Davis, Howe & Co. 

The Davis, Howe & Co. was founded in 1873 when Nathan Davis and Amos Howe became partners.  Nathan Davis was approached to build the baptismal font for the St. George Temple for The Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints.  He contacted Amos Howe and in 1873 they became partners and founders of Davis, Howe & Co.

The Davis, Howe & Co. is of interest to me, and is in my family history focused blog because Amos Howe is my 3x great grandfather.   In reading about the lives of Amos Howe and his family, I found that this foundry was an important part of history in Utah, within the L.D.S. Church and even had influence in the foundry business well outside of Utah.

Amos Howe

Brigham Young provided the general design of the font, and Davis, Howe & Co. was responsible for translating the design into patterns and and building it.    The same design was used in several other temples, and Davis, Howe & Co. worked on those as well.

The initial design was was rejected and a multi state hunt for the perfect oxen was made.   Once the "perfect" oxen was found, it was brought to the foundry where a special stall was built for it to be housed in while models were made.

Picture from www.lds.org  (link)

Amos' portion of the company was passed from him to his son, George Edward Howe, my 3and remained in operation until it closed during the great depression.

George Edward Howe

The Deseret News described the foundry as "the most extensive works of the kind between Omaha and California." (Deseret News, 2 November 1874)

One of the things that the foundry created was a new design for the Fire Hydrant - as described in this article published in the Deseret News on 25 February 1875.

This hydrant was manufactured in the late 1870s by Davis, Howe & Co, a foundry that produced milling and mining machinery and other wrought and cast ironwork in Salt Lake City. The company was founded in 1874 and, in 1876, in partnership with then superintendent Thomas Witton Ellerbeck whose is largely credited with the construction of Salt Lake City’s waterworks system and gas plant in the 1870s. Ellerbeck, who was chief clerk for President Brigham Young, designed the hydrant with Amos Howe, which reportedly “differ[ed] from any other hydrants in the world” to permit access to the main valve, below ground, by passing through a hatch into a cavity constructed of 2” thick wood; in other words, it required no digging for repairs. The cavity also served as a means to prevent the freezing of pipes by creating an air pocket around the lower barrel and main valve. Many of these hydrants are still in service today, with the first having been installed in February of 1876.   (Link to Picture and Article)

I enjoyed finding out that some of the things I saw growing up, and some that are still around, were produced by my ancestors.   Some of the things designed and/or made at Davis, Howe and Co. include:

• Several baptismal fonts in Mormon temples in Utah
• Steel roof on the Salt Lake City Mormon temple
• ZCMI Facade in downtown Salt Lake City
• Gateposts for temple Square in Salt Lake City
• Base plates for Hotel Utah
• Many, many fire hydrants.

Sources:

Deseret News - accessed on www.newspapers.com

www.lds.org

Utah Historical Quarterly, Spring 1995, Volume 62, Number 2, The St. George Baptismal Font, Margaret M Cannon (link)

Hydrantology (link)

history.lds.org (link)

John Kirkham and Family Come to Utah...

I have a LOT of Mormon Pioneer history in my family.   I had assumed that my Kirkham line was one of those Mormon Pioneer lines....... imagine my surprise to find out, they are not....

John Kirkham and Elizabeth Ward are my 4x great grandparents.     The Kirkham family lived in  Lincolnshire England until they emigrated to America in 1850.   The family entered the United States through New Orleans, LA rather than the more popular way through New York City.     

In a twist of coincidence, my Briggs line also emigrated from England and entered the United States through New Orleans - less than 6 months later and the 2 later merged when Ann Kirkham married Thomas Briggs.

The Briggs emigrated after joining the Mormon church and were headed for Utah.   I had assumed that was also the case with the Kirkham's.

Much of this story comes from the book:  Reuben Kirkham, Pioneer Artist by Donna L. Poulton, published in 2011, and by a short family history written by Ida Kirkham which can be found in several places - I accessed it through Family Search.

On September 4, 1850 The Kirkham's boarded a ship named "North Atlantic" in Liverpool, England  - destined to New Orleans, Louisiana in the United States.    Based on the account of Reuben Kirkham's life in the book Reuben Kirkham Pioneer Artist, the family was not part of the Mormon church at that time - however aboard were many Mormon Immigrants headed to Utah. 

Within a week of arriving'in New Orleans, the family took the Mississippi Steamer Salt Anna to St. Louis.   Once in St. Louis, John, who was a carpenter by trade found work, 2 daughters went to work sewing at a local shirt factory, and 2 sons - George and Jonathan went to work as ships' mates on the Mississippi river.

A year or so after arriving in St. Louis, the family moved again.  This time to a farm about 10 miles away near a railroad construction site.   John set up a store that catered to the workman and railroad needs.    Reuben recounts a story that his father, John, would sell liquor to the railroad workers.     He did not have a license.   The police arrested him and he was sentenced to 2 hours in prison.

A year later - in 1852, the family moved back to St. Louis, and by this time the eldest daughter, Ann was being courted by Thomas Briggs.    It was Thomas who introduced the Kirkham's to the Mormon church which they later joined, and as a result eventually made their way many years later to Utah.

Ann and Thomas Briggs married in March of 1853.   Thomas became the head of both families.   In October 1853 both families left St. Louis to head to Barbadoo, Wisconsin.     Anne's brother George - who by then had been married and later separated was to go with the family on the next boat.  George never arrived and nobody saw him again.  It is assumed he drowned in the Mississippi River.

Barbadoo was disappointing - it was not the farming community Tomas Briggs had hoped for.  Both families quickly left and headed 100 miles south to Hebron, Wisconsin to settle.   They arrived in winter with little money and got by with shooting partridges and squirrels, cutting trees for firewood and spending what little money they had left on potatoes.  The families began to dream of moving to Utah during this time.    In the following years, the family farm did well and they began to put some money away, but in the winter of 1855 Thomas was injured and not able to work and their savings was soon used up.  They soon lost the farm and were forced to move to Whitewater.

By 1856 - Thomas' health had improved and the family once again rented a farm in Janesville where both families shared a house and barn.   Once again - they were able to start saving for the move to Utah.    By 1862 the families were ready to move to Utah.   Ultimately the Thomas and Ann Briggs headed out, but the Kirkham's stayed behind in Wisconsin.

Not much information is available about the Kirkhams between 1862 and 1868.   In 1868 the Kirkham's decided to head to Utah - via wagon.   They headed to Laramie City, Wyoming and joined a wagon train headed to Utah led by Captain Chester Loveland.    The group consisted of 40 wagons and 320 people.   They were provided with 1.5 lbs flour and 1 lb bacon per adult per day, and sugar, molasses,coffee and dried fruit.    The Kirkham's arrived in Utah on August 20, 1868, just under a month after leaving Laramie. Thomas and Ann, who by then had 6 children of their own,  greeted the Kirkham's upon their arrival.   It had been 6 years since Ann had seen her mother. 

Not long after arriving in Utah, the Kirkham's received word that one of their sons, Jonathan had been found murdered - his throat slit - in the Snake River in Idaho.  Why he was in Idaho and what happened were never discovered.

The Kirkham's settled near Thomas and Ann Briggs in Bountiful, Utah where they remained for the rest of their lives.
                                                                                                                                 
Sources:
Reuben Kirkham Pioneer Artist by Donna L. Poulton, 2011
Mormon Migration Web Site:  https://mormonmigration.lib.byu.edu/mii/voyage/306
Personal History Account by Ida Kirkham - Accessed on Family Search:  https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/KWV9-MYJ