Edward Creer

David Russell Creer's Paternal Great Grandfather

Edward Creer

Edward Creer was the second child and oldest son of the family of Mathias and Nellie Greenhalgh Creer. He was born 3 November 1813 in Bolton, Lancashire, England. For years Edward was a factory worker where he became acquainted with the construction and operation of woolen and cotton mills. This knowledge was later of assistance to him and his associates in the introduction of mills into the territory of Utah.

At twenty-two years of age he married Ann Morris, 21 June 1835 in Chorley, Lancashire, England. She was born 27 December 1813 in Chorley, Lancashire, England. They were the parents of twelve children.

After their marriage, Edward and Ann accepted employment in the factory at Preston, he as a spinner and she as a weaver. In this way they were able to equip themselves for home keeping. They labored at the mills until motherhood and family responsibility necessitated that Ann resign.

In 1837, the first missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints came into their life. Among the early converts were Edward and Ann Morris Creer. They were baptized at Preston, England in 1838. Edward and Ann opened their home to the missionaries. In spite of ridicule, persecution and severe denunciation by his wife’s parents, Edward stood by the Elders. In the early church records at Preston, Lancashire, England, Edwards name is found baptizing many people into the Church. His family felt the spirit of the Gospel and offered encouragement to their children. To provide means for a voyage to Zion, Edward and Ann went to the mills and labored at the old trade while his parents cared for the children.
In the fall of 1847 the family had sufficient funds to cover transportation expenses. They sailed for America together with Edwards mother, four sisters, his wife and six children. For eleven weeks the sailing vessel in which they took passage battled with the winds and the sea.

Edward led his family to the coalfields of St. Louis. He took employment at the mines at Gravois, a coal-mining district near the city. While here, two of his children, Ellenor Ann and Robert died. Two new ones, Alice Ann and Edward, were sent to comfort and bless he and his wife. Edward dug coal and the boys, William and Orson hauled it to market.

Edward’s family endured hardships working to pay for transportation to Zion. During this time, Nellie Greenhalgh, Edward’s mother and Phoebe, the youngest sister died.
The family joined the Independent Company led by William Fields and started westward. They arrived in Salt Lake City 25 September, 1854.

The first year Edward and his two sons, William and Willard Orson, worked for John Young, a brother to President Brigham Young, taking provisions for their pay. During the critical years, when the grasshoppers and crickets wrought destruction to the fields, Edward worked in the “Temple Quarry.” He labored here until 1857 when the call came to obstruct the advance of Johnston’s Army into the Salt Lake Valley.
Edward, accompanied by his eldest son, William, joined the forces of Lot Smith and went forth to burn the wagons and stampede the cattle of the approaching army.

In 1858, Edward and his family took up residence in Spanish Fork. They located on the corner of 6th North and 1st East. Their first house was a “dug-out” Though it was only one room with a cane and mud roof, it sheltered the parents and five children for several years. Three of their children, William, Mary and Willard Orson moved to Spanish Fork before Edward brought the rest of the family. Soon after the move, the two oldest, William and Mary were married and Willard Orson went to work for William Banks.

Improved conditions came. Edward made by hand sufficient sun baked adobe to erect a two-room house. This “elegant” structure was regarded with high esteem by those who had risen from the subterranean dwelling to the surface of the earth. Even the mud roof was looked upon with admiration and pride.
An early sawmill owner, Archibald Gardner came with shingles, and to the family’s delight, the first roof was removed, the adobe walls raised and a shingled roof added to complete a superb edifice.

During the Indian troubles of the early sixties, Edward Creer, served as a home guard while his sons volunteered for active service in the Black Hawk War. Shortly after his arrival in Spanish Fork he had taken an active part in erecting the adobe walls which serve as a defense fortification against the Indians. These mud breastworks were located on the outskirts of the city. Here, detachments of men were stationed to protect the inhabitants from any surprise attack. Behind these walls, Thomas Matley and Edward Creer spent many wakeful hours guarding the city.

Edward Creer worked with the construction of the New Survey Ditch. He and his neighbor, Thomas Matley worked together to complete the project that was to make possible the reclamation of the district known as Leland. Later, Edward served as councilman and justice of the peace for the city of Spanish Fork. As a builder, he will be remembered in connection with the installation of the first carding machinery in the mill at Springville, owned by Mr. Houtz. Later he worked with his sons and son in law, Llewellyn Jones, in the construction of the Union Pacific Railroad near Promintory, Utah. The ties used for railroad building were hauled across the Great Salt Lake by ferryboat.

Edward Creer assisted in the construction of the Provo Woolen Mills and in the installation of the machinery in that plant. The knowledge gained in the factory at Preston, England, proved valuable for this work. For twelve years he was employed as a spinner in the Provo Woolen Mills. He took shares in the factory as part pay for his labor.

On 18 December 1877 his wife, Ann Morris Creer died. At the time of her death they were living in Provo, Utah. It was the close of a wonderful companionship.

About a year after the death of Ann, He married Mary Nixon Radabough, A weaver in the Provo Woolen Mills. They worked together in the factory after they were married.

After several years of service at the mills he and his new wife returned to Spanish Fork where he sold his land to his son, Edward Creer, and his home to his grandson, Joseph Creer. The couple then moved to Beaver where his wife owned a home. During his years in Beaver, he and his wife did many hours of temple work at the St. George Temple for his departed relatives.

On 12 January 1886 Edward Creer died at Beaver, Utah. His body was brought to Spanish Fork for burial beside his wife in the city cemetery. He lived 72 years, 2 months and 9 days.

During his life he advanced in the Priesthood to the office of a High Priest in which capacity he served faithfully in every community where he lived. He was proud of his membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. His testimony was genuine. He never wavered in his determination to serve the Lord. He was an ardent advocate of the restored Gospel, paying his tithes and offerings with honesty and regularity. His life of unselfish service is a testimony of his character. He was an artisan, pioneer, colonizer and community leader. The crowning contribution of his life is the flourishing strong posterity that bears his name. Hundreds who now enjoy the blessings of the valleys of the mountains and of the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ may justly bow in reverence and gratitude to the man who made their temporal and spiritual prosperity possible.

Edward Creer 1813-1886

The Creer family is numbered among those Latter-Day Saint families which trace their lineage to inhabitants of the Isle of Man. John Creer, father of Mathias Creer earned a livilihood on the Isle of Man by fishing and shoemaking. In the year 1790 he emigrated to England where his son Mathias was born October 15, 1790. Nearly twenty years later, October 5, 1810 Mathias married Nellie Greenhalgh. To this union were born eight children, six girls and two boys in the order given, Jane, Edward, Nancy, Elizabeth, Katherine, Robert, Margaret and Pheba.

Edward Creer, second child and oldest son of the family was born in Bolton, Lancastershire, England, November 3, 1813. At the time of his birth England was allied with the continental nations in a struggle against Napoleon Boneaparte. The war of 1812 was also raging between England and the United States. Edward became a factory worker and learned about the construction and operation of woolen and cotton mills. This knowledge was later to become valuable in the introduction of mills into the Utah territory.

At age 22 he married Ann Morris of Preston, England on June 20, 1835. She was born December 27, 1814, in Chorley, Lancashire, England. Of the fifteen children born to them, twelve survived to enrich the lives of their parrents. Of these twelve, seven were born in England: William, Ellen, Mary, Willard Orson, Mormon Mathias, Jane and Eleanor Ann. These seven were born in Preston, Lancastershire. Ellen died prior to their emigrating to Utah.

After their marriage both Edward and Ann were employed in the factory at Preston, he as a spinner and she as a weaver until she left the factory to rear her family. Within two years after their marriage they had been blessed with two children. And then came an important event which was to change the course of their lives and those of their posterity.

On July 20, 1837, the trading ship "Garrick" dropped anchor in the Marvy river. Four Mormon missionaries, Heber C. KImball, Orson Hyde, Willard Richards and Joseph Fielding disembarked and immediately went to Preston, a distance of thirty miles from Liverpool. Here they began missionary work in the British Isles. At Preston Pastor Fielding, a relative of Joseph Fielding granted the missionaries permission to speak in his church on three occasions. Within one year many of the inhabitants of Preston had been converted to the Gospel. Among them was the family of Edward and Ann Creer.

For some time prior to his baptism Edward had opened his home to the elders and had granted them the unrestricted privilege of his household in spite of ridicule and persecution. in 1838 Edward and Ann joined the church. Prompt and severe denunciation by his wife's parents followed. Edward and Ann experienced years of trial and happiness. Edward assisted in the work of the mission and served as a missionary. The first missionaries returned to America. New ones arrived in the field. The Creer home was opened continually to the servants of the Lord. One of Edward's proudest boasts was that he had entertained the Prophet Brigham Young in his home.

The desire to "gather to Zion" became strong in their hearts, but producing means for transportation was a great problem. However, Edward's family had felt the spirit of th Gospel and offered friendly encouragement to their children. To earn money for their voyage, Edward and his wife went to the mills while his parents cared for the children. By the fall of 1847 they had saved enough money to pay for transportation expenses. They sailed, and with them came Edward's mother and four sisters. His father, Mathias, addicted to the use of liquor and unwilling to conform to Gospen standards, was left behind in England. The ocean voyage lasted eleven weeks, and ended in St. Louis, Missouri. One can imagine their rejoicing as they left the vessel and turned their faces toward the west, the promised land of their dreams.

They stayed in St. Louis seven years while Edward worked in the coal mines to earn money for the journey to Zion. Edward dug coal. His sons, William and Orson, hauled it to market. While they stayed in St. Louis, two of his children died, and two were born to the family. His mother and his sister, Pheba, also died.

They joined the Independent Company led by William Fields and started westward. Edward was appointed captain of a division of the camp. The company arrived in Salt Lake City September 25, 1854, after many privations and hardships.

The first year in Utah Edward and his two oldest sons worked for John Young, a brother to President Brigham Young, taking provisions for their pay. During the critical years when grasshoppers and crickets wrought destruction to the fields, he worked in the temple quarry. When the call came to meet Johnson's army and obstruct its advance into the valley, Edward and his oldest son, William, joined the forces of Lot Smith and went forth to protest the invasion of the territory and to uphold the civil and religious rights of its inhabitants. The story is told of how he gave his only musket to his son so that the boy might be protected, and, taking a stick, went forward to meet the enemy.

After the settlement of the Johnson's Army controversy a plan of expansion and colonization known as "the move" was inaugurated. It was in 1858 that Edward and his family, consisting of eight members, moved to Spanish Fork. They located on the corner of Sixth North and First East. Their first house was a "dugout", one room with a cane and mud roof sheltered the parents and five children for several years. William, the oldest son, Mary, the oldest daughter, and Orson, the second son, moved to Spanish Fork before Edward brought the rest of the family. Overcrowding of the dugout home was averted by the timely marriages of the two oldest and the employment of Orson by William Banks, which necessitated the by's absence from home.

Then the time of improved conditions came. Edward made, by hand, sufficient sun-baked adobe bricks to erect a two-room house. This "elegant" structure was regarded with high appreciation by those who had risen from the subterranean dwellling to a home on the surface of the earth. Even the mud roof was looked upon with admiration and pride. Then came Archibald Gardner with shingles, and to the family's delight, the mud roof was removed, the adobe walls were raised, and a shingled roof was added to complete the superb edifice.

During the Indian troubles, Edward served as a home guard while his sons went forth to match wits with the Indians. Shortly after his arrival in Spanish Fork he had taken an active part in erecting the adobe walls of the Pallmyra Fort which served as a defense against the Indians. These mud breastworks were located west of the city. Behind the walls, detachments of men were stationed to ward off the Indians. Behind the walls Edward Creer and his friend, Thomas Matley, spent many hours guarding the city.

Edward and Thomas were also influential in the construction of the New Survey Ditch, which made possible the settlement of the district known as Leland. With pick and shovel the work progressed until the dream of the sponsors of the project was realized. Later Edward served as councilman and justice of the peace for the city of Spanish Fork. His activities in construction work evidently took place at the same time as his guard duties. He helped in the construction and installation f the first cording machinery in the mill at Springville. Later he and his sons were employed in railroad construction at Promontory Point near Tremonton, Utah. The ties used for railroad construction were hauled across the Great Salt Lake by ferry boat. The Promontory railroad enterprise proved successful, and after its completion Edward and his company returned to Spanish Fork.

Subsequent to this undertaking he assisted in the construction of the Provo Woolen Mills and in the installation of the machinery in the mills. The knowledge and experience gained during his years in the mill in Prestoon, England, proved valuable in his work. He took shares in the factory as part of his payment for his labor. He was employed in the Provo mill nine years as a spinner.

On December 19, 1877, death took his life's companion from him. At the time of Ann's death they were living in Provo, Utah. About a year after her death Edward married Mary Radibaugh, a weaver in the Provo Woolen Mills. They worked together in the factory after they were married. After several years of service in the factory, they returned to Spanish Fork. Edward sold his land to his son, Edward, and his home to his grandson, Joseph Creer. The elderly couple then moved to Beaver, Utah, where Mary owned a home.

After a year's residence in Beaver, Edward was brought back to Spanish Fork in broken health. For nine months he lived in the home of his daughter, Mrs. Owen J. Rowe. Having partially regained his health, he returned again to Beaver in the fall of 1885. January 12, 1886, marked the passing of this great father and saint. During his life he advanced in the priesthood to the office of high priest in which capacity he served faithfully in every community where he lived. He was proud of his membership in the School of the Prophets. His testimony was genuine. It guided his life and fashioned the destiny of his descendents. He never wavered in his determination to serve the Lord. While living in Beaver he did much work in the St. George Temple for his departed relatives. His life of unselfish service is a testimony of his sterling character. As humble artisan, pioneer, colonizer and community builder, his character was above reproach. The crowning contribution of his life is the flourishing strong posterity that bears his name. Hundreds who now enjoy the blessings of the valleys and the mountains and of the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ may justly bow in reverence and gratitude for the man who made their temporal and spiritual prosperity possible.