George Henry Abbott Harris Early Days in the Valley
Transcribed by Scott Hinckley, April 2020
George Henry Abbott Harris-Early Days in the Valley
George Henry arrived in SLC in October just in time for the October conference. On October 3 he heard Brigham Young speak for the first time. He spent a few days attending various conference meetings. On the 11th he went to work for J. T. Higbee a friend from t he Keneback cutting logs in “Mil Creek Kanyon”. On October 27 he moved to Provo, Utah and on the 31st he was rebaptized by Henry Wild and confirmed by Elders Fauset and Jas A Smith.
During November – January (1853) he worked in Provo hauling logs for both building and firewood as weather permitted. On several Sundays, church was cancelled due to strong and stormy weather. He notes on Christmas Day there was “Snow 7 or 8 in deep”. On February 5th he attended a meeting of the Aaronic Priesthood, showed his certificate and was called as the 1st councilor of the Priest Quorum. He spent February and March performing work duties, church visiting assignments, working in the tithing office and hearing from various apostles.
After the April conference when he heard President Young and several apostles “It was truly a feast of fat things”.. he decided to obtain his Patriarchal blessing.
“At Salk Lake City Apr 9 1853. A blessing by John Smith Patriarch upon the head of Geo. H. A. Harris son of James and Eliza Harris born at Devenshire Eng. Dec 7th 1830.
“Beloved of the Lord, in the name of Jesus Christ I place my hands upon your head & place upon U a Father’s blessing. The Lord is wel pleased with the integrity of your heart, because U have embraced the gospel, your name is written in the Lambs book of life. The Lord has given his Angels charge over U to watch & defend U from every calamity and danger. The eye of the Lord has been upon U for good, from your earliest days. He has appointed U to preach the gospel to many nations, kindreds, tongues & people. He will give U power to speak the language of any people among whom your lot is cast. Your name shal be had in honorable remembrance among the multitude of your acquaintances. Your posterity shal be great (here the old gent stopped & asked me if I was married, I was astonished & answered him, No Sir, he then continued) U shall have a companion & power to multiply them at your pleasure. U shal be able to gather 1000$ & lead them to Zion. Al’things shal ‘ obey thy voice U shal live to see the winding up scene of this generation & inherit al the blessings & glories of the Redeemers Kingdom, in a world without end. Amen”
He tried out for a play and was given a part but on the 20th of April he was asked to leave the Higbee’s where he had been working. While the spring work was finishing up he also stated “I was not wanted any longer and it seemed to me that Charlot hated me because I upheld the 2nd wife so I had to be sent adrift.” There was some dispute over what he was to be paid. He was staying with a bishop and he chose three brethren to settle the dispute and they decided against George Henry. He then caught a week’s work at Philo T. Farnsworth’s place. (Grandfather of Philo T. Farnsworth the inventor of the television)
May, June and July he worked as a supplier of fish. On several days he would catch 30 to 60 lbs of trout and upwards of 100 lbs of suckers. Trout sold for 10 cents per lb and suckers for 5 cents per lb. On August 2 he went back to work for Philo T. Farnsworth for $25 month & board payable in wheat after the harvest. He states he was “now employed mowing, binding, fixing corrals, stock yards etc. He lasted a month and then went to work at Widow Bennet. While working for the widow he fell off a wagon carrying a scythe and needed several stitches.
As winter set in he again worked at odd jobs and also rented 26 acres to try his own hand at farming. Once again he worked in the tithing office. On January 13 a meeting was held to find a penmanship teacher. He applied for the job and all applicants were asked to write three lines. George Henry was chosen and became a teacher. He gave 26 lessons to 40 students for $1 per student. During this time there were some disturbances with the Indians and he joined the militia and was made 1st sergeant & clerk. They also commenced work on a fort.
He buys a lot with a small log cabin in March and In April he plants his crops on the previous noted 26 acres. He states. “Have finished putting in my crop of 19 acres of wheat 6 of oats. It took 42 days plowing sowing harrowing and furrowing. The farm is 12 miles from the fort, west, and a deal of time is expended going to & fro.” He also spends time improving his small cabin and ½ acre lot. On August 9 he is finished harvesting his wheat. Farmers work in groups of ten and everyone gets credit for working on others harvest for when they help with his.
Christmas Day 1854 was a memorable day in his life. I will let him tell it.
“On Christmas Day I attended a social Bal at Captn Wm J. Hawleys taking Betsey Young as a partner. ..I had seen Mis Ann Burraston some time in the fal sitting on a stove at Mrs. Johnsons house & she looked to me ugly fat, as the fat of her neck hung in folds. I remarked to myself, anyone marrying U must have a stomach but in seeing her again this evening she was so changed in appearance & looked so charming that I was so completely captivated & thought let me kis U for your mother, for your sister, cousin, aunt or for somebody or other whom I long to kiss and can’t…I got an introduction from her brother in law, Wm Newel (remember a previous chapter when Ann’s sister had run off with Wm Newel and leaving her new husband behind in Louisiana) who had taken her to the party & asked permission to escort her home.”
First he had to convince his date Betsey “that it would be conducive to her health after so fatiguing a time of dancing, eating and dancing again to rest a while”. So he ditched Betsey at the dance and took Ann home. He took his uncle Henry’s advice and Married for love and worked for riches. They were married March 24, 1855 and had a three day honeymoon in Provo.
With a new wife George Henry assumed it would be more profitable to own a larger farm than to spend most of the time share cropping on others farms. He bought more acreage and had others share crop with him and they had a good crop until June when the crickets came and “…very quickly harvested our crops”. (For those who saw the film and the sea gull monument in Salt Lake City, that event transpired in 1848 and was not repeated in 1855.)
On November 7, 1855 George Henry rebaptized Ann in the lake and gave her the name of Eliza after his mother. They then travelled to Salt Lake City and received their church Endowments on the 9th of November 1855 and was sealed by President Jediah M Grant. With the crop gone he utilized his office and teaching skills again and went to work in Provo as a clerk for three businesses. Their first child was born on January 15, 1856, a girl whom they named Eliza. In 1856 the crickets again harvest his crop and he falls back on his accounting and teaching skills. On October 8, 1856 he declares his intention to be a United States citizen.
Being a stake clerk, his notes on meetings are both educational and in some respects entertaining of how those meetings were conducted. The quarterly conference held in Pleasant Grove City lasted a week in October 1856. There were also lots of call for repentance and lots of spoken repentance in the meetings. Examples from George Henry’s minutes of the meetings during the week.
“Counselors McArther & Farnsworth acknowledged their coolness & apathy & backwardness”
“El. Hunt felt to adjurn until the people prepared by repentance.”
Prest John Young remarked that the people instead of seeking the Kingdom of God had been seeking everything else and that there was not faith enough in them to draw out the revelation of God.”
“Bros Houey & Hunt felt to reprimand councilors McArthur & Farnsworth for their luke warmness …and councilor Farnsworth acknowledged that he had not honored his calling”
Elder Farnsworth felt he had been a dishwater saint long enough & now wanted the bretheren’s faith that he might make a new start.”
“Prest John: I wish al that have confessed & are wiling to live their religion to meet at the N E corner of the City tomorrow at 10 o clock for baptism. The next morning Prest Young advised al who had not confessed to refrain from baptism.”
The records of the meeting show 290 people were rebaptized. Among them was Ann Eliza Harris but I assume the clerk’s duties were so demanding that George Henry was not one of those baptized that day. In addition, throughout the conference several members arose and spoke in tongues.
1857 saw George Henry become a peddler. He got some goods of Geo A. Neal on commission & some whiskey from Wm Newel. In addition, he peddled “…saleratus, (sodium bicarbonate) mulet, earthenware, boots, shoes and leather.” On April 10 that year George Henry Burraston Harris was born. The same year saw Ann Eliza receive a blessing after the birth and on March 8, 1856 young Eliza received her patriarchal when she was 26 months old. On February 2, 1857 both George Henry and Ann Eliza received Patriarchal blessings from John Young. Ann Eliza was counseled to consent to abide a Celestial Law. On the same day Jane Loader was living with the family and she received her blessing. A note at the end says. “Jane was wiling to embrace the Celestial covenant, but Ann was afraid she could not stand the trial.”
(stay tuned for the next chapter and the “Mormon War” when the US Army invades)