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William Cook Prows

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William Cook Prows

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

George Washington Sevey

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George Washington Sevey

George Washington Sevey

1832 – 1902

George W. Sevey, the first Bishop of Colonia Juarez, was born February 25, 1932, in Le Roy, Genesee County, New York.  He was a son of George and Hannah Libby Sevey.

In LeRoy, a frontier township, his education was limited to about six months of actual schooling, yet his love of learning made him conversant with topics of the day and gave him what was considered a normal level of education for pioneer times.

He grew into a strong, well built man, with a pleasing personality that drew people to him. He was the main support of his widowed mother, and in 1849, wishing to add to her material welfare, he acquired the “gold fever” that sent hundreds of easterners to California.  Hiring himself out as a teamster to accompany of gold seekers, he started his long trek to the West, promising his mother that he would return with enough gold to fill her every need.

On his way west, he heard unfavorable reports of the Mormons and so determined to avoid them.  He probably would have bypassed Salt Lake City or made haste to pass through it, had he not become so ill that he was replaced as a teamster and left at a wayside camp. In telling later of this part of the story, he recalled thinking he had died and that his spirit left his body. His spirit hovered near enough to observe the body, repulsive and emaciated as it lay beside a stream. But something told him his work was not yet finished, and that he must re-inhabited his body. He was soon picked up by a passing party and left in Salt Lake City.

Distrustful and fearful of people of whom he had heard unfavorable comments, dreaded contact with them. He had to have work, however, or starve. A friendly Mormon offered him a teaming job, moving freight to Palmyra, Utah.  There he took lodging with the Mormon family and was taught the Gospel by the way this family lived. His fears began to seem foolish, and his heart softened. One night he attended a cottage meeting out of curiosity.  There a miracle happened. And man to whom he had been listening indifferently, unexpectedly began speaking a strange language.  Even more strange was fact that George can understand them. The man was speaking directly to him, in a language  non one else could understand. “You must not deny the voice speaking to you, or be deaf to what it is trying to tell you. Listen, and you will be the means of taking the Gospel plan of salvation to your widowed mother and be a savior to her.”

These words so disturbed him that he was unaware of the sermons end.  The hush and quiet of the room aroused him and he heard the next speaker ask if anyone had the interpretation of the sermon spoken “in tongues.” When no one responded he wondered why they all could not understand it as well as he had. But his lips are sealed and he could not tell them the wonderful thing that has happened to him. All he could do was sit with questions racing through his mind. When the questioners singled him out and pointed asked, “don’t you know the interpretation?” He merely shook his head. When the meeting was over without any interpretation being given, he walked out, wondering why he had denied something he knew was true.  Throughout the night he was tormented by a feeling of cowardice. On his knees, he confessed to his maker his weaknesses, asked for strength to do as his heart dictated, and then dropped into slumber. Then, first the family, and later to the Elders, he confessed to the conviction he had formulated during the night. With peace in his soul, he knew his search for truth was over, that though he had not found the gold he had left home to seek, he found something far more precious. He later fulfilled the promise that he would be a savior to his mother by sending a team to the Mississippi River to meet her, and she was brought to spend her last days in his home in Panguitch. She died a firm believer in the Gospel.

He was baptized May 3, 1853 by Steven Markham, presiding Elder of Spanish Fork, then a frontier town made up of Saints who had to abandon settlement attempts at Palmyra. Here he met the Redds, the Paces and the Butlers to whom he became attached and with whom he was to spend much of his later life. Here he met Lem Redd, who became a lifelong friend, and this friendship was cemented into a family relationship when they married sisters. George married Phoebe Butler, daughter of John Lowe and Caroline Farozine Skeen Butler, December 5, 1854. They spent their early married life in Spanish Fork.

George was helpful in harnessing mountain waters, and bringing life to the sage-covered desert areas and planting orchards, fields and gardens. He was a factor in carrying out Brigham Young’s policy of feeding rather than fighting the Indians and took the lead in a campaign to share food and make friends with them. He built a cabin for himself and his wife on the banks of the Spanish Fork River. She cooked what they ate over an open fireplace. She carded and spun cloth for clothing and he made their shoes. Undaunted they endured pioneer life together.

In 1861, he was called to help settle southern Utah, at Harmony, Washington County, being among the first to locate there. It was then called Ash Fort, and was near old Fort Harmony. They made the trip from Spanish Fork in a covered wagon drawn by oxen, with one extra ox and two cows. They spent the night with John D. Lee had built the fort. George and Phoebe were among the first settlers, and made camp near the Jim Payson family, also relatives by marriage. Their tent was soon replaced with a log cabin.

But the “Big Storm” the next year crumbled the fort, washed away a part of their farmland, and even took two lives. So a move four miles north was imperative, and the town became New Harmony. New settlers arrived, the Redds and more Paces.

George was made First Counselor to Wilson D. Pace when a Ward was organized. He built a three-room log house, cleared land, got a few sheep and cows, peddled what he raised in the mining town of Pioche, Nevada, and soon set up a store in New Harmony with a Mr. Pateson, a Pioche merchant, to back him in the buying and selling of merchandise.  It was New Harmony’s first store. He also built a water-powered sawmill with an up-and-down saw, and hauled timber from Pine Valley Mountain with ox teams.

Here he met Margaret Nebraska Imlay, daughter of James Haven and Hannah Eliza Coward Imlay. With her, George made his first step into the principle of plural marriage. Two years later, he was called by President Brigham Young to lead a party and resettle Panguitch now that Indian troubles had subsided. He placed the following advertisement in the Deseret News: “All that wish to go with us to resettle Panguitch Valley will meet at Red Creek on the fourth day of March 1871, and we will go over the mountain in company to settle that country.”  From Red Creek (Paragonah) he drove over rough mountainous roads into a high valley where cold and snow had made the fertile valley prohibitive for settlement until arduous labor and wise planning made it into a thriving community.  A mountain stream was harnessed, soon making it a community surrounded by ranches and farms, where sheep and cattle businesses prospered.  Panguitch, within two years, numbered 500 people, and George became its first Bishop, a position he held for nine years.  In 1875 he went with others to Potato Valley to assist in the settlement of what later became Escalante.  In 1877, when the Panguitch Stake was organized he was chosen to be the First Counselor to Stake President James Henrei, but still maintained his office as Bishop.  In these two capacities he attended the dedication of the St. George Temple in 1877, going by way of Pipe Springs to inspect the source for food that was provided to temple workers.

On December 19, 1877, George married Martha Ann Thomas of Pine Valley, Utah, a daughter of John Pledger and Mahala Matthews Thomas.  The following year, as a favor to the Hole-in-the-Rock Expedition, George, in company with Lem Redd, George Morrell and George Hobbs, floated a raft over the Colorado River, and, in deep snow, spent almost a month marking out a wagon road from the Colorado River to Bluff on the San Juan River.

While he was Bishop, many industries were started:  shoe and harness shops, a printing press, a shingle mill, pottery plant, and others.  The community boasted of many tradesmen, such as carpenters, masons, blacksmiths, seamstresses and musicians. A church-schoolhouse of brick was soon built to climax other enterprises.  He was rated as one of the outstanding characters of the pioneer days.  He made brooms for sale, shoes for himself and others, and before his life was over he had become successful in farming, stock raising, freighting, and promoted the building of roads, canals, and railroad grades.  By 1885 he was considered a well-to-do man.  Cattle and sheep stocked his ranches, his barns were filled with hay.  His dairy furnished milk which was sold to miners in Nevada.  His comfortable homes housed contented families.

But in that year, 1885, the hopeful outlook for the future was drastically changed by the enforcement of the Edmunds Act that outlawed his form of family living.   To escape arrest and imprisonment he left it all, took his plural families and joined others fleeing to Mexico.  He located at Camp Turley near San Jose on the Casas Grandes River while waiting for land purchases to be completed.  There he heard the letter read that appointed him Presiding Elder of Colonia Juarez.  When word came to move onto property finally purchased, he led the camp members to what later was called Old Town.  When it was discovered that they had put their improvements on private property, he led them to the present site of Colonia Juarez, maintained the same policy toward land ownership and used the same method to build a brotherhood and neighborly atmosphere.

George took a town lot after the survey was completed, and a farm up the river, then started operations for building canals to bring water to the desolate spot their real claim turned out to be.  He promoted road building over the eastern hills to facilitate entrance to the town.  He scouted the forbidding San Diego Canyon over which lumber had to be hauled from the sawmill on top of the mountains.  He encouraged the completion of the school and church house and bought a tannery in which John. J. Walser and sons soon began making leather from the tanned hides of cattle. He established Martha Ann in the lumber home he soon built on his town lot, and Margaret in the same type of home four miles up the river.  From an orchard he was soon peddling fruit, and he raised alfalfa on both pieces of property.

In June of 1887, the Juarez Ward was organized and Miles P. Romney and Ernest L. Taylor were appointed as his Counselors, making an outstanding Bishopric.  Miles P. Romney kept watch over the morals of the community and promoted cultural activities and set a level that is still maintained.  Ernest L. Taylor, besides being the peace officer, promoted businesses of cattle and stock raising.  Bishop Sevey, warmhearted and congenial, full of compassion for the erring, quick to see the needs of those struggling against odds, kept the principles of brotherhood growing.

 

George was saddened when word reached him of the death of his wife Phoebe, who passed away on August 4, 1892 in Panguitch. It was impossible to attend her funeral. This bereavement was beset with another worry, that of Maggie’s ill health. Before the next three years had passed, it was plain to see her illness was malignant. With no medical help in the country to fight this dread killer, and knowing of his good friend Doctor Blackburn in Utah, George immediately fixed a conveyance in which he could travel comfortably and set out to get help.  He traveled against time and did his best to cover the miles with all possible speed. It was in vain. Maggie died within a few miles of their destination. He buried her in Panguitch beside his departed Phoebe.

The return to Mexico to move Martha Ann to the farm, put the motherless children into her care, and was soon at work again in his capacity as a ward leader. He made sure that the owner of every lot had his quota of hillside pasture for milk cows. He created a fund for the keeping of widows and those in need. He had the rare art of giving without hurting, and too many he became an Angel of mercy. He frowned on bickering among neighbors and from the pulpit urged his congregation not to “go into the new year with hard feelings against her neighbor. Go to him and acknowledge her faults if you have been wronged. If you can’t fix it up among yourselves, then let the Ward Teachers help.”  Created a scab pasture for tithing cattle and a storehouse for produce gathered by the Deacons as fast offerings, and dispensed it to those in need.

George’s long life on the frontier was taking its toll, however. In deference to this he was released as Bishop in 1896, is six years later he died, on June 22, 1902. He was buried in the cemetery in Colonia Juarez. He left the posterity of 30 children, among whom are financiers, state legislator, bishops, many missionaries and church workers, all blessed with benign qualities and all promoters of the love of brotherhood.

Tom Sevey, son

Stalwart’s South of the Border Nelle Spilsbury Hatch  page 605

Lemuel Hardison Redd

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Redd house Colonia Juarez, Mexico. Courtesy of www.brimhallkerby.com

Redd house Colonia Juarez, Mexico. Courtesy of www.brimhallkerby.com

Redd, Lemuel H

 

 

Lemuel Hardison Redd

                (1836 – 1910)

Lemuel Hardison Redd, eldest son and fifth child of John Hardison and Elizabeth Hancock Redd, was born at Sneeds Ferry, Onslow County, North Carolina, July 31, 1836.

In 1839 his parents moved to Murfreesboro, Tennessee, where his father acquired a huge tobacco plantation and purchase slaves to operated it. In 1842, converted to the Gospel by John D. Lee, he was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Becoming convinced that one man should not be in bondage to another, he freed his slaves, sold his plantation, invested the proceeds in wagons and ox teams and prepared to migrate to Zion. While these negotiations were in progress, he and his wife made a trip to Nauvoo to become acquainted with Joseph Smith. There they were given Patriarchal Blessings by Hyrum Smith.

Emigrating west they joined Captain Session’s company at the Missouri River. Lem, a boy of 14, walked and drove and ox team the entire distance to Utah. Although slight in weight and short in stature, he was agile and strong and a quick and willing worker. When cholera broke out in camp, taking the lives of many, he and his father both survived an attack. Without further incident, other than fear of Indians and of being run down by buffalo stampedes, they arrived in Salt Lake Valley in October, 1850.  The family settled in Provo, then a village of some 50 families. There Lem and his sisters went to school, and one sister, Mary Catherine, died.  The next year, the Redds, with William Pace and family, moved to Spanish Fork, being pioneers in its settlement. There John, the father, built the first sawmill, which was burned by hostile Indians. Soon afterward, Lem was assigned defense service against the Indians, while his father assisted in erection of a fort. This was the beginning of the Walker War.

There seem to be no time to build the rock house which John H. had in mind to duplicate his Murfreesboro home, and it was postponed. His wife Elizabeth, and his son, John Holt, both died.  Soon after, his two older daughters, Moriah and Elizabeth, married Wilson D. Pace and Harvey Pace in a double wedding.  Lem himself married Keziah Jane Butler, daughter of John Lowe and Caroline Skeen Butler, on January 2, 1856.

All these family changes made John’s dream house pointless and his mission to help settle the Muddy was given up. Lem, newly married and still living in the fort, was called to take his father’s place in settling the Muddy.

Members of this party were chosen with care. They were instructed on what the mission entailed and learning something of the Indian’s nature and various approaches to them. All were well supplied with guns and ammunition and instructed in self-protection. They left in the spring of 1856 and, after traveling some time but seeing no Indians, they became alarmed for they were aware of nearness by signs.  Horses were driven off, and clothing and foodstuffs were stolen and unobserved moments. One Indian was seen from a distance, but he skulked out of sight. How could they make friends with such an elusive people and fulfill the mission of preaching the Gospel to them? As result, they were released and allowed to return to their homes, Lem went back to his home in the fort, and 1856 , his first son, Lemuel Hardison, Jr., was born.  Life in the fort created bonds fellowship.

Relationships were cemented between the Butlers, the Paces, the Seveys, the Redds and other first settlers of Spanish Fork.  John Lowe Butler was Lem’s father-in-law as well as that of George W. Sevey, who had married Keziah, Jane’s sister, Phoebe.  Harvey and Wilson Pace were his brothers-in-law, and all remained firm and lifelong friends.

 The year 1856 was a hard one. An epidemic of measles afflicted most of them, Lem and Keziah (Kizzie) being confined to their beds at the same time. Snow lay on the ground three and four feet deep.  Canyon roads were so completely blocked that all able-bodied men were called to keep the passes open.  In the snowbound state, telegrams came stating that immigrant Saints, late in beginning their trek across the plains, were starving and freezing in the mountains. Lem was chosen to go with his father and others to rescue them.

In 1858, Lem’s father was thrown from a horse and killed, leaving a young wife, Mary Lewis, and a year-old baby daughter besides his half-grown son, Benjamin.  That year crops were good and life seemed propitious. But the Utah War disturbed and frighten the Saints. Lem, with about 2,000 other men, became part of a standing army detailed to do guard at mountain passes in an effort to keep Johnston’s Army from entering Salt Lake City.  When the crisis was over, he settled down to help build up Spanish Fork in to a beautiful and prosperous settlement.

In 1862, a call came from President Brigham Young for settlers to go to southern Utah. Lem, the Butlers, the Seveys and Paces were among those called.  By that time, Lem was the father of four children:  Lem, six; Mary Jane, four; John, two; and William, a babe in arms.  He sold his property, invested in teams and wagons, placed heavy machinery and furniture and a sturdy wagon, his wife and children with bedding, clothing and foodstuffs in the lighter one, and his six-year-old son, Lem, and brother, Ben, to drive the loose stock, set out for St. George.  At Harmony, however where the Seveys and Paces had already located, they ended their journey and settle among relatives and acquaintances.  The settlement at this time, following a washout by the “Big Storm” earlier in the year, was moving to higher ground.  The storm had destroyed the fort, washed away a part of the farmland, and a New Harmony was being established 4 miles farther north. At New Harmony, they met John D. Lee, who had carried the Gospel to Lem’s parents in Kentucky, and was the founder of New Harmony.

Lem moved onto lot near the river. But not being satisfied with either the location of the house, he soon built more commodious Adobe home on higher ground in which the Redds lived for the next eight years.  Here three more children are born. November 5, 1866, he entered the principle of plural marriage and married Sarah Louise Chamberlain. She was the daughter, and only child, of Solomon Chamberlain and Theresa Morse her father had crossed the plains as Brigham Young’s teamster in the original group of pioneers in 1847. Soon after this marriage, Lem bought the John D. Lee home, and unfurnished two-story building against the foothills of the Pine Mountains. John D. Lee was then a fugitive from justice as the accused leader in the Mountain Meadows massacre.

Lem and his boys finished the home and made it into a duplex with Louisa occupying the north half and Keziah the South half.  Here, peaceful family living was enjoyed for 20 years and a setting was provided for a tranquil life for every child in the home. Each member willingly accepted his share of responsibilities and cooperated in the distribution of work about the house and farm. To Luisa were born 11 children and all but the two older ones, who died in infancy, were born after settling in the Lee home.  To Keziah, five were born there. Life seemed good in the future bright.

All this changed, however, with the passing of anti-polygamy legislation that made polygamy a crime and everyone who entered into it a criminal. Almost overnight, their free, wholesome life was changed to one of anxiety. Plural wives were also to be arrested. A hideout for both Lem and Louisa was made in the wash behind the house, that was used many times when the approach of U.S. Marshals was suspected.  In addition, Lem created reasons for being absent from home, going to and from places where businesses were created, under cover of night.  He went to Mesa, Arizona, to visit his daughter, Jane, and to San Juan where he that isolated section of Utah was open for colonization. Any place where safety seemed possible he went. He served as scout for the first company that set out for San Juan by way of the Hole-in-the-Rock. Lem and three Georges – Hobbs, Morrell, and Sevey – loaded pack mules with bedding and food for eight days, and went ahead to locate a possible trail through almost impassable country to the Colorado River and beyond. The eight days stretched to 28 before they returned.   

It was considered a miracle that they survived, considering the ordeals they passed through. After leaving the main company at Hole-in-the-Rock, they ferried themselves across the Colorado River. There they were confronted with many canyons leading off from the river, only one of which, of course, was the San Juan River canyon which led to the outpost for which the company was headed.  Exhausting themselves and their animals by climbing the top of ridge after ridge, and further expending their strength and food on several vain searches, they finally reached a barrier through which they never could have found their way except that a mountain goat whose trail they followed led them down. Wallowing through snow drifts, have frozen and facing hunger, they made camp wondering if they could hold out until sight of the San Juan River was gained. The next morning, Lem in formed the others it if they would go with him to the top of a nearby knoll, he would show them the San Juan River just as it had appeared to him in a dream. As he predicted, there before them lay that glinting waters of the river they sought and off to the left Blue Mountain, a landmark they sought.  This site was so cheering that although they had been without food for five days, they completed the journey to a log cabin on the San Juan River into which they stumbled half dead from hunger. Then, refreshed with food, they retraced their steps, marking a feasible route over Grey Mountain and delivered to the anxious Hole-in-the-Rockers the message of a possible way to reach their destination  their tired bodies, weather-beaten faces and tattered clothing were mute evidence of what the information had cost.

Lem later made a trip to Bluff, after a better route had been made, on vacation with two daughters, Delle and Ellen, to help his son, Monroe, move cattle, and at the same time to dodge marshals. They had not proceeded far, however, when signs behind them indicated they were being followed. To avoid being taken by surprise, Lem slept in some hideout each night and all were on the lookout through the day. Deciding one night they had outdistance there pursuers, he began to lay out his bedroll in camp. “My second thought is that I’d better not,” and he slipped into the darkness. Ten minutes later, two marshals suddenly stepped into the firelight with a warrant for the arrest of L. H. Redd.

At Bluff, Lem found a possible place to move his wife, Louisa.  For two years this to be the right decision, but marshals again put in their appearance and he realized that a better place must be found. Mexico was the place. It seemed a last resort.

In 1891, Lem loaded Louisa and her children, including baby Effie, who had been born in Bluff, but excluding Wayne, who had married, into wagons and again began the lonely trek to a foreign country. They faced water shortage in desert sections, grim fears as they passed through Indian country, and the anxiety of running out of food. They arrived in Colonia Juarez in the fall the year. There they would live the rest of their lives.

Louisa’s 13th child, Ancil, was born in the little rock house on the Alfred Baker farm above town.  And her 14th, Hazel, was born in a frame house they had bought just outside town limits. Later they built a spacious, two-story brick home on the same lot. Into it the family moved. And by industry and love beautiful they made it a show place.

For the first four years, Lem’s time was divided between his home in Mexico and that the new harmony. Hectic living of the past years have allowed his Harmony farm and home to run down.  Kizzie was in poor health with cancer, from which she died on May 15, 1895.  Lem sold his property and interests in New Harmony and spent his entire time in Colonia Juarez, of which he and his family soon became an integral part. He acted as a High Councilman to help in the deliberations that made for the best and surest growth of the community. His children were active in school and community affairs. Life was good and free from fears of the houndings of the “underground days.”

When the Juarez Stake was first organized 1895, Lem was released from the High Council to become the First Counselor to Alexander F. McDonald, who was sustained as President of the High Priest Quorum. Shortly after, he was released and made Patriarch of the Juarez Stake of Zion.  In this capacity he endeavored to give each one of his living descendants a Patriarchal Blessing before he died.  In 1897, he attended the jubilee celebration of the LDS church held in Salt Lake City and connection with the October Conference.  There, he visited Alice and Vilo, Kizzie’s two youngest daughters, who were attending the University of Utah, his son, Lem and daughter Hattie from San Juan, and other immediate members of his family.   

In October, 1902, a memorable reunion with Kizzie’s children took place in Salt Lake City. To this gathering also went to Louisa from Mexico and her youngest child and her oldest son, Wayne.  The L. H. Redd family, long separated, was able to meet for the first time since the old happy days in the John D. Lee home in New Harmony.  They attended several sessions in the Salt Lake Temple together.

In March 1907, Louisa succumbed to an attack of pneumonia, her death leaving Lem bereft of a wife, with seven unmarried children, all of whom were away from home except Hazel, the youngest. Lem sold the “show place” home, and rented a house in town where he and12-year-old Hazel settled down to care for each other.  It was not for long. Failing health, incident to a broken hip and advancing years, resulted in his death on June 10, 1910 at the age of 74. He was buried in Colonia Juarez Chihuahua, beside his wife Louisa.  His 74 years of accomplishments, of triumphs, of hardships and of steadfastness to his church were over. Love for the Gospel was ever a dominant feature of his life, and he passed this on to his numerous posterity. Of the 21 children who survived L. H. Redd, none but have done honor to his name in this respect.

In business and the professions, his descendants have been above average in their success, public service, and loyalty to their country. In World War II, for example, his descendants served in all theaters of the war, and were a part of every division of the Armed Forces, some of them rising to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. In all, there were 70 representatives as of his family in active duty; 21 of these were officers.

Lem with his wives, Kezziah and Louisa, may well rest in peace. Their posterity do them proud.

Nelle Spilsbury Hatch Stalwarts South of the Border pg 563

John Rowley

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John Rowley

John Rowley, Mormon Colonies in Mexico

John Rowley

(1841 –1893)

John Rowley was born July 14, 1841 in Suckley, England. On May 4, 1856, a board the ship Thorton, John, his mother, three brothers and three sisters set sail for America in the port of Liverpool. His father had died in 1848.

They arrived in New York on June 14, 1856. By rail they commuted to Iowa City, arriving there on June 26. On July 15 he was one of the 500 souls making up Captain Willie’s handcart company headed for Salt Lake City.  Not until November 9 did they arrive in that city.  John was not able to travel farther because of frozen limbs which needed to be cared for. His mother was counseled to take the rest of her family to Nephi, Juab County, Utah.  John joined his mother there as soon as he recovered and there they established their first home in America.

John was the oldest child and took the responsibility of helping his mother with the family. He was not only progressive but had talents which so became a pioneer: the “know-how” and ability to subdue the earth.

In 1859, he married Frances Banks. Two children were born to them, John William and Frances Rosetta. Both children died. Later they were divorced. On September 10, 1864, he married Mary Ann Gadd to them were born 12 children.

On April 21, 1873, John married his first polygamous wife, Emma James Johnson, a widow having seven children. To them were born to children. On October 25, 1875, he married Emma Ozella Johnson.  They had six children. Two years later, on April 10, 1877 he married her sister, Orissa Jane Johnson. They became the parents of seven children.

Besides having built homes for his family he had also built and was operating a sawmill at the mouth of Salt Creek Canyon which was the first sawmill near Nephi. About four years later, he purchased 160 acres of land on which he built lovely homes for the families. He had to develop a system of irrigation for his land. After getting water to the land he developed a new project for which use the water. He built a reservoir in which to store water to create power for a plaster of paris mill.  Next, he built a large mill in the large waterwheel that stood 30 feet in the air. He constructed a wooden flume 12 inches square and 100 yards long that stood 20 feet in the air. By running water through the flume over the huge waterwheel he created the power to crush to powder the gypsum rock that he hauled from a hill nearby. After cooking the powder in a large boiler, it became a finished product of plaster of paris which was shipped to Salt Lake City. He donated hundreds of dollars worth of the plaster to the Church to be used in the building of the temple. The wastewater from the mill was used to water crops in the field.

He invented a machine and obtained a patent on it.  This he used to make cement pipes to carry water to his home. He tunneled into the mountain to get the water. A little later he made and laid cement pipes to carry water from Salt Creek to the town of Nephi, thus creating the first water system for that town. He built, owned and operated his own gristmill. For all these projects he operated his own carpenter and blacksmith shops.

In October 1884 he was called to labor as a missionary in Great Britain. Upon his return, he married Belinda Kendrick on July 28, 1886. At that time persecution of the Church, because of the practices polygamy, was very strong. John was advised to move his families to Mexico.

In the spring of 1888, he started on the trail to Mexico with three of his wives, Ozella, Orissa (with their children), and Belinda. When they reached Pima, Arizona, he decided it was necessary to remain there a while and work. So he set up a blacksmith shop and repaired wagons for freighters. There they spent the winter. The following year, in November, 1889, after a long, hard trip they arrived in Colonia Diaz. In the year 1890, John returned to Nephi to sell his property and move his wife, Mary Ann, and children to Mexico. He bought three wagons and about 30 head of cattle that his sons Jesse and Heber drove. They arrived in Central, Arizona, in the fall. There he left Mary Ann and the children, except Heber, who helped move the stock on into Mexico.  Again, in the spring of 1891, he returned to Arizona to get the rest of his family. They arrived in Colonia Diaz in September of that year. There he purchased a 12-acre farm and built two homes, one for Mary Ann and one for Belinda. To this couple were born three children. There he also built a flour mill and molasses mill.

He suddenly fell ill with pneumonia, and passed away on October 7, 1893 at Pacheco. 27 children mourned his death; five had preceded him.

 Ellen Farnsworth, granddaughter

Stalwarts South of the Border compiled by Nelle Spilsbury Hatch page 598

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=57713831

James Wilson Memmott

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James Wilson MemmottJames Wilson Memmott

James Wilson Memmott

(1851-1919)

James Wilson Memmott was born February 25, 1941 in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England to William Memmott and Ann Wilson.  He was the third child in a family of seven. James had some schooling until he was 10 years old. When he was 12 years old he commenced to learn the engineering trade and at the age of 18 learned part of the milling business.

James married Elizabeth Hopkins on March 24, 1861, and they started for Utah that April 23, sailing on the ship Underwriter.  They arrived in New York on May 29, about six days before the Civil War started. From New York they traveled by river to Saint Joseph, Missouri, and by steamboat to Florence, Nebraska, arriving June 10. They traveled from Florence to Salt Lake City in the Milo Andrews and Abner Duncan train. “We had a first rate time and a good trip. I don’t think we were $5.00 to the good or$5.00 to the bad when we arrived in Salt Lake.” Here James and his wife met some of their Sheffield friends, including Harry Roper and Mathew Rowman.

Came to his wife settled in Payson, Utah. There a baby girl, Annie Elizabeth, was born July 16, 1862, but James’s wife never recovered and died September 13, 1862. This was a great sorrow to James who felt many times that it would be easier to return to his home in England. His mother took the baby girl to raise as her own.

James remained in Payson even though his family moved to Scipio. He did well in the shingle making business. In 1866 he took charge of Or Simons’ mill and held it for over 20 years, during which time he bought about $10,000 worth of land, two threshing machines, two sawmills, and built a good home. On May 15, 1871 Jane married Jane Mathewson, a young lady from Scotland. They had 10 children.

1890, James left what he had accumulated to this family and went to Mexico, arriving in Colonia Juarez July 9. There he met William R. R. Stowell who was leaving the next morning for Deming, New Mexico to find a Miller to run his gristmill. James, being a miller, was hired at one dollar a day. As people moved in, business increased, and it wasn’t long before James began to accumulate earthly possessions. Making a new start in business at the age of 49, and establishing himself and progressing as he did, is evidence of his industry, good management and thrift.

James married Mary Ann Miller Hills on June 14, 1894. They soon bought a home of their own. James ran the Stowell Gristmill for six years. He then bought a mill in Casas Grandes from Joseph Jackson for 12,000 pesos and operated it for seven years. After this, he sold it back to Joseph Jackson and moved to Colonia Juarez. During seven years James ran the mill at Casas Grandes he also ran a farm in San Jose which he had bought from Peter N. Skousen.  Later, he purchased a farm in Colonia Dublan and moved his family there. In 1907 he built a good trick home like many of the Saints were building in the colonies at that time.

James and Marianne had five children and a son of Mary Ann’s by a former marriage whom James treated as his own.  He and his family left Mexico in 1912 when all the people left. They returned once in 1915 the left again when general Pershing’s army came out. James died at his home in El Paso, Texas, on February 13, 1919, at the age of 78.

Violet Monroe Jensen, granddaughter

Stalwarts South of the Border page 480

Eli Whipple

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Eli Whipple

Eli Whipple younger

      Eli Whipple

      (1820 – 1904)

Eli Whipple was the fourth child of John and Mary Jane Whipple. He was born October 17, 1920, at Lucorn, Warren County, New York.

 At the age of 15 his parents left New York and went to Pennsylvania where he located in McKean County in the town of Bradford. They bought a farm and put in a sawmill in store. His father was very successful in all these ventures. Eli was in charge of the work until he was 21 years of age. He then met Patience Foster, who was the daughter of a successful lawyer. They were married and were happy in their home. They were members of the Christian Church until 1845. Then Eli joined the Mormons. Patience, however, was unhappy with this. Eli tried to persuade her to leave her mother and go with him and the Mormons, but to no avail. A child was on November 15, 1846. Her name was Marion.

Eli heard of riches in California and saw prospects of wealth. His wife Patience consented to go, so in 1852 they left New York and went to San Francisco where he went into the store and lumber business. They soon had three mills and made lots of money. However, early one spring, two mills burned down. They became discouraged and went to Utah, arriving on March 17, 1858. Eli invested in some woolen mills with some other fellows but lost a great deal of money. In the fall of 1861, Eli was called to help settle Dixie. He sold all he had and bought land there. It wasn’t long until he was busy making lumber to build homes. Here in 1861, he married a widow, Caroline Lytle, as his second wife, and had her two children, Edgar and Harriet, sealed to him. He bought more land and cattle and raise lots potatoes. In fact, he was called the “Potato King of Utah..”  He was called on a mission in 1872 to Ohio. On his return he started making butter and cheese. A man named Benjamin Clark then came to work for him. Clark had with him to nieces and a nephew: Mary Jane, Sarah, and Samuel Legg. Eli took Mary Jane as a third wife in the St. George Temple on July 6, 1877. At that time Eli was 57 and she was 19.

Because the enforcement of anti-polygamy legislation, Eli decided it best to go to Mexico. Two of his wives, however refused to go. Eli decided to make the move anyway. This was a difficult decision. Patience and Caroline, with their children, by choosing to remain behind, well knew that it meant not having a loving father to help in raising their families. Many tears were shed. They had all the worldly goods necessary to make them happy. For, at this time, Eli was one of the wealthiest men in southern Utah. By spring of 1887 everything was in readiness. They departed for a strange land where they knew they would have to pioneer and there would be many hardships. They knew little of the customs of the people of Mexico. It was a trial in many ways. It was a cold and long journey. They were two days in getting across the border.

The spring after arriving, Eli was an accident. He was thrown off a wagonload of lumber. He broke both his legs and some of his ribs. He was laid up for a year and had to walk to with two canes for the rest of his life. With his wife Mary Jane and her children he made cheese and butter and raise hogs for sale. He moved to Colonia Dublan and put up a blacksmith shop to get money for his family. He also had a vineyard and sold many grapes. A deeply religious man, Eli Whipple also enjoyed writing poetry. He died at the age of 84 on May 11, 1904.

Jennie W. Brown and Pearl W. Cooley granddaugters

Pg 770 Stalwarts South of the Border Nelle Spilsbury Hatch

Samuel Walter Jarvis

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Samuel Walter Jarvis

(1855-1923)

Samuel Walter Jarvis, third son and fifth child of George and Ann Prior Jarvis, was born in London, England, on April 18, 1855.  When he was less than three years of age, his parents emigrated to America, staying in Boston, Massachusetts, until means could be obtained to enable the family to join the Saints in Utah.

In his 6th year he walked much of the distance across the plains carrying his two-quart brass bucket, as each member of his family was responsible for some article of their few prized possessions.

At the October conference of 1861, his father answered President Young’s call for volunteers to settle the Dixie country.  This is said to have been one of the hardest pioneer settlements to develop.  Here it was that Samuel grew up under adverse circumstances, learning early to work and take responsibility.  Clothing was scant and food meager, and he helped provide it by killing rabbits and shooting wild ducks and geese in season along the Virgin River.  At times his trousers were made of wagon covers, and he often reversed them to get maximum wear.  He delighted to tell of one pair his mother made from buckskin.  Early one morning while shooting ducks, he had to wade into the river to retrieve them.  Soon his pants were much too long.  Boy-like, he cut them off, and soon cropped off a second piece.  By the time he reached home, the trousers had dried and the buckskin had shrunk until they were skintight and far too short, much to his mother’s consternation.

With practically no formal schooling, his knowledge came principally by observation and hard knocks.  He was fortunate, however, in that he parents used correct English, and he learned how to express himself clearly and fluently, as well as obtaining a meager knowledge of the three “R’s,” which stood him in good stead throughout his life.

He had contact with the Ute and Paiute Indians, and learned their customers and some of their language.  This helped him in his dealings with the Arizona Indians and with Mexicans in later years.  For a season in young manhood, he worked for George Q. Cannon in Salt Lake City.  While living with this family, he advanced rapidly in knowledge of the Gospel.

On December 4, 1877, he married Frances Godfrey Defriez, an English girl, in the St. George Temple.  Shortly after their marriage they were called as pioneers to help in the establishment of settlements in northern Arizona.   Consequently their first tow children were born in Snowflake.  They later lived in Taylor and Nutrio Ozo (now spelled Nutrioso).

In the early spring of 1885, with their family of three boys, Samuel Walter, Jr., George Josiah, and William Heber, they answered a request to cast their lot with a company of Saints seeking refuge from the officers of the law and hoping to establish homes in Mexico.  By prearrangement those leaving were to meet in Luna Valley, some miles distant from Snowflake, and travel all together by way of Silver City and Deming, New Mexico, where they were able to replenish their food supply and otherwise outfit themselves for the journey,.  Here also they caught up with a company captained by Lot Smith.  After experiencing such things as ten inches of snow on the mountain roads of Arizona, tracking and recovering stolen horses, a near skirmish with bandits, prairie fires, and trouble with natives, they finally arrived at “Mormon Camp” near Ascension, Mexico.  Ascension was at that time the custom house, or official port of entry. Here the immigrants camped on the Casas Grandes River under some cottonwood trees while legal negotiations were underway for obtaining land. These negotiations took many months to complete. Meanwhile, the men rented land from the native farmers or share cropped where possible in order to raise food for the coming winter. Within weeks of their arrival, on May 2, 1885, a daughter, Frances was born to Samuel W. and Frances G. D. Jarvis.

After an early harvest of corn, beans, and a good quantity of other foodstuffs, they joined an organized company which moved up the river to what was known as “Old Stink Town,” where a dam was built on the Piedras Verdes River.  A ditch was dug to irrigate what is now known as Cuahtemoc, which is presently owned by Mexican farmers, they yielded very good crops. A stockade was built in which meetings in religious worship were held.

Dugouts along the river helped house the company. Meanwhile a town was laid out, and holes were dug for planting shade trees along the sidewalks. During one Sunday service, Apostle Erastus Snow, standing on the platform extended his right hand over his left shoulder, declared, “There are those under the sound of my voice who will live to see the day when this (the territory embraced by the half-circle) will become one of the brightest stars in the galaxy of stars.” (This can be interpreted but one way i.e., starting at Mazatlan and ending at Veracruz, draw an arc across the Republic of Mexico and see what happens.)

Because of the ill health of his wife and baby girl, the family was advised by Apostle Erastus Snow to return to St. George for an extended visit to their parents. He took his eldest son, Sam, along and they traveled by wagon by way of Lordsburg, New Mexico and Mesa, Arizona, crossing the Colorado at Johnson’s ferry, then on to St. George. They arrived just before Christmas, 1886.

Early in the journey, his wife was thrown from the spring seat and run over by both wheels, which pressed over her body from right shoulder to left hip. She was driving the team down a sliding, sandy bank, while he and Sam walked. He realized the seriousness of the situation, and in humble prayer told the Lord that He could have the expected child if he would spare the life of his wife.  During the remainder of the trip she was confined to her bed in the wagon box. On May 4th 1887, a baby girl, Amelia, was born, and died quite suddenly in September. They resigned themselves to the loss, knowing she was a promised child.

Sam and his son spent the summer months hauling wood for the Silver Reef Mining Company.  In October 1887, taking grandmother Baker, who was blind, with them, they began their trip to Mexico, traveling by way of Lee’s ferry and arriving at Colonia Juarez shortly before Christmas. Apostle George Teasdale was by this time in charge of the colonies and called Sam to help settle the mountain colonies. They were the sixth family to settle at Corrales.  The other families were: Franklin Spencer, Eddie Durfee, William Wallace Haws, Merit Howard Stahle, and James Palmer. While the Jarvis family lived there, three more children were born: Grace, Nephi, and Clementine. He was Sunday School Superintendent, and meetings were held in his two-room log house.

In a few years Colonia Pacheco, a few miles distant, grew to be the central mountain colony. A frame meetinghouse had been erected and surrounded with a high log fort as a safety precaution against invading Indians. In the same building a school was begun.  There had been only short terms held in private homes until then. In early summer of 1894, he bought Brother Moffett’s place and moved his family from Corrales to Pacheco, at which place his son Lehi was born. The few animals they brought with them to Mexico had by this time increased to a good-sized heard and quite a band of horses. Caring for these and farming took up most of father’s time. Most of the cows, except those milked for home consumption, were loose on the range and brought in only during the rainy season, when the whole country was a waving meadow of grama grass.  At this time, the calves were branded and butter and cheese made in abundance. The butter was put into molds, preserved in a barrel of brine, and kept for winter use. Cheese and potatoes were hauled to Chihuahua City or Deming, New Mexico, in exchange for cloth, sugar, salt, shoes, nails, leather, and other necessities.

Samuel was a great scout, and when the colonists’ animals were stolen he tracked them down. He was also a leader in time of Indian trouble. He was fearless, courageous, brave, and daring. He was a man of great faith, yet humble, prayerful, and blessed with intuition and spiritual inspiration, which made him equal to any situation.

He was often asked to give readings, make a stump speech for various celebrations, or take parts in plays. He was a leader in direct public work such as road, canal, or dam building. He was never idle, working daily even on stormy days, when he mended harnesses, repaired shoes, shelled corn, sorted potatoes, or made hair ropes. If ever there came a leisure moment, it was spent in reading and study. In this way he gained understanding of the scriptures and familiarized himself with the Spanish language. He loved sports, and was quite a wrestler and foot racer.  Ever mindful of greater opportunities for his family, in November, 1896, he moved to Colonia Juarez, where schools and social conditions were more desirable for growing children. This move made possible the purchase of a reed organ from Annie Williams, which gave added pleasure to Grandma Baker who, though blind, had been a music teacher and played beautifully from memory. While living in Juarez, two more sons, Joseph D. and Benjamin Charles, were born. At this time he took railroad contracts, the first being in the states of Durango and Coahuila, where he employed native laborers. It was during this time the young man, Manrique Gonzalez, was hired. He proved to be desirable help and was given a home with the Jarvises, where he helped care for the horses. They finish the contract after being gone the greater part of the year, then returned to Juarez, bringing Manrique with them. Manrique found a home with Patriarch Stowell, attended school, and afterward joined the Church.

Almost immediately after the return from the railroad contract, Samuel Jarvis was called by Stake President Anthony W. Ivins to go to Sonora and help open up settlements there.  He took the older boys, but left the remainder of the family. In due time, after the Pioneer Canal was finished in Colonia Morelos, fields cleared and fenced, and cultivation began, he asked for release, not wanting to take Grandmother Baker there. President Ivins felt the time was not ripe for such a measure. The rest of the Jarvises were moved to Colonia Morelos. Samuel W., Jr. was married, and George is on a mission to the Central States. In Morelos, Samuel Sr. Set up a grocery store, which his wife managed while he spent the greater part of his time on the road freighting. All merchandise was purchased in Colonia Dublan, until Douglas, Arizona, came into being. In rainy seasons, with their washed out roads, high waters, and mud holes, it sometimes took two weeks to make the round-trip, which is double the usual time. This, together with attempting to farm and look after cattle, was taxing to both body and mind. Under these conditions their 12th child, Mary Esther, was born.

The fall of 1905 came what is known as the “Great Flood.”  After a week of continuous rain, the Bavispe River rose to unprecedented heights, destroying the dam and canal systems from both sides of the river and washing away and cutting up fertile fields, destroying all the crops. This act of nature forced practically every male member of Colonia Morelos to seek means of support elsewhere. A railroad line being extended from Naco to Nacozari offered a solution in the form of jobbing and freighting. Here it was that Samuel married his second wife, Pearl Dean Taylor. With his father-in-law, Edwin A..Taylor and family from Colonia Juarez, the two men ran a butcher shop that season in Nacozari.  Camped at Calabasa Flat, Pearl’s first son, Hyrum Taylor, was born.

When the railroad was completed, Samuel returned to Colonia Morelos and, with others, opened new fields north of town on the Batepito River where farming was resumed. In May, 1906, Pearl second son, Edwin Walter, was born in Colonia Morelos.  In the summer of 1907, Samuel made a trip to St. George, Utah, accompanied by his wife Pearl, their two young sons, and his daughters Frances and Grace to attend Will’s temple marriage and visit Samuel’s parents. He returned to Colonia Morelos in early October.

In the spring of 1908 he was given his release as a colonizer from President Ivins and moved his families to Colonia Dublan, where, on June 16, Pearl’s third son, Brigham Taylor, was born. Some months later Samuel purchased the Frank Wall terreno (large field) in Guadalupe, about 10 miles up the river from Dublan, where he again took up farming. Here their daughter Pearl was born on April 24, 1910. Prior to her birth, Samuel took a contract building a railroad, as the Noroeste was extending its road from the vicinity of Casas Grandes to Madero via Pearson and El Rucio.

Revolutionary movements were already brewing in Chihuahua, the effects of which brought about the Exodus from Mexico in 1912. At that time all the women and children of the Chihuahua colonies were taken to El Paso on freight cars. Finding themselves dependent on the United States government or other charities, many of the colonists accepted transportation arrangements by the Church and the railroads so they could go where they had relatives. The men came out overland on horseback, joining their families as soon as possible. Samuel Jarvis took his families and went to St. George, Utah for a season. Here, on October 15, 1915, Ernest Van Buren was born.  After attending October conference in Salt Lake City, Samuel returned to Mexico and brought teams and wagons out to Arizona. He stopped at Saint David, Arizona and traded a team and wagon for a 40-acre homestead near the Whetstone Mountains, southwest of Benson. This area was called Miramonte.  Here another shack was built to “prove” this property.

As life was rigorous and they had little to work with, being forced to relive pioneer experiences, food was plain and simple. In order to receive proper care, Pearl went to El Paso for the birth of Bessie Ann on March 15, 1916. After some six years of difficult living, helping to build dams on the San Pedro River, enlarging the Benson canal, clearing and bringing under cultivation new land and hoping to better his condition, Samuel exchanged his holdings in San Pedro Valley (Benson) for land under new irrigation system near Ysleta, Texas.  Only months after living there, Pearl was a victim of the influenza epidemic in the spring of 1919, leaving her small children to the care of Frances, Samuel’s first wife. The water in Ysleta was blamed for Samuel’s own failing health, so he moved his wife Frances and his young family back to Colonia Dublan, Mexico.  However, he never regained his health, and passed away after considerable suffering on February 7, 1923, leaving Frances and Lehi to care for the children. He was buried in the Dublan cemetery on February 9, 1923.

Samuel Walter Jarvis, Jr., son, and Grace Fenn, daughter

Stalwarts South of the Border page 329

Manrique Gonzalez

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Manrique Gonzalez

(1880 – 1976)

 Manrique Gonzalez was born October 19, 1880.  His parents, Juan Francisco Gonzalez and Juliana Rodriquez Campos, lived in a small town in the northern part of the state of Coahuila named Nadores.

Manrique’s father was a school teacher in the surrounding farming districts.  He and his wife had 15 children, ten boys and five girls.  Manrique was the seventh child.  He left home when he was 14 years old, living first with an uncle in Torreon, Coahuila, Mexico and later in San Pedro close by, but keeping his whereabouts a secret for fear of being forced to return home.

At San Pedro he was employed by American railroad contractors and for the first time heard the word “Mormon.”  He became acquainted with David A. Stevens and wife and with Samuel Jarvis and his son George.  When he came to know the principles and beliefs that actuated the lives of these men, he as most favorably impressed.  He wanted to be like them, to do the things they did, which to him seemed perfect.  They didn’t use tobacco, tea, or coffee, neither did they drink liquor, and they kept the Sabbath day holy.  Even more important, they treated their workmen with consideration and kindness.  Life could offer nothing better than to allow him to remain always in their society.  Nothing gratified him more that to take his money to Mrs. Stevens to save for him.  When it had reached the fabulous sum of sixty pesos, he sent it home to his father.

When he moved with the contractors to Chihuahua where railroad grading was continued and the job was completed, he gladly accepted an invitation to move with the company to colonia Juarez where he took up residence with the Mormons.  From 1898 until the preset time (1966) he has remained a part of society in the colonies.  The only exception to this is the period he spent in the United States in search of higher education.  In Colonia Juarez he lived with first one family and then another, all the time working to learn the English language.  Despite his age and his adult growth, he entered Sarah Clayson’s Primary Department and took his first schooling in the language with little tots in the first grade.  He was kind to them and they responded well to the friendly young man who sat on an adult-sized chair brought in especially for him because the school benches were too small.  In five years he had mastered the essentials in elementary instruction and was given the customary certificate of graduation from the eighth grade in the spring of 1903.  He was then twenty-two years of age.

His progress in the study of religion was also rapid.  His eager questions about Mormonism were answered to his satisfaction.  On September 2, 1899, at the age of  18, he was baptized by John c. Harper and confirmed the following day as a member of the church by Anthony W. Ivins.  He later said, it was “the happiest day of my life.  I was no longer alone, I had brothers and sisters who cared for me and were interested in my welfare.  I felt bound to the community in every way.”

As soon as the hands that had confirmed him and bestowed upn him the Gift of the Holy Ghost had been lifted from his head, the venerable Patriarch, John Holt arose from his seat and walked solemnly to the stand.  In the hush that followed this pretentious action, he began to speak.  His first words were unintelligible, then all realized they were listening to one speaking in tongues. When he had finished, the congregation waited eagerly for interpretation. When it came, it concerned Manrique’s conversion and future:  that if he remained true to the covenants made in the waters of baptism his power and influence for good would be felt throughout the nation; that his baptism would open the door through which many of his people would pass; that he would be a saviour to his own family. “What surprised me,” said Manrique later, “was why interpretation was necessary. I understood every word of it.”

In October, 1903, Professor Guy C. Wilson, in a characteristically discerning decision, asked Manrique to accept position at the Juarez Academy as a Spanish teacher. To fortify Manrique’s extreme lack of self-confidence, Professor Wilson promised to remain in the room to help should annoying situations arise, and bolster Manrique with his support until he grew more self-assure.  On this condition Manrique accepted. He had little formal study in the Spanish language, but because it was his native tongue, he learned quickly. In the first year he learn the fundamentals along with the other students. He also took lessons on the side. By teaching and studying together, he felt that he learned far more than he taught. He graduated from the institution in 1910 at the age of 28.

For seven years he held his place as a faculty member, taking class after class of students through De Torno’s Spanish Grammar, leading them into supplementary reading fields, drilling them on the rules to govern correct speech, and encouraging them to make use of the language in conversation groups he organize. He knew that free discussion and constant use of Spanish was the shortest road to fluency it was also his best means of learning English, and both he and the classes he taught discovered that studying two languages made each a supplement to the other.

The prediction uttered the day of his confirmation was literally fulfilled. Through him, several members of his family followed him to the colonies and life was changed for them as it had in for him. He was the first Mexican citizen to graduate from the Academy, but not the last. He was but the example that led dozens of others to follow in his steps in the years that followed.

By 1912 when the Madero Revolution broke up the Juarez Stake, he had a wife and five children. With these and little else he entered the Agricultural College in Logan, Utah, where two more children were born, and by his own efforts, coupled with encouragement from professors and friends, earned the credentials to head an experimental agricultural station. When he failed to achieve this ambition, he took position in the U.S. Department of Agriculture in New Mexico, that position he held for six years. During that time he worked for the United States government, he developed by patient experimentation and hours of hard work, the New Mexico Pinto Bean.

At the height of his career, his family life broke up and he was released from his influential position through discrimination against his religion. He returned to his native land and settled in Colonia Dublan with the words of A.W. Ivins ringing in his ears: “Manrique,” he said, “would you like to be rich and happy? “Well,” he continued when Manrique nodded vigorously, “it’s in your hands.”  In his hands! That was all he had besides what he had learned through study and experience. But with those he went to work.

He married Regina Del Palacio about 1920 and began a happy married life. In the course ofd raising six children he preached by example what he called the Gospel of Righteous Farming. First on rented lands, later on his own acres, he demonstrated correct methods of raising alfalfa, wheat and other grains and finally with orchards he used scientific methods that raised standards in farming.

Within a few years his financial standing was an enviable one. In 1966, at the age of 85 he is a contented, retired farmer living in Colonia Dublan, Chihuahua, enjoying the fruits of his labors in a comfortable and well furnished home, and is respected and esteemed by all who know him.

But only he knows how far it is from the life of a peon to the prominence of an agricultural expert, or what has gone into the fulfilling of the promise made him by Patriarch Holt, or the pride he takes in his numerous posterity. A son, Ernesto, is an eminent physician. A grandson, Carlos, appeared in “I Believe,” a column of the Improvement Era.  And there are auxiliary leaders and priesthood quorum directors and church workers sprinkled through his descendents. One grandson, Miguel, recently serving in the northern Mexican mission (1966) with his companion were having little success in the city of Zacatecas.  Other missionaries before them had failed to make successful contact, much less perform a single baptism. Returning to their room one night, Miguel said, “There must be someone in this big city ready for baptism, let’s pray about it.”  Accordingly they both knelt in first one and then the other humbly prayed for guidance to that one individual. It was 10 p.m. before their Ernest please had come to an end. Then Miguel said, “let’s go right now and find him tonight.” And in spite of the lateness of the hour they knocked on the door of the most pretentious house they could find. The doors open by the lady of the house and heard housecoat, and already for bed. “We have a message for you,” said Miguel when she met them. “Come in,” she said, and led them to a reception room. “But first,” she said, “I will call my husband to hear your message, too.”  He soon appeared in robe and slippers, having already retired. Before they could give all of the message she said, “wait! My children was hear this, too.”  Soon, tousleheaded and sleepy-eyed, they were in the room. The message was given. In six days the entire family was ready for baptism. The man, being politically influential, gained other investigators and within a few weeks a branch of 30 souls was organized.  Manrique’s determination and zeal still lives on.

Nelle Spilsbury Hatch

Stalwarts South Of the Border page 212

August Christian Fredrick Bluth

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August Bluth

August Bluth

August Christian Fredrick Bluth

(1842-1930)

August Christian Fredrick Bluth was born on August 24, 1842, in Stockholm, Sweden, to Johannes Christian Fredrick Bluth and Wilhelmina Liding.  His father died three months before August, the youngest of eight children, was born.

As most of the older children were grown and married when he was yet a small boy, August was very close to his mother, and was a great comfort to her after her husband’s death. He lived with his mother in their small island home by the sea.

At the age of six he made his own fishing net. He would put it in the in see at night and in the morning empty is catch and will bucket which he took to a small store in trade for other foods needed at home. He also fished hook and line to help support his mother.

With only three months of formal schooling, August could be considered self educated. Yet in latter years he helped his children with her studies in algebra, geometry, history and geography. As a child, he went each day to a Lutheran minister; for daily readings of the Bible, he came to know it well, and memorized a great many passages. He had a fine singing voice and saying in that Lutheran choir when he was ten. Years later he sang in Mormon choirs. Men and boys liked to sit by him during rehearsals for he was a great help to them.

When he was 12 he started an eight-year training program for a diploma in carpentry. He graduated with high honors in May, 1862, at the age of 19 and went to work building houses and doing fine finishing carpentry.

On May 10, 1867, he married Hannah Hammerstrom in St. Jacobs church in Stockholm. A son, Fredrick Zacharias, was born to them on September 6, 1868. His wife ran a small store in front of their home while he worked at his trade. Hannah died June 14, 1875. After her death he closed the store.

One evening when he was returning home from work he saw a crowd of people listening to some Mormon Elders preaching on the street corner. He listened, and was impressed with her message, which seemed to be what he had been seeking for years. The Elders came to his home and he was soon converted to Mormonism. He in turn converted his oldest brother, John, and five members of his family. With new hope he had something to live for. He met Josephine Alberta Rose and converted her. They were both baptized, and were married February 17, 1876.

With his wife and son Frederick, now eight, August came to Utah in the company of other Saints and settled in Ogden, Utah. On August 19, 1877, a daughter Tyra Josephine, was born. Work being scarce in Ogden, the family moved to Brigham City, and later to Evanston, Wyoming.

They Latter-day Saints were living in The United Order at this time and most of August’s income went to help in this great cause.  A son, Bernard August, was born on December 8, 1878. On August 14, 1878, Tyra Josephine died, and in the same year, September 3, his wife Josephine died. In 1879 Bernard died. These losses were almost more than August could endure.

On October 9, 1879 he married Johanna Johannsson who had come to America from Sweden.  Six children were born to them, Johanna August, Rosia Elvira, Rosemilda, Ranghilda, Oscar Emmanuel, Jared William, and Carl Emil.  Two of these children died in Ogden.  When his son Fredrick was nineteen he obtained employment in an Ogden co-op store.  Delivering goods in a wagon, the horse ran away; Fred fell from the wagon and was dragged..  He died June 1, 1887, and was buried in the Ogden cemetery.

When leaders of the Church advised August to live plural marriage, he said he would try to comply. On August 14, 1887, he married Sophia Anderson, who had, by a previous marriage in Sweden, a six-year-old son, Fred. On June 8, 1889, he married hold the Ossmen. By this time persecution had become so bitter that all who were living plural marriage were advised to go to Mexico.

August, with his families, arrived in Deming, New Mexico on May 15, 1889. Here for his children had diptheria. On June 1, Jared died. They continued on to Colonia Dublan by wagon and arrived June 24, 1889 with three children: Hilda, Oscar, and Emil. Dublan was a barren flat with only for Mormon families living there: The Carltons, Whipples, Fosters, and Lakes.  The Bluth family lived in a tent with a bowery. Because of bad weather and many hardships, August developed bronchitis and was very ill. A bed was made on the floor of the tent for Hilda Josephine when she gave birth to a baby, Ellen Josephine, born March 5, 1890.

Food was very scarce and pioneer life was extremely rugged. As conditions improved, August made adobes and in time was able to build a two-room home for his families. In September, 1893 Hulda gave birth to a son, Earl Lawrence. Hulda died and in less than a month Earl Lawrence also died. Grief-stricken, August made the coffins.

His wife, Sophia, and her son Fred had come from Ogden into Mexico with Albert and Sarah Farnsworth. On March 23, 1893 Sophia gave birth to a son, Oliver Ferdinand.  Later Sophia and her husband worked at the Corralitos ranch; then he helped build the Jackson flour mill near Old Casas Grandes.  August would walk several miles to work Monday morning, stay until Saturday evening, then walk home again. His salary was 50 centavos a day. Later he helped build the Lewis Cardon, the Rueben Farnsworth, and the Mike Larson homes in Colonia Dublan, and also the Relief Society building and the Mexican Branch church.

Known for his fine workmanship, August for many years made coffins for people in Dublan and Juarez.

In 1910, because of the Mexican Revolution, he moved his family to Tucson, Arizona, where his brother-in-law, Heber Farr, had bought several hundred acres of land. Together they formed a company. In Tucson the Bluths lived in the Rillito Ranch, which later was called Binghamton. He left his 20-acre farm that he had purchased in Colonia Dublan with a married son, Oscar. Sophia, and her son Fred, also stayed in Mexico. When living in Tucson he received word that his stepson, Fred, had drowned on August 5, 1891, while crossing the Casas Grandes River; his horse had stepped into deep water. Fred’s body was not found until a week later.

In January 1915, August moved back to Colonia Dublan. He built a cozy little home across the street from Bishop A. B. Call’s home where his grandchildren loved to visit him. He raised fruit and kept bees, selling honey and honeycomb to the townspeople. He enjoyed making doll furniture for his grandchildren. As his health began to fail, he needed more care and moved from his little home to be near Ellen. He died March 25, 1930, at the age of 87. Joanna died February 12, 1937, and Sophia on August 13, 1938. Life was never easy for those pioneers, but they were always valiant during hardships, and they love their home in Mexico.

Ellen Josephine Bluth Jones, daughter

Pg 51 Stalwarts South of the Border Nelle Spilsbury Hatch

Henry Eyring

Henry Eyring

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Henry Eyring

(1835-1902)

Genealogists trace the name Eyring back to the time when they accepted Christianity, the meaning of the name being Pagan God of light.

The Eyrings were well-to-do apothecarists.  There father, Edward Christian Eyring, invested his fortune in the factory to manufacture an oak extract for tanning leather and after much hard work and experience, it failed, losing all. His son Henry was born March 8, 1834. Family history says this loss to Henry was probably a blessing in disguise, as it was the cause of his sister Bertha and himself migrating to America where they heard and accepted the Gospel.  Otherwise, he might have remained in Germany living in a season caring nothing for religion.

Henry and his sister Bertha sailed for America in 1853, landing in New York September 8, from where he went to St. Louis, Missouri. There he found employment with a wholesale drug business. There he also became acquainted with Mormonism. On the morning of December 10, 1854 he happened to hear that Mormons were going to meet in a chapel in the city. Out of curiosity he decided to attend, to see some of the desperate characters he had heard so much about. But as the people gathered, each one greeting him as they entered, he was surprised to find them so friendly and sociable, and so different from what he had heard of them. But he was disappointed in this spirited singing and in the quick way Elder Milo explained the principles of the Gospel, being used to solemn  music of the Lutheran Church in Germany and an orthodox Christian minister. The next morning a fellow clerk handed him a copy of Parley P. Pratt’s Voice of Warning, which he read through that night. On being asked how he liked it, he replied he had read many interesting things in it, but could not believe in visits by angels or visions.

At this time he had discarded all religious belief, but was not satisfied with infidelity, and so was ripe for conversion to the truth. As he continued to attend their meetings faithfully, he formed a habit that he continued throughout his life and ever strongly hoped his posterity would adhere to as well. He also continued to read studiously every pamphlet and book he could find in St. Louis having any bearing on the doctrines of the Church. In three months he was thoroughly convinced he had found the truth. But he could not bring himself to the point of being baptized. He prayed earnestly for some manifestation from the Lord concerning this step. His prayers were answered by a dream in which Elder Erastus Snow talked with him and commanded him to be baptized. He further said his companion, Brother Brown, would be the man to do it.

He was baptized March 11, 1855 by Elder William Brown at 7:30 a.m., in a pool of rainwater. In the afternoon Elder Brown confirmed him. April 13, he was made a Deacon, and on May 16 he was ordained to the office of a Priest, on May 13 having preached for the first time. June 17, he baptized his sister Bertha, and on October 11, he was set apart as a missionary to the Cherokee Nation. On October 11, he was set apart to do missionary work under the hand of the President of the Stake.

On October 24, 1855, he settled up his typing and left St. Louis for his mission. Laboring among the Lamanites for four and one-half years, he suffered all manner of hardships and privations; most of the time chills and fever, until his health was almost ruined. He met with some success, baptizing some members and the Church. The authorities of the Church seemed to lose track of the five or six elders in the mission. Inasmuch as he could not get word from the President, Henry decided to ask the Lord in humble prayer if he should leave the mission and go to Zion. His answer came in a dream in which he saw himself in Salt Lake City. He went to President Young and told him he had come without being sent for, but if that was not all right, he would return and finish his mission.

He and Elder Richie started to Zion and on their arrival went to see the President and his dream was literally fulfilled. President Young welcomed them and said they had been expecting them.

On the journey from his mission, Henry fell in with the company of Saints on the plains and became interested in one of them, Mary Bommelli. They had many pleasant walks together ahead of the company and to them it was a very pleasant pilgrimage. They arrived in Salt Lake City August 29, 1860 and on December 14, 1860 they were married.

She was a native of Weingarter, Canton Thurgau, Switzerland, and was born March 10, 1830.  She was baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in November, 1854.  She emigrated in 1859, going as far as New York City, and in 1860, crossed the plains to Utah territory.

Henry and his wife settled in Ogden. While there, he joined the military organization, being part of infantry. When they first moved to Ogden, he traded his pony for a city lot which was half swamp. Long years after he had disposed of it, it became very valuable, being used for a railroad depot. From Ogden, he moved to Salt Lake City. Up until this time he had never done any hard manual labor, but being very ambitious he preferred any work he would find rather than be idle.

In June, 1862, he began cutting stones on the Temple block for a $1.25 per day after that he did a lot of copying music. At the October conference in 1862, he volunteered to move to Dixie. On May 1, 1863 his first son was born, Henry Elias.

In October, 1862, they started for Dixie taking passage with John Nebeker. After a tedious journey, they arrived about November 23. They got work at Washington, ginning the cotton where they remained until the latter part of January. They then pitched a borrowed tent on the lot which was their home as long as they remained in St. George. He says:

Our earthly possessions were very limited. We all and some clothing, some bedding, and provisions to eat for three months. We had neither team, wagon, cow, or even chickens. I presume we commenced with as little as anyone ever did in St. George. My wife was a good weaver so we exerted ourselves to get a loom, and when we succeeded in this, her faithful and untiring efforts brought us a good many comforts which we could not have obtained in any other way. I cannot speak too highly of my wife Mary, for through her ceaseless energy and untiring labors, we succeeded with the blessing of heaven to gradually work ourselves up out of extreme poverty.

He tried all kinds of hard work such as farming, gardening, adobe making, stone cutting, living and working on the poorest fare until his health was badly impaired. His first job he says was erecting a sod house 16 ft. square covered with willows and dirt. He says that when he accomplish this he felt proud as it was comfortable and they were better fixed than many of their neighbors. November 6, 1863, Louise was born. They also raise some cotton which his wife woven the cloth, to pay for the building of their first adobe home.

He further stated:

Clara was born July 14, 1865, but died July 13, 1866. On May 27, 1868 Edward Christian was born. In September 1868, I was taken violently ill with rheumantics in the back and hip and was confined to my bed for about three weeks. When I recovered from this sickness I secured employment in the St. George office as assistant to Brother Franklin B. Wooley, clerk of the office.

This change of work benefited him.

January, 1869, money was subscribed for starting a co-op store. From this time on Henry found clerical work which he was well prepared to do. About May 1872, he took charge of the store and under his administration built up a very successful business. He continued with the store until he moved to Mexico in 1877. He was one of the few successful operators of co-op stores. This grew and flourished under his administration, paying handsome dividends all the time. When he arrived in Mexico, he started another co-op store on a small scale but it soon doubled and trebled its capital until it became a very profitable institution.

He might have done as many other co-op superintendents have done, bought up stock and weeded out stockholders to his own gain, but he would not do that. He was content to live and let live. The result was that in each case he turned back to the stockholders a flourishing business. He was an honest man in the truest sense of the word. The success in St. George in the mercantile business was repeated in Colonia Juarez.

On August 12, 1872, he married Deseret Faucett, and on August 1, 1874, he received a call to a mission in Switzerland and Germany. August 31, 1874, he left to fill this call, going by way of New York, Liverpool, London, Antwerp, and Cologne. He traveled very extensively in Germany and Switzerland with his sister Clara. He was banished from Germany and went to Berne, Switzerland, where he edited the Church publication, Der Stern, and translated the Doctrine and Covenants into the German language. He also published tracts and a songbook.

Because of his plural marriages, Henry decided to move to Mexico where he could live peacefully. Apostle Snow invited him to go to the Mexican colonies, promising that he would do better in every way and Mexico than he had ever done in St. George, which proved to be the case.

In February 1887, he left for Mexico with the following members of his family: his wife Deseret, Edward Christian, Annie, and Andrew. He started out with one light wagon and one team, traveling by way of Price, Scandlen Ferry, Hackleberry, Mesa, Fort Bowie, San Simon, La Ascencion, Casas Grandes, and Colonia Juarez.  We arrived there on April 1, 1887.  Father secured two city lots and fenced them and commenced to cultivate and plant trees and vines.  He also built a small log house Deseret.  Then he left to a fill a call to serve as a missionary in Mexico City.

He had faith in Apostle Snow’s promise to him in which he had said, “If you will take this mission, learn the Spanish language, become acquainted with the people, in the laws and customs of the land, as well as with government officials, and through it all learn how to do business in this land, you will be great blessing to the Saints in Mexico.”

Arriving in Mexico, he began study of the Spanish language, although he was then 50 years of age. Yet, he mastered it to the extent that he could transact business in the language, could take care of legal matters and receive instructions from prominent men of the nation, including President Porfirio Diaz himself, without an interpreter. Later at home in Colonia Juarez, he was able to teach the language both to the students in the school and to adults in night school. So far as meeting the success he had hoped for in his missionary work, however, he was somewhat disappointed.

The following is from his journal:

On account of the return of so many of the Mexican Saints who failed to make a location at Colonia Juarez and who told exaggerated tales of woe and disappointment, it was very difficult to make any headway among the members of the Mexican Mission. Nearly all of them believed the false statements about our colony and a bitter feeling was engendered by many. The consequence was that two of the branches that had at one time been the most flourishing, declared themselves independent of me. In addition, a false prophet arose claiming to believe the book of Mormon but taking all manner of false doctrine. Having a very fluent tongue and being a man of force and energy, he upset quite a number of the members. However, a few remained faithful, it was impossible to make any headway by any of the new converts. While there, one man living in Morelos took quite an interest and applied for baptism.  I think I must have converted him for the Lord never did. Being a drunkard, he soon drifted into his old habits and left the Church. Though my mission to Mexico was in some ways unsatisfactory, I believe that as a whole I accomplish what Brother Snow required of me.

Our beloved Apostle and true friend, Erastus Snow, died at Salt Lake City, May 27, 1888. By his death Mexican colonies lost a leader who would greatly have promoted their welfare if he had lived. As it was he had laid the foundation, and his wise counsels are quoted to this day.

Near the close of 1888, there being no new openings and the people of Colonia Juarez being anxious for my return, I turned over the affairs of the mission to John Rogers. I bought a small stock of merchandise for our completed co-op store at Juarez, and then returned, reaching there in company with Annie Snow on December 29, 1888.

I found my family in fair health, except Annie, who was recovering from a severe attack of pneumonia. A frame store having been built, I opened business on January 1, 1889, with a stock of goods of about $1500. At first I opened about two hours in the morning about the same in the evening, working in my lots the remainder of the time. That’s very soon business increased, and my whole time was required. In May 1889, burglars entered the store and got away with about one third of our stock of merchandise. That year, as business was increasing, I sent for my son Edward Christian to help me. He arrived in August, and at once began his work.

August 29, a son named Carlos Fernando, was born. In February, 1890, I went to Mexico City on business for our Colonies.

In April I went to Utah to move my wife, Mary, to Mexico, reaching St. George about the 26. She had been closing out our furniture and I sold one of our water rights to James Andrews for $100 so we had something like $600 to take with us to Mexico. On May 1, 1890, we started for Mexico with myself, wife Mary, Henry, and Ida. Emily, who had married William Snow, son of Erastus Snow, on November 9, 1887, remained in St. George.

We went by team to Milford and by railroad to American Fork, where we visited my sister Bertha.

From American Fork, we went by rail to Deming and from there by team to Colonia Juarez, arriving on May 15, 1890.  During the summer this year I built a brick cottage on my lower lot for my wife, Mary and family, who moved into it about November. February, we received a visit from Apostles Moses Thatcher and George Teasdale. Brother Teasdale returned her call you Diaz where he was temporarily located and about May returned with his wife, Ettie, and her two children and lived with us several weeks. He then moved to the Snow house. Later in the season a temporary organization was effected, called the Mexican Mission with George Teasdale as President, and A. F. Macdonald, and Henry Eyring as counselors.

I attended the October Conference in returning, went in company with Brother Moses Thatcher to Manassa, Colorado. There I met sister Georgina Snow Thatcher, who had a home in Manassa.  While there I posted up the books of the Mexican Colonization and Agricultural Company. I stopped at the house of brother John Morgan who had since died. On October 3, 1891, my daughter Fernanda Carolina was born.

 

In 1893, he attended the dedication of the Salt Lake Temple, and participated in meetings held afterwards by Authorities of the Church in the upper rooms of the Temple. The first two of these meetings were to ascertain to what degree the First Presidency was sustained.  He among others proved they were in full accord and were willing to give full support. At the last meeting at which they fasted and prayed, it was attended by the largest group, 140 people, ever gathered for that purpose. After prayer, they went into another room to partake of the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper and were filled with rejoicing.

While in Salt Lake City, he met his daughters, Louise and Emily, and two children and returned with them to Sanpete, and from there started for Mexico. Arriving in Colonia Juarez, May 1, 1893, he found a late frost had destroyed the fruit, including the grapes. The second crops of his muscats did very well. That year, he built a frame house for his wife Deseret into which she moved immediately. That same year he went to Mexico City in company with A.F. Macdonald and Meliton Trejo and, together, were able to get a new contract for colonization. They were also allowed a personal interview with President Porfirio Diaz, who treated them very cordially.

In the spring of 1894, he was appointed by Apostles Brigham Young, Jr. and John Henry Smith to go to Chihuahua City to secure better water rights for Colonia Juarez. There he waited three weeks for an interview with the governor, but was then successful in getting from him a letter to the presidente in Casas Grandes asking him to see that the colonists were not curtailed or crippled in their use of water.

In December 1895, Apostle Francis M. Lyman organized the Juarez Stake of Zion. Anthony W. Ivins, who had been set apart in the office of the First Presidency, was made President and Henry Eyring and Helaman Pratt were sustained as his Counselors.  In the capacity Henry, with his wife Mary, who had been made Stake Relief Society President, and Elder George Teasdale, visited all the settlements in the stake except for the two most recently organized, Colonia García and Colonia Chuhuichupa. These they visited the following year in company with Helaman Pratt.

Although Henry suffered a slight decline in health about this time, he was able to carry on throughout the years, meeting both civic and ecclesiastical responsibilities and finding time to teach Spanish, help those needing it with legal transactions, and taking care of his store.

It has been remarked by men who knew him best that he never stopped growing until his last day. Father’s word was as good is his bond. In all the years that I, Edward Christian, his son, worked with him, I never knew him to do a small mean being. He was free with his means in all public works. He used splendid clean language, free from slang and petty swearing.

It was, as Miles P. Romney said to me once, ”He has a splendid type of European gentleman.”  He was very kind to his wives and children. I never heard him speak an unkind word to one of his wives and he was always kind to his children as well. He had high ideals for education. I think he would have gone to almost any length to help us children become educated. He held high positions in the Church from the beginning and never received a penny for his services. His idea was that if we pay for our services here, we could not expect pay hereafter. He preferred to lay up treasures in heaven and went to his just reward February 10, 1902 in Colonia Juarez.

Edward Christian Eyring, son

Stalwarts South of the Border by Nelle Spilsbury Hatch

pg 152