Born 9 Mar. 1821 in Hornerstown, Monmouth Co., New Jersey.[1] Daughter of Caleb Ivins and Edith Ridgway.[2] Baptized as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1840.[3] Moved to Nauvoo, Hancock Co., Illinois, 1842.[4] Returned to New Jersey, fall 1844.[5] Migrated to Salt Lake City with the Anthony Ivins pioneer company, arriving 10 Aug. 1853.[6] Married Jedediah M. Grant, 29 Nov. 1855; one child.[7] Husband died nine days after son’s birth; supported herself through sewing and taking boarders.[8] President of the Salt Lake City Thirteenth Ward Relief Society, 1868–1903; EBW served as assistant secretary, by 1876.[9] Signed a letter of gratitude to Utah territorial governor Stephen A. Mann for signing the bill enfranchising Utah women, 19 Feb. 1870.[10] Served on the Central Grain Committee with EBW, beginning 17 Nov. 1876.[11] Despite deafness in her later years, continued to provide service to others.[12] Died 27 Jan. 1909 in Salt Lake City.[13]
[1] “Endowments of the Living, 1851–1854,” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake Temple, vol. A-A1, 1851–1854, p. 62, line 15, Rachel Ridgway Ivins, 7 Feb. 1854, microfilm 1255545 (restricted access), FHL. EBW, Diary, 7 Mar. 1890; 7 Mar. 1900. L. P. Allen, The Genealogy and History of the Shreve Family from 1641 (Greenfield, IL: Privately printed, 1901), 211. Mary Grant Judd, “Rachel Ridgway Ivins Grant,” Relief Society Magazine, Apr. 1943, 227. “Family Tree,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org, accessed 8 Aug. 2019), Rachel Ridgway Ivins (KWJC-TMD).
[2] “Endowments of the Living, 1851–1854,” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake Temple, vol. A-A1, 1851–1854, p. 62, line 15, Rachel Ridgway Ivins, 7 Feb. 1854, microfilm 1255545 (restricted access), FHL. Mary Grant Judd, “Rachel Ridgway Ivins Grant,” Relief Society Magazine, Apr. 1943, 227.
[3] “Endowments of the Living, 1851–1854,” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake Temple, vol. A-A1, 1851–1854, p. 62, line 15, Rachel Ridgway Ivins, 7 Feb. 1854, microfilm 1255545 (restricted access), FHL. Ronald W. Walker, “Jedediah and Heber Grant,” Ensign Magazine, July 1979.
[4] Mary Grant Judd, “Rachel Ridgway Ivins Grant,” Relief Society Magazine, Apr. 1943, 229. “Joseph Smith, the Prophet,” Young Woman’s Journal, Dec. 1905, 550–551.
[5] “Joseph Smith, the Prophet,” Young Woman’s Journal, Dec. 1905, 550–551.
[6] Rachel Ridgway Ivins Grant, “How I became a Mormon,” ca. 1898, p. 4, MS 15947, CHL. “Rachel Ridgway Ivins,” Pioneer Database (https://history.churchofjesuschrist.org/overlandtravel/pioneers/40659, accessed 29 Nov. 2018).
[7] “Sealings of Couples, Living and by Proxy, 1851–1889,” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Endowment House, vol. A1, 1855–1856, p. 9, line 7, Rachel Ridgway Ivins, Joseph Smith, 29 Nov. 1855, microfilm 183389, FHL. 1900 U.S. Census, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., UT, ED 51, p. 2A, Rachel R. Grant.
[8] Lucy Grant Cannon, “Recollections of Rachel Ivins Grant,” Relief Society Magazine, May 1938, 293–298.
[9] Thirteenth Ward, Ensign Stake, Thirteenth Ward Relief Society Minutes and Records, 1868–1906, pp. 2, 141, LR 6133 14, CHL. E. H. Goddard, “Editor Exponent,” Woman’s Exponent, 1 June 1876, 5. Thirteenth Ward, Salt Lake Central Stake, Thirteenth Ward Records, “Rachel Ridgeway Grant,” LR 15328 22, folder 3, CHL.
[10] “To His Excellency the Acting Governor of the Territory of Utah, S. A. Mann,” Deseret News, 2 Mar. 1870, 2. Fifteenth Ward, Riverside Stake, Fifteenth Ward Relief Society Minutes and Records, 1868–1968, pp. 151–152, LR 2848 14, CHL.
[11] “General Meeting of Central and Ward Committees, on the Grain Movement,” Women’s Exponent, 1 Dec. 1876, 99.
[12] Lucy Grant Cannon, “Recollections of Rachel Ivins Grant,” Relief Society Magazine, May 1938, 293–298.
[13] “Utah State Archives Indexes,” database and images, Utah State Archives (https://archives.utah.gov/research/indexes, accessed 29 Nov. 2018); Utah Department of Health Office of Vital Records and Statistics Death Certificates, series 81448, file no. 145/653 (1909), Rachel R. Grant. “In Memoriam: Rachel Ridgeway Ivins Grant,” Woman’s Exponent, Apr. 1909, 52–53.