KARTCHNER, Mark Elisha Sr.

1853 - 1939  (85 years)  Submit Photo / Document

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• Name	KARTCHNER, Mark Elisha
  Suffix	Sr.
  Birth	10 Dec 1853	San Bernardino, San Bernardino, California, United States
  Christening	7 Apr 1854	California, United States
  Gender	Male
  WAC	11 May 1874	EHOUS
  _TAG	Reviewed on FS
  Death	4 Aug 1939	Provo, Utah, Utah, United States
  Burial	9 Aug 1939	Provo, Utah, Utah, United States
  Headstones	Submit Headstone Photo
  Person ID	I52024	Joseph Smith Sr and Lucy Mack Smith
  Last Modified	19 Aug 2021

  
  

  Family ID

  F25859

  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	PALMER, Phoebe ,   b. 18 Feb 1858, Provo, Utah, Utah Territory, United States Provo, Utah, Utah Territory, United Statesd. 15 Aug 1936, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States (Age 78 years)
  Children	+ 1. KARTCHNER, Ellora ,   b. 24 Oct 1889, Snowflake, Navajo, Arizona, United States Snowflake, Navajo, Arizona, United Statesd. 9 May 1971, Provo, Utah, Utah, United States (Age 81 years)
  Family ID	F25858	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	24 Jan 2022

  
  

• Photos		At least one living or private individual is linked to this item - Details withheld.
  		At least one living or private individual is linked to this item - Details withheld.

  
  

• Notes

  The Kartchner Family Our Pioneer Heritage, Vol. 2, p.440 Pueblo, 1846Utah, 1847 Our Pioneer Heritage, Vol. 2, p.440 William Decatur Kartchner was born May 4, 1820 at Hartford, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania. He was the son of John Christopher Karl called a meeting at this place and Heber preached and discouraged many from going. Our Pioneer Heritage, Vol. 2, p.445 The teams of our company were mostly oxen unshod who became footsore when on the desert, and many were left behind sore-footed an. For several years she resided in the City and on a farm near the City. She subsequently located in Provo, where she taught school. Next she resided at Payson and Santa Clara, but when the St. George Temple was KARTCHNER, MARK ELISHA (son of William Decatur Kartchner and Margaret Jane Casteel). Born Dec. 10, 1853, San Bernardino, Cal. Came to Utah, spring of 1858. Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah, p.981 Married Phoebe Palmer May 11, 1874, Salt Lake City (daughter of Zemira Palmer and Sally Knight of Provo, Utah, pioneers 1847, division of Mormon Battalion). She was born Feb. 18, 1858. Their children: Mark Elisha b. June 6, 1876, m. Nellia Loveless; Zemira b. April 12, 1879, died; Asael W. b. June 21, 1882, m. Rosina Heath; Ellora b. Oct. 24, 1889, m. Benjamin H. Knudsen; Lydia b. Oct. 30, 1891, died; Rachel b. March 1, 1895; Lyman Alma b. March 17, 1897; Jesse C. b. July 11, 1899. Family resided Snowflake, Ariz., and Provo, Utah. Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah, p.981 Seventy; high priest; block teacher; superintendent of Sunday school; president Y. M. M. I. A. Farmer. The Kartchner Family Our Pioneer Heritage, Vol. 2, p.440 Pueblo, 1846Utah, 1847 Our Pioneer Heritage, Vol. 2, p.440 William Decatur Kartchner was born May 4, 1820 at Hartford, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania. He was the son of John Christopher Karl called a meeting at this place and Heber preached and discouraged many from going. Our Pioneer Heritage, Vol. 2, p.445 The teams of our company were mostly oxen u nshod who became footsore when on the desert, and many were left behind sore-footed an. For several years she resided in the City and on a farm near the City. She subsequently located in Provo, where she taught school. Next she resided at Payson and Santa Clara, but when the St. George Temple was KARTCHNER, MARK ELISHA (son of William Decatur Kartchner and Margaret Jane Casteel). Born Dec. 10, 1853, San Bernardino, Cal. Came to Utah, spring of 1858. Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah, p.981 Married Phoebe Palmer May 11, 1874, Salt Lake City (daughter of Zemira Palmer and Sally Knight of Provo, Utah, pioneers 1847, division of Mormon Battalion). She was born Feb. 18, 1858. Their children: Mark Elisha b. June 6, 1876, m. Nellia Loveless; Zemira b. April 12, 1879, died; Asael W. b. June 21, 1882, m. Rosina Heath; Ellora b. Oct. 24, 1889, m. Benjamin H. Knudsen; Lydia b. Oct. 30, 1891, died; Rachel b. March 1, 1895; Lyman Alma b. March 17, 1897; Jesse C. b. July 11, 1899. Family resided Snowflake, Ariz., and Provo, Utah. Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah, p.981 Seventy; high priest; block teacher; superintendent of Sunday school; president Y. M. M. I. A. Farmer. The following is a brief life history of Mark Elisha Kartchner, Sr. It was written by Mark’s daughter, Ellora Kartchner Knudson, and read at his funeral held in the Provo Second Ward on August 9, 1939, by his grandson Glenn Eldon Knudson. A Brief History of Mark Elisha Kartchner, Sr.* Dear family, and relatives and friends, It is my desire to give you a brief history of the life of my grandfather, Mark Elisha Kartchner. He was the third son of William Decatur Kartchner and Margaret Jane Casteel. The couple lived in Missouri, but was driven from their home by mobs as were other Mormons. They joined the James Emmett and George Miller Company, and started west in 1846. William and Margaret traveled as far as Pueblo, Colorado. However, since their provisions were nearly gone the Kartchners decided to stay in Pueblo until they had earned enough money to continue their journey. Because of this delay they did not arrive in Utah until 1847. In late 1850 the family moved on to California with the same company, which included C.C. Rich and Apostle Amasa M. Lyman, settling in the valley called San Bernardino. Mark Elisha was born December 10, 1853. In 1857, the Kartchner family came back to Utah and settled in Beaver where they lived for about six years. They then moved to the Muddy River Valley in southern Nevada, and later in 1870 they again moved, this time to Panguitch, Utah. It was there that Mark Kartchner met Phoebe Palmer, and on May 11, 1874 they were married in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City. There were a total of three couples from the two families who were married that day; two Kartchner boys married two Palmer girls, and one Kartchner girl married a Palmer boy. The mothers of the couples traveled with them to Salt Lake, which took a week by team and wagon. On the way back they had to cross the raging Sevier River, which was very dangerous because there was no bridge. They sealed the wagon box as best they could by stuffing the cracks between the boards with strips torn from the women's aprons. Working together, they pulled the wagon box across with ropes. Grandfather lost his balance and fell in the river but managed to pull himself back into the wagon. Mark and Phoebe lived in Panguitch until 1877, when they were called by Bishop George W. Sevey to go to Snowflake, Arizona on a pioneering mission as colonizers. The young couple endured many trials, hardships, and unpleasant experiences both on the journey and after arriving in Snowflake. They lived the United Order at Snowflake, the rule being that everyone did their allotted work. The early days in Snowflake were hazardous and dangerous because Indians and Texas cowboys were a rough, lawless bunch. They terrorized and persecuted the small town, killing some people and stealing their horses and cattle. Grandfather told the story about one occasion, when he was out of town, some cowboys came into Snowflake one night to steal horses. When they came up to his corral to take the horses, the Kartchner’s little dog Fido barked and ran around making such a fuss that it awakened Phoebe. She dressed and went outside to check on the commotion, which apparently scared off the cowboys before they could take the horses. Mark and Phoebe always felt that was what saved their horses, as perhaps the cowboys thought she was a man. Grandpa played his violin with others for the dances, sometimes until nearly morning, and also lead ward choirs in some of the places they lived. Their daughter, Ellora, still has his tuning fork. He served as an alternate High Councilman, school trustee, and the city Sexton from 1880 to 1890. Once, Grandpa was called with others to guard a tract of land, from the Mexicans, on the Little Colorado River. He had to walk back-and-forth all night with his gun, ready to shoot, if any trouble started. The Kartchners started a store in part of their house, later building a larger one in company with his brother-in-law, Alma Z. Palmer. Grandpa learned the Navajo and Spanish languages thinking it would help him with some of his customers at the store. Sometime in 1880, Grandpa bid for and got the contract to pick up and deliver the U.S. mail, traveling by buckboard back-and-forth over a distance of 50 miles. After they were released from their calling as colonizers in Arizona in 1895, the Kartchners moved back to Utah. Making the journey with horses and wagons it took a month to get to Provo. They made this move mainly for their children’s education. He brought Newell Knight, Sr.’s farm on what was then called Provo Bench. They again started a store in one room of their house, later building a big brick building for dance hall and a store. This was the second store on the Bench. Grandpa was the Second Superintendent of the Sharon Sunday School, taking his family over there to teach the classes, lead the songs, and play the music. He was a Timpanogos Ward Teacher for years in the Fourth Ward of Provo and the also the Ensign Ward in Salt Lake. In 1907 the Kartchners moved to Provo City and built a home at 39 W. 2nd North, They also built a big brick barn which has since been made into two apartments. Grandpa was a member of the 4th Ward Prayer Circle, and the assistant Choir Leader to Dr. Herbert S. Payne, for years. About 1910 or 11, he again got a mail contract, in Provo, to take the mail from the post office. In 1919 they sold out and moved to Salt Lake to be nearer the Temple to do that work, which they did for about 20 years. Grandpa was a humble man of great faith and was always being called on to administer to the sick. In 1921 he was especially appointed to go to the L.D.S. Hospital every week to administer to those who wished for it. He did this for a whole year. After he had worked in the Temple for some time he was called to do special work there, which he did for many years until forced to give it up because of rheumatism. Pres. Heber J. Grant then wrote him a letter, honorably releasing him from the calling. Everywhere Grandpa lived he was a builder of nice homes, and was an inspiration to the people of the community and highly respected. Three of Grandpa and Grandma Kartchner’s four sons filled honorable missions for the church. They had eight children, two that died in infancy and two who passed away after being married. Grandfather came from sturdy, healthy, dependable ancestors who were early pioneers of the Mormon Church. They did much for the Church in trying to live up to its principles and in helping to build up the kingdom of God. He lived to a good old age of 86, did many different things, and accomplished a lot for himself, his family, and for others during his well-spent life. May his family and his descendants carry on his ideals, and be a credit to his name and to the heritage of the pioneer stock from which they came. * This version of the original transcript reflects a minimum of editing by Dyann Card Lewis, great-great-granddaughter of Mark Elisha Kartchner. It was the afternoon before Independence Day, July the 3rd, 1910, and members of the Provo 4th Ward had assembled in their meetinghouse in Provo to worship in fast and testimony services. Attendance must have been running late on this day. The meeting commenced at 1:30 instead of the usual 1:00. Bishop Alfred L. Booth, a Provo attorney, presided on the stand. William Ashworth, six months in to his stint as ward clerk, recorded the proceedings of the day in spare hand-written minutes. Ashworth noted that the opening hymn, “How Firm a Foundation,” was sung by the ward choir, with the congregation joining in at some point. The choir must have been sounding better than it had in some time. A few months earlier choir director Hebert S. Pyne had complained to Bishop Booth that ward members, and particularly the men, were “indifferent” to choir. Thereafter, the bishopric began to issue personal invitations for ward members to sing in the choir, asking them to “receive the call as a mission.” George Meldrum then stood to offer the opening prayer, speaking loudly for all to hear. Microphones and hearing aids had not yet been invented, and anyone with a speaking role had to talk louder than usual, so as to allow all to hear. After Meldrum sat down, the choir sang another number, “As the Dew from Heaven Gently Falling.” The Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper was then blessed and passed by Elders William S. Rawlings and Frank L. Copening. The tradition of older teenage boys—priests—blessing the sacrament had not yet been established in the church; Rawlings and Copening were men in their 40s. During this period in Mormon history, members of the congregation did not sit in silence as they do today while the bread and water (and, in rarer cases, wine) are passed to the congregation. On this day, Ashworth noted in the minutes that while bread was being passed the choir sang “Prayer is the Souls Sincere Desire”; while the water was being passed, Brother Pyne, the choir director, stood and read the 4th chapter of Luke. Pyne must have commanded respect. He was then county physician and director of the Utah County Medical Society and in all likelihood was a careful and effective reader. The water would have been passed around in a large jug—a common cup. Two years later, the Utah Board of Health would pass an ordinance outlawing drinking from common cups, and thereafter wards began using individual sacrament cups, either paper or glass. The bread used for the sacrament would have been locally and probably freshly baked. In 1907, the ward had asked a local baker to leave a loaf of bread with the ward janitor every week. By 1910 the ward was operating its own cooperative bakery, with members of the ward supplying their own baked goods and members of the co-op sharing in the profits. The bread used at the July 3 meeting likely came from that co-op. The sacrament portion of the service now complete, it was time for the blessing of babies, which was traditionally done on the first Sunday of every month. Four babies were blessed that day, an indicator of the youthful demographic of the ward. The 4th ward surrounded the city block where Brigham Young University was located (the present Provo City Library block). It quite naturally contained a mixture of young families and old timers. George McKellar Elliott, the infant son of Edwin Hezekiah Elliott and Ruby McKellar Elliott, was the first baby to be blessed that day. Edwin and Ruby were not members of the ward. They were in their early 20s, had been married 13 months, and were then living in Eureka, a small mining town near the Tintic Mountains southwest of Provo. George was their first child. Edwin grew up in Provo, and his parents lived in the ward. The couple likely came to Provo to bless their baby so that the babe’s aged grandparents could be present. Ida Markman came next. She was the last of the five children born to James Markman and Sarah A. Stubbs, who lived on 4th North and 276 in Provo. James was born in Denmark and emigrated to Utah with his family while still a child. He worked in Provo as a plasterer. Alma Ray Jones was the third of the babies blessed that day. Baby Alma was the son of Charles Alma (“Alma”) Jones and Julie (“Julia”) Hortence Sackett. Alma, 19, Julie, 18, had married the previous January; Alma Ray was born four months later. Alma had been born and raised in Provo, and Julia grew up in Brigham City. After their marriage they settled in the Provo 4th Ward, where Alma found work as a laborer at the local woolen mills. They went on to have five more children before divorcing. Alma Ray was the only one of the six children who did not survive to adulthood. He died eight months after he was blessed. Alden Davis Miner was the last of the four blessed this day. Alden was the third child (all sons) born to Austin C. Miner, 29, and Zella Davis Miner, 27. Alden worked construction in Provo. Zella’s final child, another son, would be born four years after Alden, on a cold December evening in Yellowstone, Montana. Zella died due to complications the day after giving birth. Her infant son lived just two days, dying the day after his mother. Austin had to have help with his young sons and soon remarried Sarah Banks Creer, a Spanish Fork widow with two children. Austin and Sarah raised their blended family in Provo. They had three children of their own, for a total of eight between the three families. All four of the infants who were blessed in the Provo 4th Ward on July 3, 1910, were born in the month of May. They ranged between 4 and 7 weeks in age. In the nineteenth century, Mormon babies were often blessed three to six months or more after birth, reflecting the concern many parents had about the spread of infectious diseases. That concern had begun to dissipate by the early decades of the twentieth century. It helped that the babies blessed on this day were all born late in the spring, after the weather had warmed. Parents were less inclined to worry about the child catching sick. None of the four babies was blessed by their fathers. Until the mid-twentieth century, it was rare for a Mormon child to be blessed by his birth father. It was more common for the family to ask a person who commanded great respect to bless the child. The blessing was not a “father’s blessing” so much as a blessing that prophesied the future. Prophecy should be put in hands of people who were thought to have the gift—a Church leader, perhaps, or someone the family admired. The Elliott baby was blessed by his great uncle, Ralph Elliott, a member of the 4th ward who served as city recorder. The other two babies were blessed by patriarchs: the Markman baby was blessed by John D. Jones, a member of the 4th ward and a Welch native who was nearly ninety years old. The Miner baby was blessed by Andrew Watson, also a long-time 4th warder. Watson and Jones were much respected and admired in the ward, so much so that the ward purchased special rocking chairs for the chapel where these two venerable patriarchs sat during congregation meetings. After the baby blessings, it was time to read the names of new members the ward. At this time in Mormon history, membership records were not sent from one ward to another pro forma. Church members who were moving to a new ward or town were expected to obtain short letter of reference from their former bishop that was to be presented to the new bishop upon entering the new ward. This letter “recommended” the member to the new bishop. It indicated that the person was a member of good standing in the church; if the person was not in good standing, the person could attend meetings but could not be recommended to the congregation until the matter was resolved with church authorities. The reading of a member’s name to the congregation indicated that the church member had been recommended, which in turn allowed congregation to “receive” the member, that is, to accept the person in full fellowship. Bertha Christensen Wilson was the first name read. William Ashworth, the ward clerk, wrote that her prior ward was Emery Ward, Emery Stake, in central Utah. Two day before, Bertha delivered had her first child, a baby girl she named Bernice. Bertha, 19, may have moved to Provo to receive good medical care during the extended period of confinement that was then the norm for women giving birth for the first time. The name of her husband, Wilford, also 19, was not read at this time, perhaps indicating that he had not obtained a recommendation. The name of Charles Alma Jones, the father of one of the babies blessed that day, was read. He had moved from Provo 3rd ward. The name of his wife was not read. The name of Joseph H. Sandstrum, a deacon who had moved from the 18th Ward, Ensign Stake, in Salt Lake City was read. The business of the meeting was now completed. It was now time for testimony bearing in which members of the audience stood and walked to the podium and spoke as they felt so inspired (or, in cases of infirmity, standing in the pew were they were sitting and speaking to the audience). “The meeting was then placed in the hands of Saints,” the clerk wrote, “to bear testimonies or in any way they felt lead [sic].” William S. Rawlings, who had administered the sacrament, stood first. He “bore his testimony of the work of the Lord. He had no cause to doubt the truth of the Gospel.” The came Edith Young, the 22-year-old school teacher and daughter of Oscar and Anna Young, who lived in the ward. Oscar, who died in 1903, was the son of Brigham Young, the Mormon prophet. Edith “said she was glad she was a member of the church and had an assurance of the truth of the Gospel.” Little did anyone know it in 1910, but five years later Edith Young would become the wife of Bishop Alfred Booth, two years following the death of Booth’s first wife, Maria Ashworth (the daughter of ward clerk William Ashworth). “Patriarch Andrew Watson,” who had blessed the Miner baby earlier in the meeting, stood and bore testimony next. A Scottish emigrant, Watson was often the first member of the ward to stand and bear testimony on fast Sunday, perhaps because his priesthood office gave him a seat of honor on the stand, giving him not far to walk. On this occasion, Watson “rejoiced in the work of the Lord and bore a strong testimony of how the Lord had blessed him.” Mary Ann Anderson, 36, stood next. A widow of three years, she had her hands full in raising five young children alone. But she seemed to hold no grudge against God for her lot. She “spoke of the Goodness of the Lord unto her during the past Month.” Sister Kirsten Peterson, a married mother of four, ages 14 to 4, stood and addressed the problem of gossip. She “wondered why we should feel so well during the time we are in meeting and during the week we could talk about our neighbors and all such actions.” The problem was partly a function of living in a small town where one religion dominated and everyone knew everyone else—and thus nothing could be kept secret. The 1910 U.S. census put the population of Provo at just 8,700. Frank Copening stood next. He “narrated what good affect good singing had on the minds of the Saints, even those who are down cast and forlorn.” Copening, a real estate agent, may have been making a pitch for the newly revitalized ward choir. The ward clerk wrote the name “Sister Joseph Beck” next. He may not known that her first name was Bernetta (“Nettie”). Nettie and Joseph were in their early 40s and were the parents of one son. (Nettie had borne two addition children who each died after just a few days.) At this particular fast and testimony meeting, she wanted to say she “was glad to be present and enjoy the good Spirit she felt present.” Louisa Harris, 69, stood next. She was a pioneer woman through and through. Born in Illinois in 1839, she crossed the plains to Utah with her family the same year Utah territory was organized, in 1850. She married Charles Harris in 1855 when she was not yet sixteen years of age. She had her first baby at seventeen, and eventually had eleven children altogether. She and Charles and their brood lived in log cabins in Toquerville, Parowan, Richfield, and Junction before moving to Provo in the late 1880s. Soon after, Charles married another wife, which forced him to go on the underground to elude arrest. Louisa’s marriage to Charles was never the same after that. One her sons remembered when Charles finally returned, he lived out his days with the second wife. Louisa, meanwhile, occupied her own home in the Provo 4th Ward and earned a living by keeping BYU student boarders until her death in 1923. (Charles had died in 1916.) She had had a hard life, but was aided by a naturally cheerful disposition. “I cannot recall ever seeing my mother blue or discouraged,” her son Silas remembered. In her testimony to the Provo 4th Ward, Louisa was thinking about her children, who had grown into responsible adults and must have helped her immensely over the years in Charles' absence. Six of them had become schoolteachers. She “was thankful the Lord had blessed her with a family and that all were members in the church.” She must have known many others whose children had not turned out as they had hoped. David John Blake, 37, followed Louisa Harris at the pulpit. Blake and his wife Laura Thuesen Blake were the parents of four children under the age 10 (the youngest was 10 weeks old). David, who co-owned a Provo furniture store, himself came from a large family, the oldest of twelve children. Community seemed to be important to him. “These [testimony] meetings,” he told his fellow ward members, “were more like the home circle. We could reach each other and come nearer together it seemed to him than at any other meeting.” Mark E. Kartchner Sr., 56, seems to have been prompted to stand after listening to Louisa Harris say she was thankful all her children were in the church. Kartchner “believed all his fathers family were in the church and was thankful for the testimony he had.” The Kartchners had played an important colonizing role in the church. After enduring the Missouri persecutions of the 1830s, Mark’s parents came across the plains to Utah in 1847, then moved on to California to help colonize San Bernardino, where Mark was born in 1853. When the colony broke up during the Utah War, the Kartchners came back to Utah and moved in quick succession to Beaver, the Muddy River settlement in southern Nevada, and then to Panguitch. Mark came from a family of eleven children; seven of them were still alive in 1910—these were the children who were, he believed, “all…in the church.” In Panguitch, Mark met Phebe Palmer, and they were married in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City on May 11, 1874. The two families had particular affinity for one another. On that same day, two Kartchner brothers married two Palmer brothers, and one Kartchner sister married one Palmer brother. Mark and Phebe made their home in Panguitch—the Palmers and the Kartchners couldn’t stand to be apart from each other, after all—until called by their bishop to help colonize Snowflake, Arizona. They remained eighteen years in Arizona, raising their children there, until 1895, when they moved to the Provo bench, where Mark carried mail, farmed, and opened a small store. In 1907 they moved to the Provo 4th Ward. Mark and Phebe remained there until 1919, when they retired to Salt Lake and spent the remainder of their days doing temple work for their dead. Daniel Peter (“D. P.”) Thuesen, 68, was the last to the stand that day. Thueson was the father of Laura, the wife of David John Blake, who bore his testimony earlier in the meeting. D.P. and his wife Hermine were long-time Provo residents; each of their eight children had been born in Provo, though just five had lived to adulthood. Thuesen worked as a shoemaker by day. On this Sunday, he “rejoiced in the work of the lord and always felt well in attending fast meetings.” The time was now far spent. The meeting closed by the choir and congregation singing “Lord we ask ere we part” from page 49 of “Songs of Zion.” The minutes ended:“Wm Ashworth, Ward Clerk” Source: Minutes, Feb. 13, 1907; Nov. 7, 1909; March 27, July 3, 1910, Provo 4th Ward, General Minutes, 1909-12, LR 7224 11, v. 17, 19, Church History Library, Salt Lake City; Silas A. Harris, “A Brief Life Sketch of Louisa Hall Harris,” 16, Family Search.