Last week we left the story hanging of Robert and Elizabeth Watts being asked to sell all their belonging and move west with the Saints. Here are some excerpts from their history written by their great-grandaughter..
In the spring of 1850, the Saints organized into companies and prepared to journey westward again. Robert Watts and his family were in the third company of Captain Aaron Johnson's Company which left Council Bluffs, Iowa, the 7th of June 1850, crossing the Missouri River on a flatboat. After arriving safely on the other side, Robert Watts left his wife and seven children without shelter while he went to help other Saints across. While he was gone, it rained. Their mother, Elizabeth Heath Watts, worked very hard cutting the bark from the trees in order to make a shelter for her children to keep them dry.
Robert Watts' wagon was drawn by a yoke of oxen and two cows. They milked the cows and hung the milk on the side of the wagon. The movement of the wagon churned the sweet milk, and by noon they had butter to eat. All along the way, temporary villages had been erected, crops had been planted, and as the different companies came through, they stopped, rested, repaired their wagons, and acquired new supplies. It was at one of these villages that Robert Watts and his family stayed over a short time due to the fact that his eldest son, Baldwin, nearly lost his life. He became stricken with cholera while driving the cattle and fell to the ground unconscious. He wasn't missed by the company until evening, and then a searching party was organized and sent out to find him. In the meantime, Baldwin revived and, being guided by our Heavenly Father, he was found by the searching party. He was very fortunate to recover ... because 26 out of 100 Saints which he had traveled with died of this dread disease... After three months and a few days of traveling, they arrived in Salt Lake City on the 7th day of September 1850... They had traveled the distance of 1,500 miles... beyond the fringes of civilization. Upon their arrival to the Salt Lake Valley, the estimated population in the valley was 15,000."
The Watts family settled in Ogden, Weber County, Utah. In the fall of 1851, Robert Watts secured a squatter's claim in South Weber County, Utah, comprising 60 acres of land he began to develop and improve for it was in a wild state when it came into his possession. He built a house of logs on his land for his family, and in 1852, with the help of others, he started a canal for irrigation, which they completed the following year. In 1853, the family moved into Brown's Fort because of the Indian uprising in the territory. It was here that their eighth child, Phoebe Watts,was born. At this time, the only lights they had were made by placing a rag in a saucer of grease and lighting it. They later made candles of tallow. They used the light from the fireplace a lot to save on the candles.
Their clothing were all homemade, made by their mother, Elizabeth, The children took turns putting dry willows on the fire in the evening so that their mother could see to spin the wool by firelight... For part of their meat, they fished in the Weber River as fish were very plentiful there. They also hunted for sage, prairie chickens, and pine hens. They gathered many sego bulbs and ate them raw, for they were very tasty. Mustard greens were gathered and cooked for food. In the summertime, there were many kinds of wild berries which were gathered, and delicious pies were made from them, or else the were dried for winter. Robert Watts was a farmer and a livestock man by trade. His two older boys helped their father farm by leading their old ox, which was called "Old Baldy" because of his bald face, while their father walked behind and held the plow.
Their children went to school in an old, log schoolhouse. Everyone read from the same book as they only had one book in use, which was a spelling book. The children brought their own Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants with them, and they also studied from these books.
In 1877 Robert Watts rigged up two wagons so the family... [including married children and grandchildren] could all go to the dedication of the St. George Temple. It took them three weeks to complete the trip. On April 6, 1877, the Watts family was sealed to their parents for time and all eternity by Daniel H. Wells, who dedicated the St. George Temple while they were still at St. George. They were baptized for their deceased loved ones in the temple...
Robert Watts was the first ward clerk of the South Weber Ward. He was also a member of the Eleventh Quorum of Seventies and served as a constable for a time. He, his wife, and family held many positions in their ward.
When the family grew too large for their small log cabin, Robert built a much larger house of stone and mortar for them to live in south of Ogden, Utah.
Upon the completion of the railroad in 1869, Robert made a trip to his native state of Virginia to visit with his relatives and again to see the home of his parents and where he was born. [County records in Virginia record Robert received $250 inheritance from his father's death at this time.] He traveled in a train run by steam all the way to Virginia and back again, and the journey was comparatively easier this time than it was the first time he crossed the plains to Utah.
Robert Harrison Watts passed away on the 10th of March 1880*, while his wife, Elizabeth Heath Watts, passed away on Christmas Day of 1903*. He had helped to build and promote the churches and schools in his community and was active in the support of all public enterprises for the good of his children, friends, and neighbors."
* It is noted that the great-grandaughter's recollection of the date of death and what is recorded on the gravestone are a year off for both. Family Search documents Robert's death date as 23 March, 1880 and Elizabeth's as 25 December 1903. The only consistent details with all three documentations seems to be that Grandpa Watts died in the month of March and Grandma Watts died on Christmas Day.
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