Where We Came From

Henry Day, Beach, 1824-1886

2012-02-14T11:11:00.000-08:00

•    Born: 8 August 1824 (Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts)
•    Died: 13 July 1886 (Nova Scotia, Canada)
•    Parents: Moses Yale Beach and Nancy Day
•    Spouse: Ann Eliza Fordham (md. 8 August 1853 at New York, Orange, New York)
•    Children: Harry Yale Beach, Augusta Fordham Beach, Alfred Holbrook Beach, Annie Brewster Beach

1824 August 8
Born to Moses Yale and Nancy Day Beach in Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts

1849
Age about 25: Withdrew from the firm of M. Y. Beach and Sons (publishers) to form a connection with Morton McMichael in the Philadelphia North American.

1853
Age about 29: With brother Alfred and P. T. Barnum establishes the “Illustrated News.”

1853 August 8
Age 29: Married to Ann Eliza Fordham in New York, Orange, New York

1856 August 1
Age 31: Son Harry Yale Beach born in Brooklyn, Kings, New York

1859 February 2
Age 34: Daughter Augusta Fordham Beach born in Brooklyn, Kings, New York

1861 March 25
Age 36: Son Alfred Holbrook Beach born in Brooklyn, Kings, New York

1862 April 6
Age 37: Daughter August Fordham Beach dies at age 3

1862 April 11
Age 37: Son Alfred Holbrook Beach dies, less than one month old

1863 May 23
Age 38: Daughter Annie Brewster Beach born in Toms River, Ocean, New Jersey

1868 July 19
Age 43: Father Moses Yale Beach dies in Wallingford, New Haven, Connecticut

1876
Age 52: Moved to Red Bank, New Jersey, and bought an estate.

1877 November 28
Age 53: Wife Annie dies in Red Bank, Monmouth, New Jersey

1879 May 11
Age 55: Son Harry Yale Beach dies at age 22

1880 August 12
Age 55: Mother Nancy Day dies in New York, Orange, New York

1882 September 27
Age 58: Marriage of daughter Annie Brewster Beach to John McCullagh Farrier at Brooklyn, Kings, New York

1884 July 3
Age 59: Married Mrs. Emily V. A. Gibson, of Red Bank N.J.

1885 April
Age 60: Arrested on complaint of his wife and her son-in-law, Joseph Langley. Taken by brothers to New York. Sometime later moved to Nova Scotia, Canada.

1886 May?
Age 61: Declared insane by a sheriff’s jury of twenty-four men in Red Bank, New Jersey. Moses S. Beach (his brother) is appointed as his guardian.

1886 July 13
Age 61: Died in Nova Scotia, Canada

* * *

“HENRY DAY BEACH, son of Nancy Day … was born in Springfield, Mass., August 8, 1824. He married, August 8, 1853, in New York City, where she was born, December 14, 1823, ANN ELIZA, daughter of Elijah and Jane Ann (Fisher) FORDHAM, who died at Red Bank, N. J., November 28, 1877. He married, June 3, 1884, MRS. EMILY V. A. GIBSON, of Red Bank, N. J. Mr Beach in 1849 withdrew from the firm of M. Y. Beach & Sons to form a connection with Morton McMichael, in the Philadelphia North American. He sold out, went across Mexico to California where his brother Joseph had charge of their father’s California venture. After Joseph had returned to the East, Henry entered the firm of Wells & Co., leading bankers. This afterwards became Beach, Wells & Co. The great fire burned them out. Then Mr. Beach invested in San Francisco securities, lost money through Henry Meigs and finally returned to New York where he married. He then, with his brother Alfred and P. T. Barnum established the “Illustrated News” (now Frank Leslie), which was subsequently sold to Gleason, of Boston. He returned to California for a time, but at length bought a farm at Toms River, N. J., and settled at Red Bank, N. J.”
--Ely, Heman, et al., Records of the descendants of Nathaniel Ely, the emigrant…, p. 385-386.

* * *

"Henry D. Beach came to Red Bank in 1876, and bought an estate just outside the corporation limits for $12,000. He made other purchases of adjoining lands, and with the improvement he made the property stood him in about $20,000. He seemed to have plenty of money, and his credit was first class. He always paid his bills promptly in checks, no matter how small the amount. In a few years it was noticed that he was becoming eccentric in his actions and picturesque in his dress. He would come into town at all hours of the night and waken prominent citizens in order to consult with them about impracticable schemes. He had a barn on his premises upon which he had three roofs, placed one upon another. After his first wife died Mr. Beach married Mrs. Emily V. B. Gibson, widow of R. P. Gibson, the Broadway confectioner. The marriage took place three years ago. Within a year the second wife persuaded Mr. Beach to deed the real estate to her daughter, who promptly transferred it to her mother. After securing all the property, and after Mr. Beach had parted with all his money, his wife turned him out of doors.
"In April, 1885, Mr. Beach was arrested upon complaint of his wife and her son-in-law, Joseph Langley. His brothers heard of his distress, and took him to New-York, and afterward he went to Nova Scotia, where he was taken sick and sent to a public hospital. He was utterly broken down in mind and body, and on May 15, 1886, a Sheriff's jury found that Mr. Beach had been insane for six years. Under this decision a suit was brought to annul the marriage to Mr.s Gibson, and to compel a conveyance of the property to a guardian to be appointed to look after Mr. Beach. Before it went to trial Mr. Beach died, and the suit was institute to have the property turned over to Mrs. [Annie B. Farrier] as his daughter and heir at law."
--The New York Times, April 9, 1887

Antonette Benesch, 1877-1923

2011-02-15T14:47:00.000-08:00

Born: 10 Jul 1877 (Austria)
Died: 27 Jun 1923 (Chatham, Morris, New Jersey)
Parents: John Beneś and Katrina ?
Spouse: Joseph Vohnoutka (married about 1903)
Children: Josephine C. Vohnoutka, Joseph J. Vohnoutka

1877 Jul 10   Born in Austria.

1889       Age 12. Emigrated to the United States.

Abt 1903   Age 26. Marriage to Joseph Vohnoutka.

1903 Nov. 6   Age. 26. Daughter Josephine C. is born at Stanley, Morris, New Jersey.

1906 Feb. 1   Age 28. Son Joseph J. is born.

1910 Apr 21   Age 32. Living in New Bedford, Bristol, Massachusetts.

1920 Jan 5   Age 42. Living in Chatham Township, Morris, New Jersey.

1923 Jun 27   Age 45. Died at Chatham, Morris, New Jersey.

* * *

Antonette “Nellie” Benesch, my grandmother, the oldest of 13 children, was born in Czechoslovakia and died in the U.S. when Mama was 18 years old. I knew three of the sisters: Emma Walton, Josephine “Josie” Jackson and Anna. Getts. I have a picture of Emma and Josie. All three lived on Staten Island. Keeping up with the tradition of “fine cooks” in her home country, she became assistant cook for the Ford family. (I have a copy of Joseph and Nellie’s wedding picture.)
--Joan Carol Hiebel Farrier

Joseph Vohnoutka, 1877-1966

2011-02-15T14:38:00.000-08:00

•    Born: 27 August 1877 (Czechoslovakia)
•    Died: 7 July 1966 (Irvington, Essex, New Jersey)
•    Parents: Charles Vohnoutka and Catherine ?
•    Spouse: Antonette Benesch (married 1903)
•    Children: Josephine C. Vohnoutka, Joseph J. Vohnoutka

1877 Aug 27    Born in Czechoslovakia.

1891        Age 14. Emigrated to the United States.

Abt 1903    Age 26. Marriage to Antonette Benesch.

1903 Nov. 6    Age. 26. Daughter Josephine C. is born at Stanley, Morris, New Jersey.

1906 Feb. 1    Age 28. Son Joseph J. is born.

1910 Apr 21    Age 32. Living in New Bedford, Bristol, Massachusetts. Working as a weaver in a cotton mill.

1912        Age 35. Becomes a naturalized citizen.

1920 Jan 5    Age 42. Living in Chatham Township, Morris, New Jersey with wife and children, working as a weaver at a silk mill.

1930 Apr 22    Age 52. Living in Union Township, Union, New Jersey, a widower boarding with the Edward Skagel family, still working as a weaver at a silk mill.

Age 67

Age 85

1966 Jul 7 Age 88. Died at Irvington, Essex, New Jersey, of congestive heart failure and myodarditis. Buried 11 July 1966 at Fair-Mount Cemetery in Chatham.

***

Joseph “Grandpa” Vohnoutka, born in Czechoslovakia, came to the U.S. when he was just 3 years old, but to the day he died he sounded as if he just got off the boat.

A silk weaver by trade, he had the most beautiful hands for a man. He refused to do anything that would injure the skin on his hands or fingers--even after the silk mill closed. (It never reopened, but he claimed he needed to keep his hands nice just in case it did.) Grandpa enjoyed reading cowboy-and-Indian stories, and when we got our first TV set (when I was 13) Grandpa would have the TV on with a cowboy movie and be reading at the same time. Grandpa taught me how to roll his cigarettes, sharpen his razor on a leather strap, and say a few swear words in Czech. I got into BIG trouble when I proudly said them to Daddy.

A little background on John Vohnoutka: He worked for the telephone company in N.J., played minor league baseball, and was an avid golfer. At age 70, John said he had to reduce his golfing from 7 days a week to 3 days. He played checkers with champion checker players in contests and usually won. He taught me how to play. (I had to be careful when I played with my peers. Did I really want to beat them? For the first game the answer was “Yes!! “) Unfortunately, I don’t remember the moves anymore. My last game in checkers was when I was about 14, when I won the championship in the Irvington playground competition.

--Joan Carol Hiebel Farrier

Rosie Sevcovic, 1866-1950

2011-02-15T14:27:00.000-08:00

Born: 6 Dec 1866 (Bohemia or Czechoslovakia)
Died: 12 Sep 1950 (Irvington, Essex, New Jersey)
Parents: Joseph Sevcovic and Anna ?
Spouse: Henry Hiebl
Children: James Hiebl, Joseph Hiebl, Anna Hiebl, Mary Hiebl, Henry Hiebl,Frank Hiebl

1866 Dec 6   Born in Bohemia or Czechoslovakia

1887       Age 21. Emigrated to the United States.

1889       Age 23. Married Henry Hiebl.

1889 Dec   Age 23. Daughter Anna born.

1892 May   Age 25. Daughter Mary born.

1899 Aug.   Age 32. Son Henry born.

1900 Jun 8   Age 33. Living in Newark, Essex, New Jersey, with Henry and children Anna, Mary, and Henry, working at a grocery store.

1905 Apr. 5   Age 38. Youngest child, Frank, born at Newark, Essex, New Jersey.

1910 Apr. 18   Age 43. Living in Newark, Essex, New Jersey, with Henry and children, Mary and Frank. No longer listed with an occupation. Had a family named Kohuit lodging with them.

1920 Jan 7   Age 53. Still living in Newark, Essex, New Jersey, with Henry and son Frank.

1926 Jun 21   Age 59. Husband Henry died.

1930 Apr 7   Age 63. Living in Irvington, Essex, New Jersey with son Frank and daughter-in-law Josephine.

1950 Sept 12   Age 83. Died Irvington, Essex, New Jersey or atena-carcinoma. Cremated at Rosehill Crematory 15 Sept. 1950.

* * *

Rozie “Baba” Sevcovic had worked in her father’s shop in Czechoslovakia as a young girl, counting and taking care of money. I have a picture of Baba’s father taken in Czechoslovakia. Working in the shop she did not learn homemaking skills, but did make a great soup with beef bones. She did not like to cook!

Baba came to the U.S. as a young woman to teach. It took her 2 weeks on a rough passage to cross the ocean and she said she would not do it again.

Family was important, and Baba would help unite children left in Czechoslovakia after the parents came to the U.S. She was also part of the Suffrage movement going door to door, with Daddy in hand, trying to persuade
other women to join the movement.

Baba (a Czech name for Grandma) met Henry at a dance where Henry and his orchestra were playing. Baba loved to dance and Henry asked hen to dance with him. With Henry holding the accordion over her head and playing, they danced. Henry was 6’4” Baba was under 5’. As a young girl, I remember being at a dance where Baba was sitting on a chair but her feet were dancing to polka music. One of her friends sat next to her and said, pointing to me, “Czeche holti.” (I’m not sure of the spelling, but it means “Does she understand Czech?”) I popped up saying, “YES I DO!” But the music started again, I was off dancing, and Baba was left in peace to talk to her friend without me listening. (I did not speak Czech but understood enough to know what most conversations were about.)

Rozie and Henry had 9 children. Only 2 girls reached 35; Frank, the youngest, lived to 76 years.

Baba was a fine knitter. As a young girl I would watch with fascination, seeing all of her fingers move and holding at least four needles. One evening when she was watching us while Momma and Daddy were out, I watched Baba knitting and sipping on her one glass of beer a day. I asked her what it tasted like, and she gave me a sip. I then went to bed, but made the mistake of telling Momma the next morning what happened. A neighbor girl stayed with us from then on. Daddy told Baba the girl wanted to earn some money. During WW II, I learned to knit in school making squares for blankets. I showed Baba what I was doing and hen comment was” You’re stabbing it!” She never did teach me or my sisters her craft. (The baby cap and doilies I have are examples of her work.)

Some time after Henry died, Baba and Daddy moved from Newark to Irvington, N.J. Baba rented two of the second floor rooms to a young couple. Two days after Momma and Daddy were married they too moved into Baba’s house. (We’re talking about a 3-bedroom, 1-bath house.) The dining room became my parents’ bedroom. Grandpa Vohnoutka also moved in a few months after Momma and Daddy were married and so did John Vohnoutka Grandpa’s brother’s son. John and his wife were my godparents. I have a picture taken in 1980 of myself with John and his wife Honey.

--Joan Carol Hiebel Farrier

Henry Hiebl, abt. 1867 - 1926

2011-02-15T14:25:00.000-08:00

•    Born: About 1867 (Bohemia or Czechoslovakia)
•    Died: 21 June 1926 (Fairmont, Newark, New Jersey)
•    Parents: Joseph Hübl and ??
•    Spouse: Rosie or Rozie Sevcovic
•    Children: James Hiebl, Joseph Hiebl, Anna Hiebl, Mary Hiebl, Henry Hiebl, Frank Hiebl

Abt. 1867    Born in Bohemia, Czechoslovakia, or Poland Austria

1887        Age 20. Emigrated to the United States.

1889        Age 22. Married Rosie Sevcovic.

1889 Dec    Age 22. Daughter Anna born.

1892 May    Age 25. Daughter Mary born.

1899 Aug.    Age 32. Son Henry born.

1900 Jun 8    Age 33. Living in Newark, Essex, New Jersey, with wife and children Anna, Mary, and Henry, working as a butcher.

1905 Apr. 5    Age 38. Youngest child, Frank, born at Newark, Essex, New Jersey.

1910 Apr. 18    Age 43. Living in Newark, Essex, New Jersey, with wife and children, Mary and Frank. Still working as a butcher. Had a family named Kohuit lodging with them.

1920 Jan 7    Age 53. Still living in Newark, Essex, New Jersey, with wife and son Frank. Working as a watchman at a factory.

1926 Jun 21    Age 59. Died at Fairmont, Newark, New Jersey.

* * *

Henry Hubl was born in Czechoslovakia and became a veterinarian. A person not believing in war, he fled to the U.S. I was told, that to the day he died, he thought some day he would be sent back to his home country.

In the U.S. he worked as a butcher. There he displayed his strength by walking the length of the shop with a steer on his back. I understand he earned extra money by doing it! He was 6’4”, strong, but not a heavy man. I have two pictures of Henry. One shows him with Daddy as a small boy with Daddy’s sister Anna and her husband; the other shows him with his wife Rozie. In both pictures he is wearing his pocket watch and chain.

Henry played the accordion and had his own orchestra. (The accordion had all buttons, no keyboard for the right hand. These accordions are rare now, but occasionally I see one on an old TV program).

Henry continued to helped people with animals when needed. Daddy said he saw his father kill an injured horse by hitting him on the nose with the back of his hand. Henry also believed in helping people, bringing home beef bones for his wife to make soup for the poor and hungry.

When daddy was a young boy, his mother sent him to find his father, Henry. Daddy hitched up the horse to the wagon. Daddy started looking, but the horse insisted on stopping at every tavern on the way, finally finding his father in the last tavern on the route.

Henry became a diabetic and eventually lost a leg. I don’t know if he knew, or any one knew, about diabetic diets. Anyway, he drank a lot of beer. Daddy told me that one day when his father came home drunk, his mother chased his father up the street waving a broom at him. Henry was 6’4”, Rozie was under 5’.

--Joan Carol Hiebel Farrier

Agnes Marie Benisch, abt. 1857 - abt. 1924

2011-02-15T14:12:00.001-08:00

•    Born: About 1857 (Germany)
•    Died: About 1924/25
•    Parents:
•    Spouse: John Zimmermann
•    Children: John Zimmermann, Rose Zimmermann, Anna Zimmermann, Marie Lillian Zimmermann

About 1857    Born near the Black Forest in Germany

1890        Age 33. Emigrated to the United States

1892 May 23    Age 35. Youngest child, Marie Lillian, is born at Clifton, Passaic, New Jersey

About 1896    Age 39. Left a widow when husband, John, died

1910    Age 52. Living alone in Manhattan. Doing housework for a private family (per 1910 census)

Abt. 1924/25    About age 68. Died, per Walter Halliday Farrier, Jr.

* * *

Agnes Banish was born near the Black Forest. She was educated in the best finishing schools. She married John, 20 years her elder. She had 5 children. John came to the U.S.A. first; Agnes followed later with children and a canary. She was stranded in New York and found by John by putting an ad in a German Newspaper.

Agnes was artistic and a fine seamstress. She earned money, made a down payment on a house to get the family out of downtown Patterson, then told John. John died when Marie (only child born in U.S.) was 3 years old. Agnes loved America and education. The local school board held their meetings in her parlor. She forbade speaking German in her home. Her son, John, became an architect, helped design the Lincoln Tunnel. Agnes moved to New York City while daughter Marie attended Juliard School of Music for voice training.

--Claire-Jane Farrier Young

John Zimmermann, abt. 1837-

2011-02-15T14:12:00.000-08:00

•    Born: About 1837 (Germany)
•    Died:
•    Parents:
•    Spouse: Agnes Marie Benisch
•    Children: John Zimmermann, Rose Zimmermann, Anna Zimmermann, Marie Lillian Zimmermann

About 1837    Born somewhere in Germany

About 1881    Age 44. Emigrated to the United States, coming through the Castle Gardens immigration site, per Claire-Jane Farrier Young.

1892 May 23    Age 55. Youngest child, Marie Lillian, is born at Clifton, Passaic, New Jersey.

About 1896    Age 59. Died of a strangulated hernia (Marie was three or four years old.)

* * *

“John Zimmermann was a loom-builder. He landed at Castle Gardens, the immigrant center before Ellis Island, in 1881. He built looms for the Hugh milling industry in Patterson, N.J.

“Perry Zimmermann, son of John Zimmermann was a fine violinist. His children, grandchildren won awards as musicians or artists and Janine, Perry’s wife claimed all their talents came from the Zimmermanns because her side of the family ‘only produced businessmen.’”

--Clair-Jane FarrierYoung

John McCullagh Farrier, 1852/53-

2011-01-18T12:09:00.000-08:00

Born: 1852/1853 (New York)
Died: 1922?
Parents: John Farrier and Elizabeth
Spouse: Annie Brewster Beach (md. 27 Sept. 1882 Brooklyn, Kings, New York)
Children: Albert Moses Farrier, Robert Y. Farrier, Frederick B. Farrier, Walter Halliday Farrier (Sr.), Anna Drucilla Farrier

1852/53 Sept.
Born in New York to John Farrier and Elisabeth or Elizabeth.

1860 June
Age 8. Resides in Shrewsbury, Monmouth, New Jersey.
(Source: 1860 census)

1880 June
Age 28. Resides New York (Manhattan), New York, New York. Occupation “Teas”
(Source: 1880 census)

1882 Sep 27
Age 30. Married Annie B. Beach at Brooklyn, Kings, New York
(Source: New York Times wedding announcement, published 28 Sep 1882.)

1883 Aug 27
Age 30. Son Albert Moses born New York City, New York, New York
(Source: birth certificate of son)

1885 Apr 10Age 31. Son Robert Y. born New York City, New York, New York
(Source: birth certificate of son)

1892 Jun 20
Age 39. Son Frederick B born New York City, New York, New York

1894 Aug 23
Age 41. Son Walter Halliday Farrier (Sr. ) born Brooklyn, Kings, New York. Resided 792 Irving St., Brooklyn, New York
(Source: Birth certificate of Walter Halliday Farrier (Sr.)     Lists occupation as “Salesman”, born in New Jersey)

1900 Jan 28
Age 47. Daughter Anna Drucilla born Brooklyn, Kings, New York

1900 June
Age 47. Resided Brooklyn, Kings, New York
(Source: 1900 Census. Occupation is “Dry Goods”)

1907 May 19
Age 55. Son Robert Y died Manhattan, New York, New York
(Source: death certificate of son )

1908 (abt.)
Age 55/56.   Had nervous breakdown due to business partner absconding.

1910 April
Age 58. Resided Acquackanonk Twp, Passaic, New Jersey
(Source: 1910 census. retired.)

1920 Jan
Age 68. Resided Clifton Ward, Passaic, New Jersey
(Source: 1920 census. retired.)

Annie Brewster Beach, 1863-

2011-01-18T11:53:00.000-08:00

Born: 23 May 1863 Toms River, Ocean, New Jersey
Died:
Parents: Henry Day Beach and Ann Eliza Fordham
Spouse: John McCullagh Farrier (md. 27 Sept. 1882 Brooklyn, Kings, New York)
Children: Albert Moses Farrier, Robert Y. Farrier, Frederick B. Farrier, Walter Halliday Farrier (Sr.), Anna Drucilla Farrier

1863 May 23
Born Toms River, Ocean, New Jersey, fourth child of Henry Day Beach and Ann Eliza Fordham
(Source: NJ birth certificate; IGI)

1882 Sep 27
Age 19. Married John M. Farrier at Brooklyn, Kings, New York
(Source: New York Times wedding announcement, published 28 Sep 1882)

1883 Aug 27
Age 20. Son Albert Moses born New York City, New York, New York
(Source: birth certificate of son)

1885 Apr 10
Age 21. Son Robert Y born New York City, New York, New York
(Source: birth certificate of son)

1886 July
Age 23. Living in New York—plaintiff in law suit against father’s 2nd wife
(Source: New York Times article, published 9 April 1887)

1892 Jun 20
Age 29. Son Frederick B born New York City, New York, New York
(Source: birth certificate of son)

1894 Aug 23
Age 31. Son Walter Halliday born Brooklyn, Kings, New York
Resided 792 Irving St., Brooklyn, Kings, New York
(Source: birth certificate for Walter Halliday Farrier (Sr.))

1900 Jan 28
Age 36. Daughter Anna Drucilla born Brooklyn, Kings, New York
(Source: birth certificate of daughter)

1900 June
Age 37. Resided Brooklyn, Kings, New York.
(Source: 1900 census)

1907 May 19
Age 43. Son Robert Y died Manhattan, New York, New York
(Source: death certificate of son)

1910 April
Age 46. Resided Acquackanonk Twp, Passaic, New Jersey
(Source: 1910 census)

1920 Jan
Age 56. Resided Clifton Ward, Passaic, New Jersey
(Source: 1920 census)

Walter Davidson, 1851-1924

2010-05-02T10:51:00.000-07:00

Born: 24 August 1851 Jefferson County, Wisconsin or in California
Died: 27 November 1924 Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah
Parents: Daniel S. Davidson and Agnes Blacklock
Wife: Mary Ann McRae (md. 1 January 1876 Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah)
Children: Walter Daniel Davidson, Franklin John Davidson, Agnes Davidson, James Matthew Davidson, Florence Davidson

1851 August 24
Born in Jefferson County, Wisconsin

1 October 1862
Age 11: Death of mother, Agnes Blacklock Davidson in Oakland, Alameda, California.

2 July 1870
Age 18: Residing in Alpine County, California.

1876 January 1
Age 24: marriage to Mary Ann McRae in Salt Lake City, Utah.

1876 October 17
Age 26: birth of first child, Walter Daniel Davidson

1878 June 29
Age 26: birth of second child, Franklin John Davidson

1880 February 8 Feb
Age 28: birth of third child, Agnes Davidson

1882 May 2
Age 30: birth of fourth child, James Matthew Davidson

1885 October 13
Age 34: birth of fifth and last child, Florence Davidson

1901 December 14
Age 50: death of father, Daniel S. Davidson

1924 November 27
Age 73: died in Salt Lake City, Utah.

1924 November 30
Buried in Mt. Olivet Cemetery, Salt Lake City, Utah.

Note: His death record says he was a "sheep/cattle raiser."

Robert Pearce, 1817 - 1885, and Sarah Brown, 1816 - 1898

2010-04-15T10:47:00.000-07:00

Robert Pearce:

Born 13 Jun 1817 Porlock, Somerset, , England
Died 18 Oct 1885 Paradise, Cache, Utah
Parents: Thomas Pearce and Mary Snow
Spouse: Sarah Brown (md. 28 Dec 1844 Porlock, Somerset, , England)
Children: Elizabeth Pearce, Mary Pearce, Sarah Pearce, Robert Pearce, Mary Pearce, Thomas Joseph Pearce, Sr., Charles Pearce

Sarah Brown:

Christened 22 Dec 1816 Porlock, Somerset, , England
Died 13 Apr 1898 Paradise, Cache, Utah
Parents: John Brown and Sarah Bale

History of Robert Pearce

Robert Pearce crossed the ocean on the John Boyd ship with William W. Cluff, leader of the company. Left Liverpool 30 April 1863 and landed in New York June 1st 1863 and arrived at Florence June the 12, 1863, Cross the plains with Captain W.B. Preston. Left July 9, 1863 with 55 wagons, 300 souls and arrive in Salt Lake Sept 10, 1863.

Early Settlers of Paradise Utah, they first settled in hills in the southern end of the valley. The Indians were bad stealing their horses and cattle. They would come off the mountains and take their stock. The settlers desired to move 5 miles north where the country was more open so they could see the Indians coming. They called this place Paradise.

Grandfather took an active part helping to protect the settlers against the Indians. He was a shoemaker, this was his trade in England and Wales, where he joined the church. He also was a gardener, frit and a farmer and stock raiser.

He was active in the church work. He was true to his agreement, Grandmother that when promised to have a pair of shoes ready at a certain time he would stay up all night and have them ready. He sewed all the shoes by hand. And the boots and the half soles on with pegs.

Robert Pearce ordained a teacher
Ordained a priest - no date
Ordained an elder Oct 21, 1872 by Joseph F. Smith at Salt Lake City, Utah
ordained a Seventy Jan 7, 1884 by Robert Boxter at Paradise
Set apart as a President of the 62nd quorum of Seventies Nov 28, 1891 by Pres. J. D. Feldjsted at Hyrum
Set apart as President to the 118th quorum of Seventies Feb 6, 1899, Joseph G. Kimball being mouth in company with Pres. Jos. McMurrin
Ordained a High Priest in the Hyrum Stake of Zion Feb 1, 1908 by Elder George Bradshaw Hyrum, Cache Co. Utah

Robert Pearce baptized Sep 14 1860 at Cardiff Glamorganshire So Wales.
Rebaptized Sep 1863 at Old Paradise Cache Co. Utah by Elder William Humphries
Reconfirmed Sept 1863 by Bro. David James
Rebaptized into United Order at Paradise Cache Co. Utah

copied from records of Robert and Annie Marie Somes Pearce

* * *

Early English Pioneers Help to Found Paradise
By Viola S. Welch

Among the first settlers were Robert Pearce and his wife Sarah Brown Pearce. He was born June 13, 1817, in Porlock, West Somerset, England. When he was a boy, he was apprenticed to a shoemaker, where he learned the trade which he followed throughout his life.

On September 28, 1844, he married Sarah Brown. He joined the LDS Church and was baptized May 6, 1851.

They were parents of seven children, four girls and three boys.

In their married life they had many joys and some sorrows. Two of their daughters died and were buried in England. The rest of their family had the privilege of coming to America. This was the dream and hope of this family to come to America and eventually to Utah.

Robert had a brother who worked for a brewery. They used a horse-drawn dray to haul the huge barrels. Some times the boys would get a chance to ride the drays. They used large Clydesdale horses for this purpose. The horses were hitched tandem and the men walked and led them. Some of the horses weighed as much as 2100 pounds. The men would take a few long hairs from the horse's tail, then Robert would knot them together for fishing line. Then would follow a nice afternoon of poaching. In England the gentry own all the land and brooks, so that was another incentive to come to America.

Taught To Read
His oldest son Robert was put in kindergarten when he was three years old. They were taught to read and write at an early age. When he was eight, he was able to read so well that his father would say "Bob, you read me the newspaper while I work." During this time he joined the fife and drum band. He learned the rudiments of music which were very helpful to him later in life. When he was ten he had to go to work at sewing and pegging shoes which was done by hand. This ended his schooling.

This way of life continued until sometime in 1862 when they were able to sail to America. They crossed the ocean in a sailing vessel that took nearly six weeks to cross. Think of being out on the sea for six weeks at the mercy of the elements with a family of children. After some time of wind and weather they had crossed the wide Atlantic and came to the mouth of the St. Lawrence River. They sailed up this mighty river and crossed over to New York, then to Council Bluffs, Iowa.

Arriving in Council Bluffs too late in the year to start overland across the plains to Utah, they decided to remain there for the winter. They rented a house and he set up his shop to have some income for the winter. They waited anxiously for the main thing in their lives to go ever onward in their travels until their destination and ambition was accomplished, a little home in the mountains of Utah.

Move West
Finally spring came and caravans began moving west. They were starting on a thousand mile trip over the vast plains, across rivers and through rugged mountains where roads were merely a name. What courage and faith they must have had to face this!

Fifteen miles a day was good traveling for the lumbering oxen. His wife walked nearly all the way. The older children walked most of the time. A great many thing happened on this long journey, many pleasant and some sad. The wagons were loaded with priceless possessions they would need in their new home. It was necessary to supplement their food supply with game, fish and fruit as they traveled along.

After many weary months on the plains, they saw the sight that cheered the travelers. In the dim distance they got the first glimpse of the Rockies. Day by day these majestic mountains with their snow capped peaks piercing the blue sky became clearer as they approached. It was a signal and promise that their goal day by day was coming nearer. Now they were in the mountains, abundant with game and fish, plenty of wood for fires and sparkling streams of cold water. Their hearts were cheered with the assurance that they were nearing the promised land.

On a day about two weeks out from Salt Lake, Robert Jr. was allowed to drive one of the wagons which was loaded with kegs of nails for use in building their homes.

This brave couple with their five children were delighted with their first sight of the Salt Lake Valley.

Settle in Ogden
It was getting autumn time so he decided to set up shop for the winter in Ogden. During his stay there he purchased a team of oxen and a wagon. The church leaders advised the family to join the saints in Cache Valley so they loaded their belongings and started for their final destination in Paradise. They journeyed north to Brigham City, up Brigham Canyon, over the old Devil's Gate Pass, on over the mountains and down into the land of their dreams. Looking down from the top, they saw spread out before them one of the beauty spots of Utah, a verdant valley with sparkling streams, teaming with trout, wild fruit abundant everywhere, wild chickens and game for the taking and free land for a home. It was a long dry stretch over the divide and down into the valley. The end of their journey in old Paradise (Avon) was just a few miles away. Before the sun had set they rounded the last hill, crossed the last river and looming on the horizon was the place they traveled so far to see. It was just a group of log cabins and a bunch of goodly people who had traveled the same dreary road but they were met with love and sincere friendship and a hearty welcome. They were a free people in a free land where everyone was equal.

Time was getting short until winter set in. They chose a site near a hill so they could make a half dugout and half cabin. Some of the men went into the canyon for logs and poles and others were busy digging the dugout. By community effort they soon had a snug place to live.

Fall Harvest
The colony was in their fall harvest so everyone turned out. The grain was cut with cradles and it took a strong man to handle one. They swept the grain around into little bundles, then with wooden hand rakes. Some of the men and women raked them into little bundles, ready for tiers. They grasped a bunch of wheat straws and whipped them around a bundle; the twisted the ends under. Many of the precious heads were dropped so the children and women gleaned them one by one. In this way they harvested twelve bushels which went a long way toward their bread stuff for the winter.

Robert was allotted his land but he couldn't do any farming until next year so he helped the other men and got a good supply of firewood for the coming winter. He also kept the community shoes and harnesses all mended. So went their first winter in old Paradise.

Among the neighbors living in the old fort were J. G. Crapo, Ahrin Monteith, Barnard White, William Woodhead, James Lofthouse, Enoch Rawlins, Edward Davenport, John Sperry, Jerome Remington, Winslow Farr, James Bishop, Elijah Tams, Charles Rawlins, Leonard Crapo, Dr. Ellis and Albert Crapo.

On account of Indian uprisings and warnings, the Blackhawk Indian war in southern Utah and an increasing hostility of the Indians in northern Utah, it was thought advisable by Ezra T. Benson and Peter Maugham that the settlement be moved three miles to the north to the present site of Paradise. The country was more open here and settlers could protect themselves better. Such a move involved a considerable sacrifice to the settlers, but they made the move in the spring of 1868.

Farming was a new occupation Robert had to learn and this with the earnings from his trade, he made a good living. His health began to fail but he kept going at light work in his garden and his trade. He died October 18, 1885, in Paradise.

When we think of the hardships and sacrifice our noble pioneers endured we wonder, but we look at the vast number of posterity left, we know their mission was for a purpose. Their seed is rooted in the west and will live on forever. So we can say thanks to our forefathers who had the courage and made the effort and we can live a little easier in the heritage they left us.

From
THE HERALD JOURNAL
Logan, Cache County, Utah
Monday February 26, 1968

Pierre or Peter Crapo, about 1670-1756

2010-03-28T10:34:00.000-07:00

Born about 1670 in Bordeaux, France
Died 1756 in Rochester, Plymouth, Massachusetts
Parents: Mr. and Mrs. Crapeau
Spouse: Penelope White (md. 31 May 1704)
Children: Francis Crapo, Susanna Crapo, Peter Crapo, John Crapo, Mary Crapo, Elizabeth Crapo, Rebeccah Crapo, Hezekiah Crapo

Pierre Crapo

Legend says Pierre was living with an uncle in Bordeaux, France and ran away and hid on board a French Warship of which his brother was Captain. The vessel was wrecked off the shores of Cape Cod and four men and the boy Peter (as he was called in America) were saved in a boat. Peter was then about 10 or 12 years old and his brother (Captain Crapo) bound him out to Francis Coombs and he, Captain Crapo returned to France.

After Peter became of age, he acquired considerable land in Rochester, part of which he bought off his father-in-law (Samuel White) and that part has been in possession of his descendants from 1734 until the time this record was compiled (about 1874, I think). Pierre (or Peter) lived near the shore of Sniptuit Pond in Rochester. His wife, Penelope White, was the great-grand-daughter of William White and Susanna Fuller White who came over on the Mayflower. Their descendants married into the best families of the land and they were prominent in helping establish laws and colonies and establishing peace with the Indians. Some fought and died in the Revolutionary War. We have much to be proud of and live up to in the heritage they left to us.

This story was written by Aunt Net (as she was called). Her name was Lynette and was a daughter of Jonathan Collins Crapo.

* * *

Pierre or Peter Crapo and Penelope White

The Crapo family were originally from Bordeaux, France. The early Crapo's of America were fishermen, lumbermen and farmers.

Pierre or Peter Crapo, a boy of about 10 or 12 years of age, was the first Crapo in America. Peter was an orphan living with his aunt and uncle at Bordeaux, France. He had a brother Nicholas who was captain of a ship in the French navy. This brother's ship was in port being overhauled and supplied for a cruise somewhere but no one, even the captain, knew where.

Nicholas took his little brother Peter around and showed him a good time. Peter wanted to sail with him, but he captain said "no". The time arrived to sail. The captain took sealed orders and sailed. On the third day out the orders were opened and they found they were to go to America where the French had colonies.

A day or two later Peter came out of hiding among the rigging where he had stowed away with a bottle of water and some food that he had carried onto the ship. Nicholas could not go back now so he was forced to take his brother along with him or throw him overboard.

The ship, some weeks later, arrived at Boston harbor and anchored. One night a big storm blew in off the Atlantic and tore the ship from its anchors and drove the wooden ships on the rocks at Cape Cod and wrecked it completely. All on board were cast into the water.

When morning came the wreckage of the ship was lying along the shore near the town of New Bedford and on the shore were 6 persons. The Captain, his brother, Peter, and four sailors. The Captain had lashed Peter to a floating mast and hung on to the ropes until the mast floated in the gale to the shore. The Captain found a home for Peter with a farmer signing papers for him until he was 21 years of age. He said he would write, but was never heard from by Peter. (Nicholas sailed back to France to report the loss of his ship.)

When Peter became 21, he was his own master. He got some land, bought a house, and married an English girl, Penelope White, who was the daughter of Samuel White and Rebecca Green. Samuel was the son of Resolved White and Judith Vassell. Resolved White was the son of William White and Susanna Fuller White who came to America on the Mayflower.

During that first hard winter after the landing of the Mayflower many of the Pilgrims died and among them was William White and also Elizabeth Barker Winslow, the wife of Edward Winslow, Jr. Later Edward Winslow, Jr. Married Susanna (the widow of Wm. White) and took her two sons Resolved and Perigrine to live with them. Later both sons married and reared families. Resolved married Judith Vassall and they had eight children, one of them Samuel, the father of Penelope White, who married Peter the first American ancestor.

Peter reared a large family. A strange coincidence was when Peter's oldest daughter Susanna married one of the four sailors who had all remained in America after being shipwrecked. Susanna's husband was 75 years old. They reared a family of 13 children and he outlived his wife. He died at the age of 110 years. (Their work has been done in the temple. His name was De Maranville.)

The fifth generation from Peter (Pierre) Crapo is Jonathon Collins Crapo. He was born 4 February 1830 at New Bedford, Massachusetts. His parents had a large family and when my great-grandfather was about twelve years old he went to live with his grand-parents Charles Crapo and Sally Lucas Crapo, who lived a few miles out of the city of New Bedford on a farm.

He helped them at various chores and also delivered milk into the city. He remained with his grandparents until he was twenty, when his father told him that they (the rest of the family) had heard the Gospel of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (commonly called Mormons) and they believed its teachings and had been baptized and were preparing to go west with the family and he would like Jonathon to go with them. He went west with them but did not join the church until after they arrived in Utah. His grandparents felt pretty bad and thought they were disgracing the family by joining the Mormons. Jonathon received a letter from one of his aunts begging him to leave the Mormons and come back and join the Seventh Day Adventists. The aunt was getting real old and was much concerned about Jonathon who she said was more like a brother than a nephew. She hoped he had never been so foolish as to join the Mormons and if he had she felt it was not too late to repent and come to Jesus, who would forgive. The dear old soul seemed very sincere and very devout in her belief.

Joseph George Crapo and his family (wife Mary Hicks Collins) were the only Crapo's to join the Church that we know of.

The Crapo genealogy for those in America has mostly been compiled and the temple work done. In the Crapo history we find that many of them fought in the Revolutionary War and one was killed in the Battle of Bull Run. The family connects up with the Edward Winslow Family in two places. It also connects up with many other prominent families of early settlement of America. From Massachusetts they scattered into Maine and Michigan and New York and later almost all over the United States.

From a history written by Janette L. Crapo Miller and a letter sent to Jean May by Ralph Harmon Crapo.

http://younginfo.net/Young/Crapo/CrapoHistory.htm

Josephine C. Vohnoutka, 1903-1980

2009-05-27T11:15:00.000-07:00

Born: 6 November 1903 (Stanley, Morris, New Jersey)
Died: 15 Jan 1980 (Irvington, Essex, New Jersey)
Parents: Joseph Vohnoutka and Antonette Benesch
Spouse: Frank Hiebel (md. 26 Feb. 1927 Summit,, New Jersey)
Children: Doris Hiebel, Lorraine F. Hiebel, Joan Carol Hiebel, Audrey Jean Hiebel, Linda Helen Hiebel

1903 Nov. 6

Born, only daughter and oldest child of Joseph Vohnoutka and Antonette Benesch in Stanley, Morris, New Jersey.

Josephine with brother, Joseph.

1916 (abt.)
Age 13. Suffered a concussion in a sledding and never returned to school.

1927 Feb 26
Age 23. Married Frank Hiebel in Summit, New Jersey.

Josephine, date and place unknown.

1928 Sept. 21
Age 24. Daughter Doris born Newark, Essex, New Jersey. She lived only just over a month and passed away.

Josephine with nurse and baby (which one?).

1930 April 7
Age 26. US Census. Lived in Irvington, Essex, New Jersey. Her 63-year-old widowed mother-in-law was living with them at the time.

1930 April 22
Age 26. Daughter Lorraine F. born, Newark, Essex, New Jersey.

1932 April 15
Age 28. Daughter Joan Carol born, Orange, Essex, New Jersey.

Josephine with Lorraine and Joan, September 1935.

1936 May 13
Age 32. Daughter Audrey Jean born, Irvington, Essex, New Jersey.

1938 Jan. 30
Age 34. Daughter Lorraine died of Gaucher’s disease.

1946 Jan. 30
Age 42. Daughter Linda Helen born, Newark, Essex, New Jersey.

Josephine, about 1960.

1980 Jan. 15
Age 76. Died of bronchial pneumonia and histocytic lymphoma in Irvington, Essex, New Jersey.

Memories of daughter, Joan Carol Hiebel Farrier:
Josephine “Josie” Catherine “Mama” Vohnoutka was the only daughter of Joseph and Nellie. During the summers, Mama was sent to a relatives farm to help with the chores. She told me never to get serious with a farmer. “You don’t know what hard work is until you’re on a farm.” Mama had a concussion in a sledding at the age of 13 and was kept out of school for a year. She didn’t want to return to school and be in the same grade as the 13-year-olds so she the didn’t. (I never understood this, because Mama went to a one-room school.) Mama went to work in a factory. When her mother died, her father asked her to stay home and be a homemaker for him and her brother.

Mama received a great deal of help from Aunt Josie Jackson, my Grandma Nellie’s sister. On one occasion, after Mama’s father and brother complained about not enough salt in their food, Aunt Josie suggested Mama put half a box of salt in at the next meal. Mama did and there were never any complaints again. (Mama told me this story.)

After Mother and Daddy were married and the children started coming, Mother started a support group. The ladies would meet each week at each other’s home and furnish juice and cookies to all the children. I didn’t realize until I asked my mother how I was related to all these Aunts that I found out only two were related. The others were friends of Mama. We, the kids, called all the ladies “Aunt” out of respect. The ladies’ husbands were our “Uncles.”

Mama eventually developed severe osteoporosis, fracturing her hip at about 63. The doctors tried to repair the hip, but when they tried the femur shattered. Mama also had rheumatoid arthritis, and cancer. Even with all this, when Mama’s friends came to cheer her up, her friends went home feeling better. Mama had cheered them up. (This I heard from her friends.) She died in 1980 at 76 of bronchial pneumonia and histocytic lymphoma.

--Joan Carol Hiebel Farrier

Sources:
· State of New Jersey, Bureau of Vital Statistics, Certificate and Record of Birth, no. 35728
· New Jersey State Department of Health Certificate of , no. 06252
· New Jersey Certificate of Marriage, no. 393
· Certificate of Birth for daughter Joan Carol from Health Department, Orange, N.J.
· Town of Irvington, New Jersey, Record of for Lorraine F. Hiebel
· Town of Irvington, New Jersey, Record of Birth for Audrey Jean Hiebel
· Memories of Joan Carol Farrier

Frank Hiebel, 1905-1981

2009-05-19T15:27:00.000-07:00

Born: 5 April 1905 (Newark, Essex, New Jersey)
Died: 10 Oct. 1981 (Irvington, Essex, New Jersey)
Parents: Henry Hiebl and Rosie or Rozie Sevcovic
Spouse: Josephine C. Vohnoutka (md. 26 Feb. 1927 Summit, New Jersey)
Children: Doris Hiebel, Lorraine Hiebel, Joan Carol Hiebel, Audrey Jean Hiebel, Linda Helen Hiebel

1905 April 5

Born in Newark, Essex, New Jersey, ninth child of Henry Hiebl and Rosie or Rozie Sevcovic.

Frank as a child.

1927 Feb 26

Age 21. Married Josephine C. Vohnoutka in Summit, New Jersey. Lists occupation as “Buyer.”

Frank and Josephine Hiebel on their honeymoon.
Tremore Hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey in background.

1928 Sept. 21
Age 23. Daughter Doris born Newark, Essex, New Jersey. She lived only until October 22.

1930 April 7
Age 25. US Census. Lived in Irvington, Essex, New Jersey. Lists occupation as “Clerk, printing co.” His 63-year-old widowed mother (Rosie Sevcovic Hiebel) was living with them at the time.

1930 April 22
Age 25. Daughter Lorraine born, Newark, Essex, New Jersey.

1932 April 15
Age 27. Daughter Joan Carol born, Orange, Essex, New Jersey. Residence: 256 40th St., Irvington, N.J. Occupation: Salesman.

1936 May 13
Age 31. Daughter Audrey Jean born, Irvington, Essex, New Jersey.

1937 spring
Age 32. Took picture of Hindenburg a few weeks before its tragic crash in May.

1938 Jan. 30
Age 32. Daughter Lorraine died of Gaucher’s disease.

1946 Jan. 30
Age 40. Daughter Linda Helen born, Newark, Essex, New Jersey.

1968
Age 63. Retired from working as salesman for Ansco Photo.

1980 Jan. 15
Age 74. Wife Josephine died of bronchial pneumonia and histocytic lymphoma in Irvington, Essex, New Jersey.

1981 Oct. 10
Age 76. Died of acute respiratory failure in Irvington, Essex, New Jersey. Lists occupation as salesman of x-ray equipment (General Analine and Film Co. of Binghamton, New York.) Was buried at Hollywood Memorial Park in Union, New Jersey.

Memories of daughter, Joan Carol Hiebel Farrier:
Frank “Daddy” Hiebel was the ninth child of Rozie and Frank Hubl. The spelling of the family name was changed by Frank’s sisters. The family lived in a German/Czech neighborhood. With the change the Germans had a better chance of pronouncing it correctly. In Czechoslovakia, children were taught spelling only to the third grade. Once you learned the rules you could spell anything.

Frank was abused by his sister Anna’s husband. Frank was studying violin and Anna’s husband eventually became his teacher. When Frank played a wrong note Anna’s husband hit him on the fingers until they bled. There was more but Daddy didn’t talk about it. I do know that when Anna died, the family never spoke to her husband or Anna’s son again.

As a young teenager Frank was sickly and very thin. The doctor suggested he go to the country for fresh air and good food. Through the Czech network, the Vohnoutka family was found. When Frank arrived, there was a spread on the table including meat, potatoes and vegetables. He thought Mrs. Vohnoutka had fixed a special meal for his first night. The feast was every night! Frank lived with the family for a couple of years. The daughter, Josie (my Mama), had a crush on Frank, according to the son Joseph Vohnoutka. Joe really gave Frank a hard time for a while, but as time went on Daddy won Joe over (according to Daddy).

Frank knew Josie liked him when, as he was leaving to go back home, Josie cried. Josie asked if he would come back to visit. His reply was “If you bake me a cake, the one with heavy cream and egg white icing with dark chocolate on top.” Frank did visit and the cake was waiting for him.

Frank and Josie married February 26, 1927, they moved in with Baba on the condition that Mama would do the cooking. I really don’t think Baba was upset with this arrangement. Baba was then able to devote more time to her knitting and organizations. The only complaint I heard about this arrangement from Mama was when Mama came home with her first born and all five people living in the house expected her to go grocery shopping and fix dinner. She did cook the dinner, but only after someone else did the shopping. Frank and Josie had five daughters. The first died at about 14 days because the outlet of the stomach was closed. The second, Lorraine, died at 8 years of a rare chronic congenital disease (Gaucher’s disease): a disorder of lipid metabolism, associated with enlarged spleen.

Frank had seven different jobs during his working years. These are the ones I remember:
· Soda Jerk as a young man.
· Caddie at a golf course, while living with the Vohnoutkas.
· Musician with his own orchestra.
· Photographer: mostly brides in the beginning, then food for advertising (spraying the fruit with varnish to make it shine), then jewelry laid on black velvet. Frank took a picture of the German zeppelin Hindenburg on its next-to-last arrival in the U.S. Ten days later it exploded on its approach to land. (I have a newspaper clipping of the picture.) When the WPA started, he worked for them as a photographer. I remember him telling me that on one occasion he hung out of a plane to get a good picture. It wasn’t until he got on the ground he realized what he did.
· X-ray technician during WWII, to find any flaws in guns, all sizes.
· Sales Representative for Ansco X-ray film, his last employer.

Daddy was active in the local civic and political scene: Town treasurer,
chairman of the Board of Adjustment, Member of the Sinking Fund
Commission, Democrat District Leader, superintendent of the Methodist
Church Sunday School, member of the Salvation Army advisory board, Rotary
Club, and Master Mason of a Masonic Lodge.

--Joan Carol Hiebel Farrier

Sources:
· Birth Certificate, State of New Jersey, no. 006.
· Certificate of , New Jersey State Department of Health, no. 50919
· New Jersey Certificate of Marriage, no. 393
· Certificate of Birth for daughter Joan Carol from Health Department, Orange, N.J.
· Memories of Joan Carol Farrier

Marie Lillian Zimmermann, 1892-1975

2009-05-19T14:34:00.000-07:00

Born: 23 May 1892 (Clifton, Passaic, New Jersey)
Died: 12 Oct 1975 (Orange, Essex, New Jersey)
Parents: John Zimmermann and Agnes Marie Benisch
Spouse: Walter Halliday Farrier, Sr. (md. 14 June 1916 Brooklyn, Kings, New York)
Children: Miriam (Dolly) Farrier, Claire-Jane Farrier, Walter Halliday Farrier, Jr.

1892 May 23
Born Clifton, Passaic, New Jersey, one of five children. According to her daughter, Clair-Jane Farrier, Marie was the only child born in the United States.

1916 June 14
Age 24. Married Walter Halliday Farrier (Sr.) in New York. Address: 255 Pearl St., Brooklyn, New York

1917 June 5
Age 25. Husband filled out draft registration card, indicating that Marie was pregnant.

1918 June 23
Age 26. Daughter Miriam (Dolly) was born in New York (per 1920 US Census)

1920 Jan 2
Age 27. US Census. Residence: Clifton City, Ward 1, New Jersey. Occupation: Professional Singer.

1925 April 17
Age 32. Daughter Claire-Jane was born in New Jersey.

1932 Feb. 8
Age 39. Son Walter Halliday Farrier, Jr., was born in Newark, Essex, New Jersey.

1942
Age 50 (abt.). Per husband’s draft registration card, lived at 20 Claremont Ave., Maplewood, Essex, New Jersey.

1971 Aug. 6
Age 79. Husband died at Point Pleasant, Ocean, New Jersey

1975 Oct. 12
Age 83. Died at Orange, Essex, New Jersey. Residence at was Plainfield, Union, New Jersey. Her body was donated to Rutgers Medical School.

Marie was on scholarship 1914-1916 at what was then the “Institute of Musical Art” (which merged with the Juilliard Graduate School in 1926 to become the Juilliard School of Music) with a double major in piano and voice. She did not graduate, but sang in the “New York Opera Company” (which still exists) in the role of Hansel in Humperdinck’s “Hansel and Gretel.” She also concertized (as “Marie Merman” because of the strong public anti-German sentiment), including at “Cinema” theaters between showings of the then-short, silent, black-and-white new medium of film.

Sources:
· NJ State Dept. of Health birth cert.
· NJ State Dept. of Health cert., file no. 49660
· Social Security Index
· Birth certificate of Walter Halliday Farrier, Jr.
· State of New York Certificate and Record of Marriage no. 6706
· Memories of Walter Halliday Farrier, Jr.
· 1920 US Census.

Marie, sometime before her marriage.

Walter Halliday Farrier, Sr.

2009-04-03T15:38:00.000-07:00

Born: 23 Aug 1894 (Brooklyn, Kings, New York)
Died: 6 Aug. 1971 (Point Pleasant, Ocean, New Jersey)
Parents: John McCullagh Farrier and Annie Brewster Beach
Spouse: Marie Lillian Zimmermann (md. 14 June 1916 Brooklyn, Kings, New York)
Children: Miriam (Dolly) Farrier, Claire Jane Farrier, Walter Halliday Farrier, Jr.

Timeline:
1894 Aug. 23
Born Brooklyn, Kings, New York, the fourth of five children.

1908 (abt)
Age 14, his father had nervous breakdown due to business partner absconding. Left home to earn money, lived with brother Albert, who was an engineer for Thomas Edison. According to son, Walter, Jr., he finished high school at night and then put himself through the Pace Institute, a business college, in New York. He worked for a time as an accountant in an auditing firm in New York.

1916 June 14
Age 21. Married Marie Lillian Zimmermann in New York. Listed his occupation as “timekeeper.” Address: 255 Pearl St., Brooklyn, New York.

1917 June 5
Age 22. Filled out WWI draft registration card. Listed occupation as “Timekeeper at Edison Electric Company.” His address was 2532 Madison St. New York. Under dependents, he listed: “wife pregnant, mother.” He described himself as tall, medium build, blue eyes, and brown hair.” He listed his military experience as three years as a sergeant in the Field Artillery Branch of the New York State National Guard.

Daughter Claire Jane says that “In WWI he rode around the armory where he trained people in Brooklyn (Fort Harrison?) and played polo there.”

1918 June 23
Age 23. Daughter Miriam (Dolly) was born in New York (per 1920 US Census).

1920 Jan. 2
Age 25. US Census. Lived in Clifton City, Ward 1, New Jersey. Occupation: public accountant.

1925 April 17
Age 30. Daughter Claire Jane was born in New Jersey.

1932 Feb. 8
Age 37. Son Walter Halliday Farrier, Jr., was born in Newark, Essex, New Jersey.

1933 (abt.)
Age 39 (abt.) Helped bring Albert Einstein to America, according to his son, Walter, Jr. See story below.

1942
Age 47. Filled out WWII draft registration card. Listed address as 20 Claremont Ave., Maplewood, Essex, New Jersey. Was employed by Louis Bamberger, owner of Bamberg’s Department Store (which is now owned by Macy’s). His son, Walter, Jr., says he was an auditor there and that he also managed the personal funds of Mr. Bamberger. After Mr. Bamberger died, he worked for Federated Department Stores (which includes Macy’s, Lord & Taylor, etc.). When Federated Department Stores moved from New York City to Cincinnati, he went to work as a business manager at Bloomingdale’s and retired as its comptroller.

1971 Aug. 6
Age 76. Died at Point Pleasant, Ocean, New Jersey. Says he served in World War I. He donated his body to Rutgers Medical School (in New Brunswick, New Jersey) for anatomical purposes.

According to son, Walter, Jr., he was athletic, playing basketball, handball, billiards, and pool. During WWI, he did weight lifting. He was not a church-goer, but did teach principles of honesty and integrity to his children. Walter remembers “extremely well being in the car, and my father saying at one point that the important thing is that when you walk down the street, you want people to raise their hands to greet you or salute you, rather than to raise their hands to hit you.”

He was quite involved with his children. Walter, Jr., remembers being read to regularly and that his father took saxophone lessons and trumpet lessons with his son. He also played piano by ear occasionally.

Walter, Jr’s, remembrance: “I remember hearing in those days in New York, a man wore a hat, period. And if a person set out to do auditing at some client’s firm where they were going to audit the books, if the auditor was without a hat, it was not uncommon for the manager of that company to call back to the auditing firm, “Send us a man who is properly dressed.” My father d to wear hats, and he had only one Hamburg, a very nice hat, that didn’t even fit him. And for many, many, many years he carried this one Hamburg. It was not practical, because it didn’t fit on his head. But he had a hat. So he would carry that hat around.”

Regarding the bringing of Einstein to America, Walter, Jr, says: “In fact, when Einstein was brought over, my father was instrumental in the arrangements. Einstein didn’t want to meet the press, and so when he was coming, there was considerable fanfare, because he was well-known as being a great theoretician, ‘cause his big advances were made when he was quite young. You know, in the 1915/1916 era. He was already an outstanding theorist, scientific theorist. So, when he came to the United States in the ‘30s, my father was to arrange the thing, and so they arranged to have Einstein brought in on a little launch from the ocean liner, so he that wouldn’t be there when the ocean liner met where all the press would be waiting to interview him. They brought him in to another dock, inconspicuously, to avoid the press, ‘cause Einstein didn’t want to have that reception.”

Sources:
· Certificate of Birth, Brooklyn, Bureau of Records, no. 12129.
· State of New York Certificate and Record of Marriage, no. 6706. (City of New York, Dept. of Health)
· Social Security Index.
· New Jersey Department of Health Certificate of , state file no. 43532
· US World War II draft registration card (1942), serial no. U2263
· US World War I draft registration card, stamped 3407, written No. 202.
· Personal remembrance of Claire Jane Farrier Young and Walter Halliday Farrier, Jr.
· Birth certificate of Walter Halliday Farrier, Jr.
· State of New York Certificate and Record of Marriage no. 6706
· 1920 US Census

Mary Ann McRae, 1857-1930

2009-02-11T09:00:00.000-08:00

Born 27 Sep 1857 Emigration Canyon, Salt Lake, Utah
Died 17 Oct 1930 Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah
Parents: John McRae and Roxey Abigail Pierce
Spouse: Walter Davidson (md. 1 Jan 1876 Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah)
Children: Walter Daniel Davidson, Franklin John Davidson, Agnes Davidson, James Matthew Davidson, Florence Davidson

Walter Amos Siddoway, 1902-1995

2009-02-10T11:28:00.000-08:00

Born 2 Jun 1902 Teton, Fremont, Idaho, USA
Died 2 Apr 1995 Nampa, Canyon, Idaho, USA
Parents: Amos J Siddoway and Agnes Davidson
Spouse: Velma Lucile Cherry (md. 16 Dec 1931 Dillon, Beaverhead, Montana, USA)
Children: Shirley Siddoway, Shirlene Siddoway, Walter Eugene Siddoway

WALTER A. SIDDOWAY
LIFE HISTORY

Walter Amos Siddoway was born 2 June 1902 at Teton City, Idaho, at the family home. He was the first of 4 children born to Amos J. and Agnes Davidson Siddoway. He had 2 brothers: Lawrence D. Siddoway of Shelton, Idaho who passed away Dec 13, 1989, and Donald R. Siddoway of Teton City who passed away Aug 1, 1976. His sister is Mary Collins of Ogden, Utah.

The few incidents I mention about his life will undoubtedly bring to mind many others to those of you who have known Walt many more years than I have. Walt loved to reminisce and tell about the early experiences of his life.

A five generation picture. Counter-clockwise from baby: Walter Amos Siddoway, Agnes Davidson Siddoway, Mary Ann McRae Davidson, John McRae, Eunice Fitzgerald McRae

In recalling his youth Walt said “I can remember when the first electric lights and cars came to Teton. Being kids we thought it was fun to go up to the corner a block from where we lived and when a car would come down the street we’d give a fast race with the car. We’d hold our own for about 3/4 a block, then we’d give up and they’d drive off and leave us.”

Left to right: Walter, Donald, Lawrence

Old Mag, with Donald, Walter, and Lawrence

During this time there were no water works in Teton and not many people living in Teton so ranchers would take their stock to a common watering place at the river north of Teton and families also obtained their water from there. On many summer weekends Walt and Lawrence and two other friends would ride horses to what was then known as Pincocks to swim — now known as Green Canyon Hot Springs. It was all open range then and in the Fall it was their responsibility to round up the horses from the hills South and East of Teton. They would camp one or two nights in the forest until the horses were found.

Walt attended elementary school at Teton and one year of High School at St. Anthony 1917. In 1918 school was closed because of the flu epidemic there. When Walt was 17 years of age his family moved to Idaho Falls where he attended his Sophomore and Junior years of High School. He then attended Business College in Idaho Falls and took courses in General Accounting and Typing.

The family moved back to Teton in the Spring of 1922. At that time Walt and his brother Lawrence went to Salt Lake City, Utah and attended Heniger Business College during 1922 and 1923. He was 21 when he completed a course in General Accounting and he then returned to Teton

In January 1931 Walt’s father went into the hospital in Rexburg for an operation. When Walt went to the hospital to visit his father he met Velma Cherry who was working there as a nurse. They went together during the summer and Fall and on December 16, 1931 they were married in Dillon, Montana. Their marriage was later solemnized in the Idaho Falls Temple on May 9, 1946.

Walt about the time of his marriage.

After their marriage they moved onto a farm in the Wilford area and there in 1934 twin daughters, Shirley and Shirlene, were born to them.

Walter with daughters Shirley and Shirlene

In 1938 Walt and Velma contracted to buy an 80 acre farm at Teton from his parents. There were no buildings on the farm so they lived in Teton and Walt traveled by horseback or horse and wagon to and from the farm each day. In 1939 they started to build their home. It was a four room house, but they were only able to finish two rooms that year. They moved into the home in January 1940. There wasn’t a well or electricity on the farm at that time so they would use gas and coal oil lamps. Wait dug a cistern and each week he would have to take one day and haul water in a large tank to fill the cistern. After World War II, in 1946, electricity was made available on the farm and made it possible to have electric lights and indoor plumbing for which they were very thankful and appreciative.

Their house was always surrounded by beautiful flowers and they always raised a large vegetable and flower garden. In addition to farming, Walt had a small herd of dairy cows and also in the winter he worked several years in the sugar factory and later in the potato warehouses.

In 1941 Stake missionaries began visiting with Walt and he was baptized into the LDS Church November 1, 1941. He was ordained an Elder and became very active in the church. He has held a number of positions in the Church. Twice he served as Counselor in the Elders Quorum. He was ordained a Seventy and served as instructor in the Seventies Quorum, as a Stake Missionary, and Assistant Ward Clerk in Teton Ward. Later he was ordained a High Priest.

He was also a faithful Home Teacher. I believe there were few if any times he missed going Home Teaching until in his old age he became too feeble to continue.

Their son, Eugene was born May 16, 1942. In 1948 when Eugene was starting school, Walt was President of the P.T.A. He recalls that they bought the first recorder for the school. He enjoyed being involved in community affairs.

Unknown date.

It was in 1954 when I became acquainted with Walt and Velma when I began making regular visits to their home for a very beautiful reason. Walt and Velma were very kind and generous to me and I always felt very much at home in their home. I feel it a great privilege to have become a part of this great family. I think that Robert and Karen feel the same way. As grandchildren came along, Mom and Dad Siddoway became affectionately known as Grammie and Grandad. They greatly enjoyed their grandchildren.

Walt retired from farming in 1967, and that year he and Velma bought a camper for their pickup truck and drove to Alaska, where they spent the summer with Eugene and Karen. Eugene was stationed there with the Air Force. Walt said this adventure was one of the highlights of his life.

In 1985 they sold the farm and moved to Nampa, Idaho, to be able to be closer to Eugene and Karen and their family.

In their later years the health of both Walt and Velma began to deteriorate, but they continued to live in their home in Nampa until they felt they could no longer care for themselves. In March of 1992 they moved to a care home in Meridian. Velma passed away 17 Oct 1992. They had been married almost 61 years. Walt was very lonely from then until his on April 2, 1995.

He is survived by his two daughters, Shirley Smith of Boise and Shirlene Davidson of Aberdeen, his son, Eugene, and his sister, Mary Collins of Ogden, Utah. He has 13 grandchildren and 25 great grandchildren. He was preceded in by his wife and two brothers.

Brothers and Sisters, I have a testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that Mother and Dad Siddoway had a testimony also and they tried to live up to the covenants they have made with our Father in Heaven. I liked the Scripture Bishop Chandler quoted at the Memorial Service last Thursday. D&C 42: 22 “Thou shalt love thy wife with all thy heart, and shalt cleave unto her and none else.” Though they may have had some small problems they were totally devoted to each other. They understood the importance of family and that the family can be sealed together as a unit for eternity.

I remember one special occasion. After they moved to Nampa, Walt and Velma went to the Boise Temple and were sealed to their parents. I remember the special feeling I had on that occasion that is difficult to describe. That the sealing power had linked our family to many generations past.

I believe that Mother and Dad Siddoway are having a wonderful reunion and are rejoicing in the good family they have. When we honor one we honor both of them.

* * * * *

Front row: Karen Lundquist Siddoway, Velma Lucile Cherry Siddoway, Shirlene Siddoway Davidson, Robert Smith. Back row: Walter Eugene Siddoway, Walter Amos Siddoway, Myrl Wesley Davidson, Shirley Siddoway Smith. 3 June 1989

Robert Siddoway, 1828-1893

2009-02-10T11:20:00.000-08:00

Born 6 Jun 1828 Washington, Durham, , England
Died 14 Aug 1893 Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah
Parents: Richard Siddoway and Susanna Clayton
Spouse: Elizabeth Dawson (md. 9 Sep 1849 Sunderland, Durham, England)
Children: Isabella Siddoway, Richard Siddoway, Robert Siddoway, Jr., Susanna Siddoway

Spouse: Emma Jackson (md. 1 Sep 1860 Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah)
Children: James William Siddoway, Edwin Siddoway, Elizabeth Siddoway, Emily Annie Siddoway, Susan Siddoway, Sylvia Siddoway, Francis Siddoway, Amos Siddoway, Eliza May Siddoway

Spouse: Fanny Wilkinson (md. 27 May 1865 Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah)
Children: Louisa Ann Siddoway, William Henry Siddoway

Amos J Siddoway, 1876-1966

2009-02-10T11:09:00.001-08:00

Born 21 Sep 1876 Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah
Died 24 Nov 1966 Rexburg, Madison, Idaho
Parents: Robert Siddoway and Emma Jackson
Spouse: Agnes Davidson (md. 19 Jun 1901 Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah)
Children: Walter Amos Siddoway, Lawrence Davidson Siddoway, Donald Ray Siddoway, Mary Agnes Siddoway

Amos Siddoway Dies at 90

ST. ANTHONY, Nov. 27 – Amos J. Siddoway, 90, retired farmer and sheepman in the Teton area, died Thursday evening at a Rexburg nursing home of causes incident to age.

He was born Sept. 21, 1876, at Salt Lake City, a son of Robert and Emma Jackson Siddoway. He received his early education and when he was 14 years of age he came to Teton, where he was employed by his father who operated a sawmill.

He hauled lumber to St. Anthony, some of which was used in construction of the first bridge across Snake River at St. Anthony, and for the Fogg and Jacobs building on the south side of town.

Mr. Siddoway moved to Teton in 1900 where he homesteaded and lived until his retirement in 1946, when they moved to Idaho Falls.

He helped in the construction of the Enterprise and East Teton Canals and was president of the East Teton Canal Co. for many years.

He was active in irrigation work, was vice president of the First State Bank of Teton and a stockholder in the Teton Mercantile Co.

He married Agnes Davidson June 19, 1901, at Salt Lake City, Utah. They celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary in 1961. She died in 1964.

Survivors are three sons and one daughter, Walter A. Siddoway, and Donald R. Siddoway, Teton city; Lawrence Siddoway, Rt. 2, Rigby; Mrs. Frank (Mary) Collins, Ogden, Utah; 14 grandchildren, 17 great-grandchildren; a sister, Mrs. May VanCott, Santa Monica, Calif.

Funeral services will be conducted Monday at 1:30 p.m. in the Teton LDS Ward Chapel by Bishop John Bean.

Friends may call at the Hansen Memorial Chapel in St. Anthony Sunday from 7 to 9 p.m., and at the church Monday from 12 noon until service time.

Interment will be in the Teton-Newdale Cemetery.

Special to the Post Register [of Idaho Falls, Idaho], November 24, 1966.

* * * * *

Amos Siddoway

Amos Siddoway home in Teton Idaho

Mary Amanda Shumway, 1838-1883

2009-02-09T12:49:00.000-08:00

Born 18 Oct 1838 Randolf, , Missouri
Died 10 Jan 1883 Lewiston, Cache, Utah
Parents: Stephen Billings Shumway and Wealthy Eddy
Spouse: Ebenezer Griffin Cherry (md. Abt 1862 Richmond, Cache, Utah)
Children: Wealthy Jane Cherry, Charles Stephen Cherry, Thomas Billings Cherry, Joseph Aaron Cherry, Clarissa Rebecca Cherry, Margaret Ann Cherry, Porter Nathan Cherry, Amanda Drucilla Cherry, Levi Eddy Cherry, Samuel Allen Cherry, Parley Pratt Cherry

Mary Amanda Shumway Manwill Cherry

Her ancestors were from Puritans and settled Massachusetts at the beginning of the Plymouth and Salem colonies. (See the history on her mother Wealthy Eddy).

*****

Her father was Stephen Billing Shumway who was born 20 July 1806 in Massachusetts. He joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in the first year it was organized, which was 1830, and married Wealthy Eddy, who had run away from her home and family to join the church. Stephen was 24 and Wealthy was 20. They married 6 January 1831.
They were the parents of three children. The first two were born in Orange, Rockland, New York. The first, Clarissa, born 30 Nov 1831 died before she was two years old as a result of exposure during the night her parents were driven from their home by a mob. Their second child, a son named Ammi Warren Shumway, was born 16 Dec 1832. Then they moved west as the Mormons migrated from New York to Kirkland, Ohio and then to Missouri.
Mary Amanda’s parents were traveling with a small group of Saints to join the Mormon settlement at Haun’s Mill, Caldwell County, Missouri when their third child, Mary Amanda Shumway, was born on October 18, 1838. Her birth caused them to stop over in Randolf County, Missouri for a few weeks, and so her family was spared from the massacre that took place at Haun’s Mill twelve days later.
After the Haun’s Mill massacre and other episodes of mob in Caldwell and Jackson counties, Joseph Smith was imprisoned and the Saints were driven out of Missouri. Although very ill prepared for the forced and hurried exodus, the Saints retreated to Nauvoo, Illinois. It was a time of great suffering. The particulars are not known, but the Shumways abandoned their plans to settle in Missouri and headed for Nauvoo.
In Nauvoo, Mary Amanda, with her brother Ammi Warren and her parents, was a member of the Nauvoo Third Ward. Tragically, her father died of Appendicitis when she was 14 months old. Two years later, her mother married a man whose wife and baby had died. He was William Dickinson Pratt, the older brother of Parley P. and Orson Pratt. William and Wealthy had four children, but only one, William Jared Pratt, lived past childhood because of the terrible persecutions and circumstances of the Mormon plight during those years.
The little family lived through all the Nauvoo persecutions, the martyrdom of the prophet and his brother in 1844, and the expulsion from Nauvoo two years later in the February 1846 when Mary Amanda was eight. They suffered from mob on several occasions.
Existing records seem to be a little incomplete as to when they actually left Nauvoo and if William Pratt was with them when they made the trek to Winter Quarters—it would seem that he was not, but he was not (see story of Wealthy Eddy). Her mother tells of doing sewing so the men would build her a little log cabin. It had no doors or window panes, and it was a cold winter. Her mother tells of her family moving into this log cabin and being grateful for shelter. It was storming the same night they moved their meager belonging in. They also had to move their cows that same night. After Wealthy, her mother, put Mary Amanda and William Jared to sleep, she and Ammi went for the cows. On the way both of them felt her husband’s presence and heard him say, “I will often be with you and help you.”
They wanted to go West where they could feel safe and be able to worship God unmolested. Obviously, they were very poor and as the husband was absent, they fitted a wagon together, as best they could and used a harness that was made of different pieces of what they could get. Using a horse and a cow to pull their wagon, they crossed the plains when Mary Amanda was nine to fourteen, probably 1848–52. These facts, coupled with the years of their migration indicate that they were among the poor Saints that Brigham Young insisted would not be left behind. He called upon the members of the Church to help the poor Saints, who couldn’t afford to come on their own, with provisions, etc. so they could all be together in Utah.
After arriving in Utah, Mary Amanda and her mother and siblings settled in Payson, where they lived for many years. Her mother married William Cornwell Patten in 1854 when Mary Amanda was about sixteen. Her mother had known William in the Nauvoo Third Ward. He was now a widower with two little s whom Mary Amanda’s mother also raised. Her mother and William had one child of their own, Sarah Wealthy Patten.
Mary Amanda Shumway first married Daniel Booker Manwill and there are no known children from that marriage. Next she married Ebenezer Griffith Cherry in about 1862 when she was 24 years old. Ebenezer was 24 years older than she was. He had been a farmer from Ohio. He and his first wife Susannah and family had joined the church in 1846 and had crossed the plains in the Charles C. Rich company of 1847. They had settled in Centerville, Utah. Altogether, he and his first wife had 12–13 children between 1835–63. Susannah died in 1887.
Mary Amanda and Ebenezer were married at Logan, Cache County, Utah and raised all eleven of their children. They first lived and farmed in northern Utah at Richmond, Cache County, where their first two children were born. The second, Charles Stephen Cherry, born in 1864, is our ancestor. Then they accepted a call from the Church to moved North over the mountains into southern Idaho, following Apostle Charles C. Rich who colonized the Bear Lake region in 1864. When they migrated to Idaho, there were approximately seven hundred settlers there. They settled by the little town of St. Charles in the Bear Lake region, known for its long, cold winters. There they had three more children and stayed until late 1868 or early 1869.
Next they moved back to Utah and located in Centerville, Davis County where they stayed until late 1873. Centerville was where Ebenezer’s brother, Aaron Benjamin Cherry, who had also crossed the plains with him, had settled with his family. However, Aaron had already passed away when Mary Amanda and Ebenezer moved there. Three more children were born here. Their last move was to Lewiston, Cache county, Utah about 1874 where their last three children were born.
Mary Amanda and Ebenezer had eleven children in all, and they all lived to maturity. Some of their names reflect their family heritage: Wealthy Jane Cherry named after her mother, Charles Stephen Cherry and Thomas Billings Cherry named after her father, Joseph Aaron Cherry named after Ebenezer’s brother Aaron Benjamin Cherry, Levi Eddy Cherry named after her mother, and Parley Pratt Cherry named after her step-uncle Parley P. Pratt.
Mary Amanda, however, did not live to raise all of her children. In 1883, she died at the age of 45 when her oldest child was twenty and her youngest child was 2½ years old. Her mother’s home became the headquarters for her older children and her seven year old daughter Margaret Ann Cherry went to live with her. Mary Amanda was buried in Lewiston, Utah, as was Ebenezer when he died five years later.

Bibliography

“A Short History of the Life of Wealthy Eddy,” Susannah J. Shumway, private printing for family history, Fairview, Wyoming.

Ebenezer Griffin Cherry Pedigree and three Family Group Records, Family Search: Ancestral File, CD ROM, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Genealogical Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.

The Family of Swanty and Nancy Benson, Geraldine B. Shirley and Oren S. Peterson, private publication.

Gives an excerpt from the Dairy of C. C. Rich about the difficulty of the winter of 1864 and the difficulties in the years following it.

Heart Throbs of the West, Kate B. Carter, Daughter of Utah Pioneers, Salt Lake City, Utah, Volume 7, pp. 536–578, 1946.
Gives details of the early settling of Idaho.

Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah, page 801.
Contains photograph of Ebenezer Griffin Cherry. Lists wives and children.

LDS Infobase, Early LDS Membership: LDS Collectors Library 97, 1996, CD ROM, Provo, Utah.
Gives vital statistics, church ordinance data, and pertinent comments about early church member Ebenezer Griffin Cherry and Aaron Benjamin Cherry. All of Mary Amanda’s children are listed, but her name under “Marriage Number 2” is missing.

Excerpt from MY PIONEERS: The Mormon Pioneer Ancestors of Suzanne Scott Jennings
July 1997

Mary Amanda Shumway
came by covered wagon as a child 1848– 1852
Her birth saved the family from being at Haun’s Mill during the massacre.

From http://jared.pratt-family.org/histories/mary-amanda-shumway.htm

Nancy Jane (Rose) Foster, 1854-1891

2009-02-09T12:42:00.000-08:00

Born 23 Dec 1854 Carson City, Ormsby, Nevada
Died 12 Mar 1891 Mapleton, Franklin, Idaho
Parents: Abraham Foster and Saphronia or Sophrona Allen
Spouse: Isaiah Lacey Bennett (md. 25 May 1874 Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah)
Children: Nancy Jane Bennett, Isaiah Carson Bennett, Sophronia Ann Bennett, Emma Susan Bennett, Thomas Richard Bennett, Phoebe Eliza Bennett, Ada Alzada Bennett, Mary Rosetta Bennett, Zeffie Fern Bennett

Roxey Abigail Pierce, 1840-1882

2009-02-09T12:38:00.000-08:00

Born 24 May 1840 Nauvoo, Hancock, Illinois
Died 3 May 1882 Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah
Parents: Joseph White Pierce and Amanda Mary Heath
Spouse: John McRae (md. 1856 Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah)
Children: Mary Ann McRae, John McRae, Joseph McRae, Eunice Maria McRae, Roxey Adeline McRae, Alexander McRae, Harriet Augusta McRae, William Jenkins McRae, Kenneth McRae, Martha Abigail McRae, Walter Daniel McRae, Lois Ann Minetta McRae

Jan Erik or Johan Erick Peterson, 1829-1888

2009-02-09T12:32:00.000-08:00

Born 14 Mar 1829 Hakansboda, Ramsberg, Orebro, Sweden
Died 12 Jul 1888 Fairview, Sanpete, Utah
Parents: Per Andersson and Anna Stina Nygren
Spouse: Christina (Stina) Hindersson (md. 13 Nov 1853 Hakansboda, Ramsberg, Orebro, Sweden)
Children: Maria Christina Peterson, Johanna Petersen [sic], Anna Louisa Peterson, Andreas Peterson

Johan Erick and Christina Peterson
from Sweden

The Swedes came of the same Viking Stock as all other Scandinavians. St Ansgar, preached Catholicism to them in the 9th century but they continued their pagan sacrifices to Thor and Oden until British Missionaries converted them in the twelfth century.

Sweden has an extensive trade, copper from vast copper mines at Falam, furs and fish for export also all types of lumber and lumber products, as well as iron ore.

By the middle of the sixteenth century the throne had become herititary. Upsala was the first seat of government. Stockholm, the present seat of government originated as a defense effort against invading Danes. Sweden at one time ruled both Norway and Denmark; at another time she was ruled by Denmark and at another time by Peter, the Great, of Russia. In 1810 the Swedish diocese elected Bernadotte, one of Napoleon's generals, Crown Prince, and his line still rules in Sweden. Stockholm, the capitol, is a granite city built on two rocky prominences, one in the Baltic, one in Lake Malar. Great steamers sail through the heart of the city in summer and skaters and sail-boat skaters glide over the silver ice in winter. It is called the 'Venice of the North". At Ulriksdal, a fashionable suburb, the Royal Family resides. At Upsala is the temple where years before the time of Christ, sacrifices were made to Odin. It stands neighbor to the University of Upsala, founded five centuries ago

There are four geographical zones in Sweden. Scania, the southern most, is a region of rich farm lands, lakes and meadows, the stronghold of the dairy farmer. In Svealand, survive all the ancient manners and traditions of the Swedish race, here may be found the costumes that originated when every house-wife did her own spinning and weaving. It is also a farming area. Some of our ancestors came from this area, from Lindesberg and from Stockholm. Next is Norrland, here the rivers become wilder, the forests more unbroken, the land rises to the snow-capped mountains of the Norwegian traders. North of this is Lapland, a bleak waste of dwarf birch, creeping willows and boggy tundra, where the rosy streamers of the Aurora Borealis tingle up from the black horizon of the winter night. Here exist some of the richest beds of iron ore in the world. At Gellivar and at Kiruna are solid mountains of ore. This is the home of the Laplanders with their herds of reindeers.

Skiing is a necessity in Sweden. In the army, skiing is and essential part of the service. The highest peak in Sweden, Kebnekaise, was climbed for the first time in winter in 1808 by a man on skis.

The Swedes are the tallest race in Europe, the fairest in coloring and the longest lived. There has been little mixing of foreign blood. They are a thrifty, idealistic, independent people. They are generally well-to-do, aristocratic in their ideals and are enormously efficient. They are a well-educated people quick to adopt scientific inventions and new industries. This homogeneous people of granite self-control and punctilious politeness are given to idealism.

As far back as can be traced, southern Sweden was the home of the Goths. The people of this race eat 5 times a day, beginning dinner with a Smorgesbord of pickled fish, sausages, smoked reindeer meat, piquant cheese and black rye bread with sweet butter or crisp Knackerbrod resembling thin oat cakes. The chief crops are hay, fodder-roots, potatoes, sugarbeets, oats, rye, wheat and barley. Five acres is an average size farm.

Our ancestors, Johan Eric and Christina Peterson, came from the Svealand region of Sweden. They were born at Lindesberg, Orebro, Sweden. Johan Erick was born 13 March 1829 and Christina was born 10 March 1820. They were married 13 November 1853 and built themselves a a typical steep roofed house. They lived on a rocky five-acre farm on which they grew all they needed to eat and Johan Erick and Christina Peterson from Sweden Johan Eric and Christina Peterson also feed for their cows and other animals. They grew their own timber for fuel. When they cut down one tree, another was planted to take it's place

Johan Erick also worked in a near-by smelter where iron-ore was melted into pure iron bars. Charcoal was used as a fuel in this smelter as there is no coal in Sweden. Sometimes at the close of work Johan Erick and a neighbor, who also worked in the smelter, would put a couple of big clinkers left after the iron was melted on a long rod, this they carried home. Those clinkers were so hot even after being carried home that they could cook the evening meal and furnish all the heat needed in the house that night.

They raised hay, cutting it by hand and drying it outside before they stored it in the barn section of the house. Johan Erick fished in the stream; they cured herring for winter. Christina did the spinning and weaving, the semi-annual wash and baked the bread. They made "Knackerbrod." They would make enough of this at a time to last a year. It was baked in large round thin flat cakes and hung on a pole across the ceiling to dry. They ate it dry and crisp as we eat crackers.

They were a religious people, devout Lutherans, who read and studied the bible regularly. The Mormon Missionaries came to their home and taught them the gospel. They were converted but it was hard for them to join the church for all their friends and relatives were against it and when they were baptized 4 March 1875, by Bro. Lindquist, their friends turned against them. Johan Erick and Christine made their plans and sold all they had, receiving enough money to pay for their trip to Zion. They with their four children; Maria, Johanna, Anna Louisa and Andreas, sailed to Liverpool, England and on 22 June, 1876, they sailed toward America on the ship "Idaho." They had a rough voyage across the ocean then they took a train across the United States and arrived in Fairview, Utah on 24 July, 1876. They settled in Fairview at the request of President Brigham Young. They had a chance to choose any place they wanted there and they chose the rocks and sage brush of Spring Creek, which was most like the hills around their old home in Sweden.

Johan Erick, farmer and carpenter, built their first home, a two room log house with an attic. Later they built a two story white adobe house. With the help of Andreas, he built several other houses in Fairview. The twelve years Johan Erick lived in Utah were busy ones; beside the houses he built a large barn, one hundred feet long and fifty feet wide. The lower half was made of cobblestone laid in mortar. The walls were about six feet high and the upper part was built of lumber. He also dug a well one hundred feet deep with a rock wall in the bottom that was fifteen feet high. This was the only well for blocks around and many people came here for water. Johan Erick also built a rock wall along the East side of the orchard. This wall was about three feet wide and four feet high. The farm was about two miles east of town and when Andreas got married, Johan Erick built a house here for him.

Johan Erick and Christine were endowed, 15 July, 1881, in the Endowment House at Salt Lake City.

Andreas's daughter wrote that Johan Erick had another wife, named Mary Ann. She said "She was a widow and had five married children in North Dakota. She was a short plump person. She had a two-room house, two blocks east of the other house. She was very good to us and we children liked to go to her house and get cookies. About 1890 some of her children from North Dakota came for her and took her back with them and we never heard from her again." This was what Euelaia, Andreas's daughter wrote.

Johan Erick died at Fairview, 12 July 1888. He was just 59 years old and had been sick very little.

Christina was a tall stately person. She had asthma and was confined to her bed a lot of the time. About 1892 they moved her to Spring City to live with her daughter, Maria. Christina died here 12, March 1900.

Maria, the oldest daughter was born at Lindesberg, Orebo, Sweden, 21 November, 1854. She was baptized by Brother Lindquist, 15 Febuary 1875. She married Soren Peterson 20 November 1876 at Fairview. They were parents of four children, John, Anna, Mary, and Will. Maria or Mary, died at Spring City, Utah, 3 November 1925.

Johanna, the second daughter, was also born at Lindesberg, on 27 March, 1857. She was baptized by Elder Patterson, 6 November, 1875. She married Christian Jacobsen, 20 November, 1876. They were parents of eleven children, Christina, Peter, Henry, John W., Elmer, Grant, Rossie, Nora, Amanda, Ida and Heber, Johanna died at Darby, Idaho 7 January, 1924

Anna Louisa was born at Linesberg on March 19, 1859. She was baptized by Elder Pattersen 6 November, 1875. She married Johan Wilhelm Peterson, 26 August, 1877, at Spring City, Utah. Later they went through the Endowment House and were sealed. They were the parents of three daughters, Anna, Ellen and Regina. Johan Wilhelm died the 12 November 1882, and Anna married Lorenzo Davidson, 4 March, 1887. They were the parents of six children, Mary, Arland, Arthur, Lenora, Nathaniel, and Eskil. In 1892 She moved with her family to Darby, Idaho where they homesteaded 160 acres. In 1912 they moved to Parker, Idaho. Here she lived until her death 9 March 1925. In Darby she served as the President of the Primary and later served as President of the Relief Society for several years.

Andreas, born at Lindesberg, 26 July, 1862, was baptized by Elder Patterson 6 November 1875. He married Caroline Magneson, 27 September 1883 in the Endowment House at Salt Lake City. They were the parents of three children, Eulalia, Hilma and Conrad. Caroline died 9 April, 1889, then he married Anna Marie Peterson in the Endowment House at Salt Lake City, 6 January, 1892. They were the parents of nine children, Cristal, Ivy, Newel, Eskil, Linden, Jewell, Reed, Silven and Ervin. He ran a coal yard and later started the Peterson Lumber Company. He died at Fairview, Utah, 9 October 1823.

Anna Louisa Peterson, 1859-1925

2009-02-09T12:25:00.000-08:00

Born 19 Mar 1859 Guldsmedshyttan, Linde, Orebro, Sweden
Died 9 Mar 1925 Parker, Fremont, Idaho
Parents: Jan Erik Peterson and Christina (Stina) Hindersson
Spouse: Lorenzo S. Davidson (md. 4 Mar 1887 Fairview, Sanpete, Utah--divorced)
Children: Mary Louise Davidson, Arland Lorenzo Davidson, Arthur Cleveland Davidson, Lenora Sarah Christina Davidson, John David Nathaniel Davidson, Eskil Leander Davidson, baby Davidson

ANNA LOUISA PETERSON DAVIDSON'S INTERESTING LIFE STORY
Compiled by Edna L. Davis, her granddaughter

Anna Louisa was born March 19, 1859, in Lindesburg, Orebro, Sweden. She was the third child of Johan Eric Peterson and Christena Henrickson. The family lived on a three acre farm on the mountain side. They lived in a time when families had to be self-sustaining and their home was built to meet the needs and conditions of the climate. Their house was a long house built in sections, the living quarters at one end, then the woodshed, joining this the barn, where they kept the hay and next the part where they kept their cows, pigs and chickens. This was all under the same roof because the winters were dark and cold and always lots of snow so that it was not safe to go from one building to another. In the living part of the house was a large fireplace--this was the only heat they had and enough wood had to be stored in the wood house to last the winter. Wood was important to them and they kept planting trees on their farm to replace the large ones that they cut down for fuel. In this way their supply was steady.

The land was very rocky and had to be cleared, these rocks were many different colors - red, purple, green and brown, and were made into a beautiful rock wall all around their farm. In the summer the rainfall was heavy and they raised hay for their cows and a good garden. The hay had to be cut with a scythe and piled to dry. It rained so much that the hay had to be carried into the barn and back out many times before it was dry enough to store without mildew. Anna always helped carry the hay and in so doing hurt her back so that she was round shouldered as she grew older.

They washed twice a year: this sounds as if they were not clean but they had many changes of clothes and when they washed they took them to a clear stream to wash them.

Rye bread was used all the time. In the summer it was baked in thin round sheets and dried by hanging it in the top of the house on a long stick between the rafters. It was called "Kanikai." There were lots of wild fruits growing near, blueberries, sour cherries, strawberries and other berries; these were gathered and eaten on their flour mush for supper. The flour mush was made by stirring flour into boiling water and beating it with a whisk until it was smooth and thick. They ate lots of rutabaga and herring. Johan Eric caught many fish in the fjord near by; these he brine-cured and then smoked for their winter supply. They also ate clabber milk, cottage cheese and a special brown cheese made from the boiled whey of the other cheeses.

Once each year the shoemaker made the rounds of the village, staying with each family while he mended their old shoes and made the necessary new ones from skins they had tanned. Anna told an incident that happened at their home as the shoemaker sat in a corner of the room working on the shoes. Anna's mother put a piece of meat on to cook for soup, soon Mariah, the oldest came by and salted it, shortly after Johannah, the next daughter, came along and salted it and then the mother came and salted it. Seeing this the shoemaker also put in a handful. When mealtime came the family sat down to eat rutabagas and soup. They all had rutabagas but the shoemaker did not have any soup. The family thought this was unusual, but when Johan Eric took his first bit and spit it out, saying it was brine they knew why. The shoemaker then told what had happened and they all had a good laugh.

The family belonged to the Lutheran Church, and the three s probably attended a Lutheran school. Their first text-book was a Danish Bible, in this way Anna also learned to speak Danish. Later they had a Swedish Bible to study. In the winter when they went to school it was dark most of the time and the s carried a torch made of pitch so that they could see their way and also scare away any wild animals that might be near. The snow was deep and when they came to drifts, they took turns breaking trail on their knees.

Mariah went away to work. Some Latter-day Saint missionaries came to the home and converted the family and also Mariah. They were all baptized then Mariah sent the Elders to her own family and they were soon converted and were all baptized Nov. 7, 1875, by Bro. Linquist. John Eric and Christena's brothers and sisters were all and they had few living relatives. They soon sold their farm and possessions to get funds to emigrate to Zion. They took passage June 22, 1876, on the ship "Idaho." When they went on the ship they took with them a large sack of "Kanikai", they hid it in their quarters but when they went to et it someone had stolen it.

There were several severe storms but they weathered them all, and after a six week voyage arrived safe in the U.S.A. They took a train to Utah but the trains were slow and had no accommodations to make them comfortable. They bought a lot of bread before they started but they did not like it moist so they cut it into slices and hung it above them in the train to dry so they could eat it. There was no space to make a bed so they had to sit up all the way. Some of the emigrants took off their shoes but their feet became so swollen they could not get them back on. They were really glad to arrive in Utah on July 24, 1876, after a two week train ride.

Brigham Young asked them to settle in Fairview, and they chose a bit of rocky ground which reminded them of their homeland. Shortly after Mariah married and the following Johanna and Anna also married. Anna met Johan William Peterson, also an emigrant and fifteen years her senior. After a short courtship they were married August 26, 1877. John William was a twin and the only one of seven children to live. After the of his parents he joined the Church and came to Zion. Johan and Anna bought a small farm in Fairview but were not married in the Temple; however when their oldest child, Anna Wilhemine was about a year old, they made the long trip by wagon to the Endowment House, 15 July 1880, and were sealed. They did not understand that Anna Wilhemine needed to be sealed to them and that sealing was not done until after Anna Wilhemine and then by her daughter Lucy. The couple had three daughters, Anna Wilhemine, Ellen Olive and Regina Josephine, named after Johan's aunt in Sweden. When Rena was about six weeks old John Wilhelm had [sic] pneumonia. One night Anna Louisa was laying down nursing Rena, she saw that he was having an exceptionally hard time to use the commode and seemed about to pass out, she asked if she should get help. She ran across the field for the Davidson's but he died about the time she returned. He looked so well and peaceful that she could not believe he was so they kept him about a week before they buried him.

With three wee s, it was hard to make a living. Anna sold an oxen for $75.00 and bought a sewing machine so she could do sewing as well as cleaning for people. She had a few acres of land and raised enough hay to feed several cows and some poultry. Her father and brother helped her some. Little Anna was always into mischief -- one day when her mother went to the neighbors for a few minutes, she got some matches and with the other two little s took a small wood box and went out by the hay stack to cook a play dinner. They made a fire in the box and soon it was burned and the hay stack on fire, with the three little children trapped in the tightly fenced corral. Mangunsen's, their other neighbor saw the fire and rescued the s but the hay and sheds were completely burned. Ellen was always ready to ride a horse; one day as the children were playing by the fence some Indians came along and coaxed her to climb the fence and get on the horse behind one of the Indians. Just as she was ready to get on the horse her mother saw her and ran quickly and took her away. The Indians tried to steal the s several times.

Anna felt that she should marry again and made it a matter of prayer. She dreamed who she should marry and that she should marry in polygamy but she could not bring herself to accept this so when she had been widowed about four years and the handsome and young Lorenzo Davidson returned after a hunting and mining trip and came courting Anna, she married him. About this time here family had some pictures taken.

Anna and Lorenzo were married in Fairview, March 4, 1887, and they lived comfortably in Anna's little house. About this time Anna's father married in polygamy and Anna's little s loved to go down the road to visit "Muister", as they called John Eric's second wife. In December Anna had another daughter, Mary, and in July 1890, a son Arland. About this time Ellen had scarlet fever and one day ran to the door and the cold breeze caused them to go down. She was very sick and her head became twisted. They decided to take her to the Manti Temple and have her baptized for her health, and have Rena baptized there too. Ellen's head became all right. Things came up to cause them uncertainty so they decided to emigrate to Wyoming and settle in the Big Horn Basin. Anna was expecting another baby in May so they quickly sold the little home to get supplies and equipment to take them there before the baby would arrive.

They used two wagons with a trailer wagon behind the second one. The trailer was fixed similar to the wagon a sheep herder uses. Across the back was a large bed for them to sleep in and under the bed was stored boxes of clothing and many needed supplies, for they had to take with them all the things they would need for at least a year. There was a small stove in it and a cupboard for dishes they used along the way. On the side of the wagon they fastened a couple of water barrels and pens or cages with chickens and a pig in them. Anna also had two large tubs in which she had cans filled with house plants. There were geraniums, fuchsia, wandering Jew, petunias, strawberry plant and others. Rena tells how they had to be watered every day. Anna took her sewing machine, spinning wheel and wool cards, along with the other things and Lorenzo had farming supplies in the other wagons.

They left Fairview about the 16th of April. They stopped in Salt Lake City so that they might go through the nearly completed temple. It was a long trip. Anna and the children walked a lot of the time. One evening as they were camped on a side hill a herd of sheep were driven along above them. A large rock was loosened and rolled down striking Anna's leg and hurting it so that she had a hard time to get about for some time. Shortly after they reached the Idaho border (Eed-a-how, as the Indians called it, meaning "Sun shining over the mountain.") their travels became more hazardous, the trails were dim and wound through tall sage and other bushes and trees. There were storms leaving mud and flooded streams to ford. Anna had a steadfast character, when she set out to do a thing she accomplished it. Her faith and determination were exceptional and she bore the hard trip uncomplainingly. As they neared the Teton Valley they encountered many high drifts of snow along the road. They entered Darby about 24th of May. The snow was so high they were afraid they could not reach the Big Horn Basin before Anna's time would arrive so they decided to make their home in Darby instead.

The Henry Todd family had homesteaded in the valley the year before and had built a one room cabin which they shared with Anna and the children. Here on May 29th, Anna had her baby Arthur and Mrs. Todd gave Anna her own bed and took care of her all of the time. Arthur was the first white child born in the valley.

Later the family with their wagons camped near Darby Creek while Lorenzo cleared ground for a little crop and garden and cut logs for a cabin. The little s carried water from the creek for drinking. Each morning a bucket of fresh milk with dry bread crusts in it was put in the spring at the edge of the creek to keep cool and sweet for their supper. There were sage brush and large sun flower roots all over and these Anna used for fuel. Anna and the s gathered wild berries to add variety to their diet of venison and cooked whole wheat. Clean whole wheat was put in a large iron pot and covered with water then cooked until tender. Rena says the children loved to get handfuls of this to eat as they worked or played. The large dirt roofed cabin was finished and the family were inside before real cold weather. Very little garden had been raised that year so Lorenzo went to St. Anthony and brought back a few staple foods including a little dried fruit and a sack of potatoes that froze on the way home. The potatoes were kept frozen and when the family wanted a special treat it was cooked frozen potatoes.

When the land was surveyed they found that the cabin was on the line between them and their neighbors, the Todd's. They continued to live here for several years and Lenora was born here 30 March 1894. A large canvas was hung around the bed so that the children would not see the birth. Lorenzo went on skis for Mrs. Barney the mid-wife who lived 18 miles away and pulled her back to the cabin on a toboggan. Anna had chills and fever after the birth and Mrs. Gjettrup came and stayed with her until she could get about again. That winter the snow was deep and the dogs were hungry. They would get into packs and chase the cattle, and eating any that fell. One night while Anna was still in bed after Lenora's birth, Lorenzo heard them chasing his animals, he took his gun and shot into the pack scattering them. He hit a dog belonging to Ellington Smith. The dog went home bleeding and the next morning Smith came to the door with a shot gun to kill Lorenzo, for his dog. Lorenzo talked to him for some time and his temper cooled a bit and he went home.

On August 25, 1895, Darby Ward of the Bannock Stake was organized and Anna was chosen as Primary President. This position she held for about seven years. The first counselors she chose were Nancy C. Nelson and Charlett Bagley with Elizabeth Bagley as the secretary. Later Otelia Holden and Margaret Hill served as counselors and Heneretta Mancrisies and Etta Herendeen served as secretaries. Sister Winters was president of the Stake Primary in 1901. Church as held in the Davidson cabin and Lorenzo got out more logs to build another house in the center of his field. This was a larger and better built cabin. The first cabin was then used as a church house and a school house for a little while and Sarah Holden was the first teacher. Arland went to school here.

A third son Nathaniel was born Dec. 13, 1896, and Anna was real sick again and was confined to her bed with milk leg for a long time.

Every fall and at various times in between Lorenzo did freighting to earn a few extra dollars to buy necessary supplies for them.. He did freighting for Robert Miller in Jackson Hole, bringing all the supplies for his big ranch from St. Anthony and Idaho Falls. He also freighted for Blogets Store in Victor. There would be barrels of sugar, oatmeal, pickles and also boxes of dried fruits also grain and hay for the animals in winter. Their winters were extremely cold, getting as low as 40* below zero with drifts sometimes twenty feet deep. The winters lasted about seven months. Rena tells about one year they ran out of hay for the animals in April, so early one morning while the snow was crusted over, Lorenzo took the dry cattle and with the s helping him, drove them over the still covered fence posts and fields to a meadow of wild hay where the snow was beginning to melt. They had to go early because after the sun came up the snow would start to soften and the animals would sink in and flounder around until they became exhausted and not be able to get out.

Anna made lye from ashes and straw, then made soap both for laundry and hand use. She grated potatoes and covered them with water in big tubs until the starch formed on the bottom of the tub, then she would skim off the potatoes and pour off the water leaving the starch to be cut into chunks and dried; using it to thicken milk and make puddings for variety. She also made Sweet Soup, a mixture of dried peaches, prunes, apricots, currants, etc., cooking them until tender. This was a special treat. She gathered small birch branches about 12 inches long, peeled and dried them and tied them into a bundle small enough to be held comfortably in the hand and used it as a whisk or beater to make smooth flour-mush and also to beat eggs, etc. She made pants from wagon covers for Lorenzo. She cleaned, washed, corded and spun wool into yarn and knit it into stockings for her children. She sewed all their clothes, making many of them from flour sacks, and with the flour brand plainly showing on the clothing. Lorenzo tanned the skins of the animals he killed for food and Anna made them into shoe boots for her children to wear in the winter months, and a few times made some for herself and Lorenzo. She used mutton tallow to make large candles for light at night. Each fall the bed tick or mattress was filled with fresh straw to make high soft beds, feathers were saved for pillows and feather beds to keep them warm during the cold winter nights. She also pieced quilts together and corded wool for batts, then quilted them so they could be used.

Anna Wilhemine and Ellen were old enough to go out and do housework and this they did a lot. Anna Wilhemine also had a few dates. One night she did not get home as soon as her mother felt she should. Her mother felt that something was wrong, so she got out of bed and was directed to go into the field, there she found them. The boy friend had been trying to force Anna to satisfy his desires, and that was the last date with that boy friend. Nov. 29, 1897, Anna Wilhemine married George Dewey and moved to Chapin where George had a homestead.

On May 19, 1899, Eskil Leander was born to Anna. He was a very large baby, weighing 14 pounds, and again Anna was very ill for quite a while. About this time they got their first kerosene lamps and they thought them real fine. They house-cleaned by pasting a layer of newspapers all over the cabin walls, this made them clean and also much warmer. That winter Mary had rheumatism and was so ill she was not expected to live. Anna cared for her carefully and through that and the faith and prayers of her parents and the administration of the Elders Mary recovered but always had a bad heart condition.

Anna's sister Johanna and her family came to Darby and homesteaded. They moved the first log cabin Lorenzo built, that had been used for a school house, to their land and lived in it for a good many years. Lorenzo built another two rooms onto their own home.

It seemed there was lots of sickness about and Anna's family had their share. All the children had worms; but Lenora and Nathaniel had them the worst. One time when Lorenzo was away from home freighting, he had the feeling that he was needed at home, so he traveled all night, arriving home about 5 a.m. and found Nathaniel very sick with convulsions. They had very little medicine at that time so when the children had worm convulsions they put liquid asafetida under their noses and around their mouths to make the worms go back into their stomachs and not choke them. They sometimes put turpentine on a cloth and put it by their mouth also. They would put a spoon between their teeth to keep them from biting their tongues. They always kept quinine for fever and almost everyone wore an asafetida bag around their neck. (The odor should have kept everything away.)

On June 22, 1902, that district became the Teton Stake and the ward was reorganized. Anna was chosen President of the Relief Society Organization and she chose Sister Holden and Sister Valentine to work with her. This meant extra work for her to do and Lorenzo kept a team of horses in the stable ready for her to use whenever she needed them, and that was often for she was always called to help the sick and those in trouble.

Ellen married Alonzo Ellis in St. Anthony Oct. 28, 1903 and made her home in Darby for a while.

Lorenzo had been spending all the time possible freighting and had not fixed up the barns and corrals as good as was needed. He had plenty of good poles ready to use but no time to fix them. One time when he was away freighting, Anna took her young sons and they went to work. They dug holes and put the poles in them and made a good fence and tight corral to shelter the cattle. When Lorenzo returned and saw what they had done, he quit freighting and really went to work and took good care of the farm and the cattle and from then on they began to prosper.

Anna was saddened by the birth of a stillborn son on March 4, 1904. She had been carrying water from the ditch to use for washing when she felt something go wrong and the child never moved after. Three days later when he was born, and he was a large baby, he had started to decompose and was in a terrible condition. Lorenzo made a coffin for the baby from an old kerosene can box. Ellen covered it and fixed it nice and Rena dressed the baby as best she could and it was laid away. Jane Hill and grandma Larsen were called to help take care of Anna for she was very ill and had to stay in bed for over a month. This was Anna's last baby.

At this time there was a diphtheria epidemic in the valley, every family had sickness and some lost several children. While Anna was still in bed from childbirth both Lenora and Arthur became sick with it. They were put in the bed room with their mother and Rena took care of them all for they had to be kept isolated from the other members of the family. Peeled onions were kept in the room and also in the other part of the house to draw the germs and each one had to wear an asafetida bag. Arthur's throat was almost black and he was not expected to live. Anna and Lorenzo sent word to the Stake President to pray for him. The following night Arthur kept asking for a bucket of cold water, said he would die if he did not get it. Lorenzo carried Anna over close to Arthur and sat her in a big rocking chair and covered her up warm while she talked to Arthur. After she talked to Arthur she talked things over with Lorenzo and they decided to give him the water. Lorenzo brought in a bucket and Anna added enough warm water to the cold to take the chill off. Arthur took hold of the bucket and ducked his head in it then said, "Wait a minute," then ducked his head again a second and a third time, then took a big drink and said, "It is enough, take it away." Then he swung his feet out of bed, saying he was well and he practically was for the next day he was outside playing a bit with Arland. His poor tongue began to peel off in big chunks. Not any of the other children caught the disease and the epidemic began to subside. There were no more s in the community after Arthur got well.

Through the Relief Society program Dr. Schuppe came to the valley to teach a course in practical nursing. Anna and her daughter Mary took the course and little Lenora went along. Lorenzo grumbled about it because he could not see how it would do them any good but just the same he had the team and buggy ready twice a week for them to go to Driggs to take the lessons. Every time they went Anna also took butter and eggs along to sell.

Rena the third daughter married Frank Peterson, Feb. 28, 1905. She had been working in Jackson Hole and met him there.

Anna taught her s to cook and sew but whenever a pig was killed they all liked her to make headcheese. To make the headcheese; Anna cooked the head of the pig after cleaning it thoroughly, then cutting the fat off and grinding the lean meat through the food-chopper. To this she would add a little diced onion, salt and pepper and some of the liquid in which the meat had been cooked; then she would cook it a little and cool it and it was ready to slice. Little Pigs were also made from good lean beef scraps, seasoned with salt and pepper and onion, then wrapped in sinew and boiled until tender then cooled and sliced for supper. M-m, m-m, good.

One Sunday Arthur and some of the boys from the neighborhood were chasing some young colts. Arthur grabbed the tail of one and away they went. The young colt kicked back and caught Arthur above the eye on the left temple and peeled the flesh back showing the skull. Anna cleaned the wound and cared for him as best she could while George Dewey took a team of horses that were in the barn and drove as fast as he could to Driggs to get the Doctor to sew it up. thirteen stitches were needed and Arthur always carried the scar from it.

Mary, the fourth daughter, planned to marry, and Anna was determined that this daughter, since she was marrying the Bishop's son should go to the Temple, for her other daughters had not married in the Church. She bought material for temple clothes and a lovely white dress for Mary, but Chester Loveland did not have a testimony of the Gospel and would not go to the temple. He and Mary were married at her home by his father, on Dec. 24, 1906. However the marriage was not a success and Mary returned to her parents' home after only a few months and the following October a baby daughter was born to her. In the meantime Anna's brother Andrew came to Darby and built a couple of new rooms on the house in place of the first two log ones that Lorenzo had built. This made four nice rooms downstairs and a couple upstairs. The one large front room was used as a bedroom for Mary and Lenora and also for dances and parties. The family were comfortable.

Clark Barzee came along in a wagon with an organ to sell. He stayed with the family one night and brought the organ in so they could enjoy it and Lorenzo liked it enough to trade Barzee a young horse so they could keep it. Lenora loved music and took care of the Durrant children to pay for lessons.

The Bishop wanted Lorenzo to go on a mission and Anna was very happy but he decided that he could not leave his farm for the young boys to take care of and made arrangements for Arthur to go in his stead. After Arthur had been gone almost a year, Lorenzo figured it was costing him too much money and he wanted Arthur to come home, but Anna would not think of it, she felt there was not any sacrifice too great for the Lord's work. Lorenzo became overwrought and the tension carried to Sweden where Arthur was serving his mission. He became seriously ill and the Doctor could not find what was causing the trouble so he sent him home much to Anna's sorrow.

Anna had many unusual calls while she was in the Relief Society; she went out and helped the sick, delivered several babies, washed and dressed the and prepared them for burial. She took care of the Larsen baby after it was run over with a load of grain and its head crushed. She was blessed that she was able to push it back into a fair shape. Another time Mrs. Allred died of cancer of the abdomen and had laid in a hot feather bed for many hours before they had a chance to take care of her and she was in a really bad condition. Anna washed and scrubbed herself and her clothing afterward but the odor stayed with her for a couple of weeks. Ellington Smith, who had threatened to kill Lorenzo years before had his troubles and he nursed his grievances and imagined troubles until they became mountains and led to his following his neighbor, Mr. Neil to his field and him. He shot with his rifle real close to the head and Mr. Neil fell into the ditch of running water and the water washed part of the insides of his head away. Anna was called to the Neil home to prepare the body for burial. She had to put cotton into the head to fix it up, but she did a very good job of it. A team and buggy or sleigh was always in the barn for Anna's use; one night Lorenzo went to bed while Anna was away on a call but woke up after a while and could not rest so he went to look for Anna and found her with the horses down in a snowdrift. Anna was president of the Relief Society for nine years and her daughter Mary was her secretary for most of that time.

Lorenzo was never satisfied after Arthur returned from his mission and in the early spring of 1912, he and Anna went to Parker, where they arranged to buy a farm. They mortgaged this farm and paid Frank Mason for it in full. The plans were to pay off this mortgage when the farm in Darby was sold but the mortgage was never paid off. They moved part of their things to Parker and cleaned up the place a bit and ran both farms the first year then rented the Darby farm the second year. Anna was not happy to move and mortgage their home. There were two houses on this Parker farm; a small one in which the Davidsons lived until the Masons moved out in the fall. Anna had some remodeling done on the large house, changing the stairway so that it was between the kitchen and bedroom instead of in the front room. They papered all eight rooms after cleaning them thoroughly. Anna had saved carpet rags and made them into carpet so that she had enough carpeting to cover the large front room and her bedroom. First straw was brought in and scattered evenly over the floor for a cushion, then the carpet laid over the top and pulled tight and tacked along the walls. There was also carpet for the s' bedroom upstairs. They bought a gasoline light for the front room, which made it up-to-date.

The year after they came to Parker, Arland was called on a Mission to Sweden and left Salt Lake about the middle of November. Lorenzo thought this was too much expense but Anna was determined he should have the mission. He was in Sweden until the Elders were evacuated because of World War I, then he finished his Mission in South Carolina. On December 24, after Arland left for his mission, Arthur married Lottie Rhodehouse in the Salt Lake Temple and Anna was glad this was a Temple marriage.

Lorenzo had a lot of cows and chickens and Anna made butter; sometimes as much as 75 pounds a week, this she sold along with about 25 dozen eggs to customers and the stores in St. Anthony. Saturday was delivery day and there was good market for her butter for everyone who tasted it liked it for its sweetness and she was known for the full measure in each pound.

Every winter each ward would send home missionaries or visiting teachers to different Wards to teach the members and visit them. Many times the visitors to Parker Ward came from the Marysville Ward and many times they made Anna's home their headquarters while they visited the members. It was always a joy to Anna to sit around the stove of an evening and discuss the principles of the gospel with them and also to discuss the things in the Bible. Anna always took her family to Sacrament meetings and Sunday School and she tried to live the Gospel principles the best she knew how. When the Tabernacle at St. Anthony was dedicated in 1916, she was happy to go there and listen to the instructions of the Leaders of the Church.

Anna was always busy -- what with making butter the year around, in summer she helped in the garden and canned enough fruit, jam and pickles to last the large family the year around. There was hired help during the haying and harvesting seasons to cook for. In the winter there were quilts to make, one year they finished ten of them. Whenever Lorenzo killed either beef or port, Anna took care of the small pieces, making the head cheese, little pigs, pickled pigs feet, etc.

Arland returned from his mission in January 1916. In the spring he and Mary returned to the dry farm where they had homesteaded, in the winter they returned to Parker. On Oct. 4, 1917, Mary married again, this time to Charles Housley; Dec. 20th, Lenora married Harvey Tyler; on March 8, 1918, Arland married Elizabeth Pearce and on June 5th, Nathaniel married Ella Grover. all were married in the temple as Anna always wanted them to do.

Anna and Lorenzo had not been getting along as good as they should have and in a disagreement, Anna got a rib broken. They no longer found happiness together so they decided to separate. Life with Lorenzo had been as Anna had dreamed it, long before she married him when she had inquired of the Lord in Prayer. She had dreamed that she held his hand and they hunted all over the mountain for water but could not find any. After hunting all over she looked down from the mountain and saw Peterson, her first husband, sitting beside a spring of water. She realized that this dream symbolized her life for as time had passed she and Lorenzo had had less in common until now there was nothing left. They went together to St. Anthony and had the divorce arrangements made without anyone else knowing anything about it. This was the winter of 1918 and 1919. Anna kept the farm, still with its original mortgage and Lorenzo went trapping again.

Nathaniel and wife had been living in the small house helping with the farm and now he and Eskil took over the work until Eskil was called on a mission. He left for the Mexican Mission in June 1920. It was a struggle for Anna to get the funds to keep him there, but she did even though her health was failing. She also went to the temple in Salt Lake City and had Hans C. Davidson's third wife, Anna Dorthea Mortinson, sealed to him as she had promised Anna Dorthea to do before she left Fairview, many years before. She did quite a bit of temple work at this time.

In the early spring of 1923, Eskil returned from his mission and took over the farm and Nathaniel rented a farm in Rexburg. Anna was not well and when Mary left her second husband she came back to Parker and helped her mother and Eskil on the farm. Anna did little that summer and after the holidays she had a severe pain and swelling on her left side over her hurt rib. After about three days the swelling came to a head and broke and about a quart of pus drained out. The abscess opened both to the outside and into her stomach so that when she ate or drank anything it would run right out, and she soon began to waste away. It was necessary to keep a binder about her and pads on the abdomen to take care of it. The odor was terrible and it was necessary to fumigate the house all the time so one could stay and do the necessary things. The Doctors were called and said that though she had a tumor they did not advise an operation. All her children came home to help as it was necessary to have someone with her night and day, to turn her or give her a drink as needed.

Anna never lost faith that she would get better until the Doctor told her there was no use to operate for it would only prolong her suffering. He was an L.D.S. Doctor and she looked up at him and asked, "Don't you have any faith?" Her desire to live was lost and she went into a coma, becoming rational only once in a while to speak to one of the children. Most of the time she seemed to be conversing with some unseen persons above her bed. Three days later she died, this was as had been promised her in her patriarchal blessing "that she should live as long as she desired life."

Her family were all with her at the time of her passing and honored her with their love and devotion for her life of sacrifice and her wonderful teachings to them. She died March 9, 1925 and after a sweet funeral was laid tenderly away in the Parker Cemetery on March 12, 1925.

A BRIEF SKETCH OF THE CHILDREN OF ANNA LOUISA

Anna, the oldest daughter married George Dewey, 29 Nov. 1897. They lived just ten miles from her parents, at Chapin, Idaho, and later moved to Victor. Here they built a lovely home. They were the parents of seven children: Jessie, Joseph, John, Lucy, Mary, Georganna and Myrtle.

Ellen the second daughter married Alonzo Ellis, 28 Oct. 1905 at St. Anthony, Idaho. They lived on a 40 acre ranch west of the Davidsons and raised strawberries and raspberries which they sold. They also sold eggs and chickens. They moved to Driggs in 1910, here Alonzo operated a pool hall until they moved to Pleasant Grove, Utah, in 1925. Here they had a fruit farm and honey bees. Ellen always felt sad because she was never blessed with any children.

Rena the third daughter married Frank Peterson, 28 Feb. 1905 at Darby. They lived on a ranch near Jackson, Wyoming until the government bought all the ranches in the valley for a National Park and Elk reserve. Then Rena who was widowed moved to the town of Jackson. She had five children: Lenard, Charley, Frank, Martha and Myrtle who died in infancy.

Mary married 24 Dec. 1906 to Chester Loveland. They lived with the Davidsons part of the time and then with the Lovelands for they did not have a home of their own. This did not work out and the marriage ended in divorce. A daughter Edna was born 27 Oct. 1907 and their separation became legal 4 March 1908. Mary married Charles Housley, 4 Oct. 1917 and this marriage also ended in divorce 21 Dec. 1928. A son Grant and a daughter Esther were born to them. Mary moved to Pocatello, Idaho where she lived with her children until her in 1937.

Arland the eldest son went on a mission to Sweden in 1913, but because of the ward was transferred to South Carolina for finish his mission. He was married 8 March 1918, to Sarah Pearce. They lived on a dry farm at Dehlin, Idaho, the first six years of their marriage. After several moves they moved to Egin Bench to stay. They had seven children: Blanch, Alvin, Hyrum, Anna, Thelma, Myrl and Ethel. Hyrum died at birth.

Arthur went on a mission to Sweden in 1910. He married Lottie Rhodehouse, 24 Dec. 1913. Arthur also was a farmer at Dehlin for five years then he moved to Heman on Egin Bench. Here he lived and framed until he died in 1933. He was the father of six children: Mary (who died at birth), Elaine, Clyde, Lenald, Verna and Ferron.

Lenora married Harvey Tyler, 20 Dec. 1917, at Salt Lake City. They lived near Parker and dry-farmed near the sand hills until 1920 then they moved to Twin Falls and farmed for a couple of years then Harvey went to work for the Union Pacific Railroad and they moved to Pocatello in 1923. Here they lived and worked and raised a family of ten children: Louise, Doris, Raymon, Reed, Ruth, Lynn, Dale, Ted, Glenn and Rosella.

Nathaniel had things different, his father felt he needed him at home and would not let him go on a mission. He married Ella Grover, 5 June 1918 and lived at Parker most of his life and farmed. However he did go on a mission for he was President of the Yellowstone Stake Mission, for six years and did a real fine work. They had five children: Rulla, Leland, Kendall, Calvin and Beth.

After Eskil's mother and father separated his mother supported him on a mission - The Spanish American Mission. He began his mission in 1920. When he returned he farmed for a short time but after the of his mother he worked in several places finally coming to Pocatello. He married Mary Newton, 17 Aug. 1926 and has lived at Pocatello since that time, working at the railroad part of that time and then as a building contractor. They are the parents of five children: Joan, Aaron, Gwyn, Samuel and Elmary.

[Spellings, except for names, have been corrected.]

Thomas Joseph Pearce, 1857-1933

2009-02-06T13:36:00.001-08:00

Born 28 May 1857 Cardiff, Glamorganshire, , Wales
Died 17 Jan 1933 Hyrum, Cache, Utah
Parents: Robert Pearce and Sarah Brown
Spouse: Mary Alice Davenport (md. 1 Dec 1881 Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah)
Children: Mary Agnes Pearce; Thomas Joseph Pearce, Jr.; Clarissa Pearce; William Edwin Pearce; Edward Pearce; James Albert Pearce; Sarah Elizabeth Pearce; Warren Pearce; Marcus Pearce; Eudora Pearce

History of my father Thomas Joseph Pearce Sr.

by his son Thomas Joseph Pearce Jr.

Thomas Joseph Pearce Sr., son of Robert Pearce and Sarah Brown, was born May 28, 1857 at Cardiff, Wales, He came to America with his parents in 1863 and settled in the southern part of the Cache Valley same year. He made his home in Paradise, Utah, where he lived the rest of his life.

His parents joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Wales and set sail on a sailing ship for America. After six weeks on the ocean they landed in New York. They took the train to Florence, Nebraska which was the end of the railroad.

From there they traveled to the Salt Lake Valley by ox team. After crossing the plains, they entered the Valley on September 10th, 1863. There they made their home. There were four children in the family, three brothers, Robert, Thomas Joseph, and Charles, and one sister Elizabeth. Elizabeth married Edwin Pope their Teamster on the plains.

He was a member of the first Fife and Drum band that was organized in that part of the valley. He lived a good life. His education was limited, he had to work hard with his parents as pioneers. At the age of sixteen he was extra strong, he could cut grain (wheat) along with the older men. The cradle was all they had to cut the grain with when they first settled there. They used it by hand. The farmers would help one another to harvest their grain. They would meet at one field and cut the grain, then go on to the next field.

Father had to help make a living in this new community. He would work cutting grain with the rest of the men. The next harvester was a mowing machine, pulled by horses, that had a dropper, or ridge to catch the grain and drop it in piles. The grain was then hand bound, the same as they did with the cradle, and tied with some of the grain stalks. The next was the self binder. I remember the first one that father had.

Thomas Joseph Pearce Sr. married Mary Alice Davenport December 1, 1881. They were married in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City, they rode to Salt Lake City in a wagon pulled by horses.

There were ten children born to them, six boys, and four s. One of the boys died in infancy. They were Mary Agnes, Thomas Joseph Jr., Clarissa, William Edwin, Edward, James Albert, Sarah Elizabeth, Warren, Marcus who died in infancy at the age of eighteen days, and Eudora.
Father was very active in the Church. I Joseph, his oldest son recollect that he was secretary for the Sunday School. I remember standing by his knee by the table on the stand in the rock church in Paradise, Utah. He was secretary of the Seventies Quorum. He was also secretary of the High Priests Quorum.

He served as police in Paradise for a term, was ton or custodian for the Cemetery for quite a while. The custodian Mr. Charles Hall died from the flu, and Thomas Sr. took his place and served for a number of years.

He owned a small farm and had to struggle to raise his family. In his latter years his health was very poor. He had ulcers of the stomach.

He spent his life in Paradise, Utah. He did not travel much, made a couple of trips to Idaho Falls, Idaho with Mother to visit their children that had located there.
He spent a good life, always stood for things that was right.

* * * * *

MARY ALICE DAVENPORT
AND
THOMAS JOSEPH PEARCE

Mary Alive Davenport b. 4 April 1861, Draper, S.L., Utah; d. 13 Nov. 1937, Hyrum, Cache, Utah; bu. 15 Nov. 1937, Paradise, Cache, Utah; dau. of Edward Wilcox and Clarissa Danforth (Crapo) Davenport; md. 1 Dec. 1881, Salt Lake City, S.L., Utah, Thomas Joseph Pearce b. 28 May 1857, Cardiff, Glamorganshire, Wales; d. 18 Jan. 1933, Hyrum, Cache, Utah; bu. 20 Jan. 1933, Paradise, Cache, Utah; son of Robert and Sarah (Brown) Pearce. Ten children.

(The following is taken from a history written by Thomas Joseph and Sarah Elizabeth, children of the above.)

The first little daughter of Edward and Clarissa Davenport was given the name, Mary Alice, after both her grandmothers. She was idolized by her older brothers. She was tall and dark like her father and had his sweet, gentle disposition. She was loved by all who knew her. She went through all the hardships of the early pioneers. Most of their work had to be done by hand, inside the house and outside on the farm. They didn't have the things to work with that we have today.

When the threshers came, there was lots of extra work to do. The grain had to be threshed by horse power supplied by six teams of horses going in a circle. It took the work of about fourteen men to handle the machine and the grain and get the threshing done. Mother had a lot of hard work to prepare meals for them. Sometimes she was able to hire some help.

Father would plant a good garden and Mother and the children would take care of it. There was a large orchard on our place, so we always had plenty of fruit. Mother would peel the apples and dry them in the sun, by the sackful.

She made all our clothes when we were young. She made knee pants for the boys and long dresses for the s until we got older. We were very proud of them.

When Mother was seventeen years old, her brothers bought a sawmill in White Pine Canyon east of Paradise, and Mother helped cook for the men until she was married.

On December the first, 1881, Mother and Father were married in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City. They traveled in a lumber wagon, with a wagon box and a spring seat on it, the eighty miles to Salt Lake City. After their marriage, they settled in Paradise, where they lived the rest of their lives. They are also buried there.

Their first home was a two-roomed house. It was made of white pine logs, sawed on four sides, with lumber siding on the outside and lath and plaster on the inside. Later they built a larger home.

There were lots of Indians passing through Paradise in the early days, begging for food. Many times they would come to the Pearce home. Mother made good loaves of bread and many of them went to feed the Indians.

In the spring of 1906, Mother and Father met with a bad when their horses became frightened and ran away, and they were thrown from the wagon. The wheel ran over Father's hand and crippled it. Mother's wrist was broken and after it healed, it was always stiff.

Among Mother's many accomplishments were soap making and her handiwork. She made beautiful knitted lace and loved to quilt. She used to quilt for the Relief Society and was paid one dollar for every spool of thread that she used on a quilt. Mother was kind and gentle and loved her family very much.

Thomas Joseph Pearce Sr. was born in Wales. His parents had joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints some years before. When he was six years old, they came to America. They left Liverpool, England, in a sailing vessel and were on the ocean for six weeks before arriving in New York. From there they rode on a train to Florence, Nebraska, where the railroad ended. They finished the journey to Salt Lake City, Utah, in a covered wagon drawn by oxen. They came in the William B. Preston Company and Edwin Pope was the driver of their wagon. They settled in Paradise, Utah, a small settlement in the southern end of Cache Valley. Here, the Indians were a menace and Joseph took his turn watching for them.

When he was sixteen he cut grain with a cradle and kept up with the older men. After the grain was cut, it was laid in rows and then bound into bundles by hand, using grain stalks to hold them. The families helped each other with their field work, going from one farm to another.

He helped build the first church house, which was made of lime rock and also helped with the log school house. He hauled rock to help build the Logan Temple and also helped get out the timber to the sawmill and hauled the finished lumber to the temple site. He was interested in any new project that would help the community.

He loved to farm and raised sugar beets for the sugar factory at Logan. He also worked some for his brother-in-law, Frank Davenport in his sawmill. In his early years he was active in the church and he worked hard to provide for his family.

* * *

from Hall, Dorothy D., compiler. Davenport Ancestry in America and Descendants of John Pope Davenport and Edward Wilcox Davenport: 1640-1962. Springville, Utah: Art City Publishing Company, 1962, pp. 364-67.

Sarah Elizabeth Pearce, 1892-1985

2009-02-04T10:53:00.001-08:00

Born 23 Nov 1892 Paradise, Cache, Utah
Died 30 Jan 1985 Pleasant Grove, Utah, Utah
Parents: Thomas Joseph Pearce (Sr.) and Mary Alice Davenport
Spouse: Arland Lorenzo Davidson (md. 8 Mar 1918 Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah)
Children: Blanche Elizabeth Davidson, Alvin Lorenzo Davidson, Hyrum Davidson, Anna Vernessa Davidson, Thelma Pearce Davidson, Myrl Wesley Davidson, Ethel Davidson

My Life History by Sarah Elizabeth Pearce Davidson

I, Sarah Elizabeth Pearce, was born 23 November, 1892 at Paradise, Cache Co., Utah, the daughter of Thomas Joseph Pearce, Sr. and Mary Alice Davenport. I have six brothers: Thomas Joseph, William Edwin, Edward, James Albert, Warren, and Marcus and three sisters: Mary Agnes, Clarissa, and Eudora. All my brothers and sisters have their endowments but Marcus, he died when he was 20 days old. My brother Edward died as a young man and never had his endowments before he died, but we had it done after.
I was blessed by Elder John Welch. I was baptized by John J. James and confirmed by John P. James.

My health as a growing child was good. I had the chicken pox, mumps and I had the whooping cough when I was about 15 years old. The only I had as a young happened when I was sleigh riding on the ice. I got dumped off and hit my knee on the sharp bit of ice.
All mother’s children before me had the typhoid fever and she nursed them all back to health without a doctor. We did not have many doctors in those days. My brother, William, we called him Will, was out with my father and brother Joseph. Father was cutting his wheat with what they called a cradle. Will got in the way. When Father swung the cradle around, the knife blade hit Will in the leg. Father tore his shirt and made a tourniquet around his leg to stop the bleeding. Will had a few narrow escapes from in his life.

In the summer of my school years, I used to help Mother with the work around the house and at threshing time I would have to run errands. One of them was to go to the dairy and get some butter and cheese. The dairy was about a mile from home and I did not like to go in the place where I had to get the butter because I had to pass an engine with a shaft that ran the equipment. I thought it would hit me. I saw how butter was churned and washed and made into pounds.

The threshing was run by the power of six teams of horses (called horse power machines) and the grain came out and was put in a sack. The men would carry the grain to the granary and dump it in the bins. The wheat shocks were stacked in the yard, so we had a lot of men to cook for. Instead of the separator machine cutting the band of the bound wheat shock, one man would cut the band with a knife and the other one would shove it into the machine. Before the binder came to cut and bind the grain, my father had to cut the grain by hand with an old-time cradle and bind it by hand with some stalks of grain. The binder came and the steam engine came to thresh the wheat and oats. They had a cookshack wagon with them so we did not have to cook for the men and crew.

I have seen and helped by father grind apples in an old apple grinder and press and make cider and vinegar.

One time Father planted some sorghum seeds. When they grew and were ready to cut down, Father would run the stalks through the cider press. We made some molasses by boiling the juice down. We had about one gallon molasses.

I started school in Paradise grade school when I was nearly seven years old in the fall of 1901. My first teacher was Isabelle Obray; second grade teacher: George S. Obray; third grade: Miss Hansen; fourth and fifth: Oscar Dunn; sixth: Cecille Shipley; seventh and eighth: D. M. Bickmore.
I graduated from the eighth grade May 27, 1910. When I graduated from the eighth grade it was the largest graduating class in the school up to that time. There were ten graduating that year. They were: Howard McMurdie, Florence McMurdie, Pear McMurdie, Flora James, Loretta James, Anne Miles, Jennie Oldham, Wilford Obray, Lizzie Norris (Richmond), Lizzie Pearce (Davidson), Annie Hansen, and Lily Olsen.

I went to high school about four years after I graduated from grade school, in the years 1914-15 and 1915-16. My parents never had much money, so I went and earned some. I helped my sister Clarissa Holmes and her husband with the chores and housework. Sometimes I would go and help my neighbor with her housework because she had a new baby. The wages were not very high. I got $2.50 a week. I worked in 2 or 3 homes. The high school fees were not very high then, so I made enough to go to high school. The fee was $5.00 a year for 9 months of school. I went 2 years. The first year I took cooking and sewing, $1.00 for each; second year I took cooking and sewing and art, $1.00 each. I also took Algebra, English and History.

Our mode of travel to and from Hyrum High School, a distance of five miles, was covered-wagon drawn by horses. The driver was George Sam Obray. There were 10 of us riding most of the time. On a particular morning there were 16 of us riding and the horses’ tug came undone while going down hill and frightened the team. The driver lost the right rein. When we came to a crossroad in the city, he pulled on the left rein and guided the horses uphill around the corner, causing the wagon box to fall off while the horses were going at full speed. Luckily none of the 16 youngsters were seriously hurt, but it was quite a mix-up and a scramble.

In 1916 I came to Idaho to visit my brothers, Edward, Bert and Will, and kept house for them at their homestead at Dehlin. I was about ready to go to Parker to take care of my sister, Agnes, and help her, but Mr. Davidson came and asked me to cook for his threshers. Then I went to help Aunt Agnes, then to Ammon to help Uncle Joseph and Aunt Amanda, then back to the dry farm at Dehlin. Mr. Davidson came and asked me to cook for his hay men. I stayed in a tent near Idaho Falls or Ririe. In December Aunt Agnes had Ralph. Arland and I had our first date about this time.

We were married 8 March 1918 in the Salt Lake Temple by Joseph Fielding Smith. As soon as we were married we moved to Dehlin and lived in a Joe Olsen house. Papa fed hogs and did chores for Olsen. Then we lived with his sister Mary Housely, but slept in a tent—in winter time, too. However, a while before Blanche was born (8 Feb. 1919), we lived in Aunt Mary’s house in Iona and stayed there until May when we went back to Dehlin again to Bulls’ Fork to the dry farm. There we lived till moving to Parker in 1925. However, before Alvin Lorenzo was born, November 27, 1920, I stayed with Aunt Agnes in Iona. After his birth, I went back to Dehlin. I stayed at a lady’s place in Idaho Falls until after Hyrum was born on September 28, 1922.
Hyrum lived only 18 days. He was buried in the Iona cemetery. In the winter of 1924 I stayed with my sister Agnes in Iona. Our fourth child, Anna Vernessa, was born on December 14, 1924, at the Idaho Falls hospital. I stayed with Aunt Agnes until February of 1925, when we moved to Parker, Idaho, to live with Arland’s mother, who was very ill, and I helped to care for her until her , March 9, 1925. We were at her bedside at her .

Papa was Presiding Elder of the Dehlin Branch for a time, and served as a counselor to Bishop Schwieder also.

We had lost the dry farm at Dehlin. Because of the depression, the country suffered during this time. Prices were very poor. We lived in the old Davidson home in Parker, where Arland farmed part of the old home place. While living here Blanche and Alvin started school. They got the measles here. At one time the clothes closet caught fire. Uncle Nathaniel was just coming in from the barns from milking. He threw the milk on the fire to put it out. It was in this house that Anna started to walk.

Thelma Pearce was born here on February 24, 1926. Just before Myrl was born we moved to the little house to the north. Myrl was born here on September 20, 1927. ethel was born two years later on December 25, 1929. when she was quite small, I got poisoned on fish.

Because of the depression, we lost this farm in Parker. We moved to Egin, Idaho, in the spring of 1932, where we rented a farm for two years (the Kimball place). While living here, Ethel had pneumonia. We then moved to the Hargis place, where we rented for twenty years. Here our children grew up and helped on the farm. In 1950 we bought a 40-acre farm in Egin.

In Dehlin I was a Sunday School teacher and second counselor in the Relief Society Presidency. This was the Bonneville Stake. In Egin Ward I have been a visiting teacher in Relief Society since 1932, except for two terms as Relief Society Secretary-Treasurer. I was 5 years as secretary in Egin Ward and 5 years as secretary in the Egin Bench Ward.

I find much joy in temple work and Arland and I go at every opportunity. I have been to the Salt Lake, Idaho Falls, Cardston, Manti, and Logan temples and hope to visit the others someday. I went to the Cardston Temple when my son Alvin was married, March 15, 1945.

President Edward Wood called on my to speak in the chapel session, which was a very thrilling, yet frightening experience. I am very happy that all of my children have been worthy of a temple marriage and are all active in the Church. Three have served missions: Alvin went to the Western States mission, Myrl to the Spanish-American Mission and Thelma to the Netherlands Mission.

I like to crochet doilies. I make homemade soap for laundering. I like to make quilt tops and quilt them. I have made baby quilts for all my grandchildren and quilt for each of them also.

* * * * *

Sarah Elizabeth Pearce Davidson

Sarah Elizabeth Pearce was born November 23, 1892 at Paradise, Utah. She was the third daughter, and seventh child of Thomas Joseph and Mary Alice Pearce.
She was taught the value of work early in life, helping her care for the family, cooking, house cleaning, and gardening. She remembered as a young , baking bread and giving it to the Indians that came to the door on many occasions needing food. She recalled that they never sent anyone away hungry.

At school she enjoyed playing baseball. One day a thrown bat knocked out her front teeth.
She started school at the age of seven, and graduated from the eighth grade in 1910. She earned money to attend high school by working for neighbors, and helping her sister, and her sister’s husband in the summer. In addition to tending the children, and helping with the housework, she milked seven cows, separated the milk, and took the cows to and from the pasture.

When Arland and Elizabeth met, because of the lack of transportation as we know it today, their courtship was necessarily different. The following letters, written many years ago, express the sincerity of their parents, and are priceless memoirs to the children and their families.

Arland wrote as follows:

I hope you will not think me forward or unmanly but I would much rather have your real company than correspondence. But I would ask you to solemnly consider this for yourself. I desire the company of a true virtuous one of the opposite . I do not care for anything less than a true Latter Day Saint in precept as well as in word. Perhaps Elizabeth you will think me rude, or forward, but owing to the fact that we have kept company and corresponded for sometime, I felt that such as I have written ought to be understood. I am not a believer in shallow conversation or correspondence, but that everything we do in life should be done with real and pure intent. I believe this is a duty that I owe to you, to myself, to my parents, and to my God. Trusting this will meet with your approval and with kindest regards.
Arland

Elizabeth wrote back:

Well, Arland I wrote Mother a letter and asked her what she thought about us getting married. I told her I intended to get married this winter and she wrote back and said she did not have any objection to us getting married. She though I was old enough to choose for myself, but she guessed that you would write and ask for me before we were married.
Elizabeth

They were married March 8, 1918 in the Salt Lake temple by Joseph Fielding Smith. Following their marriage they farmed Delhin, East of Idaho Falls until 1925. They moved to Parker, Idaho to farm until 1932, when they moved to Egin and farmed the Kimball place where Ellen Weatherstone now lives. Grandma often spoke of the many kindnesses shown them by Alvin and Reta Orgill while living as neighbors and the many experiences the two families had.
After two years they moved to the Harges farm near the sand hills where they farmed for twenty-six years before buying their own farm.

During this time they had three children serve on missions, Alvin to the Western States, Thelma to Holland, and Myrl to California. Myrl and Thelma were on missions at the same time and their parents had a strong conviction that they were exceedingly blessed by the Lord at this time as they not only supported two children on missions, but were able to buy their own home where they resided until failing health made it necessary to move to Utah.

Elizabeth loved working in the church. She enjoyed Relief Society and was secretary for many years. She was dedicated to her callings in the church and walked from her home on the Harges farm to the Egin church many times.

She always served in the church whenever asked. She was a Relief Society Visiting Teacher for most of her life. She loved temple work. All of her children have been to the temple. Her sons and sons-in-law are High Priests. She has had nine grandchildren serve on missions.

She said that the way her children could repay her for what she had done for them was to raise families of their own and teach them the gospel. She was a loving mother and grandmother. The family remembers many enjoyable times as a family, picking choke cherries, fishing the Snake River, picnics and outing to the sand hills, working as a family unit on the farm.

Her hobbies were quilting, needlework, and gardening. She gave each of her children a quilt on their eighteenth birthday, and again when they were married. Each grandchild received a baby quilt, and a larger quilt later on. She always had a large vegetable garden, canning much of the produce for her family. Mother loved flowers, and in addition to a garden, she had many house plants.

Her husband and companion, Arland, passed away in 1979 after sixty-one years of marriage. She passed away on January 30, 1985 in Pleasant Grove, Utah, at the age of ninety-two.
She is survived by the following sons, and daughters, Blanche Christensen of Murray, Utah; Alving Davidson of Egin, Idaho; Anna Adams of American Fork, Utah; Thelma White of Logan, Utah; Myrl Davidson and Ethel Lords of Aberdeen, Idaho.

She was preceded in by her husband Arland, an infant son Hyrum, one great-granddaughter, and one great grandson.

Sarah Elizabeth Pearce Davidson was a choice daughter of our Father in Heaven. She lived a full life, was a loving wife and mother, and left a wonderful heritage for her posterity.

The following poem was written in memory of Sarah Davidson by Fern C. Humpfries:

Gone from this life into eternity
Another of our true Pioneers
Who labored so hard through mortal life
Knew feelings of joy and times of tears
Working for family and making a home
Through many long hours everyday
With faith and patience, service and love
Departed now, and gone along her way.

Written by
Darrell Lords (son-in-law)
&
Ethel Lords (daughter)

Ketura Catherine Parkhurst, 1781-1868

2009-02-03T09:29:00.000-08:00

Born 25 Feb 1781 Sandtown, Yellowstone, New Jersey
Died 28 Sep 1868 Acton, Marion, Indiana
Parents: Ezekiel Parkhurst and Abiel _____
Spouse: Joseph Hawkins Fitzgerald (md. 18 Jun 1799 , Shelby, Kentucky)
Children: Matilda Fitzgerald, Jonathan Fitzgerald, Nancy Fitzgerald, Jenkins Fitzgerald, Mary Ann Fitzgerald, Joab H. Fitzgerald, David Fitzgerald, Abigail Fitzgerald, Matilda Fitzgerald, Eunice Fitzgerald, Joseph Fitzgerald, Catherine Fitzgerald, Rebecca Ann Fitzgerald

John McRae, 1836-1912

2009-02-03T09:10:00.001-08:00

Born 30 Jan 1836 , Henry, Kentucky
Died 28 Feb 1912 Rigby, Jefferson, Idaho
Parents: Alexander McRae and Eunice Fitzgerald
Spouse: Roxey Abigail Pierce (md. 1856 Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah)
Children: Mary Ann McRae, John McRae, Joseph McRae, Eunice Maria McRae, Roxey Adeline McRae, Alexander McRae, Harriet Augusta McRae, William Jenkins McRae, Kenneth McRae, Martha Abigail McRae, Walter Daniel McRae, Lois Ann Minetta McRae

John with sons Joseph and John, 1875-1880.

John with son Joseph, 1895-1900.

John 1902

John 1910-1911

Thornton or Union, Idaho, 13 September 1911

Alexander McRae, 1807-1891

2009-01-30T07:57:00.000-08:00

Born 7 Sep 1807 , Anson, North Carolina
Died 20 Jun 1891 Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah
Parents: John B. McRae and Mary McRae
Spouse: Eunice Fitzgerald (md. 2 Oct 1834 New Castle, Henry, Kentucky)
Children: John McRae, Joseph McRae, Kenneth McRae, Alexander McRae, Catherine McRae, Daniel McRae, Mary Jane McRae, Martha McRae, Charles McRae, Eunice McRae, David Fitzgerald McRae, Sarah Eunice McRae

Spouse: Caroline Amelia Owens Webb (md. 1856 , , Utah)

From 22nd Quo. of Seventy Record Book—Church Archives

Alexander McRae
The son of John B. (& Polly) who was the son of Daniel, who was the son of __________McRae was born in Anson County (North Carolina) Sept. 7th A.D. 1807. My Father moved in 1828 to Iredell Co. (S. C.) I left my Father’s House in April A.D. 1829 to follow my occupation (Tailoring) I then joined the United States army for a 5 years term -- the same fall I moved to Port-Gibson, west Cherokee nation -- in April 1834 I was discharged, and went to New Castle Henry Co. (Ken.) where I married a Wife Eunice Fitzgerald on Nov. 2d 1834. I then moved to Ripley Co. (Ind.) in Janr. 1835 where my oldest son was born Janr. 30 1836. Myself an Wife was baptised in the church of Jesus Christ of Latter^ day Saints in the summer of 1837 in Ripley Co. (Ind.) by Elder Elisha P. Davis next I moved to Far West (Mo.) in the fall of 1837 where my 2d. son Joseph was born March 3, 1338. I was in the persecution of the Saints in Missouri, and was one with Joseph & Hyrum Smith that was cast in Prison, where we were shamefully treated. Our food was rough, we had human flesh brought to us to eat for I think about five days in succession, we did not know at the time what it was, only that it was meat of some kind that we could not, nor did not eat, only Lyman Wight who was a prisoner with us, this we learned afterwards by one of the guards who told it to one of our friends who told it to us. In the spring of 1839 we got loose from our keepers and came to Quincy Illinois, where I found my family who was driven during my imprisonment, my wife came to see me Twice while in Jail, the last time she stay’d two weeks with me, after which she was driven out dependant on the Charity of the people, as everything we had was plundered by the mob. Mr. E. W. Leland who had been one of the Twelve and Burr Riggs being at their head to direct them. I was ordained and Elder in the quorum of Seventies by President Joseph Young, Josiah Butterfield, & Henry [Herriman?] in Quincy Adams Co. (Ill.) April 12th 1839. I moved from there to Ripley Co. (Ind.) on a visit to my Father-in-laws, where my 3d. son (Kenneth) was born March 11th. 1840 then I returned to Nauvoo, Hancock Co. (Ill.) in about 1840 where my 4th. son (Alexander) was born Oct. 22nd. 1842. I was sent on a mission to (N.C.) at the April conference in 1844 and took my family to my Fatherinlaws to remain untill my return, where our 5th. child a daughter was born Dec. 24th. 1844 in Ripley Co. (Ind.) I then returned to Nauvoo with my family April 4th. 1845 and was ordained one of the Presidents of the 22d. quorum of seventies under the hand of Presidents Israel Barlow, Edson Barney, & Charles Bird April 9th. 1845 ^ in the city of Nauvoo where I now reside-- My Daughter Catherine died 24th. April 1845 being just 4 months old. as I approached the conference ground on the 6th of April 1345, President Brigham Young was speaking to the congregation, I heard him before I could see him, and thought his voice was like Joseph Smiths, and when I got where I could see him, I thought he looked like Joseph, on the 12th day of April 1846, our 5th son (Daniel) was born in the City of Nauvoo. (Ill) In the fall of 18__ he was in the Nauvoo Battle by the Saints against the mob of Illinois. In the Spring ^ of ____ I left my family at Nauvoo and went to Winter quarters in the Omahaw Nation of Indians where the Saints went the previous Year, winter and called it by that name. In the summer of 1847 I had my Family brought to me to Winter quarters. In the spring of 1848, I removed with my family to what was called ____________ or Traiding Point.

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Alexander and Eunice McRae's family, 1887

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From the Missouri Petitions Collection, Church Archives
A bill of debt and damage against the state of Missouri in consequence of the governors exterminating order first for moving into the state [expenses?] from 25 to 30 dollars for time in moving and use of horse and wagon seven weeks at two Dollars and fifty cents _____ _____ _____ after I moved to the state I bought a house and lot in the town of Far West for which I have not been able to get any thing at all. I concider it worth at least 150. Dollars. how much it has cost me to come away I do not know I have been in Prison near six month without law or justice or unlawfully and my family was driven out while I was in prison. all this I shall leave to the generosity of the authorities of the United States.
Alexander McRae
I certify that the above is just and true according to the best of my judgment
Alexander McRae
Sworn before me this 13th day of May AD. 1839
C. M. Woods clerk
(Circuit court) Adams County State of Illinois

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ALEXANDER MCRAE

McRae, Alexander, second Bishop of the Eleventh Ward, Salt Lake City, was born in Anson county, North Carolina, Sept. 7, 1807; removed with his parents to South Carolina, and afterwards to Iredell county, in his native State, where he learned the trade of a tailor.

When about twenty years old he left home, and in March, 1829, enlisted in the U.S. Army in South Carolina; he served five years. After his discharge in 1834, he removed to Louisville, Kentucky, and subsequently, Oct. 2, 1834, married Eunice Fitzgerald, at New Castle, Henry county, Ky. From there he removed to Ripley county, Indiana, where he embraced the fullness of the gospel and was baptized in June, 1837, together with his wife.

In September following he removed to Far West, Mo., where he was elected a captain in the 23rd regiment of the Missouri . During the persecutions and mobbings in 1838 he took a very active part in the defense of his people until he was betrayed into the hands of the enemy by Geo. M. Hinkle, together with the Prophet and other brethren, Oct. 31, 1838. With them he passed through all the hardships and mock trials to which they were subjected and finally was incarcerated in Liberty jail. There he remained until the spring of 1839, when he, together with his fellow-prisoners, succeeded in getting away from the guard and escape to Illinois.

At Quincy, where he remained for a short time, he was ordained to the office of a Seventy. Subsequently, he removed to Ripley county, Indiana, and later established himself as a tailor in Nauvoo, Ill., and also assisted in various ways to build up that city.

In 1844 he filled a mission to North Carolina, and returned to Indiana after the Prophet's . In the spring of 1845 he returned to his home in Nauvoo, where he passed through all the persecutions and hardships which the Saints had to endure in those days. As a captain of the Nauvoo Legion, he took an active part in the defense of Nauvoo, and rendered efficient service in the famous battle fought in September, 1846. Previous to this he had served as an aide-de-camp to General Don Carlos Smith.

After the capitulation of Nauvoo he went to Winter Quarters, and, later, located temporarily at Kanesville, Iowa. While residing in the latter place he was elected sheriff of Pottawattamie county.

Finally, he came to Great Salt Lake valley, with his family, in 1852. Jan. 19, 1857 he was ordained Bishop of the Eleventh Ward, Salt Lake City, a position which he occupied until his . In 1869-70 he filled a mission to the States, laboring principally in Mississippi and Alabama, together with his son Daniel. After a long and eventful career, Bishop McRae died at his residence in Salt Lake City, June 20, 1891.

from: Andrew Jenson, Latter-Day Saint Biographical Dictionary (Western Epics: Salt Lake City, 1971; reprint of 1901 edition published by Andrew Jenson History Company), vol. I, p. 620. Paragraphing added.

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Gaining his witness

Writing to a friend in December 1880, Bishop Alexander McRae of the Eleventh Ward in Salt Lake City commented on the process of gaining a testimony and the circumstances in which he had gained his own witness of the gospel over 40 years earlier.

McRae, a Southerner, had served in the U.S. Army from 1829 to 1834, being stationed in Arkansas Territory to police the Indians. After his discharge he worked as an itinerant tailor, accepting employment later that year with David Fitzgerald in a small town in Kentucky. He soon married David's sister Eunice and moved to Ripley County, Indiana, where Eunice's parents were then living.

In 1837 the McRaes were visited on their farm by Mormon elders. Alexander, a Baptist, became interested when he learned that the elders taught baptism by immersion. Several times he and Eunice walked eight miles, carrying their baby son, John, to hear the missionaries preach.

As Alexander listened to the elders, he decided that he must meet the Prophet before he could know whether or not the missionaries' claims were true. Bishop McRae records in his 1880 letter that he left for Kirtland, Ohio, over 300 miles away, to meet Joseph Smith, "but before I got a great way on my journey I concluded the Lord could show me whether Mormonism was true or not just as well without my going there as if I went, and I turned and went back and learned it was true without going anywhere out of my own neighborhood."

After receiving a spiritual confirmation that the gospel was true, Alexander made a complete reversal of his life, as his wife later noted. The McRaes were baptized by Elder Elisha P. Davis in June 1837. They walked 16 miles to the place of baptism, despite the fact that a mob of 200 men had gathered to prevent their baptism.

Alexander later had the chance to determine, through personal experience, what kind of man Joseph Smith was. Shortly after their baptism the McRaes gathered with the saints in northern Missouri, and a year later Alexander was one of five men imprisoned with the Prophet in Liberty Jail. During the rest of his life he bore testimony of the gospel and of God's selection of Joseph Smith as His instrument for its restoration in the latter days.

--Gordon Irving. An article in the LDS Church News, unknown date (prob. 1983 or 1984)

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Letters of Alexander McRae to the Deseret News

Letter of Alexander McRae to the Deseret News.

Salt Lake City, Utah, Oct. 9, 1854.

Mr. Editor:—In reading the History of Joseph Smith as published in the News last winter, and especially that part of it which relates to his imprisonment in Liberty jail, Missouri, I see there are many interesting facts which are omitted; and as I had the honor of being a fellow prisoner with him, I thought I would write some of those incidents for the satisfaction of any of your readers who may feel interested in them.

During our imprisonment, we had many visitors, both friends and enemies. Among the latter, many were angry with Brother Joseph, and accused him of a son, a brother, or some relative of theirs, at what was called the Crooked River Battle. This looked rather strange to me, that so many should claim a son, or a brother killed there, when they reported only one man killed.

Among our friends who visited us, were Presidents Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball [now—i. e. at the time this letter was written, 1854], of the First Presidency—the latter several times; George A. Smith, of the quorum of the Twelve; Don C. Smith, brother of Joseph, came several times, and brought some of our families to see us. Benjamin Covey, Bishop of the Twelfth Ward of this city, brought each of us a new pair of boots, and made us a present of them. James Sloan, his wife and daughter, came several times. Alanson Ripley also visited us, and many others, whom to name would be too tedious. Orin P. Rockwell brought us refreshments many times; and Jane Bleven and her daughter brought cakes, pies, etc., and handed them in at the window. These things helped us much, as our food was very coarse, and so filthy that we could not eat it until we were driven to it by hunger.

After we had been there some time, and had tried every means we could to obtain our liberty by the law, without effect (except Sidney Rigdon who was bailed out), and also having heard, from a reliable source, that it had been stated in the public street, by the most influential men in that part of the country, that "the Mormon prisoners would have to be condemned or the character of the state would have to go down," we came to the conclusion that we would try other means to effect it.

Accordingly, on the 7th day of February, 1839, after counseling together on the subject, we concluded to try to go that evening when the jailer came with our supper; but Brother Hyrum, before deciding fully, and to make it more sure, asked Brother Joseph to inquire of the Lord as to the propriety of the move. He did so, and received answer to this effect—that if we were all agreed, we could go clear that evening; and if we would ask, we should have a testimony for ourselves. I immediately asked, and had not no more than asked, until I received as clear a testimony as ever I did of anything in my life, that it was true. Brother Hyrum Smith and Caleb Baldwin bore testimony to the same: but Lyman Wight said we might go if we chose, but he would not. After talking with him for some time, he said, "if we would wait until the next day, he would go with us." Without thinking we had no promise of success on any other day than the one above stated, we agreed to wait.

When night came, the jailer came alone with our supper, threw the door wide open, put our supper on the table, and went to the back part of the room, where a pile of books lay, took up a book, and went to reading, leaving us between him and the door, thereby giving us every chance to go if we had been ready. As the next day was agreed upon, we made no attempt to go that evening.

When the next evening came, the case was very different; the jailer brought a double guard with him and with them six of our brethren, to-wit.: Erastus Snow, William D. Huntington, Cyrus Daniels, David Holeman, Alanson Ripley and Watson Barlow. I was afterwards informed that they were sent by the Church. The jailer seemed to be badly scared; he had the door locked and everything made secure. It looked like a bad chance to get away, but we were determined to try it; so when the jailer started out, we started too. Brother Hyrum took hold of the door, and the rest followed; but before we were able to render him the assistance he needed, the jailer and guard succeeded in closing the door, shutting the brethren in with us, except Cyrus Daniels, who was on the outside.

As soon as the attempt was made inside, he took two of the guards, one under each arm, and ran down the stairs that led to the door, it being in the second story. When he reached the ground they got away from him; and seeing we had failed to get out, he started to run, but put his foot in a hole and fell, a bullet from one of the guards passed very close to his head, and he thinks the fall saved his life.

The scene that followed this defies description. I should judge, from the number, that all the town, and many form the country, gathered around the jail, and every mode of and that their imagination could fancy, was proposed for us, such as blowing up the jai, taking us out and whipping us to , us, burning us to , tearing us to pieces with horses, etc. But they were so divided among themselves that they could not carry out any of their plans, and we escaped unhurt.

During this time, some of our brethren spoke of our being in great danger; and I confess I felt that we were. But Brother Joseph told them "not to fear, that not a hair of their heads should be hurt, and that they should not lose any of their things, even to a bridle, saddle, or blanket; that everything should be restored to them; they had offered their lives for us and the Gospel; that it was necessary the Church should offer a sacrifice, and the Lord accepted the offering."

The brethren had next to undergo a trial, but the excitement was so great that they [the officers] dare not take them out until it abated a little. While they were waiting for their trial, some of the brethren employed lawyers to defend them. Brother [Erastus] Snow asked Brother Joseph whether he had better employ a lawyer or not. Brother Joseph told him to plead his own case. "But," said Brother Snow, "I do not understand the law." Brother Joseph asked him if he did not understand justice; he thought he did. "Well," said Brother Joseph, "go and plead for justice as hard as you can, and quote Blackstone and other authors now and then, and they will take it all for law."

He did as he was told, and the result was as Joseph had said it would be; for when he got through his plea, the lawyers flocked around him, and asked him where he had studied law, and said they had never heard a better plea. When the trial was over Brother Snow was discharged, and all the rest were held to bail, and were allowed to bail each other, by Brother Snow going bail with them; and they said they got everything that was taken from them, and nothing was lost, although no two articles were in one place. More anon.

Yours respectfully,

Alexander McRae

Second Letter of Alexander McRae to the Deseret News.

Salt Lake City, Utah, Nov. 1, 1854.

Mr. Editor:—Sometime during our stay in Liberty jail an attempt was made to destroy us by poison. I supposed it was administered in either tea or coffee, but as I did not use either, I escaped unhurt, while all who did were sorely afflicted, some being blind two or three days, and it was only by much faith and prayer that the effect was overcome.

We never suffered ourselves to go into any important measure without asking Brother Joseph to inquire of the Lord in relation to it. Such was our confidence in him as a Prophet, that when he said "Thus saith the Lord," we were confident it would be as he said; and the more we tried it, the more confidence we had, for we never found his word fail in a single instance.

A short time before we were to go to Daviess county for trial, word came to us that either General Atchison or Doniphan, would raise a military force, and go with us to protect us from the wrath of that people. The matter was discussed by the brethren (except Brother Joseph), and they naturally enough concluded it would be best; and although I had nothing to say, I concurred with them in my feelings. Brother Hyrum asked Brother Joseph what he thought of it. Brother Joseph hung his head a few moments, and seemed in a deep study, and then raised up and said, "Brother Hyrum, it will not do; we must trust in the Lord; if we take a guard with us we shall be destroyed."

This was very unexpected to us, but Brother Hyrum remarked, "If you say it in the name of the Lord, we will rely on it." Said Brother Joseph, "In the name of the Lord, if we take a guard with us, we will be destroyed; but if we put our trust in the Lord, we shall be safe, and no harm shall befall us, and we shall be better treated than we have ever been since we have been prisoners."

This settled the question, and all seemed satisfied, and it was decided that we should have no extra guard, and they had only such a guard as they chose for our safe keeping. When we arrived at the place where the court was held, I began to think he was mistaken for once, for the people rushed upon us en masse, crying, "Kill them:————them, kill them." I could see no chance for escape, unless we could fight our way through, and we had nothing to do it with. At this, Brother Joseph, at whom all seemed to rush, rose up and said, "We are in your hands; if we are guilty, we refuse not to be punished by the law." Hearing these words, two of the most bitter mobocrats in the country—one by the name of William ton and the other Kinney, or McKinney, I do not remember which—got up on benches and began to speak to the people, saying, "Yes, gentlemen, these men are in our hands; let us not use , but let the law have its course; the law will condemn them, and they will be punished by it. We do not want the disgrace of taking the law into our own hands."

In a very few minutes they were quieted, and they seemed now as friendly as they had a few minutes before been enraged. Liquor was procured, and we all had to drink in token of friendship. This took place in the court-room (a small log cabin about twelve feet square), during the adjournment of the court; and from that time until we got away, they could not put a guard over us who would not become so friendly that they dare not trust them, and the guard was very frequently changed. We were seated at the first table with the judge, lawyers, etc., and had the best the country afforded, with feather beds to sleep on—a privilege we had not before enjoyed in all our imprisonment.

On one occasion, while we were there, the above-named William ton, partly in joke and partly in earnest, threw out a rather hard insinuation against some of the brethren. This touched Joseph's feelings, and he retorted a good deal in the same way, only with such power that the earth seemed to tremble under his feet, and said, "Your heart is as black as your whiskers," which were as black as any crow. He seemed to quake under it and left the room.

The guards, who had become friendly, were alarmed for our safety, and exclaimed, "O, Mr. Smith, do not talk so; you will bring trouble upon yourself and companions." Brother Joseph replied, "Do not be alarmed; I know what I am about." He always took up for the brethren, when their characters were assailed, sooner than for himself, no matter how unpopular it was to speak in their favor.

Yours as ever,

Alexander McRae.

From History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, vol. 3, pp. 256-259.

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For other biographical sketches: Read Preston Nibley's account of Alexander McRae here.
You can also read Gordon Irving's biography of Alexander and Eunice McRae here.

Emma Jackson, 1838-1917

2009-01-28T13:42:00.000-08:00

Born 29 Jan 1838 Mansfield, Nottingham, , England
Died 28 Jan 1917 Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah
Parents: James Jackson and Elizabeth Wragg
Spouse: Robert Siddoway (md. 1 Sep 1860 Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah)
Children: James William Siddoway, Edwin Siddoway, Elizabeth Siddoway, Emily Annie Siddoway, Susan Siddoway, Sylvia Siddoway, Francis Siddoway, Amos Siddoway, Eliza May Siddoway

Emma Jackson

Emma was christened in Mansfield, Nottingham, England, on 29 January 1838, the daughter of James Jackson and Elizabeth Wragg.1

Two months before her 13th birthday Emma was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Hull Branch in Durham England, 29 November 1850. She was the only member of her family to join.2 At age 22, she immigrated to Zion as a single girl using the Perpetual Emigration Funds on the Ship Underwriter, which sailed on 30 March 1860 from Liverpool.3

After arriving in New York she went with the saints to Florence, Nebraska (Winter Quarters), and was assigned to the 9th Robinson Handcart PEF Co. that left on 13 May 1860. Emma was asked by Captain Daniel Robinson to assist the family of Robert Siddoway, age 31, a widower with three small children: Isabella age 10, Richard age 8, and Robert age 7.4 Robert’s first wife, Elizabeth Dawson, had died in 1859. John (Robert’s brother) and his bride Mary were also traveling with this family.5

After arriving in the Salt Lake Valley on 28 August 1860, Emma married Robert Siddoway on September 1. Six months later on 9 March 1861 they were sealed in the Endowment House.6 Emma took over caring for his three children, Isabella, Richard, and Robert. The Siddoway family spent the first winter in a log cabin with no windows and a dirt floor where the Bamberger Station now stands in Salt Lake City.7 Robert was a carpenter and was called by the LDS church authorities, along with his younger brother John, to go to Logan to help build the Thatcher Mill. Robert built a home for Emma in the Sugar House Ward—located southeast of the downtown area.

Emma gave birth to nine children. Her first child, James William, born 14 September 1861 was named for Emma’s father James Jackson. Her other children were: Edwin (1863-1864), Elizabeth (1865- ), Emily (1867- ), Susan (1869-1871), Sylvia (1872- ), Francis “Frank” (1874- ), Amos (1876- ) (named for her younger brother), and Eliza May (1879- ) (named for her older sister). Her first child was born when she was 23 and her last when she was 41.

In September 1864, Fanny Wilkinson, age 30, from Emma’s LDS Hull Branch in England arrived in the valley with her two sisters: Grace, age 23 and Maria, age 14. Emma and Fanny renewed their acquaintance as they were from the same branch and eight months later, Emma’s husband Robert married Fanny in the Endowment House on May 27, 1865.8

Some histories say that Emma never adjusted to sharing her husband with another woman, and that Fanny felt that she was neglected. Fanny’s first child, Louisa Ann and Emma’s fourth child, Emily, were born within four months of each other. According to Thane Siddoway’s large history, there was a break-up in the relationship of Emma and Fanny over sharing the same husband in the same home. Emma became inactive in the Church, and some of the children were not blessed or baptized. Fanny moved out, remained active, and stayed in the Church.

Seven of Emma’s children married and gave her 37 grandchildren from the years of 1887 to 1910. Her husband Robert died in 1893. She was a widow for 24 years and died 28 January 1917 in Salt Lake City at the home of her daughter May Siddoway Van Cott. Her obituary reads:

Called by Death
Mrs. Emma Jackson Siddoway—At the home of her daughter, Mrs. Ernest Van Cott, 952 Ninth East street occurred the death of Mrs. Emma Jackson Siddoway, Sunday. She was the widow of Robert Siddoway, who died several years ago. Mrs. Siddoway was born in Hull, England, in 1838 and came to Salt Lake in 1860, where she has resided since. She was the mother of nine children, six of whom survive. They are James, Frank and Amos of Teton City, Ida.; Mrs. Stephen Bond of St. Anthony, Ida.; Mrs. Benjamin Harris and Mrs. Ernest Van Cott of Salt Lake.
Funeral Services will be held Tuesday at 1 p.m. at the residence of Mrs. Van Cott 952 Ninth East street. The body may be viewed at the residence from 11:30 to 1. Interment will be in the city cemetery.

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1. Vicar of Mansfield by correspondence from Velma Cherry Siddoway who hired the Gen. Soc.
2. LDS Rec. Bap. For: Emma Jackson b. 1838. SLC FHL F. 13656 pt. 27. 13.
3. Emigration Registers of British Mission – SLC FHL F. 614 pt.2.
4. From a Fanny – W.R. Siddoway History.
5. Leroy Hafen, Handcarts to Zion, pp. 181-185.
6. Temple Index Bureau Endowment Cards.
7. Richard Siddoway Family Report, pp. 48-49.
8. Temple Index Bureau Endowment Cards.

Talbot, Margaret Fawson, Once Upon a Time, The Siddoway Family Series, Book 1, Siddoway Families for Robert and his brother John, pp. 68-69, 92.

Christina (Stina) Hindersson, 1820-1900

2009-01-28T13:37:00.000-08:00

Born 12 Mar 1820 Lindesberg, Linde, Orebro, Sweden
Died 12 Mar 1900 Spring City, Sanpete, Utah
Parents: Per Hindersson and Margetta Elizabeth Moberg
Spouse: Jan Erik Peterson (md. 13 Nov 1853 Hakansboda, Ramsberg, Orebro, Sweden)
Children: Maria Christina Peterson, Johanna Petersen, Anna Louisa Peterson, Andreas Peterson

Eunice Fitzgerald, 1818-1906

2009-01-27T17:06:00.000-08:00

Born 7 Feb 1818 Newcastle, Henry, Kentucky
Died 3 Dec 1906 Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah
Parents: Joseph Hawkins Fitzgerald and Ketura Catherine Parkhurst
Spouse: Alexander McRae (md. 2 Oct 1834 New Castle, Henry, Kentucky)
Children: John McRae, Joseph McRae, Kenneth McRae, Alexander McRae, Catherine McRae, Daniel McRae, Mary Jane McRae, Martha McRae, Charles McRae, Eunice McRae, David Fitzgerald McRae, Sarah Eunice McRae

Mrs. Eunice Fitzgerald M'Rae

Friend of the Prophet Joseph Smith and a Woman of Many Good Deeds, Laid to Rest

Eunice Fitzgerald McRae was the daughter of Joseph Hawkins and Catherine Parkhurst Fitzgerald, and was born Feb. 7, 1818, in Henry county and died at Salt Lake City on Dec. 3, 1906. Her father was a soldier under Gen. Anthony Wayne in the War of [Independence]. On Oct. 2, 1834 in Newcastle, Henry county, Ky., she was married to Alexander McRae, late bishop of the Eleventh ward of this city.

About 1837 she first learned of the Mormons, she and her husband walking eight miles to hear the elders preach. They made the return journey that same night on foot, carrying their 9-months-old in their arms. Mrs. McRae was baptized in June, 1837, and then moved with her husband and child to Far West, Mo., where they suffered the hardships and persecutions common to all the saints of those days. During the time that Joseph and Hyrum Smith, Lyman Wight, Alexander McRae, and others were incarcerated in the Liberty jail, Mrs. McRae was one of their most frequent visitors, [ ] received many blessings and promises from the lips of the prophet. She was allowed more privileges than the other visitors, and only on one occasion did the guards search her before admitting her to the prison. When the Saints were driven out of Missouri, she went with her family to Nauvoo, where they helped to build that city, and there they endured many hardships. They were among those who were driven out of Nauvoo in 1846. They spent the winter of 1856-7 at Winter Quarters, and then moved on to Kanesville, where they lived for five years. They came to Salt Lake valley by ox team in [ ], arriving here in October. They located on the corner of Sixth East and Second South at an early date, and for more than 30 years Bishop McRae and wife were familiar figures in that locality. He died 16 years before his wife.

Mrs. McRae was a devoted and loving wife and mother, and a faithful Latter-day Saint to the last. Among those who knew her, she was noted for her generosity. Whatever she had she was always willing to share with the needy, and she was always true to her duties through all the trying scenes, even at the risk of her life. Her life was a continuous sacrifice, but she was never heard to complain.

Her posterity numbers 152 as follows: Twelve children, 59 grandchildren, 75 great-grandchildren, and six great-great-grandchildren. Of these the following are living: Seven children, 43 grandchildren, 68 great-grandchildren, and four great-great-grandchildren, total 138. The only living relative in Utah outside of her own family is John H. Kidd, a nephew, who has been just as devoted to "Aunt Eunice" as any of her own sons.

Funeral services were held over the remains on Sunday, Dec. 9, in the Eleventh ward chapel under the direction of the bishopric, and a large cortege followed her to the cemetery. The speakers were Bishop Robert Morris, Elders Charles Livingston and Joseph E. Taylor, and President Joseph F. Smith, who each bore testimony of the integrity and faithfulness of the departed, and urged the descendants to follow in her footsteps.

The opening prayer was offered by Bishop Robert Brighton of the Thirty-third ward, and the benediction was pronounced by Elder John M. Knight of the stake presidency. Ex-President Joseph A. McRae of the Colorado mission offered the dedicatory at the grave.

[Obituary of Eunice McRae from Deseret Evening News, Tues., December 11, 1906.]

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Read Gordon Irving's biography of Alexander and Eunice McRae here.

Wealthy Eddy, 1810-1892

2009-01-26T14:42:00.000-08:00

Born 24 Mar 1810 Solon, Somerset, Maine
Died 18 Jul 1892 Plano, Jefferson, Idaho
Parents: John Fuller Eddy and Rhoda Eddy
Spouse: Stephen Billings Shumway
Children: Clariss Shumway, Ammi Warren Shumway, Mary Amanda Shumway

Spouse: William Dickinson Pratt
Children: Martha Mirinda Pratt, Clarissa Pratt, Annie Warren Pratt, William Jared Pratt, Stephen Pratt, Mirza Lyona Pratt

Spouse: William Cornwell Patten
Children: Sarah Wealthy Patten

Excerpt from MY PIONEERS: The Mormon Pioneer Ancestors of Suzanne Scott Jennings
July 1997

Wealthy Eddy

Came by covered wagon pulled by a horse and a cow about 1848–1852

She helped sew the burial clothing for Joseph and Hyrum
“The gospel is more to me than all the riches in the world”

Wealthy Eddy Shumway Pratt Patten
Both her mother’s maiden name and her father’s last name was Eddy because they were first cousins. She was descended from the earliest Pilgrims who came to America in search of religious freedom. The Pilgrims on the Mayflower landed at Plymouth in 1620.

*****

Wealthy Eddy was born in Maine in 1810. She joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints at age 20 in 1830, against her parent’s violent objections. She was a participant in most of the major events in the early days of the Church: Kirkland, Missouri, Nauvoo, the prophet’s , Winter Quarters, crossing the plains, and the Mountain Meadow Massacre.
After she ran away from home to join the Church, she married Stephen Billings Shumway in January, 1831. He was from Massachusetts and was a member of the Church. They had three children: Clarissa who died as a baby, Ammi Warren, and Mary Amanda, who is our ancestor.
Wealthy and Stephen attended the Kirkland Temple sometime between 1836–38. They were probably part of the large 1838 exodus of Saints from Kirkland who fled toward the other gathering place of the Saints, Jackson County, Missouri. They headed toward the Haun’s Mill Settlement with a group of saints, but due to the birth of Mary Amanda on October 18,1838, they had to stop over at Randolph. Thus, they narrowly avoided the Haun’s Mill Massacre by a segment of the Missouri on October 30, 1838.

After the Missouri persecutions, including the imprisonment of Joseph Smith in Liberty Jail the Saints were called to abandon the Missouri settlements and gather at Nauvoo. For most of the Missouri saints, the forced and unplanned exodus to Nauvoo was a miserable experience.
In Nauvoo Wealthy and Stephen became members of the Nauvoo Third Ward, but Stephen died of appendicitis in 1839 or 1840 when she was about 30 years old. She was now a widow with two small children.

In March 1941 she married William Dickinson Pratt, the older brother of Parley and Orson Pratt. He had lost his first wife and child. He, also, was a member of the Nauvoo Third Ward. William Dickinson Pratt and Wealthy had four children: Martha who died at age five, William Jared who lived to old age, Stephen who died at five months old, and Mirza Lyona who died at 1½ years.

Her marriage to William Pratt put her in the circles of the leaders of the Church and when the Prophet Joseph and his brother Hyrum were killed on June 27, 1844, she helped sew the burial clothing for them.

After the Prophet’s , the saints worked furiously to finish the temple sufficiently to receive their endowments. At the same time the saints were finishing the temple, they began preparing to evacuate Nauvoo. Church leaders signed a contract with the mob that they would leave Nauvoo in the spring of 1846, and at the last conference held in Nauvoo in November 1845 the saints unanimously voted to leave. Anticipating a spring exodus, Nauvoo became a builder’s workshop and the people were organized into twenty-five traveling companies. Brigham Young, senior apostle and acting president of the Church, dedicated the attic story of the temple on Sunday, November 30, 1845 so the saints could begin receiving their endowments. The temple was kept open night and day to administer the ordinances. Wealthy and William Pratt received their endowments in 1845. Those blessings made the 1,300 mile westward trek, which seemed like walking into the jaws of , possible.

Although the majority of the Saints left Nauvoo in three main exoduses during 1846, many of the Mormon women who were expecting a baby chose to stay behind in Nauvoo and take their chances with mob , rather than risk the exposure and hardship of giving birth in the wilderness. Wealthy may have been one of those women, because she stayed in Nauvoo and gave birth to Stephen Pratt in January 1847 and Mirza Pratt in 1847–48.

At the time of the first exodus from Nauvoo, on February 9, 1846 Apostle Parley P. Pratt and his four wives and their children left Nauvoo in four wagons. Three teamsters helped drive those wagons to Council Bluffs, Iowa and helped establish their Winter Quarters in July of that year. William Pratt was one of those teamsters. He returned to Nauvoo in October of that year on a quick trip to England with Parley P. Pratt and John Taylor on Church business, but they were back by late spring of 1847. Parley and John Taylor went on West as leaders of the Main Company of pioneers. William, obviously, returned to Nauvoo to see her as Mirza was born later, but then he disappeared out of her story. Perhaps he was a teamster for a wagon train or was fulfilling other Church business.

Sometime between late 1847 and the spring of 1848, she and her 4–5 children were driven from Nauvoo by anti-Mormon mobs, and they crossed Iowa to Winter Quarters. She was sealed in Winter Quarters, Nebraska on April 30, 1848 to Stephen Billings Shumway, after his .
She crossed the plains, without a husband, in a covered wagon with her young children sometime between 1848–1852. Her oldest son Ammi was age 15–20, Mary Amanda was age 9–14, and William Jared was age 4–8, Mirza was one years old or had already died by the time they crossed from Winter Quarter to Salt Lake. When they arrived in Utah, they went to Payson where they settled.

Obviously, she and William Pratt divorced, because some years later in 1854 she married William Cornwell (Cornwall) Patten at Payson when she was 44 years old. William had also been a member of the Nauvoo Third War, but had lost his wife and daughter. Wealthy and William had one child: Sarah Wealthy Patten.

William Cornwell Patten died in 1883, and she was left to fend for herself again. Her children Ammi Shumway and Mary Amanda Shumway Cherry both passed away before she did, and so Wealthy helped raise their children. She was left with her son William Jared Pratt and daughter Sarah Wealthy Patten at her at age 82 in 1892 in Parker, Fremont County, Idaho. She is buried there.

* * * * *

Wealthy Eddy
A Short History of the Life of Wealthy Eddy, born March 24, 1805
by

Susannah J. Shumway

She was one out of a family of ten (10) children. Her parents were comfortably fixed. They had a large tract of land and a large house with many rooms. They had a work room for all their extra work with a large fireplace, to make it nice and warm. There they had a loom, a spinning wheel, reel, and cards for carding rolls and batts. They wove their own cloth. Lindsey for dresses, and all other clothing, also blankets and shawls. Jeans was wove for making mens clothes, suits and overcoats. They did their own spinning and coloring of yarns, both wool and cotton. They used a dye called Madder. It was used to color red. Logwood for black. Indigo and chamber lye to color all shades of blue. Green from peach leaves and yellow from the rabbit brush blossoms. They had a clay that was of a pink color and they put water over it and let it stand until it was the right shade and then they colored pink.

They learned to sew, knit, darn, mend, and keep house. They also learned to cook good meals. They had cows, pigs, horses, and chickens. They also had enough sheep for the family use. They made their own butter and cheese. They had Maple sugar trees on their land and when the sap was just right they put spouts in the tree trunks and caught the sap in buckets and it was then boiled till it was done just right. Some was used for syrup. Some was crystallized for maple sugar.
They were an industrious family. They used a fire place with reflectors for cooking . It had large iron hooks to hang kettles on to boil and cook meats and vegetables. They made their own candles out of beef tallow. The tallow would run into molds that was threaded with candle wick. They would make enough to last a year. Soap was made from fats and grease from the animals. Lye was made by putting ashes in a large barrel and letting it stand. It was also used to soften water for washing.

They had sports of different kinds, such as candy pulling. Corn parching and popping. They would go to neighbors and have parties and games such as was played in those times. They had quilting bees and corn husking as well as carpet rug bees.

I do not know what religion they belonged to but they spoke a lot about the Quakers. Probably they were of that faith. But we do not know for sure. They were very prejudicial towards the Mormons. When their daughter, Wealthy Eddy, became interested in the Mormon religion they were not pleased. They did not want her to pay any attention to their faith but she went to several of their meetings. Her father became so angry that he locked her up in a room and kept her prisoner. She finally escaped and went to the Missouri river and got some one to row her over. Her father discovered her escape. He and her brothers rushed after her. When they saw her in the boat they took shots at her but she escaped unharmed. She never went back home. This story is told and written by one of her descendants.

Wealthy Eddy later fell in love and married Stephan Billings Shumway, who was born July 20, 1805 at Orange Tennessee. They were married January 6, 1831 in Illinois. They started a home of their own in Orange Tennessee. They had land and a comfortable home. Their first child, Claresa Shumway, was born November 30, 1831. She died , no date. In the spring of 1832 they joined the Mormon church. Their second child, a son, was born December 16, 1832 Orange . He was named Ammi Warren Shumway. Their third child a daughter, Mary Amanda Shumway, was born in Missouri on October 18, 1838. Her husband Stephan Billings Shumway died with appendicitis, leaving her a widow with two children.

In the year 1841 she married William Jared Pratt in Nauvoo. To that union was born three children. The first child, a daughter, was named Martha Mirinda Pratt. She was born December 30, 1842 at Nauvoo, Hancock, Illinois. She died no date. The second child was a son, Stephen Pratt, born January 30, 1847. He also died, no date.

Wealthy Eddy was left alone again. The saints were being driven from place to place by mobs and threats. She had a hard time along with all the rest of the Saints. When her son, Ammie Warren, was about fifteen(15) years of age they decided to cross the plains with some of the saints. They wanted to get away from the trouble they were going through. They wanted to go west to Utah, where they would feel safe and be able to worship God unmolested. They fitted up a wagon as best as they could. They hitched a horse and a cow together, using harness that was made of different pieces of what they could get. They crossed the plains and settled in Payson, Utah.

In Payson she met and married William Cornwell Patten in 1854. He was a widower with two daughters. She was a good mother and wife. The s, Hannah and Matilda loved her as much as if she had been their own Mother. That love continued till the day of their s. She had one child by this marriage, a daughter named Sarah Wealthy Patten , born November 3, 1857 at Payson Utah.

She was left a widow again, and struggled along with her family as best as she could. She said that they always had something to eat and never went hungry. They always had something to wear and a place to shelter them even if it wasn’t the nicest. She told of going to church in a nice black silk dress and being bare foot because her shoes were worn out. Said that when she got to the church she took little steps to hide her feet. They wore long full skirts to the ankles. She said she felt like she must go to church and thank God that they were in a place where they could worship their God as they wanted, without being molested by mobs. She made an apron out of different pieces that she happened to have. They called it Jacobs coat. It was made what she called a sack apron, but she was proud to have that good. She always said where there is a will there will be a way.

Wealthy Eddy had learned the tailor trade and also how to make fancy shoes. She was a good seamstress and helped make the burial clothes for the Prophet Joseph Smith and Hyrum Smith. She told how badly the people felt about their s and that they were left with out a leader.
In a short time in an afternoon meeting on August 8,1844 there was a special meeting to choose a leader to take the Prophets place. She said Brigham Young rose and spoke and he was transfigured with the countenance and voice of Joseph Smith. That all the people were astonished at what they saw and heard. There was a vote and every hand was raised in favor of Brigham with not one contrary vote. She said “I was at that meeting and what I saw and heard is true and he proved to be a good leader”.

She told about being in a small company of saints that was in route to Hauns Mill. She was taken sick and gave birth to a child in October 1838. She escaped the terrible tragedy that happened at the Hauns Mill massacre. She felt that their lives had been spared.

On one occasion when she was a small , they were on a boat for a few days and she went to the edge of the boat and lay flat on the bottom looking into the water and a large sea monster jumped and almost grabbed her. She gave a scream and the sailors and men came with spears and they told her not to go near the edge again for she might be eaten by a whale or shark.
She lived in Payson at the time of the Mountain Meadow Massacre. The man that took the message to President Young stopped at their home and got a black horse that belonged to Ammi Warren Shumway to ride into Salt Lake City with the message. He left the other horse to be cared for till he got back. When he got back to change horses again he said that Brigham Young told him to go back and not to shed and hurry and not spare horse flesh. He wouldn’t stop to eat but she fixed a lunch and he took it as he was on his way. But when he got back the battle was over, much against President Brigham Young’s wishes.

After her son, Ammi Warren, was married to Mary Leon Lyon , they lived in Salt Lake City Utah. When their second child was 2 or 3 weeks old his wife died. Leaving 2 little children, a 3 and a little baby boy 2 or 3 weeks old. The two grand mothers each took one child. Janet Thompson Lyon took the little , Mary Leon Shumway. The other grand mother, Wealthy Eddy, took the baby boy, Ammi Alonze Shumway. The father went to hauling freight from Salt Lake to Montana. He never returned. His wagon was found burned and recognized by brands on the irons. It was supposed he was killed. The freight and horses were taken. The mystery of his disappearance has never been learned. She took care of the little boy and he made his home with her until he was married to Susannah J. Jensen. When her daughter Mary Amanda died and left a large family she took a little , 7 years old, whose name was Margaret Cherry. She made her home with her Grandmother and the rest of the family of children made her home their headquarters when out of work.

One incident of her life was a sad one. Her little , Claresa, was small. They were driven from their home and the mob gave them just so long to get a boat to be taken across the river. They took a few things tied in a small bundle. That night the small died from exposure. She said the mob had some kind hearted men that let them come back and bury their . They buried her under a tree in the orchard. After they laid her to rest and covered the grave she said it seemed like her heart would break. She sat down on the door step and wept.

One of the mob, who was tender hearted took a pan and went and got some peaches from her own orchard and put them in her lap. He told her not to feel too bad, but said we must get back to the boat. We crossed the river and went back to camp. She said she felt sorry for them because they were under orders and had to obey.

Once they were going some where in a wagon and when they camped for the night she learned that her favorite sister lived a few miles away. So she got on a horse and rode up to the place. Her sister didn’t know her but when she told her who she was, oh how glad they were. They visited that night and she never saw any of her people again.

She did work in the Logan Temple. She went through the Endowment House in Salt Lake City. She also attended the Nauvoo and Kirtland Temples as well as the Salt Lake Temple.
She moved several times. Sometimes for safety, sometimes to better their conditions, and sometimes they were called to build up new towns as was the custom in those days. Finally she settled in Oxford Idaho.

When her daughter Wealthy and son William were married she lived close to her children. When her grandson Ammi Alonzo was married she lived with her children. About the year 1889 or 1890 they all moved to the Snake River Valley and settled there. She spent most of her time at her daughter, Wealthy’s, home. She stayed with Ammi Alonzo the winter before she died and we surely enjoyed having her. She would sit and tell of her experiences day after day.

One day she told me of an experience that I have never forgotten. She said they had been camping, when they had to move for safety, while the cabins and log rooms were being built. She and her son cleared a place to build a log room. She went and sewed and helped families so they would help put up logs for her. She said when the logs were up and the dirt roof put on she moved in with out a door or window. It began to storm and so cloudy that you could not see the stars nor the moon. They had the few house hold things moved and the children put to bed. They had to go back to help get the cows and calves. They had made a pole corral by tying poles from one tree to another, so they could put the calves in it during the day and the cows at night. The cows had never been over the road before. It was very dark and stormy , but they needed the milk. She said as they were going along she felt the presence of some one and she said a faint voice said I will often be with you and help you. Her son spoke and said Mother did you hear some one speak. She didn’t want to frighten the boy, so she said maybe you imagined it. She felt the presence so strong that she put out her hand to feel but she couldn’t feel nor see any one. But she felt her husband’s spirit was with them. The cows went right along with out being drove and the calves went in to the corral just like they were being drove in and with out any trouble.
One day I asked her, after she had been talking and telling of their nice home that she had left and other experiences of her life, if she ever felt sorry that she had left it all. She looked up and said no the Gospel is more to me than all the riches in the world. She meant every word that she said.

She was living with her daughter, Sarah Wealthy Brown, when she died on July 18, 1892 at Eagen, Idaho. She died with dropsy and was buried in the Parker Cemetery.
I haven’t been able to give all the years and dates of this history, but I wrote it as I have gathered it and as I remember it as she related it to me time and again. I have tried to be truthful in these statements. If I have failed it is a mistake and not intentional.

Written by SUSANNAH J. SHUMWAY Fairview, Wyoming

**********

Bibliography
“A Short History of the Life of Wealthy Eddy, born March 24, 1805,” Susannah J. Shumway—a great granddaughter, Fairview, Wyoming.
A short synopsis with stories of the life of Wealthy Eddy. Susannah J. Shumway a great grand-daughter had the privilege of sitting at her knee and listen to Wealthy tell about her life. Most of the personal details of her story come from this source.

Journey to Zion, Voices From The Mormon Trail, Carol Cornwall Madsen, Deseret book Company, Salt Lake City, Utah, 1997, pp.1–85.
A rich and interesting account of the Mormon Exodus in which William Pratt is specifically mentioned in the diary of George Whitaker: At the time of the first exodus from Nauvoo, on February 9, 1846 Apostle Parley P. Pratt and his four wives and their children left Nauvoo in four wagons. Three teamsters helped drive those wagons to Council Bluffs, Iowa and helped establish the camp that became their Winter Quarters in July of that year. William Pratt was one of those teamsters. Most of the way, the Pratt wagons were several days in front of the main group lead by Brigham Young. Parley selected the site for the Mt. Pisgah settlement in Iowa which they established along their way. It was at Mt. Pisgah that the bretheren decided they were too poorly equipped to cross the plains and the Rocky Mountains that summer, so they decided to go to the Missouri and make a camp in which to prepare to cross in 1847, instead. In October the “brothers Pratt” left with John Taylor for England on Church business.

LDS Infobases, Inc., Early LDS Membership, CD ROM, Provo, Utah, 1996.
Gives vital statistics, church ordinance information, family information, and comments about Wealthy Eddy, Stephen Billings Shumway, William Dickinson Pratt, and William Cornwell (Cornwall) Patten.
Stephen Billing Shumway died of appendicitis in Nauvoo. They were all members of the Nauvoo Third Ward.
William D. Pratt born 1802, older brother of Parley and Orson Pratt, baptized 1831, ordained High Priest, member of Nauvoo Third Ward, William and Wealthy were married by William Nisewager, “William labored with his brother Orson Pratt and traveled through Missouri and Illinois.” William had five wives, sealed to last two, and in 1860 was living in Salt Lake City as a laborer.

LDS Infobases, Inc., LDS Collectors library ’97, CD ROM, Provo, Utah, 1996.
William Pratt accompanied David W. Patten when Patten was sent to Clay county, Missouri, 19 December 1833 bearing dispatches to Church leaders in Missouri. Remained in Missouri until arrival of Zion’s Camp June 1834.

Mormon Genealogies, The Smith, Pratt, Young, and Richards and Allied Families,
Gives ancestors, siblings, wives, and children of William Dickinson Pratt. He had six wives. Seven children are listed but only two lived to maturity.

Wealthy Eddy Pedigree and Three Family Group Records, Family Search: Ancestral File, CD ROM, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Genealogical Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.

From http://jared.pratt-family.org/histories/wealthy-jennings.htm

Lorenzo S. Davidson, 1861-1924

2009-01-22T15:56:00.001-08:00

Born 31 Aug 1861 Pleasant Grove, Utah, Utah
Died 12 Apr 1924 Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah
Parents: Hans Christian Davidson and Anna Maria Jensen
Spouse: Anna Louisa Peterson (md. 4 Mar 1887 Fairview, Sanpete, Utah--divorced)
Children: Mary Louise Davidson, Arland Lorenzo Davidson, Arthur Cleveland Davidson, Lenora Sarah Christina Davidson, John David Nathaniel Davidson, Eskil Leander Davidson, baby Davidson

Spouse: Martha Dwyer (md. 29 Dec 1897)

LORENZO DAVIDSON'S LIFE STORY
Compiled by his family in 1960

Lorenzo was born August 31, 1861, in a dug-out cellar in the side of a hill, in Pleasant Grove, Utah, about three years after his parents came across the plains. He was the fourth child of Hans Christian Davidson, and Anna Maria Jensen. He had four brothers, Hans Thomas, Amasa, Ephraim and Joseph; six sisters, Mary, Elizabeth (Bell), Sara (1), Sarah (2), Lucinda and a baby sister who died unnamed. His eldest brother and sister were born in Denmark, before his parents joined the church. In Denmark, his father was a prosperous printer before he joined the church; then he was persecuted so much he was glad to leave all he had and come to Zion.

In 1864, Lorenzo's parents moved to Mt. Pleasant, here he spent his boyhood. His parents were very poor and couldn't buy shoes for their children, so they went bare-foot most of the time. In the winter, Lorenzo and Bell, would get a large chip of wood, then standing on it with one foot and pushing with the other, they would skate across the ice.

He had little schooling, only going to about the third grade. He and Amasa attended the First Presbyterian school, now known as "Wasatch Academy," it was founded in 1875, by Dr. Duncan J. McMuillian. The school was first conducted in an old dance hall, which McMmllian converted into a school and church. This building was still standing on Main Street in 1932. It was being used as a meeting hail for the Masonic Lodge. It was one of the Pioneer Day Landmarks.

He herded cows for his father at the time Indians were hostile, and there were also many wild animals to make a young boy afraid. One night when it came time to take the cows home, he could not find them. Not wanting to go home without them he knelt down, and asked the Lord to help him. He got up and looked around, then walked over to a place where there were lots of willows, and there laying down, chewing their cud were the cows. He worked away from home and helped his parents while young. He was always concerned for his mother, and before he would leave he would cut up a pile of wood so she would have plenty to last until he returned.

One time he came home late at night, and awakened to hear his mother call Amasa to get her some wood. After she had called several times and Amasa had ignored her, Lorenzo became angry and jumped out of bed, and went to Amasa, and when he would not get up and get the wood, Lorenzo picked him up and threw him down the stairs and told him to get it. After that they were not the best of friends.

Although we have been unable to find any record of this, it is told in the family that when he was about eighteen, he met and married a of about the same age. They lived in Mt. Pleasant, a baby boy was born to them, but within the year his wife left him. This made him feel badly and he left Utah and went away to prospect and trap. (About 1921 he told his daughter Lenora, that he hunted up his first wife and found her in Wyoming. He went to see her but she was bitter and would not talk to him. She threatened to throw scalding water on him if he did not leave, so he did leave without finding out anything about her.)

When he was prospecting in Montana, he filed on a claim. He would work an eight hour shift in a coal mine then he would work his own claim. There were two foremen at the coal mine, each on a different shift. Each foreman thought he had a man who could load the most coal, so they made a bet of $50.00 for the winner. Lorenzo's foreman told him he would give him half if he could win. The other man loaded fifty-seven cars of coal, (each car load weighed 800 pounds, in his eight hour shift. Lorenzo loaded sixty-one cars and was proud to win.

In Butte, Montana, he and another man took up a claim together; it turned out to be the richest gold mine in Butte at the time. They were doing fine and taking out tons of rich ore every day. One day a man from the east bought out his partners' share for $2,000,000 but Lorenzo would not sell his share. Two days later the miners struck a vein of water so large that it was like a canal running out of the mine. There was not any way to stop the water so they had to abandon the mine and again every thing seemed lost to him. Later he sold his share to the man who bought out his partner for $2.50, and left for Canada to try again. Later he was thankful that he lost it and considered it a blessing from God.

He had many varied and, exciting experiences during the three months he spent in Canada, with no companion but a New Foundland dog. One day while he was out hunting, he walked on the shelf of a huge ledge with his dog walking behind him. At a sudden noise he turned around to see a mountain lion spring from the ledge above, grab the dog, then jump to the ledge below and disappear. That was the last he saw of the dog. He was tired of living on wild meat without salt and lonesome without the dog so he returned to Utah. When he arrived home, at Birch Creek, he was saddened to find his mother had died while he had been away. He loved his mother very much, her was a blow to him.

It was then that Lorenzo met Anna Louisa Peterson, a young widow with three little s. On March 4, 1887, they were married. It was not a temple marriage for Anna Louisa was sealed to her first husband, Johan Wilhelm Peterson, who had died of pneumonia in 1882. Shortly after they were married, they went to the Manti temple and Lorenzo received his endowments. They lived in Fairview several years and a daughter, Mary and a son Arland were born to them there.

Lorenzo and Anna Louisa decided to homestead in Wyoming. They left Fairview about 15 April 1892. Traveling with them were Carl and Lena Gjettrup and family, also Carl's brother, Pete. Lorenzo wanted to travel fast and did not plan to take any animals with them but the Gjettrup's had a cow and had to travel slowly, so Lorenzo bought a cow and a calf; thus the family had fresh milk as they traveled along. Lorenzo drove four head of horses on a wagon, with a trailer wagon, hooked on behind it. Christian Jacobsen, his brother-in-law, drove another wagon for him. When he left Utah, he was thirty-one years old, Anna Louisa was thirty-three, Anna, her eldest was thirteen, Ellen was eleven, Rena, nine; and Mary four, Arland the baby was twenty-two months.

On one of the wagons, Lorenzo built cupboards, with shelves facing the outside of the wagon box. On one side of the wagon there were three shelves, each held six chickens, eighteen in all. On the other side were two shelves with a pair of geese and a pair of turkeys, on the back they had two pigs in a box. Inside the wagon they kept their household supplies, grain and seeds to plant. The trailer wagon was sort of a camp wagon or a sheep wagon, as we know them today. In this they ate and slept. It contained a small stove, a dry-goods box made a table, there were a few dishes and a dasher churn. Across the back a large bed was built which covered many supplies stored beneath. In the third wagon Lorenzo had ordered some fruit trees and some bushes but they had not come when they left Fairview. The man he ordered from received them soon after Lorenzo left, so he followed and overtook the families and delivered the plants; consequently the Davidsons had the first fruit and shade trees in Teton Basin. However the winters were so sever that most of the fruit trees winterkilled. The lilacs, raspberries, strawberries, gooseberries, currants, rhubarb and other plants did fine and from them Lorenzo was able to give starts to people all over the valley for the next fifteen years.

When they left Fairview, Lorenzo intended to go to Big Horn Basin in Wyoming, but when they came through Salt Lake City he heard that the snow was so deep they would not be able to get through. They traveled through Cache Valley, Pocatello, Eagles rock, and (Idaho Falls) and to Rexburg. There was lots of storm as they passed through Cache valley, and the weather was so bad they camped for a time in a meadow, southwest of the Logan Temple. They stopped each evening about five o'clock and turned the animals and poultry loose to eat before night. In the morning they would catch the poultry under the wagons where they had found shelter during the night and put them back into their pens. They crossed the Snake River at Idaho Falls on a narrow plank and caused some delay and quite a scare. At Moody Creek, between Sugar City and Teton, Lorenzo and Mr. Gjettrup, left their families and went on to Teton Valley, to try and locate a place for them there. This was necessary because there were many places the snow was still too deep to get through, also Anna Louisa was expecting another child and it was due any-day and they did not want to be held up in a drift or in mud.

In Teton Valley, Lorenzo met a Mr. Seymore, who asked them what their plans were and when they told him they intended to homestead, he said, "What! Take my cattle range. I want you to know that sage brush and cobble-rocks are mighty hard to digest." They found some land they liked, and then returned to their families. As the men cross Teton Creek, it was dry but when they returned with their families and loads there was so much water in it they could hardly get their wagons through the creek. In Teton Valley, they homesteaded at a place called Darby. They arrived there the 23 May. At this time there were only two families living there; the Henry Todds and the Eilington Smiths.

Davidsons stopped at the Todd home, a one-room log cabin at the mouth of Darby Creek canyon. Mrs. Todd slept on the dirt floor and gave her bed to Anna Louisa. Seven days later Uncle Chris sent for Mrs. Murphy, the mid-wife, On May 29, 1892, a son was born to Anna Louisa. He was the first white child to be born in the valley. He was named, Arthur Cleveland.

Mr. Todd had built the walls for another room at the north of his cabin but winter came before he could finish it. Lorenzo shoveled the snow out of it, chinked the logs and put on a roof. Here his family lived until he could clear a bit of land and get things started for himself. Lorenzo homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres adjoining Todd's three hundred and twenty acre farm. The Gjettrup's filed on a farm one-half mile west of Lorenzo's and west of Todd's. Before Lorenzo could build a cabin for himself or plant a crop, a canal had to be dug to bring water from Darby Creek so they could irrigate the farm and water their animals. This took some time, then the land had to be cleared of sagebrush and sunflowers also rocks had to be hauled away. There were low places and high badger mounds that had to be leveled so the water would flow evenly over the land. The first year there was only a small field cleared. They planted a little barley, oats, potatoes and garden. When harvest time came they threshed the grain by putting the grain on a large wagon cover, then the children would trample it until the heads of grain were crushed. After this the straw was carried away and piled for the animals, then on a day when the wind was just right the grain and chaff were held high above the wagoncover. The breeze carried the chaff away and the clean grain fell to the cover. Some of this grain was ground with a small coffee grinder and the flour was used to make bread during the winter, along with the one sack of white flour they had.

After the planting was done, logs were cut and hauled to build their cabin and shelters for their animals and poultry. Neighbors helped put on the logs, then more logs were hauled and split to make a door and a roof, On top of the split logs they laid a thick layer of willows, they put a thick layer of grass and straw over this and last a thick layer of dirt. The openings between the logs were filled with a clay mud, this kept the room dry and warm. Their garden was not very good that year and the family of eight lived mostly on wild meat. There was plenty of elk, deer, antelope and other game and Lorenzo killed enough to supply his family.

In summer the animals were turned out on the mountains to feed. One time Lorenzo went out for his horses and met a grizzly bear with two cubs. She chased him down the mountain. Lorenzo could run down mountains like a deer or he would never have been able to get away from her. He also taught his children to run fast down hill. Besides grizzly bears there were wolves, coyotes, wild cats and mountain lions, so they always had to be on the watch. Lorenzo trapped many of the animals and tanned their hides, these Anna Louisa made into boots for Lorenzo and the children. They also made good robes and rugs. There were also many wild chickens, sage hens, grouse, pine-hens and others. One day Ellen caught a wild chicken in her apron. There were lots of badgers and ground hogs or squirrels as the children called them. These were bad because they ate the gardens and grain. Lorenzo would poison them with strychnine. It took many years before they got rid of them.

Lorenzo put up wild hay to feed all the animals through the winter. The only light they had was a little dish of tallow with a strip of cloth through it to light. It was not a bad light; something like a candle only it smoked more. They bought coarse salt like we use for ice cream and ground it through the coffee grinder for table use. Lorenzo built a blacksmith shop and many mornings we would get up at four o'clock and sharpen plow points for himself and his neighbors. He also fixed machinery and shod their horses. The first few years he used a large box like affair he made to smoke and cure meat. He was very particular as to the kind of wood he used for the smoke fires for this smoke went into the building and flavored as well as cured the meat. This was the way the Indians cured their meat. When he had extra venison he cured it this way and it was called "jerky." When the blacksmith shop was built then Lorenzo cured his meat there. He really had a reputation for curing good meat and many people brought their meat for him to cure and sometimes he would go to ranches and cure the meat for them.

The small bushes and plants he brought with him grew well and after the first year the family had all the raspberries and strawberries they wanted the whole year. He had an exceptional garden every year and raised some of the best turnips in the whole valley. Lenora and Nathaniel, were both born in the first log cabin. It was also used for the church house and dance hall and just every kind of a party for it was the largest room around. When a surveyor surveyed the valley, they found the cabin was built on the line between Lorenzo's and Todd's. About 1887, Lorenzo built a larger log house in the center of his field. After this the first log house was used for a schoolhouse. Arland started to go to school here when he was eight years old. They lived in this second log house when young Anna was married in November 1897. Anna was dressed in a lovely blue and George Dewey her husband, was also dressed in his finery. Many presents filled the large table. They lived on a homestead ten miles away. Chris and Hannah Jacobsen (Anna Louisa's sister), moved to Darby in 1898 and homesteaded a farm one mile west of the Davidson's. Lorenzo gave them the first log cabin he built and they moved it onto their farm. They enlarged it to make a comfortable four-room home. (The house was still standing in 1955 and was in use).

Parties and church meetings were still held in the Davidson home. People came long distances and sometimes stayed over night when it was extremely cold. Beds were made all over the floor to accommodate these guests. Mary told about when the dances were held there and the smaller children were put up in the hall-loft where the children slept regularly. Here they could watch the fun until they became tired and then lay down and go to sleep comfortably. Just about the time Anna got married, Lorenzo built a lean-to on the west side of the house, for a bedroom and a kitchen. Later he built two rooms on the south, the larger room doubled as an extra living room where they had extra quadrilles and as a bedroom for Lenora and Mary. The smaller room was at long last a private bedroom for Lorenzo and his wife.

He was always a kind father and did many things to bring happiness to his family, such as making a special trip to the mountains each year and bringing home a beautiful evergreen tree for their Christmas. They would decorate it with apples and string of popcorn. Whenever he took loads of grain to St. Anthony, which was the nearest trading center, he would always bring home a bit of hard candy or mints for them. Many times the children would tie strings on the hard candy and hang it on the Christmas tree. Mary was given a small piece shaped like a bird. She tied it on the tree every year until she was older then she kept it in her small box of treasures and late after her daughter got married she gave it to her. Whenever the children were ill he would lay his hands on their heads and give them a blessing, and then he would say, "Now go to sleep." Lenora says she could always go to sleep and sleep so good after he did this. He always had time to talk to the children and take them places with him.

Lorenzo was clerk of the school board and had charge of hiring the teachers, and seeing that the school had the things they needed. He helped make the rough plank desks and benches for the first school in his log cabin. He was clerk as long as they lived in Darby. He was also clerk of the water association, and took charge of the distributing of the water, making head gates and doing anything needed.

The Darby Ward was organized about this time and Emanuel Bagley was chosen Bishop. Lorenzo knew things about him that he felt were wrong for a bishop and he felt he could not sustain him in that office. When they voted for him in their sacrament meeting, and asked if there were any contrary votes, Lorenzo stood up on the bench and held both hands against him. There had been several others who intended to vote contrary but they failed to stand up for what they thought. This caused a disturbance but when all the information had been presented, Bagley was ordained bishop. Later he told Lorenzo he was excommunicated for his contrary vote. (In checking through the records of the church in 1960, they cannot find any record of an excommunication, the Presiding Bishopric say that Lorenzo was never excommunicated.)

When Mary was about twelve years old she was very sick with rheumatism. (Now we would call it rheumatic fever.) This traveled all over her body and settled in her heart. They feared she would not live long. Lorenzo was very concerned over his eldest child. He went to Pratt Ward to get the Elders to administer to her. On the way there, he went into a grove of Quaken Asps, there he knelt down and prayed that Mary would be healed. He promised the Lord, he would be re-baptized into the Church and that he would serve Him. The Elders came and administered to Mary. They promised her health. A sharp pain went through her heart and from then on she was without pain. She speedily gained her strength and was able to go to school the following year.

Lorenzo was re-baptized in a pond in the lower part of the farm by Daniel Hill on September 15, 1900. From then on he paid his tithes, went to church and did the things he was asked to do. From that time the Lord blessed Lorenzo abundantly. He was ordained an Elder again on April 2, 1904, by D. Hopkins, Lenora says, "I remember not long after he started going to church that one fall he loaded up grain to take to the tithing grainery; he had three beds on the wagon and the sacks were piled high on top of them. I'm sure he could not get another sack on top, and I thought to myself-my but that is a lot of tithing. I remember the next fall he had two graineries full of grain and a large shed that was between one grainery and the shop full of sacks of grain, timothy and alfalfa seed and I don't know how much hay he had. The Lord certainly blessed him abundantly."

He had a lot of men work for him but only two worked for any length of time. One, Gene Cowan worked one summer, another, Joseph Bagley, worked for him several years. He married Rose Hill while he was working there so Lorenzo built them a one-room log house a little way from the Davidson home. Joe Bagley was a good worker and the children really like him. He had a good voice and could sing lots of songs for them. He also played the mouth organ and taught Arthur to play it too. Many an evening they would spend playing and singing. There was lots of snow during the winter in those days. The roads were always drifted full so people would travel straight from one place to another over fences and farms for one could not tell where boundaries were. When they needed to chop feed for the animals they would have to dig the snow away from the chopper so they could work. Lorenzo raised lots of hay and would sell it to sheep-men with the understanding that they would feed it on his place. They would feed the sheep in one place for a while then move to another. In this way the land was well fertilized and he raised a bumper crop.

On March 4 1901, a stillborn child was born to Anna Louisa and Lorenzo. The baby had been several days before it was born and had started to decompose. Anna Louisa said that three days before as she had been carrying water from the ditch to wash she had felt the child turn as she lifted the water from the ditch and then the child had never moved again. Lorenzo made a coffin for the little boy out of an old coal oil can box. Ellen covered it and fixed it real nice and Rena dressed the baby. Lorenzo and Anna Louisa felt badly about it and they never had another child.

About the time they lost the baby there was an epidemic of diphtheria in the valley. Arthur and Lenora had it very bad. They lay in the same bedroom as their mother lay still sick from childbirth. The rest of the family stayed in the kitchen and other bedrooms. They fumigated the house with carbolic acid and formaldehyde cloths to keep the germs down. They also tied asifidity bags around their necks and oh, how they smelled. Peeled onions were also hung about the house, they absorbed the sickness and would turn black almost over night. Arthur was so ill he was not expected to live. Some men came from Pratt Ward to buy hay and Lorenzo asked them to have the Bishopric meet in prayer for Arthur, which the Bishopric did that very evening. The night before this the chamber had been red with from Arthur's infected throat and he was so weak he could not move, in fact as they tried to move him that morning he fainted away. Early in the morning after he was prayed for, Arthur asked for a bucket of cold water. His mother and father hesitated about giving it to him but he insisted, saying that he would die if he did not get it. Anna Louisa asked Lorenzo to set her in the big rocking chair close to Arthur's bed so she could talk to him. He told her that when he fainted someone came to him and told him he should have this. She became convinced he should have the water and asked Lorenzo to get him a bucket, but to put enough hot water in it to take away the chill. Arthur leaned over and doused his head in the water three times then he took a long drink from the bucket, put his hands on his hair and squeezed the water from in into the bucket. Then he threw his legs out of the bed and stood up and said, "I am well now, bring me my clothes." The next day Pete Larsen a bachelor, who checked the sick families that were quarantined to find out their needs, came to the house. He expected he would have to order a grave dug for Arthur but he found him outside running after a fashion, with his brother Arland on a short strip of bare ground between the snowdrifts. The epidemic cleared up and there were no more s after this. There were trying times of sickness and s along with good times and the Davidson's weathered them all.

Anna Louisa's brother, Andreas, was a good carpenter and came up from Fairview to remodel their house. The old log part was torn down and a new frame building really made their home look nice as well as being more comfortable. This was to the north of what Lorenzo had built. They now had four rooms down stairs and a large room upstairs for the boys. They bought gasoline lights too, which made it real good. A lot of the ward parties were still held here.

Lorenzo was about six feet two inches tall and weighed a good 235 pounds. He had a hearty appetite and was extra strong. A friend, Fred Tyler, says that one day he saw a load of something corning down the road. When he came closer he found it to be Mr. Davidson carrying the load on his back, and scarcely being visible beneath it. Even though he was tall some of the timothy he raised grew almost as tall he was and the alfalfa grew up to his arms. It was so thick it was hard to walk through it let alone cut it. The grain was also heavy and yielded good. He took prizes at the fair for grain, timothy and alfalfa seed. He sent

1925 at the time of Anna Louise Davidson funeral-Parker Idaho Front left: Mary Housley, Ellen Ellis, Rena Peterson, Lenora Tyler, Annie Dewey Back left: Arland Davidson, Nathaniel Davidson, Arthur Davidson, Eskil Davidson

some alfalfa and timothy seed to the world fair at St. Louis and took first prize. He was one of the first to grow russet potatoes in Idaho. He sent east for the seed and then people came from near and far to buy seed from him. One year he cut the timothy from a small patch and then cut all the ditch banks and sold enough to pay for a threshing machine. He also had good horses and took prizes on them too. He did lots of freighting in the fall and winter from Jackson Hole and Victor to St. Anthony. He would haul out the grain and hay and bring back food and supplies for Blogett's store in Victor and for Miller's ranch in Jackson Hole.

After he began to keep the Lord's commandments and make good on his farm, he did not do it any more but stayed home with his family and took care of things.

On Christmas Eve 1906, his daughter Mary, married Chester Loveland the Bishop's son. After they were married a while they had their differences and Lorenzo kept her home to live. After her little daughter Edna, was born, he took particular care of her. One day when she was about two years old, she went to the corral to get a bucket of water from the ditch. She was soon missed but when they found her an old buck sheep was bunting her down as fast as she could get up. Lorenzo took the child to the house, then took his gun and shot the sheep. Another time Ellen went to milk a cow. The cow had a new calf and was touchy. She started for Ellen. Ellen ran but the cow caught her with her horns and threw her over her head. Ellen was not hurt but Lorenzo got rid of the cow right away. Though he liked fine animals he wanted them to be gentle.

When Arthur was about twelve years old, he and Arland and some of their friends, Earl and Clyde Hansen, were playing with some pet colts and having a high time. Arthur grabbed the tail of one colt and holding on chased it around and around the yard. Suddenly the colt shot out is hind feet, one hoof caught Arthur on the right side of the face cutting it open so it showed the temple and the cheekbones.

When Arthur walked into the house the hay men were eating supper. One glance at Arthur and the meal was over. George Dewey was there and he rushed to the barn, harnessed the first horses he found to a light buggy then lashed them all the way to Driggs. Here he picked up Dr. Schuppe, and brought her out to care for Arthur. (Old Prince and Bell were not much good after this but they always had a place in the pasture.) In the meantime Anna Louisa gave Arthur the best aid she could. She had him laid on the bed and as she was cleaning the wound she looked up and saw Lenora, Eskil and Lorenzo watching her. Lorenzo was in a state of shock. She told him to take Lenora and Eskil out to the field and care for them. He put them on a horse and took them with him as he checked the irrigation water. When he returned, Dr. Schuppe had fixed Arthur. She had given him all the chloroform she had, and then it took thirteen stitches to sew up his face. It healed fairly fast but his skull was ed and it caused him unconsciously to do many odd things for a couple of weeks. Then he was all right.

Lorenzo often went into the field and worked several hours before he had his breakfast. One morning he came in from irrigating about nine o'clock. When he came to the house there was a salesman there waiting to sell him some insurance. Lorenzo quickly told him he was not interested and could not afford the insurance anyway. The salesman continued to talk to him while he ate a breakfast of; half a dozen fried eggs, a large slice of ham and finished up with a big dish of fresh strawberries from the large bowl on the table, these he covered with thick separated cream. This was a sight for the salesman. He told Lorenzo, any man who could afford a breakfast like that, which was fit for a king, could certainly afford plenty of insurance. Then he asked Lorenzo if he knew how much a breakfast like that would cost if he had to buy it. Lorenzo was really taken by surprise but after thinking it over he bought insurance for both Arthur and Arland as well as himself. He kept plenty of food on hand in an upstairs storeroom. Each year he would take enough of his choice wheat to the mill and have it ground into flour, to last them until harvest came again. He also stored cereal and several sacks of sugar. He would have potatoes, vegetables and apples stored in a cellar. He kept a large barrel of pork covered with salt brine to be smoked when needed.

There were chickens, turkeys, geese and ducks in the farmyard and a steer or two ready to be butchered when wanted. Whenever he went to St. Anthony, he brought home fresh salmon or smoked fish and dried fruits. Each spring he planted a hot bed in a special frame he made on the west of the house he built for the Bagley's. It was built a couple feet above the ground and each spring he would clean it out and put fresh manure in the bottom of it, (this caused heat which made the seeds grow). This he covered with several inches of good soil. He would plant cabbage and tomato seeds in rows and give them a light covering of soil. About fourteen inches above this he placed windows to let in the sunlight after the plants were up, but he kept the whole thing covered tight until the seeds germinated and began to show growth. One year he planted some lettuce and radish seed in it. They really grew fast. The lettuce was good but the radishes were mostly hot and tops. He always had plants to give to the neighbors.

When they first came to Darby he wore pants that Anna Louisa made from old wagon covers and burlap sacks. She also washed, carded and spun wool into yarn and made the stockings the family wore for several years. She spun enough wool one year to have a suit made for Lorenzo. Now it really did seem good to Lorenzo to have plenty to take care of his family.

About this time Bishop Hamilton and his counselors came to see him. The Bishop looked around and told him he was greatly blessed and he wanted him to go on a mission. At that time Lorenzo was using tobacco. He asked them to wait until fall so he would have time to quit his tobacco and get ready. But he did not quit his tobacco and as time went on he began to think he could not leave, so he asked the Bishop to take Arthur instead. Now Arthur was only seventeen years old but was well developed and much stronger than Arland the older son. It was decided to do this and Arthur went to Rexburg and took a missionary course that winter. He left for his mission to Sweden on May 10 1910. He was a good missionary but Lorenzo was not content, and things did not go well for him so he decided that Arthur would have to come home. Anna Louisa would not consider such a thing. Meanwhile Arthur became sick in Sweden and the Dr. could not find what was wrong with him. His companions took turns walking the floor with him for three days but he did not get better. Meanwhile at home Lorenzo walked the floor in frustration. The Mission president decided it was best to send Arthur home. It took a month for him to get home and he was better but still rather weak and could not do very much nor eat everything but he soon gained strength and was about again. He returned May 12, 1911, just away one year. Lorenzo was not at peace with himself, he knew he had not done right and he sent Arthur away, so he went to Chapin and stayed with his sister Anna and her husband until Lorenzo felt better and sent for him to return home.

Lorenzo had the best farm in Teton Basin. He bought and sold other land there but he was never content anymore and wanted to move to a milder climate. He and Anna Louisa went to Parker and found a farm there that he liked very much and he made arrangements to buy it. He had not sold the farm in Darby so he had to get a mortgage on the farm so they could pay Frank Mason the previous owner in full. Lorenzo took Arthur, Arland, Mary and Lenora with him to Parker to plant the crop. They left Darby May 22, 1912, in a wagon and buggy, traveling across the fields as the roads were still deep with snow. Going across the field was so difficult, it took them all day to go one mile, so having broken trail they returned home and started again the next morning. On their arrival at Parker, they began housekeeping in a little house at the north, thus giving the Masons time to move out of the big house he had sold them. Later the rest of the family came to Parker but at harvest time Arland, Arthur, Mary and Lenora returned to Darby to take care of the crops. The farm at Darby was rented the next year and all the family worked together at Parker.

The Masons had let the place run down, the yard was full of briars, seedling trees and weeds and the building were falling to pieces. The first thing they did before they moved in to the big house was to get things in order. Each one took either a hoe, shovel, rake or grubbing hoe and went to work with a will. They started on the south and worked to the west and north. An old well on the south was filled with everything from old stoves and buckets to rocks and trash. All the larger bushes and limbs were hauled a couple of hundred feet to the south. The pile grew higher and higher until the yard was clean and they could not get any more on top. One quiet evening they set fire to the pile. It burned high and fast. Soon there were lots of people there from town for they had seen the flames and thought the house was on fire and they came to help put it out. Things turned out all right and they got acquainted in a hurry. Soon Lorenzo began building new barns and other buildings. Soon after coming to Parker, Lorenzo and Anna Louisa went with a group through Yellowstone National Park. They traveled in a white top buggy most of the time. They enjoyed about the only vacation they ever had time to take.

The next year the Government opened up a territory east of Idaho Falls for homesteading. Arthur was married and Lorenzo helped he and Arland and Mary to choose and file on each one of them a homestead. Arland was called on a mission and left for Sweden in November 1913. While he was there World War I began and he was transferred to So. Carolina to finish his mission. In the meantime Lorenzo was doing fine in the church again and the Stake President asked to prepare to be a Patriarch. While he was thinking it over he got a German family to help on the farm for a percentage of the crop. He took Mary to the dry farm and built a small house for her to live in and planted a small crop and a garden for her. She homesteaded both her 160 acres and 160 acres for Arland. The war was making a boom for farmers and Lorenzo did good too but he decided much to the sorrow of the family that he would not be a Patriarch neither would he send Nathaniel on a mission for he needed him on the farm.

Arland returned from his mission and went to the dry farm to take care of it. Lorenzo began to have trouble with his stomach and had to watch what he ate all the time. Mary and Lenora worked away from home a lot of the time. One time Lenora was working for Mrs. Grey in St. Anthony, and as they were bringing her home one evening after work, he told Lenora that he was going to sell her father his old car. Lenora was indignant and told him she would shoot him if he did but if he would sell him a new car she would pat him on the back. She felt that her father was prosperous enough to have a new car. Mr. Grey told her he had been trying to sell him a car without success so Lenora told him to tell her father what a good farm he had and he would be able to sell him the car. A few days later Lorenzo bought a new Dodge car from Mr. Grey.

Lenora always felt guilty for her underhandedness but it seemed to be a climax for all the good things they had shared together and because of their enjoyment of it, though it seemed to be the beginning of a changed way. Mary got married again in October 1917, Lenora in December and Arland in March 1918 so that Eskil was the only one remaining at home.

Over the years Lorenzo and Anna Louisa had differences, but now they seemed to come to a climax. Anna Louisa was sealed to another man for time and all eternity and though they seemed to hang together desperately their differences continued to grow larger. Lorenzo waited until Lenora came home to have her first baby then a property settlement was arranged and Anna Louisa took over the still mortgaged farm and they arranged for divorce. Lorenzo went back to his old way and went trapping. He got a sheep wagon, fixed it up to travel and live in. He went into the mountains above the dry farms and trapped for a year or so. He got several dogs to keep him company. They were big lean hunting dogs and not at all friendly to anyone. The spring of 1922 he went to Twin Falls, where some of his friends were living and did grafting and budding at the Crystal Springs orchard. He found a small farm that he liked and bought it. He was lonesome and decided to try a matrimonial agency for a wife. He wrote and got in contact with Martha Dwyer. They seemed to think they could get along so she came to Pocatello. They got their marriage license on December 2 1922 but almost did not get married for she thought Lorenzo was too old. They visited and talked for several days and she finally decided she liked him all right and they were married on December 29 at the court house. Martha had a large family or married children and one young son she had brought with her. Lorenzo seemed to get along fine with both of them. The people in Twin Falls liked her. Later he took her to the dry farm where Arland and Mary still lived and they thought she was nice. They said she seemed to get along good with Lorenzo and he seemed very happy. This was a short happiness for April 1924, Lorenzo's stomach really got in a serious condition. They took him to the L.D.S. Hospital in Salt Lake City. They found he had a peptic ulcer but before they could operate, he had an internal hemorrhage and bled to . He died April 12, 1924. His funeral was in Mt. Pleasant Utah, and he was buried there near his parents.

Hans Christian Davidson, 1820-1892 and Anna Maria Jensen, 1828-1886

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Hans Christian Davidson:

Born 28 Mar 1820 Kegnaes, Alsen Is., Schleswig Holst., Denmark
Died 23 Aug 1892 Mt. Pleasant, Sanpete, Utah
Parents: Hans Davidson and Dorthea Catherine Hansen
Wife: Anna Maria Jensen (md. 2 Nov 1851/1852 Mommark, Aabenraa-Sonder, , Denmark)
Children: Mary Dorthea Catherine Davidson, Hans Thomas Davidson, Elizabeth or Isabella Davidson, Lorenzo S. Davidson, Amasa Davidson, Sarah Davidson (died as infant), Ephraim Morning Davidson, Sarah Davidson, baby Davidson (died as infant), Lucinda Davidson, Joseph Davidson
Wife: Anne Dorthea Hansen (md. 16 Nov 1887)
Wife: Karen Marie Nielsen (md. 10 Oct 1889)
Wife: Johana Marie Nielsen (md. 9 Jul 1890)

Anna Maria Jensen:

Born 14 Feb 1828 Lysabild, Mommark, Aabenraa-Sonder, Denmark
Died 2 May 1886 Mt. Pleasant, Sanpete, Utah
Parents: Thomas Jensen and Catrine Margrete Christensen

History of Hans Christian Davidson 1820 - 1891

Written August 10, 1932 By Sarah D. Wilcox, H. T. Wilcox and Vennese Jensen.

Hans Christian Davidson was the son of Hans Davidson, who was the son of Christian Davidson, who was the son of David Jorgersen, who was the son of Jorden Andersen. He was born on the peninsula of Kechenes per Alsen Island in the Duchy of Schlesvig, Holstein in North Prussia, March 28, 1820. On November 2, 1852 he married Miss Anna Maria Jensen. Five years later he was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, by Ivan N. Iverson, missionary of the church.

Anna Maria Jensen of Moemark Lysaple Church District, Denmark, was born February 14, 1828. Anne was the daughter of Thomas Jensen and Cathrine Margaret Christensen. They lived in Moemark, hometown of Anne for six years after their marriage. During this time two children, Hans and Mary were born to them. Hans was a draftsman, drawing maps and sketches of land. In this way he was able to have a home of his own and provide well for his wife and family, They were comfortable and happy.

Hans Christian Davidson was also a printer and created a perpetual calendar.

Shortly after their baptism and uniting with the church, their relatives and friends turned against them because they wanted to give up their home in Moemark, to go on what seemed a foolish trip with much suffering and hardship, to make their home in a far country, that they knew little about.

Notwithstanding the fact that their folks did not want them to go. They soon made arrangements to leave for America on the first boat carrying emigrants. It was the following year they learned of a ship leaving Liverpool, England for America, which was transporting Scandinavian emigrants.

What property and furnishings they could not sell they gave away and left immediately for Liverpool, there they made their departure for America, setting sail on Monday, March 22, 1858, on the ship "John Bright". They took with them what food they would need until they reached America. There was a party of about ninety emigrants under the direction of Ivan N. Iverson. While on the ocean their supply of drinking water, which was boiled and stored in forty gallon barrels, ran short and because of this, many suffered badly and some died. After six weeks of tossing and shifting about on the water, they arrived in New York May 8, 1858.

(The following appeared in the New York Times and is placed here because it continues the narrative of the history of Hans Christian Davidson and add other certain important information that might become obscure.--- Gwyn D. Davidson)

The following was published in the New York Times of this date April 26, 1858

MONDAY, April 26
The weather was very fine and very warm for this time of year.
"ARRIVAL OF SCANDINAVIAN MORMONS IN NEW YORK"
What they say of Mormonism in Denmark, Sweden and Norway

A company of ninety Mormons, eighty-one from Sweden, Denmark and Norway, and nine from England arrived at this port on Saturday, on board the emigrant ship JOHN BRIGHT, Capt. Connor. The Scandinavian portion of this company had their rendezvous at Corsor, in Denmark, where seventy-eight s and children, form different conferences or districts of the country over which the Mormons are scattered in small communities, each presided over by an elder, assembled on the 20th of February last, called together by the President of the Mission Elder Carl Viderborg. The Mormons of Europe, previous to the present disturbances in Utah ( the Utah War), have constantly preparing emigration and emigrating to Great Salt Lake City. New converts to the faith, as soon as they could collect sufficient means were in the habit of setting out immediately for America. The members of this Scandinavian company, most of them tradesmen and mechanics, having converted their property into money with intention of emigrating, heard of the disturbances last fall, at first hesitated whether they would start for the new world or not. It was finally decided that they should come to this country and make Canada their temporary abiding place until the prospect of war in the west should blow over.

Accordingly they started on the 21st of February, in charge of Elder I. N. Iverson, a Dane by birth from Utah. The company proceeded overland to Hamburg, and thence to Bremerhaven in Germany, where they arrived in safety on the 4th of March after a somewhat difficult journey. No resistance was offered to them in leaving their fatherland. On the 5th of the month they set out from Bremerhaven to Hull on the steamer MOVE, but were compelled to return on the 9th on account of a storm and contrary wind on the North Sea. They remained in port until the 12th and then started again. They reached Hull on the 14th, and were safely landed the same afternoon. On the 15 they left for Liverpool and arrived there at 6:00 the same afternoon. On the 18 they went on board the JOHN BRIGHT and lay in the river until the 22nd on which day they sailed. The voyage was a pleasant one. They had only a few days of stormy weather. At 11:00 o'clock Saturday morning they landed at Castle Garden, where they were detained only about an hour, and then went to Walker's Hotel, No. 25 Greenwich Street, where quarters had been provided for them by Mormon friends in the city.

Our reporter visited them there last evening. But few of them could speak English, and Miss Olivia Nielson--one of their number--translated what information they had to convey to him concerning themselves and the condition of Mormonism in the Scandinavian countries. The interpreter who kept house for Mormon Elders in Copenhagen for two years said: "The Captain as well as the other officers, and , indeed the whole crew, showed us all possible respect and kindness, and we cannot but feel satisfied with the treatment we have enjoyed. Besides our company, the number of other emigrants numbers about 640--English, Irish and German. The company consists of two persons from Norway, seven from Sweden, four from Schleswig, ( a German Providence belonging to Denmark) and all the rest from Denmark."

"The state of health on board the ship may generally be considered good. Our company sustained on the whole journey three cases of --two women and one infant." "Among the male portion of the emigrants are a number who have taken a leading part on propagating Mormonism throughout Denmark, Sweden and Norway. Some of them have been several times imprisoned by the 'politie' of police in Sweden for baptizing converts to Mormonism.

One of them, Lars Jorgensen, was imprisoned eight times in Holland and Malma, Sweden. Another, Niels Paulsen, said he was in prison in Norway for baptizing contrary to the Lutheran creed. "In the German part of Denmark, the providence of Scheswig, where Mr. Iverson had his mission," said the interpreter, "the Lutheran creed prevails to the exclusion of every other, and the inhabitants who join any other sect, or adopt any other faith, not having the same liberty as the other parts of the Danish States, and are persecutes, imprisoned, heavily taxed, and sometimes banished, as was the case with one person in this small company, Mr. Davidson, who after having been put in prison, and several times being tried before the police, was made to pay fines and threatened with banishment, and at last forced to sell his little farm at a very small price, he and his family were glad to join the company of Mr. Iverson.

During the time Mr. Iverson stayed in Denmark, Mormonism has made considerable progress not only there, but everywhere in Scandinavia. About 600 persons have been added to the Church, and especially since the report that the United States was sending troops to Utah was made known to the public, it has created much excitement." The majority of the emigrants are females. None of the men have more than one wife, and many of them have none. They are generally very intelligent-looking. The following are the names of those who compose Elder Iverson's company: I. N. Iverson, C. A. Madsen, C. V. Madsen, C. O. Folkman, Elia Folkman, C. D. Fjeldsted, K. Fjeldsted, P. I. Fjeldsted, Vita I. Fjeldsted, Willard Fjeldsted, I. M. Petersen, P. Jorgensen, Louise J. Jorgensen, Cecilie Jorgensen, Karoline Jorgensen, M. Christensen, Niels Petersen, Marie Petersen, Ane Maria Petersen, Ole Sonne, Cecilie Sonne, M. C. Christensen, Stine Christensen, M. C. Gregersen, Ane Andersen, M. Andersen, R. Olsen, P. O. Meilhede, K. Soendsen, A. Nielsen, Bodii Nielsen, P. Johnsen, Kristen Johansen, H. Nielsen, J. Andersen, Karen Andersen, Maren Andersen, Kristene Andersen, Anders Andersen, Anthon Andersen, Olivia Nielsen, L. Soendsen, K. M. Petersen, K. Svendsen, Maria Petersen, Christian Petersen, Peter Petersen, Joseph Petersen, F. Christensen, H. P.Olsen, H. P. Lund, N. C. Paulsen, A. P. Oman, N. Elder, L. Jorgensen, J. Larsen, Caroline Larsen, C. Petersen, A. Hansen, Magdalens Hansen, Karen Hansen, H, Knudsen, H. C. Davidson, Ane Davidson, Ane Davidson, Hans Davidson, C. Rasmusen, Thea Hastrup, Maria Hastrup The progress of Mormonism, the emigrant 'Saints' assured us, had been very rapid in the Scandinavian countries, during the last few years.
----NEW YORK TIMES, April 26, 1858----

Then they began another long and toilsome journey to Iowa City. They remained here for a period of six weeks, resting themselves and preparing for the longest and most dangerous part of their journey--west across the plains. The cattle were turned out upon the hills to feed.

Anne walked the entire distance over the desert waste of sagebrush, sand and rocks, moving steadily into the wild uncharted country, leading the horse of captain Iverson. Hans took his turn with the other men, herding the animals and standing guard at night. When they camped in the evening, they drove the wagons and carts into a circle formation, with the tongues outside and the fore wheel locked into the rear wheel of the one in front of it. Both man and beast had to stay inside the enclosure at night for protection against marauding Indians. At times it was difficult to find a camp with sufficient grass and feed in the enclosure to graze the stock and cattle, then it was necessary to take some of the stock outside the circle with a vigilant guard. All the wagons carried their own water tanks and barrels usually lashed to the outside, buckets, tubs and kettles swung from the gate or axle. They did all their cooking, eating and sleeping inside the circle. Indians made frequent night attacks upon the caravan throughout their long journey, but the men pretty well stood their ground with their guns and crude barricades. After every evening meal the company united in prayer to thank God, and ask him for their safe deliverance and guidance along the trail to their destination.

The journey lay along the Platt River to the North Platte, then followed this stream to the Sweetwater, following that to it's head. When the rivers were left behind, mountain streams and springs were found from time to time for drinking water. There was never a time when the caravan was more than ten miles from drinking water. The barrels and kegs on the wagon sides provided ample reserves between these places. On one occasion Hans turned back on the trail and traveled one whole day, possibly fifteen, miles to recover a hatchet that had been left at the last camp. He had to swim the Platte River and when he returned with the hatchet he carried it between his teeth while swimming. He had to redouble his effort to catch up with the ever moving caravan.

The women who came on this long journey were not afraid to live the rough pioneer life nor did they go about their daily tasks and privations with any reluctance. Every struggle, sorrow or they considered God's will as they passed over the rough path, beset with hunger and risks, toward the vision of a better country. To the assemblage of men, busy with the hard earned rewards of the day, they brought the three sterling qualifications of endurance, gentleness, faith and home with the nurture of children. Due to the fact that the children were distributed among the wagons to equalize the care and loads, the mothers seldom saw the younger ones except at night and morning.

They finally reached Salt Lake City, Monday, September 20, 1858. After a brief stay they traveled south with Captain Iverson, to Battle Creek, now called Pleasant Grove, where Iverson's home was located. Their first dwelling place was a cellar given them by Bro. Iverson. Their family endured a very severe winter in their cellar home. Many times they had to go to bed to keep from freezing to . Hans' heels were frozen and became raw and swollen with sores on them the size of dollars. The next spring Hans worked hard and received one ham valued at $15.00, on one occasion, and by careful portioning the ham lasted all summer. He used a scythe to cut hay for the first cow they had after coming to Utah. In the summer it dried up and they turned her on the mountain to feed, and for some reason she died. Four children were born to them while they lived in Pleasant Grove: Lorenzo, Bell, Amasa and Sarah. Sarah was born September 9, 1864 and died when six months old. They were very poor while they were in Pleasant Grove and when Bell was born they had no clothing for her. A neighbor lady, seeing the destitute condition of the family, went to a daughter who had previously lost a baby and they immediately brought them some of the baby's clothes to her.

The fall after Sarah died, Hans borrowed old man Bacon's new wagon to haul hay to Salt Lake to sell. He made several trips with two yoke of oxen hitched to the wagon. There were two roads at the point of the mountain and Hans was on the upper one when the head team became unhitched somehow and excited the rear team. They became unruly, the wagon tongue slipped out of the ring and Hans, wagon and oxen rolled off the dugway, landing at the foot of the mountain, near the Jordan River. Hans was badly injured and brought home late at night. One oxen came home later with a broken jaw, the other three had been killed. Anna fed the crippled ox mashed potatoes using a long wooden spoon to do so.

Flax was raised extensively at American Fork that year, here Hans found work and received flax for his pay. He and Anna made rope, kite string, candlewicks, and shoemakers thread from it. Hans made the rope to raise the first flag at Pleasant Grove. Hans became acquainted with Peter Godferson Sr. who urged him to sell out in Pleasant Grove and move to Mt. Pleasant. Hans sold out in 1864 and bought twentyseven acres from Godfersen in North field at Birch creek. Due to Hans' ambitious nature he paid for his farm in full; $1,000 in all, some money but mostly stock. Later he bought the home and lot now owned (1932) by Andrew Norman which was closer to town. At the time of the purchase there was a small one room log house with a rock cellar on the place. While living here five children were born to them; twins Sarah and Ephraim, another baby who died at birth, Lucinda and Joseph. One Sunday afternoon, a small band of Indians came and tried to take Bell away with them. They sent for a neighbor, Rastmus Mickelsen to help and Bell was hidden until the Indians rode off.

Hans understood astronomy and the year 1876-77 when E. A. Day was teaching school in Mt. Pleasant, Mr. Day asked him to lecture to his pupils. His talks and illustrations were both interesting Hans was always eager to help at any time. He loaned S. H. Allen the money he needed to acquire and education and be a doctor.

Lorenzo and Amasa attended the first Presbyterian school, now known as Wasatch Academy, founded by Dr. Duncan J. MuMuillian. the school was conducted in an old dance hall which McMuillian converted into a school and church. This building still stands on Main street and is the meeting hall of the Masonic Lodge.

Back Row Left Joseph, Lucinda, Hans Thomas, Sarah, Ephriam
Front Row Left Lorenzo, Mary Dorthea Catherine, Hans Christian, Elizabeth, Amasa
This picture was taken some time after his wife Anna's death.

They moved to Birch Creek in 1879, and lived there until Anna died, May 2 1886, then they moved back to town. The farm was sold and Hans remarried a few years later to a widow from Ephraim, Utah.

*****

Biography of Hans Christian Davidson and Anna Maria Jensen

As told to by their daughter Sarah D. Wilcox to her daughter Vennes Jenson.

Father was the son of Hans Davidson. He was born on the peninsula of Kechens per Alsen Island in the duchey of Schlesvig Holstein in north Prussia, on March 28th, 1820, and was married to Anna Maria Jensen, November 2, 1852. Father was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints on November 16, 1857.
Father lived in the same town of his wife in Denmark during which time two children were born to them, Mary and Hans. They were comfortably situated and had a little home of their own. Father was a draftsman and drew plots of land, valleys, and various buildings. After Father and Mother were baptized, the folks all around them, and they felt vexed to think that they would have to their home and position to suffer hardships and go to a strange country far away which they knew nothing about,
Shortly afterwards they made arrangements to leave with the first ship that carried immigrants to America, and it was not until late in the Fall that they learned of a ship that would carry Scandinavian immigrants. They sold as much of their possessions as they could, and the rest they gave away or left, and made ready for their departure to Liverpool, England, from which they were to sail. They carried with them only what food, clothing, and bedding that would be necessary until they reached America.
They soon reached Liverpool and set sail with about ninety Scandinavian immigrants in a ship “John Bright”, and under the direction of Ivan N. Iverson., on January 22, 1858. While on the water the immigrants suffered great hardships for the lack of drinking water, as their water, which was boiled and stored in forty gallon barrels before they left England, gave out, and because of this many suffered and died.
After thirteen weeks of weary tossing on the water, they arrived at New York, on April 26, 1858, and then after another long and tedious journey they reached Iowa City on May 1st. From there they started their long and toilsome journey across the plains.
Mother led Captain Iverson’s horse and cart while she herself walked the entire distance. Father took his turn with the other men herding and standing guard and sentinel every evening when they camped for the night.
They drove the wagons or ox-carts in a large circle and the people camped and cooked within the circle. After supper the all turned out in praise of God for His guidance so far along the way. So passed the many weeks of journey like this, and they finally reached Salt Lake City on Monday, September 20, 1858.
After stopping for some time in Salt Lake City, they traveled on with Mr. Iverson to Pleasant Grove, where Mr. Iverson lived. Mr. Iverson owned a house and some land and he had an out-house or cellar which he was not using, and in this he let father and mother live, the first winter. Next spring father worked and cut hay for the first cow they had, and the next summer she was turned on the mountain and died.
Four children were born to them while they lived at pleasant grove: Belle, Lorenzo, Amasa, and Sarah. Sarah a mere baby died at the age of six months. Father and Mother were very poor while they lived at Pleasant Grove and when the fourth baby was born Mother had no clothes for him. A neighbor lady happened in, and seeing these poor conditions, she immediately sent down some of her daughter’s baby clothes. Her daughter had recently lost her own baby.
The fall after the six-month baby had died, father borrowed old man Bacon’s new wagon to haul hay to Salt Lake to sell or to pay tithing -- It is not clear. Father had made several trips previously before this trip. There were two roads at the Point of the Mountain, and Father was on the upper road, he had two yoke of oxen hitched to the wagon. The head team became unyoked, or ran away. The other team became unruly so Fathers wagon -hay and all- went rolling off the dugway and landed at the foot of the mountain near the Jordan River. Father was quite badly injured, and three ox were killed. The other ox walked home with a broken jaw. Father was picked up and carried home late that night by a neighbor.
That year flax was raised quite extensively at American Fork and Father worked there and received flax for his pay. He brought it home and the rest of the family made rope and kite-line out of it, and Mother made thread to sew with; Also shoupe thread and candle-wicking.
Sometime later, Peter McArthur talked to father and wanted him to sell out in Pleasant Grove and go to Mt. Pleasant in Sanpete County. Father did this and bought 27 acres of land of Peter Gottferson in the North field, now Birch Creek, and later bought the home and lot that Andrew Norman is living on now. When father bought the place, it had a small log house, and a rock cellar outside. While living here, two Indian bucks came one Sunday and made an attempt to take my sister Belle. Mother sent for one of our neighbors, Rastus Nickelson, and in the meantime, hid my sister until the Indians left. This was Aunt Belle.
There were no dentists in those days here yet, and Father and Mother took places of one and pulled teeth with turn-keys for people. Father was also the first printer here. Mother died on May 2nd, 1886, and Father did job-printing up until the time of his in 1891 making him 71 years old.

By their daughter Sarah D. Wilcox

He was the first dentist in Mt. Pleasant, and Sanpete county and he read and wrote in three languages American, German, and Danish, and kept three papers and he never went to school in here in America.

By his granddaughter Vennes Wilcox Janson

A copy of the history of Hans Christian Davidson as written and printed by himself

My genealogy as far as known to me.

I Hans C. Davidsen, was the son of Hans Davidsen, who was the son of Christian Davidsen, who was the son of David Jorgensen. I was born on the peninsula of Kechens per Alsen Island in the Duchey of Schleswig Holstein in north Prussia, on March 28th, 1820. Was married to Anna Maria Jensen of Nomark, Lysaple Church District on November 2, 1852. Was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints on November 16, 1857. Emigrated to America and came to Utah in the year 1858.

Besides the six children mentioned above, they also had the following children:
7. Sarah (twin)
8. Ephraim (twin)
9. Lucinda
10. Joseph

* * *

Hans Christian Davidson and second wife, Anne Dorthea Hansen.

For more information on Hans Christian Davidson and his family, visit Hans Christian Davidson; Family & Descendants and Hans Christian Davidson.

Agnes Davidson, 1880-1964

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Born 8 Feb 1880 Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah
Died 20 Mar 1964 Rigby, Jefferson, Idaho
Parents: Walter Davidson and Mary Ann McRae
Spouse: Amos Siddoway (md. 19 Jun 1901 Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah)
Children: Walter Amos Siddoway, Lawrence Davidson Siddoway, Donald Ray Siddoway, Mary Agnes Siddoway

Agnes Siddoway Dies at Rigby

TETON, March 22 – Mrs. Agnes Davidson Siddoway, 84, of 373 4th St., Idaho Falls, died Friday morning at a Rigby rest home of causes incident to age.

She was born Feb. 8, 1880, in Salt Lake City, Utah, daughter of Walter and Mary Ann Davidson. Her childhood was spent there and she was married to Amos J. Siddoway in 1901 at Salt Lake City. They left after their marriage for Teton City where they lived until 1945, moving to Idaho Falls.

She was an active civic leader, chairman of the Red Cross in Teton during World War I, past president of the Parent-Teacher Assn. They celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary in 1961 at Idaho Falls.

Surviving are her husband, Amos J., Idaho Falls; three sons and one daughter, Walter A. and Don R. Siddoway, Teton; Lawrence D. Siddoway, Rt. 2, Rigby, and Mrs. Frank (Mary A.) Collins, 304 W. 21st St., Idaho Falls; 14 grandchildren, 15 great grandchildren.

Funeral services will be conducted Monday at 1:30 p.m. in the Teton LDS Ward Chapel by Bishop John Bean. The family will receive friends Sunday from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Hansen Funeral home in St. Anthony and at the church from 11:30 a.m. Monday until service time. Interment will be in the Teton-Newdale Cemetery.

From the Post-Register [of Idaho Falls, Idaho], 20 March 1964

Edward Wilcox Davenport, 1822-1904 and Clarissa Danforth Crapo, 1828-1911

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Edward Wilcox Davenport:

Born 20 Sep 1822 New Bedford, Bristol, Massachusetts
Died 27 Jun 1904 Hood River, Hood River, Oregon
Parents: Jeremiah Davenport and Alice Hathaway
Wife: Clarissa Danforth Crapo (md. 10 Aug 1848)
Children: Joseph Smith Crapo Davenport, Jeremiah Franklin Davenport, John Edward Davenport, James Albert Davenport, William Edwin Davenport, Mary Alice Davenport, Marcus Morton Davenport, Agnes Eudora Davenport, Charles Davenport, Warren Ellis Davenport

Clarissa Danforth Crapo:

Born 10 Aug 1828 New Bedford, Bristol, Massachusetts
Died 11 Jan 1911 Portland, Multnomah, Oregon
Parents: Joseph George Crapo and Mary Hicks Collins

Edward Wilcox Davenport

and
Clarissa Danforth Crapo

Edward Wilcox Davenport* [also known as Edward Hathaway Davenport] was the fourth and youngest child of his parents. His father, Jeremiah Davenport, was in the mercantile and bakery business at Tiverton, R.I., and his mother, Alice, who was his father's third wife, had been a school teacher for twelve years and was a woman of talent and education. Jeremiah died of consumption when Edward was four years old and Alice died of the same disease less than two years later. She left her small son to the care of her spinster sister. The aunt was quite well-to-do and loved him dearly. She wanted him to change his name to hers, Hathaway. This he would never do, although he did use it as a middle name until she disowned him when he joined the Mormon Church. She begged him to renounce Mormonism, promising that if he did, she would make him her sole heir. This he refused to do, for he had been sincere in his acceptance of the doctrine taught by the Mormons. He gladly gave up his inheritance and went to Utah, suffering the hardships and privations of the pioneers, that he might make a home there and live in peace among others who believed as he did. His aunt left her property to his older brother, Jeremiah, who later with his wife and child, was drowned at sea.

When Edward was twelve years old, he was apprenticed to a shoemaker to learn the trade, which at that time also included the tanning of the leather. He received no wages but was allowed to spend Saturday and Sunday with his aunt. He worked as an apprentice until he was twenty, when his aunt started him up in a business of his own. He followed this trade the rest of his working years.

Edward was tall, dark and very quiet, having a sweet, even disposition. His wife, Clarissa, was very small, so small she could walk under her tall husband's out-stretched arm without even her hair brushing his sleeve. She was energetic and very quick in her actions and had a sharp temper, but ordinarily was jolly and full of fun and all her life loved to dance, sing and recite.

Clarissa Danforth Crapo was the first of eleven children to be born to Joseph George and Mary Hicks (Collins) Crapo. She was born in her grandfather's farm home in New Bedford, Mass., on the 10th of August 1828, about one hundred and fifty years after her first Crapo ancestor arrived in America. He was Pierre Crapaud, better known to us as Peter Crapo.

Her grandfather, Charles Crapo, was a great-grandson of Pierre. Her grandmother was Sarah Lucas, a great-granddaughter of Thomas Shaw. Thomas was a soldier in the American Revolution and died in the service of his country. He was in Captain William Shaw's First Middleborough Company of Minutemen and answered the Lexington alarm, April 9, 1775. He was killed in battle July 6, 1778.

Clarissa's father, Joseph George Crapo, was the eldest son of Charles and Sarah. He was small of stature like his mother and inherited her alert business nature. He disliked the work on the farm very much and cherished a dream of someday owning a fishing smack, as the fishing boats were called.

When Joseph was twenty years old, he fell in love with an Irish , Mary Hicks Collins. She was very pretty, with sparkling blue eyes and dark auburn curls. His father was very much opposed to the marriage but gave his consent when Joseph agreed to remain on the farm three more years, when a younger brother would then be old enough to take his place. So he and Mary Collins were married June 18, 1826, at Fall River, Mass. Their first child, a was born Aug. 10, 1828. She was such a sweet baby and the darling of her grandparents and her uncles and aunts. Many names were suggested for the newcomer, but the mother had her way and the baby was christened Clarissa. Her grandmother Crapo, though, always insisted on calling her Katie. Clarissa had her mother's Irish blue eyes and auburn curls and from the first she ruled them all with her sweet disposition and winning ways.

When the years had passed that her father had agreed to stay on the farm and he and his wife left for Maine to earn the money for his boat, they yielded to the pleas of all the family and Clarissa, or Katie as she was then called, was left in the care of her Crapo grandparents. Her uncles adored her, especially her Uncle Charles, who taught her little poems to recite at socials and family gatherings.

Katie was four years old, when her Uncle Charles bought her a pair of little red shoes and took her to a social where she was to recite. She got about half-way through with the poem and stopped suddenly saying, "Uncle Charles kissed Miss Annie." Everyone laughed except Miss Annie and Uncle Charles, who taking hold of her arm said, "Katie mind what you are saying." She was somewhat frightened at his toe and hurriedly recited on to the end. Then thinking that perhaps they thought she had made it up she said, "He did really kiss Miss Annie," whereupon she was taken out and sent home. A few days later she was in disgrace again. Her grandparents were devoutly religious and she was early taught to say her evening prayer. One night she said an extremely short one and when questioned, she said she was "too tired." When she was taken to church not long afterward, she sat quietly all through the pastor's unusually long prayer and then in a loud whisper that carried all through the chapel, said, "He didn't get tired very soon, did he?"

During her years with her grandparents, she was taught many things. She learned to knit and sew at an early age and her schooling was the best to be had there. She was bright and quick to learn and was always at the head of her class. When still just a child, she spelled down the whole school. When she was eight years old, her grandfather had her start reading to him from the Bible each night, and by the time she was twelve years old, she had read the Bible through. It was when she was twelve, too, that her parents returned to New Bedford, her father having acquired enough money to buy the coveted fishing boat.

Clarissa loved the sea and went with her father on many trips. She became adept at steering. Once while they were living on an island in the bay, to be near her father's oyster bed, her mother became very ill and it was necessary to take her to the mainland to a doctor. As they were crossing the bay, a sudden storm came up. Clarissa was at the wheel and the huge waves would nearly sweep her off her feet. Those watching from the shore expected to see the boat swamped any minute and bet among themselves as to the outcome. When the vessel reached the harbor in safety and they saw it was a at the wheel, the winner of the bet insisted on her receiving the purse of thirty dollars he had won, to show his admiration for her bravery and courage.

Her father followed the fishing trade for seven years and then was caught in a storm and his boat was wrecked. He was rescued and carried to France by an outgoing ship. It was over a year before he was able to earn enough to return and he had been mourned as lost.

Clarissa was nineteen when he was wrecked and with the help of her brother Jonathan, who was a few years younger, supported their invalid mother and younger brothers and sisters. She had learned to run a loom in her uncle's linen factory and had been placed in charge of eight looms and taught other s to run them. Each day she was allowed one and a half yards of new material to use in dusting the machines. She used old material from home instead and her Uncle Charles allowed her to keep the new, so by the time she was married, she had a trunk full of linen and muslin material for use in her new home.

She was a good dressmaker at the age of sixteen and did all the sewing for her mother's family. She learned tailoring, too, and at the age of eighteen could cut and sew a man's suit of clothes. In later years she made her husband's and sons' suits.

Her family joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints when she was seventeen years old. She was nineteen when she met her future husband, Edward Wilcox Davenport. He was a member of the New Bedford Fire Brigade and she met him at a fir, when she, with other women and s, was serving hot food to the weary men. They were married on her twentieth birthday, August 10, 1848. Her first child, Joseph Crapo Davenport, was born when she was twenty-one.

In 1851, Jonathan Crapo, Clarissa's brother, was to have driven a wagon to Utah for a friend, and as pay have space in it to take garden tools and other belongings. Just before the company was to leave, he cut his foot badly and his father said to Edward, "There is nothing we can do now, Edward, but have you go in Jonathan's place." So Edward left for Utah, where he would stay and prepare a home for his wife and child who were to follow him the next summer.

When Edward arrived in Salt Lake City, he plied his trade of shoemaking, for which there was a great demand. In return he received materials and help in building a home. It was a humble home, a little log cabin with a fireplace for heating and cooking. The table and benches were hand hewn from logs. there were no windows and the only light by day, when the door was closed, was a hole in the wall with a board to slide over it as a cover. The light at night was furnished by a tallow dip, which was made by placing a piece of cloth in a dish of tallow. The homemade door was fastened shut by nailing a small piece of wood, called a button, on the frame and turning it across the door.

Clarissa worked for a year in a factory to earn the money to have her trunk, bedding and food hauled across the plains. She walked all the way, carrying her boy when he became tired of walking or riding in the wagon. Before leaving her home she had received her patriarchal blessing, in which she was promised that both she and her baby would reach Utah in safety and that her son would become the father of a large family.

When they had traveled about six weeks, her baby took sick with cholera, and in the morning became cold and stiff and to all appearances was . The captain of the company said to her, "Sister Davenport, shall we bury the baby this morning or wait until noon?" She answered, "Captain, my baby isn't ." She told him of the promise in her blessing and he replied that such things weren't always to be taken literally. She said, "Well, if that isn't true, nothing is true. You can't bury my baby here." "Well," he said, "we will wait until noon." And so they drove on. She rubbed the baby with oil that had been blessed and forced some down his throat and held him close to get him warm, praying all the while.

After a time he began to get warm and limber and soon wanted a drink, after which he went to sleep. At noon the captain came to the back of the wagon again and said, "Sister davenport, are you willing for us to bury the baby now?" She uncovered the sleeping child and asked, "Would you bury a living child?" He looked at the baby in astonishment and then calling the company together, knelt down and asked forgiveness of our Heavenly Father for his lack of faith. This incident is but one of many to show the great faith Clarissa had all her life. Joseph reached Utah in good health and eventually became the father of many children as the blessing had promised.

When the wagon train reached Indian territory, the captain said that they must all be very careful not to make the Indians angry. One noon as they camped for lunch, a band of Indians swooped down, yelling loudly. At the head wagon they stopped and spread a blanket on the ground in front of it. This meant that the pioneers must pay toll from their meager stores and fill the blanket with food, trinkets and other articles to the Indians' satisfaction before they could proceed on their way. While the Indians waited for their blanket to be filled, they went among the wagons, seemingly very interested in all they saw. Joseph was a beautiful child, having curly golden hair and big blue eyes, and the Indians thought he was wonderful. They would point to his eyes and then to the sky and make motions with their hands. The chief tried to buy him, offering Clarissa horses, robes, anything he had with him, but she would only shake her head and smile. While she was playing with the baby, several young squaws came up to watch. One of them begged hard to hold him, offering as a bribe, several strings of pretty blue beads. Clarissa was young and beads were very pretty, and so thinking it would do no harm and even help keep the Indians pacified, she started to hand the child to the eager squaw. As she did so, the squaw glanced up and Clarissa looking up too, saw the chief sitting on his horse, ready to grab the child and go. She quickly turned to the wagon, holding her baby boy close to her. The chief was very angry and scolded the little squaw severely, striking her many times with his hand. He knew she had done something to make Clarissa suspicious. The captain gave orders for Clarissa to keep her child out of sight until they were safely through the Indian territory.

Once while gathering brush for the campfire with other women, she became confused as to the direction of their camp and was soon completely lost. She was seen, however, by one of the men who was on horseback, and he took her back to camp, two miles away and in the opposite direction.

Edward knew his wife was coming and late in the summer of 1852, he with others who were expecting loved ones, got a yoke of oxen and a wagon and taking vegetables and other provisions, started out to meet them.

What a happy reunion that was for the lonely husband, who for over a year had heard so little from his dear wife and baby, and for the brave little wife, who had traveled for three long months and who was so tired from the long wearisome walks she had taken and from the hardships and dangers she had endured, to reach her husband and Zion. She was so happy to know she could ride the rest of the way. She always said that the vegetables he brought were the best she ever tasted.

In her snug little cabin in Salt Lake City, she soon had all the sewing and knitting she could do. This helped very much with the living as she was paid in produce. She did much tailoring, even making men's suits, and was especially in demand for making buttonholes, a task at which she was very proficient.

The next year Clarissa's parents and their family came to Utah. They were in the John A. Miller and John W. Cooley Company which was organized on the 8th of June, on the west bank of the Missouri River, near old Winter Quarters. The log of the company in the Journal History of the Church says the Crapo party consisted of eight persons, four wagons, three horses and eighteen cattle. They arrived in Utah the 9th day of September, 1853, and along with others of this company settled in Draper, a few miles south of Salt Lake City.

Edward and Clarissa lived in Salt Lake City for several years and here their next two children were born. the first, Jeremiah Franklin, was born in 1853. He was a beautiful baby, bright and intelligent and was greatly coveted by a Doctor Franklin, who offered the parents one thousand dollars for him. Of course the offer was refused, but the baby was named for him. The second child, John Edward, was born in 1855. Perhaps Clarissa became homesick, for about this time, she and her husband and three little boys moved to Draper near her parents. Another son, James Albert, was born in June, 1857.

In order to make a living though, they had to go wherever Edward could find shoes to mend and make, so after a short stay in Draper, they moved farther south to Camp Floyd, where an army of U.S. soldiers under Brigadier-General A. S. Johnson was stationed. Here Edward did shoemaking and his wife did washing and mending. Another son was born while the family lived at Camp Floyd, William Edwin. Little James died the year William was born and was buried in Camp Floyd. This was the first break in the family circle and was a great sorrow to the parents. Camp Floyd was far from being an ideal place for the family of growing boys and so in 1860, Edward decided to move his family back to Draper.

Joseph Crapo and his pioneer neighbors by this time had accumulated quite a large herd of stock and larger, better range was very much needed. In 1860 Joseph, with three companions, his son-in-law, Alvin S. Montierth and William Smith and Barnard White, was chosen to select a new location. They went north and in April arrived in Cache Valley. The little cove where Avon is now located was very attractive. It was at the forks of East Creek and the Little Bear River, so that plenty of water was available. It was very beautiful with its green meadows and hills and profusion of spring flowers. The men were well pleased with the valley and speedily built a log cabin, after which they returned to Draper for their families. They said the valley was like Paradise and when the first families arrived there on the 18th of July 1860, they gave it that name, Paradise. Eight log houses were built that summer in a fort formation and the men working together raised a good crop.

Edward and his family stayed in Draper and here in April, 1861, another child was born. To their great joy it was a little daughter, their first, and they named her Mary Alice. In 1862, the Davenport family left Draper to make their home in Paradise. On the journey to their new home, little William, who was three years old, became very ill. When they got to the hot springs in North Ogden, they camped for several days and gave the sick child baths in the warm water, which benefited him very much.

They found Paradise to be very beautiful, but like every Paradise, theirs too had a serpent. In was in the form of Indians. In choosing their town site, they had unwittingly chosen a junction of Indian trails. Trails through East Canyon led to Wyoming, others led north to Idaho and south to Ogden and other southern Utah points. It was ideally located for camping, with plentiful hunting and fishing, and was very well known to the Indians, as the pioneers soon found out. Because of the Indian camps in the nearby river bottoms, it was necessary to herd the stock closely. A large public corral for the stock was built, with a high, strong pole fence and guards were stationed here and outside the fort, or town, day and night. The men went in armed groups to the fields to work and to the canyons for logs. As they were far from other settlements, the utmost vigilance was necessary at all times to protect themselves and their property from the Indians.

Many tribes used these trails and Chief Washakie became a well-known figure to the settlers, as he and his tribe traveled back and forth through the valley.

Church meetings were held in the homes that first year, with the eldest elder present, usually Joseph George Crapo, presiding. In February, 1861, Apostle Ezra T. Benson and Peter Maughn organized the church in the settlement and David James, who had moved to Paradise from Salt Lake City, was ordained the first bishop.

That summer of 1861, Joseph Crapo and H. C. Jackson built a small sawmill on East Creek near the fort and the first timber was sawed. This small mill was the beginning of a fruitful business in the valley in later years.

Bishop James was very tactful and careful in his dealings with the Indians and strictly heeded the advice of President Young, "to feed, not fight them." The people were very generous in supplying the needed provisions. Chief Washakie came on several occasions and asked for supplies, offering as pay in exchange, all the land east of Paradise. When Bishop James would remonstrate, saying he had received that land as pay the time before, chief Washakie would smilingly offer to sell it again.

About this time Edward bought a little Indian from her captors, a conquering tribe. She died when only about five years of age of whooping cough. She had grown very dear to the family in the years she lived with them. She was buried in the Paradise Cemetery. The Crapos also bought an Indian . They gave a yearling heifer for her. They gave her the name Naomi, and she lived with them for many years until her which was brought on by a fall. She was an excellent housekeeper and seemed very contented and happy with her foster family.

In 1867 and '68, the Black Hawk Indians in southern Utah were causing the people much trouble and anxiety. As the Indians in northern Utah and Idaho were becoming restless and more hostile, the settlers all moved back into the fort, but more protection was needed. Apostle Benson advised the people in Paradise to move their settlement about three miles north, closer to Hyrum and other settlements and in more open country. This they did in the spring of 1868.

It was considerable sacrifice to these early pioneers to commence a new settlement again so soon. Homes were moved where possible or new ones built, and equipment and stock moved to the new town site. The canal from East Creek was extended and finished in time to irrigate the new fields. This was a huge undertaking when it is remembered that except for the preliminary plowing, the canal was built by hand.

At new Paradise the Davenports had a nice log home with two rooms downstairs and a large one above. The people still cooked on open fireplaces and having no matches, would borrow live coals from a neighbor when necessary to start a new fire. About 1870 though, Clarissa's sons bought her the first cook stove to be used in their town. It was called a step stove, the lids over the oven being a step higher than those in front. They also bought her a sewing machine, the first she ever had. It turned by hand as her son Mark well remembered, as it fell to his lot to do the turning, and lots of turning there was as she did much sewing for her neighbors as well as the sewing for her own family. When her eldest son, Joseph, was married in 1871, she made his wedding suit. Her youngest child, another son Warren, was born that same year in May.

Four children were born to Edward and Clarissa in Paradise, a little daughter, Agnes Eudora and three more sons, Mark, Warren, and a baby Charles who died in infancy.

The older Davenport boys engaged in the lumber business in Paradise and operated what young Mark laughingly called a tri-weekly mill; get a log out one week and try to saw it up the next. He also laughed at their sash or "up and down" saw as he called it, up today and down tomorrow.

The grasshoppers had partially destroyed the crops for several years and the year 1872 had been particularly bad for Edward's family. Winter found them with very little food on hand. They had a very meager diet of a little parched corn, venison, bear meat, and now and then a little thickened milk and on rare occasions a little bread and dried fruit. A little wheat had been raised near Brigham City and Edward had gone there and taken his shoemaking kit from door to door, taking as pay for his work, flour, dried fruit, wheat or anything the people could spare. thus his family was able to fare as well as it did. In the spring the grasshoppers rose in a swarm and migrated to the south east, to the great joy of the people of the valley.

When the Brigham City Co-op was started, Edward got work in the shoe shop. He rented a large room in the home of Aunt Phoebe Snow, a wife of President Lorenzo Snow. In September 1873, Clarissa and her four youngest children joined him there. The next spring Edward bought the adjoining house and lot, where the family lived for the next few years. Clarissa worked part of the time in the woolen mills where she was in charge of the looms. She also helped Sister Snow when she entertained, helping plan and prepare banquets. She also helped her with her home decorating, arranging pictures, curtains and furniture.

In 1877, Edward sold his home in Brigham City and moved back to Paradise, where he helped his sons buy what was then as up-to-date saw mill. It was run by a turbine wheel and had a circular saw and modern log carriage. Its capacity was about one thousand board feet an hour. They called their mill the Davenport Brothers Lumber Company. Frank stayed in the lumber business most of his life, in Utah, Idaho and finally in Washington and Oregon, but the other boys gradually drifted into other kinds of business.

Clarissa and her daughters, Mary and Eudora, cooked for the men at their summer camps, sometimes for as many as sixteen men at a time. In the fall of 1880, when they were loading the wagon to go home, Clarissa fell off the injured her back, causing it to be crooked and lame the rest of her life.

In 1883 Edward bought some land on Egin Bench in what is now known as Parker, Idaho. Clarissa started a little store which she kept for several years and then sold to her son, Joseph. From his they moved to Monida, a railway station on the border line of Idaho and Montana.

In April, 1888, Clarissa went back to Paradise to visit her daughter Mary and to care for her seriously ill mother, who died soon after in May. While she was gone, Edward bought a cow, which he tried to lead home. It tried to run back to its calf and Edward was tripped and fell, breaking his right arm. The doctor didn't think it was broken and so it healed wrong, causing his fingers to become crooked and stiff. Because of this, it was very hard for him to continue his shoemaking. He was lost without his trade and very unhappy at his inability to work.

By this time several of their children had moved to Oregon, so in 1900 Edward and Clarissa went there too. They were living in Hood River, Oregon, in 1902, in part of their son Frank's home, when Edward fell and hurt his back. He was partially paralyzed and was taken care of by his daughter Eudora, until she moved away nearly a year and a half later. His wife, Clarissa then cared for him until his the 27th of June, 1904. He was buried in the cemetery in Hood River, Oregon. Clarissa then went to Woodburn, Oregon, to live with her daughter, Eudora D. Short.

Clarissa had splendid eyesight and though handicapped by creeping paralysis, which eventually caused her , she did fine needle work. Her knitted lace was beautiful. When she was eighty-one years old, she pieced a crazy quilt of velvet pieces. She died the 11th of January, 1911, in Portland, Oregon, and was buried by the side of her husband in the Idlewild Cemetery in Hood River, Oregon.

Although they endured many hardships and trials, Edward and his wife Clarissa Davenport had lived full and eventful lives, rich in love and friendship and accomplishing much good.

They were the parents of ten children, eight boys and two s, seven of whom survived them. They were grandparents to sixty-three grandchildren and so left a large posterity to thrill at their life story and profit by their example of faith and industry.

*An explanation is due those of you who read this history. It is essentially Aunt Dora D. Short's story of her kinfolk. In 1947, I joined a local camp of the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers. Since the first objective of this organization is to secure and record histories of Utah pioneers, I went to the D.U.P. office in Salt Lake City to see which histories of our ancestors were already on file. Finding none, I decided to start with the histories of my great-grandparents, Edward and Clarissa (Crapo) Davenport.

Since I knew little about them, except the traditional stories of "Little Grandma" crossing the plains, I went to Aunt Dora for help. She was delighted and as a starter gave me a copy of the history she had written which is widely circulated among members of the family. She told me she had planned to enlarge it anyway, and even had parts of it written, such as the new stories of "Miss Annie," the "little red shoes," and "the preacher who didn't tire easily," and more detailed accounts of others. She gladly let me take these and other notes she had and gave me every help and encouragement.

Her remembrance of what her mother had told her about the Camp Floyd, Draper and early Paradise eras wasn't too clear. By consulting Bancroft's History of Utah and Hovey's Early History of Cache County, I was finally able to reconcile our data with theirs. However, they credit Peter Maughn and Ezra T. Benson with giving the settlement of Paradise its name and I used Aunt Dora's version. I also got much valuable help from the Journal History of the Church in the Historian's office in Salt Lake City.

When it was finished, I read it to Aunt Dora and after making a few minor changes of words and phrases, she gave it her full approval, and copies of the history were put on file in the Utah County and State D.U.P. Archives.

In this present history, however, I have re-arranged the material, placing Edward's early history first instead of that of his wife, Clarissa.

There are two things I have been unable to verify. First the birthplace of James Albert, Edward's fourth child. The family record says Camp Floyd, Utah, but the camp wasn't established until a year after the birth date we have for him. So, whether he was born somewhere else or whether the birth date we have for him is wrong, I don't know. The second thing is Edward's baptism date. Aunt Dora said he was baptized just before taking Jonathan's place and leaving for Utah, but other records, including one of his own, give it as 1850 instead of 1851, the year he came to Utah.

As much as possible I have used Aunt Dora's own words in this history and because of that and since it was written with her knowledge and approval, I feel that this is truly Aunt Dora's own story of her kinfolk.

Dorothy D. Hall

* * *

from Hall, Dorothy D., compiler. Davenport Ancestry in America and Descendants of John Pope Davenport and Edward Wilcox Davenport: 1640-1962. Springville, Utah: Art City Publishing Company, 1962, pp. 63-77.

Joseph George Crapo, 1806-1886

2009-01-18T08:39:00.001-08:00

Born 7 Nov 1806 New Bedford, Bristol, Massachusetts
Died 20 Sep 1886 Paradise, Cache, Utah
Parents: Charles Crapo and Sarah (Sally) Lucas
Spouse: Mary Hicks Collins (md. 12 Jun 1826 Fall River, Bristol, Massachusetts)
Children: Clarissa Danforth Crapo, Jonathan Collins Crapo, George Crapo, Eliza Crapo, Harriet West Crapo, Leonidus Leonard, Crapo, Prince Albert Crapo, Marcus Morton Crapo, Joseph S. Crapo, Ezra Crapo, Lorenzo Snow Crapo

Joseph George Crapo and Mary Hicks Collins

!Initial source: A family group sheet compiled by Mrs. Dorothy D. Hall (now deceased). This gives the birth which is found in town records of Freetown, Mass (FHL 904380) (lists the Charles Crapo family with birthdates of each) and in "Vital Records of Dartmouth, Mass" (FHL 974.485/D1 V2n); marriage from LDS Temple Records and Ward record of Draper, Utah (FHL 6262). Index to records of Fall River (FHL 573257) shows record of intention of marriage of Joseph Crapo and Mary H. Collins was made 5 June 1826 in vol. 2 pg 103. I know of no record of marriage being found in Massachusetts civil records. It has the death from an obituary in Deseret News 12 Sep 1888 (FHL 26603)

No record has been found of his original baptism into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints but records of Draper, Utah, LDS Ward show he was rebaptized along with many other members 29 Mar 1857. His endowment record looks like the baptism date is 14 Dec 1841 but it could be 1847. LDS temple ordinances are in the 1997 IGI from temple records. Manti temple records show 11 children of Joseph G. & Mary H. Crapo sealed to them 4 May 1938. The 1850 census of Bristol Co., Mass (FHL 14703), dated 16 Aug, says Ezra B. was 1/12 yrs old. Other family information from "Davenports in America" by D. D. Hall, "Crapo Genealogy" by G. L. Randall, (copies of these two also found in the Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah), and various biographies written by descendants, all in possession of Marva D. Rydalch, 3567 E. Jill St., Idaho Falls, ID 83401.

Joseph George Crapo was the only one of his father's family who joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and went west to Utah. In none of the records of Massachusetts does the second name "George" appear. The record of his birth in the Freetown records gives only the name Joseph. He had a half uncle Joseph, about seven years older, so he may have assumed the name to distinguish between the two. In a biography of his daughter, Clarissa, written by her daughter, Eudora, found in "Davenports in America", it says he grew up on his father's farm in New Bedford, met a pretty little Irish girl, Mary Hicks Collins, and fell in love with her. But his father was opposed to the marriage. The biography also said he did not like farming and wanted to acquire a fishing boat and follow that trade, and that his father agreed to the marriage if he would stay on the farm until his younger brother was old enough to take over.

There is an entry in the court records of Bristol Co. showing a Joseph Crapo of Troy (later called Fall River) entering suit in March of 1830 against a Charles Crapo for collection of debt. It was continued until 1834 when it was dismissed because the plaintiff didn't appear. There is nothing in the court records to indicate whether this was his father or his brother.

There is no record in Massachusetts nor Maine 1830 census of a Joseph Crapo. All censuses before 1850 name only the head of the household and give the number of persons in the house by sex and age group. In the 1830 census it looks as though none except the unmarried children are with his parents, Charles and Sarah, but there are extra people of the right ages in the census record of Silas Collins of Troy (Fall River) to indicate that Mary and their two children could have been with them. However, the usual practice in these cases was to give the name of the persons if the surname were different, and there is no other surname given besides Collins. It is possible that, since Mary was his daughter, they would not have followed that rule.

Clarissa's biography says that Joseph and Mary went to Maine about 1830 to earn money for a fishing boat, leaving Clarissa with her grandparents, Charles and Sarah Crapo. Temple records in Utah show twins born in 1833 to Joseph and Mary and that they died in infancy, no birthplace given. These records show that the fifth child, Harriet W., was born 1835 in Shirley, Maine.

A biography of Joseph's son, Jonathan, written by his son Charles, says that Joseph was working as a longshoreman in Boston harbor when he (Jonathan) was born (Feb 1830), that he followed this work until his family numbered four or five children and he decided to get on a farm so went to try his luck in Maine, leaving Jonathan with his grandparents. (Note that this is different in some details from the biography of Clarissa.) The Maine land records (see below) show that he held property in Maine in April 1830. Also, it would not be reasonable that he went to Maine in order to get on a farm because his father's will shows he had extensive farm land. The version in Clarissa's story seems more believable.

This same biography says Jonathan was 8 years old when his parents went to Maine. It is more likely that they left Jonathan with his grandparents after they returned from Maine, when they went to ply the fishing trade. According to Clarissa's biography, that was about 1840, when Jonathan would be 10 years old. Also, the 1840 census shows a boy aged between 10 and 15 in the household of Charles and Sarah Crapo. As their youngest son was then 27, this is probably Jonathan, who was then 10 years old. The 1850 census, which was the first to give names of all in the household, names Jonathan, still with them. The biography of Jonathan says he was apprenticed to his grandfather.

Land records of Somerset Co., Maine, show Joseph Crapo, of Solon, mortgaging 80 acres of land in Solon 16 Apr 1830 to James Jones. It states "together with Mary my wife...have hereunto set our hands and seals ..." but her name doesn't appear with his in the signature although there are two "seals" shown. Perhaps the seal is in lieu of her signature. No previous deed is there to show how they acquired the land. Joseph's grand-uncle Joshua had land in New Portland, 10 miles southwest of Solon and died there May 1834. This may be a clue as to how he acquired it. However no records have been found yet in further evidence. There is also no further record to show them selling this land so perhaps they let it go for the mortgage because, on 5 Jan 1836 Joseph Crapo of Shirley purchased from James Arnold, for $300, 100 acres in Shirley, which is about 30 miles north of Solon on the Piscataquis River, and is now in Piscataquis Co. They mortgaged this land the same day to the seller for part of the cost - $125.50, but here again Mary is named in the document and two seals are shown but her signature does not appear. Then on 20 Feb 1836 he mortgaged it to Isaac Phillips for $80 and sold it 18 Apr to Horace Flanders for $350. The next year, 4 Oct 1837, this man sold the land back to Joseph for $400 who then, on the same day, mortgaged it to his brother, Charles W. Crapo, for $800 and again to Mr. Flanders for $480. Although both were dated the same day the mortgage to Charles was recorded 5 Oct 1837 and the one to Mr. Flanders, 25 Oct 1837. This was the last record shown in Maine so perhaps they relinquished the farm to Charles W. or Mr. Flanders and returned to Fall River as Leonidas Leonard, according to family and temple records, was born there in 1838. However, since Mary's name did not appear in any except the first two deeds, it could be that she returned to Fall River before he did.

A history of Piscataquis County, by Rev. Amasa Loring, 1880, says the first enterprise in Shirley was a sawmill, the town then called "True's Mills". Early maps show the town name as "Shirley Mills". Lumber mills were the main businesses for many years. So it is likely that was the work Joseph did to earn money for his fishing boat.

There is an interesting fact to be noted in the research of the family of Joseph's maternal grandparents, Elijah Lucas and Sarah Shaw. A quit claim deed of 22 May 1835, found in records at Taunton, shows that Jacob Lucas, brother of Joseph's mother, was then living in Shirley, Somerset, Maine, and her sister Azuba and her husband, Winslow Birden, living in Willington, Somerset, Maine.

The 1840 census shows a Joseph Crapo back in Fall River with two males under 5, one age 10 to 15, three age 20 to 30 and one age 30 to 40, two females under 5, one age 10-15 and one age 20 to 30. The one male 30 to 40 could be Joseph and the female 20 to 30, Mary, but according to the makeup of their family as shown by family records and the 1850 census, they would have had only one boy under 5 (Leonidas) and one 10 to 15, (Jonathan), only one girl under five (Harriet) and one 10 to 15 (Clarissa). The three males age 20 to 30 and the extra boy and girl under 5 remain a mystery. Perhaps the twins were still alive at this time, however, if they were born in 1833 they would have been over 5 in 1840. Could it be that they were born after Harriet instead of before? The 1850 census shows the family in New Bedford (pg 56) with all their surviving children except Jonathan, (who is listed with his grandparents), and with Clarissa, her husband and their son. Ages were Joseph, 42, laborer, Mary, 40, Harriet W., 14, Leonidas L., 12, Prince A, 9, Marcus M, 6, Ezra B, 1/12, Davenport, Edward, 28, dealer in shoes, Clarissa, 22, Joseph C, 10/12, all born Massachusetts except Harriet born Maine. The baby Joseph C. was on page 53 but it looks like the pages were mis-numbered as household number is the same as for Joseph Crapo on page 56.

Clarissa's biography says that the family returned from Maine when she was 12 (1840) and bought a fishing boat. It tells some of her memories of the fishing activity (see her biography) and says that, when she was 19 (1847) the boat was lost in a storm at sea and Joseph was picked up by an outgoing vessel and taken to France. It says he was there over a year before he could earn enough money for passage back home, during which time he was mourned as dead. This is not mentioned in Jonathan's biography, which seems strange. But, since he was with his grandparents until after he was 20 years of age, (1850) perhaps it didn't impress on his mind enough for him to relate it to his son, Charles, who wrote the biography from memory of things told him by his father. Clarissa's biography says the family joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1845. Her endowment record says she was baptized 9 Apr 1845 but Joseph's says he was baptized 14 Dec 1841. (This could possibly be 1847 as the writing is not very clear) Mary's says Sep 1854 for her. No other records have been found of their original baptisms but they were rebaptized along with many other members in Draper, Utah, in 1857.

As Jonathan's biography states, they sold their property and left to gather with the Church, sailing down the coast to the Gulf of Mexico and up the Mississippi to St. Louis, then went to Kanesville, (now Council Bluffs) Iowa, winter quarters for the migrating church. There they rented a farm and awaited events as the Church was migrating to the Rocky Mountains. Lorenzo S. was born there 29 Nov 1852. In 1853 they went with the Miller and Cooley Co. to Salt Lake Valley. According to records of that company there were eight people in their family and they had four wagons, three horses and eighteen cattle. Harriet is listed separately with her husband, Alvin M. Montierth. Clarissa and her husband and baby had traveled to Salt Lake earlier from Massachusetts.

The Crapo family settled first in Draper. Draper Ward records, pg 2, show that he, his wife and three sons, Albert, Leonard and Jonathan, were rebaptized during the "Reformation" 29 Mar 1857. (Paradise Ward Records, pg 36, show he was again rebaptized 1 Nov 1886 by John Welch, Jr., confirmed 7 Nov 1886 by J. S. Price.) The biography of Jonathan says no land was available in Draper so they went up into the foothills and located on a small spring about a mile south of what is now Granite, which they called "Crapo Springs". There were a few acres of ground tillable but not water enough to provide for the family and the cattle they had accumulated so, after a few years they, with other families, looked for a better place to settle.

Clarissa's biography says that in 1860 Joseph, with three companions, his son-in-law, Alvin M. S. Montierth, and William Smith and Barnard White, went to Cache Valley and found a desirable place. It was a little cove where Avon is now located, at the forks of East Creek and Little Bear River with plenty of water available. It was very beautiful with its green meadows and hills and profusion of spring flowers. They speedily built a log cabin and returned to Draper for their families. They said the valley was like Paradise and when the first families arrived there on the 18th of July 1860, they gave it that name. Eight log cabins were built that summer in a fort formation and the men, working together, raised a good crop.

But they soon found it was not all that desirable. In choosing their town site, they had unwittingly chosen a junction of Indian trails. Those through East Canyon led to Wyoming, others led north to Idaho and south to Ogden and other southern Utah points. Many tribes used these trails and Chief Washakie became a well known figure to the settlers as he and his tribe traveled back and forth through the valley.

It was ideally located for Indian camps and the settlers found it necessary to guard their cattle closely. A large public corral was built for the stock, with a high, strong pole fence and guards were stationed here and outside the fort day and night. The men went in armed groups to the fields to work and to the canyons for logs. As they were far from other settlements, the utmost vigilance was necessary at all times to protect themselves and their property from the Indians. Church meetings were held in the homes that first year, with the oldest elder present, usually Joseph George Crapo, presiding. In February, 1861, Apostle Ezra T. Benson and Peter Maughn organized the church in the settlement and David James, who had moved to Paradise from Salt Lake City, was ordained the first bishop.

Clarissa's biography goes on to say that the summer of 1861, Joseph Crapo and H. C. Jackson built a small sawmill on East Creek near the fort and the first timber was sawed. This small mill was the beginning of a fruitful business in the valley in later years.

Bishop James was very tactful and careful in his dealings with the Indians and strictly heeded the advice of President Young, "to feed, not fight them." The people were very generous in supplying the needed provisions. Chief Washakie came on several occasions and asked for supplies, offering as pay in exchange, all the land east of Paradise. When Bishop James would remonstrate, saying he had received that land as pay the time before, Chief Washakie would smilingly offer to sell it again. The Crapos bought an Indian girl about this time. They gave a yearling heifer for her. They gave her the name of Naomi and she lived with them for many years until her death which was brought on by a fall. She was an excellent housekeeper and seemed very contented and happy with her foster family.

In 1867 and 1868 the Black Hawk Indians in southern Utah were causing the people much trouble and anxiety. As the Indians in northern Utah and Idaho were becoming restless and more hostile, the settlers all moved back into the fort, but more protection was needed. Apostle Benson advised the people in Paradise to move their settlement about three miles north, closer to Hyrum and other settlements and in more open country. This they did in the spring of 1868.

It was a considerable sacrifice to these early pioneers to commence a new settlement again so soon. Homes were moved where possible or new ones built, and equipment and stock moved to the new town site. The canal from East Creek was extended and finished in time to irrigate the new fields. This was a huge undertaking when it is remembered that except for the preliminary plowing, the canal was built by hand. In a history written by Edla Brower Tuttle, a gr-grand-daughter, she said Joseph and Mary sold the Paradise home to their son and moved to Five Points, Ogden, where he built a fine brick house on S Street, which at the time of her writing was still standing and in good condition. They sold it and moved back to Paradise in 1883.

Joseph and Mary lived in Paradise the rest of their lives, dying just three months apart in 1888. They lost five children in infancy and childhood, and raised six who married and had large families. Their posterity must now number in the thousands.

http://www.winslowtree.com/tree/getperson.php?personID=I4853&tree=winslow

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“Joseph George Crapo was born 7 November 1806 in the fishing town of New Bedford, Bristol, Massachusetts. Joseph was lost at sea when his boat capsized while he was working his oyster beds. He was picked up by a passing ship, bound for France, but his family believed him to have drowned. It took him over a year to earn his passage back to the United States, where he was reunited with his family. Converts to the Mormon faith in Massachusetts, Joseph George Crapo and his wife, Mary Hicks Collins Crapo, of Fall River, Bristol, Massachusetts, immigrated to Utah in 1853 with the Miller and Cooley Company. He and Mary were in the first group of settlers at Avon, Utah in 1860. Joseph George died just two months shy of 82 in Paradise, Cache, Utah.”

http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Meadows/4377/genealogy.html