Chapter 3

Interestingly, Beaver was home to at least 4 or 5 Levi children as some time in their lives. Undoubtedly mother, and grandmother Julia Ann spent much of her time there with her children, possibly before and surely after coming to Kanosh with Barbara Jane. Some brief background of early Beaver History may be of interest.

Beaver was an important stopping place to many traveling what became known as "The Mormon Corridor" in early days. It was on the route of the Old Spanish Trail, but "The first Mormons to open up the southern route, or Mormon Corridor (U.S. Highway 91) from Salt Lake City to the Pacific Coast were Jefferson Hunt and eighteen companions in the fall of 1847. They spent five or six weeks in California, purchased seed grains and cattle, and arrived back in the Salt Lake Valley in February 1848 with glowing reports of that warm and fertile land.

Like trade routes of old, the importance of this route and peoples traveling to California can, in the lives of the Levi family, hardly be over estimated. Beaver was one of the sites located by Parley P. Pratt in the winter of 1849-50 by the Southern Exploring Company.

Captain Jefferson Hunt, of the Mormon Battalion, who was a personal friend of the Levi's also made glowing accounts of the Beaver Valley after trips through the area coming back from San Diego.

Probably the first Levi family member to visit Beaver was Isaac Riddle, husband of Mary Ann Levi. He relates: "On the 6th day of March, 1853, I married Miss Mary Ann Levi". This was probably within 2 years of the Levi family's arrival in the valley. He then tells of the death of their first son in 1854 and the grief they experienced there from and then continues. A call came from President Brigham Young to go on a mission to southern Utah among the Indians. My wife was hardly expected to live and it was the trial of my life to go and leave her in the condition she was in. But it was the call of the Lord and I felt as if it had to be obeyed; so I picked up and went, trusting in the Lord for help and guidance.

My partner was Jacob Hamblin and together we traveled three hundred miles to the Southern part of Utah amongst the Piute Indians.

We have no sure way of knowing, but it was probably brother-in-law Riddle's presence in Southern Utah that brought or influenced the bringing of other family members to Southern Utah. The many contacts with the other family members will be seen in other histories of the family members, David, Barbara Jane and Joseph Hyrum. Please refer to Mary Ann's History including that of Isaac Riddle, at least a part of which will be repeated in this work. His autobiography probably contains more details than any other family member of travels and homes (his own) and from which we can relate to other family members. For an example, Isaac and his brother John were mentioned in the account of North Ogden canal. He was closely associated with David and also had a contract for breaking horses with Joseph Hyrum. Isaac was a leader, if not so born, he developed as such in the school of hard knocks. David Levi and Joseph Hyrum probably came to the Beaver area in the early 1860's.

Katie Levi Jensen told how two of David and Ann's children were stricken and died of Diptheria. Ann was an active memberof the Beaver City Relief Society. She was a visiting teacher and later a counsler. She was released in March of 1878, soon after she buried two daughters, Jane and Mary who had died of Diphtheria. (They were seven and three years old.)

While we in our day hardly know of the once dreaded disease, Diphtheria, when we look at these three families who lived in that area, there were at least eight of their infants and children who died of Diphtheria. Not only was it the family of David and Ann, but also the family of Mary Ann Levi and Isaac Riddle and that also of Barbara Jane and Baldwin Watts, that were struck with that terror. In the words of Isaac Riddle: "In the fall of 1867, a Diphtheria epidemic struck Beaver. Five year old Madorah died on September 2; daughter Mary Ann, who was almost twelve years old died on October 12; and the baby, Laura, who was not quite 4, died on November 13. Mary Ann, the mother, grieved over the loss of her three lovely daughters, and never quite recovered from their loss." I think the family was a close knit family and not only shared in their labors, but in their sorrows as well.

The life and history of David is intertwined with the History of Beaver. "Beaver Creek, Beaver Valley, Utah Territory, January 1850, was visited by a company led by Parley P. Pratt who explored the southern part of Utah for the future Latter-Day-Saint settlements. The company was sent out by Brigham Young. Apostle Parley P. Pratt's company on its return from the South set up winter camp on Chalk Creek (now called Fillmore), unable to travel further by wagon through the deep snow. Twenty-four men with the best horses and mules did push on to the Great Salt Lake Valley and the remainder of the company followed in March of 1850.

Chapter 4