James Laird By Roday Lois Laird Naylor

The saddest chapter in the great Mormon exodus during the twent y years they were crossing the plains with ox and horse teams from the Missouri River to Salt Lake Val ley, occurred in 1856, when several thousand people traveled by ~ndcart

across the plains to Salt Lake City .

Three companies arrived without serious trouble.

Two arrived In the

val ley, on the 26th of September and a third on the 2nd of October. companies were sti I I on the plains.

Two more

They were In charge of James G. Wi I I ie

and Edward Martin. The Wi I I ie Company had left Iowa City on July 15th with 500 souls, 120 carts, 5 wagons, 24 oxen and 45 beef cattle and cows. The Martin Company started from the Missouri River on the 22nd of August, with 500 people, 146 carts, . 7 wago9s , 30 oxen and 50 beef cattle and cows . Early snows overtook these two companies and they suffered terribly with cold and hunger. A company of returning missionaries had passed these sufferers and had taken word to President Brigham Young that they were caught in the snow in Wyoming.

He at once adjourned the October Conference and asked for twenty wagons

loaded with provisions, bedding, and clothing to be ready the next morning at nine o'clock to start to meet the emigrants in their trouble.

\~Ith

four good

mules hitched to each wagon and a good driver and a helper to each, they started on their journey of mercy on the 7th of October. They met the

\~

i I lie Company I n the Sweetwater River where they had been

forced to camr with no provisions.

On the night of the arrival of assistance,

fifteen of the company died and were buried in one grave in the snow.

2

James Laird, my grandfather, helped dig that grave with but very little strength.

For five days he had I ived on sl ices of rawhide cut from the

tops of his boots.

Not so ski I led in curing of leather in those days, some

food value was -left.

Another time when they had but a half bushel of wheat

left, he gave hi.s share to his beloved wife, and his two kidd ies. She ,yo£U'\4~ tnursing a three month old baby. The ~ - one of those kiddies was my father. Grandfather often said it was the blessings of God that enabled him to pul I his handcart a thousand mi les, walking every step of the way, witnessing the many thri I I ing scenes and much suffering that accompanied that journey. Imagine, if you can, the joy the the poor sufferers at seeing their rescuers arrive.

They had been out of provisions for forty-eight hours.

The rescue company did al I in their power to save the I ives of those who were sti I I- al ive, then some of them hurried on to the Platte River to assist the Martin Company who were in a worse condition than those whom they had found. Teams and provisions were continually being sent out from Salt Lake City to assist in bringing in the survivors. Capt. ':Ii II ie's Company arrived in Salt Lake City on November 9th, 1856 having lost eighty-eight of their number on their journey. The '-1artin Company were found encamped at north Platt as they cou Id go no further.

Their campground became a veritable grave yard before help

could reach them.

Both companies lost many after being rescued because of the

ordeal through which they had passed. They arrived in the val ley November 30, 1856.

Teams, men, and provisions

continued coming to their assistance unti I the last company reached their goal on December I, 1856.

This company had lost one hundred and fifty making

nearly two hundred and fifty in al I that had died.

Many others were crippled

through I ife, having been frozen and having suffered so much in other ways.

,-

Edward La i rd (my fatherl was the son of James La i rd and 12 February 1852, at Anet Lodge Irwin Parish, Scotland.

~1ary

Ra i ny, born

He was but four years

old when his parents made that famous march of history, trudging up hi I I and down del I, for even the chi Idren had to walk, as oxen and horses were few. Brother Anderson once told me my father was the I ife of the camp -such a bright sunny lad. James Laird, being cal led by Brigham Young to help settle Spanish Fork, I ived there for a number of years.

Later, he was sent to Heber City.

(Just one

of grandmothers experiences before they left Spanish Fork. Indians came to burn her house whi Ie grandfather was after wood in a nearby canyon.

She had six chi Idren.

She put them to bed and then fixed

something to eat for the Indians who were outside. in her front yard. them.

They had bui It a fire

She took the food out to them and sat there al I night with

In th.e morning they left, saying she was a brave woman. They were people of great faith.

grandmother was sitting by her fire.

(shame to kilil.

One time, it had rained for days and Some unseen power told her to move.

As

she did so, the roof caved in. As I was giving my name at the temple one evening, a lady standing by asked me If James Laird was any relation to me. grandfather.

I answered, he was my

She told me very many inspiring things.

She said he was one of

the most convincing preachers she ever had heard and it was he wo had brought her into the church when quite young.

She said when his hand came down on the

pulpit you could feel what he said was true. For many years my grandfather was a freighter from Heber City to Salt Lake. As years went on, Edward fol lowed the freighting trade, alsu his brother-in low. On one of their camping grounds in Park City, they found some ore.

Taking it

to Salt Lake, they had it assayed and sold their claim for fifteen hundred ;

dol lars (which now is the Si Iver King).

With this money they bought farms in Parleys Ca nyon (now Mt. Washington).

,r"\

Grandfather operated a half - way house for the weary travelers for a number of

'olL. J

years .

It was at this place he lost his good wife and three chi Idren with

diptheria.

At the age of 46 he died six months later, leaving two daughters

and three sons. ~ Father

wou Id stop at Hardy Stat i on to feed his team.

It was here he met

my mother. He often told us it was her big brown eyes that he fel I for as she served him his din ners.

A year later, January 15, 1872, they were married in the old

Endowment House. Mether was the daughter of Wi I I iam FI int and Mary Jane Goodridge. was born in Farmington, January 14, 1853. Ondago , New York, January 28, 1813 .

\~hen

She

Her father was born at Spad ford but a you ng man, he heard the Prophet

Joseph Smith preach and knew his teachings were true.

:)

Grandfat he r FI int presided over a branch of the Mermon Ch urch in New York State .

He also had the privi ledge of driving Joseph F. Smith's mother's

team from Elk Horn, seventy mi les west of winter quarters, to the for ks of sweet water and was sent back to help other poor emigrants to the val ley. He arrived in Salt Lake with 8righam Young and Heber C. Kimbal I 's Company September 26, 1848.

Their courtship was rather short, having known Mary Jane

but three weeks, but with the blessings of Heber C Kimbal I that he should raise a noble fami Iy, they were married. much is said of her chi "ldhood days.

My mother was the second chi Id of seven.

Not

At a young age she went to I ive with Aunt

\ \

Hattie Hardy in Parleys Canyon at Hardy's Station.

(about the middle of the

resevo i r is '.he re th i s stat i on was located. Their first home was made of logs about eighteen feet square . was roofed with wi I lows and earth, having but very I ittle pitch.

This hut They had adopted

the idea that the val ley was subject to very I ittle rain and al I their roofs were nearly flat.

5

They suffered no inconvenience from this fact unti I about the middle of March when several days of snow, sleet, and rain occurred. covered dee per with earth than the adjoining ones. brother in-law ) . ,

'\

They soon came in for shelter.

Father's house was

(By the way which was his During the third day of the

rain, Aunt lizzie, father's sister, gave birth to a baby.

Water was dripping in

first one p Iace, then another, and they were compe I Ied to ho Id an umbre I Ia over her.

The I ittle mother was but sixteen years old (the baby died).

She late r

became the mother of sixteen chi Id ren. Father started in the sheep business on a sma I I scale.

Graduall y his

business grew, and with sheep and cattle, he flourished, unti I he became one of the leaders In this industry in the west. Father spent a great deal of his time away from home, and the rearing of the ch i Idren fe 1·1 a great dea I on mother.

I ,

1.\ I

One of December's coldest days, I opened my eyes, the eighth chi Id of ten. When I was but five days old, mother washed, which brought on chi I Is and fever. This together with the worry of the rest of the chi Idren, threatened her life. It was months before she was able to take care either of herself or chi Id.

She

often said the Lord was merciful in so ordering things that made it possible for Aunt Hattie Hardy to come and take care of her for five months. no chi Idren.

(This aunt had

She was a midwife at the time of her death, and had del ivered

three thousand babies).

She thought the world of my mother.

By this time a third house was bui It, consisting of six rooms - a large kitchen , I iving room, bedroom, and three bedrooms upstairs.

A front porch was

hid den completely by large poplar trees, a favorite place for the birds. those trees are sti I I al ive.

(some of

Mother and father planted those trees together).

Mothe r's . old fashioned garden was the paradise of my chi Idhood and her gooseberry pies •. The bushes were always loaded with dawny red be rr ies and her exquisite ~ .'

jel I Y served on bread and butter.

(I th i nk I can sti II taste it ) .

6

used to sander amant the trees hunting the first snow drops, violets, ~ .'

curley wigs, and butter cups, with their fragi Ie petals. of al I.

Going for the cows, was one of my easiest duties.

that wos necessary, for my brother Joe's dog did tne work.

They were the lovel iest To go along was al I Showing admirable

intel I igence he would round up the cows and head them home playfully hanging on to the lazy ones tai Is. his neck.

He was a black and white dog with a white ring around

His tai I was a plume of white.

Rathe r raised him as half man.

Ring had plent y to do on our ranch.

Every night he would round up the sheep, and if one

was lost, he would hu nt unti I he found it. pigs. when

He would hald

hurting any.

the~never

Ring was an expert at catching young How thri I led we chi Idren al I were

on one trip ' home from the sheep ca mp, father took the understanding

dog from his overcoat pocket.

How we al I loved it.

I can see that dog now

fol low ing my father .behi nd the plow, scaring seagul Is and ki I I ing snakes.

)

sometimes had to turn the grind stone for father when he was sharpening the moving machine sickle. grinding.

That blade was four feet long and required a lot of

(it seemed I ike ten).

Sometimes I became so enthral led by this

drudgery that I would keep on turning if father stopped to examine the edges of the blade.

can just see him stroking down his long dark beard, then he would

say, "trying to get a few turns a head." What fun when the rai I r oad came thru the canyon. that train puff up old Jumbo Hi I I. get to the resevoir dam. the door.

Many a time I've watched

(by the way, it's the cl imb just before

you

'Sometimes a terrific whistle brought al I us kiddies to

A hired man would tel I us a cow or horse had strayed onto the tracks.

About a mi Ie u; Lamb's Canyon was a trestle spanning a deep gorge.

It was

diff icult to walk over, the ties being wide apart and so narrow that one felt as if one were wa lking on moving machine knives.

' I had never crossed it unti lone

day Val and Hattie, my older sister, were sent to Aunt Clara 's who I ived at Barkley's section house, where the trains stopped to take on water, before making

7

the cl imb 'over the summit.

As we were ha It w.ay across Hatt i e exc Iaimed.

the tra in. II . Then we 'heard a fa i nt puff, puff.

"theres

I n a few minutes it wou Id have been

upon us had ' we not cl imbed down onto the cross braces whi Ie it rushed over our heads.

We felt the hot engine on our faces and the smoke and cinders almost

choked us. - As the train rumbled by the trestle shook and I thought we should be dashed below.

With difficulty we regained the tracks rather shakey from

our experience. Father always kept a storehouse or a cellar of food, apples, potatoes, carrots,

~ides

of salt bacon, hams, flour and sugar.

A beef was always ki lied

as soon as cold weather came. A new barn, a large construction, was bui It to shelter the animals. (seems to me now I ike the airport hangers).

Hay was stored on the second floor.

There was a prison break, and one night my brother Joe was throwing down some hay to feed the an i ma I s when a vo i ce ca I Ied out, "come here".

") ~

him going toward the voice, he sl id down the hay chute. notifying the officers.

Instead of

Father lost no time in

When they arrived the convicts had escaped.

Having to help my sister

~-1ay

do the mi Iklng, I had my favorite cow.

was the leader, always going in first, cramming and pushing into the barn.

She Their

heads were fastened by" pole stanchims. I remember, with extreme sadness, my real first scare.

Father and mother

and some of my brothers and sisters were ready for Sunday School.

Father, the day

before, had bought a fine horse, an extraordinaryly beautiful animal. team was hitched to the ,wagon

when the thing happened.

The

The new horse reared, then

plunged backward, pushing the wagon over the bank into the middle of the creek. He struck his leg somehow and fel I.

I saw him laying there in the water.

slowly, as if in despair, his head sunk beneath the water.

Then

As quickly as possible

father was out on the tongue and cut the harness to free him, but he was I imp as a rag.

l haven't the sl ig[ytest recollections of any stern rules at home .. There never w.a s compulsIon · in the fami Iy and there never wasresistance, but there were kIndnesses every day.

Mother was always doing kindnesses.

with food for her neighbors; She was honest fn . dbfng

She was forever in and out

With her wisdom she grew In favor with them all •

everyt~ing

to the best of her abl I Ity,

ind~strious

to an

astonishing degree, fair with her neighbors, -and stainless in her character.

She

I ived as a faithful wife, the exemplary mother, and Latter Day Saint. One day when father returned from the sheep camps, he had brought home a dark bay pony. When

can't bei ieve there ever was anyone more del irious with joy.

learned it was to be my very own, I named him Jimmy.

for me to have to feed that animal before I fed myself.

It was a grand thing

To brush his coat and

make it shine and ride him alone, swel led with pride, wishing for people to observe me, were riches for my soul.

I rode that pony one mi Ie to school.

When our household duties were done, mother read a great deal to us.

)

How we kiddies loved the first tiny flakes of snow.

After several hours of

snowing, scarcely a feature was visible only the tops of the shed, barns, and trees. When the wind sprang up and the branches of the trees that surrounded the house rattled and beat against the windows, it made you feel I ike you I ived in the midst of desolate sol itude, shut in from al I communication with the outside world. When the sun did shine upon the vast, white shapes, drifts lay scattered in every direction.

Paths were shoveled through the drifts.

up snug and warm.

Out we kiddies went bundled

The air stung our checks I ike fire.

The rays of the sun fel I

upon the trees so that the twigs sparkled I ike bright diamonds. resevoir was our sleight riding hi I I.

North of the

That was my favorite amusement - down

the steep slopes, plunging through drifts, leaping bumps, swooping across the fields.

can feel those bumps now.

The bottom would be deep in straw. ,/

remember that hide.

We traveled during the winter in bob-sJeighs. A galloway hide covered over us.

How wei 1

It was a souven i r of my faThers, be i ng the hide of one of his

prize animals that had died.

9

The frosty window panes - I was forever drawing on them.

,'"I

the fam i IY went on those panes. sister May's sweetheart.

Each member of

I rece i ved a severe sco Iding for draw i ng my

He sat pigeon toed so I put that young man's picture on

the frosty panes also. When I was ten years old my baby brother died with croup. great sorrow to my mother.

Father could never leave her alone.

about her. going to the sheep camps with him each summer. out of a chuck wagon and slept on the ground. crickets fi lied the air.

This brought So this brought

What fun -

we eat

No i sy throated frogs, katy d ids and

Father always rose at da\vn and stole into the forest

for the horses, whi Ie the heavy dew lay on the grass and wi Id flowers.

Whi Ie

driving along one morning east of Chalk Creek my sisters were singing.

Father

and mother were ahead in a comusary wagon loaded for the camps. some cattle to stamped.

The noise causing

By the way that galloway hide was over the fr.ont seat.

The cattle in a dusty I ine bawl ing restlessly with confusion surrounded the

)

white top Chalf wagon and buggy it was). whip and put that hide out of sight.

Father cal I ing back to May crack your

(I can hear father call ing now).

I sat

there and watched those cattle plod, half trot, through the deep dust, red eyes rol I ing, tongues hanging out; see them crowd and cl imb over each other when those behind passed closer.

The rap, rap of horns against horn, crack, crack of

the whips, expecting the horses to be gorged every second and us al I ki I led, but the distressed bel lowing of the calves turned them away.

(were we thankful).

wei I remember the process of diping the sheep which carried on each summer soon after shearing.

It was done for scabe and ticks.

when my oldest brother Ed ducked one on my pet

How badly I felt

lambs under that yel low fluid,

whi Ie going thru that long vat. The ledges on Chalk Creek near the camp were castles of paradise to play on. can sti II see '1ay go da., dap with the groaning wagons three or four mi les an hour.

The air was hot and sti I I, the dust hung thick as the wheels plowed along.

( I'm very glad we don't have to travel that way in these days).

10

~ly

youngest brother Joe was . in the vic i n i ty of Chock Creek near Honers

dipping corrals with a band of sheep .

He came across a brown bear cubs which

was treed by the faithful dogs - four in number.

The bear being so easi Iy treed,

one of the sheep hearders thinking him on a par with the bear offered to cl imb the tree and shake her out, but the bear refused to be given the shake.

Then

realas was given to Joe he on horseback, the latter took a turn around the horn of the saddle, as he was riding a pretty good cow horse, he succeeded in pul ling the bear down, and right here the fun commenced. (for the bear).

The bear

rushed at the hor se, struck him a powerful blow, cutting a deep gash in the horse's shoulder, this freeing himself from the lariett. pines and had a good view of the battle.

The men were soon up

Old sport getting too near, the bear

made a swipe at him getting his claws under the dogs collar and, off at arms length made him dance a jig for some minutes, then the other dogs closing in to help.

They were put out of the game in one, two, three.

This let sport loose,

seized the bear by the throat and was immediately locked in an embrace such as only a bear can give, the two rol I ing over and over.

Sport never breaking his hold

and lying so close to the bears breast he was unable, apparently to squeeze him hard.

Thus they fought - at last the bear succumbed with his wind pipe cut into .

The men said they had ki I led many a bear but had never saw such a game fight as old Sport made. Father acted in the bishopric for many years. T~en

Parleys Creek abominations started; the draining from barn yards, hog

pens, stables, etc and

t~at

the water coming from there which the citizens of Salt

Lake consumed r n the i r houses was thus contam i nated ·.

So steps were ta ken and the

city bought the water right. When father began to sel I the things - the cattle one by one, the machinery, , .....".

some furniture.

My pony was given to a cousin in Idaho •

11 VividlYi I remember the gesture of parting with them al I. In 1892, our new home found us in Salt La ke City at 840 East 21 South . (the old home sti II - stands.

!1y sister

~.1rs .

Snelgrove resides there).

[ ca n feel even now the flush of embarrassment as I think of my first appearance in schoo I.

wore a coat of my sister Hatties which was way to large.

[ was aware of a continuous scruting by the girls who went to school there. As the morning

~Iowly

wore on, one girl ask me my name.

bosom pal and later she my sister in-law.

She became my

Even my shoes as wei I as my dress

were labeled from the country. The first show I ever attended \
How

Father put his

attention to real estate and many of the biggest deals in Salt Lake are products of his hand work. Father was not only energetic but a hard worker. ,...".

~

and square deal ing.

He was noted for honesty