Part 1 1805 - 1831 Youth

Part 2 1831 - 1847 Army

Part 3 1847 Courtship & Marriage

Part 4 1847 - 1852 Marriage, Baptism and the End of a Career

Part 5 1853 - 1855 Isle of Malta mission

Part 6 1855 - Going to Zion

Part 7 1855 - 1857 Hard times

Part 8 1857 - 1860 (?) Johnson's army and back to Rush Valley

Part 9 1866 - 1867 Patriarchal blessings, Mission call and departure

Part 10 1867 Journey to the British mission

Part 11 1867 - Mission

Part 12 1868 - Mission

Part 13 1868 - Return Home

Part 14 1868 - 1888 Bishop, Storekeeper, and Iindians - oh my

Part 15 As seen by others

Part 16 1880 -1888 The culmination of a lifetime

Part 17 1888 -1891 Patriarch and Death

Part 18 Miscellaneous

Two months later this man who had been cast out of the military and taken off the Island of Malta was asked by his church to return to join the mission there.

Taking his wife and child they bid his Mother-in-law and family a tearful farewell and went to Liverpool where they were detained a month before being able to secure passage to Malta. The war was commencing with Russia and boats were scarce.

[Editor's note - The child was their second-born, Charlotte, who was born on board a ship near Italy in 1851.]

Finally the day came when they picked their way across the Cobourgh Docks to go aboard the ship Tennifire for fourteen days of wonderful sailing. This little family were gladly welcomed back by the missionaries. George was sustained as a second counselor to Brother Bell.

Not having the Garrison Compound to live in they hunted for a house to rent for the mission, one room to be used as a hall. They tried to borrow money and offered their watches as pledges but were not successful there.

Finally they rented one in Florrinana. A fine healthy son was born to this couple. When just a few days old the child [Thomas] was afflicted with an evil spirit. Brother Bell and George laid hands upon him and rebuked the evil influence. The babe immediately became calm and well under the power of God.

[Editor's note - Do you ever wonder what George and Hannah saw? The Maltese islands are a mixture of modern structures and buildings and ruins going back into pre-history, long before Christ. This website, http://www.aquilina.freeserve.co.uk/ includes several cyber tours around Malta - go to the Malta map on the bottom of the first page and from there, click on a city, a boat or almost any other link that he has.]

Although these men had been told repeatedly to stay away from the soldiers with their vile religion they went to the barracks and the soldiers tents on Sundays. They baptized upward of forty as members of the Church.

George, being a willing worker and an eager learner, secured work with Mr. Bogntau a merchant tailor. The compensation of this job enabled the family to live and pay rent until it became necessary to send Hannah and children back to England.

Opportunity then knocked for George. Mr. Boyrters offered him a job as shop foreman and clerk at a substantial wage, so he was able to redeem his watch.

One day while preaching his religion in the barracks he was ordered out by the police. Still he was not daunted, but went back and distributed one hundred and fifty invitations to the soldiers and others to attend a meeting to be held that evening.

Things are always changing so they did with George, on that far away island. He had finished his mission there so he booked passage on the ship Berrorophan sailing for England. He agreed to be useful on board during the voyage. He kept the ship's books and papers in such a way as to earn some money and rations and the respect and kind treatment of all the officers. It was a rough and tedious voyage.

[Editor's note - About this time the Isle of Malta mission was disbanded. Most of the converts were British military who were deployed around the world as the Crimean war began. - see http://www.ldsworld.com and their article on the Malta mission.]

The ship put in at Gibraltar and there they stayed for twenty long days, until the fates sent winds favorable to getting the ship through the straits. When the ship eased into its berth at Portmouth, England, George knew he must answer the urge he felt to go to Zion.

He wasted no time in making his way to Liverpool where he immediately contacted Franklin D. Richards who arranged for the young Burridges to embark for America on the way to the ever-beckoning Promised Land of Zion.

Family Newsletter
Burridgete - May, 2006 Word document or Web (html) page