William George Nuttall

Genevieve Nuttall Creer's Grandfather

William George Nuttall

In a wagon bed, on a cold day with about six inches of snow covering the ground, near the bank of the Provo River, very close to where the present Highway 91 now crosses the river, on the 4th of March 1853, a baby boy was born to William Ephriam and Rosamond Watson Nuttall, They had been camped here on the river bank, about a mile from the little pioneer town of Provo, to watch the valuable sugar machinery that had been brought to Provo the fall before from Europe. This child was named William George, who for the next several years was about as busy growing up as his father was trying to help with the tremendous job of making a city in Zion out of the mountain wilderness. It must have been about the time his father became the fourth Bishop of the Provo Third Ward that he started school and a bashful lad he was for when the teacher asked him his name, with tears in his eyes he wailed, “My name is Willie George Nuttall and I want to go home”. He was called Willie George from then on.
In the summer he fished and swam, and one summer day in 1861 was baptized in the roaring “Timpanogos” that came tumbling down thru “Rock Canyon”. (Note: Rock Canyon later was named Provo Canyon and the Indian name “Timpanogos, which means crooked rocky river, was given to White Mountain.) When he was about thirteen, his parents moved permanently to Round Valley. They had taken their cattle into these upper mountain valleys for several years for summer pasturage and in 1866 moved there. Brigham Young had commissioned William Madison Wall to build a road thru Rock Canyon in 1855. These valleys had been used some before the road was built, the pioneers using the old Indian trail that went up over the northwest end of Timpanogos mountain down Bear canyon to about where Mutual Dell now is, thence to the forks of American Fork Canyon, up the left fork to the divide and down into Midway. In the spring of 1856 Brother Wall was called on a mission to Australia and the road was left until after his return, in the fall of 1857. Actual work commenced in the spring of 1858 and the road made passable by fall. The first settlers, five families stayed in Round Valley in the winter of 1864-5 but the next winter went to Heber because of trouble with the Indians, whether the Nuttall family was in Wallsburg that first winter has not been proved. The records show that they had a daughter, Rosamond Emily, born in Provo Valley, (this later became known as Wastatch County), on the 7th of Mar 1865. (I feel sure this sister of William George was born in what is known as Wallsburg. The above five settlers were the first to Wallsburg. Heber was settled in 1858 and ’59. WRN). William M. Wall who had twice been Bishop in Provo, was the Presiding Elder over these small settlements until his death in 1869.
William George worked on his fathers farm and for a month or two each winter, went to school. He, as a young man, wooed and won the beautiful Juliet Wall. He took her to Salt Lake City in a wagon, where in the Endowment House on the 8th of Dec 1873 they were married for Time and Eternity. When they arrived home in Wallsburg, it was bitter cold, way below zero, and it was after midnight so she helped him put the horses in to the barn and feed them, then they went to the house and without building a fire, simply cut off a slice or two of the hard frozen quarter of beef that hung on the side of the house and munched on it until their hunger was appeased enough to go to bed. He was a hard worker and a good manager for soon he and his Bride had a nice home with three large rooms. On Dec 27, 1874 a baby girl, the first of their twelve children, was born. Each summer he and his family went out to Strawberry Valley where he ran a sawmill. Here in the mountains between Wallsburg and Strawberry they cut the trees, dragged the logs into the mill and sawed them into lumber. The crops were planted in the spring before they left town, the livestock were taken with them and the younger children herded the cattle in the lush alpine pastures of Strawberry. Each week or so one or two of the children were sent back to Wallsburg to water the crops and check on things at home, and to bring back any needed supplies. As the lumber piled up it was hauled to Heber, Provo, and Springville to be sold. Most of it was hauled down a primitive pioneer road thru Hobble Creek Canyon. Twelve to fourteen men were hired to help run the mill. Mrs. Nuttall not only raised her family but also cooked and kept camp for this outfit. In winter she made rugs and carpets to cover the floors of her home, quilts and bedding, clothes for the children, knitted their stockings and mittens, and took charge of the big garden they raised each year.
William G. married a second wife in 1882 while plural marriage was still being practiced. The young lady was Louise Jane Kerby, who bore him two children. She later got a church divorce.
About 1895 or ’96 the sawmill was sold and in 1897 he was called on a mission to the Southern States. He had many interesting experiences, the people of this area were usually quite hostile toward the Mormon Elders. At one place he and his companion visited there was a big dog in the yard but he never moved as they went in. The people wanted to know how they got past the dog and said no one ever got by him before. The dog had to be locked up before they could leave. He filled an honorable mission. While away his wife and children took care of 100 head of cattle and a large farm, planting, harvesting, milking, putting up hay and all the other work.
In 1900 his oldest son William Albert was called on a Mission to New Zealand and two more of the children married. Three had previously died which left their family much smaller. He continued to farm at Wallsburg until 1914, when they sold out, bought a nice home in Provo, with the hope of having life a bit easier, but his wife Juliet died following an operation the next February. Several years later he married Eva Ingram of Nephi, who was his third wife. She was very kind and dear to him.
Early in 1926 his health began to fail and it was found he had diabetes. This was just before the use of insulin so there was not much the doctors could do. He passed away on 25 June 1926 and was buried in the Provo City Cemetery. He was survived by his wife Eva and ten of his fourteen children. His wife Eva died at Nephi 5 Feb 1956 and was buried in Provo.

Children of William George & Juliet Wall Nuttall
Nancy Eleanor Nuttall 27 Dec 1874 Wallsburg, Utah died 26 Oct 1899
William Albert Nuttall 19 Mar 1878 Wallsburg, Utah died 8 July 1942
George Madison Nuttall 30 Sept 1879 Wallsburg, Utah died 23 Feb 1952
Juliet Nuttall 1 Apr 1881 Wallsburg, Utah died 12 June 1949
Isaac Wall Nuttall 19 Jan 1883 Wallsburg, Utah died 2 July 1888
Mary Rosamond Nuttall 20 Oct 1884 Wallsburg, Utah died 23 Oct 1955
Josephine Nuttall 21 Mar 1887 Wallsburg, Utah died 4 Nov 1969
Leonard Wall Nuttall 26 Oct 1888 Wallsburg, Utah died 13 May 1944
Eugene Nuttall 23 Oct 1891 Wallsburg, Utah died 27 Jan 1892
Geneva Nuttal 7 Jan 1894 Wallsburg, Utah died 1 Mar 1977
Ellis Watson Nuttall 2 May 1895 Wallsburg, Utah died Sept 1965
James Vernard Nuttall 21 Dec 1896 Wallsburg, Utah died 10 Aug 1953

Children of William George & Louise Jane Kerby Nuttall
John Nuttall 3 Jan 1886 Wallsburg, Utah
William Walter Nuttall 9 Nov 1884 Wallsburg, Utah died 19 Dec 1884

William George & Eva Ingram Nuttall
No Issue

These children were in turn the parents of 65 Children