Charles Shumway was born on August 1, 1806 in Oxford, Massachusetts. We know little about his life until his marriage in 1832 to Julia Ann Hooker. Following their marriage they moved to Sutton, Massachusetts, a short distance from Oxford. They lived at Sutton for a short period of time during which Charles worked as a carpenter and engaged in farming. His father and a brother had gone west. His brother had written glowing reports about the land in Illinois.
In 1835 Charles and his family traveled to the town of Sturbridge, Massachusetts, which was west of Oxford. He left his wife Julia Ann and son Andrew and daughter Mary Eliza in Sturbridge with her parents and traveled to Rockford, Illinois to visit his father and brother. He liked what he saw in Rockford and three months later he returned to Sturbridge to get his family and move them west.
Returning to Rockford, Charles purchased some real property located on the Kill Buck River in western Illinois. He constructed a log cabin and developed a farm. He remained there for approximately three years.
During his time in Rockford, he was active in the Baptist Church, but became disenchanted with what was expected of him and what was thought of him. He sold his farm and cabin to another family and moved to a half-section of property he purchased in the northwest corner of Illinois on the Picatonica river near Galena, Illinois.
While residing in Galena he constructed a house, erected a sawmill and cleared some farm land. Some writers say he became fairly well-to-do.
While Charles and Julia Ann lived in Galena, Illinois, something happened which changed their lives and their destiny. In 1840-41missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints visited them. In 1841 Charles and Julia Ann became members of that church. They would always remember with gratitude the missionaries, Elisha Grove and John Green who taught them the gospel of Christ and baptized them into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
To quote from the book, Don't Look Back, the missionaries came to the Shumway home "without purse or script", living and eating with those they taught. Eva Connover writes, "Brother Groves, the older of the two, in a clear, but low voice, began, "Well, there was this young boy in upstate New York, confused by the different sects and Churches all claiming to have the one and only true religion.'How could there be so many true Churches?' the young boy asked himself and others. In a state of bewilderment, wanting desperately to belong to the true religion, to find the truth, wanting to worship God according to the commandments set forth in the Bible, this young boy, only fourteen years of age, while reading the Bible, came upon James, chapter one, verses five and six which states - If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and it shall be given him. Let him ask in faith, nothing wavering."
This was the beginning of a new life for Charles and Julia Ann. Shortly after his baptism, Charles traveled to Nauvoo, Illinois and visited the prophet Joseph Smith. He was greatly impressed with the Prophet and his message and he returned immediately to Galena to dispose of his property and move his wife and children to Nauvoo. He loaded all of his possessions on a raft and floated the raft down the Mississippi River to Nauvoo, a distance of approximately 200 miles.
During 1841, the year Charles joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he was ordained to the office of Seventy (a missionary office) in the church and was immediately called by the Prophet Joseph Smith to return to Galena and Rockford to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ.
We don't know what Charles did for a full-time occupation during the years he lived in Nauvoo, but we have some information about his life at that time. Real estate records in Nauvoo indicate that he owned two parcel of property in the Nauvoo area. One of these parcels was located in Nauvoo and today is the site of a small garden near a home. This may have been the location of the Shumway home while they resided in Nauvoo. The second piece of property was in the country a short distance east of Nauvoo.
Some of the family records indicate that while Charles lived in Nauvoo he was a policeman and apparently was engaged in acting as a personal body guard for the Prophet Joseph Smith. Charles also spent many hours working on the Nauvoo Temple and in the construction of homes and other buildings.
While in Nauvoo, many members of the Church became members of the Masonic Order. One of the buildings which still stands and has been beautifully restored is the old Masonic Hall. Charles, along with about 600 men of the Church, was a member of the Masonic Order and he probably spent time in the beautiful Masonic Hall.
While Charles lived in Nauvoo he was an influential member of that community. He was appointed to membership in the Council of Fifty, a governmental body appointed by the Prophet Joseph Smith to assist in the government. In the book Charles Shumway, A Pioneer Life, written by Dr. Kenneth WE. Godfrey, a great grandson of Charles, we read, "On March 11, 1844, under the Prophet Joseph Smith's direction, the Council of Fifty was organized. Designed to be, depending upon which authority one wants to believe, the nucleus of the world government, the legislature of the Kingdom of God, or merely a group of practical men selected to help move the members of the Church more to the west or perhaps all three of these. That it was to be a significant and important organization under Priesthood leadership is attested to by the number of times this party met before they went west and even after they got to the Salt Lake valley."
In April or June, 1845, Charles was called to go on a mission to the Cherokee Nation. That mission apparently lasted for only a few months and in August of that year, he was back in Nauvoo. At this time he entered into the practice of polygamy when he married Louisa Minnerly. Charles and Louisa were sealed (married) in the Nauvoo Temple. In the fall of that year he was appointed to be one of the captains of fifty and to help the members of his company prepare to leave the beautiful City of Nauvoo, cross the Mississippi River and travel to a new home in the west. Charles and his young son Andrew established a wagon shop and they and the other members of their company began immediately to assemble wagons and to gather and prepare the necessaryprovisions for their trip to the west.
One important day in the life of Charles Shumway marks him different from all of the other pioneers who left Nauvoo. Late in the day on February 4, 1846, Charles and Julia Ann left their home and became the first of thousands to leave their beautiful city as they led their company of pioneers across the Mississippi River in flat boats. They crossed the wide river which was full of large chunks of floating ice. They embarked on the river at the foot of Parleys Street in Nauvoo and landed on western shore of river at a place which is now known as Montrose, Iowa.
In remembering the day the family left Nauvoo,Mary Eliza many years later told about her mother leaving their home in Nauvoo. She said that her mother delayed coming to the wagon and said, "I was scrubbing the floors! I just couldn't leave my beautiful birch floors all spotted and blotched! Move over Mary. I'm to drive this wagon. Your father will come on horesback. Hold Harriet tight." Mary Eliza then said that before the wagon was away from the house, a young man with his wife who were both strangers to the Shumways stepped onto the front door step and in a loud and emphatic voice shouted to those standing about, "We're taking possession of this house!"
And then he opened the door and he and his wife stepped inside, closing the door behind them. Mary Eliza remembered that she saw her mother's upper-lip quiver as she wiped away a tear and said simply, "Let's go!" As they left, Julia Ann wispered to Mary Eliza, "Don't look back...Mary. Never look back! Always keep your eyes on the present...and on what lies ahead!"
They camped first night at Sugar Creek, a short distance from the river, where they waited for other saints who were crossing river. The weather turned bitter cold and many of saints were able to drive their wagons across frozen river. In days and weeks that followed, Charles and his wives and children traveled from Sugar Creek to Locust Creek across Iowa to Garden Grove, Mt.Pisgah, Council Bluffs and finally across the Missouri River a place where the saints established a city of several thousand people which they named, Winter Quarter, Nebraska. (Today this is a part of Omaha, Nebraska).
According to one story, while at Sugar Creek, Charles and members of his company shared their food and other provisions with other pioneers/saints who had left Nauvoo hurriedly without necessary food and provisions. When his provisions were exhausted, Charles and others went in search of food.
Many of the saints worked for local residents along the way constructing buildings and fences and clearing land.
A few weeks after leaving Nauvoo, a call came from his leader Brigham Young for Charles and another man to go in Fr Leavenworth, Kansas in search of several Indian chiefs to get them to come to Council Bluffs, Iowa to meet with Brigham Young. This assignment required them to ride for more than nine days with little sleep and with very little food. When Charles returned, he was a tired and sick man. He returned, after having successfully completed the assignment, rejoined his family and traveled on to Winter Quarters.
The Shumway family and several other families after arriving at Winter Quarters continued on to the west. They had camped in an area which was inhabited by Pawnee Indians. They were waiting for other saints to catch up with them.
Late one night in October of 1846, they were sitting by a fireplace in a cabin which they had occupied. A loud thum,ping knock rattled the door and a voice called, "Shumway". Two tired men came in. They had come from Winter Quarters with a message from Brigham Young, stating, "For all companies camped at the Pawnee villages to move immediately back to Winter Quarters.
Reliable intelligence has been received from mountain men and from knowledgeable Indian sources that the Sioux are preparing to again attack the Pawnee tribes, striking first at the missions, the government station and the fort....There's no time to spare. They may strike at day's first light, tomorrow morning." They quickly got the teams of oxen and all of their possessions loaded in the wagons and long before daylight, the string of wagons was moving away from the Indian camps. The company of pioneers traveled in fear that they would meet the Souix on their way to battle with the Pawnee, but they never saw any Indians.
And then after they had traveled for nearly twelve miles and found their wagons on a low rise where they could see many miles to the west, they looked back to the west and above the horizon, a coiling black cloud rose---billows of smoke! The Sioux had attacked and the fort and all the rest of the buildings on both banks of the Lupe River were on fire. The entire Pawnee campsite where the Shumways had been
was afire.
In later years, when remembering the close encounter with the waring Indian tribes, Charles and his wifes would tell their family that this experience had taught them to listen to the words of the Prophet of God and follow without question.
Arriving back in Winter Quarters, the entire family were ill and on November 14, 1846, his wife Julia Ann Hooker, suffering from black canker, passed away. She was buried at Winter Quarters. While in Winter Quarters, a daughter Harriet also passed away and she is buried with her mother in the historic Winter Quarters Cemetery.
Charles remained in Winter Quarters for a few months and during this brief stay, he assisted in construction of a grist mill, a council house and homes. He was also assigned to work in peacemaking missions between Indians and church members.
When Julia Ann Hooker Shumway passed away, Charles was left with three children, Andrew, Mary Eliza and Harriet. Louisa became mother to these children. Julia Ann's posterity included her son Andrew Purley Shumway who had seven children and Mary Eliza Shumway Westover who had five children. After the death of Julia Ann, Louisa became the mother to her children. Louisa would eventually have four children of her own which included Charles "M" Shumway who had ten children, Wison Glen Shumway who had nine children, Peter Minnerly Shumway who had twelve children and Levi Minnerly Shumway who had six children.
On April 14, 1847, Charles was called by Brigham Young to be a member of the pioneer company. Charles' yound son Andrew, then 14 yeears of age, was broken hearted that he would have to remain behind while his father went west. Charles told Brigham Young of this and the Brigham Young said, "let him go, it will be allright." A few days after Charles left Winter Quarters, he received word that his little daughter Harriet had passed away. In the first company that left Winter Quarters there were 143 men, 3 women and 3 children. Two of those men were
Charles and his son Andrew. In this company Charles was called to preside over a group which included Thomas Woolsey, Chauncey Loveland, Erastus Snow, James Craig, William Wadsworth, William Vance, Simeon Howe and Celey Owens.
The most productive part of Charles Shumway's life began on July 22, 1847 when he arrived in the Salt Lake Valley. He and others were two days ahead of the main body of the pioneer company. By the time Brigham Young and his party arrived in the valley on July 24, the advance group had already plowed land and had begun planting potatoes and other crops. Charles and the others welcomed Brigham Young and the other members of the pioneer company as they entered the valley. The saints entrance into the Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847 is celebrated throughout the Church even to this day.
On August 30, 1847, just one month after arriving in the Salt Lake Valley, Charles was called to return to Winter Quarters with Brigham Young. He was probably delighted to go back because he thought his wife Louisa and daughter Mary Eliza were. However, on the trail some distance from the Salt Lake Valley, Charles met his wife and daughter and so the family turned around and returned to the Salt Lake Valley.
In May of 1849 Brigham Young called Charles and a group of men to return to the east and assist in building a ferry so that future saints come to Utah would not have to ford a stream.
When Charles finally returned to his family in the Salt Lake Valley, he may have thought that he had now arrived at a place where he could settle down, build a home for his family and began again to raise a family. But Brigham Young, the great colonizer of much of the intermountain west had other ideas. Brigham Young realized that many saints were crossing the plains and they would need new settlements where they could live and build cities and so he selected strong men to go to other places and develop these new settlements. Accordingly, Charles Shumway was called along with other men and their families to settle the area where Manti, Utah is now located. This settlement was headed by Bishop Isaac Morley with Charles to serve as his first counselor.
The Indians living in the area had told the Church leaders that the Manti area was a good place to dwell because the winters were moderate. However, the first winter after the group arrived was severe. Three feet of snow fell in one storm and it remained on the ground for a long time. Many of the livestock and some of the members of the party froze to death. In February, Charles Shumway journeyed to Salt Lake City on snowshoes and his horse to see Brigham Young and report the terrible conditions which existed in Manti and to obtain food for the people so they could survive.
While Charles lived in Manti, Utah, he was in a partnership with Brigham Young. Charles constructed the first saw mill in the area. Brigham Young provided the metal and straps and Charles constructed the saw mill.
On June 31, 1851, Charles increased his family once again when he married his third wife, Henrietta Bird. Henrietta's posterity are numerous. She had eight sons, George Albert Shumway who had six children, Mormon Alma Shumway who had seven children, Spencer David Shumway who had nine children, Samuel Bird Shumway who had eight children, Hyrum Smith Shumway who had eleven children, Charles Bird Shumway who had six children, Jedediah Grant Shumway who had six children and William Bird Shumway who had four children.
Another important event occurred in 1851. During that year Charles was elected or appointed to serve as a member of the first Territorial Legislature for the Utah Territory. This selection because he was already a member of the Council of Fifty.
In 1852 Brigham Young called Charles to move he and his families to Payson, Utah. He apparently was sent there to engage in the construction of a saw mill or grist mill. According to Franklin Young, in a document entitled,
"A Record of the Early Settlement of Payson, Utah", Charles ran into difficulty with some local church leaders in Payson. His record states: "About June 12, 1853, Charles Shumway was disfellow shipped for un-christian-like conduct and for speaking against and disrespectful of the authorities of the Place; but on the following day (June 13th) he went before the Branch and acknowledged that he had been two-faced and that he was sorry for it and asked forgiveness of the brethren and was restored to his former place and standing in the Church."
After spending a year in Payson, Charles and his family moved to South Cottonwood, an area at the foot of the Wasatch Mountains a few miles south of Salt Lake City. For the next few years the Shumway families lived in that area. In 1857, Charles was called on a mission for the Church to Canada. After completing that his mission, he returned to Utah and in 1859 he received a call from Brigham Young to move to Cache Valley, the area where Logan, Utah is located. He moved to Mendon, Utah and shortly thereafter, because of difficulties with the Indians, relocated a few miles south in Wellsville, Utah. He later returned to Mendon where he constructed a rock chapel and established a saw mill.
While Charles lived in Mendon, he took another wife. Elizabeth Jardine, a young women of 15 years of age had been working in his home helping care for some of the children in his other families. It was agreed that she would become his wife. In spite of the differences in the ages of Charles and Elizabeth, she loved Charles and was a devoted wife to him and a good friend to other members of the families. Elizabeth was the mother of seven children, Julia Ann Shumway Johnson who had seven children, James Jardine Shumway who had twelve children, Richard Franklin Shumway who had nine children, Melinda Shumway Johnson who had six children, William Howard Shumway who had twelve children, Mary Elizabeth Shumway Jennings who had seven children and Doras Shumway McCleve who had three children.
In 1857, Charles Shumway married Adaliza Lauretta Truman. This marriage was for only a brief period and ended in divorce.
Charles and his families remained in the Mendon/Wellsville are of Cache Valley, Utah for eighteen years. During that time, Charles achieved some prosperity. But Charles responded to the direction of the Prophet Brigham Young and again moved his families. His son Wilson Glen Shumway, his his life story stated:
"Brigham Young had told Father that he desired to see him farther south, and Father considered that a call, and he believed in being responsive to all calls when they came from the right source, and as that [Brigham Young] was the right source, he decided to sell out at once and go to the land of cotton."
Charles Shumway moved part of his families to Kanab, Utah and part of them to Johnson, Utah. While he was in Kanab, he engaged in the trading business and he constructed and operated a shingle mill on the east fork of the Virgin River located to the west of Alton, Utah. In 1878 Charles sent his married son Wilson and some of the other boys with a herd of cattle to Arizona. They drove the cattle east from Kanab to the Paria River and then south down the river to Lee's Ferry located on the Colorado River. They crossed the Colorado River and they drove the cattle up a steep embakement known as Lee's Backbone and then on across the country to Grand Falls on the Little Colorado River where they built a small house and camped for the winter.
During the winter months, the Shumway sons were visited by a man who called himself "Mr. Allen". This was really Wilford Woodruff, an apostle who later became president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Because of prosecution for practicing polygamy, Wilford Woodruff was living for a time in Arizona under the name of Mr. Allen. At his directions, one of the boys carved the name "Wilford Woodruff" in a rock near Grand Falls.
When spring came in 1879, the Shumway sons left their camp at Grand Falls and drove the cattle on to Concho, Arizona where the Church had purchased land for a settlement and for the establishment of a town. In 1880, Charles Shumway and two of his families arrived in Concho. He purchased 28 acres of land and attempted to carve out a place to make a living for his families.
Concho was not a very inviting place and troubles soon developed between the Mormon settlers and the Mexican and Indian people who were already living in the area.
Charles began to search for a better place to live and he found a place which was called Spring Valley. He purchased some land and water rights in Spring Valley and moved his families to that place. This beautiful and peaceful valley became the home of two of the Shumway families. The town was later named Shumway, Arizona. [It remains today a small town which has only a few homes and no post office, schools, [but a school house built in 1900 which needs much restoration], churches or businesses] Charles establised homes for his families, constructed a grist mill, planted orchards and settled down for the balance of his life, except for a brief return to Kanab where Henrietta and her family lived.
Charles Shumway passed away on May 21, 1898 in his home in Shumway, Navajo County, Arizona. On February 23, 1898, shortly before his death, authorities of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Apostle Henry Smith and Snowflake Stake President Jesse N. Smith went to the home of Charles Shumway and ordained him a Patriarch.
Charles Shumway was a man who didn't write much about himself. His rapid and complete response to the calls of the prophets of God [He knew the Prophets Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff and Lorenzo Snow] seemed casual and unassuming and yet indicated his obedience to the requirements placed upon him by leaders of the Church who he respected and admired. Brigham Young, in speaking of Charles Shumway once made the following statement:
"There was never a more faithful man in the Church. He was a man who was not wed to his gold. He would give everything he had to the Church, to the building of the Kingdom of God."
