Thoughts and stories, by Pal

Two delightful articles pertinent to Martin Luther King Day, which we celebrate as a national holiday are below.  We have many good friends of all races, and religions, and were taught to love all men.   My great grandfather, Haden Wells Church, an original pioneer of St. George brought a black friend back from his mission in Tennessee in the 1870's, and he lived in St. George a few years, and then went back to Tennessee when Haden went back on another mission.  They were lifelong friends!   Ruby Bridges’ Ordinary Answer to an Extraordinary Problem By Michael K. Erickson  · January 17, 2016, in Meridian Magazine Norman Rockwell had extraordinary talent for painting the ordinary moments of American life. Many of his best-loved works are currently on display at the  BYU Museum of Art through February 13th . As the exhibit’s title “American Chronicles” suggests, the collection is a window into America’s past, even more s...

Haden Wells Church continued:   (Most of this written by Pal's aunt Sarah Miles Wallace, -- a granddaughter of Haden and his wife Sarah, and the sister of Pal's brother Orson Pratt Miles -- Their mother was Paralee Amanda Church.)  Sarah Ann is fondly remembered in Pioneer Dixie as one of the special mid-wife doctors.  Her skills and services in this critically needed specialty are mentioned many times in the early historical records.  She received some of her training under Loudice Perkins.  The mid-wives and nurses were set apart to serve in this area.   "A general use of herbs and medicinal teas were used by all.  Among them would be found Yarrow, Tansy, Slippery-Elm, Spearmint, Catnip, Peppermint.  Sulphur and molasses were used and given as a spring tonic, and also for skin sores.  Poultices of bacon and black pepper were used for sore throats.  Warm olive oil was used for earache.  Pine gum was the regular resort for "draw...

I wrote about my great-grandfather Haden Wells Church in blog # 23, last December 3, 2013. That was about the day the original pioneers arrived in St. George, Utah, and he was among their number.  In that blog there is a very brief history of his life.  In this entry, I will tell more details.  He was a great pioneer, and went on 5 missions, the last of which was in Tennessee, where he died of typhoid fever, and was buried next to his father, in his home town of Shady Grove, Tennessee. Haden was a member of the Mormon Battalion, and this story begins with their arrival back in the Salt Lake Valley on July 27 or 29th, right after the very first company arrived with Brigham Young, when he said "This is the place!"  The battalion members were listed as being mustered-out of the army on July 16th since their year's enlistment ended on that date.       Little is known of Sarah Ann and her baby, Hyrum , before they were reunited. But it is kn...

              HADEN WELLS CHURCH, AND SARAH ANN ARTERBURY A brief history of these ancestors was first told in entry # 23, on Dec. 3, 2013      The enticements of new land and adventure probably encouraged newly married Abraham and Polly (Mary Jane) Emmons Church to leave home in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina and go westward about three hundred miles into Tennessee.  It was in their newly established home in Franklin, Williamson County, Tennessee, that their first child, Haden Wells, was born on August 29, 1817.  While living there, seven more children were added to the family.  Haden was well into his teen-age years when the family moved a few miles westward to Shady Grove, Hickman County, where the ninth and last child, Charles Houston Church, was born.      The new home was near the Duck River and also close to the Natchez Trace which was the main travel route between Na...