Pioneer Day

In Utah (and some folks in Idaho, too), we celebrate Pioneer Day on July 24 to commemorate the day when the first Mormon settlers arrived in the Salt Lake valley in 1847. The Lord had led them there through Brigham Young to escape persecution and to live in peace. (It kind of reminds me of when the Lord led Israel out of oppression in Egypt through Moses to the promised land, though it took them a few years to be ready to enter it.) They experienced a lot of hardship on the way and as they established themselves. Their faith, hard work, and the Lord's promised blessings helped them carry on. Pioneer Day has become a time to remember all those who came before us, forging paths so that we could have many of the blessings that we do today. There are also those who are pioneers for their families today. Here, I want to remember some of my own ancestors who not only made it possible to be here, but who inspire me to work hard to reach my dreams and leave a good legacy for my posterity.

Alfred and Essie Furse

My great-grandparents Furse were born in Enlgand. Both converted to the LDS faith when they were young. While Alfred's family converted as well, Clarissa (Essie) and her sister Elyza were the only converts in their family. In fact, their family wasn't very happy with them joining. I can't imagine how hard it must have been for them to deal with opposition from those they loved. At one point, Essie was a Sunday school teacher. Alfred was younger than her, and was one of the kids in her class. She had to keep him in line.

Eventually, Alfred's family moved to the U.S. and settled in Idaho. Not too far, in fact from where I've been attending school at Brigham Young University-Idaho. Alfred became a cowboy, and thus began many wild adventures. Once, his boss asked him to go get some horses and bring them back. Home wasn't too far out of his way, so he decided to stop by and visit. When he rode into town, he noticed that all the buggies were parked at the church. He guessed it must be Sunday, so he went inside. He sat in the back by his brother Harry, and then he saw her. She was sitting by his parents. He said to Harry, “That's the girl I'm going to marry!” Harry let out a whoop, and everybody turned to see what on earth was going on.

It turned out, the girl was his former Sunday School teacher, Essie. She had come over from England, leaving her family behind, and his parents had given her a place to stay. He pursued her quite persistently, taking her on rides with his parents' buggy, throwing rocks at her window so he could talk to her, etc. His parents said she was too good for him, and she called him crazy. But eventually, she chose him over another fellow who lived in Utah. I try to imagine this couple. She was small and very intelligent, very well-educated. He was an Englishman-turned-cowboy and very sturdy. I won't take the space here to tell of all their adventures, but I will say that at the least, it must have been quite the feat to survive those long, frigid winters in a log cabin. (It's cold enough just walking to class and back.) They raised twelve children, and of course, my Grandpa Furse was one of them.

Anena Simonsen Petty

Earlier on, a family in Denmark converted to the Mormon faith. They had to deal with a lot of persecution that threatened even their children. They wanted to go to America to find safety and to be with other members of their faith, but they couldn't afford the passage to sail all together. So, they sent one or two children at a time. Anena, who was to be my great-great-grandmother, traveled with her sister, Severene. Severene was 11, and Anena was 5. Two sister missionaries agreed to look after the girls on the voyage. It wasn't a very enjoyable trip. You can imagine how their parents worried, and how they must have turned to the Lord, growing in their trust in him to protect them. They made it, and went to stay with their brother in the little town of Ephraim, Utah.

Anne Katrine is one of several ancestors on my mom's side who settled in the Ephraim and Manti area. Today, Ephraim is home to Snow College, where I also attended school and where I made some of my favorite memories. Interestingly, Snow College and BYU-Idaho both started out as church academies in the same year of 1888. If it wasn't for ancestors on both sides of my family and their fellow settlers, I wouldn't have been able to attend both schools. They have been gathering places for so many awesome people I've met (and other great people).

I could tell a lot more stories about my ancestors. There were the Stahelis who came from Switzerland and settled the Santa Clara, Utah. Other ancestors came to the U.S. earlier than the Mormon pioneers as colonists from the Netherlands, England, etc. Some participated in the Revolutionary War to fight for independence. The history of their forbears reaches far back into Europe until it mingles with legends. Ancients recognized mythical heroes for defeating threatening monsters and saving their people. We remember solidly historical heroes for their battles against invaders, for uniting empires and kingdoms. Other heroes, not recognized individually by your average history text books, wielded just as great an influence in the lives of their posterity. And whether or not you feel that has been the case in your family, you can be a hero for your family and their future, defending them and forging paths to a firm foundation.

Furse Family Crest

Motto: Nec desit virtus, or, “Nor let valour be lacking.” Virtus is the Latin source of our word “virtue” and means “strength”.

If you're interested in your family history, this is a  site with free services that has been helpful to me: FamilySearch