Benjamin Perkins

BENJAMIN PERKINS

 

Benjamin Perkins was the son of William Perkins and Jane Mathews, of the tribe of Ephraim through his mother.  This couple lived near Swansea or as they called it in their native language Abertawe.  Swansea is situated in the County of Glamorgan in South Wales at the mouth of the river Tawe.

"I, Benjamin Perkins, was born Jan 14, 1844 in a little town named Schoot, about two miles east of Swansea in Wales.  We lived there about four months and moved to Treboeth."(1)  Treboeth is a small place, a colliery, 1 ½ miles north of Swansea.  Shortly after the birth of their son Ben, William and Jane became interested in the sect known as the Mormons.  They listened to the missionaries, attended the small meetings, met with persecution from their friends, but like the Independents that they were, resisted the outward prejudices and accepted the whisperings of the spirit and were baptized when little Ben was just 9 months old.

"The people hated the Mormons and for 2 or 3 years my father could not get a day's work anywhere.  At last we had to go to the poor house, and as nearly as I can remember we were there about 6 months."(2)  In the poor house, the family was separted, the children being placed in a big flag-floored room.  Ben and the others went hungry day after day and the little fellow would cry out "Mama, mama, why don't you come?"(3)

"When the wherefore of the Perkins family in the poor house was investigated, and it was found that they were able and willing to work, they were given work.  Little Ben was sent into the coal mines at the tender age of 6 to carry water to the miners."(4)  During his work at the mine one day, he broke his arm and had to be laid off for it to recover.

The family continued to progress from that time on.  They would work all day in their various jobs and at nights would listen to their father read the Bible and the Book of Mormon.  They were privileged during this time to have Elders of the Church stay with them on occasion and they gleaned valuable knowledge from them about the gospel.

The days in the mines were long and hard.  In the evenings as the pits "all but bottomless" belched out their myriads of grimy, blackened human forms, each with a Davy lamp in hand, Ben and some of his family and friends returned to their humble homes to wash, feed and rest.  Sometimes, Ben would spend a few hours from time to time with the fellows his own age in the village, or occasionally talk to one of the girls of his acquaintance.  The first nineteen years of Ben's life were spent in the coal mines.  He had no opportunity for schooling during those years.  An English girl did start a night school, which he began to attend, but the school dwindled away and Ben learned neither to read nor write.

Books with their stores of truth are a wonderful factor in our development and growth, but are by no means an indispensable part of life.  Most of the essential lessons of human existence come through the necessities of daily living, through discipline and by the experiences we have.  Thus our understanding of the purpose of life grows and our strength and endurance increases, preparing us to meet those particular challenges given to us as our bid for eternal life.  Ben was prepared by the experiences of his youth to meet these challenges and thus lay a foundation for this father's family and his own numberless posterity.(5)

One day as Ben was working in the mines, something happened that shaped the rest of his early and eternal existence for good.  "There was an explosion took place in a canyon about 6 miles from where I was working; three or four hundred men were killed.  This place was Blongloha.  My boss at our mine picked out 60 men and sent them to Blongloha to hunt these dead bodies.  I was chosen from the group to go, but when we reached the place they had sufficient help, so the Blongloha boss thanked us and gave us money to take us back to our mine."  This tragic experience caused Ben to think long and hard on the uncertainty of life in the mines and the suddenness with which death wipes away plans and dreams and everything connected with life.

"When I got home that night I told Father I wanted to be baptized.  Father took me to the river (Tawe) that night and baptized me.  After I was baptized I made up my mind to save money and come to Utah."(6)  Benjamin Perkin's TIB card says that he was baptized 4 Oct 1859 but more likely it was not until 4 Oct 1866 that this took place as will be seen shortly.

"In 1866 or 1867 the word was spread that the Church was going to take all the Saints and ship them to Utah.  But about 6 months before the time set, word came that those who went would have to pay their own way.  This cast gloom over all our Mormon people there.  About 7 months after I was baptized I had saved enough money to fetch me to Utah.  Between my sisters, Naomi and Mary, my brother Joe, and John Evans the blacksmith (as he was called by myself) we had enough money to fetch us out.

"As the time drew near for us to depart, some of my pals were after me all the time to go and have a good time for a day or two with them before I left, drinking, singing, and dancing.  I told them I would let them know in a week, and I went to see the president of the Branch.  He asked me if I thought I could keep sober, and I told him "yes, sir."   The last Saturday and Sunday that I was there I spent with my boy friends.  When Monday morning came, the time for our departure, all of the Saints came down to the depot with us.  We left about 3 in the afternoon.  This was one of the biggest trials of my life, to pick up and leave my father and mother and all my friends that I had been raised with.

"While we were waiting in the inn for the train, the house was packed with friends and relatives.  I was sitting on one side of the house and Mary Ann Williams on the other side.  She had joined the Church some time fore this.  I could see she felt pretty bad.  She was one who was disappointed in not getting to come out to Utah, so I went across the room to where she was and asked her, in case I could make enough money when I reached Utah to bring her out, if she would come.  She told me "yes", and for me to write her every chance I got along the way, and as soon as she found out where we were she would write to me.  We were both true to that understanding."(7)

MARY ANN WILLIAMS

Let us sidetrack here briefly to tell about this beautiful, young Mormon girl, Mary Ann Williams.  Mary Ann was born 27 Aug 1851 at Thanthed, Llantwit Vardre, Glamorganshire, Wales to Evan and Mary Davies Williams.(8)   (The histories of Evan Williams' parents will be given below)  She was the oldest daughter of a family of 7 boys and 5 girls.  Her oldest brother David died when she was 10 years old and thus from her youth she was the oldest in the family and was looked to for comfort from the younger children and expected to help in all of the duties of the home.

When she was 14 Mary Ann was baptized into the Mormon Church by John Evans, the blacksmith friend of Ben Perkins.  She led the way for her family and set the example for them to follow.  From then on the family was connected with the Mormons and a number of them joined the Church including her father and mother, although her  father remained inactive during most of his life and up to his death.(9)

When Mary Ann was 16 she met Ben.  They were often thrown into each other's company as they both belonged to the choir and glee club, and they learned to like each other very much and were attracted to each other more and more.  Ben and his brother and sisters took the train from near Swansea and traveled up through Wales into England and arrived at Liverpool during the middle of June.  They sailed for America on 21 June 1867 aboard the ship Manhattan in a company of 480 Saints, under the direction of Archibald N. Hill, arriving at New York on the 4^th of July.

While on board Ben was one of the few who was able to keep his head up and care for the people who were sick.  "Most of the time while we were on shipboard, my brother Joe, John Evans and I had our hands full caring for about 25 widows and young girls who were seasick and some of them totally helpless for days.  It was a delicate task for young men.  Our two sisters were of but little help for they were quite sick for some time, too.

"Our time on the sea was not altogether unpleasant.  We spent many hours watching the fish at play as they leaped out of the water.  We were on the ship on the 4^th of July, and my crowd had fiddles and accordions.  That afternoon the captain had a big dinner and I and my crew ate dinner with them.  The captain played and sang a good many songs that afternoon.

"When we landed at Castle Gardens the officer searched our luggage and gave us American coin for our foreign money.  We were delayed there a day or two before we took the train.  In our company which boarded the train for the West at Williamsburg, new York there were 270 souls.  They traveled by rail to North Platte, a station of the Union Pacific, 391 miles west of Omaha.  As we traveled through the States people would come to meet us wherever we stopped and they would try to persuade us not to come to Utah, telling us the people in Utah were a bad lot.  I told them I was acquainted with quite a few of the people there, and I could not see how they could have gone from good to bad in such a short time, and anyway I was going on and see for myself.

"On the train we got acquainted with quite a number of Welsh people, and some of them expressed their regrets that we were going to Utah to live among the terrible Mormons.  Before we got off the train we got a sight of the immigration teams waiting there for us.  Four or 500 people were gathered around the camp indulging in rough and rather uncouth dance. There were no ladies participating, however; it was only a stag dance of the teamsters.

"The language they used was very astonishing to us from the old country where we expected to find the people of Zion almost perfect.  If such language had been used by the Church members in Wales, they would have been required to ask the pardon of the other members.  But we soon became acquainted with their ways and shortly became one with them."

From North Platte Ben and his company traveled by ox teams on August lst.  The company captain was Leonard C. Rice.  "We started on West with the teams next morning, and traveled 3 days, going of necessity very slow because some of our members were still ill and others just recovering.

"On the morning of the 4^th day we met another party of teamsters going back after more immigrants, and their captain asked our captain for 6 volunteers to take the place of 6 of his men who had been drowned at Green River by a boat breaking loose.  I was one of the volunteers.  The affection of my friends was certainly shown at this time.  I was almost suffocated with farewell hugs and kisses."  These friends and family went on to Salt Lake arriving there 29 Aug 1867.

"I was given charge of a team but of course it was necessary for me to have some assistance as they were the first oxen I had ever seen worked.  For some time I couldn't tell the oxen apart and often hitched up the wrong one.  A corral was made of the wagons to keep them in at night.  It was a practice of mine to be among the first to hitch up, but as a rule I was among the last to leave as I so often had the wrong ox, and frequently had the off ox on the near side very much to the disgust of the oxen and the teamsters.

"When a teamster would miss his oxen, he would come and examine my outfit and too often he would find there what he was looking for, and it became a byword among the crowd "Look out for that damned Welshman."

One morning as I was leaving with my 6 oxen they stopped me and took 6 out of my team, leaving me to go and find my own oxen.  The crowd was divided into parties of 6, and as I was a new hand they were all willing to let me show how much I could do around the camp.  As soon as the oxen were unyoked, my orders came thick and fast from all sides.  It was "Ben get some water.  Ben get some wood."  When it had gone on a week, I decided I had had enough of it.  So after bringing in the wood, when the order came to get the water, I told them in my plainest English, for I was learning now to speak a little English, "Go to Hell!"  The fellow jerked off his coat, and taking it as a warning I jerked off mine.  He asked if I meant what I said and in my broken Welsh and English I gave him to understand that I meant it all and more.  After that I had considerable trouble with them and several times the boss threatened to show me my place.

"Our next stop was at Echo Canyon, a Mormon camp on the railroad.  Oh what a pleasant reunion.  I had found a number of my boy friends from Wales.  After giving them an account of my trip I had a hand full in keeping them from making a row over the way I had been treated, and the only way I could pacify them was by promising to stay with them in the camp.  So I stayed, but I had difficulty getting the boss of the teams to let me off.  When the boss found out that I wanted to earn money to send for my parents and the rest of my family in Wales, he gave me $40 with a 'God bless you' and he promised I would soon have the necessary money."

This company from Laramie City to Echo Canyon was under the direction of President William S. Seeley.  There were 39 wagons and 272 souls, though 4 of them died on the trip.  It was in the fall of the year when I began working at the Echo Camp and by spring myself and my brother-in-law John Evans and my brother Joe had $900 in gold.  It was now fully decided I wanted to get married, so when we sent the money to my parents, I also sent word for them to bring Mary Ann Williams along with them.

"We did not discontinue our labor and by the time our people landed in Salt Lake we had earned $800 more, though we had received only $300 of it and we spent that in trying to get the other $500, but never got it.(10)  When the money arrived for their passage, Mary's father objected to her going but she said, "Father, if you don't give your consent now, I will have to wait, but when I am of age I shall go" so her father consented and she sailed with the Perkins family.

Mary Ann Williams left Wales at the age of 18 with her future parents-in-law, leaving her family behind, to come and seal her life to that of her sweetheart, Ben Perkins.  The captain of the group of Saints who came on the ship was Elias Morris, whose home was in Great Salt Lake City.  Upon arrival in America the group traveled overland by rail, and Mary Ann and the Perkins family arrived in Ogden on the 23^rd of June, 1869, on the first passenger train to travel the new Transcontinental Railroad which had been joined that year by the famous golden spike at Promontory Point.(11)

From the Deseret News(12):

The first fruits of this year's immigration from Europe reached Ogden last evening at 5 o-clock.  They left Liverpool on the steamship Minnesota on the 2^nd instant, under the charge of Elder Elias Morris, late president of the Welsh district, the greater part of the company being from the Welsh principality.  A little more than 3 weeks has brought them the whole distance of the weary way that once took the best part of the year to travel.  This being the first company which has come all the way across the continent from the Atlantic to Utah on the Great Highway, their journey will long be remembered as inaugurating an epoch in our history.  Early this morning the greater portion of the immigrants had found homes, numbers leaving to settle in the northern counties of the Territory."

And the following month the Deseret News said (13):

The recent arrival of the company of emigrants in this Territory from Great Britain is the commencement of a new era in the gathering of the Saints to Zion.  We can scarcely realize the fact that in about 23 days from the time they stepped on the vessel in the port of Liverpool they were safely landed in Ogden, and the traveling time was even 3 days less than this".

After arriving in Ogden, Mary Ann moved to Salt Lake where she stayed at the home of Elias Morris in the 16^th Ward.  The Perkins family also found a place in the city where they stayed until October.  Mary Ann and Ben were married in the Endowment House in Great Salt Lake City on 4 Oct 1869.  Heber C. Kimball performed the ceremony(14).  The same day Ben's parents were sealed in the Endowment House also.

After attending the General Conference of the Church, plans were made to move to the south.  "After our folks joined us, we made up our minds to go to Cedar City.  We went with Bishop Lunt and a jolly time we had.  He insisted that we sing and serenade every little village we stopped at on our journey.

"Cedar City was the first town I lived in after my marriage, and soon after going there, I went to Hamilton's Fort and worked for Peter Fife for a cow.  Then I worked for Dr. John George Middleton's father for another cow.  The next 2 years of my life were spent herding sheep for the Cedar Co-op.(15)

Mary Ann and Ben had been married just over a year when they had their first child.  They named her Mary Jane after her two grandmothers.  She was born 6 Nov 1870 at Cedar City.(16)  On 5 Feb 1873 Mary Ann and Ben had their 2^nd child, this time a boy whom they called William Evan for their fathers.  The little fellow was not meant to remain in mortality, though, and no sooner had they welcomed him into their family than he was gone back to his Father in Heaven.  He died that same evening.(17)

In the midst of their sorrow, they heard of the death of their friend Mary Isom, wife of Smith B. Thurston.  Mary had died 11 days after giving birth to a daughter, Caroline Cordelia Thurston, who was born 11 Feb 1873 in Cedar City.  Although the little girl had been born in the covenant, yet the bereaving Mary Ann offered to raise the little girl to replace the void left by the death of her child and also to provide the baby with the kind of love and attention it needed.  The offer was accepted and Cordelia was raised by the Perkins.(18)

Turning to Ben's notes again:  "I was called to go and work on the Manti Temple, and I remained there 3 months with 3 days off for Christmas.  When I reached home I found a letter awaiting me from Wales.  It was from my father-in-law stating that he and his family had about decided to come to Utah.  But he took sick and the trip was postponed for some time.

"We sent a pass to Mary Ann's younger sister, Sarah, so that she could come out, but she wouldn't come without her parents.(19)"   On 16 Jan 1875 Mary Ann and Ben had their third child. They called her Catherine.  She was born in Cedar City where they were still living.(20)  This joy was mingled with the sadness that still filled their hearts from the death of Ben's father who had passed away on January 4^th.

On the same day that the baby was born, Ben was in St. George receiving his patriarchal blessing from William G. Perkins.  More on that later.  However, permit a conjecture by the author.  Does the fact that Ben was in St. George indicate that he had taken Mary Ann there to receive better medical attention at the birth of her child?  It is possible.

We must pause here in our history of Ben and Mary to pick up the third person of this triangle. Sarah Williams became the 2^nd wife of Benjamin Perkins under the law of celestial marriage practiced by the Mormon Church at the time.  Let us follow her life through her own account of it together with some supplemental information.

SARAH WILLIAMS

"Far away in the southern part of Wales at Llantwit Vardre on May 23, 1860, I was born, the daughter of Evan and Mary Davies Williams, the 6^th child of a family of 12.  My parents joined the Mormon Church before I was born but father became disaffected and finally left the Church.

"Owing to the difference of opinion in religious beliefs of my parents, we children were left to make our own choice in these matters.  Most of my associates being Methodists, I naturally went to that church, very much to my mother's disappointment.  Occasionally my companions would stop at the LDS street meetings, but I was not impressed with their teachings."

Sarah was kept pretty much at home until she was grown, helping her mother with the duties of the home.  She worked out as a servant girl for about a year and half after she had reached her teens. During part of three years, she went to school when she could.  She went many a time with her brother Richard and her sister Jane to school to see that they didn't run away.  Sarah's greatest amusement was to attend the concerts, estedfods, and the like, and to dance, even though dancing was against the rules of her Methodist belief.

"I went once with my father and cousin Sarah to see what was then the biggest ship Great Britain had.  I was about 13 years old.  I loved to roam the hills and I loved nature very, very much.  I can never forget the heartaches and strange feelings of emotion I experienced in preparing to leave the old home and associates.  Among those hardest to leave was a young man about my own age, for between us there existed a warm friendship.  He accompanied us a number of miles on our journey."  Tom Wilcox was the man in question.  He tried to persuade her not to come to Utah.  When she did come he tried to follow her the next year.  He lacked money and got only part way.  She wrote him finally explaining that she did not want to keep on corresponding.

"My minister was much concerned about my going to Utah.  He warned me repeatedly to keep away from the Mormons.  He presented me with a hymn book and a Bible to keep me going right.  We set sail from Liverpool in 1878, surrounded by many relatives and friends, whom we were now leaving never to meet again in this world."  The family home at No. 6, Rose Row, in Cwmbach was visited frequently by relatives prior to the family's departure.  On the Sunday before they sailed Sarah's Aunt Gwen, her husband, and others came to wish them goodbye.  These people had a great love for each other as can be seen in the fact that they kept up correspondence throughout their lives.

"With heavy hearts and wet eyes the last adieus were said and we were speeding on our way to America.  We were on the ocean 12 days.  Father's health began to improve at once and he gained rapidly.  While making the ocean voyage, I had my first real contact with the Mormons, there being a number of missionaries and converts among the passengers.  Being a lover of music, by their fine singing I was attracted and enjoyed especially their hymns.

"When land was sighted all was hustle and excitement and though I was eager to be off the water, I perhaps would have felt more of a thrill in landing if I had not had the misfortune to lose my hat in the ocean, while standing on deck.  And knowing I would have to choose between going into New York bare-headed or use a handkerchief, I chose the latter.

"I had carefully saved my money to spend in America, but found to my humiliation I could have spent it with much more ease in my native land.  Though I talked some English, it was very embarrassing to talk to those who could understand no Welsh.  After spending a day and a night at the depot where accommodations were prepared for emigrants, we took the train for Salt Lake City, Utah.  We were met at York, a small town near there by my sister Mary Ann and her husband.  They had been in America for about 10 years."

Oh, the joy Mary Ann felt at being held close in her father's arms and hear him say, "It wasn't my health alone that brought me to Utah, but to see and be near my little girl that I have so greatly missed."  And he said she was a most wonderful daughter. 

"Our journey was now to be continued in a covered wagon, the first I had ever seen. An awful way to travel, I thought.  My first breakfast in Utah I shall never forget.  So strange I thought to have cakes for breakfast.  But to my surprise the cakes proved to be bread, baking powder biscuits, the first I had ever seen.  We went immediately to Cedar City, reaching there July 1, 1878.  Oh what a place, everything so different from my Welsh home.  But in spite of the strangeness and newness of conditions, I enjoyed the 4^th of July celebration.

"In time the barrier began to break down and life seemed more bearable.  In less than 6 months my father and brothers had made adobes and made us a comfortable home.  To help out in our new conditions, I went out to do domestic work.  My first job was at the home of David Davis.  I took dishes and furniture for pay.

"Another trial I had was becoming accustomed to the American way of cooking.  Custard pudding was strictly an American dish as far as I knew.  I had watched Mrs. Davis prepared the same so upon being told to make one, I proceeded to do so without asking any questions.  I beat up a dozen eggs, added sugar and nutmeg and placed it in the oven to cook.  Imagine my humiliation on being told I had left out the milk."  (21)

On June 14, 1879 Ben and Mary Ann were blessed with a 4^th child. This little girl they called Martha Naomi. She was also born in Cedar City. (22)  We must take pause here briefly to reflect upon the events that were happening which were causing to form in Ben's mind an idea of what lay ahead of him in his life.  Ben had received his Patriarchal blessing which stated that, among other things, he would have many wives given to him from the Lord.  This must have impressed upon his mind at the time and grown upon his conscience as time went by.  Then too, the leaders of the church had asked him to consider taking another wife.  But more on that later.

The Williams family had been in Cedar City just one year when Ben volunteered to go with a colonizing company to settle the frontier section of the southeastern part of the territory.  His mother had just passed away on 18 Mar 1879 and he felt no ties holding him.  The call to settle the San Juan region was initiated by the Church leaders in order to procure that section of the Territory against settlement by non-Mormon groups as well as being a tactical move aimed at bringing law and order to that wild area.  There were several meetings held in the latter part of 1878 and early 1879 and people were called to settle the area.

"As the months passed and the time approached for the company to get under way, some families dropped out, others obtained official release, and some new members joined the ranks of the expedition.  During the summer of 1879, while the exploring expedition was accomplishing the task of locating a desirable site for a settlement, those planning to move were busily engaged in making preparations for the migration.  Since this was expected to be a permanent move for most of the missionaries, adequate preparations involved considerable work and planning.  Homes and farms, much machinery, furniture, and other bulky items must be sold or otherwise disposed of. The trip would require good wagons and harnesses, with adequate horses and oxen to pull the heavy loads.  Riding horses, saddles and other gear must be in top condition."(23)

As the fall approached, all was in readiness.  Some of the members even renewed their covenants of baptism.  Both Ben and Mary Ann were re-baptized on 28 Sep 1879 by R. W. Heyborne.(24)

Mary Ann felt that she would rather stay in Cedar City rather than part with her family again so soon after such a long separation, but she entered into the spirit of the move with the same devotion she gave all her life to the cause of truth.  Sarah was a different matter.  She had been going to the Mormon Church in Cedar as it was the only denomination there and had started to participate in the dances and other activities, some of which had been forbidden by her Methodist beliefs, but to leave her family and go off into the wilds of that southern territory was a lot to ask and it took some courage on Ben's part to undertake the task.

This stage of the story is of vital interest to the big branch of his posterity who are descended from Sarah Williams, arriving at this point from Wales, unable to speak much English, and not yet a member of the Church.  That there was a wholesome element of destiny prompting him to persuade her to go on this trip of unusual difficulty and hardship, is the firm belief of a fine multitude of people who are indebted to this little angle of human events for their parentage in this world.

Sarah Williams was to go along and help care for her sister's children, but it is hardly thinkable that her sister's husband did not even then cherish in his heart a dream of the future in which Sarah would be to him more than a sister-in-law.  How could it be brought about?  She had not yet accepted the gospel, and she could be nothing to him but by the power of the priesthood and according to the definite and strict laws of truth. Without knowledge to read or write, the most unanswerable testimony he could bear to her would be his life of devotion to the principles he had accepted as of enough importance to justify a long pilgrimage and hardships unknown to his native land.

How well he succeeded in realizing these hopes, and how unimpeachable his means and his purpose, remains to be seen as we follow him through the long years to his unsullied finish of a strenuous life.  With nearly 50 years still ahead of him in which to complete the wise pattern set for his earthly destiny, as cherished by Providence even before those 19 years in the coal mine, we view him now as the Joseph of his father's house, the faithful head of an appreciative posterity.(25)

Sarah says of the event, "I was persuaded to go along and help care for my sister's children."  Ben says of the occasion, "...and I persuaded Sarah to go along and drive a team for me.  It took a great deal of persuasion for she had never had a pair of lines in her hands before." (26)

Sarah continues, "Imagine my surprise and indignation when about 6 miles from Cedar, I had the lines put into my hands and was told that this was my team and wagon to drive, an experience I had never before had. (27)  Because of the weight, few tents were transported on this journey.  As a result, the party lived in their wagon boxes, doing the cooking out in the open.  Mary Ann's family had a rag carpet, which they first put over the wagon bows, then added the regular covering, thus making the pioneer apartment warmer than it would otherwise have been, and very grateful they were for this little extra warmth, for while camped at the Hole, the coldest Friday in history descended upon them."

"Through the ingenuity of Mother Perkins, this rag carpet had pockets sewn into it, one of which contained a comb and brush, another towels and wash rags, and every morning the children had their faces washed and their hair combed, as if going to school.  No pocket was needed for toothbrushes as they were unknown in that day.  Another pocket contained medicines, bandages, and so on." (28)  The initial stages of this trip were made in small companies with the entire caravan meeting at 40-mile Spring (SE of Escalante) near the Hole-in-the-Rock.  "Jens Nielson of Cedar City, more or less by common consent assumed leadership of the large group of approximately 25 wagons from Cedar and vicinity, and the first major contingent of the Hole-in-the-Rock expedition got under way 22 Oct 1879.  This cedar City group soon merged with contingents from Parowan and Paragonah, and the combined band still under the direction of Nielson, became the advance guard, and was no doubt the largest single group to push over the rim of the Great Basin to Escalante and into the desert SE of that frontier hamlet and on to 40-Mile Spring."(29)

Their daily travels are recorded in the following account of Margaret Nielson based on information given by George W. Decker.  "The Cedar City contingent was the first to move, and started the trek 22 Oct 1879.  They moved 12 miles that day and camped at Summit Fields.  On the 23^rd they moved on to Paragonah fields, and just missed mixing with the Parowan contingent as they left Parowan the same time of day that the Cedar City contingent was gathering their stock at Summit Fields. The Cedar City contingent camped at Paragonah and Parowan camped 1 ½ miles up Little Creek Canyon.  On the 24^th of Oct, Parowan moved to the head of Little Creek Canyon and the Cedar City contingent caught up with them that night at sunset..

"Oct 25, 1879.  Got fried bacon and potatoes and moved over into upper Bear Valley and spent 2 days and 3 nights in this beautiful valley getting our drinking water from Holyoak Springs, which we thought was the best water in the world.  At this place Jens Nielson, Danishman, recognized as leading Elder, proceeded to organize his flock and lay down some simple regulations for the conduct of his charges, the people of the San Juan mission".

            "Oct 28, 1879.  Moved to the head of Bear Valley Creek just out of Bear Valley.

             Oct 29, 1879.  Moved to Beaver Dam in Bear Valley canyon.

             Oct 30, 1879.  Moved to the Lefevere Ranch north of Bear Creek canyon.

             Oct 31, 1879.  Moved to the south up Sevier Valley to Big Sandy town.

             Nov 1, 1879.   Moved through Panguitch to Flour Mill, 3 miles east of town.

             Nov 2, 1879.   Foraged stock in Panguitch fields.

             Nov 3, 1879.  Moved up river past Butler Ranch into Red Canyon.

             Nov 4, 1879.  Moved through Red Canyon to west edge of E Fork where they had plenty of grass & wood

             Nov 5, 1879.  Moved north on west side of East Fork to Riddle Ranch

             Nov 7, 1879.  On to Sweetwater.

             Nov 9, 1879.  Into Escalante Field".

             Nov 12, 1879  Moved 5 miles south of Escalante Town

About the middle of November, this advanced group arrived at the 40-mile Spring.  Platte D. Lyman arrived with his group from Oak City on Nov 27^th.  From then until the fore part of Dec other groups arrived.  "Having arrived at the 40-mile Spring, the company was literally at the end of the road.  Ahead of them lay almost unknown country "entirely unknown, in fact, to any member of the expedition" Even before Silas S. Smith arrived at the 40-mile camp, Jens Nielson realized the necessity of obtaining more knowledge of the country ahead and authorized further exploration of the desert to the south."

Several expeditions were carried out immediately following the arrival of Platte D. Lyman and a plan was formulated for crossing the river, making roads, and getting the herds across the river. (30)  Sarah, in making a summation of the time she spent on this journey says, "Although we had to put up with many inconveniences and unpleasant situations I thoroughly enjoyed the trip, and was deeply impressed with the love and actions of those with whom I traveled.

"There were a number of good singers in the company and many otherwise tiresome hours were passed pleasantly while we sang and danced by the light of the moon or camp fire, in the sand or in the slick rock after we had camped for the night.  As far as I remember there was no ill feeling, deaths, or serious sickness on the journey and all shared alike at the table.  When we wanted something a little nice for supper, "lumpy dick" and molasses was the dish.  "Lumpy dick" was made by stirring flour into boiling water." (31)

"Religious services, held Thursday evenings as well as Sundays, were a regular and important part of the life of the camp.  Reports of such meetings are very brief.  On occasion the names of speakers are mentioned; but more often than not the typical Mormon expressions, "had a good time," or "a good spirit prevailed," are the only descriptions given.  In addition to gospel sermons, the meetings gave the members a chance for expression in song, readings and dramatizations. 

"The contingents were favored with a flock of good singers. Among them were the Perkins men and wives, Miss Sarah Williams, Mrs. Dave Hunter Kumen and Mary Jones, all the Deckers and wives, Joe and Harriet Ann Barton, Hyrum Fielding and wife, George Hobbs, all the bachelors:  Am. Barton, Jesse Smith, Ross Mickleson, and Geo. Decker.  All the Robbs and Dick Butt were great lovers of dancing, and some of the evenings were indulged in dancing.  When prayers were to be said the bachelors formed a squad in the background.  The bachelors were indispensable in building fires, carrying water, and finding feed for the stock. All the spring water down the Colorado Plateau called the Escalante Desert was terrible alkaline. At the top of the Hole-in-the-Rock was a sand rock surface 60x60 ft. where all the public services were held.

"Among those who loved to dance was Benjamin Perkins.  His snappy Welsh jigs furnished no end of entertainment and enjoyment for the company.(32)  From here on we will follow the company into Bluff through the writing of Platte D. Lyman as his account is the most accurate and complete.

"Wednesday Dec 3, 1879"In the evening an informal meeting was held in Bro Smith's tent when those who had been out reported the result of their explorations, after which on motion of Bro Jens Neilson it was resolved unanimously to sustain Bro Smith in whatever course he thought best for us to pursue.  Bro Smith then said he thought we ought to go ahead and all present expressed themselves willing to spend 3 or 4 months if necessary working on the road in order to get through, as it is almost impossible to go back the way we came because of the condition of the road and the scarcity of grass.

"Thursday Dec 4, 1879.  Bro Smith called a meeting of the whole camp to take an expression of their feelings in order that Bros Sckow and Collet may know what to report to those behind, when it was unanimously resolved to go to work on the road.

"Wednesday Dec 10, 1879  Drove to the 50 mile springs and camped have been 4 days beside this getting our wagons to this place.  In the evening Alma Stevens and Edward L came in from the herd and brought a fat cow for beef and a little later 2 men from Red Creek came into camp and brought us papers and letters from which we learned that all was well in the settlement.

"Thursday Dec 11, 1879  Killed our beef in the morning and loaned most of it to the camp, and afterward rode down to the "Hole in the Rock" with Bro Smith where we found about 15 wagons of the company camped, returned to camp in the evening.

"Sunday Dec 14, 1879  "Hole in the Rock"  Have spent the past 2 days in moving our wagons to this place, and today put our horses down over a trail which we have made to a bench next to the river where there is a little feed and water.  There is neither wood, water or grass near the camp.  Bro Smith came from the 50 mile where his folks are camped and held meeting in the afternoon at which the following traveling organization was effected:

            Capt of Company                               Silas S. Smith

            Asst Capt                                Platte D Lyman

            Capt 1^st Ten                             Jens Neilsen

            Capt 2^nd Ten                            Geo W Sevy

            Capt 3^rd Ten                            Benj Perkins

            Capt 4^th Ten                            Henry Holyoke

            Capt 5^th Ten                            Z. B. Decker Jr           

            Chaplain                                              Jens Nielsen

            Clerk                                       C. E. Walton

"Sam(1) Bryson was afterwards appointed Capt of the 6^th Ten.  Bro Smith returned to his camp, and tomorrow will start to Parowan expecting to be absent 3 weeks from camp, and if possible secure an appropriation from the Legislature to assist in putting the road through. Bp Geo W Sevy of Panguitch came in today with several wagons from that place and Harmony.  Held meeting in the evening and had a good time.

"Tuesday Dec 16, 1879.  With a square and level, I determine the grade of the road down the "Hole" to be for the first 1/3 of the distance ft to the rod, and for the second 13 - 5 ½ ft to the rod and the last part much better than either of the others.

"Wednesday Dec 17, 1879.  Realizing the necessity of having the country more thoroughly explored ahead of us.  I have talked the matter over with Bro Sevy and he has consented to undertake a trip through to the San Juan if it is possible to get through, and today he made a start with Lemuel Redd, Geo Hobbs and Geo Morrell and 4 animals, expecting to be gone about 15 days.  There are about 47 men at work on the road and we are making good progress.

"Sunday Dec 21, 1879. The wind has blown strong and cold and last night some rain fell, which makes water more plentiful"The weather being better we held a meeting in the evening and had a good time.  We are making good progress on the road.

"Thursday Dec 25, 1879. Christmas.  The weather had been so cold and windy with some snow that we have been unable to do much work so far this week.  There is dancing in camp this evening. (33)  Most accounts are in agreement that Jens Nielson, Benjamin Perkins and Hyrum Perkins were in charge of the blasting inside the notch itself.  The Perkins brothers had migrated from the British Isles, where they had had considerable experience in the coal mines of Wales, and had become proficient in the use of blasting powder. Thus they were the logical men to direct the rock work at the Hole.  Other members of the company soon nicknamed them "the blasters and blowers from Wales."  An assault on the major barrier the 45 ft drop was made by lowering men over the edge of the cliff in half-barrels and dangling them there in mid-air while they hand-drilled holes in the face of the cliff and placed small charges of blasting powder.

"While men were being "thrown over the ledge" and with pick, chisel, and hand drill gradually widening the fissure at the top and cutting a sort of trench approach to it from the west, others were busy below.  At the bottom of the notch, about a third of the total distance to the river, was another sheer drop of approximately 50 ft.  This had to be blasted away or otherwise disposed of.  Well aware of the shortage of blasting powder and of the difficulty being experienced at the top of the Hole, Benjamin Perkins conceived the idea of avoiding this second sheer drop by tacking a road onto the face of the cliff and thus building a by-pass around that 50 ft chasm.  At this point the notch widens out into a sort of canyon, affording enough room for this type of construction.

"For a distance of some 50 ft along the face of this solid rock wall men were instructed to chisel and pick out a shelf wide enough to accommodate the inside wheels of the wagons.  Perkins declared that he would now build the face of the cliff up so that the outside wheels would be level with the inside ones.  To accomplish this he instructed the blacksmiths to widen the blades of their drills to 2 ½ inches; then with these tools men were instructed to drill a line of holes, each 10 inches deep and about a foot and a half apart, parallel with the shelf that had been chiseled out, and about 5 feet below it.  Perkins is said to have marked the spot for each hole.  At that point the cliff falls of at about a 50 degree angle, so that while they swung the sledges the workmen had to be held in place with ropes secured by their fellows.

"In the meantime men had been sent to scour the river bank and adjacent areas as far back as the Kaiparowits Plateau for oak that could be cut into stakes. When the row of holes was completed, approximately 25 ft along the face of the cliff, these stakes, each one 2 ft in length, were driven firmly into the holes.  On top of the stakes, poles were secured to the ledge and brush, rock and gravel added until the face of the cliff had actually been lifted and a wagon road literally tacked on.  This is one of the most remarkable portions of the whole road.  It is rightly named 'Uncle Ben's Dugway" in honor of its engineer.   Although the stakes have long since vanished, allowing the poles, brush and gravel to slip into the canyon below, the drilled holes are still clearly visible and some of the masonry rockwork is in place after all this time.(34)

"Friday Dec 26, 1879.  The feed has given out on the bench so that we were compelled to move our horses up today and in doing so, got some of them badly cut on the rocks. 

"Tuesday Dec 30, 1879.  Weather cold and foggy have had 6 inches of snow during the last few days.  We are just getting to work again.

"Saturday Jan 3, 1880.  Today we finished the road from the river up to where the solid rock commences, being about 2/3 of the whole distance. The weather is warm and pleasant during the day but rather frosty at nights.

"Sunday Jan 4, 1880.  Warm and cloudy held meeting in the afternoon and evening and had a good time. During the past week Bro Charles Hall of Escalante has brought down the material for a flatboat which he is building and will use as a ferry.

"Tuesday Jan 6, 1880.  Sent our horses back 10 miles on the road in charge of 2 men, as they are falling away fast while staying here.

"Saturday Jan 10, 1880.  Bro. Sevy and party returned last night all well but badly tired out.  We held a meeting in the forenoon and heard their report.  They have had a hard trip and great credit is due them for the pluck and determination they have shown under the very adverse circumstances which surrounded them.  They were lost 4 or 5 days in deep snow and blinding snow storms, were out of provisions and talked seriously of eating a mule but finally reached the camp on San Juan having been 12 days on the road and have traveled 175 miles.  They found the settlers in a very destitute condition as regards provisions.  They stopped 1 day and then started back, and were 11 days on the road and traveled 136 miles but thought a road might be made some shorter.  Reported that it was possible to put a road through, the worst of it being this end and where we are now at work.

"Monday Jan 12, 1880".We are making slow progress on the road for want of powder.

"Friday Jan 16, 1880.  Received a letter from Bro S. S. Smith informing me that he had secured some powder and would forward it as soon as possible.

"Thursday Jan 22, 1880.  Today we received 25 lbs. Of giant powder by Arza Judd from whom we learned that Bro. Smith is sick at Red Creek.  Frank Rysert started for Kanosh on the 20^th with James Dorrity. We have put in our time to the best advantage on this job and will now be able to move in a few days.

"Sunday Jan 26, 1880.  Today we worked all the wagons in this camp down the "Hole" and ferried 26 of them across the river.  The boat is working by one pair of oars and does very well.

"Wednesday Jan 28, 1880.  Bros Walton and Bryson moved one of my wagons 4 miles up on the creek where we will have to camp for a week or so.  We moved the rest of them 1 mile onto the creek and camped.  The weather is as cold as we have been it on the trip.

"Saturday Jan 31, 1880.  Moved up to the cottonwoods where the rest of the company are camped.  Wagons from the 50 mile spring where half of the company have been during the winter began to come into camp today.

My brother Amasa M. and 3 other men came in to camp having been sent from Panguitch to work on the road.  They reported that 1000 lbs of blasting powder had been left at the 50 mile by a man sent from Panguitch to bring it to this company.

" Sunday Feb 1, 1880.  Held no meeting during the day as it was rather too cold but held one in the evening and had a good time.  The weather has been quite cold but is getting warmer and we are making good progress on the road, as we have got the powder in camp and are using it as it is needed.

"Sunday Feb 8, 1880.  Have had a good force of men out during the past week and have made encouraging progress, as the weather is now very pleasant.  Today we held 2 meetings one at each camp they being ½ mile apart.

"Friday Feb 13, 1880.  Have been busy during the past 3 days moving our wagons up the Cottonwood Hill where it took from 4 to 7 span of horses or the same number of oxen to move 1 wagon.  The weather has been very cold and stormy a part of the time.  We are now camped 2 miles from the summit at what we call the cheese camp.  Two men from Panguitch came into camp a few days ago.  They will stop and work on the road.  They brought us 200 lbs of pork and 40 lbs of cheese from the Tithing Office to be divided among 70 men. The cheese was sold at auction hence the name of this camp.

"Sunday Feb 15, 1880.  Four men have started to San Juan on their own hook with pack animals.  We held meeting in the evening had a good time.

"Tuesday Feb 17, 1880.  While camped here we have been building road over and through solid rock, which we have now completed.  Snow fell until noon today when it cleared up and the company began to move.

"Wednesday Feb 18, 1880.  Joseph brought the teams back and we moved the other wagons up and took his on one mile farther and camped in a gulch running through the bench over which our road now runs.  We find plenty of grass here, the first for a long time, and the country is smoother and more open and looks much better. The Henry Mountains lay directly north of us in full view and perhaps 25 miles distant our course is between north and northeast.

"Friday Feb 20, 1880.  Worked the road yesterday and today drove 7 miles over a smooth bench close to the banks of the San Juan which runs 1 mile below us in a gorge so deep and with banks so precipitous as to be completely inaccessible, camped at the top of the smooth rock over which we will build a road.  Here the bench terminates abruptly, and a rough broken valley full of sand and low reefs of sandstone lays below us, and to reach it we will have to build a road ½ a mile down through the steep hills and little pockets in the rock which extends from the top to the very bottom.

"Saturday Feb 21, 1880.  Spent part of the day looking over the rocks for a place to put the road.  The constable of Escalante and 2 other men came into camp looking for stolen stock"went ahead to see some stock that had been taken on a few days ago.

"Sunday Feb 22, 1880. The boys returned from Potato Valley today found the snow so deep and their horses so weak they could do nothing, brought us letters from the settlements.

"Thur Feb 26, 1880.  Amasa and the boys from Panguitch started for home yesterday. The constable and party returned today having found 2 stolen horses in the herd of Jim Dunton and Amasa Barton.

"Sat Feb 28, 1880.  Yesterday we finished the road, and today we moved 1 mile and camped. The past week had been very cold and windy.

"Sun Feb 29, 1880.  Drove 7 miles over a rough rocky and sandy road to the lake, a beautiful clear sheet of spring water ½ mile long and nearly as wide, and apparently very deep.  Cottonwood, willow, canes, flags, bulrushes and several kinds of grass grow luxuriantly, and it would make an excellent stock ranch.  On a point of rock jutting into the lake is the remains of an old stone fortification, built probably several hundred years ago.

Monday Mar 1, 1880.  Layed over, wrote letters and shod some of my horses.  Lewellyn Harris a missionary to Mexico came into camp from the west and brought us letters and papers.

Tuesday Mar 2, 1880.  Drove 7 miles over sand and rock not so rough as coming to the lake, found plenty of grass and snow water.

Wed Mar 3, 1880.  Drove 5 miles over road much as it was yesterday, and camped in the Castle Wash where we found good grass and water.  Our course is now more nearly east.  The country looks much better.

Thur Mar 4, 1880.  High wind with some snow last night.  Drove 4 miles up the wash.  The road has been very sandy but even and tolerably good.

Fri Mar 5, 1880.  Moved 5 miles and camped at the head of the wash on the Clay Hill where there is a very abrupt drop of 1000 ft down which we have got to work the road, and 3 miles farther into the vally beyond.

Wed Mar 10, 1880.  Returned this evening from a 5 days' trip with Bros Sevy and Bryson looking for a road across what we call the Cedar Ridge extending 30 miles each way and nearly everywhere covered with a dense growth of cedar and pinion pine.  We found gulches with perpendicular banks 1000 ft high running from the extreme north 30 miles into the San Juan on the south, but by going around the head of these we can make a passable road by following an old Indian trail.  There is plenty of grass and some water most of the way.  Found that the brethren had nearly completed the road down the hill.

Fri Mar 12, 1880.  Killed a very poor beef yesterday and today my Bro Edward and Joseph Lilleywhite and I rode 12 miles to the SW where we struck the San Juan where the banks are low and there is a good ford found a small bottom of perhaps 200 acres of good land lying 6 ft above the water and covered with the heaviest growth of cottonwood I ever saw.  The river runs with a swift current most of the way.

Sat Mar 13, 1880.  We made ourselves as comfortable as we could last night in a cave with a big fire as we had no bedding, and this morning rode back to camp, some snow fell last night and this is one of the coldest mornings I ever saw.  Most of the camp have moved down the hill.

Sun Mar 14, 1880.  Moved down the hill and out 7 miles into the valley and camped, found good water on the rocks.

Mon Mar 15, 1880.  Last night was the coldest night I ever experienced.  It was impossible to be comfortable in bed or anywhere else.  Drove 8 miles over fair road and camped, found plenty of feed and plenty of water on the rocks.

Tues Mar 16, 1880.  Drove 4 miles and camped good feed and water.

Thur Mar 18, 1880.  Drove 3 miles yesterday, and 6 today and made camp in a sage brush opening in the cedars which are now very thick all around us.  There is a force of men ahead chopping all the time.  There is a good deal of snow and mud making the wheeling very heavy.  We left one of the wagons and a load in it this morning as our teams are getting very weak.

Fri Mar 19, 1880.  Drove 4 miles mostly through sage flats and camped at the head of the cedar ridge and close to the foot of a high mountain on the north covered with deep snow and pine timber (called by some Elk Mountain).  Our course from the Clay hill has been northeast, but now we turn more to the east.

Thur Mar 25, 1880.  During the past 5 days we have worked on the road and moved our wagons along 13 miles over the worst muddy and snowy road we have had, the mud and snow being from 6 inches to 2 ft deep.  We are still in the thick cedars and have lost a part of our horses through there being no feed nearby for them.

Fri Mar 26, 1880.  Found part of our horses and moved 2 of our wagons 4 miles to Snow Flat where there is some feed, the road much better and the cedars not so thick.

Sat Mar 27, 1880.  Moved our other wagon up to camp, the boys have hunted all day and found nothing.  The main body of the camp has gone on.

Mon Mar 29, 1880.  By hand of Dan Harris we received letters from our folks, one from Marion to me contained a ten dollar bill for which I am very thankful.  I found part of our horses but there are still 4 gone.

Wed Mar 31, 1880.  Eddy found the last of our horses yesterday, and today we drove 8 miles and camped just before we got into the Comb Wash.  The road is dry but rough and rocky and very sandy.  The water is very bad and feed pretty good.  Met Kumen Jones and warren Taylor from the main camp with 6 animals to help us in.

Thur Apr 1, 1880.  Drove 10 miles down the wash through very bad sand to the San Juan river where the company is camped and at work on the road.  We cannot follow up the river, so we have to do some work to get up over the bench.

Sun Apr 4, 1880.  Pulled up over the rock 3 miles yesterday, and today went 4 miles to the Butler Gulch most of the way on the rock.  Good feed and water.

Mon Apr 5 1880.  Drove 7 miles over heavy sandy road and camped in bottom of the San Juan 2 miles long where we propose to locate for the present.  This is 15 miles below where Bro Smith's camp was last summer.  This land is rich covered with cottonwood and about 6 ft above the river which runs with a pretty good current, but looks as if it would be hard to handle.  The climate appears to be mild. There are 3 families by the name of Harris who have been here all winter.  There are about 70 men in our camp, about 85 wagons and we have expended $4800 on the road in labor counting our time $1.50 per day, several men will go above here 15 miles and settle with their families and a few (principally non-Mormons) will go in to the mining districts of Colorado 100 miles east of here.

Tues Apr 6, 1880.  Looked over the land and selected a site for a town and in the evening held meeting when a committee of 3 was chosen to manage the work on the ditch which we will have to make, and another of 5 to lay off a field and a town, I being among the latter number.(35)  By April 6^th most of the outfits had pulled onto the flat river bottom just east of Cottonwood Wash, and although the intended destination (Montezuma) was only another 18 miles farther up stream, the company simply lost its push.  All at once all energy seems to have left them completely.  The travel-worn expedition was just too tired to go on.  Here were a few acres of what appeared to be good farmland.  Here they would stop - at least most of them.  Here they would build their homes. At the suggestion of William Hutchings they called the new location Bluff City.  Such important tasks as laying off lots, building houses, and digging a canal to bring water to the parched soil were begun at once. With God's help they would now be able to complete the mission to which they had been called.(36)

Wed Apr 7, 1880.  We began laying off the lots and land and most of the brethren began work on the ditch.

Sat Apr 10, 1880.  As we have finished laying off the land and lots and find the former much less than we expected, it was motioned and carried in the meeting this evening that we draw lots to see who has the land here, and those who draw blanks can go farther up the river and make another location, 22 blanks and 40 numbers were put in the hat and after the drawing was over Bro. Sevy and I had blanks with a number of others, and each of my brothers drew a number.

Sun Apr 11, 1880.  Held a meeting in the afternoon and evening.  James Pace who drew a number proposed to throw the whole thing out and all share alike, this however was not carried.  There is some disappointment manifested by those who have drawn blanks, and also a very illiberal feeling by those who are elected to stay here.

Mon Apr 12, 1880.  Did not feel well and layed around camp most of the day and attended a very stormy unsatisfactory meeting in the evening, and tried to harmonize the discordant element that is aroused by some of those who drew blanks taking up land for themselves which it was understood was to be used by that part of the company that remained here.  After a good deal of debate a motion that holders of the blanks go farther up the river if a suitable place can be found was carried.

Tue Apr 13, 1880.  Because of a proposal made by some of the brethren I called the camp together to see if some arrangement cannot be made so that all may continue to work here, as it is out of the question for us to move any farther at present.  Spent most of the forenoon in adjusting our difficulties during which a good and conciliatory spirit was generally manifest.  It was decided unanimously to throw out the former drawing altogether and all share alike with the understanding the brethren who hold large claims taken up last season throw them into the hands of the field committee for disposal in the interests of the camp.  59 persons then drew 1 lot each and a general feeling of satisfaction seemed to prevail, work which has been almost entirely suspended on the ditch was resumed this afternoon.  Our town lots are 12 rods square being made thus small owing to the limited space suitable for building on. The field lots vary from 8 to 20 acres to the man according to location and quality.  The course of the stream here is almost west and the land lays on both sides although we will only utilize that on the north side at present.

The valley is from ½ to 1 mile wide between the sandstone bluffs which rise 300 ft perpendicular, beyond these there are benches partly smooth and otherwise generally covered with grass and 40 miles to the north of us lay the blue mountains the nearest point at which we can reach saw timber.  We have learned that an appropriation of $5000 has been made to Silas S. Smith to be expended on this road.  The people are looking anxiously for this coming expecting a little money for their labor during the winter.  Last night in our camp a son was born to the wife of Alvin Decker, this is the first birth in this location.

Thur Apr 22, 1880.  Most of the camp have moved down onto their lots.  We have moved onto our claim and put up a "wickiup" and dug a well getting good water at 16 ft.

Sun Apr 26, 1880.  San Juan county having been organized by the last legislature with Silas S. Smith as Judge and P. D. Lyman, Jens Neilsen and Zechariah B. Decker as selectmen, and C. E. Walton having been appointed County Clerk by Judge Smith the four latter met by appointment of the Judge and held the first term of court for this county and adjourned for 6 weeks after having appointed L. H. Redd Assessor and Collector(37)" 

Sarah liked very little of what she saw as they entered Bluff on Apr 6, 1880.  "My feelings I think were similar to Sister Clara Young's when they reached Salt Lake.  I didn't see anything there to stop for nor could I see it was possible to make a town in such a place.  How thankful I was that I didn't have to make my home there."  Little did she realize at that time what lay ahead and how she would grow to love this isolated Mormon settlement.  "The first Indians I saw were in Chicago as we came through and the Indians of Utah.  I was certainly afraid of them for awhile."  Reverting again to Bluff she says, "I remember having Sunday School under the swing tree.  At the first Sunday School a bunch of Indians came riding up and I wondered what would become of us, but Bishop Nielson and Brother Jones were so calm I found there was no reason to be afraid.

"The men erected brush sheds, these and wagon boxes were the only shelters we had that summer.  There was no time for building, as crops had to be planted and ditches made. (38)  The longer I lived among these people the more I became convinced that Mormonism was the religion for me.  There was always something lacking or wanting in my life until I joined the Mormon Church, and it came to me little by little - the things I had been wanting and didn't know what I wanted.  It was on the trip out to Bluff that my eyes began to be opened, the things began to come a little at a time.  The singing had as much to do with it as any one thing, and the preaching of Platte Lyman.  The unity among the people, coming out with no conveniences, and yet they were just as happy as they could be; the testimony the people bore - I took so much interest in the testimonies; I was so impressed with the hymns and I read them over and over.(39)"

Sarah was baptized that fall in the San Juan River on 6 Oct 1880 by Charles E. Walton Sr.  "The same fall I returned to my home in Cedar City," she writes.  She went with Hyrum and Rachel Perkins and although no records so state her brother Thomas, who had made the trip to Bluff, probably also returned to Cedar at the same time.(40)  But let us now return to Benjamin Perkins and his wife Mary Ann.  They were yet to stay awhile in this remote settlement.  Mary Ann says, "We lived in our wagons that were formed into a circle, for protection, until the men got the fort built.  Then we moved into the fort which was much more comfortable after our long time in the wagons."(41)

"Bluff was built on the sand where the river had once had its bed.  It was more than 100 miles to the nearest town, and farther still to any base of supplies, or any source from which help could be had in case of trouble with the numerous Indians.  The Navajos were on the South, the Piutes all around, a breed of inveterate thieves stealing the little colony blind at every opportunity.  And the old river itself set the pace for a land of inexorable outlaws by plowing back and forth across the valley with no regard to ditches, fences, houses nor anything else.  It was not an inviting prospect, and if Uncle Ben found it a little too different to the conditions under which he had been raised, and thought best to get back farther onto the beaten path, it is not to be wondered at."(43)

In the fall of 1881 after having been in the San Juan area for a year and a  half, Mary Ann wanted to visit her family in Cedar City, and it didn't take much talking to get Ben, who was also anxious to see his relatives and get back into civilization for a short time, to consent to the trip.  They brought with them their children including the baby Daniel Benjamin, who was born 9 May 1881 in Bluff.(44)

Several years had passed since Ben had received his patriarchal blessing and he had spent long hours pondering on the consequences of what lay ahead and the problems that would result from his complying with the law of plural marriage.  But he had been commanded to take another wife and after much prayer and fasting on the subject, he approached Mary Ann and informed her that he wanted to take as his second wife her younger sister, Sarah.  Mary Ann was shocked and hurt.  She knew that plural marriage was practiced by many of her closest friends and she knew from Ben's blessing that eventually she would be asked to give her consent to his having other wives but how could she bear to permit it.  Her husband with another wife and she left alone days on end.  No, she would not give her consent!  And yet she knew that to deny the family of this opportunity might affect their chances for eternal exaltation.  Oh, the torment and indecision that she felt.  Could she bear it?  She must, she would.  Finally she gave her consent but not without presentments of difficult times ahead and with some reservations.  She would not attend the ceremony.

"The resigned manner with which mother accepted and lived polygamy reveals a spiritual understanding and a loyalty to her husband and her God that challenges any outward performance of religion at its best, and imbues one with a desire to emulate the nobleness of her soul.  The sacrifices and conflicts of her inner life left a strength of character and self control that fortified her life."(45)

"On the 28^th of Oct 1881, I became the plural wife of Benjamin Perkins.  We were married in the St. George Temple.  This was during the "crusade" and for safety's sake it was necessary to make the trip under the cover of night".  So in order to arrive in St. George at night time they began their trip at daybreak from Cedar.  "When we went to St. George to get married, we left at daylight, his sister Naomi was with us, and when we got to Kanara, we stopped there with some people for breakfast and to rest and water the team. The man came out and asked where he (Ben) was going and he said to the South.  Then the man asked "What are you loaded with?" and when he came out and saw us, he knew what was up.  I wasn't very anxious for people to see me in those days.  I was very bashful and feeling blue, but the man was a polygamist himself and very jolly.

"After returning from St. George I made my home with my husband's sister Naomi.  I dared not go home because my folks were all against my marrying into polygamy.  Leaving my folks was very trying as was the reception I got on my return.  When I told father I had decided to marry, he tried to talk me out of it.  He didn't say I couldn't but he said he'd rather bury me than see me go into the principle.  "You are old enough to know what you want to do," he said.  "Before you leave to get married, though, let me know.  I don't want to say goodbye to you if you are going to come back a plural wife.  I won't be here when you go, for I'll leave home before you do.  And he went up in the mines and I didn't see him again until we'd been out in San Juan and I had two children.

"My parents had warned me that if I entered into polygamy I would never be allowed to come home again.  Although I had been forbidden to return home, I did so repeatedly only to have the door shut in my face and was told that there was no place there for me.  Hard as was all of this to bear, I felt in my soul that I had made no mistake and that they would be made to see that they were wrong."

During this time Ben lived with Mary Ann at her parent's place and Sarah continued to live with Naomi.  She says of the first day there.  "The next morning was the first time I ever prayed in family prayer.  After breakfast I told my sister-in-law I was going to see my folks and she told me not to for they wouldn't let me in.  I went in and I met mother and she said, "How dare you?" and she gave me an awful black look.  But I tried to make myself free, and I took the baby, Dan, but his mother came and snatched him from me and gave me a slap in the face.

"I was not angry, but I was melted, and felt to sympathize with my sister."  Mary Ann was repenting of her decision to allow Ben to marry Sarah.  "During my two weeks stay there with Perry's, I went home every day, and felt sorry for them.  I felt that I was right in going into the principle, for I had been advised by leading men to go into it and I believed them and went into it and took the consequences.  When I left to come my mother gave me a quilt and a pillow and said, "Take these and leave."  To these remarks I would never answer them back.  I always took it in good part for I had so much sympathy for them.

"After we'd been in Bluff a few months they wrote me a letter asking my forgiveness, and they would like to see me come back - the door was open and I was welcome any time. That did me a world of good, for my heart was heavy, especially with the way Mary Ann felt, for she felt awful."(46)  It might be good to mention here that part of what Mary Ann felt was apparently inspired by the way her parents had taken the situation. Although it was extremely hard for her to live the law of celestial marriage, after a few years she accepted it more easily than in its initial stages. 

The family moved back to Bluff in the early part of November.  During their absence, as a fortification against the Indians, the people of Bluff had built a fort.  "Living in the fort, we came in contact with one another and some very close ties were formed. The children played together almost as one big family.  After we were in Bluff, I did all that was in my power to have good feelings in the home, but it seemed that the old devil was there and it did no good; and Brother Perkins did his best to do right by us both.  It was awful hard on Mary Ann for the first few years, and then she began to get over it.  I felt that Brother Perkins had the hardest deal of any of us.

"And when my babies began to come, Mary Ann did welcome them, she did treat them right and was tender and loving with them after a little while.  And I always tried my best to respect her in everything, and that she acknowledged the year before she died and said if I hadn't she couldn't have lived through it."(47)  Sarah gave birth to two children while living in Bluff this time.  Mary Ellen was born 28 Sep 1882 and Beatrice Ann was born 28 Feb 1884.  Mary Ann gave birth to her 6^th child in between these two.  They called him John and he was born 11 Dec 1883.(48)

"As conditions became more settled and the Indians more peaceful, the fort was abandoned and more homes built."  Life in Bluff was a continual struggle, however, and the people were not too well satisfied with the area.  The narrow valley could not support a large population and finally visiting church leaders, seeing the situation the missionary-settlers were faced with, gave release from obligations to all those who wanted to leave the area, "with a promise that those who left would be blessed, but those who remained would be doubly blessed."  Bluff later became one of the wealthiest towns in the United States for its size.  Not only was it blessed with wealth but the people grew spiritually and at one time had 13 missionaries in the field."(49)

"Co-operative companies were formed to benefit the members of the settlement.  A co-op store was organized 24 Apr 1882 with Platte D. Lyman, president; Jens Nielson, vice-president; C. E. Walton, Sr., Kumen Jones and Benjamin Perkins, directors; L. H. Redd, secretary; Hyrum Perkins, treasurer.  On Sat June 10, 1882, the store opened with J. A. (Jody) Lyman as clerk."(50)

Mary Ann was very unhappy in Bluff and was not well either, so it was finally decided by the family to move back to Cedar City.  Ben bought a home from some people who were leaving for Bluff, so the family had a comfortable home again, but it was not due to last.  Ben was unable to secure farm land and Mary Ann became very ill and the doctor said she must have a change of climate.  One child each was born to the wives of Benjamin Perkins while living in Cedar City this time.  They were Ruth, born 3 Feb 1885, and Sarah Elizabeth born 12 Jan 1886, the former a daughter of Mary Ann and the latter a daughter of Sarah.(51)

Ben and Mary Ann moved with their family to Teasdale, Wayne Co., Utah and began building two homes.  Sarah was left with her family on Cedar Mountain to run a dairy.  "In the late fall, my brother Will accompanied me to Beaver where I expected to exchange my cheese for woolen goods and other supplies.  While on the desert we had the misfortune to break a wheel off the wagon, and to add to this trouble, we were caught in a raging blizzard of snow, with no means of making a fire.  Will managed to make a cart with the front wheels and running gears of the wagon and we traveled in this fashion for about 10 miles.  We reached a cowboy's shack but my infant daughter and I were nearly frozen to death.  Had it not been for the cowboys, I feel that we likely would have perished. 

"The following spring I joined my husband in Wayne County."(52)  The children went to school for awhile in Teasdale in a 1-room school house, where they had all 8 grades, taught by 1 teacher.  The deputy marshalls were continually hunting the polygamists throughout Utah.  It was difficult to keep ahead of them. Ben moved his family to Grover, to Fish Creek and finally was able to find relative security in the isolated area known as Carcass Creek, later called Torrey.  He bought a ranch there at the foot of the Henry Mountains and ran a dairy, milked 15 to 25 head of cows and operated a small farm.  Carcass Creek ran right through the farm and was so full of mountain trout that the family easily caught what they wanted for a meal.

In Teasdale, Grover, Fish Creek and Carcass Creek, Mary Ann spent her happiest days with the family.  After the toil was over, she and Ben would tell the children stories from life's experiences and sing songs and teach them the gospel and the children sat in rapt attention at the stories from the Bible.  Of this time Naomi writes, "We children had to help milk the cows, make cheese and pick wild berries along the creek banks.  We helped mother in the house and father in the fields, whenever we were needed.  We were happy here.  Our home was a gathering place for young people, and oh, the good times we had.

"My sister, Kate, and I brought the cows from the pastures, picked wild berries from the hills, pinenuts and pinegum from the trees we passed.  In the evenings we sang songs, recited poetry and always ended the evening reading from the Bible and having prayer."(53)  This tranquil and yet uncertain existence went on until the fall of 1888.  During this time 4 children were born to the two wives.  On the 11^th of Feb 1887 Mary Ann gave birth to twins whom they named Edmund and Lula but as with William Evan before, these little spirits were not designed to stay in mortality.  They were born in Teasdale and died there the same day.(54)

The following year, in June, both Mary Ann and Sarah gave birth to children. Sarah's baby was born first, a little girl whom they called Gladys.  She was born in Teasdale on 5 June 1888.  Mary Ann followed on the 13^th with Alvira, also born in Teasdale.(55)  These last two births, so close together, caused the law to double their efforts to capture Ben Perkins.  "The unbeliever and the unclean can look on this order of family life to scoff and to mock, but take it without compromise and without apology from one who was born in polygamy, who knew Ben Perkins and his families, and who married the first child of his second marriage, that Ben Perkins was a diplomat and a wise man or he never could have guided his bark successfully as he did through those stormy waters.

"And we cannot evaluate him properly without a correct estimate of that first girl for whom he sent back to Wales, known to us as Aunt Mary Ann.  From the time at that railroad station in Wales when she asked him to write her and promised to come, she never wavered in her devotion to him.  She did come first chance, as she had said, adapting readily to the wild frontier and meeting its needs with her industry and her resourcefulness.

"Chastity and modesty formed essential fibers in her refined nature, and though she believed and accepted the gospel as revealed through Joseph Smith, her training had been such that the practice of polygamy came as a very great trial.  We who have our being from that second marriage are particularly grateful to her, and keenly appreciative of her hard sacrifices which have contributed so generously to our well being.  All we may say here for our own branch of the family is with no thought of overlooking or belittling the faithful and generous part taken for us by Aunt Mary Ann."(56)

"Then one night in the fall, late at night, a knock came on the door.  Two young men rushed in saying, "Brother Perkins, the marshalls are on their way here, hurry and hide."  Father took a quilt, a little food, kissed us all and slipped out into the night.  We were still crying the next morning when mother came in and told us they had found father and arrested him.(57)  When the marshalls got Brother Perkins, one of them was an old friend of his and thought lots of him, but it was his duty to take him.  And Brother Perkins invited them in to have breakfast.  When breakfast was ready he told them it was customary to have prayers.  "You can kneel or sit there" and it seemed to cut them, and one of them kneeled, but the other sat on his chair.

"I was not there when the marshalls came, I was up in the woods hiding, for they wanted to get me," says Sarah.  "When they sat up to the table, Brother Perkins asked one of the younger children to ask the blessing, and tears rolled down the cheeks of the friend and he said "This is almost more than I can stand."  The respect he showed him when he was bringing such sorrow to his home, and when they left, the family wished them goodbye and good luck, and they said they had never had such a welcome on any of their calls.

"They asked Brother Perkins to go to town and get bonds to appear, and he told them that if it were impossible to get bonds, he would be there at the time appointed without fail, and Johnny Armstrong told him, "I know you, and your word is good," and they let him go on his own promise to appear without bonds.(58)   It was harvest time and the marshalls told father he could stay until the harvest was in before he started to serve his sentence. After the harvest was in father kept his word and went into Beaver to give himself up."(59)

Ben appeared for trial on Dec 18^th.  He was sentenced to a term in the state penitentiary at Salt Lake City and ordered to pay a fine of $300 and the court costs.  "After the sentence was pronounced, Armstrong gave him a letter of introduction to the warden at the prison, telling the warden that Brother Perkins was a good man but was married too much.  After the 3^rd day in prison he was made a trusty and given lots of liberty.(60)  As might be expected, he spent his prison days as busily as the circumstances would permit.  Becoming a trusty he went up the canyon for wood with which he made rattle-boxes, comb-cases and whatever was possible to his surroundings.  He took his imprisonment as a merry matter of fact, coddling it with good-natured jokes, and getting its weary days into the past as easily as possible.

"It is not clear the length of time he was ordered to serve, but on June 17, 1889, he was released for good behavior and excused from paying the $300 fine."(60)  One of the pictures at the end of this section of the book is from this time period, taken of some of the inmates of the prison.  Ben is seated on the steps and is wearing a beard.  The gentleman in the black suit is Apostle Francis M. Lyman.  While in prison Ben talked with other polygamists regarding what they planned on doing after being released.  Some would separate completely from their polygamous wives, but most planned to live the commandment at all costs.  Some were going to Mexico in order to live in peace, others would separate their families but continue fulfilling the celestial law.

Sarah says of this time, "During his confinement in the penitentiary, I made my home in Hanksville with some friends by the name of Wright. Their kindness and consideration shall ever be remembered with the deepest gratitude"Life would have been bitter indeed without the association and help of kind friends, who came to me in my time of trouble."(62)  Ben decided to take his families to Mexico to live and when he got home he told his wives of the decision, but they must have disagreed with him because the move was never made.  However, they did decide to move. After his release he returned to Carcass Creek, and began preparations for moving his second family.  He moved Sarah and her children as far away as was feasibly possible"to Mancos, Colorado" with the understanding that the next year he would move Mary Ann to the San Juan area again.  There in Mancos, Montezuma, Colorado on 28 May 1890 Sarah gave birth to her 5^th child and only son, Richard Leonard.(63)

Sarah says of this period, "After I had been in the Church quite awhile, I was going to a testimony meeting one time, and I had heard so much about speaking in tongues, and I asked the Lord to show me something in that meeting; if someone would speak in tongues, even if it were not translated, I would take it as a testimony, and Brother Middleton got up and spoke in tongues."  Back at Carcass Creek, Ben was selling his farm and animals, packing up his family for the return to the San Juan. They started out with several families by the name of Bingham and Christensen.  They retraced their travels through the Hole-in-the-Rock.  Ben and Kate drove the wagons on the trip and Dar and Naomi the cows and loose stock.  Hyrum met them 100 miles from Bluff with fresh horses so that they could get to Bluff in time for Christmas.  When they arrived many of their old friends and relatives turned out to meet them and welcome them back.  The following document was presented to the Bishop in Bluff upon their arrival:

                                                                         Teasdale, November 19, 1890

To whom it may concern

            This certifies that Benjamin Perkins and family are members of the Teasdale Ward of the Sevier Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in full fellowship and as such we recommend them to any ward or branch they may wish to join.

                                                            George Coleman     Bsp(64)

After a year at Bluff with the first family, the polygamy question having subsided substantially, and with the growing desire of having his families closer to his center of work, Ben once again moved Mary Ann and Sarah.  It was decided that Mary Ann's family would move to Monticello where Ben would spend most of the time and Sarah would move to Bluff.  The change was made.  Ben ran a farm in Monticello and freighted whenever he could.  Besides these jobs he took mail contracts between 1905 and 1910 from Monticello to Bluff and from Moab to Monticello.  "This was before the days of the automobile and it involved lean, jaded horses, trips through blizzards and mud, with rattletrap buckboards toggled up with bailing wire."(65)

There were large cattle ranches on both the north and south of Monticello.  The L. C. Ranch owned by Widow Lacy had about 17,000 head. The Harold Carlisle Ranch had about 80 cowboys and ran 30,000 head of cattle.  These cowboys were mostly renegades hiding from the law.  There were many people killed during this lawless era, usually in drunken brawls or accidental shootings of innocent citizens.

These early years in Monticello were wrought with many problems common to frontier towns.  The children attended school in a 2-room log school house in which 8 grades were taught by 2 teachers.  The school house also served as the church and amusement hall.  Late on, in 1895, a brick schoolhouse was built.  This was outgrown eventually and in 1916 five acres of land were purchased from Ben Perkins, by the town, on Main Street and 2^nd North, on which a school was built, being finished in 1936.

Mary Ann's family finally reached its limit in its number of children on 5 June 1893, when she gave birth to little Claude.  He, like three of the family before, however, died shortly after birth on June 17 in Monticello where he was also born.(66) 

The first summer and winter the family lived in Monticello, their home was an old dirt-roof cellar.  Finally Ben finished a 2-room log cabin.  This was then the family home until he built a rock house with 5 rooms, a basement and an upstairs.  "It was one of the finest homes in the country and because of mother's skill with flowers, looked almost like we lived in the tropical zone.  Even the Indians shared in them and loved her, for she gave them not only flowers but food and clothing.  "She was a capable and practical nurse and did much to care for the sick in the pioneer communities where trained nurses and doctors were so scarce."(68)

Mary Ann was "one of those dainty, retiring, unassuming persons whose daily life passed by almost unnoticed, to gently, so effectively and orderly did she perform her duties.  One sensed a quiet feeling, always, of work finished.  No fuss, muss, or turmoil; but each passing year since, forever creeps up a memory of her accomplishments that not only amazes but leaves us astounded at her achievements and management." The best and the lowliest ate at her table and the meanest were never turned away.  No foul or profane word passed her lips.  A dignity that knew no caste, a quality of soul that money cannot buy, nor an education instill.  An embodiment of refinement, sympathy, and courage.  A LADY IN PURPLE ALWAYS no matter what the quality or color of her gown."(69)

"Hers was one of the noble spirits and at her passing many people, young and old, came long distances to pay her tribute.  She died from a stroke at Kane Springs, near Monticello, Utah on October 12, 1912."(70)  Ben called his children to come, and Dan, John, Vira, and Ruth left immediately by buggy. They drove through a moonless, starless night, only to find their mother in a coma from which she never recovered.

Ben said to them after they arrived, "Do as you like about getting a doctor; I am certain this is the end."  The doctor confirmed his words.  "I see his dear face yet holding her hand, resigned to the inevitable.  In two days she was gone and we, her family, who loved her so much, laid her to rest, one of the most refined, modest, lovable mothers that ever lived."(71)

Mary Ann William Perkins was buried in Monticello, San Juan, Utah on 14 October 1912.(72)

                                                Sarah and Family continued

We left Sarah and her family right after they moved to Bluff in 1891.  Let us continue.  Sarah says, "After we came back to Bluff the second time, I was left alone so much.  I just had to depend on the Lord.  With my big family and not much means, the babies came pretty fast, and all these things have been a blessing to me, and I certainly thank Heavenly Father for them.  If I hadn't had this experience, I would have been careless."I'm thankful that the Lord blessed me with a family.  They are a big comfort to me now, though some of them have not done just what I wanted them to do, but I appreciate them very much."

Sarah had 5 children born to her while living in Bluff.  On 11 March 1894 twin girls, Ione and Irene made their entrance into this world on very tenable ground.  Their struggle for life will be given in their personal histories.  Alberta was born 29 Aug 1895, Ella Vilate, 2 Sep 1897 and Minerva on 7 Mar 1901.(73)  To support her children, Sarah took in washing and worked long hours in the family garden to provide the little ones with food to eat.

"I cannot think of those days of severe trials without recalling the many kind acts of helpfulness from my friends, chief among these was our Bishop Jens Nielson who was ever solicitous of our welfare.  One of my most trying times came when my twin girls were born.  They weighed at birth two and one half pounds and three pounds.  For nine months we despaired of their lives.  Our lights were never out and for weeks at a time I never had my clothes off to sleep.  At another time my daughter Alberta, then 3 years of age, was severely burned and but for God's goodness, could not have lived."(74)

Ben built Sarah a log cabin in Bluff and this is where she lived and raised the family until she moved to Monticello.  A picture at the end of this history shows Sarah and one of her daughters standing in front of this home.  Some people would have thought by looking at Sarah Perkins that she was a timid woman, but few equaled her in courage to stand right out and speak for the right.  A number of times when people needed to be called down, and they had trespassed on her rights, she told them in very plain and unmistakable terms what they were doing.  It wasn't mean, it was just firm.  There was character and firmness and faith in all her actions.

"Many were the trying times we had with the Indians," continues Sarah, "not only would they pilfer and steal, but threaten to take our lives if denied the things they asked for.  At one time I had an Indian boy chop me some wood, promising some bread for his work.  When the wood was chopped, he refused the bread and demanded money for his work.  I had no money to give so he went away in a rage and returned with his father, a Ute Chief known as Moncos Jim.  I explained to the father but he insisted that I give the boy money as I had promised, saying his boy "no lie."  They declared that if I did not give the boy money, that they could come when I was asleep with my "papooses" and burn the house down.

"Often times I have been warned of danger.  I recall one morning while in Sunday School, I felt impressed to return home.  I could see no reason for doing so as I had my children with me, and could think of nothing home needing my attention.  But the warning came so clearly and repeatedly that I could not disregard it; on reaching home I found an Indian in the act of carrying off what little food I had.

"Besides caring for my family, I did a good deal of work for the neighbors to help my husband in the task of providing for his big family.  I also made most of my first furniture from goods boxes and I think I was about as proud of it as many a young matron is today of her upholstered set.  My first screen door, I made from coffee boxes, and more than one stranger stopped to ask if I sold coffee.  They saw the word "coffee" on the door and mistook it for a sign.

"My children's Christmas was quite different from the Christmas of today.  One year by my washing, I had obtained enough yarn to knit each child a pair of stockings which was to be the only Christmas present.  After hours and hours of knitting the stockings were completed, washed and hung out to dry; when no one was looking one of our dusky neighbors helped himself to every pair and my children were left without a Christmas.

"About the year 1907 my husband felt that he could more easily provide and care for his family if we were living in the same town with him.  Accordingly we were again called to establish ourselves in a new home at Monticello.  It was a big trial to me to leave Bluff and my old friends there.  The people there were so near and dear to me; but my husband wished me to do it, and I did it but I hated to go.  I had had some very good times there and some very sorrowful times.  I had been alone there with my little ones and had had so much sickness.

"My being alone there so much in the hard time I had, things came to me that could have come in no other way.  I enjoyed being there with my children"I went to Sunday School with them and to Primary with them, and we had prayer and we sang in the home and it was a joyful experience.  The move "proved not to be the hard ordeal that the children and I had felt that it would be.  Many of the people we found were old acquaintances and so we found ourselves among friends and relatives instead in a land of strangers."(75)  Sarah and her family moved from one place to another in Monticello until Mary Ann's death at which time they moved into the home that Ben had built for her.  They lived there until Mary Ann's oldest daughter and her husband bought it, Ben having completed by then another home for Sarah.

"Ben was a good father and a superb individual as attested to by that which has been written about him.  He was the first assessor and collector of San Juan County.  He was the first treasurer for the San Juan Co-op and he had an ability for handling figures and accounts without putting them on pages.  He served for many years as a High Councilor in the San Juan Stake, and was always active in the Church."(76)

"Father was a small but sturdily built man, being 5'5" tall.  He seemed to have an "iron constitution" never knew a sick day until he was past 65 years of age.  Somewhat bowlegged but otherwise straight and very quick and active.  His eyes were round and piercing black, and always reflected his innately good and cheery nature.  His hair was also black and silky, covering a rather small head.  Only once in my life do I recall seeing him without the heavy black beard he habitually wore.  Always happy, he was the life of any party with a ready willingness to entertain with his limitless stock of jokes, riddles, and brainteasers; tongue twisters, stunt songs and music.  Almost up to the time of his death at the age of 83 he loved to step dance and could "out do" in point of endurance as well as intricate steps almost any competitor.

"He was a profound lover of music with a keen ear for hearing and a good voice for producing a deep rich bass.  As singing was a major part of entertainment in those days, he and his two wives who both sang beautifully were always much in demand.  Music was truly the language of his soul.  Every emotion:  mirth, joy, sorrow, anger, even his most profound grief, he desired to release through the medium of song.  Games and sports he loved, of almost any nature, and acquired considerable skill in many of them.  He could throw a stone farther and straighter than anyone else I have ever known.

"Scrupulously punctual in all his activities, he abhorred the old saying "Better late than never", and rather than go late to an appointment or meeting he would remain away entirely.  Always an early riser, for he loved to work, he usually retired early; but if anything kept him from retiring early, he never let it interfere with his rising hour (about 4 am.) in the summer and an hour later in the winter and he expected his family to follow the same pattern.  But he did not object to an hour or so of rest sometime during the day following a dance or evening party.

"Like most Welsh people, he was deeply religious.  He had great faith in fasting and prayer and many times through the practice of these God-given principles, the family experienced miraculous blessing of healing and help.  Respect for authority was religiously practiced and taught to his family.  So loyal and true himself, that confidence or trust in another, once betrayed, he found hard to forgive and forget.

"Perhaps he would not be termed a tender father "the hardships and rigors of frontier life are not conducive to making men tender and soft, but he was certainly loving and kind and wise.  He could romp and play with and be a pal to any child, yet he had perfect discipline over them all.  The rod was a minus article with him.  When father spoke, obedience was unquestioned.  We were expected to render the same respect and obedience to our mothers, and in this he taught by example as well as precept.  He always spoke with the greatest respect to and of his wives."(77)

"At the age of 81 he went to spend the winter in California where his daughters Catherine, Vilate, and Minerva were living."(78)  While living in Hollywood, he wrote the following singular epistle to his children.

"It is my desire above all that my family be united and good to each other at all times.  I have no pets, no favorites.  Each child is as dear to me as the other.  If any extra consideration is given to any it should be to Kate, Dan and Diel for assistance and service they have given to the family as a whole and not from partiality on my part, and such service should be repaid if finances would warrant.  However, Aunt Sarah must be cared for first and anything I might have above meeting expenses must be used in this manner.  Should there be any surplus then each child to share alike.

"It is my desire should I pass away to be buried in the plainest of every thing and in the place that would lighten the expense, as expensive burials could be better used to help the poor.  The resting place of the body has nothing to do with the soul, and I will meet your mother and those gone before just the same whether I am buried in Hollywood, Cedar or Monticello but whatever the majority of the family wants will be perfectly satisfactory to me.

"It is my desire if, in any way, any of my family get means through oil or otherwise that they do all they can to help and assist others less fortunate.  Now this statement was made with the best of feeling to each and every child with a blessing for you all.  Could I only live to see you all comfortably fixed and united I would feel my mission was well finished.  How I long to help you all.

"Signed:  Your loving father, Benjamin Perkins."(79)

Benjamin Perkins died there at Catherine's home in Hollywood on 30 Mar 1926.  His remains were brought back to Monticello, Utah, and buried there on Apr 6^th.  (80)  At his passing the following article was written in the Improvement Era:

"Benjamin (Uncle Ben) Perkins, one of the original pioneers of San Juan County, died in Los Angeles, California 29 (sic) Mar 1926.   The body was brought to Monticello and buried there on Apr 6.  The deceased was born in Swansea, Wales, in 1844 and came to the U.S. with his brother Hyrum in 1868.  He was instrumental in bringing to Utah his father, mother, two sisters, and Mary Ann Williams, whom he married soon after her arrival in Salt Lake City.  Uncle Benjamin Perkins passed through the scenes and experiences incident to the early pioneer life in Utah and the West and did his part in developing the country and in turning the desert into a fruitful field.  Later in life he married Sarah Williams, a sister of his first wife, and by the two unions he was blessed with 23 children, 18 of whom survive him together with 84 grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren.(81)"

Benjamin Perkins left a will which reads as follows:

 "Done in Chambers at Manti, Utah, this 25^th day of July, 1929    No. 129  Filed July 29, 1929

/s/ Frank Halls, Clerk

                                                                   WILL

Know all men by these presents,

That I, Benjamin Perkins of Monticello, San Juan County, State of Utah, of the age of seventy-nine years, and being of sound and disposing mind and memory and not acting under duress, menace, fraud, or undue influence of any person whatsoever, do make public and declare this my last will and testament, hereby revoking all other wills at any other time heretofore made by me, in the manner following:

First, I direct that my body be decently buried with proper regard to my situation and condition in life and the circumstance of my estate.

Secondly, I direct that my executor, hereinafter named, as soon as he shall have sufficient funds in his hands pay my funeral expenses and the expenses of my last illness.

Thirdly, I direct and order that all my debts at the time of my death shall be paid by my said executor out of the funds of my estate, should there be sufficient funds for such purpose, and if not, then I direct and order that all my said debts and expenses, and the expenses of the administration of my estate be paid by said executor and out of the proceeds of such amount of the personal property owned by me at the time of my death as may be necessary for such purposes and I hereby authorize my said executor to sell sufficient of my said personal property so owned by me at the time of my death for said purpose and said sales may be made without making any application to, or obtaining any order from any court, tribunal or person whatsoever.

Fourthly, I give, devise and bequest to my beloved wife, Sarah William Perkins of said Monticello, San Juan county, State of Utah, all the real estate of every name and nature whatsoever, owned by me or in which I have any interest at the time of my death, and all of the rest, residue and remainder of my personal property, goods and chattels of whatsoever name and nature, owned by me at the time of my death or in which I may have any interest, with full and free use and occupancy of the same to my said wife, Sarah William Perkins, free from any and all accounting therefore or any portion thereof, for the term and period of her natural life should she survive me.

Fifthly, upon the death of my said wife, Sarah William Perkins, should she survive me, I give, devise, and bequest to all of my children including my foster daughter Adelia Perkins, who may survive my said wife, Sarah William Perkins, with right of representation, all the rest, residue of my said real estate and personal property of every name nature and description wherever found or however situated, remaining after said life estate herein and use thereof by my  said wife, Sarah William Perkins, to be divided equally between them, my said children, including my said foster daughter Adelia Perkins, share and share alike, their heirs and assigns forever."

Returning to the last of our noble ancestors covered in this history, we find her filled with faith and a determination to live so to the end.  After Ben's death, Sarah moved to Salt Lake City so that she could be near the temple and do work for the dead.  She remained here until her health failed her, at which time she returned to her children in San Juan.  The following experiences of faith are told by her daughter Gladys and show the degree to which she attained perfection in this life.

"As far back in my life as I can remember, Mother, Sarah W. Perkins, seemed to be very much in tune with the infinite, and had many spiritual manifestations.  I recall that in the early spring of 1899, as we were preparing for our morning prayer, Mother said, "We will get bad news today."  That was before the time of the telephone in San Juan and the mail was brought in on horseback.  That day's mail brought the news of the death of Mary Davies Williams, my Mother's mother.

"When the Decker family got diphtheria and the whole town was in great anxiety for them, as Mother arose one morning she said, "One of the Decker family passed away last night, we will hear about it as soon as people are up and stirring about."  In the night a small child had succumbed to the dreaded disease.  She told us of other deaths and disasters that had befallen people before any news of the events could reach us by mortal means.

"I recall when Irene and Ione were very young they had scarlet fever along with the rest of the family.  Complications set in and they seemed to be at death's door; a doctor from Colorado came to Bluff and pronounced the verdict that unless they were placed in a hospital very soon, they would die.  Mother knew it was impossible to get them to a hospital, and she told the family that the Father in Heaven would hear our prayers, and they would live. They did live, both grew up, married and had good-sized families.

"After Leonard and Ada had been called to the other sphere, Mother had their 4 little children to care for.  She said many times Leonard would come to her home and stand in the doorway of the kitchen in the hallway.  He would never speak but would smile at her, and she wondered at his purpose, but he never made it know.

"It was Oct 24, 1938.  I had been to the temple to be sealed to Michael Philip Tomney.  Returning to my Mother's apartment at 37 NW Temple St, I found her weeping.  Dropping to my knees by her bedside I exclaimed, "Oh, Mother, you are worse.  I should never have left you."  She quieted my fears with these words, "No, I am not worse, but have had a most remarkable experience.  Bring a chair and sit here while I tell you about it."  As I sat there this is what she told me:

"After you left me I lay here thinking of you, and in my mind going with you through the Temple.  Then somehow before me I seemed to be looking at a most forbidding scene.  It was a dark and dismal forest, divided by a roadway running through it.  On one side I could see Philip, stumbling along, and going here and there, and I realized he was trying to find the road.  My heart went out to him and I wondered where you were.  As I searched for you I could see you on the other side groping your way toward the road.  I looked at the dismal scene praying that you would both find the road, and each other.  And as I watched and prayed, you did find it, and then hand in hand you started up the road.  But it was still dark and gruesome, rough and uninviting.  As you trudged along I could see the road was becoming smoother and the darkness began to dispel.  My anxiety left me, the road was becoming white and enticing.  And as I gazed I beheld in the distance a beautiful white mansion, with steps leading up to it.  I felt the beauty of it, white and magnificent, and watched you still hand in hand climb the stairs, and then the door opened wide, and I awakened with a start. That is why I am weeping, weeping for joy."

"I am sure this is not exactly as Mother told it, but is the essence of what she said and as nearly the same as I can recall it.  Philip and I had gone to Salt Lake for two reasons:  to get medical help for him, then to be married in the temple. We had our recommends with us.  But he did not find help and on Sep 7^th he passed away.  The church authorities had given me the privilege of having the temple work done right away.  Mother was anxious to go to the temple with me and I very much wanted her to be with me.  But she took sick and she insisted that I not wait for her.  A lady in the same apartment cared for her while I was away.

"During another siege of sickness I left Mother in the care of the lady in the apartment house, while I was away on an errand.  Mother kept the Book of Mormon by her bedside and would read it whenever she felt able. She loved it but said it was hard for her to comprehend. She would read and pray about it asking for power to understand. When I returned from my errand I again found her weeping. She said she had been reading but laid the book down to consider what she had read. Then she said, "As I lay there pondering the things I had been reading, I looked at the wall at the foot of my bed. There in large bold type was the page I had just read and beside it another page with the meaning clear and plain.  One page followed another, and I kept thinking I must write this down so the girls can see it.  And then it was gone and I had written nothing.  And I can't recall it now."  I said, "But you saw it Mother and you understood it."  "Yes, I saw it, and it was clear and plain and I know it was true," she replied.  Then I told her not to grieve, that the Lord had shown it to her for her comfort and cheer, and that when the rest of us were ready to receive it the Lord could make it known to us if it were for our good.

"Time passed, I married Albert R. Lyman, we lived on 3^rd North and Center St.  Mother and Elaine still lived on West Temple.  For some reason, Mother had not approved our marriage.  It was Thanksgiving time.  I prepared dinner and had asked Mother, Elaine, Minerva and girls up to eat with us and I wondered if Mother would come, she still was not happy over our marriage.  I was thrilled when Elaine and Minerva arrived with mother.  I stood at the door to greet them.  Mother hesitated as she stepped into the room. Then I took her arm and said, "Come sit by the fire in this easy chair, Mother."  On the wall above the chair was a large picture of Albert, Lell and their children.  Mother stood by the chair looking up earnestly at the picture for some time.  Then she sat down and began to sob.  When she had gained control of her emotions somewhat she said, "Oh, forgive me!  I don't know why I have acted as I have.  As I stepped inside your door, Lell was at my side, she walked with me to the chair.  And as I stood looking at that picture of her, I saw her lips move and heard her say, - Everything is all right Mother, just look at Gladys, she is like a queen on her throne, - and then she was gone."  We had a delightful visit with all estrangement banished.

"Another time Mother was very ill and we had taken her to the LDS Hospital, but she was very unhappy there and perhaps because of that was not doing well.  It was decided that we would take her to our home and I would care for her.  One morning as I entered her room she said, "Come look at this beautiful sky.  That is the color of Lehi's robe."  "What do you mean, what do you know of Lehi's robe?" I asked.  She said, "Didn't I tell you I saw him"  Just when or how it was I cannot tell.  But some time ago I was thinking of my Father and wondering about him in the spirit world.  All at once before my eyes was the Tree of Life.  In the tree stood Lehi.  Next to his body was the whitest, softest-looking robe, and over that was a robe the color of that sky. At the foot of the tree stood my Father and Mother and Albert's Father and Mother partaking of the fruit of the tree.  And my heart was comforted, for I knew that my Father had accepted the gospel."

"Mother's sight had almost failed, and the doctors said her eyes both had cataracts that had to be removed.  She was terribly worried, fearing she would not be able to hold her head and eyes still while they operated.  Sade and I were with her in the hospital.  When she regained consciousness, I was at the foot of the bed, Sade standing by her side.  Mother asked, "Who are those people just leaving the room?"  Sade replied, "There is no one here but Gladys and I."  Mother's answer was that there were 3 just going through the door, and she added "They have been with me all during the operation.  One of them walked by my side as they wheeled me to the operating room, and told me not to fear, that I would be alright. As they operated I felt as though hands were on my head in gentle tenderness and I had no inclination to move my head or my eyes."

"One time when I was a small girl I sat rocking  in my little rocking chair while Mother was at the kitchen table mixing bread.  As she mixed she sang. All at once I was struck with the pathos of her voice and song.  I looked up at her face to see the tears rolling down her cheeks as she sang with deep emotion:

Our life as a dream, our time as a stream glides swiftly away

And the fugitive moment refuses to stay.

The arrow is flown, the moments are gone - The Millennial year

Presses on to our view, and eternity's here.

"That sacred moment has long since flown, but etched deeply on my heart and mind is the picture of my mother and the words of her song as she rendered that prayer to God.  "For the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me."  " "To be spiritually minded is life eternal, to be carnally minded is death."  My mother was spiritually minded."(84)

Death came to this noble little woman, this mother of unsurpassed faith, on 30 June 1943.  Services were held at Monticello where she passed away.  Several of her granddaughters sang and beautiful remarks were made of her life at the funeral.  The most representative of the things said of her was made by her sister's son, Daniel B. Perkins.  He said among other things "I think never before in my life have I attempted to visualize the life of an individual that seems to me to have been more complete than this one."(85)

Sarah William Perkins was buried on 2 July 1943 beside those that had gone before.(86)  And thus the leaves have fallen and continue to fall over the graves wherein lie the mortal bodies of these our Welsh forebearers. They are gone and yet they live on in our hearts, in our minds, in our looks and feelings, our expressions and thoughts.  May our hearts turn to them, to the lives they lived, to the examples they set and emulate them, to seek after them in the calling and spirit of Elijah the Prophet. Their rewards are assured in the eternal worlds and they are working quietly behind the scenes that all of us who will might also reap the blessings of Eternal Lives.

 

 FOOTNOTES

(1)     Lyman, Albert Robison.  Autobiography of Benjamin Perkins, p.1 (Manuscript) Cedar City, UT LDS Ward Records (GS Ser#025,845), 1875-1883.

(2)     Lyman, op. Cit. P.l

(3)     Interview with Sarah P. Barton on 20 Feb 1972 by Lyman DePlatt.

(4)     Lyman, op. Cit. P. 1

(5)     Ibid

(6)     Ibid

(7)     Ibid, p.2

(8)     Cedar City UT LDS Ward Records op.cit. Monticello, UT LDS Ward Records (GS Ser#026,194), #73

(9)     Bailey, Ruth Perkins.  Life Sketch of Mary Ann Williams Perkins (Mesa, AZ, 1963) p. l (Manuscript)

(10)  Lyman, op. Cit, pp. 2-4

(11)  Bailey, op. Cit. P1

(12)  The Deseret News.  Wed. June 20, 1869, #21, Vol. XVIII, p. 245

(13)  Ibid., Wed. July 7, 1869 #22, Vol. XVIII, p. 261

          (there is a page of footnotes missing here)