JEREMIAH HATCH MURRAY

Some of his Life’s History

Submitted to the D. U. P. by Mildred M. Wilkins

              Jeremiah Hatch Murray, son of John Murray and Sarah Bates.  He was born 11 Jul, 1844 in Lucerne Township, Monroe Co., Michigan. John Murray came from Scotland in 1831 with the British Army during the border dispute between the United States and the Canadian Government.  He was stationed near Niagara Falls of the Canadian side of the St. Lawrence River.   He often came across the river and mingled with the Yankee boys and their charming gals.  He soon acquired a wholesome respect for them, so much that he decided to cast his lot with them.  Accordingly he left the British and joined the Americans.

                        On October 28, 1833, he married Sarah Bates, who came from Ireland,  previous to this time. They were married by Henery Slade, Esq., in Buffalo, New York.

              John Murray was born June 20, 1814, in Galashields, RoxburgShire, Scotland, and died November 15, 1880, in Spanish Fork, Utah .   Sarah Bates was a daughter of Richard Bates and Sophia Anderson Bates.  She was born in June, 1807, at Six Mile Cross Parish, County Tyrone, Ireland, and died at Spanish Fork, Utah January 24, 1881.

              John and Sarah moved to Monroe County, Michigan shortly after their marriage.  It was here that Jeremiah Hatch Murray was born on July 11, 1844.  He was the seventh child of a family of eight, three of which :   Christian, Edward, and Robert, had died previously. 

            While John and family were living in Monroe County, Michigan, Jeremiah Hatch, an Elder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints from Utah came upon this family.  He taught the family the principles of the gospel and converted them.  When the baby son was eleven days old, Elder Hatch baptized the family and blessed and named the baby.  At the request of John and Sarah the baby was given the name of Jeremiah Hatch Murray, in honor of the Elder who had brought the Gospel to their Door. (Note,  this missionary was a grandfather to Orin Hatch who has been the Congressman to the state of Utah.)

              Shortly after this event the family began moving westward, hoping to make their home in the valleys of the mountains. This proved to be a long and trying journey.   During the course of this journey another son was born and died along the way.  His name was Joseph Albert Murray.  After several stops and experiencing many hardships the family reached Salt Lake City in 1852.                 .

              Young Jeremiah Hatch was a lively, robust and ambitious lad.  He was always ready for a fight or frolic,  just take your choice.  In later years he tells the story of when they were leaving Missouri to continue their trip to Utah, the family of Thomas Kerren, who were living there at the time, came to bid the Murray family farewell.  The afternoon ended up in a fight in which his brother John, who was on crutches, used them to drive Thomas Kerren and his colleagues home. Uncle Jerry and Uncle Tom, as they were called in later years both settled in the Ashley Valley and many hearty laugh’s were enjoyed by them, in remembrance of this boyhood affair.   They became life long friends, who associations together were of a frolicsome trend.

               On February 6, 1863, Jeremiah Hatch married Miss Karen Mariah Neilson, a young convert to the Gospel  from Denmark. To this union were born six sons and three daughters, all of which grew to adulthood and had families.

              On March 4, 1865, he took a second wife, Miss Mary Ashby, a convert from England.  To this wife were also born six sons and three daughters, eight of which grew up and raised families.  One daughter, Elizabeth, died in childhood of diphtheria.

               Later in 1865, Jerry as he was then called, volunteered to go to colonize Muddy Mission, in Muddy Valley now called Moapa County.  The Muddy River, a tributary of the Rio Virgin which was a branch of the Colorado, with the head in the Zion Park Area. The land was arid and foreboding but the saints, the pioneers, learned that hard work, patience and water could produce astounding results.

              These colonizing missionaries located St. Thomas and St. Joseph, and on May 28, 1865, the saints at St. Thomas were organized as a ward with Thomas S. Smith as Bishop.  On the same occasion the settlers at St. Joseph, ten miles north were organized as a branch with Warren Foote as President.

              It was in this Colony his young and adventurous heart was filled with a desire to better the conditions of the people.  Many situations confronted him that called for prompt and decisive action.  Here they were surrounded by hostile tribes in a desert land almost two hundred miles from the nearest source of provisions.  It was necessary from time to time for him to leave his wives and children and go to Pioche, Nevada for provisions.  This was a long journey over poorly constructed roads through parched desert country.  Sometimes the family supply would resort to their last item, green corn.  The corn was grated on the bottom of a tin pan which was made full of holes with the rough side out.   From this grated corn they made porridge.

              While Jeremiah was away on one of these trips the Indians destroyed most of the Cornfield and many a night the children would have to be put to bed with very little supper.  While on this trip, the company was compelled to corral their stock within their wagons on the Rio Virgin because of hostile Indians.  During the night the Indians tried to kill one of the steers with a bow and arrow.  This enraged the animal and he knocked the Indian down and was trying to goar him.  The other Indians were unable to rescue the fallen red man, so Jeremiah and his companions rushed out into the open with their guns and killed the steer.  This act of benevolence really saved their lives, and the settlement was not molested so much after that.  This was only one of many experiences when his prompt and decisive courage won him everlasting friends among the Indians.  On several occasions they warned him of danger and advised him what to do for safety.

             On one occasion when the Indians had driven their horses away in the night, the other men were hunting for them while Jeremiah was watching the camp. He saw two Indians coming, so he hid his wife and baby under the bedding in the bottom of the wagon and then hid in the rocks.  The Indians looked all around the wagon and then went on their way without molesting anything.  On another occasion when the Indians had driven all their horses away, Jerry, in company with Hen Taylor were following the Indians in hopes of getting them to relinquish the horses back to them.  The account tells that they were only a few hours behind them, but night came on and it was necessary for Jerry and Hen to stop for the night.  They found a secluded place in the rocks on the side of a small canyon and slept until day dawn.  They had never been in this particular spot before.  During the night Jerry dreamed that the Indians captured them and that they drew a sharp knife across his throat and at the same time threatened to kill him unless he gave out information concerning the location and strength of the Home Guard.  After they had gone some distance the next morning, they came to a draw identical with the scene connected with his dream.  He immediately told Taylor that they had better hide and get out of there.  They concealed themselves behind some large rocks to talk the situation over.  No sooner had they done so than a small bank of Indians dressed in war garb and war paint rode by.  They felt that this was a warning that the dream saved their lives.

              Later it became known that the Muddy Mission was in Nevada.  Because of high taxes, Indian troubles, distance from markets and other conditions, some 600 people abandoned their hard won homes, thus ending the Muddy Mission.

              In 1866, Jerry returned with his family to Spanish Fork.   The Black Hawk Indian War officially began in April of 1865.   The Utah Militia enlisted the men to defend the people of Utah and protect property.  It was a time when farmers could not even work in the fields or go into the canyons without the aid of armed men and herds of cattle were guarded both day and night.  Upon Jerry’s’ return to Spanish Fork, he enlisted in the Utah Militia for the Black Hawk Indian War.  (The badge he wears in the picture was given to honor for serving in the war).  It was Utah’s bloodiest and most destructive war.  It is difficult to say when it ended for skirmishes, stock theft and even killings continued long after the summer of 1867, when Black Hawk indicated he wanted to make peace.   It was hard to say, as well, what prompted the wily chief to sue for an end to hostilities, for many of these raids continued and his name was feared throughout the territory.

              A peace conference was held in several settlements but renegade acts, though slowed down, continued 1871-72.  September 7, 1872 a final treaty was signed, at the home of Bishop W. S. Seeley in Mt. Pleasant, Utah.  The L.D.S. Church and Military authorities as well a number of Indian Chiefs and braves were in attendance.

              Here Jeremiah served as a picket guard under Captain William McKee in 1881. When the Denver & Rio Grande railroad was first being made from Price, Utah down Spanish Fork Canyon, he and Bill Warren and John Beck, of Spanish Fork, contracted and furnished the ties and telegraph poles for the railroad.

              During the 1882-84, he was agent for the Geo. A. Lowe Implement Company and engaged in other business enterprises.  Being a better creditor than he was a collector, he financially failed.  Settling up all his financial obligations,  he returned to his two small farms located just west of Spanish Fork town.  Having a large family, Jerry realized that if he kept his sons out of the mines to work he must procure more land for farming.  Accordingly, in the spring of 1886, he made a trip out to the Ashley Valley to look that country over.  His brother, Richard had moved there three years previous and liked the place, and had sent back very favorable reports about it.  Jerry, also was favorably impressed with the possibilities of the valley, especially for farming and stock raising.  He bought forty acres located in the Mill Ward, now Measer, from Bill Bradshaw.

              He returned to Spanish fork and sold the little farm where Mary and her family lived and she moved to Ashley in November, 1886.  Upon their arrival, they found more that twelve inches of snow on the ground and not a stick of timber with which to build a home.  Jerry and his sons of both families went into the mountains where the snow was three to five feet deep and cut house logs.  These they dragged out on bob sleds and in two weeks time they had built two large rooms.   The cracks between the logs were chinked with split pieces of logs that were cut from the walls of the house to form windows and door openings.  Then mud mixed in with straw was filled in around the chinks to keep out the wind and snow.  Very little lumber could be obtained.  What lumber was available was sawed by hand with a whipsaw.  One man stood above the log and another man worked from underneath and pulled the saw up and down until a board was sawed off.  Because of the lumber scarcity, the roof of Jerry’s log house was covered with lagging.  This consisting of slim, straight cottonwood and birch trees of from three to six inches in diameter and reaching from the top log on the wall to the fidge log, which was a large straight log.   The lagging was covered with straw about four inches, with ten or twelve inches of clay or dirt covered over that.  This made a very warm and comfortable house.  There was an interesting co-incident about the lagging which formed the roof and ceiling of this log house.  It being made of green birch and cottonwood, began to sprout and grow and form a green canopy as well as a ceiling for the rooms.

              Before the family had been on this farm three years, all the sagebrush had been cleared off and it was all in cultivation.  It had a good fence around it, six acres set out to orchard of variety of fruit trees and a good five room brick house.  There were three large rooms on the ground and two bedrooms up stairs. 

              Uncle Jerry, as he was now known, accomplished this right from the shoulder, with the help of Charley Atwood they molded and burned the brick, made a lime kiln and burned the lime, quarried the stone from Taylor Bird’s sand-store point for the foundation which he laid himself.  Uruah Mowrey laid the brick in the walls and were hand forged by himself.  All molding and furnishings were made with plane bits that he forged by his own hands.

              In the fall of 1887, he sold the Spanish Fork home where his first wife, Mariah lived, and acquired a tract of land known as the Bankhead ranch, lying between the mouth of Brush Creek and the old Indian fort along the west bank of Green River.  This ranch contained about one and one-half sections.  Mariah and children moved onto this place the following summer.   His sons refiled on most of this land and proved upon it.  It was necessary to construct a canal for irrigation.  He employed Arthur Johnson, a civil engineer, to survey the ditch and it was dug, as usual, right from the shoulder.  Uncle Jerry and the boys worked shoulder to shoulder with pick and shovel until it was finished. 

            As soon as the major portion of this land was put into cultivation, another brick house was erected on it, thus making both his families fairly comfortable.  

              The Bankhead or Brush Creek ranch as it was called later, was ideal for farming and stock raising.  The soil was fertile, the water supply ample and summer season was warm enough for thrifty crop and vegetable growth.  It was especially adapted for the production of Alfalfa hay and alfalfa seed, of which Uncle Jerry engaged in to a considerable extent.  together with small grain, corn, melons, and broom corn.

              During the winter months, he manufactured brooms.  He bought a small hand operated machine from William Jex, of Spanish Fork.  Mr. Jex was installing modern broom making equipment at that time. These brooms he placed in the mercantile stores of Jensen and Vernal.  They were retailed at from thirty to fifty cents each.

              Uncle Jerry was always a lover of good horses, of which he raised many.   He was especially proud of his draft breeds.

              Uncle Jerry always had several irons in the fire at the same time.   This was made possible, as well as necessary, because of having a large family.  He had to pull a lot of strings in order to make all ends meet.  Besides being an all around farmer, he was a carpenter, blacksmith and contractor.  He took contract to furnish all kinds of farm produce, wood and charcoal to Ft. Duchesne, Utah.  When this post was being erected, he spent several winters working on the officers quarters that were being built there.

              As soon as the Ashley Central and Ashley Upper canals were built, Ashley Valley began to produce bountiful crops of small grain and alfalfa seed.  In the earlier years the threshing problem was fairly well taken care of. George Ainge of Jensen, William Ashton of Vernal, Ellison Murray and Alma Thompson of Mill Ward and David Smuin of Merrell Ward had brought into the valley used threshing machines from various outside points.  These machines were all brought in VIA the Strawberry route, which at that time was little more than a trail.  At the time this was considered an undertaking that required considerable determination and practical ability to accomplish and these men deserved a great deal of credit for having done so,

              Ashley Valley was growing in population and wealth.  By 1892 the farms were producing abundantly, and there was a need for more threshing equipment.   Accordingly, Uncle Jerry being experienced in this line before leaving Spanish Fork, purchased a new J. I. Case “Agitator” separator and a ten horse Woodberry   power, and did custom threshing through out the Valley that  fall.  This outfit was brought in VIA of Price, Utah.

              There was still a shortage in threshing machines, so Uncle Jerry put in his “best licks” hoping to get the settlers grain into their bins before snow fell.   His first crew consisted of Johnny Moyes, Ellison Murray, Jerry Bates Murray, Charley Merkley and Charley Raymond.  Of course, Uncle Jerry was a member of the crew.  His business was to see that the machines kept running and turned out a good job of threshing. When they were about to finish up at a farm, Uncle Jerry and the little gray mare, “Wagon Cover” by name, would go on the next customer to advise the house wife as to which meal to have prepared for the gang.  The good farmers of that day fed the threshers and let them sleep in their straw stacks besides.

              Yes, this crew slept when there was no moving to do at night, or there were no “boxings” to be run on Sunday mornings. Their field of operation ranged from Jensen on up through Ashley Valley and Dry Fork and over the “ridge” to Deep Creek.  It was necessary to keep the ball rolling, Uncle Jerry said.  On one occasion they finished up a job at Jensen just before sun down and the next morning by sun up they were all set and ready to thresh at a ranch in upper Mill Ward.

              Although other new machines had been brought into the valley, there was still a growing demand for good threshing machines, in as more land was coming under cultivation and more grain was being produced.  In the fall of 1896, after Uncle Jerry had finished his run for the season, he ended up at Deep Creek at the Tommy Caldwell ranch.  Tommy, realizing that it was a big job to take a machine over into that place every fall, proposed by buy Murray’s   outfit.  It may be added here that the Caldwells always furnished extra teams to help pull the machine and equipment over the ridge.  Accordingly a deal was made and this machine served the ranches on Deep Creek for a good many seasons, and they were able to do their threshing much earlier in the fall.

              The next summer, Uncle Jerry purchased another J. I. Case Machine. This   was a little larger and was driven by a twelve horse Woodberry horsepower.  His Motto was “The best is none too good”, so he always used the Case separator and the Woodberry horsepower, and turned little Grey Wagon Cover out into the fields and caught up “Stella” who was a young, handsome, swift, black filly to ride ahead to tell the good house wife that they were coming.

              Two years later he sold the Woodberry horsepower to the Nash Brothers and bought a new Cast portable engine of twelve Horse power.

              At the end of the threshing season in 1902, Jerry sold this outfit to some of the farmers on upper Brush Creek.  This also eliminated the necessity of pulling an outfit in there every fall to do their threshing.

              The next year, Jerry and his sons came out with another new J. I. Case machine, driven by a J. I. Case traction engine of twelve horsepower.  The separator was equipped with a self feeder and a wind stacker.  This setup was the first of its kind to enter the valley.  With this outfit Uncle Jerry experienced no little difficulty in moving from place to place.  It was shipped to Price, Utah , then to the nearest railroad station and pulled in VIA of the Nine Mile Canyon.

              The Sprouse Brothers, Jim and Jake, who were experienced freighters over that road, contracted to bring the engine from Price to Vernal for the sum of one hundred twenty-five dollars.  The Murray Brothers pulled the separator and its accessories.  The Sprouse brothers used six large freight horses to pull the engine and had another six horse team along with two wagons to haul such accessories as fly-wheel etc. that could be stripped of the engine, together with the necessary feed and provisions for the trip.

              At that time, most bridges over canals and washes were not strong enough to carry the weight that was concentrated over the traction’s wheels of this vehicle.  It was also much wider that the roads and dugways in many places.  In Soldier and Nine Mile Canyon, it was necessary to blast off the rock from the upper side of the dugways in order to get the engine by.  In one or two places where too much blasting would have to be done, a detour was made and the engine was pulled over the hill.  The trees  were cut and the rocks rolled to one side,  Because of the engine being so wide and the weight hung so low, there was little danger of its capsizing even on very slanting grades.

              On the first day out from Price, when they reached the Price and Wellington Canal, near Wellington, the canal bridge was smashed in when the weight of the engine rolled on to it.  The Sprouse brothers hitched both this six horse teams to it and pulled it out without any difficulty and were soon on their way again.

              After reaching the Ashley Valley, serious bridge trouble developed.  Although heavy timbers were always carried along to re-enforce weak bridges and culverts, many of them were crushed in.  On one occasion   when crossing the McCarroll Wash in the Union Ward Region, one side of the bridge gave away and the engine rolled over into the wash and landed up side down.  It was not until the next day that it was lifted out by means of block and tackle.

              History usually repeats itself.  It was always been the case, that when new developments or modern improvements are taking place, that there is always a reactionary force to combat.  In the case of the traction engine, some more conservative individuals of the valley expressed the idea.  “that Uncle Jerry should be made to pay for all these bridges that he was breaking with this big threshing outfit of his.”  An article appeared in the Vernal Express advocating this policy to the part of the County Commissioners.  However, this article was answered promptly by some progressive individual. He put forth the idea that if the community had a citizen enterprising enough to lead out and bring modern equipment into the valley in order to better serve the needs of the community, that the County Officials should be enterprising enough to build roads and bridges that would carry it from place to place.  Neither  of these writers were made known to Uncle Jerry, but the county officials took the view of the latter and emerged into a program of road improvement. 

            At the close of the 1903 season Uncle Jerry turned the threshing business over to four of his sons, who, in the course of two or three years, sold out to Archie Allen, in order to pursue their farming and stock raising activities.

              All through Uncle Jerry’s threshing career, he had one set rule, and it was not deviated from after the sons took over the threshing game.  He never took toll when threshing for a widow woman or from the wife of a missionary who was out in the world preaching the gospel.

              Referring again to his having many irons in the fire at the same time, when the orchard on the Mill Ward, of Measer farm began to produce, there was always a certain amount of  apples that were not first class.  From these apples he made quantities of apple cider which was sold to local merchants, and from them it was retailed as apply vinegar.  On this farm he also raised several acres of sorghum cane for molasses, or sorghum.  During the molasses season he operated two mills to squeeze out the sap and several vats full would be boiled each day; and oh the fun the youngsters of the neighborhood would have in the evenings when the last vat was finished off.  They would come from near and far.  Alma Thompson was the vat operator and he always left a generous supply in the vat for candy making.

              Besides working up his own, Uncle Jerry did custom work for the community charging a certain portion as toll for doing so.  When the molasses season was over he would have several hundred gallons of molasses.   Most of this was disposed of in fifty gallon barrels to the merchants, way mills, mines, wood camps, et.   The rest was sold in small lots of one to five gallons to individual families.  It was sold in five gallon cans, kegs, candy buckets, or what have you.  The going price was one dollar a gallon.

              After his first wife, Aunt Mariah, having passed away on June 12th, 1897, Uncle Jerry spend his declining years on the farm in Measer, where Aunt Mary, the second wife lived.  Here they made a home for several of their grandchildren who were left motherless while they were very young.

              One of his favorite mottoes was; “You can always tell a workman by his chips.”  He often referred to his children as “chips off the old block”.  They were all ambitious and full of the pioneers spirit.  After a lingering illness, he died at his home in Maeser, on Sunday, September 5th, 1909.   He was survived by his wife, aunt Mary, seventeen children, sixty-five grand children, and sixteen great grandchildren.

              His funeral services were held in Maeser Ward Meeting House, and interment was in the Measer Cemetery. 

            Jeremiah Hatch Murray’s life was full of ‘ups’ and ‘downs’.  No matter how gloomy the situation was that confronted him he was never despondent.  This was a characteristic that all early settlers of Utah possessed in common.

              In the early days of Spanish Fork dancing was the principle source of their amusements.  They used to dance considerable at Sam Cornibee’s hall.  One night the hall caught fire from the stove pipe.  It was soon extinguished and the dance went on.   The excitement, afterwards, it naturally caused more or less hilariousness and fun.  Someone made up the following song about it:

            You could see the smoke ascending from the west end of the hall,

            The gents had swung their partners and began to circle all,

            Paper collars and ragged britches, and they had no shoes at all

            When John Murray began to fiddle, and Jess Dudley began to Call.

            (John Murray was an older brother of Jeremiah’s).

 *****This history was assembled from the knowledge of the family members.  Compiled by Joe S. Murray, Maimie M. Preece and from the Book of our Pioneer Heritage    Vol #9.

JEREMIAH HATCH MURRAY

 Some of his Life’s History

Submitted to the D. U. P. by Mildred M. Wilkins

             Jeremiah Hatch Murray, son of John Richard Murray and Sarah Bates.  He was born 11 Jul, 1844 in Lucerne Township, Monroe Co., Michigan.  He was the 7th child in a family of eight, 7 boys and one girl.

             John Richard Murray came from Scotland in 1831 with the British Army during the Canadian border trouble.  He soon left the British Army and joined the Americans.  Sarah Bates came from Drafton, Tyrone, Ireland with her family, what year is not known.  We do know that John and Sarah met, courted and married on the 28 Oct, 1833 in Buffalo, Erie Co., New York.  We know too that John and Sarah left New York State and moved to Monroe Co., Michigan, as seven children were born there.  While John and Sarah lived there, Jeremiah Hatch, a Patriarch, went to their home as a Mormon Missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and converted John and Sarah.  When their 7th child (a son) was eleven days old, the family was baptized into the Church and the baby was blessed and was named Jeremiah Hatch Murray, (after the missionary).

             The family then started Westward toward Salt Lake City, to be with the Saints.  They stopped in St. Louis, Missouri for quite some time (maybe 5 years), probably working to get together enough money and supplies for the trip west.  Their 8th child was born there on the 8th of Sept, 1846.  They then left Missouri, and after many stops and hardships, they arrived in Salt Lake City in the year of 1852.

             Young Jeremiah was a lively, ambitious boy helping his parents the way any pioneer boy would help around the farm with crops, gardening and livestock.

             On arriving in Utah, the Murrays settled for a time in Salt Lake City, then moved on to Spanish Fork, Utah.  But while in Salt Lake, Jeremiah grew up and met a lovely little convert to the church for Vestergaard, Denmark by the name of Karen Marie Nielson, the daughter of Nils Christensen Nielson and Karen Erickson.  Jeremiah courted this lovely girl and married her on Feb. 6, 1863.  In Salt Lake City, Jeremiah was a strong believer in the Church and his Priesthood, and on this faith and belief he took a second wife.  This pretty little gal was a convert from West Liecester, England.  The daughter of Samuel Ashby and Hanna Ward.  Her name was Mary Ashby.  She and Jeremiah were married on March 4, 1865,  making this a plural marriage.

         Jeremiah (by now called Jerry for short) volunteered to go as a missionary to the Muddy in Southern Utah to help make a settlement there.  In this new settlement he helped to establish a new branch of the Mormon Church.    (I must stop here and try to explain “The Muddy”.  I think in 1865 the muddy was in the Utah territory, but so was the whole state of Nevada.  The Muddy river that runs down through Moapa Valley joined the Rio Virgin river due south of today what is Overton, Nevada.  In that time 1865, it was in Southern Utah

         The settlement mentioned could have been the town of St. Thomas that now lies under the waters of Lake Mead in the upper Overton Arm, in Nevada.)  Now back to Jerry.  It was in this capacity that the young and adventurous heart of Jerry filled with the desire to better the conditions of his people, took his two young wives and ventured to the Muddy.  He performed many duties of the most trying and stirring nature.  Surrounded by hostile tribes (Moapa Indians), and in a desert land nearly 150 miles from the nearest source of provisions, he was compelled from time to time to leave his wives and go to Pine Valley, Utah for provisions.  At times the family had nothing to eat but green corn.  At times this was dried and grated on the bottom of a tin plate which was made of nail wholes, and from this corn, they made porridge.  Once before he returned, the Indians destroyed most of the corn fields, and many a night, the family went to bed without supper.  While on this trip, the men were compelled to corral their horses with their wagons on the Rio Virgin because of the Indians.  One night the Indians tried to kill one of their steers with a bow and arrow.  This just enraged the steer and he gored one of the redmen.  The other Indians were unable to save him so Jerry and his companions went out into the open with their guns and killed the wounded steer.  This saved their lives.  It was only one of many instances where his courage made him lasting friends with the Indians. 

        When he was in danger one time, he took his wife and baby with him and in the night, the Indians drove their horses away.   While the others were hunting for them, he stayed in camp.  He was watching and he saw two Indians coming so he hid his wife and baby under a load of potatoes in a wagon, and he hid in the rocks.  Jerry was afraid they’d smother, but the Indians after looking the wagon over went on and bother nothing.

        In 1866, Jerry returned with his family to Spanish For, Utah.  He served as picket guard in the Black Hawk Indian War, under Captain William McKee.  I don’t have much on this, but I do have a story Clyde Murray (Jerry’s Grandson) told me.  The Mormons were hunting for Chief Black Hawk and his Sub-chiefs, they were fed up with them and were looking for them with blood in their eyes, and they found them up Spanish Fork Canyon.  It seems Black Hawk was standing on a small ledge (cliff) talking to his sub-chiefs and warriors when grand-dad and the rest found them.  Grand-dad’s aim was off, and the ball hit Black Hawk high on the forehead and knocked him unconscious.  they thought they had killed him, but when they got over to where he fell, he wasn’t there.  the Indians had picked him up and vanished--gone.  Two or three weeks later, Black Hawk was seen, so it didn’t kill him or hurt him too bad.

       I have a picture of Jeremiah Hatch Murray and he is wearing a metal on his vest that was given to him for service in the Black Hawk Indian War.

       In 1881, Jerry with Bill Warren and John Beck, contracted and furnished ties, timber, and telegraph poles for the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad when it first went from Price, Utah, down Spanish Fork Canyon.

       In the fall of 1886, Jerry took his wives and left his home and friends and moved to Ashley Valley, Uintah Co., Utah.  One reaching there, he took up a large among of land and began farming.  One farm was in Jensen, Utah, where he built a large brick house for his first wife and family.  He then took up some land in the Measer Ward and built another large brick house for the second wife. and family.  He owned and operated one of the first threshing machines in the valley.  He was a lover of good horses and owned many of them. He was always a full giver to help the poor, and donations for church activities.  He and his good wife Mary (the lst wife now being dead), made a home for motherless children.  He was a great fruit raised and used to make molasses and sell it by the five gallon wooden buckets.  He died in his home in Measer on Sunday, Sep 5, 1909.  the father of 18 living children, nine by each wife.  His families were all ambitious and full of the pioneer spirit.  One of his mottoes was “You can always tell a man by his chips!”

       Karen Marie Nielson died in Jensen, Utah on June 12, 1897 and Mary Ashby died in Measer, Utah on January 16, 1922.

       The little baby mentioned hidden under the potatoes at the Muddy was Jeremiah Murray, the father of Elda, Edith, Guy, Vern, Della, Mildred, Douglas, Ralph, and Clyde.

                                                             Redone and added to by Cody L. Wilkins