US Mormon Battalion: Henry Pike Hoyt

28 Mar 2011

   While I was extending my own Hoyt ancestors, I went back and added a connecting section for USMB Henry Pike Hoyt's ancestors. Now I can say that my daughter in-law, April Battson Taylor is related to Henry Hoyt as a second cousin 5 times removed through John ELLIOTT & Hannah JONES. I'm related to Henry Hoyt as fourth cousin 6 times removed through Thomas HOYT twin & Mary BROWNE, and
seventh cousin 3 times removed through Thomas FRENCH & Susannah (Sara) RIDDLESDALE.
  
   Many of you may also be related.

   Who was Henry Hoyt? I thought you'd never ask!
   His data can be found in my database:
http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=ldshistorical&id=I111050

Henry Pike Hoyt married Irene Elizabeth Lincoln at Nauvoo, Illinois when he was age 27. They had a son Don Carlos Hoyt in 1844, and then the family moved with the LDS Church westward and settled in Mills county Iowa. When his son was two years old, Henry and his brother, Timothy Sabin Hoyt, joined the U.S. Mormon Battalion as Privates in Company A, and left his family in Iowa. He endured all the hardships of the 2,000 mile march and was discharged in Los Angeles. After reaching the Sierra Nevada Mountains east of Sutter's Fort, he because sick and died, Sept. 3rd, 1847. He was buried on the trail about 80 miles east of Sutter's Fort near Bear Valley, Mariposa, California. Maybe because of this tragedy, his family never completed the trek to Salt Lake City and remained in Iowa. His widow married another of his brothers, and his son later married Harriet Mary Cary and had seven children and settled in Pioneer, Graham, Kansas.

He is one of Fifteen men who died and were buried in unknown graves:
 (monument photo)
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~utsaltla/archive/cemeteries/Union/pics/MVC-358F.JPG

USMB Reddick Newton Allred was Henry Hoyt's brother-in-law. They traveled north from Los Angeles to Sacramento before turning east.

Reddick Allred wrote:
   Treasures of Pioneer History, Vol.5, p.307 Journey To Council Bluffs
We moved out a few miles from Los Angeles and camped about a week organizing for our return trips. Bro. Hancock assumed with Father Pettegrew the responsibility and organized us in tens, fifties and hundreds. Wm. Hyde, Captain—50; Daniel Tyler 2nd and 3rd with Andrew Lytle over all.

July 20th my company being ready we moved up 20 miles to Gen’l Pico’s Ranch. It crossed a spur of mountains to San Francisco where we remained till the 29th waiting for the other two companies to come up—meanwhile we were jerking beef for the journey. We employed a guide to a place called Hot Springs. August 1, 1847 we camped in a beautiful valley where we found the name of Peter Lebeck who was killed by a grizzly bear Oct. 17, 1837. After our guide left us we missed the Walker Pass and turned down the "Toolary" Valley to Sutter’s Fort on the Sacramento River where the city now stands.

We reached there on the 26 Aug. 1, 1847, 600 miles from Los Angeles without accident. We found a few families of Saints that came on the ship Brooklyn from New York expecting to meet the Church in California until we told them they were settling in Salt Lake Valley. The Burr family was there. We rested a few days and then took the old California Road—crossed the American Fork and found a daughter of widow Murphy, one of the ill-fated Hasting party. Bro. John King and I visited her to find her married to one Johnson.

Henry Pike Hoyt was taken sick. I stoped with him a couple of days—the company going on to Bear Valley; 8 men stayed with me. The third day he said he could go, but after we crossed Deep Hollow he got so bad we took him off his horse as he was apparently dying. Twice we administered to him and he revived so much he said he could go, but got so bad again I had to hold him on and finally I had to break his hold of the horn of the saddle. He said, "No, go on…" his last words, for he was dead in 15 minutes. We wrapped him in his blanket and laid him 12 mile from Deep Hollow two rods below the road, having nothing but a hatchet to dig down in the hillside, and to build up the lower side. Over the top we put rocks and sticks and marked on a tree, "Henry P. Hoyt died on the 3rd of Sept. 1847 after 9 days’ illness with jaundice, 80 miles from Sutter’s Fort."


My Hoyt lineage is the maternal line of William RICE b: 7 JUN 1791:
http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=PED&db=ldshistorical&id=I210784
http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=PED&db=ldshistorical&id=I210784

Discovering John McVey

by Vern Taylor

When I first started doing genealogy over thirty years ago, I worked back to my third great-grandfather Samuel McVey and decided his father was probably Sgt. John McVey 1737-1823 born in Scotland. I couldn’t prove it. I needed help.

I had learned that Samuel McVey lived and died in Greenbrier and Fayette County Virginia, which is now West Virginia. So I called the phone company’s information number for Lewisburg, West Virginia, which was close to where the McVeys lived since the time of the Revolutionary War. I got three numbers for McVeys living there. Then I gathered my courage, and with a little fear and excitement, called the first number for John McVey.

She was related!

I introduced myself and asked if the person who answered the phone was related to Samuel McVey? What a blessing it was to find myself talking to Betty McVey Shields who was the genealogist for the family! Betty and her family still lived on the old McVey property on Muddy Creek Mountain. She is my third cousin once removed and we had a great talk. She confirmed my fourth great-grandfather was Sgt. John McVey and ended up sending me lots of printed information. The photo is the only signature of Sgt John McVey I ever located.

Our ancestors do want to be found and bless us in many ways to find them.

Genealogy for Sgt. John McVey:

http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=ldshistorical&id=I146035

Anne Bradshaw has published this in,
More True Miracles with Genealogy
http://truemiracleswithgenealogy.com

4 letters from 1846

I went looking for a journal for Luther Terry Tuttle 1825-1917. Here's what I found.


LDS Church History library:
contact: 801.240.2272
http://chl.altarama.com/reft000.aspx

http://chl.altarama.com/reft100.aspx?pmi=qzP7znpOTk

After going through the phone system, I later found the LDS Church History website I had used to ask questions previously. see:

http://lds.org/churchhistory/library

Please state your question:
I would like to know if we have a journal for Luther Terry Tuttle, Born 1825, Died 1917. He was in the Mormon Battalion. If the Library does not have the journal, do you know where it is located and if I can have a copy.

History of correspondence in relation to this Question #
Our response is:
I am sorry, but we do not have a journal for Luther Tuttle, nor do I know where a journal might be located. However, we do have some letters that he wrote while serving in the Mormon Battalion. I am attaching digital copies of these letters to this email. I hope this is helpful.

Sincerely,

Jenny St. Clair
LDS Church History Library

The Church History Library couldn't find a journal, but sent a few letters he had written:

~transcribed by Vern Taylor 2011, Stockton, CA
Envelope for following three letters:
To: Peter Haws, Council Bluffs
From: Fort Leavenworth
Luther Tuttle
Alpheus Peter Haws
George W. Boyd
James Bukeley

August the 14, 1846
Deare Father, I received your letter yesterday with the greatest of pleasure. I take my pen in hand to inform you that I am well and hoping these few lines will find you and all the family enjoying the same health but I am sorry to say that Luther has got the ague and fever now but he had the fever about three days and we broke that by laying on hands. He is better now. He is able to walk around now. Abigail (sister and wife of Luther Tuttle), I say cheer up your(self) and pray for Luther and I will pray for you, but don't give yourselves any uneasiness about us. Now father and mother, cheer up your hearts and try to comfort the rest of them and look forward to the time when we shall meet again, not to the time where we shall part anymore, for I expecet yet to be gone years from you all.

Adeline (Dunn, wife of Alpheus Peter Haws), cheer up your heart to think that (what) you have now and think that I am on as great a mission as has ever been performed since the church has commenced. Now, Adaline I want your prayers and all the rest of the family for Luther and I, that we may have health and strength to endure the hardships before us. We expect to leave the fort (Leavenworth, Kansas) tomorrow morning. I want you to write to us as soon as possible. It is very late and I cannot write anymore. I will leave the rest with Luther (Tuttle, brother inlaw).
   (Alpheus Peter Haws, US Mormon Battalion)

(second letter)
Fort (Leavenworth, Kansas)
Dear Abigail (Haws, wife of Luther Tuttle),
   I now lift my pen to inform you that I have been sick with the fever and today this fever broke and left me with the ague, but give yourself no uneasiness on my account, for I am getting stout. Now there are a good many sick in the camp at this present time. Opportunity will not permit me to write long at present for several reasons. The time seems long since we parted, yet we must make the best of it we can. So make the best you can of the worst and we will do the same and by that we will have the best all the time.

I shall have to draw my part to a close and may heaven her choice Blessings (bestow). May peace and pleasure thee attend.

Such are the wishes of thy friend. My love to father and mother Haws (his inlaws). Love (to) Adeline (Dunn-Haws) and to Emily (Emelae) and to all the rest of the family.

No more at present from your affectionate husband, Luther Tuttle. (US Mormon Battalion)

(third letter)
Mother Haws.
   I take up my pen to write a few lines to inform you how I am getting along at this present time. I am a partner to Luther (Tuttle) with ague. But we are getting  better, so that we can walk about. My hand is so nervous that I can't write much. For I have had the belious fever and mumps and taken the ague and fever. If you see any of Yearsley's folks, tell them my situation. I am in hopes that I will be well in a few days. No more at present.
George W. Boyd (US Mormon Battalion)

If you see anything of James' folks, tell them to write to him.
James Bukley



Envelope:
Luther Tuttle (Santa Fe) to Abigail Tuttle (Council Bluffs)
To Mr. Peter Haws in care of H. Egan (Major Howard Egan, liason to U.S. Mormon Battalion)

Santa Fe
Oct 14, 1846
Dear Abigail,
   Having now an opportunity to write to you and all the rest of the folks. I cheerfully embrace it. Alpheus (Haws) and myself are well at present, but I have been sick ever since I was at the fort. I was taken with the bilious fever after I had been there about a week, but I never took a dose of medicine all the time, for we have got the Damdest doctor that you ever heard tell of. He has the drum beat every night and morning for the sick to come to him and if they don't take his medicine, Calomel (Mercury chloride), he curses them and says ready for duty. And then they have to walk unless they are smart enough to crawl in some of the company wagons, but I have not walked, only when I have been a mind to for I had plenty of friends and they took good care of me. This day, they are trying to arrange it to send the women back and all the sick and those that are not able to stand to go on this winter back to Pueblo (Colorado), and stop this winter and send them the rest (of) the way that you will go in the spring, and officeers with them, Captain Brown. I am very glad to get rid of him. He has had more than a few men put under guard.

Santa Fe is a place that I was very much desired in for I expected to find some fine buildings and very genteel folks, but instead of thaat, there houses are made of mud, no floor in but dirt covered with dirt, and in the common way of speaking, a dirty looking set of people. What are left here, but I understand that they have been leaving ever since the troops came in here. There is(sic) a great many soldiers here, the town is as full as it can hold and we as a people will be glad to get out of it and get on our way homeward, for a soldiers life is not desirable at all with me to have such officers as we have to our head, our doctor especially, and if he goes all the way to California with us, I am afraid he will never get back, and many will mourn his loss! Well, so much for the doctor. The colonel would do pretty well if it was not for the doctor, the staff officer.
Now all are regulars except Dikes (DYKES, Georgia Parker, Adjatant), and our officers do not brag on him.

We have come through the greatest country that ever I saw. Buffalo, which is excellent meat, in great abundance. Antelope, the next thing. Also mutton in great abundance. A man could travel on wormy flour through such a country as this. Provision is very scarce here amongst the Spaniards, yet we have enough. I am Commissary Sargent for our own company to draw and deal out provisions to the company. We draw (a) pound of flour to a man a day, and a half a pound of pork, or a pound of beef. Sugar and coffee about enough to do us. Soap, vinegar, beans, or rice, so we have enough to eat and enough to drink.

Often we have cooked our suppers by the buffalo chips. Orders has(sic) just this minute come to stuart to move on (this) morning, and I am called away, so no more at present but let all be of good cheer for we will soon be over the mountains and on our return home. But do not fail to pray for us while we are far apart. My love to Father Haws and Mother Haws, to Esmila and to Albert (Haws) and all the rest.

One word to you Abigail (Haws-Tuttle), the time seems long since we parted. Days seem like weeks, yet the time will come when we have look(ed) for. I should like to wish we long will not permit. So I remain your affectionate husband, Luther Tuttle

PS
Adeline (Adeline Dunn-Haws 1830-1852), don't think that I have forgotten you for I have not (sent) my love to you and the baby. Luther Tuttle
~transcribed by Vern Taylor 2011, Stockton, CA