Washington Lafayette Jolley

Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel 1847–1868 Warren Foote Company (1850) Age at Departure: 19

Traveled With

   Sarah Pippen Jolley

   William Jackson Jolley

   Caroline Carson Jolley

   Pelique Berry Jolley

   Sarah Ann Jolley

   Francis Marion Jolley

   Reuben Manning Jolley

   Joseph Loftis Jolley

   Henry Gideon Jolley

Washington L. Jolley Company (1854) Age at Departure: 23

Company Captain

David H. Cannon Company (1861) Age at Departure: 30

Returning Missionary

 The History Of  Washington Lafayette Jolley

Washington Lafayette Jolley, second son of Reuben Manning Jolley and Sarah Pippin Jolley, was born in Dresden, Weekly, Tennessee. His parents and grandparents joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1842. Soon after moving to Nauvoo, Illinois, our Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were murdered by a mob. He and his father and brothers worked on the Nauvoo Temple. Times were very hard and most of the time they only had bread, water, and sorghum to sustain strength. His parents were sealed in the Nauvoo Temple in 1846.

In May of 1846, the mobs were so vicious, the family fled across the river into Iowa to escape being beaten and murdered. The family remained in Iowa until 1850. His father died in Iowa in 1849 and his mother, brothers and sister and he all started across the plains the 6th of June 1850 arriving in the Great Salt Lake Valley the 27th of September 1850. From Salt Lake, his family moved to Battle Creek, now known as Pleasant Grove, Utah.

In the spring of 1852, “Wash” as he was called, and his family moved to Springville then later on to Payson, Utah. In the fall of 1852, “Wash”, with a man by the name of “Ostler”, was called on a mission for the Church to the state of Texas. They encountered many hardships and abuse while in the Mission Field, sometimes being threatened with hanging by nonbelievers in the area. Most of the time his traveling was done on foot and through some very rough country. A few times they were lucky enough to buy mules to ride, or unlucky as it turned out, because the mules were either stolen or driven off while they camped. These mules cost them $2.00 a pair.

In Liberty, Texas, he met and converted the family of James and Eliza Green Knight, whose daughter Emily Knight later became his wife.

On Saturday, December 31, 1853, Wash and his companion Brother Ostler received a letter from Brother Orson Pratt along with some books they had requested of him. Among them was a copy of the newspaper called “Starr”. In it, Wash read an account taken from the Deseret News of his brother, William Jackson Jolley being shot from ambush by an Indian while he was scouting east of Springville, Utah. It happened on 30th July 1853. On February 21, 1854, Wash and a company of converts started on their trip to Utah. Among them were his future bride and her family.

Some days they could travel a mile or two. Other days they did pretty good and made 20 and 25 miles. They traveled through rain and mud through snow and rough mountain country. Sometimes with wagons breaking down, mules and horses getting sick. They would have to camp fro days in one place waiting for their horses to get well enough to pull the wagons or repairing wagons. They ran low on food and water that was fit to drink and hard to find. Only their courage and faith in God kept them going. Wash had been courting Sister Emily Knight, when they reached Limestone County, Texas, on the evening of April 3, 1854; they were married by Brother Ostler. The company sat up late into the night singing hymns in the way of celebrating their marriage. They arrived in Salt Lake City on Thursday, September 21, 1855. Wash bought a sawmill and went into the lumber business. On September 22, 1860, he was called on another mission. He traveled by wagon part of the way, then by steamer, with many miles of foot in between. The Captain of a steamer on the Mississippi River told him if he would hold Church services on the boat, he would give them free passage. This they did. Before returning to Utah, he and his companion preached the Gospel through Missouri, Iowa, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, North Carolina, Georgia and Texas converting and baptizing a good many saints.

Wash arrived back in Payson, Utah the 15th of August 1861, and was very happy to be home again with his family and to see his first son, Washington Lafayette Jolley Jr., who had been born on 18 November 1860, soon after he left for the mission field.

In 1862, President Brigham Young sent him and his family along with a company of other saints to Southern Utah to help settle the town and county of Washington and to raise cotton. Here he remained the rest of his life. He helped build the Washington Ward Chapel. He raised cotton and vegetables to the Silver Relief Miners above Leeds, Utah. He worked as a water master on the canal in the Washington fields for years. He helped build the Spile Dam crossing the Virgin River. He built one of the first two adobe houses in Washington. He was a Church Choir leader for many years. He also was Justice of the Peace for some time. Washington Lafayette Jolley died on the 8th of November 1899 in Washington, Utah. Emily Knight Jolley died March 11, 1912. They were honored and revered by their many relatives and friends.

Jolley, Washington Lafayette Birth Date: Unknown Death Date: Unknown Gender: Male Age: 19 Company: Warren Foote Company (1850) Pioneer Information 8 people Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel, 1847-1868 Warren Foote Company (1850) Departure: 17 June 1850. Arrival in Salt Lake Valley: 17-18, 26 September 1850. Company Information: About 540 individuals and 104 wagons were in the company when it began its journey from the outfitting post at Kanesville, Iowa (present day Council Bluffs).

Washington Lafayette Jolley was born 14 May 1831 in Dresden, Weakley, Tennessee, United States, and died 8 November 1889 at Washington, Washington, Utah, United States. He married Emily Knight 3 April 1834. at Limestone County Texas.

https://familysearch.org/photos/stories/570294

Wash married Emily Knight. They had 10 children. Sarah Eliza,Mary Emily, Washington Lafayette Jr., Melvina Arthusa, Reuben James, Lula Alvira, William Berry, Joseph Henry, Sareptia Caroline, and Nellie Adeline.

Wash and his family was sent by Brigham Young to help settle the town and county of Washington,Washinton, Utah where he remained the remainder of his life. He is preceded in death by two sons. (bio by: [fg.cgi?page=mr&MRid=46808256" target="_blank Shannon Potter Wilcox)]

• Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Jun 23 2016, 10:47:22 UTC

  ---

  
  

Washington Lafayette was the son of Reuben Manning Jolley and Sarah Pippen Jolley. He crossed the plains with the Mormorn Pioneers with his Mother and sisters and brothers. They were in the Warren Foote Company and arrived in Salt Lake City September 1850.

Wash married Emily Knight. They had 10 children. Sarah Eliza,Mary Emily, Washington Lafayette Jr., Melvina Arthusa, Reuben James, Lula Alvira, William Berry, Joseph Henry, Sareptia Caroline, and Nellie Adeline.

Wash and his family was sent by Brigham Young to help settle the town and county of Washington,Washington, Utah where he remained the remainder of his life. He is preceded in death by two sons. (bio by: [fg.cgi?page=mr&MRid=46808256" target="_blank Shannon Potter Wilcox)]

• Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Sep 16 2016, 13:24:50 UTC

  ---

• Residence: Pottawattamie, Iowa, United States - about 1850
• Residence: Utah county, Utah, Utah Territory - 1850
• Residence: Payson, Utah, Utah Territory, United States - 1860
• Residence: Washington, Washington, Utah Territory, United States - 1870
• Residence: Washington, Washington, Utah Territory, United States - 1880
  • Reference: FamilySearch Genealogy - SmartCopy: Apr 1 2020, 16:54:55 UTC