Allyson's Genealogical Proof

Amos Hunt and his wife Nancy Garret Welborn came to Utah with their family on Sept. 24, 1852, in Benjamin Gardner's company. The Hunts lost one child before leaving Kentucky. [Mary Jane Hunt, b. 11 Mar 1842 died 1842.] One died and was buried while crossing the plains. [This was Alfred, b. 21 Mar 1847, died June 1852] Not having any lumber, they took the board they used for a table to make a coffin. They also put a board marker with the child's name on it at the head of the grave.
Two days later as they were traveling down a river they saw the marker floating down stream. They didn't know how it got there unless the Indians had pulled it up. Amos Hunt assisted a company of handcart emigrants into Salt Lake Valley and took part in the Echo Canyon Campaign when Johnston's army came to Utah. [This was called the "Utah War". It was between the U.S. government and the Mormons. There wasn't much of a war, just a lot of sabotage like Mormons stealing the army's cattle and burning supplies so that they would leave.]
Arriving in Salt Lake Valley, Amos Hunt and his wife immediately began a life of pioneering. They lived in Ogden until the fall of 1861, when they were called to settle Utah's Dixie. The wagons formed a circle for the camping each night on the way to Dixie. One night they camped where there was snow and bult a large bonfire in the circle of the camp. As they sat around the fire, elk came out of the forest right to the camp, likely drawn by the smell of the hay, which the oxen and teams were eating.
After coming to Utah Amos took a second wife. She was a tall, dark haired girl, by the name of Rebecca Wiggins. To this union were born three children. Elias, Eliza Ellen, and Cena Ann. Rebecca was the daughter of Ebenezer Fairchild Wiggins and Elleanor Moore Wiggins. After reaching St. George, Amos Hunt moved his families to what was known as the Tonaquint field, south of the city at the foot of Main Street. They were camped on this land when the great flood of 1862 came which surrounded their house, the women and children having to be carried out.
Late that spring he moved with some cattle to the foot of the Pine Valley Mountains where the Blake and Gubler ranch was established. During Amos' first year at the foot of the scenic mountain he cleared ground, built fences, corrals and started a log cabin. Before he could house his women folk, Rebecca gave birth to a baby girl. Cena Ann, who became Mrs. Mathew Mansfield, was born in a wagon box fixed as comfortabel as those times would permit. Stouthearted women, full of love for their Church and their men, faced all conditions courageously. Even the chill of that October 3, did not mar the arrival of a newborn.
In 1864, with several other families, Amos Hunt went to Clover Valley [Nevada], later known as Barclay [now a ghost town]. Tarlton Blair drove the ox team while Amos Hunt held the plow and plowed the first furrow at that place. Here they raised a few acres of grain. Knowing the habits of the Indians at this time the men and women were apprehensive of their future and the safety of their families. Immediately upon their arrival they started to build a little fort. Soon there was a fenced fortress, one side of the fence forming a lane, and the other side furnishing a corral for the cattle and sheep. Amos owned a small herd of sheep. The Indians camped on a side hill a short distance away and were soon discovered stealing the sheep. The people were forced to guard the corral at night as the natives tried on several occasions to stampede the cattle, having found this a successful way to secure some for themselves. In this group of settlers, one man, Dudley Leavitt, could talk and understand Indians. So with the great courage of the men, they fought the Indians, not by force or gun, but by wits and faith.
One night Amos Hunt's brother Bradford was standing guard, and as he walked down the lane to awaken the relief guard, he roused ambushing Indians, who immediately gave fight. In the encounter which followed, arrows and gunshots were exchanged in the darkness. One Indian was slain, and the white boys got some severe wounds. The alarm awakened all the settlers and left the scene in the memory of even small children. The Indians destroyed some of Amos Hunt's property. About August 1865, nine cows and calves were killed. In March 1866, nine dry cows and four oxen were killed; six tons of hay, three houses, fencing around the land, and corrals were burned. Food was very scarce and the family gathered salaratus from the ground by sacks full and hauled it to Beaver [a town in southern Utah, but north of Enterprise] to trade for wheat to make flour. To Amos, and to three little ones, it was a time when the bravest of hearts failed. The brave and beautiful Rebecca, though still in her youth, had been buried in the heart of Clover Valley [Nevada]. Pneumonia had struck this young wife of 22 years of age, and on September 19, 1865 she died.
During this same summer his son John Dudley also died. Just before leaving this place three of his small boys were herding the sheep one afternoon when they heard the war whoop of Indians. Both the boys and the sheep grew excited and raced for the corral. The two older boys mounted buck sheep and went to town, leaving the youngest boy to make his own dust. As he recalled, he did this with some gusto, their faithful old dog rounding up the sheep and bringing them into camp. In the fall of 1866 the Indians got so bad that the people had to move, and most of the families moved to Hebron, where they built a fort. While there another daughter, Angeline Hunt, was born in a log house, October 7, 1869. While the mother and baby were still in bed, all the family came down with the measles except Amos, the father. There were twelve in all. Beds were all over the floor.
Amos Hunt, being a shoemaker, made shoes for his family and others. In later years he was quite prosperous. Hebron was laid out in five and ten acre lots, then the men drew for their allotments. Amos drew ten acres in the choise meadow bottom. It was not long before he had built a four roomed house, with a loft and stairway for Nancy. The heart of the wife and mother went into the making of a loving home.
In 1868 or 1869 Shoal Creek was named Hebron. Perhaps Hebron came from fond memories of his home in Kentucky where he spent many years as a young man growing up. Nancy Garret Hunt found refuge at last, and her great heart mothered many young ones, for it was to her home they came from far and near. It made her heart swell and her dim eyes sparkle to be the godmother of many. As the years passed, Amos and Nancy found the security and peace they had prayed for. He had a large herd of cattle and a good ranch. The family milked cows and made butter and cheese. During the time when mining was good in Pioche {Nevada}, Amos Hunt took his butter and cheese out there and received a good price for it. He also had a share in the Washington factory, where he traded butter and cheese for clothing.
Amos moved to Wayne County when it belonged to Piute County and lived in what was the old Thurber town. He lived there for several years.