Oswald Barlow

20 July 1829 – 23 April 1876,

My Great Great Great Grandfather. 

Mary Jane Oliver

8 May 1831 – 18 January 1900

Brief History of Oswald Barlow 

Oswald Barlow was born July 20, 1829 at Prestwich, Lancashire, England, son of James and Crompton Barlow. At an early age he learned his trade, that of a mason and stone cutter, of which he became a master. This trade he followed the remainder of his life.

His favorite pastime was, band music, his specialty was playing the fife and drum. Later he became an able teacher of these instruments.

In March 1848 he married Catherine Nightingale at Manchester, England. Their first child, James, was born there on October 22, 1849. By this time they were both members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and as a result began to formulate plans to come to Zion. Oswald Barlow came to America about 1850 leaving his wife and child until he was able to send for them. He came across the plains, to Utah with one of the later bands of immigrants led by President Brigham Young. Oswald drove President Young’s team. He also lived and worked for him all the time he was in Salt Lake.

He married a second wife, Mary Jane Oliver, in the Endowment house in 1854. In the same year, he saved enough money to send for his first wife, Catherine, and young son to join them. Catherine and her son, James, were on the ocean seven weeks in a sailing vessel. Soon after they landed, Oswald met them and with a load of supplies and took them to Salt Lake. He was a teamster for President Brigham Young while engaged in traveling among the saints in the different stakes of Zion. (The same carriage, that President Young rode in and Oswald drove, is in the State Capital Building now on exhibition.)

In 1858, he moved his families to Payson, where President Young had ordered them to move, so that if the men had to fight Johnson’s Army, their wives and families would be safe. He left them there and returned to Salt Lake to help guard and hold the army back at Echo Canyon. While in Payson, Malinda was born in the old school house. After the saints had driven Johnson’s Army back, the Barlow families moved back to Salt Lake.

Oswald Barlow was a member of the first marshal band in Utah under the leadership of Professor Thomas. In 1859, he opened up a dancing school. He was an expert dancer and many were glad to receive instruction from him. The saints were interested in recreating and Brigham Young encouraged it. A number of his daughters were among the first pupils at the school. The people loved to hear him sing as he had a splendid bass voice and was a good entertainer.

In 1861, he was called to Dixie to help settle Southern Utah. At this time they had eight children, but he loaded both families into a covered wagon which was drawn by two yoke of oxen. After a tiresome journey of three weeks, they arrived in St. George on December 3, 1861. They camped on the old camp ground at the adobe yard until the valley was cleared, brush taken off and the streets laid out. Apostle Erastus Snow put Oswald to work on building dwelling houses. He soon was able to purchase a lot in the west part of town. They lived there in a tent until he built their house.

He, being a good mason and stone cutter, worked off and on for seven years on the St. George Stake Tabernacle. He laid the foundation and walls of the court house and helped build all the prominent houses in this part of the country as far north as Beaver and west as far as Pioche. He did not work on the Temple as he had been instructed by Apostle Erastus Snow to build homes for the saints to live in. His sons worked on the Temple.

In 1863, he organized a Martial Band with nineteen members and they held band practices every Saturday night at his home. Alex Fullerton had the first base drum that was available in Utah. It was the drum that was heard fifteen miles in Echo Canyon at the time Johnson’s Army tried to enter the canyon in 1858. It was owned then by Alonzo Russell.

His families went through the hardships of pioneering and early settling. Many times they had nothing to eat but pigweed greens; but they prospered with the rest of the Saints.

Oswald died April 27, 1876 at St. George. He was the father of eighteen children; nine by the first wife Catherine, and nine by his second wife, Jane. He had eighty-seven grandchildren, two-hundred and nineteen great-grandchildren and thirty-six great-great-grandchildren, making a total of three-hundred and forty-two descendants. Since the writing of this history, there are many more descendants.

Located in the St. George City Cemetery.