General Notes

REFN: PRI
MARRIED IN THE LOGAN TEMPLE.
History filed by Thelma Pritchett Woodward 1 May 1989, County Historian
S L Co. Daughters of the Pioneers. Arrived in Utah Aug 31, l864, with
James Mitchell Pritchett Co.

BIOGRAPHY:  Dark war clouds hung heavily over the southland as their second child, a husky boy, was born to Samuel Napoleon Bona-part and Mary Jane Gillespie Pritchett. He was born in Linn County, Missouri, March 19, 1863, as the first signs of spring were bringing new life to the fields and meadows, and was named Napoleon Bonapart Pritchett. It was a big name for a baby boy, but he was to grow into a strong, virile man who bore the big name proudly. His brother, John William Pritchett, who was only two and a half years old, welcomed the new baby brother as a friend and companion, a feeling which stayed with them throughout their lives.
The mother, Mary Jane Gillespie, was born July 16, 1840, in Smyth County, Virginia, a daughter of John Popler and Nancy Beaver Thomas Gillespie. She grew up in Virginia but when she was twelve years old she moved with her family to Kentucky. Her family had been neighbors and friends to the Pritchett family in Virginia.
The father, Samuel Napoleon Bonapart Pritchett, was born in Smyth County, Virginia, January 18, 1827, a son of John Anderson and Nancy Hilton Albert Johnston Pritchett. He married Mary Elizabeth McIntire, also of Smyth County, Virginia, about 1850. They became the parents of two daughters, Kittie Evaline Pritchett, born December 12, 1851, and Unice Pritchett, born August 10, 1854, born in Smyth County, Virginia. On August 8, 1855, Mary Elizabeth died, leaving her sorrowing young husband to care for his two little girls. Eleven days later, August 19, 1855, tiny Unice, just past her first birthday, also passed away. Samuel Napoleon Bonapart, lonely and bewildered by his loss, took his little daughter, Kittie Evaline, and joined other members of his family as they prepared to move to Kentucky. As rumors of war became an actuality, they disposed of their holdings in Virginia. His father, John Anderson Pritchett, owned a large and beautiful plantation which he leased out for ninety-nine years instead of selling it. James Mitchell Pritchett, brother of John Anderson Pritchett, had organized Pritchett Emigration Company, taking other groups to the Kentucky area. When the Pritchetts were ready to move to Kentucky, they also traveled with Pritchett Emigration Company.
When the family arrived in Kentucky, it was natural that they should look up their old friends, the Gillespies. Mary Jane was now an attractive, blue-eyed, slender young lady in her late teens. The young widower had thought of her as a child in their previous acquaintance, but now became very much attracted to her. As the winter wore on, the mutual attraction became love and the next summer (about 1859) they were married.
As the rumbles of the Civil War became more ominous, S.N.B. Pritchett took his bride and small daughter and moved to Linn County, in the "free" state of Missouri. Here Mary Jane gave birth to her first child, whom they named John William. Two and a half years later their second son arrived, and they named him Napoleon Bonapart.
The failing economy of Civil War times made the sizable amount of money they had received for their holdings in Virginia almost worthless and S.N.B. decided to move his family west. They joined the Mormon exodus and in 1865, evidently in an independent company whose captain, William DeCalb Pritchett was an uncle. They emigrated to Utah, settling in Fairview, Sanpete County.
Little is known of the early childhood of N. B. 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