George Brigham Hobbs & Sisters

George Brigham Hobbs and Sisters. . George Hobbs was one of several single young adults called to participate in the San Juan Mission. He was the only person assigned to all three of the mission's major scouting expeditions., The first scouting expedition, which established sites for the mission, took more than five months and covered over 900 miles. The second, a six-day exploration, located and designated the Hole-in-the-Rock crevice as the pioneers' access into the Colorado River gorge. The scouts of the third expedition searched for and plotted a path from the Colorado River to the Bluff valley. Taking 24 days, George Hobbs and three fellow scouts encountered freezing blizzards, became lost, and ran out of food. Miraculously, they survived and made it back to guide the San Juan pioneers to the Bluff valley., Kumen Jones described George Hobbs as "strong sturdy stock" who was "sure to be a first class citizen." Although George only lived a short time in the area, he exemplified the core of faith, resilience, and devotion for which the San Juan missionaries were known. George was a carpenter by trade. After moving to Nephi, Utah, he married Julia Broadhead. They had 11 children, including triplets and two sets of twins., Sarah Elizabeth Hobbs Harriman and Ellen Agnes Hobbs Fielding, George Hobbs' two sisters, and their families had important and challenging roles in the settling of San Juan County. One year prior to the arrival of the main contingent of pioneers in the Bluff valley, Henry and Sarah Harriman, with a three-month old baby and a six and three-year-old, traveled with George in the first scouting expedition. They helped establish an early foothold for the pioneers at Montezuma Fort, 18 miles to the east., Ellen and Hyrum Fielding with their four children, ages one to seven, were part of the main contingent of pioneers who came via the Hole-in-the-Rock with George. Ellen and her family joined her sister at Montezuma Fort.