Silas and Sarah

As he trudged up yet another hill, little Silas Lafayette Allred heard his name called.  He looked back and saw his friend, Sarah.  He turned and ran toward her, greeting her with a hug and a smile.  He was only three years old and she was sixteen, but the adoration between them was unmistakable.  She was his friend who held his hand as they walked along the long stretches of priarie each day on their way to Utah.  The year was 1851 and theirs was one of many wagon trains that had followed these same wheel ruts to the promised land.

Silas had been born in Council Bluffs, Iowa in August of 1848.  Sarah had been born in Illinois in February, 1835.  Their lives had been brought together when their parents joined the Mormon Saints and followed their great desire to gather in Utah territory, the new Zion.

Sarah Louisa Faucett Turner who held

little Silas' hand while crossing the plains

Silas was traveling with his mother, Marinda Knapp Allred and his six month old brother, John Franklin Allred.  Baby John had been born four months after their father, John Franklin Lafayett Allred, died in 1850 in Council Bluffs, Iowa.  Their baby sister, Vadalia, had died in the spring of that same year.

Many times his little boy legs grew tired and Sarah would hold his hand and encourage him along just as he did for her when she grew weary of the dust and long miles.  They smelled flowers and picked berries together.  He hleped her scrub clothes in the rivers and she told him stories.  Sometimes they would snuggle together around the campfire and sing the songs of Zion.

The days came and went as did the miles.  Then, on September 23rd they arrived in the  great Salt Lake valley.  But, thier journey was not over.  They were to live south of Salt Lake in an area that was known as Provo, which had only become a permanent settlement in 1849.  The Indians were numerous in that area and thiers was one of the first families to settle there.

As the months went by, Sarah found love with a 21 year old man named John Wesley Turner.  They were married in December 1853 when she was 18 years old.  In September of 1854, Sarah bore the first of her 10 children.  She named the little girl after herself...Sarah Louisa.   The cabin Sarah Louisa was born in still stands in the Provo City Park.

In time, this second Sarah grew to be a lovely young woman.  At age 17 she chose to marry a fine young man.  He was 6 years older than her and a strong worker.  Her mother approved of the marriage too.  She know the young man well.  She had held his little 3 year old hand as they crossed the prairie together so many years before.

Silas and Sarah became the parents of 12 living children.  The youngest was a girl.  They named her Sarah.  Today there is another Sarah Louisa.  She was born almost a hundred years from the date of Silas and Sarah, her great-great grandparent's marriage.

Silas and Sarah