Betsy Elizabeth Kroll History
Betsy Elizabeth Kroll History
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BETSY ELIZABETH KROLL BRADLEY
Betsy Elizabeth Kroll was born of parents Jacob and Mary Waltman Kroll in the
frontier settlement of Clarence Hollow 4 July 1811. It was the settlement in the western
part of Erie Co., New York at this time. She was the youngest girl of a family of 10
children: Catherine, John, Jacob, George, Samuel, Daniel, Solomon, Polly, Betsy and
William.
Much is not known about Betsy’s childhood, but she always said that her parents
were of high Dutch descent, and not of the low, and she made a point of wanting every
one to know that. The first record we have of this family is of Michael Kroll and his wife
who were born about 1750 in or near Wurttemburg, a state or province of Southern
Germany near the Swiss Border. They emigrated to America and were the parents of
Jacob, George and Solomon. Jacob was born in 1778. He married Mary Waltman,
whose parents we have reason to believe also came from Germany.
Mary was born in 1773 and after her marriage to Jacob Kroll, they made a home
in Lancaster, Pa. Seven of their oldest children were born here: Catherine, John, Jacob,
George, Samuel, Daniel and Solomon. Then they moved into Cumberland Co., Poa.,
where Betsy Elizabeth and William were born. Father Jacob lived here until his 80th
year. He died 31 March 1853. Both he and his wife were buried in an old family burial
plot on the Abe Reigle (and later Abe Berry) farm on the Martin Road in the town of
Clarence, New York. (Inscriptions are still readable on his headstone marker, but those
on Mary’s marker have been away by the elements.
Betsy Elizabeth grew up here and when she was 17 years of age, she married
Thomas Jefferson Bradley on ??1828. Thomas Jefferson Bradley was born 16 of March
1804 at Salem, Washington Co., New York (near the Vermont line). He had no sisters,
but was blessed with 6 brothers; Sylvanue born 1798, Nathan born 1800, George born
1802, Thomas Jefferson born 1804, Pierce born 1809, George Washington born 15 Jan
1813. They were the sons of James Pierce and Abiah Richmond Bradley and all were
born at Salem, Washington Co., New York.
The Bradlley line came from England where it was recorded in 1183 that Roger
Bradley paid taxes on 40 acres of land at Bradley. In 1563 and 1564 we hear of Sir
Francis Bradley in the west Riding of Yorkshire and from where several prominent
members of the Bradley clan came to America and settled at Salem, Washington Co.,
New York and Bridge Water, Mass.
Thomas Jefferson and Betsy made a home in Clarence, Erie Co., New York and
on 15 Jan 1829 a baby girl was born. They named her Amanda. She was followed by a
brother and 2 sisters: Jerome Bonapart born 3 Dec. 1830, Elizabeth born July 1832-who
died a couple of days later, and Cynthis Abiah born 14 Sept. 1833.
Thomas Jefferson never saw his last little girl, for he died 5 months before she
was born on 13 April 1833, leaving his young wife with practically nothing, excepot the
responsibility of raising three lovely children. But her husband’s family were good to her
and helped her all they could, and the following year her husband’s younger brother,
George Washington, suggested to Betsy that since he cared very deeply for both her and
the children that he marry her and raise his brother’s children as his own. The idea
appealed to Betsy and they married 2 March 1834 or 1835.
The following year Betsy and George Washington settled on some land, built a
house and began a family of their own with the birth of Betsy Louise 9 Nov. 1835. The
next year they moved their little family to Clarkston, Monroe Co., New York, where
George W. was engaged in his occupation as a cooper, and 3 more children were born:
Lydia Mary born 14 March 1837, George Henry born 23 Feb. 1840, Malinda Euphemia
born 29 Feb. 1842.
It was at this time that Elder Zebedee Coltren of the Latter-day Saints Church
came to their door preaching the gospel. He came many times to the Bradley home and
George W. said “What was said sounded to him like the truth.” He and his family
studied its principles carefully for a year and by that time had satisfied themselves that it
was true. George W. and Betsy joined the church and were baptized on the 2 July 1843
by Elder John P. Green. After this event, they traveled West and lived with the Saints
until they were driven west to Nauvoo, Hancock Co., Ill. Here they rented and ran one of
the farms owned by the prophet Joseph Smith. Here their son, Jacob Joseph was born 14
Nov. 1843.
All of the Saints worked hard to build Nauvoo into a beautiful city and it was said
that vegetables and flowers grew bigger and better here than anywhere else. They all
loved the prophet Joseph Smith and all he stood for and were willing to undergo great
hardship for their church, but it was hard for them to understand why other people should
want to persecute them because of their belief, for after all, they were United States
citizens with rights and privileges too, or so they thought until Joseph Smith sought relief
from the government in behalf of his people and was told they were sorry but nothing
could be done for them.
Things reached the climax, when the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother,
Hyrum, were martyred, and the Bradleys along with many others wept, when they saw
Dr. Richards return with their murdered leaders. They wept again at the mansion house,
where they saw the prophet lying in his casket and saw the wife and son of Hyrum Smith
kneeling by his casket silently weeping.
After this event, conditions in Nauvoo became unbearable. Women and children
were molested, food and clothing became scarce, homes were burned to the ground.
Their lives were in peril and there was no let up or peace for any of them. On the 11 June
1845, frail little Jacob Joseph died and by November of that same year things got so
unbearable that the Bradleys, along with other families, packed what they could into
wagons, and began moving across the river into Iowa. Many wagons were ferried across
the river, but by Feb. 1846 weather was cold and ice was thick enough to hold up a team
and wagon. The Bradleys traveled around Iowa and made a camp at Pottawattamee.
Here on 22 Aug 1846 Betsy gave birth to a baby girl, whom they named Levina, but she
died the following month. Betsy grieved for her lost children. If there had only been
more food, perhaps they could have lived. But their father describes their plight in his
own words, when he said, “I revert to the times of Nauvoo, its seasons of hard times,
scant clothing, scantiest provisions, the one half bushel of meal in 3 weeks for a family of
9, thankful for wild greens we could gather, a standing sickness mounting guard over my
own home and friends, finally leaving my unfinished home for the mob.”
Their camp across the river in low, marshy land, “Misery bottom” it was called,
and well named it was, for it was winter and people were living in tents and wagons
boxes with neither fuel, shelter or clothing enough to keep them warm. Then one
morning Betsy looked at her oldest daughter, Amanda, who was now 17 and was
horrified to see the sores of the deadly black canker forming all over her body. People
were dying of it every day and plain lumber coffins could hardly be made fast enough to
supply the demand, and men were so weak from diarrhea and lack of food, they were
scarcely able to dig the freezing ground to bury their dead.
Amanda became delirious with chills and fever, and the sores of black canker
became as large as fifty cent pieces. Then one day an old lady came to their wagon. She
said, “Sister Betsy, I think I have something that will cure your daughter,” and she went
to her own wagon and brought back a bottle of reddish-brown medicine. It looked about
like catsup. She said, “Give the girl a spoonful of this 3 times a day, and I will tell you
how to make it so when it is gone, you can get the ingredients and you can make some
more.” Then she blessed the family and left. Betsy gave her daughter the medicine and
in a few days the big sores went away and Amanda got well. But she never forgot the
little old Lady nor her recipe for making canker medicine. She vowed she would do unto
others as she had been done by, and to the end of her days she and her family made
canker medicine for others.
When spring broke and they were able to travel, they moved with the other Saints
to Winter Quarters in Nebraska. Here they were able to build a more permanent shelter
and plant some wheat, mend their wagons and prepare for the long journey ahead, and on
the 3 of July 1847 Betsy gave birth to another baby boy, whom they named Hyrum
Moroni, after the brother of the prophet and the Angel Moroni of Book of Mormon
Fame.
When it came time to choose those who were to make the first trip West with
Brigham Young, all could not go who wanted to and after the men for the Mormon
Battalion left, the male population was thinned considerably, so that about that were left
were men with large dependant families, sick men, old men or young boys. But they
were assigned to some labor and worked diligently until Brigham Young and those of the
1st company returned to lead them to Zion in 1848. Each family was required to so many
pounds of flour, blankets, warm clothing, etc. before they could leave. Betsy also
crowded her spinning wheel into the wagon.
When the companies were organized, the Bradley family was assigned to the first
Brigham Young Company, 3rd division with Captain Lorenzo Snow in charge of their
group of 100, and Daniel Russell over their group of 10 wagons. They were members of
the Big Co. as they called it, and many incidents, both funny and sad, happened to them
and were repeated many times to their grand children, but no written record was ever
made of them because they did not think them important at the time. So what we know
has been handed down by word of mouth or through descriptions by Isaac Morley and
others, who kept a record of their travels. Suffice it to say that the whole Bradley family
took turns walking almost all of the way across the plains.
Both she and her mother suffered intensely and fought for their breath as the
wagons lunged forward and huge rolling clouds of dust settled in their asthma choked
lungs. (This must be out of order) They passed many large herds of wild buffalo, and the
meat from some of these animals found its way into many a pot of stew, giving strength
to the weary travelers. Daniel B. Funk and his family were friends of the Bradley family
and came in the same company. They helped each other over the bad places and often
visited with other divisions of this big company, when they camped within a few miles of
each other.
They arrived in Salt Lake City the 15 or 22 Sep. 1848. George W. said, “We
moved out wagons about 6 miles North of Salt Lake. Built a log home near some
springs. Afterward a settlement was established there called the Willow Settlement”.
Daniel Funk and Edwin Pace and family also settled here at the same time as the
Bradleys, and both families staked out 50 acres of land and began building their log
houses on the 16 of Sep. This district is now included in the So. Bountiful Ward, and 8
other families came and spent the winter near them, but these were the very first families
to settle there.
In the spring of 1849 they built another cabin about a half mile West of the first
one, and planted 4 acres of corn (Ref. Andrew Jensen), then moved into Salt Lake where
they built another home. There was an old mud fort, some log houses and miles of
desolate sage brush and saleratus stretching in every direction, but they said even this
was better than the terror of Nauvoo, and what they did, the sacrifice they had made and
all “Were for God and His cause, and that was enough.”
They became the owners of one of the first teams of horses in the Salt Lake
Valley and were very proud of them. One Sunday they had driven them to church,
unhitched them, as they usually did and put them to feed on wild hay they had brought
along. But instead of feeding, one big sorrel followed the family to the church door and
kept nuzzling them, when they tried to take him back. So the good brethren standing at
the door said jokingly, “Brother Bradley, I think this horse wants a blessing.” So they
blessed it and took it back to feed, And when they came out of the church, they found
the horse dead. So before they could take the wagon back home they had to find and buy
another horse.
George W. had drawn 20 acres of land in the big field on 9th South and on the 27
Sep. shortly after he had arrived and was busy with this and his new home. Willard
Richards, who had raised some small potatoes, gave them a few of the peelings for seed
to plant in their garden. They felt very thankful for this favor and thought themselves
very blessed to have such good friends.
Then in June Apostle Lorenzo Snow came and ask him and Daniel Funk to go to
the Green River and ferry the gold rush immigrants across the river for some extra cash.
The idea appealed to them so they built one boat and took plenty of supplies, then built
another boat after they got there. These being the first boats used on the river, they had
an idea they were going to make a lot of money, but they had many troubles, for they
could not trust many of the gold rushers. Some times they took turns guarding their
property day and night. But when one ruthless bunch of out laws came along, they were
forced at gun point to turn over all of their belongings to them. However, when the
thieves fell out and fought, one with another, some were drowned and some were killed,
and Bradley and Funk fortunately got all their property back. By natural habit, Daniel
Funk, was always early to bed and early to rise. He was always up about 4 a.m. After a
hard day’s work he was tired and could not hold his eyes open, so he went to bed early,
slept very soundly and was hard to awaken. So it was agreed that Daniel would run the
first boat in the morning and George would run the last boat at night, count and divide the
day’s receipts and put Daniel’s share in his pocket. George often ask him to recount the
money, but he always declined and said it was not necessary. He said he knew by
experience George’s sterling qualities of fairness and honesty and he knew he never
needed to worry about being cheated. They handled the ferry trade till it fell off, about
the middle of August, and came home with $500.00 each for their summer’s work.. They
immediately paid one tenth of this for tithing, then Bradley bought a fine team of horses,
but a short time later, when Pres. Brigham Young came to him and said he was in need of
the team, Bradley immediately gave them to him.
In the mean time, Betsy had given birth to another baby boy. The event took
place in a wagon, but near the tithing yard on Temple Square 10 Aug. 1849. The child
had lots of beautiful red hair, but was very frail and weak, in fact, they did not thing he
was going to live. So after George W. had come home and the child 6 weeks old and still
sickly, John A. Smith ordained him a High Priest and then gave him the name of Amos
Alma. The baby had more strength than they thought, he lived to earn membership in all
of the lower quorums of the church, Deacon, Teacher and Elder and was 73 years, when
he died.
When the terrible plague of crickets came and ate up almost all of their grain,
when frosts came early and food stuffs were rationed out to all families, the Bradleys
with their large family had had trouble along with all of the other hungry people. They
were forced to dig sego lily and thistle roots to get enough to eat. But however hungry
they became, their minds were still alert and their hearts were still happy and full of
thanks to God for their many blessings.
Amanda’s dashing young sweetheart, Daniel Henrie, had just returned from the
long Battalion march. He had been at Sutter’s Hill, when gold was discovered there, and
had brought many of the costly nuggets back to Utah with him. Romance was in the air
and wedding bells began to ring. Amanda was now 20 years and Daniel was 24 years.
They were married by Pres. Brigham Young in the Endowment House, 29 Oct 1849 and
celebrated afterward at the Bradley home. Daniel presented his wife with a full dinner
set of pink and white garden scenery Longport China for a wedding present, and it was
considered quite a wonderful and generous gift for those days.
Young Cynthia Abiah, who was keeping company with young Isaac Morley, Jr.
was almost sorry it wasn’t her wedding. Maybe she would have gotten a beautiful gift
like this and been able to move into a nice new log house on a nice farm in Bountiful like
Amanda. But no such luck. The house they lived in had already been sold. George W.
had also sold the 20 acres he drew in the big field for a span of mules to go with their one
horse and oxen and cows and nearly all of their belongings had been packed and made
ready for the big trip of about 140 miles South, where they were being sent to help settle
Sanpete Co. at the place now called Manti.
It had all come about at this last October Conference, when Brigham Young had
chosen 50 families to settle Sanpete Valley, under command of Pres. Isaac Morley.
About 30 families and 40 wagons left Salt Lake 28 Oct. 1849. But the Bradley’s had a
good span of strong mules and soon caught up with the company. It could not travel too
fast for many of the oxen and cows, belonging to these people, were poor. The trip was
also of necessity slowed down, when bridges had to be built over ravines, streams and
wash-outs. Provo was just a very small settlement then, but they spent 3 days resting
their cattle, increasing their supplies and providing themselves with friendly Indian
guides. Chief Walker, himself, headed this group, for he was very friendly with the
pioneers then and wanted them to settle on his land. He even went so far as to deed it to
Pres. Brigham Young and the church. The company had great trouble with water and
mud holes near Lehi and Santaquin and time was consumed, when they stopped in Nephi
of Salt Lake Creek Canyon and mined and boiled down salt for the future use of the
settlement.
They made additionnal camps at the big spring North West of Fountain Green and
also on the banks of the Sanpitch River at Moroni, forded the river and came upon the
boggy swamp land near Chester. Here the wagons slipped, swayed and stuck in the
black, silimy mud of the marshy land. Ropes were tied to them and men helped the
animals to pull the loads, while wives and children crouched in the bottom of the
unsteady swaying wagons, expecting to be pitched out among the croaking frogs,
wigglers and blood suckers or leaches at any minute. These same ropes had been used
often before to help them over steep places, boulders and mud holes. Their last camp
was about where Ephriam now is, and then they went on to the place that had been
chosen by the church authorities as a suitable place of settlement by the Saints.
Generally speaking, it had been a very hard trip and it had taken them about 2 weeks.
They pulled their wagons into a circle and made camp along the banks of City Creek on
the evening 22 Nov. 1849.
The next morning it began to snow, so it was decided by Pres. Isaac Morley and
his counselors, Charles Shumway and Seth Taft, that the South side of Temple Hill
would give more protection from the North wind, afford dugout shelters and absorb more
sun heat, so the camp site was moved.
Brother Seth Taft had raced ahead of the main party and started building his log
house, when the others arrived, but the Bradley home was the second log cabin built in
Manti. The wedding of Cynthia Abiah and young Isaac Morley, Jr. was the second
wedding performed in the settlement and her brother’s body was the first laid to rest in
the Manti City Cemetery, although his was the 3rd death.
Behind these 2 events lie much of Manti’s early history. Its deep snow, food
supply, Indian trouble, sickness and misery of many kinds. They are written on history
pages and in George W.’s own words to the Manti Sentinel than I could ever describe
them here. Suffice it here to just touch the high lights of this story, and say that young
Jerome Bradley was almost 21 years old, had a steady girl and was engaged to be
married, when he volunteered to take his father’s two teams and wagons and head a party
returning to Salt Lake for badly needed supplies for the settlement.
He visited his sister and brother-in-law, Amanda and Daniel Henrie, at Bountiful
and was persuaded by Amanda, too let them return with him to her folks for a visit. She
said it would be sort of a delayed honeymoon trip. Indian trouble delayed them 2 weeks
at Provo, so the friendly Chief Walker sent his brother, Titanaw and another friendly
Indian along as their guides. They were caught in a terrific snow storm in Salt Creek
Canyon. It snowed everyday for 3 weeks and snow was above the willows along the
creek and at least 4 feet deep on the level in the valley.
All but one team (the Hart) and wagon, whose horses were strong and continued
on through, were trapped till the following March. Amanda, Jerome, Daniel and the
other teamsters lived on the corn meal supplies in their wagon for as long as they could,
and when a sick Indian came to their camp, they shared their food and nursed him back
and to health. He paid them back by saving their lives, when other Indians would have
murdered and scalped them. The Indian guide, Tabanaw, and Augustus Dodge finally set
out to take the word of their desperate plight to their families. They wrapped their legs
with sacks and wrapped up as best they could and set out. The Indian made it to the
outskirts of Manti, where he was found and delivered his message, but Dodge was left by
an old oak tree West of Ephriam. He was completely exhausted and was found by a
rescue party, more dead than alive.
An expedition headed by George W. Bradley and Daniel Funk supplied with hand
sleds, blankets and snow shoes, which Indian Chief Walker had showed them how to
make, brought the party out of the canyon in a very weakened condition, and due to
exposure and privations suffered on this trip, Jerome Bradley contracted pneumonia, a
sickness from which he never fully recovered. He died 16 July 1851, just 3 weeks before
his wedding date, and since he had many friends among the Indians, many of them joined
with his white friends in mourning at the funeral and followed the cortage to the
Cemetery and acted as though they felt very bad.
Daniel returned to Bountiful to plant his crops. Amanda visited for a while
longer, while her mother helped her make baby clothes, then she returned to Bountiful,
where she gave birth to her first child, Mary Amanda 4 Sep. 1850. All that first horrible
winter of 1849-1850 death had lurked, not only for their loved ones, who had been
trapped in the canyon, but for all of the people of the Manti Settlement. Over 700 hungry
Indians were camped just East of the settlement and when one of George W’s cows died
in the night from starvation, it was consumed on the spot by the Indians, who never even
left so much as a piece of the intestine of the critter, and even carted the bones away for
food. They seemed friendly as long as they were fed, and George W. fed them well, for
out of all the livestock he had acquired, he had only 2 yoke of cattle and a horse and cow
left by spring.
But this was not enough, the Indians wanted more and more. They held scalp
dances and beat the Indian drums all night, keeping the settlers very worried and upset.
Because of a slight he imagined he received from Brigham Young, old Chief Walker
became very angry. He had always been very friendly, but now he suddenly reversed
himself and decided to massacre all of the men settlers and take their women and
children as hostages and steal or burn all of their possessions. Chief Arapene and Amon
tried to disuade him from his purpose, but they could not. George W. spoke the Indian
language fluently. He had learned it from the Indian boy, Amon, who lived part of the
winter with them. So he and James S. Allred were called by Pres. Morley to go the
Indians on a special peace making mission. It was an especially dangerous assignment,
and one of the chiefs, by the name of Batiste, incited other Indians to seek their scalps.
Their past treatment of the Indians alone saved their lives, for which they were very
grateful.
When spring began to break, the hissing rattle snakes came crawling out of their
holes, and over 500 were killed in one night. Their circumstance became so bad that
some men volunteered to walk all the way back to Salt Lake to tell Pres. Young of their
plight. He immediately sent help and some much needed supplies for which they were
very grateful.
Momentarily their thoughts were diverted from their Indian troubles, but only
momentarily, for this was something they lived with day and night. Since Daniel Henrie
spoke the Indian language fluently and had many friends among them, Pres. Young
thought perhaps he might be an instrument of peace as well as an asset to the growing
settlement, so he was called upon by the church officials to go on a mission to Manti and
do what he could for peace and welfare. So they sold out and moved to Manti, and
Amanda was very happy that her lot had been cast with that of her own people. The
Bradleys lived in their log house for 2 ½ years, then moved to a new location in Manti,
and with all the other settlers, had to take protection from the Indians inside of the fort. It
became very dangerous for any man to work alone very far from help, but George W. and
Daniel Funk succeeded in cutting enough shingles to cover the roof of the council house
and were treated very royally and paid very well for their labor, when they brought them
to Salt Lake and presented them to Pres. Young.
One day while Betsy and young Hyrum Moroni, were out gathering chips for the
fire, the child suddenly became very excited and pointed his little finger toward the stone
quarry, or the brow of Temple Hill. It was said he saw strange shining personage
appeared and the innocent child had been allowed to see it because of his name, but when
little Hyrum Moroni’s mother asked him if it was an Indian he had seen, he said, “No, it
was the Lord.” And almost 38 years afterward, when the Manti Temple was completed,
it was related that at the dedication the same personage as had been described appeared in
the East wing of the temple, almost on the same spot as was designated by the child.
In 1851 George W., Daniel Henrie, Isaac Morley and others were asked by
Brigham Young to accompany his party into Iron Co. for an exploratory trip, and they all
came back with the knowledge that much wealth would some day be taken from this part
of the state. On 7 April 1851 Betsy gave birth to another baby boy, Zephaniah Richard.
Recently the church authorities had been giving a lot of thought to Brother Heywood’s
settlement at Salt Creek, or Nephi, as it was to be known. Plans had been for formulated
on the recent trip South with Pres. Young and his party, and plans were now under way
for this new move. They established a new home in Nephi settlement, and George W.
was called to work conjointly with Pres. Joseph Heywood, and became his first
counselor. Bro Miller became the 2nd counselor 7 Feb. 1852.
Several log houses had be erected, when the settlement was first laid out, but
Betsy did not want to live in any of them. She wanted something better this time, so the
men folk hauled logs and had them sawed into lumber at the mill in Manti, then hauled
them back to Nephi and built a good sized home, one and one half stories high. It was
the first lumber home and house of any good size in Nephi.
George W. was named as commander of the military post here, ranking as Major,
and helped them get a charter from the legislature for their town. He also became
probate judge of Juab Co. and had served in this capacity for 6 years, when he was once
more called by Pres. Brigham Young for a special mission, namely the founding of a new
settlement about 23 miles South East of Nephi on the banks of the Sanpitch River in
Sanpete Valley. The name was to be Moroni after the Book of Mormon prophet. George
W. Bradley was set apart as Bishop and Pres. of this new settlement on the 14 July 1959
by George A. Smith and Bishop Warren Snow and he acted in this capacity for 18 years.
George Albert Smith was an especially good friend of the Bradleys and they had many
good things to say about his fine virtues. Betsy especially liked to talk of some of the
wonderful things he did. She also talked a lot about John Smith.
At Nephi 3 Feb. 1855 Betsy gave birth to their youngest child, a girl, whom they
named Sylvia. By this time Louisa had married Abner Lowery, George H. had married
Elizabeth Love and Malinda had married James Woolf. On March 15 1859 Moroni was
settled by George Washington Bradley, George Henry Bradley, his son, Isaac Morley and
J. Woolf, both sons-in-law, and H. Gustin, Niels ********, Joseph Shepherd and N. L.
Christensen. Christensen took his wives with him and they were the first women to live
in the settlement. They shoveled snow for 3 days in Salt Creek Canyon in order to clear
a possible road here and there over the divide so they could reach their destination. The
town was located almost in the exact center of Utah and some of the settlers made
shelters by digging dugouts along the bank of the Sanpitch River. Others began building
log and adobe houses. Isaac Morley built the first log house in the Settlement and
George W.’s was one of the very first, if not the first adobe house to be built.
They planted gardens and built a meeting house and thought things were going
along fine. It started to rain and high waters rolled down the Sanpitch River and flooded
every body out, washed their crops away, and soaked the adobes, weakened the walls and
supports of their meeting house to such an extent that it fell down one night, after a lot of
people had spent the evening there. In 1860 Pres. Young and Heber C. Kimball came
down and surveyed the damages and condemned the place as a townsite and told the
settlers to move to higher ground, so they did. They had to dig up all of their
improvements and move on to the hills to the North East of their present location, where
a town site was again laid out, one mile square with blocks containing 5 acres each.
Until they could dig a well, the Bradleys had to haul their drinking water from
Silver Creek, which was about a quarter of a mile straight West of their home.
Sometimes they would take their dirty clothes down there and wash them, but mostly
they would take the old wooden wash board George W. had made, and do their washing
in the Sanpitch River, if the water was clear, because it was closer and wasn’t far from
the garden the Bradleys had planted in the South field, a block and a half South of their
home. The Bradleys always gave jobs to the Indians, whenever they could and paid them
well for their work. They found it promoted a good feeling toward them on the part of
the Indians and helped keep the peace, for George W. was a peace maker. Betsy always
had an Indian girl to help her wash clothes, which was done on the smooth, flat stones at
the water’s edge of the Sanpitch River, and one day as the girl was busily engaged
rubbing the clothes, a young Indian boy came up behind her and demanded that she steal
some of the vegetables for him from the near-by Bradley garden. She said she would not
do it, where upon he grabbed her and the clothes and threw them into the river. Betsy,
who was bringing more clothes down to be washed, was only a short distance away, but
since the young buck had his back to her, he had not noticed her approach until she yelled
and started after him.
Betsy always carried a pistol in her skirt pocket, when she was dealing with the
Indians, or going about anywhere alone, and she was so mad at this Indian for what he
had just done to her clothes and the Indian girl, that she said she believed she would have
killed him if she could have gotten at him. But he did not give her a chance. He ran
North, with the speed of a deer, then turned East and was still running East on the main
road, when Bishop Bradley came along in his surrey bringing Brigham Young and some
of the other church visitors back home from conference at Manti. Bradley stopped his
team and asked the young buck what in the world was the matter, but all he could get out
of him was, “Mean white squaw kill with pooch gun (little gun).
Betsy always kept a supply of Indian trinkets and loose beads on hand and after
the Indian girls and squaws had done some job or piece of work for her, she would let
them choose something out of a box of articles that she kept for that purpose, or else she
would give them beads to work with. She would let them sit anytime, sometimes all day
long on her big long front porch or out along the banks of the rushing water of the big
new city ditch that had lately been dug just to the East of their lot. Here they would sit
and sew beads on gloves, dresses or moccasins by the hour. They would use sinue,
mostly, but sometimes Betsy would give them a piece of cloth to unravel and they used
this for thread. Sometimes they washed windows or carried water for a tie apron or
vegetables.
Many Indians always visited the Bradley home, but among those most feared was
“Green Blanket.” He rode a sorrel horse, had a dog he lassoed one of Betsy’s
grandchildren, He caught her by the one arm in the loop of the rope and was pulling her
toward him, when Betsy rescued her. He said, “Indian come to scare kids.” He would
push his way inside the house anytime he liked, if the door was not locked, and he would
carry off anything that took his fancy. And more than once, Betsy chased him away from
the place with the stove poker, but if she was ever afraid, she never let him know it.
Sometimes he would come there at night, when George W. was home. He would curl up
in his blanket on the floor before the kitchen fire place and go to sleep, and Betsy would
be all for sending him on his way, but George W. would say, “No, let him stay.” And
George would sleep on the couch in the same room with him all night. But he could
never be trusted and was generally known to be mean. One day he almost killed Villa
Draper because she pushed him over. He had sneaked quietly through the door and up
behind her, while she was down on her knees scrubbing. When her sister saw him and
screamed, she jumped up, whirled around and with both hands gave him a push in his
middle. He fell down and became very angry and would have killed her had not the
girl’s screams attracted their father working in the mill, near by. He came running and
placated the Indian by giving him 6 fat hens. The mother was very angry that her hens
were given away, but the father said 6 hens were nothing by the side of his daughter’s
life.
Green Blanket caused the Saints no end of trouble. He would steal their cattle
and carry off anything that was left loose. He often came for a drink at the Bradley well,
after it was dug, and Betsy always made him feel that he was welcome to do this, but the
grandchildren were frightened to death of him and were warned to stay out of his sight.
Betsy took precaution to see that the tin drinking cup remained at the well too, by having
it fastened to a long, thin chain. She also tried to keep other things locked up and not
lying around. One night while spinning was going on in front of the fire place by the
******** light” of a burning rag in a can of grease, a rap came at the window and a man’s
voice said, “Douse the light quick. Old Green Blanket had just been killed, and as soon
as the other Indians find out they will be on the war path. See that all of your kids are in
bed and don’t let them know what has happened. We are digging a hole to put him in out
on Squaw Hill, so keep your light out, but prepare for the worst. I’ll go to warn the
others.” Word somehow got to the Indians later that Green Blanket had been killed over
by Nephi, but they could not find out who killed him or where he was buried, so the
settlers were saved from vengeance on that occasion.
In March of 1863 the county seat of Sanpete County was moved to Moroni, and George
W. was appointed the probate judge, but the office was moved back to Manti the
following year, 1864, and the office was given to W. F. Maylett. Shortly after this,
Bishop Bradley built a grist mill, no people did not have to travel so far to get their grain
milled, and his boys built a saw mill up Maple Canyon and people would haul their logs
there to be saved into lengths and rough lumber. The people built another meeting house
up on the city lot and included a big stage so home talent could put on plays and
programs, and they made the floor of the main hall as smooth and slick as possible, so
dances could be held when the occasion permitted. One of the things Bishop and Betsy
said they were most grateful and thankful for was that their church believed in
developing talent and seeking relaxation in song and dance.
The people needed to have a bit of pleasure once in a while, for frozen crops,
grasshopper pests, and the ever present Indian trouble were enough to try the soul of the
bravest of them. The men took turns on guard duty and many times morning found them
still following or fighting Indian raiders, and many a time Betsy and granddaughter Myra
Henrie, who was visiting her from Manti, would make and serve hot soda biscuits to the
tired men as they came home from the chase or training maneuvers at the point of the
mountain. The people had asked the government to send them some military men to help
them, but the answer was that they should help themselves as the military men were only
there to protect the mill route. So the people chose George W. Bradley as president and
he appointed Warren Snow as general with Albright as colonel, and they organized a
county organization known as the “Minute Men”. This organization was very active in
helping to combat their troubles and reduce their cattle losses.
On the 7th of 1865, Brigham Young came to Moroni and stayed at the Bradley
home until the 19th. The Indians were really on the rampage and the Black Hawk War
had started. Pres. Young studied the fighting situation, met with the people and advised
them to build a fort which they did, and when conditions got completely out of control, a
couple of years later, people from Wales, Fountain Green and Chester all came and took
refuge here. In the meantime, several things of importance had happened in 1866. First,
an epidemic of diphtheria had caused the death of their little daughter, Sylvia. Second,
the high waters rolled down the Sanpitch River again, completely flooding and ruining
many crops. In fact, the water was so high that a ferry boat was put in use on the river 27
May 1866. The 3rd important event was the incorporation of Moroni as a city.
In 1868 George W. had a chance to go East and since he wanted to make an effort
to bring his family into the church, he chose Peter Swensen to act in his stead as Bishop
with J. C. Nielsen (or Nelson) as his 1st counselor. The trip was long and tiresome, even
by train. Betsy stayed home and took care of the family and their new house. This house
was for many years the very nicest house in Moroni. It was built just across the road
from the site designated to the new tabernacle. It was built out of adobe, then plastered
or stuckoed on the outside. It started with just one room with a fireplace inside the fort,
but before long there had been added a big room and 3 bedrooms on the main floor.
There was also a third story or upstairs with one big room and several unfinished
bedrooms.
The living room was completely covered with red woven carpet, or it gave the
effect of being red since red carpet warp was used in weaving, and many dyed red rags
were used in the roof. Her furniture was a good deal better than anyone else had, for
George W. had made much of it, and since he worked at coopering, he was very handy in
working with wood.
Betsy was short of stature, neat and good looking with blue eyes and brown hair.
As she grew older, she became rather plump. She was quick, clean, orderly and outspoken.
And at times was said to have a sharp tongue. She was very truthful, and didn’t
mind telling you to your face, just what she thought of you, whether you liked it or not.
She laughed often, was a good mixer and very friendly with townspeople and neighbors.
She was accustomed to giving orders and having them obeyed. She always had a hired
girl and extra help for special occasions. She paid them well, but she expected them to
start work at 8 a.m. work late and keep busy all of the time. She gave them all they
wanted to eat, rest periods in which she taught them how to crochet and knit, and a nice
place to sleep. Few could afford to pay for a girl at all in those days. But Betsy always
paid $1.00 per week and sometimes more.
Sometimes Betsy became a little grumpy over all of her problems and was
inclined to “spout off”. In fact, on several occasions, she told her husband that Moroni
was “A hell of a place he had brought her to and she did not like it one little bit.” But
when things went well, she was happy and kind to the poor, sick and needy. She could
tell you what herbs to use for your troubles, and she was always giving a dose of sage tea,
bitter alone or sulphur and molasses to some member of her family.
She was at her best when she was cleaning and bandaging cuts and sores or
wounds of any kind. She did not leave her home much, but if the mid-wife or anyone
else needed her help with the sick, she was always glad to go. She would sit up with
them through the night and sometimes, when a death occurred, she would help lay out
and dress the body. In case of death, people always came to grandma Betsy to borrow
her sheets for their dead to be laid out in, whether she was in attendance or not. She kept
them so clean and white, and she hired Jeanette and Eliza Harvy to keep them smoothly
ironed for her. This, and the fact that there were few, if any, other bleached sheets in
town at the time, made hers very desirable.
She used to have some huge, black iron kettles that she made her own soap in.
She used saleratus she had gathered from the ground with a teaspoon, and water off wood
ashes that had been allowed to settle in a big rain barrel, and scrap fat and grease. These
ingredients were boiled together outside over an open fire till the mixture turned into
thick, yellow soap. Then it was strained through a wire screen into a wooden tub or mold
till it hardened. Then it was cut into oblong bars and allowed to dry. Her laundry would
have cost a fortune, if she had not had her own supply of soap, for she had so much bed
and table linens from company. The hired girls rubbed all these things on the wooden
board till they were clean, then carried them to the line in two huge Indian baskets, where
they were hung in the sun to dry.
Sometime during the process, Betsy was sure to call out, “Now Quilla, don’t let
the lace on the pillow slips hand downward while you are rubbing, for I don’s want the
grime and dirty water running into the lace. So if they did, they never let her catch them
at it. Betsy used to have a great of trouble with her legs and feet, and would lay awake
for hours changing cold cloths on them or rubbing them, and especially was this true in
her later years. So she spent much of her time in her rocking chair with a little, Black
shawl doubled cross ways around her shoulders, a white, gathered lace trimmed apron
tied around her middle and sometimes a little, white, lace trimmed dust cap on her head.
She rocked and knitted, patched, darned and called orders to the girls in the kitchen, her
children and grandchildren, and she enjoyed any neighbors or callers who happened to
drop in with news, gossip or perhaps a new recipe.
Betsy made very good squash pie and molasses bread, and she always exchanged
live yeast with her neighbors so she would have fresh start for her white potato bread.
They fed a lot of cows, pigs and chickens, and had several hives of honey bees. So they
raised much of their own food. They got molasses from Manti and Dixie and she had
sugar to use when noone else did. She always said that idleness was a tool of the devil,
so her hands were always busy, and she earned a good deal of pin money selling
stockings, she had knit, lace she had crocheted or canker medicine she had made.
George W. was in the East 2 years and when he returned he was successful in
persuading his brother to come out West with him. And while here, he helped Betsy
realize one of her fondest dreams, by helping to build a nice big kitchen and pantry out of
lumber to the West side of the main structure. The floor was on a level with that of the
living room, so she did not have to go up and down stairs so much. She loved to sit up
here in her rocking chair, while the hired help usually stayed in the downstairs kitchen till
bed time. George W. and Betsy both tried their best to get his brother to join the Latterday
Saints Church, but he never would. He said he was satisfied as he was, but he loved
to sit in the downstairs kitchen by the lamp light and talk to Quilla, the hired girl, after
her work was done. Betsy did not like this very much. She would get quite curious as to
just what they were doing and saying and finally, when she couldn’t stand it any longer,
she would call down and say, “Quilla, bring that lamp up here. Do you think I can afford
to burn lamps just for you to sit down there and talk to your young men friends? Come
up here and speak a piece for me or sing me a song.”
It seemed she always liked people around her, or she became fidgety and
wondered what was going on. Her son, Zeff, was always teasing his mother and was
always countermanding her orders. It seemed he had a way with her and could do about
as he wished. Once when Quilla was churning the butter for a big event, Betsy said
“Now Quilla, don’t you wash that butter, for that will take the rosy taste away from it and
I want it to be especially good this time. So just work the buttermilk out of it good and
mold it.” Quilla had been taught that butter should always be washed and she wanted to
rinse it 3 times with cold water, salt it and work it up like she had been taught to do. Zeff
was sitting there listening and after his mother had gone he said, “Quilla, if you want to
wash that butter, go ahead and do it the way you want to and let’s see if she can tell the
difference.” So she did. She washed it and worked it good and salted it. After she had
molded it she decorated the top with a sort of laurel wreath pattern made by deftly
drawing and pushing the paddle here and there, and when Betsy tasted the butter, she
said, “Well now, isn’t that fine butter? You’d have ruined it sure if you had washed it.”.
When their cows went dry and they had to buy butter, or it was bought in as tithing
payments, she always used to want to know who churned it and hot it was taken care of.
Betsy had the only flour sifter in Moroni for a while, and she liked her salt risen
bread better than the new yeast bread she made. She always had 2 big 5 gallon cans of
water heating on the stove so there would be plenty of hot dish water and for washing
before meals. And never did a breakfast go by, that they did not have hot soda (made
from Saleratus) and sour buttermilk biscuits. She would always have 2 or 3 gallons of
buttermilk set aside for 2 or 3 days to ripen, and these ingredients added to flour and a
little salt, turned out delicious biscuits. However, some times she would serve sour
dough pan cakes, which she made equally well. Both were said to melt in your mouth.
Besides this, there would be plenty of bacon and eggs, potatoes cooked with their jackets
on, honey and plum preserves, for she believed people should always eat a big breakfast
and lunch and a light supper of perhaps bread and milk and cheese with a little ham or
green onion, to make it tasty. So this usually was the menu unless there was special
company.
The Bradley table was a big one and reached almost from one end of the room to
the other, and it was always filled with the family and company and hired help, and
always an Indian or two. Sometimes as many as 10 Indians sat down at the table with
them and once in a while a hungry tramp sat with them, who had perhaps chopped
kindling wood or mended a chair for Betsy. One tramp stayed on for several days and
carved out a bedstead for her. She would always be counted on to help the unfortunate, if
they were sincere in their desire to do something.
George W. always insisted that his hired help, as well as his family, go to church
on Sunday, so Betsy went all the time except to conference. Conference time was always
a rush and bustle, for some of the 12 Apostles were sure to be the guests of Bishop and
Sister Bradley. So preparations were made. White-wash was made out of white clay and
lime and the walls freshly washed down. The floors were scoured with sand and soap
and rinsed and especially if Pres. Young was expected. In that case, preparation really
rose to fever pitch. The big South bedroom was large enough to hold 2 beds and was
always reserved for church officials. So a few days before conference all the beds were
torn down and the bedsteads scrubbed and the ropes that stretched across and held up the
springs and mattress were all scalded. Betsy owned 3 fluffy feather ticks, which were
beaten out with a large wire beater and left in the sun to air and fluff up the feathers. The
rest of the ticks were hung at the windows and the big wood boxes in the rooms were
heaped with chopped wood and the fire all laid and ready to light in the big open fire
places.
All the boys in the Bradley family slept on the third floor or upstairs in the
unfinished bedrooms. Betsy’s bedroom was the North one on the main floor and the
hired girl usually slept in the East one, when she stayed over night. The best silver and
precious sterling spoons were brought out and polished, the special glass berry set was
brought down from the top shelf of the cupboard and even a brass kettle full of wild roses
was placed in the fireplace, when it was summer and they were in bloom.
The cooking that went into preparation for these events were something to
behold. One time, when Pres. Young came to visit. Betsy had made apple, custard and
squash pies. She had a couple of kinds of meat roasted to a turn with plenty of mashed
potatoes whipped to a fluff, as only one of her girls could whip them, she cooked dried
corn, put out her choicest preserves and had 3 kinds of bread, besides soda biscuits. In
fact, she had everything that she thought was extra special.
Pres. Young sat down at the table and looked over all of the food and then said,
“Sister Betsy, could I have just a bowl of milk and bread?” For a minute or two her
husband and the hired girls all held their breath, for they definitely thought they saw
dangerous sparks in her eyes, but all she said just then was, “Quilla, will you go to the
pantry and get the top milk from the white pan?” So the ears of the President were not
shocked, and he patted her shoulder and told her she should not bother so much for him
for his tastes were simple. But my, oh my, her husband and those around her, after he
had left, were not so fortunate, for there was just one explosion after another from Betsy.
She went so far as to say she thought Brother Brigham was the darndest eater she ever
saw to eat like that and she did not think it was very nice of him not to even sample her
good food.
Most of the time Betsy was just an efficient over-seer and good hearted, plain
spoken woman doing her best to run a big household.. But everyone had to learn to do
things her way or they did not work for her. Like clock work the big black kettles and
milk buckets were scoured with salt and vinegar twice a week, rinsed out and hung on the
garden fence posts to air. She was economically minded and did the chores
systematically as possible. She never wanted things left laying around, She had a place
for everything and wanted everything in its place. Even bowls, measuring cups and
spoons, all had to be in a certain spot, so time could be saved and no effort wasted.
The spinning wheel she had brought across the plains with her was pressed into
service several times a week, when she would either spin or weave herself or it happened
oftener in later years, she had Lizzy Baily come in and do it for her and often you would
hear her tell the girl, “Sixty threads make a know and ten knots make a skene. They dyed
the yarn and cloth with juice from madder berries for red color, sage brush and alum or
creosote for green, rabbit brush for yellow and for blue they had to use indigo mixed with
urine and a little salt. This did not smell so good, when the yarn and pieces of cloth were
draped around the fireplace to dry, and especially during the cold winter months, when
the doors were kept closed. The fumes were so strong, they would almost asphyxiate
you.
Betsy’s daughter, Amanda Henrie, came up from Manti to visit her mother as
often as she could and would bring her older daughters, Mary and Myra with her most
often so they could help, but sometimes she brought the younger ones and while the
occasion was one for quilting, spinning , weaving, and cooking for the older folks, it was
one of fun and merriment for the children. Betsy’s loved her grandchildren and was
always thinking up something for them to do so she could give them special privileges.
She would tell them to carry swill to the pigs, hay to the sheep, and sometimes help the
hired man to milk. But sometimes the cows were fussy and would not let the milk down,
Then the hired man would come to the rescue and just for fun would squirt a couple of
squirts of warm milk into the open mouths of the children. This delighted them greatly,
but the thing that pleased them most, was when grandma would let them hunt the eggs.
She’s say, “I’m just sure that old grey hen has stole her nest someplace. You children go
see if you can find it for me.” Then they would romp and slide on the hay in the barn
until they found it and other eggs too. As a reward she would let them go into the garden
and dig a rutabaga for themselves, if they would promise to be careful and not disturb the
“hill” too much. Noone else in Moroni raised rutabagas. She would also let them pick
red currents, gooseberries, or even plums and apples for the Bradleys raising a fine
garden and had several nice fruit trees.
Myra got so she was a big help and became very close to her grandmother. She
could spin and weave and cook and help make the now famous canker medicine Betsy
sold. She loved to go with her cousins to parties and dances in Moroni, and it was at a
welcome home dance for a young Swede, John Olson, that she fell in love. He had just
returned from a trip back to the Missouri River to help poor Saints come to Utah. She
married John Olson and in time, after her grandmother was through with it, he bought the
Bradley home for Myra, and here she lived for the rest of her days. After George W.
returned from the East and the newly formed Moroni Co-op Mercantile business was a
financial success, Church Authorities thought it should come under their jurisdiction, so
Apostle Hyde came to Moroni and made arrangements for George W. to be the new
president. He took over the office from J. C. Nielson and the institution was run pretty
much the same as before with counselors, by-laws and a board of directors. The same as
the ZCMI had. He was president until 1887.
In 1874 by orders from the Church authorities, he had organized the United
Order in Moroni and people were asked to put into organization all that they had and they
were to take out all that they needed. It worked fine for a while, but some members
became selfish and others developed jealousy, so after 8 or 10 years, it was decided that
people were not ready for this great order of Enoch, so the project was disbanded and
people were given back their property.
When the Bradleys had lived at Nephi, the principal of plural marriage was being
expounded by the church, so George W. had married Cynthia Wagle 14 March 1852.
She born 19 Aug 1837, was a daughter of Jacon and Mary Vance Wagel, who had lived
at Jonesboro, Union Co., Ill. From this marriage James was boirn 28 Dec. 1854 and
Lucy born a couple of years later. When they had moved to Moroni, George W. had built
her a long, adobe house with 3 very large rooms, just West of Betsy’s home.
Betsy’s responsibilities as hostess to the Church visitors was very heavy. Her
husband would hitch up his best team to the fine new surrey they had bought, put on the
long, black cape he always wore, and would drive away to meet the dignitaries at the
train at Nephi, then he would drive them to Ephriam, Manti, or Mt. Pleasant, or wherever
they wanted to go. Cynthia was a lot younger than Betsy and since Betsy had so much
foot trouble, George W. tried to get Cynthia to share the responsibilities, but she would
not do this. At conference time she would dress in her prettiest dress and go to church,
then bring her children and sit with the company to be waited on with the other guests.
This did not please George W. and proved to be quite a bone of contention. It led to
other serious disagreements, until finally George W. took what was a very serious step in
those days and divorced her. She later married Ruben John Downs the 19 May 1861.
She died 16 Jan. 1904 at Nephi, Juab Co., Utah and was buried there the 19 Jan 1904.
George W. loved his two children of this marriage and wanted to keep them, but a
compromise was made and each parent kept one child. So Lucy went with her mother
and James always lived with George W.
When he was in his teens James, his brothers Zeff and Moroni, and Amasa
Morley decided one day to go to the hills for dry kindling wood. They loaded up and
then went over to the Blue Spring to get a drink and just happened to look back over their
shoulders in time to see several Indians all decked out in war paint, swarming around the
wagon and unhitching their horses. James climbed up into a big cedar tree and watched
to see which way the Indians went with their horses, for he was not afraid of anything,
much less of being caught. But the other 3 boys ran down the ridge as fast as they could
go. They were bare-footed so the sharp rocks skinned their shins and cut their feet and
legs and filled the skin with *********** thorns, but they got home safely.
The Indians had come down through the hills from Indianola in feathers and war
paint, and as the boys neared Amasa’s home, they saw the Indians enter it, so they all hid
in the tall grass of the plum orchard till they had gone. His mother did not happen to be
home, but the Indians went right through the Morley home and stole scissors, sugar
lumps, beads and several other things, and other people who saw what took place dared
not to lift a finger to stop or provoke them, for they were looking for trouble. Old Chief
Sanpitch had 6 brothers, who had caused the settlers an awful lot of trouble, but all were
good friends of George W. and had been in the family home many times. Another
familiar Indian figure to Moroni history was one called Jim Indian. He was known as a
good Indian and lived in his wick-I-up pitched about 3 blocks West of the Bradley home.
Some had given him a big, white duster and a black felt hat. He had acquired a horse and
a little seated buggy, and he and his wife would go driving all over the country in this
outfit. However, his wife was very fat..so fat in fact that the only way she could get into
the buggy was by crawling up a little ladder which was put up to the back of the buggy,
then she would step over the back and into the seat. Jim Indian joined the LDS Church
and could be seen at many of their gatherings. He lived among the settlers for many
years, finally ending his days in the county poor house at Fairview.
George W. and Betsy Kroll Bradley were both very brave, kind, ambitious, and
deeply religious people. And this little story hasn’t even scratched the surface of their
hard, busy, and eventful life. They lived in so many different places and sacrificed so
much, yet held fast to their ideals and beliefs and rose above their troubles to be leaders
of the communities they lived in. They headed many enterprises, both civic and religious
and received much joy and satisfaction for their labors. One time, when Betsy taunted
the Bishop with the remark that had they stayed in Salt Lake they would have been very
wealthy people, he replied, “The testimony I have of the Gospel is worth far more to me
than all the wealth in the world.” And Betsy agreed with him. George W. was a good
husband to Betsy and a good father to his brother’s children as well as his own. He
always provided the best he could for them and lived his life as near as he could to, what
he thought, was right. He served as Bishop of Moroni for 18 years and held a high office
in the Church for the rest of his life.
He died 8 March 1891 at Moroni, Sanpete Co., Utah, and was buried in the
Moroni City Cemetery the 11th March 1891 at the age of 77 years, leaving his wife, 2 step
daughters, 5 sons and 2 daughters of his own. 5 of his children has preceded him in
death.
Another history of her says “Betsy lived on for 2 more years and was 82 years
old, when death came to her on 17 March 1893 at her home. She was laid to rest beside
her husband in the Moroni City Cemetery.”
Typed by Kathleen J. Woolf October 2002