John Boice

BIOGRAPHY OF JOHN BOICE

(this piece was found in my grandmother Leta Boice Boutwell’s Family Record book - he is my great great
great grandfather – Linda Fretwell Duchaine – December 2007)

Written by his granddaughter Rachel Boyce Olson at the request of her brother John. To be read at the family
reunion on the seventh day of April 1931 at Lovell, Wyoming.

John Boice was a man of great honor and integrity. He was a perfect specimen of physical manhood, which
enabled him to stand great hardships encountered in his strenuous work of pioneering.

He was born February twentieth, 1814 at Fredricksburg, Upper Canada. He was the son of Benjamin Boice
and Margaret Hartly and was the youngest of a family of six: he married Jane Hearns on June seventh 1835
and this same year he and his wife were led into the waters of baptism. Through this ordinance they were
ushered into the rays of living light and their descendants were made heirs to great blessings.

Shortly after he embraced the gospel, he had a dream. He dreamed he saw the Temple in place, and Joseph
Smith, the prophet, dressed in a long white robe, standing with bowed head at the Temple, his hands and feet
were clear as glass. Looking up and gazing at the Temple he said, “Brethren, the set time has come to favor
Zion, and Jackson County is ours. I will take with me fifteen hundred men, and there will not be a man to make
afraid nor a dog to bark.”

He then awoke because of the dream. In the year 1837, he with his family migrated to Kirtland, Ohio, and the
following year they started for Missouri but were driven back by a mob and stopped at Barry Pike County,
Illinois. Two years later, they went back to Ohio on business. After their interests had been transacted, they
started for Kirtland. While on the journey, his wife was taken very ill in the town of Hudson. During her illness
she was permitted to see beyond the veil, and for twenty-four hours appeared as dead, after which she
regained consciousness. She related the following story: That angelic spirits had declared to her that Joseph
Smith was the great Prophet raised up to open this last dispensation.

And she bore a strong testimony of this Latter Day work. She said she had only come back to stay four days
as she had promised a certain woman that she was willing she should rear her three little children. But not that
her husband should rear two of them, as she was going to take one of them with her.

In the evening of the fourth day at eight o’clock at the same hour that she became unconscious, she passed
peacefully away on February fourteenth, 1840. After the services and the body had been laid to rest,
grandfather, returning home found his healthiest son, Thomas, in a dying condition, not from any perceivable
sickness and soon passed away. Thus her words were fulfilled.

He resumed his journey and met the Saints at Quincy, Illinois who were gathering to hold their first conference
after being driven from Missouri.

While in company with Brother Maddock, grandfather related his dream while in Canada. Brother Haddock
answered, “Well, you can test the truth of that dream today, for if it was Brother Joseph, you will know him
when you see him.” Soon after, grandfather looked up and saw a group of men conversing among themselves.
As he beheld the sight of one of the men’s faces, he said, pointing, “There is the man I saw.” “Yes”, said
Brother Haddock, “that is Joseph Smith.”

After arriving in Kirtland, he met Marry Ann Barzee, and they were married May seventy, 1840. In June 1841,
they sailed by boat to Nauvoo. Here they were being mobbed and driven from place to place.

Their first son, Chester, was born at Chester, Ohio, April twelfth 1842 and died at Crooked Creek, Illinois.
Martin Calvin born at Crooked Creak, April seventy, 1844 on Sunday at dusk. John Jr. was born at McDonah
County, Illinois, May twenty-fourth, 1846. David was born February eighteenth, 1848, Jo Davis County, Illinois.
Elizabeth Ann was born November twenty-seventy (no year mentioned) at Jo Davis County, Sand Prarrie,
Illinois.

At the time of the martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph and Hyrum, grandfather’s family was living ______ miles
from Carthage. He with others was called in haste to Nauvoo by the Prophet as he was going to prison and he
desired to talk to them. They heard his (Joseph Smith) instructions to the people from time to time, “Brethren, I
have great sorrow in my heart for fear that I may be taken away from the earth with the keys of the Kingdom of
God upon me, without sealing them upon the heads of men. God has sealed upon my head all the keys of the
Kingdom of God necessary to the organizing and building up of the Church of Zion and the Kingdom of God
upon the earth, and to prepare the Saints for the coming of man. Now brethren, I thank God that I have lived to
see the day that I have been enabled to give you your endowments, and that I have sealed upon your heads
all the posers of the priesthood and apostleship with all the keys and powers of which God has sealed upon
me. And I now roll all of the labor, burden, and care of this Church and Kingdom of God upon your shoulders. I
now command you in the dame of the Lord Jesus to round up your shoulders and bare of this Church and
Kingdom of God before heaven and earth, and before God and angels and man, and if you do not do it, you
will be lamed.”

After the Prophet and Patriarch were slain, most of the apostles were on missions. Sidney Bigdon seemed
much concerned and expressed the idea that a guardian must be appointed to lead the church on. When the
apostles came home, the people met in a large gathering in the forenoon to consider who should be the
president of the church. It was not decided and another gathering was called in the afternoon. In this
gathering, Brigham Young arose to speak, and by the Spirit of the Holy Ghost, which brings things past, things
present, and things to come, fell with such power upon the people that Brigham Young was transfigured before
them in the likeness of Joseph in looks and speech, the vote was unanimous in favor of Brigham Young.

In the spring of 1852, grandfather with his family left Kirtland, Ohio with others and started across the plains by
ox team, arriving in Salt Lake.

They were (sent) to Spanish Fork to assist in building a fort. While there, they met a friendly band of Indians.
The chief asked if they would build him a house inside the fort, which was also done. Donations were given to
the Indians and grandfather was chosen to deliver these donations to the chief who in turn distributed them
among his tribe.

Grandmother succeeded in learning the Indian language and was appointed Indian interpreter. One day, a
young Indian came to her home with his three-month old baby, saying he would give it to her and never take it
away, as his squaw had died. She answered him, saying she would let him know in a little while after talking the
matter over with grandfather, he advised her to go to their bishop for council. She related the circumstances to
the bishop telling him she had a family of five children and could not see her way through, but he said, “By all
means Sister Boice, take the baby for you don’t know what good it will bring.” So she took the baby and when it
was about a year old, it took seriously ill, all was done for its recovery, taking it to a doctor in Provo, Utah, but
finally the baby died and was buried as if it was their own. The father of the baby was a frequent visitor during
its sickness and death. This was in the year 1955.

Like all colonizers in a new country, their time was devoted to building and farming. While the women provided
clothing by spinning wool and weaving cloth. He remained in Spanish Fork until the year 1857 when he was
called with others to make a settlement forth miles south east of Salt Lake. When they arrived there, they were
met by a bunch of hostile Indians. Grandfather offered to shake hands with them, but they refused. Waiting for
the word of command, when one of the Indians jumped from his horse and went to the chief telling him how
grandmother cared for his baby during its sickness and death. The chief listened to the story, then began to
talk telling the Indians that it was their hunting grounds and when the whites came, their game and fish
disappeared. Grandmother understood their conversation, telling grandfather what they said. He told her to
tell the chief they would not hunt or fish. The chief replied, they will scare them all away. However, through the
pleading of the young Indian, his heart was softened and the chief said, “If they would make a treaty to give
them a beef, they would not molest them”, which was agreed upon. Grandmother said, “Oh, how glad I am that
he listened to our bishop and took his council.” Grandfather immediately rode to Salt Lake on horseback and
reported to President Young, and he advised them to move out.

They then went to Parleys Park and remained there that winter being shut in with the depth of snow. This was
the winter of 1858 and has been recorded as the hardest winter in the history of Utah. When spring came,
they were destitute, broken up in body and wind for they were nearly famished from hunger and cold, being
deprived of the comforts of life. From here, they migrated north as far as Farmington where another son Elija
was born. Here they remained until 1863 at which time they moved to Smithfield, living there a few years,
another son Elisha Lorenzo was born.

In the year 1865, they went north as far as Oxford, Idaho, where his son John, age nineteen and his brother-in-
law, George Barzee, age twenty-three were frozen to death one-mile from Franklin, Idaho. Here his health
began to fail him, and he devoted his time to church work. He, with grandmother, was called to work the Logan
Temple. After spending two months there, they were called to the deathbed of their son David. They returned
to the Temple, but he continued to fail in health and President John Taylor called him to the office of patriarch
and advised him to travel and bless the people, and many of the sacred prophesies and promises, which he
made the people, are recorded in grandmother’s diary.

He led a life of prayer and honesty. He governed his family according to the requirements of the priesthood.
While on his deathbed, his tribute to grandmother, “Ma, you have been faithful with me in rearing out large
family and you have done well, may you always keep the presence of mind and God will bless you forever.”

They reared a large family who are co-workers in the great cause of Zion.

His mortal activities have been recorded in the annals of Church history. Surely, the rewards for faithfulness is
recognized in the numerous posterity which carry on the good teaching and example give them by such a
worthy progenitor. He passed peacefully away on March thirty-first, 1886, and his mortal remains were laid to
rest in the Oxford Cemetery.

Finis

Rachel Boice Olson
Castle Gate, Utah
1931

Any information provided below is from the internet in 2007 - nothing has been verified but will be researched.
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Information regarding the Nauvoo Settlement can be found here:
http://earlylds.com/settlement_nauvoo.html

Information on the settlement at Oxford, Idaho and John Boice can be found here:
http://www.southeastida.com/franklincounty/index.html

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From an online discussion forum:

Mary A. Barzee Boyce tells another version:
Emma went upstairs and pulled Eliza R. Snow downstairs by the hair of her head as she was staying there.
Although she had consented to give him [Joseph] one or more women in the beginning. It was rumored while I,
M. A. Barzee Boyce, was in Nauvoo that she tot [sic, got?] in such a rage about it that she left home and went
down to Quincy but came back again while I was there (Reminiscences of Mary A. Barzee Boice, in John Boice
Blessing Book, MS 8129, Church Archives, Historical Department, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
Salt Lake City).

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From an online link:
http://www.ethospublishing.com/www/family/janets/janets3.htm
Wheelers and Boice Overview:
From Janet’s matriarchal line we have the Wheelers and the Boyce (Boice) folks. To study these lines is to
study Mormon History from its beginnings. Wheelers and Boyce relatives were with the Prophet Joseph Smith
almost from the beginning. And from a genealogical point of view, there were a number of plural marriages and
that’s always a challenge to keep track of. The Wheeler line is another true-blue American History family that
has been on American shores since the 1600’s and the first settlers and Pilgrims. Wheelers continue back to
England, and go back to the late 1400’s A.D. This is a family that is rich in history and information, and we
hardly do them any justice here in this collection. It is entirely possible that the collection of information on
Wheelers alone could exceed the size of everything we have collected to date.

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John Boice was a bodyguard to the Prophet Joseph Smith at Nauvoo, Illinois. He was also one of the early
Patriarchs in the Church.



The Nauvoo Settlement