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John William Hatch History
(from Maureen Bryson as posted on the web http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~maureenbryson/id106.htm#john_william_hatch_hist )
[As no history was found for John William Hatch, I have gleaned information about him from the family group sheets, as well as from the history of his son, John Alma Hatch, and his mother Mary Jane Garlick, with a couple of notes from Stalwarts South of the Border by Nelle Spilsbury Hatch. msb]
John William Hatch was born 3 April 1850, in the Cottonwood area of the Salt Lake Valley, son of Isaac Burres Hatch and Mary Jane Garlick. He had an older brother, George Andrew, who had been born at Pigeon Creek or Little Keg Creek, Pottawattamie County, Iowa. In 1853 another brother joined the family, Isaac Burres, Jr.
In March 1853 tragedy struck their family, as the father, Isaac Hatch, was shot by William Hickman and died some weeks later. His mother married Francis Delbert Lawrence, who was good to Mary Jane and her boys. A sister joined their family from this marriage, Nancy Jane, born in 1857. Shortly after her birth, Francis hitched his oxen to go to the hills for a load of logs. Some Indians came after them waving a buffalo hide and frightened the oxen. Francis was thrown from the wagon and run over, killing him.
In the spring of 1858, John’s mother, Mary, heeding counsel from Brigham Young, married his father’s younger brother, William Hatch, who was glad to care for his brother’s children. To this marriage three more children were born, Susan Permelia, William Henry, and Louisa, who died of measles when she was 12 years old.
In 1865 the family moved to Moroni, Sanpete County, then moved back to Payson. It was here that they witnessed and partook of the “Sugar Miracle” when during a severe sugar shortage a white substance appeared on the trees which they called “honey dew” or “sugar manna.” In 1872 the County Tax Lists showed William Hatch, John’s uncle/father’s, property valued at $175, with a note of “poor” written beside it. In 1876 William’s land was valued at $200 and his total property at $300. It was also in 1876 that John appears for the first and last time in the tax rolls, showing that his property was “sold.”
In 1875 they had moved to Koosharem where they helped pioneer that place. Here William built a shingle mill and made shingles for many of the homes.
While still in Payson, the family had close ties with the McClellan family. John and Maria [pronounced like the wind - Meriah] Matilda McClellan were married on 13 March 1873, and sealed in the Endowment House one month later on 14 April 1873.
Their first two children, Lillian Maria and Minnie Almeda were born in Payson. The family then moved to Grass Valley, the area where Koosharem is located. But when it was time for the next child’s birth, John and Maria traveled the more than 150 miles back to Payson so that she could have a midwife for the birth. This was their son, John Alma Hatch, born 27 Nov 1876, in Payson.
The family lived for six years in Greenwich, Piute County, near Koosharem, where the next three children, Ernest Isaac, Mary Agnes, and Rhoda Evelyn were born. The two little girls died young, Mary at only 9 days, and Rhoda who died 11 days short of her first birthday. John was a farmer and owned a ranch and put up hay.
Long winter nights were turned into a family factory when seated around the blazing fire they picked wool. Sewed carpet rags, pieced quilt block, carded wool, kit socks and stockings, as Maria read to them, propping open her book with the scissors, rocked the cradle, and knit. Each child would be occupied in tasks best suited to his age. Ernest served longest at the carpet rag sewing, saying in later years he could remember when he cut his first tooth but not when he learned to sew carpet rags. He also took his turn at the washboard and at scrubbing the pine board floor and chair seats. John and Maria were thrifty and frugal and drafted every child into an organization that “kept the best side out.” “We may live in poverty, but it will be slick poverty.” [Stalwarts p. 243]
Then before 1884 the family moved to Pleasanton, Socorro County, New Mexico, about 60 miles north of Silver City. They lived here for 3 years while John worked freighting to the silver mines about 12 miles from the town. Here two more girls were born, Myrtle and Pearl. Pearl lived only 5 days. The moved from the town u to the mines where John worked running the tailings from the quarts mill over a belt with water washing the tailings from the silver. The conditions in the valley were very poor and there was much malaria. The children, John and Minnie the worst, had the chills frequently. During this time John served in the bishopric. Also during this time, Geronimo and his Indian band were on the warpath in this area and the family had many scares of them coming with their raiding parties. The Apaches attacked a company of soldiers nearby, killing five of them, including a doctor. Jacob Hamblin, the noted pioneer and friend of the Indians, was one of their neighbors here and the Hatch and Hamblin children played together.
After October 1885 the family moved back to Grass Valley. Except that it was extremely cold, it was a very pleasant valley. It was named for the huge meadows that ran the whole length of the valley. A stream ran through the center of the valley, “pure, clear and cold.” They lived in a little white frame cottage with shrubbery and a new orchard growing around it. John farmed and they always had a few sheep and cows. Each spring John and his sons would drive the cows to a place in the mountains near Fish Lake, which they called Johnson Flat, a distance of about 18 miles. While there, Maria and other women of the extended family, would stay for the summer making cheese and butter. Many hours were spent fishing, hunting, boating, swimming, and enjoying the mountains, as well as working. In August and September they would cut and bind the wheat.
John worked hard to provide for his family, on the farm, and in the mines, never really attaining any sort of wealth. It was hard to make ends meet with 9 children to raise. Their son John Alma wrote of his mother, Maria:
Mother was a very resourceful person. In our poverty she spun, wove, and made all our clothing. In the long winter nights she would knit, and read aloud to the family while we would either pick wool or sew carpet rags. The faster she would read, the faster she would knit. She spun the cloth and made all of our clothing, knit all of our socks and stockings. She was a wonderful cook. I wish I had some of her salt-rising bread for supper tonight. She knew how to make and raise a garden. She may not have been as gentle and pleasant as some people I have known, but God bless her she had unpleasant things to endure. The matter of fourteen children, and abject poverty would try the patience of anyone and she had that strict stern McClellan blood in her veins. Mother was a very good housekeeper, and she had a place for everything and everything was kept in its place. She had a good memory and was fairly well versed in the Holy Bible.
In Greenwich, Koosharem, and Fish Lake, the last of their 14 children were born: Cynthia Irene in 1887, George Lynn in 1890, Frances Fern in 1892, Elmer Hugh in 1894, and twins Charles and Carroll in August 1896 at Fish Lake. Charles died the day of his birth and Carroll died when about 14 months old. Not many people now know what it is like to live in poverty and bear fourteen children. Probably more often than not it was a very frustrating and trying experience. We can indeed say that Maria Matilda McClellan Hatch was “resourceful” with all that she accomplished without the modern conveniences that we have today.
A year after Carroll’s death, once the fall harvest was in, the family left on 30 October 1898 and went to Mexico. The reasons for their move to Mexico are somewhat vague. They were not polygamists, but Maria seemed to feel unable to endure the long cold winters in Grass Valley any longer. They felt this move was imperative for her health. Maria’s parents had gone there some 12 years earlier, so they did have family there.
It took the family nine weeks to travel by wagon from Grass Valley to Colonia Juarez. They crossed the Colorado River at Lee’s Ferry, sometimes traveling two or three days without water except what they had in their barrels. They followed the trail through the Snowflake area, down toward Clifton through what is now Virden, New Mexico, and then from Lordsburg they followed the Southern Pacific Railroad into El Paso.
Long before they left Utah, they sent in their immigrant papers stating what they were bringing into the country and other data. When they arrived at the border there was some trouble getting across because their papers did not match what they had. Someone else who was traveling with them had traded some mares that he listed for some mules— so they had quite a time explaining why the mules were not mares. In El Paso, Maria’s father and brother had met them, helped sort out the paperwork, and then they enjoyed their first train ride on the newly completed Mexico Noroeste railroad with their wagons, teams, and other traveling gear being shipped with them.
Colonia Juarez is situated in the mouth of the canyon where the Verde River flows out of the Sierra Madre Mountains. Juarez is 3/4 mile wide and is built on both sides of the river.9 When they arrived it was dark and they were at the top of a hill looking down on Colonia Juarez. John Alma says this about his first view of Colonia Juarez, “It looked like we were looking right down in a hole to see the lights twinkling, and they weren’t electric lights either, they were just oil lamps.”
The day after they arrived was Christmas Day and everyone was celebrating in the streets. The Saints were really big on celebrations, feasts, and games.11 They were having sports in the street like foot races, horse races, and wrestling. They were accepted into the community at once and made quick acquaintances.
Though there were glowing reports of the colonies published in the “Deseret News,” there were many trials and problems in the colonies. There were contagious diseases; smallpox, scarlet fever and typhoid were common. The people were poor and often had to go hungry due to crop failures. In 1901 three of their children were married, and another in 1902. Their oldest daughter, Lillian, had married in 1893 in Koosharem, and had gone to Mexico with her three children and husband.
Then, of course, came the political trials. In 1912 the Mexican revolution really broke out. The women and children, and later the men were also forced to go to El Paso. They could take very little with them.
Shortly after this, John, who had stayed, was watching over the homes of some of the people who had not yet ventured back into the colonies. He heard something in one of the houses and went in to investigate. Coming down the stairs was a Mexican woman, the wife of Guadalupe Treviso, with her arms loaded with stolen goods. John Hatch yelled at her and she told him she was just gathering up things to watch over them for the colonists. John said he was surprised that the “thieving S.O.B.s” left anything there for her to “watch over.” She dropped all the things and ran out of the house and told her husband that “el viejo” (the old one) Hatch had called her a thieving S.O.B. Her husband came storming over across the street and demanded to know why “el viejo” Hatch had called his wife such a name. John Hatch said that he had called the thieves that name and not Treviso’s wife. Treviso ended up throwing a hammer at John Hatch. He ducked and threw a rock at Treviso. It hit him on the temple and he crumpled to the ground.
John immediately walked home, told his wife, Maria, that he had just killed a Mexican and told her to tell anyone who came that she didn’t know where he was, then he left. That really left Maria wondering. It was not long before there were Mexicans all around the house. They searched the house for “el viejo” Hatch but could find him nowhere. They went and got his sons, John Alma and Ernest, from the church to help them search. Of course, this was a total surprise to them, and they had no idea what had happened, and just why or if their father had really killed someone. Later, the boys found out he was hiding out in their next door neighbor’s attic, where he stayed for a couple of weeks. If he had come out, the Mexicans would have killed him immediately. Finally the boys made an agreement with the authorities and with the Treviso family that their father would turn himself in and stand trial if no one wold harm him when he came back into public. This was made as a written agreement and was signed by all the parties involved. He did stand trial and was released because it was in self defense. This was one of the more exciting times around the Hatch household. Until the trial, though, the family endured bullying from first one party then another until he was cleared in a court session.
While they were in Colonia Juarez, one of the activities they were involved in cheese making. A large vat was located at the home of John’s son, Ernest. The townspeople brought their milk, weighed it, and poured it into the vat. The entire operation was under the John’s direction. Daughter-in-law May [Cora May Merrell] helped make the molds for the cheese and put it in cheesecloth after it was cooked. When the process was completed, the community members were given their share of the cheese according to the amount of milk contributed.
The family stayed in Colonia Juarez until 1914 when they moved to Colonia Dublan. John died of a heart attack on 22 Jan 1932 and Maria died there 26 Jul 1940. They are buried next to each other.
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