Daughter of Isaac Busenbark and Lovina Patterson

Married William Darius Shirts, 1 Jan 1878, Escalante, Garfield, Utah

Children - David Marcellis Shirts, James Ellis Shirts, Sarah Ann Shirts, Maggie May Shirts, Mary Lovina Shirts, George Darius Shirts, John William Shirts, Ada Shirts

Married Edward Johannas Jorgensen, 25 Aug 1925, Clawson, Emery, Utah

History. Sarah Busenbark was born 3 August 1862 to Lovina Patterson Woolsey Busenbark. She was born in Providence, Cache County, Territory of Utah. When Sarah was 4 years old, her parents were called to settle in the Moapa Valley, known as the Mission on the Muddy. This was a 600-mile journey to the southwest part of the Utah Territory, but soon became part of the Nevada Territory.

After this area became part of the Nevada Territory, Nevada demanded back taxes at an exorbitant rate and the Busenbarks decided to return to Utah. Panguitch was the destination that they headed for. They traveled by way of the Pahranagat Valley. The first night out on their journey a campsite was selected where ooze (or oose or yucca) and Joshua were abundant. These served as fuel. Sarah's foot was burned severely when a burning log fell on it. Sarah's father found work along the way, so it was nearly a year before they arrived in Panguitch, Garfield County. A second attempt was made to successfully establish a livable settlement.

Sarah, with her mother Lovina and brothers John and George, moved to Potato Valley or as later named Escalante, Utah, a short time after the death of her father. Her mother thought it would be nice to live in a warmer climate so she could raise more garden produce than what they could grow in Panguitch. In Escalante, Sarah married William Darias Shurtz (or Shirts).

How long the Shurtz family remained is not known. What is known is that they lived in the Wayne County area for a while. They owned The Horse Valley Ranch, located to the north of present-day Fremont. (Side note: Horse Valley was known for a long time for being the highest elevation that wheat was known to grow and ripen. It was a soft variety of wheat that was grown in most of the Wayne County area.) They sold the ranch to the Bastian Brothers for $700 and moved to town for a very short time. The property they owned in town was then sold to Ole Okerlund and they moved to Blue Valley or Giles, as the town site became known.

When they moved to Blue Valley, Sarah's mother, brothers John and George, her sister Malena and husband Elias Platte Blackburn made the move with them. How long the Shurtzes remained in Blue Valley or where they next moved is not known. Sarah and her husband did at some point in time move to Manti, Sanpete County, Utah. Here her husband William Darias Shurtz died, and on the 29th of August 1925, she married her second husband, Johannas Jorgensen. She worked for many years in the Manti Temple. She passed away 30th of May 1937.