Born 22 Apr. 1848 at Stoke Damerel, Devon, England.[1] Daughter of Michael Stockdale and Jane Johnson.[2] Emigrated from London aboard the Hudson with her family, arriving in New York, 19 July 1864.[3] Migrated to the Salt Lake Valley with the Warren S. Snow pioneer company, arriving 2 Nov. 1864.[4] Married Richard Kendall Thomas, 9 Sept. 1865, in Salt Lake City; twelve children.[5] Served as second counselor and president of the Salt Lake City Seventh Ward Young Ladies’ Mutual Improvement Association (Y.L.M.I.A.), 1886–1899.[6] Served as secretary in the Salt Lake City Seventh Ward Relief Society, 1896–1899.[7] Delegate for the Y.L.M.I.A. at the National Council of Women’s triennial meeting in Washington DC, 1891, where she addressed the convention along with EBW and others.[8] Signed as a witness the articles of incorporation of the National Woman’s Relief Society, late 1892.[9] Elected as treasurer of the Reaper’s Club, 1892, and as president, 1895.[10] Appointed as a missionary to assist the Relief Society general board by visiting stake Relief Societies, 1897–1912.[11] Wrote and presented a tribute to EBW at the Reaper’s Club business meeting, 7 Nov. 1904.[12] Served on the Relief Society general board under presidents Bathsheba W. Smith and EBW, 1901–1921.[13] Wrote the text for the hymn “The Great King of Heaven,” which was included in the 1948 and 1985 church hymnals.[14] Died 5 Apr. 1931 in Salt Lake City.[15]
[1] England and Wales Birth Registration Index, 1837–2006, Caroline Stockdale, vol. 9, p. 468, Find my Past (https://findmypast.com, accessed 26 Feb. 2018). 1861, England and Wales, Stoke, Devonport, p. 53, schedule # 335, Caroline Stockdale. “Endowments of the Living, 1851–1884,” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Endowment House, vol. E, p. 154, Catherine Thomas, 9 Sept. 1856, microfilm 183405, DGS 5270328 (restricted access), FHL. “Family Tree,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org, accessed 5 Apr. 2018), Caroline Stockdale (KWNX-PCN).
[2] 1861, England and Wales, Stoke, Devonport, p. 53, schedule # 335, Caroline Stockdale. “Endowments of the Living, 1851–1884,” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Endowment House, vol. E, p. 154, Catherine Thomas, 9 Sept. 1856, microfilm 183405, DGS 5270328 (restricted access), FHL.
[3] “Caroline Stockdale,” Saints by Sea (https://saintsbysea.lib.byu.edu/, accessed 20 Nov. 2019).
[4] “Caroline Stockdale,” Pioneer Database (https://history.churchofjesuschrist.org/overlandtravels, accessed 20 Feb. 2018).
[5] “Sealings of Couples, Living and by Proxy, 1851–1889,” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Endowment House, vol. D, 7183, Richard Thomas and Caroline Stockdale, 9 Sept. 1865, microfilm 1149514, DGS 7226455 (restricted access), FHL. 1880 U.S. Census, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah Territory, ED. 43, p. 22, Carrie Thomas. 1900 U.S. Census, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co, UT, ED 20, p. 9A, Carrie S. Thomas. 1910 U.S. Census, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., UT, ED 123, p. 5A, Carrie S. Thomas. “Died,” Salt Lake Daily Herald, 3 Mar. 1885, 5.
[6] Seventh Ward, Pioneer Stake, Seventh Ward Manuscript History and Historical Reports, “Relief Society,” LR 12586 2, CHL.
[7] Seventh Ward, Pioneer Stake, Seventh Ward Manuscript History and Historical Reports, “Relief Society,” LR 12586 2, CHL.
[8] Jill Mulvay Derr, Carol Cornwall Madsen, Kate Holbrook, and Matthew J. Grow, eds., The First Fifty Years of Relief Society: Key Documents in Latter-day Saint Women’s History (Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2016), 579–582, 586–587. Certificate of appointment from Office of Central Board of the YLMIA to Caroline S. Thomas, 1891, MS 11955, CHL. EBW, Diary, 16–25 Feb. 1891.
[9] “Articles of Incorporation of the National Woman’s Relief Society,” Susa Young Gates Papers, p. 7, History of Women Files, MS 7692, image 11/12, CHL. EBW, Diary, 10 Oct. 1892.
[10] EBW, Diary, 17 Oct. 1892 and 21 Jan. 1895.
[11] History of Relief Society 1842–1966 (Salt Lake City: General Board of Relief Society, 1966), 58.
[12] EBW, Diary, 7 Nov. 1904.
[13] History of Relief Society 1842–1966 (Salt Lake City: General Board of Relief Society, 1966), 52.
[14] Karen Lynn Davidson, Our Latter-day Hymns (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2009), 103–104, 489. Hymns of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1985), no. 63.
[15] “Utah Death Certificate Index, 1904–1961,” database and images, Utah State Archives (http://archives.utah.gov, accessed 20 Feb. 2018); from Utah Department of Health, Office of Vital Records and Statistics, series 81448, file no. 576/520, 1931, Caroline Stockdale Thomas. “Funeral Rites Set for Noted Church Woman,” Salt Lake Telegram, 6 Apr. 1931, 14.