DURFEE FAMILY NOTES
THOMAS DURFEE
COAT OF ARMS
LIFE SKETCH OF DOLLY DURFEE GARNER #43
Polly Durfee, the fourth child of Edmund and Lana Pickle Durfee, was born March 8, 1816 at Lennox, Madison County, New York. Her ancestors on her father’s side had long been residents of Tiverton, Newport County, Rhode Island. Her ancestor, Thomas Durfee (born in 1643), immigrated to America from England. There is some question about her mother’s descent. Some records state that she likewise was from Rhode Island, but one record gives Holland as her birthplace.
When Dolly was six years old the family moved to Amboy, Oswego County, New York, where her father bought some land, built a house and cultivated a small farm. Her father was also a carpenter by trade. For eight years the family was happy at Amboy. By 1830 there were twelve children in the Durfee home and never a dull moment. The last child (Nephi) was born five years later at Kirtland, when Mother Durfee was 47 years old. Of course there was always plenty of work to occupy their time. But good times were also enjoyed. More land had been acquired where maple trees abounded, so the family made lots of maple sugar.
But Father Durfee wanted to go west. Consequently he sold his farm and “maple bush”; and the family moved to Ohio, settling in the township of Ruggles. During the winter of 1831 stories were circulating about the Mormons and the old Bible. In April of 1831 Solomon Hancock proselyted in Ruggles. The Durfees were Methodist. Elder Hancock preached often in the Methodist chapel. The Durfees were surprised to learn the truth about the Mormons - it was so different from the stories being circulated. Father Durfee was baptized the middle of May by Elder Simeon Carter.2 The first part of June Mother Durfee and most of the other members of the family were baptized by Solomon Hancock.3 There is some question as to the exact date of Dolly’s baptism but it was either in May or June of 1831. Eventually all members of the family were baptized.
In December, 1831, Father Durfee was sent on a short mission for the church. The temple site at Jackson County was dedicated August 3, 1831, and some of the saints began settlements in that area. In February, 1831, Father Durfee went to Jackson County (Far West) to build a place for his family in “Zion”, returning home May 20. The family did not move at that time because another mission took their father back to the states until the fall of that year.
In May, 1833, the family moved to Kirtland where most of the saints were gathering. Father Durfee was one of the 24 elders who laid the cornerstones of the Kirtland Temple. Of course Dolly was present on this important occasion. Upon completion she attended school in the temple.
The tempest of persecution finally drove the saints from Kirtland and the Durfees moved to Caldwell County, Missouri, in 1837 and settled in Log Creek.4
Mobocracy in Missouri reached its height in 1838 and the saints were driven out in a body, having to leave their property without hope of obtaining remuneration. These were indeed heartbreaking days for the saints. No matter where they went bitterness, hatred, lyings and most unspeakable persecution followed them. It was indeed a test of their faith. Denial of the church ... turned traitors.
After the expulsion from Missouri in 1838 the Durfees settled in Yelrome.5
In Lima, Illinois, (close to Yelrome) Dolly became acquainted with David Garner who was a faithful member of the Lima branch. They were married October 18, 1842. Their home must have been near Lima rather than in the town itself because the family group sheet gives the birthplace of the first two children “near Lima”. Louisa Ann was born July 12, 1843.
On June 27, 1844, Dolly experienced a paralyzing shock, along with the rest of the saints, when word came that the prophet had been killed at Carthage. They had known of his deliverance so many times that no one believed he would be taken from them. A week later, while the saints were so confused and bewildered, Dolly’s second baby was born - Fannie Marilla, on July 2, 1844.
Persecutions increased in intensity. Nothing seemed to satiate the thirst for blood and havoc which possessed the mobbers. The town of Yelrome, where Dolly’s parents and family lived, was literally burned down by the mobs, destroying about 200 homes. Words can’t possibly describe the reign of terror which scourged the saints. At the time of this burning and destruction, Dolly’s father, as he endeavored to quench a fire, was brutally shot by a mobber on November 15, 1845.
Following this horrifying experience David and Dolly moved to Nauvoo which was only 25 miles from Lima. At Nauvoo their first son was born January 10, 1846. It was only logical to name him David for his father and Edmund for his late grandfather.
Refuge was not to last long at Nauvoo and finally the mobs were successful in driving the saints from their beautiful city which they built from a swamp. The forced exodus began in February of 1846 when young David was only a month old and in the extreme cold of winter before the people had had opportunity to adequately prepare themselves for their long journey ahead. The Prophet had told them they would eventually settle in the tops of the mountains.
A temporary haven was sought in the “Pottowattamie lands” (Indian territory) in Iowa. It was hoped that they could plant crops and better prepare themselves for the rigors of the journey to the mountains.
Their preparations were interrupted, however, by the call of Capt. James Allen of the U.S. Army for 500 volunteers to fight in the Mexican War. The people were already wasted, destitute, and ill from the constant drivings of their persecutors. But David joined the volunteers in June, leaving Dolly with her three babies in a covered wagon on the banks of Mosquito Creek where Council Bluffs now stands.
Dolly bore courageously the long months of loneliness and uncertainty, not knowing anything of the welfare of her husband. On October 21, 1847, the little family gratefully greeted David, who had been to the Valley and had now returned to take them to Zion.
On May 13, 1848 David and Dolly were sealed by Brigham Young at Winter Quarters.
It seemed advisable to wait before undertaking the westward journey to the Valley. During this time of preparation at Council Bluffs two more children were born: William Franklin, born December 12, 1848 and Mary Marinda, born February 20, 1850.
In the spring the long-awaited trek became a reality, traveling with one wagon and one bed. Although they were quite well prepared (comparatively speaking) still the children walked much of the way barefooted. They bound their bleeding feet with rags to avoid leaving blood-stained tracks for the Indians to follow.
Upon arrival in the Valley the family went almost directly to Ogden Fort where they stayed with many others of the saints that first winter. This afforded protection from Indians as well as companionship.
In the spring David and Dolly established a home in North Ogden. It was one room built of rock and brick containing a fireplace, two beds, two trundle beds and meager household furniture. Additions were built to the house as needed. Cloth was impossible to obtain at first; but Dolly was a resourceful woman. So she took the canvas wagon cover which had protected them on their journey and made it into necessary articles. Marilla was the proud possessor of a new dress made from that canvas cover.
Of course, they made their own tallow candles for light. As soon as possible crops were planted. Flax was included in the crops, from which Dolly and her girls laboriously made material for clothing and household uses. From the sheep’s wool they spun skeins of yarn which was knitted into warm articles of clothing such as stockings, mittens, and so forth. They also made woolen cloth. Of course, this material was sewed by hand. A weed was boiled, and the color was used to stain the cloth.
Matches were very scarce, and it was the custom to “borrow” fire from the neighbors. It was not unusual to see a neighbor hurrying with a pan of red-hot coals to replenish or build his own fire.
There was plenty of work for all, and Dolly taught her children that work was a blessing. She, herself, was a tireless worker and an immaculate housekeeper. Having known privation so long Dolly was extremely frugal. David was a very good provider, but the lean years and constant drivings had taught their lesson. When butter and eggs were high she reminded the children to be careful and not use too much. When they were cheap she would tell the children they must go sparingly because it took a lot to get a little money.
Dolly was an excellent cook. Her son-in-law, Abraham Chadwick, often said that Dolly made the lightest, most delicious biscuits he ever tasted. But she cut them small and dainty so that each biscuit was not much more than a mouthful for a hungry man. How he hated to keep asking for more, but they were so good that he always succumbed to the temptation.
Dolly and her girls dried a tremendous amount of fruit each year from their bountiful orchard. Four more children were born in North Ogden: Nancy Jane, born September 7, 1851; Amelia Jane, born May 10, 1853; Charles Henry, born April 16, 1856; Lydia born March 2, 1858.
She is remembered as being about 5' 5" tall, of a rather heavyset build. She was somewhat dark in coloring.
In the Endowment House on October 10, 1855, Dolly received her endowments.
In 1863, David returned to Winter Quarters to bring his sister’s family to Utah. On October 10, 1871, he accepted a call for a mission to the east and was gone until February 22, 1872. These long absences naturally increased the burden on Dolly’s shoulders but she accepted it uncomplainingly.
On June 14, 1885, after a long illness, Dolly died at North Ogden, leaving David and eight devoted children (3 sons and 5 daughters). Nancy Jane had died as a child.
Her funeral services were held at her home on Tuesday, the 16th of June. Services were conducted by Bishop Thomas Wallace. The hymn, “Creation Speaks with Awful Voice,” was sung, followed by Elder Robert E. Berrett who offered the invocation. Speakers included Bishop Critchlow, Elders W. H. Wright, L. J. Herrick, Robert E. Berrett, and Bishop Wallace. The closing hymn was “Farewell, All Earthly Honors, I Bid You All Adieu”. The benediction was pronounced by James Barker. Internment took place in the Ogden City Cemetery.
1. "Memorial” written by Tamma Durfee Miner, March 13, 1881.
2. Documentary History, p. 523; Tamma states S. Hancock baptized.
3. "Memorial” by Tamma Durfee Miner.
4. Documentary History, p. 524.
5. Yelrome, Morley’s Settlement, Green Plains are all names for same village close to Lima, Jenson’s Church Encyclopedia, Book 1, p. 977.
6. Short Sketch of Fannie Marilla Garner Tracy.
7. Biography of Amelia Jane Garner Dixon.
Other sources of information: “What the People Say,” Ogden Herald, June 19, 1885, signed R.G.B. Also personal recollections of the following grandchildren: William Abraham Chadwick, William Garner, Emily Chadwick Zaugg, and Hazel Garner
Written and compiled by Dora D. Flack, a great-great-granddaughter.
Copies of history may be obtained from her, 1089 So. 8th West, S.L.C. Utah
THE LIFE OF DAVID GARNER AND DOLLY DURFEE #42 & #43
David Garner and Dolly Durfee moved from their home in Lima Ill. to Nauvoo. Soon after they with the rest of the saints were forced to leave their beautiful city in the dead of winter to find a resting place some where else. With a family of three Louisa, Fanny Marilla, and David, a baby of one month, they first camped at Sugar Creek, then moved to Mt. Pisgah, (later known as Council Bluffs, where a settlement was established. David answered a call to go with the Mormon Battalion, leaving her and family at Mosquito Creek, (Fort Leavenworth) 16 July 1846. Dolly was almost beside herself with anxiety, trying to take care of her little family through the long dark nights and only a candle to light the room. When the war was over David went to the valley of the mountains and was released to return to his family at Mosquito Creek, on 21 Oct. 1847. The family remained at Council Bluffs until the summer of 1850 when they began their trek to the Salt Lake Valley. They did not remain in Salt Lake City but continued on to Ogden Fort in Sept. 1850. In the spring of 1851 they moved to North Ogden, built a one room cabin with a fireplace. Dolly died at North Ogden 10 June 1885. David died also in North Ogden 27 Apr. 1890 age 72.
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