Notes |
- PROPERTY:
Nauvoo, Block 125, Lot 4
Nauvoo, Block 103, Lot 4
Kimball 1st: Block 4, Lot 52 (Tenant)
Kimball 1st: Block 6, Lot 56 (Tenant)
NAUVOO RECORDS:
Nauvoo Temple Endowment Register p 6
Members, LDS, 1830-1848, by Susan Easton Black, Vol 40, pp 641-649
HISTORY:
LDS Biographical Encyclopedia pp 519 - 520
Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah p 230, 117
Conquerors of the West, pp 2409-2413
The Snow Family, Boston Transcript, Note 2685 pt I, gives his b. and d. dates.
BIRTH: MARRIAGE: DEATH: Valiant in the Faith, p. 642.
"Ancestry of Erastus Snow" in Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine 3 (Jan 1912) 33-37 says "He was one of the first of the Snow family to join the Church, was prominent in early missionary work and as a pioneer, and for many years, until his death, probate judge of Washington County, Utah. He was an early settler of Pine Valley in that county, where he left a numerous posterity."
SOURCE: 1- St. Johnsbury, VT, Vital Stat.
2- Amroth, Wales Par Reg
3- Nauvoo Temple End & Slg Record
4- Endowment House Records
5- St. George Temple records
6- Lehi Ward Records
7- Pine Valley Ward Record
8- Old Church Record File in FHL
9- Bernella Elizabeth Snow Gardner Records
10- Snow Family Record compiled by N.H. Gardner
For additional information see book & Journal " William Snow'
The Snow Book page 101-106
CHAPTER I
WILLIAM SNOW
William Snow was born at St. Johnsbury, Vermont, on December 14, 1806. The inborn characteristics which he received from his goodly parents were greatly affected by the unusual physical and social environment of his early life. In this respect, Sir Gilbert Murray said at a recent world conference of educators, that the main objective of education was to create truer beliefs and better desires. He adds that the association of great men is the best means of obtaining these ends.
To properly understand this courageous, mild mannered, kindhearted man from Vermont, it is necessary to know something of his physical and social environment.
William Snow's immediate family was of the highest type. One brother, Erastus, next to Brigham Young, was one of the West's greatest colonizers. He was a keen, fearless, and practical-minded man, according to a great historian, Andrew Jensen. This historian has written dozens of volumes of biography from personal and intimate association with all of the Church leaders, and he speaks with pride of Erastus as his best friend. Zerubbabel, another brother, became a noted jurist and honored judge. Willard was a member of Zion's Camp and a great missionary. In some way, each member of the family made the world a better place in which to live.
In the same vicinity and at about the same time, there lived Joseph Smith, Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball. William became intimately associated with these men early in life. These three church leaders were a powerful influence on his beliefs and desires.
The religious environment was the strongest influence in the life of William Snow. While he was living in Charleston, on May 14, 1832, there came to the town two "Mormon" missionaries, Orson Pratt and Lyman E. Johnson, both just over twenty. They had traveled many miles without purse or script, carrying their change of clothing in their hands and preaching wherever they were led by the spirit. They tarried in Charleston ten days and preached seven times in this region. "In these parts," wrote Orson Pratt in his journal, "the Lord wrought by our hands many miracles of healing."
One of these remarkable manifestations which had a profound influence on young William's life was the healing of Winslow Farr's wife, Olive. She had been a constant sufferer and helpless invalid for seven years, but upon Elder Pratt's administration, she was immediately made whole. A few days later the whole family was baptized. This no doubt influenced the Snow family for they also soon joined the church.
A short time previous to this event, fire destroyed the Snow home. Levi, the father, always kept a large pile of wood which caught fire and spread to the house. There was but time to carry his sick wife with her bed to safety and save some of the furniture. Since they had just completed a large barn, the sick woman and the furniture were moved there. The family was still living in it when the elders were preaching in the neighborhood. Because of its size, it proved to be the most convenient place in which to hold the Latter-day Saint meetings.
In addition to the loss of the home, Levi had recently lost considerable of his property through litigation. William, thinking to better his circumstances and to help the family, bought a piece of land in Charleston, Orleans County. In the Spring of 1829 he went there to live, staying with a man near the farm. He labored on the farm, acted as constable, and collected the state and county taxes.
One evening Hannah Miles, who was keeping company with this man's son, came to visit the family. She stayed until after dark expecting, of course, that the young man would accompany her home. He, however, was afraid to be out in this unsettled country after dark and let Hannah start out alone. This discourtesy on the part of her gentleman friend so disgusted William that he escorted her home. From this time on they became acquainted and a frequent walk to Hannah's home became a great pleasure to him. They grew better acquainted and more attached to each other, and on September 21, 1832, they were married.
He had been baptized the previous May 19th. During this month he and Lyman E. Johnson, who was later to become an apostle, spent considerable time studying the scriptures, and they received many testimonies and important truths concerning the Gospel. Soon after, he was ordained an elder.* The Gospel seemed so plain, so simple, and so important to him, he was anxious to go out and preach to all his neighbors. He was soon to be disappointed, however, to see how few were interested, but he never lost enthusiasm for the work and from this time on his life and energies were devoted as were Samuel's of old to the work of the Lord. No sacrifice was too great, no toil too severe, no undertaking too hazardous for him if the end in view was the furtherance of God's purposes.
The Savior, when asked about his work, replied that he went about doing good. Going about doing good was one of William's chief activities, from the time he joined the church until his death.
On February 3, 1833, William baptized his brother Erastus into the Church and thus brought into it one of its outstanding apostles, a colonizer next to Brigham Young and a missionary whose achievements have been surpassed by only a few in the first hundred years of Church history. He opened the Scandinavian Mission which, outside of the British Mission, was the most fruitful. About one-seventh of the present Church membership originated from this mission, and it has contributed greatly to the leadership of the Church.
William's faith was strengthened by two remarkable instances of healing by his administration in 1832. The one case was his sister Lucina's child, the other his younger brother Charles. Much of his time in the Church was spent in blessing, healing, comforting, and helping the sick and those in need.
*William Snow was ordained a Priest July 16, 1832 by Lyman E. Johnson. He was ordained an Elder October 25, 1832 by Lyman E. Johnson. He served as a missionary with Orson Pratt from October 24, 1832 to attend conference in Spafford, N.Y, and return to Charleston, Vermont, January 12, 1833, 800 miles, preaching continually enroute.
After joining the church, the spirit of gathering came upon the Snow family and they moved to Kirtland to join the saints. Erastus went in 1835, and was present at the dedication of the Temple and saw that remarkable spiritual manifestation.
William was living in Far West in one of the most trying times of the Prophet's life and in one of the most critical periods of the Church history. After the Saints had suffered the cruelest of persecutions and had been driven from Jackson County to Far West, he came to help them in their new location and to comfort them in their trials. Many were apostatizing in Kirtland. Some who had but recently been Joseph Smith's close and confidential associates tried to overthrow him in his absence.
At Far West, in these trying and perilous times, Hannah's daughter Abigal was born-October 5, 1837.
William there learned of the loyalty of such men as Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, John Taylor, and Willard Richards who had so recently joined the Church. He knew of the work in Canada and that the Lord had inspired the Prophet to open the British Mission.
William was in Far West when the Prophet first announced the Law of Tithing, and was in Nauvoo by 1841. On March 30, 1841, Hannah died in Nauvoo. Three of her children had died before her. Persecution and the many moves were hard indeed on women and children. William was now left with one little girl. In August of 1842, he married Lydia Leavitt, who was a real mother to the little girl. Lydia had two children, one a girl she named Sariah and a boy named Levi.
William Snow was one of the few close friends to whom the Prophet first confided the principle of plural marriage. He accepted this principle and married Sally Adams January 24, 1846. His Bible, which contains a record of this marriage, is today highly prized and owned by the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers and is kept in the hall of relics in a glass case in the State Capitol. At the time the Prophet and Hyrum were in Carthage jail, Erastus was sent to Carthage with some furniture to sell and while there went to see the Prophet and Hyrum. Quite a number of people were in and about the jail when guards called, "All Out; the gates will be closed."
Erastus suddenly found himself locked in. The Prophet, seeing his concern, told him that not a hair of his head would be harmed on account of this visit. After talking to Erastus for some time, the Prophet told him to go out and quiet the mob. He obtained permission to do so, and after talking to the mob was allowed to depart in peace. This was a treasured incident in the Snow family.
At another time, according to. Frank, a son of Erastus, the Prophet made him a remarkable promise. This was at a dedicatory service, seemingly of the Kirtland Temple. While the Prophet was speaking, he looked to the back of the hall and said, there is a young man (Erastus Snow) who will go to the Rocky Mountains and become a great missionary to the Indians.
William lived to see the great influence for good and peaceful relation accomplished by Erastus Snow in connection with the Dixie Mission. The powerful Navajo tribe, the Hopi and the Utes of that section became peaceful and friendly through the missionary work and trade with them
These promises and the close association with the Prophet and many of future leaders of the church were of great strength to William during the severe als that began in Missouri and continued until the Snow family had reached' Rocky Mountains and later crossed the state of Utah.*
After being driven from Nauvoo, William camped on the banks of the Missippi with his family. There were heavy cold rains and driving winds; their of shelter was a covered wagon. That night the baby, Levi, took cold and died. He v buried the next day on the banks of the river.
As soon as the weather permitted and they could organize for travel, the said moved on to the Missouri River and built the town of Winter Quarters. The first step was the building of log houses and sod huts for shelter. Then crops we planted, for they planned to stay there over the first Winter. This winter was co the shelters poor, and a plague of sickness broke out. With many of the men away working in the neighboring states trying to get food for their families, for they had not been allowed to gather their crops in Nauvoo, there was scarcely enough left care for the sick and dying. During this time Lydia took sick and died on January 9, 1847, at Council Point, Iowa, leaving Abigal and Sariah for Sally to care for.
Though the winter was severe, spring opened up pleasant. The grass was abundant for the cattle and sheep that roamed about by the thousands; ten to fifteen thousand people had gathered along the river, and each family had a few cattle to take on their westward march.
William had hoped to go on to Salt Lake this spring but Brigham Young did not want too many to enter Salt Lake Valley until an exploring company had made the trip and some preparations made for the large and growing population. Then he wanted part of the saints to stay and grow crops for those gathering from En land, Canada, and the United States to march over this road. So William remain there two years, leaving the Missouri River June 15, 1850, and arriving in the Salt Lake Valley on October 6, 1850. He was a member of the Joseph Young Company and captain of one hundred.
Erastus left for the Danish Mission, October 19, 1849. This company reachd the Missouri River (near where Nebraska City now stands) about the first December in a blinding snow storm which had lasted about fourteen hours. snow was about three feet deep when they reached the barracks on the west side ( the river, and how joyful they were at finding cabins there to shelter them and their animals.
The river was full of slush ice and they saw no means of crossing it. All joine in prayer that night asking the Lord to cause the ice to speedily congeal and mak a bridge to cross over. When they awoke the next morning, the river was glazed little below them with floating ice. The next day all passed over with their horse and wagons, and the day after, the ice broke up again and there was no more cross ing the river for three weeks after.
*William Snow served as an officiator in the Nauvoo temple December 1845 to Januar, 1846, the full six weeks it was open.
WILLIAM SNOW 13
When he reached St. Louis, Sister Strepper, a kind-hearted lady, cared for him like a faithful mother. During a week stay he was very sick for a few days. Then suddenly they discovered he had Small Pox. The lady had a large family of little children and a young babe.
She exclaimed in her anxiety, "Oh my poor babe, and my poor children," none of whom had been vaccinated.
For a moment, a feeling of grief came over Brother Snow, that he should be the cause of this agony, but immediately the spirit came upon him and he said to her, "Be of good cheer. Because of what you have done for me, God will shield you and your house and none of you shall suffer on my account." She believed his word and was comforted, and so far as he could learn, none of her children or herself took the disease.
On September of this year, an act of the national legislature provided for the organization of the Territory of Utah. Its original size was 225,000 square miles, being bounded on the north by Oregon, on the east by the Summit of the Rocky Mountains, on the south by the 37th parallel, and on the west by California.
When the county government was formed, William was appointed a magistrate and when Great Salt Lake City was incorporated on thursday, January 9, 1851, he was appointed alderman by the governer. He was a member of the first Territorial Legislature from 1851-1852, 1855-1856, and 1868-1869. A recent issue of the Deseret News states, "The Mormon colonizers of the Great West showed exceptional ability in the practical use and distribution of water, but they did not do as well in granting and recording titles of water claims.
"But the point of importance in this study is to recognize the empire building ingenuity and wisdom of the founders of Utah in their setting aside the long adhered to doctrine of riparian rights and adopting the doctrine of appropriation of available waters for the economic benefit of the people as a whole. This doctrine of appropriation was sustained in the law of 1852, and served as the basis for the future laws."
William's brother Erastus helped to draw up the first State of Deseret constitution and his brother Zerubbable was the first Chief Justice of the Territory of Utah for the United States. Erastus had already been ordained an Apostle on February 12, 1849; so it is seen that the Snow family was taking a prominent part religiously, and socially in building up the new inland State. William was called on reached Pine Valley on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1865.
Soon after reaching Pine Valley, he taught the school during the winter. Pine organized as an independent ward on July 6, 1867, and William Snow the first bishop that day. He served as Probate Judge of Washington 11, 1870 through four, two-year terms.
The duties as bishop continued until his death. They entailed both religious for at that time, a bishop was both the spiritual and temporal
Whenever he went to St. George he always had a great many errands to run for members, especially women. There was no store in Pine Valley and the nearest source of supplies was St. George. There the main place to buy supplies was the tithing office and connected with it was a convenient, but somewhat unusual, economic order. The Church tithes were paid in "kind." If a man grew grain he paid his tithing in grain; if he made shoes, barrels, tubs, or cloth, a tenth of these articles was turned into tithing. This resulted in a type of a department store for the tithing office. The Church issued tithing script, a form of paper money. Workmen on church projects were paid a part and sometimes in full with "Script." While the Script gained quite general circulation, it was always redeemable at the tithing office.
Bishop Snow accepted Script in exchange for produce at his office. And because he made frequent trips to St. George with the surplus tithing, he was constantly pestered to bring materials from there. Oftimes widows, and occasionally others, would send for something that would have to be purchased at a general store. At times they forgot to pay the Bishop.
One day when the Bishop had an unusual number of these errands to run while in St. George, and when Erastus wanted to have a short visit with him, Erastus said, "William you are so darn good you aren't good for anything. You spend all your time on those widows and people who ought to run their own errands. I never have time to visit with you when you come down."
Erastus's son Frank said afterwards, "I felt badly to hear father say that to one of the best men that ever lived. But Uncle William replied,
"Well, you are my Stake President and I'm just following your example. I notice that you are never able to attend to the real business of your office until after the women and old men have gone to bed. They take your full day getting advice on all their little affairs during the day. No matter how busy you are you can't turn them away." And he couldn't.
"So they laughed and took time to visit while several regular visitors awaited in the tithing store to see father, and some of William's errands were neglected.
"Father told William an experience that he and I had while traveling in Arizona.
"We had four horses on the wagon for the roads were poor, sometimes even hard to follow. Just at dusk we could see that we had gotten off the road and were lost. We had no water for the horses and just a little for ourselves in a canteen. It had been hot and the horses were very thirsty.
"After we had taken the harnesses off the horses he knelt down by the wagon tongue and instead of praying as we usually do, it seemed to me that he was just talking to the Lord. He said, `We are out here on your errand and we are without water for our animals and have little for ourselves. We should like to be guided in knowing what to do.'
"He got up, looked about, then shaded his eyes with his hands and said, `You see Frank, that point of the mountain just beyond those low hills. Just around that we shall find water.'
"We rode the horses over there and found water for our animals and us."
Whether partly from the advice of Erastus or the General Authorities it is not clear, but William, following the general lead of other Mormon settlements, formed a cooperative store in Pine Valley.
It seemed a good time since the Pioche mines had just opened and there was a good market for lumber. Since William organized the store he managed it. For a time it seemed to prosper since there was considerable money, but people began to run accounts and in a small town it is difficult to refuse credit. When the mines closed down the store went broke. Many of those who put in stock came to William and wanted him to refund their money. They had taken their dividends cheerfully when the store was making money, but when it went broke they did not want to take the loss. Since, however, he had encouraged the venture and was bishop of the little ward he paid most of the claims, though it worked a great hardship on him.
On May 7, 1879, he was seized with his last illness. Surrounded by his family and friends he called his sons together and as father and patriarch, to which position he had recently been ordained, he gave each of his sons a blessing. He spoke with great faith and earnestness the desire of his own great soul. He envoked God in Heaven to guide and protect them and above all to preserve them in the faith. His last words were, "My friends in the gospel."
The words of the poet Christy Lund Coles express something fine and especially fitting that applies well to his career:
These are the things that are worth the most These are the things that time has proved best A hearth where the fire is warm and bright
A home where the wanderer comes to rest.
These are the things that will endure Longer than all that time has found Courage and faith and tenderness Love and a spot of homely ground.
Wm. J. Snow relates the following tributes paid his father William Snow.
"I was principal of the Uintah Stake Academy 1907-1908. In 1908 Apostle John Henry Smith attended the Uintah Stake Conference. In the afternoon meeting, he declared there never was a more honest man living than William Snow. He was absolutely loyal and true to his church, to his brethren, and to his God."
Uncle Shipley Snow said to Cousin Edward H. Snow and me when we visited him in 1902 in Stanstead, Lower Canada-Erastus Snow had a Daniel Webster intellect. He would have been a leader in organization or institution or state, but my brother William was absolutely without guile.
Erastus bowed at the grave in Pine Valley (May 21, 1879), where William was being buried in humble reverence and declared, "My dear brother, William, how I envy you This grave is far too small for your great soul."
Name transcribed from the Iowa Branches Members Index 1839 - 1859, Volumes I & II by Ronald G. Watt. Historical Department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 1991. Copyright by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Note: Stated in record above, "V. 1 p. 12"
- Family Group Record by Nauvoo Land and Records
PROPERTY:
Nauvoo, Block 125, Lot 4
Nauvoo, Block 103, Lot 4
Kimball 1st: Block 4, Lot 52 (Tenant)
Kimball 1st: Block 6, Lot 56 (Tenant)
NAUVOO RECORDS:
Nauvoo Temple Endowment Register p 6
Members, LDS, 1830-1848, by Susan Easton Black, Vol 40, p 641-649
HISTORIES:
Biographical Encyclopedia, Vol 3, p 519 - 520
Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah, p 230, 117
Conquerors of the West, p 2409-2413
Far West Record, Cannon & Cook, p 290
OTHER SOURCES:
Internet research:
lds.org, Church History, Mormon Overland Travel
rootsweb.com: world connect, family group
- Name transcribed from the Iowa Branches Members Index 1839 - 1859, Volumes I & II by Ronald G. Watt. Historical Department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 1991. Copyright by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
|