THE LIFE OF JOHN CONRAD NAEGLE
(Compiled from The Gospel In Action: the
Gospel Doctrine Course of Study for the Sunday
Schools of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-
day Saints for the year 1949 by Thomas C. Romney,
also from histories written by his daughter, Rosanna
N. Lunt, and his son, George Conrad Naegle.)
“Again, the kingdom of Heaven is like unto a merchantman, seeking goodly pearls: who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.” Matthew 13:45-46.
“But seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” Matthew 6:33.
John Conrad Naegle, son of John Henry and Ottilia Wissing, was born at Albersweiler, Bavaria, Germany, 14 Sep 1825. When he was seven years old, his parents brought him to America, making their home in Indiana. His boyhood days were spent on the farm where, like Abraham Lincoln, he spent considerable time splitting rails when not engaged in planting, cultivating, and harvesting crops.
His education after coming to America was extremely limited, three months all told, but he was very serious minded and of a studious nature so much so that when he arrived at the stage of manhood, he was considered a fairly well-educated man.
While in the middle teens, he heard of the Prophet Joseph Smith through his half-brother, Conrad Kleinman, who, together with his wife, had become identified with the newly-organized Church. Young John C. Naegle was greatly impressed with the revealed doctrine and had a great desire to learn more about the strange religion; particularly was he anxious to see the modern-day prophet in person. The young boy, knowing both his parents were opposed to the Church, nevertheless decided to leave his parent’s home without their knowledge and follow his half-brother to Nauvoo to see the living prophet. After placing several suits of clothes in a carpet bag, he dropped them out the window and made his way quietly down the back stairs. In the excitement of leaving home, he forgot his money, which he had withdrawn from the bank and placed in his drawer. He never discovered the loss until he went to pay his fare, but the captain of a river boat permitted him to work his way down the Ohio River and up the Mississippi to Nauvoo. On arriving in Nauvoo he found the prophet, Joseph Smith, and his brother, Hyrum, had already met their deaths at the hands of the mob.
John C. Naegle had been in Nauvoo but a short time when he was convinced that he had found the object of his search--the Pearl of Great Price--and for it he was willing to pay the full price, even if it meant the giving of his life. And from that decision he never wavered throughout his long eventful life. To him eternal salvation in the Kingdom of God was the only thing of enduring value, the one purpose in life. That he never doubted. Attending his first meeting with his brother, Conrad, in answer to President Young’s plea for funds to complete the Nauvoo Temple, he pledged what he had, one of his extra suits of clothes and turned in a coat for tithing; then after his baptism, he began working on the Temple and remained at this job until the completion of that sacred edifice.
When the Saints were driven from their homes and began their westward journey, John C. Naegle was one of the first to cross the Mississippi River. It was in the early part of Feb 1846 that he drove a church wagon across the river ice. This wagon, he believed, contained many of the choice records of the Church and other thing of great value. From the Mississippi he went to Council Bluffs in William Clayton’s Company, better known as the Nauvoo Band Company.
When the call came from the Government of the United States for five hundred able-bodied men from the camps of the Mormon exiles to fight in the war against Mexico, young Naegle volunteered his services to his country. He was only twenty-one years of age, but of splendid physique and capable of enduring the hardships and privations incident to warfare.
He was thrilled with the stirring words of President Young at Winter Quarters ad with his prophetic utterances as the Battalion boys were about ready to take up their line of march. President Young promised them, in the name of the Lord, that if they would obey their superior officers, attend to their prayers, and not defile themselves, that they would not have to fight or shed blood and that not one of them would fall by the hand of the enemy. A most remarkable prediction to make to an army going to battle! But nevertheless, the words of the prophet of God had a literal fulfillment.
Many trials and untold hardships were encountered by these valiant men in that infantry march of 2000 miles. Frequently they were hungry, being compelled at times to eat the broth of boiled rawhide to keep from starving; and the heat of the desert, lack of drinking water, and the sickness resulting from starvation and exposure that visited their camp, well-nigh overcame them; but none of these difficulties turned them aside from their path of duty.
Upon one occasion, as the company approached a Mexican town from an over shadowing mesa, their commander ordered the wagons and the infantry to form a line to exaggerate their numbers. When the inhabitants saw the battalion coming, they abandoned their homes and fled into the hills. The Battalion boys entered the town without firing a shot and replenished their supplies, helping themselves only to what they needed.
At another time a large herd of buffalo came smashing into the midst of the wagon train, goring several of the mules, tipping over some of the wagons, and giving fright to the men, but no one was injured. Several of the buffalo were slain for food. The only real fight the Battalion boys had was with some wild bulls on the San Pedro River near the International Boundary Line; some of the bulls were killed and the rest routed.
John C. Naegle was a man of large frame, being six feet two inches tall, broad-shouldered and thin and straight of stature, normally weighing 218 pounds. He scarcely knew his own strength, and men marveled as they beheld him shoulder a large pine log and bring it into camp to replenish the fire, when two others had been struggling with it to no purpose. Colonel Cooke declared Naegle to be one of the very strongest men under his command. Naegle was in Company A, under the direct command of Captain Jefferson Hunt. This group of men arrived at San Diego, CA, about 30 Jan 1847. Following their discharge, Naegle re-enlisted and for some time was stationed at San Diego.
A quote from The Mormon Battalion, page 17, says, “This company had very little military duty to perform; hence, by virtue of agreement with the military commander, made before enlistment, most of the men . . . turned their attention to common and mechanical labor . . . Henry G. Boyle writes: ‘I think I whitewashed all of San Diego. We did their black smithing, put up a bakery, made and repaired carts, and, in fine, did all we could to benefit ourselves as well as the citizens. . . .The citizens became so attached to us that before our term of service expired, they petitioned the governor of California to use his influence to keep us in the service. The petition was duly signed by every citizen of the town.’”
After John C. Naegle’s release from army service, he worked his way north to Sutter’s Mill and was working on the mill race when the first gold was discovered. In six weeks’ time he washed out approximately $3000.00 in gold. Thinking this more than sufficient to meet his needs, he decided to accompany some of the Battalion boys to the Great Salt Lake Valley, but being practically barefoot and not being able, where he was working, to obtain shoes that would fit him, he made a trip to San Francisco for some. That changed his whole plan. Because of the lateness of the season, he decided to work the winter in San Francisco. Then instead of going to Utah, he made the purchase of a large tract of land in the heart of San Jose Valley. San Jose, just south of San Francisco, was then the county seat of Santa Clara County as well as the first capital of California. John C. Naegle’s property lay adjoining the San Jose Mission. Engaging in gardening, farming and stock-raising, he found this farm-mule ranch far more profitable than gold-panning, for these were years when all kinds of produce demanded top prices. The result was that thousands of dollars poured into the treasury of John C. Naegle and he became a wealthy man. He hired Spaniards to work for him, and it was during those years that he leaned the Spanish language which proved to be of much service throughout his life.
In 1853 he rented his farm and went by water to the Isthmus of Panama, crossed it on a wild mule ahead of the rest of his company, took ship for New York City, and thence overland to Indiana to see his parents. While there he married a childhood sweetheart, Mary Louise Kepple, 15 Jun 1853. With his wife and parents and his younger brother, Henry, he left for Florence, NB, to join a company of gold seekers en route to CA. They reached Salt Lake City 1 Nov 1853. He bought a large farm at Lehi and took up two ranches across the Jordan, one at Cold Springs near Lehi Bridge, the other at Hot Springs, now Saratoga. These were to serve later for the raising of horses and cattle as well as farming and fruit growing.
Leaving his wife and parents, Elder Naegle, accompanied by his younger brother, Henry, traveled the southern route to California, arriving at his San Jose home on Christmas Day, 1853. Finding everything well taken care of, he rented his farm for another year and returned to the Salt Lake Valley with some of the Battalion boys who had still remained in California during the gold rush days. They, in company with Parley Williams, a United States Mail carrier, were vigorously attacked and harassed by roving bands of hostile Indians. Some of the men came near losing their lives. Peace was eventually made with the Indians by giving them flour, crackers, tobacco, red bandana handkerchiefs and other articles.
Somewhere along the muddy river, John C. Naegle, fearful of being robbed of a buckskin bag of gold he was carrying, dug a hole in which he placed it, carefully covering it with dirt and a flat stone. (On a later trip he retrieved his gold.) The company arrived in Salt Lake City 1 Apr 1854. Venturing again, he bought flour, loaded his wagons with it, and took his wife and his parents to Carson Valley, Nevada, then a supply camp for emigrants to the coast, sold his flour for a good price and continued on to San Jose. He remained in California for two more years, acquiring considerable wealth. Always he kept an open house for missionaries. President George Q. Cannon of the Hawaiian Mission, Apostle Parley P. Pratt, and many others stayed at his home. Sister Cannon related this incident: When their oldest children, Abraham H. and Rachael Naegle were little, Brother Naegle gave them nuggets of gold to play with saying that it mattered not if some of them did fall into the cracks of the farmhouse floor as he had plenty.
He was always liberal with his means and generously assisted all who needed help. He kept an open house for the missionaries and many of the Church officials called on him and were entertained in royal fashion. Among them were President George Q. Cannon and wife, Elizabeth, and Apostle Parley P. Pratt. He furnished Brother Cannon with the money required to print the Book of Mormon in the Hawaiian language in the year 1855. This was the beginning of a friendship between these two men that was to last as long as life. In later years the Cannon home in Salt Lake City was always the stopping place for the Naegles when they came to the city, and Naegle homes, both in San Jose and later in Lehi, were always open house to the Cannons, as well as other friends and strangers.
In Oct 1856, John C. Naegle and family returned to Utah to make their home. He sold out their California possessions at a good profit. Then upon arriving in Salt Lake City, he paid a thousand dollars in tithing and gave another thousand to the Church toward the construction of the Salt Lake Temple. He also donated liberally to the Perpetual Emigrating Fund to assist poor Saints to Zion. Bishop Edward Hunter, then Presiding Bishop of the Church said, “Brother John, you have paid more gold as tithing at one time than any other man in the Church.” A familiar saying of Bishop Hunter’s was: “Pay your tithes and be blessed.”
After John C. Had paid his tithes and his Temple offering, he still had gold left, so he took it to President Brigham Young, saying, “I do not need this bag of gold. You can use it to better advantage to help the Church than I.”
President Young replied, “Brother John, the Lord sent you here. Take your gold and go East. Purchase a grist mill, a saw mill, and a carding machine and bring them here to help the Saints and assist them to build up this western country.” This he did. The grist mill may have been the one in Liberty Park, but the carding machine was set up in American Fork Canyon and the Saw Mill in Spanish Fork Canyon. He also furnished two yoke of oxen, a wagon, and a paid teamster to haul granite from Cottonwood Canyon for the Temple. Also at times he sent six-horse and six-mule teams with trail wagons east to bring immigrants to Deseret. During the entire Black Hawk War he furnished a man, horse, arms and ammunition.
John C. Naegle discovered the Saratoga Springs tract which he “homesteaded.” Inasmuch as he had to spend much of his time on the land, his wife, Louisa, went there to be with her husband. Hers was a staunch loyalty that never wavered throughout the years. One of those years he harvested 7000 bushels of grain. Religiously he paid tithing on all that he made or owned. Both John C. And Louisa accepted all the principles of the Gospel including the doctrine of polygamy. Louisa was perfectly willing for her husband to take other wives. 6 Jul 1857, John Conrad Naegle married sisters, Susan and Rosanna Zimmerman. President Brigham Young performed the ceremonies. As a token of appreciation, John C. presented President Young with a fifty dollar gold piece. At that time John C. Was also homesteading a ranch near Cold Springs near the Lehi Bridge over the Jordan River. So the Zimmerman brides made their first home on this profitable tract of land, part of which later was set into large apple orchards. Never was there a worm in an apple that came from “over Jordan.” Harvested, the apples were hauled to Lehi where they were stored in the cellars under the “Big House,” the granary, and the workshop. Just the week before Christmas holidays, he would freight the apples to ZCMI for top prices because of their top quality. Many of the top men of the Church were frequently entertained in his home including President John Taylor whose two sons lived in the Naegle home for more than two years, as John C. Kept the mail station as well as a store in Lehi. John Taylor’s two sons worked at the station. All were welcome at the “Big House,” including other wives. In 1860 he married Verena Bryner. 6 Oct 1860 he married Regula Benz. Later he married Pauline Beck, and lastly Rosalia Ann Zahler, 17 Feb 1877. Each of the wives had her own room in the “Big House.”
John C. Naegle was called a “Brigham-man” because he was always on hand to do the President of the Church’s bidding and ever-ready with his fine teams, carriages, and saddle horses for the escort of sometimes fifty men to accompany Brigham Young on his tours in those early days of Utah and Arizona in locating and colonizing settlements. At one time he made President Young a present of one hundred horses. He made two trips to California to get horses of endurance to carry the overland mail, as well as a band of mares to go into the raising of a better breed of horses and mules. During the flush days of the Pioche Mines in Nevada, when freighting was good, he sold many a span of horses sired by his imported stallion, Old John, for as much as $400.00. During one of the Indian depredations, the Indians drove off about 100 mares and 18 mules. He said that it was good the Indians took that many off his hands or the immediate vicinity would have been over-run with horses. He was a great bronco rider and broke many wild horses and mules to ride as well as to work as team animals.