Sam and Adelia Crosby: The First Panguitch Generation Historical Essay by Jeffrey E. Crosby

Hannah Adelia Bunker Crosby's autobiography is available here.

Samuel Obed Crosby and Hannah Adelia Bunker Crosby moved to Panguitch at the time of their marriage. With the exception of their ten years in Bunkerville, Panguitch was where they spent their lives and raised their family. It is where they both are buried.

The Crosby family’s involvement with Panguitch began in the summer of 1866 when Captain James Andrus led a command of five platoons (62 men) from St. George in pursuit of a band of Black Hawk Indians. Under orders from Brigadier General Erastus Snow, the Andrus command made a circular route eastward to Kanab, then northward toward Boulder Mountain and returned to St. George by way of Grass Valley, Circleville and Parowan. While not traveling directly through the settlement at Panguitch, the members of the command saw much of this country for the first time. The private of the first platoon was Jesse Wentworth Crosby, Jr. His interest in this area led him to settle in Panguitch in 1871. His newly married younger brother, Samuel Obed, came the following year.

Jesse Wentworth and Hannah Elida Baldwin Crosby were married in November of 1845 at Nauvoo, Illinois by Brigham Young. Following President Young, they traveled to Utah in the summer of 1847. They crossed the plains in the hundred captained by Daniel Spencer, arriving in the valley on 24 September 1847. Traveling with them was their infant son, George Henry, born in 1846. Their second son, Jesse Wentworth, Jr., was born in the Salt Lake valley in the spring of 1848. Their third son, Samuel Obed Crosby, was also born in Salt Lake during the heat of the summer, on 26 August 1849.

Childhood in Salt Lake

In a biographical sketch of her father, Elida Crosby Haycock recorded that Samuel Obed was born while Jesse was on a mission to England. While this is not correct, it would probably have seemed that way to the young Sam. Jesse left Salt Lake City on 19 April 1850, only eight months after the birth of his third son. He did not return to Salt Lake until 10 September 1853, when Sam was four.

Jesse's mission would have placed a great hardship on Hannah. At the time of his departure for England, the three boys were all under four years of age. Hannah did have a teenage girl, Susan F. Angel, living with her during at least the early part of Jesse's three year absence, but how she earned a living is unknown. According to one great granddaughter, Hannah partially supported the family by supplying eggs and butter to the soldiers serving under Colonel Edward Steptoe. However, while Hannah may have sold produce to Colonel Steptoe's command, it could not have occurred at this time, as Steptoe did not arrive in Utah until 1854.

At the time of Samuel Obed's birth, Jesse was working to establish a home in Salt Lake on the south-east corner of 200 West and North Temple. He also owned two five acre farm plots in the big field. The Crosbys lived in the Salt Lake City Seventeenth Ward, moving onto their lot sometime after February of 1849. Their first Bishop was Joseph L. Haywood. He was succeeded by Thomas Callister in 1855. In those early years, other members of the ward included Charles C. Rich, John M. Bernhisel, Henry W. Bigler and George A. Smith.

Life was hard in pioneer Utah, and young Sam would have been expected to assist with chores and other family tasks as soon as he was old enough to be of help. During these years we cannot be certain regarding Jesse's principal occupation, but we do know he maintained a farm, kept some cattle and manufactured molasses from beets, turnips and carrots. John and Elida remember Sam telling them that he herded cows, pulled weeds, and assisted his father in making molasses out of sugar cane. He herded cattle with the young John Henry Smith, son of Apostle George A. Smith. John Henry was only eleven months older than Sam.

When he was about age seven or eight, Sam was feeding beets or turnips into the molasses mill and the first finger of his left hand was taken off. George H. Crosby, Jr. described this accident.

When a small boy, [Sam] was feeding cane into a molasses mill and one of his hands was caught between the rollers and part of his fingers taken off. Joseph F. Smith, afterwards President of the Church was carrying cane to the mill. President Smith stopped the horse, backed him up, carried the boy to a doctor and held the chloroform over him while Dr. Benedict operated on the hand

Both the Church and education were important in the Crosby home. For example, in 1854 Jesse became one of the presidents of the thirty-seventh quorum of the Seventy. Young Sam was baptized by George Morris on 4 February 1857 and confirmed by Nathan Davis, both members of the Seventeenth Ward. He would have been seven-and-a-half years old. It is not known how much education Sam may have received during these early years, but considering how he valued it in later life, it seems the pattern was set at an early age. His first teacher was his father's plural wife, Ann Shelton Crosby. Ann and Jesse's marriage was childless, but she and Hannah seem to have amicably shared the home in the Seventeenth Ward for more than six years. Hannah's children affectionately referred to her as Aunt Ann. Ann kept a school in the Crosby home from 1855 until her death in 1860.

Described as a single floor adobe dwelling, the size of this first Crosby home is unknown, but by 1854 it had been expanded and was large enough to house Jesse, Hannah, their four children, Ann, and AnnÕs two younger sisters. It was also large enough to accommodate Ann's students, as she taught school for many of the children in the Seventeenth Ward. Sam Crosby lived in this home until 1861.

Sam also had the opportunity to participate in the 1858 move south that took place during the Utah War. This must have seemed like a grand adventure to a nine-year-old boy. While Jesse remained in the valley as a member of the guard, Hannah and Ann took the children south to Spanish Fork where Ann's sister, Eliza Shelton Keeler, lived.

The decade of the 1850s was a prosperous one for the Crosby family. After he returned from England, Jesse had the opportunity to improve his farm and his home. At the time of the 1860 census, seven of Jesse and Hannah's children were listed, including ten-year-old Sam. They also had another teenage girl, Louisa Wilson, living with them. Between real estate and personal property, Jesse estimated his worth at $2700.

St. George

At the LDS General Conference of October 1861, over 300 families were called to help bolster the small settlements in the Virgin River basin. It was believed that the climate was conducive to growing cotton. Because of his ability to make molasses, Jesse and his family were called to help settle this new community, which became St. George. Sam had just turned twelve.

Jesse traveled south in November of 1861 with the three older boys. From early December through March of 1862, they labored to help lay out streets and work on other civic projects necessary to establish St. George. They also built a rock house and cleared land. While this was undoubtedly hard work, it must have briefly seemed like an adventure for the three teenaged boys. Jesse returned to Salt Lake City in April of 1862 to bring Hannah and the smaller children to St. George.

Life was difficult in Utah’s Dixie and Jesse engaged in a number of occupations to support his family. At various times, Jesse farmed, operated a tannery, raised sugar cane and manufactured molasses, opened their home to travelers, and freighted goods to and from southern California. Sam and his older brothers were involved in most of these enterprises.

Sam worked hard while growing up in St. George, but he had several opportunities to improve his education. From 1863 to 1865, James G. Bleak taught school in the Crosby home. In 1871 the St. George Academy was established with Richard Horne as the instructor. Jesse encouraged Sam to attend by paying for tuition and books. Sam attended the first year. While studying under Horne, Sam also had the opportunity to pursue his musical talents, becoming an accomplished bass singer. This was a talent he enjoyed the rest of his life. Sam later became involved in the choirs in both Panguitch and Bunkerville. According to his son John, after the Brigham Young Academy was established, Sam briefly went to Provo and studied under Karl G. Maeser. The importance that Sam placed on education is apparent in the writings of both John and Elida.

Sam seems to have had a favorable impression of his years in St. George. His son John, almost certainly reflecting the attitudes of Sam, wrote that "social conditions in St. George during these years were excellent. I believe those in Salt Lake City were no better", and "Education, music, and splendid entertainments were fostered."

Sam served militia duty for a time during the Black Hawk War. His older brothers served in the summer of 1866. Nothing is known about his militia service, but Sam probably didn’t serve until 1867 or 1868. However, he did qualify as a Black Hawk veteran, and his wife received a pension after his death. In the fall of 1867 the Crosby family traveled to Salt Lake for General Conference and the marriage of Sam’s older brother Jesse. Jesse W. Jr. and his bride were married in the Endowment House on 4 October 1867. In General Conference four days later, on 8 October, Jesse W. Sr., Jesse W. Jr., and George H., were called to serve in the Southern States Mission. George H. was still single and serving as the Marshal of Washington County. The three men were gone until the spring of 1869. This left eighteen-year-old Sam to care and provide for his mother, brothers, and sisters. Sam maintained the farm in his father’s absence. As Jesse and his sons returned from their missions, life began to change for the Crosby family. Newly married, George H. was called by Erastus Snow to move to Shoal Creek and become the Bishop of the Hebron Ward. Jesse Jr. also left St. George, as he and his wife moved to Garfield County in 1871.

Hannah Adelia Bunker

Sam was not long in following his brothers. He married Hannah Adelia Bunker in the Endowment House on 10 June 1872. Daniel H. Wells performed the sealing. Sam was twenty-three and Hannah was nineteen. Nothing is recorded about their courtship or when they met, but there is a family tradition that Hannah issued an ultimatum

when Sam first became her suitor. Hannah had grown up disliking some of the problems plural marriage created in her mother’s home. She told her future husband that she would not embrace the principle. Reportedly, Hannah said, "Sam Crosby, if you have any designs on polygamy you can just keep going. For I will have none of it."

Sam accepted Hannah’s condition, and the young couple traveled by wagon to Salt Lake, accompanied by Sam’s mother. The bride was the daughter of Edward Bunker and his first wife, Emily Abbott. Edward was the Bishop of Santa Clara from 1862 until 1877. Because of the proximity of Santa Clara to St. George it is not surprising that the young couple would have had the opportunity to meet at Church meetings, dances and other social occasions like the Pioneer Day celebrations.

Leaving St. George in early June, Sam, Hannah and Sam’s mother began the trip to Salt Lake for their wedding. Taking what possessions they had with them in their wagon, they traveled by way of Panguitch. With the end of the Black Hawk War, Panguitch had been resettled. Sam had been encouraged to join his older brother Jesse in helping establish the new community. Jesse had apparently been attracted to the area when he passed through during the Black Hawk campaign of 1866. With the help of his older brother, Sam had erected a log cabin on his lot in Panguitch, and the couple stopped at their new home to drop off their possessions on the way north. After the wedding they returned to Panguitch, where they lived for the next five years.

Apparently this marriage caused some controversy within the Crosby family. John reported:

I understand to start with that some of the Crosbys thought that Sam might have done a littler better in the selection of his wife. But I also understand that they all changed their minds. No Crosby boy or girl ever married better than Sam.

Hannah Adelia Bunker Crosby was born in Ogden, Utah on 25 April 1853, the fourth child of Edward and Emily Bunker. At the time of her birth, her father, Edward Bunker, was serving a mission in Great Britain. The first time he saw Hannah--and she saw him--was upon his return to Utah in the fall of 1856. Hannah admitted that when he first came home. "I didn’t know him, and at first refused to acknowledge him."

Hannah was only eight years old when her father was called to the Dixie mission in 1861. Nothing is known regarding her childhood in Weber County. Of those early years in Ogden she wrote:

I remember our farm, two and one-half miles from Ogden, on what is to this day called Bunker Creek, where I used to sit under a service berry bush to eat my bread and milk with berries. Also, I gathered clam shells on the sparkling brook, which was a thing of interest to me as a small girl.

I remember the days of preparation we had before leaving. Mother and my sisters, Emily and Abigail, spent days making crackers. They mixed them and pounded them with a wooden mallet. They dried corn, squash, berries, and tomatoes. It was as if we were going into a wilderness expecting to starve. When it was time to go, a big double bedded government wagon was brought around to the front of the house. It had a bed in each end with a stove in the middle and a chair for Mother. It had a ladder down from the door in the center, and the kiddies climbed in and out while the wagon was going to walk a while, or climbed in to get crackers and then got out and walked a while.

In 1862 the Bunker family, moved to Santa Clara, where Edward was made Bishop. Hannah wrote of helping plant and pick cotton. She also wrote about processing the cotton, dying it, and spinning it. She also spun wool.

I liked to spin wool yarn and had a stint--three ten knotted skeins. That done, the rest of the day I could visit, knit or crochet, as I liked. My preference was fancy work. When the first Relief Society was organized, we girls all joined and learned to make different kinds of braid and straw trimming which was very nice.

I spent my girlhood days at Santa Clara . . . three miles from St. George . . . Going to conference, shopping, etc., in Saint George. This is where I met my husband. When nineteen years of age, I was married to Samuel Obed Crosby. We made the trip from Santa Clara to Salt Lake by team; taking one week and was married in the Endowment House June 10, 1872, by Daniel H. Wells. My husband’s mother chaperoned us.

Returning to Panguitch after their marriage, Sam and Adelia settled into their new log home. The climate was cold, but the young couple seemed to find it agreeable. Sam farmed, taught school, and did some mining. Adelia wrote:

Panguitch was a new country, the seasons were short, our crops frosted year after year. The Indians had once broken the town up, but gave us very little trouble. It was a good sheep and cattle country, and through experience we learned better how to handle the climate, and we, with others, succeeded very well financially.

Bunkerville

The Crosbys had been living in Panguitch for approximately five years, when Adelia’s father, Edward Bunker, invited them to join his new settlement in Lincoln County, Nevada. Bishop Bunker was determined to live the United Order as taught by Brigham Young, and was organizing a small company primarily from among his ward in Santa Clara. Sam and Adelia decided to join the new settlement. Sam left Adelia and the children in Panguitch and joined Edward Bunker’s company on the Muddy in January of 1877. He seems to have lived in Bunkerville alone for more than two years, not moving the family until the fall or early winter of 1879.

Prior to leaving Panguitch, Sam sold a mining claim for $1000. Sam used this money to make the first payment on the land where Bunkerville was to be established. He was later reimbursed during the dissolution of the United Order, and Sam used the money to establish the only mercantile business in Bunkerville.

However, during the first years, everyone worked together, clearing land, planting and harvesting. Initially each man was assigned a portion of the land, drawn by lots, but everyone seems to have worked together, even maintaining a communal kitchen. One of the first projects was construction of a ditch to provide irrigation water. Over two miles in length, this ditch was necessary because the river flow was unpredictable and the riverbed was unstable. In the summer months the riverbed became swampy. After eight months of hard work they brought in their first crop. According to Edward Bunker, the first year of production at Bunkerville yielded twenty-two acres of wheat, fourteen acres of cotton, and seven acres of sugar cane. Total yield included 400 to 450 bushels of wheat, between 600 and 700 gallons of molasses, and 9,000 to 12,000 pounds of cotton lint.

Despite this modest first crop, and improved harvests each of the next two years, the settlement was marginal during these early years. To help sustain the settlement, William Abbott and others hunted wild cattle that had strayed into the Bull Valley Mountains to supplement their diet.

The original town site was located on the south side of the Virgin River, elevated slightly above the valley floor. By the fall of 1878 families began moving into homes in the permanent settlement a mile to the west. This site was at a lower elevation and closer to the fields. It was also established on sloping land and subject to flooding during the early years.

Church organization was also a high priority of the early settlers. For the first two years, Bunkerville was a branch of the Santa Clara Ward, with Edward Bunker serving as president. On 14 January 1877, the second week after their arrival, the Sunday School was organized. Sam Crosby was appointed the superintendent at this meeting, with eighteen members being present. Bunkerville became a Ward on 12 January 1879 with Edward Bunker as Bishop--Edward Bunker, Jr. and Myron Abbott were his counselors. With a house established on the town site, Sam returned to Panguitch for Adelia and the children in 1879. It must not have been much of a home. Adelia described their initial house as a willow shanty that “gave very little protection against the heat.” They later built a home of adobe. Bunkerville must have been a difficult place to raise a young family; Adelia later described it as “hard pioneering life.” Just a few months after Adelia arrived with Obed and Elida, another son, John Silas was born on 11 April 1880. That fall Samuel Obed, Jr. and Elida started attending school.

While Bunkerville seems to have been fairly prosperous for the Crosbys, the United Order did not prove as successful as had been hoped. Some of the settlers felt that they were doing more than their share, while others were not contributing to the community as they should. In October of 1880 it was decided to disband the United Order. This was a lengthy process as Edward Bunker, Jr., Myron Abbott, Dudley Leavitt, Sam Crosby and others worked to assess the value of property. Eventually all of the capital stock was paid off plus a seventeen percent dividend to each member.

This process was not without its problems. The Diary of Myron Abbott illustrates some of these difficulties. According to Abbott, on 19 November 1880 he, “Dudley Leavitt E. Bunker and S. O. Crosby commenced to pay off the capital stock of the company.” Two days later Abbott, Edward Bunker Jr., S. O. Crosby and Edward Leavitt “had a quarrel.” This evaluation of property continued for several months into 1881. Myron Abbott recorded in his Diary that on 23 April 1881 “Joseph Earl and Samuel Crosby had a fight.” According to Earl’s Journal, this fight was over ownership of a mule. Earl was Sam’s brother-in-law, married to Adelia’s younger sister Elethra Calista.

The census of 1880 lists Sam as a farmer. However, he was also involved in making molasses, especially during the early years from 1877 through 1880. He then used his funds from the United Order break-up to establish his store. This store was opened late in 1880 or early in 1881. Much of the economy of the southern Mormon settlements was still dependent upon bartering and trade in the 1880s. Sam’s store provided exchange for Bunkerville, Overton, St. Thomas, and the other settlements on the Virgin and Muddy rivers. It appears Sam sold the store to Edward Bunker, Jr. in 1888 when he moved his family back to Panguitch.