George Carlile

George Carlile and Laura Ann Giles A Heber Fort Family written by Ron Carlile

George Carlile KWJZ-MJY and Laura Ann Moore Giles KWJZ-MJB - A Heber Fort Family. Their cabin was located along 5th North between 2nd and 3rd West between William Dameron and George’s brother James Carlile. George Carlile was born in the remote village of Misson, Nottinghamshire, England, on April 11th, 1836, the youngest child of Robert and Christina Spouncer Carlile. At the age of 12, George was baptized as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The entire family, in fact, were converted to this new religion along with many others that flocked to the message of the restored gospel. Thereafter, plans were made to immigrate to the new gathering place in Utah Territory. Travelling to Liverpool, the Carlile’s, among 250 recent converts, boarded the ship Zetland that set sail in October 1849 headed for New Orleans. Following a 69-day voyage, they arrived on Christmas Day, 1849. From there they took a crowded steamboat up the Mississippi River to St. Louis. After a couple of months there, they continued their journey along the Missouri River to Council Bluffs, Iowa. The entire Carlile family remained in Council Bluffs for the next 2 years (1850-52). Those old enough to work earned money for supplies, wagons and cattle for the nearly 1,000-mile trip to Utah Territory. In 1852, George, with his parents, a wagon and ox team secured a place in the 7th company under the direction of Captain Henry JM Jolley. After arriving, the Carlile’s travelled to Provo in October then to a new settlement, south of Utah Lake, named Palmyra in November. In 1853, 17-year-old George was enlisted to assist with the Walker War, that had its start in nearby Payson and was a dispute between the settlers and local Indian tribes. Later, in 1857, George also served at the Echo Canyon skirmish during the Utah War when Johnston army was coming into Utah Territory. Because of the continued conflicts with the local tribes, the extended Carlile families moved to near-by Spanish Fork in 1856, that provided greater safety. During this time George courted and married a young lady named Laura Ann Giles. They were married in Provo on November 25th, 1856. Laura Ann Giles (known as Ann throughout her life) was born on April 19th, 1837, at Newark, Nottingham, England to Elizabeth Susannah Moore and became the adopted daughter of Thomas Huskinson Giles. Like the Carlile family, the Giles’ heard and received the message of the restored gospel of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Ann was baptized on January 27th, 1852, after other family members had been baptized previously. Following conversion, the Giles’ also made plans to emigrate to America. These plans were met with challenges to raise money for the expenses of the daunting passage. Finally, on March 2nd, 1854, they were all able to set sail for America. Ann was leaving behind her native land, maternal grandparents that she dearly loved and other childhood friends, but with the attitude of a bright future ahead. While Ann had a somewhat quiet personality, she also had good health and a dependable nature which served her well during the passage and then to her new home in Utah. The ship arrived in New Orleans on April 26th, 1854. From there the family took a steamboat up the Mississippi to Quincy Illinois where other extended family members had found employment the previous year. In the Spring of 1856, the Giles family left Quincy heading for Florence, Nebraska, the staging location for those crossing the plains. On June 5th, they left Florence with the Philemon C. Merrill company arriving in Salt Lake City on August 16th, 1856, with the expedition taking just over 10 weeks. Two days later they moved to Provo, Utah. Just 3 months after the family's arrival in Utah County, George and Ann were married. For a short time, the couple lived in Provo but then moved to Spanish Fork where George had built a house. On April 30th, 1859, George, two of his brothers: John...