To the editor:
My late husband, Myron Edwin O'Connor, was a descendant of Jehu Cox. When we moved here from Washington state in 1950, we made a point to locate Union Fort and the Jehu Cox home.However, as that part of the valley became more settled, we assumed that Jehu's house had fallen victim to the expanding population and subdivisions.
My children and I were delighted to discover a few months ago that it was still standing. But we were not so delighted to hear what the commercial developers wanted to do with it.
It was my pleasure to accompany my son and his family on a short trip to Fairview this past Memorial Day to locate once again the graves of Jehu Cox and his wife, Sarah, who were called to colonize the Sanpete Valley in the late 1850s.
While there, we encountered a small group of people who, we discovered, were also descendants of this pioneer couple. It would be interesting to find out how many of their descendants still live in Utah, and particularly in Salt Lake Valley.
On behalf of my children and grandchildren, I urge the county commission to find some way to preserve the Jehu Cox home and the remnants of the Union Fort walls that were recently uncovered. This is a historical treasure that we should not allow to be obliterated.
H.D. O'Connor
West Valley City