TITLE PAGE. Daughters of Utah Pioneers. 130 PIONEER NAME- Joel Ricks BIRTH DATE AND PLACE- 2/18/1804, Donaldson Creek, Kentucky DEATH DATE AND PLACE- 12/15/1888, Logan, Utah FATHER- Jonathan Ricks MOTHER- Temperance Edwards Ricks WHO MARRIED AND DATE- (1) Eleanor Martin, 5/17/1827 (2) Sarah Beriah Fiske Allen, 10/6/1852 YEAR ARRIVED IN UTAH- 9/24/1848 NAME OF COMPANY- Kimball Co. WHO WROTE HISTORY AND DATE- Bertie Smith 2009 WHO SUBMITTED HISTORY AND DATE- Bertie Smith CAMP NAME- Mt. Joy CAMP HISTORIAN- Bertie Smith COMPANY NAME- Morgan (County) HISTORIAN- Dena Rich SOURCE OF INFORMATION- Book - Joel Ricks, Vol. 1. SIGNATURE OF AUTHOR OR OWNER OF THIS HISTORY- Bertie Smith CAMP RECEIVED (DATE)- COMPANY RECEIVED (DATE)- JOEL RICKS Scripture O&C 136:10-11 Let every man use all his influence and property to remove this people to the place where the Lord shall locate a stake of Zion And if ye do this with a pure heart, in all faithfulness, ye shall ,be blessed: you shall be blessed in your flocks, and in your herds, and in your fields, and in your houses and in your families. Past biographies w􀛘􍡲rtten on Joel Ricks have been. only a few pages long and stress what he did, rather thatn who he really wasT-he wrote very little about himself. Joel Ricks was born February 18, 1804 to Jonathan and Temperance Ricks in Donaldson Creek (Christian County)now Trigg County, Kentucky. What did the future hold for this baby boy born . log cabin on the edge of the American Frontier. Life for Joel started in a log cabin with a dirt floor. The furniture - was such as the settlers could make with an aia. and auger. There were no bridges over the streams and the make shift roads were rough. It was recorded that Joel's mother suffered a great deal from fear of Indians. They would go to her house and ask for food ano Temperance would get busy and bake bread to keep t_?em from harming her or· her children. Joel spent most of his time helping on the farm and learning how to survive in a wilderness environment. He learned to shoot with an old K􀛙􍥮ntucky r􀛚􍨱1'.hand did alot of hunting and fishing in his youth. DuJting the􀛛􍭥e developed character traits of industry resourcefulness and courage. On the family farm--they grew cotten, corn and tobacco. In the fall of 1826, Joel (now 26 years old), his brother Lewis and a cousin William built a flatboat--70 feet long and 14 feet wide. They loaded the flatboat with stock, grain and poultry. They were gone to New Orleans for 53 days and sold all they had plus they sold thier flat­boat for $10.00. In 1827 when Joel was 23 years old, he met Eleanor Martin who was 19 years old. She spoke with a soft southern accent. They married May 17, 1827. 􀛜􍱬leanor did not receive a formal education. The family valued education for their sons, but most southern girls were not sent to school. Eleanor's family had slaves and she was cared for by a black nanny whom she loved dearly. After their marriage, Joel continued to help on his fathers farm and it was t􀛝􍵥ere that Joel and Eleanor had their first child-a son. They named him Thomas Edwin Ricks. • ( My Great-g.randfather) . when Joel was 25 years old, he was ready to strike out on his own. He traveled to Illinois on horseback looking for a farm he could purchase with the money he had saved. He located a farm in Madison County, Illinois, consisting of two eighty acre sections and moved _ his family in the fall of 1829. Several of his relatives• and their families also moved to Illinois. 131 ~ - At the time Joel owned a large wagon and a yoke of oxen. It was much colder in the winter than they were used to. The first winter was very severe. The wolves would come near their cabin to howl. Joel worked hard on his new land and slowly accumulated more acreage. Joel and Eleanor ' s family continued to grow. Seven children were born while living on the farm in Illinois. About 1839, members of the Ricks family built an 18x20 foot school house which was called the Ricks School . Formal schooling was not available in the area until this time, and they desired all of their sons and daughters should have the opportunity to attend school. Joel was an earl y riser~-he was up at 4 A. M. , and when the neighbors saw the light in the Ricks home-- they knew that Joel was already hard at work. The family now had horses, chickens, ducks , geese and cows. The family enjoyed their fried chicken. The feathers of the ducks and geese were used to make their pillows and feather beds. The girls in the family were taught to knit and the boys were taught to hook mittens. With several of the Ricks Family in the area , the cousins spent alot of time together, in their grow-ing years. When out of season for farming or on rainy days, the boys and fathers would enjoy hunting and fishing. There were wild turkeys, quail, squirrels in the tim~ and silver creek was full of fish . They set traps for deer and wild turkeys. The boys learned from their fathers to shoot and became good marksmen . In 1830 , realizing the importance of some kind of religion in their lives, a group of the settlers , including Joel and Eleanor, got together and established the Silver Creek Christian Church . Joel and Eleanor continued to affiliate with this church until the fall of 1840, when missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints came into the neighborhood. Joel attended one of the meetings , studied their teachings and knew from his study that this was indeed the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. Joel and Eleanor were both baptised on June 6 , 1841 and their baptism-age children soon followed . In 1843 Joel and his oldest son Thomas went to Nauvoo. They wanted to meet with the leaders and hopefully meet the prophet Joseph Smith . Joel was so impressed with his visit to Nauvoo that after returning home he talked to his wife and family, and they decided to join the Saints in Nauvoo. By 1844 , both Joes ' s and Eleanor ' s parents had passed away. This was a difficult time as they realized one era was passing away. Joel and his brother Lewis and sister Elizabeth returned to Kentucky to help settle their fathers estate. His father had let his slaves do pretty much as they pleased as he considered them as good friends. The laws of Kentucky were very strict on freeing slaves and it was a difficult time for the family. 13230 It became increasingly hard for saints in Nauvoo as they were being persecuted constantly . The prophet Joseph and brother were martyed by a mob at the carthage jail June 27 , 1844 . Joel , Eleanor and their family were at the meeting when the mantle of Joseph Smith fell on the shoulders of Brigham Young . At this time the temple was nearing completion . Joel and his son Thomas worked hard to help complete the temple even though they realized they would be forced to leave Nauvoo soon . Joel and Eleanor were endowed in the Nauvoo Temple January 21, 1846. When the Saints left Nauvoo, Joel was able to sell his farm and thus fared better than most of the saints. He used the money in prepara-tion for the trip west . He had 5 horses, 13 yolk of oxen, six wagon~ 13 cows , 18 sheep, plus farming equipment , 20 bushels of buckwheat, 200 bushels of corn and ·200 pounds of meat . Joel gave Heber c . Kimbal horses to help out his family . As far as records show, Joel and Eleanor never saw any of their brothers and sisters again . One of their trials On a Tuesday morning, June 6 , a band of Indians raided their herds and made off with several . Elder Kimball sent his son and several others to rescue their cattle. When they approached the Indians , both sides opened fire. Thomas Ricks , Joels son , was shot in his lower back and left for dead. (I remember in my great-grandfather.'s history , he said he prayed to his Heavenly Father that if he would grant him to live , he would serve faithfully the rest of his day. H~ did live and served faithfully the remainder of his life . ) 'When they finally got Thomas back to camp, he was gasping for life . Elder ~imball and others gave him a blessing and he seemed to rally. Thomas carried the buckshot with him for the rest of his life as it was to dangerous to remove. He was made as comfortable as possible in a spring wagon . The trek west would take almost four months. ************ Passing down Emigration Cauyon on the 23rd of September , the trail weary souls got very cold during a heavy rain storm, which muddied the trail and forced team~ters to link up from four to seven yoke of oxen to a wagon when going down hill . The next day, September 24, 1848, a sunday , in pleasant weather , The Kimball trains almost al - together rolled into the Great Salt Lake Valley. Winter was quickly approaching. Joel Ricks located his family at the mouth of Bountiful Canyon and quickly built an adobe house for his family--They now have nine children. During the winter , Joel was asked to help erect a sawmill for Heber C . Kimball . After completing the mill, Joel moved his family to Centerville. Joel built a nice two story adobe brick home where they resided for nine years. Eleanor finally felt like she had a home again . ************* October 6 , 1852, Joel entered into plural marriage with his second wife, Sarah ' Beriah Fiske Allen. Sarah was the widow of Ezra Allen who was a dear friend of Joel's. Ezra was killed by the Indians as Mheo rmtroanv eBlaetdt ahloiomne . from California . He had been a soldier with the 133 October 1856 , Brighan Young called upon the Saints to serJyoung men and supplies to the Martin-Willie handcart companies. Joel's son Thomas was among thse who went. Joel provided some of the wagons apd suoolies for the rescue group. **'*'k***** In the spring of 1859 , Joel Ricks heard reports of the richness of Cac"b Valley . Joel decided to go up and look over the region and he liked what he saw . He and his second wife , Sarah , and her family moved in July 1859. They more or less camped until Joel and sons completed a three-room log cabin that fall . In the spring of 1860 , Joel returned to Centerville to get Eleanor and the rest of his family. There was a terr i ble windstorm and hail storm that hindered their traveling to Cache Valley. In crossing the Ogden river , the wagon that carried the chickens was swept downstream and drowned a l l of Eleano~' s chickers . Once again Eleanor had to leave her comfortable home in Centerville and travel to another area of unsettled country to l ive in a log cabin which was 16 ft . square . She lived in the cabin for the next five years. BS In 1865, when Joel was 61 years old , he built a large eight room rock house so both of his famili~s could live in seper ate duplex apartments. It was here that Eleanor spent the remainder of her days . She worked hard to carry her share of the burden of pioneer life. She kept . an immaculate home and was an excellent cook . She raised beautiful flowers . When Joel was made patriarch , she wrote and recorded the blessings. *********** Story told by grand-daughter: One day I was visiting my grandmother, Eleanor , I was frightened to see an Indian on the path . I started to run and he darted into the lilac bushes. This frightened me more than ever, and I screamed. I would have run away if my legs would have carriedr m~. When I saw the indian slip into my grandmothers house. I thought for sure she would be scalped. Instead she appeared in the doorway and called "Don't be afraid", the indian won ' t hurt you . Come here. " Slowly I went to the door. " Come here " said grandmother ,. "Shake hands with the my indian friend. His name is Arimo . He lives a long way from here, and when he comes to Logan , he always cuts wood for me . Then I give him food ." The Indian sat at grandmothers table and had one of her famous meals of ham and eggs and johnny-cakes. This man was Chief Arimo , after whom Arimo , Idaho was named. Grandfather Joel used to give him money to buy food for his people and in return he used to warn the white people, through grandfather , when the indians were restless. A council could then be arranged and in this way serious trouble was sometimes prevented. Eleanor was loved by her children and grandchildren . Once every year Eleanor had what she called a pumpkin festival . In the fall when the pumpkins were ripe, and the new molasses was ready fo r sweetening , she would send word to her grandchildren to come to see her during a certain week . Then she would make dozens of pumpkin pies for them to enjoy . Eleanor did beautiful handwork. She knit yards of lace and her curtains and the valances on her beds were edged with the lace she made . She knit many stockings as a contribution fo r the Logan Temple. In her-· patriarchal blessing, Eleanor was promised that the angels of peace and plenty should ever hover over her and her household. Truly her husband , Joel , helped this to be as he was a good provider and a kind and loving Father. 134 -· . Eleanor's greatest anxiety in her later years was that s he could live long enough to do the work for her Martin family, but she died before the Logan Temple was completed. Joel, however , made sure the work was accomplished . Eleanor passed away February 25, 1882 and was buried in the Logan Cementery . Eleanor was married to Joel for 54 years , bore 11 children, who gave her 129 grandchildren. She was a true wife and noble woman who spent her life in service to family, friends and dedication to the Gospel . ************* Joel and son Thomas were both involved in many business enterprises in addition to their farming and cattle raising. Because Joel saw a need for leather , he engaged in the tannery business-- which supplied leather for shoes. He did this for several years . He was given a grant to build the first ferry across the Bear River and Logan River. Joel was elected Treasurer for Cache County and served that position for 18 years. Joel was devoted to all of his church callings . His final calling and tribute to Joel ' s commitment to the gospel was when he was ordained to the office of patriarch in June 1872 by Apostle Charles c . Rich . In May 1877, Brigham Young designated a temple to be built in Logan . Once again Joel and his family were there to help in whatever way they could. Joel kept the ledger for the donations to the temple as well as giving what support he could . The temple was completed in 1884. ************ On December 15 , 1888, Joel passed away at the age of 84 , in Logan, having seen all of his grown children marry in good families. Joel ' s descendants numbered 377 at the time of his death. His funeral was held at the Logan Tabernacle . Apostle Moses Thatcher spoke and said Joel had gone to mingle with Joseph, Hyrum, Brigham and a score of nobles ones who have gone behind the veil . In the Latter Day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, it states ; "Joel Ricks was a dedicated and ~evoted Latter Day Saint , and was always ready to answer any call, and hardly a year went by that some of his teams did not go east for emigrants . He was identified with the erection of every meeting house or school building in the places he lived . He was a member of the High Council for years and was ordained a Patriarch some years before his death. ************* Sarah, Joel's second wife passed away June 13 , 1892 . She too was considered an elect lady . ************* Joel and Eleanor and Sarah passed the test . They stayed true to the gospel they had embraced and came West with the Saints . We need to reflect and ponder who we are--because of who they were and let them know of our appreciation , by remembering and honoring them . Because they were willing to endure persecution and hardships, we have the gospel in our lives today . They exemplified vision, loyalty, integ-rity, leaaership and faith . 135