The Langford Family in Nauvoo, Illinois and Salt Lake City, Utah

Another day, another amazing discovery in the Langford family tree.
Yesterday evening, I decided to try to look for connections in a new place. The website Familysearch.com is run by the Mormon Church and is free. I have used it many times in the past. Recently, they launched improvements to the site which make it easier to navigate. One of the areas that I had not been able to search before were family trees submitted by others. With the new navigation, I decided to take a peek. Was I ever surprised!

I have used family trees submitted by others as a derivative source. These trees are not factual, necessarily, but they are indicators that there may be facts available to support their conclusions. I use these as a signpost for directions while I pursue the primary sources that would provide necessary genealogical proof.

I found thousands of Langfords in family trees on familysearch, several that included Northrop Holderbee Langford, Oscar's great grandfather. With a name like that unusual mouthful, I was looking at a pretty good indication of a connection.

So I looked deeper and found that, on this tree, Phebe Langford, a sister to Oscar's grandfather had married Abraham Morton, a fact which I already had corroborated. What caught my eye was that Phebe Langford Morton had been buried in historic Nauvoo, Illinois, not far from where I live.

Phebe and Abraham Morton were converts to Mormonism. Historic Nauvoo, Illinois, was a stopping point for the followers of Joseph Smith as they fled persecution, before finally settling on Salt Lake City.

It turns out that the following people are related to the Langfords as descendants of Phebe Langford Morton and Abraham Morton:

Their daughter Phebe Morton, married James Angell and had at least eight children.

                 Phebe Morton Angell and two of her daughters, Mary Ann and Jemima, all became plural wives of Brigham Young. Mary Ann was his second wife, after his first wife died. It was Mary Ann who first approved of Brigham Young's addition of other wives and who was the mother of Brigham Young, Jr.. He had a total of 55 marriages, many of which were not conjugal. He married Phebe and Jemima on the same day in 1846 when Phebe was 59 and Jemima was 42.
                  Truman Osborn Angell was a son of Phebe Morton Angell, brother to Mary Ann and Jemima and brother-in-law to Brigham Young. He learned architecture while building temples in Nauvoo Illinois, Kirtland, Ohio, Logan, Utah and Manti, Utah. He refined these skills when sent by Brigham Young to study in Europe. He was instrumental within the Mormon Church as the Chief Architect. He was the moving force behind the building of the Salt Lake Tabernacle. His son Truman Osborn Angell, Jr., continued in his father's footsteps. He is credited with resolving the problem of the acoustics of that building.

More from Savanna

Yesterday, April 8, 2013, I visited the public libraries in both Sabula, Iowa, and Savanna, Illinois. I also stopped at the store of Frank Fritz, from the TV show American Pickers. I also found the Mississippi Palisades State Park, the Pioneer Monument in Savanna, the location of the Indian wigwam used by the Pierce family the first night they arrived and the location of the first Pierce house which later was replaced by the Rhodes "Steamboat House."

The Sabula Public Library is very small which fits the town and is only open four hours a day. Yesterday the hours were from 9:00am to 1:00pm. I spent over two hours there and quickly learned that, although Jane Rennets Langford, Oscar's sister, can be found there in the 1860 federal census, there was no other information about her. Since Savanna is right across the river, the Sabula library has a small collection of books about its Illinois neighbor. It was here that I first saw pictures of Fidelia Langford's mother in law and father in law, Aaron Pierce and Harriet Bellows Pierce. I also learned the location of their home in Savanna, and that their daughter Mary Jane is considered the first white child born in western Illinois, and that Mary Jane married riverboat pilot Captain John Brown Rhodes. Further, that Mary Jane and Captain Rhodes built a "Steamboat House" just after the Civil War on the site of the original Pierce home, which still stands today, sort of.
Next stop was the Mississippi Palisades State Park. This was a Civilian Conservation Corps project of the New Deal era and it provides a really nice vantage point for some of the widest parts of the Mississippi River. 
My next stop was the Pioneer Monument pictured here:

The inscription reads :

"On this ground stood the Indian wigwam occupied by Aaron Pierce and his wife Harriet Bellows Pierce and their four children, November 4, 1828. The first white settlers of Savanna."

If you click on the picture and use the zoom tool you can be read it for yourself. One of their children was Lorenzo Dow Pierce, later Fidelia's husband.

Directly across the street sits the "Steamboat House", pictured below, built by Captain Rhodes on the site of the original Pierce house :

I also obtained a drawing of what this house looked like originally. Like many steamboat pilots' houses this one sat right on the river and had a cupola on the roof where family could watch for the approach of the boat. It also contained a two story extension on the right side that has since been removed.
I also went around the river side of the house to give you their views of the river.

Then I went to the Savanna Public Library where I was able to buy a copy of "The Story of Savanna Early Settlement 1828-1850" by Alice M. Bowen. Alice Bowen was also a descendant of the Pierce family and she clarifies some facts that have been confused in other accounts. She wrote this in 1928 as part of the 100th anniversary of Savanna. She provides charming details about the early settlers. One detail that I found exquisite was that a log was hollowed out and used as a cradle for the first Carroll County settler baby, Mary Jane Pierce.
Also at this library I was able to see some artifacts of Harriet Bellows Pierce, pictured here:

The top picture is a bonnet worn by Harriet and the bottom is a embroidery that she wore, perhaps as a shawl.
And lastly I stopped briefly at the antique mall belonging to American Pickers co-star Frank Fritz. Frank was not in but I was able to see a lot of old stuff and a lot seemed familiar from the TV show.

Savanna, Illinois Pioneers

I learned a while back that Oscar's sister, Fidelia Emily Langford had married Lorenzo Dow Pierce and that they lived most of their lives in Savanna, Illinois. 
Lorenzo Dow Pierce was the son of Aaron Pierce and Harriett Bellows Pierce. Aaron Pierce is considered the founder of Savanna Illinois because he was the first white settler in western Illinois.
Below is from the City of Savanna:
Settled in 1828, and receiving its city charter from the State of Illinois in 1875, Savanna began as a river town. Savanna was originally a stopping point for steamboats during regular runs between Galena, Illinois and St. Louis, Missouri. The evolving transportation lines also added to Savanna's success as a growing city. Settled by true pioneers, this land offered its citizens an opportunity to begin a new life, acquire land, and a chance to accumulate wealth from the river's steamboat and barge traffic. The story of these pioneers is the same story of the thousand lured to the far west with rumors of opportunity and fortune. It was for this reason that a young pioneer from Boston, Aaron Pierce, and his wife began their long journey west. For years these unsettled pioneers searched to find a haven of peace and plenty. They enlisted the services of Vance Davidson, a kind of soldier of fortune, who told them of a beautiful valley on the bank of the Mississippi. He had discovered this area on a recent journey from Rock Island to Galena. The Pierce family, led by Mr. Davidson, traveled an old Indian trail through the deep woods in an ox-drawn covered wagon. Upon arrival they found themselves atop a lofty pinnacle of land overlooking the Mississippi (this is currently the site of the former city hospital). Below was a valley lush with burnished-gold savannas and natural beauty that would later become Savanna's downtown. Aaron housed his family in an Indian hut for temporary shelter near what is now 1018 Main Street (near the Savanna Sabula Bridge). This area had river front access, plenty of trees and was full of wildlife. Aaron took advantage of the area's natural resources and began to sell cord wood to steamboats as fuel - - a cash industry for the early settlers. 
Also from the Find A Grave website we learn that Harriet Bellows Pierce was trained at a music academy in Boston and taught music lessons on the prairie.
Aaron and Harriet Pierce are buried in Savanna.The beautiful view that is described above is available from the Palisades State Park located on the bluffs of the river.

William Rainey Marshall

The Langford family continues to provide amazing bits of American history. Today, as I worked to develop the family tree further, I came across William Rainey Marshall. He married into the Langford family with his 1854 marriage to Abigail Elliot Langford. Abigail was named after her grandmother, Abigail Elliot, and was the daughter of George Langford II and Chloe Sweeting. She would have been a niece to Charles Langford and a first cousin to Oscar Langford. Her brother was Nathanial Pitt Langford.
William Rainey Marshall was the fifth Governor of the State of Minnesota serving two terms from 1866 to 1870. He was born near Columbia Missouri, and worked his way north being caught up in the "lead rush" that brought a lot of miners to Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota. He was at various times a lawyer, miner, surveyor, dairy farmer, banker, newspaper publisher, bank commissioner and stock raiser. He also served in the Wisconsin State Assembly before coming to Minnesota.
William volunteered to fight in the Civil War and the Dakota War and was quickly promoted to officer duties in both. He served in the Minnesota territorial legislature prior to statehood.
As Governor he repeatedly supported a black suffrage amendment which was ultimately passed. The state of Minnesota had a population surge during his time as Governor doubling to over 350,000 people. The railroad mileage quadrupled.
His politics were Republican and he organized the first convention of the Republican Party in Minnesota. His religion was Swedenborgian.

Abby Langford Marshall was the fifth First Lady of Minnesota. Marshall County Minnesota was named in his honor. He and Abby had one son, George Langford Marshall, who only lived to be 29 years old. Like many Langfords,  William moved to the Pasadena, California area where he died in 1894. More information about him can be found on Wikipedia.com.

Judge William G. Langford and the Nez Perce Indians

I had already posted information about Judge Langford and his brief participation in the Indian wars. He interrupted his legal training to fight as a young man. I think we tend to forget the level of hostility that existed at times. I did some more research and found two more times when his professional career involved American Indians.

In April of 1879, while he was practicing law in San Francisco, he wrote the following letter from the Presidio to Brigadier General O. O. Howard, who was located at Fort Vancouver, Washington Territory. Since Vancouver was a place of his previous residence, it may be that he knew the General.

"William G. Langford writes in the interest of Timothy and his band of Indians who are settled on the Alpewa (sic) and requests in their behalf that they be protected in the treaty rights to land upon which they are settled."

The General forwarded this message with his message:

"Respectfully forward to the Adjutant General of the Army, Headquarters Military Division of the Pacific with request that this paper be referred to the Indian Bureau.
I am personally cognizant of the facts within stated and believe that prompt measures should be taken for the protection of these Indians, for any new injustice makes weight for a future war."

Apparently Timothy and his band had cooperated with the Army in some way that deserved consideration.

Judge Langford's biggest case involved the Nez Perce Indians in Idaho. It went all the way to the United States Supreme Court and ended in an Act of Congress, which did not occur until after his death in 1893.
On June 9, 1863 the United States entered a treaty with the Nez Perce Indians determining the land "reserved" for the use of the Indians within the state of Idaho. It was very specific however no surveyors were enlisted and, later, when lands went unsettled, claims were made by Langford and others that the Indians had abandoned various tracts and he attached a claim. His claim was made in the 1870s.This became a huge case for everyone involved as it was all new law.
After a series of legal skirmishes, the Indians agreed to give up the land to the government of the United States for settlement. Langford's heirs were paid $20,000 for their interest. The US also agreed to purchase two sawmills for use by the Nez Perce at a cost of $10,000 each. Surveyors were hired to determine specific boundaries of all the land in question. The Nez Perce Indians were given one million dollars to be placed to the credit of "the Nez Perce Indians of Idaho" in the Treasury of the United States, and were paid interest at five percent per annum. The total cost of this transaction was $1,668,622. And perhaps more important than anything achieved by money was the definition to the Indian land rights which no doubt was a model for future interactions with other tribes.

The Langford-Herwick Family

I mentioned in an earlier post that I had sent off for various PERSI articles made available by the Allen County Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana. One of those articles was written by Jeri (Sligh) Hamilton about her grandfather's family and it appeared in the August, 1983 issue of the Prospector, published in Lancaster, California. Her grandfather was Charles Herwick.
First, I should recap. Oscar's brother Charles E. Langford was a lumber baron in Clinton, Iowa, and Fulton, Illinois. Mary Jane was the fourth of seven children born to Charles and Hannah Shadduck. Mary Jane married John Steck Herwick on October 21, 1862 in Clinton, Iowa.
John Herwick was born in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. He started working as a farm laborer for Charles E. Langford in 1857. When the Civil War call came, John Herwick also mustered in with the Second Iowa Infantry, the same as Orange Langford and one of Charles Langford's sons, Edwin O. Langford. John was wounded by a musket ball at the Battle of Shiloh, Pittsburgh Landing, Tennessee, on April 6, 1862. He spent two months in a military hospital at Corinth, Mississippi. He was granted a medical discharge on July 4, 1862, with a monthly pension of $8.00. By the time he died in 1912, it had grown to $40.00 per month.
The article goes on to recount some oral family history about the Battle of Shiloh. "He lay on the battlefield after his injury for three days, was taken prisoner of war by the South, later being used as an exchange of war prisoner."
John and Mary had nine children: Charles, Harry, Ida Bell, twins Edgar and Edward, Frank, Clarence, John and Genevieve. The two oldest boys were born in Fulton, Illinois. Frank was born in Kansas and all the other children were born in various towns in Iowa as the family moved west. By the time the youngest turned three years old in 1888, the family had moved to Los Angeles, California. 
John established a Transfer Company, moving people and merchandise with a horse and wagon. The family home was located at 2920 Baldwin Avenue. John and Mary and many of their children are buried at Evergreen Cemetery.

George Langford in the Revolutionary War

I thought I should take a minute to complete some details about George Langford's service in the Revolutionary War. I have a membership in Fold3 which provides access to most American military records online. I quickly had George's files.
George Langford was the grandfather of Oscar Langford. He was born in 1755 and signed up on October 16, 1779. He joined Captain Joseph Clap's Company of the Third Regiment of Massachusetts Bay Militia commanded by Colonel Israel Chapin. Their unit contained a drummer and fifer and a surgeon, four sergeants, four corporals, 39 privates and a few other staff.
 From Wikipedia:
The 3rd Massachusetts Regiment also known as the 24th Continental Regiment, Heath's Regiment, and Greaton's Regiment, was raised on April 23, 1775, under Colonel William Heath outside of Boston, Massachusetts. When Heath was promoted to brigadier general in June 1775 the regiment came under the command of Colonel John Greaton. The regiment would see action at the Battle of Bunker Hill, Battle of Trois-Rivieres, Battle of Valcour Island and the Battle of Saratoga.The regiment was disbanded, on November 3, 1783, at West Point, New York. Lineage carried on by the U. S. 104th Infantry Regiment.
From family history we understand that he would tell his grandchildren about the difficulties he encountered at Valley Forge. There is no doubt that he was at Bunker Hill as his rifle was shot out of his hand, for which he made a claim.