Family and Church History

I just love it when Family and Church History crosses paths because it makes the past more real. Kent and I teach the 9 years old in senior primary and for the next lesson we will be teaching about Joseph Smith in Liberty Jail. I decided to do a little extra bit of research in the Church published book “Our Heritage” and I came across a date when Joseph Smith and others arrived at Liberty Jail. That date was my great, great grandpa John Comish’s birthday and also my sister‘s Melissa Jo ( her middle name is shorted from his). So I begin to research the year he was born to find out how old he was. I found out that he was actually born on that day way back on 1 December 1838 in the Isle of Mann. His family weren’t members till he was five or six years old.

Out of all my ancestors John Comish is the one person I want to meet because I know and love the stories about him.

One story that I love is, when he watched, from a distance, a massacre of a tribe of Indians on the Bear River (located just outside of Preston, Idaho). It was a massacre where hundreds of men, women and even children, were slaughtered as they slept. Many died but there were survivors. One survivor was Sagwitch, one of the chiefs of the tribe, he was shot in the hand. Sagwitch went to John Comish because they were friends and he knew John would help him out. Today there is a monument for those that were killed in the massacre. I actually grew up near that land where the massacre took place. The monument could be seen from our kitchen window.

Here is a little bit of history written by my Grandma Harris.

John Comish, the fifth child of William and Elizabeth Keig Comish, was born December 1, 1838, at Douglas. After arriving in America, John worked on a boat on the Mississippi River. One morning he had a chance to leave St. Louis with a friend to travel to Utah, but as he pondered trying to decide whether to leave, the boat pulled out and left him. However, as he stood watching, the boat blew up and his friend was drowned. He came to Utah with his family. While living in Kaysville, John worked for Bishop Layton during the summer and herded cattle on the promontory during the winter months. In 1858, John was a Minuteman in the Horton D. Haight Company and went to the Salmon River to fight the Indians. He also took part in the Echo Canyon trouble, aiding Lot Smith. He served as an Indian scout on several occasions and made seven trips across the plains. In Florence, Nebraska, he meta seventeen-year-old English girl. He escorted her to the evening dances and prayer circles. She was Esther Elizabeth Standford, the daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Barnett Standford, born in Southwick, Sussex, England, February 20, 1845. They were married November 22, 1862, in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City by Wilford Woodruff. John and Esther settled in the Franklin area where their first eight children were born. John, his father William, and his brother, Robert Nephi, were each given five acres of land in the area known as Whitney and thus became some of the early land-owners in Idaho. They loved company and everyone was treated well when they came to visit. During the polygamist raids, their home became a sanctuary for several people in flight for their lives. John loved his garden and fish ponds. It was stated in a newspaper article that his ponds contained between twelve and fifteen thousand fish. Esther died March 15, 1916, and John died May 14, 1922. Both are buried in the Franklin Cemetery. They were the parents of fifteen children. (Verla Comish Harris).

John Comish
- Leo Stanford Comish
-- Verla Allen Comish (Harris)
--- Sally Rae Harris (Ethington)
----- Tauna Rae Ethington (Coombs)

I just love family history and the stories that I find out about our ancestors. One of my next projects is putting a Book of Remembrance together going back at least 5 generations on both sides (Kent’s and mine). Then once done I am going to in a future “Kent and Tauna Coombs Family” family chest.