George C. Crismon

http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=throbs&gsco=1&gspl=1%...

Heart Throbs of the West <http://www.ancestry.com/search/srrd.asp?rd=db&dbid=3240>

George Crismon, with his father, Charles Crismon, arrived in Salt Lake Valley October, 1847. Charles Crismon was a miller by trade. Therefore, he erected and operated the first mill in Salt Lake Valley, located on City Creek about a quarter of a mile above Eagle Gate. In 1849, the Crismon family moved to a site on the north fork of the American River in California, where they engaged in mining. After a short time they moved to San Francisco, then a straggling village, where they remained until 1850. Then they went to Cedar Ranch, thirty miles southeast of Los Angeles. The site is now occupied by the Chino sugar factory. In 1851, George and his father purchased a thousand head of cattle and drove them to Sacramento, where they sold them at a profit. In 1857 the family moved to San Bernardino County, California, where Charles and his son George erected the first saw mill. In 1858 they returned to Utah and in 1865 and 1866 they built the Husler Mill on South State road, about four miles south of the city. As George had spent the greater portion of his boyhood days traveling from one place to another, his early education was quite limited. For several years he freighted across the plains from the Missouri River to Utah. He knew the Pony Express route between Salt Lake and Los Angeles, as he had crossed it many times on horseback driving cattle. When a new road was built over the old trail to Los Angeles he furnished data on the camping places, such as the distances between water, etc. George Crismon later engaged in the sheep industry, then turned his attention to railroad building, in which his work achieved signal success. His firm, Crismon and Sons, had large contracts for building portions of the Union Pacific Railroad; they also built the branch from Park City to Echo. The firm of Crismon and Weiler also built part of the Oregon Short Line near Brigham City, changing the route and increasing it from a narrow gauge to a broad or standard gauge road. Their Granger contract on the Oregon Short Line was completed in 1881. Then he devoted his attention and energies to the development of mining property in Utah and Western States. He acquired large interests in the Tintic Mining district and at one time held, in connection with his father and brother, Charles Crismon, Jr., the controlling interest in the Mammoth and Eureka Hill Mines. He aided in developing the Utah Mines located at Fish Springs, Juab County, Utah. Few men have been so widely interested in the growth and development of the West. During his life he has seen the large cities of this region grow from their first settlement. He was born July 5, 1833, at Scott County, Illinois, and died January 27, 1908, at the age of seventy-five.—(Mary E. Selley.)

http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=throbs&gsco=1&gspl=1%...

Heart Throbs of the West <http://www.ancestry.com/search/srrd.asp?rd=db&dbid=3240>

Charles Crismon—During the latter part of April 1849 Grandfather Charles Crismon, with his family, set out for the land of gold. They took the Humboldt route arriving in Sacramento, California on the 3d day of July. At that time there was only one house, although there were a number of tents. They engaged in mining on the American river and during the winter lived at the Mission Dolores, San Francisco. In 1850 moved to the Chino ranch in the southern part of the state, and assisted in 1851 to found the city of San Bernardino. He also built the first saw mill south of Santa Cruz and the first grist mill in the place. In the stake organization of the church, grandfather was a member of the High Council. About this time Grandfather Sidney Tanner joined Apostles Lyman and Rich in the mission to San Bernardino, taking his family to California. As my father grew up in San Bernardino he learned the Spanish language. Their business was raising and breaking horses and selling them. Father acted as interpreter. In his later life he was anxious for his grandchildren to study the Spanish language. As they grew up together in San Bernardino, George Crismon and Mary Tanner became sweethearts. She used to ride behind him on his saddle when they went visiting. They were married December 22nd, 1856 at the home of her sister. Apostle Rich performed the ceremony. George was 23 and Mary was 19 years old. She made her own wedding dress, the material was cotton, belted at the waist with a long full skirt, high neck and long sleeves. They had one room with necessary furniture to start housekeeping. Their first child, a daughter, was born there. In 1858 the families returned to Salt Lake City. —Records of Mary T. L. Crismon.

OBITUARY:

GEORGE CRISMON PASSES AWAY salt lake jan 27 george well known as one of the most rugged and of the western pioneers and president of the company owning the utah mine at fish spring died at his home in sugar house ward at 11 10 this mr Crismon had suffered with i cold inco friday and it became serious at this morning when 1 stroke of paralysis followed a restless night from 2 to the time ot fiig death he rapidly sank and hope for his recovery was not held out after daylight this morning members of the family were hastily summoned and were a t his bedside when the end came ho was in his seventy fifth year and was widely known in the western country all the way from the missouri river to the coast his life has been one closely interwoven with the facts of greatest in western settlement