HISTORY OF ELIZA MAE ROWLEY BENNETT:
I, Eliza Mae Rowley, born, January ? 1875 to John Thompson Rowley and Jane Paul. I had five brothers and three sisters. They are Harriet Ann (deceased) John Thompson (deceased) Elizabeth Jane (deceased) Ralph Nephi (deceased) Hugh Thompson (deceased) Royal James and William Wallace (deceased).
I was born in Holden, Utah in my grandfather Paul’s home. I was blessed by Grandfather Paul. I was raised in Meadow Creek, one of the oldest towns in Utah.
My father was a farmer was a farmer; he made molasses in Meadow Creek, he was the owner of Coal Kilers up to 1888. He had great losses of wealth.
In the year of 1877, I remember my mother lifting me high up in the air ? the gate post and mother said to me, ?? these people are going to St. George to dedicate the Temple for Temple work. See, Lidy, the man standing ?? the wagon tongue holding on to the horse is Brigham Young, President of the Latter-Day-Saints Church.” As he waved his hand over the people he said that this this town will become a rose and that this rose will be plucked to pieces and be scattered over the whole of Utah and other places. That this people will be as the pride as of the rose over the whole country, and Provo would be part of this rose. As I sat there on this gate, another went on to tell ?? about this rose. For many years I tried to understand what this meant. Being raised in Meadow Creek. I had to do much of the mending and housework. Because being able to work out in the field I didn’t work in the house much. This was because I was one of the oldest in the family. I had to help with the farm work. All the hard work was put on John and me. My sister Elizabeth was very ill most of the time. She was sent Fillmore to the doctor there because of this she was in Fillmore most of the time.
Religion was the most important thing in our life. We had family prayer morning and night. We were taught to be in at the proper time for our family prayer. Father would come in and take the Bible of Book of Mormon and read to us and explain it to us. Being religious and believing in our religion, polygamy came in. at this time my father took his second wife and her name was Jane Smith, daughter of Sylos Smith of Meadow, Utah. At this time he also bought a new farm south of Meadow Creek. On this farm there was a place called the chalk holler. They used to dig this chalk out and mix it with lime and to whitewash houses. I have known many times when the young people came with their sacks to get this chalk. It made the houses smell good. We made dams in the holler to hold water. This water was used for irrigation for our gardens. There was a road around one side of the holler to get to other part of the farm. The corral was built at the depth of the end opposite of the dam. Our home was a mile and a half from Meadow Creek. Whenever I got in a tight spot couldn’t find the cattle or something similar, I would kneel down behind a big sage brush and pray to God for help. Very often I would get an answer. I would either hear the cow bell or the bleat of the sheep.
We had a big dog one time, as big as a yearling calf and this dog many times would be with me. He was a large bushy dog, with a ring neck and his name was Ring. He would give a few bounds and would bring the cattle or whatever was lost. He was a very large and beautiful dog. I could ride the dog just like I would a horse. On some occasions I would gt on the house and call him up to me and he came to me. I would tell him to go and fetch the cattle and leave the other. One day he came home very sick. He had had a dose of poison. That time we saved his life. He came home another time, this time we all cried like babies because he died. We got lumber and made him a coffin. At this time I was about fifteen. We dug a deep hole and buried him. Another job I had on the farm was to take care and raise all the lambs and calves that didn’t have a mother.
We had no doctors in those days and a good many people died because of this.
The government then passed the Manifestation Law and were asking the ones who had more than one wife to take their choice of one wife and provide for the other, but couldn’t live with her.
At the age of 20 I went to the home of Sister Robinson at Fillmore at their boarding house. “Now Eliza,” she said, “make your head save your legs, because some day they will wear out.” At that time I didn’t know the difference between a pancake turner and an egg beater. I stayed there about two months and my wages were six dollars a month. My sister worked there before me. On night when they had a party at Sister Robinson’s home I watched the fun they were having through a hole in the upstairs where my room was. I couldn’t go to this party because I was too plain a girl, it was for the high society people.
At this time I had to leave. I did not have anyplace to live and no job. I went to a place I knew all my life. This place was owned by Alicin Stott and his wife. She give me a place to sleep and a place at the table and I took care of her baby for her. She give me $1.25 a week. This baby was Jess Stott. I took care of this baby by keeping him clean and feeding him. At this time I was going on 22.
I went home just for a day to do some sewing and a man came in with a white-topped buggy. He hollered and said, “Sister Rowley, do you have a daughter here that will work?” I said, “Yes, I am she!” he asked me what I could do and I said almost anything. He ask me if I coule come and work for him. This was President Hinckley of Millard Stake. I took care of his first wife, Adalaid. I done all the cooking and housework. I was very happy to go because I knew I would have a place to eat and sleep. She was a very sweet person and I loved her very much.
I stayed there all winter an in the spring I got my Patriarchal Blessing. It was very beautiful. I quit in the spring and went back to Meadow Creek and worked for Will Stott and his wife. I stayed with her till the middle summer. I made sic dollars a month.
I walked to the farm one day and was turned away by my sister and brother-in-law. They wouldn’t let me love their children. I felt very bad because of this. The little child cried after me when I left.
I went back into town and then went to Fillmore and lived with Huntsman and stayed there until I got a chance to go to Idaho.
Ralph, my brother, took me back to Meadow Creek to get my few belongings and to Holden and stayed with my grandfather. I went from Holden to Scipio. We stayed there for dinner. The flies were very bad and got in the food and flavored it up quite a bit. It was a long hard trip from Scipio to Juab. We went on the Stage drawn by three span of horses. We got to Juab in the early morning, I left at 7:00 am the train from Juab to Shelley. One of the many sights going from Brigham City into Logan we passed over the swinging Bridge. We stopped in Pocatello for lunch. The next stop was Blackfoot. I then got off at Shelley. This trip took about a month. My brother John took me home with him. I then went on to my sister’s place where my mother was staying. After a few days I went to John Shelley’s place to work. He was a bishop at the time. I became very sick. I was ill for about two months. I was working at Shelley’s for about $3.50 a week. Then I found a job in a restaurant, and helped people when they were sick. When I was 22 I was put in as one of the counselors in the Mutual. I took part in all organizations of the Church.
I was a helper to the midwives and took care of the new mothers and some all the work and took care of their children. I was taking care of a saloon keeper’s wife and I took sick. Some half-drunken men tried to make me drink some whiskey to help. I wouldn’t take it and it and they were going to pour it down me. Right then a knock came on the door and they opened it. Our dog, Caesar jumped at them and the dog went home with me. I quit work there. Later Pete Kateran (the saloon keeper) asked me to come back and take care of his wife, and I did, but I was awfully careful.
Our activity in our early days was horseriding, hay rides, taffy pulls, and dances, and parties. We had very enjoyable times.
While I was in Shelley I met Hugh Neil. He was from the southern part of Idaho. We were engaged to be married and my brother, John, broke us up. Hugh was a very nice boy and treated me very good. I felt 82 very bad about our break up. I was 24 at the time.
I went to Pocatello and worked for Emmi James. He owned a music store. I done all the work at five to six dollars a week. He was a very nice fellow to work for. At this time I met Ed Corckett and went with his off and on. I was 25 at this time.
I then went to take care of Thom Kernie’s wife. While she was in bed with her baby. She took down with Scarlet Fever. After this I went to work in a Restaurant. Tom’s wife died and he remarried.
There was a fire in Shelley at this time and burned almost the whole of the main part of Shelley. After the fire the typhoid fever began to spread faster than it had. I came down with typhoid about the last of September and was ill until about in December. I was very ill with this fever and just about died with it. After I was better I went up to help with the sick.
I went down with a relapse. I had to go back to bed. I lost the use of my right leg. After a while I decided to go work. I packed my trunk and Jim Brandley hollered from the street if there was anybody who could work. I called to him and told him I would. It was hard for me to walk and he put me in the wagon and took me to his home. With the help of Bro. Brandley we got the evening meal for a hundred men. I was 29 at this time. I also had my picture taken at this time.
Later I went to work for Thurmans. I worked there for about three or four months. David A. Bennett came to board there at Thurmans. I went to a 4th of July dance with other girls and David came to sit by me and offered to take me home, and he took me and the other girls home. When he took me out he took the other girls with us. He was always full of sport and full of fun. David got my rings when we went to Idaho Falls to see my mother. On the 11th of January we were married.
I found a short time after that I was going to have a baby. I felt as though I was going to have twins. David was putting on a puppet show to get some money for us at the church.. I felt awful tired and decided to go home. This was the 4th of July 4 1905. I was going across the bridge to our home and I slipped and fell and went on my back and then on my stomach. On the 11th of July 1905 I gave birth to twin girls 4 months premature. They lived about three hours. They were blessed by Al Rix. Their names were Mary Ellen and Sarah Ethel. David chose their names. They were buried on the twelfth of July. Sometime after I found I was going to have another baby. I gave birth to another baby girl on the 21st day of July 1906. She was two months premature and lived three months. She was given the name of Elsie Elinora. Causes were unknown about her death. By this time I was beginning to wonder if I would ever become a mother. Elsie died on the 11th of October 1906. Shortly after Elsie died daddy took sick. He had a stroke of paralyzes. He was completely paralyzed and was down for a long while. I got enough money and took him to the L.D.S. Hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah. We were living in Sugar City, Idaho. He was in the hospital for about a month or six weeks. When we went back home I took him to the St. Anthony Hospital for treatment of an osteopath. The doctor helped daddy to get well.
Dad and I done the Sugar City laundry to get some money.
(to be continued)
Loony Lunts and Company 