It In 1885, I received a letter from the First Presidency asking me to go to San Juan to help settle that country. I sold my share in the saw-mill and was about ready to leave with my family . But as my father had died the previous October, leaving my 70-year-old mother alone, with me as her sole support, Bishop David McKay and President Shurtliff wrote to the First Presidency and had me released from that mission.

The ensuing ten years were busy and prosperous. Besides saw-milling and farming I had a sizable flock of sheep, and also contracted the building of houses and barns.

Here in Huntsville, five of our children were born. They were Anna Christina, born October 19, 1885; Maude Elizabeth, born December 18, 1887; Rhoda Sophia, born April 21, 1890; John Earl, born January 31,1892; and Walter Oliver, born March 3, 1894.

Then in 1895, I took a trip to Mexico to look over the country, particularly the Mormon colonies, and I decided to move there. So on my return home, I harvested my wheat and oats, arranged with my brother-in-law to take charge of my sheep, and soon had my business in shape to leave.

My friend, Bert Engstrom, and I bought a saw-mill. I chartered two railroad cars, one to ship the saw-mill and the other machinery in, and the other for our horses and furniture. Also a passenger car for my family and those who had decided to go with us. There were Carl E. Peterson and family, W.G. Moyes and family, William Moffat and son, also C.F. Schade and A.F. Macdonald.

We arrived in El Paso, Texas, May 15th, and had to wait there—rather in Ciudad Juarez—for nine days, getting our machinery, horses furniture, etc., through customs. We reached Magdalena May 26^th, and from there we went on to settle to Chuichupa, hauling all machinery, furniture, and other belongings overland in wagons.

Our first year was hard, but within a couple of years we were able to build a nice house and a good barn. In this home two more of our children were born. They were Lillian Juanita, born July 29, 1897, and George Roland, born February 7, 1900.

Later, I sold our home in Chuichupa and we moved to Dublan. Here our ninth and last child, Stanley Marius, was born February 12, 1908. This was our home until July 1912, when because of the Revolution all Americans were endangered, and responding to directions from the authorities of the Church, the Mormon colonists all left their homes in Mexico and came to the United States, where most of them remained.

We went to El Paso, where all the people were temporarily sheltered in a large lumber yard, until we could determine where to go to begin again. We, with our family, together with our two married daughters, their husbands and families, went to Arizona finally, and settled in Mesa, where we have lived since that time except for two short stays in California with some of our children who eventually settled there.

Author’s note: John William Heder died November 6, 1940, and was buried November 10^th; his wife, Anna, died June 9, 1955, and was buried June 15^th. Both were buried in Mesa, Maricopa County, Arizona, where they had lived for so many busy years.