PIONEER OF THE MONTH - ELIZA CUSWORTH BURTON STAKER

ELIZA CUSWORTH BURTON STAKER was born January 19, 1824 in Lockwood, near Huddersffield, Yorkshire, England. Her parents were John and Martha Brook Cusworth. They were well-to-do farmers. Eliza was one of four children, two boys and two girls, one brother and one sister having died. She attended the schools of England getting a common education for that time.
At the coronation of Queen Victoria, Eliza was a flower girl. There was a large number of small girls who acted in this capacity, carrying flowers and singing "God Save the Queen".
She married Joseph Burton June 8,1846. The lived very happily for a few years during which time two children, a son Frend Burton (known as Joseph Friend) and a daughter, Martha Ann were born to them.
About this time Mormon Elders, Joseph E. Young and Cyrus Wheelock, came to that part of England. Joseph attended their meetings, heard them explain the Gospel, believed it, and purchased a Book of Mormon, which he started reading. Soon there were bad stories going round about these Mormon Elders. Eliza hearing them worried a great deal. She coaxed her husband not to read the book or have anything to do with these elders. He told her not to worry and kept on. She felt very badly about it.
After retiring to her bed one night, she could not sleep. It was very dark and as she lay there thinking and praying about her trouble, the room suddenly began to get light and the light increased until the room was light as noon day. Then the light disappeared as it had come until all was dark. After seeing this she could never say a word against the Mormons and it was a testimony to her that their Gospel was true. Soon after this she and her husband were baptized, and then began saving money and making prepartations to emigrate to Utah. Joseph Burton joined the church, and traveled around as a local Elder during the time they were preparing to come to Zion.
Joseph was what they called in England, a carrier. He delivered goods from the depot to the stores, and while working he lifted too heavily and broke a blood vessel. In a short time this caused his death. His dying request was that Eliza gather with the Saints and do their work in the temple, and raise the children among the Latter Day Saints in Zion. She promised him she would do this.
Sometime before this her father had died, and her mother and brother, who did not believe in Mormonism were very much opposed to her going and tried every way possible to persuade her not to go. They promised to take care of her and the children and that they would never want for anything as long as they lived if they would only stay with them. Her husband' s England.
These were trying times for Eliza, but she knew the gospel was true. She had made promises to her dying husband and was determined to fulfill them. So in the spring of 1856 she packed her trunks and left her home, relatives and friends, and started on a journey of six thousand miles with her two little children. The only one of her relatives who would go and see her off was Benjamin Burton, he husband's brother, who carrried her little girl, Martha to the depot and bid them good-bye. This was the last she saw or heard of her relatives for twelve long years, during which time her mother died.
The first part of the journey was accomplished by train to Liverpool and here they took passage on the good ship "Horizon", a sailing vessel, and were seven weeks on the ocean. This was considered a good trip at that time. She suffered a good deal from sea sickness. For about ten days she was unable to even care for her children.
They went by train and boat from New York to Council Bluffs, Iowa. When they arrived there, they found they were too late. The last wagon had gone and there was no other way, but to wait for handcarts to be made and go that way.
I do not think they realized the great distance it was nor the time it would take them to get there, it being 1300 miles from Council Bluffs to Salt Lake City, and it was late in the season to undertake such a long journey.
On July 15, 1856, Captain James G. Willie and a large company of hand cart immigrants left Iowa City for Salt Lake Valley, and about two weeks later Captain Edward Martin led a similar group out toward the West, despite the fact that both had been warned that the season was too far advanced for such a lengthy journey. With hearts filled with high faith, eager to reach Zion, the promised land, the Saints could not be dissuaded from the journey. In the middle of July with the sun scorching hot, who could picture severe winter weather three months away? Besides, was not the Lord with them, their vanguard and their rear guard? With eyes set upon the western horizon the handcarters began their journey in joy. In most part they were converts from Europe who had pictured for weeks their great adventure.
The Martin Company, which Eliza and her friends were in, started from Iowa City on July 30, 1856. The handcarts were hurriedly made and had wooden axles lined with leather. For this reason the had to stop very often for repairs and did not reach Salt Lake until November 30, 1856.
When the handcarts were ready, the people were told they would have to leave most of their belongings, as they could only bring necessities on the hand carts. Her trunks containing silverware, linens, bed sheets, and lots of her valuable clothing had to be left behind and she never received a cent for it. Eliza pulled the cart and her little boy, Frend (Joseph), aged seven walked all the way, and helped his mother pull the cart part of the time. The little girl, Martha, four years old, rode.
The company was composed of five hundred men, women and children, one fourth of whom died on the way. The first part of the journey, they got along quite well, but after awhile their food began to give out. The women stood it better than the men. Thus they plodded on day after day, and month after month, trying to encourage one another. At night they would gather around the camp fires after supper and sing songs. Come, Come Ye Saints was one of the favorite sings.
Eliza waded the Sweetwater River three times in one evening. First she took her boy across on her back. When she reached the other shore she put him down, but he was frightened and tried to follow her back. She was forced to tie him to a nearby tree while she went back to get his sister. She then had to make the third trip to get her handcart. She spent part of the night drying her clothing and it was freezing weather.
They were advised not to travel on Sunday, but on account of it being late in the season they did not heed this advice. But when they traveled on Sunday, they nearly always had some trouble and many of them felt that they were doing wrong by not obeying counsel. Towards the latter part of their journey they were told their food was almost gone and were put on very short rations, one fourth of a pound of flour for each person a day. Mother had gold in her pocket, and she and her children were starving. At one time there were nine persons who died in one night of cholera, caused by drinking alkali water.
When Wyoming was reached they ran entirely out of food. They would still have to travel one month to reach Salt Lake City. The ranchers would sell them no food, but sold them some pelts of deer and mountain sheep that were dry and old. These were soaked, scraped of hair and cleaned the best they could be and cooked. The soup was thickened with their last remaining flour. Eliza and her children suffered greatly. Her little son Joseph carried the marks of their perilous journey to his grave, as his foot was frozen and he lost two of his toes.
President Brigham Young heard of these poor handcart people marooned in the snow at Martin's Cove and immediately sent teams and food to assist them to Salt Lake City. Martin's Cove was a small valley between the mountains and a small rolling hill in front. There was a stream running through the cove and it was somewhat protected from the bad weather. But they did not have sufficient food and many of them died here in this cove.
When Eliza reached Salt Lake, she made inquiry for William Cusworth, a cousin who had gone there earlier in the season with an ox team train and with whom she intended to make her home for a while. She found he had become discouraged and apostatized, and had taken his family back to Iowa where he located. She was taken to the home of Isaac Laney where she was taken care of and stayed for a few weeks.
Then she and her children were taken to Pleasant Grove, Utah. Here she met Nathan Staker, a widower with several children. The bishop had introduced them and advised Nathan to take her as a wife. The bishop had said that the marriage would mean a home for Eliza and her children and a mother for Nathan's children. So they were married February 18, 1857. Nathan was considerably older than Eliza, a difference of twenty-three years. But they got along well together and were happy and she was a good mother to his small children and he a real father to hers.
Their first child, James Benjamin Staker was born February 7, 1858. In 1859 they came to Mt. Pleasant where the helped pioneer Sanpete County. They went through the Indian Wars, grasshopper war, and passed through many hardships incident to pioneer life. Later four girls were born to them, Cornelia, Eliza Jane, Josephine, and Elizabeth Ellis. Eliza was a stepmother to Nathan's children.
Nathan Staker died May 29, 1883 at 83 years of age. He was buried in Mt. Pleasant, Utah June 2, 1883.
Eliza lived until 1914. She was visiting a daughter, Eliza Jane Day, in Fairview when she took very ill and died three weeks later, April 9, 1914. She was buried in Mt. Pleasant beside her husband. She was ninety years old and had been a widow for thirty one years.
Eliza was a faithful Latter-Day-Saint. She always attended her meetings, paid her tithing, was a good Relief Society worker. She taught her children to be honest Latter Day Saints. Her living descendents at the time of her death numbered ninety six: two sons, four daughters, forty five grandchildren, and forty five great grandchildren.
Written by Eliza Jane Staker Day - a daughterWritten in Fairview, Utah May 14, 1924

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Nathan and Eliza Cusworth Staker

Nathan Staker was born 28 November 1801 on a farm in Cataquera, Upper Canada. The first child of a thirty-two year old Dutch farmer, Conrad Staker andhis eighteen year old dark-haired and very beautiful wife, Cornelia Schnack, who seems to have been a mixture of English, French and Dutch ancestry. According to the records of Kingstonm, Ontario, Canada as chronicled by two different writers, he was christened January 24 or February 28, 1802 in Kingston, Ontario, Canada.

 To the best knowledge the settlement of Cataquera had not acquired the name of Kingston at this time but finally became Kingston so it was the same place. It was a wild country, heavily wooded with a lot of lakes and streams where fishing was good in the summer and skating was the principle means of transportation in the winter

 From his father, Nathan inherited the characteristics of pride of country, love of family, thrift, and he was very spiritually minded. He had sterling integrity and a quick temper. When he grew to manhood, Nathan met a very beautiful black-haired French Canadian maiden, Jane Richmond. She was born August 25, 1810 at Pickering, Ontario, Canada. Her father a loyalist, was David Richnmond and her nmother was merca Ray, also of loyalist parentage. They were married in 1827. Nathan was raised a Methodist. He was very religious young man and studied hard. He was a Bible student, a class leader, and very devout. Each winter during the relaxationfrom farm labor they would take part with the neighbors in social affairs and religious revivals. One of their hymns, "Poor Mourning Soul in Deep Distress" was a favorite. It seems he was never satisfied, even though hehad become a Methodist Minister. A feeling of unres and dissatisfaction with his professed religion, from a Bible standpoint, had of late taken possession of him. But Methodismj was the best that he knew anything about and he tried to make the best of it. About this time, one of the small children grew very ill. (The followingis a quote from an article in the October 1903 Improvement Era.) "As this particular winter season approached, however, of which I wish to speak, one of their little ones sickened and in spite of all their devoted care, grew steadily worse until he was at death's door. The parents were worn out with watching and the mother was discouraged and disparing." "They knew nothing of authority or priesthood, those potent agents which have won the aid and favor of the Almighty in these glorious days of the restored gospel, but Nathan believed that the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and he tried to live for it. For two days he fasted and then retired secretly into the woods to pray. Kneeling down by the side of a log, he poured forth his whole soul in prayer that God would stay the hand of the destroyer and give back to the stricken mother, the life of her little one. And gloriously was his prayer answered, for an angel came in person, and laying his hands upon his head, blessed him for his perseverance and faith and promised that his child should be spared, adding for himself, he should yet live to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and bring souls into the true fold. Now this had long been the secret ambition and desire of his soul, but he had no idea at that time that the promise of the angel meant anything else than the preaching of Methodism." "After the angel departed, Nathan returned to the house. As he appeared in the door, his wife, who sat by the bedside of the sick child grieving over it, looked up and was awed and frightened by his appearance and expression. 'What is the matter, Nathan?' she cried." "He tottered toward the bed and with the words, 'Be comforted, the child shall live', he fell over upon the bed in a deep swoon. She thought for a moment that he was dead, and wringing her hands in anguish, cried, 'He has given his life for the child. Oh, I have done wrong in clinging to my baby as I have done. I should have submitted without a murmur to the will of God'." "After a time he revived and told her what he had seen and heard and their hearts were filled with thanksgiving and solemn joy. As we get 'line upon line and precept upon precept' so afterwards was the true gospel brought to them, and you know Jesus says, 'My sheep hear my voice, and they follow me.' Then did they begin to understand in full the glorious promise made by the angel." Improvement Era 1903 

  In speaking of this experience afterward, he said that he seemed for the time being to be taken out of the body, for though the angel stood directly behind him, he could see him distinctly, and described him as a shining personage, with robes of exceeding whiteness, and hands which lay upon his head were transparent and not only could he see the angel, but he could see himself kneeling beside the log. Never, through all his life afterward could he speak of this glorious experience without weeping. A short time after this event the gospel of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints was brought to them. When he heard Mormonism from such master missionaries as the Pratts and Brigham Young, he embraced it. Nathan and Jane were baptized June 11, 1835 in Ontario Canada. Then did they begin to understand in full the glorious promises made by the angel. After joining the church they made the usual sacrifices to gather to Zion. He moved with his family to the States. 

The Stakers made their home in Kirtland, Ohio which was the headquarters of the church at this time and as the saints were very busily engaged in building the Kirtland Temple, he undoubtedly worked on it. Their fourth child, Alma, was born June 15, 1836 at Kirtland. It had been arranged after a series of meetings of the Council of Seventy from March 6, 1838 to July 5, 1838 that the Saints should move in a body from Kirtland, Ohio to Jackson County, Missouri. These meetings were attended by the Spirit of the Lord in rich abundance, with many manifestations of the Spirit such as visions, revelations and inspirations. These meetings took place in the attic chamber of the Kirtland Temple. Thursday, July 5, 1838, the camp commenced organizing on a piece of land in the rear of the house formerly occupied by Matthew Hillman, about 100 rods south of the House of the Lord in Kirtland. This movement was one of the greatest of its kind ever attempted in the history of the world and is known as Kirtland Camp. "After the tents were pitched and all things arranged, an enumeration of the camp was taken, when itwas ascertained that there were in the camp 529 souls present (a few were necessarily absent), of which 256 were males and 273 females. There were 105 families all on the ground." The spectators retired at a late hour and left the camp in quietude. the camp was quiet, the night was clear and the encampment and all around was solemn as eternity; which scene together with the remembrance of those other scenes through which the Saints of Kirtland had passed during the last two years all presented themselves to the thinking mind; and together with the greatness of the undertaking, and the length of the journey, and many other things combined could not fail to awaken sensations that could be better felt than described. Of the men who, on Tuesday March 13, 1838 signed the constitution and laws governing the Camp, we find listed Nathan Staker whose family consisted of six; William Draper, a brother-in-law, whose family consisted of two; Jared Porter whose family consisted of three. On March 20, 1838 the seven counselors met and agreed that two good teams and one tent would suffice for eighteen persons. Men were selected as overseers of tents and wagon bosses. The men selected as tent and wagon boss for the tent to which Nathan Staker and his wife and four children were assigned was Andre Lamereaux, who also had a wife and four children. It is unknown who the other six were who made up the tent divisions. Jane Richmond Staker never got along with this Lamereaux family and a lot of ill feelings always existed, which was always frowned upon by Nathan. The Staker tradition has it, that on one occasion when a slough about fifteen feet wide was being forded, all the teamsters would start their teams into the slough then grab on the back end of the wagons and wade through. When Nathan's turn came, he got the team and wagon in the slough, then taking a little run jumped over dry shod. Mr. Lamereaux was not a little vexed and had ordered him to take water, threatening him with his riding whip and when Nathan made it dry shod Lamereaux spurred his horse across the slough and striking Nathan with the whip ordered him to wade back into the slough. At this wife Jane takes over, wrenches the whip out of the wagon boss' hand and hit him in the face with it. Whether this is the correct version of the fray or not, we do not know, but here is what happened according to Church History Vol. 3 page 128: "Friday 17 July 1838, Nathan Staker was requested to leave the Camp in consequence of the determination of his wife, to all appearance, not to observe the rules and regulations of the camp. there had been contentions in the tent between herself and Andrew Lamereaux, overseer of the tent, and also contentions with his family several times on the road, and after the camp stopped in this place, the council became weary of trying to settle these contentions between them. Andrew Lamereaux having gone to Dayton to labor, taking his family with him, was not present at the council, neither was there any new complaint made, but the impossibility of brother Staker to keep his family in order was apparent to all and it was thought to be the best thing for him to take his family and leave the camp." So this was the end of the trail as far as the Nathan Staker family was concerned. This was not an uncommon occurance, one other family having been asked to leave the camp the same day, and one the next day, the camp was beginning to break up. They were camped now about twenty miles beyond Springfield the county seat and one of the largest towns they had passed through. The camp stayed at this place where they took a contract to work on the turnpike and other work, such as raising levies, making ditches and other farm work. They did not leave this camp until August 29, 1838. On Tuesday, September 2, 1838 they arrived at Far West and at their destination October 4, 1838. 

 Nathan Staker and his family went back to Springfield where they made their home until they started for Zion beyond the Rocky Mountains, with the exception of the two years he spen on a mission to his old home of Ontario, Canada where he went to try and convert the rest of his people and where November 1, 1843 Aaron, their seventh child was born. When he returned from his mission he brought his mother and most of the family with them to Quincy or Nauvoo, Illinois. His mother, Cornelia Schnack Staker, however went to live with her son, Conrad E. Staker at Clayton, Illinois. This son was not converted and Cornelia, although was converted, never was baptized until she came to Utah. Nathan and Jane both had Patriarchal blessings December 15, 1845 in Nauvoo given by John Smith and they received their Endowments February 6, 1846 in the Nauvoo Temple. In the early spring of 1846 the Saints were driven from Illinois and made their headquarters at Winter Quarters and Nathan and his family went to Pigeon Grov, Pottawattamie, Iowa. Why they chose this town, no one seems to know. Cornelia Staker Hart buried her husband Elias Hart in March 1846 at Berry, Pike Illinois. Jared Porter, a member of the Kirtland Camp took pity on her and her fatherless children and as there were only three in his wagon brought her home with him to Pigeon Grove, where it seems he had a good home. He married her in polygamy and had one son by her. They left for Utah in about 1847 and she died of smallpox at Ft. Kearney, Nebraska. Now would it not be natural for Mr. Porter to offer his brother-in-law Nathan Staker his home to live in while they were preparing to cross the plains, and would it not be probable that Cornelia Staker Hart Porter and Jane Richmond Staker were both infected with the smallpox in the same house? That is what is believed to happen. At any rate the Nathan Staker family was living in Pigeon Grove January 1, 1850. Here they built the wagons, that were to bring them to Utah, while they were quarantined with smallpox and where Jane Staker gave birth to her last child, Joseph Staker, October 7, 1850. Where Jane died of smallpox February 11, 1852 and where John and William Staker became fathers in 1851. They left Pigeon Grove and crossed the plains with the Henry Miller Company. Many of the people in the settlements through which they passed came out to see the long trains of "mormons" as though they were a wild beast show. A small boy sitting on a gate was heard to remark, "Why, I don't see but they look just like other folks." While in camp, near a certain city or village, Brother Nathan Staker asked his daughter, Sarah to take a tin quart cup to a tin shop and have the handle soldered on. The tinner, knowing she was a Mormon, thought he would have some fun. So he winked slyly to the bystanders and said, "So you want the handle soldered to your cup do you?" "Yes, sir." "Why, you are a Mormon ain't ye?" "Yes, sir." "Then why don't you have faith that the handle will solder itself? Haven't you faith to heal your cup?" "No, sir, I haven't faith that I can mend my cup, but if you will put the handle on good, I have faith that it will stay on." The bystanders laughed and clapped their hands and the tinner was so amused with the answer that he mended the cup "good" according to her request, and refused any compensation for his trouble. After a long and tiresome journey, the same as all the pioneers had, he arrived in Utah with his children in November 1852. The oldest child, John was now twenty-five years old, and little Joe, the baby, only two. Here they faced the many hardships which came their way and the father did the double duty of father and mother for five years. John and William Staker and their families stopped in Salt Lake City, but Nathan and his motherless family went on to Pleasant Grove where he helped pioneer that town and held offices of both church and state and where later when he was living in Mt. Pleasant, he and his wife would come back to in the frall. He to work in the molasses mill and she to cut and dry fruit by spreading it upon the roof. At Pleasant Grove the Bishop introduced him to a widow of genteel bearing and told him she was the woman he should marry, and that is just what he did sometime later. She was an English lady, Mrs. Eliza Cusworth Burton, a widow with two children who had recently come from England to Utah for the Gospel. Her children's names were Martha and Joseph. (According to the parish register of Warmfield, Yorkshire, England, Joseph was christened Frend Burton, but was known as Joseph Friend). Their father had died just before she left England, he had made her promise to bring the children to Utah. The bishop had said that the marriage would mean a home for her and her children and a mother for his children. So they were married February 18, 1857. 

Nathan was considerably older than Eliza, a difference of twenty three years. But they got along well together and were happy and she was a good mother to his small children, and he a real father to hers. The older ones of his family had scattered out, some had married some went away to work, and the boy, Aaron had drowned in Spring Lake at the age of twenty one. Nathan stood as proxy for her first husband, Joseph Burton, when she was sealed to him, saying that he would not rob the dead. While they lived at Pleasant Grove their first child, James Benjamin was born February 7, 1858. The next year they moved to Mt.Pleasant, San Pete, Utah where they helped pioneer that country. They lived in the fort at one time, went through the Indian wars, grasshopper war, and passed through many hardships incident to pioneer life. The family also at one time lived in the United Order, to do that they were all baptized in the river by John Taylor Henigar. Nathan got his portion of land in the North Field near North Creek, (later he preempted it, paying the Government $1.25 an acre to receive his deeds.) A little later he acquired a large farm east and north of the Round Hills which he and his sons developed and improved and which he later divided with his sons Jim and Joseph and hs stepson Joseph Burton, who always shared equally with his own sons. He taught school for many years, receiving pay for only two of them and that very little and was in produce. For more than two years he herded the town sheep herd in what was then Thistle Valley, and is now Indianola, where he was in constant danger of being killed by Indians. He was always kind and honest in his dealings with his red brothers, following the council and advice of Brigham Young, "That it was better to feed them than to fight them". 

Many times he gave his pot of mutton and dumplings to them and went hungry himself thus winning their friendship and respect. Here in Mt. Pleasant they were blessed with four daughters: Cornelia, who only lived a short time, Eliza Jane, Josephine, and Elizabeth Ellis. When Ellis was born her father was sixty five years old and she told about his long white beard and how as a child she sat on his knee at meal time and loved to follow him around in the orchard when he was doing his pruning and grafting. Nathan was a good farmer and gardener and had the first and finest orchard in Mt. Pleasant. He exchanged cheese and meat for fruit and shade trees with his son William in Sugar House Ward, Salt Lake City. In his early life he was a rail splitter and an expert with the ax. While working in the timber, he had the misfortune to have a tree fall on his leg. This caused him to have a slight limp and in later years he always used a cane. About this time in his life he had blood poison very bad in one hand which almost cost him his life. The hand was left quite badly scarred. He was a God-fearing, honest, industrious and hard-working man, raised a large family who loved and trusted him. He lived and taught, "Do to others as you would that they should do to you." He never went in debt and taught by precept and example the regular attendance at church. He, his wife, and family never missed Sunday School or Sacrament Meeting unless they were ill.

 He was blessed with all the spiritual gifts that were promised the believers by Jesus Christ. On July 5, 1874 he was ordained President of the High Priest Quoram by Elder Orson Hyde. All through his life he was very much against strong drinks and intoxicating liquors. He said his father drank and caused his mother so much sorrow that he would have nothing to do with it. This sweet old blind mother, Cornelia Schnack Staker came to Utah from Illinois in 1876. She lived to be one hundred years, ten months, and twenty-seven days old. She had ten children and lived to see them all die first. The last to pass away was her eldest son, Nathan who died in the spring and she in the fall. It was Nathan's pleasure and joy to convert his mother to Mormonism. She was baptized at the age of 95. Grandfather Nathan was privileged to help raise the dead. When Eliza Jane, his oldest daughter by his second wife, was about eighteen months old she followed him from the Day home, where her mother was visiting with Charlotte Melland Day, and where they all had eaten dinner together, and from a narrow foot-bridge between the two lots she fell into a stream which was swift and deep and it carried her small body rapidly down stream. When her mother found she was not playing with the Day children, as she had expected, she hurried home to see if the baby was with Nathan. Everyone immediately began to search for Eliza Jane and she was found some distance down stream. All thought she was dead. Nathan began to work with her saying that she was not and could not be dead. Elder Orson Hyde, who had been to a Conference in Spring City was just passing by and was called in to administer to her. He did not think the baby was alive but Nathan said, "I blessed this baby to live and to be a Mother in Israel and she will." They administered to her and she immediately began to breathe and within two hours was playing around the yard as though nothing had happened. She lived to be the mother of thirteen children. 

 Nathan Staker was a real self-made man. When he came to Mt. Pleasant he had an ox team and wagon with which he farmed for years, cutting his grain with a cradle and binding it by hand with its own straw, threshing it wit a flail and cleaning it with the wind. Nothing was wasted. He would mix buckets of a layer of chaff, then a layer of bran dampened with water, which was economical and at the same time nutritious and fattening. The family made their own butter and cheese, and cured their meat in the old smoke house. They raised their own cows, sheep, and other animals and hay and grain to feed them in the winter. They always had a good garden and raised all their green vegetables, always had enough and some to share with others not so fortunate. The sheep wer the most useful and highly prized animals as Eliza, recognized as the best knitter in the town, would card the wool and spin the yarn, from which she and the girls knitted all their warm stockings and mittens. They would spin the wool into fine thread and send it to the weavers to be woven into cloth, which although coarse, was warm and very serviceable. 

 Their first home in Mt. Pleasant was made of logs which he cut in the mountains and hauled with his ox team. It consisted of one large room. The logs were chinked and the roof was made of dirt piled on top of willows, the floor was of hard packed earth. The second year it was floored with rough lumber and furnished for the most part with home made furniture, with woven raw-hide for the seats of chairs and bedsprings, straw ticks for mattresses and home made quilts for bedding. A fireplace was at one end which served for both cooking and heating the house. The cupboard was made by putting shelves across one corner. Later another small room was added, but the next summer had to be taken to the farm to live in while the land was being preempted. As time went on Grandfather built and furnished a large adobe house, which is still standing in Mt. Pleasant. Here the family, consisting of three of Nathan's children by his firts wife, namely: Aaron, Mary Ann, and Joseph Smith and the two Burton children: Joseph Friend, Martha Ann lived, loved and were happy. Nathan and his oldest son James built a large planing and grist mill business and prospered financially. They were very interested in their ancestors and did a lot of temple work. They also paid the secretary of the Manti Temple to do research work for them. He in turn hired a lady (a Mrs. Beard), who was German to do research work for them in Germany. How she did I do not know, but from a letter received from Uncle Jim (now on file in the Salt Lake City library as a manuscript) I know that it was she who started the story that the original Nathan Staker was one of the Hessian Soldiers that were brought over here to fight for the British in the Revolution. How I was able to find this error and correct it, is the theme of the manuscript before mentioned. They obtained a lot of names from Germany and had the Temple work done for them, all kinds of names, if they sounded like Staker or Rap they were accepted without question of relationship. These name are in the files of the Index Bureau in the Salt Lake City Genealogical Library.

 I think the Stakers were from Holland. (William Marchant Staker's findings) Nathan Staker was a very charitable man, he ranked a lot above the average intellectually. He taught school alot of the time without pay. His store house of food was always open to those less fortunate than he and he gave generously to the Church for the building of Temples and Ward houses, but his crowning charitable act was to give up his own children whom he loved very dearly to another man. It came about this way. Eliza Cusworth Burton day promised her husband, Joseph Burton, on his death bed that she would bring their children to Zion, raise them in God's own church, have their sealing work done, and have their children sealed to them. She informed Nathan of this fact and he, knowing that by this act he would forfeit the right of fatherhood not only to his foster Burton children, whom he loved like they were his own, but also to his own Staker children throughout all the endless ages of eternity, (that is his children born to him and his second wife Eliza Cusworth). Yet he did this, acting as proxy for Joseph Burton, and had them married for all eternity and their children sealed to them just as she had promised. I think that we may well paraphrase and say "Greater Charity has no man than that he give up his children to his friend." When asked about this later, Nathan remarked that he just could not rob the dead. Nathan Staker had some cattle which ranged on the mountains. One day he found one of them dead, it being a fine fat steer, he opened it and took out the tallow to use for candle making, which they did by running the melted tallow into tin molds, into which a wick had been stretched, and cooling the molds until the tallow hardened, and then extracting the candles. Nathan had a small pimple on his hand into which he got some poisoning set in and they feared he would lose his arm. Dr. Wing treated it by burning with caustic a ring around the arm above the elbow. This treatment possibly saved his life but he suffered dreadfully for months.

 Nathan was always a little lame, due to an accident when he was a young man. While working in the timber, a tree felled had lodged in another tree. When he cut this tree, the first one slid down and hit him. He said it was a glancing blow on the shoulder, but it caught and mashed his heel and from this accident he suffered his whole life with an arm that he could not raise without pain and a heel that was partly cut off. No doubt it would have killed him but for the protection of God who spared him for the great mission which he performed in life. His daughter Ellis was subject to croup, having it so severely that they feared she would die. The nearest doctor at that time lived in Nephi and was not to be had most of the time. One night she was exceptionally band and seemed to be choking to death. Nathan administered to her and immediately after taking his hands off her head, she opened her eyes and said, "Don't cry, I'm better." Nathan's first wife, Jane Richmond, who died at Pigeon Grove, Pottawattamie, Iowa had had a blessing from Brigham Young in which he said she would make the journey to the valley of the Saints. Her death was a lamentation on the family's mind. They couldn't understand. When they finally reached the valley they went to see Brigham Young, telling him their feelings. He told them, "Your dear wife and mother did reach the valley, the valley of death, with six hundred or more who died on the way." He told them that she was called by our Heavenly Father for a purpose we cannot understand at this time. "Your mother has gone to the Highest Degree of Glory, to a much happier place than this." Nathan had inherited a constitutional dread of death, by his prayerful solicitation the manner of his death had been shown him in a vision and he dreaded it no more. In the Improvement Era, October 1903, is a life sketch of Nathan Staker. "September 22, 1875 a remarkable and pleasant sight was seen in a dream by Nathan Staker, born November 28, 1801 in Canada. 'I saw in my dream, and behold I was walking in a very pleasant plain spread over with very beautiful trees and I was surrounded with the most beautiful countenances though not quite so fair as our present race and when I beheld their love and kindness to me and to each other and the beautiful order which they observed and when I remembered the disorder and confusion amongst my brethren who profess to be Latter-day Saints, I wept sorely and most bitterly and could hardly be comforted and felt to pray in my heart to God to be merciful to me and my brethren and give us this good order." by Nathan Staker Truly his was an ideal death of a patriarch. After a well spent life, his surroundings comfortable and peaceful, himself free from pain, with a heart full of love and blessings for neighbors, friends and family and retaining his consciousness until the last momen when he fell asleep. He passed away May 29, 1884 at Mt. Pleasant, Sanpete, Utah and is buried there. His was one of the largest funerals ever held in Mt. Pleasant. His wife Eliza lived until 1914, she was a widow for thirty years. She lived to see her ninetieth birthday. She died in Fairview, Utah, but was buried beside her husband in Mt. Pleasant, and thus closed the life of two of our pioneers. "Truly belessed are they who die in the Lord, for their death shall be made swee to them." Note: Histories of Nathan Stakere were written by: William Marchant Staker - grandson Dora Day Sanderson - granddaughter Velera Filmore Larsen - granddaughter They were combined with parts from each being used into this one history.

Caratat Conderset and Mary Napier Rowe

Conderset Caratat and Mary Napier Rowe, sitting on their front porch. This picture was prob ably taken while they were living in Mountainville.

Excerpts taken from histories by Loretta Rowe Burnside and Jennie Allred Brotherson. Both Histories can be found in the History of Mountainville by Melba Hill.

Caratat Conderset Rowe, son of William Niblo Rowe and Candace Branchard Rowe, was born in Perry Township, Delaware County, Indianaon May 11, 1823. The family had migrated from the northeastern states. He often told his grandchildren that his name was Caratat Conderset Nichols John Rowe. The grandchildren thought this was just another joke that their witty and fun-loving grandfather was telling them. But he may have been named for the Marque de Jean Marie Antione Nicholas Caratat Condercet. Caratat was of medium height and had dark brown hair and brown eyes.

It seemed that the Rowes lived near the Latter Day Saint Church headquarters and were acquainted with the early church leaders whom they respected. As a youngster, Caratat heard the gospel from missionaries. It was not until he realized how much the “Mormons” were being persecuted for their faith that Caratat became interested. He was baptized August 12, 1842. As a young man he married Mary Napier, a lovely blue eyed, red haired Scotch lassie who was a “Mormon” convert immigrant.

Mary Napier was born March 30, 1823 in Kilayth, Lanarkshire Scotland. Her parents were Janette Gillis and John Napier. Mary was descended from the royal family of Scotland and of Ireland. Genealogists have traced her lineage back for many generations; on one line to 1700 B.C. She was of the royal line of Judah through King Zedikah according to Church records. Many interesting facts are thus brought out concerning her ancestral lines and their history.

When missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints preached the gospel in Scotland, Mary and her sister Isabella were converted. They were baptized, though it is not known if at the same time. Mary and Isabella were the only ones of their family to come to America. It is not known at this time if Isabella ever came to Utah. Elder Franklin D. Richards was one of the missionaries who preached the gospel to Mary.

Mary’s great faith and the friendships she gained kept her happy. She seemed to enjoy the spiritual gift of Vision of Prophecy. Many times she knew of coming events before they actually occurred. Shortly after their marriage came the call for enlistments in the Mormon Battalion. Caratat joined with his two cousins, William and Manning Rowe. The Battalion left Fort Leavenworth, Kansas and marched toward the southwest to prevent further trouble between the United States Government and Mexico. The trials and hardships the men endured are well known. A sick detachment of men were sent to Pueblo, Colorado to spend the winter of 1846-47.

During the journey William Rowe became very ill and was unable to walk. The officer in charge thought this poor sick man would die. He advised the company to leave him there and move on. Caratat sat cross-legged on the ground beside his sick cousin. With his musket across his lap, he refused to leave. Finally, the officer in charge gave an order and William was lifted into a wagon. He recovered and was able to endure the journey into Utah.

Bound for Utah with the sick detachment, which included 140 members of the Batallion, were 40 Saints, 29 wagons, one carriage, 100 horses and 300 cattle. This company arrived in Utah just five days after the arrival of the first company of pioneers. (July 29, 1847).

Caratat traveled east to meet his family. He left Salt Lake Valley on August 26, 1847. During the journey his feet were frozen. While Caratat had been away with the battalion, his wife, Mary, lived with Caratat’s parents in Iowa. Caratat Conderset Rowe, Jr. was born in Iowa on August 10, 1848/49. Candace Blanchard Rowe was born July 24, 1851 while the family was still in Iowa.

The family were members of a wagon train company which left Kanesville, Iowa in 1853 headed by Henry B. Jolley. They arrived in the Salt Lake Valley on September 15, 1852. Caratat and his family settled in Payson in Utah County. Here three children were born: William Napier, born 15 September 1853; Jennett Sterling, born 24 August 1855; and a son, Ilinian (called Allen, Lin or Leen) born 12 July 1858.

When the Walker War was raging, Caratat served under the rank of Second Lieutenant. He was a member of Company “B” of the Payson Post of the Nauvoo Legion and also a member of the “Silver Greys”. In 1860 the family moved to Sanpete County and settled at Mt. Pleasant. On April 23, 1861, a daughter Mary was born. For several years Caratat and his sons did farming and stock raising in Thistle Valley at Indianola. Here they were active in defense of this summer settlement when Indians were on the war path. Both Caratat and his son “Con” were active in the Blackhawk War. Whenever possible, they tried to remain on friendly terms with the Indians. “Con” learned to speak the Indian language and had many friends among them.

A more detailed description of those early days is given in the history of Indianola from Centennial History of Sanpete County, “These Our Fathers”. Indianola, originally called Thistle Valley, is located in the northern end of Sanpete County on Highway 89. As the name indicates, it was once the home of a tribe of Indians. They settled in a protected cove in the southeast part of the valley, called “Indian Hollow”. Here their horses and stock could feed throughout the winter among the cedars and in the ravines of the canyon. A large part of the valley consists of grass meadow land. It was for this reason that the early colonists of Fairview and Mt. Pleasant, among them Caratat Conderset Rowe, used this valley and Milburn Valley as summer pasture for their beef and dairy heads, their sheep and pigs.

They constructed small movable buildings called “herd houses” or “dairy houses”. The roofs of these buildings were somewhat in the manner of our sheep wagons of today and were covered with canvas. They could easily be moved about on wheels and follow the herds. In those the “herd boys” lived.

One year a herd of pigs had been brought to Thistle Valley for the summer. When they were being driven back to town, the men who were driving the pigs tgried to make them travel a little faster. As a result they all died from becoming overheated. The particular spot on the road about half way between Indianola and Hilltop is still known as the “Hog Dugway”.

Peter Gottfredsen, Caratat Conderset Rowe, Coderset Rowe Jr., Nathan Staker and his sons, Aaron and Joseph, were some of the herders of these flocks. Peter Gottfredsen in his book, “Indian Depredations in Utah” notes that after the close of the Tintic War in 1856, the Indians were comparatively peaceful until 1863. They again became dissatisfied, thinking that their hunting grounds were being taken from them by the white settlers.

In June 1866, Captain Albert P. Dewey of Colonel Kimball’s command was ordered to establish a key post in Thistle Valley. There were 22 cavalry and 35 infantry, the latter under Captain Jesse West. A few days later, they were attacked by a band of Indians under “Chief Black Hawk”. The battle lasted all day and Charles Brown of Draper was killed. If help had not arrived from Mt. Pleasant, there isno doubt that the Indians would have taken the camp.

The mountain now known as “Blackhawk” was used by Chief Black Hawk and his warriors as a signal point. Just east of this peak, in the Red Cliffs, is an old Indian burial ground. Undoubtedly, the Indians killed during the Blackhawk War were buried there. Many of the older Indians were buried here after they made peace with the whites.

One of the most horrible deeds committed during the Blackhawk War by the Indians was the massacre of the John Given family in the Thistle Valley on the morning of May 26, 1865. John Given, his wife, son and three small daughters were killed instantly. Two men, Charles Brown and Charles Wager Leah, who lived with the Givens, were able to escape and go down the canyon to a small settlement and report what had happened. After the massacre, the Indians gathered up the possessions of the family and killed or crippled the calves, and drove off with between one hundred and two hundred head of horses and cattle into the mountains.

While Caratat was living in Indianola, he built a wagon. The wheels were sawed off log ends reinforced with pieces of iron nailed around the outside edge of the wheels. Later, Caratat, his sons, Con and Allen moved their families to a valley east of the “Round Hills” in Sanpete County. They acquired farming land. The little settlement became known as Mountainville. Caratat was presiding Elder of this branch of the Mt. Pleasant North Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints for many years. An Indian whose name was James Onumph used to come to the home of Mary and Caratat Conderset Rowe quite often when they were living at Mountainville. Once when he was visiting with them, "Indian Jim" as he was called was talking with Grandma Mary. He asked her a question pertaining to a principle of the gospel and Mary was attempting to answer the question. She started to speak then said, "I wish that I could answer your question so that you could understand. I would like to have the language to explain it to you, and to make it clear to you". Then thge Indian said to her "Stand Up". She began to speak. Again he said, "Stand Up". Mary stood up, and began to speak to him. Onumph nodded his head and Onumph again nodded his head. It was plain that he knew what she meant. But no one else in the room could understand, even her sons and daughter-in-law. She spoke in a language which her children did not understand. But James Onumph or "Indian Jim", clearly understood what she said. Grandma Mary Napier Rowe had spoken with the spiritual gift of tongues.

John and Jane Smith Tidwell

JohnTidwell, son of William Tidwell and Sarah Goben, born 14 Jan. 1807 in Shelby Co., Kentucky.

(The following is from his own biography)
From there my father moved to Henry Co., in the same state. And there near the fork of the Kentucky River was called on to go fight for the independence of his country in the War of 1812-13. On his return home he was taken sick from much exposure and died at a place then called Fort Ball. The war was between the United States and England. Soon after the war the news came to mother of the death of my father. After the shock she moved to her father's, who lived in the county of Clay, in the State of Indiana. Her father's name was William Goben. Some little time after my mother moved to Indiana, she married a man by the name of John Conner. He was a half brother to my wife, Jane Smith. I will say here that my mother had five children by her first husband, William Tidwell, my father. Their names were John, Littleton, Nancy, Moriah, and William; all born in the state of Kentucky. After she married John Conner, her second husband, she had eight children, (namely) James, Lewis, Mary, Isaac, Wesley, Alexander, Robert and John.



On Dec. 18, 1838 I was married to Jane Smith at Marysville, Clark Co., Indiana. Sept. 25, 1835, I was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, by Levi Bracken in connection with Uriah Curtis. Those two were on a mission together at that time. I was living at this time in Clark Co., Indiana. On 20 Nov. 1835, I was ordained an elder in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Siants, and left in charge of a small branch of Saints, about twelve in number, which had been baptized previous to this time. This number increased by about twenty two or twenty three.

On 11 Sept. 1839, I left Clark Co., Indiana to gather with the Church at Nauvoo, Hancock Co., Illinois. I reached there 6 Nov. 1839, where I remained until after the Martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph and his Brother, Hyrum Smith. This took place 27 June 1844. I was ordained a Seventy and organized the ninth quorum of Seventies. I must say in connection with our stay in Nauvoo, which was less than six years, we had a great deal of sickness, also trouble caused by the mobs of outlaws of the State of Illinois, who continually sought to disturb the Saints. On 10 June 1844, The Nauvoo Expositor, a libelous paper edited by the Laws and Fosters was was considered a nuisance by the city council of Nauvoo and was destroyed by the city marshall, John F. Green. Great excitement arose about this time in the County of Hancock, by the mobbers of the State of Illinois, so that the Governor of the state, Thomas Ford, with pretense of protection, came to Carthage, the county seat of Hancock County.

On 27 June 1844, while Ford was in Nauvoo with pretense of friendship, a man broke into the jail, where Joseph, the Prophet, Hyrum Smith the Patriarch, and Willard Richards and John Taylor were confined, and under pretense of the law, martyred the Saints of Hancock Co., Illinois.

On the second day of Feb., 1848 in the City of Joseph, John Tidwell and Jane Tidwell received their Patriarchal blessing by John Smith, brother of the Prophet, who was the Patriarch.

On June 5, 1852, I left Counsel Point, southwest of Kanesville, Iow for Salt Lake Valley, crossed the Missouri River 8 June 1852. The fifth company was organized for crossint the plains the presentseason by Ezra T. Benson. I was appointed Captain of the Fifth Company for crossing the plains. The Journal of the Company will be found in another book kept by the Clerk of the Company. The record of the Fifth company of 1852 shows the rest of that journey. Sept 15, we arrived in Salt Lake City.

After a few days, I moved from there to Utah County to a place called Pleasant Grove.On July 14, 1855, I was ordained a President of Seventies at Provo by Joseph Young, Andrew Moore, Uriah Curtis and David Hunt. Joseph Young took the lead, and afterward I was assigned to the thirty fourth quorum of Seventies and appointed to preside over the (??) quorum, Pleasant Grove, Utah County.

I lived at Pleasant Grove from Sept 20, 1852 until Jun. 3, 1853, when I concluded to go to some place where I could get land enough for farming, so as to provide for my family and also on account of things being in much immoral state that I feared my family would get into bad habits such as I did not wish them to do. I thought I would move to some other place so I moved to Sanpete County, a distance of about eighty miles to Mt. Pleasant, where I arrived June 13, 1859.

On the 19th of June 1859, I was appointed to take charge of the building of the East Wall of the Fort. It was 20 rds. long, 12 feet high, four feet thich at the bottom, and two feet thick at the top. This was completed before the 24th day of July of the same year. This was built to protect the people from the Indians.

John Tidwell died at Mt. Pleasant Jan. 24th 1887. He had the following children: James Harvey, William Nelson, Mary Jane, Jefferson, Lyman, Martha, Margaret, Sarah, John, Emma Jane, and Marion.




Sugar Bowl which belonged to John and Jane Tidwell



(The following is written by Lettie P. Peterson from the things she can remember being told by her mother. )
John Tidwell and his family lived in the Fort until after Chief Black Hawk was killed and the Indian troubles were partly over. Then the people began moving out of the Fort. Each family was allotted a quarter of a city block to have as their home. John Tidwell's place was on Second South and State Street, where John K. Madsen lived for many years and where Grant Johansen now lives. (1960s) The Tidwells lived at that location the rest of their lives.



John Tidwell built a two room adobe house on his place and later added two more rooms built of lumber with a large fireplace in the living room. This was the only way they had of heating their home except with a small cook stove in the kitchen. Grandmother did most of her cooking in the fireplace--baking bread on the red-hot coals in a large iron Dutch oven, boiling water and making soup in a large iron pot hung on heavy iron brackets over the fire.


I was just a small child but I can remember the blue checkered tablecloth on the table, and how good the hot bread would smell and how good it would taste spread with butter and honey! Grandmother would churn butter and sell it for 10 cents a pound and also sell eggs for 10 cents a dozen.



Grandfather engaged in farming and cattle raising--owning land west and south of Mt. Pleasant. He had several beautiful horses which were sometimes used in the parade on the fourth of July by his son, John (or Jack as he was called).



Grandfather and Grandmother had twelve children. They were born at various places from Indiana to Utah. They are: James Harvey, William Nelson, Mary Jane, Jefferson, Lyman, Nancy Ann, Martha, Margaret, Sarah, John, Emma Jane, and Emiline Mariah. (The last named is my mother.) Three of their children died in infancy.




The following is recorded in the book "Mt. Pleasant", "An elderly Englishman by the name of Lee (father of Brig Lee) was working at a shingle mill. In some way he got his arm in the machinery and it was crushed. He was taken to his home and John Tidwell was called. There were no doctors in Mt. Pleasant at that time. Mr. Lee was placed on a table and four men held him while John Tidwell performed the operation of amputating the arm, which took 40 minutes. The only operating tools available were a knife and a meat saw. Brother Lee recovered and lived many years after that incident occurred.



"John Tidwell was good at making tubs and churns and pails out of wood, bound with wooden hoops which were used by the Pioneers.
"Jane Smith Tidwell was in the first dramatic company organized in Mt. Pleasant. They played for some years both in the Fort and after the new meeting house was built outside of the Fort--wheat was accepted as cash for tickets."



Grandfather died January 24, 1887, at the age of 80, and was buried in the Mt. Pleasant City cemetery.

Andrew --- Johanna Anderson (Widergreen) Madsen

Johanna Anderson Madsen --------------Andrew Madsen Sr.

Andrew Madsen was born on March 3, 1835 on his father's farm, located near the little village of Svinninge, Osherred, Denmark. His fathers before him had been free men of the soil, holding their land in every sense of the word: ambitious, clean, hard-working, kind, honest and deeply religious. Young Andrew assimilated these traits. Of his early childhood, he later wrote, "I received my education in a village school house and worked upon the farm, assisting my fater in earning a livlihood. Later, I worked for my uncle two years at a salary of $1.25 per month, including my board. For one year I then worked as a carpenter's apprentice and received no pay other than learning the trade, and boarding myself."

With his parents and brothers and sisters he joined the Mormon church in 1854, he being baptized on December fourth. Andrew's conversion was very real. After the family unanimously decided to gather to Zion, Andrew, with his brothers, Niels Peter and Niels and sisters Margrethe and Jacobena left their home on November 23, 1855, they began their journey to Utah. They set sail from Liverpool, England, December 6, 1855, in a company of 508 converts. Andrew recorded "Many of us became seasick. The voyage was not a pleasant one and our vessel was not equipped for so many people, so we suffered many disadvantages. We had tiers of bunks aroound the sides and boxes in the center. We were all compelled to eat off the boxes we had to sit on ... our rations were very coarse and simple, and our water supply became low, owing to the long journey."

On the nineteenth of that month a bad storm developed and continued for several weeks. On the first day of the new year, 1856, the storm became much worse and a mast cracked under the violent force of the wind. It was wrapped tightly with a chain so it could serve for the rest of the voyage. Then fire broke out under the captain's cabin and filled passenger quarters with thick suffocating smoke. With extreme effort it was extinguished. under pressure with these troublesome events, the Captain forbade all praying and singing of hymns. Andrew later wrote in his journal "This did not prevent us from fasting and praying in secret, and afterwards, better weather prevailed." On February 24, 1856, after eleven seasick weeks, filled with the dangers of storm and fire, with nearly sixty dead, they thankfully landed at New York City.

Andrew and his party proceeded to St. Louis, arriving there March 1, 1856. None of his family could speak English and it was difficult to get along. Those able to work did so when worked could be had. Andrew found work on a steamboat and was paid $2.50 per day; later he worked on a farm for $15.00 per month. About June first, President Knute Petersen gathered a company and they went to Winter Quarters (now Florence, Nebraska) where they organized to continue on to Utah. Their outfit consisted of sixty wagons with two yoke of oxen, andsix to ten persons to each wagon.

On September 16, 1856, nearly ten months after leaving their home in Denmark, Andrew and his brothers and sisters arrived in Salt Lake City. Andrew had the thrill of his lifetime when he met Brigham Young, and he was especially thrilled to realize he could understand many of the words of the Prophet.

Andrew and his family were poor when they arrived in Utah, having "one dollar in money between them." according to Andrew. However, when Lorenzo Snow was to build a fine home in Brigham City, Andrew and his brothers presented him with a keg of nails, which they had brought all the way from St. Louis. In pioneer Utah, a keg of nails was truly a rich gift. The Madsens stayed in Salt Lake only briefly, then moved to Kaysville where they divided their remaining posessions. Andrew received a pair of young steers as his share of their common property, and moved to Brigham City, where he worked as a carpenter. He was paid twelve bushels of wheat and his board, for his winter's work.

On December 21, 1856, the brothers and sisters learned that their mother, Bodil, and brother Christian had arrived in Utah and that their father, Lars, had passed away in Devil's Gate, Wyoming, when traveling with the Hodgetts oxen company. After Bodil and Christian were with them, the brothers and sisters all moved to Brigham City, a devoted and happy family. The following September 13, 1857, their brother Mads reached Salt Lake City, safely. There was a great rejoicing, for the whole family had completed the journey to Utah.

In 1857 when the United States government sent troops to the Territory of Utah, Governor Brigham Young declared the territory under martial law, and forbade the troops to enter Utah. Andrew's brothers andsisters were by then married and in March of 1858 they moved to Fort Ephraim, but Andrew stayed in the north to help the militia. They planned to burn their homes and destroy their property if thearmy actually threatened the people. While in the militia Andrew did some trading with the Indians, obtaining a red flannel shirt andsome buckskin trousers, his first suit of clothes purchased in Utah. By June the difficulties between the United States and Utah were peaceably adjusted, and the militia disbanded. Andrew took his gun, his knife and blanket and walked from Brigham City to Fort Ephraim,a distance of about two hundred miles, where he was reunited with his mother, brothers and sisters.

On December 26, 1858, Andrew was married to Johannah Elizabeth (Widergreen) Anderson. Johannah was born 15 December 1840. To them were born ten children. They were:

Hannah L- - - - - Born: September 27, 1859

Louisa B. - - - - - - - - - - August 10, 1861

Andreas- - - - - - - - - - - September 15, 1863

Annie- - - - - - - - - - - - - October 20, 1864

Emma - - - - - - - - - - - - July 15, 1866

Andrew C.- - - - - - - - - May 4, 1867

Lawritz L.- - - - - - - - - - August 2, 1869

Anthon W.- - - - - - - - - - June 18, 1871

Neil M.- - - - - - - - - - - - September 21, 1873

Hilda E.- - - - - - - - - - - - November 28, 1877

About the last of February, 1859, Andrew and a venturesome group of people left Fort Ephraim and moved north. They finally camped on the present site of Mt. Pleasant, March 20, 1859. there they built a good substantial fort to live in, following the counsel of Brigham Young. The fort walls were twelve feet high, made of good stone,andenclosed five and one half acres. Very little farming was done that first year, according to Andrew, for first the land needed to be cleared of giant sage brush and fields needed fencing.

From 1865 to 1868, Andrew participated in the Black Hawk War, and his history of that Indian uprising has been a reliable source of information.

Andrew and his brothers worked tirelessly for then common good of the community and became interested in the first steam powered saw mill, mowing machine, hay bailer, threshing machine, binder and reaper, molasses mill, and piano brought to their valley. Recognizing their need for fuel, Andrew also become interested in opening the first coal mine eat of Mt. Pleasant. Realizing the benefit a retail establishment could be to the community he helped organize the Mt. Pleasant Z.C.M.I. and was its first superintendent. When it was later dissolved, Andrewtransferred his holdings to the newly formed Union Mercantile Company, which later became the Madsen Mercantile Company. Seeing the value of rapid communication, Andrew and his brother, Mads sub scribed stock in the new telegraph line in 1865. They cut telegraph poles, transported them to and erected them on the proposed sites, to pay for their stock.

Andrew owned a two thousand acre ranch at Indianola and a twenty-five thousand acre ranch at Scofield, Utah. He owned several herds of sheep and cattle. He helped organize the first Sanpete County agricultural association and was its first treasurer. He served on the Mt. Pleasant City Council for twenty four years and acted as the first city treasurer.

In 1909 the citizens of Mt. Pleasant held a big celebration honoring their pioneers, on the fiftieth anniversary of the city, and Andrew originated a movement to erect a monument honoring the settlers of the city and preserving their names on it. He was always interested in preserving history and tradition and to this end, wrote extensive personal and community accounts in his records. They became the basis for the Mt. Pleasant book, compiled later by his daughter, Hilda. That the fellowship of the pioneers and their descendants might be preserved, Andrew organized the Mt. Pleasant Pioneer Historical Association in 1909, and served as the first president until his death six years later. In recognition of his outstanding leadership and community service he was especially honored by the Association on March 13, 1915, on his eightieth birthday, and he was presented with a gold watch, in appreciation.

Andrew was a tall, well proportioned man, his hair, light brown and eyes a gray-blue, with a clear tanned complexion and ruddy cheeks. He was strong and healthy and enjoyed wrestling with his sons. Even when grown men, they were unable to overcome him in their bouts. His active, long and eventful life closed when he passed away December 6, 1915.

(excerpts taken from the Madsen Family History)

Andrew Madsen Home

(also, Hilda Madsen Longsdorf Home, a daughter)

Peter Madsen Peel and Christine Folkman Peel

Peter Madsen Peel

The beautiful Peter Madsen Peel home was located on First West and Main Street where the Triangle Lounge now sits. It was torn down to accommodate the Seely Hinkley Garage in later years.

Peter Madsen and Christine Folkman Peel History

(excerpts taken from research by Madeline Merrill Mills a great granddaughter)

Peder Madsen Peel (Pihl, Piil) was born on the 24th of August 1820 in the town of Aaker, Bornholm, Denmark. His father, Henning was a farmer and he had a small farm just outside the town of Aaker.

Peder and his father had a wonderful feeling for each other and were very close. Both of them were small in stature and they worked well together. Peder was very apt in the mechanical things and would fix anything. He learned the blacksmith trade. He may have worked for his future father-in-law because Jergen Folkman, too, was a blacksmith. This ability to know how to do things certainly stood him in good stead in his later life.

On November 27, 1846, he married Christine Folkman, a daughter of the blacksmith. They were the same age as they were probably school friends and had known each other all their lives. She was a dark, slender young lady who moved swiftly and was happy and gay. She was the second child and daughter of eight children. They were married in the white Lutheran Church in Aaker and their first little girl, Christiane, was born the following year. She lived about ten days. They had another little girl the next year, July 25, 1848. They named her Christiane, too, but she lived only until the following March and Christiane Pihl was without a baby again.

On the 14th of November, 1850, she had a little boy, Christian Frederick, and they were so happy with him. They lived in a little house just outside of town. They had a big garden - the soil was deep and rich and things grew easily. Both Peder and Christiane had a feeling for growing things. Christiane loved flowers and the spring ones especially. The baby grew into a sturdy healthy boy, and followed his father and mother around their place in Aaker.

The first Mormon missionaries came to Bornholm in June of 1851 and had very limited success, but had baptized four people. They were called back to Copenhagen for a general conference in August of 1851, and at this time it was decided to organize a branch of the church in Bornholm.

Brothers Anthon Agren and Hans Peter Jensen came to do this. In October they moved into the Aaker section and on October 18th they were holding a meeting at the home of neighbors of Christiane's father and her brothers went over to hear what they had to say. At the meeting, the Elders said that the Lutherans were teaching false doctrine; and this made an impression the young men. Chris wrote in his autobiography that he and his brother, Peter, decided to repent of their sins but didn't want to be Mormons. Christiane's older married brother, Jeppi, was also at the meeting and he invited the missionaries to their home. He also invited his brother and father and several relatives to be there. The Elders spoke and Chris wrote that he wanted to protest what they were saying, but they proved with references of the Bible that what they said was right. Then in November there was another meeting at Jeppi's home and this time Christiane and Peder and Peder's father, Henning and mother, Karen, as well as other relatives and friends attended. It was a very inspirational meeting and right after this meeting, the very same evening, her brother, Jeppi, and his wife and cousin, Anders Ipsen, and wife, and a neighbor, Trana Johnson, decided to be baptized. All of the people from the meeting walked the mile and on-half to the beach and the five were baptized. It was very thrilling to the crowd to see the baptism done in the original way.

A few days later on the tenth of November, Peder's father, Henning, and mother, Karen, and sister Caroline, were baptized by Elder Jensen. About this time, the people of Bornholm, stirred by the Lutheran Church, began to be very unfriendly to the members and to the investigators. They made threats if people joined the Mormon Church and there were some beatings. Brother Jensen had returned to Copenhagen for Conference in November and Brother J. Jorgensen who had been ordained a priest was continuing with the meetings. Christiane's brothers and Peder's father were right in the middle of the persecutions. It was very heavy around Aaker. At one time the Elders were literally carried out of the county and threatened that they would be killed if they came back. The mob was led by the sheriff.

Christiane's brothers, Peter and Christoffer, were baptized on the 29th of November and the next morning they wee told by some customers to the blacksmith shop not to expect any more work from them because no Mormon could ever do work for them. The next day, Jeppi was ordained a Priest and also District President and his cousin, Anders Ipsen was made a Priest and his counselor. A mob with clubs were ever around. The members there in Bornholm were abused and beaten, arrested and their lives made miserable. Their jobs were threatened and some lost them, but through it all only one couple left the Church.

Every day there were more and more baptized. In February, Jeppi was called as a missionary and other missionaries, including one from Zion, Brother John Forsgren, were sent to the island to help. Peder and Christiane knew the church was true. On August 2, 1852, they went to the beach and were baptized by Brother Ole Svendsen. The mobs were relentless in their search for the missionaries and in their harassment of the members but the members continued to hold their meetings.

In the autumn of 1852, the subject of emigrating from Denmark to Utah was brought up. All the Pihls decided to leave. They got their outgoing permits on the sixth of November, 1852. But there just was not enough money for all to go, so it was decided that Peder's father and mother and sister should go. A total of 25 adults and 11 children sailed for Copenhagen to join other Scandinavian converts for the trip. They sailed for England on December 20th, 1852 via Kiel. Brother John Forsgren sailed with them. At the dock, along with a crowd of Saints, was a big crowd of hecklers but no violence occurred.

In the year of 1853, many more people were baptized. There were healings, and faith-promoting events. Violence increased, if anything, but there was much love among the Saints and everyone helped each other.

Peder and Christiane were busy getting the money together and preparing to leave. Her brother, Jeppi, who had spent one and one half years in Norway on a Mission - six months of this in jail and his wife, who had gone to Copenhagen to stay until he got back were leaving, too. The middle of December, 1853, they sailed to Copenhagen. Their brother, Chris, met them there. He had been called to the island of Lolland as a missionary. It was a wonderful reunion. As usual there was a big crowd at the dock and after the ship sailed, one of the missionaries was beaten. The ship "Slesvig" was carrying 301 Saints . President John VanCott accompanied these emigrating Saints by way of Keil, Gluckstadt, and Hull to bid them farewell at Liverpool. They sailed from Liverpool the 26th of January. The ship had been delayed because of sickness of the children. More than a dozen had died. But they sailed on the Benjamin Adams with 179 Scandinavian and six British Saints under the direction of Hans Peder Olsen.

It took more than six weeks for the trip to New Orleans. There had been sickness and several deaths on the way. Little Christian Frederick died two days before they docked. Christiane could not stand to have him buried at sea as she had seen others be and she prayed to God that if he would let her keep him until they reached land she would not cry. She carried him off the ship when it docked and Christian Frederick was buried on a knoll in a grove of trees at New Orleans. She was again without child, but at this time was expecting again. The group of Saints went up the Mississippi to St. Louis, and after staying there for awhile, went on to Westport, Missouri, now part of Kansas City, where other Scandinavian people had arrived and gathered.

A company was formed under the direction of Hans Peder Olsen as Captain. The emigrants began their journey on June 15th 1854, but some of their wagons were so heavily laden that a halt was called by Captain Olsen and messengers sent to Leavenworth, Missouri to consult with Orson Pratt of the Council of Twelve, who, that season was the emigration agent for the Church. He advanced the company enough money for 50 more wagons. It was while they were waiting that Christiane gave birth to another little boy. They named him Christian Frederick, too. He grew to manhood. Christiane had a great power of recuperation and she never complained.

One of the happiest times on the trek was when they met Erastus Snow going East on a mission to the States and he spoke to them in their own language. It was like manna from heaven in this strange land.

Peder's father and mother and sister had arrived in Salt Lake the hear before on September 13, 1852, with the john Forsgren Company. The mother was ill and exhausted from the long journey and had died on the 30th of November, just two months after their arrival. She was buried in Salt Lake. Shortly afterwards, his father and Carolyn went to Lehi to live. When Peder and his family arrived, they went on to Lehi and settled there. It was already October and cold and because they could manage nothing better, they lived in an old hut that winter. The roof was poles covered with dirt to keep out the weather. One day in the spring, as the ground got softer from thaw, the walls gave away and the poles fell in almost killing Peder's wife and baby. He immediately began to build them a cabin and they had a garden planted. Soon after this, Peder, Christiane and his father came to Salt Lake to find his mother's grave but it was unmarked and they could not find it, nor to this day do we know where it is.

The Piils lived in Lehi for several years - four in all and Caroline married Hans Yes Simpson, another Danishman. Christiane's father and brother, Peter and family came in a handcart company in the Spring of 1857, and came to Lehi to be with them. Another daughter was born to them on March 1, 1858. She was named Margaret Folkman Peel and blessed in the Lehi Ward. By this time, they had anglicized their name to "Peel".

On Sunday, March 21, 1859, President Young, because of the imminence of the arrival of Johnson's Army, issued an order for all families north of Salt Lake to travel south, and the migration south started. Peder's father and sister and husband went with it and settled at Ephraim. The trouble with Johnson's army was over in a few weeks so Peder and Christiane stayed the winter along with her father and brother, Peder, and family, but early the next spring they packed their belongings and moved to Sanpete County where his father was and they were among the first settlers of Mt. Pleasant.

Peter M. Peel passed away November 17, 1900 as a result of a paralysis of the heart after only a few hours sickness. He had was one of Mt. Pleasant's earliest and most prominent pioneers. The Book of Mt. Pleasant by Hilda Madsen Longsdorf names Peter M. Peel as Mt. Pleasant's first Blacksmith. He presided over the Scandinavian Meetings for twenty years.

Christine Folkman Peel passed away November 6, 1899. She was a faithful and kindly lady, beloved by everyone. She was a counselor to the President of the Relief Society. Whenever any of the LDS Church authorites visited Mt. Pleasant, they made the home of Sister Peel their stopping place. She and her husband, Peter M. Peel were husband and wife for fifty three years