George Coleman

George Coleman 1765-1811
(Emory Clarence Smith's Paternal Great Great Grandfather)



George Coleman’s maternal grandfather was Edward Prime; christened 13 Oct. 1703 died before 1800, of Barrington, son of Thomas Prime born about 1661 and Elizabeth Betany (or Batang) both of Barrington, Cambridgeshire, England. Earlier progenitors are not known to the writer at this time.

Neither are the details of much of George Coleman’s life and experiences preserved for us. We do know that his father died when he was 15 years old. When he was about twenty-one he married Sarah Prime on the 25th of September 1786. Her birth date was Jan 4, 1761 and she died June 1824.

George Coleman and his wife became the parents of eighteen children though only six reared to maturity. Two sets of twins, and a set of triplets arrived at their farm home in Arlsey in Bedfordshire England between the years of 1785 and 1802.

The eighteenth child was Prime Coleman born 20 Jan 1802

George Coleman 1765-1811 left a will, which indicated he was a prosperous farmer for the time and place in which he lived. The will was proved Jan. 13, 1813 and a microfilm copy is on file at the Salt Lake Genealogical Library.


The historical records of the Coleman family place their known origin in England. The research which has been completed list our oldest known Coleman ancestor as John Coleman, 1671-1734, of Ardesden, Essex, England, married to Elizabeth Simmonds. Their son John Coleman (1700-1786), and grandson John Coleman (1731-1780); and great-grandson George Coleman (1765-1811) all lived and died in England. The Prime families are also prominent in the Coleman lineage, showing up in two ways. The wife of John Coleman (1731-1780) was Ann Prime (1732-1780) whose father was Edward Prime (1703-1800) and grandfather was Thomas Prime (1661- ); all residing at Barrington Cambridgeshire, England. The other Prime lineage comes from the wife of George Coleman (1765-1811) who was Elizabeth Sarah Prime (1761-1824) whose father was Mathew Prime (1718- ), and grandfather was William Prime, also from England. As we look at the descendents of George Coleman (1765-1811), we find that he had seventeen children (three sets of twins, one set of triplets, and eight single births) but only six survived to maturity. In reviewing the records of the grandchildren of George Coleman, we find that at least eight of them joined the Mormon Church in England and immigrated to the United States and crossed the plain to Utah as pioneers. However, in this brief historical summary, we are only interested in our own line, consisting of George's son Prime Coleman (1803-1844) and grandson George Coleman (1827-1909) and his great-grandson George Smith Coleman (1866-1922). Prime Coleman (1803-1844) married Sarah Thornton (daughter of William Thornton and Elizabeth Christian) and they lived on a large, well-managed and prosperous farm. They and their children were converted to the Mormon Church and were baptized in1841. In 1843, they sold their property, went by team and wagon to Liverpool, boarded the ship "Swanton" and sailed for America. At New Orleans they transferred to the ship "Amaranth" and proceeded up the Mississippi River, necessitating a delay at St. Louis due to ice on the river, and finally arrived at Nauvoo on April 12, 1843, which was three months, and twelve days after they had left their home in Thomcot, Old Warden Parish, in Bedfordshire, England. At Nauvoo the Prime Coleman family lived on the farm belonging to Hyrum Smith. It was a hard life. Their oldest daughter (Sarah) died, and the youngest child (Martha) was born. Prime died of typhoid fever in 1844, and was hastily buried in an abandoned well, of which the exact location is not known. The same month Joseph and Hyrum Smith were killed, and for the next six years Sarah Thornton and her seven children shared the trial and persecutions of the exodus from Nauvoo, and the moving or being driven from one county or state to another. It was June 15, 1850, when she and her children were placed in the company supervised by Bishop David Evans, and headed for Utah, arriving there in September. Sarah Thornton and her children settled in Lehi, Utah. She served ad Relief Society President for eleven years. Her children were all active in the church, and were among the first to employ a genealogist in England to search out their ancestors for the church records. George Coleman (1827-1909) son of Prime Coleman and Sarah Thornton, married Jane Smith (1838-1924). George drove a team from St. Joseph, Missouri to Fort Hall, Idaho, and then went on to California where he worked for a while and then traveled back to Lehi to join his mother and brothers and sisters. He fulfilled two missions, one in the Salmon River area of Idaho, and another in Arizona. He and Jane Smith were married in 1859 in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City. They lived in Lehi, then in 1863, moved to Smithfield, in Cache County, and in 1877 moved to Escalante, Utah. Later they moved to Teasdale, Wayne County, where he was Bishop of the Teasdale Ward, and later was Patriarch of the Wayne Stake. George Coleman took a second wife, Maria Thalseth, in June, 1865, thus practicing polygamy. There were nine children born to Jane, of which seven lived to maturity. Maria had three children, of which two lived to maturity. It might be appropriate here to point out some background to Jane Smith Coleman (1838-1924). Her parents were Alexander Smith (1813-1850) and Mary McEwan, both from Scotland. The grandparents on both sides were also from Scotland. Jane was a very active person, was the first school teacher in Wayne County (then Rabbit Valley), teaching at Loa in 1882-1883. She also taught school at Teasdale. She was the first president of the Relief Society, second president of the Primary, and third postmaster of Teasdale. She operated a hot house and had many beautiful flowers and also operated a store in Teasdale. She was active in the genealogy work and did much to assist in obtaining the genealogical information on both her family and that of the Coleman family. George Smith Coleman (1866-1922), son of George Coleman and Jane Smith was born in Smithfield, Utah. He married Angeline Hunt in 1886 in the Manti Temple. Their early married life was spent at Gunlock, Washington County, Utah; being the area where the Hunt family were residing at this time. George filled a mission in New Zealand, leaving his wife and five children to manage their farm at Hebron. After he returned from his mission, he moved his family to Teasdale, where he provided a large and well managed home for his family and was made Bishop of the Teasdale Ward. He and Angeline had eight children, of which seven were raised to maturity. George was active in farming and stock raising, having many cattle and horses, and he enjoyed the work and effort which was required to make it a success. He and Angeline were successful in carrying on the Coleman and Hunt tradition of being active in the church, the community and contributing toward a successful and healthy livestock and farming business in the area. The home environment was on which encouraged religious consciousness, cultural growth, wholesome social life, and a desire to improve one's own ability as well as assist and encourage others. George was killed at the age of 56 from injuries received in a fall offhis horse while riding across an ice covered meadow.