Reuben Warren ALLRED

Allred Progenitors:   Reuben Warren, James, William, Thomas, Solomon born 1680 England

Born: 11/18/1815 Bedford Co., TN
Died: 10/04/1896 Spring City, Sanpete Co., UT

Submitted by: Sharon Allred Jessop 06/21/1999

Written by his granddaughter, Evinda E. Allred Madsen and read to the Daughters of the Pioneers, of the Fort Ephraim Camp, February 1, 1941 by the writer.

Reuben Warren Allred was born the 18th of November 1815, in Bedford Co., Tennessee. He was the Son of James Allred and Elizabeth Warren. He was one of eleven children - eight boys and three girls. His father’s family lived in Tennessee until Reuben was fifteen years of age, when they moved into the State of Missouri and settled in Monroe County on the bands of the Salt River. There the family was baptized into the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, on the 10th of |September 1832. At this time, the church was new, but there was plenty of trouble and persecution for the saints. It seemed Satan was determined to put down and wipe out all their religious efforts to build and establish the Church of the Lord.

James, Reuben’s father, was a member of the life guard for the guard for the Prophet Joseph Smith, and his mother was one of the three women chosen to help the Prophet plan the LDS Garments. In the year 1834, his father also went with Zion’s Camp in company with Joseph Smith to Clay County.

As a family they all knew and loved the Prophet, and knew and bore record that he was a true prophet, else how could they, together withe the rest of the saints, take the violent injustice their neighbors, now enemies, heaped upon them.

At the age of twenty-one, Reuben became acquainted with a young Mormon girl from Kentucky. Her name was Lucy Ann Butler. Her parents were well-to-do plantation owners. But she heard the sound of the gospel and recognized the call of the Master’s voice, and she left all the earthly comforts of life to join the Saints. On the 4th of December 1836, they were married.

Three years in 1836 (39?), they were driven with the rest of the saints from the state of Missouri, by the extermination orders of Governor Lillburn W. Boggs, to the State of Illinois. Here they lived in peace for a number of years, and built a large city called by some, “Nauvoo, the Beautiful”. The saints with their united efforts built the Nauvoo temple, and on the 19th of December 1845 Reuben and Lucy Ann received their Endowments in this House of the Lord, and were sealed for time and eternity.

On the 16th of January, 1843, the patriarch of the church, Hyrum Smith, gave them each a patriarchal blessing, and they lived to see these promises fulfilled in many instances. Their four first children were born in Nauvoo. One little girl died at the age of seven, after they reached the Salt Lake Valley.

In 1844, when the Prophet Joseph and his brother Hyrum were martyred, James took his light wagon to Carthage jail and brought back the two bodies to Nauvoo, now a city in deep mourning, and shall we say in deep despair for the time being. Each wondering what would happen next. Their prophet and seer was dead, killed at the hands of a ruthless mob in cold blood, for the testimony he knew was true, and he knew that God knew that he knew it, and he said he dared not deny, nor have a inclination to do so.

Now the saints prayed earnestly to the true and living God for guidance and power, and strength of character to carry on. After it was all over, and they met in conference, Brigham Young stood up to address the people, my grandparents were there, and they saw the transfiguration of Brigham Young, the mantle of Joseph Smith fell upon him...he looked like him, and his voice was the same. It was a strange yet quieting peaceful feeling. They knew their beloved Prophet was dead, but there he stood before them it seemed, and spoke peace to their troubled souls. They looked from one to another, wondering of others saw and heard as they did.

Oh, it was grand and glorious, and they soon knew this was the Lord’s way of letting the saints know, who their leader should be, and they rallied to his call and leadership,.

In 1847, they started their westward march to cross the plains, traveling by ox team, slowly wending their way over the marked paths made by their leader.

When Brigham Young was asked by the Governor, for 500 of his best able-bodied men, he answered, “Yes, we are law-abiding citizens and if we haven’t 500 men we will make up the number with the stalwart women.”

Brigham Young had advised the Allreds to keep together, there were now fifteen families, and several of their company volunteered to go with the the Mormon Battalion, so he advised them to stop in with the East for one year, until with the return of these volunteers, to help bring this company along. Allen Taylor was made captain of this Allred company of 100 wagons and they did not come to Salt Lake Valley until with the fall of 1849.

In 1852 at with the general conference in October, he, together with Lyman Stevens were called together families to reinforce with the settlements of Sanpete. On November 9th of with the same year, 1852 he was ordained a High Priest and set apart as a Bishop under with the hands of President Brigham Young. Their trip to Sanpete was a hard and dangerous one. They landed on with the east side of with the valley, and with the place was first known as “Allred Settlement”. Later it was called Spring town because of a number of springs within with the town limits. They proceeded at once to build a fort, for their protection against with the Indians. With the Indians did not appreciate with the white man’s coming in and settling on what they had always known as their land. So they objected and made war, and would drive off with the white men’s animals and sometimes burn homes and kill with the intruders. This trouble was known as with the Walker War, being named after with the big Chief Walker.

In with the fall of 1853, quite a company of Scandinavians were sent to Springtown by Brigham Young. On reaching Salt Creek Canyon the men of this long train of wagons who had guns, walked ahead of the company to make them as secure as they could, from Indian attacks. On reaching the top of the divide coming over into Sanpete Valley, they came across the bodies of four dead men, who had recently been killed by Indians while on their way towards Salt Lake City with wagon loads of wheat. The horses had been taken away, the wagons tipped over the wrecked, much of the wheat had been carried away, and the balance scattered over the ground. You can perhaps imagine the effect his incident had on the feelings of these people coming into such a place to make their homes and raise their families.

One young Danish girl had learned to speak the English language while crossing the plains, and while living with an English family in Salt Lake City. Her name was Agusta Dorius. The Scandinavians, coming into a English settlement, needed an interpreter and Augusta Dorius went to live at Bishop Allred’s and she was hired as an interpreter for them.

The immigrants lived in their tents or wagons. Winter was coming on and their food supply was running low. A company was made up to go into the valley on the north, now know as Utah county, in order to secure provision for the new enlarged community. Of course the younger men were chosen for this journey, and they were supplied with all the guns that could be spared. They went and returned in safety.

The duties of the bishop were many and varied. Each night and morning the drum would beat, calling all to roll call. Instructions were given out for each day...herding the cattle and horses and providing food necessary for them at night. The animals were corralled in the fort at night. There were also general camp duties, replenishing the food with the wild animals and game, appointed the guards for the day and for the night. They had to go in companies for wood, and into the fields, and on all trips to other settlements. But all were counted and they were their brothers keepers. All this, besides the church teaching, and managing of civic affairs, and the almost constant worries for the preservation of the settlers.

On the 10th of March, 1853 a tiny baby girl was born to Reuben and Lucy Ann, their seventh child, and they named her Eliza. She was my mother.

As winter drew near, the Indians grew more restless, and unruly and word came from Brigham Young that the whole colony should move to Manti immediately and join with the settlers there for the protection of all. They left Springtown during, or in the midst of a heavy snow storm. The Indians burned all the houses and corrals soon after they left.

It was a slow mode of travel by ox team, and not a pleasant trip for any of them, especially the women and children. But their Manti neighbors were very kind and took them into their homes. In some instances four families lived in one house, and at that time large houses were not yet built.

By spring, the Indians were starved into submission, and some of them came into Manti and wanted to make peace. This message was gladly received, bu the “Peace Pact” proved to be not entirely general among the Indians, so they did not stop harassing the people, and many attacks on the whites were made after that, and the Walker War lasted all through the following year.

In the spring of 1854, a number of venturesome families (8 men) left Manti and went about seven miles north to Cottonwood Creek. To make themselves more safe from the Indians, they built their homes in a circle with the back wall out and very close together, facing in. Inside the circle was a suitable playground for the children in the day time, for the mothers dared not let them out of their sight. At night it formed the corral for the cattle. Here one family after another of the Scandinavians from Manti joined them, and they built a fort and called the place Fort Ephraim.

Again Reuben Warren Allred was appointed bishop, the first bishop of Ephraim, and on the 1st of October 1854, a son was born and they called his name Ephraim, as he was the first child born at this place. Here again August Dorius lived with Bishop Allred’s family.

The fort walls they built were about 9 feet high, and were made of some-stone brick, which was hauled from the hills north of town, by ox teams. Port holes were provided near the top of the wall about 20 feet apart. They were made to serve as guard holes and gun holes to shoot through. The great gates were always guarded and the guards were always on the lookout for approaching Indians. In spite of the fact that the cows, horses and oxen were carefully herded, several times they were driven off to the mountains by the Indians, and a number of people killed --seven were killed in one day. Within the fort, log, mud, or adobe houses were built, yet many still lived in their wagons and tents.

There were no fences, no ditches to carry water for irrigation, no bridges, no homes to move into...all had to be made, and without the aid of modern tools. Nor did they have ten many farm implements which are so common now. But they were willing to work and found plenty to do in this, their new unsettled country. They worked with a will, and it is said, “Built better than they knew.” This fearless noble band laid the foundation (as it were) for the now beautiful city of Ephraim.

Here Reuben Allred’s family lived for some time...perhaps three or four years. They did not attempt to return to Springtown until 1859, when they made an attempt to again build up the town. This time they succeeded, but they all endured many hardships, including very cold winters and Indian hostilities. All were poor financially, but rich in faith and a determination to fulfill the call of their president, Brigham Young to build homes and rear their families in faith. So they erected houses, some rock, some log, some adobe. They farmed under many difficulties until 1866, when again they had to abandon their homes temporarily, on account of Indian trouble.

This time they went back to Ephraim with their families, but the men went back and forth to their farms. This second time they had to leave their homes, my mother was 9 years old and she has told us of their experiences. They returned to Springtown in the fall of that year...1866.

Reuben Allred was a rope-maker and made hundreds of them, from which they made halters, lasso ropes and bed cords, etc. They were made of horse-hair from the tail and mane. I can remember witnessing the rope-making. There was a big wooden wheel on the corner of the lot, and the spinning or twisting of the hair was very similar to the spinning of wool, only it stretched out from 8 to 10 rods, or more. Reuben ;was also a first class blacksmith, and followed this trade until he grew too old.

When that Ute Tribe of Indian warriors came through this valley selling papooses, taken from the conquered tribe they had been fighting with, grandfather bought a little girl off them. Although he had a wife and 8 living children of his own, and two motherless grandchildren, his heart was big enough to take on this other responsibility...the Indian baby. They raised her as one of their own and had her sealed to them in the House of the Lord as I understand it. She loved them and my mother has said she thought as much of Rachel as any of her own sisters. Rachel was the name they gave her. She married a white man from Spanish Fork and they were married in the Old Endowment House, and later were called as missionaries to labor among the Indians. They eventually settled in the Uintah basin where Rachel died, leaving a family of 8 or 9 children to whom they taught the gospel.

In these early days, money was almost unheard of many the people. Their exchange was in service to one another, or in produce which they had raised; but they did not lose their faith in the true and living god, and they honored their leaders and upheld the Priesthood. My grandmother, Lucy Ann, has told us many times how grateful she was to her mother, that she made her go to a sewing school, for now in Utah she earned many meals for her family by sewing for food, which supply would have been more scanty except for her help. Great poverty and hardships were experienced in these Mormon homes, the clothes were worn almost to the last thread.

But this family grew up, loved, courted, and married every one of them in the Endowment House. One daughter had 9 children, one 10, and one 16. In fact, most people had large families in those early days.

They cooked most of their food on the open fireplace, and often just a pine knot gave the light for the evening.

Reuben believed in being honest and was very ambitious and untiring in doing what he thought was right, and he taught the principles of the gospel to his family. When the family was married off and gone from the home, and this couple was 64 years old (they were about the same age), they decided to take a vacation and spend Christmas with four of their children living in Desert, Millard Co. So they set out in a one horse buggy, arrived safely after a two days journey, and all were happy. However, their happiness did not last long, for before Christmas, grandmother was taken ill and had what the doctors then called three congestive chills. We now call them “strokes” and on the 16th day of December 1884 she died, and sorrow came to all our hearts, for we loved her dearly. Her body was brought home and buried in the Spring City Cemetery.

Grandfather now was very lonely , His heart turned back to his kindred dead, and he spent much of his time doing work for them in the Manti Temple that they too might have the privilege and blessings he had received through the gospel.

Most of his numerous posterity are active in the faith he espoused and are thankful for the privilege of coming to earth through his lineage, thereby gaining the advantage of earth life and the chance of progression.

He died the 4th of December, 1896 in Spring City, and was laid to rest beside his wife at the age of eighty-one years.