Part I: “Lost Pioneers” of Hole-in-the-Rock Discovered, published March 17, Blue Mt. Panorama

Do you Recognize These Hole-in-the-Rock Pioneers?

Caption: Photo identification (Read their stories on http://trekholeintherock.blogspot.com)

A. The Old Swing Tree in Bluff. A favorite meeting place, of adults and children alike. The first church services were held here until a log church was built. It washed away some time after 1894 when the San Juan River jumped its banks and washed out pioneer crops as well as well established trees like this.
B. Amasa Barton was killed at Rincon.
C. Kumen Jones in the first Bishopric in Bluff:            

D. Jens Nielson, first bishop of Bluff
E. Lemuel H. Redd, 
F.  San Juan Hill, the final difficult challenge of the Hole in the Rock Trail. Both horses and pioneers were too exhausted to go any further, arriving in Bluff April 6, 1880.     
H.  James Bean Decker was born March 25, 1853 at Parowan, Utah and was one of the outstanding pillars among the Bluff pioneers. 
I. Anna Marie Mickelsen Decker was born in Cedar City, April 7, 1855. Her husband and 4 of their children died of diphtheria 1901-02.  Poem about this tragedy found at: http://hardrockpoetry.blogspot.com/        
J. Hole in the Rock, the daunting entry into the wilderness trail to Bluff. Ariel view by Fawn Palmer   
K. Barton Cabin in Bluff Today the Barton cabin represents the sole surviving feature of the earliest pioneer architecture of Bluff. It retains the integrity of its original location, design, setting, material, workmanship, feeling, and association. It is the cornerstone of the Bluff Fort.  Cortez
L. One of the “lost” pioneers, recently found: Sarah Marchant Cox: She was only eight when she went over the Hole-in-the-Rock trail to San Juan.
M.  Willard Butt. Willard and his brother Parley were both from Parowan. Willard b.1858-d.1919 in 
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 The Search for the “Lost Pioneers” of  Hole-in-the-Rock


Like pot shards scattered on the periphery of ancient Anasazi ruins, the disconnected segments of nearly 150 "lost pioneer stories" of Hole-in-the-Rock, are starting to emerge.  As bits and "bites" of their history are found, pieced together, interpreted and shared with others, an understanding of their life and legacy grows.  When the strewn parts of their stories are collected and connected our appreciation of history becomes more complete and respect evolves which changes our own heart and mindscape.

When the search for the “Lost Pioneers” of Hole-in-the-Rock began January 4, 2010, Samuel Cox was just a three-line entry in history identifying him as one of three musicians on the 1879-1880 wagon train to San Juan County, Utah. [1] Now, thanks to the efforts of family genealogists who have put their generational stories on-line, we know that the Cox family, had a full and productive life in Canada after leaving Utah.

Through the use of technology: digitized photos and newspapers, e-mails, and Google searches, stories of approximately 150 ”lost” pioneers are being uncovered, though there is still much work left to do.  A unique group of Hole-in-the-Rock pioneers like Kumen Jones, Platte DeAlton Lyman, George Hobbs and Lizzie Decker are remembered because their journals and/ or letters were preserved.  Others like the Nielsons, Redds, Bartons, Adams, and Bayleses are well known because their descendants remained largely in San Juan County and there remains a clear historical record.   But for the “lost” pioneers the historic trail between Hole-in-the Rock and the rest of their lives is dim and often difficult to find.  For this reason, “ history scouts” are needed.
    

This April 2010, will be 130 years since the original Hole-in-the-Rock pioneers entered San Juan County.  Through the efforts of the Hole-in -the-Rock Foundation, giant strides have been made to rebuild the historic Bluff Fort, and to document the stories of all 250 people who originally came to the San Juan Mission. To read more, please click here:  Of those original pioneers 100 were children, many just babes in arms.  Very few of the children’s stories are known at this time.  To read those collected, please click here:  . The story of their parents is better know.  To read these, please click.  But another fifty or so adults have no documented story.  Thus the need to reach out to a broader audience of possible descendants is underway, in hopes of securing additional stories. 

Sarah Marchant 

That is also why the happy discovery of Samuel Cox (San Juan’s lost violinist) was so exciting.  Samuel Cox and, his wife Sarah Gane and daughter Sarah Marchant left San Juan and started moving northward, eventually arriving in Cardston, Canada May 21, 1898.  “They traveled from Price, Utah to Lethbridge by train and then to Cardston by wagon.  They were accompanied by their only child, a daughter, Sarah Marchant and her husband Erastus Olsen and their four children.  On Nov 10, 1905 they moved to Beazer, where they remained the rest of their lives.  Sarah Gane was called as Relief Society President and Samuel Cox as ward chorister.  In 1915 Sarah suffered a second stroke and died. Samuel built the casket for her himself, because he wanted it well built and beautiful.  It was perhaps his finest work.  He chose maple wood.  When completed the Sisters lined it with satin and padded the outside and covered it with velvet brocade.  The handles and graven nameplate were silver.  Indeed no finer casket could have been bought.  She was laid to rest in the Beazer cemetery 26 January 1915. . . .  Samuel then took the wood that was left and fashioned a beautiful violin, which he often played.” [3]

To read more about Samuel Cox and his wife, please click here: Cox family history

  And what of their daughter, Sarah Marchant?  Yes, her story too has risen from the dust of San Juan and is retold.  Sarah's story

Hole-in-the-Rock Pioneers

Historian David E. Miller gave laudatory tribute to the 1880 pioneers in his signature research of Hole in the Rock ©1959.  “In all the annals of the West there is no better example of indomitable pioneer spirit than the Hole-in-the-Rock expedition.  No pioneer company ever built a wagon road through wilder, rougher, or more inhospitable country, than this group of approximately 250 men, women and children, who with some 80 wagons and hundreds of loose cattle and horses, cut  wagon passage through 200 miles of wilderness country. . . None ever demonstrated more courage, faith and devotion to a cause than this group. . .Today their feat seems well-nigh impossible.  Yet they proved that virtually nothing was impossible for a zealous band of pioneers.”[4]

It was in 1956 when David Miller was doing his research, that the Colorado River and Glen Canyon were also being surveyed by archeologists (1956-1963) in anticipation of the eventual flooding of the canyon by Lake Powell.  Thus in 1966 when Miller’s second edition was published part of the original pioneer trail, and the Colorado crossing by ferry no longer looked the same.  [5]

But Lake Powell also had its positive impact on history, as many of the millions of boaters who have visited since then, have been able to see Hole-in-the-Rock up close and personal, a feat that earlier, only overlanders with four-wheelers and trail smarts were able to do.  Miller remarked in 1966 that as thousands of people have ventured to the “Hole” they are “amazed that wagons could ever have gone that way.  Yet, incredible as it now seems, for a little more than a year (1880-1881) this was the major wagon road between southern Utah settlements and the Four Corners region. Wagons traveled both ways on it, --up as well as down through the Hole. [6]”

It is that trail and its original travelers, that youth from the Blanding stakes will celebrate this summer as they recreate partially the experiences of these early pioneers, some of whom are their direct ancestors.  Learning about them and their sacrifices is part of their preparation.  Stake history specialist, Janet Wilcox, has created a blog that includes profiles of these “undaunted” pioneers, with additional links to more complete histories, as well as photos. To open site Hole-in-the-Rock Profiles 

 The Call to San Juan

  So what brought these first San Juan pioneers together to face such overwhelming trailbuilding odds?

Most of the original Hole in the Rock pioneers were “called” to establish the San Juan mission “somewhere” in southeastern Utah. They came from Cedar City, New Harmony, Parowan, Beaver, Paragonah, and other little communities on the west side of Utah.   Others in the group, joined up on their way to Arizona or Colorado, hoping that this “shortcut” would get them there sooner.  Unfortunately what was estimated to take 6 weeks, took six months.  This was unchartered territory-- a rugged and wild part of the west, and the little community they would eventually establish would be considered the “last outpost of civilization.”  Not only was it remote, but it was also largely inaccessible because of deserts, rivers, canyons, and imposing geological barriers. 

      Some pioneers like Jens Nielson, had already survived the Willey handcart trek, and had been “called” to relocate many times by the LDS Church.  Despite his age, he still willingly accepted the call. He would eventually serve as Bishop of Bluff for 26 years. Jens Nielson story

James Davis

 James Davis, in spite of his wife’s trepidation and poor health, willingly agreed to go as well.  Mary’s angst becomes understandable, once we learn four of her children had already died, and she was pregnant with another child. Yet relying on the blessing Bishop Christopher Arthur, gave her, she supported her husband. Along with their four living children, they set out as one of two families who would first go to San Juan via the southern route.  They and the Herriman family (Henry Harrison and his wife Sarah Hobbs and their four children) arrived at Montezuma Creek a full 9 months before the Hole-in-the-Rock pioneers made it to Bluff and almost starved in the process.

The Davis’s were part of the first San Juan exploring party composed of 27 men, two women and eight children who responded to a call by Apostle Erastus Snow to help settle SE Utah.  They began the journey April 1879, traveled through dry, dangerous, desert Indian lands and arrived in Montezuma three months later in July.  On Aug. 2, 1879 a little girl, Ethel Olive was born.  She lived to adulthood, and Sister Davis’s health was restored. To read a poem describing this trek, click here: 

James and Mary Davis family

Very little was known about these Montezuma settlers until local history buff, Ron McDonald began his thorough and detailed research of the area.  “My interest in Fort Montezuma was sparked in 2001 when

I accidentally stumbled onto the headstones of Lizzie Harriman (1879-1881) and John Alma Harriman (1876-1883) which stand alone in a wind-swept desert near the town of Montezuma Creek, Utah.”[7]  In addition McDonald found rock etchings, remains of the fort, and stories of most pioneers who lived in the Montezuma Creek area.

After several years “I was able to locate 3rd and 4th generation descendants of the Fort Montezuma pioneers in places outside of Utah, and I tracked down diaries, journals, biographies and photographs. The more I learned, the more curious I became.” [8]  He was eventually able to identify 132 pioneers who had lived at Montezuma.  Many of his findings are included in Vol. 30 of Blue Mountain Shadows. To learn more, please click here: Ron can be contacted at hike@citlink.net.

The Lost are Found

Thanks to family researchers who are willing to share, other discoveries have also been made related to the Barney, Robb, and Lillywhite families.

Danielson Buren and Laura Matthews Barney were from Utah County and in 1861 theLaura Matthews Barney were called to the Dixie Mission. He settled in St. George, Utah where he resided for many years and helped build the St. George Temple.  In 1878 he was called to go to Arizona.  Possibly Hole-in-the-Rock was considered a quicker way to get there so they joined the pioneers going to San Juan.  They lived in Bluff only a short while. 

They faced many difficulties: all his horses were stolen, though later retrieved; his losing-battle with building a canal from the San Juan River forced him to go to Durango to work.  It was during this time that all his cattle died in San Juan, so by 1886 Barney and his family moved to Gila Valley and settled in Thatcher, Arizona.  To read more, please click here: 

 George Drummond Robb and Caroline Jones

On September 1, 1878, Caroline Jones Robb (known as Cally) gave birth to their first child, Mary Ann. Shortly after her birth, her husband George and his brothers William, John and Adam received a call to fill a mission in San Juan County. When asked in later years what people did with their land and homes when they accepted such a call, George answered, “We just left them behind without looking back and without any regrets.” George and Cally were never to return to Paragonah to live. To read more, click here: Though histories have been submitted concerning George’s family, more information is needed concerning the other Robb brothers.

Joseph Lillywhite

Joseph and Mary Ellen Wilden Lillywhite joined a company which was forming in Beaver to go settle San Juan. Joseph needed no urging to join, and was imbued with the spirit of the times to colonize other areas. 

His son Charles, who was with them, later recalled the family’s experience: “Father sold his Beaver holdings, absorbing most of the value in teams, wagons, cows and some cash and in the late summer of 1879, he headed east on the old Escalante trail and joined some 70 wagons of other colonizers encamped on the north bank of the Colorado River at a location where LDS scouts located what they decided was the most feasible point to establish a ferry over the turbulent Colorado River. This location was fittingly named Hole-in-the-Rock.

At this point the west bank rose from the riverbed to a height of several hundred feet, mostly perpendicular. The rains through the ages had work out a cleft in the north bank of these walls of sandstone and it offered the only location where wagons could reach the riverbed without prohibitive cost. This declivity had a short stretch where the canyon walls were a few inches too marrow to permit a wagon to pass and another short stretch where a sloping ledge of sandrock would not permit safe passage. The third impediment was an extremely steep grade, too steep to admit a wagon’s descent under brake control only.” [9]

The Lillywhites arrived safely in Bluff, but had the same discouraging experience fighting the fickle San Juan River.  After seeing ditches wash out several times, Joseph and Mary Ellen loaded their equipment and household effects in late spring of 1880 and headed for Alpine, Apache County, Arizona.  Eventually they moved to a milder climate in Woodruff, Az

Kumen Jones’ Writings

    Within the past two years, Kumen Jones’ descendants created a Kumen Jones site  which shares with others a broad spectrum of topics all written by this unassuming, yet pivotal San Juan leader.  Kumen’s writings are especially valuable because he took the time not only to write his story, but also wrote about other pioneers and their contributions.   

He said of Joseph F. Barton, He “took a leading place in education, civil and religious, and financial affairs, held official positions in all of above features of progress and civilization. Having him and family as my nearest neighbor for 24 years, I found them 100 percent fine. Brother Barton was an all around handy, helpful, exemplary neighbor; quite a veterinarian, understood many of the ailments of domestic animals, and for planning all corrals, outhouses, etc., his gift or ability along those lines was an asset to the community where he lived.” To read more, find Barton on the name index 

Of Bishop Jens Nielson, Kumen wrote, “The thing that gave him influence with the people was his sound judgment and his strong sense of justice and absolutely fairness. I have met many men in whose hands I would be willing to place my life, and would easily place as the first one among that number Bishop Jens Nielson. His confidence and friendship is above price in my memory, which continued almost all my life without a jar.”  To read more about Jens, go to http://www.kumenjones.org/HTML/KJNameIndex.htm and find Jens on the Name Index.

Descendents Commemorate Hole-in-the-Rock pioneer efforts

Since 2000, descendents of these original Bluff leaders have been working with that famous “stick it a to-ity” to preserve and interpret the trail, restore the Bluff Fort and to collect pioneer histories. Karl Barton, a great grandson of Joseph and Harriet Barton, and his wife LaRue, a great granddaughter of Jens and Katrine Nielson are valuable workers in Bluff.  They along with “visionary” leader Corrine Roring, a descendant of Jens Nielson help provide local leadership in the efforts to preserve the history of the Bluff pioneers. 

Five years ago, April 9, 2005, about 500 descendants and townspeople joined Bishop H. David Burton of the Presiding Bishopric near the original Bluff Fort to dedicate a restoration project that had been four years in the making.  It included the restoration of the remaining pioneer structures with improvements made to the original Barton cabin, building of a log meetinghouse, and completion of a granite monument with the names of the original settlers

Bishop Burton, in his comments, expressed his admiration for those who responded to the call of a prophet to settle in this beautiful, but rough terrain of southeastern Utah. "I hope you remember how important it is for generations to honor those who have gone before," he said in comments prior to pronouncing a dedication. "It is a mark of a mature generation," he said, "to have a basic reverence for those gone before.[10]

Hole-in-the-Rock Foundation Formed

Soon a non-profit Hole-in-the-Rock Foundation was created with Roring serving as president.  Personnel was expanded to involve many other pioneer descendants who caught the vision of preserving the history and sharing the legacy: led by Craig Taylor, Grant Taylor, Lamar Helquist, Lamont Crabtree, and Carl McKay, Like the original pioneers their motto became “Accomplishing the seemingly impossible!”  

The Hole-in-the-Rock Foundation was eventually able to purchase seventeen acres from “Utah State institutional Trust Lands Administration (SITLA) for a quiet, beautiful cove behind the Twin Rocks. The twin rocks cove includes Pueblo I II III archeology remnants of its first settlers. It is adjacent to Bluff’s most recent settlers and presents a story of every group in between and the acoustics at this site are supreme.”[11]

They were also successful in purchasing a hogan shaped building which they hope to make into a Native American and historical museum

During the week of October 27, 2008, descendents of the Mormon pioneers who first settled southeastern Utah, along with other volunteers, built three pioneer cabin replicas at the Bluff Fort Historic Site at Bluff, Utah.  Funds were raised by family groups, who also provided the construction labor, for the purpose of rebuilding original family cabins as tributes to their ancestor. 

One of the participants Ron Snowdon, Director of Bluff Fort Construction, stated, “Last night Linda and I arrived home from a week at the Bluff Fort, in southern Utah. While there, we helped to erect three log cabins, installed irrigation systems, laid paving stones, and otherwise participated in one of the most unique experiences we have ever had. We arrived home tired, sore, sunburned, and with badly mangled feet—but happy.  We experienced a little of the pioneer life, shouldered some of their toil, and interacted with about 100 other people in this great experience.  We now have far more respect for our pioneer ancestors, and understand their lives far more as a result of following in their footsteps."  [12] 

Last year six additional cabins were built.

To read more about the foundation’s efforts, please click here: 

 Completed Redd Cabin and restored wagon 2008

Additional cabins are being planned as well as other improvements to the fort.  Future goals include:

1.     The Barton Cabin:  Preserve and protect the Barton cabin –the oldest pioneer structure in San Juan County and the only remaining cabin built by the Hole-in-the-Rock pioneers.

2.      Procurement of Property:  Pursue the acquisition of properties that comprised the original fort boundaries.

3.     Building Replicas:  Create a semblance of the original Bluff Fort through the construction of some of the fort’s original log structures including the log meetinghouse, blacksmith shop, and log cabins.

4.     Pioneer Artifacts: Collect and display pioneer artifacts including wagons, farming implements, blacksmith implements,  and  cabin/meetinghouse furnishings that are from/or a replica of the late 1800's, provided that said artifacts are applicable to the telling of the story of the Bluff Fort or its original residents.

5.     Visitors' Center: Develop a visitors' center that is patterned after the design and location of the original stone co-op.

6.      Landscaping: Develop landscaping that is period appropriate, including the planting of trees and a small orchard representative of Bluff’s first orchards.

7.      Bluff Ditch: Through sculpture and/or landscaping, create an interpretive feature which illustrates the Bluff ditch/irrigation system.

8.     The Indian Story: Develop Native American interpretive displays that convey the culture and history of the Navajo and Piute Indians as they relate to the Hole-in-the-Rock pioneers.

9.     Displays/ kiosks: Develop displays and interpretive information throughout the site that convey the remarkable challenges and accomplishments of Bluff’s first inhabitants.

10.  Kumen Jones Ruin: Phase I. Secure and preserve the ruin walls to the extent that is possible and safe. Phase II. If the wall can be secured/stabilized, a small amphitheater will be developed at the southwest corner of the ruin with the ruin wall serving as a backdrop. The small amphitheater is to be used for fireside chats, programs, etc. Phase III. When funds become available, rebuild the home. [13]

The Foundations web site includes wonderful photos and maps of both the trail, and Fort, as well as biographies of some of the pioneers and foundation personnel. Contact information: HIR Foundation, PO Box 476, Bluff, UT 84512.  To read more, please click: (http://www.hirf.org

  As the spirit of Elijah rolls forth in these last days, it becomes very apparent to researchers the real reason of why computers and the Internet were invented.  They are valuable tools made to bless the latter-day work in connecting families, and promoting understanding of Church history and heritage. 

     President Gordon B. Hinckley reinforces this notion: “It is good to look to the past to gain appreciation for the present and perspective for the future. It is good to look upon the virtues of those who have gone before, to gain strength for whatever lies ahead. It is good to reflect upon the work of those who labored so hard and gained so little in this world, but out of whose dreams and early plans, so well nurtured, has come a great harvest of which we are the beneficiaries. Their tremendous example can become a compelling motivation for us all “. . ,[15]

Church author Gerald Lund has also renewed interest in Hole-in-the-Rock through his expansive novel, “The Undaunted” ©2009.  He said of the San Juan Mission; “The journey was impossible. But they had no other choice.  At the call of their prophet, they left well-established farms and businesses to strike out yet again into the untamed wilderness. A small band of men, women, and children formed the 1879 pioneer company. Their mission: stand as a buffer between lawlessness and civilization. Their road: only what they created themselves, blasting out a perilous trail over slick rock and through desolate cliffs, their hearts, Undaunted.” [16]

Though their original destination was Montezuma Creek, by the time they surmounted the

 final obstacle of San Juan Hill, their horses and oxen were so spent, and Bluff’s verdant green canyon bottoms looked so welcoming, most chose to remain there.  Little did they know their struggles would not be over, but that is another story.

  Families who may be descendants of these pioneers are encouraged to submit missing stories and/or photos via e-mail to jwilcox42@gmail.com .  Please document where the information came from or provide links to where it can be found on-line.   Your help and detective work on this project will be greatly appreciated.

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[1] Miller, David. Hole in the Rock © 1966, p. 46

[2] Photos courtesy San Juan Historical Commission, Sarah Marchant photo,  Karen Nelson

[3] Cox and Olson Histories, http://karennelson.familytreeguide.com

[4] Miller, back cover

[5] Lipe, Dr. Bill, lecture in Blanding, 2/11/2010

[6] Miller. back cover

[7] McDonald, Ron.  Hole in the Rock Newsletter, Volume 2, Winter 2007

[8] Ibid.

[9] Lillywhite, Charles. Joseph Lillywhite history, Jan. 18, 1943, in possession of Linda Wright, Blanding, Utah

[10] Stahle, Shaun D. Incredible journey, Church News, April 16, 2005

[11] Bradford, Cleal. Hole in the Rock News, Vol 2 Winter 2007

[12] Fort Service Projects, Hole in the Rock Foundation, http://www.hirf.org/bluff-service.asp

[13] Hole in the Rock Foundation Overview, http://www.hirf.org/foundation.asp

[14] Hinckley, Gordon B.  The Faith of the Pioneers, Ensign, p. 3,  July 1984

[15] Lund, Gerald.  http://www.undaunted-thenovel.com/

Kumen Jones stories