Alexander Herron

Alexander Herron - Pioneer 

1832-1890
George Gary Creer's Great Grandfather

It will not be long until all of the noble pioneers are called to rest.  Then the sons and daughters, even the grandchildren of these brave people of early Utah days will have to carry on in the memory of those departed.  If we could but mold our lives after the pioneers what a sturdy, self reliant race we would be.

Alexander Herron was one of these pioneers.  He was born in Chapelhall, New Monkland Parish, Lanarkshire, Scotland, 5 April 1832, a son of Daniel Herron and Mary Anderson Herron.  When the Mormon missionaries preached the doctrine of their faith to the Herron family they accepted the gospel.  Alexander and his two brothers were young men at that time and they decided to come to America where they could go with the Saints to the West and perhaps make a home for their parents.

When they arrived in the East, they separated, one going to Canada, one traveled to the South, and Alexander started for the West.  They never heard from one another again, nor knew one another's final destination.  To never know where his brothers were was a great sorrow to Alexander.  The mail service and transportation were very indefinite at that time, resulting in great difficulty for people to keep in contact with one another.

Alexander Herron came West with Capt. Browning's Company in 1851, arriving in Utah the month of September.  At the time the first legislature of Utah convened in Salt Lake City.  Heber C. Kimball was made president of the Council.  Also the Deseret News, which had been delayed in publishing because of the lack of paper, was beginning it's second volume.  It was an interesting life to young Alexander Herron, to see the City of Salt Lake becoming organized.  About this time people were building their homes, some using thatched roofs, but most of them hauling lumber from the hills to build their roofs with.

Alexander was a tailor by trade and he was kept very busy.  In the year 1856 he met a young girl by the name of Mary White, who had come to Salt Lake City to work in the homes of some of the well-to-do people.  She had left Tooele and started working in Salt Lake City when she was thirteen years of age.  They were married 8 December 1856 in Tooele at the home of her step-father, Benjamin Clegg.  When Johnson's army came to Utah and stayed at Camp Floyd, located south-east of Tooele, they moved there and Alexander sewed for the soldiers.

The family moved to Tooele in 1863 to make their home.  The location they chose was on Main Street, about in the middle of the block on the east side, between Vine Street and First North Street.  A typical log house, with a thatched roof was built at the rear of their property, where they lived while a large two-storied stone house was being constructed for them in the front of the property.  This house was built by Mr. George Hammond's father, and Alexander's oldest son, Alex, helped haul the stone used for it from a nearby mountain at the southwest of the town.  Mr. Hammond later built the stone house on South Main Street which has since been remodeled into a clinic, and also the large stone house located on the southwest corner of South First West and Third South Streets.  The stone house of the Herron family has now been torn down and its site used for the present Tooele City Hall, 100 North Main Street.

Alexander Herron's first tailor shop was located on the first floor of the building on Main and Vine Street, when then stone home was completed, the tailor shop was moved to its second floor.  It was here Mr. Herron made overalls, suits, coats, and other articles of clothing.  He was assisted by his daughter, Libby.  He was Tooele's first tailor and had a very thriving business. His wife, Mary, was an excellent sewer and helped in the shop.  Following his death, she continued with the tailoring business, and later cooked and served meals to boarders in her home to support her family.

When his health failed in 1890 he had to be taken to a hospital in Salt Lake City.  His son, Elmer, about six years old at the time, recalls sitting on his father's knee in the buggy on the way to the depot to board the train.  Alexander Herron died in Salt Lake city at the age of 58 years on 23 December 1890 of kidney failure.  His body was returned home on Christmas Day and was met at the train depot by not only a grieving family but a grieving community as well, who had the band play as an expression of their sympathy.  The death of Mr. Herron at Christmas time cast a shadow over the holiday for years to come.  His wife always recalled what a sad time it had been.  He was well liked and respected by all in the community.  He served as Justice of the Peace and was active in the development of early Tooele.  He believed in good education and instilled in his children a desire to always to do the best of their ability, be industrious, honest and fair.  It is a credit to his and his wife's teaching that his children grew to serve their community well and were well respected and good citizens.  He also was a very handsome man.

He and his wife Mary White Herron were the parents of twelve children:  Alexander, Jr., Mary, Elizabeth (Libby), Ella, Maggie, Annie, Joseph, Ross, Howard, Ruby (Robenia), Elmer and Mabel.

Written by Alice Bates Herron, wife of Elmer W Herron, a son.