Joseph Henry Moesser and Martha Evans: Tending Family, Farm, and Community

Joseph Henry Moesser (1868–1917): Son of Pioneers, Father of a Community

Martha Evans Moesser (1870-1951): Woman of exceptional strength and dedication

Joseph Henry Moesser was born in 1868, the son of Joseph Hyrum Moesser and Elizabeth Rushton, who were among the first wave of Mormon pioneers to enter the Salt Lake Valley in 1847. Like so many families of that era, the Moessers and Rushtons carved out homes from raw desert land, dug irrigation ditches, cleared sagebrush, planted crops, and laid the foundations for strong farm communities on the valley’s west side.

Joseph Henry carried that pioneer spirit into his own family life. He married Martha Evans (1870–1951), the daughter of John and Elizabeth Evans, who themselves immigrated to Utah in 1854 and were among the early settlers who helped tame the Hunter area into productive farmland. Together, Joseph Henry and Martha built their life on a farm at 3663 South 5600 West, raising ten children in the same fields his parents and hers had once cleared and worked by hand.

When Joseph Henry passed away in 1917, his youngest child was just three years old. Martha, known for her grit and kind heart, refused to give up the farm or her family’s dreams. She worked the land from sunup to sundown, tending fields and animals while raising her children and watching over neighbors. For decades, she was known in the Hunter community as an outstanding neighbor — the kind of person who would lend a hand, share a meal, or help with chores, no matter how long her own day had already been.

Through Martha’s tireless devotion, the Moesser farm stayed strong, providing for her children and securing the family’s deep roots in the Hunter area. Many of their descendants carried forward that same spirit of community service —