The Three Wise Men

Not these guys, I’m talking about three other wise men today. 

 Wise Man #1: My Great, Great, Great Uncle Creighton Hawkins

Times were lean in the 1860's in the frontier city of Salt Lake. It was a daily struggle to acquire basic necessities, yet the Prophet Brigham Young encouraged the saints to balance their lives between work, sleep, and wholesome recreation.  

Young Creighton worked to support his widowed mother, but in the evenings looked forward to socializing to be well rounded. He was old enough to go to dances, and looking for a wife, yet there were no funds to pay for the luxury of  entertainment. With pioneer perseverance and ingenuity, he used the resources he had to enjoy life and find the girl of his dreams. In his life story, he equipped:

“I would take a small sack of flour or squash under one arm and a girl under another and go for a wonderful time at the dance.”

   

 Wise Man #2: Johnny Lingo
 
The Polynesian seminary movie icon of 1969, was brilliant. He said, “If you truly value a girl you must wisely show it. Love is a most costly commodity. The more you are willing to pay, the more valuable the prize.” 

When bargaining for the hand of the girl of his dreams, Mahana, her father suggested a price of three cows. Johnny replied, "Three cows is many, but not enough for Mahana. I will pay eight cows."  

Mahana then knew her worth and to the astonishment of the village, who previously found Mahana ugly, her true beauty emerged. 


Wise Man #3: My Brother-in-law Neil Kay Birch

With the creativity of Creighton and the wisdom of Johnny Lingo, Neil would have fit in just fine in the pioneer courting scene. 

During his dating years, there were several teachers at Skyline High School in Idaho Falls that were happy to see Neil coming into their room. They knew that for the bargain price of only $5 they could buy a burlap bag full of some of the very best Idaho spuds when Neil needed cash for a date.  

He wasn't a big spender.  $5 worth of spuds was all he needed to buy tickets to a dance or a movie.  (My sister Sandi McCracken knew the way to a man's heart and always offered to cook dinner before their dates.)

Although he probably laughed at it, I’m guessing Neil watched the Johnny Lingo video carefully in Seminary, because although previous girlfriends got a single $1 rose, when he took Sandi to the prom, he wanted her to know that she was many times better than the other girls, and he brought her a beautiful corsage that cost $3.50!   

Sandi was sure she had truly caught Neil's eye when he brought that corsage, paid for dance tickets and even ordered formal pictures. She knew the tiny trunk of Neil's car, a compact Opal, wouldn't hold much more that one sack of spuds, but somehow she had become a two sacks of spuds woman.

The world needs more wise men who understand how to practically apply Proverbs 31:10 and at the same time make women feel valued.

 "Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies."

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.

What is the value of twenty-five pounds?

My talented Uncle Frederick Piercy traveled from Liverpool to the Valley of the Great Salt Lake between 1853 and 1854. His purpose was not permanent residence in America but rather to document the journey both in picture and prose, and ultimately produce an illustrated travel book to encourage British Mormons to emigrate to Utah. 

Examples of his artwork on this journey include:

Upon returning to England in 1854 he worked with the editor of the Millennial Star, James Linforth, to prepare his manuscript for publication. His sketches were made into high quality steel engravings by Charles Fenn. The result of this effort culminated in a delightfully personal and lively detailed and illustrated description of the emigration trail. 

The manuscript was first published in fifteen monthly segments from July 1854 to September 1855, after which it was sold as a bound volume.

Unfortunately, by the time the compilation was on the market in 1855, due to epidemics and illness in New Orleans, the emigration trail had been significantly changed, passing through east coast ports instead. Consequently, the volume was out-of-date by its first publication. The information and quality artwork were top-notch and valuable, but not as practical to the saints who were Zion bound. Hence, it did not sell well.

Uncle Frederick and Brother Linforth agreed to sell the engraved plates and copyright to the Church. There was miscommunication over the price and Frederick discovered that he had been paid less than Linforth, in the amount of twenty-five pounds. He prevailed upon Orson Pratt, the President of the England Mission, to correct this inequity. Brother Pratt wrote to Brigham Young, who was dealing with political emergencies in Utah at the time, having been informed that the United States Army was approaching the Salt Lake Valley, and consequently did not promptly respond to Frederick's concerns. It appears that Frederick never received what was due to him.

The Piercy family was offended by this treatment. When Brigham Young requested that they and others come to Utah in 1857, Frederick and his wife Angelina refused. In June of that year, Brother Pratt informed President Young that Frederick Piercy had apostatized and was filled with bitterness toward the Church.

From that time forward, Frederick became less prolific in his artistic work. Although he labored for the remainder of his life as an artist and teacher, only 21 of his pieces are known to have been exhibited. 

In 1881, Angelina passed away. Frederick married another artist in 1884. He passed away in 1891, having suffered paralysis to a degree for the last ten years of his life.

Many questions remain unanswered:

• What would have happened if he had forgiven the debt?
• What would have happened if he had come to Zion at Brigham Young's request?
• Would his emigration trail drawings and watercolors have marked the beginning of an illustrious career in religious artwork, rather than resulting in a decline in artistic output?
• What would have happened to his eleven children if he had make different choices?
• Where is his posterity now?
• What is the ultimate value of twenty-five pounds?
• What would each of us have done in the same circumstance?

Frederick Piercy - Liverpool to Nauvoo

In 1853 Frederick Piercy, my Great, Great, Great, Great Uncle, began a journey from Liverpool to the Great Salt Lake Valley. 

Because of his magnificent artistic talent, he had been asked to help create an illustrated guide for British converts immigrating to America. At this time the membership in Great Britain outnumbered the saints in Deseret, and included many experienced tradesmen with skills badly needed to help build up Zion. This was a mutually beneficial arrangement, as these poverty stricken workers would be blessed with economic opportunities awaiting them across the sea. It was thought that an illustrated gazetteer would help to remove the fear of the unknown for these young saints. 

As Frederick set out he wrote, 

• “On the 5^th day of February, 1853, in compliance with previous arrangements, I embarked in the Jersey for New Orleans, on my way to Great Salt Lake Valley. My object was to make sketches of the principal and more interesting places on the route.”

The resulting work, although not used widely as originally intended, is a masterful collection of high quality, skillfully created and accurate engravings and watercolors, accompanying narrative, facts, figures and statistics of the journey. Some historians have noted that his completed volume, “Route from Liverpool to Great Salt Lake Valley” is one of the most beautiful publications associated with the young church.

Frederick was nearly as talented with his prose as with his paintbrush. As the Jersey departed from Liverpool he described the mournful occasion of leaving his loved ones in this way: 

• “I knew that if I was wise I should look on the bright side of things, and like the artist with his pictures, should even make the shadow and gloom instrumental in adding interest and instruction to my trip. How tame and insipid would be his pictures if they were without shadow! Even so would our lives if they were without their occasional trying circumstances.”

After arriving in New Orleans, Frederick charted his path by the sights and scenes that he wanted to capture in his sketchbook. 

Frederick's depiction of New Orleans

Traveling on Mississippi steamboats, he traveled on to Keokuk where he drew a charming depiction of 

• “the arrangement of wagons and tents, which, with their white covers, looked extremely picturesque amidst the spring foliage of the country.”

Camp at Keokuk

He was deeply moved during his time in Carthage, the site of the martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum. He made a number of drawings there, both inside and outside the jail.

His feelings and testimony multiplied his talent as he created beautiful and haunting drawings of Nauvoo and the temple ruins.

I am enthralled by Frederick's faith and talent as he captured the sights and scenes of the young church.

More of his work will appear in future posts.

We gained wealth in spiritual blessings

My Great, Great, Great Grandmother, Charlotte Savage, was born March 10, 1805, to George Savage and Ann Jupe in Titchfield, Toringham, Hampshire, England. 

Saint Martin in the Fields

Little is known of her youth until she was married just before her 24^th birthday at Saint Martin in the Fields, an English Anglican church at the north-east corner of Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, London, to Samuel Harris Hawkins.

Charlotte and Samuel had a very comfortable home as their children came along. Samuel was a steel engraver and owned a thriving business and they never lacked for anything.  

Eleven children were born to the family in London, but four of them died as infants. In spite of bearing such a large family, Charlotte’s history states that she led a life of leisure with a chore woman to do the hard work. 

The children enjoyed the privileges of wealth, for example, their daughter Lavina enjoyed piano lessons, and their son Leo was trained in stenography.

With all of these conveniences, something was missing in their life, and Samuel felt drawn to a religious gathering, which they assumed would be to Jerusalem.  During this time, when their hearts hungered for religious direction, they met the Elders from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, learned the restored gospel and entered the waters of baptism in October, 1848.

The family sold their holdings and immigrated to America in 1849 aboard the ship Zetland, arriving in New Orleans, traveling through St. Louis, and on to Council Bluffs, where they were unable to find living quarters. They traveled on to Pottawatomie, Iowa, where Samuel obtained an old house without windows or doors which he fixed up as comfortably as possible for the family. This must have been quite a shock to the family who were accustomed to comfort and ease.

On January 22, 1852, Samuel passed away in the old home in Pottawattamie. Charlotte prepared his body for burial alone and prevailed upon a brother to dig a grave in the frozen ground.

Samuel’s death left Charlotte the full responsibility of finishing the family’s journey to Utah. That spring she purchased two yoke of oxen and three wagons, loaning the extra wagon to a man who agreed to bring part of her belongings along with his own to Utah. The agreement was not honored and her belongings were dumped along the trail. Some stories say that most of her money was in a barrel on this wagon and the man absconded with the funds, but this cannot be verified.

After a strenuous journey, Charlotte and five of her children arrived in Utah where they purchased a home with one pair of oxen and a wagon. The remaining pair of oxen and wagon was traded for supplies.

The starving family did whatever they could to obtain food. 

Charlotte, who was unaccustomed to menial labor, took in washing.

Charlotte and her daughters gleaned grain and made it into flour for bread. 

They would sometimes borrow a soup bone which had already been boiled and boil it again to give a little flavor and perhaps a bit of nourishment to the water. 

Sego lily bulbs used for food

The children dug sego and thistle roots to supplement their meager provisions.

Thistle roots

Their home was illuminated by the burning of sunflower stalks and home-made candles.

The family lived near the Brigham Young home where they were frequent visitors; the children became fast friends with Brigham’s children.

Charlotte raised a remarkable family.  Her daughter Lavina became a musical performer in the Salt Lake Theatre. Her son Leo became the Secretary to President Young. Throughout her life she remained steadfast in the gospel in spite of the privations she suffered.

Her well-taught daughter, Aurelia, made the observation that the Hawkins family had been wealthy in worldly goods in England and although they had very little after coming to Zion, they gained wealth in Spiritual Blessings.

Wonderful Mother of Mine

The phrase, "to know them is to love them" is true of the wonderful mothers in my family. Each new glimpse into the lives of my forebears brings inspiration, something to learn and admire. Today I honor these amazing mothers:

The lyrics to the song "That Wonderful Mother of Mine" are read in the background:

The moon never beams without bringing me dreams
Of that wonderful mother of mine.
The birds never sing but a message they bring
Of that wonderful mother of mine.
Just to bring back the time, that was so sweet to me,
Just to bring back the days, when I sat on her knee.

You are a wonderful mother,
Dear old Mother of mine.
You'll hold a spot down deep in my heart,
'Till the stars no longer shine.
Your soul shall live on forever,
On through the fields of time.
For there'll never be another to me,
Like that wonderful Mother of mine

Aurelia Hawkins - Young Pioneer

Aurelia Hawkins is my Great, Great Grandmother. She traveled to Utah in the Benjamin Gardner Pioneer Company at the age of fifteen. Traveling in the same pioneer group was Jonathan Ellis Layne, a seventeen year old contemporary of Aurelia. Many years later he wrote down his memories of the trek. As these two youth experienced this excursion at a similar age, I have paired excerpts from Brother Layne's words with an image of Aurelia in the following video:

Gathering with the Lord's People

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Samuel Harris Hawkins 1804 - 1852

I am honored to claim as my Great, Great, Great Grandfather Samuel Harris Hawkins.

In the 1840’s Samuel Hawkins and his wife Charlotte were raising their young family in a London house they had leased for 99 years. With a steady income from Samuel’s career as a steel engraver, the family was settled and secure. However, as a deeply religious man, Samuel had a great desire to gather with the Lord’s people. 

By 1848, he had decided to give up his job and home and was preparing to take his family to Jerusalem. During his preparations to close his affairs in London, everything changed when he gained a testimony of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ taught by the Mormon Elders and decided that joining with the Lord’s people would require a voyage across the sea. 

The family was baptized in 1848, and boarded the ship Zetland in Liverpool on a journey to New Orleans in 1849. Included on the manifest for the November, 1849, sailing of the Zetland are Samuel, his wife Charlotte, and seven children: Aurelia, Conalbert, Creighton, Lavinia, Leo, Mary Ann, and Reigo, who was only an infant at the time.

The Zetland was a large (1283 ton), new and splendid British ship which had transported another company of Saints earlier that same year. The fare, including provisions, was £3 7 shillings 6 d for adults (the parents and three of the children qualified for this rate), £2 10 shillings for children under fourteen (four of the children were in this category); and Reigo, being an infant, traveled for free. As one who counts pennies, I wanted to know the price in today’s dollars. As near as I can tell, according to various historical currency convertors and calculations, the family traveled for the equivalent to $3054.85 US dollars (2015).

Samuel was named the President of the immigrant branch of the church and checked off lists as the families began boarding the ship November 1, 1849. With difficulty families found suitable places to sleep, one journal noting that they were “not very comfortable because we had not room enough, but was thankful …”

Before the ship had even left dock, President Hawkins was called upon to administer to the sick, including a young girl, an aged person and a woman who fell down a hatchway and “appeared dead” and was said to “derive much good from it”. Throughout the voyage, many journals record his Priesthood blessings to the sick and afflicted.

Situated in their quarters, the passengers and crew waited for the weather to be best for launching. Still in harbor, on November 9^th inspectors discovered several Irish stowaways that had “secreted themselves” on the vessel.

Finally, on November 10th, ten days after boarding, with two hundred and fifty-eight passengers, almost all of whom were latter-day saints, the Zetland was tugged by a steamer14 miles, the sails were spread and the wind wafted them on their way.

Orson Spencer, the leader of the previous immigrant group sailing aboard the Zetland had written in a letter: “Future emigrants should not forget that the first part of a sea voyage especially has an astringent effect upon the bowels, for which they should be prepared . . .” 

His warning, though prophetic, did little to alleviate the suffering of the passengers. The sails were furled at nine and by six o’clock several began to be sick. The next morning reported, “Very much sickness on board, rather increased than diminished.”

After a few days the sickness decreased, as did the winds, which slowed their progress. Passenger journals noted that when the winds returned, so did illness and discord: “Very windy and rough, the vessel rocked about very much which caused fresh eruptions to break out amongst us. There were a few spirits who desired to create a little dissatisfaction, but through the wisdom and prudence of President Hawkins, things appeared to be set right.” The next day: “The vessel rolled about very much, some things were upset … Called on God to still the wind and in the name of the Lord rebuked the raging of the sea and wind, which to our joy did so early on Friday the 16^th which caused us to rejoice and give thanks to our God.”

As with life for all of us, the journey continued with alternating periods of wind and calm, sickness and health, discord and peace, discouragement and gratitude, fear and faith.

Journals tell us that the trip was very cold, which one would expect in November and December. Children were bathed in the salty sea water in barrels and tubs which they “did not fancy”.

There was at least one marriage performed by President Hawkins (Brother Thomas Meacock to Sister Selina R Peaton), one death and burial at sea, numerous worship services, hymn singing, and as on all ships in the 1800’s … plenty of prayers, including many administrations of healing. 

There were rains and water in the hold of the ship which had to be pumped once or twice daily. On December 12^th, one of the stunsails broke loose, but the mate was able to repair it. The oceanic voyage would take six weeks and two days, averaging around 6 or 7 knots.

Eventually the Zetland reached the mouth of the Mississippi River and following joyous prayers of thanks and journey’s end celebrations, promptly got stuck on a sand bar.

On Sunday, December 23^rd, the church services normally held on deck were moved due to the confusion of the crew attempting to get the ship off the bar. Prayer and singing were held down below.

New Orleans as pictured in 1841

At long last, the steam tugs “The Conqueror” and “Mary Kingsland” rescued them from the sand bar on Christmas Eve at 9 p.m.  The Captain gave his crew a holiday on Christmas Day, while the families anxiously waited to transfer their belonging off the ship.

A unanimous vote of thanks was given to President Samuel H. Hawkins for the able and efficient manner in which he presided over the branch and for the patience and forbearance which he displayed under various trying circumstances. Another unanimous vote of thanks was given to Brothers Charles Ashton and John Martin for their untiring services in the cooking galley. Brother Martin had suffered a severe and painful accident during his volunteered cooking services and those on board took up a contribution to furnish him with a pair of trousers.

Upon disembarking, the saints were received by the church agent, Elder Thomas McKenzie, who arranged transportation with a number of the emigrants to St. Louis, while others tried to get employment in New Orleans, in order to earn means to continue the journey.