Levi Savage

Levi Savage. . , Levi Savage Life Sketch , Levi Savage was born in Greenfield, Ohio on March 23, 1820, In 1833, the family moved to Antwerp, Michigan where he joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He joined the Mormon Battalion at Council Bluffs, Iowa. In 1848 Levi married Jane Mathers who died shortly after the birth of their first son in 1851. In 1852, Levi was called on a mission to Siam. He left his infant son in the care of his sister and departed first for India, then Burma. Attempts to enter Siam were not successful. After returning to America, he joined up with the Willie Handcart Company at Council Bluffs, Iowa. Following his arrival in Sale Lake City, Levi married Ann Brunimel Cooper a member of the Willie handcart company. , In 1858 he moved to Lehi, Utah and worked as a supplier for the U.S. Army at Camp Floyd. He was then called by Brigham Young to settle Kanab, Utah. In 1865, He moved to Toquerville In 1866. Here he lived the remainder of his life as a farmer. He died on December 13, 1910. He was a farmer growing alfalfa grapes and fruit on his farm near the Virgin Rivery south of Toquerville. Levi was active in civic affairs and in the growth and development of southern Utah. He was to the end, a faithful member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. , Sons of Utah Pioneers Site #179, Mormon Battalion , 1846- 1847 , Levi Savage enlisted in the Mormon Battalion at Council Bluffs, Iowa, marched 1,400 miles from Council Bluffs to San Diego, California. The march took them through Kansas, New Mexico, Arizona and California...all on foot. It remains the longest military march in United States history. At San Diego, Levi and the battalion members saw the Pacific Ocean for the first time. , Levi and his discharged companions started for the Rocky Mountains. These men knew the Saints were headed to the Great Salt Lake Valley so they made their way up California, crossed the Sierra Nevada Mountains and what is now the state of Nevada, and half of the future state of Utah. The group blazed a new route, south of the route taken by the ill fated Donner Party the previous year. This route is still in use today and is now part of US Highway 50. They arrived in the Sale Lake Valley, on 16 October 1847. , This monument is indebted to the descendants and friends of Levi Savage and James Jackson Jr, who contributed financially to the monument. Appreciation is expressed to the Cotton Mission and Hurricane chapters of the Sons of the Utah Pioneers for their support. Appreciation is expressed to the City of Toquerville for its support of this project. , Project Supervisor: Rex Jensen , Monument design and construction: Randy Paul , Bronze Sculpture: Annette Everett, Willie Handcart Company , 1856 , Following Levi's four year mission to Siam, he joined the ill-fated Willie Handcart Company at Iowa City, Iowa, on July 10, 1856. Levi had thus circumnavigated the globe; having suffered illness, danger and much hardship. , A tense meeting in Florence, Nebraska, Savage told the group he believed that embarking west so late in the season was a dangerous mistake. Levi urged them to spend the winter in Nebraska, but was overruled. Savage then declared, "What I have said I know to be true; but seeing you are to go forward, I will go with you, will help all I can, will work with you, will rest with you, and if necessary, will die with you. May God in his mercy bless and preserve us." , The Willie Handcart Company left Florence, Nebraska late in the season, on August 17, 1856 with 120 handcarts and 6 wagons, numbering about 500 souls, of who 66 died on the journey from cold, exposure, hunger and disease. Having endured much hardship already, but being youg and strong, Levi was a strength and great support to many of the suffering and dying saints on this journey. Captain Willie's handcart company arrived in Salt Lake City after great suffering from scarcity of provisions, cold and exposure. , It had been nearly four years since Levi had seen his young son. Since his wife died prior to his mission to Siam, he left his son in the care of his sister, Hanna Eldredge, who cared for him until his return.