Trek for Derek and Barrus pioneer family history

Story about Aroet Hale and orphaned siblings crossing the plains

This is a copy of an email my mom sent to Derek.  He is leaving for Trek today with the 
stake young men and women.  Derek was to bring a story of an ancestor of his that 
crossed the plains.  I am very grateful to my mother who does so much for me.  This
 is such a personal touch for Derek and for our family.  Thank you so much Mom,
I love you!

I always worry when the kids go away without me.  I hope that he has a great time filled
 with many good experiences, fun times, new adventures and many spiritual experiences. 
 I am proud of Derek for going on Trek.  He just came down with some new health issues
 in the form of severe allergies.  He had to take 2 inhalers, an epi pen, 2 types of allergy 
pills, etc.  He is such a trouper.  He and I are definitely not outdoorsy type people and for
 him to do this on top of having severe allergies says a lot about his character.  I am 
very proud of him and his decisions.  

I can't wait til he comes back and I get to hear all his stories.  Hopefully his picture happy 
mother will get some pictures to put in this family history...

Hi Derek,
Here is the story you requested. I am sure that Aroet is pleased that you are learning about him and remembering him and his brothers and sisters. Have fun!!

Thanks for asking me for this.
Love, Grandma

Aroet Hale pronounced Uhrowet. accent on the "row" syllable.

 He was grandfather to my great-grandfather, Frank Lucius Clark. Frank was the father of my grandmother, May Isabelle Clark, my father's mother. So, Aroet would be my great-great grandfather. ----- I think. I can lost in the generations.

Aroet's father was Jonathan Harriman Hale - Bishop in Nauvoo, who knew Prophet Joseph Smith and served under him and Brigham Young. He was a leader helping those in need leave Nauvoo, highly energetic, devoted to church and serving. He broke his leg in an accident, came down with sickness in Winter Quarters and died. His wife died and 2 small children also died.

His children were left alone, four orphans. Aroet was the oldest. Aroet had two younger brothers and a sister about a year younger than he was.

The orphans followed their parents example and worked hard to prepare themselves to go across the plains and be self-sufficient.

They grew crops in Winter Quarters so they would have enough food for the fall and winter in Winter Quarters and also enough for their trip across the plains. They prepared.

 A year and a half after their parents and two little sisters died, the four orphans left to go across the plains. They were older, prepared by their own hard work, and strengthened by the unity of working together.

The pioneers were grouped into three large divisions: one led by Brigham Young, one by Heber C. Kimball, and one by Willard Richards.

The three groups totaled 2, 417 men, women and children, and 792 wagons.

The four orphans, led by their oldest brother, Aroet were assigned to the Heber C. Kimball division. He had been a good friend and advisor. And they were in the first group of fifty people under the direction of their uncle, Henry Harriman, who was the captain.

These divisions also had 74 horses, 19 mules, 1,275 oxen, 699 cows, 184 cattle, 411 sheep, 141 pigs, 605 chickens, 82 dogs, 37 cats, 3 goats, 8 doves, 1 crow, and 2 beehives.

For the year and half before they left, Aroet had hunted and sold hides, and much of their family's possessions to towns along the Missouri River. He did this to lighten their load and to get enough money to purchase what they needed for the trip and to have enough cash for the trip.

He was hard-working and very resourceful in getting what they would need.

 Aroet was dependable. He saw to it that they had the equipment they would need and that it was in as good a condition as he could make it.

He had:

• two good wagons
• four oxen
• two cows.

 His sister drove one wagon, and he the other. His little brothers would help drive the wagon when Aroet went off to hunt.

There were lots of buffalo and antelope for these first groups of pioneers. So, the general plan was that each group would provide their own fresh meat by hunting. Aroet was assigned to be one of the hunters for his group.

There were occasional problems with Indians.

 The orphans were not alone. They had prepared well and were with wise leaders. Aroet wrote that "President Young and President Kimball were very kind and indulgent. They would often arrange their encampments within a mile or so of each other, so that the young folks could visit with each other." His sister Rachel fell in love with the man who would become her husband on the trek and Aroet met and began to fall in love with Miss Olive Whittle, whom he later married.

 President Young wrote in his diary about the trek that they traveled about 12 miles a day, except Sundays when they rested and found their cattle. He also wrote that many of the cattle died because it was a very dry season, the grass was scarce. In addition, the heavy dragging and the dusty roads meant that much eating and drinking dust also was not good for the cattle.

 President Young's division arrived in the Salt Lake area first. Four days later the Hale children arrived with President's Kimball's division. They had spent four months coming from Winter Quarters. They had traveled over 1,000 miles with their ox teams, walking a good portion of the distance.

 When they arrived Aroet was 20, Rachel was 19, Alma 12, and Solomon 9.

They were given a plot of land on North Temple Street, two blocks west of Temple Square, on the north side of the street. They were assigned a lot next to their uncle Henry Harriman.

Under Aroet's direction the children worked together to build their own home of logs and adobe. There was only one lumber mill and many people so they were allowed boards enough for one window frame and one doorway. The floor was dirt. The home was ready for them before the severe Salt Lake winter set in. They did not have a door or glass for a window so canvas was used to keep out the winds. Within the next year they constructed a two-story home, with two rooms above, and two below and a lean-to in the rear. It is said to be the second home constructed in the 17th Ward in Salt Lake City. The home was largely made out of adobe bricks that the children made from clay dried in the sun. Aroet had a frame made to shape the bricks.

Aroet married and took good care of his family and everyone around him. It is said about Aroet that he was dependable, hard-working, public-spirited wanting to help all in the community, He always worked and always served gladly. Among other positions he was a missionary, a stake president's counselor, and a patriarch.

At his funeral, the bishop said: "Patriarch Aroet L. Hale was a man dearly loved by all who knew him. He had a smile and a kind word for everyone. He radiated sunshine and goodwill wherever he went. He possessed a generous tolerance and a broad human sympathy. He never spoke unkindly of anyone. He love life and he loved people. To him it was a privilege and a pleasure to be alive. To have been in his presence was to be made happier. I never knew a man who really enjoyed life as he did."

The material was taken from "Bishop Jonathan H. Hale at Nauvoo: His Life and Ministry" by Heber Q. Hale [1938]

Information summarized for progenitor, Derek Ely, to know as he takes Aroet's name on his trek with the stake.