Chauncey explores

Monument Progress Report Please inform all of your family members the address of this blog: If you agree that the monument should be replaced, please send in a contribution to the fund either by check payable to Chauncey W. West Monument Fund mailed directly to the America First Credit Union, P.O. Box 9199, Ogden, UT 84409-0199 or online by credit card on PayPal to my email address norma.buchanan@gmail.com which is programmed to automatically go into the Chauncey W. West Monument Fund at the credit union. I will post the account statement monthly. This is an invitation to all of Chauncey's descendants to participate if they wish to do so. The hope is that this project will also bring his descendants together. I look forward to meeting all of them I can find. We have a great heritage.

The photograph of the monument clearly shows its deteriorated condition. This is the only marker for all of the four adults and thirteen children of Chauncey's and four of his sister Adelia's children that are buried in the C.W. West family plot.

Now for the next exciting episode in the life of Chauncey Walker West, Explorer, Pioneer, Father

Chauncey and Mary had a new baby with them when they arrived in the Salt Lake Valley that had been born on the journey near what is now Green River, Wyoming, besides his two brothers and sister. Their first baby, Margaret, died shortly after they arrived in the Salt Lake Valley.

He built a sturdy log and adobe cabin within what is now called "Pioneer Square" and began with the other men to divert the stream "City Creek" on the dry ground, plow and plant crops to provide their food for the coming winter.

In August of 1849, Mary gave birth to their first son who they named Chauncey Walker, Jr. In December of 1849, Brigham Young organized an exploring party to scout out the area south of Salt Lake to find suitable locations where settlements could be made. Parley P. Pratt was selected to head this group made up of fifty men with their wagons and animals. Chauncey, age twenty-one at this time was selected to go with this group.

The Pratt exploring party left Provo in December and traveled south approximately along where Utah State Highway 89 is located. The winter of 1849-50 was severe, making this journey even more difficult. They traveled south as far as they could go with horses and wagons, then cut over the mountains to the west about where Parowan is located, which was then called Salt Valley. The group made camp here and Parley selected a group to go with him on south to where Santa Clara is now located. Chauncey was given supervision of the other part of the group remaining in the Parowan area. Chauncey and his group explored west of Parowan discovering some interesting Indian petroglyphs at a place called The Gap. A detailed account of this exploring group is in the book Over The Rim, by William B and Donna T. Smart.

When Parley returned to the main group in Parowan in late January, they began traveling north. Parley, realizing they did not have sufficient supplies to carry them through the winter, left the main body of the men and equipment at Fillmore and started with twenty men and animals for Provo. The snow was so deep, the weather severely cold, and their supplies so low that he decided that he and one other of the men would take the best horses and push through to Provo to get help. The man he selected to go with him was Chauncey W. West.

In Parley's journal of January 27th we read, "Our provisions being nearly exhausted, Chauncey West and myself decided to take some of the strongest animals and try to penetrate to Provo, which was still some 50 miles distant in order to send back provisions to the remainder who were to follow slowly. We started at daylight, breaking the way on foot, leading the mules in our track and sometimes riding them. We traveled all day averaging about knee deep in snow. Camped at 11 at night on Summit Creek. Extremely hungry and feet badly frozen. We built a small fire it being the coldest night we had ever experienced and after trying in vain to thaw out our frozen shoes, stockings and the bottoms of our drawers and pants we rolled ourselves in our blankets and lay trembling with cold a few hours."

"January 28th. Rose long before day, ate a few mouthfuls of the last frozen biscuit remaining, saddled up our animals and after another laborious day, living on a piece of biscuit not so large as our fist, we entered Provo at dark, raised a posse of men and animals with provisions and set back the same night."

As noted in Franklin West's biography, "Governor Young had sent out colonists to practically every site recommended by the report of the exploring expedition."

Chauncey returned home to Salt Lake where he labored to build up the community and provide for his family, now consisting of his sister Adelia, their daughter Margaret, son Chauncey junior, and possibly his younger brothers. He and Mary welcomed another baby son into their home September 1851, whom they named Joseph Alva.

Be sure to logon next week for the next exciting episode.