Daughters of Utah Pioneers, Phillips Camp Biographies, Campkin to Curtis

page 51

DAVID KING CRAFTS by Marjorie Crafts Herndon, Granddaughter Grandfather David King Crafts was born lo April 1832 at Mt . Clements, Michigan , the son of Parsons Crafts and Judith (Chase ) Dudl ey . When Davie was a small child h is mother died . Vhen he was six years old, his father died . David's oldest sister was married, and her husband wouldn ' t let her keep the younger children, ae she gave them to anyone who would take them . David was given to a man , who sold him to an Inn keeper for ~ 10 worth of whisky. Here he worked in bondage as a stable boy . One night the Inn keeper ' s cow didn ' t come home . David was sent to fine her . When he came back without the cow , the Inn keeper was very angry and whipped him . The next morning he was again sent to find the co~, with a threat th at if he didN~t find her he would beat David within an inch of his life . He looked all day but couldn ' t find the cow . That evening his master was about vo h it him when David jumped through a window and ran away. He was befe-iended by a farmer and his wife , and he stayed with them until they moved away . He then w9rked h is way on a ferry boat to Cleveland, Ohio , ·where he kn ew onw of hia siaterslived . As he stepped from the boat , a boy twelve years old alone in a large city , he didn ' t know where to go . A man crune up to him and asked him where was going . Grandfather said he was looking f or a sister by the name of Mary Crafts Stacy . The man said he would help him find her and took David home . David wa s very surprised to learn that the man was his bootheri in-law and the husband of h is sister, Mary Crafts St a cy . They took David into their home , and he stayed there until he was grown . At the age of 1 9 , grnndfather and a man by the name of David Lockland were buying mul e s for the Government . On their journey west , they met and joined the Pioneers . While traveling with them grandfather became convertE to the Church of J esus Christ of Latter Day Saints and was baptized in the Pl a tte River by Thomas Slight in September, 1851 , and confirmed by John Ho ckings. He was ordained a Seventy by a Mr . Townsend in l8b2 . They traveled with the fioneers until they came to Salt Lake City, Uta! He and amother group of Saints were sent to settle Cedar Port . Here he me i and fell in love with Phebe Ann Rodeback , daughter of James and Phebe Beagle Rodeback . They were married by Bishop Allen Weeks on 10 April 185( In November , 1861 they were sealed in the Salt Lake Endowment House . David and Phebe Ann lived in Cedar Fort until after their second child was born then moved to Hyrum, Cache Co ., Utah . Because of gr andmother ' s poor heal th , he sold his farm in Hyrum for a wagon , a family Bible and ten dollars and moved to Lake Ferren , Mi ll ard Co., Utah . 1They had a farm and did fairly wel l for awhile until people living above them took their irrigation water . fuile at Lake Ferren , many people and wagon trains stopped at their home to rest on t heir way to C a lif orni ~ . They moved b ack to Cedar ort . At that time it was the county seat of Cedar County , with Eurab l e Snow as the judge and grandfather was the County Seriff. While he was sheriff , two young men n amed Weeks went into the canyon to cut poles to build corra When they didn ' t come home at night , a posse was formedto look for them . The posse found the mutilated bodies of the young men . They had b een ki ll edby Indi ans . . . .. , Because grandfather was the sherlff , he had to go to the Indlan ~ camp . After talking to the chief , he finally co nvinced him. t? turn the tw renegade Indi ans over to him, and grandfather took them to Jall at the