Son of King Darius Shirts and Margaret Ann Haslam

Married Sarah Ann Gates, 23 Dec 1879, Escalante, Garfield, Utah

Children - Meleta Shirts, Sarah May Shirts, Charles Henry Shirts, Elizabeth Ann Shirts, Jane Shirts, William Moroni Shirts, Morris Shirts, Ersell Shirts, Margaret Shirts

Biography - In a humble little home in Old Harmony, Utah on December 23, 1857 Moroni Shirts was born to King Derius Shirts and Margaret Haslam Shirts, making the second child in their family. His mother, Margaret was born in England, and his father in Ohio.

He, with his family of twelve moved to Virgin City, Utah where they lived until Moroni was twelve years old, then they were asked to move to Kanarra, Iron County, Utah, and like all Latter-day Saints, they obeyed. While Moroni lived in Kanarra, Moroni along with other pioneer boys herded cows for the towns' people and walked miles to where better feed was. One place they dreaded to herd cattle was in the mountain meadow, where the massacre took place.

Each fall all the boys would gather pine nuts, which seemed a tedious task. One year they discovered a large cache of pine nuts, which belonged to the Indians. They were so happy with their find that they told their parents how hard they had worked each day until they had gathered enough for their winter nut parties. Moroni's parents knew the truth would soon come out, and one day a visitor came to tell them how the boys had robbed the Indians with his pine nuts, which was their winter food. Of course he had to repay the Indians with his pine nuts.

Moroni never knew what a pair of shoes were, his feet were so hardened that rocks had no effect on his walking at all.

His parents had such a large family to support, that Moroni went to live with a couple by the name of Reece, when he was 14 years old, and they loved him as their own son. He has told us how mother Reece would make Bread Pudding and when it was cold, she would slice it like cake. When he would return from herding cows, how delicious it would taste.

When Moroni was between 16 and 18 he was called to stand guard over the lakes, in the Black Hawks War, which was about 18 months.

Like many pioneer boys he had little schooling, his closest friend was Andrew Cory. When his own family came to Escalante, he came with them and worked along with his father to help support his brothers and sisters. All the young people called him "Rone" or "Tall Slim Red"

One Sunday afternoon he was invited to a corn parching party, that was the time he met a little girl with black hair and eyes. She too had moved to Escalante form Orderville where she had worked in the United Order.
Corn parching party One of the staples of the early long hunters and native Americans was parched corn. It was said that it could feed a native with nothing else but water for weeks. It was used when no game was found.

(United Order: Members who voluntarily chose to enter the United Order community would deed (consecrate) all their property to the United Order, which would in turn deed back an "inheritance" (or "stewardship") which allowed members to control the property; private property was not eradicated but was rather a fundamental principle of this system. At the end of each year, any excess that the family produced from their stewardship was voluntarily given back to the Order. The Order in each community was operated by the local Bishop.)

Moroni married Sarah Ann Gates a short time later. A Mr. Adams performed the Cerimony. In those days, No license was required, just the couple, a bishop or one of his counselors and two witnesses. They were married on December 23, 1879, Moroni's twenty-first birthday. He had worked all autumn to get money to be married on, but his sister Margaret Ann was being married and needed a wedding dress. So he gave her most of his money. He had no shoes; he danced barefoot. The day of his wedding his good friend Rile Porter loaned him his boots so that he would feel properly dressed for the occasion.

All the town, young and old, were invited to the wedding dinner which consisted of potatoes and gravy, white bread, which was a treat it itself, squash, and a suet pudding the bride had cooked in a black kettle hanging in the fireplace. His father Darius was the violinist for their wedding dance. His suit was a pair of trousers made from dark linsey clothe, with a black and white striped hickory shirt. His suspenders were made of buckskin he had tanned himself. His everyday trousers were made from seamless sacks, and his wife made many a pair for him, all by hand of course. Their first home was made of a wagon box with a cover on it, setting at the side of his mother's house. The next home was a dugout down on Rachel Shurtz' lot.

Before their first baby was born in May 18 1881, Moroni took his wife to St. George, Utah Temple with a company of other young people in a covered wagon. Their second child was born in Teasdale, Wayne County, Utah, where he bought a piece of land. Moroni, Fred Moyers and Isac Goodwin were the first to harvest wheat with a hand cradeler, in 1882. For two years in succession their crops were frozen, so he moved his wife and two little girls back to Escalante, and built a log room on Blake Robisons lot, that was the farthest house south of town. He cut and hued the logs with an axe. They now had three children and before the forth arrived he bought a lot where Randall Lyman lives. On the northeast corner he built a log room with half dirt floor, the other half had lumber. Sarah Ann sewed rags on shares to get enough rag carpet to cover the large floor, 15 by 24 feet. Straw and willows made the roof. After he built the west room that is now standing on the lot, he turned the first one into a stable. In this one called the stable, there forth child was born, much to his wife's disappointment. She had looked forward to being in their new home for this event.

In the spring Moroni rented Joseph Spencer's farm north of town and raised corn, potatoes and cane that they made into Molasses, squash and some wheat in order to have a change from corn bread. Sarah Ann helped with the harvesting. She did knitting for different people for milk and butter. When the crops were harvested, the wheat was taken to Panguitch to be ground. That winter they had white bread instead of corndodger. She had dried squash and a little dried fruit that had come from the Dixie country. Orchards had not yet started bearing in Escalante.

In the year 1885 or 86 Moroni started to carry the U.S. Mail through the upper valley over to Henryville. In the winter, on snow shoes he'd make his trail with a lath he carried on his back in order to find his way back home through the deep snow that covered the fences entirely over. He'd leave home at 4 Am with his mail sack on his back, and would return about 2 AM the next morning. His pay was $1.00 per day. He carried mail for years until his health began to break and he almost lost his life with pneumonia.

During these years a child arrived about every two years, until his family numbered nine. All grew to maturity with the exception of their sixth, Charles Henry, who was run over by a team and wagon and killed at 18 months old.

Moroni started herding sheep for different men, boarding himself and sleeping in his saddle blankets under a tree for shelter. Why did he use saddle blankets for his bed? Because quilt materials were so scarce and unable to be purchased at that time. Later his wife made him a camp bed and cords the wool from their own sheep for the quilts. His pay was .30 Cents per day to support a family of ten.

In the summer the family would move to the mountains up North Creek to what was the Hog Ranch. There they would milk 50 to 60 range cows twice a day. Joe Lay let them have the milk in exchange for caring for them. This way they had their meat, butter and cheese for the winter. The whey was fed to the pigs to provide them with meat. Cheese and Butter was sent to Salt Lake in exchange for clothing or cloth to be made into clothes for the entire family. Sarah Ann would bring a bucket of butter to town wrapped in wet white cloths and covered with fresh alfalfa to keep it cool. Generally she came on Sunday morning so that the children could go to Sunday school.

At this time in his life, he bought a small farm northwest from town. He had no house on his farm, but moved his family into a little log room on his neighbors' farm, his wife cooked for the owner Benjamin Tanner. They lived there a number of summers, and Mr. Tanner would move into town and live with them during the winters. Moroni's house was never too small for one more! One of his brothers and two brothers in law lived with them in the winter making 14 people in three rooms. Then he bought a larger farm connected to his small one, from William Spencer. They lived on this farm, then. By then he had gotten a sheep herd started by adding a few head each year, and taking sheep as some of his pay, until he found himself the largest sheep owner in Escalante, and then he would help other men by hiring herders or renting his herd to them.

He now had two teams of horses, which he would transport his wool to Marysvale; it would take from 7 to 10 days to make the trip. How we children loved to see our daddy return with the wagon overflowing with sugar, by the 100-pound bags, and tons of flour, and canned goods enough to last a year. Shoes, too, if they were the right sizes, and cloth for mother to make more warm quilts.

In the year 1910 he had erected the brick house that W.R. Barker now owns, and he moved his wife and 4 remaining children at home, into this home the day before thanksgiving. The cost of this home was $3000.00 but he had paid for it with sheep and wool. He still had 1000 sheep left and he was out of debt.

In 1918 he bought a home in Richfield, where he and his wife spent their winters and their eldest widowed daughter and her family lived with them. This couple of old people was happy now enjoying their children and grand children. Through their combined efforts, and despite hardships of pioneer times, they had achieved a measure of comfort and security, and were able to relax a little and enjoy the fruits of their labors.

What did he do for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? He was at one time a counselor in the Sunday school. He paid his tithes and Fast Offerings; He donated $100.00 to the building of the North Ward Chapel. He sent two of his sons on missions and cared for their wives in their absence. His life was useful in caring for his own family as well as his mother-in-law and her orphan children.

In January 1932, he was transporting his daughter to Richfield in his Buick car as he had done for the sick many times, when he was stricken with an illness that caused his death. After 7 long weeks of being bedfast he passed away for his reward (7 March 1932) at the age of 74.

In his funeral services it was said of him, "He was in honest man and believed all the principals of the Mormon Religion.