HENRY GALE
(As related by his eldest son, James, in 1919)
Henry Gale was born in Box, Wiltshire County, England on October 18, 1818, the third child in a family of eight. When he was sixteen years old he went to Australia, as many of the younger men did, in search of land holdings. The lure of the New Country appealed to them, with the many possibilities there. He worked his way on a merchant ship. Later, two of his brothers followed him. Henry never saw his parents again.
When Henry got to Australia the first work he did was herding sheep. This did not give big pay but gave him a home and living while acquainting himself with the country. As he gained experience he started to farm and did other work until he was the owner of a grocery store. It was at this time that he married Sarah Wills, April 8, 1844. He was 25 years old and she was 22.
Sarah Wills was the daughter of Martin Wills and Elizabeth McAudra. She was born February 2, 1822 on a ship in the harbor of Mayo, Ireland. The circumstances of her birth were difficult, she was the fourth child in the family, having two brothers and an older sister, and others followed. Sarah and her older brother Thomas and small sister Eleanor left their people in Ireland about 1842 and went to Ontario, Canada, where their friends, the Leach family, were living. They thought to go there where they could have work and that the other members of their family would soon join them. But soon the family, before hearing from Thomas as to the conditions in Canada, had an opportunity to go to Australia, so after arriving there wrote for the other children to join them there. They had settled in the same place where Henry Gale had settled.
During this time Thomas and Sarah Wills worked hard and obtained means to take them to Australia to see their folks on a visit. Thinking to return to Canada, they left their little sister, Eleanor, with the Leach family. She was about five years old when they left her. While in Australia, Thomas and Sarah obtained work, as they needed money to return to Canada, so they were detained longer than they planned. During this time they made friends at the parties and singing-evenings they attended. It was at one of these evenings that Sarah Wills first met Henry Gale and they were soon married. Sarah’s brother, Thomas, also found his wife; he married Eliza Ann Blacker about this same time. Because of their marriages, they decided to send for their little sister in Canada, but because of the expense of building homes and getting settled and because she was too small to
make the journey alone, they kept in contact with her through letters. When she was twenty she married James Leach in Canada.
In 1852, when Henry and Sarah had a family of four children, Elizabeth, James, George and Rebecca, they first heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ as taught by Mormon missionaries, Elders C.W. Wandell and Murdock. They were baptized and confirmed by Elder Wandell on May 8, 1852.
On Wednesday, April 7, 1853, Henry Gale and his family left Australia with Elder Wandell's company to go to Zion. This was the first company of Saints to leave Australia to come to America. They left Sidney on the ship "Envelope", with their young children; Sarah was pregnant. On the Pacific Ocean another son was born to Sarah, who they named Wandell Pacific Gale, after the ocean they were on and Elder Wandell.
(The rest of this history is told in the first person by James Gale, the oldest son of Henry Gale, to a daughter in 1919, while they were living near Franklin, Arizona. She writes that he would come over to her home every morning after her children would leave for school, and while she was nursing her baby, Grandpa Gale, who was then 73 years old, would dictate to her.)
When we arrived at Santa Barbara, the ship anchored for the passengers to go to the city for supplies. My Father (Henry Gale) got into the boat and Matthew Walker was going down the side of the ship. The tide was low and the ladder did not reach the water. Walker went to the lower end and was holding onto the ladder. The men in the boat said "hold fast until we get the boat closer to the ship" But he let go all holds and went straight down into the sea. I was looking over the side of the ship. A man by the name of Evans threw off his coat and brought him up, both were nearly drowned.
Nine weeks after we left Sidney, we reached America and landed at San Pedro, California. We were met there by a Brother Button and others with teams and wagons to take us to the Church ranch at San Bernardino. On the second day out, we camped at the Cucomungo ranch to prepare dinner. One of the women took we children out in the desert to gather wild flowers and rest us from the tedious journey. Other ladies took care of the tiny babies and cooked the noon meal. It was a lovely place with heavy brush and timbers, we were enjoying ourselves. I told the woman I was going back to the wagon, and left the group. Then I saw another bunch of flowers that I wanted, even though I heard them start calling for dinner. I decided to get the flowers.
The others returned to camp, but I missed the trail, and couldn't find my way back. This was the first time in my life to be alone away from a city street. When the group returned from their flower hunt they ate their dinner, which was spread out on the ground. Everyone ate together and helped themselves. In their hurry to pack up and go on their way, they overlooked the fact that I was not with them. After everyone was ready to start and were climbing into their wagons, Mother said, "where is Jim?" They searched in all the wagons and to their dismay, I was not there. They were a long distance from water and knew they must go on, but in spite of this fact, they unhooked their teams and started to search up the wash and around where they had been gathering flowers, but no trace of me could be found. They searched with lanterns and torches all night. Prayer circles were held in my behalf. The search was continued until about ten the next morning, but still they didn't find me. So they decided that I might have been eaten by wild animals or perished with fatigue. They made ready to go on their way without me, because they were unable to find any trace of me and the water supply was getting very low. Mother held back and said she wouldn't go on without me. Trying to persuade her to go on, they unloaded her trunk and left her sitting on her trunk with a small baby in her arms. After going a short distance they looked back and saw her kneeling in prayer by the trunk. They turned and went back to try to persuade her to come on and that it was no use to hunt longer. She arose with faith and confidence that if they would go up the wash a short distance and search again they would find me. With an unwilling attitude, the group went again in the direction she told them and they met me coming toward them. I was trying to get across a deep hollow. I saw two men coming and I hollered. It was my father and another man. I must have been quite a picture, just a small boy of six, dirty, tear stained and sunburned, and with travel-worn bare feet. In my hand was still the wilted bunch of wild flowers. They soon had me by each hand and was hurrying me up to the camp. Here we all knelt in a prayer of thanksgiving.
We arrived at San Bernardino Ranch about June (1853). My father (Henry Gale) being a farmer in early life, got a sickle and went to the field to cut patches of wheat that was left in the weeds. After cutting, binding and shocking it up, he took me with him to mind the cattle away from it while he helped on the thresher. The cows came and were bellowing and playing around me. It scared me. I ran and they followed me. I ran toward the thresher. I wore dresses then as was the custom in Australia, which made me fall down. The men, seeing the fix that I was in, came with the wagons and picked me up, gathered the grain and threshed it with a two-horse treadmill. They said there was forty-four bushels.
Father (Henry Gale) bought a small piece of land, three miles from the town of San Bernardino. This place was bought by the Church, presided over by Apostles Charles E. Rich and Amasa M. Lymon. Father gave his last $5 in gold to help buy this ranch. We had to walk the three miles to church and school. It was here that we first knew the Kartchner family.
Father (Henry Gale) bought a cow from Dan Matthews, gave $100 for her and $1 for a rope to lead her home with. He also bought one horse, had a two wheeled cart made and did all his work hauling with the mare and cart.
We lived there until the call came for the Saints to gather closer to Salt Lake City. That was in 1857. Father traded his place for four horses and a wagon, and bought two colts. They were two years old. He got an old hack and worked the colts on it. My brother George and I drove them to Utah.
We started by way of the Canyon Bi-Pass. My, what a time we had. All of us were green drivers who had never done any driving. The horses seemed to know our lack of horsemanship and we thought them quite "giddy" as father used to say for balky. Well, we got along by lifting on the wheels and sometimes pushing the wagon onto the horses until we got to the summit of the hill. Many times they refused to be pushed up the hill. Then father would say, "well, Mother, we will have to unload the wagon and carry everything up the hill and pack it up on old Giney (the name of the mare). It was dark by this time, but go we must, so we all carried things, and the old mare packed up the hill a half a mile. The horses could gallop with the empty wagon. One time we got the last load on the mare and got half way up the hill. The mare took fright and down the hill she went, scattering everything, especially Mother's dried corn and peaches out of the sack. Father chased her for five miles before he finally caught her. We gathered up and repacked things which took nearly all night. The next day we overtook the campers who were ahead of us, and traveled on to the Mojave. (Even though there is no record of it, the Gale family probably crossed the Colorado River at old Ft. Mohave, which was about 1.5 miles from where the Myrna Gale and John Hoopes lived 1998-99)
Just before reaching the camp of the Saints, the front axle of the wagon broke. We had to camp sure enough. The brethren came back the next day, cut a cottonwood tree down and put it in for an axle, without any irons, just a lynch pin to keep the wheels on.
We were organized with Captain Chase in charge of the company. Here we spent Christmas. After New Years we traveled slowly with the company until we reached Las Vegas Spring stream. Other companies of Saints came along, among them was William Moyes with his family. In a few days we traveled up the big Meadow Valley Wash to Cottonwood Springs. We came to the Muddy stream or river.
The indians gathered in the camp and begged for food. They were almost naked. The Captain called for donations of flour, cornmeal, shorts (a coarse grind of wheat) or anything that would make mush for the hungry indians. A large iron pot was set on the fire, the water and the donations gathered up were put in to cook. Before it was done, the indians dipped their fingers into the boiling pot and into their mouths. They crowded around the fire so that the hindmost ones could not get any and they threw up sand over the fire, pot and all. It all made mush.
The next morning an old, poor, work ox got into the mud. The indians wanted it so the Captain gave it them. They killed it in the mud, drank the blood and cut it in strips and ate it raw, intestines and all. We thought it was awful.
We traveled up the Virgin River and at another Cottonwood Springs, this is where we first met the William Moyes family. Here we saw our first snow of our lives. We traveled on over the desert and passed over the ground of the Mountain Meadow Massacre and saw several graves. Next we reached Cedar Creek, then to Summit Creek. Here it snowed all day--twelve to fourteen inches deep. While we traveled, I walked to lighten the load. My brother George had to ride, he had a lame foot. I began to get behind as my feet were being frozen. My team got so far ahead I could not catch up. Brother Meeks and his wife came along, picked me up, took off my shoes, and wrapped my feet in a blanket; then I knew my feet were frozen. We rushed on as fast as we could and overtook Father, glad to be with them again.
We got to Parowan, and then went on north and reached Beaver, Utah on the 14th of February 1858. We got two city lots. Father dug a big cellar six feet deep, put some long poles across it, then put a wagon cover over them for a roof. We used one corner of the cellar for a fireplace. Mother did all her cooking on the fire. No stove.
Father and I went back to Parowan and traded the two-year old colts and the hack for a two year old heifer and some wheat. We were overtaken by a snow storm. By the time we got home the snow was three feet deep, which broke the roof of the cellar and left Mother and her six children without a fireplace. Father and I went to the mountains through the deep snow and got pine logs to build a house over the cellar and put on a dirt roof. But my, the logs were crooked. There was no lumber in the country. That winter William Decater Kartchner came to Beaver and located on the same block we were located on.
Our heifer brought a calf but it died. Father, thinking the cow would do better and be more gentle, skinned the dead calf, stuffed the hide with straw, and when we milked the cow he would bring out the stuffed calf, lean it up against the fence, drive the cow to it and sit down and milk.
We took up land in the east field, put in crops, built fences and went to the mountains twenty-five miles away to get posts. The snow was very deep and our shoes were badly worn. The frost came so early in the fall that the wheat did not ripen for seed. We could not use risening, and had to eat unleavened bread.
About the year 1860, Father bought a claim of land on North Creek from Matthew McQuan, about three miles north of Beaver and homesteaded the land joining it. We sold our home in the city. Father got some cows and sheep and a loom, then we made most of our clothing. Father worked this land until he died, December 16, 1891. We built a house in Beaver for Mother, near her son Henry C. Gale, where she lived until her death, November 12, 1905.
I would like to say a few more things about my parents, Henry Gale and Sarah Wills. They were always faithful and true to their religious convictions as long as they lived. Going through the trials and persecutions that were given the Church in those days, Father was sent to the Penitentiary for six months, and fined $300 by the enemies of the Church because he would not denounce the things upheld by its leaders. For his good conduct he was presented with a beautiful cane braided over with black horse hair and initials, "H.G." in gold letters stamped on the head of the cane.
When the St. George Temple was opened for work in 1877, my parents drove their team and wagon that distance and camped out while they did the work for their people as far as they could.
As Father (Henry Gale) wished all his family to join with him in living the United Order as a family, I sold my improvements and moved to Father's home on North Creek three miles north of Beaver City. We got permission from the President of the Beaver Stake to do this. I went to Orderville, in Kane County, and moved my brother George and family to Father's and we all worked together for the summer. We attended the farm and my brothers George, Charles, Henry, Wandell and I went out to a mining camp and hauled wood until harvest time. We saw that we did not have land enough to farm and the place was too small to support us. The United Order was not supported by the Church sufficiently to sustain those that entered it, so the Order was discontinued. Father's family scattered. Father died the day after Christmas in 1891 at Beaver, Utah. Mother lived another fourteen years and died in Beaver, Utah on November 12, 1905.