Daniel Henry Cloward
30 August 1820 – 14 March 1903


 
       As we make our way through the twists and turns on the road of life, we never know what awaits around the next bend. Will it be a smooth straight path through a lush valley or will it be a steep rocky climb to yet another summit? Who will we cross paths with? Will they be a blessing in our life or the source of grief? We don't know what challenges we will be faced with and most of the time we have little control over what they are, unless we bring them on by our carelessness or foolishness. The only control we really have is over the attitude with which we face the uncertainties of life. Sometimes there comes an instant in life when everything is turned upside down and life at it was will never, ever be the same again.

        Daniel Cloward was born on August 30, 1820 in Chester County, Pennsylvania. He was the son of Jacob and Catherine Ann Pluck Cloward. His father was born in 1790 in North Melford, Maryland and his mother was born in 1795 in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. He was the third in a family of ten children, all of who were born in Pennsylvania. His older sisters were, Catherine Ann (10 May 1815) and Charlotte (6 Oct 1818). Those younger than him were William (4 Mar 1822). Thomas Poulson (10 Dec 1823). James Mason (17 Oct 1826), and Jacob Jr (19 Jul 1828). In 1829 When Daniel was about nine years old his family moved to Wilmington, New Castle County, Delaware where his brother Albert Wilson (9 Jun 1830 – 9 Feb 1831) and his sisters Hannah Jane (12 Oct 1833), and Elizabeth Ann (11 Oct 1836) were born.

        When Daniel was twenty years of age he married Miss Ruth Bailey Logan, the daughter of Joseph and Olive Rangon Logan. She was nearly a year older than he was, having been born on October 23, 1819 in Chester County, Pennsylvania. Their marriage took place on October 15, 1819 at Unionville,Delaware County, Pennsylvania with the ceremony being performed by John Smith, Esquire.

        It was in Wilmington that the Clowards were introduced to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1841. The first to join the church were Daniel and and his wife. Over the next two years, his parents and all his siblings who were of age were also baptized. By the fall of 1843 the entire family moved to Nauvoo, Illinois to join with the Saints.

        Daniel and Ruth became parents in October of 1842 when their son, Joseph, was born. He died a year later on October 28, 1843 in Nauvoo. Catherine Emma was born near Nauvoo at Bear Creek, Hancock County, Illinois on May 25, 1845.

        The saints were undergoing severe persecution at this time and were finally driven from their homes in and around Nauvoo during the cold winter and spring of 1846. Daniel and his family were among those who had to flee across the Mississippi River and seek refuge in Iowa. They traveled some 200 miles across Iowa and camped on the Missouri River at Winter Quarters. A makeshift city of crude log cabins was built to accommodate the refugees as they regrouped. Daniel, Ruth, and their family along with the entire Cloward Family remained at Winter Quarters for five years where they lived in the Winter Quarters 15th Ward. It was under these trying conditions in Council Bluffs, Iowa, that Daniel Henry, Jr. was born on February 11, 1848 and Heber C. was born on December 17, 1851. In 1851 his parents and his sister Charlotte and her husband Elias Harmer, and their family crossed the plains. When they arrived in the Utah Territory, they went to Provo to prepare a place for the rest of the family to come the next year. That winter, Jacob Cloward, the patriarch of the family died on December 5, 1851, only two short months after their arrival in Provo.

        The rest of the Cloward Family headed west for the Salt Lake Valley on June 6, 1852 with the David Wood Company. About 288 individuals and about 58 wagons were in the company when it began its journey from the outfitting post at Kanesville, Iowa (now Council Bluffs). The trek was uneventful and there were no problems with the Indians. They arrived in the Salt Lake Valley on September 20, 1852. Upon their arrival in the territory, the entire family went directly to Provo where they established their new home.

        Daniel and Ruth Cloward became the parents of one more child after they arrived in Provo. This was Mary Jane who was born on February 2, 1853. Daniel set about providing for his family by securing land and and began farming. After only a couple of years in the Utah Territory, Daniel suffered a fall, resulting in a ruptured blood vessel in his head, causing severe brain damage. Due to his mental incapacities, he was no longer able to live with his family and was placed in an asylum. He was never again in his right mind. He was harmless for the most part but was known for starting fights.

        Under these circumstances, Ruth was released from their marriage, allowing her to marry again, she then became the second wife of William McKee Faucett on July 27, 1856 in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City.

        At the time of his accident he was about 35 years old. Daniel lived the rest of his life, about 48 years, under these sad conditions. He died on March 14, 1903 in Provo, Utah County, Utah at the ripe old age of eighty-two and a half years, thus ending the earthly sojourn of a stalwart pioneer. He is buried in the Provo Cemetery.

        Of Daniel's four children who grew to maturity, they chose the following for their mates: Catherine Emma married Lemuel Hague in 1862 and Emulous Sanford in 1871 and died in 1916. Daniel Henry, Jr. married Celesta A. Harwood in 1879 and died in 1902. Heber C. never married and died in 1910. Mary Jane married Adelbert Breed Searle in 1874 and died in 1918.



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The main source of this story is from a history arranged for Irene Cloward Hayes.