I AM IMPORTANT by Jim Berlin

David Peterson ~~~~ Mutton and Sour Dough

Home of John K. Madsen and his wife Mary Virginia Whitlock ~~~ Researched and Compiled by Tudy Barentsen Standlee

Ferdinand Clark and his wife Hannah Christensen Clark ~~~ Pioneers of the Month ~~~ January 2020

Ferdinand Clark and wife Hannah Christensen Clark 

New Years Eve Around The World

The Home of Gunner Gunderson and his wife Tora Lucinda Madsen ~~~ Researched and Compiled by Tudy Barentsen Standlee

Ole Nicole Clemensen Family Group Sheet

• 
• Melvina Clemensen Crane 
  oldest daughter who married Abner Crane 
• 
  
• In some sources their surname is spelled "Clemmensen", "Clementsen" or Klemmensen" Death date recorded in Mt. Pleasant Ward records.
  He came on the ship, Unknown in 1862 with his wife, Ane Marie and children: Hansine, Martin G., Niels Erastus, and Sara Johanne. 

John R. Murdock Company (1862)

• Age at Departure: 34
• Head of Household

Traveled with 

• Anna Marie Christine Larsen Clemensen (Age: 35)
• Sara Johanne Melvina Clemensen (Age: 7)
• Niels Newton Erastus Clemensen (Age: 5)
• Hansine Clemensen (Age: 3)
• Martin George Clemensen (Age: 1)

from our archives:....... A Forgotten War: The Seely Barn

Orange Seely, was raised in 1862 in Four months with the help of 200 Mormon Settlers.

Three years later, on April 9, 1865, the same day that Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee signed the papers officially ending the American Civil War, the territory of Utah erupted into violence.  Many believe the war was sparked when a Ute Indian Chief, Jake Arapeen, was pulled from his horse by a drunken Mormon named John Lowry.  Arapeen and his men were in Manti trying to negotiate an agreement with Lowry and others.

Seely Barn 
https://draft.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=823365018368490611#editor/target=post;postID=8032865228933454459;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=8;src=postname

This is what a country Christmas is all about...Submitted by Larry Staker

(one of my favorites)  I think we all need to read about a real country Christmas every year around Christmas time.  I hope you feel the same way after reading this. "Pa never had much compassion for the lazy or those who squandered their means and then never had enough for the necessities.  But for those who were genuinely in need, his heart was as big as all outdoors.  It was from him that I learned the greatest joy in life comes from giving, not from receiving. It was Christmas Eve.  I was fifteen years old and feeling like the world had caved in on me because there just hadn't been enough money to buy me the rifle that I'd wanted for Christmas.  We did the chores early that night for some reason.  I just figured Pa wanted a little extra time so we could read in the Bible. After supper was over I took my boots off and stretched out in front of the fireplace and waited for Pa to get down the old Bible.  I was still feeling sorry for myself and, to be honest, I wasn't in much of a mood to read Scriptures.  But Pa didn't get the Bible, instead he bundled up again and went outside.  I couldn't figure it out because we had already done all the chores.  I didn't worry about it long though, I was too busy wallowing in self-pity.   Soon Pa came back in.  It was a cold clear night out and there was ice in his beard. "Come on, Matt," he said. "Bundle up good, it's cold out tonight."  I was really upset then.  Not only wasn't I getting the rifle for Christmas, now Pa was dragging me out in the cold, and for no earthly reason that I could see.  We'd already done all the chores, and I couldn't think of anything else that needed doing, especially not on a night like this.  But I knew Pa was not very patient at one dragging one's feet when he'd told them to do something, so I got up and put my boots back on and got my cap, coat, and mittens.  Ma gave me a mysterious smile as I opened the door to leave the house.  Something was up, but I didn't know what. Outside, I became even more dismayed.  There in front of the house was the work team, already hitched to the big sled.  Whatever it was we were going to do wasn't going to be a short, quick, little job.  I could tell.  We never hitched up this sled unless we were going to haul a big load.  Pa was already up on the seat, reins in hand.  I reluctantly climbed up beside him.  The cold was already biting at me.  I wasn't happy.  When I was on, Pa pulled the sled around the house and stopped in front of the woodshed.  He got off and I followed.  "I think we'll put on the high sideboards," he said.  "Here, help me."  The high sideboards!  It had been a bigger job than I wanted to do with just the low sideboards on, but whatever it was we were going to do would be a lot bigger with the high side boards on. After we had exchanged the sideboards, Pa went into the woodshed and came out with an armload of wood - the wood I'd spent all summer hauling down from the mountain, and then all fall sawing into blocks and splitting.  What was he doing?  Finally I said something.  "Pa," I asked, "what are you doing?"   "You been by the Widow Jensen's lately?" he asked.  The Widow Jensen lived about two miles down the road.  Her husband had died a year or so before and left her with three children, the oldest being eight.  Sure, I'd been by, but so what? Yeah," I said, "Why?" "I rode by just today," Pa said.  "Little Jakey was out digging around in the woodpile trying to find a few chips.  They're out of wood, Matt."   That was all he said and then he turned and went back into the woodshed for another armload of wood.  I followed him.  We loaded the sled so high that I began to wonder if the horses would be able to pull it.  Finally, Pa called a halt to our loading, then we went to the smoke house and Pa took down a big ham and a side of bacon.  He handed them to me and told me to put them in the sled and wait.  When he returned he was carrying a sack of flour over his right shoulder and a smaller sack of something in his left hand.   "What's in the little sack?" I asked.     "Shoes, they're out of shoes.  Little Jakey just had gunny sacks wrapped around his feet when he was out in the woodpile this morning.  I got the children a little candy too.  It just wouldn't be Christmas without a  little candy." We rode the two miles to Widow Jensen's pretty much in silence.  I tried to think through what Pa was doing.  We didn't have much by worldly standards.  Of course, we did have a big woodpile, though most of what was left now was still in the form of logs that I would have to saw into blocks and split before we could use it.  We also had meat and flour, so we could spare that, but I knew we didn't have any money, so why was Pa buying them shoes and candy?  Really, why was he doing any of this?  Widow Jensen had closer neighbors than us; it shouldn't have been our concern. We came in from the blind side of the Jensen house and unloaded the wood as quietly as possible, then we took the meat and flour and shoes to the door.  We knocked.  The door opened a crack and a timid  voice said,  "Who is it?" "Lucas Miles, Ma'am, and my son, Matt, could we come in for a bit?" Widow Jensen opened the door and let us in.  She had a blanket wrapped around her shoulders.  The children were wrapped in another and were sitting in front of the fireplace by a very small fire that hardly gave off any heat at all.  Widow Jensen fumbled with a match and finally lit the lamp. "We brought you a few things, Ma'am," Pa said and set down the sack of flour.  I put the meat on the table.  Then Pa handed her the sack that had the shoes in it.  She opened it hesitantly and took the  shoes out one pair at a time.  There was a pair for her and one for each of the children - sturdy shoes, the best, shoes that would last.  I watched her carefully.  She bit her lower lip to keep it from trembling and then tears filled her eyes and started running down her cheeks.  She looked up at Pa like she wanted to say something, but it wouldn't come out. "We brought a load of wood too, Ma'am," Pa said.  He turned to me and said, "Matt, go bring in enough to last awhile.  Let's get that fire up to size and heat this place up."   I wasn't the same person when I went back out to bring in the wood.  I had a big lump in my throat and as much as I hate to admit it, there were tears in my eyes too.  In my mind I kept seeing those three kids huddled around the fireplace and their mother standing there with tears running down her cheeks with so much gratitude in her heart that she couldn't speak.  My heart swelled within me and a joy that I'd never known before filled my soul.  I had given at Christmas many times before, but never when it had made so much difference.  I could see we were literally saving the lives of these people. I soon had the fire blazing and everyone's spirits soared.  The kids started giggling when Pa handed them each a piece of candy and Widow Jensen looked on with a smile that probably hadn't crossed her face  for a long time.  She finally turned to us. "God bless you," she said. "I know the Lord has sent you.  The children and I have been praying that he would send one of his angels to spare us." In spite of myself, the lump returned to my throat and the tears welled up in my eyes again.  I'd never thought of Pa in those exact terms before, but after Widow Jensen mentioned it I could see that it was probably true.  I was sure that a better man than Pa had never walked the earth.  I started remembering all the times he had gone out of his way for Ma and me, and many others.  The list seemed endless as I thought on it. Pa insisted that everyone try on the shoes before we left.  I was amazed when they all fit and I wondered how he had known what sizes to get.  Then I guessed that if he was on an errand for the Lord that the Lord would make sure he got the right sizes. Tears were running down Widow Jensen's face again when we stood up to leave.  Pa took each of the kids in his big arms and gave them a hug.  They clung to him and didn't want us to go.  I could see that they missed their Pa, and I was glad that I still had mine. At the door Pa turned to Widow Jensen and said, "The Mrs. wanted me to invite you and the children over for Christmas dinner tomorrow.  The turkey will be more than the three of us can eat, and a man can get cantankerous if he has to eat turkey for too many meals.  We'll be by to get you about eleven.  It'll be nice to have some little ones around again.  Matt, here, hasn't been little for quite a spell."  I was the youngest.  My two brothers and two sisters  had all married and had moved away. Widow Jensen nodded and said, "Thank you, Brother Miles.  I don't have to say, may the Lord bless you; I know for certain that He will." Out on the sled I felt a warmth that came from deep within and I didn't even notice the cold.  When we had gone a ways, Pa turned to me and said, "Matt, I want you to know something.  Your ma and me have  been tucking a little money away here and there all year so we could buy that rifle for you, but we didn't have quite enough. Then yesterday a man who owed me a little money from years back came by to make things square.  Your ma and me were real excited,  thinking that now we could get you that rifle, and I started into town this morning to do just that, but on the way I saw little Jakey out scratching in the woodpile with his feet wrapped in those gunny sacks and I knew what I had to do.  Son, I spent the money for shoes and a little candy for those children.  I hope you understand." I understood and my eyes became wet with tears again.  I understood very well and I was so glad Pa had done it.  Now the rifle seemed very low on my list of priorities.  Pa had given me a lot more.  He had given me the look on Widow Jensen's face and the radiant smiles of her three children. For the rest of my life, whenever I saw any of the Jensens, or split a block of wood, I remembered, and remembering brought back that same joy I felt riding home beside Pa that night.  Pa had given me much  more than a rifle that night, he had given me the best Christmas of my life."

from our archives: ..........PAULINE RASMUSSEN RETIRES

My mother-in-law, Alice Hafen saved many clippings that we like to share with you.  However, she didn't always save a date as well.  Perhaps someone can help fill in the blanks.

I do know that Pauline Rasmussen was my Kindergaarten teacher.  I will not share with you what year that was other than it was a long time ago.  I also remember how she scolded me when I accicentally flipped a shovel full of sand from the sandbox into Tyler Tuttles face. 

Lee R. Christensen comments:
Kathy: Great to see your Web site honoring Pauline Rasmussen. She was a legend in her own time. My mother, a grade school teacher herself, always considered Pauline the "best".
You have an early picture of Pauline - Pauline Monson - with Carre Hafen as a child with friends.

Back Row L to R: Hazel Anderson, Lucile Rolph, Etta Rolph and Carrie Nielsen

Front Row L to R: Ada Jensen, Cloe Swenson, Elouise Poulson and Pauline Monson

This picture was taken on Charley Renborg's porch.

on second west and third south; southeast corner of intersection

 Pauline, even then, is showing us how to sit in her classroom. Her son, Granny Peterson, was the quarterback on the football team with Carrie's son Neil who was, in today's terminology ,a wide receiver. lee

Five Things You Didn't Know about Santa Clause ~~~ I Am The Ghost of Christmas Past

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

From Our 2009 Archives ~~ John and Jane Smith Tidwell

JohnTidwell, son of William Tidwell and Sarah Goben, born 14 Jan. 1807 in Shelby Co., Kentucky.

(The following is from his own biography)
From there my father moved to Henry Co., in the same state. And there near the fork of the Kentucky River was called on to go fight for the independence of his country in the War of 1812-13. On his return home he was taken sick from much exposure and died at a place then called Fort Ball. The war was between the United States and England. Soon after the war the news came to mother of the death of my father. After the shock she moved to her father's, who lived in the county of Clay, in the State of Indiana. Her father's name was William Goben. Some little time after my mother moved to Indiana, she married a man by the name of John Conner. He was a half brother to my wife, Jane Smith. I will say here that my mother had five children by her first husband, William Tidwell, my father. Their names were John, Littleton, Nancy, Moriah, and William; all born in the state of Kentucky. After she married John Conner, her second husband, she had eight children, (namely) James, Lewis, Mary, Isaac, Wesley, Alexander, Robert and John.


On Dec. 18, 1838 I was married to Jane Smith at Marysville, Clark Co., Indiana. Sept. 25, 1835, I was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, by Levi Bracken in connection with Uriah Curtis. Those two were on a mission together at that time. I was living at this time in Clark Co., Indiana. On 20 Nov. 1835, I was ordained an elder in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Siants, and left in charge of a small branch of Saints, about twelve in number, which had been baptized previous to this time. This number increased by about twenty two or twenty three.

On 11 Sept. 1839, I left Clark Co., Indiana to gather with the Church at Nauvoo, Hancock Co., Illinois. I reached there 6 Nov. 1839, where I remained until after the Martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph and his Brother, Hyrum Smith. This took place 27 June 1844. I was ordained a Seventy and organized the ninth quorum of Seventies. I must say in connection with our stay in Nauvoo, which was less than six years, we had a great deal of sickness, also trouble caused by the mobs of outlaws of the State of Illinois, who continually sought to disturb the Saints. On 10 June 1844, The Nauvoo Expositor, a libelous paper edited by the Laws and Fosters was was considered a nuisance by the city council of Nauvoo and was destroyed by the city marshall, John F. Green. Great excitement arose about this time in the County of Hancock, by the mobbers of the State of Illinois, so that the Governor of the state, Thomas Ford, with pretense of protection, came to Carthage, the county seat of Hancock County.

On 27 June 1844, while Ford was in Nauvoo with pretense of friendship, a man broke into the jail, where Joseph, the Prophet, Hyrum Smith the Patriarch, and Willard Richards and John Taylor were confined, and under pretense of the law, martyred the Saints of Hancock Co., Illinois.

On the second day of Feb., 1848 in the City of Joseph, John Tidwell and Jane Tidwell received their Patriarchal blessing by John Smith, brother of the Prophet, who was the Patriarch.

On June 5, 1852, I left Counsel Point, southwest of Kanesville, Iow for Salt Lake Valley, crossed the Missouri River 8 June 1852. The fifth company was organized for crossint the plains the presentseason by Ezra T. Benson. I was appointed Captain of the Fifth Company for crossing the plains. The Journal of the Company will be found in another book kept by the Clerk of the Company. The record of the Fifth company of 1852 shows the rest of that journey. Sept 15, we arrived in Salt Lake City.

After a few days, I moved from there to Utah County to a place called Pleasant Grove.On July 14, 1855, I was ordained a President of Seventies at Provo by Joseph Young, Andrew Moore, Uriah Curtis and David Hunt. Joseph Young took the lead, and afterward I was assigned to the thirty fourth quorum of Seventies and appointed to preside over the (??) quorum, Pleasant Grove, Utah County.

I lived at Pleasant Grove from Sept 20, 1852 until Jun. 3, 1853, when I concluded to go to some place where I could get land enough for farming, so as to provide for my family and also on account of things being in much immoral state that I feared my family would get into bad habits such as I did not wish them to do. I thought I would move to some other place so I moved to Sanpete County, a distance of about eighty miles to Mt. Pleasant, where I arrived June 13, 1859.

On the 19th of June 1859, I was appointed to take charge of the building of the East Wall of the Fort. It was 20 rds. long, 12 feet high, four feet thich at the bottom, and two feet thick at the top. This was completed before the 24th day of July of the same year. This was built to protect the people from the Indians.

John Tidwell died at Mt. Pleasant Jan. 24th 1887. He had the following children: James Harvey, William Nelson, Mary Jane, Jefferson, Lyman, Martha, Margaret, Sarah, John, Emma Jane, and Marion.




Sugar Bowl which belonged to John and Jane Tidwell


(The following is written by Lettie P. Peterson from the things she can remember being told by her mother. )
John Tidwell and his family lived in the Fort until after Chief Black Hawk was killed and the Indian troubles were partly over. Then the people began moving out of the Fort. Each family was allotted a quarter of a city block to have as their home. John Tidwell's place was on Second South and State Street, where John K. Madsen lived for many years and where Grant Johansen now lives. (1960s) The Tidwells lived at that location the rest of their lives.


John Tidwell built a two room adobe house on his place and later added two more rooms built of lumber with a large fireplace in the living room. This was the only way they had of heating their home except with a small cook stove in the kitchen. Grandmother did most of her cooking in the fireplace--baking bread on the red-hot coals in a large iron Dutch oven, boiling water and making soup in a large iron pot hung on heavy iron brackets over the fire.


I was just a small child but I can remember the blue checkered tablecloth on the table, and how good the hot bread would smell and how good it would taste spread with butter and honey! Grandmother would churn butter and sell it for 10 cents a pound and also sell eggs for 10 cents a dozen.



Grandfather engaged in farming and cattle raising--owning land west and south of Mt. Pleasant. He had several beautiful horses which were sometimes used in the parade on the fourth of July by his son, John (or Jack as he was called).



Grandfather and Grandmother had twelve children. They were born at various places from Indiana to Utah. They are: James Harvey, William Nelson, Mary Jane, Jefferson, Lyman, Nancy Ann, Martha, Margaret, Sarah, John, Emma Jane, and Emiline Mariah. (The last named is my mother.) Three of their children died in infancy.



The following is recorded in the book "Mt. Pleasant", "An elderly Englishman by the name of Lee (father of Brig Lee) was working at a shingle mill. In some way he got his arm in the machinery and it was crushed. He was taken to his home and John Tidwell was called. There were no doctors in Mt. Pleasant at that time. Mr. Lee was placed on a table and four men held him while John Tidwell performed the operation of amputating the arm, which took 40 minutes. The only operating tools available were a knife and a meat saw. Brother Lee recovered and lived many years after that incident occurred.


"John Tidwell was good at making tubs and churns and pails out of wood, bound with wooden hoops which were used by the Pioneers.
"Jane Smith Tidwell was in the first dramatic company organized in Mt. Pleasant. They played for some years both in the Fort and after the new meeting house was built outside of the Fort--wheat was accepted as cash for tickets."



Grandfather died January 24, 1887, at the age of 80, and was buried in the Mt. Pleasant City cemetery.

Home of Hyrum Nephi Madsen and his wife Elzina Jacobson ~~~ Researched and Compiled by Tudy Barentsen Standlee