Moving Forward

Hi, sorry I didn't post last week.

A BIG THANK YOU TO:
Lorna and Brent Belnap for their donation of $25.00. Brent is a grandson of Marie West and Volney Belnap. Louise West Tolton, daughter of Lawrence Berg West donation of $75.00
The monument account balance is now $1,637.39.

Here's how to make your donations: Write check payable to Chauncey W. West Monument Fund and send it either to America First Credit Union, P.O. Box 9199, Ogden, UT 84409. If you are an AFCU member, you can transfer funds from your account directly into account #9033994. Please let me know via email when you make a donation and the amount. Thank you

I have completed entering the genealogical information from Joseph A. West's Francis West of Duxbury, Mass. His Ancestors and Descendants. I can send a gedcom via email if any of you would like to have it. There is much research that needs to be done on this database. Some of you may have already done that. It would be helpful for all who are working on the West family research to collaborate and not duplicate each other. I would love to hear from anyone who is working on this family line or who wants to.

My email is norma.buchanan@hotmail.com

Now for this week's episode of the exciting and achievement-filled life of Chauncey Walker West. I continue from page 40 of the Biographical Sketch as written by his eldest son Joseph Alva West in 1911.

"In the fall of 1855 Brother West settled in Bingham's Fort, Weber County, and on the 29th of May removed to Ogden, having been appointed Bishop of the First Ward. In the fall of the same year he was appointed presiding Bishop of Weber County, a position which he held up to the time of his death, fourteen years later. He was also elected to the House of Representatives by the Weber county constituency about this time and continued a member of that body until the year 1860, when failing health compelled him to retire from the position.
As a prominent ecclesiastical officer of the Church he was untiring in his labors and zealous in the extreme. His devotion to the cause, and loving fidelity to his brethren, early won for him the esteem of his superiors and the affectionate regard of those over whom he was called to preside., As a legislator he was equally efficient. While not overly fluent in speech, he was possessed of a sound judgment, and keen appreciation of the needs of his constituency, and the commonwealth in general, so much so that he was early called to occupy leading positions on the most important committees of the House, and became prominently identified with all the leading legislative movements of those exciting and crucial times.
July 18, 1857 he received his commission from Governor Brigham Young as colonel of the Fifth regiment in the Weber Military District, and in March 1858, was made brigadier-general in the Nauvoo Legion for distinguished services in the Utah War, which position he filled with honor and ability. Being a man of great courage, unbounded energy and commanding presence, he was frequently selected for the most difficult and dangerous expeditions. He and his command were among the first to be called to the defense of the Saints when the misguided President Buchanan sent an invading army to Utah.
At Echo Canyon his regiment, which was said to be among the best drilled and disciplined of the Legion, occupied the post of danger (always the post of honor) in the center of the defile, and when tidings came of Johnston's intended detour via the Bear River, General West was selected to head him off. By forced marches he and his trusted men made such rapid progress and presented such an aggressive front to the enemy that hearing of their movements, the invading troops returned to their former rendezvous and went into winter quarters. This practically ended active hostilities, and gave the government an opportunity of obtaining a correct understanding of the Utah situation."

"Th th that's All Folks" I will notify you by email when I do the next post.

Close Calls

Reminder: NEED $4,100 BY END OF SEPTEMBER 2008, another $4,100 BY END OF JANUARY 2009, last $4,100 at completion. Current balance in Chauncey W. West Monument Fund is $1,517.64.

Excerpts from A Biographical Sketch of Chauncey Walker West by his son Joseph A. West on page 38 of his 1911 paper entitled Francis West of Duxbury, Mass., Some of His Ancestors and Descendants.

"The night previous to their arrival at Calcutta, Elder West dreamed of seeing a little boy standing on the wharf among a crowd of people waiting for the arrival of the Elders, and sure, enough, when they did arrive, there he stood. Upon going ashore, Elder West picked him out and remarked to his companions as he did so: "This is the little boy that I saw in my dream." Upon inquiry it was found that Sister Matthew McCune, learning of the expected arrival of the Elders and having no one else to send to meet them (her husband being away with the British army at the time) sent her son to the wharf. That son was Henry McCune, now a resident of Ogden, Utah, who but a little time ago related the incident to the writer.

During their voyage from Ceylon to Bombay the Elders encountered a terrific storm, and through an error in the captain's calculations, the ship was driven so near the shore that the vessel grounded and came near being broken to pieces. The life boats were launched, but immediately foundered. In the midst of these dreadful scenes, Elders West and Dewey rebuked the winds and waves in the name of the Lord, and almost immediately the raging elements were calmed, and the vessel swung off into deeper water. Although greatly damaged, and having several feet of water in the hold, the ship was taken safely to port and no lives where lost.

When homeward bound Elder West engaged passage for himself and Elder Dewey from Canton to San Francisco on the American vessel "Riega," and had gone as far as Hong Kong, China, when the Lord warned him in a dream to leave the ship, which he, in a vision, had seen wrecked upon the coral reefs. The warning was promptly obeyed, and the vessel put out to sea never to return. It was wrecked in precisely the manner seen by Elder West in his vision, for the captain, whom he afterwards met, told him the whole occurrence, and wanted to know why he had left his ship in such a mysterious manner. To his great astonishment Elder West related his dream, when the captain said with an oath, "Why did you not tell me?" The Elder replied that if he had he would have paid no attention to the warning, but denounced him as a fool. The captain replied with another oath, "I guess you are right."

While waiting to secure another passage home, Elder Dewey was taken violently ill with chills and fever at a boarding house kept by a Mr. Young. In the meantime Elder West had arranged with Captain Miller of the vessel "Cressy" to ship as a sailor to San Francisco, for $15 per month, provided his companion was able to accompany him by the time the vessel was ready to sail. Most fervently did they pray for Elder Dewey's recovery; and one day, while thus engaged, they were irresistibly impressed to leave the hotel and go on board the ship. For some days past it had been raining very hard, and soon after they left the hotel, the storm loosened a large rock from the mountain side nearby, which came rolling down with terrific force and struck the hotel, completely demolishing it. One of the inmates was killed and several were wounded.

Next episode will be about his contributions to the building of Ogden City