FAMILIES, FARMS, AND
FAME:
At One Time I was Worth
$500,000.00
Job was proud of four
achievements in his life:
- his three families,
- the positions of respect and responsibility he held,
- a worldly estate accumulated from a beginning nest egg
of $2,000, invested and reinvested to a total worth of $500,000,
- his commitment to the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints. Each of these achievements will be detailed in this
chapter.
FAMILIES
Job Pingree loved
his three families of children. He mentions two different- times in his
autobiography that he had sixteen children who grew to be men and women. He
even gave a statistical summary of his families.1
Sept 27 In 1857 1 was
married to Mary Morgan. She had 7 children, died Nov 2d 1921 age 86
Sept 27 - 1861 1 was
married to Esther Hooper. She had 11 children, died Dec 9th 1912
Jan 5 - 1874 1 was
married to Mary Ann Streak. She had 2 children, died April 4 - 1882 age 33
years
Feb 14 - 1922 I was
married to Louise H. Harris.
Sixteen of the above
children were raised to men and women but at this date Oct lst 1925
only 9 are-now living.
Children - Number 21, 9 Boys, 11 Girls, 9 Living,
11 Dead.
Grand Children - Number 103, 55 Boys, 48 Girls, 82
Living, 211 Dead.
Great Grand Children - Number 111, 58 Boys, 53 Girls, 104
Living, 71 Dead.
Totals 235 decendants, 122 Boys, 112 Girls, 195
Living, 39 Dead
A few of Job's Granddaughters
Pauline Pingree, Ida Pingree Scowcroft, Blanche Scowcroft, Ruth Pingree, Lucile Scowcroft
Pauline Pingree, Ida Pingree Scowcroft, Blanche Scowcroft, Ruth Pingree, Lucile Scowcroft
Job took his love for his family one step further. He hired temple work done for 103 of his Pingree family in England. While he was in the Eastern States Mission, he obtained a book called The Pingree Family in the United States and hired temple work done for some 800 names from that book. Each time he visited England he collected genealogical data on his own family or the families of his wives and later hired the work done for these names too.
Job took an active interest in the marriage choices of his children; the biogrtaphical sketches of each child (See Part II below) Reveal other evidence that he protected his families until the children were well able to protect themselves.
Job's devotion to his little daughter Daisy (discussed in Chapter Four) and his foresight in planning his estate in such a way that it would pass to his heirs with no probate costs to syphon off his assets (discussed later) are other examples. His comment to Harold H. Jenson, in a 1926 interview that "...even though I lost in later ventures, due not to my own fault, but helping my own who were unfortunate," indicates that Job was also a source of capital for the business ventures of his children.
We went up to Ogden City. Mother met an elder in England who sold her a piec4 of land. I think it was 30 acres.2 When we found it was pasture land and slough growing wire grass and slew grass in fields below five points on 2nd street in Ogden City below the Oregon Short Line tracks on the north side of 2nd street, We rented a log room where the Broom Hotel stands. The room had no floor in it.
Soon after Mother got married to a man by the name of Swan and I got married that fall to Mary Morgan being a little less than 20 years old. I worked at whatever I could get to do and during the winter I thrashed wheat on frozen ground and snow over 500 bushels. The men were drilling and nearly all went into the mountains to stop the soldiers from coming into Salt Lake City. I lived on bread and tators most of the time, unless I could shoot some ducks or chickens or rabbits I had a new pair of high top boots and I had to let men have them to go into the hills and then go without myself. I thrashed the wheat with a flail anccleaned it with a fan mill.
The only thing we had to cook in was a bake kettle. This was used to bake bread in and boil potatoes and other things [We had] no stoves four years in OgdenWhen I shot a chicken or duck, we hange( it up before the fire by a string and kep, turning it around to roast it. Our fireplace had rocks on each side to pu- the wood on to raise it above the ashes.
Job and Mary lived, as did most of the other Mormon converts who came to Utah in the early years close to poverty. Mary washed other people's clothes to get enough soap to wash her own. Job worked at whatever odd jobs he could find to earn a bare existence. But Job had a sharp head for business. He had anticipated a land of plenty in Zion . What he had now could hardly be called plenty.
There was an estate waiting in England --a nest egg which Job could build into an estate of his own worthy to pass on to his heirs. Under English law, the land and grist mill descended to him on his father's death. Charlotte was entitled to a life estate only (access to enough of the assets to provide for her needs until her death). She was also expected to care for the property and to hand it to her son when he reached majority (sometimes 21 years, sometimes 25 years). She had rented it out when they came to Utah . Now Job could sell it.
Job left Mary and their first daughter Margery Adella in the care of the church and went to England.3 Mary was a special kind of lady; she remained true to her commitment under the most trying kinds of conditions. When Job returned, she shared her home, her husband, her possessions, and finally, her own well-being with Job's other wives--strangers to her to begin with. There is real nobility in this kind of devotion, and a plea for understanding when the situation grew too rough for Mary to continue without a break.
In the summer of 1859, I went and saw Presedent Brigham Young and told him of land property I had in England England Utah
Left England in March 1861 on the ship Manchester, a sailing vessel C.V. Spencer in charge. Crossed sea in 28 days. Landed in New York , took train to Saint Joseph , then by boat to Florence Utah
Job's Second Family
One of the converts Job baptized in England was Esther Hooper. He convinced her to come to Utah with the Saints, At what point he decided to make her his second wife is unknown. They traveled the first stage of the journey to Utah on different ships. Job sailed on the Manchester , which left Liverpool on 15 Apr 1861. He was cleared with the rest of the company through Castle Garden (forerunner Of Ellis Island)in the portof New York 15 May 1861. Esther sailed on the Underwriter Which left Liverpool 23 Apr 1861. Once at Florence ,Nebraska
Esther became a part of his company. 5
Esther became a part of his company. 5
Shortly after their arrival in Utah , on 27 Sep 1861 to be exact, Job Pingree and Esther Hooper were sealed in the Endowment House by Daniel H. Wells with Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball as witnesses.
Mary and Esther shared the same home for a length of time. This home, a rock building on 6th (26th) and Wall Avenue, was a comfortable home, but it must have rapidly grown growded with so many to house. Job built a second home, made of brick, at 119 West 28th Street , and moved both families into it. By 1874, when Job married his fourth wife, Mary moved into a small rock home on the east side of wall and Esther shared her home with Mary Ann Streak and her family. Esther's warm and caring heart were ready-made, for Mary Ann needed that kind of a home.
OTHER MARRIAGES
Job was sealed to Diantha Amelia Paine, 10 Oct 1870. There are no details on this marriage, nor on the divorce which followed it. Family members say it lasted no more than two months. Job himself, does not record it. 7
Job's last wife,
Louisa Priscilla Harris Anderson, was first his housekeeper and
second his Valentine. They were married on Valentine's Day, 1922 and
shared some warm and comfortable years together.
POSITIONS OF RESPECT AND RESPONSIBILITY
Job Pingree wanted
others to know of the positions of respect and responsibility he had held in
Ogden City, almost as if he were ticking them off on his fingers: Missionary
for the LDS Church, not just once but twice–the second time as mission
president; Captain over the second ox train coming across the plains in 1861;
selling machinery at ZCMI with a record so good that he was promised a job at
any time; supervisor of streets and water-works for the city; trustee for the
first school district and treasurer responsible to pay all the teachers;
director of three banks and president of one; director and president of two
water companies; city councilman of Ogden City, elected by the local citizens
to fill three terms; field superintendent over all factories of the
Amalgamated Sugar Company and still holding that position when he was
more than 80 years of age a time when most men had already retired.9
The administration of
local affairs in England was a responsibility of the local
gentry–the land owners, who performed their tasks with an intense feeling of
commitment to public service. Those who held land were expected to care for
those who did not. From the time that Job was a young miller boy growing up in
Acton Beauchamp, the idea of responsibility for the well-being of the local
community was in him. He was an honest miller who expected to earn the respect
of his fellows. To carry this into his new life
in America was a natural step. By 1870, Job was well on his way to
creating an estate worthy to pass on to his heirs, in a few years he would be a
prosperous man and he could afford time to run for city council and to serve
with the volunteer firemen. He would also feel the rewards and the problems of
being visible in his community as a leader in church and civic affairs.
Interestingly, Job did
not wait until he could afford to serve, he became involved almost
from the beginning. He was left to guard the houses and watch over the growing
crops when the Mormons moved south in advance of Johnston's Army. His
would be the responsibility to fire these same houses and fields if the need
arose. He became a volunteer fireman and he had a keen interest in
water access and flood control, interest of great significance in an arid
climate. Among the early files of Oden City, can be found several
petitions which bear Job's signature dealing with the Weber River and
its water supply. 10 Job lived near the river, his farmland bordered the river
and from the river, he took water to produce his crops. So
his interest in the Weber is understandable for his own will-being. In 1873,
however, job hired himself and his team on several different occasions to
reinforce the banks of the Ogden River against unnecessary
flooding. He also worked to drain spring run-off from Washington Street.
Once he was street supervisor and placed in charge of the waterworks,
he would become tireless in his efforts to develop a proper system of drains
and sewers as well as a river-reinforced, water storage program. 11
In Utah, Job had become the "gentry," and he took what he
considered to be his proper place in local administration.
Following is a summary
of the contribution Job made to his world and in so doing, he left a
legacy of civic responsibility and business productivity for his children and
grandchildren to follow.
Guard, Utah War
Sep 1857 - July
Job was assigned to
guard the houses and water the crops abandoned by 1858. Settlers moving south
from the threat of Johnston's Army on its way to douse the insurrection of
the Mormons against the United States. This event is called the Utah
War, although there were no official battles. Some 30,000
saints left their homes with the understanding that they would dwell in the
desert until the threat was passed. If the Army came into the valleys, their
homes and crops would be destroyed so the Army would have nothing to forage
on.12 After four months Job was released and allowed to join his family in
Beaver. Some of the families were living in their wagons or in tents which they
had brought west with them. Some lived in huts of mud with rocks and brush for
walls. In July 1858 these families were allowed to return home.
Family members have read
Job's own account of how he walked to Beaver after his release from guard duty.
To us today, such a walk seems punishment indeed. His comment that he had given
his boots to another man, leaving himself barefoot seems a sacrifice of the
first order. What is unknown however, is that Job was used to
walking. The England he left behind was crisscrossed by tollgates,
some 7,999 in 1841, with 22 of them in his part of Worcestershire.
Tolls were collected to
provide income for the improvement of roads and bridges. A toll was exacted for
each horseman, vehicle and all cattle which went over the road. Exemptions were
made for ploughs and other agricultural implements, cattle going to and from
pasture, wagons bringing corn to the mill, flour millers (like Job) supplying
customers, post-horses carrying the mails, carts taking vagrants to their
parish of birth, and foot-passengers who could by-pass the toll gate by means
of a narrow opening at the side of the toll house.
Local traffic as a
result, was most often foot traffic--for the operation of carriages and wagons,
with the accompanying need for stables, horses, postilions, coachmen, and
the like was too costly for most Englishmen including Job. 13
Cooperative
Merchandising. Summer 1866
Job, with Richard White,
"Old Man Baker," Bob Wilson, a Mr. McCoy and a Mr. Riter, and
several others established cooperative on Washington between
4th (2-4th) and 5th (25th) Streets. Fred Ji Kiesel supplied the
merchandise.14 The enterprise was profitable by the time they sold out to ZCMI
about 1873. Although we lack direct evidence that Job owned stock in
ZCMI, it seems likely that he did. ZCMI included numerous small stockholders
and Job became an employee of ZCMI in 1873. It was accepted practice to issue
stock in the new concern in exchange for the old and to absorb personnel
and executives into the new business. With its church backing, and
the increasing capitol city of non-Mormon businesses to cut prices, Job
and his partners may have concluded that the business risk would be less and
the prof its greater if they sold out.
Land and labor for the
Railroad 12 Mar 1869
Job sold lots 5, 6, 11,
12 in block 3 Ogden Five-Acre Survey to Brigham Young for
$1,000. It was Brigham's way to gather the local residents together to decide
collectively where the railroad would run, where the depot would go, and to ask-
for the land at a fair market price. He often walked the boundaries of each
piece sold for railroad use with the men. The spot decided upon included Job's
land and he sold it without question. On the 15th of May 1869, President Young
with an entourage of dignitaries arrived in Ogden to break ground for
the Utah Central Railroad. The next day, a large number of men assembled with
teams and tools to commence work. Job was among them.15
ZCMI Clerk 1873
Job worked nine years
selling farm machinery for ZCMI. He says, "I had but little schooling in
arithmetic, I only went to long division, I got my schooling in my work
clerking in ZCMI nine years and other ways such as I have."16 The normal
duties of selling farm machinery would not bring this kind of schooling to him.
His duties had to be broader and more responsible. When Job worked at ZCMI,
tithing was deducted directly from his earnings and Paid to the church, and his
employment as contingent upon remaining in good standing with the
church. 17
ZCMI moved into new,
larger quarters Feb 1881. This was about the time when Job decided he would
rather work outdoors. A year later he was freed from the city council and the
position of street supervisor for Ogden City opened up--it
seemed like the right time for a change. "When I left, the manager told me
there would be a place there for me long as he was there."
Ogden City Council.
Feb 1877 - Mar 1882
Job was elected city
councilman from the Second Ward Feb 1877, Feb 1879, Feb .881. in 1877 he served
with this slate:
Mayor: Lorin Farr
Aldermen: Walter Thompson
F.A. Brown
John Reeve
Frederick A. Miller
Councilmen: C.W. Penrose
Robert McQuarrie
Job Pingree
Joseph Parry
Barnard White
Aldermen: Walter Thompson
F.A. Brown
John Reeve
Frederick A. Miller
Councilmen: C.W. Penrose
Robert McQuarrie
Job Pingree
Joseph Parry
Barnard White
in 1881, he served with
this slate:
mayor: Lester J.
Herrick
Aldermen: David M. Stuart
C.F. Middleton
Joseph Stanford
William B. Hutchins
Councilmen: N.C. Flygare
Job Pingree
Winslow Farr
William C. Burton
S.H. Higginbotham
Aldermen: David M. Stuart
C.F. Middleton
Joseph Stanford
William B. Hutchins
Councilmen: N.C. Flygare
Job Pingree
Winslow Farr
William C. Burton
S.H. Higginbotham
Job was chair for the
standing committee on Licenses with S.H. Higginbotham and William B.
Hutchins and the standing committee of Public Works with C.F. Middleton and
S.H. Higginbotham.18
Job was elected to the
Ogden City Council at one of the most important periods in Ogden's
history. The area was growing rapidly because of the rail roads and the general
economic boom the western U.S. experienced at that time. The
telephone arrived and it was a momentous occasion. Fourth
Street (24th Street today) got a new post office, the Harkness Bank,
J.W. McNutt's retail establishment, and the opera House. Street railways were
being laid, a sewer system installed, and the First District Court, part of the
federal court system, was set up on the ground floor of the county
courthouse. Fires along the main street had leveled several of the old
buildings and made way for new ones.
The new bridge over
the Weber River was formally opened 27 Nov 1880. This double-tracked
wagon bridge spanned the turbulent waters of the Weber at a point where two
persons drowned a year earlier while trying to ford the river. The Ogden
Electric Light was incorporated 11 May 1881 and on the 19th, a shout went up
from the crowded streets of the city as the first light appeared on the
electric light tower. It glowed, fizzled, and died. The following evening, the
streets and stores of the city were lighted by the electric light for the first
time. The combined brass bands played, people cheered, and vendors supplied
food for a carnival such as Ogden had never seen before.
In 1881, the city was
divided into four municipal wards, which corresponded roughly to LDS ward
boundaries. The streets were given official names, provision was made for
grading, planting shade trees, regulating signs and advertisements,
constructing sidewalks to specific grades and widths, and monitoring private
property improvements as they related to streets and sidewalks.19 All of these
fell under Job's supervision as chairman of Public Works. He was also in charge
of the construction of sewers and drains and the erection of all buildings
within the city. Job was strongly in favor of bringing the Ogden City
Waterworks under city control by purchase of controlling stock and he made
plans to develop a water system from the Ogden River.
Job was elected to three
two-year terms in sequence. He resigned mid-way through his third term by
mutual decision of the council that all polygamists should yield their seats to
prevent replacement of the whole government under the provisions of the Edmunds
Act. It was due to his elected office that he experienced as much harassment as
he did--he was a visible Mormon, they could find him and convict him more
easily than others who were not in public office.
School Board. 6 Jun 1881
Job was elected to the
school board when the first district was consolidated into the Central School
District of Ogden City. He served nine years, part of the time as treasurer
responsible "to pay all of the teachers."20
On 21 April, 1879,
Job Pingree was present at a citizens' meeting in the central school
(high school). Job was among those speaking in favor of a graded school. Again
on 13 may 1879, when the previously appointed ad hoc committee presented its
recommendations, Job spoke eloquently in favor of the project and suggested
that a special tax be levied to cover the costs.21 The motion carried
96 to 46. Two years later, Job was elected to the board.
Waterwork-
Superintendent Oct 1884
Early in the spring of
1881, water from the Ogden River was piped to the city reservoir
on Tyler Avenue. This line brought water for culinary use and for
sprinkling of gardens and yards. A system of fire hydrants, supplemented by
hose carts and hooks and ladders, protected against fires. Job had helped to
establish the system to begin with and he was now responsible to see that it
worked correctly. About this time, the city established sprinkling districts
and levied a special tax to pay for the upkeep of the system. Job was among the
majority of citizens signing petitions against the districts. This is the only
instance where Job opposed a program supporting itself by taxes.22
Fire Department. 6 Jan
1886
Job Pingree was
elected first treasurer of the 0gden Veteran Firemen ‘s Association.
In 1917, when the association sponsored a series of springtime dances, Job was
chairman and still an active member.23
To begin with, volunteer
firemen, summoned by the old city bell, organized "bucket brigades"
as each fire occurred. Job Pingree was one of them. Such action
proved inadequate on the morning of 9 Aug 1873. A large fire broke out
on Washington Boulevard destroying ten stores and badly damaging
ZCMI. Soon after, the city purchased a hand pump and a long water hose to
provide a flow of water from ditches, canals, wells or interconnecting storage
tanks which had been built under the streets of the city to supply water from
the Ogden Bench Canal. They also purchased grenades to destroy
burning buildings if the water supply failed.
In 1880, the city
council drew up a number of ordinances regulating materials to be used in
houses and chimneys and outlining procedures in case a fire should break out.
Several companies were organized within the Department of Public Works. Under
Job Pingree, the department took over the waterworks and established fire
hydrants throughout the city. Monthly drills began in earnest with the various
companies competing with each other to become quicker, more effective, and
better trained. By 1886, there were 46 hydrants and 1,000 feet of hose stored
on the hose-carts and in the downtown district. 24
The Fire Department Roll
of Honor contains 310 names, among them Joh Pingree.
Amalgamated Sugar
Company. 1898
Job became the field man
to negotiate contracts with farmers for the Ogden Sugar Company owned by David
Eccles. He also subscribed $5,000 in stock. The company included Fred J. Kiesel (of
the 1866 co-op), B.P. Ellison (later involved with Pingree National
Bank), and Joseph Scrowcroft as directors, among others, and
James Pingree, treasurer. Local farmers had agreed on contract to supply
more than 30,000 hundred-pound sacks of beets the first year. Factories were
later built at LaGrande, OR and Logan, UT.
The consolidation of the
Ogden and the Logan companies in 1902 created the Amalgamated Sugar
Company. Job Pingree was appointed Field Superintendent and
he travelled over UT and OR to monitor beet growing for the company.
The investors, Job among them, realized a 300 percent return on their original
investment. Dividends ran 15% or more each year. In 1912 the LaGrand factory
was moved to Burley, ID.
These plants processed
millions of tons of beets. Job, as field superintendent was responsible to see
that beets were cultivated in sufficient quantity and delivered in good
condition on time. He also offered agricultural aid to farmers involved in
growing beets on contract. In 1905, an infestation of the beet leafhopper or
white fly seriously affected production, which dropped more than 30%. Job had
to find a way to remove the threat from Amalgamated fields. 25
Job took his job
seriously: On 12 Feb 1904 he interrupted an excursion to the Hawaiian
Islands. "We lost the best member of the party, Mr. Job Pingree. He
saw farming down here and thought he had to go home to get the beets started.
Believe he thought they wouldn' t grow excepting he went back."
26
Job Pingree and
Molasses
Molasses was one of the
principal staple commodities in pioneer Utah. It was often the only sweetner available,
since sugar cost money and money was the rarest commodity of all. In fact,
Job Pingree paid his taxes, his tithing, and his debts with grain/sorghum
molasses on occasion. In pioneer Utah, Brigham Young determined to make
the Saints self-sufficient. As part of this program, he encouraged the culture
of sorghum cane, distributing free seeds to the settlers. The cane they grew
throughout the territory, furnished a creditable molasses. Since a molasses
mill was expensive and making molasses was a long, slow process--most mills
could turn out only 16-20 gallons of molasses a day--the mill was usually a
cooperative venture. The Coop owned the mill, grinding and making the syrup for
the whole community in return for a toll--one gallon in four--to pay the ones
who operated the mill -and to cover the rent and taxes.
The Gilbert Belnap Account
Book at the Church Historical Archives lists the molasses account for Job Pingree:29 Sep 1862, Ogden City
Loaned to Job Pingree 1/4 gal
1 1/2 gal
1862, year-end
Molasses for Job Pingree 29 3/4 gal 8 gal toll
11 gal 3 6/8 gal toll
Using the calculations above, Job's cane would have made more than 400 gallons of syrup to yield his 40 gallons of molasses. And he paid about 31% of his yield as toll.
Molasses remained the principal source of sweet in the territory of Utah until sugar factories were established in the 1890's. By then, Utah had a more stable economy and a circulating monetary system with some credibility
Pingree National Bank
(Picture was taken after the bank was sold so the name was added to picture later)
(Picture was taken after the bank was sold so the name was added to picture later)
Job was elected
President of the Pingree National Bank when it was chartered in 1904
and he served in that capacity until about 1914. His son James Pingree was
cashier and his son-in-law Heber Scrowcroft was a director. His
capital was part of the initial $175,000 bank capitalization. 27
Job began his banking
career as a miller boy in England and continued that career when he
became director in both the First National Bank and the Ogden Savings Bank in
1898. The Pingree Bank was the first challenge of the Pingree family
to the Eccles empire and the most visible of the many banks Pingrees have
been associated with directly. others include First National Bank, Coalville (1905)
Frank Pingree, President; First National Bank,, Layton (1905) James Pingree,
President; National City Bank, Salt Lake City (1913) James Pingree,
President, Frank Pingree, cashier; First National Bank, Morgan (1903)
James Pingree, President; First National Bank, Ogden (1881) Job Pingree,
Director, James Pingree cashier, John Pingree, cashier; Utah
National Bank, Ogden (1883), Job Pingree, Vice President; Ogden Savings
Bank, Ogden (1890) Job Pingree, Director. There are many others in UT, ID,
and CA.
Hooper Sugar Company
The Hooper Sugar Company
was incorporated in 1919 with a capital stock of $1,000,000. Incorporators
included Job Pingree, President, Frank Pingree, D.B. Gilson, James H.
Riley, Lawrence E. Ellison, S. Earl Pingree, Parley T. Wright, and James
Pingree-28
This company was also
part of the Pingree challenge to Eccles business interests.
James Pingree had a driving ambition to make the name of Pingree as
important to the welfare of Weber County as was the name of
Eccles. All the credit for this competitive push has been given to James up to
now. Job Pingree also played a significant part. He served as
president and director in most of the business entities of this budding empire.
His capital helped float the commerce, his ideas salted the actions taken, and
his hand helped guide the projects. Job could never be a behind-the-scenes
support only; he had to pitch in and work--always.
Land Holdings and Farms
Job acquired more than
300 acres of land in Utah. In England, social position and
economic status were measured by land holdings–originally voting
rights, eligibility to be elected or appointed to public office, and
opportunities for marriage were all tied to land. In England, Job had a
small farm and gristmill; in America, he could say, "..at one
time I was worth $500,000. I still take pride that I can pay $1,000 tithing
each year..."29
I owned at one time
about 300 acres of land, 160 acres in Lewiston Cache Co which I sold to
Bishop Hyers for 19,000 Dollars. In 1914, I made a corporation and
deeded all my real estate to the corporation. It consisted of house and farm in
Wilson, about 130 acres; and 19 acres of land in Section 19 in Ogden City south
of Pincock's on 33rd Street west of Lincoln ave., and 18
dwelling houses, on Adams ave
3 in number between 30
and 31 Streets, [one on] south side of 28 St. west of Pingree avenue,
14 dwelling houses and lots and one lot on 27 Street 96 ft front on the bench
south of Dee Hospital; and 2 business houses on south side of 25 Street, [one]
between Grant Ave and Lincoln Ave, one between Wall and Lincoln
and one on Washington Ave between 26 and 27 Streets--total
corporation 100,00 Dollars. In 1920 I gave all this stock to my heirs,
those of my children dead I gave their share to their children.
I owned 20 acres of land
where the S.P. shops are located in Ogden City, which I let Brigham Young have
at low price and he had to give it for RR depot purposes, to get the depot
located here. I gave for streets one block on Wall Ave south of 28 street and
one block on Lincoln Ave and also one block on Pingree Ave 4 rods wide and the large district school
built on the corner of Pingree Ave and 30 street and the school is
named the Pingree school.
Job spanned the time
from hand-scything grain, banding the shocks, and standing them in the fields
to dry to the use of horse and then steam-pulled thrashing machines. Job was
the first to have a thrashing machine in Ogden.
In 1862, Job purchased a
thrashing separator from the east and did custom work for the farmers in the
area. Although steam-powered engines were available at that time, he powered
his separator with a horse-powered treadmill. About five years later, according
to his autobiography, he ordered another machine and extended his custom work
into Cache Valley, as well. He imported two powerful Percheron draft
horses from France to power his machines and to transport them from
field to field. Family members recall these large, powerful horses as pets
around the place, but they didn't do much work for Job kept them long after
their use as draft animals was over. He entered them in the fair each year and
usually won a ribbon or two. 30
Job had three farms:
The Epper Farm about 34th and Wall where he pastured his horses and
wintered his sheep. The South Farm on Wilson Lane where his son David
Morgan Pingree managed the acres and grew bay and grain to begin
with, sugar beets when the sugar factories were built. The last farm was the
home place where Job had his vegetable garden, pear and apple orchards, horse
stables and corrals. He later built barns and sheds to winter all his animals.
On the south side of the
barns in the pasture land where it was moist, he dug a pond about 100-feet
square and planted carp in it--right in the middle of his pasture, he created
his own fishing spot!31
The last few years of
his life, he lived on Washington Avenue. He recalled the property when he
first moved there: "See that pasture, this property was in other hands and
everything was run down. The roses forgot to climb for lack of water, the trees
were yellow and the ground so hard I could not get a spade in it. But it has
come back, and keeping busy outdoors has kept me young."32
Job Pingee and Son Franklin working in the garden
Job always had a herd of
sheep which he kept on the range in the summer, bringing them off the hills in
the fall. He would winter them on the farm until after lambing season in early
April. He built pens with a tight board fence around them to keep coyotes and
mountain lions out--there were quite a few wild animals roaming the bottoms
near the Weber River and they did considerable damage to sheep herds.
33
Job's nest egg of
$2,000, invested first inland and commercial thrashing. Then the
proceeds from his farms were reinvested into business endeavors mushroomed
until his land, his buildings, and his stocks and bonds combined into an estate
of more than $500,000. He was extremely proud of this achievement. o an
estate of more than $500,000. He was extremely proud of this achievement.
As Job got older, he was
determined to pass his property to his children in an orderly and inexpensive
way, without probate costs eating into his assets. So he formed a corporation,
called Job Pingree and Sons with co-directors James Pingree,
Hyrum Pingree, Frank Pingree and Job Pingree, Jr. and the
rest of his living children as stockholders. The corporation was originally
filed in Weber County, 29 Aug 1914 and subsequently filed with the
Utah Secretary of State's office 3 Sep 1914. The capital stock of the
corporation was declared to be $100,00 divided into 1,000 shares of $100
each. The corporation became inactive sometime after Job's death in 1928, but
J. Fred Pingree, a grandchild, petitioned the state to reinstate the
corporation in 1938. Back taxes were paid and a formal application for
dissolution was presented to the second Judicial District Court
for Weber County. The court found, however, that property had been
transferred from the officers to the shareholders as a "full and equal
distribution of its assets in the voluntary liquidation of the said
corporation," rather than surrender of stock held by each stockholder--an
irregularity under Utah law. Inasmuch as all creditors had been
satisfied in full, however, and there were no outstanding claims against the
company, the court agreed ti dissolve it, 12 Feb 1939. 34
Ruth Pinqree Smith
recalls receiving a check for $1.78 as her part of the distribution. 35 -- Job
valued his testimony of the Church of Jesus Chris of
Latter-day Saints. His life was a full commitment to all that the church
required of him. Along the way, Job was given two blessings to inspire,
comfort, and encourage him. 36 The first, in 1876, assured him that
he had a special purpose for being a Mormon. The second, in 1888, offered
support for a different time–"thy mission is not yet finished, neither thy
race run," it said. Truly Job still had much to do.
Job closed his
autobiography with this strong and fervent testimony, in his own words.37
. "I am writing this out from memory, am at this date over 88 years
of age my sight is fairly good also my earring I make a practice of being
Industrious lives as complete and as well as lots of people much younger than
me. I guess I have Written more than my friends will be interested in reading
but in conclusion I will say that the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored
to the earth by revelations given to the prophet Joseph Smith. Shortly given
to him to ordain others to preach it to the inhabitants of the earth
and those who reject it will suffer the consequence of fighting against
God. so I say to all live lives of righteous and help to build up
the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
and your reward will be sure. For Jesus Christ is the head of his church and he
has given men to establish it and prepare a people for His Second coming
to right upon the earth for the 7th thousand year is not far distant.
So we all should be preparing to meet him when he comes to reign ---- Job Pingree (The
words and spelling is as close as could be determined)
Footnotes:
I "Life of
Job Pingree,"written by himself at age 88, pp. 5, 7.
2 Ibid. There is no
official recording of this piece of land as legal title could not be registered
until 1869. What Charlotte did with it is unknown.
3 "Immigrant Pioneer:Mary Morgan Pingree,"
written by LaVon E. Lake.
4 "Life of
Job Pingree," op. cit. Job sold his mule for enough money to pay his
passage to England. Harold H. Jenson. "True Pioneer Stories:
Job Pingree, Sr.," Juvenile Instructor (1926).
5 Church
Emigration Register,Microfilm copy, GS# 025, 692 .
6 Emigration Card index,
Microfilm copy at Genealogical Society of Utah, GS #298,437 and 298,434 For a
detailed account of their journey see Andrew J manuscript History of Church Emigration,
1861 ar Millennial Star (1861), April, May, June issues. Pingree listed
the people in his company in a letter written to Andrew Jenson 10 Sep 1916. See
Journal History, 24 Aug 1861.
7 A careful search of
civil divorce records did yield information for Job and Diantha. Since
this plural marriage, it is likely that the divorce was granted in a stake
priesthood meeting. Most of these records are restricted, at this time.
8 "Life of
Job Pingree," passim and "Ida Pingree Scrowcroft,"
written by Richard Pingree Scrowcroft.
9 "Life of
Job Pingree," passim
10 Ogden City Commission
files, 1869-1887 on deposit, Utah State Archives.
11 Ibid.
12 J. Cecil Alter, The
Storied Domain (Chicago: American Historical Society, pp. 247-78. See also
William G. Hartley, "The Miller, the Bishop, and the Move South," BYU
Studies, 20 (1979), 99-105 for a diary on the move South.
1 3 M r s .Berkeley,
" The 0 1 d T o I I - g a tes of Worcestershire,"
Transactions of the Worcestershire Archaeological Society for 1938, pp 55-66
14 Kate B. Carter,
Historical Pamphlet for 1941, (Salt Lake City: Daughters of Utah Pioneers,
1941), pp.266-67 .
15 Journal of
Robert McQuarrie, 1854-1917, Vol. 1 p 14. originals deposited in
LDS Church Historical Archives, #MSD 2732.
16 "Life of
Job Pingree," op. cit.
17 Leonard J. Arrington,
et. al., Building the City of God (Salt Lake City, Deseret Fo-ok-Co.,
1976), p. 445
18 ordinances
of Ogden City, UT (Salt Lake Deseret News Company,
1881), Introduction.
19 Ogden City Directorl,
1883, Microfilm copy at Genealogical Society of UT, GS #1,004,516. Sidewalks
were boardwalks raised above the mud; the streets were puddled much
of the time until drains were installed. See Milton R. Hunter, Beneath
Ben Lomond's Peak: A History of Weber County"
1824-1900 (SaIt Lake City, Publishers Press, 1966) pp. 118-20.
20 "Life of
Job Pingree," op. cit., and Charles F. Middleton, Journals, Papers,
Records, 1859-1915, Microfilm copy at Genealogical Society of Utah GS #31063,
pt. 49.
21 ibid., p.
38. See also Beneath Ben Lomond's Peak, op. cit,pp. 530 ft.
22 Original petitions,
Ogden City Commission Files, on deposit Utah State Archives, copies Pingree Family
Archives. See also Beneath Ben Lomond's Peak, op. cit. pp. 489-90.
23 Ogden Examiner,
17 May 1917, p. 7.
24 Beneath Ben Lomond's Peak,
op. cit., pp. 490-94 and Kate B. Carter, Historical Pamphlet, op. cit., p. 71.
25 Leonard J. Arrington,
David Eccles: Pioneer Western Industrialist (Logan, Utah State University, 1975)
,pp. 240-46.
26 Letter to
Editor, Standard, Ogden, UT, 12 Feb 1904.
27 Financial Statement,
1 Oct 1904, Copy Pingree Family Archives; Morning Standard, 2 Nov
1910, p. 3.
28 Ogden Examiner,
13 May 1919, p. 10.
29 "Life of
Job Pingree," ,)P- cit.
30 Interview with
Hyrum Pingree, 17 July 1981, pp.- 9- 10; interview with Louis W. Pingree,
19 July 1981, p. 3.
31 ibid.
32 "True Pioneer
Stories, op. cit.
33 Interview with Louis
W. Pingree, 23 Feb 1977,, p. 15.
34 Corporation
Register, Weber County; originals at Utah St e Archives; Corporation
papers, Lt. Governor's Office, Salt Lake City, UT.
35 "Memories of
Ruth P. Smith," 19 mar 1980.
36 Copies Pingree Family
Archives.
37 "Life of Job Pingree,"
op- cit-
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