Isaac Newton Phipps and Emeline Mariah Tidwell Phipps ~~~ Pioneers of the Month April 2021

 

 Isaac Newton Phipps

  24 May 1845 - 27 Nov. 1911 Son of Isaac Phipps and Mary Eleanor Dean Lettie Phipps Peterson wrote this life story date unknown. Additional stories were added from a document called, A1979 remembrances by Lettie Phipps Peterson recorded for her son, Wayne.@ [During his life, he went by Isaac Newton Phipps, Jr. because the Smith family had told him he was named after his father. After further research it has been determined that his father did not carry the middle name A Newton, therefore, he should not be referred to as Jr. Since this life story was written without this knowledge, we are leaving the Jr. and Sr. in this version. His birthdate was also found to be 24 May 1845, but he did not know this, so always celebrated on June 18th. His siblings were Sarah Jane, Lemmon Washington, William Harrison, and Enoch Ferman.] Isaac Newton Phipps, Jr., son of Isaac Newton Phipps, Sr. and Mary Eleanor Dean, was born June 18, 1845, in Slippery Rock, Butler County, Pennsylvania. He came to Utah when a very small boy with Uncle and Aunt Smith (Joseph and Abigail Smith) reared him after the death of his mother. They came to Salt Lake City and settled in West Jordan. Later they moved to the Dixie Country and resided in a small settlement called Sappi. They moved to Mt. Pleasant, Utah in 1864. Isaac was one of eight children the Smiths reared B, not of their own. Opal Scoville's great grandmother, Sarah Clark, was one of them. Isaac was three years old when his mother died; his brother Enoch was six weeks old. Enoch was given to Uncle and Aunt Smith, but he died in infancy. One day Isaacs's father brought Isaac to the Smith home and left him in the yard, kissed him, and told him to be a good boy. Never again did Isaac see or hear from his father. Isaac had two brothers and one sister older than him. The brothers were George Harrison and Lamuel Washington; the sister was Sarah. After moving to Mt. Pleasant, he went away to various places for employment. He returned and was married to Emeline Maria Tidwell on December 24, 1875, by David Candland. Later he went to the Endowment House and was sealed to Emeline. They also had their three oldest children sealed to them at that time. They were Louisa Jane, Mary Eleanor, and Charity Rosalia. Later five other children were born. When Isaac went to the temple for sealings, he was instructed to take his own name and establish it. Instead of Smith, it was Phipps. After that, he went by both names B Isaac Smith and Isaac Phipps. (In later years Isaac and Emeline received their second anointings in the Manti Temple.) Isaac was baptized at the age of 8 years, in 1853. He was religious and held the gospel very dear to him. His greatest desire was to live the gospel and have his family do likewise. He wanted them to be religious and to have faith in the gospel. He bore his testimony of its truthfulness often to his children at home. Just a few days before he died, he said, if I could leave my family either wealthy or with a testimony of the gospel, I would leave them a testimony of the gospel. He was active in the church and attended sacrament and priesthood meetings regularly. He was a High Priest and a ward teacher for many years and was a full tithe payer. When I was a little girl my father would tell me stories while I scratched his head and combed his hair after he had gone to bed. He would do his chores early in the evening and have his supper and go to bed to read. He got up in the morning really early so he was tired. He told me about a little bird that saved his life when he was a boy. He was plowing for a man and had gone around the field several times. When he came to some bushes he stopped to let the horses rest and he lay down under a bush to rest, too. A little bird came and lit on the bush above his head and then flew and lit on the toe of his shoe and then back on the bush above his head. The bird did this three or four times. The last time he didn=t light on his toe but on the ground by his feet. Father raised up to see where the bird had gone and there was a large rattlesnake all curled up and ready to strike him. Father lay down quickly and rolled out into the plowed ground away from the snake to where he was safe. The little bird saved his life. When Father was about nine or ten years old he got lost and didn't know which way to go to find his home. He was up in the hills where there were a lot of cedar trees. This was when they were living in Southern Utah. Quite a few Indians were living there and the white people were afraid of them. While Father was up in the hills an Indian came by and Father hid among the cedars until he passed by. When the Indian got a ways off, Father would call out and the Indian would come back. Then father would hide again so the Indian would ride away. This happened two or three times. Father was afraid of the Indian and he was afraid to let him go because he was lost. The last time the Indian came back Father let him see him and told the Indian that he was lost. The Indian put Father on his horse with him and took Father where he could see the town where he lived. This Indian was good and Father was glad he came by and showed him how to go home. After Isaac and Emeline were married, they moved to Vermillion, which was later named Venice. It was located east of Richfield, Utah. There Louisa Jane, their first child, was born. About one year later they made a trip to Mt. Pleasant to visit Emeline's parents and the Smiths B John and Jane Tidwell and Joseph and Abigail Smith. After much consideration at that time, they decided to sell their place in Vermillion and move to Mt. Pleasant. Isaac took up a homestead of 160 acres of land half-mile south of the city cemetery on the south side of town and built a log cabin on it. They lived in the cabin while he built a large frame house. There they resided the rest of their lives and the other children were born: Mary Eleanor, Charity Rosalia, Sarah Abbie, Lettie, Isaac Leslie, Leo Raymond, and a baby girl who died at birth. During the first few years, Isaac raised sheep and cattle. He later sold the sheep and most of the cattle and the land (all but 30 acres). Then he went away from home and found employment for awhile. On returning home, he put part of his farm in fruit trees and small berries B strawberries, raspberries, currants, blackberries, gooseberries, etc. He also raised watermelons, cantaloupes, and many different kinds of fruits and vegetables for the market. He was a successful farmer and a good horticulturist for his day. He also raised some grain, had milk cows and other farm animals. At one time he had a beautiful team of horses and a buggy horse which was the pride of the family. Her name was Bess. On Sundays crowds of people would come out to the farm to buy fruit and melons. That was a part of their recreation in those days. Ella can remember when we could go out and pick strawberries by moonlight. The berries were large, and the father had the plants in perfect rows. For years he never had to take his produce to market because people would come to the farm to get it. The farm was made into a pretty place, a happy home; and it remained so for years until after father=s death. The children remember the happy days they spent on the farm and also the work they had to do in helping both on the farm and in the house. I remember the large threshing machine and the big horses that went around and around while the wheat came rolling out of the side of the machine and filled the large sacks. Mother would cook big dinners for the men who ran the thresher. It was a holiday for us children. It wasn=t all work on the farm; there were times for play too. Father put up a large swing and a merry-go-round for the children. Large crowds of young people would come out from town to swing and eat watermelons. They could see Moroni when they swang as high as the swing could go. (This was Ella's comment). When the younger children were in their teens, father bought a hammock and a large lawn swing which the family enjoyed, as did many others. Andrew courted me in the hammock by the light of the moon and in the evening breeze. While clearing part of the land of sagebrush, the younger children would pile up the brush and at night have large bonfires. They would roast potatoes and play outside games by the light of the fire. As soon as the young people in town would see the fire, they would hurry out to join in the fun.  Nine ranch families lived neighbors to the Phipps family: Hyrum Branstead, Chris Rassmussen, Arnold Bigler, Jerome Zabriskie, Arthur Averett, Jacob Bigler, Oscar Barton, John Zabriskie, and Willie Winkler. We would have parties and would get together for suppers and then spend the evening playing games. There was one family that was special friends to the Phipps family. They were the members of the Jacob Bigler family. They had the same number of children in their family as we had in ours and all of us were good friends all their lives. Isaac learned to play the violin when a boy. He used a violin he made from a gourd until he was a young man and bought himself a violin. He played for many dances which were held in the homes, as well as for other small gatherings for many years. Father bore his testimony many times of the truthfulness of the gospel and the power of the priesthood to his family. He told of an experience he had once when he was rounding up his cattle west of his home (where the airport is now). While riding fast the saddle turned on his horse, throwing him among the rocks, hitting his head a blow, and breaking three ribs. He said his spirit left his body and went home. He saw Mother raking leaves on the west side of the house as it was the fall of the year. He saw a personage and asked what this was all about. He said your spirit has left your body. He could see his body lying on the ground. His thoughts were, AWhat will Mother and the children do? He said when his spirit entered his body it was like two trains coming together and every inch of his body tingled with pain especially his head. Some way he managed to drag himself as far as the cemetery where he met a man who took him home. They immediately wanted to send for a doctor, but father said, ANo, just sends for grandfather Tidwell. John Tidwell, Sr. my mother=s father.) They did as he requested; and when John Tidwell gave him a blessing and administered to him, he almost immediately felt his ribs go into place, and within a few days, he was back to work again. John H. Tidwell had great faith and loved the Lord and my father had great faith, too. When he recovered, he related the incident to Mother and asked her if she was raking leaves at the time of his accident. She recalled that she was. Another time the power of the priesthood was manifested in our home. Rosalia Phipps Tripp (Delmer's mother) was ill with brights disease when she was about 14 years old. The doctor came out every day and did what he could for her, but nothing seemed to help her. So he quit coming. One day she got much worse and looked as if she would pass away. Father went for the doctor who refused to come out because he said he had done all he could for her. When father came home he said to mother, all the help we can get will come from the Lord. I can remember all of the children kneeling down by her bedside while father and mother placed their hands on her head and blessed her. Immediately after taking their hands from her head, she raised up in bed and said, AI am well. I feel like getting up and doing mother=s work. In a few days, she was up and well again. Father died November 27, 1911, and was buried in the Mt. Pleasant City Cemetery. Mother continued to live on the farm and carry on the work until the time of her death February 20, 1926.

 

 

 

Col. John L. Ivie and his Wife Catherine Barton Ivie

See Also:

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=140201

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=112504

Elisha Kembur Barton and Celestial Eliza McArthur ~ Pioneers of the Month ~ May 2017

Celestial Eliza McArthur got the name "Eliza" from her mother, Eliza Rebecca Scovil, who had been named for her Mother's first cousin, Eliza R. Snow. Celestail's grandmother, Lury Snow, was daughter of Franklin Snow and Lydia Alcott. Franklin was a brother of Oliver, father of the prophet of Lorenzo Snow, and his sister, Eliza R. Snow. Celestial Eliza McArthur, daughter of Duncun McArthur an Eliza Rebecca Scovil, was born in Pleasant Grove, Utah, on February 10, 1860. She was the oldest of four daughters in the second family of Duncun McArthur, three of whom lived.

Duncan McArthur

There had been fourteen children in the first family, five of whom lived. Grandmother was actually part of four different families. She was half-sister to her father's first family; to her step-father's family by his first wife; and to his second family by her mother as well as being a member of her father's second family. Since she as the oldest in a large family, she grew up used to responsibility and hard work. Her step-father, Washington Perry McArthur, who was also her half-brother, was first counselor to Bishop W.S. Seely when the first ward was organized in Mt. Pleasant in July 1859. He was also active in the town government. Elisha Kembur Barton, son of John Barton and Susannah Wilkinson Barton, was born December 22, 1856, in Bountiful, Davis County, Utah. He was the youngest child in a family of eight children--four boys and four girls.

The other children--in order of their birth--were: Mary Catherine, William Gilbert, Elizabeth Jane, Phebe Elen, John Oscar, Emely Alice, and Sylvester Aaron. At age 16, Celestial married Elisha Kembur Barton, age 20, son of other early settlers in Mt. Pleasant, John Barton and Susannah Wilkinson. They, too, had joined the saints form Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, in the early days of the Church, and suffered persecutions and hardships before coming with the company led by Brigham Young across the plains to Utah. IN 1850, Brigham Young asked the Barton family to settle in Bountiful, Davis County, Utah, near Salt Lake City. They lived there nearly ten years, during which time their three youngest children were born, including Grandpa Elisha K. Barton, their youngest.

John Ivie 

After John Ivie of Mt. Pleasant met and married Grandpa’s (Elisha’s) oldest sister, they decided water was more plentiful in Mt. Pleasant, and that farming would be better there. They came there in the year 1860. Most of the people were living in the fort then. Mt. Pleasant had been settled only a year. Celestial Eliza McArthur and Elisha Kembur Barton were married on the 29th of November, 1876, in Mt. Pleasant. They went to Salt Lake City and were married, or sealed, in the Endowment House, a little over a year later, on March 14, 1878. They made their home in Mt. Pleasant.

 For a while they lived on Main Street, until they moved down on the 20 acres of farmland, where they stayed for several years. Later, when their family was larger, they built a large red brick home close to the center of town, on e block east on Main Street. The children helped with the building of this home. They stayed there until their children were grown, and and until both of them passed away. 

I will describe it as I remember it. The Plan of this home was a good for the rearing of a large family. There was a huge square kitchen on the southeast with a handy little pantry just off the south side. A nice south window let in sun just about the sink in this well-arranged pantry, where Grandma kept her dishes, utensils, and equipment for cooking. A small, but complete bathroom was just off the kitchen in the southeast corner, and a big window, which was on the east, gave them lots of sunshine. There was a large dining room, which was used more for a living and sitting room than anything else, on the west side of the kitchen. We would call it a family room today. A large bay window on the south side of this room was always filled with beautiful green plants, ferns, and flowers. There was a parlor on the northwest, and a bedroom on the northeast. The parlor contained a piano and an organ, which were used frequently by this music-loving family. On the west side of the dining room was a porch that led to lawns and fruit trees surrounding the house. 

There was a huge garden spot, and a place for cows, horses, chickens, and pigs. Leading from the kitchen on the north was a hallway which led to the upstairs and to the basement room. The upstairs had three large bedrooms and a balcony porch off on of them, on the west side. These rooms were not only used by the children, but by relatives, and guests. The basement room, well finished with brick, was a good, cool, place for the storage of fruits, vegetables, and meats. The walls were flat rocks. 

Thirteen children were born to them--six boys and seven girls. They were-- in order of their birth--Offa Celestial (who died when she was fourteen months old from choking on a pit), Alice Loretta, Kembur LeRoy, Henry Lawrence (my father), John Amos, Noah (who died two days after birth, from an overdose of paregoric), Eva Eliza, Williard “W” (named from a story in the “Juvenile Instructor”), Lloyd McArthur, Hazel Ermina, Sarah Elizabeth, Susan Mildred, and Grace Adelaide. Shortly after Kembur and Celestial were married, he took a load of wheat to Salt Lake in a wagon drawn by two yoke of oxen. Then he bought a charter oak stove, which was about half the size of an ordinary cooking stove of later days. They considered it very fine. Cedar wood, from the cedar hills, was used to burn in it. There was no coal then. People hauled wood all winter long, while the snow was deep. They pulled trees down with oxen, or cut them down. Sylvester and Kembur had their farms together, and worked together for years, until Kembur’s boys, Roy, Lawrence, and Amos, became older, and wanted their farm separate. 

Grandpa Kembur Barton was a good farmer and stockman and a very hard worker. He is always had a nice herd of cattle. Like the Bartons before and after him, he loved good well-bred horses, and always kept an excellent team. For seven generations, the Bartons had been farmers. At one time, Grandpa owned a large sheep herd, but sold it and went into the creamery business. He and his family gathered milk and cream all around town. Celestial, first person at the left in row three, is shown with other members of the “Sunshine Club,” an organization similar to the Relief Society.

Sunshine Club

Retty is second to the right of the man in the back row. The third child from the right in the first row looks like Grace. Grandpa was a short, stocky-built man, 5 feet 6 inches tall, with black curly hair, and grayish blue eyes. He was a natural-born musician. After hearing any tune two or three times, he could play it well on his accordion. He played his accordion frequently for the old time dances they had. He also played the harmonica, and chorded on the organ for the whole family to gather ‘round and sing.’

 They had many happy times together as a family. Most of the children were talented in music. All of them had the natural talent to sing well, as did their mother. Willard stood on the stage when he was three years old, and played tunes on the harmonica. Perhaps the thing I remember most about family gatherings was the brothers and sisters gathering around the piano and singing many beautiful songs. I love the harmony and the rich soprano voices. 

Briant Jacobs told me some time ago how he remembered my Grandmother and the way she bore her testimony in the ward. She would go up to the piano, pick up the hymn book, and sing a favorite hymn, then return to her seat without saying a word. One hymn that she sang was “I Know That My Redeemer Lives.” Grandma proved to be a wonderful homemaker and helpmate. She was very skillful and economical at managing the home under any conditions. She was an excellent cook, housekeeper, and seamstress. 

The whole house reflected not only good housekeeping, but the expert handiwork of Grandma and her girls. There were nice covers on the couches, beautiful cushions, and a general feeling of comfort and well-being, as well as orderliness throughout the house. Grandma seemed to possess an ability to make little go far. She made several hundred quilts, which were skillfully done, from scraps of material. She did a great deal of sewing of clothing and other articles. She was efficient in all that she did, and could accomplish a great deal of work in a minimum amount of time. Many people have told me that she could whip up a meal faster and better than anyone they had ever seen. Grace said that she never saw her mother come to the breakfast table without her hair combed and a clean apron. 

Every tramp that came into town stopped at Grandma’s house to be fed. SHe would fix lunch for them while they chopped an armful of wood. Grandma kept boarders part of the time to help feed the family. She and the family sold butter and milk. The children used to pick and help dry apples up at Aunt Lib’s (Libby Everett, Will Everett’s wife) for their family and Aunt Lib’s. They took care of lodge halls also.

 Grandma spent part of her time as a nurse caring for the sick people around town and she went over to the Jacobs family (just through the block) who were all down with flu and helped them. She also helped to bring Dr. Bryant Jacobs into the world. When his mother was having a difficult delivery, Grandma retired to an upstairs bedroom to pray, and came back down to complete the delivery. Everything went better after that and Sister Jacobs was able to successfully deliver her youngest child. Another time when she was riding with President and Sister Jacobs to the temple, the car broke down, and Grandmother went over in the sagebrush and knelt pray. She returned to the car and said, “Let’s go.” They all got in and the car worked fine. Every day she combed her invalid neighbor’s hair. This was Mrs. Hannah Reynolds. Every time she baked, she sent her a little cake or pie. 

About 1900, the family considered moving to Canada to live. On April 9, 1903, Grandpa Barton, and two of his sons-- Lawrence and Amos-- with Ossy Barton and his family, left for Canada. When they left, all that they owned in Mt. Pleasant was promised away. With a company of 17 men, cattle, horses, and car loads of furniture, they traveled to Canada--to Lethbridge, Alberta. When they reached there, they stayed with a Mrs. Heninger, who wa Oscar Ivie’s sister. 

After three or four months stay, they bought a place west of Raymond. In May, a terrible storm arose, which lasted three days and nights. Half of the cattle were lost in the storm. Some were found in the mountains. A bit discouraged, but still determined, Grandfather Barton returned to Utah to get his family and to go back to Canada. Amos became homesick while waiting, and also returned to Mt. Pleasant. Lawrence stayed there (in Canada). On November 9, 1903, after his return, Kembur Barton died suddenly from a quick stroke and heart attack while doing the chores at his home. From then on the older boys, Roy and Lawrence, helped run the farm, and Grandma carried on hearing her family alone as a widow. 

The family did not go to Canada, but stayed in Mt. Pleasant. After Grandpa’s death, Grandma helped clean the sacrament cups each week, and applied the labor on her tithing, which she always paid. Aunt Grace and all helped. I remember Grandmother Barton very well. I think her most outstanding quality was her “serenity.” She did not say much, but was always calm and patient. Her hands were always busy. Around her was order, cleanliness, good food, and cheerfulness. I never saw anything in her house untidy, although there were always relatives there. She is no longer with us, but her spirit continues to influence our lives, and “the ears of the children are turned to those who gave them life.” By June Barton Bartholomew

John Oscar Barton and Emaline Seely Barton ~~~ Pioneers of the Month ~~~ December 2016

Moroni Seely ~ Pioneer of the Month ~ May 2013

The following history is taken from the Seely Family History, and written by Deloy F. Seely

Moroni Seely and Emily Alice Seely

Moroni Seely was born 29 May 1848, the son of William Stewart Seely and Elizabeth DeHart in Salt Lake City, Utah.  He dictated his own story to Ada Larson:

In 1851 my parents moved to Pleasant Grove, Utah.  There I received my first schooling but it did not amount to much as I was not able to attend regularly.  I was just at the useful age of eleven when I had to herd sheep and ride after the cattle.  It was very hard times, food was very scarce and our daily diet consisted of greens of different kinds.  During the summer months my oldest sister's task was to gather enough wild greens for the family.  Many times I had to get up in the morning and hunt until I could find a bush of thistles, and then take my knife and peel the stalks and eat them for breakfast.  I was thankful I could get thistles.  Other times I would dig segos and wild onions.  We didn't know what  it was to have bread in those days.  You mothers who read this, just think what it would mean to you to call your children out of bed in the morning and have to tell them to go out and dig their own breakfast.  There were many who had to do that every day, but the Lord was good to us.  We are and thrived on that kind of food, and it satisfied our hunger.

About this time,  Johnston's army which you have all heard of camped near Pleasant Grove.  Some of our citizens were kept on the alert watching their movements as we did not want them in our town.  I became acquainted with them, and used to run errands for them.  The men would send me to the pasture for their horses.  They would describe the horse they wanted and I would always bring the one I was sent  after.  When they went riding they would pick me up and put me on behind them.  They told me if I wanted to be a man, I must chew tobacco.  Child as I was, I thought it would be a great honor to be a man, so I did my best to learn to chew.

Again, my father decided to move, this time to Mt. Pleasant, Utah, in 1859.  There I attended school in the Fort which was built to protect all the settlers from the Indians.  When I was 17 years old, I began riding and looking after my Father's cattle.  The Indians were still causing much trouble.  They were not satisfied with the treatment they were getting from the settlers.  They claimed they were not getting enough for their land.  Every chance they got, they would steal cattle, horses and sheep.

Several stories are told of the cause of the Black Hawk War.  During the winter of 1864-65, a small band of Indians camped near Gunnison, Sanpete County.  They contracted smallpox and quite a number died.  They seemed to think the pale faced people were to blame, and they made threats to kill the people and steal their horses and cattle.  The whites heard of this and arranged a meeting with the Indians to try to pacify them.

They met at Jerome Kempton's place at Manti.  The Indians seemed to be willing to settle without trouble except for one young chief known as Yenewood, also called Arropene.  He could not be quieted down; he kept trying to excite the Indians and would not let them talk peace.  There were to interpreters, John Lowry and Archibald Buchanan.  It is said the Indians were very angry someone called, "Look out, he is going for his arrows?.  At that, Lowry stepped up, caught hold of his arm, and pulled him from his horse.  Lowry was prevented  from abusing the chief by bystanders.  This news spread quickly among the Indians, and it did not take long for them to be on the warpath.

I acted as one of the minutemen in this  Indian war from 1866-68.  My experiences alone would fill a book, but as a history of this war has already been written I will not dwell upon it to any great length.  But I will relate one instance that was very sad; a murderous band of Indians in Thistle Valley attacked a family by the name of Givens.  John Givens had moved his family out there for the summer months.  They consisted of John, his wife, a son nineteen, and three daughters.  Mary age nine,  Annie five, and  Martha three years old. There were two men staying over night; they escaped to the little town of Fairview about six miles distant.

A dispatch was sent to Mt. Pleasant and quickly twenty men were in their saddles andon their way to Thistle Valley.  We arrived before noon.  This is what we found.  Mrs. Givens outside the cabin, stripped and laying on her back with her head toward the door; John Jr. lying on the floor of the cabin on his back with his feet toward the door and shot in the breast; the father was shot through the heart.  The little girls had been sleeping in a wagon; each little head had split with a tomahawk; they had been stripped of their clothing except a little shirt waist they had on.

The Indians took axes, cooking utensils, in  fact everything they could get their hands on, including their horses and between one and two hundred head of cattle.  They left the calves in the corral and  had chopped  each one above the hips with a tomahawk.  There we found them dragging their hind parts.  We do not know why the did this inhuman thing, unless it was to prevent them from following the cows.  We took the bodies of the family to Fairview and  buried them.  This story stands out as one of the most terrible crimes that was committed during the war, one I cannot erase from my  memory.

During the war I took part in one battle.  I acted as express rider, carrying messages from one  place to another and did considerable skirmishing and scouting until peace was restored.

In 1888, the railroad came down Echo Canyon.  I took Father's teams and went up there to work for a few weeks, grading on the road, etc.  I worked under Cyrus H.  Wheelock, he being the boss.  Brigham Young was the contractor.  I returned home for Christmas holidays.

Then I was called to go back east to help the poor immigrants who were unable to come west on their own; a large company was called to go.  My Father was captain of the group/ some  drove oxen and some drove mules.  I drove four mules on a wagon.  We had a very sad accident on the way.  We had to cross the Green River which is very large, as many as could would get on the ferry and were ferried across the river.  Nearly all were across when a cable broke, letting the ferry go down the river.  There were eighteen head of oxen and several men aboard.  In spite of all efforts, seven men and one yoke of oxen drowned.  I took a handful of matches, jumped on my horse and with Lynn Beach hurried downstream to see if we could save someone.  We found one man washed up on a small island.  I shouted to him.  He said he was alright but was freezing.  I wrapped some matches and a stone in my handkerchief and threw it to him.  There was driftwood there and he soon had a fire going which kept him warm until he could be rescued the next morning.  We found another man lodged in some brush, he looked like he was standing up.  Lynn was a good swimmer; he made several attempts to swim out to him, but the current would pull him under and he had to return to shore.  I told Lynn to stay there and I would get a rope and try to lasso the man in the river.  I returned and was ready to throw the rope when he sank.  We looked for him a long while, but he never came in sight again.

We went on to Laramie, Wyoming; there we had to wait four to six weeks for more immigrants.  I drove Father's outfit part of the time, and the rest of the time I spent scouting on horseback.  We returned to Salt Lake without any accident.  Father and I  returned home to Mt. Pleasant.

In those days money was very scarce.  When a man worked for another, he  was paid with something he could use, such as land, building materials, etc.

Sometimes he would have to trade two or three times with others to get the things he needed.

In 1870 I began  to build a house of adobe brick.  It had three rooms downstairs and two upstairs, and still stands in a splendid state of preservation.

Through all my boyhood years we had a neighbor, Oscar Barton, who lived across the street from Father's home; we children grew up together.  In those days people spun and wove their own cloth for clothing, blankets, bedspreads, etc.  There were only two girls in the Barton family, so they usually had hired help.  I liked to watch the girls at the spinning wheel, but the one that interested me the most was the youngest; she with her pretty  brown eyes and auburn hair, parted and combed into two lovely braids.  Her industrious ways appealed to me.  She was very small for her age, so her father cut down the legs of her spinning wheel and by standing on a box, she could spin with the rest of them.  I used to tease all the girls, but Alice was my favorite, and I was easy with her.  So it was as we grew up together.

When Alice was twenty and I was twenty-two, we drove to Salt Lake City by team and wagon and were married in the Endowment House on April 10, 1871.  We returned to our new home in Mt. Pleasant.

That spring I started freighting to some mining towns in surrounding areas.  I took a load of potatoes and eggs to White Pine, Nevada, for which I received a tidy sum of money.  I reloaded there with all kinds of fright and went on to Pioche, another mining town two hundred miles farther south.  This trip was very  discouraging, as I only had about twenty dollars left when I got home.

I decided not to drive mules again, so I traded my pony for a yoke of oxen, one was lame so I traded it for a yoke of little black steers.  I now had three head.  Father told me I could have all I wanted of his steers, so I took five head of unbroken steers.

Father loaned me a wagon  and Lyman Peters loaned me another.  I loaded them with flour.  Joseph Page loaded his outfit and went with me.  My wild steers traveled right strong with my broken ones.  We reached Salt Creek about thirty five miles  from home and had to double up our teams to cross it.  Everything went fine; we had only gone a short distance when Mr. Page discovered he had left his log chain at the creek.  So we went back, found the chain and returned to our wagons.  He had thrown the chain across his shoulders to carry it back.  As it slid to the ground, it caught on his pistol, discharging it.  The bullet passed through his knee, and he lay on the ground groaning with pain.  I didn't know what to do, with government wagons loaded heavily and slow ox teams.  As I stood wondering if I should unload the wagon, I could hear a wagon coming from the direction we were going.  The teamster was a stranger.  I explained what had happened, and he said he would gladly take us back to Mt. Pleasant, so I unyoked the oxen and turned them loose to graze around the wagons.  We put Mr. Page in the wagon.  He had a good mule team, so it was not many hours until we returned home.  This accident happened between sunset and dark.  I might say that Mr. Page's leg never did heal properly and he could not straighten it out, so he always walked on a peg.

Mr. Page sent Conderset Rowe to drive his teams.  We went back to our wagons the next day and  found everything as we had left it.  We  went to Pioche, Nevada.  We disposed of our loads at a good price, and I returned home with three hundred dollars in my pocket.  That seemed a large sum to me then.

I felt rich, so I bought calves, and that was the beginning of the cattle business for me.  I also looked after Father's cattle.  In 1872 or 73 I took up  a homestead in Thistle Valley, eighteen miles from home.  The land was covered with black ant hills.  I rigged up an outfit that I could hitch a team to and drive along and cut the tops off these hills.  In that way I hot rid of the ants; then I had as good a meadow as there was in the valley. There were other men  in the area, but because of the Indians we dared not take our families up there.

In the latter part of the year President Brigham Young sent word to Stake President Canute Peterson to call men to go to San Juan River area and explore it to see if it was a fit place to send people to start new homes.  President Peterson sent a call to me.  It was late afternoon when this call came.  I was very busy haying as it was ready to haul, a bumper crop.  I had worked hard for it.  My brother-in-law was with me.  I handed him the paper, saying, "what would you do?"  He said, "And leave all this?" waving his hand toward the meadow.

I asked  him to get my horse while I packed up.  This call said I was to report at Ephraim the next morning at ten o'clock.  I was eighteen miles from home.  I arrived home in the early evening.  A friend was waiting there  to take my horses to the blacksmith shop to have them  shod.

I reported to President Peterson at ten o'clock.  There were seven of us in the Party.  After explaining to us what was required of us he said, "I want you to attend to your prayers night and morning; do your swearing in between times.  If you do this, you will return safely."  That was asking a lot; I was not a religious man and had not attended  to my prayers.  Each man hand to take two horses, one for riding and a  pack horse for supplies.  Each man was allowed to take his guns, but not to use them except in self defense.  This was  hard; there were all kinds of game, but the report of a gun would probably arouse the Indians and cause trouble for us.

We traveled from Manti to the Wasatch mountains  the first day.  The next day we moved on down through  Castle Valley and Rock Canyon, and we camped on the Cottonwood Creek for the night.  The next day we went to Cottonwood Springs; the fourth day we came to the very large and treacherous Green River.  The men asked me to take the lead.  I told them to keep their eyes upstream; we crossed safely.

We went out through alkali flat, and we came to another large stream called the Grand River.  We followed it  for three days ; we camped and fished as we went.  We came to Grand  Junction, Colorado,  where the Grand and the Gunnison Rivers meet.  We had to  cross both.

After another day's ride, we came to Uncompahgre River; after following it for two or three days, we came to the Ouray Reservation.  The chief advised us to go southwest, as we could find bad Indians south.  We took his advice and traveled many days until we came to the Dallas River.  The next day we passed over the foot of the LaSal Mts. and onto Coyote Creek.  There we met Bill McCarty and three others; they were outlaws.  We camped there, but asked no questions.  We were afraid of those men, although they treated us well.

We came to a large valley.  There we found large rocks hollowed out just like a well full of water.  We watered our horses.  The next day we found streams of water coming from the Blue Mts.  Our next camp was on the San Juan River.  One day, as we followed the River, we saw a large cave, so we crossed the river to investigate.  The cave was about seventy five feet high and had seven rooms, the walls were very smooth and had hand marks like someone had dipped their hand in blood and, while climbing the ladder, had touched the wall at every step.  We also found corn cobs, we went back to our camp.

Next morning we started up the north side of the river.  We saw big cliffs lowering hundreds of feet where there were lots of cliff dwellings which we could not get to.  We followed the river several days and came upon some sand hills, looking like the ruins of an ancient city.  We went up to the mouth of the canyon; there we found evidence of pottery at one time.  There were quantities of broken dishes about, beautifully decorated and of good quality.  I filled a salt sack with the pieces of dishes and took them home to my little girl.  I have always regretted that I did not keep them, as they would be highly-prized now.  We followed on up the river until we came to the Dolores River; there we found numberless Indian tracks.  That was as far as we were told to go.  For the first time we stood guard over our horses.  We were then near the four corners of  Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New  Mexico.

We began our journey west.  We cut across country to the Blue Mts. ~~ they were our guide.  There is some very fine country through there.  We camped at Cane Springs the first night.  The next night to Grand Valley, where we  found a Negro and Frenchman,  two outlaws; we asked no  questions.  The next morning we crossed Grand River and traveled on to Saleratus Wash. The next day we went to Green River, which we crossed, then to the  big rocks with pockets of water, from there to Joe's Valley and arrived home the next day.

My family was well, my hay put up in fine shape, and a splendid woodpile.  In our company was a man who did not believe in anything--not even  God--when we left home.  We had all promised to take our turn at prayer; returning thanks to our Father in Heaven.  He took his regular turn, at prayer and could pray as well as any of us. (This story thus far was dictated to Ada Larsen and was not completed at the time of Moroni's death).

As stated before, Moroni married Emily Alice Barton in the Endowment House in  Salt Lake City April 10, 1871.  She was the daughter of John and Susannah Barton, born in Bountiful, Utah, May 2, 1850.  To this couple were born nine children.

Alice Vilate married Edward Allen Ericksen; they had six children
Cyrus Moroni, married Mattie Lenora Neilson, they had one child.  He married a second wife, Alice Nellie Thomas Galpin; they had one child.
Clara Elizabeth married Nels Henry Nelson; they had twelve children
George Lafayette married Tina Neilson; they had nine children.
Lucinda May married James Draper Bradley, they had seven children.
Orson Ray married Myrtle May Kiddle, they had nine children.
Mell Gay married Edith Elinor Dunwoody; they had four children
Artie J. married Ovedia (Veda) Fawns; they had six children.
Catherine Verda married Charles Ellis Fawns, they had five children

All nine of these children are now deceased (1986).  (This family has the unusual distinction that all nine children grew to adulthood, married, and had children of their own.  Moroni and Alice had 60 grandchildren)

Moroni and Alice purchased land and farmed and ranched at or near Mt. Pleasant, Utah.  He became a large property owner in the city and vicinity.  He had about 200 acres of land, besides city property and much leased land.  He increased his cattle herd to about 1000 head, and he also had about 400 sheep.  Besides, he still did much scouting for the Church.

In the late eighteen hundreds many people were immigrating to Canada (southern Alberta).  In 1902 Moroni decided to go see what the country was like.  H stayed with his brother Joseph Nephi, who had gone to Canada in 1899 and had built a hotel at Stirling, Alberta.  In February 1903 Moroni went back to Mt. Pleasant and gathered their household effects and some Livestock. They  moved to Canada with all their family, except one son,  Cyrus.  Cyrus stayed in Utah and worked in many areas; he later came to Canada after his first wife died  (about 1925).

Moroni bought a farm near Stirling, but he was not able to work it long.  In 1905 he had an operation and a nerve was severed, leaving his legs paralyzed for the rest of his life.  He liked to have visitors and play games from the wheelchair.  Their home was always open to visitors, who laughed and joked with him.

In 1910, the family still at home went to Utah for the winter.  Moroni had to ride in the baggage car where he could have a cot to rest on.  Artie was always at his side to do for him the things he could not do for himself. Artie also ran his father's farm.  At that time,  some of the springs were so wet that they had to broadcast the grain from a wagon.

Alice Barton Seely  died 18 January 1930 in Stirling Alberta., Canada.  Moroni died 5 May 1930 in Stirling Alberta, Canada.  Both were buried in Mt. Pleasant,  Utah cemetery, as they had requested.

by Deloy F. Seely

Anthon H. Lund ~ Pioneer of the Month ~ February 2013

The above is taken from "Utah Since Statehood" Vol. II pp 87-90

Anthon H. Lund

 As Mt. Pleasant's First  Telegraph Operator 

   Anthon H. Lund was a Latter Day Saint immigrant from Denmark.  In 1862 Anthon settled in Sanpete County at the age of 18, and set out to make a living.  He worked as a farm laborer-digging potatoes and threshing wheat. He repaired harnesses and made shoes.

     In 1866 a telegraph school was set up in the Brigham Young School House in Salt Lake City. Anthon H. Lund was amongst those chosen to learn telegraphy. He was credited as being one of the most proficient. 

    He returned to Mt. Pleasant and set up Mt. Pleasants’ first telegraph office with an adjacent photograph gallery and traveling studio wagon.

    He became President of the Manti Temple in 1891 and was called to be a counselor in the First Presidency of the Latter Day Saints Church in 1901.