Alexander Franklin Barron, (1813-1885) of Scotch-Irish descent, and a descendant of a long line of early American pioneers, was born October 4, 1813, at Elkridge, Giles County, Tennessee, a son of Alexander Barron and Elizabeth Liddell, Presbyterians. Until he was eighteen years of age he lived with his parents in Tennessee and Atlanta, Georgia. He attended the schools of the day and was a student at Nashville Medical College for a time, as were two older brothers who successfully practiced as physicians and surgeons with the Confederate Army during the Civil War. (Alexander Franklin Barron quit school for lack of money.)
In 1832 he joined a party of U.S. Surveyors. He spent four years, from 1832 to 1886, with such men as David Crockett and Samuel Houston in the development, surveying and pioneering of the country. These men, Crockett and Houston, were neighbors of the Barrons in Tennessee, and had, with A. F. Barron’s father, Alexander Barron, Sr., fought all through the Creek War of 1814 under Andrew Jackson. For the next 22 years he made his home near Houston, Texas, where he had land grants and where he became a successful farmer and cattleman.
In 1844 he married Dovey Ann Shin of South Carolina. Three years later, she died leaving two small daughters. A year later, in 1848, he-married Mary Miller. From this marriage eleven children were born, six sons and five daughters. He and his wife were converted and baptized members of the L.D.S. Church August 6, by William Moody. He wished to come to Utah at once after his baptism and wrote to President Young to that effect, but President Young wrote back telling him not to come until a company was formed. He waited for five years, during which time many people from that district had been converted and joined the Church. Finally in September, 1853, a company was formed under Captain Preston Thomas. It was said to be one of the largest companies ever to leave for Utah at one time. There were 102 wagons and 1,000 head of Texas Longhorns and a large number of fine horses, mules and sheep. The company arrived at the Cherokee Strip, or Nation, November 4, and remained there for the winter. In the spring of 1854 they started for Utah again, with Washington Jolly as captain, the company having been divided.
Arriving in Utah September 5, the Barrons were in Salt Lake City just one day when President Young sent them to Fort Harriman to make their home, but he later advised them to take the cattle to Cache Valley because there was more feed there. Due to extreme cold and heavy snows that winter, about half of the herds were lost. In fact, the men almost lost their lives. The small son, William, was saved from freezing by his father tying him on the bare back of a horse. The warmth of the horse kept him from freezing. He returned to Fort Harriman to find the family needing help, as his wife was ill, and the man hired to tend the sheep had gone insane. He lived at Fort Harriman for about ten years, and was the first bishop there, presiding from 1858 to 1865. There were three presiding elders before.
In 1857 he married Phoebe Ann Peck, as a plural wife. She bore him three children, two boys and one daughter, making in all,sixteen children. All but three of them grew to maturity and became good citizens in the community where they lived. He went south with the general move in 1857, and spent a year at Fillmore and Meadow Creek. Here he and the family did quite an extensive dairy business, selling to passing travelers, notably the company of Mountain Meadow Massacre fame. They bought freely and paid liberally for butter, cheese and milk.
While there he was called by Anson Call to go with Jacob Croft and William Powell and others to survey West Millard County for a townsite. They located the site for Deseret and dedicated the land. Brother Barron gave the dedicatory prayer, in which he prophesied: “This desert will truly blossom as a rose; a highway will be thrown up through the valley, that will connect the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans; streams of living water will flow out of the ground, and the valley will be settled from Mountains east to west, and north to south, and it will in time become a great agriculture center.” Pahvant Valley is now traversed by the Union Pacific Railroad and by the Lincoln Highway. All culinary water is furnished by artesian wells.
In 1922, President. Alonzo A. Hinckley, who was at that time Commissioner of Agriculture, made the following statement: “Millard County has produced more grain, alfalfa seed and hay this year than any other locality in Utah.” A million dollar sugar beet crop was produced the same year. Thus the prophecy of Brother Alexander F. Barron was verified. The above incident was told the writer by Jacob Croft (who headed this exploring party) and by Thomas Cropper the teamster.
After a year in Millard County, Alexander Barron returned to Fort Harriman. In 1865 Brigham Young called him to go to the “Muddy,” the St. George Mission,' in southern Nevada. He arrived in St. George late in November, where Erastus Snow advised him to go to Panaca, instead of the “Muddy,” because the ranges were dead from lack of rain. The family arrived at Panaca December 20, 1865, and had increased in number by one, as a daughter was born to his wife Mary at Parowan. But this delayed the journey just one day, as they put the mother in the wagon next morning and traveled on. At Panaca he served as acting Bishop in the Church from 1866 to 1869. And while living here he was called on a short mission to his old home in the South. This was in 1869. He visited all of his relatives in Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama, and preached the gospel to them. It had been forty years since he had seen his mother. She did not recognize him until he showed her a scar on his wrist, whereupon she fainted from the shock.
He became a prominent farmer, a stock-raiser, and a leader in Church and civic affairs at Panaca. From Panaca history records a “United Order” was organized at Panaca in 1876. A. F. Barron was one of the appraisers. Virgil Kelly was a director. Here he lived until 1877, when he was again called by President Young to go to St. George. He settled at Washington, Washington County, making this his headquarters for operations on the church ranch in Northern Arizona. In connection with his two sons-in-law, Virgil Kelly and John Lufkin, and his family, he bought from the Indians and developed the springs now known as Seivet, Oak Grove and Parashont. This ranch was located on the northern rim of the Colorado River, about fifty miles west from what is now the Grand Canyon of the Colorado National Park.
At the time A. F. Barron owned this ranch, he had also contracted the handling of the Church sheep, amounting to several thusand head. Under the terms of this contract he was to deliver the sheep at a certain time back to the Church authorities who had the matter in charge. He served notice that he was ready to make the delivery of the sheep at a definite locality at a certain time. The representative of the Church failed to meet the appointment as agreed, and consequently the sheep had to be held. In the meantime an unusual snow storm came upon them and the entire herd was lost. The representative of the Church demanded that he make payment in full for the loss. The case was tried and a decision reached, which decision was influenced by misrepresentation and prejudice, and sustained the claim of the Church representative, that Brother Barron be required to make payment in full for the loss, or he would be excommunicated from the Church. When advised of the decision, he made the following statement, “I will not allow myself to be cut off the Church for money, if it takes all the property I have.”
In his effort to pay this enormous debt, he turned over his entire possessions. In the course of events, the matter was referred to Apostle Erastus Snow, who after fully investigating made the following statement: “That knowing Elder Barron as I do to be an honest and upright man, I cannot believe him wilfully guilty, and those men who have sought to demand from him that which is not right will not prosper.” This statement has been verified, for those who investigated the proceeding have gone down in disgrace, thus fully vindicating the honor of Elder Barron, and making of him a man of great faith and integrity to the Church. Years after the death of A. F. Barron one of these accusing men visited Mary, the widow of A. F. Barron, admitting he had wronged him and offered her a paltry $50.00 whereupon she said: “There is not enough money to pay the wrong done my husband.” She refused the
proffered money.
Through all the trials of pioneering and hardship, he remained true to the faith he had espoused, dying a firm believer in the Latter-day Saint doctrines as taught by Joseph Smith. It was said of him and his families that his charities knew no bounds. The poor and needy never left his door unaided, and this fine humane characteristic was extended to the Indians as well as the Whites. Alexander F. Barron spent his last years surrounded by his large family. He died in Washington, Utah, April 3, 1885.
It is regrettable that the home of Mary Miller Barron burned down after her husband’s death, thus much of the fine family record was destroyed. The writer is indebted to the following for much of the above information: William A. Barron, son of A. F. Barron, daughters Amanda Rarron Kelly, Margaret Barron Hunt, also records of families related, old letters from relatives in Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia, and the courtesy of Church Historian, Andrew Jenson, and Assistant, Charles Goaslind.
