Emma Elizabeth Hemming Rich

Emma Elizabeth Hemming Rich, daughter of William and Emma Sanford Hemming, was born June 10, 1859 in Williamsburg, Kings County, New York; she came to Utah with her parents when a year old, crossing the plains with the Daniel Robison Handcart Company, arriving in Salt Lake City, August 27, 1860, where she lived for one year, then moved to South Morgan, Morgan County, Utah.

When a girl, she went through the trials that were common with all the Pioneers, eating bread made from wheat ground in the coffee mill.  They were often hungry from the lack of food, and the bread even scratched their throat.  Because of the grasshoppers taking everything they had, they surely went short of bread and butter.  She gathered wool, spun it making stockings and dresses.  At the early age of sixteen she became a Relief Society teacher which office she filled with credit.  There was no Young Ladies' Mutual those days, and not much Sunday School, so she went to the Relief Society meetings, and enjoyed going teaching with an older sister, doing that until she married in 1877.

Emma met and married James Thomas Rich, son of John Henry and Lydia Pond Rich, who was born June 2, 1855 in Centerville, Davis County, Utah.  They were married on December 27, 1877 in the Salt Lake Endowment House, then she moved to Richville, Morgan County, Utah were they lived the remainder of their lives.  They were the parents of eleven children, six living to adulthood.

Her husband served a mission to the Southern States from November 15, 1898 to January 4, 1900, leaving his wife and six children.  It was hard to feed the family and send money for his keep.  One time he sent for money for a new suit as his was so shabby from constant wear.  It was their conference, and he needed it badly.  She sold and gathered all she could and still lacked five dollars.  She called her family together and offered a prayer to the Lord that the way might be opened up for her to get this extra five dollars.  She received no answer, and so decided to mail what she had.  As she walked in the post office, she shook hands with Brother James Tucker, and he left $5.00 in her hand, the exact amount she needed.  She always felt the Lord had heard and answered her prayers.  That night she called her family together and offered a prayer of Thanksgiving. 

She was very active as a church worker in the ward in which she lived, having been a Relief Society teacher and 1st counselor to Fanny Taggart for 17 years.  Sister Taggart died in 1891, and in 1901 Emma was chosen President and held the office for 25 years until 29 June 1926, at which time she resigned because of ill health.  While she was Relief Society President she visited the sick, laid out the dead, and made and dressed them in their temple clothes for burial.  She went teaching with a baby on one arm and a bucket on the other and gathered up the donations of the sisters such as eggs, a bar of soap, spool of thread, and any little thing the sisters could afford to give.  In gathering up the wheat for the time of need she and her partner would hitch up the horses on a wagon or buggy and drive all day, then deliver the grain to the Relief Society granary where it was kept.

She enjoyed her work and thankful for having the privilege of associated with the brothers and sisters of her ward until her health failed and she was released with a nice social and party.

Emma and James were the parents of eleven children:

James Thomas and Emma Elizabeth Hemming Rich with their children
William John and James Henry

William John Rich  1879 - 1888 - died age 9 years
Thomas James Rich  1881 - 1881 twin  died near birth
Elizabeth Emma Rich 1881 - 1881 twin  died near birth
James Henry Rich  1882 - 1960
Charles Alfred Rich  1884 - 1966
Lydia Jane Rich Parkinson  1886 - 1978
Charlotte Mae Rich Chapin  1889 - 1975
Emma Flossie Rich Spencer 1891 - 1971
Baby Rich  1893 - 1893 died near birth
Elsie Hemming Rich  1895-1898   died age 2 1/2 years
Eliza Edith Rich Holley  1898 - 1973

One son, James Henry was counselor in the Bishopric of Slaterville Ward, Ogden, Utah for 10 years and Bishop for five years.  Charles Alfred spent two years in the Eastern States Mission.  Lydia was in the presidency of the Relief Society of the North Morgan Ward, for 23 years.  All of Emma and James children were married in the Salt Lake Temple and have filled many positions of trust in the LDS Church.  Five of their grandchildren filled honorable LDS missions.  Five grandsons served in the Armed Forces.

Both Emma and James remained faithful Latter-day Saints until death.  James Thomas Rich died March 18, 1918 at the age of 62.    Emma lived another 22 years, and had said, "I trust I shall ever be faithful in the truth of the Gospel at all times to the end of my life."  Emma passed away at the age of 82, on  December 27, 1940 at the home of her son James,  in Slaterville, Weber County, Utah.  She had been ill for three years, following a paralyzing stroke.  Her funeral was in Richville, and she is buried next to her husband in the South Morgan Cemetery.

Memories of Grandma Rich (Emma Elizabeth Hemming Rich) by Hazel Chapin Mickelsen (grand-daughter)

Grandmother Rich was a very special spiritual person.  The way I remember her best is seeing her sitting in her wooden rocking chair which was always by the table in the dining room.  On the chair was a beautiful hand embroidered piece of cross stitch on blue and white gingham in the design of a deer scene.  I remember it being very detailed.  There was a cushion on the chair's bottom stuffed fat with chicken feathers to match the back.

Her hair was grey, and always looked neat by being all combed upon top of her head in a bun pinned with bone hair pins.  Some brown combs were added to keep the short ends in place, plus all the ladies at that time wore them.  The fun thing about her hair was that she would take it down and let me comb and brush it by the hour.  I would style it every way I could think of.  I enjoyed this very much, and I believe she did also.

She always wore a half apron which was just gathered on a waist band.  Her dress was long with plain long sleeves, no gathering on a band or elastic on the bottom of them, just hemmed.  I guess you would say these garments were made of calico or gingham.  She wore black laced oxfords.  She wore small lens gold rimmed glasses.

I can remember her house very well in detail.  The kitchen was small with a coal cook stove.  The oven door was left open much of the time when not in use for taking to help with the heating of the house.  I'm sure that stove had cooked many, many tasty good meals, and baked many delicious cookies, pies, and breads.  It seems one could never catch her with her pantry empty, because she always had a big crock of the best oatmeal cookies sitting on the floor of her pantry, oh, were they ever good !!  There was a small table with drop leaves sitting front of the kitchen window.  Flower pots with blooming house plants were on the window sill.  I believe they were mostly geraniums.  On the wall, opposite from the stove, were shelves where dishes, pans, and those things used daily were kept.  This had a front curtain of calico gathered on a string or rod which would keep things more private, plus it would keep out the dust so things would stay cleaner.  There was a small bedroom off the kitchen which had a big fat feather tick on the bed.

In the dining room there was a cot with both sides down so it looked like a small sofa.  There was also a beautiful china cupboard where her special dishes and other precious things were kept and were just used for company.  There was a pot-bellied stove to keep the room cozy and comfortable.

Two small rooms were off the north end of the dining room.  One was the pantry which had shelves across one end, and a waist high cupboard across the other end.  On top of this cupboard would be sitting a round shallow milk pan filled with milk, and thick rich cream that had come to the top.  We would have a thick piece of Grandma's good homemade bread spread with luscious sweet cream skimmed from the milk, and sugar sprinkled over the top.  We would take it  in our hands, and go outside on the porch to eat our special treat.  It was yummy !  There was also a boiler with a dish towel in the bottom, and a tight fitting lid which kept things from drying out.  This sat on the floor under the window.

The other room off the dining room was a small closet, and was used for hanging clothes and storage.  I remember well, helping to pick the large Greening apples from the big trees around the lot and preparing them for winter to keep in this closet.  We wrapped each apple in newspaper before putting them into the bushel box.

Off the dining room also, was a large room which was the parlor.  All I remember of this room is that it seemed huge.  There was an organ, a large square dining table in the middle of the room, lovely lace curtains which gathered at the top of the window and fell to the floor in soft folds.  There were dark green blinds to be pulled at night, and a woven rug on the floor.  Several handmade braided area rugs were scattered over the traffic areas.

Our trips from our home in Morgan to Richville were really special to us, and were planned well in advance.  We had a white horse named "Nellie" who pulled the one-seated buggy.  We would go spend the day in Richville with Grandma while my father was at home working.   After we would get past East Canyon Creek (headed West on Young Street) and up to the "Y" where we turned south, we would think we were halfway there.  There was a large irrigation ditch which was parallel to the road after we turned south on the last corner.  My mother would drive "Old Nellie" down into the ditch and we rode along in it as far as we could in the water before coming to a curve in the ditch where there was a bridge.  Mother said the water would lubricate the buggy wheels and also cool "Nellie" off.

Another thing I remember was the big raspberry patch  We would help to pick them when we would go to visit.  We always used to go to the chicken coop also, where there were about twenty five large Plymouth rock hens.  They laid big brown eggs,  and it was fun to gather them in a special bucket and take them to the house.  We played house in the many apple tress, and waded in a little ditch which ran just inside the front fence.  It was always fun to watch for the mailman too, because there was a real mailbox for him to put the mail in, and we could take it into the house.

It was always fun to go to Grandma's, and we all loved her very much.

Things I remember of my grandmother (Emma Elizabeth Hemming Rich) by Mae Chapin Butters (grand-daughter)

I remember the shiny corner kettles on the bench outside the back step.  The steps were scrubbed till they were worn from scrubbing.

The trail down to Uncle Charles Rich's home through the garden;  they always had a big garden.

The apple orchard of Greening and red Wealthy apples.  We used to go and pick several boxes for winter and wrap each apple in newspaper so they would keep better for winter use.  We did not have a basement, so we put them in the back of the closet where it was dark.  The green apples were so good to bake, and the red ones were better to eat.

The red and white check kitchen tablecloth which was worn in holes on the corners.  The old gray dishrag she had, and Uncle Amos (Aunt Eliza's husband) washing the dishes for one big family get together, tore a dish towel in two pieces, to use one-half for a dishrag.

Cookies in the big crock on the floor in the pantry.  I never found it empty - not even once.

Grandma's big feather bed, and how I used to go up to her place and stay by myself for a few days at a time.  We would kneel together by the side of the bed every night, and she would always say the nicest prayer out loud, then we would climb into bed.  She slept better than I did however, because she snored and kept me awake part of the night, but I never did tell her so.

Sometimes when mother would want to go to Grandmother's on a Sunday afternoon, Dad just didn't want to go.  He would hitch up the horse to the buggy for us, so mother and we three girls could go by ourselves.

I remember being to Grandmother's sometimes when Aunt Lydia and Uncle Fred Parkinson and family came.  As soon as they got there Uncle Fred would lay down on the couch in the dining room and go to sleep.  As soon as he woke up he'd say, "Well, Lydia, let's go home".  While he slept, I remember Ruth, Ida, and I would go in the parlor.  Ruth would always get a book out of the bottom of the sideboard and read, but I guess Ida and I just got into things.  We always used to look at all the knickknacks on the sideboard.  Grandma had a glass chicken like a dish with a lid on, and china dogs, etc.  We would only look, and not take anything down.

Grandma always had such nice ways and was always so good to us kids.  She would come to our house and stay a few days or sometimes a week at a time.  She would often help darn socks, sew on buttons, or whatever she could do that would help.  We all loved her to come, and tried to coax her to stay longer.  Whenever she got sick, she always came to our house to recuperate.

Grandma always wore a waist slip apron over her dress.  I remember when she had her stroke at the last, and she was flat in bed and helpless and had to be cared for and fed everything she ate.  She used to say to me that she wished I could stay with her and take care of her all the time.  I did stay for a few days at a time and relieve others.  She always said she hoped she wouldn't get sick and have to be cared for and become a burden to others, but that was exactly what happened to her, and she had to be cared for for three years before her passing.

She was alone for 22 years after Grandpa died, and we all loved her very much.   I shall always remember the very lovable, special person that Grandma was to everyone.

Charles Tonks

            CHARLES  TONKS

            Charles Tonks was born May 23, 1868, in Morgan, Utah, to William and Martha Derricott Tonks.  His father William Tonks was born July 19, 1832, in Willenhall, Staffordshire, England, a son of George and Martha Pearson Tonks.  His mother was born May 24, 1828, in Wrockwardine, Shropshire, England, a daughter of Charles and Mary Ashley Derricott. 

            Both William and Martha were converts to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) and immigrated to America in the spring of 1856, arriving in New York on the ship “Caravan” after being three months on the ocean.  They lived in New York City for three years where William made a living by working at his trade of locksmith and blacksmith and saved enough money to outfit them for the trip across the plains to Salt Lake City.  Two children, George Moroni and William Henry, were born in New York.  Martha’s child, Elizabeth Derricott, stayed in England with her grandparents, Charles and Mary Ashley Derricott.  When they immigrated to America in 1868, she came with them and joined the family.

            In the early spring of 1859, William and Martha and their two children took passage by way of New Orleans, up the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers to Council Bluffs, Iowa, where they started their long journey of over one thousand miles to Salt Lake City. 

            After many hardships and sacrifices they arrived in the Salt Lake Valley on October 1, 1859.  Just three months later, a fourth child, Martha Jane, was born.  They lived a few blocks northwest of the Temple grounds, in the old Nineteenth Ward area.  While here William opened up a nail factory and later took up his trade as a blacksmith.  They lived in Salt Lake City for about five years where two more children were born, Louisa and Mary Elizabeth (called Polly).

            Many of the pioneers were called to colonize in other areas, and William and Martha were sent to Farmington.  In 1866, after a road was opened through Devils Gate (also known as “the Horseshoe Bend”) in Weber Canyon, they and their five children moved to Morgan, or Weber Valley as it was called at that time. 

            Their first home in Morgan was a one room dugout with steps going down into it just like a cellar and was located on the northwest corner of 100 South and State Street.  The dugout was a square hole about five feet deep with logs placed on the banks of each side and the ends.  The next row of logs was placed in about two feet until only one log filled the space in the middle at the top.  Willows were then placed all over the roof and covered with dirt.  This type of roof was bad when it rained, as the water would leak through the roof.

            The only light in the dugout during the day was through two small windows, one in each gable end.  The floors were sprinkled with water every morning and swept.  After the floor became hard packed it was quite easy to keep the room clean and to sweep without getting great clouds of dust.

            It was in this humble abode that Charles was born.  Charles was the seventh child in a family of eight children.  His brothers and sisters were:  Elizabeth (1854-1926), George Moroni (1856-1932), William Henry (1858-1942), Martha Jane (1861-1947), Louisa (1863-1942), Mary Elizabeth (1865-1877) and Rebecca Althura (1872-1938).

            William again worked at his blacksmith trade, establishing the first blacksmith shop in South Morgan in 1866.  It was located on Young Street where the Morgan Middle School now stands (2014).  He was a skilled wheelwright and set many wagon wheels.  Most of the nails in early Morgan homes were made by his hands.

            They built their first log home, a two-room house, on the southeast corner of this lot (the corner of 200 East and Young Street where the LDS Seminary is).  Their last child, Rebecca Althura (known as Becky) was born here.  In one corner of this home a large grain bin was built.  Once while the children were playing near the bin it broke and little Charles was buried under the grain.  They all had quite a scare before he was finally dug out.

            In 1868-1869, the blacksmith shop was moved to Commercial Street (approximately 261 North 500 East).  During this time the railroad was being built from Echo Canyon through Morgan County and William had a contract to make shoes for the mules.  He shod all the mules and horses receiving $10 for every span he shod.  His sons, George and Henry, although they were only boys at the time, helped him with this work.

            William always kept busy in his blacksmith shop.  If he wasn’t repairing, fixing or building something, he was training others in the trade.  When he was too old to run the shop it was rented to others to run.  On February 10, 1940, the blacksmith shop and lot, which Charles the youngest son now owned, was sold to Earl Halls for $300.  Mr. Halls used it for a number of years and then tore it down and built a more modern structure on the grounds.        

            As the family grew, more room was needed for their support and in 1872 William purchased one hundred acres of land for $600 about a mile or two east of Morgan.   This land was located in a small valley, encircled by mountains and was called Round Valley by the early settlers.  The Weber River flowed through the center of the valley making a natural boundary between the settlements of North and South Round Valley. 

            Much work had to be done with this undeveloped piece of land in South Round Valley, as well as a home built for the family.  A large two-story stone home was constructed (1445 East Round Valley Road) and over the next several years, while William continued to work at his blacksmith shop in Morgan, he and his sons cleared the land of trees, brush, willows and rocks.  Ditches were dug for irrigation making it possible to plant and raise crops on the farm for their livestock which eventually consisted of cattle, horses, sheep, pigs and chickens.  They planted an orchard with all kinds of fruit trees – plum, pear, cherry, apple and apricot; and raised a variety of vegetables in their garden as well as currents, gooseberries and rhubarb.  William also had a bee colony.  Charles was just a small boy when the family moved to Round Valley but as he grew, he was expected to do his share of the work and learned to work alongside his older brothers. 

            In the mid 1870’s a one-room rock school was built by Henry Olpin, a rock mason, about one mile east of the Tonks home.  It replaced the log school built in South Round Valley which had been used by all the families living in the valley as well as those who lived up the canyon by the big and little railroad tunnels.  This new building was used for social events and Sunday School.  Charles remembered attending his early schooling here, as did some of his children.  The families in Round Valley went to church (Sunday School) here on Sunday morning and then traveled to Morgan for the afternoon meeting.  As Morgan County grew, the schools in the various settlements were consolidated into one school in Morgan.  By 1898 the population of Round Valley had decreased so much that the families were assigned to the LDS church wards in North and South Morgan.  This structure in later years was used as a barn to store hay by the Tonks family.  It is still standing today (2014) and is now owned by the Round Valley Golf Course.

            In relating experiences later in life, Charles remembered when the grasshoppers came in 1873, and how, when they flew in front of the sun, it could not be seen.  They put coal oil in the ditches and after setting if on fire, drove the grasshoppers into it to kill them.

            Many of the early settlers in Utah were faced with epidemics, such as, small pox, diphtheria and influenza.  When Charles was eight and a half years old, his family was deeply saddened with the death of his eleven year old sister, Mary Elizabeth (Polly), who died January 2, 1877 from diphtheria.  It was a dreaded disease and many families lost loved ones and were quarantined during these epidemics. 

            Charles was a young boy or in his early teens when her mother was called to be a counselor in the Stake Relief Society.  One of her duties was to visit the wards in the county.  On these occasions she had Charles drive her by horse and buggy.  It took two days to go to the Peterson Ward.  On the way she would visit the Littleton and Milton ward meetings.  One meeting was held in the morning and the other in the afternoon, making it possible to attend both in one day.  If it wasn’t too late, they would then drive on to Peterson.  The next day she attended that meeting before they returned home.  It took two days to visit the Croydon ward, one day going and one returning.

            In 1890, Charles’ father and a number of his neighbors organized a stock company and bought a large tract of land from the Union Pacific Railroad which was used for range purposes for their cattle and horses.

            When Charles was a young man, many times he rode a horse or went in a wagon to the dances in Morgan.  When he and his sister Becky started high school in Morgan, he met Margaret Catherine Robison.  She lived across the street from the North Morgan Church House (now the LDS Morgan Utah Stake Center at 371 North 700 East), and she and Becky chummed around together.  Margaret first went with Hyrum Carter and when they stopped going together; Becky told her she ought to go with her brother, Charles.  Margaret’s brother, Will, was also trying to get them together and told Charles that now was his chance.

            They started dating and one Sunday night Charles decided he would settle this dating matter then and there and proposed.  Margaret accepted his proposal and on December 2, they left Morgan and traveled to Logan, Utah.  The trip was made on the train as the automobile was not used at that time.  They were married on the morning of December 3, 1890, in the Logan LDS Temple.  They were accompanied by his sister Becky and James Henry Tucker who were married the same day.  The next day they returned to Morgan.  Charles was twenty-two years old and Margaret was twenty years old.  They made their home with his parents in Round Valley and lived with them for a few years. 

            Margaret Catherine or Maggie as she was known was born August 10, 1870, a daughter of William and Margaret Smith Robison.  She was the eighth child in a family of eleven children.  Her parents came from Franklin County, Pennsylvania, and were among the early handcart pioneers that came to Utah.  After living a short time in Farmington, the Robison family moved to North Morgan, where they made their home.

            The summer after they were married, Charles and Maggie, accompanied by his mother (Martha Derricott Tonks) went by team and buggy up Echo Canyon and over the small rolling hills to Bear Lake.   Martha’s folks, Charles and Mary Derricott, had emigrated from England in 1868, and were now living in the little settlement of Liberty.   After an enjoyable visit they returned home the same way.        

            As the years passed, Charles’ brothers and sisters married and were soon rearing families of their own.  In 1889 William Henry and his family left Morgan and moved to the Teton Valley (Victor) in Idaho where land was more plentiful to be had.  When George Moroni married, his father, William gave him twenty-two acres to farm in Round Valley.  He built a three-room brick home across the street from his parents (1440 East Round Valley Road - the Frank Tonks home).  In 1898, George Moroni decided to move with his family to the Teton Valley and Charles bought his home and farm. 

            William and Martha (who were in their early seventies) built a home in the town of Morgan and moved there in about 1902-1903.  William Henry’s wife, Susan, had problems with her health because of the high altitude in Idaho, so they moved back to Round Valley to run his father’s farm and purchased it after his parents died.

            Charles and Maggie had a great love and respect for each other and were the proud parents of ten children.  They were (along with their spouses):  Charles William called Charlie (Nina Porter) 1891-1972; Leland 1893-1917; Vernocia (Parley Butters and George Peck) 1895-1985; LaVera called Vera (Laural Mortensen) 1897-1983; Maggie (Charles Kippen) 1900-1983; Cecil (Harriet Fenner) 1902-1977; Myra (Douglas Lee) 1905-1976; Franklin Smith called Frank (Flora Dawson) 1907-1991; Wesley (Alice Walburg) 1910-1970; and Lewis (Marie Johnson) 1913-2004.

            It took a lot of hard work, labor and sacrifice to rear a large family of ten children and provide for them, but living on the farm they always had enough to eat.  Charles and Maggie taught their children the necessary things of life and the importance of religion in their home.  Like their parents they were active members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Family prayer was observed and they never ate a meal without giving thanks to the Lord for it.  The value of prayer was stressed and as each child came along Maggie would teach them to say a little prayer before going to bed at night 

            There was always something to be done, and as the children grew, they were all expected to help with the chores on the farm and in the home.  The girls helped with the household chores.  The washing was done in a washing machine that had to be turned by hand and a scrubbing board was used when clothes were extra dirty.  The ironing was accomplished by using a heavy iron that needed to be heated on the stove and then traded with another hot iron when the one being used cooled.  There were meals to be prepared, baking to be done, food to be canned and preserved, butter churned, younger children to be cared for, etc., etc.

            The boys helped with the farm work and chores and did a lot of the same things their father did while he was growing up.  Everything was done with the use of horses of which they had five.  Spring meant the planting of crops, summer the time to irrigate and haul hay, and with fall came the harvest of all the crops including the grain.  Winter required the feeding of the cattle and the sheep. 

            Each morning after the cows were milked, they were turned out on the hillside to graze until afternoon when they had to be hunted down, herded back to the barn and milked for the evening.  The next morning the cows had to be driven up the hollow again.     

            The family also raised twelve to fifteen pigs which had to be fed each day.  After the crops were harvested the pigs were turned into the fields to eat the grain that had fallen on the ground.  The pigs were also herded to the orchards, one being about a mile south of where they lived.  Here they would shake the frozen apples from the trees so the pigs could eat them.  When the pigs reached approximately 250 lbs. they were sold except for two or three which were kept and killed in the fall.  The meat was then cured for the family’s use during the winter months.

            The Hereford cattle were turned out on the range in the spring, and weekly rides were required into the hills to check on them.  In the fall, the cattle were rounded up, fattened during the winter and sold. 

            The sheep and lambs were turned out onto the hillside each day to feed, but had to be herded and watched to keep the coyotes away.  They were brought in at night and locked up for safety. 

            Because there were so many ground squirrels, they had problems with them destroying the crops.  Poison oats had to be put out to get rid of them.

            During the summer the boys would go up in the hills and hunt wild chickens, or go down to the river and catch a few trout to give the family a variety of food in their diet. 

            With very little machinery available the farm work required a lot of manual labor.  The hay had to be irrigated, mowed, raked, piled by hand, pitched with a fork onto the horse drawn wagon, and then hauled to the barn.  A large Jackson fork was used to transfer the hay from the wagon to the barn.  This required someone to ride a horse back and forth, pulling each fork full of hay up into the barn.     

            Even with lots of work to do the children still had fun.  There were no tricycles or bicycles but there was always something interesting and exciting to do on the farm.  It was fun riding a horse, going to the barn for a cup of warm milk when the cows where being milked, riding on top of a big wagon load of hay, feeding the baby lambs with a bottle, or swimming in the river.  They had fun at threshing time when they would play in the grain and push it back in the bin.  They always had pigs and it was fun seeing all the baby pigs and watching them, but not chasing them when they got out of the pen and into the garden.

            When Charles was a boy there were no motion pictures (movies) or automobiles, no TV or telephones (let alone iPads, computers or smart phones).  The family spent little time for entertainment but enjoyed special occasions. 

            Each year on the fourth and twenty-fourth of July, there was always a big celebration by the court house in Morgan.  The court house stood in the center of a half block with big shade trees all around.  Families would gather together, eat their lunch, enjoy the activities, and visit with friends and relatives.  Everyone looked forward to the usual baseball game and horse races. 

            Most years the family would enjoy a special outing to Lagoon, leaving Morgan on the little Park City train for a day of celebration and returning in the evening.  In later years, when automobiles were used, this event became an annual affair for all the people in Morgan and was known as “Morgan Stake Lagoon Day.”  Everyone would meet in one of the large pavilions at Lagoon for their lunch and a program, before having fun on the rides, swimming or just visiting.    

            Charles was an honest, hard-working man and took great pride in a fine looking farm, home and surroundings.  His cattle were the best in Round Valley, and he enjoyed driving a fine team of horses.  Farming took much hard labor years ago because of a lack of modern machinery.  He has said that with the help of George Geary, a neighbor, they hauled sixty loads of grain in a week and then had some time to play baseball.

            Charles was a great lover of sports.  Baseball, basketball, wrestling, boxing and all sports greatly amused him.  In later years, he especially enjoyed the Lion’s basketball tournament and attended nearly all the High School basketball games.  

            At first farming was done manually with horses with little modern machinery involved.  To harvest grain when Charles was a boy, it would first have to be cut and then hand tied into small bundles.  Later a self-binding harvesting machine was invented, which saved much hand labor.  But even then the bundles of grain had to be shocked (stacked up) in groups in the field to dry out for a short time.  It was then hauled by horse and wagon to the barnyard and stacked, and later threshed.  A threshing machine was hired, which traveled from farm to farm.  An old horse power thrasher was used in the early days, before a power driven one was developed.  A crew of men were arranged for or hired to help.  Since the threshing of grain was an all-day event or maybe more, it was necessary to feed the thrashers.  Maggie would cook meals for them.  Sometimes it was breakfast, dinner and supper depending on when they were working at their farm.  She always had plenty for them to eat, sometimes making several different kinds of pie along with two or three cakes to go along with the meal.

            In the summer of 1915 (approximately), while putting up their second crop of hay, Charles (about 47 years old) climbed up in the barn to thread the rope through the pulley.  He jumped up and as he swung around to get a better hold, lost his grasp and fell about fifty or sixty feet to the ground.  This fall broke the joints in both ankles.  He was taken to the hospital where he stayed for a week and then had to use crutches for about a year.

            Coal stoves were used for cooking and heating, and it was necessary to get a good supply of wood which had to be cut and split.  During the winter of 1917, Charles and his two oldest sons, Charlie and Leland, along with Dan Geary and another man went across the river to saw wood.  Five horses were hitched onto the horse powered machine and by their circling around a rod that extended out, it gave power to turn the saw.  When sufficient speed had been obtained, Dan Geary pushed a log into the saw.  The saw hit a frozen part of the log, breaking the saw and causing it to come loose from the stand and fly through the air.  As the broken saw came down it struck Leland across the chest, the blow injured him internally and he lived only a few hours.  Leland died on February 16, 1917, at the age of twenty-three years.  This was a shock to the entire family and to his fiancée, Reta Stevens.  Maggie, who composed some lovely poetry, composed one as a tribute to her son.    

            In 1927 domestic breeding and the raising of foxes in Morgan County began.  By 1935 William Henry Tonks and his son-in-law, Ivan Bell, started their fox ranching in Round Valley.  (They had two large pens, one where Lewis Tonks’ house is and the other up Tonks Hollow where Bruce Tonks keeps his horses.)  By about 1937, Ivan built the feed house with cement blocks which he had made.  It was located just east of the big two-story home (it is still standing today behind Bruce Tonks’ home – 2014).  Here he stored meat in a large freezer which he ground up for use by the other fox ranchers in Morgan.  Horse meat was supplied by Gale Allen who lived in Milton.  There was also a big gallows located at the mouth of Tonks Hollow where horses were butchered.  By 1945 Charles had entered fox ranching and had pens where Craig Tonks has his home (352 East Round Valley Road).

            As early as 1925 eggs where shipped by train to Salt Lake for processing, and for many years, poultry provided a good supplemental cash crop for Morgan farmers.  It is believed that around this time or shortly after the chicken coup was built and used by the family for many years.  It is now used for storage purposes.

            Charles increased the size of his farm when he purchased a thirty-five acre farm and home where the Gibby family used to live.  This was located east of his farm (where the Round Valley Golf Club house and old school now stands - 2014).  When his son Charlie married, it was sold to him but was eventually bought back when Charlie moved to Morgan and had a farm of his own.

            After spending forty years in Round Valley, Charles and Maggie built a new brick home in Morgan (66 South 200 East) and moved there in the fall of 1930.  Cecil and Frank were both married and lived on the farm in their parents’ home, which by this time had been remodeled, three additional rooms added and was now made into a duplex.  They essentially took over the running of the farm.  Cecil had problems with hay fever and so in about 1941; he and Lewis (who had been married for two or three years) exchanged places.  Cecil moved to town next to the blacksmith shop where Lewis had been living and Lewis joined Frank on the farm.   

            The old two-story home that William and Martha built and land that was owned by William Henry Tonks was purchased by Frank and Lewis Tonks after Henry’s death (sometime after 1942).  It was eventually torn down and Bruce Tonks, Lewis’ son, built his home in its place.  Lewis and Marie built their home just north of the old home where the fox pens were.

            Charles and Maggie thoroughly enjoyed their rest after so many years of hard work and responsibilities on the farm.  It gave Maggie more time with her records, diary, scrapbooks and other material.  Charles had a car and enjoyed a ride each day to Round Valley or “the ranch” as he called it.  He couldn’t do much physically but would help with the mowing, do the back swath and ride the horse for putting hay in the barn.  His grandson, Bruce, drove him to the South Morgan Cemetery every Wednesday to take care of the watering and mowing of the family graves.  Charles always let Bruce drive his car on these occasions.

            Grandchildren fondly remember hearing him say his favorite expression of “oy-ee, oy-ee.”  He never swore but said “dam-ee” and “hell-ee,” saying these words weren’t actually swearing.

            As time passed Charles spent most of his days at the ranch just sitting and observing what was being done.  His sons, Frank and Lewis, who had purchased his holdings in Round Valley, were now carrying on the work he had helped start years ago as a boy.  His last trip to the ranch was made only three days before his death from a heart attack.

            Charles was a faithful member of the LDS Church and always took an active part in church and civic affairs.  He was ordained a deacon, teacher, priest, elder, seventy and high priest.  He was also a faithful home teacher.  Two of his sons served missions: Charles William in England from 1913 to 1915, and Cecil in Texas from 1927 to 1930.  Charles also paid half of his sisters (Martha Jane Tonks Welch) son’s mission.

            Charles and Maggie celebrated their Golden Wedding anniversary on December 1, 1940.  Ten years later Margaret died on June 10, 1950 at the age of eighty.  Charles’ son, Cecil, and family lived with him seeing to his needs until he passed away on December 28, 1955, at the age of eighty-seven.  Charles and Maggie were both buried beside their son Leland in the South Morgan Cemetery, Morgan, Utah.

Written and compiled in August 2014 by Veloy Tonks Dickson, granddaughter of Charles Tonks and daughter of Franklin Smith Tonks.  Information was taken from newspaper clippings, diaries, histories of Charles’ children and siblings, and personal knowledge of writer who had the privilege of personally knowing this wonderful special man, Charles Tonks.                                    

Anna Eliza Peterson Porter

Anna Eliza Peterson Porter
November 26, 1873 - November 20, 1954

The following information was taken from histories written by Barbara Dickson Whittier (grand-daughter), and recorded information from Wanda Berneice Porter Sherman (daughter), and also a news article concerning the Peterson/Porter home (most likely the Morgan County News).  This information was compiled by Gwen Dickson Rich (Great Grand-daughter).

Eliza was my Grandma Anona Porter Dickson's mother.  She was born in 1873 in a log house in Richville, Morgan County, Utah, just 10 years after her parents Baltzar and Mette Margrete had emmigrated to Utah with other pioneers.

The family had come from Denmark, after joining the Mormon Church.  During the late 1800's there was a great influx of Scandanavian Pioneers. 

In 1850, only thirty-five Scandinavians lived in Utah, making up a scant  percent of the entire population.  During the half century between 1850 and 1905, more than 46,000 Scandinavians converted to the LDS church as a result of increased proselyting activities in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark.  Click here for more information.

Eliza had three older brothers born in Denmark, and an older sister who was born and died in Denmark as a small child.  After the family moved to Utah, four more brothers were born (one drowned in the old Mill Race that ran behind their home).  Then came Eliza, and two other brothers, one of whom died when she was 4 years old, leaving Eliza and Frederick as the two youngest in the family, and making Eliza the only living daughter of her parents.

Eliza's father was hard working and thrifty, and although the family had arrived in Utah with very little in the way of worldly goods, her father and older brothers soon had developed a prosperous farm, so Eliza grew up enjoying as many luxuries as any pioneer family could provide.  The Peterson home was a busy one.   Family members worked hard, but enjoyed play too.  Singing and good company made the Peterson home a popular place to meet for parties.

Click here for more memories of Old Richville

Eliza learned to cook and sew form her mother.  She also learned to be a good hostess because her mother always made guests feel welcome and saw to it that there was plenty of good food available.  She also learned to read, write and do mathematics in the community school in Richville.  (This school later became the Richville Churchhouse)

Richville Church

In 1886 when Liza was about 13 years old, a big red brick house replaced the log house the family had been living in.  Although the two oldest sons, Nels and Soren had moved to Idaho, there was still a large family at home, and the new home provided plenty of room.  It was a 2-story 8 room home, one of the first built in Richville.

The home was well built.  There were three thicknesses of brick in the walls, with solid brick partitions.  The house contained about 5,600 brinks, all made in Morgan.  This home was torn down in the 1960's.  It's location was just north of where Dee's Dairy is now located (2014).

Brother, brother, Eliza is the young girl, third from left, her younger brother Frederick, Mother Mette, brother's wife, brother, brother

The home held many found memories.  Eliza's brothers were all musically inclined and able to play most of the musical instruments available in those days.  They were especially fine fiddle players and the home was the scene of many family gatherings, parties and dances, with the Peterson family furnishing the music.

Wanda's (Eliza's daughter) memories of the old home sometime later, probably about 1920:  It was so cold.  When Dad would go to bed he'd say, "Well, I hope we opened the windows and let the cold out".  It was that cold.  It had a bathroom, and electricity.  Mother always kept us warm.  She'd warm bricks at night, put in our beds.  We'd have hot water bottles.  She made quilts.  She loved to quilt.  She always had lots of warm bedding.  We had good pillows.  She kept all of the chicken feathers.  She made her own pillows. 

  

When Eliza was about fifteen (1888) she took painting lessons from a woman who lived in Porterville.  She painted four large pictures of birds with oil paints on velvet.  Aunt Barbara has two of these pictures in her home, painted 126 years ago (2014). 

Other crafts she learned were making wax flowers and wool flowers, and piecing quilts and quilting them.

In the late 1890's when Eliza was about 25 years old, she went to homestead a half section near Lyman, Wyoming.  (320 acres?).  She would go to Wyoming for part of the summer and live in a small building on her homestead.  A young woman that she knew from Lyman would stay with her.  This was to fulfill the requirements of the homesteading act.

Under this law, any man or woman twenty-one years old or head of a family could have 160 acres of undeveloped land by living on it five years and paying $18.00 in fees.  They were also required to build a home, make improvements, and farm the land before they could own it outright.

Sanford Orin Porter, whom she knew from Porterville homesteaded an adjoining half section.  His mother, brothers, and other relatives were other neighbors who homesteaded in the same vicinity.

In 1900, Eliza and Orin were married in Salt Lake City, and then went back to live in Lyman Wyoming for 9 years.

Eliza and Orin Porter

Their first four children, Kenneth, Anona, a stillborn daughter (Ruby), and Golden (Dutch) were all born during the time they were homesteading in Wyoming (1900 - 1909),   For the first three births, Eliza would come home to her parent's home in Richville to have her babies since there was no midwife or doctor in Lyman.   When Anona (Grandma) was born in August 1903,  Eliza stayed in Morgan for about 8 months, returning in time to plant the spring crops.   Golden was born in Lyman.

Wanda: Dutch was a big baby.  He weighed eleven pounds, and mother didn't have a doctor, she had a midwife.  I've heard her say that she darn near died when he was born.  Eleven pounds is a big baby, but Mother was a big woman.  

Story of stillborn baby:  While Eliza was staying in Richville before the baby girl's birth, she drove a horse and buggy to Porterville to visit some friends.  As she was driving along, something frightened the horse, causing it to shy and jerk the buggy violently for a few seconds.  Eliza soon calmed the horse and went on her way, but she was convinced that the incident caused the death of the unborn baby.

Life was not easy in Wyoming.  The easiest way to travel to Morgan was to drive fifteen miles (north) by horse and buggy to Carter, then take the  Union Pacific train to Morgan.  Eliza may have also driven a team and buggy from Lyman to Morgan for visits with her family.

Orin worked hauling freight from the railroad yards in Carter, Wyoming, to a mine located in Vernal, Utah.  (approx. 90 miles one way)  He would be away from 2-3 weeks at a time. 

In Lyman, they had an ice house, and stored blocks of ice that had been cut from the frozen canal.  Eliza churned butter and could store it in the ice house until she could take it into town to sell.  Drinking water came from a ditch, and always kept Eliza's stomach upset.  Orin's three younger brothers who never married came to live with them.  Eliza had all of the work to do.  She washed on an old washing board.  

The story is told of Orin once saying, "If you want to live in Wyoming, you had better marry a Wyoming girl".  Eliza never liked living on the ranch, and Orin was away much of the time,  so in 1909 a combination of several things, including Eliza's father's stroke,  made it seem best to return to Utah.  Her brother Coulson, who was living in Idaho also died this year.  He was 40 years old.

By now Eliza's parents were 75 years old and needed help to run the farm.   She and Orin bought the Peterson family farm (part her share of the inheritance, and part purchased), and they also tried to keep the farm going in Lyman, with help from Orin's brothers who lived there.  Eventually they traded  the Lyman ranch for farm property in Porterville (Barclay Earl Farm).

*Note from Aunt Barbara: It always used to bother our Grandma (Anona) that Eliza would refer to the farm as HER farm.  Yes part of it was her inheritance, but they both together (Orin and Eliza) purchased the greater part of it. 

A year after Eliza and family returned to Richville, (1910) her father died.  He was buried in the small cemetery that had been part of the Peterson property, just a few hundred yards south of the home.

Two more children were born to Eliza and Orin, Wanda and Russell (1914 and 1916)

** Gwen - I remember Grandma telling me that the day before or the day of the delivery of Russell, (Grandma would have been about 13 years old) her mom, Eliza, pulled her aside, and whispered, "Well, I guess you know we are going to get a baby", acting all embarrassed about it.  I still to this day, remember Grandma Anona rolling her eyes, and telling me, "Of course I knew she was going to have a baby !"

Both Orin and Eliza were hospitable people.  Orin was always quick to invite anyone who needed a meal or a place to stay, and although she was probably dismayed more than once by unexpected company, Eliza always made them welcome and could soon put a good meal on the table.   She always had homemade bread, and she could make very good milk gravy, whether she had meat cooked, or not.   No one was ever made to feel unwelcome. (This reminds me of Grandma so much !)

Wanda's memories:  Mother, she just cooked and cooked and fed people.  Every Sunday night, depend on us to have a crowd there for dinner at night.  I don't know how she did it.  But it wasn't just Sunday night, Sunday afternoon, or at noon time we'd have a bunch there for dinner (lunch).  Never failed, - every Sunday.

We always had food.  We had a pantry, and the shelves were always full.  Eliza (MOM) would spend all day Saturday making pies.  She always had a fruit cake around.  She always had some kid of goodies.  Mother did lots of canning.  She must have done 300-400 bottles a year.  We had a cellar down behind the house, and the shelves there were always filled.  Every summer she would split the beans, putting them in five gallon crocks.  Split every bean and then put a layer of beans and a layer of coarse salt.  They were good.

Every summer we would go down in the field and pick currants, chockcherries, sarvice berries.  We'd go down, spend a couple of hours picking fruit, then we'd come home and she would start canning.  She was always busy. 

I don't think Mother knitted.  She was always crocheting.  She'd never sit down five minutes, but she had something in her hands, some handiwork doing, usually crocheting.   She wouldn't just sit.  She loved to make rugs.  She had a loom, and she knew ho to thread that loom, and if she could get enough carpet rage which she sat and sewed together for nights and nights. She'd make her own rugs.   She loved to make quilts.  She liked to have a quilt on.  She had a big quilt frame that would take up the whole dining room.  She'd call in some relatives, some friends, and they'd have a quilting bee, and she'd cook dinner for them.  I guess she learned all of that from her mother. 

More than once Eliza and Orin opened their home to someone who seemed to need a place to live for a week or a month or the summer.  One young neighbor boy had a father who beat him often.  He would often show up at any time to stay a few days or longer until he was compelled to return to his own home. 

One summer, a young man from Lyman came to stay and work on the farm.  Eliza always starched his work shirts a little, because she said they were easier to clean when she washed them.  He told her he didn't like his shirts starched.  Her reply was that if she was going to do his washing, she was going to starch his shirts.  If he wanted them done without starch, he could wash them himself.  Nothing more was heard about un-starched shirts.

Wanda's memories: Mother had a niece that would come with her husband and two little kids to have dinner two or three nights a week.  Eliza felt sorry for her, and she was more of a mother to her than her own mother was. 

When Russell and I were little, mother would take us shopping over to Morgan.  She'd give each of us a dime, and we'd go sit in the drug store and have a strawberry drink.  She had this favorite store there, Williams, that she went there to shop.  She went every week or two.  She always had the money from the chickens that she raised.  That was her grocery money.  She deserved it, raising those little chickens like she did.

Wanda (6-7 years old): remembers her Mom and Dad taking her to Morgan in a wagon.  She doesn't remember having a buggy, but they would go in a wagon. Wanda remembers they always had a car, so she's not sure why they went in a wagon....

In the fall of 1918, Eliza's mother became ill, and Eliza cared for her in her home until she passed away in early 1919 (Age 85).  She too is buried in the Richville Cemetery.

Orin, Eliza's husband was a hard worker, but not much interested in farming, so as the boys grew a lot of the responsibility fell to them.  Orin had a great interest in prospecting, he just knew that someday he would strike it rich, and whenever he could get his hands on a little money it was likely to go for this purpose.   He was away a lot prospecting up Hardscrabble Canyon, or near Tonapah, Nevada where he owned another claim.   This was a great trial to Eliza,  and a BIG bone of contention in their marriage.  The use of money needed for the home and family, as well as being left to care for the farm and family alone, did not sit well with her, and they fought about it all the time.  She hated to see him just "put the money in the ground".   Eventually the farm in Porterville was sold and most of that money was used for more prospecting.

Wanda's memory:  When I was about in first or second grade, Russell and I were outside after breakfast (it must have been a Saturday), when a whole bunch of cars drove up, and we thought, "Boy, this is something... What is happening?".  A man said, "Is your Dad home?"  We said, "Yes".  We ran in and got him and he came out and it was the sheriff with a bunch of people with him.  He wanted to search the house and farm.  Dad went with him, and one of the guys stayed in the house with Mother, I guess to be sure she didn't escape and do something.  

Example of old still - 1920

Dad had a still that he kept moving around.  He'd have it up in the barn, down in the field, but it happened this one day that he had it right in the cellar.   I don't remember if they took him off to jail, but they did fine him $300, and that was a lot of money.   Mom (Eliza) didn't say much about this.  Click here for more information about Prohibition in Utah

Wanda's memories of holidays:  

Christmases - We always had a tree, and we used to string popcorn and cranberries, and we'd put on candles that were in little containers that we would hang on the tree.  We'd light the, but we always had to stay right there so the tree wouldn't catch fired.  We'd put stocking out, and that was a treat for us on Christmas to get an orange and a banana.  Bananas were a treat when I was a kid.  I don't know why, if it was the expense of them or if there just weren't many of them, but we didn't have bananas very often. 

Kenneth and Dutch would get out the bells and ring them and say, "You'd better get up to bed. Santa Claus is going to be here".  So I'd go up the old cold stairway and into bed with my warm bricks.  We always had a good Christmas, a big dinner.  We got presents, and I got a doll every year, and clothes.  Nona would always make clothes for my dolls.

On Halloween we'd knock on neighbor's windows...... we didn't dress up on Halloween.  On Easter we always had a new dress.  We didn't have egg hunts, but we always colored eggs.  Of course Easter was always on Sunday, and we always had a big crowd at our place.  Mother was always cooking.  She was happy when she was cooking.

Orin and Eliza's family was growing up.  Anona (our grandma) was the first child married in 1925, and moved just a quarter of a mile north of the big red house.  Aunt Barbara was the oldest child, and the first grandchild born in the Porter family.  She loved to walk "up to Grandma's".  There were still four unmarried children living there and they all made her feel special.  She remembers her grandparents (Orin and Eliza) telling her stories.

Wanda's memories:  I was about 10 years old when Nona got married.  I remember when she was courting Reed, and when he would come to the house I would hide behind the door so I could see them kiss.

They got married and had a big wedding.  Mother planned it all.  They had a hot chicken dinner.  She had everything cooked.  There must have been maybe a hundred or a hundred and fifty or 200 people there.  This was in the Richville church.     I don't know who helped to cook the dinner, but that is a lot to cook.  Mother could plan things like that.  She was a good cook.

When Nona got married, Dutch came down with a bad stomach ache.  He didn't complain about it too much because he didn't want to spoil the wedding.  Dad (Orin) had a dream about 3 days later, and it worried him.  He said, "We are getting him to the hospital", so they took him to the hospital in Salt Lake and he had a ruptured appendix.  It had been ruptured a long time.  He was in the hospital for three weeks, and Mother's brother (who was a doctor) operated on him.  For a while they didn't think he was going to make it. He was only about 18 or 19. 

Nearly every night Nona and Reed would walk up the road to Eliza's (her mom's) with Barbara and Dixie.  Anona would carry one, and Reed would carry the other.  They'd spend an hour or two. 

Mother used a curling iron that she would heat in the stove.  She'd take the lid off the stove and put the curling iron in to get it hot to curl her hair.  

Kenneth, Golden, and Wanda, married in 1933, 1934 and 1935.

1935 - Eliza and Orin's grandson (Kenneth's boy) died of meningitis.  He was only 7 months old, a cute little boy, blond hair, blue eyes. 

This was also the time of  Great Depression which affected every business and family in the country.  It had an effect on the Porter family also. 

Farm products were practically worthless, unemployment was very high, and Congress had just passed a bill called the Townsend Act.  This was an effort to help older Americans.  This act allowed a small pension to those older than sixty-five, if they owned no property.  People called this an Old Age Pension.  This was before Social Security had been established.  As a result of all these factors, the farm was put into the son's names, and in 1936 or 1937, it was decided the Orin, Eliza and Russell (youngest child) would move to Salt Lake City.  The red brick house was remodeled to make separate apartments for Kenneth and Golden and their wives.

They were in Salt Lake for about 11 years.  Russell (age  20) got a job at a dairy, and someway they managed to all live.  The first place they lived was in a converted garage, covered with tarpaper.  The water came from a well and had so much dissolved iron in it that it tasted terrible and was sort of yellow in color.  It must have been so hard for all of them.  They had been living in a two story house, where the downstairs was cool in summer.  Morgan had cool nights, Salt Lake nights were hot.  Eliza especially had a hard time adjusting and  never really enjoyed living in the city.  Although she had some good neighbors and enjoyed their association, she was never completely happy away from Morgan.   Orin loved it, riding the bus to town to meet old friends in a lobby of a hotel, to talk and smoke and play cards, and to visit the courthouse to watch divorce proceedings!  But Eliza had worked too hard for too long to be able to fill her days in a small apartment.  She sewed and pieced quilts and quilted, and crocheted, but time was still heavy on her hands.  

Addresses in SLC where they lived

33rd S or 36th S and 4th E

24th south

6th East just north of Liberty Park (duplex)

1076 Lake Street (half block east of Liberty Park) (corner of Yale Ave and Lake St.)

When grand-daughter  Vanna was born she was premature, and Eliza stayed with Kenneth and Jessie to help out.  She was in her 60's then.   She also went to Idaho when Wanda had her daughter Pauline to help out. 

By 1947 Porter Brothers (Kenneth, Golden, Russell)  had formed a partnership.  Kenneth ran the farm and some cattle, Golden ran sheep, and Russell raised turkeys and managed the mink.  The brothers bought another farm in Morgan City, and there was a little frame house on this property.  Orin and Eliza moved from Salt Lake City to this house.    Eliza was very happy to be back in Morgan, and she contentedly lived out the rest of her life there.

(Little home on Young street, next to the red brick home that Golden lived in) 

Eliza saw her remaining 6 brothers die from 1926 to 1947, which left her the only member living in her immediate family.

Eliza and Orin and their children - late 1940's
Back Row:  Golden (Dutch) Porter, Wanda Sherman, Russell Porter
Front Row:  Anona Dickson, Eliza Porter, Orin Porter, Kenneth Porter

Orin and Eliza and their grandchildren - late 1940's
They ended up having 21 grandchildren.  17 are shown in this picture.

Orin died in 1951 after a short illness just two weeks before his 81st birthday.  

Three years later in 1954, Eliza died just six days before her 81st birthday.  She died in her sleep. It was a bad heart that took her.  She had heart trouble the last few years of her life, and took heart medication.  

Orin and Eliza's temple work was completed after they died by their children.

Eliza was a fairly tall woman with a big frame.  Her left arm and leg were slightly smaller in diameter than the right arm and leg, and she stood and walked just a little lop-sided.  She said it was because she had carried babies on her hip and she worked and cooked.  Her family thinks she had polio as a child, although she never remembered an illness like that.

She was tall enough to make it difficult to buy a dress as long as she liked, and she would take the hem out of a new dress, and carefully face the bottom of it to get another 2-3 inches in length.  She wore glasses for most of her adult life.  That's the first thing she put on in the morning and the last thing she took off at night.  When she was prepared for burial she didn't look right until they placed her glasses on her face.  Her hair was fine and thin, and when she died there were only a few strands of gray in the dark brown hair.

She was a "worrier".  Everyone's troubles became hers, and she anticipated trouble and worried about everyone and everything.

She was a kind and loving mother a raised a good family.  For most of her life things were not easy for her.  There was too little money and too much work, but she always made the best of whatever she had to do.

Timeline

1834	Mother born (Mette Margrete Juulsen) in Denmark
1834	Father born (Baltzar Sorenson Peterson) in Denmark
1857	Parents Married
1857	Brother Nels born
1860	Brother Soren born
1861	Sister Laura born
1862	Margete and Baltzar baptized into LDS church
1863	Brother Joel born (February)
1863	Sister Laura died (March) (14 months old)
1863	(April) Family left on a steamer for USA
1863	(June) arrived in New York
1863	(September) arrived in Salt Lake City
1865	Brother Joseph born
1866	Joseph drowned in Millrace (15 months old)
1867	Brother Baltzar Jr. born
	Log home built to replace dugout
1869	Brother Charles Coulson born
1871	Brother George born
1873	Anna Eliza born
1876	Brother William born
1877	William died (14 months old)
1879	Brother Frederick Leander born
	Nels and Soren (two older brothers moved to Preston, ID)
1880	New brick home built
1896-99	Homesteaded in Lyman Wyoming
1900	Married Sanford Orin Porter
1900-1909	Lived in Lyman, Wyoming
1901	Son Kenneth born
1903	Daughter Anona born
1905	Stillborn baby
1906	Son Golden (Dutch) born
1909	Father Baltzar Sr. had a stroke
1909	Brother Charles Coulson died (December) (40 years old)
1909	Orin and Eliza moved back to Morgan
1910	Father Baltzar Sr. died (Eliza's father)
1914	Daughter Wanda born
1916	Son Russell born
1919	Mother Mette Margrete died (her mother)
1925	Daughter Anona married
1925	Son Dutch almost died with ruptured appendix
1926	Barbara, first grandchild was born
1926	Brother  Nels died (69 years old)
1928	Brother Soren died  (68 years old)
1933	Son Kenneth married
1934	Son Golden married
1935	Kenneth's baby boy died
1935	Daughter Wanda married
1936-37	Moved to Salt Lake City
1940	Son Russell married
1941	brother George died (70 years old)
1943	brother Frederick Leander died  (64 years old)
1944	brother Baltzar Jr. died ( 77 years old)
1947	brother James Joel died (84 years old)
1947	Moved back to Morgan
1951	Husband Orin died
1954	Anna Eliza died (81 years old)
1957-58	Orin and Eliza's temple work completed