Charity Artemesia Butler

1834 - 1908  (74 years)  Submit Photo / Document    Has 2 ancestors and 3 descendants in this family tree.

• Name	Charity Artemesia Butler
  Birth	13 Jun 1834	Franklin, Simpson, Kentucky, United States
  Gender	Female
  Initiatory (LDS)	18 Oct 1862	EHOUS
  FamilySearch ID	KWJZ-R6Y
  Death	9 Dec 1908	Pinto, Washington, Utah, United States
  Burial	Pinto Cemetery, Washington, Utah, United States
  Headstones	Submit Headstone Photo
  Person ID	I162558	mytree
  Last Modified	25 Feb 2024

  
  

  Father	John Lowe Butler,   b. 8 Apr 1808, Logan, Kentucky, United States d. 10 Apr 1860, Spanish Fork, Utah, Utah, United States (Age 52 years)
  Mother	Caroline Farozine Skeen,   b. 15 Apr 1812, Sumner, Tennessee, United States d. 4 Aug 1875, Panguitch, Garfield, Utah, United States (Age 63 years)
  Marriage	3 Feb 1831	Sumner, Tennessee, United States
  Family ID	F41298	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Hamilton Monroe Wallace,   b. 21 Sep 1810, De Kalb, St. Lawrence, New York, United States d. 12 Jun 1896, Washington, Utah, United States (Age 85 years)
  Marriage	5 Oct 1855	Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States
  Children	+ 1. Caroline Monroe Wallace,   b. 10 Aug 1856, San Bernardino, San Bernardino, California, United States d. 27 Nov 1882 (Age 26 years)   2. Hamilton Monroe Wallace, Jr,   b. 27 Feb 1859, Spanish Fork, Utah, Utah, United States d. 27 Jun 1945, Toquerville, Washington, Utah, United States (Age 86 years)
  Family ID	F41286	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	5 May 2024

  
  

• Event Map

  Birth - 13 Jun 1834 - Franklin, Simpson, Kentucky, United States Marriage - 5 Oct 1855 - Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States Initiatory (LDS) - 18 Oct 1862 - EHOUS Death - 9 Dec 1908 - Pinto, Washington, Utah, United States Burial - - Pinto Cemetery, Washington, Utah, United States  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Notes

  CHARITY ARTEMESIA BUTLER It was in the beautiful blue grass state of Kentucky that my mother, Cha r ity Artemesia Butler, was born July 13, 1834 in Simpson County. She wa s t he eldest daughter of John Lowe Butler and Caroline Farazine Skeen an d th eir third child. Their first child was a son named Kenion Taylor aft er hi s Grandmother on his mother’s side. The second child was a son name d Alex ander who died in infancy. The ancestors of this fine couple were Revolutionary patriots who serv e d their country in helping to gain it’s independence from the mother co un try England. For services rendered, they received western lands in th e ar ea of Kentucky and Tennessee. William Lowe (see his life sketch file d wit h his group sheet), Grandfather of John Lowe Butler, was a pionee r in Sim pson County. His farm was separated from his neighbor’s, Jesse S keen, bu t a stream of water. Jesse Skeen’s plantation was in Tennessee , but the t wo pioneer homes were but a mile apart. (Note by compiler: i t is not clea r from the many references to William Lowe and William Butl er which man o wned the above home near Jesse Skeen. In some places Will iam Lowe and hi s activities [which have been reliably recorded] have bee n confused wit h and related to William Butler.) Jesse Skeen (Caroline Skeen Butler’s father) engaged in cotton growin g o n his extensive plantation. The work was done by Negro slaves who wer e co mfortably housed and kindly treated by their master. Evidence of thi s fac t is that after the Civil War, they plead with him to let them rema in whe re they were. This kind hearted man granted them their desires an d thus t hey were spared the pitiful plight in which most of the liberate d slave s found themselves in those days. The Butlers, neighbors to the S keens di d not believe in slavery and though their neighbors adopted tha t practic e of owning slaves to do the work of their plantation, the Butl ers neve r did. The children of these two families, whose parents had opp osite vie ws in many regions such as religion, associated together, as di d their pa rents, in close friendship. The tall handsome, blue-eyed Joh n Lowe Butle r won the heart of the slender shy but charming Caroline Far azine Skeen. Farazine Butler Robinson told me that Caroline, her mother, told her th a t Jesse Skeen was born in Scotland and emigrated to America when a bo y fi fteen years of age. He wore the Scotch plaid kilts and his hair in t wo lo ng braids, one over each shoulder in front. William Lowe was a man of integrity, a good neighbor who attracted peop l e to him as they moved to that section of the country. He became a spir it ual leader and went from door to door teaching the sacred truth from t h e Holy Bible. He was resourceful and to him credit is given for makin g th e first ax, the first plow and the first spinning wheel in Simpson C ounty . He also performed the first marriage, -- his daughter Charity Low e to J ames butler, the son of William Butler. William Lowe did no baptizing as he went from house to house preaching . H e planted seed in virgin soil, however, and it is left for future gen erat ions to tell the results. When Caroline Skeen married John Lowe Butler, they were given two slav e s by her father as a wedding present. They received them graciously, b u t the next day gave them their freedom. In the year 1835, Simpson Emmett and his missionary companion brought t h e message of the restored Gospel to the home of my grandparents, the Jo h n Lowe Butlers. It is interesting to note that William Lowe died on th e d ay some of his descendants were baptized. The teachings of Joseph Smi th w ere accepted as truth and John Lowe Butler and his wife became membe rs o f the church. Jesse Skeen, father of Caroline, was much disturbed when he learned hi s d aughter had been baptized into the Mormon Church. In fact, he becam e so a ngry that he threatened the lives of the Mormon Elders, and even t hat o f his son-in-law. One evening a faithful Negro slave of Jesse Skeen ’s cam e to the Butler home in Kentucky and told them, “Massa angry” an d said h e was making bullets by (words obliterated) by the fire place an d runnin g it into bullet moulds and he intended using the bullets to kil l John Lo we Butler and the Mormon Elders who baptized his daughter. Th e Negro afte r warning them was so anxious to be on his way to his planta tion home, ei ght miles distant, as he wanted to get back before dayligh t so that no on e might know he had been away. Grandmother hurried and ma de a skillet cak e which he put in his shirt and was soon on his way home . Caroline knew h er father’s bad temper. The two Elders were in bed at t he Butler home. Gr andfather roused them, the three went to the stable, s addled a horse fo r each of them and they rode many miles away before daw n. Caroline had n o sleep that night. When morning came she went about he r usual househol d duties. Just as the sun was rising, she looked out o f the window and sa w her father coming on horseback with his gun acros s the front of his sad dle. With a prayer in her heart she took her littl e children (two I think ) and went down into the cellar. Looking out o f a small window she saw he r father arrive at the gate, get off his hors e, put his gun by the gate , the bridle reins over the gate post and star t for the house. Her hear t almost sank within her, then came a feeling o f security and peace as th e words of an old hymn came into her mind, “Fe ar not I am with thee, oh b e not dismayed. For I am thy God and will sti ll give thee aid.” Then al l the fear left her, and with babe in arms an d a little one clinging to h er skirts, she returned to the kitchen jus t as her father entered the fro nt door. He greeted her warmly, saying, “ good morning, Carrie, have you h ad breakfast? I am hungry.” She assure d him it would soon be ready. He en joyed his little grandchildren. He wa s a kind and loving parent. While th ey ate, she never saw him in a mor e pleasant mood. They visited for som e time. He never inquired once abou t the Mormon Elders or his son-in-la w John Lowe Butler. He bade a pleasa nt good-bye and returned home. On another occasion, when John heard that his father-in-law meant to ki l l him, he said, “Well, I have a gun I can shoot too.” And his Uncle Jo h n Lowe (a Constable) borrowed both Jesse Skeen’s and John Lowe Butler’ s g uns. Another child of Jesse, Charity, who was deaf and mute, became convert e d to Mormonism through her sister Caroline repeating to her on her han d s the message brought to their home by the Mormon missionaries. She wa s s o anxious to know why the men had come to the home and what they wer e tal king about that she gave her sister no peace until she was given th e ful l explanation. Much of this was done at night after the other membe rs o f the family had retired, as her father was so bitterly opposed to t he ne w doctrine. (Charity Skeen went with the Butlers when they joined t he Sai nts in Missouri and John Lowe Butler made her his second wife in 1 844.) Friends and kindred turned against those who became members of the unpop u lar Church called the Mormon Church. And the spirit of gathering came u po n these new converts. They made preparations to go to Missouri to mee t th e Prophet Joseph Smith and be with the body of the Saints. Charity , my mo ther, was but two years old when her parents made this move by o x team. The Saints had already been driven from Jackson County from the farms wh i ch they had purchased. And there was great distress and suffering, bu t th e Butlers were happy to join the Saints and to know the Prophet. While the Saints were at Gallatin in Davies County, an incident record e d in Church History and told many times by my mother, Charity, occurre d . The citizens were not going to allow the Mormons to vote on electio n da y and a crowd gathered. John Lowe Butler, picking up an oak stick, s wun g through a crowd and said, “Come on, boys. Our fathers fought for ou r li berty and we will maintain the same principles.” He voted and other s foll owed him. He was struck over the head with a loaded black whip an d he suf fered from the effects of it until the day of his death. After h e voted , he was surrounded by an armed mob who said to him, “You are ou r prisone r,” and told him to go with them and lay down his stick. He sai d, “No, wh erever I go, this stick goes.” One of the crowd said, as the c ircle opene d for him, “For Gosh Sake, let him go,” and he escaped. He wa s a powerfu l man, about six feet three inches tall. Grandfather Butler went through the persecutions of the Saints, as the y w ere driven from one county to another in Missouri. When the Prophet w as b eing hunted and was in hiding from the mob, Grandfather would also h ave t o keep in hiding as his body guard. They would visit their familie s at ni ght to secure food and clothing. At one time when persecution wa s high an d the brethren had to remain away from their homes, Grandfathe r asked Gra ndmother to meet him at a certain tree near the Post Office , bringing lun ch, clothing, etc. that he needed. When she did this, sh e found a large g roup of men at the Post Office and was at first afrai d they had seen wha t she was going to do, but they remained so intensel y interested in somet hing they were doing that she was able to accomplis h her errand without b eing seen. At Far West, when the Prophet and many of the brethren were in priso n a t Liberty, John Lowe Butler and many others were in hiding. Carolin e endu red great hardships in caring for her family. The Saints were requ ired t o lay down their arms at Far West, and John Lowe Butler was amon g them. H e said it was the hardest thing he ever did. The Butlers were at Far West when Governor Boggs issued the order of exp u lsion of the Saints from the state of Missouri. John Lowe Butler was am on g the men who went to Commerce, Illinois ahead of the main body of th e Ch urch. In his diary he described Commerce as a miry bog which he help ed t o drain, and saw it transformed into a beautiful desirable city unde r th e Prophet’s blessing. There the Mormon people built a city which the y cal led Nauvoo, the word meaning “beautiful.” It was on a bend of the M ississ ippi River which sloped back to higher elevations. It was an idea l settin g for a city. There they built a temple, the Nauvoo Temple. That first winter, 1839, Charity’s father taught school in Quincy, Illin o is to provide the necessities for his growing family who were to join h i m the next spring when the Saints left Far West. With the assistance o f B rother A. O. Smoot, who had a team of horses, grandmother had a wagon , th e two families wended their way with the refugees from Far West acro ss th e state of Iowa to establish what they hoped to be a permanent hom e in Il linois. Charity told her children of a time when her mother Carol ine wa s blind from sore eyes and Sister Smoot led her while they walke d the lon g miles to Quincy. It might have been on this journey. A marvel ous chang e same to Commerce in an incredibly short time. John Lowe state s in his j ournal that the land yielded so abundantly they scarcely had p laces to co ntain the crops. Charity remembers well their family life in Nauvoo. Mother went to the P r ophet’s home many times. Her father became a trusted friend and one o f th e body guards of the Prophet, who came frequently also to their home . Th e two often wrestled together. The Prophet was not often thrown by a nyone , but Grandfather sometimes did throw him. Mother related to us chi ldre n this incident: Their family was riding in a wagon past the Prophet ’s ho me. Seeing them, the Prophet came to the wagon and after pleasant c onvers ation, finally challenged John l. to a wrestling match, “Come on , Brothe r John. Let’s have a wrestle.” Grandfather got out of the wago n and enga ged in this exercise which both enjoyed. The Prophet was the v ictor. Bot h were tall men with fine physiques. Grandfather was six foo t three inche s. Mother remembered that her father had just recovered fro m a recent ill ness and would rather not have wrestled then, but would no t refuse. She a lso said they engaged in this pastime frequently. Sometim es one was champ ion and sometimes the other. As the Nauvoo Temple was in the course of erection, Charity with her pla y mates often walked around on the broad walls. She spoke of the stone fa ce s engraved in the upper walls. How wonderful she thought they were an d sh e reached down and touched them. Every one of the women were taxed to give so many pennies to build the T e mple. The women in those days raised $2,000 that paid for all the nail s a nd glass in the Temple. Caroline was very thrifty and resourceful an d bei ng unable to give any money, she found other ways to help with he r share . At one time she found a large buffalo bull that had died. She h ad her b oy stop the wagon and they took a large sack of the long hair of f it’s ma ne. This she took home and washed and carded and spun into yarn . Out of t his yarn she made eight pairs of gloves for the workmen on th e Temple. Li ke the widow’s mite she did her bit to help carry on. Many t imes, she wa s able to get this hair from where buffaloes had fought an d killed each o ther. This she made into quilts, pillows, beds, socks, et c. to help provi de for her family. Once when Grandmother was ill in Nauvoo with malaria, she wanted to ha v e the Prophet come and administer to her, but he was too busy as ther e we re so many sick; so he sent his handkerchief to put over her face an d s o great was her faith that she was made well. The Prophet told Caroline once to give a child with worms all the hard h o ney he could eat on an empty stomach, then follow it up with all the n e w milk he could drink, followed by a dose of castor oil. She was a woman of great faith. One time when she was very sick, she to l d those around her to take her to the river and baptize her and she wou l d get well. An old squaw thought they were going to drown her. She gav e G randmother an herb that cured her. For awhile after moving to Nauvoo, the Butlers lived on the outskirt s o f the city. And Caroline was left alone quite often with her children . Th ey had an old mother pig with a lot of nice piglets. When they wer e prett y good sized ones, one by one, every pig but the mother was stole n. So Ca roline told her oldest boy, Taylor, that they had better kill th e old pi g to make sure of meat for the family of six children. (aprox 18 41-3) S o with the help of her twelve year old boy, she killed and dresse d this l arge pig. It was during this time that they were living on this farm a few miles o u t from Nauvoo that Grandfather met the Prophet one day on the street. T h e latter inquired where his family was, and when he learned they wer e o n the farm, the Prophet advised Grandfather to go at once and remov e th e family into Nauvoo before daylight. He immediately secured a tea m and w agon and went for them. Grandmother took the children up from the ir beds , put their bedding and what clothing they could take in the wago n and th e family went into Far West that night. Just at dawn the neighbo rs sa w a large armed mob riding toward Butler’s farm home. This neighbo r remar ked to his wife when he saw this mob, “Butler’s a goner.” They su rrounde d the house, yelling like demons. When they discovered that no on e was th ere, the house was set fire to and went up in flames, together w ith all t he family belongings that had not been removed. At Nauvoo, the Butler family, by their thrift and industry, prospered a n d enjoyed good returns for their labor. Charity told how as a child sh e l oved to wander in the woods to gather hazel nuts and the varieties o f nut s, and wild raspberries and strawberries which grew in corners an d uncult ivated spots in the fields. She also loved to dance and took dan cing less ons when she was a girl. Later in life she sometimes entertaine d us child ren by repeating some steps she learned. Gliding smoothly side ways, she w ould count 1-2-3, there’s 4 and 5. Six -7-8, there’s 9 and 10 , then glidi ng back to the same count. This always pleased us. Her frien d, Mary Shumw ay (later Westover), was the only girl Mother knew who love d to dance a s well as she. Another very dear friend was Lydia Thornton , daughter of O liver Thornton, who had come from Canada, having been bap tized by John Ta ylor who later became President of the Church. Mother an d Lydia pledged i n girlhood to each name a child for the other, which th ey did. Lydia Thor nton married Edmund Butler in the States. Two childre n were born to them , both dying in infancy and then her husband died. Al l this happened befo re Lydia was twenty. But the happy life of the Saints was not to continue long. The same pers e cutions and experiences in Missouri caught up with them in the state o f I llinois. The Prophet Joseph many times was arrested and brought to co urt s of justice, but each time acquitted as they could not prove he ha d inju red anyone. As persecution raged, John as one of the body guards o f the P rophet, was called away from his wife and family much of the time . And th e care of this increasing family rested upon Caroline. Two child ren, Sara h and John, were born at Nauvoo. At one time a group of men came to the Butler home in search of Grandfat h er. Grandmother’s little children clung close to her and kept saying, “ Mo ther, are these the mob?” She wanted to silence them but they kept rep eat ing the question. In answering, she said, “Yes child, these are the m ob, ” to which one of the men replied, “No, we are not the mob. We are th e mi litia.” Another time, a mob of men with blackened faces came hunting for Joh n L . Butler. After a fruitless search they demanded that Caroline give t he m some supper. She did not have much to cook so they made her kill a m utt on and cook some of it for them. When they sat down to eat, one of th em d emanded a fried egg. Caroline broke it into the frying pan and was g oin g to cook it when he said to her, “Bring it to me. that is done enoug h. ” As she did so she recognized her brother and was surprised and so] , “Oh ! Alex, why would you bring trouble to your sister like this?” He s aid, “ I’ve come to take you away from this damned outfit.” She told hi m that sh e was better off than he was and she did not want any of his he lp. Charity saw the Prophet Joseph Smith in his Nauvoo Legion uniform. She a l so told us of Grandfather’s activity in the Legion. He drilled with oth e r members of the Legion under the leadership of Joseph Smith. He was a n a ide de camp in this organization. His sword is now in possession of o ne o f his great grandsons, Hyrum Barton of Panguitch. She also saw the bodies of the Prophet and his brother Hyrum as they l a y in state at the Mansion House at Nauvoo after their martyrdom by a ru th less mob in the Carthage Jail. She experienced the gloom and deep sorr o w of that sad occasion. Truly all the Latter-day Saints were in deep mo ur ning after that tragic event. Mother said that Grandfather went with t h e Prophet when he was on his way to Carthage. He said he never was so l oa the to do anything in his life as he was to leave the Prophet when th e la tter asked them to leave him a few miles from the jail and insiste d upo n going on alone, with guard. Mother told me, when I asked her the question, that Grandfather helped c a re for and bury the body of the Prophet. She said he was gone from hom e a ll night, the night after the martyrdom and although he never gave an y sp ecific statement of that night, the family knew that he had been car ing f or the bodies of Joseph and Hyrum. I heard Father (Amos G. Thornton ) giv e a sermon in the old Pinto meeting house telling of his memories o f th e martyrdom. He said a messenger was sent to Nauvoo from Carthage wi th th e sad news. He told of the sadness and gloom that settled over th e Saint s in Nauvoo, giving an impressive picture of it. Mother was at the meeting of the Saints when the Prophet’s mantle fel l o n Brigham Young and the people knew that he was to be their leader, a nd n ot Sidney Rigdon. John owned a farm in Nauvoo which he had paid for and had to leave whe n c ompelled by the mob. He said it belonged to him and that he would hav e i t at some future time. Mother and all other members of her father’s f amil y left the comforts of their home in Nauvoo when driven out by the m ob, t aking only what clothing and bedding they could carry and crossin g the Mi ssissippi River on ice in midwinter. After driven from Nauvoo, the family was never very long at one place. T h ey were at Punca on the Missouri River for a time and at Pottawattomi e fr om 1849 to 1851. They did not leave with the group of Saints that we nt t o Utah in 1847 because John was a blacksmith and was required to rep air w agons. The following incident was told to me by Henry L. Hinman of Canada abo u t 1905 or 1906. He said that his father and Grandfather were close frie nd s in the States and on one occasion when the saints were camped on a r ive r after they had been driven from Illinois (I think the incident occu rre d in Iowa), a resident of that section lost a steer and accused the M ormo ns of stealing it. A band of men came into the camp. At their approa ch mo st of the men left the camp and kept out of sight. Grandfather an d Brothe r Hinman stayed to meet them and were told the Saints there ha d done th e residents no wrong. The band of men told them they would hav e to go t o the State Capitol to stand trial and consented to go on one c ondition , that they would not come back to molest their families at th e camp. Th e band promised this and led Grandfather and Brother Hinman aw ay, with ro pes tied to their wagons. The first night, the band halted i n the woods , but down timber and laid it together in pen form, and put t he two men i n it for the night. They threw in raw potatoes for the men t o eat. They s aid they were not animals and would not eat raw vegetables . They insiste d upon being treated like men and given a portion of the s ame food the ba nd had prepared for themselves. This was done. The next m orning the ban d was observed by the men to be counseling over something . Finally they c ame and said they had decided to go back to the camp. Gr andfather stood o n the wagon tongue, with a stick in his hand and said , “You promised us y ou would not molest our families. I promise you in t he name of Israel’s G od, that if you do, either you or I die,” and he ra ised his stick. The ba nd decided to go on, which they did for two hundre d miles to the Capitol . They endured many hardships during this journey . When they came to on e of the rivers, Brother Hinman, who was an olde r man, refused to wade i t as it was very cold, and deep enough so clothi ng had to be removed. H e said, “If I cross that stream, you’ll carry m e across,” which they did . When they reached the Capitol, their accuser s did not appear. And the y were left to make their way back to their fam ilies as best they could . When they arrived, after tow or three months , with ragged clothing, etc ., at the camp they had left, they found th e Saints had moved on to anoth er camp. Kind friends had taken Grandmothe r and her family there and help ed them get established, They had suffere d many privations in the absenc e of Grandfather, and had not known wheth er or not he would return alive . Grandfather said he felt the hardship h ad been greater on Brother Hinma n than upon himself, since the latter wa s a much older man. They were mos t grateful to be again back with thei r loved ones. (Note by compiler: In the copy of John Lowe Butler’s diary by Helen Thur b er Dalton, pp. 29-30, there is an account that sounds similar to the ab ov e, and must be the same incident. John L. says that they were on the I ow a River, having been sent up there by Brigham Young to try to bring so m e order into the wayward Emmett Company. Some of that company had bee n st ealing, and it was Brigham Young’s instructions to John Lowe Butle r to g o up and save the good people that were with the Company. He state s in hi s diary that there were some seventy-five armed men who had com e with off icers of justice. And many details coincide with the above acc ount of Bro ther Hinman, though Brother Hinman is not mentioned, nor th e name of th e head officer. There is a two volume diary of Hosea Stout w hich has bee n printed by his family. He was a staunch Mormon pioneer an d law office r during many of these difficult years. He records some inci dents in hi s diary in the years 1846 to 1848, thoroughly castigating Emm ett and Joh n Low Butler and others “of like stamp.” He writes of an inci dent where h e had to arrest John L. and many of the details, while casti ng a differen t light on the affair, fit in with the above accounts. Hose a Stout neve r forgave John Butler, because Brigham Young stood up for hi m. He never a ccepted the fact that John L. had actually been sent up t o Emmett’s Compa ny and was not guilty of the misbehavior of some of th e group. John was i nstrumental in seeing that Hosea himself stand tria l before the Council f or misdeeds committed in the arrest, and Hosea wa s found guilty. This Cou ncil Meeting took place, according to Stout’s di ary, Sunday November 21 , 1847 and this can give us some idea as to the d ate the unfortunate inci dent occurred. John records in his diary that wh en they arrived at Iowa C ity, the men who had brought them there were go ing to send them home with out a trial because they found they were innoc ent of the charges. But h e insisted upon the trial, and as a result wa s given provisions, etc. fo r his journey home. Comparisons of these seve ral accounts of what seem t o have been the same incident are most intere sting.) After joining Emmett’s Company, the Butler family did not follow the o l d trail, but went farther north, to find a new crossing over the river . W inter overtook them when they were in the heart of Indian country. S o the y had to stop and build log cabins and wait until spring. They stop ped i n a little valley and there was a patch of timber between them an d an Ind ian village. The men began to cut logs and they would bind a bun ch of log s together and drag them into camp. The children had great fu n riding o n the logs. One day a little Indian boy was very badly hurt, a s the log s began to roll, not being bound tight enough. So the Indian Ch ief told t hem if the boy died they would take one of the white childre n to pay fo r it. Caroline was very sick at the time and they were afrai d she was goi ng to die. Their food supplies had run out and they had not hing but mea t to eat, without salt. One day as she lay very sick in he r tent, with th e other women trying to help her, the old Indian Chieftai n came into th e tent and asked for the little tow headed girl (Keziah) w ho was about tw elve or fourteen years old. When she came in, he took he r by the hand an d led her away to his cabin. Caroline thought that the l ittle Indian bo y had died and that he had taken Keziah as a ransom. Bu t she was too wea k and sick to protest. The old Chieftain took Keziah to his cabin and told her that her mothe r w as very ill, and that she would die if she did not get something besi de s meat to eat. He gave her a pan of flour or meal and on top if that h e p ut a bowl of coffee and on top of that a smaller bowl of sugar. He to ld h er to carry them on her head till she got home and to make one biscu i t a day for her mother. He told her to be sure and keep it all for he r mo ther and that it would save her life. What joy filled the little cam p whe n Keziah came trudging home with her precious load. The instruction s wer e followed and the dear mother returned to health and strength. The y neve r forgot to give thanks to their Heavenly Father for all these ble ssings. Another time there was trouble with the Indians and they demanded a chi l d as hostage to be returned at sundown if the Saints complied with th e de mands of the Indians by that time. One of Grandfather’s children (co usi n Libby Allen Cameron thinks it was Mother, Charity) was held, much t o th e concern of Grandmother, but she was returned to her family at sund own. Mother also reported that while the Saints were at Camp Pottawattomie, I o wa, the Indians planned a massacre. A friendly Indian made his way int o c amp and told the Saints of this. They were therefore able to make a p eac e effort which forestalled trouble. John was appointed hunter for the camp as meat was their only food suppl y . Time and again, when the kill was sent home, Caroline and her famil y we nt without a share, which speaks a great deal for the Saints in Emme tt’ s Company. (John, while obeying the mission assigned him by Brigham Y oung , seemed to resent somewhat having been sent to that company.) When John was called on a mission to the Indians, he was not fixed ver y w ell financially; but so great was his faith that he accepted the call . Af ter his mission was completed, he and his companion had to pass thro ug h a hostile Indian country. They had been three days without any food , s o when they came to a fork in the road, they knelt down and prayed fo r gu idance to know which road to take. They were inspired to take the le ft ha nd road, but they were discouraged after traveling a long way to fi nd onl y a large barren waste of country. There was not a sign of any on e livin g as far as they could see. But suddenly they came to a stream o f water l iterally filled with trout. The fish were so thick that they co uld catc h them with their hands, so their prayer for food and protectio n was answ ered. While he was away, Caroline, who was in delicate health, and children li v ed on wild honey and crab apples for nine weeks. But she was very resou rc eful and they nearly always had something to eat, even when others wen t h ungry. She used to parch the hard corn and pound it, then put new mil k ov er it for her family to eat. When she had flour, she would very ofte n mak e her bread the day before they ate it, so as not to have hot bread . Col d bread lasted longer. When John L. returned from his mission, he was full of lice, after livi n g with the Indians. So his wife had to get a whole set of clean clothe s f or him. The Indians told her to put his clothes on an ant hill and th e an ts would eat the lice and knits. His clothes were white with knits b ut th e ants cleaned them up. One time a group of Sioux braves rode up to their camp and were talkin g t o the men while children stood some distance away. Mother counted fo r the m in the Sioux language. When she did this, they eyed her keenly an d talk ed to one another. After they had gone, her father told her neve r to do t hat again, as it might lead to trouble. In those days, childre n were some times kidnapped by the natives. She often entertained us by s peaking word s in the Sioux language. While living in the territory of the Sioux, the men of the camp wen t o n a hunt to get meat for their families. Grandfather’s oldest son, Ta ylor , was a boy of about twelve years of age, I think, and he was a goo d mark sman. He met with unusual success on this occasion, killing a larg e buffa lo and two wild turkeys. They were hitched to the buffalo and whe n they c ame into camp, Uncle Taylor was astride the buffalo, with a bi g turkey i n each hand and very proud, as any youngster would be. The mea t was share d by all in the camp. We liked to hear about how they made maple sugar. My impression is tha t i t was when they were in Iowa. Most of the families had what was call e d a sugar bush, or a clump of sugar maple trees. In the spring of the y ea r when the sap began to rise in the trees, families would take some o f th eir belongings and camp in the woods and make maple sugar. Trees wer e tap ped by boring a hole in them and a little trough inserted through w hich t he juice would run into a bucket. As many trees were tapped, peopl e wer e kept busy day and night emptying buckets of juice into a large ke ttle w here it was boiled down and granulated. Then it was poured into sm aller v essels to harden into cakes of maple sugar which was a great luxu ry. Keziah, Charity’s sister, told the following to her children: When spri n g came and the sap began to rise in the trees, the little camp began t o m ake plans to continue their journey. They were in a sugar maple secti on a nd they used to tap the trees and catch all the syrup they could eat . Nig ht after night Caroline sat up boiling, boiling and boiling the pre ciou s syrup into sugar to help feed her little flock. By her hard labor , sh e filled a small trunk full of maple sugar to use on the journey t o the G reat Salt Lake. One day, Emmett demanded that she divide her suga r with t he camp and she refuse to do so. So he asked John L. if he coul d make hi s wife mind him. He said, “If you can make her divide her sugar .” John L . answered, “Well, on that point, Caroline can just suit hersel f.” The re st of them could have had some if they had worked. On one occasion, Mother, old enough to walk to town, was sent for some s u pplies they needed. The distance, as I remember, was about two miles. D ar kness overtook her before she got back to camp. Her parents became ver y u neasy and built a large bonfire as a guide for her to the camp. On he r wa y she had to cross a deep ravine, with a pole laid across it for a b ridge . Soon after crossing, she heard a terrifying howl of a wild anima l whic h seemed very close. She hurried as best she could through the dar kness , guided by the bonfire and reached her anxious parents in safety . Next m orning her father went along the trail and found the bare footpr ints o f a panther. It had followed the child for some distance but stopp ed whe n it reached the foot pole. The parents rejoiced that their chil d reache d them unharmed. During that long winter, a Sioux squaw became very much attached to Gran d mother because she said she looked so very much like her daughter who h a d died. She asked if Caroline would be a daughter to her. All winter s h e kept the little feet of the children covered with Indian moccasins. T he y called her Grandmother Squaw. When spring came, Grandmother Squaw told Caroline not to leave before s h e told her good-bye, but the call came to break camp and she was not ab l e to see the old squaw. The company traveled about ten miles that day , an d after they had gone to bed, Caroline heard a moaning noise. She li stene d and it seemed to be coming closer and closer. Finally there cam e the fa ithful old Indian woman to tell them good-bye. She sat up all ni ght by th e low burning fire and (pages 17 and 18 missing) put them out to pasture. Many of these horses proved to be valuable wh e n they were up in flesh. Charity and Keziah baked bread, washed and ironed the gold rusher’s soil e d clothing and did many other helpful things, as the men rested and rec up erated so that they might continue their journey west. Often these me n ha d to lighten their loads and at a minimum cost exchanged valuable me rchan dise for labor. In this way, Charity and Keziah were able to obtai n mater ial for clothing for themselves and the rest of the family. Charity later worked in Salt Lake City for J. C. Little who owned a hot e l at Beck’s Hot Springs, a few miles north of the city. She was in goo d h ealth and fine physique. Being a good cook, she did her best and wa s rewa rded with a higher wage than girls who worked beside her. While wo rking t here, she was struck with cramps in her stomach, with pain so sev ere tha t she could not speak sometimes for hours. The few doctors in th e city we re baffled. All through her life, she suffered from cramps. Being the Bishop of Spanish Fork, her father had many Indians come to h i s home begging for flour, which was a scarce article in those early day s . On one occasion, a large strong Indian came for flour and Taylor Butl er , the oldest son, said to his father, “Let him work for his bread as w e h ave to do.” The angry Indian eyed him keenly. A short time later whe n Tay lor was in the canyon for a load of wood, the same Indian met him a nd rem inded him of the words he had spoken against them. He was ordere d off hi s load of wood and whipped unmercifully until he could hardly st and. Foll owing this, the Indian and his companions took his lunch whic h was in a s mall sack tied to one of the posts of the wood rack. Going b ack to him, t hey asked him to shake hands with them and then they woul d be good friend s if he would not talk against them anymore. They helpe d him onto his loa d of wood, and wounded and sick as he was so that he c ould hardly sit up , he made his way home as best he could. John rallied to the call from President Young to send teams with provisi o ns to suffering emigrants on the plains. When the belated Handcart Comp an y finally reached the Valley, there were distributed among the Saint s whe re they were welcomed and cared for. Some were sent to the Bishop’ s hom e in Spanish Fork. One poor victim who had had his leg amputated cr ied al l night from pain in that limb even to the end of his toes, thoug h the li mb was gone. Mother told us of a visit by President Young to Spanish Fork at a time w h en there was a great scarcity of food from the grasshoppers and other c au ses. He promised the sisters if they would glean the wheat fields afte r t he harvest, their children should never want for food. Trusting in th e wo rds of their great leader, Mother Caroline and other sisters of tha t War d gleaned the wheat fields of Spanish Fork until they could not fin d anot her head. The Butlers, with other converts, endured great hardships, but a promi s e made to Caroline in a patriarchal blessing by Patriarch John Smith i n N auvoo that the lives of her children should be preserved was fulfille d. T hough they were unsettled from the time they left their home in Kent ucky , and endured unspeakable hardships through the years, their ten chi ldre n lived through the trip across the plains and the last child born i n Spa nish Fork also survived the early pioneer life. An incident that brought sadness to the hearts of all the family was wh e n their faithful oxen were drowned in a flood which came down Spanish F or k River. As I remember, Charity said their names were Dick and Larry . Th e loved animals had brought them safely across the plains and Grandm othe r and the children wept. Early in life, Charity learned many things from her resourceful mother , a nd among them, the art of weaving. First, the wool from the few shee p kep t by the family was sheared by the men. Then she helped her mothe r wash t he wool, which after drying, had to be pulled apart and then car ded int o batts, then rolls, spun into threads on a spinning wheel, and t hen wove n by hand on the homemade loom in their home. She also knew th e differen t shrubs form which different colored dyes could be produced , using thes e and blue dye produced from indigo. These dyes were used t o color the th reads and made beautiful cloth. She also helped her mothe r knit warm stoc kings for the family, but she was not so fast a knitte r as Keziah. Kezia h would tell Charity that she would knit her stocking s if she would sew t he dresses for her in return. (See History of Pinto, Parents, etc. by Lydia A. T. Duffin for the remai n der of Charity’s life.) John Lowe Butler survived only a few years of the hardships of pioneeri n g in the Valley, but was an ardent worker all that time. He assisted i n s urveying lands and in making thrashing machines, doing the iron part s whi le other men did the wood work. He did black-smithing for himself a nd oth ers and took an active part in making the desert “Bloom as a rose. ” He ef ficiently performed his duties as a Bishop. Many emigrants and po or peopl e were helped by this generous man and his faithful wife. Grandmother Butler was loved by her children and they all idealized the i r father to an unusual degree all through their lives. He had a good se ns e of humor. His daughters remember his teasing, when he would invite t he m to kiss him when his face was covered with shaving lather. John Lowe Butler was the first person to be buried in the cemetery whi c h he had dedicated. (This was told to me by a relative in Spanish Fork . A fter the older members of the family married, Grandmother Butler move d wi th her three sons and younger daughters to Paragoonah, Utah as a pio neer. (See pages 16-18 in Lydia A. T. Thornton’s History of Parents, Early Li f e in Pinto, etc. for accounts of Butler reunions, Temple work, etc.)