Rejoice, Fort Montezuma Descendants!

Mary Fretwell Davis

James Davis

Sarah Elizabeth Hobbs Harriman

Henry Harrison Harriman

It’s time to celebrate some glorious pioneers! Their story, Fort Montezuma 1879-1884: Crucible of Devotion, is complete. R.F. “Ron” McDonald wrote this final version of the forgotten stories of this group of intrepid pioneers, which included Harriman and Davis ancestors.

Some years ago, R.F., who hikes the red rock canyons and wades the muddy San Juan River in southeastern Utah, discovered the headstones of two children, John and Lizzie Harriman. He set out to learn their stories --a difficult task, since no descendants of the early pioneers still lived in the San Juan River country. During this journey of discovery, R.F. shot the stunning photographs of vestiges of roads, water wheels and other relics which are in this book, along with sharing the fascinating stories of settlers who fought the desert and the unpredictable river for six years.

I've been blessed to edit this history with R.F. over the past two years. He's wise, funny and extremely patient. Norm and I are grateful to call him our friend.

The book is posted online in the Family Search Accounts of the Fort Montezuma pioneers. Studying the book online works well for those who enjoy reading on devices or a computer. For example, for Henry Harrison Harrima, the book is at the link below:

https://www.familysearch.org/photos/artifacts/49990694?p=3926681&returnLabel=Henry%20Harrison%20Harriman%20(KWZF-FD6)&returnUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.familysearch.org%2Ftree%2Fperson%2Fmemories%2FKWZF-FD6

R.F. has given me permission to publish a print version. To show his photographs best, printing must be done in high resolution on quality paper. Each printed book will cost around $27, with no profit to R.F. or me. I need pre-orders for at least 100 books to start the process, and checks must be sent to me by March 31, 2018. If you or your family members prefer a print version, please reply in the comments.

Here's an overview of the story: a few scouts and two families with children—James and Mary Davis and Henry and Elizabeth Harriman—responded to calls extended by leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to colonize on Montezuma Creek in southeastern Utah. After an arduous journey, they built Fort Montezuma. They nearly starved that first winter.

Some “Hole in the Rock” pioneers joined them the next spring: families with surnames that included Shurtz, Holyoak, Hyde, Fielding, Haskell, Decker, Allan, Tracy, Moody, and Guymon. These settlers conquered the arid land and constructed large water wheels to carry river water to their crops. Unlike most white people at that time and place, they made warm friendships with the Navajos and Utes who lived nearby.

The pioneers determined to carry on even after Church leaders offered them an honorable release in 1883 because of crop failures, the vagaries of the San Juan, epidemics that brought death to the settlement, and livestock thefts. Then, in 1884, the river flooded far beyond its banks, tearing out their homes and farms. Left with nothing, the pioneers moved on, taking the tales of their valor with them.

About one hundred years later, in the late 1990s, R.F. found the graves. He put inquiries on message boards on the Internet, and months went by with no hits. In the meantime, my sister, Brenda Nelson Anderson—who was a great-niece of Lizzie and John Harriman, and a gifted historian—joined the Harriman Family Association in New England. Someone from the Harriman Association gave R.F. Brenda’s contact information, and he called her in October of 2000. In the final stages of terminal leukemia, she felt blessed to hear that someone had tended the graves of children we had heard about since childhood. Our cousin, Colleen Smith Bingham, and others shared family history so that R.F. could fill in the blanks about the pioneers’ brief stay in the San Juan area. Brenda died December 24, 2000. As time went by, R.F. discovered more Montezuma families and worked tirelessly to tell the stories of their courage.

Though these pioneers may have felt like failures when they left their mission— flooded out and busted—Fort Montezuma 1879-1884: Crucible of Devotion celebrates the depth of their devotion to God.

Please comment with your impressions of the book! And if desired, tell us the number of print books you’d like, and your email address.