James Bishop Compiled by his granddaughter, Ivy Bishop Harvey from material obtained from stories told by his wife, Sarah Stanley Bishop.

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James Bishop, son of Thomas and Eliza Aldridge Bishop, was born May 3, 1823, in Cheltenham, Gloucester, England. He was the first of seven children. A twin sister, Jane, died in childhood. Little is known of his early life.

On December 31, 1848, he married Sarah Stanley of Cheltenham. A present from his employer in the bake shop where they both worked was a loaf of bread, three feet long.

Home & Bakery of James and Sarah Stanley Bishop

James and Sarah later opened their own bake shop at 48 Duke Street, Cheltenham, which they operated until they came to America. The basement of the building was the bakery; the main floor, the shop and the upstairs their living quarters. They were the parents of 11 children - 8 boys and 3 girls - George, John, Heber James, David Arvis, Sarah Alice, Amos Henry, Alfred Thomas, Willard, Ellen (Nellie), Joseph, and Clara Eliza.

On November 6, 1851, James was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. For over thirty years, the Bishop home was open day or night to the missionaries. Grandmother said that many a night grandfather and she would sleep on chairs so that the Elders could have their bed. It was Joe and Nellie's job to meet the train on Friday and bring the missionaries home. The Elders placed their shoes outside their bedroom door Saturday night, and it was Joe's responsibility to see that they were cleaned and polished, ready for church on Sunday. In later years, Uncle Joe told us that at the time he hated them and wished they'd go home. Being very young he didn't like his job, and this resentment carried over into later years. Each missionary was given a shilling (25¢) by James when they left. That seemed quite a help to them in those days as they then traveled without purse or script.

It is said that James very seldom demonstrated his anger. Once after burning the bread, he said, "I'm so vexed I could bump my head against the wall."

In regards to right and wrong, he showed no leniency and was very strict with his family. One time Amos threw a snowball and it landed in the wrong place. The bobby caught him, but his father wouldn't help him out of his difficulty and made him take the consequences.

The entire family helped with the bakery business. They each had their special jobs. The homes were not equipped with ovens so on Sunday many families would take their dinners to the Bishop bake shop to be baked while they went to church. When they made bread, a bushel of flour was mixed at a time with the other ingredients in a trough. James worked at one end and Sarah at the other end. They used wooden hoes to work the dough back and forth. They didn't use pans to bake it in. The loaves were baked on a flat piece of steel. They were usually a roundish shape.

There were two political parties in England at that time. James belonged to the one who used a red flag. The other party had a yellow flag. During the rally days, the two groups would march down the street and their band would play music at the residences displaying their color. One day Alice, one of the daughters, saw a band coming carrying a yellow flag. She ran upstairs and got a yellow shawl and hung it out of the window. The band stopped and started to play their music. James went outside to investigate. When he saw the yellow shawl he was very angry. Alice ran and hid.

For a number of years James was president of their church branch. He saved Millennial Star publications and the Church Discourses from Salt Lake Conferences. He later had them bound in book form. He traded bakery goods to the book binder to pay for it. These books were brought to America when they came. In later years, a volume of the Star was given to each family. The Discourses were sold; the money used as part of Uncle Joe's funeral fund.

In 1884, the bake shop was sold and on October 21, 1884, the family sailed on the "S.S. Arizona" for America. David, Heber, and Alfred had died previously. George, Amos and Willard came earlier. George sailed June 20, 1868; Amos, November 22, 1881; and Willard arrived in Salt Lake, June 3, 1883. James' brother, Thomas, and family had come in 1871 and settled in Salt Lake.

James Bishop and his family settled in Kaysville, Utah, probably because Amos and Willard had made it their residence. James and Emma Smith invited the Bishops into their home until another home could be provided. His son, John Bishop and his wife, Mary Ann Agnes Stone and children, Arthur, Ethel and Nellie, who had immigrated with James and his family, settled in Salt Lake.

Two years later to the day he left England, on October 21, 1886, James Bishop, at the age of 63, passed away after a short illness of what was listed as a kidney ailment. He was buried in the Kaysville Cemetery.

It is said that he never had his picture taken. His comment was that he looked better off a print. Sarah, his wife, said that their son Willard resembled James in looks.

From the Kaysville, Utah, paper October 21, 1886:

"After a painful sickness lasting 16 weeks, from prostration of the kidney, James Bishop, aged 63 years, 5 months, 18 days, deceased. He joined the church in 1851 in Cheltenham, Gloucester, England, and for 18 years was president of the Cheltenham Branch. He immigrated to Utah in the year of 1884 and died as he had lived - a constant Latter-day Saint."

From the "S.S. Arizona" ship record arriving at New York, November 11, 1884, the following is listed:

"S.S. Arizona" Ship Record

Bishop, James - 59, Farmer
   Sarah - 59, Wife
   Alice - 27, Spinster
   Ellen - 19, Spinster
   Joseph - 17, Farm Laborer
   Clara - 11, Child
   John - 33, Farmer
   Mary Ann Agnes Stone - 25, Wife
   Arthur J. - 6, Child
   Ethel - 4, Child
   Nellie - 2, Child