Mary Ann Barzee Boyce aka Boice

Spanish Fork Press Wednesday May 22, 1974.- Story of Mary Ann Barzee

Written by Delilah B. Asay of Lovell, Wyoming.

In an article in the Spanish Fork Press Wednesday May 22, 1974. "My grandmother Mary Ann Barzee Boyce, with her husband John Boyce were called by President Brigham Young to help make a settlement at Spanish Fork, Utah. My grandmother Mary Ann Barzee Boyce was called by President Brigham Young to be an interpreter between the Indians and the white people. She had studied the Indian language and could speak it quite well and understand what the Indians said. Through her ability to speak, the Indians relied a great deal on her for advice. She settled many difficulties between the white people and the Indians. They placed much confidence in what grandmother said and many came to her for advice. One June morning the open door in her one room log shack darkened. On looking up, it was a young Indian father standing in the door. Grandmother said, "Come in, you seem so sad." The young man said, "My squaw died, we have a very little baby, I don't know how to care for it. I give to you, I never take it back." Grandmother replied, "Take it to your mother, she will know what to do for it." "No", he said, "My mother is far away, I can't take it to her." Then grandmother suggested that his wife's mother should have it. He said "She is far, far away and I cannot take it to her." Then grandmother said, "I must talk with my husband. It will be as he says. You come back when the sun is straight up in the sky. I can answer you then."

John Boyce aka Boice

The Indian left. Grandmother soon found grandfather. She told him what had happened. All he said was, "Mary Ann, go to Bishop Markham, tell him we will do exactly as he says." It was only around the block. After hearing her story, grandmother said," Bishop we are like many of the pioneers a bit short of this worlds comforts. I have five small children of my own. And I have had no experience with an Indian baby." When she had finished speaking, Bishop Markham said, “Sister Boyce, take that baby by all means and some day you will be blessed." She took her leave and rushed back to her home where she told her husband what the Bishop had said. Grandfather of course replied, " That is exactly what we will do." Grandmother went in her cabin to prepare for the new arrival. When the young father returned she said, "Yes, go and bring your baby to me. I will do the best I can." The young father left but was soon back with his baby, a beautiful little girl. Grandmother gave the wee one a warm bath and food. Oh how well the little baby responded and adjusted to all that was done for her. Uncle Bert then only three months old shared his natural food with the tiny Indian baby, and they were raised almost as twins. The baby grew well and fit into the family of five children very well. When near 2 years old, both babies took ill. Both were fed alike, both given the same medical care. Uncle Bert responded well to the treatment given, but little Alfaretta passed away. The young father came daily to check on his baby. After her passing the father said, "No morn, her mother wanted her." After the little one was buried, the father was seen no more. Later, Grandfather's family was called, with others to go to Rodes Valley and start another settlement. They had traveled two days by ox team, were tired and camped for the night. The Pioneers camped on a small hill. They turned their oxen and livestock loose to feed and rest. Just at break of day the travelers were awakened by Indian war whoops in the ravine below. They knew the Indians meant trouble. They dressed quickly and prepared to travel on. Before they could get started however, forty Indians on horseback, yelling their war whoops very loud, partly surrounded the Pioneers, who offered no resistance. My Grandfather John Boyce got out of his wagon, went to the chief offered a friendly hand and tried to talk to him. The chief only turned his back and would not speak. Then Grandfather said, "Mary Ann, tell him we want to be friendly." It was then the Chief said, "White man fish all fish out of stream, kill the game that is Indian food. Indian starve to death." Just then a young brave pulled his horse from the line and rode up to the Chief. He jumped from his horse and cried, "Chief, Oh Chief, spare these white people they are my friends, this white woman nursed my baby after my squaw died, please spare their lives." The Chief's heart was touched he said, "You stay fish and hunt as we do. There is plenty for all." The Pioneers and Indians formed a treaty of which 50 pounds of flour and a beef was paid to the Indians. They all parted in peace. Written by Delilah B. Asay of Lovell Wyoming. Granddaughter of Mary Ann Barzee and John Boyce.

Brief Life Sketch of Martha Jane Herns

Written by Julia Chappell great-granddaughter: Sources and Information of this life history come from extensive research.

John Boice was born 20 February 1814 in Fredricksburg, Ontario, Canada. He was the tenth child of Benjamin Boice and Margaret Bartley Shuman formerly of New York. On the 7th of June 1835, John married Martha Jane Herns. She too was born in Fredricksburg, on the 3rd of March 1816, the daughter of Thomas Herns and Martha Jane Cronk who were of Scottish origin. Martha became a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints on the 6th of February 1835, just before she was married, but John was not baptized until the 7th of October 1836. On March 2, 1836 a little girl was born to them and they named her Martha Jane after her mother and grandmother. Their second child, Thomas, was born two years later on 15 February 1838. That same year the little family decided to move from Canada to Kirtland, Ohio, to join with the Saints there. The following year, 1839, the family again pulled up stakes and began the move from Kirtland to Missouri. Somewhere in Illinois, presumably in Barry, the Boice family met some of the members of the Church who, having been driven out of Missouri, were on their way back to Kirtland. The stories they must have heard of the mobs, persecution and violence, coupled with the imminent birth of a new baby, forced the family to remain for a time in Barry, Pike County, Illinois where their third child, Benjamin, was born on the 7th of October 1839. Near the end of the year, when baby Benjamin and his mother were well enough to travel, the family began the perilous journey back to Kirtland. By February 1840, they had arrived at Hudson, Ohio when Martha became desperately ill from quick consumption, no doubt as a result of the hardships of travel with a new baby and two little children, plus exposure to the bitter cold. Weakened by her physical suffering, depressed because of the persecution they had had to endure, and realizing that she did not have long to live, Martha promised that after her death her three little children, the oldest not yet four, would be given to a certain woman she knew who was not a member of the church. Martha had lain ill for days when on the evening of February 13, 1840, she apparently died. Her body was laid upon a bed at the end of the room. Tallow candles cast a restful glow upon the women who were busily engaged in fashioning her burial clothes. A sorrowful husband sat there too. His occupation through the night was to keep the fire alive that glowed upon the hearth and made the long shadows dance in the dim-lit room. The children slept. In the still hours of the morning a voice called out from where his dead wife lay. "John. John, please raise me up." John hastened to Martha's bedside and gently raised her up. She cautioned him not to be afraid, and told him that she had been in the spirit world but had obtained permission to return for a few hours only. She said that she had come back to tell John that she now knew that she wanted her husband to rear their little ones and not the woman she had promised. "But just two of them" she said "for I am going to take one of them with me." Martha also told John that she had made a grave error in allowing herself to grow weary of the Church. She declared a sure testimony of the truthfulness of the Gospel and praised God for what had been declared to her by angelic spirits of the Latter Day works. She testified that "Joseph Smith is the great prophet raised up to open up this last dispensation" and was full of joy for being able to return and bear this testimony and rectify the mistake of giving away her children, and "she continued bearing her testimony until her last breath." Those present thought that she would get well, as she ate and slept, and "talked in a strong voice" for the hours allotted to her. That night at 8 o'clock, precisely twenty-four hours from the time of her death the night before, her spirit took flight once more and she passed from this world on the 14th of February 1840. Upon returning from Martha's burial the next day, John found little Thomas "was dying but not with any sickness perceivable." And so it was that on the same day Martha was buried, and on the very day Thomas turned two years old, the 15 of February 1840, that he left this world to be with his mother and was buried beside her in Hudson, Ohio. John took his little daughter, Martha Jane, and the four month-old baby, Benjamin, on to Kirtland. There he married his second wife, Mary Ann Barzee three month later, on May 7, 1840. They received their endowments and were sealed in the Nauvoo Temple on the 22nd of January 1846 just before the exodus from Nauvoo began. John and Mary Ann had nine children born to them, number eight being my grandfather, Elijah Boice. John and Mary Ann moved west with the Saints, stopping for a time in Council Bluffs, Iowa and on from there to Salt Lake City. They were sent to help settle Spanish Fork, Utah, Camus, Utah and Oxford, Idaho. John and Mary Ann were called to work in the Logan Temple. Much of the temple work done for their family members and friends was done by them and their children. John died a Patriarch on March 31, 1886. Mary Ann joined him more than 16 years later on the 7th of October 1902. They are both buried in the Oxford Cemetery, Oxford, Idaho.

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Publisher's Note:  Tuberculosis was known as "consumption" in the 1800's.

Alpharetta "Alfretta" Boice (adopted Native American Indian baby girl)

Ute Indian mother and baby papoose 

Memorial Marker for Alpharetta Boice located at
Historical Pioneer Cemetery, Spanish Fork Utah
This Cemetery has also been called The 
Old Palmyra Graveyard.

Alpharetta "Alfretta" Boice

Birth:  May, 1854 Spanish Fork Utah County Area Utah, USA Death:  Dec. 7, 1856 Spanish Fork Utah County Utah, USA Alpharetta is the adopted Lamanite daughter of John and Mary Ann Barzee Boice. They with the other saints encountered the hardships of all who crossed the plains in the early days. John and Mary settled in the Spanish area in 1852 were they encountered the trials of early life in Utah. Here Mary Ann donated her time to hesitance of teaching and doctoring as which she was very skilled at as mentioned before. John Boice Mary Ann Barzee At the time of this incident in her life she was the mother of five children. On March 16, 1854 another son was born to her. Some two or three months later a young Indian Father came to her home bringing with him his tiny baby daughter whose mother had just died. He asked Mary Ann if she would take the baby girl and raise it for him. This of course brought things she hadn't expected, but she told him to come back the next day for his answer. Mary Ann wanted to take this tiny bit of motherless human to her breast and keep it, but she had to consider the extra work it would make for her, with her own small son, it must share the nourishment she gave him. So this wonderful woman being the kind she was went with her husband to the Bishop about the matter. He said by all means Sister Boyce, take that baby and one of my wives will help you with the work. And so Mary Ann took little Alfretta the name they gave her when she was blessed along with their son Albert. This monument is all that remains of the fort located in Palmyra Utah, The fort John and Mary Ann were called to help build.  It is located at the corner of a corral on a farm.  When Indian trouble increased, these pioneers followed the admonition of President Brigham Young and moved to the safety of the larger fort in Spanish Fork.  This marker is located west of Spanish Fork, not far from Utah Lake.  Stephen Markham was Bishop, and he was also John Boice's son-in-law.  He married his daughter Martha Jane, daughter of John Boice and Jane Herns. Sharing alike the joys and baby trials and sickness, the babies grew to be three years old and a great sorrow came. Both babies became ill with the measles. Mary Ann cared and prayed over them alike, but God saw fit to take the little Indian baby girl. She died in 1857 at the age of three. Nothing was left undone for she was their very own. She had been sealed to them in the Temple of our Lord. In 1857 John and Mary Ann were called with their family to settle what is now called Camas Prairie. On arrival they made camp and began making arrangements for settlement. In the evening they were filled with terror to find themselves surrounded by hostile Indians, whose intent it was to massacre all. John stepped out and tried to talk to them, but it was of no use. Then Mary Ann tried, this had it's effect. One of the warriors recognized her as the woman who took care of his baby girl. After Mary Ann took the baby the young Indian watched closely and saw she loved the baby with all her heart, so he told all present the story and it saved their lives. But this being the Indians hunting grounds the families left and were not permitted to stay, but allowed to leave in peace. The Saints returned to Parley's Park where they lived for some years. Then the Boyce family left after giving and serving and raising their children, went to Oxford, Idaho and lived for 24 years. Assisting all those whom they could help. (Family oral history - This Indian Brave would watch from the hillside the children. He knew of the wonderful and watchful care the little ones were receiving. His little daughter was given the special care that little Albert received. The Indian Father watched her burial from a distance.) Pioneer Heritage Cemetery Spanish Fork, Utah _________________ findagrave.com Reference Created by: Georgia Drake Record added: Jun 30, 2011 Find A Grave Memorial# 72278162 https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=72278162

Pioneer Heritage Cemetery - Spanish Fork Utah

1530 East 1884 South Spanish Fork, Utah Resting place of
 Alpharetta Boice adopted Indian Baby of John and Mary Ann
This Cemetery has also been called The Old Palmyra Graveyard, 
the East Bench Graveyard, and The Upper Cemetery.

Click on Images to Enlarge

Today there is an actual address, paved road and parking space, curb, gutter, sidewalks, green grass, lovely flowers and rock wall fencing. There is no doubt, when you drive up to this spot, there is something special here.

In the early 1980's, I was searching for the cemetery where the little adopted Indian baby Alpharetta was buried. I asked towns people I came across in Spanish Fork if they knew of a pioneer cemetery.  Some would tell me where the city cemetery was located, but they were unaware of any other cemetery in Spanish Fork. I thanked them, and keep looking. I had long since talked with the Sexton of the Spanish Fork Cemetery. He showed me where the older part of the cemetery was located, and tried to be helpful. I was grateful to him, but I could tell it was not the place. The place I was looking for had been imprinted on my mind years before as I listened to the Pioneer Stories told by Grandmother Delila Asay. When she told the story of Alpharetta, she spoke with such emotion in her voice, and the detail she gave created an image in my mind clearly of a time and place I had never been but would recognize when I saw it.

John Boice

Mary Ann Barzee

 Over a period of a few years, I asked people  I came in contact with in Spanish Fork, if they knew of the existence of a pioneer cemetery. I knew I was looking for a place high, overlooking the valley, and the Spanish Fork River.  When Bill and I were looking at homes built on the new golf course, I asked a man the familiar question.  To my surprise, and delight, he told me of a small cemetery located in a field.  He drew a map and gave some instruction to help navigate the agricultural fields of corn, and alfalfa.  With map in hand, Bill and I started out. The instructions went something like, drive about 3 miles, then take the second lane lined with corn fields and old wood posts with barbed wire, you'll see a tin sign on one of the posts... if you come to a farm house, you've gone to far....

We followed the directions, to an area where there was nothing but fields, and a farm house in the distance. We drove along the dirt lane, which was reminiscent of the farm I grew up on in Cowley, Wyoming without the drainage ditch. Finally we saw an area enclosed by tall chain link fencing with a monument inside.  This looked promising.  We drove over the ruts in the field as far as we could, and then got out and walked the rest of the way.  When we entered the enclosure,  a tall vertical historic monument was directly ahead with the names of the known pioneers buried there.   Small river bed stones laid around to provide a better walking area than bare ground.   Weeds had grown through, hiding the small rounded, weather-worn red sandstone markers left by the early pioneers.   I could detect no lettering left on any of the sandstone markers, but they were mostly of a fairly uniform size and shape, and marked the final resting place of loved ones of long ago.

As I looked around, visually I knew this place met the criteria Grandmother Asay laid out. More importantly, I knew in my heart this was the place.

As the years past, need for housing as populations grew, began to show itself in the changing landscape surrounding this little plot of land.  As the land changed from agricultural use to housing subdivisions, corresponding changes were seen at the little cemetery.  When I drove to visit the cemetery I was greeted by a new southern entrance instead of west.  A tiny parking space was chisled from the side of the hill, and there rather steep stairs led to the cemetery at the top of the hill. A new square wooden sign greeted me when I reached the top that said, "Pioneer Historical Cemetery". 


Pioneer Historical Cemetery

The next time I came to visit, there were more changes.  The Southern entrance and stairs were gone, I'm quite sure they didn't meet wheelchair accessibility requirements.   The wooden sign was replaced by a nice wrought iron. 

The monument had received a "face lift" of sorts too.  It was no longer facing West, and the tall vertical monument that is "typical" of pioneer monuments had spouted wings, and concrete steps.  The gravel, weeds and small sandstone monuments were still there, and the iron sign had a fresh coat of paint.  The farm house is framed under the sign.

The next time I visited around  2008, the changes I saw caused me some alarm.  The headstones were missing and more changes were obviously in progress. This concerned me enough to make a visit to the Spanish Fork City offices.  With the subdivision encroaching on the area, I wanted to make sure this cemetery was protected and it's integrity maintained.   

Flags marking grave sites.

The City had started a high-tech process to locate the various graves using echo type equipment to map out the cemetery.  The headstones had been removed and I was told they were being "restored" and would be replaced.  I was satisfied with what I had been told was happening and watched with interest as the project progressed.

That brings us to what you will find when you visit the little cemetery in Spanish Fork today.  The Pioneer Heritage Cemetery was re-dedicated July 22, 2009.  The monument has been removed, but the DUP marker set in the monument in 1943 has been re-set at the entrance gate of the newly renovated cemetery.

set  in original  monument

names of known pioneers buried here

Sculptors Erasmo and Alex Fuents

The statue was unveiled by the sculptors and assisted by Mayor Joe Thomas at the re-dedication.  The figure depicts a young pioneer family.  "The statue embodies all those who lost loved ones and buried them here; but looked forward with hope and peace to the future."

sidewalk around perimeter with benches for reflection

new concrete markers

One cannot deny the renovation to the Heritage Cemetery has resulted in a peaceful setting, and in keeping with the high rent housing that surrounds it.  But what happened to the red sandstone markers?  I called and they ceased their "restoration" efforts as it "wasn't turning out well".

Brock Larson learned of the cemetery restoration and decided to make placing headstones at the new Pioneer Heritage Cemetery his Eagle Scout Project.  "I thought that this would be cool because it was something to do for our ancestors."  It is lovely, but I will always remember the first time I saw this almost forgotten cemetery, and the feeling it gave me as I looked at those hand chisled, red sandstone markers, knowing that one may have been placed by John and Mary Ann for their beloved Alpharetta.  Still, now Alpharetta's name and legacy is known to all who come to this little cemetery and pause to read this bronzed plaque that tells her story.  Grandmother Asay would be very pleased.
to read Alpharetta's story:
 http://pioneerstories-asay.blogspot.com/2012/03/story-of-alpharetta-boice-indian-baby.html

1530 East 1884 South Spanish Fork