MORGAN STAKE 1877-1981 An ecclesiastical history of Morgan County from the inception of the Morgan Stake in 1877 to its division in 1981 by Utah North Stake Printed by Publishers Press Salt Lake City, Utah Copyright © 1988 by Morgan Utah North Stake All Rights Reserved Printed in the United States of America ROY ELMER FRANCIS Roy Elmer Franciswasbom in Morgan, Utah, 27 May 1891, asonofSamuel Francis, Jr., and Sarah Jane Ursenbach Francis. He married Ivy Thomas on 11 October 1916, in the Salt Lake Temple and they were the parents of three boys and one girl. Roy served as stake clerk under the administration of five stake presidents for a total of fifty-four years. Called to serve in this position on 28 July 1918, he was finally released 12 March 1972. He left behind an impressive legacy. Without his notes and ledgers the history of the Morgan Stake would not have been possible. In one set of papers he has collected the names and dates of the ordinations of every person who served in a ward or a stake priesthood position since 1918. For example, Roy has listed the names of every man who served on the high council from 1918 to 1972—a total of one hundred and one. Roy died 9 February 1988, at the home of his son in Bountiful. He was a faithful member of the Church ofjesus Christ of Latterday Saints of whom it is written: "For he who is faithful and wise in time is accounted worthy to inherit the mansions prepared for him of my Father." (see D&C 72:4.) TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE Frontispiece, Roy Elmer Francis iii Acknowledgments vii Preface ix Map—Early Settlements of Morgan x Chapter 1: Settling of Morgan 1 Chapter 2: Administration of Willard G. Smith 15 Chapter 3: Administration of Richard Fry 43 Chapter 4: Administration of Daniel Heiner 87 Chapter 5: Administration of Melvin Howard Randall 117 Chapter 6: Administration of George Sylvester Heiner 147 Chapter 7: Administration of Clarence D. Rich 167 Chapter 8: Administration of Raymond P. Larson 183 Chapter 9: Administration of Keith Rawle Little 207 Chapter 10: Division of Morgan Stake 231 Endnotes follow each chapter Appendix A: Biographical sketches of Morgan Stake Presidents 237 Appendix B: Bishops of Morgan Stake 279 Appendix G Patriarchs 297 Appendix D: Stake Mission Presidents 299 Appendix E: Stake Auxiliary Presidents 301 Appendix F: Wards in Morgan Stake 305 Index 307 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS It has been a privilege as well as a formidable task to complete this history of the Morgan Stake. It began as a dream and goal of Calvin R. Stephens, First Counselor in the Stake Presidency of the Morgan Utah North Stake, to provide a history of the first stake in the Morgan area. Under his inspired leadership, the following people were called to help him bring this dream to fruition: Jean Biglerjeanine W. Carter, Marjorie Crittenden, Carole C. King, Dwight L. King, Roger K. Petersen, and Laraine S. Whitear. Along with President Stephens, these people have spent countless hours over a three year period searching and researching, reading, listening, organizing, writing, rewriting, deleting, and editing. Typing, retyping and entering on computer scores of drafts was performed capably and cheerfully by Vicki Eldridge. A history such as this must necessarily include the work of many. We are indebted to the numerous people who recorded and preserved the manuscripts, articles, and books that compose our source materials. For those who helped us gain access to essential library and records resources, we are most grateful. The dedication and expertise of the staff ofThe Church ofjesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Church Historical Archives and of the Utah State Historical Society was extremely helpful. The Morgan County Historical Society under the direction of Joseph Francis, provided much information to our group. We appreciate also the hardworking volunteers at the Morgan County Daughters of Utah Pioneers and the Daughters of Utah Pioneers Library in Salt Lake City and their willingness to help. The people at the Morgan CountyNewswere very cooperative in letting us scan many years of past issues of our local newspapers. The Morgan County Library workers helped us find useful information from that collection. We thank the many Morgan County residents who graciously allowed us to peruse treasured family histories and photographs as well as personal journals and scrapbooks. Many oral interviews have helped considerably in our understanding of past events. Bevan Whitear, with help from Julie P. Russell, has spent many hours doing technical photographic work. We appreciate their willingness to help in the completion of this project. Finally, we would like to express our gratitude and our sincere admiration to the good people who have lived in Morgan Valley, from the earliest pioneers to the faithful leaders and members of the Church today. Their journals, letters, and histories have been inspiring to us. We have gained much from learning of their sacrifices, their courage and determination, their love for family and friends, their faith in the Lord, and their devotion to right. They were of tremendous importance to the time and place in which they lived. They now continue in the lives of those of us who are influenced by their strength and spirit. We feel we know these wonderful people personally. They are an inspiration to us and our lives are better because of them. „ii The Latter-day Saints under inspiration from a prophet of God gathered to the Rocky Mountains in 1847 to fulfill their prophetic destiny. Here they would become a mighty people, build temples and disseminate the gospel throughout the world in preparation for the second coming ofjesus Christ. Eight years after the pioneers had entered the Salt Lake Valley, Thomas Thurston, Charles Peterson and others entered the Morgan Valley and commenced a settlement. Those early years were wrought with trials and hardships. Floods, frosts, and hordes of grasshoppers took their toll on the crops that were necessary for survival; while smallpox and diphtheria brought death and misery to many homes in the Valley. However, the Saints persisted. President Jedediah Morgan Grant, a counselor in the First Presidency of the Church had promised through an apostolic blessing that the Valley would produce and become a stronghold in the Kingdom of God. In July 1877 Morgan was organized into a stake of Zion by Lorenzo Snow and Franklin D. Richards, who were acting under the direction of President Brigham Young. The Morgan Stake grew and prospered for one-hundred and four years when it was finally divided in March 1981 into the Morgan Utah Stake and the Morgan Utah North Stake. During those years eight men were called and given the opportunity to preside at different periods of time over the Morgan Stake. Their administrations were impacted by persecution, a depression, world wars, and countless other problems that tested their inspired leadership as well as the faith of the Saints. (D&C 115:6) EARLY SETTLEMENTS OP MORGAN CHAPTER 1 SETTLING OF MORGAN The beautiful Morgan Valley, which originally was called the Weber Valley, lies in the northeastern part of the State of Utah where it is hemmed in by the Wasatch Mountains on the west and spurs of the Unitah Mountains on the east. The Weber River flows in a westerly direction through the central portion of the Valley, and Cottonwood and Lost creeks are the principal tributaries to the Weber from the north and East Canyon Creek from the south. The Valley is somewhat irregular in shape and covers an area of more than six hundred square miles. Early Mormon Settlers The Valley was first explored during the winter of 1824 by fur trappers working under General William H. Ashley. The Weber River receives its name from a member of the Ashley-Henry fur trapping company named John Weber. Twenty-rwo years later Lansford W. Hastings, and the emigrant company he was leading, passed through the Valley in early summer on their way to California. They were followed in late summer by the Donner-Reed party. A year later the Latter-day Saints, under the direction of President Brigham Young, traveled through the east end of what is now Morgan County, arriving in the Salt Lake Valley in July 1847. Three months later, on 6 October 1847, Thomas Jefferson Thurston arrived in the Salt Lake Valley in thejedediah M. Grant Company. In 1848 Thomas was called by Brigham Young to help explore Cache Valley. Later he settled with his family in Centerville, where he began to farm eighty acres of ground.1 While getting timber from the steep mountains above his home in Centerville, Thomas saw for the first time the beautiful Morgan Valley, which reminded him of his former home in Ohio. It was early summer, and from a distance the Valley looked well-watered and well-wooded. Determined to explore the Valley, he talked until he got two of his friends, William Porter and J. B. Nobel, to go with him. Together they crossed over the mountaintops and spent three days exploring the Valley and its resources. Thomas Jefferson Thurston was born 12 February 1805 "They found the valley well-watered with lots of in Fletcher, Vermont, and timber on its streams which were all well died 4 May 1885 < stocked with fish, the country covered with George, Utah. grass, and deer and fowl and game in abundance, 1 wood and timber so plentiful and convenient that without making any canyon roads they could go into the low hills and get three loads of dry quaking aspen poles in a day. They also found very fine building rock."2 Favorably impressed with the Valley, Thomas resolved to move his family there.