Abiah Wadsworth A SKETCH OF MY GRANDFATHER’S LIFE By Elnora Arave Cox Contributed to FamilySearch.Org by Dena Callahan, 10 January 2014Randy Rounds submitted a copy of this history to the Morgan Daughters of Utah Pioneers, April, 2017. It was acknowledged and accepted by Dorothy Little, museum director. Abiah Wadsworth was born on May 25, 1810 in Lincolnville, Maine to Sedate and Susan Hassen Wadsworth who were also born in Maine. For several generations the family had been carpenters and shipbuilders and as they lived on the coast, there was always plenty of work. Abiah used to tell fireside stories to his children and grandchildren of watching new ships being launched to make their first trip out into the great Atlantic Ocean. From Abiah’s stories his early life was most interesting and useful. In his youth he learned the use of carpenter’s tools and became a good carpenter as his father had been. He also learned to play the violin and drum at a very early age, playing music and entertaining at parties as well as at home. In 1831 at the age of 21 he married Eliza Hardy, who was also born in Lincolnville in 1806, the daughter Her parents were Joseph and Betsy Thorndyke Hardy of Maine. After they were married they continued to live in Lincolnville and Siersmont, Maine. Abiah followed the trade of his father and made a good living. In the fall of 1839 quite a commotion arose in the town of Lincolnville. An elder in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, William Hyde, came and preached a wonderful new religion. Everyone soon became interested and many were converted. Among them were Abiah and his wife who were soon baptized and made members of this church. Their greatest desire then was to leave their home in Maine and join the main body of Saints which were then in Nauvoo, Illinois. Soon they made plans for the journey which was to be made across an almost trackless country. Abiah bade farewell to all of his relatives and a host of friends. His wife, her parents, and three brothers and their families were in the group. They took with them only absolute necessities, sacrificing much to join the Saints. Abiah’s mother-in-law, Betsy Hardy, was weak and ill and could not stand the long journey. She and her husband, Joseph, remained with some Saints until the next spring, when they followed. 137 Submitted by Email to Morgan Daughters of Utah Pioneers by Randy Rounds, April, 2017. Added to D.U.P. archives with humble appreciation for the sharing of these records of Morgan County pioneers.When Abiah’s family reached Nauvoo in April 1840 they immediately became acquainted with the Prophet Joseph Smith, and until the time of the Prophet’s death were good neighbors. Abiah, being very fond of athletics and being near the same age, size and weight as the Prophet, told of contests, games and wrestling matches they enjoyed together. Abiah often told his children that Joseph was the fairest speciman of manhood he had ever known and that he was the truest friend a man could ever have. Abiah was one of the first on the scene when the tragedy of Joseph’s martyrdom occurred. Living only a few doors apart, the two families often visited together so Joseph was terribly missed as a neighbor as well as a great leader. After the Prophet’s death Abiah attended a meeting which was held to determine what the Saints were to do and who they could choose as their leader to take Joseph’s place. The Saints now felt lost and alone and were hated by those around them At this meeting Abiah heard Brigham Young speak in Joseph Smith’s voice. Then and always he was convinced that Brigham Young was chosen by God to take Joseph’s place as the Prophet of God and Abiah lived to see the wisdom of the choice as Brigham proved himself so competent and worthy of the position he held with great honor until his death. After the prophet Joseph’s death there was trouble and confusion and the Saints were compelled to flee for their lives. Zachariah Hardy, Abiah’s brother-in-law, died from fatigue and exposure to bitter cold while ferrying Saints across the Mississippi River. On February 12, 1846 Abiah with a few others buried him in the Nauvoo Cemetery at night so they would not be seen by the Saint’s persecutors. Zachariah’s sad widow and family moved to a small town called Montrose. Abiah also moved his family to Montrose but he was called back to be a guard at the Nauvoo Temple which the mob was threatening to burn. His brother-in-law, Lewis, moved all the families to Salem, a small town about fifty miles away where they lived in peace and safety for one year. Abiah and his son, Joseph, worked for a farmer doing carpentry work and farm labor. For their pay they received a team of horses and a wagon and supplies to take them on their journey to Council Bluffs, Iowa where the Saints were gathering. In 1847 they made this trip, and stayed there until 1851. In the meantime, Abiah obtained a team of young oxen and numerous other supplies to help companies 2 who went west before him. Being a carpenter he was kept busy making and repairing wagons and other needed supplies for the long journey. There was peace and happiness abound during their years in Council Bluffs. All in good health and high spirits, the families started their long trip on May 10, 1851 with Captain Abraham Day’s company of fifty people. Abiah had a very good outfit of five yoke of 138 oxen, one team of ponies and four cows, three wagons in which they carried household goods, grain and supplies. Abiah drove two yoke of oxen and one of the cows on one wagon and his eldest son, Joseph, drove one yoke of oxen and one yoke of cows on one wagon. Eliza, Abiah’s wife, drove the ponies in another wagon and kept her youngest children with her. The family then consisted of six children: Joseph Warren, Susannah Aroline, Nancy Ellen, Eliza Anna, Abiah and Lucinda. Just before they left Council Bluffs Elder George A. Smith came to Abiah and said, “You had better take all your tools with you as there are several very poor outfits in the company and you will certainly need them”. His statement was very true as there was hardly a stop that the call was not heard, “Bring Brother Wadsworth and his tool kit”. When arranging companies the leaders always tried to send someone who could doctor cattle as well as sick people, and also someone who could do carpentry work. Having been a drummer in the Nauvoo Band, Abiah took his two drums and also his violin. After a hard day of traveling Abiah would play a few tunes on his violin in the evening and in a short time the whole camp would gather around the campfire and sing and dance, forgetting their worries of the day. Abiah often said that altogether it was a very jolly company. They had very little trouble of any kind. But often after a long dry day with no water for the animals, when they reached a stream the cattle would gorge themselves until they groaned with pain. Their remedy for the cattle was salt and soda. For insect bites they used tobacco or mud poultices; for sprains or strains they used hot packs of wild sage and salt; for swelling and burns they used axle grease. On September 17, 1851 they arrived in Salt Lake Valley with every member of the company in high spirits. At a meeting the next day Brigham Young expressed his delight that they had had such a pleasant journey. He wished them to join a company going to colonize a town at the mouth of Weber Canyon, then called East Weber. He advised them not to unpack their wagons but rest a day or so then start on the last stretch of their journey. Leaving Salt Lake on the next day they reached East Weber on September 20th. Soon afterwards a call came from the Church for every member to pay tithing. Abiah gave one yoke of oxen and a new rifle. They settler down for the winter cutting and hauling logs for houses and wood to burn. They were only troubled a few times with the Indians; they got along fairly well although they were quite treacherous. It was unsafe to leave women and children alone. In the spring of 1853 Abiah went to Salt Lake for Conference and a call was made for volunteers to go to meet a Company of Saints who were coming that fall. Abiah volunteered to go but when the time came he was ill and so his son, Joseph went instead. Abiah said, “Joe is a much better bull-whacker than I, anyway”. Joseph left the latter part of August and returned to Salt Lake City early in November, having been 139 gone more than nine weeks. The company had endured many hardships and could come no further on account of the loss of cattle and broken wagons and because of the deep snow. That fall Abiah sold his farm for a good price and he and his son, Joseph, built a three-room log house on a piece of land his son had taken up. That winter they had plenty and got along very well. They did not enjoy peace very long, however, because in the early spring Brigham Young called all the settlers into the forts for protection against raging Indians who threatened attacks upon the scattered Saints. In May, 1855, peace was restored and the Saints returned to their homes. It was very late to put in their crops which were planted in such dry soil that very little was raised. Abiah’s son, Joseph, married Abigail Higley in March 1855 and then in polygamy he married Lydia Stoddard a few months later. “Right here and now in this history, I, Elnora Arave Cox, am going to testify that I was born and raised near this family and never in my life saw two more devoted families raised under the same roof. Each wife had four rooms, no conveniences whatever. As far as I could tell all the children were just as considerate of each other as if all had the same mother. There were 25 children; one wife had twelve and the other had thirteen. I think they lost three babies and outside of that they were all reared together. One wife had two pair of twins. Some of the half brothers and sisters thought more of one another than they did of their own brothers and sisters right up until they passed from this earth. Those two women waited upon each other just like two sisters. When the manifesto came and a man could only live with one wife, those two women cried as if their hearts would break because they had to part. I know, because I saw them with my own eyes. They were my own aunts. I heard my Aunt Abbie say, “Oh, I know it will kill Liddie” and it did. She lived only a very few months and dropped dead at her work. I just know that she grieved herself until she could stand it no longer”. . In the spring of 1857 Abiah married Phebbie Augusta Hubbard in polygamy. She was born January 15, 1840. They lived in East Weber for several years, planting crops and making a living as best they could. Grasshoppers came and destroyed the crops, even all the feed for the cattle which had to be turned out to find their own feed. The cattle grazed along the Weber River where acres and acres of willows grew. That year they lost many head of oxen and cows, some so poor that the crows would not eat them. Losing these animals was extremely hard for the people as their food was limited. They divided with each other, all sharing alike and getting some wild meat to help out. Thus 140 they weathered such a winter. This was done only with the help of Heavenly Father who assisted them in good management and hard work. 4 Abiah and his son, Joseph, hewed many sets of logs for houses. They were both expert log cutters and they worked with a broad axe with a very broad blade. They hewed many sets of logs making them flat on two sides. In this way the logs would fit together, making a much warmer house and requiring less filling between the logs. Together, Abiah and Joseph traded many loads of house logs enabling them to get the necessities for their homes which they would not otherwise have had. In October, 1856 the President of the Church called for volunteers to go back and meet the ill-fated handcart company. Joseph was called again. Fitted with a very strong outfit he left his father with the care of all his family at home and went on this mission of mercy. This proved to be the saddest of all experiences for him. From Fort Bridger, Wyoming, they met Saints stranded along the way, some almost starved to death. Many of the children had frozen feet and hands. All were suffering with the cold. They buried several children and old people by the roadside. After many days of struggling through the snow they reached Salt Lake knowing that not one member of the company would have lived to reach the chosen valley had it not been for the timely assistance. When Joseph reached his father’s home he found his family numbered one more. A son had been born to them while he was away. Abiah and his family lived at East Weber until 1858. Then they moved to Mountain Green, a small town in Weber Canyon. There Abiah built a shop and continued to work his trade. He made household necessities such as furniture, churns, tubs, buckets, terkins (for butter), barrels and many other needed articles. Again Indians caused them to leave Mountain Green and move further east to Morgan. At Morgan there were more settlers and better protection. They stayed two years until the Indians were at peace again. While in Morgan Abiah helped to build a saw mill, grist mill, a number of houses and also a small tannery, a place where hides were tanned for leather and made into harnesses, saddles, leggings, boots and shoes. In 1862 the families returned to their homes in Mountain Green. Here Abiah acted again as Bishop as he had done in Morgan. He was well acquainted with the Indians and they called him Big Chief. Now with two growing families to support Abiah found it necessary to move where he could have more land. So the two families moved in early 1869 to Hooper, Utah near the Great Salt Lake where he arranged his home and workshop. His two sons-in-law 141 helped him in his carpentry work and the shop was located across from the Naisbitt’s estate. They all commenced making household furniture and necessities such as buckets out of wood, churns out of cedar and lard and butter containers.. Johnston’s Army had left strips of iron which they gathered and used for hoops for their buckets and tubs. Abiah made and mended harnesses and used raw hide where rivets had been used before. He mended shoes, making pegs of hardwood to hold the soles on. They did excellent work in the shop having the best tools obtainable and all were excellent workmen. 5 Abiah was free with praise but just as free with criticism. He was a man of humor. He was thought of as the village blacksmith. Children from the little school house just a few steps east of the workshop ran to watch him at his work. The flame from the forge drew them near with interest. Among these children was Martha Ann Hardy, who later became the wife of William Myron Wadsworth, a grandson of Abiah. Abiah was an athlete and joined his sons with wrestling and games until he was troubled with rheumatism. He was game at any time to join their fun. He was very fortunate, however, in having his children settled around him. They almost encircled the block in which he lived, making a wonderful home. In later years, though, his first wife, Eliza, who had been troubled with her eyes, became blind. This was very sad for the family as the father, Abiah, was too aged now to care for her and himself. So, the home was broken as Eliza went to live with her daughters and Abiah was cared for by his second wife, Augusta. In 1886 Abiah and his second wife moved to Idaho. They had a family of ten children, five of whom were married at the time, but every one of the married ones followed them. One daughter passed away soon after they arrived in Idaho. This daughter’s husband soon followed and in a few years he married another Wadsworth girl who was the daughter of Abiah’s son. With his family all living close around his home, and with a full and fruitful life, Abiah passed away at the age of ninety. His death occurred in Taylor, Idaho on April 18, 1899. He was laid to rest in the Taylor Cemetery. Edited by his Great-Great-Granddaughter Bess Rounds Phillips-Whitney, 2002 142