Peter Shirts
The following information about Peter Shirts was compiled by Linda Joy Dame Wheeler:
1850
Discovered a spring while going through Lehi, Utah on his way to San Juan.
Book page 19 – Lehi Centennial History 1850-1950
“In the fall of 1850, Peter Shirts had found a spring east of the fort (2nd South 1st
West) near the lake (Utah) and spent the winter there.
Abraham Lossee and his family, who arrived some time later, selected a place a
short distance north of the Shirts, and dug a well to procure water, which undoubtedly
was the first ‘well’ in this region.”
(This spring is directly south of Fifth West Street on land now owned by Andrew
Bjrring Anderson)
A.B. Anderson was living in a nursing home prior to his death in 1962.
Margaret Ann Griffith Hansen, wife of Len Hansen (Spanish Fork, Utah) wanted
any information that could be found concerning Peter Shirts.
I, Linda Dame Wheeler purchased in 1962 a Lehi Centennial History 1850-1950; In early
1963 the Church News Section of Deseret News carried an article for people wanting
information concerning ancestors from genealogy.
Amelia Deuel Smith, wife of Albert Earl Smith living in Panguitch, Utah wanted
any information and dates on Ann Kelly, wife of Daniel Cameron.
Reunion of 1966 – Griffith Family held at Saratoga in Lehi, Utah brought a little
information. I, Linda Dame Wheeler acquired from Jack Spendlove and have sent some
“dates” to Amelia Deuel Smith in Panguitch.
Have collected or found a number of articles and small histories from Library
books mentioning Peter Shirts, a Great, Great, Great Grandfather.
Jacob Hamblin
Book 1854 (by Paul Bailey)
Jacob Hamblin’s full assignment by Elder R.C. Allen was a preaching and
exploring journey into the little known mountain country east of New Harmony swinging
south from Fish Lake and from there crossing the barrier again into the Santa Clara.
In charge of the trip was David Lewis, whose companions beside Jacob Hamblin,
were Peter Shirts, Samuel Atwood, and Augustus P. Hardy – they left on horseback from
Harmony on the 15 of October 1854.
The first week of November 1854 found the missionaries lost and after much
rebellion and grumbling, Peter Shirts gave up and said, “We’ve been wandering in these
mountains long enough, I’m hunting my own way to the lake.”
A meeting was called and David Lewis was voted against being leader, Jacob
Hamblin was installed in David’s place. Within one day they found the Fish Lake and an
hour later after they had settled camp, Peter rode in.
While on this mission tract some Indians were met and they wanted to sell a
stolen Indian boy age 6 to the group of Mormon Missionaries.
Jacob agreed to buy the boy and gave his gun, a blanket, and ammunition to the
Indians for the boy.
The brethren thought this very foolish, “the more you buy, the more they’ll sell”
warned Peter Shirts; “It’s a business they have been working at a hundred years.”
1854-56
While at Harmony, and ill with a cold, Jacob Hamblin attended the wedding of
the oldest son of Peter Shirts – (George Washington Shirts/Elizabeth Williams)
This wedding was the first real social affair within the lonely mission, attended by
most of the Saints.
The next day Jacob Hamblin’s cold had traveled to his chest and he was in bed for
10 days. Doctor Priddy Meeks came up from Parowan, dosed Jacob well with Lobelia
and cayenne pepper.
Book – Saint and Savage
1855 by Helen Ray Gibbons
A large number of new missionaries (workers) were called to Cedar City in 1855
including Andrew Gibbons, and there was plenty of work for them to do: mining,
building, masonry, digging coal, serving as fireman, farmers, laborers and road builders.
It was a cold rugged land but the Mormons were determined and by 1855 Peter
Shirts and others were beginning to have a little success in their efforts to “smelt iron
ore.” (History of the Cedar City Ward – Parowan Stake 1855 manuscript in church
Historian’s office, Salt Lake City, Utah.)
Book – The Mountain Meadow Massacre
1858 (Told to Benjamin Platte by Don Carlos Shirts)
John D. Lee refused to help fight the Mormons, Captain Gunnison had been
killed, but on a Saturday night – John D. Lee went to Cedar City, got his horses and came
back with the Indians to commence the assult.
While living at a ranch owned by Jacob Hamblin, Don Carlos Shirts talked with
several Emigrant on Friday 1858, told them of a place to bed down; Saturday they said
company was missing some horses and mules.
Monday Morning, Don Carlos heard shots ringing but never went to investigate
them nor report them. (Don Carlos Shirts was born in 1836, age in 1858 was 22 years
old.)
Book – Hole in the Rock
1877-1879 David E. Miller
Over 200 people were among the explorers, no accurate account or list of the real
personnel in the part, has been known.
Peter Shirts had formerly been a pioneer in the southern Utah area and was
acquainted with some of the explorers. He had gone to the San Juan area during 1877,
had built a cabin at the mouth of Montezuma Creek, and was employed in hunting,
trapping, fishing, and farming.
He was the only Mormon living along the lower San Juan when the scouts
arrived. He is said to have been much interested in the History of the Conquest of Mexico
and to have given the name “Montezuma” to the stream on which he chose to settle. (San
Juan Stake History).
(The San Juan Stake History account states that the exploring company reached
the San Juan River on 31 May 1879.)
18 May 1879
Camped 5 or 6 miles from the San Juan River at a small spring. After breakfast
George Urie and myself, (Nielson B. Dolley) took our fishlines and walked on ahead of
the teams and wagons and had a mess of fish for dinner. We pitched our camp on the
south side of the river for two days.
The same evening we arrived, Robert Bullock went up the river about a mile to
where Peter Shirts was camped, being an old acquaintance of his, and borrowed a canoe
which Peter had made to cross the river back and forth – the river being quite high.
We wanted to locate a place where we could ford the river to locate a permanent
camp for summer.
Brother Bullock had some rough experiences coming down, not paying much
attention to where he was going, the current took him under some fallen trees and skinned
his face.
Monday 2 June 1879
The camp crossed the river safely by raising the wagon boxes on the bolsters; they
found the current very swift. Later in the day Silas S. Smith went 4 miles to the camp of
Peter Shirts who lived in a cabin at the mouth of the Montezuma Wash – 5 ½ miles below
Mitchells camp at the McElmo wash.
Tuesday 3 June 1879
Silas S. Smith went up to examine the Mitchell ditch; he found the men
discouraged; they had decided to give up their crops, unless the explorers who had come
with Brother Smith would help them to get out the water. (Peter Shirts was laboring in
conjunction with the Mitchells.)
George B. Hobbs (quoted)
“It was Christmas day 1879 which found us on the side of Elk Mountain without
food in the midst of piercing cold and not a mountain in sight that I could recognize.”
30 December 1879
What to do for supplies, to return we did not know, as none could be bought and
the nearest market was 125 miles further east. Flour was selling there 80 dollars per
hundred. While wondering what to do, we saw a trapper passing the fort.
Going out and accosting him we found he was loaded with 2 burros with beaver
skins, also a sack of flour. After arguing with him and persuading him we finally got him
to let us have a 48 pound sack of flour for 20 dollars;
(according to James M. Pedd, son of Lemuel H. (*25) Redd, the man who sold
them the flour was Peter Shirts)
This was all the provisions that we were able to obtain.
*25 – This notation is in the original draft.
Four Scouts Explore:
Left Parowan – 14 April 1879
30 head cattle – 10 head loose horses
Platte D. Lyman, George W. Levy, Lemuel H. Redd, George Morrell, George B.
Hobbs, previous account of “scout explorers” was given by George B. Hobbs, who was
the only member of the scouts that could remember the experiences which occurred.
A Short Story
Written for Linda to use as a 2 ½ minute talk in Sunday School about an ancestor; by
Margaret Ann Griffith Hansen (written 1950-1957 for Linda Joy Dame Wheeler)
1859
When my Great, Great Grandmother was 10 years old she lived with her father
and stepmother and 2 little half sisters in a lonely cabin a long ways from a place called
“New Harmony” Utah.
Her father left one day in the fall of the year to go to New Harmony for the winter
supplies. The day after he left it started to snow. And it snowed for 3 or four days.
It got so high that it came right up to the top of the door to the cabin. Her father
couldn’t get back to them when he expected to and finally all their food was gone and all
the wood to keep a fire.
They thought they would surely die of cold and hunger. They kept standing on a
stool and trying to look over the snow from the door to see if their father was coming;
One morning my grandmother was looking out and she saw an Indian coming on snow
shoes.
She was so afraid and she ran and told her mother. Her mother said, “We have no
smoke coming out of our chimney so maybe he will go on by. But the Indian came to the
door and poked it with a stick and then called to them saying,
“Great Spirit told me to come to Pie Cum She’s home, that Pie Cum She’s squaw
and papoose were starving.” (Pie Cum She was what the Indians called my Great, Great,
Great Grandfather – Peter Shirts)
The Indian told them to open the door and he would feed them and make a fire.
They opened the door and he came in. He had a sack with biscuits and small potatoes.
He went outside and gathered limbs from trees and made a fire, Then he got snow
and melted it and gave them hot water to drink until he had the potatoes cooked.
Then he left saying he would be back the next day with more wood and bread. He
did this and the second day after that the storm had broken and Grandfather Shirts got
home to them and all was happiness once more.
ABOUT THE PETER SHIRTS FAMILY
By Florence Morgan McDonald (Married into the McDonald/Shirts family)
The Shirts (or Schertz or Shurtz) first came to the United States of America in about
1710, migrating from the Palatine region in Germany, along with thousands of other
refugees.
They landed in New York. After a while, some of the family moved to New Jersey and
Pennsylvania.
Peter Shirts was born August 23, 1808, at St. Clair, Ohio. His parents resided at Nauvoo,
Illinois. (I question this statement. Maureen Miller) He came to Utah on August 1, 1850
by oxteam company.
Peter and Margaret Cameron Shirts had four sons – George Washington, King Darius,
Moroni, and Don Carlos; and three daughters – Sariah Jane, Sarah Ann, and Elizabeth
Ann.
Peter Shirts was one of the leaders of the Nauvoo Legion. He helped to build the Nauvoo
Temple and was closely associated with Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, and other leaders
of the Church.
An interesting record from Iowa outlines his leadership in the Church before he moved to
Utah:
SHIRTS’ES BRANCH
F Iowa . 2
4 June, 1848
Be it known that this day and after:
We, the members of the Church of LDS being located in Pottawattamie County and about
18 miles N. of Kanesville and remote from other branches of the Church, have met
together this day and organized ourselves as follows:
As a branch called “Shirts’es Branch.” And after opening meeting in the usual order,
proceeded and nominated Bro. Thomas Smith as President of said branch, which was a
unanimous vote.
Brother Peter Shirts was in the same way appointed as 1st councilor and Bro. Wm
Neiswander 2nd councilor and Willis Born clerk for said branch and Bro. Tomas Rof
priest for said branch. And Wm W Smith teacher for said branch. Accordingly the
appointees of the branch met and resolved that on next Sabbath, we partake of the Lord’s
Supper and continue the same every 4 weeks.
This branch consists of 3 High Priests. Namely: James A Smith (gone to the valley),
Willium Neiswanger, and William Batson.
Seventies: Thomas A Smith, Wm Boren, Peter Shirts, Wm W Smith (gone to the valley),
Thomas Rof, Bro. Garrett, Wm Mikesel (moved off), James H Heath, John Radford.
List of Male Members – Among others, Peter Shirts. List of Female members – Among
others, Margaret Shirts. Children over 8 – George Shirts, Darius Shirts, Con C Shirts,
Sariah Shirts and others. Children baptized 2 July 1848 by Thomas Smith – Sariah
Shirts, Darius Shirts. Blessed by Peter Shirts 1 Oct 1848 – John Wm Smith, Thomas
Reynolds.
Mary E Adams, Genealogist,
Historian for Shirts Organization
Peter Shirts and his family started across the Plains to Utah in February 1849. On the
way his wife, Margaret, died and was buried on the banks of the Platte River. He was left
with five children to care for. Elizabeth Ann was only a year old.
When he arrived in Salt Lake, Brigham Young advised him to get married, for he needed
a mother to care for his children. This he did.
Peter was a guide and scout for the Church and was appointed by Brigham Young to
locate different parts of the country suitable for settlement and where agriculture was
good. He was always being called away for exploration trips by Brigham Young.
Peter Shirts discovered Iron Mountain and he was in the company that went to Parowan
in 1850-51 and was sent to scout out settlements for the people. He seemed to know
what to look for.
Grandma McDonald (Elizabeth Ann Shirts McDonald) told me what happened once
when her father (Peter Shirts) was gone to bring in some emigrants. The family lived in
the Southern part of Utah. The weather was bitter cold and there was no fuel, so the
mother and children had to stay in bed to keep warm.
One morning a loud knock was heard. The family was frightened. A voice said,
“Piecomish Squaw, Big Spirit say you cold. Me bring wood. Open door; me no hurt.”
The mother took courage and opened the door. The Indian brought wood to last them
until father came home.
An interesting record shows that Peter Shirts assisted in surveying Las Vegas, without
instruments, in pioneer days.
Matthias Shirts, an uncle of Peter Shirts, fought in the Revolutionary War. He was born
in New York, then moved to Pennsylvania, then to Ohio.
Peter Shirts had a very hard time trying to provide for his children among all the trials he
had and the things he had to do.
One winter he was marooned at Fort Harmony, a place on the Paria, east of Kanab.
The following excerpt from Heart Throbs of the West tells an interesting story of Fort
Harmony and the role played by the Shirts’ in that section:
MISSIONARY WORK AMONG THE INDIANS
Santa Clara Mission
Volume 1
Heart Throbs
of the West
The little town of Fort Harmony was established in the year 1852. And the men of that
district labored among the Indians of surrounding villages as missionaries.
In July 1854 the 1st, ten specially called men started south, under the direction of Rufus
C. Allen, to labor among the Lamanites. (They first visited among the Piutes; there were
about two hundred fifty camped on the bank of the Santa Clara River.) They met Chief
Toquer and his friendly band and after preaching them, baptized eleven, which others
afterwards applied for the same rites. Don Carlos Shurtz is here as an interpreter. Also
Peter Shurtz, his father, and George W. Shurtz.
The following is a part of a letter written by President W. R. Palmer of Cedar City to
Hattie Thornton Snow, which shows that other missionaries soon joined the original ten.
Quote: The Southern Mission to the Lamanites is one of the very interesting Mormon
stories that has ever been told, so far as I know and I am glad that you, a daughter of one
of those missionaries, are interesting yourself in it. These men it seems were not
journalists and very few records were ever made of their labors. It is too bad that they
were not all carefully interviewed before they passed on, for no mission ever attempted
by our people called for more faith and courage and devotion than going out among the
savages of that day.
The records show that in the Spring of 1854 a company of fifty men under command of
Rufus Allen, an old Mormon Battalion man, were sent down to strengthen the southern
settlement. The company was organized in Salt Lake by Orson Hyde and Parley P. Pratt.
John D. Lee writes that twenty-three of these men were missionaries, came to Fort
Harmony and made their headquarters there. I cannot identify all of these twenty-three
men, but these I am sure were there: R C Allen, J Murdock, A G Thornton, Benjamin
Knell, David W Tullis, Thales Haskell, Ira Hatch, Prime Coleman, Dudley Leavitt,
William Hamblin, Jacob Hamblin, Samuel Knight, James Pierce, etc. A year or two later
the following men are encountered among the Indian missionaries and some of them
distinguished themselves among the Indians. Among these were Peter Shirts and Don
Carlos Shirts.
In the year 1858, President Young wrote to Jacob Hamblin, giving instruction for him to
take a picked group to visit the Moquis on the east side of the Colorado River. On their
way to the village they contacted Piutes, Kaibobs, and other tribes. On reaching the
villages of the Moquis, they found them to be a very high type of Indians, living in
houses upon the cliffs. Many of the families had gardens and flocks of sheep. Here part
of the brethren remained to study their customs, learn the language and offer them the
gospel. Jacob Hamblin and others returned to their home.
Comments by Mary E Adams about the Indian Mission as recorded by Thomas D Brown,
recorder for the Southern Indian Mission. He records that on Sunday 14 May 1854,
Brother Groves spoke through George Shirts, interpreter to the Indians. On 25 May 1854
he records: Fine weather continued. D Lewis, S F Attwood, I Riddle, Ira Hatch, and
Carlos Shirts started this morning from camp to go south and visit the Indians, Toquer
and his band.
Indian Mission by Thomas D. Brown: Piede Indians were going to steal children from
neighboring Indian tribes and fight them to sell them to the Mexicans, but through his
son, King Darius Shirts, Peter pleaded eloquently for them to desist and they were
subdued.
Mrs. Mary E Adams
Genealogist and Historian
For Shurtz, Shirts Organization
222 East 3rd South
St. George, Utah
THE BAPTISM OF PETER SHIRTS
Morris A. Shirts
1974
The baptism of Peter Shirts is an interesting story as told in an article in the Utah
Historical Quarterly, “The Biography of Lorenzo Dow Young.” However, it raises two
important questions: (1) Where was Peter baptized? And (2) When was Peter baptized?
The biographer could have been guessing at some of the dates, or he might had made
mistakes in recording them as is often done when reading old diaries. And analysis of the
original material from which the biography was written might shed some light on these
problems, but accepting it as it is and checking other sources of information including a
visit to the location, some general conclusions can be reached.
The Location of Peter’s Baptism: To identify this, we have to retrace the voyage
of Lorenzo Young. This began in New York, the home of the Youngs. Lorenzo and his
brother Phineas had joined the church and had the burning desire to move west to
Missouri. This might seem strange, since the church was headquartered in Kirtland, Ohio
which was between New York and Missouri. Why then, did they want to go to Missouri?
A footnote in the Quarterly article tells us. Joseph Smith had given the revelation in the
57th section of the Doctrine and Covenants stating that Missouri was “. . . the land of
promise and the place for the city of Zion. . . “ Joseph Smith himself spent the summer
of 1831 making plans for the establishment of the church there. So the Youngs were
headed for Missouri, the gathering place of the Saints. The easiest way to get there was
to go by boat down the Ohio river, to Cincinnati then overland to Missouri, or to continue
down stream to the Mississippi, then follow it to Missouri.
To begin this journey, they had to start down the Allegheny river, which heads in
northwestern Pennsylvania, runs north-northwest through the southwest corner of New
York, then runs south-southwest through western Pennsylvania to Pittsburgh. . . a
distance of about 200 miles.
In November, 1831, seven families began this trip in three crude boats they had
built themselves. This included the families of Lorenzo and Phineas Young, Daniel and
Potter Bowen, Joel Sanford (a brother-in-law to the Youngs), Lyman Leonard from
Canada, and one other family whose name is not recorded. They entered the waters of
the Allegheny at Olean Point, in Southwestern New York, and after three weeks of
camping on the river, pushing the boats off sandbars, docking, and fighting to keep warm
in the cold November waters of the river, they arrived in Pittsburgh cold, wet, sick, and
broke. For reasons of health, weather, and economics, they decided to stay the winter in
Pittsburgh, and rented a house near the river bank from a Mr. William Harris, who had
been recently baptized into the church. He gave them permission to use one large room
in the house for church meetings and many came to hear them preach. During the winter
months they baptized some 30 people and by the Spring of 1832, when Sidney Rigdon
visited them on his way through the area, he advised them to organize a Branch of the
Church. Shortly after that, the Branch unanimously voted to send Lorenzo back to New
York on a mission. This was an unusual mission “Call” since it evidently didn’t come
from official church sources. It might have been prompted by a desire to get more of
their New York friends and families to accompany them to Missouri. In any event,
Lorenzo accepted the “Call”, and in April, 1832 departed for the long trip back to New
York. The account says he spent the summer preaching the Gospel so we have to assume
that this is the Summer of 1832. His father sold some of his property in Mendon, New
York to help finance the work of the Elders and to move his family to Missouri.
However, his wife, with small children from a previous marriage, and some by John,
refused to go. John left here there and went with Lorenzo back to Pittsburgh. She later
joined them in Kirtland.
Things had apparently improved with the Youngs in Pittsburgh, as upon his
return, Lorenzo and Phineas purchased a boat to continue their journey down the river.
At Pittsburgh, the Allegheny and the Monongahela Rivers converge to form the Ohio
River which flows northwest then west for about 35 miles where it enters the state of
Ohio, about 5 or 6 miles around East Liverpool, Ohio. The account of this phase of their
journey is skimpy as I don’t think they had time to record anything of any great
significance, except one incident. They had a horse and carriage traveling parallel with
the boat along the river bank. He was un-shod and evidently become foot-sore and they
stopped, as the account says “ . . . about 10 miles above Beardstown. . . “This would
have been at a place large enough to have a blacksmith, and near an area well enough
established to have grain crops which needed hired hands. Since they threshed the grain
on the wooden floors of the barns, the farmers had to be rather well-to-do, or at least had
good barns, such as the “Pennsylvania Dutch” used. The Shirts family was of this
tradition, and could have learned about the Youngs at this point, however, as section 19
deeded to Michael Shirts is not far from the Ohio River. However, the account leads us
to believe otherwise. This stopping place could have been in the area of Midland,
Pennsylvania. Lorenzo obtained permission to use a blacksmith shop to make shoes for
the horse. In the process, the head came off the handle of the sledge hammer, crushing
Lorenzo’s foot. They evidently anticipated a delay because of this, and accepted offers
of employment from a farmer who needed 12 acres of grain cut and threshed. Phineas
gave out on the second day, and the father, because of his age, was of little help.
Lorenzo, and probably the older children, had to finish the harvesting job. This
experience establishes the time of year, as grain is only harvested in the Fall. It was early
Fall, because Lorenzo suffered terribly from his foot and the excessive heat. If he spent
only the Summer of 1832 preaching in New York, this would place the date as late
August or early September, 1832.
Guessing that it might have taken him a week or perhaps two to cut the grain and
flail it on the wooden floor of the barn, they probably resumed their journey down the
river perhaps as early as the middle of August. By the time they reached “Beardstrown,”
Persis, wife of Lorenzo, was very ill, so they decided to stay “indefinitely” at
Beardstown. Where was “Beardstown”? There is no such place listed for the State of
Ohio. Mary Adams found a post office listed at “Bairdstown,” Woods County, Ohio.
This is diagonally across the state to the Northwest, near Toledo, and too far from the
Ohio River to be the place. Lorenzo thought he could provide for his family better inland
and moved to a place he called, “West Union,” five miles from Beardstown. There is
currently a “West Union” in Adams County, just east of Cincinnati and it is about five
miles from the river, but it is 250 miles down stream from Pittsburgh and nothing is
recorded in the account of any incidents that should have happened in a journey of that
length. Besides, had they been that close to Missouri, it would have made more sense of
John and Phineas to go on to Missouri than to travel to Kirtland, Ohio, which they did.
Kirtland would have been only about 100 miles away from them if they were docked on
the river about where East Liverpool is located. Since it looked like Lorenzo and his
family would have to stay in “Beardstown” for the winter, I think John and Phineas
decided to go to Kirtland, rather than wait out the winter at Beardstown then continue the
journey to Missouri in the spring. Joseph Smith and the Saints were only 100 miles
away, in Kirtland.
In searching the records in the Engineers office at the Columbiana County
Courthouse in Lisbon, I mentioned the name of “West Union” to Bryant Cox, the longest
tenured member of the Engineers staff. He remarked that he thought he remembered
seeing the name of “West Union” on an old map somewhere. He began a search, and
found an old plate which showed “West Union” about five miles from the river. I also
ran across a reference in the History of Columbiana County, which stated that Michael
Shirts and William Foulks laid out a townsite called “West Union” in 1810 and that it
was later changed to “Nineveh” because of its wickedness and then later to “Calcutta.”
No reason was given for the name Calcutta. But Calcutta is still in existence today and is
about 5 miles from the river. So this evidence adds credence to the belief that
“Beardstown” was somewhere near East Liverpool. It couldn’t have been farther south,
unless it was near Wellsville, as the Shirts family was not that far south. They did have
property in Wellsville, but that was more than five miles from Calcutta. It might have
been a little further up the river from East Liverpool as there were considerable Shirts’
land holdings there around section 14 and 15, but the river turns eastward just above East
Liverpool which would make Calcutta more than five miles from the river.
It is obvious that the name of “Beardstown” has been changed. It was large
enough to be of some significance in 1832. It might have been changed to “East
Liverpool.” The Liverpool township was not created until 1834. The area was still part
of St. Clair Township until that date, at which time the bottom row of sections 31 – 36
were taken from St. Clair Township, added to section 5 of another township to create
Liverpool Township, in which East Liverpool is located. East Liverpool is in a
commanding location on a gentle curve of the Ohio River. This is where the toll bridge
crosses the Ohio River from Chester, West Virginia. There is a landing there today of
some significance. It is an ideal spot for a landing, and could easily have been the
location of “Beardstown.”
Another bit of evidence to support this belief, is the location of the property of
Peter and Margaret Shirts in East Liverpool. They bought this property early in 1833 and
it was called “East Liverpool” in the deeds, which takes some of the temper from the
argument. Why should it be called “East Liverpool” in the deeds and “Beardstown” in
the Young account? Be that as it may, Peter’s property was only 100 yards from the
riverbank. It consisted of three 60 x 130 ft. lots in the “Simms” addition. Lot 151, lot
155, and lot 147 are adjoining lots, bounded on the west by Jefferson street which runs
north and south and terminates at the river; and on the south by 3rd Avenue, which is the
main throughfare from the toll bridge.
The Young account states that after they tied up at “Beardstown,” the people came down
to the river to hear the “Mormons” preach and that after five days, some were baptized
including Isaac Hill and Peter Shirts. This would tell us that Peter didn’t live very far
away. He might have been visiting relative there, or he might hae been living futher
inland. Lisbon and the Shirts area in St. Clair Township, would only be 15 – 20 miles
distant. The inference from the account is that the people were from the immediate area.
If this is true, Peter and Margaret were among the group who “. . . came down to the river
. . . “ and were baptized. This could have been at the foot of Jefferson street just 100
yards from the Peter Shirts property.
Date of the Baptism of Peter Shirts. The family group sheets place the date of
baptism of Peter and Margaret Shirts at August 15, 1833. Lorenzo Young states that
Peter was one of those whom he baptized at “Beardstown.” Yet the account says that
Lorenzo followed his brother and father to Kirtland in March 1833 . . . five months
before Peter was baptized? This date is further verified by the account which has
Lorenzo accompanying Hyrum and Joseph Smith to a rock quarry at Kirtland in June,
1833, to examine building material for the Kirtland Temple. I don’t know where the
discrepancy is. Someone might have made a typographical error on Peter’s baptismal
date. It might have been August 15, 1832 rather than 1833. This is possible especially if
Lorenzo spent more than one summer on his mission in New York, which would place
his arrival at Beardstown in the fall of 1833 rather than 1832. However, this would make
his departure date for Kirtland wrong.
The facts as they are now known are these:
1. Peter’s baptism is placed at August 15, 1833.
2. Lorenzo Young claimed to have baptized him at Beardstown, probably in the
fall of 1832.
3. Peter and Margaret bought lots 151, and 155 from James Logan some time in
1833. The date has not been discovered in the deeds, but they bought lot 147
from him on March 29, 1833. These were adjoining lots to each other and
were probably purchased about the same time.
4. No mention has been found in the deeds of their having sold lot 147, but they
sold lot 151 to Phillip Cooper on June 21, 1833 and lot 155 to Samuel Logan
Jr., in November, 1833.
5. Peter and Margaret were in Kirtland one year later, as they had a son, Moroni,
born there on November 30, 1834.
6. According to traditions handed down in the family of John Shirts, Peter’s
brother, a great family argument developed when Peter joined the Mormons.
Conclusions: Were it not for the differences in the dates (Our record of his baptism on
August 15, 1833, and Young’s departure for Kirtland in March 1833) it would make a
great story, the summary of which might be something like this:
Sick and discouraged, Lorenzo Young and his family arrived at Beardstown,
Ohio, in the fall of 1832. The local residents, upon visiting them, learned they were
Mormons, and gathered at the riverside to hear them preach from their boat. This would
have included Peter and Margaret Shirts, whose home was just up the river bank a few
yards. Peter and Margaret were converted and baptized there, at the foot of Jefferson
Street in the Ohio River, a fact that caused a great argument with Peter’s family. An
argument so bitter that Peter and Margaret never saw the family again. This argument,
plus the strong desire of Peter and Margaret to see Joseph Smith, prompted them to sell
their choice property in East Liverpool after owning it for only a short time, and to follow
the Youngs and Isaac Hill to Kirtland. They bundled their belongings in a wagon, and in
the cold month of November, 1833 left St. Clair Township with a small son, George
Washington, age 18 months, and King Darius, barely 6 months, to go with Joseph Smith
in Kirtland, Ohio. From Kirtland they went to Missouri, then to Nauvoo, and eventually
to Utah; Margaret died on the way of cholera, and Peter eventually moved into the hot,
barren lands of Southern Utah to help with the iron industry, where he died a lonely old
prospector. . . alone and unnoticed. It is a great story of faith, courage, and
determination.
Anyone who would like more information about Peter Shirts and the mission to Iron
County may enjoy reading A Trial Furnace: Southern Utah’s Iron Mission by Morris A.
Shirts and Kathryn H. Shirts. It is published by Brigham Young University Press in
Provo, Utah.
A HISTORICAL SKETCH OF PETER SHIRTS
Written by Ambrose Shurtz
In order that we, the descendants of Peter Shirts, who was one of the early
Mormon Pioneers, might have such information as has been gathered from many
different sources, I hope I may be able to set it down in writing as I understand it. Some
of the information as we have, that has been gotten by Mrs. Mary Adams, I will give it
just as she wrote it down, but much of my story I heard from my own father’s lips,
therefore, I can in all confidence, leave it on record, knowing that whatever he told me
would be correct. But there is one source of information as to the place where
Grandfather Peter Shirts died, and was buried, I personally got from Mrs. Nina McKean
of Salt Lake City, Utah. I know of only one person who was not willing to accept of the
story as told to me by Mrs. McKean; that person is Mrs. Mary Adams, the wife of my
cousin R. D. Adams, who for quite some time acted as the research worker within the
Shurts family organization. I have not been able to figure out why Mrs. Adams was not
willing to accept it, since in the way it came to me, there was not one reasonable doubt as
to its truthfulness.
I think it is quite necessary to start this record by giving the information, gathered
by Mrs. Adams on our predecessors. There was a Micheal (sic) Schertz, “a Palatinate,”
(one invested with royal privileges and rights as certain counties) born in Germany in
1688. He was a German emigrant, according to the date given of the probating of his
will, which was in 1759 at Trenton, New Jersey.
This first Micheal had a son, George Schertz. He was born about 1720 at
Hackinsack, Bergen County, New Jersey, and died in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, in
1758.
This man George was the father of the second Micheal Shirts. The spelling seems
to have been changed from Schertz to Shirts. He was born about 1751 somewhere in
New Jersey, but died at St. Clair, Columbiana, Ohio, in 1830.
Next man in line is our Grandfather, Peter Shirts, born August 23, 1808 at St.
Clair, Columbiana, Ohio. He married Margaret Cameron on Sept 6, 1831. Margaret was
born December 26, 1808 at St. Clair, Columbiana, Ohio, and died in 1849 while on the
way to the valleys of the Mountains.
Shirts’es Branch – F Iowa. 2 June 4, 1848. Be it known what this day and after.
We the members of the Church of L.D.S. being located in Pottawattamie County and
about 18 miles North of Kanesville and remote from other branches of the Church, have
met together this day and organized ourselves as follows: As a branch called “Shirts’es
Branch” and after opening meeting in the usual order, proceeded and nominated Bro.
Thomas Smith as President of said branch which was a unanimous vote.
Brother Peter Shirts was in the same way appointed as 1st Councillor and Bro.
Wm. Neiswanter 2nd Councillor, and Willis Boren Clerk for said branch and Bro. Thos
Rof Priest for said branch, And Wm W. Smith teacher for said branch. Accordingly the
appointees of the branch met and resolved that on next Sabbath we partake of the Lord’s
Supper and continue the same every 4 weeks.
This branch consists of 3 High Priests, namely: James A Smith (Gone to the
valley) William Neiswanger, and William Batson. Seventies: Thomas A. Smith, Wm.
Boren, Peter Shirts, Wm. W. Smith (Gone to the valley Thomas Rof, Bro. Garrett, Wm
Mikesel (Moved off) James H. Heath, John Radford.
List of Male members: Among others, Peter Shirts. List of female members:
Among others Margaret Shirts. Children over 8 George Shirts, Darius Shirts, Don C.
Shirts and others. Children Baptized 2 July, 1848 by Thomas Smith: Sariah Shirts,
Darius Shirts. Blessed by Peter Shirts 1 Oct. 1848, John Wm. Smith, Thomas Reynolds.
Mary E. Adams, Genealogist,
Historian for Shirts Organization
Peter’s family consisted of 4 boys and 3 girls: George Washington, born May 13,
1832, died in 1853 presumably at Kanarrah. 2nd son was King Darius, born July 8, 1833,
and his 3rd son was Moroni, born Nov. 30, 1834, but died as a child. Darius died March
26, 1882 or 83 at Escalante, Utah. Next son was Don Carlos, born July 29, 1836 at
Kirtland, Ohio, and he died at Escalante, Utah, June 19, 1922. Next child born to Peter
and Margaret was Sariah Jane, born Dec. 22, 1838. Sarah Ann was next, but no date is
given, but in the year 1843 at Nauvoo, Illinois. And the last child in this family was Ann
Elizabeth, or Elizabeth Ann born Nov. 10, 1848 in Iowa. I should state that Sarah Ann
also died as a child before coming to Utah. There seems to be a discrepancy between
what my father Carl Shirts told me about how old Aunt Ann was when they landed in
Utah, and the record as given by Mrs. Adams. But, be that as it may, it is of no real
significance anyway.
Now before going on with my story, I must say that Grandfather Peter married 3
other women after coming to Utah. The first of them was Belena Pulsipher. She was
born Jan. 8, 1829 at Stratford, Fulton, New York, and died June 15, 1859, at Mill Creek,
Utah. The record states that she was sealed to Peter Shirts on Oct. 2, 1851. Their first
child was Elsie, born Dec. 6, 1853 at Cedar City, Utah. The next child was Peter Shirts,
born March 27, 1856, at Fort Harmony, Utah. The 3rd child was Eliza Jane, born April
15, 1859, at Mill Creek, Salt Lake, Utah. It is said that life at the Fort was unbearable so
Belena went home to have this 3rd child, and it was while there that her death occurred.
The next wife was Ann Elizabeth Duprense. She was born July 5, 1833 at Jersey
Channel Islands. I am not sure that that is correct. She was sealed to Peter on Nov. 25,
1856. There is no more information given.
Mrs. Adams says that his 3rd wife was sealed to Peter six months after the death of
Belena. In company of others Peter investigates the Provo (Valley) River, and is known
to be at Midway.
Having given what information I can gather out of Mrs. Adams’ records furnished
to me by her, I now turn to my own story of the life of our Grandfather, Peter Shirts, as it
is connected with the Church, which he joined supposedly at Kirtland, Ohio. Before I go
any further, I want to say that my father told me that his father changed the way of
spelling his name from Schertz to Shirts because of a disagreement with his father. So
both Grandpa and all his boys spelled it that way till one day when I was about 17 a
professor by the name of Karl G. Maeser who was teaching at B.Y.U. came down to
Escalante. He got hold of us younger fellows and told us that we should spell our name
Shurtz. He said, “If you were in Germany, you would spell it, Schurtz, but here in the
United States you would leave out the ‘c’ and spell it Shurtz.” Now, that’s how, and
when, the spelling of the name took place to change it back from Shirts to Shurtz. That
was about 1895.
Having cleared that trouble spot up, I will go on now with my story. Peter Shirts
then was the son of Micheal Schertz. He was born August 23, 1808 at St. Clair,
Columbiana, Ohio. His mother’s name (maiden) was Elizabeth Vanderbeek. He married
Margaret Cameron in 1831. He was baptized into the L.D.S. Church in 1833. He
worked on the Kirtland Temple in 1835 and in that year received a special blessing from
Martin Harris. It was on July 29th that my father, Don Carlos, was born at Kirtland, Ohio.
Father was named by Joseph Smith. In 1846 and 1847 Peter was working on the Nauvoo
Temple. By this time the Saints had moved away from Nauvoo and came to Utah. Peter
moved into Iowa in 1848 and in 1849 made the journey to Salt Lake City, arriving there
Oct. 10, 1849. It was while on the way that Grandmother Shirts died. As Grandfather
followed the pioneer trail along the banks of the Platte River, on the north side, the exact
date is not told, but my father told me that Grandfather was faced with the death of his
wife; Margaret died, so he took the top box off his wagon and out of it he made a crude
box. He went to a trunk and got a linen sheet and wrapped her dead body in it, then a
grave was dug and into it the box containing her body was sadly lowered, thus came the
death of Margaret Cameron Shirts.
My father, Don Carlos, was then between 13 and 14 years old. This was indeed a
very sad occasion, but with faith and courage they journeyed on until on the 10th day of
Oct. 1849, they arrived in Salt Lake City.
Peter didn’t stay there long, for he was called to go south with the first settlers of
George A. Smith’s company. It was a long, cold journey. On Jan. 13, 1851, they landed
at what is now Parowan, Iron County, Utah. During the next 15 year Peter Shirts was
here, there, and about everywhere. He was called by President Young to scout the
different sections of the wild, Indian-infested localities to see where there was land and
water, and report about how many families could be settled there. Because of his uneasy
nature, and too, that he didn’t mind being alone, he is known in Church History as the
“Old Daniel Boone of Deseret.” He wandered far and wide. He was known at Cedar
City, Kanarrah, Old Fort Harmony, Shirt’s Creek (7 miles south of Cedar of City) and
farther on down South to the Dixie country, St. George and even to what is now Las
Vegas, Nevada.
It is said that he was the first man to discover iron ore west of Cedar City and he
was instrumental in building a blast furnace to smelt iron. From Prelude to the Kingdom
by Gustive O. Larsen, we read, “The Iron Mission:”
“For a number of years the Deseret Iron Company struggled bravely to fulfill its
mission, and iron products of native manufacture became commonplace. The people of
the territory followed ‘iron notes’ in the Deseret News with interest.
An excellent air furnace was nearly finished at the date given (February 26, 1853)
built of adobes with a funnel 300 ft. long to convey the smoke to a chimney stack 10 ft.
high which was in the course of erection. The stack was so constructed that it would
answer for four furnaces when completed. An extensive frame building had been erected
for a casting house.
In April 1853: In the beginning of March 1853, the blast furnace was running
once a week, during which 2500 lbs. of clear good iron was made and 600 bushels of
charcoal were consumed. October 15, 1853: We have six men with the herd of cattle
daily, well armed, and a strong guard every night around the Fort; and as soon as the Fort
is enclosed, we hope to commence the iron works anew. A tremendous flood came down
Coal Creek on Saturday, Sept 3, carrying away bridges, dams, and everything before it;
brought an immense quantity of logs and rocks, of great size. It did considerable damage
to the Iron Works.
Nor was the Mission without its grim humor. Peter Shirts and Bro. Jones built a
smelting furnace, having found a kind of ore which could be worked. They built their
furnace outside the Fort wall. John D. Lee opposed this, saying that the Indians could
hide behind it and shoot into the Fort. As the owners refused to pull down the furnace,
John D. Lee and his men made short work of the building and tore it down. It was stated
that after this was accomplished, 50 Indians could have hidden in the ruins where ten
could not have hidden before!
A final note of encouragement came in 1855.
Isaac C. Haight started the large furnace in Cedar City in April 1855. It worked
well and was kept running for some time turning out as high as 1700 lbs. of good iron in
4 hours. But the Iron Mission itself was not destined to become a permanent factor in the
early building of the kingdom.
Its decadence was already apparent in 1857 when the U.S. Army’s approach to
Utah temporarily paralyzed much pioneer activity. Then the transcontinental railroad
stifled it completely. With grim satisfaction, the pioneers of the Iron Mission watched
one of the last runs at the old blast furnace transform seven loads of cannon balls brought
by the ‘invading Utah Army’ into mill rollers and other articles more in harmony with the
program of Zion Building.”
Mary E. Adams. Historian for
Adams and Shirts Organizations
Peter Shirts built the first saw mill near Parowan. He had a special call as a
missionary to the Indians. So also did my father (Don Carlos), and let me say here, that
my father could talk the Piute language better than they could themselves.
You may wonder where I got the story of his going to the Paria River in 1865. So
far as I know no one had ever heard of it. At least I had not heard of it, but one day a
letter was read over KSL Radio. I have at hand now that letter. It was read Jan. 19,
1947. Standard Optical Company of Salt Lake was giving some small price for the best
letter submitted to be read over the radio - once each month. The letter chosen was
written by a Mr. Carlton Culmsee who was doing some research work. He was a teacher
at the Logan College. I didn’t hear the letter read, but a man who did told me about it, so
I wrote up to the college and Mr. Carlton Culmsee told me to write to the Standard
Optical Company for a copy of the program given on that day, Jan. 19, 1947. I got the
program from them. The letter told of Peter Shirts being on the Paria River in 1865 and
how he grew a crop of grain, how he built the rock house, and that he stayed there that
winter. It told about the killing of his oxen by the Indians, and when the spring came,
how he had the Indians pulling his plow when Capt. Andrus and some other of the
Militia, who had gone out to see if they could find him, came upon him. This letter read
over the radio said the Church thought that more than likely he would have been killed
by the Indians, but to their great surprise, they didn’t find him dead, but very much alive,
for when they rode up to him, he had 6 or 8 big Utes hitched to his plow. He had
fastened a chain to the beam and these big Indian men were pulling the plow. This was
in the spring of 1866. We have a picture of the old cave house in which he stayed that
cold winter of 1865 and 1866. That, then, is how I got the story of Peter Shirts, the plow,
the Indians, during the year of 1865.
Here is the letter that was read over the radio: “The Daniel Boone of Deseret.”
The following story was written by Carlton Culmsee, Utah State Agricultural College,
Logan, Utah: “This is a tale of the Daniel Boone of Deseret. It is a story of a man with a
restless, eager spirit. He was a rare combination – a Latter Day Saint, who was also a
lonely trailblazer.
This frontiersman was named Peter Shurtz. He penetrated into many remote,
hidden valleys – toured gashes of canyons. He scaled many summits never before
trodden by a white man’s foot.
One day, a warm spring in Dixie, Peter Shurtz loaded up his wagon, yoked his
oxen, and plodded off to pioneer a valley he had found to the northeast – the valley of the
Paria. That was the last that his Dixie friends saw of him for many months.
They worried when he failed to return to them in the fall. But they could not ride
in search of him for snow clogged the passes. They worried all winter. So as soon as the
spring suns opened the way, they saddled their horses and rode in quest of him. In the
red-rocked rimmed valley of the Paria, they feared to find only the bones of Brother
Peter, but they went.
After a long, hard journey, they found him. To their great joy and surprise he was
very much alive. They found him by the Paria River, doing some of the strangest
pioneering ever done in this pioneering America: he was plowing with a team, not of
oxen or horses but of Indians! A half dozen ragged Piutes pulled Peter Shurtz’s plow.
Peter explained. He told why he had not returned the previous autumn. He had
raised a fine crop of grain. But Indians had stolen and eaten his oxen, and had cut off his
return. He had turned his hut into a fort. From the floor of it he had dug a cave to a
spring so that he had plenty of pure water.
In the walls of the cave he dug granaries where he stored his precious grain.
Behind the stout walls of his cabin he withstood the siege of the Indians and the
onslaught of winter.
As cold and the snow deepened, the Indians grew famished. At last they came
begging to the white man who stood warm and well fed in his cabin. They pled for food.
With a Christian forgiveness and generosity, Peter Shurtz gave them grain. He
kept them alive through the white moons of cold and snow.
But when spring suns warmed away the snow and made the soil ready for the
plow, Peter Shurtz called the Indians to him. He told them, ‘You have eaten my food. I
must raise more for another winter is coming. Because you ate my oxen you must pull
my plow.’
And such was the firm, kind courage of the man that the Indians did his bidding.
Such was the strength and hardihood of the Daniel Boone of Old Deseret.”
That was Carlton Culmee’s letter read over KSL radio, Jan. 19, 1947.
As I said, Grandfather was a very peculiar specimen of mankind. I do not think it
would be going too far to say that he was a very rare man. Nothing was too hard for him
to face, and so in 1877 he had strayed far out into the wilderness of the little unknown
country of the San Juan Valley of the southeast corner of Utah where the four states join.
History says that he was the first white man to enter that region that he named the
Montezuma River.
Another story as told by the three men sent out from the Pioneers camped on the
banks of the “Hole in the Rock” was to the effect that they were sent out to see if they
could find a route into the San Juan Valley. These men whose names were George Sevy,
George Higby, and another man whose name I have forgotten, but they ran onto an old
man, with his burro, sheltered under a ledge to keep out of the rain. This was after they
examined the country and were on their way back to the camp.
All their food was gone; all they had to eat was what they could kill from day to
day: a rabbit, a squirrel, a bird, or what not, and they were growing weaker on account of
no food. But what a wonderful day it was for them when they came upon that old
trapper, or I think it could be better said, that old man known as the “Old Daniel Boone of
Deseret.” These explorers found that the man whom they ran onto was Peter Shirts and
Peter recognized that they were from the camp of the “Hole in the Rock.” So these
hungry men asked if he had some flour, and happily they found that he did, and when
they asked if he would let them have some of it, he said yes he would. They asked, “Can
you spare us 20 pounds so that we can get back to the camp?” The old man of the
wilderness told them that he would not long let them have 20 pounds, but he gave them
80 pounds out of a hundred. These hungry scouts said with rapture, and great joy, “Now
we can make it back to the camp, and this flour will help to feed the starving emigrants,
who were forced to camp there for the winter of 1879.”
Now I want to go back to my story as regards Peter Shirts and how I found out
where he died. He had come back and was with my father in Escalante, for in 1876 the
town of Escalante was settled. When I was a little boy, maybe 3 or 4 or possibly 5 years
of age (I was born April 8, 1878), I can remember that one day Grandpa had his old burro
packed and was ready to go away again. Where, even he, I guess, didn’t know. His last
words were, “Now Carl, I don’t want you to try to locate me, but when I get located I’ll
write you a letter and tell you where I am.” So with a last “goodbye” he led the old
donkey out into the street, and soon was out of sight. No one ever knew which way he
went. But the likelihood is that he went by way of the “Hole in the Rock.” Years and
years came and went, but no letter ever came so no one of our family ever heard from
him again.
One day in 1915, I was visiting at the home of a sister-in-law in Salt Lake, Mrs.
Nina McKean. As we conversed over one thing and another, she said to me, “Ambrose,
do you think it would be possible that the old trapper who died in my home town,
Fruitland, San Juan, New Mexico could be a relative of yours?”
“What, Nina! Do you mean to tell me that there was an old man by the name of
Peter Shirts, who had come to your town and that he was sick, and that after a few weeks
he died and was the first man buried in your town cemetery?”
“Yes, that’s what I am telling you.”
“How do you know that, Nina?”
This is what she told me. She said that just a few days ago, she was visiting with
her father, Luther C. Burnham who was the Bishop of the Ward and her father said to her,
“Nina, come over here with me. I want to show you the grave of the first man buried
here in our grave yard.” He told her that one day an old trapper came into town. This old
man was sick and after a short time, he died. He lived with Walter Stevens until his death
and was buried in Fruitland. The old man told them that he was Peter Shirts.
Now, to you, my fellow kinsmen, let’s see if all the circumstances that surrounded
this story are plausible or not. First, we see Peter going away from Escalante some time
during the years of 1882 or 1883, and since he had been in the San Juan country before,
can’t we very reasonably conclude that he quite possibly would go back there? No, on
Sept. 23, 1883, a conference was held at Bluff, just close to the very southeast corner of
Utah. At this conference, the Burnham Ward was organized, with Luther C. Burnham as
Bishop. Bishop Burnham was Nina McKean’s father. Can you see any good reason for
not accepting this story as 100% true. I can’t, personally. I would stake my very life on
its truthfulness, for why should Mrs. McKean tell me such a story if it were not true since
up to that moment not a word had been said about Peter Shirts?
Well, I hastened down home to tell father this story this good, honest woman had
told. It is, needless to say, my father, who was nearing the end of his life, was greatly
pleased and overjoyed. And as he listened to the story, he said, “Thank God, I at last am
told where my father died.” My father, Don Carlos Shirts, died on June 19, 1922.
I want now to make it understood that there is no definite date when Peter went
away for the last time. But putting all these blocks together, we have an almost sure rock
foundation upon which our story is built. I will try to ascertain whether or not, our
predecessors, Peter Shirts, died and was buried at Fruitland, New Mexico, and if it so be
that we can be certain of his burial spot, then I will solicit the help of our family members
and erect a monument to his memory.
What I have written above was about all the information I had up to July 29,
1958. I had not given up hope completely, though. Many times I sighed sadly, knowing
that I ought to have struck while the iron was hot, so to speak. How I wished over and
over again that I had gone to Bishop Burnham while he still lived, but procrastination is
said to be the thief of time, and so by my neglect to seek out and ascertain for a certainty
that what I had been told was true, I was disturbed in my mind and I wondered just which
way to turn. I wrote to a Mr. C. J. ____________ who lives at Fruitland, San Juan, New
Mexico, but he told me that he couldn’t give me a bit of information; this was about 3
years ago. Then, about the 1st of July this year (1958) I wrote a letter to a brother-in-law
of mine who lives at 364 No. 12 West in Salt Lake City, Utah, Mr. Frank McKean.
I told him my trouble, and in a few days he came to see me; he happened to know that
there was a Mrs. Palmer who lives at 210 North Allen St., Farmington, New Mexico, so
with my fullest consent, he typed my letter which I had written him and sent it to Mrs.
Palmer, on July 29th, which happens to be my father’s birthday. He got a reply and now
the dark clouds of the long past began to clear away.
She wrote, “Dear Frank and Cora, Your letter and the one from your brother-inlaw just came. I don’t think there is any doubt about Peter Shirts being buried in the
Fruitland graveyard. I remember when I was about 4 years old, of an old man by that
name staying with Bro. Stevens (Walter). I talked to Abbie Stevens (Young) when she
was here on a visit not too long before her death and she remembered him quite well and
I know from my own memory of him and what Abbie said that he was old and failing in
health. I do remember also an old lady, Grandma Box, who was the first woman to be
buried in the Burnham Ward and my mother and I lived in the same house with her one
summer and she named one of her little chickens “Peter Shakes” because she said it
shook just like Peter Shirts. Grandma Box was pretty old and shakey herself and died not
long after. Though I cannot remember the funeral for Peter Shirts I seem to remember
his grave because there were so few graves there then.
I hope you and Cora are both well. Love, Camera”
Mrs. Palmer failed to state what year that was, so I wrote her asking her to give
me the year Peter died. She replied that it was in the latter part of the summer of 1882.
Her last letter was dated Sept. 3, 1958.
Seventy-six years have come and gone since that old man of the wilderness, Peter
Shirts, said goodby, and soon disappeared from our sight. No one ever knew which way
he went and as I said before, I was not sure what year he went away. But I had fixed in
my mind that I was about four years old. Now I feel quite sure that he must have gone
away, possibly early in the spring of 1882 so that if he died late in the summer of 1882,
that it seems would have been just about the length of time required for him to go from
Escalante to Fruitland. That compares with my age, for I was born April 8, 1878, and
Mrs. Palmer says he died in 1882. That fixes very definitely where he went, and when he
died.
Mrs. McKean told me the first story in 1915. That means that he had been gone
away thirty-three years and never a word had been had from him. Then it was another
forty-three years before I got this perplexing situation cleared up, making a total of
seventy-six years.
I am sure that there isn’t another living soul besides myself who remembers that
grandfather was afflicted with the palsy, that was why his head shook, and if we had no
other evidence than that Grandma Box named one of her little chicken “Peter Shakes”
because it shook just like Peter Shirts, that would be sufficient evidence beyond any
reasonable doubt.
To conclude my historical sketch concerning the life and activities of Peter Shirts,
“The Old Daniel Boone of Deseret,” I need to say only, he was a rare specimen of
mankind. I doubt if ever any other man resorted to having the Indians pull his plow as he
did that spring of 1866. He died at the age of 74 years late in the summer of 1882.
God grant that we all shall have an implicit and abiding faith in the Supreme
Being, God our Eternal Father, and in His Divine Son, Jesus the Christ, the Redeemer of
the world, and in the divine mission of Joseph Smith, who God raised up to re-establish
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Written by Ambrose Shurtz, Grandson of Peter Shirts
This 7th day of Oct. 1958, at 175 No. 7th E.
Springville, Utah