(Stories and info taken from Memories and documents on LDS Family search)
William Decatur Kartchner was born May 4, 1820 in Harrfordtown, Pennsylvania to John Kartchner and Prudence Wilcox. His parents were so poor they apprenticed him to a local carpenter when he was only 7. William worked in this home for several years and learned to read from his master's wife. He worked for a range of "masters" for several years, some were quite severe and even beat him and he had little food but worked hard. At a young age he set off on his own, eventually working as a farmer with his brother, John. After reading a book on Mormon doctrine, he became convinced of its truthfulness, and joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints on May 8, 1843 at the age of 23. His brother's response was to ask if he had been baptized by "those damned Mormons," and then he was promptly disowned. He left to join the saints in Nauvoo after a time of prayer and study to determine what he should do. He went straight to the prophet's house and had a pleasant interview and counseling from the prophet Joseph. He later said as soon as he grasped the prophet's hand, he was sure that he was a prophet. He worked on the temple and was baptized for his father and other dead relatives in the river that fall. He worked as a blacksmith and served as a guard to the Nauvoo temple during the bitterly cold winter of 1843. The rheumatism he suffered as a result affected him for the rest of his life.
Margaret Jane Casteel was born September 1, 1825 in Copper County, Missouri to Jacob Israel Casteel and Sarah Nowlin Casteel- a devoutly Christian family of French blood, mixed with Irish, Scotch, and English. Not much is known of Margaret's early life, except that she was baptized into the church at 14 in Illinois. She was a woman of fine intellect and sterling character, modest and refined with a deep testimony of the gospel. She was also an exceptionally skilled weaver.
William met Margaret in Nauvoo and married her on March 21, 1844. The persecution of Joseph Smith became more severe, and William was always fiercely loyal to the prophet. To the end of his life he blamed Reynold Cahoon for not raising a force to go to Carthage and defend the prophet, leading to the martydom, in his mind. Due to the severe persecution against the church, the couple left Nauvoo shortly after their marriage and traveled to Iowa City with other saints. William was among those called to go before the Saints and put in crops preparatory to the church moving westward. They suffered under the charge of a Captain Emmett, who stole their property and starved the company. Their journey west was exceptionally difficult and they suffered from very short rations and illness.
From family search, "One day some Frenchmen and Indians came to their camp and invited them to come and camp near their fort. They pointed to their thin cheeks, realizing how near starvation they were. The Indians gave them dried buffalo meat, which the pioneers thought to be the best thing they had ever tasted. They also brought them roasting ears of corn and finally a Frenchman, M. Henrie, told the young Kartchner that his Indian wife was away and offered them a boarding place if Margaret would do the cooking. They gladly accepted his offer and sincerely appreciated his kindness."
They were eventually able to book passage on a steamboat to St. Louis, though they left in a destitute condition having all their goods stolen by Emmett. Mr. Henrie and the Indians gave them bundles of dried meat to take, and a traveling Frenchman gave them a blanket and ten dollars in silver, for which they were very grateful. They eventually recovered their health after staying some months with William's brother John, and joined the Mississippi company going west.
They continued to Pueblo, Colorado where they spent the winter of 1845-47 and had their first child, under a cottonwood tree where they made camp, after being turned out of their wagon by a Brother Crow, who broke his agreement to hire them to drive his wagon, leaving them with almost no provisions again. Their daughter, as the first white child born in the state of Colorado, later received a gold medal for the honor. After the long and hard and journey, William and Margaret arrived in the Salt Lake valley in July 1847, just three days after Brigham Young's company. They opened the second blacksmith shop in the valley, and William often had to work on his knees because of the effects of his rheumatism. They lived in Salt Lake City for a few years and then moved to San Bernadino, CA.
When the San Bernadino settlement closed, the family moved to Beaver, UT where they stayed for 8 years. Next they moved to a settlement in Nevada for a time, and then on to Panguitch, UT where William became Panguitch's first postmaster. In all of their settlements, Margaret was kept very busy, raising chickens, spinning and weaving, and caring for her 11 children. She lost two sons and a baby daughter in infancy.
Never allowed to settle down for long, the family was next called to settle Arizona. Some warned him that his health was too bad to make it to AZ. He replied, "On the day I start for Arizona, I shall arise from my bed. I may fall, but I'll fall with my face toward Arizona." They made their way by way of Lee's Ferry over the Colorado River and camped for six months before settling in Snowflake, AZ in 1878. William brought to Snowflake a great tradition of music, with his sons playing the violin and his daughter the accordion, and many of them sang. All of the children played instruments, and the family loved to sing.
From Family Search: "Margaret Kartchner had spent thirty-four years of her life in helping to colonize four of the western states. She had walked many weary miles, and had journeyed many thousands of miles over mountains and deserts, where no roads eased the rocky way, behind slow, plodding oxen, months at a time, having only a wagon-box for her home. Now, at last, she had reached a haven of rest, for Snowflake was to be her permanent home. A rather fine log house was built and life seemed now to have settled into a more peaceful, and less strenuous pattern of living. She took part in the activities of the new settlement, especially in the religious affairs.
William became the first postmaster in Snowflake and also the Sunday school superintendent, in addition to his career as a farmer and blacksmith. William died in Snowflake after 14 years in the area at the age of 72, May 14, 1892.
William D. Kartchner was a remarkable individual. Despite suffering from many health problems and setbacks throughout his life, he went willingly wherever the church called him to go. From all accounts he was a talented blacksmith, a dependable settler, and a kind and loving father. His posterity is very numerous across the Western states, all descendants of this valiant pioneer, including our Larson family.
It's hard to imagine the level of sacrifice and hardship William and Margaret endured as colonizers of the West and saints of the church. Would we sacrifice as they did, for the sake of the gospel and our posterity? They are a a shining light to all of their posterity and may we use their example to inspire our own and our children's lives.
**Listen to audio recording of William's daughter talking about her father's testimony and meeting with the Prophet Joseph Smith. www.familysearch.org, under William Decatur Kartchner
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