Sunday, September 2, 2012
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Eugene/Gene Arave Property History
All properties probably have their own unique ownership history.
I thought I knew all about my father and grandfather's property and life history, but I didn't.
I'm fairly certain that my grandfather, Eugene Arave (1882-1962) lived 1.1 miles southwest of the center of Hooper at about 6700 W. 5500 South, for his first 20 years of life, until 1902. (That's where the first Arave, Nelson, had his Hooper home.)
Eugene married Lilley Arave (1883-1977)on Dec. 17, 1902.
Their first two children (Clarence and Orval) were both born in Hooper.
However, their third child, Della, was born in Taylor, Idaho in 1907. That town of Taylor doesn't exist anymore and is probably part of the east side of Shelley, Idaho today. (Shelley is located between Basalt and Idaho Falls.)
A newspaper article stated that Eugene and Lilley lived in the Idaho Falls area for three years. Based on their children's birthdates, that was probably from 1906-1909.
Nelson Arave died on July 8, 1906 and so it is very likely that Eugene was in the area when his father died. (Basalt, Idaho, where Nelson lived, is about 14 miles southwest of Idaho Falls.)
I'm suspecting Eugene moved to Idaho Falls to be close to his father, who had moved to Idaho when he was very young.
Eugene and Lilley's next two children, Lewis and Bulah, were born in Weber County -- Ogden and Hooper.
Then, the sixth child, Edith was born in Malad, Idaho in 1917. That same newspaper article stated that Eugene and Lilley lived in Malad for a year.
By 1920, they had moved back to Hooper, because that's where their next child, Nelson, was born.
So, I'm thinking Eugene might have missed his mother's death by being in Idaho. Susannah Aroline Arave, died on May 16, 1917, in Hooper, while Eugene's sixth child, Edith was born on July 23, 1917 in Malad.
What does all this have to do with property?
I'm suspecting Eugene and Lilley moved around for their first 16 to 18 years of marriage. I doubt they owned property in Hooper until at least 1918.
My mother, Norma, recalls that Eugene lived on 5900 West, across from the Hooper Second Ward Chapel, and about 600 yards north on where he lived in his oldest days.
Then, not until 1942 did he purchase the property at 5413 S. 5900 West.
That's where he built a home during World War II.
There, he eventually built a chicken coop (still standing in 2012) and a pig pen (torn down by the late 1960s.) He also help build his son, Gene's (my father) home in 1951-52.
Eugene also used to own the acre straight west of his home site and sold it to the Kilts family in the early 1950s.
RESIDENCE SUMMARY--
Eugene and Lilley lived in Hooper, 1902-1906
Taylor Idaho, 1906-1909.
Hooper again, 1909-1917
Malad, Idaho, 1917.
Hooper again, 1918-on
I thought I knew all about my father and grandfather's property and life history, but I didn't.
I'm fairly certain that my grandfather, Eugene Arave (1882-1962) lived 1.1 miles southwest of the center of Hooper at about 6700 W. 5500 South, for his first 20 years of life, until 1902. (That's where the first Arave, Nelson, had his Hooper home.)
Eugene married Lilley Arave (1883-1977)on Dec. 17, 1902.
Their first two children (Clarence and Orval) were both born in Hooper.
However, their third child, Della, was born in Taylor, Idaho in 1907. That town of Taylor doesn't exist anymore and is probably part of the east side of Shelley, Idaho today. (Shelley is located between Basalt and Idaho Falls.)
A newspaper article stated that Eugene and Lilley lived in the Idaho Falls area for three years. Based on their children's birthdates, that was probably from 1906-1909.
Nelson Arave died on July 8, 1906 and so it is very likely that Eugene was in the area when his father died. (Basalt, Idaho, where Nelson lived, is about 14 miles southwest of Idaho Falls.)
I'm suspecting Eugene moved to Idaho Falls to be close to his father, who had moved to Idaho when he was very young.
Eugene and Lilley's next two children, Lewis and Bulah, were born in Weber County -- Ogden and Hooper.
Then, the sixth child, Edith was born in Malad, Idaho in 1917. That same newspaper article stated that Eugene and Lilley lived in Malad for a year.
By 1920, they had moved back to Hooper, because that's where their next child, Nelson, was born.
So, I'm thinking Eugene might have missed his mother's death by being in Idaho. Susannah Aroline Arave, died on May 16, 1917, in Hooper, while Eugene's sixth child, Edith was born on July 23, 1917 in Malad.
What does all this have to do with property?
I'm suspecting Eugene and Lilley moved around for their first 16 to 18 years of marriage. I doubt they owned property in Hooper until at least 1918.
My mother, Norma, recalls that Eugene lived on 5900 West, across from the Hooper Second Ward Chapel, and about 600 yards north on where he lived in his oldest days.
Then, not until 1942 did he purchase the property at 5413 S. 5900 West.
That's where he built a home during World War II.
There, he eventually built a chicken coop (still standing in 2012) and a pig pen (torn down by the late 1960s.) He also help build his son, Gene's (my father) home in 1951-52.
Eugene also used to own the acre straight west of his home site and sold it to the Kilts family in the early 1950s.
RESIDENCE SUMMARY--
Eugene and Lilley lived in Hooper, 1902-1906
Taylor Idaho, 1906-1909.
Hooper again, 1909-1917
Malad, Idaho, 1917.
Hooper again, 1918-on
Friday, March 16, 2012
Where did Nelson Arave Live in Hooper?
Where did the first Arave, Nelson Arave, live in Hooper?
It is NOT where I thought it was. It is at about 6700 W. 5500 South, about 1.1 miles southwest of where Gene Arave lived.
I saw a photograph in a Utah history book, "Hooper, Land of Beautiful Sunsets" and it looked familiar.
I found an identical photo in Norma Arave's photo book on homes. Her photo is marked on the left as saying the house in the background is the Arave house. Since we're talking the 1880s here, I surmise that had to be Nelson Arave's home.
(Note that the school photo, talked about above, is included in this blog.)
In that Hooper history book, there are some misspelled words (like Freemont, instead of Fremont, but otherwise the books looks credible and referenced.)
That history book says the school was the Hooper West School. It opened in 1880 and closed in 1905 and was located at 6700 W. 5500 South. (That's one block west of where you turn to the cemetery along 5500 South Street.)
Nelson ("Nels") Arave is stated in the history book too as being one of that Hooper West School's 14 original financers. (This lends support to the house pictured being Nelson's home.)
When I asked my mother, Norma Arave, about the photo where she said written "Arave House," she said that's what Lilley Arave (my grandmother) had told her the house was.
So, this may be the home where Nelson lived in most of all of his Hooper life and left from and moved to Idaho.
His youngest son, Eugene Arave, my grandfather, apparently lived on 5900 West Street, about straight west of the old Hooper Second Ward Chapel, when he got married.
Then, by the early 1940s, he built the house next door to where my mother's house would eventually be built, at 5413 S. 5900 West.
It would also be great one day to find about where Nelson Arave lived when he resided in Uintah ("East Weber"), as well as where he lived in Mountain Green, Morgan, and even Basalt, Idaho.
-On the accompanying photos: 1. Shows the West Hooper School and Nelson Arave's apparent home; 2. The other photos show the intersection of 6700 W. and 5500 South in Hooper, as of March 16, 2012. The house on the N.W. corner appears vacant. There are no homes on the south side and the N.E. home used to be where some Coxes lived ...
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Nelson Arave in Nauvoo
Nelson Arave moved to Nauvoo in 1842, at about age 10.
His "adopted" parents, Jesse and Ruth Lampson, lived on the Joseph Smith homestead, block No. 155.
Jesse was a high priest in the LDS Church and about age 60, was blind or going blind.
It was likely that Nelson helped his parents doing many chores and travel to church meetings.
Nelson said in later life that he recalled seeing the Prophet Joseph Smith often and that he called him a poor orphan boy.
Joseph Smith also gave Nelson a special blessing and prophesied that he would be the father of a large posterity. (That certainly came true.)
Nelson received his partriarchal blessing on Jan. 16, 1846.
The Lampson's did not seal Nelson to them, according to temple records, when they went to the temple in 1846. By 1848, church records show that Jesse Lampson had died.
Nelson's own obituary stated that he intimately knew the Prophet Joseph Smith.
Nelson said he also recalled the speech by Brigham Young after Joseph was killed, where Brigham spoke with the voice of Joseph.
By 1846, the Lampsons and Nelson had moved to Council Bluffs, to escape persecution.
In 1851, Nelson left Sister Lampson and headed west to Utah territory.
It would be great to find more exacting information or stories about Nelson when he was in Nauvoo.
His "adopted" parents, Jesse and Ruth Lampson, lived on the Joseph Smith homestead, block No. 155.
Jesse was a high priest in the LDS Church and about age 60, was blind or going blind.
It was likely that Nelson helped his parents doing many chores and travel to church meetings.
Nelson said in later life that he recalled seeing the Prophet Joseph Smith often and that he called him a poor orphan boy.
Joseph Smith also gave Nelson a special blessing and prophesied that he would be the father of a large posterity. (That certainly came true.)
Nelson received his partriarchal blessing on Jan. 16, 1846.
The Lampson's did not seal Nelson to them, according to temple records, when they went to the temple in 1846. By 1848, church records show that Jesse Lampson had died.
Nelson's own obituary stated that he intimately knew the Prophet Joseph Smith.
Nelson said he also recalled the speech by Brigham Young after Joseph was killed, where Brigham spoke with the voice of Joseph.
By 1846, the Lampsons and Nelson had moved to Council Bluffs, to escape persecution.
In 1851, Nelson left Sister Lampson and headed west to Utah territory.
It would be great to find more exacting information or stories about Nelson when he was in Nauvoo.
How Did Nelson Arave End Up in Nauvoo?
Nelson Arave, the first and original "Arave," ended up in Nauvoo in 1842, about the age of 10.
How did he end up there?
Nelson's father and grandfather died on May 19, 1835 while rafting logs on the St. Lawrence River.
The simple story is that soon afterward, Nelson's mother felt she could not care adequately for all three of her children and so in about 1835, she "loaned" Nelson to Jesse and Ruth Lampson, who were soon going to resettle in New York, where she was headed. Nelson was only about age 3 at this time.
However, the Lampsons, who had been members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, since 1832, didn't end up traveling that way.
They moved with the church to Michigan, where Nelson was baptized at age 8. Two years later, in 1842, the Lampsons (who had two daughters) had moved to Nauvoo with the church.
Given the poor communication at the time, perhaps Nelson's mother did not have the time or resources to search for him. While she had to have known there was a chance she might never see Nelson again, I'm sure she thought about him a lot and would have liked him to be with her.
Meanwhile, the Lampsons did not actually adopt Nelson formally, but he lived with them for more than 15 years,until he headed to Utah territory.
How did he end up there?
Nelson's father and grandfather died on May 19, 1835 while rafting logs on the St. Lawrence River.
The simple story is that soon afterward, Nelson's mother felt she could not care adequately for all three of her children and so in about 1835, she "loaned" Nelson to Jesse and Ruth Lampson, who were soon going to resettle in New York, where she was headed. Nelson was only about age 3 at this time.
However, the Lampsons, who had been members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, since 1832, didn't end up traveling that way.
They moved with the church to Michigan, where Nelson was baptized at age 8. Two years later, in 1842, the Lampsons (who had two daughters) had moved to Nauvoo with the church.
Given the poor communication at the time, perhaps Nelson's mother did not have the time or resources to search for him. While she had to have known there was a chance she might never see Nelson again, I'm sure she thought about him a lot and would have liked him to be with her.
Meanwhile, the Lampsons did not actually adopt Nelson formally, but he lived with them for more than 15 years,until he headed to Utah territory.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
How Many Araves Are on Facebook?
Facebook searches are not as comprehensive as you might believe they are.
However, I counted 67 different Araves out there, in addition to the 15 that are members of All Things Arave, and so the total is at least 82 on Facebook.
However, I counted 67 different Araves out there, in addition to the 15 that are members of All Things Arave, and so the total is at least 82 on Facebook.
How Many Araves Are There?
How many people named Arave are in the U.S. today?
Uncertain, but there seem to be many hundreds.
Telephone directory searches are becoming increasingly less comprehensive, because many of the younger generation are switching to cell phones only and thus do not show up on such listings.
However, going by the latest phone book searches, here are how Araves are listed now, by each state, as a rough idea of the Arave presence in each state:
(22 total states have Araves listed....)
Utah: 46
Idaho: 42
California: 13
Arizona: 8
Montana: 6
South Carolina: 5
Kentucky: 3
Virginia: 3
Oregon: 4
Colorado: 4
New Mexico: 2
Washington State: 2
Tennessee: 2
Texas: 2
Nevada: 2
Maryland: 1
Missouri: 1
Minnesota: 1
Nebraska: 1
Florida: 1
Wyoming: 1
New York: 1
Other states: 0 listings.
--According to Ancestry.com, they have 913 Arave birth, marriage and death records.
They also have 5,123 family trees under Arave, plus 161 records of military service.
Average Arave life expectancy is about age 81 now.
Uncertain, but there seem to be many hundreds.
Telephone directory searches are becoming increasingly less comprehensive, because many of the younger generation are switching to cell phones only and thus do not show up on such listings.
However, going by the latest phone book searches, here are how Araves are listed now, by each state, as a rough idea of the Arave presence in each state:
(22 total states have Araves listed....)
Utah: 46
Idaho: 42
California: 13
Arizona: 8
Montana: 6
South Carolina: 5
Kentucky: 3
Virginia: 3
Oregon: 4
Colorado: 4
New Mexico: 2
Washington State: 2
Tennessee: 2
Texas: 2
Nevada: 2
Maryland: 1
Missouri: 1
Minnesota: 1
Nebraska: 1
Florida: 1
Wyoming: 1
New York: 1
Other states: 0 listings.
--According to Ancestry.com, they have 913 Arave birth, marriage and death records.
They also have 5,123 family trees under Arave, plus 161 records of military service.
Average Arave life expectancy is about age 81 now.
Nelson Arave's Prison Time
Like many Mormon Polygamists of the late 19th Century, Nelson Arave -- the first Arave -- spent time in prison.
Nelson was sentenced to 60 days in Prison in Ogden's Fourth District Court on March 6, 1893 by Judge Miner, for having two wives.
He was released on May 5, 1893.
Prison in those days was the Utah State Prison, where Sugarhouse Park is now.
When released, Nelson was told to only live with one of his two wives. He picked the younger wife, Mary Ann Williams Arave, who was age 45 at the time, vs. Aroline Wadsworth Arave, who was age 56 at the time.
All that is known is that sometime between 1893-1896, Nelson and his second wife and that family moved to Idaho.
The move was designed to show that Nelson was not living with two lives any longer.
One of the as of yet unverified "legends" about Nelson's arrest is that it was my Grandfather Arave, Eugene Arave, who supposedly told the sheriff where his father was hiding, to be arrested. Eugene would have been age 10 at the time.
Also, of note is that during Nelson's prison time, the Salt Lake Temple was dedicated on April 5, 1893, and so Nelson missed out seeing any part of that milestone.
Furthermore, it is also ironic that almost a century later, one his descendants, A.J. Arave, served as the warden of the Idaho State Prison.
(The above two photographs are of Sugarhouse Park today, the site of the prison where Nelson Arave served for two months.)
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Nelson Arave's Pioneer Trek
Nelson Arave, the first Arave, came from Council Bluffs, Iowa to Salt Lake City in 1851 as part of the John G. Smith Company.
The group left Council Bluffs on May 10, 1851 and arrived in Salt Lake City on Sept, 15 or Sept. 23, 1851.
Nelson is reported as having arrived on Sept. 15. (By then, Nelson was age 18).
On today's roads, it is 938 miles from Salt Lake City to Council Bluffs. In those days, it was surely 1,000-plus miles.
The company required more some 168 days to reach Salt Lake, likely averaging only about 6 miles a day.
(In contrast, a drive in 2012 from Salt Lake to Council Bluffs only requires 13 hours -- one long day, or an airplane ride of just several hours.)
The John G. Smith group had about 50 members. It also sported three wagons, five oxen and several ponies.
Nothing significant is reported from this pioneer trek, which took place just over for years after the first Mormon Pioneer trek to Salt Lake did.
(However, less than 4 years later, Nelson married Aroline Wadsworth, who was also a member of the same pioneer company.)
Some of the Smith company, including Nelson, was advised by Brigham Young not to unpack, but to head to "East Weber" (today's Uintah, Weber County). Nelson arrived there on Sept. 20, 1851.
Nelson lived in East Weber until 1858.
Then, he moved to Mountain Green, from 1858-1860.
He was in Morgan from 1860-1862; and then back to Mountain Green, from 1862-1869 or 1870.
Nelson lived in Hooper from 1869 or 1870 until sometime between 1893 and 1896. He died in Basalt, Idaho in 1906.
-Here's a lost of the participants of the John G. Smith Pioneer Trek (1851)and the known participants' ages.
Arave, Nelson Narcisse (18)
Barney, Alcea Celinda (10)
Barney, Alice Malena (16)
Barney, Danielson Buren (19)
Barney, Edson (44)
Barney, Edson Alroy (8)
Barney, Eliza Arabell (14)
Barney, Joseph Seth (5)
Barney, Lillis Ballou Comstock (46)
Barney, Louisa Walker Butterfield (28)
Barney, Partha Ann (1)
Birch, Fanny L. Wright (51)
Birch, George Wallace (34)
Birch, George Washington (infant)
Birch, Jane Elizabeth (10)
Birch, Susan Catherine Paine Thornton (40)
Birch, William Augustus (14)
Boothe, Amanda Susannah (10)
Boothe, Darius Daniel (12)
Boothe, Emily Charlotte (14)
Boothe, Henry (49)
Boothe, John Allen (19)
Boothe, Lewis Nathaniel (18)
Boothe, Martha Ann (8)
Boothe, Susannah Lyster (45)
Boothe, Willis Henry (17)
Brunson, Lewis (20)
Brunson, Seymour (14)
Butterfield, Mary E. (8)
Carey [or Corey], (Unknown)
Caulder, Isabella (29)
Cooley, [Mr.] (Unknown)
Crawford, James III (24)
Day, Abraham (33)
Day, Alice (1)
Day, Elmira Bulkeley (30)
Day, Elmira Jeanette (6)
Day, Ezra Joanas (4)
Day, Joseph Smith (11)
Day, Juliette (2)
Elmer, Harriet Gould (48)
Elmer, Jerusha Kibbee (9)
Elmer, John (72)
Felshaw, Caroline (6)
Felshaw, Hannah Olive (2)
Felshaw, John (14)
Felshaw, Lucy Rachall (9)
Felshaw, Mary Harriett Gilbert (43)
Felshaw, Sarah (infant)
Felshaw, Susannah (infant)
Felshaw, William (51)
Harding, Alma (16)
Harding, Charles (13)
Harding, Dwight (44)
Harding, Elizabeth Jane (11)
Harding, George (17)
Harding, Phoebe Eliza (5)
Harding, Phoebe Holbrook (41)
Hill, Alexander (71)
Hill, Elizabeth Currie (75)
Hill, Samuel Hood (10)
Lawrence, Emma Smith (14)
Lawrence, Maria (16)
Lawrence, Mary Ellen (11)
Lott, Isaiah Barkdull (4)
Loveless, Hyrum Smith (6)
Loveless, John (44)
Loveless, John Oscar (3)
Loveless, Mary Elizabeth (13)
Loveless, Parley Pratt (11)
Loveless, Rachel Mahala Anderson (45)
Loveless, Rachel Priscilla (10)
Loveless, Rhoda Sanford Lawrence (39)
Loveless, Sharlotte Lucretia (infant)
Loveless, William Duncan (8)
Mace, Elizabeth Armitta (4)
Mace, Elizabeth Armstrong (32)
Mace, Hiram (40)
Mace, Hiram M. (infant)
Mace, Lamire (11)
Mace, Marritta (2)
Maxfield, Elijah Hiett (18)
Maxfield, Henry Adheimer (infant)
Maxfield, James Appleton (14)
Maxfield, John Ellis (9)
Maxfield, John Ellison (50)
Maxfield, Joseph Smith (4)
Maxfield, Richard Dunwell (20)
Maxfield, Sarah Elizabeth (7)
Maxfield, Sarah Elizabeth Baker (40)
Maxfield, William Welener (11)
Melland, Charlotte Katherine (16)
Norton, Alanson (37)
Norton, Althea Marie (1)
Norton, Charles Waterberry (15)
Norton, Harriet Emmeline (14)
Norton, Lucy Ellen (11)
Norton, Lucy Wilkinson (62)
Norton, Martha Elmina (4)
Norton, Sallie Maria Freeman (34)
Park, Amanda Louisa (17)
Park, Cynthia Jane (15)
Park, Esther Catherine (13)
Park, James Addison (8)
Park, Matilda Stewart (42)
Park, Samuel Wallace (20)
Patten, [Sister] R. R. (Unknown)
Poppelton, George Joseph Stennett (7)
Shirtliff, L. A. (Unknown)
Skidmore, Henry Brett (20)
Smith, John Glover (43)
Stevens, Roswell (43)
Thornton, Jasper (17)
Wadsworth, Abiah (41)
Wadsworth, Abiah (2)
Wadsworth, Eliza Ann (9)
Wadsworth, Eliza Ann Hardy (45)
Wadsworth, Joseph Warren (19)
Wadsworth, Lucinda Mathena (infant)
Wadsworth, Nancy Ellen (11)
Wadsworth, Susanna Aroline (14)
Willey, David Orson (1)
Willey, Jeremiah (46)
Willey, Jeremiah Russell (4)
Willey, Samantha Call (36)
Willey, William Wallace (9)
(Note: The above photograph is of the original This is the Place Monument, at the mouth of Emigration Canyon. The more popular and modern This is the Place Monument is southwest of the first marker. This photo is also taken where Nelson Arave and many a Mormon pioneer would have received their first view of the entire Salt Lake Valley.)
The True Nelson Arave Indian Tale
There's a prominent tale about Nelson Arave regarding Indian trouble.
My own family's story names the Indian leader -- Little Soldier -- claims the natives whipped Nelson because they were afraid Brigham Young was going to send soldiers to run them out of the area. Then, after withstanding a beating, Nelson walked with the Indians on horseback to see Brigham Young in Salt Lake and sort things out.
My family's story claims it happened in Mountain Green in the 1870s.
Some of my brothers and sisters gave this story as fact in some school classes in the past.
That timeline and location for this story is definitely incorrect. Nelson moved to Hooper in 1969 or 1870.
Also, the main Indian trouble history records in the area happened in 1854, when Nelson was living in East Weber (forerunner to today's Uintah).
History records that Little Soldier and his Indians had a winter camp near Ogden in 1854 and stole cattle and cut fences that year. In September of 1854, Brigham Young met with various local Indian leaders in Weber County and gave them presents to keep the peace.
"Nelson Arave: Our Heritage of Faith" booklet history by Alvin Earl Arave in 1997, isn't as detailed as my family's version of the Indian story.
This version is also not as exaggerated either.
There's no report of Nelson being whipped, or of the Indians actually going with Nelson to see Brigham Young. (Nelson went alone). He returned with gifts from Brigham Young, as well as with an unnamed man Young send to help affirm his support for the Indians.
If this story about Nelson Arave and the Indians took place in 1854, then it is likely true. Otherwise, it is a legend and has been tied into the famous 1854 account.
It is about 34 miles from Uintah to downtown Salt Lake City.
Both stories state that Nelson walked that entire distance. Even at a walking speed of 3 mph (pretty fast for trails of that era), it would take almost 11 1/2 hours of non-stop walking for Nelson to have reached Salt Lake. So, even if he started walking at 7 a.m., he wouldn't have arrived in Salt Lake until 6:30 p.m., or after. So, he had to stay the night there, it seems.
In conclusion, my own immediate family's version of Nelson Arave and the Indians is simply exaggerated and doesn't stand up to official written histories on the area.
The Alvin Arave version seems more credible and is certainly true, if it can be proven to have taken place in 1854.
Otherwise, I don't doubt that Nelson Arave had some sort of encounter with some angry Indians at some time in his East Weber years, but outside of an 1854 occurrence, I'm suspicious that it directly involved Brigham Young, or a walk to Salt Lake City -- and was probably a much less interesting tale than the Arave family histories claim.
There were also reports of "Indian trouble" recorded in history, from 1860-1862. That's primarily why Nelson and other Mountain Green settlers moved to Morgan for two years, 1860-1862. But Little Soldier was not a factor then and Brigham Young was likely just giving gifts to the Indians by then. Also, Nelson is not said to have walked from Morgan to Salt Lake, as that is an extra 10 to 12 miles to Salt Lake.
My own family's story names the Indian leader -- Little Soldier -- claims the natives whipped Nelson because they were afraid Brigham Young was going to send soldiers to run them out of the area. Then, after withstanding a beating, Nelson walked with the Indians on horseback to see Brigham Young in Salt Lake and sort things out.
My family's story claims it happened in Mountain Green in the 1870s.
Some of my brothers and sisters gave this story as fact in some school classes in the past.
That timeline and location for this story is definitely incorrect. Nelson moved to Hooper in 1969 or 1870.
Also, the main Indian trouble history records in the area happened in 1854, when Nelson was living in East Weber (forerunner to today's Uintah).
History records that Little Soldier and his Indians had a winter camp near Ogden in 1854 and stole cattle and cut fences that year. In September of 1854, Brigham Young met with various local Indian leaders in Weber County and gave them presents to keep the peace.
"Nelson Arave: Our Heritage of Faith" booklet history by Alvin Earl Arave in 1997, isn't as detailed as my family's version of the Indian story.
This version is also not as exaggerated either.
There's no report of Nelson being whipped, or of the Indians actually going with Nelson to see Brigham Young. (Nelson went alone). He returned with gifts from Brigham Young, as well as with an unnamed man Young send to help affirm his support for the Indians.
If this story about Nelson Arave and the Indians took place in 1854, then it is likely true. Otherwise, it is a legend and has been tied into the famous 1854 account.
It is about 34 miles from Uintah to downtown Salt Lake City.
Both stories state that Nelson walked that entire distance. Even at a walking speed of 3 mph (pretty fast for trails of that era), it would take almost 11 1/2 hours of non-stop walking for Nelson to have reached Salt Lake. So, even if he started walking at 7 a.m., he wouldn't have arrived in Salt Lake until 6:30 p.m., or after. So, he had to stay the night there, it seems.
In conclusion, my own immediate family's version of Nelson Arave and the Indians is simply exaggerated and doesn't stand up to official written histories on the area.
The Alvin Arave version seems more credible and is certainly true, if it can be proven to have taken place in 1854.
Otherwise, I don't doubt that Nelson Arave had some sort of encounter with some angry Indians at some time in his East Weber years, but outside of an 1854 occurrence, I'm suspicious that it directly involved Brigham Young, or a walk to Salt Lake City -- and was probably a much less interesting tale than the Arave family histories claim.
There were also reports of "Indian trouble" recorded in history, from 1860-1862. That's primarily why Nelson and other Mountain Green settlers moved to Morgan for two years, 1860-1862. But Little Soldier was not a factor then and Brigham Young was likely just giving gifts to the Indians by then. Also, Nelson is not said to have walked from Morgan to Salt Lake, as that is an extra 10 to 12 miles to Salt Lake.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
First Arave Mother -- Aroline
I've posted a photograph of Nelson Arave's grave previously.
Now I'm adding the headstone for Aroline Arave, Nelson's first wife.
She is buried in the Hooper, Utah cemetery.
Her full name was Susannah Aroline Wadsworth Arave. She was born in Camden, Maine on Sept. 16, 1836. She died on May 15, 1917 in Hooper.
She was a daughter of Abiah Wadsworth, another prominent early Utah pioneer.
If you have the name Arave, you are either a descendant through Aroline or through Nelson's second wife, Mary Ann Williams, Arave (born May 6, 1848 in Abercarn, South Wales, United Kingdom).
Back to Aroline, she was apparently blind in her latter years and the family had to take care of her. She lived five years longer than Nelson's second wife, who died at age 64. Aroline was age 81 when she passed away.
Nelson had 12 children by his first wife and 11 by his second wife and so that's 23 total children.
Since I served an LDS Church Mission in southwest England and South Wales, I wish I would have known then that an Arave ancestor had been born there. I know I went right through Abercarn,South Wales at least once. I remember it well since there were so many professed atheists in that area, because of a coal mine disaster that killed hundreds in the 1870s. (I lived in Chepstow, Cardiff and Ebbw Vale while on my mission and also visited castles and the site of President David O. Mckay's mother's birthplace.)
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Why A-R-A-V-E?
We're stuck with this unusual Arave name, like it or not.
However, how did it come to be?
My mother, Norma Arave, has the answer in one of her 4 oversized Nelson Arave research books/scrapbooks.
Her research states that when Jesse Lampson (also times misspelled "Lambson") Nelson's "adopted" father (though not legally)realized he was going to die soon, he told Nelson what his real surname was, though he didn't know how to spell it.
The name was very likely Arrivee (the French word for Arrival).
Somehow, Lampson came up with the weird ARAVE spelling and likely the even stranger verbal way to say it -- "Arvey."
Nelson himself was probably no more than grade school age at the time.
In addition, a letter that Nelson Arave sent to a son, Joseph Arave, on an LDS Church mission and dated April 16, 1905, gives further support:
"Dear Son:
"I received yours of the 12(th). Twas very glad to hear from you. I am well at present and hope this will find you the same.
"You spoke of a man named Aravee (,) that is the way it is pronounced in France. My father and grandfather were drowned in the St. Lawrence river while rafting logs about the year 1836. In 1837 my mother went to St. Laurence County New York. There she married a man named Meyers. Her name was Jenette. I had a brother named Louis. He was born in 1836. I was born in 1834. I do not know my father's given name or whether he had any brothers or now. This is all that I can remember about it.
"Please write soon and let me know how you are getting along and how you enjoy your mission.
Yours afectionately (sic) Nelson Arave."
So, there you have it.
Anyone else out there have a different origin story, or one with more detail?
The one problem I have with the letter is that means Nelson was drawing on memory of when he was no more than two or three years old. I certainly can't recall much before age four or five in my life, so was he an exception to that? I'm not sure.
(Note: There is also some question as to whether "Nelson" was really the first Arave's first name. Some have wondered if the Lampson family didn't give him that first name.)
However, how did it come to be?
My mother, Norma Arave, has the answer in one of her 4 oversized Nelson Arave research books/scrapbooks.
Her research states that when Jesse Lampson (also times misspelled "Lambson") Nelson's "adopted" father (though not legally)realized he was going to die soon, he told Nelson what his real surname was, though he didn't know how to spell it.
The name was very likely Arrivee (the French word for Arrival).
Somehow, Lampson came up with the weird ARAVE spelling and likely the even stranger verbal way to say it -- "Arvey."
Nelson himself was probably no more than grade school age at the time.
In addition, a letter that Nelson Arave sent to a son, Joseph Arave, on an LDS Church mission and dated April 16, 1905, gives further support:
"Dear Son:
"I received yours of the 12(th). Twas very glad to hear from you. I am well at present and hope this will find you the same.
"You spoke of a man named Aravee (,) that is the way it is pronounced in France. My father and grandfather were drowned in the St. Lawrence river while rafting logs about the year 1836. In 1837 my mother went to St. Laurence County New York. There she married a man named Meyers. Her name was Jenette. I had a brother named Louis. He was born in 1836. I was born in 1834. I do not know my father's given name or whether he had any brothers or now. This is all that I can remember about it.
"Please write soon and let me know how you are getting along and how you enjoy your mission.
Yours afectionately (sic) Nelson Arave."
So, there you have it.
Anyone else out there have a different origin story, or one with more detail?
The one problem I have with the letter is that means Nelson was drawing on memory of when he was no more than two or three years old. I certainly can't recall much before age four or five in my life, so was he an exception to that? I'm not sure.
(Note: There is also some question as to whether "Nelson" was really the first Arave's first name. Some have wondered if the Lampson family didn't give him that first name.)
Monday, January 30, 2012
Unique Name? Not Mine!
If you want, Google your name (in quote marks) and see what comes up. You may or may not be unique.
Until I was in my early 40s, I had always assumed my name, Lynn Arave, was unique.
That, I rationalized, was the reward for having that strangely spelled and stated last name.
However, I eventually learned that there were at least two other Lynn Arave's in the world.
In Kentucky, a woman had married into the family and was Lynn Arave too.
Also, a distant relative in Idaho Falls, and older than me, was also named Lynn Arave (actually Lynn J. Arave, vs, my Lynn R. Arave). So, the Idaho Lynn Arave is actually the "original."
There appears to be a huge Arave extended family (in the thousands), startling when you consider that the first Arave, Nelson, was ONLY my great-grandfather. So, I guess it make sense that few Araves may actually have a unique combined first and last name.
Even my mother, Norma Arave, wasn't unique in her name. There was a Norma Arave Earl (recently deceased), as well as an earlier living Norma Arave.
One of my younger brothers, Mark, has also been plagued somewhat with mail/bill confusion, by the older and same-named Mark Arave who lives in the Ogden area.
However, such name confusion doesn't just involve same-named Araves either.
For example, Leonard Arave, the current mayor of North Salt Lake City, Utah, often goes by "Len," a very close name to "Lynn" (see the accompanying illustration). Especially when Len Arave also lived in Layton, Utah, there was occasional phone call confusion going on. It was entertaining far more than annoying, though.
Arave vs. "Arvey"
If you are an Arave relative, but don't carry the actual Arave surname, you may be lucky, at least in the area of having your name pronounced correctly.
It is just not often outside my own neighborhood where the name is said correctly.
The range of wrong pronouncements ranges from A-ravee to Rave.
Of course the correct way is "Arvey."
When I served an LDS Church mission in England, I eventually had my name badge redone to "Arvey" (see the accompanying picture), simply because I cared more then about how it was said than how it was spelled.
One British church member used to referred to me as "Elder Harvey, without the H."
Years later, Dave Blackwell, a well-known Utah sports writer/TV-radio broadcaster from the 1970s to the 1990s, coined my name in informal writing and notes as "RV," like recreational vehicle.
When Michael Arave was the studentbody president of Weber State University in the 1980s, I recall a rise in how often my Arave name was correctly stated in the Ogden area.
With Len Arave as North Salt Lake City mayor now, I'm betting there is a similar effect in that area.
Often times, it is more surprising when my last name is stated correctly than when it is not. For example, in January of 2012 I went into an America First Credit Union in Logan, Utah (some 60 miles from my home) and the branch manager surprisingly knew how pronounce my surname. There are a few Araves in Cache Valley, but not a lot.
-Also, in October of 2014, I went to the Rexburg Idaho LDS Temple, never dreaming my last name would be pronounced correctly. But, the sealer surprisingly knew the name and how to say it. He also said there are lots of Araves in Blackfoot.
-Then, later the same day, I visited the Idaho Falls Temple, where Parley Arave was its third president. No one seems to recognize the last name and sadly scanning the list of temple workers and volunteers revealed not a single Arave to be found.
-The "Why" Arave is spelled its unusual way is fodder for a future blog.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Some of the More Famous of the Araves
Anyone with the oddly spelled name (and even more strangely pronounced surname name) A-R-A-V-E is likely related somewhere.
All came from the first Arave, Nelson Arave (about 1834-1906).
Most pronounce the name "Arvey," as if the A was silent and as if it had a Y on the end.
Anyway, if you possess that name you are probably thinking "tell me something I don't know."
OK. I did a Goggle search on "ARAVE" and here's what I believe are some of the more prominent of the Arave relatives, close or far, out there:
(Note: This is a work is progress and will be added to in the future...)
-ARVON ("A.J.") Arave, former warden of the Idaho State Prison.
-CHARLES Arave, KRISTY Arave and WHITNEY Arave: all 3 commercial photographers in Northern Utah.
-CLINT Arave, rodeo champion, from Blackfoot, Idaho area.
-JERRY Arave, principal of Kingman Junior High School, Kingman, Arizona.
-The late JOSEPH Arave, Ph.D.,of the University of Utah College of Health, Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism.
-KIM Arave and the late DALE Arave, owners of both Western Reality and the Arave Constuction Company in Blackfoot, Idaho.
-LEON Arave, internationally known sumo wrestler.
-Leonard Arave, current mayor of North Salt Lake City, Utah.
-MICHAEL Arave, former studentbody president at Weber State University, 1980-81.
-The late PARLEY Arave of Idaho. Former president of the LDS Church's Idaho Falls Temple and also a Canadian Mission President for the LDS Church (Picture of Idaho Falls Temple above.)
-Dr. RICHARD L. Arave, dentist in Boise, Idaho.
-The late JAN "Shay" Arave, successful interior designer and manager of online health products and blogs in the Portland, Oregon area.
Others with ARAVE blood, but do not have the Arave name:
-"Jon Carter," a famous Utah radio host since 1979 (though raised in Idaho), now on KRSP. (One of his grandfathers was an Arave.) "Jon Carter" is his stage name.
-Gary "Wooly" Waldron, legendary Utah DJ (KCPX/KNAK and more), radio producer. (His mother's maiden name was Arave.)
All Things "Arave"
This is a blog, an extension of a similarly named Facebook group page, that seeks to promote unity and information among the descendants of the first Arave, Nelson Arave.
There are literally thousands of people out there related to this pioneer, but likely many do no know his legacy or history.
What follows hopes to be informative posts about the extended Arave family, its unusual spelling and history, as well as just what some of the many Araves' out there are doing -- because we are all related!
(Note: You can search for the group page on Facebook by using All Things Arave as the key phrase.)
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