Eleanor Odd was born January 27, 1863 in Croydon, Surrey, England, the seventh of nine children of Charles Odd and Margaret Rice. Her parents were converted to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and baptized in 1852 in Croydon. Twenty years later, Eleanor was also baptized in Croydon, September 6, 1872 by her father. Her entire family emigrated to Utah. According to the Federal Census of 1910, she emigrated in 1873.
Eleanor married Alfred Ellis Williams as his second wife April 3, 1878 in Bingham Canyon, Salt Lake, Utah. He was 35 and she was 15 years old at that time. Seven children were born to them: Alfred Ellis (born March 10,1881, died September 20, 1881), Seth Lewis (born March 10, 1882), Walter Ray (born September 7,1884, died July 10,1888), Bertha Selina (born November 18,1886, died December 31,1901), Earl (born July 17,1891), Lillian/Lillie Maud (born December 3, 1892), and Emma Myrtle (born June 18,1894). The first four children were born in Salt Lake City, Utah, the next one was bom in Woods Cross, Utah, and the last two were born in Bountiful, Utah. Her husband died May 7, 1901, leaving her with five children, ages 7 to 19. Her daughter, Bertha Selina, died seven months later December 31, 1901.
She was rebaptized January 9, 1904, and then was confirmed by Judson Tolman. Since she was baptized when she was nine years old, it is not known why she was re-baptized. Perhaps she didn’t have a record of the earlier baptism. She was endowed September 8, 1904 in the Salt Lake Temple. It is believed that Eleanor and Judson were secretly married, making her a plural wife when such marriages were prohibited. Her sons, Seth Lewis and Earl, were not sealed, but the other five of her children with Alfred Ellis Williams were sealed to her and Judson November 19, 1908 in the Salt Lake Temple. She was listed as Eleanor Odd (Williams) Tolman on the children’s sealing record. This would indicate they were married prior to that date, although there is no record of it nor is there any record of them being sealed together at that time. When Judson was tried and excommunicated in October of 1910 on charges of entering into an illegal plural marriage, Apostle Reed Smoot wrote in his journal that the marriage took place about 1905, although the name of his wife was not mentioned.
Eleanor did not use the surname of Tolman on any census or LDS Church records. On the May, 1910 Federal Census, she was listed as Elenor (sic) Williams, widow, nurse, and her daughters Lilly and Emma were living with her in Bountiful, Utah. This was six months prior to Judson’s trial and excommunication.
According to the 1925 annual report of the LDS Bountiful 2nd Ward, she re-married July 27, 1925, but the groom was listed as Capt. West (probably a mistake). She was transferred to the Salt Lake Fourth Ward as Eleanor Williams Smith in 1928, but no husband was listed. She died March 3, 1931 in Salt Lake City, Utah, and was buried in Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Salt Lake City. The informant on her death certificate was her husband, James M. Smith.
Compiled in November, 2000, by Pauline Hanks Christiansen, 2nd great granddaughter of Judson Tolman and Sarah Lucretia Holbrook.
(Contributed by the Thomas Tolman Family Organization. Excerpt from Judson Tolman: Pioneer, Lumberman, Patriarch by E. Dennis Tolman, Second Edition, 2004, pages 154-155.)
Bibliography
1. East Bountiful, Utah, Ward Record – film at Family History Library (FHL #0025821,1901-1909 section, #224).
2. Croydon, England, LDS Branch Record – film at Family History Library (FHL #0086993).
3. 1910 Federal Census of Bountiful, Utah – film at Family History Library (FHL #1375616).
4. LDS Ordinance Index.
5. Temple submission by Richard R. Cherrington for sealing to spouse – film at Family History Library (FHL #1396340).
6. Salt Lake Temple Sealing Children to Parents – film at Family History Library (FHL #1239612, p 330).
7. Salt Lake Temple Endowments for Living – film at Family History Library (FHL
#1239507, Special Collections).
8. Tolman, E. Dennis Judson Tolman, Pioneer, Lumberman, Patriarch, Family History Publishers, Bountiful, Utah, 1995, pg 89, copy on file at Thomas Tolman Family Genealogy Center, 2937 South Orchard Drive, Bountiful, Utah, 84010.
9. Bountiful, Utah, 2nd Ward Annual Report – Form E – film at Family History Library (FHL #0025817, year 1925).
10. Salt Lake City, Utah, 4th Ward Record – film at Family History Library (FHL #0026654,1918-1937 section, #900).
11. Salt Lake City Death Certificates – film at Family History Library (FHL #0026565,#365).