Alma and Mamie Margaret Zabriskie ~~~ Pioneers of the Month ~~~ March 2026

 

   MAMIE MARGARET TIDWELL 

 Mamie Margeret Tidwell was born 19 June 1844 in Nauvoo, Hancock, Illinois to John and Jane SmithTidwell Sr. This was just eight days before the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were martyred at Carthage, Illinois.

        Her father John Tidwell Sr., had joined the Church on 18 September 1835 in Clark County, Indiana. Her mother Jane joined the Church a week later on 25 September 1835 at the age of 23. They moved to Nauvoo,Hancock, Illinois on 6 November 1839 and witnessed the sickness that came from draining the swamps and preparing Nauvoo for a beautiful city that they would leave in just a little over six years.

        Her parents received their endowments on 3 January 1846 in the Nauvoo Temple, Nauvoo, Hancock, Illinois. They left with the body of Saints in February 1846 when they were expelled from Nauvoo. By 1850 they were living in Pottawattamie, Iowa.

        Margaret's family came to the Utah Territory with the John Tidwell Company(her father was captain) in 1852. Her father John, was 45; her mother, Jane was 39; William Nelson was 20; Jefferson William was 15; Martha was 10; Mamie Margaret was 7; Sarah was 5; John was 3; and Emma Jane was an infant. She was actually born 12 September 1852 just before getting to the Salt Lake valley.

        They departed on with 340 individuals and 61 wagons in the company which began its journey from the outfitting post at Kanesville, Iowa(present day Council Bluffs). John had 2 wagons, 7 oxen, 4 cows, 8 sheep, and 6 hogs.

        Their daughter Margaret was baptized on 9 July 1852 at the age of eight as they were coming west. By 27 July they had made it to Chimney Rock. They traveled past Devil’s Gate on 19 August. The weather was beginning to be very cold in the mornings and nights.They made it to Fort Bridger by 5 September and stopped to repair wagons and rest. They reached the Salt Lake valley on 10 September 1852.

         By 1860 they were living in Mount Pleasant, Sanpete, Utah territory. She married Alma Zabriskie on 19 May 1860 in Mount Pleasant, Sanpete,Utah Territory at the age of 15. Alma was 24 years old. They later received their endowments and were sealed in the Endowment House on 27 September 1869 in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah Territory.

        Alma was born 19 August 1835 in Eugene, Vermillion, Indiana to Henry J.and Nancy Newgin Zabriskie. His family came to Great Salt Lake,Deseret in 1849 with the Allen Taylor Company. His father Henry was 60; his mother Nancy was 49; Jerome was 21; Charles was 19; Alma was 13;and Susanna was 9.

        Alma was the sixth of seven children born to Henry J. and Nancy Zabriskie. They had six boys and one girl. They had joined the Church in 1832 and had been in Clay County, Missouri with the Saints when they experienced such horrible tribulations. He had lost over 80 acres of land there along with buildings and animals. They had received their endowments on 3 February 1846 just a day before the main body of Saints were expelled from Nauvoo.

        They departed on 5 July 1849 with 246 individuals and 72 wagons in the company which began its journey from the outfitting post at Council Bluffs. From the account of David Moore who was a captain of ten: “Two letters were wrote and left here on the bank of the Elkhorn, one by the clerk of the one hundred and one by the clerk of Captain Allreds 50, for G.A. Smith stating the progress of the camps. We took a good sized pole and bored a hole in it and put our letters in, then pluged up the hole and set the pole in the ground close by the road so thatit could be seen by the company that was coming with Pres. G.A.Smith. This was called our post office.” They arrived in the Great Salt Lake valley on 10 October 1849.

        Alma and Margaret ha d twelve children, six girls and six boys, all born in Mount Pleasant, Sanpete, Utah Territory. Mary Elizabeth was born 31 May 1861; Martha Jane was born 25 February 1863; Nancy Elzina was born 26 February 1865; John Henry was born 17 November 1867; William Alma was born 13 November 1869 and died 9 September 1870; Jerome was born 13 November 1871; Anna Eliza was born 9 April 1873; George Albert was born 18 August 1875; Margaret was born 25 October 1877;James Franklin was born 9 January 1879; Charles Abram was born 17 October 1881; and Rosa was born 19 June 1883.

        Alma was a farmer all his life in the Mount Pleasant area.

        Margaret died on 20 September 1910 in Mount Pleasant, Sanpete, Utah at the age of 66. She died of Typhoid Fever. She was buried on 22 September 1910 in Mount Pleasant, Utah.

        Alma died on 16 June 1913 in Mount Pleasant, Sanpete, Utah at the age of 77. He died of Dropsey. He was buried on 19 June 1913 in Mount Pleasant, Sanpete, Utah

    

 

WELCOME TO MT. PLEASANT ~~~ EARLY FLYER PUT OUT ( Circu 1990s) ~~~BY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

 

OUR ANNUAL MT. PLEASANT PIONEER DAY ~~~ MARCH 28, 2026

 

DO YOU REMEMBER THIS???

 

 

`

Soon after 1930 an itinerant called on John K. (Madsen) in Mt. Pleasant and asked for a painting job.  During their conversation they decided that to paint a large roadside sign would be a novel and informative thing to do.  John K. had toyed with the idea of doing something of the sort to help direct ram buyers to his ranch.

They sometimes drove north rather than south, after arriving at Thistle, when approaching from the east via Price, Utah.  Modern road maps were not as easy to obtain nor as complete as they later became ~so strange, prospective buyers could benefit by some additional directions on a sign.

The coming of the painter was timed right.  While riding to Thistle he and John K. explored and evaluated various possibilities.  The place most favored by John K. was on the face of a mountain west of Thistle.  But because of its inaccessability they decided against the location.  At last they settled on the jutting rock protruding from the north mountain that faced the big bridge leading to the south road.  Mt. Pleasant was approximately 35 miles south of Thistle.

There was an almost smooth surface on the protruding rock and it provided an excellent base for a sign.  An area of about 25 by 30 feet was marked off and painted black and white.....

It was an immediate attention getter and could be seen by anyone approaching it from any direction.  John K. was pleased with the sign and with the workmanship.  The paint proved to be of superior quality and was repainted only once during its years after a layer of rock slipped off the sign several years following its initial painting.

A nephew of John K's, Allan Madsen, was an art student, and he was hired to repaint the sign.  That second coat endured, remaining on the rock-point until the new Highway 89 improvement program demolished it, in order to widen the road.  The State Highway department office personnel are unable to furnish the date of the demolition.  They say only that it was in one of the early years of  the 1960's.

MT. PLEASANT PUBLIC SCHOOL ~~~ 1929

 

Lucille Frandsen (Stevens) Front Row second from the right side

NEWSPAPER ITEMS OF NOTE

 

VICTORIAN SCRAPBOOKING

 

The tops of candy boxes, cigar boxes, calendars, etc. were collected and put in scrapbooks. These three are all embossed 3 dimensional designs. The scanned image does not do them justice. The colors are warm and beautifully added to the over-all effect. It is hoped you will use them in some of your scrapbooks, as I plan on doing. These particular pictures are taken from Maggie Peel Ericksen's Scrapbook.

JAMES PERRY NEFF

 

1875- 1945

Son of  John Neff and Sarah Lundberg

Was married to Sabrah Margaret Reynolds 6 Feb 1914

He died in Pocatello, Idaho but was buried in Mt. Pleasant, Utah

Obituaries: Reynolds, Peterson, Neff, Peel, Guyman, Rasmussen, Matson, Guyman,

 

MANTI TEMPLE ARTICLE ~~~(From the Elva Guyman Collection in Our Archives)

 

This is a repost.  We posted the photo of the Manti Temple above but inadvertently left off the article. 

Some of the article was cut off when clipped out of the paper.

LORETTA MAE TURPIN SHELLEY

 

Loretta Mae Shelley

October 10, 1946 — February 13, 2026

Fairview

Listen to Obituary

Loretta Mae Turpin Shelley, passed away on Friday February 13th, 2026 at her home in Fairview at the age of 79.

 She was born on October 10,1946 in Fairview, Utah to Myron Bernard and Laura Suzanna Turpin and grew up alongside her older brother, Maurice Wayne Turpin. She married her high school sweetheart, Ervin W. Shelley on October 15,1965 in the Manti, Utah Temple, and they shared 60 wonderful years of marriage.

 Loretta was an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and served faithfully in many callings, including Relief Society, Primary and Young Womens. One of her favorite callings was serving as the Humanitarian Coordinator. She had a special place in her heart for humanitarian work and was still knitting hats up until the week she passed.

   Together with her husband, Ervin, she served as an ordinance worker in the Manti Temple.

 Loretta will be remembered for the deep love she had for her family. They were her world and the reason for everything she did. She was an accomplished seamstress and spent countless hours sewing clothes and toys for her children. She was a wonderful cook and made sure her family had home-cooked meals and time together around the table. She loved being in the mountains, hiking, and spending time outdoors with her family. She loved spending time with her grandchildren. She adored her granddog, Cooper, and looked forward to his daily visits and going for walks and rides with him.

 She was a loving wife, mother, and homemaker who found joy in serving others. A faithful and humble disciple of Jesus Christ, Loretta’s smile, quiet example and influence in the lives of her family will never be forgotten.

 Loretta is survived by her husband Ervin W. Shelley, her children, Daniel Ervin (Marci) Shelley, Jared Duane (Selena) Shelley, Stephanie (David) Hawks, Michael Shelley, Karen Lynn (James) Roberts, Spencer Craig (Rachael) Shelley; twenty-four grandchildren; eleven great-grandchildren; and  her older brother, Maurice Wayne Turpin. She was preceded in death by her parents and one great-granddaughter.

 Funeral services will be held Saturday February 21, 2026 at 11 a.m. at the Fairview 3rd ward church building, 131 E 100 N, Fairview, Utah.  A viewing will be held Saturday morning at the same location from 9:00 -10:30 a.m.. Interment will be in the Fairview City Cemetery.

 The family wishes to express heartfelt appreciation for the kind and loving care from family members, Fairview 3rd Ward Relief Society, and many friends.

To Watch Funeral Services Live, Click Here. The Live Zoom Link will Activate at 10:45 a.m. MST prior to services

MASONS OPEN A NEW TEMPLE IN MOUNT PLEASANT ~~~ (From our archives)

 

FREEMASONRY IN UTAH

By Attilio G. Parisi

Masonic Hall drill team, Salt Lake, 1931

 

See link below:

https://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/m/MASONRY_FREE.shtml

NORTH SANPETE HIGH SCHOOL ~~~ SANPETE COUNTY CONSOLIDATED THE DISTRICT ~~~ 1911

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

                         

The red-brick North Sanpete High School building, constructed on a piece of land known as "the City Square" which had been purchased from the city at a cost of $2,250.00 was partially completed in 1912.  Some of the upper - floor classrooms were left unfinished because of difficulty with finances.  The foundation was constructed of concrete, a deviation from the usual stone base. 

The completed building consisted of classrooms on three floors, a central auditorium and a gymnasium.  A "mechanical arts" building of white stone was constructed just north of the original high school prior to 1939.  Here the girls were instructed in "domestic science" and the boys were instructed in "industrial arts". Occasionally, over the years, the classes were reversed and the boys took "home economics" and the girls tried their hands at "shop".

The number of students attending schools in Mt. Pleasant during the years 1910 to 1916 varied from a low of 750 in 1915-16 to a high of 803 in 1912-1913.  Although these figures do not give specific numbers attending each grade, it is likely they were more concentrated in grades one through eight as Mt. Pleasant is primarily an agricultural town and students were needed at home during the spring, summer, and fall months to help with farming and livestock chores. 

At the annual school meeting held on Monday, July 12, 1916, the local school board for Mt. Pleasant was officially dissolved "as the County of Sanpete had been by law consolidated into two school districts of the first class".  And a board of five trustees had been appointed.  The first school board consisted of C.N. Lund, of Mt. Pleasant, Jabez Faux Jr. of Moroni, Henry Jackson, of Fountain Green, John S. Blain of Spring City and Elam Anderson of Fairview.  The outgoing board turned over indebtedness of $39,884. 51 to the new members, along with assets consisting of real estate (five and a half lots) valued at $5,000.00, district school buildings valued at $25,000.00, the high school building valued at $40,000.00, furniture and fixtures valued at $4,000.00 and apparatus valued at $650.00. Total assets $74, 650.00. The books were closed.  North and South Sanpete School Districts had officially been organized. (the above information are taken from N.S. School Board minutes.)

As had been true of the early inhabitants of Mt. Pleasant, education of children remained a high priority.  New buildings were provided, existing facilities were upgraded, and citizens and educators kept abreast of new innovations and vital issues in and out of the community.

Students continued to attend both Hamilton Elementary (grades one through six) and North Sanpete High School (grades seven through twelve).  Statistics from 1966 through 1989 show continued growth in the district, with the exception of a slight decline between 1969 and 1972, and the total number of students nearly doubled.  There was a similar slump in the overall enrollment of the State of Utah, though not quite so pronounced.  The total enrollment of the state over the same period also increased almost as dramatically.  Consistently more students attended the elementary school in Mt. Pleasant than in any of the other four elementary schools in the district, but Mt. Pleasant was also the largest of the towns.

Beginning with the tenth grade, students from Spring City attended North Sanpete High School.  Students from Indianola, Milburn, and Fairview joined them in grade eleven.   Other high school students in the district attended Moroni High until the two high schools were consolidated in 1958.  No statistics are available for the number of high school students who were from Mt. Pleasant.

Consolidation of Schools

Early in 1958 the issue of consolidating the high schools in the district was raised.  A study was authorized which resulted in the recommendation to convert the school at Mt. Pleasant into the district high school and the school at Moroni int the junior high school.  Elementary schools were to remain as they were, with the exception of Wales which would be consolidated with the school in Moroni.  That fall the change was implemented.  The transition was made quite smoothly, and no real concerns were broached.  In March of 1980 the Board approved moving the ninth grade to the high school.