To Her Progeny

Patty left her progeny a hand written record of her words for them to live by.

On November 20, 1876 she wrote:

I here say to all my children and my grand children and great grand children etc-etc and to all others I have been punc- tual to my word I never have given my note to any one Neither have I had any acounts on any Books in any store I have kept out of debt Paid my taxes my fast my donations. and my tithing willingly of the best I have. and the Lord has blesed me and Prospered me in all I have done for which I feel very Thankful. hoping he will continue to bless me while I live both Spiritually and temporally, with all that shall be for my good and his Glory to give unto me I am now almost eighty two years old february next 4th I drink no tea nor coffee nor spiritous liquors I dont smoke nor take snuff nor any poisonous medicines. I use consecrated oil for my complaints. Now I say to you do as I have done and as much better as you can and the Lord will bless you as he has me

-Patty Sessions

Patty's Accomplishments & Contributions

Patty knew about being cooperative and harmonious. She maintained strong connections with her family, her church, and her community. Patty also provides a connection for us. Her moments in time as chronicled in her diaries could be our own in their ordinariness and significance; in their transience and permanence.


Patty valued her origins and looked toward "forever" with optimism. Because her capable hands dealt daily with life and death as midwife and medical provider for the community, she lived with a serious sense of urgency and preparation. Her contributions to the well-being of her contemporaries cannot be overemphasized. But she did not neglect other important aspects of daily living. As she took care of her "domestic concerns," she also shared her skills and the fruits of her labors with her immediate family circle and with the larger community. She thrived on work and freely expressed satisfaction in work done well enough to satisfy her own high standards. When she realized a profit from her medical skills and from the fruits of her gardens and orchards, a necessity if she was to be self-sufficient, she valued her accomplishment. And being an astute businesswoman, she invested any surplus wisely.

Patty gave much simply out of an innate goodness and a desire to use her considerable talents and means to serve others. She earned a place as a leader among women in spiritual and practical ways. Being naturally good-hearted, she helped others with time as well as with material goods.  

         

Despite these obvious accomplishments and others that could be cited, however, Patty's greatest contributions are still her diaries, on-the-spot chronicles of the Mormon trail experience and of life in early Utah. She was no prisoner of time and place. She kept track of her origins and never wavered from her firm belief in the here and now and the future hereafter. She leaves much to ponder, to admire, and, yes, to emulate.

Diary Entry: 1888

"I have knit & rode out almost every day. Have knit a goodeal to day I have rode out a goodeal."

Diary Entry: 1887

"I don't go to meeting I cannot hear but litle. I am so deaf & I am so feeble I can hardly walk there."

Diary Entry: 1886

"Got the lining on the rug ready to to quilt it on I cannot do that my hands and arms is so lame."

Diary Entry: 1885

"Independance day. The Band came & seranaded us this morning."

Diary Entry: 1884

"I am getting ready to go to Logan to administer for the dead."

Diary Seven 1884-88

Diary Seven

Patty Sessions must have possessed an unusual sense of history and the importance of one life. She began yet another record book, perhaps in 1884, since that is when her diary entries begin, but she included many other records, as well. She logged the dates of her reminiscences patriarchal blessings, numerous pages of genealogical information, and minutes of the Benevolent Society of the sixteenth ward, and wrote everything carefully in her own hand. Perhaps she realized some of her diaries were missing and wanted to fill in the gap. Her daily inscriptions had become such a habit that she continued at her advanced age to write a few words when she really didn't have anything to say, except repetitious accounts of what handiwork she was diligently accomplishing.

Nevertheless, there is something compelling about such persistence. She persisted well into her nineties. She made scores of rugs, cleaned snow off her house, cleared trees from her orchard, knitted, colored fabric, dug sage, weeded and worked the ground, and cut and dried fruit. But she gradually declined in health, dexterity, and mental acuity. We witness the winding down of a life in dramatic and touching ways. Readers may not be prepared for that experience, even as human beings are seldom prepared for the slowing of their own lives, a universal condition that makes Patty's heroic efforts to maintain productiveness particularly touching. 

          

Will and Ariel Durant expressed a thought that may further explain Patty's painstaking record keeping:           

"If a man is fortunate he will, before he dies, gather up as much as he can of his civilized heritage and transmit it to his children. And to his final breath he will be grateful for this inexhaustible legacy, knowing that it is our nourishing mother and our lasting life. If progress is real   it is not because we are born any healthier, better, or wiser than infants were in the past, but because we are born to a richer heritage."

Diary Entry: 1866

"Br Greys carried me across the water on his back put his wife to bed with a daughter."

Diary Entry: 1865

"I enjoy health and activity can go and assotiate with my children and their children and their children's children."

Diary Entry: 1864

"I have a good deal of company but I have stood it first rate and feel quite well in body and mind."

Diary Entry: 1863

"Have been taking care of my fruit the most of the time."

Diary Entry: 1862

"The watter is in my cellar and keeps gaining."

Diary Six 1862-80

Diary Six

This diary covers the time period from February 18, 1862 through 1866 and a short period in 1880. Patty's life moves along at its accustomed rate with its accustomed activities. She does illuminate a few important events during this period. For the most part, however, she focuses on what she is doing. 

          

Alice James recognized the same characteristics in herself when she wrote,          "You must remember that a woman, by nature needs much less to feed upon than a man, a few emotions and she is satisfied: so when I am gone, pray don't think of me simply as a creature who might have been something else. Notwithstanding my outside experience, I have always had a significance for myself, and every chance to stumble along my straight and narrow little path, and to worship at the feet of my Deity, and what more can a human soul ask for?"

Patty was largely concerned with herself and her own doings. Although she cared enough about other people to name them in her diaries, it was their impact on her environment and personal well-being that she generally described. Nevertheless, Patty's own "doings" continued to impact the community and individuals whose lives mingled with hers. Despite the fact that her profession of midwifery was winding down, she continued to contribute to the welfare of others with her fruit farming, land development, support of education, and activity in the benevolent Relief Society. Unquestionably Patty's life, as told in her diaries, reflected, chronicled, and contributed to the growing economic and social life of the community.

Diary Entry: 1862

"Sewed and did other things nessessary."

Diary Entry: 1861

"Stay at home watch my fruit and keep it from being stole."

Diary Entry: 1860

"I am Sixty five years old and my prayer is that I may keep the spirit of God which will lead me to do right."

Diary Entry: 1859

"I pray that I may enjoy the use of all my senses and live to a good old age."

Diary Entry: 1858

"I think I can take the spoiling of my things with joy.

Diary Entry: 1857

"Attended to my domestic concerns."