(Contributed by the Thomas Tolman Family Organization. Excerpts from Judson Tolman: Pioneer, Lumberman, Patriarch by E. Dennis Tolman, Second Edition, 2004, pages 12 to 50).
BIRTH:
Cyrus Tolman was born in Hope, Lincoln, Maine, April 6, 1820 to Nathan and Sarah Hewitt Tolman. It may be significant to his descendants that he was born ten years to the day before the organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, the church he and three of his brothers were later to join. Cyrus was the seventh generation of Tolmans in America. His immigrant ancestor, Thomas Tolman, came from England in the 1630s and settled in Dorchester, Massachusetts. The family remained in Massachusetts for five generations and then Reuben Tolman, the paternal grandfather of Cyrus, moved to Maine, where Cyrus’ father, Nathan was born. There Cyrus and his ten brothers and sisters were born and reared for the early part of their lives.
Cyrus had three older sisters and one older brother: Margaret (born February 2, 1812), Sarah (born March 13, 1814), Esther (born March 18, 1818) and Nathan Jr. (born October 8, 1815). Following Cyrus’ birth, five more brothers and one more sister were added to Nathan and Sarah’s family: John (born October 4, 1822), Lucy, (born July 3, 1824), Judson (born July 24, 1826), Benjamin Hewitt (born May 3, 1829), George Washington (born February 6, 1833), and James Llewellyn (born in 1836).
CYRUS’ NAME, BIRTH DATE AND BIRTH PLACE:
There have been questions over the years as to whether Cyrus had the middle name of Hewitt or Hewett. In the Fairview, Lincoln, Wyoming Cemetery Records five of his children by Margaret Eliza Utley Tolman give their father’s name as Cyrus Hewett Tolman: Martha Ann Tolman Barrus, George Calvin Tolman, Little John Tolman, Orson Utley Tolman and Wilford Richard Tolman. A letter written to William O. Tolman from Royal Clifford (grandson of Cyrus and who grew up near his grandfather) and his wife, Goldie Adams Tolman, dated 16 Sep 1965 states, “…from what we are able to gather, only confirms your opinion that grandfather, Cyrus, was not given Hewitt as part of his name, but only used by friends (and family) to identify him” from other Cyruses in the family. We have no primary records giving Cyrus a middle name.
Two birth dates have also been noted in his records, 6th and 15th of April 1820. When Cyrus was endowed September 6, 1852 he gave his birth date as April 6. The April 6, 1820 seems to be the prevailing date in other family records and will be used in this history.
Previously written histories of Cyrus have given his birthplace as Windsor, Waldo, Maine. It is important to note that Hope, Lincoln, Maine has been carefully documented, by former family genealogist, LoaDon H. Glade, as his correct birthplace. Hope, Maine is located forty-five miles east-southeast of Augusta, Maine, very near the coast.
EARLY YEARS:
In some notes by the Brice Family (Cyrus’ sister, Esther, married Samuel Brice), we are told that when Cyrus was a small boy he ran away from home and was sent by his parents to board with the minister for a time, as his father was strict and they were God-fearing people. It appears that Cyrus’ had a mind of his own from an early age. Cyrus’ father, Nathan Tolman, chose to rear his family near the woods and the fine fishing of Maine. His boys learned hunting, fishing, and forestry. It was likely that the spirit of westward expansion motivated Nathan in 1837 to move his family from Maine to Iowa. The move was the year after James, their eleventh child, was born. We have no family history to fill in the details of their lives at this time. We do know that Margaret died in Maine in 1824, Sarah married in 1833 and died in 1903 in Maine and Nathan Jr. married in 1835 in Maine, so they obviously did not go to Iowa with their family. Cyrus would have been seventeen years old when he and his remaining brothers and sisters moved with his parents to Iowa.
How long they remained in Iowa is uncertain, however, there are events in their lives we can pinpoint. Three members of the family died in Iowa: James L. in Portland, Van Buren, Iowa December 24, 1842 at the age of six; their father, Nathan, also died in Portland, Van Buren, Iowa, February 1, 1844 at the age of fifty-six; and John died June 28, 1858 at the age of thirty-six. Whether they remained in Iowa continuously during that time period is unknown to us. We do not have a record of John being married, but he could have been living on his own.
MARRIAGE TO LYDIA ANN KASBEER:
In Iowa, Cyrus was charmed by a lovely sixteen year old girl, Lydia Ann Kasbeer (Casbier, Casbry, Casebeer). Kasbeer was the spelling found on their marriage record, so we have chosen to use it throughout this history and in our family records. Her family was living in the Van Buren County area, according to the Iowa 1840 Federal Census. Cyrus and Lydia were married on March 23, 1843 in Keosauqua, Van Buren, Iowa. The following year their first child, Julia Ann, was born on May 1, 1844 in Wapello County, Iowa, a neighboring county to Van Buren. (It is interesting to note here, that Van Buren County, Iowa is in the south east corner of Iowa and one county removed from Hancock County, Illinois where Nauvoo is located.
In one family record we learn that sometime following Nathan’s death, Cyrus’ mother, Sarah, wanted to move to Center Point, Linn, Iowa, which is three counties to the north of Van Buren county. Lydia was pregnant. Thus, they evidently waited until after the birth of Julia Ann and perhaps to give Lydia time to recover from the delivery, which was only three months after Nathan’s death, before fulfilling Sarah’s wish. Cyrus, Lydia, Julia Ann, along with Sarah moved to Center Point where Cyrus built a little cabin surrounded by a picket fence with an oak tree at one corner of the lot. Cyrus’ brothers, Judson, Benjamin and George, were still teenagers and John was only twenty-two. We can only speculate whether these brothers chose to remove to Center Point, to remain with other married family members or to strike out on their own. We do know that Judson, was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, January 12, 1845 and moved to Nauvoo in June of that year.
When Lydia Ann was eighteen and pregnant with their second child, she was thrown from a sleigh or wagon, because of a runaway team, in November 1845 and died in premature childbirth in Center Point. The baby girl, whom they named Lydia, after her mother, lived only one day. Lydia Ann may have lived a day or two longer. With their lives just beginning, Cyrus could not have anticipated losing the love of his youth, his sweet wife and mother of his first two children. We can only imagine his heartache at this critical time in his life.
Cyrus’ mother, Sarah Tolman, kept house for Cyrus and cared for his daughter, Julia Ann. One night when Julia Ann was sick with “putrid sore throat,” she and her grandmother were sleeping on a pallet on the floor in front of the fireplace when a spark from the fire ignited a woolen cape spread over them. They would have been badly burned if Cyrus had not awakened and extinguished the fire.
BAPTISM:
In the history of Cyrus written by his granddaughter, Elva Tolman, she indicated that one of the reasons Cyrus moved to Linn County was to investigate a new religion he had heard about, which began in New York and was soon to be embraced by three of his brothers Judson, George, and Benjamin in January 12, 1845, April 1845 and June 14, 1847, respectively. He believed the doctrine he was taught of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and was baptized in April 1846 and confirmed a member by Amos Davis while in Linn County, Iowa.
(Author’s Note: When Judson Tolman served as proxy for his brother George in receiving his endowment in the Logan Temple, November 19, 1886, he gave George’s baptismal date as April 1845. This fact did not come to light until 2004 when I was editing the second edition of Judson Tolman’s history. Pauline H. Christiansen, a second great granddaughter of Judson, was helping to verify temple dates for the history and ran across the entry of George’s endowment and recording of his baptism date. Until that time we had always believed that only three brothers had joined the Church, because only three brothers traveled west with the pioneers. George died at age 16, probably in Iowa. We do not know why he did not come west with his brothers. It may have been because he was only 12 years old when Judson left for Nauvoo in June of 1845 and wasn’t ready to leave home or perhaps his mother Sarah wanted him to remain in the east until he was older. In any case, George died four years later in 1849.)
We know from references in the history of Judson Tolman by E. Dennis Tolman, that Judson, and presumably his other family members including Cyrus, first came in contact with the Mormons some time in 1844, the year of the martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph Smith. Ann Lucretia Tolman McNeil, a granddaughter of Judson Tolman, recorded in her life sketch, “Judson Tolman, my grandfather, was the first of my ancestors to join the church. There was an elder by the name of Amos Davis came to his house and left a Book of Mormon and after reading it thought it was true and joined the church.”
If only Cyrus had left a record of why only he and his three brothers joined the church. Why not his parents, his other three brothers and his four sisters? We know that some of the family remained in Maine and may not have had contact with the church at that time. Although Judson served a mission to Maine in 1877, we do not have a record of his labors. He very likely tried to see his family and share his new found faith, because he had a strong testimony of its truthfulness. It is interesting to note that some of the descendants of Cyrus’ other brothers and sisters have since joined themselves with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
(Cyrus’ mother, Sarah Hewitt Tolman, died in Kansas, March 19, 1869 at the age of 80. She likely went to Kansas to live with or be near her daughter, Ester Tolman Brice. Sarah was a Methodist and possessed a bible and hymnal published for the Methodist church members. We have no further details of her life between Cyrus’ departure to the west and her death.)
MARRIAGE TO ALICE BRACKEN:
Some time after Lydia Ann died, Cyrus dreamed he was out walking with his baby, Julia Ann in his arms. The shawl around the baby slipped off and fell to the ground. A beautiful young girl picked up the shawl and gently wrapped it around the baby. When Cyrus awoke he said, “That young lady is to be my baby’s step mother.” When he met Alice Bracken, he recognized her as the girl in his dream. (One family history records that she was wearing the same dress which Cyrus had seen her wearing in his dream.)
Alice Bracken’s mother and family were journeying to join the saints in Nauvoo. Her father had died in 1845 and was buried at Polk, Iowa, leaving the little family to struggle on alone. Cyrus and Alice met at Mt. Pisgah, Iowa, where many of the saints gathered prior to the trek west.
Minnie Elizabeth Tolman Pickett, the youngest child of Cyrus and Alice, recorded in the history that she wrote of her mother, “She was married to Cyrus Tolman at Mt. Pisgah, Union, Iowa, August 16, 1847. She was not yet fifteen years old. (Alice was) a woman in stature and ability to work, but a child in knowledge of requirement of married life. Father was a widower with a little girl two (three) years old, so the sweet girl-wife was already a step-mother.”
December 24, 1847, at the present site of Council Bluffs, Iowa, on the Missouri River, there was a conference held in the old log tabernacle. Brigham Young was sustained as President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with Heber C. Kimball and Willard Richards as his counselors. Brigham Young had returned from leading the vanguard company of saints into the Salt Lake Valley, and plans for the 1848 Trek were underway.
Cyrus Tolman was ordained a Teacher and presiding Priest by Hugh Goucine while at Council Bluffs, Iowa. We do not have an exact date but assume it was in December.
We are not certain whether Cyrus and his family were in Nauvoo prior to crossing the plains in 1848 since the Latter-day Saints began leaving Nauvoo, February 4, 1846 and Cyrus was not baptized until April 1846. He could, of course, have gone there before his baptism. One family account suggests that he went to Nauvoo with Julia Ann after the death of his wife Lydia. However, by the time Cyrus married Alice Bracken at Mt. Pisgah in 1847, they were two thirds of the way across Iowa, so it is unlikely that they backtracked to Nauvoo, Illinois.
THE TREK WEST:
The trek across the Iowa territory was a nightmare for the saints. It took 131 days to cross Iowa. During one week in April, the saints could travel less than half a mile a day. Food supplies and living conditions were poor. Many died of exposure and diseases. Most of the saints were ill prepared to continue the journey to the Salt Lake Valley in 1847, so they were instructed to winter at various camps along the Missouri River, the bulk of them were at Winter Quarters. In the whole history of the Church, the years between 1846 and 1848 may have been the most difficult for the saints to endure. Cyrus and his family would certainly have shared in this period of privation. (The Friend, “Crossing Iowa” October 1993, pgs. 47-49.)
From Andrew Jenson’s chronology of the 1848 company we read:
“Tuesday, May 9, Twenty-two wagons, the first of the season, left Winter Quarters for the Valley and traveled twenty-seven miles to the Elkhorn river.
“Thursday, May 11, Apostle Orson Pratt left Winter Quarters on a mission to England.
“Friday, May 26, President Brigham Young left Winter Quarters for the second time for Great Salt Lake Valley.
“Wednesday, May 31, At Elkhorn river, President Young commenced to organize the emigrating saints into companies of hundreds, fifties and tens.” (Heart Throbs of the West.)
The organized emigration from the Missouri river to Great Salt Lake in1848 was divided into three divisions under the charge of the First Presidency of the Church. The First Division was in the charge of President Brigham Young, the Second Division in the charge of President Heber C. Kimball, and the Third Division in the charge of President Willard Richards.
Brigham Young’s division, of which Cyrus, Judson, and Benjamin were members, was compromised of 1229 souls. They had with them 397 wagons, 74 horses, 19 mules, 1275 oxen, 699 cows, 184 loose cattle, 411 sheep, 141 pigs, 605 chickens, 37 cats, 82 dogs, 3 goats, 8 doves,
10 geese, 2 hives of bees, and one crow. Their division left the Elkhorn River, June 1, 1848.
Lacking a personal journal of Cyrus, we rely on other historians to give us insights into their journey west:
“Since leaving the Elk Horn, we have travelled 27 days, averaging 14 miles per day; and have rested 10 days, which brings us this day (12th of July) to Crab Creek, 409 1/4 miles from Winter Quarters; we propose traveling about 12 miles to good feed this day.
“Last night, at half-past 10, Brother John Y. Green, Isaac Burnham, Joseph W. Young and Rufus Allen arrived at our camp from the valley, bringing us the news up to the 18th of May last, the day they started; all is well there. The wheat looks well, corn up about 6 inches; of this they cannot say much at present, as there had been scarce any time to form an opinion.
“Since they came in, a mail of a few letters has arrived, the latest day was June 9, 1848 from which we learn ‘The health of our place is good, and has been ever since we have been here.’ There has been a large amount of spring crops put in; and they were doing well until a few days ago; the crickets have done considerable damage both to wheat and corn. ‘The sea gulls have come in large flocks from the lake, and sweep the crickets as they go; it seems the hand of the Lord is in our favor.’ ‘O.P. Rockwell has arrived from California in company with Capt. Davis and his company.’
“In a letter from Elder John Taylor, he writes, ‘We have been busy since our arrival in building, ploughing, planting and sowing and we expect ere you arrive to be enjoying the more pleasant work of reaping. I never saw the Saints more diligent than they have been in this valley; enterprise and industry seem to be written on every man’s forehead. Barley, oats, rye, buckwheat and other grains look well; flax, and especially peas look very promising.’ He sent a sample of peas, a carrot, and an ear of rye, gathered 22nd May, as a specimen of the first fruits of the valley for the year 1848.
“In proof of the health of the place, there have been about 15 graves dug, namely, one child drowned; one carried there dead; one died entering the valley, killed by a log falling; one eating poison roots; two consumption; one liver complaint; one imprudent exposure while in perspiration; children three; and there may be perhaps three more. To balance this, in one row of eight houses adjoining, in one week there were seven births, and the brethren suppose about 120 births in the twelve months. I will endeavor to send an accurate account hereafter.
“There is one grist mill in operation–two in progress. Two saw mills running and three in progress. They have also nearly completed 12 miles of fencing, enclosing all the farming land in one field.” (Thomas Bullock, Clerk of Camp Israel. The L.D.S. Millennial Star, No.20, Vol.X, October 15, 1848).
The company often met around the campfire in the evenings to sing and dance. They all knew want and hunger and once they were six weeks without bread, living on greens and sego roots. Alice learned to card wool, spin the yarn, and knit the socks, gloves, mittens and other clothing items they needed. She learned to dye the yarn and make the dye from brush and bark. Her sewing was all done by hand.
The chronology of Andrew Jenson continues: “June – In the commencement of this month President Young broke camp at the Elkhorn and started for Great Salt Lake Valley….He was followed by Heber C. Kimball’s company of 662 souls and 226 wagons, and Willard Richard’s company consisting of 526 souls and 169 wagons. The last wagons left Winter Quarters July 3 leaving t rd hat place almost destitute of inhabitants.” (Heart Throbs of the West – The Came in‘48.)
Although the greatest migration of 1848 came from Winter Quarters under the direction of President Brigham Young, independent companies also came; and as late as November, mail carriers arrived from the east. From the west came missionaries returning from the South Seas, Mormon Battalion men who had wintered in California, and passengers from the good ship Brooklyn who had sailed around the Horn and waited on the coast since 1846 to join their friends. (Ibid.)
Other notes from Andrew Jenson’s chronology are helpful in placing the events of the pioneers in perspective: “Saturday, June 24, Captain Daniel Browett, Daniel Allen and Henderson Cox, three of the Battalion boys, left Sutter’s Fort, California on an exploring trip across the Sierra Nevada mountains. A few days later they were killed and their bodies terribly mutilated by Indians.
“Sunday, July 2, About thirty-seven of the Battalion boys who had spent the winter and spring in the Sacramento Valley, California, commenced their eastward journey from Pleasant Valley, fifty miles from Sutter’s Fort, with 16 wagons, bringing with them two cannons. After a dangerous and adventurous journey they arrived in the Great Salt Lake Valley, October 1st.
“Wednesday, August 9, The Great Salt Lake City fort contained 450 buildings and 1,800 inhabitants. There were three saw mills and one temporary flour mill running, and others in the course of construction.
“Thursday, August 10, The Saints in Great Salt Lake had a feast to celebrate the first harvest gathered in the Great Basin.” (Andrew Jenson, Heart Throbs of the West.)
ALICE’S FIRST BORN:
The thousand mile trek must have been an especially long, hard journey for Alice in the last months of her first pregnancy. She had the young daughter of Cyrus and Lydia Ann to care for and was expecting a baby–her first born. The first part of September they arrived at Fort Bridger, Green River, Wyoming. There Alice gave birth to their son, Cyrus Ammon, September 6, 1848. Her bed was a wagon and her attendants were her husband and an inexperienced midwife. The company arrived in the Salt Lake Valley September 20, 1848 having spent one hundred twelve days on the journey. It was too late in the season for the newcomers to plant crops or build proper dwellings, so their food remained scarce and their living circumstances primitive.
SALT LAKE VALLEY:
“Wednesday, September 20, 1848 – President Brigham Young arrived in Great Salt Lake Valley with the advance portion of his company. President Kimball’s division arrived a few days later, and the other companies all reached the Valley in good season.
“Sunday, October 1, At a public meeting held in Great Salt Lake City, it was voted to build a council house by tithing labor, and Daniel H. Wells was appointed superintendent to its erection.
“Sunday, October 8, At a general conference held in the Great Salt Lake City fort Brigham Young was unanimously sustained as President of the Church, with Heber C. Kimball and Willard Richards as his Counselors.
“Tuesday, October 10, Apostle Willard Richard’s company arrived in Great Salt Lake City, having been met by teams from the Valley.” (Ibid.)
FROM BANCROFT’S HISTORY OF UTAH
“The rendezvous for western-bound brethren in the spring of 1848 was the Elkhorn River, and thither at the end of May came the President, who organized the people and gave them instructions to be observed on the way. Good order was to be preserved in camp; there must be no shouting; prayers were to be attended to, and lights put out at 9 o’clock. Drivers of teams must walk beside their oxen and not leave them without permission. Brigham Young was general superintendent of the emigrating companies, with Daniel H. Wells as aide-de-camp, H. S. Eldredge Marshall, and Hosea Stout captain of the night guard. Moving west in early June, on the 14th the emigrants were fired on by the Indians, two being wounded. At this time there was also sickness in the camp. To secure grass and water, the emigration was separated into divisions, of which there were two principal ones, under Brigham Young and H. C. Kimball, with several sub-divisions.
“In June and July two small parties left Great Salt Lake City to meet the immigration, and another in August. In September Brigham Young and the first companies arrived; and under the organization of the president and his two counselors, Willard Richards and Heber C. Kimball, during the autumn months most of the brethren from Winter Quarters and other camps reached the valley.
“Before the expiration of the year, there were nearly three thousand including the pioneers, the battalion men and the companies that arrived under Parley P. Pratt, at least five thousand of the Saints assembled in the valley. Thus about one-fourth of the exiles from Nauvoo were for the present beyond the reach of molestation. That five thousand persons, including a very large proportion of women and children, almost without money, almost without provisions, excepting the milk of their kine and the grain which they had raised near their own camps, should, almost without loss of a life, have accomplished their journey of more than twelve hundred miles, crossing range after range of mountains, bridging rivers, and traversing deserts while liable at any moment to be attacked by roaming bands of savages, is one of the marvels that this century has witnessed. To those who met them on the route, the strict order of their march, their coolness and rapidity in closing ranks to repel assault, their method in posting sentries around camp and corral, suggested rather the movements of a well-organized army than the migration of a people; and in truth, few armies have been better organized or more ably led than was this army of the Lord. To the skill of their leaders and their concert of purpose and action, was due their preservation. And now, at length, they had made good their escape from the land of bondage to promised land of their freedom, in which, though a wilderness, they rejoiced to dwell.” (Heart Throbs of the West – They Came in‘48.)
Joseph Holbrook, father-in-law to Cyrus’ brother Judson, included Cyrus in a journal entry dated Thursday, January 18, 1849: “I commenced cutting wood in mill creek kanyon for coal the snow about six feet deep in the kanyon Judson and his brothers Cyrus & Benjamin and Jefferson Wright a helping us we were glad to get some shorts for bread or even wheat bran, and that not half enough to keep off hunger we also cut some 250 saw logs and about one thousand Poles one hundred cord of coal wood from which we made about three thousand bushels of coal, the first thousand bushels we hauled to Salt Lake City for .12 ½ and .15 cts per bushel the second thousand for .20 cts per bushel and the third for .25 cts per bushel we had some 30 or 40 Acres of Land in the big field south of the city which we fenced….”
The first winter in the Salt Lake Valley was difficult at best. It is likely that Cyrus, Judson and Benjamin worked together whenever possible to help sustain their families. They had never turned from hard work and industry in an effort to carve out their place in this new frontier. The intimacy of a wagon train gave them opportunity to know the Church leaders.
SETTLING TOOELE:
The Indian version for the naming of Tooele “is that the county took its name from an Indian chief named Tuilla, who lived in the valley years before the advent of the Mormons. Captain Ferguson, an Indian born in 1865, and well-educated as well as having served in the U. S. Army, said he had lived among the Indians of Tooele County many times, and heard the story repeated many times. Elizabeth R. Nelson, born in Tooele in 1853, also verifies this version, by asserting that as a girl in 1867, she heard her father, John Rowberry, tell of an Indian chief, Tuilla, for whom the valley was named. This version is also probable inasmuch as Howard Stansbury’s (government surveyor) map of this region in 1849 and 1850, denotes the valley as ‘Tuilla,’ and the settlement itself as ‘Tooele.’” (History of Tooele County, p. 22.)
Indians, wolves and rattlesnakes were plentiful in the Tooele Valley and added to the hardships and terror of the pioneer families.
Andrew Jenson, writing of the early days in the Salt Lake Valley for the Deseret News said, “Tooele Valley was named after the tule (pronounced tooly), a Mexican Indian name for a variety of bullrush abundant in that locality. It was misspelled “Tooele” by Thomas Bullock, the pioneer clerk, in a public document of that period, and the orthography has since remained unchanged.” (History of Tooele County, p. 22.)
Tooele County is divided into three valleys: Tooele Valley, Rush Valley and Skull Valley. Early pioneers visited Tooele Valley from time to time, and as early as 1847 and 1848 the settlers of Great Salt Lake Valley used these three valleys as a herd ground for their cattle. At this early time the valleys were accredited as a splendid grazing country.
September 2, 1849, the first white settlers came to the Tooele Valley with a desire to establishing a permanent settlement. Evidently, Josiah Call, his wife and one child; Judson Tolman, his wife and one child; and Samuel Mecham with his wife were in the vanguard. “As soon as they had chosen the land to settle upon, they began the work of homemaking. The timber was in the canyons and upon the mountains, and roads had to be made and trails cut through the thick brush that grew in the way. They built their single rooms so close together that they seemed to be covered by a single roof, floored with puncheon and covered with puncheon also. (Ibid., p. 19-20.)
Part of the land was marshy so the men drained it and prepared it for planting. They worked hard during September and then left for October Conference to report to Brigham Young and ask for more settlers. Cyrus and his wife (Alice) and two children (Julia Ann and Cyrus Ammon), Judson and Benjamin returned to Tooele the latter part of October. Cyrus Tolman is given credit for planting the first seven acres of winter wheat. (History of Tooele County, p. 33.)
“In 1849, when Bishop John Rowberry, E. T. Benson, and Cyrus Tolman were sent into this section to make a survey of the land and determine what could be raised here, they suggested to Brigham Young that sheep and cattle would do well.” After exploring and planning a town site, they took their families back to Salt Lake. They cleared the area, cut trails to the canyons to obtain lumber, planted crops, and built homes for their families. (Ibid., p. 40.)
The journey to Salt Lake would begin at a very early hour in the morning, and by evening they would stop at the cave in the mountain near the old town of Garfield, now the site of Kennecott on highway 50. Next day, after another twelve hours of travel, they would reach Salt Lake City. They met at the L. D. S. Church tithing center where posts were traded for needed merchandise. All fencing was of posts. (Wire was not used for fencing until some years later.)
They built the first log cabins near the water supply at the mouth of Settlement Canyon. The little cabin the family lived in was built like a dugout with the back end leaning against the hillside. The roof was sod and blended with the hill behind. At one time a cow was grazing on the hill and walked out on the roof and fell through the back end of the house! Another time a rattlesnake was found hanging from the ceiling of their home.
Alice’s challenges were many. Sometimes, there was not enough clean clothing to make the necessary changes, so she would stay up at night to wash and iron while the children were sleeping. Her only light was the light from the fireplace and her thread was the ravelings from a cherished piece of cloth. She made soap by first making the lye from wood ashes. Fortunate indeed were they when there was enough fat or rinds of some kind to make soap sufficient for their needs. The envy of the village was the woman who could afford a real factory-made washboard. Many times it was loaned to a neighbor and sent to someone living many miles away. The stage driver would kindly take it there one day and bring it back the next.
“The entire county was covered with thick growing grass, and inasmuch as there was not enough water to properly farm the land, livestock would do well. However, the early settlers were not so much interested in the raising of cattle and sheep as they were in farming, because the problem of the raising food seemed to be the paramount thing at the time. Each family had its own cows, probably one or two, according to the size of the family…Each family kept its own herd about the small farm during the summer months, but as they had not learned the art of storing food for the winter months, they were compelled to turn out on the ranges the animals which were not being used for milking. A good many of these cattle perished during the winter, due to lack of food and shelter. The stock kept at home were fed on the branches of mahogany trees which the men brought down from the canyons.” (History of Tooele County, p. 40.)
The first winter in Tooele was a hard one for Cyrus’ family and the other settlers, snow fell early and often. One of the snowstorms swept over the valley for 48 hours, and drifted the snow as high as the tall willows that grew along the creek. Two feet of snow had to be shoveled out of some of the cabins before they could start a fire. The poor cattle died and the stronger teams suffered. They sought shelter from the storms along the willow drifts, and there they were found frozen stiff. (Ibid., p. 34.)
FIRST CHRISTMAS:
James Dunn published this article in the Tooele Transcript, December 26, 1902:
“When the children of Tooele awoke on Christmas morning in 1849, not a doll or a toy was in all the land. Not even a stick of candy or an apple was found in any of the cabins. But the children and their parents were happy for all that; for they were glad they still had a little to eat, and prospects before them in their new homes were beginning to grow brighter every day. But, if there were no dolls or toys for the children, the fathers and mothers did not forget Christmas, and before the day was over they had a real jolly good time.
In the evening they all met at the cabin of John Rowberry—that was the house they held all their meetings in—and there they had a good old-fashioned dance to wind up the day with. It was the merriest crowd that ever met in a Christmas gathering for they were all young men and women, and as full of fun and frolic as it was possible for young married people to be. Some of them were very good dancers, and a few were good singers, and they could get up an interesting party whenever they took the notion for amusement.
“Now let us see who was at their first Christmas party that was held in this city: John Rowberry, wife and five children; Cyrus Tolman, wife and two children; Judson Tolman, wife and one child; Josiah Call, wife and one child; Captain (Phineas) Wright, wife and one boy; Samuel Mecham and wife; Mr. Bravett, wife and five children; Benjamin Tolman and Robert Skielton.
“So you see there were enough parents and children to fill John Rowberry’s house for a good Christmas shake down. But the great drawback was music. Not a musical instrument of any kind was owned in the valley but Si Call was a very good whistler and he whistled the tunes while the merry pioneers danced to the music. We cannot tell you who called the numbers that
evening, it was probably Si Call himself who both whistled and called, as he is reported to have been a very genius in that line. But the dancers had a good time until just before midnight, when the dance broke up, and that was the end of the first Christmas party that was held in this city or county.”
(There are various accounts of the first Christmas held at Bishop Rowberry’s. Some pioneer accounts record that Josiah Call was a good whistler and whistled tunes while the pioneers danced, and other accounts, found among the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers, state that Cyrus Tolman was a gifted whistler and provided the music for the dances. Some accounts just say “Sy” or “Cy” provided the music. See accounts in History of Tooele County and “Tooele, Utah, Stake History, 1847-1900.”)
These early settlers made a favorable report to Brigham Young of the Tooele area; therefore, he sent an exploring party into the canyon for saw and shingle timber. The explorers returned to Brigham Young with a discouraging report. Shortly thereafter Cyrus was in Salt Lake and talked to President Young, who told him of the report of the explorers. Cyrus laughed at the story and said there was both saw and shingle timber in the canyons, and right there, a bargain was made to have a load of this kind of timber delivered to Salt Lake City. A few days later Cyrus fulfilled the contract to the satisfaction of President Young. (Ibid., p. 20.)
Cyrus’ early experience in forestry in Maine was of great help to him and to others. It is regrettable that we do not have in Cyrus’ own words some of his training and experiences in Maine and Iowa and of the later exploring and settling that he did in Utah and Idaho. He was 28 when he crossed the plains and 29 when he entered Tooele. He surely must have felt a great deal
of personal pride in being able to make good his promise to Brigham Young to bring saw and shingle timber out of the Tooele canyons.
Sawmills became the first industry of Tooele County. “At the next meeting of the Provincial Council of the State of Deseret, 24 November 1849, Ezra T. Benson, Anson Call, Josiah Call, and Judson Tolman were granted the right to the saw and building timber in Pine Creek and Small (Middle) Creek Canyon, and the privilege of a mill site on Big (Settlement) Canyon Creek, the petitioners agreeing to make a road into the canyons and, upon completion of the mill to furnish lumber at $20 per thousand feet.” (L. D. S. Journal History, November 24, 1849, History of Tooele County, pgs. 20, 43.)
A pioneer monument at Settler’s Park in Tooele, Utah was erected by the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers in 1934 in honor of the early pioneers and inscribed with the following:
THE EARLY SETTLERS OF TOOELE COUNTY
WHO MADE THEIR FIRST CAMP ON
THIS SPOT OF GROUND
SEPTEMBER 2, 1849
JOHN ROWBERRY, WIFE AND FIVE CHILDREN
JOSIAH CALL, WIFE AND ONE CHILD
CYRUS TOLMAN, WIFE AND TWO CHILDREN
JUDSON TOLMAN, WIFE AND ONE CHILD
ORSON BRAVETT, WIFE, AND FIVE CHILDREN
SAMUEL MECHAM, ROBERT SKELTON, BEN. TOLMAN
CAPTAIN WRIGHT, WIFE AND ONE BOY, F. X. LOUGY
“About February, 1850, the first ecclesiastical organization was formed by Ezra T. Benson who visited the valley; he appointed John Rowberry presiding elder with Phineas R. Wright as the first and Judson Tolman as the second counselor. Immediately following the organization, meetings were held in private homes, the first being held in the house of Judson Tolman….On the 25 of February 1850, th the first white child was born in Tooele valley. Mrs. Sarah Holbrook Tolman, wife of Judson Tolman, gave birth to a son, later named Judson A. Tolman.” (History of Tooele County, p.24.)
August 29, 1850 Alice gave birth to her and Cyrus’ second son, William Augustus.
“The Indian raids were estimated to have cost the Tooele settlers over $5,000 in horses and cattle stolen and destroyed during 1850-51.” (Ibid., pgs. 26, 29.)
March 25, 1852, John Rowberry wrote: “We have built a meetinghouse 24 feet square. Our meetings are well attended. We have a school of about 30 scholars. We have a good sawmill in operation and a gristmill building.” (History of Tooele County, p. 24.)
June 3, 1852 a daughter, Alice Ann, was born to Cyrus and Alice Bracken Tolman.
In the August 1852 county election the following candidates were successful: John Rowberry, Representative to the Legislative Assembly; Francis Lee, Sheriff; Peter Maughan, County Recorder…Jacob Hamblin, Treasurer; Isaiah Hamblin, Wilford Hudson, Thomas Atkin, Phineas R. Wright, Benjamin Baker, Cyrus Tolman, Judson Tolman, Joseph Sidwell, Thomas Lee, William A. Pickett, Samuel Steele and James McBride, Referees.
The elected officers for the Tooele Precinct were: George Bryan, Justice of the Peace; James Smith, Constable; Cyrus Tolman, Pound Keeper; William A. Pickett and Benjamin Clegg, Fence Viewers; Thomas Atkin, Phineas R. Wright and George Baker, School Trustees.
In April of 1853 Cyrus was ordained an Elder by Church Patriarch John Smith.
MARRIAGE TO MARGARET ELIZA UTLEY:
On one of his trips to Salt Lake City in 1853 Cyrus met a lovely young lady named Margaret Eliza Utley, who had arrived in the valley just a few months before. She was born April 25, 1835 to Little John and Elizabeth Rutledge Utley. Margaret “was among the mourners who gazed for the last time upon the beloved Prophet Joseph Smith and the Patriarch, Hyrum Smith, at the Mansion House in Nauvoo, Illinois. Margaret said a sob was heard to go up from those mourners which was echoed down through the years. She was also present at the special conference called to appoint a new leader for the young church. She saw the mantle of the Prophet Joseph rest upon Brigham Young.” (Maggie Tolman Porter’s history.)
On June 30, 1853 Cyrus married Margaret Eliza Utley as his third wife and to them, eleven special children were born. Margaret’s dear mother had died of cholera on the Nebraska plains during the trek west. The deadly disease broke out when they reached the Platt River and Elizabeth Utley became ill and was gone in less than one day. Although Margaret’s father, John
Utley was not taken by the disease, seventeen year old Margaret had the major responsibility of taking care of her five younger brothers and sisters, who were still alive, as they continued their journey across the plains and settled in the Salt Lake Valley.
It was one of the severest trials of Alice’s life when Cyrus told her of his intentions to take another wife. She knew she was Cyrus’ second love when they married and now she was to share his love again with another. Pioneering was difficult and the every day needs were often scarce. She was worried how Cyrus could provide for another family. Alice was a proud woman and longed for her children to be well-dressed and have a comfortable home and get a good education. We can only imagine the test of faith it was for Cyrus, Alice and Margaret.
Alice gave birth to her second daughter, Sarah Bell Tolman, May 21, 1854 at Richville, Tooele, Utah.
Margaret gave birth to her first child, Margaret Elizabeth Tolman, October 17, 1854 in Tooele, Utah. The baby lived only a few days. Margaret’s first home was a small log cabin on a creek just below the settlement of Tooele. She moved into her cabin before it was finished. A cold November snow storm came up and she hung a quilt at the door to keep out the storm. Her cabin was the farthest cabin out and she was continually afraid of Indian attacks.
“During 1854-55 the settlers built a mud wall around most of the town to better protect themselves from Indian attacks. It was two and one half feet thick at the base, nine feet high and one foot wide at the top (Peter M. Clegg said 18 inches). The wall started at the corner of West Vine and 1 West, went south one block to First South, st then east two blocks to First Street, then north two blocks to First north, then west about one block, where it stopped, never to be completed.” The time, energy and manpower for such a tremendous project was a challenge for these struggling settlers and every able-bodied man and boy was required to help. After the corners were finished a bastion was built into each corner that would accommodate about ten men. Into each bastion was built portholes so arranged that the men on guard could shoot through them in case of Indian attack. The top of the wall was wide enough for men to walk along as they patrolled. As occupants within the mud wall, Cyrus and his sons would surely have helped with this project. (History of Tooele County, p. 26.)
John Albert Tolman was born to Alice and Cyrus September 15, 1855 in Tooele. Soon after, Margaret and Cyrus had a son, James Milton Tolman, November 18, 1855, also at Tooele, Utah.
FIGHTING CRICKETS:
“In the spring of 1856, the green carpet of grain was thick and heavy when a horde of creaking, ugly, black crickets descended from the foothills…The crop seemed doomed, and the people predicted a terrible famine for the already meager food supply…Bishop Rowberry called a special prayer meeting to be held in his home. During the session, Judson Tolman spoke in
tongues. The bishop gave the interpretation that if the people would be faithful, the crickets would be turned away and they would raise a good harvest…The settlers returned to the fields to resume the struggle, but already the crickets had reversed their course, heading back up the nearby canyon, and completely disappeared from the valley within a few days.” (Ibid., p. 35.)
MOVE TO SOUTHERN UTAH:
In 1857 Cyrus took his wives and their children to Richfield, Utah because of the threat of Johnson’s army, that came west because of false rumors circulated in the east by the enemies of the church. They took what they could haul with them in wagons and drove their cattle and other animals ahead of them. They left their growing crops with enough men to burn them and their homes, if it meant letting them fall into the hands of their enemies.
They apparently returned to Tooele in less than a year, as Margaret and Alice each had a child born in Tooele in 1858. Margaret gave birth to George Calvin Tolman, February 18, 1858 and Alice’s son, Joshua Alvin Tolman, was born March 28, 1858.
Alice bore two more of her children in Tooele: Alvaretta Jane Tolman, born November 18, 1860; and Hannah Lavina Tolman, born November 8, 1861. Margaret added another son, Little John Tolman, to her family September 8, 1861.
About this time Cyrus was ordained a member of the 43rd Quorum of Seventies in Tooele, by Joseph Young.
SETTLING RICHFIELD, UTAH:
Judson Isaac, Alice’s son tells in his history that Cyrus, his family and others “were called by Brigham Young to go down to what is now Richfield to make a settlement there.”
Cyrus settled Margaret and her little family in a dugout at Richfield. This hovel had a crude dirt floor and walls with a roof made of poles to support willows, straw and soil. When it rained it leaked like a sieve. Alice and her family lived in similar humble circumstances.
In early 1865 Sevier County was created. A number of small settlements, including Richfield, which was likely named for the richness its soil, were also created at that time.
THE BLACK HAWK WAR:
“Armed conflict soon threatened to destroy the first settlements in the county. During the middle of the 1860’s, the Black Hawk War swept across south-central Utah like a prairie fire, temporarily suspending Mormon settlements efforts. The background of this confrontation with the Ute Indians can be traced to conditions in the Sanpete region and the Sevier River Valley, which bore the brunt of the conflict and suffering. As Mormons increasingly colonized the territory, the Native Americans of the region became increasingly restricted in their movements and hunting territory, causing increasing suffering…Soon the hunger and suffering led some of the Indians to profess that they would kill Mormons and eat Mormon beef.
“Several bands of Utes under the leadership of Black Hawk became restless because of their need for food, clothing, and shelter. Theft of cattle by Black Hawk…increased local Mormon anger toward the Indians…One particularly irate Manti resident, John Lowry, tried to take matters into his own hands…. during a meeting of whites and Indians on April 9, 1865, Lowry disrupted the
gathering by claiming that a horse held by Yenewood, a Ute Indian, was his property. He knocked Yenewood down and proceeded to beat him, which thoroughly disrupted the settlement of the Sevier Valley…. Though it is labeled a “war” by many, it was actually a series of raids…and skirmishes between the settlers with their territorial militia and various bands of Utes….” (The Utah Black Hawk War, p. 8 and Ten Penny Nails, pgs.27, 29, 39.)
From Peter Gottfredson’s notes in the Deseret News, October 18, 1917, we read of others from the Richfield area who may not have been mentioned elsewhere and who served in the militia during the Black Hawk Indian War. (Ten Penny Nails, p. 37.)
The list included Cyrus Tolman among the men and William (Augustus) Tolman and (Cyrus) Ammon Tolman among the boys who served in the Black Hawk War.
The Black Hawk War lasted nearly three years and resulted in the loss of many lives and thousands of dollars in property. Those were days of anxiety and fear for Alice and Margaret and their children, when they never knew at what moment they might hear the alarm and have to rush to the fort. Indians were constantly attacking the settlers. A few men would be left to protect the women and children while the young and able-bodied men went out to fight. Alice told of the killing of Mary Smith and J. P. Peterson and his wife. The Indians stripped them of their clothing and mutilated their bodies. Brother Young counseled the settlers to return to Tooele.
Alice began the year with the birth of Mary Eliza Tolman, January 8, 1864 between Tooele and Richfield at Fountain Green. (It is interesting to note Mary’s middle name.)
Margaret Eliza ended the year with the birth of another son, Wilford Richard Tolman, also born at Fountain Green, Sanpete County, Utah, December 12, 1864.
“In 1866, President Brigham Young advised the people of Sevier County to organize into groups of 150 and arm themselves and defend their homes and families from the Indians, who were becoming more aggressive and troublesome. They were accordingly organized with the First Battalion Station at Richfield…”
RETURN TO TOOELE COUNTY:
When they returned to the Tooele valley Margaret had her last six children born in Tooele County: Orson Utley Tolman, born in 1865 and died in 1865; Martha Ann Tolman, born July 27, 1867; Huggette Delle Tolman, born 1868 and died in 1868; Franklin Gray Tolman, born October 27, 1869; Orson Parley Tolman, born September 10, 1873; and Maggie Bell Tolman, born April 26, 1877.
Alice bears four more children in the Tooele valley and one in Sevier County: Joseph A. Tolman, born May 11, 1865; Aaron Alexander Tolman, born April 16, 1867 (in Salina); Judson Isaac Tolman, born January 21, 1870; Minnie Tolman, born in 1872 and dies as a child; and Minnie Elizabeth Tolman, born January 5, 1874.
When Alice delivered Aaron Alexander, they were in Sevier County, Utah. When he was just three days old, the Indians forced the settlers to abandon their homes. Alice had a bed in a wagon box as they started out for a new home. They had to leave furniture and other properties, but that was of little consequence when it meant getting to a place of safety. When they camped the first night, Alice took a hard chill, but new-found friends took her in. They put her in a comfortable bed and doctored her with the simple medicine they had. The next day she was able to travel on. They traveled back to Tooele and built a two-room log cabin. They also planted an orchard, shrubbery and flowers.
SETTLING KNOWLLEN (Rush Valley):
Knowllen was settled about 1869 or 1870. It was located on Ophir Creek about a mile west of the mouth of Ophir Canyon in the Rush Valley. Cyrus was an early settler at Knowllen, working in the mines near by in Jacob City, and purchasing a ranch for his family in 1877. The ranch was about 18 miles south of Tooele in the west desert. The nearest town was Ophir, a little mining town four or five miles north of the ranch. Three boys and two girls lived on this ranch with their mother, Margaret Eliza. Martha was ten years older than her sister, Maggie Bell.
“At a meeting held at the home of Cyrus Tolman August 1, 1877, the members of the LDS Church were organized into a branch of the St. John Ward. Cyrus was set apart as presiding elder. In October 1880, there was still a branch organization known as Knowllen, presided over by Cyrus Tolman who soon after moved to Idaho.” (History of Tooele County, p. 329.)
Cyrus and Margaret Eliza’s daughter, Maggie Bell Tolman was born at Knowllen, Tooele, Utah on April 26, 1977, in their three-room log house on the ranch in Rush Valley.
Carma Renee Allred Jenkins, great granddaughter of Cyrus and Margaret Eliza, re-painted the Rush Valley homestead in September of 2005 with the following explanation: “Five years ago I attempted to paint this picture but never was really satisfied with the results. Nothing looked right. As I was painting the hill behind the house something took hold of my brush and painted two girls, one tall and the other a small girl while I watched it move back and forth. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I finished the picture but painted over the girls because in the story Maggie said she watched the boys come across the desert from the top of the threshing machine shed. She might have done that some of the time but that is not how the girls wanted the picture to be painted. I feel that these sisters spent many hours sitting on the hill waiting for the distant dust that would mean their brothers were coming home.
“As I painted the picture my husband sat at my side making comments. He had been raised in a similar situation, three-room home, no amenities, poverty, struggle to survive. He felt the spirit of these people living on the desert and what it would have been like to haul water from a ditch, scrub clothes by hand, heat water and cook on a wood stove, freeze in the winter and pray for miracles. He felt the mood of the family on the desert and knew what needed to be changed on the picture to make it acceptable to the two girls that were watching me paint. It is very easy to see the boys could have ridden into the desert to find lost horses and how Martha and Maggie sat for many hours on the hill watching for their dust as they came across the desert. We need to trust in the communications that our ancestors have with us. They are much closer than we think.”
Carma continued, “Cyrus and Margaret’s family first lived in a three-room log home on this ranch until they bought an adobe house that was close to their log home. They moved one room of the log home onto the back end of the rock home leaving two rooms of the log home which were used by the boys as a bunk house.
“In exploring this area it was most interesting to observe just how lonely and remote the area was with no neighbors for many miles and nothing but sagebrush, dust and desert plants as far as the eyes could see. There was no chance for the children to go to school or to church because of the great distances and transportation. It is no wonder that little Maggie cried when she saw pansies for the first time at the home of a lady in Ophir.
“The home was built in a wash against a hill that obscures the view of the valley. A little stream probably about 6 or 8 feet across runs east of the house and is fresh spring water. Walls of the adobe part of the home are still standing with a fireplace in the far north end of the kitchen area. A separate room is built into the hill north of the kitchen at an angle that was probably a storage room or cellar.
“The bunk house which is south of the main house is part of the original home where Maggie was born and there was a cellar underneath where an old iron stove was resting. On the south end of the bunk house we found old blacksmith tools and a forge.”
Maggie Bell Tolman Porter, the youngest daughter of Cyrus and Margaret, shares some experiences that occurred at the Rush Valley homestead while they lived there: My brothers, especially Milton, were in the horse business. Milton owned many fine horses. They ranged in the surrounding country, particularly in Skull Valley. There were bands of wild horses that no
one owned. When the regular horses that we owned became mixed with the wild horses it was almost impossible to get them. My brothers and some other men built a large high corral on our place and drift fences for miles out into the desert to keep bands from breaking away when they saw the ranch buildings. They were as wild as elk or buffalo and equally as hard to corral; but by the fences that extended for miles, narrowing down gradually to the corral, it was accomplished by relays of riders on fresh horses.
My mother used to receive warnings about her children many times. I will tell about one or two that stand out in my memory. I loved my mother and when she was worried and unhappy it grieved me very much. Her feelings I could always read from her face. I remember this day very well. It was a very hot day; the boys were at home. John and Orson were about to sit down to dinner that mother was putting on the table. I noticed a worried look come to my mother’s face as she placed the food on the table. She asked me to ask the blessing. She said she would eat later and went outside. I followed her. She was going over to the bunkhouse to pray. That was her retreat when in need. I followed a few paces behind her; she never knew I was near, and with tears and pleadings she was asking God to protect her boy Frank, who was riding the range in Skull Valley some twenty-five miles distant. There were no ranches for miles and miles…Frank had gone for a valuable horse that had strayed away. They feared he had gotten in a wild bunch. After Mother had said “Amen,” she still kneeled at the bed with her head bowed and was sobbing. I came up and placed my arms about her, and asked her how she knew Frank was in danger. She answered me, “The Spirit of the Lord told me he was in danger.” She arose and wiped her eyes and smiled and said, “He is all right now, Dear. God has sent me the assurance.”
That night just as the sun was setting, from my lookout on the high machine shed I spotted a dust in the distance. An hour or more later Frank walked into the house, pale and shaken. He could hardly walk. “What happened, Son?” Mother asked.
“Mother,” he answered, “I was chasing the band of horses that Old Jim was with, trying to head them home, when my horse stepped into a badger hole and keeled over. I struck my head on a rock. (Here he showed a big lump above his temple.) I did not know anything for quite awhile.”
“When was this?” my mother broke in. “It was about noon—clearly as I could tell.” “Yes, Son. . . what happened next?” she eagerly inquired. “It must have been an hour or two later when I was shaken and my face bathed with water. I had drunk all my water when I ate my lunch, just before the accident. I figured I’d be home before I was too thirsty, but the man—Mother, what was he doing out there miles from any place without a horse? He gave me a drink and brought my horse and lifted me onto it. I asked him if he wanted to ride with me, or where his horse was…He said he never rode a horse. I doubted his word—out there at least twenty-five miles from habitation of any kind. I gazed about for his horse. I thought he was joking. When I gazed back to ask him another question he had disappeared. There was neither rock, tree or brush for him to hide in or behind. Mother, I just can’t make it out.”
Mother then told us the beautiful story of the Three Nephites whom Christ granted that they never taste of death but were to remain upon the earth doing good until His second coming. You had better read that lovely story and renew it in your memory. She said that the man was, no doubt, one of those Three Nephites. (Book of Mormon, 3rd Nephi, Chapter 28)
MOVE TO GOOSE CREEK, IDAHO:
In March of 1879, a Mr. Dayley moved his family into the Goose Creek Valley from Grantsville…Mrs. Dayley wrote a letter to her father, William C. Martindale, who then visited his daughter in the spring of 1879. When W. C. Martindale returned to Grantsville he reported all he had seen and heard to Francis M. Lyman, president of Tooele Stake. In November Francis M. Lyman went with W. C. Martindale to look over the valley. He was greatly impressed and made a favorable report to the headquarters of the Church. Preparations were made to purchase water rights and prepare for general colonization. (History of the LDS Settlement, p. 26.) (It should be noted that the move by Cyrus and his family to Idaho was in response to a call by Church leadership to colonize, not just Cyrus’ “adventurous spirit.” The opportunity for better land and water to raise food for his family and be able to provide for their needs surely appealed to him.)
Judson Isaac, son of Cyrus and Alice, said, “It was a time of pioneering, of settling the West where ever there seemed to be a desirable place, my father seemed always ready to go when asked or perhaps he just naturally had it in him to seek new experiences and help settle new places. Much had been said by the Church authorities regarding the desirability of some sections in southern Idaho, among which was the Goose Creek Valley. Father got permission and soon was off with his family to join the few who had already come, and commenced the settlement of what was to become known as Oakley, near the point where Goose Creek entered the open valley…At first we used the water from Goose Creek which ran near the house, but the next spring when the thaw came, it brought a large flow of water down the valley and there were dead cattle and other animals which had not survived the winter lodged here and there along the stream making the water undesirable for use. So my brothers and I set to work and soon had a well dug from which we were able to draw very pure and desirable water. We had only to dig sixteen feet and the water came in clear and cold. We used a chain over a pulley, with a bucket on either end so that when we would pull one bucket up, the other would go down-each empty bucket helping to pull the full one up.
“Our home was some distance down the valley so that we had some four miles to drive to attend Church services for a few years. Then there were sufficient numbers to make an organization so that we had a Ward of our own, known as the Marion Ward. My brother, Alex, and I were the only Deacons and we took care of the meeting house, keeping it clean and nice to meet in. We gathered flowers along the roadside and in the fields to make it attractive with large bouquets and we delighted in this assignment. The meeting house, for awhile, served both as a place of worship and for the holding of school during a few months of the year. Our school didn’t amount to very much at first for we had no competent teacher neither funds to employ one. I can remember going for awhile, but the teacher would lie down on a bench and go to sleep while the pupils did as they desired. The period was so very short each year, with no grades or grading and I, having had some schooling before leaving Tooele, decided to give it up and go to work, so I had in all about what children now get through the third grade. I learned to read, add, multiply, and divide and wasn’t so different from most who attended who ranged in age from youngsters of early age to adults of twenty-five and even more.”
The early church membership of the Goose Creek Valley was originally from the Tooele Stake area. In a booklet, Honoring Cassia Stake Presidency, by Earl Whitely and published in 1926 is an article entitled, “The Spirit of Grantsville and Tooele Moves North.” It lists the following pioneers who made the move: “Pioneer families were found in the Goose Creek Valley as early as 1880/1881 or thereabouts. David Walker, Heber Dayley, Thomas Dayley, Enoch Dayley, Sr., Enoch R. Dayley, Jr., James Dayley, Jacob Dayley, Hyrum H. Severe; F. M. Cummins, John Anderson, Alfred Elison, Andrew Elison, Wm. C. Martindale, Swanty Nelson Ether Durfee, Joseph Smith, Hyrum Smith, George Bunn, Hyrum L. Hunter, Wm. A. Critchfield, Oliver Weatherby, Claus Karlson, George Whittle, Charles Bailey, John ll, Fred Craner, John Craner, Robert Wilson, Moroni F. Fairchild, Hyrum W. Egan, Emanuel Sanford, Solomon P. McIntosh, Sam’l R. Worthington, Orson P. Bates, Samuel Lee, George S. Grant, William Moultry, Moroni Pickett, Robert G. Martin, John C. DeLaMare, George Craner, Adam G. Smith, Joseph R. Price, John N. Price, Rosel H. Hunter, Lorin J. Robinson, Sr., Cyrus Tolman, J. (Joshua) Alvin Tolman, Charles Jenkins, John Adams, Elam W. McBride, Aaron McBride, Orson McBride, Arlin Bates, Ormus Gates, Martin Okelberry, William Rowere (sic), James Whitby, Henery (sic) Worthington, James Clark, Charles G. Elison, Daniel L. Gorringe, Charles Eklund.” (History of the LDS Settlement, p. 31.)
Mary Elizabeth Tolman Glenn, a granddaughter, recorded, “The houses in Oakley were generally built of logs very low and with a dirt roof. Most people built two rooms first, then would add a room at the side making it a “T” shape. The roof was made of poles laid close together, then a layer of straw, then dirt. No matter how close together the poles were laid, the
dirt trickled through. The houses were lined with unbleached muslin. The dirt would trickle through onto the muslin ceiling and made it look baggy. Then when we got very heavy rains, the rain came through so each one of those baggy places were dripping water.
“It wasn’t long until someone built a homemade loom to weave carpet. So as fast as people could save rags, they tore them into one inch strips and sewed them together and had them woven into carpet three feet wide, which had to be sewed together with carpet warp. By the time I was ten years old most people had carpet on at least one room. The kitchen was always pine boards, which called for a twice a week down-on-the-knees scrubbing.
“One of the spring jobs was to take everything out of one room at a time and whitewash the walls and ceiling. You really do not know what a real nasty job it is until you have whitewashed. In a room where there was carpet, it must come up, then clear out the dirty straw, put in a layer of clean straw, bring in the carpet after it had been well whipped to get the dust out, then came the tug-of-war to get the carpet stretched and tacked down again. When it was done it was really rewarding. The house was very clean and when we got the curtains up at the windows, pictures on the wall and any other decoration available, the houses become more attractive than you might think.
“We had one log building, not very large, with three windows on either side and a door in the end. It was the church, school house, and recreation hall. When they organized a ward they called it Marion, in honor of Francis Marion Lyman…I remember him being out to conference many times during my younger days. Our church was: Sunday School at 10:00 A.M.; Sacrament Meeting at 2:00 P.M.; Primary on Saturday afternoon…”
“Oakley was a small agricultural community of south-central Idaho…a part of Cassia County and located 20 miles southwest of Burley, the county seat. Oakley was situated in the Goose Creek Valley, and bordered by …Mount Harrison to the east and Mount Independence to the south. The state line dividing Utah and Idaho is 20 miles to the south of Oakley.
“Situated some 16 miles southeast of Oakley is a 20 square-mile area of rock formations carved by erosions into many interesting shapes and sizes. This was a noted scenic area enjoyed by early emigrants on their way to Oregon and California and is also enjoyed by people today. It has been given the name of ‘City of Rocks.’” (History of the LDS Settlement, p. 6.)
The City of Rocks…was once a terminal of the old Oregon and California trails. Wagon trains coming from the East camped here, and those going to California turned west; while those going to Oregon traveled down Birch Creek to Oakley Meadows and on to the Snake River to Oregon. One large rock in the City of Rocks was called Camp Rock and was used as a directory for the trains yet to come. The travelers would write on the granite face with wagon grease the dates of their arrival and departure and the direction they were going. “Emigrants coming through this area were subject to attack by unfriendly, irate Indians, who didn’t want the white men moving into their hunting area.” (History of the LDS Settlement, p.10.)
The Goose Creek Mountains were a favorite hunting area for deer, antelope and pine nuts. The saints came there to get their meat and dry it for winter.
In 1870, William Oakley settled at the pony express and stage station in Goose Creek Valley. This station was located two miles west of the present town of Oakley and became known as Oakley Meadows. The town of Oakley was also named after this man. There were a few scattered settlers on the streams in the Oakley. They cultivated small patches of grain and made trips in the fall to the nearest grist mills, where they could get their wheat ground into flour. One of the first threshers was a post in the ground, having attached to it a pair of horses hitched to a sweep. The horses went around and around, tramping out the grist. (Ibid., p. 22.)
“The settlers suffered much hardships and deprivation, but still lived in a rude comfort. They enjoyed the free-hearted companionship of their neighbors, who might live some miles away, and were happy in the knowledge that nature’s cupboard was always open, fish in the streams and deer in the hills and for diversion there was an occasional dance in the little school house or frontiersman’s cabins. There were log cabins, dirt floors, or maybe puncheon floors cooking over the fireplace, dutch ovens and rude boxes or benches cut out with an axe for seats, and many windows or openings covered with flour sacks to let in the light, or the primitive light made by lighting a strip of cloth lying in a lid or dish partially filled with grease. Still there was much enjoyment. Occasionally some settler had brought some comforts with him and the house or cabin would be a little better equipped. Roads were deep in mud in the wet season and deeper in dust in the dry season, especially on the state and freight roads, a condition not entirely remedied in the outlying districts.” (History of the LDS Settlement, p. 23.)
The houses were built of logs, roofed with poles, shingles, straw, and dirt. Sometimes rats would cut through the roof, and straw and dirt would fall into the food on the dinner table.
Alice was fifty years old and Cyrus was sixty one when they decided to move the family to Goose Creek, Idaho, along with the other settlers from Tooele Stake. Cyrus wanted Margaret and her family to move to Idaho but the boys had good jobs and their horse business was going well at that time, so they did not wish to leave. Margaret was concerned about the environment of the mines where the boys worked and decided to stay with their children in Tooele.
The day Cyrus, Alice and some of their family arrived in the Goose Creek Valley, the weather was hot and dry and the dust was five or six inches deep. There were no trees or green shrubs. The town of Oakley consisted of a post office and a grocery store. Their home was a two-room log cabin near Goose Creek that ran through the Oakley Valley. It was a heartache and a disappointment for Alice, but she did all she could to make the home pleasant and livable.
A problem confronting the pioneers was finding a market for their produce. There was no railroad in the valley. The grain had to be hauled by team and wagon on mining roads that were just trails through the sagebrush. The road to market required crossing the great Snake River by ferry boat. One time the boat broke loose from the cable and drifted down the river. In some miraculous manner it reached the opposite shore without capsizing and everyone was safe.
Virginia Barrus Johnson said, “Another time when the boys reached the river the weather was very cold and the hour somewhat later than usual. They signaled and called, but Mr. Star would not bring the ferry boat over for them, so they had to camp at the river’s edge all night. The weather was so cold they were afraid they would freeze to death in their wagons, so they would get out and run up and down the roads until they warmed up, then cover up in their bed in the wagon. They would fall asleep for a while, only to wake before long, shaking with the cold and get out and run again. Next morning, the river was frozen over so they walked across on the ice and helped Mr. Star cut the ice in front of the ferry boat so he could ferry across and bring their teams and wagons to the other side of the river.”
“On some of the homes the doors would be nothing more than canvas covering the opening. Later, as time permitted, doors were made of poles split in two and nailed together with wooded pegs. Of necessity, the settlers first built very simple shelters, because there were so many other things to be done. They had to cut the timber and haul, not only logs for homes and sheds, but also poles and posts for fences. They built the roads, cleared the sagebrush off the land, and fenced the farms.” (History of the LDS Settlement, p. 30.)
Various groups of settlers would get together to hunt deer for winter meat. As they would approach a likely place for deer, they would disband and sneak up from all sides of the gulch in order to get close. This was because they were hunting with muzzle-loading guns, and lead and powder were scarce…Whenever one of the group happened to make a kill, all the parties shared alike, with the exception that he who made the kill got the hide. (Ibid., p.34.)
“I well remember all plowing was done with hand plows. We would plow the land and sow the grain, broadcasting it by hand, then we would harrow over it. When grain was ready to harvest, Dan (Gorringe) had a buck-eye machine that cut it and left it in bunches which we would tie up by hand. A few years later came the binder. I believe Dan and the Tolman brothers brought the first header into the country.” (History of the LDS Settlement, p. 35.)
“We saw hard times in this valley and I’ve felt like if it hadn’t been for jack rabbits, deer and antelope, people would have starved. Rabbits got so thick they would destroy our crops. I’ve seen them tip hay stacks over by eating underneath….We had rabbit drives….” (Ibid., p.36)
In an article in The Oakley Herald, February 6, 1946 by Newell Dayley, he discussed the sheepherders of 1882. Among those named were “Bill Tolman; Jud and Ammon Tolman; Hy and Oliver Pickett; Alvin Tolman and sons;” (History of the LDS Settlement, p. 38.)
MOVE TO STAR VALLEY, WYOMING:
Cyrus visited Margaret once or twice a year. Their lives were full of privation and hardships. She reared their children in love and firmness. Her faith and courage never wavered. At Rush Valley, Margaret and her family were facing one disaster after another. A homesteader had closed off their water supply. The little water they did have was polluted. The fine herd of horses they had was infected with a deadly disease. They realized they could no longer make a living in that area and would have to move to another location. Being isolated from everybody while in Rush Valley, Margaret relied strongly on the power of prayer and on her marvelous gift of intuition. She sensed when their children were in danger and relied on the Lord to help her.
In 1888 Margaret Eliza’s daughter, Martha Ann, met and fell in love with Emery Barrus while both were teaching school in Grantsville, Utah. They made plans to get married, file for a homestead in Star Valley, Wyoming and begin their family.
When Margaret and her family decided to move to Star Valley, along with Martha and Emery, Cyrus came to Rush Valley to help them move. When they reached Logan, Martha and Emery Barrus were married in the Logan Temple on September 20, 1888. They spent a wonderful day in the temple together, sharing that happy occasion with loved ones. Then they continued their journey and moved on to Star Valley. Cyrus stayed several months with Margaret and their children before returning to Marion, Idaho.
A school or church was not easily available in Rush Valley or Star Valley, therefore, Margaret taught the children herself. She proved to be a great blessing to the sick wherever she went, since there were no doctors. Margaret officiated at the birth of many babies. She never lost a mother or a baby. She was skilled in surgical work, going for miles to set broken bones. She once took sixteen stitches to close a bad wound. She was also skilled in taking care of sick animals. These skills, freely given, meant the difference between sickness and health, comfort and misery and sometimes life and death. She was loved and admired for her unselfish care.
ORDINATION AS PATRIARCH:
Cyrus was ordained a Patriarch in the Cassia Idaho Stake, March 23, 1896 by Heber J. Grant. Because of the remoteness of the Cassia Idaho Stake, a record of the blessings that Cyrus gave did not end up in the archives at Church headquarters in Salt Lake City. He visited Star Valley several times before his death and gave some wonderful Patriarchal Blessings to his posterity living there. In various family records there are notations that he gave many blessings. Included in this history are samples of two patriarchal blessings given by Cyrus, one to his son, Aaron Alexander, and another to his granddaughter, Mary Alice Tolman.
LIFE IN IDAHO:
In the spring of 1894 Jack Davis, a young man of pleasant looks and manners, rode into the Snake River Valley. He was employed by the cattlemen to keep the sheep off their lands. He was always talking about finding a diamond mine, and soon he was given the name of Diamond-Field Jack. About this time William (Augustus) Tolman from Oakley thought he would scare Jack out of the country. Tolman, a large fellow, rode into Jack’s camp one day, catching him unawares; but in their argument Jack got the drop and shot Tolman. The wound was not fatal, and when Tolman saw that Diamond-Field could not be bluffed, he pleaded for his life. He gained Jack’s sympathy by referring to his dependent family. Diamond-Field gave him first aid and helped him into the hands of his friends.
Some sheepmen, who were headed with their sheep into the restricted district, met the parties coming out with Tolman on a stretcher. This so changed their minds that they headed their sheep north and left the area. Before this fight with Tolman, Jack is said to have made the statement that he would kill the next sheepman who crossed the ridge into the cattle country. (History of the LDS Settlement, pgs. 39-40.)
The people in the valley had been wondering how they could conserve the waters of Goose Creek and a dam was proposed. The Oakley Dam was started in 1909 and completed in 1913. Community growth throughout the years was due to the fact that Goose Creek bordered the community, and the farmers irrigated from it. Marion prospered as a small town for a few years. A general store and other houses of business functioned for a while, but when means of travel improved, the town proved inefficient and the business houses closed. (Ibid., pgs. 45, 52.)
On May 9, 1880, a branch of the Box Elder Stake was organized in Goose Creek Valley. On Sunday, September 24, 1882, Apostles Francis M. Lyman and John Henry Smith visited the Goose Creek branch and organized it as the Cassia Ward of the Box Elder Stake.
November 19, 1887, the saints residing in the Cassia Ward and vicinity were separated from the Box Elder Stake and organized as the Cassia Stake of Zion. The following is an account of the members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who were residing in what was known as the Goose Creek Valley, now known as Oakley, and the adjacent towns located in Cassia County, Idaho, viz: Marion, Basin, Albion, Elba and Almo. The Saints residing in these towns assembled at 10 a.m. in the Oakley ward meeting house and were called to order by Bishop Horton D. Haight Sr. who was then bishop of the Oakley ward. There were present with Bishop Haight, his counselors, and Apostle John W. Taylor, member of the Council of Twelve Apostles, and Seymour B. Young, one of the council of Seventies of the Church. Bishop Haight stated that the Saints in these various settlements had come together, and that Apostle John W. Taylor and President Seymour B. Young were there for the purpose of organizing a stake of Zion in that part of Idaho. They hoped all present would be interested in what would follow, and gave the meeting into the hands of Apostle Taylor and Young, when the following business was transacted….Horton D. Haight Sr. was appointed stake president; Moroni Pickett, father-in-law to Minnie Elizabeth Tolman, first counselor; William F. Brim, second counselor; Joseph Y. Haight, stake clerk. This presidency remained intact until the death of President Haight, January 19, 1900. (History of the LDS Settlement, p. 58.)
CHURCH CALLINGS:
Other officers that were sustained were Dor P. Curtis Sr., president of the High Priest Quorum; Cyrus Tolman, first counselor; William C. Martindale, second counselor.
As members of the High Council – Dor P.Curtis Sr., Cyrus Tolman, William C. Martindale, Norton R. Tuttle, James S. Lewis, Charles Moir, George Whittle, Claus H. Karlson, Ether Durfee, George Bunn, Thomas Dunn, Edmund Homer; The Stake Elders Quorum was organized along with the various auxiliaries.
Immediately following the organization of Cassia Stake, with Oakley being the stake headquarters, the following wards were organized: Oakley, Marion, Basin, Albion, Elba and Almo. The Marion Ward was organized November 21, 1887. In the spring of 1884, the Saints of Marion were organized as a branch of Cassia Ward, with Cyrus Tolman as presiding elder.
At a special meeting held at Marion, November 21, 1887, Apostles John W. Taylor and Seymour B. Young being present, Adam G. Smith was ordained a Bishop and set apart to preside over the Marion Ward by Apostle Taylor, who also ordained Wm. Alvin Tolman (This should be Joshua Alvin Tolman, son of Cyrus. William Alvin was only eight years old.) a High Priest and set him apart to act as first counselor to Bishop Smith. Arlin H. Bates was ordained a High Priest by Horton D. Haight and set apart to act as second counselor to Bishop Smith. Joseph H. Gold was set apart as clerk of the Ward. (History of the LDS Settlement, p. 59.)
OAKLEY NEWPAPERS:
The first newspaper in Oakley, called The Oakley Star, was published for the first time on May 11, 1893. It was published weekly under this name until 1896, when the name was changed by the new owner to The Oakley Sun. This publication started on January 30, 1896.
The Oakley Sun was changed to The Oakley Eagle in 1901, and was known by this name until the fall of 1908, when it was changed to The Oakley Herald. The paper was published under this name under various owners during the ensuing years between 1908 and 1920. Mr. Charles Brown purchased the paper in 1920. He edited The Oakley Herald for 40 years. Publication stopped when he died in 1961 and has not been resumed since. (Ibid., pgs.104-105.)
TEMPLE WORK:
“Having done a good work for the living and the dead, your kingdom shall be great and of thy glory here there shall be no end.”
These words are taken from a blessing given to Cyrus Tolman. He felt the importance of doing temple work. In the words of one of his granddaughters, “Cyrus had a very strong testimony of the Church. He was a very righteous man and was great in doing temple work.”
Mary Jane G. Tolman described a journey to Logan to do temple work at the request of her father-in-law. They left on May 1, 1887, with their five children, her mother, her husband’s mother, and some of his brothers and their families. They traveled one week to get there, worked in the temple two weeks, and took one week to come home, arriving on June 1, 1887.
Alice and Cyrus would make an occasional trip to Salt Lake City to attend LDS conference. They were present at the laying of the capstone of the Salt Lake Temple in April, 1893. How thrilled they were when the thousands standing near the site of the temple waved their white handkerchiefs and shouted, “Hosanna, Hosanna to God in the Highest.”
CYRUS, THE MAN:
Mary Elizabeth Glenn, a granddaughter of Cyrus leaves the following description of Cyrus in his later years: “He had white flowing hair and it was a little curly. He was not a large man, about average in height, sandy complexion and grew a beard that was white on his whole chin. It was not a goatee. Cyrus had a strong testimony of the gospel. He labored in every way possible to further the work of the Lord. He was very industrious and it was said that he could do the work of two men. He provided for his families to the best of his ability.”
Maggie Bell described her father with these words, “I can never remember of harsh words coming from my father. He was a well read man. He studied the scriptures continually. He frowned upon all trashy books and magazines. His aims were high. He honored the Priesthood. I remember many times when I was ill, his and mother’s prayers healed my afflictions. The last time I was with my father he told me I had shown him more honor than any of his children. It gave me much joy. It was such a small thing but I remember I put on a dress, a loose wrapper, he told me how he hated them, and I went and changed my dress to something he admired. He pulled me down onto his knee and told me with tears running down his cheeks, that little thing really showed I honored him as my father and that I honored him all my life.”
Cyrus was described by one family historian as a “congenital frontiersman.” He was an experienced pioneer, slow to talk, stout of heart and strong of arm, and full of wisdom and good counsel. He was one of those men who could not tell the world what to do, but could show them how to do it. He was willing to move into new country each time he was called to do so. His life proved that he was a good frontiersman. Lydia, Alice and Margaret had to have the same pioneering spirit. No doubt it was harder for them than anyone. The moves involved many hardships with young families to care for, new homes to establish, and numerous daily needs to meet. They were not free to come and go as easily as a man could.
DEATH:
On his last visit to Star Valley, just before his death, he said that he had a dream and that he knew he, Alice and Margaret would die soon. When Alice became very ill and felt she would soon die, Cyrus said to her, “Goodby, Alice, I will soon be with you.” She died on August 18, 1901, at the age of nearly seventy in Marion, Idaho. Cyrus died just one month later on September 18, 1901, at the age of eighty-one, at Marion, Idaho. Both were buried in the Marion, Idaho Cemetery. The Clipper notice below should read, “eight-two, the 6th of next April.”
Margaret died on May 30, 1902, less than a year after Cyrus, at the age of sixty-seven in Fairview, Wyoming. She knew the day she was going to die and had her son-in-law, Emery Barrus, dedicate her to the Lord. She visited with each family member, asked that the primary children of Fairview come and sing for her, then died peacefully a few hours later. She was buried in the Fairview Cemetery.