CASTO,MATHEW GALLAND

Mathew Galland Casto Elizabeth Daniels

b. 9 May 1822 b. 12 Sep 1824

w. Lawrence, Ind. w. London, Middlesex, England

d. 27 Dec 1899 d. 14 Feb 1903

F. Abel Casto F. George Dalton Daniels

M. Mary Galland M. Elizabeth Barnes

Children:

Mathew "W" b.25 Mar 1848 Council Bluff, Pott. Iowa d. 27 Mar 1848

George Ezra b. 25 Feb 1849 d. 18 Jan 1929

Brigham b. 21 Oct 1850 d. 27 Jan 1929

Elizabeth Mary b. 1 Jan 1853 Salt Lake City, SL.UT.d. 20 July 1922

Sarah Jane b. 31 Aug 1856 " " " " d. 25 Aug 1927

Abel b. 23 Apr 1859 Manti, Sanpete, Utah d. 22Jul1942

Emily b. 23 Mar 1863 Manti, " " d. 11 Apr 1933

MATHEW GALLAND CASTO AND ELIZABETH DANIELS CASTO--PIONEERS OF 1852 AMY COLLINGS AVERY-ed by ROBERT Z. NIELSON (NOT ALL PROVEN)

Mathew Galland Casto. the son of Abel Casto and Mary (Polly) Galland,

was born May 9, 1822 in Laurence County, Indiana.

Mathew was always very proud of his Galland name and relatives and he

tallked of them often. His friends nicknamed him "Mattie-Four-Quarts".

Mathew spent his childhood days on a sugar plantation on the Casto Island

in the Missouri River (this Island has this name today). He made several

trips down the river by raft to sell lumber. On one of these trips he

was shot at and wounded by the Indians. He also had a raft accident on

another trip and broke several ribs and had a terrible bruse on his leg.

These two injuries are important causes of his poor health during his

later life.

When he was about 16 he stayed with a wealthy uncle in Iowa, who was a

Doctor of medecine and has been thought this was Dr. Isaac Galland, who

was so good to the saints. Mathew studied medecine under his uncle.

While there he heard the Gospel and at the age of 17 he joined the church

and was baptized in Nauvoo, Illinois, July 4, 1839 by the prophet Joseph

Smith, 2 months after the Prophet had moved there and one month after the

first house was built there.

Little is known of Mathew Casto's early life except that he was refined,

neat and very precise in what he did. He was very studious. In his

later life, my father David said that whenever grandfather heard a

quotation or a new word, he always memorized it. He wrote the new words

on a slate, learned to spell it, defined it, and used it in a sentence.

In this way he gained a vocabulary. Mathew had studied and planned to

become a Doctor; but when he was 18 years of age, he married a young

inexperienced girl who was a cousin to the Prophet Joseph Smith. Two

children were born to this union, Joseph and Hyrum. This marriage only

lasted approximately 3 years because of the hardships and their youth and

inexperience. Mathew left his wife and their babies. He never saw them

again.

In 1846 Mathew met a Mr. Smith of Missouri, who introduced one of his

young wives to Mathew as his (Smith's) sister. Mr. Smith was kind enough

to mary his own wife, Elizabeth, to Mathew, who knew nothing of her

previous marriage.

Elizabeth, daughter of George Dalton Daniels and Elizabeth Barnes, was

born Sep. 12 1824 at London, Middlesex, England. Her parents were od the

middle class and gave her an excellent education. When she heard the

Gospel she gained a testimony and was converted. Her father was very

angry at her for joining the Mormons, however, she was baptized May 8,

1841 by Elder W. Lewsey in England. She was re-baptized by Wilfred

Woodruff, Sep. 14,1845 in London England.

Elizabeth had worked and earned money for passage to america. At the

very last minute her mistress refused to pay her. One of her girl

friends told her that her father would pay her way, but she didn't

believe he would. Her faith was so great that she took her bags and

trusting in God to help her, went to the dock. There she met her father

and as he stepped up and bade her good-bye, he shook hands with her and

left money in her hands to pay for a third class passage to America.

Soon after her arrival in America, she married a Mr. Smith of Missouri

first, and then she married Mathew Galland Casto as has been mentioned.

Mathew and Elizabeth had lived together in Nauvoo a short time when

Mathew was stricken with typhoid feverand couldn't leave in Feb 1846 when

most ot the Saints were driven by the Mobs from Nauvoo. The Casto home,

where Mathew lay helpless, was set a fire by the Mob. Orson Hyde rescued

them and roed Elizabeth and her husband safely across the the Mississippi

River and helped them to Winter Quarters, later named Council Bluffs,

Iowa. Orson Hyde took them to a cabin with only three walls, and a forth

side was covered with a quilt hung up to the ceiling. This is the story I

remember of grandmother Elizabeth telling my mother: "The house was so

cold with only a quilt hung up for one wall. I hugged my baby close to

keep it warm and after awhile I fell asleep. When I awakened, my baby was

dead. I wondered if it was too week or if he had really smothered." These

were the ordeals our parents went through.

The Castos lived in Winter Quarters for five years waiting in-vain for

Mathew to gain his strength. During that time three children were born.

Mathew, Jr. was born March 25,1848 and died two days later. George Ezra

was born February 25, 1849 and Brigham was born October 23 1850.

In 1852 Elizabeth with her invalid husband and babies arrived in Salt

Lake City. No one knows all the hardships she went through for her

husband never walked again in his life without help. Mathew and his wife

Elizabeth were rebaptized in Salt Lake City on Oct. 28, 1852 by William

Hawk. While they lived in Salt Lake City two more children were born;

Elizabeth Mary on Jan 7, 1853 and Sarah Jane on Aug 31, 1856.

Elizabeth Casto was a scribe and public speaker for Eliza R. Snow. She

also had the gift of speaking in Toungs. Sometimes she was her own

interpretor. It is known at least 5 times that she talked in tongues.

While living in Salt Lake City, Sister Casto went to Brigham Young and

asked to buy a lot of ground. He told her it would be too cruel to sell

such a poor piece of ground to a woman withan invalid husband and

children to support. Orson Hyde, wishing to help her, sold her his lot in

Manti for $60.00. They moved to Manti about 1858. Abel Nephi was born

there on April 22, 1859, and Emily, the youngest was born March 23, 1863.

During the Black Hawk War, Orson Hyde came to Manti and visited the

Castos. Sister Casto, who had always idolized Orson Hyde, apologized for

not paying more on their home. He took out the deed, signed it and gave

it to her although they had paid only a few dollars on the place.

Mathew Casto could talk the Indian Language and was a very good friend of

the Indians. The Indians, beleiving that friends should never trade nor

sell to a friend, would give him a tanned buckskin and his wife would

make gloves. She would give to the Indian a pair or two from each hide,

the rest she sold to help support her family.

When the Black Hawk War broke out at Manti, the Indians were angry at the

wicked treatment they had received from white people and for revenge they

killed all the white people they could. One day the two oldest Casto

boys, George and Brigham, went up into the hills after wood. The parents

prayed for their safe return home, and they never knew how their prayers

were answered until years later when the Indians were friendly again,one

old Indian told Brother and Sister Casto the following story: "When the

war first broke out, they were so angry because a white, Manti boy had

cut off the ear of one of the Indian boy because the Indian boys had won

a ball game. Shortly after this a band of Indians saw the white boys

alone in the hills with a team of oxen. They crept up to kill and them

but when they saw the boys were the "Papooses" of the "Squaw-with a Sick

Indian, which was the name the Indians gave to Sister Casto, they left

the boys unharmed and left an Indian to guard them from other harm. The

boys never saw any Indians that day and never dreamed of the danger that

might have came to them had their parents not have been such good friends

The poor mother, with her invalid husband and six children to care for,

had almost more than she could do at times. One day she and her children

went in search of mushrooms to eat, as they had no food nor money, but

they could find no mushrooms. She dragged herself back to the house and

fell weeping into a chair with her head on the table.Finally she stopped

weeping and prayed for food. She heard no sound, but as she opened her

eyes, there before her on the table was a sack of flour, a ham. a pound

of sugar, salt and several other articles of food. She thanked the Lord

it. No one knew how it came to be there.

They moved to Salina in 1872. In the history of Salina, it says she was

the first school teacher there. She held school in her home in 1872. She

was also the first councilor of the First President of the Relief Society

of Salina in 1872 and 1873. In 1875, they moved back to Manti. She was

The President of the Relief Society there. The Manti Temple was dedicated

on May28, 1888 and soon after she went to work in the Temple and labored

faithfully for ten years. About 1898 she and her invalid husband near

Monroe, to live with their youngest daughter, Emily and her husband,

Moroni Hunt, who owned a farm located south of Monroe, in a community

known as "Monkey Town." They enjoyed living in Monkey Town and while

there told many interesting stories of their lives to their grandchildren

After being an invalid for 53 years, Mathew Casto died at the age of 77

on Dec. 27, 1898. Elizabeth always thought of her religion as a comfort

and a blessing and lived for the time when she would receive her reward

in Heaven. She died 3 years after her husband on ST. Valentine's Day,

1903 at the age of 79. (They are burried in the Monroe Cemetery.)