James ALLRED

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James ALLRED (010203)

Allred Progenitors: (William, Thomas)
Born: 01/22/1784 Randolph Co., NC
Died: 01/10/1876 Spring City, Sanpete Co., UT
Submitted by: Sharon Allred Jessop 03/29/1999

BRIEF SKETCH OF JAMES ALLRED
(By Elizabeth Elmire Allred Aiken)

James Allred, son of William and Elizabeth Warren Allred, was born in North Carolina, Randolph County, January 22, 1784. His wife was born in South Carolina on May 6, 1787. They were married the 14th of November 1803, and moved to the Ohio River near Yellow Banks. In 1811 they moved to Bedford County, Tennessee. In the year 1825, March 25, while still at Bedford Co., my grandfather, James Tillman Sanford Allred, was born. In 1830 they moved into Missouri, Monroe County, a distance of 500 miles. Here they were baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, by Elder George M. Hinkle. At this place a large branch of the Church was built up and called “Salt River Branch.”

In the fall of 1833, two sons and two sons-in-law joined the company of the Prophet Joseph. In June 1834, they, with the Prophet’s company of 200 brethren, journeyed to the upper part of Missouri in order to redeem Zion (as they thought) and to reinstate a portion of the Saints who had been driven from their homes in Jackson Co., Missouri. In 1835, they moved to Clay County, Missouri and in the spring of 1837 to Caldwell County, where the Saints had started to gather to build up a state of Zion. James Allred was elected Judge and also president of the Southern firm. When the Church left Missouri in the Spring of 1839, he moved to Pittsfield, Pike County, Illinois. In the fall of the same year, he moved to Commerce (afterwards called Nauvoo). Here he was ordained a High Priest and a member of the High Council. He was one of the Prophet’s lifeguards in the Nauvoo Legion, and held several other responsible positions. He helped to build the Nauvoo Temple and assisted giving endowments there. It was while they were living in Nauvoo that the Prophet came to James’ wife, who was a seamstress by trade, and told her he had seen the Angel Moroni with garments on and asked her to assist him in cutting them out. They spread unbleached muslin out on the table and he told her how to cut them. She had to cut the third pair before they were satisfactory. They were to reach the ankle and the sleeve to the wrist. Marks were always the same.

In the year 1842, James Allred was ordained a Seventy and a member of the Fourth Quorum of Seventies. About this time, the Saints were being persecuted and especially the heads of the Church. The Prophet and his brother Hyrum, were constantly being hunted and persecuted by the mobs. Elizabeth, James’ wife, often used to put potatoes in the coals in the fireplace at night, and leave bread, butter, and fresh buttermilk, of which the Prophet was very fond, on the table so they could come during the night and eat. In the year 1844, in June, the Prophet, his brother Hyrum, President John Taylor, and Willard Richards, were taken to Carthage jail in Hancock County, Illinois. At the jail the Prophet handed his sword to James Allred and said, “Take this, you might need it to defend yourself.” James Allred carried this sword with him to Utah. It is now on display at the State Capitol at Salt Lake City.

On the 27th of June, 1844, the Prophet and his brother Hyrum were both murdered in the Carthage jail. The Prophet had previously prophesied that Willard Richards would not be harmed, and true to the prophecy, he escaped without a scratch, but President Taylor was badly wounded by four bullets. James Allred took President Taylor from the jail to take home. He only had his wagon to haul him in and the trip was a long one, over a rough road so they decided a sleigh could be pulled behind the wagon, and by going through the fields which were mostly swamps. By this route it was about 18 miles to his home at Nauvoo. They secured a sleigh, placed Pres. Taylor in it, and then started home. He was bleeding badly and so weak from the loss of blood he could hardly speak. His wife sat beside him bathing the blood from his wounds, and trying to make the journey as easy as possible.

After the murder of the Prophet, President Brigham Young, aided by the Twelve Apostles, went on building upon the foundation that Joseph Smith had laid. Persecutions began to rage again with awful fury in the fall of 1845 burning houses. On the 9th of February 1846, James crossed the Mississippi to go west with the leaders of the Church. He arrived at the Missouri River, to go farther west July 15th, the same year, 1846. Here he was made President of the High Council, and acting Bishop at Counsel Point. In the spring he started west to the Rocky Mountains. He arrived at Salt Lake City in October of 1847. He went to Manti, Sanpete County in March of 1852, and later to Canal, now known as Spring City, Utah.

He was called to preside over this branch of the Church at the Spring Conference of 1853. He was ordained as a Patriarch in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. In July 1853, the Indians drove most of the horses and cattle from the settlement away, and on the last day of the month they moved back to Manti. In October he again moved back to Canal with a company of 40 Danish families and ten of his own relatives. On the 17th of December, Brigham Young advised them to vacate again, and they moved back to Manti. In February of 1854, fifty men started to build a fort at Cottonwood, now called Ephraim. It was built of stone, the walls being ten feet high. When it was finished, their families were moved into it, and here he lived until 1860. Then with his family he moved back to Spring City where he resided until his death.

He was a faithful member of the Church and strict in keeping the Word of Wisdom. He fully endorsed all the principles of the Gospel as far as he knew them, was an early riser, always on hand to obey the counsel of the servants of God. Mormonism was his whole theme. For many years he was a regular attendant of the Quorum, and public meetings, and was always ready to donate to the poor.
He was a friend to the widows and orphans, faithful to his family. He taught them to be honest and industrious, trustworthy and worthy of confidence. He told them he was ready to join the United Order and all he had was for the building up of the Kingdom of God. He raised 12 children of his own, and eight orphan grandchildren. All lived to have children of their own. He left the wife of his youth after living together nearly 73 years, and had a posterity of four hundred and forty-seven; 12 children, 104 grandchildren, 302 great grandchildren, and 29 great great grandchildren. Most of his posterity live in Utah and are members of the Church. He lacked 12 days of being 92 years of age. His wife was ninety when she died. She was blind six years before her death, April 23, 1879. James died at Spring City, January 10, 1876. His wife, Elizabeth Warren Allred, died at Rabbit Valley. Her body was later brought to Spring City and placed beside that of her husband.

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