• • • ROSWELL STEVENS Mr. Stevens was one of the first settlers of Peterson, was a member of the Mormon Battalion. He received his discharge at Santa Fe, New Mexico. He and Samuel Gulley, another discharged soldier, were appointed to accompany John D. Lee and Howard Egan, the two men who had been sent with the Battalion by Brigham Young to bring back from Santa Fe such funds as the soldiers could spare for their families and to the church. The round trip journey of these men was more than two thousand miles and had been made over the desert in the dust and heat through and Indian invested country. Going out the men were protected by the troops, but the return journey was very dangerous. The four men were warned not to travel alone. However, they pursued their journey fearlessly, and by traveling in the night and resting in the day they finally reached Ft. Leavenworth without molestation. From that point to Winter Quarters the trip was made without incident and $4000.00 in money and checks was deposited in the hands of Brigham Young. In the spring of 1847 Mr. Stevens was selected as one of the pioneer company and arrived in Great Salt Lake Valley in July 29, 184 7. He returned to Winter Quarters later the same year with Brigham Young's company and was especially appointed to care for the families of the Mormon Battalion men until they could be sent on to Salt Lake Valley. In due time he came back to Utah . Mr. Stevens settled first in Alpine, Utah and in the spring of 1855 he and his wife came to Weber Valley along with the Peterson and Thurston families. His daughter Martha, the late Mrs. Daniel Heiner was the first white child born in the Weber Valley and so far as we know his son Charles Russell, was the first white boy born here. In the spring of 1879 John Taylor, who had succeeded Brigham Young in Mormom leadership, sent a company of scouts to explore the San Juan country that settlements might be made there for the saints. Mr. Stevens joined this company. They selected a site on the San Juan River in southeastern Utah near the famous Four Comers and gave the name of Bluff to the place. The company had no more than stopped here when death claimed the life of Roswell Stevens. There was no lumber with a hundred miles. So from his old wagon box they made a coffin and selected a site for a cemetery. He died May 4, 1880, a faithful member of the church. Another memorable incident in his life was during the Echo Canyon War. One night word came to camp that some of the United States soldiers were coming down Echo Canyon. The commander asked for volunteers to go up the canyon about a mile on a high peak to see what they could learn. Roswell Stevens said he would go and another man agreed to go with him. The night was very dark but when they were ready to start a light appeared about ten feet ahead of them and led them all the way to where they were to go.