Gladden Family Histories

Index of Histories

2009-05-05T20:25:00.000-07:00

This alphabetical index contains links to all the family histories in this collection. All women are listed under their maiden names, with their married names listed in parentheses. Each name is hyperlinked to the history, and where more than one history is indicated, the names will be followed with numbers that are then hyperlinked to the histories.

Name Index
-- Baddley, Alfred Lorenzo - 1862-1936
-- Baddley, George - 1825-1875
-- Baddley, George (II) - 1869-1928
-- Baddley, Mariah (Rossiter) - 1866-1950
-- Bevan, James - 1821-1894
-- Brooks, Maria (DeGrey) - 1805-1876
x- Dalton, Alonzo - 1867-1925 (unreviewed)
-- Dalton, Calvin - 1893-1972 (obituary)
-- DeGrey, Alfred - 1831-1885
x- DeGrey, Charlotte (Baddley) (unreviewed)
-- DeGrey, Kezia (Hall) - 1837-1905
x- DeGrey, Maria (Smith) - 1840-1879 (unreviewed)
-- DeGrey, Samuel - 1861-1945
x- DeGrey, Sarah (Dixon) - 1845-1926 (unreviewed)
-- DeGrey, Selina (Hall) - 1833-1901
x- DeMill, Adlinda (Hall) - 1878-1963 (unreviewed)
x- Dixon, Arnold - 1884-1960 (autobiography unreviewed)
x- Dixon, Henry Aldous - 1835-1884 (unreviewed)
x- Dixon, Maria Louise (Taylor) ("Aunt Rye") - 1872-1947 (biography unreviewed | tribute unreviewed)
-- Fryer, Mary Ann (Wright) - 1838-1931
-- Gladden, Cora Catherine (Lambert) - 1881-1967 (census records)
-- Gladden, William Langstaff - 1841-1925 (census records)
x- Hall, Adelia (Dalton) - 1870-1908 (unreviewed)
x- Hall, Alfred Lorenzo - 1858-1934 (biography 1 unreviewed | biography 2 unreviewed)
-- Hall, Alice Maude (Langston) - 1864-1922 (biography | photographs)
x- Hall, Anne Selina (Stout) - 1866-1931 (unreviewed)
x- Hall, Arthur Wright - 1875-1955 (autobiography unreviewed)
-- Hall, Charles Alma - 1854-1945
-- Hall, Charlotte Maria (Foulger) - 1855-1938
x- Hall, Dora Martha (Merton Stout) - 1878-1940 (unreviewed)
-- Hall, John Charles - 1821-1890
-- Hall, John Thomas - 1861-1947
x- Hall, Myra (Lemmon) - 1872-1951 (autobiography unreviewed | biography (unreviewed)
x- Hall, Nora Crystal (Lund) - 1903-1987 (letter unreviewed)
-- Hall, William Brooks - 1867-1936
x- Hanson, Julia (Hall) - 1860-1935 (autobiography unreviewed)
-- Hinton, Emma (Wright) - 1868-1932
-- Jarman, Maria (DeGrey) - 1865-1953
-- Langston, Jacob Heathcote - 1863-1930 (biography | photographs)
-- Langston, Myrtle Kezia (Wright) - 1892-1956
x- Lemmon, Jesse Newton - 1871-1956 ( biography 1 unreviewed | biography 2 unreviewed)
-- Mecham, Leonard Lucius - 1890-1972 (obituary)
x- Morris, Hyrum Bowles Jr. - 1863-1914 (unreviewed)
x- Rossiter, William Herbert - 1867-1949 (unreviewed)
x- Smith, Charles Nephi - 1824-1897 (unreviewed)
x- Smith, Eliza (Morris) - 1865-1951 (unreviewed)
x- Smith, George Alfred - 1861-1935 (unreviewed)
x- Stout, John Henry Fisk - 1863-1933 (unreviewed)
-- Vickers, Sarah Lacey (Hall) - 1857-1942
-- Winsor, Mary (Dalton) - 1897-1972 (obituary)
x- Wright, Charlotte (Hall) - 1800-1857 (unreviewed)
-- Wright, Ena (Gladden) - 1919-1986
-- Wright, Joseph - 1818-1873

Special Collections
-- DeGrey/Hall: Family Histories - spanning individuals living from 1805-1953
-- Gladden: Records from St. Mary's Parish, Reading, England - spanning 1819-1835

Charlotte Wright Hall (1800-1857)

2009-05-05T20:24:00.000-07:00

Searching for Charlotte Wright
by Henry Vern Hall

I don't remember when I first heard of great-grandmother Charlotte Wright Hall, my father's paternal grandmother. She came to me in small bites with my bread and milk. I mean the knowledge of her came gradual. There was nothing dainty about the bread and milk. There was just no room for the ancestors away back then.

There was always a note of sadness connected with Grandma Charlotte. She'd had a lot of trouble. Beginning with a rather prosperous childhood in London, she'd hit it rocky soon after her marriage. The way I got the story, it all began when great grandfather Thomas Johnston Hall, her husband, gambled away the family fortunes then ran away leaving her to care for the little ones by herself on what she could earn.

Again it was told that when her eldest son, John Charles, my grandfather, was age 17 she sent him to Canada ins earch of his father, but instead of finding the object of his quest, he added insult to injury by returning in 1853 as a Mormon Missionary.

She had spent her last days working as a maid in her girlhood home.

So much for traditions: now for some facts. Uncle Charley Hall, my father's oldest brother, (Selina's son) lived in Nephi, Utah, which was conveniently located on the route between Wyoming and Northern Utah where I was working, and Dixie where Eleanor and I both had parents and a host of relatives. We always stopped there for a lively chat and some choice stories of the past. At the same time, Eleanor began to pick up the names of ancestors. Among other things, she saw grandfather John C. Hall's old temple record and learned that Charlotte was a daughter of Thomas & Martha Wright of London.

It was along about this time that we heard about Aunt "Rye" Taylor who lived in Provo and had been to England in search of family records. At the same time we learned that Grandpa Hall had left a journal which was in the keeping of my father's sister, Aunt Charlotte Foulger in Salt Lake City. Later through our acquaintance with Aunt Charlotte's son, Earnest, we were able to secure a copy of that and have it duplicated into 100 copies. The journal covered in detail the time that Grandfather was in the mission field in addition to a few notes that he remembered of his earlier life. It contained information that we could use in doing genealogy.

John C. Hall Journal entries

p. 31 - 1 Feb. 1853 - Went to Heath Street and had my first interview with my relatives, Uncle Wright, Maria and Eliza and also little Mary whom I had almost forgotten.
4 Feb. 1853 - Went through the Thames Tunnel, went to Maria's and from there to Martha's meeting with Mother and aunts where we spent the evening.
p. 1 - My mother's name before she was married was Charlotte Wright. Her mother's name was Martha.
1825 - This was the year of the great panic in money affairs. My grandfather Hall became much embarrassed in his business and meeting with heavy losses he could not bear up under it, put an end to his existence with a pistol.
1829 - In London till the close of the year when father went to Warshall, Dorsetshire, to take a school.
1831 - In the month of January we returned to London. Lived a season at my Uncle Wright's. There my father went to keep a school in Hackney Road.
1833 - Lived in various places till August when my father left to go to Americda. (His second and final trip to America.)

Through these comments, the names of relatives that Grandpa met in 1853 are important and will be referred to later. As for his father's gambling, it appears that business failure was mistaken for gambling and from investigations I have made, I'm not at all sure that the death of John Henstridge Hall was self-inflicted. That's another story.

In the Spring of 1936 when Eleanor and I moved back out of Wyoming, I began to warm up to genealogy and Grandma Charlotte was among those who crashed my defenses. An embittered old lady, broken by a cruel world and her one means of escape, the Church, was the blow that completed the ruin. She held out her hand to me, and I wanted to do something for her.

Another thing that happened at that time, was my brothers and sisters began sending me money to finance genealogy, to use as I saw fit. That's a mean thing to do to a person who wants to be stubborn. Those guys always did give me a rough time.

Also, that's when Mom (Eleanor) got in touch with Mr. Cotton, one of England's finest researchers. We got together all we knew of the Wrights and went to work. My correspondence dates along in the 1940's and 50's. We searched city directories, census records and church registers by the shelf. Every thing we could dream up - with blank results. Then one day up in Kamas, (where I was living at this time) our Stake was having a genealogy display and David Gardner looking at my book noted that I needed the marriage of Thomas Wright to Martha of London. He suggested a search of Palot's London marriages which he said was complete back to 1800 and pretty good before that. We searched and we found this entry: "28 Mar, 1785, Thomas Wright and Martha Hodson, both of this parish, at St. Martin-in-the-Field, London." Both wrote their signatures. There was no other Thomas Wright married to a Martha within the time period. So we got Mr. Cotton onto the registers of that church for the families of Thomas and Martha, but without success. Mr. Cotton explained that a couple could establish residence with two or three times attendance at a church, so it really meant nothing.

Well, my goodness, we needed the marriage of Thomas Johnston Hall to Charlotte Wright so we tried that with this result. "Married at St. Andrew Holborn, London, 24 March 1819, Thomas Hall of Faversham, Kent, and Charlotte Wright of this parish." Both signed. Witnesses: Edwin Quafe and Mary Wright. This Mary would be the Mary that showed up in the temple record as Grandpa's aunt.

The search of St. Andrew Holborn drew a blank. Lots of Wrights and Hodsons there all the way back through the years but none that fit. Mr. Cotton objected to making an extended search there partly because of the time involved - all his time for weeks! I couldn't understand that until I tried it myself later. It took me a whole day to extract the Wrights and Hodsons for a 20 year period. Nothing that even smelled like us. Funny thing about that church. Mr. Cotton and I were riding along in the top deck of the bus when he pointed to a gutted-out shell of a church and said that was St. Andrew Holborn. It had been burned during the blitz of World War II. I got a shiver. Soon, however, we were at the Guild Hall and I was working St. Andrew Holborn records. They'd been safe here during the war. Guild Hall had only one corner damaged. Ouch!

That was the summer I met a Sister Hawkes in North London branch who had been searching for years on her London Wrights without a glimmer of light.

The next year, Mr. Cotton died and I was left alone to it. We'd done most everything we knew to do, but "Dickens", there's no problem without an answer! There's still the wills and we have them here in the Church library in Salt Lake City on microfilm. Oh yes, it was about this time that we got from Somerset House, the death certificate of Grandma Charlotte - "28 July 1857, in a work house across the river in Surrey." That could account John Charles's journal entry of crossing the river to see his mother. Sort of blasts the "maid in the old home" story. She must have sensed that with the leaving of her son back to America, her last hope was gone for he was enroute to Utah when she died.

O.K., there's the London Wills. Thomas Wright may have been among the 20% who made one. He did write his name. I read all the Thomas Wrights of London proper, Lambeth, Middlesex to a blank stop. Then there were those of Prerogative Court of Canterbury kept in London but covering all of England, and the colonies where a testator had property in more than one jurisdiction. I've estimated that there are more than a million of these. I knew that Charlotte was born in 1800 so anything before that could not have her. And Thomas was not among those that Grandpa visited in 1853 so I figured there were 53 years to search.

I spend two solid weeks, all day with my head in a reading machine, every hour that the library was open, then "My Goodness! That looks lke it!!!" PCC pt. 1779 (that many rolls of film with 500 wills to the roll) pg. 521: Thomas Wright of Sheldwich, Kent, a tiny parish three miles south of Faversham. It named, "Loving wife, Martha, daughters Ann, Maria, Mary, Charlotte, and Sarah." Probated 16 Sept. 1815 at London.

Ann, Maria, Mary and Charlotte had all been named in the Temple Record. Sarah was likely still living in 1871. She was n ot among those visited in 1853 but likely living elsewhere. It took us back to Kent near the home of the Halls.

We still needed the christening records of Thomas and Martha's children, likely to be found in the area of St. Andrew, Holborn, London. That's a big place to go looking for a grandma with no street address, but if we must have them, there's only one answer.

Down in Sheldwich, Kent, it was different. There was the christening of Thomas (see chart at the end of this article) and the marriage of his parents and so on back to John, John, and James who came from neighboring Chilham in the late 1600's. Nothing more on the Wright's except the will of James that tied up our finds.

And we have a little problem with Jane Coppen, mother of Thomas. We've hunted for her all over the place, but we'll eventually find her. Back of that, Mary Nash, wife of the older John came up with a string of ancestors, the Humphrey Philpotts. I was afraid we'd run into that name. O.K. they're ours. We still haven't run into the Philchers. They need us and vice versa. There's a couple of wives here, Elizabeth Christian and Ann Marsh who need help next year. The wives of the two Humphreys are hanging by their eyebrows. John made his will to tie things up.

In the ancestry of Jane Ellman, wife of James Wright, is a really fortunate situation. James and Jane had a son Hammond Wright. Jane had a brother Hamon Ellman. Her mother, Susan Watson, had a brother Hamon Watson as did her father, William, whose father was Hamon and back of that the grandfather, Thomas, had a brother Hamon. SIX Hamons covering three surnames over six generations and 200 years tying the family all together. For good measure, Thomas Watson made a will to give life to the body and proof to the pudding. I suspect we've got a family of Hamons back there some place screaming for salvation. Here again, we have some neglected mothers to find.

1967 was a pretty good year. We have 10 families ready for the temple to fill the 1967 Priesthood Assignments as far as they reach. We had extra help. Our grandson, Joe, went along to England with us - a good boy at 14. Keith's daughter, Tauna, went mostly at her own expense and also gave some superb help. Then we took Cindy Shumway as a companion for Tauna and she did a fine job of work. The four of us spent more than three weeks on Hall research.

If you look on your chart you'll see that we've still got work to do on this line. Besides that, there's the Dadd problem that even after an extensive search this past year is still right where it was last year. We know the records are there some place and there's no substitute for the right answers.

I seem to see good old misguided Grandma Charlotte with a smile on one side of her face and a worry on the other. She's happy over the harvest but itchy about all her still absent grandmothers. I can think of no better Christmas present for any one this year than a contribution to those who gave us life. If I wanted to really honor someone, I'd help him with his work, like helping our Savior with the Salvation of mankind.

Bless your hearts, kids, the Gospel's true.

Vern

Eliza Smith Morris (1865-1951)

2009-05-05T20:19:00.002-07:00

Eliza Smith was born September 15, 1865 at Grafton, Washington County, Utah, the daughter of Charles N. Smith and Maria DeGrey. She was the eldest daughter of a family of eleven children, namely: Joseph, George, Hyrum, Eliza, Maria, Charles, David, Martha and Mary (twins), Sarah Ann, and Sophia.

Charles N. Smith had two wives during the time Plural Marriage was practiced in Utah. His first wife, Eliza Needham, has no children and was not of very good health. Finding it necessary to have help in performing her daily duties, Charles sought the assistance of one of the daughters of an English family who just recently had settled in Utah to help his wife. The old English mother gladly consented to one of her daughters helping in the Smith home as they were so very poor. To have her daughter work would mean at least clothes and shoes. So it was that Maria DeGrey went to help in the Smith home. Charles fell in love with her and married her as his second wife. She became the mother of his first child, Eliza, at the age of seventeen.

While yet a very small child, and not within her memory, Eliza Smith's parents and her brothers moved to Rockville, Utah, about two miles from Grafton, where a new home was established. At this particular time, there was still some fear of Indian trouble, and Rockville offered more protection from such trouble. This was Eliza's home until she married and moved to Arizona.

The home where Eliza was born was a one-room dugout and a covered wagon box, which had been lifted from the running gears and placed on the ground. This wagon box made a warm bedroom for Eliza's mother, and it was here that Eliza's oldest brother was born.

Eliza grew to young womanhood under the strict, yet kindly, direction of the old pioneer Mormon parents, attending school, church and amusements in a small one room building.

The conduction of church services has not changed much during Eliza's lifetime. Then, as now, Sunday School was held in the morning, Sacrament meetings were in the afternoon, but the Fast Meetings were held on Thursdays. The fast offerings for the Smith family were not paid in cash but consisted of a small bucket of flour. Eliza remembered their fast offering because food was such a precious commodity in those early pioneer days.

The dances, which furnished the townsfolk an enjoyable entertainment, were of the truest type of old fashioned ones. Admission fee to such dances could be anything the pioneers might have on hand Wheat, corn, pumpkins, homemade molasses, raisins, etc. The music was provided by several men of the community who were talented in playing the "fiddle" and a small portable organ. The musicians received their "pay" from the produce brought in by the dancers as admission. Square dances, quadrille, Scotch Reel, Virginia Reel, Pokka, Schottische and Waltzes were some of the favorite dances.

After half the evening had been spent in dancing, an intermission was held. During the intermission the couples went to their homes to have some kind of light refreshment, which had been previously prepared.

The musicians were invited to join in during the intermission, and they usually returned to the dance with their coat pockets full of cookies and raisins to provide something for their young lady friends and themselves to nibble on during the remainder of the evening.

The Fourth and Twenty fourth of July were holidays always observed in accordance with the fullest significance of each. Home talent programs with stump speeches, readings, and songs were given. A small band stirred the pioneer hearts to the heights of sentiment, both patriotic and religious, with its timely music. Participants and entertainers were conveyed to the gatherings in wagons, and often four horses were used to pull the crowded wagons.

"May Day" was another very festive occasion. A May Day Queen, with all the accompanying ceremonies, was crowned as the highlight of the day. The young people went in large groups to gather wild flowers and later gathered to sing songs and dance.

To Eliza, Christmas was never the extravagant affair it sometimes is now days. As a child and young girl, she never saw a gaily decorated and brightly lighted Christmas tree in their home. She was happy in the anticipation of a filled stocking on Christmas morning. There were no walking or talking dolls, dressed in gowns of ruffles and ribbons. She remembered of having only one small china doll, but it was a precious gift, which she cherished, as long as it was usable.

During Eliza's young years, educational achievement was marked by reading ability and Eliza attained the highest degree by mastering the Fifth Reader, a book now among her collection of souvenirs from "Ye Olden Days". The completion of this test signified that all other eductional requirements had been met by the student, so Eliza's school days were over for awhile. Reading and spelling were her favorite studies.

Children always had many home duties to perform in the way of doing their part of the various household chores. Amusements were few and of a very limited variety ... molasses candy pulls, fruit cutting bees, pine nut gatherings and community dances. The children, however, were not allowed to take part in any activities or amusements without the consent of their parents and then, not until all home duties had been performed satisfactorily. This was a very strict rule in the Smith home and one that Eliza obeyed cheerfully. On the Sabbath, pleasure seeking was not permitted until all religious services had been attended.

One can readily understand by knowing the story of her early years, that Eliza was a dutiful, obedient and parent loving child, and early in life assumed, on her own accord, many family responsibilities. Because Eliza was the oldest daughter, she learned early the skills of housekeeping, This was a delight rather than a burden to her, for "playing house" had always been a childish favorite of hers.

When the Smith family first moved to Rockville, a temporary abode was build to make shift until their log cabin could be completed. The temporary home was built hastily by making forms of rough boards, into which mud was poured and packed to make the walls. A thatched roof provided protection over head and mother earth served as the floor.

After a short time their new home was completed and furnished with the bare necessities, but to the Smith family, it was a comfortable and pleasant home, luxurious as any home in that day. it consisted of one large room on the first floor, and a well built loft with wooden floor and shingle roof. The second floor was used as sleeping quarters for the children and storage room for cherished articles. The pleasant recollection of Eliza's young life was of the times she and her brothers and sisters scampered up the stairs to their beds at night. Eliza remembered that their beds consisted of wool, straw or cornhusk filled mattresses and quilts pieced by their mother and Charles' first wife, whom the children called "Auntie".

The furnishings in the home where Eliza spent her childhood were in accordance with the times and such that adorned every other pioneer home in Rockville. The chairs were made at Springdale by men who were skilled in the art. They were made of green wood and put together with small wooden pegs, instead of nails, and glue, and the seats were formed by woven rawhide. The beds for the older folks were made by hand of available lumber. Hand woven rugs covered the rough wooden floors. A fireplace provided warmth during cold winter days and nights. Some of the preparation of the meals was done in the fireplace.

The Smith home, upon special church occasions, furnished accommodations for most of the church authorities and visitors who came to Rockville. Eliza always managed to establish herself on the lap of Brigham Young whenever he visited in their home. She enjoyed so much helping in the preparation on such happy occasions. The Smith home buzzed with activity on the days preceding visits from church authorities from Salt lake City. Saturday, especially, was a busy day. All the children were given their certain duties to be performed so that Sunday might be observed with the desired hospitality. The home was cleaned and shined inside and out. The "silver" was old, but it was carefully polished. The big brass kettle was scoured until it fairly sparkled. Lamp and fire lighter supplies were replenished by freshly rolled paper. New tallow tips were made in readiness for the eventful visit.

If, perchance, the weather was stormy, leaving the streets and yards muddy, the rugs were taken up and the children were sent to the nearby wash or creek to bring back buckets of clean sand. This was strewn on the wooden floors and left there until the mud outside had dried up. Then the sand was swept out, leaving the floor boards white and clean as new.

Several years after Charles moved his family to Rockville, Eliza's father managed the only store in the small community. It was a general merchandise and cooperative store built at the rear of their home. The general work in the store and the bookkeeping occupied a great deal of her father's time. In order for him to do it well, he arose each morning at 3:00 a.m. and completed his posting. Besides his work in the store Eliza's father fulfilled the calling as bishop of the ward for twenty two years.

Eliza's mother assisted with the work at the store, and also operated the telegraph station with acquired efficiency. "Antie" accepted the responsibility of the household duties of cooking, mending, knitting and sewing for the children. Through the harmonious work and play of everyone, the Smith family enjoyed a humble life of contentment and congeniality. Except for the time when Eliza's father left his family and accepted a call to fulfill a mission, the family was never broken up.

It was during the time that her father was away on his mission that Eliza's mother gave birth to twins David and Martha. The family's happiness was short lived, however, for the tiny babies died in infancy.

When Eliza was fourteen years of age, she suffered the loss of her mother. Her "Auntie" had passed away one year previous, so it was doubly hard for Eliza to lose her mother. Now all responsibilities usually taken care of by her mother and "Auntie" rested on her slim shoulders. Besides not having a mother to guide and instruct her during her young girlhood years, it was difficult for one so young and so small, for she was small for her age, to accept the care of younger brothers and sisters. The youngest child was but three years old, so Eliza learned fast the full responsibility of a mother.

Because of her small stature, Eliza had to resort to many means and tricks to accomplish some of the tasks before her now. it was but a short time before her mother died that Eliza experienced for the first time making a batch of light bread without any assistance from anyone. Her parents were away for the day so Eliza had been left to make the bread. She could not reach the mixing bowl which was setting on the table, and had to put the bowl on the floor in order to mix the bread. Nevertheless, the bread making episode turned out to be very successful, and Eliza was praised by her mother and father on their return home.

When Eliza was twenty years old she married her childhood friend and sweetheart. The lucky young man was Hyrum Boles Morris, Jr. son of Hyrum Boles Morris and Eleanor Roberts. He was born in Springdale, Utah, in 1863, a year or two after his parents had made a trying journey across the plains to Utah.

When the date for the marriage was set, it became necessary for the young couple to be rebaptized, as was the requirement of the Church in those days. So Eliza and Hyrum were baptized in the Virgin River. It was a test for them because the water was so cold and by the time they hurried back to their homes to change into dry clothing, their wet garments were frozen stiff. After these preparations had been completed, the young couple made a forty-mile journey in a covered wagon to St. George, where the marriage was performed in the Temple. So on January 1, 1885, Eliza and Hyrum became man and wife. They returned to Rockville where they made a home for themselves until early summer when they went to the mountains. They had a summer home where they raised a garden, milked cows, and made butter and cheese. It was a pleasant time for the young couple as they worked and played together.

The following fall in November 1885, they decided to move to Arizona. They settled in The Salt River Valley, where Hyrum's parents had moved two years previous. The young couple purchased what necessities they were able to manage financially and started on the journey to their new home in a covered wagon. Their first child, Hyrum Charles Morris, was born to them on March 18,1886, after the couple had settled in Mesa, Arizona.

In 1887, Hyrum was called to serve a mission in the southern states. He willingly accepted the call though it meant leaving his wife and small son for two years. He took his small family back to Rockville and left them with Eliza's father until his mission had been fulfilled. Another son, George Edwin, was born on December 6, 1887, and was fifteen months old before Hyrum returned home from his mission.

After two years of separation Hyrum returned, gathered his family around him, and once again traveled the long distance to Mesa, Arizona.

The region in and around Mesa at the time that Hyrum made a home for his family, was yet quite undeveloped. Those early settlers who pioneered the way for the growth and development of this section of Arizona were endowed with great patience, endurance and faith. As they lived and reared their families, many obstacles were overcome and a great many sacrifices made by those choice pioneers. Regardless of the hardships and privations, Hyrum and Eliza, as did others, found much happiness as they worked and harvested together.

Hyrum engaged in farming, but found it necessary to engage in extra work to help financially. Often Eliza had to take care of the farm work while her husband was working elsewhere. Early in the morning she would carry enough watermelons from the field to sell during the entire day. She worked hard to be able to sell enough melons and molasses to the Indians to purchase their wheat for the winter. When she had to milk the cows, Eliza tied the children, who were to small to care for themselves, by their apron strings to the fence to keep them from being harmed by the cows. But she usually was able to finish all such outside work before the children were awake.

Hyrum purchased unimproved and run down farms in the Mesa area, spent much time and effort working them, and sold the farms. Throughout Mesa, he left farms that were a credit to him and his family, and at the same time brought financial profit to himself. Hyrum enjoyed seeing growth and development and found much satisfaction in improving the farms which he purchased.

On March 1, 1897, Eliza's father passed away and brought much sorrow to her, because she was unable to be with him during his last days. She had last seen her father in 1893 when she and Hyrum had taken their children and gone to Utah, intending to make their home there. They had stayed in Utah only a short time because the property for which they had traded their home in Mesa had not been what it was represented to be. One of their children had been born in Monroe, Utah on September 30, 1893, and then the family decided to return to Mesa.

After sixteen years of hard work but enjoyable living, Hyrum decided again to leave the Salt River Valley. This time he and Eliza planned to make their home in a cooler climate, and so they moved to Lovell, Wyoming in 1901. The journey took them three months by wagon. Then, because the severe cold of the winters proved to be unfavorable to them, Hyrum again returned to Mesa after only four years in Wyoming.

In 1908, one of Eliza's great desires was realized when her son, George Edwin, was called on a mission to the Samoan Islands. This happiness turned to grief when the young missionary succumbed to a fever and was buried in the islands.

During the following years joy and sorrow were closely interlaced in the strands of Eliza's life. In October 1908 Wilmer died at six.

Eliza was left for the second time to care for her family when Hyrum was called to fulfill a mission in the Northern States in 1910. He was unable to complete his mission because of ill health and returned home in 1911. Three years later a second son was called to the Southern States Mission. So closely following all this happiness, Eliza lost her companion and sweetheart, when Hyrum died in December 1914.

Then during the first World War Eliza, like thousands of other mothers, sent two sons to fight for freedom and right. On October 21, 1918, shortly before the armistice was signed, Joseph was killed in action. Lawrence returned home to his wife and helped soften the blow of the loved one lost in the war.

Within the next thirteen years, Eliza lost three daughters: Manila, who died September 23, 1922, leaving two baby girls, Wilma and Geraldine; Mabel Morris Rollins, who died September 12, 1932, leaving two sons, Charles E. and Morris Rollins, and Sophie Robbins Carlin, who died December 23, 1935, leaving a daughter, Betty Robbins, and two sons, Patrick and Michael Carlin.

After her husband's death, Eliza moved away from the ranch home located south of Mesa back to the old town home. at 228 West First Street, which had been previously owned and occupied by the family. Even though ail her children were married, Eliza was never quite alone, as some of her children lived with her, and she always had grandchildren to love and "spoil". During the later years of her life Eliza felt she would like to return to Utah where she would be able to be with her brothers and sisters. Because of the closeness of her own children, grandchildren and great grandchildren, Eliza was never able to stay in Utah even for visits for any length of time. The high lights of her reclining years were the frequent visits by her children and their families. The grandchildren loved to go to Grandma Morris' home to sleep in her feather bed and listen to her bedtime stories. It was a great event to eat at Grandma's home, she made the best pie in town, a reputation established long ago.

Eliza's staunch, unfaltering faith was the strengthening factor in her entire life. The sorrows and hardships were lessened by this same faith, and Eliza was able to encourage others to the same heights. She was one who used her faith to make a happy home for her husband and her children; to bring in sunshine when the dark clouds hovered overhead, and to guide and instruct her children to the same unchanging faith.

And in words of her daughter, Genevieve, her character is etched in the passage of time... "At the age of 68, Mother courageously faces the daily tasks of like, keeps a spic and span home, visits her friends and attends to her religious duties... On her 80th birthday, Mother held openhouse, with her daughter and two daughters in law, and granddaughters as hostesses. Hundreds of friends called during the day, and Mother enjoyed visiting with them all. She is still able to care for herself, doing her own cooking and cleaning her big home as she has done in the past years. Her health is fair, but she is unable to walk very much and is confined close to home. Her mind is clear and her memory is excellent... At the age of 85, she is still sweet and gentle, always a pleasant companion. She has twenty grandchildren and twenty eight great grandchildren ... that alone is a symbol of wonderful womanhood and motherhood. She is a shining star in our horizon. "

Eliza passed away on September 8, 1951 at Mesa, Arizona, and was buried there on September 10, 1951 as a dedication to a life of hardships and happiness ... much happiness.

Yet Love will dream, and Faith will trust (Since He who knows our need is just)
That somehow, somewhere. meet we must. Alas for him who never sees
The stars shine through his cypress trees! who. Hopeless, lays his dead away,
Nor looks to see the breaking day
Across the mounful marbles play!
Who hath not learned. in hours of faith.
The truth to flesh and sense unknown,
That Life is ever Lord of Death,
And Love can never lose its own!

John Greenleaf Whittier.

William Herbert Rossiter (1867-1949)

2009-05-05T20:19:00.001-07:00

William Herbert Rossiter was born September 14, 1867, one of nine children born to William Alfred Rossiter and Eliza Crabtree. The small adobe house where William was born still stands at Third East between First and Second South, Salt Lake City, Utah, but at this date (May, 1954) is surrounded by business houses and is about to be razed. The family later moved to Eighth East between Fifth and Sixth South, where William spent his childhood and youth, until he married.

William had eight brothers and sisters: Phoebe R. Baddley, Elizabeth (Libble) R. Campbell, George Rossiter, Edith R. Lovesy, Fred Rossiter, Lucille R. Evans, Ernest C. Rossiter, Dean Rossiter, and a half brother, Russel Young Rossiter. His parents were of the sturdy, religious stock, who, because of their convictions and beliefs, had conquered the hardships and privations which accompanied the settlement of Utah. They were faithful in their church duties and had reared their children in like manner.

William's father worked very closely with Brigham Young, and it was quite natural for him to meet and fall in love with Shamira Young, one of the younger daughters of Brigham Young, and later marry her. The home where he lived with his second wife and family still stands north of the Beehive House (through the Eagle Gate), and is being used as a Missionary Home at the present time.

The elder William after the death of Brigham Young, had the job of tracing all heirs of Brigham Young and securing their signatures on releases to church property which was in Brigham Young's name.

As a boy, William had the task of carrying milk from his home, where the family kept a number of dairy cows, to the Lion House for the families who lived there. On his trips to deliver the milk William always managed to spend much time playing with the children who lived there. It was more fun to play than to be tied down to a chore, large or small. But children in those days had regular chores to perform before playtime, which many young folk do not have now. Thus they learned a definite sense of responsibility very early in life.

Nevertheless, William was typical of small boys in any period of history. He was high spirited and full of mischief, ready for his share of pranks at any given time. His grandfather, William Crabtree, drove Brigham Young's carriage. One day, while the carriage was stopped in front of the Crabtree home on Eighth East, young Bill splashed mud on the horses. President Young jumped out of his carriage and began to chase the boy, but William eluded him by running into the barn. William, however, later received a sound scolding from Brigham Young for his actions.

William was a tease and played countless pranks on his brothers and sisters. Libble tells of the time when he turned a pan of dough upside down on her head because she flipped flour on his suit when he was ready to go courting. It took some time to get the dough out of her hair for it was long and very thick.

School was another phase of his life which William would have liked omitted. He attended the old Tenth Ward School and also the Twelfth Ward School, and received the highest education obtainable in those days.

As a young man his favorite girl friend was a petite young girl by the name of Mariah Baddley. They lived in the Tenth Ward and had been acquainted for years, so when William asked her hand in marriage, Mariah consented. They were married on New Year's Day in 1896 at her home on Tenth East. It was a simple affair but a very happy one for the young couple. William built a home on Eighth East, next to his parent’s home, where he took his young bride. There they lived for five years and three of their five children were born there: Edith Mabel, Bryant Baddley and Eliza Leone (Lyda). He then built a home on Tenth East (352) where he and his family lived. Two more sons were born to Mariah and William: William Alfred and Frank Baddley.

The fine example of his parents and the religious training received as a child and young man set the pattern for William's behavior in his own home with his family. Though he did not work as much in the church as some of his brothers and sisters, he was truly a religious and Christian member of the church. He lived all but a year or so of his life in the Tenth Ward, one of the oldest wards in the church. He did many wonderful things to help others but because he was a very shy man he tried to never let his good deeds be known. He was a good husband and father, and was loved and respected by his family. Besides rearing a fine family of his own, he and his wife cared for five grandchildren left motherless by the death of their daughter, Edith, until many years later when the children's father married again and took them home with him.

William was a successful business man. For many years he, with a partner, operated one of the leading plumbing establishments in Salt Lake City. Later he and his brother, Ernest, went into the real estate business. He owned and sold to the church the property on which the Primary Children's Hospital now stands.

As a younger man, William, with a group of men, homesteaded a great tract of land in southern Utah, but gave up the project when, as he always said, the wind blew it several miles away. In everything he attempted, with the exception of the venture in southern Utah, William seemed to have good luck. He loved to work in the soil, and always had an orchard or garden in which to work.

After retiring from business, his home and yard were William’s hobbies. He found peace and contentment in caring for his home. He was proud of his home and family and never cared to go far from them, so he never traveled very much. The one trip he always enjoyed reflecting on was one he took with his wife and Alfred and Priscilla Baddley. They went to southern Utah to Hurricane where they visited and became acquainted with all the Hall family. It was such a delightful trip for William and he talked of it often.

William was a quiet reserved man but was ever ready to do a good turn for a friend or relative. He was dependable and loyal to both his neighbors and his family. He was never heard to make an unkind remark to anyone. His code though out his life was to deal fairly with his fellowmen, judge not, and to always give others the benefit of the doubt. Because of his way of life, William had many faithful friends. In later years he enjoyed the companionship of old timers who helped pioneer the way for a better Utah. He served on the Old Folk's Committee for the Tenth and Webster Wards for many years.

William died on April 4, 1949 at his home, after a long and useful life. A man who fathers fine sons and daughters, provides a home for his family and sets a good example by his words and actions for his children to follow can be satisfied that he has fulfilled his measure in this life. William was such a man. He was a fine husband and a good father. He contributed much to the building and progress of Utah, and was honored during the 1947 Centennial as a "Pre Railroad Pioneer".

Charlotte DeGrey Baddley (1842-1902)

2009-05-05T20:17:00.000-07:00

Charlotte DeGrey was the fourth daughter of John and Maria Brooks DeGrey III, and was born on June 10, 1842. The home into which Charlotte made her first appearance was a humble but a good home where love and devotion were ever apparent. The bright eyed little baby girl brought no end of commotion as she wailed forth her wants and needs.

Dudley, Worcestershire, England, birthplace of Charlotte, and the country surrounding it, is called the "Black Country". Due to the coal mines underneath and near this area, the skies and the countryside are somewhat blackened in appearance. Consequently, Dudley is not as beautiful and green as most of the English towns. Nevertheless, standing majestically on a green hill overlooking Dudley, surrounded by beautiful old trees, is the one beautiful building which residents point to with pride. It is the old vine covered Dudley Castle which was build by Lord Dudley and later destroyed by Oliver Cromwell. It was there on that green, peaceful section of the ever dismal Dudley, that Charlotte and her sisters and the children of the neighborhood spent many happy rollicking hours in play.

Charlotte, her brother, Alfred, and sisters, Selina, Kezia, Maria and Sarah, and her parents lived in Dudley until she was about thirteen years of age. A short time prior, the DeGrey family heard and was converted to Mormonism. Even at her young age, Charlotte seemed to sense a difference in their home. A very happy and exciting occasion which occurred about that time was the marriage of her older sister, Selina, to one of the young missionaries, who first contacted the family concerning Mormonism. Then the whole family began making preparations to sail for America, where they could then travel to the Great Salt Lake Valley to join with other saints.

Opposition and a certain degree of resentment from friends and neighbors came to Maria DeGrey and her children because they had joined the "Mormon Church". Undaunted, the DeGrey family continued their efforts. Charlotte was still but a young girl and did not fully realize the feeling against them because of their church membership. It seemed to her as though many new adventures were in store for her as she thought of going to Utah, and because she was so young, she excitedly anticipated the future, not knowing of the hardships and trials which were to come into her life.

In June 1856, the DeGrey family sold their household goods and collected what savings they had and the clothing which had been prepared and set aside for the journey and booked passage on the sailing vessel "Well Fleet". Selina and her husband, John C. Hall, and their two children remained in England two more years while John was doing missionary work before going to Utah. Alfred DeGrey, Charlotte's only brother, also remained in England and came to Utah later. Only Maria and her daughters left their homeland at that time.

They had many interesting experiences crossing the ocean. The voyage took six weeks but Charlotte and the other children enjoyed everything. Though most of the trip the weather was beautiful and the ocean was calm so that none of them experienced seasickness. Their meals consisted of salt bacon, beef, sea biscuits, etc. Sometimes the stewards would give them lumps of brown sugar, which, when dipped in vinegar, made a very tasty luxury for them. The water they had to use became quite stale by the end of the voyage. The large barrels were filled with water before the boat left England, and before the end of the journey it had a terrible odor. Nevertheless, it had to be used both for drinking and cleaning purposes.

The voyage was an adventure from beginning to end for the children. Charlotte and her sisters spent most of their time on deck watching the porpoises jump out of the water, trying to catch the flying fish, and sometimes they caught a glimpse of a giant whale in the distance spurting water high into the air. The ships which passed them were far away on the horizon, but they seemed to take the loneliness from the vast ocean. When the weather was warm, Charlotte and her companions could always be found underfoot, watching the sailors’ climb the masts which governed the boat, or else watching the sailors swim in the ocean.

Near the end of the voyage, the DeGrey family were witnesses of a near riot on board the boat. The trouble started when one of the stewards and a negro cook had an argument. The cook stabbed the steward quite seriously and further trouble was culminated when a tugboat came out from Boston and took the Negro cook ashore. A riot was averted and relief swept the frightened passengers when the knowledge that further injury to either the crew or themselves had been stopped.

It was a warm day in July 1856, when the "Well Fleet" docked at the Boston harbor, after a monotonous trip of six weeks. Maria DeGrey deeply felt her responsibility as she stepped ashore in the new land of America. However the family was met by a friend of one of Charlotte's sisters, Kezia, and invited to her home at Chelsea.

The Degrey family spent many pleasant days relaxing and visiting at the home of their friend, then the family separated and found work in order to start saving enough money to carry them to their destination. At the home where Charlotte went to work, she was required to sleep in an attic room. One night not long after she had started to work, a fire broke out in the neighborhood. Charlotte was awakened by the reflection of the flames in the sky light in the small attic sleeping room. She became hysterical and frightened when she thought the house in which she was living was afire.

So great was the shock that Charlotte's health was greatly impared. Even after sometime had passed, she did not seem to regain her strength. Instead she wasted away until she was nothing but a skeleton of bones.

Charlotte's mother was working at the home of a doctor who insisted that Maria bring her daughter to his home where he could take care of her. A bed was fashioned out of a basket and in it they put Charlotte. The basket was placed in the kitchen where Maria could watch over her daughter. The young girl was too weak to move her limbs but her eyes followed her mother's movements from place to place as she worked around the kitchen.

During the nine months of working and saving in Boston, the DeGrey family managed to save only $112.00, but they were still faithful and undaunted by any discouraging words from their newly found friends in America. Their determination only seemed to be strengthened by each attempt to show the futility of their venture.

They were unable to start immediately on their journey westward because John and Selina had only just arrived and John had received an injury to his foot on board the boat, so the group waited about one week in Boston. Then in April, 1857, the small company of nine, full of faith and dogged determination, started on their way. They traveled by train as far as the Missouri River, which was considered the end of any civilization. From there westward, the frontier was rugged and uncharted.

When the family group arrived in Iowa City, Charlotte's young brother in law, John, took their combined savings and was able to buy only a yoke of cows, a yoke of steers and one covered wagon. This was insufficient means of travel for nine persons, but the group did not let this fact dissuade them. They were ferried across the Missouri River on a large flat boat and from there they traveled to Florence where they joined the main company of Saints. Further instructions were given them as they were grouped and assigned to the company with Jesse B. Martin acting as captain. Against the advise of Brother Martin that they wait until the next spring when at such time they would be able to secure another wagon and more provisions, and be better equipped for the long journey, the nine members of the DeGrey and Hall families determined to go to Utah as soon as possible.

The long journey had many unpleasant, yet faith building hardships for all the saints. The wagon train continued slowly westward, traveling from fifteen to twenty miles per day and stopping at the end of each day wherever they could find a suitable place to camp where there were food and water for their animals.

No complaints were uttered by Maria DeGrey and her family. Especially there were no complaints from Charlotte and her sisters and their newly acquired friends. Charlotte was about fourteen years of age and she found pleasure and excitement in each day as the company traveled along. There were always pretty rocks and wild flowers to gather as the young girls and boys walked beside the wagons. Sometimes the DeGrey girls would ride ahead of the company with the captain, Brother Martin, to find a suitable camping place. Then, while waiting for the wagon train to arrive, Charlotte and her sisters would pick up buffalo chips and make a fire.

The wagons of the company always formed their camp in the form of a circle as a protective measure against Indian attack. There were also the danger of buffalo causing a stampede among their own cattle. Although the company had no serious trouble with the Indians, there were many stories from other companies which had been molested by warring Indians. These stories kept the saints ever cautious and fearful, and certain precautions were exercised so that they were always prepared for any trouble from the Indians.

On one occasion, after the DeGrey family had crossed the Platte River, their cows and steers became exhausted and had to be given a rest. John Hall fell behind of the main body of the company in order to give the animals a chance to rest. Charlotte and her sister, Sarah, were gathering flowers near the wagon when they noticed a cloud of dust in the distance. They had been cautioned never to stray far from the wagons because of the constant danger so naturally they ran back to the wagon as soon as they sighted the dust. When the Indians came into view, the group could see that there were about thirty red skins. While the majority of them stopped a short distance away, several of the Indians rode up and encircled the wagon. They poked around under the cover of the wagon and then put their red faces into the wagon. The occupants were so frightened they were speechless and they knew their lives were in the protecting care of their Father in Heaven. Each member silently prayed that the Indians would be kindly toward them.

John Hall was a brave man and though only of the welfare of the women and children entrusted in his care. Realizing the danger they were in, he quickly motioned in the direction of the main body of the company, which was some distance ahead down in a deep ravine, and said, "Captain, company ahead." Two of the Indians rode away in the direction John had pointed out to them until they could so the rest of the saints. Then they rode back and consulted with the remaining Indians.

After a breathless moment while the frightened travelers waited the decision of the apparent leader of the group, the Indians whirled and rode away in a cloud of dust as quickly as they had arrived. A visible sigh of relief swept the occupants of the wagon as they watched the Indians disappear. That night as the saints made camp, John Hall and his small group thanked their Heavenly Father for His protecting care during their experience that day. Tired bodies and aching hearts received rest and new hope as the weary men and women knelt in prayer. Songs of thanksgiving and praise rend the still night as the saints gathered around the campfires.

Charlotte and sisters talked of their frightening experience to their friends for days afterward. There was always something new and interesting for the children to discuss as they romped and played. The DeGrey girls walked most of the distance because there was not room in the wagon for all of them. They waded across most of the steams, but whenever the company came to a large river such as the Platte River, the girls would hang to the back of the wagon until they were across.

It was September, 1857 when the company arrived in the Salt Lake Valley. Charlotte and her sisters had walked nearly all of the hundreds of miles across the plains. They, too, were tired, but nevertheless, excited and thrilled at the knowledge that they would not have any further to walk. They now could settle down and enjoy the companionship and acquaintance of both old and new friends.

The Saints were very fortunate in that they were able to arrive in Utah before the Johnson's Army did. Their journey would have been delayed about one year if they had not arrived when they did, so there was a great deal of excitement and relief among the group.

Their funds had been depleted in the purchase of provisions for the trip, so each able bodied member of the DeGrey family found employment in different homes after their arrival in Salt Lake City. Charlotte's sister, Kezia, married John Hall as his second wife and was sealed to him for time and eternity. The family built a small log cabin on seventh east, between South Temple and First South streets, for Maria Brooks DeGrey, and here she lived comfortably with the girls who were still unmarried.

Charlotte was courted and married in 1861 to George Baddley when she was but nineteen years of age. They planned to live in Salt Lake where they would be near their respective families, but one month after they were married, they were among the first to settle at Grafton on the Virgin River. Charlotte's other sisters, Selina and Kezia, and their husband, John Hall, were among the group called for the same mission, so it was much easier for Charlotte to leave her mother and travel so far away.

Great obstacles stood in the way of these pioneers when they first reached their destination. A great deal of their supplies had to be brought in from the outside, and lumber for building purposes had to be freighted by team and wagon, oftimes from great distances. Charlotte and her young husband, George, endured many trials and harsh experiences, as did all the faithful pioneers of southern Utah. Their first child a son, Alfred, was born September 14, 1862, while they were living in a dugout built in the side of the mountain. Just to have children in those days, unattended except for perhaps a midwife, was a fine and brave thing for those young women to do.

There was always the struggle in tilling the soil. Charlotte worked beside her husband in building and harvesting for their needs. There was also the constant fear of attack from the Indians which inhabited that section of Utah. Charlotte, because of the experiences she had while crossing the plains, was even more sensitive to that ever threatening danger.

Charlotte and George lived there for about three years when her husband was released to return to Salt Lake City due to ill health developed through the hardships of pioneering and the extreme heat in "Dixie", and was advised to return at once. Charlotte urged her husband to return as quickly as possible. George was hesitant to travel at that time because Charlotte was expecting her second child. So against his better judgment and because of Charlotte's persistence, the family made ready for the long, tiresome trip back to Salt Lake City. Charlotte's older sister, Selina, had became discontented and discouraged with her life in Dixie, so she planned to return with Charlotte and George in case of an emergency.

They traveled about three weeks and Charlotte seemed to be taking the hard traveling quite satisfactorily until they reached the point of the mountain near Lehi. There Charlotte gave birth to a second son, Henry, on April 16, 1864. The baby was born in a covered wagon. Selina knew that some friends by the name of Russon who also had come to Utah from Dudley, England, lived near. George contacted this family and they willingly gave what assistance they could for the three days they were stopped at Lehi. When Charlotte felt well enough the family again continued on their way to Salt Lake City.

They made a home on Ninth East between Second and Third South, which consisted of one adobe room with a lean to on the back to be used for a kitchen and a porch on the front. Here two more children were born to Charlotte and George, a daughter, Maria, and a son, George. Later George built a home on Tenth East for Charlotte, which is still standing (1949).

George's health did not seem to improve, and Charlotte was compelled to care for her husband and her young family. Alfred was still but a small boy, but he helped his mother haul coal from the depot with a wagon and a mule. Charlotte kept her own home supplied with coal and also many of their neighbors and friends. She planted and harvested all their crops. From her vegetable garden which was her pride and joy, Charlotte took peas to the market earlier then anyone else. To accomplish this she got up at day break and picked the peas, and then carried them in large sacks for twelve city blocks to "Market Row", located just off Main Street.

George was bedridden for two and one half years before his death on April 9, 1875, at the age of fifty. He was a comparatively young man but the hardships of the pioneer life were too strenuous for him. Charlotte was left a widow at the age of thirty three, with quite a bit of property and five children for which to provide.

Since her boys were older, they were anxious to find jobs in order to help their mother make her burden lighter. A neighbor, Mr. Keyson, who owned the Salt Lake Brewery, was a kind friend to Charlotte and her family and took a great interest in their welfare. He gave Charlotte's boys light work in the brewery at first and gradually promoted them to better jobs as they grew older. One son, Henry, became foreman of the bottling department and worked as such until the brewery business was discontinued.

Even though the extra money brought into the household by her boys helped lighten her work. Charlotte had her share of trials and sorrows. It seemed even more than she could bear because she had no partner to share her troubles. Her youngest son, John William died when he was about six months old and her youngest daughter, Sarah, died at the age of eight with membranous croup. The death of her little daughter so soon after her husband's death was hard for Charlotte because the child had such a sweet, loveable personality and had been such a comfort to her in her bereavement at her husband's passing. The children, in growing up, had their share of ailments and small injuries, which only added more worry and anxiety to Charlotte.

Each afternoon when the boys were younger they would take the cows upon the hill near Fort Douglas to graze. On this particular day they decided they would like to collect a menagerie of animals and insects. They caught horned toads, lizards of all sizes and colors and then they saw a rattlesnake. Being unafraid and adventuresome as small boys are, they decided to take the rattlesnake home with them, too. While the other boys were to hold the snake's head down with a forked stick, Alfred, who was the oldest, agreed to tie a string around its neck. However, in their excitment the boys let the stick slip and the snake caught Alfred's thumb in its poisonous fangs.

The two younger brothers yelled for help and drew the attention of some people traveling nearby in a carriage. They took the children to Wagner's Brewery, where Mrs. Wagner wrapped Alfred's thumb and poured a pint of whiskey down him. Although that much alcohol did not make Alfred drunk, the doctor said it probably saved his life.

Charlotte was frantic when she heard of the incident and even though she cautioned her sons never to bother rattlesnakes again, she knew she had to expect many such frightening episodes during the years of rearing her children.

Charlotte was a very kind and sympathetic person. When there was sickness anywhere in the nighborhood she was the first to offer assistance, especially if the family was poor. She went right into the home and stayed, if necessary, for weeks at a time. Her daughter. Maria, was young but was very efficient and dependable, and while Charlotte was helping in the home of a friend or neighbor who needed assistance, Maria took full charge of their home and family,

Charlotte was very reserved and what kindness she did were not done with any desire or thought of mention or praise. Although she never cared to appear before the public, she fulfilled her duty in the Relief Society when she was called to serve. Whatever Charlotte did in her quiet, unassuming manner brought far greater results then any public carreer, because she worked hard to do everything well. She was loved by everyone who knew her.

For about three years before her death on January 12, 1902 in Salt Lake City, Charlotte suffered ill health. Even at the age of sixty, the family doctor who attended her said she was not old; but that her body was just worn out through hard work and sorrow. Her ambitions were always more than her strength could manage.

Despite her sadnessess and tribulations, Charlotte spent many happy hours with her children. She, herself, had accepted the Gospel in a far away county, walked almost the entire distance to the Salt Lake Valley, married young and accepted the call with her husband to go to Dixie, always been a good and faithful wife and mother and had six fine sons and daughters, so her life had been a full and busy one. She will long be remembered by her descendants for the good and kind woman that she was as they hear by word of mouth and read of her accomplishments.

Please Leave Your Comments!

2008-08-11T07:39:00.000-07:00

I invite all visitors who have found any histories of interest on this blog to please leave a comment to indicate which history caught your attention, where you are from, and if you are related to these people (and me!). Thanks! Please click on the "Post a Comment" link below.

Degrey/Hall Family Histories

2008-07-30T10:35:00.001-07:00

My parents had a copy of a book of family histories, which I've slowly been transcribing. It was originally given to them from my grand-aunt, Norda Wright Benson, and was published in 1952, though it appears the histories were collected earlier, perhaps as late as 1947. It appears to have been compiled by an M.S. Wood, whom I believe is my second cousin, twice removed by marriage and may still be alive somewhere.

I had transcribed six of the histories when I made the acquaintance of one Victor Hall of Rockville, UT, -- another second cousin, twice removed -- who provided me with a CD that had all of them (and more!) transcribed. With his blessing, I've completed this particular collection, and will publish the remainder of what he sent to me in due time.

The Table of Contents is listed here, and you may follow the links to any history.

-- Foreword
-- A Word of Thanks
-- Maria Brooks DeGrey (1805-1876)
-- Alfred DeGrey (1831-1885)
-- Samuel DeGrey (1861-1945)
-- Maria Jarman DeGrey (1865-1953)
-- Selina DeGrey Hall (1833-1901)
-- John Charles Hall (1821-1890)
-- Charles Alma Hall (1854-1945)
-- Sarah Lacey Vickers Hall (1857-1942)
-- Charlotte Maria Hall Foulger (1855-1938)
-- John Thomas Hall (1861-1947)
-- William Brooks Hall (1867-1936)
-- Kezia DeGrey Hall (1837-1905)
-- Alfred Lorenzo Hall (1858-1934)
-- Julia Hansen Hall (1860-1935)
-- Alice Maude Hall Langston (1864-1922)
-- Jacob Langston (1863-1930)
-- Annie Selina Hall Stout (1866-1931)
-- John Henry Fisk Stout (1863-1933)
-- Adelia Hall Dalton (1870-1908)
-- Alonzo Dalton (1867-1925)
-- Myra Hall Lemon (1872-1951)
-- Jesse Newton Lemmon (1871-1956)
-- Arthur Wright Hall (1875-1955)
-- Adlinda DeMille Hall (1878-1963)
-- Dora M. Hall Stout (1878-1940)
-- Maria DeGrey Smith (1840-1879)
-- Charles N. Smith (1824-1897)
-- George Alfred Smith (1861-1935)
-- Hyrum Bowles Morris (1863-1914)
-- George Baddley (1825-1875)
-- George Baddley II (1869-1928)
-- Alfred Lorenzo Baddley (1862-1936)
-- Maria Baddley Rossiter (1866-1950)
-- Sarah DeGrey Dixon (1845-1926)
-- Henry Aldous Dixon (1835-1884)
-- Arnold Dixon (1884-1960)
-- Maria Louise Dixon Taylor (1872-1947)
-- A tribute to Aunt Rye (Maria Louise Dixon Taylor - see previous)

Degrey/Hall Family Histories Thanks

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Without the generous service and assistance of the many contributors to the wealth of valuable information, these little sketches would not have been compiled and published. The historian wishes to express the appreciation to all those who have assisted in the preparation of this book.

To my husband, Garner D. Wood, for his patient cooperation during the months of research and contact, both in person and through correspondence; to John C. Hall for the information on his parents' histories; to Afton Ballard for his cooperation in the compilation of the histories of Charles Nephi Smith and Maria DeGrey; to Elsie Wood, Edna Gibson, and those who assisted them, for their information on their parents, John Henry Fisk Stout and Anne Selina Hall; to Sebra DeGrey Crowton for the information used in the history of Alfred DeGrey; to Mrs. Ellis Donaldson for her assistance in the writing of the history of Alfred Lorenzo Baddley; to Maria Jarman DeGrey for her gracious cooperation on the history of her husband, Samuel DeGrey, her father-in-law, Alfred DeGrey and herself; to Arnold Dixon for his own history and the fine history on Henry Aldous Dixon; to Mrs. Roy C. Moody for her preparation of her mother's history; to Arthur D. Taylor for his information used in the personal history of Sarah DeGrey; to Mariah B. Rossiter for her cooperation in the research on Charlotte DeGrey; to Mrs. Leona S. westover for the information used in the history of George Alfred Smith; to Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Hall for their own histories; to Mariam Cromar for the assistance rendered in regards the history of Charlotte Marie Hall; to Eldon and Donna Lemmon for their helpful assistance on the personal history of Myra Hall Lemmon; to Lorraine Lemmon for her preparation of the story of Jesse Lemmon; to Marguerite Wood for her assistance on the histories of her parents, Adelia Hall and Alonzo Dalton; to Maria Dixon Taylor for her own history and the history of George Baddley; to Nora Lund and Vern Hall for rendering assistance on the history of their parents, Alfred Lorenzo Hall and Julia Hansen; to Ralph Baddley for his generous efforts in the compilation of the histories of Charlotte DeGrey, George Baddley (I), and George Baddley (II); to Murray Hall for his assistance on his father's history; to Eldwin Stout for the history on his mother, Dora Martha Murton Hall; to Orson Hall for the information supplied for his father's history, and to the many who have not been herein mentioned for their helpful assistance in the histories compiled.

M.S.W.

NOTE: Any error or misrepresentation found in this collection of histories will be promptly corrected with definite proof furnished by the reader.

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DeGrey/Hall Family Histories Foreword

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This book of histories, though small in size, is great in its content of faith, hope, and courage. Within its cover is found the story of a mother and her family, who, with faith and resolution, accepted the Gospel of Jesus Christ amid strong objection from relatives and friends, and in so doing, accepted the responsibilities and hardships the like of which few women in history have endured. The qualities of fidelity and devotion to a worthy cause of this mother have been magnified and rewarded through the acts and deeds of the many who have followed as descendants of Maria Brooks DeGrey.

I, as compiler of these personal histories, have learned to love and respect each one as he took his place in the pattern of life; as he fulfilled his mission wherever he was sent to build and develop a new land; as he suffered in hunger, pain, and anxiety; and as he faithfully gave credit to his God for his home, family, and way of life.

This little collection is dedicated to the memory of a good and wise mother, who braved the scorn of friends and relatives to seek the truth, and to the hope that we, as descendants, will bring honor to her posterity through great works in genealogical channels.

M.S. Wood

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A Tribute to Aunt Rye (Maria Louise Dixon)

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They ask, "What is in a name?" It seems to me
There is much that is unseen¬
Something of the divine, that symbolizes ones identity
in this life and all eternity.
There are names that stir the soul, when they fall upon the ear
Names that keep us free from all fear.
There are names we mention in reverent awe melodic and tender like a refrain and
Names of heroes that have become a part of our country's fame.
Names flashed on Broadway for all to see
Names that signify a high degree.
And just names of sweet simplicity like "Aunt Rye".
I have loved this name since the days of my youth,
And idolized its owner for her virtue, wisdom and truth
"Aunt Rye", it is such a homespun, humble name
No glamour or pretentiousness did its bearer ever claim.
Calm and serene she stood, meeting life's tests and trials
Believing life was good.
"Aunt Rye" was a participant in life; she liked to be in the midst of things
And share its joy and strife.
Names were very important to our "Aunt Rye"
Names of the living and names of the dead
She believed in salvation's plan and always had much work ahead.
She enjoyed Temple work, and she always tried to do her share
For the less fortunate souls who haven't the gospel over there.
Her genealogy records are well done
She toiled to complete them from sun to sun.
"Aunt Rye" was steadfast in her faith
She loved the Gospel Plan.
She loved her God and served him well; she loved her fellowman.
"Aunt Rye" was a saleslady; she had loveliness to sell
"Aunt Rye" was a dreamer and planner, and she always planned well.
"Aunt Rye" was a comforter; she was always where
illness and grief were causing despair.
Her presence was soothing;
in healing she had skill.
When asked if she'd stay with you, she always answered, "Sure, I will".
We all felt relieved when "Aunt Rye" was close by.

ecause on her helpfulness we could always rely.
"Aunt Rye" was a historian and recorder, too.
She was proud of our pioneers and preserved their life stories for all of you.
She cherished her birth right.
Was proud of her kin,
And what they had been.
She painstakingly preserved their history
for all of her beloved posterity to see.
"Aunt Rye" was a student; she liked to read
She appreciated talent and liked to see fools succeed.
She endeavored to find out about the new things in her daily pursuits.
In this way she acquired much knowledge;
Became an educated person without going to college.
"Aunt Rye" was a teacher of Zion's youth;
She loved little children and taught them the truth.
"Aunt Rye" was a devoted sweetheart and wife.
Always pretty and neat.
She seemed to sparkle;
Her spirit was so sweet.
Her choicest role was that of mother¬
She placed that assignment above any other.
Her home was her castle:
Love and good will did abide
The atmosphere was lovely, because peace and tranquility reigned inside.
Her family by good example were taught.
She practiced doing good;
Her character and service have honored womanhood.
Her family have all lived exemplary lives,
As have their children and their devoted wives.
This to their parents much happiness brought.
"Aunt Rye" was enthusiastic and busy as a bee
She lived life abundantly and gloried in its opportunity.
She liked to work; liked to play.
She loved to chat with her family and friends; always had something interesting to say.
She liked to laugh, hike, and swim,
And was always full of vigor and vim.
Folks were anxious to meet "Aunt Rye", and passers by would say,
'So you're "Aunt Rye" Taylor, We've heard about you.
And soon they'd be calling her "Aunt Rye", too.
They felt a close kinship, because of the nice things she'd do.
And as the greatest of all teachers, by example taught,
"Aunt Rye's" splendid lessons to us all have brought
Renewed faith, better judgement, and many a good thought.
It has been said that all we take with us when we leave this earth
Is what we have given; service measures our worth.
As our Creator challenged us to do unto, the least of these
"Aunt Rye" has met this challange and her Creator will she please.
Her widow's mite was always giving of her time and substance
Each day from morn till night.
So' Aunt Rye" has taken with her something more precious than gold
Her record of good deeds will bring blessings many fold.
And the heritage she leaves to family, neighbors, and friends,
Remembering her goodness, no one knows how far its influence extends.
And to show our appreciation for this life so fine
We can, like her, so live
That we too may have something as worthwhile to give.
And I know today in that eternal home not so far away
"Aunt Rye" will not sit idly by--
She'll be helping always doing her share.
And folks, there, too, will love our "Aunt Rye"¬
I know that my Redeemer Lives, and spirits like "Aunt Rye's never die.

Maria Louise Dixon (1872-1947) Aunt Rye

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Crossing the plains in the same company in their migration to Zion were Henry Aldous Dixon, recently from South Africa, and Sarah DeGrey of Dudley, England. Both had accepted the Gospel and had joined the church in their respective homelands. Romance blossomed soon after they met. They were wed and together they planned a home in the "top of the mountains", where peace from persecution and security from molesting mobs could be found by all who sought them.

There was a large family of fine sons and daughters born to them. Like most of the saints, this particular family had their trials and struggles in their efforts for existance in this desert land. It was their united effort to meet the problems of life that brought the Dixon family close together and made them loyal to each other, both in sickness and in health.

One child, Maria, of whom we tell this story, was born five minutes past 9 o'clock on the night of January 5, 1872 in Provo, Utah County, Utah. She was blessed and given her name on January 13, 1872 by her father, Henry A. Dixon. Through most of her life she was known as "Aunt Rye" to all those who knew and loved her.

She received her schooling in Provo. Her first lessons in readin' and writin' were received in the little old adobe school, now replaced by the Lester Taylor home, under the watchful eye of Mrs. Oakley, her teacher. Later she attended the West School, which stood where the Pioneer Park is presently located.

Her father died when Maria was only twelve years old, leaving two wives and thirteen children. The hardships and burdens increased with the loss of her beloved father, but she was able to continue her schooling. She was a member of the first class at the old Parker School, with George H. Brimhall as her teacher. She finished her schooling at the Brigham Young Academy.

Because of necessity of her desire to accomplish much, Maria worked for Robert Skelton in the Provo Book and Stationery for many years prior to her marriage, and became a successful sales and business woman.

The desired life in the thriving communities of Utah was the family life, consequently, Maria married the man of her choice, Arthur N. Taylor, on May 9, 1894 in the Salt Lake Temple. She was but a young lass of twenty two, but she turned her heart to the task of building a comfortable and happy home and rearing a family. Many were the happy times and the sad times which came to this family.

In October, 1900, Maria's husband left her at home with three young boys, Arthur, Lynn, and Elton, to care for while he filled a mission in England. It meant extra work for her, but so much happiness for them both because they knew it was the Lord's work. So, happily, Maria worked hard to make it possible for her husband to do his missionary work.

In 1902, Maria left her children in the care of her mother and went to England to join her husband. She, too, served as a missionary for six months before their return to their home and family. Those were happy, busy days for them both as they carried on with their work with diligence and much faith.

When they returned to Provo, they bought a fruit and dairy farm on the Provo Bench. They knew the farm would help train and develop the young bodies and minds of their boys. During the summertime they lived on the farm and Maria had her first experience as a farmer. Later the fruit farm was sold and the family acquired property at the mouth of the Provo River and Utah Lake. Besides the farming of sugar beets, they opened up a resort center and again, Maria showed her business abilities. She taught her children many valuable lessons in business management.

In all of their ventures and endeavors the Taylor family worked as a unit and cooperation was uppermost in the minds of both parents and children. Their church activities were of much importance to them. To be a cheerful and willing worker in their church, helped each family member to be a cheerful and a willing worked in the home. Maria was especially active throughout her own life. The Gospel was as precious to her as her own life.

In 1913, she was a counslor to Mary Davis in the Third Ward Primany. When the ward was divided, she was called to take Sister Davis' position. Maria then served as President of the Third Ward Primary for ten years. After being released from the primary, she served for twenty years as the Theological teacher in the Relief Society. She was treasurer of the Utah County Camp of the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers (DUP) for two terms. In June, 1939, she was elected historian of the 4th and 6th camps of the DUP, and later served as historian of the newly created Camp Provo.

113.

She wrote many histories of pioneer families of the Provo Third Ward. Maria was very happy in this work and the records she made will continue down the stream of time to give later generations a

story of their progenitors.

In 1937, Bishop Eves called Maria to help organize the "Widows of the Third Ward". Her mother, Sarah Dixon, had previously been chairman of this same group. The organization raised funds through the sale of quilts, rugs, and pies, which paid for the carpeting and the electric organ for the Third Ward.

Maria and her husband were active in all church activities and were sincere in their desire to do the work of the Lord. Six of their sons filled missions in various parts of the world.

After the death of her husband in September, 1935, Maria bravely carried on and dedicated the remainder of her life to genealogical work. She worked in the Third Ward genealogy group for years. She spent many wonderful hours in various Temples and the genealogical research rooms.

Her social life was full from the time of her childhood until the day she was stricken to her bed. She loved all people she associated with and helped many who were in need. Wildwood, in Provo

Canyon, where Maria spent her summers, was one of the bright spots of her life. It was there that she entertained friends and relatives from far and near.

One of the proudest moments of her life was Mother's Day, May 11, 1941, when she opened the

Sunday edition of the Provo Herald and saw her own picture on the front page, with the caption "The Typical Mother of the Day" underneath it.

She died five minutes to twelve, noon, Monday, February 17, 1947 at the Latter Day Saints Hospital, leaving a posterity of twenty three grandchildren and the following children: Arthur D. Taylor, Bishop of Provo Third Ward; Lynn D. Taylor, former Bishop of Pleasant View Ward; Elton L. Taylor, President of Carbon Stake; Henry D. Taylor, President of Sharon Stake; Alice T. Nelson, Wife of Dr. Elroy

Nelson, Denver, Colorado; Clarence D. Taylor, Provo; and Ruth T. Kartchner, wife of Dr. Fred D.

Kartchner, Hawaii. Kenneth, who was the youngest son, died and was buried on his twenty seventh birthday, November 3, 1940. One brother, Arnold Dixon and two sisters, Mrs. J. W. Dangerfield and Sarah McConachie, also survived.

These words were penned by Maria as the closing lines in the history of her life which she wrote in 1940. "I am so grateful that I have seven of the kindest and dearest children anyone could wish to have to bring joy and comfort to me in my declining years; in fact, I feel that / am one of the most blessed women in the world."

Arnold Dixon (1884-1960) Autobiography

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I, Arnold Dixon, was born at Provo, Utah County, Utah, on May 30, 1884 in an adobe house located at the corner of 2nd North and 3rd West Streets. His parents were Sara DeGrey and Henry Aldous Dixon.

Soon after I reached the age of eight I was baptized in June 1892 by Bishop R. S. GIbby. Then I was confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints in June 1892 by our Bishop, R.S. Gibby. I was ordained a Priest on December 8,1904 by Alfred W. Harding; a Seventy in the 123 Quorum on November 5, 1910 by J. Golden Kimball, and a High Priest on December 11, 1927 by J. William Knight. When I was sixteen years old I received a patriarchal blessing under the hand of Charles D. Evans on November 17, 1900. Even though I was quite young at the time, the blessing was a great help and guide to me.

I received my early education in the Provo district schools. I attended the B.Y.U. Preparatory School for one year, then for part of two years I studied bookkeeping, etc. at the B.Y.U. Commercial Department. The balance of my education and training was gained through the practical experience which included a great many hard knocks, that I received in the varied jobs I held.

As a small boy, I worked on the farm, which gave me a foundation knowledge of management. I worked at a "hand made brick yard" until the Provo Pressed Brick Co. was organized, at which time I helped to install machinery and worked at a number of different machines. Later I was the timekeeper and did some bookkeeping at the yard office. I worked about one year in the Provo office of the Provo Pressed Brick Co. and S. H. Belmont & Thomas Boardman as office manager and bookkeeper. I also worked for the Central Coal Company doing office work and unloading cars of coal.

I worked about four years in Salt Lake City in the State Treasurer's Office as secretary. The office at that time was in the Utah National Bank and I did some work for the bank at the same time. In that way I received a considerable amount of banking experience.

When I returned to Provo, I did many odd jobs and during the summer vacation time of the employees I worked at the Commercial & Savings Bank. I also was bookkeeper for the State Bank of Provo.

In 1906 when the Farmer's & Merchant's Bank was organized I became the bookkeeper and worked up to the position of cashier during the twenty five years I worked there. I was cashier of the bank at the time it was re organized.

While working at the Farmer's & Merchant's Bank I spent one two week's vacation and went to Hurricane where I helped organize the State Bank of Hurricane. I had every intention of moving to Hurricane as the cashier of the bank. I spent many nights writing letters and securing all the information I could regarding the amounts of deposits in both the St. George and Cedar City banks and the number of residents in the towns near Hurricane. I also drew up the Articles of Incorporation. I was promised a charter from the State Bank Commissioner in case the bank was organized.

When I arrived in Hurricane my cousin, Alfred Hall, and others were ready to subscribe the stock. Alfred and I called on Charles Petty, owner of the main general merchandise store, and were turned down cold. He informed us that a friend of his. J. W. Imlay, a big sheep man, was already going to open a bank. It was to be a branch of a new bank soon to be opened in Cedar City. I knew that could not be so because Mr. Imlay had no charter and branch banks were not allowed in Utah at that time.

The next man we contacted was David Hirschi, who was a director of the St. George Bank. He felt we were foolish to try and organize a bank in Hurricane, because we would not be able to get enough deposits and would not be able to sell the needed stock. So instead of helping us he only tried to discourage our efforts, but I knew that people in Provo would take what stock could not be sold in Hurricane.

Within the next few days we had enough stock subscribed to go ahead with the organization of the bank. On the day I was to return to Provo, I again called Mr. Hirschi and urged him to become the bank president because of his banking experience. I bade him good by and was on my way when he called me back and informed me that he would back the new bank.

I gave he and Alfred Hall the necessary papers and instructions for the organization and left. I arrived in Provo the following day and talked with the Farmers and Merchants Bank officials. They offered me an increase in salary besides a new position if I would remain with them. Mr. Hirschi wrote me that he was to be president and I was to be cashier. So many people wanted stock that they wanted to limit the stock issue to five shares per person or else $500.00, that I declined the offer to be cashier. I felt that I would have to work for a small salary, and I would expect to get dividends to make it worthwhile to move to Hurricane.

I offered to give David Hirschi's son, Claude, a short training in our bank at Provo, so he would be able to take over the position of cashier. I spent considerable time in training Claude. I also ordered all the books and stationery and a new safe, which was too small for the Bingham Bank after its purchase.

I was happy to be able to help Hurricane get their bank, which has been a great benefit to the community and is one of the best small banks in southern Utah.

After working in the banks, I took a job with John Manson in a coal mine prospect at Scofield in Carbon County. I also worked for the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad Company Section. While working on the tracks, a large steel bar fell on my foot, breaking one of my toes.

My next job was with the U.S. Government in the City and County Building as office manager for the R.F.C. for Utah County. I worked at this job for about one year but had to resign because of ill health. After I had regained my health, I secured a position with the B. D. Palfreyman Construction Company as office manager where I set up a new bookkeeping system for the company. I also worked for the Dixon Real Estate Company for about three years as bookkeeper.

I was employed by the Columbia Steel Company as an auditor during the construction of the Geneva Steel Plant. I was unemployed for the next few months, so I took a much-needed rest. I occupied my time in caring for my garden and home.

I next was employed by the Dixon Taylor Russel Company setting up furniture. I had no desire for office work, so I enjoyed the work in the furniture department. The pleasant change lasted only about three months when the manger asked me to assist in the office for a short while. However, after a month in the office I was given the job of auditing all the branch stores books each month. I had seven stores to take care of and I was out of town quite a bit and was quite busy. I have been with this company over three years and expect to remain as long as my health will permit.

Despite the fact that my life appears to be full of banking and bookkeeping 1, nevertheless, had time for my family, home and church. In 1911, on November 15, 1 married a lovely young girl by the name of Letitia May Banks in the Salt Lake Temple. The ceremony was performed by Adolphus Madson and we were a very happy young couple that day. We made our home in Provo and to us were born ten children, seven sons and three daughters, namely: Howard Banks, born December 11, 1912, who married Fulvia Call; Evelyn, born May 30,1917, who married Donald H. Smith; Grant DeGrey, born April 11, 1919, and married Florence Rose Marks; Elson Arnold, born on March 31, 1921 and married Sarah Jean Dastrup; Bruce Royden, born February 13, 1923; Floyd Preston, born on November 6, 1924 (on a mission in Mexico); Gloria May, born on December 1, 1926, married Thomas W. Richardson; Robert Norman, born May 15,1930 (will marry Genniel Larsen on April 5, 1951); Douglas Wayne who was born May 15, 1932, and Doria Ann, born on March 19,1934.

I have tried to fulfill each calling which has come to me in my church. I was ward clerk for five years in Provo Third Ward; treasurer of the Third Ward Missionary Committee for a number of years. I was ward teacher in the Provo Fifth Ward for five years, ward teacher in the 30th Ward in Salt Lake City for two years and held the same calling in the Provo Third Ward for ten years. I always received much joy in doing this type of work, because I liked to meet and converse with people.

I am grateful to my Father in Heaven for the privilege of coming to this earth, of marrying one of the best young women of this world and for the ten fine children she has borne into me. I have a number of wonderful grandchildren of which I am mighty proud. My wife and I surely appreciate our family and desire to live long enough to see them all married and have families of their own. This is a history of my life to this date, February 25, 1951.

Henry Aldous Dixon (1835-1884)

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Henry Aldous Dixon was born on March 14,1835 at Grahamstown, Cape of Good Hope, South Africa. He was the son of John Henry Dixon, who was born May 28, 1786 at West Ham, Essex County, near London, England. His mother was Judith Boardman, who was born December 16, 1776 at Newberry Lancaster, England. His parents were among the early settlers of the Albany District in South Africa, having emigrated in 1820 from England.

Henry Aldous had one full sister, Ann Judith Dixon Hartman, who was eight years older than he. She was very found of her younger brother even after he had accepted the very unpopular religion of the "Mormons" and had gone to America. Mormonism and the 14,000 miles which separated them was insufficient to destroy this affection of brother and sister. She would have joined the church in later years except for her husband's objections. There were also four half sisters and one half brother. All were older than Henry Aldous and pretty well matured by the time he reached school age.

In his infancy and youth, much of Henry's care was entrusted to native servants. One of the boy's servants who had been in the Dixon home for a long time and to whom Henry A. had become very much attached, finally left the Dixon employ and went back to his native way of life. Instead of building a wooden or grass kroal (hut) in which to live, the native boy set up housekeeping in a cave
located not far f from the Dixon home. Henry A. thought so much of this native servant that he saved his pennies and bought bread and cakes to take to the old faithful servant in the cave. Through contact with this old servant and other natives in the neighborhood, he was able to obtain first hand knowledge of the living conditions, the way of life, habits, dress and customs of the natives.

Henry was a true lover of nature and spent much of his time on the open veldt, watching the habits of the many and varied birds and animals, and admiring the flowers and foliage. There was one small bird which was of particular interest to him. It was called the Honey Bird. When the natives would see this bird flying about them, twittering to attract their attention, they would get a bucket or container and some kind of weapon, and follow the Honey Birds. Sometimes the bird would lead the natives to an old hollow tree which would be full of honey, and they would be able to fill their containers. At other times, they would lead to a dangerous snake or animal of which the birds were frightened and wanted the natives to kill. Whenever the natives found honey, they always left the tree truck so the birds could get into the honey. They loved the honey and consequently were called Honey Birds.

One of his chief delights in later years was the drawing of all kinds of pictures of animals, birds, natives, houses and trees on the nail of his thumb. The children from the neighborhood would sit by the hours and watch him draw these thumbnail sketches and listen to his fascinating stories of Africa. Two of his stories, as told to his daughters, Maria and Sarah, when they were little girls, are interesting to relate: The natives frequently captured Boa Constrictors. A small goat would be tethered to a tree in the jungle where the big snakes were known to be. Soon as the snake was attracted to the goat and swallowed it, it would go into a torpid stupor. The natives would then approach the snake with a long pole, which they would place alongside the snake and lashed to the snake's body. By so doing they could hoist the snake to their shoulders and carry it to a cage for keeping until they could sell it to the white people.

The early settlers had a difficult time to keep their crops from being stolen by the thousands of monkeys which were noisy inhabitants of the trees around the clearings. To capture them, a squash would be hollowed out and filled with grain. A small opening would be made in the side of the squash just large enough for the monkey to see through and through which he could thrust his paws. The monkey would reach into the squash and get a fist full of grain, even when approached by the settlers and he could not withdraw his paw while he clenched the booty.

At the age of fourteen, Henry entered an Agency Office as a collector and copying clerk. He became an excellent penman, not only with his right hand but he was equally as proficient with his left hand. In his diary, the only way one could tell which hand he used was by the slant of his works. When one hand became tired through writing, he would shift his pen to the other hand and continue writing.

After he left the Agency Office, Henry A. served for some time in a retail and wholesale store. Then later he worked at blacksmithing and wagon making for a few years.

He grew up in a religious environment. By his parents he was taught and he strictly adhered to the practices and beliefs of the Chruch of England. His mother, Judith Boardman, was the daughter of the Reverend William Boardman, the first Colonial Minister of the Church of England, and also the headmaster of the Grammar School at Bothhurst. It was from this source that Henry received the background for his undying testimony of the Gospel and his abundance of faith which characterized his entire life.

He was nineteen years of age when he first heard some Mormon missionaries preach the Gospel. The missionaries were Leonard Smith, Jesse Haven and William Walker. He listened to their message with interest and became convinced of its truthfulness and divinity, but was denied the privilege of joining the Church because of his youth. His father forbade him to accept the Mormon religion and said he would be cut off without a shilling of inheritance if he did join the Church. Being a man of honor, Henry promised his father that he would not be baptized before he was twenty one years of age.

On March 14, 1856, the day that Henry became twenty one years old, he was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints by John Elliston, a local member who held the off ice of priest. Three days later, he left his home upon request of his father, and sought employment. which would provide him with the necessary funds to take him to Utah. Upon his affiliation with the true Church of Christ, he was compelled to give up his comfortable and happy home, leave his sorrowing and heartbroken mother and sister and his determined and stubborn father. He was confirmed a member of the Church and ordained a teacher by E. W. Kershaw at Uiterhage in 1856. In the same year he was ordained on Elder in Port Elizabeth.

On November 1, 1856 he set sail for London, England in the brig "Unity", which was owned by two Mormons, who later immigrated to Utah. They arrived in London on January 12, 1857. In company with 816 others, Henry took passage from Liverpool, England on the ship "George Washington". After twenty three days on the Atlantic ocean, the boat landed at Boston, Massachusetts in March 1857. Upon arrival in America, Henry was short of money to continue his journey westward, so he accepted the offer of an elderly couple by the name of Walker to drive and care for their oxen and wagon. In payment, the couple agreed to provide the equipment and necessities for the entire trip. This offer made it possible for Henry to leave immediately for Zion, rather than stay in the East and work until sufficient money had been accumulated to finance the trip West. He was a member of Captain Martin's company. In the same company was Maria Brooks DeGrey, a widow, and her four daughters, emigrants from Dudley, England. During the westward trip, Henry occasionally saw a pretty little girl of twelve years running along side the DeGrey wagon. Although his attention was attracted to her, little did he realize that one-day she would be his wife.

After traveling a wearisome journey of 1300 miles by ox team and wagon, the little band of faithful pioneers arrived in Salt Lake Valley on September 12, 1857. Three days later, on September 15, 1857, Brigham Young issued a proclamation regarding the Johnson Army invasion and immediately the Territory Militia was ordered to report at Echo Canyon to maintain the entrance of same by force of arms if necessary. On September 27, 1857, Henry joined the group in its effort to repel the army. Some ten weeks later, after the snow had piled so high that the movements of the militia through the canyon passes was virtually impossible, Henry returned to his home.

It was the purpose of the militia men to construct fortifications and beast work at the "Narrows" in echo canyon and on the heights along the entire length of this mountain gorge. Had the United States Army moved through the canyon, they would have received a shower of boulders, rocks and bullets they had never before experienced.

After his return from the Echo Canyon expedition in December, 1857, although previously baptized in South Africa, Henry was re baptized and re confirmed by Elder L. 1. Smith of December 12, 1857. This same month he was called for mission to the Rio Virgin and Santa Clara settlements in Southern Utah. The community of Washington was organized for the sole purpose of raising cotton. Here the first cotton in Utah was raised. The experiment was quite unsuccessful because of bad seed (several years old) brought from Texas, unskilled irrigation, and general dissatisfaction with the country. Even the most faithful were discouraged and saddened by the cotton failure.

In 1860 Henry returned to Salt Lake City and secured a job with the pick and shovel in Sugarhouse. One day Brigham Young noticed young Henry as he worked and stopped to have a chat. At the conclusion of their conversation, President Young asked Henry to call at his office, where President Young later asked him to go on a mission to England and his homeland, Africa.

Henry, grateful for the opportunity, gladly accepted. He served first in Southampton and the Reading Conference of the British Mission for about a year, then received a letter of appointment to the South Africa Mission.

On September 7, 1861, President William Fortheringham, John Talbot, Martin Zyderlaan, and Henry A. Dixon boarded the sailing vessel, "Barque Sydney", a vessel of 340 tons bound for Capetown, South Africa.

Most of the voyage was quite pleasant except for certain periods. Crossing the equator brought very warm and uncomfortable weather and heavy storm and rough seas near the end of the voyage. After having sailed for twenty four hours in the storm, the boat was found on the leeward of the position where it had been on the previous day. In three days they made only fifteen miles.

When the boat was within a few miles of its destination, a heavy gale suddenly arose and carried the vessel forty miles further out to sea. The sailors became so fatigued in their battle against the elements of nature that the four young missionaries gave assistance by doing odd jobs. Provisions and water ran low and passengers were compelled to go on short rations of one biscuit per meal and two quarts of water per day per person.

While the ship was rolling and tossing in the rough waters, one of the Elders, who was very ill was told to get up because the ship was surely going to sink in the heavy storm. This did not bother the young missionary. He just turned over in his bed and told the companions that he had been set apart as an emissary to carry the Gospel to Africa and a little storm was not going to interfere with his carrying out his mission. Through the perspiration of the sailors and the constant prayers of the Elders, the ship successfully docked at the harbor at Table Bay on December 15, 1861.

In the January 7, 1862 issue of the Cape Argus appeared the following account of the arrival of the four Mormon missionaries: "Arrival of Mormon preachers for the Cape. Four preachers have just arrived in this colony from Utah, with a view of promulgating Mormon doctrines and winning converts to the Mormon faith. Two of the preachers are natives of Graham Town, who have been dwelling in Utah and who have returned to convert the colonial born. Their names are: John Tolbot and Henry Dixon. A Hollander named Martin Zyderlaan, also from the lake, is to preach in Dutch and convert the Dutch population. William Fotheringham, a Scotsman born but now like the other three a Mormon preacher and a citizen of the United States and direct from Utah, is, we understand, the leader. He assures us that the stories promulgated here, said to be by persons who have been disappointed after going over, are utterly untrue. He says all who have gone over are happy and prosperous, as is the State of Utah generally. He represents the soil as less fertiel than some of the United States but he says it yields in abondance and hemmed in as the Mormon people are by the hills, they live in peace and prosperity and no one can molest them from without. Of the truth of the Prophet's revelation, we adduce the following: (A revelation and prophecy by the Prophet, Seer and Revelator, Joseph Smith, given December 25, 1832.) This pamphlet published in 1851, entitled the Pearl of Great Price by Joseph Smith, First Prophet, Seer and Revelator of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and is said to be verified by the war now raging in America. Utah, Mr. Fotheringham states, stands by the Union and will be prepared to pay its quota towards carrying on the war. Utah, situated 1032 miles from the frontier boundary, will be taxed willingly for the war and will stand by the Constituation to the last." (Copied from Cape Argus January 7, 1862. Published by W. R. Murry. Copied by nearly all the paper in the Colony.)

Elder Henry A. Dixon stayed at Capetown, Mowbray, and vicinity until January 12, 1862. His parents sent his passage money and he sailed for Port Elizabeth. One of the Church members, Brother Glensay, loaned him a horse for the journey to Uitenhage. The greatest part of his mission was spent in and around his birth place of Grahamstown, Port Elizabeth, Uitenhage, King Williams Town, Beaufort, Adelaide, Eastern Province and Durban, Natal Provience. He traveled without "purse or script", something which his father could not understand. Even though his father did not agree with his affiliations and activities in the new Church, he occasionally furnished Henry with clothes and a little money to buy the necessities of life. There were times when his diet consisted of syrupsugar and water and bread.

While Henry labored in Grahamstown, his birth place, he was shunned by many of his former schoolmates, some of his relatives and friends. It grieved Henry very much for he loved his Gospel and also wanted the respect of his friends. Most of his relatives and friends were glad to welcome him back home by offering him entertainment and listening to his message. It was the members of the Church who consistently provided the missionaries with food, clothing and a place to sleep.

During his mission Henry felt that he had a definite mission to perform as his life was spared many times that he might accomplish his work. At Port Elizabeth on Friday, January 9, 1863, the following incident was recorded in Henry's diary: "This morning myself and Brother Atwood took Brothers Talbot and Stickly horses to bathe. I rode Brother Stickle's horse, a very large one, out into the breakers; a very heavy breaker covered us. The horse came nearly failing over. I let go the reins and swan. I did not apprehend any great danger. After struggling a few minutes I found I did not make much headway. Several heavy breakers came in quick succession over me. I felt my strength failing me. I prayed the Lord to preserve me. I tried to find ground but did not succeed two or three times. I began to drown; a great quantity of water having entered my body. I felt resigned that it was the Lord's will that I should die. Called to Brother Atwood, held up my hand to draw his attention, as there was such a current. He made an attempt, rode in but was quickly washed off his horse, had to return. It was root hog or die. He thought I was gone; knelt down and prayed. I struggled, found ground. Brother Atwood took me by the hand. A breaker knocked us down. He led me out. Death depicted in my countenance. I felt so weak, could not move my limbs for him to dress me. He administered to me twice. Brought up a considerable water and bile. He laid me down and went and got a cart and brought me to Brother Slaughter's. Was very weak and had a severe headache attended with fever. Was administered to by President Forthingham and Brother Atwood. Got some better. "

Many times during his mission, Henry was threatened with being mobbed. On one occasion, while preaching on the street, a mob gathered to disturb him. One man, owner of the hotel, threw a monkey on his head, but Henry was not scratched. The crowd then began to shove and push, throwing loose objects at him and even hit him over the head with sticks. Finally one gentlemen, realizing the situation, took Henry by the arm and led him into his garden. The mob started to follow, but were stopped at the gate to the garden by another gentlemen.

Judge Noon has related many stories and incidents that happened to the early missionaries when he was living at Ispingo, near Durban, natal. On one occasion, Henry was holding a street meeting. The crowd started to ask questions. Because they did not receive answer to their questions in the confusion which followed, the mob became angry. Soon they were calling Henry all sorts of vile names, and it soon developed into a unmanageable situation. Judge Noon and his brother, realizing the danger Henry was in, rode through the crowd on their horses and picked him up bodily and carried him away to their plantation.

In the latter part of 1864, after having endured many hardships, Henry completed his mission in South Africa. He bade his parents and many friends goodbye and returned to his adopted homeland.

After his return from his mission, Henry renewed his acquaintance and friendships. He visited often the home of Widow DeGrey. The older girls were all married and only Sarah and her mother were at home. Sarah, now a pretty girl of 20, attracted Henry's attention and they were married January 21, 1865.

In the spring of 1865, Henry was called to go to Sanpete County with Captain Andrew Burt's Company to assist during the Indian troubles with Chief Black Hawk.

On his return to Salt Lake City, Henry, being a man of ability and industry, secured a good position as tithing clerk in the tithing office. The newly married couple then built a little log house on the same lot with Mother DeGrey. Here mother and daughter could enjoy the close companionship of each other, yet maintain their own home. Their home was a happy one. On November 14, 1865, their first child, Henry Alfred, was born. Their happiness was marred when on July 1, 1867, their tiny son was taken from them; but to fill the emptiness was another son, John DeGrey, who was born on July 16, 1867.

As tithing clerk, it was Henry's responsibility to find accommodations and employment for newly arrived emigrants. In the Gillispie Company, which arrived in Salt Lake City in September, 1868, was a young black eyed girl named Mary Smith. She desired work to sustain herself as well as the good people who brought her with them from England. Henry was very much attracted by her fine appearance and womanly ways, even though she was only seventeen. For months Henry kept watch of her, and finally succeeded in claiming her as his second wife. They were married April 13, 1869,

For seven years Henry worked in the tithing office and established himself as an honest, upright, ambitious and conscientious man. In 1870, the Woolen Mill at Provo was built and President Brigham Young selected Henry to go to Provo as bookkeeper, where he remained for the next nine years. In 1871 he moved his two wives and their families to a newly constructed adobe house on the corner of 3rd West and 2nd North, just one block from his work at the factory.

During the period when Henry was bookkeeper at the Woolen Mills, he acted as Utah County Treasurer. Then on October 9, 1879, although in poor health, Henry left his families to accept the second call to labor in the mission field in Great Britain. It was a great sacrifice to be called to make, especially for his wives who would have to support themselves and their children. Here again was evidenced the faith and courage our pioneer ancestors possessed.

Henry made the voyage aboard the steamship "Arizona" of the Guion Lines. During the voyage the ship hit an iceberg. The ship was heavily damaged and the lives of the passengers were in peril but the ship finally made port at St. Johns, Newfoundland. The passengers remained at St. Johns one week then continued the voyage aboard the "Nevada".

From Henry's journal kept while traveling to his field of labor we read the following: "Aboard the S.S. "Arizona", Friday, November 7, 1879. About 8:45 p.m. the engines stopped and we felt a sudden shock. We are about having our evening prayers. Before we could do so we rushed on deck thinking we had struck a vessel, when lo and behold, we had struck an immense iceberg. We were going at the rate of 16 knots an hours. The force was so great as to completely stove in our bulkhead or bow, leaving about 20 tons of ice on the forecastle bulkhead. Broke both anchors. One chain was tested to hold 12 tons. A shocking site to behold. A very large hole in her just above the water edge; 4,000 gallons of water in the bulkhead. Two or three sailors buried in the ice in the forecastle some time before they could get out. One hurt very badly. It was a clear night, the iceberg looked to be a bluish white cloud looming up about 50 feet. An awful grand sight. The boats were ordered to be loosed from davids ready if needed. Considerable excitement on board. A Presbyterian minister with satchel in hand was ready to look to No. 1. Some women were terribly excited. We were from 240 to 250 miles from St. Johns, Newfoundland, steaming 8 or 9 knots an hours. Notwithstanding her situation. The "Arizona" steamship of the Guion line is built in seven compartments. All luggage was removed aft to lighten her. I called the boys together during the excitement and prayed the Lord to enable us to avert the calamity that it might be no worse. We exercised our Priesthood, prayed for a calm and that we might live, also all on board get to our destination, also the vessel. We went below to our cabins, prayed frequently, according to the order of the Priesthood, for a calm sea and no wind, as this is apparently our salvation temporarily. During the night we went on deck and while alone, rebuked the winds and waves. We have a calm sea. Prayers answered. Also prayed for a vessel to come to our rescue if necessary and wisdom to be given Captain and Prince of Power and air to have control at this time. Committed ourselves to God. In talking to some of the passengers, I promised no lives should be lost, or the ship either, in the name of the Lord.

St. Johns, Newfoundland. Sunday, November 9, 1879: Having remained in sight of harbor all night, arrived about 11:00 p.m. This morning at 8:00, pilot arrived aboard and took us into port. Very rocky coast, only one entrance to bay and that very narrow, rocks on either side. Inside a nice, comfortable harbor, completely land blocked. Must have been over 150 vessels of all sizes at anchor. People flocked down to wharf by thousands. Several boats filled with small boys. Saw more boys than since I left home, all healthy and strong. I suppose them to belong to fishing snacks or schooners. The population appears to contain a great many Irish people, contains about 49,000 of the islands 96,000. The streets were crooked in steps as it was along the hillside. The damage done to the vessel was greater than I anticipated. The break extended below the water mark the whole length of the keel.
After a very rough voyage the missionaries arrived in November 1879. Henry labored in the Liverpool conference for about one year, then was released to return to his home because of ill health. On arriving in Salt Lake City in November 1880, Henry obtained employment as assistant bookkeeper for the H. Dinwoody Furniture Company. One year later he resigned to take the position ,of clerk in Z.C.M.I. Henry still owned his home in Provo, One of his families was living there, and the other family had moved to Salt Lake City. When Z.C.M.I. build their new wholesale house in Provo, Henry applied for the position of Manager. His application was accepted and he was installed as the first manager of the Provo branch of Z.C.M.I. He was then united with both his families. Everything progressed smoothly and Henry began to prosper.

In May, 1874, his father had passed away in South Africa at the age of 88, and Henry received a small inheritance from his father's estate. This inheritance Henry wisely invested in the purchase of two farms. One, the brickyard farm, was located on the present site of the Provo Brick & Tile property; the other was located about one mile north in Carterville.

From these farms Henry harvested all the vegetables and fruit his families needed, as well as provided pasture land for his cows and horses.

This peaceful happiness and prosperity was cut short when Henry was stricken with pneumonia on April 28, 1884. He was just in the prime of his life at the age of 49 but his life had been rugged and full of toil. He passed away six days after he became ill on May 4, 1884.

Henry Aldous Dixon's death was mourned by the entire community. He had friends without number. It was said. To know Henry A. Dixon was to love him. Mrs. Samuel Jepperson said she heard President Brigham Young speak in the old Provo Tabernacle and say of Henry A. Dixon, "Of all the men I know and trust, Henry A. Dixon is one man I could trust with all my wealth and with all the wealth of the land, knowing full well that it would all be accounted for in detail when desired”

Sarah DeGrey (1845-1926)

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The nineth child to born to John DeGrey and Maria Brooks was a little daughter, who was christened, Sarah. She was born on January 27, 1845 while her parents resided at Dudley, England She was but a wee child when her father died, leaving her mother to care for the large family.

Sarah was almost too young to realize the full significance of her father's death and her mother's sadness, but she did miss her "daddy."

A few years later some young men came to their home and talked with her mother and older brother and sisters. She listened intently, but did not fully understand the conversation. However, a few months after Sarah turned eight years old, she and her mother, brother and sister were baptized into a new church. It was so different from the way her little friends were baptized and when she was baptized and confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints on June 22, 1853, she was indeed a happy and bewildered little girl.

Soon after her baptism, Sarah's mother began to plan and talk of their new home in America. Then in June 1856, the entire family with the exception of Alfred, Sarah's oldest brother, and Selina, who had married one of the young missionaries, sailed from England on the "Well Fleet" for America.

After six weeks in crossing the vast Atlantic Ocean, the family walked down the gangplank at Boston. They were without further funds so while awaiting the arrival of Selina and John, Maria and her daughters found employment in different homes. Sarah was only eleven years old, but she, too, worked. She, however, became so homesick and lonesome that her mother gained permission to take her into the home where she was employed.

The family for whom Maria worked was a family by the name of Colburn. They had a daughter about the same age as Sarah and the two girls became dear friends. When it came time for the DeGrey family to continue their journey West, Mr. Colburn told Sarah's mother: Mrs. DeGrey, you have been with us so long we have learned to love you and your little daughter, Sarah. We would like to keep her as a companion for our little girl. We would educate her and do for her as we would our own. "

Sarah's mother was grateful for the Colburn friendship but declined the generous offer. So in April, 1857, the family left Boston and traveled to the Missouri River and from there the group of nine continued across the plains to Utah in one wagon. The younger children were compelled to walk. So Sarah has credit for walking nearly 2,000 miles. For being so young, the long slow trek to the Great Salt Lake Valley was more of a pleasurable adventure than a time of hardships and sorrows. At the close of each day the weary little bodies rested in sleep and then were full of vim and energy for the following day.

On a Saturday, September 12, 1857, the Jesse B. Martin company arrived in Salt Lake City. The weary and footsore travelers welcomed the Sabbath on the morrow, as they really needed rest and uplift, both physically and spiritually. Even so, the valley was beautiful, dressed in its autumn hues. The desert had indeed blossomed "as the rose".

Homes were the first problems on the agenda. The family built Maria's home on 7th East between South Temple and First South streets and John and his wives, Selina and Kezia, built their home in Sugarhouse.

,As Sarah grew in years she experienced similar hardships to those of others pioneers. As she grew older she also became lovely and graceful in appearance. So it was that she attracted the attention of one, Henry Aldous Dixon, who had also accepted the gospel, left his homeland in South Africa and came to Utah.

Then in January 1865, eight years after their arrival in Salt Lake City, when Sarah was twenty years of age, she and Henry were married. They lived in a small house next door to Sarah's mother on 7th East. It was in this little home where three of her children were born, namely: Henry Alfred, who died when two years old, John and Arthur. Sarah was supremely happy with her little family, and adapted herself will to the role of wife and mother.

In 1871, Sarah's husband was called to Provo to take charge of the books of the Provo Wollen Mills. There they built their home and spent the remainder of their lives in Provo.

Sarah was the mother of eight sons and one daughter. They are as follows: Henry Alfred, John DeGrey, Arthur DeGrey, Ernest, Charles Owen, Walter DeGrey, LeRoy Arnold and Maria Louise. Her husband, Henry died when she was only thirty nine years old, leaving her with a large family of young children for which to care.

She was very religious and taught her children well, both by word and action, the principles of the Gospel. Her children were a living testimony of this fact as they were all active and respected in their church and their communities where they lived.

Through her children, Sarah received much joy and compensation for the loss of her husband. She took much pride in their activities and endeavors. However, coupled with her peace and happiness derived from her family, was much sorrow which Sarah experienced unfalteringly. Her son, Arthur, was electrocuted while working at the construction of the Murdock Power Plant at Heber, Utah. Her sixth son, Walter, passed away after an operation for stomach ulcers. The oldest son, John DeGrey, died quite suddenly of apoplexy on October 4, 1923.

Then when Sarah was seventy nine years old, another bit of sorrow came to her. Charles wife, Virginia, died and left six small children. Sarah willingly went into her son's home and cared for the small children.

When her son, LeRoy, was serving in the mission field in England, Sarah was privileged to return to her native land. Sarah and Electra Smoot Dixon, LeRoy's wife, made the trip to England and it was a wonderful experience for Sarah. She was so happy to be able to return to her birthplace and note the changes in the country and meet with some of her friends who were still living there.

Sarah was a faithful and willing church worker. She was the president of the Provo Third Ward Primary for many years. She was also a very active worker in the Third Ward Relief Society.

Besides her unfailing service in her church, Sarah was a friend to all those in need. She was always ready to answer the call to go and nurse the sick, day or night. She was well qualified for such service as she had taken a course in nursing. Scores of people showered her with gratitude for what she did in the sick room. She helped without any thought of pay for her assistance.

Sarah's only daughter, Maria Louise, wrote the following of her mother: She was loved by all who knew her for her unselfish character and her sacrifices to make others happy.” She died at the home of her son, LeRoy, on April 17, 1926, at the ripe old age of eighty one. Her son, LeRoy, died a few months later and in 1945, at the writing of this history, there remained only Sarah' daughter, Maria Louise and her youngest son, Arnold. A large posterity of worthy sons and daughters mourned Sarah DeGrey Dixon at the time of her death. "Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours, and their works do follow them." (Rev. 14:13)

Mariah Baddley Rossiter (1866-1950)

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Mariah Baddley was born to Charlotte DeGrey and George Baddley on October 10, 1866. She was born at home, which was a small house on 9th East between 2nd and 3rd South in Salt Lake City. When she was but six months old, her parents moved to 346 [South] 10th East. The old house still stands and is in use by descendants at this time. (1951) Mariah grew to be a lovely dark-eyed youngster and
brought much happiness to her parents, as she occupied the spot in front of the warm cook stove in winter and the old wooden front steps in summer, loving and tending her little rag doll.

In school she was very attentive and alert, however her training was quite limited. She attended school in the old Twelth Ward School and was taught by a Mr. Van Cott. In those days the pupils were promoted according to readers instead of grades. When her father died he left money for further education for his children, but Mariah's mother was very frugal and saved the money to care for her family otherwise. As a consequence Mariah did not have much education past the 8th Reader.

Because Mariah's father died when she was quite young, Mariah worked hard as a child helping with the farming, picking and drying fruit for sale, to buy clothing and other necessities for the family. Mariah's mother was an energetic and hard working woman and her children learned early in life the meaning of industry.

Nevertheless, Mariah, as a youngster and as a young girl, had her share of happy times to play and leisure. When quite young she played with Maude Adams in the hayloft of the old Adams's barn, so there probably were many pleasant hours spent in play-acting and pretending. One of Mariah's closest friends was Martha Swanner Hoggan and another dear friend was Nida Fuller Duncan, whose father operated the Fuller Garden on 10th East and 5th South as an amusement park.

In season there were other activities for the young people in pioneer days. Among Mariah's favorite sports were hiking, sleigh riding, and dancing. She was always full of life and fun and helped to organize parties and dances at the ward recreation center.

Whenever called to serve, Mariah was always active in her church and willing to do her part. She sang in the Choir, taught Sunday School, and worked in the Primary organization. For many years she worked in the Relief Society and with the Old Folk's Committee. She lived her whole life, except for about six months, in the Tenth Ward, so she was able to serve her church faithfully and diligently.

It was through her endeavors and activities at her ward that she became acquainted with William Herbert Rossiter, who became her husband and life companion on January 1, 1896. They were married at home and friends and relatives wished them well as they celebrated in party and song the new union. The couple celebrated their 50th anniversary in 1946 at the home where they were wed.

To them were born two daughters, Edith and Lyda, and three sons, Bryant, William, and Frank, all of whom were born in Salt Lake City. Mariah was justly proud of her children and found great pleasure and contentment in her home and family. Her oldest daughter, Edith, died when Mariah was 60 years of age, leaving five small children, the youngest of whom was but four months old. Despite her age, Mariah cared for the children, and the youngest child, a little girl, lived with her grandmother until she was twenty years old. The girl dearly loved Mariah, who had been as a mother to her. And Mariah was just as proud of the grandchildren as she was her own children. In later years, she enjoyed speaking of them and their accomplishments and showing their pictures to neighbors and friends.

Mariah belonged to a sewing club, consisting of dear friends. She was a member for nearly 50 years. She enjoyed the association of others and was always a good friend and neighbor to all who knew her.

She liked to sing and was a member of the tabernacle choir for many years. She was singing in the choir under the able leadership of Evan Stevens at the time that the choir attended the World's Fair at Chicago.

Mariah had many interesting experiences in travel. One year she went to England with her friend, Nida Fuller, and her friend's parents. She also traveled to France and Belgium. She reminisced often of the worthwhile experiences she had during her travel by ship and train in those countries, conversing with strangers concerning Mormonism. She had the opportunity of attending a street meeting in London.

During the return trip the ship went through a dreadful storm. Naturally, those aboard were fearful for their lives at certain times during the trip. Mariah, and those traveling with her, felt that their prayers were answered when the storm finally subsided.

Mariah was a faithful and good woman; she served willingly whenever she was called and was able to fulfill the calling completely. She received her endowments in February 1950. She had many friends and was ready to help anyone who needed assistance.

She was one of those who was honored during Utah's Centennial year as a pioneer, born in Salt Lake City before the coming of the railroad to Utah.

She died at her home in Salt Lake City on April 25, 1950 from causes incident to age and was survived by three sons, Bryant, Frank, and William Rossiter and one daughter, Mrs. Lyda R. Moody; fourteen grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren. She had done her life's work well and will long be remembered and honored by the descendants.

Alfred Lorenzo Baddley (1862-1936)

2008-07-29T15:55:00.000-07:00

It was after George Baddley and Charlotte DeGrey had accepted the call for a mission in Dixie in Southern Utah and had settled in the small community of Rockville, Washington County, Utah, that Alfred Lorenzo Baddley was born. His birth place was a small makeshift cabin at the foot of the mountain and he made his appearance on September 14, 1862.

Though no knowledge of it found said in the tiny child of Alfred Lorenzo, the family had many trials and hardships. Besides the daily struggle for existence, there was the constant fear of Indians to rasp the heart and soul of those faithful builders of empires.

One evening after George had left his young wife and small son alone while he went tracting, there came a knock at the door. When Charlotte, Alfred Lorenzo's mother, timidly opened the door she saw several buck Indians standing at the doorstep. They pushed their way into the tiny cabin and all sat down on the floor. The Indians knew she was terrified at their presence, so they sat and kept pointing their fingers at her and laughing loudly. Charlotte feared for herself but her first thoughts were for her small son sleeping soundly in his crib. She gave the Indians many articles, besides some much-needed sugar and goods before they finally left.

After spending three years in the Dixie Mission helping to build and develop the small community. Alfred Lorenzo's parents were released to return to Salt Lake City because of his father's ill health. The extreme heat and hardships of pioneering were too much for George Baddley so he moved his young family back to Salt Lake City.

Alfred, however, had grown and developed into a sturdy lad. His home life in Rockville was a pleasant one for those days of hardship. There was plenty to occupy a young active mind. Alfred's father was very strict but he was a devoted father and the children learned very young in life the virtue of honesty and truthfulness.

Alfred was eight years old when his father put him on a mule and tied a sack of wheat behind him and sent him to the mill (which [was] in Liberty Park in Salt Lake City) to have the wheat ground into flour. When the process had been completed, the miller put the sack of flour on the mule behind Alfred, but failed to tie the sack on securely. On his arrival home the sack was nearly empty and there was a white trail of flour along the road. His father was quite quick-tempered, so Alfred Lorenzo received a sound spanking.

Alfred's duties as a boy were many for he was very young when his father died. He was the eldest child in the family and felt his responsibility and helped his mother in many ways. Until the time he married, Alfred always gave his mother the money he earned.

When still a young lad, Alfred and other boys herded cows for some neighbors in Emigration Canyon at Salt Lake to earn a little extra money to help their families.

One day while watching the cows, Alfred saw a rattlesnake by the creek. The boys were collecting toads, lizards, and other animals for a circus they were planning to have, so Alfred decided to capture the reptile and add it to the collection. He found a forked stick which he placed over the neck of the snake to keep it quiet while they tried to tie a string around its neck. The snake struck Alfred on the thumb. The boys screamed for help and finally attracted the attention of some people who took him to the nearest place which happened to be the Wagner Brewery. There he was treated and suffered no ill effects from the snakebite. He was given the rattle from the snake and kept it all his life.

"Many times I have heard my father tell of the wonderful, happy times they had at his mother's home when he was a young man; dances, corn-husking parties, and many other parties." Words written by a daughter, Edythe Irene B. Donaldson.

Alfred had three brothers and two sisters. Henry Orson was born on April 16, 1864 near Lehi, Utah in a covered wagon as the family were returning from Rockville in the Dixie Mission. A sister, Maria, was born October 10, 1866, after the family was settled again in Salt Lake City. On February 4, 1869, another brother, George, was born, then on January 16, 1871, William was born. Sarah was the last child and second sister to Alfred Lorenzo. She was born in Salt Lake City, too, on June 13, 1872.

Again we quote the words of daughter, Edythe: "I do not know a great deal concerning my father and mother's courtship, but I do remember my mother telling of how she met Alfred. She said that while visiting an aunt in Salt Lake City, she attended a church dance with her aunt. During the dance my father (Alfred) entered and mother asked her aunt who the handsome man was. Mother said he was dressed so nicely -- high silk hat, kid gloves, and cane. He was so well-mannered and courteous. Mother told her aunt that Alfred was her idea of a husband and right there made up her mind that he was hers. Mother was a very beautiful young girl, so I guess it was love at first sight for them both."

That was the beginning of their courtship. Priscilla Lowe, who was born October 2, 1868, at Willard, Utah; and Alfred Lorenzo, who was just six years older than Priscilla. Alfred had a nice brick home built for his wife in Salt lake City when she moved in as a bride. Several years later they sold their home in Salt Lake City and moved to Willard, Utah. They built another nice home. They had a large farm and nine children to care for, so both of them had to work long and hard hours to manage their affairs. Later they built another home with all the latest conveniences for Priscilla.

Alfred and Priscilla worked hard to have a happy home for their children. They were blessed with nine fine sons and daughters, namely: Alfred Le Roy Baddley, born October 16, 1889 at Salt Lake City, and died March 2, 1890; Leo William, born April 23, 1891; George Clifford, born October 7, 1892; Lester Howard, who was born July 12, 1894; Henry Arnold, born July 3, 1896; Edythe Irene, born April 5,1900; Wallace DeGrey, who was born June 1, 1903; Ernest Wilburn, born March 10, 1905; and Constance Ilene, born November 29, 1910.

They taught their children to honor and respect their religion; to work and help take care of each other. They spent many hours with their children both in work and play. There were always games and recreation at home and various church activities in which the whole family, young and old, participated. In winter, the favorite family sport was sleigh riding and in summer there were the pleasant trips to Ogden, fifteen miles north of Willard, in the family's handsome, fringed, white-top buggy. These family activities brought unity and deeper love for one another.

To quote Edythe again, "Every year we looked forward to the trip to Ogden to see the big Ringling Brothers Circus and then dinner at one of the best restaurants. That was surely a thrill for all the family."

Priscilla was very beautiful and talented and was the leading lady in the home talent group of Willard. This group traveled to nearby towns of Ogden, North Ogden, [and] Brigham City, and had an outstanding record for the talent and entertainment they presented.

Alfred and his wife enjoyed such activities and never missed the opportunity to attend all the plays given by the old Salt Lake Theater group, both in Ogden and Salt Lake City.

Both were active and sincere in their church activities. Priscilla was President of the Primary Organization and worked in the Relief Society.

When Priscilla died at Willard, Utah on September 13, 1927, Alfred was like a man lost in a fog, so to speak. He and his wife had always been so close as they reared their family and worked for their good.

Nine years later when Alfred passed away on February 25, 1936 at Willard, Utah, those who were fortunate descendants of this fine couple lost the second part of a union which brought joy and happiness to their family and those neighbors and friends who knew them while they sojourned in mortal life.

Alfred was a dependable and good man. His religious convictions were a foundation for his action[s] and thoughts in his every day life. He kept the Word of Wisdom and lived a very respected life. He, like his own father, taught his children honesty and goodness. He was ever a friend to those in need and helped the less fortunate whenever he was able to do so. His life was a standard by which his family can live and benefit.

George Badley II (1869-1928)

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George Baddley II was a man. And how he fit into his niche "a little lower than the angels!” I refer to him as the "second" because he is the second George Baddley with no middle name or initial to hold the Priesthood. George Baddley was born February 4, 1869 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

When we think of a man the attribute of kindness is slow to come into our consciousness, for kindness is a quality of character often found in woman and seldom found in man. George possessed and practiced a great many virtues. A great many more, in fact, than most men, even among the holders of the Priesthood, but kindness blazed forth in his personality more brightly than any of his other favorable virtues. So brightly did it blaze that it put his faults in the dim background.

This kindly man embarked on a life of bitter struggle in a two room adobe home at 346 South Tenth East in Salt lake City. The house was built by his father for a second wife, Charlotte DeGrey, who, in turn, willed it to her youngest son, George. The present (1950) kitchen, sitting porch, and sleeping porch were added by George after his marriage. Much to the chagrin and disappointment of the writer, this priceless heirloom was sold by George's widow at a time of financial stress while her youngest son and only real support was on a mission.

George's real education took place within the shelter of these adobe bricks under the tutelage of his industrious and loving mother. He learned his "readin', writin', and 'rithmetic" at the Tenth Ward School. The three R's was the extent of his formal education, for he was forced out of school into full time employment along about his fourth or fifth grade to help his husbandless mother keep up with bare necessities. When I say "full time employment", I mean just that. It was in the days of the old twelve- to sixteen-hour day. However, he later became a thoroughly well read and self-educated man. For instance, it was to Uncle George that many of his nieces and nephews came for assistance with their high school studies when they found their own parents unable or unwilling to cope with the subjects at hand. And, this, in spite of the fact that their folks had more formal education than "Uncle Jud", as they had affectionately, though a little flippantly, called him.

He proved to be a kind and patient tutor, and it is to be regarded that circumstances prevented him from becoming a college professor rather than a laborer. He had all the intelligence, aptitude, patience, tact, and love needed to qualify as an excellent teacher and few of the physical qualities necessary to the laborer. His physical energies were sapped early in life by frequent and continued attacks of "sore throat." Tonsillitis and streptococcus were entirely unknown to the medical men of his time and "sore throat" was just something to be endured until it cleared up of its own accord. His tonsils were finally removed in his late middle life, after they had taken their insidious toll. Incidentally, his death was caused by a throat infection.

As a lad, whenever he was stricken to his bed with the treacherous pain in the throat, his first request was always to have his Uncle Henry Dixon come and administer the consecrated oil. Such faith in small children is a thing of rarity. It is usually the parents who summon the Elders. This faith in God continued to be manifest in his character all his life. It was a source of faith promotion to all who knew George, and, it is hoped, to all who shall read this sketch of his life.

Such implicit trust in the Lord is further brought to light when we consider George's late marriage. He was handsome as a youth, which would indicate an early marriage. But, an essentially kind person never imposes himself on anyone and George, in the proposals he did make, did not attempt to assert any false masculine superiority or in any way seek to make himself forceful. Consequently, he was refused more than once, but continued to trust that the Lord would guide him to his mate. That he was guided of Providence is drown in the fact that his wife, Alice Donoghue, had repeatedly refused proposals from a wide range of suitors, though she, in contrast to him, was considered rather plain-looking in her youth. And, the Lord had to bring her all the way from England to her chosen mate. That their union was approved by the higher powers is well attested by the perfect harmony that characterized their twenty-four years together. They were married December 20, 1905 in the Salt Lake Temple.

The following incident took place during this comparatively brief span of married bliss: One-day George's wife detected something distinctly strange in his attitude the minute he came home from work. Wisely, she waited until dinner was over and the children put to bed before approaching him with her suspicions that something had gone wrong at his work. "Is everything all right at the shop, George?" she inquired, being sure to get the subject under way before he became engrossed in his evening paper or a crossword puzzle. George came quickly to the point. "They are getting a new foreman in my place tomorrow" he replied, anxious to get the matter off his chest. "Rags came to work half drunk again this morning. Remember me telling you the last time it happened that the management wanted me to fire him? Well, this afternoon they called me on the carpet and insisted that I get another truck driver in his place. Alice, I didn't have the courage to fire the man. What in the world would his wife and ten kiddies do? They are already facing poverty! That stuff eats up half his meager wages as it is. When they told me I would either have to carry out their orders or they would get another foreman who would, I suggested that they do just that. I will be back on my old job as stock clerk again next Monday." His saintly wife was more concerned over the plight of "Rags" and his family than with the way she was going to manage the family budget on five or ten dollars less per week, albeit she was practicing every economy to live on his small salary as foreman.

George returned to his paper, and his wife to her darning. A cool breeze fluttered through the screen door, rattling it a little, and then quieted itself as though it were loath to disturb the serenity of the room. Alice glanced at her husband's honest face, her heart swelling with love and pride. Her concern over the reduction in salary faded into the beautiful night as she contemplated the bigness of his heart.

The writer lived close to his father for nearly twenty-two of these twenty-four years and can remember nary a single angry word having blemished his lips, either within the confines of his well-ordered home, at his work (and I was there often and long), or anywhere else. Such a great achievement could come from no one but a completely kind man. And, his was an overruling kindness for he was born with a sharp tongue and a hot temper. He had manifested these hereditary weaknesses on some occasions in his teenage youth.

For example, I remember my father telling me of the time he was embroiled in a fistfight when he was a youngster. He was taking a sound beating and enduring it gamely and painfully until his older brother, Henry, came along. It seems that all of his opponent’s friends and relatives were there and George could not successfully compete against such a solid front of moral support. But, when some of his own flesh came along to cheer for him, he promptly and quietly disposed of his adversary. The writer didn't ask his father about the cause of the fight. He was too thrilled that his idol had won. Nevertheless, there could have been some harsh words and uncontrolled tempers at the bottom of it.

Another example could be cited in this connection. At one time when George was about sixteen or seventeen and supporting his widowed mother, a petty straw boss sought to hold dominion over him. George endured the fellow as long as he could, and finally, in a fit of temper and after having administered his erstwhile superior a thorough tongue lashing, he walked off the job. And, jobs were mighty hard to land in those days! I repeat, however, that he conquered his tongue, and anyone who knew him in his later years would never have dreamed that he had overcome all outward indications. Had he not conquered himself, he never could have so quietly endured the pain and discomfort of a throat cancer during the long months immediately preceding his death.

In his brave way he had gone about making his will and preparing in every way for our comfort, knowing full well that his time was short and resolutely keeping from everyone but his lawyer, Harry Evers. Mr. Evers revealed these facts to us after George had gone to his reward. The genuine fortitude of this man is further indicated in a remark by his physician at the time he was operated upon for the throat cancer. Dr. Stauffer said that he had told my father there would be some pain prior to administering the anesthesia. In fact, he warned his patient that the pain would be severe. Dad replied calmly, "Go ahead, I am ready". He then unflinchingly lay back in the chair and opened his mouth wide. The doctor later remarked upon the courage displayed.

But, to get on with some of the less sorrowful events of George's life, let us consider his kindly devotion to his religious ideals. One noon hour as he and his fellow workers at the old Joseph Nelson Plumbing supply house were sunning themselves, a painted and rather coarse looking woman passed by. Almost before she was out of hearing distance, one of the men remarked, "I wonder who slept with her last night." Whereupon, they all laughed their approval of the smutty remark except George. After the obscene laughter had subsided, my father proceeded quietly, but with all the authority of the Priesthood he magnified, to tell them they did not know for sure that she was a worldly woman and that they should respect her sex, regardless. His voice rang with such firm kindliness that none of them, to the writer's knowledge, ever made a slurring remark about womankind again in his presence. Respecters of women are ofttimes of a reticent and retiring nature in contrast to the swaggering cowards who seek to bring women down to their own level. George, though courageous, was reticent and retiring, and he loved the quiet retreat of his home, his books, and his newspapers. His wife often complained that he "didn't take her out anywhere from one year's end to the other." He was deaf in one ear which drove him further into his reserve.

He was, therefore, anything but a public man and gave but one public speech in his entire life. But, his discourse was the talk of the Tenth Ward for days afterward. All his intense and prayerful hours of study on various gospel themes were brought to his memory in the hour of need and he succeeded admirably. To this day, his widow continues to relate the compliments that came to her afterwards, though it was not her privilege to hear him. She was confined to her home with illness at the time of his sermon. However, she did hear him when he was the only one speaking in a crowd, on many occasions, at the annual New Year's Eve Party of the L.O.S.C. His wife was a member of the Ladies of Quality Sewing Club. They met each month during the year and invited their husbands on New Year's Eve. George told the same jokes every year and drew hilarious laughter on each occasion. It was not the jokes that went over, but his uncanny ability to tell them. At his telling they never lost their spice. He might have been a successful professional actor because of this talent. In fact, in his younger days, he did a small amount of stage work in local ward dramas and was much sought after for the character of Brutus in the play Julius Caesar, though in private life his personality was the direct antithesis of that of Brutus.

Another incident will illustrate the lighter side of his nature, though it resulted in the deafness mentioned above. During the noon rest period at the same old Joseph Nelson supply house, the men were idling in the warehouse, which at the time was rather empty of its wares. Two or three of them were entertaining the others with capers on their bicycles and daring each other to go nearer and nearer to the staircase. George came nearer than any of them. So much nearer, in fact, that he and his cycle were plunged down the entire length of the long stairway. One of his ears was injured severely, resulting in complete deafness on that side and impairment of hearing in the other.

Because of the irritating aspects of this particular affliction, we often think of the typical partially deaf person as being fractious and impatient. He is usually anything but kind. This was not so with George. He was a kind man to the end of his life.

For instance, less than an hour after our father died, my Uncle Will Rossiter took my brother and me off to the side to console us. "Boys," he said, "your father didn't know how to do anything wrong." We were temporarily consoled and Uncle Will's gruff and simple, yet sincere, compliment will remain in my memory long after any of the things that were said at the funeral. It was my father's beautiful kindness of disposition that was in the heart of Uncle Will when he was prompted to evaluate the character of George Baddley for the benefit of his two sons in their hour of deep sorrow.

George and Alice Baddley had the following children born to them: George Donoghue, born October 1, 1906; Ralph Edgar, born January 19, 1908 and Alice Christiana, born December 16, 1911.

Written by Ralph Edgar Baddley, son of George Baddley.

George Baddley (1825-1875)

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George Baddley was the son of Joseph Baddley and Elizabeth Turner. He was born on February 8, 1825 at Wolstanton, England. We have no records of his childhood and youth. When a young man he married Eliza Parker, who was the daughter of George Parker and Ann.

Both George and his wife worked in the potteries for which Staffordshire County was noted. Some of the finest china in England was made there. Eliza became very talented in the art of painting the china.

George and his wife were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. George was baptized and confirmed in the year 1841 when he was sixteen years of age. He was a very devout man and a faithful worker in the branch where they lived. The activities of this particular branch brought much success for the progress of the Church in that region of the county.

After George and his wife received the spirit of gathering with the Saints in Zion, they worked hard and saved every penny they could in order to pay for their fare across the Atlantic Ocean to America. In 1848, after seven years of toil and struggle, they realized their dream and secured passage on a boat leaving for America. They happily accepted the prospects of a long six weeks' voyage. Not many comforts and luxuries accompanied them as they sailed to this new land, but they were not easily discouraged.

They had worked hard those long years, knowing and accepting the hardships and privations which lay before them.

When they reached America, their troubles were still heaped upon them. They had no further means with which they could continue the trip westward, so George and Eliza remained in Iowa for three years until they accumulated enough money to buy provisions for the journey across the plains.

Before George and his wife left England, a daughter, Annie, was born to them on December 3, 1846 at Burslem, Staffordshire, England. Their second child, Elizabeth, was born on January 13, 1849 while the young couple were living at Burlington, Iowa.

Two years after the arrival of their second child the family of George Baddley arrived in Salt Lake City in 1851. They located on 10th East where George had about four acres of land. A portion of their property was planted in fruit trees. From this fruit he made a delicious wine and fruit juice. He owned a distillery at that time, but later discontinued to operate it on advice of Brigham Young. Besides his property on 10th East, George had a large tract of land in the western section of town where he raised hay for his cows and mules.

George accepted the principal of plural marriage and married Charlotte DeGrey, a young woman who was born near his home in England. Charlotte, at the time, was employed in the household of George and Eliza, the latter learned to love Charlotte as her own sister, so when George accepted the teaching of plural marriage, it was at Eliza's suggestion that he take Charlotte as his second wife.

After ten years of pioneering and building in Salt Lake City, George was called to the Southern Mission in 1861. This was a colonizing mission to the Utah Dixie country along the "muddy", as the Virgin River was then deservedly called. Charlotte accompanied her husband to help pioneer the Dixie country. They were among the early settlers on the Virgin River. Their first child, a son, Alfred, was born on September 14, 1862 in a dugout in the side of the mountain at Grafton, Utah.

The extreme heat and hardships of the pioneer life was detrimental to George's health and he was given a release from his mission in Dixie and was able to return to his home in Salt Lake City in the year 1864. The years he had spent in Southern Utah had seen a decided improvement and growth. George had done much in the building and development of the communities in which he lived. The friends and neighbors of George were sorry to see him and his family leave.

Their second son, Henry Orson, was born at the point of the mountain on April 16, 1864 as the family returned to Salt Lake City.

Some time later after George had returned to his home, he discovered clay on his property located between 10th and 11th East. He established a pottery business there where he made dishes. His wife Eliza, from her past experience, was able to paint all the finished pottery items. George also built a molasses mill. He raised his own sugar cane from which he made the molasses. His children and those around the neighborhood were always on hand during the process of pressing the juice from the cane stalks and then the cooking of the juice. The children eagerly watched the molasses boil, knowing the skimmings were for them. Their share of the skimmings was taken home and mother made the favorite candy, "sorghum candy".

George was quite capable of taking advantage of the opportunities offered him. There was a large fresh water spring on his property near his home. He kept the large wooden barrel containers for the molasses soaked up in the water so that the molasses would not leak out.

To supply cool spring water for his home on the adjoining block, George built a small ditch from the spring. It proved to be very valuable during the cold winter months, because the spring water did not freeze. The majority of the pioneer families had to secure water from the irrigation ditches for their culinary water.

George had a quick temper and often did things for which he would later be sorry. In later years when the children were grown, they would tell stories about their father and make jokes about them. However, it was no joking matter when they were young children.

Alfred, the eldest son, was only eight-years-old at the time, but his father expected a great deal from him. George put him on one of the big mules, tied a sack of wheat on behind him, and sent Alfred to the mill with instructions to have the wheat ground into flour and return home. The old flour mill now stands in the Liberty Park.

When the miller put the bag of flour on behind Alfred, he did not secure it firmly. On arrival at home, Alfred had left a trail of flour from the mill to his home. Alfred received a good "thrashing".

On another occasion when the first train was expected to arrive in Salt Lake City, George hitched his mules to the wagon and took Charlotte and the children down to the depot to see the train come in. While they were waiting George gave the lines to Charlotte who was sitting on a high spring seat and told her to hold the mules so he could go and speak to a friend.

As the train came into the station the engineer gave a couple of loud toots on the whistle, which frightened the mules. Charlotte was taken by surprise and was unable to hold the mules. The man talking with George witnessed the happening and said, "Brother Baddley, there go your mules." George ran after the mules and climbed into the wagon, took the lines, and stopped the frightened animals.

Alfred who had been standing up to see the train, was thrown out of the wagon when his father stopped the mules so suddenly. George, still disgusted that the mules had been allowed to run, grabbed Alfred by the seat of his pants and literally threw him into the wagon.

George was strict in the discipline of his children but he was strict with himself in regards to his actions and dealings with his fellowman. He was a very devout man and a diligent worker in his Church and expected others to be the same.

One time during the period when he was the superintendent of the Tenth Ward Sunday School, he went outside the chapel at commencement time to bring in the children who were playing outside. He found some boys playing marbles in the warm sunshine. They seemed more interested in marbles than Sunday School. George took their marbles and threw them away and shoved the boys into the building. It was this impulsive action which caused resentment and sorrow to the boys as marbles were expensive and hard to get. George was a good and kind man but impulsive in action and sometimes harsh in his words. Nevertheless, he was a man who tried to do his best at all times.

In later years George's health continued to decline and for two and one half years he was bedridden. Consumption, as it was then called, was the cause of his death. At the time of his death, at the age of fifty years, George was nothing but a skeleton. He died on April 9, 1875 and funeral services in his respect were held at the Tenth Ward Chapel on a Sunday at one o'clock.

During mortal life George had been blessed with two fine wives and fifteen children. He had the following children by Eliza, his first wife; Annie, born December 3, 1846 at Burslem, Staffordshire, England; Elizabeth, born January 13, 1849 at Burlington, Iowa; Maria, born July 30, 1851 at Salt Lake City, Utah; (rest of children were born in Salt Lake City) Mary Jane, born on March 14, 1854; Eliza, born January 22, 1856; Emma born January 22, 1856 (twins); Martha, born December 20 1857; Ida, born December 7, 1859 and Rachell, born May 4, 1862.

George and Charlotte had six children: Alfred DeGrey, born September 14, 1862 at Grafton, Utah; Henry Orson, born on April 16, 1864 at the point of the mountain; Maria, born October 10, 1866 at Salt Lake City; George, born February 4, 1869; John William, born on January 16, 1871 and Sarah, born June 13, 1872. The last two children died early in life.

Hyrum Bowles Morris, Jr. (1863-1914)

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Hyrum Bowles Morris, Jr. was born on February 14, 1863 at Springdale, Washington County, Utah, the son of Hyrum Bowles Morris, Sr. and Eleanor Crofford Roberts. He had four sisters: Lauria, Eleanor, Eliza and Sophia sadoriah. His only brother, William Edward, died while the family was crossing the plains enroute to Zion.

The Morris family moved from Springdale and made their home in Rockville, when Hyrum Jr. was about two years old. Here he was reared and received his scant education. He finished the fifth reader and received his further training under tutorship of his kindly parents.

Hyrum was a fine looking fellow, healthy, well built body, topped by a head of brown curly hair; heavy brows from under which shone two sparkling blue eyes. He took the eye of many a young girl and the heart of one, Eliza Smith.

Eliza and Hyrum had grown up together, associating in church and community activities. When Hyrum felt the need and desire for a companion, he courted and married Eliza, a lovely bride as she whispered "yes" to the handsome young man at her side in the St. George Temple. Their marriage took place on New Year's Day in 1885. They built their first home in Rockville. During the summers they went to the mountains where they milked cows and made cheese and butter. Those were very busy months but always happy times for all who went. After the long winter months spent in Rockville, it was relaxing, regardless of the daily tasks, and pleasant to spend their time during the hottest part of the year in the cool of the mountains. Southern Utah has mountains, lakes and streams which will rank with the best in the country.

In November 1885 Hyrum moved his wife to Mesa, Arizona. His parents had been living there since 1883, so they joined his folks after a long tiresome trip by team and wagon. It was a difficult journey for Eliza for she was heavy with child and the bouncing wagon offered no comforts whatsoever. Ah, but sturdy were the pioneer mothers of then.

Eliza gave birth to her first child, a son, on March 18, 1886 after they were settled in Mesa, Arizona. The following year Hyrum was called to fill a mission in the Southern States. He took Eliza and their small son, Charles, back to Rockville where she stayed with her father until his mission was completed. Their second child, George Edwin, was born in Rockville while Hyrum was still on his mission, and it was not until fifteen months later that Hyrum saw his infant son.

At the completion of his mission, Hyrum returned to Rockville, gathered his family to him and returned to Mesa, Arizona, by team and covered wagon. They made their home there for many years. They were blessed with ten children, six boys and four girls.

Hyrum was a good farmer and prospered well through his efforts. He purchased unimproved farms, worked them, and improved them and then sold them at a good profit. Throughout the Mesa area Hyrum left farms that were credit to him and his family.

In 1901, Hyrum decided to move his family to a cooler climate, so he moved them to Lovell, Wyoming. They made the trip by team and wagon and were three months traveling from Mesa, Arizona to Lovell, Wyoming. The summers were glorious but the winter cold proved to be to severe for them so they returned to Mesa by train.

In 1910, Hyrum received his call to fulfill a mission for the second time. This call was to the Northern States, but due to ill health, Hyrum was unable to complete the two years of missionary work and returned to his home and family in 1911.

Hyrum, because of his mission training and experiences, was a capable and a willing servant in both his church and community. He willingly accepted whenever called to serve, regardless of the capacity. For his church, he gave of his time and talents as one of the counselors to the bishop of his ward for years. For his community, he gave of his efforts and capably served as justice of the peace in the Alma precinct for two years, officiated as a director of the Farmers Exchange at Mesa for several years, served on the school board, both in the Alma and Mesa districts, and acted on the Board of Governors of the Salt River Water Users for years.

Because of his active service throughout the many years he was residing in Mesa, Arizona, Hyrum's death on December 23, 1914, was mourned by the numerous friends and associates he had. He had strict ideals and lived accordingly, being always fair and just in his judgment and actions, to better the circumstances under which they lived. He was a good and kind father and a faithful companion. He served his God to the best of his ability and was blessed for his sincere efforts.

George Alfred Smith (1861-1935)

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George Alfred Smith, son of Charles N. Smith and Maria DeGrey, was born June 10, 1861 in Salt Lake City, Utah. The same year of his birth the family moved to Rockville, Utah, in the southern part of the state. Here he resided for 28 years and was a real pioneer in building up this country which was referred to by all the early settlers as "Dixie". He and his father did a great deal of freighting from Salt lake City to Rockville.

He attended the elementary schools in Rockville and then came to Provo to attend the old Brigham Young Academy. On January 21,1885 he married Eleanor Rebecca Morris in the St. George Temple. The ceremony was performed by D. H. Cannon. For the next six years they made their home in Rockville.

In 1891 they moved to Monroe, Utah. Here he spent the next twenty years of his life in pioneering this new country. He was in the sheep and cattle business as well as doing a great deal of farming.

In July of 1898 he was called on a mission for the L.D.S. Church. He was set apart by J. Golden Kimball on the 6th of July and the following day he left for his field of labor in the Northwestern States Mission where he labored for two years. During these two years his wife was left at home with four small children for which to care. These were two trying years for Eleanor, who took in sewing and with careful planning and the help of the Lord, managed their home and family. Soon after George returned from his mission he was selected as Second Counselor to Bishop Sarnual Gould in the Monroe Ward.

George loved to farm and always had a thriving vegetable garden. His daughter Leona S. Westover, relates as follows:

"One of my early memories is how he loved to take vegetables to the neighbors. He loved to help those in need. Mother often remarked that if he had sold the things he gave away he would be well to do. "

Early in 1911 the family moved to Union, Oregon where George was attracted while on his mission. Here he wanted to go into the farming business which looked so promising there. After a few months of looking for land to buy he was unable to locate what he wanted so decided to move back to Utah.

On their return they settled in Provo where George secured employment with Taylor Brothers Department Store. He worked there until a few years before his death when his health was such that he could not stand the heavy work. He then obtained a job as custodian of the Farmers and Merchants Bank where he worked until his death.

Again in the words of a daughter, Leona Westover, here are a number of events and characteristics that stand out in his life:

"I shall always remember his garden and the lovely vegetables he raised and how he would give them away to his neighbors. He always wanted to share the things he had with others, be it a pan of new potatoes, peas or carrots, just to make someone happy. He loved to go on picnics and it was a pleasure to take them. He seemed to enjoy life to the fullest.

He loved to have his friends drop in and in warm weather he would soon come forth with a cold drink of lemonade or something refreshing. After we were married and moved away it was such a, pleasure to go back home and enjoy his hospitality and to go on short trips with them. Father, being a sheep man and with his experience in the mission field, was a good cook and helped mother so much with the cooking. His corn bread was the best I have ever tasted. Corn bread and molasses I can just taste it now, and I never make it myself without thinking of father and how he loved it. I can see him now in the evening before going to bed on a cold winter night and how he would get a pan of apples and peel them and pass them around.

Father and mother always spent Christmas with us when my children were small for they enjoyed so much seeing the children on Christmas morning.

Father was a true Latter Day Saint in every way and he lived his religion. We always had our family prayer night and morning and we all had to take our turn. Father was really gifted in praying and I have always wished I could pray like him.

Father was set apart for his mission by J. Golden Kimball who gave him a wonderful blessing and promised him some wonderful things if he would be faithful. Here are some of the things as he had them recorded. 'If you will trust in the Lord he will not leave you to yourself and the evil one will not have power to do you injury, and you shall be able to speak with great power, so much so, that the
wicked shall tremble before your presence and the righteous shall be made to rejoice, for you hold the Holy Melchisedek Priesthood. You have power and authority, not only to preach the Gospel of the Lord Jesus that brings life and immortality to light, but you have the power to baptize the repentant believers for the remission of their sins; to lay hands upon those who repent and are baptized for the gift of the Holy Ghost and the sick shall be healed under your administration because of your great faith. And these things did come to pass for him.

I shall never forget the Thanksgiving before he died. There were between 15 and 20 of us seated around the table at home to a lovely turkey dinner. Father was so pleased to have so many of his loved ones present. As he gave thanks to our Father in Heaven for the many blessings we all have received, he seemed to sense that this would be his last Thanksgiving with us and I have never heard a more wonderful prayer. I was never so overcome as I was at this time. The tears rolled down my face and a feeling came over me that I shall never forget, sensing that this might be his last Thanksgiving. Mother and others expressed the same feeling.

/ can best close by stating that he was the most wonderful father anyone could ever have and was so kind and considerate in every way. "

He became ill on the 14th of December 1934 with a blood clot in the heart and passed away January 2, 1935 at his home, 258 West 2nd North in Provo, Utah, at the age of 73.

It was very lonely for Eleanor following his death for they had been very devoted to each other all their life. It was felt that she should not stay alone so her son, Melvin, and his family made their home with her. Eleanor died March 23, 1939, at the age of 72 years.

George and Eleanor were blessed with the following nine children: Eleanor Mariah, George Hyrum, Melvin D., Charles Leo, Morris Clifford, Leona, Laura Isa Dora, and Arizola. Five of these are still living.

Charles Nephi Smith (1824-1897)

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Charles Nephi Smith was born on March 14, 1824, in Hereford, England. At the age of fourteen months, he was taken from his mother and given to the care of his grandparents who reared him. Even so, his childhood and youth were not without love and kindliness, as his grandparents loved dearly.

As a boy, he attended Sunday School and divine services in the Episcopal Church. When sixteen years of age, Charles was persuaded by some friends to accompany them to hear the words of a strange preacher just to have some fun. The strange preacher, in the person of Wilford Woodruff, was most interesting and instructive and failed to provide the amusement the young men intended to find. Charles, from that very hour, felt strongly impressed with the philosophy of the young preacher. He resolved to give up his former associates and seek further light and understanding pertaining to salvation as he had heard it that memorable day, and it was a memorable day for Charles, because life seemed to take on a new and totally different aspect.

After much investigation of this new and strange religion, Charles was baptized in the year 1840 by William Parson. Like other new converts, Charles felt the urge to be with the Saints in America. So strong was this desire that he could not resist even though it meant possible feelings with his grandparents. When he did tell his grandparents about his membership in the new Church and about his desire to go to America, they were furious to think that their grandson, who was as a son to them, should leave them and his home to follow those "awful Mormons". His grandmother, when she saw his determination, tied his meager clothing into a bundle, threw them out the door and told Charles, "Go! And never come back".

It was a happy day when Charles secured passage on the ship "Emerald", yet beneath his happiness at the prospects of an ocean voyage to a new land, was a loneliness and sadness that his parting from his dearly beloved grandparents should be such as it was. He must have felt that once in America, he would never return to his loved ones in England.

The Saints who left England at that time aboard the ship "Emerald", were in the charge of Parley P. Pratt. After an uneventful trip across the ocean, the boat docked at New Orleans in the year of 1842.

From New Orleans, Charles proceeded to St. Louis, Missouri, where he secured employment in a brickyard at the wage of sixty cents per day. Charles was compelled to walk five miles to and from his work each day. This, besides the strenuous work he had to do at the brickyard soon proved to be too much for Charles and he was forced to accept medical attention at a charitable hospital. it was while he was bedridden that Charles heard the shocking death news of Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother, Hyrum. Charles was greatly saddened. He had left his native land and those who were dear to him, and was now lying in a hospital, sick, and weary, without friends to care for his well being.

Soon as he was well enough, Charles went to Nauvoo where the Saints were located. There he found that for which his heart longed. He was warmly welcomed and even found a very good friend, George Spillsbury. The two young men made plans to go in one of the companies going to Salt Lake Valley. They had two oxen, two cows and one wagon with which to begin the journey westward. The wagon was old and had been put together without one piece of metal. Hickory saplings had been wound around the wheels to act as tires. However. this crude conveyance carried the group safely to the Great Salt Lake Valley.

The trip was not without incident. Many were the hardships and disappointments. Sickness and death were ever prevalent to further dishearten the pioneers. One incident, which caused much excitement and concern, occurred as the company was traveling along the Platte River. The oxen who were thirsty and over anxious to reach the water, ran away down over a steep path into the river. The wagon with all its contents, was upset in the river. Sister Spillsbury and her one week old baby were drenched in the cold water before they were finally rescued. No harm came to either mother or child. (This infant grew to maturity and was a faithful pioneer in a Mormon colony in Old Mexico.)

After their arrival in the Salt Lake Valley, Charles found employment and later met and was married to Eliza Needham in 1855 by President Brigham Young. Two years later he married, as his second wife, Maria DeGrey. To them were born eleven children. Eliza bore no children.

Trouble from the outside world, so to speak, continued to come to the Saints. When Johnson's Army came to molest them, Charles was one of a group chosen to protect and hold the entrance through Echo Canyon to the Valley. Then, too, much anxiety and concern was caused the pioneers because of the practice of plural marriage. In 1857 when the saints left Salt Lake City to escape marshal law, Charles moved his families to Springville. The following year they returned to their home.

In 1861, Charles was one of a group of men called to take their families and colonize the southern part of Utah. Faith and the desire to obey the call from their Prophet of God was greatly evidenced when these men and women accepted the challenge to clear the land of sage brush and rocks, plant corps, build homes and fight molesting Indians. After having had, only a few years hence, experienced the hardships of the great trek across the plains, those pioneers had to have much faith and perseverance to leave their homes in Salt Lake City and travel again to a barren section to build other communities.

On the journey to their destination in Dixie, the company had to ford the Rio Virgin. In mid stream Charles oxen stopped to drink and the wagon began to sink in the quick sand. Despite his frantic efforts to urge the oxen onward, they completely ignored Charles. He was trying to save his outfit but the wagon box floated down stream. A number of men, who were working on the opposite bank finally
came to his aid in time to save the occupants of the wagon Eliza and one of Maria's sons, Joseph, who was then four years old. The men carried Eliza and the young boy to the bank and they secured the wagon box to a cottonwood tree.

After years of toil and a meager subsistence, Charles and his family began to feel encouraged as they gazed upon their fields of corn and grain, their orchards and the small garden patches. Charles built a small home in the community of Grafton, which consisted of but a few families with their farmlands. The Indians gave them trouble by driving off their cattle and horses and killing some of the citizens. About four years later the people in Grafton were advised to move to Rockville for protection.

In 1867, Charles was ordained bishop of the Rockville Ward and faithfully fulfilled that calling until 1891 when he was honorably released. Durning that year Charles moved his family to Monroe where he built another home. He continued to be as active in his church as his age would allow. At a conference held in Salina, Sevier Stake, he was set apart as a patriarch of the church by Frances M. Lyman. In 1875 Charles was called on a mission to Canada, but was unable to complete it because of ill health. Six years after his release as bishop, in 1897, at the age of seventy three, Charles departed this life, leaving behind a fine posterity.

From the time Charles had first heard the gospel in England from the lips of Wilford Woodruff until his death, his sincere desire had been to seek more knowledge of the Gospel of Christ and to be of service whenever called. He was a good father who set a worthy example for his children to follow. Because he had missed having his own mother and father, Charles tried more earnestly to be an understanding and kind father. To his neighbors and associates he was an honorable, hard working and a generous friend.

Maria DeGrey Smith (1840-1879)

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Maria DeGrey was the seventh child born to John DeGrey and Maria Brooks. She was born on March 21, 1840 at Dudley, Worchestershire, England. Except for one very sad incident, Maria's childhood was an average, happy one. She had five sisters and one brother older than she, who fussed over her, spoiling her just a wee bit. She and her little playmates who lived nearby, whiled away the hours in playing house or some other form of make believe.

When Maria's father died, she mourned him as only a little child could. It was hard for her to understand that her "Daddy" would no longer play with her each evening after he returned from work. Her "daddy" had gotten sick soon after he started to work in the brewery, which was located in a basement. The dampness had affected his lungs and caused his death.

The children were all good children and helped their mother in every way they could. Even little Maria did her share to ease the heavy burden thrust upon her mother.

A few years later when Maria's mother accepted an invitation to visit their cousin's home to hear some "Mormons" tell of their religion, she was happy with anticipation at the prospects of something new and different. But later, when the conversation reached the point where a new home in Utah was discussed, then Maria was really happy. Nothing could have been more exciting than the talk of going to America.

When Maria was twelve years old, she was baptized on November 29, 1852 by Elder John Rice and confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints by Elder Blood at Dudley Chapel 6 in December, 1852.

Though she was just twelve years of age at this time, Maria noticed the changed attitude of their friends and neighbors toward the family when they became members of the then very unpopular religion. However, this feeling against them just had a tendency to make the family want to work harder and save more do they could join the Saints in Utah. Then their dreams were fulfilled when
in June, 1856, after final arrangements had been made, Maria, her mother and her sisters bade farewell to their homeland and boarded the boat, "Well Fleet" bound for America and their new home in Utah.

Maria's sister, Selina, had married one of the missionaries, Elder John C. Hall, he had been one of the Elders to contact the DeGrey family. She remained in England with her husband until the completion of his mission. Maria's only brother, Alfred, also remained in England and came to Utah later. So only Maria Brooks DeGrey and her daughters, Selina, Kezia, Maria, Sarah and Charlotte came to Utah in June, 1856.

During the entire trip to the Great Salt Lake Valley the six weeks voyage across the Atlantic, the nine months spent in Boston working to secure funds for the remainder of the journey, and the long, slow trek to Utah Maria and the many other young people found adventure and pleasure in each tedious mile. Regardless of the hardships, the young quickly adapted themselves to the new life. Because of the inadequate means of conveyance for the nine persons in the group, the younger ones walked most of the distance. At the end of the journey on September 12, 1857, Maria's shoes were beyond repair.

The group arrived in Salt Lake City with no funds with which to prepare for the coming winter. It was difficult to find employment, too, so it was a natural sequence that the young girls accepted the offers to go into other homes, work, and then sometimes marry the head of the household in order to manage financially. At that time the Saints worked closely together and helped others whenever sickness or death came into the home. Also the Saints had been urged to live in plural marriage.

Maria had no shoes and no money to purchase any, so she accepted an offer from Charles N. Smith to assist his wife who was ill and needed help. Maria was a young lasso of seventeen years and was willing and able to work and assist her friends.

After she had worked for about two months, Charles asked her to be his second wife. She accepted and they were married on December 20, 1857. Both Charles and his first wife were faithful and good people and believed in obeying council from the church. Too, they felt that Maria would make a suitable wife and companion for Charles. Although Charles was twenty four years older than Maria there was happiness in their marriage. The two women learned to love one another and were able to work harmoniously together.

Maria respected and appreciated Sister Smith and regardless of her young years, she fit into the home because she had a desire to do the right thing.

To Maria and Charles, were born eleven children, five sons and six daughters. Their first child, Joseph Alma, was born on October 29, 1858 at Springville, Utah. The family had moved there, probably, to escape expected trouble from the Johnson's Army, which came to Utah about the same time as Maria had arrived. Their next son, George Alfred, was born on June 28, 1861 in Salt Lake City, apparently after the family had returned to its home. Even in the Valley there seemed to be no end to the trouble heaped upon the Saints. Determination and dogged endeavor brought success and security to the weary toilers, after years of persecution and hardship.

Soon after the second child was born, Charles, in answer to a call for volunteers to go to the Dixie Cotton Mission, moved his two families to Grafton, a small settlement about 30 miles east of St. George, which was then the largest community of the Dixie Mission. Maria was still a young girl, so she was happy that her sister, Charlotte and her husband, George, also settled in Grafton, and her two older sisters, Selina and Kezia and their husband, John, were located at Rockville, just a few miles farther up the Virgin River. She had never been away from her mother before in her life, so it helped to know that she had some of her loved ones nearby.

With the arrival of two more children, Maria, however, had little time to be lonesome and homesick. There was plenty of work in the home and also on their farm, guiding and preparing for the long winter ahead. Struggles were many, but complaints few, as the faithful worked side by side to make a comfortable and happy home life.

Maria had her share of sorrow as a young mother. The third son, who was born to her and Charles was Charles Hyrum, born in 1863. He died when just a young man on July 10, 1883. It was hard for her to lose her young son, but she was consoled by the teachings of her church.

On September 15, 1865, a daughter, Eliza, was born to them, then in about 1886, Charles moved his families to Rockville, where the rest of their children were born, namely: Maria, born September 29, 1867; Mary, born December 22, 1869, Charles T., born February 11, 1871; Sarah Ann, born on February 18, 1873; twins, David Arthur and Martha, born, September 4, 1875, and Sophia, born on March 20, 1877.

Maria was blessed with a fine husband. He was kind and considerate, yet firm and steadfast on the side of right. He was a friend to all who needed friendship and assistance.

Charles was a recognized leader and was called to the office of Bishop, a calling which he fulfilled faithfully and honorable for many years. The church work took a great deal of Charles' time, so much of the responsibility of rearing the children fell to the mothers.

Maria was blessed with fine sons and daughters. In the teaching and instructing of her children, she was thorough and wise. She was a good mother and she instilled in her children the principles of the Gospel. She was faithful in her endeavor to serve and accomplish all that was asked of her. She had a beautiful alto voice, which she used to bring joy to others. Her favorite song, "Hard Times Come Again No More", could often be heard by neighbors and passers by as she sang as she worked.

To know of the activities of her children as they grew to maturity is to know somewhat of the character of Maria.

Joseph Alma was a wonderful man and was always a helpful son to Maria and Charles. On March 3, 1880, one year after his mother's death, he married his childhood sweet heart, Adeline Drucilla Duzette (Sellie). They had a fine family of sons and daughters. They left Rockville and moved to Monroe, Utah, where they lived for many years. Their desire to better their conditions and give their children more advantages encouraged Joseph and Adeline to leave Rockville.

He and his good wife were happily married for fity nine years. Durning that time Joseph was a faithful church worker. He was an interesting public speaker, which helped qualify him for the many responsible positions, both civic and religious, which he held.

Next was George Alfred, who early learned the value of hard work. In Rockville, the facilities for education extended to the first few grades, so George's knowledge was self imposed through personal study and experience. In those early pioneer days the diversion from work came through the church. George was one who enjoyed fun. He was talented and was a general favorite among his friends.

He chose as his wife and companion, the charming Eleanor (Mellie) Morris of Rockville. They, too, soon moved to Monroe, Utah, then later to Provo, where they lived until their death. They were active in their church and left some good sons and daughters to carry on after them.

Eliza was next in order. She was the oldest daughter. When her mother died much of the responsibility of caring for the younger children naturally fell on her shoulders. She married Hyrum Morris in Rockville and like other young couples who desired further advantages for their growing family, they left their home town. They moved to Mesa, Arizona where they worked hard to make a home for their ten children, six of whom passed away. One son lost his life in the World War I and another son died during his service as a missionary in Samoa.

Three of their daughters died in maturity. Two left two children each and one left three children. Eliza, herself, was left a widow at the age of fifty years, but her faith and devotion to her church and the love of her children helped but the sting which came through the loss of her loved ones. She is still living in Mesa, Arizona at this writing, 1950, as proof of her sturdy character in the face of sorrow and despair.

Then there was Maria, named for her mother and grandmother DeGrey. To quote one who knew her and wrote these words of Maria, (Nora Lund); "When I think of Maria Ballard, I think of a person perfect as anyone could be. She always had a smile and a friendly greeting for everyone. She was a hard working woman always busy, either inside of her home or outside in her yard. She was a marvelous cook and housekeeper. However, she never was too busy to help someone not only the sick and needy, but those who just appreciated a kind word from a friend. She radiated joy wherever she went. She had a sense of humor that was worth a million dollars. She laughed "with" people, not at" them."

Maria's husband, Dave Ballard, whom she married in April, 1891 in the St. George Temple, was a wonderful companion and help mate to her. Their devotion to each other and their children, two daughters and four sons, was a beautiful thing to see.

She was active in every organization of the church in the small ward at Grafton where she and her husband made their home. She instilled in her children the one trait which was so paramount in her own life ... that of the joy and satisfaction derived from service to others. Her children always acted accordingly. She was a comparatively young woman of fifty years when she died on July 12, 1917.

Sarah Ann was the next one in line. She was born on February 18, 1873 in Rockville where she lived for several years. When a young woman she met and married Albert Tuft on September 2, 1897 in Monroe, Utah. They lived there for many years then they moved to a farm at Elsinor. Later they returned to Monroe.

Seven children were born to them to bring happiness and joy to Sarah Ann and Albert. Her husband became ill and was bed fast for many months prior to his death. The children were grown and most of them had moved to California where they were either married or else had employment. After the death of her husband, Sarah Ann went to California to be near her children.

In the wintertime she would go to Mesa, Arizona to visit with her sister, Eliza, and work in the Temple as her health would permit. She and Eliza spent many happy times together. They sang beautifully together even as they grew older. Sarah was loved by everyone who knew her. She died in California on October 11, 1943 and was buried in Monroe, Utah on October 15, 1943.

Sophia, the youngest child born to Maria and Charles, was born in Rockville on March 20, 1877. She lived in Monroe for some years then she married John Manson. They had five sons and daughters to bless their home. The children are all married now and have families of their own. They are devoted to their faithful and good parents who still reside in Provo, Utah.

Maria died in Rockville on December 18, 1879. At her death she left a baby just two years old and her oldest child was a young man of twenty one years. Elisa, Charles' first wife faithfully loved and taught the children left in her care.

In brief review of Maria's life, we see her as a child in England, baptized and confirmed a member of the Church, crossing the plains as a young girl, her sojourn in Salt Lake City prior to her faithful pioneering in Dixie, mothering, in love and devotion, a fine family then leaving behind those young children as a living devotion, a fine family then leaving behind those young children as a living monument of her goodness ... all this in the brief span of thirty nine years.

Dora Martha Merton Hall Stout (1878-1940)

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"Do not be slothful lest you become a burden to yourself. Do not loiter about, lest the hours hang heavy on your hands through not knowing what to do. Do not let your days pass away like the shadow of a cloud which leaves behind it no trace for remembrance." (Dandemis)

A woman who had spent the greater portion of her life on the frontiers grappling with the problems incident to the gaining of a livelihood in a semi desert area far removed from centers of population, where even the bare necessities must be wrung from the bosom of Mother Nature and transformed by careworn hands into usable commodities, cannot be classed as one of the slothful ones. Under such conditions survival meant toil, persistent and unremitting toil.

Such were the environmental conditions under which Dora Martha Merton Hall spent the greater portion of her mortal existence. Hers was a busy, strenuous life as she worked to build a home for her husband and children in a small pioneer community in the West.

Dora Martha Merton Hall was born in Rockville, Kane County (later Washington County) Utah, at 8 o'clock one Tuesday evening on January 8, 1878. She was the youngest daughter of John Charles Hall and Kezia Degrey.

She tells her own story: I do not know that I had a very eventful childhood. I went to the field with my father and some of the older children. The most I could do was to be the "watch dog" as I called it. I tried to see that the cows would not get into the field while I was there and if they did, I would drive them out. The reason I remember this, I suppose, is because I was afraid of the cows, but I would get a big willow stick and try to make myself think I was not afraid. For one thing, I was taught obedience to my parents. Of course, father knew the cows would not hurt me or he would
not have had me do it. Our fence was poor and father was not able to rebuild, just patched it up as best he could.

One day while chasing a calf out of our lot, I was barefooted and the water had been standing in one place, so I mired down half way to my knees and cut my foot on a piece of buried glass. My foot bled terribly. Mother had quite a time stopping the bleeding and I had to lie with my foot up in the air to keep it from starting to bleed again. I still have a scar about two and one-half inches long on my foot.

I played mostly with my brother, Arthur, he was two years older than I. We would put tiny fences around grass plots and cut, dry, rake, pile and haul the hay into small barns. We would use an old worn out hand clothes wringer and pretend it was a molasses mill. We played marbles quite a lot but I seem to remember the "farming" best.

I went to school until I was eighteen, but our schools were not graded and I never had the privilege of attending high school, as the nearest one was at Beaver, about one hundred miles away. The teacher I had most of the time was James G. Duffin of Toquerville, Utah. I think my first teacher was Alice Hall (my sister) then Henrietta Cox Stout, Levi W. Harmon and when he could not teach because of illness or something else, his brother, Melvin Harmon, substituted for him. Others who taught me were James G. Duffin, William Bringhurst, and then Mr. Duffin taught me again for two years until he stopped teaching. Our class consisted of Alfred and Hosea Stout (cousins), my dearest chum and friend, Artemesia Cox and myself. There had been a large class of us but all had dropped out for one reason or another. Brother Duffin said that he would not be ashamed for us to attend any high school and state that he was our teacher. He was a splendid teacher. It has been my observation that we were about as far advanced in the studies we took as were high school graduates, but, of course, not in as many subjects.

I am thankful to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints for giving me the opportunity for service in the different auxiliary organizations. I always attended Primary and Sunday School if I was able to get there. While still young, I was secretary or assistant secretary in the Primary of Rockville under the presidency of Elizabeth Calkin Smith, we called her "Aunty". Later I was assistant secretary in the Sunday School and Young Ladies Mutual Improvement Association. I was either secretary or assistant secretary several different times. At about the age of ten or eleven years I was called to be one of the organists in the Sunday School choir, which was organized by Hosea F. Stout, and continued from that time on for about forty five years in Rockville and Hurricane either as the organist or assistant organist in the ward choirs and other organizations. For a number of years I was the only one in Rockville Ward to play the organ, hence I went to every meeting where the organ was played.

I never had a regular music lesson in my life, but my older sister, Alice, would tell me the names of the notes and help me along in my study of music and father was very particular in teaching me time, which I got more thoroughly than the reading of the music. I never could read it rapidly, consequently, I had to learn each piece of music at home.

I was sustained president of the Y.W.M.I.A. while living at Rockville on October 20, 1900, and continued until we moved to Hurricane on March 26, 1907. 1 was class teacher in the Sunday School in Rockville and Hurricane for about twenty years. I was chosen as the 2nd counselor to President Mary Reed Workman (later, Hall) with Martha J. Hastings as 1st counselor when the Relief Society was organized in Hurricane. All three of us held these positions by request of the bishop for nineteen years. Then the new presidency requested me to be one of the theological class teachers, and also the assistant chorister. These two latter offices I still hold at this writing ... 1938. (She still held these offices at the time of her death in 1940.)

I am truly thankful for the privilege I have had for development in these organizations I have mentioned and also in the ward organizations of genealogy and later as a member of the Zion Park Stake Genealogical Society for several years. I want to tell here that the most real and satisfying pleasure I have ever had has come to me through service in my church duties and what little I have been able to do for others .....

At this point, my mother was unable to continue writing her history as she was suffering greatly from a cancer, which started in the right breast. This was removed but later it appeared under her right arm making writing difficult. It is gratifying to me that she ended her writings with a very modest statement of her pleasure in serving God and her fellow men. To me, as I look back, her two greatest attributes were her whole hearted devotion to her family and anyone who needed her help and the strongest testimony and unwavering faith which I have ever been privileged to witness. She not only taught but lived her testimony and the principles of the Gospel.

Dora's daughter, Erma, continues:

At the age of eleven years she was organist for the Sunday School, and continued as such for some organization or another most of the time until the last ten years of her life when her hands went still and numb, making it impossible for her to continue. She was a member of the Hurricane Ward Choir from the time it was organized until her death.

She did not have very good health, but she could always be depended upon to be in attendance at all her meetings if she was able to get there.

About nine months after the first families moved to Hurricane, the family moved from Rockville. They lived first in a one room 15 x 15 foot, house, dad always said there was not enough room for all.

In February, 1908, dad was hauling rock from the Hurricane hill, when he had a serious accident with the team and wagon which resulted in a broken collar bone, several ribs broken, a fractured skull, flesh torn loose from the corner of his eye (next to the nose) over the cheek bone and most of his face skinned. He caught one of the horses and arrived in town before meeting anyone (about a mile or one mile and a half). He insisted on being taken to Aunt Myra Lemmon's (mother's sister). The doctor came from St. George and fixed him up. He did not want mother to see him until he had been taken care of because only a few weeks later the doctor came back again and brought me into the world.

It was so crowded the night I was born that my brother, Myron, (then almost five years old) slept on the dresser. I was nine months old when we moved into the new house. They had straw padded carpets and when I was put on the floor I could not sit up. I had always been put on a bed as there was not any floor space in the "granery" as we later called it. Dad was away most of the winters working.

The Christmas eve before I was five years old, we were going to an entertainment. When we got to Grandma Workman's place about one half block away, I began to shake. Everyone thought I was cold so dad carried me. After my parents had given their part on the program they brought me home. I was quite ill and finally they had to take me to St. George and put me under Dr. Woodbury's care. Dad and mother expected to be away from home only about a week, but they did not get back until April. I was operated on for umpiema or pleurisy. The tube which was inserted under the third rib as a drain slipped inside and the doctor worked for one hour (by the clock) probing for it. Because I had a weak heart the doctor could use no anesthetic. When Dr. Woodbury finally found the tube he pinned a safety pin in the end of it to keep it from disappearing again. No matter how green and discolored the safety pin became, it had to be kept in the drain tube.

Mother was unable to lift her feet off the floor until my brother, Cyril, was born a few weeks later. Dad has often laughed about going around a strange town with a basket on his arm, gathering baby clothes because Cyril arrived sooner than expected. It was no wonder as mother had lost a baby about two years before and then she was so worried and anxious over my illness.
I remember we spent five or six summers on Kolob Mountain operating a sawmill, i.e., George Campbell, Richards Isom and dad. Their families went up when school was out. It was very pleasant, especially for us children. I know the adults went without great many comforts, but we children did not notice such things.

Now Eldwin, youngest son, continues: In the early 1920's mother's health seemed to be failing considerably. Dr. McGregor diagnosed her trouble to be goiter of the ingrown and poisonous type. Her heart was also quite weak and it was necessary for her to go to bed for some time to build up her condition before an operation could be performed. Her operation, I had been told, was one of the first ever performed successfully and was a great tribute to Dr. McGregor, who was one of the four doctor to hold his degree and rank in the United States. The operation was not without incident, however, as mother contracted a combination of either pneumonia, laryngitis, and bronchitis. It was impossible for her to swallow more than two or three drop of water at a time without struggling. I remember mother stating many times that she had only one spot in her left lung about the size of a silver dollar or a little larger in which she could breathe. The rest of the left and all of the right lung was "solid". I know that a great many prayers were uttered and endless attention given by Dad, Aunt Myra and Aunt Ann (mother's sisters) before mother received any relief in her condition. I do not remember how long the pneumonia persisted, but I do remember being told that mother was unable to speak aloud for forty days after the operation had been performed.

The treatment for her illness consisted of, among other things, rubbing her chest and back with Mentholatum. (I know that they used jar after jar of the $1.00 size which was much larger than it is today. After rubbing the Mentholatum on , pads made of several layers of flannel and heated by placing them on the top of hot stove until they had to be handled by pinching them by the edges with only the fingernails. The pads were immediately placed on the chest or back. Mother’s body was so filled with congestion that she was unable to feel the heat of the pads. Dad always joked that it was something which he said that cured her. I have felt that it was their undying love for each other that pulled her through and kept her faith strong. Some people thought dad's ability to joke with someone at the time of their illness was mean of him, but to know him was to know better than that. I have seen him many times "kid" mother and joke with her to raise her spirits when she was in great pain, then leave the room and breakdown and cry until like his heart would break. On this particular occasion he told mother that if she died he was going to take her straight to the ice plant and have her body frozen so no one could say that he had "stepped out" on her before she was cold. Dad always claimed that mother's condition improved from that moment.

The operation had one lasting effect in that it was rather difficult for mother to sing due to the strain on the voice box. She had to sing alto instead of soprano from that time forward, however her health did improve greatly. She suffered a great deal from Sciatica Rheumatism, which was so painful and sadden that it made her cry out in pain a few times, but I want to say that I never saw anyone in my life who could suffer so much pain and not make a sound.

In about 1928 or 1929, mother noticed that a small bump in her right breast had suddenly started to grow. Within two weeks after she noticed it, she had Dr. McGregor examined it. He told her that it was a tumor, but that only after its removal could he determine whether it was malignant or not. A few days later a cancer specialist, who was stalled in Toquerville due to car trouble, also examined it and gave her the same answer. So soon thereafter, Dr. McGregor operated and took off the right breast. He accomplished this feat with only a local anesthetic. It was the first time such an operation had been completed without having, to resort to ether. Mother was afraid of ether because of her previous experience, and even though the local completely wore off before the completion of the operation, she steadfastly refused to take ether. The doctor closed up the opening without the benefit of any anesthetic, which showed mother's "grit" and determination.

In 1932, on the 8th of October, I became very ill with what was then called Septic sore throat, which lasted about ten days. One morning when I awoke I opened my eyes, I thought, but it was about ten minutes before I could see. I had an acute case of Bright's Disease. Mother worked feverishly over me following the doctor's instructions to the letter. She gave me sweat baths until I, thought seventeen years old, could not get on my feet from the bath tub. I thought she was over doing her care of me, but I regained complete health, which is quite rare in cases of such severity. I mention this to show a great and honorable trait in mother. Not only could she suffer in silence in her own pain, but she would work herself to the limit to keep any one of her loved ones from suffering even a little. She was utterly unselfish.

During the depression both mother and dad expressed again their complete devotion to their family. Dad had very little work during several years except for a few cases of trading work, i.e., doing carpenter work for a painter who in return would paint our home. So during this time we operated the farm by ourselves as Cyril and I were old enough to help when we could. Dad was at home more during that time than any other time I can remember of in my life. Mother, consequently, had a closer companionship with her husband and family, and it made a closely-knit family group. We did not get to see Myron as often but we did see Erma often. I am sure that even though we did not have to much, it was one of the happiest periods in mother's life. She worked tirelessly, bottling fruit, sewing and mending, and though we were not the best dressed in town, we were always "well dressed". About the only income we had came from the two to four cows we milked. We sold the milk for 50 per quart and the customer usually got nearer a quart and one half. The customers were urged not to bring a quart bottle or bucket because extra measure could not be given. I recall that mother received a “dressing gown" for that trait of giving extra. She would churn the extra cream into butter, and in molding it into pounds she would barely cover the pound of butter. The storekeeper flatly stated that unless she cut the pounds of butter down to actual pound weight he would not take her butter. She felt rather hurt and asked the storekeeper why he should make such a fuss. He told her frankly that customers would come in and look over the supply on hand and if the wrapper did not say "Made by Dora Stout" they would go without until some of hers was brought in. As a result he had a demand for butter while he had stale butter in stock. He also mentioned the excellent quality of her butter, but said he had no complaint about that, just the size of the pound. She did cut down on the size carefully, but never did cut to an even pound.

During this period Dad's life insurance policy was paid in full and he withdrew what was left and put in a bathroom' and built new kitchen cabinets and sink, etc. This made work much easier for mother and she enjoyed the new improvements very much.

In 1935 1 left home and went to school at the University of Utah, I had gone to school at Dixie for two years, but I had been home most weekends, so this was the first time I had really been away from home any length of time. They had not been able to afford any of my college, but mother and dad would not hear of me leaving school. It was almost impossible to get work if you did not have either a family who could help or "connections". However, I was told that I could get enough work at the college to pay my tuition. So mother and dad arranged that I live with Myron and continue my studies. I know that they sent me every bit of money that they had over enough to pay the lights and water and incidentals, but they would not let me discontinue my schooling.

About this same time mother discovered a lump under her right arm. It was immediately examined and removed by local anesthetic. At first it was difficult to determine whether the operation had been successful in removing the entire infected area. It was not long before it became evident that it had spread beyond control. It began a strangulation of the circulation of the right arm and later went inside the body to the lungs and other vital organs. It seemed that the arm was the most painful area. By occasionally putting a lot of her weight on her elbow mother was able to relive the pain to a degree. Later mild derivatives of morphine and other narcotics were used to relieve the pain. Mother would permit the use of the morphine more for the anxiety of her family, especially dad, than for the relief she received. It was only for about one week or ten days that she was actually given morphine. During all this time she was given X ray treatments with the hope of deterring the growth of the cancer until a cure could be found.

Mother's undying service to others paid great dividends the last months of her life for most of the town volunteered to help in taking care of her and dad. Erma helped a great deal and Cyril was able to help, some but Myron and I were unable to help due to the fact that we lived so far away and we both had jobs. The neighbors and two nieces and dad stayed with her in turns. She suffered tremendously but never once did her faith ever waiver.

At her passing on July 1, 1940, a family lost, temporarily, a good and faithful wife and mother, one who had reared a family of fine sons and daughters and who had given teachings of faith by word and action. At her passing the community lost a willing and helpful servant. She will be remembered for her never ending service to friend and neighbor when ever she was needed.

The inscription on the monument which marks her resting place reads as follows: "Those whom we never cease to love we never lose." Mother has gone on ahead to again prepare, for her husband and family, a home.

Adlinda DeMill Hall (1878-1963) Autobiography

2008-07-29T15:46:00.000-07:00

"I now prcriounce you, Adlinda DeMill and Athur Wright Hall, man and wife, to love, honor and cherish each other 'til death do you part..

I, Adlinda DeMill was born on December 17, 1878 at Shonesburg, Washington County, Utah. Shonesburg was but a small settlement, consisting of a few settlers and their farms, located near Rockville, Utah. My parents, Oliver DeMill and Diferlia Winget, were among the pioneers who reached the Salt Lake Valley in 1847. My mother was one of the first children born in Salt Lake City, when she was born on December 18, 1847, soon after her parents’ arrival in the West. In later years they received pioneer badges commemorating their part in the founding of Utah.

My mother was the second wife of Oliver DeMill. They were among those who accepted the call to go to Southern Utah and settle. My father built a small log cabin with two rooms for the first wife. I was born in a little lumber "lean to", which was built on the log cabin. We called it the "shed". There was no way to make it warm in winter. One hole in the wall served as a window and furnished the only light for the room. It was a very humble birthplace, but it became home to me.

My mother holds a very tender spot in my heart. She was a wonderful person, self sacrificing, honest, faithful and highly respected and loved by her family and the neighbors and friends who knew her. My father was a faithful and good man. He was definitely the head of the household and always lead in the family prayers. So my mother would take me with her to a small over hanging grapevine surrounded by trees, where she would pray in secret. I was very small, but I well remember my mother's prayers. I felt she must be very unhappy at times by the tender words she uttered.

She was not one to complain. She kept her troubles to herself. She bore seventeen children, one died in infancy, and was a good and wise mother regardless of the hardships and heartaches she endured. She had to live in hiding when her last child was born. My father, when the baby was but eleven days old, moved my mother just as far up a small canyon along the Virgin River as he could travel with a wagon.

There she tried to make a home for her children. There was no shelter for us except a large overhanging rock. My mother had to stay there with six of her children. Our beds were made on the ground and the next morning we discovered animal footprints all around the camp. A neighbor lady, who was also living in the canyon, heard the cry of a cougar. She came over, and she and my oldest sister cut cedar posts and put them close together as a protection from harm from any wild animals. I was only six years old, but I can remember so well how much fun I thought the venture was. Now I can look back and see the seriousness of the situation. We were trained to call the first wife, "Mamma" and our own mother, "Mother Fidelia". This precaution was taken in case any marshals of the law came into town and asked questions. Many of the polygamist families were having similar trouble at that time.

My father was very frightened during those trying times. He built a place of hiding underneath the house, with a trap door opening into it, in case of any emergency. My father had eighteen children by his two wives, Now I can reflect that it must have been very amusing to see the children, who were well trained, take to their heels whenever a horse and buggy came to town with strangers in it. It was sure to be deputies because travel in those early days was hard and long and we did not often see strangers, so when we did, our fears were again brought to light.

My school days were not enhanced with fine school buildings and professors of higher learning. The schoolhouse where I first attended school was a log house. Our desks consisted of boards braced against the wall to hold them in position. When the building was used for other purposes, such as church services or dances and socials, the desks could be dropped down against the wall, making additional space.

Our teachers were of the kind who employed strict rules for discipline. A crack across the hand with a ruler was the usual reminder that we were doing wrong. One of my teachers hit me across the hand for something my older sister had done, because he did not want to hurt her. So I wrote a poem on my slate and held it up for a friend, who was sitting across the aisle from me to read. The teacher saw me in the act. When I tried to erase the poem, he took my slate and read what I had written.

"An eagle flew from peak to peak
Carried water in his beak.
When he found he was a fool,
He dropped him down to teach our school.

The poem served a good purpose, however, I never received any more punishment during the remainder of the day; instead I received a big hand full of candy.

In later years, after I was older and had completed my schooling, I secured a permit and taught school in that same old school building.

My recreation was not planned and genteel, as it is today for the young girls. We had to create our own entertainment so quite often it was games and activities which, ordinarily, only boys played at. I loved to ride horses and swim and hike in the foothills, when the fear of wild animals was overcome. I loved to dance and the community held regular dances and socials, which the entire populace attended. Our music was furnished by an old fellow by the name of "Jim". He agreed to play his fiddle for us if we promised to shuck corn for him.

The first time I remember seeing Arthur Wright Hall, who was one day to be my husband, was one day when I was returning home from Rockville. I was riding a horse and I thought I was quite grown up. On the way home, I met Arthur with his brother, Alfred. They had been to Zion Canyon for a load of corn. I was not very impressed with him at that time. I remember only that he was a rusty looking guy with dirty ears sticking out from his head. It was definitely not love at first sight for us. About one year passed before we found ourselves at dances and parties together. We discovered we were mutually interested in each other and from the time he was my best boy friend and I guess I was his best girl.

We rode horses together a great deal. I could handle a rope as expertly as he could. It was reported that he had to be a good roper or else he could not have caught me. I was very shy and bashful. Arthur figured he made a pretty good "catch" when he married me, but I made a better one.

One morning we left Rockville at four o'clock in the morning in a covered wagon, unchaperoned, and had to camp out during the trip to St. George. He made his bed under the wagon tongue and made mine in the wagon. We were married in the courthouse at St. George on March 31, 1899. 1 was twenty one and Arthur was twenty four years old when we were married.

From the beginning we had our plans on how we were going to raise our family, that is, if we had any. We agreed that they would have a better opportunity for education than we had had. Another thing we were very definite about was the discipline of our children. They were going to be taught to mind what they were told to do. However, after we had had about a half dozen, Arthur decided he would wait until they reached the age of ten, then we would surely make them mind.

We raised a family of eight sons and daughters. All of them graduated from high school; two graduated from Snow College and one graduated from the LDS Business College. Five of our children received their endowments in the temple. Three of the girls married outside of the temple and now all can see their mistake.

I have had very poor health during my married life. I have not been able to do but very little work in my church and community. Thirty six years ago when Leo was born, I had a severe heart attack and the doctor did not think there was anything he could do for me. He said I would never be able to have any more children or even lift anything. I have always had faith in the power of the priesthood. We had the Elders come and administer to me, and also had my name sent to the temple for the prayers and faith of those who were working there. I have never been bed fast for very long at any one time since, for which I am truly very thankful. I have had two children since that time and have had to work hard in my home to care for my family. We were never blessed with much money. We always worked diligently and faithfully and the Lord had blessed us in accordance. For fifteen years we took in boarders so that we could give our children a good education. We felt keenly the schooling we had been deprived of during our childhood, and we determined to do better by our children.

Another experience with sickness, which I remember very distinctly, was the time when Murray, at the age of six, developed Scarlet Fever. He broke out with a slight rash and had a little fever. He was not very sick, nevertheless, I kept him in bed for a few days. The doctor was out of town at the time, and when he returned, we called him in to check Murray. He informed us that the boy had not the slightest sign of Scarlet Fever and to let him get out of bed. We did as the doctor advised. Murray seemed to be alright, except that he did not rest at night. In a few days his little body was swollen with Bright's Disease. We took him to the hospital for treatments. He developed pneumonia, and given hot pack treatments. Then he had a stroke, which affected his right side. He was unable to hold up his head and could not use any of his limbs. The nurses told us that they had never seen any one get well after being so severely afflicted.

We were allowed to take Murray home. Humbly, I prayed as I have never prayed before, and I have never felt the influence of the two powers, good and bad, as I did during those trying days. Then I said, "Let the Lord's will be done". I felt peace after that. Murray began to improve immediately. I wheeled him around in a baby buggy for some time until he was able to hold up his head. As be began to feel better he asked for his little wagon. Next he wanted to ride his tricycle, but he could not hold his leg on the pedal. I tied his foot to the pedal and finally he could manage ride it. He has continued to improve until at this time, he drives a car, operates a tractor, and manages the milking of the cows with the use of the milking machines. We are truly thankful to our Heavenly Father for His gentle care of our son. Murray can do almost any kind of work. He cannot take hold of any object with his right hand without first lifting it and putting it there with his left hand. He is a very religious boy, and is very active in his church and temple work. I feel that his life has been spared for a righteous purpose.

I have always had a special interest in temple work. When my children were coming along, I always went to the temple for a blessing before their arrival. I had a dream which I would like to relate. To me it had a specific meaning. I had been ill and naturally wondered how well I was progressing in regaining my health. I dreamed that I was a large building. There were many people inside and more kept coming through the walls. I was frightened and cried out that they were after me. They informed me that they were not after me; they only wanted their work done in the temple. Later I related this dream to Uncle Alfred Hall. He said, "That is not a dream; it is a reality." Since then I have done quite a lot of work in the temple. I try to go whenever I am able and can go.

I now want to relate a faith-promoting incident. My father was acquainted with the Prophet Joseph Smith. They attended the same school. When my father was only fourteen years old, he attended a meeting of the Saints held after the martydom of the Prophet. Sidney Rigdon was the first councelor to the Prophet and had called the meeting. Brigham Young was also there as head of the Twelve Apostles. He rose and spoke to the group. He told the brethren that the Kindgorn of God was rolled up on the heads of the Twelve Apostles. After talking for about one minute, Brother Young's voice changed and his countenance, his very appearance and every motion was that of the Prophet. His voice was so convincing and the words he uttered were so prophetic that they seemed to bring conviction to the hearts of all present at the meeting.

My great grandfather Knight lived neighbors to Joseph Smith. It was his horse and buggy which took the Prophet to the Hill Cumorah to secure the Gold Plates. My grandmother and grandfather Winget were also acquainted with the Prophet Joseph.

On our fortieth wedding anniversary we went on our first real trip. There were six of us in the party; DeMonte and LaRue, who were honeymooning, Vic and Minnie, celebrating their 14th anniversary, and Arthur and I. We went to San Francisco to the World's Fair. We traveled through the Redwood Forest up the coast to Portland, Oregon. We saw a lot of beautiful scenery and really enjoyed our trip as we went up the Columbus River and back home through Oregon and Idaho. We had so much fun and wanted to go on another such trip soon.

Later, when our two youngest boys wanted to go on the same trip, Arthur and I again enjoyed a nice trip, besides the association of our sons. In 1948, we, two of our sons, Vic and Minnie, Arthur and I, went to Denver, Colorado. Then again, this spring in February 1950, we took a trip through Arizona, went through the Mesa Temple, traveled to Yuma, Arizona, Tijuana, Mexico, then up the coast to Los Angeles. We always enjoyed each other's company, whether in work or play.

Our family, even after the children began to get married, has always enjoyed our get togethers and outings. I always received much joy and happiness in seeing my family working and playing together with no strife and confusion, which some mothers are not able to enjoy.

I recall one amusing incident, which took place during a short trip. Arthur, Murray and I went to Panguitch on a business trip and I believe it was the first time we ever stayed at a hotel. I decided I wanted a candy bar, so Arthur went down to the store. He did not know exactly for what to ask. In the showcase he saw some Lux bars, so he said, "I will take some of those bars in there." When he returned and we asked for the candy, we discovered he had bought some bars of Lux hand soap,

Arthur and I have worked hand in hand for fifty one years of married life with no serious disagreements. I guess if we were to live our lives over again under the same circumstances, we would plod along the same old path.

Arthur Wright Hall (1875-1955) Autobiography

2008-07-29T15:45:00.002-07:00

My story begins when I was born in Rockville, Washington County, Utah, on December 9, 1875. 1 was the nineth child of John Charles and Kezia DeGrey Hall, and was given the name of Arthur Wright Hall, and a father's blessing on December 9 of the same year. The name "Wright" came from my paternal grandmother, Charlotte Wright and is a name of which I am very proud.

The first few years of my life were spent in Rockville in doing what mischief I could think of as do most young boys. Rockville was a small community, nestled in the foothills on the bank of the Virgin River, so there were plenty of unexplored caves and crevices for the young children to occupy their time. I did not have a great deal of leisure for me, because, even though I was the last son to arrive and I had older brothers to work ahead of me, I was taught while yet a young lad that there is much value in good honest, hard work. There were plenty of odd jobs which no one else wanted to do, and which, naturally fell to me.

Even though I was the last son to come along, I still found my place in the farm work. I, like my older brothers and sisters, was unable to attend school to completion. I received the bare fundamentals and obtained further learning from the school of hard knocks. My parents were understanding and helped me to learn as much as they were able to give me.

My father and mother were of the faithful fiber evident in the founding of the empire in the West. I am thankful that they were privileged to be among the first to enter the Valley and start plowing the virgin soil in preparation for the treasured seed. They suffered untold hardships and heartaches to build a home for us, their children, but they were indeed blessed, and were, to a large measure, quite happy. They were religious and endeavored to teach their children the Gospel both by word and action, so I grew up with the desire to live as near to the teachings of the Lord as I possibly could.

On December 9. 1883, my eight birthday, I was baptized and confirmed by James P. Terry, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ Of Latter day Saints. It was an eventful day for me and one I will long remember. I was not too young to realize that something new had happened in my life. Then later, when I was ordained a deacon and was privileged to pass the sacrament, I was a very proud young lad. I had watched other boys, who had reached that precise age, with much anticipation. As I grew older and was able to participate in all the church functions, as all of our entertainment was centered around the church, I found even more pleasure in life. As young people we spent our time, spare time, that is, in swimming, horseback riding, dancing and picnicking. The girl I was one day to marry was one of the young girls in the group. About a year after I first really noticed her, Adlinda DeMill and I found our enjoyment going to the dances and socials together. We did a great deal of horseback riding.

When I was twenty four years old, and felt that I was capable to care for a wife and family, Adlinda and I were married in the courthouse at St. George, Utah, On March 31, 1899. Two years later, after I had been ordained an Elder, I received my endowments, and my wife and I were sealed for 'time and all eternity", in the St. George Temple.

All my life I have accepted the call to do the work of the Lord. I was in the Sunday School Superintendency for a year or two while we lived in Rockville. In 1906, 1 was appointed one of the counselors in the bishopric' at the time David Hirschi was bishop. I found that in service the faults and failings of others became insignificant and I learned the true meaning of "Love thy neighbor as thyself". While in the service of the Lord, I realized more peace in my soul. I had no time to worry about any injustices done me. I could much easier 'walk two, if a friend asked me to walk a mile with him'. The Gospel is a great leavening agent in any mans life if he but gives it a change to become part of him.

I am a very practical man. Religion to me is "common sense", and functions not only on the Sabbath day and during the hours of worship, but also finds expression in every act that conduces to the welfare of man in every walk of life. It may be the Savior had some such idea in mind when he said: "And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward". (Matt. 10:42.)

In the following year, 1907, we moved to Hurricane to help in the development of that community. We were one of the first ten families to settle in the Hurricane Valley. I was one of the group chosen to meet and select a name for our new community. After several names were suggested, the name "Hurricane" was chosen.

At the completion of the canal, I was appointed to the Hurricane Canal Board, and was given the job of superintendent of the running of the water in the canal for several years. Besides my work on the canal board, I was also one of the first trustees of the Hurricane School Board until the Washington County School Board was organized.

In those early days much effort and time had to be put forth in order that our church and community might progress. So I, like all the men who hoped to build a thriving home town, did my part in the building of the early public buildings. I donated on the St. George College (now Dixie College) by hauling lumber from the saw mills to St. George. Busy as I was in civic affairs, I never neglected my church duties. I continued to work in the Sunday School Superintendency for several years after we moved to Hurricane.

We lived in Hurricane until 1920 when I moved my family to Monroe, Utah. I bought a farm there when prices were very high. Later I lost everything except my home and the friends who we valued more than money. In such times of need we came to know our true and faithful friends. There were those who were earnest and sincere in their desire to help us build for the future again. And there were those also who offered a work here and there, but who could not find it in their hearts to give. To me a great lesson was brought to light, and I vowed I would certainly be a friend to others in their time of need.

After moving to Monroe and making our new home, I again worked in the Sunday School Superintendency, which seems to have been my calling. I have also been one of the counselors in the bishopric under two different bishops. I have been a Ward Teacher all my adult life, and have enjoyed visiting and assisting the Saints where ever we have made our home. I have found much happiness in the service of my church and my community. For fifteen years I have served as caretaker of the Monroe District School.

The rest of my happiness and blessings I have found in my family. The Lord blessed me with a wonderful wife and mother of my fine sons and daughters. For distinction in our family, we can say that our daughter, Golda, was the first baby girl to be born in Hurricane, August 16, 1907. We have enjoyed association with our children even after they were married in trips, visits and outings. We can work and play together with no disagreement of a serious nature, and always find pleasure in the company of our entire family.

I have had two severe sick spells with pneumonia, and one heart attack. At one time the doctor gave me up for he thought I would not recover. The Elders of the church were called in to administer to me, and through the faith and prayers of the faithful, I was made well. I know that the Lord hears and answers prayers. We have had some faith testing experiences in our home and I know that the Lord has blessed our home and those who abide therein. For those blessings, I am truly thankful, and pray that I may continue to serve whenever the call comes.

Jesse Newton Lemmon (1871-1956) Biography

2008-07-29T15:45:00.001-07:00

Jesse N. Lemmon was born April 2, 1871 at Parowan, Iron County, Utah. At the time of his birth, the family consisted of his father, Alumbee Lemmon, who was 48 at the time; his mother, Lydia Ann Applegate Lemmon, who was 41; A brother, Isaac, then 18; Mary Alice, then 15, and Frances Marian, then 6. There were three other children who had died in infancy or early childhood, Alfred, Minnie Jane, and Alumbee James.

Jesse was the youngest child, with his brothers and sisters being practically grown when he was born. The family had much the same background as most pioneer settlers of Southern Utah. The Lemmons were of Scotch Irish Protestant ancestry. They first came to America from Scotland via Ireland and settled with others of the same persausion, in North Carolina. Jesse's grandfather, John Lemmon, Sr. was the first Lemmon to join the church, in 1831. His father and Grandfather, with their families went through all the trials and persecutions of the Saints in Missouri and Illinois. With the march of the Church westward, the Lemmons followed also, and eventually made their home in Southern Utah.

Jesse's Uncle, James Lemmon, had settled at Northop, a settlement between Rockville and Springdale, Utah. Jesse's young days were spent at various times in Parowan, Rockville and other towns in the surrounding area. Jesse says that he can remember being baptized in the Virgin River by his Uncle James, when he was eight years of age.

Jesse's father, Alumbee, was a carpenter and builder, and of necessity followed jobs from one place to another. One of the most vivid memories of Jesse's younger days are the years spent in Silver Reef, Utah, where his father had a carpenter shop and was the town undertaker.

In his early young manhood Jess and his mother lived at Rockville. It was here he met and married Myra Hall, and here he made many close friendships which have endured over a long lifetime.

Jess and Myra were married January 24, 1891 in Rockville, Utah, the ceremony being performed by Joseph A. Smith, then Bishop's counselor, in the home of Myra's brother, John Hall. The marriage took place at noon, with the dinner all ready and table set, and the bride and groom with their friends then celebrated by having a feast together with their friends and relatives. Jess says that he invited only one special guest, Jim Jennings, who was his best friend and confidante. Jim brought to the wedding as a gift a set of tea cups and saucers.

Their courtship was much the usual one of the times, with the young people meeting at dances and church programs, etc. Jess was always full of fun and delighted in playing pranks on his friends and acquaintances. He was well known for his quick wit and humor, his songs, and efforts to entertain and amuse people. I

Shortly after his marriage Jess went out to Cane Beds, on the Arizona Strip, to work for Benjamin F. Saunders, a cattleman. Saunders had come out west from Missouri and brought up the herds around Pipe Spring and Cane Beds. He brought in the first Whiteface Hereford bulls to this country in 1896. Jess worked as a cook for the cowpunchers, who rode for Saunders in handling this big herd.

This job was the beginning of many for Jess who like his father, traveled many places on various jobs he was able to get in order to provide for his little family. The first year after their marriage, Myra gave birth to a girl, Elvia, who lived only four days, Another girl, Eldona, born in 1893, lived about 18 months. A boy, Claude, born in 1895 lived about eleven months.

During these years Myra and Jess lived at Rockville mostly, but did make trips or moved to various places when jobs 'would take Jess elsewhere. One of these moves was to Monroe, Utah where Eldona was born. Another time, around 1908, they moved to Pocatello, Idaho. They had three more children by this time, all born at Rockville. Maude, born January 8, 1898; Arnold DeGrey, born January 10, 1900; and Ferra Alumbee, born November 29, 1901. By May of 1905 they had moved back to Rockville, where Frank Eldon was born, May 12, 1905.

Jess followed two types of work in his life, one the work out on the range as cook and cowhand for the various owners of herds in the area. The other was carpenter and builder, the same as his father. He helped build homes in Kanarraville and Parowan. Built the Toquerville school house, and like other settlers of Hurricane worked on the Hurricane Ditch and Canal, and helped build many of the homes in Hurricane, including his own. As history records, the Hurricane Ditch was contracted to various groups of men to do certain sections of it. Jess and Joseph "Dode" Petty were given the job of putting the ditch through part of a particularly rocky section known as "China Town." An old tramp named Jake Miller also worked there that winter. Thus, the ditch was worked on in winter, and in the summer Jess would go away on other jobs to earn enough to see the family thru' another year. He went to Long Valley one summer and earned enough to obtain and cut the lumber for a house in Hurricane. He built one room and brought his family down to live at Hurricane.
During the day he worked on other people's houses, and would then go home at night and work on his own place by lamplight.

He was always anxious to have the best for his family, and early tried to furnish the house with what conveniences were available at that time. He built a cistern for water for culinary use, as it was necessary to haul water in barrels from the river for such purposes.

By 1915 the family was pretty well settled at Hurricane. On the 23 of May, 1915 their last child, Norene, was born. Jesse then was helping to build a shearing corral at Gould's Ranch, the largest such corral in the world. Jess was in charge, of the corrals for 9 years with 2 wranglers and 2 wool jammers working under him. At one time, he made $2400 in thirty days, by catching strays and keeping them penned up, waiting for the owner to call for them. When the shearing was finished he had quite a few owners from Cedar and Kanarra who had not claimed these strays, so he had them
sheared and sold the wool.

Jess made many of his trips away from home in connection with the marketing of cattle from the big herds in the area. This was generally done through buyers contracting to market them. The stock was driven to the nearest railroad station, it generally being Modena, or Lund. The stockmen would put their marketing cattle together and drive them in large herds. Often with as many as five hundred to one thousand in a herd. This became quite an art with some of our cowmen, as it required good organization to handle it properly. After the cattle were delivered to the railroad, it was generally necessary for some of the men to go along to the unloading destination. Many of them did not like to go that far away from home, but Jess was always willing to volunteer to go on these trips. Thus, he went with many trainloads of cattle into Nebraska and Missouri and other marketing points in the country.

As the cattle and sheep business began to die out, due to lack of range, etc. Jess turned to other jobs. Automobiles were beginning to come into the country, and he bought one of the first ones in Hurricane. This could be obtained on a business transaction from Wilts Imlay. By this time, his boys were grown, and he and the two younger ones made a trip to California, via Nevada. They worked for a time in the mines at Ruth, Nevada, and then continued on to Los Angeles. The boys obtained work and eventually remained there for several years. Jess stayed awhile and finally returned home,
where Myra had remained with Noreene. Arnold, his oldest boy had married a girl from St. George, Sarah Worthen. Maude, the oldest, was on a mission in the Eastern States. Soon Arnold's boys were added to the family circle. Jess found that on getting older it was harder to obtain jobs, and the hard work was beginning to take its toil. He did work for various road contractors, in building up the roads in this area, since the adventure of the automobile had brought on a demand for good roads. The work was done then with teams, and not with the machinery which is used in modern
roads building today.

As his days of hard working came to a close, the boys began to follow in his footsteps. Arnold and Elden became excellent patrol or grader operators, helping to build up the fine roads which we have in the country today. Ferra became a skilled mechanic, working on the machinery which has been developed since Jess' early working days. Eventually, the whole family except for the youngest, Norene, had established homes in Hurricane. For the past several years Jess has had to be content with the reports of adventures, travels, and exploits of his sons and daughters, grandsons and granddaughters.

The last big event in his life, during the past year, has been the loss of his sight, due to cataracts. This was a great loss, as he had wanted to spend his time visiting about town with his various friends and acquaintances, and the loss of his sight compelled him to remain practically bound to his chair. A few months ago, however, he was operated on by Dr. Aiken, of Kanab, and his sight restored. The resulting change in his mental outlook and cheerfulness, has been phenomenal. He now looks forward to many more years of interest in what the future may bring forth. (June 1951)

NOTE: June, 1952. Since the above sketch of the life of Jess M. Lemmon was written he has also suffered the great loss of his life companion, Myra Wall Lemmon, who passed away at their home September 4, 1951. He is now living with his oldest daughter, Maude Lemmon Naegle, in Hurricane.

Jesse Newton Lemmon (1871-1956)

2008-07-29T15:43:00.001-07:00

Jesse Newton Lemmon was born on April 2, 1871, at Parowan, Iron County, Utah. At the time of his birth, the family consisted of his father, Alumbee Lemmon, his mother, Lydia Ann Applegate Lemmon, and Isaac Lemmon, then 18; Mary Alice, then 15; Frances Matian, then 6. Alumbee and Lydia Ann had had three other children; Alfred, born October 28, 1858, and who died when he was three years old, September 28, 1862. Minnie Jane, who was born October 11, 1861 and died 14 months later February 15, 1863. These two children had been born at Nebraska City, Otoe County, Nebraska. The third child who died was Alumbee James, who was born at Parowan on February 3, 1868 and died April 6, 1868, at the age of two months. Jesse was born almost three years to the day after Alumbee James' death.

The family background was the usual one found in the lives of the pioneers living at that period in Southern Utah. Jesse's grandfather, John Lemmon, Sr. was a convert to the Mormon Church. John was born June 13, 1780 in Orange County, North Carolina. About the year 1803 he married Priscilla Abbott in Sumner County, Tennessee. However, Priscilla was born in Rockingham County, North Carolina, the 16th of November 1785. John and Priscilla resided at Gallatin, Sumner County, Tennessee for 19 years. During this time they had eleven children born to them. Alumbee Lemmon, Jesse's father, was the eleventh child, born March 2, 1823 at Gallatin, Sumner County Tennessee. In the year 1824 when Alumbee was a year old, they moved to Bloomfield, Green County, Indiana. There, on August 12, 1831, John was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and ordained an Elder, by Samuel H. Smith. This was about six months after Alumbee's 8th birthday.

In the year 1832 John moved to Jackson County, Missouri, and was driven out in 1833. From there John took his family into Clay County, Missouri and was again driven out in 1835. Alumbee at this time was 12 years old. From Clay County, Missouri the family moved to David County, Adam-Ondi Ahman. There they made a farm, and John became a member of the High Council of that Stake of Zion. However, they were driven out in the fall of 1836. They stopped at Caldwell County, Missouri, but were forced to move on in the dead of winter, and arrived at Quincy, Adams County, Illinois in March 1839. This was the period when the Mormons were suffering such terrible persecution from the Missouri mobs and the Lemmon family was no exception to the trials and tribulations undergone by the Saints at that time. Alumbee's 16th birthday had just passed when his family took up residence in Quincy, Illinois. In 1843, when he was 20 years old, Alumbee went to Nauvoo, Illinois to help in building up that city, and to help protect it in time of trouble. In the years between 1843 and 1846, he endured many trying scenes and hardships. In November or December 1845, he was baptized in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, by Elder Ezra T. Benson, and was confirmed, and ordained an Elder by him. During the winter of 1845 under Hosea Stout, Chief of Police of Nauvoo, Alumbee assisted in guarding the Temple and City. His family evidently continued to live at Quincy, Illinois, as his father, John died at Quincy in 1846, from the hardships and exposures he had received from so many drivings, and all of them in the winter season. For this reason, his name was recorded on the Church records as a Martyr to the cause of truth, by Elder George A. Smith.

When the Saints began their march to the Great Salt Lake Valley, Alumbee was 21 or 22 years of age, and single. He was chosen as one of the Captains to take the Companies across the plains. He made the trip several times. (Mary Alice, his daughter states he made six trips.)

The records available in southern Utah to the family at this time (1951) does not make clear just when Alumbee's mother and brothers and sisters came to Utah. Mary Alice, says that James Lemmon, Alumbee's brother had lived in the Dixie Country for two years when Alumbee and Peter and their families arrived. Jesse says that his father had three brothers living in Utah, Peter, James and John.

Alumbee evidently made several trips across the plains to Great Salt Lake between the ages of 22 and 25. On August 13, 1848, he married Lydia Ann Applegate at Louisiana, Pike County, Missouri. Lydia Ann was from St. Charles, St.' Clare County, Missouri, a town near St. Louis, where she was born September 25, 1830. Her father was Milton Applegate and her mother Hane Pruett. Alumbee and Lydia Ann were married two years when Alumbee returned to Utah in 1850. He remained a year and then returned to Missouri. The family evidently started West, but did not go far along the Mormon Trail. Isaac Lemon, their first child, was born June 10, 1853 at Austin, Freemont County, Iowa. This is just across the border from the state of Missouri. By 1856 they had moved along westward as far as Nebraska City, Otoe County, Nebraska. Here there next three children were born, Mary Alice, Alfred, and Minnie Jane.

Mary Alice states that during all these years her mother, Lydia Ann, did not know that Alumbee was a Mormon. Finally, Alumbee decided to move on westward, and started traveling with his brother Peter Lemmon, his wife, and four children, together with Lydia Ann and his own three children.

Lydia Ann thought they were going to California to the gold diggings. They were traveling a few days behind a company of Mormon emigrants, and Mary Alice, who was six at the time, remembered plainly one camp made when she saw the Mormons for the first time. She says, "Alumbee wanted his children, Mary Alice, and her brother, to go with him to the emigrant camp after supper. Not knowing her father was a Mormon, she was very frightened that they might steal her." Another instance which was clear in her memory was the first buffalo killed by the Company. In her words, "I was equally as frightened (as with the Mormons) and the Mormon Doctrine is still a big buffalo to the people of the world and they never will understand it until they humble themselves in the faith and gain the testimony."

In 1862, Alumbee, Lydia Ann and their three children, Isaac, Mary Alice and Minnie Jane arrived in Salt Lake City, Utah. We have the record of Alfred's death as of the 28th of September 1862, just one month short of his fourth birthday. We do not know where he was buried, so do not know if his death occurred before or after the family left Nebraska, or while on the journey. At Salt Lake City, Lydia Ann evidently discovered that Alumbee was a Mormon, as the record states that she was baptized in February, 1863. This same month, Minnie Jane died at the age of 14 months.

Alumbee and Peter continued their journey with their families to the Dixie Country where his brother, James Lemmon, had lived for two years.

According to Angus M. Woodbury in his "History of Southern Utah and It's National Parks..”as early as 1854, Brigham Young had inquired about the possibilities of building a road in the valley (of the Virgin) from Ceder City. The lower Virgin was first settled at Washington, Santa Clara, Toquerville, St. George, etc. Virgin was settled in 1858 by settlers from Ceder City. "On December 6, 1858 they began building a road over the Hurricane Fault below Toquerville and drove their wagons in the Virgin on the 20th, over a route since known as the "Johnson Twist." (Woodbury)

Over the "Johnson Twist" had gone James Lemmon and his family, probably with the group headed by Phillip Elingensmith in 1860. Settlements which were established during these years, were Virgin, Old Grafton, and Adventure, (between Grafton and Rockville). "Adventure was a small place with limited prospects for expansion by just about it was a much larger tract of land requiring more extensive irrigation. A townsite was selected on the bench high above the river, and at a meeting held at Old Grafton on December 13, 1861 it was decided to name the new townsite Rockville because of the many boulders along the foot of the hill where it was located."

"Of those who went up the river above Adventure, three families stopped at the forks of the Virgin at a place afterword called Northop. The settlers were hardly located when a stormy period began. The Virgin became a raging torrent and at least twice the great floods washed out the dams, filled the ditches, etc. In 1862 the new townsites were located and Old Grafton was abandoned. At the forks of the river at Northop, a ditch was built by James Lemon (Lemmon) and others for use during 1863." (From Woodbury's History).

Thus, we find Alumbee and Peter arriving at Northop, Washington County, Utah where their brother James had begun to carve out a home from the rough wilderness which comprises the Valley of the Virgin. This spot is now approximately marked by two wide parking spaces on the side of the road leading to Zion National Park. Thousands of tourists each year park their cars almost on the exact spot to view the wonders of the scene lying before them of the massive "temples and towers of the Virgin". "The sense of awe awakened today by such inspiring spectacles of nature's handiwork appears to have been largely lacking in the hard working pioneers who spent all their energy in wringing a meager existence from the wilderness." (Woodbury).

Alumbee and Lydia Ann apparently remained in Northop past April, 1865, as their third daughter and fifth child, Frances Marian, was born there April 25, 1865. Their life in southern Utah, from this point on, is rather vague, as no written record was kept, with the exception of recording of birth dates of the children. Jesse does not recall either his father or mother making much mention of these early days of their life. We do have record of Lydia Ann's endowment and sealing to her husband, Alumbee, at the Endowment House at Salt Lake City on April 28, 1866. Also a record of the birth of Alumbee James at Parowan, Iron County, February 3, 1868 and his death two months later on April 6, 1868. Thus, Alumbee James and Jesse Newton were born under the Covenant, and whether the other children were sealed to Alumbee and Lydia Ann at the time of the endowments, has not yet been verified by this branch of the family (March, 1951). Most of the foregoing, giving a background of Jesse's family has been obtained from a history written by Mary Alice Lemmon Webb, who was 15 years Jesse's senior. Since Jesse was the youngest in the family, with his brothers and sisters practically grown when he was born, it is not surprising that he knew little of the hardships which the family endured in the earlier pioneering days.

When interviewed regarding his early life Jesse said that his mother was living at Parowan, and his father at Pioche, Nevada, when he was born. Alumbee had obtained a job running a grain store and lumber yard at Pioche. Issac, his son, went out to Pioche and took care of the store, while Alumbee returned to Parowan to be with Lydia Ann at the time of Jesse's birth.

Myra Hall Lemmon (1872-1951) Biography

2008-07-29T15:42:00.000-07:00

For many years the people of Hurricane depended on two "Aunts" to deliver their babies and to help them cope with many of their physical and emotional ailments: "Aunt" MinaHinton, and the subject of this account, "Aunt" Myra Lemmon. Myra was born 14 Mar 1872 in Rockville, Utah to John Charles and Keziah Degrey Hall. She married Jesse Newton Lemmon 24 January 1891 and died 4 September 1951; Jesse died five years later. Jesse and Myra had seven children, the first two dying in infancy; they are: Elvia 1891, Eldonna 1893, Claude 1895, Maude Leona 1898, Arnold Degrey 1900, Ferra 1901, Eldon 1905, and Norene 1915. The family first lived in Rockville and moved to Hurricane soon after the town was settled. Jesse built houses for others, collecting building materials as pay. He built his own home in the evenings. The family moved in long before it was completed; he just built around them. Unfortunately, he used some green lumber in the walls; after it shrank, the north wind managed to slip through the cracks. The home was located at first East and first South; it no longer exists. Myra lived in Rockville until after her marriage. Sometime in her youth, she and a sister were working in a garden the family had on the south side of the Virgin river. A rattlesnake bit her on the big toe. The sister tied a string around the toe; and got her on their horse for a hurried trip home. Her mother made cuts around the bite and sucked out some blood. Myra survived the incident just fine; the main unpleasantness she remembered was the embarrassment of riding astraddle the horse as a boy would have instead of side-saddle in proper girl fashion. Another well-remembered childhood event began when she felt strangely restless and agitated. Unable to remain in the house, she went to the barn, climbed to the loft and looked out the window space. The view ended a few hundred yards away by what appeared to her as a huge curtain hanging over the village. She then returned to the house in time to observe a neighborhood boy imploring Keziah to hurry over to his house because their baby was Extremely ill. Myra told her mother, "Don't bother to go; the Baby will die." Keziah went, but soon returned to report that the baby had indeed died, and to inquire as to how Myra was so sure it would happen. Myra replied that the "curtain" she saw was hanging over that particular house and that she had perceived that something terrible was happening there. In later years, Myra sometimes got solutions to medical problems in her dreams Myra reluctantly got into mid-wifery; her mother had been a mid-wife and Myra was well aware of the demands it could make on a person. Myra had, of course, learned many useful facts and skills from Keziah. Sometime after her marriage, she assisted a doctor in an emergency delivery; he was so impressed with her work that he kept calling on her for assistance. As she developed proficiency, and as a "healing touch" she possessed became apparent to others, she was called on more and more as an independent practitioner. One resident MD, Dr. Wilkinson, strongly objected to her functioning without a license of any sort. Unfortunately:, she lacked the means to take the required course work in Salt Lake City for a mid-wife certificate. She apparently assisted Dr. Wilkinson with some births, but she evidently had a low opinion of his medical efforts. Once a family beseeched her to tend their stricken baby. She tried to decline because it was under Dr. Wilkinson's care. Finally consenting to visit, she found the infant to be severely bloated and seemed near death. She induced the expulsion of gas and solid waste. The baby did die, however. Mrs. Vera Ballard attests that Myra could cure baby problems where others failed. She took one of her own infants to Myra when it was tightly bloated and on the verge of dying. Myra knew just how to restore a normal condition and the baby soon recovered. Myra taught the same techniques to Vera, who in turn successfully treated other babies.
For some years, Myra assisted a couple of St. George doctors who had patients in Hurricane. They had a telephone installed in her home so that she could consult them about medical problems that were brought to her; sometimes she would take care of the situation, utilizing their advice,-or she could summon one of them if the problem was too great for her to handle. (In those days, the only highway between St. George and Hurricane went through Leeds, Anderson's Ranch and Toquerville) When doctor Aiken came to town, Myra began assisting him; she developed a high respect for his skill and integrity. In one of his early maternity cases, Method examined the patient and told her his diagnosis, that nothing was imminent; then departed. Soon the mother expressed-some concern to Myra who had stayed behind. Myra' examination revealed the opposite of what Dr. Aiken had found. When convinced of something, Myra could be forceful; she located the doctor and convinced him that he should look again. He was astounded to discover she had been right. When he expressed perplexity at how it could have happened, she replied, "It's twins". He had never dealt with twins before. He told her, "Well, when you old women tell something like this, nine times out of ten you're right". Following a birth, a mother remained in bed fourteen days. Myra would attend the mother and baby twice a day during this period. Her fee for this service was ten dollars; sometimes paid with produce, sometimes not paid at all. When bathing or attending a baby Myra's method of handling them would sometimes make an onlooker uneasy. Myra pointed out, however, that she had never dropped one. After the infant was all bathed and clothed, Myra would cuddle it on her shoulder for a few minutes: caring for babies was work she enjoyed. Many times Myra would be called out in the middle of the night and would remain with the patient into the next day. It would then be Jesse's duty to get the children up, fed, and off to school, et cetera.
Alice Thurstone noted that both Dr. Aiken and Myra Lemmon could often diagnose a health problem just by looking at the person. Alice credits Myra with probably saving her oldest child's life. The baby was born two months premature and would not wake up on its own for the first few weeks. "Myra figured out how to get it awake long enough for feeding thus enabling it to survive until it overcame the problem. Roma Stout whose husband, Emerald, was Myra's nephew credits Myra for the good health of her babies and for saving the lives of many babies over the years. It is sad to consider that Myra was unable to save two of her own babies from dying. Myra was famous father salves, particularly her mixture of pine gum and turpentine; it had to be kneaded for a number of hours. In spite of the labor involved, Myra usually charged nothing for it. Another remedy reported by her daughter, Norene, was Columbia Healing Powder mixed with castor oil. With it, she successfully treated bedsores that her sister, Dora (Stout) had developed. She also used it to heal some severe burns on a young man's leg; he would come to her house each day for treatment. Norene remembers as a little girl having a severe ulcerating sore on her finger. It resisted all efforts to treat it until Myra dreamed that she mixed glycerin-and sulfur and upon applying it to the wound, instant healing occurred. The next morning she followed the recipe learned in the dream, applied it liberally to the wound then made a loose bandage from her standard bandage material: old thoroughly scrubbed bed sheets. Healing was rapid, although considerably slower than occurred in the dream. Myra reportedly had a number of dreams in which solutions to problems were given. A grandson, Jack Lemmon, reports that when, as a child, he got a sore throat, Myra would apply some turpentine to a small cloth then holding it with a finger, swab his throat with it; he remembers it as being effective, albeit unpleasant. The writer's father, J. Harvey Hall, had much more faith in Aunt Myra's medical prowess than he did in any doctor 's. He was a frequent patient of hers following an accident in which he was dragged by a horse that resulted in some of his scalp being scraped away. Lorraine Lemmon, wife of Ferra, reports that as time went on, Myra became as much a psychotherapist as a medical worker. She had strong empathy and the willingness to become engaged in another's problems. Norene remembers her mother as affectionate, comforting and caring. Her dad simply couldn't bring himself to show affection, but he expressed his love in other ways such as building an elaborate doll house for her when she was a child. While being described as "a worrier, who would fuss and stew about everything", Myra could also relax and enjoy herself. Roma Stout remembers the three sisters, Anne, Dora and Myra getting together on Sunday afternoons, "Three short plump pretty little ladies. They would sit in a circle facing each other chattering happily, frequently breaking into laughter." Later, the Lemmon's front lawn would be a Sunday afternoon gathering place, attracting various friends and relatives from around the town. Myra always enjoyed knitting and crocheting when she was not otherwise engaged. She had no musical or singing talents, which she deeply regretted. Her sister, Dora, was a skilled organist who was described as "South Ward organist for many years, her little short legs pumping mightily." Myra saw Dora as having a most precious "gift", while she, Myra, had none. To others, of course, Myra had an even greater gift, that of healing.
Jesse spent a number of years as a cook for various livestock operations and construction projects so Myra did much of the child raising by herself. Jesse had a hot-dog stand that he would set up at outdoor dances et cetera; Myra baked the buns. His call of "A loaf of bread, a pound of meat and all the mustard you can eat; just one thin dime." was known by everyone. Jesse had a legendary wit, and would no doubt be the center of attention whenever he was with a group. He did not take readily to religion and did not become converted until in his old age. Myra held a life-long commitment to the LDS Church although the frequent calls for assistance sometimes kept her from regular church attendance. Jack reports that while he was growing up, his grandmother made sure he understood the importance of the Gospel. In later years, Myra developed heart problems; she also survived a cancer operation. She loved cheese and would keep a round slab of it on a breadboard, cutting little slices off frequently throughout the day; a habit that helped her to gain more weight than was ideal. One morning in 1951, Jessie called for help; it was obvious Myra was not well. Lorraine and others came, but Myra said she just had gas and would be all right. They were all used to accepting Myra's diagnoses, but couldn't shake their concern. As a precaution, Lorraine set up her ironing board in Myra's bedroom and ironed during the day while Myra talked of her life. That night a granddaughter volunteered to stay at the house; she took Myra a drink about midnight. Myra had died by the time they looked in the next morning. Sources and dates of interviews:

Vera Tobler Ballard, Oct 5, 1992
Jack Lemmon, Sept 29, 1992
Lorraine Alexander Lemmon, Oct 9, 1992
Roma Wallace Stout, Jan 14, 1992
Alice Woodbury Thurstone, Sept 26, 1992
Norene Lemmon Yeagley, Feb 8, 1993

Myra Hall Lemmon (1872-1951) Autobiography

2008-07-29T15:40:00.000-07:00

On March 14, 1872 at Rockville, a tiny, round baby girl was born to John and Kezia, and was the eighth child to come to the young couple. She was christened Myra, and she tells her own story:

The house in which I was born was a large rock house, surrounded by giant, lofty mulberry trees and stately poplar trees. Along the path leading from the friendly swinging gate to the front door with the ever-welcome greeting were rows of red, red American Beauty roses. lf was a lovely old house wherein love and companionship did abide. Small as I was I immediately felt that love as I gradually became a permanent part of that household.

My childhood was a happy one as I was petted and pampered by my older brothers and sisters. I romped and frolicked in the warm summer air, finding every nook and crevice a new adventure to be explored. Rockville, my birthplace, was a lovely little community, and will long hold many happy memories for me.

As I grew older, my favorite amusements and sports were dancing, horseback riding and baseball. I became quite skilled in these particular pastimes because our recreation was somewhat limited. Nature furnished most of our entertainment because there were no supervised playground equipped with the necessary items to entertain us. The nearby hills and canyons and the old 'swimming’ hole were our favorite haunts. My special playmates and friends were Sarah Farns, Mae Petty, my sister, Adelia, and Densie Terry. Many were the happy occasions when we congregated for our secret sessions, as young girls often do, and our creative pastimes.

Our home was a happy and companionable place where each evening, at the close of the day, the entire family would gather to visit and discuss their respective problems and pleasures. My father and mother were both very religious. Their every act had as a basis, the principles of the Gospel. We, as younger members of the family, were taught from early childhood the importance of prayer. We were taught honor and respect for the Gospel as well as for our parents. My father was very strict concerning the holiness of the Sabbath Day. He would insist that the entire family study the scriptures all day Sunday and attend all the services. I think that one teaching and regulation kept our family closer together, because we learned to work as well as play together, and respect each others rights.

On one occasion while I was yet a young girl, my sister, Adelia, and I were across the river working in one of the potato patches. We were weeding the sweet potatoes when I suddenly felt something bit my toe. Not noticing what it was because of the thick foliage of the potato plants, I tried to kick the object away with my foot. When it persisted in clinging to my foot I then noticed that it was a large rattlesnake. I was frightened and immediately cried out to my sister to help me. She dashed over and beat the snake off with her hoe until it was dead. Young as we were we realized the necessity of speed in getting medical care for my foot, and we were quite a distance from our home.

Adelia was wearing her new bonnet, but without hesitation she tore it up and tied the strips around my leg to keep the poison from spreading. In my haste to mount our horse, I frightened the horse and she bucked me off. We finally succeeded in getting on our horse and then home. My mother sucked the poison out of my toe and doctored it to the best of her knowledge. I was very ill from the effects of the poisonous snake bite for quite sometime.

I was baptized on my eighth birthday on March 14, 1880 at Rockville, in the Virgin River. It was a chilly day in March for such procedure, nevertheless, it was a happy and memorable day for me. I was then confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints in the afternoon on the same day. I tried to realize the significance of my baptism and confirmation and I secretly vowed to live as I had been taught by my mother and father.

My schooling, like that of all young children living in Rockville in those early days, was very limited. There was a scarcity of classroom space and the necessary books. All the children met for class work in one large room in the old adobe schoolhouse. The building was built as a school and church house combined. Those early pioneers desired scholastic training for their children but because of the distance between Salt Lake City and the many outlying Mormon communities, suitable and necessary school books and equipment were hard to secure. Many of the youngsters had to work in the homes and the fields alongside their parents and older brothers and sisters as soon as they were old enough. Their school training was cut short for this reason as well as the lack of advanced texts. The children who were naturally more talented and skilled in the school studies were handicapped, as were those who had a tendency to be a trifle slow in learning, because of being grouped together in one large classroom with only one teacher to serve all ages and grades.

My teacher for all subjects was Henrietta Cox Stout. My studies consisted of arithmetic, reading, writing and grammar. I progressed far enough in my school studies to be able to write a picture story in grammar, which shown the extent of the average student's learning. Any further training and learning I obtained was through personal endeavors and practical experience secured during my advancing years. My parents urged study in the home as much as possible, but our home library was small and inadequate.

My associates during my younger days were Bob Slaughter, Alonzo Dalton, Walt Scott, Ben Farns, and Jesse Lemmon, the latter was one day to become my husband and life companion. As a group of young boys and girls, we had some happy times together. During my courtship with Jesse Lemmon, this particular group of young people met often to put on plays and dance as part of our recreation.

My father was a very strong willed man and he disapproved of my serious thoughts towards Jesse Lemmon. Whenever I would "date" Jesse, I had to wait until my father left the house before Jesse could come in and see me. Then our crowd would gather for an evening's entertainment. If the parents of any of the other young people left home for the evening, there we would all congregate and dance and sing.

When I was nineteen years old, Jesse Lemmon and I were married on January 24, 1891 at John Stout's home by Joseph A. Smith. Despite my father's objections, I was a very happy young girl on that particular day and I was determined nothing would mar the happiness I felt.

We made our home in Rockville and to us were born eight children. Our first three children died in infancy. Elvira died when only four days old, Eldonna, who died when one and one half years old and Claude died at the age of one year. The other five Maude, Arnold, Gerra, Elson and Norene have married and now have families of their own. At the present time (March 1949) 'Jesse and I have eight grand children and three great grand children.

We have had our sorrows and pleasures in our married life, but we feel that the deaths of our first three children were the only real tragedies to overshadow our home. If a person should ask us what comedy we had in our home, Jesse would more than likely reply: "Hmm, nothing funny happened after I was married." Nevertheless, there were happy and joyous times of which I have fond memories, We have some fine sons and daughters who have helped make our home a pleasant one.

When Eldon was but a small baby, I had to go to Salt Lake City to undergo a serious operation on my leg. I was required to stay quiet sometime for treatment and when I returned to our home in Rockville, my baby, Eldon, had almost forgotten me. It was not long, however, before my son recognized his mother's arms, into which he trustingly nestled. Even in sickness a mother's thoughts are with her family, especially if there be a baby there. So it hurt me to think that I had to be gone away from home so long that my baby forgot me.

My mother, Kezia, was the only midwife in the vicinity of Rockville for as long as I can remember. She willingly and faithfully assisted and cheered all who were despondent and sick. So my desire and knowledge for nursing came to me instinctively and naturally. Because of this natural knowledge I have always felt that I should never neglect any opportunities to serve and relieve the suffering of others. I never let myself get too tired to sit with those who needed comfort. The Lord blessed me with this particular talent and I have always felt that I should go whenever the call came. I liked to doctor and relieve the suffering of others. Because of my own illnesses in later years, I realized what a helping hand meant to one who was of ill health. A word of cheer, a warm handclasp always put courage into the heart of the most feverish patient.

When my sister, Adelia, was ill, just prior to her death, I felt the inefficiency of my medical knowledge. In later years I was urged by doctors and friends to take a course in nursing. We were living in Hurricane at the time of Adelia's sickness. She had had an operation for cancer. (While living at Rockville.) It was unsuccessful, as the technical knowledge concerning cancer was limited at that time. She was ill for quite sometime. Hurricane was just a newly organized community and telephone service had not been installed, so I had to ride horse back to LaVerkin, two miles away, to telephone the doctor in St. George for advice and instruction in behalf of Adelia. In this way, I was able to relieve the suffering of my sister. But when her child was born she died nineteen days later and was the first one to be buried in the new Hurricane Cemetery. At such times I fervently wished that I had had more training in nursing.

We moved to Hurricane soon after the first settlers moved there. Again 1, like the many other young wives and mothers, had to help my husband build a new home for us and our children. It was a new experience for me but I determined to make a success of our endeavors. Along in the fifties when President Brigham Young called colonists to settle Utah's Dixie country, some of these strong and faithful men and women found their way to what are now known as the upper settlements of the Virgin River. Both Hurricane and Rockville were just such settlements. New settlers kept coming, families were growing, until finding new land or moving out of the country were the only alternatives.

These people loved their families, their homes and their heritage, so new lands must be the answer. As early as 1863 4 a number of men began to explore for the purpose of finding new places for settlements, and surveys were made to determine the feasibility of getting water from the Virgin River onto what is now known as the Hurricane Flat. After much work and discussion, it was decided concerning the canal to carry water to valley It was not until after the canal was completed that families began to move to Hurricane with the purpose of building a home. Through necessity those early pioneers were able to accomplish what seemed to some as the impossible. We, like many other families, left our home in Rockville and willingly accepted the task of helping build another community. The influx of saints to the permanent home where we have lived and reared our children to maturity.

I attended church regularly all my life as my health would permit. The training I received from my parents was indelibly patterned on my live, so I served whenever the call came and I was well enough to do the work well. It was always a joy to work in such a way because I felt that I benefited even more than those who listened. On November 10, 1932 1 received my own endowments in the St. George Temple.

I have never done a great deal of traveling, but what I have done has been very enjoyable and profitable to me. While some of my children lived in California, I made several trips to Los Angeles. We also lived in Pocatello and Newhouse, Idaho and Monroe, Utah. Each time we made a new home, I was able to acquire new and lasting friends, so I am happy that I have had these experiences.

Alonzo Dalton (1867-1925)

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Alonzo Dalton was born at Virgin, Utah, November 14, 1867, the fourth child of John Dalton and Mary Ann Gardiol. At the time of his birth the Indians were still quite unfriendly and resentful toward the early Mormon settlers and at times went on the rampage against the pioneers. Because of the uncertainty of the times and fear for their lives and the lives of their children, John and Mary Ann lived in the fort at Virgin. Alonzo was born while the family was living in the fort.

Alonzo, being only a baby and young child, little realized the fear and anxiety experienced by his parents at the times the Indians ravaged and burned in their efforts to drive the white man out of what they considered their territory. So his young life was more or less sheltered and protected from such experiences.

His father owned a farm at Dalton's Wash, a few miles east from Virgin. The wash had been named for this father, John Dalton. Here the young Dalton boys loved to romp and play in the newly plowed ground and help their father in any possible way that little boys could assist.

Later his parents moved the family to Zion Canyon where his father, John, owned some property in the lower part of the canyon. Alonzo, at this time was older, and soon accepted his share of the family responsibilities. The children born to those sturdy energetic pioneers were of vigorous stock and had to learn to do the work of their elders while yet quite young. It was a fight for survival and existence and all hands were needed to build and harvest for the desperate times in winter.

Alonzo was just a young boy when he first started to ride their old white oxen to help his father and older brothers cultivate the corn, which was planted in Zion Canyon.

On one occasion, Alonzo went with his mother and elder brothers in a wagon to Rockville for supplies. On their return to their home in Zion, they stopped at Crank, a small settlement between Springdale and Northrup, to water their horses. When they had stopped they noticed a Mountain Lion standing a short distance away, intently watching them. Frightened as they were, Alonzo and his brother moved slowly and cautiously as they unhitched their horses from the wagon and led them down to the stream to drink. They knew that they must not make any suspicious or unnecessary motions, so the lion would not be excited to attack them. The lion seemed unconcerned and eventually moved silently off into the trees and undergrowth. There were many wild animals in evidence in the hills and mountains near the pioneer settlements and communities, and much caution had to be exercised by those who traveled alone between the small towns or rode the range with their flocks and herds.

The Dalton family moved to Rockville when the older children were of school age. Alonzo attended school until he reached about the fourth grade. The schoolhouse was a small adobe building, insufficient in size to accommodate all the children, as it should. There were no separate rooms to house the different grades so all the children, regardless of age, were congregated in one large room. There was much confusion as the teachers, in their effort to teach the children, tried to still the young voices during school hours. Books for the school were scarce so that most of the children were unable to advance only through the first few grades. The children who were naturally more talented and alert in certain school studies were handicapped as were those who had a tendency to be a trifle slow in learning because of being grouped together in one large classroom.

Alonzo was one of those unfortunate children who was deprived of complete schooling. His advanced knowledge was acquired through practical experience. He showed brilliant talent in arithmetic during his short school term. In later years, with out further training, he became very efficient in blue print reading as he worked at the trade of a carpenter.

Alonzo's father was about fifty six years old when he married Mary Ann Gardiol, so he was on old man when his children were growing up. Alonzo was compelled to leave school to help his mother with the farm work, as his father was to old to carry on efficiently with the extremely hard pioneer life. Because of this reason beside the lack of sufficient advanced tests, Alonzo was denied that early training and the joy and happiness which comes to children during their school days. There was not a great deal of time left over after the chores were finished for marbles, basketball and baseball or any of the other traditional school sports and activities.

While his father rode the range, Alonzo remained at home to take care of his mother and the farm. Alonzo, with some of his best pals, Bob Slaughter, Dave Terry and Jesse Lemmon, managed to invent their share of mischief and nuisance. One of their favorite games was "Fox and Geese". He also lived with his half brother, Edward, who lived in Parowan. To be allowed to go away from home alone was quite an experience for him. Edward was the son of the first wife of John Dalton and Alonzo was the son through the last wife, so Edward was old enough to be his own father.

As Alonzo grew older he began to show his musical talent. He was a beautiful whistler, and in later years after he had married, he and his wife would whistle and sing in duet. He owned the first guitar in Rockville and learned to play both the guitar and the organ without any instruction. He always played at the dances held in the community, either the quitar or the organ. He loved music and he thoroughly enjoyed playing and singing.

When he was twenty two years old, Alonzo approached the girl of his dreams and asked her to be his bride. She said "Yes", so on September 17, 1888, he and Adelia were married in Rockville. It was a happy day for them both. Adelia, pretty as a picture in her new dress, saved for this special occasion and Alonzo, handsome in his new trousers and boots. They had known each other from childhood and had spent many happy times together.

They made their home in Rockville and their first child was born December 12, 1889. The son was blessed and named Edwin. Two, more sons were born to the young couple, and then a daughter came, namely: Harvey, born on November 2, 1891; Calvin,born on December 6, 1893, and Marguerite, born on January 11, 1895.

Rockville was still much of a pioneer community. Work was both hard and inconvenient in the home and in the field, even though the Saints were beginning to feel the affects of the outside world in certain respects, especially in dress and travel. Utah did not long remain a territory in the wilderness. The gold rush in California brought money and travelers into Salt Lake City. The; building of the railroad meant progress, economically, but it also brought vice and temptation to the valiant pioneers.

Even in far away Rockville, the Saints were being tried. To many, the grass seemed greener on the other side of the fence. Many problems came to the parents even in the most remote communities. It took a heap of righteous living to overcome the problems.

Alonzo and his family were of the faithful who spurned the call to brighter land marks where they might gain material wealth. They had volunteered through their parents to develop and build and if possible, gain their wealth through honest, hard work. Rockville became a haven for such plans and dreams.

Alonzo and his father continued to farm together at Rockville. He also worked as a carpenter and helped build many of the new homes and barns there. He also became skilled in making molasses barrels and staves. The barrels were made of pine lumber brought down from Zion ledges. The boards were carefully planned, tongue and grooved by hand then bound by thongs of black willow. They measured about eighteen inches in diameter at the bottom and fifteen inches at the top and stood two to three feet high. At completion, the barrels were charred inside to prevent the molasses or whatever else was to be stored in them from tasting of pitch.

Later he worked in the northern part of the state on the telephone lines, being installed throughout the state.

Several times Alonzo took his family and went to Hinckley to live. He was suffering with Bright's Disease and had been told that the water at Deseret would be good for him. Their fifth child, a son, Orin, was born on May 8, 1898 during one of the stays at Hinckley.

Two more children were born to Alonzo and Adelia while they were living at Rockville. LeVern, born on August 7, 1900 and Lucien, born on January 21, 1903, but who died in infancy. The eighth child Lyndon, was born on April 8, 1905 while the family was on its way to Long Valley. Before Alonzo and Adelia reached their destination the tiny son arrived and was born unattended at Kanebeds, Utah. The baby was sick from birth and never was very strong even to his death six years later after the family was living in Hurricane.

Soon after their daughter, LaVern, was born in 1900, Alonzo borrowed John Terry's old white top buggy and took Adelia to St. George where they were sealed in the temple.

There were many happy occasions at the Dalton home. Mother and father loved to perform together and the children, both theirs and the neighbor's children, enjoyed the musical interludes. Sundays were rare occasions for them, especially during the summer, as there were always baskets of cantaloupes and watermelons for everyone to eat.

In 1907, Alonzo moved his family to Hurricane, where new and young blood was needed to build and develop the settlement. He and his wife were happy at the prospects of a new home and busied themselves with plans for the future.

However, their happiness was short lived. Nineteen days after their daughter, Adelia Arvilla, was born, January 11, 1908, Adelia died. She was the first one to be buried in the new Hurricane Cemetery. Prior to her confinement with her baby, Adelia had an operation for cancer. It apparently was unsuccessful in that the entire infection had not been removed. Her death brought much sorrow to the family and friends, as she was but a young woman, and she left a young family. She and Alonzo had plans for a new home, but the building of it had not been started. Alonzo did finish the home later.

He did a great deal of carpenter work in Hurricane. He helped build nearly all the buildings there. He was working on the first school house to be built there at the time of his wife's death. Adelia urged him to continue with his work so that children would soon have a building in which to attend school.

With the passing of his young wife, all the sunshine seemed to go out of his life. He never sang again after her death. He was always sad; no one could get him to entertain with his music again. He had had so many plans for his wife and children, so without her he could not adjust himself to a life alone. His children were the only threads from the past. He worked hard trying to be both a father and mother to them. His one desire was to keep them together and teach them as he thought Adelia would have. It was hard for him to continue with his work and mind the tiny children. Kind friends assisted by caring for the tiny baby, but he would take the little sick boy, Lyndon, with him on the job and care for him as best he could until school hours were over when the older children would take him. In the home, he disciplined his children with patience and love. They performed their chores without murmur, because they seemed to understand their father's feelings.

He worked hard and tirelessly in effort to sustain his family. One son, Calvin was kept in school for quite a long time. Another son, Harvey, was sent to the Southern States Mission, and another, Edwin, went to the Eastern States Mission. Both made their father proud by the work they did while laboring as missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints.

Alonzo was very religious and had been quite active in the Church while living in Rockville. Then after the death of his wife, he did attend church services but was never active again. He lived a good life and taught his children the fundamental principles of the Gospel.

After his children were all grown and able to take care of themselves, Alonzo married the second time. He married a widow with three children by the name of Becky McConnel. He realized his mistake soon after they were married. He tried to make a success of it and was always good to his wife, but soon had the marriage annulled.

He then lived alone except for his youngest daughter, Arva, who was still quite young. He sold the big home (now the Hirschi home) and bought another home up the lane from the first home. He had plans to build again but never fulfilled his plans. He did not seem to have the heart to build without his companion.

When Arva was seventeen years old, he became ill and was afflicted most of the winter. He was never sick enough to go to bed; his body just seemed to be worn out. During his life he had not been ill very much and at the time of his death he had all of his teeth except one. He thought he was just coming down with the flu, so did not worry much, but it developed into pleurisy pneumonia. He died within four days on January 25, 1925.

He will long be remembered by his descendants for the good man he was. He was highly respected and esteemed by all who knew him. Those who had business dealings with him knew him to be an honest man and a "square shooter". Even though his measure as a father by rearing a family of fine sons and daughters. He passed away after a job "well done".

Adelia Hall (1870-1908)

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The seventh child born to John Charles and Kezia was a bouncing baby girl. She was born on January 28, 1870 at their home in Rockville. She was a pretty baby with lots of dark hair and big blue eyes, and naturally enough, brought much joy to her parents, even with the dirty diapers and formulas. When she was given the name of Adelia and a father's blessing, she became a definite personality. Her childhood was a happy one as are the first years of most little children. There were no supervised play grounds equipped with swings, slides, merry go rounds and teeter totters, so the nearby grove of trees and the river bed substituted as a recreation center for those growing pioneer children in southern Utah. Many were the skinned knees and bumped noses and "cops and robbers" and "Indian" reached a pinnacle in the afternoon play.

Rockville, then a thriving community, was quite naturally the "only community of consequence" to the youth of that day. Along the main street a double row of mulberry trees were planted by the first families who settled there. Every means of self support was employed by those first energetic and faithful pioneers who came to Rockville. Some of the settlers were of French and Italian ancestry and had brought with them their knowledge of a trade from the 'old country', so it was that immediately on settlement in Rockville the mulberry trees were planted and nurtured to maturity for the purpose of silkworm culture. To the children, however, the huge mulberry trees meant only quiet, cool shade from the warm afternoon sunshine. Their worries were minor, a broken doll head or a lost wagon wheel. Little did they realize the struggle of their parents to develop sufficiently to clothe and feed their young ones.

Adelia's father, John Charles, was one of the many men who contributed to the small community of Rockville by his trade. He worked hard and faithfully for the beauty and securement of his home and land. His home was a happy, inviting place for Adelia and her brothers and sisters. He was a strict man in regards to the Gospel and insisted that the entire family faithfully attend all Sunday services and read the scriptures all day that they might keep the Sabbath Day. So it was natural enough for Adelia to have a deep respect and love for her parents and her Church.

On her birthday, when Adelia was eight years old, on January 28, 1878, she was baptized and confirmed a member of the Church of. Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints. Though her sojourn in this earth was to be cut short, great were Adelia's blessings from that day forward. The fundamental Christian virtues so outstanding in the Character of Adelia, such as honesty, humility and loyalty to God, were instilled in her by her mother as a child at her knee and her teachings she never forgot. She was always active, both in a church and community capacity and always responded cheerfully to any call made of her: She was very religious and was a respected and likeable leader among her girl friends. She possessed a lively interest and concern for all her friends and neighbors. She endeared herself to all who knew her.

She could play the guitar, harmonica, and org an, the latter she played in all church services. She was a beautiful alto singer and was always the outstanding alto in the church choir. Her talents came naturally and needed no training. After she married, Adelia and her husband, Alonzo, would entertain in most all the gatherings and programs given in their community. Her husband could play the same instruments and often they would play them together, or Alonzo" would play the quitar and whistle while Adelia sang alto.

Parades were the delight of Adelia Hall. She had many talents and loved to perform in parades and such activities to make a success of any undertaking for the benefit of the church or community. Her hometown was a small settlement where everyone knew and helped their neighbor. Hardships and trials kept these small groups working and playing together, so that the entire community found happiness in their associations.

Whenever there was sickness, a neighbor would lend assistance and share the necessities of life with those in need. Likewise, whenever there was any enjoyment, it was shared by all who desired to mingle in song and entertainment. Adelia was one who could bring happiness and pleasure to her friends and neighbors by her radiant personality and willingness to participate in all activities. Because she was a beautiful alto singer and loved to dance, her young life was filled with song and happiness.

She was a champion swimmer and horse back riding was another of her favorite hobbies and talents. She could handle a team of horses like a man, and she was continually being noticed and complimented because of the way she had with horses.

On one occasion, when Adelia was a grown young woman, a very dear friend of hers was getting married. Circumstances had made it impossible for the young friend to have a new dress for the most important occasion in her life, her marriage. Adelia, sensing the disappointment of her friend, unhesitatingly insisted the girl wear a frilly, new dress which she, herself, had not worn. It was the dress Adelia had been keeping for the special event in her own life, her marriage, but she received happiness and satisfaction in knowing she had brightened the wedding day of her best girl friend just a little bit more by her unselfish gesture.

To Adelia, as to every young girl, marriage was the primary thought. So, when she married Alonzo Dalton on September 17, 1889 at Rockville, she was but nineteen years old, her happiness seemed complete. As she stood beside Alonzo wearing that same special dress, and murmured "I do", she was a very excited and proud girl. The fact that her dress had adorned another young bride in no way dampened the ecstatic happiness of Adelia as she became the wife and companion of Alonzo Dalton.

During her entire young life, Adelia had harkened to the example and teachings of her father and mother, who had taught their children to work and play together unselfishly. So when Adelia had loaned her dress to her girl friend, she had done so not with any sense of duty, but because she actually wanted to do it. Sincere pleasure had come to her in doing so.

Hardships and trials seemed to find their way into the lives of those hardworking and joyous young people. That is one reason why the joys of life seemed so good to Adelia and her young husband. They were blessed with nine children, most of whom were born in Rockville. One of their children, Lyndon Hyrum, was born as the family was on their way to Long Valley, so their son was born unattended at Kanebeds, Utah. This little son was afflicted with ill health until he died about six years later.

During the time they were living at Rockville, one of Adelia's friends died and left an infant son, besides other children who were older. One of the children's grandparents took care of the older children, but she was too old to take the infant son, so Adelia offered to take the baby and care for it until the father, Danny Hirschi, could find a home for it. Adelia and Alonzo kept the tiny baby for one year and came to love it as they did their own children. All who knew her loved her for her kindness and generosity. She was never too busy to help anyone who was in need of anything, both material and spiritual.

In 1907, the family moved to Hurricane. They were among the first families to move into the Valley, which was a desolate looking lake flat covered with nothing but chaparral and sagebrush,. The settlement and building of this community, like many other communities, was successful. for out of the wilderness of sagebrush and other semi desert plants arose the beautiful little city of Hurricane, a monument to the industry and loyalty of those courageous pioneers. Beauty and peace for the tired souls, and aching bodies after a difficult day of toil was to be found in that little valley nestled at the foot of a giant volcanic fault. In the evening after a busy day in the fields or in the tiny homes which dotted the valley, as the moon appeared over the "Hurricane Fault" and shone brightly on the sagebrush! and chaparral, rest came quickly to those who stopped to see the beauty put there by their Creator.

Desert in the moonlight gave food for thought to the worn and weary pioneers who determined to build a future in that lonely valley.

As new areas were set apart for settlement, saints were called to move on and others went of their own accord to help further the growth and spread of the Church. So it was that Alonzo and his family found themselves building a new home in the Hurricane Valley. Plans were immediately made for their new endeavor, and Adelia, who loved flowers and trees, promptly planted a little cottonwood tree on the ditch bank near her home. She protected and cared for the tree and it grew to be the largest tree in Hurricane. It became a beloved landmark and gathering place for all the children in the neighborhood.

For the pioneers, whenever they moved to build a new community, their church was one of the first tasks to be taken care of, so plans were immediately started for a new church in Hurricane. Before a building dedicated to the purpose of housing all church activities was built, Sunday School was held in someone's home during the winter months and in the brewery in the summer, Adelia had been asked to be the Relief Society president and had accepted, but she passed away before the Relief Society was ever organized. Before leaving Rockville, she had served as first counselor in the Mutual Improvement Association about the time she married. She also had been one of the Primary officers while living in Rockville. Because of the religious training she had received during her childhood, Adelia had a firm testimony of the Gospel and was ever a willing servant in the work of the Lord.

On January 11, 1908, about one year after their arrival in Hurricane, their nineth child, Adelia Arvillea, was born to Adelia
and Alonzo Dalton. There was much joy and excitement in the Dalton household at the arrival of the new baby. But the happiness of the family was short lived for nineteen days later Adelia died. The furneral for Adelia was held in the brewery located next to the schoolhouse, which at that time was not completely built.

Her life on this earth was cut short because she had a greater and more important work to do further along in the great plan of progression. Adelia was the first to be buried in the new cemetery at Hurricane. At her passing the family was deprived of, not only a good and kind wife and mother, but a friend whose heart was ever right and whose actions were always in harmony with the dictates of a correct conscience. Just before she died she instinctively thought of her family. She urged her husband to remain at work on the school building in order that the children would soon go to school in it.

So befitting of Adelia, her sparkling personality, and her willingness to serve, are these beautiful lines in rhyme:

My life is but a weaving between my Lord and me,
I cannot choose the colors He worketh steadily.
Oftimes He weaveth sorrow and I, in foolish pride
Forget He sees the upper and I the underside.
Not till the loom is silent and the shuttles cease to fly
Shall God unroll the canvas and explain the reason why.
The dark threads are as needful in the weaver's skillful hand
As threads of gold and silver in the pattern He has planned.
He knows, He loves, He cares! Nothing this truth can dim.
He gives the very best to those who leave the choice to Him.

John Henry Fisk Stout (1863-1933)

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John Henry Fisk Stout was born in Harrisburg, Washington County, Utah on May 18, 1863, a son of Allen Joseph Stout and Amanda Melvina Fisk,

The ancestry of John Henry takes us back to colonial times in New Jersey. The first Stout to arrive in America was Richard Stout of Nottingham, England who came in 1642. There are some very interesting incidents which show the courage and fortitude of this Stout family.

Richard was born in Nottingham, England in about the year 1602. When he reached the age when he began to think of love and marriage he disappointed his insistent father, who wanted Richard to marry within his class and station, and fell in love with a young maid who was beneath him in station. There ensued a serious argument and Richard, in a moment of anger, left his father's home and joined the English Navy. He served seven years and received his discharge at the time his ship was docked at New Amsterdam.

In this pioneer town Richard met Penelope Van Prince, a widow about twenty three years old. This noble woman had passed through many struggles and even death several times during her efforts to reach America. The ship which was bringing Penelope and her husband to America was wrecked off Sandy Hook, New Jersey. Her husband had been quite ill during the voyage and was seriously injured in the attempt to reach land. The ships passengers feared an attack by the Indians, so they decided to travel immediately to New Amsterdam. Penelope's husband was in no condition to travel, so the two young people were left behind. Shortly after they were left alone, a large party of Indians found and attacked them. Though Penelope and her husband were left for dead, she survived. She suffered with a fractured skull, her left shoulder which was hacked so severely that she was never able to use that arm as she did the other, and a cut across the abdomen which left bare part of her bowels; these she held in place with her hand. She suffered in this painful condition for seven days at which she was approached by two Indians. She felt relief for she thought they would kill her and put her out of her misery. However, the older of the two stayed the hand of the younger man who intended to kill Penelope, and took her to his wigwam where he cared for her until she was well. He then took her to New Amsterdam where he gave her to the white settlers expecting ten times her value in return.

Richard and Penelope met and were married in 1644. To them were born ten children. Penelope lived to see 502 of her descendants before she died at the age of 110. In 1648, Penelope and Richard moved from New Amsterdam and settled in Middletown in New Jersey. From this time henceforth, Middletown became the capital for the Stout family in America.

Another bit of interesting history concerns John Henry's father, Allen Joseph. While acting as a body guard to the Prophet Joseph Smith, Allen Joseph one day was walking along a country road with the Prophet. As they approached a fork in the road they noticed a man coming along the other road. The Prophet stopped and told Allen Joseph to wait while he talked with the stranger.

Allen Joseph regretted afterwards that he had allowed the Prophet to meet the stranger unattended, but Joseph Smith calmed his fears by stating: "I was in no danger from harm; that was John, the Revelator to whom I spoke."

As a boy, John Henry had very poor health. As a consequence, when he finally started attending school, he went with children much younger than himself. His brother's wife, Retta Stout, was his teacher. She was an excellent teacher and assisted John in his studies that he might progress rapidly. By spring, he finished with honors in the highest class in school.

John was eighteen years of age on May 18, 1881. That year proved to be full of interesting experiences for him. It was when he was about this age which he long remembered and told often to his children and grand children. He was on the mountain at Crystal Springs in the spring of the year. He had noticed tracks of a large bear and some cubs.

One day he picked up some fresh tracks and followed then to a small flat. As he looked across the clearing he could see the willows waving back and forth by some unknown disturbance. Then the old bear came into view about 50 feet away from John. She had hid her babies in the willows and was definitely coming for him.

John was carrying a hand loading, single shot rifle and knew he would have time for only one shot at the bear. So he waited until the bear was very close to him (about 10 feet) before he shot and killed the bear, which fell right at his feet.
While John had waited for the ferocious looking bear to approach him, he had stood in the same spot, not moving except to nervously work his feet up and down in the soft earth until they were planted deep into the soil. His foot imprints had gone so deep that they were visible one year later. The flat is now known as "Planters Flat" from that incident.

Later John and his brother, Alfred, had another harrowing experience with a large grizzly bear. They trailed it for quite a distance and knew they were close behind it. Whenever the bear came to a spring of water, it would cool off in the water. John and Alfred would follow close behind. At the edge of the patch of willows which surrounded the spring, the two would separate, one going around one direction and the other going the opposite direction. On the other side of the spring John and Alfred would again join forces and pick up the bear tracks.

When they finally caught up with the bear they approached another clump of willows where they thought the bear was. As before, the two men separated, going around the patch in opposite directions. They had not gone far when Alfred saw the bear, and called to John, "Here he is and he is coming at me!" John hurried to answer his brother's call. As he reached Alfred's side they both shot at the bear instantaneously. The bear rolled and came up on its feet beside Alfred, who was knocked off his feet under a clump of willows. The bear then went in after Alfred and tried to take hold of him in the stomach. Alfred put his boot in the bear's mouth to prevent it from reaching his body. The bear made another try and got Alfred's knee and dragged him out of the willows and shook him like a dog would a rag doll. While this was taking place, John was trying to shoot the bear, but feared he might hit his brother, so he kept hesitating, waiting for the proper moment. When it came and John could shoot the bear in the side, John shot five times. The bear, angered by the newly inflicted wounds, tried to drop Alfred and reach John, but it's teeth seemed to be caught in Alfred's knee. Finally it reared up on it's hind feet, dropped Alfred and turned toward John, who took the opportunity and shot the bear through the hand. The enormous bear weighed 900 pounds and was quite a prize for the two. However, it was a prize of which Alfred was forever reminded for he was crippled in one leg all during his life.

When John was twenty three years of age he married Anne Selina Hall, a young, pretty girl from his home town, Rockville. They were married on March 5, 1886 in the St. George Temple. Anne Selina was the daughter of John Charles and Kezia DeGrey Hall. Their marriage, throughout the many years to follow, was a successful and happy one despite the many trials and hardships. They were always happy in each others company and their family. To them were born ten children, namely: Walter Henry, born January 15, 1887 in Rockville; married Mary Workman September 11, 1911. Ivie Anna, born July 13, 1890; married William Wilson, December 16, 1913; died November 24, 1940. Elsie, born July 13, 1892 at Mt. Trumbull, Arizona; married Erwin Wood, May 20, 1914. Elna, born September 22, 1894; married Rodney Elmer Gibson, October 3, 1917 in Salt Lake Temple. Lila Carclon, born June 12, 1898; died March 20, 1921. Vercla, born March 3, 1900 in Orderville; married Samuel 0. Wright April 14, 1921. Leland, born September 26, 1903; married Lydia Knight Young June 19, 1929. Emerald Erwin, born July 15, 1905; married Roma Wallace April 18, 1930. Chester LeVon, born January 5, 1908; married Pearl Brown May 25, 1932.

He built his whole life around his noble wife. He taught his children to honor and respect their mother and to save her as much work and worry as possible, for he said, "You can look the world over and you would never find another like her. I can do all I am able to do for you, but you would be deprived of one of the very best mothers who ever lived."

All his life John was a sawmill man. He had his own sawmill at Long Valley in Kane County. Each summer he took his family on the mountain where they enjoyed the pleasures there. He reared a large family by selling lumber at 110.00 per thousand. Besides the regular work at the sawmill, John always found time for his favorite sport. He loved to fish and during the summer there were not many week ends that he did not go fishing on Swan's Creek. He liked animals. He rode a large horse and always had a dog.

John was an athletic type of man. He was always very active. He was over six feet tall and well built. In the prime of his life he weighed about 222 pounds and he was not fat, so in appearance he was a handsome man, with his black hair and hazel blue eyes. On one occasion, (to illustrate his activeness) John and Alenzo Dalton ran a race. Alenzo, who was very swift on foot, was to lie down at the beginning of the race and run 100 yards. John was to carry on his back Frank Petty, who was a large man of about 200 pounds, and run 50 yards. The race was entertainment for a large group, and when John won the race with his handicap, there was a rousing big cheer among the onlookers.

John was never one to preach his religion. He attended to his church duties faithfully until his health would not permit. He worked in the temple for many years until because of his health, he was compelled to discontinue. He filled a mission to the central states after he and Anne Selina had had children. She remained at home, took care of the children and home and worked hard to send means to keep John in the mission field.

After John received his patriarchal blessing from Heber Meeks, Sr., he seemed so full of his testimony that he could not stop from marveling at the mercy's and forgiveness of God. He held the office of High Priest. He was active as a teacher in Sunday School and especially enjoyed his work with the second intermediate group because he liked children.

At one time when John took a load of molasses to Salt Lake, he was unable to sell any of it. His brother, David, and David's son, Wayne took the molasses and sold it for John. David then used the money he received in the sale in doing temple work. He always gave John the credit for the work done.

John was a good neighbor and friend to those who lived near him. His hearty laugh was spontaneous. He seemed to enjoy life so much as he was always happy and jovial even in spite of tragedy. When he was blown down in a heavy windstorm, he made a joke of it. He looked on the bright side of everything.

Even after his death on September 15, 1933, people, whenever his name was mentioned, seemed to remember John for his hearty laugh and his enjoyment of good clean fun. He was active in every activity in the community, such as Peach Day, which meant fun and entertainment. He had strong convictions for truth and right; he was an honest man in every action. These outstanding characteristics make John Henry Fisk Stout a man to be remembered.

Anne Selina Hall (1866-1931)

2008-07-29T15:33:00.000-07:00

Another daughter, Anne Selina, was born to John and Kezia on April 2, 1866 at Rockville. She was Christened and given a fathers blessing and became the fifth child born to them.

Because Anne Selina's parents had answered a fervent call from the Lord through his servants, she, too, was blessed. For it was a blessing regardless of the toil and hardships, in that she was born and reared in a small town, where everyone loved and helped their neighbors. Her childhood was very much the same as the average child born during those early days in Dixie. Since the town of Rockville was but a few years old, the hills and ravines were still wild and unexplored. The young children found each day a new adventure as they romped and played on and about the red sand stone rocks that dotted the hillsides near their homes. No day was lacking for something different and exciting to do and see. And too, the town was but a few miles from the beautiful, cool Zion Park Canyon. The canyon was dotted with small farms, but there could always be found a suitable spot for a picnic and outing.

When Anne Selina was about two years old she fell into a huge water barrel. An elder half sister, Charlotte Marie, happened to be near when the accident occurred and quickly pulled Anne Selina out of the water and applied first aid. The prompt action of Charlotte saved Anne from drowning. She was such an active child but thereafter she was very cautious about climbing near the water barrel.

On another occasion when Anne was a number of years older, a group of boys and girls were playing tag. During the riotous playing, one of the boys accidentally hit Anne with his bat and dislocated her right thumb. Since there were no doctors in the vicinity of Rockville, the injured thumb was supposedly put back in place by the parents and neighbors, who did it to the best of their knowledge. As the thumb healed, one could see that it had been improperly set. Consequently, Anne was handicapped the rest of her life because of a certain amount of stiffness in her right thumb. She could not knit or crochet so that she was deprived of many happy hours spent with her young friends in that creative art and pastime.

Anne's father was very talented in music although he had never had any instructive training. He loved to have music in his home whenever possible. The Saints, as they Crossed the plains, had found peace and refreshment to their tired souls and aching bodies through their songs of thanksgiving and praise, sung each night after camp had been made and preparations for the night had been accomplished. From experience, Anne's father knew that there must be more than the sweat of the brow to make his own life a happy and complete one. So while the Hall family was still living in a dugout, he bought an organ. It was the first one to be brought to Rockville. Naturally, the family was proud and thrilled over such a distinction. All the children in the family were given the opportunity to take lessons on the organ. Because of Anne Selina's injured thumb she could not successfully learn the art of playing the organ. As her brothers and sisters were given their music lessons by their father during the spare moments at noon and then in the evening, Anne would sit
sadly by, watching the success of the others, knowing she could never develop her own musical ,talent. However, she was gifted with a distinctive talent. She was a beautiful soprano and was able to supplant her desire to learn to play the organ with her singing. It gave her great pleasure to sing
for others, and in later years, her family.

The amusements and recreation for the young people living in those pioneer towns were rather limited. Both the girls and the boys learned to expertly ride horses and swim. Trips on horse back through the hills and lowlands provided many happy and carefree hours for the sons and daughters of the faithful. Of course, there were the regular dances in the bowery or at a neighbor's home. Pretty girls, with ribboned braids and curls bobbing, tripped and danced in and out of the arms of the rugged, but handsome young men. The recreation of both young and old was more or less prompted by the Church. In the respective auxiliaries were planned sports and activities that took care of any spare time after the setting of the sun on a day's work done.

School days for Anne Selina were crowded and very limited in number. Because of inadequate classroom space and texts of learning, many of those pioneer children advanced through only the first few grades of school. The large adobe building which served as both a church and schoolhouse, supplied one large room where children of mixed ages congregated in an effort to the fundamentals of "readin', writin',n rithmatic". Curtains were hung with ropes to separate one class or group age from the others. The boys in their moments of mischief making, which were many, made slits in the curtains so they could peer into the other classes and annoy the students and teachers. The handicaps in the form of insufficient number of books, lack of funds to build larger and better schools and the absence of skilled teacher, only seemed to make the ambitious and progressive students strive more diligently for knowledge. Parents who had brought treasured books from their former homes in the eastern section of the United States or even from the 'old country' taught their children the best they could. Those books became torn and tattered by the time the last child of the family had found a sanctuary in words. From the very beginning of the church, Joseph Smith had emphasized the necessity of increased knowledge. The Saints were continually taught the same doctrine by their other leaders after the death of their beloved Prophet, so at every opportunity they would seek after new learning. They realized that the success of their homes, church and cities depended to a large extent on their technical know how.

In 1886, Anne Selina, who was twenty years of age, married the young man of her choice, John H. Stout. They were married in the St. George Temple and on that day embarked on a new sea of adventure. They had known each other most of their lives, but little realized that one-day they would become man and wife. It was a happy day for Anne as she stood, dressed in her prettiest dress, beside John and quietly murmured "I do". No one could have been happier, she thought!

At first, the young couple made their home at Rockville, where life took on a marked distinctiveness and calmness as the babies began to make their appearance into the home of John and Anne. Days were busy and complete as Anne tended her children and prepared food and clothing for her young husband.

Later Anne Selina and John went to Mt. Trumbull, Arizona, where they spent part of their early life, living and working at the sawmill there. It was exciting to be in the cool mountains where a long hard day's work was tempered by hikes and picnics in the freshness of the tall pines and nimble Quaking Asp trees. Their fourth child, Elsie, was born while they were still at Mt. Trumbull, on the 13th of July 1892. Her arrival came on the birthday of her older sister, Ivie, who was two years old at the time. The fact that they were all alone and that the nearest community was St. George, sixty eight miles away, did not mar the excitement at the arrival of the new baby.

When their fifth child was but nine months old, John was called to leave his family and go to Illinois on a two year mission. It could have been a sad, disappointing assignment for both John and Anne, but they were happy at the opportunity to serve their Lord. John in the mission field teaching others who were waiting for the Gospel and Anne, in her home as the faithful wife and mother, saving and preparing for her husband's return after the completion of his mission.

While John was in Illinois for two years, Anne cared for their five young children and provided for her missionary husband. All the money she received was sent to John. She never spent even a five-cent piece for her self and her family. Through her ingenuity, Anne managed her home and her children on the products of the earth. She took in washing to further assist them. Her mother boarded some salesmen or “drummers" as they were called, and Anne did their washing for them. Her hands became so rough and hardened during the period when she worked for the welfare of her husband and her family.

After two years of struggle, John was welcomed home by his wife, Anne Selina, and their five children. The past hardships were soon forgotten in the joyous homecoming. Together, Anne and her husband set about making plans for the future. They took their family and moved to Long Valley in Kane County, where they bought a sawmill and several hundred acres of timberland.

Their funds had been depleted during the two years John was on his mission, so it was rather difficult to start out anew. The young couple had only their combined determination that they would succeed to keep them from becoming discouraged. Before the sawmill began to pay off, they operated a dairy to raise funds to sustain themselves and their family while they were paying off the debt on the mill. Anne learned to make cheese and butter and was soon considered the best cheese and butter maker in that section of the country. They worked hard and diligently and soon began to see fruits of their labors.

Anne found pleasure in her family and home. Nearly every day she would take darning and mending down to the mill near the close of the working day. There she would sit and work and enjoy the hum of the mill and activity of the mill hands at work. She seemed to relax and forget her household chores as she watched with anticipation, the progress of "their" saw mill. It was always amazing to her to witness the quick change of the tall, stately timber into the long, smooth strips of lumber. To Anne, the lumber meant further growth and development, either in the form of a new home for a friend or neighbor or a new school house or another saw mill.

The Lord had blessed her with a fine, upright husband and ten lovable children, five boys and five girls. Anne and her husband had experienced very little friction during their married life, Every problem had a way of solution without conflict and argument between them. They were kind and thoughtful with each other. At the end of each meal, one would wait for the other, regardless of which finished eating first and then, arm in arm, Anne and John would go to the living room for a moment of relaxation before the dishes were washed and dried and stacked away. To many, such thoughtfulness and evidence of love and devotion would have seemed unnecessary, but just such gestures had endeared these two people to each other. They would work and play more amiable together because of those endearing moments.

Religion had always been the upper most thought in Anne and John's life as they trained their children. Family prayer was a strict and honored ritual each day in the Stout household. Their children were taught to honor and respect their elders and most of all, their religion. Regardless of her large family and the work involved in the rearing of such a family, Anne Selina always managed to attend Sunday School with all her children. The girls with ribboned braids and the boys with clean scrubbed faces clustered around her. The arrival of a new baby in the family was really the only thing which kept her from going to Sunday School and taking her family. Anne attended church regularly whenever the opportunity permitted, but because so much of her life was spent on the mountain at their sawmill, she was deprived of many calls to serve. She did work in the church whenever she was called to do so. At one time she was chosen second counselor in the Primary, which was her favorite auxiliary as she loved children and was happy in her work with them.

John loved to, fish. He always planned his trips and everything possible around Anne, Although she did not particularly like to go fishing. John planned to buy a trailer house, which were new conveniences in those days, with which to make their trips and outings more pleasurable. Anne Selina was reluctant to go on all his planned fishing trips as she loved her home and felt peace and contentment just being in her home with her family. Anne loved her husband and children dearly and enjoyed complete happiness in their companionship. She worked hard to make their home a peaceful and happy one where her children enjoyed spending their time. Whenever she saw anything beautiful or inspiring, Anne experienced more complete pleasure if she knew her whole family was there to enjoy the same things with her. But if one member of the family happened to be absent on such occasions, Anne would fret and wish earnestly that all her family and loved ones could participate in such enjoyment.

In 1931, she had an operation for goiter. In those days full attainment of knowledge in regards to the goiter had not been achieved. Her operation was quite a serious one of its kind. After the operation, however, Anne felt well and very cheerful. She even told her husband that now they could take that fishing trip which he had planned for her, but two days later she died.

On October 8, 1931, at the mild age of sixty five, Anne Selina Hall Stout passed from this life knowing that she had served well and was prepared for her calling beyond the veil. She was a kind, generous woman, both as a friend and as a mother. She was loved and highly respected by all who knew her. She was a friend to those in need or in sorrow because she always had a helping hand extended to those who needed care and a cheerful word to all who needed encouragement. She, like most pioneer wives and mothers, had lived a full, happy life, the pattern of which had been interwoven with bits of sorrow and heartache. There were sorrows and disappointments, but always a bright sunny day to follow and clear away any clouds of doubt.

Letter to Nora Crystal Hall Lund

2008-07-29T15:30:00.001-07:00

Dear Nora,

I would like to tell some of the nice things I remember about your parents. It is hard to get acquainted with men folk, unless you are in their homes frequently, which I was not, but I always thought of your father as a firm character that could not be swayed this way or that. He was honest and true and his decisions were the result of careful thought.

One time my husband bought a sack of alfalfa seed from him, which proved to be unscreened and he was quite disappointed. However, he planted it and had a good stand. Later when George met uncle, he told him about it, which made him feel badly and he immediately sent the full amount of cleaned seed and refused to take pay for the first. Said his aim was square dealing and we later found it so. His life was so that he demanded respect.

Aunt Julia was one of the most outstanding persons I ever met. I admit the splendid control she always had of her many children. though her health was very poor in her earlier years, she carefully managed her household affairs, training the boys to help in the home, etc.

One time I was visiting at her home and Roy was very sick with quinsey, which had nearly reached the breaking point, and his sufferings were awful. But she sat down by him and told him such an amusing story that we all had to laugh and Roy’s laughter caused the gathering to break and he immediately became easy. It seemed that she always knew just what to do in every emergency.

Aunt Julia was neat and always dressed nicely and with taste, and the children always looked neat and clean. I always thought they were so pretty and well behaved, even though they were full of life. I think of their home as ideal, with the splendid cooperation of the parents who seemed to share in all that was uplifting, and their beautiful voices singing together.

Once in church sacrament meeting, the bishop called on the three best tithe payers in the ward to get up and speak. Your father and my husband were two of the three speakers, and I was proud to count them as my relatives.

Annie Crawford Isom

[Nora Crystal Hall Lund was the daughter of Alfred Lorenzo Hall and Julia Elzina Hansen, and lived from 1903 to 1987].

Julia Elzina Hanson Hall (1860-1935) Autobiography

2008-07-29T15:26:00.002-07:00

A sketch of the life of Julia Hansen Hall
Written by herself in 1934
I was born near Glenwood, Mills County, Iowa on January 28, 1860. The following year I came to Utah with my mother, brothers, and sisters in the David H. Cannon company.

An older brother, William Crawford (son of my mother by a former husband), a young man then of about 18 years, shared the responsibility of bringing the family across the plains with our team.

My father, Nils Hansen, having left the Mormon church, went to California, taking with him a brother, Andrew Jackson (A. J.), a boy of 10 years which nearly broke my mothers heart. She never heard from him again until he was grown. He came to visit mother and the rest of us in Rockville in the year 1879, after he was married and had a little daughter 10 months old. He was very anxious to take me to California with him where he would give me a good education, but I declined as I thought too much of mother and my religion. In fact, it caused me to think more of my religion than I had ever done before. I have never seen him since, now a period of 53 years when I am 74 and he is nearly 84. His daughter, with her husband, professor Etchavarry, called on me recently, however a fine appearing woman of 54 years.

On arriving in Utah, we settled in Draper, Salt Lake County. My mother's family consisted at that time of brothers William, Sister Amy, Brother Lafayette, sisters Sarah and Hannah, and myself. Brother Lafay died in Draper at age eight years. The rest all came to Dixie and shared in the hardships of pioneer life. In due time they were all married. William married Cornelia Gifford, to whom a large family of sons and daughters were born. He was honest and upright no better man ever lived.

Amy married Almond Draper. She was the one most like father. A hard worker and good manager. She had nine children. She died in Springdale of pneu¬monia when quite young.

Sarah, our peace loving, patient sister, married Alpheus Gifford. She had a large family of children, reared in poverty. Her husband died quite early in life. She lived a widow for years and years, then she moved to Delta and after her children were all married, she married Nelson Terry, when she was 71 years old. They were very happy together. Her last days were her best days. She also died of pneumonia. ¬

Hannah, the sister with the congenial, affectionate disposition, made friends of everyone. To know her was to love her. Her friends were numbered by her acquaintances, which were many. She married Cyrus Jennings and, like the rest, had a large family of children. They moved to Arizona where she died after a number of years. Her husband also died a few years later.

And last, I was the scrapper of the family. If anyone tried to impose on me, they had a fight on their hands right now but I overcame that as I grew older. The first thing in my life that I remember was when I was about three years old. There was a log lying in the yard. I would climb on it with difficulty, raise my hands as far above my head as I could reach and say, "I’m as big as anybody and I suppose I kept on thinking that until I was older and got some of the conceit taken out of me. However, I still think I have as much right on the earth as anyone else be they rich or poor. This is a characteristic that has gone with me through life. My slogan has always been to speak the best you can and never repeat gossip.

I was the youngest of a family of seven children; never very strong or robust. I was naturally spoiled as the youngest usually are but my mother was very firm with us that we be strictly honest and truthful. We would be punished for telling a lie quicker than for almost any other offense. We were also taught the principles of tithing, which she carried out to the letter.

The chances for education were very meager in those days, but the people did the best they could under the circumstances. Sometimes teachers were employed who knew but very little more than the children. Schools were not free or compulsory in those days. Parents would be required to pay about $3.00 per quarter (12 weeks), two quarters would usually be held. Although in poverty mother would manage to send us to school each winter. Our school¬ing did not amount to much however, until I was about 18 years of age and my sisters were all married. When David Stout married and brought Henreitta Cox of St. George to Rockville then we had a real teacher. All that I ever learned in school was due to her wonderful ability. I always loved school, would be glad in the fall when it began and sorry in the spring when it closed. I kept on going to school until the winter I was 22, when I was married and a school of a different nature began that of helping to make a home and raise a family.

But I must go back to a few of the things I remember of my childhood. One time when I was quite a small girl, my aunt Clarrisa Terry told me if I would get lucerne for her pig all summer; she would weave me a dress. Every day when I would go to take the pig feed I would torment her by asking, "is that my dress?" She kept me waiting until the last of the piece, then came out a many colored-stripped cloth for a dress. Was I proud? Well, I think that was the first thing I ever earned.

There was another circumstance that happened in my life that made a lasting impression on me, and I am sure has been a great lesson to me. One time when I was quite a good sized girl, one of our neighbors had a job to be done. I think it was pulling weeds. He told me if I would help his children do the work, he would buy me a circle comb, which in those days was considered quite
an ornament. So I pitched right in working with all my might. But I never heard any more about the circle comb. It certainly taught me a lesson that has gone with me through life never to make a promise, especially to a child that you don't expect to keep. You may forget it, but the child never will.

Another lesson I learned from a dear Old Danish lady neighbor of ours was about borrowing. She said, "always see that your supply of groceries, etc., are replenished, just before you get out; it will cost you no more and will save you the trouble and time of borrowing and your neighbor the inconvenience of getting it for you and putting it back when you return it. I have tried to remember that and put it into practice.

All my life I have been blessed with the gift or ability to make friends, which I consider one of my greatest achievements, as good friends go so far in smoothing down the rough places through the journey of life. I do truly appreciate good friends and neighbors, of course, there are always those who don't like you, but I am leaving them out of the picture.

In my early life I never did things by halves in my work as well as in my play. I put all my energy into the things I was doing. At one time bishop Smith remarked that I put more pep into dancing than anyone he had ever seen. Mother often said I was either away up or away down. Full of fun and gaiety or down at the mouth with the blues. I have tried hard though to keep the up
grade and cut out the blues as it is a waste of time and nobody likes to be around one that is down in the dumps.

So much has been written about Indian raids in early days. I will just say the Indians around Rockville were mostly friendly, bringing berries, pine gum, pine nuts, and other things to exchange for food. President young always advised the people it was cheaper to feed them than to fight them. However, there were Indian raids occasionally of a very serious nature which kept the people ever on the alert wondering when or where the next outbreak would be, but when we consider that they were being crowded off their hunting grounds, one can hardly blame them for retaliating.

Probably the most serious thing the early settlers of Dixie had to encounter, was the irrigation problem. You will know, it was then as now, nothing could be raised without irrigation. The people had emigrated from different countries where irrigation was unnecessary; many of them knew nothing whatever about farming. They had no engineer to survey their ditches in order to get the necessary fall to bring the water onto their land, but they went to work trusting in the Lord and using their own best judgment, until finally they got their ground watered and crops planted.

Even so, there were difficulties to encounter. When the summer showers came, the chances were the head of the ditch would be taken out, besides floods would pour down the side washes, filling the ditches full of dirt and rocks which must all be cleaned out before crops could be watered again. There being so few in number, it worked a real hardship on them.

Then I remember one summer it looked like the crops were all going to be destroyed with grasshoppers. They came in swarms and settled on everything green – fields, gardens, orchards, and everything. Everyone men, women and children turned out to fight them. Trenches were dug and we drove what we could into them, where they were either burned or covered with dirt. But it looked as if everything would be destroyed. Then one day when there was a celebration being held in the old bowery, I think it was the 24th of July, we noticed what looked like a cloud over the sun. On looking closer we found it to be the grasshoppers taking their leave, and what rejoicing there was, for the crops were saved.

Then finally there came better times for Dixie. Fruit trees began to bear fruit in abundance of the very choicest flavor, which were dried and shipped to Salt Lake City and other northern parts by team and exchanged for clothing, groceries, hardware, etc., until Dixie began to be on the map. It required four or five weeks to make the round trip to Salt Lake City and back, and now the distance can be covered in less than twenty four hours.

Our time was not all spent in tilling the soil. We had our amusements such as social gatherings, 4th and 24th of July celebrations, dances, spelling matches, debating teams, and many other forms of amusements, besides Sunday School and meeting, with an occasional visit from our church authorities from St. George or Salt Lake City.

The style of dress in early days was very different from now, no glove¬ fitting dresses in those days. Ten yards of material, 26 inches wide was re¬quired, six widths being gathered into a tight fitting waist. One could stand straight, take hold of the hem of the skirt and raise it to the top or above the head. Large hoops were also worn at one time. Then later, we had the long train where the skirt dragged about six or eight inches on the ground, picking up dust and dirt from the street. This style was short of duration however, and was followed by tight basques and plaited skirts which were very pretty the back being draped in folds. A great amount of work was put into these dresses as the pleats were sewed onto the lining. Buttons were sewed all down the front of the basque only one inch apart, with a buttonhole worked for each button. That was in my time when I made dresses for $.50 each

I was married to Alfred Lorenzo Hall, January 18, 1882, in the St. George Temple. Our start in life consisted of him having a small farm across the river from Grafton, where he raised lucern hay, sugar cane, and other crops. He also had a little plug team. I had a cow that mother had given me when it was a calf, also 12 quilts that I had made, having begun to make quilts when I was only 12 years old, a 20 pound feather bed costing $420.00, a good supply of dresses and other clothing, all of which I had earned drying fruit, sewing for people, and working in their homes.

We both went to work with the determination to get the necessities around us. We both worked very hard, were careful in our expenditures and lived within our means. We always made it a point not to spend out last dollar, but keep a little in reserve in case of sickness or other necessity, although there were a great many things we deprived ourselves of, we seldom spent out last cent.

Our first baby was born April 1, 1883. We named him Alfred Lorenzo for his father. He was an extra bright child, and brightened our home with his childish prattle and cute sayings. He was only permitted to remain with us a short time; our heavenly father took him away. He died the 19th of April 1886.

Other children were born to us, ten in all, which grew to man and womanhood. Roy, the second son, died in Lexington, Kentucky, while filling a mission, on the 29th of April 1908. He was a good boy and a hard worker always on hand to help lighten my load when he could be spared from the farm work. His body was shipped to Rockville where it was interred in the cemetery. The inscription on his casket read "In memory of Leroy Hall, who died with the harness on."

We were blessed with a good family of children with whom we took a great deal of pleasure. We tried to make home attractive for them by reading a good interesting story or book to them at night so that the noise of children in the street would have no attraction for them.

Our neighbor's children too, the Jennings, who were early left without a mother, took pleasure in coming to our place to play with our children and listen to me read. Having no mother of their own, I tried in my weak way to be a mother to them. I still look upon them as next to my own, and they have not forgotten those days, showing their appreciation by calling upon me whenever convenient and often reminding me of the lessons taught them in their early life and the fact that no relative seems nearer to them than aunt Julia.

In addition to our own we took an orphan girl to raise, Della Wright. We took her when she was 10 years old and she stayed until she was 18, when she wanted to see more of the world, and went to Cedar City to work. After staying there for some time, she went to California, where she got married. She was a very bright intelligent girl and a good student, always getting high marks in school. She was well respected and we thought a great deal of her. When she heard of uncle alf's serious illness, she came at once, but too late to see him. He had passed away before she arrived.

Our children were all married in the temple to good honorable companions. They in turn are raising families that are a credit to them. There has never been any criminals or lawbreakers in our family. Not one was ever arrested on the slightest charge. Four have filled good honorable missions have each filled responsible positions in the organizations at different times and altogether looking through a mothers eye, I feel that we have raised a family of which we can be proud.

I think the most happy and enjoyable time in our married life was spent at our summer mountain home at Crystal Ranch where we had our family together, Nora crystal our youngest having been born there. To be sure, there was plenty of hard work to do as there always is in making a new place but we enjoyed it and was one with our children in their amusements.

That was before they started going away to school or on missions. Then we came to Hurricane where we helped pioneer this place and build a new home, and our children began to be scattered. Some were married, some went to St. George to school, and others were going on missions. And one, Harvey, went into the army in the 1st World War.

Until now I am left in the big home alone, my husband having passed to the great beyond on the 4th of January, 1934. We had spent fifty two years of married life in love and devotion. I am now waiting the call to come where I can meet him with my children and other loved ones that have gone on.

In the latter years of our life we have done considerable work in the temple for the salvation of the dead. We have enjoyed the work greatly, his whole soul being thrilled with the work. We kept it up together as long as he could stand the trip. I am still going once each week, accompanied by our good friends brother and sister LeBaron.

Note: Mother passed away very peacefully of heart trouble at Hurricane, August 12, 1935.

Alfred Lorenzo Hall (1858-1934) Biography

2008-07-29T15:26:00.001-07:00

The first 2 pages by Hilda Hall (Bringhurst) in 1916. The rest written by Melvin Hall, a grandson, in May of 1938. Material supplied by his father, Merrill Hall and his own research

Alfred Lorenzo Hall was born in Sugar House Ward, Salt Lake City, Utah, Nov. 15, 1858. He was the son of John Charles and Kezia Degray Hall, who were both of English nationality. At the time of his birth his parents were very destitute of food and clothing. Not having any bread in the house, his mother sat up in bed when her child was three days old and made a dress for a neighbor in exchange for some flour. In 1861 his parents were called on a mission to Dixie. Arriving in Dixie, they located in Rockville, where they lived for the rest of their lives.

Tracing the source of our present strength, we go back to the Dixie pioneer, who met the challenge of a new country in making roads, building homes, farming, freighting, and stock raising. Under such environment the children of Dixie went through about the same hardships as their parents, but they lived to see the fruits of their labors.

John C. Hall was not much of a farmer and especially when the method of irrigation was not so well known. There were steep side hills to make the irrigation ditches in, the breakwaters and dams to make in order to get the water into the ditch. Floods often came and washed the dams or the ditch out just in the season when the crops most needed the watering. For plowing the land a wooden beamed plow and an ox team was used. Horses were very scarce in the early days in Dixie. Wagons were not made of steel and hardwood then as they are now, consequently when out on a trip it was very necessary to soak up the wheels of the wagon at every stream.

After the crops were up in the fall and the molasses was made, the next event of the season was to go north on a peddling trip where the molasses, dried fruits, and other products were traded for flour, potatoes and other commodities not successfully grown here.

Much of their clothing was made by their own hands. In the early days of Rockville, cotton was raised on the farm, the seeds were picked out and the cotton spun, woven and dyed and later made into clothing. Dyes were made from certain kinds of roots.

Alfred never owned a pair of shoes until he was fourteen years of age, then they were of homemade it , but he said that their dances and other amusements were enjoyed as much. He and his chums had great sport with the Indian boys of their own age in playing different games and tricks. One was a mud fight game where the white boys would stand the Indians and flipping mud on limber sticks at each other. The white boys had the advantage in that they wore clothes. When the mud hit the bare hide of the Indian, there was a great splatter and then a roar of laughter. However, the older Indians were not all so friendly as the young ones. There often occurred Indian raids on towns, but by far more dangerous was it for the travelers if caught out by the Indians. Many of these adventures were related by Alfred.

One time in the early settlement of Dixie uncle Charles Smith was away from home, and had to camp out over night in Kanara. He put his mules in a corral, then, to make them more secure from the Indians, he put a pair of iron hobbles on each mule. During the night the Indians came to get the mules, but finding they couldn't walk, they proceeded to unfasten the hobbles. In this they were unsuccessful, so in order to take out their revenge, they shot several arrows into the mules. Uncle Charles pulled the arrows out and the mules lived.

At the age of seven, Alfred was so poor in health that he was sent to Kanab to live with some people who had more to eat than cornbread and molasses. He was never very large and healthy as a normal child is today, for at the age of 18 he weighed 96 lbs.

Education in schools at that date was very limited. Alfred went to school for about three months all together, so his schooling consisted more of the school of experience. His aim in life was to lead a practical and well balanced
life both in spiritual and temporal affairs. One maxim he believed in and lived up to was not to move foolishly from one place to another.

Alfred married Julia e. Hansen on Jan. 18, 1882, in the St. George temple. They traveled to St. George by wagon from Rockville. It took them two or three days to make the journey down and back.

Alfred and Julia started their married life together with three cows, two ponies and a small farm. Alfred did freighting and wool hauling to the silver reef mine near Leeds, Utah, in the years after he was married. For the first ten years of their married life the mine was a large source of revenue for southern Utah. Millions of dollars worth of ore were taken out. The early pioneers exploited the resources of Southern Utah to supply the silver reef with wood. The local men hauled wood from the foothills of Pinevalley mountains and the mountains and hills near Toquerville, which were once covered with trees, and left them bare hence left for the floods to wash the top soil away. Thousands of cords of wood were hauled from that vicinity and other sections in these parts.

Working for others was not in the nature of Alfred. He began to make his living with his hands and earn his bread from the sweat of his brow. Farming and cattle raising were his chief occupations.

A few years after Alfred and Julia were married, they bought a lot in Rockville, just one block east of the school building. I do not know when the following farms were acquired, but he owned a farm called Crank. This was south of Springdale. He farmed land in Zion canyon where the Wiley camp ground used to be. He had a farm at Rockville and one near Grafton, which was washed away. Alfred also had a small farm over at the horse valley wash. This place had a small stream that he used to run into a pond to irrigate his crops. He owned another farm half way between Grafton and Rockville. A waterwheel and a flume was used to get the water from the river on to the land.

As I said, Alfred furnished his own employment. Not only did he do that, but he furnished work for others. He owned some sheep with others in 1893. Merrill can remember hearding them at the age of 6 with his brother, Roy.

Cattle raising was always a source of income for Alfred. In 1896 there occurred a severe drought. Hundreds of cattle belonging to the Caanan Cattle Company perished for want of food and water. Little calves were given to anyone who would take them away and feed them. Some of Alfred's best cattle were obtained in this manner and it was partly a means of his going into the cattle business. He also rented some cattle from Dalley's, who lived in summit, about this time. He rented on shares. He had bad luck with them, so he did not make very much from them.

In 1902 Alfred bought the Crystal spring ranch on the Kolob Mountain, where he moved in the summer on account of his wife's poor health. Here he and his sons farmed and ran cattle. The family also did some dairying with as high as 25 or 30 cows some years. The family made enough cheese and butter in the summer to last them through most of the winter in Rockville, besides selling quite a lot to the other people on the mountain in the summer, and they sold some at Rockville in the winter.

They raised wheat and oats (more oats than wheat) which was harvested by a cradle and bound by hand. It was hauled in and thrashed, usually without stacking before hand. It could be thrashed greener if hauled directly from the shock. It was thrashed out by having the horses tromp it on the ground to get the grain. The chaff and grain was then run through a fanning mill that blew the chaff out of the grain. In this way Alfred and his sons were able to thrash out 100 Bu. a day.

Alfred ran hogs on the mountain ranch and he devised a way to leave them there in the winter. Alfred was a man who did not back down on anything. He was fearless in his nature. My uncles like to relate a story of a wild boar that they were all afraid of. Grandpa thought they were cowards because they were afraid of the boar. One day the old boar chased him, and I think he did not have so much to say about his boys being afraid after that. The old boar soon lost his life.

The family moved to the mountain every summer for 11 summers beginning with 1902 and ending with 1912. The ranch and cattle were sold in 1912.

Ten children were born to Alfred and Julia. They are Alfred L, Jr., Apr. 1, 1883. Died Feb. 18, 1886. Lester Leroy, Feb. 25, 1885. died Apr. 29, 1908 in Lexington, Ky. Charles Merrill, Lafayette, Alvin, John Harvey, Hilda., Clinton, Henry and Nora Crystal Hall. The last child was born on the Crystal ranch, hence the middle name.

Four of the children were called on missions Leroy died on his mission in Kentucky. Lafayette, Harvey and Hilda and later Alvin, all went on missions. Most of the children attended school in St. George. Vern graduated from the A. C. in 1926. All of the children were married in the temple.

Alfred Hall was one of the first to support the building of the hurricane canal, as he was a man of action rather than words. It would be necessary for a person to go to the ledger to really be able to appreciate the fact that he was one of the largest contributors to the project in actual labor that was performed during its construction. The canal was one of the largest irrigation projects ever undertaken in southern Utah. This piece of work was begun with the intentions of bringing under cultivation the rich soil of the Hurricane bench, which could not be washed away by the river as farms in Rockville and up the river had been. The canal was started in 1892 by a company of about seventy five men from the surrounding towns of Rockville, Grafton, Springdale, Virgin and Toquerville. Before it was completed, two-thirds of this number had dropped out. Indeed the remaining few were put to a severe test in facing discouragement of every kind, but they were later rewarded by seeing six miles of canal reaching from Hurricane damsite to the Hurricane bench completed.

Had it not been for the church, the canal may never have been completed at that time. Just when it seemed impossible to carry the work on because of finances, a delegation was sent to church headquarters to get aid. The church came to the rescue and purchased $5,000 worth of stock. This revived dead hopes and from then on the work never lagged James Jepson was one of this delegation.

Being quite a distance from most of the settlements, it was necessary for the men during the period of construction to camp there in the winter months while they were not occupied by their farm work. One of the main places where they camped was Chinatown. Thirteen years was a long time to be working on a project. Each winter was long to those who were working on the canal, but frequent pranks were played in camp to break the monotony. One time two men went to see John Miller. One of the men walked in and talked with John, while the other one put a rock over the top of his rock chimney. After both men were inside, John said he had to go out and get some meat. He then locked the door and left the two men in the house to breathe their own smoke,

The construction work was dangerous. The ditch, which is eight feet wide and four feet deep, is made entirely along a steep mountain side with the exception of a few tunnels and flumes.
Merrill said that his father was superintendent of the work most of the time while the canal was being constructed and settled. I found from the ledger that grandpa was on the canal board from 1895 to 1905, with the exception of 1899 to 1902 inclusive. The first credit of $3.00 was recorded in the ledger on Jan. 2, 1895, for canal board services. Payments were recorded in 1895, 96, 97, 98. Then there was a miss until April 1903. They were continued in 1904 and 1905.

Grandpa hired men to work on the canal for him as well as spending most of his time in the winters on the canal project. The depression of 1893 was a means of help to the project, as many hard rock miners came here who were willing to work for a very small wage. One of these men, named Mack, worked for grandpa for several winters.

After the canal was completed, the land which had been taken in the names of three men, one of which was Alfred, was divided into five acre blocks, four lots to a block and twenty acre fields. The other two men were James Jepson and Jim Ballard. From canal board ledger a to d, inclusive, 1893 1907.

The men who had either worked or paid their share to get the canal finished, drew from a hat the lot or section of field they were to have as recompense for their labors. Alfred drew with the other men and received twenty acres of land in the west fields. The land was very poor. He was discouraged and did not think he had received a very good deal, so the canal board traded him 5 acres in the south fields for 5 of his west twenty. He later bought ten more acres by this land from Frank Mcmullian. He drew three city lots and he bought 2 more. He also owned a field in the cove and 120 acres of pasture land.

The early pioneers to Dixie witnessed about as much progress in the use of machinery as any generation of people could in any part of the world in the same period of time.

Alfred was one of the foremost to make use of new machinery. He owned a self-binder or grain binder with Bishop Langston before he owned the Crystal ranch in 1902. While moving to the ranch or during the period of time while on the ranch, he acquired a whitetop buggy. This was not the first brought into the country, but it was among the first.

Later, Dave Hirschi was the man, I believe, who first discovered the possibilities of dry farming on the plains. Alfred had by this time sold his Crystal ranch and his cattle. He was now free to go into new fields. Alfred began dry farming he took up a homestead about 12 miles east of here. He raised as much grain as anyone who farmed at that time. He said he made more money from the dry farm then from any other place. He was better off financially and was in a position to do so. He bought a hay bailer soon after coming to hurricane.

In 1917 Alfred bought a Ford car. At that time there were not very many cars in the state of Utah, and there were only a few in Hurricane. He bought two Chevrolets, the last one in 1928.

1 have not attempted to name all of the machinery Alfred owned for that is un¬necessary and impossible. But I am only giving a few to illustrate the point that he was not the last to use or accept a change.

Alfred was the first man of this section to promote the Hurricane bank. Credit for the original idea must be given to Arnold Dixon of Provo. He is a cousin of Alfred. Alfred and Arnold succeeded in getting Dave Hirschi interested in the bank. I remember grandpa telling me that his cousin and he called to talk to Dave about the bank and he was not favorable to a bank upon that first visit. But Mr. Dixon told grandpa that Dave Hirschi was the man to head the bank. The success of the bank was due to Dave’s shrewd business ability and his keen fore¬
Sight.

Alfred was the largest stockholder in the bank until just before his death. He was a director from the time it was organized in 1917 until 1933.

Alfred was a man of good strength and endurance. At one time, when he was a young man, he ran from the center of Rockville to the top of the mountain on the east before another man could get half way to the top of the mountain on the north. This was performed to settle a bet.

One time while Alfred was on a peddling trip away from home, some men were trying to lift an anvil by taking hold of the small end of it. Alfred lifted it by one end, by taking hold of the small end of it. He also added two hub sands on top and lifted it up even with his arms. None of those in the crowd could lift it with the added weight.

Alfred was a good provider. In his early days, he made shoes for all of his family with the hide he had tanned himself. After his health had broken, he used to tend chickens as a means of turning his wheat into cash. He often made over $100 a month.

Alfred usually knew how to make money, but he did make two or three investments that were complete losses. One was a gypsum plant in Cedar and the other was a chicken deal in which he lost $100. There may have been others I have not listed.

Alfred was hospitable to friends and strangers the door was never closed to those who came and asked for something to eat. Relatives always knew they would be welcome at the home. Not only was he this way after he accumulated a little property, but he was this way earlier in life. In 1896, Sam and Caroline Larson were living with the Hall family while their father was on a Mission. Later Mary Dalton, an orphaned girl, lived there for two or three years. These children lived with the family during the time when it was larger than the average family is today.

Della Wright lived with Alfred and Julia for 8 years, from age 10 to 18. Many others lived there at times, including myself for nearly a year from October 1930 to September 1931.

Alfred and Julia enjoyed a number of long trips and many short ones in their automobile. They went to Wyoming on two different occasions to visit Vern and his wife, and they went into Arizona and were at the dedication of the Mesa Temple.

It was one of Alfred's desires to see the ocean before he died, but as his wife did not enjoy traveling on long trips due to her poor health he never did get the opportunity.

In about 1927 Alfred's health began to break down. He had a sever attack of psyatic rheumatism, one type of ailment following another, bothered him until the climax was reached in October 1930, with a stroke.

At that time Dan Crawford was called in to administer to him. Mr. Crawford promised him that he would get well and perform a mighty work. Alfred said later that he promised the Lord he would spend the rest of his time working in the temple if were allowed to live and get well. These promises were fulfilled.

Alfred and Julia were going to the temple in about a week's time after his stroke. They continued their trips to the St. George temple in all kinds of weather for four years. They went down about twice each week and they took others with them most of the time, charging only a small fee.

Alfred lived a religious life. He always observed the Sabbath day when it was possible to do so. He paid an honest tithing and contributed his share in other ways when it was asked of him. He went through all the quorums of the priesthood. Alfred was ready to die when the end came. In fact he had looked forward to death and I can honestly say that he did not fear it.

He died on Jan. 4, 1934.

In summing up his life's work, I would say that the outstanding characteristic was to make a useful plan and then live up to that plan, offering no excuses and his only alibi was his task well completed.

The golden wedding was celebrated in November 1931. It was celebrated then so that Vern could be present and not when it should have been, January 1932. The desire was to have it when all the family could be present. All were at the celebration, but Nora who was ill at her home in paragonah at the time.

Alfred Lorenzo Hall (1858-1934)

2008-07-29T15:25:00.001-07:00

The first child born to John Charles Hall and Kezia DeGrey was a son who was blessed and given the name of Alfred Lorenzo. He was born in Sugar House Ward, Salt Lake City, Utah on November 15, 1858. He was born about one year after his parents had reached Utah and they were still quite destitute for food and clothing. Their arrival had been in the fall and they had been without any finances, so the progress, materially, was slow.

At the time of Alfred's birth, the family was without bread, so just three days after his arrival, his mother was found, sitting up in bed, making a dress for a neighbor in exchange for some flour. Under such privations, his childhood was anything but exciting and expensive.

Three years later, the parents, in answer to a call for volunteers to go to the Dixie Cotton Mission, moved to Rockville in Southern Utah, about 330 miles from Salt Lake City, with the hopes of doing better, financially, while doing the Lord's work.

Most of the saints who chose to go to Dixie were of the sturdy type, who loved adventure and freedom, who were industrious and who never knew defeat. Under such environmental conditions, the children of Dixie experienced much the same hardships as their parents, but they lived to see fruits of their labors. Building roads and homes, farming, freighting, and stock raising were some of the occupations they followed.

Alfred's father was not adapted to farming. His life in England had been patterned to that of a gentlemen and scholar, so he experienced many hardships and disappointments. Irrigation of the barren land was still in its infancy. It had been started by the Church, under the leadership of Brigham Young, only after the arrival of the first Saints in 1847.

There were steep side hills along which the irrigation ditches had to be built, then breakwaters and dams had to be fashioned before the water would run into the ditches. Floods, a frequent menace to the settlers in the spring of the year, washed out the dams and filled the ditches with mud and rocks, just at the season when the crops most needed the water.

For plowing the land in preparation for seed planting, a wooded beamed plow and an oxen team were used. Horses were very scarce in the early days in Dixie, so the work was slow and tiresome. Wagons were not made of steel and hardwood as they are made now, consequently, it was necessary to soak the wheels at every stream of water whenever on a trip.

After the crops were harvested in the fall and molasses was made, the next event of the season was to travel north through the state "peddling", as it was called, which meant trading molasses, dried fruit, and other products; for flour, potatoes, and other commodities not successfully grown in Dixie.

Much of their clothing was made by the skillful hands of the womenfolk. The cotton was harvested, then spun, woven, and dyed; ready for the process of making it into clothing. Dyes were made from certain wild and domestic plant roots. The Saints of necessity became very accomplished in making the necessities of life from the materials furnished by the generous hand of Mother Nature.

Alfred never had a pair of shoes to wear until he was fourteen years of age and then they were "homemade". For many years money, either currency or silver, was extremely scarce. What money the Saints did manage to have was used in the purchase of such clothing as could not be made from leather or home grown, homespun cotton, and wool. The shoes Alfred wore until he was nearly a grown young man were all made by his father from the home-tanned hide of the old ox which had died or been killed for beef.

Times were so busy and every man, woman, and child of age was required to work in the fields during planting and harvesting season. Then there were always daily chores around the home and the corral, so the young boys and girls had little time for actual playground activities. So many times, Alfred and other boys of his age had their fun while herding cows on the ditch banks or river bottom.

It was not uncommon at such times for a band of little Piute Indian boys to come swarming out of the nearby wigwams to play with them. As the play of children often follows in miniature the serious activities of their elders, this play usually turned into a sham battle between the Whites and the Reds. The ammunition consisted of a ball of stiff, well-mixed mud. The machinery was a willow stock about the length of the boy. The battle lines were drawn, each army taking refuge behind a convenient shelter of trees, rocks, or the ditch bank. All was quiet until a small warrior poked his head above his shelter, looking for a victim. He was observed by an opponent, who fixed a mud ball to the end of his stick, stepped quickly into the open, gave a quick swing and a jerk and "spat" the victim who received a neat spot of mud on his body. Immediately the assailant became the target for half a dozen of his enemies, who as they stepped from their concealment ready to aim, also became targets. The Indians had the advantage as to agility and accuracy, but they suffered because of being unclad.

Because Alfred was small and thin, most everyone called him "Skinny". At the age of twenty-one he weighed only a little over 100 pounds. Though he was skinny and unimpressive in appearance, he had amazing strength. What he lacked in size he more then made up in aggressiveness. No problem looked too large to him and he usually won his battles through his determined resoluteness.

Alfred did not attend school except for about three months, all total, so his education came more from the school experience. His aim in life was to lead a practical and well-balanced life, both spiritually and temporally. He never learned to write more than his name and did not do much reading until after he was sixty-nine years old. Then he spent much of his time studying the Gospel until his death.

The parents of Alfred were very strict in their discipline and teaching of their children. However, Alfred had his own ideas and he did not forget them easily. He was always faithful in most of the fundamental principles of the Gospel as taught him at home, although there is some evidence that he sought his pleasures without the counsel of his parents. For instance, at the age of eighteen years he went to Salt Lake City in the company of Tom Reeve, an eighteen year-old boy from Virgin. By way of acting smart both boys started smoking. His parents were greatly displeased but were never able to induce him to drop the habit. He smoked for thirty-six years then quit after he was married.

Alfred's father raised tobacco for a number of years. He had his hot beds for the tobacco plants on the south slope of a small incline. John C. never smoked, however, and never allowed his sons to acquire the habit, so he was much distressed when Alfred started smoking.

Alfred was shy and awkward in public, especially in the presence of ladies, so when he started courting Julia Hanson, who was a very popular girl, the entire village was surprised. Perhaps even he himself was a bit amazed. So sometime later he and Julia traveled to St. George from Rockville by wagon, taking two or three days to complete the journey down and back, and were married in the Temple on January 18th. They started on their married life with three cows, two horses, and a small farm. During the first fifteen years they lived in several homes and owned several farms. He felt he could take a very poor start and by applying a great deal of hard labor, make a good thing of it. In later years, he changed his mind in this respect. He placed his work where it showed most results in later life.

In working his farms, he gave his sons plenty of work and responsibility. His sons learned, while yet young in years, how to make do. In 1893, two of his sons, Roy and Merrill, were given the task of herding the sheep. In the words of one son, Vern, in speaking of his father, we see Alfred's plans for his family, "Mother always worried about the work the little fellows had to do, but don't think she said much about it. Dad's aim was to furnish plenty of work for his boys, put them at it and see that it was done. I don't think he ever really dreamed of being wealthy, but he surely had a clean reverence for hard work."

Stock raising was always a source of income to Alfred and his family. In 1896, there was a severe drought. Many of the watering holes dried up and thousands of head of cattle died for want of water. Alfred, at the time, was working for Mr. Kingsbury, foreman of the Cattle Company at Short Creek and Caana [sp?]. Mr. Kingsbury told him to take all the orphan calves of which he could take care. He took about forty calves and in this way started his own cattle business.

In 1902 he bought the Crystal Spring Ranch on Kolob Mountain, where he moved during the summer because of his wife's health. They lived there each summer for eleven years until 1912 when the ranch and cattle were sold. He and his sons farmed and raised their stock. The family also did some dairying, some years they had as many as twenty-five to thirty cows. They made enough butter and cheese in the summer to last during the winter months, besides selling quite a supply to neighbors on Kolob.

He raised wheat and oats, which were harvested by a cradle and bound by hand. It was hauled in and thrashed, usually without stacking it beforehand. The grain was thrashed out by having their horses trample over it on the ground. The chaff and grain were then run through a fanning mill which cleaned the chaff from the grain. Sometimes Alfred and his sons could thrash out 100 bushels per day.

Soon after dreams of getting Virgin River water onto the fertile but barren mesa of the Hurricane Valley began to take shape, Alfred knew he wanted to help in the project. He was one of the faithful supporters of the vast program. Unlike many of the old settlers in Rockville, he had to be busy at something during the long winter months. He would not content himself to just sitting in front of the store down on Main Street, whittling sticks and talking. He was a man of action rather than words and the records concerning the Hurricane Canal show that he was one of the largest contributors to the project in actual labor performed during its construction.

So many of the farms in and around Rockville were washed away by the unpredictable Virgin River, so when the canal, one of the largest irrigation projects ever undertaken in Southern Utah, was started, it was intended that the rich soil of the Hurricane Bench could be irrigated, safe from the floods of the Rio Virgin.

Alfred and his boys spent twelve long hard winters on the canal work. He had no regrets, however, and considered it one of his greatest accomplishments. He was superintendent during six years of the construction of the canal.

The canal was started in the year of 1892 by a company of about seventy-five men from surrounding towns of Rockville, Grafton, Springdale, Virgin, and Toquerville. Before the completion, however, about two-thirds of the original number had dropped out. The few who were left and who remained to the finish, faced many setbacks and discouragement, but were rewarded by the completion of six miles of canal, which started at the Hurricane dam site and reached to the Hurricane bench.

When the canal was nearly finished it seemed doomed to failure, but a delegation (James Jepson and Jim Ballard were two of the group) was sent to the Church headquarters to get financial aid. The church purchased $5,000 worth of stock, and with renewed faith and hopes the workers labored more diligently. Then soon families began to move into the valley and started building. It was a joyous occasion for those faithful workers when the first soil was plowed, planted, and irrigated.

In 1910, Alfred sold his property in Rockville and moved his family to Hurricane. Besides his farm in the valley, he took up a homestead about twelve miles east of Hurricane, where he began to dry farm. He was not backward nor hesitant in accepting new trends in progress. He bought farm machinery to suit his purposes. He owned one of the few cars in Hurricane when in 1917 he bought a new Ford.

His aggressiveness made him the leader in promoting the Hurricane State Bank. Arnold Dixon, cousin to Alfred, had the original idea and the two of them succeeded in stirring the interest of Dave Hirschl, who was the logical man to head the bank, because of his shrewd business ability and keen foresight. They were successful in their endeavor and Alfred was a director from the time the bank was organized in 1917 until 1933, and was the largest stockholder until just prior to his death.

Alfred had been reared in a fine religious home and he strove to give his own children the same teachings and discipline as he had received. Each Sunday was observed in attentive reverence by the entire family. All the children went to Sunday School and everyone went to the evening services whenever possible. The conduct of the children was closely watched and any problems of discipline which arose in church (there were not many) were thoroughly handled at home.

In the home, both Alfred and his wife set up a fine procedure. There was always something good to read and not only were the children encouraged to read it, but their mother always found time to read to her children. All of the children read The Book of Mormon and at the completion of it, each child was presented with one. Everyone enjoyed the quiet evenings at home, listening to their mother read, even Alfred welcomed this period of relaxation after a hard working day.

Family prayers, both night and morning, brought the family together and each child was given his turn in offering thanks. The parents tried to lead their children by living good clean examples. Their home was always a welcome haven to those in need. Alfred and Julia willingly assisted others even when they were having a difficult time during the beginning of their married life. In 1893, Sam and Caroline Larson lived with the Hall family, while their father was on a mission. Later, Mary Dalton, an orphan, lived there two or three years and Della Wright lived with them for eight years. On these occasions, their own family was at its largest number, but they never complained.

Alfred's health began to fail. He suffered a severe attack of sciatic rheumatism, then one type of sickness bothered him until October, 1930, [when] he was bedridden with a stroke. Dan Crawford was called in to administer to him. He was blessed and given a promise that he would get well and perform a great work. He was well enough that within one week's time he and his wife were continuing their temple work with more fervor. They started going to the temple regularly in about 1927 and then after his stroke they continued to make their twice weekly trips to St. George Temple for four years, regardless of the kind of weather.

On January 4, 1934, Alfred passed away after a very eventful and full life of hard work and service to family and neighbors. He was blessed with a loving and faithful companion and ten fine sons and daughters. Alfred Lorenzo, Jr., born on April 1, 1883, died February 18, 1886; Lester Leroy, born February 25, 1885, died April 29, 1908, in Lexington, Kentucky, while fulfilling a mission in the southern states; Charles Merrill, born January 25, 1887; Lafayette, born December 31, 1888; Alvin, born on October 17, 1890; John Harvey, born on February 16, 1893; Hilda, born April 21, 1895; Clinton, born September 23, 1897; Henry Vernon, born on April 4, 1900; and Nora Crystal, born on August 5, 1903. Four of the children (Leroy, Lafayette, Harvey and Hilda) filled missions for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints. All of the children were married in the temple.

Alfred lived a good, religious life, He observed the Sabbath, paid a full tithing and contributed whenever asked and held the highest Priesthood. He, to the best of his ability and knowledge, had done a good work and he seemed ready to die when the end came. He set up a useful plan for his life and then lived up to that plan and offered no excuses.

William Brooks Hall (1867-1936)

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William Brooks Hall was the last child born to John Charles Hall and Selina DeGrey. He was born on May 2, 1867 at Salt Lake City, Utah. He was but a small lad when his mother left Rockville and returned to Salt Lake City. On her arrival William's mother found employment and William stayed at the home of Mariah Rossiter (daughter of Charlotte DeGrey, William's Aunt Charlotte) after school was over for the day. Then after his mother finished her work she would take her son home with her. Consequently, during the early years of his life he was deprived of the constant love and companionship of his mother. He seldom saw his father because he lived so far away. He did have one fond remembrance of his father and that was when his father baptized him at Rockville in the Virgin River in June 1876 when he was nine years old.

At first, William felt different from other children because he had only his mother and grandmother DeGrey at home with him. There were also some of his brothers and sisters who had returned to Salt Lake City. Some of his brothers and sisters remained in Rockville with their father. Naturally, life seemed a trifle mixed up to William, but his growth and physical development were not hindered in any way by the situation.

He lived his entire life in Salt Lake City and not much is known of his youth. He probably received more schooling than some of his brothers and sisters since he was living in a larger community where the schools were bound to be of higher standard.

As William grew to the age of responsibility, he also found employment and helped to lighten the burden on his mother's shoulders. He became a plumber and timer by trade and soon felt capable of supporting a wife and family. So he courted and married a young pretty lass in his home town by the name of [Rosa] Lena Meyers.

They made their home in Salt Lake City and had five sons and daughters born to them, namely: Roselyn, born December 1873; Earl DeGrey, who moved to Los Angeles in 1930; Clarence 0.; Thelma Louise, born January 3, 1904, who met and married Carl Yowell and moved to Los Angeles; and Florence, born September 12, 1910, baptized on April 24, 1920 and who died at the age of twenty on July 6, 1930.

William was a thin man, usually weighed about 130 pounds. He never did any rough and rugged work during his life. Sometimes he found it difficult to find employment as a plumber and make a living for his family. One winter he was unable to find work which he was able to do, so he went to Nephi to work. He had relatives of his brother, Charles Alma, living there. One nephew, John Charles Hall, often sent flour and meat to the family to help them during times of need.

William was always quite religious. He had been from faithful, goodly parents, and his mother had tried to instill the foundation for a testimony of the gospel in William during his impressionable years. He had attended Sunday School and Mutual during his childhood and youth, but was probably a trifle backward in participating in the active phase of his church. After his marriage, because of his wife's lack of interest and uncooperation, William became slack in his church duties. He was the type of man who needed someone to urge him forward and go along by his side; his wife did neither, so it was natural for William to neglect the things he knew he should do.

During the later years of his life, William was the janitor of the Wells Ward. The family lived in a small home beside the church. It was during this time that William found it difficult to do for his family as they should have. The pay for his work was meager and he was not able to do much more work. His wife blamed William for their poverty and was always complaining. All these things, along with the teasing he received from young boys in the ward, had a tendency to make William become more reserved and quieter in manner. He became slack in his church duties and work as a janitor and finally was dismissed.

At the age of sixty-nine, William passed away at his home on Wednesday, July 29, 1936 at Salt Lake City of causes incident to age. He was survived by his widow, Lena Meyers Hall, two sons, Earl D. Hall of Hollywood California and Clarence 0. Hall of Salt Lake City; and one daughter, Mrs. Carl Yowell of Los Angeles; one grandchild, [and] two brothers, Charles Alma Hall of Nephi and John Thomas Hall of St. George, Utah.

To those who remained to mourn his passing was left the memory of a slight, unreposing man who had worked hard and diligently in behalf of his family. As far as his personality would allow, William had been faithful in his religious standards. Though he had been reluctant to participate actively, his life had been based on honest and hardworking thoughts and actions. The descendants can well be proud of this quiet man who fulfilled his measure in life to the best of his ability.

John Thomas Hall (1861-1947)

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The fourth child to make his appearance in the Hall household was a son, John Thomas, born June 11, 1861. He was born in Salt Lake City soon after the family had arrived in the Valley. The following year his father, accompanied by his two wives and their children, accepted the call to go to Southern Utah and settle. They were instructed to join with others, who had received similar calls, in the development of the southern section of the state. The family made the trip after much sacrifice and worry, and made their new home in Rockville, Utah, where John Thomas spent his early youth and manhood. The original site of Rockville was west of the present location. The settlers soon discovered the location was unsuitable. Their homes and farms were on a level with the river bottom and consequently, suffered much havoc from the yearly spring floods which roared down the Virgin River. So the Hall family and others moved east to a higher level of ground where the Langston and Hanson families were already settled.

For any young boy the rugged terrain of the West offered a "gold mine of adventure". When the parents were called to leave home and settle elsewhere and help build another community, the young boys and girls saw only new excitement. They little realized the struggle of their parents until they began to grow in years. Adventure and excitement still beckoned to many, but deep in their souls was more serious reasoning and thought. Maturity added greatness to the young, who dreamed a wish in their hearts.

During their youth the boys and girls took advantage of the facilities provided by Mother Nature for hiking, swimming, hunting, and riding but with the years those same youngsters came to realize that man must work his land to produce a livelihood. John Thomas was no different than the normal pioneer son, who enjoyed life in youth, and who accepted his responsibilities when the time was ripe.

John grew very rapidly, attaining his full growth before he became of age. This gave him the awkward appearance of an overgrown boy. However, he was an alert, active youngster and seemed not to notice his appearance. Tall or short, a boy could still have just as much fun and find perhaps as much mischief.

John Thomas was one of the unfortunate lads who was deprived of the full degree of schooling. Through practical experience and his parents' endeavors, he was able to secure the learning which he failed to receive during his school days. Schooling only teaches a person how to learn and to learn by doing often becomes the better teacher. John had an intense desire to learn so he took advantage of any knowledge which came to him, either through the text book or through actual experience. Because he was not able to think of going away to college, John Thomas began to think of his future as a homebuilder. When he was but a young man he began to buy a few head of cattle at time. He also purchased some farmland, which with stock raising constituted his income at the time he began to think of marriage.

At the age of twenty-six, John found the girl he desired to make his wife. She lived in Springdale. When he asked for her hand in marriage, she accepted and so on May 17, 1887, he and Adelia Gifford went to St. George in a wagon and were married in the St. George Temple by President David H. Cannon. They returned to Rockville, where they began to work and plan for their new home. Here they lived and reared their family. Three boys, Orson [Charles], [Arthur] William, and [Samuel] Lafel; were born to them while they were living in Rockville. The second son, William, died soon after his birth.

When Lafel was just a small boy, a severe epidemic of Red Measles hit the young community. There had been no cases of the disease for nearly twenty years, so all the young people, as well as the children, contracted the disease. Some were seriously ill and many bad effects were inflicted permanently on those who suffered the most severely. LaFel was one of the young ones who suffered impairments. He nearly lost his life, but through the faith of his good parents and the tender care of his mother, he recovered, but his speech and hearing were greatly hindered, leaving him handicapped throughout the remainder of his life. His parents gave him every advantage they were able to give him at that time, and provided the means to send him to a state school in Ogden for the Deaf and Dumb, where he learned to converse fluently by means of his fingers.

Together John and his wife worked in their church and their community. Both had been reared in good homes where religious teachings were the basis of their every thought and deed. They strived to teach their own children as they themselves had been taught. John worked in the Sunday School and for some years was one of the counselors to Bishop David Hirschi. The families of Rockville were closely woven together through their common interests in their church and home, both from necessity and relaxation from the toils of the day, and from the desire of companionship and association with friends and neighbors. The recreation and entertainment was furnished by the church to a large extent, so every willing body was given work to do.

John and Adelia were of the group willing to do their share. Whenever they could they offered assistance to those in need at times of sickness or death. At the time Adelia Hall Dalton, John's half sister, died leaving a small baby, they took the tiny baby girl, Arva [Adelia Arvella], into their home and loved and cared for her as they did their own children until the baby was three or four years old.

During the winter months, the men did not have much to occupy their time after their daily chores were done. So the sunny south side of the general store became a gathering place for the men. John often found the time to meet with others and talk. He had a habit of whittling on a stick with a whacking motion of his pocket knife. He soon acquired the nickname of "Johnny Whack" and would answer just as quickly to that name as his own when addressed as such by one of his friends.

When surveys were made to determine the feasibility of getting water from the Virgin River onto the Hurricane Bench, the steady pioneers moved along to develop further civilization for themselves and their families. As work began on the giant project, John spent many winter months working to do his share toward the completion of the canal. In 1907, the weary men and boys finally saw the fruits of their labors as water was turned onto the dry but fertile soil. Immediately families began to move to the town site and till the soil. John and Adelia, with their family, were among the first to settle at Hurricane.

They were happy in their new home, and planned for a pleasant future with their family. Then a few years after their arrival, Adelia became ill. It was necessary for a major operation to be performed, and sadness prevailed in the tiny home. The operation took place at St. George, and Adelia failed to respond and so passed away on March 6, 1912. Her body was returned to Hurricane, where on March 9 [it] was laid to rest in [the] new Hurricane Cemetery. It was a very sad time for John because together he and Adelia had planned and worked so hard for a home in Hurricane. Now without his companion, John's life seemed but an empty shell, and it became a difficult thing to go on without his wife. He finally found solace in the association of his grandchildren. The five children of Orson loved their grandfather and were always considerate of him so John filled, to a measure, his longing for the love and companionship of a mate.

A few years later, John married Mary R. Workman, a widow, and moved to her home on the corner from his own home. The union was a happy one and they enjoyed twenty seven years together. Again, with his mate, John found pleasure in participating in community and church activities whenever called upon to do so. He performed most of the baptisms for some years and came to be called "John, the Baptist", after being fondly recognized as [the] same by his bishop. He was a faithful Ward Teacher. His friends and neighbors enjoyed having him visit in their house because of his pleasant personality and the humble way in which he presented the gospel messages.

In November, 1941, John's second wife, Mary, suffered a heart attack and died. He was eighty years old at the time of her passing, and was unable to take care of himself. His children were grown and married, so he lived the remainder of his life with his son, Orson, in St. George and Pine Valley, Utah. He died, after a life of service for his fellowmen, on November 20, 1947. He was a good-natured, even-tempered, and likable man, and was highly esteemed by his friends and neighbors. He always determined to exercise fairness in all his dealings, both personal and business, with his fellowman. He had been blessed with two faithful companions and two fine sons who lived to maturity, and will be remembered by his descendants for the exemplar life he lived and the good he did for mankind.