History of Valentine Rock compiled by Bryonny Van Camp

Compiler Notes:

In preparing the family histories of my Utah Pioneer ancestors, I realized that there wasn't a written history of Valentine Rock in one document.   In an effort to pull the limited information, that together from other related personal histories and supporting documents includes what I know about him, I decided to write a life sketch for Valentine

Obviously I was not alive during his time to know him, or to know anyone that knew him personally, and look forward to adding or correcting this as information becomes available.  I can be reached at bryonnymichelle@yahoo.com, should you wish to add to or correct this history.

It's through our actions that we show what's important to us, and based on the actions of Valentine Rock, faith and family were very dear to his heart.

 

Life Sketch of Valentine Rock

November 14, 1825 to April 5, 1863

Compiled by Bryonny Van Camp (a 4th great granddaughter) in 2014

Valentine Rock was born on November 14, 1825 in Mont Alto Franklin, Pennsylvania to Henry Rock and Catherine Mentzer Rock (1).  During this time the family was well established in that area of the state and Valentine's father was a farmer and a rock mason. (4) 

The family home was located in Pennsylvania on "a plot of ground in a sloping hill side with a forest in the background.  The home was a sturdy two-story house with more than eight rooms.  The house was built directly over a spring, perhaps to protect it – the spring being named Rock Spring after the Rock family” (5).  “The masonry of the home was so fine it appeared as solid as a rock.  As of 2007, the home was still in possession of the Rock Family"(4).
This homestead was called the beauty spot of Pennsylvania; as described by Angus M Cannon, who was one of the missionaries sent there by George Q Cannon and had been instrumental in the conversions of a number of the Rock family into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in the early 1840s (5). 


On this tract of land is erected a chapel, the property and church, having been donated to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints by the Rocks (5).   In the years of 1852 to 1855, George Taylor and Angus M. Cannon made Henry Rock's home their headquarters (5).

Valentine had 9 siblings, but 3 died as children.  The siblings are as follows:

		Children of Henry Rock* and Catherine Mentzer Rock*
	Name		Birth	Death	Spouse
1	Wellington		1817	1822	N/A
2	Emanuel		9/19/1819	8/19/1899	Catherine Wagaman
3	Mary Ann		3/4/1822	6/1/1895	Albert Carrington
4	Sarah		1823	11/1884	Upton Wolf
5	Valentine*		11/14/1825	4/5/1863	Harriet Smith*
6	Leah		1827	Unknown	William Alden
7	Rueben		1833	1842	N/A
8	Henry		11/14/1824	3/6/1908	Leannah Robison
9	Adam		1835	1840	N/A
10	Elizabeth		11/7/1836	4/11/1911	John Snedaker
	Information obtained from LDS Family Search.org *Direct line Ancestor

As mentioned, Henry Rock, Valentine's father, was a stone mason by trade.  We gather that Valentine learned by his father's side the artistry and craftsmanship of being a master mason.

At age 22, on January 30th 1848, he was married to Harriet Smith (1).  Harriet Smith, born on 9/11/1828, was the daughter of Conrad Smith (Schmidt) and Anna Gieseman.  The Smiths had quite a large family and Harriet was the oldest daughter.  Harriet's mother, Anna Gieseman Smith, had previously died in 1846, leaving quite a few young children at home and a newborn.  Harriet, as the oldest daughter, with the help of a Mrs. Thompson, (hired by her father Conrad) cared for all the children, including the two week old baby Benjamin (6, 7).  As some of these siblings stories are interconnected to Valentine's, I've attached a list of Harriet's siblings:

	Children of Conrad Smith and Anna Gieseman
	Name	Birth	Death	Spouse
1	Charles Jacob	1/11/1826	1907	Lucy Coffman
2	Harriet*	9/11/1828	10/16/1911	Valentine Rock*
3	Judith	7/31/1830	1849	David Robison
4	Conrad Alma	8/1/1832	8/28/1907	Eliza Robison
5	Ann Elizabeth	8/16/1834	9/24/1878	Peter Rock
6	Hettie Gieseman	6/20/1836	8/12/1894	Daniel Pentz
7	Daniel Miley	7/28/1838	4/26/1905	Emma Sinfield
8	Thomas Goldman	8/15/1840	11/22/1911	Ann Leithead
9	Mary Catherine	3/22/1841	9/26/1916	Samuel Smith
10	James Mieley	4/8/1844	1922	Charlotte Treeseder
11	Benjamin Franklin	2/22/1846	11/5/1930	Mary Ann Simmons

 At the age 24/25, in 1850, Valentine was living in Quincy, Franklin County, Pennsylvania working as a mason.  He and Harriet had had their first child, Rueben Rock. Mary Catherine Smith, Harriet's little sister, was living with them at the time – most likely she could have been helping Harriet with the new baby (2).

Later, while the family was still living in Pennsylvania, 2 additional children (May Cordelia and Jacob Nephi) were born. Harriet and Valentine latter also had a child in Iowa and another in Utah.  Below is a listing of Valentine and Harriet's children:

	Children of Valentine Rock and Harriet Smith Rock
	Name	Birth	Death	Spouse
1	Reuben	7/23/1849	11/11/1970	Evelyn White
2	Mary (May) Cordelia	4/8/1852	10/6/1921	N/A
3	Jacob Nephi*	10/8/1854	10/4/1941	Louesa Eve Free
4	Jennie Elmetta	11/20/1857	3/2/1924	Elmer Hill
5	Alma Henry	6/18/1861	2/28/1943	Alice Proctor

 In 1854, Harriet's father, Conrad Smith (Schmidt), died – leaving the remaining children at home orphaned.  Harriet wanted to keep all the siblings together, but Charles Smith, Harriet's older brother, went to court and had the children boarded or bonded out to different families in the area, to work and earn their keep – except for Benjamin, who was being raised by Harriet (7).   Since Charles was the oldest, and now head of the family, his opinion prevailed.  This must have been heartbreaking for Harriet.

In 1856, when Valentine's son, Jacob Nephi Rock, was about a year and a half old, the family moved to Iowa.  Valentine's brother Henry, and his wife Leannah, moved there as well (5).  I assume that Valentine and Henry were quite close, as they traveled together to Iowa and then on to Utah.  They had moved to Marion Township, Linn County, Iowa and listed Valentine's listed occupation is bricklayer on the 1856 census (3).  I'm sure the Saints in Iowa had a great need for brick houses and buildings as they settled there. 

It was also during this year of 1856 that Valentine and Harriet received word of the mistreatment of Harriet's younger siblings – so Valentine traveled back to Pennsylvania to rescue them and take them to Iowa to remain with their family (7).  Valentine was appointed guardian of Daniel, Thomas, Mary Catherine, James and Benjamin.  I admire so much, that he went back for his brothers and sister in laws, and saved them from being separated from their family and/or being mistreated.  What different lives they would have had, if they had been left in Pennsylvania, and Valentine hadn't been willing to come back for them!

In 1857, While Valentine was living in Iowa, working and saving to take the family on the trek west to Utah; Valentine's father, Henry Rock, died in Pennsylvania.  During 1858, Henry (Valentine's brother) or Valentine himself (reports conflict on who actually went) traveled back to Pennsylvania to get their widowed mother, Catherine Mentzer Rock, so that she could make the trip with them (4, 5).  This possibly delayed the family in their process on their journey west, but they didn't want to leave their mother behind.

In 1857, there was no immigration into the Salt Lake Valley because the President of the United States sent the Army to invade Utah and destroy the Mormons.  On the 26^th of June the army marched into Salt Lake and left peacefully to a camp some 40 miles away.  It wasn't until 1859 that immigration was permitted again into the Salt Lake Valley (4).

In 1859, before Valentine and Harriet and their family left for Utah, it was determined that Valentine's mother Catherine Mentzer would travel to Utah ahead of them, she was anxious to get to the Salt Lake Valley and be among the Saints.  She needed a reliable driver for her team, so Harriet's brother Daniel Miley Smith was given that responsibility to drive to oxen team (4).  Mary Catherine Smith (Harriet's sister) also traveled to Utah during this year, I would be surprised if she did not go with them (not confirmed yet, her company on the LDS Pioneer Database is currently listed as unknown).

In 1860, Valentine and Harriet finally had enough money saved to buy their supplies and make the trek to Utah.  From Marion they went to Florence, Nebraska and there it was that they made up the 249 individuals and 36 wagons in the James D. Ross Company when it began its journey (8).   The company was made up of American, Swiss, German and English people and they left on June 14^th or 17^th  in 1860.  The family on this trek were:  Valentine & Harriet Rock with their children Reuben, May Cordelia, Jacob Nephi, and Jennie Elmetta; Valentine's brother Harry Rock and his wife Leannah Robison Rock, and their baby girl Elizabeth Rock; and Harriet's brothers Thomas Goldman Smith and Benjamin Franklin Smith.

Currently we don't have any direct ancestral experiences about the trip – other than that Thomas Goldman Smith (Harriet's brother) drove a team and wagon all the way from Pennsylvania (7).  However, from the writings of others on their trip, it seemed to be a fairly good one – as far as pioneer travel went.

In a letter written by a Swiss immigrant Ulrich Loosli, in the same company as the Rock family, he describes the pioneer life on the trail that the Company experienced:

"As a rule we traveled fifteen to twenty miles a day, starting at six o'clock in the morning and stopping a half hour at noon for lunch. We pitched our camps early in the evening, after which each man took care of his oxen, which didn't take very long; and then the men gathered wood, while the women prepared the evening meal. Everything was done in order. The wagons were drawn in a circle, and outside of the tents the women did the cooking. The cattle were guarded day and night as a protection against the Indians, and to prevent them from straying.

Each morning I blew the horn to call the company for prayer. The English gathered on one side while the Germans gathered on the other side; after this we all had breakfast. I blew the horn as a signal to hitch up the oxen. After everything was in readiness, I blew the horn as a signal for the company to start. In the evening I blew the horn for prayer, afterwhich we retired. The signal for us to rise was given by the guards, or by those who watched the cattle during the night. In the beginning the oxen were hard to catch and hitch, but they soon became tame."

We had good times spending our evenings in songs, speeches, and in encouraging entertainment of all kinds.


Let us take one more glance back over our trip. I have often wondered at the success of our journey, for we were always so happy and blessed. The people in Salt Lake City marveled at our appearance. Some men made the remark that we were in better condition at our arrival than any other company that they had seen. We had but one death in our company, a man from Switzerland. There were no accidents of the oxen or wagons throughout the journey and everything went well and successfully. We sang and prayed together like the children of a good family. 

Many times during the journey we went hunting and caught rabbits, sage hens, and ducks. We also killed one deer and a bear. It was a great joy for me to travel over the Great Plains. As we traveled we passed many houses, also some stores where we all could buy anything we wished, such as coffee, sugar, ham, vinegar, brandy, bacon, butter, soap, whips, rope, etc., but we paid a very high price for these things (10)"

In a letter to Brigham Young dated Sept 1, 1860, captain James D. Ross said: "The company of which I have the charge will camp west of the little mountain on Sunday probably all day as we purpose getting over the little mountain this evening and intends to rest on Sunday and reach the city on Monday forenoon, should you deem it necessary to send any one to import Council to the company we will be right glad to receive them, the health of the company is good.  The spirit of union and peace reigns among us[.] we have had one death on the journey a Swiss Brother who unwisely eat the flesh of an Ox that died of Alkali and was poisoned." (8)
From the trip summary we gain this insight into the families’ experiences on the plains: "All of the emigrants, including Captain Ross, were inexperienced in frontier living and plains travel. Many had to learn to drive oxen. Some had to learn to milk a cow or grease a wagon.

They left Florence, Nebraska Territory, in mid-June. On July 2^nd they were at Wood River Center. On the 4th of July they heard cannons firing near Fort Kearny as the soldiers celebrated the nation’s birth.

Like other travelers on the plains, they saw large herds of buffalo, thunderstorms, and ever-present begging Indians. They hunted rabbits, sage hens, and duck. They killed a deer and a bear. They passed numerous trading posts where they could buy a variety of goods at inflated prices.

At times they traveled within a few miles of other Mormon companies – including those led by Jesse Murphy and John Smith. They passed Fort Laramie on July 27^th. On August 5^th they camped on the Platte River opposite Deer Creek. They followed the road to Green River, passed Fort Bridger and reached camp in Emigration Canyon on Sunday, September 2^nd.

The camp was visited by a number of Church leaders including Wilford Woodruff, George A. Smith, Lorenzo Snow, and Franklin D. Richards. They gave the company practical advice. They drove into the city the following day. Upon their arrival, Brigham Young and Daniel H. Wells greeted them and gave more counsel. A single death had occurred en route. The emigrants expressed great respect for Captain Ross. (11)
The Rock family arrived with the James D. Ross Company in the Salt Lake Valley on Monday Sept. 3, 1860. Dessert News announced their arrival in the newspaper and said "Capt. Ross and company arrived in the city between eleven and twelve o'clock on Monday – all in good health and spirits. They have had but little sickness on the journey, and only one death, and that is reported to have occurred in consequence of eating unwholesome meat, in disobedience to counsel.  Upon the companies arrival they were soon dispersed – some going to one place and some to another – most of the immigrants having friends and acquaintances, who had preceded them to these valleys, ready to receive them and bid them welcome to their ‘Mountain Home.’(8)."
Valentine and his family camped on the Eight Ward Square for a week or so to rest (5).  Then, Bishop John Hess, of Farmington, a cousin of Valentine Rock, persuaded him to go to Farmington to live.

Being a builder, a rock mason by trade, he supervised the building of several rock buildings, the most outstanding of which is the Farmington Meeting House. The first Primary ever held met in that building, which still stands and is still in use. It was built in 1862 and Valentine's Initials, V. R. are cut in a stone up over the door, near where the date of its erection is placed (5).

Picture of the Farmington Rock Meeting house below:

Brigham Young, noting Valentine's ability as a builder, called him to go to Dixie. He was planning to leave, when on April 5, 1863 he very suddenly and unexpectedly died – being thirty seven years old, leaving Harriet with five children, and oldest thirteen and youngest a year and a half (5).  A very sad day for the Rock Family to lose their son, father, and husband that had been such a faithful Latter Day Saint[PVC1] .

From his actions, Valentine was a man that did what needed to be done, where the gospel or family was concerned.  He did all he could, and I'm grateful for his sacrifices that lead his family West were they could worship freely the gospel that he loved.

--Information compiled by Bryonny Van Camp on 6/21/2014

Sources:

(1) Millennium File from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

(2) Census: US Federal Census, Quincy Franklin Pennsylvania, 1850

(3) Census: Iowa State Census, Linn Iowa, 1856

(4) History of Catherine Menzter Rock written by Jean Thomson (Obtained from Daughters of Utah Pioneers)

(5) History of Jacob Nephi Rock written by Gertrude Tan Rock McFarlane (obtained from Daughters of Utah Pioneers and Family Sources)

(6) LDS Family Search Stories on Harriet Smith

(7) LDS Family Search Stories on Thomas Goldman Smith Contributed by DeeLynn Smith

(8) LDS Pioneer Overland Travel Database: James D. Ross Company

(9) Letter from Ross, J.D., to Brigham Young, 1 Sept. 1860, in Brigham Young, Office Files 1832-1878, reel 38, box 27, fd. 18

(10) Loosli, Ulrich, History of Ulrich Loosli, 1-4. (Trail excerpt from "Pioneer History Collection" available at Pioneer Memorial Museum [Daughters of Utah Pioneers Museum], Salt Lake City, Utah. Some restrictions apply.)

(11) Summary of The James D. Ross Company Travel on the LDS Pioneer Overland Travel Database.

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 [PVC1]