History of Salt Lake City, Part 140

Author: Tullidge, Edward Wheelock
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Salt Lake City, Star printing company
Number of Pages: 1194

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JOSEPH BULL.

Joseph Bull, the oldest attache of the Deseret News, was born at Leicester, England, January 25th, 1832. He is the son of Daniel and Elizabeth Burdett Bull. His mother died in his infancy. He received a common school education, and was apprenticed to printing at the age of fourteen : but his master failing in business before his time was out, he went to Birmingham for improvement, and having first class credentials he obtained a situation in a leading book and job printing establish- ment. He remained in this situation until 1850, graduating to a journeyman's position.

In 1846, he for the first time heard an elder of the Church preach ; from that time he occasion- ally visited the Saints' meetings and in Febeuary, 1848, he joined the Church, being the only mem- bers of his father's family who ever embraced the Mormon faith. On the 6th of January, 1851, he siled from Liverpool in the ship Ellen for New Orleans, with a company of Saints under the presi- dency of James W. Cummings, Crandall Dunn and W'm. Moss. He was assistant steward. Hle arrived at New Orleans March 14th and on the 19th proceeded by steamer to St Louis, and thence by another steamer to Council Bluffs, where he worked a short time at the office of the Frontier Guardian. An opportunity was offered him to go to the valley to drive a herd of loose stock for Mr. David Wilkin for his board and the hauling of seventy-five pounds of luggage. Wilkin's out- fit left Council Bluffs on the 10th of May and was organized in Luman A. Shurtliff's fifty of Eli B. Kelsey's hundred. Arriving at the Elk Horn the company found the river swollen to about four

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HISTORY OF SALT LAKE CITY.

miles wide, it being a very wet season. It was deemed advisable to take an entire new route and reach the head waters of that stream, then strike the old pioneer road on the north side above Chim- ney Rock. After traveling over a hundred miles a messenger overtook them and ordered them back to the Missouri River to travel in larger companies in consequence of Indian hostilities ; whereupon they returned, and took the old pioneer road near Fort Kearney, having traveled nearly five hun- dred miles, but only gaining about two hundred and fifty. Mr. Wilkin having ten wagons of mer- chandise and nearly two hundred head of loose horned stock, decided to leave the company and travel alone, which they did and arrived in Salt Lake City on the 15th of September, two weeks ahead of the main company, Mr. Bull having driven the loose stock the entire journey on foot.

During the fall of 1851, Mr. Bull worked tending masons, going to the canyons, etc., until early in January, 1852, when Dr. Richards engaged him on the primitive staff of the Deseret News printing office. In February he printed the first ball ticket in colored inks, for the first typographi- cal ball held in this city.

On the 28th of October, 1854, Joseph Bull married Miss Emma Green, formerly of Birming- ham, England, she also being the only member of her family who joined the Church. She was a member of the early dramatic associations, and also the pioneer professional dress maker of the city.

At the April conference of 1855, Mr. Bull was appointed on a mission to California with Elder Geo. Q. Cannon and Matthew F. Wilkie to print the Book of Mormon in the Hawaiian language, and afterwards to print the Western Standard. President Young gave him permission to take his wife with him, but it was preferred for her to stay.

These missionaries left Salt Lake City on the 10th of May, in company with Apostle C. C. Rich, with mule teams for San Bernardino; thence proceeded to San Pedro and took passage to San Francisco, which they reached in the latter part of June, and commenced the printing of an edition of two thousand copies of the Book of Mormon which kept Elders Cannon, Bull and Wilkie busily employed until January, 1856. Elder Cannon had translated the work while on a previous mission to the Islands. February 23d, they also issued the first number of the Western Standard, an able weekly newspaper in the interest of the Church.

At a conference held at San Francisco April 6th, 1856, Elder Bull was appointed president of the San Francisco conference, which office he held until July 18th, when at another conference held July, 1857, he was appointed on a mission to the Sandwich Islands, as publisher of a paper in the Ha- waiian language. He had made his arrangements and was on the point of starting when a call from President Young for the elders to return to Utah in consequence of the "Buchanan War" broke up the western missions. In December, 1857, Mr. Bull in company with Elders Pratt, Benson, Cannon and others returned by way of San Bernardino and arrived home about the middle of January. He found his wife in good health, and for the first time saw his first born son, Joseph, who was two and a half years old, having been born after he left.

He resumed his labors in the Deseret News office and was appointed by President Young to ex- ecute the first copper plate work done in the Territory for the Deseret Cattle Association, David Mckenzie having engraved the plates. He was engaged in this work during the summer, and at the general move went to Provo and took the presses and material there; in the fall he resumed work in the News office.

Owing to the war status of the Territory, the News had been unable to get its usual supply of material from the east, and Mr. Bull was despatched to San Francisco to purchase a supply. He started on the 21st of February, 1859, performed the trip by mule teams to San Barnardino, from thence by stage to San Pedro, where he took steamer for San Francisco, arrived on the 26th, of March, and was successful in purchasing and shipping the material. On his homeward journey from San Pedro he assisted in driving one of the eight mule teams until reaching Santa Clara, from which place he traveled night and day by stage with a small supply of paper and reached Salt Lake City, May 27th, making an unprecedented trip, having traveled nearly three thousand miles during an absence of a little over three months. After his return home he became a member of the "Me- chanics Dramatic Association " of which Mr. Plilip Margetts was president. While a member he appeared as "Old Mike " in Luke the Laborer ; "Duke Aranza," in the Honeymoon, and "Iago" in Othello.

Mr. Bull resumed work in the office until the fall when he was appointed a special agent to make a business trip through the Territory in the interest of the paper. He was thns engaged until the following April, 1860, traveling horseback. In September he was appointed foreman of the printing department, but he was soon thereafter appointed by President Young on a mission to Europe with Apostle George Q. Cannon and other elders. They left Salt Lake City, September 27'h 1860,

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JOSEPH BULL.

crossed the Plains with mule teams and arrived at Liverpool December 12th, of the same year. Elder Bull's first appointment was to the presidency of the; Bedfordshire conference, and in 1853, he was appointed president of the Leeds District, comprising the Sheffield, Leeds and Hull conferences. During this mission he also labored in the printing department of the Millennial Star office from January to June, 1862 ; March to June, 1863 ; March to May, 1864; superintending the publication of several of the standard works of the Church. He left Liverpool for home May 2Ist, 1864, on board the ship General Mclellan, with a company of 802 Saints under the charge of Thomas E. Jeremy, Joseph Bull and George G. Bywater. He reached home in September, 1864, crossing the Plains in Captain Rollins' train, acting as chaplain.

He resumed work in the News office till the summer of 1865, when he was sent south as far as St. George, on special business, and in October he was again despatched to San Francisco, by Albert Carrington, editor of the News, to purchase a year's supply. Having made his purchase he left San Francisco January 5th, 1866, per steamer with the material, and arrived at San Pedro on the 8th, where he found the teams which he had engaged, waiting for him. He also purchased and freighted a year's supply of paper for Apostle George Q. Cannon to print the first volume of the Juvenile Instructor.

On his return in February, 1866, he resumed labor in the office until the fall of this year, when he was released by President Young, to take charge of the publication and business of the Juvenile Instructor for George Q. Cannon ; and on January Ist, 1867, the Instructor appeared in its new dress, enlarged to eight pages. In December, 1867, E. L. Sloan and Joseph Bull started the "Curtain," for the Salt Lake Theatre, it being the first theatrical programme printed in the Territory.

When Apostle Cannon, who had succeeded Albert Carrington, started the daily Deseret Evening News, he released Mr. Bull from the Instructor and appointed him for eman of the Deseret News printing establishment, and in February, 1868, editor Cannon sent him him on a special business trip to the Eastern States, to purchase material and solicit advertisements and subscriptions for the News. Mr. Bull visited many of the manufacturing and commercial cities where our Salt Lake mer- chants had been purchasing supplies for this market and set before the wholesale houses the advan- tages of advertising in the News, as a new era in mercantile matters was about to take place on the completion of the U. P. R. R. At that time only three business firms of Chicago had been doing business with Utah. Having an autograph letter of recommendation from Brigham Young, Mr. Bull quickly formed the acquaintance of several members of the Board of Trade who used an influence with many leading firms to seek for the Utah trade. He remained several weeks in Chicago filling the advertising columns of the the News ; and he also visited other cities as far as New York with like success. He also purchased presses, printing material, supplies for the paper mill, etc. He re- turned home after an absence of about seven months, and Editor Cannon, who had constructed the enterprise for his agent, was well satisfied with his financial hit. The same year Mr. Cannon again sent him on a similar mission with like results ; and, with the exception of several trips made by business manager, Angus M. Cannon, Mr. B. continued every year to go east for the News on this line until the fall of 1877, resuming charge of the printing department on his return home.

At the October conference, 1877, he was again appointed on a mission to Great Britain ; his wife accompanied him on a visit to her relations. They arrived in Liverpool November 16th. Mrs. Bull received a cordial welcome from her relations at Birmingham. Elder Bull labored during the first year of this mission portions of the time in the Liverpool and Birmingham conferences until October, 1878, when he was appointed by President William Budge to labor exclusively in the printing department of the Liverpool office ; while his wife, having spent a very pleasant year with her relations, left for Utah, October 19th, on the steamer Wyoming and arrived in Salt Lake City November, 6th, 1878.

Apostle Orson Pratt, on December 21st, arrived in Liverpool from Utah, having been appointed to get the Book of Mormon electrotyped with foot notes-two sets of plates-Elder Bull having been appointed to assist him. They proceeded to London and completed the book in about three months when Mr. B. resumed his labors in the Liverpool office. About the same time O. Pratt re- ceived instructions from President Taylor to remain in England and obtain electro plates-two sets -of the Doctrine and Covenants with references. In this work which was done in London, Mr. B. superintendented his department. On its completion, August 15th, he returned to the Liverpool office.

During this period, besides superintending the general printing of the British Mission, he is-

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HISTORY OF SALT LAKE CITY.

suc 1 from the press e:litions of the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, Spencer's Letters, Pearl of Great Price and O. Pratt's Key to the Universe, also about 250,000 tracts.

On the 18th of October, he left England to return to Utah on the Arizona with 224 Saints in charge of W'm. Bramall, J. Bull and Andrew Watson, and arrived home November 12th, 1879.

On his arrival he resumed his labors in the News office, in the newspaper and job departments. In February, 1880, he went on his usual eastern business, and has continued making the yearly trips. During his connection with the News he has had several opportunities to engage in other printing enterprises, also other business, but preferred to remain with the Newos ; and with the ex- ception of the different periods when he has been absent on foreign missions, he has been continu- ously with the establishment since January, 1852, which makes him the oldest attache now connected with that paper.

HERBERT PEMBROKE,

One of our young and clever citizens is the subject of this sketch. His line of art is in job printing, but he is a decided artist and not a mere compositor. He is acknowledged to be the best printer that has ever worked in Salt Lake City, and he has also won reputation in New York, San Francisco, and other cities.

Herbert Pembroke was born in Bedford, England, in 1853. He is the son of James Earl and Sarah Day Pembroke, who were amongst the first of Willard Richards' converts to Mormonism in England, and who remained the wheel-horses of their section of the English mission till 1866, when they left for America. The family remained in New York two years. Herbert commenced to work at the printing trade, and to such a degree did he love the trade chance had thrown in his way, that after being in Salt Lake a year, he determined to back to go New York and endeavor to master his calling. He was a journeyman printer at the age of eighteen, and soon after left for his home in Salt Lake, where he was foreman of the Tribune job office, under the management of Fred Perris for a year. At the end of that time he felt still that there must be a great deal to learn and left for for San Francisco, where he soon became foreman of H. S. Crocker & Co's large printing office. This position was held for three yerrs until he determined to make Salt Lake City his home. Leav- ing a bright future there, he came home; finding the printing trade in a very unsatisfactory condi- tion, he engaged as clerk in mining and mercantile business for four years.

During this time he married a daughter of the late Richard B. Margetts. In January, 1882, having received a call from his old employers, he again went to California to take charge of the Sac- ramento printing business af H. S. Crocker & Co., but in 1884, feeling that with the commercial capacity which the previous four years had developed within him, he could steer a mercantile craft safely, he left California, came home and engaged in the book, stationery and news business, where by strict and untiring attention to business he has demonstrated that success is attending him. Be- ing still a printer at heart, he associated himself as nearly as possible with the craft of Utah, by at- taching to his business several printer's supply agencies, which he still carries on. Referring to Mr. Pembroke as a printer it may not be out of place to extract from the American Model Printer the following :

" HI. Pembroke, late superintendent of H. S. Crocker & Co's, Sacramento, California, is a man of remarkable skill as a printer, and the specimens before us bears full evidence of this fact. * * The most elaborate piece of work in his samples is a business card in colors, representing a set stage with side scenes ; doors are represented in each of the two scenes, a centre panel in one of them dis- plays a red devil carrying off a silver composing stick, and in the other a steam press ; these appear on gold grounds surrounded with black circles. The rule work on this job is certainly well carried

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HENRY GROW

out, the tint plates were cut out of cardboard, and have been so well printed that little remains but to consider it a novel and interesting piece of hindicraft."

Mr. Pembroke is not in any sense an orthodox religious min. He is perfectly liberal and tol- erant in his views, and believes in a grander spirit of humanitarianism than the sectarian strife of the present day makes possible, and he likes to dream of the day to come when all mankind will be united in a universal brotherhood.

HENRY GROW,

The superintendent of the Temple Block, was born October Ist, 1817, at Philadelphia, Penn- sylvania. His father's name was Henry Grow ; his mother's, Mary Riter. His grandfather, Fred- erick Grow, and his grandmother emigrated from Germany to Pennsylvania. This was before the war of the revolution. He took up a large tract of land and made it into five farms of 60 acres caclı and divided them among his five children, four sons and one daughter. The estate still remains in the family. This grandfather was in the war of the revolution. The British army camped within a mile of his farm house. The family were farmers.

The subject of this sketch, Henry Grow, was the youngest of seven children, five girls and two sons. He served his business as a carpenter and joiner in his native State. After serving his time he superintended all the bridges, culverts, etc., on the Norristown and Germantown railroads, both in constructing and repairing the works, under the direction of George G. Whatmore, president of the roads and ex-mayor of Philadelphia.

Henry Grow was baptized in the Delaware River, Philadelphia, in May, 1842, by William Mor- ton. He emigrated to Nauvoo in March, 1843, arriving May 15th. His first work at that place was in building a barn for the Patriarch Hyrum Smith ; he also worked on the Nauvoo Temple until it was finished. He was all through the troubles of those days and was one of the members of the Nauvoo Legion. He was one of the remnant that remained at Nauvoo after the departure of the Twelve with the advanced companies of the Saints for the Rocky Mountains. The covenant made between the four commissioners chosen by the State of Illinois -- namely, General Hardin, com- mander of the State militia, Senator Douglas, W. B. Warren and J. McDougal-and the Mormon Apostles, gave ample time for the removal of the people of Nauvoo. But in April, cre the van- guard of the pioneers had got fairly on their journey west, the anti-Mormons began to rise and the mob outrages on the Saints were horrible ; yet W. B. Warren, major commanding the Illinois Vol- unteers, on the 20th of May, 1846, in his reports in the Quincy Whig, said : "The Mormons are leav- with all possible dispatch. During the week four hundred teams have crossed at three points, or about 1,350 souls. They are leaving the State and preparing to leave, with every means God and nature have placed in their hands."

Notwithstanding this statement from the commander of the Volunteers, the mob marched upon the doomed city and on the 19th of September, 1846, commenced the famous Battle of Nauvoo, which lasted three days. Henry Grow was in this battle, The mob force of two thousand well armed men with 13 pieces of artillery camped in front of his house, within an cighth of a mile's distance. After they had camped, on the first night, in his bed he heard a voice distinctly say, "Get up and get out here in the morning." He arose in the morning, hitched a yoke of cattle to his wagon, put in utensils, bedding and tent, leaving every other thing in the house, got his wife and three children in the wagon, and had moved about fifty yards from his house, when the mob fired a twelve pound ball through the house which was a frame building. He was in the three days' engage- ment with the mob, the defenders being under the command of General D. H. Wells and Col. Cutler. After the entrance of the mob into Nauvoo, he crossed over to Montrose, Iowa side, where he had his family in a tent during the battle.

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HISTORY OF SALT LAKE CITY.

From this starting point toward the Rocky Mountains, Mr. Grow traveled alone with his family across the prairies to Winter Quarters where they arrived late in the month of October. He first built a log cabin at Winter Quarters, and then went to Kimball's, six miles above, where he built himself a house and settled for a year ; but in the fall of 1847, after the departure of the pio- neer companies, he moved with his family down into Missouri, on Little Platte, twenty miles above Weston, where dwelt many of the old Missourian mobocrats. There he kept the saw and grist mill in repair, and did other carpenter work for two years for Colonel Estel, who sold out to Hol- laday & Warner, merchants well known in the early history of Salt Lake City. . Mr. Grow worked for Holladay & Warner till the spring of 1851. He and his family then again came up to the Mis- souri River bound for the Valleys of the Mountains, where his people had established themselves. He was organized in Captain James Cummings' hundred, in Alfred Cordon's fifty and Bishop Kes- ler's ten ; Orson Pratt commanded the other fifty. The Mormons still traveled across the Plains at this date on the old pioneer plan of organization of hundreds, fifties and tens. On account of high water the companies headed the Horn River and came on to the Platte below Laramie; on the Sweetwater, below Independence Rock, the company was surrounded by a war party of Cheyennes. Kesler's ten got separated from the other tens, but they succeeded in sending a message to Captain Cordon, who was camped with the remainder of his fifty at Independence Rock, and he sent relief and they went up and camped with their company. Next day, above Independence Rock, they met a thousand Snake warriors waiting for the Cheyennes.

Henry Grow arrived in Salt Lake City on his birthday, October Ist, 1851. He went to work for a year on the Public Works, under Miles Romney, the first superintendent of the carpenter's shop. In the winter of 1851, he worked on the Old Tabernacle, which occupied the spot where the Asembly Hall now stands ; he also worked building the Social Hall, the weather being mild that winter. In 1853, he built the first suspension bridge built in the Territory, across the Ogden River, for Jonathan Browning. In 1854, he went to work at Sugar House to build the sugar works, un- der Bishop Kesler ; and in 1855, under the same he worked in the building of the two saw mills in Big Cottonwood known as B and A. In 1856, he moved a saw mill from Chase's Mill in the "Big Field," up City Creek seven miles, for President Young, and the same fall he went up Big Cottonwood again and framed and put up Mill D, sawed two logs and left on the 17th of December. with five men on seven feet of snow with snow shoes; it took them two days to get out of the snow; they ran great risk of their life. In 1857, he went up and built Mill E, at the head of the canyon, near Silver Lake ; in 1858, he went to Provo and put up all the temporary buildings of the "move," and he also built the suspension bridge over Provo River. In 1859, he tore the works out of the. old grist mill at the mouth of Canyon Creek and placed the cotton and woolen machinery in the mill for President Young, which was the first machinery of the kind put up in the Territory ; this machinery was afterwards taken down to St. George.

In 1861, he built suspension lattices across Weber and across Jordan, which are standing there to-day. At the time of putting up the theatre he built a water-wheel on the water ditch, opposite Dr. Sprague's, to hoist all the rock and timbers for the theatre. He also made the heavy beams and principal rafters out of plank, for the work, and fitted up the foot-lights. In 1863-4, he did a great deal of mill work for President Young at different places. In 1865, the President called on him in regard to the construction of the Big Tabernacle. He designed the shape, planned, framed, put up and finished this Tabernacle in the fall of 1867. In 1868 the President called on him to put up the Z. C. M. I: building ; the plan was drawn by Obed Taylor and superintended by Grow throughout. l'rom that time on till the spring of 1876, he had charge of all the carpentry work on Temple Block, when he went to build the warehouse attached to Zion's Co-operative building. At the Oc- tober conference in 1876, he was appointed on a mission to preside over Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland. He left Salt Lake City on the Ist day of November. During this mission he visited all his relatives and the homestead. He left Philadelphia for Salt Lake City, June 12th, 1877 ; and cn his return immediately was engaged tearing down the Old Tabernacle and commenced building the Assembly Hall, superintending the practical work under architect Obed Taylor; it was completed in the fall of 1878.

Since that time Mr. Grow has built two brick houses for President Taylor ; and superintended all the buildings and carpentry work for the Church, including the scaffolding and hoisting apparatus for the Temple.

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History of Salt Lake City, Part 140

Author: Tullidge, Edward Wheelock Publication date: 1886 Publisher: Salt Lake City, Star printing company Number of Pages: 1194

Author: Tullidge, Edward Wheelock
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Salt Lake City, Star printing company
Number of Pages: 1194