Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Letter: John Egbert (brother-in-law) to Isaac Wardle



West Jordan July 27th 1879
Dere Isac Wardel, I take my pen up to let you know how things are at hoam[.]  we have had conciterabel [considerable] sicknes since you left.  Emma had a litel son but it 3 weeks and died[.]  she had a hard time but is giting around sloley[.]  we spent the 24 with St. Jourdan and took diner with Martha and Sofy[.]  at hoaur you famley wer all well[.]  The gathering was on slaver? Meadow commenced at 10 am with speeches singing music by the Band.  First racsing dismissed at 5 then to next at the ward hous at 7 o clock [page 2] to go forth in the Dance[.]  Thare has been severl called out of the Difernt wards since you left on mishons[.]  the suite?? of Briggans is casing [causing] a grat deel of talk and dissatsfation[.]  well Isac I will tell you how things are hear in generl as  a people in general the whole seem to be a sleep in a washer[.]  at the monthly Preasthood meating are porly reprzented[.]  Some wards has no reprzentin[.]  we keep up our Elders Monthley  sircateos we have 103 Elders; 37 in West Jordan Ward ancered to their naming the last meating.  South Jordan has 37; the last meating 9 ancered.  Grains ward has 17; thare was 6 ancered to there naims.  North Jordan has 18; the meating 5 ancered[.]  [page 3]  This is about the condition of the whole stak[.]  we have eathning meeting at West Jordan; a fieu attend and feel well[.]  I do not know any news to write[.]  I will end praying god to bless and protect you and wish you a safe return to your family and friends[.]  my famley send ther love to you.  Please ancer this[.]  take time and tell me all you can[.]  good by god bless you
John A Egbert

Sunday, October 27, 2013

Three Missionary Letters to Isaac from S.D. Drinkwater





These three letters seem to be correspondence from a member missionary, who is reporting on the progress he is having.  We do not have the privilege to read Isaac's letters which prompt these replies.  It is interesting that members have been expected to help with missionary work since the early stages of the Church, which responsibility continues today.

Lymm June 10th 1879
Elder Wardle
Dear Brother
I got ready last Sunday morning for Mobberley But on a/c of the weather Rain-Thunder and Lightening I did not venture to go the distance being at the least 18 miles there and back and I left my Umbrella at Runcorn the Sunday before[.]  But all being favorable I intend to go on Sunday next and I think it would be nice to postpone your visit for a week or two longer till I have been to see him and then I will send you the particulars[.]  Should you see or meet Elder Bunting you can tell him that I have received Stars from the office number 20 and 22 But I have not as yet had No 21 and I want to Know who I am to pay for what I receive.  [pg 2] With love to you all I close and remain your Brother in the Gospel
 S. D. Drinkwater

June 11th Lymm Cheshire
Elder Wardle
I write to inform you that I went to Mobberley on Sunday last and I found it to be farther than what I expected.  It appears they are about the same distance from Manchester as we are, 14 miles[.]  I think the nearest way from Lymm to Mobberly will be at the least 9 miles.  But I did not find it under under 11 miles.  It seems that all I asked could not direct me aright.  Brother and Sister Starkey agreed to come to Lymm with a portion of their family on Sunday June 29th.  This is about all that one can say on the subject.  We are all in hood health and join in Kind love to you and remain as heretofore.  S. D. Drinkwater.  [pg 2]  Mr D. Drinkwater Smithey View Lymm near Warrington Ceheshire [Chestershire]

Lymm August 21st, 1879
Elder Wardle
I wish to inform you that with two of my sons I am going to pay a visit to my Son Alma in Warrington on Sunday next.  It is the third time I hae made a promise to him and never been so that I did not wish you to be disappointed and Elger Gill expecting to see me and we to be way off you don’t feel to come.  You can appoint another Sunday and let me Know and I will be at home.  I have not time to reply to your letter[.]  However you may content yourself[.]  I am not aware of anything wrong on your part.  Far from it.  I wish my best? To Elder Gill wife and family and all the Saints in Rincon[.]  Please accept the same to yourself, from your undutiful Brother
S.D. Drinkwater

Saturday, October 26, 2013

Letter to Isaac While on his Mission: Maybe from his Son



Could this be from Isaac's son Isaac John Jr. who was in charge of the sheep operation
July the 6th, 1879
Good Morning to you
It is with the greatest of pleasure that i take my pen in hand to let you know how things is getting a long at home[.]  loss of sheep i raised eith 800 hundurot lamb the sheep went 5 ½  lbs to the head[.]  i got along firstrate With the sheep till after shiring and then i had a grate loss[.]  i snowed Down in the Basin and storm and catered the sheep[.]  i geatchercot as many as i possible could but Did not get them all[.]  i[t] have Been so that i could not see to the place any atall[,] searsley [Seriously] the water in [page 2] (27 in margin) Jordan river has Been so low that any one Could Walk a Cross With their Boots on[.]  i have Been running after the sheep and other things till i amm all most discurridge[.]  But i hope god Will strengthen you and kep your curreedge up for i will due the very Best i can for you and youre famley[.]  i can relies a little a Bout keeping a famley now.  i can not give up any sheep[.]  it Would Be the greates of pleasure if i only could have the piriveledge to talk With you a While but you are so far away and so now more John and so good By and god Bless you

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Letter to Isaach from Brother William H Haigh May 4, 1879



Top margin: Brother Bunting expects to be at Inee? On Tuesday

Preston May 4, 1879
Isaac J. Wardle Esq.
Dear Brother

I take the present opportunity of letting you know that the cold that I took has not killed one.  But I have not as yet got over it.  I received a letter from Hyrum Bennion yesterday and he endorses all you said about Bro. South and he says he would not care if he only could see a cat from Utah and he also mentions Bro. Oliver and says that he has seen his folks and that he was going to see his Brother.   
Hyrum also wishes to know if you have a young man herding sheep anywhere in South Jordan by the name of Seal.  Please inform me it unless you wish to write to Bro. Bennion 11 Harding St Lawrence Hill, Bristol.  And please let me know when you are coming to go around with me or will you put it off until the next ship goes.  I got another letter from home of yesterday saying they are having dry times.  Please remember me so Father Mother Mary also the son William and don’t forget sister Ann.  Also the Bennett and Glover families and all the Saints in Wigan, Bro Ga Owin, all the Nophell? and Saints and all the Saints at Digmore, especially the lodger and sis Derbyshire and Dick and Jack and Sis Brook and the Runcorn Saints and yourself from your Bro in the Gospel Wm H Haigh.  Tell Lord Skelmersdal that I am well.

Letter to Isaac from William H. Haight, Fellow Missionary


Barrow in Furness
August 5, 1879

Elder Isaac J. Wardle
Dear Bro.
Since parting last I have ofttimes wondered what you was doing and where you was engaged.  Of course I knew what you was doing, but how was getting along was the enquiry.
It is about the same here as anywhere else in the world.  There are some good, bad and [page 2] indifferent.  I wish there was more of the good and less of the other sort, but as President Bunting says they are Ephraim.  The young man that Bro Bunting baptized up at Whitehaven is a good young Bro and they are a nice family, but it costs so much going there and back that I cannot stand much of it.  We have our meetings [page 3] and enjoy ourselves but not in the degree that we might.  I keep getting letters from home and all is well.  As usual Hyrum is well in health and dong the best he can.  Bro. South is still travelling with him.  I would rather be in my old district and it seems rather funny that I should be sent up her in a new district and the other two experienced elders, fifty or sixty years old, travel together but I suppose it’s all for the best.  Never mind old fellow.  We can only do the best we can wherever we are and that is, I believe our desire.
God bless you,
Your Bro.
Wm. H. Haigh
79 Upper Anson St.
Barrow in Furness
Do write back and never mind poor writing.  Send one as soon as you get this.

Saturday, October 19, 2013

Uncle Reed Wardle, and William Haston: Freighting to Jackson Hole



This articles was written in response to an earlier article about  freighting to the Tetons.
I.F. resident recalls days of Jackson freight hauling
July 30, 1974 Idaho Post Register Kaylene Dial staff writer
"I think I drove the last six (six horses pulling a wagon) over the hill," said Reed Wardle speaking of Jackson Pass; and although he isn't sure who was the first, he refuted a story published in the July 15 issue of the Post-Register that said Stan Boyle of Idaho Falls was the first in 1916.
"I remember when my father took the mail over the hill in 1913 and 1914 when that was the only road to Jackson," Wardle , now 70-years-old, said.  "There were others before him."
Wardle's father William took over the mail contract in 1913 from Owen Curtis, who gave it up when his son was killed in a snow slide on one of the runs over the hill.  The Wardle family lost the contract in 1914 when they were underbid.
Wardle recalls the way over the mountain at that time was "straight up and straight down" and travel was difficult at best.
In 1917 a road crew with William Wardle as foreman began work on the first real road over the mountain.  He and 13 area men, including two of his sons and a son-in-law, cut out of the mountain the road that served its purpose until two years ago when a new highway was built.
http://billywardlegen.blogspot.com/2010/12/teton-pass-photos.html
Settle with wives
The Wardle family first came to the Teton Valley area in 1904 when Isaac John Wardle, a Utah polygamist, was looking for a place to settle his two wives away from the contention against their kind in Utah.  William Wardle, his son, settled in the valley while he went on to the Egin Bench area.
William Wardle brought his family to the area and went into the freighting business.  For several years he contracted with a grocery and a hardware and implement store to haul goods over the mountain.  Pictures now in the possession Reed show him making the trip as early as 1914.
Wardle says he remembers making some of the trips with his father as a young man, going into the city of Jackson and staying in the old hotel.
In 1912-14, his father was involved in freighting cement, gate lifts and other goods necessary for rebuilding the two-year-old log Jackson dam, Wardle recalls.
He was also involved in grain shipment from the Swan Valley area to Victor.
The trips over the pass were also made in winter which was no easy task, Wardle said.  "We used to pay lots of money out for what they use to call snow horses," he said, "and they were good horses."  The horses could feel their way up the road, testing for the hard parts that meant they were on the right path.
Break trail
Sometimes it was necessary to unhitch the team let them break a trail and then rehitch the sleigh before proceeding up the slope, he commented.
Three-day trip
A trip over the pass oftentimes meant a three-day trip.  Supplies would be loaded in Victor, then a booming town, early in the morning and driven to a roadhouse at the foot of the mountain where the drivers ate dinner.  Two other roadhouses on the Jackson side, Crandall's and Wilson's, served the same purpose.
A cabin built near the top of the pass often served as a resting place for the travelers.  Wardle lived in this cabin for several winters and when he married his first wife June in December of 1930, He took her up to weather out the winter with him.  "She thought it was lots of fun," he recalls.
The man living in the cabin during the winter had the job of breaking a trail down the mountain for the mail and freight sleighs.  Sometimes the drivers would bring the mail to the crest and let the cabin resident take it down into Jackson.
Wardle was also involved in the freight business for a time  For three years 1922-24, and later in the 1930s he drove for Scott and James CO.  In 1938, with the improved automobiles and trucks, the business of horse-hauled freight died out.
"We have quite a family, and we're proud of the heritage we have," Wardle remarked as he talked about his pioneer grandfather who crossed the plains to the West in a handcart company.  He also talks with prided of his father was instrumental in getting a railroad to extend past Driggs to Victor which greatly aided the freight business.
Wardle also said his father was the first to hoist a wheat thrasher over the mountain in 1912.
Wardle has attained a first for himself as well  He put in the first concrete lined ditches in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming including those in Idaho Falls.  Now at 70, he still owns the business his second wife, Lucille, has helped him run for 17 years.
The business is located at their home two and one-half miles north of Idaho Falls on the Lewisville Highway.
Wardle say he sometimes misses the Teton Valley and loves to visit with his friends there.

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Aunt Phyliss Wardle Olsen

Just younger than Dad.  Dad and she attended high school together.
Could someone name the front row for me and less any additional siblings.
back Phyliss, Reed, Ray, Donna front Sharon, David, Denise, Joanne

Reed playing ball

David, Donna, Ray, Reed, Denise, Sharon, Sandra, Joanne

Verna Wardle Green and Family, Dad's Youngest Sister

Verna, Bill and Danny
Danny Green, 22 days old

Verna in Blue

Verna
Danny's daughter


Little Billy and Dianna
Little Billy's Funeral


Danny and his wife
Anyone know Danny's wife's name, and the name of Verna's daughter

Lula Wardle Beasley (Dad's Older Sister)

Lula sitting


Sunday, October 6, 2013

Tell My Story Too; Jolene Allphin: stories of Mary Ashton, Isaac Wardle and Langley Bailey

Jolene Allphin has compiled hundreds of stories of handcart pioneers.  The stories include the Willie and Martin Handcart Companies, Hunts and Hodgetts Wagon Companies, and of the Rescuers.  Some of the stories are available on line at "Tell My Story, Too" where they are accompanied by the artwork of Julie Rogers, such as the painting of Sarah and Mary above.
Among these stories are a few of our ancestors.  She tells the story of Isaac John Wardle.  Isaac tells the story of his conversion in 1853, of getting a better prospect to earn money to emigrate, of his journey by ship, of his pulling Langley Bailey in the handcart.  Leaving Florence he had on the handcart Langley Bailey, 100 pounds of flour, and tent and camp equipment for seven people with John Bailey to help pull.  He was blessed by Franklin Richards and Cyrus Wheelock that he would live to see "the valley".  Langley felt bad about his brother and Isaac having an extra burden, and tried to get away one day.  His mother found him and reminded him of the blessing.  Langley rode on the handcart until the met rescue wagons from Salt Lake, and then rode in a wagon all the way to the Valley.
The journey was difficult.  There was a sandy trail, and later a snow covered trail.  Many gave up according to  Isaac, and were buried by the wayside.  Isaac himself collapsed at one time and lay for some time. 
Isaac is also known for chopping down trees at Martin's Cove, just over a little hill.  Orrin Wardle wrote of this is his history of Isaac.  This knowledge helped to identify the location of Martin's Cove many years layer. 
Isaac would later marry Mary Ashton.  She was also a Martin Handcart Pioneer.  Isaac likely met her through his friend, Alex Beckstead, whose brother married Sarah Ashton.
Sarah Ashton's history is also included, and this includes a history of the Ashton family.  The Ashton's struggled with finding resources to emigrate.  The handcart plan made this possible.  William and Sarah Ann Barlow Ashton had five daughters, one having dyed in infancy in England.  Another, Elizabeth, would pass away on board the Ship Horizon while docked in Boston.  Tragedy would further stalk the family.  Sarah would die in childbirth, one day journey after Florence.  The new baby, their sixth Sarah Ann, would die 16 days later. 
William Ashton left the company at Fort Laramie, joining the military, Company G, an infantry unit.  At any rate, the three remaining girls were left in the care of others, perhaps with the Barlows.  Betsy too would also succumb and is buried on the plains.  The two remaining girls, Sarah and Mary arrived in Salt Lake and were taken in by different families.  This history documents: "At some point Mary and Sarah found a home with the Hartfield family in Farmington, Utah.  At the age of 12, Sarah was living with the Joseph Carlisle family and working for them as a domestic.  homas W. Beckstead when she was 15. ... Mary was possibly living with them in S. Jordan, as she later married Isaac Wardle who had lived with and worked for Thomas Beckstead's father, Alex Beckstead, Sr. ... Mary and Isaac had one son who they named William Ashton [Haston] Wardle;  perhaps after Mary's father.  Mary only lived four hours after her son was born. 
Another history in this book if that of Langley Allgood Bailey.  In this history is included the letter written by Langley Bailey to Isaac Wardle in 1916.  This letter includes a heartfelt thanks for the assistance Isaac rendered him on the handcart trail.