Leonard Richins was born January 29, 1829 in the little town of Sheepscombe/Painswick, Gloucestershire, England. Leonard was the second son of William and Charlotte Ann Guy Richins. He had four brothers and two sisters who were also born in Painswick.
| Children | Birth date |
|---|---|
| Joseph | August 16, 1826 |
| Leonard | January 29, 1829 |
| Absalom | February 12, 1832 |
| Enoch | May 15, 1835 |
| Miriam Ann | December 24, 1837 |
| Peter | June 9, 1840 |
| Emma | April 30, 1845 |
Susan Jaynes was the young lady he decided to have as his life’s companion. She was born March 28, 1828. Her parents were Thomas Jaynes and Mary Tyler. Leonard and Susan were married October 10, 1852. God blessed this union with two sons and two daughters:
Charlotte Ann died as a child, January 13, 1854, at the age of 8 while living in England. The remaining three children grew to [adulthood].
When the William and Charlotte Ann Richins family heard the first gospel sermon preached in 1850 by the Latter-day Saint missionaries in their vicinity, it came to them as a light from heaven. It aroused their feelings. It caused them to realize that the same gospel principles Christ taught when on the earth were again restored. They heard and were assured of its truth. They consequently accepted it and were baptized. Leonard was baptized July 7, 1850, by Charles Richins in Sheepscombe. He was confirmed a member of the Church on July 13, 1850, by Charles Blackwell. Leonard was 21 at that time.
After his mother and father left England and arrived safely in Utah, Leonard decided he would also like to take his family there; so at the age of forty-three, he left Liverpool, England, on the steamship Idaho.The steam ship left the port on October 22, 1873, with 522 saints under the charge of John I. Hart. The company arrived at New York November 4, and crossed the continent by train arriving in Salt Lake City, November 14, 1873.
After his arrival in Utah, Leonard was re-baptized September 19, 1875 by William Cluff and reconfirmed by A. Winters.
Leonard first lived in Henefer for a while and worked for Charles Richins as a farmer. His trade was a watch and clock maker and repairman. Charles provided a room for him in his “Big House” where Leonard repaired clocks, watches, etc. for the people. His goal was to earn enough money so he could pay the passage fare for his family to join him.
Susan Richins and her two children, Mary Jane and Thomas Leonard, booked passage on the ship Wyoming for September 2, 1874, but she was unable to go with the company. Her address was listed as Red Marley – D’Abitot Newent, Worcester, England, where two of her living children were born.
After waiting for three more years Susan booked passage on the ship Wisconsin, listed as belonging to the Welsh Conference, and paid cash for her fare. Mary Jane, her daughter, was eighteen years old and Thomas Leonard was fourteen. The ship sailed Wednesday, September 19, 1877 from Liverpool, England with 482 saints. In charge was Hamilton G. Park. The company landed at New York September 30 and arrived in Salt Lake City, Utah on October 6th. On board the ship with Susan, Thomas, and Mary was the Samuel Ellingford family. His daughter, Lovina, made her home in Henefer after her marriage to William Brewer.
Their oldest son, Heber George remained in England where a little over a year later he married his first cousin, Elizabeth Ann Richins, daughter of Absalom, brother of Leonard. Heber George and Elizabeth Ann immigrated to Utah about 1883. They settled in the Ogden area. Both died leaving two young children that were raised by her grandparents.
After spending a short time in Provo, the Leonard Richins family then went to Henefer where his brother Joseph was living. They lived in a dugout over the meadow about a mile and a half west of town in the side of the hill where Amos Dearden’s house was.
Leonard received his United States citizenship papers which stated that on October 10 in the year of our Lord 1881, one Leonard Richins of England was made a citizen of the United States. The following citizenship paper was received from A. J. Amwell, Clerk by W. C. Williams, Deputy Clerk.
–By an Act of Congress on May 20, 1862, patents were issued for homesteading purposes. From the General Land Office of the United States, Salt Lake City Territory, Leonard obtained a land patent – certificate number 3370... It called for the said acres of land in Henneferville, Utah:
“Southeast quarter of the northwest quarter, the northeast quarter of the southwest quarter, the ninth east quarter of the northwest quarter and the southwest quarter of the northeast quarter of section 14 in township three. North of range four. East of Salt Lake Meridian in Utah Territory containing 160 acres.”
Grover Cleveland, President of the United States 12 May 1888.
Deed recorded 6 September 6, 1893, at 10:30 A.M. by John Boyden, County Recorder.
From book U.S. patent no. 1, page 273, Summit County Court House.
This acreage contained the mountain’s point, also a canyon later called by the populace “Leonard’s Canyon.” Leonard seemed to hear the call of this canyon. It was bounded on three sides by majestic mountains, covered by sage brush. The place was quite rugged and lonely, [with] beautiful rock formations close by to the east – the picturesque “Witches Rocks”. On the side facing west is a pretty red rock formation. These rocks held a terror for the family. They were infested with deadly poisonous rattlesnakes. Family members had to be on the lookout for them at all times. Many [snakes] were killed, but they just couldn’t seem to ever get rid of them all. It was also the habitat of the large blow snake, however these were not poisonous, just a nuisance.
The three room house, made by this family of hand-hewn logs hauled by team and wagon from nearby canyons, was located a little ways in the mouth of point canyon. A lean-to on the northeast side was added for his clock repair shop. White plaster was used for the chinking. The main center room was the kitchen with a bedroom on each side. There were windows on the south and east sides with a door on the northeast to enter the lean-to. The front door was in the center and a wide wooden platform was the main entrance.
By the north wall stood a stone used for cooking and heating. A tin smoke pipe was connected from the stove to the chimney. There was a wood box by the stove; a bench with a wash basin and buckets of water with a dipper. The roof was covered with dirt. The walls inside were white washed and six inch wooden floor boards were always kept clean and shiny. The furniture was plain and simple but comfortable. The beds, made of wood, stood in one corner of the bedrooms. They were always dressed up with straw mattresses and patchwork quilts. The ticks were renewed with new straw each year at threshing time. The pillows were made of factory stuffed with fowl feathers.
When it rained all day and night the roof leaked and the straw ticks would be wet and soggy. They were emptied of their straw and it was placed on the floor and boarded into a corner where it was stirred and turned every so often in order to dry it out so the ticks could be refilled and placed back on the beds, by night time. A spring of cool drinking water was located not too far up a mountain from the house. This was later piped, with a wooden pipe to a barrel. Here the overflow ran down a small ditch into a larger ditch on down and under the railroad tracks and into the Weber River.
The log farmhouse was very picturesque. It also looked peaceful and was full of hospitality. Many a teamster, hauling coal by wagons from Grass Creek and Coalville mines to Ogden and other towns, would stop overnight with them. They always kept a room for the men to stay in and sleep. Leonard’s brother, Absalom, built a log house close by them and then later built a log house in Echo.
Leonard and his son, Thomas, cleared a small tract of land near the Weber River bottoms where they planted a small vegetable garden for the family. Cattle and sheep comprised most of his farm livestock because he had more mountainous range land than irrigated. Water from Echo Creek and the Weber River was used for irrigation. It was a lot of hard work to keep the dams and ditches in working condition. Every spring the flood waters would wash away most of the dam and fill the ditches with debris.
Leonard and Susan came to Utah for the gospel’s sake. It was a time of suffering and sacrifice for all of them but their faith never faltered and their trust in God remained unchanged. Leonard and Susan were in the Echo Latter-day Saint ward for a few years and in good weather would often walk a mile to attend sacrament meetings. Later their membership was changed to Henefer ward and they traveled a distance of three miles for church and recreational services.
Susan was re-baptized by John Paskett October 3, 1880, and confirmed by James Lythgoe. Leonard and Susan were sealed, July 5, 1893, by John A. Winder in the Salt Lake Temple.
An old letter in Leonard’s own words and writing states: “On this property the pioneers of 1847 camped the 15 July where the advanced company was joined by President Brigham Young who had been sick and had mountain fever since July 11. This property is now one of the landmarks of the pioneer trail.”