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Show Volume XXV Issue XI The Ogden Valley news Page 9 February 1, 2019 Sarah Hutchinson Eccles Baird—Part I My Father William Eccles was born April 6, 1825 in Dumbartonshire, Scotland; was baptized into the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint April 5, 8142 when he was less than 17 years old. In 1843 he married Sarah Hutchinson at Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland. In 1863 he immigrated to Utah, bringing with him his wife and seven children. I was born December 31, 1854 in Glasgow, Lanoshire, Scotland. I have five brothers and one sister as follows: John, Stewart, William, David, Margaret and Samual Eccles. Many are the good times we had together as children. Mother and Father were very poor and we had a hard time, which made us remember our happy times with much appreciation. When I was eight-and-one-half years of age, my Father brought the family to America. Father was blind then, and he met the difficulties of traveling with much less vigor than if he could have seen. Our cousins (mother’s side) came with us, so we had quite a large family. Everything was so strange and new to me that I can’t recall the ocean nor the ship we traveled on. Mother had a load on her hands. The day we were to see land we thrilled with excitement as we sighted America. We had rolled across the briny deep for many days, and the sight of land was indeed welcome to our eyes. On landing we stayed in the eastern states for some time till we could get a train to take us out west to the Mormon settlements. My cousins James, John and Stewart Moise all liked the East very much, and if we had not planned to come to Utah, they might have stayed there. We got a train to bring us out west and decided to live in Eden, Ogden Valley, Utah where we settled and lived quite happily for about three years. About this time my cousins became discontented and wished very much to return to the Eastern States where they could obtain better work and also make more money. Father was quite disturbed that they did not have enough faith in their religion to stay with it through hardships and trials, but they were determined. They all talked persuasively to Father to get his consent, so Father said he would have to sleep on it and tell the boys the next morning. After much thought and deliberation, Father decided to take us all to Oregon City and the Moise boys could get work in the woolen factories and we would not be so far from Eden. The boys agreed to this arrangement. For a number of days we were all very busy packing our things to go. All Father had to travel in was a cart with a yoke of cattle, but our faith gave us hope and strength. The Moise boys got a wagon and a yoke of cattle and we started off. Father decided to take the old Oregon Trail, which would take us through the Cascade Mountains, which would be very beautiful. It was early in April when we started out and we had a full three-month journey before us. The only chance we would have to see other people would at pony express stations, which we would come to from time to time, and about twenty miles apart were the home stations where the cattle would get fed and rested. The first incident that I remember was the Indians. They had just killed a large family, and we shuddered as we thought of what we had just been saved. It must have been only three days previous to our coming that their graves were covered over. As we slept that night, the wolves and coyotes howling from out of the darkness, we felt a great sympathy for that family who surely had loved each other as we did, and had met such a ghastly fate. We would have been grateful for a camp fire that night, but the light would attract the Indians, and there were only the twelve of us, which would be small prey for a tribe of Indians. The dawn was welcome the next day, although it meant hours of walking over a hot trail with the sun pouring down from above. When we came to the next pony express station, we camped to get food and water and rest. We were all very tired and the cattle needed food. Everybody there called Father “Captain” and would marvel at his endurance at traveling with just the two families of us on the lonely and perilous trail. This reminded us of Brigham Young’s words that we would never see an Indian, and we had not seen one on our journey so far. After traveling some distance we entered the Cascade Mountains and had a long, long journey ahead of us. It seemed as though mountains were everywhere, though we traveled and traveled. After three days, we came out on a high plateau and saw a great cloud of smoke rolling up toward us. Father said Indians must have set the whole mountain afire to drive out the wild animals for food. It was an awful sight. The smoke came toward us in great clouds and it was everywhere. This was an unexpected obstacle in our journey, but there was nothing to do but go through the great fire the best we knew how. The animals were greatly frightened and would hardly go on with us. The ground was hot and the trees crashed to the earth with thunderous rolls. The boulders were hot and the burning tree stumps were all about us. Many times we would burn our feet and hands in helping the cattle go forward, or in hauling the wagon over the hot rocks and three trunks. The cattle would step on the hot rocks and bellow the most pitiful tones, and we were burning ourselves as well as they. If a tree had fallen across our cart then, it would have burned it and everything inside. It seemed that this fire would never end. The shoes were burned off our feet and we had to stand on the hot earth and stones to help the cattle onward. We were indeed grateful to see the end of the mountain as it meant the end of the fire for us. But there was still another obstacle in our path. On our roadway was a large rock, and carved on it were the words, “The straight way to hell.” The carver had given the pathway a very characteristic name as it was nearly perpendicular. In order to proceed further we all got out of the cart and wagon and the boys tied trees on the back of them and locked the wheels and we got down after much care and labor. As we descended, the way was so steep that but for the trees, the wagons would surely have rolled down and been crushed into heaps of dust and broken wood. How glad we were to find water and a camping place a little distance from the end of our steep grail. We ate and rested for a short while and then went on to a home pony express station. The cattle’s feet were severely burned, so we camped at this station for three days in order to cure them; also to feed and rest them. It was good to camp for a while after traveling steadily through the mountains and through the fire and down the steep ravine. We had a campfire and hot food and water and this was a safe place from the Indians. We rested near our fire each night and the wolves howling in the distance seemed further away because of the cheerful blaze. We all regained hope and faith as well as physical rest and food and were ready to start onward to Oregon City by the third day. Success and prosperity was with us in Oregon City, for my cousins got work in a woolen factory and my brother and father got work in the mountains cutting wood for the factory. It was mighty good to have the men working and we settled in a small cabin and kept house for them. This life was very sweet after the lonely and fearful days on the trail. We had been there about two years when my brother David went to Puget Sound and made quite a raise of money. While he was gone, our family moved to Salem, and father cut loads of cord wood for the people to burn as fuel, while my cousins stayed in Oregon City. Father and mother went down to see them when the twoyear’s time for staying in Oregon was almost up, to see if they were preparing to go back to Salt Lake, and to discuss plans for the journey with them. It was a great surprise and disappointment to father and Mother when they boys said they would not go back; that they would stay right there because they were making good money I the factory, and were getting along fine. They even told Father to say away with his preaching, and that they would not listen. Father and Mother were quite hurt at these words, but Father met the issue by telling James, in spite of his evident unwillingness to listen, that they would be glad to return to Utah. Father and Mother came home with sorrow in their hearts at the boys’ failure to keep their promise to return in two years, and their lack of faith in their religion, and longing for the spirit of religion that we would find on returning to Utah. Two weeks later, a telegram came to us from Oregon City saying Mrs. Moise was very sick, and asking for Father and Mother to come with all speed; that she was so sick the doctors had given up hope of saving her life. Father and mother went down immediately and found auntie extremely sick with spotted fever. The doctor could not cure her and even said she would not live. The boys were grief-stricken and were wailing for help and comfort. Everyone was thankful to see Father and Mother had come after the boys had talked to them and the boys begged Father to tell them how to save their Mother’s life. Father said they could not expect the Lord to have mercy on them after the way they had talked about Brigham Young, and the only thing they could do was to get down on their knees and ask His forgiveness of their sin; if they would do this with repentance in their hearts, they would see a change in their Mother’s condition. The boys were only too glad to save their Mother’s life, so they prayed as Father had directed. Father sent out and got a bottle of olive oil and blessed and administered to her, and prayed for her. After this, a peaceful sleep came over her and she slept soundly all night. We were thankful to see her sleep, for she had not been able to sleep for many nights, but had tossed in a high fever all the time. When Father was sure of her regaining her health, he returned to Salem, while mother stayed and took care of her. With the good care that mother administered and the renewed faith of god that prevailed in that house, she improved steadily, and when she was well enough to travel, David came home from Puget Sound, and we got ready to start back to Eden, Utah. From The Past . . . Valley School 8th graders, 1934. Please help us identify these students. The students are all kids from Huntsville; Eden and Liberty still had their own schools at this time. The boy on the left, middle row, is Leland Felt. Shown with Leland are Myrle Ione Wangsgard, Worlton Wood, Clyde Ronald Collard, Laddie Shupe, John McKay, Orvis Petersen and John Hislop. Please call Shanna at 801-745-2688 or Jeannie at 801-745-2879 if you can help with missing names. Photo courtesy of Vicki Jorgensen. 1979-1980 Valley Junior High Boys Basketball Team Identified Thanks to our readers for sending in the names for the picture from the past in the January 15 issue of the paper. We received names from Jim Robins, Chad and Wendy McKay, and Cord Pack. Top row, left to right: Rick Ferlin, Mike Wangsgard, Roger Bailey (assistant coach), Tuck Hoffman, Darell Wilson, Mike Hess, Mitch Shaw, Cord Pack, Glen Harris, Chester (Chet) Accord (head coach), and Principal Scott Ballif. Middle row: Greg Gibson, Bryce Froerer, Chris Nass, and Jim Robins. Front row: Tony Sansone, Rich Lewis, Paul Warnes, Fritz Froerer, Shane Bodily, Brett Hoffman, and possibly Trace Dawson’s younger brother. 2668 Grant Avenue, Suite #104A, Ogden, UT Saturday Night 4:30 p.m. Sunday Morning 8:00 a.m. Sunday Morning 10:00 a.m. Tuesday Night 5:00 p.m. Fr. Charles Cummins 801-399-9531 StFlorenceHuntsville.org Before and after any Mass or by appointment. Saint Joseph Catholic Elementary, Middle School, and High School Providing a challenging, college-focused education in the proven tradition of Catholic schools, for the families of the Ogden Valley. We want to teach your children! For information on our program, financial assistance, tours, or application, please call 801-393-6051 or 801-394-1515. 801-612-9299 |