Thales Hastings Haskell (1834 - 1909) Profile

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Thales Hastings Haskell

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First Presidency missionary calls and recommendations 1877-1918

First Presidency missionary calls and recommendations 1877-1918, April 5, 1889.

First Presidency missionary calls and recommendations 1877-1918.

Haskell, Thales Hastings

Haskell, Thales Hastings, Vol. 1.

Haskell, Thales Hastings.

Camp of Israel schedules and reports, 1845-1849

Camp of Israel schedules and reports, 1845-1849. 1849 September 24. Page 1.

Camp of Israel schedules and reports, 1845-1849.

George Benjamin Wallace Emigrating Company journal

George Benjamin Wallace Emigrating Company journal, June 1847.

Transcript for George Benjamin Wallace Emigrating Company journal, 1847 June-September

George Benjamin Wallace Emigrating Company journal.

Haskell, Thales Hastings, Autobiography, 1867

Haskell, Thales Hastings, Autobiography, 1867.

We now prepared to start across the plains in company with many others[,] destination not known. Started out and in a few days got organized into companies of hundreds, fifties, &amp; tens. A[braham] O[wen] Smoot was Captain of our hundred. Geo[rge] B[enjamin] Wallace Captain of fifty and a man by the name of [James] Smithies, Captain of our ten[.] I had never been accustomed to drive an ox team, and in a bad place managed to run one wheel on to a bank &amp; broke an axel tie. I heard a great many making remarks about me in being a very careless boy to let such an accident happen but I thought if they had a cautioned me a little before hand it might have done more good. The next day we got a stick and had <a>new one put in[.] Francis came back to meet us about this time having been at work on the Platte running the ferry boat. I now considered quite a load of responsibility taken from me. But he was soon taken sick with the rheumatism and could not get out and into the waggon without help. This made it rather hard on me again. I was large of my age and though but 13 years old was expected to do a mans work, standing guard hearding &amp;c. Some where about this time we had to turn out a yoke of cattle to go back and help Grants company whose cattle had been stampeded and had to have assistance and we put in a couple of yoke of cows in the team in place of the oxen and shortly after this another ox got tender footed so we now had one yoke of good oxen two yoke of cows and a single ox in the lead thus we traveled. Saw a great many Indians, the most of these were friendly, well dressed and well inv[..]tes[.] We also saw a great deal of wild game and vast herds of Buffalo[.] our hunters often killed a buffalo or an antelope so that we generally had a suppli of fresh meat. At the Pacific springs we met Brigham and the rest of the pioneers who told us that they had found a proper place for the saints to locate[.] Travld on a few days and arrived at Bridger's Fort and here Bridger told us some interesting stories about the valley of the great Salt Lake. Said that grain could not be raised there and the the snow fell so deep that the Buffalo had all died off &amp;c &amp;c[.] Started on again and soon began to get excited about getting to the valley &amp; some companies began to get divided the best teams taking the lead[.] I remember Elder Wallace got in sometime before us[.] We had a rough road &amp; Francis rheumatism still got worse and every rock the wheel struck would make him fairly scream with pain[.] I of course got duly lectured about careful driving &amp;c[.] Camped one night on the top of the little mountain and had to lock the wheel to keep from blowing back down the mountain as there was a perfect gale of wind. In the morning we got a glimpse of Salt Lake and the valley we so much desired to reach. Arrived in the valley[.] camped near where they had commenced building an adobe fort.</a>

Transcript for Haskell, Thales Hastings, Autobiography, 1867

Historical Department journal history of the Church

Historical Department journal history of the Church, June 21, 1847, Page 38.

Historical Department journal history of the Church.

Pomeroy, Irene to Ophelia M. Andrews

Pomeroy, Irene to Ophelia M. Andrews, March 5, 1848.

Miss Ophelia M. Andrews, 
 
North New Salem
 
Franklin County
 
Massachusetts. 
 
(Care of Col Wilson Andrews).
Kane Io[wa] May 16 1848
Great Salt Lake City March 5th 1848. 
Cousin Ophelia; Having a little leisure from domestic cares I thought (I would) write you a few lines knowing you would be very anxious to hear from us. We are all well contented and happy. We have a log house made of hewed logs sixteen by eighteen and covered with planks and slabs. Our fireplace is made of clay pounded into one corner and the fireplace cut out just such shape as you please. The rest is sticks plastered outside and in which makes it quite nice. We have quite a nice door made of fir boards which were sawed since we arrived. We have nothing but the boards of our wagon for floor yet. We have a window with five squares of ten by twelve glass and one of cloth pasted on. There is two beds at the east end of the room and curtains drawn across the room in front of the beds and a little chamber floor over the beds where we keep our provisions. Picture to your self Irene sitting in such a room as this writing on her same chest which stood in her chamber in Mass. Mr. Pomeroy and Thales have gone to what is called the Cotton Woods for poles to fence the land. Francelle is filling the little creampither (your mother and mine used to play) with water and washing it in the washdish. Mother is knitting. (I will fill this page with family concerns now I have come so near to it and tell you on the next how we came hear and what kind of place it is). We have two yoke of oxen; two cows, two heifers (two years old) a pair of horses, three hens, two chickens and a dog. We have killed one yoke of oxen for beef. We expect to have a garden in front of our house. Our farming land is five or six miles from hear. The houses are built adjoining each other in the form of squares enclosing ten acres each. It was thought wisdom to have them in this manner for this season because we could better defend ourselves from all kinds of danger. When the companies arrive next summer we expect to commence a brick house. There will be a city laid out then and each building will have land for all necessary purposes and a large garden and the farming land will be with out the city. When Mother [Ursula Billings Haskell] wrote you at winter quarters we were preparing for our journey still fart[h]er west. Thales went down into Missouri with Br Wallace and bought a new supply of provisions and we left winter quarters June 17th and I can assure you we passed through a variety of scenes (for) a distance of ten hundred and sixty miles from W.Q. Rivers, brooks, mudholes, mountains, plains, woods, broken waggons, Indians, Buffaloes, Wolfs, deer, antelope, wild dogs, bears &amp;c. The Indians were very friendly. They do no hurt if we kept strong guard out so they could not steal our horses and cattle in the night. We passed through some places where it (was) almost impassable, mountains of cragged rocks seeming as it were bending over us on either side of the road. At another time we would be on the side of a mountain below us on one side of the road 50 or 100 feet straight down a Grandmother says on the other side a mountain and seeming every moment as if the waggon would be upset. This was the last part of the road. The first 1000 miles was mostly praries, see nothing byt [but] land as far as the eye could reach. You can look on the map and see where we came. We came nearly the whole of the length of the Platte river and camped on its bank most every (night). We walked a great part of the way where there were bad roads. (Catherine says tell them I could walk 10 or 15 miles per day.) We generally travelled from 10 to 15 miles in a day sometimes 20 and once or twice 25. We did not travel on Sundays (and) on the whole we had quite a pleasant journey. We would (about half a dozzen) go on ahead of the waggons, find some place of curiosity and wait for the teams to come up. How many many (times) mother and I would say how Aunt Lomanthy would love to see this and that. Grandmother might have come if she had thought so. There is some older than she here. I presume you have heard of Richardson's bitters. The old man's son is here and his sons mother came from Vermont. Emeline is yet in W.Q. When we came away she was teaching school in the same family where she has been.
The[re] was about 500 waggons came last summer. Such only came as could buy provisions, the rest stayed to raise it. We expect a much larger company this season. Well after all this long journey when we were coming over mountains and between them, all at once a little narrow passage between the mountains called a cannian [canyon] (I think I have not splled i[t] right) opened into a beautiful valley.

Transcript for Pomeroy, Irene to Ophelia M. Andrews, 5 Mar. 1848, in Letters, court orders, and documents pertaining to the Saints in Missouri

Thales Hastings Haskell

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