Harvey Mcgaylard Rawlins ^{1 2 3}

   Ancestral File Number: 174J-QW.

   General Notes:

Harvey McGalyard Rawlins
Harvey McGalyard second son and fifth child of James and Jane Sharp Rawlins was born
at Apple-Creek, Green County, Illinois, Feb. 14,1825, where he lived until three years of
age. They then moved to Adam's Co. which place was their home for the next 14 years.
In the spring of 1842, the father, James Rawlins, traded farms with a man named
Richard Wilson, thus making it necessary for the family top move, this time to Bair Creek,
Hancock Co., Ill. where they lived for four years. It was while here at Bair Creek that
Harvey M. was baptized into the Church in the early part of June 1844.
Harvey was at the jail the morning after the Prophet Joseph and brother Hyrum
were killed. He suffered with the rest of the Saints in persecutions by the mob and
burning of homes. In 1846 he left his home and went to Council Bluffs, Iowa. That fall in
early December he, together with his brother Joseph S. and wife, went to Mishmobatny, a
place about sixty miles down the river from Council Bluffs and there on Dec. 3, 1846
Harvey was married to Margaret Elzira Frost, youngest daughter of McCaslin Frost and
Penina Smith. Here the men found work splitting rails for a man named Jones. About the
last of December they moved to a place called Honey Creek, where on New year's Day
they were fortunate in killing two wild turkeys for their dinner. They were also able to
gather plenty of wild honey for their winter use.
They endured hardships with the rest of the Saints as well as trouble with the
Indians. Harvey related one incident when he and his brother Joseph went hunting up the
river, the Indians attacked them took away their horses, Harvey's overcoat and some other
things, but the men were unharmed. The men took turns herding their cattle across the
river. About this time William Barger, Margaret's brother-in-law, went to the Battalion,
so Harvey and wife moved the sister, Fereba Frost Barger, to a home they built near theirs
and supported her while they lived there. The men built a school house and had a school
during the winter of 1847.
On the morning of April 30,1848 a baby girl, Margaret Elzira came to gladden the
home of Harvey and wife. When she was only two weeks old, they started their journey
to the Rocky Mountains, with 3 yoke of cattle, two of which were wild. The first start
was not without its dangers as the cattle became frightened, ran over a stump, almost
throwing the mother and baby from the wagon. The father had a strong rope on the
leader's horns which aided him in controlling them so that they were able to make their
way as far as the Missouri River that first day. Here they were compelled to wait several
days until the company was fully made up and all were take safely across. During this
time Mary Frost, wife of Joseph S. Rawlins was taken sick and it looked as if she could
not recover; Margaret nursed both babies, her sister in law's and her own. She recovered
a few days after they got started on their journey and was soon able to take care of her
own baby.
They began their journey with the company organized with James Blake, captain of
100, Barney Adams, captain of 50 and Andrew Cunningham captain of 10. However
there was so much dissatisfaction that the company was divided after a few days into
three. Franklin Richards, captain of No. 1, Barney Adams, captain of 2 and of 3 Andrew
Cunningham, being the one which the Rawlins traveled in. They traveled so much faster
that in a few days they passed the 1st and 2nd companies and arrived first in the valley
reaching Salt Lake City on October 12, 1848. They stayed in the Fort that night.


The next morning, father James, Harvey, and Joseph Rawlins, and Andrew
Cunningham and families drove out to Little Cottonwood where they camped for a while.
They went from there over into Big Cottonwood where father James Rawlins built a
house, Joseph Rawlins a dugout and Andrew Cunningham went back to Salt Lake City.
Harvey Rawlins went down on the Jordan River to help his brother-in-law, George
Langley with the cattle until the herd broke up, then came back and lived with Joseph
while the men worked on a dugout for him. They moved into their new home on New
Year's Day which was sure a day of rejoicing for them as it was their first home of their
own. They lived at Big Cottonwood for four years.
In the spring of 1850 George Langley died, thus leaving Margaret's sister Martha a
widow for the second time. (Her first husband was Harmon Akes). That same spring
Harvey built a house on the hill above the dugout and farmed land near by. On July 3,
1850 their son James McCaslin Rawlins was born, but lived only few months, dying in
February 1851. Harvey M. Rawlins Jr. was born on December 13,1851. The next spring
(1852) the little family moved to Draper, Utah, settling in the northern part. July 17,1854
another son, Samuel Lafayette came to gladden their hearts but when he was only 3 weeks
old the settlement was visited by grasshoppers, which took all their crops. They and
others suffered a great deal and they lost a number of animals on account of scarcity of
feed.
In August 1856, Margaret's people, Archibald Kerr and family, father and mother
Frost came to Draper to live with Harvey and Margaret for a while until they could build a
home. In September 1856, Joseph S. Rawlins took small pox as they were all together;
others took it before they knew what it was. Archibald Kerr, however had it so light that
he worked on his house every day he had it.
During their residence in Draper four more children were born, Penina Jane was
born in April 1859 and Franklin A. in January 1857. The family moved to South Draper
and built a two room adobe house and set out a peach orchard. Margaret suffered
considerable with rheumatism but in spite of it all she gathered wood and with mother
Frost helped sin it into cloth and made it into clothing during the winter of 1862 and 63.
In March 1863 their daughter Margaret Elzira married Marion Kerr and moved to
Richmond to live. In August 1861 Margaret's brother Samuel B. Frost and six children
came to the Rawlins home to live until he could build a house. They raised enough garden
products to supply both families that year. Their daughter, Margaret E. Kerr came back in
to summer for a visit on march 16,1864 her baby was born, but lived only two months.
During the following winter they had a great deal of sickness, pneumonia, typhoid,
rheumatism and scarlet fever.
In April 1864, Harvey was called to help settle disputes with the Indians who were
stealing cattle, therefore, they sold out in Draper and moved to Spring City. they planted
a crop, but frost took the grain and in October 1865 they returned to Draper to learn the
sad new of the death and burial of their daughter Margaret E. Kerr. She had given birth to
another son on September 11,1865 and died September 16,1865 which was a great shock
to her parents. Harvey and Margaret stayed a few days to rest in Draper and then went to
his father James Rawlins where they lived until November 1, 1865, then they moved to
Richmond, in Cache county, Utah. Margaret weaned her own baby, then nursed their
grandson until he was eight months old, which was when his father took him. They built
themselves a house near where the schoolhouse now stands in Richmond.
In 1866 father and mother Frost came to Richmond and in October 1866 another
son, Alma Frost Rawlins was born. The grasshoppers were bad so in the summer of 1867
Harvey went to Draper to put in a crop, but was called home on account of sickness in the
family. Harvey also worked at Kase Crick and Echo Canyon on the railroad.
On May 14, 1868, a baby girl, Elva Arminta was born and in September of that
year mother Frost died. In the spring of 1870 they sold out to Richmond School Board
and built another home in the south part of Richmond. That fall Harvey drove to Salt
Lake City with a load of grain and came home sick with a carbuncle on his back and
suffered a long time with it. Some of the children were also sick that winter and in the
spring of 1871 Harvey went to Lewiston and built a shanty and moved the family in April,
except two children who were left in Richmond to finish school. They raised a crop that
year and in December went back to Richmond for the winter, where in February 1872
their son Jasper Alfonzo was born. In April they came back to Lewiston to live, but lost
their crop by frost and that year and had to buy flour at Richmond. A few families were
now living in Lewiston so they had neighbors ever if they were scattered. In May 1874
Father Frost, who had lived with Harvey and family most of the time, died and the
following August their youngest daughter Nancy Ellen was born. That summer they
raised nice large watermelons by the wagon loads. As there were now about twenty
families living in Lewiston they felt the need of irrigation water, so Harvey and others
helped to bring water from the Worm Creek for that purpose. Later water was brought
from Cub Creek. The home of Harvey M. Rawlins was always open to those in need. His
wife Margaret becoming the first president of the Relief Society in Lewiston. This
brought them in close contact with sickness and death in the community and never was
their work too pressing or night too stormy to keep them from answering a call to help
those in distress. They had a great deal of sickness in their own family but in spite of that
others were also taken care of. Harvey was a man of few words, but extremely blunt and
to the point in expressing himself. He was kind but severe on the wrong doer and
extremely independent. He started working on the farm as soon as old enough to work
and continued until age and health would no longer allow him to work. Although he was
not very large or strong he helped in pioneering a new country wherever he went in the
various occupations necessary to that country as well as to help on the railroad at various
times both in Idaho and Montana.
Harvey not only supported his own immediate family but very often took other
relatives into his home while he helped them to prepare a home for themselves and even
Saints coming from other places could find a welcome place in his home to stay until they
secured a home of their own.
In 1900 Harvey's eyes began failing him and gradually got worse until in 1901 he
went blind. November 1908 was the last time he went to the polls to vote as he took sick
with a cold shortly after and was sick until spring. He was hardly ever well after that, but
bothered with a cough all the rest of his life. On September 7, 1913 he took very sick
dying two days later at the age of 88. He had been married 67 years and blind 12 years.
He had been blessed with 12 children, 92 grandchildren and 21 great grandchildren, about
97 of whom were living at the time of his death, all faithful Latter Day Saints.



Autobiographical sketch of Harvey M. Rawlins Sr.
I am giving a sketch of my early experiences of the Church. I first joined the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints about the middle of June 1844. On the 27th
of the same month and of the same year our Prophet Joseph and Hyrum Smith were
murdered at Carthage. As I was living only eight miles from that place, next morning at
eight o'clock, myself and Bro. Isaac Stuart went to the jail and saw them hauling the dead
bodies of our Prophet and Patriarch Hyrum and wounded John Taylor. We saw the blood
on the ground where they set Joseph against the well curb.
The next instant of much note was that of the burning of 1845 south of Nauvoo
about 18 miles at what was called Green Plains and Highland Branch. The burning first
began with the burning of a man's barn by the name of Durphy. He stepped out to see
something about it and the mob shot and killed him. From that they kept on and burned
people's dwellings and sent word to people to move out as they were going to burn their
houses. There was a company to guard the settlement. I was one of that company. We
saw many houses burned and laying in ashes and their families sitting around the fire in the
scorching sun. There are many more incidences of this burning I might relate but time and
space will not permit.
In the spring of '46, left Illinois, crossed the Mississippi River in a flat boat with a
herd of cattle. They became frightened and rushed to the end of the boat and it dipped in
the water. That frightened them more and they rush to other end sinking the boat. Both
men and cattle were thrown into the river and many came very near drown, myself one of
that number, but all were saved.
I then came on with a company of Saints to Council Bluffs and stopped. Twas
then the call came for five hundred volunteers to go fight the Mexicans in what is known
as the Mormon Battalion. I was away on business at the time and got back just in time to
see them before starting away, I stayed there until the spring of '48 and then started to
Utah.

Margaret Elzirah Frost Rawlins
Margaret, the youngest child of McCaslin and Penina Smith Frost was born April
28,1830 at Knox Co., Tennessee. Her early years was spent moving about from one place
to another wherever work could be obtained.
When a small child, she moved to Hancock County and from there to Jefferson
County Iowa. It was living here that her sister Martha McKinney married Harmon Akes
in the spring of 1840. A wild turkey came to the door the day before and was shot by the
father and used for the wedding feast. The reception was held at night so little Margaret
was left home alone save for a large dog to protect her from prowling Indians.
She had very little opportunity for schooling due to unsettled conditions, but she
took advantage of all she could. We find a note to the effect that she attended school in
1842 and Rebecca Frost and Abigail Pond were among her early teachers.
Her brother, Samuel B. Frost had joined the church in Nauvoo and shortly after
the sister's wedding he came from Bear Creek, Illinois preaching the Gospel and converted
his father, mother, sisters and husband Archibald Kerr, Fereba and husband William
Harrison Barger and Martha and husband Harmon Akes. They were baptized in the winter
in holes. made by cutting ice which was about two feet deep. His sister Isabella and
husband didn't believe the gospel then so were not baptized when he returned in a short
time to baptize his father and family. Margaret, however, was not baptized when the
others were, probably because of her age. But when he returned home for another visit in
1842 he baptized his little sister and Henry Miller confirmed her a the water's edge.
Father Frost rented a place five miles from Carthage and lived there several years
and was still living there at the time of the martyrdom of the Prophet. Shortly after, they
moved to another rented place but in May mobs began burning homes and causing so
much trouble they left this place and went to Council Bluffs, Iowa, where they spent the
summer. Father Frost and his son Samuel went about sixty miles down the river to what is
called Nishnabotmy. Samuel bought a place there and they all lived there for a while.
While working at a place where a lady was sick, Margaret did some mending for the
woman. She did it so well that many others came to her for her work.
It was while working here she married Harvey M. Rawlins on December 3, 1846.
She was only 16 years old. Harvey and Margeret moved to Honey Creek. He went out
hunting and got two large turkeys which they had for their New Years Day dinner. While
there the men would herd their cattle on the opposite side of the river. They would set
their pans of milk out and let it freeze, then sacked it up and took it to the women, who
thawed it out and made cheese and butter. The people here built a school house and held
school during the winter of 1847.
On the morning of April 30, 1848 a baby girl was born to Harvey and Margaret.
Where she was two weeks old, they started for the journey to the Rocky Mountains with
three yokes of cattle, two of which were wild. When startled, they became frightened and
ran over a large stump nearly throwing mother and baby out.

Harvey married Margaret Elzirah Frost, daughter of Mccaslin Frost and Peninna (Pennina) Smith, on 3 Dec 1846 in -, Nishnabotna, Atchison, Missouri. (Margaret Elzirah Frost was born on 28 Apr 1830 in -, -, Knox, Tennessee, died on 4 Apr 1920 in -, Lewiston, Cache, Utah and was buried on 6 Apr 1920 in -, Lewiston, Cache, Utah.)