Decker, James Bean and Anna Maria Mickelsen

James Bean Decker was born March 25, 1853 at Parowan, Utah and was one of the outstanding pillars amoung the Bluff pioneers. His parents were Zechariah DECKER Sr. and Nancy Bean. He was the first Superintendent of Sunday Schools, a member of the District School Board for many years, and was especially interested in music and teaching. The Sunday School was organized under the “Old Swing Tree”. Brother Decker lead the singing in Sunday School and the Choir for many years until his death.  He was cool, careful, resourceful. He worked at Verdure during the very early San Juan history. He died  the winter of 1901-02 (Dec. 15, 1901) along with four of his children when a diptheria epidemic struck the community.

Anna Marie Mickelsen Decker was born in Cedar City, April 7, 1855. She married James B. Decker July 13, 1874. She came with her husband with the first pioneers. She was also active in the choir and other ward activities. She was the mother of eleven children. Anna Marie died 18 May 1937 in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Ut (Genealogy Source)

Children on the trek (all grew to adulthood):
Anna Lillian (Born 13 Nov 1875 in Parowan, Iron, Ut. Died: 17 Jul 1963 in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Ut
Nancy Genevieve was born: 20 Oct 1877 in Parowan, Iron, Ut. Died: Oct 1964 in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Ut
Lena Deseret Decker was born January 3, 1880 at Fifty-mile camp. They were fifty miles from the nearest settlement, one hundred miles from a doctor, and 150 miles from their anticipated home. The winter of 1880 was considered one of the worst in Utah history. Snow covered the camp, and cold permeated the living quarters of the camp. To make Anna Marie comfortable, a wagon box was lifted off of its wheels and placed on the ground. Snow was then banked around it two or three feet high to act as insulation and keep out wind drafts. Lena was one of two babies born on the trip. (Hole in the Rock site) She died Died: 19 Oct 1920.
(Lena is mentioned on pp. 48, 81, 176 Hole in the Rock by Miller)

The father and four children died during the epidemic and are buried in Bluff:
Horace (Born 14 Feb 1885 in Bluff, San Juan, Ut. Died: 24 Jan 1902 in Bluff, San Juan, Ut),
Gertrude (Born: 16 Aug 1887 in Bluff, San Juan, Ut. Died: 16 Dec 1901 in Bluff, San Juan, Ut),
Lynn (Born: 12 Dec 1896 in Bluff, San Juan, U. Died: 15 Dec 1901 in Bluff, San Juan, Ut)
Clair (Born: 30 Aug 1892 in Bluff, San Juan, Ut. Died: 25 Jan 1902 in Bluff, San Juan, Ut
Others growing to adulthood:
James (Born: 19 May 1883 in Bluff, San Juan, Ut. Died: 12 May 1964 in Santa Maria, Santa Barbara, Ca),
Elmer born: Jun 1889 in Bluff, San Juan, Ut. Died: 17 Feb 1978 (Saga of San Juan p 308)
Claude Born: 27 Oct 1894 in Bluff, San Juan, Ut. Died: Jul 1980 in Kirtland, San Juan, NM
Afton born 25 Feb 1899 in Bluff, San Juan, Ut. Died: Feb 1943
Seven of the children grew to maturity, filling important positions in San Juan County and the surrounding territory.

Decker home in Bluff
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James Bean Decker
By C.S.M. Jones LLC, Family Heritage Consulting for Hole in the Rock Foundation
Born: 25 March, 1853: Parowan, Iron County, Utah
Died: 16 December, 1901
Married: Anna Marie Mickelsen
Father: Zachariah Bruyn Decker
Mother: Nancy Bean Williams Lee

Early Life
 James Bean Decker was born on March 25th, 1853 in Parowan, Utah. He was the second son and third child of Zechariah and Nancy Decker. Zechariah and Nancy were immigrants to Utah, with Zechariah serving in the Mormon Battalion en route. James’ descendants wrote little information down about his early life and experiences in Parowan. Like many children of his time, James’ education was infrequent at best, and ceased when he was old enough to help provide. In 1874 he was married to Anna Marie Mickelson in the Salt Lake Endowment House. It took the couple three weeks to make the trip from Parowan to Salt Lake City and back. Upon return, James and Anna built a “neat little brick home” on the west side of town. Until his marriage, James farmed with his father and made extra money hauling freight.
Hole-In-The-Rock Pioneer
In the spring of 1879 James and Anna were called to the San Juan Mission. By this time, they had two daughters and Anna was expecting a third child. After several months of preparation, they left in November. At Fifty Mile Spring, on January 3rd 1881, Anna gave birth to Lena Deseret, their third daughter. Being many miles from the nearest settlement, and without the aide of a doctor or midwife, Anna gave birth in the family wagon box.

Despite the families’ good health, the trek was arduous. The difficult terrain and long task of building roads slowed the expedition’s progress. Eventually, James and Anna arrived with the rest of the party in April. After arriving at the San Juan River, James, too exhausted to go any further, decided to make his home in Bluff, instead of going on to Fort Montezuma.
Challenges at Bluff
James was elected as the first sheriff of Bluff. This unpaid appointment kept James busy when he was not providing for his family. Periodically, hostility between Indians and whites in Colorado spilled over into the San Juan River area. On one occasion James led a posse of fourteen men who set out to recover stolen horses from a nearby war party of Utes. When confronted, the Indians refused to return the horses that belonged to the San Juan settlers. After several seconds with guns drawn, the Indians returned the settlers’ horses when they learned that the settlers were Mormons. Later, that same group of Utes ambushed and killed another posse of Colorado immigrants.

Hostile Indians were not the only threats that James dealt with. Rustlers and thieves also caused trouble and made life dangerous. One Sunday in 1886 James was interrupted during church by fellow settler and local cattle rancher, Bill Ball. Several cowboys who had been working on Bill’s ranch had stolen his horses and Bill needed help to track them down. James and some other men immediately left church and set out to catch the thieves. Bill rode at the head of the group, confident that his former hired hands would not shoot him. When James and the rest of the posse caught up with the rustlers in a nearby canyon, a gunfight ensued and the thieves shot Bill. James, who was standing right behind Bill, quickly came to his aid. But afraid that his white Sunday shirt would make him a conspicuous target, James took cover behind his horse. The battle continued, and although James’ horse was shot several times, the rustlers got away and James escaped unscathed. James spent the night with Bill, but by morning Bill had died. James made it safely back to Bluff, but the rustlers were never caught.

In Bluff, nature posed a more formidable challenge than even rustlers and Indians. James, along with other settlers, was involved in a project to dig a canal in Bluff to bring water to their crops. Several times a year, usually during the spring, the canal would flood and force the settlers to rebuild and replant. Also, as James’ son recorded, many of the Bluff settlers had to leave for several months each year to work in Colorado mines to supplement their income.

Community Involvement
James and Anna were among the few families who stayed in Bluff after Church authorities announced the release San Juan Mission participants. In time, James gave up his farm and took up ranching, an occupation that was much more suited to Bluff’s geography. As more and more settlers switched to ranching, Bluff thrived. This, along with abundant rainfall and good beef prices, allowed James and his family to prosper in Bluff. With economic stability, James became a prominent citizen in the San Juan area. He was called to be the first superintendent of the LDS Sunday School in Bluff, and soon after was called to hold the same position on a stake level as well. He did his best to magnify his position of teaching and leadership. Once he traveled all the way to Provo to enroll in a Sunday School teaching course offered by Brigham Young University. When he returned home to Bluff, he shared what he had learned with those who served under him in the Sunday School. In civic affairs, James served as county treasurer, county superintendent of schools, and county commissioner for several terms.

Family life was good for the Deckers in Bluff. They lived happily together, although in close quarters—their log home only consisting of two large rooms. James eventually began building “a white stucco house, two stories high, with bays and gables and arched windows to let in the light.” By this time, James and Anna had eleven children, and had enough money to send the oldest, James Jr., to Brigham Young Academy in Provo. After acquiring an organ for the family, James’ daughters played the music for the local congregation’s Sunday services. James himself directed the choir and two of his daughters, Lena and Jennie, played in the local string quartet. He loved to have his family gather around him in the evenings to sing, one of his favorites hymns being “Love at Home.”

Sadly, in December of 1901, several of the Decker children fell to diphtheria. On December 15 James Decker succumbed to the disease. In a little over a month, five of the 13 members of Decker family had died of diphtheria. James’ children and grandchildren recorded that the Decker tragedy “made a lasting impression on the community.” James Decker, the stalwart pioneer who arrived in Bluff and said he could go no further, filled his life with community service. He was remembered by fellow pioneer Kumen Jones as “even-tempered, cool, careful,” and possessed of “good judgment.” These qualities enhanced his business success and local leadership, and helped ensure the longevity of the Bluff settlement.

Reference List

Decker, Rod. “History of James Bean Decker” Rhea Decker Seaberg ed. Unpublished History from the Files of the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers, Salt Lake City, Utah.

Jones, Kumen. The Writings of Kumen Jones, ed. by Albert T. Lyman, 156-157; Cornelia Adams Perkins, Marian Gardner Nielsen, and Lenora Butt Jones, Saga of San Juan. Monticello, Utah; San Juan County Daughters of Utah Pioneers, 1957.

Lillian Decker. “James Bean Decker”. Unpublished History from the Files of the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers, Salt Lake City, Utah.

Perkins, Cornelia, Marian Gardner Nielsen, and Lenora Butt Jones, Saga of San Juan. Monticello, Utah; San Juan County Daughters of Utah Pioneers, 1957.
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Anna Maria Mickelson Decker
By C.S.M. Jones LLC, Family Heritage Consulting for Hole in the Rock Foundation
Born: 7 April, 1855: Cedar City, Utah
Died: 18 May, 1937: Salt Lake City, Utah
Married: James B Decker: 13 July, 1874
Father: Rasmus Mickelsen
Mother: Ane Nielsen

Early Life and Marriage
Anna Maria Mickelson was born April 7th, 1855 to Rasmus and Ane Mickelsen. Rasmus and Ane were born and raised in Scandinavia and were converted to the Latter-day Saint movement by Erastus Snow. Rasmus quickly threw his energies into his new-found religion and preached extensively to his local community. By 1853 Rasmus and Ane had saved enough to immigrate to the United States. After sailing from Europe, Rasmus and Ane stopped in St. Louis to earn some money before joining a wagon train intended for the Great Basin. The couple arrived in Salt Lake City in 1854, and was immediately sent by Brigham Young to settle in Iron County.

Six months after their arrival, Anna was born. Rasmus and Ane were ill-prepared at first to care for a child in their new environment. According to family recollections, all the couple had to wrap the baby in was “a shawl made from what remained of a tent, after the main portion had been used to make shirts and pants.” The close-knit community in Iron County came together to assist the immigrants. Eventually, one woman gave Rasmus and Ane an old calico skirt, which was used to make several dresses for Anna. Other kind settlers donated milk, as all Ane could afford to feed Anna was water stiffened with a little flour.

After six years, the family moved from Cedar City to the little town of Parowan. Although money was scarce, young Anna was able to attend school periodically. Family members recalled that she excelled in her class. When Anna was no longer able to attend school, she continued to learn throughout her life. Anna’s daughter recalled, “She has always been a great reader, especially of current events, and even now will wait up till twelve reading.” Much of Anna’s young adulthood was spent spinning cloth. She spent long hours making fabric for family use, as well as for extra income. One of her favorite pastimes was attending spinning bees, where local women would come together and have spinning contests, followed by recreation.

As Anna grew to maturity, she was well liked in the local community. She loved to sing, and was always a popular choice in local dances. When Anna was 18, she was approached by a young man named James Decker, who had a quieter, more reserved disposition. Initially, Anna was not interested in James, but when she saw him playing the organ in church, Anna knew she should marry him. She was able to overcome James’ embarrassment by quickly going to fetch water at the town well whenever James approached. When Anna was 19, and James 21, they were married in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City. They made the long, 300-mile trip in an old freight wagon. When they returned to Parowan they moved into a two room brick house James had built and happily lived there for several years. Two children, Anna and Nancy, were born there.

Hole-In-The-Rock Pioneer and Life in Bluff
In 1879 Brigham Young called several families to settle San Juan County, and James and Anna Decker quickly responded to the assignment. As the expedition started in November, the pioneers were confident that the trek would only take about six weeks. Because of this, Anna and James were not afraid to leave while Anna was seven months pregnant. On January 3, 1880 Anna gave birth to a baby girl in the harsh frontier weather at Fifty Mile Spring. Since the expedition was over a hundred miles away from a doctor, they had to improvise. The couple’s wagon box was lifted off of the axel and placed on the ground, providing a crude shelter from the elements. James then packed snow around the outside of the wagon box to provide even more insulation. In this dismantled wagon, and without the aid of a midwife, Anna gave birth to their third child. They named her Lena Deseret to mark the fact that she had literally been born in the desert of Deseret.

A month after Anna gave birth, the company broke camp and continued on the trek. The passage down the Hole was steep and dangerous. Since the wagons were so prone to tipping, Anna was unable to ride in the wagon. Anna had to help her two oldest girls, while another settler, Jane Walton, carried baby Lena. Although the rest of the journey was trying, James, Anna and their children arrived at the San Juan River area in good health. After six months of travel, they reached Bluff on April 6, 1880.

Life in Bluff was initially difficult for James and Anna. The settlers had frequent problems with rustlers, harsh weather, and sometimes Indians. James built a two-room log home into which eight more children were born to the family in the coming years. James was an important community leader in these early days. He was selected to be the community’s sheriff, and was also called to be the superintendant of the Bluff Sunday School. Anna was also involved in the community. In addition to doing her own sewing, she made clothes for other settlers and sold her products to supplement James’ income. As part of her service to the community, Anna sewed burial clothes for funerals in Bluff. Anna also served in the local church Relief Society as a visiting teacher and later as a councilor to the stake Relief Society president.

For many years the Decker family prospered. James became a successful cattle rancher and began to build a nice frame home. It was not yet completed when, in December of 1901, tragedy struck the family. Many of the family members were taken with diphtheria, and eventually James and four of the children died of the disease. The community mourned for them, but was afraid to come too near to the home. Eventually, Anna and her neighbors decided to burn the house to stop the disease from spreading. Anna was able to move into the home James had been building, but the loss of her husband and four children was devastating to Anna.

Final Years
With her husband and oldest son gone, Anna had to go to work herself in order to provide for her large family. For a time she sold bread to the local market store. This worked well until the community store saw her success and opened up a bakery, which took business away from Anna. However, Bluff needed a new postmaster and Anna was given the job. Anna remained in Bluff until her children were grown and had moved away. Eventually she moved to nearby Monticello to live with some of her older children. When World War I broke out, one of Anna’s sons, Claude, volunteered to join the Marines. When Claude told Anna about his decision, she replied, “I don’t blame you, for if I were a young man I would go too.”

Several years later, Anna moved to Salt Lake City and rented an apartment on Main Street. She spent the last several years of her life volunteering in the temple. Often she would spend her entire day laboring there. On May 16, 1937 Anna passed away; she was 82 years old. She was buried “back home” in Bluff next to James and the children she had lost to diphtheria. Anna was a faithful pioneer and an example of the rugged qualities that made the Hole-in-the-Rock expedition, and communities like Bluff, prosper. Anna’s daughter, Lillian Wood, recorded that although Anna never claimed to have had any “faith-promoting incidents” in her life, “she [felt] ever like saying ‘Father, help me as ever to be brave, that I may face the petty cares of life with understanding and self-control, knowing full well that in this world of strife each has her burden, each her trial of the soul.’”

Reference List
Matis, Josephine W. “Anna Maria Mickelsen Decker.” Unpublished History from the Files of the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers, Salt Lake City, Utah.

Perkins, Cornelia, Marian Gardner Nielsen, and Lenora Butt Jones, Saga of San Juan. Monticello, Utah; San Juan County Daughters of Utah Pioneers, 1957.

Wood, Lillian D. “Sketch of the Life of Anna M. Decker by Her Daughter.” Unpublished History from the Files of the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers, Salt Lake City, Utah.

Mickelsen, Peter and Harriet Emily Decker

by Bonnie Trower Brantley, Eureka, Utah.

Peter Mickelson (1858-1888) He was born 23 Oct 1858 in Cedar City, Iron, Ut. Parents were Rasmus Mickelsen (1819-1903) and Anna Nielsen (1825-1908).  He married his 2nd wife, Ida Mary Dalton in 1883.  Peter died 25 Apr 1888 Hackberry, Mohave, Az but was buried in Manassa.

His father, Rasmus Mikkelsen, was born in Brussereup, Denmark in 1819 and married Ane Neilsen born in Sonder, Denmark in 1825. They were married in 1848 and accepted the gospel in 1851 as a young married couple. They were encouraged to go to America so they could live among the church members, where it would be easier to practice their religion, and to help build up Zion. The 1849 constitution of Denmark granted freedom of religion but the minds of the people changed very slowly and the Church was not readily accepted among their neighbors.

It was not easy to leave the land of their birth, and all they knew and loved. They left behind two tiny graves, babies who died not long after they were born. Their fourth child died at sea as they were coming to America in the year 1851. The tiny body was wrapped carefully and lowered over the side of the ship, "The Monarch of the Sea." Of the four children born to them in Denmark, only their second son Niels survived to arrive in America with his parents.

There are few details of this family, but all pioneer families sacrificed much when they accepted the gospel. They raised a large family, as records show that they had six more children when they settled in southern Utah.
In 1850 a call was sent to 100 members of the church to form the Iron County Mission in Parowan and Cedar City. Family History records tell us that Ane gave birth to a daughter in Cedar City in 1855 so it seems this family went right to Cedar City, after they landed in America.

Their 7th child was a son named Peter, born 23 October 1858 in Parowan, Iron county, Utah. He was baptized a member of the church in 1869 when he was 11 years old. When Peter was 20 years old he married 18 year old Harriet Emily Decker in the St. George Temple. Harriet was the daughter of Zachariah Bruyn and Nancy Bean Decker of Parowan, Utah. Nine months later their first baby son, Don Alvin Mickelsen, was born in Parowan.

The San Juan Mission was formed to help protect the south eastern part of the Utah Territory from some very dangerous elements. It was an isolated area, perfect as a hide out for the many bank and train robbers, cattle rustlers and other criminals that were found there. Also the Church leaders had a desire to help the warlike, destitute Native-American's find a more peaceful and prosperous way of life. There was farm and pasture land, and the church leaders hoped that area could be settled while land was still available.

Little did Peter and Harriet know of the terrible trial that lay directly ahead of them. When their baby was a newborn, they became a part of the "San Juan Mission", better known as the "Hole-in-the-Rock Trek." This "Trek" consisted of 250 men, women and children in about 85 wagons, about 1000 animals and was expected to last 6 weeks. It became an unbelievable ordeal of building roads through rocks and mountains that lasted 6 months, from October 1879 to April 1880. It has been called the most difficult of any journey taken by Mormon pioneers.

"The Hole in the Rock is a trail forged by early Mormon pioneers across southern Utah. The Hole in the Rock Trail is so-named due to a large crack in a cliff wall enlarged by the pioneers, 1800 feet above the canyon floor, so that they could transport their wagons through it and down across the river in the bottom of the canyon. The struggle to accomplish this task was so great, that the entire trail became known as the Hole in the Rock trail." (http://holeintherock.info/overview/overview2.htm)

Elizabeth Decker, sister-in-law of Peter and Harriet wrote about her experience:
"We crossed the river on the 1st of Feb. all safe; was not half as scared as we thought we'd be, it was the easiest part of our journey. Coming down the hole in the rock to get to the river was ten times as bad. If you ever come this way it will scare you to death to look down it. It is about a mile from the top down to the river and it is almost strait down, the cliffs on each side are five hundred ft. high, and there is just room enough for a wagon to do down. It nearly scared me to death.

The first wagon I saw go down, put the brake on and rough locked the hind wheels and had a big rope fastened to the wagon and about ten men holding back on it and then they went down like they would smash everything. I'll never forget that day. When we was walking down Willie looked back and cried and asked me how we would get back home. (http://holeintherock.info/TakeThePlunge/down16.htm)

Peter and his young wife were completely unprepared to spend six months living in a covered wagon with their tiny baby son, but miraculously they survived and set up housekeeping in Bluff, Utah, which was also home to vicious outlaws, wild animals, hostile Native-Americans and a land that was almost impossible to farm. The pioneers built 40 to 50 one room cabins closely together in a large square to form a fort to offer them protection.

A year later, May 13, 1881 Harriet gave birth to a second son, Peter Adelbert, and 18 months later, Oct 13, 1882, her third son, Joseph Rasmus was born in Bluff.

Peter and Harriet were faithful to their beliefs, and Peter entered into a plural marriage, marrying Ida Mary Dalton in the St. George Temple March 2, 1883. Ida was one of the twin daughters born in Parowan to Edward and Mary Dalton. In February of 1884 both of Peter's wives gave birth to new babies. Ethel Gertrude was born 19 February to Harriet, and on the 27th of February Ida had a son named Edward Meeks Mickelsen. Tragedy came to the young family 10 months later, when 3 ½ year old Peter Adelburt caught scarlet fever and passed away on December 28.

Many challenges had come to Peter and his young family, and more were ahead. Farming in the tiny valley was next to impossible as the farmers were flooded out time and time again. Inside some of the homes, the clay and sand stood two feet deep. The outlaws had become more daring and there was no noticeable improvement among the Native American's as a group. Three times they asked their leaders to release them from their mission.

"Surely the mission had failed; it had butted against the impossible; the Mormon leaders had underestimated the difficulty of the work they had assigned. The people of the mission were reluctant to report again to the Church leaders that the task was too hard, but they were distressed, afflicted, at the end of their resources. They reported the condition of affairs as they stood, and devoted themselves to saving what they could from the wreck of the flood while they awaited the expected permission to look for places to make peaceful homes beyond this disordered borderland. They believed that they could find in any direction a country better adapted to human habitation than this sand-bed in the midst of ten thousand thieves. Joseph F. Smith and Erastus Snow of the General Authorities made the long trip from Salt Lake City to inspect again the important outpost. They gazed with amazement at the havoc of the flood. They heard about thieves, desperadoes; remoteness of isolation with no roads on which to get out; they heard of the festering of natures elements always ready to explode on short notice at this unsheltered end of the trail. They showed their sympathetic comprehension of all these things, yet when they spoke to the people assembled in the old log meeting house, they said in substance. "We love you for the heroic part you have taken; you have made a wonderful beginning towards a most important work; and if it is no more than you can endure, we release you with our blessings to go, but we cannot give up this essential post. Those who go will be blessed, but those who stay will be doubly blessed."

A few of the families who were living in Bluff did leave. Some went to Arizona, and some were called to go to the San Luis Valley in Southern Colorado to teach and help church converts from Georgia learn to farm. Peter and Harriet went to Manassa, Colorado, in the San Luis Valley, by covered wagon. Their reasons for leaving Bluff are unknown to us, but we do know that Anna Mae, the last child of Peter and Harriet was born in Manassa March 25, 1886.

It is unknown when Ida and her son went to the valley in Colorado, but according to family lore, Ida persuaded Peter to leave Manassa, and take her and their son, Edward, to live in Globe, Arizona. His son, Joseph Rasmus, was about 5 or 6 at the time, and the family story is told of little Rasmus, running behind the wagon, crying and begging his father not to leave. But Peter did leave, and Harriet was left alone with 4 small children. The family probably did not see their father and husband again until he was buried in the Manassa Cemetery in 1888.

Peter had long been plagued by ill health and suffered from kidney disease. He became a mail carrier in Arizona, and soon died of kidney failure in Hackberry, Arizona. He was only 29 ½ years old. He left two widows, one in Arizona and one in Colorado, and five fatherless children. His oldest son was 11, his youngest child, Anna Mae, was two.

Harriet remarried nine years later to John Cornelius Gilleland and had two more sons, John Vernell and Cornelius Gilleland. She died in Manassa, Colorado in 1937. 

Ida remarried sixteen years later, to Joseph Booth McDonald, but they had no children. She died in St. George in 1921. If they had stayed, in what ways would they have been doubly blessed?  It makes one wonder, doesn't it? 
(Thanks to Bonnie Brantley of Eureka, Utah,  written Feb 2010 for Daughters of Utah Pioneers)

Harriet Emily Decker (born 4 Jan 1861) was his 1st wife; they were married 8 January 1879.

Saint George,Washington,Utah.  She died 12 Aug 1937. NEW MANASSA CEMETERY COLORADO

Harriet Emily Decker Gilleland shown in photo

The family is shown as members of Conejos Co. Church Records Manassa Ward Members List - 1920.  It shows Harriet with a new name (Gilleland) which is likely as her husband died in 1888.





Child on Trek: Don Alvin Mickelsen was born 12 October 1879 Parowan, Iron, Utah He was the oldest of five children. Don Alvin Mickelsen was born 12 October 1879 in Parowan, Iron County, Utah to Peter and Harriet Emily Decker Mickelsen. Peter was their first baby, and as a family they became a part of the “Hole-in-the-Rock” expedition. As no journals of this family have been located it is impossible to know the experiences of this newly formed family as they prepared themselves to live in a covered wagon with their new born son. He was six months old when the group reached Bluff and set up housekeeping. Three more children were born to Peter and Harriet while they lived in Bluff. Peter Adelbert, Joseph Rasmus and Ethel Gertrude.


 He died 9 October 1945.  (More information included on Children of the Rock: http://childrenoftherock.blogspot.com/search/label/Mickelsen)