Dan Barker's Blog, page 4

Many Miracles on the Trail West

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Many miracles were experienced by those traveling to the Salt Lake Valley. What was one such miracle?a.                  Toddlers having the strength to walk the entire distanceb.                  Snow turning to mannac.                   Wagon’s never breaking downd.                  Untamed cattle pulling wagons with no problemsYesterday’s answer:B   $28,000The day after the funeral (John Taylor), the United States District Attorney assigned to Utah brought a lawsuit against the Church to enforce the escheatment provisions of the Edmunds-Tucker Act. Frank H. Dyer was appointed receiver to seize the General Tithing Office, the Gardo House, the Historian’s Office, and other Church properties. Upon the loss of their ownership rights, Mormons were forced to pay the federal government high rental fees to retain the use of their own property. Rent for the Gardo House was initially set at $75 per month but later increased to $450 a month. . . .From 1887 to 1891, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints paid the government more than $28,000 for the use of its own property. During that period, Church leaders had hoped that the Gardo House would be judicially declared Church property, exempt from escheatment under the laws of the land. When that did not happen President Woodruff decided that it would be better for the Church to move than to continue paying the exorbitant rental fee. Upon learning of their intent to leave the mansion, the receiver immediately began looking for a new tenant; and in January of 1892, the Gardo House was leased to the Keeley Institute for much less than the Church had been forced to pay.International Society Daughters of Utah Pioneers, Museum Memories (Talon Printing: Salt Lake City, 2011), 3:  22-23, 26.

Skyrocketing Rents

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How much rent did the Church pay to the Federal Government for the use of it’s confiscated buildings during the years 1887-1891?a.                  $18,000 b.                  $28,000c.                   $38,000d.                  $48,000Yesterday’s answer:C   The ChapelFrom the life of Elsa Petersson Bengtsson:   On April 11, 1859, Elsa and her daughter, Bengta, sailed for America on the ship, “William Tapscott.” They arrived at the New York Harbor more than a month later on May 14, 1859. On May 25, 1859, they arrived at Florence, Nebraska, where they joined George Rowley’s Handcart Company. At this time, Elsa was sixty-nine years old but she insisted that she carry her full load. As the trip wore on she became more weary and could no longer help with the handcarts. She had helped the young people with the menial chores but eleven days before the end of the trip it became necessary for her to ride in a wagon even though she objected. However, on the last day she did walk down Emigration Canyon and arrived in the Salt Lake Valley on September 4, 1859.Her daughter, Sissa, and her family arrived in Utah in 1863. About a year later they all moved to Peoa, Utah, and Elsa lived most of the time with Sissa and her family. She was a real help with the children and she continued to be active and share in the family duties. During their first year in the new settlement the family was relaxing at the beginning of the evening meal when the quiet of the dusk was shattered by several shots and a horrible scream. All the people rushed to the Church for security. Elsa refused to get excited or leave her home. Her comment was, “I’m so old that the Indians don’t want me.”International Society Daughters of Utah Pioneers, Pioneer Women of Faith and Fortitude, (Publisher Press, 1998), 1:217.

In Case of a Native Attack

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In Peoa, Utah, in case of a native attack, where were the Saints to go?a.                  The Fortb.                  The neighboring, much larger town of Oakleyc.                   The Chapeld.                  Their basementsYesterday’s answer:A   Her ancestors fighting in the Revolutionary WarFrom the life of Eliza R. Snow:   One story that Eliza included in her short biography, Sketch of My Life, was about her grandfather on her mother’s side, Jacob Pettibone. While fighting the English, he was captured and taken prisoner. He was confined in a cell with a fellow prisoner, but they were so scantily feed and exhausted that his companion died. In order to get more food, Jacob wrapped his cell mate in a blanket and reported him sick. This way he was given food for two which saved his life. He kept the body in the cell as long as he dared. Eliza wrote, “This, with many other incidents of Revolutionary War sufferings recounted by my grandparents, so deeply impressed my mind that, as I grew up to womanhood, I fondly cherished a pride for the flag which so proudly waved o’er the graves of my brave and valiant ancestors.”Lesson Committee, Museum Memories-Daughters of Utah Pioneers, (Salt Lake City, Talon Printing, 2010), 2: 333.

Eliza’s Pride for the Flag

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Even though the Saints were a persecuted people in the United States, what event caused Eliza R. Snow to have pride in the flag?a.                  Her ancestors fighting in the Revolutionary Warb.                  Her relatives fighting in the Civil Warc.                   The fact that the restoration took place in the United Statesd.                  The fact that she received the gospel in the United StatesYesterday's answer:C   Open a furniture shopWilliam Bell was called on a mission in 1869 to establish a furniture shop and teach woodworking skills in Heber City. His friend and customer Heber C. Kimball presided over the area for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.Lesson Committee, Museum Memories-Daughters of Utah Pioneers, (Salt Lake City, Talon Printing, 2010), 2: 240.

William Bell’s 1869 Mission Call

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It was common for Latter-day Saints to be called to settle new area’s, however, what surprised William Bell was Heber City was already established. Why then was he being called there on a mission?a.            As a Walker War Minute manb.            Bishopc.             Open a furniture shopd.            Ward OrganistYesterday’s answer:D   IosepaIosepa, an early settlement in Tooele County, Utah, was founded in 1889 and was one of the most unusual ventures of colonization in western United States history. Today, little remains of Iosepa to remind the casual observer of the historic role that this community once played. Pronounced “Yo-see-pa,” Iosepa was the Hawaiian equivalent for “Joseph,” named for Joseph F. Smith who served first in 1854 as a missionary in the Hawaiian Islands.It had been the desire of some Hawaiian converts to come to Utah to “gather with the main body of the Church” and do temple work, and by 1889, about seventy-five of them had settled near Beck’s Hot Springs. But with customs in Utah so foreign to them, it was deemed necessary to relocate these saints to an area in Utah’s desert where they could obtain year-round employment and continue to enjoy their own unique culture.After much contemplation, the ranch of John T. Rich in Skull Valley was selected and purchased by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; and on August 26, 1889, fifty Hawaiians departed for the site that would be their home for the next twenty-eight years. There, they laid out a town in the shape of the State of Utah that included a town square and had straight, perpendicular streets with names like Wailulu, Laie, Waimea, and Pa’ahao.After purchasing a sawmill from Edwin Booth, they began the construction of homes, a meetinghouse, a schoolhouse, and even a store. Their one-room school housed eight grades with as many as thirty-five students enrolled at one time, and they made other improvements on their small portion of “God’s brown acres.” They set up a post office, constructed concrete sidewalks, and brought in a telephone line. They also undertook a huge water project where five streams of water were collected in a reservoir that was used for swimming and irrigation. The crops they harvested were hay, beets, wheat, oats, barley, corn, potatoes, and squash.Dramatic proof of their attachment to Iosepa surfaced in 1894 when the Hawaiian government twice offered free passage to all Hawaiians desiring to return to the islands. There were on takers of those most generous offers. In 1899 a group was sent to Iosepa on Arbor Day to plant three hundred walnut trees, three hundred fruit trees, and one hundred ornamental trees—part of Brigham Young’s promise to make the desert “blossom like a rose.” The Hawaiians also planted lawns, flowers, grapevines, currants, and raspberries, and in 1911, Iosepa won the state’s prize as the “best-kept and most progressive city in Utah.” At its peak, Iosepa was home to 228 Hawaiians.Unfortunately, Iosepa harsh climate took quite a toll on islanders used to mild sea breezes. Deaths in the community were from pneumonia, smallpox, diphtheria, childbirth, and heart attacks, and in 1896, a few were stricken with the dread leprosy. After being isolated from others in the community (about a mile and one-half from town), those infected would raise flags when something was needed. Relatives would then come to their aid. Although these saints were provided the best of medical care available at that time, all with leprosy had expired by the year 1900.In 1915 when President Joseph F. Smith announced plans to build an LDS temple on the island of Oahu in Hawaii, Church leaders encouraged the Hawaiian saints, with help from the Church, to return to their beloved homeland to aid in the building of the Hawaiian Temple and participate in its ordinances. By January of 1917, most of the Hawaiian families had made the decision to return to their native land.Nevertheless, it was with mixed emotions that they left the area that had been their home for twenty-eight years. After the wagons were all loaded and they were ready to leave Iosepa, the women decided to walk the fifteen mile distance to the railroad at Timpie. With tear-streaked faces, they kept looking back while uttering, “Good-bye, Iosepa! Good-bye, Iosepa!”Lesson Committee, Museum Memories-Daughters of Utah Pioneers, (Salt Lake City, Talon Printing, 2010), 2: 200-201.

“Best Kept and Most Progressive City” In Utah

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In 1911 which community won the “Best Kept and Most Progressive City” in Utah?a.                  Goshenb.                  Salt Lake Cityc.                   Fountain Greend.                  IosepaYesterday’s answer:C   The children trying to pay attention in schoolVisitors of the Provo Pioneer Museum are able to step back in time as they study fourteen paintings by pioneer artist Samuel H. Jepperson. In 1900 he painted Fort Utah as it would have appeared shortly after the stockade was completed in January of 1850. The careful observer can tell that the palisade had just been erected, as a few surplus poles can be seen lying in the snow in front of the fort. The stark winter scene is beautiful and serene. The little cabins appear to be cozy and secure, trees line the banks of the Provo River, and majestic snow-covered mountains can be seen in the background. A bastion in the center of the fort supports a cannon that can be fired in case of danger, but Jepperson painted the fort as it would have appeared on a peaceful day. The open gate welcomes some Indian visitors. Their visits were frequent, and it was not uncommon for schoolchildren to be distracted from their lessons by Indian children peeking in at them though the windows and doorway of the cabin that served as their schoolhouse. Lesson Committee, Museum Memories-Daughters of Utah Pioneers, (Salt Lake City, Talon Printing, 2010), 2: 102-103.

Cute, but a Distraction

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It is said when there was peace between the natives and the pioneers, that the front gates to the fort at Provo were left wide open. This allowed the native children to enter the fort. As much as they were liked, they could be a distraction to whom?a.                  The men trying to do their workb.                  The moms trying to do their household workc.                   The children trying to pay attention in schoold.                  The pets not wanting to playYesterday’s answer:D   An instrument to relieve high blood pressureFrom the life of Sophie Ruesch Mathis:   Sophie Ruesch was born in the small town of St. Margrethen, Switzerland. Her parents were Hans Jacob Ruesch and Johanna Barbara Moser Ruesch. Her parents were able to give their children a good education, and Sophie chose the study of medicine. She attended a German school of medicine and later enrolled for additional study in Naples, Italy, where she received a doctor’s degree. Her medical instrument were carried in a brown satchel, which went wither wherever she traveled. She had instruments to help deliver babies and an instrument called a Schrepta which had six blades about three-eighths of an inch long. At the end of these blades were tubes to catch the blood when she cut slits into the flesh above the shoulder blade of the patient to draw blood. This was the only known way to relieve high blood pressure. She also had a catheter for use in tapping bladder stoppage. Lesson Committee, Museum Memories-Daughters of Utah Pioneers, (Salt Lake City, Talon Printing, 2010), 2: 65.

Dr. Sophie Mathis

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One of the Saints early doctors was Sophie Mathis. She carried a brown bag of medical instruments wherever she went, one of which was an instrument called a Schrepta. What is a Schrepta?a.                  A scalpelb.                  An instrument to measure the pulsec.                   A Forcepd.                  An instrument to relieve high blood pressureYesterday’s answer:C   From the comic books her grandparents would buy herThe following is about two of the midwives who attended the mother of a little Presbyterian girl in Idaho’s isolated Gray’s Lake Area. The family later moved to Utah where little Alice Creger grew up, married and lived a productive life. In her later years, she joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was from her deathbed at the age of seventy-four that her narration, “Alice and the Midwives,” evolved. “I remember another early time when I was seven-in the wintertime when the snow was deep. Mother was sick then, and she was in bed. One evening after Dad got supper for us, he told me that when we got through eating, to get my brothers ready for bed and to wash the dishes. Then he took off in a hurry, out of the house.“The next thing I knew I heard my mother holler. She wanted me to get the blanket that was on the oven door. So I did. Then she told me to turn back the covers, reach down, and get a little baby that was down there. She wanted me to wrap it in the blanket and bring it up to her. Well, I tell you that was an experience I never forgot! I got the little baby, and when I got it up to where I could see, I took a peek at it. It was a little girl, and she had the most lot of black hair. She was real small, but she sure was cute.I was so happy I could hardly do anything. But I went out and got Evan ready, then put him to bed. Harold, he was just poking along, getting himself ready. I had just finished the dishes when in through the door came a little old lady who looked just like a witch. She didn’t have any teeth in her head, she was cross-eyed, and her nose and chin about met. The hair on her head was iron black with gray hairs all mixed together and knotted, and she had a shawl over her head, tied under her chin. She was looking at the wall and asking, ‘How are you doing, honey?’ I looked over there, but didn’t see nothing, so I guessed she was talking to me, and I told her. Then she said, ‘Where’s your mother?’ I said, ‘She’s back in the bedroom, but you can’t go back there.’“‘Oh, yes, I’ve got to go back there,’ she said. I started screaming for her to stay away, but she wouldn’t listen to me. She went tearing back to that room, and I got so excited that I thought I was going to die. I jumped off my chair and ran out into the yard where I told Dad, ‘There’s a witch in there. I have a brand new baby sister, and she is going to do something to her!’ He told me that it was just Mrs. Nounan and to quiet down and go back inside.“Why, that was the biggest shakeup. I would have sworn that she looked just like the pictures that were in the comic books that Grandpa and Grandma brought us from Idaho Falls. And those were all about a witch. “Well, she was a good old lady. She brought the baby out, all washed and cleaned up, and she even let me hold her. May was a beautiful baby, and I was sure proud of her. But I tell you, that was one hair-raising experience for me!Lesson Committee, Museum Memories-Daughters of Utah Pioneers, (Salt Lake City, Talon Printing, 2010), 2: 29.

Alice Creger and the Witch

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Alice Creger’s mother gave birth to a little girl before the midwife arrived. When Alice’s father finally arrived with the midwife, Alice commented that the midwife looked like a witch. Why would Alice state this?a.                  From pictures she had seen of witches in booksb.                  From the scary stories her grandfather would tell herc.                   From the comic books her grandparents would buy herd.                  She looked just like her school teacher and Alice thought she was a witch, tooYesterday’s answer:A   He donated money to the South African missionFrom the life of O. C. Beebe:   A member of the General Board of Y.M.M.I.A from 1905 to 1912, was head cashier of Zion’s Savings Bank and Trust Company for some time and was in the banking business in Salt Lake City for thirty years. In 1917 he donated $600 to the South African Mission, and in return for this donation was credited with a two years mission.Andrew Jenson, L.D.S. Biographical Encyclopedia, (Salt Lake City, Andrew Jensen Memorial Association, 1936), 4: 231-232.

Credited With a Mission

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O. C. Beebe was credited with a mission in 1917, even though he didn’t actually leave home and serve. How did this happen?a.                  He donated money to the South African missionb.                  He is responsible for setting up the general church mission fundc.                   He donated 500 cases of Books of Mormon to his native Englandd.                  He paid the mission expenses for five missionaries sent from his wardYesterday’s answer:D   John W. GunnisonReferring to the September 1851 “runaway” of four government territorial officers assigned to Utah Territory:   Although [Lieutenant John W.] Gunnison’s book did not appear until later in the year, he was in Washington when the “runaways” made their report. “I laugh at their being frightened so easily,” Gunnison wrote to his Mormon friend Albert Carrington. “Some Senators have asked my opinion about the matter, & I told them it was a matter of moonshine, fright and homesickness . . . You Know that I was aware of the feeling entertained about the ‘ladies’ man’ [Perry E. Brocchus], and I told them [the Senators] he was not the one to lecture on chastity under that prejudice—All seemed to think the Judges were more scared than hurt.” Gunnison gave no credence to the rumor he was hearing about the Mormons declaring their independence. “That is of course nonsense,” he judged, and hopefully predicted that the coming years might see Utah admitted as a state in the Union, despite its polygamy and “theo-democracy.” Gunnison was comfortable using—and accepting—the Mormons’ description of their unusual political system. Ronald W. Walker and Matthew J. Grow, The People Are “Hogafeed or Humbugged”: The 1851-52 National Reaction to Utah’s “Runaway” Officers, Journal of Mormon History, Fall 2014, 38.