Ellis "Et" Whitney Wiltbank (pt2)

Ellis Whitney Wiltbank's time in Arizona involved a few moves between the various communities as he worked to find a permanent home for his family where he could provide for them. It took a few years and moves but he eventually did find such a place and made significant impacts on the communities he lived in during this process.

---------------------- Amity (1883-1884) ----------------------

When Ellis Whitney moved his family to Arizona they settled at Amity, later known as west Eagar. The year was 1883. With the Family in Amity Ellis Whitney farmed the Wahl place which according to land records is north of Airport Road and west of the river in Springerville. He also grew potatoes in Greer.² Ellis Whitney must have been real busy keeping both his farming areas maintained as the travel time between Greer and Springerville would have taken up much of his time.

The Wahl Place was ideal for farming with the river close by

I am sure that Ellis Whitney was also exploring the area looking for a more permanent location to move his family to and a way to be able to support them.
This time in Amity was to be a short one for the Ellis Whitney Wiltbank family.
Ellis Whitney appeared to have some issues with the bishop in Amity. According to his oldest son, William Ellis, "when they moved from Amity it was without a recommend from Bishop Alma Holden because Father would not or did not pay his labor tithing (every tenth day was to be spent working on the church house)."²

---------------------- Nutrioso (1884-1887) ----------------------

Nutrioso valley as it appeared in Jun of 2011

The family moved to Nutrioso in 1884 where Ellis Whitney's Father was living. Ellis Whitney registered to vote during August of that year.¹  The next two children were born in Nutrioso, James Hyrum in November of 1884 and Thomas W. in December of 1886. In Nutrioso Ellis Whitney farmed. There was an incident where "Ben Brown's oxen kept getting into Ellis Whitney's potatoes so Ellis Whitney drove them onto the mountain. Trouble followed, and they had a fight. Then Ellis Whitney went to Flagstaff to cut railroad ties for the Summer. When he came home that fall [of 1885] he was made a counselor to Bishop Benjamin Brown, but not with the best of feelings."² An interesting side note to this is that Et's children William Ellis (age 10) and Mary Ann (age 8) had worked all summer to keep the oxen out of the potatoes so that the family would have the potatoes.

---------------------- St George (1887-1888) ----------------------

In the fall of 1887 Ellis Whitney took his family to St. George for a long visit. John Cleveland was born March of 1888 in St. George. When he was old enough to travel they returned to Arizona and settled in Round Valley.

---------------------- Eagar (1888-1894) ----------------------

Gristmill in Eagar along the Little Colorado River

When Ellis Whitney and family settled in Eagar it was at the Grist Mill, according to the oldest child William Ellis. Here "they made brick and adobe."² While in Eagar Milford Jay was born April of 1890 and Rebecca was born September of 1892. In 1889 Ellis Whitney was called to be the first Sunday School Superintendent of the ward. In 1894³ Ellis Whitney and John Black built a sawmill in Greer and operated it while the family stayed in Eagar. The story is told that when he was operating the sawmill that he would walk from Greer Sunday mornings to be at his post of duty as Superintendent of the Sunday School. If he followed the roads now it would be a 16 mile walk. A straight line distance is 12 miles so it was most likely somewhere in between. No one should ever doubt the dedication of Ellis Whitney to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Ellis Whitney also served as the President of the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association in the Union (later the Eagar) ward.

---------------------- Greer (1894-1908) ----------------------

The Greer Valley as it appeared in 2011

In 1894 Ellis Whitney moved his family to Greer. Their home was a gathering place for all  the young people who loved music and singing. He played the accordion and harmonica and Hannah Mary played the organ. He served as Bishop of the Greer Ward for twelve years from 1896 to 1908. He was ordained Bishop by Apostle John Henry Smith.
While the family lived in Greer, Hannah Mary went to St. George to stay with her widowed mother who was sick. This was 1895 and lasted for a year. She took the youngest children but the rest stayed in Greer. Ellis Whitney and the Mary Ann "Mollie" worked hard to take care of the family in Hannah's absence.

---------------------- St Johns(1908-1914)⁴ ----------------------

St Johns Stake Academy

The family moved to St Johns when it was time for some of her children to go to the Stake Academy. It is reported in a couple of histories written by a couple of grandchildren that Hannah Mary ran the dormitory of the St Johns Stake Academy. We know from a history written by Atella Wiltbank Haws that the first year she attended the Academy, in the 1913/1914 school year, she lived with her Grandmother Hannah Mary Wiltbank and had a good time when Grandpa would stay with them. The house they were living in burned down in Nov of 1913 and they lived with another family the rest of the school year. During this time when the family was in St Johns, Ellis Whitney was building a a home in Eagar. It was a spacious home of two stories and build of adobe in the northern end of the town of Eagar. Ellis Whitney spent some time with his family. He is listed in the 1910 census as being with his family in St Johns along with John Cleveland(22), Milford Jay(20), Rebecca(17) and Josephine(12). Grandaughter Atella also tells us that when he visited they had lots of fun.

---------------------- Eagar(1914-1932) ----------------------

The summer of 1914 after the house in St Johns burned down Hannah Mary moved back to Eagar. I expect that the home that Ellis Whitney was building is where they lived. In April of 1916 Ellis Whitney's wife, Hannah Mary, died. Also in 1916 Ellis Whitney secured title to 160 acres on the mesa west of Eagar under the desert act. To secure this land he had to improve and irrigate the land during a three year period and thus we have Ellis Whitney Wiltbank Reservoir which I am sure was used to provide water for this irrigation. Ellis Whitney would have started working on irrigating this land starting in 1913.

Ellis Whitney Wiltbank Homestead and Reservoir on the mesa west of Eagar.

Ellis Whitney lived in the home he built in Eagar for 16 years after his wife died. He had various relatives come and stay with him such as his daughter Josephine while her husband was away in World War I. When Ellis Whitney left Greer he sold his sawmill. He got involved in a flour mill venture and built a mill near his home. Ellis Whitney stayed active in the church and served on the Stake High Council.
Ellis' granddaughter Atella tells of multiple trips that Ellis Whitney went on with her. He enjoyed taking his time, talking to people, and buying good things to eat like fruit or candy. He wanted to stop at each town. He enjoyed stretching his legs and did not understand why people wanted to be in a hurry.2
Ellis Whitney had a stroke in October of 1931 and gradually got worse until he died on 30 January 1932 in Eagar Arizona. His funeral was held the next day after a session of Stake Conference. Speakers at his funeral were Stake President Levis S. Udall, Orson M. Bigelow, friends of the family and Rulon S. Wells of the Seven Presidents of the Seventy.
At the time of his death his decendents included: 11 children, 45 grandchildren, 21 great-grandchildren.

Other posts on Ellis Whitney Wiltbank
   Ellis Whitney Wiltbank part1 - Life in Utah and exploring Arizona
   Ellis Whitney Wiltbank part 3 - Reflections on his life

Sources:
1 -  Aug 1884, GreatRegister for Apache county shows "Wiltbonk, Ellis W" Registered to Vote on Aug 11 with a residence of Nutrioso
2 - History of Ellis Whitney Wiltbank by Atella W. Haws on 19?? and William Ellis Wiltbank on 1935.
3 - The various histories report date of the Sawmill being built in Greer with a range of 1890 to 1895. I have chosen 1894 because it is reported by His son William Ellis Wiltbank and it makes the most sense. Hannah Mary was in St George in 1895 for a year taking care of her mother leaving her children in Arizona. If she was still in Eagar with Ellis Whitney working in Greer I do not believe she would have left her children in Arizona.
4 - I am using 1908 as the date for the move to St Johns as it was when Ellis Whitney was released from being bishop and  the children ages in this year was Rebecca-15 and Josephine-10. I derive the move from St Johns as 1914 because we know that the house Hannah Mary and children lived in burned Nov of 1913 and they were not there the next year for grandaughter Atella to live with them so they must have moved in the Summer of 1914.

Greer Arizona picture is from www.greerarizona.com
Eagar Gristmill picture is from www.library.arizona.edu/exhibits/davidkudall/mormon/chapter08.html 
Nutrioso Valley picture is from www.misheldesigns.blogspot.com/2011/06/beautiful-land.html
Wahl Place picture and the Homestead/Reservoir picture are from GoogleEarth based on a land patent documents from the BLM-General Land Office Records.