Martha Ann Riste: The Rest of the Story

In my last post, I mentioned that I began searching for Martha Ann Riste after hearing a fantastic story about her determination to join the leaders of the church and head west.

This story inspired me. I was fascinated with the idea of a courageous orphan who forsook everything for the gospel. So, when I had my first British Family History class, I began researching her family.

My first stop was the Ancestral File, to see what information had been submitted about Martha Ann Riste. I found that she was born in Derby, Derbyshire, England, on 23 September 1839.

With a birthdate and place, I set off to find Martha in England.  Since I knew she had joined the LDS church in England, I began by searching for LDS Church Records in the Family History Library Catalog (FHLC).  The FHLC had one listing for membership records of the Derby branch of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

What was in the LDS membership records?  Watch for my next post . . . and find out!

Martha Ann Riste

A young orphaned English girl.  A wealthy older woman who took  her in.  A beautiful singing voice-- one that would send the girl to sing for the queen.

The fairy-tale elements of this story captured my attention and drew me to Martha Ann Riste.  In fact, the oral storytelling spoke to me more strongly than a written story would have.  Which is why I'm going to let you hear the story now.

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This story inspired me!  I wanted to be like Martha Ann Riste and I wanted to learn about her, too.

Little did I know I was in for a big surprise . . .

and so are you if you check my next post to find out what really happened to Martha Ann Riste!