She Had The Key

"I think she was bigger than anything that could happen to her, sorrow, misfortune, suffering, they were outside her door.  She was in the house and had the key."  

~ Esmeralda Andrus McKell, daughter of Lucy Loomis Tuttle Andrus

Lucy Loomis Tuttle Andrus

My third great-grandmother Lucy Loomis was no stranger to loss and tragedy.  But according to her daughter she was bigger than her suffering.  It stayed outside her door.  

To appreciate this beautiful compliment from her daughter, here are some of the losses and heartaches Lucy experienced. 

Note: These stories come from a biography of Lucy Loomis written by her daughter Esmeralda.  I have done my best to research these stories to verify they are true or get additional information but some are just oral tradition.  

LUCY VS. SAM BRANNAN

I don't know exactly how wealthy her family was, but they had lived in Massachusetts for generations, her relatives would eventually build a college, and she's my connection to the majority of the royalty that I come from.  So yeah, I'd say they were doing okay.  

She married Hubbard Tuttle, also from Massachusetts when she was 21 and they joined the Church of the Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints the following year.  As they prepared to move west, she was under the impression that they were going to California.  She sent all of her precious dishes, quilts, and possessions on the Brooklyn with Sam Brannan. 

First millionaire from the Gold Rush, died a pauper. 

Sam Brannan instead landed in Mexico.  Lucy never saw her possessions again.  

To read more about Sam Brannan and the Brooklyn voyage, click here.  

LUCY VS. SCURVY

While on her journey to Utah, she contracted black scurvy, a disease resulting from a lack of Vitamin C.  Right before you die from the disease, your skin turns black.  She lost nearly all of her teeth (gingivitis is one of the symptoms of scurvy) and they transported materials to make her coffin for 200 miles because they were sure she was going to die.  The wagon would stop to see if she was still breathing or if she had died. 

LUCY VS. CRICKETS

They arrived in Salt Lake on September 30, 1847.  The Saints had quickly planted crops after arriving in July to have enough seed to plant the following spring.  Much to their dismay, in the spring of 1848, a cricket infestation began to devour their precious crops and future food supply.  Miraculously, thousands of seagulls descended on the crops and devoured the crickets--to the point where they would fly away, vomit their meal and come back to eat more crickets.  

LUCY VS. GOLD 

The following year in 1849, the year of the California Gold Rush, Thomas Rhoades returned to Utah from the Mormon Battalion.  He had mined some gold in California and gave it to Brigham Young for the benefit of the Church.  It was worth $17,000.  This gave Brigham Young an idea to send men on "gold missions" to head to California and mine for gold to help the Saints in Utah.  These missions were not made public to the general membership of the Church.

Lucy's husband Hubbard left the following month on such a mission.  Their destination was the San Joaquin Valley, but they ended up spending their time in American Fork, California.  Sickness was rampant at these camps. 

While Hubbard was away, Lucy gave birth to their third child and first son, Hubbard Tuttle.  When he was 5 months old, Lucy heard that the company was returning.  She prepared for his return with food and clothes after his long journey.  In the morning she heard footsteps and went to the door to greet her husband.  Instead it was her sister's husband, Vincent Shurtlef.  He informed her that Hubbard had died of cholera and had been dead for three months. 

When news of Hubbard's death reached the Loomis family back in Massachusetts, her brother asked her to come home.  He told her that she would never want for anything.  She told him that she thought too much of her religion to return.  

Special thanks to Margaret Murphy who presented her research on Brigham Young's gold missions for the 2013 BYU Religious Education Student Symposium.  You can read her work by clicking here. 

LUCY VS. THE COLDEST NIGHT

The year after Hubbard died, Lucy married a polygamist named Milo Andrus on her 29th birthday, June 11, 1851.  She became his third wife.  She would have five children with Milo, their oldest being my second great-grandmother Lavenia Andrus.  She lived and worked with the other wives.  One year eight children were born to Milo Andrus.  Because he served several missions for the Church, these women spent many of their days alone taking care of themselves, their children, and each other. 

On what was known as the coldest night in Utah, Lucy gave birth to her sixth child (her third with Milo) all by herself.  It was so cold that it froze the cat on the floor in the adjoining room. 

Not actual cat

LUCY VS. THE INDIAN

Living alone was dangerous in the Utah territory for many reasons.  One was the chance of an encounter with Native Americans called Indians back then.  One day an Indian came with his horse laden with ducks. 

He said, "Squaw, give me bread."

"I will for a duck," she replied. 

He pulled out his gun. 

She reached for her axe. 

Laughing he said, "Heap brave squaw." 

He left without his bread, and she never got a duck. 

These are just a few of the many stories about Lucy.  She also:

• harvested sugar from corn stalks for her starving children
• washed and sheared sheep, 
• carded, spun, and wove wool into cloth.  
• took loads of hay from Jordan river bottoms to Salt Lake City
• gathered rock from canyons
• fed travelers and their teams at the point of the mountain
• opened the first hotel in Spanish Fork, Utah 
• raised three orphans

More importantly she had a sense of humor and was jovial.  She never lost her faith in God despite all her many trials and hardships.  Her dream was to have something good to eat and would be happy to just have a table to set and eat all the food they want since they ate only rations. 

She definitely had the key.  The key to perseverance, positivity, and resiliency. 

This post features

LUCY LOOMIS TUTTLE ANDRUS (1822-1890)

me-->Bruce Albert Buchanan-->Robert Amos Buchanan-->June Miller Buchanan-->Lavenia Andrus Miller-->Lucy Loomis Tuttle Andrus

The Life He Was Meant To Live

Milo Andrus (1814-1893)

My third great grandfather

me --> Bruce Albert Buchanan --> Robert Amos Buchanan --> June Miller Eckstein Buchanan --> Lavenia Andrus Miller McComb-->Milo Andrus

Milo Andrus is probably the most famous Mormon ancestor I'm related to.  His home is one of the sites at This is the Place Heritage Park.  

Most of the stories I know about Milo Andrus are about his later years.  He brought three handcart companies across the plains, including one that had two of my mother's ancestors in the company.  But recently I discovered a story he wrote about himself and his father.

When Milo's mother died, Milo was 15 years old.  He says that he "bought the balance of [his] time until [he] was twenty-one of [his] father."  I'm not exactly sure what he means by this, but all I can conclude is that he was considered to be an indentured servant or apprenticed to his father and wouldn't be released until the age of 21.

How much do you think he paid for his freedom at the age of 15?  

$150

How much do you think that is in today's dollars?

$3116

As hard as it is to imagine having over $3000 at the age of 15, it's even harder to imagine giving it up just to be free of my father.  Milo must have had great conviction at such a young age to know that the life he was living was not the life he was meant to live.  

Milo joined the church a couple of years after he had bought his freedom.  Within of month of his baptism, he left his new bride and began missionary work in Ohio.  At one point, he was to travel to Mansfield, Ohio to join the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum Smith.  Elder Orson Hyde was to lead the group.

To get from Huron County, Ohio to Mansfield, Ohio, the group needed to pass by Milo's father's home which was by Lake Erie in Henrietta.  His father caught wind of the plan and decided to get the sheriff to help him stop Milo at the county seat in Norwalk.

When Elder Hyde, heard of their plan.  He came up with a plan of his own.  He made inquiries about a road to Tiffin to make Milo's father and sheriff think they they were going to avoid Norwalk.

Not wanting to take over Milo until he camped, his father and the sheriff decided to wait until the end of the day.  During that time they, as Milo describes it, "drank freely."  Finally, in the evening they set out toward Tiffin to find Milo's camp.  Well into the night, they got tired and decided to head back home.  The next morning they discovered that Milo was 40 miles down the road on the way to Mansfield.  Realizing they had been duped, they gave up and went back home.

By this time, Milo knew he was living the life he was supposed to live, and nothing, not even his father or a sheriff, was going to get in his way.

To Part No More

Lavenia Andrus Miller McComb Tryon Sondberg (1854-1939)

My Second Great Grandmother

me --> Bruce Albert Buchanan --> Robert Amos Buchanan --> June Miller Eckstein Buchanan --> Lavenia Andrus Miller McComb Sondberg Tryon

Lavenia was one of 59 children because her father, Milo Andrus, was a polygamist and had 13 wives.  I always joke that she rebelled from that life by having four husbands herself.

However, I think that she had one true love. 

My Nona (Gertrude Buchanan) used to tell me that Lavenia divorced my second great grandfather by leaving Spanish Fork and walking 60 miles to Helper, Utah with her three children.  I don't know how much of that is true, but I do know she divorced her Mormon husband and then married a Catholic, James McComb.

James and Lavenia married in 1888 and had four daughters in four years.  In November of 1894, according to family legend, he took a train to Salt Lake and had lots of cash on him.  He was going to buy Christmas presents for his daughters and some equipment for the restaurant she and James owned.  He never made it to Salt Lake, he was murdered on the train for his money.

His body was found three months later in the Jordan Narrows, close to where Thanksgiving Point is now.  

I don't know if Lavenia even knew it at the time, but she was just a few weeks pregnant with their only son, William James McComb.  His life had a tragic end as well.

Just three years later, Lavenia is charged with battery for assaulting Mary Daly who leased the restaurant from her.  The report states that Lavenia was quite aggressive and hurt the woman's feelings.  The charges were dropped because the attorneys couldn't make it to the court because the roads were washed out.  

I wonder if her feelings about the restaurant were more personal than business.  She had shared this with her husband.  Maybe Mary wanted to change something that James had done.  Maybe she criticized the way James had run the restaurant.  Whatever it was that happened, one thing was for sure, Lavenia was suffering from a broken heart.  

This is what is inscribed on James' tombstone.

On that bright

Immortal shore

We shall meet

To part no more.

On the 98th anniversary of his death, Lavenia and James were sealed for eternity by proxy in the Ogden Temple, to part no more.

Tackling a Tigress

Lavenia Andrus Miller McComb Sondberg Tryon (1854-1939)

My Second Great Grandmother

me --> Bruce Albert Buchanan --> Robert Amos Buchanan --> June Miller Eckstein Buchanan --> Lavenia Andrus Miller McComb Sondberg Tryon

Of all of my ancestors, I have a real soft spot for Lavenia.  I think for two main reasons, she had a very difficult life and she was as strong as an ox.  If I was allowed to only have lunch with one of my ancestors, I'd definitely pick her.

I came across this newspaper article about her today and loved it so much I decided it needed it's own post.

Seems in 1902 Lavenia had a little trouble with a property she purchased.  A man named Fitch felt that he had legal right to that property too.  That's J. Tom Fitch, as in Judge Fitch.

J. Tom Fitch

Did that intimidate Lavenia?  Of course not!  She ran him off her property with a double barreled shotgun.

She said she always shoots to kill.  Lucky for him, he was able to run around a corner and she missed.

So what does Judge Fitch do?  Take it to court of course.  There he got a document that legally declared the property his.

But Lavenia said she'd never vacate the property except as a corpse.  In today's words...

So the Sheriff Hyrum Wilcox, goes over to Lavenia's with five deputies.

The other two deputies were too scared to pose for the picture.

According to the article, "They tackled a tigress."

Two had to hold onto her, while the others took her household items.  One had to extract a pistol from her, um..., "bosom."

They even removed the windows and doors from the house.

Not actual house

Once Fitch was notified that he had possession of the home again he sent two men to watch it.  When Lavenia showed up at 3 o'clock in the morning, they "vamoosed."

Vamoose means to leave like your life depends on it.

By the time the Sheriff got there, she had replaced all the windows and doors.

And now for the rest of the story:

Right now you might be thinking that Lavenia was acting unreasonable, but let me tell you the rest of the story.

J. Tom Fitch was known as the "Father of Helper."  He is credited as having built the very first home in Helper.  He was a real estate man and owned several properties.  This was Lavenia's only home and she earned an income by doing laundry.  Fitch was offered $1000 to let Lavenia stay in the home.  The home was worth $300.  Fitch refused the money.

Fitch would go on to become the mayor of Helper and eventually a State Representative.  Lavenia was eventually evicted permanently from the home and had to find a new place to live.

Never Underestimate the Power of a Hat

This is a story my grandmother, Gertrude Maxine Wahl Buchanan (Nona), told me.  I have no idea if it is true, but I think it makes for great family folklore.

Lavenia had four husbands.  When she was married to one of them, (I don't know which one but I don't think it was James Miller or James McComb) she was living in Helper and decided she wanted a divorce.  In those days you had to file a claim in Price Utah, about 6 miles away.  The cost was $10.

Lavenia saved up her money and hitched up the wagon and set out for the courthouse in Price to get her divorce.  On the way she passed by a store and saw a hat in the window.

 Lavenia loved hats.  She stopped to get a closer look and fell in love with the hat on display.  The cost of the hat was $10.  She decided she could stand to stay married a little longer, but couldn't go another minute without that hat.  So she bought the hat instead of the divorce.

This is how I imagine she looked going back home.

This is what she actually looked like.

Maybe this is the hat she bought that day.

Or maybe it was this one. 

This story is about

Lavenia Andrus Miller McComb Sondberg Tryon (1854-1939)

My second great grandmother

me --> Bruce Albert Buchanan --> Robert Amos Buchanan --> June Miller Eckstein Buchanan --> Lavenia Andrus Miller McComb Sondberg Tryon

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TACKLING A TIGRESS