George William Hardy
1863-1921
My father, George William Hardy was born in Mountain Dell, now part of Salt Lake City, Utah, on December 2, 1863 and was the son of Josiah Guile Hardy and Ann Denston. Josiah was born March 17, 1813 in Bradford, Essex County, Massachusetts. His ancestors had lived there for over 200 years.
Josiah Guile married Sarah Clark on May 17, 1835 and they joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on November 6, 1842 and left for Utah on April 29, 1852. They were the parents of ten children, seven boys and three girls.
In Utah Josiah Guile met Ann Denston and they were married on October 25, 1857. Later he took Sarah and Ann to the Endowment House and they were sealed to him on March 17, 1858. They were sealed by President Brigham Young.
George William Hardy was the third child born to Ann. Abner Parker and Mary Ann were older. Father was only about three years old when the crickets invaded Utah and the crops were saved by seagulls. In the big move south his parents along with others would rather set fire to their homes than to see them go to the army that was ready to invade Salt Lake City. Laura Ann and Lois Ann were born before they left Salt Lake City and moved to St. George, Utah in Washington County where the rest of the children, Willard Guile, John Dean, Seth Taft, Aaron Bradford and Able Woodruff were born.
George’s father, Josiah worked on the Tabernacle and St. George Temple from start to finish. He donated $500 in labor. After the temple was completed, George and his mother helped with the janitor work for years. They also did ordinance work for the dead. George had his endowments when he was 15 and was baptized and endowed many times for the dead. Grandmother was endowed for 976 and baptized for 19,708.
In 1884 George William Hardy married Julia Ann Rogers. Their first child, George Guile was born on December 26, 1886 and the second Julia Irene, was born on November 13, 1889. In 1890 they, along with Josiah Guile and family, left St. George and went to Colonia Diaz, Chihuahua, Mexico. Then they moved to Colonia Pacheco in 1891.
Thresa Ann was born January 10, 1892 and David Rogers, May 3, 1894. Julia’s last baby, Vivian was born April 3, 1898 but only lived three months, dying July 3, 1898.
The Pacheco Ward was organized in 1891 with Jesse N. Smith as Bishop. In 1895 he moved away and the Father was ordained a High Priest, December 11, 1895 by Apostle Francis M. Lyman and was set apart as the new Bishop which office he held for nine years.
About the same time the Hardy’s moved to Pacheco, John Rowley and his family moved there from Nephi, Utah. Emma Ozello Johnson was John’s fourth wife and they had a family of six children. Emma Sylvania Rowley was the second child and eldest daughter.
George William Hardy and Emma were married on March 8, 1898. George built a two-room log cabin across the street from Emma’s mother’s home for her.
During the winter of 1898-1899, George took a temporary job as blacksmith in Colonia Juarez. Here Emma’s first son, William Gilbert, was born February 6, 1899. In the early spring the family moved back to Pacheco. Herbert Josiah was born September 12, 1900. When they were expecting another child, George added two more rooms. Georgina was born April 28, 1902.
In 1902 George William Hardy married a third wife, Betsy Ann Butler. To them were born four children. Emma’s next child was born November 17, 1903, Ervin John. When Ervin was three months old, George sold his homes in Pacheco and moved his families to Juarez. There he made cans of all sizes for fruit canning.
George William Hardy was a friend of Anthony W. Ivins, both in St. George and later in Mexico. George played in the Juarez Academy band and was a member of the choir. He also played organ and “called” for the square dances.
The Hardy homes were frequently filled with guests. Friends and relatives on their way to and from Pacheco, Diaz, and Dublan would stop over and were always welcome.
A daughter, Emma, was born May 18, 1906 and a year later George sold out in Juarez and moved to Diaz where he had purchased a 100 acre farm. Their home was just a little adobe house until he had time to build a larger one. Here, another daughter, Bertha, was born November 14, 1908 to Emma and early the next spring we moved into the new home. Soon after arriving in Diaz, George moved Julia to and her family to St. George and were later divorced.
In Diaz, George still worked at blacksmithing. He owned and operated a molasses mill on the farm. He built a large barn with corrals and soon had cattle, pigs, sheep, chickens and ducks. He built a large reservoir and dug a well in which he installed a gasoline pump to help furnish water for irrigation for the garden and cultivated part of the farm. The rest of the land was used as pasture.
A son, Milton Lorenzo, was born December 6, 1911. By this time the Revolution troubles were getting so bad that life on the farm was not safe. The following summer on July 28, 1912, the Hardy’s left their homes and everything to go back to the United States. George furnished teams and wagons for a number of the townspeople to leave in. His own family was in a white-top buggy. Bed rolls and food were in a wagon.
They traveled to Hachita, New Mexico where they lived in tents put up by the U.S. Army for three or four months. When it was decided that they could not return to Mexico, George and his brother John took their families to Tucson, Arizona. George sent Betsy to Paragonah, Utah where she wanted to go. Later that year they were divorced and Betsy married Mr. Adams.
George William Hardy and family spent one winter in Tucson, then went to Thatcher, Arizona, stopping at Mesa for a few months to work during the haying season.
In Thatcher, George leased a blacksmith shop and stayed there for a year. Emma was very ill all winter. In the evenings George would sit by her and carve such things as wall ornaments and rattles, windlasses and swings in bottles. He also carved doll heads for the three girls, for which Emma and Grandmother Rowley made rag bodies and dresses. Emma needed to live in a cooler climate so George, hearing of the wonderful opportunities in Idaho, decided to move there along with David Rowley. They left in July traveling by team and wagon, and were nine weeks on the road, with a stopover for a week in Salt Lake City. While traveling, George did all the cooking on campfires, preparing delicious meals for the family. On Saturdays he would watch for a pretty campsite for Sunday. They never traveled or worked on Sunday but spent the day resting and reading.
They arrived in Oakley, Cassia County, Idaho September 18, 1914. There George purchased a lot on Center Street and built a blacksmith shop with a nice home just next to it. As we looked down on Oakley from the top of East Mountain, George promised Emma that within two years she would be living in her own home. He kept that promise and the family moved into a new home in 1916 in time in Thanksgiving.
George loved all kinds of sports, and was a good sport himself. They children loved to have him tell of his tricks and pranks as a boy and they were always in fun and not at too much expense of others. He loved music and was a good singer. He had good health all his life. He hardly ever got sick, but in November of 1920 he suffered a heart attack. He was unable to work after that and died of a stroke while driving up Main Street in a wagon on June 18, 1921 at age 56, a young man really, but one who had lived a full life.
He had a strong testimony of the Gospel, paid an honest tithing all his life and Sunday always found him in church with his family. Sunday amusements were out of our family. He had a great faith in the power of prayer and the Priesthood of God. In his home George always would administer to his children in sickness and then call the doctor if needed. When a son, Ervin, fell off a cliff and was critically hurt, the doctor said that nothing but George’s great faith saved the child’s life. The doctor also said that when George died, it would have to be suddenly because he had too much faith to go any other way.
He was a hard worker all his life. After coming to Oakley he would shoe as many as 20 horses a day for the Vipont Mine freighters. This may have brought on his early death at the age of 56.
Georgina Hardy Puckett, daughter
Stalwarts South of the Border, Nelle Spilsbury Hatch page 215