OCR Text |
Show TITLE PAGE PIONEER (full name) BIRTH (date and place) DEA TH (date .and place) PARENTS MARRIED (who and date) ARRIVAL IN UTAH (date) (Company arrived with) HISTORY (who wrot e) (date written) . (who submitted) (address) -· · Zachariah Hardy 12 March l 79 9 - Belfast, Waldo Co. , Maine 13 Febr uary 1846 (buried Na uvoo, Illinois) Joseph Hardy Elizabeth Thorndyke Eliza Philbrook (about 1822-) 18 Februa.ry 1852 (Wife Elizabeth&: family) Captain Day's Company Louise Butters Waldron (g- g - g r'a nddaughter) Rt. 2 Box 53A Mor g an, Utah 84050 CAMP & COUNTY SUBMITTING _s_o_u_th_M_o_rg_a_n_ ________ Camp _M_o_r_g_a_n ____________ County (Camp Historian & address)-· -------------------- Lola Dawson Peterson P.O. Box 13, Morgan, Utah 840 50 ;! County Historian & acldr es s )._ __v _e_l_o_y_T_o_n_k_s_D_i_c_k_s_o_n_ ________ P.O. Box 203, Mor gan, Utah 840 50 S OURCE O? INFORMATION & PAG E I\ UMB:SRS : e ZACHARIAH AND ELIZA PHILBROOK HARDY In a colonial town called Bel fast, Waldo County, Maine on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean lived a seafaring family by the name of Hardy. They had migrated to America from Europe (probabl y Great Britian) after hearing of the splendid opportunities in this country and that they could live and worship God as they pleased. It was here that Zachariah Hardy, a son of Joseph and Eliz:abeth Thorn-dyke Hardy was born, on the 12th of March, 1799 , the eldest of a family of four children. As a boy he watched the fishermen sail out into the billowus sea and return with the catch of fish which provided a l arge share of their food. Their tales of adventure fascinated him. A l so, his father, Joseph, was a sea captain on a large fishing and trading or freighting vessel which traveled the eastern coast from New York to Maine, sometimes being away from home many months. He was also a ship builder and carpenter . In these trades that he was so familiar with he became an expert. So it wasn't any wonder that Zachariah and his two brothers, Lewis and Joseph, became experts in the same trade. Zachariah eventuall y be-came a captain of a large vessel, the same as his father before him. It was about 1822 that he married Eliza Philbrook of Belfast, Maine, who was a daughter of Elizsha Philbrook and Dorothea Witham Philbrook. While he was engaged in his trade he first . heard the gospel of the Latter - day Saints preached by -~ E l der William Hyde in ~ier.sport, Maine, in about 1839 or 1840. Siersport was a small town near Belfast. This Gospel was the Gospel of Jes u s Christ which was res t ored to the ear t h t h rough the instrument ality of Joseph Smith a n d it was b eing preached t hro ugho ut t h e eas t ern s t a t es. Zachar i a h readi l y a ccep t ed the Gosp el as h e re cogniz e d t h e t r uths in B r othe r Hyd e' s wor d s , but hi s wife wa s a very faithful ,~, -2- Methodist and, therefore, she couldn't see it as clearly and was reluctant to believe what they claimed. One day two missionaries of this church visited them and told her about the beliefs. She wasn't impressed, so they decided to go on into the next town. One of them asked h er if he could leave his Book of Mormon with her to keep for him until he returned. He told her not to read it, which aroused her curiousity very much. She was fascinated with what she read, and the more she read the more interested she became until she was completely convinced of i ts sincerity and truth. Shortly after this she had a vision which impressed her very much. She saw the Saints in their t emple clothing and they were with Joseph Smith. She then had a song come to her which she sang. It is not clear whether they were singing it or if the words and music came to heJ;"., but she sang it all through, 1 7 verses. Her husband asked her fo write it down., but she said it was not necessary as. she would never forget it as long as she liv ed. She never did forget them either and e ven at the age of 70 she could sing all seventeen verses with an unusually clear voice that was remarkable. She did write the words to this song once but it was lost. Many years later her grandchild, Eliza Hardy, 76 years old, who was a daughter of her son Nephi, recalled a por tion of i t as she heard her Grandmother sing it. . 11 My son Joseph, he s~all lead you, through a long a n d promised land, and lead you oul of Babylon • • . • • 11 J After this manifestation was seen she was convinced of the divinity of Mormonism and that Joseph Smith was a true Prophet of God This pleased Zachariah very much. They joined the church in August of 1840. Early the next yea r they left Maine with a company of other saints including h is father and mother , Joseph and Elizabeth Thorndyke Hardy, his t wo brothers, -3- Lewis and Joseph, and their families and his sister, Eliza, who married Abi ah Wadsworth. They all had young children and it was a happy time for t h em all, as they were all together. They sold most of their belongings to raise money to go west. They bid , farewell and left for Illinois, settling in LaHarp which town is near Nauvoo, Illinois. On their way they traveled over mou ntains and as their mother, Elizabeth, was very frail t hey had to stop until she was strong er. They accepted an invit ation of a family of saints to stay with them until they c ould resume their j ourney. The rest of t he family, Joseph, Lewis, Zachariah and Eliza, and t heir families went on and arrived about the 28th of October 1841, in Illinois. The eldest son, Joseph, returned about two months later to where they had left their parent s and assisted them back to Illinois. ;;. Early in 1842, the father, Joseph. died in Nauvoo and his wife, Elizabet h, died in 1843. After arriving in Illinois .. they sec u red a cottag e, rejoiced and were t h ank ful when he was called to perform many duties for the Proph et. He was appointed to be a body guard to the Prophet and felt it a privileg e to serve the Lord in this way. He enjoyed doing h is bit in helping to establish t h e c hu rch a n d to prepare for the trying times which were to follow. Zachariah, hi s wife and children, watched the hatred grow a g ainst the handful of Saints who called t hem-selves Mormons. Then came the tragic year of 1844. The blind h atred of t h e ~ frenzied mob was let loose an'd terrible acts were c ommitt ed a gainst t h e saints almost more than they could bear. After the martyrdom of t he Prophet Joseph S m i th by the m ob , Brigham Yo ung was c all e d t o p re s ide ove r the chu r ch. The members o f th e chu r ch wer e thr own int o grief an d confusion after t h e death o f th e Prophet, so they we r e v er y tha nkful to the Lo r d for the inspiration given to -4- Brigham Young to lead them from this place to a land of freedom in the West. If bridges hadn't been erected over the streams, they had to rely on ferry boats where the streams couldn't be forded. A handy boatsman, Zachariah Hardy, was assigned to ferry ,t he saint! and their belongings across the Missouri River. The chilly winds of wi;1ter swept down upon them in such a force that it rivaled the terror of the mobs, but Zachariah never wavered from his task. Halting only long enough to comb the ice out of his hair and beard, he worked until all were safely across the river. On the night of 11 February 1846, a terrible storm came up and the next morning he was very ill with pneumonia. L ying on the deck of the ferry, his hair had to be cut away as it was fro7en to the floor. He died two days later, 13 February 1846, leaving his wife and six children . the youngest just five days old. The only shelter they had t o stay in was a wagon box on the ground covered with canvas. As they dare not return to Nauvoo .in the daytime, Zachariah's brother , Joseph and Lewis, and brother-in-law, Abiah Wadsworth, took his body to Nauvoo in the night and buried it. In 1843, Eliza had another vision in which she was told a son would be born to her in another year and that his name must be Nephi. This son, she was told, would have a lar ge posterity and be the means of doing much good in her family and in the church. On 24 February 1844, at LaHarp, Illinois, a son was born to -~.. them and they named him Nephi. Emma Smith, the wife of the Prophet, opened her home to Eli7a and her children after the death of Zachariah, and ca red for them unti l she was able to travel. She, Emma, also said, if Eliza wo ul d g ive up going west and remain with her , she would share her home and all her possessions with he r and also pay for -5- her children's education. When it came time for them to start their move to Utah, Eliza sold all h er belongings {perhaps a small home) to a Mr. Abbot for $400. 00. D u e to some misunderstanding, she was never able to collect the money. However, the ' Church provided her with a team and wagon and provisions with which to make the journey to Utah. She left with her brother -in -law, Lewis Hardy and family, and Joseph Hardy and family, and Abiah Wadsworth and his family. They went to a small town 5 0 miles away and stayed until the spring of 1849, then moved to Council Bluffs and stayed until 1851. On the 10th of May 1851. she and the other members of the Hardy family joined Captain Day's Company and started for Salt Lake V"llley. There were 50 members in this company. In the wagon she had all of her earthly possessions. Her oldest son, William, drove most of the way and she and the older children walked most of the way p u lling a hand cart. The two youngest children rode on the wag on. Many hardships were suffered on the way to the valley of the mountains. She had a coffee g rinder she used to grind corn into meal out of which they made bread. Sag e br u sh was used for fuel to cook with and to warm themselves. Sometimes they u sed dried buffalo chips to burn for fuel. They endured much, including trouble with wander - ing tribes of Indians. Also, they had to repair bridges and build rafts to cross t he -..) swollen streams. But with ail these hardships, they never we re discou ra g ed as t hey were thankful for the privilege they had of being free to worship God. Because o f their fa i th in God, the y h ad m u c h joy a n d g ratitude i n thei r h eart s. T h e y arrived i n Salt L a k e Valle y , w h i ch was i n d e ed a " L an d of P r om i se" the 18th o f February i n 1852. After r e sting one day and night , President Brigham -6- Young sent them and a colony of saints to settle East Weber, which is now called Uintah. It took three days to make the jou rney as their teams were so worn out from the long trip across the plains. They arrived in East Weber the 21st of September 1852, . They lived there for several years, sometimes being threatened by Indians who at times were very troublesome. They built a fort for their protection against an outbreak. In the winter of 1854, they were compelled to move all the families into it as the Indians were on the warpath and would often drive off their horses and cattle. They moved back to their homes the next May (1855) and planted crops, but it was late in the season and a very dry year. Their crops were a failure and they all knew what it was to g o to bed so hungry they couldn't sleep. During the year of 1858, she moved with her family to Mountain Green and then to Morgan in 1860. Later they moved to Grantsville, Utah, where they only lived a short time and moved to Hooper, Utah. After her children were all married . she made her home with her sons William and Elisha until her death in 1881. |