John Wesley Johnson
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John Wesley was the sixth child of nine children (two sons and seven daughters). His parents were Lorenzo Johnson and Mary Lyman. John was three years old when his mother joined the church in Michigan. Some time during the next four years the family moved to Nauvoo, Illinois. The records show that his father was baptized there in March of 1846. This was the spring when the saints were being driven out of Nauvoo. John Wesley was eight years old when the family was living at Winter Quarters. Ellen Amelia, the eighth child, was born Dec. 1847 to his mother.
The family lived in Potowatamie, Iowa in 1849. Johns father probably need to find work to earn the means to feed his family and also take them to the Salt Lake Valley. A baby sister, Emily (the ninth child), was born September 1849. This little sister died when she was two years old. The records show that in the year 1855, the family is living in Salt Lake Valley. John Wesley would be 16 years old. John Wesley would have wonderful stories to relate, as he was a young boy growing up during this very eventful time in church history. I feel he must have suffered the cold and the hunger, the anguish, and the sorrow of losing loved ones. However, he also must have gained a testimony of the Gospel because he faithfully followed the callings of the authorities to help establish Zion. The records show that the family was living in Springville, Utah when John met and married Louise. John Wesley was twenty-four years old, when he married Louisa (age 17) on his birthday (March 6, 1863). Married in the Temple, 27 October 1865. John and Louisa had three children while they lived in Springerville. John Wesley Jr. (1865), Louisa Lauretta (1867) and baby William who was about one year old when he died (1871). The fourth child, Hyrum was born in Monroe, Utah (1873). Sometime in that two year period the family was called to help settle Monroe, Utah (Monroe is south of Richmond, Utah off of highway 89. The map shows there are Hot Springs located there and is also close to Fishlake). A number of families were called to settle Monroe and start the sheep industry there. The families lived in a fort for a while, then started moving out to live in "dug outs" (which were holes dug into the mountain side) until homes could be built. John Wesley eventually built a nice two story home for his family. Three children were born in Monroe. Hyrum (1873), Lyman (1875), and David (1878). THe family was living comfortably and accumulating property when they were called to settle new country again. In the year 1881, John Wesley and Louisa were called to help settle Smithville, Arizona (Pima). There were fourteen families in the company. The authorities advised that the group to organize into two groups. John Wesley was captain of one group. The family arrived in Smithville, Arizona on December 12, 1881. Finances were very scarce after the long journey. There were plenty of hard times. It was necessary to raise everything they could to subsist on. The nearest town was Boise, 40 miles away to the south, toward the Mexico border. John Wesley was a carpenter by trade but could do most anything, so he soon built an adobe house and made things quite comfortable for his family. (Adobe bricks were made by hand out of the clay mud and straw that was available in that area. The walls were made real thick so that in the summer the rooms were cool, and when once heated in the winter the rooms stayed warm. Rain could be a problem because the adobe bricks would dissolve.) Two daughters, Urilda (1882) and Alice (1886), were born in Pima. John Wesley was only fifty-two years old when he died May 15, 1891 in Pima, Arizona. His death left Louisa a widow at the age of 45, and five children at home. He was buried in Thatcher, Arizona (community by Pima) May 17, 1891. Compiled and written by Alice Jo Cluff Ellsworth, gg-daughter, 1998
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