THE LIFE OF JOSEPH OXBORROW
as told by his daughter Lizzie McArthur to Ina M. Bracken, July, 1952

Joseph Oxborrow was born March 16 in Swilland, Suffolk, England. According to the church records he was born in 1817. The marker at his grave in the St. George Cemetery bears the date 1818. His parents were Ephraim and Elizabeth Dunn Oxborrow. He had eight brothers and one sister. As a boy he learned the arts of baking and butchering in a shop owned by his brother.

His first wife, Jenette Potter, was born in Essex, England, October 24, 1816 and died in St. George, Utah May 19, 1885. We have no record of the date of this marriage, but as nearly as Mother can remember, grandfather was about 22 years old. There were no children born to this union, but they adopted a little girl who died before they came to America.
Joseph and Jenette both were baptized members of the L.D.S. Church on January 5, 1853, at Ipswich, England, by George A. Day. After Grandfather joined the Church, his parents ad family disowned him and his brother discharged him from the shop. Shortly after this, they sold their home and what property they could and came to America, arriving in Utah about 1857 or 1858. They came by ox team to the Salt Lake Valley.

On October 6, 1861, at the General Conference in Salt Lake City, President Brigham
Young called three hundred families to settle the Dixie Mission. Grandfather and Aunt Jenette were among this group. They came to St. George during that winter. In Albert E. Miller’s book, “Immortal Pioneers” he lists Grandfather’s family as one living in the Valley in the spring of 1862. He also lists Joseph Oxborrow as a subscriber of $20 for the purpose of building the first “Stone structure for educational and social purposes.” Mr. Miller says there were 120 such subscribers
and “not one of these subscribers had a roof over his own head as yet.”

Mother says Grandfather drove his ox team and William Carter held the plow to plow the first ditch from the west spring into the valley. Joseph Oxborrow was called as a baker to the Dixie Mission. While the Temple and Tabernacle were being built, the Saints would bring flour to his shop to exchange for bread.

On June 21, 1870, he married Mary Leicht in the Salt Lake Endowment House. Their first child, Joseph, was born in August of 1871. In 1872 Joseph Oxborrow was called to cook for the saw mill hands on Beaver Mountain. Here they were cutting lumber for the Salt Lake Tabernacle and Temple. Here with his two wives he spent three years. His second child, Elizabeth, was born at Beaver. Grandfather also cooked for the miners of the Grand Gulch Mine for a number of years. Upon his return to St. George, he built and ran his own bakery. It was located where the Mathis Market now stands at 74 East Tabernacle Street. This proved to be a
poor investment and about 1879 a cook was needed at the Temple so Grandfather moved his family to a little house on the southeast corner of the grounds. The family lived there for five years and Grandfather took care of the grounds for another seven years.

After Aunt Jenette’s death, the family moved from the Temple grounds into her home at 61 South 4th West. At the time of his death he was operating a butcher shop at 48 East Tabernacle. An interesting entry in an old account book of his reads, “October 17, 1891— Received of Gates Brothers, 1 beef, weight—504 lbs., at 7c a pound. Total, $35.28.”

Joseph Oxborrow died June 15, 1895, of causes incident to age. He is buried in the St. George Cemetery. He is the father of 11 children.

Patriarchal Blessing of Joseph Oxborrow may be found in the L.D.S. Church records, Book 42, page 40.