JAMES HENRY ALLRED AND

KATE MARKLAND JONES ALLRED

By J. Urban Allred

My father, James Allred, given here as James Henry, never used his middle name but was known as James Allred or some times his family called him James H.  

James Henry Allred was a pioneer family, inherited pioneer conditions and surroundings.  He was among the first children born in Salt Lake City on what now is pioneer park, 2^nd West between 3^rd and 4^th South Street, January 10, 1849, when Salt Lake was less than two years from the arrival of the pioneers, of whom his father, Paulinus Harvey Allred, and his grandfather, Isaac Allred, were in the first company.  He saw pioneer life in every phase and could adapt himself to fit conditions as they arose.

He was born possessing a strong vigorous well-proportioned body, six feet high in his stocking feet and weighed from 240 to 260 pounds according to how the law of supply and demand operated.  He had a rugged constitution that scarcely knew what a sick moment was until after 85 years.  His mind was vigorous and active.  He loved the out-of-doors, was not afraid of hard honest work, cheerfully met the rough side of life and never tired in his untiring service to his family and to his church in which he served with unwavering faith and devotion.

James H. Allred was, therefore, by nature and by circumstances a pioneer in doing a good work in redeeming the barren desert at hand and he lived to view with keen satisfaction the rise of an inland empire, the pride of his people and joy of a nation.  Eleven years after the coming of the pioneers, when Johnson’s army sent by the President of the United States to subdue or exterminate the Mormon people for their supposed insurrection, Salt Lake City was entirely deserted by every family and the people fled for safety in what was known as the move of 1858.  This included Grandfather Paulinus Harvey  who married Melissa Norton, an early pioneer from Indiana, and his father, Our Great-grandfather, Isaac Allred, who married Mary Calvert, a great-granddaughter of Lord Baltimore who founded the state of Maryland.  These, with James and William Allred, brothers of Isaac, are the for-fathers of the Allreds of Church membership today.

The Allreds never returned after the move, but remained in Lehi and the southern part of the State.  Today a great and widely scattered family.  James Allred continues as a prominent pioneer in helping lay the foundation of the beginning of Lehi and to see it grow into a prosperous city of a happy liberty-loving people.

My father loved the soil and was truly a son of the soil; he never worked for the other fellow; he responded untiringly in his work of redeeming the land, building homes, schools and churches.

Fearless and outspoken he sometimes seamed abrupt; was never outwardly demonstrative yet he possessed a heart of gold and possessed the inward emotion of a child.  He was always true blue to his family and his sacred obligations—an honest man--therefore was the “noblest work of God.”

As father of a large family of 10 children - eight boys and two girls - he was ever solicitous and watchful and ready to direct their lives, not only by advice, but by his own potent example which was most effective in his own family and his own community.

He performed a wonderful mission in the State of Virginia during the years of 1894 - 96.

His life’s work was not, nor could be of man alone for he needed and was nobly sustained by a noble companion and helpmate.  Our father was most fortunate when he met Kate Jones in S. R. Thurman’s school in Lehi, whom he married June 16, 1873 in the old Endowment House on the northwest corner of the temple block, by Daniel H. Wells.  James Allred was most happily married, and therein lies the story of his success.  He married my mother - a slender, small woman - when she was 19 and weighed less than 100 pounds.  This was a most important occasion, the beginning of a new life, the bounds of which are beyond time and even now cannot be fully comprehended. 

Our Father was a public spirited man who never sought public office.  He did serve one term as a City Councilman of Lehi.  He was fearless in the discharge of his duty and would fight quickly, if necessary, to defend the truth.  I know that the Lord loved and sustained him.  But two brief instances:

John Cardon, a missionary companion of father’s in the state of Virginia in 1894-95, and who at present is a co-officiator of mine in the Logan Temple, says: “Your father was a wonderful missionary and was faithful in all things.  He could bathe without a flinch in the coldest water of any man I ever saw.  On one occasion we were without a place to sleep, having been refused by many.  We asked at the last house before we were to go over a rugged mountain and it was dark.  The man who refused to give us entertainment, showed the path and told us to take it.  We felt our way along the path and the path became worse.  Finally your father said, “stop! We are in danger; we must have a light,” when suddenly a bright light came from heaven, and we discovered we were on the edge of a great precipice and another step forward would have cost us our lives.  We cautiously retraced our steps back to the home that had directed us and slept in his straw pile the first and only night we slept out.”

I recently talked with President Goates of the Lehi Stake who told me that when he was 5 years old his fathers family was stricken with scarlet fever.  His only sister, age 7 years, had died and the doctor had given up all hopes on his recovery.  Our father, who was a close friend to his father, came down and boldly broke the quarantine, walked into his bedside, then administered to him and promised him he would get better and live.  Pres. Goates said, “I am here today because of that blessing.”

James H. Allred was a man that everybody knew because of his short visits to the homes of his neighbors.  He had a broad understanding of the gospel and liked to talk of the same.  He was full of charity and many a widow and needy home has found a sack of flour at their back door step when no one knew from whence it came except one man.  He remained close to the soil which he loved and of which he owned a considerable.  He also owned three homes in Lehi and one in Salt Lake where he moved in the closing years of his life to do, with mother, temple work for his kindred dead; a beautiful climax to a beautiful life.

An important part of his life must not be overlooked.  He did valuable service as a guardian of the safety of the community against the Indians of early days.  He was a member of the w. H. Winns Co., and as such gave valuable service on many occasions in using armed forces to quail the Indians.  His father, Paulinus Harvey, known as Colonel Harvey, and who could talk the Indian language at one time, with father met the Indians in the West Mountains and they together persuaded them to disperse and go back in peace.

An important and far reaching phase of father’s life was his move into Alberta, Canada.  Having lost all his irrigation water (tapped by artesian wells driven by Salt Lake City on the opposite side of the river) on his big ranch on the west bank of Jordan River, three miles west of Lehi, which had been our home for many years, he looked for new opportunities such as were offered in the new comm\unity of Raymond, Alberta, Canada, where father went in 1902 and bought 2 ½ sections of land — 960 acres of the Knight Sugar Co.  He located most of his boys here, part of which members of the family still own.  Having accomplished this, father came back to his home in Salt Lake having raised two large crops of wheat in Alberta.

The hopes of the future were realized: to these humble, but richly endowed homes came eight sons and two daughters, manifesting rare talents as future teachers, missionaries, bishops, temple officiators, etc.  They were: J. Urban - 1874, John G. - 1876, James - 1878, Minerva - 1879, Clarence - 1881, Rodney C. - 1883, Buell - 1885, Aaron - 1888, Elijah Hugh - 1892, Odessa - 1896.

Father passed away at the home of Minerva A. Wade, Salt lake City, may 22, 1936 in his 86^th year

As we pause tonight and scan over the road which we have trod and the pit from which we have emerged, we can but exclaim, “Surely a Devine hand has been over us and shaped our destiny and preserved our lives.”

Taken from the diaries of J. Urban Allred  

   Kate Markland Jones Allred

      A statement made by her when she was in her 72^nd year.

“Kate Markland Jones, born 17^th July, 1854, in Salt Lake City across the road south and a little east of Eagle Gate.  My father’s name was John Markland.  He was born in Manchester, England, November 26, 1830.  Mother’s name was Elizabeth Mulliner, born in eastern Canada, March 8, 1836.  They were married July 24, 1853 in the Endowment House.  My Grandmother, Catherine Nesbit Mulliner, took me when a baby to her home - I was not very strong - on second south and Main street, where I was nursed by Harriet and Mary Mulliner, wives of Samuel Mulliner, my grandfather (they having babies the same age).  A few months later my sister, Millie, was born.  My grandfather was called to go to Lehi and set up a grist mill, so we moved there.  He also set up other mills in American Fork - woolen mill, grist and tannery.  We lived in American Fork when I was quite small, then moved to Lehi mill, one mile east of Lehi; where I went to Lehi to school only part of the time.

“We all lived in one big house, ate at the same table.  Grandfathers five wives, Kate, Harriet Berry, Mary Richards, Hanna Hurst and Ann Capstic.  Harriet was the mother of five children.  Mary six children, Hannah was childless.  She died with tuberculosis.  Ann three children by a former husband.  We all lived happily together.  We children looked with honor and respect to our parents.  Love and respect for God was taught to us by that strong Oak, Samuel Mulliner.  Singing from the hymn book by the family before family prayer came each night as sure as the sun went down.  We sometimes wished he would forget when we were playing hide-and-seek, but we always got disappointed.  The bell stood on the end of the mantle.  I think I hear it’s chimes now after all the shifting scenes of life of seventy two years.  I also can hear the screams and shrieks of the crowd when called by that bell.

We were taught all kinds of work, helping to make our own cloths from the sheep’s back.  Our piano was the spinning wheel.  When we all turned out to pick peas we took two home-made baskets, one bushel and one half each, then for good measure we each filled our aprons.  Many was the song we sung while picking peas and gathering vegetables to fill the vacuums that seamed always empty, for we always had hired help and our home had it’s doors open day and night.  Our garden and orchard was fenced with willows, braided around oak stakes to make it cattle proof.  A deep ditch was dug all around.  I describe it because of a very important event in my life happened there.

“My older brother, John Markland, was drowned when about two years old.  My parents had a very beautiful ring made with some of his hair in the set of the ring.  So one day I lost it.  It nearly broke my heart, as it would any little girl.  I put in days hunting in the hen nests, chip pile, garden and carrot patch.  Finally I thought I would my Heavenly Father to help me find my treasure.  So I went down to this deep ditch feeling sure that he would help me.  There I told him if He would help me I would never doubt the truthfulness of the gospel.  Those are the only words that I can remember of saying.  I could not say whether it was that day or not, but shortly afterI went in the kitchen, there sat grandmother with the ring on the end of her little finger.  This is the miraculous thing about it.  Gram had an old chest that came from Scotland that she kept under lock and key.  She had sent me for some article, and the ring had dropped off.  This day she went to get something.  Her finger went inside the ring in answer to prayer.  Otherwise that ring might have stayed in that chest for years, because the bottom of the chest was never reached year in and year out.

“What good I have received from that great manifestation!  I have attended other churches and heard many falsehoods told on our people and the authority of our Church during the persecution of our people.  Sometimes I would wonder.  Then this prayer in the ditch has grown so big, so strong, so powerful that I cannot doubt.

“I was attending S. R. Thurman’s school living with Usilla Allred when B. W. Brown came and persuaded me to go and help his wife for a few days only.  That night she died leaving three children.  Through sympathy for them I stayed until I was married to James henry Allred of Lehi, June 16, 1873.  

“The first summer we went to the west canyon where he got out logs, took them to the saw mill in the left hand fork - called the jump-off - where we got the lumber to make our first two room house, finishing one only.  I had gathered rags and made a carpet to cover the floor.  My, but that was a cozy home.  We moved in on the 8^th of February 1874.  We had a few chickens and cows.  This home was out where Robert Fox now lives.  To complete our home and surroundings, early in the evening of May 21, 1874 a little beautiful boy came to gladden our home.  We named him J. Urban.

“That fall my youngest brother, Ted, came to live with me.  Next my sister, Millie, came to live with me.  She married from our home.  On the 11^th day of September, 1976, on Monday at sunrise, another sweet boy came - John Gurnett.  On July 17^th, 1878, another lovely boy, James was born.  He died the same day.  On July 31^st, 1879, we thought the only girl was born.  On Thursday morning about 1 a.m. was born Minerva.  We moved over the west side of Jordan in December, 1891.  On the 24^th day of June, 1881, another boy was born in the log room, on Friday about midnight, Clarence Eugene.  On the second day of August, 1883, on Thursday another boy was born in the log house, Rodney Chase.  Lehi on September 25, 1885, on Friday, Rugder Van Buell.  On October 3, 1888, another boy - Aaron.  On Thursday, October 20, 1892 Elijah Hugh was born.  On Thursday September 17, 1896, another girl, Odessa, was born.  The last of four in Lehi on the old corner, except Buell, he came across the street north of the Orem Depot.

“I am truly thankful for the noble spirits that were sent to me to mother.  Better, no mother on earth has enjoyed.  On the first of September 1903, Elijah Hugh died.  He was eleven years old.  So I have two boys to meet me over there.

  “In 1894 William and Jessie Jones came to live with us.  The former, eleven years, Jess, fourteen years.  They stayed.  Then four of J. U.’s children came and stayed two years, the oldest was eight, the youngest from birth.  At Lehi Aaron’s wife died, left three boys.  They were with us three years.  With Uncle Ted that makes twenty in all.

“We were married by Daniel H. Wells in the old Endowment House in the northwest corner of the tabernacle block.  I think we were a pretty good and happy couple and have kept close to that shore ever since, seventy four years next month, 1927.

“I have done some work in the Church.  When Karl G. Maeser first organized the religion class in Lehi, I was chosen as one of four to stand at the head of that organization.  In 1892 or 3, September 20, was called by President Wilford Woodruff to assist in Religion class work.  Was one of the first in the country for that work.  I was chosen in 1890 in the second district on April the 5^th as second counselor in the Primary, then in 1903 as president.  After this time I was called to a Sunday school class of young ladies.  In January, 1904 I was chosen by ballot to be president of the 2^nd Ward Relief Society.  That was when the Ward was first organized, and there was some misunderstanding and dispute who should have the honor.  So the sisters were called together by the Stake President.  Each sister voted.  I was set apart by the Stake President, A. J. Evans being mouth.  I was set apart as midwife and assistant in sickness by T. R. Cutler and others on October 22, 1893.  A short time after I received a mother’s blessing from Zina Young and I. M. Horn and Rebecca Standring.  Sister Young being mouth for the same purpose.  Then another blessing at Relief Hall, Lehi, Sister R. Standring, Martha Thomas, Milissa Willes and others.  Rebecca being mouth.