Father, Alma
Porter, was born December
15, 1834, at Van Buren County, Missouri.
[ Research note: Van Buren
county was formed March 3, 1835 under act of the Missouri legislature and
organized September 14, 1835 from part of Jackson county. In 1849 the name was
changed to Cass, honoring Lewis Cass a presidential candidate. So, Alma was
actually born in Jackson County!]
He was the son of pioneer
parents, Chauncey Warriner and Amy Sumner Porter. He was the oldest son of
Chauncey Warriner and the only son of Amy Sumner, his mother, who lived to
maturity. She had other sons, but they died in infancy.
When father was about two years old his
parents moved to Caldwell
County, being driven
there with the other Saints. They lived there two more years, then were driven
again into Illinois,
there across the Mississippi
into Iowa.
Although young in years, he began to assist his father in driving the team and
other work.
In April 1842 he was baptized into the
church by Nathan T. Porter, an uncle. At a very early age he began to show
interest in the gospel. He would defend its principles and Saints when they
were assailed and opposed by their enemies. In the year 1845 the Saints were
again compelled by their enemies to leave their all and go west.
In the spring of 1846 he writes this
history--
"My father and family with the
rest of the Saints started westward. That summer we stopped twelve or fifteen
miles beyond Council Bluff, stayed over the winter, built a house, and plowed a
small piece of land.
In the fall of 1846 I proved a great
help to my father in hauling logs for building, chopped wood poles and etc. I
also looked after the stock. They had to be wintered along the creek bottoms
where cane and bulrushes grew for feed.
That winter my father and grandfather
went one hundred miles down the river to get provisions for the family taking
me along to drive the team. I was twelve years of age. This was in 1846. The sixth of April 1847 my
mother died, at Winter Quarters, leaving we children in the hands of the wife
father married just shortly before mother's death, Lydia Cook. She proved to be
a blessing to us all. She was kind and good to us children in keeping the
family together.
I will just say that during the next
year or two, father married his third wife, Priscilla Strong. This was two
wives he now had in place of my mother.
In the fore part of June 1848, Father
fitted up a team and wagon, putting my stepmother and her baby, with two of my
sisters, myself as teamster, with sufficient food to last. We started towards
the valley of the mountains. I was thirteen years of age. Father placed me in
care of his brother-in-law, Nathan Tenny [Tanner?].
He
would assist me in yoking and unyoking the oxen, greasing the wagon, etc. We
traveled for twenty or thirty miles, then waited a few days for the others to
catch up, then we were organized for the journey.
Ezra T. Clark was a captain of ten
wagons. Under his instructions we traveled to Utah. After a tedious journey of better than
three months we entered the valley of the Great Salt Lake
on October 12, 1848.
The winter of 1848 and 49 I lived with Ezra T. Clark, my old captain and
friend, helping him in hauling wood, hunting cattle and whatever work needed
doing. The spring of the next year, I plowed and planted the first crop raised
on his land, also helped him build his first home in the west.
About the 1st of July the next year I
bid adieu to my old friend and went to live with my uncle, where my stepmother
lived, helping uncle harvest and haul his grain.
In Sept. of the same year I went back
to help the emigrating Saints, their teams being badly worn out. With two yoke
of oxen, food and bedding, I started my journey. I met my father about the
middle of Echo canyon.
When father arrived [in the Salt Lake
Valley] he took all his
family four or five miles south of the city, along the Jordan
River, where we lived together during the winter. In the spring of
1851 father rented a sawmill twelve miles south of the city, eight miles up the
canyon. The mill, however, didn't make us any money, so we gave it up and went
back to farming. In 1853 father built a double log cabin, took up some land,
plowing, fencing, putting in grain, but that year the crickets ate about
everything we raised. Here I got disheartened, left the family and went again
to live with my uncle. The rest of the family persuaded father to leave and
move to Centerville,
where the rest of the folks were.
On March 4, 1856, I was ordained a Teacher in the
Aaronic priesthood. On May 6,
1856, I was chosen with others to get my endowments. I was ordained
an Elder at this time. On February
24, 1857, I was ordained to the Seventies Quorum.
The year Pres. Young took the contract
to carry the government mail, I with others was called to go back and take
provisions, tools [and] what was needed to put up stations along the way for
the Pony Express.
The year 1856 I worked with others
digging the Cottonwood
Canal. In 1858 these
Saints moved south. I made two trips to help with stock and provisions. That winter
I spent with the militia in Echo
Canyon under Capt. Lot
Smith and Porter Rockwell. The United States Army came to the valley and
wintered on Black Fork all winter. The following year a treaty was made between
saints in Utah
and the U.S. Government. In the fall the people returned to their homes without
loss of life or property.
In November Minerva Ann Deuel (Adeline
Deuel) and I were united in marriage by Apostle Charles C. Rich at her father's
home. I was twenty-four years old. Two weeks after our marriage I rented a
little house from my grandfather across the street. We lived there until the
spring of 1860. In this little house where I had taken my bride, two children
were born to us, first a son named Alma
William. He was born August
6, 1859, died November 22nd the same year. Mary Minerva, a
daughter, was born September
19, 1860. On October
22nd, 1862, Ann Eliza was born. Our next two children we lost,
Lewis Alfred and Nelson Warriner Porter. They both died in infancy.
In the spring of 1868 I buried my
father, Chauncey Warriner Porter. He died March 3, 1868. In December before father's
death, Charles Worthy was born to us on December 17, 1867.
In the autumn and winter of 1868 and
1869 the Union Pacific Railroad came through. I cut and hewed 500 ties for the
railroad. I also built onto my house that year. Orson Merit, another son, was
born to us July 26, 1868.
In that year I was appointed to preside over the Porterville Branch. March 17, 1871, George
Myron was born to us.
The next few years were mighty lean ones for
the grasshoppers were bad, eating nearly everything green. I spent the summer
of 1872 hauling ore from a mine in Dry
Canyon, but I never got
my pay for that work.
The 29th of January 1873, Amy Vilate was born. On the 10th
of February, twelve days later, the mother died. This left me with six small
children to care for. With all my losses and misfortunes this was the hardest
to bear. I was now alone, no one to be with me. I must paddle the canoe of life
alone, the labors and trials of life were mine alone to bear."
For nearly ten long years Father
struggled along the best he could under the circumstances. He must now be
father and mother to his little brood. Only those who know sorrow through death
and separation can know the loneliness and heartache. Mary Minerva, the oldest
daughter, was but thirteen years when the responsibility of keeping house and
doing the work fell on her. Uncle Lyman's second wife, Sarah, cared for the
tiny baby, Vilate, for the immediate years ahead.
In the spring of 1877 father was
working in the canyon cutting timber when he broke his leg. Good doctors were
hard to find in those days to set a broken leg. Uncle Sanford, who had served
in the Mormon Battalion in the medical corps, set the bone. But in putting on
the bandage, he wrapped it too tightly, stopped the blood circulation. The pain
was so severe that when the bandage was loosened the bones lapped each other
again and thus it healed to some degree. Father was lame on that leg all the
days of his life after that. Many, many times he used crutches to get about
especially when he worked too hard or lifted too heavily.
When the Morgan Stake was organized in
July 1877, Father was ordained a patriarch. He was 43 years of age when called
to this position and held this office until his death. Many beautiful and
soul-inspiring blessings were given under his hands by power of the priesthood.
He was set apart as a High Councilman
July 16, 1884, by
Albert Carrington, an Apostle.
Before 1882 Mary and Eliza were married
and had homes of their own. It's plain to see why Brother Ezra Clark advised
his son Hyrum to go to Porterville
and get one of Alma Porter's
daughters for a wife. Hyrum and Eliza were the ideal couple, or so it always
seemed to me.
With the girls gone with their
husbands, father, Charles, Orson and Myron lived as bachelors for some time.
Then one morning as Father lie awake in bed pondering over his situation,
wondering where he could find someone to keep house, cook and make a home for
him and the boys, a voice said to him, "Go to Bishop Carter's home and get
his daughter, Jane." Meditating upon this impression, he decided to do
just that. Shortly afterward he mounted his horse and rode up to Bishop
Carter's. "If Jane meets me at the front gate she will accept my
proposal..." He was thus impressed, knew it in his heart. This happened;
he told her his story, his circumstances and also his impressions. Their
courtship was of a short duration, six weeks to be exact. He always said when
he joked about it, "What God does, He does well." They were married November 10, 1882. Father
was in his forties and mother was nearly nineteen. She made a home for Father
and his boys, yes, a home for all the children whenever they chose to come. She
loved his children as she loved her own. A "Happy, Home Sweet Home"
was theirs.
Father loved to dance when able; he
used to call for the quadrille. The French Four, Upper-reel, Scotch reel, were
some of his favorite dances. Many of these old tunes they so much enjoyed are
lost to us today.
Father's life was full and rich with
spiritual gifts and blessings. I have seen the sick instantly healed through
his administration. These have made a lasting impression upon my life. One I
will relate for benefit of his children and grandchildren who read this
history.
He was a strict observer of the Fast
Day. In those days Fast Day began Saturday evening at sunset until Sunday
evening after 4:00 meeting.
This particular Sunday he asked all to fast, which we did. Horace was the baby,
mother was nursing him and in trying to fast and feed him from her breast, she
became very ill with one of her terrific sick headaches. The pain was so severe
she asked Father to administer to her. He did so, and after telling the Lord
that she had been faithful in keeping one of his commandments in observing the
Fast, he said this, "Jane, in the name of the Lord and through his power
delegated to me, I make you whole. I rebuke the pain within her body."
When he took his hands from her head she was completely well, arose from her
chair and prepared the Sunday evening meal in perfect health. Also I saw him
administer to my sister, Mercy. She was immediately healed.
Father was deeply religious from
childhood. So far as I remember he lived every principle of the Gospel. His
advice and judgment were sound. His life and his example were without
question.
LIFE SKETCH OF ALMA PORTER
by his daughter, Wealtha P. Heiner
(NOTE: This history is so remarkably similar to the
previous version that it is almost redundant. Yet, with the few word and format
changes, it raises the question of which was written first. It appears that
Wealtha is the author of all the content not quoted from Alma
Porter's personal account.-A. Charles Clark)
Father,
Alma Porter, was born Dec. 15, 1834, in Van
Buren County, Missouri. He was the first
child born to Chauncy Warriner Porter and Any Sumner and the first grandchild
born to Sanford Porter and Nancy Warriner.
Her parents were Reuben Warriner and Sarah Colton.
The
Porters were at Independence,
Jackson County, Missouri in 1833 and were driven out by mobs. About 1836 they
settled in Caldwell
County but were again
driven out by mobs and when Nauvoo,
Illinois was settled in 1839 they
settled across the Mississippi River, west of
Nauvoo.
Although
young in years Alma
began assisting his father in driving the team, etc. In 1842 he was baptized by his Uncle Nathan
T. Porter and showed great interest in the Gospel. He would defend its principles and the Saints
when they were assailed and opposed by enemies.
In
1845 the Saints were again compelled to move west. "In the spring of 1846 my
father and family and the rest of the Saints started westward. That summer we stopped twelve or fifteen
miles west of Council Bluffs,
Iowa and planted some crops after
building a house and staying over winter.
In the fall of 1846 I proved a great help to my father in hauling logs
for building, chopping wood poles, etc.
I also looked after the stock.
They had to winter along the creek bottoms where cane and bullrushes
grew for feed. That winter my father and
grandfather went 100 miles down the Missouri River
to get provisions for the family, taking me along to drive the team. I was then twelve years old. This was in 1846.
"The 6th of April, 1847
my mother died, leaving us children in the hands of a wife father married just
shortly before Mother's death, Lydia Cook.
She proved to be a blessing to us all.
She was kind to us children in keeping the family together. There were three girls and myself. Three little boys had previously died in
infancy. I will just say that during the
next year or two father married his third wife, Priscilla Strong. This was two wives he now had in place of my
mother.
"In
the fore-part of June 1848 Father fitted up a team and wagon, putting my
stepmother and her babe and to of my sisters and myself as teamster and with
sufficient food to last, we started for the valleys of the mountains. I was thirteen years of age. Father placed me
in the care of his brother-in-law, Nathan Tenny[Tanner?-acc]. He would assist me in yoking and unyoking the
oxen, greasing the wagon, etc. We
traveled for 20 or 30 miles then waited for the others to catch up. Then we organized for the journey. Ezra T. Clark was captain of ten wagons. Under his instructions we traveled to Utah. After a tedious journey we entered the Valley
of the Great Salt Lake on October 12th, 1848. Proving myself quite adequate for my task as
teamster I drove my oxen the entire distance with but very little help.
"The winter of 1848-9 I lived with my captain and
friend, Ezra T. Clark, helping him in hauling wood, hunting cattle and whatever
work needed doing. The spring of 1849 I
plowed and planted the first crop raised on his land. Also helped him build his first home in the
west. About the first of July 1850, I bade him adieu and
went and lived with my Uncle Nathan T. Porter helping him harvest his grain.
Here my stepmother lived. In September
that year I went to help the immigrating Saints, their teams being worn
out. With two yoke of oxen, food and
bedding I started on my journey. I met
my father about the middle of Echo
Canyon. When Father arrived he took all of his family
four or five miles south of the city along the Jordan
River. We lived together
during the winter.
"In
the spring of 1851 Father rented a saw mill up Mill Creek Canyon.
The mill didn't make us any money so we gave it up and went back to
farming. In 1853 Father built a double
log cabin, took up some land, plowing, putting in grain. But that year the crickets ate up just about
everything we raised. Here I got
disheartened, left my family and went again to live with my uncle. The rest of the family persuaded Father to
leave and move to Centerville
where the rest of the Porter folks were.
"March 4, 1855, I was
ordained a teacher in the Aaronic Priesthood.
On May 6th,
1856 I was chosen, with other, to get my Endowments. I was ordained an Elder at this time. On Feb. 4th, 1857, I was ordained a Seventy. The year President Young took the contract to
carry the Government mail, I, with others, was called to go back and take
provisions, took and what was needed to put up stations along the way for the
Pony Express. The year 1856 I worked
with others digging the Cottonwood
Canal. In 1858 the Saints moved south. I made two trips to help with the stock and
provisions. That winter I spent with the
Militia in Echo Canyon under Captain Lot Smith and
Porter Rockwell. The U.S. Army came to
the Valley after wintering at Black's Fort. The following year a treaty was
made between the Saints in Utah
and the U.S. Government. In the fall the
Saints returned to their homes without loss of life or property. In November 1858, Minerva A. Deuel and I were
united in marriage by Apostle Charles C. Rich at her father's home. Two weeks after our marriage I rented a
little house from my grandfather across the street.
"
We lived there until the spring of 1860.
Here two of our children were born.
First a son, Alma William, on
August 6the 1859 and died Nov. 22 the same year. Mary Minerva born September 19, 1860. Next spring we moved from Centerville to Morgan County. My father was President of the Branch in East Porterville.
I was called to labor as a teacher.
On Oct. 22, 1862,
Ann Eliza was born. Our next two
children we lost - Lewis Alfred and Nelson Warriner. Both died in infancy. Charles Worthy was born December 17, 1867. My father died March 3, 1868.
In the autumn and winter of 1868-9 the Union pacific Railroad came
through. I cut and hewed 500 ties for
the road. I also built on my house that
year. Orson Merritt was born July 26th, 1869. In that year I was appointed to preside over
the Porterville Branch. March 17, 1871, George
Myron was born to us. The next few years
were lean ones, for the grasshoppers were bad, eating nearly everything
green.
"I
spent the summer of 1872 hauling ore from a mine in Dry Canyon,
but I never got my pay for that work. The 29th of January 1873,
Amy Vilate was born to us. On the 10th
of February, twelve days later, the mother died. This left me with six small children to care
for. With all my losses and misfortunes,
this was the hardest to bear. I was now
alone. No one to be with me. I must paddle the canoe of life alone. The labor and trials of life were mine alone to bear."
By his daughter, Wealtha P.
Heiner:
(Same as the ending portion of the first version-acc)
For
nearly ten long years father struggled along the best he could under the
circumstances. He was both Father and
Mother to his little brood. Only those
who know sorrow through death and separation can know the loneliness and
heartache. Mary was twelve and Eliza ten
when the loss of Mother left them with the household responsibilities. Aunt Sarah Leavitt came with her four girls,
Nina, Elva, Ada,
and Teressa, and gave help and direction.
Uncle Lyman Porter's wife, Sarah, took the baby Vilate to raise.
In
the spring of 1877 Father was working in the canyon when he met with a severe
accident, breaking the thigh bone of his right leg. Doctors were scarce. Uncle Sanford Porter, Jr., who had served in
the medical corps of the Mormon Battalion, set the bone but put the bandage on
too tightly, stopping the circulation.
When the bandage was loosened, the bones slipped by each other and in
this position the bones healed to some extent, leaving him a cripple the rest
of his life. Many times he used crutches
after a hard day of work.
When
the Morgan stake was organized in July 1877, Father was ordained a Patriarch.
This office he held until death. He was
43 years old. Many beautiful and
soul-inspiring blessings were given in Morgan and other stakes under his hands,
but he power of his office and calling.
He was set-apart as a Stake High Councilman
by Albert Carrington, July
16, 1884.
By
1882, Mary and Eliza were married and had homes of their own. It is plain to see why Brother Ezra T. Clark
advised his son Hyrum to go to Porterville
and get one of Alma Porter's
daughters for a wife; Hyrum and Eliza,
the ideal couple, or so it always seemed to me.
With the girls gone, Father,
Charles, Orson, and Myron lived as bachelors for some time. Then, one morning Father lay awake in bed
pondering over his situation, wondering where he could find someone to keep
house, cook and make a home for him and the boys. A voice said him, "Go to Bishop Carter's home
and get his daughter, Jane." Meditating
upon this impression he decided to do just that. Shortly after he mounted his horse and rode
up to Bishop Carter's he thought, "If Jane meets me at the front gate she will
accept my proposal." He knew this in his
heart. Thus it happened. He told her his story, his circumstances and
also his impressions. Their courtship
was of short duration, six weeks to be exact.
He always said, "What God does He does well." They were married November 10, 1882. Father was in his forties and Mother was
nearly 19. She made a home for Father
and his boys. Yes, a home for all the
children whenever they chose to come.
She loved his children as she loved her own. A happy "Home Sweet Home" was theirs.
Father loved to dance and
used to call for the quadrille. The
French Four and Upper Reel were some of his favorite dances. Some of these old tunes they loved so much
are lost to us today. Father's life was
rich with spiritual gifts and blessings.
I have seen the sick instantly healed through his administrations. These made a lasting impression upon my
life. He was deeply religious from
childhood. To my knowledge he lived
every principle of the Gospel. His
advice and judgment were sound; his life and example were without
question. He passed away on October 27, 1903, after a
week's illness from pneumonia. His
eldest girl of the second family, Effie, had just been married three
weeks. Martha was but five months old. He accomplished more in the 69 years he lived
than anyone else I know. He was Father
of 19 children; 7 sons and 12 daughters.
