Chapter 1. Ancestors

View from Boulder Mountain looking northwest through Rabbit Valley

The story of George Armstrong Jr, and Aurilla Sperry starts thousands of miles away and worlds apart from the little town of Lyman nestled in a high mountain valley of arid south central Utah.  Their story, like all of ours, begins with generations past, upon whose shoulders the foundation of their lives was built.  Both George and Aurilla had deep New England roots with the Chappell and Sperry ancestors being found along the Eastern Seaboard as early as the mid 1600’s. But unlike their ancestors, these two remarkable individuals began their life in the high deserts of Utah.

George Armstrong Jr, born April 29, 1854, in East Mill Creek, Utah Territory, was the first child of George Armstrong Chappell and Anna Maria Dunstan. George Armstrong was the oldest son of Thomas Chappell and Sarah Marie Gavitt.  Tragically, his father, whose name he bore, died roughly 3 months before his first and only child was born.

His mother, Anna Maria Dunstan, was born in England, a convert to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  She came to America along with thousands of others from her country, members of a new American religion, coming to America to be a part of a great Mormon gathering in the intermountain west. She was born in Steeple Ashton, Wiltshire, England, the daughter of James Dunston and Mary Rose.

Aurilla Sperry was born August 31, 1858, in Nephi, Utah Territory.  She was the fifth of 13 children born to William Lamont Sperry and Margaret Ann Sidwell. Both the Sperry and Sidwell families had also been Americans for generations before Aurilla was born.    

While a detailed history of the ancestral families of George Armstrong Chappell and Aruilla Sperry is not in the context of this book, in order to understand who they were and why life took them to such a remote place in the West, we first need to understand the lives of their grandparents.

George’s grandfather, Thomas Chappell, was the second of nine known children of Thomas Chappell and Hannah Armstrong.  He was born December 4, 1796 in New Kingston, Washington County, Rhode Island.  He had deep New England roots. His father, Thomas Chappell, was born in 1756 in Kingston, Washington County, Rhode Island, and fought for independence in the Revolutionary War (1) and died August 1, 1844 in Charlestown, Washington County, Rhode Island. At the time of this writing there is still some question as to the father of this Thomas Chappell.  Most believe him to be the son of James Chappell and Virtue Scranton.  (Thomas had an older brother named Scranton Chappell - thought to be named after his mother’s maiden name.) This James Chappell family had been in Rhode Island and Connecticut for generations.  Their ancestors originated in Devon, England and were present in Connecticut as early as 1634. (2)

George’s grandmother, Sarah Marie Gavit was also from a large family with New England roots dating back to the early colonization of the Eastern Seaboard. Her parents, Edward Gavitt and Mary Nye, were the parents of 11 known children, Sarah Maria being their third child. Like her in-laws, both parents of Sarah Maria Gavitt were born in Rhode Island. (3)

Aurilla’s grandfather, Joy Sperry, was the son of Moses Sperry and Sarah McLeod:

”He was the second of 13 children and was born in 1785 in Massachusetts.  He married Mary Lamont of New York in 1810 and the family later moved to Ohio.  The Lamonts, originally from Ireland, came to New York in the mid 1700’s.  According to Lamont family history, Mary’s uncle, Archibald Lamont, “while yet a boy….was curiously inspecting a ship, it sailed out of Coleraine.  They were miles out to sea before Archibald became aware of his dilemma and was informed that “it will be many a long day, my lad, before you will see your mother or home again.”  He was sold as an apprentice in Long Island and served later as a drawing influence for the rest of the family.” (4)

Aurilla’s maternal grandfather, “Job Sidwell was born on the sixth of June, 1801, in Little Briton, West Chester Co. Pennsylvania.

“He was the son of Job Vincent Sidwell and Rebecca Rhetzer Sidwell. He was an American descent. There were ten children, five boys and five girls in the family.  They were farmers, stock and sheep raisers. Job, the second was a hatter by trade. They were Quakers by faith…Job married Susan Robinson who was born Oct. 17, 1808, in Lancaster, County Pennsylvania. She was of American and Irish descent.  There was a large family on her side.”(5)

While living in Connecticut, Thomas Chappell and Sarah Marie Gavitt joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (The Mormons) and left their families in the East and came west with the Mormon migration to the valley of the Great Salt Lake in 1848.  As far as is known, no other members of Thomas’ family joined the Church or were ever in Utah. Sarah Marie Gavitt’s mother, Mary Nye, came west with Sarah Marie and Thomas,(6) and Sarah Marie’s younger brother, Benjamin Gavitt, was in Utah for a time and owned property adjacent to Thomas and Sarah Marie Chappell.(7)

George A, along with his mother, Anna Maria Dunstan, lived with his grandparents, Thomas Chappell and Sarah Marie Gavitt until his mother remarried to Peter Christensen, a Danish convert to Mormonism, in January of 1858 he being near 4 years old. 

Peter and Anna Maria continued to live in Mill Creek, Utah, in the same community as the Chappell family at least for a time in that their first child, Peter James Christensen, was born there in November of 1860.  That George A spent a lot of his early childhood with his grandparents is evident in this passage from a letter written him by his Aunt Lucy Chappell Thomas in 1891 in which she states, “Your Grandmother used to call you her “little George A”.  That was your father’s name.  “A” stands for Armstrong.  That was great grandmother on your father’s side.” (8)

His grandmother, Hannah Armstrong was the daughter of George Armstrong and Hanna Carpenter.  While it is not certain when George Armstrong arrived in New England, the Carpenter family had been a part of the Eastern seaboard since the 1600’s. (9)

As can be seen, the grandparents of George Armstrong Chappell and Aurilla Sperry all came from large families but from rather varied locations.  Moving into the early 19^th century, all appeared to have been established in their respective communities.  The Dunston family in England, had for generations lived in Wilshire.  Even though Thomas Chappell had moved his family from Rhode Island to Connecticut, he was still along the Eastern Seaboard, home of his ancestors for over 100 years.  The Sidwells and Robinsons were well established in Pennsylvania, and the Sperrys were busy carving out a new home in the western Illinois frontier.  But while of varied locations and backgrounds, they all had a commonality – a willingness to listen to and then accept a new religion. 

References:

1.      1833 Revolutionary War Pension and Boundary-Land Warrant, Application files, 1800-1900, Rhode Island, Archive number M804, Roll number 523, as found on Ancestry.com

2.     Marriage of George Chappell in New England, Connecticut. LDS Church Records, as found on www.familysearch.org

3.    LDS Church Records, as found on www.new.familysearch.org

4.   The Thomas Lamonts in America, by Corliss Lamont, as found in “George Armstrong and Aurilla Sperry Chappell”, compilation of family history and genealogy

5.  “Sidwell Family History”, Compiled by Ettie Jane Sidwell, as recoreded in “George Armstrong and Aurilla Sperry Chappell”, compilation of family history and genealogy )

6.     Mormon Pioneer Overland Trail, 1847-1868, www. lds.org/church history/ library/pioneer company

7.      Deed of Sale, Great Salt Lake County, Utah Territory, March, 1864, FHL number 929289, pg. 126

8.      Lucy Chappell Thomas, Letter to her Nephew, George Armstrong Chappell, Jr., April 7, 1891, In possession of Seth Chappell, Lyman, Utah.

9.     LDS Church Records, as found on www.familysearch.org