RAILSANDTRAILS.NET - Key Persons
Boyd Miller was a notorious bootlegger during prohibition. He had two stills and also smuggled the drink in from Wyoming. He was a railroad worker in Pegram.
Byron Nelson developed a dairy and made ice cream, cheese, and butter, which he sold to train passengers. Mr. Nelson also got ice from the river and covered it with sawdust and dirt so it would keep during the summer.
Ephraim Jones was hired by John Kunz II to teach school in John's home. They realized that their children needed to speak English. The children were taught privately in their own homes at first. A community building used for church and school was built. Other teachers followed, Louise Kunz, Edith Porter Kunz and Mary Jacobson Rich. The last school, built in the 1950s, stands vacant. Alvin Rich was the first public school teacher.
Evan Green was the first presiding elder, serving from 1864 to 1865, followed by Dudley Merrill, who presided until 1870, then Alonzo Bingham. Joseph W. Moore was made the branch president and later became the first bishop. Church services were held in a vacant house until one could be built.
The first living white baby born Feb. 18, 1866, was Winnifred Rebecca Wright, daughter of Amos R. Wright. The first death was Admanza Greene who died of pneumonia at age 10. Jared Bullock's wife died of childbirth. She was buried at the end of of a haystack and then moved to the present cemetery later.
Frederick T. Perris, a civil engineer, was brought to Paris in the fall of 1864 to survey the town. The town was named Perris after him, which evolved into the current spelling of Paris. The city was incorporated in 1897 with John U. Stucki as Mayor and J. R. Shepherd, Arthur Budge, Christian Fuller, Charles Innes, A.F. Segmiller, Walter Hoge, Wilford Rich, and Thomas Monson on the council. The population once reached 1,200.
John Kunz made the first commercial cheese in Ovid in 1871, but he moved to Bern. Many other trades were established in Ovid: a grist mill by Jorgen Jorgenson, a small furniture factory by Erastus Peterson, a blacksmith shop by Nicholas Wilson (making wrought-iron trimmings), and shoes and glue from animal hoofs by Peter Jensen.
John Kunz II was the presiding elder, in 1890 he was made bishop. He served in this position for 27 years until he died in 1918. There is a monument erected to John Kunz and the founding of the town of Bern, where the first cabin was located.
Levi Hammond was the first presiding elder of the area. Two years later, when Hammond moved back to Cache Valley, Ed Austin took his place until 1877, when a ward was organized. Austin was then called to be the first bishop of the Liberty Ward; he served for 44 years.
Job Titles:
- President
- Bear Lake Historical Society President, Oversees Inventory of the Rails and Trails Museum, Website Administrator.
Orson Merrill was the first schoolteacher. The school was a one room log house, located just east of the present church house. He began with five students. He took his room and board at different homes and received a variety of goods for his pay. A second school building replaced the first one in 1868. It had two rooms and was located next to the first building which then served as a home for the teacher. In 1915, the building was torn down.
Job Titles:
- DUP County President, Early Settlers
Thomas Shirley was the first blacksmith, and his wife, Martha, was the first midwife. She delivered 169 babies over the years. William H. Shirley was the first Sunday School Superintendent and also the church organist. He owned the only organ in town, so they carried it from his home to the church each Sunday. Phineas Cook takes credit for plowing the first field in Fish Haven and constructing the first irrigation ditch.
William G. Young was called to be the presiding elder of the branch. When the St. Charles Ward was organized, John A. Hunt was called to be the first bishop, he was also the first person buried in the official St. Charles Cemetery.