History of Arza Erastus Hinckley

ARZA ERASTUS HINCKLEY

His father died when he was five years old. His grandparents and Mother with second Husband, Evi Judd and their family joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints in Canada. They moved to Illinois. Arza helped in building the Nauvoo Temple when he was sixteen years old.

When Arza was almost twenty years old he enlisted into the Mormon Battalion 16 July 1846, the first day of enlistment. He was assigned to company B. He was sent with a sick section to Santa Fe, and Pueblo, New Mexico. In the spring they traveled north and arrived in Salt Lake Valley 29 July 1847. Just 4 days after Brigham Young’s Company. Army discharge 16 July 1847.

On 1 March 1853 Arza married Amelia Woodhouse and they had five children. In 1857 he married Temperance Ricks and they had ten children.

Mary’s friends wondered why Mary, so young and beautiful would marry an older man. Arza was thirteen years her senior and Mary was twenty two.

Three living children of Arza’s first wife said they were raised by Mary with love and tenderness. They said their own mother could not have taken better care of them. They loved her dearly.

The first year of married life they lived in Salt Lake City. Their first child, Heber was born in Salt Lake City, Utah on 10 July 1862. The next summer she went with the man to Black Rock. The men were caring for stock for the church and building a house, which was still standing in 1936. Mary lived in a tent and cooked for the men. (There was a Black Rock on the shores of the Great Salt Lake. Another Black Rock is located in central Utah out by the desert. Because of the information about the house – maybe the Black Rock where lived was on the lake?)

Mary had a great fear of the Indians. One day the men had gone for the day and had taken their lunch, a bank of buck Indians came to the tent. They made themselves at home. She was fearful of what they may do. She prayed for help. The inspiration came to her to set the table. She used all the dishes she had and set the long table. When the Indians saw how many places were set and thinking the men may be coming home, they consulted among themselves and decided to leave at once. They mounted their ponies and left expecting the men to return.

Another day she heard a noise. Thinking it may be Indians, she was almost paralyzed with fear. When a bear stuck his head around the door she was so relived the fear left her.

One day while lowering the bucket in the well for water the handle flies around when the bucket lowers to the water. Little Heber had come up behind her and the flying handle hit him in the head. This accident was thought to have hastened his death. He was a darling, likable child. When the men would come to dinner he would sit and call “The hen’s a sitten. The hen’s a sitten.”

In February 1868 Arza Hinckley was elected Probate Judge for Summit County. Arza headed a committee to move County headquarters from Wanship to Coalville. The petition was granted. During his tenure the county courthouse was built. Mary moved to Coalville. Her son john was born on 15 March 1870. In 18 February 1873 there were twins born to her, Franklin Arza and Francis.

Mary and her family moved to Grass Creek for a time. Here her son Harvey was born 10 July 1875. Pioneer life was very heard. Supplies were scarce. Very little to supply a family. Rabbits were the main died for six weeks. They did not even have flour for baking.

Arza established law and order, eliminated the cattle rustlers, succeeded into bringing the court into respect, collected taxed from the railroads, eliminated the illegal toll gates, built public works, spent $8,000 dollars on roads and bridges, left the county out of debt. He was made a High Councilman when the stake was organized.

Mary also lived at a ranch in Echo Canyon, a time in Morgan, then to Richville, Morgan County, Utah where the children attended school.

In 1877 when Mary was 38 years old, her husband, Arza Hinckley was called to take his family to Cove Fort, in Central Utah.

Arza’s brother Ira and his family had been called by the church to tuse the property the church acquired in 1867 from Charles and his son Elliot Wilden. That year they had two houses, one dug-out and a corral for accommodations of the stock. Also that year, nine acres of grain had been sown. The place was known as Wilden’s Fort. In 1867 Ira Hinkley’s family were called to build a fort, and establish a rest and way station where travelers could find refuge, food and lodging, fresh horses, and if necessary protection from Indians. Mail route. For ten years Ira and his family conducted this service.

In 1877 Arza and his family took the responsibility of running the fort.

“The fort is a very substantial building,” wrote Wilford Woodruff after a visit.” It is built of volcanic rock laid in the mortar. Each of the four walls is 100 feet long on the outside and 18 feet high from the foundation. On the east side is a gateway 14 feet wide, with a substantial arch 6 feet deep, and 3 inches thick, set inside…on the west side is a gateway 8 by 4 feet wide, with a substantial arch 6 feet deep, and 3 inches thick, set inside… On the west side is 10 feet high. The fort contains 12 rooms, six on the north and six on the south side. 10 of which are 16 by 14 feet, and two are 16 by 17 feet, and 9 feet and 4 inches high. There is a chimney to each room, three feet wide and two feet thick. The Chimneys are 6 feet above the top of the thick wall. The rooms are well lighted and have five panel doors. The roof is covered with good shaved shingles…”

Travelers, including Brigham Young and his family & party would come from territory to the north. Stop at the fort for food and rest. Change their horses for fresh horses, travel to southern parts of the state. On their return trip they would change for their rested horses, have food and rest and return home. The mail route came through the fort, which also had a telegraph office.

The families lived in some of the rooms and some were for the guests.

There was a great deal of work to supply food and clothing for everyone. The older girls and women had to wash on the scrubbing boards every day. They washed white clothes one day and colored clothes the next day. Taking two hour shifts, trading off with each other.

Mary’s daughter Luna Ardell was 11 years old. A little young to do the heavy work. She did not like to work at the fort. She loved to help her father herd the cattle. It gave her more time to be with him and he seemed to like her company.

Ardell remembered the cool crisp air of the high altitudes, the beautiful sunsets, the bustle of vehicles and people in the court yard. The bustle of vehicles and people in the court yard.

The cool shade as they sat on the benches on the shady side of the big fort wall. There were heavy benches outside of the fort along the wall where one could relax. The huge gates were made of wood 8 inches thick and hung on heavy hinges, closing at night for security.

The water was hauled in large barrels.

This life was too demanding for Mary. Arza had found some records of his family and they wanted to go to St. George to do the temple work. They were making the temple clothes but Mary gradually had to go to bed because of illness. There were many flies that settled on anything that held still. Mary was too tired to fight them. Arza asked the children to take turns waving willow branches over Mary to keep the flies away. This was very tiring and boring – the children complained. The sewing machine was in her bedroom, Arza wanted to postpone the trip to St. George. Mary begged him not to. Arza prayed about taking Mary. A neighbor interceded and told him it would be better to take her than leave her at the fort.

They made a bed in the wagon and took Mary with them. The horse drawn wagon on rough roads must have been a hard experience. Mary was hoping if she could get to the temple and be baptized that she could receive improved health. She said she had been praying that this would be made possible.

She did reach the temple and was baptized. She had a lot of swelling in her body. They found a place to stay. The woman gave her some strong medicine and would not let her have any fluids. She suffered very much. Mary died on 11 October 1879 at the age of 40 years. She was buried in the St. George Cemetery near her brother John Heiner.

Her brother had been sent to “The muddy” as a missionary and had died on the way, at St. George. So his grave was already there.