Son of John Callister and Katherine Murphy

Married Caroline Clara Smith, 31 Aug 1845, Nauvoo, Hancock, Illinois

Married Helen Mar Clark, 16 Dec 1845, Nauvoo, Hancock, Illinois

Married Mary Lovina Phelps, 19 Dec 1863, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah

Married Caroline (Carlie) Eliza Lyman, 14 Feb 1878, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah

An Enduring Legacy, Volume Six

When Thomas was about twelve or thirteen years age, his father hired him out as an apprentice to a tailor. He was very diligent at his work and soon became quite skilled. When he was fifteen years old his father died, leaving him an orphan, since his mother had died some two months before. In this situation he was obliged to battle with life for himself, but he was fortified with strong courage and an honest heart.

One day in the fall of 1840, Thomas went to the local grocery store to buy some food for the evening meal, and while waiting for the clerk, he noticed a pamphlet, or tract, on the counter advertising a missionary street meeting. This tract discussed important questions such as, Where did you come from? Why are you here? Where do you go from here? He attended this street meeting at which Elder John Taylor, later President of the Church was the speaker. Thomas was deepl interested, and the message found lodging in his heart. From this time on he investigated the principles of the gospel and, as a result, was baptized by William Mitchel and confirmed by John Taylor in March 1841.

This displeased his sisters and brothers, who felt that it was a disgrace to have him join this unpopular church. His brother offered to set him up in the tailor business if he would retrace his steps. But Thomas, being thoroughly converted, thanked his brother and told him he knew he had joined the true Church of God, and his membership in it meant more to him than any business.

On the ninth of January 1842, bade his kindred farewell and took passage for Liverpool on the steamship Mona's Isle. From there he began his voyage to America on January 12, 1842, on the sailing vessel Tremont. His brother went with him the ship and there offered him half of all he owned if he would only give up going to America. When he refused, John said he would be happier if he could lay him away on the hill with his parents, but Thomas's faith was too strong to listen to his brother's plea. He was three months on the water out of sight of land. After landing in America at New Orleans, he made his way to Nauvoo where he endured many persecutions and hardships with the Saints there.

On August 31, 1845, at Nauvoo, Illinois, he married Caroline Clara Smith, daughter of John and Clarissa Lyman Smith of Illinois, a cousin of the Prophet Joseph Smith. On the sixteenth of December of the same year, at Nauvoo, he married Helen Mar Clark, daughter of Russel Kilburn Clark and Elizabeth Towne, of Michigan. Together they struggled until they established a home, but it was not long until the persecution of the Saints was so great that the Callisters were forced to abandon their home. In vain they tried to sell it. Finally, after Thomas succeeded in trading their home and furniture for a log chain and six chickens, they left and began their long trek across the Plains.

In February 1846, they crossed the Mississippi River on rafts, a most perilous trip. Those who crossing went over the ice but by afternoon the ice had melted and broken so they had to make rafts. The current was so strong that the rafts were knocked from one ice block to another, and it was with great difficulty that they reached the other side. They made their home at Winter Quarters, where they lived for more than a year. While they were living there, two babies were born to them, a boy, Thomas, son of Caroline Clara, who died and was buried there, and a girl, Helen Mar, born to Helen Mar in a covered wagon. Thomas later built a small log house to protect his family from inclement weather. He left his family there and returned to Missouri to obtain provisions. He sold a beautiful broadcloth coat, the workmanship of his own hands, for one hundred bushels of corn, which he willingly divided with others. During his absence a call came from the President of the United States for five hundred volunteers to participate in the war with Mexico, and that number of men was readily furnished. Thomas was ready to go with them when he was taken seriously ill with cholera. He became delirious and when he would hear the beating of drums, he would call for help that he might get ready to join them. Because of this illness they were unable to continue their journey with the original group of pioneers.

They left Winter Quarters in June in Daniel Spencer's company and arrived in the Slat Lake Valley on September 26, 1847, two months after the first pioneers. Here they found another enemy, the Indians, but Thomas seemed to have some influence with them. He was always kind to them and through his genial attitude was able to make friends. Many times he was called to pacify warring Indians.

After spending the first winter at the fort in Salt Lake, the Callisters moved out to Mill Creek on April 20, 1848, where land was available for farming. They took with them two bushels of wheat and some garden seed for planting. They knew the pangs of hunger, because their supply of flour was exhausted three months before harvest time. Their diet then was milk, thistle greens, and sego lily roots. After becoming sickened on the greens, Thomas did his farm work with no more sustenance than a glass of milk. Their crops were growing well and they had hopes of a bounteous harvest, but a terrible gloom came upon them in the form of a great cloud of black crickets that swept down upon their fields and seemed to be devouring every vestige of grain in sight. With true pioneer courage they fought as hard as they could to kill the pests. When it seemed they had exhausted every means of fighting, with no results, a great flock of sea gulls swarmed down upon the fields and literally devoured the crickets.

All his life Thomas was actively engaged in public affairs. He was set apart as bishop of the Seventeenth Ward in Salt Lake City in 1855, a position he held for six years. Many remember his genial face and his untiring efforts to alleviate the suffering of the poor during the grasshopper wars. He also showed a fatherly interest in young people. September 18, 1857, he was appointed commander of the Nauvoo Legion, then was sent to Sweetwater County and was absent seventy-six days. April 3, 1858, he was appointed major, having under his command one hundred troops and five hundred infantry. Their last expedition took place at the time the people of the valley moved south in 1858, when Johnston's Army approached. On their return to Salt Lake, Thomas resumed his duties as bishop.

In 1861, President Young asked him to go to Fillmore to preside as bishop of that ward. Though it meant some sacrifice, he willingly accepted the call and moved his family to the little town and filled that position with honor for eight years, gaining many devoted friends. He was set apart as president of the Millard Stake in 1869, a position he held until 1877, when he was released as president and ordained patriarch. He was active not only in the Church, but also in state and civic affairs. He was a member of legislature for fourteen years, and as Indian agent he handled all the supplies that were sent by the government to that vicinity during the Walker War.

In Fillmore, as in Salt Lake, he wielded a great influence over the Indians and was always loved and respected by them. Many times he was called to settle trouble between them and the white people. On one occasion word came that the Indians were on the warpath and were getting ready to attack the people of Kanosh. He left immediately and, arriving at their village, found them with war paint on and their tomahawks in hand, all ready to fight. He talked and labored with them all night before he succeeded in pacifying them, but at last they all smoked the pipe of peace. That was surely a long night for him and a night of anxious waiting for his folks at home. He was always kind and gentle yet firm with the Indians, and he had many friends among them.

His hospitality was limited only by the demand for it. During the nineteen years his home was open to travelers, many hundreds of people enjoyed his generosity. In December 1863, he married Mary Lavina Phelps, daughter of Alva Phelps and Margaret Robinson of Fillmore, and on February 14, 1878, he married Carlie E. Lyman, daughter of Amasa M. Lyman and Eliza Partridge. Carlie died with the birth of her first child.

In September 1879, Thomas was taken ill with a sickness from which he never recovered. For eleven months he was confined to his home, gradually wasting away. The day before his death the ward choir and many of the Saints assembled at his home and held a cottage meeting in which the sacrament was administered and the choir sang several numbers. This was much appreciated by Thomas, who thanked them all for coming and expressed his desire to meet them in the great hereafter and bore a faithful testimony to the truthfulness of the gospel and the divinity of the mission of the Prophet Joseph Smith. He exhorted all to remain faithful and true to the principles of the gospel.

He died on December 1, 1880, and was buried in the Fillmore cemetery. In his passing the state lost a respected citizen and the Church lost an earnest defender of the faith and a most sincere adherent to the principles of truth and justice. All his private life he manifested a faith that love and kindness were the greatest means of government. He was the father of thirty-two children, not one of whom ever denied the faith. Of his posterity there are ten bishops, five stake presidents, and one apostle. He is the only member of his father's family who joined the Church.