History of John O'Driscoll by Susie O'Driscoll Wilde

History of John O'Driscoll

Written by his daughter, Susie O'Driscoll Wilde

My father, John O'Driscoll, was born in the town of Humans Dork (sic) near the Cape of Good Hope, South Africa, 21 Dec. 1845. He was the oldest son of James O'Driscoll and Rachel Knight O'Driscoll.

James O'Driscoll was born in Ireland and his wife, Rachel was born in England. In the family besides my father, there were three boys -- Cornelius, Jams, and Henry and two girls -- Mary and Annie.

When my father was just a young boy, his father died; and he (my father) went to live with his Uncle and Aunt Henry and Martha Smith and for many years was known as John Smith. Many of his old friends still remember him by that name.

He spent his young boyhood days as most boys in that tropical land did -- swimming in the ocean, gathering wild honey and fruits, and hunting wild birds and animals. Many are the stories he would tell to us about the different birds, plants, animals, snakes, etc. that are found in the tropical lands.


While living with the Smith family, he first heard of the Gospel. Minor G. Atwood and William Fatheringham being the missionaries that carried the Gospel to them.

The missionaries were always welcome at the Smith home and spent much of their time there.

The family, including my father, were finally converted and baptized members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

This was quite a blow to relations of the family especially so to grandmother.

The following article is copied form the Church Chronology by Andrew Jensen:

Wed. 12 April 1865. The Brig Mexicano sailed form Prot Elizabeth, South Africa with 47 saints on board, under the presidency of Minor G. Atwood bound for Utah. They arrived in New York 18 Jun 1865.

This was the company the Smith family and my father came with.

The voyage across the ocean took two months and six days. At one time they were three days that they could not sail at all; he said there was not enough wind to fill the sails and they were at a standstill. The heat was terrible, but father wasn't sick at all as he had spent so much of his time in and around the ocean.

The journey from New York to Omaha was made on the railroad. At Omaha they joined the wagon train, and father drove seven yoke of oxen form there to Salt Lake Valley.

While camped near the Missouri River, he rescued a girl from drowning. She went to the river for a bucket of water; as she reached down to dip the water, the current was so strong it pulled her in. Father saw her and plunged in after her; he was an excellent swimmer; but they both had a very narrow escape from drowning.

Many hardships were endured during the journey. The weather was getting colder, and they suffered from want of water. I have heard him tell how they would have to drink water that had stood in the puddles after a storm and in the tracks made by the oxen. This was while traveling through the Sweetwater and Bittercreek country, and at it's best there the water was almost unfit for human use.

At Bittercreek father encountered his first snow storm. Father was 20 years old and didn't have any idea what snow was. At night when they camped, the wagon boss told the drivers to pick up their oxen yokes and other articles as they were going to have a snow storm; father didn't take any notice of him and left his things on the ground; but he said the next morning when he had to hunt ox yokes, whips, etc. out of the snow he decided form then on to obey orders. At any rate it was a useful lesson.

The following article is also taken from Church Chronology:

(Fri.) 22 Sept. 1865. Capt. Minor S. Atwood Company of immigrating saints were attacked by Indians west of Fort Laramie. Several of the brethren were wounded and one woman (Mrs. Grundirg) was carried away by the savages.

My father saw the Indians capture this woman.

Nov. 8 the company arrived in Salt Lake Valley. It was almost seven months since the company left So. Africa. The winter of 1865-66 was very severe in Utah and especially so to these immigrants who had come from a tropical climate and were not properly clothed for the winter weather.

In June 1866 the Black Hawk War broke out, and father went with the first company of the militia to San Pete County in Colonel Wm. Caspers Co. On Sun. 24 June the Indians made a raid on Thistle Valley, San Pete County. The killed Charles Brown, wounded Thomas Snow and drove off 28 head of horses. Father helped care for the two men. He was in the Black Hawk War about four months, then returned to Salt Lake Valley.

16 Nov 1867 he married Sarah Ellen Neibaur in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City. Mother was the daughter of Ellen Breakall and Alexander Neibaur and was born 21 May 1849 in Salt Lake City.

Father learned to plasterers trade and helped plaster many of the buildings in Salt Lake. He worked on the railroad in 1868 and in 1869 and was present at the completion of the railroad when the gold spike was driven, 10 May 1869 at Promontory. He also hauled materials for the Salt Lake Temple.

16 June 1869 my parents moved to Kamas Valley and lived in the fort there. Mother taught a class of women and girls embroidery work and father continued to work at his trade, doing the first plastering in Kamas Valley. He built the first wire fence and also helped dig out the first irrigation canal which carried water from the Provo River on the Kamas bench.

In April 1874 they moved on to a homestead on the Provo River. For many years this was the real pioneer's life. They went through all the hardships that go with pioneering a new country. Father would go to the canyon and get out poles, haul them to Salt Lake, and there trade them for flour, bacon, dixie molasses, etc. It would take at least four days to make the trip and return, besides all the time it took to get the poles out. All this traveling was done with ox teams. Our family made our home on the Provo River until the spring of 1910.

During this time they lived on this ranch, father worked at his trade in different parts of the country. He and Henry Branch worked together on many jobs plastering building in Summit County. Among them the Summit Stake House, opera house at Park City, Kamas Town Hall, and also the house in Coalville where J.K. Roberts lived, which was built and owned by Jos. Fisher.

In the spring of 1910 my parents bought the Kamas Hotel and operated it for a number of years, until the work became too hard for them.

They had a large family (12 children). Eight boys and four girls. None of father's family ever came to this country, and he never had a chance to return to see his mother much as he wanted to.

He died at his some in Kamas of a heart attack 20 Oct. 1923. Age 78 years and 9 months. At the time of this death, he was survived by his wife and eight children. He lived to see the changes in communication from letters to wireless telegraph, radio and all the changes in transportation from ox team to airplane.

Copied form the handwritten article for Rosemary O'Driscoll Atikinson by Susie O'Driscoll Wilde.