incidents in the life of william moore allred

8/7/2019 Incidents in the Life of William Moore Allred

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William Moore ALLRED Allred Progenitors: (Isaac, William, Thomas)Born: 12/24/1819Died: 06/08/0190Submitted by: Sharon Allred Jessop (www.allredfamily.org)

INCIDENTS IN THE LIFE OF WILLIAM MOORE ALLREDrelated by Theras Orson Allred, a Grandson and Iris Allred Nielsen, a GreatGranddaughter It was a balmy spring evening in Nauvoo the Beautiful in the year 1841, thattwo young men age 21, arrived at a church function known as a SingingPractice. A new young face in the crowd attracted the attention of one of them, William Moore Allred, and he asked his friend, Stephen Goddard, for an introduction. The ³young face´ readily consented to meet the young manfor she too had been attracted by a new young face. William gained

permission to escort the young lady home following the practice. Thus begana romance that resulted in the marriage of the ancestors of Iris and Theras. In the home of Orson Pratt on the 9th of January 1842, Orissa Angelia Batesand William Moore Allred were married by Dr. John C. Bennett. Among theguests present were the Prophet Joseph Smith and his wife Emma. OrsonPratt¶s wife was an older sister of Orissa. A common cause, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, as restored in these last days,has brought these two young people together from widely separated sectionsof the country. Orissa was born the 17th of August, 1823, at Henderson,

Jefferson County, New York. Her father, Cyrus Bates, came to New York from Vermont and his father, Oliver, was from Boston. William¶s people were from the South. William was born the 24th of December 1819 at Farmington, Bedford County, (now Marshall County)Tennessee where his father, Isaac had moved from Georgia. Isaac was bornin South Carolina. William¶s mother, Mary Calvert, was born in ElbertCounty, Georgia. About the time the Church was being organized at Fayette, New York, Isaacwas moving his family, consisting of seven children, from Tennessee some

500 miles northwest to the state of Missouri. He located on a farm in MonroeCounty in the Salt River District. The climate there was quite different from that which the Allred family hadleft and for the first time they experienced snow on the ground and in thespring they shot their first deer on the crusted snow. That winter, William, alad of 11, frosted his feet because he had no shoes. His twin brothers, Redick and Redden, had no shoes either so William stayed in the house and taught



his brothers to read, his only experience as a school teacher. His schoolingwas limited. Missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, HyrumSmith and John Murdock, brought the Gospel to Monroe County in 1831.

The following year three Elders, George M. Hinkle, Daniel Cathcart andJames Johnson, organized the Salt River Branch. On the 15th of September,1832, William, along with his parents and others of the family, was baptizedby Elder Hinkle. William first saw the Prophet Joseph Smith in the summer of the year heturned 14. The prophet was on his way to Zion¶s Camp to relieve thesuffering of the Saints in Jackson County and arrived at the Salt River Settlement June 7, 1834. They camped there four days refreshing andreorganizing the camp.

William¶s Uncle James raised 10 volunteers and joined the camp. On thereturn trip the Prophet Joseph visited the Salt River Branch (also called theAllred Settlement) and advised the Saints to gather in Clay County. Speaking of his impressions of the young Prophet, William writes: ³I thoughthe had a noble appearance, very kind and affectionate. I visited the Campseveral times while it was at my Uncle¶s farm. I knew he was a true prophetof God and I have lived to see many of the prophecies fulfilled and I amwilling to have this testimony go to all the world. As I was not quite 14 whenI first saw the Prophet I cannot remember many of his sayings then but Iheard him preach in the Salt River Branch.´ He wrote of a later period: ³I

was with him in the trouble at DeWitt and Adam-on-Diam and at Far West. Ihave played ball with him many times in Nauvoo.´ The Isaac Allred family had been devout Presbyterians and William had beena regular attender at Camp Meetings and Sunday Schools. Now the newconvert had implicit faith in the Prophet Joseph and in the Gospel he taught,and gladly answered every call that was made of him by his new Church witha whole-hearted response. By the time the Allred family joined the Church the gathering place wasJackson County, Missouri, and Isaac, under the spirit of gathering, sold his

farm and prepared to move to Independence. Before he got away the Saintswere driven out of Jackson County so Isaac rented the farm he had just soldand stayed in Monroe County. In 1855 they gathered with the Saints in ClayCounty, locating on Fishing River. The citizens of Clay County would not tolerate the Mormons much morethan those in Jackson so within the year the Allred family moved with theothers and settled in a sparsely settled part of Missouri and had a petition for



a new county, Caldwell. The saints in and about Far West began to prosper and the influx was so great that another county was formed called DaviesCounty. Isaac had land on Long Creek, about 8 miles from the newly formedcity of Far West.

The few settlers in this area were mostly fugitives from justice or politicaloutcasts, and most of them were bought out by the Mormons and thesituation held the promise of peace and prosperity and Far West bid tobecome the Beautiful Zion that Independence had been meant to become.The Church now consisted of two stakes. Here the Allreds lived for two yearsand the last of their ten children were born. The Anti-Mormons of Missouri were not content for the Latter Day Saints tooccupy on foot of Missouri soil. Persecutions began anew. Outlyingsettlements in other counties were the first to suffer from new mob violence--DeWitt, Faun¶s Mill, Crooked River, etc. and as trouble mounted Governor

Boggs issued his extermination orders. William had a vital part in some of the incidents that followed. Following theadvice of General Alexander Doniphan, an officer in the State Militia,Caldwell county called out its Militia and William, age 18, was among thosein Far West intent upon defending the City and its citizens against thedepredations so recently perpetrated against persons and property in JacksonCounty. William was in a small company under the leadership of Colonel George M.Hinkle that went to the relief of Saints at DeWitt on the Mississippi River in

Carol County. They reached the place in the night and the enemy fired uponthem. Bullets thudded into the trees about them but none was hit. While on another such mission William had pointed out to him the stones atAdam-ondi-Ahman that were once an alter on which Adam offered sacrifice.(See History of the Church by Joseph Smith, Vol. 111 pg. 40 footnote). On such missions they usually had to sleep in the open and once theyawakened to find themselves under six inches of snow. Once while out with a scouting party they discovered an army of thousands

of men marching on Far West under banners of the State Militia. They knewthey would be needed to defend their city against such numbers. By taking acircuitous route and doubling their efforts they came into the city from theopposite side before the mob arrived. As they rode in behind a breast-work of wagons, boxes, fallen trees--anything that could give protection--William tied his horse, threw down hishat, tied a handkerchief about his head, took up his rifle and joined the other



men. As he did so, Captain Killian shouted. ³Boy, the watch word is God andLiberty.´ As the mob came marching up the defenders expected to get the order to fire,but suddenly the marching men whirled and retreated to a small creek out of

the range of Far West muskets where they made camp about a mile from thecity. It seems that they feared they might lose too many men under thecircumstances. One mobster remarked later that they thought they saw athousand men ride in behind the breast works. They found a cheaper methodto gain their ends. They had found a traitor. Colonel George M. Hinkle rode out to the enemy camp reportedly todetermine their purposes. He returned saying that the leaders of the mobwished to see the Mormon leaders and that they would be safe, returning theevening of the next day. So under the supposed protection of Colonel Hinkle,the Prophet, Hyrum Smith, Sidney Rigdon, Lyman Wright and others, went

into the camp of the enemy but they did not return that evening nor the nextday as free men. They were taken prisoners. It was testified later that GeorgeM. Hinkle said as they rode into camp. ³These are the men I agreed to deliver to you.´ George M. Hinkle, the Elder that baptized William had sunk to thelow level as traitor! From William¶s Journal we learn that when the brethren were betrayed in theenemy camp they were treated with the upmost contempt. ³I shall never forget that night, such cursing, yelling and screaming heard. It could bedistinctly heard up town. They held court martial and condemned Joseph andHyrum to death.´

The report came that the prisoners were to be shot the next morning, Nov. 4th1838, on the Public Square before the eyes of their wives and children.William was there when the prisoners arrived. But they were not shot asplanned. General Donaphan had been appointed their executor but refused tohave any part of it, declaring it cold blooded murder and he ordered his mento leave the place. The mob leader then ordered the prisoners to be taken to Jackson Countyunder General Lucas. William saw the prisoners given permission to gather some necessities and to bid farewell to their families. He heard the men of

Far West ordered to give up their arms and he surrendered his musket withthe others. He saw the men sign away their real property at the threat of death. He saw prisoners thrust away from the arms of clinging wives andchildren at the point of the bayonet and into wagons for the journey toIndependence. He heard General John B. Clark, who was given command of the occupation forces, make that infamous speech to the people of Far West,whose means of defense had been forced from them, whose leaders had beenimprisoned, whose property had been confiscated, stolen or shot in their



tracks, whose wives, sisters and daughters had been molested and insulted.General Clark¶s words were these: ³It now falls upon me to fulfill the treatythat you have entered into, the leading items I shall now lay before you: (theonly person who could have signed the treaty is Hinkle) The first requiresthat your leading men be given up to be tried according to law; this you have

already complied with. The second is that you deliver up your arms. This toohas been attended to. The third stipulation is that you sign your property todefray expenses of the war. This you have also done. Another article yetremains for you to comply with, and that is, that you leave this State andwhatever may be your feelings concerning this, of whatever your innocence,it is nothing to me. General Lucas, who is equal in authority with me, hadmade this treaty with you....and I am determined to see it fulfilled. Thecharacter of this State has suffered almost beyond redemption, from thecharacter, conduct, and influence you have exerted and we deam it an act of justice to restore her character to its former standing by every proper means.The orders of the Governor to me were that you should be exterminated, and

not allowed to remain in the State, and had your leaders not given up, and theterms of the treaty complied with you and your families would have beendestroyed and your houses ashes. There is a discretionary power vested in my hands which I shall exercise inyour favor for a season; for this leniency you¶re indebted to my clemency. Ido not say you have to go now, but you must not think of staying another season, or for putting in your crops, for the moment you do this, the citizenswill be upon you....As to your leaders, do not once think..do not imagine for a moment..do not let it enter your mind that they will be delivered or that youwill see their faces again, for their fate is fixed..their die is cast..their doom is

sealed. I am sorry, gentlemen, to see so great a number of apparently intelligent menfound in the situation you are; and oh! That I could invoke the GreatSpirit..the Unknown God..to rest upon you and make you sufficientlyintelligent to break the chain of superstition and liberate you from thosefetters of fanaticism with which you are bound..that you no longer worship aman. I would advise you to scatter abroad, and never again organize yourselveswith Bishops. Presidents, etc. lest you excite the jealous people, and subject

yourselves to the same calamities that have now come upon you. You have always been the aggressors..you have brought upon yourselvesthese difficulties by being disaffected and not being subject to rule..and myadvice is that you become as other citizens, lest by a reoccurrence of theseevents you bring upon yourselves ruin.´ (History of the Church by JosephSmith Vol, 111 pg 202-204)



So the people went home to find their crops destroyed, animals stolen or shotand left to die, feather beds ripped open and other household goodsdestroyed. William¶s father had a few horses left but ³My sisters,´ Williamsaid ³had to walk through the rain, mud and snow for eight miles, their skirtswet to their knees.´ It was the 6th of November.

When the Church Leaders were put on trial work came to Far West that amob was assembling near the Court House to kidnap the Prophet. Williamwas one of a group of men who hid themselves near the scene so as to beavailable if they were needed. They stood ready until the danger passed. Before the worst of the mob trouble at Caldwell County developed,William¶s brother, John, went to visit his wife¶s folks on the Mississippi,opposite Quincy. When the mob leaders were hunting for the activeparticipants in the defense of the Saints, William was advised to go intohiding so he went and stayed with a brother until the danger subsided. After

that, he and others, including a younger brother chopped a cord of wood onthe Mississippi working in the cold where they suffered greatly. Early in the Spring of 1839, William with his father¶s family left the state of Missouri and moved back across the Great River into the then friendly stateof Illinois. Isaac rented a farm in Adam¶s County from a Mr. Stone, 20 milessouth of Quincy. Due to hardships of the previous months William suffered asevere sick spell and it was more than a year before he could do a good dayswork. Sickness followed the family to Nauvoo where they moved in theSpring of 1840.

In Nauvoo, William was an active citizen and devoted church member. Whenthe Nauvoo legion was chartered in 1841 he was commissioned by Governor Carlin..a Captain of the 2nd Company, 2nd battalion, 2nd Regiment, 2ndCohort in that Organization. It was the greatest military organization in thegreatest city in the state of Illinois at that time. They were issued rifles butwhen the Nauvoo Charter was taken away they had to give up arms. When construction of the Nauvoo Temple was begun, William left the rock quarry with the first load of rock for the Temple¶s foundation but a man bythe name of Lorenzo Brown, who drove a team of horses, passed William¶sslower moving oxen and won the honor of putting the first load of stone on

the Temple site. William assisted with the construction in other ways...ascarpenter, joiner and mason, often without sufficient food and clothing.When the edifice was sufficiently completed he took his family there for Endowments..3rd Jan. 1847 and on the 23rd they were sealed by Elder Heber C. Kimball. On the 2nd day of May 1845 William was ordained a Seventy by Elder LeviW. Hancock.



Apostates, trying to injure the Church, built a saloon near the Temple site.The Nauvoo City Council declared it a public nuisance and William¶sCompany of rifle men stood guard while the building was hauled to the brink of a deep gully where it was rolled down the steep incline..bottles, liquor and

all. William remembers when the printing establishment the Nauvoo Expositor was destroyed, and when Joseph Smith preached the first sermon on TheSalvation of the Dead. He saw the first baptisms for the dead performed inthe Mississippi River and recalls what his father, Isaac, said: ³It isastonishing to me that I have read the Bible all my life but never understoodit in that light.´ In William¶s writings he records many interesting events in connection withthe Prophet Joseph Smith. He was closely associated with the Prophet,

maybe because he was a brother-in-law to Orson Pratt. He played ball manytimes with the Prophet, and some of the pious folk resented his playing ballwith the boys. He related a story of a certain Prophet sitting under the shadeof a tree when a hunter came along and reproved him. The Prophet asked himif he kept his bow strung all the time and the hunter answered he did not. TheProphet asked him why not and the hunter said it would lose its elasticity if he did. The Prophet said that was the way with his mind, he did not want itstrung all the time. William heard the Prophet say in one of his sermons that all the Lord hadrevealed to him the people would seek his life. Pointing back to a Brother

Cole on the stand he said: ³Even as good a man as old Father Cole here.´ Heheard the Prophet make many predictions. The War on Slavery, that theSaints would go to the Rocky Mountains, and his own martyrdom. He was ina crowd of men in Nauvoo when the Prophet, Hyrum and others left for Cathage to give themselves up for trial and the Prophet said: ³Boys, if I don¶tcome back take care of yourselves. I go like a lamb to the slaughter.´William hear the last sermon ever preached by his beloved leader theprevious Sunday. William was in Nauvoo June 27, 1844 when the word arrived that Joseph andHyrum had been murdered. He was among the 10,000 mourners who viewed

the bodies when they were brought to Nauvoo. He was one of the crowd whoexpressed the desire to retaliate with armed force but followed advice of Willard Richards when he said: ³Think, brethren, think and then think againbefore you act.´ After Orissa and William were married they began housekeeping in a roomin the home of Orson Pratt. Their first child, William Lansing, was born thereOctober 18, 1842. Before the second child, Mary Adeline, was born Dec. 20,



1844 William bought a lot near the rising Temple for $150.00 and built asmall brick home on it. When they were forced to leave Nauvoo, theysacrificed their home for $35.00. After the death of the Prophet a perplexing problem arose . . .Who should

now lead the Church? William was caught up in the controversy and heardthe claims of Sidney Rigdon to the right of leadership. William was alsopresent at the meeting when Brigham Young spoke with such power thatmost of the saints were convinced of the Authority of the Twelve in allthings. ³I was perfectly satisfied´ said William. The enemies of the Church thought the death of the Prophet would be the endof the Church and the ³Mormon problem´. When they discovered this wasnot the case, persecution began anew and rapidly increased until it becamenecessary for the Mormons to leave Nauvoo and seek a home in the valleysof the Rocky Mountains.

In the spring of 1846, soon after Brigham Young with the vanguard of theChurch crossed the Mississippi River and headed west, William and hisfamily left their beloved Nauvoo and joined the pilgrimage westward.William did not have the necessary outfit, but his father Isaac, took thefamily with him. Isaac bought a farm in the vicinity of Kanesville, Iowa(later known as Council Bluffs) on the east side of the river, where hepresided over a Branch called the Allred Settlement. In June of 1849, Isaac with his family, excepting William and Redden, leftfor the Salt Lake Valley. William, not yet prepared to make the journey,

bought his father out and remained another two years. Oliver Cowdery came back into the church and was re-baptized a member.William was present at a Conference of the Church when Oliver was calledon to speak. Oliver Cowdery said: ³I know who wrote the Book of Mormon ..Mr Spalding did not write it . . . Sidney Rigdon did not write it . . .I wrote itmyself as it fell from the lips of the Prophet´. At another conference held in Kanesville in 1850, Apostle Orson Pratt waspresent. He was staying with William and his family at their home some 8miles from Kanesville. It had been a very dry season and crops were

suffering from lack of rain. The presiding officer at the Conference calledupon Brother Pratt to open the Conference with prayer and requested that hepray for rain. William said: ³It was clear as a bell, not a cloud to be seen inthe sky when we started for home but before they reached home cloudsappeared and it rained and rained, and when they reached home they were aswet as if they had been in the river.´ After his father left, William was associated with Samuel Wood in the



business of building wagons. It had been William¶s constant aim to get readyto make the journey west. He built his own outfit from the ground up (all butthe iron) then he painted it. The wagon cover had to be lined with green calico to protect his daughter,

Adaline¶s eyes from the light. She had learned to sew when but a child andhad pieced an entire quilt by the time she was 6, but this proved to be toomuch for her eyes and she could not stand strong light. William raised two steers and broke them to work. He got another ox teamfrom his brother-in-law, Orson Pratt, and with two milk cows under yoke andthree teams to draw his family and their portable goods across the plains theyset forth. In 1851 they made the trip in the Orson Pratt Company. Like all such journeys the good was hard. Perhaps it was harder on Williamthan on some men for he had the care of Orson Pratts teams as well as his

own. Orson had well broke animals for leaders but the others in his teamwere wild, unbroke and caused much trouble. Then, too, William was inmuch demand for fixing broken tongues and wheels of other wagons. Atevery camp William would leave his own outfit for his family to care for andrush to care for the wild animals in the leader¶s team . . then repair other wagons so that all would be ready to start the next morning. Often, when hehad his own outfit over a bad place in the road, he would had the whip toLansing, only 9 years old, and remain to help others across, then run to catchup with his own outfit. That those days were exhausting for William is born out by the words of his

wife, Orissa; ³He could not sleep nights, night mares. He would dream thatsome outfit was bogged down in some bad place in the road. He would pinme down so I could not rise, then cry out for help and awaken the children.The night guard, hearing the commotion would come running to learn whatthe trouble was:. Orissa finally learned to recognize first symptoms and arisebefore he could pin her down. ³I told him if he couldn¶t do better than thatI¶d have to stake him out with the cattle. Concerning the services rendered by William and his untiring efforts on thatjourney, Mr. W. Cummings said to Daniel H. Wells after arriving in thevalley: ³I wouldn¶t go through what William Allred did on the plains for

$500.00.´ William replied, ³for fear that some of you may Orson Pratt puttoo much on me, I wish to say that he had always done well by me.´ At Fort Bridger there was bad news for William. They met a Brother Cooleygoing east and he brought the sad news that William¶s mother, Mary CalvertAllred, had died. (History says she was the first white woman buried in theHolladay Cemetry) (HAL). It was indeed a heavy blow for William. He hadbeen counting the days as the miles slowly slipped by for a happy reunion of



all his family in a new land. The Orson Pratt Company arrived in Salt Lake City on the 7th of October 1851 . . .after some 60 days on the trail. William rented a small house near Temple Square and found employment as a carpenter. He also had the affairs

of the of Orson Pratt who had gone to Washington D.C. on a mission.That winter, William was set apart as one of the Seven Presidents of theSeventies Quorum. In 18-- the power of the Priesthood was made manifest tothe Allred Family. Ada¶s eyes had not improved. Like the Doctors in theEast, those in Salt Lake City said there was nothing they could do to help her.William went to see Bro. Pratt about the problem and told him they hadfasted and prayed and had her administered to with no avail. Orson asked for her full name to take to the prayer circle that was being held that evening bythe First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve. He then instructedWilliam to take the girl to Patriarch John Smith and ask him to administer toher . . which William did.

William reports in his Journal that at the Patriarch¶s home his wife coveredher eyes with oil and the Patriarch blessed her and prayed for her. On the wayhome, William was leading his daughter by the hand when she suddenly said:³Father my eyes are well.´ And I bear you my testimony that her eyes werewell. A darkened room was no longer necessary. On the 20th of thefollowing December, Adaline turned 8 and her father cut a hole in the ice inCity Creek and baptized her. William was present to witness the historic event of the breaking of theground for the construction of the Salt Lake Temple.

In 1854-5 William moved his family to Grantsville, Utah. William wassustained as Second Counselor to Bishop Thomas H. Clark. Theras reports that he taught High School in Grantsville from 1926-1941 andhe gathered some information about William¶s affairs. Two elderly brothers,Bill and Bob Hudson, claimed to have known the family well. They said theygrew up with Lansing and Adaline and knew Bryon and Marvin. They toldTheras this story. There lived in Grantsville a man by the name of Martindale who had a teen-

age daughter named Martha Jane. Martha began keeping company with aman her father disapproved of and he forbade her to see the young man anymore. She continued to meet him in secret and the courtship continued.Finally they eloped, heading for California on horseback accompanied byseveral of her lover¶s friends. Mr Martindale gathered a posse of friends and made chase, overtaking thefleeing party somewhere in the Sierra Nevada mountains. A pitched battle



ensued in which the girl¶s lover was killed. There seemed to be nothing moreto fight about and a consultation was held to decide what to do next. Theydecided to let the girl decide if she wished to go on to California with her lover¶s friends or return to Utah with her father. She chose to return to Utah,but when her father moved from Grantsville a year or so later she stayed in

Grantsville maintaining herself by ³working out´ as a maid in the families of Grantville as she was needed. As to the truth of this story we are not certain but we do know that on the29th of Nov. 1856. Martha Jane Martindale was sealed to William MooreAllred in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City as a plural wife.To that union were born two children, Edgar Merlin 27 Fe. 1858 and MarthaJane, Nov. 1860. At the birth of Martha Jane both mother and daughter diedand were buried in the Grantsville Cemetry. Orissa took Edgar into her homeand heart and raised him as her own.

When the Johnson Army was sent out by the United States Government in1857 to quell an imagined rebellion by Brigham Young, William was amongthe volunteers who went to Echo Canyon to stop the army from entering thevalley. Theras says: ³I have heard Grandfather tell how they piled boulders atthe top of the canyon rim ready to roll down on the soldiers if and when theytried to pass the Echo Camp. He also told about being drilled with the men tomarch around a point that was visible to any one coming down the canyon,then out of sight and back again so as to appear to be a huge body of men.´ William was mustered out of that camp with instructions to be ready at amoment¶s notice to return to service if needed. He arrived home on the 4th of

December 1857. The efforts of Colonel Kane in behalf of the Mormonsresulted in a settlement that permitted Johnson¶s Army to pass through theSalt Lake Valley and to camp at Camp Floyd west of Lehi. In the Journal History of Feb. 1858 we read of a Mass Meeting held inGrantsville where William is one of a committee to compose a draftresolution ³expressive of sentiment of the meting resolved to sustainBrigham Young.´ Three more children were born while living in Grantsville. Though very busywith her large and growing family, Orissa found time to assist in the school

as a teacher part of the year. Before leaving Grantsville the oldest daughter, Mary Adaline, marriedMosiah Booth. ³Uncle Si´, we called him says Theras. Following the call of Apostle Charles C. Rich to head a colony of saints inthe settlement of the Bear Lake country, William sold his holdings inGrantsville and moved his family of 7 unmarried children and settled in the



village of St. Charles, near the north end of Bear Lake. They arrived here the26th of May 1864. It was then part of Rich County but later became Bear Lake County, Idaho. Adaline and her husband also made the move.

It was a cold but healthful climate said William. Deep snow in the winter andplenty of good water any time. That was not true of the place they had left!For a time they lacked bread but there were plenty of fish. William was an enterprising man. He helped build a saw mill and a grist(flour) mill. Associated with him in the saw mill venture were BishopWilliam G. Young and H.C. Davis and is the grist ,mill was David Taylor. In Civic affairs William was very active. He served as Pound Keeper in St.Charles, County Clerk and County Recorder for Rich County (now Bear

Lake) and as Justice of the Peace in St. Charles. At St. Charles, Orissa gave birth to two sons which completed the family.Our Father, Grand Father, Nelson Calvert was born 5th of Oct. 1865 andOrson Pratt 29th Nov. 1867. Theras says his father, Orson was born in thehome on the south edge of St. Charles and 20 years later Theras was born inthe same home. William was very active in Church affairs serving for many years as St.Charles Sunday School Superintendent in 1877 was made Stake SundaySchool Superintendent. Which included wards from Lake Town to

Montpelier and north to Georgetown. Some time after the birth of Orson, William built a new home on the eastborder of St. Charles. Theras says he has a vivid mental picture of that home.³It was built of logs, unhewn, as was the barn to the east of it and it had apole fence corral and a pasture to the east. The entrance to the house wasfrom the east and lead into a large living room with a fire place in the middleof the north end. There were and-irons, poker and tongs, and a steel ark holding a large black kettle which could be swung out away from the fire or in to be heated for cooking. On either side of the fireplace were doors leadingto bedrooms above. In the first room above there was a drum through which

the smoke and the heat from the fireplace passed to give some heat to therooms above. We were there to spend Christmas and I was put to bed upstairs. My stockinghad been hung by the fireplace downstairs. While I was trying with greatdifficulty to get to sleep I became frightened at a rattling in the drum. I calledfor mother and she came and explained that some papers had been put in thefireplace and the heat had taken them unburned up into the drum by the draft.



It was not Santa trying to come down the chimney. I remember the spinningwheel that stood by one of the east windows in the living room and a loomfor weaving carpet by another window. Just south of the entrance door was ashanty for storing items that wouldn¶t freeze.´

When Orson was ten years old, his mother died of a heart attack . . 29th Jan.1878. About that great sorry William records in his Journal: ³. . . . My wifetook sick just as Sunday School was dismissed. Some of the children saidthey thought she was more cheerful that morning and sang more sweetly thanusual. She always delighted to be with children. She had taught school agreat deal and the Sunday School children thought everything of her. Shewas a great help in that organization. As I had been appointed StakeSuperintendent I started that morning to visit another Sunday School. When Ileft, I bade her good morning not thinking for a moment that it would be thelast time in this life that I would speak to her. She was unconscious when Igot home. She was a very kind and affectionate wife and mother. She passed

away two days later at the age of 54. Orissa and William had gone through many tribulations together. They hadbeen driven from their home in Nauvoo in the dead of winter. Theyexperienced loneliness, sickness, and death while they arranged to go west.On that journey across the plains Orissa had to do most for her family whileWilliam helped others. They pioneered in Salt Lake, again in Grantsville, andthey pioneered again in the Bear Lake Valley. They reared a fine family of 11. . all of whom were active in the church and were sealed to their mates in theHoly Temple. Edgar M. and Nelson C. filled missions for the Church. NowOrissa had gone to her reward, leaving William with four sons to finish

rearing: Edgar, 20, Seymour 16, Nelson 12, and Orson 10. William writes:³for a time we got along quite well. Edgar was a good housekeeper, but withno mother at home William thought it best to resign his Sunday Schoolposition so he would have more time with the boys.´ After Edgar married, William hired a housekeeper, a widow with twochildren. Her name was Mary Perkins Osburn. He later married the widowand reared her two children, sending her son on a mission. The marriage wasfor time only as Mary had been sealed to her first husband. In 1894 or 5m William purchased 40 acres of land in Star Valley, Wyoming

where four of his sons had bought farms . . . Byron, Seymour, Nelson andOrson. William¶s 40 acres was part of the homestead of Ola A. Jenson andlay on the Salt River a half mile east of the town of Fairview. It bordered onland purchased by Nelson. Nelson built a home on the south west corner of their land but Orson built his home on a 5 acre plot near his father . . . givento him by his father so Orson would be near to care for him and Mary duringtheir declining years. William built a two room house just south of Orson¶s.



Theras says: ³When Grandfather became too feeble to do his own chores, hehired me to do them for him . . . milk his two cows, feed and care for hishorse (Bird), his cows, pigs, chickens and young stock and to irrigate andweed his garden and lawn. For this he gave me one calf each year. Twice aday, morning and night, I carried water to fill the stove reservoir and a bucket

on the washstand. After Grandfather¶s death I continued to serve Aunt Maryin like manner.´ William died the 8th of June 1901 at the age of 82. He was buried beside hisbeloved wife, Angelia Orissa, in the St. Charles Cemetry. About his Grandfather, Theras says: ³Many times I have heard his bear histestimony to the truthfulness of the Gospel and to the divinity of the ProphetJoseph Smith. I have thrilled to the stories he told of his association with theProphet in Nauvoo. Interesting also were his experiences crossing the plainsand pioneering in the west. I hope I can so live that I will be acquainted with

him and Aunt Mary and know my grandmother, Orissa, whom I never saw.´ Iris closed her account of this good man with these sentences: ³The last 6 or 7 years of William¶s life were spent in Star Valley at Fairview, Wyoming. Hehad a two room home built about a half mile east of Fairview where he livednear his youngest son, Orson. Aunt Mary lived on in the little house after Great Grandfather¶s death for about two years, then my father, Theras C.Allred bought his property, and there I and my older brother were born. Thehouse is still standing and is being used. It has been remodeled and added toand is owned by my cousin, Enid Allred, who lives there today. GreatGrandfather remained true to the gospel and continued to bear strong

testimony to its truthfulness and to the divinity of the Prophet Joseph Smith. He loved his family and was always concerned about their faithfulness. Hesaid he would rather follow his prosperity to the grave than for them todisgrace themselves. He truly endured to the end´. APPENDIX To anyone interested in the life of William Moore Allred, we think thefollowing items would be welcome.

1. AT HIS FUNERAL AT FAIRVIEW, WYOMING2. HIS LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT3. THE WILLIAM ALLRED FAMILY REUNION OF 18974. THE WILLIAM ALLRED FAMILY REUNION OF 18985. THE WILLIAM ALLRED FAMILY REUNION OF 18996. JUVENILE INSTRUCTOR Vols. 9:206; 12:50; 16:45 There is another history about William Moore Allred . . Compiled by Migon



Michaelson Watt. It is very much the same as this one I have copied. These things she added: Grandfather often told of hearing Brigham Young speak in Logan in 1876.

He heard Prophet speak many times. One statement he could never forget³Prophet Joseph said that a man just as well put out his hand and stop thedown flow of the Mississippi River as to try and stop the growth of theChurch of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.´ She also added that Grandmother Orissa was a wonderful singer: the peoplesaid she loved and admired her family. The people said she was happy in St.Charles. They had endured the persecutions of the early days with thepioneers . . poverty, sorrow, sickness and death. Now they were able to livemore comfortably, with 7 children married and all living near. They bothpassed away to take their places on the pages of Mormon Pioneer History.

Helen Allred Lewis

incidents in the life of william moore allred

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