NORTH WARD RELIEF SOCIETY PICNIC ~~~ AUGUST 1977

Twas a long time ago ! I can only recognize a few.  But most of them are now dead.

I see Afton Brotherson, Helen Lasson, Verla Coates, Thelma McArthur, Fanon Cook, Shirley Shelley, Eva Lay.

 

MT. PLEASANT ELEMENTARY CIRCA 1952)

 

WASATCH ACADEMY REVERAND ARTHUR BOAND RECOLLECTIONS OF 1920S ~~~ (Taken from LouiseJohansen's Scrapbook)

 

HISTORY OF MT. PLEASANT ~~~ WRITTEN BY HILDA MADSEN LONGSDORF 1939

 

MUSIC IMPORTANT TO HISTORY ~~~TAKEN FROM LOUISE JOHANSON' SCRAPBOOK

 

HAMILTON SCHOOL 1896

 

 

CHARLOTTE STAUNTON QUINDLAN JOHNSON HYDE ~~~OBITUARY and History

 

One of the most popular pioneers of Mt. Pleasant is Charlotte Staunton Quindlan Johnson Hyde. 

We found this obituary recently and posted it here yesterday, which has given us some additional facts about "Aunty Hyde".

Aunty Hyde died at the home of Mrs. M.M.F.G. Morrison. 

(Mary Margaret Folkwar Cruickshank Morrison) 

was the Relief Society President at that time.

Aunty Hyde taught for 21 years.

Aunty Hyde taught the following students:

Emaline Seely Barton, Oscar Anderson, William Morrison Jr., Sylvester Barton, Joseph Nephi Seeley, Annie Porter Nelson, Melvina Clemensen Crane, Peter Johansen, Chastie Neilsen, Benta Neilsen, Peter Jensen, Allen Rowe, Henry Ericksen, Miranda Seeley Oman, Wilhemina Morrison Ericksen, Hans Neilsen, William D. Candland, Charlotte Reynolds Seeley, Sarah Wilcox Bills, Celestial McArthur Barton, William A. Averett, Amasa Aldrich, James B. Staker, Maria Tidwell Larsen, Libby Barton Averett, Morgan A. Winters, Eli A. Day, W.W. Brandon, Sarah Davidsen Wilcox, Maggie Peel Seely, Samuel H. Allen, Harry Candland, Albert Candland, Charles Averett, Hazard Wilcox and Hans Neilsen.

 

Charlotte Staunton Quindlan Johnson Hyde
You would think that a wife of Orson Hyde would be buried in Spring City next to him. You would think that she would have a very distinctive, monolithic marker of granite and stand very tall. Not so for Charlotte Staunton Quindlan Johnson Hyde. Of those many names by which she was called, we can only verify that her name was Charlotte Quindlan Hyde. She lived in Mt. Pleasant, taught school in Mt. Pleasant and died in Mt. Pleasant. Her grave marker is about 18 inches tall made of marble. You literally have to kneel down to read her epitaph there.

Charlotte Quindlen was born 22 of August 1802 at Lower Pensnock, Salem, New Jersey. Charlotte Quindlan was the name used at the Endowment House in Salt Lake City when she was sealed to Orson Hyde in 1852. The marble marker lists her as Charlotte Staunton Hyde as does the Mt. Pleasant History Book. Perhaps the name Staunton came from another marriage. From the dates we find that she was fifty years old when she married Orson Hyde.
The following is taken from the book “Orson Hyde Olive Branch of Israel”
“Orson Hyde was chosen as an original member of the Council of the Twelve in 1835, when the Mormon Church first organized this governing body. Orson's most well-known accomplishment was as a Mormon missionary to Jerusalem (1840-1842) to dedicate the land for the return of the Jews. Because his words have proven prophetic in the many decades since his entreaty, a peaceful garden on the Mount now honors him and his supplication. In 1979 civil authorities in Jerusalem invited the development of a five-acre hillside garden in honor of Orson Hyde.
“Orson Hyde was a remarkable individual. He received esteem in many roles, among them apostle, teacher, missionary, orator, scriptorian, journalist, editor, lawyer, judge, statesman, colonizer, and administrator; also as the husband of eight wives, the father of thirty-three children, a friend of mankind, and a servant of God.” MYRTLE STEVENS HYDE,
During the years 1850-1852 Charlotte Quindlin Johnson lived in Kanesville, Iowa at the home of Orson Hyde as a domestic assistant to his first wife Marinda. She was already a member of the L.D.S. Faith. She had been divorced from a man named Johnson. She was described as a seamstress who also liked children. She helped Marinda with her children Alonzo, Frank and baby Delila. She was with the Hyde Family at Winter Quarters and as they traveled across the plains to Salt Lake, arriving in 1852. Marinda and Charlotte got along very well.

Orson and Marinda discussed the possibility of inviting Charlotte to become a wife rather than a domestic. Orson had also married Mary Ann Price who for a time was a domestic in his household. Orson and Mary Ann were married in Nauvoo in 1843. Orson talked with Brigham Young about taking Charlotte as another wife and Brigham Young approved. Orson proposed to Charlotte, she accepted and they were sealed as husband and wife in the Endowment House 22nd of November, 1852. She was the fourth wife of Orson. Besides Marinda and Mary Ann, Orson had married Martha Rebecca Browett, who he later divorced in 1850. Martha went on to become the wife of Thomas McKenzie who also divorced her.

In the spring of 1853 we find Marinda, Mary Ann and Charlotte all living together under one roof in Salt Lake. Charlotte, however, was having a hard time adjusting to being a plural wife and departed the family, a mutual decision between she and Orson. They were separated, but never divorced. Brigham Young granted official separation for Charlotte and Orson Hyde in 1859.

Charlotte came to the Sanpete Valley long before Orson shows his influence here. It was during the “big move” with the earliest Saints first to Fort Ephraim, then north to resettle Mt. Pleasant. The first pioneers had been driven out of Camp Hambleton, located one mile west of the current city of Mt. Pleasant. She first made her living as a seamstress then as a school teacher while the settlers still lived inside the fort. A schoolhouse was then built outside the fort. She was fondly called "Aunty Hyde" by her students. She inspired many of her students to become teachers themselves.

In Mt. Pleasant History by Hilda Longsdorf the following description of Aunty Hyde school: “In a little log house about 12x15 feet, on the south side of the street on First North, about midway between State and First West, (in the area where Mary Ursenbach now lives-2008) Charlotte Staunton Hyde taught school. The building was also known and later used for Lesser Priesthood meetings and similar Church gatherings. Mrs. Hyde was a woman who no doubt had earlier in life received quite a liberal education, and although described as “a little old woman who smoked a pipe and was quite deaf,” she was affectionately called "Aunty Hyde". Many amusing stories were told of her school, but with all her students there remained pleasant memories. There being no handbell, as in later years, the children were always called from their play to the schoolroom with her familiar call, “To Books. To Books. To Books.””

“Mrs. Hyde lived in a little log house west of the school. She often brought her bread to the schoolhouse to bake. She had a skillet with a tight-fitting lid and in this, by heaping on it coals from the fireplace, which was in one end of the building, she baked the bread during school hours. She was paid for her services as a teacher with any produce or garden stuff available.
Mrs. Hyde taught for some time in the log meeting house in the fort. Many attended school. A number of the pioneers were polygamist families and usually were large families. In some cases the entire family had attended her school as was the case in Abraham Day’s family, Joseph, Abraham Jr., Eli A., Ezra, and Ephraim, children of the second wife, all attended; among others who also in later days became prominent citizens were her students Emaline Seely Barton, Oscar Anderson, William Morrison Jr., Sylvester Barton, Joseph Nephi Seeley, Annie Porter Nelson, Melvina Clemensen Crane, Peter Johansen, Chastie Neilsen, Benta Neilsen, Peter Jensen, Allen Rowe, Henry Ericksen, Miranda Seeley Oman, Wilhemina Morrison Ericksen, Hans Neilsen, William D. Candland, Charlotte Reynolds Seeley, Sarah Wilcox Bills, Celestial McArthur Barton, William A. Averett, Amasa Aldrich, James B. Staker, Maria Tidwell Larsen, Libby Barton Averett, Morgan A. Winters, Eli A. Day, W.W. Brandon, Sarah Davidsen Wilcox, Maggie Peel Seely, Samuel H. Allen, Harry Candland, Albert Candland, Charles Averett, Hazard Wilcox, and Hans Neilsen.

Although records show that Mrs. Hyde was not the first teacher in the community, in the Mt. Pleasant Cemetery on the south side of the center driveway, is a little marble slab now yellowing with age, upon which is engraved: “Charlotte Staunton Hyde, wife of Apostle Orson Hyde, born in Penn., Died in Mount Pleasant, December 3, 1881, age 78. At rest now---Through the kindness of pupils of early days, this stone is erected to her memory, she is the first school teacher in Mt. Pleasant.” M.M.F.C.M.”

Many, many children benefited from her talents, from her love, and from her example.

ELISHA KEMBUR BARTON AND HIS WIFE CELESTIAL ELIZA McARTHUR BARTON (from our archves)

 

Celestial Eliza McArthur got the name "Eliza" from her mother, Eliza Rebecca Scovil, who had been named for her Mother's first cousin, Eliza R. Snow. Celestail's grandmother, Lury Snow, was daughter of Franklin Snow and Lydia Alcott. Franklin was a brother of Oliver, father of the prophet of Lorenzo Snow, and his sister, Eliza R. Snow. Celestial Eliza McArthur, daughter of Duncun McArthur an Eliza Rebecca Scovil, was born in Pleasant Grove, Utah, on February 10, 1860. She was the oldest of four daughters in the second family of Duncun McArthur, three of whom lived.

Duncan McArthur

There had been fourteen children in the first family, five of whom lived. Grandmother was actually part of four different families. She was half-sister to her father's first family; to her step-father's family by his first wife; and to his second family by her mother as well as being a member of her father's second family. Since she as the oldest in a large family, she grew up used to responsibility and hard work. Her step-father, Washington Perry McArthur, who was also her half-brother, was first counselor to Bishop W.S. Seely when the first ward was organized in Mt. Pleasant in July 1859. He was also active in the town government. Elisha Kembur Barton, son of John Barton and Susannah Wilkinson Barton, was born December 22, 1856, in Bountiful, Davis County, Utah. He was the youngest child in a family of eight children--four boys and four girls.

The other children--in order of their birth--were: Mary Catherine, William Gilbert, Elizabeth Jane, Phebe Elen, John Oscar, Emely Alice, and Sylvester Aaron. At age 16, Celestial married Elisha Kembur Barton, age 20, son of other early settlers in Mt. Pleasant, John Barton and Susannah Wilkinson. They, too, had joined the saints form Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, in the early days of the Church, and suffered persecutions and hardships before coming with the company led by Brigham Young across the plains to Utah. IN 1850, Brigham Young asked the Barton family to settle in Bountiful, Davis County, Utah, near Salt Lake City. They lived there nearly ten years, during which time their three youngest children were born, including Grandpa Elisha K. Barton, their youngest.

John Ivie 

After John Ivie of Mt. Pleasant met and married Grandpa’s (Elisha’s) oldest sister, they decided water was more plentiful in Mt. Pleasant, and that farming would be better there. They came there in the year 1860. Most of the people were living in the fort then. Mt. Pleasant had been settled only a year. Celestial Eliza McArthur and Elisha Kembur Barton were married on the 29th of November, 1876, in Mt. Pleasant. They went to Salt Lake City and were married, or sealed, in the Endowment House, a little over a year later, on March 14, 1878. They made their home in Mt. Pleasant.

 For a while they lived on Main Street, until they moved down on the 20 acres of farmland, where they stayed for several years. Later, when their family was larger, they built a large red brick home close to the center of town, on e block east on Main Street. The children helped with the building of this home. They stayed there until their children were grown, and and until both of them passed away. 

I will describe it as I remember it. The Plan of this home was a good for the rearing of a large family. There was a huge square kitchen on the southeast with a handy little pantry just off the south side. A nice south window let in sun just about the sink in this well-arranged pantry, where Grandma kept her dishes, utensils, and equipment for cooking. A small, but complete bathroom was just off the kitchen in the southeast corner, and a big window, which was on the east, gave them lots of sunshine. There was a large dining room, which was used more for a living and sitting room than anything else, on the west side of the kitchen. We would call it a family room today. A large bay window on the south side of this room was always filled with beautiful green plants, ferns, and flowers. There was a parlor on the northwest, and a bedroom on the northeast. The parlor contained a piano and an organ, which were used frequently by this music-loving family. On the west side of the dining room was a porch that led to lawns and fruit trees surrounding the house. 

There was a huge garden spot, and a place for cows, horses, chickens, and pigs. Leading from the kitchen on the north was a hallway which led to the upstairs and to the basement room. The upstairs had three large bedrooms and a balcony porch off on of them, on the west side. These rooms were not only used by the children, but by relatives, and guests. The basement room, well finished with brick, was a good, cool, place for the storage of fruits, vegetables, and meats. The walls were flat rocks. 

Thirteen children were born to them--six boys and seven girls. They were-- in order of their birth--Offa Celestial (who died when she was fourteen months old from choking on a pit), Alice Loretta, Kembur LeRoy, Henry Lawrence (my father), John Amos, Noah (who died two days after birth, from an overdose of paregoric), Eva Eliza, Williard “W” (named from a story in the “Juvenile Instructor”), Lloyd McArthur, Hazel Ermina, Sarah Elizabeth, Susan Mildred, and Grace Adelaide. Shortly after Kembur and Celestial were married, he took a load of wheat to Salt Lake in a wagon drawn by two yoke of oxen. Then he bought a charter oak stove, which was about half the size of an ordinary cooking stove of later days. They considered it very fine. Cedar wood, from the cedar hills, was used to burn in it. There was no coal then. People hauled wood all winter long, while the snow was deep. They pulled trees down with oxen, or cut them down. Sylvester and Kembur had their farms together, and worked together for years, until Kembur’s boys, Roy, Lawrence, and Amos, became older, and wanted their farm separate. 

Grandpa Kembur Barton was a good farmer and stockman and a very hard worker. He is always had a nice herd of cattle. Like the Bartons before and after him, he loved good well-bred horses, and always kept an excellent team. For seven generations, the Bartons had been farmers. At one time, Grandpa owned a large sheep herd, but sold it and went into the creamery business. He and his family gathered milk and cream all around town. Celestial, first person at the left in row three, is shown with other members of the “Sunshine Club,” an organization similar to the Relief Society.

Sunshine Club

Retty is second to the right of the man in the back row. The third child from the right in the first row looks like Grace. Grandpa was a short, stocky-built man, 5 feet 6 inches tall, with black curly hair, and grayish blue eyes. He was a natural-born musician. After hearing any tune two or three times, he could play it well on his accordion. He played his accordion frequently for the old time dances they had. He also played the harmonica, and chorded on the organ for the whole family to gather ‘round and sing.’

 They had many happy times together as a family. Most of the children were talented in music. All of them had the natural talent to sing well, as did their mother. Willard stood on the stage when he was three years old, and played tunes on the harmonica. Perhaps the thing I remember most about family gatherings was the brothers and sisters gathering around the piano and singing many beautiful songs. I love the harmony and the rich soprano voices. 

Briant Jacobs told me some time ago how he remembered my Grandmother and the way she bore her testimony in the ward. She would go up to the piano, pick up the hymn book, and sing a favorite hymn, then return to her seat without saying a word. One hymn that she sang was “I Know That My Redeemer Lives.” Grandma proved to be a wonderful homemaker and helpmate. She was very skillful and economical at managing the home under any conditions. She was an excellent cook, housekeeper, and seamstress. 

The whole house reflected not only good housekeeping, but the expert handiwork of Grandma and her girls. There were nice covers on the couches, beautiful cushions, and a general feeling of comfort and well-being, as well as orderliness throughout the house. Grandma seemed to possess an ability to make little go far. She made several hundred quilts, which were skillfully done, from scraps of material. She did a great deal of sewing of clothing and other articles. She was efficient in all that she did, and could accomplish a great deal of work in a minimum amount of time. Many people have told me that she could whip up a meal faster and better than anyone they had ever seen. Grace said that she never saw her mother come to the breakfast table without her hair combed and a clean apron. 

Every tramp that came into town stopped at Grandma’s house to be fed. SHe would fix lunch for them while they chopped an armful of wood. Grandma kept boarders part of the time to help feed the family. She and the family sold butter and milk. The children used to pick and help dry apples up at Aunt Lib’s (Libby Everett, Will Everett’s wife) for their family and Aunt Lib’s. They took care of lodge halls also.

 Grandma spent part of her time as a nurse caring for the sick people around town and she went over to the Jacobs family (just through the block) who were all down with flu and helped them. She also helped to bring Dr. Bryant Jacobs into the world. When his mother was having a difficult delivery, Grandma retired to an upstairs bedroom to pray, and came back down to complete the delivery. Everything went better after that and Sister Jacobs was able to successfully deliver her youngest child. Another time when she was riding with President and Sister Jacobs to the temple, the car broke down, and Grandmother went over in the sagebrush and knelt pray. She returned to the car and said, “Let’s go.” They all got in and the car worked fine. Every day she combed her invalid neighbor’s hair. This was Mrs. Hannah Reynolds. Every time she baked, she sent her a little cake or pie. 

About 1900, the family considered moving to Canada to live. On April 9, 1903, Grandpa Barton, and two of his sons-- Lawrence and Amos-- with Ossy Barton and his family, left for Canada. When they left, all that they owned in Mt. Pleasant was promised away. With a company of 17 men, cattle, horses, and car loads of furniture, they traveled to Canada--to Lethbridge, Alberta. When they reached there, they stayed with a Mrs. Heninger, who wa Oscar Ivie’s sister. 

After three or four months stay, they bought a place west of Raymond. In May, a terrible storm arose, which lasted three days and nights. Half of the cattle were lost in the storm. Some were found in the mountains. A bit discouraged, but still determined, Grandfather Barton returned to Utah to get his family and to go back to Canada. Amos became homesick while waiting, and also returned to Mt. Pleasant. Lawrence stayed there (in Canada). On November 9, 1903, after his return, Kembur Barton died suddenly from a quick stroke and heart attack while doing the chores at his home. From then on the older boys, Roy and Lawrence, helped run the farm, and Grandma carried on hearing her family alone as a widow. 

The family did not go to Canada, but stayed in Mt. Pleasant. After Grandpa’s death, Grandma helped clean the sacrament cups each week, and applied the labor on her tithing, which she always paid. Aunt Grace and all helped. I remember Grandmother Barton very well. I think her most outstanding quality was her “serenity.” She did not say much, but was always calm and patient. Her hands were always busy. Around her was order, cleanliness, good food, and cheerfulness. I never saw anything in her house untidy, although there were always relatives there. She is no longer with us, but her spirit continues to influence our lives, and “the ears of the children are turned to those who gave them life.” By June Barton Bartholomew

NEWSPAPERS OF SANPETE COUNTY

 

Saga of the Sanpitch  1980

NEWSPAPERS OF SANPETE COUNTY

Eleanor P. Madsen

Ephraim, Utah

Professional Division

First Place Historical Essay

“When the last editorial is written

And the ink is smoothly dried;

When the papers have been folded

And addressed and wrapped and tied;

When these two who stood together,

Though days were dull or bright,

Will have closed the office door at last

For the long, eternal night;

May the thoughts and words and phrases

Of the things they dared to say

Be their unquestioned ‘press card’

In that land of endless day.” 1

This poem might well be a eulogy to all the editors of early Sanpete newspapers. We picture two
toiling together with laborious hand methods, the only available tools in those early days before the turn of
the century, when every letter was set separately, all the inking done by hand, and the press operated by hand
or foot power.

The old print shops are now forgotten as newer and faster methods have replaced the archaic one.
Even the Linotype is now becoming obsolete as more modern, electric machinery performs many tasks with
minimum effort for the editor and his staff.
Survey after survey has proven that no other medium is so thoroughly read or listened to as the
hometown paper. Indeed, since April 24, 1885, when the Home Sentinel, the first newspaper published in
Manti by James T. Jakeman, 2
residents have eagerly scanned local publications for personal and social items,
odd bits of national and state happenings, and other copyrighted material. Three items taken from the first
editions have a bit of humor for the reader today.
“Salt Lakers are having strawberries and cream and our Manti, more rain.”
Ft. Green Items: “The stores of this burg are paying 6 cents per dozen for eggs and 42 cents per bushel
for wheat.”

“Wide brimmed hats are very fine as substitutes for umbrellas in the sun’ but people do say they are
out of place on the front seats of the theatre. He (she) whom the coat fits let him put it on.
Within five years two other local papers appeared. In June, 1890-, James T. Jakeman issued the County
Register in Ephraim 4, and in November, 1890, A.B. Williams and J.M. Boyden published the Mt. Pleasant
Pyramid. 5.in 1891 the Ephraim plant was purchased by M. F. Murray and Company. The name was changed to the Enterprise 6
by which it was known through the management of ten editors, Ward Stephensen, John
Christiansen, Fred Jorgensen, W.E. Thorpe, Oscar Neilsen, a. E. Britsch, Nephi Christensen, Curtis Mitchelson
and Roscoe C. Cox. 7 Mr. Cox began publication in 1925 and was editor and manager for 35 years, the longest
period for any of the publishers. 8

The plant was located first in a building at 30 East Center Street. It was
later moved to the basement of the Ephraim Bank building and then to 56 North Main (Roscoe Cox Home).
The Mt. Pleasant Pyramid was purchased from Mr. Williams and Mr. Boyden by Burke McArthur in
1911. Mr. McArthur bought the first Linotype machine in Sanpete County, and continued to make
improvements in the plant until it was modernized throughout. About this same time, he also purchased a
permanent home for the paper, the building which it now occupies. 9

“The price of the local paper was combined with the needs of those concerned in Sanpete; it was
printed in kind; in terms of so much hay, so many potatoes or so many cords of firewood.” 10 Rates of
subscription listed in the Mt. Pleasant Pyramid Friday morning December 29, 1912, were: one year - $1.50; six
months - $.75; three months - $.50.
Editorials played an important role in the early newspapers, serving to arouse interest and to motivate
the people to action on local issues. They also helped shape policies and form public opinion on vital matters,
proving that the ‘pen is mightier than the sword.”
Mt. pleasant also had a small newspaper called The Call, which was edited and published by Christian
N. Lund, Jr., in a plant on the south side of the street at about 270 West Main. Mr. Lund operated his plant
first in Salina, then in Mt. Pleasant for a total of about ten years before moving to Salt Lake City, where he
continued in the newspaper business with a paper entitled The Progressive Opinion, which maintained a
circulation in Sanpete County for many years.

The Home Sentinel in Manti with J. T. Jakeman, Manager, and Dan Harrington, Editor, was re-named
The Sentinel in 1890 when H. H. Felt leased it. On October 13, 1893, under lease to Joel Shomaker, the paper
acquired the title of the Manti Messenger, which has continued since that time. 11 Other publishers to the
year 1929 year were J. L. Ewing, Peter A. Poulson, M.A. Boyden and S. Peter Peterson. 12
An item from the January 26, 1894, issue of the Messenger gives an insight into law enforcement in the
city.

“Sleigh riding has been the order of the day for some time. Some of the boys were a little too fast to
be within the limits of the city ordinances last Sunday and as a result were fined on dollar each.”
A rival paper in Manti, the Sanpete Democrat, was first issued in June, 1898, 13 and in 1902 was known
as the Sanpete Free Press with L. A. Lauber, publisher. It sold for $1.00 per year. 14 A local item in the January
7, 1902, edition reads as follows: “The rabbit hunt on Monday between Manti and Ephraim resulted in favor of
Ephraim by a score of 186 to 155….”
In the south end of the county, the Gunnison Valley News recorded this item:
“The great event came when a man named Camp came with a press and started a local weekly, which
he called the Gunnison Gazette. It was housed in a little building that stood on the north side of Center street
next to the school lot. After a short while, in 1909, he sold it to Nephi Gledhill. It was an old Washington hand
press. It took the family to get the paper out. The children would go after school and set type. When the
bank building was finished it was moved into that basement.”1513
In 1919 the paper was transferred to Howard W. Cherry, who modernized its operations and changed
the name to Gunnison Valley News. Subscription rates were $2.00 a year and $1.00 for six months. 16

Many
issues of the paper that year carried items of soldiers returning from World War I. the paper for July 4, 1919,
gave a detailed announcement of a patriotic program followed by foot, auto and horse races, boxing, baseball
and dancing, saluting the soldiers with the greeting: “Welcome, Soldier boys, the town is yours. Let’er bust.”
Prior to the editions of the local papers in the various communities in the County, the readers of early
news were able to obtain the Daily Deseret Evening News, which began as a weekly journal in 1867. “It
contained a variety of material, including speeches, lectures on scientific subjects, messages from church
heads, legal notices, local news, messages from the settlements reporting their progress, etc. It was always
part of the settlement. It gave the people a sense of contact with the world, a basis for comparing their lives
with that of other settlers and made them feel part of a large and important body. Everybody read the
News.”17 In this News, September 22, 1883, there appeared “more than two columns of the full size
newspaper, the names of all the stake presidencies and ward bishops for all the organized stakes of the
church.”

The Salt Lake Weekly Herald (Tribune) also found ready circulation in Sanpete County, 18
In listing early day publications, the Snowdrift, with Roscoe C. Cox as its first editor, provided
happenings and literary contributions from students at the College as well as being a media for training and
developing of talents in the news field.

The local papers were a powerful force in uniting the thoughts and actions of the people in the
communities. In giving due credit to the editors and publishers of Sanpete newspapers in the 44 years from
1885 to 1929, we are aware that they put the good of the people before their personal gain. First and
foremost was their love of the work, hearts that felt and understood the pulse of the community, men who
dared crusade for a better world, sometimes unappreciated, sometimes misunderstood, but never ceasing
their efforts for the printed page until that final copy was edited. These hands that set the type, turned the
presses and folded the papers will not be forgotten. Their words will echo and re-echo from the yellowed,
brittle pages, reminding us of conflict, tragedy, of joy and faith and hope, of life, as it was in our Sanpete
towns through these years.
Sources: 1
Christie Lund Coles, “To Mother and Dad”, Newspaper clipping.
2
These Our Fathers, p. 36
3
Snow College Film Library, Home Sentinel, 1885.
4 W. H. Lever, History of Sanpete and Emery Counties, p. 287.
5
These Our Fathers, p. 103.
6 W. H. Lever, p. 287.
7
These Our Fathers, p. 86.
8
Armanda Cox, Personal information.
9
These Our Fathers, p. 103.
10 Albert Antrei, “The Salty Old Press of Sanpete County”, Enterprise, 1979.
11 Mt. Pleasant Pyramid, December 29, 1912.
12 Antrei.
13 Song of a Century, p. 123.
14 W. H. Lever.
15 Sone of a Century, p. 123.
14 W. H. Lever.
15 Snow College Film Library, Sanpete Free Press, January 7, 1902.14
16 These Our Fathers, pp. 156-157.
17 Snow College Film Library, Gunnison Valley News, May 2, 1919.
18 These Our Fathers, pp. 156-157.
LAND OWNERSHIP IN EARLY FAIRVIEW

MT. PLEASANT EIGHTH GRADE BASKETBALL TEAM 1907-08

 

ELISHA KEMBUR BARTON ~ 1856-1903 and Celestial Eliza McArthur (from our archives)

 

Celestial Eliza McArthur got the name "Eliza" from her mother, Eliza Rebecca Scovil, who had been named for her Mother's first cousin, Eliza R. Snow. Celestail's grandmother, Lury Snow, was daughter of Franklin Snow and Lydia Alcott. Franklin was a brother of Oliver, father of the prophet of Lorenzo Snow, and his sister, Eliza R. Snow. Celestial Eliza McArthur, daughter of Duncun McArthur an Eliza Rebecca Scovil, was born in Pleasant Grove, Utah, on February 10, 1860. She was the oldest of four daughters in the second family of Duncun McArthur, three of whom lived.

Duncan McArthur

There had been fourteen children in the first family, five of whom lived. Grandmother was actually part of four different families. She was half-sister to her father's first family; to her step-father's family by his first wife; and to his second family by her mother as well as being a member of her father's second family. Since she as the oldest in a large family, she grew up used to responsibility and hard work. Her step-father, Washington Perry McArthur, who was also her half-brother, was first counselor to Bishop W.S. Seely when the first ward was organized in Mt. Pleasant in July 1859. He was also active in the town government. Elisha Kembur Barton, son of John Barton and Susannah Wilkinson Barton, was born December 22, 1856, in Bountiful, Davis County, Utah. He was the youngest child in a family of eight children--four boys and four girls.

The other children--in order of their birth--were: Mary Catherine, William Gilbert, Elizabeth Jane, Phebe Elen, John Oscar, Emely Alice, and Sylvester Aaron. At age 16, Celestial married Elisha Kembur Barton, age 20, son of other early settlers in Mt. Pleasant, John Barton and Susannah Wilkinson. They, too, had joined the saints form Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, in the early days of the Church, and suffered persecutions and hardships before coming with the company led by Brigham Young across the plains to Utah. IN 1850, Brigham Young asked the Barton family to settle in Bountiful, Davis County, Utah, near Salt Lake City. They lived there nearly ten years, during which time their three youngest children were born, including Grandpa Elisha K. Barton, their youngest.

John Ivie 

After John Ivie of Mt. Pleasant met and married Grandpa’s (Elisha’s) oldest sister, they decided water was more plentiful in Mt. Pleasant, and that farming would be better there. They came there in the year 1860. Most of the people were living in the fort then. Mt. Pleasant had been settled only a year. Celestial Eliza McArthur and Elisha Kembur Barton were married on the 29th of November, 1876, in Mt. Pleasant. They went to Salt Lake City and were married, or sealed, in the Endowment House, a little over a year later, on March 14, 1878. They made their home in Mt. Pleasant.

 For a while they lived on Main Street, until they moved down on the 20 acres of farmland, where they stayed for several years. Later, when their family was larger, they built a large red brick home close to the center of town, on e block east on Main Street. The children helped with the building of this home. They stayed there until their children were grown, and and until both of them passed away. 

I will describe it as I remember it. The Plan of this home was a good for the rearing of a large family. There was a huge square kitchen on the southeast with a handy little pantry just off the south side. A nice south window let in sun just about the sink in this well-arranged pantry, where Grandma kept her dishes, utensils, and equipment for cooking. A small, but complete bathroom was just off the kitchen in the southeast corner, and a big window, which was on the east, gave them lots of sunshine. There was a large dining room, which was used more for a living and sitting room than anything else, on the west side of the kitchen. We would call it a family room today. A large bay window on the south side of this room was always filled with beautiful green plants, ferns, and flowers. There was a parlor on the northwest, and a bedroom on the northeast. The parlor contained a piano and an organ, which were used frequently by this music-loving family. On the west side of the dining room was a porch that led to lawns and fruit trees surrounding the house. 

There was a huge garden spot, and a place for cows, horses, chickens, and pigs. Leading from the kitchen on the north was a hallway which led to the upstairs and to the basement room. The upstairs had three large bedrooms and a balcony porch off on of them, on the west side. These rooms were not only used by the children, but by relatives, and guests. The basement room, well finished with brick, was a good, cool, place for the storage of fruits, vegetables, and meats. The walls were flat rocks. 

Thirteen children were born to them--six boys and seven girls. They were-- in order of their birth--Offa Celestial (who died when she was fourteen months old from choking on a pit), Alice Loretta, Kembur LeRoy, Henry Lawrence (my father), John Amos, Noah (who died two days after birth, from an overdose of paregoric), Eva Eliza, Williard “W” (named from a story in the “Juvenile Instructor”), Lloyd McArthur, Hazel Ermina, Sarah Elizabeth, Susan Mildred, and Grace Adelaide. Shortly after Kembur and Celestial were married, he took a load of wheat to Salt Lake in a wagon drawn by two yoke of oxen. Then he bought a charter oak stove, which was about half the size of an ordinary cooking stove of later days. They considered it very fine. Cedar wood, from the cedar hills, was used to burn in it. There was no coal then. People hauled wood all winter long, while the snow was deep. They pulled trees down with oxen, or cut them down. Sylvester and Kembur had their farms together, and worked together for years, until Kembur’s boys, Roy, Lawrence, and Amos, became older, and wanted their farm separate. 

Grandpa Kembur Barton was a good farmer and stockman and a very hard worker. He is always had a nice herd of cattle. Like the Bartons before and after him, he loved good well-bred horses, and always kept an excellent team. For seven generations, the Bartons had been farmers. At one time, Grandpa owned a large sheep herd, but sold it and went into the creamery business. He and his family gathered milk and cream all around town. Celestial, first person at the left in row three, is shown with other members of the “Sunshine Club,” an organization similar to the Relief Society.

Sunshine Club

Retty is second to the right of the man in the back row. The third child from the right in the first row looks like Grace. Grandpa was a short, stocky-built man, 5 feet 6 inches tall, with black curly hair, and grayish blue eyes. He was a natural-born musician. After hearing any tune two or three times, he could play it well on his accordion. He played his accordion frequently for the old time dances they had. He also played the harmonica, and chorded on the organ for the whole family to gather ‘round and sing.’

 They had many happy times together as a family. Most of the children were talented in music. All of them had the natural talent to sing well, as did their mother. Willard stood on the stage when he was three years old, and played tunes on the harmonica. Perhaps the thing I remember most about family gatherings was the brothers and sisters gathering around the piano and singing many beautiful songs. I love the harmony and the rich soprano voices. 

Briant Jacobs told me some time ago how he remembered my Grandmother and the way she bore her testimony in the ward. She would go up to the piano, pick up the hymn book, and sing a favorite hymn, then return to her seat without saying a word. One hymn that she sang was “I Know That My Redeemer Lives.” Grandma proved to be a wonderful homemaker and helpmate. She was very skillful and economical at managing the home under any conditions. She was an excellent cook, housekeeper, and seamstress. 

The whole house reflected not only good housekeeping, but the expert handiwork of Grandma and her girls. There were nice covers on the couches, beautiful cushions, and a general feeling of comfort and well-being, as well as orderliness throughout the house. Grandma seemed to possess an ability to make little go far. She made several hundred quilts, which were skillfully done, from scraps of material. She did a great deal of sewing of clothing and other articles. She was efficient in all that she did, and could accomplish a great deal of work in a minimum amount of time. Many people have told me that she could whip up a meal faster and better than anyone they had ever seen. Grace said that she never saw her mother come to the breakfast table without her hair combed and a clean apron. 

Every tramp that came into town stopped at Grandma’s house to be fed. SHe would fix lunch for them while they chopped an armful of wood. Grandma kept boarders part of the time to help feed the family. She and the family sold butter and milk. The children used to pick and help dry apples up at Aunt Lib’s (Libby Everett, Will Everett’s wife) for their family and Aunt Lib’s. They took care of lodge halls also.

 Grandma spent part of her time as a nurse caring for the sick people around town and she went over to the Jacobs family (just through the block) who were all down with flu and helped them. She also helped to bring Dr. Bryant Jacobs into the world. When his mother was having a difficult delivery, Grandma retired to an upstairs bedroom to pray, and came back down to complete the delivery. Everything went better after that and Sister Jacobs was able to successfully deliver her youngest child. Another time when she was riding with President and Sister Jacobs to the temple, the car broke down, and Grandmother went over in the sagebrush and knelt pray. She returned to the car and said, “Let’s go.” They all got in and the car worked fine. Every day she combed her invalid neighbor’s hair. This was Mrs. Hannah Reynolds. Every time she baked, she sent her a little cake or pie. 

About 1900, the family considered moving to Canada to live. On April 9, 1903, Grandpa Barton, and two of his sons-- Lawrence and Amos-- with Ossy Barton and his family, left for Canada. When they left, all that they owned in Mt. Pleasant was promised away. With a company of 17 men, cattle, horses, and car loads of furniture, they traveled to Canada--to Lethbridge, Alberta. When they reached there, they stayed with a Mrs. Heninger, who wa Oscar Ivie’s sister. 

After three or four months stay, they bought a place west of Raymond. In May, a terrible storm arose, which lasted three days and nights. Half of the cattle were lost in the storm. Some were found in the mountains. A bit discouraged, but still determined, Grandfather Barton returned to Utah to get his family and to go back to Canada. Amos became homesick while waiting, and also returned to Mt. Pleasant. Lawrence stayed there (in Canada). On November 9, 1903, after his return, Kembur Barton died suddenly from a quick stroke and heart attack while doing the chores at his home. From then on the older boys, Roy and Lawrence, helped run the farm, and Grandma carried on hearing her family alone as a widow. 

The family did not go to Canada, but stayed in Mt. Pleasant. After Grandpa’s death, Grandma helped clean the sacrament cups each week, and applied the labor on her tithing, which she always paid. Aunt Grace and all helped. I remember Grandmother Barton very well. I think her most outstanding quality was her “serenity.” She did not say much, but was always calm and patient. Her hands were always busy. Around her was order, cleanliness, good food, and cheerfulness. I never saw anything in her house untidy, although there were always relatives there. She is no longer with us, but her spirit continues to influence our lives, and “the ears of the children are turned to those who gave them life.” By June Barton Bartholomew

SCOUTING ON THE SKYLINE ~~~ JAMES L. JACOBS

 

 James L. Jacobs

1052 Darling Street

Ogden, Utah 84403

Senior Citizen Division

Second Place Historical Essay

Boy Scout camping trips were never better than those we Scouts

of Mt. Pleasant enjoyed in the mountains east of town in 1920 and

1922, The five-day trips each August were filled with high adven-

- ture and great scouting activities. Hiking, swimming, fishing,

nature study, games and sports, and practicing Scout lore in a

choice mountain setting were thrilling amd stimulsting.

The first trip included thirty-two Scouts of Troop 1 - the

North Ward boys - and a mumber of men officiating. Soren M.

Nielsen was scoutmaster and Ray Riley was his assistant. Daniel

Rasmussen of the stake presidency, Bishop H. C. Jacobs, and several

other men assisted with the trip.

Teans and wagons to haul us and our gear to canp were furnished

at no cost by Joseph Seely, Daniel Rasmussen and Amasa Scovil.

We rode in the wagons on our bedrolls and tents by way of North

Creek to our camp. We walked up all the steep hills to spare the

horses.

Canp was set up on Hog Flat - a rich mountain meadow surrounded

by a forest of spruce, fir and aspen trees. Tents were pitched

on the fringe of the forest. "Pine bough beds" were made of evergreen

tranches piled deep, with the tender tips up to meke spr'ngy

and fragrant mattresses. Clear spring water, abundant firewood,

colorful wildflowers, fresh mountain air and scenery, lush fordge

for horses, and stately trees made an ideal setting for the camp.

Cleveland Reservoir furnished excellent swimming, a five-mimite

walk away. Log seats were placed around a fireplace circle where

campfire programs were held. The camp was named “Camp Heber J.

- Grant® to honor the Church President.

A bugle call at six each morning summoned everyone to a flagraising

ceremony to start the day's activities. These were carefully

planned to promote scouting principles and provide enjoyment

to all who participated.

On Tuesday a hike was made to the top of Seely Mountain..

re we repeated the scout oath, law, and motto while we viewed

the beauties of the mountains. On Wednesday we visited the Larsen

coal mine and had scouting lessons on the mine dump. Everyone went

fishing on Thursday and caught speckled trout in the mountain streanms.

On Friday we returned home by way of Gooseberry ana Fairview Canyon.

o

Each day we studied hard to learn more about scouting and

qualify for advancement in the scouting program. Twenty-five of

the boys passed tests to make them tenderfoot scouts, and several

achieved second class rank.

Both Troop 1 and Troop 2 from the South Ward participated in

the 1922 trip. Many brought their fathers along, so there were 65

boys and men in the party. J. Seymour Jensen served as camp director,

Harold Oliverson was scoutmaster of Troop 1 With Evan Madsen

as assistant; Calvin Christensen was scoutmaster of Troop 2 with

Marvin Anderson as assistant. Frank Bohne was chief cook, Harry

Ericksen was butcher, and R. W. Weech was photographer, Additional

teams and wagons were furnished by Bruce Seely, Byron Hampshire and 9

Clair Jacobsen.

Some of the boys in the party, identified from a photograph

were; Nelson Aldrich, Ray Aldrich, Waldo Barton, Willie Barton,

Elvin Bills, Ray Bohne, Allie Christensen, Barl Christensen, Theodore

Christensen, Robert Ericksen, Boyd Hafen, Lynn Jensen, Ray

Jorgénsen, James Jacobs, Ralph Jacobsen, Kemnis Johansen, Floyd

Larson, Evan McArthur, Chesley Norman, Arley Munk, Nathan Nielson,

Edgar Olsen, Owen Olsen, Paul Rasmussen, Paul Reynolds, Theodore

Reynolds, William Reynolds, John Rosenberg, Carlton Seely, Ray

Seely, Theron Seely, Clayton Sorenson, Miles Sorenmson, Gordon Staker,

Charles Wall, Wendell Wall, Aristol White and Perry Wright.

We were organized into patrols of eight Scouts each. The

patrols competed with each other in learning scout lore, in passing

advancement tests, in games and sports, and in giving stunts at

the evening campfire programs. The patrols were named for animals

or birds. I was a member of the Beaver patrol, amd we worked like

the beavers we were to be the best patrol in camp.

To qualify for tenderfoot rank the Scouts had to know the

scout law; oath, sign, salute, motto, care and history of the U.S.

flag, and tle nine required knots. When one of the boys learned

to tie the difficult carrick band knot, he danced around the camp

chanting repeatedly, "I can tie the carrick band."

We also learned safety rules, first aid to the injured, signalling

by Morse code, semaphore and wigwag, how to use knife and

axe properly, to cook on a campfire, to read maps and to use a

compass. «

Forest Ranger Merrill Nielson, who was statloned at nearby

Lake Ranger Station, and Deputy Forest Supervisor Serrin Van Boskirk

took us on a nature hike and taught us to identify many native

plants. I still remember the beautiful columbine, bluebell, paintbrush,

elderberry, wild geraniun, niggerhead, and the names of the

trees in the forest. These men also showed us how to fight and

prevent forest fires, and to keep from getting lost in the woods.

Food never tasted so good. Cook Frank Bohne and his helpers

were experts at preparing camp meals. They served mutton we got

from a nearby sheep herd, beans, potatoes, and all the trimmings,

including gallons of dixie molasses we spread on bread for dessert.

We ate each meal like it was to be our last one.

Swinming in Cleveland reservoir was a special delight and we

21l swan every day in our birthday sults. Swimming races were held,

and some of the boys passed tests for advancement, including quali-

. fying for swimming merit badges.

There was one crisis. Senior Patrol Leader Theodore Christensen

supervised the boys while they were swimming. One of the swim-

- mers came running up to Theodore with tears streaming down his cheeks

and cried, “We can't find Paul anywhere. He must have drowned."

There was a frantic, fruitless search for the missing boy, then the

boys were ordered to dress and return to camp. There in his tent,

on his pine bough bed, Paul was found peacefully sleeping.

Foot-races were held daily on the smooth slope of the reservoir

just above the water level, which made an ideal racetrack. A

baseball game was played with the boys against their fathers, and

the boys won by a small margin. We leaped and rolled and tunbled

in a large sawdust pile which had been left by an old sawmill.

After supper each night everyone gathered around the campfire

for a program. There were stories and recitations, appropriate

talks by the leaders, and peppy stunts acted out by the patrols.

But the part T enjoyed most was the lusty singing of songs. We

sang patriotic songs, church hynns, and many of the lively songs

fron the Boy Scout Songbook. We always bellowed forth our favorite

ditty, which ran something like this:

 

FACE THE CHALLENGE OR LOSE FACE by Leland Stansfield ~~~ (from our archives)

 

A    MUST    READ

.....and I thought just climbing to the top of the fire escape was a challenge !!! (Kathy)

comment by:

Carol Corcoran  My knee's shook when I read that...and we never even thought of things like that. We use to take wax paper and wax it to go faster...and then the boys would go up and pee down it!!

HAMILTON SCHOOL BAND 1953

 

Back Row: L to R: Marden Allred, Dennis Tucker, Keith Lasson, ..............., Robert Lasson, Ralph Wright, Bert Olsen, Justus Seely, Jay Carlson, Robert Jorgensen, Jerry McArthur, Roger Larsen, Jerry Sorensen, ............, Brooks Larsen.
Middle Row: Sue Ann Seely, Lynn Madsen, Connie Johansen, Sharon Staker, Kathleen Truscott, Karen Jacobs, ................., Leah Faye Johansen, Sally Peterson, Marion Lay, Peggy Peterson.
Front Row: Ronald Lay, John Carlson, Steve Rosenlund, .............,................, Karl Lund, Jerry Barentsen, Buddy Holt, Richard Poulsen, Dwight Shelley, Leon Brotherson

VETERANS DAY SALUTE 2024

 

You probably know about this web site but in case you don't it's very well done!

This is absolutely amazing if you know anyone from your home town that died in the Vietnam War,

Vietnam Wall--THIS IS AMAZING!

This is really sobering. First click on a state. When it opens, scroll down to the city where you went to high school and look at the names. Click on the name and it will give details of the person's death, a picture or at least their bio and medals.

This really is an amazing web site. Someone spent a lot of time and effort to create it.

I hope that everyone who receives this appreciates what those who served in Vietnam sacrificed for our country.

http://www.virtualwall.org/iStates.htm

Brent Hal Mc Arthur

Specialist Four
A CO, 1ST BN, 7TH CAVALRY, 1ST CAV DIV, USARV
Army of the United States
Mount Pleasant, Utah
July 21, 1946 to November 20, 1969
BRENT H Mc ARTHUR is on the Wall at Panel W16, Line 101
See the full profile or name rubbing for Brent Mc Arthur

 http://www.virtualwall.org/dm/McarthurBH01a.htm

Gary Ruel Mower

First Lieutenant
C CO, 5TH BN, 46TH INFANTRY, AMERICAL DIV, USARV
Army of the United States
Fairview, Utah
March 18, 1944 to May 22, 1970
GARY R MOWER is on the Wall at Panel W10, Line 82
See the full profile or name rubbing for Gary Mower

 http://www.virtualwall.org/dm/MowerGR01a.htm

~~~~~~~

Dee Bergera

Private First Class
A CO, 3RD BN, 21ST INFANTRY, 196TH INFANTRY BDE,
AMERICAL DIV, USARV
Army of the United States
Helper, Utah
August 31, 1948 to June 15, 1971
DEE BERGERA is on the Wall at Panel W3, Line 76
See the full profile or name rubbing for Dee Bergera

Graduated from Wasatch Academy 

 

Jimmy Larsen

son of Chris and Thaetta Larsen

Mt. Pleasant.  

~~~~~