wife: Olive Loretta Sanders

Napoleon Bonaparte Pritchett is the son of Mary Jane Gillespie and Samuel Napoleon Bonaparte Pritchett.

His parents, Samuel Napoleon Bonaparte and Mary Jane Pritchett called him "Bone. When "Bone" was eighteen months old, he came across the Plains with his parents. One morning when they were camped near the Platte River his mother noticed a dress in the water and realized it was the dress "Boney" was wearing. She ran out into the water and as she did, she knocked her copper kettle into the river. She retrieved her baby and he was fine.

-story above by great-grandson Clyde Prichett.

In Omaha, Nebraska, Napoleon Pritchett and his brother, William Pritchett and their two families, had come from Missouri and were headed for Utah. Part of their group was the Peery family, and the Peery family had never driven oxen; it was very awkward and hard for them to learn. William and Napoleon Pritchett, however, had had experience in driving oxen, and they were very kind in teaching the others how to do so.

After traveling a few days, D.H. Peery proposed that they organize into a Company and elect a captain; he succeeded in having William Pritchett made captain. William Pritchett was a hard-working, capable man. Many of the Missourians opposed him being made captain because he was a Mormon. Mr. Easterday, a non-Mormon, sided with D.H. Peery to make William Pritchett captain. The other Missourians were so angry that the Mormon had been made captain, that they showed their feelings by naming their oxen, Brigham, Heber. They would say, "Get up Brig. Go along Hebe." And finally they left their Company after traveling with them about a week or two.

They we arrived at Echo Canyon.

-from Life of Elizabeth Letitia Higginbotham Peery

Napoleon Bonaparte Pritchett married Olive Loretta Sanders November 16, 1887.
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Little is known of the early childhood of Napoleon Bonaparte Pritchett, the name by which Napoleon Bonapart was known during his adult life. His mother called him "Boney," which was soon shortened to Bone by his brothers and close associates.

An interesting story is told of an incident that happened on the North Platte River as the company moved west.

Little two-year-old Boney was hot, tired and thirsty as he followed his mother toward the bank of the river. He was tired of jolting along in the wagon, but when he walked the rocks hurt his feet and the dust got into his shoes and stockings. His dress (the customary attire of baby boys at that time) was hot and cumbersome about his short legs. He was too young to understand why his folks had left their home in Missouri to come on this long and tiresome journey.

His mother, tall, angular and strong as she moved down toward the river, was weary. She had known this trip to Zion would not be easy (and it was doubly tiring now as she carried an unborn child), but she was willing and anxious to do her share of the work. As the men were arranging the wagons to camp for the night near the river, she picked up her precious brass kettle and headed for the river to get fresh water for her family. This kettle was a most useful item in this time of shortage of utensils, for it could be pressed into service for so many purposes beside carrying water. It could be hung over the fire to heat water for cooking and for washing dishes, clothing, and family; to cook in; to milk the cow in; to store things safely for traveling; to turn upside down over the food as a protection against flies; and for countless other things.

Mary Jane was unaware that her baby boy was following closely behind her until just as she stooped and dipped her brass kettle into the stream; she heard a small scream and turned to see little Boney slip into the river. Instinctively she let go of the bail of the kettle and her hand shot out, clutching the little boy's dress and pulling him safely to shore. As she sank trembling to the ground and gathered the gasping, dripping baby into her arms, she saw her priceless brass kettle bob merrily on the surface of the river, far beyond her reach, then disappear from sight. Even though she was thankful she had been able to save the life of her baby, she was frustrated and more than a little annoyed at the loss of her kettle. In later years N. B. would laughingly tell how at times when he had been particularly exasperating, his mother would shake her finger at him and say, "Boney, sometimes I wonder if I should have saved my brass kettle."

On August 10, 1865, shortly after Samuel Napoleon Bonaparte, his wife, daughter and two small sons had arrived in Fairview; Mary Jane gave birth to her third son, Simon Philemon.

On July 6, 1868, the first daughter was born into the S.N.B. Pritchett family, and she was named Elizabeth Arminta. She was the pride of the three little boys, but as they grew older they annoyed her at times with their persistent teasing.

Fairview (or North Bend as it was called at the time) was selected in 1859 as a suitable site for a colony. A small group of brave men left their families in the fort at Mt. Pleasant and erected homes, surrounded by a small fort, on the site of the present city. They dug ditches for irrigation of crops and estimated there was only sufficient water for twenty-four to thirty families. A post office was obtained in 1864, and the name of the town was changed to Fairview.

The early settlers struggled hard against Indians, cold and hunger. There was disappointment in harvesting crops, and consequent poverty and distress for the pioneers. The winter of 1865 was very cold and severe. In 1866, the Indians became so troublesome the settlers were forced to flee to larger settlements. In the fall the men returned and built a larger, stronger fort where the families stayed until the Black Hawk War ended in 1868-69. The treaty ending that war was signed in 1872 at Mt. Pleasant, Utah.

There was a constant dread of Indian depredations and many of the recorded crimes by redmen in that country were committed in this area. In June, 1870, while the family still lived in the fort, S.N.B. Pritchett and a companion were attacked by Indians, but escaped without injury. However, Mr. Pritchett died at Fairview, Utah, October 22, 1870, as a result of the extreme exertion involved in escaping from the Indian attack. He had been a farmer and stockman. His death left Mary Jane alone to provide for her young family of four, the eldest ten years of age.
Life was hard in this land of Indians, grasshoppers, anxiety and privation. The people had to be strong, able to withstand the hardships and determined to crown their efforts with success. Mary Jane was no exception. She taught her children to work hard and make the best of what they had. There were no shoes to wear, so they would wrap their feet in rags and in winter a board would be heated and carried with them to throw down on the ground and stand on occasionally as they ran through the snow to school. If there was no bread with which to make a sandwich, their mother would bake or boil potatoes in the skins and send them piping hot with little sister Lizzie at lunchtime so the boys could have something to eat. When he was nine years old, Napoleon Bonaprte cut wood to earn money to buy his first pair of shoes.

On July 22, 1871, Mary Jane married Joseph Gaston Gar-lick, who had seven children, the oldest nineteen, and the youngest seven. Their log home still stands (and is occupied) in Fairview. To them were born four children--Joseph Elsbury, Jedediah, Nancy Emeline and Erastus Garlick. John and Napoleon Bonaparte built an addition to this house and fixed the upstairs so there would be more room for the growing family, and to make things easier for their mother.


Napoleon Bonaparte was an exceptionally strong, athletic-type man about six feet, two inches tall, weighing about 190 pounds. He had clear blue eyes and very dark hair. He lived in Fairview all his life. He finally went into the sheep business, accumulating 2500 head. He acquired seventy-five acres of land east of town, near Cottonwood Canyon, on which he built a house. He worked on railroad construction in Thistle and Sanpete valleys during 1889-1890.

About this time he began to pay particular attention to a slender, sandy-haired, blue-eyed young lady named Olive Loretta Sanders, a daughter of Captain John Franklin and Nancy Irene Clement Sanders. She was born October 19, 1870, at Fairview. Her parents were among the early settlers of Fair-view and her father was wealthy from extensive cattle holdings. He had brought two companies of emigrants to Utah. Olive's mother had died when Olive was not quite five years old. Her father had then moved to Arizona with his second wife, Jane Gibson, leaving the two youngest, Olive and her baby brother, Darius, in the care of their oldest sister, Nancy, and her husband, Walter Cox, and taking the other five children with him.

Olive was an active, alert girl and her sparkling, witty personality soon won Napoleon Bonaparte over completely. Fairview had a love of amusements. There was a Social Hall and the Eclipse Pavilion for dancing, public meetings, dramas, etc., to which N. B. squired Olive. After a period of courtship, he persuaded her to marry him. She was seventeen, he was twenty-four. Much lengthy preparation went into the wedding trip by team and wagon to Logan, where they were to be married in the Logan LDS Temple. The trip took several days. They were accompanied by George Steward and W. Elizabeth Terry, and the two couples were married in the temple November 16, 1887. They returned to Fairview for a round of dinners and parties honoring the newlyweds.

Napoleon Bonaparte and Olive loved each other deeply. She was proud of him and his achievements. She delighted to toll stories of his strength and athletic ability, of his wit and fine intellect, of his desire and effort to gain knowledge and educate himself by reading and studying. He encouraged her to further her education as well. The tender, loving letters he wrote to her when he was away from home were a joy to read.

They established their first home on his land east of town, where their first child, Mary Loretta, was born on January 19, 1889. Napoleon Bonaparte had herded sheep for the co-op herd when he was only seventeen, and now, in order to supplement his income, he contracted to herd sheep for others along with his own. His brothers worked with him at times. His young half-sister, Nancy, stayed with Olive at nights when he was away. He was fond of Nancy and she loved to toll of the many kind things he did for her when he lived at home before his marriage. One special story was of the shiny new shoes he bought her, and then persuaded his mother to let her wear them to Sunday school the next day instead of putting them away until the Fourth of July.

He and his brother John were the first to develop a system for bringing water to Fairview from the Gooseberry area. In 1896 he sold his sheep and engaged in the cattle business. By 1898 he had accumulated seventy head of cattle and 150 acres of land, and was considered an "extensive and successful farmer and stockman." He was a stockholder in the Gooseberry Irrigation Company, the Creamery, the Union Roller Mill and the Co-op Store. He served as deputy city marshal for two years.

Olive told of wanting a chicken coop, but they hadn't lumber to build one. One day a group of men were gathered at a sawmill in the canyon. A young athlete who was working at the mill was attempting to jump flat-footed from the ground onto the bed of a wagon, but he was unable to do it. Napoleon Bonaparte said, "I can do it." The mill owner said, "I have a thousand feet of lumber that says you can't." Napoleon Bonaparte accepted the challenge and performed the feat of strength to the amazement of all assembled. Olive was doubtful that he should accept the lumber, but he knew he had won it fairly, so she got her chicken coop.

In order to better care for his animals, Napoleon Bonaparte studied to become a veterinarian. He learned from others, then bought books and read and studied until he was able to diagnose almost any ailment among his animals. He also purchased a fine set of veterinary tools, a little at a time. His services were in demand all over the area and he even pulled human teeth when it was necessary.

Napoleon Bonaparte was a hard-working man who made a good living for his family and was proud of all their achievements. He taught each of them to work when they were very small and expected them always to do their best in whatever they attempted. They usually followed his direction. He treated his family with respect and kindness, taking them to circuses, fairs, the Black Hawk celebration, and other celebrations whenever there were any in the area. He would load them into the wagon, white top buggy, automobile, train or whatever mode of travel was practical at the time. Members of his family often accompanied him in hauling coal from the mines in Fairview Canyon and in trips to the grist or roller mill for"grist" of flour. He took them by train to Salt Lake City and stayed in a hotel and to Far West on the interurban to visit relatives. They traveled by automobile to southern Utah to visit Olive's relatives and by train to California for a vacation.

A progressive man, Napoleon Bonaparte was always alert for the best and most modern methods and equipment for his farm and home. He was one of the first in Fairview to purchase an automobile, (a 1916 Overland), a cream separator, a sewing machine, washing machines--first a hand-driven one, then improved electrics--a bread mixer, a wheel-operated churn and anything else that would make his wife's work easier.

He always insisted on keeping a plentiful supply of available foods on hand--fresh or dried prunes, flour and cereals, beef, fresh and cured pork, vegetables in season, honey, jams, butter, cheese, milk, cream, etc. He thoroughly enjoyed fresh greens in the spring--beet greens, mustard greens or even young, tender dandelions or red root. He and Olive were very hospitable and friends, relatives and chance visitors were always welcome at their table right along with their own eleven children. They often sent the children with a coaster wagon or sled to take provisions to a widow or family in need. Many of their children's friends practically regarded the Pritchett home as their own.

He once supervised the transportation of a trainload of sheep to St. Louis and attended the World's Fair there. He enjoyed relating his experiences and telling of marvelous things he saw on that trip.

Napoleon Bonaparte and Olive became the parents of eleven children, all born at Fairview: Mary Loretta, Roland Napoleon, Hazel Burdella, John Fran, Thomas Lee, Gerald Darius, Beatrice Joyce, Thelma Lillian, Melrose Jed, Sanders Kenneth and June Elmo.

During the winter of 1918, Napoleon was very ill with a severe attack of influenza. While he was still sick in bed, a man from the community came and asked him to take care of a prize cow that was ill. He got out of bed and went to do what he could for the animal and as a result suffered a severe chill and a relapse. He never fully recovered from this illness, which was later diagnosed as Parkinson's disease. As his health gradually became worse, his boys took over more and more of his duties.

Napoleon Bonaparte was proud of his wife and large family. He had long planned an open-house celebration at the community hall in celebration of his and Olive's twenty-fifth anniversary, but Olive's brother Frank died just before the big day, so the event was cancelled and a dinner at home for relatives and close friends was substituted. Though Napoleon was disappointed, he planned a really big celebration for their fiftieth anniversary, but unfortunately, he died before that date. Olive loved to remember how he felt about their marriage. He died at his home in Fairview, February 6, 1931, at age sixty-seven. His funeral services were held in the Fairview North Ward chapel and his burial was in the family plot in Fairview cemetery, overlooking the valley he loved so much.

--Lois Watson Pritchett
An Enduring Legacy page 363-367
from myfamily.com, submitted by Cheryl Waterfall (The top two shorter stories I found from another source)