Saturday, May 29, 2010

Jessie and Vivian

When my Grandmother Vivian and her sister, Jessie, were teens, Jessie tied my grandmother to a bedpost and then went downstairs to tell her (Vivian's) date that she was going to be late? Jessie visited with him and visited with him. Grandma couldn't get loose. FINALLY, Jessie went upstairs and let her go. THEN she wondered why Vivian was angry because she was just having fun. It ended up being OK, probably right away, but for certain 40 years later when they were all laughing about it one evening. That's how I heard the story. They did love each other a lot. 

Jessie also had a little teasing streak with her father. They lived in a house next to the girl's gym in Provo. (The building still stands across the street from what was once the BYU Accademy but is now Provo City Library.) The house they lived in is no longer there. Now it is an apartment building. But BYU held dances in the gym. The students were allowed to waltz but they could not fox trot. Grandpa Pritchett liked to watch the dancers from his upstairs bedroom window which faced the girl's gym. Aunt Jessie, knowing he was watching, would take her dance partner over along the edge of the floor so Grandpa P. could see them and do a few steps of the scandalous fox trot just to tease him. After the dance, he would scold her and she would laugh.

Grandmother Smith chose Jessie's name. She said that when Jessie was born, they lived in Sanpete County. Down the street from their home a young woman lived. She had the most beautiful read hair. Her name was Jessie. So when the parents, Mina Ericksen and Frank Pritchett, asked Vivian what she would like her sister to be named, she suggested "Jessie." They honored her request.

The day that Jessie was born, the doctor was sent for and Vivian was sent outside to wait. When the doctor came back out of the house, he told Vivian that she could go back inside and see the baby. "Where did she come from?" Vivian asked. "We found her under a rose bush," the doctor replied. Hmm, well, we all know the truth of that story. Aunt Jessie said, in later years, "Well, after they found me they hung me on a clothesline to dry and I fell off into a mud puddle. That's why I have all these freckles."

We all remember what a quick wit Aunt Jessie had and what fun she was. In all of her snapshots she is laughing. I wish we could hear what she was saying. I think that we would laugh also.

In the above photo: Left to Right, Mina Ericksen Pritchett, Minetta Black Pritchett, Vivian Christene Pritchett Smith, Toni Fexer (Jessie's granddaughter), Myrna (Me), Jessie Pritchett Brighton.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

The Name of Petty

The following is taken from, "The Albert Petty Family, A Genealogical and Historical Story of a Sturdy Pioneer Family of the West. Based on Records of the Past and Knowledge of the Present." It was written by Charles B. Petty, Grandson of Albert and was published by Deseret News Press, Salt Lake City, Utah. (I have left out some history of the name, included in the first chapter, as belonging to individuals not directly related to Albert and his decendents.)

CHAPTER I
The Name of Petty


"The name PETTY is strictly of English origin. Families bearing this name were seated at early dates in the English Counties of York, Kent, Hampshire, Oxford and London, as well as in parts of Ireland. Of the various names, Petit, Petti, Pettie, Pitty, Pittee, Pettee, Pettey and PETTY, the last is the only one to be found in the English dictionary as having a meaning. It was usually used as  a nickname, meaning "small in stature." The name PETTY was found by the author in considerable numbers in the telephone directories of London, Liverpool, Manchester, Southampton, Portsmouth and other cities while visiting England at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.

"In an effort to trace the Albert Petty family lineage back as far as possible we secured the services of an experienced genealogical worker of Salt Lake City who went to Washington D. C., Virginia, and Kentucky and se-
cured valuable information for us. Dr. William F. Edwards, a descendant of Albert Petty who was residing in New York gave freely of his time and furnished new information.
   
"We next employed the services of the Latter-day Saints Genealogical Society, Salt Lake City, Utah, who with a competent staff furnished us a twelve page typewritten report of the Petty family which has also been microfilmed, and is being preserved in the church archives. It is available free of charge to anyone. From these sources of information we are able to start our story with certainty, thus leaving an opportunity for some other member of the family to continue the work of extending our line far back through the generations of the past. (Please note carefully the spelling of the family name from generation to generation.) *Media Research Bureau, Washington, D. C.

"FAMILY: THE NAME OF "PETTY”

"Ebenezer Petty, son of John Petty and perhaps Margaret his wife, was born in the year 1737, probably in Sussex County, New Jersey. He died the 4th of March, 1814, probably in Kentucky. His wife Elizabeth C. Petty was born in 1745 and died the 30th day of March, 1930 in Bourbon County, Kentucky, thirty miles below Cincinnati, Ohio.

"Ebenezer lived his seventy-seven year life span during an important era of our early American history, enduring hardships of frontier life which to him was always a fascinating challenge, and a new adventure. The Pettys moved several hundred miles westward over the Appalachian Mountains into the beautiful Ohio Valley, Monongalia County, Virginia, (now West Virginia). He watched the small struggling colonies grow from the grass roots, for he was a grown man when Boston, New York, and Philadelphia, whose present population exceeds twelve million then had a combined population of only sixty thousand persons, much less than the small city of Ogden, Utah.

"The entire thirteen colonies extending twelve hundred miles from Maine to Florida, and from the Atlantic on the east, to the western border of civilization on the west, contained fewer people than the city of Detroit or Los Angeles! Ebenezer was five years younger than George Washington, and six years older than Thomas Jefferson, and was thirty nine years of age when the Declaration of Independence was signed and war declared against England July 4, 1776!

"Inspired by hope from heaven, the colonists. placed their lives and all upon the altar of freedom and fought a seven year long suffering war to establish their claim. . . 'That all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are' life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.'
In the year 1782 he was listed in the census or tax list of Monongalia County, Virginia (now West Virginia) with nine persons in his family. , (Census of Virginia 1790) He took part in the Revolution from that county, for in a 'Revolutionary List of Public Claims, Monongalia County, West Virginia, copied by Anne Waller Reddy, Sec.,' appears the names:
EBENEZER PETTY
JOHN PETTY
JOHN MCCLURE
JOHN WILLIAM PETTY JR.
JOHN WILLIAM PETTY SR.

"He next appears among the early inhabitants of Kentucky. In 1787 it was proposed to make Kentucky into a state. A petition of "sundry inhabitants of the District of Kentucky" Objecting to this action signed, among many others
EBENEZER PETTY
JOHN MCCLURE
JAMES MCCLURE
THOMAs MCCLURE
JOHN PETTY (PETTEY)
ALEXANDER MCCLURE
SAMUEL MCCLURE
Petitions of the Earliest Inhabitants of Kentucky (Ky. Pub. Bp. No. 27, p. 58)

"By reason of Ebenezer's services in the Revolutionary War, all of his male descendants are eligible for membership in that patriotic society known as the "Sons of the American Revolution and all of his female descendants are eligible for membership In the "Daughters of the American Revolution." What a thrill to enjoy this distinction!

"On page 62 of 'West Virginia War Records' we find the following names listed as having taken part in the Revolutionary War: 'John Petty, Sr., Ebenezer Petty and John Petty, Jr.'
    
"They were all of Monongalia County, which leads one to believe they were related - probably John Petty Sr. and his two sons.

"Pioneers were sturdy people. On page 1009 Vol. c, History of Monongalia County we read: 'To make a wilderness a fit place for human habitation requires men and women of strong will power, as well as great physical endurance, who do not fear the hardest toil, for the felling of trees and the breaking of tough sod formed by nature through the ages.'

"FORGOTTEN BUILDERS
They anchored firm foundations here,     
With bases broad and deep,                   
And left their valued work unsigned,        
Before they fell asleep.                     
They went away with tombs unmarked,          
No signature or scroll;                      
And lodged no claims to share in part,       
Earth's product as a whole.                 

One shaped a sword and one a beam,
Another shaped a bow;
Another made a plow or cart, 
Another formed a hoe,
One fashioned blocks of wood or stone,
One learned to lock an Arch;
They lived and conquered this and that,
 In time's great forward march."
-Alex. C. D. Noe

"According to the records of the index cards in the Temple Index Bureau the children of Ebenezer and his wife Elizabeth C. were:
i. MAY, b. 3 Jan. 1764. 
ii. JOHN, b. 27 Sep. 1765.
iii. RALPH, b. 20 Dec. 1767.  
iv. MARY ANN, b. 29 Mar. 1769.  
v. EUNICE, b. 15 May 1774. 
vi. EBENEZER, b. 3 Jan. 1777.
vii. HENRY b. 15 Feb. 1779. 
viii. JOSEPH, b. 1781.
ix. JOSHUA, b. 1783.       
x. EZEKIAL, b. 16 Oct. 1787. 
xi. ELIZABETH, b. 16 Oct. 1789."


Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Joseph Knight's Recollection of Early Mormon History

Joseph Knight's Recollection of Early Mormon History 
Edited by Dean Jessee, BYU Studies, Vol. 17, No. 1

[On 22 August 1842, while reflecting upon the "faithful few" who had stood by him "in every hour of peril," Joseph Smith recorded the following sentiments about Joseph Knight:

[He] was among the number of the first to administer to my necessities, while I was laboring in the commencement of the bringing forth of the work of the Lord, and of laying the foundation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. For fifteen years he has been faithful and true, and even-handed and exemplary, and virtuous and kind, never deviating to the right hand or to the left. Behold he is a righteous man, may God Almighty lengthen out the old man's days; and may his trembling, tortured, and broken body be renewed, and in the vigor of health turn upon him if it be Thy will, consistently, O God; and it shall be said of him, by the sons of Zion, while there is one of them remaining, that this was a faithful man in Israel; therefore his name shall never be forgotten.

Joseph Knight, Sr., was born 3 November 1772 at Oakham, Worcester, Massachusetts. In 1809 he moved to Bainbridge, Chenango County, New York and two years later to Colesville, Broome County, New York where he remained for nineteen years. He owned a farm, a gristmill and carding machine, and according to his son, Newel, "was not rich, yet possessed enough of this world's goods to secure to himself and family the necessaries and comforts of life." His family consisted of three sons and four daughters.

While Joseph Smith was living in Harmony, Pennsylvania he was occasionally employed by Joseph Knight. Such was the friendship that developed between these two men that the younger Joseph confided in his employer the circumstances of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, and the elder sent provisions from time to time for the sustenance of his friend during the translation work. When Joseph Smith obtained the Book of Mormon plates in September 1827, Knight was visiting in the Smith home in Manchester. According to Lucy Smith, her son used Knight's horse and carriage as his means of conveyance on that occasion.

Although not numbered among those present at the organization of the Church in April 1830, Joseph Knight was baptized in June of that year. His family formed the nucleus of a small branch of the Church in Colesville, New York. In 1831 he moved with the Colesville Saints to Kirtland, Ohio, and a few months later continued with them to Independence, Missouri where he helped pioneer the Latter-day Saint settlement of that state. Joseph Knight died on 3 February 1847 at Mt. Pisgah, Iowa during the Mormon Exodus from Illinois.

Joseph Knight's account reproduced below, although undated and unsigned, appears to be a holograph penned sometime between the author's departure from Jackson County, Missouri in 1833 and his death in 1847. Located in the Church Archives, the document is written in ink on both sides of five 8 x 10 inch pages. The manuscript is incomplete, missing at least one beginning page. Although written in pencil from one to ten, the page numbers were obviously added by a later writer to designate the sequence of surviving pages. A clerk's filing inscription on the document reads, "22 Sept. 1827. Manuscript of the early History of Joseph Smith finding of plates, &c. &c." The words "22 Sept. 1827," "early," and "finding of plates, &c. &c." were inserted by Thomas Bullock, a church clerk from 1843 to 1857. Minimal punctuation has been added here to facilitate reading]

MANUSCRIPT OF THE EARLY HISTORY OF JOSEPH SMITH 
From thence he went to the hill where he was informed the Record was and found no trouble for it appeard plain as tho he was acquainted with the place it was so plain in the vision that he had of the place. He went and found the place and opened it and found a plane Box. He oncovered it and found the Book and took it out and laid [it] Down By his side and thot he would Cover the place over again thinking there might be something else here. But he was told to take the Book and go right away. And after he had Covered the place he turned round to take the Book and it was not there and he was astonished that the Book was gone. He thot he would look in the place again and see if it had not got Back again. He had heard people tell of such things. And he opened the Box and Behold the Book was there. He took hold of it to take it out again and Behold he Could not stur the Book any more then he Could the mountin. He exclaimed "why Cant I stur this Book?" And he was answered, "you cant have it now." Joseph says, "when can I have it?" The answer was the 22nt Day of September next if you Bring the right person with you. Joseph says," who is the right Person?" The answer was "your oldest Brother."

But before September Came his oldest Brother Died. Then he was Disapinted and did not [k]now what to do. But when the 22nt Day of September Came he went to the place and the personage appeard and told him he Could not have it now. But the 22nt Day of September nex he mite have the Book if he Brot with him the right person. Joseph says, "who is the right Person?" The answer was you will know. Then he looked in his glass and found it was Emma Hale, Daughter of old Mr Hail of Pensylvany, a girl that he had seen Before, for he had Bin Down there Before with me. 

Joseph then went to Mr Stowels [Stowell] whare he had lived sometime Before. But Mr Stowel Could not pay him money for his work very well and he came to me perhaps in November and worked for me until about the time that he was Married, which I think was in February. And I paid him the money and I furnished him with a horse and Cutter to go and see his girl Down to Mr. Hails. And soon after this he was Married and Mr Stowel moved him and his wife to his fathers in Palmyra Ontario County.

Nothing material took place untill toard fall the forepart of September. I went to Rochester on Buisness and returnd By Palmyra to be there about the 22nt of September. I was there several Days. I will say there [was] a man near By the name Samuel Lawrance. He was a Seear [Seer] and he had Bin to the hill and knew about the things in the hill and he was trying to obtain them. He [Joseph Smith] had talked with me and told me the Conversation he had with the personage which told him if he would Do right according to the will of God he mite obtain [the plate] the 22nt Day of September Next and if not he never would have them. Now Joseph was some affraid of him [Samuel Lawrence] that he mite be a trouble to him. He therefore sint his father up to Sams10 as he Called him near night to see if there was any signs of his going away that night. He told his father to stay till near Dark and if he saw any signs of his going you till if I find him there I will thrash the stumps with him. So the old man came a way and saw no thing like it. This is to shoe [show] the troubles he had from time to time to obtain the plates.

So that night we all went to Bed and in the morning I got up and my Horse and Carriage was gone. But after a while he Came home and he turned out the Horse. All Come into the house to Brackfirst [breakfast]. But no thing said about where they had Bin. After Brackfirst Joseph Cald me into the other Room and he set his foot on the Bed and leaned his head on his hand and says, "Well I am Dissopinted. "Well," say I, "I am sorrey." "Well," says he, "I am grateley Dissopinted; it is ten times Better then I expected." Then he went on to tell the length and width and thickness I expected." Then he went on to tell the length and width and thickness of the plates, and said he, "they appear to be Gold." But he seamed to think more of the glasses or the urim and thummem then [than] he Did of the Plates, for, says he, "I can see anything; they are Marvelus. Now they are written in Caracters and I want them translated."

Now he was Commanded not to let no [any] one see those things But a few for witness at a given time. Now it soon got about that Joseph Smith had found the plates and peopel Come in to see them But he told them that they Could not for he must not shoe [show] them. But many insisted and oferd money and Property to see them. But, for keeping them from the Peopel they persecuted and abused them [him] and they [the Smiths] ware obliged to hide them [the plates], and they hid them under a Brick harth in the west Room. About this time Came this Samuel Lawrance and one Beeman a grate Rodsman13 and wanted to talk with him. And he went into the west Room and they Proposed to go shares with him and tried every way to Bargain with him But Could not. Then Beeman took out his Rods and hild [held] them up and they pointed Dow[n] to the harth whare they ware hid. "There," says Beeman, "it is under that harth." So they had to garde the house until some time in November. He obtaind fifty Dollars in money and hired a man to move him and his wife to Pensylvany to hir Fathers, his wife Being onwell and wanted to go to her Fathers. He Bout [bought] a piece of Land of hir Father with a house and Barn on it. Here the People Began to tease him to see the Book and to offer him money and property and they Crouded so harde that he had to hide it in the Mountin.

He now Began to be anxious to git them translated. He therefore with his wife Drew of[f] the Caricters exactley like the ancient and sent Martin Harris to see if he Could git them Translated. He went to Albeny and to Philadelpha and to new york and he found men that Could Translate some of the Carictors in all those places. Mitchel [Samuel L. Mitchill] and Anthony [Charles Anthon] of New York ware the most Larded [learned[ But there were some Caricters they could not well understand. Therefore Anthony told him that he thot if he had the original he culd translate it. And he rote a very good piece to Joseph and said if he would send the original he would translate it. But at Last Martin Harris told him that he Could not have the original for it was Commanded not to be shone. And he was mad and said what Does this mean, and he tore the paper that he wrote all to pieces and stampid it under his feet and says Bring me the original or I will not translate it. Mr. Harris, seeing he was in a passion, he said, "well I will go home and see, and if they can be had I will wright to you immeditely." So he Came home and told how it was and they went to him no more. Then was fulfild the 29th Chapter of Isiah. Now he [Joseph Smith] Bing [being] an unlearned man did not know what to Do. Then the Lord gave him Power to Translate himself. Then ware the Larned men Confounded, for he, By the means he found with the plates, he Could translate those Caricters Better than the Larned.

Now the way he translated was he put the urim and thummim into his hat and Darkned his Eyes than he would take a sentance and it would apper in Brite Roman Letters. Then he would tell the writer and he would write it. Then that would go away the next sentance would Come and so on. But if it was not Spelt rite it would not go away till it was rite, so we see it was marvelous. Thus was the hol [whole] translated.Now when he Began to translate he was poor and was put to it for provisions and had no one to write a little for him through the winter. The Next Spring Oliver Cowdry a young man from palmyra Came to see old Mr Smith, Josephs father, about this work and he sent him Down to pensylveny to see Joseph and satisfy him self. So he Came Down and was soon Convinced of the truth of the work. The next Spring Came Martin Harris Down to pennsylvany to write for him and he wrote 116 pages of the first part of the Book of Mormon. And about this time Martin wanted to go home a Bout some Buisness and he wanted to take the writings with him But Joseph put him of[f]. But he urged him By fair promises that he would be Careful and he would Return it again. But he Being free with it some person go[t] hold of it and Cept [kept] it so that he never Could obtain it again. There fore Joseph Lost his privilige for a while. But after Repenting he again received the privelage of translating again, as in Book of Covenants page 163.Now he Could not translate But little Being poor and nobody to write for him But his wife and she Could not do much and take Care of her house and he Being poor and no means to live But work. His wifes father and familey ware all against him and would not j[e]lp him. He and his wife Came up to see me the first of the winter 1828 and told me his Case. But I was not in easy Circumstances and I did not know what it mite amount to and my wife and familey all against me about helping him. But I let him have some little provisions and some few things out of the Store a pair of shoes and three Dollars in money to help him a litle. In January his father and Samuel [Smith] came from Manchester to my house when I was Buisey a Drawing Lumber. I told him they had traviled far enough. I would go with my sley and take them down to morrow. I went Down and found them well and the[y] were glad to see us. We conversed about many things. In the morning I gave the old man a half a Dollar and Joseph a little money to Buoy paper to translate, I having But little with me. The old gentlemen told me to Come and see him once in a while as I could I went home followed teaming till the last of March the slaying [sleighing] Being good. I told my wife I must go Dow[n] and see Joseph again. "Why Do you go soon, for," said she. Says I, "Come go and see." And she went with me. Next morning we went Down and found them well and ware glad to see us. Joseph talked with us about his translating and some Revelation he had Received and from that time my wife began to Beleve and Continuwed a full Believer untill she Died and that was the 7 Day of August 1831.

In the spring of 1829 Oliver Cowdry a young man from Palmry went to see old Mr. Smith about the Book that Joseph had found. And he told him about it and advised him to go Down to Pensylvany and see for him self and to write for Joseph. He went Down and Received a Revelation Concerning the work and he was Convinced of the truth of the work and he agreed to write for him till it was Done. How Joseph and Oliver Came up to see me if I Could help him to some provisons, [they] having no way to Buy any. But I was to Cattskill. But when I came home my folks told me what Joseph wanted. But I had ingaged to go to Catskill again the next Day and I went again and I Bought a Barral of Mackrel and some lined paper for writing. And when I came home I Bought some nine or ten Bushels of grain and five or six Bushels taters [potatoes] and a pound of tea, and I went Down to see him and they ware in want. Joseph and Oliver ware gone to see if they Could find a place to work for provisions, But found none. They returned home and found me there with provisions, and they ware glad for they ware out. Their familey Consisted of four, Joseph and wife, Oliver and his [Joseph's] Brother Samuel. Then they went to work and had provisions enough to Last till the translation was Done. Then he agreed with Martin Harris to print. They therefore agreed with E. Grandin to Print five thousand Coppies which was Printed and Bound at Palmiry in the Spring of 1830.

Now in the Spring of 1830 I went with my Team and took Joseph out to Manchester to his Father. When we was on our way he told me that there must be a Church formed But did not tell when. Now when we got hear to his fathers we saw a man some Eighty Rods Before us run acros the street with a Bundle in his hand. "there," says Joseph, "There is Martin going a Cros the road with some thing in his hand." Says I, "how Could you know himi so far? Says he, "I Believe it is him," and when we Came up it was Martin with a Bunch of morman Books. He Came to us and after Compliments he says, "The Books will not sell for no Body wants them. Joseph says, "I think they will sell well." Says he, "I want a Commandment." "Why," says Joseph, "fullfill what you have got." "But," says he, "I must have a Commandment." Joseph put him off. But he insisted three or four times he must have a Commandment.

We went home to his fathers and Martin with us. Martin stayed at his Fathers and slept in a Bed on the flor with me. Martin awoke me in the nite and asked me if I felt any thing on the Bed. I told him no. Says I, "Did you?" "Yes, I felt some thing as Big as a grat Dog Sprang upon my Brest." Says I, "Was you not mistekened." "No," says he. "It was so." I Sprang up and felt, But I Could see nor feal nothing. In the morning he got up and said he must have a Commandment to Joseph and went home. And along in the after part of the Day Joseph and Oliver Received a Commandmant which is in Book of Covenants Page 174.20 I stayd a few Days wating for some Books to Be Bound. Joseph said there must Be a Church Biltup. I had Ben there several Days. Old Mr Smith and Martin Harris Come forrod [forward] to Be Babtise[d] for the first. They found a place in a lot a small Stream ran thro and they ware Babtized in the Evening Because of Persecution. They went forward and was Babtized Being the first I saw Babtized in the new and everlasting Covenant. I had some thots to go forrod, But I had not re[a]d the Book of Mormon and I wanted to oxeman [examine] a little more I being a Restorationar and had not oxamined so much as I wanted to. But I should a felt Better if I had a gone forward. But I went home and was Babtised in June with my wife and familey.

There was one thing I will mention that evening that old Brother Smith and Martin Harris was Babtised. Joseph was fild with Spirrit to a grate Degree to see his Father and Mr Harris that he had Bin with so much he Bast [burst?] out with greaf and Joy and seamed as tho the world Could not hold him. He went out into the Lot and appeard to want to git out of side of every Body and would sob and Crie and seamed to Be so full that he could not live. Oliver and I went after him and Came to him and after a while he Came in. But he was the most wrot upon that I ever saw any man. But his joy seemed to Be full. I think he saw the grate work he had Begun and was Desirus to Carry it out. On the sixth Day of April 1830 he Begun the Church with six members and received the following Revelation Book of Covenants Page 177. They all kneeld down and prayed and Joseph gave them instructions how to Bild up the Church and exorted them to Be faithfull in all things for this is the work of God.

Now after he had set things in order and got a number of Mormon Books we Returned home. Then in June as I Before said I and my familey and a number more ware Babtised, Joseph Being present and Confirmed them. And through that season there ware many Babtised in Many places and the Church grew and multiplied. But soon after the Church Began to gro the People Began to Be angry and to persecute and Cald them fools and said they ware Decived. But along toards fall Joseph and Oliver Cowdray and David Whitmore [Whitmer] and John Whitmore Came from Harmony in Pennsylvany to my house on some Buisness. And some of the Vagabonds found they ware there and they made a Catspaw of a young fellow By the name of Docter Benton in Chenengo County to sware out a warrent against Joseph for as they said pertending to see under ground. A little Clause they found in the york Laws against such things. The oficer Came to my house near knite [night] and took him. I harnesed my horses and we all went up to the villige But it was so late they Could not try him that nite and it was put of[f] till morning. I asked Joseph if [he] wanted Counsell he said he thot he should. I went that nite and saw Mr James Davison [Davidson] a man I was acquainted with. The next morning the gatherd a multitude of people that ware against him. Mr Davison said it looked like a squaley [squally] Day; he thot we had Better have John Read [Reid] a prety good speaker near by. I told him we would, so I imployed them Both. So after a trial all Day jest at nite he was Dismissed. Then there was another oficer was Ridy [ready] and took him on the same Case Down to Broom County Below forth with. I hired Boath these Lawyers and took them Down home with me that nite. The next Day it Continued all Day till midnite. But they Could find no thing against him therefore he was Dismist.Soon after this Joseph Left the Susquhannah river and went to Manchester to his Fathers. Then about the first thing Sidney Rigdin came from ohio to see Joseph and they Boath Came Down to Broom County and Joseph and Sidney went Down to Harmoney to settle some Buisness. And the Mob found they ware gone and they found when they ware expected Back and we found they had a plan laid to take Joseph and Sidney and me. Now Sidney had Ben at my house several Days and had preached there several times and he was too smart for them therefore they wanted to trouble him. And the Day we expected them I sent my son Down to meat them and told them of their Plan and they turned acrost to Chenango point. And so went to the Lakes. And I Loaded up what I Could Cary and went away that nite for the Lakes. I also took my wife and Daughter for we war[e] calcalating to go soon for we a litle Before had a revelation to go to ohio. So the Mob watched all nite at the Bridge. But Behold we all Came up missing and the poor mob Lost all their truble. Now Joseph and I went rite on to Kirtland ohio But did not stay long there for in March we went to the town of Thompson a bout twenty miles and in the spring the Colesvill Church all Came on. But Joseph remaind in Kirtland and Sidney soon Came to Kirtland.

Now this Spring Joseph received anumber of Revelation. One was to purchase a thousand acres of Land which was Claimed by Leman Copley24 and not paid for. He had a little Before Come into the Church and apeard to Be Zelaus and faithful. We all went to work and made fence and planted and sowed the fields. About this time we ware Cald upon to Consecrate our properties. But Brother Copley would not Consecrate his property therefore he was Cut of[f] from the Church. Then we was Commanded to take up our Jorney to the Regions westward to the Boarders of the Lamanites. And we sold out what we Could But Copley took the advantege of us and we Could not git any thing for what we had done. So we left Copleys in June and moved our things to wellsvill on the ohio river which was about ninety miles. Then we went on Board the Steamer the third Day of July and we landed in uper Misouria the 26th of the same Month. We found our selves among strangers But the people seamed to Be frindley with us. And we found the Country to be Butiful rich and plesent and we made our selves as Comfortable as we Could. And in a few Day Joseph and Sidney and a number of Brotherin came and they looked out and Enterd a Considrible of Land, for the People to Settle on. We found it a new Country with some settlrs on it.

There was one Joshua Lewis that had Come into the Church the winter Before, he and his wife. And they ware faithful and good to us and took us in to their house, my wife Being sick as before stated. She Died the Seventh Day of August and Joseph and Sidney attended her funeral on the Eighth. She was Burried in the woods a spot Chosen out By our selves. I was along By where she was Buried a few Days after and I found the hogs had Began to root whare she was Buried. I being verry unwell But I took my ax the nex Day and went and Bilt a pen round it. It was the Last I done for her.

Joseph at this time Looked out the Country and found the place for the City and Temple and set Mark, and after giving all other nesesary instructions he Returned Back for Kirtland. But as time Came along we often heard form him and Recevied Revelation. The next year in 1832 he Came again to Missouri28 and set things in order and Cald the Colesvill Church to gather and seald them up to Eternal Life. And this made some little feeling among others But I think he [k]new Best. So that passed of[f] and he Returned to Kirtland again and I think he Did not Come to Missouri the next year for the Mob Began to sho their Black heads in 1833. But Joseph Sent and Counsled During our troubles in Jackson County and after the worst Came to the worst thot we had Better leve the County.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Mothers

If I had a flower for each time I thought of my mother, I could walk in flowers forever. Thanks to all the moms who make life a field of flowers. Happy Mother's Day.


When I was a child, I didn't ever think of my grandmother as anything but my mother. I knew the facts of the story, that she was really my mother's mother, but the heart of the story was that I had a mother who was a living being. She cared for my needs, most of my wants and even some of my demands. She was as careful as most mothers that she did not spoil me too much so that my character would be irreparably ruined. But she was good and kind and loving, all at the same time.


My own mother, Jessie Elaine, had died when I was a baby. She died on my 11-month birthday, Nov. 24, 1941. I was born on Christmas Eve and she died just about Thanksgiving time. I know that, because she was buried on my grandmother' birthday, Nov. 26, 1941. My grandmother, Vivian, would have been 47 at the time. On some years, the 26th is on Thanksgiving Day. On other years, it is only close. Nevertheless, it was Grandmother Smith's birthday.


My mother was critically injured on the very corner where my grandmother later taught school. It was on the corner of Carbon Ave., Price, Utah, where the school, known as the Southside Elementary at the time, later as the Reeve's School, was located. It was the evening of Nov. 21, when a car, being driven much too fast for the time, well, for any time, at 100 miles per hour, struck the car my mother was riding in in a T-bone fashion. My mother was in the middle, my father, Howard Thomas Pitts, was in the passenger seat, my parent's friend, Ferron Gardner, was driving. The two men were thrown free on impact. My mother, in the middle, was thrown under the car and pinned there. My father, gaining strength from somewhere, pried the car off of my mother with the damaged street light pole that was still partially attached. She was still alive. She was taken to the Price Hospital where she clung to life until her Uncle Fred Smith came from Springville to give her a priesthood blessing.


Up until that point, she had been moaning about her baby, me, and who would mother that baby with her gone. She had severe head injuries, spinal injuries and many broken bones. She kept loosing blood internally. My grandfather, Thomas Vivian Pitts, had the same blood type and was giving her blood from person to person. Nevertheless, following the blessing, she died in peace.


The "Day of Infamy" was just 12 days away, Dec. 7, 1940, when Pearl Harbor was bombed and the United States became embroiled in the horror of the war they had been trying to avoid. President Franklin D. Roosevelt on Dec. 8, declared: "Yesterday, December 7, 1941 -- a date which will live in infamy -- the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan."


My father's family, like many in the United States, was immediately part of World War II. My dad's brother's, Morgan and Ken, and his uncle, Charles Edwards, who was a bit younger than my father, were all involved, at one time or another in the war. My father became a Seabee, which was a naval construction battalion (CB).


The action left me motherless and fatherless. I was about two years old by that time. It was decided that I should live with my mother's mother, a widow school teacher. While my father had been at home, he had been working on construction sites and I spent much of my time with either his parents or my Grandmother Smith. She was in the best circumstances to care for me and wanted to do so. My Grandmother Pitts still had children at home--my Uncle Bob and Aunt Pat. Uncle Bob is eight years my senior. Grandmother Pitts was a wonderful grandmother and she still did help out in that capacity. There were many visits to the farm they owned. I can certainly appreciate that I was loved and wanted on all sides. I even had a great-aunt and great-uncle who would have liked to have me live with them.


As it was, I ended up in a home with a mother-figure who loved me dearly. I remember asking her if I could call her "mama" because I wanted one. So that is what I did. I called her mama and was happy with the home I had. There were stories, books, songs, music lessons, dance lessons, art projects and cooking projects. There was sewing, writing, poetry and even girl scouts. There were the stories of pioneer ancestors and current relatives. There were stories of my mother, when she was little; when she was grown. There were church talks and scripture reading. There were trips and concerts. There were neighborhood playmates. There were relatives galore. There were also my cousins, Garth, David, and later, Richard Childs, the children of my mother's sister, her only sibling, Renee and her husband, Max Childs.


For day to day living, I could only be said to have had the best of childhoods. I believed that I could do anything I wanted to do if I did the necessary work to achieve my goal.


One day, when I was about five, I threw a terrible temper tantrum over a yellow helium balloon. I had wanted cotton candy but there was none left at the fair. The balloon was let go into the air and I was sent to bed. I remember thinking that, if I had a REAL mother, like other kids, I would not be treated so shabbily. Then my mother, Elaine, did come to visit me. She shone like the harvest moon outside my window. She was dressed in a sparkling white robe and her long dark hair fell about her shoulders. She stood off the floor and she bent, as though to touch my head, but she did not. She told me, in a quiet gentle voice, that I was where she wanted me to be and, that had I behaved like that with her, she would have done the same thing. "If I could be with you, I would but, since I cannot be, I want you to know you are where I want you to be." She said that my grandmother loved me dearly and that, when she, Elaine, had been small she had been punished in much the same way. That was how we learned to do good things. She told me that the church was important and that I should do the things my grandmother wanted me to do because she was a good woman and would help me to become one. She told me to always listen and to remember that I was loved. I remember the feeling of complete love that I felt more than I remember the precise words. Then she was gone, just as she had appeared, quickly and quietly.


Later, after telling my grandmother about the visit, I heard her discussing it with my Aunt Renee and wondering if it could be true. My Aunt was inclined to think it was all a dream. However, Grandmother was inclined to think I was reciting facts. The one telling thing about the whole story that convinced her was the fact that my mother had her hair down about her shoulders. "She has never seen her looking that way, with her hair down, because in her formal photos she always had her hair up because she thought it looked better." Apparently, my mother liked to wear her hair down at other, every-day times.


One thing I did know, through the years, was that I was loved. My grandmother, even though we had words now and again, were friends and she was a good mom. She was a particularly good mother for a headstrong girl. Because of her, I have good moral values and high ideals. But most of all, because of her, I learned how to love.










Sunday, May 9, 2010

Ericksen Emigration

On Wednesday, May 2, 1860, 301 emigrating Saints, viz. 182 Danish, 80 Swedish and 39 Norwegian, sailed from Copenhagen, Denmark, on board the new Prussian steamship, “Pauline,” under the leadership of Carl Widerborg, who now emigrated to Zion. The voyage over the Cattegat and North Sea being stormy, a number of the emigrants suffered with seasickness, but the company arrived safe and well in Grimsby, England, May 5th. From Grimsby, the emigrants continued the journey to Liverpool, where they arrived Sunday afternoon, May 6th, and secured lodgings in a hotel on Paradise Street. On Monday, May 7th, they boarded the “William Tapscott,” a freight ship, which the previous year had brought a large company of emigrating Saints across the Atlantic. Besides the Scandinavian Saints, 85 Swiss and a large company of Welsh and English Saints went on board the same ship bound for America. Among the English were Elders Asa Calking, who had presided over the European Mission, and Thomas Williams, both accompanied by their families. When all were on board, the emigrating Saints numbered 730 souls. Asa Calkin was appointed president of the company, with elders William Budege and Carl Widerborg as counselors. They company was divided into nine districts, each with a district president. The district presidents of the Scandinavian contingent were Lars Ericksen (my ancestor), assisted by Hans Jensen; Mads Poulsen from Copenhagen, assisted by Carl J. E. Fjeld from Norway; Elder Christensen (Dannebrogsmand), assisted by Paul Stark from Sweden; Jons Jonsson from Malmo, assisted by Soren Moller; and Ingvart Hansen from Aarhus, assisted by Hans M. Nisson from Lolland; Swen Lovendahl was appointed captain of the guard and Nils Larson from Skane, Sweden, cook.

The “William Tapscott” sailed from Liverpool, May 11, 1860. It was a fine ship and a splendid sailer, but, owing to contrary winds, the voyage consumed 35 days. Union and good order prevailed during the whole voyage. Prayer was held every morning and evening, and, on Sundays, religious services were held on the deck. Owing to cold and change of diet, considerable sickness prevailed among the emigrants, and ten deaths occurred, most of them among the Scandinavian Saints. Four children were born on board and nine couple married, among whom were Hans Christian Heiselt and Larsine Larsen from the Vendsyssel Conference, Denmark. On the 3rd of June, the small pox showed itself among the emigrants, seven cases of this disease were reported, none of which however, proved fatal. On Friday evening, June 15th, the ship arrived at the quarantine dock in New York harbor. The next day, two doctors came on board and vaccinated, with but very few exceptions all of the steerage passengers, a part of the cabin passengers, and the ship’s crew. This was done to prevent a further outbreak of the disease, though all the sick had nearly recovered by this time. On the 20th, after being detained in quarantine five or six days, the passengers were landed at Castle Garden, New York. The smallpox cases had previously been taken ashore and placed in a hospital. On the 21st, the emigrants left New York per steamboat “Isaac Newton” and sailed up the Judson River to Albany, where they arrived on the 22nd. From Albany, the journey was continued via Rochester to Niagara Falls, where the train stopped about seven hours in order to give the emigrants the pleasure of seeing the great waterfall and the grand suspension bridge. The journey was continued through Canada along the north shore of Lake Erie to Windsor, where the river was crossed to Detroit in Michigan. Thence to Chicago, which city was reached June 25th.

From Chicago, the emigrants traveled by railroad to Quincy, Ill., whence they crossed the Mississippi River to Hannibal in Missouri, and thence traveled by railroad to St. Joseph, Mo., Here 13 persons were placed in a hospital, but upon close examination, they were found to be well enough to join the company the following day on the trip up the Missouri River, to Florence, Neb., where the company arrived in the night between June 30th and July 1st.

Elder George Q. Cannon, who this year acted as church emigration agent, made splendid arrangements for the journey across the Plains. It was deemed wisdom to send the emigrants as far as possible by steam and avoid the toilsome and harassing part of the team journey from Iowa city to Florence, a distance of nearly 300 miles, which in former years had required from 15 to 20 days’ travel. It had been learned by experience that the distance between Iowa City and Florence, at the season of the year when the emigrants had to travel it, was, in point of toil and hardship, by far the worst part of the journey, owning to its being a low, wet country, which in the opening of the years was subject to heavy and continued rains. These storms, owing to the nature of the soil (being clay most of the distance), rendered the roads almost impassable. Arriving in Florence, the emigrants found shelter in a number of empty houses while they made the necessary preparations for crossing the plains.

A handcart company, consisting of 126 souls, traveling with 22 handcarts and six wagons, left Florence on their westward journey, July 6th, under the leadership of Capt. Oscar O. Stoddard. The company was divided into three parts under Elders D. Fischer, Anders Christensen, and Carl J. E. Fjeld, respectively.

*This information appears in the book: “The Family of Auer Winchester Proctor, Volume III, Ericksen.” The book was published by Stevenson’s Genealogy Center, Provo, Utah, in 1984.

Grandma Smith Was a Depression Teacher

The 1930's were a perilous time for public education.

With cash money in short supply parents were unable to provide their children with the necessary clothes, supplies, and textbooks to attend school.  Some states did not furnish supplies. Taxes, especially in rural areas, went unpaid. 

With the loss of revenue, school boards were forced to try numerous strategies to keep their districts operating. School terms were shortened. Teachers' salaries were cut. One new teacher was paid $40 a month for a five month school year and was very glad for the job. 

Other teachers agreed to go without wages, like my Grandma, Vivian Pritchett Smith. She taught in the Huntington, Emery County, Utah, elementary, a rural school in Utah. They had agreed to teach, because it was important to rear a generation of good students.

When a rural county in Arkansas was forced to charge tuition one year in order to keep the schools open, some children were forced to drop out for that year. However, one farmer was able to barter wood to fuel the classrooms' potbellied stoves for his four children's tuition, thus enabling them to continue their education. 

Many farmers learned to barter as did many professionals. They exchanged what they had, goods or skills, for what someone else needed. Each helped the other out. The city pitched in with utilities, which just meant lights and water in those days. A well-lit house had one bulb dangling from the ceiling in each room. Most homes were heated with a living room stove that used coal or wood and kitchen ranges were wood or coal-burning and also werre used to heat water.

GrandmaSmith,  recalled that she and fellow teachers in the district went without monetary pay but were given items by farming parents to make up for the loss. Everyone wanted the schools open and, therefore, they gathered around the teachers paying a part of a pork at slaughter time, gleaned potatoes, onions and apples at harvest time. Merchants who could chipped in with shoes or cloth for sewing clothes.

"One year, for Christmas, each teacher received a ham and each of us was invited to glean pototoes and onions on a farmer's land. We even had some apples which were not large enough to sell."

Vegetable seeds were also harvested and stored for the next planting season.


“We each had our own vegetable garden and canned everything we could each summer,” she said. 

Those with dairy cows shared milk, cream and a little butter for special occasions.

"We also learned to: 'Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without,'" said Grandma.

She said that an adult coat, with some good wear left, could be cut down and sewed into a coat for a child. Sometimes, depending on sizes, it could make two coats. Dresses were cut up to make clothes for children.

"I was fortunate to have a treadle sewing machine which my father had given me for a wedding present many years before the Depression," said Grandma.

Many teachers during this time had their salaries cut or were paid in script. Some teachers received only room and board as compensation. In some areas, rural school teachers would live in the schoolhouse and cook their food on the wood stove used to heat the room. 

Some say the Great Depression started on October 29, 1929, also known as Black Tuesday. This is the day approximately 28 million shares of stock were sold and the stock market collapsed. However, the worst years of the Great Depression were yet to come; those years being 1932 and 1933.

During the Great Depression years not only did people suffer from lack of jobs, money, homes, and food, but the education of children suffered also.

City children dropped out of school to sell newspapers and shine shoes. Some students were also forced to wear worn out, mended clothes, went shoeless and were too embarrassed to go to school. Rural students worked hard on family farms to try and make ends meet.

People couldn't pay their property taxes so school districts were lacking funds. Few teachers were hired and there wasn't enough money to buy books and supplies. Students were forced to use worn textbooks which sometimes had pages missing.

“Art paper was used newspaper which parents and others would donate to the school,” said Grandma Smith. “Some of those projects turned out quite nicely with the newsprint serving as part of the art work.”

Finger paints were made from flour, when there was some available, and water cooked together over the wood stove to make a paste. Various items were used for coloring. The same paste was also used for glue.

Students were required to bring their own supplies to school. Since many parents couldn't afford to buy these supplies, some students dropped out. In Grandma Smith's school, students were encouraged to come to school in spite of the fact that they had very little. There was always a blackboard at the front of the class.

Most schools were forced to drop classes like home economics, physical education, art, and foreign languages. Just the basic courses of reading, writing, and arithmetic were taught.

By 1933 many public schools closed, leaving three million students with no school to go to.

Teachers were paid a flat fee regardless of experience or education. Many rural school teachers only had a high school diploma and were sixteen years old when they began teaching. Some had what was known as a “normal” certificate.

"I began teaching with a normal certificate," said Grandma. "Later, I returned to college going to night school and summer school and received my degree."

In the 1930s, some city schools started what were called progressive classrooms. In these classrooms teachers let the students choose what subjects they wanted to learn. Teachers rarely used the standard textbooks and let the students work in small groups doing art and science projects and learning songs and dances. These small groups were also used to teach reading.

A good teacher, like Grandma, often used these methods because they worked well with students. These methods had always been used in rural one-room schools. Students in one group would recite their lessons while students in other groups did math problems on the blackboard in the front of the room or read their textbooks. Some of the more talented older students would assist with teaching younger students.

"I usually worked with the slower students," said Grandma. "I did work with the reading groups. We assigned them to bird name groups, like bluebirds, owls, etc., so the student would not guess what skill level they were at while they were so young."

Many parents were against progressive classrooms. They wanted their children to learn the basics like reading, writing, and arithmetic, period.

At the time, many rural schools consisted of one-room, which meant that all the students, no matter what grade they were in, were in s single classroom. Some of these schools had neither electricity nor running water. The school was heated with a wood stove and lanterns provided light. Water came from an outdoor pump.
Many students, like some of the students in Huntington, who attended rural schools had to help with the spring planting and fall harvesting. During these seasons, students went to school part-time or not at all. Many rural students quit school after eighth grade to work full-time on the family farm. In some areas, to make it easier for farm students, school let out in early May and didn't start again until late September.

The famous Dick and Jane books that taught millions of children to read were first published in 1931. These primers introduced the students to reading with only one new word per page and a limited vocabulary per book. All who learned to read with these books still recall the "Look. See Dick. See Dick run."


"I taught many children to read using these books," said Grandma. "You were one of them (to Myrna)"

President Franklin implemented his New Deal economic programs to help people get back on their feet.

Grandpa Ray was able to take advantage of the CCC camp program. He had trained as a bookkeeper and was able to get a job as the storekeeper.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) gave money to schools to hire more teachers and buy supplies. It also enabled public schools to provide free hot lunches for students.

However, in some of the rural Utah schools, like those in Kenilworth, that meant that mother’s took turns cooking beans or baking bread and school lunch was provided only on two or three days of the week. The rest of the time, students brought their own lunches such as a slice of bread and an apple or some leftover from home.

"I remember Mrs. Fail always made chili," said Leonard Trauntvein. "She made the best chili."

The WPA and PWA (Public Works Administration) built larger schools to replace the one-room schools. Separate rooms for different classes proved to provide a better education for the students. 

The Great Depression lasted until World War Two. With the start of the war men and women were able to get jobs in factories building planes, ships, and weapons. With people working the economy recovered.

In the 1930s money was scarce, so people did what they could to make their lives happy. Movies were popular, parlor games and board games were played in the evenings. People gathered around radios to listen to the Yankees. Young people danced to the big bands on the radio. Franklin Roosevelt influenced Americans with his Fireside Chats. The golden age of the mystery novel continued as people escaped into books, reading writers like Agatha Christie, Dashiell Hammett, and Raymond Chandler. 

During the depression years the population was 123,188,000 in 48 states, life expectancy for males was 58.1 and for females was 61.6, the median salary was $1,368, unemployment rose to 25 percent and Huey Long 
proposed a guaranteed annual income of $2,500. Car sales were low at 2,787,400. 

Food prices: milk, 14 cents a quart; bread, 9 cents a loaf; round steak, 42 cents a pound. 

Some facts were taken from two websites: http://www.geocities.com/bettye_sutton/greatdepression (FACTS about this decade) and htmlhttp://www.associatedcontent.com/article/549487/education_during_the_great_depression.html?cat=37 (written by Barb Jensen on Jan. 25, 2008)

Personal accounts are from the memories of Vivian Pritchett Smith, Leonard H. Trauntvein and Myrna Trauntvein.

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Written for Uncle Max's Funeral

What we mourn, when someone leaves us, is the times we will not spend together in the future. We know we will miss Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays in Uncle Max's presence, and we are sad. But Brigham Young taught us that life does not end with death and that the spirit world is near at hand. Our loved ones, on the other side of the veil, know us still and love us. They are concerned about us as we have been, and continue to be about them. Time, to us seems long. Our mortal time, viewed from the perspective of eternity, may be as a moment to them.
"The knowledge of our former state has fled from us...and the veil is drawn between us and our former habitation. This is for our trial. If we could see the things of eternity, and comprehend ourselves as we are: if we could penetrate the mists and clouds that shut out eternal realities from our gaze, the fleeting things of time would be not trial to us, and one of the great objects of our earthly probation or testing would be lost. But the past has gone from our memory, the future is shut our from our vision and we are living her in time, to learn little by little, line upon line, precept upon precept" (Elder Charles W. Penrose).
Uncle Max has left his body but he is probably here with us still today. Duane S. Crowther, in compiling his book, Life Eternal, gathered the information that we watch over our bodies until they are interred. He understands our sorrow and loves us but he is happy. The body he lived in, now an empty shell, had performed all it could. His spirit has been greeted by the throngs of loved ones who waited for him on the other side.
Today, we are taking time to let him know how much we loved him and how his memory and the life he lived has enriched ours. Neal A. Maxwell said: "If we are moving in the direction of becoming more loving, meek, humble, patient, long-suffering, kind, and gentle, then all those we lead will be safe with us...Would that we'd not do anything save it be for the benefit of our family, friends, and flocks....We understand, therefore, that sometimes the less heralded but highly developed individuals are no less serviceable...than those who may be much more in the spotlight." 
Max was such a man. He was loving, meek, humble, patient, long suffering, kind and gentle and he loved his family and friends. By Neal A. Maxwell's definition, he was successful and serviceable.
My memories of him go back to my earliest childhood. For a number of years, during the war, my Grandmother Smith and I lived in an apartment in Price with Uncle Max and Aunt Renee. I remember the lunches he saved for me. I would anxiously await his return from work during the late afternoon. When he walked in the house, I would ask if he had anything for me in his lunch bucket. He always did. It might be a cupcake, a half sandwich, but it was always there.
My own father was off fighting a war in the Pacific. But Uncle Max, though he wanted to go, was not allowed to participate. Instead, he helped father me. I rode his back while he crawled around the floor on hands and knees being my horse. I went for rides with him and I knew he cared for me. 
He always did have a sense of humor. One of my early birthdays, spent at the apartment, I had red jello for a treat. Somehow in my mind, perhaps since my birthday is at Christmas, the jello became confused with the phrase.."his belly shook like a bowl-full of jello." Uncle Max teased me about that for quite a while before I realized it was funny.
He and Uncle Rex liked to tease me when I was small. They would come in the door together and each would say: "Come to Uncle," to see if I could tell which was which. Sometimes I would go to the wrong one first and they would laugh. I always got a hug from both of them, so it didn't really matter. But we all had a lot of fun out of the whole process. I confess, they all had a bit more fun than I thought they should.
In those days, we didn't have television. We would listen to radio programs and music and would spend time together in the evenings. I have pleasant memories of all those days. I will never forget one July 4. Uncle Max had managed, I'm certain it was no mean feat in war days, to get some fireworks. He thought I would be delighted. After the first one, I disappeared. There I was at the bottom of the steps leading downstairs, hiding with the dog.
After Garth was born, Uncle Max was so happy. It was a happiness he repeated each time one of the boys was born. He would look at them and enjoy their baby prattle. He was always a loving father. As the boys grew, he tried to make certain the had a good life. He moved them to Huntington from Price and they raised animals and had pets, things he thought were important.
Uncle Max was a quiet person. But he enjoyed people and, especially, his family. He was good to both his widowed mother and my grandmother. He was glad to be a handyman and help out with clogged plumbing and blown fuses. There were many happy days spent at Grandma Child's home. He liked being with his large family and with her. There were summer evenings spent playing outside and there were cold winter days spent largely inside. We took turns turning the ice cream churn and there were always cookies in the cookie jar. I'm grateful I was part of all of that. I remember deciding I wanted a big family so we could be close like the Child's family.
While they still lived in Price, my cousin/brothers and I would spend hours together. Uncle Max was often a part of those happy memories. Holidays were always special. Sometimes, though, I think I must have been a disappointment. I didn't like Santa at all and the family had waited in line for quite some time to see him. As I recall, Garth liked him just fine. 
Some of my eating habits, I learned from him. He didn't like dairy products very much but he loved sliced tomatoes with cottage cheese on top. He would sprinkle the whole business with pepper. I still like that. I like fresh corn on the cob, also.
I'll always remember Uncle Max with my children. One time, after my first child was born, we went to visit him. He was gently lifting Shawn into the air over his head and accidentally hit his head against the wall. Shawn, of course, cried and Uncle Max almost did. 
After all the children had grown up and left home, he took on the happy responsibility of being an ideal grandparent. He included my family in his loving. He enjoyed my husband and liked to have him visit. I don't think we ever left without taking something we us--fresh produce in the summer, potatoes in the fall, fish all year round, even soda pop and candy. There was always something tucked in to make the trip home.
Uncle Max was a good neighbor and liked visiting and having visits. He was always talking about some of the good things his neighbors did and the joy he took from them.
These last years, since Aunt Renee died, he has learned new lessons in long-suffering and patience. When we visited him at the rest home a while ago, he wanted to leave with us. He wanted us to put him in the wheel chair and take him to the car. Of course, there was no way this could be accomplished. We both cried when I left. It has hurt me sense. I know he is happy to finally be free to come and go, to move and to enjoy the fruits of his labors.

Monday, May 3, 2010

Mexican Border War, In Pursuit of Pancho Villa

Prior to Donnette Smith and I submitting photos (she also submitted stories from the family members involved), BYU historians working on putting together war information written by those involved in wars who were also from Utah, were unaware of the connection.

"I don't think Ray served in WWI but I think Claude went on to serve in WWI besides the Mexican Border War," said Donnette Smith. "Ray was a Mexican Border Volunteer.When we sent BYU the pictures of Ray and Claude in the wars, they told us that Ray and Claude were the first they had from that war."

"I haven't heard from BYU either. They were collecting stories of LDS men  in all the wars - not just the few that they started with. I sent them a  CD with war stories of Ray and Claude, and of Richard and his brother,  Herbert Jr. who were in WWII. It is nice they are being archived. 

"A number of years ago Richard and I were gathering information to write  some of our ancestors' histories and found that someone had written the  biography as a Master's thesis for one of Richard's ancestors - George  Washington Hill. As Richard was a descendant they Xeroxed Richard a  copy. A couple of years ago I went to BYU and asked if they could copy  off some copies for our children. They showed me that they have been  computerizing all those histories and that they are online for anyone to  print off. It is great that some of these things are so available. 

"I am in good health. I work once a week at the Lindon Family History  Center and am a Ward Family History Consultant. And I do the ward  bulletin each week. My daughter, Barbara, who lives in Orem comes once a  week for lunch to see if I'm still getting around and helps me with my  little garden. And my daughter, Cynthia, has moved to Lehi - so I see  them both fairly often. Some of the grandchildren drop by. I am so glad  we moved to Lindon. None of the family are left in Idaho. "It is always great to hear from the family - the children and the  cousins and the friends. Always fun to see your family pictures on the  Christmas cards.

"Love to all, Donnette"

The following article, while it is about soldiers from other states (mainly Georgia), may give my children an idea of what the Mexican Border War was all about.

In Pursuit of Pancho Villa 1916-1917
By Joe Griffith

Doroteo Arango, alias Francisco “Pancho” Villa, was born in 1877 (1879 according to some sources) in San Juan del Rio, State of Durango, Mexico. During his lifetime, he was a ruthless killer (killing his first man at age sixteen), a notorious bandit (including cattle rustling and bank robbery), a revolutionary (a general commanding a division in the resistance against the 1913-14 Victoriano Huerta dictatorship), and despite his bloodthirsty nature, an enduring hero to the poor people of Mexico. In their minds, Villa was afraid of no one, not the Mexican government or the gringos from the United States. He was their one true friend and avenger for decades of Yankee oppression.1

In late 1915 Pancho Villa had counted on American support to obtain the presidency of Mexico. Instead the U.S. Government recognized the new government of Venustiano Carranza. An irate Villa swore revenge against the United States.and began by murdering Americans in hopes of provoking President Woodrow Wilson’s intervention into Mexico. Villa believed that American interevention would discredit the Carranza government with the people of Mexico and reaffirm his own popularity.

Villa and his “pistoleros” launched raids along the U.S.- Mexico boundary to frighten the Americans living in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona border towns. Concerned for the safety of Americans, President Wilson ordered the War Department to begin deploying troops to Texas and New Mexico. In April, 1915, Brigadier General John J. Pershing and his 8th Infantry Brigade were sent to Fort Bliss, Texas with the mission of guarding the U.S.- Mexico border from Arizona to a bleak outpost in the Sierra Blanca mountains ninety miles southeast of El Paso.

While the presence of American troops served to deter Villa on the north of the Rio Grande, the murder of U.S. citizens in Mexico continued. One of the most heinous atrocities occurred January 11, 1916, when Villa’s bandits stopped a train at Santa Ysabel. The bandits removed a group of 17 Texas business men (mining engineers) invited by the Mexican government to reopen the Cusihuiriachic mines below Chihuahua City and executed them in cold blood. However, one of those shot feined death and rolled down the side of the embankment and, crawling away into a patch of brown mesquite bushes, escaped. The train moved on, leaving the corpses at the mercy of the slayers, who stripped and mutilated them. After the escapee arrived back at Chihuahua City, a special train sped to Santa Ysabel to reclaim the bodies. When the people of El Paso heard of the massacre, they went wild with anger. El Paso was immediately placed under martial law to prevent irate Texans from crossing into Mexico at Juarez to wreak vengeance on innocent Mexicans.2

Despite outrage in the United States and Washington over the Santa Ysabel massacre, President Wilson refused to intervene and send troops into Mexico. Two months later, Villa decided to strike again. This time he would invade the United States. At 2:30 a.m., on the morning of March 9, 1916, he and 500 “Villistas” attacked the 13th U.S. Cavalry at Camp Furlong near Columbus, New Mexico.  Despite prior knowledge that Villa and his men were pillaging, raping, and murdering their way toward the border, the cavalry was caught completely by surprise. One reason for the cavalry’s sluggishness was because some of the troops had been drinking, but perhaps more importantly, all of the troops’ rifles were chained and locked in gun racks. Still, the cavalry managed to get organized and fought off the “Villistas” killing many of them in the process. During their retreat, however, the “Villistas” stopped at Columbus, New Mexico for a looting and window-shooting spree that left several U.S. civilians dead. For three hours, bullets struck houses and shouts of “Viva Villa! Viva Mexico! Muerte a los Americanos!” (death to americans) were heard in the streets. The town was set afire, though Villa’s men realized nothing beyond a few dollars and perhaps some merchandise from the burntout stores. The terror continued until about 7 a.m., and when Villa finally rode off, the smoke-filled streets of Columbus were littered with the dead and wounded. Fourteen American soldiers and ten civilians were killed in the raid.3

Although Villa’s losses from from his American incursion were high, he had achieved his aim of arousing the United States. Now, he and his men headed due south from Palomas seeking the safety of the mountains of the Sierra Madre. However, the 13th U.S. Cavalry was now in hot pursuit. Colonel Frank Tompkins had managed to gather 32 cavalrymen and was nipping at the heels of the fleeing Mexicans. His troops sighted Villa’s rear guard and killed over thirty men and horses. Colonel Tompkins kept up the chase for eight hours and killed a number of stragglers as well as more of Villa’s rear guard. Lacking supplies, Tompkins and his cavalrymen were forced to return to Camp Furlong. On their way back, they counted 75 to 100 “Villistas” killed during their hastily organized pursuit.4

The populace of Columbus was in a state of hysteria. The American cavalry troops collected the bodies of the “Villistas” that had been shot in the streets and on the outskirts of town and piled them on funeral pyres and cremated them. For a day or more the fires smoldered and the odor of burning flesh permeated the air. Columbus lay virtually demolished, so completely burned and pillaged that it never recovered its former vitality.5

To prevent repetitions of the Columbus outrage, President Wilson called out 15,000 militia and stationed them along the U.S. - Mexico border. Wilson also informed President Carranza that he intended to send a military expedition into northern Mexico to capture Pancho Villa, and Carranza reluctantly agreed. President Wilson then appointed Brigadier General John J. Pershing to lead 4,800 troops (mostly cavalry), supported by aircraft and motorized military vehicles (the first time either were used in U.S. warfare) on a punitive expedition into Mexico to capture Villa.

However, there was a catch to Pershing’s mission orders from Wilson that would be decisive in the end. Pershing was to pursue and punish Villa, but not to upset the Carranza government by firing on any of his troops. The futility of Wilson’s orders was plain even before the  expedition began, when the local Carranzista commander at nearby Palomas threatened to attack the Americans. Pershing was only able to stave off an incident by hiring the man as a guide for his troops. Carranza would take advantage of Wilson’s restrictions to make life miserable for the Punitive Expedition throughout their mission.

In 1916, the Signal Corps Aviation Service only had a few crude aircraft. The 1st Aero Squadron which was assigned to support Pershing was equipped with six Curtiss JN-2 “Jennies” which had a reputation of being unstable deathtraps. In addition, the airservice was handicapped by inexperienced pilots. Pershing was barely a month into the expedition when he lost all six of his aircraft. Two crashed within the first week of the expedition.

Pershing’s expedition also provided an opportunity for one of the Army's more headstrong members. . . George S. Patton, then a young lieutenant. Fearing he would be left behind on mundane border patrol with his unit, Patton pleaded with Pershing to take him along as a replacement for one of his two aides that [who] was absent when the expedition was ordered into Mexico. Pershing agreed at the last moment and took him. The thirty year old Patton was convinced that he would now be able to fulfill his destiny as a great warrior.6

Villa had a nine days headstart before Pershing’s Expedition crossed into Mexico at noon on March 15, 1916. By that time, Villa and his men were well hidden in the mountains. To cover the uncharted terrain, Pershing divided his force into East and West columns and proceeded methodically into the unfamiliar Mexican interior.7

Basically, the two American columns of the expedition got nowhere in their pursuit of Villa. Northern Mexico was a vast wasteland with few towns and dominated by the barren and rugged Sierra Madre Mountains with peaks averaging ten to twelve thousand feet and honeycombed with deep canyons providing excellent hiding places for Villa and his men. The few roads were little more than dirt trails, dusty in dry weather and muddy quagmires in the rain. Villa’s men were on their home ground while Pershing was moving into unfamiliar and largely unmapped territory depending on Mexican guides whose loyalty was always questionable.

Pershing’s soldiers, mostly raw recruits, encountered every imaginable mishap during their eleven months in Mexico. President Carranza had promised assistance, but when, for example, Pershing’s men were on the verge of capturing Villa, the “Carranzistas” attacked them. Another time, Pershing’s Indian scouts misinformed him about the location of Villa’s lair. On other occasions, the scouts brought in blood-filled boots and bullet-riddled shirts as “proof” that he had been killed.8

Pershing’s East column fanned out from Columbus through cactus and desert, pueblos and small settlements, Ascension and Corralitos. The West column meandered about among hills and plains to Culbertson’s Ranch, one hundred miles west of El Paso, near the  New Mexico - Arizona - Mexico border, and the Ojitos to the south. After some months, both columns converged at Casas Grandes only to split again a little later, with one heading south for Pearson, Cumbre, and Madera, and the other marching southeastwardly for Guerrero, Agua caliente, Ojos Azules, and Carrizal.

At Colonia Dublan, Pershing established his permanent command post where he began to plan how he would snare Villa. Everywhere U.S. Troops went, men, women, and children cheerfully provided them with misinformation about his (Villa’s) whereabouts.9

As in past American invasions (e.g., the Mexican War of 1846-1848), the Pershing Expedition was a financial “boon” to Mexico. The American soldiers’ wants were catered to and satisfied everywhere they went. Prices skyrocketed. If they so desired, soldiers could submerge themselves in Mexican beer. Cantinas were open all night. In many restaurants soldiers devoured “deer” meat that once ran in the streets barking. Life was hard only when the Americans marched or rode along the dirt roads and were eating their dry ration crackers and looking for water. Dublan was transformed into an enormous military encampment complete with a railhead where tons of supplies were unloaded by a thousand civilian workers. The soldiers and civilians worked by day and brawled by night in the saloons and bordellos that had sprung up in the once sleepy town.10

Villa’s men mingled with the populace at will by simply removing the cartridge belts they normally strapped across their chests. They even mixed with the Americans and attended Western “cowboy” movies with Pershing’s officers.11

In May, 1916, Lieutenant Patton saw combat for the first time. Based on information about the location of Julio Cardenas, one of Villa’s most trusted subordinates and commander of his personal bodyguard; Patton, accompanied by ten soldiers from the 6th Infantry Regiment, and two civilian guides traveling in three Dodge open top touring automobiles, conducted a surprise raid on a ranch house at San Miguelito near Rubio. During the ensuing fire-fight, Patton and his men killed three men. One was identified as Cardenas. The other two dead Mexicans were an unnamed Villista captain and a private. Patton’s men tied the bodies to the hoods of the cars, while Patton put Cardenas’ silver-studded saddle and sword into his vehicle. The spectacle of the three cars with the bodies tied on the hoods caused a great commotion along the road, but Patton and his party sped through the countryside to their headquarters at Dublan without incident.

At around 4 p.m., Patton arrived at Dublan with the three bloody corpses strapped across the blistering-hot hoods of the automobiles. War correspondents crowded around to get a first hand account of his adventure. The stories they filed made Patton a national hero for several weeks. His photograph appeared in newspapers around the United States. Pershing was pleased that someone had enlivened the hunt for Villa and actually taken out a key member of his band. He even permitted Patton to keep Cardenas’ sword and silver saddle as trophies of his first fight.12

In June, Pershing was informed that Villa could be taken at the small village of Carrizal, northwest of his command center at Dublan. When the Pershing’s troops assaulted the village on June 21, they quickly realized they had been hoodwinked for they found themselves fighting “Carranzistas,” not Villistas. Scores of “Carranzitas” were killed or wounded. Villa was reported to have watched with much delight — from a safe distance — as his two enemies battled each other in total confusion.13

The unfortunate American attack on Mexican government troops became known as the “Carrizal Affair” and created a such a rowe that war with Mexico seemed possible. The situation led President Wilson to call 75,000 National Guardsmen into Federal service to help police the U.S. - Mexico border. In fact, hostilities with Mexico probably would have erupted then and there, but for the bitter war raging in Europe. Wilson, anxious not to become involved in Mexico at a time when relations with Germany were deteriorating, agreed to submit Mexican complaints arising out of the punitive expedition to a joint commission for settlement. Some time later the commission ruled that, among other things, that the debacle at Carrizal was the fault of the American unit commander.

For the remainder of 1916, the intensity of the hunt for Villa waned and replaced by the tedious routine of life in a temporary bivouac. Boredom spawned drunken shoot-outs between troops and local Mexicans. In an attempt to keep his men busy, Pershing initiated a tough new training program that included cavalry maneuvers. It was clear by this time, however, that given President Wilson’s restrictive orders and the growing intransigence of the Carranza regime that the Pershing led Mexican incursion was doomed to failure.14

Meanwhile, back in the United States, National Guard units were being called out to secure the U.S. - Mexico border. Units of the Georgia National Guard were mobilized at Camp Harris, Macon, Georgia during July, 1916 and sent to Camp Cotton, Fort Bliss, near El Paso, Texas in October.

Company H, 3rd Separate Infantry Battalion and 2nd Company, Coast Artillery were mustered into Federal service on August 10 and September 26 respectively, but remained at home station and were not sent to Texas.15

The aggregate strength of the Georgia units that were sent to Camp Cotton, Texas was 3,892. The units were mobilized on June 18, 1916 and mustered into Federal service, most between July 2-31 and one as late as September 26. After some mobilization training at Camp Harris, they departed for duty on the U.S. - Mexico border.16

An example of the service of one of the Georgia National Guard units deployed to the border is revealed in the reports of the 2nd Squadron Cavalry. The unit departed Camp Harris at Macon, Georgia on October 25, 1916 and arrived at Fort Bliss, Texas on November 1, 1916. At Fort Bliss, they underwent a month of mounted training. Then, the squadron left on December 1, 1916 for field duty at Fabens, Texas with three officers and 70 men, 79 horses, 2 transport wagons, and eight mules. The group marched 32 miles to Fabens finally reaching there at 1:40 p.m. on December 2, 1916. They performed border patrol with the 1st Kentucky Infantry and from December 16 on with the 2nd Kentucky Infantry. The squadron left Fort Bliss, Texas at 1 a.m. on March 22, 1917 with three officers and 77 men, two wagons and full equipment. They arrived at home station, Atlanta, Georgia at 1p.m., March 27, 1917. The distance traveled was 1,700 miles.17

In January, 1917, the ill-fated attempt to capture Pancho Villa ended with the recall of the Punitive Expedition from Mexico. On January 27, the first of 10,690 men and 9,307 horses embarked for Columbus. It took over a week to assemble the full expeditionary force back at Fort Bliss, where, on February 7, 1917, with General Pershing at the head, they marched into El Paso to the acclaim of cheering crowds. That officially ended Pershing’s campaign. The expedition had gone as far south as Parral, but Pershing had not captured Pancho Villa. Therefore, the expedition was only notable as the last U.S. Cavalry expedition in U.S. military history. Although Villa had once been nicked in the knee cap by a Carranzistas bullet, he was now completely mended and feeling well. However, many of his best men had either died or deserted him. But, with the gringos gone, he was now free to continue his struggle with his arch foe Venustiano Carranza.18

Unabashed by his failure to capture Villa, General Pershing claimed the expedition was successful as a learning experience. However, in the minds of Mexicans, Pancho Villa was the clear winner. He had emerged triumphant from battle with the United States led by the great General Pershing. No doubt, in the eyes of the Mexican people, Pershing’s withdrawal from Mexico added to Villa’s myth of invincibility.

But, a few years later, on Friday, July 20, 1923, Villa’s luck ran out. Accompanied by his entourage of Dorades (“Golden Ones”), which was what he called his bodyguards, Pancho Villa frequently made trips to Parral for banking and other errands. This day, Villa had picked up a consignment of gold with which to pay his Canutillo ranch staff and was driving through the city in his black 1919 Dodge roadster when a group of seven riflemen fired 150 shots in just two minutes into his car. In the fusillade of shots, 16 bullets lodged in his body and four more in his head. Villa was reported to have killed one of the assassins before he died. Truly, Pancho Villa had lived by the gun and died by the gun.19

It was never determined who ordered the killing. However, the assassins were given light prison terms leading to general speculation that someone in the Mexican government must have given the order simply because Villa had become an embarrassment to post-revolutionary Mexico.20

But even in death, Pancho Villa was not at rest and still stirred controversy. Three years after he was buried in the Cemeterio Municipal at Parral, it was alleged that an ex-Villista officer, Captain Emil L. Holmdahl, had opened the tomb and removed Villa’s head to sell to an eccentric Chicago millionaire who collected the skulls of historic figures. Despite the rumors of a headless Villa, his sons prevented examination of the remains to see if the head was still attached. Three years later, the Federal government ordered Villa’s body, reported to be headless, moved to Mexico City to be interred in the Tomb of Illustrious Men.21

However, local residents of Parral insist to this day that their mayor had Villa’s body shifted in the graveyard a meter or so to the right of the marked grave and replaced with another body to prevent any more of Villa’s remains from being taken. It was the headless decoy body, they insist, that was later taken to Mexico City. Whether Villa’s body is still in the ground at Parral or not, his tall, stately tombstone remains in place and people still come to place flowers on the grave. So, even in death, Pancho Villa remains elusive.22

On April 6, 1917, the United States declared war on Germany. Pershing received orders to organize a division with himself in command and to take the formation to France as the first American unit to fight alongside the Allies. He submitted a list of officers whom he wanted on his staff and included Lieutenant Patton’s name. However, several days later, Pershing was appointed the commander-in-chief of the American Expeditionary Force, which included all troops to be sent to France.23

Therefore, with a small headquarters party, Pershing went overseas at once as a symbol of reassurance and promise to the war-weary Allies, who had fought immense battles of attrition for the past three years. Although the Americans entrance into the war was a great psychological boost to them, the United States was unprepared to join in the massive clash of arms on the Western Front. Positioning units along the Mexican border and pursuing Villa had been a small start toward mobilization, but now the U. S. Army had to raise, equip, and train a much larger force. The War Department planned to ship Pershing 2,000,000 partially trained troops. He was tasked to bring them to combat readiness over there.24

As for the Georgia units that had gone to the Mexican Border, some were retained in Federal Service; others returned to Georgia. Nevertheless, on July 3, 1917, the entire National Guard of the United States was mobilized for World War I. In August, 1917, the Georgia National Guard units were reorganized with most of the units being assigned to the 31st Infantry Division with the exception of the Coast Artillery units which were assigned to Savannah Coastal Defense. However, there was one special new battalion to be organized from Georgia.25

Requests from National Guard officers and Governors for early acceptance of their state units to go to war against Germany poured into the War Department. The clamor became so general and so insistent that the Secretary of War conceived the idea of forming a composite Division to include troops from every State in the Union. That was the origin of the famous 42d (Rainbow) Division, which was later to distinguish itself in many important engagements of World War I. In August, 1917, companies B, C, and F of the 2nd Georgia Infantry were reorganized as the 151st Machine Gun Battalion and assigned to the 42d Division. When the 42d Infantry Division arrived in France in November, 1917, there were National Guard units from 26 States and from the District of Columbia in its ranks. Almost a year later, on September 16, 1918, the 31st Infantry Division consisting of National Guard units from Georgia, Alabama, and Florida departed for France and joined the American Expeditionary Force on October 3 1918.26

As for the legend or myth of Poncho Villa today, conservative Mexicans may insist he was nothing more than a self-serving bloodthirsty bandit. However, to most Mexicans his memory has been embellished through songs and stories and he is now generally remembered as a Mexican “Robinhood” figure. Of all the Mexican revolutionary leaders, he is probably the best known and remembered for his victories in the constitutionalist revolution and for being the only foreign military leader to have “successfully” invaded continental U.S. territory.

As for Americans, the massive mobilization of U.S. forces in 1916 and the pursuit of Pancho Villa in Mexico are scarcely noted in our history books and thus, not read about in school. However, it is important to Georgians because it was the first mobilization and deployment of Nation Guard Units for Federal service and an end to the old militia system of recruiting volunteer units of rank amateurs for Federal service as it was done for the Mexican War of 1846-1848. It was also the forerunner of the total force policy so important to our defense preparedness today. If alive today, Pancho Villa would probably claim credit for teaching General Pershing and the gringos from the north how to organize for a fight.

Notes


1. Haldeen Braddy. Cock of the Walk, Qui-qui-ri-qui!: The Legend of Pancho Villa, (Albuquerque, NM: University of New Mexico Press, 1955), 8.

2. Ibid, 128.

3. Ibid, 129-132.

4. Ibid., 133.

5. Ibid.

6. Martin Blumenson. Patton: The Man Behind the Legend, 1885-1945, (New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc., 1985), 79-82.

7. Braddy, 136.

8. Ibid., 138.

9. Ibid.

10. Ibid., 139.

11. Ibid., 142.

12. Blumenson, 83-87.

13. Braddy,  145.

14. Gene Gurney. A Pictorial History of The United States Army in War and Peace, from Colonial Times to Vietnam, (New York: Crown Publishers, Inc., 1966), 313-314.

15. M. N. Thisted. National Guard and organized Reserve Units Mobilized in 1916 for Mexican Border Duties, (National Historian, Mexican Border Veterans, Condensed Fact Sheet), 1-3.

16. Ibid., 3.

17. Record of Instruction and Events. Georgia 2nd Squadron Cavalry (Historical Society of the Georgia National Guard, 1995), 1-9.

18. Joe Cummings. Northern Mexico Handbook, (Chico, CA: Moon Publications, Inc., 1994), 237.

19. Ibid., 265.

20. Ibid., 266.

21 Ibid.

22. Ibid.

23. Blumenson, 93-94.

24. Ibid, 94.

25. Thisted, 2.

26. Ibid., 1-2.

 Joe Griffith is retired from the U.S. Army and is a member of the Board of Directors for the Historical Society of the Georgia National Guard. He is a frequent contributor to the Journal and serves on the Society’s “History Book Committee.” http://www.hsgng.org/pages/pancho.htm