Notes |
- His wedding to Tryphena Bisbee was performed by Hyrum Smith, brother of Joseph Smith. He and his family were among the eight families that founded what is now Springville, Utah.
Life sketch of Myron Nathan Crandall, author unknown:
Myron Nathan Crandall, the fourth child of David Crandall and Margret McBride, was born in Genessee County, western New York on 17 Aug 1818. In 1823 the family moved to Villanova, NY where they lived for about eleven years. There they heard the gospel, joined the church and moved to Kirtland, Ohio. Myron Nathan was fifteen years old. The family then followed the church migrations from Kirtland to Missourit then to Quincy, IL and later to LaHarpe, IL, not far from Nauvoo.
On Jan 26, 1841 Myron Nathan married Tryphena Bisbee who had joined the church in 1837 and was living in Nauvoo. They were married in her Uncle Noah Packard's home by Hyrum Smith, brother of the Prophet Joseph Smith.
Two children were born to them in Illinois, Julia Ann 26 Nov 1841 and Hyrum Oscar 26 Apr 1844. Persecution was so strong against the church the members were forced to leave Illinois.
In Aug 1844 Myron Nathan's mother died and in 1845 his father married Mrs. Jerusha Smith who was not interested in following the Saints when most of them left Illinois and moved to Iowa. David, his nine year old daughter, Margret Ann, and his new wife, Jerusha, stayed in LaHarpe. Margaret Ann died there at age seventeen.
Myron Nathan, his married brothers and sisters with their spouses and children, and his three unmarried brothers left Illinois about 1847 and settled in Kanesville, Iowa. Myron Nathan built the first dugout in the community. In 1848 his third child, Myron Edgar was born and during this period their first child, Julia Ann suffered a severe hip injury which left her permanetly crippled and they were unable to travel with her for some time.
Early in June 1850 the Crandalls left Kanesville to go to Utah with the Aaron Johnson Company. There were 22 in the Crandall group as follows: Eliza Crandall, her husband John Deal and 4 children; Myron N Crandall, his wife Tryphena Bisbee and 3 children; Spicer Wells, his wife Orinda Spafford; Emiline Crandall, husband Richard Bird and 2 children; Laura Crandall her husband Willis K Johnson; Martin Pardon Crandall age 20 unmarried; Lucien Delancy Crandall age 18 unmarried; Nelson David Crandall age 16 unmarried.
While in Kanesville Myron Nathan owned a six acre farm, had a span of horses, two yoke of oxen, two cows and sufficient provisions to last two years; consequently, they came across the plains with fewer hardships than many of the Saints. Myron's kindness and thoughtfulness for his wife, who was pregnant, was shown by his taking a rocking chair and a small cook stove for her comfort and a hammock for his crippled daughter which swung from the wagon bows and made her journey more bearable.
In the latter part of June tragedy struck the company. Aaron Johnson's wife, Polly Kelsey, Spicer Crandall's wife Irinda Spafford, her mother four of her brothers and sisters and Willis K Johnson, husband of Laura Crandall, all died of Cholera. They were buried near the Platte river in Nebraska.
The Aaron Johnson Company arrived in Salt Lake 12 September 1850. Brigham Young requested the first eight wagons to go to Springville and build a fort there. The teams comprised those of Aaron Johnson, Myron Nathan Crandall, Martin Pardon Crandall, William Miller, John W Deal, Richard Bird, and Amos Warren and his brother.
In November 1850 Myron Nathan and Tryphena's fourth child, Franklin Austin, was born, the first child born in the settlement.
Before the first winter set in a fort was competed and the church organization effected. The Springville fort was built on a rise and covered 1.5 acres of ground. It was located near the northwest corner of Main and Center streets. All the houses faced the enclosure with their doors and window opening into it. For safety measures there were no windows on the outside of the cabins. There were gates on the east and west sides of the fort and bastions at the corners. In times of trouble the cattle were driven inside the enclosure for protection.
Aaron Johnson was the first bishop with William Miller and Myron Nathan Crandall as his counselors. For the first two years church was held in the fort but later Aaron Johnson built a large adobe home with one large room reserved for church, social gatherings and dances.
During the winter of 1851-2 Springville was surveyed and a site chosen for a city square and a school. The rest of the lots which were 12.5 rods square were chosen by drawing a number out of a box. The lot drawn by Myron Nathan is located at what is now the northwest corner of Main street and Second north.
In 1852 the legislature approved a charter for Springville and held an election to appoint a mayor and alderman. Myron Nathan was appointed an alderman and his duties included acting as Justice of the Peace, a position he held until his death.
Myron Nathan had received his endowmnets at Nauvoo but was not sealed until it could be done in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City.
He entered into plural marriage with Susanna Wimmer 9 Dec 1854 and with Mary Hurst 11 Mar 1857. He was a hard worker and a good provider.
While sickling grain Myron Nathan became overheated, contracted pneumonia and died 4 August 1860, age 42. He was survived by his three wives and eleven children, seven by Tryphena, two by Susanna Wimmer and two by Mary Hurst.
Tryphena died in 1863 and she and Myron Nathan are buried in the old Springville cemetery with a suitable marker on their graves. His other wives married his brothers. Susanna Wimmer Crandall married Spicer Wills Crandall and gave birth to seven more children. she died in 1918. Mary Hurst Crandall married Martin Pardon Crandall and had one child. In 1875 she married Amost Maycock and had three more children.
While the life of Myron Nathan Crandall covered only 42 years it was a life filled with hardship, responsibilities and tribulations but also major accomplishments, blessings and rewards. He was a valiant pioneer and a most faithful church leader.
Myron Nathan's father, David, and his mother, Margret McBride, led the family into the church and journeyed together from Villanova to Missouri and Nauvoo. Myron Nathan, his good wife and his brothers and sisters stayed together through the tribulations from Nauvoo to Utah. The Crandall posterity now numbers in the thousands and the benefits of the struggles and hardships their ancestors endured in remaining faithful to the church.
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