On the 7th Day of Christmas Past, a special ancestral story from Ginger Weibell (MHA Tour Member):
Question: How did the pioneers settling St. George celebrate Christmas?
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A FAMILY HISTORY CHRISTMAS STORY of the St. George, Utah, Pioneers
by Ginger Ashby Weibell
Nathaniel Ashby and Susan Hammond Ashby, my ancestors, were converted to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Erastus Snow in 1841. Together with Elder Snow, the Ashbys purchased adjoining lots in Nauvoo, Illinois, and built a duplex with the Ashby half of the duplex on the Ashby property and the Snow half on the Snow property. This home still stands in Nauvoo today. Thus, the Ashbys and the Snows were well acquainted.
In 1861, Erastus was called by the prophet, Brigham Young, to colonize the St. George, Utah, area. Elizabeth, and her then three children, accompanied him. The following newspaper article by Mary Phoenix from The Spectrum is an account of that first Christmas spent in St. George:
Christmas 1861: A tough one for Mormon pioneers
That first Christmas in 1861 was a story of intense poverty for the settlers in St. George. Brigham Young had selected a few stalwart and tested followers and sent them to the southern territory “where the red stone hills met the black basalt low mountains” to establish a community.
Their journey to Utah’s Dixie from Salt Lake City took six weeks since they were traveling over unmapped territory and carved roads as they went. The majority of the group had arrived by Dec. 6.
Building materials were scarce, forcing most to live out of wagon boxes with tumbleweed lean-tos.
Their first concern was planting crops since food supplies were depleting quickly.
Erastus Snow, the colonizing apostle for the Mormon settlers, sensed that his people needed some recreation, some reason to celebrate, to revive their spirits from the strain of their backbreaking toil.
Christmas was fast approaching and Snow wondered how they might celebrate. There was no food for a feast. Every scrap was needed to sustain life. But he figured they could hold a program.
During their trek to Southern Utah they had sung every song and know every reading by heart after six weeks on the dusty trail. Still, he believed Christmas would bring new feelings. He decided to ask some of the men to preach a sermon, even though some of the young people would probably groan.
He figured a big tent could be pitched to offer some protection from the night’s chill, although the weather was very mild and the long salt grass would provide a thick mat appropriate for dancing.
Life was difficult in their desperate conditions, and the announcement of a Christmas gala met with great excitement. When the day arrived, women donned their bedraggled pieces of finery out of trunks and the entire camp met in the bowery.
The program had barely commenced when it started to rain. But performers ignored the storm and just aired their voices.
They danced until midnight when Apostle Snow announced he had a treat for each of them. A member of the church from Pine Valley had walked on snow shoes to bring them a sack of potatoes. The potatoes had been roasting in the fire all afternoon. Some settlers used the potatoes to warm their hands while others ate them quickly as a treat.
By now the storm was a raging torrent. “Do you wish to return to your places of abode or shall the dance continue?” asked Snow, as rain began seeping through the tent.
They had no place to go but their soaked boxes, so they unanimously voted to dance—until a minor tragedy struck.
One musician in the group had played his violin so vigorously, he broke a string but had no replacement. The group became sullen and depressed when a frail, shy, older lady, who had walked across the plains with one of the handcart companies, approached the musician and said she had one treasure, a spool of real silk thread which she had carried across the plains in her waist apron. She said she was saving it for something special. She figured providing a few hours of amusement was reason enough.
The violinist took the thread and concocted a useable substitute string and the dance continued until daybreak.
This was the beginning of the 40-day rain storm which changed the Virgin River from a ditch into a river and washed out the Santa Clara Fort. As simple and destitute as the times were, the early settlers referred to the Christmas of 1861 as their best Christmas.
There were so many amazing blessings in the story. I love how even though they weren’t able to have their traditional feast or decorations that they might have had under more normal circumstances that they still came together and put on a gala to help lift spirits.
I liked how these settlers were able to gather and use music and dancing to celebrate. This raised spirits without costing anything.
The destitute pioneers celebrated with music and by dancing until midnight
. They enjoyed a roasted potato for a treat. Even a downpour would not stop them from celebrating Christmas!
The pioneers in St. George celebrated Christmas by taking a well deserved break from hard work to enjoy each others company in song and dance. They even were able to enjoy a roasted potato, which was a luxury for them.
Even thru intense poverty, they found a reason to celebrate. They danced even thru the rain & were rewarded with roasted potatoes. They didn’t need presents or gourmet food to celebrate. Erastus Snow saw the need to plan a celebration.
They had a Christmas gala where they danced and sang. Even the rain did not stop them from celebrating. Something as simple as roasted potatoes boosted their spirits.
The St. George pioneers didn’t have much, but they focused on what they did have. They didn’t have food for a typical feast, no dance hall or orchestra, but they did have a violinist , and they could dance. With a makeshift violin string and a baked potato treat, they had a joyful celebration.
This is a fabulous story that I’ve never heard before! Nothing can lift a bedraggled heart and body quite like a dance and some festive fiddle music. I loved that the sister was willing to share her silk thread to create a make-shift violin string. And potatoes! I ate a baked potato almost every morning on my mission to keep me warm and full until supper time!
Singing, dancing and a roasted potato….simple entertainment and pleasures sweetened their dreary circumstances while choosing to focus on the positive.
I loved how this story showed the joy of gratitude,sharing ,and LOVE.. The tender mercy of the need bow string exemplified these attributes!!
It is humbling to see how much joy they found in their simple Christmas. Probably more than we do in our abundance.
These pioneers celebrated by focusing on what they had and chose to be joyful, rather than being overcome by worry over what they lacked, the hard work, and the many challenges that they knew awaited them.
This was certainly not a traditional Christmas, but was important to feed their spirits with music and dancing and a potato as a treat.
The pioneers didn’t have food for a feast, but for a treat they had baked potatoes, which also added warmth! Then they danced the night away!
The pioneers sung songs, which likely included what Christmas songs they knew, as the group worked and traveled. Then they put on a Christmas gala. Rain downpoured while they ate hot potatoes, while others used the potatoes for warmth. Music was played, people sang, and they generally had a good time. It was difficult for them, but these early settlers enjoyed what they could.
This reminds me of President Nelson’s admonition to seek and expect miracles. Even in trying circumstances, if we look we can see the Lord’s hand lifting us and blessing us.
My ancestors were part of settling the southern part of the state. If they didn’t have much of anything, like in this story, they had their voices and some instruments. They made the best of this rainy night and brought joy to all who were downtrodden and tired. We have so much to be thankful for and for our ancestors who passed on these stories and traditions (silver and gold)
They danced and sung and ralleyed together, they ate the roasted potatoes and listened to the violin.
Faith becomes stronger when we have to rely on the Lord for every necessity of life. Through singing and dancing and sacrificing for each other, those pioneers laid the foundation for a prosperous settlement to be established on that cold, rainy night
Six weeks from Salt Lake City to St. George, we drive it today at 80 MPH, yet that is still not fast enough for some as they speed past you. I think of pioneers often when driving in Utah and Wyoming.