LYDIA ANN LAKE
an autobiographical sketch
In giving a sketch of my life, I am compelled to depend largely on my memory, as I have kept no records, still I think that what follows is quite accurate, owing to the fact that my life from childhood has been cast with the Latter-day Saints, and in their early movements I took part.
My father, James Lake, Jr., joined the Mormon Church in 1832, while living in Canada. He was among the first to accept the doctrines under the teachings of Brigham Young and was among the first fruits of this man's missionary labors.
I was born May 13, 1832 at Camden, Upper Canada, and was six months old when my parents joined the Church, and our family remained there about one and one-half years after that event, then moved to Kirtland, Ohio. My father worked on the temple, being employed as a brick maker.
Owing to persecutions, we were compelled to leave our homes at Kirtland and move westward. We intended going to Missouri, but the trouble arising between our people and the Missourians, caused us to stop in Illinois.
My father rented a large farm near Springfield and remained there until the Saints began to gather in Nauvoo. Wishing to get closer to the main body of the Saints, we rented another farm within fifteen miles of Carthage and were living there when Joseph Smith and Hyrum were killed, and well do I remember the event.
That afternoon my father sat reading his Bible, he read aloud the passage: "the wounded flee when no man pursueth," and at that instant a man rode up to the fence and called out, "Joe Smith is killed." We looked out and saw men, women and children coming with all their might, some in wagons and some on horses, and all were fleeing form the awful scene at Carthage.
My father gathered a few household goods into his wagon and moved, leaving a farm and a beautiful crop for which he never received a cent.
We passed through the trials common to the Saints at Nauvoo and moved with them to Council Bluffs. Here my father built a log cabin and we occupied it about two years. My brother Barney Lake went with the Mormon Battalion to fight Mexico.
Owing to the lack of teams to cross the plains with, we were compelled to go down into Missouri and work for them. My brother, sister, brother-in-law and myself went down in the fall. I got a position as a dishwasher and baby tender in a tavern. About Christmas while browning coffee in a large bake oven over the coals in the fireplace, my clothing blazed suddenly and I very narrowly escaped being burned to death. I attribute my almost miraculous recovery to the administration of Elders Phineas and Lorenzo Young, who chanced that night to stop at the tavern. As soon as I recovered we went north to the Bluffs.
A few months after our return, father with all the family moved down into Missouri. He was fortunate in finding work for himself and we were soon equipped with good ox teams and wagons. The people were very kind to us.
In the summer of 1850 we went north again in time to join a company of Saints moving to the "Valley." My father was chosen as a captain of fifty. Our company was well equipped with teams and wagons and we were well supplied with provisions of food and clothing. Father had one large wagon with three yokes of oxen and a smaller wagon with two. Our family then consisted of father and mother, my brothers Bailey and George, my sister Samantha and myself. Along with our company were three married sisters, Sabre Dixon, Clara Taylor, and Jane Ardway, and my married brother Barney, who had just returned from the Mexican War. While on our way, Barney's wife died and was buried on the trail.
The most vivid event of the journey occurred at Green River, Wyoming. In crossing the river the wagon box floated off the wagon and began drifting down the stream. In the box was a young woman named Snider and a girl about nine years old. All was excited for a few minutes. The only man of the company who dared to swim the stream and attempted to rescue was a youth named Price Williams Nelson, a young man, who, up to that time I had paid no particular attention to. He was of a quiet nature and I knew nothing of him except that he drove his aunt's team. After this event we two became better acquainted, which resulted in our marriage after arriving in the Salt Lake Valley. We were married on the last day of the year, 1850, in the old fort at Ogden.
The ceremony was performed by Elder Lorin Farr. Of the many things said at the time, the prophetic utterance of my father has proved the most true. He said, "Price is a good man but he will never be content anywhere."
Our first child was born on the 30th day of October, 1851 while living at my father's ranch 5 miles north of Ogden. We named him Edmond.
The next year about the first of June we started by team to California and while en route we fell in company with an apostate named Chapman and five other men who were driving stock. The journey throughout was quite pleasant. We stopped at San Bernardino and liking the place, decided to make it our home.
My husband went into the sawmill business with Amasa Lyman and Charles Rich (who were LDS apostles).
The mill ran during the winter, but closed in the summer on account of the lack of water. During this time, for seven years, we moved each fall from the valley to the mountains and returned to the valley in the spring. Three children were born there. They were Samantha, October 28, 1853, Price William, 29 August, 1855, and Lydia Ann, 12 December 1856.
Heading the call of the First Presidency, we, with other California Saints, came back to Utah.
We stopped in Payson and began the building up of another home. Here my daughter Loraina was born, 10 March 1859. About this time we heard that my brother had been killed by the indians.
Not being satisfied at Payson, we remained there only about eighteen months, and then went up to Franklin, Idaho. Again, Brother Nelson took up the mill work, laboring as a sawyer in a mill at Thatcher and Genson then operating a sawmill at Logan, Utah.
I remained at Franklin about one year while my husband labored at Logan. While there my daughter Hane was born on 22 March 1861.
The following summer I joined my husband at Logan, Utah. There Hyrum was born 10 January 1863, and James Mark 12 August 1865. In that village we lived comfortably for six years.
Brother Nelson was then called to assist in the settling of Muddy Mission. We found an ideal climate and very productive soil and followed farming for a livelihood. There, my son Alvin was born 7 January 1868 and Thomas George 14 December 1870. There in Nevada we lived comfortably and had an abundance of such things as could be produced from the soil, but had difficulty obtaining clothing. Conditions were favorable for building of comfortable homes, but troubles arose between the settlers and the state authorities. Heavy taxes were imposed and the people were forced to withstand considerable abuse. President Young visited us and seeing the situation, advised us to move away. We acted immediately on the advice and left homes and fertile land with luxuriant crops almost ready to harvest, and went to Glendale in Southern Utah, arriving there with our large family with only what provisions we could carry in one wagon. Our livestock consisted of a team of horses and two cows.
We found it somewhat difficult to live but were not long in finding work again supplying ourselves with the necessities of life.
During the seven years we lived there, three children were born to us. They were Levi, 4 April 1872, Wilford Bailey, 26 April 1874, and our last child, who only lived three weeks, Philamelia, 29 Feb 1876.
Brother Nelson and the boys constructed a shingle mill which they operated about four years and did fairly well financially. My son Thomas George died while there and four of the older children were married. They were Edmond, to Mary Caroline Brinkerhoff, Samantha to Warren Marshel Johnson, Price W. to Louisa Elder and Lydia Ann to David Brinkerhoff.
During our residence in the Long Valley, a general move of settlers to Arizona was in progress, and people were being called to assist in building the country south of us, also to help in the Indian Mission work then being conducted in northern Arizona.
Edmond was called to assist Warren Johnson at Lee's Ferry, Arizona. We went onto the Moen Copi and were among the first settlers of that place. During our one and one-half years sojourn there, we lived with the missionaries in the old fort.
My daughter Loraina was married to Joseph Foutz. The morning we left Moen Copi they started to St. George, Utah and we went to Pine Creek. At Pine Creek we went into the ranching and stock business and soon had a good home.
We made a trip back to St. George in company with our daughter, Jane and son-in-law, John A. Allen, who were going to the temple. The purpose was to be sealed to each other and have our children adopted. Not long after our return, Hyrum was married to Martha Sanders.
The Saints were making settlements in Mexico, and my husband, desirous to assist in opening the new country, was induced to pack up our home and move south, choosing Cave Valley as destination. Brother Nelson and the boys, Bailey and Lee put up a small gristmill. They also made chairs.
After being in Mexico three years, my brother George Lake and I went to the Logan Temple to be sealed to our parents. I spent the following winter with my sister, Eliza Smith, in Logan, and returned the following summer to Mexico.
After remaining about five years in Cave Valley, we moved to Oazaca in Sonora, and made a home about five miles up the river from the town.
While there Alvin married Tennis Johnson, and Bailey married Edith Nichols. We built another comfortable ranch home.
Brother Nelson's health began to fail in the fall of 1902. His ailments were dropsy and heart failure, which terminated in his death on 27 October 1902.
Two years after my husband's death a flood swept away everything from the ranch and I went to live with Alvin. Since then I have spent a short time with each of my children at the following places, Lee at Tombstone, Arizona, Jane at Hubbard, Bailey at Norales, Mexico.
When the Mormons were driven from that country (Mexico) I came out with the main body and went to Hubbard (across the Gila River from Thatcher), arriving 5 August. Edmond came after me the following October. I am now (25 Feb 1914) at his home in Eagar, Arizona.
I am proud to remark that of my thirteen children, eleven raised large families. My grandchildren number 113 at present, and great grandchildren about 184, making a total posterity of about 297.
(Lydia Ann died 14 January 1924 at Eagar, Apache County, Arizona, at the age of 91. This document was transcribed from an old type-written copy, which was in about the fifth generation of xeroxing, in which there were many typing mistakes and probably misspellings. I corrected what I knew for sure, but did not try to correct names or spellings I was not sure of, e.g., Eagar was spelled Eager, which I knew to be misspelled, but Moen Copi, Norales, Oazaca, Philamelia, etc. may still be misspelled. John L. Hoopes, 8-12-97.)