Stella Cusworth was one of the thousands of Latter-day Saints who emigrated from Europe to the United States of America in the opening years of the twentieth century. Born in Leyton, Essex, England, on 1 December 1887, she was the daughter of Charles and Annie Cusworth and grew up in Derby, Derbyshire, England along with her sister, Beth, and brother, Archibald. Stella was described as having light-coloured hair, blue eyes, and a light complexion.1
The Cusworths had joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints together on 10 July 1898. According to one account, they lived in Bushey, Hertfordshire, and attended a Latter-day Saint meeting in Watford sometime in 1898. They were baptised several months later.2 By 1901 they were living in Derby where Charles worked as a photographer and operated a studio on Queen Street. A year later, on 11 October 1899, the Cusworths opened their home to members of the branch and they held a magic lantern exhibition where “A number of interesting pictures were shown.”3
On 17 December 1903, Charles and Archibald emigrated to Canada. It was about two and a half years later when Stella and Beth, along with their mother Annie, emigrated to the United States of America. Charles paid for their passage from Liverpool to Boston and they then made their way to Salt Lake City, Utah, where they were reunited.
The Cusworths were a middle-class family. Charles was a former Civil Servant and had held several other prominent jobs and he had developed a form of balloon photography.4 After spending some time in Canada, Charles and Archibald moved to Utah where Charles began working for the Utah Copper Company during which time he was injured.5 Very little material is available about Annie, but she was well known in music circles as she had taught music in Wellsville, Utah, before later moving to California.6 Stella’s brother, Archibald, served in the United States Army during World War 1 and later served as a full-time missionary with his wife, Elva, in the Southern States Mission. The entire family was naturalised in 1914.
Stella was a young adult when the family arrived in Salt Lake City. Her sister Beth, and brother, Archibald, were similar ages and appear to have been close. Starting in 1911, Stella began to be mentioned in “Society” articles which detailed the social happenings of Salt Lake City. Society reporting was a means of communicating the gossip and developments of mid to high-tier social groups in an area. Social gatherings were reported on along with who participated. In March 1911 Stella attended a party of friends who enjoyed music and games. Various details were reported. “The rooms were decorated in pale green and white and roses and carnations,” noted one account.7
In her mid to late twenties, Stella began to host gatherings in her home. When her sister, Beth, married Charles Woodbury in 1915, Stella organised a party at her home. Music was a regular feature of Stella’s events. Solos were given by a number of guests and Stella regaled them with a solo of her own.8
The following year, in 1916, Stella held a party at her home for her brother, Archibald, who was visiting from Idaho for the Christmas holidays.9 A year later she again held a gathering for her brother but this time it was because he was about to head to France to fight in the war.10
Social reporting was a form of early social media. Updates, events, and gossip could be disseminated to a range of readers to allow them to stay current with what was going on in society. It is a window into the past that allows us to see what certain groups of people did for entertainment and the networks that people moved in.
On 15 July 1919 Stella received a temporary special certificate to teach domestic art from her home in Salt Lake City.11 Soon after she received an appointment to Irving School in Salt Lake City where she taught sewing.12 At some point around this time she had met Enos Davis, a Utah native who lived in Malad, Idaho, where he ran “The Mission” a billiards hall with his twin brother. He had previously been in business with his brothers running a billiards and cigar store in Lewiston, Idaho.13 She and Enos married on 16 December 1919. Stella was musical and by all accounts so too was the Davis family. A year later she and Enos buried a stillborn child. While at Irving she taught her sister-in-law, Hazel, who had moved into her family home after Stella married Enos.14
In 1946, Stella’s mother died. Her father had died some years earlier, but by then most of her family had moved on from Salt Lake City to Southern California. It isn’t clear how active Stella was in the Church after she married Enos. However, the couple were endowed and sealed together in the Los Angeles California Temple on the 27 March 1965. Stella was 78 years old and it had been almost 70 years since she joined the Church. Sadly, Enos died less than a year later and for ten years Stella was a widow until she died in 1976 and was reunited with her Enos with whom she had made sacred covenants.
The adage no record, no history, is a common one. Society reporting in Salt Lake City during the 1910s provides additional snippets into Stella’s life and helps us understand who she was. As such, these seemingly idle and frivolous bodies of text are of use. In this case, we see that Stella was an active and musical young woman who sought to entertain her friends and family using her talents. Her family were Latter-day Saint socialites who appear to have enjoyed hosting others and Stella followed in this path.
A lesson from all of this is that no record or text, no matter how insignificant, should be overlooked. Who knows what story it might help tell?
Utah State Archives and Records Service; Salt Lake City, Utah; NAI Number: 85108; NAI Title: Salt Lake County, Third District Court Declarations of Intention Record Books, 1896-1959.
Suzanne Cusworth, ‘Sketch of the Life of my Father,’ unpublished manuscript, 1952. From FamilySearch.
Derby Branch Manuscript History, LR 2245 2, bx. 1, fd. 1, CHL.
‘Balloon Photography,’ Knaresborough Post, 18 September 1886, p. 4.
‘Wants Damages for Injuries,’ Salt Lake Tribune, 2 February 1910, p. 14.
‘Annie E. Cushworth,’ Cache American, 2 April 1946, p. 5.
‘Society,’ The Salt Lake Tribune 19 March 1911, p. 10.
‘Progressive Luncheon, Novel Entertainment for June Bride,’ The Salt Lake Telegram, 12 June 1915, p. 5.
‘Past Week’s Events,’ The Salt Lake Telegram, 31 December 1916, p. 8.
‘The Week’s Events in Society,’ The Salt Lake Telegram, 9 December 1917, p. 8.
‘213 Licensed by Board to Teach,’ The Salt Lake Telegram, 16 July 1919, p. 11.
‘Granite to hold institute today,’ The Salt Lake Tribune 2 September 1919, p. 4.
Elease Williams, ‘Hazel Hayball Davis Williams, Life Story Narrative,’ unpublished. From FamilySearch.
Ibid