Person:William Beebe (5)

WILLIAM ALBERT BEEBE Born 9 Jun 1813, Greenvile, Mass. Died 21 Dec. 1884, St. George UT.

Grandfather of Fay Ivan Gardner

The first members of the Beebe clan to come to America were the descendants of John Beebe, born in Broughton, Northampshire, England, in 1577. This brave pilgrim died on board a ship bound for America on May 18, 1650 and was buried at sea. Those of his children who survived establish themselves in New York. William Albert was born to John and Lydia French Beebe on June 9, 1813 at Greenville, Green, New York. His father died October 2, 1820 in Junius, Seneca, New York, when William was barely seven years old. Little is known of William's activities until on August 13, 1833 when he joined the Mormon Church at the age of 20. In 1835 he married Louise Newton, daughter of Philo and Louisa Brooks Newton. Their first child, Harriet Mariah, from whom the GARDNERS are descendants, was born February 21, 1836, in Milo, Yates, New York. Shortly thereafter their next three children were born: Laura in Hanover, Leroy and William in Sheridan. Around 1843 the family moved again, this time to Evans, Erie, New York, and it was there in the township of Brant that William was ordained an Elder at a church conference held in 1843. He was called to preside over the branch of the church in that area. In the fall of 1844, the Beebes moved to Nauvoo in order to join the main body of Saints after the death of the Prophet Joseph Smith. On June 21, 1845, W.A. and Louisa received their patriarchal blessings from Wiilliam Smith. In this blessing William was told, "The gifts of Wisdom and knowledge are thine, and the discerning of spirits. None shall have power to deceive thee by their cunning craft, for in a most marvelous manner hast thou enjoyed the gifts of the spirit in times that are past. The wicked acts of men have been known to thine understanding from which thou hast been delivered from their devices to destroy thee. If faithful and true, this conquest shall be thine common lot and for thy comfort thou shall inherit greater wisdom and understand greater mysteries even as Paul of old." In a second patriarchal blessing given by Patriarch John Smith, William was also promised that "Thy posterity shall be many and shall be esteemed as the excellent of the earth. Thy name shall be honorable to all the earth and to all generations." While in Nauvoo, William received his endowments and was sealed to Louisa on January 7, 1846. By the fall, life in Nauvoo had become intolerable and the mobs finally drove the Beebes from the city. The Beebes lived with seven other families, and often had to live on scraps of food left behind by the soldiers. This was a very difficult time for the Saints. The family crossed Iowa to Winter Quarters and remained there until 1847. They were then able to cross back over the Missouri River and settle in Pottawatomie Co. Iowa. The Saints petitioned Iowa for the right to establish a county government there and to build a post office. It is not clear if they were ever given permission. Finally, in 1852, W.A. and his family completed the arduous t rip across the plains and joined the other pioneers already in the Salt Lake valley. They purchased twenty acres of land in the SugarHouse area and W.A. opened a blacksmith shop. On July 10, 1853, W.A. married a second wife, Sarah Elizabeth Luce, daughter of Stephen A. and Mary Wheller Luce. The next year he was asked by the brethren to go to Ogden and open a blacksmith shop there. From Ogden the family moved to Payson, Utah where W.A., his oldest son and a Mr. Sabin established the first nail factory in Utah. On April 8, 1857, W.A. was sealed to his third wife, Clara Emma Luce a younger sister of Sarah Elizabeth. Two other women who had died without marrying were also sealed to him at this time. At the October 1862 Conference, W.A. was called, along with two hundred other missionaries, to the "cotton mission" of southern Utah. President Heber C. Kimball met with the missionaries and told them that this call was a voluntary one, but that they had been selected because of their leadership abilities and because the Church leadership wanted men and women to go that could be relied upon. Again, W.A. and his families faced the prospect of leaving behind an established business and their home to face unknown trials and hardships. Louisa and Sarah Elizabeth were ready and willing to go, but Clara decided to remain in the north. She was expecting her first child and was not up to facing the hardships in this new wilderness. Louisa had just given birth to her twelfth child at the time. Clara never came south and later divorced W.A., and married a man named Marsh. When they got to "Dixie" in 1863, they located on the Rio Virgin, which later became know as Virgin City, and lived in a tent while they built their two-roomed timber and log house. However, the tent life proved too much for Louisa, and she and some of her children returned to the north. Sarah Elizabeth, five of her children and some of the married sons remained with W.A. W.A. Apparently had a good education, which made him an invaluable member of the community. Besides his work as a blacksmith, he also had jobs teaching school and being justice of the Peace. He claimed his only textbooks to be the Bible, the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, Pilgrim's Progress and the Territorial Laws of Utah. The settlers' battle with the treacherous Rio Virgin is a story of courage and disappointment. The life giving water of the creek would suddenly become a destructive flood and the year's hard work would be swept away. W.A. Spent twelve years trying to eke a living from this difficult area and barely getting by. He was again called to go help settle a new area around Kanab, Kane County, Utah. The family found what seemed to be a perfect site for their home and small farm a few miles north of Kanab in a beautiful canyon. There were three small lakes on the land, and the ground was level and fertile. They built a small, but crude house, and had a few chickens, a cow and a couple of pigs. They were content and feeling quite optimistic. W.A. Now 61 years old, returned to teaching school, an endeavor he always liked. He was respected and revered by the community and looked to as a leader. Several of the older children began to marry and leave home, and life took on a peace and quiet that the family had seldom known. But life was not to become too comfortable. Young Will, who was becoming a good support to his now aging parents, died unexpectedly. The family decided to spend the winter in St. George where they did temple work. They were able to return to Kanab in the spring, renewed and ready to face life again. W.A. planted crops, rebuilt their livestock and prepared for a return to the peaceful life they were becoming accustomed to. W.A. and one of his sons left for a few weeks to haul lumber to build an addition to their small home. One night while they were gone, the creek rose and became a roaring flood. Sarah Elizabeth could do little more than save herself and the children. Their crops, pigs, chickens, and even the cow were washed down the canyon. When W.A. returned home, he found nothing -- no home, no crops, no chance for making a livelihood. But, he refused to give up, and in the early spring of 1884, he took Sarah Elizabeth and the smaller children, and moved to Circleville, in Piute Co. He was able to secure a cash-paying job for his son Gilbert carrying mail from Kanab to Schonnensburg. A process which required that the mail be let down a 1000 ft. drop by rope, picked up by the Schonnensburg carrier, who then hooked the Kanab mail to the rope, allowing Gilbert to pull it back up. For this Gilbert was paid $30.00 per month which, he intended to send the bulk of to W.A. and the family until the new crops could be harvested. The Beebe family was able to find a one-room house in Circleville where W.A. left his wife and children while he returned to Kanab to fetch the remainder of their property. Sarah Elizabeth took in a boarder, a seemingly harmless old lady, in order to add to the family's meager income. W.A.'s trip took a month and when he returned he found that the new house had been burned to the ground. The "harmless" old lady had one night set fire to the curtains around Sarah's abed, and although the house and furnishings were destroyed, none of the family was harmed. Despite all these setbacks, W.A. persevered. They found another small house to move into, and with the goods W.A. had brought from Kanab, and the gifts from kind friends and neighbors, they were able to resume housekeeping in Circleville. W.A. cleared eight acres of brush, and plowed and sowed wheat. After weeks of tender care, the wheat had reached the "shock" stage -- the time when it could be harvested, dried, threshed, and taken to the mill. The family prepared for harvesting, but the night before, it began to rain. W.A. was at first worried that the rain would cause the wheat to spoil in the shocks, but by morning he had a greater worry. The rain had turned to a torrential downpour. They prayed as it rained all day and all the next night. Just before daylight they heard a familiar sound -- one that they remembered all too well from living along the Rio Virgin and the Kanab Creek. The hens cackled in terror as the wall of another flood hit the fields. When the sun came out, the Beebes faced another scene of utter destruction, which meant certain poverty for the family again. This disaster was to be the last W.A. had to endure. He seemed to become an old man almost overnight and lived only until the following winter. He died on December 21, 1884. Word was sent to the young Gilbert, age 21, to return home and care for the family, but he did not receive the news until a month later. In the meantime W.A. was buried in the Circleville Cemetery. Sometime later, the body was exhumed and taken to Kanab to be buried next to his son Will. When Sarah Elizabeth died, she too was buried at Kanab.

The obituary of William Albert Beebe reads:

"W.A. Beebe died at his residence at Circleville, Piute Co., Utah on December 21, 1884. William Albert Beebe, born 9 June 1813, Greenville, Greene So. New York. He passed through the Nauvoo persecutions and died as he lived, strong in the faith of the Gospel."

Seal to Parents: 14 Sep 1960 SLAKE - Salt Lake Utah