| OCR Text |
Show • ,> • • • • THOMAS RICH (Written by his daughter, Adria Rich Porter) Thomas Rich, Jr., my father, was the fourth child of a family of fourteen children of Thomas Rich, Sr., and Henrietta Peck Rich. My grandfather, Thomas Rich, Sr., was a cousin of Apostle Chas. G. Rich, their fathers being brothers. Grandfather was born in Floyd County, Indiana, on November 29, 1817. His father was in the War of 1812 and moved with his family to Kentucky where my grandfather was reared. He married Henrietta Peck, who was born in Chanango County, New York. They joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and were subsequently sealed in the Nauvoo Temple. They passed through the persecutions of the saints in Missouri and Illinois. He was a participant in the Crooked River Battle and also acted as a bodyguard to the Prophet Joseph Smith. They left Nauvoo during the summer of 1847 with the pioneers in route to Utah. By the time they reached the Missouri River, the season was so far advanced and the condition of the mother would hardly permit further travel, so they stopped at Winter Quarters. On October 11, 1847, Thomas Rich, my father, was born. They remained at Winter Quarters until the spring of 1850 and then continued their trek across the continent with a group of pioneers in Joseph Young's Company. My grandfather was made captain often in the company. On the way, grandfather shot and killed a large buffalo, which furnished meat for some time. · They arrived in Salt Lake in September 1850 and remained in the city for a few days. Then they went on to Centerville, Davis County, Utah, where they lived until 1861. While there they raised flax, and the job was given to father to swingle it (which means to cleanse it and beat it in pieces). His mother spun it into thread with which to sew their clothing. They also made towels from the flax fibers. In the year 1857, the government thought the Mormons were not law-abiding citizens, so Johnson's Anny was sent from the East to Salt Lake City to see that the people lived up to the law. The leaders of the church decided the saints would move south. When the order was given, the saints left their homes and started south. Before leaving, however, they prepared their homes to be burned at the command. They decided to go as far as Fillmore, Utah, but a halt was called when they reached Provo. My father was ten years old when they made this trip from Centerville to Provo, a distance of fifty-five miles. He walked barefoot and drove the loose cattle. They lived in a bowery in Provo until they returned to Centerville in the fall of 1858. That fall he yoked a pair of oxen and plowed ten acres of land. In April 1861, the Rich family moved to Morgan County and with other families that followed, settled the little town of Richville, so called in his honor. Grandfather was the I f t • • • • first presiding Elder of that ward and built the first house in Richville. Father, while driving two pigs, walked all the way from Centerville to Richville. While at Richville, his father asked him to go into the hills and hunt an ox that he had never seen. A very slight description was given of the animal, and the lad set out very early in the morning with two biscuits in his pocket for his lunch. He tramped all day, but no trace of the animal could be found until the sun was sinking below the horizon. Thankful and happy he seized the animal by the tail and said, "Get up Darkie, let's make it home before dark." They did. During the winter of 1867, the people did fairly well. Everyone seemed to have all the necessities of life. Spring came and from all outward indications, a very prosperous year was before them. Farmers planted their crops and things looked promising. But this prosperity was to be of short duration for a trial awaited the people. Without any warning and like a black cloud, grasshoppers came in myriads. They swept down upon the green vegetables, and in less than 24 hours, there was scarcely a sign of anything, even the grass was mowed to the ground. The people fought the grasshoppers with all the skill and power they knew, but the more they killed, the greater the number that came. Som~ wo~ld drive them into trenches until they were six and eight inches deep and bury them. Father and his brother Landon dragged a rope across the wheat field, all day for days, to keep the grasshoppers off. The only means of gaining their winter sustenance seemed to have left the people . The western section of the mighty trans-continental railroad was pushing its way westward and by this time had reached what was called the "Great Echo." This proved to be the salvation of those whose winter supply had been devoured by the grasshoppers. The railroad opened new avenues for work. By 1870, the farmers were doing well. Grandmother Rich was a noted biscuit maker. Her buttermilk biscuits would almost melt in your mouth. Grandfather Rich became almost totally blind before he died. Grandmother died in August 1896, while her son Thomas, was on a mission in the southern states. The Rich family moved to Porterville, a small town three miles south of Richville, in 1871. Father married Adria Elizabeth Brough on December 4, 1876. The ceremony was performed by Willard G.S. Smith at Morgan and a year later in the Endowment House. The early part of their married life was spent in the canyons getting out lumber and ties for the railroad. He was present when the first train came through Morgan; this was a sight for all present. Money was scarce in those days. Every conceivable method was used to meet the conditions, such as making soap from grease scraps and lye from wood ashes, (they used the same kind of lye for washing); spinning wool into yarn and weaving it into cloth; and tanning deer hides into buckskin to be made into coats, shirts, and gloves. They used t • • • $ti'' a.W for padding under the carpets, and their mattresses were made of straw also. The bare floors were scrubbed as white as a table and their houses were kept scrupulously clean. Father helped to make five different canals in Richville and most of the bridges in Morgan County. He and mother were very hospitable, and many a weary traveler sought refuge under their roof. As a father he was affectionate and patient. Nothing was too good for his family. They enjoyed the best he could give. His church activities extended over the greater part of his life. He was ordained an Elder at the age of sixteen. He held positions in the ward and stake. In January 1896, he was called on a mission to the southern states. He and his companion traveled without "purse and script'' and were compelled to ask for free lodging. He was struck by Malaria and after weeks of suffering, he was given an honorable release and returned home before the two years had passed. · He made it a point to always be on time and was honest in his dealings with others. He earn<td the name of"Honest Tommy Rich." He was the father of ten children. They were (i.Jl the order of their births) Henrietta, Emily Jane, Joseph and Adria (twins), Emeline, B~njamin Thomas, Arnold C., Samantha, Hosea, and Ruth. He died December 8, t940, at' the age of 93. He was buried in the Porterville Cemetery beside his mother and father . ! t |
