History of James Fackrell Jr., as written by himself I was born in Mosiah, Essex Co., New York, April 26, 1829, and when I was eight years old my father's family consisting of my parents, two brothers and two sisters and myself moved to the State of Michigan, and settled in Bertland, Berrier Co., and lived and prospered in this worlds goods until the year 1843, when there were missionaries sent there from Nauvoo, belonging to the Latter-Day Saints, my parents were very much opposed to them, and would not go to hear them preach. I went and heard them and soon found their doctrine was scriptual, therefore I was desirous that my parents should hear them. So I invited Elders Richard Sprague and Phelps to go home with me and I introduced them as Mormon Preachers, they commenced conversation and before they left they had convinced my parents of the truth of their doctrine. In a short time after my father, mother and sister Lucy were baptized. Some time previous to this I was at a camp meeting held by the Methodist Episcopal Church and was converted and baptized into their church by sprinkling. I remained in their church about six months, and saw that it was the same thing right over, all the time and I got sick of it, and went to the class leader and told him to scratch my name off the book. He reasoned with me for some time but to no avail, so he scratched my name off at last. This time, getting taken in made me cautious afterwards. When I heard the Mormon preachers I firmly believed it but intended to see if it would not flat out and so see if they practiced what they preached. But the more I heard of it the better I liked it. On the 28th of Aug 1845, my brother Joseph C. Fackrell, was married to Clarissa Dempsey and previous to this time my brother David Bancroft Fackrell had left home and gone to Wisconsin, so I was the only boy that was left at home with my father. About this time the sad news came there that Joseph and Hyrum, the Prophet and Patriarch were martyred and the twelve had taken the charge of the church, and wanted all the saints scattered about to gather to Nauvoo, and prepare to go west, my father accordingly sold his farm at a sacrifice of about one half of its value and started for Nauvoo, leaving my brother Joseph, and his wife in Michigan, they not wishing to go with the Mormons. Nothing worthy of note occured during our journey. Only I saw great prejudices manifested against the Mormons. The people would not keep us over night, if we told them we were going to Nauvoo, therefore it caused us great trouble at times to procure lodging for the night. We arrived at Nauvoo the last of March 1846, we rented a house and moved into it and began to look around the city. I expected to find the people perfect, but I could see men going through the city drunk, and could hear them swearing on all sides of me. Thinks I, is this the people that calls themselves Saints? I thought they were nicknamed, but when I come to consider that there were good and bad in all communities, therefore I commenced to look for good there, and I could find all the majority of them in that place. We stayed in Nauvoo about three weeks and then started for the west. We knew not where. While we were in Nauvoo my sister Lucy was taken sick from which she never recovered, she was always of a delicate constitution and being exposed to the storms and cold was more than she could stand. Nothing worthy of note occured until we arrived at Council Bluffs, Iowa. Here my sister sister Lucy died on the 20th of June 1846, which was a severe blow to us all. She was a good saint and dearly beloved by all that knew her. We laid her body in the ground, and her spirit returned to God who gave it, and there to rest for a little season, when it will again return and take the body in an imortal state, when Christ shall come to make up his jewels. Shortly after we arrived at Council Bluffs, Iowa, Kain (Kane) was sent there by the general government to enlist five hundred men for the Mexican War. I supposed it was a plot to see if the people were true to the government or not, but in the short time of a few days the men were raised, they raised all they could at the Bluffs and then Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball and others, went back on the road and raised the balance of them out of them that had not arrived yet. The men started at a few days notice and left their families without houses or homes or anything to subsist upon, and fight the battles of their enemies and those that had driven them repeatedly from their homes and houses, after they had gone. The balance of us that were left set about preparing for the winter. We built log cabins to live in and cut hay for the cattle, and then went down into Missouri to get provisions. I went down to Missouri once that fall with a team and took a job of work and made provisions to last throughout the winter and returned home. I stayed until the beginning of the winter and went down again without a team. I was gone some time but only got half a months work and returned home that spring which was in 1847. The twelve with some others started as Pioneers to find a location for the Saints. That spring I stayed at home and put in a small crop and left my father at home to tend to it. And took a team and went to Missouri, this time my sister Betsy Jane went with me. This time I went as far as Savannah, here I got work and Betsy got a job of spinning, so that she could be making something, we stayed about six weeks and returned home loaded. When we got home I set about cutting hay for the winter. I cut about 15 tons and stacked up on the prairie and hauled a few loads home. Early in the fall the prairie got on fire and burned up one stack of about eight tons and in trying to backfire around the other, that got on fire and burned up too. So it left us without very little hay. Late in the fall of 1847, the twelve and part of the men that went with them returned bringing news that they had found a valley in the Rocky Mountains, that they had named Great Salt Lake Valley. It having a great salt lake in it that was of considerable size. They left a few men to guard the place until the company that followed them should arrive. When they got back they give out word that they wanted all that could prepare to go with them next spring. Being scarce of hay that fall I took three yoke of oxen and went to Missouri, partly to keep the cattle and to make a outfit to go in the spring. I went and took a job of hauling logs to a sawmill. I was where I could buy corn for ten cents per bushel, so I could keep my cattle fat all winter, so in the spring they were in good shape to start. I was successful in making a outfit while I was there this time. There was quite a number of the soldiers returned that went at the call to California, and among them was one George W. Hancock, who commenced paying his attentions to my sister Betsy. When I returned I made every preparation for starting to the valley on the 14th of May 1848. George W. Hancock and my sister Betsy Jane were married and the next day we left her, and started for the valley. Nothing of note occurred with us until we arrived in the valley. When we arrived we found a barren looking place, but we had been on the road so long that we were glad to stop. We set about preparing for the winter. I went about ten miles north of Salt Lake City and found a good place and moved up there and as soon as we got camped, I was taken sick with the mountain fever, and lay sick about two months. In about two days after I was taken sick, we moved to the place I had looked at. And as soon as I got about, we got about building a house to shelter us from the storms, but to do our best it was the middle of January before we got into it. In the spring we commenced to open a farm, by fencing and putting in grain, but the crickets and cattle took all we could raise, that year being 1849, but the next year we raised plenty to keep us. The fall of 1849, G.W. Hancock and family arrived in the valley, this year the emigration commenced to go through here to California, and sold clothing here cheaper than in the states; which fulfilled a prophecy of H.C.Kimball in the fall of 1848. He said, "Within a year clothing could be bought here cheaper than in the states." It was a great help to the people in these valleys for clothing was getting scarce. January 13, 1850, I married Martha Ann Chapman and left my father and went to work for myself. I started in the world with nothing but my hands to help myself with, I worked for my bread and rented some land and put in some wheat and I was prospered in all things that I went at. This summer being 1850, my oldest brother David B. Fackrell came into the valley on his way to California. He stopped and thought he would a few days, and visited with us, as we had not seen him for about the space of twelve years. My wife Martha Ann Chapman Fackrell was born October 6, 1832, in the town of Lewiston, Niagara County, New York. She was the oldest daughter of Charles and Maranda Chapman. Her parents joined the Church in the beginning, and went with the saints to Far West, and then to Nauvoo. Suffered all the trials and privations with the Saints, came to Utah in 1848 with the company of Squire Wells, settled in North Canyon. Went to California, my mother was the only one that stayed with the church, according to Eva Fackrell, daughter of Martha Ann Chapman, who has this record.

- Compiled by gg grandson William Lloyd Fackrell
- Applied to Find A Grave by Daniel Lewis Fackrell