The Minor Family of Somerset

REFN: 17CB-WN
12 children
In response to the request for me to give you a short sketch o
f this branch of the Park Family from the time of their arriva
linto the valley of Salt Lake, embracing as it does, over a hal
f century, I find it somewhat difficult as I must seek my inform
ation almost entirely from memory.
I was a little over four years old when our family arrived in Sa
lt Lake Valley in Sept 1847, the first year of the colonizing o
f Utah. We came inpresident John Taylor's company. My father'
s family consisted of our fatherJohn Park, our mother Louisa S
. Park, and four girls, Jane, Mary, Marion, and Louisa. Soon af
ter our arrival, Father built a log cabin on the old Fort Squar
e now known as pioneer square, Salt Lake City. Prior to this w
e livedin two wagons we had crossed the plains in, and in storm
y weahter we had a very uncomfortable time for a family of smal
l children. the houses were builtof logs chiefly, and so arran
ged that they all faced the center of the Square. Sister Sophi
e Taylor, wife of President Taylor taught school in the old fort
, where Jane the eldest child attended. Our Oxen and cows tha
t we brought across the plains were compelled to subsist on wha
t they could find to eaton the dry domain of the sterile soil
. We had little to subsist upon ourselves, being but poorly pro
visioned for the long dreary time that elapsed beforethe time w
hen we could get supplies, and that was after we had raised the
mfrom the sterile soil. Many of the people lived upon very sho
rt rations, and in very many instances had to make us of thistl
e roots, segoes and other things to help out the living; and a r
athr poor one at that. And to make matters worse, the Indians w
ho were very numerous, became troublesome and annoyingand did n
ot scruple to drive off the stock of the settlers. so that betw
een the raids of the red men and the ravages of the crickets upo
n the meger crop of the settlers, the outlook for the permanen
t settlement of the valley looked very gloomy indeed. during th
e second year of the settlement, which wasin 1848, to all appre
arances there was no probabbility of any crop being raised on ac
count of the emense swarms of large black crickets that would ea
teverything that the settlers had planted and all the efforts o
f the people tosave their crops were unavailaing. Nothing bu
t the hand of providence couldhave prevented the colony from be
ing entirely annihilated. The story has often been told how th
e gulls came and ate up the crickets and thus permitted the colo
ny to survive. After living in the olf Fort in Salt Lake city f
or two years, my father was called in connection with others t
o settle on the Provo river, and though some of our oxen had bee
n stolen and driven off by the Indians, in Salt Lake Valley, m
y father succeeded in getting his family movedto this place. H
ere again he built a log cabin in the fort, that was then erecte
d to protect the people from being wiped out by the Indians. th
ese were trying times as it became necessary for the men to do s
ervi ce in fightingIndians and in standing guard to protect th
e women and children, and their cattle that they had brought wit
h them, in addition to having to build houses for the shelter o
f their families, and in subdueing the soil, and bringing wate
r upon it. the number of available men was quite small. Afte
r the errection of the old Fort, for some cause it was decided t
o move the location of the settlement onto highter ground, and a
nother fort was built on the North side of the present city, kno
wn now as old adobe yards.
The twin boys, Williamand John, were born at the old fort, an
d first fort Provo, and here is wheresister jane and myself com
menced our family cares. Jane had the care of William and I ha
d the care of john. Jane being the eldest of the family had th
e labors of the house to attend to, and I being t