George E. Heap

Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel, 1847–1868 John B. Walker Company (1852) Age 1

Departure: 26-30 June 1852 Arrival: 2-7 October 1852

Obituary: George Heap, whose death and burial was chronicled in last week's Times, was one of the earliest residents of this community. Something of his life will be of interest to our readers. He was born at Council Bluffs, Iowa, on March 14th, 1850, the son of William and Mary Ward Heap. His parents were born in Lancashire, England, where they accepted the gospel as taught by the Latter-day Saints. His fathers first wife, Hannah Ward, who was the sister of Edward Ward, died while crossing the ocean, and he later married her two sisters, Barbara and Mary, the latter becoming the mother of George. They came to Parowan in 1853.

They moved to California in 1854, but because of religious conditions, Mary brought her family back to Parowan. She later married David Savage, and during the next several years they did a great deal of moving about in Utah, and also spent seven years in Bear Lake Valley in Idaho. George who was only ten at the time they moved to the latter place, was sent ahead of the family with some other friends to help drive the livestock. A heavy snow storm came on, shutting his people out, so that he spent the winter away from his mother. All the flour they had during that winter was ground with a coffee mill.

Mr. Heap married Louisa Hollingshead in 1876. Ten children were born to them, six boys and four girls. He also had forty-five grand children and eight great grand children. His wife passed from this life in March 1895, leaving the family, including a babe only eight days old to his care. He is survived by two daughters, four sons, five sisters, four brothers, thirty eight grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren; two sisters, Mary Ellen Turner of Holden and Barbara Sudweeks of Kingston and their sons, Edgar and Clinton respectively, and a brother, Parry Savage of Coyote were here to attend the funeral. A niece from Arizona and her daughter were here at the time of his death, but as they were traveling with friends, they couldn't wait for the funeral.

Parowan Times, April 20, 1927.

SOURCE: Find A Grave.com