 1824 - 1907 (83 years) Submit Photo / Document
Has no ancestors but 19 descendants in this family tree.
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| Name |
Isaac Bartlett Davies Nash |
| Birth |
14 Jun 1824 |
Kidwelly, Carmarthenshire, Wales  |
| Christening |
7 Jul 1824 |
Kidwelly, Carmarthenshire, Wales |
| Gender |
Male |
| Initiatory (LDS) |
16 Jul 1857 |
EHOUS |
| FamilySearch ID |
KWCT-92B |
| Death |
3 Aug 1907 |
Franklin, Franklin, Idaho, United States |
| Burial |
6 Aug 1907 |
Franklin Cemetery, Franklin, Idaho, United States |
| Person ID |
I127952 |
mytree |
| Last Modified |
25 Feb 2024 |
| Family 1 |
Hester Elvira Poole, b. 10 May 1826, Charlottetown, Queens, Prince Edward Island, Canada d. 3 Aug 1912 (Age 86 years) |
| Marriage |
24 Jan 1852 |
Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States |
| Divorce |
Yes, date unknown |
| Children |
| | 1. Isaac Bartlett Davies Nash, b. 27 Oct 1861, St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, United States d. 7 Jul 1862, St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, United States (Age 0 years) |
| | 2. Sarah Elvira Nash, b. 17 Nov 1862, St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, United States d. 17 Aug 1863 (Age 0 years) |
| | 3. Mary Rosina Nash, b. Abt 1864, St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, United States d. 12 Jul 1866 (Age 2 years) |
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| Family ID |
F35125 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
| Last Modified |
3 Sep 2024 |
| Family 2 |
Martha Howland, b. 18 Dec 1851, Flagg Township, Ogle, Illinois, United States d. 21 Nov 1916, Valley Ford, Sonoma, California, United States (Age 64 years) |
| Marriage |
8 Nov 1867 |
Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States |
| Children |
| | 1. Andrew Bartlett Nash, b. 10 Oct 1868, Franklin, Franklin, Idaho, United States d. 2 Apr 1943, Franklin, Franklin, Idaho, United States (Age 74 years) |
| | 2. Sarah Elvira Nash, b. 24 Mar 1870, Franklin, Franklin, Idaho, United States d. 10 Mar 1878, Franklin, Franklin, Idaho, United States (Age 7 years) |
| | 3. Isaac Henry Nash, b. 28 Jan 1872, Franklin, Franklin, Idaho, United States d. 14 Apr 1951, Preston, Franklin, Idaho, United States (Age 79 years) |
| | 4. Mary Frances Nash, b. 17 Jan 1874, Franklin, Franklin, Idaho, United States d. 6 Mar 1878, Franklin, Franklin, Idaho, United States (Age 4 years) |
| | 5. David Howland Nash, b. 31 Aug 1876, Franklin, Franklin, Idaho, United States d. 17 Sep 1947, Preston, Franklin, Idaho, United States (Age 71 years) |
| + | 6. Martha Estella Nash, b. 6 Dec 1878, Franklin, Franklin, Idaho, United States d. 18 Sep 1966, Logan, Cache, Utah, United States (Age 87 years) |
| | 7. Ann Helen Nash, b. 10 Jan 1881, Franklin, Franklin, Idaho, United States d. 16 May 1888, Franklin, Franklin, Idaho, United States (Age 7 years) |
| | 8. William Walter Nash, b. 22 Nov 1883, Franklin, Franklin, Idaho, United States d. 25 Sep 1889, Franklin, Franklin, Idaho, United States (Age 5 years) |
| | 9. Emmanette Nash, b. 9 Dec 1885, Franklin, Franklin, Idaho, United States d. 25 Jun 1966, Franklin, Franklin, Idaho, United States (Age 80 years) |
| | 10. Rodessa Nash, b. 21 Mar 1888, Franklin, Franklin, Idaho, United States d. 22 Jun 1953, Franklin, Franklin, Idaho, United States (Age 65 years) |
| | 11. Ellen Nellie Nash, b. 7 May 1891, Franklin, Franklin, Idaho, United States d. 18 Oct 1918, Valley Ford, Sonoma, California, United States (Age 27 years) |
| | 12. Laura H Nash, b. 9 Oct 1893, Franklin, Franklin, Idaho, United States d. 15 Mar 1982, Franklin, Franklin, Idaho, United States (Age 88 years) |
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| Family ID |
F35092 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
| Last Modified |
3 Sep 2024 |
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| Event Map |
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 | Birth - 14 Jun 1824 - Kidwelly, Carmarthenshire, Wales |
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| Christening - 7 Jul 1824 - Kidwelly, Carmarthenshire, Wales |
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 | Marriage - 24 Jan 1852 - Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States |
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 | Initiatory (LDS) - 16 Jul 1857 - EHOUS |
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| Marriage - 8 Nov 1867 - Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States |
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 | Death - 3 Aug 1907 - Franklin, Franklin, Idaho, United States |
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 | Burial - 6 Aug 1907 - Franklin Cemetery, Franklin, Idaho, United States |
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| Notes |
- Born 14 Jun 1824 in Kidwelly, Carmarthenshire. Died on 3 August 1907 i n F ranklin, Oneida, Idaho.
Left Liverpool on 26 Feb 1849 aboard the Buena Vista. Arrived in New Orl e ans on 19 April 1849.
Married to Eliza Morris in 1847 in Wales & later divorced in Utah, proba b ly in 1850 to 1851, Divorce granted by Pres. Brigham Young.
Married to Hester Elvira Poole on 24 Jan 1852 in Salt Lake City, Salt La k e, Utah. Adopted 3 children from Missouri.
Married to Martha Howland on 8 November 1867 in Salt Lake City. She bo r e 12 children.
He was ordained a High Priest April 21, 1872, by John Biggs, and a Patri a rch Aug. 29, 1897, by George Teasdale.
History of Isaac Bartlett Nash
Written by Himself
1824--1907
I, Isaac Bartlett Nash Davies, was born in Kidwelly, Carmarthenshire, S o uth Wales, June 14, 1824. My father’s name was David Davies and my moth er ’s name was Mary Nash Davies, daughter of Isaac Bartlett Nash and Mar y Wh ite Nash. My mother married against my grandfather’s will and becaus e o f her doing so, he would do nothing for her.
My grandfather at this time was well off financially, being a blacksmi t h with a large shop and an extensive business with many men working fo r h im. My father was a shoemaker in poor circumstances when he married m othe r, hence the antipathy my grandfather had for him and likewise the r efusa l to consent to their marriage.
A few months after their marriage, father had to leave in order to ge t w ork, and mother was without means of support. Soon after this I was b orn , with mother still in poor circumstances. Father could not supply he r wi th means, as he was usually out of work. When he had the means, he w oul d spend it without sending her any money. Grandfather would do nothin g fo r her at first. But at last, seeing the condition she was in, and sh e bei ng his only child, he relented, forgave her, and took her home to h er mot her. A short time after this, on a Sunday, the fourteenth of Jun e 1824 , I was born.
Grandfather, at the time of my birth, had gone to church. On arriving h o me from meeting, grandmother told him that Mary, that was my mother, h a d presented him with an heir. He told grandmother to go and bring me t o h im. I was then about a half hour old. When grandmother brought me t o him , he took me in his arms and cried. Then he gave me back to her an d sai d to my grandmother. “Take him, Mary, and we will raise him. Don’ t take h im to his mother again.” So I was not permitted to be nursed b y my mother , and the first thing that was put in my mouth was a gin bott le. Thus, m y grandfather and grandmother raised me.
After a while my father came home and went to housekeeping, and I was b r ought up by my grandparents. I became a spoiled child, petted by both . Wh en one would try to correct me for mischief, the other would interfe re. W hen I grew up I was sent to school. Being very quick at learnin g I took a dvantage of this and very often would run away and play truant . For thi s I was often punished and sometimes very severely. I used to p lay very b ad tricks on the old schoolmaster and always got punished in d ifferent wa ys, but it did no good. I ofttimes thought the old schoolmast er took th e wrong course with me, for I could always be coaxed but coul d never be d riven. My grandfather, seeing this, at last, moved me to ano ther school . Here, I was a little more satisfied and began to think tha t I ought t o try and learn something. From that time on, I did the bes t I could an d got a little common education. My grandfather, being fairl y well-off, p aid the British Government for changing my name from Davie s to Nash, an d I was taught to call my mother, Mary.
A few years later, my grandfather, through some means, failed in his bu s iness. He took large contracts and employed many men. The large firms w it h which he contracted failed to pay, and thus he was financially ruine d . Everything he had was sold under the hammer, with the exception of h i s tools. He now had to work hard for a living; and when I was very youn g , he took me to the shop and taught me the trade. Later on he develop e d a bad case of rheumatism and could not work much. I had by this tim e le arned the trade so that I could carry on the work.
By this time I was twenty-one years of age and began sparking the girl s . I went with many, but finally met one whom I thought would make m e a go od wife. Her name was Eliza Morris. Her parents seemed to like m e and enc ouraged me in keeping company with her. But when I wanted to ma rry her, t hey turned against me, refused their consent, and abused her b adly. At la st, I took her from them, and we were married without their c onsent.
We went to live with my grandmother and grandfather. Grandmother at th a t time kept a little store of provisions, such as flour, butter, chees e , and groceries. In a little while after we went to live with them, gra nd father fell and hurt himself, from which he never recovered. A few day s a fter he got hurt, he died. We stayed with grandmother and helped he r tak e care of the store, but I did not get along very well with her, s o we ga ve up the store and moved by ourselves.
At this time, the great South Wales Railroad was commenced. The road we n t close to my blacksmith shop. A contractor came to see me, wanting t o re nt the shop and tools, of which I had two sets, and to hire me. I co nsent ed and worked for them many months, doing well and making good wage s.
About this time, a family named Lewis came to our town and kept a tave r n called the White Lion. I used to go there often. I soon found they we r e Mormons, a sect that was but little known. I was at that time a Wesle ya n. Mormon Elders used to come very often and many times preached at th ei r house. They talked to me a great deal about their religion. I used t o g o to hear them preach. Sometimes they would preach on the street.
At last I began to investigate their doctrine. I was pretty well vers e d in the scriptures in the Welsh language and soon found that their doc tr ine was consistent with the teachings of Christ and His apostles, as l ai d down in the New Testament. I used to go with them and help them sing . A t last the Gospel Net caught me, and I was baptized. There was a ma n work ing in the shop by the name of William Wilde who was bitter agains t the f ew Latter-day Saints that were in our town, and he did all he col d agains t them, circulating lies about them. Finally by lying about me , he had m e turned away.
Soon after this, the work on the contract was completed. I was out of w o rk at the time and was called to go out to preach. In the meantime, th e o ld Tin Works where grandfather and I had worked, was started up agai n aft er being stopped for many years. The proprietor, a gentleman by th e nam e of Donovan, was friendly to grandfather. After the Works closed , Mr. Do novan went away and was gone many years, but came back and start ed the Ti n Works again.
One day, as I was coming home after being away preaching, I had to pa s s the Tin Works. On the bridge that crossed the river close to the Work s , I saw two men standing talking. As I passed, I took off my hat and bo we d to them. Mr. Donovan, who was one of them, looked at me and bade m e sto p and come to him. I went up to where they were standing. Mr. Donov an ask ed me my name. When I told him, he gripped my hand and said, “I th ough t I knew little Isaac.” He asked about grandfather. I told him tha t he wa s dead. “And what are you doing?’ he asked. I said, “I am doing n othing n ow, Sir. I am out of work.” Then he said, “I am busy now, but yo u come t o the Works tomorrow.” So on the morrow I went up to the Works . We ha d a long talk. During our conversation, he asked me if I had lear ned th e blacksmith trade. When I told him that I had, he asked me to g o to wor k for him; and I was very glad to do so.
Now when the Works were started this time, this same smith, William Wil d e, who worked at the railroad shops when I did and who was very bitte r ag ainst the Latter-day Saints, was the blacksmith at the Tin Works. A t thi s time, Mr. Donovan sent for him to come to the office and told hi m tha t he did not need his services after that week, as he had found hi s littl e friend, Isaac, and had employed him. God moves in a mysteriou s way, som etimes, His Sovereign Will to perform in behalf of His people . I write th is lengthy part to show how evil is paid and innocence is re warded. Thi s same William Wilde was the cause of my being discharged fro m the railro ad shop.
I worked in the Tin Works until I emigrated to Utah. Mr. Donovan was ve r y kind to us as a people. Sometimes I had to go to preach about four mi le s away. I used to leave the Works, by consent of the foreman, about fo u r o’clock in the afternoon. The timekeeper, being a friend of Wilde’s , we nt and complained to Mr. Donovan that I was gong away from my work s ometi mes in the afternoon. Mr. Donovan sent for me and asked me if it we re so . I told him it was, but I always had everything done before I wen t and n othing was neglected, as the manager could testify. Then he said , “I unde rstand that you go away to preach.” He asked me what I was prea ching abou t. I said, “I am preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ.” I aske d him if h e would care to read one of our books. He said he would like t o see one , so I brought him “The Voice of Warning.”
He read it all through. When he returned it, he said it was a fine wo r k and asked me if I had any more books I would lend him. I lent him th e D octrine and Covenants, not thinking it would be too deep for him, bu t h e read it through and returned it, saying that it was too deep for hi m. H e kept on friendly terms with us and gave us permission to hold meet ing s in a large shed; and when we had meetings there, he would stand i n som e remote place, listening.
About this time, Captain Dan Jones, who was preaching through Wales, g o t word from President Brigham Young to get up a Welsh company and emigr at e to the valleys of the mountains in America. He came to Kidwelly an d go t Mrs. Lewis and her children to go. Mr. David Lewis, her husband, w as no t very right in his mind, but very cunning. He was very rich, bein g hei r to a large estate. His brother, Dr. James Lewis, was a smart man.
When David Lewis found out that Bett, as he called his wife, and the ch i ldren were going to America, he opposed it and was persuaded not to se l l his estate. It seems that when he married Mrs. Lewis, a marriage cont ra ct was drawn up, making it impossible for one to sell the property unl es s both were willing. David Lewis would not sign the contract. Mr. Jame s L ewis wanted the estate and offered three thousand pounds for it.
A deed was drawn up and everything fixed to go to America, but they cou l d not in any way persuade David Lewis to sign the deed. Captain Dan Jon e s and Mrs. Lewis sent for me and told me that if I could get David Lew i s to sign the deed, they would take my wife and me to Salt Lake, fre e . I told them I would try. I knew that David Lewis was very fond of ru m . I told them to go away one night and let me have the key to the bar . Th ey did so. After they went, I went to the bar and Mr. Lewis came wit h me , begging me to give him a glass of rum. I did so. He was very pleas ed an d said I was a good fellow, and then asked for another. I took ou t the de ed that I had in my pocket and told him if he would put a cros s where I s howed him on the deed, I would give him all the rum he wanted . He for a l ong time refused and I refused to give him more rum. Since h aving a tast e of it, he was determined to have more. Finally he could st and it no lon ger and said if I would give him a big glass full, he woul d make the cros s on the paper. Very soon after, Mr. James Lewis paid Mrs . Lewis three th ousand pounds and got the deed. A few days later, Dan Jo nes, Mrs. Lewis a nd children, my wife and myself were on the way to Sal t Lake Valley. The y left Mr. Lewis behind, gave him one hundred pounds a nd a double-barrele d shotgun. But in a year after we left, Mr. Lewis cam e to Salt Lake Valle y. President Young, after hearing the whole truth i n the matter, took a f arm over Jordan, which belonged to Mrs. Lewis, fo r the support of Mr. Lew is. One of the Becksteads took care of him.
Before we started for America, I had a good deal of trouble to get awa y , as my wife’s father and brothers did their best to keep my wife fro m go ing; but she got away from them, and we started out one day before t he ot hers, so as to get away from them as they were determined to stop u s if t hey could.
We took a steamboat from Swansea to Liverpool and sailed across the oce a n in a new ship called the Buena Vista; it being her first trip. We h a d a nice voyage although we buried two on the trip. We left New Orlean s o n the steamboat, Old Constitution, [His son I. H. Nash’s sketch of hi s fa ther says it was called “Highland Mary,”JDN] and landed in St. Loui s at t he time the cholera was bad. The morning after we arrived we burie d twent y-one of our company. We soon got on our way to Council Bluffs bu rying si xty-four persons on the trip. My grandmother [Mary White Nash] w as one o f eight buried in the same grave. The cholera was so bad that w e ofttime s had to bury some of the bodies in the morning and others in t he afterno on.
When we arrived at St. Joseph, the Captain of the boat, by the name o f S cott, declared he would not take us any further. But the authoritie s of S t. Joe made him take us away from there. We arrived at Council Blu ffs i n a sorry condition. Nobody would come near us. We were put out o n the ba nks of the river with our dead and suffering.
Apostle George A. Smith, hearing of our arrival and of the sad conditi o n we were in, came down to the riverbanks. With him was Brother Lysand e r Gee. Brother Smith sent word to the people that if they would not ta k e us in and give us shelter, the Lord would turn a scourge upon them . I t was not long before teams and wagons came down and all were taken c ar e of. Father King at Council Point took in my wife and me, and a broth e r by the name of Morgan Hughes and his wife, not far from the river.
Very soon after we arrived, my wife came down with the cholera and near l y died. I will relate one instance that happened during her sickness. S h e had a serious craving for cold water. But we could not give it to he r b ecause the doctor had told us it was injurious to her. [Modern medica l do ctors would prescribe drinking lots of water to combat the cholera d iseas e, which probably saved her life]. She was so weak that she could b arel y move. One night Morgan Hughes and myself were sitting up with her . We b egan to feel quite drowsy and lay down on the floor before the lar ge fire place. After sleeping for some time, we heard a noise and lookin g up sa w Eliza standing behind the door drinking from a large tin jack t hat we h ad used to carry water in while crossing the sea. There Eliza st ood wit h the jack to her mouth drinking. We did not know how much she dr ank an d did not know where she got the strength to do it. From that tim e on he r health began to return and she was soon strong again.
About this time we found that we could not start across the plains an d w ere told to shift for ourselves. Mrs. Lewis had decided to take onl y a fe w with her. I asked her if she intended to take my wife and me, a s she ha d promised. She said that she did not think she could take us. S ome of th e Saints she had brought from the old country went back to St . Louis. Oth ers stayed around and tried to get work. My wife and I staye d at the Poin t with Father King, and I got work with a Brother Ovett, th e blacksmith.
At this time Apostle George A. Smith was getting up a company of Saint s t o cross the plains. Captain Jones and Mrs. Lewis had decided to go i n hi s company. Brother Jones bought some wagons that were not ironed. On e da y he came and wanted me to iron the wagons he had just bought. I ha d jus t contracted to work for Brother Ovett and told him I would not go . He sa id that I had to go for they had brought me here, and soon he bro ught a t eam and wagon, intending to take my boxes. [Ironing the wagons i nvolved p lacing a metal rim over each wooden wheel. It was one of the mo st difficu lt tasks for a nineteenth century blacksmith. It took specia l skills an d tools. The iron for the rim had to be cut accurately, ben t in a perfec t circle, heated, welded to complete the circle, and place d over the wood en wheel. As the rim cooled, it would shrink onto the whe el and that woul d make a solid iron rim. If it were cut too short it wou ld collapse the w heel. If it were cut too long, it would fit so poorly t hat it would not b e serviceable. If it were not a perfect circle, it wou ld not fit the whee l. JDN].
I told him he could not take them and sat down on my grandmother’s box . J ones had a cane in his hand with a kind of sword in it. He drew it an d po inted it at my breast and told me to get up. I got up and went out o f doo rs, and he took the boxes away. While I was outdoors, a brother wh o was r iding by asked what was the matter. I told him the best I could . He tol d me not to fret, and that he would see Apostle Orson Hyde. Thi s brother’ s name was Clark, brother to President Ezra T. Clark of Farmin gton.
In the meantime, Jones went to see Apostle George A. Smith and told hi m t hat he had brought my wife and me from the old country and that I wou ld n ot iron the wagons for him. Then Elder Hyde sent word to Brother Jon es t o give up our boxes, as he had no right to take them from me. Apostl e Smi th came to see me and wanted to know what the trouble was. I told h im al l that had transpired. He said for me to iron the wagons and the n I coul d go with them to the valley, as he wanted a blacksmith in his c ompany; a nd he would see that I should go to the valley free of charge . While in S t. Louis, he bought me a set of blacksmith tools and told m e that I coul d have them when we arrived in Salt Lake. I promised hi m I would iron th e wagons, shod the horses, and do other work, which too k me about six wee ks, on condition that I could go with them.
While waiting here, Sister Jane Jones, wife of Brother Jones, came fro m t he old country. When we left, she was about to be confined and coul d no t come. Jones would not wait for her as he was bound to go with Mrs . Lewi s. About three days after we left Wales, Sister Jones was confine d an d a few days later, came all alone across the sea and up the river t o Cou ncil Bluffs with her babe, which was but a few days old. Brother Jo nes an d Sister Lewis were quite surprised and also disappointed becaus e she ha d followed them.
This was the beginning of trouble, which lasted all the way across the p l ains. Mrs. Lewis had a spring wagon and Jones wanted his wife to ride w it h Mrs. Lewis, but she would not do it. She said she would rather wal k tha n ride with Mrs. Lewis. One day she commenced to walk. I saw her wa lkin g and took her in my wagon to ride with my wife. Sometimes she woul d rid e with me and sometimes with a brother by the name of Ned William s and hi s family.
Brother Jones forbade us to let Jane ride in our wagons. I told him sh e c ould ride as long as she wanted and Ned Williams told him the same. J ones , after this, felt bitter toward Ned and I. We traveled along, somet ime s all at peace and, at other times, wrangling. Sometimes Jane would g o t o Brother Smith’s wagon and ride with him and his family.
Just before we arrived at the east side of the Little Mountain, some wag o ns came to meet us, with potatoes, onions, and vegetables from Salt La k e City. It began to storm terribly, with a heavy snow and a bad wind . W e could not corral the wagons, so we had to unyoke the cattle in th e roa d with the wagons in a string. We could hardly get the cattle in th e will ows as it was snowing and drifting so hard. We tried to make fire s with w hich to get supper; but could not do so, and we all had to sta y in our wa gons.
Guards were called to go with the cattle. I was one of the seven selecte d . We went about two miles below the camp where we found a shelter in t h e wilderness. We found a place, formed like a bowery, with the wind blo wi ng in the opposite direction from the entrance. We cut a few small pol e s of quaking asp and made a fire and laid down on our blankets and buff al o robes. During the night the wind changed and blew straight in on us . I t drifted and covered us with a blanket of snow about seven feet deep . Th e cattle scattered into the willows.
When morning came, we started for camp, the snow on the level being abo u t three feet deep. One of the Salt Lake boys, Brother Stewart by name , ha d his feet frozen badly. Upon arriving at camp, we found the snow ha d nea rly covered the wagons. We stayed in camp three days and then wen t to loo k for our cattle. Sixty-four of them were dead. Some were foun d with onl y the tips of their horns showing above the snow.
Upon arriving at the Little Mountain, Brother Jones called a meeting a n d preached a long sermon, advising us all to stick together as a natio n . He told us that the wagons, which came to meet us with onions and pot at oes, had come primarily for Brother Smith and the Americans. He said t ha t if the company were all Welsh, they would not have come to meet us . H e advised us to stick together and all go over Jordan River and settl e th ere as an independent nation, with Mrs. Lewis as our queen. This i s the r eason why she was called the Welsh Queen and many people in Sal t Lake Cit y thought she actually was a Welsh Queen.
Jones called a vote. All that were willing to go over Jordan and establi s h a Welsh nation were requested to raise their hands. All hands went u p e xcept Ned Williams and mine. Then he asked the reason for my not voti ng w ith the rest. I told him I had had enough of the Welsh, and I was go ing t o try Americans for a while. He then said that I should be cut of f from t he Book of the Nation and never be restored. With that, I left , went to B rother George A. Smith and told him all that was said and don e.
Brother Smith came over right away. Jones was still speaking when he arr i ved. Jones asked Brother Smith if he would talk to the Saints a little , w hich he did as follows, “Brother and Sisters, the potatoes and onion s an d the other things have come for you as well as for the Americans. Y ou ha ve no need to go over Jordan and become an independent nation, fo r all i s free in the Valleys of the Mountains. There is no compulsion i n Zion. ” The next morning Brother Jeremy came to me, saying I had bette r ask Bro ther Jones’ pardon, as he was going to the valley ahead of us a nd would s ee President Young and tell him all about me. I told Jerem y I did not car e for him or Dan Jones.
At last we arrived in the valley and camped on the northeast of the ol d E migration Road, which is now the Twentieth Ward. Shortly after we wer e ca mped President Young and a party came to see us. He talked to us, sa yin g that he wanted all the mechanics to stay in the city and the farmer s t o go over Jordan and take up farms. So my wife and I, Brother Caleb P arr y and wife, Father Parry, William Clark and wife were left on the cam pgro unds while the rest moved away. [This is the group that delighted El der G eorge A. Smith’s American converts by singing to them as they trave led t o Utah. The next year, 1850, Father John Parry was called to organi ze wha t became known as the first Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Isaac B. Nas h was hi s First Assistant, JDN].
I asked Jones for a wagon to sleep in, but he refused. Brother Caleb Par r y and wife got their wagon for a day or two. About dark that night it b eg an to rain. We were without fire, bedding, and food. At ten o’cloc k a ma n came to us and wanted to know why we were staying here in the ra in. W e told him our situation. He suggested that we use a little shanty , whic h he had not far off. It contained a fireplace, and we made a fire , cooke d some food he gave us, and began to feel comfortable. This man’ s name wa s Elijah Gifford. He was working for Doctor Willard Richards . The next d ay an old brother by the name of Thomas Morris came to see u s. Upon findi ng that I was a Welshman, he was very kind to us. When he d iscovered tha t I was a blacksmith, he took me to Brother Burr Frost, wh o hired me to w ork in his shop and my wife to work in the house for he r board. Brother C lark was a tinsmith and went to work for someone in to wn. Caleb Parry an d his father were masons and soon found work. I worke d with Frost all th e winter of 1849 and all the summer of 1850. While wo rking for Frost, h e persuaded my wife to leave me. But in the fall we le ft Frost and rente d a room in a house owned by Father Pugmire. I rente d a blacksmith shop o n the corner of Emigration Street and Second West , known as Pugmire’s Sho p.
During the time I was with Frost, I got a lot in the Fifteenth Ward an d b uilt me a house with two rooms. We moved into it in the spring of 185 1. I n the same year I bought a part of a lot in the Seventh Ward and bui l t a shop on it. On the eighteenth of January 1850, I was ordained a Sev en ty and was received into the Second Quorum of Seventies.
During this time, my wife would go down to Frost’s house, sometimes stay i ng away two days at a time. Finally she stayed away altogether and want e d a divorce. She got the teachers to come and see me, but they could d o n o good; so she had me taken before President Young in the Council Hou se . Brother Judd, one of the teachers who had been laboring with us, too k u s before the President. He asked Brother Judd what the trouble was be twee n Isaac and his wife. Judd began to tell about some of the trouble , but P resident Young said, “Hold on, Brother Judd, I know all about tha t. Now w hat do they want?” He turned his chair facing me and said, “Isaa c, do yo u love your wife?” I answered him, “Yes Sir, as much as my own l ife.” H e then turned to my wife and asked her if she did not love Isaac . She ans wered very boldly, “No Sir, I do not.” He looked at her a few s econds, th en said, “Aren’t you ashamed to tell me that you do not love y our husband ?” “No, I am not.” she said.
He then told us we were but foolish children; to go home and behave ours e lves, or he would take a rod and whip us both. She refused to go, sayi n g she wanted a divorce. He looked at her and said slowly, “You shall n o t have a divorce.” Then he turned to me and said, “Isaac, will you obe y m y counsel?” I told him I would. He told me then to go home and look o ut f or a good woman, and he would seal her to me. As we went outside, sh e tol d me to go back and tell him that she would have a divorce. Preside nt You ng opened the door and said, “You go to hell. You shall not hav e a divorc e,” and shut the door. For a long time afterward, she continua lly came t o the shop begging me to give her a divorce; but I would not d o it. And s he bothered President Young so often that in order to get ri d of her, h e had his secretary, Brother Thomas Bullock, write out a divo rce, whicHis igned. [In 1991, Claudette Swainston discovered that the 185 0 Salt Lake C ity census listed Isaac and Eliza as having a month old bab y, named Isaa c Nash. Claudette also found Eliza Morris Nash Frost on th e 1860 census , but the boy was not with her, leading to the probabilit y that the bab y boy had died. Neither of us had ever heard any referenc e to a child o f that marriage. JDN]
Finally I met a sister by the name of Hester E. Poole; and in January 18 5 2, we were married. My wife had a mother, brother, and sister in Califo rn ia. They wanted my wife to come and see them, promising to come back t o t he valley with her. [Hester Elvira Poole, Aunt Vie to the Nash family , wa s the youngest daughter of John Poole of London, England, and Mary C rame r Poole of Bristol, Maine. She was born at Coves Head, near Charlott estow n on Prince Edward Island, Canada, on May 10, 1826. The Pooles wer e amon g the Saints who left New York City with Sam Brannan on the ship B rooklyn . They landed in San Francisco in July 1846 when it was still Mex ican ter ritory, and had lived in the vicinity since that time. Aunt Vi e travele d overland to Salt Lake City in 1848. JDN]
In the latter part of March, we went to California with Ben Halliday’s o u tfit with a herd of cattle, in charge of a gentleman by the name of Cap ta in Wales. I drove a team of oxen, and my wife did the cooking for th e Cap tain and myself. [See Aunt Vie’s journal for a more descriptive nar rativ e of this journey. JDN]
While traveling, she drove the Captain’s horse and buggy all the way t o S acramento. From there we took the steamboat down to San Francisco whe re m y mother-in-law lived at that time. They were very glad to see us. W e sta yed with them a little while, and then my brother-in-law went up t o Sonor a to the mines where another brother-in-law was working. We wen t to wor k with him and three more miners. We had a large claim on Wood s Creek. I n six months we sent for our families. We were doing well an d had save d a little money. [Woods Creek is approximately forty miles fr om wher e I live. I know the general area where they had their claim, bu t not th e specific site. The records are in Sacramento, and I have not s een them . JDN].
Early in the spring it began to rain. The creeks raised and Woods Cree k b ecame a swollen river, sweeping everything before it. Our claim was f ille d with rock and gravel. The flood lasted about six weeks. Provision s go t scarce, as all the ferries and bridges were swept away between Son ora a nd San Francisco. There was no travel. Everything had to be haule d by fre ight from San Francisco or Stockton up to the mine. Flour went u p to on e dollar a pound, beans and potatoes likewise. What little mone y we had s aved was soon spent. We had to go in debt for the little we co uld get t o eat. At this time there were eleven in the family. [That floo d was ruin ous to the entire area. Many more than the Pooles and Nashs le ft the are a because of it. JDN]
As soon as the waters went down we went to work clearing out the claim . S hortly after this, Vie and I decided to go back to San Francisco. I s ol d out my share in the claim; and we settled in a place by the name o f Uni on City, owned by Mr. John M. Horner. I bought a lot from him and b uil t a house and shop. We had saved some money by taking in washing an d iron ing at three dollars per dozen. I did most of the washing and Vi e did th e ironing. [Union City was across the Bay from San Francisco, i n the are a of what is now known as Fremont. JDN]
I did well in my shop. We had a good many of the young elders, who wer e g oing to the Sandwich Islands [Hawaii] on missions, stay with us. The y oft en had to stay and work to get the necessary means to take them t o the Is lands. Among our visitors were Tom Williams and Pemeno Jackman f rom Sal t Lake, who were there buying and shipping potatoes. We also ha d Apostl e Parley P. Pratt who stayed with us a good while. Finally Elder s N. V. J ones and William Fotheringham came from a mission in Calcutta . We decide d to come on home with them. My wife’s mother, her brother Pe ter, and sis ter were to come later.
When I went to sell my house and lot, I could give no title to it, a s w e had no deed from Horner, who at that time owned all of Union City . Man y others had no deeds to their property. We had bought our propert y witho ut getting the deeds, thinking that we were safe and that Horne r was a re liable man. But, alas, he failed, and everything was taken fro m him inclu ding Union City and all improvements. Only those who had bee n smart enoug h to get deeds were saved. I sold out for what I could get , bought me a l ight wagon and a span of mules and started home with Brot her N. V. Jones . [Most historians do not accuse Horner of fraud. Mostly , it was a time o f confusion in changing sovereignty from Mexico to Unit ed States, and con fusion about titles, etc. It appears that Horner simpl y settled an entir e township and began raising food crops and allowing o ther to settle on t he land. JDN]
Everything went well until we came to a big slough, which was a branc h o f the San Joaquin River. It had a narrow steep bridge with no railing , an d fifteen feet from the bridge to the water. Vie would not ride acro ss th e bridge, but walked behind. Brother Jones had crossed and was tyin g up h is team. When near the top of the bridge, my off mule balked and b egan t o back down. The wagon backed to one side of the bridge. Vie holle red t o me to jump down, as the wagon was going over. I jumped off the wa gon ju st as the hind wheels were going off the bridge, then the whole wa gon wen t down to the water and mud, upside down. The mules dropped to th e botto m of the wagon.
We were all day getting out of the water and mud. Some men close by ca m e to our aid. We got the mules out first, then the wagon, a piece a t a ti me, with ropes. Most of our things were lost or spoiled. We had lo t of th ings hanging up in the wagon, including new hats and clothing. Ou r provis ions and feather bed were spoiled. After we got everything out t hat we co uld, we went to a camping place a short distance from there wer e we drie d our bedding and clothing. We finally reached Stockton where w e had ou r wagon fixed and secured some provisions and continued on our j ourney.
We traveled on until we reached Volcano, in Tuolumne County [near the to w n of Jackson, now Amador County, JDN]. After leaving there, we had a st ee p hill to climb. On top of the hill, the wagon broke; and Brother Jone s a nd I had to go back six miles to a blacksmith shop to get the axle me nded . Vie had to stay alone on top of the hill while we were gone. Short ly af ter we went, an Indian rode up to where she was; it frightened he r nearl y to death, but he did not molest her. He tried to talk to her, b ut she c ould not understand him. Soon a white man rode up to where she w as. Seein g she was very frightened, he asked her what the matter was sin ce she wa s there alone. She told him the situation, and he stayed ther e with her u ntil the Indian rode away, about dark. We returned soon afte r.
The next morning, after putting the axle on, we resumed our journey. W e c rossed the Sierra Nevada Mountains; and after much toil and trouble , we a rrived at Carson Valley. We stayed there a few days. While there , Brothe r Enoch Reese, from Salt Lake City, who kept the Station, wante d us to st ay there and take charge of the station while he went to Sal t Lake City a nd back, but my wife was not willing to stay. Both of us we re anxious t o get to Salt Lake City as soon as possible. While we were i n Carson Vall ey, two brethren had come from California with goods for Sa lt Lake City . Their names were Kempton and Potter. When they left, we we nt with the m and two other men. We arrived in Salt Lake City in the fal l of 1855. Wh en we reached there, we found that flour was very scarce, d ue to the cric kets getting most of the crops. I sold my mules and wago n for flour and c oal and went to work at my trade.
In the year 1856 I went to work in the Church Blacksmith Shop. During th i s time I lived in the Seventh Ward. I had a lot there and a blacksmit h sh op on it, before I went to California. When I came back, I turned th e sho p into a dwelling house and lived in it until I built a house nex t to th e shop. During this time, the men in the Seventh Ward were organi zed int o military companies. Brother Jonathan Pugmire was major of a com pany an d Bishop James Willie was captain of our fifty. The company was f ormed in to tens. One company was formed of the young men of the ward. Br other Jam es Needham was captain of our company, and I was his First Lieu tenant. W e were always on hand to respond to every call made by our offi cers. We d rilled every Saturday afternoon and had good times at it. As a ll the boy s were full of fun always.
On July 24, 1857, President Young at Big Cottonwood Canyon gave a part y a nd a great many were present. While we were there, the news was broug ht i nto camp by Porter Rockwell and Jud Stoddard that General Joe Johnso n [Al bert Sidney Johnston] had started with a part of the United State s Army f or Utah to take our leaders prisoners and drive us from our home s. This n ews did not stop our pleasure during our four days of camping . At this ti me I wrote the song “Do Da” and sang it afterward in the tab ernacle. [Pub lished versions spell it “Doo Dah”, JDN]
Soon after we arrived home, Major Pugmire was ordered to get his compa n y ready to march to Echo Canyon with ten-days of rations, armed and equ ip ped with guns and ammunition. Opposite the Lion House, President Youn g ta lked to us, telling us that if we would do right we should all retur n i n peace. On reaching the mouth of Emigration Canyon, a messenger arri ve d from General Wells’ camp telling us to hurry to Echo Canyon for th e sol diers were coming. We made a quick march and arrived at Echo Canyo n and c amped there for ten weeks, but no soldiers came while we were the re. Lo t Smith and companies closely guarded them.
While we were away, those who were left at home had everything ready t o s et fire to our homes if the soldiers should come to the city. We ha d orde rs to move south and leave our homes. My wife and I went as far a s Prov o River and camped there along with many others, while the city wa s nearl y deserted. The soldiers came, but according to their promise mad e to Pre sident Young by General Johnston, they marched through the cit y very peac eably and were astonished to see the city deserted. They cont inued to mar ch south and made camp at a place they named Camp Floyd [i n Cedar Valley , forty miles southwest of Salt Lake City, JDN].
After a while we returned to our homes. I went back to the public shop a g ain and worked there until 1859, when we were called upon to go to th e St ates (Kansas) in charge of the Mountain Meadows Massacre children. T hat w as a dreadful massacre. We were furnished two companies of soldier s to gu ard us on our journey, one of cavalry and one of infantry to tak e 16 chil dren back to Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas. [This refers to the surre nder, the n the massacre of most of the company of Arkansas immigrants (m en, women , and children) traveling to California in 1857. It was done b y a handfu l of Latter-day Saints and some Indians in Southern Utah. A ho rrendous ev ent, it reflected the anger of Mormons who heard the Fanche r Train travel ers, as they were called, brag about the depredations the y had made again st Mormons in Missouri in the 1830’s. JDN].
When we arrived at Fort Leavenworth, the Indian Agent of Fort Smith, Ark a nsas, was there to meet us. He took the sixteen children that we had br ou ght with us. We were discharged there. [Isaac B. drove the wagon, an d Aun t Vie was hired as nurse to the children. One researcher into the m ilitar y records has said the military records did not record the names o f Isaa c and Elvira Nash, JDN]
We went to St. Louis, stayed there a time, then went up the river to LaG r ange, stayed there a few weeks, and then went back to St. Louis. [Aun t Vi e’s record says they intended to go to Wales, but they learned tha t Isaac ’s parents had died within three weeks of each other, so they aba ndoned t he proposed journey, JDN]. From there, we went to a place calle d Pulltite , near the Spanish Pond, ten miles out from St. Louis on the B ellefontain e road. I went to work in a blacksmith shop with an old wago n maker by th e name of James Key. I soon found that he was a Mormon apos tate.
I made a good many friends there and finally bought a piece of land fr o m a gentleman named Dyson and built a house and shop on it. While we we r e there, we adopted two little orphan children, a boy and a girl, bot h o f whom died, one of whooping cough and the other from Cholera Infantu m. [ Aunt Vie says they were named Bartlett and Estelle, JDN.] At this ti me th e war between the North and the South broke out. Most all of the fa rmer s there were slaveholders and very friendly to us, but we passed thr oug h terrible times. I was arrested three times and put into military pr ison , which used to be Dr. McDowell’s College.
An old man by the name of Comstock stayed around the neighborhood and us e d to come to my shop nearly every day, pretending to be very friendly w it h me, but he was a snake in the grass, a very wicked man, and proved t o b e a government spy. He used to talk to me about the war, and I spok e my m ind to him concerning it and freeing the Negroes. He went down t o St. Lou is and reported all I said to the Provost Marshall who lived no t far fro m my shop. His name was Barney Farrar. I used to do considerabl e work fo r him. In the year 1860, when the war broke out [it started i n 1861, JND] , he freed all his slaves, for which the government paid him . He was mad e Provost Marshall, with his headquarters at St. Louis.
After Comstock’s repeated reports of me, he sent for me and had me arres t ed. He said I was a secessionist and had uttered secessionist sentimen t s in my shop. Mr. Comstock, he said, was the informant. I replied tha t i f saying that I did not want a nigger to be on equality with me, wa s bein g a secessionist, I was one. He called one of the guards and tol d him t o take me to prison, so I was taken there.
While my wife and I were in St. Louis, we made the acquaintance of Broth e r Andrew Kershaw and his wife, who proved to be true friends. They cam e t o see us often in Pulltite; and when I was taken to prison, my wife , an d Brother and Sister Kershaw went to the British Consul. They told h i m I was arrested and sent to the military prison as an alleged secessio ni st. I was a British subject, so the British Consul went with them to t h e prison. In the meantime, I was sent for to have my trial. When the Br it ish Consul arrived and told the Provost Marshall that I was a Britis h sub ject and that he was there to protect me, I was released.
Shortly after we went home, I bought a fine double-barreled shotgun to t a ke with me to Salt Lake City. Two young men were living close to us--Jo h n Worthington and Henry Redman. They were good friends of ours and Wort hi ngton knew that I had a good gun. One Saturday evening, Brother and Si ste r Kershaw came out on a visit; and on Sunday morning, Brother Kersha w an d I went up to Spanish Pond. While we were gone, Worthington came t o ou r house. He asked my wife if he could borrow my gun for a little whi le.
My wife said, “Why John, are you going hunting on Sunday?’ He replied th a t birds collected together on Sundays, and he would have a good chanc e t o shoot some. Soon he saw Henry coming and joined him. That night bot h o f them went away to join General Sterling Price, a Confederate genera l op erating in Missouri. Somehow old Comstock found out that Worthingto n too k my gun, so he went to St. Louis and reported. Soon I was arreste d agai n and brought before Farrar, but through the British Consul, Mr. W ilkins , I was again released, which made old Comstock mad. It seems tha t he wa s determined to have me kept in prison.
Mr. Comstock, an old apostate named James Key, and a man by the name o f V an Tassel, went to Judge Crow who lived in the neighborhood, and mad e a n affidavit saying that I was an American citizen, that I had voted i n Ca lifornia, Salt Lake City, and in Pulltite precinct at the election o f Abr aham Lincoln. Again I was arrested. Business at the Provost Marshal l’s wa s so pressing at this time that it was necessary to have an extr a Provos t Marshall, a young man by the name of O’Connor. He tried case s in the af ternoon and was a roommate of the British Consul at the Plant ers’ Hotel . When Mr. Wilkins found that I was arrested again, he and O’C onnor mad e it up to see that my trial came off in the afternoon.
At the trial, Mr. Wilkins sat close to Mr. O’Connor. Mr. O’Connor said , “ Mr. Nash, how is it that you are here again?” I told him that I did n ot k now. “I believe,” he said, “that there is a conspiracy against you. ” An d he swore a big oath that he would have them arrested and began t o writ e an order for arrest when a Provost guard came in and handed hi m a rol l of papers. He looked at them, read one, and shook his head. Mr . Wilkin s asked him what the trouble was. He replied that there was a gr ave charg e against me. It was sworn to by three men before a Justice o f the Peace , Mr. Crow of Pulltite, that I was claiming protection from t he British C onsul when I was a citizen of the United States; that I ha d voted in Cali fornia, Salt Lake City, and Pulltite precinct at the elec tion of Abraha m Lincoln.
Mr. Wilkins read the papers, then turned to me and asked me if I had vot e d at these places. I replied that I had not, that I had been asked to v ot e, but had told them I was not a citizen of the United States and coul d n ot vote. Mr. Wilkins and Mr. O’Connor looked at each other for a fe w seco nds. Then Mr. Wilkins asked Mr. O’Connor what he was going to do a bout it . He replied that he did not know. They finally decided to writ e to Calif ornia and Salt Lake City and to inquire at Pulltite to see i f I had vote d at any of those places.
In the meantime, Mr. Wilkins was to take charge of me, and if I was fou n d guilty, he promised to turn me over to O’Connor. “I want you to under st and,” said Wilkins, “that I am here to protect her Majesty’s subjects , an d I am going to do it.” At Mr. O’Connor’s request, I signed the oat h of n eutrality. Mr. O’Connor told me to keep my mouth shut, and I woul d not b e molested again. I thanked him, and Mr. Wilkins took the documen t and we nt away. I heard later that Van Tassell, one of the men who swor e agains t me, was banished from the state for harboring Negroes and gett ing the m to steal from their masters. Old Comstock, I understand, died m iserably , without a friend; and Key, the apostate, went blind and died i n great p overty.
While we were in Missouri, we adopted two orphan children, but both of t h em died. In the year 1863, we adopted another little girl baby, the dau gh ter of a man named Charles Alonzo Lane, whose wife died with the fever . H er name was Virginia. She was buried at the Bellefontaine Cemetery. W e ha d the little child blessed and named Nellie E. Nash.
In the year 1864 we decided to move back to our home in Salt Lake City . [ Aunt Vie’s journal says they left because she was filled with fear fo r hu sband’s safety, JDN]. Before we moved, I had a letter from my wife’ s brot her Peter Poole, who lived in our house in the city of Salt Lake , sayin g that he was going to move to Cache Valley and wanting us to com e ther e also. He said he could sell my house and lot. I told him to do s o, whic h he did. He then moved to Franklin, Idaho, in Cache Valley.
A brother in St. Louis by the name of Dunford, a boot and shoe merchan t w ith a large store on Broadway, found that I was about to go to Salt L ak e City and sent for me. He made a proposition to me, that if I would g o w ith him and take charge of his outfit, he would take my wife and I t o Sal t Lake City free. I agreed and we soon started. In Wyoming, he lef t every thing in my charge, consisting of eight wagons loaded with hats , boots, s hoes, and provisions, and a spring wagon for himself and famil y. He furni shed the money. I hired the teamsters and had charge of every thing, whil e they passed as passengers to the valley.
In Wyoming, a good many people joined us who were going to Salt Lake, a n d within a few days we were organized as a company to travel across th e p lains. I was appointed Sergeant of the Guard. Everything went pleasan tl y until we were about halfway through our journey. Mr. Dunford began t o f ind fault with me, saying that I did not attend to his business solel y, a s he had hired me to do. But instead, I had divided my attention i n looki ng after the welfare of the Mormons and others who formed most o f the com pany.
At last, within a few days drive to Ash Hollow, he got very wrath with m e , saying that he would not go on any farther and that I could quit a s h e had no more use for me. I threw my little whip to the ground sayin g tha t if that was what he wanted, I would quit. When the teamsters sa w wha t I had done, they also threw down their whips. This was about noon . He a nd his wife drove the teams into camp, where a meeting was called . Mr. Du nford made his grievances known, saying that he did not hire m e to do any thing but his bidding and did not want me to act as Sergean t of the Guard , as it kept me from looking after his affairs.
After a good deal of talk, a vote was taken; and I was released from bei n g Sergeant of the Guard. The leading men talked the matter over concern in g a new Sergeant of the Guard. Finally, Dr. Henton, one of the company , m ade a motion that I. B. Nash be Sergeant of the Guard until we reache d Sa lt Lake City. The vote was carried. All voted except Dunford, who wa s cra zy-mad. However, he was at last coaxed to go on. Everything seeme d to b e going smoothly until we came to Ash Hollow. There, upon the benc h abou t a mile from where we camped, a company of soldiers was stationed . Earl y in the morning, Dunford went to the soldier’s camp. Upon his ret urn h e told us that he had decided not to go any farther and that we, hi s team sters, were discharged. He told me to bring the accounts of the te amsters , and he would pay them off.
We were in a bad fix, thrown out on the plains with no way to go to th e v alley. A meeting was called by the leading men of the company, and i t wa s agreed that we should be divided among the company and finish th e tre k to Salt Lake City. They told me to get provisions as pay for th e teamst ers, but upon explaining the situation to Mr. Dunford and askin g for th e pay in the form of provisions such as flour, bacon, dried frui t, etc. , of which he had plenty. He refused flatly, saying that we coul d take ou r pay in legal currency or not at all.
I pleaded with him, but in vain. He had the advantage on us, as he had t h e soldiers back of him. I did not know what to do. I turned to some o f th e teamsters who stood nearby and told them to cheer up; we would ge t prov isions some way. As I turned away, Mr. Dunford drew a revolver an d said t hat if I touched anything that belonged to him, he would shoot m e down . I told him that was a game that two could play at. He jumped bef ore me , pointing a revolver in my face. It was cocked and his finger wa s on th e trigger, when a man by the name of Hall jumped and grabbed th e revolve r away from Mr. Dunford, who cried out to his son, Henry, to ru n to his c arriage and bring another revolver. As Henry was returning t o his father , a man who was sitting by the campfire knocked the revolve r from his han d with a stick of wood. Soon after that, Dunford moved t o the soldiers’ c amp, and we started on our way. Brother Bolingbrook an d family and my wif e went with Mr. Hall. The teamsters were divided amon g the company.
After much trouble, we arrived in Salt Lake City where we stayed for a f e w days and then went to Franklin with my wife’s brother, also brother s fr om Franklin by the names of William Rogers, L. L. Hatch, Bishop of F rankl in, and James Packer. They had heard through my wife’s brother, Pet er Poo le, that I was a choir leader, and they needed me in that capacit y very m uch. We arrived in Franklin in October 1864.
I soon established myself there. I went to work at my trade, in partners h ip with Brother Purnell. I was soon appointed leader of the choir and S up erintendent of the Sunday School, both of which I held for several yea rs , until I was called First Assistant to Brother William Webster, Stak e Su perintendent of the Sunday Schools in Oneida Stake. I held that offi ce un til the death of Brother Webster.
On April 1, 1872, I was ordained a High Priest by John Biggs, and lat e r a Patriarch on August 29, 1879, by Apostle George Teasdale. In 186 5 , I bought a lot with a log house on it from Brother Andrew Morrison a n d after living in Brother Peter Poole’s house a while, I moved into ou r l og house. I built a blacksmith shop and worked in my own shop until t he S hort Line Railroad reached Franklin; and while the terminus of the r oad w as there, I built a shop at the terminus, working there until the r ailroa d went farther north, then built a shop by Webster’s’ store. [Thi s railro ad no longer exists, JDN].
Later I worked in a shop near the Co-op Store. I had to leave there aft e r several years on account of the insurance company’s demands, which wo ul d not allow the shop nearer than one hundred feet from the store, unle s s they paid seventy-five dollars per year more, which they refused to d o . As I had to move, I bought a lot from John Egbert across the street f ro m the old shop and worked there until I retired from business. I turne d t he business over to my two sons, Isaac H. and David Nash. The busines s i s still carried on by them under the name of Nash Brothers. I also tu rne d my farm of forty acres over to them; and in consideration of this , my s ons maintained my family and me. [The old blacksmith shop was loca ted i n Nashville near their farm two miles north of town, JDN].
[Before the final paragraphs of his journal are read it is important t o r emember that on November 8, 1867, he married Martha Howland as a plur al w ife. He was forty-four, Aunt Vie was Forty-one, and Grandmother Mart ha wa s still one month from her sixteenth birthday. Aunt Vie’s only chil d wa s the adopted girl, Nellie. Nellie Nash Parkinson is quoted in Aun t Vie’ s journal as saying that Aunt Vie, “gave her consent for Isaac t o marry M artha Howland, feeling that he should be blessed with children , and havin g full faith in the divinity of the revelation concerning plu ral marriage .” See Aunt Vie’s journal for the good relationship of thes e two women. T he log house still stands at 309 E. 2nd North, Franklin, I daho, but it do es not look like a log house. It has been incorporated in to the house tha t Laura Nash Atkinson lived in for so many years. All tw elve of Martha’ s children were born in that house. Aunt Vie’s home was a bout two block s away, but it no longer stands. If any descendant happen s to drive throu gh Franklin, please stop at the Pioneer Relic Hall on th e north side of t he town park. If you look around long enough you will f ind some large por traits of your pioneer ancestors, JDN].
In April, 1885, United States Marshall Fred Dubois, with many deputies , w as making awful raids on the Mormons, and a great many of the brethre n we re taken and cast into prison. Among the number, Deputy Marshall Ale xande r Stalker, a neighbor of mine who pretended to by my friend, took m e. I w as taken to Oxford before a United States Commissioner and bound o ver t o appear in court at Blackfoot in November 1885. Nine of us were tr ied be fore Judge Hays for polygamy and eight of us were found guilty. Br other G eorge C. Parkinson was tried for hiding one of the brethren i n a cellar i n Oxford. He was sentenced to the penitentiary for one yea r and to pa y a fine of three hundred dollars. The other eight were sente nced for si x months and fine of three hundred dollars. I was sentenced t o three mont hs and no fine, along with Bishop Porter. We were cellmates.
The old judge took much interest in me and promised that if I would ob e y the law in the future, he would send me home free; but I told him I c ou ld not do it, so I went to the Pen. While there, I was well treated an d e njoyed myself. Sometimes I did blacksmithing, sometimes composed song s. M y cell was never locked except at night.
One day old Judge Hays came to Boise and wanted to see the prisoner Nas h . He, with Dubois and others, came to my cell. He put his hand throug h th e bars and shook hands with me, telling me I looked well. I replie d tha t a clear conscience and a contented mind is a continual feast. H e laughe d and said that I was a case and would be contented wherever I w as. I mad e friends with all the prisoners. One day while out in the yard , all pris oners were allowed two hours daily in the yard, I heard one o f the prison ers begging for a chew of tobacco. I decided to get a plug o f tobacco an d divide it among the prisoners, so I sent for a plug and go t it.
I cut it in small pieces and gave it among them once in a while. One nig h t when the water-carrier was in my cell, he slipped a small piece of pa pe r to me. I read it. It was asking for a “Chaw of tobacco, for God’s sa ke. ” He said he was almost crazy, so I sent him a nice piece. The next d ay , while walking with Bishop Porter in the yard, someone grasped me i n hi s arms and said, “God bless you, Brother Nash. You saved my life las t nig ht by sending me that tobacco and Ill never forget it.” All the pri soner s called me Brother Nash and would do anything for me. This particu lar ma n was an Irishman named Sullivan.
I was kindly treated by all the officers in the prison. When my time w a s up, all the prisoners were allowed to come out and stand by as I pass e d out. They waved their caps saying, “Goodbye, Brother Nash,” and som e sa id, “God bless you.” I gained their good will by being kind and no t bein g stuck up.
***End of Journal***
During his early residence in Salt Lake, his great strength of charact e r was portrayed in an incident occurring in the old bowery. He was list en ing to a discourse by President Brigham Young, who was scathingly deno unc ing the use of tobacco, saying,” There are Elders in this assembly wh o no w have tobacco in their mouths though even a hog would not chew th e vil e weed.” I. B. Nash had some in his mouth and felt the reproof keen ly, s o quietly slipped the tobacco out of his mouth and, dropped it on t he gro und, and said to himself, “Now stay there until I come for you,” a nd he n ever again touched the weed in any form. [Lyn Nash]
Physically, he knew no fear, was impetuous and spoke quickly, but forgiv i ng as a child. In his trade as a blacksmith, he exhibited great skill . H e was devoted to his family, as well as to the community at large, an d wa s successful in providing wholesome amusement and pleasures for bot h ol d and young. [Lyn Nash]
Isaac B. and Aunt Vie lived in one home, and Martha and the children liv e d in another home. During the last three years of his life, he suffere d w ith cancer, and toward the end, Isaac B. and Aunt Vie moved in with M arth a in order that the two wives could share the burden of caring for h im. D uring the 1960’s Mary and I oftentimes would stop in Franklin and c hat wi th Aunt Laura, Isaac and Martha’s youngest daughter. We would as k her t o tell our children about her father. She delighted us with her s tories , adding that Isaac B. never failed to attend General Conference t wice ea ch year in Salt Lake City. Sometimes he walked, she said, and lat er he ro de the train. Aunt Laura also said that she remembered travelin g to Confe rence with her father. She would be seated by the great organ , and he wou ld sing again with the choir that he helped found a half-cen tury earlier . [JDN)]
Editorial notes of JDN are made by a great grandson, Jack D. Nash.
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