John Ammon Taylor (1846-1921) narrative

John Ammon Taylor (1846-1921)
and possibly his signature?

Again, more from Aunt Jeanine's documents. It seems like there should be a lot of documentation/sources for the information in this narrative. I will definitely have to follow up on these leads.

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JOHN AMMON TAYLOR; MY GRANDFATHER.

John Ammon Taylor was born in Georgetown, Texas, Febr. 18, 1846, a son of John and Eleanor Burkett Taylor. They with 35 other families, had left their homes and property in Nauvoo and went to colonize in Texas under the leadership of Lyman Wight. This group and other families had been called by Joseph Smith Jr. to make a settlement in Texas a few weeks before his death and were making preparations to do so when he was killed by the mob. All the colonists that went to Texas belonged to the “Josephites.” (Which later became the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints).

John and Eleanor later decided to go to Utah and in 1852 they moved to Oklahoma Territory where they stayed 2 years getting ready to join their family, who by this time were at Bingham’s Fort near Ogden. (This was in the area now known as Five Points.) They started their journey June 12, 1854 and arrived at Bingham’s Fort August 15, 1854. Another family started out with them but had better horses, no oxen, and didn’t want to travel as slow as the train so pulled ahead. Several days later the train found the wagons where they had been attacked by Indians and all killed except 2 boys who were riding their horses ahead and upon hearing the Indians hid in the brush and watched their family massacred. John Taylor’s party consisted of the parents, 10 children, 12 yoke of oxen and 1 horse. They had one bad accident when the baby was run over b a wagon but through faith and prayers he was healed. They moulded [sic] his head back in shape and took turns holding it with their hands.

Grandfather was 8 years old at the time of this journey and in later years when he and his brothers and sisters visited together they would take of the amusing happenings on this trip, perhaps not so funny at the time but remembers so afterward. All the family had a great sense of humor which helped them through many trying times, and he especially liked to tease and play harmless jokes on others. As he was the 6^th child in a family of 12 he found plenty of outlet for this.

The family settled in Weber County and there he spent the rest of his life with the exception of a few years in Montana. He led the usual hard life the times with scant schooling but like most parents had the desire to see his children educated and out of a family of 9 boys and 1 girl he had 4 sons who attended Utah State Agriculture College and 1 son graduate of Harvard University of Engineering.

During his early manhood he made several trips to the Missouri River after immigrants, and on the last trip in 1868 he drove a team during the day and took turns in the night-hearding or watering camp at night. On these trips the guides and immigrants indulged in wrestling, singing, jumping etc. for amusement and he was the best wrester in his Company. When they would meet another Company they always stopped and had wrestling matches and other diversions. He often told of one of these matches when an opponent, a Wm. Gibson, after being thrown by Grandfather broke the hold and caught the leg of his overalls ripping it to the top. This made Grandfather angry as he had on a new pair and they couldn’t be had often in those days, so he said “I’m going to throw you had now.”  which he proceeded to try and do, finally succeeding but he also broke Gibsons arm. This made him as remorseful as he had been angry before and he insisted on paying the Doctor’s charge, although Mr Gibson didn’t hold him to blame for anything. On this trip back from the Missouri he bought one of the first cook stoves ever to come into that part of Utah (Ogden Valley) as he was contemplating marriage to Mary Hannah Poulson (Maren Johanne Ottoson).

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In his early boyhood his father John Taylor got the goldfever [sic] and wanted to go to California so 6 younger children of the family and the parents made preparations to go but while camped at the mouth of Ogden Canyon waiting for the rest of the company they had a bad Indian scare and abandoned this plan and the next year set out with ox team and went up through northern Utah across Idaho and finally ended at Alder Gulch, Montana, where one of the richest goldfields then known was located. During their stay here the Indian Wars broke out, Grandfather and his brother William went to fight the Nez Perce. It seems there must not have been any age regulation about joining the Army – just the ability to load/fire a musket as they were in their teens. They never rejoined their parents who stayed in Montana several more years. On coming back to Utah Grandfather spent one summer in East Mill Creek working for Amos Neff, but one was enough when he had settled for his summers work he had a small amount of script on the Tithing Office and about 30 pounds of homemade soap. He packed the soap and walked to Weber County, about 50 miles. It was after this experience he made the trips back to the Missouri River and between trips worked for Bishop Ballantine of Eden, Ogden Valley. His parents were still in Montana, and his brothers that were married had been sent by Brigham Young to help colonize different parts of the Territory; one to Ashley Valley (Vernal), one to Franklin, Idaho and another was freighting from Utah to Montana.

While working for Bishop Ballantine he met Maren Johanne (Hannah) Poulson in 1868 in the Salt Lake Endowment Hiuse [sic] after his last trip to bring in immigrants. They lived in Eden a little over a year, where John Henry was born, their eldest son.

The people of Ogden Valley had to travel through Ogden Canyon to Ogden City for supplies and Grandmother very often made the trip behind a yoke of oxen and told us many times it was not uncommon for them to have to stop and build a road or bridge over the river where it had washed out. IT would take them all day to make the trip[.] She was very proud of the cook stove Grandfather had brought her and often baked bread and other delicacies for the neighbors, especially when there was a wedding supper or a party. She used this same stove until 1895.

Grandfather often told how hard it was to get money or at least to keep it and it was a common thing to go to a dance with a girl on one arm and a pumpkin or such in the other to pay the dance ticket. One incident where his love of jokes to to light again happened whenhe [sic] was floor manager and door deeper of the Poplar dance hall. One young man named Summers for several weeks had brought a $5.00 gold piece to pay his ticket and always came early before enough money was taken to make change. This night Grandfather was prepared for him, securing the change after much trouble in dimes, nickles  [sic] and some pennies. When the gold piece was offered he proceeded to count out the pennies nickles [sic] etc. Summers immediately dug into his pocket and brought out the quarter to pay the ticket, but nothing doing, he had to weigh his pocket down with coppers.

After being married and living in Eden Grandfather moved his family to Plain City (the area known locally as Poplar) and began dealing in real estate. In 1899 he bought his fathers old homestead of 350 acres of the best irrigated land to be found in Weber County. Late in the 1880’s he and the older boys established a ranch in Bingham Co., Idaho buying part and homesteading part. The range was open and their cattle and horses ranged from Culew valley to Promontory, thus began the Bar JA brand one of the oldest and best known brands in Northern Utah and Southern Idaho. (Bingham County was later divided and the ranch was in Oneida Co. with Malad as the County seat.) This began as a cattle ranch with herds being driven out from Plain City and surrounding town to summer range and back in fall with horses being left at all times. After the Cattle war

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with the Union Pacific R.R. and the subsequent closing of the waterholes on the range a large part of the ranch and all the cattle were disposed of and activity was given solely to the raising of horses for which the “Taylor Boys” became famous in this part of the country. They sold horses to the British Government for the Boer War in the 1890’s and also to the United States for the Spanish-American War and World War I. During later years they broke and sold horses for polo players.

As the sons grew older and married, Grandfather turned the active management of the farm and ranch over to them and devoted most of his time to civic affairs, helping establish the Plain City Irrigation Company, Plain City Canning Company, Harrisville Creamery Company, and the Utah Idaho R.R. in getting service to Plain City. He was a member of the District School Board for 20 years. He was also a member of the Black Hawk Veterans Association until his death.

Although being a stockholder in these companies took up most of his time, he always had time for visits with his brothers, sisters and friends and would arrange big family parties on the slightest excuse. He was a devoted husband and father and although not especially active in church affairs he instilled the L.D.S. religion into his children and sent two sons on missions, one to Australia and the other to the Central States.

Plain City was always the family home, here were reared the family, John H., William, George Francis, Charles Ezra (my father), Hyrum Alber, Ether Green, Parley Paul, Elmer A., and Lester Grant – nine sons and one daughter, Eliza Hannah. Grant died as a small child. With the exception of George F. his sons and daughter married and also reared their families in Plain City. On February 7, 1916, Grandmother died. Grandfather later married Martha Ferrin and moved to Ogden where he died after a two week illness on February 19, 1921, the day after his 75^th birthday. He was survived by his eight sons and one daughter, 58 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. He left his descendants a great heritage: of family love; to live a full useful life and be stalwart men and women.

Written by Thelma Taylor Storey, February 1935.

Information from family records, Ogden Standard

Examiner articles, personal letters written by

Uncle Francis and Emma Knight Furness, niece of

Grandfather and family memories.

Joseph Taylor (1825-1900)

Joseph Taylor (1825-1900)

Here's the personal history of Joseph Taylor found in the documents from Aunt Jeanine. Joseph is Troy's 5th-great grandfather: Troy > Brent > Eugene Victor Lund > Edith Pearl Taylor >  Ada Rose Taylor > Joseph Taylor.

Having studied both History and English and the process/product of scholarly writing, I can't help but wonder at this narrative. I wish there were sources cited and less of the authors own bias. But, I guess this is a product of its time and the rose-colored look back at history, where things are very black and white. I just have to be sure to be careful in my own writing. I will also have to go back and verify everything stated in this narrative.

JOSEPH TAYLOR

Joseph Taylor, third son and eighth child of William Taylor and Elizabeth Patrick Taylor, was born 4 June 1825 at Bowling Green, Warren, Kentucky. He moved with his parents to Missouri and went through the trying times of the early church history. In Nauvoo he met Mary Moore and married her 24 March 1844. They went through the Nauvoo Temple 24 Jan 1846. At the same time his mother, brothers Allen and Green also went. He served as one of the body guards to the Prophet Joseph Smith.

Under the leadership of Brigham Young, he and his family and his mother and some of her children crossed the Mississippi River on the ice 8 February 1846. They reached Council Bluffs in June and had planned to go on to Utah, but the calling for the Mormon Battalion upset all his plans and he was marching away without bidding his wife good-bye, leaving her in a campwagon and in a delicate condition. He suffered the terrible persecutions and starvation that this body of men had to endure. History treats it lightly in comparison to what it really was. When the men became sick, the government doctor would give them medicine to make them worse. If they had diarrhea, the doctor would give them medicine to make them worse or to increase the cramps. Because of this the men would stay on duty as long as possible before admitting that they were ill. They were so near starvation that they would eat the decaying meat of dead sheep, even picking out the eyes and eating them. One time they had one this sheep for a group of starving men. One man was left to keep guard and cook the meat while the others rested. The sheep was so this the firelight shone through. This man was so hungry he ate all of the sheep while he was cooking it. All the rest of his life he would never eat mutton.

Joseph returned to his family in 1847 but his cattle and belongings were so scatted that he couldn’t leave until the last of May 1850. In the company of fifty wagons where James Lake was captain, Joseph was lieutenant. He had his wife and children: Clarissa, Mary Melvina, Joseph Allen, and William Andrew. The latter was two weeks old when they began the journey. Joseph baptized Sarah Jane Marler in the Platte River on the way to Utah. They suffered the hardships, privations and horrors of the Indians but were always faithful. They came by way of Parley’s canyon and arrived in Salt Lake valley 5 September 1850. They settled in Salt Lake for a time, then moved to Kaysville. He had a farm and was building a log cabin when his wife took ill and died at childbirth 4 April 1852. He made her coffin out of his wagonbox, and placed her and the tiny baby in the coffin took her to Salt Lake for burial. She was one of the first to be buried in the Salt Lake Cemetary.

Soon after he married Jane Lake Ordway. After they lived in Kaysville for a time, she persuaded him to move to Ogden so that she could be near her parents, se he moved and settled in West Harrisville, now Farr West. He settled where Eliza Taylor now lives. Very few people lived here. He and two others built a small irrigation ditch to their farms. Tey [sic] made a proposition that if people would work onand [sic] enlarge this canal they could have water at four dollars an acre, where it had cost them therty-two [sic] dollars. People flocked here because of such good terms. He was water master for years. A branch of the church was organized with Daniel Rawson as head, and Joseph Taylor and Green Taylor as his two counsellors [sic].

During the Echo Canyon War, when Johnston’s Army came to Utah, Joseph Taylor was appointed Major and sent out with forty or fifty men to the Oregon road near the bend of Bear River to help delay the progress of Government troops and trains. The instructions given him were “Burn the whole country before them and on their flanks, keep them from sleeping, by night surprises, blockade the roads by falling trees and destroying river fords, take no life, but destroy their trains, and stampede and drive away their animals at every opportunity”. After he had passed fort Bridger he left his men and returned to that place on important business. He came upon a body of United States troops unexpectedly and he and his assistant, William Stowell, were surrounded and taken prisoners. The soldiers tried to poison them by putting poison in their soup after starving them. Joseph told his friend not to eat the soup because it was poison. Mr. Stowell just tasted his soup and then they buried it, yet he became deathly sick. Then the soldiers tried to smoke them to death in a tent. Joseph told his assistant to dig a hole in the ground with his hands, put his face in the hole, hold his hand around the hole and breath in it. By so doing they lived. One day Joseph said to his companion, “I’m leaving here tonight”.”You’ll be killed if you try it”, his companion replied. The officers had been given instructions to fire and kill the men if they tried to get away. In spite of this, that night Joseph kept asking the soldiers to build the fire higher because he was cold. He took off his shois [sic], supposedly to warm his feet. The sentinels kept up their duty of coming together, giving the password, and facing around to go back to meet the next sentinel, then coming back, which they did every few minutes. He waited until the sentinels turned to go back, their backs being toward him, then he bolted from the fireside and out into the midst of the cattle and horses. This caused a great commotion and started a stampede. His guards fired and searched but they couldn’t find him. He ran for miles without stoppingthen [sic] he slowed down some. A day or two later he found an overcoat and in the pockets of which were some clean, dry socks. He made good use of these, especially the socks, since he had left his shoes behind and it was winter.** The next day he saw two men coming toward him on horseback. At first he thought it was the men hunting him but soon saw that it wasn’t. They were hunting the overcoat. They gave it to him and ride back besides. William Stowell was released at the close of the war.

Joseph Taylor was stern, strong charactered man. He married two other wives, Maria Harris and Caroline Madsen.

About 1859 he took a herd of cattle to care for on shares. They milked about fourty head in summer and took them down to Salt Creek in winter. The winter that Joseph Allen was eleven and Andrew was nine, they stayed with the cattle, living in a dugout and their only clothes being straw hats, shoes and canvas suits. One night some Indians came into the dugout, motioned for the boys to go to bed, that they wouldn’t harm them, and they ate all of the boy’s food. Of course the boys didn’t sleep. Next morning Joseph Allen send Andrew home to tell his father what had happened while he stayed with the cattle. Andrew walked the twelve or fifteen miles through the snow, arriving hole late in the afternoon. His step-mother had no food ready so he had to wait until the next day before his father could take fresh provisions to his brother.

He was father to the following twenty- 4 children: Clarissa, Mary Melvina, Joseph Allen, William Andrew, Moroni, Esther, Emma Jane, Lydia Anne, James bailey, Janette, Julette, Mary Ellen, Elizabeth, Philomela, Amanda, Lamone, James, Heber, Hyrum, Ada, Evelyn, Frank, Joseph Jr. and Esther.

He lived to a ripe old age, doing good all his days. He was a Patriarch. He died at Farr West, Utah 9 August 1900 after a three week illness. His funeral was held in Farr West with a large attendance. Five Mormon Battalion members were present, all of whom spoke. They were: John Thompson, James Owen, Lorin Clark, Alexander Brown and Jess Brown. Bishop James Martin presided and he and George Middleton, William Fife and Thomas Doxey all spoke of long acquaintance with him and of his faithfulness in forwarding the Lord’s work. He had always been willing to defend his people, even to laying down his life.

** some say that he took his shoes with him when he ran away from the soldiers in Johnston’s Army.

Some of this was from Orson F. Whitney book “The Making of a State” Page 107.

                                                                                                                        (by Lola Taylor wells)

Source: Lund and Taylor Family personal papers, (genealogical research and documents, ; privately held by Jeanine Lund (Clontz Allen Sinsel), [address for private use], Plain City, Utah); Joseph Taylor narrative report of his life, great-grandfather, scanned and transcribed, 31 Aug 2012. Written by Lola Taylor Wells.

Edith Pearl (Taylor) Lund's personal history

Grandma Pearl, about 1915

I have such a huge pile of documents and pictures to sort through...it's kinda crazy. And wonderful!

Right now I'm looking through the Taylor family pile I received from "Aunt Jeanine" who is Troy's Father's aunt. She is the youngest daughter of Victor and Pearl (Taylor) Lund and had some amazing pictures and documents to share.

One document was the Taylor Talk newsletter for the Taylor Association from December 1977. In it was included some personal histories that were shared at the family reunion from that July. One of them was for Grandma Pearl.

Grandma Pearl, probably 1970's

Transcription:

EDITH PEARL TAYLOR LUND

(Pearl is the daughter of Ada Rose Taylor and William Taylor, who were third cousins. She is the granddaughter of Joseph Taylor and his third wife, Hannah Mariah Harris.)

I’m happy to be here today and see so many of my lovely relatives. I can’t see to read, so my daughter Ada Frazier will read what I have to say. Thank you.

(Ada begins) Mother is a timid little person, so she absolutely refused to say anything, so I have tried to sketch out a few of her life’s happenings.

Edith Pearl Taylor Lund was born June 28, 1891 in Poplar, Plain City, Utah. As you know, for many years Poplar was a little branch of Plain City about two miles east of the main town. She was the eldest daughter of William and Ada Rose Taylor. Her mother, Ada Rose, being the eighth child of nine of Hannah Mariah Harris, the third wife of Joseph Taylor. Her mother died at the age of 37 in childbirth. Both she and the child died the same day. She was the mother of nine children, also, Mother being the oldest. Many of you know her brothers and sisters: Leslie—he was from Idaho Falls—he died three years ago; Manila Hancock, who passed away 5 or 6 years ago, Lila May Hinchcliff, of St. Charles, Idaho, better known as the east side of Bear Lake; LaVern, who recently passed away; and Earl, of Silver City, California; then she had a brother Rulon that died as a baby. Their home at that time was the one in which Sister Olive Taylor lives now, or better known as Uncle Elmer Taylor’s home. In fact, that was known as Taylor’s Lane, I think, because Grandpa had seven brothers and one sister, and they all lived on that road.

She attended school in Poplar in a little schoolhouse on the north side of the street across from Augusta Nash or Fred Kenley, who was a life-long resident of Plain City. As a girl she would have to help care for the family and wash with all the old handwashers that I remember, too. She said many times her mother would still be washing when they came home from school. On Saturday her mother would go to Ogden and be gone all day to buy clothing and food or supplies for the family, because at that time they had only horses and buggies, leaving her and the older ones to tend the babies and do the housework. Her father was a great lover of horses and would go out on the range or Promontory Point to round up horses, bring them in and break them and sell them. I think all of the Taylors on that side were horse lovers, as was my dad. My Dad always had plenty of horses. They always told the story that as he was out there rounding up horses, someone rode out to help him and told him that Mother had cut her first tooth. So he immediately saddled up his horse and rode home to see it. This was always told to us by Brother Clark Streeter from Plain City, a neighbor.

She played the organ in Primary as a young child. Later they took down the schoolhouse in Poplar and sent the children down to the Plain City School. She graduated from the 8^th grade in 1907. They held the graduation in the old tabernacle.

In August 1909 her father rented that house and bought a home down in Plain City. Many remember this house on the south side of the street across from the Plain City Cemetery, where Brother William Heslop’s family lived in later years. I see his children here today. They moved there in August, and in September her mother gave birth to this ninth child. Both mother and child died. This left Mother to take care of the family and keep house for seven children and Grandpa. She was eighteen years old at this time. She was dating my father, Victor Lund then, but she stayed home for two more years with the older ones until they were able to go out to work. She and Dad were married January 18, 1911 in the Salt Lake Temple. But they lived on with Grandpa another two years to help take care of the small children. Then they got a house of their own. Her brother LaVern came to live with her when he was eight years old, and Earl went to live with Aunt Nell in West Weber. Aunt Lile moved to Ogden and lived with the family of Leonard Taylor (of the Taylor Pet Shop), and the others gradually got married. Enough credit cannot be given to my Dad or Mother for the loving care they gave her family. Her home was always their home. Dad was so free and unselfish, even as hard as times were. The doors were always open, and they still are. In fact, home is still their home.

Mother was always active in the church organizations. After she was married, she was Sunday School Secretary, organist in the Primary for several years, she was teacher in the Religion Class until they dispensed with that organization. She and Dad were members of the ward choir for many years. She was a member of the Relief Society Singing Mothers, and she has been a Relief Society visiting teacher for 43 years. She also taught in the 4-H clubs.

Dad passed away Feb. 26, 1965. This made a great loss in our home. But bless her heart, she was able to accept it and carry on. On April 1^st this year my two daughters and my son-in-law, my sister Janeen [sic] and I took her by car to Reading, California, to see LaVern, who was critically ill. She stood the trip so well, in fact better than some of us. She had such a good visit with him and with Earl (he lives only three hours’ drive away). Many of you know that LaVern passed away June 14^th of this year, and we surely sense a great loss. He was just like a big brother to me, coming to live with us when he was eight years old.

Mother and Dad had four children: myself, Eugene, Verla, who died at the age of 11, and Janeen [sic] Allen. Mother was 86 years old on June 28^th. Our families, totaling 26 who were able to go, had their dinner for her at Graycliff. Only four of mine, who live in New Jersey, were not there.

She is a choice spirit. She still keeps her own home—spotlessly clean—fixes her three good meals a day, and eats right by the clock. She’ll say she is going to do something, and I’ll say that I’ll be right over, but she has already been up on the ladder and washed the windows outside, washed the dishes in the cabinet. About all she leaves for me to do is wash the walls in the kitchen, and we threaten her not to do that. If you stop in to visit her, she still has refreshments for everyone. In fact, she is real insulted if you don’t stop and eat a bite with her. She still walks to church every Sunday, which is just a short Plain City block, and as always, attends all activities. I know there has never been a death in Plain City but what she has sent a choice frozen jello salad. She is in perfect health, although her eyes are getting bad. But we are so proud of her and thankful that we have had such a kind, patient person for our mother. We hope she continues as well as she is as long as life is desired. She had four children, 12 grandchildren, and 22 great-grandchildren.

Personal History - Heber C. Lund

Earlier today my mother-in-law came by with some photographs of the family so I could scan them in. This is a photograph of Mathias and Pauline Lund and their children, taken I believe about 1910-12.

Back Row: Heber, Sadie, Victor, Zella
Middle Row: Francis, Clyde, Etta
Front Row: Elvra, Mathias, Pauline, Emma

I'll post more pictures soon, but first, I thought I'd post an interesting Personal History written by Mathias Funk Lund's son, Heber C. Lund. I already shared one written by another brother, Francis. Below is the transcription of the pages I scanned.

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     My father, Mathias Lund, bought 100 acres of land on the North Range about two miles north of Plain City. He bought it from the railroad company paying $1.50 an acre. It was covered with a very good crop of sage brush. The brush had to be cleared off in order to till the land. It seemed that this land would have to be a dry land farm as there was no prospect of getting water there for irrigation.
     Father decided he wouldn’t need so much land so he turned all but fourteen acres back to the railroad company.
     I remember my brother Francis telling of working hard with father to clear the land of sagebrush and get it ready for planning, alfalfa and grain at first, later they were able to get water for the farms out there and our farm, being a rich sandy loam, we raised all kinds of garden stuff. We also got sagebrush form the Little Mountain, this brush was like small trees and very hard to cut down. I remember father telling us of giving an acre of his land out North to a man for a sack of wheat to help keep them through the winter.
     All of the children in Plain City were baptized in the canal when they were eight years old.
     When I was about five years old Father took Francis, Victor and myself with him up Center Street near the Plain City Canal to get a load of willows to put on top of our stack of hay, we put willows on top of the hay stack to keep the wind from blowing the hay off as we didn’t have a hay shed.
     The boys were cutting the willows and father was loading them on the wagon, the wind was blowing quite hard and blew off the wagon on the one side. The horses were frightened and they ran away. I was sitting on the spring seat on the wagon. In trying to stop the horses father fell and the wagon wheel ran over his head. I fell from the seat falling on the end of the bridge unconscious, father ran to me picking me up fast as I was about to fall in the canal. He took me in his arms not knowing if I were dead or alive, blood was running from his wounded head on my face. He held me tightly in his arms, as he knelt on the ground and prayed to his father in heaven to spare his boy. Then he arose and walked several blocks to the nearest house, Peter Peterson. (Where George Palmer’s home now is.) A neighbor boy saw them and seeing the blood on father and me, he ran to our home and told Mother that I was dead, the neighbors were there with mother when father arrived. I soon came to and was soon all right. The horses hit a post and were separated and were soon brought home.
     Sometime later were all out on the farm working, it was so warm, it seemed as though we never could get enough water to drink. Francis got on one of the horses to go for water. He had a small bucket, the bucket rattled and frightened the horse and he ran away again. Francis dropped the bucket but stayed on the horse until it got home.
     We boys didn’t get much schooling as from early spring until late fall we helped father on the farm. He had 15 acres of land, 10 good land and 5 pasture, out in Poplar, east of Jim Robsons place, besides the place out North. We went to school when we could and studied hard during the winter months. We had lots of snow and no boots to wear then, it seemed our feet were wet and cold most of the time.
     There were three acres of land where our home was. Father had a nice fruit orchard and grapes. At times we had terrible electric storms. Mother was so afraid of lightening and I think we were all a little afraid too.
     One day Sadie and Rosella, my sisters younger than I, were out in the lot hoeing weeds when a bad storm came up. Rosella was afraid, so I told her to go to the house, she was so afraid she just fell on the ground and wouldn’t get up. I picked her up and carried her in the house.
     I met a nice young lady whose name was Alta Martin. She lived in Farr West, we kept company for some time. When we decided to get married I told father that I would have to get a job where I could earn some money, and he told me if I would stay with him he would let me have two acres of beets for my help.
     On December 17, 1913, Alta and I were married in Salt Lake temple. We were blessed with two children; Ethel Lucile, born July 26, 1915 and Carl Albert, born October 5, 1918.
     Although Alta’s health hasn’t been the best at times, she has been cheerful and has been cheerful and has done all she could to make a happy home for the family. We are truly grateful for all the blessings we have.
After Francis, Victor and I were married we often helped dad with the hay. One time we had just finished hauling hay and had a beautiful large stack finished off. Father wanted Victor and me to go with him to get a load of willows to put on top of the stack because it looked like a wind was coming up. We were so tired and didn’t want to go, it was late and getting dark, so father let us have our way and we had supper and went to bed. During the night a fierce east wind blew and tore the stack in half. Father was very much upset, he was so particular and proud of the perfect hay stacks he made. Sometimes mother would stack the hay, she could make a perfect stack too.
     When father saw what a mess the wind had made of his stack he decided it was time to build a hay shed. Sometime later he built his hay shed.
     When dad and mother died the farms and home were divided up. Francis, Etta and Emma got the farm out North. Sadie and Clide got the house and ¾ acres. Vira got one acre north of the house. Zella received one acre south of the house. Victor and I got the land by Robsons in Poplar Lane. (out east, we used to say). Victor and I gave Zella and Vira money equal to the land that had been divided among the others. Francis bought Etta’s and Emma’s land because they didn’t want to farm and he wanted it all in one piece as dad had had it.

Mathias Christian Funk Lund - by his son, Francis

Remember when I did a Google Search for Mathias in all his many names? Well, as "Mathias Christian Funk Lund" I got a gem...a personal history by his son Francis Marion Lund! Here's the full text.

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Mathias Christian Funk Lund

by Francis M. Lund

My father, Mathias Christian Funk Lund, was born September 1, 1848 at Arnager, Bornholm, Denmark, a son of Dedrick Funk Lund and Karen (Catherina) Christina Hansen.  Father was one of a family of six boys and one girl.  Grandmother had the daughter before she married grandfather.  The daughter's name was Claudia Christine.  She married Pehr Jenson in Denmark.  They emigrated to America some time later than her parents and brothers.  They all accepted the Gospel and joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  The boys names were:  Hans Peter Funk Lund, Jacob Andreas Funk Lund, Mathias Christian Funk Lund, Janus Funk Lund, Lewis Julius Funk Lund and Willard Richard Funk Lund.

In 1864 Hans Peter, the oldest son came to America.  In 1868, Jacob Andreas came.  In 1869 Mathias Christian came.  Janus cam in 1870.  On June 20, 1871 Dedrick, his wife Karen and their youngest son, Willard Richard, left Denmark on the steamship Skandia.  They arrived in Copenhagen next morning.  Leaving there the 23 of June for England, they arrived in Hull, England, June 26, and were transferred to Liverpool by railroad the same day or during the night.  "We left England June 27, on steamship Minnesota and arrived in New York, July 5.  We left New York, July 5, arriving in Ogden, July 21, 1871." The first night they spent in Utah they slept in Mr. Van Dike's straw stack.  Mr. and Mrs. Christian Olsen were with them.

As these boys came here one at a time they worked earning money to send home so others could come.  Lewis Julius was the last of the family to come.  He came later, in 1871.

The Lund family all located in Plain City, Weber County, Utah.  A few years later, Lewis married Minnie Josephine Hansen, a young lady from Brigham City and they made their home in Brigham City.  Hans Peter married Bertha Emelia Anderson.  They had two daughters, Mary Cathrine, born October 16, 1871, at Plain City, and Annie Emelia.

Jacob Andreas died a young man.  He did not marry.

Mathias Christian married Pauline Swenson.

Janus married Christina Swenson, a sister to Pauline.  After her death, he married Martha Berry.

Lewis Julius married Minnie Josephine Hansen and Wilhelmina Katrine Romer.

Willard Richard married (first wire) Bertha Amelia after her first husband, Hans Peter died.  After Bertha's death, he married Bertha's half-sister, Anna Esther Christina Anderson.

My mother, Pauline Swenson, was born December 10, 1854 in Swalov, Swalov County, Sweden.  Her mother, Anna Pearson Swenson, joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and was baptized September 20, 1854.  Pauline never knew her father as he died of a sunstroke and was found in a wheat field where he had been working in August before she was born.  This left grandmother with one small child, Christina, to care for.

In the year 1862, when Pauline was eight years old and Christina was ten years old, their mother emigrated to America for the sake of the Gospel.  They were on the ocean six weeks.  The mother was very ill during the entire trip, leaving the girls pretty much to themselves.  Upon one occasion, during a terrible storm, they were playing on deck and narrowly escaped drowning.  Through the quick action of the captain, they were saved.  He brought them to their mother, one under each arm, soaking wet.  Their mother was very much upset, naturally.

They arrived at Castle Gardens, New York and Joined a company of Saints to cross the plains with a covered wagon and ox team.  On the way both children came down with measles.

All able bodied persons were supposed to walk and carry their children.  If they were ill they usually found a place to ride part of the time.  The children would get so tired they would take their turn riding just when they couldn't walk any further.

One day grandmother had an accident.  The wagon wheel ran over her foot and she had to ride until her foot was well enough to walk again.  This made it so the girls had to walk.  When their shoes wore out they tied rags on their feet.  When these wore out they went bare foot; poor little feet, sore and bleeding, but they just had to keep going.

After many unpleasant experiences with Indians and other troubles, they arrived in Salt Lake City, where they remained for a short time.  The they went on to Ogden, and finally to Plain City in the fall of 1863 to settle there.  They were six months coming from their native land to Utah.

This family passed through all the hardships incident to pioneer life.  They knew what it was to be hungry, barefoot and cold.  Their dwellings at first were just dugouts, merely cellars dug in the ground and covered with willows and dirt.  They had quite a struggle for existence during the fight with the grasshoppers.

Pauline and Christina worked very hard helping their mother with the weaving of carpets; spooling the warp and many other things.  They also gleaned the wheat fields, picking up the heads of wheat and other grain that the farmers left behind.  The farmers out their grain with a scythe and tied the bundles with a few strands of the tall grain.  This work was all done by hand.  The girls and women would glean the wheat fields, picking up the heads of grain that the farmers left behind.  They would put the grain in a sack and pull it along with them.  Sometimes, they gathered several sacks a day, if the farmers were careless.

The farmers gave them all the grain they gathered.  They were very grateful for this privilege; it really kept the wolf from the door.  They were so afraid of the Indians that they sometimes gave them all the food they had in the house.

This family lived in Plain City the rest of their lives.  In 1864, grandmother married Thomas Davis.  They had one daughter, Josephine.  Grandmother later gave Mr. Davis up to his first wife because the first wife was so jealous.

In 1867, she married Jens Christian Christensen.  They had one daughter, Hilda Charlotte, and a son, Peter Julius Christensen.  The step-father, Christensen did not like Christina and Pauline and was very unkind to them.  He made them work very hard in the fields and wouldn't let them go to school.

When Pauline became old enough to work for others, she went to Salt Lake City to work for Zina D. Young, one of President Brigham Young's wifes.  She was staying there at the time she married father, Mathias Christian Lund.  They were married in the Salt Lake Endowment House on May 11, 1874, by Daniel Wells.  Sister Young made dinner for them after the wedding.  She made a nice cake for dessert.  Pauline had told sister Young that Mathias couldn't afford a ring at the time, so Sister Young took a ring for her own finger and put this ring in the cake.  She marked the place and cut the cake then told them that someone would find a surprise in their piece of cake and the lucky one was to keep it.  Mother found the ring in her cake but she knew that the ring had been given to sister Young by her husband and she could not accept it.  Zina Young was very kind to my mother and a gracious lady to every one.

Both father and mother were faithful church workers.  They bought a home one block east of the northeast corner of the square in Plain City.  They had two rooms and a shanty.  They planted fruit trees, grapes and berries.  Father loved flowers as his father had done and he took pride in raising beautiful flowers.  He sent to Holland for tulip bulbs.  He had the first two-toned yellow and red tulips in Plain City.  Children were Emma Pauline, Elvira Morilla, Francis M. and Etta Laticia.

Father received a call to go on a mission and in the spring, May, 1888 he left home to go to Denmark; the country where he was born.  He was happy to accept the call.

Their fifth child was born seven months after he went on his mission, Victor Erastus.  I, Francis, was three years and eight months old when my father went on his mission.  I remember my father taking one of his work horses, putting a halter on her and riding her to Ogden to sell her to obtain money for his passage to Denmark.  The family all worked hard to keep him on his mission.  He filled his mission successfully and they were all proud and happy to have him home with them again.

The other members of the family were Heber Cornelious, Sadie Bardella, Lettie Rosella, Cyrus Moroni and Clide Erma.  Cyrus Moroni died at the age of four months from the effects of Whooping Cough.

All nine children married and had families, all living in Plain City or surrounding towns.  Mother passed away on January 21, 1924 after an illness of six days. (After having had a stroke).  She was sixty-nine years old.  All of the family were with her at the time of passing.  Sadie and Clide lived with father until his death, March 2, 1926; just two years and two months after mother's death.

I remember what a good cook my mother was.  Her pies and cakes were of the very best.  She loved to have her friends and neighbors come in the afternoon and chat over a cup of coffee and some delicious cake or pie.  Mother loved to attend her meetings and saw that all of the family were ready and off to church on time.

I remember when the ward held a fair to raise money to build a new meeting house.  People donated anything they had and it was sold for what they could get for it.  Father went to the fair; when he came home he had a beautiful bay pony for me.  I was so happy but cried because I had mumps and couldn't go out to see it and ride it.  But we had lots of fun with it after I was well.

When father was away on his mission, my sister, Emma, had to milk the cows.  I liked to take my little tin cup with me and she would milk in the cup for me to drink.  I loved it fresh and warm.  We children had a lot of fun; we made fun of almost nothing.  We didn't have to have so many toys as they have these days but I am sure we enjoyed what we had to play with better when than the children do today.

My grandmother, mother's mother, lived a half block from our home.  She was ill for a long time.  Mother used to go over there every day to take care of her.  I remember the big apple tree near the house.  Those apples were so good.  They were early apples.

In the fall of the year, when it was raining, we would get a large pan and fill it with grapes, apples and pears and sit around the table and enjoy eating them while it rained and we couldn't go outside.  There was a big pear tree near the house.  I like to get up early and get the nice big pears that fell during the night.  They were delicious.

I was a bashful boy and went out of my way to miss meeting girls.  When I went out with the boys on Halloween night we might take foot bridges that crossed the path but when they did too much mischief I went home and kept out of trouble.  I always had a nice horse and buggy.  I had no trouble getting girls.  My friend, Delwin Sharp, and I had great times together.  When the new meeting house was finished all of the children saved their pennies to help buy a silver sacrament set; four plates for the bread, two pitchers for the water and two goblets with a handle on each side to pass the water in.  It was passed to the  people and each person took a swallow of water and passed it on to the next person.  When this set was discarded for the more modern sacrament set, Alminda Lund Johnson took care of the old set.  We now have this set in the Daughters of the Pioneers Log Cabin in Plain City.

I used to go with my father to take care of my grandmother's place after I was big enough to help.  When grandfather Lund was alive he had part of the lot in strawberries and orchard in the rest.  Their place was two blocks north and one block east of my father's home.  They built a house of adobes; two rooms with a full porch on the south and two slope rooms on the north that were never finished.

When I was small, I used to bring a little bucket of milk or some butter to grandma; my mother made such good butter.  Grandma always had some rock candy or a drink of her homemade beer; this beer was very good too.

I never knew my grandfather as I was only thirteen months old when he died of a sunstroke.  Grandma made the beer by putting barley in a pan and browning it in the oven.  She stirred it to keep it from scorching.  When it was brown she put water over it, some homemade yeast, sugar, cooked hops and put the water in it.  She put it in an earthen crock, covered this and kept it in a warm place for several days until it fermented good, skimmed the foam off then strained and put the liquid in bottles.  She corked the bottles and tied them down by putting string over the corks and around the bottle neck.  The bottles were placed in a cool place and opened as needed.  The folks made such good sausage and rolapolsa when they killed their pigs.  They made Suva; they put some of this homemade beer in a pan on the stove and warmed it when they put milk and bread in it and ate it like bread and milk.

Pete Peterson had a molasses mill just across the street east of grandma's house.  The neighbors took their sugar cane to him and he pressed the juice out of the cane, boiled it in a vat and made molasses from it.  We would stretch it until yellow and pretty.  We enjoyed this and honey candy as we couldn't buy much candy at the store, only at Christmas time.  Some folks had bees so we could get honey.  Some of the first pioneers raised silkworms and made silk, They fed the worms mulberry leaves.

Grandma lived in the big room and used the east room to store things in.  She had her bed in one corner of the room.  She had a rope that came from the ceiling hanging over her bed.  She tied small pieces of bright colored cloth along this rope and used the rope to pull herself up.  It was very helpful to her as she lived alone.  Her children were all grown when they came here.  Grandma was blessed with good health most of the time.  In the spring of 1907 her health began to fail.  She was in the habit of visiting her children often.  One day in May she left her home, walked through the lot and around Christopher Folman's blacksmith shop and into the street and a block south to my father's place.  She visited there for an hour or so then she left to visit Uncle Richard's family, about four blocks west of father's home.  She stayed there for awhile, then she went to see uncle Janus, a block south of Uncle Richard's home.  While here, she became ill and stayed at Uncle Janus' and on the 17 of May, 1907 she passed away at the age of 92 years.  She had lived a long and useful life but was never a burden to any of her family.  February 27, 1907 I married Elizabeth Ellis.  After grandmother's death, I bought her old home.  I had just been married three months and needed a place to live.  The house needed some repairs.  We were living in a two room adobe house of Robert Maw's.  We stayed there two years then Uncle George Moyes repaired the old house and we moved into it.  At this time we had one little girl, Beatrice LeVera.  We lived in the two rooms; it was small but we were happy there.  There were still tulips around the house and on the ditch bank and St. Jacobs lilies that grandpa had brought from Denmark.

We lived in this little house twelve years and by this time we had two more little girls:  Phebe Pauline (she was named Phebe for my wife's mother and Pauline for my mother) and Orla May.  Now we decided we needed a larger house.

In May, 1921 we began tearing down the old house.  We saved the adobes and lined our new home with them.  Richard Bates, a friend of ours, and John Ellis, my wife's father, did most of the building.  I helped all I could.  I had ten acres of land out on the north range I bought from Uncle Joe Rawson, aunt Josephine's second husband, and my brothers and I did the work on our father's fourteen acres near my land out north.

We had such fun in that little old house.  We had children's birthday parties in the afternoon, then the parents, uncles and aunts, all came for supper.  We popped corn, made candy and ice cream and had pie, cvake or cookies.  Vira's husband, Peter M. Folman, had a big icehouse.  They would cut ice from the pond in Warren and Four Mile in the winter when the ice was thickest.  They cut large blocks and put it in the ice house with straw under, around and over each layer of ice.  This way the ice lasted all summer.  Peter's father had a store and after his death, Peter, Vira and family lived there and ran the store.  He also had a butcher shop and sold meat.

Out new home was finished so we moved into it September, 1921.  We lived in part of Elmer Carver's house while our house was being built and our first baby boy was born there, July, 22, 1921.  We named him Ellis Marrion.  Ellis was my wife's maiden name.  In 1925, May 22, we were blessed with twins, a boy and a girl.  We named them Grant Fancis and Grace.  When they were three years old and on the 6th of May, 1928, we had another set of twins, two more adorable little boys, Each child brought more happiness into our home.  We named these boys Kenneth Dee and Leith Lee.  The Lord has blessed us very much with our family and we thank him every day of our lives for giving us such wonderful children.  Those who live in Ogden come to see us as often as they can.  Keith and Kenneth and Orla live near us and they come every day to help us with any work that needs to be done.  What would we do without our children.  We can truthfully say that our family have never given us any heartaches or trouble.  We have a prayer in our hearts always that our children may follow the teachings of the Church and keep the commandments of God.


(Source: Lund, Francis. Mathias Christian Funk Lund: Personal History. Posted online by Maynard Hammond. http://hammond-home.com)

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