| Notes |
- RESEARCH_NOTES:
1. Pioneer Emigration:
A. Per LDS Journal of History, 21 Jun 1847, listed in the pioneer company of James S. Holman, Capt., in Charles C. Rich's Guard organized 17 Jun 1847 and arrived in SLC 2 Oct 1847. In same company are several Adairs with ages and birth dates/places:
Joseph, 41, 17 Apr 1806, Lawraceville, Lawrance, S.C. [probable cousin; Laurens Co.]
Rebecca, 32, 10 Aug 1815, Giles Co., Tenn. [Rebecca Mangum, wife of Joseph.]
Lucinda J., 6, 22 Oct 1841, Itewamly, Miss. [dau. of Joseph and Rebecca; Itawamba Co.]
Geo. W., 29, 18 Mar 1818, Tennessee.
Miriam, 20, 31 Jan 1827, Tennessee [wife of Geo.]
Emaline R., inf., 1 Mar 1847, Mt. Pisgah, Iowa [dau. of Geo. and Miriam.]
Also two Mangums:
James, 27, 6 Jan 1820, Sinclair, Ala.
Eliza Jane, 20, 11 Aug 1827, Greene, Ala.
B. 18 Feb 2006 unpublished manuscript of Norma Ricketts on a book she is working on about the 1847 pioneer crossings:
"The Charles C. Rich Company was the smallest company to leave from Winters Quarters during 1847. His company had three tens, a total of 126 people with 25 wagons. This company brought a cannon as well as artillery and ammunition, 25 kegs of black powder, the Nauvoo Temple bell, and a boat. The ammunition was ferried across the river. They left the outfitting post on the Elkhorn River June 21, and arrived in the Salt Lake Valley October 2, 1847.
Sarah DeArmon Pea Rich wrote of the death of Jacob Weatherby, a member of the Abraham O. Smoot Company. Weatherby was wounded by a Pawnee Indian at the Platte River on June 19 two days before they left the Platte River. He was taken to the nearest tent, which belonged to the Rich Company and died the next morning. Weatherby was buried near the Elkhorn River at Camp Liberty on June 20. "We fixed him a bed and did all we could to ease his pain. He suffered awful pain through the night and the next morning about nine o'clock his suffering ended in death."
Promptly at 6 o'clock on the morning of June 21, the Rich Company fired a six-pound cannon, and the wagons started out following the first hundred. As the company left Fishing Slough June 25, Captain Rich's oxen became frightened and "partly fell on my son Joseph and hurt him considerably and came nigh killing him."
The Spencer Company (Eldredge fifty) passed the Rich Company on June 28. A large party of Indians was following the companies, so Captain Rich fired the cannon twice. He noted in his journal that "all things were safe."
They reached the Platte River on June 29 and waited for some time. There were many wagons in line to cross. On July 2 they found the "Sow" cannon carried by Captain Hunter's company, abandoned on the trail with its carriage broken and tongue gone. The cannon's traveling gear was repaired and the cannon was brought along. A broken wagon axle delayed the company further. On July 9 the Rich Company overtook the Spencer and Hunter companies.
When the company arrived in buffalo country, Captain Rich shot three and the pioneers were glad to add the meat to their meager food supply. Sarah Rich wrote it was "very dangerous traveling through this country, but we were preserved from serious accident. It was a grand sight to see these herds of wild animals, thousands in a group, racing across the prairies. The fear was that they might attack us in their flight."
The company passed Chimney Rock, Nebraska, on August 1 and reached Fort Laramie, Wyoming, August 5. They traded some horses for oxen and cows. Travel was difficult because of the heat and dust. Mary Rich, who drove a wagon with another woman, wrote: "We did so well that we had our teams ready for travel at the appointed hour every day after
that until we arrived in the Valley, as regularly as the men did. We did not grieve or mourn over it, we had some very nice times when the roads were not so bad. We could make the mountains ring with our songs… we rejoiced that we were going to the Rocky Mountains where we would be free to practice our religion."
They traveled through the Black Hills with steep slopes and a shortage of water and stopped on August 13 to dig for water in a dry river bed. On August 21, the company reached the Upper Ferry of the Platte River. Their teams were very weak and an occasional ox died as the company crossed the alkali flats.
On August 26, when four oxen died, Captain Rich left behind the two boats and a wagon, stripping the wagon of its iron parts. John Taylor visited their camp and asked for extra oxen. His company had experienced the death of many oxen. Captain Rich gave him one yoke of oxen.
On an alkali desert, the Rich Company cut blocks of bicarbonate of soda from Saleratus Lake. Later in Salt Lake Valley this soda was used in making bread.
They began ascending the South Pass and reached the Continental Divide on August 31. The company noted wind, rain, and snow over the 7,000 foot pass. On the west side of the mountain there was plenty of grass and water. On. September 2 they met a small group, including eight apostles, returning to Winter Quarters from Salt Lake Valley. Several nearby companies halted and joined in a meeting with the apostles. The officers for the Salt Lake Stake were chosen, with Captain Rich as a counselor in the stake presidency, to be ordained later.
On the west side of the mountain grass and water were plentiful and the teams grew stronger. They stopped a couple of days for the birth of John President Porter on September 4. At the Big Sandy, the company lost another ox, but made steady progress to Fort Bridger, arriving September 16.
The company was slowed by several wagons with broken axles: one in Echo Canyon September 24, another in East Canyon and another a day later. They crossed Big Mountain on September 30. Captain Cherry of the first ten upset a wagon. The company became spread out as it traveled down the canyons. Captain Rich's mother, Nancy O'Neal Rich, became seriously ill. After passing Little Mountain, the Rich Company resumed the proper order and arrived in Salt Lake Valley, October 2.
Nancy O'Neal Rich, mother of Captain Rich, died October 5 in Salt Lake Valley and was buried beside the wife of Jedediah Grant, who had died on Big Mountain a few days earlier. Two babies, Catherine Frost (Sept. 16) and William Harker (Sept. 26) were born in Echo Canyon, Utah. The number after each name indicates age at time of departure from Winter Quarter.
Charles C. Rich Company, Captain. [Adair family in the company:]
Adair, Emaline Rebecca, infant Born: March 1, 1847
Adair, George Washington, 27
Adair, Joseph, 41
Adair, Lucinda Jane, 6
Adair, Miriam Jane Billingsly, 20
Adair, Rebecca Mangum, 32
Mangum, Eliza Jane Clark, 19
Mangum, James Mitchell, 27
2. Censuses:
1830 US: Pickens Co., Alabama, pages 111-112. The first three related families are all on the same page, the next four related families are on the next page, and James Adair (with son Joseph) is on p. 129:
Thos. Peeks, males 0-5:1; 5-10:1; 20-30:1; females 0-5:1; 5-10:1; 10-15:1; 30-40:1.
John Mangum, males 5-10:1; 10-15:2; 15-20:1; 60-70:1; females 0-5:1; 5-10:1; 10-15:1; 30-40:1.
Cyrus Mangum, males 20-30:1; females 0-5:1; 15-20:1.
Saml. Carson, males 20-30:1; females 20-30:1; 80-90:1.
Saml. Adair, males 20-30:1; females 20-30:1.
Thos. Adair, males 5-10:1; 10-15:1; 15-20:1; 50-60:1; females 0-5:1; 5-10:1; 10-15:1; 40-50:1.
Daniel Clark (next door), males 0-5:1; 30-40:1; females 0-5:1; 20-30:1.
James Adair, males 0-5:2; 15-20:1; 20-30:2 (Joseph b. 1806); 60-70:1; females 15-20:1; 20-30:2; 60-7-:1; no slaves.
The 1856 Utah Territorial Census was taken because Utah was trying to get statehood to avoid some of the problems that later came. As a result they wanted as many people as possible and frequently included names of everyone in a family without regard to whether they were living or dead. As a result, some of the people listed with the family may not actually have been in the household in 1856. The Adair and Mangums listed included the following heads of households in the Provo and Payson City area: George W. Adair, James Mangum, Joseph Adair (wife Rebecca), Samuel Adair, and Thomas Adair. Source for the following entry is FHL film # 505,913; Ms d 2929 fd. 32, Provo City, p. 8:
George W. Adair
Miriam "
Sarah "
George W. Jr. "
Miriam J. "
Sarah (Lanah?) "
1860 US: Beaver, Beaver, Utah, p 137, 21 Jul 1860, 1156/1033:
G.W. Adair, 42, TN, farmer, $75, $200.
Miriam, 31, TN.
Emeline R., 13, IA.
Miriam J., 8, UT.
Elijah J., 3, UT.
Jedediah, 1, UT.
1870 US: Beaver, Beaver, Utah, p. 9b, family 73, household 81 and 82 [lives with George Washington Adair, bro. of Samuel Jefferson Adair, and next door to George Washington Adair, son of Samuel Jefferson Adair, who is family 74 and household 73]:
Family
Joshua Twitchell, 28, lumberman, $200 real estate, $100 personal property, IL.
Elmina, 22, keeps house, Mississippi.
Philetus, 4, M, UT
George W. Adair, 54, shepherd, $1200 real estate, $200 personal property, Mississippi.
Miriam, 41, keeps house, TN.
Emaline R., 23, IA
Elijah, 13, UT.
Jedediah, 11, UT.
Wm. W., 9, UT.
Edw. R., 5, UT.
Ruha??, ?/12, UT. [Unclear]
1880 US: National Archives film T9-1336, p. 452C for Orderville, Kane, Utah:
George W. Adair, laborer, Self, 62, TN NC NC.
Miriam Adair, milliner, Wife, 51, TN TN TN.
William W. Adair, laborer, Son, 18, UT. [This son in the 1900 census for Orderville, Kane, Utah indicates he was born in Utah and his father in Alabama and mother in Tennessee.]
Edwin R. Adair, son,15, UT.
Rumahah V. Adair, dau., 10, UT.
Myron Adair, gson, 7, UT Eng UT.
Eliza E. Adair, dau., 5, UT.
3. Per 21 Feb 2002 website : "Charles C. Rich's Guard; Charles C. Rich, Captain; Organized June 17, 1847; Arrived in Salt Lake Valley October 2, 1847; Second Ten; James S. Holman, Captain:
a. Adair, George Washington
Born: 18 March 1818 in Smith Co., Tennessee
Son of Thomas Adair and Rebecca Brown
Married: 6 May 1846 to Miriam Billingsley
Died: 28 August 1897 in Orderville, Kane Co., Utah"
b. Adair, Emeline Rebecca
Born: 1 March 1847 in Harrison, Mt. Pisgah, Iowa
Daughter of George W. Adair and Maria Billingsley
Married to William Baldwin
Died: 3 January"
4. Children per Ancestral File v4.19:
Emaline Rebecca, b. 1 Mar 1847 Mt. Pisgah, Union, Iowa, d. 5 Jan 1927 Monroe, Sevier, Utah.
Sarah B., b. and d. 6 Jun 1849 SLC, Salt Lake City, Utah.
George Washington, b. 30 Apr 1850 SLC, Salt Lake, Utah, d. 4 Jan 1851.
Miriam Josephine, b. 20 Nov 1851 Provo, Utah, Utah, d. 1 Jan 1873 Beaver, Beaver, Utah.
Lanah Tabitha, b. 13 Jan 1854 Provo, Utah, Utah [d. 25 Jun 1859 Washington, Washington, Utah per the book "Utah's Dixie Birthplace" by Harold B. Cahoon, p. 262 who notes her death is recorded at the Washington City Cemetery].
Elijah Thomas, b. 27 Nov 1856 Provo, Utah, Utah, d. 6 Jun 1927 Enterprise, Washington, Utah.
Jedediah Grant, b. 5 Jun 1859 Washington, Washington, Utah, d. 31 Dec 1937 SLC, Salt Lake, Utah, bur. 3 Jan 1938 St. George, Wash., UT. Married Florence Ellen Fowler 1 Feb 1877 in St. George.
William Wallace, b. 11 Jan 1862 Minersville, Beaver, Utah, d. 28 Jul 1943 Kanab, Kane, Utah.
Edwin Ruthvin, b. 10 Dec 1864 Beaver, Beaver, Utah, d. 2 Feb 1942 Richfield, Sevier, Utah.
Ruhanna Victoria, b. 10 Nov 1869 Beaver, Beaver, Utah, d. 2 Sep 1898.
Eliza Estella, b. 15 Dec 1874 Beaver, Beaver, Utah, d. 20 Feb 1915 Aurora, Sevier, Utah.
5. Children reported in Ordinance Index born to George Adair and his second wife Johannah Freestone:
a. George Andrew Adair, b. 22 Nov 1881, Orderville, Kane, Utah, parents are George W. Adair and Johannah Freestone. Bapt. 21 Nov 1889, End. 22 Apr 1915 SGEOR, Sealed to Parents 7 Feb 1979 PROVO. Source appears reliable in that Ordinance Index references LDS Church membership record of a deceased individual. Social Security Death Index reports birth as 22 Nov 1881 and death Oct 1966; SSN 529-03-8863; death residence was Ogden, Utah 84402.
b. Joseph Adair, b. 10 Sep 1882, Orderville, Kane, Utah, parents are George W. Adair and Johannah Freestone. Bapt. 10 Sep 1892, End. 25 Mar 1920 MANTI, Sealed to Parents 6 Aug 1981 SLAKE. Source appears reliable in that Ordinance Index references LDS Church membership record of a deceased individual. Utah State Historical Society's web "Burials Database" indicates a Joseph Adair, b. 10 Sep 1884 in Orderville, d. 15 May 1971 at Panguitch with burial at Panguitch Cemetery 8_8_5 per sexton records and parents listed as "Johannah Freestrom and George W. Adair." Social Security Death Index reports birth as 10 Sep 1884 and death May 1971; SSN 529-32-7032; death residence was Panguitch, Utah 84759. Ancestral File reports wife as Marie Henri m. 27 Sep 1918 at Panguitch, UT.
6. From Don and Carolyn Smith, one part of three writings of Samuel Newton Adair. [As to source, Carolyn referred me to Becky Hamblin [bhamblin79@hotmail.com] to try to locate the original of this; Becky in turn believes Collins Chapman in Mesa may have it since Collins' mother is the granddaughter who hand wrote it for Samuel]: "Luna, New Mexico, January 22, 1920. I, Samuel Newton Adair, will write what I know about my father's folks. My grandfather on father's side was named Thomas Adair. He married Rebecca Brown. He lived at Lawrence County, South Carolina in 1806. My father was the oldest son of Samuel Jefferson Adair. Thomas Adair was the next oldest son. George Adair was next oldest son. John Wesley Adair was the youngest son and went with the Mormon Battalion in 1846. The girls names were Eliza Adair Price, Sally Adair Mangum, died on the plains in 1852. Mary Ann Adair Mangum married John Mangum."
7. Excerpt from a copy of biography by Ina Custer Iverson received by Email from Rowland Hinton [hinton12@isp.com] 1 Jan 2006:
"George, who had married Miriam Billingsly, was over six foot tall when grown. They thought that moving to Nauvoo would stop the persecution and went to Nauvoo in 1845, but this did not change things for them. They were driven from the state of Illinois soon after they arrived. He was given the job of driving a team in the Ira Eldrige Company on the way to Utah. They stopped one evening to camp with another company. There he met Miriam and they were married on the 6th of May 1846 in a wagon by an elder. They later over took Brigham's company at Mt. Pisgah, where they stopped to plant crops and build cabins for those that followed. In the spring of 1847, Lorenzo Snow, sent a company on west and George and Miriam joined that company. They arrived in Salt Lake Valley with Orivill Cox Company and had a very hard time of it that winter; they had to dig Sego Lilly bulbs and whatever they could find to sustain life. They were eventually asked to move to what became Provo in the state of Utah. This was not a permanent home either. They were soon asked to go to Dixie to help raise cotton. They moved to Minersville in 1862 and then to Beaver and finally to Orderville in 1875. George died there the 28 Aug 1897 and was buried there. The school children of Orderville in later years always made it a point to put flowers on George's grave. They never stopped to wonder why the tombstone had an Adair on it."
8. The following is a small excerpt of a larger listing (see Samuel Newton Adair's notes for full transcription), which was received in digital form from Don and Caroline Smith, 2003. Regardless of the title - "Family Records of Samuel Newton Adair" - I am not sure if this is really a transcript of records kept by Samuel Newton Adair or not. Some death dates given for some of the individuals are after the date Samuel Newton Adair himself died. I spoke in person with Collins Chapman of Mesa, Arizona, in Feb. of 2006. He did not recognize it. Collins' family is the source of most of the biographical information on Samuel and Collin's mother was responsible for the autobiography of Samuel Newton Adair who dictated it to her. The following came to me as an addendum to a typed copy of that autobiography; however, I have now seen a portion of the original handwritten dictation and find no such attachment. The following therefore has no documented source that I can find thus far and should be used with caution:
[A.] "Father: Thomas Adair; Mother: Rebeca Brown; Children:
Samuel Jefferson Adair
Fairby Adair
Margaret Adair
Eliza Adair
Sally Adair
Thomas Adair
George Washington Adair
Mary Ann Adair
John Wesley Adair
Laney Adair"
[B.] "Thomas Adair – Married Rebeca Brown:
Samuel Jefferson Adair - Born at Lawrence Co., South Carolina, March 28, 1806. Baptized by Elder John Dowdle, Nov. 27, 1845. Confirmed by Elder John Dowdle, Nov. 30, 1845. Ordained an Elder by Daniel Thomas, a High Priest by John Young in 1855. Married Jamima Mangum. Filled a mission to Southern Utah in 1857. Migrated Mississippi to Nauvoo, Illinois on Jan. 10, 1846. Died at Nutrioso, Apache County, Arizona, July 6, 1889.
Fairby Adair - married Daniel Clark
Margaret Adair - married William Richey
Eliza Adair - married John Price
Sally Adair - married William Mangum. Died of cholera on the Plains in 1852.
Thomas Adair - married Fanny Rogers. Died at Showlow, Navajo County, Arizona.
George Washington Adair - married Miriam Billingsley. Died at Orderville, Utah.
Mary Ann Adair - born at Pickens co., Alabama, July 5, 1824. Baptized by James Richey, 1844. Confirmed by Daniel Thomas in 1844. Married John Mangum. Endowed at Endowment House, Salt Lake City. Died of asthma at Pahreah, Utah.
John Wesley Adair - born in 1820. Died at Nutrioso, Apache County, Arizona. Was a member of the Mormon Battalion.
Laney Adair - married John Winn."
BIOGRAPHY:
1. Lifesketch of John Mangum, Mary Ann Adair, and their son John Wesley Mangum by Venne Francis Mangum Fox, great granddaughter of John, as published in the Graff Family Historical Society Newsletter of 1 Jan 1964 (see entire text in file 170) - some excerpts: "My great grandfather, John Mangum, was born June 10, 1817, at Pisgey, St. Clara Co., Alabama. When just a boy his parents and family moved to Iowa where he grew to a young man of 21. Then he met a lovely girl, Mary Ann Adair, dau. of Thomas Adair, and married her Jan. 1841. After they were married, they moved to Itawaniba, Miss., ..." Story is extensive and talks about early days in So. Utah, settling of Kanab, Jacob Hamblin, George Adair, etc.
2. The book "A Mormon Chronicle: The Diaries of John D. Lee, 1848-1876" edited by Robert Glass Cleland and Juanita Brooks:
V. 1, p. 315 [Note: this Geo. Adair is most likely the uncle of George, the son of Samuel Jefferson Adair, because he lived in Minersville at that time {approx 1860 to 1864}; see his biography notes.]: "Parowan. Mond., June 4th [3rd], 1861. I brakefasted with Bishop Warren. At 6 P.M. the Prest. & suite was on the Role for Minersville. At 12 reached the Mountain Springs, dis 15 ms. & at 3 P.M. reached Minersville, dis. 17 1/2 ms. At this as well as at most of the other Places the Prest. [Brigham Young] & suite were entertained at private Houses. I & my Bishop dined with Bro. Geo. Adair. At 5 Eving Prest. Preached at Meeting House upon the Subject of Economy, Said that this Kingdom was Temporal as well as a Spiritual Kingdom, that Preaching & Praying was not building up the Kingdom. Preaching was only to Encourage men to do right. Praying was that they Might be kept from sining &c.; that he would not give lb. of Lead for all the Preaching & Praying without works &c. To build good Houses & shingle them & get out the minrals &c."
3. From website <<http://www.softcom.net/users/paulandsteph/tjadair/descendants.html>: "Written by his son, William Wallas Adair, April 1940 (edited by Calvin Andrus and contributed by Ben Parkinson):
"A pioneer of 1847, George Washington Adair was born March 18, 1818 at West Carthage, Lincoln County, Tennessee. His father, Thomas Jefferson Adair, was born 25 October 1771 in North Charleston, Lawrence County [note: no such county, prob. Charleston Co.], South Carolina. His Mother was Rebecca Brown born 3 November 1776, Nashville, Davidson Co., Tennessee. George's family moved considerable during his childhood as they lived in Indiana, Tennessee and Alabama during the next seventeen years. During his early life in Alabama he was an overseer on a plantation for some time. This was during the slavery days. During this time he, with other men, would go from place to place to cradle grain. He was a great man with a grain cradle as grandfather was both tall and strong. Several men would go into a grain patch to cut it down, one man would stand several yards ahead, then the rest would follow. Each would cut a swath and so on and thus the grain was cut with other men behind to bind the grain. If a man could catch up and crowd the first man out then he would have to step back. They would all try to see who could crowd the other out. Grandfather took head swath on many occasions, as he was one of the best cradlers. A cradle is a frame attached to a scythe for laying grain evenly as it was cut. All the grain had to be cut that way. George moved to Nauvoo after the martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph Smith (June 27, 1844) but before the saints left that city. The great body of the saints left Nauvoo in February and April 1846. George was in General McIntosh's company as guard to the city of Nauvoo. General McIntosh was not a member of the church. He married Miriam Billingsly 6 May 1846. Came to Salt Lake in October 1847 and lived in Sugarhouse. They later moved to Minersville, Utah and then about 1864 he moved to Beaver, Utah. While at Beaver he did a great deal of farming. He had a piece of land on the North Creek and raised beautiful wheat. Then the black crickets came and we fought them for several days with every chick of us big enough to wield a brush had to help. Ditches were dug and water run into them and the crickets were herded into the ditches, thrashing out with all our strength. Most of the wheat was saved. George was an excellent woodchopper and rail-splitter, he split rails in the south and did lots of wood chopping of cordwood and saw logs. He cut lots of cordwood for soldiers' camps and mining camps to run the smelters. Cove Fort was built while they lived in Beaver and George worked on the Fort. He sent his oldest son to work on the St. George Temple. Their move to Orderville, Kane County, Utah started in July 1878, arriving on July 20. The people persuaded them to remain until after the 24 of July celebration instead of going on to Arizona, where they had intended to go, and they stayed on and joined the United Order, turning into the Order all he had, cows, team and wagon, household belongings, etc. Edwin and I drove the cows while moving. The stock raising industry was where my father was placed in the Order and each of us was placed where we would do the most good. Father was also a good stonemason and could also make shoes. Orderville is located in what was then called Long Valley, and is four miles south of Glendale and two miles north of Mt. Carmel, Kane County, Utah. Orderville was laid out on February 20, 1875 and building began. They built lumber shanties in the form of a square fort with a large dining hall in the center where every one ate together as one large family. Their religious and social gatherings were also held here. At first there were one hundred and eighty persons and they were those who were willing and eager to enter this form of life. It was not long before this group increased to five hundred and forty six persons by 1877. The people in the Order fostered all kinds of industry thus making the community self-supporting. They had farms, orchards, dairies, stockyards, shepherds, blacksmiths, carpenters, shoe shops, bakeries, sawmill, gristmill, molasses mill, bucket factory, tannery, woolen factory and a copper shop. My brother, Jedediah was a blacksmith. Father and mother and their oldest daughter Emaline, and also Ruhamah went to Salt Lake to the Jubilee in 1897. One day he was with some of the pioneer men and since every thing was free to the pioneers, they wanted to get a drink in a saloon. They each called for what they wanted, some wine, some beer, but when it came to father he ordered a glass of buttermilk. He was the only one that didn't drink on that occasion. It was a busy time in the order and at one time when father was chopping logs at the saw mill where the crowd was telling how they chopped logs. One big fellow was telling how he and his companion would pitch in and cut the tree down so fast then would sit on the log and rest. This bothered father so he said, "By Gum, I chop a tree down and chop it up before I sit down to rest." Father was a great hand to say "By Gum" but that was the worst swear word he ever used, the crowd had a good laugh. When I was sixteen years of age and father sent me to House Rock (the other side of the forest near Grand Canyon) in charge of a herd of sheep. Father, Isaac Losee and I moved the herd out there. The frost would fall every day until noon while we were crossing the Kaibab Mountain. Old settlers said it was the coldest winter they'd ever known. We stayed through the winter and went home in the spring. When father was seventy years old and I was twenty-six, we were chopping logs at a sawmill. Father said to me, "Do you want to chop alone, or do you want to chop with me?" I thought if I helped father a little it would not be so hard for him and would not hurt me so I answered, "I think I'll chop with you, if it is alright. We went out and started on a big tree, he on one side and I on the other side. It made me puff and blow just to keep up with him, let alone get ahead of him. Before long he said, "Well my chips are in," and I was not near the center where it was considered "the chips are in." Father helped guard against the Indians in the early days in Utah and could have received a pension if a record of his time had been kept and presented, but no record was kept. Father was an alternate in the High Council in the Kanab Stake and filled many positions in the church. He was a great lover of Brigham Young. The St. George Temple was dedicated in 1877 and that year father and his brothers went there to do work for their dead and to have their own sealings done. There was much misunderstanding by members regarding this work in the early days of the church and many mistakes were made. It seemed that they understood that they could not be sealed to their own father because he had not been a member of the church. So while I was on a mission in the St. George Temple in 1912 my sister Emaline sent me the records and I had all of father's brothers and sisters sealed to their own father and mother. Father died from the effect of a fall. He was riding on a two-wheel cart and fell backward striking his head. The stroke did not come until one month after the accident. Death came August 28, 1897 just a month after returning from the fiftieth anniversary of the arrival of the saints into the Salt Lake Valley. He was seventy-nine years old. At father's funeral, Charles Negus Carroll, one of those who spoke said, "We can say with truth, there lays an honest man." What greater tribute can be paid any man? [Some grammar, punctuation, and spellings were modernized by David Calvin Andrus (George's g. g. g. grandson) November 2001, while converting the narrative to electronic format from a typescript Sharon Adair Andrus made in the 1970s.]"
4. "Written by his son, William Wallace Adair, April 1940 (edited by Calvin Andrus and contributed by Ben Parkinson). [Kerry's note: I have another very similar typed version which is entitled "George Washington Adair, Pioneer of 1847 - Told by his son William Wallace Adair to Wilma Adair, April 1940. I note material differences in [brackets] as noted in the following text. Also note that the one document, presumably the more original version, never uses the middle name Jefferson for George's father Thomas Adair. Many family researchers, myself included, believe that Jefferson was never part of his name but was in the name of his son Thomas Jefferson Adair, Jr. only. Also note the county of Thomas birth is called Laurence - this should be Laurens Co. which was not so named until several years after the birth of Thomas, Sr. In the colonial days of South Carolina, large parts of the state were called North Charleston and were not necessarily part of Charles Town as it was then known.]:
'A pioneer of 1847, George Washington Adair was born March 18, 1818 at West Carthage, Lincoln County, Tennessee [Gibson County, Tennessee]. His father, Thomas Jefferson [Jefferson does not appear in other version] Adair, was born 25 October 1771 in North Charleston, Lawrence County, South Carolina [and died in 1858. He was baptized February 14, 1877, and endowment work was done July 5, 1877 by Samuel Jefferson Adair, a son.] His Mother was Rebecca Brown born 3 November 1776, Nashville, Davidson Co., Tennessee [variant: North Charleston, South Carolina] [and died in February 1847. They were married in 1794.]
George's family moved considerable during his childhood as they lived in Indiana, Tennessee and Alabama during the next seventeen years. [His second sister was born in Tennessee in 1807.] During his early life in Alabama he was an overseer on a plantation for some time. This was during the slavery days. During this time he, with other men, would go from place to place to cradle grain. He was a great man with a grain cradle as grandfather was both tall and strong. Several men would go into a grain patch to cut it down, one man would stand several yards ahead, then the rest would follow. Each would cut a swath and so on and thus the grain was cut with other men behind to bind the grain. If a man could catch up and crowd the first man out then he would have to step back. They would all try to see who could crowd the other out. Grandfather took head swath on many occasions, as he was one of the best cradlers. A cradle is a frame attached to a scythe for laying grain evenly as it was cut. All the grain had to be cut that way. [One day he worked hard. That night he sat up with his girl. He had his head turned to the girl talking and petting as boys do. The next morning his neck was stiff.]
[In those days if they wanted whiskey they could have it. they had the best; they'd take honey with it.]
George moved to Nauvoo after the martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph Smith (June 27, 1844) but before the saints left that city. The great body of the saints left Nauvoo in February and April 1846. George was in General McIntosh's company as guard to the city of Nauvoo. General McIntosh was not a member of the church.
[Father had a flint lock gun. He told the following story about the mobbers. The mobbers were riding along and passed a man with a flint lock rifle. He was sitting behind a log. He tried to shoot but the trigger had to be snapped several times fefore the fire would get into the pan. He laid the gun over the log to shoot, but the mobbers saw ihm before he could get his gut to shoot. The leader of the mob said, 'If you don't get out someone will get shot,' meaning themselves. The mobbers left.]
[He was baptized and confirmed December 25, 1844 by James Richey. He was ordained a Seventy in 1845, and a High Priest in 1875.]
[He was married to Mother on the banks of the Missouri River before they got to Mt. Pisgah. Miriam Billingsley, with her family had joined them from Tennessee where they had been converted. theyh arrived at Mt. Pisgah in May or June and stayed there the winter of 1846. Emaline, the oldest daughter was born there March 1, 1847. Brigham Young came to Utah in July 1847. Father with others came in the C.C. Rich Company in September 1847.]
[Father and Mother were sealed in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City, Utah, September 7, 1852. She was born January 31, 1829 at Trenton, Gibson Co., Tennessee and died at Aurora, Sevier Co., Utah. She was the daughter of Elijah R. Billingsley and Emeline Northcott (descendent of Pocohontas Northcott). She was baptized September 9, 1845 by Bryant Nawline. Also confirmed the same day by Bryant Nawline.]
He married Miriam Billingsly 6 May 1846. Came to Salt Lake in October 1847 and lived in Sugarhouse. [Father moved to Provo when Johnstone's Army came to Utah, then to Washington and Minersville.] They later moved to Minersville, Utah and then about 1864 he moved to Beaver, Utah. While at Beaver he did a great deal of farming. He had a piece of land on the North Creek and raised beautiful wheat. Then the black crickets came and we fought them for several days with every chick of us big enough to wield a brush had to help. Ditches were dug and water run into them and the crickets were herded into the ditches, thrashing out with all our strength. Most of the wheat was saved.
George was an excellent woodchopper and rail-splitter, he split rails in the south and did lots of wood chopping of cordwood and saw logs. He cut lots of cordwood for soldiers' camps and mining camps to run the smelters. [Henry W. Esplin said he was one of the best at chopping during and after the order.]
Cove Fort was built while they lived in Beaver and George worked on the Fort. He sent his oldest son to work on the St. George Temple. Their move to Orderville, Kane County, Utah started in July 1878, arriving on July 20 [where his wife's father and mother lived]. The people persuaded them to remain until after the 24 of July celebration instead of going on to Arizona, where they had intended to go, and they stayed on and joined the United Order, turning into the Order all he had, cows, team and wagon, household belongings, etc. Edwin and I drove the cows while moving. [He lived in Orderville until the time of his death, August 28, 1897. He died from the effects of a fall hurting his head.]
The stock raising industry was where my father was placed in the Order and each of us was placed where we would do the most good. Father was also a good stonemason and could also make shoes.
Orderville is located in what was then called Long Valley, and is four miles south of Glendale and two miles north of Mt. Carmel, Kane County, Utah. Orderville was laid out on February 20, 1875 and building began. They built lumber shanties in the form of a square fort with a large dining hall in the center where every one ate together as one large family. Their religious and social gatherings were also held here.
At first there were one hundred and eighty persons and they were those who were willing and eager to enter this form of life. It was not long before this group increased to five hundred and forty six persons by 1877. The people in the Order fostered all kinds of industry thus making the community self-supporting. They had farms, orchards, dairies, stockyards, shepherds, blacksmiths, carpenters, shoe shops, bakeries, sawmill, gristmill, molasses mill, bucket factory, tannery, woolen factory and a copper shop. My brother, Jedediah was a blacksmith.
Father and mother and their oldest daughter Emaline, and also Ruhamah went to Salt Lake to the Jubilee in 1897 [commemorating the arrival of the Pioneers in Utah]. One day he was with some of the pioneer men and since every thing was free to the pioneers, they wanted to get a drink in a saloon. They each called for what they wanted, some wine, some beer, but when it came to father he ordered a glass of buttermilk [so they rustled it. They sent out and got it.] He was the only one that didn't drink on that occasion.
It was a busy time in the order and at one time when father was chopping logs at the saw mill where the crowd was telling how they chopped logs. One big fellow was telling how he and his companion would pitch in and cut the tree down so fast then would sit on the log and rest. This bothered father so he said, "By Gum, I chop a tree down and chop it up before I sit down to rest." Father was a great hand to say "By Gum" but that was the worst swear word he ever used, the crowd had a good laugh.
When I was sixteen years of age and father [was 60, he was sent] to House Rock (the other side of the forest near Grand Canyon) in charge of a herd of sheep. Father, Isaac Losee and I moved the herd out there. The frost would fall every day until noon while we were crossing the Kaibab Mountain. Old settlers said it was the coldest winter they'd ever known. We stayed through the winter and went home in the spring.
When father was seventy years old and I was twenty-six, we were chopping logs at a sawmill. Father said to me, "Do you want to chop alone, or do you want to chop with me?" I thought if I helped father a little it would not be so hard for him and would not hurt me so I answered, "I think I'll chop with you, if it is alright. We went out and started on a big tree, he on one side and I on the other side. It made me puff and blow just to keep up with him, let alone get ahead of him. Before long he said, "Well my chips are in," and I was not near the center where it was considered "the chips are in."
Father helped guard against the Indians in the early days in Utah and could have received a pension if a record of his time had been kept and presented, but no record was kept.
Father was an alternate in the High Council in the Kanab Stake and filled many positions in the church. He was a great lover of Brigham Young.
[He saw in a dream the depot in Milford, as it later was. He also saw in a dream walls in the creek, as the rock wall built built by the C.C.C. boys.]
The St. George Temple was dedicated in 1877 and that year father and his brothers went there to do work for their dead and to have their own sealings done. There was much misunderstanding by members regarding this work in the early days of the church and many mistakes were made. [His older brothers wanted to be sealed to John D.T. McAllister. Father didn't like that, but he had to give up.]
It seemed that they understood that they could not be sealed to their own father because he had not been a member of the church. [They had all the family sealed to John D.T. McAllister, who was a member of the Church.] So while I was on a mission in the St. George Temple in 1912 my sister Emaline sent me the records and I had all of father's brothers and sisters sealed to their own father [Thomas Adair] and mother.
Father died from the effect of a fall. He was riding on a two-wheel cart and fell backward striking his head. The stroke did not come until one month after the accident. Death came August 28, 1897 just a month after returning from the fiftieth anniversary of the arrival of the saints into the Salt Lake Valley. He was seventy-nine years old. At father's funeral, Charles Negus Carroll, one of those who spoke said, "We can say with truth, there lays an honest man." What greater tribute can be paid any man?
[Father and Mother had the following children:
Emaline Rebecca, March 1, 1847, Mt. Pisgah.
Sarah B., June 6, 1849, Salt Lake City.
George Washington, April 30, 1850, Salt Lake City.
Miriam Josephine, November 20, 1851, Provo, Utah.
Lanah Tabitha, January 13, 1854, Provo, Utah.
Elijah Thomas, November 1856, Provo, Utah.
Jedidiah D., June 5, 1859, Washington.
William Wallace, January 11, 1862, Minersville.
Edwin Ruthvin, December 10, 1864, Beaver.
Ruhama Victora, November 10, 1869, Beaver.
Estella Eliza, December 15, 1874, Beaver.]
(Some grammar, punctuation, and spellings were modernized by David Calvin Andrus (George's g.g.g. grandson) November 2001, while converting the narrative to electronic format from a typescript Sharon Adair Andrus made in the 1970s.)"
5. "Incidents from the History of William Wallace Adair," by Miriam Bergetta Adair Covington 1940:
"From my earliest recollection he was one of the leading dramatic workers in our community, carrying the heavy role in such plays as "Uncle Tom's Cabin", "East Lynn" and "Ten Nights in a Bar room." Scarcely a play was produced in those early days without his help. He has an exceptional reading voice. One of the things I always looked forward to as a child was gathering around the fire and listening to the clear, dramatic voice of father as he poured out scene after scene of some continued story from the old "Juvenile Instructor" or "Contributor."
During school season at night we would all gather around the table for our study period. And if we had any hard mathematic problem to solve father was always able to help us. I never will forget the year I graduated. Father was taking care of the school building so he attended school with us. He was in the classes with my two older brothers and myself. It was very interesting all of us working together, sometime pouring over our studies until long after mid-night. Although, he had but little scholastic training he has become a self-educated man, able to mingle in the society of the cultured, and to discuss intelligently political, economic, social and religious issues. The family moved to Logan, Utah to attend college one year.
Always progressive he took advantage of every opportunity for education and refinement. I well remember the old singing school conducted by Jesse Carling where we learned to read music by sight with only the tuning fork to give us the pitch. Also a dramatic class where we were taught oral expression. These were all enjoyed by the family unit. Also our dancing parties were never complete without father and mother.
Father has a keen, comprehensive mind, capable of understanding the deeper mysteries of life, and also a keen wit, enabling him to see and appreciate the humorous side of life, by which he was able to touch the lives of a great variety of people. And being a public spirited man he has given much real service in the communities in which he has lived, having served in many civic capacities. The foremost of these are: Town and County Judge, Juvenile Court Judge, Health Officer, and on many important committees. He has been County Chairman of the Republican Party for many years.
He is liberal with his time and means for any public enterprise, and has helped to build chapels, schools, recreational centers and other public works where he has resided.
He loves anything of a cultural nature and has always used his influence to inspire his children to seek the fine, noble things of life. He has been a kind, loving father and a devoted husband.
Above all he is a faithful Latter-day Saint. Honoring the Priesthood which he holds, he has had great power given him in officiating in sacred ordinances, such as the administration to the sick. Being humble and prayerful, and having great faith he has been entitled to special favors from the Lord. I have never known my father to neglect family prayer morning and evening.
In September 1911, he and his wife were called as missionaries to the St. George Temple, where they labored for two years, being released July 1, 1913. In this capacity he was especially useful because of his good memory, fine voice and ability to meet people. He had the record at that time of doing more baptisms than any other worker preceding him. After their release from the Temple they sold their home in Orderville and went to Kanab where conditions were more favorable for his trade (plastering). Here they established another home. His great desire is to go back to the Temple and resume his work for his departed ancestors. At this writing he is 78 years of age.
September 3, 1916 he was sustained as 2nd councilor to Bishop Israel Chamberlain of the Kanab Ward in which position he labored for six years, released with the rest of the Bishopric January 1, 1922.
His life from the cradle to the present has been one of hardship and struggle, but out of it all has emerged a man. Such as are essential in establishing great empires. The type the author had in mind when he wrote:
God give us men. A time like this demands
Strong minds, great hearts, true faith, a ready hand,
Men whom the lust of office cannot kill;
Men whom the spoils of office cannot buy;
Men who possess opinions, and a will;
Men who have honor; men who will not lie;
Men who can stand before a demagogue
And damn it's treacherous flatteries without winking,
Tall men, sun-crowned, who live above the fog
In public duty and in private thinking.
Funeral services were held for William Wallace Adair in the Kanab North Chapel at 6 P. M. the Choir sang, "Oh My Father," prayer by Jacob H. Crosby; vocal duet "The Lord is My Shepherd" Uzell Teitjan and Shirley Rust; Speaker Bishop Israel H. Chamberlain; Vocal duet "Lead me all the Way," Reed Cram and Boyd McAllister; Speaker Julius S. Dalley: vocal duet "When you come: End of a Perfect Day" Isobell Rust and Maittie Tietjen; Speaker Bishop Joseph S. Johnson. The grave was dedicated by Marcellus Johnson. Interment the Kanab Cemetery. Flower girls were Norma A. Hamblin and daughters, Jacqueline, Charlene and Sharon, Pauline Frost, Grace Johnson, Lena A. Brinkerhoff and Wilma Adair. Pall Bearers were high priests Marcellus Johnson, Myron A. Holgate, Israel H. Chamberlain, Joseph S. Johnson, Jacob Crosby, Clifton Young.
- Kane County Standard."
6. From Daughters of Utah Pioneers' booklet "Pioneer Health Care," the article "A Miracle in the Desert" by Josephine Jones, pp. 13, 14: "My pioneer mother was not unlike the others, and throughout the entire territory the need of sugar became very great. However, faith carried them on, and their faith was rewarded as in days of old when manna was sent to the Israelites as they traveled in the wilderness; so now these children in this wilderness were sent manna in the form of goneydew on the trees along the banks of the Provo River. The personal journal of Lucy M. Smith gives the following account of this blessing: 'We had a dry, warm spring and summer, and we were very destitute of sweets; so the Good Provider sent goneydew on the cottonwoods and willow leaves. Brother George Adair and wife, Sister Dannay, and myself took the necessary utensils, went along the bushes, cut boughs, washed off the sugar flakes into tubs, strained the sap, cleansed with milk and eggs, then skimmed it as it boiled. I understood the process necessary, as I had seen my mother manufacture sugar from maple sap. We worked for two days and made fifty pounds of nice sugar besides feasting on pancakes and molasses and making a quantity of candy for the children. Brother Adair carried our tithing to the bishop. He said ours was the best brought in. He wished to know the reason. Brother Adair told him that he had an old sugar hand along that knew the business.'"
7. Major autobiography with lots of references to Mangums, Richeys, and Adairs and their history by James Richey [see his notes for transcription] speaks of his relatives: "I left the crop that I had planted with my Father's family, there were only two of us, my wife and myself. Some of my relatives had come on from Pisgah in the company of Charles F. Rich and family on their way to the west. The names of our relatives are as follows: Joseph Adair and wife, Rebecca, sister of my wife; [Note: this is our Aunt Rebecca Mangum who married Joseph Adair and also Thomas Adair, according to Mangum book.) James Mangum and wife; George Adair and wife; [George Adair the brother of Samuel Jefferson Adair] and a lad by the name of Harvey Cla**(?) and also my sister Emily. We left Winter Quarters and went out into a river called the Horn and where people were organized into companies of hundreds and fifties and tens."
8. Note: ten names of the first men to Dixie were among Adairs, Mangums, Richeys, and Prices who were all interrelated by marriage. Excerpt taken from book "Under Dixie Skies," a history of Washington County, Utah [similar accounts are found in the books "I Was Called to Dixie" by Andrew Karl Larson, 1961, p. 67 and "A History of Washington County, From Isolation to Destiny," by Douglas D. Alder and Karl F. Brooks, pp. 28, 29]: "(Samuel Adair) In keeping with Brigham Young's policy of making the Church self-sustaining, a company was called to settle on the Mill Creek (which is now part of Washington Co.) primarily for the purpose of raising cotton. What should be more logical than to send men who had had experience in cotton culture? A number of converts who came from the South were accordingly called to go into what was later known as Utah's Dixie. Two groups went in the spring of 1857. The first group, consisting of ten families under the leadership of Samuel Adair [apparently, Robert D. Covington and Samuel J. Adair were the leaders of two groups, who were called to the 'Cotton Mission'], left Payson, Utah on the 3rd of March and arrived at the site of what was subsequently called Washington on the 15th day of April. They camped near the river on a piece of land later designated as the "Sand Plot," but on the advice of Amasa Lyman, who was passing through on his way from San Bernardino to Salt lake City, they moved up to the place where the town now stands. The second company [under Covington] left Salt lake City early in April and camped on the 5th of May at the Samuel Adair Spring, on the east side of the valley, just a short distance north of the present US highway 91. The following were members of the two original companies and others who settled at Washington in 1857. Robert D. Covington, Harrison Pearce, James B. Regran [or Reagan], Willam B. [or R.] Slade, Joseph Smith, William Hawley, John Couch Sr., John Couch Jr., John Mangum, James [B.] Wilkins, Alfred Johnson, John W. Freeman, James D. McCullough, William H. Crawford, Umpstead Rencher, Balus Spouse [or Sprouse], James Richie [or Richey], Samuel Adair, Oscar Tyler, George Spencer, Jr., J. Holden, Joseph Adair, Joseph Hatfield, William Dameron, Preston Thomas, William Fream, George [W.] Adair, [Samuel?] Newton Adair, John Clark, Thomas W. Smith, Simes [or Sims] B. Matheny, Stephen and William Dugas [or Duggins], William J. Young, Enoch Dodge, John Price, and Robert Lloyd. William Darby Cooper was also an early settler. [Bleak, 'Annals of the Southern Utah Mission,' p. 34, the heads of the families listed by Bleak also include in addition to those above: Upstead Rencher, George Hawley, John Hawley, John Adair, Thomas Adair, J. Holden, William Mangum. Later research by Harold Cahoon of the Washington City Historical Society has added the following names to the original settler list: Newton L.N. Adair [Samuel Newton Adair?], John W. Clark, James Nichols Mathews, Gabriel R. Coley, and John D. Lee.] The trial that the settlers of Washington, in Washington Co., were to endure were probably the most discouraging and severe of any of the early settlers of Utah. When Robert Gardiner passed through the town on his way to settle in St. George in December 1861, he reflected that of all the trials he had to endure, the prospect of his wives and children one day looking like the poor malaria plagued creatures he saw in Washington was what appalled him most of all. He says in his journal: 'Here we found some of our old neighbors who received us very kind but the appearance of these brethren and their wives and children was rather discouraging. Nearly all of them had the fever and ague or chills as they called it in this country. They had worked hard and worn out their clothes and had replaced them from the cotton they had raised on their own farms which their women had carded, spun, and wove by had, colored with weeds. Men's shirts, women's dresses and sunbonetts were all made of the same piece; and their clothes and their faces were of the same color, being a kind of blue, as most everyone had the chills. This tried me more than anything I have had seen in my Mormon experience thinking that my wives and Children, from the nature of the climate, would have to look as sickly as those now around me.' This coupled with the trouble and struggle they had trying to build a dam in the Virgin River for irrigation purposes, which was washed out every spring, made the life of the saints that settled Washington probably the most trying of any early settlers." The book "History of Washington County" adds: "Their new home was to be called Washington, as determined in advance by Brigham Young and his counselors, Its location was also fixed - the benchland overlooking the Washington fields. The town was located near several fine springs which have favored the community above others in Dixie. The fields likewise provided a lush expanse of farmland. Washington appeared to have advantages over other communities, but this did not prove to be so. Those broad fields were formed by ancient floods; and modern floods would haunt Washington - not the town but the irrigation projects. And the springs created marshes. There insects would spread malaria. So the Washington Saints were spared little; their plight, fighting malaria and rebuilding washed-out dams, would equal, if not surpass, the tests their neighbors encountered."
9. There are two George Washington Adairs, one being the brother and the other the son of Samuel Jefferson Adair, associated with Washington, Utah and the following may be a composite of both:
Two monuments erected in Washington, Washington, Utah:
a. "Adair Spring, The Birthplace of Utah's Dixie, Washington City, Utah - Erected by the citizens of Washington City & The Washington City Historical Society, 1996. In early 1857 Brigham Young called a group of Southerners on a cotton mission to Southern Utah to raise cotton. Samuel Newton Adair [this is a mistake; should be Samuel Jefferson Adair], the leader of ten families, arrived at this spot April 15, 1857, after leaving Payson, Utah on March 3. They camped here a short time and then moved down near the Virgin River on what became known as the Sand Plot. Apostle Amasa M. Lyman who was passing through the area recommended they move back to the spring area which they did. Robert Dockery Covington arrived here May 5 or 6, 1857, with 28 more Southern families. They left the Salt Lake area shortly after the LDS Spring Conference held around April 6. On May 6 or 7 a two day meeting was held at this site under the direction of Isaac C. Haight, President of the Parowan Stake. They sang songs, prayed and selected Robert D. Covington to be the President of the LDS branch, and Harrison Pearce and James B. Reagan as assistants. Wm. R. Slade and James D. McCullough were appointed Justices of the Peace, John Hawley and James Matthews as constables, G.R. Coley as stray pound keeper and Wm. R. Slade, Geo. Hawley and G.W. Spencer as school trustees. They named their city Washington. It was too late to plant wheat, so they prepared the ground for corn and went right to work making dams and ditches to water their crops. Their homes were their wagon boxes, willow and mud huts and dugouts dug in the bank east of this monument. Their new home soon was called 'Dixie'. Those who came in the spring of 1857 were: [43 names listed "and others; the following names are those related.] Adair, George W.; Adair, John M.; Adair, Joseph; Adair, Newton (L.N.)[Samuel Newton]; Adair, Samuel [Jefferson]; Adair, Thomas; Mangum, John; Mangum, William; Price, John; Rickey [Richey], James."
b. "'Utah's Dixie' - Washington City Founded 1857. Erected by the Washington City Historical Society, November 1994. This monument is erected in honor and memory of the founders of Washington City. The settlers who arrived in 1857 were sent here by Brigham Young, president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, for the purpose of growing cotton to clothe the Mormon pioneers and to colonize the territory. Those early pioneers named their city on May 5 or 6, 1857 in honor of George Washington and also called the area 'Dixie' in remembrance of their former homes in the South. Living in the arid desert proved extremely difficult. Reoccurring challenges such as malaria (ague or chills and fever), the lack of food, poor water, and other diseases disabled and decimated the settlers. The Virgin River, providing water to irrigate fields, was crucial to the settlers. However frequent flash floods, washed out the dams built to divert water from the river to the fields. This resulted in starvation and undue hardship. It took the pioneers thirty-four years to conquer the mighty "Rio Virgin" doing so with the completion of the Washington Fields Dam in 1891. [Pioneer names arranged into three groups; 43 'and others' in 1857, 19 in 1860, and 26 'and others' in 1861-62. The names that follow are only those related.]
i. 1857: Adair, George W.; Adair, John M.; Adair, Joseph; Adair, Newton (L.N.) [Samuel Newton]; Adair, Samuel [Jefferson]; Adair, Thomas; Mangum, John; Mangum, William; Price, John; Richey, James.
ii. 1860 US: Adair, Wesley; Mangum, Cyrus; Mangum, Joseph M.
iii. 1861-62: [none]."
10. The book "Utah's 'Dixie' Birthplace," by Harold P. Cahoon and Priscilla Cahoon, p. 261, in speaking of George: "He moved to Minersville, Utah, and to Beaver, Utah in 1864. In Beaver he was a good farmer but one year the crickets just about wiped him out. Cove Fort was built while they lived in Beaver, and he sent his oldest son to work on the St. George Temple (1871-1877). Their move to Orderville started in July 1878 and he spent many years in Orderville living under the United Order. He was robust even at the age of 70 and could chop wood with the best of them. He had a fall which contributed to his death on August 23, 1897. What is unusual in this record is that there is no mention of his coming to Washington in 1857. He is recorded as a member of the 38 families that came to Washington in April or May 1857 [this is not necessarily true because the leader of the group was George's brother, Samuel Jefferson Adair, who also had a grown son named George Washington Adair]. He also had a child born in Washington on the 5 June 1859. There is no record of him owning any land in Washington but he certainly must have had a place to live until he left for Minersville in 1864. In the 1860 census he does not appear so where he was or what he did between 1857 and 1864 is not known from the information we have... There is also a Lanah Tabitha Adair buried in Washington who was born 13 January 1854 and died 25 June 1859 whose parents were George and Miriam Adair. The George W. Adair family must have been in Washington from 1857 to about 1863 but it is not known where... Quoting from Reference 3A [Miriam Billingsly Adair's history written by a granddaughter], 'It is not known if they moved to Washington, Washington County at this time but my father (Jedediah Adair) was born there on June 5, 1859, and then they moved to Minersville when my father was a small boy.' Their next child was born 11 January 1862 in Minersville... Jedediah Grant Adair's history is also very sparse on the family's stay in Washington. Reference No. 2A [Jedediah Adair written by himself Dec. 10, 1934. SLC, Utah] states 'I was born June 5, 1859, in Washington, Washington County, Utah. My first remembrance of my parents was when they lived in a twelve-by-fifteen shed-roof adobe house. My mother did all the cooking over an open fire in the fireplace, as we had no stove. My parents then moved to Minersville..." Also references "George Washington Adair by his son William Wallas Adair, April 1940."
11. LDS Church History Department, Iowa Branch Index, 1839-1859, Mt. Pisgah Branch, 1846:
G. W. Adair
S. Adair [probably Samuel].
12. Source of handwritten biography unknown but a copy is in my possession. Spelling and punctuation by original author with corrections in brackets:
"History of the life of George Washington Adair. George Washington Adair was born March 18, 1818 in Tennesee. His father was Thomas Adair. His mother was Rebecca Brown. He was familiar with the early persecutions of the Church. He joined the saints in the journey to the Mts. and was given the job of driver of a team in Ira Eldredge's company. George was a very large man, being very powerful. He wore a beard, and a man that could be depended upon.
In traveling across the country they stopped to make camp one night where some other saints were camped and around the camp fire he met a young lady by the name of Miriam Billingsly.
They saw a great deal of each other in the weeks following and fell in love and sometime later they were married at Mt. Pisga. The wedding took place in a camp wagon with one of the elders presiding. May 6, 1846.
Their progress across the plains was very slow, finally they arrived in Salt Lake City Oct. 2, 1847 with Eveline Northcott a very small baby.
The company of saints they were with overtook President Brigham Young and his company at Mt. Pisga May 23, 1847.
Pres. Young counciled some of the saints to stop at this place and plant corn & other vegetables and make a resting place for some of the saints who had been left behind. So George and his wife stayed and came on later so they reach[ed] Salt Lake City Oct. 2, 1847.
Their first winter was spent in a little Log Cabin on the north side of Pioneer Squar[e]. The roof of the house was made of dirt and at times when it rained it leaked so badly, Miriam would hold a quilt over her baby to keep her dry.
George made the house as comfortable as [he] could. They had very little to do with and his anxiety to secure work was the cause of their moving away out to Sugar House to live as he could get work at the saw mill. They lived on the north side of the hill. They were a long way from neighbor[s].
At this time all of the saints were having a very hard time to get enough food and when their crops were ready the crickets were so bad they had to fight to save enough to live on and many times were compelled to live on sego roots and pig weeds green and other roots.
They walked into Salt Lake to go to church in the old bowery, when the weather was good. One time they went into Church they had so little on hand to eat, and on their return found a plat[e] filled with bread and butter, and oh what a feast. They never did find out who their benefactor was. Many times they walked to church and back with shoes that were very poor. At times when they would get so very hungry Miriam had some pieces of tallow wrapped up and put away and she would take them out a[nd] take a little bite and chew[ing] this seem[ed] to help their hunger.
They lived in Salt Lake untill after their second child was born and, and they were called to part with both of their little children leaving them with just their older one.
When saints were moving to the southern part of the state they decided to go to Dixie and live as they had been advised to go and take the cultivation of cotton. They traveled as far as Provo and stopped to earn some supplies. While here they found some old very dear friends, who ask[ed] them to stay with them. These friends were none other than George A. Smith and family. While staying with them they helped gather some kind of leaves for the purpose of making sugar and a syrup. They stayed until they had 50 lbs. of sugar and enough syrup for both famil[ies] all winter.
They gather the leaves, wash them and then boil this down until they produce sugar and syrup.
They then went on to Dixie to live. They bough[t] a farm, and there George spent his time raising cotton, sheep and cattle. He would go into the mountains and get all of their wood to burn, he also made [all] of their furniture. He made his wife Miriam a loom as she understood weaving cloth, and she made every thing they wore. She was a very beautiful seamstress.
Later they moved to Minersville so he could get some work and they lived in a house made of cedar logs. Here they had a few chickens and sheep. His son Jedediah was two years old when they made a trip in wagon to Dixie. One of these trips they were taking molasses. The roads were so bad and the molasses got spilled all over their bed[d]ing. Miriam had a very hard time get[ting] it off.
Wherever they lived George Adair farmed and worked in sawmills and hauled wood form the mountains.
He always tried to make their home comfortable for they were never blessed with wealth but the spirit of their home was beautiful.
They were always faithful La[t]ter Day Saints.
George was the father of 11 children and after the death of two of their children they took the grand children and did the same by them as they did their own.
They moved from Minersvill[e] to Beaver, Beaver Co., Utah. He later moved to Orderville in Long Valley, Kane Co.
He lived in Orderville in the United Order in 1876. He did a great deal of temple work in his later life.
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Chris & Julie Petersen's Genealogy
1818 - 1897 (79 years)