In the passing away March 26th, [1919,] at Franklin, we lose one of our prominent citizens and mothers. Born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England, 22 Jan. 1835. Embraced the Mormon faith in 1853. Married Charles W. Hobbs 21 Aug. 1852, from which union was born thirteen children, four boys and nine girls, eleven of which survived. She has seventy grand-children, and one great grandchild, A total of one hundred sixty.

She, her husband and four children left England for Zion in 1862, crossing the Atlantic Ocean in a sailing vessel, the John J. Boyd, being six weeks on the water, suffering many privations. Continuing on, they crossed the plains in an ox team, enduring many trials and tribulations incident to pioneer life being compelled to walk a great deal of the way. They landed in Utah the same year and thence to Franklin, Idaho, where they resided the remainder of their days.

Her husband died 15 Feb. 1913.

After arriving in Franklin, they had much to endure with the Indians and the grasshoppers, great difficulty being experienced in raising sufficient to sustain life, but Mary Ann always made friends even with the red man and always had something to give, which tended to pacify and keep the peace. She was kind and free hearted dispositioned and her little grandchildren and others will always remember her for her generous and kind-hearted nature.

The greater part of her life in Franklin was spent conducting a boarding and lodging house, and a host of commercial travelers will never forget the kind hospitality extended to them by this venerable couple.

She had remarkable vitality, having been nigh unto death several times, but due to her faith in the priesthood and her power of resistance to death, she survived to a ripe old age [84], and having fought a good fight and kept the faith she espoused, she will enter into the joy of our Lord. She passed away at the home of her daughter Rose (Mrs. H. B. Hawkes), and glowing tributes were paid to her by Elder Thomas H. Durant, L. L. Hatch, [and] Bishop Samuel C. Parkinson, a son-in-law. John A. and Joseph H. Lowe sang "I Know That My Redeemer Liveth," which bespoke the ardent testimony of the deceased. Nora Handy Danes very beautifully rendered the solo, "Mother Dear." Bernice R. Parkinson, a grandson, sang "Absence." Louise Hobbs Shumway and Laura Hobbs Shumway, granddaughters and their husbands, sang "Jesus Lover of My Soul." The floral tributes from friends and relatives were numerous, and many remarked that the cortege of automobiles was the largest ever witnessed in Franklin.

[From a typescript in possession of Vicky Holley; transcribed with minor edits by Ben Parkinson, June 2002.]

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