Showing posts with label Robinson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Robinson. Show all posts
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Monday, April 11, 2011
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Thursday, March 17, 2011
The Southern Indian Mission by Juanita Brooks
The SOUTHERN INDIAN MISSION
By JUANITA BROOKS
TYPICAL PIUTE HOME OF SOUTHERN UTAH
In 1854, Great Salt Lake City was, as it had been since its founding and was to remain for many years, the most important center west of the Mississippi River. Less than seven years old at this time, it boasted a population of some 20,000 people, a boast no doubt slightly exaggerated. Yet the progress that had been made in those short seven years was little short of phenomenal. Where had been only desert gray, except for the streak of green made by the willows on the banks of City Creek, was now a thriving city, laid out with uniform square blocks and wide streets, and covering an area of twelve square miles. Though the homes of newcomers might consist of a dugout and a wagon box bedroom, or a small adobe house, there were many large, two-story homes with glass at the windows and picket fences in front. Streams of irrigation water ran at the edge of the sidewalks; the young trees which fringed them had grown thriftily.
The temple block was enclosed with a high rock wall, finished nearly two years before, within which were the Hall of Science and a new adobe tabernacle capable of seating between two and three thousand people, to take the place of the willow bowery. Across the street where the Hotel Utah now stands was the tithing office, and adjoining it the long, low building which housed The Deseret News, while across the street to the south the Council House raised its two stories and stood four-square to all the world. One block east, on State Street, the new Social Hall had been completed, the home of the town's best entertainment. Here theatricals were presented, all firearms were checked at the door, produce was accepted for tickets, and the price of a child in arms was listed as ten dollars. Four years earlier the University of Deseret had been founded, with $ 5,000 appropriated annually for its maintenance, and an elaborate course of study outlined.
Perhaps the most striking change had come about along Main Street, for the pole fences of a few years before had been torn down and stores and shops elbowed each other for room, competing loudly with fancy signs, and fitted out with many hitching posts in front and planks along the sidewalks to accommodate the customers.
On Friday morning, April 14, 1854, six wagons gathered at the home of Parley P. Pratt in Salt Lake City, preparatory to leaving for the Southern Indian Mission. The missionaries had been called at conference the October before and had been given the winter in which to prepare for the mission. Some of them studied Spanish that they might be better interpreters with the traders of the South; all of them tried to arrange their family and business affairs for a long absence. On the Monday preceding, most of them had met and been set apart for this mission. They had also effected an organization with Rufus C. Allen as captain, and David Lewis and Samuel F. Atwood as first and second lieutenants, respectively. Though they had agreed upon this as the time and place for starting, all were not present, but as some lived in the settlements to the south, it was thought best to proceed and pick them up on the way.
The recorder, Thomas D. Brown, wrote that the counsel given was: "In the absence of Capt. Allen that we start under the first lieutenant, behave ourselves as missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, keep a regular and vigilant guard, take care of our teams and other property, and procure our potato seed in the southern settlements and that he—P. P. Pratt—would follow us, and might overtake us, and give us further instructions, setting apart those who had not been with us on the 10th inst."
Garland Hurt, Indian agent for Utah, had written of this group, "They embrace a class of rude and lawless young men, such as might be regarded as a curse to any civilized community." Since from his correspondence it is clear that Agent Hurt found it hard to see anything good in any Mormon, the above comment is not to be wondered at. Certainly the group was composed largely of very young men; certainly they would not fit into his idea of the conventional missionary. But for the work to which they were called, they were well fitted. They were learned in the ways of the frontier; they were resourceful; they had an abiding faith in God and their leaders, and in the value of the work they were sent to do.
The company pulled out of Salt Lake City in regular order. At Lehi they were joined by two missionaries; at Pleasant Grove by two more, and at Provo Captain Allen and Isaac Riddle came up with them, making the group complete. They now numbered twenty one men, with one boy of fourteen (Preston King) and one of six who were accompanying their fathers. The historian listed all the men, giving their ages, rank in the priesthood, and the quorum to which they belonged. They were, in the order in which he lists them: T. D. Brown, 46; Ira Hatch, 18; Rufus C. Allen, 26; Isaac Riddle, 24; Wm. Henefer, 30; Augustus P. Hardy, 23; Samuel F. Atwood, 29; Robert M. Dickson, 46; Hyrum Burgess, 17; Benjamin Knell, 19; David Lewis, 40; Lorenzo Roundy, 34; Jacob Hamblin, 35; Elnathan Eldridge, 42; Robert Ritchie, 47; Samuel Knights, 21; Thales H. Haskell, 20; Amos G. Thornton, 21; Richard Robison, 23; John Lott, 28; and John Murdock, 27. They included one priest, six elders, twelve seventies, and two high priests.
Their course was to lead them south and west to the very edge of the Mormon settlements. As they pulled out of Provo, they knew that they were facing the frontier and leaving behind them the last town of any size, for Provo was at that time the second largest city in the state. It boasted a flour mill and two hotels, one having eight rooms and the other being forty feet long and two stories high. Here, too, were several select schools, one where French and German were taught, a night school for adults, an historical society, and a singing school. Young men facing at least two years among the Indians could not but reflect upon the advantages of society in the north.
The historian, Thomas D. Brown, kept a careful record of all the doings of the journey, and it is through his eyes that we see most of the details. His journal, written in black ink in a strong Spencerian hand with hair-fine lines up and heavy shadings down, especially on the titles, is a volume of two hundred forty-three pages, and shows his keen power of observation and his independence of thought. His Latin phrases and his quotations from Shakespeare and other English authors mark him as a man with some educational background. He gives details of each day's travel, discussing the roads, the feed and the weather, as well as the towns they passed on the way. He had listed their outfits as:
10 wagons, 23 horses and mules, 6 cattle, 7 cows, 4,420 pounds of flour, 20 wheat, 10 corn, 18 axes, 1 saw, 20 guns, 3 pistols, 2 swords, 5 ploughs, with full ammunition and many "fixings."
They passed through Springville, and paused at Spanish Fork, where the bishop gave them some pork, then progressed to Payson or Petetneti. At Nephi they stopped to have some wheat ground. At Fillmore, Porter Rockwell and other Indian interpreters passed the company on the way to Chief Walker's camp. Under date of April 25, T. D. Brown wrote:
A fine morning after leaving camp up to Corn Creek, very wet and heavy driving. About 20 Indians of Walker's band came and surrounded our wagons and finally crossed the road and stood ahead of them. After many strange gestures and much loud speaking by the eldest of them, a blanket was thrown down. We all understood this to be a demand for toll for passing over their land; we all contributed some bread and flour and tobacco. They sat down and seemed to enjoy the bread. We passed on and soon some more came down the creek; they, too, had to be satisfied.
The next day they passed a small train of goods and droves of horses owned by a Mr. Watters, a mountain trader, and the historian commented on the fact that they had sugar for sale at 75c a pound and tea for $ 2.00. Chief Walker was traveling with the train, and had given Watters an Indian boy in exchange for a horse and about three hundred dollars worth of goods. Porter Rockwell and his group were also returning with this company, trying to persuade Walker to go in to Salt Lake for an interview with President Young. "The Hawk of the Mountains," as Chief Walker called himself, was by far the most powerful chief of the southern part of the state, and felt his own importance, so the Mormons courted his friendship. It might be that the meeting with the train was responsible for this comment:
I shall here mention that this company have attended to prayers morning and evening all the way, to keeping good guards out by night, and have been united, and kept their powder dry.
At Parowan the missionaries stayed over Saturday and Sunday. This town, often spoken of as "Little Salt Lake" was now only three years old, but if one were to judge by the reports that were sent to The Deseret News, it had made substantial improvements. Some adobe homes had been built, a tabernacle was being completed. Their waterwheel was used to grind flour by night and to run a sawmill by day. A new threshing machine had been freighted across the desert from California, while E. E. Elmer's cabinet shop, C. C. Pendleton's machine shop, and William H. Dame's tannery represented the sum of local industry, aside from farming. Many homes had spinning wheels and a few had looms, and the sound of industry could be heard when one walked about the town. At the conference held there on the September 11, preceding, there had been reported 455 people in the settlement at Parowan, and of the town T. D. Brown comments:
In Parowan I have witnessed the most peace, union, order, good feeling, cleanliness, &c., I have anywhere on the road.
Certainly the Saints of this little town were most liberal in their donations to the missionaries, giving butter, eggs, corn, wheat, potatoes, and fresh vegetables, all of which were carefully listed by the historian.
Beyond Parowan, a day's travel, was Cedar City, the center of the coal and iron industry, where the "Deseret Iron Company" was then working to produce iron. At this town was gathered one of the most heterogeneous groups of the state, for the 795 people reported at their conference the fall before, there were many from England, Wales, Scotland, and the coal mining districts of Pennsylvania. So confident were they that it would be only a matter of months before they would be producing large quantities of pig iron, that some of the Saints had taken the tires from their wagons to be melted down and used to build the machinery. Now they were without the use of their wagons, and were beginning to realize that they must not depend entirely upon the mines for a living, but must produce their own food.
The missionaries did not stop here long, but went on to their destination, Harmony, the last settlement toward the south, where they arrived on May 2. Their first business was to assure themselves food for the next season, so they selected a site, surveyed it, and divided it into two-acre plots, one for each missionary. These were assigned by drawing lots, each plot being numbered and corresponding numbers being placed in a hat.
The group set to work clearing the land and digging a ditch. After two weeks of work, the historian reported that they had cleared sixty-four acres and, with the help of fifteen friendly Indians, had begun to work on a canal "eight miles long, six feet wide, and three feet deep." Such entries as the following give some idea of what this labor meant, especially to a man unaccustomed to it.
Many engaged this day ploughing and sowing. I and Ira Hatch engaged grubbing land for our wheat, much grease wood upon it. I wrought with my axe until my hands were blistered, broke and bled....
On May 17 a horseman came to tell them that President Young was on his way to visit them, and asked them to gather with the people at Harmony. That meant a buzz of preparation, baths to be taken, beards trimmed, clothes washed and mended. Fort Harmony had only fifteen men old enough to bear arms, besides the twenty-one missionaries, while the president's party consisted of "82 men, 14 women, and 5 children, traveling in 34 carriages and with 95 horses." Truly the visit was an occasion for the people on the frontier.
At early candlelight they all gathered for a meeting in the center of the fort, where a bonfire of cedar was lighted. The people sat in a circle on logs or planks, the visitors, the settlers, the missionaries, and the friendly Indians, self-conscious in their unaccustomed shirts. The visiting brethren spoke of the importance of this mission, exhorting the people to do their duty and promising them that the day would come when the southern part of the state would be the head and not the tail. Parley P. Pratt was explicit in his counsel:
Give them shirts, pants, and petticoats. Say not only "be ye fed and clothed." Language neither feeds their stomachs nor covers their nakedness, nor can words convince them of your friendship. Feed, clothe, and instruct them, and in a year they will more than repay you for your outlay.... Teach them habits of cleanliness and industry "and many generations shall not pass away until they shall become a white and delightsome people." Win their hearts, their affections; teach them, baptize them, wash, cleanse, and clothe them. I should always have clean garments ready and clothe every one I should baptize. ... This wrestling, jumping and gamboling in their presence sets them a bad example, of idleness. Get their good will by manifesting yours....
President Young followed the same theme in his talk, reported in some detail in the Journal. A brief excerpt will serve to show its general tone.
You are sent not to farm, to build nice houses and fence fine fields, not to help white men, but to save red ones. Learn their language, and this you can do more effectively by living among them as well as by writing out a list of words. Go with them where they go. Live with them, and when they rest, let them live with you; feed them, clothe them, and teach them as you can, and being thus with them all the time, you will soon be able to teach them in their own language. They are our brethren; we must seek after them, commit their language, get their understanding and when they go off in parties you go with them.
The president helped the group to lay out a new fort, and gave full instructions for its erection. After he had gone, the missionaries set about preparing to visit the Indian tribes to the south. They must first complete their ditch and get their crops planted, both of which were difficult, for the new ditch had sandy banks that washed away, too steep a grade in some places, and a gravelly, porous bed that lost all the water in others. They appointed a watermaster to keep constant vigilance on the ditch and finally made arrangements to go on what they considered their real mission—a visit to the tribes who had never seen missionaries before.
(The Southern Indian Mission by Juanita Brooks, Improvement Era, 1945, Vol. Xlviii. April, 1945. No. 4. .)
By JUANITA BROOKS
TYPICAL PIUTE HOME OF SOUTHERN UTAH
In 1854, Great Salt Lake City was, as it had been since its founding and was to remain for many years, the most important center west of the Mississippi River. Less than seven years old at this time, it boasted a population of some 20,000 people, a boast no doubt slightly exaggerated. Yet the progress that had been made in those short seven years was little short of phenomenal. Where had been only desert gray, except for the streak of green made by the willows on the banks of City Creek, was now a thriving city, laid out with uniform square blocks and wide streets, and covering an area of twelve square miles. Though the homes of newcomers might consist of a dugout and a wagon box bedroom, or a small adobe house, there were many large, two-story homes with glass at the windows and picket fences in front. Streams of irrigation water ran at the edge of the sidewalks; the young trees which fringed them had grown thriftily.
The temple block was enclosed with a high rock wall, finished nearly two years before, within which were the Hall of Science and a new adobe tabernacle capable of seating between two and three thousand people, to take the place of the willow bowery. Across the street where the Hotel Utah now stands was the tithing office, and adjoining it the long, low building which housed The Deseret News, while across the street to the south the Council House raised its two stories and stood four-square to all the world. One block east, on State Street, the new Social Hall had been completed, the home of the town's best entertainment. Here theatricals were presented, all firearms were checked at the door, produce was accepted for tickets, and the price of a child in arms was listed as ten dollars. Four years earlier the University of Deseret had been founded, with $ 5,000 appropriated annually for its maintenance, and an elaborate course of study outlined.
Perhaps the most striking change had come about along Main Street, for the pole fences of a few years before had been torn down and stores and shops elbowed each other for room, competing loudly with fancy signs, and fitted out with many hitching posts in front and planks along the sidewalks to accommodate the customers.
On Friday morning, April 14, 1854, six wagons gathered at the home of Parley P. Pratt in Salt Lake City, preparatory to leaving for the Southern Indian Mission. The missionaries had been called at conference the October before and had been given the winter in which to prepare for the mission. Some of them studied Spanish that they might be better interpreters with the traders of the South; all of them tried to arrange their family and business affairs for a long absence. On the Monday preceding, most of them had met and been set apart for this mission. They had also effected an organization with Rufus C. Allen as captain, and David Lewis and Samuel F. Atwood as first and second lieutenants, respectively. Though they had agreed upon this as the time and place for starting, all were not present, but as some lived in the settlements to the south, it was thought best to proceed and pick them up on the way.
The recorder, Thomas D. Brown, wrote that the counsel given was: "In the absence of Capt. Allen that we start under the first lieutenant, behave ourselves as missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, keep a regular and vigilant guard, take care of our teams and other property, and procure our potato seed in the southern settlements and that he—P. P. Pratt—would follow us, and might overtake us, and give us further instructions, setting apart those who had not been with us on the 10th inst."
Garland Hurt, Indian agent for Utah, had written of this group, "They embrace a class of rude and lawless young men, such as might be regarded as a curse to any civilized community." Since from his correspondence it is clear that Agent Hurt found it hard to see anything good in any Mormon, the above comment is not to be wondered at. Certainly the group was composed largely of very young men; certainly they would not fit into his idea of the conventional missionary. But for the work to which they were called, they were well fitted. They were learned in the ways of the frontier; they were resourceful; they had an abiding faith in God and their leaders, and in the value of the work they were sent to do.
The company pulled out of Salt Lake City in regular order. At Lehi they were joined by two missionaries; at Pleasant Grove by two more, and at Provo Captain Allen and Isaac Riddle came up with them, making the group complete. They now numbered twenty one men, with one boy of fourteen (Preston King) and one of six who were accompanying their fathers. The historian listed all the men, giving their ages, rank in the priesthood, and the quorum to which they belonged. They were, in the order in which he lists them: T. D. Brown, 46; Ira Hatch, 18; Rufus C. Allen, 26; Isaac Riddle, 24; Wm. Henefer, 30; Augustus P. Hardy, 23; Samuel F. Atwood, 29; Robert M. Dickson, 46; Hyrum Burgess, 17; Benjamin Knell, 19; David Lewis, 40; Lorenzo Roundy, 34; Jacob Hamblin, 35; Elnathan Eldridge, 42; Robert Ritchie, 47; Samuel Knights, 21; Thales H. Haskell, 20; Amos G. Thornton, 21; Richard Robison, 23; John Lott, 28; and John Murdock, 27. They included one priest, six elders, twelve seventies, and two high priests.
Their course was to lead them south and west to the very edge of the Mormon settlements. As they pulled out of Provo, they knew that they were facing the frontier and leaving behind them the last town of any size, for Provo was at that time the second largest city in the state. It boasted a flour mill and two hotels, one having eight rooms and the other being forty feet long and two stories high. Here, too, were several select schools, one where French and German were taught, a night school for adults, an historical society, and a singing school. Young men facing at least two years among the Indians could not but reflect upon the advantages of society in the north.
The historian, Thomas D. Brown, kept a careful record of all the doings of the journey, and it is through his eyes that we see most of the details. His journal, written in black ink in a strong Spencerian hand with hair-fine lines up and heavy shadings down, especially on the titles, is a volume of two hundred forty-three pages, and shows his keen power of observation and his independence of thought. His Latin phrases and his quotations from Shakespeare and other English authors mark him as a man with some educational background. He gives details of each day's travel, discussing the roads, the feed and the weather, as well as the towns they passed on the way. He had listed their outfits as:
10 wagons, 23 horses and mules, 6 cattle, 7 cows, 4,420 pounds of flour, 20 wheat, 10 corn, 18 axes, 1 saw, 20 guns, 3 pistols, 2 swords, 5 ploughs, with full ammunition and many "fixings."
They passed through Springville, and paused at Spanish Fork, where the bishop gave them some pork, then progressed to Payson or Petetneti. At Nephi they stopped to have some wheat ground. At Fillmore, Porter Rockwell and other Indian interpreters passed the company on the way to Chief Walker's camp. Under date of April 25, T. D. Brown wrote:
A fine morning after leaving camp up to Corn Creek, very wet and heavy driving. About 20 Indians of Walker's band came and surrounded our wagons and finally crossed the road and stood ahead of them. After many strange gestures and much loud speaking by the eldest of them, a blanket was thrown down. We all understood this to be a demand for toll for passing over their land; we all contributed some bread and flour and tobacco. They sat down and seemed to enjoy the bread. We passed on and soon some more came down the creek; they, too, had to be satisfied.
The next day they passed a small train of goods and droves of horses owned by a Mr. Watters, a mountain trader, and the historian commented on the fact that they had sugar for sale at 75c a pound and tea for $ 2.00. Chief Walker was traveling with the train, and had given Watters an Indian boy in exchange for a horse and about three hundred dollars worth of goods. Porter Rockwell and his group were also returning with this company, trying to persuade Walker to go in to Salt Lake for an interview with President Young. "The Hawk of the Mountains," as Chief Walker called himself, was by far the most powerful chief of the southern part of the state, and felt his own importance, so the Mormons courted his friendship. It might be that the meeting with the train was responsible for this comment:
I shall here mention that this company have attended to prayers morning and evening all the way, to keeping good guards out by night, and have been united, and kept their powder dry.
At Parowan the missionaries stayed over Saturday and Sunday. This town, often spoken of as "Little Salt Lake" was now only three years old, but if one were to judge by the reports that were sent to The Deseret News, it had made substantial improvements. Some adobe homes had been built, a tabernacle was being completed. Their waterwheel was used to grind flour by night and to run a sawmill by day. A new threshing machine had been freighted across the desert from California, while E. E. Elmer's cabinet shop, C. C. Pendleton's machine shop, and William H. Dame's tannery represented the sum of local industry, aside from farming. Many homes had spinning wheels and a few had looms, and the sound of industry could be heard when one walked about the town. At the conference held there on the September 11, preceding, there had been reported 455 people in the settlement at Parowan, and of the town T. D. Brown comments:
In Parowan I have witnessed the most peace, union, order, good feeling, cleanliness, &c., I have anywhere on the road.
Certainly the Saints of this little town were most liberal in their donations to the missionaries, giving butter, eggs, corn, wheat, potatoes, and fresh vegetables, all of which were carefully listed by the historian.
Beyond Parowan, a day's travel, was Cedar City, the center of the coal and iron industry, where the "Deseret Iron Company" was then working to produce iron. At this town was gathered one of the most heterogeneous groups of the state, for the 795 people reported at their conference the fall before, there were many from England, Wales, Scotland, and the coal mining districts of Pennsylvania. So confident were they that it would be only a matter of months before they would be producing large quantities of pig iron, that some of the Saints had taken the tires from their wagons to be melted down and used to build the machinery. Now they were without the use of their wagons, and were beginning to realize that they must not depend entirely upon the mines for a living, but must produce their own food.
The missionaries did not stop here long, but went on to their destination, Harmony, the last settlement toward the south, where they arrived on May 2. Their first business was to assure themselves food for the next season, so they selected a site, surveyed it, and divided it into two-acre plots, one for each missionary. These were assigned by drawing lots, each plot being numbered and corresponding numbers being placed in a hat.
The group set to work clearing the land and digging a ditch. After two weeks of work, the historian reported that they had cleared sixty-four acres and, with the help of fifteen friendly Indians, had begun to work on a canal "eight miles long, six feet wide, and three feet deep." Such entries as the following give some idea of what this labor meant, especially to a man unaccustomed to it.
Many engaged this day ploughing and sowing. I and Ira Hatch engaged grubbing land for our wheat, much grease wood upon it. I wrought with my axe until my hands were blistered, broke and bled....
On May 17 a horseman came to tell them that President Young was on his way to visit them, and asked them to gather with the people at Harmony. That meant a buzz of preparation, baths to be taken, beards trimmed, clothes washed and mended. Fort Harmony had only fifteen men old enough to bear arms, besides the twenty-one missionaries, while the president's party consisted of "82 men, 14 women, and 5 children, traveling in 34 carriages and with 95 horses." Truly the visit was an occasion for the people on the frontier.
At early candlelight they all gathered for a meeting in the center of the fort, where a bonfire of cedar was lighted. The people sat in a circle on logs or planks, the visitors, the settlers, the missionaries, and the friendly Indians, self-conscious in their unaccustomed shirts. The visiting brethren spoke of the importance of this mission, exhorting the people to do their duty and promising them that the day would come when the southern part of the state would be the head and not the tail. Parley P. Pratt was explicit in his counsel:
Give them shirts, pants, and petticoats. Say not only "be ye fed and clothed." Language neither feeds their stomachs nor covers their nakedness, nor can words convince them of your friendship. Feed, clothe, and instruct them, and in a year they will more than repay you for your outlay.... Teach them habits of cleanliness and industry "and many generations shall not pass away until they shall become a white and delightsome people." Win their hearts, their affections; teach them, baptize them, wash, cleanse, and clothe them. I should always have clean garments ready and clothe every one I should baptize. ... This wrestling, jumping and gamboling in their presence sets them a bad example, of idleness. Get their good will by manifesting yours....
President Young followed the same theme in his talk, reported in some detail in the Journal. A brief excerpt will serve to show its general tone.
You are sent not to farm, to build nice houses and fence fine fields, not to help white men, but to save red ones. Learn their language, and this you can do more effectively by living among them as well as by writing out a list of words. Go with them where they go. Live with them, and when they rest, let them live with you; feed them, clothe them, and teach them as you can, and being thus with them all the time, you will soon be able to teach them in their own language. They are our brethren; we must seek after them, commit their language, get their understanding and when they go off in parties you go with them.
The president helped the group to lay out a new fort, and gave full instructions for its erection. After he had gone, the missionaries set about preparing to visit the Indian tribes to the south. They must first complete their ditch and get their crops planted, both of which were difficult, for the new ditch had sandy banks that washed away, too steep a grade in some places, and a gravelly, porous bed that lost all the water in others. They appointed a watermaster to keep constant vigilance on the ditch and finally made arrangements to go on what they considered their real mission—a visit to the tribes who had never seen missionaries before.
(The Southern Indian Mission by Juanita Brooks, Improvement Era, 1945, Vol. Xlviii. April, 1945. No. 4. .)
Robinson Surname
The surname Robinson is said to have arisen from the Teutonic personal name of great antiquity, "Robert," which was introduced into England about the time of the Conquest. Robinson signified "the son of Robin, or Robert, " and its variations include: Robinson, Robison, Robisson, and Robeson. "Before you could say Jack Robinson" is a phrase implying a very brief space of time. It is said to have originated from an ancient bearer of this surname who would call upon his neighbors and be gone before his name could be announced.
Our Robinson ancestors came from England and were members of the English Church, Parish of Eastham, Chesire, England. In the first Registers of 1598 to 1700 we find the name of Robinson spelled many ways.
Joseph or John Robinson, born about 1714, was the first ancestor found of Edward Robinson, our ancestor who came to America. He was a weaver
so we know he worked in the industry of cloth making. He married, on the 5th or 6th of Feb., 1769, Margaret Lewis who was christened June 28, 1748, Heswall, Cheshire, England.
Two children were born to this union. (1) Joseph Robinson, christened Feb. 28,1770, of Little Sutton, Cheshir~, Eng. (2) John Robinson, chris¬tened Dec. 20, 1771, of Little Sutton, Ches., Eng.. Died Feb. 5, 1775.
The above Joseph (born 1770) married Margaret Davies. Their children were: (1) Mary Robinson, (2) Richard Robinson, (3) John Robinson, (4) Mar¬garet Robinson, (5) Joseph Robinson, (6) our ancestor EDWARD ROBINSON, born Oct. 16, 1807, christened Jan. 3, 1808, Little Sutton, married Mary Smith, 1828. She died Apr. 17, 1896. (7)Mary Robinson, (8) William Robinson, (9) George Robinson, (10) James Robinson.
Our Robinson ancestors came from England and were members of the English Church, Parish of Eastham, Chesire, England. In the first Registers of 1598 to 1700 we find the name of Robinson spelled many ways.
Joseph or John Robinson, born about 1714, was the first ancestor found of Edward Robinson, our ancestor who came to America. He was a weaver
so we know he worked in the industry of cloth making. He married, on the 5th or 6th of Feb., 1769, Margaret Lewis who was christened June 28, 1748, Heswall, Cheshire, England.
Two children were born to this union. (1) Joseph Robinson, christened Feb. 28,1770, of Little Sutton, Cheshir~, Eng. (2) John Robinson, chris¬tened Dec. 20, 1771, of Little Sutton, Ches., Eng.. Died Feb. 5, 1775.
The above Joseph (born 1770) married Margaret Davies. Their children were: (1) Mary Robinson, (2) Richard Robinson, (3) John Robinson, (4) Mar¬garet Robinson, (5) Joseph Robinson, (6) our ancestor EDWARD ROBINSON, born Oct. 16, 1807, christened Jan. 3, 1808, Little Sutton, married Mary Smith, 1828. She died Apr. 17, 1896. (7)Mary Robinson, (8) William Robinson, (9) George Robinson, (10) James Robinson.
Richard Smith Robinson Patriarchal Blessing
On May 21,1859, Richard S. Robinson received his patriarchal blessing at Pinto Creek, Washington County, Utah Territory. Following is a copy of the blessing:
A Patriarchal Blessing by E. H. Grove upon the head of Richard Robinson, son of Edward Robinson and Mary Smith, born November 25, 1830 in the town of Upton, Cheshire, England.
"Brother Robinson, in the name of Jesus of Nazareth and by virtue of the Holy Priesthood in me vested, I place my hands upon thy head to seal upon thee a Patriarchal or Father's Blessing, which shall rest upon thee and thou shall realize the fulfillment thereof because of thy faith and the integrity of thy heart thy sins are remitted unto thee. Thy name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life. Thou shall increase in knowledge and understanding and progress as the principles of light are revealed, thy guardian angel will be with thee, not leave nor forsake thee but thou shall be delivered from thy common enemy, thou art called as a missionary to the Lamanites, many of whom shall yet look unto thee as a Father. They will hearken to thy council and thou will be able to go at the head of a portion of them when they shall go through among the gentiles agreeable to the records in the Book of Mormon. Thou shalt as assist in the redemption of Zion and the avenging of the blood of innocence upon them that dwell upon the earth. The angel of vengeance shall be with thee, he will strengthen thy nerves, thy sinews that like upon Ammon, no power shall be able to withstand thee. Thou shall become a mighty counselor in Israel, a man of judgment and decision able to fill any mission or station where unto thou mayest be called. Many of thy kindred, both of the living and of the dead shall be brought by thee to rejoice in the mansion with thy Father which has been prepared for thee. Thou art of the seed of Ephraim, a lawful heir to the fullness of the Holy Priesthood which thou shall receive in due time that thou mayest be able to stand in thy proper lot and station in the redemption of thy progenitors, many of whom shall be made known unto thee by holy messengers who shall reveal unto thee the genealogies of thy fathers. Thou art a father in Israel, thy posterity shall multiply and become numerous upon the earth.
"I seal upon thy head the blessings of thy fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Thy name shall be perpetuated in the last generations. Good order shall rest in thy habitations, wealth in great abundance shall flow into thy hands and all things needful to render life happy and aggreable. Thou shall behold the corning of the Redeemer, the reign of peace established upon the earth, enjoy the blessings of the fruits of the vine and olive yard, receive many blessings and privileges in the Temple in Zion, be anointed a King and a Priest unto the most, high God, receive thy crown, kingdom, dominion, power, and eternal increase, be numbered with the 144,000. Thy inheritance with the faithful of Ephraim's sons of Zion. These are thy blessings, they shall be shown unto thee. I seal them upon thy head in the name of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, even so. Amen."
A Patriarchal Blessing by E. H. Grove upon the head of Richard Robinson, son of Edward Robinson and Mary Smith, born November 25, 1830 in the town of Upton, Cheshire, England.
"Brother Robinson, in the name of Jesus of Nazareth and by virtue of the Holy Priesthood in me vested, I place my hands upon thy head to seal upon thee a Patriarchal or Father's Blessing, which shall rest upon thee and thou shall realize the fulfillment thereof because of thy faith and the integrity of thy heart thy sins are remitted unto thee. Thy name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life. Thou shall increase in knowledge and understanding and progress as the principles of light are revealed, thy guardian angel will be with thee, not leave nor forsake thee but thou shall be delivered from thy common enemy, thou art called as a missionary to the Lamanites, many of whom shall yet look unto thee as a Father. They will hearken to thy council and thou will be able to go at the head of a portion of them when they shall go through among the gentiles agreeable to the records in the Book of Mormon. Thou shalt as assist in the redemption of Zion and the avenging of the blood of innocence upon them that dwell upon the earth. The angel of vengeance shall be with thee, he will strengthen thy nerves, thy sinews that like upon Ammon, no power shall be able to withstand thee. Thou shall become a mighty counselor in Israel, a man of judgment and decision able to fill any mission or station where unto thou mayest be called. Many of thy kindred, both of the living and of the dead shall be brought by thee to rejoice in the mansion with thy Father which has been prepared for thee. Thou art of the seed of Ephraim, a lawful heir to the fullness of the Holy Priesthood which thou shall receive in due time that thou mayest be able to stand in thy proper lot and station in the redemption of thy progenitors, many of whom shall be made known unto thee by holy messengers who shall reveal unto thee the genealogies of thy fathers. Thou art a father in Israel, thy posterity shall multiply and become numerous upon the earth.
"I seal upon thy head the blessings of thy fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Thy name shall be perpetuated in the last generations. Good order shall rest in thy habitations, wealth in great abundance shall flow into thy hands and all things needful to render life happy and aggreable. Thou shall behold the corning of the Redeemer, the reign of peace established upon the earth, enjoy the blessings of the fruits of the vine and olive yard, receive many blessings and privileges in the Temple in Zion, be anointed a King and a Priest unto the most, high God, receive thy crown, kingdom, dominion, power, and eternal increase, be numbered with the 144,000. Thy inheritance with the faithful of Ephraim's sons of Zion. These are thy blessings, they shall be shown unto thee. I seal them upon thy head in the name of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, even so. Amen."
The Southern Indian Mission
THE SOUTHERN INDIAN MISSION
Compiled by Esther B. Judd
The Edward Robinson family was living in American Fork, Utah, when he was called to the Southern Indian Mission. Taken from the microfilm record of American Fork Ward at the Genealogical Association for 1852 to 1860 is recorded the following information: "On March 28,1852,11 o'clock the American Fork Ward met at the waters of baptism: We find Edward Robinson was rebaptized, John Robinson was rebaptized, Mary Robinson, William _ Robinson rebaptized, and Elizabeth Wootton baptized for the first time by John Mercer. All were confirmed at the school house the same day.
"Aug. 1, 1852-- Edward Robinson, rebaptized by Alfred Cordam.
"Feb. 13, 1853--11 o'clock a.m. Richard Robinson and George Robinson, rebaptized by John Mercer.
"Oct. 10, 1853--Meeting at Bro. S. E. Harrington's home when Bro.
George A. Smith selected the following persons to go to Fillmore and Iron County: EDWARD ROBINSON and family to Fillmore. Seven other families were to accompany them along with three families assigned to Iron County. The brothers selected were to learn the Indian language and teach the gospel.
"Mar. 19, 1854--Bishop Harrington and council met at Bro. Cook's home to appoint persons according to the request of Elder P. P. Pratt to go on mis¬sions to the south part of the territory, among the Lamanites. The following were selected: Stephen Mott, RICHARD ROBINSON, Amos Thornton, and John Singleton.
From this record and tradition we see where Richard Robinson took the place of his father Edward Robinson and answered the call to the Indian mission.
Tradition is: Edward said to Richard, "I have traveled far enough. My roots are now planted deep in this good soil here. Why don't you go on this mission to the Lamanites for me?" Richard answered, "If Elizabeth (Wootton) will go with me, I will go." Richard Robinson and Elizabeth Wootton were married after Edward's call in Oct. 1853 and spent the winter getting ready for their mission. When Parley P. Pratt and company came from Salt Lake in April 1854, they joined them and were on their way to the Southern Indian Mission.
On Friday morning April 14, 1854 six wagons gathered at the home of Parley P. Pratt in Salt Lake City, Utah prepared to start on an Indian Mission to the southern part of the Territory. They had been called at the October conference. (Jensen Church Chronology, page 49.) Thursday, Oct. 6, 1853-¬The general conference of the church was commenced in Salt Lake City. It continued four days. Apostle George A. Smith and Erastus Snow were called to gather fifty families to strengthen the settlements of Iron County. They had been given the winter in which to make ready. Some of them studied Spanish in order that they might be better interpreters; all of them tried to arrange their families and business affairs for a long absence. On the Monday preceding, most of them had met and been set apart for their mission.
Rufus C. Allen was captain, David Lewis and Samuel F. Atwood 1st and 2nd lieutenants. Since some lived in the settlements to the south, they would join the company as it passed through their settlement.
Thomas D. Brown was recorder for the mission and from his pen we get a most illuminating account of the activities and attitudes of the missionaries. His volume has two hundred and forty-three pages. (See Church Historian's Office--Salt Lake City, Utah.)
Garland Hurst, Government Indian Agent for Utah, wrote of this group:
"They embrace a class of rude and lawless young men, such as might be regarded as a curse to any civilized community." Agent Hurst found it hard to find any good in any Mormon, and since the missionaries were young men who would not fit into his idea of the calling (missionary) his remarks are perhaps not to be wondered at. These men were well fitted for the assign¬ment, however, for they were learned in the ways of the frontier, they were resourceful and they were fearless. Most of all they had an abiding faith in their leaders and in the importance of the task to which they had been called.
The company pulled out of Salt Lake City in regular order. At Lehi they were joined by two more and at Provo, Capt. Allen and Isaac Riddle made the group complete: They numbered twenty-one men, with two young boys accompanying their fathers. .
The historian lists them giving their age and rank in the priesthood and quorum. Listed according to age they were as follows: Hyrum Burgers 17, Ira Hatch 18, Benjamin Knell 19, Thales H. Haskell 20, Amos G. Thornton 21, Samuel Knight 21, Augustus P. Hardy 23, RICHARD ROBINSON 23, Isaac Riddle 24, Rufus C. Allen 26, John Lott 26, John Murdock 27, Samuel F. Attwood 29, William Henefer 30, Lorenzo Roundy 34, Jacob Hamblin 35, David Lewis 40, Elnathan Eldridge 42, Thomas D. Brown 46, Robert M. Dickson 46, and Robert Ritchie, 47 ... They included one priest, six elders, twelve seventies. and two high priests.'
Their outfits were listed as: 10 wagons, 25 horses and mules, 6 cattle, 7 cows, 4,420 pounds of flour, 20 wheat, 10 corn, 18 axes, one saw, 20 guns, three pistols, two swords, five plows, with full ammunition and many "fixings."
On April 25th near Fillmore the recorder wrote: "A fine morning. After leaving camp up to Corn Creek, very wet and heavy driving, about 20 Indians of Walker's band came and surrounded the wagons and finally crossed the road and stood ahead of us. After many strange gestures and much loud speaking by the eldest of them, a blanket was thrown down. We all under¬stood this to be a demand for toll for passing over their land. We all con¬tributed some bread and flour and tobacco. They sat down and seemed to enjoy the bread. We passed on and soon came to some more down the creek, they too had to be satisfied."
Parowan and Cedar City were towns only three years old. The mis¬sionaries stopped to visit friends and to accept donations of food and seed, each gift was carefully listed. They arrived at their destination, Fort Har¬mony, on May 2, 1854. Here they selected a site for their headquarters, surveyed it, and divided it into acre plots, one for each missionary, which were assigned by the drawing of lots. So diligently did they work that at the end of two weeks they had cleared sixty four acres of land and had begun to make a canal eight miles long, six feet wide and three feet deep.
John D. Lee, in the fall of 1852, had taken a small company and estab¬lished a colony at Harmony where they built a fort on Ash Creek. There were 15 men there.
On May 17, 1854 President Brigham Young and his party, consisting of 82 men, 14 women and five children visited Harmony. Since there were only the 15 men of the fort and 21 missionary families they were hard put to entertain the visitors as they would have liked.
President Young in a meeting that evening told the missionaries: "You are not sent to farm, to build nice houses and fences, fine fields, not to help the white man, but to save the red ones. Learn their language, and this you can do more effectively by living among them as well as writing out a list of words. Go with them where they go. Live with them and when they rest let them live with you; feed them, clothe them, and teach them in their own language. They are our brothers; we must seek after them. Commit their language; get their understanding and when they go off in parties you go with them."
With these teachings ringing in their ears, the missionaries decided that while some might remain to finish the ditch and plant the necessary crops, others should begin at once at their labor of teaching the natives.
Richard is not named among the eight men who left, so he must have stayed at Fort Harmony.
When six of the eight missionaries returned they found the ditch would not hold water--it was porous as a sieve in places. It was finally decided that a few of the missionaries would remain at the Fort and farm and contact the Indians near there, while others went to the settlements in the north to work for provisions. This group who returned to the tribes on the Santa Clara Creek had what they called a very successful mission. The report of 23 year old Richard Robinson shows clearly their methods and problems. (The original letter is on file in the Journal History of the Church under the date of its writing.)
Fort Harmony, July 13, 1854
Dear Parents,
I have been amongst the Indians on a mission with others. I now intend to give a short sketch of my travels among them. On the morning of the 21st of June, I with five others, with Bro. Lewis as our captain, and an Indian guide started in a western direction to strike the headwaters of the Santa Clara. We traveled about 30 miles then struck the California road. We took down this road and passed through the little valley where I was snowed in when I went to California. This little valley put me in mind of the hard snow storm that I and many others endured who are still in that country (California); here we found some Indians who were tilling the earth. Our guide told them we were friendly. They came up to shake hands, some of them knew not how they would lift up their arms and place their wrists in our hands. Some of them were afraid and trembled like a leaf. '.
We told them what we came for, to learn their language and do them good. We sang a hymn and prayed, they invited us down to their wickiups which were about 2 miles below. We camped under a large cottonwood tree. The Indians had heard that we baptized other Indians about our Fort; they wanted to be baptized and to be Mormons. We baptized and confirmed eight and laid our hands on one old man for his health. Our captain talked to them as well as he could through one of our boys, and told them they were Mormons now; they must not steal, but do as we told them and the Lord would bless them.
The next morning we bid the Indians farewell and traveled down the river about 16 miles over rough country; sometimes on the barren bench and sometimes on the river bottom, till we came to the wickiup of the "Big Chief," as the Indians call him. He came out to meet us and showed us where to camp. He is about as large an Indian as I saw in the nation. He is a stern, sober looking Indian, and looks as though he would be a friend, whilst friendly, and a fearful enemy while at enmity
He asked for some tobacco to smoke. Our captain gave him some.
We then had a friendly smoke, and after we had done smoking, we sang and prayed, which we always did every night and morning. We told them that we had come .to learn their language that we might be able to talk with them and tell them many good things. We told them we had a book in our possession that was the history of their Fathers and was written many years ago and spoke about them and that we would tell them more about the book when we could talk to them. This seemed to please them and gradually the stern and sullen expression of the Chief's countenance gave way to a smile. He wanted to look at it. We showed him where it was; that it was plates of gold and that this was the writing on paper; he seemed pleased.
We talked through one of our boys who understood a little Indian to our guide and gave him a few leading items to tell the Indians. He got up, told them the Great Shenowah, which means God, had told our great captain to tell us to leave our squaws to come to them to do them good, to teach them how to work, to build houses, and to be like Mormons. The chief got up and said he was friendly and believed we had come to do them good, and believed that God did talk to our big captain.
We sang and prayed, laid hands on a little child and then dismissed them. The next morning before the sun was up the chief came to us with a child for us to bless; we did so. They have great faith in the laying on of hands, although they knew nothing about it till we went among them. After breakfast and prayer he invited us to his wickiup. He gave us some victuals to eat which were not very palatable--we partook very slightly; afterwards we had a smoke all around. We then sang and prayed. They delight in singing, which art they have lost; they do nothing but hum.
The chief said he wanted to be baptized with many of his band. We baptized and confirmed 66 that afternoon. We told them through our guide they were Mormons now and must not steal nor fight other Indians but be good. The next day we baptized 15 more and confirmed them. We then formed a circle and Bro. Lewis stood in the middle of the circle and addressed them. All were there that had been baptized at this place. He said, "I wish I could talk to you in your own language and be able to tell you who you are and where you came from." He told them to be faithful and the Lord would bless them; their minds would be enlightened and they would become like the Mormons, etc.
He called for two volunteers to go to the Muddy and tell the Indians there we would come among them if they wanted us, and spoke many good things to them. We then told it to our guide and he got up and told things to them. They said "Joy" which meant all right. The chief got up and spoke very lengthy, exhorting his people to be faithful and then calling for two volunteers to go to the Muddy. Two readily volunteered to go. We then ad¬ministered to a good many and then dismissed them.
Night came on and we were soon locked in the sweet embrace of slumber.
The next morning Bro. Lewis requested me and another to go up with him to see the chief. We were received kindly. We told him through our guide that we would like him to let his children go to our schools and learn to read and write, to build houses, make farms and live like us. He seemed to like the idea and said he wanted them to learn to sing too, which he is very fond of. We left him in good humor.
Their farms are small. What little wheat they have is ripe. They are harvesting it and it is as large as any I ever saw. Their corn is over knee high. They make dams and have water sects, which they make with sticks formed something like a canoe paddle.
The next morning as we were fixing for going the Indians gathered around to bid us goodbye. We shook hands, they looked sorrowful. We mounted and Bro. Lewis said, "Be good, don' t steal and be faithful and the Lord will be good to you and bless you." We rode down the river, camped another night and saw more Indians the next day. Bro. Lewis became sick through intense heat and our provisions being low, we started home to our wagons across the mountains irregardless of any trail. The country was broken and very rough. We saw some of the curious carvings of nature and returned home to our wagons in safety.
/s/ Richard Robinson
The summer of 1854 was spent by the Indian missionaries, in small parties, visiting and instructing the natives in the south. Those not engaged in those visits labored with the settlers at Harmony building the fort and farming.
The walls of this fort were 300 feet square. The houses on the east were one-story and the walls were 10 feet high. On the west the houses were two stories high and the wall sixteen feet high. The walls were two feet thick. In the center a well was dug which was one hundred feet deep. It supplied the culinary water.
As summer advanced, in 1856 , the water at Harmony was found insufficient to sustain much of a settlement there; therefore part of the people settled on the Santa Clara and others at Pinto. The following brethren went to Pinto: Rufus C. Allen (captain), Samuel F. Atwood, Lorenzo W. Roundy, RICHARD S. ROBINSON, Amos. G. Thornton, Prime T. Coleman, Benjamin Knell, Robert Dixon, and David W. Tulhus. Rufus C. Allen finished the first dug-out on Pinto Creek and two families, RICHARD S. ROBINSON and Rufus C. Allen and a number of unmarried men spent the winter of 1856-57 on Pinto Creek. These dug-out (houses) were rooms dug out of the ground and covered with poles and willows and clay for roofs and served the settlers for this first winter.
When the first California immigrants passed through in the spring, they had heard of the place and as they approached in the evening they saw a light. They rode upon what they thought was an elevation to look about. The elevation proved to be a cellar and when the horsemen forces their animals upon it a man came running out from below begging the intruders not to ride over his home. (H.R.J.) History, Richard S. Robinson.
Recorded in the joint records of Washington and Kane County, Book B in Kanab, Utah, page 23, we find: "Be it known by those present that I, Richard Robinson of Fort Harmony, Washington County, Utah Territory, the rightful claimant and owner of lot No. 30 in Fort Harmony ... sold to Gilbert Morse all my claims for $80.00. (Oct. 17-1856, Richard Robinson, Co¬Clerk.) "
Richard S. Robinson was one of the missionaries to help build the rock fort at Santa Clara. Mary M. Judd said in her journal in April 1856 when the men with families were asked to leave the Santa Clara settlement because of Indian trouble, that the company consisted of four wagons, and eight mounted men (Robert Richie, Richard S. Robinson, Samuel Knight, Prime T. Coleman, Isaac Riddle, Oscar and Dudley Leavitt.)
Jacob Hamblin writes: "In the winter of 1855-56 we were instructed to build a fort for our protection. There were at that time on the Santa Clara, ten missionaries and four stone masons from Cedar City. We employed Indian help. In less than ten days we built a fort 100 ft. square of hammer faced rock, the walls two feet thick and twelve feet high." The first record of Washington Courts bearing date of Feb. 23 1856: "Court met at Probate Judge John D. Lee's home, Fort Harmony. Selectmen Elisha H. Green, Henry Barney RICHARD ROBINSON, clerk, Rufus C. Allen, assessor and collector of Washington Co."
In 1857 Rufus C. Allen presided over the Pinto settlement for the first six months. In the spring of 1857 Jacob Hamblin, president of the Indian mission, appointed RICHARD S. ROBINSON to preside at Pinto. (Sept. 1857 the Mountain Meadows Massacre took place a few miles southwest of Pinto.) After the first two winters of 1857-58 and 1858-59 most of the families moved down on the Santa Clara for the winter returning to Pinto Creek in the spring.
The principal industry during the first two years was stock raising and dairying and the little settlement soon became noted for its excellent cheese and butter. Grass was good and plentiful all over the hills and valleys. In a few years as the range began to give way and more settlers arrived more attention was paid to agriculture. Grain, grass and vegetables were raised on a small scale because of scarcity of water.
On May 21,1859, Richard S. Robinson received his patriarchal blessing at Pinto Creek, Washington County, Utah Territory. Following is a copy of the blessing:
A Patriarchal Blessing by E. H. Grove upon the head of Richard Robin¬son, son of Edward Robinson and Mary Smith, born November 25, 1830 in the town of Upton, Cheshire, England.
"Brother Robinson, in the name of Jesus of Nazareth and by virtue of the Holy Priesthood in me vested, I place my hands upon thy head to seal upon thee a Patriarchal or Father's Blessing, which shall rest upon thee and thou shall realize the fulfillment thereof because of thy faith and the integrity of thy heart thy sins are remitted unto thee. Thy name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life. Thou shall increase in knowledge and understanding and pro¬gress as the principles of light are revealed, thy guardian angel will be with thee, not leave nor forsake thee but thou shall be delivered from thy common enemy, thou art called as a missionary to the Lamanites, many of whom shall yet look unto thee as a Father. They will hearken to thy council and thou will be able to go at the head of a portion of them when they shall go through among the gentiles agreeable to the records in the Book of Mormon. Thou shalt as assist in the redemption of Zion and the avenging of the blood of innocence upon them that dwell upon the earth. The angel of vengeance shall be with thee, he will strengthen thy nerves, thy sinews that like upon Ammon, no power shall be able to withstand thee. Thou shall become a mighty counselor in Israel, a man of judgment and decision able to fill any mission or station where unto thou mayest be called. Many of thy kindred, both of the living and of the dead shall be brought by thee to rejoice in the mansion with thy Father which has been prepared for thee. Thou art of the seed of Ephraim, a lawful heir to the fullness of the Holy Priesthood which thou shall receive in due time that thou mayest be able to stand in thy proper lot and station in the redemption of thy progenitors, many of whom shall be made known unto thee by holy messengers who shall reveal unto thee the genealogies of thy fathers. Thou art a father in Israel, thy posterity shall multiply and become numerous upon the earth.
"I seal upon thy head the blessings of thy fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Thy name shall be perpetuated in the last generations. Good order shall rest in thy habitations, wealth in great abundance shall flow into thy hands and all things needful to render life happy and aggreable. Thou shall behold the corning of the Redeemer, the reign of peace established upon the earth, enjoy the blessings of the fruits of the vine and olive yard, receive many blessings and privileges in the Temple in Zion, be anointed a King and a Priest unto the most, high God, receive thy crown, kingdom, dominion, power, and eternal increase, be numbered with the 144,000. Thy inheritance with the faithful of Ephraim's sons of Zion. These are thy blessings, they shall be shown unto thee. I seal them upon thy head in the name of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, even so. Amen."
July 17, 1859 Pinto was organized. Richard S. Robinson was president of the branch, with Amos G. Thornton, first counselor, and Benjamin Hulse, second counselor. Thales Haskell was clerk. At this time the settlers of Pinto were the four above named men, their families, Prime Coleman and family, widow Eccles and family,.- Benjamin Knell, and George Day. This Pinto branch, as well as the settlers of Pine Valley at this time, were at¬tached to Santa Clara ward organization.
1860. At the March term of the Washington County Court, Pinto was organized as a precinct of Washington County and Richard S. Robinson was appointed road supervisor.
The settlers settled on Pinto Creek. They built their houses close together in fort style, making two rows of houses. They had no trouble with the Piute Indians, but the Navajo Indians about 1886 stole some stock from the range.
The first meeting house in Pinto consisted of a small log house about 15 x 16 ft. It was built in 1860. In 1866 a rock meeting house, 24 x 34 ft. was built and was used as the school house for many years:
Richard S. Robinson was sustained as presiding Elder of Pinto Branch in Feb. 1867 but at the meeting held at Pinto July 11, 1867, he was chosen as bishop of the place and ordained such by Pres. Erastus Snow. His coun¬selors were Amos G. Thornton and Benjamin R. Hulse, not long after Brother Hulse left for a mission and Prime T. Coleman Was chosen as second coun¬selor in the bishopric.
In June 1868 the Union Iron Company .commenced operating at Little Pinto.
July 1, 1869 Mountain Meadows settlers and those at Pinto Iron Works and at Little Pinto were attached to Pinto Ward.
Elder George C. Lambert who visited Pinto in the spring of 1871 writes: Pinto is a thrifty little settlement of about 14 families. Bishop Richard S. Robinson is a stirring, enterprising man and under his supervision the people have organized a cooperative stock herd which is now in successful opera¬tion and in connection with which a dairy is soon to be started.
Under date of April 17, 1871, Bishop Richard S. Robinson wrote the Deseret News from Pinto--"On Friday 14, I visited the Iron works in our ward and saw the brethren actually making iron. (He writes a long letter trying to get financial aid for this project.)
March 17, 1874--Pinto Ward was organized to the United Order--Richard S. Robinson, Robert Knell and Amos G ThorntonI vice presidents, with Joseph Eldridge secretary. Monday, June 18, 1877 I Robert Knell was made bishop, this ward consisted of 170 souls. In the Pinto settlement there was a Relief Society, a Sunday School, a YMMIA and Young Women's Retrenchment Association and a day school. The people paid tithing in livestock and the church soon had a great herd of cattle called the Canaan Livestock Company. James Andrus was general manager. In 1876 they took a number of their cattle to Upper Kanab, a place about thirty miles northeast of Kanab. Outside interests bought into this company and soon the Church sold out.
With the decision to colonize the cotton mission in the south of Deseret, the work of civilizing the Indian took a minor position. Now there were more people than the land at Santa Clara would support, the Indian missionaries were called to other parts of the Territory where their services were more needed. Work of converting the Indians was virtually stopped, the settlers found them a burden to feed and a problem to be dealt with. However seri¬ously the missionaries had labored they could see that they had made little headway. The Indians kept many of their barbarous customs, fighting for their squaws, abandoning their poor and aged, and continuing to live in filth. They had learned that new Clothes accompanied the baptismal service so some applied annually for baptism in the hope of getting another shirt. The missionaries own struggles to make a living was such as to take their full time and energy.
So the Southern Indian Mission as such passed out of existence and the natives received little attention until years later.
(Much of the above information was obtained from Under Dixie Sun, a history of Washington County.)
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Will of Richard Smith Robinson
I, Richard Smith Robinson, of Kanab, County of Kane, State of Utah, of the age of seventy-one years and being of sound mind and not under duress, menace, fraud or undue influence do make, publish and declare this my last will and testament in manner following that is to say:
First: I direct that my body be modestly and decently buried at Kanab beside my wife Elizabeth.
Second: I direct that my executors, hereinafter names, as soon as they have sufficient funds in their hands, pay my funeral expenses and the expen¬ses of my last sickness and all my just and lawful debts.
Third: I direct that sufficient means for the proper care and burial of my wife Mary Ann Robinson now an inmate of the State Insane Asylum, be paid out of the income of my personal and real estate, and when she departs this life I if practicable, that she also be interred at Kanab and it is my desire that a fitting monument, bearing my name, etc., and the names of my wives, Elizabeth, Mary Ann, and Mary Kate, be inscribed thereon and it be erected over my tomb.
Fourth: That the residue of my possessions shall go to my children or their heirs, share and share alike in equal division as to value, except my son John W. and daughter Artimitta K., who shall receive one hundred ($100.00) dollars more than the other heirs because of the continual illness of the former and the crippled condition of the latter's husband.
1st. My son Richard Joseph Robinson
2nd. My daughter Elizabeth Ann Westover
3rd. My son John Wootton Robinson
4th. My daughter Artimitta Kate Brinkerhoff
5th. My son George Heber Robinson
6th. My son Oscar Attewall Robinson
7th. My daughter Mary Ellen Brown
8th. My daughter Sarah Blanch Hamblin
9th. My daughter Martha Amy Stewart
10th. My son Robert Eccles Robinson
11th. My son Thomas Edward Robinson
12th. My son David Henry Robinson
13th. My son Wilford Smith Robinson
14th. My daughter Mary Elizabeth Robinson Shumway
15th. My son Richard Lafayette Robinson
16th. My son Hyrum Charles Robinson
17th. My son Joseph Eldridge Robinson
Lastly: I hereby appoint my sons, Robert Eccles Robinson, George Heber Robinson and Joseph Eldridge Robinson, my executors and they may act, if so deposed without bonds. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 20th day of April in the year of our Lord Nineteen Hundred and Two.
Witnesses: Geo. H. Robinson H. E. Robinson
State of Utah, County of Kane In the matter of the estate of Richard S. Robinson deceased.
The Last Will of Richard S. Robinson deceased, a copy of which is hereto annexed having been proved and recorded in the District Court of the County of Kane, George H. Robinson, Robert E. Robinson, and Joseph E. Robinson,
George H. Robinson swore to support, obey the rights and faithfully do his duties as executor of the last will and testament of Richard S. Robinson. Oct. 28, 1902 by J. G. Spencer, clerk.
Recorded in Executors Record A
Page 133--May 4, 1903--Kane County, Kanab, Utah.
There are a few items left out of Richard and Elizabeth I s biography by Harriet R. Judd, which I (Esther Judd) would like to draw to your attention.
While Richard was working with the .Indians with Jacob Hamblin and others, Elizabeth was home taking care of the farm at Harmony. Here her first child, a son, was born on Sept. 4, 1854, and named Richard Joseph Robinson. He was born just four months to the day since they had arrived at this place.
This event could have taken place in Fort Harmony for that is the year the fort was built.
Elizabeth gave birth to a little girl, named Elizabeth Ann Robinson, on Jan. 1, 1856, while the family was still living at Fort Harmony. Elizabeth was cared for by the frontier midwife as there were no doctors.
The family moved to Pinto the fall of 1856, and Elizabeth's son, Edward G. Robinson, was born Dec. 3, 1857. He died Dec. 6,1858, at Pinto, Utah.
Elizabeth lost another child, Emma Jane Robinson, born Feb. 23, 1861, died Dec. 26,1861, and buried at Pinto, Utah.
Richard and Elizabeth Robinson traveled to Salt Lake City and Elizabeth received her endowments on Sept. 5, 1863, in the Endowment House. She was sealed to her husband on the same day. She listed as her father and mother, George and Ann Wootton.
William Alfred Robinson was born Dec. 6, 1863, in Pinto. He died Jan. 28,1865, in Pinto, Utah.
The deaths of these three children was a worry to Elizabeth,- for the gospel taught her that she would be able to raise her dead children and she pictured herself with three babies on her lap at one time, until she was able to talk to one of the Apostles who explained this principle to her.
No doubt the sisters who took care of her had no training and we know there was no medicine but the herbs that grew about their home. Much of the use of these herbs was learned from the Indians as the Indian missionaries went among them.
First: I direct that my body be modestly and decently buried at Kanab beside my wife Elizabeth.
Second: I direct that my executors, hereinafter names, as soon as they have sufficient funds in their hands, pay my funeral expenses and the expen¬ses of my last sickness and all my just and lawful debts.
Third: I direct that sufficient means for the proper care and burial of my wife Mary Ann Robinson now an inmate of the State Insane Asylum, be paid out of the income of my personal and real estate, and when she departs this life I if practicable, that she also be interred at Kanab and it is my desire that a fitting monument, bearing my name, etc., and the names of my wives, Elizabeth, Mary Ann, and Mary Kate, be inscribed thereon and it be erected over my tomb.
Fourth: That the residue of my possessions shall go to my children or their heirs, share and share alike in equal division as to value, except my son John W. and daughter Artimitta K., who shall receive one hundred ($100.00) dollars more than the other heirs because of the continual illness of the former and the crippled condition of the latter's husband.
1st. My son Richard Joseph Robinson
2nd. My daughter Elizabeth Ann Westover
3rd. My son John Wootton Robinson
4th. My daughter Artimitta Kate Brinkerhoff
5th. My son George Heber Robinson
6th. My son Oscar Attewall Robinson
7th. My daughter Mary Ellen Brown
8th. My daughter Sarah Blanch Hamblin
9th. My daughter Martha Amy Stewart
10th. My son Robert Eccles Robinson
11th. My son Thomas Edward Robinson
12th. My son David Henry Robinson
13th. My son Wilford Smith Robinson
14th. My daughter Mary Elizabeth Robinson Shumway
15th. My son Richard Lafayette Robinson
16th. My son Hyrum Charles Robinson
17th. My son Joseph Eldridge Robinson
Lastly: I hereby appoint my sons, Robert Eccles Robinson, George Heber Robinson and Joseph Eldridge Robinson, my executors and they may act, if so deposed without bonds. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 20th day of April in the year of our Lord Nineteen Hundred and Two.
Witnesses: Geo. H. Robinson H. E. Robinson
State of Utah, County of Kane In the matter of the estate of Richard S. Robinson deceased.
The Last Will of Richard S. Robinson deceased, a copy of which is hereto annexed having been proved and recorded in the District Court of the County of Kane, George H. Robinson, Robert E. Robinson, and Joseph E. Robinson,
George H. Robinson swore to support, obey the rights and faithfully do his duties as executor of the last will and testament of Richard S. Robinson. Oct. 28, 1902 by J. G. Spencer, clerk.
Recorded in Executors Record A
Page 133--May 4, 1903--Kane County, Kanab, Utah.
There are a few items left out of Richard and Elizabeth I s biography by Harriet R. Judd, which I (Esther Judd) would like to draw to your attention.
While Richard was working with the .Indians with Jacob Hamblin and others, Elizabeth was home taking care of the farm at Harmony. Here her first child, a son, was born on Sept. 4, 1854, and named Richard Joseph Robinson. He was born just four months to the day since they had arrived at this place.
This event could have taken place in Fort Harmony for that is the year the fort was built.
Elizabeth gave birth to a little girl, named Elizabeth Ann Robinson, on Jan. 1, 1856, while the family was still living at Fort Harmony. Elizabeth was cared for by the frontier midwife as there were no doctors.
The family moved to Pinto the fall of 1856, and Elizabeth's son, Edward G. Robinson, was born Dec. 3, 1857. He died Dec. 6,1858, at Pinto, Utah.
Elizabeth lost another child, Emma Jane Robinson, born Feb. 23, 1861, died Dec. 26,1861, and buried at Pinto, Utah.
Richard and Elizabeth Robinson traveled to Salt Lake City and Elizabeth received her endowments on Sept. 5, 1863, in the Endowment House. She was sealed to her husband on the same day. She listed as her father and mother, George and Ann Wootton.
William Alfred Robinson was born Dec. 6, 1863, in Pinto. He died Jan. 28,1865, in Pinto, Utah.
The deaths of these three children was a worry to Elizabeth,- for the gospel taught her that she would be able to raise her dead children and she pictured herself with three babies on her lap at one time, until she was able to talk to one of the Apostles who explained this principle to her.
No doubt the sisters who took care of her had no training and we know there was no medicine but the herbs that grew about their home. Much of the use of these herbs was learned from the Indians as the Indian missionaries went among them.
Richard and the Mouse
Richard and the Mouse
This is version of the story told by John Robinson, Jr. , Colvin, Nevada.
Richard S. Robinson, called by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the early days of the Church in Utah ,to go to southern Utah as an Indian missionary, settled at Pinto" Utah, about thirty miles north of St. George on the old emigrant wail to California.
He was known throughout southern Utah as a comedian, an entertainer and made many an evening of joy and pleasure for the early settlers.
There was a great many things that they were short of and one of them was clothing. Richard had only two pairs of trousers and the ones he wore for work were in very bad condition.
His Sunday trousers his wife had manufactured from seamless grain sacks.
The sacks had a fancy colored stripe running full length of the sack which were about one inch wide. When the trousers were made the fancy stripes were placed running up and down the outside of the legs. The trouser legs were also lined.
One day Richard had hard luck. He came to the house with a large hole torn in the seat of his work pants. He removed the pants, drew a chair up to the table, sat down and placed his lower limbs clothed in his underwear only, back under the table while his trousers were undergoing repairs.
Sister Coleman, a neighbor woman, came into the room. Richard, with a mischievous grin on his face, remarked, "Now, Sister Coleman, don't you look under the table." They say curiosity killed the cat . One glance and Sister Coleman rushed out of the house. -
The next morning was the Sabbath Day and Sunday School. Richard was out looking after his stock. Sister Coleman slipped quietly into the house, a live mouse in her hands. Entering the bedroom, she seized Richard's trou¬sers, cut a small hole in the lining of the leg, of the trousers , pushed the mouse through the hole, sewed the hole up, and then went to an adjoining room to await the results.
Richard soon rushed in to change clothing and get ready for Sunday School. He at once slipped into the Sunday trousers and buttoned them up. Now Sister Coleman, watching. from another-room, soon decided that she was even with Richard. A band of Indian warriors Would not have caused more excitement for the next few moments.
With a scream like a wild Indian, Richard made one-bound into the ad¬joining room, stooping over as he ran, grabbing first one leg and then the other as the mouse ran first up one leg and then down the other. As he ran he screamed, "Elizabeth! Elizabeth!" calling upon his wife for help.
Richard was placed, in charge of the branch of the Church at Upper Kanab and held that position for ten years. This branch belonged to the Glendale Ward and their records were burned in a fire at Glendale.
Edward Robinson goes 20 mph!
Edward Robinson had the distinction of being the first conductor, or guard, on this train. The English nobleman for whom Edward acted as footman owned a big block of stock in this new enterprise and he gave Edward this position because of the deep trust he had in him.
Edward used to like to tell of that first run and how they sprinkled sand on the rails to keep the cars from slipping when they got going so fast as 26 miles per hour. In the American Fork Cemetery on Edward Robinson's tombstone is carved a picture of the engine "The Rocket", under which is engraved "Edward Robinson, First railroad conductor on the World."
Edward used to like to tell of that first run and how they sprinkled sand on the rails to keep the cars from slipping when they got going so fast as 26 miles per hour. In the American Fork Cemetery on Edward Robinson's tombstone is carved a picture of the engine "The Rocket", under which is engraved "Edward Robinson, First railroad conductor on the World."
Edward Robinson by Jennie R. Greenwood
Edward Robinson
by Jennie R. Greenwood
by Jennie R. Greenwood
My pioneer grandparents on my father's line were Edward Robinson, Sr. and Mary Smith Robinson. Grandfather was a very proud Englishman, born of a high class English family. In his pompous days he wore a long tailed coat, stove pipe hat, used a cane and pinched his feet. At the age of twelve he was placed out to service in a home of nobility. Here he served for many years and met a winsome lassie who was governess in this wealthy home. Because she was highly educated, she tutored the family's children, etc. Later it became Edward's lot to marry this Mary Smith.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Levi Stewart cattle brand
LS
Division of Animal Industry's Brand books, 1849-1930
Utah State digital archives
Monday, March 14, 2011
Levi Stewart cattle brand - other marks associated with crop of left ear
Division of Animal Industry's Brand books, 1849-1930
Utah State digital archives
I remember Grandma Lucinda Stewart Brown
I remember Grandma Brown. She it was who raised me my first four years in Alamo while my parents taught school. How well I remember her never-failing gentleness and love, her magic healing touch, and her delight and curiosity in the world around her, in people, in good books. For these things have made me, and taught me what to love and what to seek.
She lived in a primitive one-room frame house practising nursing and midwifery in the desert outpost of Alamo, Nevada until her school¬teacher daughter Margery--Mama--bought for her, for $400 delivered, a miner's cabin from Hiko. So this was our home. It had two steps in front, four small rooms, and a hand-pump in the kitchen sink so that she did not need to go outdoors to pump water. It had wallpaper inside and was unpainted outside so that the wood was weathered a nice uniform grey. Young Uncle Ben slept in "the old house."
She lived in a primitive one-room frame house practising nursing and midwifery in the desert outpost of Alamo, Nevada until her school¬teacher daughter Margery--Mama--bought for her, for $400 delivered, a miner's cabin from Hiko. So this was our home. It had two steps in front, four small rooms, and a hand-pump in the kitchen sink so that she did not need to go outdoors to pump water. It had wallpaper inside and was unpainted outside so that the wood was weathered a nice uniform grey. Young Uncle Ben slept in "the old house."
Edward Robinson has dirty boots
While very young, Edward chose to train as footman to the gentry of one of the Royal families. He took great delight in driving and caring for the stately pedigree horses of the Lords and Ladies and in taking charge of the blood hounds and race horses ready for the fox hunts. He had to dress exceedingly trim to be in the presence of these distinguished people, as he rode about with them as a footman in their fine carriages behind two span of immaculate white horses. He kept his fine English boots shined to perfection.
He developed a fine appreciation of nature, as he spent much time among the rustic flower gardens on the different manors. He later became a fine landscape artist himself
Aftet joining the church, Edward traveled to Utah with the Ezra Taft Benson company, leaving there in the spring of 1849. At one time, Edward, still retaining his joyful and jolly humor, said as he held up his coarse boot, ''this old clod hopper doesn't look much like the fine polished English boots I wore in the gentry, but such is the price of a pioneer life." Edward drove two yoke of oxen to pull the two wagons and had two good cows, Paddy and Lily. Lily was a hard looker, as she had her tail bitten offvby a coyote when she was a calf. They had plenty of milk and a healthy diet.
He developed a fine appreciation of nature, as he spent much time among the rustic flower gardens on the different manors. He later became a fine landscape artist himself
Aftet joining the church, Edward traveled to Utah with the Ezra Taft Benson company, leaving there in the spring of 1849. At one time, Edward, still retaining his joyful and jolly humor, said as he held up his coarse boot, ''this old clod hopper doesn't look much like the fine polished English boots I wore in the gentry, but such is the price of a pioneer life." Edward drove two yoke of oxen to pull the two wagons and had two good cows, Paddy and Lily. Lily was a hard looker, as she had her tail bitten offvby a coyote when she was a calf. They had plenty of milk and a healthy diet.
On their arrival in Utah Edward was able to purchase a lot of land. He was now a land owner instead of a footman to royalty, and best of all, in a free country where his family would be driven no more. It wasn't long until they built a six-room home. It was adobe brick, two rooms upstairs, four rooms downstairs. Edward landscaped it with lawns and shrubs. It was called by the townspeople "Robinson's Rose Comer."
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