STAR VALLEY HISTORICAL SOCIETY HISTORICAL BOOKS INVENTORY DETAILS. Included Names: Isarel and Ruth Walton Putnam, Horatio Putnam

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1 STAR VALLEY HISTORICAL SOCIETY HISTORICAL BOOKS INVENTORY DETAILS 1. Overview Title: Seth Harris Putnam Author: Subject: Personal History Publisher: Publishing Date: Number of Pages: 5 ID#: 470 Location: Website 2. Evaluation Evaluator's Name(s): Kent and Polly Erickson Date of Evaluation: December 2014 Key Words: Hddle, Bountiful, queen bee Included Names: Isarel and Ruth Walton Putnam, Horatio Putnam 3. Synopsis He was born in Maine in He helped with the farm work and was interested in bees and leathercraft. He was passionate about music. He married Isabel Philbrick Mason, a young widow. They were converted to the LDS faith. His testimony is presented. They moved west. A letter recorded that they arrived in Ogden in He brought with him his talent and provided the town of Bountiful with music. 4. Other *submitted by Kathy Walker *photo

2 Seth Harris Putnam Seth Harris Putnam was bom in Rumford, Maine to Israel and Ruth Walton Putnam on April 20th, Located in the foothills ofthe White Mountains, Rumford is the site of Pennacook Falls, called by historians as the grandest waterfall in New England. Rumford is where the where the Androscoggin River drops 177 feet over a solid granite cliffand Seth spent much of his childhood fishing playing below the falls. Because ofthe waterfalls and the powerful river, the area was crowded with grist and sawmills and Seth spent much of his teen years working those mills, learning how to turn rough logs into fine lumber. Seth also found time to follow another passion: the fiddle. He was a rockstar ofhis generation and had a passion for his music, He played all the dances and social get togethers in Oxford County. By the time he was 14 he was in demand as a fiddle player and seldom a Saturday passed when he wasnt playing a dance. Seth was well liked by all and his handsome good looks made him a favorite amongst the fairer sex ofoxford. When it came time to take up a trade he decided not to spend his life in the mills. Instead he took up leathercraft and was one ofthe finest boot, harness and saddlemakers in Oxford County. Seth also helped on the large family farm where they raised subsistance crops like com, grain, hay, milk and cheese. The Putnams were very successful in Maine because the family had so many diverse enterprises, their lumber was in demand as was their leathercrafts but it was Seth's bee and leather operations that brought in barter goods for just about everything needed for the table. Seth worked and eventually got his own farm but by his 30's he was still a handsome bachelor living a popular existence...until he met the daughter ofa well-to-do family from neighboring Mexico, Maine...the lovely Isabel Philbrick Mason. She was a widow of 27, educated and stunning in her beauty and social graces with a 5-year old daughter by the name of Emma Mason. They married on a cold, winter night on the 27th ofjanuary, And Seth set out to build a farm as grand as his brides family. The following spring

3 he built a house with a large living room designed for Seth's fiddle playing and Athalinda's entertaining, she was an accomplished organist. The home was one ofthe first with indoor running water a large kichen that featured a covered walkway to the barn 40 feet away. In the harsh Maine winters Seth his bride and step daughter could harness up their sleigh in the comfort ofthe bam without getting wet. It was an unheard ofluxury in Rumford. The Putnams started a family and prospered but in In the spring of1863 their lives changed forever. Mormon missionaries visited the family and they converted...the elders saw a lot of potential in the young couple. Seth and Athalinda's musical skills could pack a church on Satuday nights and Sunday mornings. Bringing the Putnams into the fold was coup because they had scores of friends and family including the Walton clan, Seth's uncles and cousins from his mothers side. The Putnams and Waltons were pilars ofthe community, skilled and hardworking, well educated, musical and well to do. They were biblical scholars, mill workers, farmers, the clans could make a saddle or a fine pair of boots, then build a house or run a dairy. And as hard as they worked, on Saturday night the Putnams and Waltons played the dances, their fiddle work was legendary. They were god-fearing, salt ofthe earth people, and lived life with a passion. This new Mormon life fit them and many more friends and relatives followed the Putnams and Waltons to the church, to Deseret. Seths Testimony "When the missionaries came to Rumford their preaching created excitement in our town but had little effect for nearly three years &at first it was a constant bother to my feelings. I became dissatisfied with all religions and myself In the elders' passing through Oxford frequently stopped at my house, and in discussing with them the principles ofthe gospel, they would cuffme about like a rag doll. I came to the conclusion that the reason for my being handled so easily was because I did not understand the Bible and the Book of Mormon. I prepared myselffor their visits by investigating the two books. I furnished myselfwith the Book ofmormon& commenced the Book ofmormon and the Bible, compared the two and read my Bible from Genesis right through, praying and searching for six months& when I finished the two books I became a believer in the Book ofmormon. I was then taught by the spirit to obey the principles ofthe gospel. My feelings were not known by any but my wife. I was proud to obey the gospel& labored under those feelings for three months till baptized. To be called a Mormon was a heavy burden to carry. I lamented this but it was my lot and it was cast. I at last covenanted before the Lord that if he would give me confidence to face the world in Zion, I would be baptized for the remission ofmy sins; when I arose from my knees my mind was cleared & feared no man." Soon word had come from Salt Lake City from the church, beekeepers were needed in the land ofdeseret. To say their were destined is an understatement...brigham Young himselfsent word through the mission field that they needed the beekeepers and honey in

4 Desert. But joining the church was not without controvery Athalinda's parents and many gentiles in Rumford and Mexico and other parts ofoxford county disowned the Latter Day Saints. For many Waltons and Putnams it was time to make long journey West for a new start and an exciting way oflife. The Putnam's tried to sell offtheir belongings but the aftermath ofthe Civil War had turned the economy upside down, people were out ofwork in the mills and many starved, Seth, his brothers and mother sold offtheir handsome estates for a fraction ofthe fortune spent a lifetiime building. They carefully packed tools that would help in the land of Zion: a few queen bees, carpentry, leather and forging tools, his fiddle, a small pipe organ, his daughter, but few household items neatly packed in six trunks. From New York City, they took one ofthe first steam engines west to Salt Lake in 1869, where Seth started a new life with his mother, brothers and family in tow. A dangerous transcontinential trip that took 5 months just the year before now took an astonishing 10 days by rail. But it was an exotic and expensive trip that only few could afford. Despite the staggering expense,railcars were spartan with hard, crowded benches to sit on and it was freezing cold at night, stuffy hot duringthe days. Stops, both planned and unplanned were frequent...food was wildly inconsistant. Passengers packed their own and bought what was needed at the stops which were seasonal and expensive. Seth and Athalinda dressed in their Sunday best, he carried daughter Angie, Emma hovered close to her mother. In Seth's his vest pocket he carried a two small boxes that contained his prized Italian queen bees. The rest ofthe Putnams and Waltons settled in but it was Seth that was a hit on the rails. There was nothing to do in the stuffy cars, reading was imposible because ofthe rough railbeds and lack ofsuspension in the railcars. Talking was a chore because ofthe noise...but Seths fiddle was a delicious luxury for the travellors who crowded around their seats to hear him play, many sang along, some danced, the adolation and applause was intoxicating and Seth played almost non stop and loved every second ofit. Early rail travel was hardship, an early 1st class passenger riding the same route from Boston to Ogen described the ordeal: There was, ofcourse, much suffering amongst passengers, and few who could not afford to buy supplies & who were cooped up in ordinary cars. How they managed to eat, live, & sleep with two people in each seat will always be a marvel to me. On one occasion as a matter ofcuriosity I walked through one ofthe cars simply to see how matters were & I can assure you that the condition was even worse than a pig sty. Such a mess offilth, foul air and dirty people I never want to see again. The railroad people were so lazy that they refused to clean the cars, and, on the few occasions ofcleaning, the passengers did it themselves. It is a wonder to me that a pestilence did no go through the trains for there was enough filth to breed one. When they arrived at Ogden a letter was sent home to the family left behind,only the first part ofthe letter remains:

5 All; We landed here the 12th of June, 1869, & took a side trip& heard Brother Brighm Young preach at the great Tabernacle. We sought him out afterwards & he said many kind things to our company. The brother is strong in spirit& touch. Onthe 14th of June we were called to thenorth Canyon Ward a place called Bountiful & this name is apropriate, both because of the citys gardens and orchards and too, because Bountiful, the city from the Book ofmormon, Alma 52:9. We commenced work with the brethren on the church farm in orchards and then worked on a molasses mill for a gallonofmolasses per day. When the work was over we were given a city lot and homestead. We dug a hole in the ground and put a top ofeleven logs and called it a dug-out; myself Ath & Emma and little Angie Lee prepared there for the winter, a small cabin and barn was built for maand Horatio and all quite contented. We bowed down and blessed it and dedicated it for ourhappy home with great mountains to theeast & the great Lake to theother. We had a splendid supper composed of pork beans, short cake. Honey comb, coffee, milk &c&cwe all eatvary Harty, Had prayers & retired to bed On Sunday had quite a lengthy lecture in sacriment about the first principle ofthe Gospel, whatwe cameto this world to perform whatwe had prepared our selvesto do while in the world of spirits; showing that it was ourchoice to come in this dispensation and had the choice of our lineage and the whole summed together was edifying. My brothers dropped off hides, now busy making shoes and boots fortrades of horse, ox, cow. Horatio and Seth Putnamtook Bountiful by storm. The newcomers from Maine were handsome, solidly built and hard workers. They were also devout and proudly held the priesthood. They were active in the Mountain ward, worked on the church farm for tithing and found many jobs downtown. Horatio landed a job at the lumber yard, which supplemented their small farm, their honey and orchard operation, not to mention their makeshift blacksmith shop. On Friday and Saturday nights the Putnam's played the Ward's dances. A feat thatdidn't go unnoticed in SaltLake by Brother Young...a music lover himself

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