Story told of Christianna Dolbell Riding

Christianna Dolbell Riding



This story is about Christianna Dolbell Riding, daughter of Christopher Lister Riding and Lisa, when she was 18 months old.  It happened March 25, 1859, in Santa Clair, Utah. 

Little Christianna had been ill and as it was rather hot in the house, her father laid her on a quilt under the boughrey.  The boughrey was a frame porch affair covered with boughs or vines which was cooler than in the house.

Her parents checked her every so often to make sure that she was alright; however, this one time they checked just a little too late and their baby was gone!  Christopher ran outside and looked all around.  In the distance he could see two figures galloping on horseback just going up over a hill.  It appeared that one was carrying something cradled in his arms.  He quickly sounded the alarm and soon a dozen men answered the alarm and gave chase.  They chased the two for about 8 miles before finally catching up with them and baby Christianna.  They were just outside the Indian camp and had they gotten to camp they probably never would have seen the baby again.

The men asked why the Indians had stolen the baby and they answered "To scare white squaw."  The men were so angry that they whipped the two Indian men good and told them to let that be a lesson.  If it ever happened again they would kill them.  The men returned home safely with little Christianna.  When they returned to the house they discovered a new baby brother waiting to greet Christianna and her father Christopher.  Her mother said this was the happiest day of her life.

They later discovered that that same day a little Heap's girl had been stolen and they never found her.  It was a custom for the Indians to steal white baby girls and raise them as Indians.  They would later become wives for the chief's sons.

Biography of Christopher Lister Riding by George Kerry Riding

 

Christopher Lister Riding



No changes were made to the following Biography with exception of inserted photos. Published as typed.

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(The following account was sent by George Riding, the oldest son living at this writing. It differs from the one previously written so I will reproduce it without any changes. Oakland, Ca., July 10,1932) To the descendents of C. L. Riding: Having assigned myself the task of writing some of the incidents in the life of my father as related by himself and others, I trust that my memory will be kind to me that I may recall them and place them before you in such a manor as to inspire you to seek for that undying faith that must have been firmly planted in the hearts of our parents.

The name of Riding can be traced far back in the history of Great Britain, but just where the stock originated , I do not know. Being of the blood of Ephraim, I would think that in all probability they came from the land northward where so many of the children of Israel are located. I do not recall any incidents of my father’s boyhood days although he sometimes related them. Id recall that he went to school rather continuously and acquired a college education. After which, he studied in a church school and was qualified for the ministry of the Methodist church. His previous training in the teachings of the Bible was a great asset.

Being anxious to use his talents, he was very energetic and humble. His worth was soon recognized and he was ordained to the priesthood of an elder and called on a home mission where he had just the opportunity that he needed to defend the new faith that he had espoused. Because of his valiancy for the truth and his devotion to the work of God, he soon had quite a congregation in the neighborhood. A branch was organized and Father was set apart as presiding Elder.. It was while Father was engaged in these duties that a most wonderful demonstration of the power of the Holy Ghost was made manifest.

For the following statement I am indebted to Sister Ann MacFarlane, who was a convert and a member of this little branch, and who was present at the time. She said, “We had met by appointment in front of our place of worship, waiting for others to arrive that we might hold our meeting. Bother Riding, the presiding Elder was standing there among us talking to us when at a little distance away there approached an East Indian who was visiting in England and who, by the way, was a man of some importance in his own country. On seeing him, Brother Riding called to him and beckoned him to come over to where we were. The stranger who ordinarily could neither speak nor understand English, came over and joined us. Bother Riding greeted him with a hand shake, then introduce d us all to him. Then in very plain and precise language explained to him the restored gospel and invited him to remain with us and attend our meeting. The stranger graciously accepted and we all went inside. After singing and prayer, Brother Riding made a further explanation of the gospel. The dark stranger was invited to address us, which he did, occupying about fifteen minutes and speaking all the time in his own language. Brother Riding got up and translated or interpreted his remarks to the congregation, for as yet we had not known a word he had said. What the visitor had said was as follows. He was going from his hotel to attend some meeting or function of some kind when a voice told him to turn from his course and (the voice) guided him to that very spot. Said this meeting had been a marvelous miracle to him. He had been very much impressed by the remarks of the Brother (Riding) who had spoken before him and that the gospel plan that he had presented was so plain and beautiful. He hoped to be able to see and learn more of a people who advocated such a plan.” Now owing to his retiring disposition, Father never spoke of this in my presence. It was not until after his death that I learned of it. I feel it must have been a mountain of strength to him in his hours of trial and tribulation and had given him the courage to say as the poet, “I’ll go where you want me to go, dear Lord. I’ll do what you want me to do.” It surely must have been an assurance to him that he was engaged in the Lord’s work and gave him the courage to leave his native land and cast his lot with those whom he now knew to be the chosen people of God.

Like most of the Saints, he was poor and the undertaking was a tremendous one. God blessed them and they were able to acquire, in addition to the necessary money to pay for their passage on a sailing vessel to America, quite a stock of sheet tin, sheet iron, copper, brass wire solder and other materials he knew he coul d use (for his trade). All of this was taken as ballast for the ship and did not cost anything for transporting it across the Atlantic to New Orleans. In St Louis he opened a shop; making wares of all kinds for which he found a ready market.

Within a couple of years he had saved enough money to procure the necessary things needed to make his journey to the “valley”. They arrived in Salt Lake, I think, in 1856 where father went into business with Edward Stevenson. They were located somewhere on Main Street between 2nd and 3rd South. He was not permitted to enjoy any degree of prosperity for long for he was called to go to Dixie to help settle up that part (of the Utah territory). Obedient to the call, he sold all his interests in Salt Lake for a couple of yokes of cattle and a wagon to haul his family and all earthly belongings to their future home. While in later years, the real estate which he then owned sold for the neat sum of $75,000.

They first located at Cedar City then to Santa Clara where they proceeded to make a little home and farm. But here again they did not have control over their destiny. For in 1862, all of their holdings were washed away in a mountain flood.  From Santa Clara, Father was called to St. George, as that place was chosen for the center of the Dixie mission. It had been decided (by the prophet) to erect a temple in that valley and Father would be needed there, as he was the only sheet metal fabricator in the Dixie mission at the time. Here he enjoyed comparative independence and while he never accumulated wealth, his family never lacked for food.

At the ripe age of 74 he received the last call from the Father of us all. Father was very reserved and had a quiet disposition. He was faithful to every trust, an honest tithe payer, a fiend to man, a servant to God. May his descendants emulate his good traits of character is my prayer and I ask it in the name of Jesus Christ. My love to all. George K. Riding

Christopher Lister Riding Biography

Christopher Lister Riding

  Christoper Lister Riding

Birth: Feb. 10, 1816, England
Death: Nov. 28, 1887, Saint George, Washington County, Utah, USA



Mary Ann Hale


Married Mary Ann Hale, 5 Jan 1840, Burnley, Lancashire, England.
Children: Joseph E. Riding, Edwin Taylor Hale Riding, Thirza Hale Riding, Ellen Lister Hale Riding, Willard Riding, Thomas Edward Hale Riding, Alfred Hale Riding, Lister Hale Riding, Henry Hale Riding, Mary Eleanor Riding.



Eliza Adelaide Dolbell

  Married Eliza Adelaide Dolbell, 27 Feb 1857, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah.
Children: Moroni Alma Riding, Julia Adelaide Riding, Josephus Riding, George Kerry Riding, Heber Christopher Riding, Thrisia Riding, Abigail Riding, John Henry Riding, Franklin Dolbel Riding, Phillip Dolbell Riding, Clara Jane Riding, Ruth Riding, Christiana Dolbell Riding, Elizabeth Ann Riding.
Christopher Lister Riding was born on February 10, 1816, the son of Thomas Riding and Eleanor Lister.

The Riding's were of the sturdy middle class, Christopher's father being a baker by trade and owning his own shop. At an early age Christopher was apprenticed to a tinsmith to learn the trade. He was very apt at this work and was made a master mechanic before he was twenty-one years of age.

He married Mary Ann Hale, a girl born and raised in his own home town. The young couple heard the Gospel and were baptized February 14, 1840.

By 1847 the family had collected enough to come to the United States. They came as far as St. Louis, Missouri, where their lack of finance compelled them to stop. During this time Christopher worked at his trade. By the end of five years he had collected money enough to purchase a wagon, a yoke of oxen, two cows, and supplies enough to last his family in the journey across the plains.

When they arrived in Salt Lake City they were housed first in the little one-roomed log house which is was once in preservation on the Temple grounds. In this house, their fifth child, Taylor, was born. Soon Brother Riding bought a lot on the block where the Walker Bank stood. He erected a two-roomed adobe house. He found work plentiful in Salt Lake.

Christopher met and married his second wife, Miss Eliza Adelaide Dolbell, a French girl who had come to Utah with her mother. At the time of the move, Brother Riding took his families to Provo. Here he was called to the Dixie Mission, settling in Santa Clara in 1860. He lived there two years when all that he had was washed away by the "Big Flood." However, he had received a call to come to St. George, previous to this. He built a dug-out 12x15, thatched with a willow roof. This with one tent and a willow shed sheltered his two families. He was soon able to build a one-roomed adobe house and later a shop.

There was not enough business in St. George to provide him work, so he secured a little four-wheeled cart and an ox. He loaded his cart with tinware and tools and visited all the northern settlements as far north as Beaver, selling his wares and accepting flour, butter, potatoes, cheese, etc. Later he secured a horse for his cart, and continued his trips until he became a well-known figure throughout the southern part of the state.

He made his wares from waste cans, as it was difficult and expensive to ship in sheet tin. People saved empty cans and old metal ware of all kinds for him. His store of wares consisted of buckets, milk pans, tin cups and plates, bread cans, lamps, canteens, coffee pots, washboards, etc.

He was a master workman in every sense of the word. Some of his buckets and pans are still in use. The ball on the Temple and the one on the Tabernacle are his work, as is the metal work on all the public buildings of town erected before his death. He died after a brief illness of only six days.

Children:
Henry Hale Riding (1845 - 1900)
Alfred Hale Riding (1848 - 1921)
Edwin Taylor Hale Riding (1853 - 1911)
Thomas Edward Hale Riding (1856 - 1898)
Christiana Dolbell Riding Allphin (1857 - 1925)
Heber Christopher Riding (1859 - 1928)
Clara Jane Riding Higgins (1860 - 1943)
Philip Dolbell Riding (1862 - 1863)
Elizabeth Ann Riding Liston (1863 - 1945)
Julia Adelaide Riding (1867 - 1869)
Thrisia Riding (1869 - 1869)
John Henry Riding (1870 - 1948)
Franklin Dolbel Riding (1874 - 1952)
Josephus Riding (1876 - 1945)
Ruth Riding Bagshaw (1877 - 1930)
Moroni Alma Riding (1879 - 1880)

Spouses:
Mary Ann Hale Riding (1816 - 1875)
Eliza Adelaide Dolbell Riding (1834 - 1908)

Burial:
Saint George City Cemetery
Saint George, Washington County, Utah, USA
Plot: A_H_164_6
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Source:
Find A Grave http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=78173

Christopher Lister Riding

Christopher Lister Riding

Biography of Christopher Lister Riding.

Type of Pioneer: Early Pioneer


Pioneer's Name: Riding, Christopher Lister

Birth Place: Burnley, Lancaster, England
Date of Birth: Sat, 10 Feb, 1816
Date of Death: Tue, 29 Nov, 1887

Father: Thomas Riding abt 1781
Mother: Eleanor or Ellen Lister abt 1784
Spouse: Mary Ann Hale
Other Spouses: Eliza Adelaide Dolbell

Arrived in Utah: 1847

Education: Apprenticed to tinsmith
Profession: Tinsmith Master Mechanic

Authentic Mormon Pioneer: Yes


Excerpt from Pioneer Story


St George Temple July 1976

Christopher's skills were needed in St. George because the temple was under construction there and he was the only sheet metal worker in the Dixie mission at that time. However, there was not enough business in St. George to provide him work, so he secured a little four-wheeled cart and an ox. He loaded the cart with tin ware and tools and visited all the towns in southern Utah, exchanging his ware for flour, potatoes, butter, cheese, etc. He made most of his wares from waste cans as it was difficult to ship in sheet tin. People saved empty cans and metal ware of all kinds for him. His store of wares consisted of buckets, milk pans, tin cups and plates, lamps, canteens, coffee pots, wash boards, etc. The ball on the St. George temple and the one on the St. George tabernacle are Christopher Riding's work, as is the metal work on all the public buildings erected before his death. The tin-covered sphere on the temple remained until October 25, 1994, when it was replaced with a fiberglass model as part of a renovation project.
Christopher was a loyal member of the church although he was never active in public affairs due to the fact that his work kept him away a great deal of the time. He was a great reader, spending every evening in this way.

Full Pioneer Story

CHRISTOPHER LISTER RIDING, TINSMITH
Submitted By: Sydnee Halladay

Christopher Lister Riding was born February 10, 1816, in Burnley, Lancaster, England. At an early age Christopher was apprenticed to a tinsmith to learn the trade. He was very apt at this work and became a master mechanic before he was 21. He married Mary Ann Hale 1839. The young couple had heard of the gospel of Jesus Christ from the missionaries and were both baptized February 14, 1840.



Mary Ann Hale

Christopher had had previous training in the teachings of the Bible and was a great asset to the church. When a branch was organized he was set apart as presiding elder.
In 1847 the family had collected enough money and goods to come to the United States, a dream they had had ever since they joined the church. At that time they had two living children and had buried their first baby. Christopher brought quite a stock of sheet tin, sheet iron, copper, brass, wire solder and other things which he knew he could use. All of this was taken as ballast for the ship and did not cost anything for transporting it across the Atlantic Ocean to New Orleans.

From New Orleans, the family traveled up the Mississippi as far as St. Louis, where lack of finances compelled them to stop for five years. Christopher plied his trade as a tinsmith, opened a shop, and found a ready market for his wares.

Deuell Log House

When they first arrived in Salt Lake City, they were housed temporarily in the little one¬room log house which now sits beside the Family History Library. Christopher soon found plenty of work and was able to build an adobe house for his family, which now numbered five children.



Eliza Adelaide Dolbell

Eliza Adelaide Dolbell, a French girl, became Christopher's second wife. When a call came from the church to go to Dixie to settle, Christopher sold all his interests in Salt Lake for a couple of yoke of cattle and a wagon. He took both families, including Eliza's mother, and made the move South. He left his first wife in Cedar City and brought his second wife to Santa Clara where he proceeded to make a little home and farm.

Torrential rains washed everything away so he moved Eliza to St. George and brought his first wife down from Cedar City. He built a dugout with a thatched roof. This, with one tent and willow shed, sheltered his two families, which now included ten children. He soon was able to build an adobe house and a shop.

St George Tabernacle



St George Court House

Christopher's skills were needed in St. George because the temple was under construction there and he was the only sheet metal worker in the Dixie mission at that time. However, there was not enough business in St. George to provide him work, so he secured a little four-wheeled cart and an ox. He loaded the cart with tin ware and tools and visited all the towns in southern Utah, exchanging his ware for flour, potatoes, butter, cheese, etc. He made most of his wares from waste cans as it was difficult to ship in sheet tin. People saved empty cans and metal ware of all kinds for him. His store of wares consisted of buckets, milk pans, tin cups and plates, lamps, canteens, coffee pots, wash boards, etc. The ball on the St. George temple and the one on the St. George tabernacle are Christopher Riding's work, as is the metal work on all the public buildings erected before his death. The tin-covered sphere on the temple remained until October 25, 1994, when it was replaced with a fiberglass model as part of a renovation project.

Christopher was a loyal member of the church although he was never active in public affairs due to the fact that his work kept him away a great deal of the time. He was a great reader, spending every evening in this way.

Monument in St George Cemetery

 He died November 29, 1887, after an illness of only six days. He left eight children by his first wife and fourteen by his second.

Note: Posting on nFS says: "St. George cemetery records indicate he died of Pnenmonia. No birth or burriel date is listed. His grave is located at St. George cemetery,... Posted by TimBooth1"

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Sources:
Personal records
Virtues: Faith
Source: Sons of Utah Pioneers http://suplibrary.org/stories/detail.asp?id=220

Christianna Dolbell Riding Asay Allphin



Christianna Dolbell Riding

Christiana Dolbell Riding was the daughter of Christopher Lister Riding and Eliza Adelaide Dolbell. She was born on December 8, 1857, in Provo, Utah. She died on April 18, 1925, in Lovell, Wyoming in the home of Adelbert Asay, her son.


Christopher Lister Riding

Eliza Adelaide Dolbell

 Christiana was born in one of the first two-story buildings in Provo. When she was three days old, the building caught fire and her mother carried her out of the building.

Her father was called to Dixie and he took his two families there while Christiana was still a baby. When she was 16 months old, her mother gave birth to another baby and Christiana was set out in the yard to play. An Indian took her and headed for his tepee, however, her father rescued her before she entered the tepee with the Indian.

She was very fond of her father and as she was able to walk, she followed him to and from his tin shop. When she was two years old, she was following him and he and he went further than his shop, across a swift canal, crossing only on a pole. When she tried to cross, she fell in and was carried down stream. Her father’s first wife saw her fall in and rescued her.

She loved nature. She never was known to lie in bed after the sun came up. When she was too young to work, she would rise early and pick flowers until her mother got up. She was part of a large family and her mother had a card and spin wool to make clothing for all the family. Her mother didn’t have time to teach Christy to cook and sew, but she wanted her daughter to learn some of the finer skills. So Christy went to work in some of the wealthier homes and learned many of these finer skills. She pleased many of her employers. She worked for one of Brigham Young’s daughters, Susa Young Gates. She learned how to polish silver and wait on tables properly.

She had olive skin; an abundance of black hair, brown eyes, was a medium height, and was always pleasant. When she was 16 or 17 she met a young farmer, Edwin Asay, and fell in love with him. They married in her father’s home. Her brother Taylor married at the same time.


Edwin Asay Born 31 Mar 1846

 Edwin and Christiana moved to Arizona, but soon returned to live with Edwin’s mother. Shortly thereafter their first child, Frank, was born. As soon as Frank was old enough the couple, the young family went to the St. George [Temple] to be sealed. Their 2nd child was born and died in St. George. They moved to Long Valley, but eventually settled in Mount Carmel, where they built a log cabin and planted apple trees. Here their first girl, Eliza Adelaide, was born. When Addie was nine days old a heavy rainfall came down the valley. The men tried to turn the stream that was threatening their grain. Christiana was alone with two little ones as the flood came down past the house and washed away the corral, the chickens and pigs. Inside the house the young mother found only one spot where she could keep her baby dry.

In the summer of 1884 Christiana was expecting another baby. In May of that year Edwin took sick. He tried to help his wife as much as he could, as she wasn’t feeling well either. On June 5, 1884 Edwin died of appendicitis. Just 10 days later Christiana delivered a baby girl and named her Ruth. Christy’s confided to her brother George, who was living with them, that she needed medical care. So she sold her farm to Bishop John Eager, traded a yoke of oxen for a span of horses, and on 15 July 1884 she loaded up her wagon and left Arizona with her young family. They arrived in St. George four weeks later.

Israel D. and Christianna D. Riding Asay Allphin
and child (unknown)

In the autumn of 1884, Christy was ill, newly widowed, with six children to care for. She was only 28 years old. An elderly gentleman named Israel Dodge Allphin came calling. Christy opened her door to him. Israel was older than her father and was twice a widower. All of his children were grown. He promised Christy that he would “put shoes on her children’s feet” and “give them an education.” She accepted his proposal and they were married April 22, 1885. If his young wife thought of him as only a provider, she was surprised to have her virile old husband father four more boys; George, Reuben, Owen, and Donovan.


Christianna Dolbell Riding Asay Allphin

In the summer of 1902, Delbert Asay and George Allphin, prevailed on Christy to leave Panguitch, UT and moved to the Big Horn Basin of Wyoming, where Delbert and George were currently living. In May of that year Christy with her remaining boys and daughter Addie Asay, in company with Mr. John C. Houston, began the 750-mile trip to Lovell, Wyoming, a trip that took eight long hard weeks to complete.

On April 18, 1925 Christiana died at the home of her son Adelbert Asay. The following is a quote from her obituary.

Christianna Dolbell Riding Asay Allphin
 Monument, Lovell  Cemetery Lovell, Wyoming

“Grandma” Allphin was known to all as a patient, uncomplaining devoted mother. She had striven through continued trials and hardships rearing two worthy families, to be stricken seven months before her death with paralysis, which affliction rendered her entirely speechless and helpless yet conscious to the last, and showing appreciation, no matter how much pain she was enduring, by a smile.”

Note: Israel Dodge Allphin died 25 April 1903 in Elba, Cassia, Idaho. He was buried 26 April 1903 in Elba, Cassia, Idaho.

Publisher's Note:  Over many years, my mother and I visited the gravesites of family members, in Lovell, Cowley and Penrose Wyoming.  When visiting G-grandmother's gravesite in the Lovell cemetery which is situated in the shade of a large tree, mother told me about a controversary that developed between the Allphin and Asay families.  Unfortunate "feelings" occurred over the Monument for Christianna.  Her full name is lengthy, and challenged the size of the stone and possible financial concerns entered in to the final product.  "Christianna Asay Dec 8, 1857 - Apr 18, 1925"   Understandibly the Allphin family was disturbed their family name was not included, and someone had the Allphin name chiseled in later. It saddened my mother that this had happened, and I hope those feelings have long since healed.  But it influenced the way my mother looked at her own situation.  My mother who also has a long name, was determined that her full name would appear on her monument to avoid a similiar situation.  Her wishes were followed, and if you visit the Cowley Cemetery, you will see the monument for Walter Simmons and Deliliah Mae Asay Wasden Robb.

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Source:

(An Extract from “The Hearts of the Children - The Story of Reuben Lister & Ella Elvina Allphin”, by Joyce Kay Allphin Goodrich)

 http://www.allphin.org/ChristianaDR.htm