Notes: John Henry Owen Willcox Family Organization

Matches 1 to 25 of 25

	Notes	Linked to
1	Raymond, Alberta, is located in the far south part of the Province of Alberta, Canada, approximately twenty (20) miles south of the City of Lethbridge, the regional center of the area. The Town of Raymond was founded by Jesse Knight, a Utah industrialist and member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (L.D.S. or "the Mormons"). He saw the area where the Town was established as part of a vast open prairie plain with rich soil but very sparse rainfall. Because of the experiences of the Mormons in settling Utah and the widespread use of irrigation, Mr. Knight saw the potential of the land with water provided by irrigation systems. After sending his sons to investigate, he purchased a block of 30,000 acres of prairie and the first settlers arrived in Raymond in 1899. On July 10, 1901, Mr. Knight contracted with the Canadian Northwest Irrigation Company and the Alberta Railway and Irrigation Company to purchase an additional 226,000 acres provided he construct and operate a sugar refinery ready to handle a sugar beet harvest in 1903 and to keep it in operation for at least twelve years. Mormon families from the area of Utah south of Lake Utah (Spanish Fork, UT, area) were recruited to settle the land, establish a system of irrigation, and grow sugar beets for the promised factory. Following the signing of the contract, the Town area was named "Raymond" for Mr. Knight's oldest son, Raymond. The Town charter contained a forfeiture clause to the effect that if liquor, gambling or houses of ill-repute were established, their property owners would forfeit title to their individual lands. In keeping with the close ties of the Mormon Church to the settlement of Raymond and surrounding areas, the Raymond Townsite was dedicated by L.D.S. Apostle John W. Taylor together with about 150 others on Sunday, August 11, 1901, and the town site itself located. The first families began to arrive and settle that same year.	Carlson Selma Gustavo
2	My Uncle Nelden Arthur Day, third child (born 4 February 1921) was a Navy Sea-Bee in World War II and was assigned by the Navy as support to the Marines of the 4th Marine Division that landed at Iwo Jima. Nelden was killed 19 February 1945 on the Beach landing on the first day of battle - Don Allen, Roseville, California.	Day Nelden Arthur
3	(Plot# A_79_2_7)	Seely Elizabeth
4	Orange Seely was born in Nashville, Lee Co., Iowa, 20 February 1843, the oldest child of Justus Wellington and Clarissa Jane (Wilcox) Seely. They lived in Nashville for several years, where Justus was engaged in lighting and piloting boats across the Keokuk Rapids. As persecution of the "Mormons" in Illinois and Iowa grew severe, the Seelys, along with hundreds of others, were driven from their homes and lands. Justus W. and Clarissa, with their three young children, crossed the state of Iowa with ox teams and wagons to the Missouri River, a distance of 300 miles. They wintered 1846-47 near Council Bluffs. The following summer the Seelys joined John Taylor's pioneer company headed west. After experiencing all the trials and hardships of that wearisome journey, they arrived in the Salt Lake Valley 29 September 1847. This young family spent the winter of 1847-48 in the old South Fort, which had been built to protect the pioneers from the Indians and wild animals. Later, they moved into a little log cabin in the Fourteenth Ward. In the fall of 1849 Justus W. joined others to go to California to dig for gold. However, he returned a year later because of failing health. In the meantime young Orange was his mother's 'little man'," helping her with the three younger children. He peddled the straw hats his mother had woven and vegetables from their garden to help support the family. In March 1851 the Seelys, along with others, responded to a call from Brigham Young to assist in the settling of San Bernardino, California. The trip was through wild and unsettled country. Bands of savage Indians roamed there and prowled about the nightly camps of the travelers, stealing everything they could. While waiting for the business of land purchase to be completed, the Seelys camped under a large sycamore tree at Cajon Pass. It was during this waiting period that Orange received his first formal schooling in reading, spelling and ciphering. As soon as the San Bernardino Ranch was purchased, all assisted in building a fort, and homes for themselves inside. About seven years later, this group of settlers was recalled to Utah on account of "The Buchanan War." As before, they honored the call from Brigham Young, their prophet. They left their California homes 24 December 1857, and the Seelys arrived at the home of their parents in Pleasant Grove 23 April 1858, having been four months on the trip. The following spring the Seelys settled in Mt. Pleasant, Sanpete Co., so were among the first pioneers of that area. Again a fort was built with all able bodied men and boys assisting. Orange Seely wrote, "In 1862, I was selected as a teamster to drive a church team to the Missouri River for the purpose of assisting Mormon immigrants to Utah. I was just nineteen. My outfit consisted of four yoke of cattle, a good shuttler wagon, and provisions enough to last six months. "I left Mt. Pleasant for the Missouri River March 15th. On account of high water, we were compelled to camp at Salt Creek Canyon for a number of weeks, until the; snow melted and the water went down. We then continued our journey and arrived in Florence on the Missouri River in July between the 4th and 24th. We stayed there a week or two waiting for the immigrants to come up the river on the steamer." It was at Florence, Nebraska, that Hanna Olsson, a convert from Sweden, met Orange Seely for the first time. He was a fine, strong young man, age 19 years, who had been sent by Brigham Young to meet the emigrants. Though there were many girls in the company, Orange was immediately attracted to this slender, refined, young woman who, though she could not speak a word of English, seemed to be dependent upon no one. A real romance began between them. Orange often asked her to ride, along with the other young women, but the captain of the company rebuked the young teamsters for this, saying if anyone could ride, it should be the older women. On September 1, 1862, they arrived in Salt Lake City, but only stayed one night, then journeyed on to Mt. Pleasant. Hanna was in the care of Joseph Page as they traveled from Salt Lake To Sanpete. For nearly a year she lived and worked in the home of Aaron Oman. Then on July 24, 1863, she married Orange Seely. On April 10, 1865, the Black Hawk War broke out. For many years the Indians had molested the white settlers. At first it was their stealing of cattle and horses that annoyed the whites, but later they attacked men as they went into the canyons for wood or to herd their flocks. Orange Seely was a Captain of the Mt. Pleasant Cavalry. He participated in the skirmishes at Fish Lake, Grass Valley and Thistle Valley. He wrote: "In Salina canyon two men were killed by the Indians. The bodies of the men lay in the canyon two days, and their bodies were stripped of clothing by the Indians. Three men and myself were chosen to go get the bodies of these men. This was the beginning of the Black Hawk War." At Thistle Valley: "In the direction in which I was shooting I saw a horse gallop away without a rider. I also saw another Indian ride down to where the horse had come from to pick up his wounded companion, who had fallen from the horse. They rode away, two Indians on one horse. I immediately started in pursuit of the loose horse. The horse had not gone far when the lariat which was fastened through the bridle back of the cantel of the saddle, got tangled up so as to stop the horse. Fastened to the saddle was a pair of buckskin moccasins, a pair of Indian leggings, and a beaded shirt made of heavy blue cloth. A spot of blood in the seat of the saddle testified to the marksmanship of one of the soldiers. Hanna afterward made a dress for daughter Hannah out of that shirt." Then later: "I went to Green River on the trail of some Indians. General Snow from the south and Col. Allred's command from the north met out on the prairie between Wellington and Price River. The organization divided up provisions. We had three pint cups of flour or cracker dust to the man, and that is all the provisions we had. On the three pints of flour we went from where Wellington now is, by way of the grassy trail, to Green River. Three of the men swam the river. On the opposite side of the bank they found no track of the Indians so concluded to come back. We stopped at Cottonwood Springs, on the way back to feed our horses. We had no provisions at all. Men were sent to have provisions brought back to us. We got as far as Castle Dale, still no provisions, so went on. At the head of Rock Canyon we were met with provisions. After this it did not take long before I reached home (Mt. Pleasant) tired and happy to get back." * * * * * * * "I was alone on duty as an Indian scout when I suddenly came upon a small lake in the mountain, in the center of which was a large duck. It was the wrong thing to shoot, as by doing so I might attract several Redskins who might be lurking nearby, ready to scalp any victim they caught alone. However, that big duck was a real temptation. At home were some little ones who were depending on me. If I could but get it, it would not only add to, but give also a much appreciated change to our too often limited bill-a-fair, so I decided to take the chance. Creeping on my hands and knees to the edge of the lake, I rested my gun across a fallen log, took dead aim, and pulled the trigger. The feathers flew as if the duck had exploded. The next trick was to bring it to where I could reach it. By throwing rocks and sticks beyond it, the waves thus caused finally floated the duck to shore. I thankfully picked it up, and for a moment stood peering across the lake, not realizing the suspicious eyes that were concealed by the under brush over there. Many years came and went, when one day I was accosted by a rather old Indian who said he had something to tell me. He explained that long ago while he was out hunting he had come upon a little lake, and had seen a duck swimming about. He had felt the desire to take it home to his wife and little ones awaiting for his return with something to eat. He had inched himself to the water's edge, and then had seen me. He watched me kill his duck. Each movement I had made, he dramatized as he told it. As I stood, duck in hand, looking across the lake, he had taken deadly aim at my breast, and tried to pull the trigger, but something seemed to prevent him from shooting. The results were the same with the second and third try. He watched me take the duck and my gun and ride away. It was the Hand of Fate. My life's mission wasn't completed; there was yet something for me to do." After a peace treaty was signed, life became more secure. For many years Orange and Hanna worked and saved until they were able to build a beautiful home in Mt. Pleasant. Orange, along with his brothers, John and Justus Wellington II, went into raising purebred sheep. Orange at one time owned as many as 5000 head and, at the same time, ran a farm; was part owner of the first steam saw mill; and promoted a tannery and the Co-op Store. Orange was the first City Marshall and a member of the Mt. Pleasant City Council for many years. For six years he was Selectman of Sanpete County. He also served as Justice of the Peace. Orange was ordained Bishop of the North Ward of Mt. Pleasant 4 July 1877, by Pres. Brigham Young. In the meantime, seven of the nine children had been born to Orange and Hanna Seely. The children were being schooled in the thriving community, and all looked bright for the future. But, at this time they were called to make what seemed to them the greatest sacrifice of their lives. In 1879 they, with others, were called to settle Castle Valley. They made the trip in October, which took 14 days from Mt. Pleasant. There was no raod worthy the name, so the children helped build it as they slowly made their way up the canyon. The trail they made was used for many years and is known as the Seely Road. It can yet be distinctly traced. When they arrived, the only thing to be seen was a road stretching straight through the flat from the dugout on the Wellington Seely farm on the Northwest to the creek bottom on the Southeast, where their log room awaited them. They had sold their home in Mt. Pleasant, two city lots and nine acres of ground for the total sum of $1,000, which was paid mostly in grain and produce. This they hauled into Emery County and fed to other poor pioneers, or shared it with them for seed at the planting time. Orange Seely became a mighty force in building up Emery County. Being one of the first men called there, he felt responsible for the community welfare, so he erected a grist mill and a good blacksmith shop, which was made from the one room log cabin in which they had spent their first winter. For the years 1877-1879 he was the Bishop of the Castle Valley settlements, which included Emery, Grand, and Carbon Counties. He said that when he went to visit the people, they were so poor he did not have the heart to eat of their scanty supplies. So he would load a beef on his buckboard, take some flour and start out, leaving food and cheer wherever he stayed during his trip. It required several hundred miles' travel to visit the scattered saints. For eighteen years he was first counselor to President C. G. Larsen in the first Emery Stake, organized 13 August 1880. He was also President of the Castle Dale City Council for two years. On 5 Aug 1892 he was appointed Probate Judge of Emery County by U.S. President Benjamin Harrison; he served four years. In 1894 he was elected on the Republican Ticket to the State Legislature as a Senator representing the district which included Emery, Millard, Sevier, Sanpete and Wasatch counties. The Seely home was the headquarters and stopping place for everyone who came through the town; jurymen, detectives, attorneys, Indians, Church authorities, and hungry tramps. Everyone was brought home for dinner. It was not uncommon to see Orange Seely take down a cured ham from the home cellar to give to some poor person who was in need. It was a great day when Orange returned from any trip to Salt Lake. Always he brought with him some lovely gift for his wife, Hanna. He must have ever been conscious that his beloved was a dainty, refined lady who had been transplanted into a wild, unsettled country and had been a true helpmate to him through all their pioneering. It must have pleased him to shop for the things he knew she would love. Once it was a parlor set upholstered in red plush. Another time it was a beautiful "States Carpet," the only one in the county that was not homemade. The Seely Brothers' Grist Mill was erected by Orange and his brother Justus Wellington II. Orange Seely was Superintendent of Schools, Assessor and Tax Collector for Emery County. He was the first town president of Castle Dale. He held that position twice. He was also doctor or dentist to anyone who needed his help. by Belle H Wilson --------------------------------------------------------- First counselor in the Emery Stake presidency, Utah, from 1880 to 1899, was born Feb. 20, 1843, in Nashville, Lee Co., Iowa, the son of Justus W. Seely and Clarissa Jane Wilcox. He was baptized when eight years old, came to the Valley in 1847, was ordained a Bishop in 1877 and presided over the Mt. Pleasant North Ward. Later he presided over the Castle Dale, Ferron and Huntington Wards successively. (Source: Jenson, Andrew. LDS Biographical Encyclopedia: A Compilation of Biographical Sketches of Prominent Men and Women in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City, UT: Andrew Jenson History Co., 1901. -------------------------------------------------------- References: Family Group Sheet-Self Pioneers of 1847. Easton, S. Roster of Pioneers of 1847 Nauvoo Social History Project. Smith, James Temple Index Bureau Mormons and Their Neighbors. Wiggins, Marvin History of Sanpete and Emery Counties, Page: 618 Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah. Esshom, Frank. 1913, Page: 1152 LDS Biographical Encyclopedia. Jenson, Andrew. 1951, Volume: 4, Page: 463 Birth: Seely, Orange (Male) Date: February 20, 1843 Place: Nashville, Lee, IA, USA Parents: Seely, Orange (Male) Father: Seely, Justus Wellington Mother: Wilcox, Clarissa Jane Death: Seely, Orange (Male) Date: November 13, 1918 Place: Castle Dale, Emery, UT, USA Marriage Information: Seely, Orange (Male) Spouse: Olsson, Hanna Alternate Spouse: Olsen (Olson), Hannah Date: July 24, 1863 Place: Mt. Pleasant, Sanpete, UT, USA Children: Seely, Orange (Male) Name: Birthdate: Place: 1. Seely, Emma Jane October 30, 1864 Mt. Pleasant, Sanpete, UT, USA 2. Seely, Hannah September 19, 1866 Mt. Pleasant, Sanpete, UT, USA 3. Seely, Orange December 29, 1869 Mt. Pleasant, Sanpete, UT, USA 4. Seely, Sarah February 7, 1872 Mt. Pleasant, Sanpete, UT, USA 5. Seely, Chasty Eliza June 9, 1874 Mt. Pleasant, Sanpete, UT, USA 6. Seely, Henry Alonzo December 2, 1877 Mt. Pleasant, Sanpete, UT, USA 7. Seely, Mary Bertrude April 3, 1879 Mt. Pleasant, Sanpete, UT, USA 8. Seely, Ethel Ingra September 16, 1881 Castle Dale, Emery, UT, USA 9. Seely, David Randolph January 15, 1884 Castle Dale, Emery, UT, USA Church Ordinance Data: Seely, Orange (Male) Baptism Date: October 30, 1857 Ordained Bishop Date: 1877 Temple Ordinance Data: Seely, Orange (Male) Endowment Date: January 25, 1869 Sealed to Spouse Date: January 25, 1869 Sealed to Parents Date: March 16, 1892 Temple: Manti, Sanpete, UT, USA Vocations: Seely, Orange (Male) Stockman and Farmer Comments: Seely, Orange (Male)Orange was Bishop of the North Ward, Mt. Pleasant from 1877 to 1879.He also served as Bishop of the Castle Valley Ward from 1879 to 1883. He was the first counselor to President C. G. Larsen for 18 years. Orange was president of the town board for two terms and a member of the legislature in 1894. Comments: #21. Orange was the first counselor in the Emery Stake presidency, Utah from 1880 to 1899. He came to Utah in 1847. He also served as Bishop in the Mt. Pleasant North Ward, Castle Dale, Ferron, and Huntington Wards.	Seely Orange
5	Sarah Seely was the second child, first daughter, of Justus Wellington Seely and Clarissa Jane Wilcox. She was born 10 April 1844 in Nashville, Lee County, Iowa. In Nauvoo and the surrounding areas, in 1845, the conditions for the survival of the LDS Church were not good. Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum had been murdered in Carthage jail by mobsters, and the Saints were under attack. Brigham Young and the Apostles decided to move the Church and its members westward to the Rocky Mountains. The Temple in Nauvoo was rushed to completion so that Temple work for the members could be completed before they left. On a cold winter day in February 1846 the Saints started to cross the Mississippi River on their trek westward. The Seelys, who lived on the west bank, across the River from Nauvoo, in the next few days, helped the Saints to get across the river with their boats. Some of the families were able to cross the river on the ice. Sarah was only two years of age at the time her parents started westward with the Saints. The weather was bad, with many snow storms, and the roads were in bad shape and had to be repaired before they could travel onward. The wagons and ox teams would become mired in the mud. The streams they had to cross were swollen with water from the storms, and it was impossible to cross them. So they waited on the stream banks, sometimes for days, before they were able to cross. This caused their progress to be so slow that the vanguard of the migration did not reach the Missouri River at a place now called Council Point, Iowa, until 14 June 1846. The wagon train was strung out from Nauvoo to the Missouri River. Brigham Young and the Apostles, seeing that they could not reach the Rocky Mountains in time to plant a crop, which was necessary for their survival, made an agreement with the Pottawattamie and Omaha Indian Chieftains, who had offered friendship to the Saints, to set up temporary camps on their lands. Word was sent back to the people along the route that they were to find a suitable place to plant crops and spend the winter. Thousands of acres were plowed, and crops were planted to furnish food for the people still coming. The land on the west bank of the Missouri River was claimed by the Oto-Missouri Indians, and Brigham Young made an agreement that they would repair their firearms and teach them how to farm if they would let them set up their temporary camps on the west bank of the River. A ferry of sorts was built, and a camp was set up on the west bank of the Missouri River in Nebraska. This settlement was called Winter Quarters, and it consisted of about 5000 people. The site was surveyed and laid out like the other Mormon settlements. The people lived in hewn log cabins roofed with poles covered with either sod or grass. Some of the people lived in dugouts in the hillsides, lined with woven willows, and with pole and sod roofs. While the dugouts were damp, they were better than the cabins, which let the cold wind blow through the cracks. The camps were short of able-bodied men because 500 men had joined the Mormon Battalion during the summer. The Seelys settled on the west bank of the Missouri River in a place called Pidgeon Grove, north of Winter Quarters, where they planted crops. Together the families cooperatively cut, dried, and stacked wild pea vines and tall grass to provide fodder for their livestock during the winter. The people suffered physical hardships during the winter, due to crowded living quarters and short rations of food, but this was not their greatest hardship. Various illnesses ravaged the camps. Scurvy, which they knew as "black canker"; Typhoid Fever; Pneumonia; and Tuberculosis. The lack of fresh vegetables and fruits during most of this year, and inadequate housing weakened the people and caused deaths, mostly among the infants and the elderly. The Seelys gave thanks to the Lord that they were able to survive the winter in good shape. In April of 1847, a pioneer Company of only 148 people led by Brigham Young, which was the vanguard of the exodus of the Saints, left for Great Salt Lake valley. This was not families, but rather a quick traveling exploration party. Shortly after this, two other companies were formed of Mormon families, each numbering about 1000 people. The first Company of Pioneers arrived in the Salt Lake valley on 24 July 1847. Some of the leaders of the first Company were sent back along the route to inform the people about the founding of Salt Lake, and inform the people in Nebraska and Iowa of the route they were to follow in their migration to the Salt Lake valley. They arrived back Winter Quarters in October of 1847. The Seelys were in the John Taylor Company and at three years of age, Sarah Seely with her brothers, Orange and Don Carlos, arrived in the Salt Lake valley on 30 September 1847. The family lived in Salt Lake, and on 3 November 1849, her father Justus Wellington Seely I, his brother David, and David's brother-in-law Edwin Pettit, left for the gold fields, by the southern route to California, arriving in San Pedro, where on the 1st of April 1850 they took passage on the ship Sea Bird to San Francisco, arriving on the 12th of April. Then they went up the American River, panning for gold. Sarah's father became ill, and it was necessary for him to give this up. Some of the other Mormons were in the gold fields, and one of these was Charles C. Rich. So along with Amasa Lyman, they formed a Company and returned to the Salt Lake valley, arriving on 5 September 1850. In the spring they received a call to go to California, as colonists, and they left for California on 13 March 1851. Sarah was only 7 years of age and had spent most of her life in a wagon box, so she thought that this was her home. They arrived at El Cajon Pass, and they had to wait there until land could be obtained in San Bernardino for the settlers. Sarah lived in San Bernardino for 7 years. The US government had sent Johnston's Army towards Utah, to control the Mormons; therefore, an order was sent out for the California settlers to return to Utah. On the return trip, Sarah Seely was given the task of driving cattle and assisting her mother. They arrived in Pleasant Grove 20 March 1858. Their stay in Pleasant Grove was only one year, as they were called to go to Sanpete County to settle a place called Mt. Pleasant. They arrived in April 1859, and on 16 December 1860 Sarah Seely married Jefferson Tidwell in Mt. Pleasant. From this point in history her story is combined with that of her husband. Jefferson Tidwell was the fourth child, third son, of John Tidwell and Jane Smith, born 7 October 1835 in Marysville, Clark County, Indiana. A month before his birth, his parents had been baptized members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on 25 September 1835. About 1837, his father, John, was made Branch President of about 20 people in Clark County, Indiana. In 1839 a request was received from Joseph Smith The Prophet that they were to assemble at Nauvoo. They left for Nauvoo, arriving there the 11th day of September 1839. During their stay in Nauvoo, which was not quite six years, the family had a lot of sickness. Three sisters to Jefferson were born in Nauvoo: Nancy Ann, who lived only 7 months; Martha; and Margaret. Their home in Nauvoo was on Block 158 Lot #1, at the corner of Water and Durphy Streets. Family tradition was that Joseph Smith taught William Nelson Tidwell and Jefferson Tidwell how to ride a horse during their stay in Nauvoo. The following information of some of the events that took place in Nauvoo that forced the Saints to flee westward is taken from John Tidwell's diary. "A libelous paper was published by Laws and Foster on 10 June 1944. It was considered a nuisance by the City Council of Nauvoo, and destroyed by John P. Green, Marshal of the City. Great excitement arose about this time because of mobsters attacking the Saints, so the Governor of the State of Illinois, Thomas Ford, came to the town of Carthage, the county seat of Hancock county, pretending to be a friend of the LDS Church. On the 27th day of June, while Thomas Ford was in Nauvoo, a mob broke into the jail at Carthage where Joseph Smith the Prophet, Hyrum Smith the Patriarch, Willard Richards and John Taylor were confined in the Carthage jail under the protection of the law, and murdered Joseph and Hyrum Smith and wounded John Taylor. These were days of trouble for the Saints in the State of Illinois." Little is known of the flight of the Tidwells from Nauvoo. They did not leave with the first bunch to cross the Mississippi River, but crossed later in 1846. They were still in Lee County Iowa, when the word came for the Saints to find a suitable place to plant crops and spend the winter. A sister to Jefferson was born in Zarahemla, Lee County, Iowa, on 26 August 1846. The winter was spent here, and in the spring, they traveled by wagon southwest between the Skunk and Des Moines River to about where Marion County, Iowa, is today. Here they crossed the Des Moines River and followed the Middle River westward to Pottawattamie county, Iowa. They settled in a place southwest of Kanesville, which they called Council Point. On 15 April 1849 at Council Point, a brother to Jefferson was born and called John. In November 1851 the Saints at Council Point received a call from Ezra T. Benson, who was in charge of the emigration to the Salt Lake valley, informing them: "You have tarried long enough and you are called by the Church, to come home. If you can not get wagons, then get hand carts." At a council meeting in December, those who wished to go to the Salt Lake valley could sign up. Elder John Tidwell was to be Captain of the Council Point Emigration Company. Jefferson Tidwell, with others, was sent off at a distance, to try and obtain timber, so that the members could build wagons, barrels and boxes that they would need for their trip westward. They were unable to obtain the desired amount of timber. By February meetings were being held every two weeks, to determine how much progress was being made by the members to be ready to emigrate. Some said that they were making ready as fast as they could, and one said he was ready, except for putting a bottom in his powder horn. Many of the members in Council Point were poor and did not have the means to make the trip. It was decided that, with a united effort, they could take at least half of their poor with them. Progress was slow, and by March only 32 wagons had been completed; therefore, some of the members thought that it would be better to wait another year, so that they could be better prepared. Captain John Tidwell went to Benson's Tabernacle to attend Conference and to receive counsel and instruction. He reported back to the members that: "They were to do all that they could, so that they could be on their way to Utah, along with their poor. They were to sell their corn, so that money could be raised for ferry fees and other expenses that would occur on the road to the mountains." One of the problems was that corn was selling for twenty cents a bushel. A collection was taken up of money and goods, so that Ezra T. Benson, one of the Apostles, could go to the Salt Lake Valley. In April, it was decided that it was time for the Company to be on its way to the Salt Lake valley. They were to be ready by the 10th of May and not later than the 15th of June. On the 25th of April, three Steamships landed at Council Point with about 600 people on their way to California, among them were about 35 Mormons. The Saints were taken into "our" homes until they could find places to go. Corn and oats were sold to the California bound people. The school house was being used as a storage place, and it was decided to sell the school house along with some of the timber, for the benefit of the poor, and to make big boxes for the poor to put their clothing in. Also to make tents for them to sleep in. By the middle of May, they were still not ready to leave. Lots of people were on their way to California, and they were able to sell them corn at thirty-five cents a bushel. But they were having to pay $16 a barrel for flour that they needed for their trip. In June the grass was coming up nicely, the tents had been completed for the poor, and it was decided that they could take all their poor with them. The last few days the wagons had sprung up in camp like mushrooms, all in full rig. Ten wagons left on the 4th of June for the upper ferry, to make arrangements for the Company to cross the River. As the Tidwells left the next day with their teams, overhead like a gigantic quilt were thick patches of dark clouds interwoven by strips of light. In the northeast the sun was sifting through, spreading the sunlight and throwing a sheen of silver on the river. Oh, what a beautiful day for their start on their trip west. The next day there was no sun, just a dull leaden blanket, and at frequent intervals orange flashes, followed by claps of thunder, close and also booming in the distance. They became confused by the incredible violence of the storm. The storm in its full fury filled the little inlets towards the river full of water, and they had to camp three miles the other side of Kanesville. On the 8th of June they traveled through the bluffs and mud for about 5 miles. They joined up with the rest of the Company, and in spite of the bad weather they found the members in good health and spirits. Because of the bad weather they were unable to travel, so they spent the day in camp. In the morning, the first section of the Company moved up to the ferry. The rain and wind plastered the people with mud and spray. The wind caused waves on the river, which prevented the ferry from operating. Ezra T. Benson arrived and reorganized them into the 5th Company, with John Tidwell as Captain of Fifty, for a total of 319 people. This was a mixed Company, consisting of members who had horses to pull their wagons, and others oxen. Also others had made arrangements with teamsters, who were not members of the LDS Church, to drive some of the wagons for the widows and the poor. It was the 12th of June 1852 before all the Company was at the crossing. As there were many animals and wagons to cross, only part of the wagons were able to cross, and they went beyond Winter Quarters and camped. The next day was Sunday, so it was declared a day of rest. As the oxen were often contrary, they needed constant urging and guidance, to make them pull the wagons. There were wheel spokes and single trees that had been broken by the unruly stock; it was necessary to repair them at this time. It was the 14th of June before the Tidwells were able to get their sheep across, but two of their cows fell into the river and were lost. Because of the steady rain and wind, it wasn't until the next day that everyone of the Company was across the river. Henry Howland the blacksmith died of the Cholera, and he was put in Sister Leonard's wagon. As the teamster started out with the wagon, the lightning lit up the sky; claps of thunder caused the team to run away, going up and down the hills and through the gullies in a circle back towards the river; and the wagon was smashed in a gully. Sister Leonard had fallen out of the wagon, and she had been run over by the wheels. Sister Leonard and Henry Howland were buried in a single grave, the woman on the left hand side, near unto Winter Quarters. The Company was in confusion; they thrashed and blundered in the rain and mud to a new campground. In the morning, some of the men went back and recovered the broken wagon, and the Company moved on to an area three miles beyond Winter Quarters; they camped in a circle. In the morning, because of the rain and mist, they did not get started until noon. They went just a few miles to Six Mile Grove, where they camped. The next day, they had trouble going down the hill, and John Wright broke the tongue of his wagon. They made the repairs and crossed a swamp where there was a dim mist that swirled around the willows, rendering almost a supernatural effect. They camped on the hill, near Pappea Creek. There Mrs. Mary Ann Andrews, who had died of diarrhea, was buried. They crossed a narrow bridge over the Pappea Creek and traveled 9 miles to the Elk Horn. Early in the morning some of the members swam their cattle across the river, and others paid one dollar to have their wagons taken across by boat. A meeting was held in the evening, and the brass band played and hymns were sung. For the next two days the road was very slippery from the heavy thunderstorms, and very little progress was made. By the 23rd of June, as daylight crept over the camp, there were only flat streaks of black clouds stretched across the sky like steel bands. They were able to travel a great distance, and they camped by the Platte River. The road was crowded with people, so they decided to travel as rapidly as possible in order to reach the Loop river ferry before the people behind caught up with them. They camped on the Loop River, along with some missionaries from Salt Lake who were on their way to Europe. A dance was held that evening, and the missionaries closed with one of the songs of Zion. The rains returned, and the Tidwells, with their clothing soggy wet and clinging to them, crossed the Loop river ferry by paying one dollar fare. By the 4th of July, they were one mile past Wood River. The day was declared a holiday, and as it was Sunday, at 11:00 a.m. a meeting was held. At 3:00 p.m. a Sacrament meeting was held in the middle of the horse corral. While they camped near the river, two days later, in the night a strong wind with rain came up, causing nine tents to be blown over. A miserable night was spent by the company. They went on to Elk Creek and camped. The water was of poor quality in the creek, and as so many members had the Cholera, it was noon the next day before they could get on their way. They crossed Elk and Buffalo creek and camped in a swampy place. In the rain the next morning, they went on to where the R.R. road runs near the river. They were now 244 miles from Winter Quarters. That evening John M. King baptized five people in the river; among them was Jefferson Tidwell's sister, who was only 5 years of age. The people were dying of Cholera, and it seemed that they were burying a member of the Company at every stop. Rations also were getting low, so a few of the men went buffalo hunting, and just before sundown Captain Rogers and William Clark came into camp with their horses loaded with meat. They had been prevented from bringing all of the meat, because they had become surrounded by wolves; they were lucky to get back with what they had on their horses. John W. Vance had shot a buffalo near camp, and it was loaded in a wagon and brought into camp and divided among the people. A Testimony meeting was held that evening, and the brothers and sisters spoke of their faith, and the work of the Lord. Seventeen children were blessed by John Tidwell. They crossed Skunk creek and went over sandy hills; they camped at the junction of the North and South forks of the Platte River. After an early start, they came to Garrison creek. While trying to cross the creek, John Wright's wagon capsized, breaking two of the bows and damaging some of the canvas. Some of the contents of the wagon got wet. Therefore, they went only a couple of miles and stopped at some clumps of willows to gather wood, so the women could cook and do washing. They gathered extra wood, so that they could travel 200 miles through country where wood would be very scarce. They had to move on six miles, in order to obtain enough wood. The next day, the clouds broke overhead, and the sun beat down relentlessly upon them. For the next three days they struggled over rough, sandy roads; there were many small creeks to cross. The next two days, it was necessary to double up the teams, in order to be able to pull the wagons over the sandy bluffs. Mosquitoes and biting flies made the camping at night miserable. They dropped down near the river to bypass the bluffs, instead of going through them, to make it easier going for the teams. They camped at Crab creek. They traveled slowly to the Cobble hills; the teams and wagons went around them. The people on foot cut through the hills to save time and distance. To the tired foot sloggers the jagged, pinnacled rocks rose like fingers in the air. The bald, cracked humps of boulders were in severe convulsions, and the ruins were grand and magnificent, bringing to the minds of the hikers that part of the Book of Mormon that describes the great earthquakes and upheavals that took place in this land at the time of the death of Jesus Christ. After going through the hills, they walked a few miles to the camp on the river. They traveled 16 miles a day for the next six days. On the 31st of July, Ezra T. Benson and Company, on their way to Salt Lake, came rolling into camp. They were received with rejoicing, and all faces seemed to sparkle with gladness. A meeting was called, and the brass band played several tunes. There was a prayer by Ezra T. Benson, followed by addresses by Franklin D. Richards and Erastus Snow. Then Ezra T. Benson divided the Company into two wings. The first wing was under John Tidwell; the second wing, under Capt. Andrew Whitlock, who was to take the weaker team and go on ahead. On August 3 at noon they reached Laramie, Wyoming; they went on a few miles and camped by the river. The cattle and horses were sent across the river to feed because the grass was better. The next day, as the road was very rocky with many steep hills to climb, they made very slow progress. Edward Andrews' wagon broke down, and it took the rest of the day for Capt. Rogers the blacksmith to repair it. It was necessary the next day to repair other wagons; Captain Rogers also set 35 rims on wheels. On August 9 the weather was hot during the day, but the mornings and evenings were cool. The road along the Platte River was very rutted, and there were many small hills to climb, making traveling very slow. August 13 was a very rainy day, so they were unable to be on their way until it stopped. They traveled a good stretch on a sandy road, up and down the hills, until they reached the Upper Ford, where they camped for the night. At daylight, up and over a large hill, and three miles beyond good grass was found, so they stopped to let the cattle graze. An Indian came up, but he soon galloped away. He returned with a few more, staying at a distance. The blacksmith was trying to repair an iron singletree that belonged to David Ross. The herdsmen had taken the cattle and horses across the river, where there was more grass for them to graze on. When everyone was asleep, the herdsmen heard faint scuffling in the rocks and underbrush. The herdsmen gave the alarm, "The Indians are among us." Every man jumped up, ready to protect their stock. While arrangements were being made for the defense of the camp, the cry went up from the herdsmen, "The horses have been stolen." William Nelson Tidwell, John W. Vance, and Franklin J. Daves, with brave and heroic courage, pursued the Indians through the thick brush and timber, forcing the Indians to flee, leaving behind the horses that they had stolen. Because of all the noise, and shots being fired, the cattle stampeded, flying off in the dark, in all directions. With all their cattle missing, the people spent a worried and restless night. All the next morning was spent rounding up the cattle, and they were able to find all of them. It was decided to stay there for the rest of the day, to rest the stock and the people, so that they could get a fresh start in the morning. The stock was again sent across the river to graze, but under heavy guard. The blessing of the Lord had been with them. They were unable to get an early start because one of the oxen was missing; they found the ox and left at noon. They traveled until sundown and camped near a spring of clear running water. As they started out in the early morning, a carriage passed them. When they arrived at Independence Rock, the carriage was there; it was Lorenzo Snow returning from a foreign mission. In the afternoon they traveled a few miles before fording the river, and they camped near the Sweetwater. Some of the stock became sick, and the people were warned to be cautious of salerations (soluble mineral salts, known now by the common name alkali), as it would harm the stock. The next day they went through Devils Gate, and while crossing a small creek with steep banks, John W. Vance's wagon, which was being driven by a small boy, capsized, smashing the box. They patched it enough so that they could travel until evening, when better repairs could be made. They camped on a hill near the Sweetwater. The ground was very "saleratious" (affected with alkali). On August 20, in the morning, they finished repairing John W. Vance's wagon and started on their way. Soon one of the cows of Franklin J. Daves died. The road was very sandy, and one of the boys of David Nelson fell out of the wagon and was run over by the wheels. The sand prevented any serious injury. As soon as they camped, one of the oxen of James Fortus died. During the night, an ox of Phillip Armstead died, and one of William Clark's was sick. Captain Tidwell asked, "Could someone loan him an ox, until his recovers?" No one would offer help, as the stock was in bad condition, from drinking the alkali water, and it was causing the stock to become sick and die. After a late start, only a short distance was traveled, when William Clark's ox was too sick to pull his wagon. The company stopped, and again help was asked for William Clark. Finally Phillip Armstead said, "He can have one of mine." This was offered even when his team could hardly pull his wagon. Only a short distance further, a heifer of Captain Tidwell died. At noon some of the oxen, that could not travel, had to be shot. They went on in their journey to where the road joins the river; there they camped. That night it was very cold; chunks of ice froze in the water barrels and buckets. They shod the oxen, then traveled 18 miles. They camped without water, and the stock was tied up all night. On the night of the 23rd John Eldridge's ox, and Martha D. Howland's stag died. They moved out at daybreak and went on for eight miles to where the 2nd wing was camped. Here there was water and grass that the stock could graze on. It was agreed that they would camp together, so that blacksmith work could be done. They were told that John N. King had left the Company and had gone on ahead, saying, "I am going on my own responsibility." In the morning it was found that two more oxen of the 2nd wing had died during the night. They were having to go up and down hills, with many large rocks in the road. After only one hour on their way, an ox of William Clark's died. On the top of a ridge, a wagon was found with a broken wheel. It belonged to a man named Frotcham. He had been a Capt. of Ten, in Cutler's Company, which was behind them. He had left the Company and had gone ahead in the company of six Californians. They left him there, and they went on to Strawberry Creek, where they camped. Frotcham came into their camp that night, wanting someone to fix his wheel. No one was able to repair it. In the morning a meeting was held, to decide what they were going to do. William Clark's ox was unable to pull his wagon; one ox was dead, and the other was sick. All he had was a yoke of cows to pull his wagon. It was decided to divide his goods among twelve families to transport. As his wagon was lighter, it would go to Brother Armstead, and Armstead's wagon was to be loaned to Frotcham, until they arrived in the Salt Lake valley. As they started on their way, they were met by Thomas Leviett and a friend, who had come from Salt Lake to meet their brother Jeremiah. They had left their wagon fifteen miles ahead of the Company with some of their friends. That evening they camped in a canyon where there was plenty of grass. They waited three hours for the 2nd wing to get a good start. Martha D. Howland lost another cow to salerations. After about twelve miles, they crossed the Continental Divide. Just beyond the dividing ridge, they camped near the 2nd wing in a canyon where the Salt Lake men were camped. Both camps enjoyed a dance together. On the 27th of August, both wings of the Company traveled four miles together, and they camped at Prairie creek. Here they stopped to repair equipment and shoe oxen. A man arrived in camp with a message from the First Presidency of the Church, "Counseling the Saints to settle in Green River." After much discussion and soul searching, many decided that they did not want to settle in Green River, but they wanted to go to Salt Lake before making a decision. The next three days were spent traveling over sandy roads, arriving in Green River on the 30th of August. The next day was spent doing repairs, and resting the cattle, and getting the people together. On September 1st, both wings forded the river, went a few miles, and camped near each other. Here they left four families to settle, according to the request of the First Presidency. They were David J. Ross, John Murray, Robert McKell, and Edmund Andrews. A young man came into camp; he was Henry Oviatt, late of Council Point, an old acquaintance of some of the people. That evening Isaiah Vanderburg, a colored man, was baptized in the river and confirmed by Elder John Tidwell. A dance was held and everyone seemed cheerful and merry. They traveled to Blacks Fork and camped. There George Foster and W. B. Cousworth and their families left them and went on ahead because the Company was traveling too slow for them. Members of the Sanke Indian tribe came into the camp, to trade. They did a little trading with the Indians, and then they slowly traveled twelve miles to a mountainous rock, where they camped. Rachel Welden left the Company and went on ahead. During the next two days they crossed the Blacks Fork many times. They passed some missionaries on their way to the States to do missionary work. They camped five miles from Fort Bridger; here they met John Leviett, who had come from Salt Lake to meet his friends, who were in the company. A few miles on their travels the next day, they passed twelve wagons, with six yoke of oxen each, coming from Salt Lake to help the companies behind them. They camped on a high bluff near the road. Next morning they traveled five miles down a steep and rocky hill, to Rocky Creek. There were only standing pools of water in the creek. Here they found a stray yoke of oxen and one cow. The oxen were hooked to one of the wagons, and they were on their way. Five more miles on their way, they camped. Here was a wagon without any oxen.They were the ones who had lost the stock, and they were returned to them. September 7th they started over a high mountain and down into a canyon. The rain started to come down in sheets, forcing them to stop until the rain quit. When the rain stopped, the road was so muddy that it was impossible to travel, so they camped there for the night. In the morning, while following the creek, as Goddard's wagon was going around a curve, the bank gave away, smashing one of the rear wheels. His goods were transferred to another wagon of the Company, and he sold his wagon to Dudley Leviett, one of the boys from Salt Lake who had come to help their relatives. Goddard was to receive two hundred pounds of flour, upon his arrival in Salt Lake. The Levietts took a wheel from their old wagon and put it on. They made a cart from the old wagon. At noon they came to a steep hill; while going down this hill, four of the wagons got out of control, causing a lot of excitement and a thrilling ride. They went five miles past Bear river before camping. Just as they started to leave that morning, a pin fell out of the yoke of a team of oxen, and they ran away, causing more excitement. There were many grass fires in the area, and the travel was over burnt ground. The air was very smoky, and the creek crossings were steep; this made them difficult to cross. They found a cold spring on the south side of the road, and they camped for the night. September 10 they dropped down into a deep ravine, traveling along Canyon Creek for about twelve miles, crossing the creek many times. At one rough spot in the road, the hounds of Capt. Rogers' wagon broke, dumping his wife in the road. Nothing was hurt, except her dignity. Thomas Hepworth was using unbroken cattle to pull his wagon, and as they were crossing the creek, the cattle took off at a fast pace, hit a rock, and broke one of the wheels. His wife and children were thrown into the river, receiving an unwelcome bath. Luckily no one was hurt. The morning of the 11th of September was spent repairing wagons. Then they went on their way, crossing the Weber River, then up a small creek, crossing it several times. They camped on a hill in the middle of the road, in a narrow place, to stay out of the mud. Part of the 15th Company came up and wanted to pass, but they were unable to do so. After moving some of the wagons around, they were able to pass. The McKees stayed with the Company to see if they could locate some of their missing cattle. Rachel Welden, who had left the Company earlier, was with them. In the morning they went over the mountain. The road was narrow and difficult, winding through the timber and brush, and crossing the creek many times. The loose cattle were hard to keep track of, and they kept getting lost in the brush. At a crossing just before camping for the night, some of the cattle became mired in the creek, and they had to be pulled out. A sister to Jefferson Tidwell, Emma Jane, was born that evening, September 12, in East Canyon. September 13, they started down East Canyon. It was impossible to keep the cattle from getting lost, and considerable time was spent looking for them. During this time many wagons from different Companies passed them. In the afternoon they passed over Big Mountain, and they camped two miles beyond it. Here John Edwards joined them, from the valley. He had gone to help his brother reach the Salt Lake Valley. As they started out, the teams had to be doubled up, to pull the wagons over Little Mountain. They camped a few miles beyond, in Emigration Canyon. September 15, 1852, they passed through the mouth of the canyon and rolled into the City, in full rig, and in good health and spirits, "Rejoicing in the Lord, whose hand and mercy had been over us, to bring us through all our ups and downs, and deliver us to Zion." The Tidwell family rested for a few days in Salt Lake, and then they were sent to help settle Battle Creek (now called Pleasant Grove). They arrived there the 20th of September 1852. Capt. J. S. Simpson, in his exploration across the Great Basin in 1859, had these comments in his report about Battle Creek. "Battle Creek contains about 60 houses, all mean looking adobe huts, and with a population of about 600 people." Jefferson lived in Pleasant Grove for 7 years. Jefferson's father, John Tidwell, decided that they didn't have enough land, and that grass was scarce for the livestock. He did not like the things that were going on in the town. Therefore, he joined the emigration to Sanpete County. After a four-day trip, they arrived in Mt. Pleasant on 13 June 1859. The original settlers had been run out of the area by the Indians. The settlers were building a fort for their protection; Jefferson helped to build the East wall. While they were living in Pleasant Grove, Jefferson had met Sarah Seely, and after moving to Mt. Pleasant, they fell in love and desired to be married. As she was only 15 years of age, and Jefferson was 23, her parents said that she was too young, and that they were afraid that Jefferson would not be a good provider. Sarah, like most young people, didn't listen to their counsel, and they were secretly married on 16 December 1860. As the later years would prove, her parents were right, but even with all their hardships, their life was a happy one. Chief Aropane of the Pah-Ute tribe was living in peace with the settlers. In 1860, he died near the town of Manti. His successor was Black Hawk, a war Chief, who started leading the young warriors on repeated raids in central and southern Utah, stealing stock. Jefferson and Sarah moved into a one-room log cabin, near Jefferson's parents. Here their first son was born 8 October 1861, and named William Jefferson. Jefferson was farming, and adding another room to the house, and trying to learn the Indian language, when his second child was born 18 September 1863. This child was a daughter, named Clarissa Jane after Sarah's mother; but sorrow came into their life, as the baby died 22 November 1863. Two years later, their third child was born 7 February 1865, a daughter named Sarah Sorenia. In 1865 the Navajo Indians were at war with the US Government. The Indians, under attack by the US troops in Arizona and parts of New Mexico, had been driven northward. Small bands of Indians came across the Colorado River and made raids upon the white settlers in parts of southeastern Utah. Black Hawk had also been raiding the outlying settlements and stealing horses and cattle. For protection Militia Companies were formed. Jefferson served in Captain J. L. Ivie's Company as a First Lt., from 21 July to 3 August 1865, and he served as a Private in the same Company from 10 September to 25 September 1865. The rugged country of Sanpete County (which is now the northwestern part of Emery County) was uninhabited by white settlers. Black Hawk and his tribe used this part of Sanpete County as their base of operations. From this maze of box canyons, Black Hawk would emerge out of Salina Canyon and raid north and south of the mouth of the canyon, always leaving a line of retreat to the canyon. By his repeated forays, he had driven the settlers from the Sevier valley to Richfield and Gunnison and other small towns in Sanpete county. There was not a single white family living within fifteen miles of the Indian trail from Salina Canyon to Round Valley. On 11 June 1866, Black Hawk made a raid on a large bunch of horses and cattle in a sink on Lake Creek, near Fillmore. The cattle that couldn't keep up were killed, as they were in a hurry to get back to the safety of Salina Canyon. It took them too long, as the soldiers were waiting for them. Black Hawk was wounded, and for all practical purposes the war was over. Raids by small bands of Indians were still taking place, and Jefferson served as a private in Orange Seely's Militia Company from 1 May to 1 November 1867. Their fourth child was born 31 March 1868, a son named John Franklin. Their fifth child, a son named Justus Hyrum, was born 27 May 1870. Their sixth child, a son named Joseph Randolph, was born 3 October 1872. Sarah's life was full of hardships, and at an early age, she had learned from her mother how to deliver babies. She was much in demand as a nurse and a midwife. Sarah had obtained a wooden mortar and pestle, which had been brought across the plains in 1848. With the help of a Doctor book, she would mix medicine for her patients. The mothers endured the pain of bringing life into this world without the use of a pain killer. The mother was placed on a clean straw tick on the floor. Lots of hot water was used, heated on a stove or in the fireplace. Then the mother was placed in a clean bed, where she stayed for ten days. Sarah seems to have had the gift of healing. She was a good nurse and Doctor, and along with God's help, she was an angel of mercy. She was always ready to help, when an emergency arose; ready to go out in the cold, and dark, and great distances. A branch of the LDS Church was formed in a town they called Indianola. Jefferson and his brother were sent to help the Indians, to teach them how to raise gardens, and pigs and other livestock. The Indians were like children; they would suddenly decide to go hunting or fishing, without letting anyone know where they were going, leaving everything behind. The Indians asked Jefferson, "How do we get rid of Mormon lice?" At first he did not know what they were talking about. After examining them, he found that "Mormon lice" were bed bugs, which the Indians had never seen before. Their seventh child, a daughter, was born 13 April 1875 and named Mary Miranda. About 1869, Bishop William Price went down the White River as far as Castle Gate rock, and on into Castle Valley, as far as the present town of Wellington. Castle Valley had acquired its name from its many picturesque mountain turrets, spires, and jagged rocks, which were clearly visible in the west end. The area at this time was being used only by the Indians and some cattle rustlers and outlaws. In 1877 Jefferson Tidwell, William Averett, and 13 others were sent to explore the area, now known as Carbon County and Emery County, to see if it would be suitable for settlement. Their report was favorable, but they said the water would be hard to control. In the fall of 1877, Caleb Rhodes and William Powell built a cabin in what is now the southeast corner of Price, Utah. Their eighth child, born 16 October 1877 was a son, named Orange after Sarah's brother Orange Seely. In the fall of 1878, Jefferson Tidwell, William Averett, Sidney Allred, Thomas Zundle and Robert A. Snyder came over the mountain to build a dam on the Price River so that they could have water for their crops the next year. They didn't stay the winter, but returned to their homes. In the spring when they returned, the dam had washed out. Jefferson had brought his oldest son, William Jefferson, with him. They set up camp in a bend of the Price River, later called Tidwell's bend. The men built another dam. A storm which had been brooding on the mountain peaks for hours, broke with a great fury; the flashing lightning illuminated the surrounding countryside, the thunder filled the defiles with strange reverberations, the rain descended in a flood, and roared down the gullies like an avalanche, washing out the dam and their dreams for a crop that year. Late in the fall, Jefferson and his son started over the mountain with a bag of beaver pelts, which they wished to sell so that they would at least have something to show for their year's work. They were also carrying their plow back to be sharpened. They left their oxen behind to fend for themselves. They were caught in one snow storm after, and the snow became so deep that they had to use the beaver pelts to make snowshoes. They kept their plow, as it was the only one they owned, and stumbling through the snow, they reached the summit. With difficulty they started a fire just in time to save their lives. Enduring acute suffering from lack of food, and half frozen, they stumbled into Mt. Pleasant, happy to be still alive. Their ninth child, born 23 January 1880, was a son named David Alonzo. In the spring of 1880 they returned to the valley through Salina canyon. The oxen were gone, and finding out that the Indians had taken them to Cedar Mountain, Jefferson went after them. The Indians did not want to return them. They chased him away and surrounded him on a knoll. When night came, he sneaked down, recovered the oxen and returned to his homestead. They ran out of food and had to eat pig weeds, and drink a tea made out of the young shoots of the grease wood. They were all sick, and they stayed sick; it was decided that it was the water that was causing their problems. Their oxen got away from them, and they were lost down the river some place. Very weak, and sick, Jefferson stumbled over the mountain, arriving in Mt. Pleasant, sick in heart as well as in body. In the spring of 1882, Jefferson Tidwell, William Averett, Thomas Zundle, Robert A. Snyder, William J. Hill, and the Mead family, came to be the first permanent settlers of the place now known as Wellington. They dug a three mile ditch and did a lot of plowing, and grain was sown. The ditch broke near the head, and the crop was lost. Most of the people returned over the mountain again. Sarah had given birth to a daughter while he was away; Hannah was born 13 July 1882. Sarah had seen the town of Mt. Pleasant grow into a real community. She had to leave this good life and go to try and settle a new and desolate land. Sarah loaded up her possessions into their wagon, lifted her month-old baby into her arms, and set out, along with her eight other children, for another wilderness. They took a couple of cows, and a few sheep, and the wagon pulled by an old team of horses called "Bill and Ross." They traveled through Salina Canyon to Castle Dale, where they stopped to visit with Sarah's brother Orange Seely for a few days, before going on to their dugout on the Price River. The trip took two weeks. The only house in the settlement was on the southwest side of the River; it was owned by Thomas Zundle. The old team, "Bill and Ross," had nothing to eat but willows along the river bank. So when Orange Seely came over that fall to see how his sister was doing, he saw that the horses were in such poor condition that they could not survive the winter. He took them out near an old dugout, shot them, and caved the bank in to bury them. He promised to bring a new team in the Spring. True to his promise, he arrived with a nice young team of horses and a big load of hay to feed them. The horses were hooked to a plow, and the boys were soon worn out trying to keep up with them. The water in the river was so muddy, that it was necessary to let the mud settle to the bottom, before the water could be used for washing the clothes. By cooperative efforts of the townspeople, they were able to complete a canal, and they got water to their crops. When the railroad was completed, they wanted to call the place "Jefferson," but Jefferson did not want the town named after him, so it was called Wellington, after Sarah's father. A stockade was built on the Thomas Zundle farm; it was used as a school until it was burnt down. William J. Tidwell and Samuel Strong were thought to have started the fire. But Samuel Strong said, "Will and I did not burn down the school; it must have been one of the boys from the other side of the tracks." The school was moved to the Robert A. Snyder home. Jefferson built a house, but food was still a problem. While hunting deer in Whitmore Canyon, Jefferson found a large vein of coal, suitable for making coke. In 1896 the Tidwells pitched their tents in the mouth of Whitmore canyon and started to mine the coal. The land was unsurveyed, and they had paid ninety dollars for the coal rights. They worked hard, short of food, until their shoes wore out. So they decided to sell the mine. The mine was sold to the Pleasant Valley Coal Company (Utah Fuel) in late 1898 for $250 in gold coins. The mining company gave the Tidwells jobs in the mine. Jefferson was the officer of the town. He rode a beautiful pacing mare by the name of Mariah. Jefferson stayed in Sunnyside until 1902. Jefferson moved back to his farm in Wellington, and there he died 21 November 1913. Still loving her husband and proud of him, Sarah passed away on 3 December 1915, of malignant tumor of the neck. She was buried beside her husband, Jefferson Tidwell, in the Wellington City Cemetery. submitted by Kenneth B. Tidwell	Seely Sarah
6	Don Carlos Seely was born 4 January 1846 at Nashville, Iowa, a son of Justus Wellington Seely and Clarissa Jane Wilcox. His father had joined the Mormon Church in Pickering, Home District, Upper Canada in 1837, and had emigrated to Caldwell County, Missouri, in August 1838. Don Carlos came to Utah by ox team in company with his parents and other family members when he was one and one-half years old, arriving in Salt Lake on 30 September 1847. In March 1851, his parents and family traveled by ox team to San Bernardino, California, where they struggled for almost six years to pay for land, raise crops and livestock, build a fort and a home. In December 1857, when Utah was threatened by Johnson's army and members of the LDS Church were called back to Utah, his parents returned to Pleasant Grove. After Grandfather Justus Azel's death, his family moved to Mt. Pleasant in 1859. On 20 March 1875, in Mt. Pleasant, Utah, Don Carlos married Hannah Elizabeth Reynolds, daughter of Levi Burt Reynolds and Hannah Elizabeth Johnson, born in Pleasant Grove, Utah, 24 February 1855. Four children were born to them in Mt. Pleasant: Don, born 7 January 1876, died 23 February 1892 (16 years); Charlotte Sybil (Lottie), born 27 September 1877, married Joseph Jones, died 5 August 1957; James Burt, born 28 September 1879, died 16 December 1901 (22 years); and Marion Carlos, born 23 October 1881, married Laura Hansen, died 6 May 1972. After they moved to Castle Dale, three additional children were born: George Willard, born 17 May 1884, married Olive Pursy Dickman, died 19 February 1961; Levi Earl, born 29 April 1887, married Wilmertha (Mertha) Moore, died 21 July 1941; and Azel Ward, born 28 August 1890, married Ivo Cecilia Rasmussen, died 10 March 1965. Don Carlos and Hannah Elizabeth were endowed and sealed in the Endowment House in Salt Lake on 23 June 1881 by Daniel H. Wells. Don Carlos had sparkling black eyes and beautiful black hair, worn long as was the custom of the day, curled close to his head. He had three fingers partly cut off with an ax. The index finger grew sideways so it lapped over onto the second finger. Although Don Carlos was not a robust man, his main occupation was farming. He worked on the thresher until the season ended, and he herded cattle, usually in Thistle Valley. In the summer of 1863, the Mt. Pleasant dry stock and sheep were taken into Thistle Valley. It was rumored that the Indians intended to make a raid up there. One night, Don Carlos and three other young men rode horseback to the Thistle Camp. The herdsman, D. C. Rowe, later reported that, "If we had not received timely help, we might have been murdered." The Seelys, though never wealthy, always had plenty to eat, as they practiced the usual pioneer thriftiness. They built a family home of adobe in Castle Dale, located just a block south of the Co-op Store and on the SE corner of the intersection.33 The legal description follows: "Lot three (3) in Block eight (8)." He also owned "Lot two (2) in Block five (5) and all of Block six (6) as platted in Castle Dale Townsite Survey located in SW Quarter of Section 34, Township 18 South, of range 8 east." (Emery County Courthouse, Deeds, Index #14060, p. 116.) The Seely home, still standing (1987), consisted of two large rooms on the ground floor (a kitchen-dining-workroom in back, a bedroom-living room in front), an attic and a small "lean-to." At one time, a foundation existed for other rooms, but these were never built. Surrounding the property was a log fence. The upstairs room contained beds with a space for quilting frames between them. Hannah sent anyone who had spare time to work on the quilts. The family always raised a large garden, with an orchard mostly apples, sharing place with currants, gooseberries, raspberries and vegetables. The kitchen and family center contained a south window where Hannah sun-cooked her raspberry-currant jelly. She made butter in the cellar, molding, wrapping and storing it in crockery jars on the cellar floor, selling the extra butter for 15 to 20 cents per pound and extra eggs for 10 cents per dozen. Pork was either preserved in bottles or cured in brine, smoked with apple limbs or green willows, then placed in flour sacks, covered with flour paste and buried in the grain bin. Nothing ever went to waste in the Seely home. Windfall apples were peeled, sliced and dried; split heads of cabbage were made into sauerkraut. Hannah was an expert cook and pastry maker. She made most of the clothing her family wore, usually shearing, washing, carding, spinning, and knitting the wool from sheep the family had raised. She made most of the clothing by hand. She covered the wool in material and tied it for mattresses. In her later life, when she visited her children, she made clothing and knitted black, woolen stockings for them. According to Claire, a granddaughter, the knitted items were sometimes "hated with a vengeance," as they itched terribly. Granddaughter Ruth remembers one gray wool petticoat that she feared she would never grow out of, and it certainly wouldn't wear out. Hannah's house was meticulous, with everything in absolute order. Her most prized possession was a marvelous feather bed, which she seldom trusted anyone else to make; nor did she trust others in her garden, preferring to pick the food herself and then allow others to help process it. Sybil, a granddaughter, remembers being taught to patch, not just any way, but so that she wouldn't be ashamed to have others inspect her work. Sybil unpicked the work many times before it suited Grandmother Seely. Hannah, "Lizzie" to her friends, was just as meticulous about her person as she was about her housekeeping. Immediately upon arising, she dressed, made her bed, washed her face and hands, then parted her black hair in the middle, braided and fastened it into a large "bun" on the back of her head, pulling wisps from each temple, twisting them and fixing them back into her bun. She wore high button shoes until she could no longer find any of them to buy, settling for high-laced ones as a last resort. She always wore a large coverall apron made of the same material as her dress (two per dress, so she would always have a clean 'spare' in case she needed to clean up hurriedly). Though always practical, Hannah had many other qualities that her children and grandchildren remember with pleasure. Lizzie often charmed Claire's little boys with her own version of "This Little Pig." Ruth remembers how her grandmother liked to travel around to see family members, and that she was allowed to go with her Grandma on many occasions. On one trip with Uncle George and his family to Green River's Melon Days, the group stopped overnight at Woodside. During the evening, Ruth became angry enough with her cousin Louise to bite her. As punishment, Grandma Seely bit Ruth and took away a quarter she had given her earlier in the day. The quarter was returned later for "good behavior." In addition to farming, Don Carlos, like his father before him, became the town surgeon and dentist, while Hannah acted as midwife to most of Castle Dale's early residents. More than one person remembers having his tonsils removed while lying on Seelys' kitchen table. One son, Marion, was accidentally shot in the head by a cousin. Though probably saved by the Elders' administration and the fact that his old hat was doubled under, Marion also received ample portions of his mother's "buck salve" (a homemade salve of goldenseal, pinegum, mutton tallow and other ingredients)--"just in case." Don Carlos was particularly good at setting bones. One story is told of a man having broken his arm and leg at the race track in Castle Dale. On the spot, Don assisted his brother Orange to set the broken bones. Although he was strict with his children, Don Carlos seemed to understand and love them. Azel, a son, recalled getting only one whipping from his father. "I was about ten and we were trying to get some pigs into a pen. Because I wasn't paying any attention, father switched me with a long willow. Needless to say, I got busy at the job." Grandson Milton Jones remembers a set of tools his grandfather gave him. These were exceptionally well-made for toys, and Milton was proud of them. One quiet afternoon, Milton retired to the shed and began sawing away happily. Fortunately for the shed, a clap of thunder sent him scurrying for protection into the house. He had nearly sawed through all the supporting timbers. Don Carlos served in the Black Hawk War and had a skirmish or two with the Indians. There is a marker on his grave in Castle Dale, Utah, in honor of his Indian war service. His son Azel told of his father making a trip by ox team to the midwest to bring back immigrants to Utah in pioneer days. In Castle Dale he served as Deputy Sheriff three years, and as Jailor six years. Don Carlos was an Elder in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but he was not very active or what one might consider a "religious" person, although he lived a good, honest, Christian life. On one occasion, a Bishop Olsen approached him, asked for part of his seed grain, and promised that, if he would give the seed to the Church, he would raise a better crop than he ever had before. When Bishop Olsen's promise became a reality, Don Carlos was so impressed that he frequently told the incident to others. On the morning of 14 July 1913, after having been to the pasture, Don Carlos returned to the house and changed his clothes to go to Price. Suddenly a severe pain, probably a heart attack, gripped his chest. Hannah fixed him a "toddy," thinking that it would help. He went to the kitchen to lie down on a couch and died a short time later. After her husband's death, Hannah lived in Castle Dale for another fourteen years, finally moving to Price to live near her daughter Lottie for the remaining four years of her life. A prominent feature of her new home was a hand-loomed carpet she had made herself. Although she took her meals with Lottie's family, she maintained her independence until her death on 11 July 1931. She had gone to Castle Dale for a family celebration for the Fourth of July. After a few days at Joe's Valley, the group returned to town. Seeing a blanket some of the children had placed in the shade of a tree, Hannah lay down, intending only to rest for a minute. She fell asleep instead. The morning after she returned to Price, she reported that she was not feeling well when Lottie's family called her to breakfast. The doctor was called, and he diagnosed double pneumonia. She died from the effects of pneumonia several days later. Although Don Carlos and Hannah could never be considered wealthy, nor successful by worldly standards, they reared six sons and a daughter and earned the respect of all who knew them--no small accomplishment in those times of struggle and privation. They are respected and revered by hundreds of descendants today. Their memory is perpetuated, and they are honored by an annual "reunion" of their posterity which has been held regularly since 1952. Compiled from family sources by: Maxine Seeley McKee, Zada Thursby Seeley, and Joyce Tanner Whiting, 6/1987	Seelye Don Carlos
7	March 29, 1848, in Salt Lake City, Utah, a baby boy named Hyrum was born to Justus Wellington and Clarissa Jane Wilcox Seely. Hyrum was one of the first white children born in Utah. His parents and grandparents, along with other members of the Seely family, left the Missouri River, under Captain Edward Hunter, and arrived at the Great Salt Lake Valley on September 29, 1847. Hyrum had two brothers, Orange, age four, and Don Carlos, age one, and a sister, Sarah age three, who made that long, hazardous journey by ox-team and wagon across the plains. Upon their arrival the Seely family lived in the old South Fort until the spring of 1848 when they moved into a little log house in the Fourteenth Ward. On June 25, 1850, Justus Wellington II joined their family. They lived in Salt Lake only a short time and then moved to Pleasant Grove, Utah. In 1851, Hyrum's father, Justus Wellington, his father's brother, David, and others were called by President Brigham Young to go and settle San Bernardino, California. At that time Hyrum was just three. They had to dispose of everything they owned but firmly believed in the gospel and, with sadness in their hearts, they said farewell to their parents, now in their seventies, not knowing if they would ever see them again. Hyrum spent part of his early childhood to his eighth birthday in San Bernardino. August 24, 1856, he was baptized and that same year the family was called back to Salt Lake by President Young. They were unhappy, but preparations for leaving their home again went forward and on December 24, 1856, they started on another long trek with their family of eight children. William Hazard, John Henry and Mary Myranda had been born while in San Bernardino. Four months later they arrived back in Salt Lake. In 1857 the Seelys moved to Mt. Pleasant, Utah, on a farm. Here three more children were born; David, who died in infancy, Joseph and Stuart Randolph. There Hyrum and his brothers and sisters attended school and grew to adulthood. Hyrum was a handsome young man, six feet tall, with a medium complexion, brown eyes, and brown hair. During the years 1865 to 1868 the settlers were having problems with the Indians. Finally Chief Black Hawk started a war, and every able-bodied man was called to help fight the Indians. Hyrum served in the "Black Hawk War," which was one of the bloodiest ever fought. He enlisted at Mt. Pleasant on April 1, 1866, as a private in Captain Amasa Tucker's Infantry Company. He was honorably discharged November 1, 1866. He was also mustered into service again on May 1, 1867, as a private in Orange Seely's Cavalry Company, Militia of the Territory of Utah, and served until November 1, 1867. At age 69 he applied for a pension and received $20 a month, which was later increased to $50 a month. In the spring of 1868, at age 20, Hyrum was called by President Young, along with others, to go east after immigrants. The railroad had been completed only as far westward as Cheyenne. With William Stuart Seeley as their Captain, they left. In Salt Lake, June 15th, they joined with other church teams for the journey. All went well until they reached the Green River, where the loaded wagons and cattle had to be ferried across the stream. On June 26th, while crossing at Robinson's Ferry, the cattle became frightened, stampeded, and men and cattle were swept down stream. Six men were drowned. That was a heart-breaking experience for the ones who were left. It was a great experience in the life of Hyrum Seely and his companions. They arrived back in Salt Lake August 29, 1868, with 39 ox-drawn wagons and 272 saints, having left Laramie, Wyoming, August 1, 1868. They continued on and arrived in Mt. Pleasant on September 4, 1868, bringing with them a number of immigrants who desired to make Mt. Pleasant their home. The town brass band met them at Sanpitch River, and the Sunday School children met them at the entrance of the city. In the evening a grand welcome party was given. This was the last company to be sent east after immigrants as in May, 1869, the great Pacific Railroad was completed. Hyrum then went to Pioche, Nevada, where he worked a couple years and helped to build the first mill here. He then returned home and started to haul vegetables, meat, butter, etc., to Brigham Canyon. It was too far to make the trip in one day, so he would stay overnight at the Goldsbrough Hotel in Nephi, Utah. The hotel was owned and run by Henry Goldsbrough, an English gentleman and convert to the Mormon faith. Mr. Goldsbrough had a daughter, named Mary, who cooked and worked at the hotel. It was while he was staying at the hotel that Hyrum became acquainted with Mary Amelia Goldsbrough, and soon a love romance started. They were married February 27, 1871, in Salt Lake in the Endowment House by Daniel H. Wells. Seven sons and four daughters were born to them. Mary was the eldest daughter of Henry Goldsbrough and Susannah Spencer Goldsbrough. She was born October 21, 1852, in Salt Lake City, Utah. Her parents had accepted the gospel in England and had come to America on the ship "Ellen" in 1851. They had crossed the plains and endured all the hardships, arriving in the fall of 1851. Mary was small in stature, and she had blue eyes and brown hair. She moved fast, and she was not afraid of sacrifice and hard work. She was a kind, loving person, a good mother, and a friend to all. After Hyrum and Mary were married, they lived for three years at Mt. Pleasant, where their first two children were born: Clarissa Susannah, February 17, 1872, and Mehitable Amelia, October 13, 1874. In the spring of 1873, Hyrum went to Indianola with his brother, Justus Wellington, to homestead 160 acres of land, which they later let the church have, as Brigham Young wanted the settlers to give up their homesteads to the Indians to make an Indian colony there. In 1875 Hyrum and Mary moved to Indianola, where they reared their family and spent most of their married life. He was engaged in farming and stockraising. At first they lived in a little log house with only two rooms, but they were happy. While living at Indianola, Hyrum was called to be overseer of the Black Hawk Indians, as it was a reservation at that time. Mary often told how the squaws would come there for protection when their male members got drunk. Hyrum also told of an experience he had while hunting for his cattle. His horse fell with him, and he walked out of the mountains. He came to the farm of an Indian named Santaquin, who was really friendly. Hyrum was pretty hungry after walking all that distance, so the squaw cooked him a meal, and in later years he always told how good it had tasted. Hyrum also farmed for an old Indian, whose name was Wapigas. He and Mary were both real friends to the Indians. Hyrum operated a store, and he was also Postmaster of Indianola. He and Mary ran the only hotel; they were very good to everyone who stopped, never turning them away without a meal or a bed. On December 31, 1876, baby Henry Azel was born. He was not privileged to remain in their home long, as on December 23, 1877, he was called back to his Heavenly Father. He died from scarlet fever, which was a treacherous disease in those days. December 1, 1878, almost a year later, Hyrum Ernest came to bless their home. Oh, how happy they must have been to get a baby boy after losing little Henry! Three years later, on January 2, 1881, Sarah Ethel was born. On November 17, 1882, Frances M. Lyman was called on a mission to the Shoshone Indians of Tooele County and the Ute Indians of Uintah County. Several men, including Hyrum, joined Brother Lyman and spent a great deal of time visiting and preaching to the Indians. The Indians listened to the white men, and thus their friendship developed. They helped an Indian Chief build a canal to his farm so he could get water to his crops, and it was greatly appreciated. While Hyrum was away on his mission, Mary was alone with her little family, but she was never afraid. Soon Lodica Maud was born February 6, 1883; followed by Alvin Wellington, born March 15, 1885; James Ross, May 9, 1887; and Clyde Raymond, August 6, 1889. Hyrum and Mary were working very hard to provide for their family when he was given another responsibility. April 24, 1892, Hyrum was called to be First Counselor to Bishop Peter Peterson. He was set apart that same day by Apostle Lund. In the following year, September 14, 1893, Orange Lyman was born. Two years later, October 25, 1895, Byard Osmond joined the family. Three short years later, October 30, 1898, Byard Osmond passed away. He died from severe burns he received when his father had been butchering pigs. Hyrum had built a fire outside, as they did in those days to heat water for scalding the pigs so the hair could be scraped off easily. Somehow the baby got by the fire, and his long dress, that they wore in those days, caught on fire and engulfed his little body. It was a terrible blow to the family, but they still remained true to their faith. In 1899 Mary was called to be Second Counselor in the Primary. Maybe she was called at that time to help fill the lonely hours due to the loss of her baby. She served in that position for several years, taking the smaller children to Primary with her and being very faithful in the position. June 25, 1898, Hyrum was elected chairman and trustee to hold the legal title to the property belonging to the Indianola Ward. A few years later, March 23, 1902, he was made presiding Elder in the ward. Later, Hyrum was called to be Bishop of the Indianola Ward, a position in which he served for many years. Mary and Hyrum worked very hard to make a living for their large family, and in spite of the hard work and sorrows, they had many happy times. Hyrum loved to dance and enjoyed the old popular dances, the "Plain Quadrill," "Tucker Quadrille," "French Four," and some Danish dances. Also the "Tyrola Polka" or "Danish Glide" and many kinds of waltzes. His favorite dance tune was "Hogs in the Corn"! Hyrum was a remarkable character and was loved by everyone. He was never known to swear, and his by-word was always "bye-gum!" He and his wife were honest, charitable, thrifty people. They were kind and loving parents, good neighbors and "a friend to all." They taught their children the Gospel and to be honest and upright citizens. They were loved and respected by all who knew them. The years passed by and all went well until November 23, 1907, when fate struck another blow. Their son, Clyde Raymond, eighteen, was accidentally killed. He was hauling grain. The team became frightened and ran away, throwing him out of the wagon. The wagon passed over his body. Their faith pulled them through once again. They remained in Indianola seven more years. All their children were gone, and in 1914 they bought a home in Mt. Pleasant. It was hard to leave Indianola, as most of their children had been born there, and they had laid three sons away in the little cemetery. There they had reared their family and grown close. After moving back to Mt. Pleasant, Hyrum continued to be active in civic affairs, serving as Justice of the Peace for five years. March 25, 1921, Mary passed from this life, leaving Hyrum alone. He was very lonely, so he spent a great deal of time visiting his children. Later he married a widow lady, Melvina Clemenson Crane, from Mr. Pleasant. Although the passing years had done something to tame and tone his lively spirit, he was still jolly and full of fun at an advanced age. Hyrum joined Mary April 25, 1933, at 85, following a well-spent life full of good deeds. His body was laid beside his wife and life's companion in the Mt. Pleasant Cemetery. by Wanda Swenson and Kathryne Newcomb	Seelye Hyrum
8	John Henry Seely was born on 29 April 1855 to Justus Wellington Seely and Clarissa Jane Wilcox in the Mormon colony of San Bernardino, California. He was the seventh of eleven children, and the sixth son in the family. His father, along with his family, had joined the LDS Church in Upper Canada, where Parley P. Pratt had been called to labor on a mission in 1836. John Taylor was converted at that time, and the Justus Azel Seely family members were baptized on February 15, 1837. Part of the family left Canada for Missouri 28 August 1838 and eventually settled in Iowa, across the Mississippi River from Nauvoo, Illinois. His mother, Clarissa Jane Wilcox, was born in Carmi, White County, Illinois, 1 October 1821; she was baptized 20 May 1833. Justus Wellington Seely and Clarissa Jane Wilcox were married 10 March 1842 in Nashville, Lee County, Iowa. They started west in 1846 with their three children, Orange, Sarah and Don Carlos; spent the winter of 1846-47 in Pigeon Grove near Omaha, Nebraska; and arrived in Salt Lake Valley 29 September 1847 with the John Taylor Company. In March, 1851, Justus Wellington and Clarissa Jane decided to join his brother, David, and go to San Bernardino to help make a settlement there. They had five small children by that time, Hyrum and Justus Wellington, Jr. having been added. The baby was not quite a year old. They left Payson 24 March 1851, with the Charles Rich and Amasa M. Lyman group. Three additional children were born in San Bernardino; William Hazard, John Henry, and Mary Miranda. When John was two and one-half years old, his parents honored the call of Brigham Young to return to Utah. His grandparents lived in Pleasant Grove, so they settled there until the spring of 1859, when his parents went to help settle Mt. Pleasant, Utah. John spent his lifetime there. Life was hard and luxuries were non-existent in a pioneer settlement. The Seely children often had no shoes, and their toys were things picked up around the yard. John had a toy made from a board with a nail half pounded in, around which he tied a rope to pull it. He used it for a sled. When his little brother, David Alma, died 20 October 1860, he gave up his sled to be used in making a coffin for David. The young boys learned to work hard. They went along with their father and learned from him to do a man's work. John herded sheep and cattle from the time he was a very small boy, and he told Dwight Lincoln, a colleague in the Rambouillet Association, that as a child he had daydreamed of having his own great herd. John was a veteran of the Black Hawk War, but he never talked about it. He was recognized as a veteran in 1872 when he was only 17. When he was 15 (possibly during the War), he was carrying his gun and climbed through a fence. The gun caught on the wire, discharged, and the bullet ripped his arm. It injured a tendon, and he had a stiff fore-finger on his right hand for the rest of his life. His mother insisted that John carry the buckets of water, milk or whatever by his right hand to stretch and strengthen the tendon. That hardship and others were but spurs to his industry and ambition. After he reached sturdy and independent manhood, he was always ready to share his means with the less fortunate. John Henry Seely and Margaret Folkman Peel were married in the Salt Lake Endowment House. They had known each other most of their lives. They both went to Aunty Hyde's school about the same time. John's sister Miranda had married Margaret's brother Christian two years earlier. At that time, John was the owner of two horses and one cow, and he had a small amount of money. With the two horses and a borrowed wagon, and in the company of a number of others, John and Maggie started for Salt Lake on the 10th of January to be married. A large amount of snow fell that day, so they got only as far as Fountain Green. The next morning, the ladies waited there until the men could make a trail over the summit toward Nephi. John and Maggie had been able to visit and converse together because a friend from Castle Valley was driving the team for John, but the son of a doctor who was traveling in company with them came down with diphtheria, so the friend took over that team and the father and son took the train. John drove the rest of the way. That day they drove to Mona. They slept in the wagon, with the ladies in the bed of the wagon and the men on piles of hay under it. The third night they stayed at Pleasant Grove and the fourth in Cottonwood. On the fifth day, they drove into Salt Lake, where John and Maggie stayed with Patriarch Hyde. The next day, Thursday 15 January 1880, they were married. Patriarch Hyde's son notified all his friends that "newlyweds" were at their home, and everyone came with all the noisemakers they could find and shivareed them. John gave the Hyde boy money for shrimps for the crowd. While in Salt Lake, they went to the ZCMI and bought a stove, dishes, a lamp and a clock. When they got back to Mt. Pleasant, Maggie's parents had an elaborate wedding supper for them at their home, and John and Peter Anderson, another bridegroom, gave a big wedding dance, to which the whole town was invited. John had $35 left, so he and Maggie went to Antone Beauman's furniture store and bought a bed, six chairs, a rocking chair, a table and mirror, for which they paid the $35. John's brother, Wellington, owned a small house on Main Street and about 7th West (where the Brabys later lived). "Wink" had decided to go to Castle Valley, so John made arrangements to buy his home for $200. That was the beginning of their life together. Four children were born to them in that home: Ethel Alberta, 7 October 1880; Zella Gertrude, 6 December 1882; Earl Henning, 10 December 1884; and John Leo, 4 April 1887. A little later, John Henry bought 200 acres of meadow land at Chester, for which he gave a horse. In May 1887, they moved into a larger home on the corner of 5th West and 1st South. John bought it from Peter Meiling. He later had another story added to it. He and Margaret lived in that house for the rest of their lives. Six additional children were born to them there: Leonard Joseph, 13 June 1890; Abrelia Clarissa, 19 September 1892; Lucretia Vern, 26 January 1895; Chesley Peel, 20 March 1898; Margaret Rae, 27 September 1900 (she died 13 January 1901); and Oliver Dwight, 27 April 1902. While they lived down the lane, John started a small sheep herd, and then in 1885, he became the manager of the North Sanpete Cooperative Institution sheep herd on shares. He had to pay so many pounds of wool per head and so many lambs per hundred sheep to the owners before he could get any returns for himself. The sheep were of old range stock, shearing from three to four pounds of wool per year's clip. He realized that in order for sheep raising to be profitable he needed heavier-meated and heavier-fleeced sheep. He bred for those two conditions. In 1890 he purchased 140 head of French Merino sheep from several men in California and started improving the breed. "Bill McKinley" was the best ram of the Seely flock, "A squarely built, smooth sheep with neck folds only, and a splendid fleece from nose to toes," according to the Purchase and Stock Ram record. A large number of the ram's descendants were accepted for registration in the American Rambouillet Sheep Breeder's Association in 1898. In 1899 he purchased the entire flock of 190 head of purebred Rambouillet from Andrew A. Bates of Ohio, a noted breeder. He imported Rambouillet directly from France several times and developed his flock into the best meat and wool sheep ever produced. John Seely, who had started his herd with nothing but faith, had one of the largest herds of registered Rambouillet sheep in the world. He was known throughout the world for his fair dealing and his keen sense of quality. His knowledge of sheep breeding was acknowledged wherever sheep men gathered. Sheep were exported to Russia, Japan, Argentina, Mexico and several other countries besides the United States and Canada. The crowning point of his breeding fame came in 1918, when he sold a prize Rambouillet ram at a sale in Salt Lake City for the fabulous price of $6200, the highest price ever given for a ram at a public sale up to that time. Mr. C.W. Stillman of Sigurd, Utah, bought the ram, which became known as "Old 62." Unfortunately, within two years, the breeder, the buyer and the ram were all dead. John Seely was also noted for his Shorthorn cattle. He, with several other men from Mt. Pleasant, went to Missouri, where they bought an entire herd from the Bagby estate, and divided them. John never lost sight of the constant betterment of his Shorthorn herd, and he spared no expense in buying breeding sires from the best breeding establishments in the west. He won many blue ribbons and prizes with his cattle. He also had choice French Draft horses, Percheron horses, and Berkshire hogs. John was an organized man. He was loving and kind. He did not like rowdiness or disobedience. He respected his children as individuals, and he allowed them to make their own decisions. They had many advantages that other young people of Mt. Pleasant did not have the opportunity to enjoy. He had a gentle temperament, and he was darling with his wife. He never went on a trip--and he went on many--that he did not bring her home a present. They laughed a lot and when she was ill, he was very gentle with her. He was generous with the children, too, almost to a fault. He was called "Uncle John" by a lot of his acquaintances and friends, especially those in the sheep business. John never learned to drive a car; he told Will Clos, his secretary, that way he would never have to go alone. His grandchildren loved that; they were often included. He carried "XXX" mints in his pockets, and the kids loved that too. He loved being with people, and he was noted for his congeniality, generosity and sympathy. He was always helping someone. People came to him in times of need, and he never turned them away. He gave them meals and beds, and very often he found jobs for them. One man, who had been convicted of rustling, was eligible for parole and needed a sponsor. John took him. He gave him responsible jobs, and the man proved to be a good employee and friend. He was still working for him when John died. Many debts owing him, and notes and promises, went uncollected until they were outlawed because he simply would not press for them, though he himself was in need of money at times. He gave liberally to those who needed his help, in teams, wagons, money, or security. John was not a tall man. He stood 5 feet 10 inches tall, but he weighed 230 pounds. He was a "big" man with a "big heart" to those who knew him. He was handsome with wide shoulders, brown hair and smiling eyes. One of the important elements in the success of John H. Seely was his foresight. He could see the inevitable curtailment of the free range because of the multiplication of the herds, and he realized that only the rancher who could control land of his own could survive in the competition. Thus, he bought farming lands and ranches, and later on grazing lands, on a large scale, mainly from the State, until he became the largest landowner in his county. His lands were so located and distributed over valleys, foothills and mountains that they afforded continuous, year-round grazing for his stock. John was very community minded. He served as constable deputy in 1882; was a member of the City Council of Mt. Pleasant from 1891 to 1893; and was Mayor from 1899 to 1901. He was a State Senator from Sanpete County from 1906 to 1910. He was active in the American Rambouillet Sheep Breeders Association from 1900 until his death; he served as President of the Association several times. He was active in the Utah Wool Growers Association. He served on the Board of Directors of the Utah State Fair from 1903, and he was the 2nd Vice President when he died. John loved to fish, and he enjoyed Fish Lake so much. It was there that he died from a stroke on 31 July 1920. It had been a hot summer, and he felt he needed some relaxation, so he and Maggie, Oliver, Abrelia and Vern had gone to Fish Lake. He had been on the lake since early morning. He came in about 11:00 and lay down to rest; he never woke up. He was survived by his wife, Margaret, and the following children: Mrs. Ethel McGahen, Mrs. Zella Merrill, Earl H., J. Leo, Leonard J., Mrs. Abrelia Hinckley, Mrs. Vern S. Erickson, Chesley P., and Oliver D. compiled by Madeline M. Mills --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Our Pioneer Heritage, Vol. 9, p.600 The following is taken from the masters thesis written by Edwin M. G. Seely: The breeds of sheep brought into Utah from the East with the early migration were, many of them, mixed breeds–English, Saxony, Spanish Merino–and others of more pure blood. The quality is described as excellent. Mountaineers and enterprising traders with blacksmiths, lined the emigrant roads from Sweetwater to the Humboldt, to trade flour, potatoes, blacksmithing, and Indian ponies for lame stock, as large herds were being driven from the Eastern states to the Golden state. All, or nearly all of this lame stock was of the largest and finest sort. In the 1870's and 1880's Utah sheep breeders brought increasing numbers of California sheep into Utah to improve the grade herds, both private and cooperative. Our Pioneer Heritage, Vol. 9, p.600 Utah's sheep population grew rapidly from 1870 to 1890. The census of 1870 listed 59,672 sheep and the census of 1890, listed 1,014,176 head. The wool clip for 1889 was between 9,000,000 and 11,575,000 pounds. The average fleece weight of the range sheep was approximately 5.5 pounds in 1892. Earlier range herds had sheared three pounds per head. The industry that had lagged behind the cattle industry between 1847 and 1870 now had three times as many sheep in the territory as all other farm animals combined. Our Pioneer Heritage, Vol. 9, p.601 John H. Seely was a native of California, his father was from Canada and his mother from Illinois. The religion of the Mormons brought his parents together in Iowa where they were married. The couple was subjected to the persecutions of the Latter-day Saints in Nauvoo, and came into Utah in the fall of '47 with the second company of Mormons looking for a place to live free from their persecutors. Our Pioneer Heritage, Vol. 9, p.601 In 1859 the Justus Wellington Seely family, with others, settled Mt. Pleasant in Sanpete Valley. John H. Seely, then but four years of age, was to see this small Mormon community became one of the centers of the purebred Rambouillet industry of the state, nation and the world. He became acquainted with the livestock industry early, herding cattle in the nearby hills and mountains from the time he was five. An appreciation of fine animals and a desire to possess such came as a part of the family heritage along with the practical aspect of herding. Our Pioneer Heritage, Vol. 9, p.601 In 1867 the Northern Sanpete Cooperative Institution was organized in Mt. Pleasant. Various owners of small flocks of sheep in Mt. Pleasant, some consisting of but two or three head, pooled their tiny flocks and hired one man to do the herding. In 1885 John H. Seely received the herd, as manager, which started him in the sheep business; the contract read that each owner should receive two pounds of wool per head and eight lambs per hundred head of mixed sheep including ewes, lambs, bucks and wethers. He secured about 3,800 sheep on shares and at the end of three years had 10,000 head. Both John H. and the other owners were satisfied with his stewardship. These sheep sheared only two or three pounds of wool but did have the one redeeming quality of fertility, they observed the old commandment to be fruitful, and multiplied to the limit. Twins were the order of the day. Our Pioneer Heritage, Vol. 9, p.601 By 1888 he was able to establish his own herd with the share he then held in the cooperate. He realized that the only way to succeed financially with sheep was to increase the income per head. To be a good flockmaster he must have better quality sheep in his herd with heavier and finer fleeces and larger carcasses. To this end he imported purebred Rambouillet ewes and rams from without the state, knowing that if he were to have the number and quality of sheep he wanted he would have to breed them himself. Our Pioneer Heritage, Vol. 9, p.601 In 1890 he purchased 140 head of purebred Rambouillet sheep, 80 ewes and 60 rams, from the old country Frenchman, Germain Grimaud, of Los Angeles. In 1892, 100 ewes and 100 rams were purchased from the same man; and also three of the finest rams owned by the prominent breeder J. H. Glide of Davis, California. These rams traced back to the Patterson importation. One of them is described thus in the Purchase and Stock Ram Record: "Bill McKinley was the best ram of the Seely flock, a squarely built smooth sheep with neck-folds only, and a splendid fleece from nose to toes." This ram was used for several years by Mr. Seely in his purebred California French [p.602] Merina flock, so that there was a large number of his descendants in the Seely flock when the sheep were accepted for registration in the American Rambouillet Sheep Breeders' Association. Our Pioneer Heritage, Vol. 9, p.602 Mr. Seely had recognized the superior quality of Rambouillets even before the von Homeyer exhibition drew national attention. That he recognized the advances made by von Homeyer is evidenced by his purchase of the five rams of that blood in 1899. In 1900 he went back to Ohio and bought one of the most noted flocks in that state, the Andrew A. Bates' flock of Darby Place, near Irwin, Ohio. The purchase included the entire flock of 190 head. The flock had a liberal infusion of yon Homeyer blood. Two of the outstanding rams were Dewey and Mark Hanna. Five hundred dollars had been offered for these two rams when they were lambs and $600 when they were yearlings. Mr. Seely turned down an offer of $1,000 for Mark Hanna. That this was a noted show flock is evidenced by the two banners accompanying the sheep, made from canvas with ribbons won sewed on. One canvas measured 4 x 12 feet and the other 7 by 21/2 feet, show 250 ribbons won between the years 1893 and 1900 in fairs and shows in Ohio, Chicago, Indiana, Wisconsin, Texas, Michigan, Nebraska, Minnesota, and Georgia. Our Pioneer Heritage, Vol. 9, p.602 The flock was loaded into a large well arranged furniture car and Mr. Seely left for his home in Mt. Pleasant, Utah, by railway, March 26, 1900. This car was loaded with hardwood lumber sawed in assorted sizes for sale in Mt. Pleasant, almost to the roof, leaving just enough clearance for the sheep. The sheep arrived safely. At the time of this Ohio purchase plans were already formulated to make importations directly from France and Germany. On June 23, 1900, Dwight Lincoln, Secretary of the American Rambouillet Association, and W. C. Clos, private secretary to John H. Seely, left for France and Germany by the Dominion Line. Mr. Seely sent his secretary-bookkeeper to act as interpreter as Mr. Clos, though a naturalized citizen of the United States, was a native of Switzerland and spoke German as well as French and was well acquainted in Germany and France. Our Pioneer Heritage, Vol. 9, p.602 These two men visited the best flocks of Rambouillet sheep in both countries. The number in this importation was 25 animals. Of these Mr. Seely received four: one ram and one ewe from Thirourin Sorreau of Cherville, France, and one ram each from Victor Gilbert of Wideville, France, and the French Government flock at Rambouillet, France. W. C. Clos returned to Europe the following year and this 1901 importation consisted of 170 ewes, rams and lambs, all from France. Not one was lost in transit by ocean. Seely purchased ten. Mr. Clos made the third and last importation from France and Germany in 1902, this consisting of 173 head. Seely purchased eight: six ewes and one ram from Victor Gilbert and one ram from Otto Steiger, Leutewitz, Saxony. This was the last importation, for after 1903 all importations of sheep from Europe ceased by order of the United [p.603] States Department of Agriculture because of outbreaks of foot and mouth disease. Our Pioneer Heritage, Vol. 9, p.603 This was the foundation stock of the John H. Seely purebred registered Rambouillet flock. Later, Seely bought from time to time both rams and ewes from most of the prominent American flocks in Ohio, New York, Michigan, Illinois, Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, Oregon and Washington, thus adding gradually to his already strong flock the best American strains of Rambouillet blood until finally there was no important Rambouillet blood in this country or overseas that was not present in his herd. Our Pioneer Heritage, Vol. 9, p.603 Other men played significant roles in establishing the Rambouillet in Utah: W. S. Hansen, of Collinston, Utah; Joseph F. Wright of Nephi; E. L. Terry of Fairview; Samuel Bills, Fairview; W. D. Candland, Mt. Pleasant; James F. Jensen, Mt. Pleasant; John K. Madsen, Mt. Pleasant; George A. Lowe, Parowan; and Richards and West of Ogden, Utah. Utah sheepmen improved the blood that they had concentrated in their herds through their faith in the breed and their discernment in selecting and mating animals until Utah became known throughout the sheep industry of the United States and throughout the world as a center of the best of the breed. W. S. Hansen concentrated on raising hornless rams, 4 to 5 percent of his first ram lambs coming polled. Through selective breeding this was increased to 65 percent in the 1920's, and opened up new markets in Texas and other regions. Mr. Seely had started in the sheep business with sheep weighing near 100 pounds and shearing near 3 pounds of inferior wool; in 1918 at the famous National Ram Sale, Seely topped the sale with a price that has not been equaled since. He sold a representative ram from his flocks which weighed 300 pounds and sheared 35 pounds of the finest quality wool, for $6,200.00. As early as 1898, Mr. Hansen had shipped 180 head to Omaha, Nebraska, where in a public sale these sheep of his flocks were dispersed throughout various eastern and midwestern states. National recognition came early for both men: Mr. Hansen was elected a director of the American Rambouillet Sheep-Breeders' Association in 1898; Mr. Seely served as vice-president of the organization, 1900, 1901, and as president four terms, 1902—1905. The sheep of both men placed highly in both state and national fairs and shows. At the World's Fair at St. Louis, Missouri, in 1904, Seely's sheep won prizes in several categories. Before 1920 Utah Rambouillet breeders were making many sales to Mexico, and shortly thereafter sales were made into South America, South Africa, Australia, Japan and Russia. Between 1920 and 1930 more than 875 registered sheep were exported to Japan and Manchuria from the Seely flocks. Three exportations were made to Russia. Other breeders in Utah were making sales at home and abroad. Our Pioneer Heritage, Vol. 9, p.603 These men, with the others who followed their lead, maintained the improvements made through times of prosperity and adversity until the large type Rambouillets were produced in sufficient numbers to force recognition in the markets. Once recognized, they became [p.604] the very foundation stock of the improved sheep industry of the State of Utah by the diffusion of their blood throughout the range herds of the state, and the result was pounds of wool and flesh added on to the range sheep of the state of a much better quality and worth a much higher price. Our Pioneer Heritage, Vol. 9, p.604 The sheep industry is of great economic importance to the State of Utah because over 80 percent of the entire land surface is utilizable only for grazing. In 1920 the value of sheep and wool combined was worth approximately seven million dollars more than were all agricultural crops, and the value of sheep was more than double that of cattle. Thus the Rambouillet breed of sheep added millions of dollars to the income of the state through the improvement of range sheep as well as by sales of purebred sheep to both national and world markets.	Seelye John Henry
9	(Plot# a-13-010-12)	Seelye Justus Azel
10	Born:17-Nov-1779 in:Litchfield, CT Died: 1-Apr-1859 in:Pleasant Grove, UT Father:Justus William SEELYE Mother:Sarah STEWART Wife:Nehitabel BENNETT Married:-1800 Born:17-Nov-1779 in:NY Died:2-Aug-1861 --------------------------------------------------------------------- M Child 1 Orange SEELEY Spouse:Hanna OLSSON M Child 2 William S SEELEY Spouse: unknown F Child 3 Elizabeth SEELYE Born:-1807 Spouse: James Ross YOUNG M Child 4 Justus Wellington Seeley Born:30-Jan-1815 in:Pickering, Home, Upper Canada Died:28-Apr-1894 in:Mt. Pleasant, Sanpete, Utah, Spouse: Clarissa Jane Wilcox Married:10-Mar-1842 in:Nashville, Lee, Iowa Build first cooper shop in Salt Lake City. --------------------------------------------------------------------- The following story has been handed down through family legend. Justus A. came down with some type of ailment, which made him so he couldn't walk. The legend didn't say what the ailment was, but it sounds to me like some kind of acute arthritis. It is told that he had been an invalid for a year and a half. He was carried to the Nauvoo Temple, then placed on a sheet, and then lowered into the water and baptized as a health measure. I assume that he was baptized by the power of the Priesthood for the restoration of his health. Following that baptism, he was healed, and he rose up and walked out of the Temple. No date for this event is given. In 1846 he walked across the territory of Iowa driving a team of oxen, and again in 1847 he walked across the plains to Utah, driving his team of oxen. Surely, the Seelyes were people of great faith! As Moroni wrote, "For if there be no faith among the children of men God can do no miracle among them." Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah, p.1152 SEELY, JUSTUS AZEL (son of Justus Seely of Canada). Born Nov. 17, 1779, in Connecticut. Came to Utah Sept. 29, 1847, John Taylor company. Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah, p.1152 Married Mehitable Bennett 1800, Luzerne, Pa. She was born Nov. 17, 1779. Their children: Rachel b. Sept. 1801, m. Parlin Webb; John, died; Elizabeth, m. James Young; Mary b. Jan. 24, 1810, m. John Hemmenway; William Stewart b. May 18, 1812, m. Elizabeth DeHart; Justus Wellington b. Jan. 30, 1815, m. Clarissa Jane Wilcox, m. Sarah Jane McKinney; Sarah b. Aug. 27, 1817, m. Asa McGann; David b. Oct. 12, 1819, m. Mary Pettit. Family home in Canada. Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah, p.1152 High priest. Built the first coopershop in Salt Lake. Cooper; sailor and lumberman. Died April 1, 1859, Pleasant Grove, Utah.	Seelye Justus Azel
11	Good morning. The time is now 6 a.m., Oc25, 1984. My name is Montell Seely, and I''m sittin' at my kitchen table, lookin' out the west window toward my grandfather's farm, which is located between Castle Dale and Orangeville. This is the 160 acres that he homesteaded in May, 1877--107 years ago. I'm privileged to own this farm, and I'm grateful that I can tell you about my grandfather. He and I are kindred spirits. I think we were companions in our pre-earth life. I regret that we didn't meet in this life; he left the farm in 1931, at age 81, and I arrived in 1934. However, as I repair the fences that he built a hundred years ago, and as I plow the fields that he plowed, I can feel his presence. Justus Wellington Seely II was born June 25, 1850, to Justus Wellington Seely and Clarissa Jane Wilcox, in Salt Lake City, in a log cabin that was part of the west wall of the old fort that stood on the block that is now called Pioneer Park. Even though he was the fourth son in the fami, he was named after his father. He in turn named his eldest son Justus Well; so there are three men by that name. For the sake of clarity, to avoid confusion, and because it is a name of endearment, I will always refer to him as Wink--which is the name that he used. (It is not common knowledge today, but Wink is the nickname for Wellington, just as Bill is the nickname for William.) Wink's son went by the name of Jess. In the Spring of 1851, Wink, then 10 months old, and his family went with the Saints who were called to go to California and establish the San Bernardino Mission. He lived in that mission setuntil December, 1857; he was then 7 years old, when Brigham Young, under the threat of Johnston's Army invading the Utah Ter, closed the San Bernardino mission and called that group of Californians back to Zion. [See the General History section in this book for more details of that event.] The Seelys arrived at Pleasant Grove (Spring 1858), and Wink, for the first time in his recollec, met his Seely grandparents, Justus Azel Seely and Mehittabil Bennet. ("Mehittabil Ben" is the exact spelling on her gravestone in Mt. Pleasant, Utah.) Their sojourn in Pleasant Grove was only temporary. The Seelys moved to Mt. Pleasant in April, 1859. [See General History section for details of their move.] Wink grew up in Mt. Pleasant, where he atthe Aunty Hyde school in the winter months. He did his share of the work in the summers--doing such jobs as herding sheep and horned stock; helping his older brothers get out timber; running the sawmill; and buil33ding fences and out buildings. In 1865 Wink turned 15 years old, a fine strapyoung man. That same summer (1865) the Black Hawk War erupted. I don't know if Wink was drafted or if he volunteered, but he became a private in Captain Joseph S. Day's Company. He was not old enough to be called into active duty and go out on patrols, but he was active in the home guard. Many a night he, with an older man as a companion, stood guard duty. The Black Hawk War continued through 1866 and 1867. Many years later, he received a penas a veteran of the Black Hawk War. Wink, who was then 18, was thinking in the general direction of marriage, but no one was serious on his mind; however, that cute little AnReynolds, then 15, was beginning to blossom. Wink continued to grow and mature, and in the Fall of 1871, he began to get serious in his courtship with Anna--and she with him, They courted through the winter of 1871-72 and made plans to get married. As soon as Spring broke and the roads became semi-passable, they loaded some bed, grub boxes and camping gear into a covered wagon--then joining with others who were making the trip, and with proper chaperonage, they made the four-day trip to Salt Lake City. Justus Wellington Seely II and Anna Eliza Reynolds received their endowments and were sealed in marriage by the power of the Priesthood for time and all eternity in the EndowHouse 23 February 1872. Anna Eliza was the daughter of William FletReynolds and Anna Hawley. She was born December 18, 1853, in Pleasant Grove, Utah. [As a point of reference for those who are in, Doctor Ellis Reynolds Shipp was AnEliza's older sister.] After their marriage, Wink and Anna purchasa lot on the west side of Mt. Pleasant and built a log cabin thereon. It was not until I started this book project that I picked up two clues as to its location. (1) In the history of his brother, John H. Seely, it reads as follows: "John's brother Wellington (Wink) owned a small house on Main Street and about 7th West (where the Bradys later lived). Wink decided to go to Castle Valley, so John made arrangements to buy his home for $200." (2) In the history of Ethel Seely McGahen, daughter of John H., she says that her early childhood was spent at a home on Main Street and about 5th West, where the Bradys later liv. It was in that house that Wink and Anna's first child, a son, was born on 30 January 1873. As previously stated, they named him Justus Well, after his father, and he went by the name of Jess. On June 3, 1875, a second son was born. They named him William John, and he was known as Will. Before you jump to the concluthat Will also was born in Mt. Pleasant, keep in mind that between 1873 and 1876 Wink and Anna and their baby Jess were spending part of their time in Indianola, proving up on a homestead. In the Hyrum Seely history, in this book, it says that he and his brother Wellington (Wink) went to Indianola to homestead in 1873. It was in 1877 that he relinquished his filing, so it is a possibility that Will was born in Indianola--but don't quote that as fact. According to family tradition, it was in the Fall of 1875 that Wink, in company with his brother Orange and others, brought a herd of 1500 head of sheep and 1400 head of horned stock into Castle Valley for winter grazing. "The Seely brothers made a dugout 20 x 30 feet in what is now known as the Justus Wellington Seely farm ..." It is my opinion that, after they got the livestock settled, Wink returned and spent the winter with his family in Sanpete Valley, In 1877 Orange Seely was called by members of the Quorum of Twelve, to be the leader of the settlers going over to colonize Castle Valley. Orange persuaded his brother, Wink, to go and help in that movement. Wink and two brothers, Hyrum and William Hazard--also two cousins, Moroni and Joseph Nephi--each had a homestead in Indianola. It is highly probable that Orange tried to persuade all those Seely boys to join in the Castle Valley expedition, but only Wink could be persuaded. So in 1877 he decided to take up a homestead in Castle Valley; consequently, he had to relinhis filing in Indianola. Therefore, he and his brother Orange made a trip to the courthouse in Manti, and on September 20, 1877, he signa document relinquishing his homestead. Orange witnessed his signature. (An Indian by the name of Wapits picked up his homestead filing.) It was in the throes of this move that Wink and Anna's third son, James Washington, was born November 4, 1877, in Mount Pleasant. Even though it was May, 1877, when he took up his homestead in Castle Valley, it was not unNovember 27, 1878, that he went to the courin Manti and signed an official application. During 1877 and 1878 Wink was dividing his time between proving up on his homestead in Castle Valley and taking care of the needs of his family in Mt. Pleasant. During these years he must have made several trips back and forth over the mountain. Finally, in the Fall of 1879 he and Anna made the decision to move the family onto the Homestead. When they moved, Wink was 29; Anna, 26; Jess, 6; Will, 4; James, 2; and Anna was almost nine months great with child.33 They faced a real dilemma. Their baby was due anytime. Should they go now and risk her having the baby on the trail? Or, should they wait until after the baby was born and risk the dangers of getting caught in a snowstorm in the high mountains? They decided to go "now." On about October 18, 1879, they left Mt. Plea. By October 25 they were near the end of their journey---one more day and they would have been to the dugout on Wink's homestead. But the baby wouldn't wait. They were camped at the Willow Bunch in Cottonwood Canyon. Under those primitive conditions, Anna gave birth to a baby girl. They named her Clarissa Ellis; she was known as Clare. [In 1974, I located the place where she was born, and then I spent several months "going the rounds" with the Forest Service to get permission to place a marker on government land. Clara's descenplaced a beautiful monument there.] The next day they traveled to the homestead, where they moved into the dugout, which was to be their home for the winter. In the Spring of 1880, Wink built a two-room log cabin. It had a dirt floor and a dirt roof, and it served the family for a year. On February 12, 1880, the Utah Territorial Legislature approved the creation of Emery County out of Sanpete County, At the general election, which was held at the bowery on the Wink Seely farm, Wink was elected as one of three selectmen (now called County Commis). He served three terms. You can read the minutes of the County government and see that Wink was in on all the decisions pertaining to the establishment of a new county--i.e., taxation, road districts, school districts, land surveys, road locations, etc. In 1881 Wink built a one-room frame house with a fireplace in the north end. Within a few years two additional rooms were added to the west side of the house. On October 5, 1881, a son was born to Wink and Anna. They named him Hyrum, after Wink's brother Hyrum. There were then four sons and one daughter. Things were going well for Wink and Anna: they had five healthy children; a good farm; and a new house. On August 13, 1882, Henning Olsen was or-dained as the second Bishop of the Castle Dale Ward. He retained Niels P. Miller, who had been serving as first counselor to Jasper Peterson, and he chose Justus W. "Wink" Seely as secounselor. [Wink served in that position un1892, when he was called on a mission to the Southern States.] From 1882 to 1886 Wink servconcurrently as 2nd Counselor to Bishop Henning Olsen and as an Emery County Selectman. On August 13, 1882, the Emery Stake Relief Society was organized, and on August 21, AnSeely was set apart as secretary. (Her posias secretary will enter into the picture later.) On September 2, 1883, a son was born to Wink and Anna. They named him Joseph, after a brother of Wink's. On November 18, 1885, Wink and Anna were blessed with a baby girl. After five boys and one girl, they were thrilled to have another girl. They named her Anna. By the time 1885 rolled around, Wink had proup on his homestead, and he signed the final paperwork on May 16, 1885. Those documents were sent through the channels, and the actual patent was dated and signed by President Grover Cleveland on October 18, 1886. I just imagine it was a thrilling moment--probably in November 1886--when Wink and Anna received, in the mail, a letter with a return address: President of the United States, Washington, D.C. After their years of dedicated effort, struggle, toil and sacrifice, they held in their hands the title to their homestead, Only if you have dreamed of, yearned for, sweat over, and given blood to obtain a piece of land of your own, can you appreciate how Wink and Anna felt that day. Wink owned a store. This is a chapter that was almost overlooked until I came across two separate witnesses to the fact. Here they are: (1) His daughter, Clara, the child who was born in Cottonwood Canyon, wrote, late in her life, a brief history of the family. Therein, she said that her father operated a store. (2) Marlane Harless submitted a memorial history for her grandfather, Joseph Seely. In it she quoted her Aunt Elva Seely Guymon as saying that following the death of his first wife (1887) "Joseph rented his home and went to Castle Dale, where he worked in his brother's (Justus Wellington II) store for one year." And so, "out of the mouths of two or more witnesses shall every word be established." A son was born December 10, 1887. They named him Orange Molen; he was named Orange after Wink's brother Orange, There were then eight children, and the family was living in a 3-room house on the farm. You will recall that October 25, 1879, was a happy day for Wink and Anna; it was the day that Clarissa Ellis was born in Cottonwood Canyon. But October 25, 1888, was one of their saddest days. Their 9-month-old baby, Orange Molen, died. He was just getting so he could stand alone, and he was almost ready to start taking a few steps, I'm sorry that I don't know the cause of death. There is no question that it brought sorto Wink and Anna's family, as they stood, with heads bowed, around his gravesite at the Castle Dale cemetery and listened as the grave w33as dedicated. Even so, they had the assurance that Orange Molen was then safe and secure in a Celestial Glory. In 1889 Wink built a brick house on his lot (Lot 2, Block 11) in Castle Dale, on the corner of First South and Center. The red bricks for the house were hauled in from Morgan, Utah. Family tradition has it that Wink was President of the Emery Stake Board of Education, and that it was he who made the initial contact and got approval to establish the Emery Stake Academy. I cannot document those claims. Court minutes suggest the following: Sometime prior to March 12, 1889, Wink, acin behalf of the Emery Stake Board of Education, made a trip to Provo and met with Karl G. Maeser, who must have been a member of the General Church Board of Education. He was also president of Brigham Young Academy (now BYU). Wink's objective was to get permisfor the Emery Stake to establish a Church school to be known as Emery Stake Academy. Permission was granted, and on March 23, the Emery Stake Board of Education met in the court room in Castle Dale; at that meeting a letter from Wilford Woodruff, chairman of the Church Board of Education, was read. [EIder Wood ruff was then President of the Quorum of the Twelve, and he became President of the Church the next month, April 6, 1889.] The letter gave official apfor the Emery Stake to organize the Academy. On June 10, 1889, the committee met at CasDale. The top item of business was where to locate the Academy. As soon as Chairman William Howard openthe meeting for business, Wink spoke right up and made the motion to locate the academy at Castle Dale. M. E. Johnson from Huntington immediately made a motion that the academy be located at Huntington. With that, the commitwas off and running--in opposite directions--forevermore. There was no unity in the Stake Board of Education from that time until it was discontinued and the Academy was clos(in 1922). Wink presented his reasoning for the motion that they locate the academy in Castle Dale. His reasons are not given in the minutes. I wish they were. I wish I could have been there to hear him present his case. Following his remarks, M. E. Johnson and William Howard defended their bid for Hun. A debate followed, with each member voicing his opinions. I suspect those Brethren were a little tight-jawed. Finally, a motion was made to adjourn. They did. When they reassembled, the discussion con. After a lengthy debate, a vote was taken and J.W. Seely's motion was adopted. The academy would be located in Castle Dale. J.W. Seely and S. H. Cox were appointed as a building committee. The next meeting was held 11 days later, on June 21, 1889. During those 11 days, the Hunmembers had been busy. At the June 21 meeting, M. E. Johnson presented a petition from the Huntington people requesting that the Board sanction or approve of them establishing a church seminary at Huntington. In addition to the petition, they had made a trip to Provo and had secured a letter from Karl G. Maeser, which supported them in their bid to establish a seminary at Huntington. After much debate, which revealed that the Board members generally did not want a seminary established at Huntington (because it would weaken the success of the academy), it was finally voted to let them go ahead. [Remember this. It re-enters the scene a little later on.] August 11, 1889, Wink and Anna were blesswith a baby girl, and they named her Stella Elizabeth. She was their 9th child--six boys and 3 girls. She helped to fill the aching heart of Wink and Anna caused by the death of Orange Molen. Coincidentally, on August 11, 1889, Wink was set apart as first counselor to Victor P. Crane in the Stake Sunday School. On Saturday and Sunday, November 22 and 23, 1890, President George Q. Cannon, accomby Andrew Jensen of the Church Historian's Department, visited the Quarterly Conference of the Emery Stake. EIder Cannon spoke on the Manifesto, which had recently been signed by Wilford Woodruff, President of the Church--and instructed the people to abide by its precepts. No more polygamy. He also urged the people to patronize the Church schools. His message was, no doubt, music to Wink's ears. (The next paragraph answers the question:For whom was the town of Wellington, Utah, named?) EIder Andrew Jensen was visiting the Wards in the Stake in the interest of Church history. On Tuesday, November 25, 1890, EIder Jensen published a long article in the Deseret News. His article gave a brief description of each ward in the Emery Stake--which, at that time, included the wards in what is now Carbon Coun. In the second to last paragraph, the followstatement concerning the Wellington Ward, is found: "Wellington, named for Justus WellSeeley, Jr., one of the early settlers and leading men of Emery County..." [Sarah SeeTidwell, daughter of Justus Wellington Seely Sr., sister to Justus Wellington Seely Jr., and wife of Jefferson Tidwell, had the rare opportuniof selecting the name for the town. Jefferson, the founder, declined to have the town named after him, so Sarah suggested it be named after her brother, Wellington (Wink) Seely. At that time, the town was still new; Sarah was still livin the town, and was very likely one of the citizens that Andrew Jensen interviewed concerthe Wellington Ward. It is very likely that she herself told EIder Jensen how the town got its name.] On September 12, 1891, a son was born to Wink and Anna-- their tenth child. They namhim Karl Antone. He was named after Karl G. Maeser and Anthon H. Lurid. On May 12, 1892, Wink was set apart as a full time missionary, and he served in the Southern States Mission-- principally in Kentucky. With the mission call, he was released as Counselor in the Bishopric and as a member of the Emery Stake Board of Education. Let's take a look at Wink's situation at the time of the mission call. He was 42 years old; Anna was 39. They had nine living children (Orange Molen had died as a small child 9 months old). The children were as follows: Jess, 19; Will, 16; James, 14; Clara, 12; Hyrum, 10; Joseph, 8;Anna, 6; Stella, 2; Karl, 8 months. Jess, Will and James were old enough, so that with some direction from Anna they could run the farm for a year. Clara at age 12 was a tremendous help in the house. I'll bet she could bake bread like a veteran. Hyrum and Joseph, ages 10 and 8, could do all the chores at home, and Anna was babysitter to Stella. Karl was conto nurse and sleep. As if Anna didn't have enough to do (She was still secretary in the Stake Relief Society.), she accepted the call to be first counselor in the Ward Young Ladies Mutual Improvement Association; she was set apart on November 29, 1892. I suspect that Clara, at age 13, was then a new member of the YLMIA. While on his mission, Wink converted William Cash and his wife Molly, who later came to CasDale to live. (They also figure into the story later.) Wink returned home in March of 1893, and he was right back into the thick of life, with a new business venture, the Eagle Flour Mill. I am not able to piece together the exact details of the Flour Mill. The following is quoted from the CasValley book: "... the Eagle Flour Mill, a burr mill, thirty barcapacity, first of its kind in Castle Dale [the only flour mill ever built in Castle Dale], erected, owned and operated by Orange Seely and his brother Justus Wellington Seely. The mill was completed prior to 1893, as it was assessed for taxation that year, according to the... tax rolls. "William Reynolds designed the mill...[I think that might be Anna Eliza's father, whose name was William Fletcher Reynolds. He was a builder.] Rolls were installed in the fall of 1899 by Justus Wellington Seely. That mill became the first roller mill in Emery County. "Orange Seely's home was next to the mill [actually, it was half a block north and across the street], and Mrs. Seely [Hanna] fed and housed men from all over the county while they were waiting for their grists... "Some years later [1899], Orange Seely sold his interest to Wellington." As the mill was built prior to 1893, and Wink returned in March 1893, I question if Wink was in partnership with Orange in the original conof the mill. Construction had begun on the new Academy building. Heretofore, the Academy did not have a building that it could call home. Classes were held wherever they could rent a room. In 1890-91, Academy classes were held in the upstairs rooms of a large two-story frame house on the corner of 1st West and Main. On December 16, 1893, Anna was installed as President of the Ward Primary Association. She may have been released as first counselor in the YLMIA, but she continued on as secretary in the Stake Relief Society. Wink and Anna became the proud parents of their 11th child, a girl, bern March 14, 1894. They named her Elnora. That gave them 7 boys (6 liv) and 4 girls. On November 18, 1895, all the wind was knocked out of Wink's whole soul. His beloved Anna was in a serious buggy accident. I've heard several slightly different stories as to how the achappened. I'll give two of them here. (1) Anna was still serving as secretary to the Emery Stake Relief Society, and she was either going to or coming from Orangeville on a Relief Society assignment. Anna was riding in a buggy with Bill and MolCash. Bill was driving. As they crossed the old bridge across the Cottonwood creek, the horse (or team) spooked and ran away. In the process of the runaway, the buggy hit a ditch and tipped over. Anna received internal injuries, but comvery little. (2) "November 19, 1895, Annie Elizabeth Seewas going to Orangeville in a buckboard, when they crossed the wash east of Robert Logan's home, the horses ran down the hill, throwing her out and breaking her neck." Anna was conveyed to her home in Castle Dale. She called her family members around her and gave them some instructions. She asked her teenage sons to promise that they would not race horses on Sunday or play cards and gamble. She counseled all the children to remember their prayers and to not quarrel with each other. In the quiet hours of the night, Wink knelt by her bedside and poured out his soul to his Father in Heaven. With tears running down his cheeks, he pleaded that his Anna would be spared; he could not bear to let her go. He needed her, and their children needed her--and the baby she was carrying needed to be born. [My father, Karl, told my mother, who told me--that Anna was carrying their 12th child.] Wink's prayers and pleadings were to no avail. In the early morning hours, on November 19, 1895, she passed away. Wink wept unashamed-ly until there were no more tears to come. Anna was buried in the Castle Dale Cemetery, next to her baby son, Orange Molen. She was only 42 years old. Anna Eliza Reynolds Seely was one of the noand great Mormon pioneers. In my opinion, she was the greatest. Others may have been as great, but none greater. I look forward--with some timidity--to the time when I can stand in her presence and bow, and give her my honor. The winter of 1895-96 was the hardest time in Wink's life. But with the newness of Spring came a renewed vigor, and the Spring sunshine warmed his soul. During the summer Wink made a trip to Mt. Pleasant and visited with his mother, Clarissa Jane; with his sister, Miranda Peel; and with his brothers, particularly Joseph, who had lost his first wife in childbirth. They all gave him their love and buoyed him up. They, especially Joseph, encouraged him to get married again. He was still young, and he had a house full of young children; getting maragain seemed to be the only logical thing to do. And they had a lovely young lady picked out. Wink was introduced to Mary Jorgensen. Theycourted for a short time. On one occasion, they had returned to Mary's home, and as they were in conversation, Wink took hold of Mary's hand. A short time later, Mary asked, "Who was that lady who placed our hands together?" Wink said, "1 didn't see anyone. Describe the person you saw." Mary gave a description, and Wink said, "You have described my wife, Anna." Mary felt that this incident confirmed that she should accept Wink's proposal of marriage. On September 16, 1896, they were married in the Manti Temple. Mary became an instant mother to eight children. (Jess was married, so there were only eight children at home.) Nora, age 20 months; Karl, 5; Stella, 7; Anna, 11; Joseph, 13; Hyrum, 15; Clara, 17; James, 19; and Will, 21. Can you imagine what kind of challenge this presented for Mary? I suspect we cannot even begin to know what adjustment Mary had to go through. She was a new bride at age 32; she had been independent with her own promising career as a milliner (hat maker), making all her own deci; she married a man 45 years old, set in his ways, with 23 years of marriage experience-not to mention an immediate family of eight children to feed, clothe, tend, nurture, try to love, try to guide and discipline. Such a challenging and formidable job is incomprehento those who have not been through that "fire." I admire Mary for raising those children, besides having four children of her own. On October 4, 1897, Wink and Mary became the parents of their first child--that is, Mary's first and Wink's 12th. It was a girl, and they named her Jennie. Her birth was a source of pure joy to Wink and particularly to Mary, since she was now a "mother in Israel"--a co-partner with God. A few months later, the props were knocked out from under Wink again. On February 7, 1898, his son, James Washington Seely, died in Mt. Pleasant, of diphtheria. There is no written information about James; there are no details concerning his death. I'll give you what facts I have-- and try to reconstruct his history. He died on the above date, in Mt. Pleasant, and is buried in the Mt. Pleasant Cemetery. He was 20 years old. [He was born Nov. 4, 1877, in Mt. Pleasant, and he died February 7, 1898, so he was 20 years, 3 months, and 3 days old.] In 1879, when Wink moved the family to CasValley, James was a month short of 2 years old. At '2years of age, that trip was a lark for James. He lived in a dugout, and a log cabin. Then, in 1881, when the frame house was built, he of course helped move their trappings into it. He and Will and Jess slept three in a bed for most of his growing up years. In the spring, sumand fall, they slept in a tent that was pitchjust outside the door. They always made James sleep in the middle. James didn't like the middle--he was always getting squashed--but there was nothing he could do about it. When you were the littlest, you slept in the middle; that's just the way it was. In the winter they slept in the house on the floor. So, then, the middle was better--it was easier to keep warm. He loved it on those bitter cold mornings when his Pa got up and built a fire in the fireplace--and the house got warm--and he could get his head out from under the covers and lie there and watch the fire. Well, the years passed, and James grew up, herdin' cows along the creek bottom, herdin' sheep up in the foothills, swimmin' in the o1' swimmin' hole on hot summer days, ice skatin' in the winter. I don't know for sure, but it wouldn't surprise me a bit if Wink bought one pair of old clamp skates for the boys to share. I'll have to tell you a personal experience as background to an experience that involved James. In 1961 I went up to BYU to find a wife. (Getting a degree was just camouflage.) I was living just around the corner from two Seeley girls from out to Bluebell in the Uintah Basin. We were in the same Ward, so naturally we got ac. They were Janet and Jeannie Seeley. On one occasion, I took them home over the weekend, and so I got to meet their parents, Wallace and Garda Seeley, and their grand, Marion and Laura Seeley. I slept at Marion's house, and since he grew up in CasDale, we had some good "talk" about the old days. Marion told me about a time when he was a boy--playing with his cousins over on the creek bottom. "Over at Uncle Wink's farm," he said. That is the farm that I now own, so I perked up my ears. I was not into family history at that time, but the story was interesting. Marion told me that he and two other Seely boys were rabbit hunting down on the creek bot. One of the boys, who had the .22 rifle, fired a shot and somehow the bullet ricocheted and Marion was hit (in the left side of his head). He pointed to where the bullet was still lodged there. The years passed, and we were in the process of doing this Seely book, Marion's memorial history was sent in, and Kathryn and I read it, as we have read every history sent in. This shooting incident was told therein. "When he [Marion] was about 9 years old [1890], he went hunting with two cousins, Jim and Will Seely .... Will accidentally shot Marion in the left side of his head with a 22 gun." James was 13 years old. The record doesn't give any other details, so I'm going to fictionalize the rest of the story as follows: With a hit like that I suspect that it knocked Marion to the ground, and when he gave out a groan and fell down, James and Will ran to him, thinking he was dead for sure. They were just sick to think they had killed Marion. He lay there in the sagebrush unconscious. Will said, "James, you stay with Marion, and I'll go for help." James knelt down beside Marion, lifted his head up into his lap, and as the tears streamed down his face and dropped onto Marion's face, he prayed as he had never prayed before. "Oh, dear God, please make Marion well. Please don't let him die. Oh, please, please don't let him die." It is my feeling, and only that, that James was very gentlenatured, was more suited to pursubook learning than to riding a saddlehorse all day; if given a choice, he would rather stay and help his mother, Anna, and his sister, Clara, make homemade soap and weave a rag carpet than go with Jess and Will to haul manure and dig ditch. After James had completed all the lower grades of school in Castle Dale, he attended the Academy and completed all the courses it offered. It is my understanding (without proof) that he went to Mt. Pleasant and enrolled at Wasatch Academy for further education. His grand, Clarissa Jane, was still living in Mt. Pleaat that time, and so it seems logical that he lived with her. At any rate, it was while living at Mt. Pleasant and pursuing more schooling that he came down with diphtheria and passed away [February 7, 1898]. The family group photo on this page is the only picture I could find of James Washington. If you know of others, please let me get a copy. By 1899 it appears that Wink was on the Academy building committee, but not on the Emery Stake Board of Education as such, and he was doing all that he could to push the comof the new Academy Building. On May 1, 1899, there was a meeting of the Stake Board of Education and the Huntington Seminary Board. Apparently, Wink was invited to attend this meeting and to speak. The Seminary Board wanted to raise the Seminary to a higher grade--which, as I undersfrom context, would have been added comto the Academy. There was considerable debate, in which both Orange and J.W. Seely took part. Finally at noon they adjourned and then reconvened at 1:30. From the minutes of this meeting, we read: "Bro. J.W. Seely gave a talk on the cause of delay in the building. Gave a brief history of the Academy." I suspect that he spoke without a written speech or even notes, but oh how I wish I had a copy of those remarks! Finally, by the end of 1899, the building was completed and furnished to a point so that they held school in it that school year (1899-1900). However, it was not paid for--and not yet dedicated. November 1, 1899, his thirteenth child, daughter Dora, was born. She is the one I have called Dora Otterstrom. On March 29. 1900, the Board met at the new academy building. At that meeting, "Brother J.W. Seely was sustained as a member of the Board of Education to fill the vacancy caused by Brother Peter R. Peterson resigning." The minutes read, "Bro. J.W. Seely moved that we make application to the General Board of Educato have the Emery Stake Academy admitas a branch school of the Brigham Young Academy . . ." The minutes don't indicate whether or not any action was taken on that matter. On December 21, 1900, Wink was appointed "on a committee of three... to draft a resolu. . . to the effect of controlling dances in Emery Stake." Quadrilles were approved, but round dancing and couple dances were black. I don't suppose a copy of that resolution ex, but it would be fun and humorous for us in this day to read--especially as we are aware of the vulgar, sensuous style of present-day danat our school and even church dances. If my grandfather could attend one of our present-day Church dances, he would think he was in some sleazy burlesque joint in Chicago's red light district. On July 14, 1901, William John Seely, son of Wink, was called to be secretary to the Stake Board of Education. He had married Lucy Maud Barton the previous June 19, 1901. A side note: In the minutes Will would write names most often by just the persons' initials and surname, but on occasion, he would write his father's name "J. Wellington Seely." On September 14, 1901, another happy event occurred in the Seely household. Another baby daughter blessed the family with her sweet spirit. They named her Etta. Wink and Will were in attendance at a meeting of the Board held on April 4, 1902, in the "White House" in SLC. I assume they also attended April General Conference. By the end of 1902 the Academy building was completed and paid for, much to the joy and relief of Wink and his family, as well as all others concerned. Plans were underway for the dedicatory services. On January 11, 1903, all of Wink's family, along with folks from throughout the Stake assembled at the Academy building. That was possibly the largest assembly of folks of the Emery Stake that had ever come together. There were wagons and buggies and horses and a few oxen parked and tied up in every available space around the public square. Apostle M. F. Cowley was the presiding General Authority, and the dedicatory prayer was given by Joseph M. Tanner, Superintendent of Church Schools. Silas A. Harris was Principal at that time. I wish that space would allow for a full account of the dedicatory services. It was one of the most joyful days of Wink's life. Indeed, it was a time of rejoicing. Things were looking good for the Academy. At the July 1903 Board Meeting the Seminary Board from Huntington was present and revealthat there was talk of closing the Seminary. Again at the September meeting the members of that Board were present, and, after each one had spoken and it was the general consensus that the people of Huntington desired to discontinue the Seminary, J .W. Seely moved that the Seminary be closed and the Seminary Board be honorably released. The motion carriedunanimously. The minutes do not list all who were present at this singular meeting, but none of those who are named as speaking to the subject, except Wink, were in attendance at the Board Meeting held back in 1889 when Wink made the motion to locate the Academy at Castle Dale, and the Huntington representatives made a motion to locate it at Huntington. You will recall that on that occasion a vote was taken and Wink's motion was accepted. Whereupon, the Huntington peopulled out and started a Seminary and thereafter did not support the Academy. Their action not only weakened the success of the Academy, but it split the county--there was open hostility on occasion. So Wink "now" had the unusual distinction of making the motion that closed the Seminary. On November 21, 1903, a very choice and special spirit came to Wink and Mary. This time it was a boy, and they named him Frank. He was to be their last baby, the caboose. Oh, what a blessing he was to them, and what rich blesshe brought to them through all the reof their lives. Before we close out 1903, I need to fill you in on some of Wink's other activities--just so you'll know he put his time into other things besides the Academy. You will recall that in 1899 he bought out his brother Orange's interest in the Eagle Flour Mill. In 1899 he installed rolls and changed the mill from a burr mill to a roller mill. In 1903 he was busy installing a power plant, which was powered by the water wheel that powered the mill. In order to borrow the money necessary to inthe power plant, he mortgaged the homestead for $3500. That was the first time since he had filed on the land (in 1877), a period of 26 years, that Wink had mortgaged his land. As the Power Plant was being installed, Will was wiring his house and Wink's house, in preparation for the big day. They were probably trying to get ready to have electricity by Christmas, but they didn't quite make it, for it was on January 4, 1904, that the lights were turned on--and it was the first elecproduced on this side of the Wasatch Mountains. Just as a point of reference, they had electriciin Mt. Pleasant in 1894, and John H. Seely, younger brother to Wink, was a stockholder in the Company. The light plant was housed in the Mt. Pleasant Mill Company building. I think it is safe to say that Wink and son Will spent some time with John H. studying the way the light plant was installed and how houses were wired. I'm sure their venture was not just a hair-brained idea and a shot in the dark. They studied it out and did their "homework." On November 22, 1904, Wink sold the lot where the swimming pool and Castle Dale City Hall now stand to the Castle Dale Relief Socieorganization. The Emery County school district owned a lot one block east, and upon that lot stood a one-room frame school house (see photo this page). On January 25, 1908, the Relief Society and the School District traded properties. Shortly thereafter, the District commenced to build the school building that stands there today. On May 29, 1908, J.W. Seely was appointed to act as Secretary of the Emery Stake Board of Education, in addition to being a Board member. Although many of us would like to immortalize our pioneer forefathers because we hear only of their heroic deeds, they were yet imperfect. Wink, besides accepting and working to improve his own imperfections, was in a position to witness and try to help with other problems and failings. He had seen the lack of unity in the county, over the Academy and other issues. One evening in 1909 James Peterson came to Wink's home to get some counsel, support, and comfort for a sorrowful, heartbreaking situathat he had been forced into. Although it was then 19 years since President Wilford Woodruff had issued the Manifesto (September 24, 1890), which disallowed any furparticipation in polygamy, a few of the leading Church brethren in the Emery Stake began or continued to practice polygamy. One of them wanted to marry one of James Peter's daughters, as a plural wife, and the daughter was in favor. She wanted to marry him. Brother Peterson was beside himself. He came to Wink seeking help. The two of them sat in the living room and Brother Peterson poured out his heart and wept bitter tears. What could he do to convince his daughter not to do this thing? I, of course, don't know any of the details, but the daughter did go through with the marriage. According to Aunt Dora, the leader of the movement was also the Chairman of the School Board, and he tried to pressure Wink into taka plural wife. Wink refused. Their friendship changed to ill feelings, and, that man, being chairman, managed to get her father (Wink) "kicked off" the Academy School Board, and his own son put on. That episode was unfolding simultaneously with the completion of the new Emery Stake Academy building that was built on the hill overlooking Castle Dale. Consequently, it was a short time prior to the dedicatory serthat Wink was "kicked off" the board--and he was not invited to the services. In due time, the higher Church authorities took the necessary action, and the men were excom. The ex-chairman moved to Salt Lake City, and years later he sent a message to Wink, through a mutual acquaintance, saying that he was sorry for what he had done. The Academy functioned until 1922, when the Church decided to close all but a few of its academies (B.Y. Academy in Provo being one). The Academy building was sold to the Emery County School District. It served as Central High School until 1943, when the building was condemned--mainly because it was a three-story structure with no fire escape. In 1947 the Academy building was destroyed by fire. On June 25, 1910, Wink turned 60 years old. A large party was held in his honor. Notice the photo on this page, which was taken on that oc. The following news item appeared in the Emery County Progress: The dance which was a part of the J .W. Seeparty last Friday was given at the Peterson Hall. There was a big crowd of young and old, especially the older people; and that a dance is appreciated by people of advancing years was well in evidence. A good many quadrilles were danced and some step dancing and cake walkdone. The cake walk was led by Wm. H. Seeof Mt. Pleasant and Mrs. Thomas McGehan of 1045 West Garfield Boulevard, Chicago; and they certainly are as young as they used to be when it comes to a frolic like that. Mrs. McGehan would surely be a cake winner if she would follow up the lead of "Uncle Bill." The dance was kept up until it seemed that everybody had danced enough, but it seems they had not, as some of the boys got up another one for Saturday night and it was well attended and a good time had. Mr. Seely now has the pleasant memory of the fact that his party was a success in every parwhich is something worthwhile. --EMERY COUNTY PROGRESS, July 9, 1910 I don't know when Wink and his partners first organized and built the Twin City Creamery, but it became a going business. However, in 1911 they got into financial trouble, and the Mt. PleaCommercial and Savings Bank foreclosed on a loan to the Twin City Owners, viz., Carl E. Larsen, Richard C. Miller, J.W. Seely Sr., AnAnderson, Sylvester H. Cox, Wm. J. Seeand Alma G. Jewkes Sr. The amount of the loan, including legal fees, was $3642.31. The property was sold at a Sheriff's sale. The above-named men redeemthe property for the highest bid of $3696.12. Sometime after that the Twin City Creamery went out of business, and the property was sold. Knowing about the creamery helps me to understand why there were the remains of an old milking parlor on the farm, near the old farm house. It had a cement foundation, a floor drain, and milking stanchions. As a boy I thought it peculiar that there would be a first-rate milking parlor just to accommodate the family milk cows. Now I see more pieces of the puzzle. Wink loved to ride horses, work with them, and train them. In his later years, he rode a horse named Nanget. He acquired that pony in the Uintah Basin. This is how it happened: On one occasion, sometime between 1915 and 1920, Karl, realizing that it had been many years since his sister, Clara, and her family had moved to the Uintah Basin--and his father had not been out to the Basin to visit them--took his father in Karl's Studebaker car. They went by way of Provo Canyon, through the Strawberry country, and to Roosevelt. While he was there visiting, Wink saw an Inpony that was for sale. It was a fine lookanimal, well-muscled but not big--not long-legged. Though it was on the short side and small, as the average saddle horse goes, it had good conformation and was well-proportioned. It had a good head and a "gentle eye." Wink was getting along in years, and it was a little harder for him to step into the saddle, so a shorter horse would be a little better. In the old days, when Wink had to cover lots of miles in a day, he had to have a tall, rangy horse with a fast gait. But now a shorter horse would serve him well--even though it was shorter, it was no slouch as a walker, and it had a smooth trot. It was almost as good as a draft horse for having a smooth, easy jog trot. So he bought the horse. Its name was Nanget (an Indian name). Naturally, they could not haul Nanget home in the Studebaker; so Wink rode the horse home. One might wonder why Karl didn't ride the horse home, as he was very young (24 to 29 years old). But Wink never owned a car or learned to drive. So he had no choice but to ride the horse. He rode that pony all the way from Roosevelt to CasDale. At that time Wink was almost 70 years old. He probably started at daylight the first day, traveling by way of Myron and Nine Mile Canyon, and made it to Wellington that night to stay with his sister Sarah Tidwell, or with Tidwell relatives. The next day he would have ridden from Well, through Elmo, Cleveland, and Lawrence, to Castle Dale. Wink would ride Nanget to the farm and back almost every day. Uncle Frank was running the farm, so Grandfather didn't actually have to go there. But he needed it for his own therapy. My mother, Cora Seely, said that he would often stop and visit with her and Karl on his way to or from the farm, though most of the time Karl was out to the herd. She looked forward to his visits. He was easy to talk to, and he loved to sit and hold her babies, his grandchildren. At that time, Jane and Guy were the "babies." During the same time period when he purNanget, Wink was elected president of the Castle Dale Town Board, and he took office on January 7, 1918. He served in that capacity through World War I and up until November 23, 1920. In 1924, at the age of 74, Wink was a county delegate to the State Republican Convention, where he was chosen as a State delegate to the National Republican Convention, which was held in Chicago. Traveling with the Utah delegation in first-class Pullman cars to the National Conwas a long ways from driving several yoke of oxen and a covered wagon into Castle Valley. The year 1927 was Castle Valley's Jubilee Year--50 years since 1877, when Wink and his compatriots had answered Brigham Young's last call and had come to settle their new valley. Fifyears since Wink had first walked over the land that I am now looking at--out my kitchen window--and had said "This is the place," or words to that effect. In honor of the jubilee year, Charles R. Cur, a local native and rugged pioneer himself, wrote a poem entitled "Fifty Years Ago." One verse pertains to Wink and reveals his skill with a lariat. It goes like this: I remember Wink one day, he was going down below, With a little bunch of horses, 'bout twenty head you know, "Hello," I cried, "You've got my horse, that sorrel out on that side, You bet you he's a snuffy cuss, but then he's broke to ride. That brand of ours is on his thigh, it may be rather dim, I put it on before he left, I'm sure that that is him." He laughed and said, "We'll soon find out." His rope was in his hand, "We'll catch this snotty rascal, then we can find the brand." His rope went out like lightning and landed 'round his neck, He rear'd and pulled and bucked and bawled, 'twas fun for me you bet, But when that rope went 'round the horn and he took in the slack, That pony found where he was at, for he landed on his back. I saw Wink look at me and laugh, "He's alright now," he said, But I wasn't quite so sure of that, I thought my horse was dead. "Come put your rope around his neck, he's nice and gentle now, Say where did you get that pony, I'll bet he can head a cow." "Oh I got him of an Indian, I traded him a gun," That Indian said "Heap Wyo horse, pretty good to run." Oh I never will forget those days, for men like them you know, They helped us out in many a way, that fifty years ago. Wink was also skilled in leather work and braiding. He had many halters, bridles, hackamores, and lariats that he had braided from leather and horsehair. We are nearing the end of Wink's mission. Wink turned 79 on June 25, 1929. In the month of October the stockmarket crashed, and the nawas plunged into the Great Depression. But I won't get into that. In 1930, Wink, then 80, would still saddle up old Nanget, ride through town and up the creek bottom to the homestead. There he would help Frank and Orba with the job at hand. In the Spring of 1931, the last work he did was to help his son, Karl, catch some sheep by las-soing them. Shortly after that he suffered a mild stroke. It and several additional strokes put him "down for the count." For seven months he was bedfast. You might say that after 80 years of hard work, he rested up for 7 months in preparafor his next mission. On October 12, 1931, at the age of 81, at his home in Castle Dale, with his dear, sweet Mary at his bedside, and his beloved Anna waiting to greet him on the other side, he completed his earthly mission. He lived his life in the harness, always keepthe tugs tight. And now, as I watch the sun go down behind the Horn mountain, and the shadow of the old farmhouse lengthens and disappears into the dusk, I look forward to the day when Wink and I can fix the fences together. by Montell Seely	Seelye Justus Wellington
12	SEELY, JUSTUS WELLINGTON (son of Justus Azel Seely and Mehitable Bennett). Born Jan. 30, 1815, Pickering, Canada. Came to Utah September, 1847, John Taylor company. Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah, p.1152 Married Clarissa Jane Wilcox March 10, 1842, Charleston, Iowa (daughter of Hazard Wilcox, Jr. and Sarah Seely of Charleston, Iowa, pioneers Sept. 29, 1847, John Taylor company). She was born Oct. 1, 1821; came to Utah with husband in 1847. Their children: Orange b. Feb. 20, 1843, m. Hannah Olsen; Sarah b. April 10, 1844, m. W. J. Tidwell; Don Carlos b. Jan. 4, 1846, m. Hannah E. Reynolds; Hyrum b. March 29, 1848, m. Mary E. Goldsbrough; Justus Wellington b. June 25, 1850, m. Annie E. Reynolds; William Hazard b. Oct. 25, 1852, m. Charlotte Reynolds; John Henry b. April 29, 1855, m. Margaret Peel Jan. 15, 1880; Mary Miranda b. June 25, 1857, m. Christian F. Peel; Joseph b. March 30, 1862, m. Sarah H. Allen; Stuart Randolph b. Feb. 16, 1865, m. Millie Nielsen. Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah, p.1152 Married Sarah Jane McKinney Nov. 17, 1873, Salt Lake City (daughter of William McKinney and Sarah Wilcox), who was born Dec. 23, 1837, in Lewis county, Mo. Only child: Eva Rebecca b. Dec. 6, 1874, m. Jens Christian Christensen. Family home Mt. Pleasant, Utah. Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah, p.1152 Settled at Mt. Pleasant 1859. Justice of peace at Mt. Pleasant 20 years; member city council 1877-81 and 1883. Member ward bishopric 20 years. Farmer. Died April 28, 1894, at Mt. Pleasant. SEELY, JUSTUS WELLINGTON (son of Justus Azel Seely and Mehitable Bennett). Born Jan. 30, 1815, Pickering, Canada. Came to Utah September, 1847, John Taylor company. Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah, p.1152 Married Clarissa Jane Wilcox March 10, 1842, Charleston, Iowa (daughter of Hazard Wilcox, Jr. and Sarah Seely of Charleston, Iowa, pioneers Sept. 29, 1847, John Taylor company). She was born Oct. 1, 1821; came to Utah with husband in 1847. Their children: Orange b. Feb. 20, 1843, m. Hannah Olsen; Sarah b. April 10, 1844, m. W. J. Tidwell; Don Carlos b. Jan. 4, 1846, m. Hannah E. Reynolds; Hyrum b. March 29, 1848, m. Mary E. Goldsbrough; Justus Wellington b. June 25, 1850, m. Annie E. Reynolds; William Hazard b. Oct. 25, 1852, m. Charlotte Reynolds; John Henry b. April 29, 1855, m. Margaret Peel Jan. 15, 1880; Mary Miranda b. June 25, 1857, m. Christian F. Peel; Joseph b. March 30, 1862, m. Sarah H. Allen; Stuart Randolph b. Feb. 16, 1865, m. Millie Nielsen. SEELY, JUSTUS WELLINGTON (son of Justus Azel Seely and Mehitable Bennett). Born Jan. 30, 1815, Pickering, Canada. Came to Utah September, 1847, John Taylor company. Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah, p.1152 Married Clarissa Jane Wilcox March 10, 1842, Charleston, Iowa (daughter of Hazard Wilcox, Jr. and Sarah Seely of Charleston, Iowa, pioneers Sept. 29, 1847, John Taylor company). She was born Oct. 1, 1821; came to Utah with husband in 1847. Their children: Orange b. Feb. 20, 1843, m. Hannah Olsen; Sarah b. April 10, 1844, m. W. J. Tidwell; Don Carlos b. Jan. 4, 1846, m. Hannah E. Reynolds; Hyrum b. March 29, 1848, m. Mary E. Goldsbrough; Justus Wellington b. June 25, 1850, m. Annie E. Reynolds; William Hazard b. Oct. 25, 1852, m. Charlotte Reynolds; John Henry b. April 29, 1855, m. Margaret Peel Jan. 15, 1880; Mary Miranda b. June 25, 1857, m. Christian F. Peel; Joseph b. March 30, 1862, m. Sarah H. Allen; Stuart Randolph b. Feb. 16, 1865, m. Millie Nielsen. Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah, p.1152 Married Sarah Jane McKinney Nov. 17, 1873, Salt Lake City (daughter of William McKinney and Sarah Wilcox), who was born Dec. 23, 1837, in Lewis county, Mo. Only child: Eva Rebecca b. Dec. 6, 1874, m. Jens Christian Christensen. Family home Mt. Pleasant, Utah. Married Sarah Jane McKinney Nov. 17, 1873, Salt Lake City (daughter of William McKinney and Sarah Wilcox), who was born Dec. 23, 1837, in Lewis county, Mo. Only child: Eva Rebecca b. Dec. 6, 1874, m. Jens Christian Christensen. Family home Mt. Pleasant, Utah. Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah, p.1152 Settled at Mt. Pleasant 1859. Justice of peace at Mt. Pleasant 20 years; member city council 1877-81 and 1883. Member ward bishopric 20 years. Farmer. Died April 28, 1894, at Mt. Pleasant. Settled at Mt. Pleasant 1859. Justice of peace at Mt. Pleasant 20 years; member city council 1877-81 and 1883. Member ward bishopric 20 years. Farmer. Died April 28, 1894, at Mt. Pleasant.	Seelye Justus Wellington
13	William Hazard Seely, son of Justus Wellington Seely and Clarissa Jane Wilcox, was born October 25, 1852, in San Bernardino, California. When he was seven years old, his parents moved to Mt. Pleasant, Utah, where he spent his boyhood working on the farm with his father and brothers, learning the art of agriculture and stock raising. Bill, as he was called, did not like going to school, so the school room was an unhappy place for him. He left at a very early age, but later regretted doing this as he did not learn to read or write. At the age of eighteen he went to Salt Lake City, Utah, and was employed for eight years in Frank Armstrong's mill. Bill was an attractive man, jovial of nature, and he had many friends. He met Charlotte L. Reynolds, a popular young lady, and after a congenial courtship, they were married on December 29, 1877, in the Endowment House at Salt Lake City. Soon after their marriage, they located at Indianola, Utah, Sanpete County, and took up large tracts of land under the "Homestead Act of 1889." Within a short time, Bill built a comfortable cabin. Bill and Charlotte became the parents of nine children, eight boys and one girl (Lottie Seely Syndergaard). Three of their sons died in infancy--George Willis, Oswald Ward and Molin H. As their other sons, William Berkley, Richard Bruce, Justus Burt, Benjamin Frank, and Lawrence Adair, grew into manhood, they became his helpers and partners in the profits as well as the work. Bill was a careful businessman with sound judgment, and he was considered one of the largest farmer and stockraisers in the county. When dealing with other cattlemen, he had a unique way of counting the cattle by cutting a notch in a post of board to indicate so many head of cattle. Many times while living in Indianola they had to hide from Indians. He was a Black Hawk War Veteran. Charlotte was a very strict and stern woman. Sometimes when some of the Indians drank and were mean to their women, the women would come and sit on Charlotte's porch because they knew that their husbands were afraid of Charlotte and so she would protect them. In 1898, Bill leased his farm to his eldest son Berkley, and he moved twenty miles south to Birch Creek, where he purchased a big rock house surrounded by seventy acres of land. In 1912 he relinquished it for a more attractive home in Mt. Pleasant. Many large family gatherings were held at their home. One grandson really counted thirty-two pies that Charlotte had made for one such gathering. They were also generous to those who came to their home seeking food and shelter. In 1912, they were called to be Manti Temple ordinance workers, and they served for two years. They said that assignment was most enjoyable. He memorized the ordinances. Bill and Charlotte sent three of their sons on missions for the LDS Church: Richard Bruce, Justus Burt, and Benjamin Frank. Bill owned a beautiful horse that he generally rode in the fourth of July parade. He also owned a one-seated buggy, drawn by a pacer horse, that he was very proud of. Being a lover of the great outdoors, he and Charlotte decided one day to visit the old home in Indianola and be able to enjoy driving the team of horses and have the nostalgic feeling again of farm work. While there, Bill took suddenly ill and was taken to his old home. Medical aid was summoned, but in spite of all that was done, he grew steadily worse. He passed away at dawn on April 18, 1925, at the age of 72. Charlotte's grief was great at his sudden death. She lived to be eighty-one years of age. She was an invalid for seven years. She died February 18, 1938, due to infirmities of old age. They are buried at Mt. Pleasant, Utah. by Lee A. and Verda Seely	Seelye William Hazard
14	My name is Ann Wilcox Armstrong Tays, the great, great granddaughter of Justus Azel Seely, great granddaughter of Elizabeth Seely Young, granddaughter of Mary Young Wilcox, and the daughter of James and Harriet Day Wilcox. I was born September 29, 1902, and my mother died a few hours after my birth! I was raised by my father and relatives until I went to live with my sister, Harriet, who was called "Hattie". I was part of a large family, with one sister, "Hattie", who was the oldest and five brothers; Ephraim, Henry, Edgar, Hazard (Bill), and Quinton plus two half brothers, Truman and Arden and a half sister, Olive. They have all passed on except Arden and myself. I am presently 90 years old. I have had a very interesting life, especially after I went to live with my sister Hattie. She made her living as a cook traveling to many out-of-the-ordinary places, mostly to mining camps throughout Utah and Colorado. One of the most memorable mines was the Cashion Mine in Colorado where the only access was by mule. We lived in tents on wood floors and cooked in a rock cook house and dining room. My sister Hattie, her daughter, Dora, and I cooked for all the miners. Hattie did most of the cooking and pie making, while Dora baked the cakes, and I, being the strongest, baked the bread. I used a #3 wash tub and fifty (50#) pounds of flour to make forty loaves of bread, which lasted only two days: Since the mule train only came up to the mine once a week we had to make everything. When Hattie's husband, Roy, was called back to the railroad we moved once again. We finally ended up in Moab, Utah, where Roy and Hattie bought a six room hotel, which they had only a month before Roy died. Then Hattie, Dora, and I had the responsibility to keep the hotel running, which was very difficult. Sometimes we barely made ends meet, but we made it! I remember we canned everything that didn't get away, and in our spare time we made rugs, quilts, and clothes--and tended the chickens. We always had chickens! I worked in the hotel for six years, until I met and married Frank Armstrong, at age 26 in 1928. We left Moab and the hotel and moved to Price, Utah, where Frank worked at many of the coal mines in the Price area. On May 10, 1929, our son Jack was born. Several years later we moved to LaSalle, Utah, where we farmed. Since farming was so hard for us to make a living, we had to work the farm in the spring and summer and travel back and work the coal mines during the fall and winter. Our daughter, Frances, was born March 6, 1934, in Kenilworth, Utah, and when she was only thirteen days old we moved back to the farm for spring planting. Our life was like this for about three years, moving back and forth between the farm and coal mines--until we sold our farm to my sister Hattie and moved back to the mines for good. In 1939 we moved to Kenilworth, Utah, where we stayed. I enjoyed our life there, where through the years I met and enjoyed many nice and friendly people. I worked in Relief Society for many years, making over 40 quilts and many other crafts. Thanks to my sister, Hattie, I learned how to quilt, make rugs, crochet, and to cook. She was the "mother" I never had. My husband, Frank, died in December, 1965, and I was alone for one and a half years. Then I met and married Havelock E. Tays in August, 1967. So far we have been married twenty-five happy years. (He is presently 91 years old!) I was sealed to my first husband, Frank, in the LDS Temple in Provo, Utah, in 1980. All my life I had an empty feeling that something was missing in my life. Something I should have or shouldn't have done and didn't know what, until I went through the temple. After going through the temple, I lost that feeling, knowing that it was what I had been missing and looking for. I am so thankful that I went through the temple to truly fulfill my life! My present life with "Tays" is a good one; now at 90 years of age, I have just finished crocheting my fourth bedspread and started on my fifth. I am thankful to God that we are both still going and hope to be for a long time to come!	Wilcox Ann
15	Clarissa Jane Wilcox Meiling was born in a dirt-roofed log cabin in Mt. Pleasant, Sanpete County, Utah, March 20, 1863. She was the daughter of John Henry Owen and Mary Young Wilcox, Utah Pioneers of 1847. Her parents were said to be the first white couple married in the Salt Lake Valley. She was the seventh child in a family of eleven children. Clarissa was a beautiful, stunning, attractive lady with black hair and dark eyes. She took pride in her appearance. It was very important to her that she wore a black satin dress to special occasions. She was known for having a very nice singing voice. When she was five years old, she received her first pair of buttoned shoes. She was so proud of them she would not take them off at bed time, consequently, she slept with her shoes on the first night. Children's shoes were usually made out of boot-legs of men's discarded foot-wear. Her grandfather, being a shoemaker, salvaged every bit of usable leather for this purpose. Everything that people needed was extremely scarce. Girls best summer dresses were made out of calico. Her mother spun and wove material for winter clothing. This was called "lindsy". When about ten years of age, Clarissa started working in the fields. During the summer, she pulled weeds, and in the fall, she picked up potatoes and gleaned grain after the harvest. For this service she was paid twenty-five cents a day. She was thirteen years of age when she started binding grain. After cutting was completed, she assisted shocking the bundles. She was fourteen years old when she started to work out as a hired girl. Along with hard work and hardships, there was some pleasure. In the summer, the youth played outside games such as Nip-Cat, Pomp, Pomp Pull Away, Sister Parute, and a ball game that was called Rounders. Sometimes the lady would parch some field corn or make a little molasses candy. Shortly before she passed away, Clarissa said, "I can't stand to eat another bite of it to this day." There used to be honey due that would collect on the grass and bushes. They would gather the vegetation and wash off the sweetness in the water, then boil it down to syrup. As Clarissa grew older, she began to attend the dances. First in the homes, then later, in public places. Sometimes, during intermission, they would go to the store and buy cheese and crackers and eat it with salmon. What a treat that was! School was not very good in those days. The first school she attended, a lady known as "Auntie Hyde" was the instructor. Her husband was one of the men sent to Palestine to remove the curse from the country. In her twenty-first year, Clarissa married Peter C. Meiling, on November 14, 1883. They had nine children born to them, three of whom lived to adulthood, James Owen, Lester Angus and John Carlos. Lester passed away at the age of twenty-nine due to a mine accident. George Abner, the eldest, died of diphtheria at the age of three. Two sets of twins were born to them. As Clarissa was assisting her husband getting the wagon out of the mud, she fell which caused the premature births of the twins, Leo and Cleo, who only lived a few hours. The second set of twins, Mary and Meranda, Died within the first week. One was buried only to have the grave reopened so they could be buried together. Claudus Willard died when he was two years old. Clarissa and Peter had their first home in Mt. Pleasant in which they lived for three years. They bought a seventy-three acre farm in Birch Creek, three miles north of Mt. Pleasant, in 1887. Their first home there was a two-roomed log cabin. Later, they built a six roomed brick home. They lived there until 1903, at which time about fifteen families, Sanpete County residents, moved to Stirling, Alberta, Canada. They lived there three years, then returning to the States, settled in Payson, Utah, until they moved to Provo in 1944. While living at Birch Creek, fifteen or twenty families conducted surprise parties at each others homes. On one occasion, Peter went to see a neighbor, and in the conversation, the neighbor said, "You'd better get your lamps trimmed." That was a notice the surprise party would be held at their place that evening. He and Clarissa prepared for the party, moved the furniture, pushed the chairs back for dancing, and got everything ready. When the crowd arrived, it was they who were surprised. While living in Payson, Clarissa was a Relief Society teacher for many years, helped quilt the Relief Society quilts as long as she could see to thread the needles. She was a Chaplin for the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers of the Utah Pioneer Sego Lily Camp, which she had the honor of naming. A high-light of her life was being Captain of the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers camp in Provo. She was proud of her pioneer ancestry. Clarissa cut a pioneer valentine which included a tiny braid of her black hair with blue ribbon bows placed inside the lace edge. The center contained words of endearment, written in her own hand writing, which she gave to Peter, February 14, 1880. She continued to cut her valentines improving her artistic skill of cutting birds, hands, leaves, etc. for the rest of her life. She received letters of recognition from President George Albert Smith, President David O. McKay, and Governor Herbert B. Maw of Utah. There have been many placed in Museums in Utah and California. One of her joys was to accompany her husband to the four day Black Hawk Indian War Encampment each year to visit friends and relatives. Clarissa was very staunch in her gospel beliefs and her commitments to the church. She was dedicated to having temple work done for relatives. She was a kind lady with a particular love for children. Neighborhood children would come to visit her daily. They were always rewarded with cookies. She spent a year in California with her son, Owen, and his wife, Anna. A year before she passed away, her granddaughter made her a satin dress. She still wanted it to be black, but she was pursuaded to change the color. She was happy with her maroon satan dress and her long string of pearls. Clarissa had five grand children and seven great grandchildren. She died in Fairview, August 12, 1951, at the home of her nephew and niece, Mr. and Mrs. Charley Bills. ---------------------------------------------------------------------	Wilcox Clarissa Jane
16	Elizabeth Wilcox was born 13 July 1851 in Manti, Sanpete Co., Utah, to Mary Young and John Henry Owen Wilcox. She was one of the first white children born in Sanpete County. Her parents were pioneers of that area, arriving with the first settlers. When she was very young, two years old, they were called into the Fort at Manti on account of Indian trouble. The next morning when her Father went out to his farm to do his chores, he found his chickens and pigs killed and piled up on his doorstep. About that time, while they were living in Manti, the Indians brought three Indian children that they had stolen from another tribe. They said they would kill them there in her Mother's house, unless her mother would give them all her father's clothes. So her mother gave the Indians all of her father's clothes, and all he had left were the ones he had on his back, to save those Indian children. The children were raised by people of the town. Such incidents as those caused them to move away from Manti. They went to Ogden in the year 1855. They stayed there about two years, and then they went to Pleasant Grove. She lived there about two years and then moved back to Sanpete and settled in Mount Pleasant. There she lived with her parents until she was married to Philip Hurst, on September 19, 1868, in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City. At that time she was just past seventeen, and she took the responsibility of raising five of her husband's motherless children. The oldest was eleven years and the youngest fifteen months old. The baby's twin brother had died before she went into the family. The children all loved and respected her, and she was a good mother to them. She also had ten children of her own. They were Alice Luella, George Arthur, Horace Otis, Elizabeth (lived 4 days), Ida Susannah, Oscar Parley, Eunice Emma, Hugh, Ruth, and John Franklin. All fourteen children have been through the Temple, and this has been a great comfort to her. During the Black Hawk war, she molded bullets and made crackers for those on guard, until her wrists were nearly crippled. She said often there would be twenty of more sleep in one log house to be protected from the Indians. The women would take a piece of the chinking out from between the logs lying there to watch for Indians that might be skulking around, as all able-bodied men were out of town on duty. She even melted lead on an open fire place and molded bullets until she burned blisters on her hands. On September 14, 1876, her husband went to the Southern States on a mission for the LDS Church. He was released because the water was so high and they could not get around to do missionary work. On August 12, 1888, her husband went on another mission to England, and returned August 13, 1890. On January 1, 1891, he entered Old Mexico. His son Philip and his family were there with him. The rest of the family followed him and arrived in Dublan April 11, 1891. Elizabeth began her early training under the very able supervision of her mother, Mary Wilcox. She labored among those who needed medical help, from the time she was 14 years of age until her sight failed, which prevented her from doing that kind of work. Apostle George Teasdale, who was the presiding Elder in the Mexican Colonies, set her apart to aid the mothers who were bearing children. He promised her that she would never lose a case in confinement if she would be humble and prayerful and go when she was called. That promise, pronounced upon her head by a servant of God, was literally fulfilled, and in addition, she was called in to aid in cases where others had encountered serious difficulties, and even then she was usually successful. While a young girl she helped gather wool from fences and brush where sheep had passed, to help make their clothing. That kind of work she kept up as a pioneer woman. She learned to shear, wash, card, spin, weave, and dye the wool to make their clothing. She was an excellent seamstress, for her day. She could do many, many kinds of fancy work. She worked in the Relief Society from the time she was seventeen. She looked after the burial clothing for the dead for many years, and at one time she was known as the shoemaker for the dead. She was left a widow the day after she was 50 years of age, and she had to finish raising her family without the aid of their worthy and able father. In July of 1911, she had a very serious sick spell, and as soon as she was able to travel, she left her home in Colonia Dublan and went to Colorado to visit her daughter, Luella Nielson. She stayed there with Luella until February, 1912. Arthur went to Dolores, Colorado, and met her. He had a team and a buggy and brought her to Grayson (later Blanding). She arrived there on February 19, 1912. She lived there the rest of her life, with the exception of short visits to her people and to do some Temple work. In July of 1912, the remainder of her family that she left in Old Mexico was driven from their homes to seek refuge in the United States. In the Spring of 1913 her only unmarried child left in Mexico, Frank, came to Grayson. Together they started a new home in a new land. Their happiness in their new home was short, for on August 7, 1917, her son Frank joined the United States Army to fight for justice and liberty. He sailed for Europe August 16, 1918. He never had to do any fighting as the war ended soon after. He arrived home to Blanding January 28, 1919. After Frank was married, Elizabeth lived in part of his house, and he and his family in the other part. Then Frank built her a small white stucco house just north of his home, and she moved into it. On February 21, 1929, she fell and broke her arm. After that her arm bothered her a great deal, and she had sick spells off and on for the rest of her life. She was an avid quilter, and she never let her hands be idle a moment from morning until night. She was active in the Church and in the Daughters of Utah Pioneers. She was a pioneer woman in the true sense of the word. She died 26 July 1942 in Blanding, San Juan Co., Utah.	Wilcox Elizabeth
17	John Carlos Wilcox was born to John Henry Owen Wilcox and Mary Young Wilcox at Pleasant Grove, Utah, on March 13, 1858. When he was two years old his parents moved to Mount Pleasant, Utah, where John grew up with ten other brothers and sisters. These eleven children all grew to maturity and lived to be elderly, which was quite a feat in those days when the death rate was so high among children and adults as well. He worked on the farm and attended school, learning the three R's. He was married to Violet Westwood December 30, 1877, at Mt. Pleasant. There two children were born to them, John Carlos Jr. and Raymond, who lived only two days. In 1881 they moved to Castle Dale, where Eva, Grace and Henry were born. Eva died later at age sixteen; and Grace died at age thirteen. Sometime between 1884 and 1887, they moved to Moab, where the rest of their children were born. They were among the early settlers of Moab. Their other children were Mary Catherine, who lived about 1 year; Mabel; Ephrium, who was born and died the same day; Bertha; Hazel; Olive; Justus, who lived 18 months; Theron (Jack); and Hilda. Eight of fourteen children lived to maturity. John homesteaded 160 acres in Moab south of Pack Creek, and he built a log house on it. Later he built a large adobe farmhouse on the north side of the Creek, which is one of the nicer homes in the town. He grew fruit on the south side of the Creek--large orchards. Violet and the girls dried large amounts of fruit to sell. On the north side, he grew alfalfa, corn, truck garden produce (tomatoes and melons) mainly for sale also. They also had a ranch at Old LaSal in San Juan Co., where they raised stock and grew feed for them. They also had dairy cows, which they milked by hand. Violet sold milk and butter to the miners, sheepmen and cattlemen. They lived summers at LaSal ranch and winters (for school) in Moab, traveling and caring for both. They traveled by wagon or buggy, with the trip taking two days each way. They kept the LaSal ranch until about 1921. Helen Allen, a granddaughter, says, "I remember visiting as a little girl, and I can still remember the smell of the apple cellar and smoke house, where hams and bacon were cured, and also pork barrels out on the old north porch." Often in the early years of Grand and San Juan County histories, one can read of John C.'s exploits with posses running down Indians and outlaws, such as the famous (or infamous) Butch Cassidy's "The Wild Bunch," and other outlaws of that time and place. "We heard lots of stories about the 'Robber's Roost Gang.'" All the grandchildren remember Grandfather telling those stories, and all loved to listen to them. John C. was a famous storyteller. About 1915 John C. met with a serious accident: a wild hog bit him on the knee. The knee lost all the fluid before they could get him to Grand Junction. He was in the hospital in Grand Junction for eighteen months and, although he didn't lose the leg, it was stiff the remainder of his life. It was always awkward and was broken several more times. While at LaSal ranch, he was out plowing and broke the leg. Violet set it herself, and, when the doctor arrived a couple of days later, he said he couldn't have done it better. In 1930 John C. was riding a horse from his daughter, Hazel's place in New LaSal (the Sommerville Ranch) to Moab. On the trip of about forty miles, his old horse stumbled. He fell off, and he lay beside the road all night at a place called Mule Shoe. He said he never lost consciousness. In the morning, a car finally came by. He threw a tobacco can at the car to draw attention. The driver stopped and found John C. lying in a rock pile with a broken hip, and his faithful old horse stood beside him. In the spring of 1938 he was riding a horse again, going with his grandson, Don Woodruff, to check out ditches on the farm. Once again, the stiff leg got in the way and was broken. His daughter, Hazel, cared for him after that until his death on December 21, 1938--at the age of 80. On December 20, the day before his death, Hazel's family had gone early to the foothills of Blue Hill to get a Christmas tree. After cutting the tree, they had left their ax. His granddaughter, Helen Allen, tells about that day with her Grandfather: "I was going to drive back to get the ax so I asked Grandfather if he felt like going with me just for a ride. He was just getting over the broken leg and hadn't been away from the ranch in months. He said, 'I'd like that!' We drove up and found the ax. When we got back to town, we stopped at his daughter Mabel's, where her daughter LaNeve was staying with a new little baby. We also visited another daughter, Bertha, where Ethel was staying with a new baby. John C. saw two great grandchildren for the first time. Later that evening, he fell on the old east front porch, when his crutches slipped. Mother and I got him into the house and into his bed. He had a badly broken hand. Grandpa said, 'I'll just take a little shot (meaning a drink of whiskey) and smoke me a cigarette (he always said it that way), and then I'll just set this damn thing.' He was just getting out the tobacco and papers for his smoke (he always rolled his own) when he suddenly fell back and lost consciousness. I ran to my old Ford; the ground was slick, and I slid around but got going and went for Dr. Allen. Grandfather had fallen hard enough to cause a cerebral hemorrhage, for which Dr. Allen could do nothing. He was in a coma from then until he passed away at about 2:30 in the morning. By that time they had called his sons, Carlos and Henry; also Mabel, Bertha, Hilda and Hazel were there, as well as some grandchildren, including myself." He died in the home he and "Vi" had built and in which their family was reared. He is buried in the old Moab Cemetery next to "My Vi"--he always called her that. He'd never got over her death or stopped mourning for her. Several children, who never reached maturity, are also buried in their plot. They had forty-eight grandchildren when he died. Most are still living. Hollis Allgood says of her Grandfather: "We all loved our Grandfather Wilcox, all the pranks he played on us, and his stories of early days of outlaws and Indians. I was in Grand Junction shortly before my first child was born, and I didn't get to attend Grandpa's funeral; however, I love the memories I have of him when he was alive. He lived in our home almost all the years I grew up in Moab. He was a big part of our lives." The book, Grand Memories, says in part, "Violet kept a neat house and raised beautiful flowers, was a secretary for the Relief Society and a Relief Society teacher all her life." It also said, "Both were helpful to the needy." Hollis continues: "That was especially true of my grandparents and my parents. The first time I came home to Moab with my husband, we found several Indian children on the doorstep. They lived in the creeks nearby, and they always came to the ranch for milk, eggs, vegetables, and fruit--they loved watermelons. Dad and Mother and Grandfather always gave the Indians whatever they wanted. It seemed that Mother never baked bread unless those little Indians showed up for their share. "The feature I (Hollis) remember most about my Grandpa was his eyes. They were piercing and a dark, almost black color, and they twinkled with a hint of zestfulness and, perhaps, a little mischief. He loved to joke and play little tricks on us grandchildren. At Christmas he'd sometimes put coal in our stockings, telling us Santa must have thought we hadn't been too good--but he'd always help make our Christmas enjoyable. We knew who put the coal in our sock and replaced it with goodies! "Grandfather would do anything for you, or would give you the shirt off his back. He would set your broken bones; poultice your wounds; fix a mashed finger; lance a 'fellon'; or just get out your slivers. He was a good 'vet' as well. He would nurse people during an epidemic when no one else would go near them. Violet also did that. Together, they sat with the dead, keeping them iced, and they dressed the dead for burial (before there were undertakers or doctors in Moab). He taught us children honesty, how to work, and other good qualities. He was quite a rough old character, and yet so gentle. When we were sick or hurt, we always wanted Grandpa. He was a good, honest, hard-working man, who spent most of his life crippled and with one stiff leg." He had many old friends who would come and sit on the front porch and visit with him in his later life. They would laugh and joke and talk about earlier times. We children always liked to listen if we had the opportunity. Sometimes they'd give us a little "change" and we could go to the old Cooper Martin for a treat. Grandfather loved his family, and they all loved and respected him. by Helen Day Allen and Hollis Day Allgood	Wilcox John Carlos
18	Martha Anna Wilcox was born in Mount Pleasant, Utah to Mary Young and John Henry Owen Wilcox. She usually had a good sense of responsibility but once at the age of eight she was sent on an errand and told to hurry. She met a friend and tarried to play. Someone else completed the errand. When Martha came home she was told to go play but she felt guilty and couldn't. She told her mother she thought she needed a good licking. Her mother sent her after a green willow and gave her a sound trouncing. Martha really howled! Her mother asked, "What's the matter? Didn't I give you enough?" Martha answered, "I didn't think you would whip me so hard." "Well, you asked for it," said her mother. Another childhood memory was when the neighbors brought her mother the news of the death of Brigham Young. She started school at seven, quit at thirteen. She kept house and cooked for her father and brothers at fourteen. She learned to card wool, spin, weave, sew crochet and knit. At sixteen Martha married Richard (Dick) Westwood May 25, 1888 at Thistle, Utah. Dick's father, Richard Webley Westwood, an LDS elder and Justice of the Peace officiated. Martha gave birth to twelve children. She raised eight. Mary Ellen (Ella), Kate, Ruth, Neil, Grace, Vere, Ida, and Anna. Ella was born premature and very tiny at Mt. Pleasant. Dick found work in Moab, bought a cabin, and sent for his family. Martha bundled up her baby, rode the train to Thompson, boarded the buckboard stage to Moab. It took all day to travel to the Grand (Colorado) River. They crossed the river in a row boat after dark. The boat dipped water it was loaded so heavily. Martha was perched on top a coffee box holding Baby Ella. She asked the other passenger, Mr. Tweedy, if she could hold his coat collar to keep from being thrown overboard. A wagon met the boat and they plodded through the valley. After traveling for an endless space of time Martha asked, "Where's town?" "We've come clean through town," was the answer. "This is the last house." It was her brother John's home. She was welcomed. The next morning her sister-in-law, Violet, showed Martha her own cabin. Surrounded by tall brush there were holes for windows, no door, no chinking, part of the roof and floor. Martha started to cry and asked if she had to stay there. Violet assured her it was a nice little cabin. She started to fix it up for her home. The weather, small animals, and bugs had full sway. Dick was working out of town and the days solitary. Her little nephew, Jimmy Day, stayed nights to ease the loneliness. He died from diphtheria next summer and nearly broke her heart. Dick moved his family to Castle Valley. Martha was the first white woman to go over the Rim Rock Trail. She held Ella and rode a mule on a feather bed on top of a pack saddle. Soon the feathers shook down until she was riding the bare boards. Dick knew she would be afraid so he waited until dark to go over the rim. The pack horse loaded with dynamite, clothes, and food stumbled and rolled down the mountain landing in a cedar tree. Dick freed her and turned her loose to go on alone. Martha wanted to walk but Dick told her, "Old Kitty will make it." She did but Martha was badly frightened. So frightened she returned to Moab by boat. Dick became sheriff of Grand County in 1890. Martha's cabin became a jail and she furnished board, room, and guarded the prisoners awaiting trial. She fell and lost a baby, Guy, who only lived two days. The county couldn't afford to pay Dick but he stuck with it four years. Kate was born in 1892 and Ruth in 1895. Dick started a new log house, planted a grove of apples, then took a job building fence and was gone all summer. The hired man quit. Martha took over. The girls got whooping cough. She overworked and lost another boy, Ralph, in 1897. Dick rented an apple farm from Mr. Warner. Martha and the girls packed all the apples the pickers could pick. Dick freighted them to Thompson and made a little money. They moved into the new house two days before Neil was born in 1898. That winter they formed a dramatic club and attended dances for entertainment. Grace came in 1900. The fall of 1901 Dick started running the ferry at Dewey. Martha had a boarding place for travelers and a post office. Vere was born in 1903. That year the children had scarlet fever. In 1904 the family caught typhoid from drinking river water. In 1906 Martha lost another son, Richard Henry. A school house was built at Dewey and they stayed until 1916. Martha was a trustee and chairman of the board two years. Ida was born in 1909, Anna in 1910, Martha, a stillborn baby, in 1913. Kate married Will May in 1910 and Ella married Charles Cato in 1911. The winter of 1915 they lived in Moab and then spent their last summer at Dewey. The Dewey Bridge was completed in 1916 and the ferry abolished. Ruth married Joe Johnson in 1916. World War I began in 1917 and Neil served 18 months overseas. Martha and Dick sold the Dewey home, bought a dry farm at Old LaSal then traded it for a lot in Moab. In September 1929 Dick was the deputy sheriff and was brutally murdered in a jail break. The shock and sorrow of his loss took it's toll. Martha sold her farm to Neil and had a house built in town. She kept busy with family, fancy work, church and garden. She was sealed to Dick February 5, 1931. After 18 years alone she married Thomas Foy, March 1947. They were happy. They served a two year LDS mission. He had a heart attack October 1950 and died in her arms. She also lost Kate and Neil in the 1950's. She traveled, even flying to Canada, did genealogy, continued her fancy work until after age 84. She passed away September 15, 1962 at age 91. Anna died one week later. Martha loved the gospel. Her sweet spirit touched the hearts of all who knew her. She was a monument of strength, love, faith, hope, and charity. taken from Martha Anna Wilcox Westwood Foy's Autobiography	Wilcox Martha Ann
19	The subduing of this great western desert, and the establishment of comforts we now enjoy, were not man's work alone. Courageous, self-sacrificing women played their part in the accomplishment of those tasks. Sister Sarah Wilcox Bills may well be mentioned in that group. Descending from hearty pioneer stock on both her father's and her mother's side, she inherited tendencies which produced strength of character, the power of endurance, in, and thrift. Her mother, Mary Young Wilcox, then a girl of sixteen, drove two yolk of oxen across the plains arriving in Salt Lake City on September 30, 1847. She was married March 14, 1848, to John Henry Owen Wilcox. In 1850, they were called by Brigham Young to settle Manti, where they became prominent helpers in the building of that town. On August 1, 1853, a tiny baby girl came to the Wilcox home. She was the third member of the family; a boy and a girl were older than she. She was given the name of Sarah. Their house was made of rough logs and was not completely finished. Brother Wilcox worked in the saw mills in the canyons east of Mr. Pleasant. One night, one of his oxen got away and returnto Manti. The other one was stolen by Indians. Brother Wilcox returned home where he sold his house and land for one ox and a wagon, and then he moved his family to Pleasant Grove. On March 5, 1860, he returned to Sanpete and settled in Mr. Pleasant. The first year they lived in the old fort, which Sister Bills remembers distinctly. She went to Auntie Hyde's school. The school house was just back of the old city hall. The benches were slabs fastened around the wall, and the books were a speller and a slate. Every student had to pay his own tuition. Those whose parents could not afford to pay could not go to school. Mrs. Hyde accepted as tuition anything to eat or wear. When asked what she did as a girl, Sister bills replied, "I did everything. I gleaned the wool from the sage brush where the sheep had run. Sometimes only a handful for all day. I carded and spun the wool. I knitted stockings and mittens and made clothing from the wool spun by my own hands. When I was nine years old, I spun wool for Dr. Winter's father, and when my feet got real cold I would run out to the corral and make the sheep get up and then put my feet in the warm soft dirt where the sheep had lain to get my feet warm--as I didn't have any shoes to keep my feet warm. I braided straw and fashioned hats. I spun and sewed for other people, taking as pay anything they had to give. Many a day I scrubbed and cleaned for someone all day, taking as pay one spool of thread, which was valued at 50 cents. I made my own thread by unraveling scraps from overalls material and rubbing it with bee's wax." On May 29, 1868, she was married to Wesley Bills of Fairview, Utah, in the Old Endowment House in Salt Lake City, by President Daniel H. Wells. It took one week to make the trip by oxen, camping in Salt Lake one night. "That was the longest trip I ever took, and I was never so homesick in my life," said Sister Bills. Sister Bills made all her clothing, sewing every stitch by hand. "I never saw a sewing machine when I was a girl." Brother and Sister Bills moved to Fair, where five of their children were born. All of the homes at that time were log cabins with adobe chimneys. Nights when Brother Bills had to stand guard against In, she would gather her two children and bedding and go to the neighbors and sleep on the floor. From Fairview, they moved to Milburn, where they took up a homestead. There were six families living there at the time. Her nearest neighbor liva mile away. The Indians visited often, begging for something to eat or wear. One day a crowd of them came to the door. This is Sister Bills' story. "I was alone with the children, and I was always frightened of the Indians. The children and I crawled under the bed, which had a curtain all around it that hung to the floor. The Indians beat on the door, peeked through the windows, swore and shouted until they were tired, and then rode away. I was so relieved. "Then the winter of 1879 was so severe. Snow was five and six feet on the hills. The horses used to come to the door and beg for something to eat. My straw ticks were filled with straw and hay, and I would feed them an armful of that every day. I would feed them at the door so one spear would not be wasted. Only two cows and a team survived. Even the chickens starved to death. The pigs were the only ones that fared well, living bounteously on the dead animals, and I was minus my ticks." That winter her eleven-month-old daughter, Maud, died of scarlet fever. She was taken to Fairview to be buried, and the snow scraped away to dig the grave stood in a pile ten or twelve feet high. The rest of the winter, Sister Bills lived in Mt. Pleawith her father and mother. Brother Bills worked in the canyon getting lumber for the Manti Temple. In the spring, they returned to Milburn and, along the streams could be seen where the cattle trying to surthe winter had chewed off the willows as thick as my arm. Sister Bills had been an angel of mercy in most of the homes in Milburn and Oak Creek, visiting the sick and laying out the dead. She had delivered twenty-five women in childbirth (two pair of twins in). Many times she had ridden horseback or been drawn on a hand sleigh through the deep snow to give her service. The night one of the pair of twins was born, the father came for her in the night, urging her to hurry as they had no time to spare. "Don't take time to lace your shoes," he called excitedly, "we must go." Picking her up, he put her astride the horse and jumped in front, urging the horse on. "I put my arms around his waist and hung on for dear life, digging my toes in my shoes to hold them on. When we arrived at his home, one of the babies had safely arrived before us." Sister Bills worked for many years with Dr. Edmunds and Dr. Rigby of Fairview--receiving love and great respect from both. She has surely received the Master's reward of true service. For twenty years Sister Bills was a Relief Society teacher in Milburn. Her beat covered three miles, which she usually walked, and those were the days when they gave soap, eggs, flour, etc.--in fact, anything they had. Brother Bills, for many years, was in charge of all fast offerings of Milburn, which were given to him to divide among the Indians. They came to the Bills home to get the donation, so Sister Bills had a fair understanding of Indian ways. In 1920, Brother Bills and family moved to Mt. Pleasant and lived there for ten years. Sister Bills took care of her mother, who lived to be 97 years, 11 months and 3 days old. Sister Bills was the mother of 12 children. She had also raised 5 grand. She had 42 grandchildren, 47 greatgrandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild--making five generations. Sister Bills says, "I have never had an education, and I feel as though I can do nothing." But pioneer life, with its hardand sacrifices, she has met without complaint, and it has lent to her soul something that is richer and finer than anything obtained from schools and univer. Something deep and fine in her character speaks for culture in its truest sense. Sister Bills said, "I have heard my father tell about the time of the Gold Rush to California. Many of the saints were preparto go. But President Young said those who would not go would be blessed. Our field of grain had been eaten by the crickets, and mother used to go gleaning in the field, gleaning about two quarts a day. This she cooked and served her fami. Instead of going to California, father went to Red Butte Canyon to get poles to fence his property. Three days' work. He was offered forty pounds of grain for the poles he obtained. This he planted, and he raised seventy bushels of grain. So you can't tell me it doesn't pay to heed the council of those over us." For they never had to go hungry after that. That was only one of her many testimonies. To her children she gave that legacy. Sister Sarah Wilcox Bills died February 24, 1936, at the age of 82 years, 6 months, and 24 days.	Wilcox Sarah
20	Birth: Wilcox, Clarissa Jane (Female) Date: October 1, 1821 Place: Carmi, White, IL, USA Parents: Wilcox, Clarissa Jane (Female) Father: Wilcox, Hazard Jr. Mother: Seeley, Sarah Death: Wilcox, Clarissa Jane (Female) Date: February 5, 1908 Alternate Date: February 5, 1909Place: Mt. Pleasant, Sanpete, UT, USA Marriage Information: Wilcox, Clarissa Jane (Female) Spouse: Seely, Justus Wellington Date: March 10, 1842 Temple Ordinance Data: Wilcox, Clarissa Jane (Female) Baptism Date: May 20, 1933 Endowment Date: February 3, 1846 Temple: Nauvoo, Hancock, IL, USA Sealed to Spouse Date: January 25, 1869 ---------------------------------------------------- "My name is Clarissa Jane Wilcox. I was born in Carmi, White County, Illinois, on October first, 1821. I had a twin brother, but he died at birth. My parents are Hazard Wilcox Jr. and Sarah Seeley [the correct spelling is unknown]. My Seeley grandparents were Augustus Seeley and Mary Brisbane. My Wilcox grandparents were Hazard Wilcox Sr. and Eunice Sabrah Watson. Beyond that I don't know. I don't know how my grandmother, Sarah Seeley, ties in with your Seely line, but the two lines probably come together back someplace. I was baptized into the church when I was twelve years old. I think the date was May 20, 1833. Along about that time, we were told that the center stake of Zion would be in Jackson County, Missouri, and that we should gather there, so we did. But we hadn't been there long, when we--along with everyone else--that is, all the Saints, were driven out, except some who wouldn't stand up to the mob an' they'd deny that Joseph Smith was a Prophet, just so the mob wouldn't bother them. "Anyway, the mobbings and the burnings got to be so bad in Jackson County that in November of 1833, we were compelled to leave in order to preserve our lives. The saints moved to neighboring counties, but our family moved to Clay County. We (the saints) were friendless and penniless, and the citizens of Clay County took pity on us and said we could stay in their county until things were settled in Jackson County and we could return there; or until we found another permanent location. Well, our leaders spent the next two and a half years appealing to the governor of Missouri, and anyone else who would listen--trying to get our lands reinstated to us, so we could return to Jackson County, but we never did get reinstated; not even in a land with a constitution that guarantees to its citizens the right to life, liberty and property. "Mobs continued to roam the countryside, harassing the saints, and things kept getting worse in Clay County. Mother and I spent many evenings discussing what would become of us. She was a widow; I was a teenage girl. Sometimes we felt that we were just a burden on the Church. Finally in June of 1836, the citizens of Clay County figured we had stayed long enough. They were decent about it, but they asked us to move out of their County. Our leaders agreed that the Saints would move out. Our family moved into Ray County in the summer of 1836. We stayed there for about a year, and then we moved to Far West in 1837. "I remember when the Saints were driven out of DeWitt and their caravan came dragging into Far West. They were truly a pitiful looking sight. It made me cry inside to see them. We took a family into our home, fed them, heated tubs of water so they could each have a bath--gave them our beds and then while they slept, we washed their clothes. They called me and mother "angels of mercy." "I don't remember meeting Wellington or David during our stay in Far West. It could be that we attended the same meetings--maybe I even saw them at a dance. But if I did see them, they were just faces in the crowd. There were so many new faces coming into Far West at that time. "I remember when Far West was under siege from the mob and Colonel Hinkle deceived the Prophet and lured him out of the city, and General Lucas took him prisoner. I remember those days very well. I had always thought Col. Hinkle was a rather dashing young man, until he did that, and then I couldn't stand the sight of him. I remember one day I was walking along Main Street, and he came along riding his fancy horse. I didn't look at him, but he spoke to me. In a voice dripping with honey, he said, 'Good Morning, Miss Wilcox.' I pretended not to hear him, and I turned away. "Soon after that we were evacuated from Far West and conveyed to Quincy, Illinois, where we stayed until Spring of 1839. Then we moved to Charleston, which was in Lee County, Iowa. "I had a very serious accident. I don't remember the year, but while living in Charleston, Iowa, I came very near to becoming an invalid for life. I was accidentally shot through the trunk of my body. I was torn up bad inside. It was ghastly! I was right near death's door, and I could have slipped through easily. The doctor said that if I lived I would not be able to bear children. I asked for a blessing, and so the elders of the Church were called, and Elder Moses Gifford administered to me. He promised me that I would get well, and that I would be able to have children. I had complete faith that I would get well, and that I would heal properly. And I did. "I remember in 1841 when the Seelye family first moved to Nashville and soon after that was when I first met Justus Wellington Seelye. We courted for a time, and I remember the night he proposed. Wellington had come in his buggy from Nashville to Charleston to take me to a square dance, and I could tell that he was having a good time. He always enjoyed a dance. He said he would rather dance than eat. Well, after the last Quadrille and closing prayer, we were riding home. The moon was low, shining like a ball of fire through the trees. "Wellington said, 'I've never seen such a beautiful, clear moonlit night.' "I boldly answered, 'Yes. It would be a beautiful night for a buggy ride.' "Wellington told me later that, when I said that, his heart jumped a cog. Instead of turning in at my place, he kept right on going out the lane to the West. It was still plenty cold at night and Wellington had brought along a heavy quilt. I pulled the quilt around us, and of necessity slid over close to him. He told me later that when I did that his heart jumped two cogs. At the Sugar Creek Lane, Wellington turned south and went down through the bottoms. Now I'm not going to tell you all the details. It's enough for you to know that 'ere we returned to my house we were making plans for a two-room log cabin. "The next morning I asked my mother what she thought of me marrying Justus Wellington Seelye. She said she thought highly of Brother Wellington--she always called him Brother Wellington--and if I was sure I loved him, and wanted him to be the father of my children she would give her approval. "We were married in Charleston on March 10, 1842. Brother Cyrus Wheelock married us. Wellington purchased one hundred acres of land on the bench above Nashville, and that's where we lived." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Clarissa Jane Wilcox Seely witnessed the occasion when the mantle of Joseph Smith rested upon Brigham Young Birth: Wilcox, Clarissa Jane (Female) Date: October 1, 1821 Place: Carmi, White, IL, USA Parents: Wilcox, Clarissa Jane (Female) Father: Wilcox, Hazard Jr. Mother: Seeley, Sarah Death: Wilcox, Clarissa Jane (Female) Date: February 5, 1908 Alternate Date: February 5, 1909Place: Mt. Pleasant, Sanpete, UT, USA Marriage Information: Wilcox, Clarissa Jane (Female) Spouse: Seely, Justus Wellington Date: March 10, 1842 Temple Ordinance Data: Wilcox, Clarissa Jane (Female) Baptism Date: May 20, 1933 Endowment Date: February 3, 1846 Temple: Nauvoo, Hancock, IL, USA Sealed to Spouse Date: January 25, 1869 ---------------------------------------------------- "My name is Clarissa Jane Wilcox. I was born in Carmi, White County, Illinois, on October first, 1821. I had a twin brother, but he died at birth. My parents are Hazard Wilcox Jr. and Sarah Seeley [the correct spelling is unknown]. My Seeley grandparents were Augustus Seeley and Mary Brisbane. My Wilcox grandparents were Hazard Wilcox Sr. and Eunice Sabrah Watson. Beyond that I don't know. I don't know how my grandmother, Sarah Seeley, ties in with your Seely line, but the two lines probably come together back someplace. I was baptized into the church when I was twelve years old. I think the date was May 20, 1833. Along about that time, we were told that the center stake of Zion would be in Jackson County, Missouri, and that we should gather there, so we did. But we hadn't been there long, when we--along with everyone else--that is, all the Saints, were driven out, except some who wouldn't stand up to the mob an' they'd deny that Joseph Smith was a Prophet, just so the mob wouldn't bother them. "Anyway, the mobbings and the burnings got to be so bad in Jackson County that in November of 1833, we were compelled to leave in order to preserve our lives. The saints moved to neighboring counties, but our family moved to Clay County. We (the saints) were friendless and penniless, and the citizens of Clay County took pity on us and said we could stay in their county until things were settled in Jackson County and we could return there; or until we found another permanent location. Well, our leaders spent the next two and a half years appealing to the governor of Missouri, and anyone else who would listen--trying to get our lands reinstated to us, so we could return to Jackson County, but we never did get reinstated; not even in a land with a constitution that guarantees to its citizens the right to life, liberty and property. "Mobs continued to roam the countryside, harassing the saints, and things kept getting worse in Clay County. Mother and I spent many evenings discussing what would become of us. She was a widow; I was a teenage girl. Sometimes we felt that we were just a burden on the Church. Finally in June of 1836, the citizens of Clay County figured we had stayed long enough. They were decent about it, but they asked us to move out of their County. Our leaders agreed that the Saints would move out. Our family moved into Ray County in the summer of 1836. We stayed there for about a year, and then we moved to Far West in 1837. "I remember when the Saints were driven out of DeWitt and their caravan came dragging into Far West. They were truly a pitiful looking sight. It made me cry inside to see them. We took a family into our home, fed them, heated tubs of water so they could each have a bath--gave them our beds and then while they slept, we washed their clothes. They called me and mother "angels of mercy." "I don't remember meeting Wellington or David during our stay in Far West. It could be that we attended the same meetings--maybe I even saw them at a dance. But if I did see them, they were just faces in the crowd. There were so many new faces coming into Far West at that time. "I remember when Far West was under siege from the mob and Colonel Hinkle deceived the Prophet and lured him out of the city, and General Lucas took him prisoner. I remember those days very well. I had always thought Col. Hinkle was a rather dashing young man, until he did that, and then I couldn't stand the sight of him. I remember one day I was walking along Main Street, and he came along riding his fancy horse. I didn't look at him, but he spoke to me. In a voice dripping with honey, he said, 'Good Morning, Miss Wilcox.' I pretended not to hear him, and I turned away. "Soon after that we were evacuated from Far West and conveyed to Quincy, Illinois, where we stayed until Spring of 1839. Then we moved to Charleston, which was in Lee County, Iowa. "I had a very serious accident. I don't remember the year, but while living in Charleston, Iowa, I came very near to becoming an invalid for life. I was accidentally shot through the trunk of my body. I was torn up bad inside. It was ghastly! I was right near death's door, and I could have slipped through easily. The doctor said that if I lived I would not be able to bear children. I asked for a blessing, and so the elders of the Church were called, and Elder Moses Gifford administered to me. He promised me that I would get well, and that I would be able to have children. I had complete faith that I would get well, and that I would heal properly. And I did. "I remember in 1841 when the Seelye family first moved to Nashville and soon after that was when I first met Justus Wellington Seelye. We courted for a time, and I remember the night he proposed. Wellington had come in his buggy from Nashville to Charleston to take me to a square dance, and I could tell that he was having a good time. He always enjoyed a dance. He said he would rather dance than eat. Well, after the last Quadrille and closing prayer, we were riding home. The moon was low, shining like a ball of fire through the trees. "Wellington said, 'I've never seen such a beautiful, clear moonlit night.' "I boldly answered, 'Yes. It would be a beautiful night for a buggy ride.' "Wellington told me later that, when I said that, his heart jumped a cog. Instead of turning in at my place, he kept right on going out the lane to the West. It was still plenty cold at night and Wellington had brought along a heavy quilt. I pulled the quilt around us, and of necessity slid over close to him. He told me later that when I did that his heart jumped two cogs. At the Sugar Creek Lane, Wellington turned south and went down through the bottoms. Now I'm not going to tell you all the details. It's enough for you to know that 'ere we returned to my house we were making plans for a two-room log cabin. "The next morning I asked my mother what she thought of me marrying Justus Wellington Seelye. She said she thought highly of Brother Wellington--she always called him Brother Wellington--and if I was sure I loved him, and wanted him to be the father of my children she would give her approval. "We were married in Charleston on March 10, 1842. Brother Cyrus Wheelock married us. Wellington purchased one hundred acres of land on the bench above Nashville, and that's where we lived." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Clarissa Jane Wilcox Seely witnessed the occasion when the mantle of Joseph Smith rested upon Brigham Young Birth: Wilcox, Clarissa Jane (Female) Date: October 1, 1821 Place: Carmi, White, IL, USA Parents: Wilcox, Clarissa Jane (Female) Father: Wilcox, Hazard Jr. Mother: Seeley, Sarah Death: Wilcox, Clarissa Jane (Female) Date: February 5, 1908 Alternate Date: February 5, 1909Place: Mt. Pleasant, Sanpete, UT, USA Marriage Information: Wilcox, Clarissa Jane (Female) Spouse: Seely, Justus Wellington Date: March 10, 1842 Temple Ordinance Data: Wilcox, Clarissa Jane (Female) Baptism Date: May 20, 1933 Endowment Date: February 3, 1846 Temple: Nauvoo, Hancock, IL, USA Sealed to Spouse Date: January 25, 1869 ---------------------------------------------------- "My name is Clarissa Jane Wilcox. I was born in Carmi, White County, Illinois, on October first, 1821. I had a twin brother, but he died at birth. My parents are Hazard Wilcox Jr. and Sarah Seeley [the correct spelling is unknown]. My Seeley grandparents were Augustus Seeley and Mary Brisbane. My Wilcox grandparents were Hazard Wilcox Sr. and Eunice Sabrah Watson. Beyond that I don't know. I don't know how my grandmother, Sarah Seeley, ties in with your Seely line, but the two lines probably come together back someplace. I was baptized into the church when I was twelve years old. I think the date was May 20, 1833. Along about that time, we were told that the center stake of Zion would be in Jackson County, Missouri, and that we should gather there, so we did. But we hadn't been there long, when we--along with everyone else--that is, all the Saints, were driven out, except some who wouldn't stand up to the mob an' they'd deny that Joseph Smith was a Prophet, just so the mob wouldn't bother them. "Anyway, the mobbings and the burnings got to be so bad in Jackson County that in November of 1833, we were compelled to leave in order to preserve our lives. The saints moved to neighboring counties, but our family moved to Clay County. We (the saints) were friendless and penniless, and the citizens of Clay County took pity on us and said we could stay in their county until things were settled in Jackson County and we could return there; or until we found another permanent location. Well, our leaders spent the next two and a half years appealing to the governor of Missouri, and anyone else who would listen--trying to get our lands reinstated to us, so we could return to Jackson County, but we never did get reinstated; not even in a land with a constitution that guarantees to its citizens the right to life, liberty and property. "Mobs continued to roam the countryside, harassing the saints, and things kept getting worse in Clay County. Mother and I spent many evenings discussing what would become of us. She was a widow; I was a teenage girl. Sometimes we felt that we were just a burden on the Church. Finally in June of 1836, the citizens of Clay County figured we had stayed long enough. They were decent about it, but they asked us to move out of their County. Our leaders agreed that the Saints would move out. Our family moved into Ray County in the summer of 1836. We stayed there for about a year, and then we moved to Far West in 1837. "I remember when the Saints were driven out of DeWitt and their caravan came dragging into Far West. They were truly a pitiful looking sight. It made me cry inside to see them. We took a family into our home, fed them, heated tubs of water so they could each have a bath--gave them our beds and then while they slept, we washed their clothes. They called me and mother "angels of mercy." "I don't remember meeting Wellington or David during our stay in Far West. It could be that we attended the same meetings--maybe I even saw them at a dance. But if I did see them, they were just faces in the crowd. There were so many new faces coming into Far West at that time. "I remember when Far West was under siege from the mob and Colonel Hinkle deceived the Prophet and lured him out of the city, and General Lucas took him prisoner. I remember those days very well. I had always thought Col. Hinkle was a rather dashing young man, until he did that, and then I couldn't stand the sight of him. I remember one day I was walking along Main Street, and he came along riding his fancy horse. I didn't look at him, but he spoke to me. In a voice dripping with honey, he said, 'Good Morning, Miss Wilcox.' I pretended not to hear him, and I turned away. "Soon after that we were evacuated from Far West and conveyed to Quincy, Illinois, where we stayed until Spring of 1839. Then we moved to Charleston, which was in Lee County, Iowa. "I had a very serious accident. I don't remember the year, but while living in Charleston, Iowa, I came very near to becoming an invalid for life. I was accidentally shot through the trunk of my body. I was torn up bad inside. It was ghastly! I was right near death's door, and I could have slipped through easily. The doctor said that if I lived I would not be able to bear children. I asked for a blessing, and so the elders of the Church were called, and Elder Moses Gifford administered to me. He promised me that I would get well, and that I would be able to have children. I had complete faith that I would get well, and that I would heal properly. And I did. "I remember in 1841 when the Seelye family first moved to Nashville and soon after that was when I first met Justus Wellington Seelye. We courted for a time, and I remember the night he proposed. Wellington had come in his buggy from Nashville to Charleston to take me to a square dance, and I could tell that he was having a good time. He always enjoyed a dance. He said he would rather dance than eat. Well, after the last Quadrille and closing prayer, we were riding home. The moon was low, shining like a ball of fire through the trees. "Wellington said, 'I've never seen such a beautiful, clear moonlit night.' "I boldly answered, 'Yes. It would be a beautiful night for a buggy ride.' "Wellington told me later that, when I said that, his heart jumped a cog. Instead of turning in at my place, he kept right on going out the lane to the West. It was still plenty cold at night and Wellington had brought along a heavy quilt. I pulled the quilt around us, and of necessity slid over close to him. He told me later that when I did that his heart jumped two cogs. At the Sugar Creek Lane, Wellington turned south and went down through the bottoms. Now I'm not going to tell you all the details. It's enough for you to know that 'ere we returned to my house we were making plans for a two-room log cabin. "The next morning I asked my mother what she thought of me marrying Justus Wellington Seelye. She said she thought highly of Brother Wellington--she always called him Brother Wellington--and if I was sure I loved him, and wanted him to be the father of my children she would give her approval. "We were married in Charleston on March 10, 1842. Brother Cyrus Wheelock married us. Wellington purchased one hundred acres of land on the bench above Nashville, and that's where we lived." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Clarissa Jane Wilcox Seely witnessed the occasion when the mantle of Joseph Smith rested upon Brigham Young	Willcox Clarissa Jane
21	(Plot# A_128_2_8)	Willcox John Henry Owen
22	Church Ordinance Data: Baptism Date: 1836 Baptism Date: 1838 Officiator: Joseph Smith Ordained Seventy Date: June 1, 1857 Officiator: S. F. Driggs Temple Ordinance Data: Endowment Date: February 3, 1846 Temple: Nauvoo, Hancock, IL, USA Sealed to Spouse Date: June 17, 1856 Temple: Endowment House, Salt Lake City, UT, USA Vocations: Farmer; 1850, and Ship Builder. NOTES: In 1850, John had a household of 4 and a real wealth of $150. Comments: John came to Utah in 1847. His obituary stated that he was a member of the Nauvoo Legion; that he heard the Prophet Joseph Smith's last sermon and was present when the mantle fell on Brigham Young; and that he was a faithful member of the Church. Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah, p.1248 WILLCOX, JOHN HENRY (son of Hazzard Willcox and Sarah Seely of Arkansas). Born Feb. 14, 1824, in Arkansas. Came to Utah 1847. Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah, p.1248 Married Mary Young March 14, 1848, Salt Lake City (daughter of James Young and Elizabeth Seely of Canada, pioneers 1847). She was born June 6, 1831. Their children: Hazzard, m. Tilda Westwood; Elizabeth, m. Philip Hurst; Sarah, m. Wesley Bills; James Henry, m. Harrett Day; m. Ellis Staker; John Carlos, m. Violet Westwood; Mary Mehitable, m. Hurbet Day; Clarissa Jane, m. Peter Meiling; Ellen (Sabray), m. John Oliver; Hannah, m. Joseph Corlson; Martha A., m. Richard D. Westwood; Justice Azel, m. Selma Corlson. Family home Mt. Pleasant, Utah. Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah, p.1248 WILLCOX, JOHN HENRY (son of Hazzard Willcox and Sarah Seely of Arkansas). Born Feb. 14, 1824, in Arkansas. Came to Utah 1847. Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah, p.1248 Farmer. Died Nov. 21, 1909, Mt. Pleasant, Utah.	Willcox John Henry Owen
23	(Plot A_79_3_4)	Young James Ross
24	BIOGRAPHY: The Youngs were of the Protestant religion. James was a sailor and had some of his savings in gold coins which he kept in a sack. Through the labors of Parley P. Pratt, as a traveling missionary in that part of Canada, the Young family was converted and in 1837 they joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They migrated to Burlington, Iowa area, just north of Nauvoo, where James farmed. James came to Utah on 24 July 1847 with the Brigham Young Company. BAPTISM: Also recorded baptism date in 1837 ENDOWMENT: Also endowment date: 7 Feb 1846 Nauvoo Temple, Nauvoo, Hancock, IL REFERENCES: James is mentioned on the Nauvoo List of Members. OCCUPATION: James was a sailor (Lake Captain) and a farmer. BIOGRAPHY: The Youngs were of the Protestant religion. James was a sailor and had some of his savings in gold coins which he kept in a sack. Through the labors of Parley P. Pratt, as a traveling missionary in that part of Canada, the Young family was converted and in 1837 they joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They migrated to Burlington, Iowa area, just north of Nauvoo, where James farmed. James came to Utah on 24 July 1847 with the Brigham Young Company. BAPTISM: Also recorded baptism date in 1837 ENDOWMENT: Also endowment date: 7 Feb 1846 Nauvoo Temple, Nauvoo, Hancock, IL REFERENCES: James is mentioned on the Nauvoo List of Members. OCCUPATION: James was a sailor (Lake Captain) and a farmer.	Young James Ross
25	Temple Ordinance Data: Baptism Date: May 27, 1964 Endowment Date: June 17, 1856 Temple: Endowment House, Salt Lake City, UT, USA Sealed to Parents Date: November 3, 1965 Temple: Logan, Cache, UT, USA Comments: Mary was among the 5th ten of the Lowry company that came to Utah in 1847. Comments: Autobiography (1831-1848)--Written in 1925. Born in Whitberry Township, Upper Canada, 1831. Family converted to LDS Church by Parley P. Pratt, 1837. To Missouri, 1838. Mormons run out of Missouri. To Utah, c. 1848. Would appear that this is a sort of "oral history," including a few questions by the interviewer, a Brother Anderson--apparently George Edward Anderson, the prominent photographer. Booklet includes interviewer's notes on conversations with other elderly ladies in Spanish Fork, 1925. Mary rambles and doesn't pay much attention to chronological order. Wiggins, Marvin E. Mormons and Their Neighbors Wilcox, Mary Young 6 Jun 1831 - History of Sanpete and Emery Counties, Utah, With Sketches of Cities, Town, and Villages, Chronology of Important Events, Records of Indian Wars, Portraits of Prominent Persons and Biographies of Representative Citizens. [Ogden, Utah: W. H. Lever, 1898.] p.278 2726. Willcox, Mary Young, 1831— Autobiography (1831—c.1848) Davis Bitton, Guide to Mormon Diaries and Autobiographies (1977), pg.383 Autobiography (1831—c.1848) Holograph. 55 pp. 15.9 cm. HDC [LDS Church Archives] (Ms d 2050, 8, 11) Davis Bitton, Guide to Mormon Diaries and Autobiographies (1977), pg.383 Written in 1925. Born in Whitberry Township, Upper Canada, 1831. Family converted to LDS Church by Parley P. Pratt, 1837. To Missouri, 1838. Mormons run out of Missouri. To Utah, c. 1848. Would appear that this is a sort of "oral history," including a few questions by the interviewer, a Brother Anderson–apparently George Edward Anderson, the prominent photographer. Booklet includes interviewer's notes on conversations with other elderly ladies in Spanish Fork, 1925. Mrs. Willcox rambles and doesn't pay much attention to chronological order.	Young Mary