Jeremiah Jackson, A Prospector Who Owned a Farm

JEREMIAH JACKSON was born in Payson, Utah, August 9, 1874 to John William Jackson and Sarah Eleanor Bingham. Perry described his father as a good-looking man with blue eyes, a mustache and a full head of hair.
In 1894 Jeremiah (Jerry) and one of his friends went to Fishlake on horseback and stopped at the place where Chloe Jane Morrell worked on a diary farm. She was a very shy girl, but nevertheless, a romance ensued, and they were married by Bishop Hiatt Maxfield on January 18, 1899 in Fremont at her parent’s home.

Jerry became a carpenter, farmer and the village blacksmith. He also, repaired watches, washers, thrashing machines, wagons and acted as the town dentist. He built cabinets for many homes in the county. He also became a prospector. Earl Jackson referred to his grandfather as a “prospector who owned a farm.” Perry and his father went prospecting many times together. They searched for gold, but didn’t find any that was worth much. Jerry found some over by Meeks Lake, but it had a lot of copper in it.

The young family moved to Caineville, Utah for a short time. While Jerry and Chloe lived in Caineville, he occasionally shawed horses for the infamous Butch Cassidy Gang. Jerry would come out to the blacksmith shop and see two or three horses tied up to the fence. He would shoe them and tie them back up again. The next morning he would go back to the shop, and the horses would be gone, and a twenty-dollar gold piece would be lying on the anvil. After two years in Caineville, the family moved back to Lyman.

When their daughter Eleanor was two years old, Jeremiah moved his family to Fremont to Chloe’s parent’s old farm and lived in a two-story log house. Chloe’s mother had remarried and lived on the next farm over.

Jeremiah was friendly with the Indians, and the Piute Indians camped on his front lawn, pitching their tents for three or four days at a time. Jeremiah often visited the Indian camp near Koosharem. The Indians were doing some prospecting, and had found some copper. He would spend time with them to help them stake out their claims and do the legal work.

In the fall of 1935 while Jeremiah was in the field rounding up his cows to bring them to the corral, he had a very unusual experience. Upon returning to the house, he said, “Chloe, sit down. I wish to tell you something that happened to me while I was in the field.” Then he related the following to his wife saying: I heard my father’s voice just as plain as I have ever heard it when he was living. (Jeremiah’s father died in 1928) He said, “Jerry you have just five more years in which to preach the gospel.” After that experience, Jeremiah explained the gospel of Jesus Christ to as many men as came into the shop to get work done. He kept the Bible in the shop at all times for that purpose.

In October 1940 Jeremiah was helping some other men reshingle the Fremont church house. The next morning he went into the field to milk the cows, after which he came into the house and told Chloe that he had a pain in his chest. He then went into the bedroom to lie down. The pain grew intense and Chloe sent Perry for the doctor. Before the doctor came, Jeremiah had passed away. The five years were up.

Chloe and Jeremiah are both buried in the Fremont, Utah Cemetery.

To see the headstone for Jeremiah Jackson click this link: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=16224444