Timeline:
1887 Purchased 1888 Moved and settled in Smoot Wyoming (Age 32)
1891 Seth Crook passes away at 7 months old
1908 Sharon Crook passes away from blood poisoning
September 18, 1908 William Joshua Crook leaves on a mission to the Eastern States (Age 52)
1920 Vernon passes away in Salt Lake City.
Crook, William Joshua
b. Jun. 1, 1857 d. Jul. 17, 1936
Samuel Lane Crook and Sarah Haines were married on the
sailing vessel "Thornton" on the 19th day of May 1856, while crossing
the Atlantic Ocean. They settled in Delaware and lived there four years. While
there two children were born, a girl and a boy. The girl died and was buried
there. The boy, William Joshua, born June 1, 1857, left with them for Utah in
1860. Of his first years all the boy could remember of his Father catching eels
in the Delaware River for food. They left Delaware in March for the west. They
rode on the train to Council Bluffs, Iowa and then with others were fitted up
with handcarts and began the long westward journey. Every day brought its share
of hardships, at one time the luggage became so heavy quilts and many other
things were burned to lighten the load. Indians visited the camp. Buffalo were
encountered, so many in one herd that it took one-half day for them to pass
before the hand carts were ferried across. Only three persons died on this
trip. They arrived in Salt Lake City on the 18th of August 1860. This was the
last hand cart company.
In the summer of 1887, Joshua staked a claim for 160 acres
and stared building a cabin in the southern end of Star Valley area later known
as Smoot. Joshua sold his twelve-acre farm in Garden City. Early in the spring
of 1888, he moved his family to Fish Haven where they lived with Grandmother
Howell until Ezra John was born 5 April 1888
Like most of the early settlers there were challenges for
the Crooks. Theirs started early though. After that little two room log home
with a dirt roof was built and their crops put in that first summer the Crooks
traveled in to Afton for a July 24th celebration. A trip from Smoot to Afton in
1888 was no small task. When the family returned they found their crops
destroyed. A large herd of cattle had detoured from the nearby Lander Trail and
had mutilated a summers worth of work. Harvey Crook, the only one of their 11
children living, recalled the event. "Several hundred cattle devoured and
made a dust bowl of our grain crop."
William Joshua was ordained a minister of the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 18 September 1908, and left for the Easter
States Mission where he served for six months.
He also claims to have the low down on transportation, as he
has traveled by hand cart, horse back, ox team, mule team, horses, railroad,
automobile and last, but not less thrilling, while in Salt Lake City a short
time ago, he went for an airplane ride."
Crook, Harriet Jane Howell
b. Mar. 19, 1860 d. Aug. 17, 1938
Harriet Jane Howell was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
March 19, 1860, and started west when she was two weeks old. The Howell family
traveled in an independent immigrant train financed by those who composed it.
They drove ox teams.
Sister Crook was the mother of eleven children, nine boys
and two girls.
In addition to caring for her family Harriet was recognized
for "always having time to help her friends and ...attending to the sick
and needy,"
Harriet was the "first white woman to see Cottonwood
Lake." The family explains that the Crooks were traveling on horseback to
the lake with another group of people. Joshua reportedly told Harriet to ride
ahead so she would have first sight of the beautiful mountain lake. The
hardships, the pioneering and suffering she endured in her lifetime didn’t
embitter her soul, but made her tolerant and patient.
Crook, Ezra John Grandpas Brother Served in WWI
b. Apr. 5, 1888 d. Mar. 8, 1961
Ezra never married. He lived in Smoot and Etna all his life,
except for time spent in the army during World War I. After returning home, he
lived with his brother Joshel and helped run Vernon’s farm. Later in his life
while he was living at Harvey’s, they realized Ezra had a bad hernia and Harvey
took him to Salt Lake City. Where Ezra had a hernia operation at the Veterans
Hospital, which made him feel much better. While at the hospital he applied for
veteran’s benefits and he stared receiving a pension from the army. He enjoyed
playing the violin. He died 8 March 1960, and was buried in the Smoot Cemetery.
Ezra, who had never married, came and helped care for his mother.
Crook, George Vernon Grandpas
Brother
b. Mar. 15, 1892 d. Jan. 20, 1920
Vernon Crook, the fifth son of Mr. and Mrs. W. J. Crook
passed away in Salt Lake City, Utah at noon 20 January 1920, after suffering
for nearly two years with his side injury. In the spring of 1918, he was
branding and dehorning cattle and met with an accident breaking several ribs.
He did not suffer any at the time and paid little attention to it, thinking it
would be better in a few days, and kept on working as usual. The inflamed part
finally began to gather and from then on he has been suffering. He was operated
on twice to have the decayed parts removed, but the sore continued to gather
and break until death claimed his precious young life. He was among the first
children born in the valley—his birth being on the 15 March 1892 . all through
his life he has been bright and energetic—very successful as a farmer in Etna,
where he owned almost 200 acres of land. Everyone sought Vernon’s company
because of his kind and cheery disposition and his association among the young
people can never be replaced. Harvey, the youngest boy was the only member of
the family with Vernon when he died. He accompanied the remains to the valley.
(During the summer, before Vernon died of TB of the bone, he slept outside in a
tent because of the odor from the infection.)
Before Vernon’s death he had been courting Eva Stone. Vernon
had gone to Idaho Falls with a wagonload of pigs to sell and when he returned
Eva had died from complications of appendicitis and was buried. Her mother came
to Joshua after Vernon had passed away and told him that Eva had come to her in
a vision wanting to be sealed to Vernon. Joshua agreed and this work was done 6
October 1920, in the Salt Lake Temple.
Crook, Harvey Orson Grandpa
b. Oct. 16, 1900 d. Aug. 28, 1995
My earliest recollection is the time in 1902, when our
Christmas tree caught on fire due to the little lighted wax candles that were
being used for decorations. I remember Ezra, who was getting ready to go to a
dance in his white shirt, grabbing the tree and throwing it outside. My brothers told me that Santa would not come
because we didn’t have a tree. But I still believe in Santa, because I can
remember the little red chair I received that year. The following summer my
sister Ella was born on the 24th of July and our family moved into
our new two story frame home that summer.
I helped by carrying my little red chair and the thunder mug to our new
home. My brothers laughed at me for
carrying the thunder mug, which made me mad. One cold winter day, Ray didn't
want to get dressed and so Dad put Ray and his clothes outside in the snow, Ray
lay there on his clothes kicking and learned a lesson in obedience to his
parents.
After the Armistice was signed in November 1918, many of the
people in Star Valley were stricken with the flu, which was a worldwide
epidemic. I went to the Lower Valley to
help nurse Joshel's family and others.
At the narrows, a man was guarding the road so that no one could go to
the Lower Valley unless they'd had the flu.
I just forced my team through. Upon arriving at Joshel's I found all of
them sick and his cows had been in the barn for three days, without being
milked. So I milked them and then went
to Thayne to get Doctor Fink this flu had a nuseating smell, fever mixed with mustard
plasters, slop jars, bed pans homes lacked bathrooms and furnaces.. I slept in the sheep camp, and their old dog
came in and slept by me and gave me the flu germ. When I started getting sick, Eliza, Joshel’s
wife, had me come in the house and sleep in the kitchen under the table.
A courtship started when a young
school teacher Rosella Mallory came to Smoot to teach school for her first
time. The first time I saw Rosella, she and Irene Johnson were walking home
from school. She was a cousin of my
friend Warren Staley. We started keeping
company by going to the dances in Afton at Welch's Dance Hall, which had a
confectionery, pool hall and barbershop in front. The next year she taught in Bedford, and I
often traveled by team and sleigh, about a three-hour drive in the wintertime,
to see her. (Often Harve told of his narrow escape from an avalanche one time
when he drove his team through the narrows.)
Sometimes, after going to a dance, I would put my team in Mr. Mallory's
barn and stay overnight and come back the next day.
In 1923 went to a dance and I told her I had something to
tell her and she said she had something to tell me. We had each received our mission call. Mine was to Australia and Rosella’s was to
the Central States both leaving in June.
So any marriage thoughts were delayed to serve the Lord.
Crook, Rosella Mallory Grandma
b. Sep. 13, 1898 d. Nov. 25, 1991
Crook, Rula Jannette Peterson
b. Sep. 13, 1898 d. Jun. 3, 1993
Crook, Rulon James
"Hemi"
b. Aug. 8, 1897 d. Oct. 3, 1987
When he was 15 years old he was attending a Star Valley
Stake Conference at the old tabernacle in Afton with his family. During the
session, it was announced that a request had come from the church headquarters,
that they wanted missionaries and one was Rulon Crook, they wanted to go to New
Zealand. He was naturally very surprised and hardly knew what to say. His
father leaned over to him and said, “Well, will you go?” and Rulon said, “I
guess so.” From that time on, it was a turning point in his life that was to
have an effect on him and his whole future, along with his future family also.
Preparations were made and he turned 16 years old as he left for far off New
Zealand. He left California on a boat that took 27 days and he was seasick all
the time. Some of the best times of his life were spent there, including the 16
months he served as a companion to Elder Matthew Cowley. World War I was on and
there was no transportation for him to come home, as the boats were all used
for war purposes so Rulon had to stay in New Zealand for 5 years. When he first
went there, he was sent among the Maori people. He learned to speak, read and
write the Maori language fluently. These skills remained with him throughout
his life. While there he taught school with the Maori children and helped them
learn English. The Maori’s couldn’t say Rulon in their language but James was
pronounced “Hemi”, so from then on Rulon because known to everyone as Hemi,
Uncle Hemi or Grandpa Hemi. He picked up a Maori slang word that all of his family
use, including the young married in-laws as they came along. That word was
“Katiano” which means “for goodness sake.” While in New Zealand he contracted
typhoid fever, then pneumonia, then a relapse of the typhoid. He was in a
hospital for 72 days and his hospital bill was $75.00 While he was so sick in
the hospital, a certain nurse made fun of his belongings and ridiculed him for
coming to their country for what she thought was to get a wife. He felt hurt
and said to her, “You’d better watch out for what you’re saying, and if you
persist in ridiculing me, something will happen to you.” She contacted the
typhoid fever and died in 2 days. A member of the church, Brother Percy Going
send Hemi enough money to buy a pair of shoes and a train ticket to his home so
that he could recuperate from his long stay in the hospital. A “family tie”
began and to this day, the Going family have played a big and special part in
the life of Hemi and his family. They are like brothers and sisters to us, in
the true sense. After Hemi returned home, at 21 years of age, he had a desire
to return to finish high school.
Grandpa Hemi owned a store in Smoot, Wyoming. The store was
across the street from his home with his wife, Rula Jannett Peterson, whenever
my mom would go visit them they would run to the store before the house to see
grandpa. His store was the only one in town and he always had penny candy to
give to the kids. I found out from my grandpa that when grandpa Hemi passed
away and they were cleaning out his things, they found a drawer full of IOU’s
from customers that couldn’t afford their groceries. Grandpa Hemi was an
amazing man who was extremely kind to everyone. The IOU’s totaled to $10,000.
While in the store, they made many friends and are still
corresponding with a lot of tourists who now live in Georgia, Alabama and
California. Hemi liked to heap up the ice cream cones for his customers and
always tucked in extra candy in paper sacks that he’d always staple together,
and hand to the kids, especially those leaving the valley or from out of the
valley. Then he’d tell them not to open it until they got out over the divide.
Crook, Seth Brother Died at 7 months
b. Jun. 27, 1890 d. Jan. 23, 1891
In the early days professional medical attention was not available and the
families relied on each other for help in time of sickness and need. There were
many a heartache when a child would die. Seth was born 27 June 1890, only to
live seven months when he contracted scarlet fever and died 23 January 1891. He
was their first child born in Smoot and was the second burial in the Smoot
Cemetery.
Crook, Sharon Howell Brother Died at 14
b. Sep. 22, 1893 d. Apr. 5, 1908
Sharon Howell was born 22 September 1893. As a child Sharon
had three fingers chopped off his right hand while Vernon was chopping wood.
Sharon had been helping move wooden benches at the church for the 17th of March
party and got a sliver in his finger and it developed into blood poisoning and
he died a week later on 5 April 1908, when he was 15 years old. That fall
Joshua did Sharon’s endowment work in the Salt Lake Temple.
