"William (Bill) Rivers born in England (possibly Staffordshire) in 1836. Family history says he may have fought as a Northerner during the Civil War and that he may have gone to the Colorado gold fields afterwards. We do know he settled in Cassia County, Idaho where he owned two ranches. We also know he married Eleanora Rose in 1882, they had a son, William Rivers, in 1883 and that great-grandfather was killed in Albion in 1885. " ~Betty Marker (Jimmie's wife) http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/RIVERS/2001-03/0985435369
The follwing file contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Chris Storey chrissy_7@q.com October 22, 2009, 2:02 pm
Source: Betty Marker
Author: Betty Marker
In 1885 the spark of a water usage dispute ignited the fuse of the intense individualism of the Cottonwood ranchers. It is believed that John Iverson accused Rivers of an impropiety regarding the Cottonwood water. This dispute was serious enough that Iverson caused Rivers' arrest and subsequent detention in the Cassia County jail at Albion. In those days, one of the duties of the sheriff was to take his prisioners from the jail to an eating house for meals. The dining room was part of, or close to a bar. It was at the Albion Saloon, on the evening of January 31, 1885, that Rivers, in a mood of rage,derision, or both, threatened to slap the sheriff's face. If not his life, then Stark's reputation as a peasce officer was at stake. Fact, not hearsay, tells that the sheriff, acting in a forthright, if extreme, manner, shot Rivers through the abdomen. The mortally wounded man was taken th a nearby hotel and put to bed. His wife Eleanor, and a doctor were sent for. Rivers lingered in great pain for about twent-four hours. He had time to relate that during the Civil War he, a Northener, had come upon Stark, a Confederate soldier, drinking from a stream and had spared Stark's life. Yet Stark had shot him on what he considered small provocation. Originally Bill was buried across from his Cottonwood ranch home, but new owners of property requested he be removed, thus he is now buried at the Warm Springs Cemetery. On his tombstone: W'm Rivers-Died Feb 2 1885-Aged 49 years- Life is short-Death is certain.
Additional Comments: William was not a scoundrel, but a hard working, husband and father, simply living in the old west. Rumor says that William Rivers actually was moved from his first burial spot because his spirit haunted the area.
File at: http://files.usgwarchives.org/id/cassia/bios/rivers64nbs.txt
He moved to Emmett area in 1885 with his parents. After getting married in 1923, he moved to Twin Falls, Idaho for a time, and then moved back to Emmett in 1929. He retired from the sheep industry (sheep shearing) in 1945. He was LDS. Invalid baptism temple code: LIVIN.
This person's information was combined while in Ancestral File. The following submitters of the information may or may not agree with the combining of the information: WALLACE W./BATES/ (2065780) KERMA ZIERLEIN/DAVIS/ (2069635) JOHN A/BATES/ (2073327) MARVA JEAN/RANSOM/ (2093731) DIANA M./YOUNGSTROM/ (2110747) MAX/MURDOCK (2239142) ASHLEY D./LEE/ (2312368)
DEATH: Heber City - Funeral services for Nellie Walker Smith, 80, of Heber City, who died Thursday of an illness at the home of a niece in Springville, will be Saturday at 11 a.m. in the First Ward Chapel, Heber.
Friends may call at Olpin Mortuary tonight from 7 to 9 o'clock and Saturday prior to services. Burial will be in the Heber Cemetery.
Mrs. Smith was born April 15, 1893 in Huntington, Emery County, a daughter of John and Emily Matilda Braithwaite Walker. She married Joseph William Smith on Sept. 12, 1910 in Caldwell, Ida., and the marriage was solemnized later in the Salt Lake LDS Temple.
Survivors include one brother and four sisters, Arthur Henry Walker, Emmett, Ida.; Mrs. Edna Muir and Mrs. Curtis (Blanche) Muir, both of Heber City; Mrs. B.C. (Mary) Huffman, Filer, Ida., and Mrs. Roy (Lizzie) Murdock, Overton, Nev.
Published: The Herald, Provo, Utah, Friday, July 13, 1973BIOGRAPHY: No children
Living
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