John Wilce Alger (1820 - 1897)

John Alger was the son of Samuel & Clarrissa Hancock Alger. He was born in Lebanon (Now New Lyme),Astabula county, Ohio. His parents were early converts of the Mormon Church and John was baptized with his parents in 1830.

John married Sarah Ann Pulsipher, the daughter of Zera & Mary Brown Pulsipher on 6 Jan 1842 in Nauvoo, Illinois. They were married by the LDS Prophet Joseph Smith. The Alger & Pulsipher familes both played a large part in the building of the Church both in Illinois and in Utah. John was a skilled carpenter & wheelwright and he was instrumental in making the wagons and other articles needed to cross the plains. John & Sarah and their parents crossed the plains in Sarah's father's company. The Zera Pulsipher Company consisted of 100 wagons and arrived in Salt Lake between the 20th and 24th of Sep 1848.

John & Sarah were the parents of twelve children: Nelson, Sarah Ann, Olivia, Adlina Eliza, John Zera, Martha Ellen, Ann Eliza, Samuel Nelson Pulsipher, Alva Don Pulsipher, Willard Edgar, Ashby Morris & Mary Edna Alger (Ashby & Mary Edna were twins).

John practiced the Mormon tenent of polygamy, marrying 2nd Rachel Michael Jones on 27 Feb 1855 in Salt Lake City. They had no children and were later divorced. He married Rachel "Regula" Hug (Roulet) 22 Apr 1856 in Salt Lake City, they had one daughter Sophia, but also divorced. He married Jane Ann Burnett, 26 Oct 1861 in Salt Lake City and they were the parents of eight children: Mary Elizabeth, Luna Luella, Franklin Burnett, Edmund, Alonzo, Gerret H., Clarissa & Joseph Eli Alger. John married once more to Sarah Ann Edwards, the widow of his brother Thomas Alger, on 7 Sep 1867 in Salt Lake City. They had one son Thomas George Alger. This last marriage also ended in divorce.

In 1864 John & Sarah, along with his parents, and their daughter Sarah & her husband William Edward Cowley, were called to go to the Dixie Mission. John's parents Samuel & Clarissa settled in Parowan, and John & Sarah and families went on to St. George. He was later called to help care for stock being grazed in Diamond Valley, and later on Alger Canyon, and Little Pine Valley (the latter near the town of Hebron which was settled by Zera Pulsipher and his family). John also helped settle Hamblin in the north end of the Mountain Meadows in Clover Valley. He later returned to St. George, where Sarah had remained.

It was stated that "John was a man who loved dancing and entertainment. He liked to sing and did his part at parties and social gatherings"

Several of his & Sarah's offspring moved to Castle Valley, in Emery county Utah. They were later joined by John's wife Jane Burnett & she and John's sons. John spent his elderly years frequently visiting the families of his offspring. His last few weeks were filled with fever and agonizing pain, as he died of gangrene poisoning. John died 4 Feb 1897 at St. George, at age 76.