Henry Dennison and Jane Isabella Barker Durfee

 

Henry Dennison Durfee, Sr., Jayne Isabella Barker Durfee, Lorenzo Durfee

Sarah Durfee Taylor and her three children, Arthur, Fred and Bertha, Ida Durfee Bruesch, and William Wallace Durfee

Bruce and Kent Durfee will be telling us about their great grandparents, Henry Dennison  Durfee (Uncle Den to lots of Almo people) and his wife, Jane Isabella Barker at our Heritage Hub on Thursday, February 8, at 6 PM in the School.  We will post it on you tube at MiniCassia Heritage Hub.  They have been doing a lot of cramming for the presentation!  I think it is great that DeeAnn is giving people a chance to learn more about their families as she makes the assignments for our Heritage Hub---even if they growl about it!  : )  

Judy Teeter and her sister Helen told us a couple of months ago about their ancestor, Myron Bushnell Durfee, Den's older brother.  They were not quite two years apart and both of them were living in Connor Springs, near Corrinne, Utah, before moving to Almo in 1878 and 1879.  Bruce and Kent were born about 18 months apart and have been close as brothers.  So that makes me appreciate this story even more.  

In the 1880's, a prominent man from Brigham City who was inspecting the school situation in the area, came to Almo.  He had been a teenager at the time of the Almo Massacre---an Indian attack in 1861 or 1862 that is part of our Almo Story.  He remembered seeing the Indians coming into the town after the attack, as well as the survivors after their rescue.  He also recalled the soldiers who came to Brigham City after Connor led a brutal attack on the Indians on the Bear River near Franklin, Idaho.  He was very interested in learning more about what had happened here, and "Mr. Durfee"---who turns out to be Myron---showed him the site of the attack and told him what had happened.  Myron had actually been part of the rescue party that came to Almo and helped bury the bodies.  We think that was why Myron decided to move to the Almo Valley almost twenty years later.  He had seen the resources of the Almo valley and  Connor Springs is just north of the Great Salt Lake. The soil was not the best.  He and Den moved their families to Almo in those early years, and were accompanied by others from the North Ogden/Willard area.   

So, I think that it was at this time that the settlers decided to do a reenactment of the Almo Massacre.  Myron portrayed one of the doomed settlers and Den was one of the Indians.  Den must have been having a great time acting his part and teasing his brother.  Myron had wadding in his gun, and got flustered.  He somehow shot, and the wadding hit Den in the eye.  You can see in Den's photograph that his eye has been damaged.  The story says that the family never let Myron live it down....They teased him about it for years. 

There are lots more stories about these two brothers!  Many of you are probably related to one (or both!) of them!!!!!  We got that from Steve Durfee's presentation a while ago along with a lot of good laughs!  

                        Henry Dennison Durfee   Myron Bushnell Durfee