Andrew Jackson Allred, Pioneer and Settler

ANDREW JACKSON ALLRED, known as Jack Allred all his life, was born February 12, 1831 in Monroe County, Missouri. He was the twelfth child and the last one born to James Allred and Elizabeth Warren. His family was living in Monroe County Missouri when his parents and their children who were old enough, joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the year before Jack was born. Because Andrew’s family became part of the early movement of the Mormon Church, he experienced in his young life the persecutions and testing that eventually brought the saints to the west.

In the spring of 1851, Jack traveled across the plains with his parents and arrived in Salt Lake City in October. That same year, they settled in Manti, Sanpete County, Utah.
Andrew was very interested in the Native American language, and in time he and his brother James T.S. became interpreters, helping to solve problems between the settlers and the Indians. He wore buckskin pants and became familiar with the Indian lifestyle. One time Chief Whitehorse raised his gun to shoot him, but for some unknown reason, the chief could not do so.

At the age of twenty-three, Jack married Chloe Stevens on November 3, 1855. She was born on June 18, 1838 at St. Louis Missouri. Seven children were born to Jack and Chloe.
Five months after her last child, Elizabeth Ann was born, Chloe died at the age of thirty-four on October 22, 1872.

The following year in July 1873, Jack Allred married his second wife, Elizabeth Ivy. They had two children.

In the spring of 1876 Brigham Young called Andrew to settle in Rabbit Valley with the Indians and establish a trading post.

Jack Allred built his first home east of the Fremont River. That winter was so cold, the river froze over, flooding much of the valley. Jack decided to move straight west on top the point of the hill, since known as Jack’s or Allred point.

He built a house and joined some cabins to it. The place became a rendezvous for Indians, travelers and stockmen. William brought in a two-story sawmill made out of logs lined with lumber. It was set up in the canyon above the valley, taking water from UM Creek for power. The logs were brought from Pole Canyon on the Morrell Fork. This was the first sawmill to operate in the valley.

Jack’s son Marion was the first white boy born in the valley. His daughter Luzernia married Silas Morrell, and their daughter Chloe Jane Morrell was the first white girl born in the valley on March 15, 1877.

Jack’s second wife, Elizabeth died in 1888. Later he married his third wife, Martina Nielson Anderson, and the union bore two more children.

In 1892, the Jack Allred farm was sold to William Irvin Callahan, and Jack moved to Richfield where he died on October 10, 1899 at the age of 68 years. In his later years he developed a swelling on his leg known as “White Swelling,” and he had to walk on crutches.

He is buried beside his second wife Elizabeth in the Fremont Cemetery, located in Wayne County, Utah.

To view his headstone in the Fremont,Utah cemetery click on this link:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=allred&GSiman=1&GScid=77235&GRid=32906107&

Silas Richards, A Valiant Wagon Master and Pioneer

SILAS RICHARDS was born in Highland County, State of Ohio, December 18, 1807 to Augustus Richards and Francis Lee Daggett. He married Eliza­beth McClenahan on November 5, 1829 and they were parents of a six children. Silas was hardworking and industrious. He was soon a successful landowner. He and his wife were baptized into the Mormon Church in 1840. They traded their possessions for a large farm near Nauvoo, Illinois. They were expelled from Nauvoo in the spring of 1846 by persecutors of the Church and crossed the Mississippi River. Their daughter Elizabeth Ann died from fatigue and exposure in Council Bluff.

Silas purchases property at Council Bluff with the reduced amount he was able to get for his property in Nauvoo. Three years later he was appointed to lead a wagon train to the Great Salt Lake Valley. They started from Winter Quarters, July 10, 1849 with seventy-two wagons heavily loaded with our families, provisions, merchandise, household goods, farming and merchandise tools, etc. After a long and weary journey of hardship and fatigue through a dreary wilderness without any inhabitants except Indians, the pioneers arrived in Great Salt Lake Valley October 25th, a distance of over one thousands of miles, without any serious accidents. Silas kept a meticulous journal of the trek.

Silas, Elizabeth and their family settled in Union Fort where he became the first Bishop to organize a ward for the Mormon Church. He helped build the fort for protection against Indians. He was also called to assist in settling up the Dixie country, which he did by establishing ware houses in St. George, putting out trees and starting a vineyard, assisting the people by giving employment to many.

On November 10, 1856 Bishop Ed. Hunter directed Silas to take three little orphan sisters to raise; Susannah [Susanna Rebecca] age 11, Sarah Ann age 4½, and Martha [Ann] age 2; the daughters of Daniel and Susannah [Tillet] Osborn [from Norfolk, England, members of the Willie Handcart Company] who died on the plains. His second wife Keziah helped raise these three orphans.

Silas also married Martisha Smoot, widow of Samuel Smith and help raise her large family. About the same time he married Martisha he also Married Keziah Frances Brady and they had nine children.

Silas Richards passed away after a three-month illness on March 17, 1884, in Union, Salt Lake County, Utah. Elizabeth McClenahan Richards died on November 22, 1893 and is also buried in the Union Cemetery, Sandy, Utah.

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

Chloe Jane Morrell, A True Cowgirl

CHLOE JANE MORRELL was born in Fremont, Utah on March 15, 1877, the first white girl and second white child born in Wayne County when the Mormon settlers were beginning to settle Rabbit Valley, an area populated by Indians.

Luzernia Allred and Silas Wilson Morrell 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.

Silas had suffered a severe back injury and also plaqued with rheumatism. In March 1891, he and Luzernia decided to go to a warmer climate in New Mexico, hoping his health would improve.

Chloe drove the cattle and was in the saddle every day but five for the next six months. It was tiring, because in those days, ladies rode sidesaddle with one leg straight, resting in the stirrup, and the other leg with bended-knee perched on top of the saddle because it was improper for a girl to ride astride a horse. After an eventful and difficult journey they stayed in New Mexico for only a short time. Fortunately Chloe rode back using a real sidesaddle that was much easier to ride on.

During the summers of 1893 and 1894, Chloe worked near Fishlake, a beautiful lake twelve miles north of Fremont. It was at Fishlake where Jeremiah Jackson entered the picture. In 1894 he and one of his friends went to Fishlake on horseback and stopped at the place where Chloe worked. She was a very shy girl, but nevertheless, a romance ensued, and they were married in Fremont at her parent’s home.

Chloe was brave and tough. Nick Indian liked to tease her daughter Luzernia. One day he came to house and started to tease her. Chloe was cutting bread with a large butcher knife. Nick teased Luzernia until she started to cry. Chloe turned around and said, “Nick. Quit that!”

He just went on teasing.

Chloe threw the knife. It flew across the room and stuck in the door casing to the side of him.
Nick looked at the knife quivering in the frame and abruptly left.

Chloe was a true cow girl. She rode horses, could throw a lariat and shoot a gun. One day, her husband and her son Harvey were trying to rope a calf to brand it as Chloe watched them. They made two or three throws but couldn’t hook it.

Chloe laughed and asked, “Are you having trouble roping that calf?”

Harvey replied, “I bet you couldn’t do it?”

She walked up to him and said, “Give me that rope.”

He handed the rope to her, and she flipped it over the calf’s head with ease, then handed the end of the rope back to him. Nobody said a word.

Chloe was devoted to her husband and family and lived most of her life in Fremont, Utah. They were parents to 5 sons and 3 daughters. Perry L. Jackson was her youngest child.

Chloe was in Salt Lake visiting her daughters when she died on October 16, 1956, on the 16th anniversary of her husband Jeremiah’s death.

To view the headstone for Chloe Jane Morrell Jackson click this link:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=16224008

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

What to ask? What to ask?

It is best to ask open-ended questions that are not answered by a “yes” or “no.” For example, when I asked Perry Jackson to tell of his life and what was his earliest memory?, he answered with this descriptive statement: “I’d better start out the day I was born. They say the doctor slapped me, and I said, ‘Where’s my gun and my fishing pole?’ Hunting and fishing were the two things I really love to do.”

When I ask him question # 12 from the list below: Describe what the main street of your town was like, he told an interesting story of an event that happened there rather than a description of buildings etc.

Here is a list of questions to help you or someone you know start their personal history. This list is only a beginning to help you make your own list of additional questions or inspire you to get stories from your family you never heard before.

1. What do you believe is your earliest memory?

2. Tell about your brothers or sisters? What makes each of them special?
3. What kind of lessons did you take as a child?
4. What do you remember about your first home?
5. Describe your favorite smell from your childhood.
6. Do you recall any outstanding trips or summer vacations you took as a child?
7. Tell about a favorite vacation as a child. As an adult.
8. Where did you go to grade school? Describe It.
9. What was a typical school day like as a child?
10. Did you have a favorite school teacher? Why?
11. Did you have a bicycle? What was It like? Where did you ride?
12. Describe what the main street of your town was like.
13. Describe your favorite “spot” in the world.
14. What Instrument do you wish you could play?
15. What special things did you do with your mother?
16. What special things did you do with your father?
17. What games did you play as a child, both indoors and outdoors?
18. What did you want to be when you grew up?
19. Do you recall any special event that took place In your neighborhood when you were growing up? (fire, accident, illness etc.)
21. Describe a night at grandma’s house.
22. Describe your grandparents.
23. Describe your parents.
24. What did you look like as a child? What were you like?
25. What were you frightened of as a child?

26. What was your most embarrassing moment?
27. Describe a childhood Christmas?
28. What was your most memorable Christmas?
29. How did you celebrate Christmas as a child?
30. Describe getting a Christmas tree with your family? How did you decorate it?
31. What did your parents do for a living? Your grandparents?
32. Are there any family heirlooms in your family? Tell about them.
33. Tell about how you learned to drive.
34. Tell about a frustrating experience you have had with a car.
35. What was your favorite Saturday activity as a child.
36. Describe Sunday as a child.
37. What things do you enjoy doing today that you did as a child.
38. What do you feel Is the most important world event that has taken place in your lifetime.
39. Describe a serious illness you have had.
40. Tell about your first date.
41. Who was your first boy friend (Girlfriend)?
42. How did you meet your husband (Wife)?
43. Describe how you got engaged.
44. Describe your wedding day.
45. Tell about the birth of your first child. Each child thereafter.
46. Here it comes . . .What were you doing when John F. Kennedy was shot?
47. What are the top 10 most wonderful things that have ever happened to you?
48. What is the most adventuresome thing you have ever done?
49. What is the most trying experience that has ever happened to you?
50. What is comforting to you physically, mentally and spiritually?
51. Describe your first paying job.
52. Tell about the places you have worked.
53. Would you choose different if you could choose your occupation again? What would it be?
54. What is your favorite holiday?
55. Have you had a religious conversion? Describe it?
56. Tell about some of your friends (both as a child and as an adult).
57. Tell about several times when you were trouble.
58. Describe the events of your birth.