Some history of WILLIAM MATTHEWS
and his sons
(Taken from the history of Harrison Reynolds Matthews)
[William Matthews is Parley Pratt Matthews' Grandfather. William's son, George, is Parley Pratt's Father. I have included the entire history, but have shrunk the text in parts where indirect ancestors are spoken of. William Matthews: 1818-1895. George Matthews: 1846-1887. --Britt]
William Matthews lived in Northill, Bedfordshire, England with his wife Elizabeth Flinders. They had both become members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He did various kinds of farm work in England. He worked for a Mr. Fuller for sixteen years and then quit because the alternative was that he attend the Church of England at least one Sunday a year and he refused to do it. Elizabeth Flinders was turned out of her home as a young woman the day she was baptized into the Mormon Church. She earned her living from then on by working for a family until she was married to William.
William and Elizabeth lived in England about eight years after they were married. They became parents of three boys, Samuel, George, and Timothy, in that order.
Plans were made to go to Zion. They left their home and went to Liverpool and stayed there several days before they set sail for America. Before leaving they sang some Mormon Hymns, one of which was "Farewell all Earthly Honors." They set sail for America October 2, 1850 in company with Christopher Layton and others. Christopher Layton's wife was Mary, William's sister. Samuel was about 7 years old at that time.
Elizabeth was suffering from tuberculosis when they left and after being on the ocean for about two weeks she was not feeling well and woke William up. She told him that she had to leave him and the boys. That night she died. That day was October 19, 1850. She was wrapped in a sheet, covered with a tar preparation, which was waterproof, and a weight tied to her feet. She was then put on a plank and slid overboard into the sea. William and Sam watched until she was gone, then William took Samuel back to their berth and put hi to bed. Samuel slept on the outside of the berth to keep the little boy from falling off.
There was a terrible storm on the sea for three days and nights. They were not allowed to go on deck. They were nearly shipwrecked. They were on the ocean 7 weeks, and landed at New Orleans on November 22, 1850. The boys were really hungry when they arrived in New Orleans; the food on the ship only consisted of oatmeal crackers, which were very hard. The boys soaked them in vinegar to soften them so they could eat them. William left Samuel in charge of George and Timothy while he went to find some bread for them.
They took the steamer "Amaranth" up the Mississippi River to St. Louis, Missouri. On the 4th of December they arrived in St. Louis. William met a young Mormon woman on the ship and married her on Christmas Day. Her name was Sarah Ellington. Christopher Layton married them, then William hired out to Christopher Layton for $1.00 a day.
The first year he worked, William paid the debt he owed his brother-in-law for their passage across the sea and up the river. They lived on $3.00 a week and Christopher Layton kept $3.00 to pay the debt. William worked the whole day, rain or shine. They lived on the same ranch with the Layton's for one year and then in 1852 William went to work on the road.
Sarah had a baby boy that lived for five or six days. A Mormon doctor came from St. Louis and said they should have a woman come to stay with Sarah and take care of the boys who were nearly starved to death. The boys were caught stealing bread because they were so hungry. William was very upset over this and he was happy when the Doctor brought over a woman to take care of the family. Her name was Charlotte Swift. She was a good Latter Day Saint, good at nursing, and good to the boys. She took care of them until Sarah died and then William hired her to stay until spring because he was away working. In the spring, he and Charlotte were married. That date was January 19, 1853. They went to St. Louis to be married and she told the boys to be good and she would bring them some presents. She brought them some candy and some different toys. She was one of the greatest blessings that ever came to them.
They moved south, below St. Louis, and William bought some cows and ran a milk wagon and a ranch for a lawyer named McPherson. Mr. McPherson gave William $12.00 for living there and taking care of the place to hold possession of it because he was in a lawsuit over the property. They lived there one year in 1854.
In the winter of 1854, Erastus Snow came and called all the saints together in conference. Brother Snow remarked, "I have some named from Christopher Layton, who is in Salt Lake City, and I am to meet these men at the close of this meeting." William Matthews was one of those named. Erastus Snow preached to them to gather in Zion. He said, "I will have a steamer ready by the first day of May." (1855) William thought he cold not go that year, but Brother Snow said that the word of the Lord was to gather to Zion. So William started the first day of May 1855 for Zion. They went up the Mississippi River until they came to the mouth of the Missouri River and went up it to Atchison in the state of Kansas, which was then Indian Territory. They were outfitted at what they called Mormon Grove and they started across the plains. At Fort Laramie, Sam, 12 years of age, was hired by a Mr. Godbe to drive a heavy wagon pulled by three yoke of oxen to Salt Lake City. William and Charlotte left him there and were in Salt Lake City two weeks before Samuel, about October 12, 1855.
The family went into the fifth ward of Salt Lake City and bought a one-half city lot. Christopher Layton gave William an old house near the Jordan River. He moved it to his city lot. Fifth ward went from 3rd WEst to the Jordan River and from 6th South to 9th South.
Christopher Layton sent for William to come out to Grantsville. They were in Salt Lake only six weeks and then moved to Grantsville, a settlement about thirty miles west of Salt Lake City. William sold the house and city lot for a yoke of oxen and a cow. Christopher Layton gave him one-half city lot in Grantsville and Samuel Martin the other half. The two families lived there together in one house on the lots. Charlotte prayed to the Lord for a house of her own.
William sold the oxen to Layton and was supposed to get 300 pounds of flour and a cow. He got the cow, but Layton was called to Carson City and he had to have the flour to take with him. William then went to Bountiful to Brother Austin to buy some flour. He gave him fifty pounds and charged him a dollar. He wanted $5.00 worth but could get no more.
For weeks the family did not taste bread, the main food at that time, but they had mush every morning. They would sift the bran three times and eat all of it. They also ate pig-weeds, stinging nettles, and grease-wood. This was in 1858.
Charlotte and William's first child, Walter William, was born in St. Louis in February, 1854. He was about fifteen months old when the family left St. Louis. Their next babies were twins, Joseph and Hyrum, born in Grantsville, July 1855. Hyrum died when he was born and Joseph died about a year and a half later. A few days after Joseph died, the first girl, Elizabeth Hannah, was born. She died when she was fifteen years old. The fifth child was a boy whom they named Harrison Reynolds. Two years later Charlotte gave birth to another boy. They named him William Swift. The last child was born five years later, a girl they named Charlotte Ann.
The named they chose for their children indicate that William and Charlotte respected their heritage. The name William, given to two sons, was the father's, both grandfathers, and two great-grandfather's names. The oldest girl, Elizabeth Hannah, was named for both grandmothers, one was Elizabeth, and the other one was Hannah. William's first wife was also Elizabeth. Reynolds was the maiden name of Charlotte's mother. Swift was Charlotte's maiden name. The last child, Charlotte Ann was named for her mother.
Sam, George, and Tim had a good relationship with their younger brother Harrison Reynolds. They nicknamed him "Bish" when he was young. He was known as "Bish" all of his life. They often teased him, but taught him also. when Charlotte Ann was born the boys tried to get Bish to trade the new baby for a new calf, but h wouldn't do it. Charlotte Ann was the only sister he had in his adult life. His sister Lizzie died when he was thirteen.
William built a new house to replace the little two room cabin. He raised the money by selling some cattle. The house was built on one corner of the farm, near the street at an intersection in Grantsville. It was a large two-story frame house. A big chimney with two fireplaces was built through the middle to heat the house. The upstairs was not finished off into rooms because nails were too expensive at that time.
Bish's three older brothers had a tremendous influence on Bish as he was growing up. They were enough older, Sam seventeen, George fourteen and Tim twelve, to tease, boss and teach him many things. He ran errands for all of them. He remembered Sam and tim as always being straight and fair with him. George was especially good to him and called him Buck and favored him. George often said such things as, "Buck, if you will get my horse for me I will give you a quarter." The horse would be a mile or so away, but the money always came when the job was done.
George often gave Bish something that was dear to a small boy's heart. When he was just a little shaver, George gave him a pinto colt. George broke the colt and rode it two or three years before Bish was old enough to ride it himself. He rode his pony for some time and took great pride in him.
Bish was going to buy a cow from George for thirty dollars but his father bought it and paid George thirty-five for it. George gave the extra five dollars to Bish. One day George was taking Bish with him to the range in Skull Valley to get a steer he was selling to the Indian agent for the Indians. He noticed that the boy's shoes were worn out and said, "When we pass the store, I'll buy you some new shoes, Buck." When they reached the store, George forgot. Bish didn't forget but he was too bashful to remind him. After they returned form Skull Valley, however, George remembered and bought him the shoes.
In the early days in Grantsville, life was primitive and rough. There was little schooling and little religious training. Primary wasn't yet a part of the church programs and Sunday School and M.I.A. were in their infancy. Boys were making their own way with the men who were rough and earthy in their actions and speech. Practically nothing was done about the Word of Wisdom at that time. Many people were too engrossed in trying to survive. Consequently, boys learned to smoke, drink, and swear very young.
There were no established public school systems in Grantsville when Bish was growing up. There were several one-teacher schools usually held in one room of a teacher's home. They were open for a term of three or four months a year in the winter time. The parent paid the teacher of his choice about four dollars a term per child. Sometimes the teacher was paid in farm produce.
When Bish was about fourteen years old, his father sent him to drive some steers to Stockton. He was to return home the same day. It was dark when he got them to Stockton, it had been a hard day, and he was tired and hungry. The butcher told him he could sleep in his store and locked the door, leaving him there without any supper. The next morning he met George out looking for him with the message that their father was out of sorts because he had not gotten home the day before as he had told him to and he was going to catch it. Bish started to cry. Probably to make Bish feel that he was a man after all, George handed him a flask so he could have a drink.
Bish, in his teens, rode the range through the West Mountains into Skull Valley with all his older brothers, but with George more than the others. When Bish was twenty years old, he and George sold some cattle to L.C. Lee, a cattle man who was in Malad, Idaho. In May, they trailed the cattle from Grantsville to Malad, a distance of perhaps 150 miles.
In the early spring of 1882, Tim, along with Bish, was going to Goose Creek, Idaho (Oakley) to work. When they had gone about thirty miles, they met George. He had been with his sheep and was returning to Grantsville. He said, "Buck, I have been feeling blue about this. If I had seen you several days ago, you woul dhave had a chance to go with me on this herd of sheep." But it was too late to change his plans.
Bish spent the rest of his life in Oakley. George stayed in Grantsville and raised sheep. Five years later, in 1887, George died after being kicked by a horse and developing pneumonia.
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