatever the causes, the realities must have struck Ann with sub- stantial force. She was widowed at age 42. The ages of her seven children…
— 4 —
From the source · 5 of 8
ROWLEY FAMILY HISTORIES Fortunately, Ann Jewell was an accomplished seamstress. With the aid of her older daughters, she made smock frocks, gloves, stock- ings, and whatever else might sell. Her oldest daughter, Louisa, was in her teens and was also able to obtain work as a maid. Ann also put the older boys to work. John was about nine years old, and Samuel was seven when their father died. They worked at a brick kiln located some miles from their home. Like the children of other poor families, they had to seek work where it could be found and were likely paid a pittance for their labors. We do not know how the boys were treated by their employers, nor much about the conditions in which they worked.
— 5 —
From the source · 6 of 8
Only one account appears in the Rowley family histories to suggest that either John or Samuel Rowley suffered at the hands of an employer. John's daugh- ter, Martha Ann, reports that John was once late for work because he was feeling poorly. His employer apparently, "took him roughly by the ears and shook him until his fingers broke the skin behind his ears" (Lunt, p. 1). Despite that unfortunate incident, we can assume that these early working experiences produced positive results…
— 6 —
From the source · 7 of 8
THE SPIRIT OF GATHERING of Latter-day Saints, oppressed by unrelenting hardship and intolerant neighbors, stood ready to answer the call. Among them was Ann Jewell Rowley, widow, mother of seven, and valiant daughter of God. THE TIME WAS AT HAND As the children matured, Ann may have realized that it was only a matter of time before factors beyond her control would begin to divide the family. The history of Louisa Rowley Guymon—Ann's oldest daughter—relates that Louisa was developing an attraction for a young man who lived near her work place. When Ann became aware of this attachment, she urged Louisa to change employment. Louisa asked for a reason. Ann replied that her most fervent desire was to take all of her children to Zion.
— 7 —
From the source · 8 of 8
She feared that if Louisa continued to see her young suitor, she would no longer be willing to leave with the family. When Louisa protested that her friend was also a member of the Church, Ann counseled her not to fall in love with a man whose faith was not sufficient to carry him to Zion (Stone, Sketch of the Life of Louisa Rowley Guymon, p. 1). In so saying, Ann was in harmony with Church leaders who frequently counseled unmarried youth intending…
— 8 —
ABOUT THIS RECORD
This book was drawn from the journals, kept 1712-2004.
KindredPages
Made with care · 2026
When William is gone and the cottage falls quiet, Ann pulls her basket of sewing close and picks up her needle. The children - all seven of them - gather in.
Some families are held together by thread as much as love. This is one of them.
Created with KindredPages kindredpages.studio
Cover
direct Verbatim from the journalparaphrase Same meaning, child-friendly wordingbridge Connective tissue we wrote
Page 1
Once, there was a family who lived on a green hill in England, and their name was Rowley.paraphrase
Page 2
There was a father named William, a mother named Ann Jewell, and seven little children who needed feeding every single day.paraphrase
Page 3
But one cold February, Papa William died, and the world felt very still.paraphrase
Page 4
Ann was forty-two years old, and her seven children needed her - the oldest just twelve, the youngest only seven months.paraphrase
Page 5
Ann sat down at the table, and she thought: what can my hands do?bridge
Page 6
Ann Jewell was a very good seamstress - her fingers knew exactly what to do with a needle and thread.paraphrase
Page 7
She sewed gloves, stitch by careful stitch. She sewed long stockings and smock frocks - anything that someone might buy.paraphrase
Page 8
Louisa pulled her chair right up beside Mama and learned to sew too, her fingers doing their best to keep up.paraphrase
Page 9
They sewed in the morning, and they sewed when the candle was lit at night, and the pile of gloves and smocks grew slowly, slowly taller.paraphrase
Page 10
Louisa was old enough to find work as a maid in someone else's house, and she went - though she always came home.paraphrase
Page 11
And Ann's boys, John and Samuel, went to work too - all the way to a brick kiln, miles and miles from home.paraphrase
Page 12
The brick kiln was hot and dusty, and the work was hard for small hands - but John and Samuel did it anyway, because Mama needed them to.paraphrase
Page 13
At the end of each long day, the boys walked back home - and there was Mama, needle still moving.bridge
Page 14
The parish gave the family seven shillings a week - just enough to buy flour for their bread.paraphrase
Page 15
Ann took the flour home and made bread, and the bread fed her children, and that was enough for today.paraphrase
Page 16
Ann's brother Thomas and her sister Sarah came to help when they could - and Ann was glad, even when it was hard to need help.paraphrase
Page 17
Some days were very hard. But Ann Jewell did not stop - not for one single day.paraphrase
Page 18
She thought about the feather bed - the one thing she had kept when everything else was sold.paraphrase
Page 19
She had kept the feather bed so her children would always have somewhere soft and warm to sleep - and there they were.paraphrase
Page 20
Six years passed. Six whole years of sewing and baking and walking to the kiln and walking home again.paraphrase
Page 21
The children grew taller. Their hands grew stronger. And Ann's needle never, ever stopped.paraphrase
Page 22
Ann had wanted to take all of her children to Zion - a faraway place where their new faith had built a home - and she did not let herself forget it.paraphrase
Page 23
She had worked, and she had hoped, and she had kept them all together - every last one.paraphrase
Page 24
That is what love looks like sometimes - a needle and thread, moving and moving, keeping everyone warm.paraphrase
