Seth the Peddler

from "Cape Cod Pilot" by Josef Berger, pub. by M. I. T. Press, 1937, p. 32.

"If you wish to carry further your quest fror homes that have lived long, Old Sandwich [Massachusetts] will reward you on Valley Road, where are more good examples dating back beyond the turn of 1700. Also, there is the 1699 Seth Pope homestead, the story of which is told in a booklet, 'Cape Cod Legends,' which the Cape Chamber of Commerce has published.

'Seth the Peddler,' according to this story, in 1669 was ordered to depart from the town of Sandwich lest he become a public charge. He went, but as he trudged off towards the King's Road, he flung back the boast that he would return and 'buy up the town.'

Seth went to New Bedford, worked and saved, and built himself a wharf and warehouse. He became selectman and representative to the General Court. And, good as his word, 'in 1699 he came back and purchased nearly all the land in the village,' and built a house for each of his sons. Then he turned upon the community that had 'warned him out,' and announced that, although his children could stay there if they chose, as for himself, he 'would not live in the damned town.' And off he went again; but the house known as the Seth Pope House has remained in the family to this day. This house is on Grove Street, across from the cemetery....over the door is the date, 1699."

John Pope house(?), Seth Pope

110 Tupper Inn is a house of mystery. In 1670, at age 22, Seth Pope came to Sandwich as a peddler. The town fathers sent the constable to kick him out for fear they would have to feed and house him. Poor Seth! He was an ambitious young man, and he hotly declared that he would return someday and "buy up the town." He's one of the few people in the world who was able to fulfill the wish to "show 'em." He became one of the richest men in Massachusetts Bay Province as well as a respected official by election and appointment. In 1675 he married Deborah Perry of Sandwich, but he wouldn't live in "that damn town." When his son (John Pope - 1675) married Elizabeth Bourne of Sandwich, Seth bought up the heart of town for him, which included the gristmill and a fulling mill; he built the young couple a house on a rise of land overlooking the marsh--today's 110 Tupper Inn. The mystery is, which house did Seth build? Was it the tiny half cape whose foundation is in the cellar? Was it the long five-bay structure that is the back half of the present house? Or was it the fancy front rooms that make the house a full upright colonial? (We could fit the foundation of the half cape into the Secret Panel chamber). http://www.110tupperinn.com/index.html

Seth Pope (1648)

Found this on line.  Too funny.  From what I can confirm, this is true.

Seth Pope (1648 - 1727), more history, Thomas Pope (1608-1683)

Captain Seth Pope by James L Gillingham

 "Nearly ten years had passed since the Mayflower had dropped anchor under the lee of Cape Cod, when on May 30th, 1630, the good ship 'Mary and John' ended at Hull the voyage which began at Plymouth England, on March 20th previous.  among the voyagers was a young man, of the age of 22 years, Thomas Pope.  He, with many of his fellow colonists in June following settled in Dorchester.
   "From the Plymouth colony records we learn that in the years of 1633 and 1634 a tax of nine shillings was levied upon him as a resident of New Plymouth.  Oct. 6, 1636, by the court of assistants, to the general court, there were five acres of land appointed to him, 'at the fishing point next Slowly field;' and by this court he was authorized to build a dwelling house upon his land, 'provided he procure sufficient security with him, to be bound in fifty pounds bond for his good behavior in the said house or family.'
   "This provision might seem uncalled for from this young batchelor, but the aggressive, impetuous and resistive characteristics he developed in after life make it appear to have been a wise precaution timely exercised.  Undaunted, unremitting efforts are traits he has transmitted to his posterity.
   "The five acres proving too small a dooryard for the enterprising colonist, he and his two companions at the fishing point were authorized by this court in November following to divided the entire land at that place equally between themselves.
   "That he was a man of courage and seeking adventure is shown by the fact that he was one of the forty 'souldiers' whose names were reported to the general court in June 1637, as volunteering to go with Lieutenant William Holmes, as leader, and Thomas Prence as the member of the council of war, to the assistance of the Massachusetts Bay colony, and the colony of Connecticut, in their war against the Pequin (Pequot) Indians.
   "Before starting on that service he was married by Governor Edward Winslow to Anne Fallowell, daughter of Gabriel and Catherine Fallowell, at New Plymouth on July 28, 1637.  A daughter, Hannah, was born to them in 1639.  His wife, Anne, dying in 1640, he sold his homestead at the fishing point next Slowly field to George Boham on Aug. 29, 1640, for 22 pounds sterling, to be paid in Indian and English corn.
   "The court of assistants on Nov. 2, 1640, granted to him five acres of meadow towards Gavans Colebrook meadow, in the 'South meadows,' towards Aggawan.  At an earlier general court it had been decreed that the boundaries of New Plymouth extended on the south to Sandwich and on the west to the 'South meadows'.
  "Thomas Pope, while a man often at strife with his neighbors, and restive under the authority of others, was nevertheless a man of standing in New Plymouth, and efficient in the public service.
   "At the general court on June 4, 1645, he was chosen one of the two constables of New Plymouth.
   "On May 29, 1646, he married for his second wife, Sarah Jenney, daughter of John and Sarah Jenney of New Plymouth.
   "To them was born, at New Plymouth, on Jan 13, 1648, a son, Seth Pope.  This eldest son of Thomas is the Captain Seth Pope of Dartmouth.  Three other sons and three daughters were later born to them.  Two of these children met death at the hands of the Indians at Dartmouth in 1675.
   "Thomas Pope, from the birth of Seth, until after June 1670, evidently remained a resident of New Plymouth, and had various connections with the general court there.
   "In Jun, 1647, for slandering James Cole, he settled the suit by payment of part of the costs.
   "In August, 1648, he was one of the 12 men to hold the inquest on the body of the child of Allis Bishop, which she had killed.
   "In June, 1651, he was elected one of two highway surveyors of New Plymouth, and was re-elected to that office in 1652.  In July of that year he served on the inquest on the body of Robert Wille or Willis.  In October, 1656, he served on the inquest on the body of Titus Waymouth, who had injudiciously imbibed too much cider.  In June, 1658, he was one of the five referees to establish a division line between lands of two of his neighbors.
   "In March, 1659, he was required to give bonds of twenty pounds for good behavior for one year.  His own boundary line was in doubt, so was his temper over the dispute.
   "During the next August the court of assistants appointed three referees to settle the dispute of the boundaries between the lands of Thomas Pope and William Shirtlife, at Strawberry Hill, or Reed Pond, in New Plymouth, his homestead.
   "In October, 1659, he is fined ten shillings 'for abusive carriages' at the mill at New Plymouth towards Thomas Lettice.  His controversies with his neighbors caused him to seek another place of habitation, with his increasing family.
   " In June, 1662, he was one of the 24 ancient freemen, and servants, authorized by the general court, if Saconett Neck could not be purchased from the Indians to select some other undisposed of place for their accommodation.  Wills of deceased persons were obscure in intent and difficult of interpretation in those days, as well, as at the present, and as one of the executors of his mother-in-law's, Mistress Sarah Jenney's, will, in June 1633, the advice of the general court was sought as to whom a young colt belonged, one of the three legatees being dead.  This momentous question was not settled by the governor and his assistants and the deputies for three years.  Then it was decided that the first horse found, whether mare or colt, belonged to the surviving legatees, one of whom was his daughter, Sussanah.
   "In December, 1663, he was again involved in a controversy with his neighbor, Gyles Rickard, Sr., in regard to a disputed boundary line between their lands; and in the excess of his zeal to protect his rights and secure his property he wrestles with Gyles, strikes the wife of Gyles, and carries off the wood lying at their door.  His fine is only three shillings and four pence; he is ordered to return the wood, and to give bond of twenty pounds for good behavior for three months.
   "In February, 1665, the court appoints three referees to settle the disputed boundary lines between his lands and those of Gyle Rickard and John Barnes, by establishing new bounds in place of the lost ancient bounds.
   "Between Pope and Barnes there was a cartway and each claimed the right to the sole use of the land, and the children playing in the way had been driven out.  The complaint against him for trespass was disposed of by the decree that he should go no more through the land of Barnes.
   " In June, 1668, he was one of the jury who found Nathaniel Souls guilty of the 'telling of a pernicious lye'.  the fine for such a misdemeanor was ten shillings.
   " In October, 1668, he had caused a horse of Richard Willis to be attached, and the horse had promptly and mysteriously disappeared.  For three years this controversy held the attention of the general court.  Finally it was decreed that if anybody could be found who could show a better title to the horse, when it too had been found, then the horse was not to be restored to Mr. Willis.
   "The culmination of his troubles at New Plymouth, came when in June 1670, he was fined ten shillings 'for villifying the ministry'.  Freedom of speech and action for him must be found elsewhere, so he turned his face toward the setting sun, and came to Dartmouth.
   "The town of Dartmouth had been incorporated as a township in 1664.  The lands within the township had been purchased from Wesamequen and Wamsutta by their deed of Nov. 29, 1652.  Evidently the negotiations for this purchase was made at New Plymouth on March 7, 1652, executed an agreement as to how many shares the owners of the lands should have therein, and who should be the owner of each share.
   "Local historians have differed in establishing the time the ancestor of the Pope family came to dwell in this part of the colony, and the location of the homesteads of his descendants.
   "In this paper I shall but briefly refer to but five generations in direct line of succession from Thomas Pope.
    "I find no authority for the statement that Thomas Pope came to Dartmouth earlier that the year 1670, nor that he was the first white man who made his habitation in that portion of Dartmouth now known as Fairhaven.
   "At the time of the purchase of the lands from the Indians, in 1652, the region adjoining the river was known at New Plymouth as Cushenah and Acushenah.
   "In 1659 John Cooke and his family left New Plymouth for settlement on the new purchase.
   "In October, 1660, the general court decreed that 'Cushenah is required to pay by rate for common charges the sum of one pound on shilling.'  That there was a settlement at Cushenah in 1660 is evident from the vote passed at that session, that 'Captain Willett is to be sent unto to put those that have lands at Sowansett into some way for the levying and paying of their rates.'  'The like to Arthur Hathaway and Sarjeant Shaw, for theirs at Cushenah.'
   "In 1662 Samuel Jenney was appointed a constable at Acushenah, and in 1663 William Spooner was appointed the constable.  In June, 1663, the general court decreed:  "It is ordered by the court that a rate ----- be levied on the several towns of this jurisdiction for the defraying of necessary charges of the colonies----the neighborhood at Acushenah, 10 shillings."
   "After the incorporation in 1664 constables were regularly chosen, John Russell was the deputy to the general court at New Plymouth in 1665, and John Cooke was deputy from 1666.
   "In 1666 the inhabitants were authorized to appropriate the fine of 5 pounds due from five Indians,  and apply it to the cost of a bridge.  In 1667 the first selectman of the town were chosen, John Russell, Samuel Hicks and Arthur Hathaway, and the first collector of taxes, Samuel Hicks.
   "In April of 1667 the court ordered that, 'For Dartmouth, Sarjeant James Shaw to exercise the inhabitants in arms till the next June court, and that then the town are to present some to the court to be settle in office, according to order; and that the said Sarjeant Shaw advise with John Cooke, Samuel HIcks and John Russell, in case of any danger presenting for the best defence of the place in such respect, and to see how men are provided with arms and ammunition, and to return the defects to the said court.'
   "At the June session John Cooke was appointed to solemnize marriage and to administer oaths to witnesses; and later in the session he was further empowered to issue warrants for attachment of property or summons of persons, returnable to the general court, and also to issue subpoena to witnesses.  Giving him the powers of a clerk of our inferior courts of today, but not having the right of trial of any cause.
   "When Thomas Pope arrived at Dartmouth he must have found a settlement of a considerable number of persons, although their dwellings were widely scattered.  It is probable that the removal of the parent from New Plymouth caused the son, SETH POPE, to likewise try his fortunes in a new community.  At his time he had not acquired those traits of industry and thrift which he later developed.  Tradition says that he appeared at Sandwich as a peddler, but the authorities, fearing that he might become a public charge, requested his removal to some other locality.  When and where he was married to his first wife, Deborah, is not known.  Probably at Dartmouth and about the year 1673.  The tradition further says that in his indignation with the authorities at Sandwich, on leaving that settlement he declared that he would return and buy a goodly portion of the township.  This awakened ambition he was able to accomplish thirty years later.
   "He then came to Dartmouth, and began a career of industry and thrift that soon made him a leading merchant, an honored representative and the first trial magistrate in Dartmouth.
   "Neither Thomas Pope, nor his son, Seth Pope, were among the original shareholders of the land purchased from Wesamequen.
   "When he came to Dartmouth it is probable that he went to the home of his father, which was located west of the present Sconticut Neck road and south of the present Washington Street.  Here had been built a log house and a grist mill.
   "In the records of the proprietors of the Dartmouth land Seth Pope acquired interests in the original shares.
   "One of the original owners of a share was 'Mr. Jenney', as copied in the records at our local registry of deeds, and 'Mistress Jenney', as it appears in other records.  She was the mother-in-law of Thomas Pope, and as her two sons, Samuel Jenney and John Jenney, were early settlers in Dartmouth, and as Robert Bartlett, also one of the original shareholders, who had married Hannah, the eldest daughter of Thomas Pop, had also settled in Dartmouth, it is probable that the various relatives of Seth Pope had built their homes at no great distance from each other, this precaution being necessary because of the hostility of the Indians in that period.  This is evident from the fact that in July 1675, Susannah, the second daughter of Thomas Pope, who had married Jacob Mitchell, with her brother, John, the third son of Thomas Pope, and her husband, were killed by the Indians near the present southwest corner of Spring and Walnut Streets, in Fairhaven, while they were trying to reach Cooke's garrison from their home in the east part of the town.  The layout of the roads down Sconticut Neck in March 30, 1730, locates the residence of Seth Pope's homestead as being near the present northwest corner of Washington street and the county road leading northward to Dahls corner.  And the layout of that part of the present Spring Street, east of Rotch street, to the same County road, made March 7, 1736, confirms this location.
   "The dwellings in Dartmouth were destroyed by the Indians in 1675, and Seth Pope, with his wife and other relatives, were driven to seek shelter, probably in New Plymouth, where Thomas Pope still owned his dwelling at Strawberry Hill, or Reeds pond.  There John, the eldest son of Seth Pope, was born Oct. 23, 1675.
   "The first reference to Seth Pope in the Plymouth Colony records is in March, 1677, when he was one of the jury of twelve men to try three Indians for the murder of John Knowles, John Tisdale, Sr., and Samuel Attkins.  This jury returned a verdict that the evidence was 'very suspicious' against the first two Indians named in the indictment, but that against the third there was no evidence.  The court, evidently believing that an absent Indian was preferable to a present one, sentences all three to be sent out of the country.
   "It was probably about the year 1677 that Seth Pope built his homestead at the location I have described and began the active life he ever after led in the town of Dartmouth.  September 1, 1677, his son Thomas was born.
   "The general court in March 1679 allowed to Seth Pope seven shillings to be demanded of some Indians for expense of time in their behalf, in returning guns.
   "In June 1680 Seth Pope was a member, from Dartmouth, of the grand inquest of 25 to serve at the general court that year.
   "Thomas Pope died, sometime between July 9th, the date of his will, and November 2nd, 1683, the date of the bond of Isaac Pope and Seth Pope as administrators of his estate.  By the will of Thomas the homestead of the deceased was devised to the youngest son Isaac and comprised about one hundred and seventy acres, and in its area was included the older and central part of the present town of Fairhaven, from the railroad on the south to Bryant Avenue on the east and Bridge Street on the north.  by this will Seth Pope received ten shillings.
   "In colonial days a representative form of town government prevailed.  The general court at New Plymouth was the source of authority to the townships.
   "In June 1685 Seth Pope was elected a selectman of Dartmouth.  He was re-elected a selectman in 1686, and in this year he was appointed by the general court a lieutenant of the military force of Dartmouth, and took the oath of fidelity.  In the records of the general court for 1689 he is first referred to as 'Captain Seth Poe,' when he served in the general court as a deputy from Dartmouth.  He was re=elected a selectman of Dartmouth for 1689.
   "Evidently Captain Pope saw service under Captain Church during the Indian troubles of that time.  At the August session in 1689 of the general court three commissioners were chosen as a council of war.  Certain instructions to the colonists were adopted.  among them may be noted the following:
   4.  That such due encouragement may be given to soldiers, that if it may be there may be enough raised to go voluntarily, without such encouragement to be six shillings per week, money or monies value, for each private soldier and eight or ten pounds per head to one company, or soldiers, for every fighting man of the enemy, whose scalp shall be brought in to such person or officer as shall be appointed to take notice or knowledge thereof, and also to have all the persons as they shall take and captivate, and all portable plunder divided amongst them.  And if any soldier of ours shall be maimed in said war, and thereby disabled to maintain themselves, he or they to be provided for, relieved and maintained in such capacity as he or they lived in before concerned in said war, and also to have victuals and ammunition allowed while upon the expedition.
   7.  That care be forthwith taken to engage the Mowhawke Indians with us against our said enemies by sending some meet person to them with a present, and to treat with them in order thereto.
  "By this general court it was further ordered by this court and the authority thereof, that if any person, English or Indiana apprehend and bring before authority any man that is an Indian enemy, he shall have ten pounds for a reward if he bring him alive, and five pounds if killed, provided it be evident it be an enemies Indian.
   " 'Any English or Indian notifying any military or civil officer of plot or conspiracy of Indians against English to receive ten pounds reward if English or freeman, if servant to be freed.  The military officers of each town to encourage English or Indiana to volunteer to go out under command of Captain Church.'
   "In 1689 Seth Pope was a deputy from Dartmouth to the general court at New Plymouth.  Here he gave evidence of having inherited the independence and defiance of his parent when he considered his rights were infringed.  The record of the session held Dec 25, 1689, shows that he was present at the session, and that a vote was passed that he, with nine other deputies, who had been fined twenty shillings each 'for not appearing and attending said court, or disorderly departing therefrom' be remitted the fine, 'it being the first offence in that kind.'
   "He must have become again offended at the acts of the court, for the record of the session also contains the statement that Seth Pope, and three other, are fined twenty shillings each 'for their disorderly departing from this general court.'  The record has attached the endorsement, 'all released except Mr. Cushing, May 20th, 1690.'
   "At the May 1690 session of the general court, Captain Seth Pope is chosen one of the three associate magistrates for the county of Bristol.  He was a deputy from Dartmouth to this session and was re-elected for the session of 1691.
   "An order passed June 5, 1690, reads: 'Ordered by this court, that after this year the associate, or county magistrates, be chosen by the freemen of the several counties.'
   "At this June session he was re-elected associate, or county magistrate, for 'this present year, for the county of Bristol.'
   "It was also 'Ordered, that the several associate, or county magistrates, meet at their several county towns, to be sworn, at such time as they shall be warned by orders from the magistrates of the several counties.  At which time they are to hear and determine according to law any criminals, and do any other thing within the power of a county court except trying of actions.'
   " 'Ordered that every of said associates, or county magistrates, have the power of a magistrate within their respective counties.'
   "Seth Pope had purchased parts of the shares of original proprietors of Dartmouth lands, and the session of the general court of 1685 and 1686 had to consider petitions for partition of these lands brought by William Wood and others against Seth Pope, John Cooke and others.  The plaintiffs were non-suited in each instance, and on the second petition were required to pay costs of 32 shillings.
    "These suits evidently led to the giving of the deed of William Bradford to Seth Pope and 55 others, dated Nov. 13, 1694, to confirm the title of the original proprietors and their successors in title to the lands of Dartmouth.  This is the first deed in which Seth Pope is a grantee which is recorded in the land records of the north district of this county, of land located within the bounds of Dartmouth, now Fairhaven.
   "In 1691 he served on a jury to determine an important question relating to the boundaries of the town of Middlebury.
   "After the union of the colonies of New Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay in 1692, the former office of county magistrate was filled by the appointment of the governor, and the magistrate was called a justice of the peace.  He was appointed to this office by Governor William Phipps, May 27, 1692, and his commission was renewed by Governor Joseph Dudley, Nov. 8, 1707; it was also renewed on Jan. 25, 1709, and Dec. 10, 1715, his last appointment to that office being by Governor Samuel Shute on Nov. 12, 1717.
   "He was again elected a selectman of Dartmouth in the years 1699, 1702, and 1705.
   "Following the cessation of the wars with the Indians, the township struggled under a heavy tax for the support of the united colonies, and in June, 1695, Captain Seth Pope was sent on behalf of the town to appear before a general court at Boston to urge a reduction in the rate levied on Dartmouth.
   "After the deed of William Bradford to the proprietors of Dartmouth lands in 1694 he acquired title to large areas of land, particularly in the portions now Fairhaven and Acushnet, and by various exchanges of lands enlarged the areas of land he already owned, particularly adjoining his homestead.
   "Among these deeds is one from his brother, Isaac Pope, dated March 13, 1711, of 'one half acre lying and being by Coshenet River and Herring River on which stands a warehouse in Dartmouth, with a convenient cartway to it.'
   "Herring River, on the Acushnet River, was the now obliterated mill pond, east of Maine Street, in Fairhaven.  for this conveyance he deeded to Isaac Pope 35 acres out of the 800 acres he had received, as a shareholder in the Dartmouth lands, in the partial division that had been made of those lands.
   "Another of these deeds conveyed to him from George and Benny Shaw, from the share of their grandfather, John Shaw, dated Fe. 27, 1694, of 'fifty acres of said upland and seven acres of meadow being already laid out at a place called Wissquamcusset, near the head of Sconticut neck in the township of Dartmouth.'
   "Between this last lot and his homestead there was conveyed to him by Thomas Hathaway, Nov. 11, 1696, 'thirty-two acres of upland and one and one quarter acres of meadow adjoining unto the foot of it, the same land adjoining unto and lyeth between the home lot of the said Seth Pope and some other of his lands on the southerly side of his home lot.'
   "Seth Pope did not confine his ventures in business to the land.  He owned shares in various vessels which carried on a profitable coastwise trade.  In 1693 he owned a part of the sloop 'Hopewell', which was commanded by his son, Thomas in 1702, and in 1709 was part owner of the sloop 'Joann and Thankful'.
   "Having become one of the largest owners of land in Dartmouth, and one of its wealthiest citizens, he puts into effect his decision to own a valuable part of the town of Sandwich.
   "About 1700 he purchases a farm in Sandwich for his eldest son, John, upon which he lived with his family.  Later he becomes the owner of numerous other valuable properties in the town.
   "His wife, Deborah, died in February, 1711.  The date of his second marriage is not known, but is prior to April  1, 1720 the date of his will, in which his wife is named, Rebecca.
   "Having lived a life of honorable and active public service and of successful private enterprise, he died at his home in Dartmouth on March 17, 1727.
   "His will and the codicil gave to the son John the land and dwelling house he occupied in Sandwich, together with other large tracts of land in that township and elsewhere; John dying November 18, 1725, by the codicil dated Feb. 18, of the legal year of 1725, or Feb. 18, 1726, of the calendar year, the devises to John were given to the members of his family.
   "To his third son, Seth, he gave the land and dwelling house he occupied in Sandwich, with the grist and fulling mill, and their tracts of land, in that township, during his life, with reversion to his heirs.
   "To Elnathan, the fourth son, he gives the Spring Brook farm, of 546 acres, at Perrys Hill, and several tracts of land on Sconticut Neck, including the place called 'Winsegunsett,' or today 'Winchigansett.'  To the fifth and youngest son, Lemuel, he gives 'my homestead on which I now dwell and which is now in my possession and occupation,' this containing 307 acres, and one-half of the wharf and warehouse, and other lots of land in Dartmouth.  The other half of the wharf and warehouse going to his four daughters.
   "He was not unmindful of his faithful spiritual adviser, leaving him ten pounds per year to two years.
   "His Negro boy, Robin, was left to assist his widow, Rebecca.
   "The three-eighths part of the grist mill and saw mill which he owned at Acushnet was given in different shares to two of his daughters.
   "The inventory of his estate, appraised at Dartmouth, May 12, 1727, including three Negro and four mulatto slaves, showed personal estate of 1930 pounds, approximately of $9300.00, and the real estate in the county of Bristol of 10,070 pounds, with other real estate in the county of Barnstable of 3463 pounds, approximately of $65,700.00, a total estimated value of over $75,000.00; and the fears of the officials of Sandwich of his becoming a public charge failed of realization.
   "In the old burying ground at Acushnet, a little west of the Parting Ways, is an ancient monument with the inscription, 'Here lyes buried ye body of Seth Pope, of Dartmouth, who died March ye 17th, 1727, in the 79th year of his age.'
   "The martial spirit of Thomas Pope, and of his son, Captain Seth Pope, was inherited by the third generation, Captain Lemuel Pope, who was born in Dartmouth, Feb. 21, 1696, died there May 23, 1771, aged 75 years.  He was a captain of militia.  Inheriting a large portion of his father's estate, industrious and successful, he was a man of influence, and prominent in the public affairs of the town.  He married Feb. 4, 1719, Elizabeth daughter of Ephraim Hunt of Dartmouth, and to them were born twelve children.  The ninth child, Luen, inherited the homestead formerly of Captain Seth Pope, and he retained it until 1778, when it was conveyed to John Alden.  The ancient dwelling is gone, but the land is now owned by Seth Alden, a descendant of John Alden.
   "The eldest son of Lemuel Pope was Seth Pope.  Born March 4, 1720.  The story of his life, especially during the Revolutionary struggles, has in it more romance that that of his ancestor, the Captain Seth Pope of Indian war times.  He was a leading man, not only at home, but in the colony, both in civil and military affairs.  At one time he was a captain, later commissioned a colonel.  Chosen by his townsmen as one of the committee to consider the action which should be taken by the colonists relative to the British taxation; the report, accepted by the town, recommended non-importation of goods from Great Britain, and advising the raising of funds in aid of the colonial congress; in 1775 being chosen a member of the committee of safety; engaging in the battle of White Plains; held prisoner in the prison ship, where Fort Green now is located in the harbor near New York; he set an example of patriotism, which his second son, Nathaniel Pope, emulated on May 14, 1775, as commander of the first successful provincial naval expedition of the Revolution, when two provincial vessels were recaptured from the British sloop of war, 'Falcon' in Buzzards Bay.
   "The hatred of a Tory neighbor for the patriotism of Colonel Pope caused his homestead, at Acushnet, to be burned by the British in their memorable march of pillage and destruction from Clarks Neck in New Bedford to Sconticut Neck in Fairhaven in 1778.
   "Colonel Seth Pope on July 30, 1741, married Abigail Church.  To them were born six children.  to his son Nathaniel, who married Mary Barstow, of Mattapoisett, Oct. 14, 1790, were born six children;  and some of the descendants of his sons, Nathaniel and Wilson Pope, and of his daughter, Lucy Barstow Fish, are today honored citizens of Fairhaven."

At the conclusion of his address, Mr. Gillingham said he had the pleasant duty of making a presentation, in behalf of Miss Alice Fish, daughter of Mrs. Lucy Barstow Fish.  Mr. Gillingham then presented to the society the ancient cradle in which five generations of the Pope family have been rocked.  It was built in 1680 by Captain Seth Pope, for his children.  ... It is now one of the society's most precious and valued relics.

Gershom Pope 1743-1810

I love finding ancestors who fought in the American Revolution.  I think it is exciting as well as a lot easier to find information about them. SAR # 67651, 48977, 48979, 20047 (Oct 27, 1916), 20048, 53144, and 38552.

Gershom Pope (July 22, 1743 - March 22, 1810) was married to Hannah Smith (March 23, 1742 - Feb 9, 1830), marriage date 1762.  He had a daughter Charlotte Pope (Jan 18, 1802 - Mar 31, 1878) married before 1823 to Carlos Holcomb (1793 - Sept 11, 1857).  Charlotte had a daughter Susan Holcomb (1830 - June 2, 1912).

According to the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) application, Gershom served in Major Ebenezer Backus' Regiment of Light Horse (Connecticutt) in Captian Samuel Hall's Company.  He appeared on Company Payroll.  Marched September 8, 1776; discharged on November 2, 1776.  Rose to the rank of Captain according to family and DAR records.

Gershom is the son of Seth Pope(Jan 3, 1701 - 1769 and Jerusha Tobey(b.3-23-1697 - d. unknown, marriage date unknown).

Grandson of John Pope (Oct 23, 1675- 1725 Sandwich, Mass who was married to Elizabeth Bourne (june 26, 1679 - April 15, 1715).  Married 1699.

Great Grandson of Seth Pope (Jan 13,1648, Plymouth Mass. - Mar 17 1727, Dartmouth, Mass.) and his first wife Deborah Perry

Great Great Grandson of Thomas Pope (1608, England - October 1683, Dartmouth, Mass) and his second wife, Sarah Jenny - Married May 19, 1646, Plymouth Mass.

It lists as records Genealogy of Thomas Pope and his Descendents by Worden, Langworthy, and Burch.  Lib of Congress CS71, P826 1917,  Agi-Old Records Section, US Archives, DAR #'s 24493, 26617m 28637.
Marriage and Bible records of gen 1,2,3 in applicant's (Wayne T. Jacob) Oct 28, 1946

Another SAR record (#48977) adds:

Gershom had a son named Gates Pope (March 5 1778 - July 21, 1840) married on Dec 25, 1796 to Betsey Brooks (Sept 9, 1777 - Oct 16, 1842).  It also states that Gershom moved in 1792 to Bulington, N.Y.  His mortal remains rest in the Church-Yard at Burlington Green, NY  The DAR placed a marker on his grave.

Other SAR # 48979
Some records show him born in Plainfield, Connecticut.

Timothy Pope (June 16, 1771 - 1838 to Hannah Stickney (May10, 1773 - April 18, 1842) marriage date unknown.

SAR # 38552 - Gersham Pope was born August 22, 1743.  On March 1, 1762, his father gave him half of the Homestead farm, on the eastern edge of Plainfield Conn.  About that time he married Hannah Smith, a daughter of a Volunton neighbor...On Sept 8th (1776), his regiment marched for New York but was relieved on November 1st and highly complimented in general order of George Washington.

Gersham Pope moved to Burlington, NY where he lived until the time of his death, which occurred on March 22, 1810.  He and his wife are buried side by side on Burlington Green, their graves being marked by two marble slabs.  (records consulted - Genology of Thomas Pope, who landed in New England in 1620.  Record of the historical society of New England, Conn Men in the Revolution, p 478.

James Brinkerhoff's Wagon

James Brinkerhoff's Wagon

Legend written by George Melvin Brinkerhoff, son of Jesse Brinkerhoff who was the son of James Brinkerhoff and Rebecca Hawk Edited by JoAnn J. Hadden

The morning was already warm, and the road would be dusty going to Great Salt Lake City. James Brinkerhoff had many chores to do before he would be ready to start. He had received a call from President Brigham Young to meet with him at 8 o'clock in the morning before Salt Lake Stake Conference on Sunday, Sept. 3, 1852. Sally Ann called to James from their small home they had built in Deuel Creek, named after William and Osmyn Deuel. Later the name was changed to Centerville.

"James, it is almost 5:00 A.M. You better leave the milking and the rest of the chores for me and the girls;"

"I am almost through," called James who was thirtysix years old.

"You are in no shape to do the milking anyway, and the baby could come here in the barn."

"Don't be silly," chided Sally Ann. "She is not due for a month."

"You told me you would have boys from now on to help me on the farm."

"Wait and see," said Sally Ann, as she closed the door and went back inside. Soon the door opened as James came in with a bucket of warm milk.

"I won't have time to eat. It is fifteen miles to the bowery, and I must not keep President Young waiting."

"Take some apples in your pocket to eat along the way," said Sally. "Are you going to ride one of the horses?"

"No, I have tied the horses so they can feed along the ditch bank; I can walk faster and take the short cuts, besides the horses would have nothing to eat all day, and I need them tomorrow to help build the canal, " said James.

"What do you think President Young wants with you?" asked Sally. "I hope he is not sending you on another mission to Ohio or somewhere. Oh, what will we do if he does?"

"I don't know, but Nephi said the Lord will not ask His children to do anything else he provides a way. Have faith, my dear," said James as he put his strong arm around Sally and kissed her goodbye. "Let the kids sleep awhile," said James as he went out the door.

It was still dark as James Brinkerhoff started down the road toward Great Salt Lake City. (The name was later changed to Salt Lake City.) It was dusty all the way, and as James neared Millcreek it was already starting to get light. The mill built on the bank of the creek was idle, as it always was on Sunday. James stopped to get a drink, Millcreek always had such cool water; then on his way he munched on an apple. Half running, half walking, he hurried on. He would get one more drink before he went around the point of the mountain, because there would be nothing but hot springs from then on to City Creek, running by the temple lot where the bowery was built. City Creek always had cool, fresh water coming from the mountains. As James neared the point of the mountain he overtook Aaron Cherry.

"Want a ride?" asked Aaron.

"No," said James. "I'm in a hurry."

The sun was climbing high in the sky when James reached the bowery. Already, other brethren were there.

"Do you know what we are called here for?", asked Jed Black.

"No," said James as he shook hands with his old friend. Jed and James had been in the same company crossing the plains from Winter Quarters, Nebraska to Great Salt Lake City. Other men James also knew.

"How is the family, and where do you live?" each asked.

Brigham Young was a little late. He had had a sick cow that he had to care for before the meeting, but he had sent word to Heber C. Kimball, his First Counselor, to take charge of the meeting. As Brother Kimball opened the meeting he said, "Brethren, we will sing and pray and by that time President Young,I hope, will be here because I don't know what he

called you for."

As Brigham arrived, he didn't have the smile he usually wore, but looked as if he had been talking to the Lord. "Brethren," he said, "This is something I would rather not do, but I must. I must." James felt his blood go cold, and the sweat started running down his back. "What now?", he thought. In the Book of Mormon, Nephi said the Lord will not ask His children to do anything unless He provides away. He had told Sally that just this morning. "We have in our midst some very lovely sisters," Brigham said, "who do not have husbands. The Prophet Joseph introduced polygamy, or I should say the Lord introduced polygamy through the Prophet Joseph. Some of the brethren have already taken the second wife. Now I have called you men here to ask that you take another wife, and help these sisters establish homes here in the valleys of the mountains where they can raise children and build up this Church."

James stayed for the morning and afternoon sessions of Conference. He hadn't told Brigham that he would take another wife. James met a lot of old friends, but did not tell why he was in town. The sun was far in the West as James started for

home. He caught a ride with Brother Sessions and rode as far as Sessions Settlement (later called Bountiful). There the two friends parted. The sun was just setting when James arrived home. Sally Ann met him at the door. "This has been a long day," she said, "the children went to Sunday Service, but I stayed home. I have wondered all day what Brother Brigham wanted with you. Tell me all, for I can't wait another minute," said Sally.

"We can talk about it after I am through with the chores," said James. Sally Ann knew that something bad was about to take place. After the chores were all done, and they had eaten their bread and milk. (James didn't know how hungry he was until he sat down to eat.) The children were put to bed.

"Come set by the table," he said. Sally's heart was pounding. "Brigham wants me to take another wife."

"Well," said Sally, "I thought it was something real bad."

"And you think that isn't bad?" said James. "How will I find another woman?"

"You found me," Sally answered.

"That was different. I was looking for someone, now I'm not," said James.

"Well," said Sally, "In the spring before you plant your crops, maybe you can go look for someone."

"That is the catch," said James, "President Young wants all that were to the meeting to find a wife before October Conference on the 6th of October."

"You told me this morning, 'The Lord never asks anything of His children else He prepares a way," said Sally.

"I think we better go to bed. I must be up early in the morning to work on the canal. As long as I am head of the Deuel Creek Canal Company, I will have to be there and show the others where the ditches should be built," said James.

"Good morning, Brother Brinkerhoff," said Ira Call as the two men met on Deuel Creek. "I didn't see you at Church yesterday."

"No," said James, "I went into Great Salt Lake City for Church."

"What was the occasion that took you clear in there?" said Ira.

"On church business," said James, "but let's get this work started." Soon other men arrived with their teams and work was started; some of the men with plows and some with scrapers.

James was tired when he got home that night. After he did his chores, Sally Ann had a very nice supper waiting. Then James said, "I have some work to do on my wagon, so I will go out while you and girls do up the dishes." Sally knew her husband, she knew he had more on his mind than the wagon, so she put on a coat and went out to be with him.

"Have you thought about who you might ask?" said Sally, knowing if she could get him to talk about it, it would make him feel better.

"Why does President Young want this all done so soon?"

"Well," said James, "he doesn't want us to go courting another lady and leave our wife home alone. That's why he wants us to have a wife by October Conference. But why me?"

"Because you are one of the leading men in the community," said Sally.

"You didn't hesitate when Brigham asked us to leave our home and all we had in Nauvoo, and come to the valley of the mountains. Many of the people lost loved ones on the plains. We lost our baby boy at Winter quarters. It was hard to leave him buried there and come west knowing we would never visit his grave again, nor the grave of our daughter, Hannah, buried in Niles, New York. When word came that the Prophet Joseph and Hyrum were killed, we turned to Brigham Young to guide us. We have done all this because we believed Brigham Young was a Prophet and our leader," said Sally.

"Yes," answered James, "so many of our friends lost more than we, like the Hawks family. I wonder where the Hawk girls ever located? I remember when their mother was killed by that oxen stampede. That was a horrible experience for them; then to have their father and brother join the Mormon Battalion and leave the three girls to come west by themselves.* (William and Margaret Harris Hawk, with two sons and four daughters, left Nauvoo in the winter of 1846 and went to Winter Quarters to get ready for the long journey across the plains to Utah. Their second daughter, Rebecca was born August 12, 1835 at Parks Count, Indiana. She was eleven years old when they left Nauvoo. They, with their six children, left their home and all belonging except for bedding and food in their wagon. It was hard to leave, and so far away to their new home in the west. The Mississippi River was frozen over so they were able to cross on the ice. This was one of the few time the river had ever been frozen over at Nauvoo. The way was slow,hard and cold. It was hard to keep from freezing.

Most of the time they walked to keep warm and at night huddled around a fire. It was about 450 miles from Nauvoo to Winter Quarters, Nebraska. They traveled through the State of Iowa. Often oxen would stampede when they had been without water for a long time. At one of these stampedes, Margaret, the mother, was killed and buried on the plains in 1849.

This was very hard on William and his young family to go on, but move on they must. After arriving at Winter Quarters, they were very busy getting ready for the long journey to Deseret. They lived in their wagon the winter of 1846, then in

the spring as they were about ready to move, the United States Government asked for 500 men to go fight in a war between Mexico and the United States.

Brigham Young asked for volunteers to help the Government that had run them from their homes. "If we don't get men enough we will send women," he said. William Hawk and his son, Nathan, (a son by another marriage to Elizabeth McClanhan.) remembered leaving the three girls to get to Utah on their own. The way was hard for strong men, but even more hard for the little girls with their small brother William, but with the help of other people, they made their way west.)

Rebecca Hawk was so sweet to us when we lost little Jimmy. She was only a child but while he was sick she came to our wagon with hot soup, and each day asked about him. I guess it was because she had lost three brothers and sisters, then her mother. And Sarah and Mary Caroline Hawk were also sweet to us."

James leaned against the wagon. "What will I tell Brigham?"

"Don't tell him anything, show him," said Sally.

"What about one of the Hawk girls, you always liked them. Your helped them crossing the plains; I don't know what they would have done without you. And when their one oxen was taken by the Indians, you helped them yoke their milk cow with the other oxen to make their way to the valley. Why don't you look them up?

"No," said James, "they are just children."

"Children?" answered Sally. Sarah is twenty-two years old, and Rebecca is seventeen.

"It seemed to me they were only children when they came to the valley," said James.

"Well, Rebecca was only eleven years old when her mother was killed, but that was in 1849; that was six years ago, and girls do grow up," said Sally.

"It is getting late and this is a short week. Thursday is fast-day, and we want to get the ditch done before winter sets in," said James. He put his arm around Sally as the two walked toward the house. If this next one is a girl, I will trade it to someone for a boy,"James teased as he opened the door.

Nothing more was said about a new wife until Sunday afternoon, September 10, 1852. James and Sally had been to Sacrament Meeting with their children, Jeanette 16, Mary Ann 10, Levi 5, and Hyrum 2 years old. After the night supper was over and the children were in bed, James said to Sally,

"Where would we put another woman in this small house?"

"She would be your wife," said Sally.

"Well, said James, "I am going to tell Brother Brigham the answer is no."

"You will do no such thing. This is a call from the Lord, just as it would have been if you were called on a mission," said Sally. "Anyway, she can help me with the new baby."

Next morning James hitched his horses to the wagon and told Sally he was going to Great Salt Lake City with a load of wheat to pay in tithing. "I will be gone all day."

Sally was busy all day making baby clothes. At five o'clock she heard a wagon in the distance; she knew by the sound it was James coming home. "Hello," she said as James pulled his team to a halt by the gate. "Did you have a good day?"

"Yes, only I'm tired. Guess who I saw in town?"

"Brother Brigham?" asked Sally.

"No," said James, "Our old friend William Hawk."

"Did you ask him about his daughters?" asked Sally.

"No, I thought some day you could go and talk to Rebecca," said James.

"Me talk to her? It's you that is going to marry her,not me."

The next Sunday morning, September 17, 1852, James was up early. He did his chores, had breakfast, and put on his best clothes. "Sally Ann, (He only called her Sally Ann on special occasions.) I am going to Church." This was not uncommon for him to go to church early. Sometimes he met with the Bishop. They met in the school house because the church house had not been built yet. James took a horse which was unusual because the meeting house was only two blocks away. James Brinkerhoff galloped his horse most of the way to Great Salt Lake City. It was eleven o'clock when he reached the west-side of town.

"Hello Brother Brinkerhoff, won't you come in?"asked Rebecca, as she stood in the doorway of her father's home. She hadn't seen him for four years, but she had always admired him and remembered how he had helped her and Sarah and Mary Caroline on the way to Great Salt Lake. James noticed how Rebecca had changed. She was a nice looking woman; dark hair, tall with her own sweet smile. William Hawk was living with his three daughters. Calvin, his son, had died.

"Yes, I will come in for awhile, and I would like to stay and go to church with you this afternoon."

"How is Sally?' asked William, "and how are Jeanette and Mary Ann and the boys, Levi and Hyrum and the new baby. Has she had it yet?" asked Mary Caroline Hawk.

"They are all fine," said James, as he tied his horse to a post and came into the house.

"Jeanette is married. She married George Leavitt on August 29, 1852."

"Well, you have a nice home here, William," said James.

"Yes," answered William, "I received a little money when I left the Mormon Battalion, so I build this home, with the help of the three girls. But now it seems they are going to leave me."

"How is that," asked James.

"Getting married," said William; James felt a chill. no, it was more like a relief, like having a tooth pulled but it still hurt.

"That is, all but Rebecca. She has been so busy making clothes for people that she doesn't have time for boys. Sarah is marrying John Mikesell, and Mary is to be married December 17th to Samuel Moore," said William.

To James it was like the tooth had been put back in. "Anyway, James what brings you here on the Sabbath?" asked William.

"I don't know how to tell you what I'm here for, but Brother Brigham asked me to take another wife."

"How can we help?"

"I was thinking about Rebecca, or I should say, Sally and I talked about Rebecca.

"Me?" asked Rebecca.

"Is this a call from the Lord?" asked William.

"Yes, I must have another wife by October Conference."

Rebecca started to laugh.

"What's so funny?" asked Mary Caroline.

"Well," said Rebecca, "I have been making wedding dresses for President Young's two daughters and for President Kimball's daughter and for my own two sisters, now to think I may be married before any of you. How soon do you need to know Brother Brinkerhoff?"

"I would like to go to Sacrament Meeting with you this afternoon, and I would like your answer before then."

"If President Young called you to take another wife, and if you would like me to be that other wife, what day should we be married?' asked Rebecca.

"It can't be this week," said James. "How about the 28th of September?"

"Fine," said Rebecca.

After James left home, Sally Ann stood long in the doorway watching her husband as he rode down the lane and out of sight. She turned and walked back into the house. She felt an emptiness. It was not the kind of emptiness she felt when little Jimmy died, not the kind of emptiness she felt when her friendMargaret Harris Hawk had been killed right before he eyes by the oxen stampede. It was more like the emptiness she had the night she spent in their covered wagon, just after they had moved to Centerville. James had taken the team into the mountains for logs to build a house. The lightening lit up the whole sky, and thunder shook the wagon; she and the children had been so frightened. There were no neighbors for miles. She and the children prayed. The thunder still roared and shook the wagon; she didn't feel as frightened but the emptiness did not go away.

James returned while the sun was still shining in the west.

"People asked about you at church today."

"What did you tell them?"

"The truth," answered Sally.

"Rebecca wants to come out and stay a few nights and get acquainted before we get married. I though maybe she could come next week while I am in Ogden," said James.

"Is it you or me that she wants to get acquainted with?" asked Sally. "Or is it that you don't want to be home when she comes?"

James left for Ogden September 20th, Thursday 1852, just as the sun was coming up. He would be gone for three days. Rebecca Hannah Hawk arrived at Centerville, Utah about one hour after James had left.

"I'm glad to see you," called Sally, "come in so we can talk."

"Where is Brother Brinkerhoff?" asked Rebecca.

"On his way to Ogden," said Sally.

"Hello," said Jeanette and Mary Ann.

"Hello, and where are the boys?" asked Rebecca.

"They are still in bed," said Mary Ann.

"And you are married, Jeanette?"

"Yes, I married George Leavitt. I am staying here while my husband builds a home."

The Brinkerhoff girls went to work for a neighbor. This left the two women to get better acquainted. "James is a good man," said Sally. "He is a hard worker, very witty and gets along very well with other men. He can give a talk in church or anywhere else. But he is shy around women. He puts on a big front. He will do anything for me that I ask. He will help with the kids or help with the cooking, but he won't tell me he loves me. Oh, I know he does. He won't tell me how nice I look or say the dinner was nice, but I find if he doesn't complain than all is well. So don't expect him to compliment you," said Sally.

"Brother Brinkerhoff seems to be an honest man, and this is something I didn't expect to be a plural wife," said Rebecca.

"Tell me a little about yourself," said Sally.

"Well, I have been a seamstress. I have made clothes for people, wedding dresses, suits for men, and just plain clothes. Since Mother was killed, Sarah takes care of the cooking, Mary takes care of the house, and I do the sewing. I don't like to cook," said Rebecca.

"James does like to eat good food," said Sally. "We eat lots of pig-weed greens. He likes them the way I cook them. He likes sego lilies, too. We have learned to eat lots of wild food." The two women spent a delightful three days together. Rebecca went home just before James returned from Ogden.

"How did things go?" asked James, as Sally met him at the door.

"Fine, but you would think it was me going to marry her, not you."

"You will be living with her more than I will," said James.

Before the sun was up on the morning of September 28, 1852, James helped Sally into the wagon. Together they drove to Great Salt Lake City where they picked up Rebecca Hannah Hawk, and together they went to the Endowment House to have Rebecca sealed to him for time and all eternity. The road was dusty all the way home, and it was starting to get cold. When they arrived home, the Brinkerhoff children had a nice supper waiting for them. After supper, James went out to do his chores. He stayed out longer than he had ever before. Then when he did go in, for the first time in his life he felt like a stranger in his own home. He had always been the head of his house, but now he felt like the tail. It was Sally who took the lead.

The winter was cold, but not much snow. James Brinkerhoff was busy building onto his house, and hauling water from the creek. He took a forked tree limb and a fifty-gallon barrel on it to haul water. He was after water the morning of October 29, 1852. Sally hadn't been feeling too well, but had said nothing to anyone.

"Rebecca, you better call James, the baby is on the way." Rebecca ran to the creek.

"Brother Brinkerhoff, you better get the mid-wife fast," she said.

"As soon as I get back with the water," he said.

"You don't have time. Let me take the water back."

by the time James arrived with a mid-wife from five miles away, the baby was already there.

Rebecca Hawk Brinkerhoff had helped with her first birth; she had never seen a birth before, but it would not be her last one.

"A boy, Brother Brinkerhoff," Rebecca said as James came in all out of breath.

"We will call him George," said James, "to keep the James and George going. You see, he will be George because my name is James, my father's George, his father Jacobus, or James, his father Joris or George, the his father, Jacobus or James, while his father was Hendrik Joris or George." Little George was christened on the first Thursday fast-day of December 1852.

Sunday, December 6th, Rebecca was up early tidied up the house, and told the rest of the family, "We will all go to church this afternoon, but Sally and the baby."

As they entered the meeting-house, Mary Thompson came up and said, "And how is Sister Brinkerhoff this afternoon?"

"Oh", said Rebecca. "She didn't feel like coming yet."

"I was referring to you."

"Oh, yes," said Rebecca, "I'm fine." But she never made that mistake again. Yes, she was Mrs. Brinkerhoff too, just as much as Sally Ann.

The winter of 1852 was cold. One Monday morning, Rebecca was asked if she would come to Salt Lake City to make clothes for the Smith family. I will drive you in, said James.

"No Brother Brinkerhoff, I can drive myself. You forget that I drove a team of oxen across the plains, and horses are much easier to handle than cows."Rebecca worked all day then stayed with her father at night. She worked until Friday afternoon. The Smiths gave her 300 pounds of wheat, 2 chickens and 3 sacks of potatoes. Rebecca took them to her father. This is the way she had been paid for all her work, very little money had she ever received.

"No," said William Hawk, "You take all this stuff home. You are married now." But Brother Brinkerhoff doesn't need this and youdo," protested Rebecca.

"Just the same, take it to him."

Rebecca didn't go to town to work often during the winter, but when spring came, she spent a lot of time sewing for people in Salt Lake City. Carding her own wool, spinning and weaving, making her own cloth,and staying with her father. She always spent the weekend at home in Centerville. In May of 1854, James was called to Brigham Young's office, and asked if he would like to take another wife. After talking it over with Sally Ann and Rebecca Hannah, it was decided he would; so

on the 11th June 1854, James married Eliza Jane Henderson in the Endowment House at Salt Lake City.

Rebecca had her first child two years after she was married; a son that she called David, born May 22nd, 1854, then Mary Caroline born August 19, 1856. Eliza had a son, John born March 20, 1858. Sally had a son Willard born October 10, 1858. Eliza had a son, Silas, born January 23, 1859. Rebecca had a daughter, Margaret (Nina), born May 1, 1859. Eliza had a girl Eliza Ann born January 24, 1861. Rebecca had a boy Samuel W. born October 15, 1863.

The three families got along as if they were one big family. Each had their own work to do. Sally Ann managed the home, Rebecca did the sewing and made clothes for the family, Eliza Jane did the cooking. If a child misbehaved, no matter which one he belonged to, or which mother was there, he was punished.

James was a very busy man with his farm and the canals to build and roads to make, new people coming into Centerville to be helped, a new schoolhouse to be built. It was James that hired the first school teacher, a man teacher. James was always

there to help new people.

At the Salt Lake Stake Conference the last of August 1863, President Young called for James Brinkerhoff to be there and meet with him at eight o'clock. "What can it be this time?" James said to Sally.

"I don't know, but this I do know, you will be there, and we will do what is asked of us."

As James entered the meeting, Brigham Young was there and so were other people that James knew. President Young stood and said, "Brethren, we must expand this State of Deseret. We want families to move to the north and to the south and to the west. James Brinkerhoff, you have been helpful in building waterways in Centerville. I want you to go with a group to the south of here three hundred miles and build water-ways in St. George."

James began to think about the past. Heremembered when he was called on a mission in 1842 to Ohio, and then was called home to Nauvoo when the Prophet Joseph Smith and his broth Hyrum were martyred. He remembered the meeting when he saw the transfiguration of Brigham Young to the form and voice of Joseph. He recalled the box the size of a cigar box full of twenty-dollar gold pieces that he had given to finish the Nauvoo Temple. Then he'd had to leave Sally in Winter Quarters while he went with other men to Missouri to find work to get money for the long trip west. Then they had joined the Perigrine Sessions company for the long trip to the Great Salt Lake Valley. How hard it had been on everyone, especially the women. How the women had washed their clothes in the creeks along the way, cooked on a bonfire using buffalo chips for

fuel, walking most of the way to relieve the load for the horses and oxen.

"If this is what the Lord wants, He will sustain us," she would say. Many times traveling all day without water, he worried about Sally walking so much. Sally was a twin and her health had never been too good. Then, living in a wagon the winter before, she was sick when little Jimmy died on November 16, 1847. She had not completely recovered when they started

on the long trek west. Sally never complained. They had arrived on September 25, 1847. Their son Levi, was born six weeks after they arrived in the valley; the first boy baby born to white parents. He was born November 3, 1847. A girl baby

had been born before Levi.

He remembered the second summer he was in the valley; how the crops were almost destroyed by the crickets. Brigham was not there; he had left and gone to Winter Quarters shortly after the Saints had come into the valley. Brigham had not returned yet with he main body of Saints. James remembered how the people had prayed for help, how the seagulls had

come and saved the crops. He and Sally Ann had lived in Great Salt Lake City until 1850. Although James had been to Centerville in 1849 and laid out forty acres of land, they didn't move to Centerville until 1850. Hyrum was born in Great Salt Lake City¾ June 31, 1850. James remembered how the first crops were coming up the second year and the frost had almost destroyed everything. But he had been blessed. He remembered in 1858 when Johnston's Army came to Utah, how they had left their homes in Centerville and gone south. Then after the Army was encamped on the other side of the valley, they returned to their home. Now they had a home once more, not as good as the one we left in Nauvoo, but it is home.

"James Brinkerhoff, you don't look like you heard what I said," snapped Brigham.

"Oh, said James, "I guess I was day-dreaming."

"What is your answer?" asked Brigham.

"We'll forge ahead," said James, "but I have two wives heavy with child," James answered.

"You and the Lord have a problem; together you can solve it, I'm sure," said Brigham Young.

When James told his family that night, some of them wanted to go and some didn't. Sally Ann was fortyeight

years old. James was forty-seven years old. "Why doesn't Brigham send younger people?"

"Because if he sent green horns to settle, they would starve to death. He must sent experienced people," said James.

"If President Young wants us to go, we will go." said Rebecca, "so let's get packing these wagons."

James sold his farm and home and bought another team and wagon. He already had two teams, or one and a half. He had a colt he was going to break to work in the spring, but he would break him to work in the next two days. It was decided that James would take Sally Ann, his first wife, and Eliza Jane, his third wire, and their children and two wagons with him. He would take the young horse and put it with an older horse on one wagon and another team. He would leave sixteen-year-old Levi to help Rebecca his second wife, and her nine-year-old-son Clark. He would leave the gentle team with them. James would take the chickens and cattle with him. James would return for Rebecca, and Levi could stay and harvest the potatoes.

James left Centerville, Utah, on the 17th of September 1863 and stayed with friends on the way. He took two wives and seven children. The older children walked most of the way driving the cows. They arrived at St. George September 18. James only stayed long enough to find a place to live. James was able to buy a one-room home that would do until he could build another home. The weather was warm and much nicer than the weather back in Centerville. Much work must be done before spring. He must return and bring the rest of his family, waterways must be built, and ground must be leveled and ready to plant, a home must be built, and schools and roads must be built. James only stayed long enough to settle his family. Then he returned to Centerville. When he arrived sixteen-year-old Levi, with the help of nine-year-old Clark, had all the potatoes dug and most of them sold. "I am glad you got back when you did," said Rebecca. "The baby is due any day." Her baby was born the night James returned. She called him Samuel W., born October 15, 1863. When the baby was one week old, James loaded up potatoes, flour, corn, wheat, oats, carrots, dried apples, dried corn, and bacon and started back to St. George. James drove one wagon; Levi and Clark drove the other one. It took them three weeks, arriving in St. George the middle of November 1863.

They had a very cold trip. It snowed on them part of the way. The teams could hardly pull the wagons up some of the hills. The roads were very bad, muddy and slick. Everyone but the two-week old baby had to get out and walk. St. George was settled in 1861, just two years before the Brinkerhoffs came. James had with him on this trip his second wife, Rebecca, her son Clark, nine; Mary, age seven; Nina, age four; and Samuel, the baby; and Levi. James took with him on the first trip Sally and her children, Hyrum, George and Willard, together with his third wife, Eliza Jane and her children, David, John, Silas and Eliza Ann. Eliza Jane gave birth to Lucinda on October 20, 1863 in St. George before James returned. There were no schools for the children to go to. So, each of the mothers took turns teaching. The next winter they had build a one-room school for thechildren.

The Civil War was in full swing. It started in 1861 and lasted until 1865, but it didn't have much weight on the Saints. The winter of 1865, Brigham Young came to St. George and spent some time. "Here," he said, "we will build a temple. It will not be as big as the Salt Lake Temple. It will be completed first." So the temple was started in 1867 and finished in 1877.

On July 8, 1864, just eight and a half months after her last baby, Rebecca had a son, in St. George, whom she names Alonzo. Then on August 13, 1866, Eliza had a son, Joseph. Rebecca had a son she named Jesse, May 22, 1869 at Promontory, Utah.

The town was laid out in square blocks of ten acres each. The blocks were divided into four lots each. The town had wide streets with water running down each street. James Brinkerhoff helped build the waterways for town, and their farms on the outskirts. Water was taken from the Rio Virgin River. The womenfolk at the Brinkerhoff home had never had water so handy, just at their front door almost, in a ditch. Next President Young asked the Saints to build a cotton mill and raise cotton. The first year one hundred thousand pounds of cotton were raised. "This," said Brigham, "will be Utah's Dixie." Brigham Young built a home in St. George and each winter spent much time at his winter home. It took him six weeks to travel from Salt lake to St. George, holding conferences along the way and the same going back in the spring. The Brinkerhoff families liked St. George. The climate was warm. Sometimes the summer here was more than they could bear, but the winters were nice enough to make the difference.

One Sunday afternoon in the spring of 1867, after the family had all been to church, James took his three wives for a drive in their new buggy. They went out to the farm where James changed the water to a dryer spot. "I think," said James, "we have finally found our home. We have been all over this land of America. First, Sally and I were married in Sempronius, Cayuga County, New York. then we moved to Niles in the same county. There, three daughters were born. We joined the Church in 1841. Then in 1843 we moved to Nauvoo, Illinois. Then after the Prophet Joseph was murdered, we went to Winter Quarters, Nebraska; then to Great Salt Lake City; then to Centerville. Now here we are in St. George, but I think we arethrough moving."

"I hope so, Brother Brinkerhoff," said Rebecca. "I for one am tired of living in a wagon, cooking on a bonfire, washing clothes in the creek, and caring for sick children in a cold wagon, bathing in a tub. Here at least the boys can bathe in the river."

"But," said Sally, "if the Lord wants us to move on, we will go."

"Then you will go on without me because this is where I am going to stay. At least here the boys don't have to herd cows bare-footed in the snow like they did in Centerville.", said Eliza Jane.

"One thing we have learned," said James, "is the law of obedience."

"And the law of sacrifice," said Rebecca.

Work was started on the St. George temple in the spring of 1867, just a few days before Rebecca's son Jesse was born on May 26th. James and his boys were among the first men to work on digging the foundation of the temple with teams and scrapers. In June of 1867, Brigham Young asked James to go on a mission. "But who will take care of my families?" asked James.

"Take them with you," said President Young. "I want you to go with some other families farther south. Go to the Muddy River and build a community. There will be a lot of land there where you can expand and where your sons can make their

homes. We want to expand our territory as much as we can. It will be the largest state in the Union," said Brigham.

There were a lot of tears shed that night when James, after evening prayer told his family. "Bother Brigham has asked that we move one more time. We will have a lot of room out there, and the weather is warm, too."

So, once again the plow and scraper, shovels, forks, pots, kettles, clothing, bedding, dried apples and apricots, dried corn, the churn, bacon, broom, mops, dishes, trunks were loaded into the wagons. The straw ticks (mattresses) were emptied because they took up too much room, and they could be filled again when they got there. They were emptied and filled once a year anyway. The Muddy Mission was hard on the Saints. The ones who were called almost starved to death. They did not have enough water for their crops and not enough food for the animals, and the Indians made war on them and stole all they could carry away. Indians came to war with the Saints on the Muddy, and the Saints gave them food to make peace with them. They the Indians kept coming and with faces painted, and threatened to kill them if they didn't give them bread. Sometimes the last loaf of bread was given to the Indians, leaving the children without food. Going to bed hungry was not uncommon.1

Rebecca had one son, born at West Point on August 24, 1870, who she named Ira. Early in the year of 1872 the Saints, who were called to settle the Muddy River, were released by President Young. They abandoned their homes, partly due to oppressive taxation levied against them by the new state of Nevada, which had been created out of the western portion of the Territory of Utah.

"Where will we go this time?" said James.

"Back to St. George," said Sally. So the families loaded everything back into the wagons, and the families headed back to St. George. They only stayed in St. George a short while, staying with friends. Then they moved on the Orderville, Utah.

While in St. George, James was able to buy a stove for his wives. it was the first stove they had since they left Nauvoo, Illinois. They had been cooking in the fireplace or a bonfire. They also bought a better lamp, so that they would not have to use so manycandles.

The road to Orderville was long and hard. (The Mount Carmel tunnel was not built.) So, they went the long way around. The Brinkerhoffs joined the United Order, but they only lived there one summer. James could see the United Order was not what it should be. The people were not all equal. The ones at the head were living better than the ones doing the work. Although the plan was a good one, human greed crept in. So after one summer in the United Order, everything they had was loaded back into their wagons. ready to move on.

James lost almost all he had at the Muddy Mission. Now he was getting tired of moving. He was 55 years old and had been on the move most of his life. So, he bought a small farm at Glendale, Utah, only five miles from Orderville. First they moved into an old log fort that had been abandoned seven years before because of trouble with the Indians. "I will not get in another wagon," said Rebecca. "I will walk and help drive the cattle." So Rebecca Brinkerhoff walked to their new home in Glendale, Utah.

Eliza Jane said, "If I wasn't afraid I would have by baby on the way, I would walk, too." The Brinkerhoffs arrived at their new home December 23,1871, just before Christmas. Christmas morning was exciting because Eliza Jane gave birth to a son, Wilford. This was to be her last child.

"And we thought Santa Claus didn't know where we had moved to," said Sally.

James and his boys had sheep and cattle which they kept on the mountain in the summer and in the valley in the winter. The next few years were good ones for James and his families. On March 10, 1873, Rebecca's daughter, Eliza Edith, was born at

Glendale. On March 4, 1875, James Brinkerhoff, who had only been sick a few days in his life, died of sun stroke in Glendale at age 59. He was buried in Glendale. Just four months after his death, on July 2, 1875, Rebecca

gave birth to a daughter, Loretta, at Glendale. James Brinkerhoff had been on the move all his life. He had answered every call that Brigham Young had asked of him. He had lived a hard life. Yet it was full of joy and sorrow, sunshine and rain, peace and happiness. He had learned to share, had learned the law of sacrifice, and the law of obedience. He had kept the faith.

In 1878, three years after the death of James Brinkerhoff, Rebecca took her family and moved once more in a wagon to Huntington, Utah, a distance of 275 miles. Rebecca's oldest child, Clark, was twenty-four years old. Her youngest was three. Jesse, her eleven year old son, stayed with his sister Margaret, who had married James Swapp, November 22, 1875. Mary Caroline was married in 1874. Rebecca moved to Huntington just as the town was being laid out and got one of the choice lots. They drew lots, to see who got what lot. Her lot was on Main Street on the South side of town. Rebecca married a man by the name of Garner in her later life. Rebecca later moved to Salt Lake, where she did seamstress work, then she move to Price, Utah where she died December 23, 1904. She was buried in Huntington.

Sally Ann took her family and moved to Thurber (Bicknell), Utah where she died February 8, 1895. Eliza Jane stayed with her family in Glendale, Utah, where she died in 1905. She was buried in Glendale.

*{The dates show that Rebecca's brother died December 14, 1841, and therefore could not have joined the Mormon Battalion. However, legend said that one Hawk boy did join.}