The Obedient Wife

Mary Browett Forsyth.

Mary Browett Forsyth was born on June 25, 1823 in Bottesford, England. Little is known about her early life. We know she married George Holmes at the age of 24, and was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints at 26. Shortly afterward she set sail on a ship to America where she landed in New Orleans, then traveled by riverboat up the Mississippi River to St. Louis. It was there that her husband died of cholera.

In 1852 she walked across the plains with other Saints to the Salt Lake Valley. There she married a widower from Scotland, Thomas Forsyth. They began their family and lived the first nine years of their marriage in Salt Lake City.

In 1861 they were called to settle Dixie in southern Utah. They lived for a time in Santa Clara, then Pine Valley where Thomas had plans of building a sawmill, but was later dissuaded when several others had the same idea. That brought them to their final destination, Toquerville.

Thomas and Mary Forsyth.

Toquerville lies along Ash Creek, at an elevation of 3,383 feet. It is an ideal location for growing fruits and nuts.

An article from the Deseret News in 1868 describes the little town: “Peace dwells in the hearts of the people, everyone busy, no loafers, no office seekers, no gambling saloons, no drunkards in our town. We all mind our own business⸻we are all helping to build Zion, the city of our God.”

The Forsyth home in Toquerville still stands in 2026.

In 1865, Thomas and his sons built a house in Toquerville where he and his wife would live until their deaths.

The house was two stories tall, built using rock from Ash Creek, adobe mud to fasten it together, and lumber from their own sawmill. The main floor included a parlor, kitchen and two bedrooms. On the south side of the parlor was a fireplace made of black rock, and next to that a fine wooden desk that Thomas's father brought all the way from Scotland.

The second story was designed with two rooms and a balcony on the east side. Beneath the house was a wine cellar.

That brings us to our little story.

Thomas Forsyth had his own vineyard and made wine, which was stored in barrels in the cellar. He was very proud of his wine because the church used it for their sacrament services.

Side view of Forsyth home. The cellar was accessed from the back.

Sometime before the turn of the century the church decided not to use wine for their services anymore. This was in conjunction with their admonition to obey the Word of Wisdom, which forbade the consumption of alcoholic drinks. The leaders advised all vintners to dispose of what they had and not to make more.

As Thomas heard this directive from the pulpit, he wasn't sure what to do. The wine he had in the barrels was worth a lot of money and it was some of the best he had ever made. He thought perhaps he could sell what he had and then make no more after that.

But unbeknownst to Thomas, he did not have to worry about making a decision.

As soon as Mary Browett Forsyth heard the decree, she slipped home as quickly as possible. Once in the cellar she opened the spigots and let the wine drain onto the rock floor. By the time Thomas returned, there was nothing left.

So you see, Mary followed the example of the mother of Jesus at the marriage in Cana of Galilee. She exhorted the servants: “Whatsoever He saith unto you, do it.” The servants followed His direction to fill the pots full of water, after which Jesus miraculously turned the water into wine. ♠

[Source: "Complete Utah Travel Guide to Where Ancestors Lived, by Scott Forsyth" at Familysearch.org.]

Grave of Thomas and Mary Forsyth in Toquerville.