Thomas
John and his wife, Margaret, took up a homestead, one hundred and sixty acres,
on the north edge of Portage. Most of the children were married by this
time and they also took up homesteads there, the father’s being in the center
of the group. They all helped each other
with their work, clearing their land and preparing the soil for planting. When it was ready, Thomas called them all
together and blessed the land. Thomas
John planted the first grain grown in the Malad
valley. This land was called Johnstown in honor of Thomas John,
and is still called that.
About
1872, the town site of Portage was laid out,
their object in moving to the west side of the Malad River was for irrigating
purposes. They built a large canal 12
miles long carrying water from Samaria Lake. The ditch was 22 feet in some places and was
dug with tools such as a shovel and spade.
It was built under the direction of Bishop Oliver G. Hoskins.
Portage
Ward was organized the 23 of November 1877.
William H. Gibbs, Latitia John’s husband, was
in the bishopric. The first school was
taught in a private home. Edward Smith,
Ann John’s husband, was the first teacher.
Charles
married his second wife, Agnes Williams, age 15, in 1874 and ten children were born to this union.
His took his third wife Edith Williams, age 15, in 1880 and a wonderful
family grew from this union. Charles’
three wives, Elizabeth, Agnes, and Edith, were sisters and daughters of John
Jenkins Williams. They had a total of 25 children.
Charles
was a real hunter and brought down a lot of game. He was counted one of the best trackers
known. One summer day, Charles took
Agnes and Edith’s families to the canyon to watch their cattle as they
grazed. The bears were very bad that
year. Charles cut a big hole in the top
of a honey can, knowing the bears like honey.
When the bear would get his head stuck in the can, Charles would aim
straight to the heart, never failing to get his bear. Among the many big game tales that could be
told is the following:
Charles
told his children about the time he was cleaning a gun while up in the
mountains with the sheep. He was sitting
on a fallen log and he looked up and a few feet in front of him was a huge bear
sitting behind another fallen log, just staring at him. Charles picked up another gun and aimed,
shooting the bear between the eyes, and the bear dropped. He started cleaning the gun again, but
hearing a noise he looked up and saw the bear rise up from behind the log. He shot and the bear dropped. Again and again the same thing happened. That old bear got up ten times. Soon he was silent, so Charles got up and
stretched and walked over to the other log.
To his surprise he found ten dead bears.
In Malad, they had treaties with the Indians and gave them
beef and sheep as pay for the grass.
That is how they appeased the Indians before the reservation was
opened. Charles was well liked by the
Indians and made treaties with them for a lot of the range land for himself and many other stockmen. He was good about not crowding the ranchers
and took his sheep far back into the hills.
They traded mutton for butter and eggs and other food at times. Charles used to care for sheep for small
owners: 5, 10, 15, or 20 head. They
would pay him 2 ½ pounds of wool per sheep for caring for them, or give him 15
lambs to 100 sheep. These were called
co-op herds. It took a lot of
bookkeeping to care for them. He took
care of the Malad herd of 5,000 head and the Brigham City herd of 10,000 head. He hired men to help. He kept the Brigham City herd of 10,000 on
the Wasatch Mountains above Brigham City, where the little town of Mantua now
stands, and over the mountains as far east as Evanston. The food and water was wonderful. He kept the Malad
herd on the Soda Range, which included the
surrounding area of Soda Springs, Idaho. Nearly 2 ½ million sheep were taken from the
Soda Springs range to the Nevada and Utah deserts each fall for winter ranging,
and returned in the spring.
Charles
was one of the best sheep men in Utah. He would guarantee a sure cure for sheep
diseases such as scab, in one application.
He had learned to make this medicine in the old country. He also made an ointment for bugs that
sometimes got into the sheep’s head and sent them crazy. These medicines rarely failed. He knew the mountains like a book. He made a lot of money with these co-op
herds. Then he bought a threshing
machine and lost a lot of money, because he did not know machinery like he did
the sheep business. He was a good
shoemaker and knew how to tan leather, and he made shoes for his big families,
later making shoes for his grandchildren.
In
the year 1881, three babies came into his homes: Minnie was born to Elizabeth; 20 days later Mary was
born to Agnes, and shortly after, Millie was born to Edith.
The
farms of Charles and his brother, James, adjoined. Sometimes James would invite all the families
together for dinner, and some outstanding ones were the mourning dove
dinners. The doves were very numerous,
it seems, and the men would send their dogs in a large circle to scare them
up. They would light in the big Haws
trees, then Charles would use a shot gun, sometimes
getting as many as twenty with one shot.
Kids and dogs would gather them, then this
would be repeated until enough birds were had for dinner. The women would clean them, then bake them in a big iron roaster to a golden brown. A huge pan of sheepherder potatoes were
served steaming hot, and sourdough bread, cooked in bake ovens, was served with
molasses. The same thing would happen
when they got wild geese, ducks, sage hens, pheasants and other game.
Typical
Welsh people, these folks loved music and had many jolly times together singing
folk songs, dancing to the violin, and having such wonderful fun. Charles was a singer and a step dancer. One favorite song he and Agnes sang together
was “Flow Gently, Sweet Afton.” They had
many happy days all together with their families.
On June 6, 1890, Charles was arrested for polygamy. Life was very sorrowful for these families
because the law was continually searching for these men. The three wives agreed
that they would abide by the law of the land, still knowing in their hearts
that God’s law had been best. Agnes was
very ill from a fall she had taken years before, and she had to walk on
crutches. Elizabeth and Edith thought it
would be best if Charles took Agnes and her family to care for. Charles waited until Elizabeth was through childbirth with
their eleventh child. They named this
baby Fydelia.
She lived only a few hours.
Charles
gave to each of his wives a paper signed in the presence of witnesses that he
would never live with them again. This
paper served as a divorce from Elizabeth and Edith. No doubt his heart was heavy as he had to
leave behind his land and families, never to see them again. Many tears were shed as he bid his two wives
and their children good-bye.
Leaving
as much as he could for the maintenance of Elizabeth and Edith’s families,
Charles took a small band of sheep, a few head of cattle, and two covered
wagons. Charles, Agnes and their 8
children started in search of a new home.
Like Lehi of old, two more sons were born in
the wilderness. His first new home was a
squatter’s right on the Portneuf River. This did not prove to be what he wanted, so
they moved on and stopped at many different places. They finally settled in a little Mormon
settlement near the Mesa Verde Park. The town was called Mancos, Montezuma County, Colorado. Most of the people living in this little town
were like Charles, getting away from the law for living in plural marriage.
While
in Mancos, the youngest child, Walter, took sick and had to be taken to Salt Lake for an operation. Agnes and one of the older boys drove the
long road. The little boy never
recovered. After the funeral, Agnes
visited with her family and friends in Portage. She went to see her sister Elizabeth, who was
living in Dempsey (Lava Hot Springs) where several of her children had made
their homes and were making a new community.
One
day, Agnes and Elizabeth were going to town in a buggy when the horse became
frightened and ran away. The buggy
turned over and Agnes was badly hurt.
She lived a few hours and was buried the 6th of
September 1907, in Portage beside her son, Walter, who
had just proceeded her in death. She was 48 years of age.
When
Walter was ill, just before he died, he was conversing with someone in the
spirit world and it was evident that his mission was to go. He was beckoned by someone on the other side
of the veil and he said, “I cannot leave Mother.” He was told that she would be all right and
would “be with us soon.” She followed
Walter only three months later.
In
1908, Charles started for Idaho and Utah to visit his family. After two days of driving with team and
buggy, he became very ill. Word was sent
back to his daughter, Mary John Busch, whose husband went for him and took him
back to their home in Mancos. He was
very ill with cancer of the stomach, and died August 12th. He was buried in the old Mormon cemetery at
Weber, south of Mancos on August 18, 1909.
Mary
and her family took care of Charles until the end, which was hard for her as
she was expecting a baby. He was bedfast
several weeks and during that time was very patient and took it stoicly. Charles had
a very good sense of humor and made the most of the circumstances of his
life. People who knew him always had a
word of tribute for him and his good nature.
Dr.
J.R. Trotter, the old family doctor of Mancos, in a conversation in about the
year 1949, said that Charles went to him to see what his trouble was, and Dr.
Trotter diagnosed his illness as cancer in the last stages, to which he
replied, “Can I go fishing?” The doctor
replied, “Yes, there would be no harm in that if you felt like it.” It was after this that he decided to go to Idaho and Utah, and had to be returned.
Interesting
note:
Charles
built his home in Mancos over an old Indian Cemetery without realizing it. In later years, all kinds of pottery,
skeletons and even coins have been found.
The material for this history was compiled by Vivian John
Baker, grand daughter of Charles John.
She received material from Henry John, Thomas John, James John, Emma J.
Smith Hughes, Thomas Parley John and wife, Ida, Noah James John and wife,
Ester. Also helpful were LaVern Fife Marley, Thomas John, Owen Busch, Mary John
Busch, and Millie John Smith.
