Freighting... and trying to get home with the money

Richfield

Territory of Utah -1878

After the demise of the United Order, the Ogden’s returned to the task of living life and making a living.  At the close of 1878, five of the seven Ogden children were married with young families.   Each of the families had acquired acreage; either through work, barter, or lottery, and were engaged in cultivating and developing farms.  In addition to farming they made additional money by freighting produce and supplies to other areas of the Territory, particularly the mining camps in Nevada.  This provided a market for the local crops and brought in much needed hard currency.  Although any man with a team of horses and a buckboard wagon could be a freighter, the enterprise was particularly dangerous due to the conditions of the roads and the also occasional patches of bad weather.  And probably worst of all there was always the danger of outlaws travelling the same stretches of roads and preying upon supply wagons.

All of the Ogden sons freighted at one time or another.  Typically two of them would travel together and would haul freight to mining towns like Pioche, Jackrabbit, Panaca, or Silver Reef, most of them just across the Utah border into present day Nevada.  On the return trip, wagon now mostly empty and pockets mostly full, they were particularly vulnerable to robbery.   

Many freighters would devise creative hiding places for their currency such as a small box built into the underside of the carriage or a hollowed out axle.  One Richfield man carved out the heels of his boots from the inside to carry what he had earned.  Another man from Redmond was not so fortunate in his efforts to conceal his earnings.  Robbers held him up a gunpoint and then proceeded to break four of his fingers until he showed them his stash in the hollow axle.

Butch

While we are on the subject of outlaws, it is interesting to note that Robert Leroy Parker, also known as Butch Cassidy, was born just 60 miles or so south of Richfield  near Circleville Utah, in 1866.  His family was some of the early Mormon settlers of the area.  Butch left home to begin his infamous career in crime in his early teens … which would have been around 1880 to 1884.  It is entirely possible that he visited Richfield sometime in his early years for supplies, etc. Later Butch joined up with Harry Longabough  (aka Sundance Kid), Matt Warner (native of Ephraim) and other men to form the Wild Bunch, pulling off several robberies in the central Utah area and then escaping to their infamous hideout, Robbers Roost, somewhere on the wild and isolated Utah Colorado border.  Yes, their travels might well have taken them through Richfield at times.  Perhaps they paused for a refreshing Coke, or to play a hand of cards, or maybe Butch wanted to drop in on a Sunday School class to keep current with the lesson schedule.

Where the "Almost Pure in Heart" Gave it a Try

In the Sevier County area  four other United Orders started; Glenwood, Salina, Monroe, and Joseph were communities that formed similar organizations and seemed to start off well.  Richfield  reported that all but seven families in the community joined.  William Ogden Jr.'s biographer records that initially there were some early successes in the Order which attracted new comers; but not all that joined had the necessary work ethic and soon there arose a spirit of contention and fault finding over the administration of the affairs of the Order.

The Order was administrated by a board of directors who sometimes were required to meet nightly to decide on issues such as permission to leave to visit sick relatives, change of work assignments, or requests for permission to have houses built, as William had done.  The record keeping which included reports of labor performed and distribution of goods fell woefully behind, to the point where it was impossible to determine where members were in their accounts.  Dissention and confusion grew worse and the “almost pure” of the people became noticeably less so. One night an unknown arsonist, thought to be a disgruntled member, set fire to the Order’s stacks of hay, a threshing machine, and other equipment completely destroying the lot.

People who had once known prosperity as members sought to withdraw and take their assets with them.  “I am leaving the Order," said one disgruntled board member, "because there is no order in it."  Before long Apostle Erastus Snow arrived and advised the saints to proceed with dis-incorporate and return to the former way of life. There were few that objected.

The task of shutting down and the distribution of the land and goods of the Order was a difficult one and took many months to accomplish.  William received back his original ten acres plus an additional ten more and also some flour, wheat, and other smaller items.  He indicated that he was always glad he followed the counsel of Church leaders to join with the Order, but he welcomed the change which allowed him to work out his own standard of living along with his brothers and father.

The Richfield United Order of Enoch lasted from August of 1874 to September 1877 and most all the other Orders in the Territory had very similar life spans.  Orderville Utah was somewhat of an exception from the others, operating rather successfully until about 1886.

In Search of a Pure People

In 1874 the Ogden’s were well on their way to financial independence when a small detour occurred.  Known formally as the United Order of Enoch, but more commonly referred to as just “the order,”  it was a new way of living; an economic and social plan for the Mormon communities in the Great Basin patterned something like what the saints tried to live back in Kirkland.   


Formed under the counsel and instruction of Brigham Young, families in a geographical area such as a stake, formed a cooperative organization and placed their land, cattle, sheep, machinery and all other worldly possessions into the order for the benefit of the group. There was somewhere around 220 different orders organized in the territory during this time frame. 

William and Mary and the offspring had been in the Sevier Valley over a year by this time and were beginning to show some signs of prosperity.  Their response to the counsel to form an Order is detailed in the history of young William Ogden Jr., who was 20 years old at the time.  From his history we read:

 “The Ogden’s, following their belief that they should obey council, joined the one in Richfield and turned in the goods, land, and money which they had accumulated both individually and collectively.  William Jr. had collected some little cash by his freighting and this was turned into the Order, along with a yearling steer and the land which he had drawn.”

“As William approached the age of twenty-three, he felt that he should begin preparations to get married; so he approached the United Order Board with a request that they build him a two room house with a cellar.  Some of the members thought this was too elaborate for a young man, even though he had been faithful in performing his duties as a member of the Order.  They wanted to compromise with one room and a lean-too with a cellar, or two rooms without the cellar; but William had his mind made up, and he insisted on what he wanted until finally they agreed to let him proceed to build the type of house he asked for.

William Jr. felt that he would like a little change in the color of his new home, so he spent many nights after work going to Glenwood to get white clay to make his adobes with. The United Order furnished most of the lumber and. other materials for his house, but he had to get the shingles outside of the Order.  William's father was a good mason and carpenter and work was commenced on the house in the fall of 1877.”

William married Emma Fraser on October 27, 1877 in the St. George Temple.  They returned to Richfield and lived with his parents until the white adobe house was completed in July of the following year.

Part two on the United Order will explain what happened on the way to being translated. 

Would somebody please invent a General Handbook of Instructions?

William Morrison

In the older part of the Richfield Cemetery rests the remains of William Morrison, one of the earliest settlers in Richfield.  Some 20 miles away in the Monroe cemetery the bones of Nelson Higgins are at rest, he also being one of the earliest settlers of the town.  It was between these two pioneers that some sparks of contention erupted starting in the year 1871, just after the resettlement & about the same time as the Ogden family arrived with their trunk.

Apparently Morrison had been appointed the Probate Judge by the Governor and then sustained as "President" of the settlement by someone or other.  The second title was the more interesting, inasmuch as there wasn’t really anything to be “president” of, unless a person felt this constituted the beginning of a Stake, which is quite debatable.  Morrison was a man possessed of a military background and was used to having and exercising a certain authority.  When he was thus appointed, his flock consisted of eight families which included ten men.

Nelson Higgins

Nelson Higgins was likewise a military man. He was a veteran of the Mormon Battalion, and prior to that, a member of the Nauvoo Legion.   In March of 1871 he was sustained as the first Bishop in Richfield, in some unknown manner, after which a petty rivalry erupted between the two strong willed men which grew increasingly bitter over the next year.  Finally an exasperated Bishop Higgins summoned President Morrison to appear at a Bishops Court for possible disciplinary action on some land matter.  Needless to say, when a Bishop demands the appearance of a President at a court, the lines of authority and protocol are anything but clear and organized... and quite possibly without precedent.

Judge/President Morrison appeared as requested at the proceedings, but just long enough to hear Higgins read the charges against him.  He immediately fired back that that the proceedings were without authority and were bogus.  Turning on his heel he stormed out of the room, and the rancor and strife escalated.

News traveled fast, (well actually not too fast), and in late 1872 Apostle Orson Hyde, who had responsibility over the central Utah area, arrived and took decisive action.  He chastised both men for exhibiting such a lack of harmony and further stated that “there was no good cause for the troubles that exist here.”   He then called Joseph A. Young, son of Brigham Young, to be “President of the Settlements of Sevier,” and told him to resolve all the contentions. He then promptly departed back to the safety of Salt Lake City.


Actually, despite the occasional cry of nepotism, President Young did an admirable job of bringing things under control.  The brethren from Salt Lake returned in 1874 to make the Sevier Stake official and also retained Young in his position.  Unfortunately, he died rather suddenly on August 5, 1875 while still the Stake President.  

Morrison and Higgins appeared to settle down after Hyde’s visit and actually both served in numerous church positions over the years with no further hint of the earlier hostility.   Morrison died in 1889 and Higgins followed him in 1890.  For all we know both men matured over the years, set aside earlier differences, and now rest in apparent peace, although still at a distance.


Was this the beginning of an era of peace?  Maybe... except for a few years later a retiring Bishop, apparently unhappy with his replacement, set up competition to Sacrament Meeting by playing his fiddle across the street and attracting a larger crowd.  But that exciting story will have to wait for another day.


What did the Ogden family think of all these doings???  We'll never know because no one bothered to write it down.

The Blessing of Posterity

Now that the William and Mary Ogden family are safely established in their red adobe house in Richfield we should catch up on what was happening with family relationships.  Consider this time line of events occurring within this closely knit family:

Sept. 24, 1868   The Ogdens arrive in Salt Lake with the Edward T. Mumford Company

Nov. 1, 1869       Mary Anne Ogden, 2^nd oldest child, marries W.C.B. Orrock in the Endowment House. Their romance first started back in England.

Oct 9, 1871          Jane Ogden, 4th child in the family, marries Henry Dall.  She is 19 at the time; he, 32 and a widower of nearly 8 years.  He brings to the marriage a son, Samuel, age 9.

Aug 24, 1872       James Ogden, now age 26 and oldest of the children, marries 24-year-old Alice Wray. Alice had arrived with her family from the Lancashire area of England via the ship Wisconsin on August 13.  

Allowing for a week’s train travel the marriage took place about 4 days after her arrival in Utah.  This also looks like a romance that had its start back in England and had been patiently waiting to develop.

Mar 31, 1873      Thomas Ogden, the third child of the family, marries Ann Marsh.  Ann had arrived in New York on September 17, 1872, on the ship Minnesota.  She came with her mother and 3 sisters from the Bolton area in England; perhaps another Lancashire romance.  At the time of this marriage, Thomas was 24 and Ann was 19.

Summer 1873    Approximate time the Ogdens relocated to Richfield.

Dec 27, 1873       Alice Wray, wife of James Ogden, dies in Richfield two days after the first Christmas in their new home. No details of the cause of death are available.  They were married only 16 months.  She was buried in the Richfield Pioneer Cemetery.

Oct 13, 1874       James marries Betsy Marsh, the sister of Ann, and oldest of the four Marsh daughters.

If the family gathered together in 1875 for Thanksgiving dinner, there would have been William and Mary, their seven children, four sons or daughters in-laws, and nine grandchildren at the table, a total of 22 people; more than double their family size in six short years.

The Ogden's (with their trunk) pack up and find a new home

William took his three oldest sons, James (26), Thomas (22), and William (17) and travelled to the Sevier Valley to reconnoiter the area.  They were accompanied by Wm. Orrock and his brother-in-law Steven Theobald.  When they arrived they found considerable discussion in the area about building a new town near where Central is today.  To irrigate the land it was proposed that a new canal be built to carry water to the town site and fields that would soon be developed. 

It seemed a great plan and the men were anxious to be part of the planning and building of the new town.  They returned to Santaquin, discussed the news with the rest of the family, and made the decision to make Central their new home.  The men returned to secure property while Mary wound up their affairs in Santaquin and packed the trunk.  However they would soon find that plans and events were not going as well as they thought.

When the men arrived back in Central they promptly acquired some lots in the township on which to build their homes; they also acquired by lottery some farmland between the town and the river. It was then that issues arose that would alter their plans once again.  Some of the settlers in the new town wanted the canal to be constructed below the existing Richfield canal and others thought it best to build above and divert water via a flume.  Disagreement became arguments which became heated contention and bickering; all the while the season of planting grew later.  

Finally the Ogden’s decided that they could afford to wait no longer and made a decision to move to Richfield where there also existed opportunity, but with a more harmonious population.  Much of the land there had previously been cultivated before the evacuation and now had to be cleared off again and prepared to plant.  Once more each of the men was desirous of having their own lot for a future home and they acquired such lots in the south west quarter of the town; adjacent to each other.

The plan was to work together to first build a home for William and Mary and then to help one another with the construction of subsequent houses.  The necessary tasks were divided up and some made adobes and bricks and worked at construction of the new house while some began to clear and plant land so that a crop might be harvested by fall. The house was a large adobe with two fireplaces located at the corner of 500 South and 200 West.  When the house was ready to occupy, the property in Santaquin was disposed of, and the family was reunited in their new, and hopefully permanent, community.

Thus the Ogdens establish their new home in a new land and a begin a new and exciting era.

They didn't get the Memo

Richfield in 1870 wasn't much to see... in fact there was very, very little to see.  The people had left in a big hurry and were now living elsewhere for the time being.  Many of them were questioning whether they even wanted to return.  It wasn't the red dirt on their carpets that was their concern, it was the red men in the hills.  Blackhawk and his warriors were still marauding and any peaceful farming saint wanted to keep his scalp and his life. Richfield sat in the middle of the valley had little to offer in terms of protection and safety.  When the year 1870 arrived it was an empty village and it would take another year before the place would be safe to return to.

But the Constitution of the land, which also included territories, explicitly stated that the people must  be counted every ten years, and this year of 1870 was a year for counting.  Apparently the task fell to a Mr.Wm.W. Rockhill, a newly minted "Census Marshall," who had taken the oath of office and was either not informed of the grave risk to life and limb that lurked in southern Utah, or was unconcerned and oblivious to the dangers of the Indian uprising; but his duty was to count...  and count he would. 

Use your best imagination and you can see him riding an old flea bitten U.S. Government mule down from the north country, pencils in pocket, satchel under arm, with a round derby hat perched on his head, and little wire rimmed spectacles on his nose.  No doubt he had been carefully trained in the Palmer Method of handwriting which would have been a perfect supplement to his emotionless, accountant-like personality.  Exercise that imagination some more and you might see him slowly making his way down what little main street there was, stepping around some errant tumbleweeds.  There would have been little or no wind in mid-June and an oppressive stillness filling the afternoon.  But there was a curl of smoke at the end of the street and to that spot Rockhill focused his attention and gave his old mule a kick.  The only live body in the entire town was an old Swedish sheepherder by the name of C.P. Anderson.  Picture him at the campfire whittling a stick and judiciously considering the uninvited guest who was dismounting from the mule.  Rockhill would have politely introduced himself as a representative of the US Govt, which probably made him less welcome in the deserted town than Chief Black Hawk himself.   Up to this time the only questions that had been asked by agents of the federal government had to do with the marital status of Mormon men, and that never turned out very well.  So as Mr. Rockhill asked the required questions the wary old Swede probably told him the basics at least.  But listed below Anderson's name were three young men, without names, ages 20,18,16.  The notations are puzzling and we are left to guess who they might be. Were they sons of C.P. Anderson? Did they not have first names, and if they did, why no recording of them?   These are good questions; perhaps they were sons that Anderson had not yet gotten around to naming.  Or perhaps he didn't want the US Govt to know their names.  Or better yet... maybe the interview was cut short by a Ute arrow that suddenly struck a nearby tree.   Me thinks we will never know the details of that June 14, 1870 day in Richfield, so our imagination is all we have to go on.  The motto is; when in doubt... make it good!.

The entire Richfield Census of 1870

So that was what Richfield consisted of in 1870.  Humble start for an exciting town!!

Mr. Wm. W. Rockhill, Ass't Marshall of the US Govt., concluded his census count of Richfield with the following notation:

Note:  After agreeing to a peaceful resolution of the conflict, the Ute's lived in peace for over 140 years and then decided to join the PAC 10 where they lived the rest of their days in obscurity.