Little is known of mother's ancestors excepting that they were English, her father having died when she was thirteen years of age and her mother much earlier when mother was but five and a half.  Her father's name was Jesse Crabb and her mother's maiden name was Anna Chapman.  The Crabb and Chapman families were natives of Essex, England.  Mother was born December 6, 1831 at Danbury, Essex, England.  There were six sons and two daughters in the family, mother being the youngest.  After the death of her mother she was taken care of by relatives until nine years of age when her sister Ann took her from Danbury to Yarmouth in Norfolk.

One year was spent at Yarmouth when she returned to Danbury and for two years lived there with her sister.  When twelve years of age she went to live with Naomi Brett, a kindhearted soul called Aunt Naomi by all of us and who was a distant relative of father's.  She afterwards came to Utah with the family and died at Salt Lake City.  This good lady was a dresssmaker and to her mother was apprenticed for ten years.

While living with her she met Edwin Stratford, who with Elder C. W. Penrose, now of the First Presidency of the Church, were traveling missionaries in Essex Conference.  At the age of twenty four she was married to Edwin Stratford of Maldon, a small village about four miles from Danbury.   They were married at Chelmsford, Essex, o December 25th 1855, by an elder.

Mother had no schooling outside of that taught in the lower grades.  Her home was not far from Danbury Common where she no doubt spent much of her time as a child.  When I visited her home in 1893 I sat on the hill overlooking the row of houses on the street where she lived, and as a panorama her childhood passed before my mind.  There were the meadows, the hills, the little ivy covered church where she was christened, the holly lined pathway leading by the church toward her home, all of which she had often rehearsed to me as a child.

It was here that she accepted the Gospel and her baptism took place October 21, 1851.  Soon after her marriage she bade goodbye to her brothers and sisters and all those who were near and dear to her ad with her husband started for the promised land there to take up her abode with the Latter Day Saints.  On the 18th of February, 1856, she, with her husband, embarked on the “Caravan”, a sailing vessel, from Liverpool and after a voyage of about six weeks duration, landed in New York city, March 27th 1856.

Soon after landing father secured employment at Terrytown, near New York City, where the family remained until 1857.  From here the family moved to Iowa City, Iowa where father worked at gardening.  In May, 1861 the family, with a tiny babe scarcely two weeks old, moved West and prepared to cross the plains.  At Florence, Nebraska, Grandfather Stratford died and was buried there.  Here on June 25, 1861 they commenced their one thousand mile journey across the plains with an ox team in a company commanded by Homer Duncan.  Mother walked much of the way, and when night came and camp was made, she with the children, would gather buffalo chips with which to build a fire for the preparation of the evening meal.  Day after day for about a month this program was carried out with but little variation, until September 15th, 1861 when the company landed in Salt Lake City.

The family soon moved to Farmington.  Here a small log hut was built where they lived until 1864 when a move was made to Providence, Cache County.  Arriving at our new found home another log cabin, with one room, was built and here poverty and sickness was our lot for some time.  A wheat bin occupied one end of this mansion and the balance of the room was used for family purposes.  It was here that four of the children were born.  All who were able had to assist in sustaining the family and many times mother, with the children, carried wood from the hills.  During harvest time after the fields had been cleared of grain, they secured permission to glean the fields of that which had been left scattered over them.  The heads were picked up and when a sufficient quantity had been gathered, the grain was pounded out with a flail.  This is the way we secured wheat for our bread, mother grinding it in a coffee mill.  Before securing the mill, the wheat was boiled whole with sego roots and eaten that way. 

While at Providence, in the early sixties, mother taught a school for girls, using that which she had learned as a apprentice at sewing.  A number of women who were girls then, owe much to mother for the knowledge they have of needlecraft.

There were about as many Indians as whites when we went to Cache Valley and they were very annoying to the settlers.  They made it their business to come to the homes, when the men were away , and beg for food.  If their demands were not complied with they would become very ugly.  On one occasion a number of them came to our house and tried to break in.  Mother, myself and smaller children were in the house and when they came up mother locked the door.  The Indians, in order to open it, took screws out of the lock pushing the nob through into the room.  When they found that this would not open the door  they left and proceeded to gather rocks with which to break the door. 

While they were on the outside of the fence picking up rocks we left for the nearest neighbors.  Upon another occasion a number of Indians came and demanded potatoes.  Mother told them we had none, when one of them seized her by the arm and drew a revolver but did not fire.

I wonder how the children of today would enjoy grinding wheat in a coffee mill before bread could be made or grate corn on a tin grater, or sew their clothes by the light of a tallow dip, sweeten food with molasses, eat lard and salt on bread instead of butter and be constantly in fear of the Indians. All of theses experiences that family had while living in Cache Valley.  After the grasshopper scourge the family did a little better, but at no time while living at Providence did they live in anything but a log house.

In the month of October, 1872, the family moved to Ogden where father had accepted a position as manager of the paper called the “Ogden Junction”.  The first winter here we lived in three small rooms on the corner where the old homestead now stands. Several years after moving to Ogden father organized the company known as the E. Stratford & Sons Furniture Store, which continued in business until father's death in 1899.

On January 4, 1879, several years after coming to Ogden, the Relief Society of the Fourth Ward was organized and mother was chosen one of the counsellors.  In this capacity she served until May 8, 1883, when she was sustained as president of the society.  For twenty four years she occupied this position and it was her desire to serve for a quarter of a century in this office, but owing to the increased responsibility and labor placed on officers of the Relief Society and fact that she was advanced in years, it was deemed advisable that she be released.  Therefore on April 29, 1907, she was honorably released and a vote of thanks tendered her for her long and useful service in this work.  The last seven years she has spent principally at her home and only on special occasions has she been off the grounds of the old homestead.

At this time she is the mother of nine children, all of whom are living; has fifty nine grand children and thirty two great grandchildren.

Marianna Stratford died at her home in Ogden September 28, 1919.