Frances Elizabeth LeMaster Cazier – Cazier Family Organization

Research on Frances Elizabeth LeMaster Cazier

By Martha (Mattie) Cazier Eagar (Mrs. James H.)

During the past few years I have endeavored to learn what became of Frances Elizabeth LeMaster Cazier – where she went after leaving Nephi, where she died and was buried and what became of her children. It seems that she was married in 1843 near Lovington, Illinois and her first son was born and died the day he was born. Her daughter, Maranda Jane was also born in Lovington, Illinois on the 1 August 1845 – the same year that Frances Elizabeth LeMaster Cazier was baptised by James Best and became a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This was at the time when mobs attacked the settlements where the saints were living, mobbing and burning homes and causing much suffering among the saints.

Frances Elizabeth and her daughter were left at Council Bluffs when her husband, John Cazier and his older brother James, joined the Mormon Battalion, this was on the 16th day of July 1846. Eighteen months later John returned to Council Bluffs, Iowa, found his wife in poor circumstances and proceeded to find employment to earn money so that he could join the saints in the Salt Lake Valley. He moved to St. Joseph, Missouri where he split rails for fencing and in the spring of 1850 he started with his mules and wagon for the thousand mile journey to the Valley. His son John William was born in 1848 at St. Joseph, Missouri. They arrived in Salt Lake in 1850 and lived in the fourth ward. A year later he joined his father – this was in the late fall – and the two families were among the first pioneers to settle Nephi, Utah. Mary Elizabeth Cazier was born 3 March 1851 in Salt Lake City – she married Richard Hewitt Irons in 180 and the 1880 U.S. Census of McPherson County, Kansas was dim in writing and not easy to read so I did not find that she was living in McPherson County, Kansas as has been assumed. However, a family group sheet of the above is on file in our church archives and this seems to indicate that they did live in McPherson Co., Kansas.

Charles Hyrum was born 13 Feb 1855, Benjamin Franklin was born 16 June 1857, Frances Pleasant was born 28 Oct 1859, Emmaretta was born 30 Dec 1861 and Lemuel was born 11 Feb 1864. From the 1860 U.S. Census of Nephi, Juab County, it would seem that another child was born in 1859 to Frances Elizabeth LeMaster and John Cazier. His name was Parley F. Cazier. ?Twin. All six of these children were born in Nephi, Utah and were blessed by William Cazier, Jacob G. Bigler and William Turner.

An examination of the 1860 census return of Nephi, Juab County, Utah Territory records the following:

Name	Age	Where Born	Notes
John Cazier	39	Virginia
Elizabeth	35	Tennessee
Angeline	30	England	John’s second wife in polygamy
Maranda Jane	15	Illinois
John William	12	Missouri
Mary E	8	Utah Territory
Lunetta	5	Utah Territory
Charles Hyrum	3	Utah Territory
Benjamin Franklin	2	Utah Territory
Frances Pleasant	8/12	Utah Territory
Parley F	8/12<	v
John Henry	1	Utah Territory

The 1870 census of Nephi, Juab Co., Utah Territory reveals that John Cazier was living in a separate household with his wife Angeline and four children. Frances Cazier was living in a separate household with her son Benjamin, age 13, Frances, age 10, Emeretta, age 8 and Lemuel, age 6. John William Cazier was married to Alice age 17 born in England – this was also a separate household.

The 1880 U.S. Census for Nephi City, Juab Co., Utah, records John Cazier and his wife Angelina living in their household. With them are their first eight children. John was age 59 years, a freighter and farmer. I did not find Elizabeth LeMaster Cazier in this census, not did I find a record of any of her children living in Nephi, Utah, in 1880.

Searching “CAZIER” family records at our genealogical church archives I found a family group sheet for Charles Hyrum Cazier and his wife Frances Amanda Woodward and their three sons. Charles Hyrum Cazier was born at Nephi, Utah 13 Feb 1855 – son of John Cazier and Frances Elizabeth LeMaster! So I knew that I had found one of the relatives I was seeking! This family record had been submitted by R. L. Woodward of Salt Lake City. Further research revealed that Mr. Woodward was deceased. This family record stated that the three sons of Charles Hyrum and Frances Amanda Cazier were born in the 1881-1889 period at Willow Creek, Gallatin Co., Montana. Mr. Woodward’s record also stated that Charles Hyrum Cazier may have died at Payette, Idaho. Research at the Dept. of Vital Statistics of Idaho were negative as to his death in Payette, Idaho.

I then searched the 1880 U.S. census of Gallatin Co., Montana and found the following:

Name	Age	Occupation	Where Born	Where Father Born	Where Mother Born	Remarks
Charles H. Cazier	25	farmer	Utah	Tenn.	Tenn.
Frances A. Cazier	19	wife	Wisc.	N.Y.	N.Y.	Frances A. Woodward was her surname
Thomas Kelly	20	brother-in-law	Irel.	Irel.	Irel.
John W. Cazier	31	farmer	Mo.	Tenn.	Tenn.	Why didn’t they say their father was born VA?
Alice Cazier	26	wife	Eng.	Eng.	Eng.
William E. Cazier	9	son	Utah	Mo.	Eng.
Lillian Cazier	4	daughter	Utah	Mo.	Eng.
Amie Cazier	1	daughter	Utah	Mo.	Eng.
Carrie Woodward	17	sis-in-law	Wisc.	N.Y.	N.Y.
William Pyper	24	farmer	Utah	Scotland	Scotland
Benjamin Cazier	22	laborer	Utah	Tenn.	Tenn.

It seems that there was no record of Frances Elizabeth LeMaster, nor other of her children, as living in Gallatin Valley, Montana in the 1880 period of time.

However, thru my correspondence with different sources and people, additional information was found and many interesting hours, weeks and months were passed in undertaking research on the descendants of Frances Elizabeth LeMaster Cazier and her husband John Cazier. Some of these descendants family group sheets are to be found in this my Cazier book.