Joseph Fife was born 9 September 1842 in Clackmannan, Clackmannanshire, Scotland, in an area known as Fife or Fifeshire, known in ancient times as the Kingdom of Fife. He was the ninth child of Adam Fife and Helen (Ellen) Sharp. Father Adam was christened 4 July 1806 in Clackmannan, he was the son of John Fife and Margaret Hunter. Mother Helen was also born in Clackmannan 10 November 1808. She was the daughter of John Sharp and Mary Hunter. Adam and Helen eventually became the parents of fifteen children, twelve born in Scotland and three born after their arrival in America.

Adam and Helen and family heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ and embraced the new faith known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints or Mormons. They were baptized with several of their older children on 13 September 1848 by their son-in-law Alexander Patterson who held the office of Priest. They were confirmed the same day by Elder Russel (Gibson). The desire to go to Zion was in their hearts so they began making plans to go to America. They had very little money as the male members of the family had been colliers in the coal mines of Scotland.

Their eldest child, Mary, hat been married to Alexander Patterson 15 May, 1847 and they, with their child had left Scotland for America in 1848. They went to New Orleans and up the Mississippi River to St. Louis where they joined with Mother Helen's three brothers and their families who had also arrived there from Scotland about that point in time. They were John, Adam and Joseph Sharp.

It was 1849 and Joseph was seven years of age when they left Scotland and made their way to Liverpool, England where they sailed 5 September 1849 for America on the ship "Berlin". It was the 44th ship to sail from Liverpool with Latter Day Saints aboard since 6 June 1840. James G. Brown was the leader of the group which consisted of 253 souls. Of the Fife family there were father and mother and nine children. When they were well out to sea cholera broke out aboard ship, many of the Saints died and among the last to die was Joseph's dear little five year old sister Helen. So many had died previously that there were no more weights for the little body, these were called sinkers and were tied to the bodies to make them sink in the water. The picture of that burial into the sea stayed in his mind always and he spoke of it many times to his children and grandchildren. Joseph stood on the deck with the rest of the family while the white bundle containing his 1ittle sister's body was lowered into the sea. He vividly remembered standing at the back of the ship watching the small bundle bob along in the foaming wake for several days before it suddenly disappeared.

The ship traveled on the ocean for a period of six weeks before it arrived in the United States by way or New Orleans. The family then made their way by boat up the Mississippi River to St. Louis where they were met by Mary and Alexander and the brothers of Mother Helen. They all stayed in St. Louis working and preparing for their journey across the great plains to Utah. Wagons and oxen had to be purchased and the task of learning to handle them was undertaken. The men had never been around oxen before and this was not an easy thing to do. Provisions had to be laid by, enough to last the journey. One month before their departure Mother Helen gave birth to a dear little daughter whom they named Janet.

In May of 1851 they left St. Louis and went to Winter Quarters where they joined the David Wilkie Company and were assigned to the L.A. Shurtliff ten. Joseph was nine years old at this time. The wagon train moved out slowly, like a small speck on the vast prairie over rough, unbroken ground. The pioneers were always in fear of the hostile Indians and each night a close guard was placed over the camp, lest cattle should stray or prowlers, either animals or Indians, come to near.

Joseph walked most of the way with his sister Catherine, leading a blind ox as the wagon was full of provisions and small children.

He remembered how tired they all were when they stopped at night to make camp. The air was full of dust and the sound of the lowing cattle ant the crying of small, tired, hungry children. The men guarded the camp and fed and watered the animals, if they had been fortunate enough to find water, while the women busied themselves caring for the children and preparation of food. Many wagon trains had passed that way earlier as well as the prospectors going to the gold fields of California so wood was impossible to find and one of Joseph's chores, as soon as the wagons stopped, was to search for buffalo chips so they could use them to make a fire to cook their supper. They burned with a hot flame. Later, when his grandchildren asked what buffalo chips were, he had a great time explaining. They saw great herd of buffalo, antelope and other prairie animals. The trail became sandy and hot, water was scarce after they left the Platte River, which they had to cross twice. They moved further West and came to Chimney Rock, that great "Register of the Prairie", from which they were able to get a view of the surrounding country and to study the names left there by those who had gone before.

Along the way some of the company became ill and died and were buried in unmarked graves along the trail. The wagon train stopped long enough for the Saints to dig the graves, bury the bodies and cover the graves with rocks level with the prairie floor and then again with dirt which they swept to hide it from wandering Indians and ravages of wild animals. But babies were also born to these strong women as if to compensate for the loss of those who had died.

As they moved on they were told by their Captain to keep the wagons close as possible as there were always Indians in the vicinity and some of the wagons ahead of them had been stopped and robbed. Joseph and his group saw many Indians on the way but had no problems with them until they reached East Canyon where they stole the blind ox and one of Mary's shoes. She was forced to walk the rest of the way in only one shoe.

They finally reached the Rocky Mountains where the scenery was grand and beautiful. The mountains were tall and majestic, the grass was abundant, the water in the streams was cold and sweet. About the middle of September the wagon train reached the rim of the Great Basin where the wagons were obliged to travel between and around the high mountains. They forded streams cascading from the hills and finally, after crossing over one mountain which was long and so steep it was very hard on the oxen, they got their first view of the Great Salt Lake Valley from the summit of a mountain 7,245 feet above the level of the sea. The decent of the mountain was very steep and dangerous for several long miles. The trail became very rough and it was difficult for the wagons to progress. Huge rocks, which had fallen from the sheer cliffs made the going much harder and some of the defiles between the rocks were so narrow only one wagon at a time could pass through. Joseph and his family passed many wagons with broken axles and wheels.

Joseph well remembered the day they came into the valley of the Great Salt Lake. The family had been detained back in the mountains a few miles because of a sick oxen, 90 the company they had been traveling with went on ahead. As they came out of the canyon onto a level plateau, about where the "This is The Place" monument now stand3, they looked across the valley for any sign of habitation when suddenly they saw someone running toward them. When he came closer they recognized their twelve year old son and brother Adam, who had traveled across the plains a few months earlier with another company as a herd boy. He had been made aware of the arrival of the family from those in the wagon train that had come into the valley the day previously. The greeting of the mother and son was outstanding in the memories of the family. This was on 23 September 1851.

The Fifes built a home in Great Salt Lake City and remained there for two years. Father Adam obtained work hauling stone from Red Butte Canyon which was used to build the wall around the Temple. At the time Johnston's Army came into the valley the Fifes moved to Cedar City where they remained for several years and it was there that Joseph was baptized, in the spring of 1855 when he was 12 years of age.

They moved North to Weber County when Joseph was 15 or 16 years old. They stopped in a place now called Riverdale. There was only one house there at that time. Many times Joseph told of the morning they came into that beautiful little valley. How they stood on the site of the hill, where the Bench ditch now is, just below the schoolhouse, and decided they had never seen a more beautiful sight than the knee deep grass in the green meadow gently waving in the breeze, the Weber River hedged with cottonwood trees in the background and the tall snow capped mountains standing like sentinels in the distance, reminding them of the mountains of Scotland.

They took up a large tract of land, about 80 acres, and built a two room log cabin there. It was the second of two houses between Ogden and Kaysville. Joseph helped his father clear the sagebrush and plant the land on this their new homestead, which was located just west and south of what is now Ogden, Utah.

He worked on the farm for several years and when he was about eighteen years of age he went to Great Salt Lake City and obtained work at the granite quarry located at the mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon. Mother Helen's brothers, the Sharp brothers, had a contract for getting the huge granite stones ready to build the Temple. The stones were generally so large that the workers would chain them to the running gears of the wagons and haul them to the Temple site. Sometimes it would take two or three weeks to get one stone down from the canyon. Joseph often told of how hungry they were. They usually had only a crust of bread at noon and if they were very lucky, sometimes they had sorghum molasses on it. He assisted in hauling and placing the Temple corner stone.

The Sharp brothers were very active in early Church building and colonizing. Uncle John Sharp owned all the land on the North side of South Temple, then known as Brigham Street, from the Eagle Gate to fifth East. He also contracted with Brigham Young and they were instrumental in building the Telegraph down through Echo and Weber Canyons and in the building and grading for the Union Pacific Railroad to come down into the valley from the East.

Joseph by this time had grown into a tall, strong young man. He had black hair and large brown eyes. He worked on the Temple for a number of years but went back to Riverdale when his father became ill. Adam and Helen had been baptized in Scotland but their Temple work had not been done. Adam's wish was that it be done soon, so even though he was very ill, preparations were made for the journey to Salt Lake City. Quilts and pillows were placed in the wagon bed and he was tenderly laid upon them and the journey was begun. After arriving in the City, he was carried into the Endowment House and he and Helen's endowment was performed and then the marriage and sealing ceremony was completed on 13 September 1861. After the ceremony the family returned to Riverdale. Adam died in December 1861, leaving Joseph to care for his mother and four sisters. Adam had expressed a wish to be buried in Salt Lake City, so Joseph took the casket containing the body of his father on the running gears of the wagon to the Salt Lake City Cemetery where it was buried. The journey took two days as the road was very muddy and hard to travel.

Joseph worked the farm and took care of the family for several years. He was active in the Church and had many friends. About this time he met a small, blonde, blue eyed girl named Martha Ann Bingham. She was the daughter of Sanford and Martha Ann Lewis Bingham. He was very much in love with her and even though she had been asked for by someone else to marry in polygamy as a fourth wife, Joseph was determined to have her for his own. They, with the help of Martha's mother, went to Salt Lake City and were married for Time and all Eternity in the Endowment House on 16 February 1865. They went to live in the two room log house along with Joseph's mother and four sisters. Martha Ann was 15 years old.

A year later mother Helen became ill and in her illness spoke of a craving for an orange. Joseph rode to Salt Lake City on horseback, purchased two oranges for $2.00 each and took them back to her. The journey took two days. The mother later died 24 April 1866 and her body was taken to the Salt Lake City Cemetery in much the same manner as father Adam had been conveyed there some years before.

Joseph and Martha Ann took care of his sisters until three of them married. The youngest, Sara, never married and lived with them all her life. They finally were able to build a frame home on the property.

Joseph and Martha Ann had thirteen children of their own who grew to adulthood and married. They also raised his four sisters and several orphans. Joseph told an interesting story about an orphan named Pete Nelson. He said that he had to go to Great Salt Lake City periodically to meet the wagon trains to get supplies as he had begun a freighting business in the area. The wagon train on this day came down the canyon and into the village. It came to where Pioneer Park now is, made a large circle and when it stopped everyone jumped out. Many of the pioneers had someone there to meet them and soon they had all left. After he had finished his business and was ready to leave, Joseph noticed a small boy sitting by the side of the road. He asked the Wagon Master who the boy was and was told that the boy's parents had gone by another wagon train to California and had abandoned the boy. Joseph took him home and he and Martha raised Pete as their own son. They also took care of Will Smith, who was a relative to the wife of Joseph's Uncle John. He was very ill and was nursed by Martha in his long illness until his death. Another boy came into the area alone, his name was Totts Hellmandollar. He lived with the family for several years until his father and brother came from the East to Riverdale and lived in a small frame home just West of that of the Fife's. When these boys married they were given the same as the Fife sons were given at marriage. A team and a wagon.

Joseph hauled freight between Corinne, Utah ant Carson City, Nevada. He was in Carson City before the advent of the Pony Express. He usually left home and was gone all summer. He transported the first group of Chinese to Butte, Montana to work in the mines. He also unloaded the first load of freight at Fort Douglas. He never traveled with a gun or a watch, he was able to tell the time of day by the sun and was seldom off more than a few minutes. He never worried about problems with the Indians because he always fed them and said "if you treat them as you would like to be treated, they will give you no trouble", and they never did.

He told of an experience he had at one time. He had delivered a group of Chinese to Butte and was returning home when he became ill. After taking care of the horses and staking them for the night, he went to bed in the wagon. By morning he was so 111 he could not get up, so he lay there for hours. Finally he heard footsteps approaching and he knew by his frontier experience that it was an Indian. As he carried no weapon he knew he was helpless. The footsteps came close to the wagon and suddenly he saw the painted face of an Indian looking in after awhile, by sign language, the Indian asked Joseph if he was ill and when he was told yes, also by sign language, he got the horses, hitched them to the wagon, helped Joseph to the wagon seat, gave him the reins and told him to drive on. Joseph arrived home several days later.

When the railroad came into the valley he helped build the grade for the Utah Southern Railway and also the grade from Dingle, Idaho to Glen's Ferry, Idaho on the Oregon Short Line Railroad. All grading and grade building was done with horse and scraper. Pocatello at that time was a small lumber shack and a freight car which was used as a telegraph office. There were men who came there from many different places to work on the construction of the railroad and also there were some who came to steal and to break any law that existed. Some of the men took the law into their own hands and one time they hanged a man from the high beams of the bridge that crossed the river, very near where one of the bridges crosses the river now. Joseph was in Pocatello at that time and saw this.

After working on the railroad, Joseph started a contracting business. He contracted to dig basements for several buildings in Ogden, he dug the basement for the Boyle Furniture Company, which now is part of the new Ogden Mall. Also the basement where the J.C. Penney store now stands and several others, all with horse and scraper. This venture soon played out and he went into the cattle and sheep business.

Joseph brought the first sewing machine to Riverdale. It was run by hand, the wheel to be turned by one hand while the other pulled the material through. He brought the first sugar from Great Salt Lake City that the families of Riverdale had ever seen. He told Martha to let the children have all they wanted to eat, so they invited the neighbor children in and they all sat down and ate the sugar with a spoon.

Joseph was very active in Church and in the Community. He was a Presiding Teacher of his District, President of the 76th Quorum of Seventies and the first President of the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association in Riverdale. He was a School Trustee, Road Supervisor and for several years was President of the Irrigation Company. Upon division of the National lines by Brigham Young at General Conferences he gave loyal support to the Republican Party.

When he was to be released as President of the Young Men's M.I.A., he spoke to them and in this talk he told them that they would live to see the time when they would hear voices coming through the air without wires and would hear and see people talking directly to them and they would learn many things. This was many years before radio or television.

Joseph was a kind and good man and was loved by all who knew him. Many times he quietly left food and flour on the steps of the widows and poor in Riverdale. He was a wonderful husband, father, grandfather, neighbor and friend. His dear little wife preceded him in death. She died 13 September 1914 after suffering for sometime. Joseph lived with his youngest daughter, Katherine and her husband Arch Farr for several years before he went to Brigham City to stay in our home, which was the home of his daughter Lucinda and her husband Jack Slater.

There he sat for hours in my mother's old rocking chair with me, his little lassie as he called me, on his knee while my brother Jay and my stepbrother Gordon lay on their tummies on a rag rug in front of the chair. He sang little Scottish songs for us and some songs of his adopted land. I remember two of his favorites being "Tenting Tonight on the Old Campground" and his most favorite "Hard Times Come Again No More". He told us stories of his great adventure, the long journey across the wide ocean and the great plains. He told of the hardships, the sickness, the deaths and most of all the lack of food, but above and beyond all that their dream of Zion and the marvelous Principles of the Gospel. He told of his work on the Great Temple and what it meant to him to work on the House of the Lord. The work was so heavy and so hard to do and they were so hungry, but the men who worked in the quarry and on the Temple knew the meaning of obedience and so they labored to fulfill the Commandment from the Lord to build His Temple in the tops of the mountains.

Grandpa Joseph passed away at our home in Brigham City, Utah 4, November 1921, finally being reunited with his love, whom he had missed so sorely. He was buried in the Ogden City Cemetery by her side 6 November 1921.

Compiled by me from family records kept by my mother Lucinda (Cindy) Fife, who was the daughter of Joseph and Martha. Notes taken by me in answer to the many questions I asked her and notes taken by me on visits with my Aunt Annie Fife Layton and Aunt Kate (Katherine) Fife Farr and from the stories I remember of Grandpa's adventures told by him to us, his grandchildren, while I sat on his knee as he sat in my mothers old rocking chair.

HELEN THOMSON MINER

BRIGHTON CAMP

FAR SOUTHEAST SALT LAKE COUNTY

DAUGHTEBS OF THE UTAH PIONEERS

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH

SEPTEMBER 1981

Read in DUP Brighton Camp Meeting 7 September 1981

Submitted to Central Camp 1 March 1982 to be placed in Archives at DUP Museum. Salt Lake City, Utah.