Tag Archives: Colonia Morelos

Martha Cragun Cox

Martha Cragun Cox

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Martha Cragun Cox

(1852 -1932)

Martha Cragun Cox was born March 3, 1852 in the Mill Creek Ward, Salt Lake County, Utah. Her father, James Cragun, was a descendent of Patrick Cragun, born in Ireland, who came to America, settling in Massachusetts.  Family tradition has it that in his early manhood he was one of the “Indians” threw the English tea overboard in Boston harbor.

Martha’s mother Elenor Lane, a granddaughter of Lambert Lane who was born in England and emigrated to America with his parents when he was about 12 years of age.

Martha’s parents joined the Mormon Church in 1843 and arrived in the Salt Lake Valley in 1849. They received the call to pioneer the Dixie, Utah country in 1862. As a girl, Martha learned to leave on her mother’s loom. She made cloth for her own dresses and earned a little money weaving for other people. Quoting from her “Reminiscences,” we learn of an experience that had a profound effect on her life:

One day I was taking from the loom of piece that I had woven for a pair of pants for Brother Jeffreys, a cultivated English gentleman.  It had been made from nappy yarn and I told him it did not reflect credit on the weaver.  “Oh, well,” he said, “twill only be for a little while we will need it.  Twill soon be worn out and then my nappy cloth and the weaver’s work will be forgotten and the weaver too. Though she becomes round shouldered over the loom in trying to serve people with good cloth, (she) will wear out and be forgotten and no one will know that she wove.”  These words fell on me solemn-like and prophetic and I pondered them deeply.  “What profit is there finally,” I said to myself, “in all this round of never ceasing labor? Weaving cloth to buy dresses to wear out. When my day is past, my warp and woof in life and labors ended and my body gone to rest in the grave, what is there to mark the ground in which I trod? Nothing!”  And the thought maybe weep.

I went to McCarty (her brother-in-law James McCarty) and told him what brother Jeffreys had said to me. What can I do that my work and myself will not be forgotten, I asked. He answered “You might plant.”  To this I replied that the day would come that our neighbor with all his fine trees, flowers, vegetables, etc., that he had given to St. George would be forgotten by the people and his fine gardens vanished. “Plant in the minds of men and the harvest will be different,” he said. “Every wholesome thought you succeed in planting in the mind of a little child will grow and bear eternal fruit that will give you such joy that you will not ask to be remembered.” His words, though they enlightened, brought to me an awful sadness of soul. I was so ignorant. I saw that I had hitherto lacked ambition for I had been content to dance, laugh, and sleep my leisure time away, never supposing that I might reach a higher plane than that which enabled me to support and clothe myself.

Opportunities for schooling in those pioneer days were very limited and books were not plentiful, but Martha read everything she could find. She kept a list of words of which she wanted to learn the meaning and pronunciation. She would quiz available people for information, including strangers passing through the country, cowboys, miners, old timers. She started teaching school in her middle teens and taught school for 60 years of her life.

Martha married Isaiah Cox December 6, 1869 and became the mother of eight children, five of whom lived to raise families of their own. Isaiah died April 11, 1896 in St. George, Utah.

Martha taught school in Bunkerville, Nevada until 1901, then she went to Mexico to be with her daughters, Rose Bunker, Geneva, and Evelyn. She traveled by way of team and wagon with some of the David F. Stout family. Arriving on the Mexican border, they made camp and stayed for some time in Naco, Sonora. Living there was a family of Indians of the Yaqui tribe. In Martha’s writing she said, “This family of Yaquis were the finest of the human race and looks. The woman who was the honored mother of a large brood had splendid features. In fact, I thought as I looked at her that she was the noblest looking woman in face and form I’ve ever seen.”

Martha had deep sympathy and love for all the Indian tribes. When just a young girl she listened many times in the town of Santa Clara, Utah, to Jacob Hamblin relate his incidents and experiences among the Indian tribes. She felt sure the Walker War trouble in Utah came about because white men broke their promises to the Indians.

Martha taught school in Colonia Diaz in the winter of 1901-1902. The 1902 the family moved to Colonia Morelos in Sonora. By 1906 Martha had moved to Colonia Juarez and for several years taught the Mexican children there. The class was held in the rock basement of the schoolhouse. When Bishop Joseph C. Bentley informed her that the people of Juarez refused to furnish funds to maintain the Mexican school any longer, she was astonished. The Bishop, too was grieved over the condition.  “It is better,” he said, “for us to educate them than to try to control a hoard of uneducated ones.”  On visiting the home of a Mexican family Martha met the mother, an intelligent woman who spoke her mind on the closing of the Mexican classes. “You Mormons,” she said, “came her poor, you were good people. You teach our little children, we work for you, wash, scrum, anything. You are now rich, you got your riches in our country, now you say you do nothing for us, not teach our children, we are fit only to do your work. You will treat us right or we will in a little while drive you out of our country.” The woman knew more than Martha at the time thought she knew.

Martha taught school in Guadalupe, Chihuahua, the last year or so before the Exodus. Returning to the States, Martha joined her family members including her two sons Edward and Frank Cox and their families. Again she taught school in Utah and Nevada for many years before moving to Salt Lake City where she worked in the LDS Temple as recorder and did other services there. She also taught classes in the next branch of the church, and the MIA and the Relief Society.

In 1928 she commenced writing a biographical record of her life entitled “Reminisces of Martha Cox.” This record ran to 300 handwritten pages, well done and very legible. The journey to Mexico, she writes:

… was the commencement of what I term the fifth chapter of my life.  The first being my childhood to adult period. The second chapter, the time from my entering marriage until our family came separated. My third chapter seemed to be proper to my life on the Muddy, in Nevada, comprising nearly 10 years being instrumental in acquiring over 300 acres of good farmland on which the town of Overton was built. The fourth chapter might be my years in Bunkerville and the fifth of our lives in Mexico.

A six chapter, consisting of the 20 years after the Exodus from Mexico, might have been added.

Martha died at 80 years of age on November 30, 1932 in Salt Lake City and was buried there.

Emerald W. Stout, grandson

Stalwarts South of the Border page 123

A longer account of Martha’s life taken from her 300 page autobiography can be found here:

http://goo.gl/fgC179

Mary Ellen Elizabeth Wilden Lillywhite

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Mary Ellen Elizabeth Wilden Lillywhite

(1850-1922)

Mary Ellen Elizabeth Wilden, daughter of Charles and Eleanor Turner Wilden, was born December 5, 1850 at Council Bluffs, Iowa. Her parents had joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in England and although Charles a better work for more than 14 months, they left their home with their six children, their relatives and friends to gather with other Mormons in Utah and establish a new home. They sailed from Liverpool, England, November 10, 1849 and arrived in New Orleans on December 24 of the same year. Then they went on to St. Louis, Missouri, where they spent two years preparing for the journey to Utah. Here the youngest child, Maria, died in the next year Mary Ellen Elizabeth was born in a dugout.

In 1852, when they started their journey across the plains to Utah, they had a 50 pound sack of cornmeal supply the family on this long journey, but the father was a good marksman and was able to exchange meat for other foodstuffs. The father and the oldest son were the only members of the family with shoes when the journey began, but they were able to make use of shoes, bedding and clothing discarded by a company of gold seekers on their way to California and lost many members due to cholera.

They were among the first settlers of Cove Creek (now Cedar), Utah. Times were hard indeed. They gathered segos and other roots for food, along with mushrooms and wild berries. The women and children gathered willow twigs on which they found honeydew and from which they were able to make a syrup for sweets. Charles Wilden took the first sheep into this area. These animals were a great help to the family, not only furnishing food but also wool from which they may clothing and blankets.

In 1866 the family moved to Beaver, about 25 miles from Cove Creek, where they established another frontier home and made life comfortable and pleasant. They planted fruit trees and Mary Ellen spent some of the happiest days of her life there. It was at Beaver that she met and fell in love with Joseph Lillywhite.  She went with a group of young girls to visit him while he was recovering from a gunshot wound in the chest. He had been working on John D. Lee’s ranch a few miles from Beaver, when they were attacked by Indians. Joseph was taken to Brother Lee’s home where he received the best care and it was there that Mary Ellen went to visit him. They were married in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City, December 5, 1867, traveling in the company of others for protection from the Indians.

In Beaver they lived in a little one-room log house with the bare essentials of furniture consisting of a bedstead, (two trestles with boards across, a straw tick and another of cat tails), a table, one home each year, as though, no stone but a big oven, one iron kettle, a brass bucket and a few dishes, most of which were wedding presents. Their clothing was made at home, spun and woven in those days. But what mattered hard work and crude furniture so long as they had each other? For the young husband was a very kind, affectionate man. On October 25, 1868, their union was blessed with a baby boy who may need Joseph for his father. On January 28, 1871, another boy, Benjamin, was born, living only a few weeks.

July 4, 1872, the liberals, joined by a Mormon apostate group, tried to “gun” the town. Their yelling and cursing aroused the townspeople and they armed themselves with clubs, guns or any other implements they could lay their hands on and met the intruders at the saloon. They were cursing and threatening to kill President Young. Joseph Lillywhite left his wife and young family in their home on the edge of town to join with his brethren to help drive the unpleasant element from town. President Murdock was out of town so his 18-year-old son took charge and told the intruders that they would not be harmed if they would leave town, which they did.

Several days later, on the 13th, Mary Eleanor was born. By this time they had been able to buy a small farm and plant fruit trees. The textile factory was operating, so spinning and weaving at home where unnecessary. By 1874 they were able to build a two-story home and the orchard was bearing fruit to help with their needs. Charles Wilden was born this year, 26 December. Lawrence was born January 29, 1877 and John LeRoy was born April 6, 1879. Six months later they decided to move to the San Juan country. Her husband’s health was not good due to his collapsed lung, so they thought a move to a warmer climate might help.

They were the first company to go through the Hole-in-the-Rock to San Juan. They were six months on the road, having to use their seed wheat and corn for food on the way. It was too late to plant crops when they finally arrived and the water from the San Juan River was not available. So they went on to Bush Valley, Arizona. They found the altitude of Bush Valley too high for Joseph. So, in October 1881, they moved to Woodruff, Arizona, having worked on the Santa Fe Railroad with his older sons to earn enough to buy their year’s provisions. They were among the first families to settle in Woodruff and lived in the Fort. They spent a good part of their lives there.

October 24, 1882, Horace Franklin was born. The dam across the river which furnished water for their gardens and farms had to be rebuilt each year so they could have fresh vegetables and irrigate farmland. Mitchell Woodruff was born December 24, 1884 and Annie Louise on April 11, 1887. When the baby was three months old the whole family came down with the measles. Eight-year-old John died from complications, while his mother was that fast. Six months later, Mary owns husband Joseph died of pneumonia. This was on January 18, 1888.

Mary Ellen knew she needed to prepare herself to care for her six children, so she took a course in obstetrics and cared for the sick. President Jesse N. Smith set her apart to do this work. During her lifetime she delivered some 300 babies including 11 pairs of twins. She was 71 years old when she attended her last delivery.

In October, 1893, when her son Franklin was 16 years old, he went with some friends to the lake to kill geese. On the way home they were playing soldier when a friend, thinking his gun was empty, shot and killed Franklin. So much sorrow in such a few years would dishearten most people, but not Mary Ellen. She carried on in spite of difficulties.

When her son Charles came home from his mission, the entire family moved to Colonia Morelos, Sonora, Mexico. Arriving there November 5, 1900, Charles became Bishop of the ward until the Exodus in 1912. They built comfortable homes for each of the sons and their families and also for Mary Ellen and her children who were not married. They also built a flour mill which they operated along with their farms. There were the usual tasks confronting the settling of a new community; canals to be built to bring water onto the farms; land to be cleared; crops  planted and harvested; school and church houses to be built. In November 1905, the Bavispe River flooded and washed away many homes and farms. Soon after, the flour mill burned. All had to be rebuilt.

The Mexican Revolution began in 1910 and soon bandits and soldiers began arriving in around Colonia Morelos, first one faction and then another. All demanded food for themselves and their horses. They also needed arms and ammunition. The colonists stood firm to remain neutral, but finally it was necessary for all to pack up and leave on short notice. By August 1912 they were all in United States, living in tents provided by the government, taking with them only what they could hurriedly pack into their wagons.

The Lillywhite families moved to Mesa, Arizona in March 1913. Mary Ellen’s children were all married now, so she lived with her son Mitchell and family. She stayed on with Mitchell’s wife and children after his death in July 1913 from complications of typhoid.  In 1920 her health was so poor that she could not be left alone while her daughter-in-law worked, so she went to live with her son Horace.

Mary Ellen was small in stature, but large in spirit.  She had a dynamic personality and was very positive in her views.  Her judgment was always considered seriously by her family. Even in her later years she continued to be of service. One incident which showed the faith and courage of this remarkable woman occureed while the family still lived in Woodruff.  A man residing in town was thrown from his wagon, inflicting a large scalp wound.  There were no doctors available, so people just stood around not knowing what to do.  As soon as Mary Ellen arrived on the scene, she called for hot water, clean clothes, a needle and thread, and a strong man to help her.  But strong men became weak, fainted or turned away with nausea, and were helpless.  Joseph Lillywhite, her oldest son assisted her and the man’s life was saved.  Years later, after they had been many years in Mexico, Charles, the second son, was on the train going to Salt Lake City.  Someone called him by name and an old gentlemen in the next seat asked, “Do you happen to know Mary Ellen Lillywhite?”  Charles answered, “She’s my mother!”  The old man said, “I want to shake the hand of the son of the woman who saved my life.”

Her hair was white and her body bent from many years of bending over patients, caring for and lifting them.  But her dark eyes still had their sparkle.  She died July 6, 1922, at the age of 72, in the home of her son Horace in Chandler, Arizona.  She was preceded in death by her husband and five of her eight children.

Compiled by Ernestine Hatch from material submitted by Ethel Lillywhite, Georganna Lillywhite, daughters-in-law and Eleanor Romney, granddaughter. 

Stalwarts South of the Border page 405.

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