Welcome to Las Colonias
Welcome to Las Colonias magazine. Las Colonias believes that the same pioneer spirit that first settled the Mormon Colonies still lives in the descendants of the original colonists. Sadly, with each passing generation. the biographies, the stories, and the principles that they teach become lost to time.
In This Month's Issue
- Albert Stephen Farnsworth
- James Andrew Jesperson
- Billy the Kid
Albert Stephen Farnsworth's history gives a harrowing story of the Farnsworth family's run-in with Billy the Kid. So I've included a link to more information on the life of Billy the Kid.
In last month's issue I mentioned that at the passing of Rita Skousen Johnson she was probably the last colonist who could say that she was the daughter of a polygamist marriage. Kris Worthington reminded me that Vesta Call Brown and Eran A. Call are still with us. Both are the children of polygamist Anson Bowen Call and Julia Abegg Call. Anson Bowen Call served as Bishop of Colonia Dublan for 29 years which included the turbulent years of the Mexican Revolution. Thanks Kris.
Most of the histories are taken from Stalwarts South of the Border compiled by Nelle Spilsbury Hatch and Carmon Hardy.
As far as possible, in order to preserve the author's voice, all spelling and syntax have been kept as the original text. Most numbers have been changed to numerals rather than the original text.
Las Colonias tells the amazing stories of the Mormon colonists, and introduces generations new and old to the incredible history and landscapes that act as a backdrop on which the colonists lived their lives.
Learn more about Las Colonias
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Albert Stephen Farnsworth
(1844 - 1904)
Albert Stephen Farnsworth was born May 22, 1844 in Nauvoo, Illinois, a few short weeks before the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith. He was the third son of Stephen Martindale Farnsworth and Julia Anne Clark and the seventh generation of Farnsworth’s in the United States.
His ancestors came from Farnsworth, England and if our genealogical records are accurate, were descended from English kings of the Plantagenet line. The Farnsworth’s were among the early settlers of Massachusetts. We find record of them as early as 1638 taking an active part in the settling of Massachusetts. Matthias Farnsworth, Albert’s immediate ancestor, settled in Groton, Massachusetts. He was a freeman and took active part in the civic and religious affairs of the community. Men of this family fought and died bravely for freedom in both the Revolutionary and Civil Wars.
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James Andrew Jesperson
(1883 - 1970)
James Andrew Jesperson came with his parents, James Peter Jesperson and Emma Ida Johnson, to the colonies in 1896 at the age of 13. Although the first colonists arrived a number of years before his family, James, my father, was indeed on of the true pioneers of the Mormon Colonies in Mexico. He lived in all the colonies of Chihuahua at one time or another because his father James Peter had one of the worst cases of pioneer fever the West had ever known. He finally settled in Colonia Chuhuichupa because his sons were old enough to have a voice in the matter of moving. When his father left Richfield for the colonies, Great-grandfather Christian Jesperson told him that if he ever found a place where he was certain he would stay to let them know and they would come join him. Grandfather was their only child and they wanted to be near him.
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Heaton Lunt of Colonia Pacheco
book review
Marian L Lunt’s book, Heaton Lunt of Colonia Pacheco, was a lot of fun to read. The biography was written from audiotapes recorded by her father-in-law, Heaton Lunt.
I don’t think that Louis L’Amour or Zane Grey could have written better stories than the life Heaton lived. It's like a Hollywood screenwriter had John Wayne or Clint Eastwood in mind as he created a script filled with banditos, hermits, army scouts, wild animals, and gunplay.
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