John Moburn Kay (abt. 1817 - 1864)

Born about 1817 in Bury, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom [uncertain]

Husband of Ellen M (Cockcroft) Kay — married about 3 Jul 1837 in Collegiate Church of St Mary, St Denys and St George, Manchester, Lancashire, England

Died 26 Sep 1864 at about age 47 in Colorado, United States

Biography

John became a member of the LDS Church between 1830 - 1848.

This profile is part of the St Helens, Lancashire One Place Study.

John Moburn Kay was born in about 1817 in Lancashire, England - probably Bury. There is some uncertainty about his parents' names - see Notes below.

John married Ellen Cockcroft - probably on 3 Jul 1837 at Manchester Collegiate Church in Manchester, Lancashire. Both were of full age (21 or more), and neither had been married before. John was a millwright living at 29 Ancoats Street, Ellen lived at 24 Ancoats Street. Their fathers were named as Thomas Kay (moulder) and William Cockcroft (mechanic). The witnesses were Edward Murray and James Kay. ^[1]

Their daughter Sarah was born on 26 Sep 1837 in Bury, Lancashire, and christened on 29 Oct 1837 at St John's Church in Bury. Her father's occupation was recorded as pattern maker, and the family's address as Bury. ^{[2] [3]}

Their daughter Maria was born on 18 Dec 1839 in Bury, Lancashire, and christened on 19 Jan 1840 at St John's Church in Bury. Her father's occupation was recorded as engineer, and the family's address as Bury. ^{[4] [5]}

By June 6th 1841, they were living in Church Street, Westfield, Eccleston; John was an engineer. Sarah's age has been misrecorded as 3 months instead of 3 years, but the children are listed in the census in their correct birth order. ^[6]

During John's time in St Helens, it's said that he came across a Mormon convert named Samuel Croyer, a physically small man who was trying to evangelise and being bullied by his workmates. Always one to stand up for the underdog, John defended Samuel and beat up the chief bully. Curiosity led him to ask about Samuel's faith, and John ended up being baptised a Mormon in the autumn of 1841. ^[7]

John and Ellen's daughter Elizabeth was born on 18 Nov 1841 in St Helens, Lancashire. ^{[8] [9]}

They emigrated to the United States, setting sail in September 1842, and arriving in Nauvoo in the spring of 1843. ^[10] In Nauvoo, he was a major in the Nauvoo Legion, a member of the Nauvoo brass band and the police force.^[7] He also participated in concerts in Missouri to help fund the exodus from Illinois.^[7]

John added a second wife to his family on 27 January 1846 in Nauvoo, Hancock, Illinois, United States, named Susan Roberts.^{[citation needed]}

John and Ellen's son John was born on 11 Feb 1846 in Nauvoo, Illinois. He died on 20 Jul 1847 in Nebraska. ^[11]

Their daughter Ellen was born on 18 Dec 1847 in Omaha, Nebraska. ^[12]

Their daughter Maria died on 16 June 1848 on the plains, in Laramie Nebraska. ^[13]

In the fall of 1848 the family reached Great Salt Lake Valley. ^[10]

In November 1848, John was commissioned by Brigham Young to set up a mint. However the crucibles broke, and it wasn't until September 1849 that coins were produced. ^[14]

In 1850, John was living in Salt Lake, Utah. ^[15]

On 19 June 1851, John married his third wife, Martha Royle, in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah.^{[citation needed]} Martha died in 1852.

On 19 Jun 1851, John married his fourth wife, Ellen Partington Kay, with the consent of his first wife Ellen. In spite of the consent, according to Ellen Partington Kay's account, the first wife resented her. ^[16]

John's son James Willard (by his fourth wife) was born in 1852.

Their daughter Annie was born in 1855.

In the spring of 1855, John was appointed as one of a group of Elders sent on a mission to England; they also visited the Continent briefly, and didn't return to Salt Lake City till January 1858.^[10] His family struggled during his absence - especially after a plague of grasshoppers in 1855 caused food shortages.^[16]

John's daughter Susan Amelia (by his fourth wife) was born in 1858.

Their son Leon was born in 1860, and died in infancy.

In 1860, John was living in Salt Lake City. ^[17] But in September he was asked to go on another mission to England. He was resolved not to let his family suffer as they had done the previous time, and Brigham Young promised him they would be provided for, which led to a missionary fund being set up to help them.^[16]

In January 1864 he was released from his mission, and began the return journey home, but never made it back to see his family.^[16]

John died on 26 Sep 1864 "of apoplexy, at a point seven miles this side of Little Laramie, Colorado Territory". ^[10]

Research Notes

Census

1841: Church Street, Westfield, Eccleston

  John Kay 24 Eng Y

  Ellen Kay 25 Y

  Sarah Kay 3M Y

  Mariah Kay 1 Y /

Parents

There is some uncertainty about John's parents' names - according to Mormon sources, his parents were James William Kay and Betty (Moburn) Kay, however the marriage record of James Kay gives his wife as Betty Moband not Moburn, and the marriage record of John Kay gives his father as Thomas Kay, not James Kay. John Moburn Kay's obituary gives his birth date as 6 Oct 1817 in Bury, and this matches the date in the baptism record of John son of James and Elizabeth Kay at the Central Wesleyan Methodist Chapel, Bury. ^[18]

First Marriage

Some of the American records confirm John's first wife's maiden name as Cockroft.^{[19] [20]} Is it possible it's the wrong marriage record even if both names of bride and groom match? As well as his father's name differing from that given in his obituary, his occupation of millwright from the marriage record doesn't occur in that form in any of the later records found; and it's unclear why they married in Manchester if the groom was from Bury and they settled in Bury by the time the first child was christened, although that's not particularly strange - the bride was pregnant when they married if it's the right marriage, and they might have wanted to marry away from home to conceal that although it wasn't particularly unusual; or maybe the bride was from Manchester or they'd both been working there.

Furthermore Ellen's father's name and occupation in the marriage record both differ from those in the baptism linked with her in the FamilySearch tree.

Mint

It would be interesting to have an informed explanation of what went wrong with the crucibles at the Utah mint. Would John have had the necessary experience given his employment history to have known what to do?

Conversion Story

No sign of a Samuel Croyer in Prescot in 1841, and the surname doesn't sound like a local one. Perhaps it's been misremembered, if the story is actually reliable? Would there be a Mormon record of him as one of their early members and preachers?

Sources

1. ↑ Marriage: "Manchester, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom records, Jun 2, 2021," images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:9Q97-YSNB-2FF?view=explore : Aug 21, 2023), image 18 of 260; Church of England. Cathedral Church (Manchester, Lancashire).
2. ↑ Child's birth registration: Sarah Kay, last quarter 1837, Bury district, mother's maiden name Cockcroft, accessed on GRO website - birth registration search (free registration required)
3. ↑ Child's baptism: "England, Manchester, Parish Registers, 1603-1910," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QK14-851R : 9 March 2021), Sarah, 29 Oct 1837, Baptism; citing St John, Bury, Lancashire, England, Manchester Central Library, England; FHL microfilm 4,504,036. Image link
4. ↑ Child's birth registration: Maria Kay, last quarter 1839, Bury district, mother's maiden name Cockcroft, accessed on GRO website - birth registration search (free registration required)
5. ↑ Child's baptism: "England, Manchester, Parish Registers, 1603-1910," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QK14-D94X : 9 March 2021), Maria, 19 Jan 1840, Baptism; citing St John, Bury, Lancashire, England, Manchester Central Library, England; FHL microfilm 4,504,036. Image link
6. ↑ 1841 census: "England and Wales Census, 1841," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MQ2G-BPT : 22 May 2019), John Kay, Prescot, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom; from "1841 England, Scotland and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing PRO HO 107, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey. Piece 516-07 folio 14 page 20
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1 7.2} LDS Biographical Encyclopedia: "Utah, Latter-Day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:WGF1-QN6Z : Thu Aug 17 17:04:38 UTC 2023), Entry for John Moburn Kay, Elder, 27 Sep 1864.
8. ↑ Child's birth registration: Elizabeth Kay, last quarter 1841, Prescot district, mother's maiden name Cockcroft, accessed on GRO website - birth registration search (free registration required)
9. ↑ Child's birth/death: "Utah, Salt Lake City Cemetery Records, 1847-1976", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:ZN2N-LMN2 : 17 July 2020), Elizabeth Shearman, 1883.
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3} Obituary: Deseret News 30 Nov 1864
11. ↑ Child's death: Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/35006651/john-kay: accessed 21 August 2023), memorial page for John Kay (11 Feb 1846–20 Jul 1847), Find a Grave Memorial ID 35006651, citing Mormon Pioneer Cemetery, Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska, USA; Maintained by SMS (contributor 46491005).
12. ↑ Child's birth: "Utah Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel Database, 1847-1868," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QK9B-HJFB : 10 February 2018), Ellen Kay, 24 Sep 1848; from "Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel: 1847-1868," database, > The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (https://history.lds.org/overlandtravels/ : 2004-).
13. ↑ "Illinois, Hancock County, Nauvoo Community Project, 1839-1846 (BYU Center for Family History and Genealogy)", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QL3Z-GDQD : Sun Aug 06 01:35:43 UTC 2023), Entry for Maria Kay and John Moburn Kay, from 1839 to 1846.
14. ↑ "When Utah made a Mint" by Robert C Mitchell in the Deseret News, July 1966
15. ↑ 1850 census: "United States Census, 1850", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MCS6-1TK : Mon Jul 17 21:42:08 UTC 2023), Entry for John Kay and Ellen Kay, 1850.
16. ↑ ^{16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3} Diary of Ellen Partington Kay
17. ↑ 1860 census: "United States Census, 1860", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MH2W-1Z3 : Tue Jul 18 00:57:04 UTC 2023), Entry for John Kay and Ellen Kay, 1860.
18. ↑ Baptism (uncertain match): listed on Lancashire Online Parish Clerk - John Kay. Register: Baptisms 1816 - 1837, Page 4, Entry 26. Source: LDS Film 560878
19. ↑ "Utah, Salt Lake County Death Records, 1849-1949," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NQHB-3GC : 3 March 2021), Ellen M Cockroft in entry for Sarah Stephenson, 17 Jun 1903; citing Oskaloosa, Iowa, Management and Archives, Salt Lake City; FHL microfilm 4,139,834.
20. ↑ https://www.familysearch.org/photos/artifacts/20200541

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