Wind River Backpack

This post is just a few of the photos from my recent backpacking trip into the Wind River mountains.

Ancestor Conversion Stories: George Lee and Sarah Peaker Lee

This is about my Grandpa Gregory's great grand-parents, George and Sarah Peaker Lee. It was contributed to the FamilySearch web site by Karoleen Wilsey. I could find no more about Sarah than what is written here in George's story.

George Lee

George Lee, was born September 27, 1824 in Kegby, Nottinghamshire, England, son of John Shallcross Lee and Mary Olivant Lee.

As a young man, George moved from Nottingham to Sheffield, Yorkshire, and worked as an apprentice to Roger Brothers as a Table Knife Grinder. He married Sarah Peaker, daughter of George Peaker and Hannah Smith, in Sheffield on August 10, 1845.

Sarah Peaker Lee

While in Sheffield, they accepted the gospel and immigrated with their three children to America with the Saints in 1853. Their oldest daughter, Mary Ann, was my Great Grandmother. They moved to Hanover, Connecticut in 1853 where he worked at his trade as knife grinder. Eventually, they joined the Saints in 1859 in Florence, Nebraska (now Omaha) and immigrated to Utah as part of Captain Edward Stevenson’s wagon company, leaving on June 26 and arriving in the Salt Lake Valley in September of 1859. He and his family are not listed on the official list on-line, but tradition has them traveling with Stevenson. According to vital records he certainly was in the Utah territory prior to his moving to Franklin in 1862.

One child was born to them while crossing the plains. Captain Stevenson asked permission to name this little one and he called the child Moroni. The baby died two days later and was buried there on the plains, at a designated place on Elm Creek. George covered the grave with large rocks for protection from the elements and wolves.

After arriving in Utah September 16, 1859, they went to live near Neff Mill on Mill Creek. They also lived on Little Cottonwood where he worked as a farm laborer and gardener. While there he had a plow made from wagon tires of Johnson’s army wagons. The iron was drawn out and flattened for the moldboard (the curved metal blade that turns the earth over. The plow has been kept over the years in the Pioneer Relic Hall in Franklin, Idaho.

George Lee as a young man.

They moved to Farmington in the fall of 1860, living there and following farming for two years. Then in 1862 the family moved to Franklin, (which was considered part of Utah at the time), where they lived in the Old Fort. George Lee lived on the south side of the fort. It was a rectangular shape with 92 houses covering about 17 acres with public corrals and a log school house inside the Fort. This school house was the first in Idaho. Gardens and private corrals and chicken coops were on the outside of the Fort.

In December of 1863 a baby girl, Fanny Emma, was born to them while living at the Fort.

George Lee and his wife, Sarah, had 12 children; however, only 5 daughters lived to adulthood. Their children were:

·         Mary Ann b. Jan. 24, 1846, m. John Albiston Dec. 3, 1863;

·         Hannah b. Dec 30, 1847, m. John Corbidge,, Dec. 9, 1865;

·         John b. Jan 5, 1850; d. Nov 29, 1851

·         Sarah b Dec. 24, 1851, m. Henry Fowler;

·         Elizabeth J. b. Jan. l, 1854, m. William Corbidge;

·         Ellen b. Jan. 8, 1855; d. Feb. 25, 1855

·         George b. Dec 30, 1855; d. 15 May 1862

·         Willamina b. Jan. 3, 1858; d. Aug. 29, 1858

·         Moroni b. July 11, 1859; d. July 15, 1859

·         William J. b. Sept. 2, 1860; d. Jan. 5, 1877

·         Fannie E. b. Dec. 4, 1862, m. Elliott Butterworth;

·         Joseph b. March 7. 1867; d. October 6, 1867

Not noted for holding high church positions, a notation by his picture in a book on early settlers, Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah, listed him as a pioneer and member of the choir in Franklin, Idaho. His occupation was identified as Indian fighter.

Those days were treacherous times for the settlers as they were the most northern settlers at that time.

To quote from a history of Franklin published at their Centennial year, “the settlers were always alert to Indian difficulties. Their stock was guarded constantly, but they nevertheless lost many horses and cattle. To avert trouble many times, they gave the Indians some of their food supply, flour and even cattle. There were no open hostilities until January 1863 when the battle known to historians as the Battle Creek Massacre was fought. There had been several incidents between Indians and miners and other people traveling through the valley. These non-Mormons contacted Ft. Douglas for help. Colonel Conner and 400 U.S. troops came and fought the battle with the Indians at the junction of Battle Creek and Bear River, which is about 12 miles north of Franklin. Over 300 Indian men, women, and children were killed.

“After the fighting was over, the men of Franklin took teams and sleighs and helped remove the wounded soldiers and Indians, and also the Indian women and children. Because of the snow and cold, many had frozen feet. They were all brought to Franklin and cared for until they could be taken elsewhere. The settlers felt sorrowful to think that peace had to come in such a tragic way, for many peaceful Indians including women and children had been killed in the bloody battle. It did, however, make it possible for the pioneers to move and begin to take up locations that had been unsafe until now.

The last major Indian trouble occurred on Sept. 1, 1864. Hundreds of Indians were camped north of town and some obtained liquor from two settlers. A drunken Indian tried to ride his horse over a white woman and one of the settlers shot him to save her life. Then, fearful of the consequences, the man escaped by horse. The Indians took another man captive, threatening to kill him if the offending white man was not delivered to them. Throughout the night, Bishop Hatch pleaded with the Indians, and messengers rode to other towns for help. The next morning 300 Minute Men arrived from Logan commanded by Major Thomas Ricks and accompanied by Bishop Peter Maughan, who held a conference with Chief Washakie. The settlers gave two yoke of oxen as peace offerings, and the Indians began to disperse. The Indians were stubborn about giving up their extensive lands, and so remained rather troublesome for many years. But their strength was primarily crushed with these two incidents.

Now that the Indian trouble had diminished to the point that they felt they were safe, the residents began moving to their newly surveyed lots. So the spring and summer of 1864 were spent building homes—this time on their community lots. As soon as they could they moved form the fort to their homes. Thus began a new life for these people…out of the protections of the fort. It was with happiness and enthusiasm that they set out, but there was a sadness and remorse for the happy and united life they were leaving.

George Lee

George Lee died October 29, 1868 in Franklin, (Utah), where he was buried.

Under the Territorial Act of Utah in 1869, Franklin became incorporated and considered itself part of Utah until 1872 when it was determined that it was in Idaho, thus it turned out to be the oldest town in the State of Idaho.

Submitted by Karoleen Peterson Wilsey, compiled from family documents and Franklin, Idaho history materials.