Born: December 27, 1850 at Haverhill, Essex, Mass.
Father: Abraham Dodge Boyanton
Mother: Hannah Mariah Burbank
Married:
Flora Mavilla Burgess, October 10, 1875 at Salt Lake City Endowment House
Millie Holbrook, December 18, 1890 at Logan Temple [Logan, Cache, Utah]
The Boyantons came from England, settling in Mass. The following is taken from an old journal belonging to Abraham D. Boyanton:
"I was born in the town of Newberry, Essex Co., Mass., March 12th, 1815. My father's name was Methuselah Boyanton. He followed the marine or sea life, educating himself for the same and understanding navigation thoroughly. He was of very steady habits, honest and upright in all of his dealings. He died and was buried at sea, leaving my mother, Amelia Dodge, with five children, the eldest but twelve years of age. He left but little property, but my mother managed to maintain herself and family in respectable surroundings until the oldest grew to manhood, when he moved the family to East Bedford, Conn., in 1826.
"We all, through our industry and perseverance, grew up maintaining a respectable standing in the community, having steady habits and being strictly honest in all our dealings. The names of the family are as follows, in order of age: Alfred, Mary Ann, Charles, myself (Abraham D.), Enoch and G. W. Mac, a half-brother by my mother's second marriage.
"In the summer of 1829 I heard of a record being found in New York by one Joseph Smith, which seemed to rest on my mind with considerable weight and having a great curiosity to hear more, but later the anxiety subsided. In 1831, I heard of the Book of Mormon, and feeling considerable interest in the matter, walked five miles to obtain one; also crossing the Merrimac River and walking up to my knees in slush to hear the gospel preached by the saints. This was in the winter of 1832. After reading the Book, the Spirit bore witness to me of its truth, and after having the gospel preached to me and believing in the truthfulness of the same, in the summer of 1832 I was baptized and confirmed in December of the same year by Elders Orson Hyde and Samuel H. Smith, they being the first elders to come that far east.
"I joined the branch of Georgetown, meeting with the elders and saints from time to time and rejoicing in the principles of eternal truth, but being repudiated by both relatives and friends.
"Receiving a newspaper printed in Independence, Mo., giving an account of the driving of the brethren from Jackson Co., the elders were sent through the adjoining counties gathering means to help the suffering saints. I sent $4.00 by J. T. Boyanton and a little later $5.00 for the building of the Kirtland Temple. This was in 1834. In 1836, I took leave of my friends and started for Kirtland, arriving in Cleveland, Ohio, Oct 4th, where I stayed for a few days with my brother Alfred; then on to Kirtland. Here I found my only sister, Mary Ann, sick with consumption. She died the following winter.
"I remained in Kirtland and vicinity until the spring of 1837, being ordained an Elder in the higher priesthood.
"In the fall of 1837, started with a brother for the Ohio River on my way to Far West, working for some time at Wellsville. My trunk, not being forwarded as ordered, I was obliged to return to Kirtland. Here I found a large company being formed to go by land to Far West. Under the direction of the Seventies, I gave them ten dollars toward expenses. With a few others, I started along the same route, but after going about 100 miles, I stopped and worked on the national road, where I stayed until the company arrived. I stayed with them a few days and then continued on by water as my trunk had gone that way.
"Arriving in Ohio, I took steamboat for Louisville, Ky. When there, my money gone and sick and penniless and being unable to obtain work, I begged passage by helping on the boat up the Missouri River to Glasco, a distance of 250 miles. Here I was taken with a fever and ague, being confined to the house eight days, stopping with a man named Banks.
"Feeling some better, I boarded a steamer but was so roughly handled by the captain and crew who were mobocrats, that I was obliged to leave after going 25 miles, making the rest of the journey on foot, a distance of 75 miles, and still sick; meeting companies of mobs, going to and coming from fighting the Mormons.
"Arriving at Richmond landing, I found my trunk had been stolen from the warehouse by the mob - it being all the property I had and valued at one hundred dollars.
"I arrived at Far West on the first of Sept. and a little later the mob started their degradations on the saints at Dewitt and Adam-Ondi-Oman, also the outskirts of Far West, until the whole country was in a mobocratic war. At this time I was called to the ranks, being often obliged to step out on account of the chills and fever. I was also marched out of the city with the rest, laid down our arms and were taken prisoners of war by the Missourians. We were kept all day without food. At the time of this occurrence, I was boarding with Father Joseph Smith, Sen."
Part of the diary has been lost and the next we find of him, he is doing missionary work in Bradford, Mass.; this is in 1841 and 1842. Here he met and married Hannah Mariah Burbank, daughter of Hannah Dow and Thomas Burbank. She was the first of her family to join the Church, being baptized in 1834, and marrying Abraham Boyanton in 1841. They moved to Nauvoo in July 1844, where they kept a store. They were there at the time the Prophet and his brother were martyred, staying with the saints and sharing their trials and persecutions until 1846. They then sold their place for little or nothing and went back to Mass. on a visit where they remained until 1850. During this time, they had three children, the first two dying in infancy. The third was named Joseph Hyrum. When he reached the same age at which the other two died, he was very sick, but was healed through faith and prayer.
In 1850, they returned to Kanesville, Ohio, where they lived until 1852, when they started for the valley with a company of saints under the supervision of Captain Tidwell. After they had traveled about a week, the wife and her two children Joseph and John, the latter a baby of six months, broke out with smallpox. The rest of the company, fearing contagion, they were left to travel alone. They got along all right until they came to the Loopfork River. Here their oxen refused to cross, until another company of saints came along and then they followed the others across. Determined not to be caught in that plight again, they kept in front of the company instead of behind, and thus made their journey nearly all of the distance.
They arrived in Salt Lake City Sept. 15th, 1852, staying there until spring when they moved to Bountiful. He was advised not to take up any land here, as there would not be any water for it, but he homesteaded a quarter section anyway. They passed through all of the hardships incident to pioneer life, being there at the time of the grasshopper war and being reduced to bran bread as a diet part of the time. They are said to have owned the first stove in Bountiful.
He was a member of the first seventies quorum, also a ward teacher. One son, Charles, also two daughters died in infancy. The other children are: Myself (Joseph Hyrum), John, who died at the age of 24, Caroline Davis, Lottie Crosby, now dead, Ella Burningham, also deceased, and Augusta Duerden of Bountiful.
My mother's people, the Burbanks, were the first of that name to settle in Mass., and probably in the New England colonies. We trace our ancestry back to 1620.
Joseph H. Boyanton was born in Haverhill, Essex Co., Mass., Dec 27th, 1850, coming to Utah with his parents in the fall of 1851. They located in Bountiful the following spring.
As a boy, he passed through the trying experiences incident to the building of a new country, spending a good deal of time working in the canyons, getting out logs for lumber, firewood, etc.
On Oct 10th, 1875, he married Flora Burgess, the ceremony being performed in the Endowment House, Salt Lake City. Five children were born to them.
In the month of Oct. 1888, his wife deserted her home and children. On Dec 18th, 1890, he married Millie Holbrook, daughter of Jonathan Holbrook and Millie Smith Holbrook, the marriage taking place in the Logan Temple at Logan, Cache Co., Utah. They made their home in Bountiful.
Seven children were born to them, three boys and four girls. On Oct 22nd, 1906 [1908], his wife Millie died of pleural pneumonia.
Joseph H. Boyanton has been a hard working, honest and industrious man, scorning indebtedness and always taking good care of his children through all of his troubles and trials. He is a member of the 100th quorum of seventies, being ordained under the hands of Prest. S. Lyman B. Young of the Council of Seventies. He has since been ordained a high priest [May 10, 1908]. He has followed the occupation of lumberman, farmer and stock raiser.
His health has been very good, but he has met with some injuries through accident. His heel and ankle were crushed while hauling logs and both legs were broken through having a load of hay tip over on to him.
Abraham H. Boyanton brought the cane seed and made the first molasses in Bountiful - crushing the cane between two logs. About the year 1852, his wagon wheels broke down and he went into the canyon, got a log about four feet through and sawing off rounds used these for wheels, putting iron tires on them and using the repaired wagon for years. He raised some of the first lucern here, planting it in rows and cultivating it the same as garden-truck.
Through Dr. W. E. Boynton, No. 1214 Gorham St., Lowell, Mass, the Bountiful Boyantons have heard of the Boyanton Genealogical Book written by Mrs. Caroline H. Boyanton of Groveland, Mass.
-From the Genealogical Record of Joseph Hyrum Boyanton
HOME