• • • JOSEPHW. WADSWORTH Joseph W. Wadsworth was born in Lincoln, Maine. He was the son of Abiah and Eliza Hardy Wadsworth who were also natives of Maine. He with his parents, brother and sister came to Nauvoo in 1840 and in 1851 they came west arriving in Salt Lake City, Sept. 17, 1851. Here they stayed only long enough to rest their teams and then moved on to East Weber, Uintah, arriving there Sept. 20, 1851. (They came in Captain Day' s company of pioneers.) They lived in a dugout made in the hillside until they were able to cut and haul logs to build them a three room log house, which they finished before the winter of 1851. Here they lived and farmed and he worked at carpenter work and at a small sawmill, for several years. In March of 1855 Joseph married Abbigail Higley, daughter of Myron Higley, and a few months later married Lydia Stoddard, daughter of Amos and Leah Stoddard. While living in East Weber a call came from Brigham Young for volunteers to take teams, food and blankets and go to meet companies of Saints who were stranded because of deep snow and severe cold weather. Joseph answered the call making three trips back to assist the Pioneer Saints, among whom were the ill fated Handcart company. He and his father also donated 40 days work with teams, hauling material for the Salt Lake Tabernacle, and did about 40 days carpenter work (donation on these buildings and the Salt Lake Theater, and well as many school and church houses. The Indians were sometimes very troublesome, but as the Wadsworths tried to do them a good turn whenever they could and do as Brigham Young said, be honest and fair in all their dealings with them, they were always friendly and peaceful with them. They called him Big Chief: or Medicine Man because he was Bishop. Joseph moved his family to Mountain Green and here he soon built a very comfortable home, but the Indians became very troublesome and Brigham Young advised them all to move to Morgan in 1855, staying until 1868. Here Joseph farmed a piece of ground and did carpenter work and team work on a grist mill, saw mill and school house. He also assisted in road making and helped on bridges. As the Indians had become more peaceful he moved back to Mountain Green to their home in 1868 and from then until the railroad was completed, he worked his teams hauling timber for bridges and ties for the for the Union Pacific railroad and watched the first engine pass over the new road. He continued cutting and hauling ties for the railroad to use for sidings and switches and worked at carpenter work and farming until 1878 when he moved his family to Hooper, where he purchased 40 acres. He lived to the ripe age of 94 Yi was the father of 24 children. He had been intimately acquainted with Joseph Smith, Brigham Young and early church authorities . By Martha Ann Hardy Wadsworth.