Serepta Lorinda Curtis was 22 when she and her husband William Jolley left Kanesville Iowa for

Utah in 1852. She probably had two children with her at the time they crossed and she had
eleven children in all. Serepta died at age 59 in Utah.
2 stories:
On 19 July 1853, during the Walker War, William had the misfortune of being shot by an arrow
in his right arm. He was on guard duty at the time, at the mouth of Spanish Fork Canyon. When
Serepta, at Springville, heard that he had been shot, she started out on foot with her baby Reuben
Gardner in her arms to go to him. Only one man, Edward Coyle, dared go with her. William
recovered but his arm was always stiff. William later learned to speak the Indian language
fluently and had many friends among them.
Speaking of husbands reminds one of an incident that happening during the pioneer settling of
the Utah towns when plural marriage was a legal custom. It was during this time that William
Jackson Jolley, Sr. approached his wife, Serepta, on this subject. Hoping to be tactful, and at the
same time convincing, he asked Serepta, wasn't he, William, a respected leader in his community
and his church? Now, if he was to continue as such a person, wouldn't it be advisable to take
another wife, and thus prove that he was living up to this important image? In Serepta's answer
to William, there were no bitter words spoken. It would be alright with her, she said, if he chose
to do so, but when he took another wife, she, Serepta, would find it necessary to live without
him. But do as you like; I shall not stand in your way.