Person:John Fish (13)

JOHN LAZELLE FISH FAMILY

John Lazelle Fish, Son of Joseph Fish and Mary Campbell Steele, Born 28 October 1868, Parowan, Iron co., Utah. Died March 16, 1931 in Long Beach, Los Angeles County, California. Buried in Lakeside, Navajo County, Arizona. Married 7 Sep 1888 to Melvina Cheney in St. George Utah. Melvina Cheney was born 9 Oct 1783, Fairview, Sanpete County, Utah. She was the daughter of Elam Cheney and Harriet Edgehill. Melvina died 27 July 1903. John then married Julia Alice Tanner on 1 June 1904.

Pioneer, colonizer, builder, church and civic leader, father of 16 children, John Lazelle Fish had many experiences during his 62 years. He was born in the pioneer community of Parowan, Utah, where he spent the first 10 years of his life. His mother died when he was but six years of age. He was fortunate in having the kind and loving care of his stepmother, "Aunt" Eliza, who reared him to maturity. In the winter of 1878 his father, Joseph Fish, moved from Parowan to Snowflake, Arizona, arriving there in January of 1879. There were cattle and stock to be driven and young John was needed to help with his brother, Joseph C. (2 years older) in the often difficult and tiresome task of herding and driving the animals on the long trek. He learned early to cope with the harshness and hardships of pioneer life. When they arrived in Snowflake the family lived for awhile in a wagon-box while their father was helping to erect homes for others, and then he went into the forest to cut and trim logs for his own home. The 10-year-old John and his 12 year old brother, Joseph, were delegated to haul the finished logs from Pinedale to Snowflake where the new home was to be built. The logs were cut and trimmed to uniform thickness of 5 inches; even so they were not light burdens for the young boys and often assistance was required in the loading and unloading of the logs. Schooling was limited at that period both in his Parowan home and in the new community, usually covering not more than a 3 months period in mid-winter months. The schools were also ungraded, but he gladly accepted what was available. He learned very early in life to work on the farm and do any kind of work that was necessary. The pioneer times never lacked for need of willing hands. Boys learned how to be useful. At the age of 16, John accompanied his father, Joseph, and his wife, "Aunt" Julia Ann, and her young children to Mexico where they hoped to possibly establish a home. John proved to be a much needed and welcome hand, caring for the stock, running errands for the camp, and also standing guard at night when the Indians were active in raiding and carrying off the animals. After nine months of this hard life, his father sent him back to Snowflake in the company of two men, "Brothers Taylor and Thompson." Word had been received that the family in Snowflake needed help and Joseph C., the older brother, was very ill at this time with typhoid fever, and "Aunt" Adelaide was also very ill. To add to the problems the Indians were on the rampage throughout the whole country. On this trip, John's life and the lives of the two men with whom he traveled were saved by some trivial delay which caused them to camp for the night four miles short of the place they had planned to stay. Next day, when they reached the previously planned campsite they found a murdered traveler who had camped there and who had quite a supply of goods, which had been ransacked and scattered about. It appeared to be the work of a rather large raiding party. This occurred somewhere in New Mexico. Upon reaching Snowflake, John became the man of the place until his older brother, Joseph, recovered from his long siege of illness. John worked on the farm at Snowflake until his father moved to Pinedale in the fall of 1886, and then he worked on the farm there. At Pinedale, he met a charming girl, Melvina Cheney, whom he courted and married on Sept. 7, 1888 in Holbrook, Arizona, when he was almost 20 and she was but 15. They left later that month and traveled to St. George, Utah where their marriage was solemnized Oct. 5, 1888 in the St. George temple. Aunt Eliza and John's younger sister Jessie May, accompanied them on the trip to Utah. When John and his wife returned to Pinedale from Utah he again took up farming. Not long afterward he went to work in the ACMI at Holbrook with his father, where he proved to be a most accommodating salesman and was well liked by everybody. He went back to Pinedale for a few years more where he again tried farming and also freighting, before the drought forced him to Holbrook again where he resumed working in the ACMI. Most of this time he had his family with him, but he was not happy over the environment for his growing family, and their summers at least were spent on the farm in Pinedale. September 26, 1901 he responded to a call for a short-term mission for the Church to help promote the MIA program and he labored mostly in Malad and other southern Idaho communities and Northern Utah. On July 27, 1903 while he was working in Holbrook, John's wife, Melvina, died at Pinedale, leaving him a family of 7 children, the youngest but 8 months old and the eldest one not yet 13 years. It was at this time that Aunt Eliza came with proffered help and took the baby to her home to love and care for. Other relatives took some of the other younger children for awhile. John married Julia Alice Tanner on June 1, 1904 and she took his motherless children to her heart and made a home of love and comfort for them, guiding their lives to maturity. In 1904 John moved to Show Low, Arizona and worked in a store there for a time. In 1905 or 1906 he joined a group that was developing a project about 8 miles southwest of Show Low in the forest. John made arrangements to buy the Billy Scorse place and also took up a homestead in the area. The present day school and church house in Lakeside are located on land which was once part of the Fish homestead. During the 25 years or so that he lived in Lakeside he saw it grow to a thriving town. There was a "daring" side to John's otherwise gentle nature. His son, John E. "Jack", recalls an incident when he was a young man. "Uncle Joe Brewer was riding a beautiful horse called "Shiner", a horse who could be handled, and father was riding "Sport". (A less tractable horse) And after some bantering from Joe (a brother-in-law) the two took off on a race. After going about one half mile, Uncle Joe was lost to father, but "Sport" had a job to do and he did not intend being beaten at a race. We had to go and hunt "Daddy", as we knew "Sport" would not give up. We found father down in Forest Dale, miles from home. Father had lost his hat, his pants were torn and there were numerous scratches on his head and face, from protruding limbs. Father looked quite pitiful, but in spite of his forlorn appearance we had to laugh uproariously, and all Dad said was, "Confound that fool horse. He shouldn't be on the place!" Another family tradition concerns a story about John when he was on one of his two trips to Mexico and he insisted on swimming a flood-swollen river that the local Mexicans said no man or horse could swim. This may have been of necessity when they were traveling in an area where severe rainstorms had plagued them for several days as they attempted to join up with a group of friends who had a small settlement in Sonora, Mexico. John was kind and generous to all and especially to his family, though he could be stern when necessary. One occasion his two eldest sons, Mahonri and John E. were admonished to be in church, but decided otherwise after their father and other members of the family had departed for the meeting. John was Bishop at this time and when he failed to note his two sons in the audience he immediately left the meeting and went to find them, which evidently was not difficult. He proceeded to take the two boys "by the ear" and escorted them back to church and right up the middle aisle through the congregation to the pulpit seat where he placed one boy on each side of him. "Jack" says this discouraged absenteeism at church for them. John served the community of Lakeside for many years in varied capacities: as Justice of the Peace, Post Master, Health Office, Water Master, and in the Church as MIA leader, Sunday School, ward Clerk and Bishop, the latter for several years. He was still bishop of the Lakeside Ward at the time of his death in Long Beach, California, March 16, 1931, where he had gone to secure adequate medical treatment. He seemed to realize in his last illness that his time was near, and he wrote a long letter of counsel, encouragement and love to his Ward members which his son likened to some of the Epistles of Paul of Old. He died as he had lived, in the "harness".