LIFE STORY OF ELIZABETH GALE
As written by her DEC. 26, 1891 to 1920
Just as she wrote it
Henry Gale was the son of George and Rebecca Gale, born Oct. 18,
1812, in the town of Box, Wiltshire, England. In 1837 when gold was discovered
in Australia my father Henry Gale then a boy in England thought he would leave
home and go to the goldmines and make a fortune not liking mining although he
got a nugget of gold he went top herding sheep. About the same time a young lady
Sarah Wills and her brother from Ireland went there also, they thought they
would make money and send for their mother and the rest of their family who was
then a widow, but their mother died before they could send for her, My mother
worked out for a living when she met this young man, my father, they became
acquainted and married, April 8, 1845.
June 29. 1845 a baby girl came to their home now the writer of this sketch.
May 8, 1852 two Mormon Elders came as Missionaries. My parents were converted
and joined the church in 1852. In the Spring of 1853 we emigrated with the
Elders for Zion in a sail ship we spend three months on the ocean, a baby
brother was born on the ship, we arrived in San Bernardino California June 1853,
we lived there for four years. In the winter of 1857 left for Utah, a baby
sister was born in Las Vegas on the wagon.
One night our team was missing the company all hunted for them
and could not find them. They were going to go on the next morning, my
Mother had a dream and saw them, she told Father he went and found them at the
spot where she saw them.
In Feb. 1858 we landed in Beaver Utah. There was only two log houses we
lived in the cellar the first winter with no roof except a wagon cover, or
quilts, we would have to shake off the snow before we could get up. My father
was a farmer me being the oldest would help him with the field in the summer we
cut all our grain with a cicle, I would cut and bind my bundles in the winter my
Brother. I would braid straw of hats & my mother would sew them. The
next summer, my father hired a man to cradle the
grain and rake it in bundles for my father to bind. I also helped to have
and stock.
On Nov. 8, 1866 my father was ordained an Elder and July 16th, 1871 was ordained a High Priest. On Dec. 30, 1876 he was called as a member of the High Council of Beaver Stake. He has done work in the Temple at St. George and Manti he was a hard working man and a true Latter-day Saint. He endured all the hardships of a new country. He died Dec. 5th 1882.
I was married to William Decatur Kartchner we traveled to Salt Lake by team and was married in the endowment house. We lived in Beaver until we was called by the Presidency and the Twelve Apostles to go to the Muddy we had one little boy. We arrived on the Muddy Oct. 1898. We lived there for four years and had three other children. It was a lovely country, as we traveled down we camped at a place called Beaver Dam. There was quite a grove of cottonwood trees where the seed fell the young trees came up. They were about two feet long and about as large as a pencil, I pulled up a bunch by the roots wrapped them in wet gunny sack and tied them on the back of the wagon. When we got located I set them out on the ditch bank. They grew so fast when we left there my husband cut one down and made a ox yoke. We raised cotton and corn grain and all kind of vegetables. Our fruit trees were just beginning to bear and our grain was about six inches high and nice and green when we were called to come back. We then settled in Panguitch, Utah on Mar. 20, 1871. Two boys were added to our family there, in Spring Conference of 1877 we were called to go to Arizona. We started Nov. 15, 1877 arrived at a place below St. Joseph, Arizona on Jan 22, 1878. We called it Taylor.
While there, a daughter was born we tried to make a town but the river would rise and washed out our dam twice. We became discouraged and moved from there Aug, 6, 1878 and arrived at Stinson, Aug 9, now called Snowflake Nov 17, 1878. I moved into my little log house, one of the first built here. In due time. three little daughters joined our family,
Dec. 5, 1880 we petitioned for a Post Office which was granted
and my husband was Post Master the first Post Office in
Snowflake. He continued in the office until he went blind, he had poor
health for several years, May 14 1892 he died leaving me with a large family. I
am the mother of 10 children, buried two have eight living they are all married
and have families they have all been to the Temple and are all members of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day-saints in good standing. The load has
blessed me with good health, I am now 75 years old and might as well go for a
hundred. I feel thankful, my desire is to do good while I live
and that I may be faithful and true to the end.
A special thank you to Mildred Rhoten and Michael A. Kartchner for sending us this Personal History.