Happy Birthday Charles Warner Player Jr.

Charles Warner Player Jr.

Beautiful family - six kids - three girls and three boys.  We come through  Charles Fredrick, first row far right.  They had a daughter that was born between Fredrick and John Raymond named Martha who died at birth.

Here is a picture of Amazina with her son John Raymond at the gravestone of her beloved Charles W. Player

Charles Warner Player Junior was born on August 7, 1852 in Lone Tree, Nebraska.  We learn about his parents, Charles W. Player and Betsy H. Player, Charles's birth and their journey to Salt Lake City here.  Charles was born on their journey and was only two months old when the family arrived in Salt Lake.  His parents had been refugees from Nauvoo and had spent five or six years in preparing and getting an outfit to cross the plains to Utah.    In early life young Charles learned the trade of his father and grandfather, and displayed unusual ability in the building and stone cutter's line, and with his father and brothers cut stone on the temple block for a number of years in the 60's and 70's. (1860's and 1870's that is - that last line was a direct quote from his obituary.) During this time he met and married Amazina Lees - remember she was born on the banks of the Mississippi under a tree in the pouring ran.  Her expectant mother  having just disembarked from the ship Amazon. Charles and Amazina married in 1872.  In 1874, Charles began contracting and building, which he continued until about 1893. He then retired to their farm but his restless energy would not let him retain there, and he accepted a position in 1901 with P. J. Moran and assisted in the building of the big Cottonwood conduit and other works of Mr. Moran until taken sick.  He was sick for about two months and died on April 18, 1913 at age 60.  At the time of his death he was survived by his wife and six children, 16 grandchildren, four brothers and six sisters, all residing in Salt Lake City.