Ellis Whitney Wiltbank

Found on-line (http://heartsturnedto.blogspot.com/2012/04/ellis-et-whitney-wiltbank-pt2.html):
Ellis "Et" Whitney Wiltbank (pt1)
Ellis Whitney Wiltbank Photo I recently found a history of Ellis Whitney Wiltbank written by his grandaughter Atella Wiltbank Haws. Then I found other histories. My interest was peaked. Here is what I have learned about Ellis Whitney. I have taken pains to verify information and found that some of the dates in these histories were incorrect. I have done my best to find the correct information and provide my sources.

Childhood Ellis Whitney is the fourth child of Spencer Watson Wiltbank and Annie Sanders. His nickname which is in common use in all of the histories written of him is "Et". He was born 13 Nov 1854 at Salt Lake City, Utah just seven years after the Pioneers entered the Salt Lake Valley. Just eight years later The Spencer Watson Wiltbank family was called to settle in Dixie in 1862 and establish the church in that desert land. Ellis Whitney was baptised on 5 Jul 1866 when he was 11 years and 8 months old. His older sister Rachel and his younger sister Annie were baptized at this time also.¹ In the 1870 Census it shows that Ellis Whitney was working on the farm which would have been normal.
St George Temple under Construction note the short tower which was later replaced by a tall tower Construction on the St George temple began in Nov of 1871 when Ellis Whitney was 17 and continued until Jan of 1877 when he was 22. It has been noted in the book Temples of the Most High that "Et Whitney supervised the production and delivery of lime." Limestone had to be burned for up to 60 hours at a temperature of 865^o to convert it to quicklime which could then be used in plaster, whitewash and mortar. As can be seen in this picture the St George temple was built of sandstone with a white wash coating. His grandaughter Atella Wiltbank Haws stated "I hear reports of his work as a young man in the woods, in the brick kiln, hauling lime rock and timbers for the building of the first Utah Temple."
This is all that has been found about the childhood of Ellis Whitney Wiltbank. However, we know a lot about Ellis Whitney as an adult and he really liked to tell stories and play with his grandchildren so I believe that we can deduce that he must have enjoyed laughing, playing and having a good time.

Marriage William Ellis married Hannah Mary Hall, the only daughter of Thomas Hall and Ann Hughes, on 30 Jan 1875. They were married by Erastes Snow. They worked to finish the temple and they received their endowments on the first day the temple was open. That first day they also had their marriage sealed, the day was 11 Jan 1877. An interesting fact about the St. George Temple is that it has 18 sealing rooms which is the most of any temple. Not all of these sealing rooms are used today but I believe that they were kept busy for awhile after it was dedicated, catching up on all of the members in Southern Utah that needed to be sealed. Ellis and Hannah's first child was William Ellis born on 30 Dec 1875. He was not sealed to them at the time they were sealed to each other. One opinion about why is that it was because details about sealing children to parents was not known at this time. William Ellis was sealed to them on 29 Dec 1882 just before they left for Arizona. 10 more children would follow and all of the other children were born under the covenant. The following were born in St George: William Ellis, Mary Ann (Mollie), Florence and Ida.

Arizona Expedition/Lee's Ferry AccidentIn 1876, Bishop Lorenzo Roundy was called by Brigham Young to take a company of men to Arizona and explore and Ellis Whitney was one of those that went with him.² This company of 14 men reached Lee's Ferry on the 24th of May 1878. The Colorado River was flooding from the spring runoff and was very dangerous. The first two loads was of Horses made it across safely. The "third load [consisting of] Bro Wells carriage the heavy baggage wagon and Bro. Roundy's wagon were put on the boat which was manned by Bro. Wells, Roundy, Hatch, Nutall, Johnson (who keeps the ferry), Hamblin, Carter and Wiltbanks." In order to get across, the ferry boat had to be pulled up-stream by a cable. The men and teams on shore did the work of pulling the ferry. While so-doing the cable broke and the boat was swept clean of all its load. Most of the men were dumped into the water. "Bro Wells, Hamblin and Nutall swam ashore. Bro Hatch and Carter were supported by clinging to Bro. Wells' carriage & Bro Wiltbank jumped ashore before the boat then swung out. Bro. Roundy ran along the rail towards the rear of the boat which was nearest shore and when about half way called out 'come on boys all who can swim,' and then plunged into the water and struck out for the shore. After swimming a short distance he was seen to throw up his hands and he sank out of sight."³ Jacob Hamblin and Ellis Whitney put a small skiff in to the water and rescued several men. While they were moving the floating wagons, one oar caught in a wagon wheel and was wrenched from their hands and the other oar was broken so badly that it could not be used. With no oars to guide them, they were soon swept on the rapids below the ferry. At the mouth of the rapids they rescued John Carter from the top of the floating buggy. Realizing the danger they were in the three men prayed for help. Jacob Hamblin said, "It's each man and his maker for himself". The boat was instantly turned in the stream and they were able to take it to shore. It was doubtless the Hand of God that saved these three men at this time.⁴ Some of the men continued on and the rest, including EW Wiltbank, were directed to return to St. George.³

Trip to Round Valley Arizona It was three years before Ellis and his father, Spencer Watson Wiltbank, left a second time in the spring of 1879 to find a place for their families to live and finally made it to the Round Valley area. At the head of the Little Colorado River they found grass tall enough to be mowed and harvested for hay. They immediately began farming. After Ellis Witney had harvested his crop that fall he returned to Utah after his family. His crop which was principally oats, was freighted to Fort Apache and sold to the US government for 6 cents per pound.


Family Move to Arizona It was almost four years before Ellis Whitney moved his family from St. George to Arizona sometime between January and April of 1883.⁵ At the time of the move his family consisted of his wife Hannah Mary, His children, William Ellis (6yrs), Mary Ann "Mollie" (4yrs), Florence (2yrs) and Ida (2months). The crossing of Lee's Ferry is hardly mentioned. The family came by way of the present towns of Winslow, Holbrook and Concho. They settled in Amity that year on what William Ellis called the Wahl placed. Here they farmed and they also raised potatoes in Greer.

Notes:
1 - new.familysearch.org shows Rachel's birth incorrectly being 2 years before her parents were married and her baptism being on 5 Apr 1866 instead of 5 Jul. There are multiple histories listing the baptism as being the same time as Ellis Whitney's baptism. Also census records show Rachel being only two years older than William Ellis.
2 - Chapter 10, History of Lorenzo Wesley Roundy by Joseph F. Buchanan grandson.
see http://aeb.buchananspot.com/histories/LWRhistory.html
3 - Letter from Daniel Wells to Brigham Young recounting the tragedy, dated 26 May 1876.
4 - From histories written by Rebecca W. Burgess and Atella W. Haws
5 - There is no agreement on the date of the family move to Arizona among the various histories. This move date is deduced from the date of William Ellis Wiltbank being sealed to his parents in the St George Temple and when they would have to left to raise crops that season. William Ellis stated that they farmed and raised potatoes the summer of 1883.

Sources:
Pg 88, Temples of the Most High, 8th Edition, N.B.Lundwall
Description of Lime burning is from http://www.mcasv.org/Points/JAN_2K6.pdf
Description of Lee's Ferry incident is from the following:
History of Ellis Whitney Wiltbank by Rebecca W. Burgess and Effie Bayler Wiltbank
Letter from Daniel H Wells to Brigham Young dated 26May1876
Other Histories of Ellis Whitney Wiltbank
From The Wiltbanks in Northeastern Arizona compiled by Ronald Wiltbank 1993/1994
A Brief History of Ellis Whitney Wiltbank by Rebecca Wiltbank Hall Burgess
Ellis Whitney Wiltbank by Atella W. Haws, a grandaughter 1976
Ellis Whitney Wiltbank by Atella W Haws 1940
Ellis Whitney Wiltbank by William Ellis Wiltbank Jr (date unknown)
Ellis Whitney Wiltbank by Milo Wiltbank (date unknown)

Ellis "Et" Whitney Wiltbank (pt2)
Ellis Whitney Wiltbank's time in Arizona involved a few moves between the various communities as he worked to find a permanent home for his family where he could provide for them. It took a few years and moves but he eventually did find such a place and made significant impacts on the communities he lived in during this process.

---------------------- Amity (1883-1884) ----------------------
When Ellis Whitney moved his family to Arizona they settled at Amity, later known as west Eagar. The year was 1883. With the Family in Amity Ellis Whitney farmed the Wahl place which according to land records is north of Airport Road and west of the river in Springerville. He also grew potatoes in Greer.² Ellis Whitney must have been real busy keeping both his farming areas maintained as the travel time between Greer and Springerville would have taken up much of his time.
The Wahl Place was ideal for farming with the river close by I am sure that Ellis Whitney was also exploring the area looking for a more permanent location to move his family to and a way to be able to support them.
This time in Amity was to be a short one for the Ellis Whitney Wiltbank family.
Ellis Whitney appeared to have some issues with the bishop in Amity. According to his oldest son, William Ellis, "when they moved from Amity it was without a recommend from Bishop Alma Holden because Father would not or did not pay his labor tithing (every tenth day was to be spent working on the church house)."²

---------------------- Nutrioso (1884-1887) ----------------------
Nutrioso valley as it appeared in Jun of 2011 The family moved to Nutrioso in 1884 where Ellis Whitney's Father was living. Ellis Whitney registered to vote during August of that year.¹ The next two children were born in Nutrioso, James Hyrum in November of 1884 and Thomas W. in December of 1886. In Nutrioso Ellis Whitney farmed. There was an incident where "Ben Brown's oxen kept getting into Ellis Whitney's potatoes so Ellis Whitney drove them onto the mountain. Trouble followed, and they had a fight. Then Ellis Whitney went to Flagstaff to cut railroad ties for the Summer. When he came home that fall [of 1885] he was made a counselor to Bishop Benjamin Brown, but not with the best of feelings."² An interesting side note to this is that Et's children William Ellis (age 10) and Mary Ann (age 8) had worked all summer to keep the oxen out of the potatoes so that the family would have the potatoes.

---------------------- St George (1887-1888) ----------------------In the fall of 1887 Ellis Whitney took his family to St. George for a long visit. John Cleveland was born March of 1888 in St. George. When he was old enough to travel they returned to Arizona and settled in Round Valley.

---------------------- Eagar (1888-1894) ----------------------
Gristmill in Eagar along the Little Colorado River When Ellis Whitney and family settled in Eagar it was at the Grist Mill, according to the oldest child William Ellis. Here "they made brick and adobe."² While in Eagar Milford Jay was born April of 1890 and Rebecca was born September of 1892. In 1889 Ellis Whitney was called to be the first Sunday School Superintendent of the ward. In 1894³ Ellis Whitney and John Black built a sawmill in Greer and operated it while the family stayed in Eagar. The story is told that when he was operating the sawmill that he would walk from Greer Sunday mornings to be at his post of duty as Superintendent of the Sunday School. If he followed the roads now it would be a 16 mile walk. A straight line distance is 12 miles so it was most likely somewhere in between. No one should ever doubt the dedication of Ellis Whitney to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Ellis Whitney also served as the President of the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association in the Union (later the Eagar) ward.

---------------------- Greer (1894-1908) ----------------------
The Greer Valley as it appeared in 2011 In 1894 Ellis Whitney moved his family to Greer. Their home was a gathering place for all the young people who loved music and singing. He played the accordion and harmonica and Hannah Mary played the organ. He served as Bishop of the Greer Ward for twelve years from 1896 to 1908. He was ordained Bishop by Apostle John Henry Smith.
While the family lived in Greer, Hannah Mary went to St. George to stay with her widowed mother who was sick. This was 1895 and lasted for a year. She took the youngest children but the rest stayed in Greer. Ellis Whitney and the Mary Ann "Mollie" worked hard to take care of the family in Hannah's absence.

---------------------- St Johns(1908-1914)⁴ ----------------------
St Johns Stake Academy The family moved to St Johns when it was time for some of her children to go to the Stake Academy. It is reported in a couple of histories written by a couple of grandchildren that Hannah Mary ran the dormitory of the St Johns Stake Academy. We know from a history written by Atella Wiltbank Haws that the first year she attended the Academy, in the 1913/1914 school year, she lived with her Grandmother Hannah Mary Wiltbank and had a good time when Grandpa would stay with them. The house they were living in burned down in Nov of 1913 and they lived with another family the rest of the school year. During this time when the family was in St Johns, Ellis Whitney was building a a home in Eagar. It was a spacious home of two stories and build of adobe in the northern end of the town of Eagar. Ellis Whitney spent some time with his family. He is listed in the 1910 census as being with his family in St Johns along with John Cleveland(22), Milford Jay(20), Rebecca(17) and Josephine(12). Grandaughter Atella also tells us that when he visited they had lots of fun.

---------------------- Eagar(1914-1932) ----------------------The summer of 1914 after the house in St Johns burned down Hannah Mary moved back to Eagar. I expect that the home that Ellis Whitney was building is where they lived. In April of 1916 Ellis Whitney's wife, Hannah Mary, died. Also in 1916 Ellis Whitney secured title to 160 acres on the mesa west of Eagar under the desert act. To secure this land he had to improve and irrigate the land during a three year period and thus we have Ellis Whitney Wiltbank Reservoir which I am sure was used to provide water for this irrigation. Ellis Whitney would have started working on irrigating this land starting in 1913.
Ellis Whitney Wiltbank Homestead and Reservoir on the mesa west of Eagar. Ellis Whitney lived in the home he built in Eagar for 16 years after his wife died. He had various relatives come and stay with him such as his daughter Josephine while her husband was away in World War I. When Ellis Whitney left Greer he sold his sawmill. He got involved in a flour mill venture and built a mill near his home. Ellis Whitney stayed active in the church and served on the Stake High Council.
Ellis' granddaughter Atella tells of multiple trips that Ellis Whitney went on with her. He enjoyed taking his time, talking to people, and buying good things to eat like fruit or candy. He wanted to stop at each town. He enjoyed stretching his legs and did not understand why people wanted to be in a hurry.2
Ellis Whitney had a stroke in October of 1931 and gradually got worse until he died on 30 January 1932 in Eagar Arizona. His funeral was held the next day after a session of Stake Conference. Speakers at his funeral were Stake President Levis S. Udall, Orson M. Bigelow, friends of the family and Rulon S. Wells of the Seven Presidents of the Seventy.
At the time of his death his decendents included: 11 children, 45 grandchildren, 21 great-grandchildren.

Sources:
1 - Aug 1884, GreatRegister for Apache county shows "Wiltbonk, Ellis W" Registered to Vote on Aug 11 with a residence of Nutrioso
2 - History of Ellis Whitney Wiltbank by Atella W. Haws on 19?? and William Ellis Wiltbank on 1935.
3 - The various histories report date of the Sawmill being built in Greer with a range of 1890 to 1895. I have chosen 1894 because it is reported by His son William Ellis Wiltbank and it makes the most sense. Hannah Mary was in St George in 1895 for a year taking care of her mother leaving her children in Arizona. If she was still in Eagar with Ellis Whitney working in Greer I do not believe she would have left her children in Arizona.
4 - I am using 1908 as the date for the move to St Johns as it was when Ellis Whitney was released from being bishop and the children ages in this year was Rebecca-15 and Josephine-10. I derive the move from St Johns as 1914 because we know that the house Hannah Mary and children lived in burned Nov of 1913 and they were not there the next year for grandaughter Atella to live with them so they must have moved in the Summer of 1914.

Greer Arizona picture is from www.greerarizona.com
Eagar Gristmill picture is from www.library.arizona.edu/exhibits/davidkudall/mormon/chapter08.html
Nutrioso Valley picture is from www.misheldesigns.blogspot.com/2011/06/beautiful-land.html
Wahl Place picture and the Homestead/Reservoir picture are from GoogleEarth based on a land patent documents from the BLM-General Land Office Records

Ellis married Hannah Mary Hall, daughter of Thomas Hall and Ann Hughes, on 30 Jan 1875 in UT.^{1 2 3} (Hannah Mary Hall was born on 27 Jul 1854 in UT,^{1 8 9 10} died on 11 Apr 1916 in Eager, AZ ¹ and was buried about 14 Apr 1916 in Eager Cemetery, Eager, AZ.)