James Cleverly

An edited history of my great-grandfather James Cleverly (1824–1879), written in March 1951 by his granddaughter, Mary Louisa Cleverly Day. James was the father of Henry William Cleverly (1870–1955), who was the father of Ivard R Cleverly (1915–1988).

James Cleverly was born April 25, 1824, at Calne, Wiltshire, England, the third son of James Cleverly and Jane Bradford. He was reared the same as most children were at that time. His parents were farmers, and he had to help his father in the fields at an early age.

James married Mary Alexander, and to this union 12 children were born, 11 in England and one in Utah. Three of these children died when very young, and the rest lived to have children of their own.

When the missionaries were sent to England to preach the gospel, this good family attended some of the street meetings and before long had the missionaries in their home. James's wife, Mary, had joined the Church before he did and taught the gospel of Jesus Christ to her children. James and three of his children were baptized the same day, March 8, 1868.

Like his parents, James was also a farmer and was liked by the men he worked for. After he joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and was preparing to leave England, the men for whom he worked told him that if he didn't like it in America that they would send him money to come back. It took the family three years to get enough money to bring them to America. They used the Perpetual Emigration Fund also. This cost $325.92 or 67 pounds and 18 shillings to be paid back as prearranged.

The family left their home and went to Liverpool, where they sailed on the steamship Nevada, a 2,000-ton ship, on September 18, 1871, with 300 Saints, arriving at New York on November 1, 1871. The Cleverly family arrived in Salt Lake City on November 11, 1871. On the ship coming Grandfather and Grandmother would have the steward get hot water for their twin babies' bottles, and this would make the other women angry because they couldn't get the same service. James had provided his family with plenty of food for the journey, even had hams boiled. This food he gave to others less fortunate.

Leaving New York they came by train. James got off the train once on the way, and the train left without him. His wife and children made quite a fuss, but the conductor told them not to worry because the train would stop a few more miles further on, because a fast train would be due coming from the same direction and would bring her husband along. So it wasn't long before James was with them again.

Arriving at Salt Lake City, their daughter Ellen Cleverly Salter met them with wagon and oxen team. She had come to Utah nearly five years before. Everyone was afraid of the oxen, but they finally took courage and rode with Ellen to her place about seven miles north of Salt Lake City. They stayed with their daughter for a few months until James fixed a place near the river, where they moved and stayed the first winter in a new land. The home was just a shanty affair, and it was very cold, the water freezing in the teakettle.

James bought the old homestead of Japser Perkins and agreed to pay $1,000 in a year. He had to work hard. His two oldest sons—Francis, or Frank as he was called, and Jesse—had been there about three years, and they had a stove, a cow, and some wheat for flour, which helped out the family budget. James finally went to work at the brewery, and his wife saved every dollar he made. The chickens and cow kept them, along with vegetables grown in the garden. The children would cry sometimes for suet puddings and the foods they used to eat while in England.

When there was no work at the brewery, James and his sons would cut grass around the swamps for Ephraim Hatch and get half the grass. This James would sell to Fort Douglas and make money that way. By the time the year was up to make the payment for the place, James had the money. The house was just logs, but it was made comfortable. The locust trees that are in front of the house today are the same ones that were planted there by Jasper Perkins.

It wasn't long after James paid for the place, maybe a year or two, he took sick with typhoid fever. When he got over it, he was paralyzed from his hips down. He was then in a chair for several years. It was especially hard for him.

James died on June 21, 1879, just eight years after coming to Utah. Three of his children preceded him in death. They were Worthy, Mary, and Sarah. He left the following sons and daughters: Francis (or Frank), Ellen, Jesse, Emma, Able, Herbert, Amelia Elizabeth, Frederick (or Fred), and Henry William (a twin to Sarah). He was the father of seven sons and five daughters. At the time of his death, he left nine children and nine grandchildren. His posterity today [1951] would run into the hundreds.