Silas Wilson Morrell & Luzernia Allred, A Story Of The Wild West

SILAS WILSON MORRELL was born August 11, 1851, in Cottonwood, Salt Lake County, Utah, to William Wilson and Sarah Jane Richards. He mar­ried Virginia Morrell while living at Union Fort. Virginia died on August 2, 1875.
Silas moved to Rabbit Valley (Wayne County) with his father in 1876. On July 12, 1876, he married Luzernia Allred in Fremont, Utah, daughter of Andrew Jackson Allred and Chloe Stevens. They were parents of seven children. Their daughter Chloe Jane Morrell was the first white child born in Wayne County.

While working his father’s sawmill Silas was injured and was unable to do manual labor after the accident. He and his wife owned a farm just east of Fremont where they built a two-story, log house. They also had a dairy farm east of Fish Lake, later known as Silas Springs where in the early summer they herded milk cows to the mountain spring to graze during the warm months. Summers were spent making cheese, and in the fall they took it to Richfield to sell. March 1891 Silas and Luzernia decided to go to a warmer climate in New Mexico, hoping his health would improve.

Luzernia was pregnant and they stopped at Bluff. She gave birth to her baby in the wagon bed. The next morning when they moved it, there were three rattlesnakes beneath it in the sand. Although they stayed in New Mexico for some time, Silas’s health never improved, so they decided to return home. They reached Fremont in the latter part of September and hadn’t been home long when Silas died on September 26, 1893, in Fremont, Utah, and was buried in the Fremont Cemetery.

Raising a family as a widow is difficult, especially in the “wild west.” A year after her husband’s death, Luzernia married William Henry Long (Bill) on November 14, 1894. He was a crack shot and took care of the Morrell family. They had two daughter born to them at Fremont, Viola in 1896 and Evinda Ann in 1898.

Luzernia and Bill (pictured to the right) later moved to Duchesne, Utah where they lived until their deaths. Bill was a colorful character and is suspected to have once belonged to the Butch Cassidy outlaw gang. On his death certificate, it states that Henry William Long died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head “two miles east of Duchesne,” Utah on November 27, 1936. Luzernia Allred Morrell Long died a few months later in Duchesne on March 11, 1937. Here is a website for information on this theory

http://www.sundancekidhenrylong.com/

To see the headstone for Luzernia Allred and William Long click this link:

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=32890821

To view the headstone for Silas Wilson Morrell click this link:

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=17381847

William Wilson Morrell, Stalwart Settler And Rancher

WILLIAM WILSON MORRELL, Son of Cyrus Wilson Morrell was born May 8, 1830 at Nile Township, Sciota County, Ohio. Little is known concerning the early life of William Wilson Morrell, although the family was known to be living in Schuyler County, Illinois in the later part of the 1840’s.

Mining excitement was running high at this time. The California Gold Rush of 1849 found William Wilson and his father, Cyrus Wilson Morrell, and other family members joining those seeking their fortunes in the gold fields of California, However, other events intervened which significantly changed the outcome of this venture.
As they neared the Great Basin, it is reported that they met a member of Brigham Young’s colony who persuaded William to accompany him to the Great Salt Lake Valley. In late October of 1849, Silas Richards led a party of emigrants to the Salt Lake Valley. Because of this fact and William’s later involvement with the Richards family, it is possible that Silas Richards was the person whom William met on the way westward.

On September 23, 1850, William married Sarah Jane Richards, the daughter of Silas and Elizabeth McClenahan Richards, prominent pioneer settlers in South Cottonwood and Union Fort. William and Sarah Jane were blessed with seven children while living at Union Fort. Four of the seven children survived to grow into adulthood and three infant daughters were buried in the Union Fort Cemetery.

In 1877 William brought his first wife, Sarah Jane, and their children, Sarah Ellen Maxfield and her family, William Elmer and John Franklin back to Fremont to live. He settled this family on the Fremont River just south of the town of Fremont. He help build the first sawmill in the county. He also sowed the first alfalfa seed in the north end of Rabbit Valley in 1881.

In the year 1891, William left his families at Fremont to accompany his eldest son, Silas, and his family to Mexico. Silas’ health had continually worsened since an accident at the mill. When they reached Farmington, New Mexico, they determined that the purpose of the trip was not being accomplished and began their journey back to Utah. When they reached the Colorado River, William was injured as a result of being caught in quicksand. This must have been near the Moab, Utah, area because he remained in Moab for 14 years (1891-1904). Finally, due to declining years and the loss of his sight, he was brought back to Fremont by his son George. His last years were spent mostly with his son, Hyrum, and family in Fremont. He died Monday, January 14, 1907, at the age of 76 and was buried in the Fremont Cemetery.

To view the headstone of William Wilson Morrell click this link:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=18983428