Chapter Two

Ancestors of Emma Jane Bingham

 

The Bingham family line has been traced back thirteen generations to Thomas Bingham.  Actually, there were four Thomas Binghams followed by two Joseph Binghams, who were in turn followed by two Jeremiah Binghams.  In researching this and other lines, the author has attempted to “stand on the shoulders of giants” in order not to duplicate research previously done by others.  As stated in the preface, the primary intent of this book is to gather and combine historical accounts for the benefit of family history researchers.  If there are errors, it is left to those who discover them to make note of them for a future edition.[1]

 

Of Thomas Bingham I, a Web page about the Bingham line by Richard and Charlotte Bingham[2], extant at the time of this writing, states,

 

Thomas Bingham, born about 1555 in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England[3]; buried in Sheffield, 25 October 1597. He married Marie Longley in Sheffield, 26 January 1578. She was born there about 1557, and died there, 1 August 1593.

 

Some “researchers” push the ancestry of Thomas back several centuries on the assumption that he was son of a Thomas Bingham, b. 1535, for whom there is a well-documented pedigree. See for example the work of David K. Bingham. Dwayne Awerkamp, a descendant of our Erastus, says (20 December 1997): “I went back to the traditional file and called the people that had put together the documentation to find the references and who did the research. I then looked up every reference they quoted and found absolutely no support for the linkage between Thomas (1555) and Thomas (1535).”  Richard C. Bingham, also a descendant of Erastus, claims to have found wills and other records proving that Thomas (1555) was actually born in Derby, son of Henry Bingham (1525). But according to Munger (1996)[4], citing the parish records of Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral Church of Sheffield (copy in the New York Public Library):

 

“Thomas Bingham of Connecticut descends from a family that lived in North Nottingham and South Yorkshire, England. Despite exhaustive research, his English ancestry has thus far been documented backwards for only two generations. Parish registers show that his father, Thomas Bingham, was baptized 4 August 1588 at the Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul in Sheffield and that his Grandfather, Thomas, born about 1555, married Maria Longley 26 January 1577/78 at the same church. ... The record does not go further back.”

 

Children of Thomas BINGHAM and Marie LONGLEY:

Rosa Bingham, christened in Sheffield, 25 April 1578.

Elizabeth Bingham, christened in Sheffield, 25 December 1579, died in Sheffield, 30 September 1586.

Anne Bingham, christened in Sheffield, 7 November 1582.

Thomas Bingham, married Anne (Mary) Fenton.

 

Research[5] about Thomas Bingham II, who was born the last child of Thomas Bingham I states:

 

Thomas Bingham, christened in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, 4 August 1588, son of Thomas and Mary (Longley) Bingham, died in Sheffield in 1649; buried in Sheffield, 12 February 1649. He married (1) Elizabeth Woodhouse in Sheffield, 6 May 1618, and (2) Anne (Mary) Fenton, also in Sheffield, 6 July 1631. By Elizabeth, Thomas sired one son, Thomas, born 22 September 1619, who died in infancy (2 September 1621). Elizabeth died 28 April 1631. Anne Fenton was born in Sheffield, 5 February 1615, daughter of Robert and Alice (Hancock) Fenton; she died in Norwich, New London, Connecticut, May 1670. At some point after the death of Thomas, Anne married William Backus, one of the founding fathers of Norwich.

 

Thomas, a master cutler, was reputed to have been a supporter of [Oliver] Cromwell.[6]  According to genealogy published by Theodore A. Bingham (The Bingham Family of Connecticut), Thomas fled England with his family at the time of the [English] Restoration[7], but died on the voyage over in 1659. This often-repeated family tradition is apparently erroneous. The recent Bingham genealogy, compiled by Donna Bingham Munger[8] and published in 1996 by the Bingham Asssociation, notes, with ample proof, that Thomas died in 1649, not in 1659. Moreover, it is not at all certain, according to Munger, that Anne and Thomas Jr. emigrated as late as 1659: it could have been any time after 1651. It is also possible that Anne married William Backus before she emigrated. Backus was also a cutler of Sheffield, and his first wife, Elizabeth, died and was buried in Sheffield on 19 February 1644.

 

There is some difference of opinion as to the date of Anne’s birth, whether it be 1615 or 1616 (this difference [is] probably the result of confusion relating to the “Old Style” calendar), or earlier. As named in her mother’s will (1643), Anne was the oldest of four children, and might well have been born, therefore, in 1606. Since there is no record of her birth in Sheffield, it might be assumed that her mother transported herself to the home of her parents for the delivery of her first-born.

 

William Backus is said to have been in New England as early as 1637, but no record of him has been found before 1659. Donald Lines Jacobus (Hale, House, and Related Families, p. 452) says: “He was early of Saybrook, but appears little of record, and in 1660 settled in Norwich with his second wife and family, proprietary rights being taken for his son Stephen (b. 3 January 1641) and his stepson Thomas Bingham.” William Backus died in Norwich before 7 June 1664.

 

Children of Thomas BINGHAM and Anne (Mary) FENTON:

Abel Bingham, christened in Sheffield, 14 May 1632. Moved to Birmingham.

Stephen Bingham, christened in Sheffield, 26 December 1633. According Munger, this may be the Stephen who married Sara Brag in 1652 in Worksop, Nottingham, a short distance from Sheffield.

Edward Bingham, christened in Sheffield, 28 March 1636; buried there, at St. Peter’s Church, 16 July 1643.

Robert Bingham, christened in Sheffield, 11 December 1638. Moved to Birmingham.

Elizabeth Bingham, christened in Sheffield, 18 October 1640; died 22 July 1641. Place of death is presumed to be Sheffield.

Thomas Bingham, Deacon, married Mary (Mabel) Rudd.

Anna Bingham, christened in Sheffield, 5 November 1644; died in Sheffield, 14 January 1646. Place of death is presumed.

Mary Bingham, christened in Sheffield, 2 July 1648; died in Sheffield, 16 June 1651.

 

Thomas Bingham III was listed in the names of the first settlers of Norwich, Connecticut in 1660.[9]  It is said[10] of Thomas Bingham III that,

 

Thomas Bingham, christened in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, 5 June 1642, son of Thomas and Ann (Fenton) Bingham, died in Windham, Windham, Connecticut , 16 January 1730; married in Norwich, New London, Connecticut, 12 December 1666, Mary (Mabel) Rudd, daughter of Jonathan and Mary (---) Rudd, born in Saybrook, Middlesex, Connecticut in 1649; died in Windham, 5 August 1726. Thomas is said to have emigrated [sic] with his mother to America about 1659, landing in Saybrook and settling in Norwich, of which he was one of the founders. The General Court of Connecticut sanctioned the application for permission to settle Norwich, 20 May 1659. The Uncas monument in Norwich lists thirty-five original settlers, including Thomas, in addition to Lt. Thomas Leffingwell, Thomas Bliss, and William and Stephen Backus. Thomas had a lot of four acres, running from the street to the Jantic River. He was of record in Norwich as late as 1693, at which time he apparently removed to Windham. His tombstone in Windham reads: “Here lies ye body of that Holy Man of God Deacon Thomas Bingham ... He was ye son of Mr. Thomas & Mrs. Mary Bingham living in Sheffield in York Shier in England: he dyed Janrye 16, 1729/30 in ye 88 year of his Age.” The tombstone of his wife Mary, also in Windham Center cemetery, reads: “Mrs. Mary ye late wife of Mr. Thomas Bingham who died August ye 5 1726 & in ye 78 year of her age.”

 

Furthermore, from a letter of Col. Elijah Bingham of East Haddan, Connecticut: “Thomas [III] had seven sons, all of them over six feet in height, all lived to be a great age and died in succession as born, from the oldest to the youngest. They were all religious men, puritanical in their principles, and much renowned as musicians and singers.”

 

Notes for Thomas Bingham IV state[11],

 

Thomas Bingham, born in Norwich, 11 December 1667; died in Norwich, 5 April 1710. Married Hannah Backus, 16 February 1692, in Norwich. He was the only one of Thomas’s children to remain in Norwich, succeeding to the privileges of his father.

 

Thomas and Hannah’s ninth child, Joseph, married Ruth Post and they had ten children, the fourth of which, also named Joseph, married Rachael Ween (or Weed).  Jeremiah, their firstborn, grew up, became a soldier of the Revolutionary War[12], married Mary Ives and they had twelve children, the last of which was also named Jeremiah. 

 

This Jeremiah, whom we’ll call Jeremiah II, married Minerva Dixon Keele.  Their firstborn son, Joseph Huvvy, married Emma Jane (Butler) Powell.  Joseph and Emma’s daughter, Emma Jane, who was the third of six children born to them, married Alfred Raymond Wilson.  They had a total of nine children, the last two, John and Elizabeth, dying as infants.

 

Jeremiah had other wives as well.  His first wife was Abigail Harrington (b. 25 January 1812, Younge, Leeds, Ontario, Canada).  Records obtained from the Nauvoo Land and Records Office state that Jeremiah and Abigail were married 2 February 1829, Brockville, Leeds, Ontario, Canada.[13]  They had six children, but only two of them lived.  Their birth order was:

 

1.       Perry Calvin BINGHAM, 1830, Younge, Leeds, Ontario, CANADA, Died as child.

2.      Amos Oscar BINGHAM, 1832, Younge, Leeds, Ontario, CANADA, Died as child.

3.      Clarinda BINGHAM, 1834, Younge, Leeds, Ontario, CANADA

4.      Lucinda BINGHAM, 24 September 1837, Gosfield, Essex, CT, USA, Died 14 March 1905

5.      Margaret Melvina BINGHAM, 7 November 1840, Henderson, Knox, IL, USA, Died 8 April 1926.

6.      Polly BINGHAM, 1842, Henderson, Knox, IL, USA, Died as child

7.      John BINGHAM, 1843, Nauvoo, Hancock, IL, USA, Died about 1843 as child.

 

Abigail died 8 June 1843.[14]

 

The baptism date for Jeremiah is unclear.  The family group sheet for him that was found at the Nauvoo Land and Records office says that his baptism date was 14 September 1842 with William Smith officiating.  But that contradicts another statement made by Susan Easton Black that he had become a member before he married Abigail in 1829.[15]

 

Jeremiah was a close friend of the Prophet Joseph Smith and was close to him in age.  They both enjoyed wrestling and Jeremiah eventually became one of his bodyguards.  At Nauvoo, Jeremiah lived on a plot of 40 acres in the far north section of Nauvoo near Camp Creek.  The Nauvoo record of his estate places it at Township 7, Range 7, Section 13, SE/4 (southeast quarter).  Jeremiah’s brother, Lucius Augustus Bingham, also lived on this same plot and appears to have owned the whole of it, subletting the southeast corner to Jeremiah.

 

Jeremiah was ordained an Elder in 1845 and was also called to be a seventy in the 16^th Quorum on 12 January 1845.[16]  The Nauvoo temple endowment register confirms that he was among the saints who were able to receive their endowment just prior to being expelled from Nauvoo in the late winter of 1846.  His endowment date is shown as 2 February 1846.[17]

 

During the Nauvoo exodus, Jeremiah, a blacksmith by trade, would repair wagons and do other blacksmithing jobs at each night’s encampment.

 

Jeremiah married his second wife, Sarah Keele, on 15 February 1846 during the Saints’ exodus to the Salt Lake Valley.  Sarah died 8 February 1852 in Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie, Iowa.  Her cause of death was most likely complications from childbirth.  The children of this marriage include:

 

1.       Jeremiah BINGHAM, 10 Jun 1847.  Died 4 January 1898.

2.      Abigail BINGHAM, 19 August 1848.

3.      Sarah Eleanor BINGHAM, 15 April 1850.  Died 9 April 1936.

4.      Augustus BINGHAM, 8 February 1852.  Died as infant.

 

After arriving in Utah with the Daniel A. Miller and John W. Cooley Company on 9 September 1853[18], the Bingham family first settled in Ogden, then moved south to Payson to assist in building the fort.  In 1856 he was called to help settle Fort Bridger in Wyoming.  When Johnston’s Army came, they returned to Payson.

 

Susan Keele, Sarah’s sister, became Jeremiah’s third wife, with Alpheus Bingham being born 19 February 1859.  Susan died shortly after giving birth to Alpheus.

 

In 1855, Minerva Dixon Keele, widow of Alexander Keele (who was killed by an Indian while standing guard at the Payson fort), became Jeremiah’s fourth wife.  This marriage was arranged at the request of the Payson Ward bishop at the time under the Old Testament doctrine of marrying a widow to the nearest of kin so that she might not be destitute.  Minerva had four children at the time of Alexander’s death, with the fifth being born six months later.  Jeremiah was the brother-in-law of Alexander Keele through his earlier plural marriages to Sarah and Susan, so he was selected for this arrangement.

 

Jeremiah and Minerva’s children were:

 

1.       Joseph Huvvy BINGHAM, 8 January 1856.  Died 14 January 1943.

2.      Melinda Sarah BINGHAM, 14 February 1859.  Died 7 September 1902.

3.      Minerva Jane BINGHAM, 22 September 1862.  Died 24 March 1949.

4.      Charles Richard BINGHAM, 10 May 1865.  Died 20 May 1910.

5.      Mary Louise BINGHAM, 30 January 1868.  Died 10 October 1868.

6.      Alonza BINGHAM, 11 February 1869.  Died 23 September 1869.

 

Jeremiah’s fifth wife was Mary Reese.  They were married 27 April1857 and had seven children:

 

1.       Jimento BINGHAM, about 1870, Payson, Utah, Utah.

2.      Mary Larina BINGHAM, 8 October 1866, Payson, Utah, Utah.

3.      Georgiana BINGHAM, 19 October 1862, Payson, Utah, Utah.

4.      Susan Colista BINGHAM, 6 February 1860, Payson, Utah, Utah. Died 3 June 1922, Monroe, Sevier, Utah.

5.      Hyrum BINGHAM, 19 February 1858, Payson, Utah, Utah. Died 10 September 1965.

6.      Lydia Rebecca BINGHAM, 7 April 1868, Payson, Utah, Utah.

7.      James Perry BINGHAM, 7 September 1864, Payson, Utah, Utah. Died 1 September 1873.

 

Jeremiah died at the age of 84 years on 6 May 1890 in Payson, Utah.

 

Emma Jane Bingham Wilson wrote a history of Jeremiah who was, her grandfather.

 

History of Jeremiah Bingham II

by Emma B. Wilson, a granddaughter

 

Jeremiah Bingham was born on the 15 June 1806 at Cornwall, Addison County, Vermont.  His parents were Jeremiah Bingham born 17 April 1760 at Cornwall, Vermont, and Mary Ives, born 25 April 1760 at Wallingford, Connecticut.

 

Jeremiah was the youngest of their ten children, 3 girls and 7 boys.  In the Church Historical office there is a history of Payson written by Franklin Wheeler Young[19].  He was sent to preside in Payson by President Brigham Young.  On some pages he recorded genealogy of members of the Payson Ward, including the family of Jeremiah Bingham.  It records his parents and his birth, also that he was baptized by William Smith on 10 September 1842 thus making him a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

 

In the Journal history of the Church we find that on 6 April 1852 a conference was held in Pottawattamie County Iowa and Jeremiah Bingham was chosen marshal during the Conference.[20]

 

Grandfather Bingham was endowed in the Nauvoo Temple 2 February 1846.  From sealing records we learn that on 5 March 1855 at Payson there were sealed to him Abigail Harrington, Sarah Keele, and Susan Keele.  As the first two were deceased, Susan Keele stood proxy for them.

 

Jeremiah Bingham was ordained a Seventy and became a member of the 16th Quorum at Nauvoo 12 July 1845.  He and his wife, Abigail, received their patriarchal blessings in Nauvoo on 12 March 1845.

 

On 24 September 1845, during a period of persecution, Lucius A. Bingham, next older brother of Jeremiah and grandfather of Apostle [and later Church President] Harold B. Lee, was one of a committee chosen to move families into Nauvoo from Camp Creek Branch, an outlying settlement of Nauvoo.  On 8 October 1845 he was appointed an agent to sell houses, farms, lots, etc. for the Saints who formerly lived in Camp Creek.  A brief manuscript record of the camp stated the branch was organized 1 May 1842 and on page one, in a list of members, we find the names of Jeremiah Bingham, Abigail Bingham, Mary Wipple (probably Ives and later deceased) Lucius Bingham, and Sarah Bingham.  On 5 May 1844 Jeremiah and Lucius gave testimony in a church trial. 

 

My great-grandfather, Jeremiah I, who was born in 1769 and lived in Canada, fought in the Revolutionary War and was wounded.   After the war the parents were unable to support their large family and some of the children were “bound out” as they called it at the time.

 

Jeremiah II was bound out to a man who was very unkind to him.  He remained with him as long as he could tolerate the cruel treatment he was given and then he ran away.  He lost his way in a dense forest and, after wandering about for some time, not knowing which way to go, he heard a loud call.  He answered it and it proved to be a man who was lost also.  Together they found their way out of the forest.

 

Jeremiah then went to live with one of his brothers.  From the “Bingham Family in the United States”[21], it notes that Rueben, Jeremiah, and Lucius became Mormons and later went to Utah.  After joining the Church Jeremiah met and married Abigail Harrington.  She later died, leaving six children.  Left alone with his small family, he met and married Sarah Keele in Iowa.  She died when her fourth child was born.  He was again left alone with a family of small children.  Some time later he married Susan Keele, a sister of Sarah.  Susan had only one child, Alpheus, who was born fifteen years after her marriage.  She had been a good mother to her husband’s motherless children.  Shortly after her baby boy was born, she too passed away on 10 March 1860 a few years after they reached Payson, Utah.  Susan was a member of the Church and was disowned by her family when she married Jeremiah.  Later some family members joined the Church and came to Utah.

 

Jeremiah was in Missouri when Joseph Smith was martyred.  He was well acquainted with the prophet at one time and was his bodyguard.[22]  There was but six months difference in their ages and they were the same size and at times liked to wrestle, a form of sport they both enjoyed.

 

Jeremiah Bingham and family joined the pioneer company of Captain D.A. Miller, having 8 persons in the family, 1 wagon, and 12 cattle.[23]   He joined on 6 April 1852 and had planned on coming with the first company.  But Ezra Taft Benson asked him for the loan of a horse.  Because of his kindness he had to remain until he could earn money and purchase another horse.  About six months later, Jeremiah, his wife Susan, their children, Jim Galenger, Tom Harvey, and a Snake Indian boy, started for Utah with the second company. [24]

 

Grandfather was a blacksmith by trade.  Each night he had to repair all the wagons and do other blacksmithing jobs.  One day they stopped for a noon rest and turned the horses loose to feed.  When they were ready to continue their journey they discovered that the Indians had stolen their horses.

 

The Indian boy who was with Grandfather went to talk with the Indian Chief.  He told the boy that his people were starving and they had taken the horses for meat for his people.  Grandfather was very kind hearted and he gave what food he could to the Indians, who then returned the horses.  After that experience they had less trouble with the Indians.

 

When they arrived in Salt Lake City, Grandfather gave the Indian boy clothes, money and a horse and sent him back to his people.  The boy feared the Ute Indians would shoot him because he was not of their tribe.

The Bingham family settled first in Ogden where Grandfather did what he could to build up the community for a year.  Then the family moved to Payson where they assisted in building the fort.

 

On 24 February 1856 Jeremiah’s name, with others, was read from the stand in the Tabernacle in Salt Lake City, calling him on a mission to help settle Fort Bridger, Wyoming.[25]

 

On 18 July 1853 Alexander Keele, brother-in-law of Jeremiah Bingham was the first white man to be killed by the Indians in Payson.  This happened while he was on guard duty.  Alexander left a widow and five small children.  The Bishop later came to Jeremiah and asked him to marry and support the widow, Minerva Dixon Keele, and her children.  Five children were born of this union, the eldest being my father, Joseph H. Bingham.  Jeremiah later married Mary Reece who had come across the plains with a handcart company.

 

At the time of the Indians were so bad, Grandfather was hauling freight from Payson to Richfield.  The Indians never harmed him because he was so kind and friendly to them.  The closest he came to trouble was when he took a little Indian boy to live with his family.  The boy got sick.  The tribe was camped by the McBeth farm.  Grandfather went to them and told them of the boy’s illness.  He offered to take care of him but they insisted he be brought to them.  A few days later told Grandfather could have the boy again but when Grandfather went to get the boy he was dead.  The chief said he must have one of Grandfather’s daughters to bury with the boy for a wife.  Jeremiah refused of course, but gave the boy’s horse, saddle, and spurs to them.  The Indians still thought they should have one of his daughters.  It was necessary to maintain day and night guard for some time.

 

Grandfather purchased forty acres of farmland on the west of Benjamin [a town southwest of Spanish Fork] for his two sons, Alpheus and Charles.  Here they lived and reared fine families.  My father, Joseph Bingham, started working with his father at the age of 18 to learn the blacksmith trade.  His father suffered a broken leg from which he was an invalid for two years, being cared for by Grandmother.

 

Jeremiah died at the age of 84 years on 6 May 1890 in Payson, Utah.  He worked all those long years to assist in the development of the community and to care for his family.  I have a picture of the blacksmith shop where he and my father carried on their trade for more than a century.

 

The following note was added to the biography of Jeremiah II by Ruth Wilson Young, a daughter of Emma Jane Bingham Wilson:

 

Jeremiah was present at the meeting in Nauvoo when the leadership of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was determined following the death of Joseph Smith.[26]  When I was a teen-ager attending a testimony meeting in the Payson First Ward an older gentleman related an incident.  He said that a man had been in the blacksmith shop of my great-grandfather Jeremiah Bingham.  The brother giving the testimony said the men in the blacksmith shop turned their conversation to that meeting in Nauvoo.  Jeremiah Bingham related that he was among the men chosen to usher at the gathering where Brigham Young spoke.

 

Jeremiah said he was at the back of the group when Brigham Young began to speak.  Jeremiah was so amazed at what occurred that he walked down an aisle so he could be closer to the speaker.  He said that Brigham Young not only sounded like Joseph Smith but his physical appearance resembled Joseph as he spoke.  Brigham Young was not as tall as Joseph Smith.  His coloring was different.  Yet, Jeremiah Bingham, who had known Joseph Smith, bore testimony that the mantle of the Prophet had indeed rested on Brigham Young.

 

In 1987, Ruth Wilson Young wrote the following biography of Minerva Dixon Keele Bingham.

 

A BIOGRAPHY OF MINERVA DIXON KEELE BINGHAM

By Ruth Wilson Young

January, 1987

 

Adapted from the writings of Minerva’s, granddaughter Emma Jane Bingham Wilson and family records.

Minerva Dixon was born November 13, 1823 at Bedford, Bluent County, Tennesee.  Her father was Solomon Dixon, who was born January 10, 1793 in Tennessee and who died in 1872.  Her mother was Sarah (Sally) Burger, also of Bluent County, Tennessee.

 

Minerva moved to Greene County, Illinois with her parents in 1829.  There were two other children in the Solomon Dixon family at that time.  The Dixon family settled about two miles southwest of the present village of Fayette [north of St. Louis, southeast of Quincy].  The farm was owned by Clyde Hambrough in the 1950s.

 

In Illinois, the Dixons survived the terrible winter of 1830-31, known in Illinois history as “The Winter of the Deep Snow.”[27]

 

On March 23, 1841, Minerva Dixon, then 17 years old, married Alexander Keele.  He had also been born in Bedford, Tennessee on February 25, 1822.  He was just past his 19th birthday when they were married. Both Minerva and Alexander were converts to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

 

After their marriage they remained in Greene County, Illinois.  Their first child, John Wesley Keele, was born there on January 2, 1842, about two months after his mother’s 18th birthday.

 

The Keele family next moved to Hancock County, Illinois.  On August 12, 1843, a second son, Francis Alma was born.  Henry Jefferson Keele was also born in Hancock County on March 6, 1846.

 

Pottawattamie, Iowa had become a gathering place for members of the Church prior to the trek west.  It was here that Minerva had her fourth son, William Dabney, on August 24, 1850.  Shortly after the family started on their long, hard migration to Utah.

 

A settlement had been made on the Peteetneet Creek in Utah Valley in 1850 and was first called Peteetneet.  Later it was called Payson.  It was here that the Keele family made their home.

 

The settlers had experienced trouble with the Indians.  At the outbreak of the Walker War in 1853, a guard was maintained at all times.  On July 18, 1853, Alexander Keele was standing guard at dusk when an Indian, pretending friendship, approached.  The sharp report of a rifle was heard in the direction of the southern outpost.  Alexander Keele was found dead, shot by one of Arapeen’s warriors.

 

The Indians fled to the canyons and the next morning fired on some men who were working at the sawmill where settlers were getting out wood.  They were warned of the danger by Joseph and George Curtis and returned to Payson.

 

The story was told that early on the evening of July 18, an Indian had called at the home of James McClellan, located outside the fort.  He asked for food.  Sarah, a young girl, let him in.  Her mother prepared something for him to eat.  He seemed friendly, but upon leaving he went around the corner and shot Alexander Keele.[28]

 

The spot where Keele was shot is marked by a monument erected in his honor by the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers and presented to Payson City.  The marker is set in a rock drinking fountain in Memorial Park.  The monument was dedicated on June 11, 1931.

 

His young widow, Minerva was left with four little sons.  She was not yet 30 and was expecting her fifth child.  Alexander Keele, Jr. was born in Payson on December 14, 1853, about six months after his father was killed.

Two of Alexander Keele’s sisters lived in Payson.[29]  They were the plural wives of Jeremiah Bingham, a blacksmith.  He had married the sisters before the family came to Utah in 1853.  Susan, Sarah, and Alexander Keele were children of Eleanor McColough and Richard John Keele.  Sarah Keele and Jeremiah Bingham had two children born in Council Bluffs, Iowa: Jeremiah in June of 1847 and Abiga[i]l in August of 1848.  After they settled in Payson, they had a daughter, Sarah Eleanor, in September of 1857.  Susan Keele and Jeremiah Bingham had one son, Alpheus Bingham, born in Payson on February 19, 1959.  His mother died shortly after his birth.

 

Minerva Dixon Keele was married to Jeremiah Bingham, following the church teaching that the kinsman should care for the widow and her family.[30]  They were married on the 5th of March, 1855.  Minerva was a wonderful helpmate to her husband and assisted in rearing the children of his other wives.  Minerva was Jeremiah’s fifth wife.  His first wife, Abigail Harrington, had died before the migration to Utah.  Abigail had seven children.  The Keele sisters were Jeremiah’s second and third wives.  In Utah he was married to Mary Reece who had four children, only one of whom lived to adulthood.

 

So, Minerva Dixon Keele Bingham faced the rigors of pioneer life and the challenge of a polygamous family.  The Keele and Bingham children, however, were very close.  Minerva had six children by Mr. Bingham.  They were Joseph Huvvy, born January 8, 1856; Sarah Malinda on February 14, 1859; Minerva Jane, September 22, 1862; Charles Richard, May 10, 1865; Mary Louise, January 30, 1868; and Alonzo on February 11, 1869.  They were all born in Payson.

 

Her eleven children were born under less than ideal circumstances.  Her childbearing years extended from her late teens until her 46th year.  Her last two children did not live to see their first birthdays.

 

Jeremiah Bingham provided a home for Minerva near his blacksmith shop on the southwest corner of the intersection of Utah Avenue and First East in Payson.  The small adobe home was located just south of the shop.  Two years before Jeremiah died, he broke his leg.  Minerva cared for him patiently in the period preceding his death on March 6, 1890.  He died at their home.

 

The oldest son of Minerva and Jeremiah Bingham, Joseph, began working with his father in the shop when he was eighteen.  Joseph and his wife, Emma, lived in a two-room adobe home a block east and two blocks south of his parents.  In the fall of 1891, he moved into a new brick house on the same lot as his small home.  When he moved his wife and family into the new home, he brought his mother to live in the smaller one.

 

Joseph wanted to have his mother near so that he could help care for her.  She rented her own home for many years and had the independence of a few dollars income.  She always stayed close at home, but her children lived near and visited her often.

 

John Wesley Keele married Amelia Zundell; Francis Alma Keele never married; Henry Jefferson Keele married Amelia Bielby; William Dabney Keele married Eliza B. Boulton; Alexander Keele, Jr. married Alice Ida Bielby.  The Bingham offspring married as follows:  Joseph married Emma Jane Powell; Sarah Melinda married Henry Knight; Minerva Jane married John Oyler; Charles Richard married Virginia Manwell.  Mary Louise and Alonzo died in infancy.

 

Minerva was 67 when she was widowed for the second time.  As the infirmities of age made it impossible for her to care for herself, she was taken into the home of Joseph and Emma for a number of years.  The last year of her life was spent in Garland at the home of her daughter, Jane Oyler.  Her son, Joseph, was there with her for the last week of her life.  It brought her great joy to have her loved ones with her in the end.

 

Minerva died in Garland, Box Elder County, Utah on October 2, 1912 at the age of 88 years, 10 months, and 19 days.  She was brought to Payson for funeral services and burial.  She is buried near her two husbands in the Payson City Cemetary.  A tall granite stone bears their names and the names of her sister wives. 

 

Ruth Wilson Young compiled the following account of John Powell.  She drew from a work by Emma McDowell Jacobson, who in turn drew from the oral autobiography of Mary Powell Sabin which was then written by Minnie I. Hodapp.  John Powell, who was the second husband of her great-grandmother, Sarah Elizabeth Harris, was Ruth’s great-grandfather on the Powell side.

 

JOHN POWELL

 

John Powell, son of David Powell and his wife, Margaret Lewis Powell, was born 9 July 1813.  John was one of ten children, the others being: David, Margaret, Samuel, Susannah, Ann, Hannah, Thomas, and Elizabeth.  John was born [in] (Tedmonshire) Radner, Herefordshire, England. 

 

When John was 27 years old, he was living in Sheffield, England.  At this time, Sarah Elizabeth Harris, from Radnarshire, South Wales, was in England going to a private girl’s school, while visiting a school chum, Elizabeth Harris met John Powell, they were married.

 

John was an expert rock mason by trade.  He and his wife moved to Llanover, South Wales.  John came to Wales as foreman for Sir Benjamin Hall at the Llanover Estate.  Sir Benjamin Hall represented that part of the country in the British Parliament[31].  John being a stonecutter, most everything in that section was built of stone, houses, fences and even the floors in the house.  A great number of men worked on the Hall estate.

 

His first son, William, was born 28 Jan 1841.  Mary, their second child, was born 2 Nov 1844.  She remembers seeing the house where she was born.  It belonged to a long row of other houses.  The family moved from here while the two children were quite young.  They later moved to a house situated on the highway close to a hill, which sloped down to the highway.  A long pathway with flowers on each side led from the door to the gate.  There were roses, daisies, violets and primroses blooming there.  The children of John spent many hours in this garden.  John told them, “You may smell the flowers, but don’t pick them.”

 

John and his wife had their children christened in the Anover or Hanover Chapel.  John did not belong to any church, but he led the singing in his wife’s church, the Independent Methodist.  John was kind, but strict with his children.

 

John Harris, father-in-law, made his home with John and his family until he died at an old age.  John took large building contracts.  His brother, David, living in New York at this time, urged him to come to America, but they didn’t want to leave the older grandfather then.  But after he died, John with his family planned to come to New York and join his brother David, but while working, he fell off a house, so he was laid up for sometime, and used up all their money.

 

One day an old man from the family parish came and asked them to come and live with him, he was very lonely, his daughter being away.  He had a large home and two farms.  Elizabeth was to cook the meals and wash his shirts.  John considered the offer [as] it helped them to save money.  While here, Margaret, was born 6 March 1846.

 

Two years later, John moved his family to Blen Avon, at the Iron Works mills [where] the wages were much higher.  John took the large contract for building flumes at the mill, a drive of twenty miles.  To move his family, with the help of Mr. Jones and another man, the furniture was strapped on the backs of mules, which were then driven over the mountain.  The family rode in the wagon.  Blen Avon was made up of smoke-stacks, chimneys, rows and rows of houses and blast furnaces, like large giants, greeted John’s family through the darkness.  The houses were in rows of nine each, one new house and one old.  John’s family [moved] into the 2nd house in the new row.  Here Elizabeth (Lizzie) was born 6 August 1849.

 

While working here John became very ill.  He lay and tossed with a fever for weeks.  Sister Helen Niblet Huish, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, came to help take care of John and the young baby.

 

While recovering from his illness, John read Mrs. Huish’s books, “The Bible”, “Doctrine and Covenants”, “The Pearl of Great Price”, and “The Book of Mormon.”

 

As soon as John was able to walk on crutches he went to oversee the works on his contract.  The doctor told him his recovery was from the good care given him by his wife and Mrs. Huish.

 

Again the family moved, this time [to] a place called “Stable Row” but John not liking this place soon moved.  The stables were in long straight rows.

 

John became very interested in Mrs. Huish’s book, especially “The Book of Mormon” and “The Doctrine and Covenants”.[32]   Mary, his oldest daughter, being 6 at this time remembers the details very vividly saying. “It was Sunday, some of our aunts, uncles and cousins had come from the iron works, a distance of nine miles, to pay a visit.  Just before tea, at 4 o’clock, father asked to be excused to go and keep an appointment in the village, not saying why, he wasn’t gone too long.  When John returned, his wife, Elizabeth remarked.  “Why, John, your hair is wet.”

 

John replied “I have just been baptized as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”

This statement caused a big commotion in the house, Elizabeth was shocked saying, “Why John, why would you join such a low, degraded sect?”[33] 

 

Relatives scolded, some cursed and some cried.  It caused quite an upheaval.  John very kindly said goodbye to the relatives, telling them kindly, “I’ll try and talk to you when you come again sometime.”

 

John was baptized Nov 1850 by Elder Savage and Theobalds Roads.  John studied and taught the gospel to his wife, Elizabeth.  She was baptized six weeks later, at Balls’ Pond, by Brother Huish.  Sister Helen Huish, Brother John Powell, Sister Long, [and] Brother and Sister Duke, walked to the edge of the water with Sister Powell.

 

John was a broad minded man, quite intelligent.  He was strict in the management of his affairs.  He never went into debt of any kind but did without the things for which he could not pay for.  Elizabeth was united with him.  They looked ahead and worked hard.

 

John was superintendent of the mason work in Lanover, so he moved his family back to Lanover.  Here he rented a nice stone house, with six rooms, with a large fire place in the north end of a room for cooking and baking pies and biscuits, and a laundry or shed at the back.  John fixed the house so he could rent the two end rooms to the gardner and his wife.  There was plenty of fruit and a nice garden.

 

Elizabeth and John were kind to the Mormon Elders.  They came and had many meals with them.  They would talk about Zion and Great Salt Lake as well as religion.

 

The Branch President placed John in charge of three districts, Lan Ellen, Abi Gavanni, Lan Toni Abbey.  He met with the saints in one of these districts each Sunday.  Often the elders returned with him and would remain at the Powell home for many days.  Mrs. Powell caring for them and their clothes.

 

During these years a son, Joseph, was born, 6 January 1845, he died in July 1850.

 

In the spring (April) 1855, a strange sickness spread through the village.  John was severely stricken, having to go to bed and Elizabeth had a daughter, Sarah Ann, 4 days old.  His good wife had to get out of bed to give John his medicine.  All the neighbors were afraid to come in the house, some said it was typhoid fever.  Mary was 9 years old.  She ran up and down stairs with fresh drinking water for her father and mother.  A kind man came daily and filled the 2 large water jugs at the spring for Mary.

 

Mary says, “In the midst of our trouble Lady Hall and her maid came.  (This Lady Hall was the wife of Lord Hall—member of Parliament. She spent the winters in London and the summers in the country.  She had known Elizabeth since Elizabeth was a child).  Mary hung up their wraps and both went directly upstairs, telling Elizabeth to lie down and she would give John his medicine.  But Elizabeth was worried, she was afraid Lady Hall would get sick too.  Lady Hall said, “The neighbors were willing but afraid to come, but she wasn’t frightened.”  Elizabeth was in no condition to care for John.  Lady Hall and her maid came night after night.

 

One night Mary remembers, “When John was worse than usual Brother and Sister Huish, Brother and Sister Duke and a missionary from Utah came to the home.  Lady Hall said, ‘Bring them right up, I shall be glad to meet them’ , asking if they were Latter-day Saints.  After greeting them Lady Hall said, ‘You have come a long way to aid a sick friend.  Your actions speak louder than your words.  It is a good religion that directs you.  I am glad you came.  I’m sure your presence here will help John.’  Telling John goodnight Lady Hall and her maid departed.”

 

The Elders administered to John promising him he would get well and go to Utah and work on the Temple.  John recovered but he did not have the strength as before.  He went back to work as an overseer of the mansions.  When Sir Benjamin Hall returned home, he told John to safe guard his health, to let the men do the work, as he told them to and for John to go home each day before sundown.  He could see John wasn’t yet well.  “I want to keep you, John, as long as I can.”

 

In this part of Wales where John lived there was now a going on revivals among the different religions.  John was supporting a Bro. Owens and his wife, a local missionary.  They lived in the Powell home more than a year.  Brother Owen was bold and rather radical.  John had to counsel Brother Owen to be careful, peaceable and considerate of the feelings of others.

 

John’s family lived in a beautiful part of Wales, it was full of trees, flowers, parks, old homes, with straw or tile roofs.  Lots of green holly with red berries [and] white laurel.

 

The two children, Joseph and Sarah Ann, were buried in The Independent Methodist Chapel cemetery.[34] 

 

The next winter John finished up his work and gave notice to Sir Benjamin Hall, he was taking his family to America.  Sir Benjamin wrote to John saying, “tell Powell not to let a question of money come between us.”

No one in the village wanted to see John, Elizabeth and their family leave.  They sold all their feather beds, bedsteads, bedding and furniture at a low price, some they gave away, some they left in the house.  He gave away and sold all their worldly goods at a great sacrifice, but John and Elizabeth felt they had found more in their new religion.  Lady Hall said, “Poor John, all that’s the matter is his mind is turned by Mormonism.”  John replied, “It’s a true remark.”

 

Reservations for the family were made 10 March 1856.  John paid his passage and deposited his money with the Emigration fund, to sail from Liverpool to Boston.  (A Gallaway of John Braidley Abersychan Pontypool, Wales)[35]

 

Before leaving Wales they visited their relatives and among the Saints.  John and Elizabeth had a son, David Samuel, born 2 March 1856.  The Saints from Abigaveni took the John Powell family to the station in an omnibus.  They stayed in Liverpool a week.  On March 23, 1856, on the ship “Enoch Train”[PE68]  they left for America. (From Ship P. 29 “Enoch Train” Handcart Company L 856.)[PE69]  John 43 years old, Elizabeth, 35, John’s trade, mason, children: William, 15; Mary, 13; Margaret, 8; Elizabeth, 7; Anna, 4; David, 3 weeks.  The family came on the emigration fund, from the Herefordshire Conference, England.  The boat was a freighter converted to a sailing vessel with Captain Daniel McCarty.  There were 537 saints and crew of 30.  President James Ferguson, first counselor, Edmund Ellsworth, 2nd counselor, Daniel D. McArthur.

 

There was a large stove on the boat, where the passengers took turns to cook food.  John put his name “John Powell” on his teakettle and put it on the captain’s stove so he could prepare a cup of tea for Elizabeth.  Due to the long waiting time at the passenger’s stove, John paid the captain’s colored cook to prepare the food and bring it to them.

 

The baby being young when they left, John had him christened while on the boat.  Everyone on the boat was pleasant and kind.  The Saints gathered each night and morning in the big room for prayers.

 

John depended on 13-year-old Mary for many errands and to help with the other children.  He and Mary enjoyed the ocean, he would hold her over the banister so she could see way out and watch the ship cut the water.  A good many people on the boat looked to John for numerous little favors.  One man seeing him always busy doing for others said, “Are you the captain?”  “No,” replied John, “I am the chore boy.”

 

After two weeks at sea a terrible storm came and drove them back until they could see the spires of the buildings in Liverpool.  After 3 weeks a Mrs. Devereaux died and was buried at sea.

 

Church services were held on deck each Sunday.  A band played after the meetings on Sunday.  Brother Ellsworth and Brother McAllister helped keep up the moral[e] of the people.

 

It took 5 weeks and 5 days to cross the Atlantic from Liverpool to Boston.  It was necessary for the immigrants to be examined before going ashore.  This took 2 days.  While in Boston Harbor a number of building contractors came on the ship, they met and talked with John and offered him $8.00 per day to do mason work, but John did not take the work.

 

The Saints, in a body, traveled by water and train to New York, where Apostle John Taylor met them.  Food was sent to the ship for them, being 2 days since they had eaten.  Leaving by rail they traveled to Rock Island, Illinois.  The train being 15 minutes late, saved all of them from plunging into the Mississippi river, the bridge had broken with the train ahead of them.[PE70]   They stayed at Rock Island until Monday morning crossing the Mississippi river by boat.  Here they traveled by box cars to Iowa City.  From here they walked 4 miles to the Iowa camp grounds.  A Brother Merrill, a missionary who had lived at their house in Wales, met Mrs. Powell with a carriage.

 

John had paid his families [PE71] immigration fee before leaving Wales and fully expected to find teams and wagons at Council Bluffs to take them the rest of the way to Utah, but there were only a few teams with loads of merchandise for the stores in Salt Lake City, so John, along with the rest of the men, made the hand carts on which they could haul the few things necessary to make the journey across the plains, one thousand miles to Utah.  [PE72] Mother Powell had to dispose of many of their things; among them were their flat irons.  John had a bake kettle ordered but it had not come.  The family, with the help of Mary, did their cooking over a campfire.  A lady asked Mary to use the stove for baking in her tent.  They had never seen a washboard until they came to America.  Everything was so different from the life John and his family had known in Wales, it was hard to stand such changed conditions.

 

John and his family stayed in Iowa City six weeks.  Much of this time his wife was not well.  June 9, 1856 the Saints left for Salt Lake, pushing and pulling handcarts.  It was a new experiment for the Saints and the Church.  John and his family were in Edmund Ellsworth company.  John was counselor to the captain of his company.  This kept him away from his family a great deal of the time, as his duties were to look after everything in general, to see that the company was provided with all provisions that they were able to carry, to assist in all that would aid for the betterment of the company.  John had 2 handcarts allotted to his family.  William, 15, pulled the large family handcart.  Mary, 13 pulled the smaller one to Utah.  John being in charge of about a hundred people, he could only take turns helping Mary.  Elizabeth was so sick she had to ride sometimes.  Mary still looked after the 4 younger sisters and the 2-month-old baby.  So many people died, Mary was afraid when her father or mother took sick they would die by the way side.  The company arrived in Florence, Nebraska in July, staying 2 weeks to fix wagons and handcarts.  While here their bake kettle arrived, also a man came to camp asking Captain Ellsworth, “Is there a man here from Wales by name of John Powell?  That is the man I want.  I’ve looked out for him for the last 5 years.  My wife wants to see Brother Powell, she thinks the world of him.  He gave her a home in the old country.”

 

This man offered John 80 acres of land if he would settle in Nebraska and was willing to help John erect a house for his family, but John said, “No.”

 

While camped here, John found work.  He laid the foundation, also dressed the corner stone for the first courthouse in Omaha, Nebraska[PE73] .  He received $8.00 a day.  John needed the money for shoes saying, “I cannot let my children go bare footed across the plains.”  As the real test of the journey started here, Brother Jones, a butcher, and his wife, Anna, good friends of John and Elizabeth, who started from England with them, remained in Omaha.  John said that Brother Jones was keeping his word to Annie’s father, promising not to lead her into suffering and danger.

 

The family was up at day break, had prayer, ate a scanty breakfast of fried dough cakes, then started their march, resting at 10:30, then walked on until they found water, ate what was left over from breakfast, very often going to bed without supper.  There was little food to cook, and they would be too tired to prepare it.  There were 20 persons in the tent to be pitched every night.

 

Danger of Indians, rattlesnakes, thirst, buffalo herds, contagious disease, [and] lack of food faced them every day.  One day the company had to form a circle with wagons, handcarts, people and animals inside, while the buffalo, in their mad rush, went by.  All the Saints knelt in prayer.  The men folks played musical instruments to keep the buffalo away from them.  Elizabeth later stood on a wagon wheel, and as far as she could see in all directions was one big mass of buffalo.  The men killed some of the last few stragglers for meat.  The children gathered nuts, fruits, and berries to eat.  The bak[PE74]  kettle John had was large enough to cook for 20 families.  When meat was cooked at night, the kettle would be hung on the wagon tongue, which would be propped into the air, so the dogs wouldn’t get it.  John thought it funny indeed.  Some days the company would travel 30 miles before finding water.

 

Traveling in the Platte valley was pleasant.  When the company asked the cost at the trading post to ferry them over the river, it was so high the Saints had to wade, the river being between 2 to 3 blocks wide, the men took the handcarts, ladies and children waded.  The river became very deep, but they crossed without any drowning.  All went right on in their wet clothing, making 3 miles that day.  Due to [a] 16,000 Indian tribe council meet, the Saints didn’t make a fire that night.  Meeting 500 Indians the next morning John gave some of them beautiful peacock feathers, which pleased them.

 

From here they went into the mountains [and] travel became much harder.  As they came into the beautiful timber along the creek, Mary wanted to stop and build them a log house to live in.  “What would we do for food?” asked her father.  “Do as we are doing now,” Mary said, “Go without.”

 

Sometimes they would stop half a day to wash clothes and mend carts.  Most of the time they were covered with dust.  The sand and dirt [were] almost to the carts.  People [were] sick, dying, hungry, [and with] no food, except killing buffalo and sometimes a cow.  Some food was rationed [but] many went without.  Many women and children [were] so hungry and tired they would crawl on their hands and knees in the sand.  Many thunder storms would wet them thru, their carts and tents.  Everyone seemed to be worn out.  Some wagons came from Salt Lake bringing a small amount of flour, for 18 cents a pound.  Many had died as they made their way into Green River [and], after wading the Platt[PE75]  River several times, a rough crossing had been fixed over the Green River.  It was getting the last of August now, and the McArthur company[PE76]  was with them going to Laramie.  Snow was in the tops of the mountains, it was cold and damp.  They traveled until midnight, and were up and ready to leave by 5 in the mornings.

 

About 21 September, the company camped at Fort Bridger.  Here they stayed all night.  “The men killed a beef.” Mary says, “this was the first meat since we left the buffalo on the prairies.”  At Fort Bridger they met Brother Parley P. Pratt.  Two men from the fort were on their way to Salt Lake, they asked Captain Ellsworth what message they could take and he told them, “Tell them we haven’t a bite of food left in camp.”  They were completely out of provisions.

 

A relief party met them with food before they arrived in Salt Lake.  The company went down through Echo Canyon, Mary said that the echoes would answer back their calls.

 

That night they camped on Little Mountain and the McArthur company was with them again.  Next morning bread, beef and coffee had come from Salt Lake.

 

Arriving in Immigration canyon September 26, 1856, they were met by President Young and several members of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles.  They brought watermelons for them.  He told them not to eat too much, John said, “Brigham Young was quite sensible.”

 

John’s little daughter age 4, who walked all the way, got the large piece of bread and butter she had been promised.

 

In the afternoon they went down into the valley, camping on the square in the 16th ward, staying from Friday until Monday.  Brother Brigham Young told them they had fulfilled a prophecy.[PE77]   Monday morning, Orson Hyde came to the camp ground, telling John he had a one room log house in the 15th ward he could rent for $1.50 a month.  John moved his family in.  Brother Nelson Empey loaned them 3 chairs.  Brother Thomas loaned them a chair and table and Brother Grenic a bedstead.  Shortly after arriving John sold his handcart and supplied his family with wood, flour, and a little molasses.  John had deposited his money with the emigration fund when they started on their journey but it was not available when they reached Salt Lake.  All their extra clothing, bedding, and excess that they couldn’t load on their handcarts, was left at Council Bluffs to be brought by team later, but it didn’t ever come.  They faced the coming winter with a very scanty supply of clothing, bedding and other necessities to make them comfortable.

Mary being 13 went to do house work, William, 16, went to work dressing rocks on the Temple.  John took his tools and put in two days work cutting stone for the Temple.  He became very sick with black canker, he was sick three days when he died, 12 October 1856, his wife’s 36th birthday.  Just two weeks to the day the family arrived in Salt Lake.  John died Friday afternoon and was buried about noon Saturday.  A kind neighbor, Sister Judd, gave them two sheets for John’s burial clothes.  John was buried in the Salt Lake City cemetary, in a plot with 9 other pioneer people.

 

When I first found the 10 graves, each was marked with a medium sized small rock, which have since been removed.  The grave is recorded in the Salt Lake City cemetary records, volume 4, Utah S3, page 1174[PE78] , giving his parents, David and Margaret Lewis Powell, with other information.  John’s wife, Elizabeth is buried in Payson City cemetery.  Their son, William, a stonemason, hand cut a stone for John and Elizabeth, placing it at the head of Elizabeth’s grave in the Payson cemetery.

 

At the time of John’s death his daughter, Anna 4, was very sick with black canker too, also one of the other children.  Having only one bed, it was necessary to have a bed made from straw on the floor.

 

John and his daughter, Mary, were very dear to each other, Mary was their help at all times, in Wales and England, both in sickness and health.  On the boat coming she was always with John helping him, as well as pulling one cart across the plains, gathering food and fruit, looking after the children, helping John with their sick mother and three weeks old baby.  When her father died, Mary had gone to work being home only once in 2 weeks to see him.  John had endured too much, the long walk, with little or no food, his long sickness before leaving Wales, was more than his body could stand, to reach Zion.  He lived just long enough to see a promise come true, that he should reach Zion and work on the Temple.

 

John and Elizabeth were the parents of: William, Mary Margaret, Joseph, Elizabeth, Sarah Ann, Hanna Sussana (Anna), David Samuel, Emma Jane and John James Powell.  A year after the death of John, Elizabeth, with her children, went to Payson and made a home.

 

                                                            Emma McDowell Jacobson[PE79] 

 

This is the history of my great grandfather, John Powell.  I have taken all the material from 3 Powell histories so beautifully told by his daughter Mary Powell Sabin and written by Minnie I. Hodapp[PE80] , for Mary Powell Sabin.  The one history I used belongs to Leah Smith[PE81] , granddaughter.  Also from the book, “Handcarts to Zion” by LeRoy and Ann W. Hafen[36].  But I find Mary Powell’s day to day travels are the same as in this book, sometimes even much better told, such a keen mind for a girl 13 years old.  Such outstanding histories of the Powell family, all told in such detail from the beginning of their lives, with such love for her parents, her brothers and sisters.  To Mary I am indeed grateful that she preserved the history of my pioneer forefathers, the Powell family.  Mary tells exactly what I found on the immigration records and much more.

 

Ruth Wilson Young also wrote the following history of Sarah Elizabeth Harris[37]. 

 

SARAH ELIZABETH HARRIS

 

Sarah Elizabeth Harris was born Oct. 12, 1821 in Rednashire, Wales the daughter of John and Sarah Harris. She lived with her grandparents as a child. Her father and mother were going to England to work and her grandparents were lonely and persuaded them to let Elizabeth stay with them.

 

Her grandfather was a farmer so her childhood was spent on a farm in South Wales. The children in that country learned to work when very young so when her grandmother passed away, Elizabeth kept house for her grandfather. He was a very religious man, adhering very strictly to the rules of the Methodist Church, which was very strict with its members. They were not allowed to dance.

 

She married John Powell of Sheffield, England, who had come to the neighborhood as foreman for Sir Benjamin Hall [PE39] the great man in that neighborhood who represented that part of the country in the British Parliament.

 

Her husband was a stonecutter and as most everything in that section was built of stone, including houses, fences, even the floors in the houses, a great many men were employed on the estate.

 

Later on, thinking to better their condition, they moved to Iron Works [PE40] where the wages were higher. But in a short time her husband and son William became ill with typhus fever. During this time they became acquainted with James Huish and family who were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Elizabeth was then the baby and as the mother was so worn out with caring for her sick husband and son, Mrs. Huish nursed the baby, as she had a child of her own, about the same age.

 

This acquaintanceship ripened into a very dear and lasting friendship. Through this association, John Powell, her husband, was converted to the principles of the L.D.S. Church and was baptized. Afterward they moved back to their old home at Abagavemie and to the same work with Sir Benjamin Hall.

 

Their home was always open to the Elders of the Church, James Reece and Charles Long were traveling elders and they stayed at their home, later emigrated and made their homes in Payson, Utah.

 

The family left their home to immigrate to Utah with the Saints in April, 1856. At that time there were six children, William, Mary Margaret, Anna Elizabeth and David and the baby six weeks old[PE41] .

 

They sailed from Liverpool on the ship “Enoch Train”. [PE42] It was a sailing vessel, a freighter converted into an emigrant ship. The captain was Daniel McCarty[PE43] .

 

After two weeks at sea, a terrible storm came up and drove them back until they could see the spires of buildings in Liverpool. It took five weeks for them to cross the Atlantic from the Liverpool to Boston. They traveled by emigrant train from Boston to the Missouri River. At Council Bluffs they built their handcarts.

 

They had paid their emigration fee before leaving their homes in Wales and expected to find teams and wagons at Council Bluffs to take them to Utah the rest of the way. But there were only a few teams with loads of merchandise for the stores in Salt Lake City, so the men made carts in which they could haul the few things necessary to make the journey across the plains 1000 miles to Utah. As this brave and valiant mother had not fully regained her strength after the arrival of little David, most of the camp work, such as cooking and washing, was done by Mary, who was twelve years old. Everything was so different from the life they had known in Wales; it was hard to meet such changed conditions.

 

At the Iowa campgrounds they saw the first stove with an oven, they did all cooking over campfires. They had never seen a washboard until they came to America.

 

When the handcarts were completed, this company of about 200 souls, with fifty-seven handcarts, set out across the plains under the command of Edmund Ellsworth. This was the first company of handcart pioneers to cross the plains. It was a long, hard road to travel, even with teams and wagons. They walked at the sides of the carts all the way unless they were ill. They killed game to supplement the meager supply of food.[38][RW44] 

 

Robert Sheen and family, his father and some of his relatives were in the company and they were the ones who supplied the game. They never seemed to think of the hardships they had to endure but had only one thought in mind and that was to reach Zion, where they could find friends and a chance to begin a new life and enjoy their religion.

 

One day, an elderly man of the company strayed away from camp and they were delayed for several hours while a search was made for him. He had found a shelter built of willows on the riverbank and had hid in it, as he was too tired of walking. They found him and persuaded him to return.

 

The men dared not go far from the train in search of game because of fear of attacks from Indians. At night when they made camp, they placed the wagon and handcarts close together to form a hollow circle and camped inside. It was very hard on the old, sick and young children as they traveled as far as possible each day. Robert Sheen lost their little daughter Emma on the plain. They prepared her body for burial, performed the last rites and tearfully resumed their journey.

 

Some days they had to travel long distances without water and at night the men would dig holes in the buffalo wallows to get water. As soon as the dirt was damp they would hold it on their wrists to absorb moisture in order to go on digging. The little children would often seize the wet mud and suck the water out of it to quench their thirst, not being able to wait for the water to seep in and clear. In spite of these hardships they would sing hymns and express their gratitude to God that he had led them so far on their way. When they arrived at a stream where the water was good. They would stay long enough to wash their clothes and bake some bread to carry with them as there were long distances where the only fuel was buffalo chips.

 

After they had crossed the Green River and were climbing the long slope they met a group of missionaries from Salt Lake City on their way East. They stopped their teams and shouted “Hosanna and Praise to God and the Lamb”, as they sighted this valiant band so sunburned and weary but with smiles on their faces and their eyes shining with joy was a sight they would never forget. Bernard Snow stood on the tongue of the wagon and made a rousing speech, bidding them welcome to the valleys of the mountains, after which they went on their separate ways.

 

This noble band, filled with joy and thanksgiving as their journey was nearly completed, forgetting the weary miles behind them, facing the rest of their journey with courage renewed and hearts light and gay.

 

When they reached the mouth of Emigration Canyon, President Young and a few Saints met them, bidding them welcome and escorting them into town where they were served refreshments. President Young arose to make a speech but when he saw the hungry little ones he said “Come, let’s serve them food, the speeches can wait.”

 

As the people had been on limited rations for some time, the sight of regular food brought tears to their eyes and lumps to their throats and in true gratitude they gave thanks and felt that their troubles were indeed over. It was now the latter part of September and they had been six months on their journey since leaving their home in Wales. As the Elders had told grandfather Powell that he would work on the Temple, he rented a one-room house from Orson Hyde, and went to work cutting stone. But, after two days work he became very ill with Black Canker [PE45] and died just two weeks after reaching Salt Lake, leaving his wife alone in this strange country with six children, the oldest 15 years and the youngest seven months or so. She had very little money with which to try to make a home. Brigham Young gave her a sheet to make her husband’s burial clothes. Their money had been deposited with the Emigration Fund when they started on their journey and their extra clothing, bedding and everything they couldn’t load on the hand carts were left at Council Bluffs to be brought later by team.[PE46] 

 

They faced the coming winter with a very scanty supply of things to make them comfortable. They sold their handcart to buy food. The crops had been poor and as the population was increasing so fast with so many immigrants arriving that year, food was very scarce with very little variety.

 

For Christmas dinner that year they had boiled cabbage, brown bread and toasted beans. William worked on the temple and Mary also worked out doing housework. The mother, being a good seamstress, did tailoring for some of the prominent people, among them Heber C. Kimball, who was then the Presiding Bishop of the Church. He wanted her to accept help from the tithing office but she refused saying that if they could get work, they would prefer to earn their own living. Two boys were boarding with her while working on the temple. They were paid with provisions from the tithing office, which they could give to the family for board and room.

 

The next summer they raised a garden with potatoes and cabbage for the necessary food demanded for the long hard winter. In the fall of 1857, Charles Long came to see them as he learned they were in Salt Lake City and they were given receipts so they could draw on the tithing office in Payson, Utah.

 

Some time after this she married James Butler by whom she had two children, John and Emma.[8] Her life with him was so very unhappy she divorced him but had two more to support. The two children were sealed to her and her first husband and so were known always as Powell.[9]

 

They purchased an adobe house on the West Side of Payson, one room with no door or window, just open spaces, but it meant to them a home of their own. They soon had it furnished. Mary got some white clay from the hill and with a piece of sheep skin she white washed the walls making them look nice and clean, then she fixed up some curtains for the window out of mosquito bar[PE47] , placed a bowl filled with flowers on the table and when her mother came home from her day’s work she saw the festive array in the first home she had owned in Utah.

 

A man named Batch had a store in Payson and grandmother Harris worked for him. She packed butter in barrels, first a layer of salt and then a layer of butter. Where she worked she also dipped bacon sacks in lye water made from the ashes of greasewood and from this made soap. The soap and butter were shipped to Ft. Bannock. She was paid for her work and given some of the sacks, which she made into clothes.

 

Mary would work all day and then help her mother with the sewing at night. William was in the militia that went to Sanpete to protect the settlers from the Indians.[PE48]  He met and married Christiana Peterson of Ephraim while there.

 

In March of 1878 her son, David, and son-in-law, James Betts, were killed in a snow slide in Payson Canyon. [PE49] James’ body was found the first day but not until a week later was the body of David recovered. Something rather strange happened during the search. Men from the surrounding settlements spent the week on the slide digging to find the body as the slide covered a large area. They were about ready to give up the search until summer. That night Soren P. Christensen of Salem dreamed he was on the slide and saw a man pointing to a place he recognized on the slide. The next day he told Robert Sheen of his dream and described the man in the dream and Brother Sheen recognized this man as the body of the boy’s father, John Powell, as they had crossed the plains together[PE50] . They told David Sabin about it and the three agreed not to tell the others but to explore the spot shown in the dream. So strong was their faith that they dug a big hole several feet deep at the spot and found the body just a week after the slide had buried the two men.

 

This accident left her daughter Margaret with a family of five small children, the baby only two weeks old.

 

In Wales when they joined the church and decided to go to Utah, Grandma Powell’s relatives were very bitter and said they would never write to her. But many years later she did receive a letter telling of the death of seven of their near relatives in a coal mine explosion. Her relatives never joined the church but she never regretted the choice she had made.[39] After her children all married and she lived alone, a cataract developed in her eyes, so her last days were spent in semi-darkness, but she was always cheerful with a host of friends, loved and respected and her wonderful life ended in 1890. She was with her youngest daughter Emma, who cared for her in her last days. John Powell was buried, as near as the records show, where the Brigham Young monument now stands. [40]

 

The story of Margaret Powell Betts is told by Katherine Quigley Betts and sheds additional light on the trek from Wales, her life as a member of the Powell family, and the experience of losing her husband and brother in the tragic avalanche.

 

Margaret Powell Betts, daughter of John Powell and Elizabeth Harris Powell, was born March 12, 1848, in the town of Llanover, South Wales.

 

Her father and mother heard and accepted the gospel soon after she was born so she was taught the gospel principles and teachings from babyhood. She was blind and dumb for weeks, and it was years before she fully recovered her speech.

 

Margaret’s parents kept an open house for the Elders of the Church. Her mother did the washings for a minister to get money to give to to [sic] the Elders. She also did the washings, mending and cooking for the missionaries.

 

The family desired to come to Utah as soon as possible. Margaret was eight years old when they left their comfortable home to come to the United States. For two weeks starting March 1, 1856, they visited with relatives; then they went to Liverpool where they set sail March 22, 1856. It was an American sailing vessel, ENOCH TRAIN. They were under the leadership of Elder Edmund Ellsworth of America. They [sic] family consisted of Father and Mother Powell, William, aged 14, Mary 12, Margaret 8, Elizabeth 5, Hannah 3, and David, a babe of three weeks.

 

After two weeks on the ocean a storm came up and the wind drove them back until the shores of Ireland were visible. One [sic] May 1st 1856 they landed near Boston and took a train to New Yo9rk; [sic] from there they went by rail to Ohio; by boat to Cincinnati, then by rail to Iowa City, Iowa, arriving there June 1, 1856.

 

When they came to the Mississippi River, they were just ten minutes too late to take the train across that day. They were thankful they had missed it, and felt the hand of Prividence in it, when they learned that the bridge had broken and that the train had gone into the river.

 

In Iowa City they met many of the Latter Day Saints, and all were kept busy making preparations to come to the Rocky Mountains. Horses, oxen, and wagons were scarce, and this company of saints had very little money to buy them, so they decided to build handcarts for their supplies and belongings. Thus Margaret at the age of eight years, became one of the members of the first handcart company. This company consisted of 500 men, women and children, 100 handcars, 12 yoke of oxen, 4 mules, 5 wagons and 25 tents. Brother Edmund Ellsworth was in command and in July 1856 they made the start across the plains.

 

Sister Margaret walked all the way from Iowa to Echo Canyon with the exceptioin of one half day, when she rode in a wagon to take care of her baby brother, her mother being too ill to care for him.

 

In telling of her experiences on the plains, Margaret said that they did not mind the walking, if they could have had all the [sic] wanted to eat; but their rations were often scant and they suffered for want of enough food.

 

They would have starved if they had not had buffalo meat occasionally to help them out.

 

When they got to Emigration Canyon, Brigham Young and others met them with loads of food, upon which they feasted while resting before making the last stretch of their long journey. They arrived in Salt Lake City Sept 26, 1856, and camped on the public square (in the 16th ward) the first night in the valley.

 

They were given a small log house with no furniture to live in. In an few days they were settled and Grandpa Powell began to work on the Temple. He worked only one day when he took ill. He lay on a pile of straw in a corner of his little log hut for three days. Four of the children were also ill and were lying on similar straw piles in two other corners of the hut. Grandpa Powell died on his wife’s birthday, Oct 12, 1856, just two weeks after arriving in the valley.

 

A kind neighbor brought in a bed for him to be laid out on. Another neighbor loaned them two chairs and a table as they had been using rocks for furniture. Sister Judd gave two sheets to make his burial clothes. Thus he was laid to rest, leaving his widow, and six small children to face the world alone in this strange land, but among true friends.

 

Margaret, though only eight years old, worked for the neighbors tending babies, washing dishes, and helping in every way she could to make the load lighter for her widowed mother.

 

In Feb 1857 they were persuaded to come to Payson, Utah where they lived in a "dugout" with Charles Long and his wife. The "dugout" was where the 4th ward church now stands. By spring ahome [sic] had been built for them where Henry Erlandson’s garage now stands. How proud they were of it. It had a real door and a window with greased paper for the window panes.

 

Again Margaret took her share of the burden and went out to work gleaning, spinnig, washing, ironging [sic], house-cleaning and house keeping, to help buy shoes, sprons [sic], and other things for the family.

I have heard her tell of her ambitions to go to school; how she and her mother would plan, and yet how little her hopes were realized. Yet hers was a sunny, cheerful disposition, and she never complained. She made the most of her few opportunites. She lear3ned [sic] to read and write and was able to teach herself from the few books available.

 

On April 3, 1867 at the age of 19 she was married to James Betts. To this union were born six children, two girls and four boys. One boy died in infancy. The other five children are still living. They are: Eliza Taylor in Spring Lake; Mary McCurphy in Eureka; William in Payson; John in Payson; and David in Salt Lake City.

 

Margaret’s married life was a happy one. She and her husband built the Betts home in the First Ward where she has lived since. She has often said how dear it was to her as she helped make the adobes of which it was built. She raised her family in this home. It was here that she had her greatest joys and sorrows.

 

After eleven years of happy married life she was called upon to go through the greatest trial of her life. Her husband and brother, David, were killed in a snowslide in Payson Canyon March 26, 1878. Her husband’s body was found the same day and her brother’s body was found a week later. With marvelous fortitude and endurance she went through this great trial. Her undaunted spirit would not let her sit and grieve. She had her children to care for, the oldest being just ten years old, and the youngest just three weeks old. She struggled hard to raise them and educate them.

 

She developed an aptitude for nursing the sick. Many families in Payson, Tintic, and Salt Lake City have been helped by her when there was sickness in their homes and a nurse was essential. Although she took this means of earning a living, yet many times she has refused pay when she felt that those she helped were not able to pay. Her work has always been to help those in need, to relieve their suffering and make life more pleasant for everyone.

 

Margaret joined the Relief Society soon after she was married and has been a member for over 56 years. She has been a teacher in that association for the last 28 years. She has served on the burial committee for years and has ever been active in church work.

 

Last February she became ill and has failed steadily since. She endured a great deal of suffering and at times was in intense pain, but she was never known to complain or think her lot was hard. She endured in cheerful silence. Monday, Feb 23, 1925 at 10:30 p.m. she passed away.

 

Her life has seen trials, sacrifices, and sorrow, but through it all she has made the most of every ray of sunshine. She brought happiness to her children, and lived to see them all married and in homes of their own. She has enjoyed her grandchildren and great grandchildren. She was a mother to her grandchildren who were left without a mother.

 

She has indeed been a faithful wife, a noble mother, and a worthy friend and neighbor. It can truly be said of her, "This world is a better place for her having lived in it."

 

As mentioned by Emma McDowell Jacobson at the end of the earlier account of John Powell, Mary Powell Sabin wrote a journalistic autobiography of events on the trail.  Her telling of the overland travel story can be found on the LDS Church web site.[41]

 

From Florence, Nebraska, began our real journey across the plains. All our other experiences had not been a foretaste of what lay ahead of us. There were two hundred and seven souls in our company.

 

Our first day’s march commenced about noon. We went through acres of hazel brush covered with hazel nuts in the mill. I began gathering nuts, other[s] joined me, and we ate a good many.

 

That night we camped by a stream. The next day we traveled out into the prairies and didn’t see any houses at all. One afternoon Father noticed Bro. [William Daniel] Jones Pull away and halt by the side of the road. “What is the matter, Bro. Jones?” asked Father.

 

I see danger ahead, “said Brother Jones, “I promised [Elizabeth] Ann’s father I wouldn’t lead her into suffering. I see danger ahead.”

 

Bro Jones and his wife remained behind in Omaha. Bro. Jones being a butcher by trade, likely secured good work. Father said we should give him due credit for keeping his word to Ann’s father.

 

Now we halted preparing the crossing of a stream on a ferry. The dark green forest was all around us. I grabbed a bucket and ran into the woods and picked it full of black berries. I took some little girls with me. Someone in camp began worrying about us. Bro. [John] Oakley said, “Don’t worry, she’ll come back, she always does.”

 

When I came out with my blackberries they all cheered. As often as I could I ran into the woods. I loved the hills, woods, moss, and hanging grape vines and wild flowers. There were so many birds. Their joy notes swelling in the woods brought a flood of rapture into my soul.

 

The fifth day out we reached a little trading post. The men here sold tobacco to the Indians, also trinkets of various kinds.

 

Each morning at day break the bugle sounded. Up we rose and assembled for prayer. We then ate a scanty breakfast of dough cakes fried in the frying pan. Once in a while we had a few stewed apples. Then we were ready for our march. At ten o’clock we rested one half hour. Then we traveled until we came to water. At the next meal we would eat what was left over from breakfast. At night we often went to bed without supper. There was very little food to cook and we were too tired to cook it.

 

There were twenty one persons in Father’s big round tent which we pitched every night. We spread down quilts and blankets and went to sleep.

 

One day three men went to shoot a buffalo. The buffalo attacked a horse and ripped its sides. We didn’t get any meat that day. Later a crowd of boys went out and shot a steer. That day we had beef.

 

Our bake kettle now came in handy. We put twenty pieces of meat (each piece about fifty cents worth of beef) into our bake kettle. In this way we cooked for about twenty families. There being no wood we gathered buffalo chips and built a hot fire under the kettle.

 

One night a brother made us a present of a piece of steak. The hour was real late, but Mother was anxious to get it partly baked in order that it might not spoil. I undertook to do the baking all by myself. The fire was quite a distance from the tent. I sat by it watching the kettle until I fell fast asleep. The night guard came and tapped me on the shoulder.

 

“Are you Bro. [John] Powell’s girl?”

 

“yes.”

 

“You go to bed, I’ll finish your meat for you,” he said.

 

“But I’ve promised Mother to do it. I cannot break my word.” said I.

 

“You are too tired little girl.” said he. “Run along, I’ll bake your meat.”

 

“But there are a couple of dogs in camp. I’m afraid they’ll get it after it is baked.” I said.

 

“Never worry, I’ll put it in a safe enough place,” said he. “Don’t worry, go to bed.”

 

Trusting his promise I crept inside of Father’s tent. I must have gone to sleep the moment I touched the pillow.

 

In the morning I was awakened by Father’s heavy laughter. Bro. [Cyrus] Card’s wagon tongue was propped into a perpendicular position. On the end of the wagon tongue hung our bake-kettle. The sight of it way up in the air made a great round of laughter as we came outside the tent to take the morning air.

 

It was my habit to get up early and sit outside of Father’s tent to drink in the cool morning breeze. It rested me for the remainder of the day.

 

Some days we traveled more than thirty miles to reach water. Often we would come to a place where the springs had dried down. It might be near midnight. Then little children would form a circle of eager watchers while the men dug down several feet to water. At last when they saw the chunks of wet mud they would lay it on their face and hands. Some of them would suck the water from the mud. When the water burst forth it was usually very thick. The children drank heartily, straining it through their teeth. The next morning it looked quite clear.

 

We saw water for miles and miles before we reached the Platte river. The distance was very deceiving. The water seemed much nearer to me that it really was. Mother was getting faint with thirst. There was a selfish old man in camp that did not offer her a swallow from the water in his canteen. It made me quite vexed. That day I walked more than ten miles extra to get Mother a drink. I ran part of the way but secured drinking water for her.

 

Traveling in the Platte Valley was very pleasing. My little sister, aged four, usually walked beside the Captain. “Come my little partner,” said he, “let us begin our journey.” Some days she walked eighteen miles.

 

During those days the thought upper most in the minds of every man, woman and child was “Oh! to reach the Platte.” We could see the milky looking waters far in the distance. How long it took before we reached it.

 

One day we saw a speck like a cloud of dust miles behind us. The cloud kept moving toward us and increasing. Within two hours an immense herd of buffalo passed us. They did not seem to notice us in the least but moved right along solid and dumb in one great mass. They passed us with a steady trot and not one soul was harmed.

 

The next night we saw a few buffalo off alone. The men went out and killed one, again we had meat.

 

At last we reached the Platte. There was a trading post near by. Our captain asked the men at the post how much they would charge to ferry us across. The price they asked was more money than we had in camp.

 

The river was between two and three blocks wide. First the men took the handcarts across, then the women and girls followed wading. The water kept getting deeper and deeper. In the middle of the river it was under my chin. When we reached the opposite side we went right on in our wet clothes. We traveled thirteen miles more that day.

 

We crossed the Platte in several places. At Fort Laramie it was over my head. I started down stream. Bro. Oakley pulled me back. At Fort Laramie there was an encampment of sixteen thousand Indians, they were holding a treaty. They were camped for a distance of thirty miles up the river. We camped near the river that night but without a fire.

 

The next morning we met five hundred Indians on the road. They were on their way to the treaty. Father presented some of them with beautiful peacock feathers. This pleased them very much. They stopped and looked at our handcarts. “Little wagons, little wagons.” said they. How the squaws laughed.

 

When we struck the mountain region the paths became more rugged to our feet. I picked up pretty little rocks and put them in my apron. By the time my pocket was filled I found other rocks still prettier. I threw away these and took them instead. I wish I could have saved some of the pretty rocks I gathered.

 

I was captivated by the place called “Deer Creek’s” beauty. It was so charmingly sylvan with little groves here and there and a bright clear creek lined with timber. Said I to Father, “Let’s build a little log house and stay in this place always.” “What would we do for food?[”] asked Father.

 

“Do as we’re doing now,” said I, “Go without.[”]

 

A little farther on I wanted to go down into a certain green cove. The captain forbade and called me back. Just then three bears came out and ascended the flat.

 

In the mountains we lost an old man. He had lain himself down and fallen asleep. We had to stop four days to find him. The delay alarmed our captain. He was anxious to keep ahead of the [Daniel D.] McArthur company.

 

Once in a while we stopped half a day to wash clothes. While the clothes were drying the men mended handcarts.

 

One night the McArthur company overtook us in the mountains. However, they had to wait for some cause or other. We therefore continued to move on ahead.

 

It was easy to make our way over Green River for the crossing had already been prepared. It did us good to view Green River valley. It was almost like taking a rest.

 

At Fort Bridger we stopped all night. The men killed a beef. This was our first meat since leaving the buffalo on the prairies. At Fort Bridger we met Bro. Parley P. Pratt. He was then starting on his last mission.

 

When within one day’s journey of Salt Lake City we ran out of provisions. Two men who had joined us at the fort were on their way to Salt Lake City.

 

“What word shall we take from you?” said they to the Captain.

 

“Tell them we haven’t a bite of food left in camp.” said Captain Ellsworth.

 

A relief party met us with food before we arrived in Salt Lake City. How enchanting it was to enter Echo Canyon to call and have the echo answer.

 

The night we were encamped on Little Mountain the McArthur company again overtook us. There was general rejoicing in all hearts. Early the next morning bread, beef and coffee arrived from Salt Lake City.

 

That very morning we passed a wagon company that had said goodbye to us in Iowa. I had acquaintances in this company who had said “We will beat you into Salt Lake City.” I now had the pleasure of passing them. The men took off their hats and cheered.

 

There was a lazy man in camp who had a wife and a baby. For the sake of the wife and child, I had often helped pull his cart. Now we were nearing our journeys end and I made up my mind to let him do his own pulling. We were passing down a slope, he was on the bottom so I simply let his cart go rolling down the slope. “Catch it! Catch it!” I cried. He sprang forward and caught it in the nick of time. Everybody laughed.

 

That afternoon the same man climbed into a wagon of soap to ride awhile. We had been better provided with soap than food it seems. Coming down a rough place the wagon partly tipped over. Our friend was almost buried in soap to the amusement of the rest of us.

 

When we arrived in Immigration canyon we were met by Pres. Young and several members of the quorum of the twelve apostles. They arrived in wagons drawn by oxen and mules. We halted, they served us melons. Pres. Young told us to eat moderately of the mellon, to eat the pink, not to eat into the green. Father said he was quite sensible.

 

My little sister, Annie, age four, had been promised a big piece of bread and butter when she should reach the valley. Just as we were lined up to hear a few words from Bro. Brigham Young, a lady held up a large piece of bread. Annie ran toward her. “That’s my piece of bread and butter,” she cried joyously. At the sight of this Pres. Young wept, “God bless the child,” said he. There were tears in the eyes of the people from the valley but there were only dry eyes among us who had just arrived. Pres. Young said he could defer his remarks until a little later.

 

That afternoon we went down into Salt Lake Valley. We camped on the square in the sixteenth ward, remaining there from Friday night until Monday morning. Bro. Brigham Young came and spoke to us. He told us that we had fulfilled a prophecy. He also said that although we had endured privations and hunger on the plains we should never again feel the pangs of starvation if we would do right and live right.

 

The following history[PE84]  shows how, at least biologically, we are not descendants of the Powell family, but of the Butler family.  At one time, this was not widely spoken of due to the circumstances surrounding the end of the marriage between Elizabeth Harris Powell and James Butler, but later became more acknowledged and re-told through research done by various direct descendants and their spouses.  One of the researchers who uncovered this information was Maxine Folster Wilson, late wife of the late Ray Wilson. 

 

Harry Butler, whose letter to Emma McDowell Jacobson appears below, discusses the Butler lineage back to 1066, through the line of the Walter family who assisted William the Conqueror in his invasion and conquest of England. The Walters used their power and influence to gain control of large parts of Ireland and changed their name to Butler when King Henry II named Theobald Walter Chief Butler of Ireland.

 

James Butler and his immediate lineage, however, appear in England, not Ireland.  It is entirely possible that there is an Irish connection, or that William the Conquerer’s defeat of the Saxons included naming Chief Butler officers throughout what is now known as the United Kingdom, but substantiating details of such notions remain to be shown.  A description of the origins and nature of the Butler family name as we know it today is found on the web site[42] for “The Butler Society” and states:

 

BUTLER is an occupational name, but it used to have a slightly different meaning. In large medieval households the Butler was the person in charge of the wine.  Since many powerful nobles lived in fear of being poisoned, this was a position of considerable trust.  There are a number of different families called Butler, some of which can be traced back to origins in different medieval households in the British Isles.  On starting research, few will know from which group of Butler families their own particular family originates.  For this reason, The Butler Society deliberately sets out to be a one-name society. In Latin, the name was Buticularius or Pincerna.  There used to be many variations in spelling, such as Boteler, Boutillier, Botiller, Butiller, and Botyller.  Modern variations include Boutler (France), Buttlar (Germany) and Buteler (Argentina).

 

The Butler Society, which formed initially in Ireland to service those seeking genealogical ties to the Butler name, eventually changed its charter to encompass a more global recognition of the Butler name and ceased to focus on a single branch of Butlers.  In whichever case, it is likely that some part of the line of the Butler name we have inherited had something to do with royal butlership.

 

The Butler heritage for which we have sufficient data proceeds from the area of Redbourn and Hemel Hempstead in Hertfordshire, England.

 

Hertfordshire (pop. 1,033,977) is a county in southern England that is known for its fine scenery, its beautiful old houses, its new towns, and its high-technology and aerospace industries. Much of Hertfordshire’s agriculture is geared to the markets of London.

 

Hertfordshire covers an area of 631 square miles (1,635 square kilometers). Hertford is the administrative center.

 

The county has a wide variety of manufacturing industries. Letchworth, St. Albans, and Watford have important engineering industries. Hatfield, St. Albans, and Stevenage have aerospace and aircraft industries. Paper and printing industries are located at Hemel Hempstead, Letchworth, and Watford, and food-processing industries are at Watford and Welwyn Garden City. Pharmaceuticals manufacture and research is an important industry throughout the county, with major sites in Stevenage, Ware, Welwyn Garden City, and Hoddesdon. Hemel Hempstead, Letchworth, and Stevenage are significant centers of the computer industry.

 

Few people in Hertfordshire work in agriculture. Farms in the county grow barley, cattle fodder, cucumbers, flowers, lettuce, oats, potatoes, spinach, sugar beets, tomatoes, turnips, and wheat. The county also has apple and cherry orchards. Hertfordshire also has dairy farms that produce fresh milk for the London area. Other important agricultural products include mushrooms, watercress, and black grapes, which are grown in greenhouses. Hertfordshire also has some major agricultural research institutions. The well-known Rothamsted Experimental Station for Agricultural Research is located at Harpenden.

 

The Romans left much evidence of their rule in the area. They built roads, such as Ermine Street, Stane Street, and Watling Street. They also built the city of Verulamium near the site of present-day St. Albans, which got its name from Albanus, a Roman soldier martyred, probably in A.D. 209, because he was a Christian.

 

In the 800’s and 900’s, the Danes attacked parts of the county. In 896, Alfred the Great’s army defeated the Danes in a battle that took place between Hertford and Ware. But the Danes occupied the land east of the River Lea. In 1066, William the Conqueror defeated the Saxons. He built castles at Berkhamsted and Hertford.

 

Many battles and skirmishes took place in Hertfordshire. The armies of King Stephen and, later, King John fought for the possession of Hertford. In 1381, John Ball, a priest and a leader of the Peasants’ Revolt, was executed at St. Albans. In the Wars of the Roses (1455-1485), important battles were fought at St. Albans and Barnet.

 

Famous people born in Hertfordshire include Nicholas Brakespear, who became Pope Adrian IV in the 1100’s, the only Englishman to become pope; the inventor Sir Henry Bessemer; the poet Thomas Campion; and the statesman Cecil Rhodes.[43]

 

James’ father, John Butler, was born the 10 June 1780, christened 16 June 1780, in or around either Redbourn or Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England and died 16 October 1850 in or around Redbourn or Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England.  His mother, Sarah Roberts, was born 6 February 1785 in Redbourn, Hertfordshire, England, and married John 30 April 1807 at Redbourn, Hertfordshire, England.  The latest LDS IGI records show that she died 20 May 1824.[44]  Her place of death and burial was likely also in Redbourn, Hertfordshire, England.  John and Sarah had a total of eleven children.  Their births, marriages, and deaths are noted as follows[45]:

 

1.       ELIZA BUTLER, b. October 20, 1808, Redbourn, Hertfordshire, England.

2.      SARAH BUTLER, b. March 18, 1810, Redbourn, Hertfordshire, England; d. Bef. 1823.

3.      MARY BUTLER, b. June 30, 1811, Redbourn, Hertfordshire, England; m. BRENT, January 01, 1835, Redbourn, Hertfordshire, England; b. 1809, Redbourn, Hertfordshire, England

4.      JOHN DAVID BUTLER, b. September 05, 1812, Redbourn, Hertfordshire, England; d. February 15, 1892, Spring Lake, Utah, Utah.

5.      JOSEPH BUTLER, b. 1814, Redbourn, Hertfordshire, England.

6.      THOMAS BUTLER, b. February 13, 1815, Redbourn, Hertfordshire, England; d. June 05, 1903, Spring Lake, Utah, Utah.

7.      ELIZABETH BUTLER, b. June 1817, Redbourn, Hertfordshire, England; m. THOMAS BUNN; b. Abt. 1815.

8.      JAMES BUTLER, b. November 23, 1818, Redbourn, Hertfordshire, England; d. August 02, 1909, Colonia Dublan, Chihuhua, Mexico; m. SUSAN WITT, February 19, 1846; b. Abt. 1820. m. SARAH ELIZABETH HARRIS POWELL, 1858; b. 12 Oct 1821, Llanover, Monmouthshire, Wales; m. Jane Winsby Taylor; m. Jane Winsby

9.      DAVID BUTLER, b. January 14, 1820, Redbourn, Hertfordshire, England; m. JANE COLE, 1850; b. Abt. 1822, Redbourn, Hertfordshire, England.

10.  BENJAMIN BUTLER, b. December 29, 1822, Redbourn, Hertfordshire, England; d. June 19, 1823.

11.   SARAH BUTLER, b. June 22, 1823, Redbourn, Hertfordshire, England; d. August 1850.

 

James’ paternal grandfather, also John Butler, was born around 1738 in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England, married Judith Coots (b. 13 Sep 1741 in Redbourn, Hertfordshire, England) on Feb 1 1765 in Redbourn, Hertfordshire, England, later married Mary Pratt on 10 Oct 1778 in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England, and died 9 Jul 1795 in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England.  Some researchers say that Mary Pratt was born 21 Nov 1757 in Studham, Bedfordshire, England and died 12 Dec 1786 in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England.  Others state that she was born in 1753 in Hertfordshire, England and died 12 Dec 1788 in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England.[46]

 

The first marriage of John Butler to Judith Coots doesn’t appear to have produced any children and the cause of its termination (whether through death or divorce) is unknown.  John’s second marriage to Mary Pratt produced five children as shown below[47]:

 

1.       SUSANNA BUTLER, b. March 07, 1779, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England.

2.      JOHN BUTLER, b. June 10, 1780, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England; d. October 16, 1850, Redbourn, Hertfordshire, England.

3.      SARAH BUTLER, b. January 30, 1783, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England.

4.      MARY BUTLER, b. December 23, 1786, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England; m. (1) BRENT; b. Abt. 1809; m. (2) BRENT; b. Abt. 1809.

5.      ANN BUTLER, b. December 12, 1787, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England.

 

James’ paternal great-grandfather, also John Butler, was born about 1710 in Berkhampstead, St. Mary, Hertfordshire, England.  He married Elizabeth (whose maiden name is unknown), who was born about 1714 in Berkhampstead, St. Mary, Hertfordshire, England.  Elizabeth died on 5 Mar 1777 in Berkhampstead, St. Mary, Hertfordshire, England.[48]  John died on 17 May 1781 in Berkhampstead, St. Mary, Hertfordshire, England. 

 

The children of John and Elizabeth are as follows[49]:

 

1.       JOHN BUTLER, b. 1738, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England; d. July 09, 1795, Hemel Hempstead, Hertsfordshire, England.

2.      ELIZABETH BUTLER, b. 1736.

3.      ANNE BUTLER, b. 1738.

4.      ELIZABETH BUTLER, b. 1740.[50]

5.      ALICE BUTLER, b. 1746.

6.      SUSANNA BUTLER, b. 1749.

 

James first married Susan Witt on 19 February 1846 in Codford, Wiltshire, England.  They had five children before she died in England.  After becoming a member of the LDS Church immigrating to America with his brother, John, he married Elizabeth Harris Powell (this was her second marriage following John Powell’s death).  They had two children, John James and Emma Jane, both of whom took the name Powell upon being sealed to John (postmortem) and to Elizabeth.

 

Some researchers say that James died 1 August 1909 in Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico and that he was buried there as well.  The following history, however, gives his death as being at Colonia Dublan. 

 

This history, which was compiled from various sources by Ruth Wilson Young, gives more information as to the circumstances leading to the divorce of James and Elizabeth, and information on James’ other marriages to follow.  Given that several generations have passed since that time and the sting of these events has likely subsided within most of those families, the author has taken the liberty of publishing them with the simple intent to document origins and not to defame or offend any family member or group.

 

JAMES BUTLER

James Butler was the second husband of Elizabeth Harris Powell.  He was the biological father of Emma Jane (Butler) Powell Bingham and her brother John (Jack or Johnnie).  Elizabeth divorced James Butler because he wanted to marry her older daughters in polygamy and because he did not support her or her children.

 

He was born 23 November, 1818 in Redbourn, Hertfordshire[PE85] , England to John Butler and Sarah Roberts.  He was their ninth child, having 5 older sisters, 4 older brothers, and one younger brother.  His first wife was Sarah Witt whom he married in England.  They had five children.  Sarah Witt Butler died in England.  He married Elizabeth Powell in Utah in 1858.  His third wife was Jane Winsby Taylor, also a widow.  His fourth wife was Jane Winsby, a young daughter of his third wife.  They were living in the colonies in Mexico at the time of that marriage.

 

The letters which follow are from a cousin of Emma B. Wilson, Emma Powell Jacobson[PE86] .  She did a lot of family history work.  There is also a letter from a son of James Butler and Jane Winsby which gives the history of the Butler family.  In their letter from Emma Jacobson, she tells of James Butler in Mexico after all of his wives and children had left him.  There is also a letter from Harry Butler, the son of Jane Winsby, which tells of the Butler ancestors.

 

The part about James Butler being a derelict in his last days was confirmed to Ruth Young by a daughter of Anson Call who was a bishop there for over twenty years.  This friend is a good Christian.  She was not downgrading the poor man, but just stated a fact that he lived in a shack, was unkempt, did not work, and depended on the charity of church members for his food.  Like the Huish cousin mentioned in the letter she or her sisters often took food to James Butler.  They were afraid of him and would leave the food on the porch and run back home.

 

James Butler died in Colonia Dublan, Mexico, 1 August 1909 and is buried there.

 

Emma M. Powell Jacobson, a cousin of Emma Jane Bingham Powell’s, wrote Emma Jane a letter in 1961 detailing her communications with a certain Harry Butler, a son of James Butler through Jane Winsby, James’ fourth wife and the daughter of his third wife, Jane Winsby Taylor.  In it, she describes the several times she had rebuffed Harry in his requests for family group sheets on the Powell family, particularly for Emma Jane Powell’s descendants.  By all appearances from this letter, she refused his requests with the intent that the events surrounding the divorce of James Butler and Elizabeth Powell not be publicized too widely. 

 

In editing her letter, the author has tried to preserve Emma Powell Jacobson’s intent, voice, and style as much as possible.  She was apparently fond of commas.  Given that removing all of the extraneous commas would likely change the structure of an entire sentence or require alteration of the text, they are being left as they stand for the most part.  Some punctuation, grammar, and spelling have been sparingly corrected to improve readability.  Items in square brackets are handwritten additions or clarifications to the possible meaning of a word in the text.  Items in strikeout font are removals and/or corrections.

 

Provo, Ut. Nov. 7, 1961

Dear Emma:

 

I am enclosing two letters for you to read.  The first is to me from Harry Butler.  This Harry Butler came over to your house a number of years ago.  Until just recently, I didn’t know he lived in Provo, until this past year, he has been down to get help with genealogy.  Come to find out, he has lived in Provo 50 years, and has been a professor at the B.Y.U.  He is now retired, and is devoting his time writing a book on the Butler family[PE87] , as you will see. 

 

He was down two weeks ago today, and stayed for 2 hours, he seems to be very brilliant.  He asked me to give him the family group sheets of Emma Jane Powell, and her descendants, also the families of uncle Johnnie Powell, which I will not do.  He wants them to put in the family of James Butler, of this Butler book.  You can read his letter to me.

 

Also, the letter, I have sent back to him.  I wanted you to have a copy, so that if he does get a copy of the families of Emma Bingham Powell, and John Powell (Butler) I want you to know I haven’t given them to him.  He is very persistent.  That is why he went back home, and wrote this letter to me, because I have turned him down so often.  He can get the names, and family records, by going to the church archives, and church office records, if he wants to take several days to look up the families on the early Payson church records.

 

I hope you can follow me through on this paragraph.

 

This Harry Butler is the son of Elizabeth Harris Powell, second husband, John James Butler.  His mother is the 4th wife, Jane Winsby, Jane Winsby was 25 years old, and James Butler 65 years old when, this above Harry Butler was born, so the above Harry Butler, is the half brother of aunt Emma Bingham and uncle Johnnie Powell.

 

I hope you can still follow it through.  Harry Butler’s mother, Jane Winsby, lived in Mexico.  She is the daughter of the third wife of James Butler, her name here is Jane Taylor.  This Jane Taylor married James Butler after Elizabeth Harris Powell divorced him, she had this child Jane Winsby, then Jane Winsby, had this Harry Butler, I do not know if it was polygamy or not.  But, at the time the family lived in Mexico, LeVieve Huish [Earl] was a child, her father was Bishop, and she told me plenty, as a Child, Levieve had to carry meals over to James Butler, from their house.  Some say the daughter, Jane Winsby became pregnant, the mother left him (Jane Taylor) and he married the daughter Jane, and this Harry Butler is the child.  To make things more complicated, Jane Taylor left James Butler, in Mexico, and moved to Spring Lake.  Here she met, and married Taylor, I believe a son, or a relative to Eliza Betts Taylor, aunt Margaret Betts’ daughter, she lived in the ward with Lloyd Powell, and worked in the mutual, I believe[; in Payson. She is James Butler’s 3rd wife].

 

Harry Butler, who comes to my house, did not know this Taylor, was a relative of Elizabeth Harris Powell, until I told him, Margaret Powell Betts was a daughter of Elizabeth Harris Powell.

 

In early days, his mother divorced James Butler, I do not know what happened to her, but this Harry Butler claims, or tells me, he came to Payson, and worked for my father, carrying martor [mortar], and cement.  While in Payson, he lived in the 1st Ward, I just forget the people he knew, but they are Payson people.  He claims, he sang in the choir, with aunt Emma Bingham, and was very friendly with all the people in the ward, and became acquainted with aunt Emma Bingham, and uncle Joe, also Uncle Johnnie Powell, but the feeling in Payson, was one of such bad hate, and mean toward James Butler, he did not dare let aunt Emma Bingham, and Uncle Johnnie Powell, know he was their half brother.  He said at that time, the whole Powell descendants of the Powells would have run him out of Payson.  He left Payson, in world war one, with the Navy, came back, his mother hel[ped] him through school, and he has been in Provo nearly 50 years.  His father, (James Butler) according to him, and his mother down in Old Mexico, became very wealthy, so wealthy, they all three could have lived in wealth, untold, and he would have left him so much wealth, he would never had to work to go to school, and his mother would have been the wealthiest woman in Mexico, and Utah.  It’s a long story, instead he died broken hearted, and I don’t know who got all of James Butler’s wealth.

 

Le[vie]ve Huish Earl, whose father was Bishop in Mexico at the time, told me several times, when she was a little girl, she was scared to death of him, he lived in an old hut, Levieve’s mothe[r] cooked his food and made the kids carry it over to him, in this dirty, filthy hut, and when he died, no one claimed the body, and he was buried in a popers [pauper’s] grave, under her father’s directions.  I think this sounds more true.

 

Also Glen’s, my husband’s, folks went to Payson in 1851.  They lived here for years, even Glen was born in Payson.  In doing genealogy work, on the Payson early church records, I find the Powells’ and Bellows were very good friends, baptizing and confirming each others’ children, and several other things.  Grandma Leetham told me many things, (she would be a hundred and ten years old now), and she can remember lots of things about James Butler, also a lot of things, which she heard repeated.  I remember when I was married, she told me how well she had known my relatives, and etc.  I wish I had started genealogy in those years, she would have been my best source of information.  She stayed with me a long time, also I always lived across the street from that James Butler wanted to marry Elizabeth Harris Powell’s Girls in polygamy.  Grandma wouldn’t stand for it, grandpa Powell, ran him off with a shot gun, also there is a team of horses, and a wagon, connected up with the story, but I can’t remember it.  I wonder how Harry Butler would like this, in the family, Butler book, about his father.

 

So I want you folks to know, if the families do come out in the book I didn’t give him the information.  I would not be that two faced to the family.

 

Atha Depew, 53 years old, died from cancer of the liver two weeks ago.  Her sister Hazel and Atha were operated on 13 months ago, the same day for cancer of the breast.  Hope to visit with you again some time.  [Emma Powell Depew’s 2 girls.]

 

                                                            Emma M. Jacobson

 

The next letter is from Major Harry Butler, a son of the marriage between James and Jane (his fourth wife).  It was enclosed in Emma Jacobsen’s letter to Emma above.

 

Major Harry Butler, AUS Ret’d

1213 Briar Avenue                                                                                                    18 October 1961

Provo, Utah USA

Mrs. Emma McDowell Jacobson

617 West 600 South

Provo, Utah.

 

Dear Mrs. Jacobson:

 

It might not be quite right to call on you so often, but you seem to be the only one who has needed information, therefore, the writer is enclosing two Family Group record sheets and hope you will be kind enough to fill in as much information as you have.  As soon as you get them completed please phone me and I shall be glad to call and get them.  It isn’t possible for the JOHN BUTLER & SARAH ROBERTS FAMILY ORGANIZATION [PE88] to compile their desired history without this information.

 

As you know JAMES BUTLER was married four times: 1.- Susan Witt; 2.- Sarah Elizabeth Harris; 3.-Jane Taylor [mother to Jane Winsby --> Married, I believe Eliza Betts Taylors son. (Emma)]; 4.-Jane Winsby [mother to Harry] in order to show his history we must have the results of all four marriages.  It is hoped you will see the need of this information and will respond to our need.

 

ORIGIN OF THE BUTLERS.  In as much as you have very little history connected with the Butlers, I thought that a brief narrative extract of Butler history might be acceptable.  I have many pages of history which I copied from the dozens of volumes of Pedigree history found in the Genealogical Library in Salt Lake City.

 

We can trace our history back to the days of William the Conqueror and farther.  Some very prominent families by the name of Walter lived in Glenille, Normande, on the coast of France.  When William the Conqueror was gathering his army for the invasion of England, some of these Walters joined with him and assisted in the conquest.  When William the Conqueror was crowned King of England on the 25th of December, 1066, these Walters went to Ireland and became the owners of large estates[PE89] .  The Walter family became so powerful that the Chief ruled almost as a King.  They were a war like family and conquered much of Ireland.  A man by the name of Theobald Walter had the office of Chief Butler of Ireland conferred on him by King Henry II.  From the Office of Butlership of Ireland these Walters took the name Butler.  These Butlers became one of the most powerful families in Ireland and soon spread throughout England.  Hebert Butler was Archbishop of Canteberry [Canterbury] in 1193 and was Chancelor of England in 1199.  They possessed such titles as Lords, Dukes, Earle, Pieers, and all the rest of English titles.  Their Coat of Army [Arms] was five ostrich feathers out of which issued a white falcon.  Their war cry was Butler Aboo.  Many branches of the family varied the colors, but the chief always used the color of the Princess, which was Royal Blue and Gold.  John O. Hart in his Irish Pedigrees has this to say, Quote: “The Butler family is traceable to a Walter who came to England with William the Conqueror, who was Duke of Normande.  Their nobility of stock has been carried downward pure and unstained.  It has been said that the blood of the Butlers is hot and bold, but is always true to the truth.  This explains their race of warriors as brave as Byard and as faithful to honor as Sir Philip Sidney.”  Unquote.

 

James Butler was the sixth child borned to John Butler and Sarah Roberts.  The family lived in Redburne, Hertfordshire, England.  John the fourth child, Thomas the fifth child and James the sixth child joined the church and came to Payson.  The Butler Organization includes the descendants of these three brothers.  Most of the descendants live in Utah and Arizona, but some are in Colorado, Nevada, California, and Canada.  When we hold our family reunion each year there are between 200 and 300 present.

 

Please allow me to thank you in advance for completing the two forms which are enclosed.  Wishing you and yours the best of everything, I am

 

                        Respectfully

                        Harry Butler

 

The following, written by Ruth Wilson Young in 1990, is a meticulous account of Joseph Huvvy and Emma Jane Powell Bingham.  Emma Jane, being the biological daughter of James Butler and Elizabeth Harris Powell, but, having been sealed to John Powell as her father, was the covenant daughter of John and Elizabeth Harris Powell.

 

REMEMBRANCES OF NATIVE PIONEERS JOSEPH HUVVY AND EMMA JANE POWELL BINGHAM by their granddaughter Ruth Wilson Young, 1990

 

It is exciting to have known people who were native Utah pioneers.  My grandparents, Joseph Huvvy and Emma Jane Powell Bingham, were both born in Payson, Utah of pioneer parents.  They qualify as native pioneers as their births were before the coming of the railroad in 1869.

 

Joseph Huvvy Bingham was of New England Ancestry, being the oldest son of Jeremiah and Minerva Dixon Keele Bingham.  Jeremiah was born in Cornwall, Addison County, Vermont and Minerva was born in Bedford, Tennessee.  The Bingham family came to Utah in the D.A. Miller company in 1853.[RW90]  Soon after they moved to Payson, 63 miles south of Salt Lake City on the banks of Peteetneet Creek.

 

Emma Jane Powell’s parents were natives of Wales.  They immigrated to America and came to Utah in the first handcart company[RW91] .

 

Both Joe and “Em” were born in Payson.  He was born on January 8, 1856 and she was born on January 25, 1861.  Joe’s father was a pioneer blacksmith and Joe learned the trade from him.  He started to work full time as a blacksmith at age 18.  Previous to this he made several trips to distant points with older drivers to haul freight of various types.  He was strong and learned to drive when very young.  He kept good horses.

 

Joe worked at his trade until he was over seventy years old.  Children from all parts of Payson came to watch the old wind bellows work and sparks fly from the anvil where he made bars of red hot metal into wagon tires and fitted horseshoes.  He made shoes for saddle and race horses as well as those for work and carriage horses.  People came from as far away as Provo to have him shoe their horse.

 

Em, who was the youngest of the Powell children, helped to care for her widowed mother.  Elizabeth Powell was a seamstress and Em was also an excellent dressmaker.

 

The Binghams were married in the Salt Lake Endowment house on December 14, 1882.  Six young couples from Payson made a two day journey in covered wagons to Salt Lake City.  They camped overnight at Lehi and were all married the next day.  The return trips also included camping overnight.  The young women had acted as chaperones for one another on the way to Salt Lake City.  I have often wondered what the wedding night was like for these six couples as they spent it in 3 covered wagons in mid-December.

 

When the six couples returned to Payson the entire community joined to celebrate the happy events.  Four of the couples lived to celebrate their golden wedding anniversary.  Grandma and Grandpa Bingham had over sixty years together.[RW92] 

 

Joe and Em had six children. Minerva Elizabeth born January 30, 1883; Aretta born September 27, 1885; Emma Jane born February 13, 1888; Gunilla born December 14, 1891 (the parents’ 9th wedding anniversary); Joseph born on March 19, 1894; and Hazel born on June 23, 1896.

 

Emma, the third daughter, wrote in her life history, “We three older girls were born in a two room adobe house which Father had purchased at the time of their marriage.  In the fall preceding Gunilla’s birth, we moved into a five room brick home on the same lot.”

 

I have fond memories of that home[RW93] , having helped with the Saturday cleaning for many years after Grandma’s health was poor.  It faced East and was shaded by two huge pine trees, one on either side of the front walk.  There were fruit trees on the north and a flower garden on the south.  A large box elder tree in the back yard shaded the west side of the house.  The hydrant underneath the tree provided only culinary water.

 

There was a front porch large enough to accommodate some comfortable rocking chairs and some willow furniture handmade by men during the depression to earn extra money.  Grandpa used to sit there in his later years, eating apples or sweet onions as snacks.

 

Today we would call the dining room a family room, for that is where the family gathered.  On the north wall there was a china closet centered between the door to the parlor and one to the bedroom.  Beyond the bedroom door in the northwest corner was the entry to the kitchen.  That door was always open.  Along the west wall was a comfortable couch or daybed.  This was where Grandma spent most of her days when I knew her.

 

A heaterola coal stove was centered between two long windows on the south wall.  The windows were high and had deep sills.  They were covered with lace curtains.  The sills were always filled with potted plants Grandma raised from starts...geraniums, ferns, red-leafed plants, and the like.  Electricity had been added to the home but was crude.  There were no outlets, only a drop light in the center of each room.  The bare bulb was turned on with a switch on the side of the dangling, cotton covered cord.  When Grandma and Grandpa finally acquired a radio, an extension cord was plugged in with the light, run across the ceiling, and down one of the windows which flanked each side of the front door.  It was a cabinet radio which their daughters gave to them one Christmas.  They rarely listened to the new gadget.

 

The windows on the front were like those on the south and were filled with plants requiring less shade.  The floors were a soft wood and the baseboards were about a foot wide.  The floors were painted brown and the woodwork around the windows and the baseboards were painted tan.  One of my Saturday jobs was to wash all the windowsills and baseboards and the bare parts of the floor.

 

Nine by twelve rugs covered the floors in the parlor, dining room, and bedroom.  The rooms were not large because only a foot or two of bare floor was on each side of the rugs.  The dining room table was large and round and of a heavy oak.  It could be extended with leaves to form an oval that virtually filled the room.  It was covered with a linen cloth with a wide border of “cluney” lace which grandma had crocheted.

 

The parlor had no stove and so it was always cool, even in the summer.  Family treasures and pictures were in that room.  There was an upright piano which the grandchildren loved to play when granted permission to enter the parlor.  Those who were privileged to take piano lessons could go to Grandma’s to practice.  I was never given that opportunity because my older sisters had frittered away theirs and my mother did not want to risk another failure.

 

Besides the piano there was a leather sofa on one wall, a couple of old fashioned spring rockers with upholstered seats, some tables with handmade covers and brick-a-brack, and a what-not shelf in one corner.  All of the grandchildren were fascinated with items there, especially the green ceramic monkey seated on a chamber pot[RW94] .  Grandma, who always had such a pot under her bed, was embarrassed by this item.  Grandpa, whose sense of humour was quietly racy, had been given it as a joke and kept it as a family treasure.

 

The bedroom was on the north, entered from the dining room.  There was no closet, but some hooks for hanging clothes were behind the door.  The only window was on the north wall, close to the west wall.  A dresser with mirror which reached almost to the high ceiling had a sort of wardrobe on one side with space to hang items like shirts or jackets.  There were drawers beneath it and across the space beneath the mirror.  These were always full of Grandma’s unused gifts: she never used a Christmas or birthday gift until it was at least a year old.  When she got new house slippers or hose or slips or even aprons or house dresses she would get out the ones she got the year before and put the new ones away!

 

The bed filled most of the space in the room.  The head was to the west, with a door to the smaller bedroom south of the bed.  The foot of the bed extended within a couple of feet of the dresser, with the side along the north wall.  It was fun to get on because it had a feather tick, but it was hard to make.  You had to shake the tick and try to get the feathers even.  It was hard to tuck in the sheet blankets and get them to stay put.

 

One thing I liked about the bedroom was a sideboard on the north wall.  Because this room was quite cool, that was where Grandma kept the goodies she baked or which Grandpa bought.  He loved sharp cheese and there was usually some there.  The sour cream cake Grandma made each Saturday was covered and placed there until used up during the week.  There were often a few “store-bought” cookies (such as fig newtons) which were a luxury we seldom had.  And Grandpa kept some sharp cheese there to snack upon.

 

There was another small bedroom to the west, but the larger one was always referred to as “the bedroom” and the other one as “the spare room.”  It had a sloping ceiling since the rear of the house had that lean-to type roof.  The ceilings in the kitchen and the spare room were much lower than in the other three rooms.

 

The spare room was completely filled with a wardrobe in one corner and a bed on the northwest.  There was a small window and a door to the outside on the south since this room extended to the west where there was a small porch with that door and one to the kitchen.

 

The kitchen was tiny by modern standards, with nothing built in.  The cupboard was on the south wall and had glass on the top doors and was enamel on the drawers and bottom doors.

 

The large coal range dominated the west wall, wedged in between the door to the outside and the window in the southwest corner.  It had a large reservoir on one side that would hold several buckets full of water (brought in from the tap outside).  This provided the hot water along with that in the teakettle always simmering on the top of the stove.  The cooking top was large, with four lids, and a warming space over the reservoir.  There was also a warming oven at the top of the stove.  Of course there was a clean-out for ashes on the south end of the stove, and a large oven between it and the reservoir.

 

I learned a lot about baking from Grandma.  Because the heat of the coal stove was not accurate, you always had to make a “try cake” to test it.  This tiny cake also let you know if you had the ingredients right because the cakes were usually made from sour cream and the amount of soda used depended on how much acid there was in the cream.  You adjusted the heat of the oven by stirring up the fire if it was too slow or by putting in a pan of cold water if it was too hot.

 

Grandma made a sour cream cake every Saturday.  It was usually chocolate (made with cocoa) and had white icing with coconut on it.  It was baked in a black dripper pan (to attract the heat and brown evenly) and was put in the bedroom when finished and cooled.  The cake was to be served to any Sunday visitors.  It was expected that all of the children and grandchildren who lived in town would drop in some time on Sunday and often there were other visitors, too.

 

All the cooking, mixing, and dishwashing was done on the kitchen table which was in the southeast corner.  It was wooden and was painted, as were the old hand-made chairs.  The table was covered with printed oilcloth.  There was colorful congolium on the floor.  Cleaning supplies were kept under the table, back in the corner.  Only two people could be seated at the table, but Grandpa and Grandma ate their meals there.

 

I used to wonder how five daughters slept in that one tiny bedroom.  They all came to their parents’ home to have their babies.  Since the new mother and baby occupied the bedroom, I wondered where Grandpa and Grandma slept.

 

There was a picket fence across the front of the yard, and wire fences between their lot and the neighbors on the north and south.  The back was not fenced and went clear through to the road on the other side.  The old adobe house faced that road which overlooked the portion of Payson Park that was undeveloped at the time but later had tennis courts, swimming pool, and picnic area.

 

Grandma seldom went anyplace, but she always walked out to the front gate with visitors.  Sometimes she would visit there with them for a time.  But she rarely ventured beyond her own yard.  Grandpa did all the shopping and enjoyed walking to town each day to pick up groceries and to have the barber shave him.

 

There was a cellar underneath the spare room, entered through a lift-up door and rickety little steps.  The walls were stone-lined and the floor was dirt.  It was damp, but very cool.  The milk pans, crocks of pickles, butter, and home canned fruits and jams were stored there.

 

There was a huge barn on the northwest corner of the property.  It had a hayloft with doors up there and a derrick to hoist the hay up.  By the time I came along the barn was not used much except to house a few chickens.

 

Of course there was a path out to the privy.  It was the old fashioned two-hole kind until the WPA versions came in during the depression.  They had cement floors and were a bit more sanitary and were painted white.  But we still used the old catalogs for toilet tissue.  The slick pages were not too great for that purpose and had to be crushed and rolled in your hands before you used them.

 

I’ve strayed a bit from the history to describe this home, but it tells a lot about the occupants.  Some of this history is taken from the life story Emma Bingham Wilson wrote.[RW95]   In such cases, quotation marks are used.

 

Speaking of the time they moved into the brick home, she wrote, “Father always loved horses and usually owned a fine team.  While putting horseshoes on his pair of gray mares in preparation for hauling material to build the new home, he was struck in the eye with a horseshoe nail which penetrated the sight and he was unable to work all winter.  He made several trips to Salt Lake so specialists, but they were unable to save the sight.  The eye itself was retained.  And so Father spent the rest of his life with one eye, and he suffered much pain.  Due to this affliction, Father was unable to read and so missed much of the joy that Mother and the family experienced, as we all loved to read.  However, he developed a keen memory and would dictate pages of amounts and names of those to whom he gave credit during the summer.  Much of this credit was paid off in produce at harvest time, so we had plenty of grain, flour, potatoes, and other essentials to extend through the winter.  He was a good provider and always had a vegetable garden, two or three Jersey cows, several hogs to slaughter, and plenty of chickens to provide eggs and fat stewing hens for the big Sunday dinners.

 

“Mother never attended Sunday School with the rest of the family, as she was always at home preparing the traditional Sunday dinner. ... the same pattern prevailed in the home of our friends and relatives and often we would alternate going to their homes for the big Sunday feast.”

 

 [RW1]Research history and background of area

 [RW2]bibliography?

 [RW3]bibliography?

 [RW4]Bibliography?

 [RW5]background and what this really means

 [RW6]obviously not the Restoration of the Gospel, but some other Restoration (or the Reformation?)

 [RW7]bibliography?

 [RW8]Find photograph of this monument.

 [RW9]Track down source for this online using key phrases in Google.

 [PE10]Bibliography?

 [PE11]Bibliography?

 [PE12]Find source material and provide background.

 [PE13]Bibliography?

 [PE14]Correct spelling?

 [PE15]Documented?

 [PE16]Documented?

 [PE17]Bibliography?

 [PE18]Find out which name should be here…Sarah or Susan?

 [PE19]Any mention of him in Church History?

 [PE20]Documented?

 [PE21]Documented?

 [PE22]Grammar or typo?

 [PE23]Correct typo

 [PE24]City name?  Google Earth map for this.

 [PE25]Ask for copy

 [PE26]Document source

 [PE27]Get map

 [PE28]Provide historical background

 [PE29]Provide historical background

 [PE30]Provide historical background

 [RW31]Need photo

 [PE32]Or is it Alpheus?

 [PE33]Provide map

 [PE34]Provide map

 [PE35]Provide map

 [PE36]Photo of headstone available?

 [PE37]This account is possibly adapted from another account by a daughter or granddaughter of Sarah Elizabeth Harris.  The other source was found on a Welsh pioneer family history web site.

 [RW38]See about getting permission to reprint for limited print-run genealogy book: Intellectual Reserve

 [PE39]Provide historical background

 [PE40]Provide map

 [PE41]Name?

 [PE42]A story about the history of this ship was on MeridianMagazine.com, I think.

 [PE43]Or McCarthy?

 [RW44]see about permissions to fully quote excerpts of pioneer journals: Intellectual Reserve

 [PE45]Define in today’s terms

 [PE46]Check original manuscript…there should be a sentence explaining that their supplies never came to them and the Emigration Fund money was never refunded to them.  Explain why, if possible.

 [PE47]Check spelling in original

 [PE48]Provide historical background on this

 [PE49]Look for references in old newspapers

 [PE50]Sentence seems clunky. Check original manuscript.

 [PE51]Search for source records.

 [PE52]Provide map

 [PE53]Provide map

 [PE54]Provide map

 [PE55]Provide historical/biographical background, including “Big Ben”

 [PE56]Research correct name

 [PE57]Possibly a typo in the sentence structure

 [PE58]Possibly a typo in the sentence structure

 [PE59]Possibly a typo in the sentence structure

 [PE60]Describe the characteristics of the extant printings of this time period (D&C new and somewhat limited compared to today)

 [PE61]Give background on the history of the church in Wales, particularly the sentiments found in this time period and why Elizabeth was likely so shocked

 [PE62]See if there are journals or writings about these men

 [PE63]Check for typos

 [PE64]look for historical references to this sickness in Lanover

 [PE65]Check for typos

 [PE66]Sentence seems out of place in the timeline

 [PE67]What’s this?

 [PE68]Provide historical background

 [PE69]Where can this be found? Is it a book or some other manuscript or manifest?

 [PE70]Find out if there is historical documentation about this.  Take a picture.

 [PE71]Check for typo

 [PE72]Find historical documentation about this.

 [PE73]Picture of courthouse, some architectural history, maybe?

 [PE74]Check for typo

 [PE75]or “Platte”?

 [PE76]find out more about and cross reference

 [PE77]which prophecy?

 [PE78]Get microfilm or photo

 [PE79]Describe relationship to family.  Same person as Emma Powell Jacobson (cousin of Emma Jane?)

 [PE80]Describe relationship to family

 [PE81]Describe relationship to family

 [PE82]Describe relationship to family

 [PE83]Need to find this record

 [PE84]Author?

 [PE85]Source=FamilySearch.org

 [PE86]Same person as Emma McDowell Jacobsen mentioned above?

 [PE87]What is the bibliographic reference for this book?

 [PE88]Still exists?

 [PE89]Find out which estates and reach of family influence geographically

 [RW90]Give more background

 [RW91]Give more background

 [RW92]Reference the newspaper clipping and pictures

 [RW93]Try to draw a sketch based on the following description

 [RW94]Try to find a picture of an antique matching this description

 [RW95]Where is this history?

 Notes