Who is John Toone?
John Toone was born on 10 April 1813 in Birmingham, England to John Toone and Elizabeth Masters.
On 12 June 1936 at Leamington, John married Emma Prosser, daughter of James and Mary Ann Morgan.
John and Emma joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1849. In the early winter of 1851, they set sail for American with their young family and arrived in March 1851.
They made preparations to come to Utah and left Pattawattamie on 7 Jun 1852 In Captain Thomas Howell's company and arrived in the Salt Lake Valley on 27 Sep 1852.
John and Emma lived in the 20th ward around D Street and 2nd Ave in Salt Lake City.
John played the cello in the first orchestra of the Salt Lake Theater. He played in dance orchestras in the old Social Hall. He performed with Mineer's band.
John was called on a mission to England in 1854 and was able to stay with his parents during that time. While on his mission, he met an English school teacher named Hannah Wardle. On his return trip with the Martin Handcart Company, he met Jemima Cook. Upon returning to Utah, he married Hannah on 1 Feb 1857, and Jemima on 27 Feb 1857.
When Johnson's Army came to Utah in 1857, John and his three wives moved to Payson, Utah. It was a very trying time for the Toone family. Emma's two-month-old son, Benjamin Prosser Toone, died 23 July 1858. His second wife, Hannah, gave birth to premature twin babies and she and both the babies died on 20 July 1858. After the army trouble, the Toone family moved back to Salt Lake.
In 1876, John was called to Morgan County to help pioneer that part of Utah. He and Jemima moved to Croydon, Morgon County, Utah. His wife Emma remained in Salt Lake City until her death on 7 April 1889.
John Toone died on 31 Aug 1893 at the age of 80 years. He was the father of 17 children and 91 great-grandchildren.
(Borrowed from the life sketch of John Toone, written by his granddaughter, Dora Toone Brough on 22 Aug 1953)
John Toone
Photograph from DUP Collection
The Cello
Kayson Brown Performing on John Toone's Cello
John Toone Playing his Cello
Scroll of John Toone's Cello
Kayson Brown with John Toone's Cello
3 comments:
I was always taught and read that his mother was Elizabeth Reading. Do you know where the information on "Masters" comes from. I am unable to be there Saturday. Is there any way I can obtain information from the earlier family meeting?
Garth Toone
You are correct, everything I had read before shows that John Toone’s mother was named Elizabeth Reading. While they are one and the same person, new evidence has emerged to show that Elizabeth was really a Masters. While reviewing the Croydon ward membership records at the FHL, I was struck that John Toone said his mother was Elizabeth Masters. (John Toone was the membership clerk).
That same weekend, another cousin, Elizabeth Thomas, happened to be transcribing the journal of her great-grandfather, George Henry Toone, grandson of John Toone, who served a mission to England from 1899-1901. Near the end of his mission he was transferred to Warwick and spent some time visiting Toone relatives in nearby Leamington. He entered the following in his journal on Friday, February 1, 1901:
"We reached our village & by the side of the road now stands the house where my grand-father’s mother was supposed to have been born in, her mother still living there for many years afterwards until she became very feeble when she was taken to Leamington to live along with her daughter until her death which was 3 of Feb 1842 aged 80 years."
"She was never married but had one child, a daughter, my grand father’s mother. Her father was supposed to be _______[blank] Reading, a village blacksmith next door, the shop still being run by a son of the Reading[s] this day, who we called on. The Reading was married at the time he became the father of Mrs. Elizabeth Masters Toone."
After receiving this information, I then did a search of the 1841 British Census, and sure enough, there was a Martha Masters living with John and Elizabeth Toone.
So while Elizabeth was fathered by Mr. Reading, it is very unlikely that she would have taken the last name of Reading. The records in the IGI have Elizabeth’s mother as Sarah Gresell. Sarah was Edward Reading’s wife, but not Elizabeth’s mother.
1841 census shows that Martha Masters resides with Elizabeth and John Toone. Martha born about 1762 and according to the journal entry, Elizabeth's mother went to reside with Elizabeth and then died 3 Fehb 1842. So it would appear that Martha Masters in the 1841 census is Elizabeth's mother.
Pat Holling pholling@tds.net
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