A history of unknown authorship found in the Book of Remembrance of
Wanda THMOPSON WISER, granddaughter of Almira.
In the spring of 1846, James Davenport, his wife and children left Nauvoo, Ill., with the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They came with a company to Council Bluffs, Iowa, and a little later crossed the big muddy to what is now Florence, Nebraska. Just north of the place now immediately adjoining the city of Omaha.
While Brigham Young and many of the other Mormons left in the spring of 1847, for Salt Lake City, Almira Phelps Davenport, and her children remained in Florence, and it was here that her daughter, Almira Davenport was born on March 11, 1847. James Davenport, was on the road to Utah with the Brigham Young company. He only stayed a short time in Utah until he returned to Nebraska and remained there until his daughter was three years old. Then they came across the plains, with a company of saints and settled in Grantsville, Tooele County. James Davenport worked for Heber C. Kimball, for several years, and his daughter worked out doing house work for anything a small girl could do to help the family. She was the youngest of thirteen children.
In 1857, the family returned to Florence again, and stayed there until the fall of 1860. They again crossed the plains and this time moved to Wellsville, where they stayed for a short time, and in the fall of 1861, moved to Richmond. Here they lived in the old fort with many other saints. This shelter protected them from the Indians. James Davenport, was very poor at that time and the children had to do all they could to help get the necessities of life. So his daughter Almira worked for William D. Hendricks and his first wife Mary Jane. Aunt Mary was a true pioneer, enduring all of the hardships of pioneer life. She gave her consent for Almira to become the third wife of her husband. So on October 10, 1865 Almira was married to William Dorris Hendricks, in the Salt Lake Endowment house. Aunt Mary accompanied them to Salt Lake.
Almira, lived with her parents until her second confinement when the triplets were born, the oldest girl Esmrilda, was only 15 months old. The triplets were named Cathrine, Ellen, and Rebecca. As they grew older she would hold two of them on her lap, and the third one at her feet and rock them to sleep. The winter of 1868 was very cold, and her father and mother again went back east, as some of their children were there. They remained in the east one year, then came back and stayed two years, with their daughter. They died in the house now occupied by Martha Alysworth.
In Almira's early life, she did spining [sic] and other work to help provide for her family. She had fourteen living children, nine girls, and five boys. One boy Wesley Aberham died at Lewiston,Utah.
Almira Davenport Hendricks lived in Richmond until 1872, then she moved to Cove, to the old High Creek Mill. Her husband had a grist mill and a carding mill there. The spring after she moved there a hired man set fire to the carding mill, she stood in the mill race with water up to her waist and threw water on the belt until help arrived from Richmond. She saved the grist mill,from burning.
In 1874 she moved to Lewiston and remained there until the spring of 1880, when she returned to Richmond and stayed until June 1889, when she took nine of her children and moved to Colonia Diaz, Mexico, arriving there on June 23, 189. Her husband was in Mexico at the time, and met her in Deming. It was a great sorrow to leave part of her children behind, the three oldest girls were married, and the fourth girl was married the next spring. In 1891 while her husband was in Utah, all of the family but one was stricken with black diptheria[sic]. One girl, Nora died, the family was all alone as very few people dared to come in, and there was no funeral held. In the Spring of 1893, her husband sent for Almira to come back to Richmond. Clara and John, were to remain in Mexico, for awhile, the home was all broken up, and when she returned her house was rented, and so she lived with her children for a year.
In 1899, her husband was building a rail road down at Milford, Utah, and she went down there[sic] and cooked for a bunch of men. He was a contractor and this was his last piece of work. Almira then moved to Logan and took in boarders for two years, then she returned to Richmond where she kept boarders for a good many years.
In the fall of 1903, she went back East to visit her brothers and sisters, she hadn't seen for many years. In 1906, her husband held a family reunion, and as his health was failing it was decided there, that he would go to California, and Almira went with him. They stayed in California for three months, but as his health was no better they returned home. He died May 6, 1909.
She sent three of her sons on a mission. She had passed through many trials but bore them all bravely. She had 14 children, 102 grandchildren, 93 great grandchildren and one great great grandchild at the time of her death. She was a good nurse and went among the sick and the needy any time of the day or night. She worked in the Relief Society for 19 years as first counselor. She fell twice, once she broke her collar bone, and the other time she broke her arm. She worked in the Temple and did work for many hundred names of her kindred dead. She lived to be 82 years old, and would not leave her home to live with any of her children, as she wanted to die in her own home. After a two months sickness, she passed away on the 16 January 1928, and was buried in the Richmond Cemetery, Richmond, Utah. (none)