Levi Sawyer (1873 - 1956): Our Family History

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1873 - 1956 (83 years)

Submit Photo / Document Has 2 ancestors and 13 descendants in this family tree.

Personal Information | Notes | Event Map | All | PDF

Name	Levi Sawyer
Birth	17 Mar 1873	New Harmony, Washington, Utah, United States
Gender	Male
Initiatory (LDS)	19 Sep 1900	SGEOR
FamilySearch ID	KWZN-HL7
Death	15 Aug 1956	Worland, Washakie, Wyoming, United States
Burial	18 Aug 1956	Lovell Cemetery, Big Horn, Wyoming, United States
Headstones	Submit Headstone Photo
Person ID	I138158	mytree
Last Modified	25 Feb 2024

Father	Levi Joseph Sawyer, b. 18 Mar 1825, Burslem, Staffordshire, England d. 13 Jul 1896, Hatch, Garfield, Utah, United States (Age 71 years)
Mother	Elizabeth Staples, b. 8 Jan 1838, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England d. 26 Jun 1884, Ogden, Weber, Utah, United States (Age 46 years)
Marriage	6 Jun 1868	Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States
Divorce	Yes, date unknown
Divorced	7 Mar 1873	Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States
Family ID	F35958	Group Sheet \| Family Chart

Family Rhoana Elizabeth Hatch, b. 16 Mar 1877, Panguitch, Garfield, Utah, United States d. 1 Apr 1968, Lovell, Big Horn, Wyoming, United States (Age 91 years)

Marriage 7 Nov 1893 Panguitch, Garfield, Utah, United States

Children

	1. Sylva Sawyer, b. 17 Nov 1894, Hatch, Garfield, Utah, United States d. 25 Apr 1982, Lovell, Big Horn, Wyoming, United States (Age 87 years)
	2. Arta Sawyer, b. 23 Dec 1899, Hatch, Garfield, Utah, United States d. 13 Oct 1972, Worland, Washakie, Wyoming, United States (Age 72 years)
	3. Ernest Hatch Sawyer, b. 25 Jun 1902, Hatch, Garfield, Utah, United States d. 30 Oct 1975, Lovell, Big Horn, Wyoming, United States (Age 73 years)
+	4. Ireta Sawyer, b. 4 Jan 1905, Hatch, Garfield, Utah, United States d. 19 Feb 2003, Worland, Washakie, Wyoming, United States (Age 98 years)
	5. Merlin Sawyer, b. 4 Mar 1907, Hatch, Garfield, Utah, United States d. 6 Jul 1988, Thermopolis, Hot Springs, Wyoming, United States (Age 81 years)
	6. Venessa Sawyer, b. 10 Feb 1910, Hatch, Garfield, Utah, United States d. 5 Jun 2003, Greeley, Weld, Colorado, United States (Age 93 years)
	7. Delpha Sawyer, b. 6 Dec 1917, Lovell, Big Horn, Wyoming, United States d. 29 Aug 2011, Worland, Washakie, Wyoming, United States (Age 93 years)
	8. Daughter Sawyer, b. Abt 20 Jul 1920, Lovell, Big Horn, Wyoming, United States d. 20 Jul 1920, Lovell, Big Horn, Wyoming, United States (Age 0 years)

Family ID F35954 Group Sheet | Family Chart

Last Modified 2 Jun 2024

Event Map

	Birth - 17 Mar 1873 - New Harmony, Washington, Utah, United States
	Marriage - 7 Nov 1893 - Panguitch, Garfield, Utah, United States
	Initiatory (LDS) - 19 Sep 1900 - SGEOR
	Death - 15 Aug 1956 - Worland, Washakie, Wyoming, United States
	Burial - 18 Aug 1956 - Lovell Cemetery, Big Horn, Wyoming, United States

= Link to Google Earth

Notes

Levi was born 17 March 1873 in Harmony, Utah. His father was Levi Sawy e r and his mother was Elizabeth staples. He had a hard life as a boy. H i s parents were divorced and he lived with his father. When he was on l y 8 years old, he freighted with his father with wagons from Utah to Ar iz ona. The Indians were mean in this area and it was a frightening tri p fo r the young fellow. He became very ill with chills and fever and som e sol diers took him to Gila Bend and cared for him. When he recovered h e drov e the team and wagon back to Utah with his father in the wagon-be d sick w ith fever.
Other stories about his boyhood are told in the other history recorde d o n Family Search by Michael A. Goodrich

Levi married Rhoana Hatch on November 7, 1893 in Panguitch, Utah. They l a ter received their endowments and were sealed in the St. George Temple

When he married Rhoana Hatch he worked for her parents. Rhoana worked ha r d sewing all their clothes, including their garments by hand. They lat e r moved onto a ranch up the Mammoth River and ran sheep. During the sum me r Grandma Mary Ann Ellis Hatch lived in a little log house near by. Th e y spent some winters in Tropic, Utah so Levi could be home with the fam il y. At one time the reservoir broke in Hatch, Utah destroying the entir e t own. Because of this they moved to New Town. Grandma Hatch bought Unc le R oss Lynn's home and Papa (Levi) built a little house for his family . He l ater bought a larger home from Uncle Abe Workman.

Levi's mother-in-law, Mary Ann Ellis Hatch, trusted Levi to care for h e r cattle. She was the second wife of Meltair Hatch and was pretty wel l of f for the times. When Levi return from driving the cattle to Marysvi lle , Utah to meet the railroad train he would ask her, "Well Mother. Wha t d o you think I got for the steers?" He would then name a low price. Sh e wo uld always answer, "Oh no! You didn't let them go for that?" All th e chil dren would laugh when he told the good price for the cattle.

Rhoana and Levi had nine children: Sylva, Levi, Arfta were born in Mammo t h, Utah. Ernest, Ireta, Merlin and Venessa in Hatchtown, Utah and Delp h a and their stillborn baby girl were born in Lovell, Wyoming.

It was a hard adjustment for them when they moved to Wyoming. Rhoana's t w o sisters who married the Asay boys made the move first and told Levi a bo ut the opportunities that were there. He made a trip to see for himsel f a nd next spring he moved his family to the Big Horn Basin of Norther n Wyom ing. The last settlement for the LDS Church was sent to that are a aroun d 1903. The Sawyer family left Utah on May 1912 and arrived in Lo vell, Wy oming the 2nd of July.

They moved the family in two covered wagons pulled by horse teams. The g i rls and small children rode in the horse drawn white topped buggy. The y h ad 10 head of horses which included the teams, two saddle horses, an d ext ra work horse and a little colt. They took the long way around, pre sumabl y to be able to stop at stores along the way for supplies.

They traveled through Pocatello, and Ashton, Idaho, into Gardiner, Monta n a and through Yellowstone Park, past Fishing Bridge. They made camp out si de of Byron at the Patty Hatch farm the night before moving into Lovel l..

The men who drove the teams were, young Levi and his cousin, Ren Workma n , and Lyle Asay, another relative. Lyle was the father of Carlos Asay w h o became and LDS General Authority .

One night near the Idaho, Montana Border the family was making camp wh e n an automobile drove by, scaring the horses. Papa was sick and it fel l t o Levi, who had celebrated his 15th birthday on the trail, and his co usi n Ren to go after the horses on foot. The horses made their way clea r bac k to the previous night's camp where they were found by a rancher . The ra ncher had his son run them into a corral until the owners came a fter them . The two boys made their way back to the old camp and were sta rving by n ow. They looked for potato peelings that might have been lef t the previou s night.

Not seeing the lost stock they walked a mile to the ranch and asked t h e woman if anyone had seen some horses. She asked them if there was a c ol t with horses and they replied, "yes.". It was the happiest day of the i r lives when they heard the horses were safe in the corral and it was m ad e even happier when the lady insisted they come inside and eat. It wa s ab out midnight when the two boys, Levi riding in front and Ren followi ng o n the horses, found the family. Papa had built a large fire and sho t hi s gun into the air periodically to help the boys find their way. Eve n bef ore they could see the boys the family heard them singing at the to p of t heir voices, two young lads who had been sent to a man's job wer e happy t o have succeeded.

The first home for the Sawyer family in Lovell was on Montana Avenue bel o w the hill. It was later burned down by the city. They later moved dow n t he street to a larger home whey they purchased from Len Lynn. The fir st a utumn in Lovell, when all the leaves fell off the cottonwood trees , Rhoan a had a case of homesickness and she felt that she couldn't sta y there. P apa was sick at heart.

One of Papa's first friends in Lovell was M.D. Harris who gave him a j o b with his sheep. Once an older fellow tried to cheat Levi out of the m on ey he had earned herding sheep but M.D. spoke up and said, "give the m one y to the man that earned it." and the fellow obeyed.

In 1919 Papa (Levi) bought a ranch and sheep on the NoWood River near T e n Sleep. In the spring of 1920 the family moved on the ranch. Ireta wa s t he oldest girl living at home at this time. On 13 January, 1921, Lev i an d Levi Jr and Chris Lynn trailed the sheep from Cowley to the mounta ins.

In late fall of 1928 or 1929, Levi bought the M.L. Ranch and Five Sprin g s Ranch and moved back to Lovell He bought the ranch from a lawyer in B il llings, Montana. The original house built by Mr. Lovell had recently b urn ed down and the Sawyers had a new home built. It was a big white fram e ho me with a front porch and surrounded by a fence. Big cottonwood an d silve r leaf maple trees shaded the home. Numerous log buildings were o n the pr operty. Some were the original building from M.L. days and other s were bu ilt by the Sawyer family. These buildings were used as wash hou se, storag e, chcken coop etc. Two log homes were built and Ernest and hi s wife Rowe ne and young Levi and his wife lived in them. (Today, 2016 th e governmen t has the land and destroyed all the building the Sawyers bui lt and move d their house to an abandoned field. There is a official sig n naming th e owners of the ranch. Levi Sawyer's name if not listed. I sp oke to the o fficials about their mistake but it has not be rectified.)

They raised a large garden and enjoyed the orchard of apples and plums . T he big red barn not only served the farmers well but also entertaine d th e grandchildren and great grandchild who player in the loft, jumpin g int o haystacks and imagining fancy balls as each became a princess i f only b y imagination.

There was cistern on the hill and water from Willow Creek and later a di t ch from Five springs Creek furnished water for the "best ground on eart h. " Merlin and his family lived at the Five Springs Ranch. Sometime afte r t he Sawyers sold the ranch Willow Creek was diverted, robbing the thir st y land.

Snakes were plentiful and rattle snakes especially liked the ranch at Fi v e Springs. One time Delpha and Sylvla's two kids went to gather eggs on l y to find a huge blow snake curled around the nest. Merlin stuck a pitc hf ork into the snake and raised it above his head and its tail reached t h e ground. The ice house kept ice throughout the summer but cutting th e ic e from the frozen Big Horn River was a job on one enjoyed.

When Papa (Levi) was running sheep on the Big Horn Mountains, Mama (Rhoa n a) and the kids went too. They would camp on Bear Trap Mountain. They s ta yed in sheep wagons, trap wagons, and tepees. Rhoana cooked for 24 me n i n a sheep wagon during shearing season.

When Papa retired he sold the M.L. Ranch to his son-in-law, Milo Mills a n d he and Rhoana moved to Ten Sleep. Their youngest daughter Delpha an d he r family lived with them. Ireta and her children were close by. Art a an d her husband, Homer Asay, later owned a home in Ten Sleep.

The Ten Sleep home with it's white stucco walls and a white picket fen c e was a lovely place for all of the family. (McKay Allphin, my father , st uccoed the home.) Rhoana's sparkling kitchen was the hub of the hom e wit h good smells welcoming hungry family to hurry home to Grandma's fo r som e real cooking.

As he aged Levi helped Milo Mills on the Broken Back Ranch. Here an inci d ent happened that showed the strength of character he possessed. He ha d a cquired the habit of smoking in his youth, he was now in his late sev enti es. one day he was leaning against the corral and reached into his p ocke t for a smoke. As he pulled out a cigarette he said to himself, "Wha t i n the hell am I doing this for?" and he never touched them again .

Levi died August 15, 1956 and is buried in Lovell, Wyoming. He left hi s t iny companion of whom he said, "She was the straightest woman I eve r met , a perfect lady."

This story was related to me, Joyce K Allphin Goodrich by Rhoana Sawye r , her daughter Sylva Wilder and her son, Levi Sawyer (jr.)

His parents were divorced and he lived with his father. When he was on l y 8 years old, he freighted with his father with wagons from Utah to Ar iz ona. The Indians were mean in this area and it was a frightening tri p fo r the young fellow. He became very ill with chills and fever and som e sol diers took him to Gila Bend and cared for him. When he recovered h e drov e the team and wagon back to Utah with his father in the wagon be d sick w ith fever.

He was often hungry and once bought a can of salmon and being almost sta r ved, he hurried behind the store and ate the entire salmon. He was prom pt ly sick. Levi told of watching each year at the community Christmas tr e e as the other children received the Christmas presents. Little Levi ne ve r received a gift until one year he was given a pair of skates.

He ran away from his dad and went to Ogden, Utah to his mother. He was a f raid of his step-brother and hid for two days under the porch until hi s m other found him. His mother had to work to keep the children, but hi s fat her wanted Levi.