Christian Willardson and Anna Katrine Sorensen

"Latter-Day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia" 

by Andrew Jenson, 1920

Vol. 2, p. 545-548

"WILLARDSEN, Christian, one of the pioneer settlers of Ephraim, Sanpete county, Utah was born near the city of Skive, Viborg amt, Denmark April 6, 1811.  Being left an orphan when very small and compelled to rely on his own resources, he started life without money, but soon obtained a farm and made himself quite comfortable.  Becoming a convert to "Mormonism," he was baptized in 1852 by Elders Christian Christiansen and left Denmark in December 1952, emigrating to America together with his wife, Karen Sorensen, whom he had married in Denmark April 2, 1851.  They crossed the Atlantic in the ship "Forest Monarch" and the plains in John E Forsgren's company, which arrived in Salt Lake City, Sept. 30, 1853. Together with others of the same emigrant company, Bro. Willardsen and wife first located in so-called Allred Settlement (now Spring City), but were driven away by the Indians and spent the winter of 1853-54 in Manti.  In the spring of 1854 he settled permanently at Ephraim, being one of the first settlers of that place, where he helped to build the first forts erected as a protection against the Indians.  He was a member of that community the remainder of his life, becoming one of the most prosperous citizens of the town.  He had an interest in the first burr mill at Ephraim, and finally organized a company, which built the Climax Roller Mill, of which he was president and the principal stock holder till the time of his death.  Later he bought a burr mill in Mayfield and changed it to the present roller process; that mill is now owned by the family.  Brother Willardsen also engaged in merchandizing at Ephraim at an early day, his store being later incorporated as the Ephraim Co-op.  He constructed a tannery, carried on farming and freighted produce to market.  He took an active part in the Black Hawk War and passed through all the trials of grasshopper and Indians incidents in the early days.  In 1871 he filled a short mission to Scandinavia.  Returning home he assisted quite a number of poor Saints to emigrate to Utah, he being a man of means.  On many other occasions he contributed very liberally to the Church for public purposes.  Being the founder of home industries, he gave employment to many people.  When he passed to his final rest at Ephraim, June 29, 1897, he left three wives and fourteen children.  His first wife (Karen) bore him five children, namely, Willard, Christian, Erastus C., Joseph and Maria.  His second wife (Mary Larsen) bore him four children (Christian, Caroline Andrew and James); she has two children, Mary A. Allred and Mena Oviatt, by a former marriage.  His third wife (Anna Katrine Sorensen) bore her husband four children, namely, Annie, Lorinda, Peter and John."

"WILLARDSEN, Anna Katrine Sorensen, wife of Christian Willardsen, was born Nov. 10, 1849, at Guddumlund, Aalborg amt, Denmark, the daughter of Jens chris. Sorensen and Anna Christine Jensen. She was baptized Feb. 23, 1861, by Poul Christian Petersen and emigrated to Utah in 1871, arriving in Salt Lake City Sept. 21st.  Nov. 13, 1871, she married Christian Willardsen, to whom she subsequently bore four children, two boys and two girls.  After residing in Ephraim until 1898, she moved to a place called Brooklyn, Sevier County, Utah, where she presided over the branch Relief Society about ten years.  Sister Willardsen has done a great deal of Temple work for her departed relatives and friends in the Manti and Salt Lake City Temple."

Rachel Abertha Brown Parsons

THE LIFE SKETCH OF RACHEL ABERTHA BROWN PARSONS

Written by her daughter, Della Parsons Ware

Rachel Abertha Brown, the third child of George Austin Brown and Rachel Savage, was born November 12, 1878, at Payson, Utah. She moved with her parents to Box Creek, Piute County, Utah in 1880. Although she was given the name, Abertha, she always signed her name “Bertha.” Bertha was baptized, May 18, 1888 at Box Creek, by her uncle David B. Brown. She attended school along with the other children of Box Creek, but she didn’t seem to care as much about books and reading as she did about home making. From the time she was very young, she was happiest when working to bring a touch of beauty to otherwise shabby, homely surroundings. It was not an undesirable task for her to scrub a board floor until it was yellow and clean, mix a pail of whitewash to touch up around the fireplace where smoke and grime was bound to collect. She helped knit long stockings and socks, mittens and mufflers, which were necessary clothing to be worn during long, cold winters.

Dairying was the principal industry in the valley. An abundance of knee-deep grass grew everywhere. There was plenty of grazing in the West Mountains. When Bertha was a young girl she went to the mountain to do dairy work with her brothers, Henry and Alma. They milked the cows that were turned on the range and made cheese. When Jemima, their sister, was old enough to do the work she went to the mountain dairy and Bertha hired out to work for other ranchers. She received a wage of two dollars a week. Prices of commodities were correspondingly low. Calico for dresses was only five cents a yard.

Bertha was working on their own dairy at Fish Lake in the summer of 1900 when she began a courtship with Arthur Parsons. Arthur was thirty-one years of age and Bertha was nearly twenty-one. He had just returned from a mission for the LDS Church in the Northern States. Arthur was considered fairly well to do financially. He and members of his family were also at Fish Lake dairying that summer. Quite a number of dairy herds were feeding on the meadows at Fish Lake that summer. The young people had picnics and often got together for an evening of fun.

Arthur and Bertha were married January 16, 1901, in the Manti Temple. Bertha’s brother, Henry, and Mary Christensen were also planning marriage so the two couples decided to be married the same day. The two couples traveled by wagon to Manti, a distance of about seventy-five miles. It took them nearly a week to make the trip. Arthur and Bertha brought a new bedroom set home with them. The set consisted of a bed, dresser, and washstand, all finished in golden oak. Their first home was a two-room log house on a little farm at the point of the mountain between Koosharem and Box Creek.

In this farm home their first child was born. Della May was born November 30, 1901. Bertha developed phlebitis and was confined to her home for six weeks. Her brother, Lee, a lad of fifteen years, lived with them that winter to help around the house as well as do chores outside. Arthur’s farm chores kept him busy and his church duties took him away from home sometimes at night.

Before the birth of a second child, George Stanley, born January 8, 1904, they moved to Koosharem and lived in a house owned by Bertha’s father, George Brown. With Bertha’s ambition and ingenuity she thought of ways to make extra money to buy some pieces of furniture that she could use. During that fall and winter, she took special care of her little flock of chickens, boiling a kettle of potatoes for them each morning to mix with a bran mash. This good care increased the egg production considerably. She saved the money from eggs she sold and had enough to pay for a nice baby carriage. She also raised turkeys. Gathering the eggs in the spring, she used chicken hens for brooders. When the turkey hen was ready to “set,” she broke her up so she would produce more eggs to be hatched by the “setting” chicken. She sold the turkeys to buy furniture for the new home that was being built.

They moved into the new home in 1905. Bertha had torn strips of worn clothing and sewn them together, having enough to make floor coverings for three floors. These balls of carpet rags were taken to a weaver and made into yard wide strips of carpeting. The bright colored warp made a very nice looking floor covering. She scrubbed the wood floor in the kitchen until linoleum was available.

Bertha was especially talented as a seamstress and dressmaker. She gave special attention to keeping her family well clothed. When the children’s shoes had worn shabby, she was reluctant to send them to Sunday School.

Bertha’s third child, Rachel Mary, was born March 4, 1906; Aaron, February 14, 1908; Cora, February 17, 1910; and Cleone, November 5, 1915.

Each summer the children eagerly awaited the day when they would move to the ranch, three miles south of town. The hired girl went along to help with chores and household work, and look after the children. With homemade equipment and skillful hands, Bertha made two or three large cheeses a day. Milk produced by a dozen or more cows was strained into a large metal vat. Enough of the milk was heated in a large utensil on the stove to warm the full amount to room temperature. A tablet or two of rennet was dissolved and stirred into the milk. Bertha cut the curded milk with a long knife, dipped off the whey and heated it to just the right temperature to partially cook the curd. It then could be worked with her fingers. She continued to stir and mix until the whey was out of the curds. These were salted and pressed into a cloth-lined hoop. The hoops were then place on a corrugated board, called a follower, and a wooden lid was place inside the hoop firmly but gently covering the cheese. A heavy rock was suspended from the end of a plank that pressed all the whey out of the cheese. Then it was trimmed at the edges, covered with a cheesecloth jacket, and placed away on a shelf to cure. This cured cheese bought clothing and food for the winter.

Summer vacation for the family came in the latter part of the summer each year. They were well prepared to sleep on the ground under star-lit skies for three nights. This vacation came when Arthur went to Seven-Mile and Johnson’s Reservoir, north of Fish Lake, to round up his cattle and start them on their way off the mountain. Later, he would ride to Fish Lake on horses back to bring them into the valley for the winter.

It seemed that after 1910, ill health and disappointments brought reverses into their lives. Bertha suffered from phlebitis again after the birth of her fifth child. Her legs always gave her trouble after that. She under went a major operation in 1912. Arthur contracted a severe form of bronchial asthma, for which there was no cure and very little relief.

Bertha was expecting her sixth child in November 1915 so they moved to Richfield where they could be under the care of a good doctor. Arthur’s health seemed improved in the lower climate, so they decided to sell their property in Grass Valley and buy a home in Monroe. There the children could attend high school.

They moved to Monroe the day after the General Election in 1915. Bertha and the girls went to work immediately to clean the house from top to bottom. It was her first experience with electricity. She soon learned that it is not safe to wash the inside of an electric light socket with a damp cloth. By Thanksgiving Day all was in readiness for Thanksgiving dinner. A nice dinner was prepared and a lonely bachelor neighbor was invited to have dinner with them. Arthur and Bertha were charitable and kind to those in unfortunate circumstances. They won the love and devotion of many people, especially relatives and neighbors.

In October 1920, Bertha underwent a serious major operation and spent a month in a Salt Lake City hospital. As she regained her strength she worked hard again, having a few flowers in her yard and growing a good garden, providing for the needs of her family. Being ambitious and always striving for the better material things of life, she faced many disappointments in her life. Bertha was spiritually minded in her way, but feeding and clothing her family and making a comfortable home for them was her first consideration.

Her husband passed away in August 1935, leaving her a widow for over twenty years.

She was a Relief Society block teacher for a number of years, did some temple work, was appointed by the Monroe South Ward Relief Society to sew for and clothe the dead. This position she held for twelve years before that work was finally done entirely by morticians.

For more than eight years before her death Bertha suffered an affliction that resulted from a severe illness with shingles. This involved her left eye and one side of her head and face. The malady was incurable and she suffered constant neuralgic pain. It became necessary for her to have care in a nursing home.

She passed away January 9, 1956, in a Richfield nursing home and is buried in the Monroe cemetery.

Nola Heilesen Pedigree Chart

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Vahl Ware Pedigree Chart

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Elijah Parsons Immigration

Information on Elijah Parsons' immigration from England to the United States

from the Immigrant Ancestors Project:

Age: 15
Origin: England
Occupation: Labourer
Departure: 28 March
City: Liverpool, England
Voyage Name: George Washington
Church Leaders: James P. Park
Number of Passenger 817

“NINETY-NINTH COMPANY – George Washington.  817 souls.  The fine ship George Washington, Captain Cummings, sailed from Liverpool on the twenty-eighth of March, 1857, with eight hundred and seventeen of the Saints on board, including fourteen returning elders… James P. Park was appointed president of the company with Jesse B. Martin and C.R. Dana as counselors; A.M. Musser, secretary.  The ship had an unusually speedy and prosperous voyage, reaching Boston in twenty-three sailing days from Liverpool.  Four deaths occurred on board, and one child was born.  Captain Cummings, in reply to a complimentary note from President Park and counselors, and secretary of the company, stated, ‘I am free to acknowledge that on no previous voyage have my passengers conducted themselves so orderly and peaceably as those in your charge; cleanliness, morality, sobriety, reciprocation of favors and general good behavior were preeminently conspicuous in their conduct and character.’  On Monday, April 20^th, the George Washington arrived in Boston harbor, and on the following Thursday (April 23^rd), the emigrants disembarked and most of them left Boston by rail the same day in the afternoon.  A few proceeded to New York, and perhaps other places, in search of employment, not having means to continue the journey straight to Utah, while the bulk of the company traveled westward via Albany, Buffalo, Cleveland, Toledo, Chicago and Rock Island to Iowa city, where they arrived on the thirtieth.  Here they were met by Elder James A. Little, the emigration agent who had arrived at the outfitting place the day before.  With considerable exertion he and the brethren of the company succeeded in getting the tents, wagon covers, and other commodities which he had purchased for the emigrants on the camp ground, and, considering that the luggage of the company had not yet arrived, except what little they had brought along for immediate or daily use, they were made quite comfortable for the night.  On the first of May a supply of provisions was got on the ground, and the tents were more permanently arraigned.  The bulk of the emigrants’ luggage also arrived in the evening of that day, after which everybody set busily to work preparing for the journey across the plains.  (Millennial Star, Vol. XIX, pp. 223, 334, 363, 377, 379; Deseret News, Vol. VII, p. 141.” <Cont., 14:7 (May 1893), p. 342>  

Arthur Stanley Parsons

By Della Parsons Ware

April 10, 1955

Arthur Stanley Parsons, the eldest of a family of 7, spent his boyhood days in Salt Lake City and Richfield, Utah.  About 1882 the Parsons family moved to Koosharem.  He worked with his cousins, Enoch and Erastus Sorensen, with cattle and sheep on the Henry Mountains in Eastern Utah.  Later he went to work for Shadrich Nychwanger in Grass Valley.  This was a real opportunity for him as he was permitted to take his pay in cattle and meadowland.  As he worked for a number of years, he accumulated a considerable amount of property.

In March 1898, he received a call to the Southern States Mission, spending the last 8 months of time in the Northern States.  He received his release on his birthday, June 26, 1900.

During the following summer he pastured his dairy herd at Fish Lake where Browns also ran a cheese dairy.  Father and Bertha Brown began a courtship and were married in the Manti Temple, January 16, 1901.  They made the trip to Manti and back by covered wagon, bringing back with them a nice three-piece bedroom set.

Their first child, Della May, was born in their small farm home about 2 miles south of Koosharem.  Mother spent many lonely hours there while father attended to his church duties.  The following year they moved into town, living in a home owned by my grandfather Brown.  During this time their new home was built by Theodore Anderson.  The home was made of sawed logs.  It was a two-story house, four rooms downstairs with clothes closet and pantry, and an unfinished upstairs.  Mother was an excellent homemaker and made the rooms attractive with new woven rag carpets and gaily patterned wall paper.

Several years later he built a room over the artesian wall; a gasoline engine furnished power to operate the pump and draw water for the livestock in the yard, also to run the cream separator and clothes washer.  This was before the time when electric power was available and everyone depended on either artesian or ditch water for culinary purposes.  So this was a really up to date set up at that time.

During the summer of 1904 father nearly died of typhoid fever, which left his health permanently impaired.

His life’s ambition was being realized, he owned meadow and farm lands, barns, beautiful horses, range and dairy cattle, and best of all he had a family and a comfortable home.

On the 20^th of December 1908 he was set apart to labor as 2^nd counselor to Bishop Andrew Anderson after being ordained a High Priest at a quarterly conference in Richfield by John Henry Smith, Apostle.  He was active in civic and political groups and did a great deal to promote the dairy industry in the valley.

As horses provided the only means of travel at that time, travelers must stop overnight in the various communities.  My grandparents, the Browns, kept a traveler’s home and father had a stable for feeding their horses.  Our folks became very well known and they were highly respected.

In 1916 father sold his property in Grass Valley and bought a home with a fruit orchard and a small farm in Monroe.  He had spent weeks in Salt Lake City with specialists trying to find relief from asthma but there seemed to be no help for him so at that time he was unable to do strenuous work.  There were six children in the family.  The boys, Stanley and Aaron, learned to assume responsibility early in life.  More farmland and sheep were bought.  Eventually, they built up a farm industry again.

I would dare say that never did a wife and mother work harder than mother did to help carry on in the face of these difficulties.  She was a good conservative manager, very industrious and capable, and she bravely faced her many discouragements.

Father was a very studious man, deeply religious, and conscientiously tried to do right, always.

After enduring much suffering, he passed away at his home in Monroe the 28^th of August 1935.

Around the Blog

I have included a couple things on the blog that I hope will be helpful:

• There is a Search function so, for example, you could enter "Ware" and find all the posts with that particular search term.

• In each post including information about a particular person, I will "label" that persons name in the post and provide a link under the Names Referenced in this Blog column.  Every post I have tagged with that persons name will be available if you click on the link.

• The Genealogy Help Links column will include links to websites that either have information on a particular line, or will have information on genealogy in general which I have found helpful while searching for information.

          For example:  The Ware Pedigree link goes to the Oldroyd Family Tree website on which they have a pedigree for Vahl A Ware and his ancestors that include stories and biographies.  It also includes pictures, but so far I cannot get the pictures to load, I think it is because this site is old and probably not maintained anymore.  If anyone can get these pictures to load please let me know!  The Tuttle Line link goes to someone else's family history blog that has information on some of our Tuttle ancestors.  You'll have to search the Blog Archive for particular ancestors.  

Elijah Parsons

ELIJAH PARSONS

A brief sketch of the life of Elijah parsons, prepared by Della Parsons Ware and given by her at the first reunion of the Parsons family, held on the Monroe City Park, August 7, 1957.

Elijah Parsons, my grandfather, was born March 12, 1842 in Bromley, Kent, England.  His father, Williams Parsons, was born in the adjoining county of Buxted, Sussex, England.  His father was a master bricklayer in Bromley, Kent, England.  The 1851 census in England lists the older sons, William and Thomas, as apprentice bricklayers; the two younger sons Matthew and Elijah, as scholars, all born in Bromley.

Elijah’s mother, Sarah Francis, was born in Swansez, Glamorgan, Wales.

Records of LDS baptisms from the Bromley Branch show that Grandfather Elijah was baptized at the age of 14, March 4, 1856.  His mother was baptized September 10, 1848 by Elder Roberts.  Thomas was baptized March 31, 1850 by Elder Savage, who no doubt this was my great grandfather on my mother’s line (Henry Savage), as he was laboring in the area at that time.

According to records in the Church Historian’s office, Elijah and his mother sailed from Liverpool, England, March 28, 1857 on the ship “George Washington.”  They crossed the plains to Utah in separate companies, Elijah with Horton D. Haight’s ox-train company; his mother with Captain James Brown’s company, arriving in Utah three days earlier than her son, on August 29^th, and September 1^st, 1859.

Grandfather attended school in England and after his arrival in Utah was a schoolteacher.  In a letter from the Rector of Uckfield, who did genealogical research for Uncle George Parsons, he said “Your Parsons forebears were all literate, that is, wherever, from 1745, names had to be signed, they all signed for themselves and not by a mark.”  Grandfather was an exceptionally fine penman.

Grandfather also followed the mason trade for a number of years, working on the Lehi Sugar factory, the Manti Temple, the Salina meetinghouse, and early buildings in Richfield.  In his young manhood, he hauled freight across the plains.

His kindness of heart was shown when he befriended a young crippled girl, Mary Johnson, who had lost both legs at the knees while crossing the plains with the ill-fated Martin Handcart Company (Walker Company).  Grandmother has told my mother than when on picnics with groups of lively young people he would take time to lend her a helping hand and help her keep up with the group, showing great consideration for her.  They fell in love with each other and were married in the Endowment House, January 11, 1869.

They moved south to Richfield some time before 1876, where they lived for about 6 years.  Then moved to Grass Valley along with Jeppe and Catherine Sorensen.  Catherine was grandmother’s sister, a mid-wife, and gave valuable assistance in waiting on the family when there was illness.

Grandfather had always been able to find employment in the larger communities, so he became very discouraged as he was not suited to farming and ranching.  His desire was to move back to Salt Lake, but the family was settled in their home and for various reasons it was not practical for the whole family to move.  With the idea that his family might be better provided for, he went to Salt Lake alone.  As years passed his visits were farther apart, and until he was about 70 years old, he lived in Salt Lake.  In his later years he worked for the Salt Air resort.  Grandfather was always a student having in his possession works of the best writers.  He made many visits to the Mormon Tabernacle, where he especially enjoyed the choir.

In about 1912, he came home to Koosharem where he lived for several years with his son George.  Then he lived for a time in a little house near his son Will.  When he was too feeble to live alone, his eldest daughter, Annie, and son-in-law, James Anderson took him to live with them in their home in Salina, where he passed away at age 88, December 20, 1930, and is buried in the Koosharem cemetery.

Mary Johnson Parsons

Mary Johnson Parsons
Our Pioneer Heritage, Vol. 4, p.189 - 191
Daughters of Utah Pioneers

Mary Kirstine, christened Maren Kjirstine, was the youngest daughter of Johan and Johannah Larsen. She was born May 7, 1849, in Oudrup, Aalborg, Denmark and was left an orphan at the age of six when her father and mother died at Mormon Grove, Kansas, en route to the Valley of the Great Salt Lake. Mary was placed in the care of an elderly English couple before her mother passed away. Her good mother supplied the little girl with warm clothing, a feather tick and other necessities for the long journey ahead.

This English couple joined the Edward Martin handcart company to cross the plains, taking Mary with them. They were very harsh with the child and whipped her when she could not keep up with them. Not yet seven years old, she was too young to walk all day, yet too heavy to add to the load.

It was late in the summer of 1856 when the Martin and Willie companies were ready to start on their journey. Some advised waiting until spring, but the people had gathered and were so eager to join with the Saints in Zion that they decided to go on. Heavy snows fell in the mountains that year, food supplies were exhausted, many became ill and many died from hunger and exposure. Emigration officers and missionaries passed the handcart companies and carried word to President Young of the urgent need to send assistance to these people.

Ephraim Hanks' history tells the following:

Ephraim Hanks, a noted pioneer scout and mail carrier was at Utah Lake getting fish for the Salt Lake market and was staying overnight with a friend. He found it hard to get to sleep that night. He had his mind on two handcart companies that were long overdue. His mind kept traveling along this familiar trail over which he had traveled so many times, and of the hazards of the journey. He knew they must be suffering bitterly. Finally he fell asleep; he was aroused by someone calling his name. He answered and looked around but no one was in the room. He dozed and a third time his name was called out in sharp tones. He heard a clear voice say, "The handcart companies are in trouble." He dressed quickly and wakened his friends who placed supplies in his light wagon, and he was soon on his way. Hanks was met by a messenger who had been sent by Brigham Young to bring him to go with a rescue party. They were surprised to see him already on his way. On arriving in Salt Lake he put what supplies he could load on his light wagon and made his way east ahead of the rescue party. Hanks said he ran into one of the worst storms he had ever encountered in all of his travels.

In the valley of the Sweetwater he met the Willie party who had not had food for 48 hours. They were freezing and starving to death. Hanks killed a buffalo on his way out and most of it was eaten raw as fast as he could cut it up. He went from tent to tent anointing the sick and asking the Lord to bless them. The sufferers would rally at once. He administered to several hundred in a day, and many drooping spirits began to take fresh courage. The Martin Company was still farther behind, camped in a ravine between the Platte and Sweetwater rivers. He found the same pitiful conditions. Some had been carrying frozen limbs for days.

According to Ephraim Hank's story, Mary was one of those who had the courage to allow him to operate with the crude tools in camp and amputate their frozen limbs, in order that their life might be spared. Mary's feet were taken just above the ankle. When the news of the arrival of these people reached President Young, during a Sunday morning service, he dismissed the congregation with these words:

"When these people arrive, I do not want to see them put into houses by themselves. I want to have them distributed in this city among families that have good comfortable homes; and I wish the sisters now before me and all who know how and can, wait upon the newcomers, and prudently administer medicine and food to them."

President Young took Mary into his own home. Her legs had not healed properly, and it was necessary for Dr. Anderson to perform a second operation, removing both legs just below the knee. It was a terrible ordeal for the little girl.

In May 1857, Mary was taken to Spanish Fork, where she was welcomed into the home of her brother-in-law and sister, Catherine and Jeppe Sorensen. The five brothers and sisters were together for the first time since they had been separated in Kansas in the spring of 1856. The meeting was with mixed feelings of joy and sadness, for Mary was now learning to make her way about on the stubs of her two small knees. They all moved to Salt Lake City again. When Mary was fifteen, President Young helped her purchase a sewing machine and also made it possible for her to do sewing for others to pay for the machine. Many people, appreciating her keen ambition to support herself, gave her sewing and paid liberally for this service.

Mary became acquainted with a young Englishman, Elijah Parsons. In the kindness of his heart, his sympathy went out to the young girl who had such a hard time keeping up with the lively young people. They fell in love and were married in the Endowment House. Elijah was a mason by trade and was also a schoolteacher. Their two eldest children, Arthur and Annie were born in Salt Lake City. About 1875 they moved to Richfield, Sevier county and six years later they moved to Grass Valley where their first home was at Cedar Grove. Later they went to Koosharem purchasing a small home and a piece of land. Not being able to find employment Elijah went alone to Salt Lake to work. He sent money to his family and visited them as often as distance would permit. As he became older he stayed on in Salt Lake working at the Saltair resort, however, the last eighteen years of his life were spent in Koosharem. At the time of his death he was 87 years of age.

Mary always radiated cheerfulness and no matter how ill she was she tried to tell a humorous story. She passed away at the home of her son, Arthur, in Koosharem at the age of 61 years, on November 7, 1910. She was the mother of three daughters and four sons.

-Della Parsons Ware

"We All Share Pioneer Legacy" - from LDS.org

Watch this video featuring President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Second Counselor in the First Presidency, to learn what pioneers of yesterday and today can teach us about how to face trials with faith.

Pioneers of an earlier era provide a heritage of faith, courage, and sacrifice for all of us, according to prophets and apostles who lead the Church today. But they are quick to add that there are many modern pioneers who continue the legacy by spreading the gospel throughout the world. In a Church that has more than 14 million members from various backgrounds and origins, pioneer heritage is both a gift from the past and a unifying force for the future.

Preserve the Heritage

“With the complex issues facing our families and our friends, our citizens, our state, our neighbors, our nation, [and] the world, may we remember pioneers of an earlier day,” said Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. He noted that early pioneers “persevered against injustice, misunderstanding, some intolerance, occasional bigotry, occasional racism, against differences of custom and traditions and faith, [and] labored against all of that to carve out for us, their descendants, the wonderful day and the marvelous miraculous time in which we live.”

Elder Holland said. “We owe the same pioneering, persevering legacy to our children and our children’s children.”

Elder Holland spoke at the Ogden (Utah) Pioneer Days Devotional at the Dee Events Center at Weber State University on July 17, 2011, and encouraged individuals to work together while respecting and emulating their diverse pioneer heritage in their communities today.

“People working together are more successful, more prosperous and much more happy than neighborhoods or ethnic groups or religious faiths that are suspicious of one another, threatened by one another, and all too often hostile, even violent, toward one another,” he said.

Faith of Our Fathers

Other prophets and apostles also encourage people to honor pioneer heritage by living live with the same faith.

 “The faith of our fathers—I love that phrase,” says President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Second Counselor in the First Presidency. He explains that for many Latter-day Saints, these words are reminders of valiant pioneers who traveled by wagon, by handcart, and on foot to settle in the valley of the Great Salt Lake. But with today’s worldwide Church membership at more than 14 million members from various backgrounds and origins, how do Church members share in a common pioneer heritage? And what does it mean to be a pioneer today?

“I love and honor the faith and courage of those early pioneers of the Church,” President Uchtdorf continues. “My own ancestors were living an ocean away at the time. None were among those who lived in Nauvoo or Winter Quarters, and none made the journey across the plains. But as a member of the Church, I claim with gratitude and pride this pioneer legacy as my own.”

In addition, President Uchtdorf says, “I claim the legacies of today’s modern-day Church pioneers who live in every nation and whose own stories of perseverance, faith, and sacrifice add glorious new verses to the great chorus of the latter-day anthem of the kingdom of God.”

The World Needs Pioneers Today

President Thomas S. Monson—who also praises early pioneers for their courage and faith in the midst of hardships—emphasizes the importance of honoring their legacy by living the gospel.

“Can we somehow muster the courage and that steadfastness of purpose which characterized the pioneers of a former generation?” President Monson asks. “Can you and I, in actual fact, be pioneers today? A dictionary defines a pioneer as ‘one who goes before, showing others the way to follow.’ Oh, how the world needs pioneers today!”

President Monson teaches that Latter-day Saints can be modern-day pioneers by being aware of the needs of others and then reaching out to rescue them and show them the way to Christ.

“Look at What We Built”

Elder L. Tom Perry of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles tells of an experience visiting the Manti Utah Temple: “There is a special spirit in these older temples, which were constructed at great sacrifice by the early pioneers. … As we progressed through the temple session, I could hear in every room those early pioneers saying, ‘Look at what we built with our own hands. We had no power equipment. No contractors or subcontractors were involved in the construction, no fancy cranes to lift up the heavy stones. We performed this labor under our own power.’”

Reflecting on this heritage that the early pioneers left, Elder Perry remembers the words of a former president of the United States, who talked about “[going] back to the past way of thinking.”

“His counsel still resonates within me,” Elder Perry says. “There is something about reviewing the lessons of the past to prepare us to face the challenges of the future. What a glorious legacy of faith, courage, and ingenuity those noble early Mormon pioneers have left for us to build upon. My admiration for them deepens the longer I live.”

Footsteps throughout the World

Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles also encourages Latter-day Saints to have in their footsteps the same dedication the pioneers had in theirs.

“Truly the Lord encourages us to walk in faith to the edge of the light and beyond—into the unknown,” Elder Ballard says. “After the trial of our faith, He once again shines the light ahead of us, and our journey of faith in every footstep continues. Now it has swelled into billions and billions of footsteps throughout the world.

“We must be sure that the legacy of faith received from the pioneers who came before us is never lost. Let their heroic lives touch our hearts, and especially the hearts of our youth, so the fire of true testimony and unwavering love for the Lord and His Church will blaze brightly within each one of us as it did in our faithful pioneers.”