Called to Colonize Arizona at 25: David Edward Adams

Much is written about the LDS Pioneers to Utah, however, I was reading some family histories and was impressed by that same pioneering spirit that sent the LDS people to other parts of the country at the request of Brigham Young.  David Edward Adams and his wife, Caroline Henrietta Lind, are part of that story as they were called to colonize Arizona.

As you read below, you will find that this young family moved and colonized some 14 different places in Arizona:  Northern Arizona and the White Mountain areas of Joseph City, Show Low, Forestdale, Linden, Taylor and Pinetop, as well as the southeastern areas of Bryce and Central (near Safford).  It is hard to imagine living the life of a pioneer without all of the modern conveniences we take for granted, such as good roads, fast vehicles, and an abundance of food at every stop.  I hope that as you read this pioneer story that you too will appreciate what our ancestors endured to colonize this great country.

David Edward Adams (known as Edward), was born November 27, 1851, to David and Maria Thetford Adams in Northampton, England.  They had joined the LDS Church and desired to join the other saints in Utah Territory.  Their family's pioneer story to Utah sounds similar to other LDS pioneers in their day.  Edward was five years old when his mother and two younger brothers left England on November 1, 1856, sailing for two months on the Columbia before arriving in New York on January 18 1857.  (His dad had gone ahead to earn money for their passage.)  Their family remained in New York until May, then traveled to Council Bluffs, Iowa, to join the other LDS pioneers.  From there they traveled by covered wagon and oxen to Utah Valley.  Edward and his brother William walked most of the way.  He and his family settled in Mountainville (Alpine), Utah.

In 1876, Edward was called on a mission by President Brigham Young to help colonize Arizona.  He was only 25 years old.  He was courting Caroline Henrietta Lind at the time, and she said she would only go with him if they were married.  They were married on January 24, 1876 in the Old Endowment House in Salt Lake City.  Edward had to dispose of his land and property, bought the best pair of young mules in town, a new Schuttler wagon and harness (costing $700), and a year's supply of provisions and some farm implements.  Within two weeks these newlyweds were on their way.

They made their way through Kanab, Utah.  They had to leave half of their load in Kanab and would come back for it after they were settled.  After a couple of days, one of his mules had became so bad it could hardly be led.  He had to leave another wagon load, and by the time they made it to Lee's Ferry, they were even worse off.  They carried on and eventually settled at Allen's camp near the Little Colorado River in Arizona (near Holbrook).  He had left so much behind on the trail that during that summer he returned to Kanab three times to retrieve their things.

While at Allen's camp, there were about 60 men and 6 women total.  They build a long dining hall and a huge eight foot wide fireplace.  Edward was appointed the cook and the women assisted him in baking bread and other items in the dutch ovens.  The people at Allen's camp joined another group of people to build a dam across the river, and each company had a canal and irrigated the crops they had planted until a flood took out the dam and the crops died for lack of water.  Edward and friend Alfred Cluff decided to move farther down the river and built a fort to live in, but later relocated to where another settlement (now Joseph City, Arizona).  Times got worse, so Edward and Alfred Cluff decided to rent Show Low Ranch from a Mr. Cooley.  Show Low Ranch was a nice little valley at the foot of the Timberland Mountains, with a good irrigation stream running through it.  Having no vacant houses on the ranch, they hewed and cut logs and soon each of their families had comfortable log cabins.

In 1878, Mr. Cluff and Edward decided to homestead a little valley among the pines about six miles southwest of Show Low Ranch, to which Mr. Cooley was not very happy and tried to dissuade them.  They cleared the land and planted crops nonetheless, and soon they were joined by eight other families.  Their colony was called Forestdale.  (They also named one of their girls Maria Forestdale Adams).  There was no corn in the country, so Edward went to Utah and brought back the first 1,000 pounds of corn.  They did well selling it to the others.  He also began raising dairy cows and had quite a few stock.

After about three years of living in Forestdale, Edward and Caroline decided to visit Utah for Christmas.  He fitted a horse and team and headed north.  They only stayed a few days in Utah once they arrived, as he was worried about his cattle.  His fears were justified, as when he returned to Arizona his cattle were scattered and things were in a sad state.  Mr. Cooley (who was still unhappy with them) had been busy with General Cook in building monuments and putting up signs along the water sheds between the Gila and Little Colorado River.  Troops and Indian Agents were changed at Fort Apache, and apparently the reservation maps were destroyed.  David and Caroline pleaded their case in Congress for remuneration for their losses, but the new Indian Agent wrote Edward a letter telling him to get off the land.

Edward and his family had to move to Ellsworth Ranch and remained there the balance of the winter.  They had traded the last of their cattle for four mules and a heavy wagon, and began a freighting business.  Later they had to move again due to the Indian uprising, this time to Taylor, Arizona.  Edward bought a city lot and some lumber and built another house. He freighted for a while, but he got an offer from John Reidhead for 15 acres of land which afforded an opportunity for homesteading 160 acres total.  Edward accepted and built a house and out-buildings of considerable value, fenced 160 acres, and dry-farmed a large portion of it, as there was no running water within five miles.  They had a surface well which would dry up in the latter part of the season, requiring them to haul their cooking water five miles from the Show Low stream.

Other families soon joined them, a schoolhouse was built, and they called the settlement Juniper.  Through the efforts of Caroline, a post office was obtained.  Settlers submitted names for the post office, but the name Caroline submitted was chosen:  Linden (named after her son Lind, and her maiden name).  Juniper became Linden, and they lived there several years and had good success with their crops and stock, although at times it was necessary to herd the stock at night to avoid having them stolen.  Linden still exists to this day.

Edward thereafter went into partnership with Symon Murphy on a farm.  Times being hard, Murphy wanted to take a team of horses and mules to work on the railroad 200 miles northwest of Flagstaff.  Edward stayed and farmed their land.  When Murphy returned, Edward decided to rent the Scott Ranch on the Show Low Creek and preempted 160 acres nearby.  He built a house and other improvements on the ranch and lived there during the winter.  The ranch was on the road to Fort Apache, and being a well-traveled road by many, his provisions and hay soon ran out so he sold out to the Scotts and moved back to Linden.

While in Linden he and a gentleman named Oscar Reidhead accumulated 1,000 head of ewes.  They would drive them 150 to 200 miles northwest of Phoenix in the winter to the high grass.  This venture turned out to not be too good, so he returned home.  A neighbor, James Lee, talked Edward into a sawmill partnership at Pinetop for $3,000.  The sawmill proved a poor investment at the time, because lack of demand and people were too poor to buy or trade.  However, Lee was charged with an embezzlement charge on another matter and left in the middle of the night.  Edward was now the sole owner of the saw mill with a fair-sized debt, but he was able to pay for the mill in less than one year.

After three narrow escapes of the mill almost burning down, Edward decided to sell the mill and move to the Gila Valley.  He bought 160 acres of property in the Bryce area through a squatters right.  The property was fenced, had good springs, as well as a lumber house with improvements.  He sold the mill for cows and horses and stayed in Pinetop through December, 1896.  Most of his family was stricken with illness, several having typhoid and pneumonia, and the baby Mary (known as May, my grandmother) was sick with no doctor nearby.  Soon their health improved, and they left the Pinetop/Linden area for the Gila Valley.

Upon reaching Bryce, Edward felt the property he had purchased was so rough and covered with big stumps that they decided to buy 56 acres in Central, Arizona instead.  Edward bought the old Central White Rock School house and men helped him haul material to the property.  He built a nice house finished with brick.  Edward would grow and bale hay, and Alonzo Cluff would haul it to Globe for sale. He sold off a couple of acres of his land and purchased fruit trees, which later became a wonderful fruit orchard for his family.

In November of 1905, Edward decided to visit his parents in Alpine, Utah.  He also visited his wife's sister, Marian Lind Williams, who was a widow with six children struggling to maintain her family.  Edward convinced her to come to Arizona and assisted her financially.  Caroline had not been feeling well when Edward had left on his journey to Utah, and she worsened while he was gone those two months.  Her health continued to decline, and she died on September 10, 1906.

Edward and his sister-in-law Marian, both now being widowed and having small children, decided to help each other out with their families, and married on July 11, 1907.  Three additional children were born to them during their marriage.

About the time of Edward's second marriage, a large canal was taken out to irrigate the land above his farm.  Unfortunately, his farm became water-logged, killing his lovely orchard and 40 acres of alfalfa.  Edward had accumulated a good dairy herd as well, so he was able to rent Jim Porter's farm for $600 a year, complete with 40 acres of alfalfa and 40 acres of grain land.  He also borrowed $1,000 from a Safford bank to buy Porter's 16 head of Holstein dairy cows, only because Porter needed the money because he was called on a mission.

The first year crops were bad due to heavy rains breaking the dam and washing out the canal, also spoiling the hay.  His wheat was nearly destroyed by Bryce stock.  Marian's daughters helped harvest and bale what hay was left.  Edward had trouble making the loans and had to leave Porter's ranch, still owing him $18.  Edward traded his other property for 20 acres adjoining the 20 acres he already had, and moved once again to start grubbing mesquite tree stumps, leveling land, subduing alkali, making ditches and fences.  Edward borrowed money again and bought back 13 head of his herd he had sold, and fortunately in two years they had paid for themselves as well as supported the family.  They stayed in Bryce for several years.

In 1919, Edward and Marian went to visit Marian's daughter Elsie Palmer in Salt River, Arizona (near Phoenix).  Marian was quite taken with the country, and Edward was impressed with the pima cotton being sold on the land at the time.  Edward entered into a deal in the Orange Belt near the Arizona Canal on 16th Street, but later discovered his land was only an unimproved rock bed.  He was able to get the people to take the place back, but he lost $500 on the deal.

Edward and Marian returned to Bryce, and with the help of his two sons-in-law, William Butler (my grandfather) and William Watson, they got the crops planted and later sold them for $4,000.  He had tried leasing the land several times thereafter, but got his land back in worse condition than before.  He thought he had sold his land to Mort Merrill, and after a couple of payments the farm was sold for back taxes and water assessments due.  Edward was 81 years old at the time, and it looked like he had lost everything, but after a little more shifting around he came out on top.

In 1933, Edward was now 82 years old, receiving a $20 a month old age pension.  His youngest son took over the place, and he also sold some of the acreage to his daughter and son-in-law.  On December 18, 1833, the first electric lights came to Central, Arizona, and four light bulbs cost $25.  Edward and Marian enjoyed a life of traveling in their senior years, traveling to Utah again to visit family, and also to Phoenix and Prescott.  David bought an accordion and was overheard playing it while in Prescott, so he was asked to perform before 200 people at the Pioneers Home in Prescott.

At 87 years of age, he passed away at his home in Central on June 7, 1939.  Edward left a large posterity in Arizona to inherit the great state he was called upon in his youth to colonize.
__________________________

Excerts taken from the life story told by David Edward Adams to his daughters, and submitted by granddaughter Lavona A. Cheney.

Merab Emma "Belle" Lee Morris: Polygamist Daughter with that "Bad Lee Blood"

Merab Emma “Belle” Lee was born in Harmony, Washington, Utah on 14 October 1868, the daughter of John Doyle Lee and his 18th wife, Anne Gordge.   She had an older brother, Samuel James Lee (nicknamed Jimmie Gibble), who was born 14 March 1867 in New Harmony, Iron, Utah, and a younger brother, Albert Doyle Lee, born 12 November 1872 in Beaver, Beaver, Utah.

Anne Gordge and John Doyle Lee.

Belle recalled:  "At the age of two years or thereabout, my father, mother and family moved to Skutampaw.  Mother, tiring of frontier life, became dissatisfied and returned to the East, taking with her my younger brother, Albert, age three months, and leaving myself and older brother, Samuel James, with Father."

After her mother's departure, she and her brother were under the care of stepmother Emma Batchelor (Lee, French) of England.  Emma Batchelor had recalled that Anne named her little daughter Merab Emma for her mother and sister wife, but somehow the nickname “Belle” was adopted.  Folklore says that it was because she was such a pretty child that her Father once called her “the belle of the ball.”

The family moved from place to place as all pioneer people did, and Belle was separated from her brother Samuel James (they were 6 and 4 years old at the time).  Her Father moved at this time to the Big Colorado River at the point bearing his name, “Lee’s Ferry.”  Here he constructed the first large boat to cross the river.  He also built the road over a part of the mountain known as Lee’s Backbone.  He was known far and wide for his courage as a pioneer, going first to blaze the trail and open the way for other pioneers.

Belle remember seeing that great boat, standing on end up against a large adobe building, waiting to be skidded into the river for them.  The boat proved to be a success and a wonderful help in building up Northern Arizona.

Stepmother Emma Batchelor also recorded that John Doyle Lee and his sons (including Samuel James) had worked to put in a dam in the Paria River so they could get water to their land (Lonely Dell at Lee’s Ferry).  They cleared the land and planted fruit trees and vines, with a generous area for a vegetable garden.  He traded many items with the Indians:  horses, blankets, clothing, cloth, beefsteak, grape roots, shrubs and seeds.

Belle recalled while living at Lonely Dell there was a company of 73 missionaries sent from Utah to explore different parts of the country so that new homes could be made for the LDS people coming from the East.  There were eight or ten men in this company that came to the ferry under the leadership of Daniel H. Wells.  This was a season of the year when the river was very dangerous.  Her Father’s ferryman, J. Johnson, seeing the danger of the river, refused to ferry the missionaries across, but the men seeming to be in such haste would not heed Johnson’s warning, and attempted to cross on their own accord.  When the boat reached the current it began to dip water.

Her step-brother Ralph, knowing the boat would soon capsize, hurried out with a skiff to rescue what he could.  Their belongings all went down. Ralph had all the men safely on the skiff except Jacob Hamblin and Byron Roundy.  Knowing that Roundy was an expert swimmer, Ralph turned to get Hamblin who said, “Save me.  I can’t swim.”  When he returned to get Roundy, he had gone down and was never seen again.

When all were safely on shore and the excitement was over, Belle and three of her sisters were given the privilege of hanging the missionaries’ slippers out to dry.  They were made of pretty flowered Brussels carpet with leather soles.  They were directed to hang them by the toes over the posts of the wagon boxes and other similar places.

The Company took supper at her Father’s house that night.  Her Father sat at the head of the table, which was spread with the whitest of linen and the very best food that they had as pioneers.  Everyone was served and served alike.

Belle also recalled another time at high water when some Indians had traveled to and from Utah to get provisions and wanted to cross at the ferry. The last company crossing the river had left the skiff on the opposite bank.  In order to help the Indians, Brother John risked his life by swimming across to bring the skiff over.  The Indians all stood in awe, thinking that every instant he would go down.  When they saw him safely on shore, the shouts and cheers were equal to a war whoop.  They wished to reward him with their valued blankets, beads and other things -- which amounted to a great deal of money – but he refused.  “Friendly acts as this and many others made a tried and true friendship between the Indians and my people,” Belle had recorded.

Another memory was when her Father and Ralph were out in the Buckskin Mountains hunting cattle and got lost for five days without food or water.  Ralph was just a small boy at the time, and her Father was afraid that if they did not find their way soon, Ralph would starve.  The only possible resource that her Father could think of to save Ralph’s life was to cut off the ears of the colt (a yearling) and roast them.  Ralph, who was riding the colt, refused, saying he would rather starve.  A few moments later they found their way and soon arrived where everyone was anxiously waiting.

This colt was always looked upon as a cherished relic to the family.  Her Father’s request was that each of Rachel’s children and his orphan children (Belle and Samuel James), should be given a colt from this one colt.  He also gave each of them a calf from some of their most choice cattle.  Belle remembers she received two horses and two cows, and she cherished those memories her entire life.

There is some dispute as to why John Doyle Lee and wife Rachel and sons had to leave the ferry.  One source records that they had lost the ferry, but Emma Batchelor Lee recorded that since most of the work at the ferry “looked good,” John Doyle Lee and his wife Rachel and sons had to leave to work another new ranch.

Emma Batchelor Lee wondered what would happen to little Belle. Emma already had three little girls, but “Aunt” Rachel only had Amorah, and they asked Belle if she wanted to go live with Aunt Rachel.  So it was arranged, and little Belle went to live with Aunt Rachel.  They moved to Moabi, Arizona.  Belle would remain a member of that family until her marriage.

Their Moabi home was located near a spring, and the water was used to irrigate a portion of the tillable land and for domestic uses.  This Moabi home and spring was known throughout Utah and Northern Arizona as a stop for travelers going to and from each place as a place of hospitality.

Belle remembers that on their Moabi farm they milked a number of cows and made cheese and butter.  They also raised vegetables of different kinds.  Travelers were supplied with what they needed, whether they could afford them or not.

Belle’s Father was a man of discipline.  Each child was given their separate duties, and were taught and expected to fulfill those duties.  Though strict, he was a very kind and loving father, and in return, he was loved and respected by all his children.

One task she recalled was with regard to gardening.  They raised small white navy beans which they would shell out as soon as they were ripe into pint jars.  It was the younger children’s responsibility to pick up one pint of beans in the morning and one pint in the afternoon.  Joseph Willard and Belle were near the same age, and he didn’t care to do as he was expected.  Joseph Willard would play or find another excuse for not doing his share until Belle finished.  Rather than see him punished, Belle would help him against the protest of others.

Belle recalls that they were in great danger living in Moabi, as there were three tribes of Indians living nearby.  Two of the tribes, the Navajos and the Utes, were very savage.  The Oarabi (or Moquis) were friendly and civilized.  A son of the Navajo Chief had been killed by some prospectors in Southern Utah, and this aroused their hostility to the pitch of war.  One of their traditions was to kill one of the offenders as they saw fit, so they turned on the White people for revenge.

There was an old prospector named Boran living with them at the time who was afflicted with a white swelling on his leg and was bedfast.  The Navajos knew this, and the Chief came with ten of his warriors and wanted them to give them Boran so they could torture and kill him as they pleased, to pay the price of their man.  Belle’s Father said, “No, we will all die together.”  Belle was afraid they would torture all of them, so they prepared to defend themselves as best they could.  They piled all their firearms and ammunition on a table and made ready to fight.  The Chief argued with her Father for some time, and when he saw that they would not give up, he laughed and said we were afraid.  He commanded his warriors to dismount with him and asked that they smoke the peace pipe together.  Not using tobacco at all, Father sent Ralph (who did smoke) out to smoke with them.  This was a sign to all that peace could be had, and they were firm and true thereafter.

While in Moabi they became friends with some of the Indians. Tuby, the old Indian Chief of the Oaribi tribe was one of the first Indians to join the Church.  He and his wife Kalashnimki (Cocheniman) were baptized during President Young’s time.  The old Chief was very religious.

His wife Kalashnimki’s name was changed to Cocheniman due to a tradition of the Indians.  If by accident one lost a finger, an eye, or any part of their body, their names were changed.  It so happened that she had lost a finger, which is the reason her name was changed.

Many times the Chief and his wife ate at their house, and Belle was glad that theyhad came.  It was a great novelty to the children to have a Chief in your home.  They were very kind-hearted people, and his wife was like a mother to Belle.  Belle stated, "Being left without my own mother, she always brought me some small token for which I was so grateful. I, as all other pioneer children, had but very few toys and luxuries. It was the joy of my heart to see the old lady come."

Belle’s last remembrance of her father was when she was a little past seven years of age when he went back to Utah.  He was embracing and bidding all goodbye. “When it came to me, I was not there. They found me, with my small roll of worn quilts and clothes which I had gathered together, huddled in a corner of the wagon ready to go along, and oh, how my heart was broken when Father told me I could not go. He kissed me and put me and my belongings out. I cried until I cried myself to sleep, and when I woke up I was still crying." 

Belle was baptized into the LDS Church when she was eight years old.  She was baptized by Brother Joseph, who was in charge of their small Sunday School.  Belle remembers enjoying the Sunday School and that they all took much interest in it.

Later the family moved from Moabi to Snowflake Arizona, and from there to Springerville, Arizona, then on to the Gila Valley in Graham County, Arizona.  By this time Belle had reached the age of 12.

Belle married George Lumpkin Morris when she is 14, who was also a member of the LDS Church.  Their wedding date was recorded as 3 February 1883, in Safford, Graham, Arizona.  George was born 20 Mar 1853 in Calhoun, Gordon, Georgia, son of Gad Morris and Elizabeth Wanslee.  She became the mother of seven children, of which she raised five to maturity (two were buried in infancy).  She took pride that all five of her remaining children were all married and had taken upon themselves the duty of raising families of their own.

In 1904 she made a trip to Idaho and there found her own mother and two brothers, James and Albert.  It was a great rejoicing to renew their love after thirty-five years of being separated, and "thrown on the world to practically care for ourselves."

“During all my life from marriage I have tried to make myself useful to my fellowmen, especially in rendering service and comfort to the sick and afflicted, and caring for the dead.”

George died 15 Jan 1921 in Safford, Graham, Arizona, after suffering internal injuries from falling off the roof of a building.  Emma died some 24 years thereafter on 21 Nov 1945 in Gerber, Tehama, California.  (It is assumed she was living with her daughter Edith Morris Robinson prior to her death.)

Belle’s father, John Doyle Lee, was later executed by the U.S. Government on 23 March 1877, at Mountain Meadows, Washington, Utah, for his part in the Mountain Meadows Massacre.   Writer Juanita Brooks wrote that the descendants of John D. Lee were rejected, refused admittance to clubs, kept out of offices, and were never considered on the same social level as others.  Children in the lower grades could not join in the games at recess.


Belle was my Dad’s grandmother, and he too experienced a little of this ostricization.  He recalls being told:  “You are part of that Lee family – you have that bad Lee blood.”

Jirene


This history was written based on these sources:
(1) History of Merab Emma Lee, a descendant of John Doyle Lee, http://www.wadhome.org/lee/chapter_20.html

(2)  Emma Lee, by author Juanita Brooks, Copyright 1978, 1984, Utah State University Press, ISBN O-87421-121-2.
(3) Letter from Edna L. Brimhall to Louise Butler Morris May 24, 1958.  Ms. Brimhall indicated in the letter that the history was recorded on March 3, 1931, by Edith Morris Robinson, daughter of Emma Merab Lee, who was living in Gerber, California.  Edith recorded in 1931 that they had just located Belle’s brother, Samuel James, in Portland Oregon, whom Belle had not heard from in 12 years.  Samuel James was pleased to hear that they were trying to write some family history.  Edna also indicated she knew her Aunt Belle well.  She remembers that when her father died, Aunt Belle was there for them for a few days, and lived up to all that she had said about rendering service and comfort to people.  She was known far and wide for her services and good help.

Samuel Gordge - Drowning Myth or Death by Shark?

SAMUEL GORDGE: I had always been intrigued with this ancestor because I had always known from my genealogy that he tragically drowned on Christmas day in 1850 in Australia, after having emigrated from Wales with his wife Merab. Two children were born of that marriage -- one of them my great-grandmother Anne Gordge. She just so happened to be the 18th wife of John Doyle Lee, the "scapegoat" who was executed by the US Government for the Mountain Meadows Massacre in Utah. Of course I was interested in these infamous ancestors!
(Merab Hancock Gordge Phillips)

In 2001 I was playing on my computer with a relatively new search engine called "Google" and decided to google "Samuel Gordge." I also included the word "Australia," and up pops an article from the Newsletters of the Historical Society of S.A. (South Australia), from January of 2001, called: "A Mixture of Mystery and Murder," by Russell Smith. Hmmm -- Samuel Gordge -- mystery and .... murder?! I read on!

The article did indeed contain information of MY Samuel Gordge, as it referenced his wife "Merah" [sic]. It was not an article about the tragic drowning of my ancestor, but one of thievery and death by shark bite. Below is an excerpt (author cited numerous Australian historical newspaper articles and public records):

When the Overland Escort from the Victorian goldfields arrived in Adelaide on November 19th 1852, successfully delivering the largest consignment of gold to be brought into South Australia to that date (13,875 ounces), most Adelaideans were elated by the news. But one lady, Mrs. Merah Gordge of Hindmarsh, was shattered. The official notice gave the reason for the Escort's later-than-expected arrival --- there had been a delay at Wellington in the south-east as the police were absent down in the Coorong where three bodies had been found washed ashore from the wreck of the J. Lovett. Merah's husband Sam was the cook on the ship.

News of its stranding in Discovery Bay near Cape Northumberland on September 19th had reached Adelaide a few weeks earlier but the report had clearly stated that all the crew and passengers were safe and that they were actually making their way across country, heading towards Portland.
(Discovery Bay)

The J. Lovett, sometimes referred to as the Jane Lovett, was making its third voyage between Melbourne and Adelaide. On the previous trip in July, the passenger list had totaled fifty-four but on the fateful September voyage there were, thankfully, only three. Most of the available space was taken up with much-sought-after and therefore easily saleable goods, predominantly wine and spirits, drapery and clothing, tea, sugar and coffee. The cargo was valued at £5,100.

The night of September 19th was a wild one. A vicious current sweeps towards the shore along the dramatically rugged section of South Australia's coastline between the Victorian border and Carpenter’s Rocks. A tiring captain's error and poor conditions were regular companions in the region. Captain John Broadfoot of the J. Lovett made one error of judgement and the violent weather did the rest. The little ship was caught in the current and dragged through the darkness towards the rocks. Miraculously it passed through, around and over numerous dangerous reefs and finally crashed onto a beach, to remain sitting there high and dry in an upright position, relatively undamaged.

No-one was injured. Captain Broadfoot decided to remain with the ship and its extremely valuable cargo, along with some of the crew, while the three passengers and the remaining crew walked towards Portland in the hope of locating a station property and somehow getting word of the disaster to the ship's agents in either Melbourne or Adelaide.

Five crewmen stayed with the captain, but not for long. Mate John Phillips, steward Thomas Pilkington, cook Samuel Gordge and seamen Henry Scott and George Foot saw an opportunity. They simply took one of the lifeboats, loaded it with wine and spirits and left the captain alone to fend for himself. No doubt the deserters gambled on reaching Port Adelaide in the open boat, quietly selling the grog and disappearing with the proceeds, but that was a fatal mistake.

A few days later, somewhere near Salt Creek, a group of natives made the gruesome discovery of the remains of a shark-mangled, headless body of a white man, dumped on the beach by the pounding surf. They buried the body in the sandhills, marking the location with driftwood and then continued on their way along the beach in a northerly direction. Two miles distant they found another two bodies and gave them a similar burial. Further along the beach there was a happier discovery --- an upturned lifeboat.

This they managed to maneuver across the sandhills to the quiet waters of the Coorong. A landholder named Robinson saw the natives in the boat and commandeered it. They told him about the bodies on the beach and he immediately sent details of the mysterious disaster to the police stationed at Wellington.

News of the stranding had already arrived in Wellington and it was assumed that the unfortunates found near Salt Creek must have been from that vessel. George Mason, Sub-protector of Aborigines, along with Mounted Constable Hall, promptly left for the scene. It was during their absence that the Gold Escort reached Wellington and via that news of the bodies on the beach was taken on to Adelaide and subsequently to Mrs. Gordge. The distraught wife of the ship's cook was to wait some time before it was eventually confirmed that her husband was indeed one of the victims.

Samuel Gordge did drown but not on Christmas Day in 1850. He drowned or was killed by a shark sometime between September 19, 1852 and November 19, 1852, following his looting of some of the J. Lovett's bootie!

Epilogue: I will be posting several original documents I received from Russell Smith of his generous research of our Gordge family following the publishing of his article. Thank you Mr. Smith for your assistance in exposing a family myth!

5/2/2010 update:  I've uploaded a copy of this article to my Google Docs (since it is no longer available for search on the internet).

John Doyle Lee Farm - New Harmony, Utah

The John Doyle Lee Farm in New Harmony, Utah. What a beautiful setting!