Serves Us Right

Charlotte Chase is my cousin, or to be more specific, the cousin of my Great, Great, Great, Grandfather Solomon Drake Chase. According to Wikipedia, that makes Charlotte my first cousin, five times removed. I prefer to call her my distant cousin.

Charlotte was the daughter of Ezra and Tirzah Chase.

Novels were frowned upon by early Church people and Charlotte's mother had been a devout Quaker previous to her conversion to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. But Charlotte had no scruples about reading good books whenever she could come across one. She read the Bible, Shakespeare, Byron, Tennyson, Scott, Burns, and others. She loved poetry.

While living in Nauvoo Charlotte attended a school conducted by Orson Pratt where she enjoyed studying philosophy and astronomy.

Her granddaughters recorded the following humorous incident from Charlotte's life during her time in Nauvoo which happened due to her love of reading.

"Sacrament meeting was held in the temple and many times she told us of the funny incident when she and her friend "stole" the novel from the wood box.

In the quiet afternoon of a winter Sabbath day in the early 1840's the residents of Nauvoo in little groups of two or three or more came drifting into the LDS Temple where church service was held.

Charlotte said her parents and sisters were among the early arrivals. Like all Mormon churches there were no assigned family pews. Each little group took the seats of their choice. Charlotte sat down near her friend, Miss Pettigrew. Their seats chanced to be near the heating stove and soon the janitor came in to replenish the fire with some short cuts of small logs. As he reached for the poker to stir the coals, a paper bound book shifted into view at the back of the large wood box. Charlotte's eyes opened wide with interest. Books were rare in those days and one was seldom tossed lightly aside.

What was the book? Where had it come from? Surely, surely the janitor would not be so rash as to toss it into the flames. Every time he came near the stove, Charlotte's eyes were glued to the volume. The congregation was coming in faster now. It was nearly time for the service to begin. Again the janitor opened the stove door to make sure the fire was just right. He picked up the volume. Charlotte half rose from her seat. She tried to glimpse the name on the cover but couldn't catch the words. Her heart was beating fast. She looked over at Miss Pettigrew. She too was watching the volume with anxious eyes. Then the janitor tossed the book lightly into the wood box again and closed the stove up tight.

Charlotte leaned over to Miss Pettigrew, "Did you see the name of it?" she asked. 

"No I couldn't read it from here. Do you think he will burn it?"

"He will if we leave it in the wood box."

"What can we do about it?"

"We can take it can't we?"

"How?"

"If you'll go over and get it I'll take it home," bargained Charlotte, "and we can both read it."

Miss Pettigrew sat there undecided, but only for a moment. The janitor sat down nearby with his back towards the stove.

"It's now or never," she urged herself.

The opening song has just been announced and everyone was busy with their hymn books finding the page, then there was the shuffle of feet as the congregation stood. No one seemed to notice Miss Pettigrew as with great temerity she walked over to the wood box and secured the book. In a moment she was back in her place and had slipped the book into Charlotte's eager waiting hands. It was easy for Charlotte to conceal the volume under her long cloak. They looked at each other and heaved a sigh of relief.

It was agreed that Charlotte should read the book first because she was a faster reader. Accordingly she took it home. It was a large volume and the print was rather small so it took some time to complete it. When she reached the last page she discovered to her surprise that it was only the first book of a two-volume story. It was Victor Hugo's "Les Miserables." Even though Miss Pettigrew knew it was but half the story, she read it anyway. "Serves us right," was Charlotte's terse verdict. "We had no business taking the novel from the Temple without permission even if the janitor was going to burn it."

It was years later in a distant city she came across the complete story and eagerly finished reading it. She often wondered if Miss Pettigrew ever got the second volume. 

Revenge

This tale is based upon the writings of my Great, Great Aunt Emma Sophia Taylor Rapp (aka Soff) who was born July 3, 1891, in Spanish Fork, Utah, to John and MaryJane Standley Taylor. She was the younger sister of my Great Grandmother Emily Francis Taylor Chase.

Potawatomi plums

It is tempting to romanticize life in the early 1900’s on the Taylor family farm which was surrounded by potawatomi plum trees, three miles from the town of Spanish Fork, Utah. 

Soff fondly remembered the mile and a half to school, and especially the trips when the snow was piled up and their father, John, took them in the sleigh which made going to school fun.

In the summers, Soff and her older sister Annie had the assignment of herding the family cows wherever there was feed. There were a lot of rattle snakes in the area which worried their father as he sent them out into the meadows, so he bought them a pony which they dubbed “Injun”. On frequent occasions when a dreaded rattler was heard, Injun would stop and refuse to move, but their dog Keno was unafraid. He would find the snake and shake it senseless until the girls could end the threat with a sturdy stick. On the back of Injun with Keno along as a bodyguard, the sisters enjoyed each summer day.

One fateful day, however, while the girls were riding in unfamiliar territory on the range herding the cattle, Injun stepped in an old abandoned well and broke his leg. There was nothing that could be done for him, so the girls faced the unbearable task of having him put out of his miserable state. It was impossible to move him, so they had to leave him where he had fallen, using the well as his final resting place as they covered him over with dirt.

Soff and Annie were more than sad at losing their trusted friend; they were furious and directed their anger at the man who had dug the well and not covered it. This man had a summer house, built on the side of the hill with poles holding up the front porch. To even the score, one day while no one was home at the cottage, the girls daringly sawed the poles out from under the porch, causing extensive damage. 

Later in life Soff could not recall the punishment they received for this act of revenge, but felt whatever sentence they suffered, it had been worth the price for avenging the loss of their pony.

While this story is an entertaining anecdote from the lives of two young sisters, how much better it would be to follow the counsel of President Gordon B. Hinckley: 

“My brothers and sisters, let us bind up the wounds—oh, the many wounds that have been caused by cutting words, by stubbornly cultivated grievances, by scheming plans to “get even” with those who may have wronged us. We all have a little of this spirit of revenge in us. Fortunately, we all have the power to rise above it, if we will “clothe [ourselves] with the bond of charity, as with a mantle, which is the bond of perfectness and peace.”  D&C 88:125

Chemist?

When Henry McCracken, my Grandfather's Grandfather, and his family immigrated aboard the Underwriter in 1860, the passenger list of those who arrived in New York City recorded him, as well as his seventeen-year-old son John as "Chemists". 

By current definition, this title conjures up images of scientists in a laboratory experimenting with reactive materials. Dictionaries of the period, however, list chemist as synonymous with apothecary, druggist, pharmacist, dispenser of prescribed medicines and even alchemist, which has less positive connotations.

Today those terms bring to mind someone counting pills and providing patients with substances according to doctors' orders. By contrast, a chemist in the 1850's not only dispensed medication, but in many cases diagnosed ailments and prescribed treatment. Traditionally, one learned the trade by apprenticeship, making it logical that John was his father's apprentice.

It is interesting to note that although there were private pharmacy programs of study as early at 1821, the first pharmacy program in a public institution in the United States originated in the late 1860's, after Henry and John's arrival.

Popular pharmaceuticals of the day were unregulated and were advertised widely with amazing claims:

Since the McCracken's settled near Mendon, Utah, for a time, the following list of pharmaceuticals available at Hughes Apothecary in Mendon gives us a good glimpse of the remedies familiar to Henry and John and those most commonly used by the average family:

• Aloes: Tea made from leaves was taken in small doses as a laxative and remedy for hemorrhoids.
• Beets: Juice was drunk as a cure for kidney stones.
• Camphor and Olive Oil: To relieve croup, a child's chest was rubbed with a mixture of these ingredients and then the salve covered with a square of flannel.
• Carrots: A poultice was applied to boils to draw out the infection.
• Catnip: Tea was given to babies with colic or colds.
• Clover Blossoms: Tea enriched the blood.
• Dogwood or Boxwood: Tea made from the bark was drunk as a tonic and stimulant.
• Elm Bark: Combined with yeast, crushed elm bark was used as an antiseptic and a poultice for ulcers, especially when there was danger of gangrene.
• Flaxseed: Tea steeped from flaxseed was drunk for colds. If the patient was suffering from pneumonia, flaxseed could be made into a poultice and applied to the chest.
• Ginger: A half teaspoonful in warm water was given to relieve colds or stomach pains.
• Hope: This herb was mixed with whiskey and stuffed into a small, cloth bag, which was then placed under a patient's pillow to induce sleep.
• Horehound: Tea was drunk to relieve the symptoms of a cold.
• Lobelia: This was used to induce vomiting. When mixed with egg, vinegar, and sugar, the concoction could be given to a child as an expectorant.
• Marshmallow Weed: A poultice made of this weed was heated before applying it to skin infections. A tea steeped from marshmallow weed was drunk for urinary complaints.
• Mustard: One or two teaspoons of powdered mustard mixed in a glass of warm water was used as an emetic in case of poisoning.
• Olive Oil: This was applied to poison-ivy rash or bee stings.
• Onions: Chopped onions placed in a sick room prevented smallpox or other contagious disease from spreading to other members of the household.
• Peach Tree Leaves: Tea was used as a sedative, thus controlling nausea and vomiting.
• Peppermint: Tea was given to babies with colic or colds.
• Rabbit Brush or Tea Weed: A tea made of this herb was drunk to relieve the pain of rheumatism.
• Rhubarb: Stewed and sweetened, rhubarb was eaten to relieve constipation.
• Sage: Tea was used to relieve an upset stomach. It could also be mashed in a tea- spoonful of olive oil and swallowed as a cure for intestinal worms.
• Sagebrush: With a bit of whisky added as a preservative, tea made of wild sagebrush was drunk as a tonic. Made into hot packs, it was applied to bruises and abrasions.
• Salt: One-fourth to one-half a teaspoon of salt was dissolved in a cup of water. This mixture was to be taken in the morning, before breakfast, to eliminate intestinal worms.
• Sulfur: A salve made of sulfur mixed with lard or butter was used for "the itch" or ringworm.
• Sulfur and Molasses: This mixture was taken as a spring tonic.
• Tansy: Tea was drunk by women with irregular menstruation.
• Verbine: Tea was used to cause the patient to perspire.
• Wormwood: The wormwood was steeped in a large amount of water, then simmered for an extended period of time. A small amount of brandy was added to a cup of this tea before giving it to the patient as a treatment for mountain fever.
• Yarrow: Tea was a remedy for colds.

I am currently unable to substantiate if Henry and John functioned professionally as chemists after their arrival in Utah, but as there was a functioning apothecary in Mendon, it is unlikely. It is very probable that they continued to use their knowledge to bless their family and neighbors.

Lucas joins the family

Wonderful news! Lucas has joined our family tree. Please click the following link for a brief slideshow featuring this newborn angel.

Lucas - the newest family member

We are so grateful for the wonderful blessing of Lucas's birth. He comes to a home with wonderful parents and a charming older brother who will guide and love him.

Pilgrim Voyage

James Chilton, my 12th Great Grandfather, his wife, and his youngest daughter Mary, all came to America aboard the Mayflower. 

The Chiltons actually departed from Leiden, Netherlands, on a ship called the Speedwell which was to sail to Southampton, England, meet up with the Mayflower and sail across the ocean in tandem.  

The Speedwell departed July 22, 1620, and arrived at Southampton, where the Mayflower was waiting. The Speedwell had been leaking on the first leg of her voyage, so they spent the next week making repairs.

On August 5, the two ships finally set sail together, but the Speedwell began leaking again, so they pulled into the town of Dartmouth for repairs.  The Speedwell was once again patched up and the two ships again set sail together for the second time August 21st.  

Three hundred miles out to sea, the Speedwell was once more taking on water. Frustrated with the enormous amount of time lost, the captains turned their vessels back to Plymouth, England, and made the decision to leave the Speedwell behind. 

Tired and disappointed, James and his family crammed themselves onto the already very crowded Mayflower. 

Finally, on September 6th, the Mayflower headed out to sea alone.  By this time the Chilton's had already been living onboard a ship for nearly a month and a half. 

After a treacherous voyage, land was finally sighted on November 9, 1620. and the Mayflower was anchored near what is now Provincetown Harbor. 

James, at the age of 64, was the oldest person known to have made the Mayflower's voyage. Unfortunately he did not survive to enjoy the freedoms he sought. James died December 8,1620, onboard the Mayflower, anchored off Provincetown Harbor. His wife also died sometime the first winter, but their daughter Mary survived. 

Welcome

Convicted and Hung

Margaret Kinsey Stevenson, my 9th Great Grandmother, was born in England in about the year 1615.  The first official record of her is in 1642, when she married Benjamin Scott. 

Margaret and Benjamin lived in various locations in Massachusetts, finally landing in Rowley, a small town north of Salem, in 1651.

The family was very poor and were not respected citizens, evidenced by the fact that in 1665 Benjamin was convicted of theft, for which he was "fined and admonished."

Benjamin died in 1671 leaving an estate worth only 67 pounds and 17 shillings, not much by the standards of that time. Margaret had to live on that estate for the next twenty-one years, and by the time of the Salem trials must have been very poor.

At first glance, Margaret seems to have lived an uneventful life, but certain aspects of her character made her a very likely candidate as a witch suspect. 

• High infant mortality rate among her children: Women in New England who had trouble raising children were very vulnerable to witchcraft charges. Out of Margaret's seven children, only three made it to adulthood.
• She was a widow for twenty-one years, suffering from the economic and social effects of being a widow for a prolonged time which brought a life of poverty and begging. By begging, the widow exposed herself to witchcraft suspicions. Some of the depositions against Scott nvolved misfortunes occurring to people who had denied her a service or food.
• Perhaps Scott actually used her reputation to receive favors, which could be very effective. If people believed that Scott was a witch, they might have eagerly given her what she asked out of fear of retaliation. However, if someone refused Scott and then fell on bad circumstances, witchcraft accusations were almost a certainty.
• Margaret Scott was formally accused of witchcraft by Rowley's most distinguished citizens – the Wicoms and the Nelsons.

At her trial, there were two forms of evidence presented:

• Spectral evidence – testimony that the accused witch's spirit (spector) had appeared to the witness in a dream or vision.
• Maleficium evidence - a witch's destruction of one's property, health, or family.

Of the six depositions presented before the Salem Court on September 15, 1692, four described the spectral image of Margaret tormenting them.

Margaret's case also involved maleficium accusations, and she exhibited many characteristics that were believed to be common among witches in New England.

In the end, Margaret was found guilty of witchcraft due to prolonged suspicion of her character, the spectral and maleficium evidence provided at her trial, and the prominence of the accusers in her community.

On September 22, 1692, Margaret Kinsey Stevenson Scott was hanged by the neck until dead on Gallows Hill, Salem, Massachusetts – the last of the executions there during the witchcraft trials. 

Hand-carved chairs

This talented spiritual giant is my Great, Great Grandfather and was known as Frederick W. Hurst. My Grandma Speas knew him as Grandpa.

Frederick was a journal writer and documented much of his life, including spiritual experiences, dreams and visions. The following is an excerpt from his journal:

"Sometime in the year 1873, I had the following dream:  I found myself standing east of where the Logan Temple now stands.  I was very much astonished to see the foundation of a large building completed to the water table.  I thought to myself is it possible that I live in Logan and did not know of such a great work as this going on?  

A personage appeared to me and said aloud, 'You marvel at this.'

I replied: 'Yes, sir, I really do.'

He answered in a mild sweet voice, 'What you see here is the foundation of a temple which will be built right here on this spot of ground in a short time from now, and it will be built by the free will offerings of the Saints, and they will be far better off when it is completed than they are now, and will be a great blessing, both temporal and spiritual.'

In the year 1878 I saw the foundation exactly as I saw it in my dream five years previous."

The Logan Temple was built completely by volunteer labor in seven years between 1877 and 1884. Frederick gave his part in this free will offering, including manual labor, as well as artistic contributions. 

A fact that Frederick humbly omitted from his personal writings is found in Nolan P. Olsen's book Logan Temple, the First 100 Years:

"Beautiful hand-carved chairs were placed in each of the sealing rooms, having been made by Frederick W. Hurst. He also did the gold stenciling on the 'C' floor."

In the late 1970's, the interior of the Logan Utah Temple was completely gutted and rebuilt. President Spencer W. Kimball, who rededicated the completed temple in 1979, expressed regret for the need to reconstruct the interior because of the loss of pioneer craftsmanship. I am uncertain if the chairs carved by my Great, Great Grandfather's hands are still in use.

But Two Pair of Shoes

Today is Eleazer Chase’s birthday! He was born 258 years ago on September 3, 1757, the younger brother of Timothy Chase, my Great, Great, Great, Great, Great Grandfather.

According to Massachusetts’ Birth and Christening Records, he entered this world in Freetown, Massachusetts, a most fitting birthplace for a patriot who fought and suffered for the freedoms we now enjoy. By the time he volunteered in the revolutionary conflict, he resided in Windham, Maine.

Some historians consider the Stamp Act of 1765 as the cause of the colonists’ war with Britain, but to the good people of Windham, tax was not the issue. Not a penny was ever paid by the citizens of Windham on tea, nor on a stamp under the Stamp Act. Some historians propose that, in Maine, it was the principle of taxation that inflamed patriotic hearts.

But, by my way of thinking, these brave souls entered the conflict for us. 

This is evidenced by the town proclamation of 1773 which resolved:

• That we look upon it our duty, as well as interest, both for ourselves and posterity, to stand up in the defense of those privileges and liberties that our goodly forefathers purchased for us at so dear a rate as the expense of their own blood … 
• That the rising generation may see what care their forefathers have taken to defend their liberties and privileges, that they may take the like care if they are called to it as we are. 

There was no hesitancy by the town council to sustain this proclamation, and the citizen support was by all accounts unanimous. 

Uncle Eleazer would have been only a lad of sixteen at this time, but by 1776 his name appears on the county tax rolls, which made him a voting member of the town. The following January, Eleazer volunteered for a three year period, serving under Captain Mayberry under the direction of Colonel Benjamin Tupper in the 10^th Massachusetts Regiment, and later in the 11^th Regiment.

Only 2 pair of shoes

The members of this regiment were among the 12,000 Continentals in the winter at Valley Forge with George Washington and the destitution they suffered wrenches the heart. It is said that, at one time, there were but two pairs of shoes in Captain Mayberry’s company and those belonged to Josiah Chute. 

The people of Windham heard of their sons’ suffering and voted on April 14, 1778, to provide $150.00 to “defray the charge of providing shirts, stockings, and shoes for the soldiers in the Continental Army.”

Today, on his birthday, think of Eleazer and everything he endured, on our behalf.

I like this guy!

Meet Riego Hawkins, the brother of my Great, Great, Grandmother Aurelia Hawkins.

Riego arrived in the Salt Lake Valley September 22, 1852, at the age of four. Life on the pioneer trail and in his mother's one-room rugged pioneer home was all he knew. His memories were joyous because he was unaware that his life was full of hardship.

He enjoyed recalling one of his childhood capers when he and his friends dug a hole in the adobe wall of the old First Ward building, just above the Relief Society sisters table. When the sisters gathered around the table, Riego and his buddies took a long stick and pushed a frog on it into their midst, which caused "no few shrieks", much to the delight of the boys. However, when the Relief Society Sisters reached the outside, there wasn't a soul around. 

Riego had a great sense of humor,was an excellent story teller and enjoyed a good tall tale. One of his favorites, always told with a very straight face, but an irrepressible twinkle in his blue eyes, was: 

"A tenderfoot had made a beautiful harness for his team. but he had made it of rawhide. 

He went up the canyon to get a load of wood. Everything went well until it started to rain as he was coming down the canyon. The rawhide started to stretch and stretch and stretch, and the team got farther and farther away from the wagon which just stood still. 

The man frantically ran ahead with his team and when they got home there was no sign of the wagon. He said to an old-timer, "what shall I do?" "Just let your team stand there, don't unhitch them", he was told. The next day the sun came out and the rawhide contracted, and when the Tenderfoot went out about noon, he found his horses standing patiently in the yard with the load behind them." 

He liked to tease with tales such as this:

"Do you know that the eagle on top of the Eagle Gate? Well, every time it hears the clock strike one, it flies down and takes a drink." 

When the invariable chorus of young voices asked, "Does it really?" he replied, "Yes, indeed it does, every time it hears that clock strike." 

Riego was faithful to the church throughout his life. He believed in Prophets and in revelations. He was willing to defend the gospel, at any cost. When a young husband and father, Riego served as a scout and bodyguard for Brigham Young.

He was among those who toiled many long years hauling granite for the walls of the Salt Lake Temple. 

He also, with his son, carved the rosettes that adorn the ceiling of the Terrestrial Room in the Salt Lake Temple. 

Every night after a hard day of work, he would sit by the table covered with a red checkered cloth, pull the kerosene lamp close to him, take a bit of fruit to nibble on and get out his "Book of Mormon".

Riego with one of his grandchildren

His love of children was one of his outstanding characteristics. Many times he made toys for them, grew watermelons for them, let them help him with his work, entertained them by putting wooden shavings on their heads for curls or hitched up his team to take them on rides. One of his tricks that always delighted his small admirers, was to wrap a red bandanna handkerchief around his clenched fist like the kerchief around the head of an old woman. Then he would draw eyes and nose on the forefinger, and moving the thumb and finger, make it look like a toothless old woman who would speak to the children.

Blessed with a vivid imagination and creativity, he applied for many patents, including a bicycle stand, a safety coil oil lamp, and later on, a propeller for an airplane which was enclosed in a tube. He also worked on a perpetual motion machine, claiming that it worked, only "you had to give it a shove to get it started, and you had to start it too often." 

I'm anxious to meet Uncle Riego, I think I'll like him a lot.