Daniel Berry Rawson (4th Great-Grandparent)

Daniel Berry Rawson

Daniel Berry Rawson was born 15 Dec. 1827 at Randolph County, Indiana, the son of Horace Strong Rawson and Elizabeth Coffin. In 1831 his parents joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. . . In 1832 the family moved to Jackson County, Missouri, where they purchased land near Big Blue Creek After fencing and clearing the land, they planted a crop; however, they never harvested it. In the fall of that year persecution increased, forcing the family to leave their crops and move to Lafayette County. Daniel and his oldest sister made the journey on foot with no shoes, walking across the frozen prairie ground. Renting an old log home and four or five acres of land from a Mr. Barnard, Daniel’s father worked and paid for the use of the property. He planted a crop and felt encouraged by the prospects of a good crop. However, howling and threatening mobs forced them to move across the Missouri River to Clay County, leaving a crop that they were unable to sell. Having no shelter, they stuck willows into the sandy bank and stretched sheets over them for temporary shelter for the family until the father was able to arrange for a small place on the bluff of the river. Here they built a home during the winter of 1835. The next spring they sold their property and rented a home and farm, where they raised a good crop. Then in the spring of 1836 they moved again, this time into Caldwell County near Far West, Mob violence caused them to move from one place to another until the spring of 1839, when Governor Boggs issued his infamous extermination order. At that time the Rawson family had to leave behind all that they could not load into a repaired wagon to leave the state. In the latter part of 1829 their family arrived at Quincy, Illinois, then moved on to the area near Lima, where a number of the saints built a fairly large settlement. They stayed there until the spring of 1841, when they moved into Nauvoo and built another home. For two years the family enjoyed relative peace. In 1842 their father bought some property in Yelmore, moved there from Nauvoo, fenced their farm, cleared the land and planted crops for two years. However, after mob activities increased and the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were slain, the Rawsons were forced to leave. Following is his account of some terrifying experiences: “Joseph Etlerr drove down from Nauvoo with a team and moved the family and household goods up to Nauvoo, leaving part of our stock, swine and fowls behind. A few days after we returned to get what we had left. We found our house in ashes, swine, fowls and sheep and stock carried away. Fencing being hauled away. The men who were hauling the rails promised to pay father for them. “During the winter of 1846 I went to try and get pay for them. When I got in sight of the house his dogs scented me and commenced barking. I saw three or four men come out of the house. I saw they were rank mob, Josh Vance being one of them. When I saw who was there, I dreaded to approach but they had seen me. I thought it was best to go up to the house. “I asked the man who had got the rails (I forget his name) if he could let me have a little meat for my father as he was very destitute. He at first denied me, but after a few minutes of reconsideration he let me have one small bacon, ham and a few pounds of salt fish. While I was in his house I looked out and saw a large flock of geese that my mother had raised. I also noticed as he moved the stacks of boards overhead to get the ham (his meat was hanging in the loft) the large hams and midlines of a very large hog and a lot of other small sows and midlines. It struck me forcibly, there are the remains of my father’s large sows and several other things that were taken from our home. “I put my meat and fish in my sack and was glad to get away. It was sundown and began to get dusk. After I had gone a short distance from the house the mob began to shoot off their guns. Whether they shot at me, or whether they intended to scare me I could not tell. Be assured I did not stop to see but traveled as fast as I could until I was out of sight. Then I left the road and traveled through the woods and arrived safe at my destination and congratulated myself that I got off as well as I did. “On the 20th of November 1845 myself and a young man by the name of James Woodland made preparations for making shingles. By getting our tools and some provisions together we carried them to a vacant house located on the main road leading from Bear Creek to Nauvoo. At night another young man by the name of Gilbert Hunt came to our camp after supper. He proposed that we go over to Solomon Hancock’s barn to sleep. We agreed. We picked our bedding and went to the barn a half mile down the road, climbed up onto the hay, made our beds and were soon asleep. Near twelve o’clock I was awakened by the crackling and popping of fire. There had been a stack of straw stacked up in an old rail pen. It was the oak timber that made the popping. “I looked out and saw the light of fire, woke up the other boys. We climbed up and out in quick time. There was a lot of dry straw in the barnyard. It was afire and burning near the barn. In a very short time the barn would have been on fire. George Hancock was awake, looked out and saw the light. He awakened his father and his family and also brother Edmund Durfey and son. They all came out. “The horses and stock were all turned out of the barn. All hands went to work raking straw and rubbish to prevent the barn from catching fire. The barn yard was built of logs, so while we were in stooping position the mob did not have a chance to shoot at us but as soon as we straightened up, there was a shrill whistle heard south and answered around the west, then the shooting commenced. The guns roared and the bullets whistled around our heads. “Solomon Hancock and the boys all ran for their guns but myself and Edmund Durfey. We stood for a short time, then there came a shower of bullets. One struck him hear the collarbone. He fell, a dead man. By this time I thought it best for me to get out of there. I took legging it, as I had to run the length of the barn and stables exposed. They again opened fire on me. The bullets flew like a hail-storm. It was found next morning that bullets had lodged on either side of the gate I had passed through but through the blessings of the Lord, I had passed through unharmed. “Durfey’s remains were guarded until the next morning when his brother-in-law, David Gardner, came along with a team. We loaded the remains of Durfee on a straw bed. Myself and James Woodland followed as guard to Nauvoo. We washed, shaved and laid him out, sat up with the body during the night. The next day we dug his grave.” On 9 Nov. 1845 Daniel married Mariah Atkinson, lived with her parents over winter, then moved to Nauvoo. In the spring they joined the westward movement of Saints, Daniel hiring passage for himself and his wife by driving a team. When they reached Mount Pisgah, they heard of Captain Allen enlisting men to serve in the war with Mexico. At the time he was very resentful against the government for its disregard for his family’s need of protection in Missouri and Illinois; however, when he heard President Young’s statement that the salvation of Israel depended upon raising the army, he promptly enlisted. The story of Daniel’s experiences in the Mormon Battalion and the return trip to meet his loved ones who had yet to cross the plains reads like a wild west novel. One cannot do justice to the story in a brief account such as this. Arriving back in Council Bluffs, Daniel learned that his wife had been led astray by a Negro prophet. He lived with his parents that winter, then in the spring he bought a team and wagon and with his sister Samantha crossed the plains in the Captain Richards Company. The trip proved uneventful except for a terrible blizzard which occurred near the crossing of the Sweetwater. For 46 hours the blizzard raged, drifting show as high as their wagons. They had to dig the wagons out of the snow to continue their journey. Arriving in the Salt Lake Valley in October 1849, he stayed in Farmington over the winter. In November he married Nancy Boss and with her moved to Ogden in the spring of 1850. They took up a farm and built them a home. In the winter of 1850 he built a shop, put up a turning lathe and made the first chair and spinning wheel that were made in Weber County. In the ensuing years he moved his family to Farmington, then Payson. In the fall of 1858 he was called to take a load of supplies to assist the troops who were in the siege of Johnston’s Army. He found his brother William C. Rawson very ill and used his influence to have the man released. Daniel himself was retained and called to act as Mayor’s agent for Maylor Thurber from Spanish Fork Division. In the spring of 1860 he was called on a mission to scout the country south and west of Fillmore to find a place for the saints to colonize. After returning from that mission, he moved his family to Ogden. In August 1863 he was elected Constable for the Ogden City Precinct. In the latter part of 1864 he rented the farm of Bishop Chauncy West and moved his family there. In the spring of 1866 he was called to preside over the 8th ecclesiastical district of Weber Stake, which position he held until 1876. In 1875 he was called at a general conference to go on a mission to Arizona and to the Indians in the region of the Colorado. During the winter of 1876 he reported having baptized four Indians, two men and their wives. In late July 1876 he was released to come home with the understanding that he would return in the fall; however, ill health terminated his mission. He resumed his position as president of the 8th district of Weber Stake until June 1877, when the stake was organized into wards. He was soon released to be called as a stake missionary, then subsequently called as a high councilor in the Weber Stake. In January 1890 he was “attacked with liver and kidney complaint.” He died 18 Feb. 1892 and was buried in the Ogden City Cemetery. (This life story was written in January 2006 by Brian L. Taylor. Source: Life story of Daniel Berry Rawson written by him at Farr West, Utah on 28 Jan. 1892 just three weeks before his death) THE CHILDREN OF DANIEL BERRY RAWSON AND NANCY BOSS 1. Nancy Emeline Rawson was born 29 Jan 1857 in Ogden, Weber, Utah. She married 5 Sep 1868 in the Salt Lake Endowment House, Harvey Green Taylor. He was born 6 Oct 1849 in ,Pottawattamie,Iowa. 2. Elizabeth Ann Rawson was born 3 Feb 1853 in Ogden, Weber, Utah. She married 15 Aug 1868 in the Salt Lake Endowment House, Francis David Higginbotham, Sr. He was born 24 May 1848 in , Tazewell, Virginia. 3. Mary Ann Olive Rawson was born 2 Jan 1855 in Ogden, Weber, Utah. She married (1)in the summer of 1850 at ____, Stephen Ordway, Jr. He was born abt 1825 of , Hall, Missouri. Mary Ann married (2) 23 Sep 1872 in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, Moroni Taylor. He was born 1 May 1853 in Kaysville, Davis, Utah. 4. Obedience Leonora Rawson was born 23 Apr 1857 in Payson, Utah, Utah. She married 28 Apr 1879 in Vernal, Uintah, Utah, Lamoni Taylor. He was born 12 Sep 1855 in Ogden, Weber, Utah. 5. Polly Ann Rawson was born 3 May 1859 in Payson, Utah, Utah. She married 28 Oct 1879 in the Salt Lake Endowment House, James Rushton Dinsdale. He was born 9 Oct 1855 in Ogden, Weber, Utah. 6. Sariah Diantha Rawson was born 28 Aug 1861 in Ogden, Weber, Utah. She married (1) 31 May 1878 in the Salt Lake Endowment House, Joseph Hyrum Daniels Brown. He was born 6 Jan 1856 in Goarton, Lancashire, England. Sariah married (2) George Brown in 1881 in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah. He was born about 1857 of Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah. 7. Daniel Heber Rawson was born 8 Sep 1863 in Ogden, Weber, Utah 8. Charlotte Grace Rawson was born18 Feb 1865 in Ogden, Weber, Utah. She married 13 Apr 1882 in the Salt Lake Endowment House, Chauncy West Richardson. He was born 15 Oct 1861 in Ogden, Weber, Utah. 9. Samantha Dalena Rawson was born26 Aug 1867 in Harrisville, Weber, Utah. She married 25 Jan 1888 in the Logan Temple, George Washington Rose. He was born 6 Dec 1859 in Ogden, Weber, Utah. 10. Daniel Benjamin Rawson was born 6 Nov 1870 in Harrisville, Weber, Utah. He married 15 Nov 1893 in the Logan Temple, Mary Leah Brown. She was born 7 Mar 1875 in Huntsville, Weber, Utah.   THE CHILDREN OF DANIEL BERRY RAWSON AND MARY MELVINA TAYLOR 1. Silas Daniel Rawson was born 4 Sep 1867 in Harrisville (now Farr West), Weber, Utah. He married 23 Jan 1889 in the Logan Temple, Johanne Marie (Mary) Hegsted. She was born 20 Nov 1866 in Huntsville, Weber, Utah. 2. David Ward Rawson was born 17 Sep 1871 in Harrisville (now Farr West), Weber, Utah. He married 26 Sep 1895 in the Salt Lake Temple, Nancy Jane Bingham. She was born 19 Apr 1876 in Wilson Lane, Weber, Utah. 3. Joseph Horace Rawson was born 6 Aug 1874 in Harrisville (now Farr West), Weber, Utah. He married 15 Dec 1899 in the Logan Temple, Emmeretta Bingham. She was born 15 Jul 1878 in Wilson, Weber, Utah. 4. Wilford Woodruff Rawson was born 1 Sep 1881 in Harrisville (now Farr West), Weber, Utah. He married (1) 4 Oct 1905 in the Salt Lake temple, Eugenia Lefgren. She was born 30 Oct 1879 in Ogden, Weber, Utah. He married (2)12 May 1932 in the Salt Lake Temple, Erma LaVera Madsen. She was born 11 Apr 1895 in Milford, Beaver, Utah. SOURCES: 1. LDS Church Census, microfilm #0271399 and #0471591 2. Internet IGI 3. Jeffery, Janet Franson, History of the James Lake, Jr. Family (Murray, Utah, Roylance Publishing, 1990), p. 201.