LIFE STORY OF LUKE SYPHUS AND CHRISTINA LONG
There, in or near London, was a girl in her teens and a young man. The young lady had accepted the Gospel of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, but the young man had not. The story here is how she (Christiana Long Syphus) told it in the sunset of her life with her own lips.... She said, "You know when I first heard the Elders, we went to their meetings together and their messages all seemed so true and it found a response in my heart and I tried to show him, but he would not listen, but I knew it was true. I could not marry him because he could not accept the Gospel. I finally told him so and he felt sorry and so did I, but I wanted my children taught this Gospel. Thus he and I parted, but there was another young man by the name of Luke Syphus. He was a good young man; he joined the Church. We married and I have never been sorry."
They were never sorry and their faith was never shaken. They bore the hardships and suffering and privations with all the rest of our forefathers who settled this intermountain land. Many of them left homes of luxury and came for the love of truth.
Luke Syphus, son of Matthew and Mary Long Syphus, was born 23rd of January 1827 at Leafield, Oxfordshire, England. He married Christiana Long, the 25th of December 1851 at St. Pancras Church in Middlesex County, England.
Christiana Long, daughter of John Long and Martha Hignall, was born the 10th of January 1832, at Standlake, Oxfordshire, England. Christiana's mother died when she was eight years old. Later her father remarried and, although the stepmother was kind and good to the children, Christiana wanted to be independent. She wanted to earn her own living; so, she went to London to find employment.
Though Christiana was not born of the gentry, she always conducted herself in a most well-bred, lady-like manner. This quality enabled her to find employment in a "gentleman's family", caring for his children. However, she did not like the lady for whom she worked because she expected Christiana to do so many other things besides taking care of the children. She decided to leave and because she had always been such a lady-like girl, they were forced to give her a good letter of recommendation. Her next job was with a family by the name of King. Here she stayed, seemingly very happy for five years, or until they left to sail for America. The Kings wanted Christiana to go to America with them, but for some unknown reason, she stayed behind.
Who can tell where the kind hand of providence takes charge of our lives for a purpose? It was not long after the Kings left, that she heard the Gospel of the Latter-Day Saints. When she heard this new religion, she began attending meetings and investigating. The more she studied and heard, the more she was convinced that she had found the truth.
Where Luke and Christiana lived in England we do not know (THEIR MARRIAGE LICENCE STATES THEY LIVED ON LEWIS STREET IN CAMDEN TOWN -north part of London - Luke was apparently an apprentice to Mary Long's father, John Long, a lawyer. On the license the same street is listed as their residence, thus Luke may have boarded at the Long house.), nor what occupation Luke followed; but we do know that later he was a good stone mason and was skilled at whip-sawing lumber. He was able to make good use of these skills later in his life.
About a year after their marriage Luke and Christiana set sail for Australia, 21, November 1852, in the sailing vessel Java. This vessel had about five hundred people aboard and carried water and provisions for three months. Before sailing, Luke was given a blessing by the presiding church officials in England that he would suffer a great loss on the voyage, and that he would be the means of saving the ship. This prophecy was literally fulfilled.
It is on this voyage that we begin to get a picture of the character and personality of Luke Syphus. Many adverse conditions prevailed, among them reverse winds that sometimes drove the ship back for several days. So instead of a three-month voyage, it lengthened into five months. All the people on the vessel suffered terribly from lack of food and water; many died and were buried at sea before Australia was reached. The passengers were put on rations that amounted to two tablespoons of water per day and sea biscuits. These sea biscuits were not only so hard they had to be cut with an ax, but they were also filled with big worms - they were eaten anyway because those on board were so hungry.
When the ship was three months out, Christiana gave birth to her first son, Luke, on the 3rd. of March 1853. He was born while the ship was in Table Bay, Cape of Good Hope, Africa. Due to conditions on board ship, she could not give her baby proper nourishment and care, so he died on March 29, 1853, twenty-six days after birth, and was buried at sea. The reverse winds were not the only troubles that beset the Java. She sprang a leak and for some time the captain considered abandoning ship. In fact, he had ordered the boats lowered with all the women and children loaded in them. Here is where Luke showed his faith and inspiration. While the captain was below seeing about repairs and pumping operations and organizing a bucket brigade to bail water, Luke preempted the captain's place and ordered all passengers to stay aboard and away from the boats. In a calm, authoritative voice, he told them that the leak would be repaired and the water pumped out, and the ship would continue safely on its way. They were assured by his calm manner and none left the ship. However, when the captain on deck he was very angry and threatened to put Luke in the brig for his actions. But Luke did not back down on the wisdom of his order, and the captain realized that he had been spared additional troubles, forget the insubordination and the incident was closed.
After 5 months of buffeting by the elements, passengers almost starved, with many sick on board, the Java reached Australia. (24, April 1853) This was just at the time when so many rich gold mines were being discovered in that country. Consequently, there was a great demand for lumber and all kinds of building material. Luke was quick to see the possibilities in this activity and immediately prepared to saw lumber. Well-sawed lumber brought a very good price, as it should.
At that time, lumber sawed by hand and under great difficulties was whip-sawed in the following manner: First a deep cellar-like pit was dug. The log to be sawed was marked with straight black lines the size of the boards determining the number of lines per log. The helper would stand on the log, the two of them drawing the great saw up and down the length of it. A most arduous way to get lumber! Surely Luke earned the good wages he got for his efforts!
Since Luke and Christiana were Latter-day Saints, the home they established in Australia became headquarters for the L.D.S. Elders and Apostles who came there to proselyte the natives. In Australia the cool time of the year comes in the summer months. This was fortunate for Christiana for on August 31, 1854 she gave birth to her second child, a lovely daughter, later named Lovina. At the time of her birth, Luke and Christiana were living in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Luke worked hard, and with the help of his good wife, was able to save enough money for passage to America. Always in their hearts from the time they first joined the Church, had been the desire to go to Zion. When the time came to sail, Lovina was not quite two years old, but already she was a beautiful child, taking after her mother in looks. Christiana was a small, dainty woman with fine features, beautiful black wavy hair, laughing brown eyes that were shadowed with provocatively long lashes, and a lovely mouth that curved easily into smiles. Her ankles were trim and neat, ending in the high arched instep of true aristocrat. These attributes of beauty she passed on to her children to some degree, but her first-born daughter, Lovina, was a true prototype.
There is no record of the names of the people with who they associated and did business while in Australia except one: this was Joseph Ridges. He and Luke were associated in the lumber business and became fast friends; a tie that lasted throughout their lives. This same Joseph Ridges was later called to build the Salt Lake Tabernacle organ. He tells about his conversion to Mormonism and his association with Luke and his personal history: " In 1852, in company with a friend, I set sail for Australia, suffering from a bad attack of gold fever, and after five months we landed at Sydney. While on board ship I became acquainted with a gentleman whose name was Luke Syphus, and it subsequently transpired that Mr. Syphus was a Mormon; but at that time I could not have told what a Mormon was as the fame or otherwise of the Latter-day Saints had not then become so widely known at it is today. Upon landing at Sydney, I joined forces with this gentleman, and we went some four hundred miles up the rivers and creeks into the dense bush.
"Well, to cut the matter short, it was not long before I found out what a Mormon was, and I become one of them joyfully...an action I have never regretted, if it did have the effect of causing my brothers and relatives at home in England to cease corresponding with me." Brother Ridges had gone to Australia seeking gold, but through his association with Luke he found the more precious good - the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
On the 23 of May 1856, Luke and Christiana and little Lovina set sail on the ship Jenoveve (or Jenny Flora) for America. They sailed with a large company composed mostly of L.D.S. This too was a hazardous passage as the ship caught fire three times while on the three months voyage across the Pacific.
They landed at San Pedro Harbor, California early in August (15, August 1856). Most of the Saints moved inland to San Bernardino where an L.D.S. colony was already established. However, the Syphuses and a few close friends stayed behind at San Pedro because Christiana was expecting her third child momentarily. Luke quickly gathered driftwood and ship wreckage to make a shelter. This was the first cabin on the beach, and some two weeks later the first white child was born there. This was Edward Henry Syphus, born August 22, 1856, a son to Luke and Christiana.
When the mother and baby could travel, the little party also moved into San Bernardino 30, September 1856. Here Luke sawed lumber and made rails from the trees of the nearby mountains. With these he built a three-room house for his little family and fenced a fifteen-acre farm. The soil here was very good, and with the help of a young Indian, Luke cleared and planted his small farm.
Ever a kindly man, and one to help the needy, Luke took the hungry Indian boy in, gave him food, and paid him to help with the land. Over Christiana's protests, the Indian was allowed to sit at the table with the family for his meals. This was contrary to prevalent custom, but Luke felt that if he worked in the field, he should be allowed to eat as his family ate. This Christian kindness later paid big dividends to the Syphuses and their friends.
The small farm yielded abundant crops in 1857. It looked as though the family larder would be running over with winter supplies, plus what could be grown the year round. Things began to look good for the Saints in San Bernardino. They had water, good soil, good climate, and were seemingly unmolested by persecutors. but their good fortune was short lived. Far away in Southern Utah the Mountain Meadow Massacre had been perpetrated. Its effects on the members of the Church was far-reaching. In California the Latter-day Saints were threatened with death if they did not get out. The leaders in Salt Lake called them to come to Utah for safety. They had to leave so quickly they had no time to sell anything; probably would not have found buyers anyway. They just walked away, leaving their homes and crops to anyone who chose to take them (3, Dec. 1857).
This certainly was a test of faith and proof of the sturdy character of these people. The wilderness road to Utah lay across three waterless deserts and through valleys infested with starving, hostile Indians. every mile was fraught with danger, yet those sturdy people loaded their families and meager possessions into wagons and started across the trackless wastes. They were sure of three oases between San Bernardino and Utah, but they were not sure they would ever reach them. And reaching them, they were not sure they would leave alive because of the Indians lying in wait. These oases were Las Vegas, The Muddy, and Beaver Dam. Each had running water, shade, and a modicum of grass. Las Vegas was a clear spr4ing that spouted up and ran out into the desert. The Muddy was a big creek, fed by warm springs that meandered down through a long marrow valley, all enclosed by tawny mesas. Beaver Dam was a mountain fed stream, bordered with trees and grass at intervals that had cut a wide gash in the earth for more than a hundred miles. Before, between, and after these three oases lay the desert, stark and jealous, reaching out hungry hands for the weak and unprepared.
The little party of fleeing Saints had safely negotiated the first third of their journey. They stopped at Las Vegas without incident, and were praying to do the same at the Muddy. But as they drove down the tortuous trail to the river ford, they came upon Indians...half-naked, hungry Indians. The wagons had made the crossing safely and were slowly following the trail across the upper valley...each driver kept a sharp look-out for Indians, for they knew the Piutes would do anything for food.
Suddenly Luke heard a noise to the rear of his outfit. Hastily looking over his shoulder into the dark depths of the wagon, he saw Lovina being lifted out of the back opening by two brown hands. With a shout he stopped the team and leaped to the ground, running as he lit. He struck the Indian a blow that made him drop the child and sent him spinning. Lovina had been too frightened of the ugly brown face to cry out, but in later years she said she was sure the Indian was only looking for food and had moved her, the better to look.
With this incident to spur them on, the little party moved toward Beaver Dam. Up they went, up the steep sandy slope of the mesa, over the ragged rim-rock, across the dreary miles of top, down over the rim-rock, and on across the slopes of shifting sand. Plop, plod, plop went the feet of the horses, and in the minds of the people a question: Would there be Indians at the Beaver Dam? There were - the whole tribe had assembled, ready to pounce on the wagon train. The Saints quickly prepared to defend themselves and in so doing, one member of the party was recognized. Luke Syphus...the young Indian that he had employed in San Bernardino and so kindly treated, knew his friend. He quickly spoke to the chief...pleaded with him to spare the lives of those in this wagon train. Reluctantly the chief consented, provided the Saints would give them food. An agreement was made. Leaving most of their provisions behind, the train was allowed to proceed in safety.
And so the third oasis was left behind, and what lay ahead--none knew. When Utah was reached, the Syphuses reached Cedar City January 31, 1858. They stayed there about a year, but apparently were not satisfied, for they moved further south into Toquerville. They left November 15, 1858, arrived the 16th of November 1858. This was a small settlement of saints between Cedar City and St. George. The Syphus' did not stay long here either, but during their stay, a fourth child, a daughter, was born. On the 6th of March 1859, Martha Ellen Syphus joined the family.
The next place the family moved was to the settlement of Santa Clara, a small place that was being built up on a bend of the Santa Clara Creek; they arrived on December 11, 1859. Here they acquired land, built a home, and surrounded themselves with the usual accoutrements of farm life: Pigs, chickens, cattle, farm equipment, and so on. The family was doing very well--was busy and happy, and well onto forgetting their previous hardships. Here too, in this quiet time, Alfred Luke Syphus was born, December 22, 1861
When he was one week old, (Jan 1, 1862), disaster struck again. During the winter of this year there had been so much snow and rain that the beneficent Santa Clara Creek became a torrent. It's angry water gobbled up the land it had previously made. The people hastily abandoned their homes, climbing to a hillside for safety. Here Christiana sat with her week-old son, along with her neighbors and watched the greedy creek carry their homes away. The men saved what they could, but since they had been forced out in the evening, it was hard to work in the dark. When morning came, the only thing left of a flourishing settlement was the chimney of Luke and Christiana's house. This made two homes and farms that they had lost in five years.But they were not daunted. With stout hearts they moved around the point of the hill, a greater distance from the creek and started over again.
Luke's brother Matthew Syphus was in Santa Clara, Utah at the time of the flood with his little family, his wife being Marianna (Mary Ann French). After the flood disaster Matthew went to California (where the gold had been discovered) and he left his family in the care of Luke and Christiana. Thus, with this added responsibility, Luke made a decision to give up farming and to follow the stone masonry trade. He quickly made adobes and built a house for his family. One was surely needed for there was much sickness that summer after the flood.
Because of so much sickness in the two families, Luke moved Marianna and her children into his home. They watched her two oldest daughters die, even as Christiana nursed her own ailing children. It was a terrible summer and one to try the faith of the most devout. Probably because of the sorrow he had seen in this house, Luke sold it, moving the two families to a new one closer to the hills. In this new home, Marianna saw her baby die and Christiana gave birth to another son: her sixth child, George Alvin Syphus, born the 23rd. of December 1863.
In the preceding two years, and in spite of so much personal trouble and sorrow, Luke had been very busy. He had been building homes for other people; homes that still stand, a monument to his integrity as a builder. One house in particular that he helped build was a home for Jacob Hamblin. Most of the town’s people helped to build this home in someway as it seemed a community project. Its site was up on a hillside overlooking the rest of the town. A rather pretentious, two story house with thick rock walls.
In the fall of 1863 Matthew returned from California and resumed responsibility for his family. About this time, or shortly after the birth of George Alvin Syphus, Apostle Erastus Snow called on Luke to make yet another move. Several families were called to settle in Clover Valley, Nevada and Luke was called to be the Bishop.
These were the days of Indian uprisings and raids; Clover Valley was not exempt. In fact, the raids became so frequent that the settlers had to build a fort and a big round public stockade for the cattle and horses. At night, guards had to be posted to ward off Indian forays.
On one of these raids, two of the Indians were shot, but the settlers decided to follow them and end once and for all, if possible, the trouble. Since the raid took place about midnight, the men at the fort took up the trail as soon as they could follow the tracks. When they stopped for breakfast, Luke's horse got loose and went back to the fort. This caused a great deal of excitement and sorrow, because he was loved by all the settlers. One woman swore personal vengeance on anyone who had harmed "their Luke". But, Luke returned home safety and all were relieved when he came back although the men were unable to stop the Indians. The raids continued until nearly all the stock was driven off.
Clover Valley was a beautiful valley, on of the most picturesque yet settled by the Saints. The present settlement is know as Barklay (1965) and is on the Union Pacific Railroad. But, in 1864 it was an isolated, lonely place. The small group of Saints had to depend entirely on their own resources for protection from the Indians.
The Indians here were especially troublesome. They were ruled tyrannically by on Bushhead. He was feared as much by his own people as by the white settlers. Luke was not only the ecclesiastical leader of the group, but he had to plan the strategy against the Indians as well. Many skirmishes and narrow escapes were recorded, not only by the Clover Valley group, but by more distant settlements.
One of these more distant settlements was in the Pahranagate Valley, some 60 or 70 miles away. The settlers were not Latter-day Saints, but Bushhead was no respecter of persons, and one of his group killed a man at Kiko in the Pahranagate Valley, then cunningly blamed the Mormons for it! This of course aroused their fury against the Saints in Clover Valley. They organized a posse and came posthaste to wipe out the "damn Mormons".
But here again we see the quiet strength and sagacity of Luke Syphus revealed. Calmly his group met the irate posse and asked for a hearing. He quickly outlined the situation, explaining the cunning perfidy of Bushhead. Immediately the two valleys joined forces and subsequently succeeded in capturing the leaders of the Indians, among them the rebel Bushhead. After their demise, there was no more Indian trouble.
It seems that in each place that Luke and Christiana helped to settle, they were destined to spend a short time. They gave their strength and talent to establish a settlement and then were called to a new frontier, and in each place a child was born into their family. Here in Clover Valley, Levi Walter Syphus was born on April 22, 1867, their seventh child.
Luke and Christiana were required to make one more move before they finally chose and were allowed to make a permanent home. In the fall of 1866 they moved 55 miles east to an isolated little valley that was later known as Pinto. Their stay was very short. Just through the winter of 1866-1867. In the spring of 1867 they moved to a settlement that had already been established, and was situated adjacent to rich and active mines. Yes...in the spring of 1867 the Syphuses moved to Panaca, Lincoln County, Nevada and they were "home".
Not long after they came to Panaca, another rich mining town sprang up. This was Pioche. Here they found ready sale for all the vegetables and farm products they could grow. They build a comfortable home and being thrifty and industrious they were able to give their children all the comforts available at the time and in some instances, provided even luxuries.
In Panaca, Luke and Christiana found the sanctuary among the Latter-day Saints of Zion that they had set out to find so many years before when they left England on the sailing vessel Java. They had given the strength of their youth, their talents and native abilities to help in getting the church established in outposts throughout Southern Utah and Nevada. Now at the ages of 40 and 35, those choice, rich years of life, they found permanency and could put those abilities with which they were so richly endowed to purposeful and permanent uses.
They took active part in church, civic and political enterprises. Luke was a Bishop for seven years in the Panaca Ward from Feb. 25, 1875 to June 7, 1882. And prior to that he was first counselor to Bishop Thomas Jefferson Jones for a period of four years. He was a County Commissioner for Lincoln County, Nevada for ten years. In this capacity he skillfully guided the policies and achievements of that body along lines of greater civic improvements.
Christiana was not idle either. She was busy helping her husband to organize and staff the various church auxiliaries. Many of these she had to guide herself until enough people came into the ward to take over the leadership. Always they wanted the best the church had to offer their children in opportunities and training and they worked together to achieve this end.
It was here in Panaca too, that Christiana told her grandchildren about her conversion to Mormonism and about her marriage to Luke, the good man who had joined the church. "I have never been sorry." How well she had earned the peace and comfort of the final years in Panaca.
Luke and Christiana passed on to their reward after years of full rich living in the gospel of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Luke died at the age of 88 on April 19, 1915. Christiana followed 3 years later at the age of 86 on August 17, 1918."