52 Ancestors: #12 Mariah Elizabeth Durfee Van Leuven 1852-1940

My husband's great grandmother was Mariah Durfee Van Leuven. She is the mother of his grandmother, Delila Alldredge.

SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF
MARIAH ELIZABETH DURFEE
VAN LEUVEN

Mariah was born to Jabez and Celestia Curtis Durfee in Springville, Utah on 31 March 1852. Mariah's father was called to help settle Cedar City, Utah when she was very young. The family lived a fort there at first because of problems with the Indians.  So Mariah's early years were spent in Cedar City - her father planted the first orchard in the area. Mariah's brother, Eliel died while they were in Cedar City. He was just 18 months old.
The Durfee family was released from their call to Cedar City and returned to Springville. On the journey home a storm hit the family and they lost all of their belongings. After several years of deprivations and hard work the family was able to get back on their feet. Mariah was always a great worker, helping her father like a man in the fields, hoeing cane corn and gathering it.  She helped him make delicious molasses
Mariah's father was later able to build a larger two-story brick home with a large orchard for the family on Main street in the south part of town. There was a large room upstairs where people from town put on plays and held dances.
Mariah's husband, Newman Van Leuven also grew up in Springville. They were married on November 7, 1870, in the Old Endowment House in Salt Lake City. Mariah and Newman spent the first five years of their marriage in Springville where their first three children were born.
In 1875 Mariah, Newman and their children moved to Willow Bend (now Aurora) in Sevier County, where they homesteaded 160 acres of land. They pioneered in that valley for 22 years.   Newman later named the town, Aurora.  Mariah's parents and some of her other family members also moved  to this new community.

Mariah's daughter, Delilah tells that "Mariah raised a bounteous garden, and chickens, geese, and sometimes turkeys.  Every six weeks she and her girls picked the geese and used the feathers for lovely feather beds and pillows.  They husked and shelled corn, and washed and carded wool for quilts.  They knitted socks and sweaters and hoods.  Mariah never let anything go to waste."
All through these struggling days she was active in the church.  She and her cousin were Relief Society teachers together for twenty years.  Their district at times was across the river two and a half miles.  They would take their children with them – pulling in an express wagon [holding] the ones who were too small to walk so far, and carrying their babies in their arms.  Mariah was always ready and willing to help her neighbors, often going two miles to help with a quilt. Newman and Mariah loved to dance the waltzes, the schottish and good old square dances, and could dance with any of them.
Mariah's husband took a plural wife in 1979. He married Adelaide Broadhead in polygamy. Ten years later he served 4 months in the penitentiary (from Oct. 10 1889 to 17, Feb. 1890), for living in polygamy.
In November 24, 1897 the family sold all in Aurora and left for Old Mexico, where it was pioneering and struggle and hard work all over again. Many other family members moved to this area where they could practice their religion freely. Newman's second wife did not go with them.
Mariah, Newman and family lived in different parts of Mexico the first two years. They finally settled in Morelos, Sonora which was a Mormon community. From the stories of those who lived there they worked hard but also had many good and happy times.
Newman had to go to Salt Lake City as he had bone cancer in his leg. He ended up having the leg removed to save his life.
Shortly after Newman left those remaining in Mexico had to leave their prosperous farms and home and move back to the United States because of the Mexican insurrection in 1912.  They just turned their cows, pigs, and chickens loose and left their homes and belongings. Mariah and her family left with very sad hearts. The family members moved around to get back on their feet again. They lived in Utah, Nevada and Arizona eventually settling out on the Arizona Strip at Mt. Trumbull in 1919 where their daughter Chloe (Bundy) lived.
Newman only lived six months at this new home. He was buried in the Mt. Trumbull cemetery on a hill near their homestead.  By 1921 several of Mariah's children and their families were living at Mt. Trumbull.
Mariah was very involved in the small community. She served as Relief Society president at Mt. Trumbull at age 75. She was known for her thrift and her fearless compliance to her faith. She endured many hardships as she helped to pioneer several new communities.

Mariah remained living in Mt. Trumbull surrounded by her children until 1936 when drought cased many of the family to move 60 miles north to St. George, Utah.
Mariah died March 13, 1940 at the home of her daughter, Delila in St. George and was buried next to her husband in the Mt. Trumbull cemetery.

She lived a most useful life of faithfulness and integrity, and was a wonderful mother to all her family.

Mariah's Funeral

Obituary for Mariah

I love this headstone. There is now a modern one also.

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Sources:

family records in possession of D. Larsen

vanleuven.forefamilies.com

FamilySearch.org

Ancestry.com

Life History of Newman Van Leuven by his daughter, Delila Alldredge

History of Jabez Durfee and Celestia Curtis Durfee

Washington County News on Utah Digital Newspapers

52 Ancestors: #11 Newman Van Leuven 1848-1919

(I am going to try the 52 Ancestors challenge again this year. Last year I only got to number 10 but I'll do better this year... -cba)
Newman Van Leuven is my husband's great grandfather: Michael - Verl -Delila - Newman
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A BRIEF HISTORY OF 
NEWMAN 
VAN LEUVEN
Newman Van Leuven was born in Atcheson, County, Missouri on November 24, 1848.  He was the 13th child of Cornelius and Lovina Draper Van Leuven. His parents were living in Missouri after being forced from their homes in Illinois because of their religion. They lived in Missouri while working to get teams and supplies so they could join their fellow Saints in Salt Lake City. Newman's mother had 13 children of which he was the last. However only he and his two brothers, Dunham and Calvin, lived out of the thirteen.
Newman was still three years old when he journeyed across the plains with his family in the Robert Wimmer Company arriving in Salt Lake City on September 15, 1852. His family settled in Springville which is fifty miles south of Salt Lake City.
Newman received a good education for those times while growing up in Springville. He liked to wrestle, write poetry, and was a good carpenter. He became a school teacher. When Newman was 17 his pistol accidentally went off when he was riding a horse. He was hit in the leg above his ankle. He'd earlier hurt his knee while wrestling. These injuries bothered him for years.

1879

Newman married Mariah Elizabeth Durfee on November 7, 1870 in the Endowment House in Salt
Lake City. They were both raised in Springville and had known each other since childhood. They made their home in Springville for the first five years of their marriage. Their first two children were born in Springville. In 1875 they moved to Willow Bend, Sevier County, Utah where he was postmaster and homesteaded 160 acres. He pioneered in that valley for 22 years. The town was later named, Aurora, by Newman. He and Mariah had seven more children while in Aurora. Sadly they lost their 3 year old son, Newman Franklin, when he accidentally drank lye.
Newman took a second wife as was the custom at that time. He married Adelaide Broadhead on 27 November 1879. They had five children. Ten years later he served four months in the penitentiary from October 10 1889 to February 17. 1890 for living in polygamy as he would not give up his family.

This is an 1889 picture of men in the penitentiarymconvicted of polygamy.
(I don't think Newman is in this photo.)

On November 24, 1897 Newman moved to Mexico with Mariah and their children. His second wife, Adelaide chose not to go with him. In Mexico it was pioneering and struggle and hard work all over again.  Newman sold his farm and home in Aurora and chartered a freight car to take the household goods and the animals, wagons and tools, and sent his son, Lafe along with the belongings.  The rest of the family went on the passenger train via Denver, Colorado to Demming, Texas.  At Demming, the wagons were fixed up and loaded with their belongings.  After a two week layover they got through customs at the border, where President Ivins met with them and assisted in getting them through the customs check.
They lived in different parts of Mexico the first two years, finally settling in Morelos, Sonora which was a Mormon community. They built a home; were flooded out; moved and built again. They worked hard to build a new life in Mexico. They were forced to leave with others by the leaders of the Mexican revolution.

Newman in 1898

In 1912 just before they had to leave Mexico, Newman had to go to Salt Lake to the hospital for his leg, he had carcinoma, or bone cancer and had to be operated on twice to prevent it from creeping into his blood system. They soon amputated and so he stayed in Salt Lake with his daughter, Lavina Ashby until late in 1914 when he came to Kaolin, Nevada where his wife and oldest son, Lafayette, had taken up some land and were trying to make a home. In late fall of 1916, Lafayette had Newman and Mariah come to Eureka, Utah where he had found work. They lived there until March 1919 when they came to Mt. Trumbull, Arizona where they made their final home.
Newman was a great sportsman.  He liked to hunt and fish.  He loved to play baseball and pitch horseshoes.  Until he lost one leg he went hunting with his boys.  He loved the gospel, and worked in it all through his life.  He was always jovial, making merriment wherever he was.  He believed that a good laugh was better than a dose of medicine. Newman and Mariah were hard-working pioneers who loved to dance when he was able to do so - square dancing, waltzes, the schottish.
Newman was always a source of inspiration to his family and all who knew him. Although he had only one leg and had to go on crutches, he certainly led an interesting and active life. He had been a carpenter by trade and made innumerable beautiful articles in the last years of his life. His hobby, however, was writing poetry.
Newman loved his Trumbull mountain home on the Arizona Strip. He was happy there and said that it would be his last home on earth. It was he who laid out the cemetery for Mt. Trumbull on a lovely knoll in one corner of his own homestead. Newman died at the age of seventy-one on October 14, 1919 and was the first to be laid in that cemetery. Up to the time of his death he was full of spirit and even with the loss of one eye and one leg he still did many interesting things – went to all socials and took part.  The last social gathering he went to was a wedding at which he gave two or three comic readings, keeping everyone laughing.  He lived only two weeks after that.

Newman always advised his children to keep their eyes, ears, and minds open, as there was something new and good to be learned every day.


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Newman wrote poetry throughout his life. It was said he wrote a poem at the death of his son that I have not been able to find. Please let me know if you have a copy of that poem. Here are links to a couple of his poems: 
The Two Roads - Their Consequences by Newman Van Leuven
The Normal Class by Newman Van Leuven

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Sources:
Family records held by D. Larsen at this time.
vanleuven.forefamilies.com
A Brief History of Newman Van Leuven by his daughter, Delila Van Leuven Alldredge
FamilySearch.org
Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel website
Prisoner List - bottom of page

52 Ancestors: #8 Ann Adams Rose Watts

My Grandmother Hilda Palmer's mother was Ann Adams Rose Watts. She is my great grandmother.

Ann Page Adams was born in Pahreah, Kane County Utah Territory on 19 March 1877. The town is no longer there. It was in the are now known as Paria Canyon. Her parents were John S. and Mary Elisabeth Adair Adams. Ann is the oldest of her mother's thirteen children. Her father also had three daughters from an earlier marriage. Ann's father was adopted as a child; his birth name was Page. Ann and her siblings began using Page as a middle name when they were older because of this.

Ann's family lived several places in Utah and Arizona - Adairville, Snowflake, Pinetop - when she was a child. She saw old chief Geronimo and Apache Kid as a girl in Arizona and also three men hung by a vigilante committee.

I don't know if Ann is in this picture

Ann's family moved back to Utah when she was sixteen. She worked as a weaver for three years at the cotton mill in Washington, Utah.

Ann married Hyrum Henry Rose on 20 August 1896 in St. George, Utah. She was 19, he was 44.

Ann and Hyrum moved  to White Hills, Arizona, a mining camp, where three children were born to them, all dying young. Their oldest girl Annie was born  on May 27, 1897. She only lived 5 days and was buried at White Hills June 3, 1897. Next fall they went to Chloride for a while. Here, their daughter, Blanch was born June 5, 1898. She lived 8 months and died after she fell from a swinging bed. They went back to White Hills, stayed one summer, moved to Chloride Depot where Hyrum Rose and a Mr. Averett ran a short order house or restaurant. Their son, William Henery was born Sept. 15, 1899 and died Sept. 20, 1899. He was buried at Chloride, Arizona.

Hyrum and Ann Rose then moved to Cottonwood, Arizona near the mining camp in Jerome. They also lived in Globe, Ariz. for two winters. They next went to New Mexico and lived several places - Las Vegas, Cimarron, Tucumcari.

Historic Cimarron, New Mexico

Their daughter, Hilda Grace Rose (my grandmother) was born in Cimarron, New Mexico on October 7, 1902.

13 miners lost their lives in the platform explosion

Hyrum, Ann and daughter, Hilda moved on to Colorado - Cripple Creek and Trinidad. Hyrum was working at the Anaconda mine during the 1903-1904 Labor War there and just missed being on the railway platform that was blown up. They lived there for two years

The Rose Family were among those at the opening of reservation land in Uintah territory. They also lived in Price and Spring Glen, Utah where Hyrum had a store. Their son, John Adams Rose (Jack) was born in Spring Glen, Utah on March 12, 1908. The family later went to Nevada - Ely and Kimberly.
Hyrum Rose's health had failed so the family moved to Salt Lake City, Utah to see a specialist. This did not help and sadly, Hyrum Rose lost his life on December 16, 1913 and was buried near his parents in the Salt Lake City Cemetery.  During his sickness Ann did much hard work such as men's laundry, raising and selling vegetables, house cleaning, sewing, and many other things to keep the family.

/Ann's family in Annabelle, Utah. Ann is second from the right - back row.

After Mr. Rose died in Salt Lake City. Ann went to her people at Annabelle, Sevier County, Utah where she worked at anything she could do to make a living for her two children.

On the 22 of April 1915 Ann and her two children moved to Aurora, Utah to keep house for her late cousin's husband. She stayed with Benjamin Watts and his eleven year old daughter, Miriam till the 8 of September 1915 when Ann and Benjamin were married. Her two children, Hilda and Jack went with her. In 1918 their daughter, Lola was born and a son, Archie was born Sept 27, 1921. Sadly, Archie passed away unexpectedly when he was just 18 years of age.

Ben, Archie, Ann, Lola Watts

Ann lived the rest of her life in Aurora, Utah. Her vagabond days were over. She and Ben Watts were married for twenty-seven years when Ann passed away on January 1, 1943. She is buried in the Aurora town cemetery.

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Sources:
A Sketch of Thrilling Events in the Life of Ann (Page) Adams Rose Watts written by herself
rose.forefamilies.com
Ann Rose journals in possession of CB Alldredge
FamilySearch.org

Archie Watts 1921-1939

Today I want to spotlight my great uncle, Archie Watts, who passed from this life when he was just 17 years old. I spoke with his nephew, Bert Bulkley about him last week. Bert is now in his 80s but still remembers Archie fondly and says that Archie was kind and the best guy he knew.

My Grandma Palmer lost her father, Hyrum Henry Rose when she was 11 and her brother, Jack was 5. Their mother later married Ben Watts and had two more children, Lola and Archie. So Archie was my grandmother's half brother.

Archie Watts was born on the 27th of September 1921 in Aurora, Sevier County, Utah. He died during his senior year of high school on January 1939 in Aurora also.

According to his mother's journal Archie had been having trouble with his muscles in the week before his death and had complained about his jaw muscles hurting one day and his arms at another time. She said they'd decided that he wasn't getting enough exercise at school but he was doing the farm chores at home. In fact on that last morning he had got up and milked and carried the milk to the cheese factory before breakfast so his 75 year old father didn't have to. At breakfast he told them about the high school basketball game and dance he'd attended the night before and practiced some lines for an upcoming MIA play. He had earlier said he needed to diet because he had gained six pounds over the holidays and thought that might be why his muscles hurt. He finished breakfast before his parents and said he was still starving and drank a cup of milk then went into the living room and turned on the radio. His mother heard him cough and thought he was choking so headed to get him some water as he fell back. After he collapsed they sent for the doctor who arrived in seven minutes but it was too late. 

Archie's mother said that he was working on his autobiography, if it is around somewhere I'd like to see it.. His mother later mentions going to his class's graduation to accept his diploma and an award he'd earned.

I think of Archie every now and then. All of his immediate family have passed from this earth but I wanted to share a little of his life today. He grew up in a small town to a poor household during the 1920s and the depression years. I know he worked hard alongside his aging father on their farm. He enjoyed school and had a good but probably not healthy heart.