William Cook Prows
(1827 –1894)
It was the upper Kanawha Valley, Virginia (now West Virginia), on the eleventh day of June, 1827, that a son was born in the home of Thomas Prows and Elenor Kounts (Kountz). He was given the name of William Cook Prows. Two brothers, John Thomas Prows, born July 15, 1819, and Daniel “W” Prows, born 1824, along with a sister, Mary Ann Prows, born February. 22, 1822, greeted the new child.
Thomas Prows’ father was born April 17, 1792. We have record of two brothers of this Thomas, a Daniel and a Samuel G. His mother, Elenor Kounts, was born January 4, 1802. Temple records indicate that both Thomas and Elenor came from Virginia. We also have record of three sisters of Eleanor—Mary, Jerusha, and Margaret—listed from St. Louis Missouri.
Very little is known about the route his family followed westward. However, records indicate that other brothers and sisters were born in Ohio, Indiana and Illinois.
We know that after arriving in Utah territory, William married Lodeskey Ann Roberds on the 14th day of April, 1850. He entered plural marriage by taking Louisa Melinda Rowan James to wife on 6 June, 1867. Like so many others, this led to difficulties because of laws passed by the federal government prohibiting polygamy.
In 1891, William Cook Prows sold his property and farm of 12 acres to Anthony Paxton for $650 to move to Mexico. His family had coaxed him into going there that they might get away from the U.S. Marshals.
In the year 1892, William went as far as Mesa City, Arizona, accompanied by Lodeskey and their sons, John and Joseph, with their families.
The following November, his second wife Louisa James, and family, joined them in Mesa. On Christmas eve of that year, 1893, William remark to his wives, “well, I am going to give to all my children here, something that I have never given them before and never will again.” Awakening Christmas morning, each child found by his stocking a watermelon picked fresh from the vine and a bottle of wine William’s own making.
Early in the spring of 1894, William took Louisa and her family and left for Mexico. Elizabeth Jane Barney narrated this adventure:
We were going from Mesa to Juarez, Mexico for the purpose of establishing a home. We pastor El Paso, Texas and traveled several days out into the desert. There were three wagons and one buggy in this caravan. The trip from Mesa to Mexico took about a month. After several days journey from Tucson, my mother became very sick which continued to increase in intensity as time went on… My father desire to get out of the sand into a country where gravel could be located, for the purpose he later stated, to find a suitable place to bury mother, as he feared that she would pass on any minute… On the certain day, he started very early in the morning in order to make as much distance as possible, but after traveling a few hours, my mother’s stated that she could not stand the jarring any longer… Camp was made and preparations were made for breakfast. Then man suddenly appeared in camp not more than 10 or 20 feet away. The stranger asked, “How are you?” To which my father replied, “I have a mighty sick wife.” Father raised the wagon cover, the stranger extended his hand and placed it on mother’s forehead and gently rubbed her head… After a few minutes he said to father, ”Come out here and I will show you something to give your wife and she will be all right and you can be on your way.” A scrubby tree was some green berries on it was near. After taking a few of these he went on a short distance and told father to gather the leaves from a small shrub growing in the desert. He told my father to steep a tea from the berries and leaves.
Father insisted that he stay and have breakfast but he said he must be on his way. One of the children did something which drew our attention and, upon looking up, the stranger had suddenly vanished. The tea was made and given and my mother soon revived.
It was sometime in March before we reach Colonia Juarez, Mexico and they started planting their crops immediately. One afternoon in May, William Cook wasn’t feeling well. That night he arose from his bed and went outside where he was very ill. Louisa brought him back into the house and seeing that he was dying, cried, “Oh, William, don’t go and leave me in this God-forsaken country all alone!”
Before he died he said to Eliza, “I want you to go back to Utah and see that my father is sealed to my mother and their children sealed to their parents for they have all been sealed to President Brigham Young.” This sealing was attended to by President Lorenzo Snow. William Cook Prows died May 24, 1894, at Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico. They had no money with which to bury him, but a Mr. Thomas Romney loaned them enough with which to bury him and the Relief Society made his clothes. He died at 5 o’clock in the morning, and the government gave them until 2 o’clock the next day to get him buried. But at 8 o’clock the next morning a messenger came to the door and told them that Mr. Prows had to be in the ground by 9 o’clock, which gave them one hour. They just got him into the ground when the hour was up and here came the law.
William Cook Prows was not unprepared to meet his Maker, for his faith, sacrifice, hardships and obedience to the Gospel had brought many rich blessings, which he recognized had been given him.
He honored his priesthood above all else. He was a Seventy and a High Priest and died a faithful Latter-day Saint. He sacrificed his association with his father, sisters, and brothers that he might be with the body of the Church. He showed kindness and love to his fellow men and lifted the downtrodden. He followed the Savior’s admonition, “Thou shalt teach my children to walk uprightly before me.” His children and grandchildren down through the ages should feel grateful for the heritage he left them, a heritage to be proud of, a goal to work for and an example to follow.
The death of William C. was a heartbreaking experience for his family. On the eighth day of December, 1895, they left Mexico, arriving at Mesa City, Arizona, the latter part of January, 1896. They left Mesa on 8 June, 1896, and went on to Kanosh. After a few years at Kanosh, Louisa moved to Clawson and resided a number of years, experiencing extreme hardship and privation, until the boys grew to manhood, where they tenderly cared for her in her later years. They moved out into the Uintah basin at Altonah, Duchesne County, and Louisa lived there until five days before her death in Salt Lake City, January 4, 1929. She had gone to visit her daughter, Elizabeth J. Barney, caught a bad cold and was not able to fight it. She was buried in Kanosh, Utah. Her sons-in-law were heard many times to remark, “She was one of the best women that God ever sent to earth.” Besides her own eight children she raised seven orphans.
Lodeskey Ann had remained in Arizona to see how they came out in Mexico. It is said she bought a tombstone in Mesa and took it down to Mexico to put at her husband’s grave. She had to get a Mexican permit to put it on the grave. In August, 1894, she applied to the US government for widow’s pension and it was granted to her. She left Mesa on June 8, 1896, and returned to Kanosh, Utah. In 1907 she moved to Salina, Utah to live with her eldest son, John Thomas. There she died on September 2, 1922, at the age of 87. She was buried in Salina Utah.
Excerpted from the family generation book and submitted by Merle Howle Dow, granddaughter
Stalwarts South of the Border pg 553