Westons Go West 9 - Silverload

When Mary arrived home, she found a letter waiting for her from Fanny.

March 5, 1876
Pioche, Nevada

Dear Mary,

We are moving to Dixie! That is what the Mormons call the southern part of Utah - it is so warm that they tried to grow cotton, before they had to give it up. There is a new silver strike there, not so far on the other side of the state line, and all of Pioche is in an uproar over it. The plan is for the whole town to move, and our store too, lock, stock and barrel.

Sam and Abie have hired some ex-miners and are packing the Emporium as I write. Not merely its contents, but the building itself! Lumber is dear here, and what with the mines failing, many freighters were standing empty, and so freight went cheap. Thus the entire building is coming with us.

I shall write as soon as I know where you should reply, but in the meanwhile,

Ever yours,

Fanny

Mary was so disappointed. She so wanted to confide in her good friend, but she couldn't write again now until she had her new address, and it might be months.

She hastily put the baptismal certificate and tiny bible into the back of a bottom drawer in the children's room. How wonderful it would be when they had their new home. And perhaps it wouldn't be too long now. Simon had said that their debts were completely paid back and they had sufficient for a deposit.

She hoped they would stay in this same area, near the center of town, as she wanted to be near her new friends. But also she had made other Mormon friends, and even though she didn't want to extend her involvement in the religion, she valued their support and friendship.

There was one house that Simon had discussed as a possibility. It was fairly near by and had a section at the front of the house that could be used as a shop, for later when she got herself organised. That was another thing she needed to write to Fanny about – what to buy. She had mentioned that even though the big stores supplied most things, there were times when the local small shop was depended on for items needed in a hurry. She had given up her idea of a bakery – as it involved too much preparation – but a general haberdashery, offering pins, needles, cotton, fabric, ribbons and such like would be practical, and one didn't need to worry about things going off if they weren't sold immediately.

Having fed Annie and having got her back to sleep, Mary settled down to prepare the evening meal. But her mind wandered as she worked – going through all the things her friend Lucelia had told her about their lives since they had arrived. Lucelia who is now 30, came from a very posh family in Albany New York, and at 16 she entered N. Y. State Normal School and became a teacher. She taught mathematics and vocal music (as well as singing in various choirs) someplace in Pennsylvania. She married James Gillogly in 1870 who had just graduated first in his class from St. Stephen's College in Annandale, New York. He attended Berkeley Divinity School and was ordained Deacon there June 8, 1870, to be first non-Morman missionary of Ogden and surrounding villages.

He was ordained Priest by Bishop Tuttle in Salt Lake City 1871. When they first arrived in Ogden there was no church, so they organised services at the train depot, and on their first day, had two services – mostly for the train employees with people swearing and playing cards in the background. They had eight church goers in the morning, but the number had gone up to 20 by the evening. There was no money to build a church originally, so as Lucelia had told her, they first lived with a Morman widow lady – like we are living with one – and had three rooms. But wanting more privacy and to start a school, so they tried to rent a property, but none of the Mormons would rent to them – except one who suggested they pay $30 a month for a two roomed log cabin. In the meantime, they lived in an empty train boxcar in the summer, and made do as best they could. Their first daughter, Helen was born in at Christmastime in 1871, and then they had a baby Caroline in 1873, but she didn't survive the year. James, their baby that I know best, was born in September 1874 – just a few months after our Annie. Lucelia's ancestry she can trace back to England, one relative having landed here in 1635, among the New England Puritans. Her great-grandfather was one of the early governors of the state of Connecticut.

Their beginnings were bleak, but luck was with them, and a rich man back East, John Livingstone Hamnmersley, gave them a huge amount of money to build their church in memory of his daughter, Catherine, who had died in childbirth.

May 21, 1876

Glassman's Emporium
Silverlode, Utah Territory

Dear Mary,

So now you have our new address. I hope you will write soon.

Most of Pioche decamped for a "new" silver strike near the Mormon town of Adenville. The strike itself is not new; Adie says they heard rumors of it ten years ago but nothing came of it then, as I daresay there was little capital available to develop an "impossible" deposit of horn silver in sandstone.

But now there are wild stories of one "Metalliferous Murphy," reputedly a green horn, silver-mad geologist who would declare silver to be present in anything. They say that some prospectors, disgusted by his optimistic evaluations of any ore presented to him, gave him an Adenville grindstone to assay. When Murphy triumphantly discovered silver in it, the prospectors hung him for his credulousness - silver is never to be found in sandstone! - and only later discovered their error, to the cost of $300/ton. Adie says no such man existed. And yet in their enthusiasm for the story, the town has dismantled their buildings and followed the newest boom to Adenville. We have followed them, for what is a shop without its customers?

We secured a good lot for the Emporium on the Main Street of the new town of Silverlode. The town is being built into the folds of a hill, while the sensible location for the townsite sits flat and empty below us. Unfortunately for Mr. Barbee, who is developing the strike and speculating in land as well, no one would pay his prices. His "Bonanza City," as he tried to call it, has been no bonanza for him at all.

I am happy to report that the Emporium (pictured above) has survived with surprising grace the indignities of being dismantled, shipped, and reassembled. Nails went dear, with the entire town moving at once - we sold every nail we had for as much as we dared ask, and in hindsight could have asked for three times as much! The move has already proved good business, even with the expense and interruption.

I am settling in well. Abie was feared that Silverlode would be plagued by the same lawlessness that beset Pioche when it boomed and he dreaded its repeat here. But the good people of Adenville refused to tolerate so much violence on their doorstep, and during the first weeks of Silverlode's existence dealt out justice as ruthlessly as we have ever seen done.

We found a quiet place to celebrate Shabbos. We had only a tent in the wilderness for our celebration, but it was a blessing we had gone too long without.

I look forward to hearing more about your life with your new baby. How is the house hunting going? Are you still planning on opening a bakery?

With all best wishes,

Fanny

*****

June 10^th, 1875

530 Washington Boulevard

Ogden, Utah Territory

Dear Fanny

It was so nice to hear from thee and know that thee are settling in well in your new town. I want to hear more about the sorts of things thee sell, and how thee manage to compete with the bigger concerns.

A few months ago I was very unhappy and desperate to write to thee for advice, but as with most things, given time, things settle down and what seemed an enormous problem no longer seems so. I was upset about Simon getting so involved in the church and wanting us all to do so too, but he compromised, and although he himself has now become an elder, with his becoming endowed, he didn't insist that I do it with him.

Thee might not know what it means to be an elder in the Mormon church, so I will tell thee.

It is the lowest office of the Melchizedek priesthood. Every person who receives the Melchizedek priesthood is simultaneously ordained to the office of elder. In order to be ordained, the member must be determined to be worthy by his local bishop and stake president. The duty of an elder is to "teach, expound, exhort, baptize, and watch over the church." Elders have the authority to administer to and bless the sick and afflicted, to "confirm those who are baptized into the church, by the laying on of hands for the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost", to baptize and give others the Melchizedek priesthood as directed by priesthood leaders, and to take the lead in all meetings as guided by the Holy Spirit.

In practice, elders are responsible for many of the day-to-day operations of a ward. They serve in a variety of positions throughout the ward, such as advisers, scout leaders, ward mission leader, and the Sunday School presidency. It is still very early days for Simon, but he has been given the duty of working with the scouts, and our Joseph is in his group.

We will soon be in our new house.  It has already been used in the past as a shop as well as a home, so it will suit us well. There are four bedrooms and a living area as well as the kitchen, and it has quite a large yard.

I value thy advice about how to go about stocking and advertising and selling, for that matter, as I have no experience in any of them. I know thee said thee worked from 8 a.m. till midnight most nights, but I don't think I can put in those sorts of hours. I am thinking of haberdashery sorts of items. How can one find out about buying stock wholesale? I know thy shop is in the far south of the State, so thy suppliers would not be of any use to us, but perhaps thee knows of someone in Salt Lake City who might undertake to be our supplier. I am getting quite excited about the idea. What sort of mark-up does thee suggest, or does it vary with the product?

I should tell thee that my likely customers will be the local ladies buying the odd item, rather than wanting to stock their households. We are not too far from the middle of the town, with their emporiums. What does thee think about stocking writing things?

All for now, I have a hundred and one jobs to do to get ready for our move next week.

Best wishes

Mary