Heritage Gateways

Official Sesquicentennial K-12 Education Project
sponsored by the Utah State Board of Education, the BYU-Public School Partnership and the Utah Education Network

Pioneer Student Work

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Pioneer: Nelson Arave (Mark - 4th Grade)

Meet my great, great, great grandfather. He was born in New York on December 20, 1834. His father died while logging on the St. Lawrence River when Nelson was three years old. Nelson's mother was poor and could not speak English, so she gave Nelson to the Lampson Family for a while. When she went to get him back, they would not give him to her. That was the last time Nelson say his real mother. At the age of 17, Nelson drove a team of oxen across the plains. He became a carpenter after reaching Utah. He made hay bailers, washing machines, turning lathes and wooden bowls. He married twice and had 23 children. Nelson had a large farm with many varieties of fruit trees, wheat, corn, hay, cane, molasses, cows and pigs. He was not compensated for most of the work he did for others. He worked up until the day he died, which was July 8, 1906.