SMITH, Prince William b. 2 Aug 1859 Provo, Utah, Utah, United States d. 16 Nov 1909 Fairview, Uinta, Wyoming, United States

1859 - 1909 (50 years)

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Name	SMITH, Prince William
Birth	2 Aug 1859	Provo, Utah, Utah, United States
Gender	Male
WAC	14 Sep 1882	EHOUS
_TAG	Reviewed on FS
Death	16 Nov 1909	Fairview, Uinta, Wyoming, United States
Burial	19 Nov 1909	Fairview, Uinta, Wyoming, United States
Headstones	Submit Headstone Photo
Person ID	I65323	Joseph Smith Sr and Lucy Mack Smith
Last Modified	19 Aug 2021

Father	SMITH, Silas Schellinger , b. 6 Jun 1822, Stockholm, St. Lawrence, New York, United States Stockholm, St. Lawrence, New York, United Statesd. 11 Jun 1892, Meadow, Millard, Utah Territory, United States (Age 70 years)
Mother	ORTON, Sarah , b. 13 May 1830, Pottawattamie, Iowa, United States Pottawattamie, Iowa, United Statesd. 11 Dec 1912, Fairview, Lincoln, Wyoming, United States (Age 82 years)
Marriage	9 Feb 1858	Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States
Family ID	F20663	Group Sheet \| Family Chart

Family	NEBEL, Mary Ann , b. 17 Sep 1862, Freerslev, Ringsted, Sorø, Denmark Freerslev, Ringsted, Sorø, Denmarkd. 5 Oct 1925, Fairview, Lincoln, Wyoming, United States (Age 63 years)
Marriage	7 Feb 1882	Leamington, Millard, Utah, United States
Family ID	F31019	Group Sheet \| Family Chart
Last Modified	24 Jan 2022

Photos At least one living or private individual is linked to this item - Details withheld.

Notes

Prince William Smith was born August 2, 1859 at Provo, Utah County, Utah. His parents were Silas Smith and Sarah Orton. He was born into a polygamist family as his mother Sarah was Silas’s second wife. Silas’s first wife Elizabeth was a sister to Sarah. Prince William was the first child born to Sarah and Silas.
In 1860 the church made a call to settle southern Utah and the town of Deseret was founded. Silas moved Sarah and their son to Deseret about 100 miles southwest of Provo. Deseret was a rather remote area and Sarah suffered the hardships of pioneer life. The Pahvant Indians frequented the area and by their depredations made life and possession of property precarious for the early settlers. In addition the Sevier River frequently overflowed its banks washing away crops and homes. Here is where Prince William (known as William or Will) lived until he was eight years old. In the minutes of the Deseret Branch of the church for May and June 1866, it states a corral was built with donated labor and William built 12 feet and his father Silas 10.
Those living in Deseret worked hard at building a dam on the Sevier River. Time and again it would have to be repaired to keep it from washing out. Then on July 15, 1868 high water on the River washed out the north settlement and half of the dam. Deseret was deserted as quickly as the people could finish their harvesting and move. Silas moved Sarah and their two sons Prince William and Elias to Meadow about 40 miles southeast of Deseret. William lived there with his family for about four years. It was here he was baptized on September 10, 1869.
In 1872 Sarah and her family were living in Oak Creek (later called Oak City) which was located just about 20 miles east of Deseret City where Sarah and her family had lived previously.
On May 24, 1874 Sarah, Silas and their three sons, Prince William, Elias, and Alonzo, signed their names down to join the newly organized United Order in the Millard Stake, Oak Creek Ward. But the people were not yet sufficiently prepared to live under the rules of such a structure and by the spring of 1875 all of the wards in the Stake had discontinued living the United Order.
In 1880 William was living with his parents Sarah and Silas and his two brothers in Leamington, Utah, a small town just fifteen miles north of Oak Creek. In 1882 the Peter Nebel family moved to Leamington from Goshen, Utah to work on the railroad. Prince William met their daughter Mary Ann (known as Mary) and began keeping company. Soon they fell in love and began making plans to marry in the spring.
One day while Prince William was digging a well, the bucket that was used to lift the rocks and dirt to the surface dropped back hitting him on the head, cutting a large gash and injuring him quite badly. His mother was ill at the time so Mary Ann was asked to come to care for him. They decided to get married right then even though their plans had been to go to Salt Lake and go to the endowment house. Prince William’s father Silas was a Justice of the Peace so he married them on February 7, 1882 and then on September 14 of that year they went to the Endowment House in Salt Lake City and were sealed. Prince William’s mother Sarah was not happy about the marriage because Mary Ann was a cripple and she feared Mary Ann would not be the kind of helpmate that was necessary for every pioneer girl to be at that time.
Prince William took out a homestead in Leamington and they made their home there for the next six years. They lived in a one-room log house with a dirt floor about one-half mile from town. Their first child a son, William Henry was born here on September 5, 1883.
When winter came they moved into town and had a house with a board floor. Prince William was working on the railroad and they were very happy. Prince William was active in church work, serving as a Sunday School teacher and as a ward teacher all the time they lived there.
Their second child, Linna James was born in this little home March 20, 1885. He only lived eighteen months, dying September 11, 1886 of pneumonia. He was a beautiful child and his parents were heartbroken at his death..
After the death of their son Prince William and Mary Ann moved to Joseph City where her parents were living. Prince William’s mother Sarah and his brothers, Elias and Alonzo made the move with them. It was here on January 11, 1888 that their third son, Leo was born.
On May 10 1899 when Leo was one year old they all moved to Star Valley, Wyoming, Prince William, Mary Ann, sons William and Leo; William’s mother Sarah, and her sons Alonzo and Elias; and Mary Ann’s parents John and Anne Nebel and their family. There was plenty of good land to be had by the Homestead Act and some to be bought at a cheap price. There was lots of wild game to attract the daring hunter and plenty of good fishing so all in all it looked very attractive. They forgot to consider that they would face many tough winters. Nevertheless they were a hardy bunch and were not afraid to face the hardships. There were not many families living in the valley at that time. They homesteaded on Salt River west of Dry creek, building a one-room log cabin to shelter their family, which included Sarah, Alonzo and Elias.
They walked every Sunday to Fairview to the little log church house to attend their meetings. The first church meetings in Fairview were held in the log cabin of John C. Dewey who was the appointed presiding elder. Then in the summer of 1890 the settlers built a one-room log meeting house. It was 20 x 28 feet with two windows and a big double door.
The first winter in the valley was very hard for them. They had never seen much snow. Winter came early and they didn’t have sufficient food for themselves or their animals. The cow went dry and they had no milk for the children. In February they had very little flour and that was mixed half with bran. The snow was so deep and the wild deer were so poor and weak from hunger that the dog could overtake them. The family had plenty of boiled deer meat. Prince William went on snowshoes to Afton a distance of five or six miles to get flour as long as there was any there. Later Prince William and Mary Ann’s brother went on snowshoes to Montpelier, Idaho fifty miles away and carried flour back to the family on their backs.
When spring came Prince William left and went to Woolie Valley, Idaho, on the Blackfoot River, to find work and earn money to build up their home. When time came for haying Mary Ann went there also to help with the cooking for the hay men. She went over the tin cup road, west and north of the town of Freedom, Wyoming. They didn’t come back until late in the fall. When they got back they found they had left their homestead so long that their claim had been jumped by William Child. They no longer had a home.
Mary Ann’s father, John Peter Nebel, who was living in Fairview let them build a home on his property.
On September 27, 1890, they were happy with the birth of a baby daughter, Olive Ann, but saddened because she was partly blind.
They bought 40 acres of land next to Prince William’s brother Elias about one mile east of Fairview on Salt River. They also bought a lot in Fairview, it was located on Bitter Creek Road in the second block south of the town blocks (in 2004 it was owned by Hillsteads). The house was log with a dirt roof and a lean to at the back. They bought it from Mary’s father, Peter Nebel
William served many years as tithing clerk for the Fairview Ward. Butter, eggs and garden produce were turned in. Mary Ann helped to care for the food turned in. Prince William was never absent from Sacrament meetings unless he was ill. He also served as a ward teacher.
They had four more sons born in Fairview. Frank Alvero, born July 15, 1892; Joseph Lymon, born July 27, 1894; Silas Asael, born October 3, 1896 and Wesley N. born January 28, 1899.
With such a large family and no work in the valley, Mary Ann and Prince William decided to move back to Utah. So in 1899 they sold their lot to Benjamin Wilson along with the 40 acres of land and with their seven small children the family left Star Valley. Grass Valley, Utah was where they intended to move. When they left Star Valley they had two wagons with good teams of horses. They were accompanied by Mary Ann’s parents, the Peter Nebel family. They spent one winter and summer in Goshen, Utah, Joseph City, Utah and Leamington, Utah. They went to Grass Valley and were disappointed in it so they decided to return to Star Valley. They returned in 1900.
They lived about one and one-half miles up Bitter Creek on the west side of the road. Here their second daughter, Ida, was born December 8, 1891.
They seemed to be unable to get settled again and decided to go to the Big Horn area in northern Wyoming. Many people were moving there including Mary Ann’s parents, the Nebels. They went as far as Spencer, Idaho and worked all summer. Then they changed their mind and returned to Fairview. This time they bought 160 acres one mile north of Fairview and settled down to make a home for their family.
Ada May was born there on May 14, 1904. She was the 10th and last child and their only child that a doctor delivered. All of the others had been attended by Mary Ann’s mother, Anne Nebel, who was a midwife.
Prince William and Mary Ann worked hard to improve the land. They cultivated 20 acres, planting it in alfalfa. The squirrels were so thick it was hard to raise a good crop. They came right into the house and even ate patches of grain right down to the ground. Sometimes they took most of the garden. Everyone called it the squirrel bed. Prince William would go to Idaho each fall to work in the spuds or in the sugar beets, coming home with apples, spuds and flour for winter.
Prince William and Mary Ann became discouraged with the ranch because of frost and squirrels so they decided to try Idaho again. They rented their place and moved to Iona, Idaho in 1906, staying for two years. Then in 1908 they came back to Fairview to try farming again.
Prince William became ill. He suffered from Bright’s disease (a disease of the kidneys). Then he contracted pneumonia and on November 16, 1909 he died leaving Mary Ann with nine living children to care for. He was only 50 years old at the time of his death and Mary Ann just 47. Prince William was buried in the Fairview Cemetery.

Sources: History written by Mrs. Leo Smith
Oak City Records and Leamington Utah Record