Person:James Lamb (28)

The Life History of James Jackson Lamb By Elva May Lamb Boren (Granddaughter) My grandfather , James Jackson Lamb, was a man of good character, a trusted citizen, a good husband and father and had many friends where ever he was known. His life was an interesting one, of hard, experiences. I only knew my grandfather a few short years, but in remembering back through the years, I loved my grandfather very much and respected in very way. So in writing this history, I hope that whoever reads this, will learn to love him as we did who knew him. James Jackson Lamb, was born at Huron, Wayne County, New York, April 29, 1835, son of Erastus and Abigail Mindwell Jackson Lamb. His father was a native of Connecticut and his mother was born in Seneca county, New York. The family joined the Mormon Church and in 1852 began the journey across the plains. His father died on the plains, it must have been hard for this little family to leave him there and go on their way. Great Grandmother bravely gathered up her little family, three sons and a daughter and fought the trials and hardships and journeyed to Utah, where she immediately went to Lehi, where she made her home. Here my grandfather, James grew to manhood, met and married Sarah Elizabeth Ross. They lived in Lehi until they had six children. Then about 1874, he bought a farm in Wallsburg, Wasatch Co. Here four more children were born, making 10 in all, five boys and five girls. One died as a child, and one never married, but the remaining eight had families of their own, so that now Grandfather Lamb has a numberous posterity scattered over much of the west. On March 21, 1866 he enlisted in the Black Hawk War and was mustered out of service July 18, 1866. He also fought all through the Walker War. When James Jackson Lamb volunteered for duty in the Black Hawk Indian War, he was an old hand in Indian struggles. He had gone in 1856, just before he was 21 years old, to what was called the Tintic War, had been at the age of 25 to the relief of the settlers at fort Lemhi, Idaho, and when the call came for volunteers for the Black Hawk War, he was among the first men to leave Lehi. Grandfather was married and the father of two children, when the first company from Utah county was organized into a preliminary expedition, under the command of Washburn Chipman of American Fork. The company was made up of men from the neighboring towns of north Utah county. They left the third of March, 1866, traveling by way of Cedar Valley, Tintic valley, and on south to Cherry Creek. Although they heard of skirmishes between other troops and bands of Indians, this company did not encounter one Indian before they were disbanded in Lehi, March 27, having been gone just three weeks. May 1st of the same year grandfather, who had enlisted for the “duration of the Indian troubles” was given the rank of sergeant and was organized into a company under Abraham G. Conover of Provo. The company went first to Sanpete county where the Indians had caused the most trouble. The next two and one half months were spent guarding the towns of Sanpete and Sevier counties and going with scouting parties as far south as Circle Valley. The men were disbanded July 18th. Perhaps the most exciting encounter grandfather had with the Indians was the so called “Tintic War”, a disturbance confined to North Utah county in the late winter of 1856. An Indian was reported to have stolen an ox from a herd at Goshen, the men in charge of the herd of cattle sent word to Utah county sheriff who then gathered a posse and started for Cedar Valley. Fifteen men from Lehi Militia, among whom was grandfather Lamb, then a young man of 21 years, were called to assist but they arrived at the scene too late. Two of the herders Henry Morgan and Washington Carson had already been killed by the red men. Grandfather and John Glynes were sent to take the sad news to Cedar Valley and by doing so missed the wanton killing and scalping of the third man. A larger force was sent out and in a few days the trouble had ended for a time. Grandfather’s most hazardous experience took place when he went with a group of men to the Salmon river country in Idaho to rescue the settlers from Fort Lemhi who were being harried severely by the Indian tribes of that area. At the call of President Brigham Young, men from several communities gathered at fort Ogden from where they left 11 March 1858. Many of them were wearing moccasins, most of them had no overcoats, and much of the underwear men were wearing had been made from worn out wagon covers which had crossed the plains. Deep snow and high mountain passes made the journey slow and difficult, they reached the fort after going to Malad, Blackfoot, up the Snake river to the head of the Salmon and then downstream to the fort which they reached March 28, The Fort Lehmi settlers were brought back to safety and it was many years before Mormons again moved into the Salmon river area. He drove one of the first teams back to Florence, Nebraska, in Joseph Young’s company after Mormon immigrants who were too poor to furnish ways for themselves to come to Utah. While at Florence, he was chosen to drive to Utah with George Q. Cannon, who was just returning from England. Because of his generous and helpful nature he was beloved by friends and neighbors wherever he lived. His services in the Indian Wars were recognized by the United States Ware Department and he was pronounced eligible for bounty lands but as far as we know he did not take advantage of the bounty law. This great man whom everyone loved, was thrown from a load of lumber and instantly killed, October 21, 1896, at the age of 61 years, leaving a wife, five boys and four girls. He was buried in Wallsburg, Utah.