Ezra Chase

Ezra Chase

Ezra Chase, the 7th of 9 children born to Timothy Chase and Sarah Simmons, was born February 4, 1796 in Colrain, Franklin, Massachusetts.  Ezra=s five older siblings, Abner, Sisson, Thurston, Charlotte and Isaac, were all born in Little Compton, Newport, Rhode Island, where his parents were born and where they were married.  The family moved to Colrain, Franklin, Massachusetts, where Ezra was born.  His youngest sister Sylvia was born Nov. 15, 1801 in Bristol, Addison, Vermont. (Note: After the Revolutionary War land was available to settlers in Vermont and a number of people moved to Vermont from Massachusetts and Connecticut.)

Ezra Chase returned to Massachusetts, where he married Tirzah Wells August 22, 1818 in Greenfield, Franklin, Massachusetts (the home of Tirzah).  She was the daughter of Elisha Wells and Tirzah Severance.  They established their home in Bristol, Addison, Vermont, near the home of Ezra’s parents.  Six children were born to Ezra and Tirzah while they were living in Bristol, Vermont.

Ezra cleared the land on their farm and had a maple grove.  They made maple sugar and syrup.  Life was hard and the four daughters had to assist with all the farm work.

The Chase family moved to Livingston, New York, where Ezra bought property from his brother Isaac, who had moved there several years earlier and was a successful farmer and miller.  They were living in Sparta, Livingston, New York when their 7th child, Elisha Wells Chase, was born. . .Three more children were born in Sparta, New York. . .Ezra and Isaac were very successful farm and business partners and their families shared many wonderful experiences in Sparta.  Ezra’s father Timothy died April 18, 1832 in Lincoln, Addison, Vermont.

The Ezra Chase family became acquainted with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sometime in the late 1830's, when a missionary from that church named Pelatiah Brown came to their area to preach the gospel.  They realized the truthfulness of the gospel, so Ezra, Tirzah and the four older girls were baptized by Elder Brown about April 27, 1839.  The Sparta Saints held their meetings in the home of Isaac Chase and Elder brown stayed there as he preached the gospel in the area.  Diana, the fifth child, was baptized and confirmed a member of the Church as a young girl. (Chase p. 2) Our Blessed Honored Pioneers–Ezra Chase p.2)

In 1839 Ezra and his brother Isaac led a company with eleven wagons from New York to Nauvoo.  A daughter of Isaac and Phebe Chase told about arriving in Nauvoo:

There was a company of eleven wagons carrying the families and upon arriving before they unhitched their tents, they went to see the Prophet Joseph to see what he wanted them to do.  The Prophet told them he had just been praying that the Lord would open the way for him to get means, as they were at the end of their ropes to help the church without means.  The brothers Isaac and Ezra were both together and gave what they had.  Isaac had only received a part of the pay for his farm, so Joseph sent him back to get the remainder in goods to stock the Nauvoo store and he was gone almost the remainder of that winter (Our Blessed, Honored Pioneers - Ezra Chase, p. 4);

The Ezra Chase family was living in Nauvoo, Hancock, Illinois when their youngest daughter Juliett was born. . .( Pioneer Women of Faith and Fortitude. p. 546).

Ezra and Isaac were able to buy several pieces of property in Hancock County.  In Nauvoo they often opened their homes to the people who, weary from their journeys, poured into Nauvoo.  (Our Blessed, Honored Pioneers - Ezra Chase p.6).

During the first couple of years in Nauvoo, the swampy, mosquito-infested area caused a great deal of sickness and death among the Saints.  Ezra and Tirzah’s daughter Nancy fell gravely ill.  She recorded the healing: “Nancy Chase was healed by the Prophet Joseph Smith, although her aunt, Julia Wells, died before the Prophet got to their home.”

Ezra Chase received his Patriarchal Blessing January 29, 1842 from Patriarch Hyrum Smith.  In the building of the Nauvoo Temple and the Nauvoo House good lumber was needed and Ezra Chase was one of the men sent to establish a lumbar colony on the Black River in Wisconsin.

On June 26 (1842) a council was held to decide upon the propriety of sending a delegation to the pineries to engage in the lumber business in the interest of the temple and Nauvoo House.  On the 28th it was decided to send a company under the leadership of Ezra Chase (History of the Church, Vol. 2, p. 583).

Because of malicious gossip and slander being spread after Joseph was released from prison (having been tried on trumped up charges and released) it was decided to send out missionaries on short-term missions to the surrounding areas to try to counteract these rumors.  Ezra was among those called.  (He was sent to Coles County, Illinois.).

One of the great trials to come to the Saints was the martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum on June 27, 1844.  Charlotte Chase, daughter of Ezra and Tirzah, in speaking of the assassination of Joseph and Hyrum said, “It was a loss that could not be described.  The entire church mourned as a child might mourn for a parent or a wife or a husband, only it was a heavier loss.  It was as if the strength and vigor of the community had been taken away.”

During the General Conference held on 8 October 1844, Ezra was received into the High Priest Quorum.  Two days later he and Tirzah were visited by Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball.  This day was spent to perform the sealing ordinance for Ezra and Tirzah.  (Sealings were done occasionally in homes or other chosen places.  When the temple was in operation, these sealings were performed again.)  That day Brigham and Heber spent from 10 A.M. to 3:30 P.M. at the Chase home.  They each recorded in their personal journals a brief entry.

In Heber C. Kimball’s journal under the date 10 October 1844 we find the following: “10 Thursday.  Spent the day in visiting the sick.  Father Ezra Chase was sealed to his wife by B Young.  (On the Potter’s Wheel, p. 90).

In Brigham Young’s journal on the same date: “Mr. H.C. Kimball & myself are at Br Ezra Chases from 10 A.M. till ½ past 3 P.M. . . Diana Chase was there we had a good visit. (Our Blessed, Honored Pioneers - Ezra Chase, p. 14).

The endowment sessions began at the Nauvoo Temple on December 10, 1845 and continued day and night.  Many of the sessions were held in the middle of the night.  Most of the leaders stayed at the temple during the time catching sleep as they could.  Those who had received their endowments often took their place as temple workers to help with getting as many of the Saints through the temple as possible before the exodus from Nauvoo.  On December 15, 1845 Ezra, Tirzah, Charlotte and Diana Chase all received their endowments at the temple.  On January 27, 1846 Ezra and Tirzah were sealed by Amasa M. Lyman. . . . On that same day Ezra was sealed by proxy to Tirzah’s deceased sister, Julia Wells. (Our Blessed, Honored Pioneers - Ezra Chase p.15).

All during these last months working on and in the temple, the Nauvoo Saints were trying to prepare to leave the city and state.  The persecutions in the surrounding area were increasing, including many homes being burned and families driven from their farms.  A description of the preparations made by the Chases is found in a biography of Isaac Chase.

The Chase family, as all others of the church, was compelled to sell all its property at a great loss or just leave it behind.  Isaac chase and Ezra were fortunate enough to dispose of their property.

The history of Tirzah Wells Chase in Pioneer Women of Faith and Fortitude tells us that when mob violence forced the Chase families from their homes in 1846, they moved to Hiland, Iowa.  (One journal indicates that it is about 6 miles south of Council Bluffs.)  In 1847 they left Hiland and began the journey to Utah Territory.

By May 1848 nearly 2000 saints were ready to make the journey west under Brigham Young’s direction.  The pioneers were divided into companies of hundreds, fifties, and tens.  Ezra Chase was called to serve as a Captain of Ten in Lorenzo Snow’s hundred in Brigham Young’s Division.

The journal of Benjamin Cazier relates the crossing of the Missouri River.

We a few of the Saints, Ezra Chase, John Shaw, Coth Bryan, and Myrtillo Shaw in company started from Highland Grove the 19th day of May 1848 and had to wait seven or eight days at the river for our turn to cross.  In the time we had several hard rains and it was disagreeable weather.  In the time we caught as many fish as we wanted to eat and on the 28th we crossed the river and landed on the west side of the Missouri River all safe and sound.

Diana left Winter Quarters with her parents on Friday, May 26, 1848 in a company of Saints under the direction of Brigham Young traveling twenty-seven miles to the Elkhorn River where a company of Saints were waiting to be organized for a trip to the Great Salt Lake Valley.  Early in June they broke camp at Elkhorn and started on their way west.  Lorenzo Snow was appointed captain of the company, in which Ezra Chase and his family were assigned.  No serious accident occurred during their journey across the plains and the company rejoiced exceedingly in the blessings of the gospel and their anticipation of the future home in the valley of the Great Salt Lake.  They arrived in Utah on September 20, 1949 (Diane Chase Shaw by Romania Shaw Clark),

The families of Ezra Chase and Charles Hubbard were early settlers of Ogden.  They came to Weber County in the fall of 1848 and settled at a place located on the north side of the Ogden River.  Ezra built a sturdy log cabin.   In the spring there was an addition to this small beginning of a settlement by the arrival of Ambrose and William Shaw and their families.  These four families developed farms and dug ditches.

In the fall of 1849 he was asked by Brigham Young what kind of crops the county could produce and he replied that he was certain of two good crops.  The upper land would yield good grain, but below the land would produce one hundred bushel of crickets to the acre and fifty bushels of mosquitoes. (Lorin Farr, p. 106)

Lorin Farr responded, “I can readily say Amen (to the comment of Ezra Chase), as, in my day, many times the sun would be hidden from view by the hordes of grasshoppers and the fields of grain and corn leveled to the bare ground as if nothing had been planted.  Fighting grasshoppers was an annual affair for many years.  The soil was rich and productive.” (Lorin Farr, Pioneer p. 11).

Ezra Chase was one of the men that prepared the ditch to bring irrigation water from the Ogden River to the farms and to Farr’s Fort in the spring of 1849.  William W. Terry referred to it as the “Chase Ditch - 1849" on page 42 in his book called Weber County is Worth Knowing.

The first year Chase harvested over 100 bushels of potatoes from a half-bushel of seed potatoes.  Chase’s harvest also included a very heavy yield of wheat and corn.  No specific amounts were reported, however, for these.

Ezra and his family remained in Weber County until 2 May 1850, when they departed for California in a company that President Brigham selected to go to colonize and carry the gospel to the people there.  He purchased a piece of land near Salmon Falls in Eldorado County with his son Wells and his son-in-law William Shaw.  The property was known as Chase Ranch.

From the history of Tirzah Wells Chase we read:

A year later (1940) they moved to Eldorado County, California, then to San Bernardino in 1853, then back to Utah in 1858, when Johnston’s Army came.

After living in Ogden for a short time they moved to nearby Harrisville, where they spent the remainder of their lives.

In her gentle and quiet way Tirzah raised their nine children to have high moral ideals.  There was a great unity and love between Ezra and her.

Tirzah was the great grandmother of President George Albert Smith.

Ezra’s wife Tirzah Wells Chase died April 4, 1867 in Harrisville, Weber, Utah (later known as Farr West) at the age of seventy-one years.  Ezra died October 24, 1873 in Harrisville, Weber, Utah.  They were both buried in the Ogden City Cemetery.

SOURCE: This biography (with minor editorial changes) was taken from the book Ogden Forts and the People Who Lived There by Joyce Maw (manuscript))

Ezra Chase was born 4 Feb 1796 in Coltrain, Franklin, Massachusetts.  He married (1) 22 Aug 1818 in Greenfield, Franklin, Vermont, Tirzah Wells, daughter of Elizha Wells and Tirzah Severence, who was born 29 Jul 1796 at Greenfield, Franklin, Vermont.  Ezra was sealed by proxy to Tirzah’s sister, Julia Wells (deceased) in the Nauvoo Temple 27 Jan 1846.

Children of Ezra and Tirzah:
(1) Ezra Chase, born 6 Jul 1819 at Bristol, Addison, Vermont.
(2) Abigail Eliza Chase, born 4 Oct 1820 at Bristol, Addison, Vermont.  She married Apr 1848 in Utah, Adam Clark Hubbard, who was born 7 Aug 1820 in Toledo, Lucas, Ohio
(3) Nancy Bailey Chase, born 27 Jan 1823 at Bristol, Addington, Vermont.  She married (1) 10 Oct 1844 in Nauvoo, Hancock, Illinois,  Heber Chase Kimball.  He was born 14 Jun 1801 in Sheldon, Franklin, Vermont.  Nancy; married    (2) 7 Feb 1846 in Nauvoo, Hancock, Illinois, Lorin Farr, He was born 27 Jul 1820 in Waterford, Caledonia, Vermont
(4)Charlotte Chase, born 11 May 1825 at Bristol, Addington, Vermont.  She married (1) 10 Oct 1844 in Nauvoo, Hancock, Illinois, Heber Chase Kimball.  He was born 14 Jun 1801 in Sheldon, Franklin, Vermont.  She married (2) 15 Oct 1850 at White Oak Twp., Eldorado, California, Thaddeus Constantine Hix, who was born 14 Jan 1818 at Sunderland, Bennington, Vermont..  She married. (3) 15 Nov 1869 at Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, William Wilkinson Dixon, who was born 14 Nov 1818 in Bothel, Cumberland, England.  She married. (4) 4 Nov 1876 at,,Utah, Tyrus Walker Hurd.  He was born 3 Apr 1818 at  Arlington, Bennington, Vermont.
 (5) Diana Severance Chase, born 25 Jul 1827 at Bristol, Addington, Vermont.  She married (1) 7 Feb 1846 at Nauvoo, Hancock, Illinois, Brigham Young, who was born 1 Jun1801 in Whitingham, Windham, Vermont.  She married (2) 1 Jan 1849 at Ogden, Weber, Utah, William Montgomery Shaw, who was born 8 Sep 1826 at Bennington, Wyoming, New York.
(6) Elisha Wells Chase, born 21 Apr 1830 at Sparta, Livingston, New York..  He married. (1) 23 Nov 1853 in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, Jane McGary, who was born 18 Jun 1835 at Scarborough, Ontario, Canada.  He married (2) 27 Feb 1857 in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, Harriet Barker, who was born 29 Aug 1835 in Leroy, Jefferson, New York.
(7) Henry Chase, born 21 Jul 1832 at Sparta, Livingston, New York.  He married 16 Dec 1860 in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah Mary Ann Baldwin, who was born abt 1835 of Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah
(8) Dudley Chase, born 22 May 1835 at Sparta, Livingston, New York.  He married (1) 15 Jul 1857 at San Bernardino, California, Samantha Crisman.  She was born 27 Mar 1840 at Geneva, Kane, Illinois.  He married (2) 15 Aug 1868 at Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, Amanda Melvina Richardson.  She was born 23 Aug 1849 at Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie, Iowa.  He married (3) 30 May 1863 at Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, Emma Jane Dixon.  She was born1 Sep 1846 at Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie, Iowa.
(9) Newton Chase, born 3 Dec 1837 at Sparta, Livingston, New York.  He married 12 Feb 1860 at San Bernardino, San Bernardino, California, Elsie Elizabeth Tanner, who was born 14 May 1840 at Liberty, ,Illinois
(10) Juliett Chase, born 13 Sep 1841 at Nauvoo, Hancock, Illinois.  She married 12 May 1858 at Ogden, Weber, Utah, Hugh Jefferson McClellan, who was born 13 Nov 1837 at Shelbyville, Shelby, Illinois

SOURCE OF CHILDREN’S INFORMATION
     International Genealogical Index on Internet

TaylorAssociation.org