John William Dutson

I have another history of his that is 25 pages in length. Contact me for a copy of that history.

Joined the Church of Jesus Christ on Sept 24, 1840 when he was 11 years old. Went the Oak Creek Ward, Utah was first organized July 22, 1878, John William Dutson was called by President Brigham Young to move to this new settlement for the specific purpose of organizing and leading a choir and teaching music.  He organized the choir and accompanied the singers with his violin, which he tuned by means of a tuning fork.

 ECHOES OF THE SAGE AND CEDARS P 317-319: 

JOHN WILLIAM, ELIZABETH JANE COWLEY, CAROLINE GENEVA JENKINS, AND FANNIE ELILINE NIXON CARLING DUTSON.  (SUBMITTED BY THELMA W. DUTSON): 

JOHN WILLIAM DUTSON, THE SECOND CHILD OF JOHN DUTSON AND ANN GREEN, WAS BORN 28 SEP, 1829, AT AYLSTONE HILL, HEREFORD, HEREFORDSHIRE, ENGLAND. EARLY IN LIFE MUSIC BECAME AN IMPORTANT PART IN THE LIFE OF JOHN WILLIAM.  HE WAS VERY YOUNG WHEN HE LEARNED TO PLAY THE VIOLIN. JOHN WILLIAM, WAS JUST PAST ELEVEN YEARS OF AGE WHEN WILFORD WOODRUFF, AN APOSTLE OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS, ARRIVED IN HEREFORD.  THE GREENS AND THE DUTSONS WERE TOUCHED BY THE MESSAGE AND WERE BAPTIZED.  JOHN WILLIAM WAS BAPTIZED SEPT. 24, 1840. ANN GREEN DUTSON WITH HER TWO CHILDREN, HER PARENTS AND OTHER MEMBERS OF HER FAMILY, LEFT HER NATIVE ENGLAND TO COME TO AMERICA.  JOHN DUTSON, THE FATHER, HAD PASSED AWAY IN ENGLAND, BEFORE THE FAMILY CAME TO AMERICA.  THEY SAILED ON THE VESSEL "MEDFORD" AND ARRIVED AT THE MOUTH OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER 13 NOV 1842.  ON 3 MAY 1843, THE COMPANY BOARDED THE STEAMBOAT, "LANDER," AND REACHED NAUVOO, MAY 6, AFTER A PLESANT TRIP. JOHN WILLIAM HAD MOST OF THE RESPONSIBILITY OF SUPPORTING HIS MOTHER AND SISTER.  HE HELPED MAKE BRICK AND SERVED IN THE NAUVOO LEGION. WHEN JOHN WILLIAM ARRIVED IN ST. LOUIS, HE WAS A FINE LOOKING YOUNG MAN STANDING ABOUT 5 FEET 81/2 INCHES TALL AND WEIGHING ABOUT 160 POUNDS.  HE HAD DARK HAIR AND EYES.  HE POSSESSED A PLESANT DISPOSITION AND OUTSTANDING QUALITIES OF LEADERSHIP.  HE WORKED FOR A LOCKSMITH AND LEARNED THE TRADE WHILE HE WAS THERE.  HE BECAME QCQUAINTED WITH THE FAMILY OF MATTHIAS COWLEY IN ST. LOUIS.  HE FOUND A SATISFYING FRIENDSHIP AND COMPANIONSHIP, WITH THIS FAMILY.  ALMOST FOUR YEARS LATER ON AUGUST 10, 1850, HE MARRIED ELIZABETH JANE COWLEY IN ST. LOUIS. ELIZABETH JANE COWLEY WAS BORN DECEMBER 2, 1829, A DAUGHTER OF MATHIAS AND ANN QUAYLE COWLEY. ELIZABETH WAS ELEVEN YEARS OLD WHEN SHE AND HER FAMILY WERE CONVERTED TO THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS.  ELIZABETH WAS BAPTIZED IN NOVEMBER 1840.  THE COWLEYS CAME TO AMERICA IN 1841, SETTLING IN NAUVOO. TO THIS COUPLE WERE BORN TEN CHILDREN:  JOHN WILLIAM, JOHN HENRY (BOTH DIED IN INFANCY), REBECCA DESERET, FLORENCE VIRGINIA, WILLIAM ERASTUS, ANN JANE, FRANK CARLING, RICHARD DANIEL, MATHIAS CALEB, EDDY QUAYLE. IN THE SPRING OF 1857 JOHN WILLIAM HAD A SEVERE SICK SPELL.  IT WAS THEN THAT HE DECIDED TO MOVE TO THE VALLEYS OF THE MOUNTAINS.  THEY ARRIVED IN SALT LAKE CITY ON 20 SEP 1857. JOHN WILLIAM, ELIZABETH AND THE CHILDREN VISITED THE COWLEYS IN SALT LAKE CITY FOR ABOUT THREE WEEKS, THEN WENT TO FILLMORE WHERE HIS MOTHER AND HIS SISTER, JANE ANN AND HER HUSBAND, ALEXANDER MELVILLE, WERE LIVING.  AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, FRUIT TREES WERE PLANTED.  THE FIRST APPLE CROP WAS SOLD TO BUY SHOES FOR THE CHILDREN. CAROLINE GENEVA JENKINS HAD BEEN IN THE COMPANY UNDER JOHN WILLIAM'S LEADERSHIP WHEN THEY LEFT ST LOUIS, AND SHE HAD ALSO WORKED FOR THE FAMILY AS A HIRED GIRL.  ELIZABETH WAS VERY FOND OF CAROLINE AND ASKER HER HUSBAND TO PROPOSE MARRIAGE TO HER.  THIS HE DID AND CAROLINE ACCEPTED.  THEY WERE MARRIED 7 SEP 1858, BY APOSTLE AMASA M. LYMAN. CAROLINE GENEVA JENKINS WAS BORN 30 JUN 1835 IN LONDON, ENGLAND, TO NATHANIEL JENKINS AND SARAH HOLT.  THEY HAD A FAMILY OF EIGHT CHILDREN.  THEY LIVED IN LONDON UNTIL THE TIME WHEN THEY LEFT TO MAKE A NEW LIFE IN AMERICA.  THEY MADE THEIR HOME IN ST. LOUIS. TO JOHN WILLIAM AND CAROLINE WEE BORN THE FOLLOWING CHILDREN:  GEORGE LYMAN, JOSEPH WILLARD, ELIZABETH ELEANOR, CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS, JAMES NATHANIEL, SAMUEL CLEAMONT AND SARAH ANN. IN 1871 JOHN WILLIAM WAS CALLED BY BRIGHAM YOUNG TO MOVE TO THE NEW SETTLEMENT OF OAK CREEK FOR THE SPECIFIC PURPOSE OF ORGANIZING AND LEADING A CHOIR AND TEACHING MUSIC.  HE MOVED BOTH HIS FAMILIES THERE AND BUILT HOME SITES SIDE BY SIDE.  CAROLINE'S HOME WAS WHERE BERT ROPER NOW LIVES AND ELIZABETH'S WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE BLOCK.  IN 1871 JOHN WILLIAM WAS ALSO CALLED TO BE SUPERINTENDENT OF THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AND MUSIC DIRECTOR OF THAT ORGANIZATION. WHEN THE UNITED ORDER WAS INSTITUTED  IN OAK CREEK, JOHN WILLIAM DUTSON, HIS WIVES AND HIS CHILDREN WERE LISTED ON THE RECORD. JUST PRIOR TO THE DEATH OF FRANK CARLING, JOHN WILLIAM'S HALF BROTHER, HE ASKED JOHN WILLIAM TO TAKE CARE OF HIS WIFE, FANNIE EMALINE NIXON CARLING, AND HER CHILDREN. CONSEQUENTLY JOHN WILLIAM AND FANNIE WERE MARRIED 14 APR 1873.  FANNIE'S HOME STOOD SOUTH OF ELIZABETH'S. FANNIE WMALINE NIXON WAS BORN IN ST. LOUIS ON FEB. 1, 1850.  SHE WAS THE DAUGHTER OF GEORGE NIXON AND FRANCES HART. WHEN SHE WAS A LITTLE GIRL, THE NIXON FAMILY CAME WEST AND SETTLED IN FILLMORE.  FANNIE WAS BAPTIZED IN 1858 BY ALEXANDER MELVILLE IN FILLMORE.  WHEN SHE WAS IN HER TEENS SHE MARRIED FRANCIS CALEB CARLING, KNOWN AS FRANK CARLING.  HE WAS BORN 9 AUG. 1845, IN NAUVOO, ILLINOIS, THE SON OF JOHN CARLING AND ANN GREEN DUTSON CARLING. FOUR CHILDREN WERE BORN TO JOHN WILLIAM AND FANNIE AT OAK CITY.  FRANCES ANN, FRANKLIN WASHINGTON CARLING, PHELBY JANE AND WILLIAM HENRY. JOHN WILLIAM FOUND WORK WHEREVER HE COULD.  HE RENTED LAND, RAISED WHEAT, HAULED WOOD, PLOUGHED AND PLANTED FOR OTHERS. HE HELPED PURCHASE A THRESHING MACHINE, THRESHED FOR PEOPLE IN FILLMORE AND SURROUNDING TOWNS.  IN FILLMORE, AND LATER IN OAK CITY, HE HAD THE FIRST MOLASSES MILL AND WAS AN EXPERT MOSASSES MAKER. WITH TWENTY-TWO CHILDREN TO SHOE, IT WAS NO WONDER THAT JOHN WILLIAM LEARNED SHOEMAKING AND REPAIRING.  HE USED WOODEN PEGS WITH WHICH TO TAKE THE SHOES. IN ADDITION TO HIS CHURCH ASSIGNMENTS, JOHN WILLIAM DUTSON WAS MILLARD COUNTY TREASURER FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS. PICTURE OF GRAVESTONE. SKETCH #D237 FROM FILLMORE MUSEUM:

    JOHN WILLIAM DUTSON, THE SECOND OF TWO CHILDREN BORN TO JOHN AND ANN GREEN DUTSON, WAS BORN SEP 28, 1829 AT AYLSTONE HILL, HEREFORD, HERFORDSHIRE, ENGLAND.  JOHN WILLIAM'S FATHER WORKED WITH A GROUP WHO MADE MAPS OF THE WORLD AND DID CONSIDERABLE TRAVELING BY THE SEA.  ON A TRIP THE SUMMER OF 1828 THE SHIP FAILED TO RETURN.  JOHN WILLIAM WAS BORN AFTER THIS INCIDENT.

    THE SUMMER OF 1840, WILFORD WOODRUFF CAME AS A MISSIONARY FOR THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS AND THE GREEN AND DUTSON FAMILIES WERE CONVERTED AND CAME TO AMERICA.

    IN NAUVOO, AT AGE 16, JOHN WILLIAM ENLISTED IN THE NAUVOO LEGION.  AFTER JOSEPH SMITH'S DEATH HE PARTICIPATED IN THE BATTLES AT NAUVOO AND HAD MANY HARDSHIPS.  THE WEATHER WAS BAD AND HE WAS WITHOUT SHELTER WHILE ON GUARD. HE SLEPT ON THE GROUND OR ON BOXES AND HE "HAD TWO SHAKES OF AGUE A DAY NEARLY ALL THE TIME," ACCORDING TO HIS JOURNAL.  MEMBERS OF THE MOB DESCENDED UPON THE SAINTS WHO WERE WAITING TO CROSS THE RIVER, PLUNDERING THEIR POSSESSIONS AND DOING ALL THE MISCHIEF THEY WISHED.  JOHN WILLIAM HAD CONCEALED BULLETS IN A SMALL CHEST WHICH HE KEPT LOCKED.  HE WAS COMMANDED TO UNLOCK THE CHEST SO THAT IT MIGHT BE SEARCHED.  JOHN WILLIAM THREW THE KEY TO THE MEN AND SAID THAT HE DID NOT FEEL DISPOSED TO UNLOCK IT BUT THEY COULD HELP THEMSELVES.  SINCE HE WAS SO WILLING, THEY CONCLUDED THAT NOTHING OF VALUE WAS IN THE CHEST AND THEY LEFT HIM ALONE.

    ONE DAY AS HE LAY SICK UNDER A BUSH, ANN COWLEY SAW HIM AND SAID TO HER DAUGHTER, "THAT BOY IS SICK."  SHE IMMEDIATELY FIXED HIMSOME FOOD AND SENT HER DAUGHTER, ELIZBETH JANE TO TAKE IT TO HIM.  THAT WAS THEIR FIRST MEETING, AND NE NEVER FORGOT HER.  THEIR NEXT MEETING WAS IN ST. LOUIS, WHERE MOST OF THE SAINTS HAD GATHERED AFTER LEAVING NAUVOO.  HERE JOHN WILLIAM BECAME ACQUAINTED WITH THE MATHIAS COWLEY FAMILY, INCLUDING ELIZABETH.  FOUR YEARS LATER, ON AUGUST 10, 1850, THEY WERE MARRIED IN ST. LOUIS.  HE LEARNED THE TRADE OF LOCKSMITH THERE AND OWNED HIS OWN BUSINESS.

    JOHN WILLIAM WAS A FINE MUSICIAN AND PLAYED THE VIOLIN. WHILE THEY WERE IN SAINT LOUIS HE HAD AN OFFICIAL CALL FROM CHURCH AUTHORITIES TO PROMOTE MUSIC AMONT THE SAINTS.

    ON JUN 10, 1857 THE FAMILY LEFT FOR UTAH AND ARRIVED IN SALT LAKE CITY SEPT.20 1857.  JOHN AND ELIZABETH HAD TWO CHILDREN BY NOW, REBECCA AGE 2, RODE IN THE WAGON AND FLORENCE, 3 MONTH, WAS CARRIED IN HER MOTHER'S APRON.  JOHN WILLIAM'S MOTHER, ANN DUTSON, HAD MARRIED JOHN CARLING JUN 10, 1844 AND HIS SISTER JAN ANN HAD MARRIED ALEXANDER MELVILLE AND THEY HAD EMIGRATED TO UTAH IN 1852 AND SETTLED IN FILLMORE.

   CAROLINE GENEVA JENKINS WAS IN THE COMPANY UNDER JOHN WILLIAM'S LEADERSHIP WHEN THEY LEFT ST. LOUIS AND SHE WORKED FOR THE FAMILY AS A FIRED GIRL WHEN THEY CAME TO UTAH.  ELIZABETH WAS VERY FOND OF HER AND SUGGESTED TO HER HUSBAND THAT HE MARRY HER.  THEY WERE MARRIED SEPT 7, 1858, AND THEY LIVED TOGETHER IN THE SAME HOUSE IN COMPLETE HARMONY.

    IN 1871 JOHN WILLIAM WAS CALLED BY BRIGHAM YOUNG TO MOVE TO THE NEW SETTLEMENT OF OAK CREEK FOR THE PURPOSE OF ORGANIZING AND LEADING A CHOIR.  HE ALSO TAUGHT MUSIC AND WAS SUPERINTENDENT OF THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.

    HIS HALF BROTHER, FRANCES CALEB CARLING, DIED BUT BEFORE HIS DEATH ASKED JOHN WILLIAM TO TAKE HIS WIFE AND FAMILY.  CONSEQUENTLY, HE MARRIED FANNIE EMELINE NIXON CARLING APRIL 14, 1878.  FOUR CHILDREN WERE BORN IN THIS MARRIAGE.

    JOHN WILLIAM WAS AN EXPERT MOLASSES MAKER.  HE LEARNED SHOEMAKING AND REPAIRING AND USED WOODEN PEGS TO TACK ON THE SHOES.  HE WAS MILLARD COUNTY TREASURER FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS.  IN FILLMORE HE ORGANIZED AND LED THE BRASS BAND.  HE HELPED ORGANIZE A THEATRICAL CLUB AND THEY PRESENTED PLAYS ON SATURDAY NIGHTS. HE BROUGHT HIS VIOLIN FROM ENGLAND AND PLAYED IT ALL HIS LIFE FOR THE ENJOYMENT OF OTHERS.

    HE SUFFERED ILL HEALTH FOLLOWING HIS HARDSHIPS IN NAUVOO AND WAS BEDFAST 15 MONTHS BEFORE HIS DEATH ON MAY 6, 1887 IN OAK CITY.  HE WAS THE FATHER OF 21 CHILDREN.