Category Archives: Joe & Cuma family

Information, stories and photos of Joseph Smith and Talitha Cuma Cheney Eggleston and their children

Dairy Farmer Joseph Eggleston

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My grandfather, Joseph Eggleston, was a dairy farmer. After finding some interesting records, I thought it would be good to document his dairy farming history. He had a ranch on Mormon Row in Jackson Hole, then sold it and returned to Eden, Utah where he had been born and where he farmed for the rest of his life.

The Eden Dairy Farm

This Eden farm was the only home I remember of his. I remember the barn, though I personally didn’t spend much time there. Most of my memories include the smell of the barnyard, drinking warm fresh milk and the butter Grandma Stella made.

Joseph Eggleston was a card carrying member of the Utah State Farm Bureau Federation.

Grandpa’s Brand

This was Grandpa’s brand when in Jackson Hole. He used the same brand later in Eden, it appears with the I disconnected.
This is the official recording of Grandpa’s brand in 1960. The brand is shown on the left shoulder.

Herd-Record Books

Being a city girl, I had no idea that Herd Books were even a thing. Then when I was going through documents from Dad’s house I came across two booklets titled “Herd-Record Book”. One was dated 1938-1939 and the other 1946-1947. These were prepared by the United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Administration, Bureau of Dairy Industry, for the Dairy Herd Improvement Association. Sounds like a lot of bureaucratic layers – with an additional layer in the later book. It appears that these were used to research and record the productivity of dairy herds. There were “testers” involved in filling out these records. The purpose for this study was to “identify the low-producing cows so that they may be discarded.”

These booklets are full of meticulously recorded information. It appears that grandpa participated in this testing at least two different times, but it probably wasn’t a regular thing. These records do give an idea of what was involved with dairy farming and help us become acquainted with grandpa’s herd.

The 1938-1939 Herd Record Book

Cover of the Herd-Record Book dated July 1, 1938-June 30, 1939
The Book was designed to record 20 Cows. These are the names of the cows listed on the inside cover of the book. There are a few added after the 20.
This Yearly Summary at the end of the book lists all of the cows again with data.

Ir looks like 10-year-old Strip produced the most pounds of milk at 10,538, but 7-year-old Pet had the highest value of skim milk $156.94 and the most pounds of butter-fat.

The milk production of each Cow was recorded on separate pages in the Herd Book. Some with additional information.

Midget had a female calf born on March 28, 1939. There is no milk production recorded for February and March.
Poor Pansy, at 12 years old was going dry.

These Monthly Summary pages show how much milk and butter fat was produced each month, as well as how much feed the cows consumed during the same period of time. It really was a science.

The 1946-47 Herd-Record Book

This Herd-Record Book covers the year from March 1946 to February 1947. This booklet is not as complete as the earlier one. The inside cover which should include a list of the cows was not filled out. Though the book has space for 20 Cows, there are only pages recording 16 cows, with the last page being another titled Judy but only covering the month of February, and the next to last page for Lill includes only the month of February.

The Monthly Summary shows 14 cows in March through May, then 13, and later down to 11.

Most of the names of the cows in this later book are different than in the first one. The five that are the same are Judie/Judy, Patty, Spot, Lady and Beauty. They were some of the younger ones on the Yearly summary list of the earlier book – ages 2-5. It appears that the “low producing” cows were “discarded” by being sold for beef.

Rose was one of the cows sold for beef that year.
Judy was also sold for beef. If she was the same Judie as listed in the earlier book she would have been almost 14 years old, which was older than any of the cows in 1939.

This later book does not have the Yearly Summary pages filled out, which suggests that either the study was not completed or just not done as thoroughly.

The Milk Route

Grandpa was not only a dairy farmer, but he delivered milk to the dairy. In 1938, he contracted with the Weber Central Dairy to collect milk from dairy farms in Eden and drive it down Ogden Canyon to the dairy in Ogden City. He later added the town of Liberty to his route. It was said that Grandpa was very punctual with this job. It required that he milk his own cows very early in the morning before picking up milk from the other farmers. He had acquired a milking machine, but with 20 cows it still would have taken considerable time.

Grandpa recruited his sons to join him in this work. The older sons, Orland, Mel and Dale would pick up milk from Eden farmers, while Grandpa picked up milk in neighboring Liberty. They would meet and load all the cans into the truck which Grandpa would drive down the canyon to the dairy. Later, after Orland left home and Doc got older, he would accompany his father through Liberty while Mel and Dale would gather the Eden milk. During the school year, all of the milk gathering had to be completed before the boys would need to catch the bus to school. During the summer months they could accompany their father to the dairy in town.

This is one of Grandpa’s Milk cans. He would have gathered many of these from his own barn and from the neighbors to take to the dairy.

This label is on the milk can. (Someone spelled his name wrong) I am not sure if all the cans had these labels or if some just had a painted mark like the red one or some other way to identify whose can it was. Grandpa would have had to return the empty cans to the right farms.

Cream O Weber Dairy in Ogden Utah.
This is a photo of the Cream-O-Weber Dairy on Ogden Avenue in Ogden with all the milk trucks – those like Grandpa’s filled with cans being brought in and the white ones that delivered milk to customers.

Note: I did scan all of the filled in pages in the two Herd-Record books, so they are available if anyone is interested. The photo of the brand is from Candy Vivey Moulton’s book Legacy of the Tetons: Homesteading in Jackson Hole.

Lola Eggleston Gorder Allen

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Lola Eggleston Gorder Allen – her story in her own words.

I was born December 15, 1917 to Joseph Smith and Talitha Cuma Cheney Eggleston, in Grovant, Wyoming. My family was Alice, Wesley, Me, Orland, Laura, Melvin, Dale, and DeLoss.

Birth Notice in the Jackson paper – Lola was the baby girl born December 15, 1917

Mama died when she was 49. She had an operation to remove some scar tissue. On Sunday she was sitting up in bed crocheting and on Tuesday we got the word she had died. Papa married Stella, who was Mama’s niece. Papa died at the age of 83.

Move to Utah

When I was two years old we moved to Utah by train. I was running in the isles of the train and a man thought I was such a pretty little girl he gave me a silver dollar. Mom bought me a pair of shoes with it.

When it was time to go to school I didn’t start because I wan’t 6 in time so I had to wait a year. My first grade teacher was a fat woman. I didn’t like her. She taught for the first three years. On the fourth of July I had a chance to fish in the fishpond. She was the one to give the prizes. She had a black heavy straw hat she said was for the first pretty little girl that came by. I hated it. I never wore it. It was an old woman’s hat with thick rims and was flat on the top. I wanted a purse like the other kids were getting. It was so ugly. She brought her daughter to school the day it started. She put her in the second grade and said, “keep her there.” She later skipped a year so she was two years ahead of me and younger than me.

I like to do the ironing when I was little and I had to do the dishes a lot. The iron was a coal stove iron. You had to have a real hot fire to heat the iron. You’d have to use two of them so you could trade off. This was before we had electricity.

School was 2 1/2 miles from where we lived. We had to walk to catch a bus to go to high school. In the winter it was so cold and the snow so deep. When I was about 16 and going in the 10th grade, I moved to Ogden to work for my room and board and go to school. The first place I lived was with friends, Ray and Olive Rudd.

Lola as a Senior in High School

I went to the Junior Prom with a boy that played in an orchestra they made up themselves. I went to the girls dance and we had to ask the boy. I went with the boy that took me to the Cadet hop at his school. I went to all the school dances with guys that were older. I loved to dance. When I graduated, Wesley gave me my class ring and Alice gave me a yearbook.

I was staying in Ogden with George and Kathrin Stouckland and Phil chased with Kathrin’s brother. That’s how I met Phil. I used to tend Selma’s baby and didn’t know she was Phil’s sister.

Alice, Joe, Melvin, Stella and Lola

Marriage to Phil Gorder

Phil and I got married in Norman and Nettie’s house. We didn’t have a honeymoon. We first lived at the old Nelson house. Winters were cold; the tea bottle would freeze and the linoleum would curl. I used to put the ashes in a board box and just put the box on a platform by the stove. We came home from the store one day and the hot ashes in the box had burned through the floor but the house didn’t catch fire. I never did figure out why it didn’t. We lived there for two years while Phil built us a new home. We stayed with the folks for a while. I had a miscarriage first, then I had Gail. I raised chickens and sold the eggs for extra money.

Being a Mother

The night Gail was born: I woke up – didn’t have any pain but was uncomfortable. Phil called his mother. We sat there talking and finally decided to go to the hospital. My water broke going down the stairs. I sat on the toilet while Phil went for the car. I still wasn’t having pains. Mother said I’d better get started. So we left. The pain started on the way really pressing going down the canyon. We made it to the hospital in a little over ten minutes. I told Phil to go get a cart. He came back and said the wanted me to walk in and I said I couldn’t move. So he went and got one. When I got to the delivery room and they were trying to undress me and I’d have a pain and couldn’t move. He was born 2:10 AM. That was before the canyon was changed. It had a horseshoe bend that was a really sharp turn. I never had long or hard labor with any of my kids.

Gary was the only one that would “take the breast.” Gail and Dee wouldn’t, they’d just cry. So, with Cuma I just said “get a damn bottle, I don’t want to fight anymore.”

My kids all turned out pretty good. I’m proud of all of them.

Family Reunion Photo. Back row Joe, Stella, Alice, Lola Front row Orland, Doc, Wesley, Melvin

Farm Life

Once we decided to fatten and eat an orphaned lamb. We bottle-fed it, and soon it became a pet. When it came time to butcher it, nobody would to it. So we ate beef.

In about 1998, Gail was in the hospital for high blood pressure. Ivan Rick was visiting and told of when he and some friends stole some of my chickens. He said there were so tough he couldn’t bite into the meat.

We had some good friends, Dave and Bell Clawson. We did everything together. One day when we were riding around, we went to the Stoddard slough and saw this old boat and decided to take a ride. We went up the stream and back and then Dave and I got out of the boat. When Phil and Bell were getting out, the boat tipped over. They went down in all the weeds and dirty slough. Bell had just gotten her a hair permanent and she came out of all the mud and said “there’s $10 gone to hell!” Phil had on a pair of white wool pants that shrunk to where he couldn’t wear them anymore. We all laughed. We still do when we think of it.

When Phil joined the church our troubles started. He didn’t like me to do what I liked to do and seemed to get upset if I got any attention. He started drinking and staying away from home. One time he was gone for over a week. I didn’t know where he was and couldn’t take care of the cows so I sold them. He never did come home so I filed for divorce. He didn’t talk to me after that.

Marriage to Vern Allen

I married Vern Allen on May 24, 1969. We went to Las Vegas and lived there for 16 years. He got sick with cancer so we moved back to Ogden to live until he died on November 23, 1983. I did Temple work doing sealings, then I did extraction work. I enjoyed it. That lasted for several years.

Dee’s Memories

Lola ended her story here, but her son Dee wrote some memories of her. He said:

I don’t know much about Mom’s growing up years. She never said a lot that I remember, past the usual “why, when I was little, we had to walk two miles to catch the bus, the snow so deep we walked over the fence tops” when any any of us kids complained about having to stand in the cold while waiting for the school bus. I suspect that in her case, it was probably very near the truth.

I don’t believe Mom’s growing up years, for the most part, held many pleasant memories for her. In my untrained view, Mom was punished a lot by her father and she was very afraid of him. Her Dad, Grandpa Eggleston, was held in check to some degree by Mom’s mother before she died. Mom felt singled out by her Dad. She tells of one time he “beat me with a singletree.” For all that, she loved him and took some pride in how well he maintained his farm and how well he cared for his cows and other animals.

Mom always seemed to me to be unhappy. By the time I was old enough to notice, Mom and Dad were having trouble, so maybe that was part of the reason.

Mom and Dad divorced, then Mom married Vern Allen. Vern was also from Morgan, an old neighbor in fact. He was a reformed alcoholic himself, but Mom seemed to like him and was happy during her time with him.

While Dad and us boys were out doing farm and animal stuff, Mom worked at maintaining a neat and comfortable home for us. She baked bread and I remember on occasion she made her own lye soap. In addition to maintaining the house, Mom was mostly in charge of caring for two chicken coops full of laying hens.

My Memories

Lola’s Obituary mentioned that she “enjoyed quilting and hand needle work, creating countless beautiful works of art over her lifetime. All are treasures to those fortunate enough to own one. I am one who was fortunate to own one – a tablecloth she gave me for a wedding gift.

Photo of the last four siblings – Alice, Mel, Lola and Doc

In 2001 we had an Eggleston Family Reunion. We had not had one for many, many years. This was the last time Lola was with many family members.

Doc, Alice and Lola at the 2001 Family Reunion

Lola’s Death

I remember that Lola fell and broke her hip some months before she died. I visited her in the Care Center. She passed away on February 8, 2003. She was buried in the Milton Cemetery.

’

Note: Lola wrote her story, which her son Dee and wife Karen included in a Gorder Family History book.

Stella May Cheney Robinson Eggleston

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Stella May Cheney Robinson Eggleston

Stella’s Life in Her Own Words

I, Stella May Cheney, was born 13 Nov. 1905 at Wilson, Teton Co., Wyoming. (This was Uinta Co., then Lincoln and now Teton County.)

I was born in a log cabin on Fish Creek, near Uncle “Nick” (E. N.) Wilson’s home. I knew him and his son, George, was my childhood play mate.

My father was Selar Sylvester Cheney, a son of Selar Cheney who was a son of Elam, whose Father, Aaron Cheney, joined the L.D.S. [Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints] Church in New York in 1831.

My mother was Edith Vivian Nethercott; she was born 28 April 1885 in Corning, Tehema Co., California. Her father was Alfred Nethercott, born 20 March 1856 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Alfred Nethercott’s father, Alfred Alexander Nethercott, his mother Charlotte Pearce and his grandparents, James Nethercott and Rachel James, were from England. They lived in Utah and Calif., and later Alfred Alexander, his wife, Charlotte and Alfred Nethercott, his wife, Ida Ann Thompson and children went to Wyoming about 1900.

My mother’s mother was Ida Ann Thompson – born at Trenton, Grundy Co., Missouri. The family went to California when my grandmother was a child. John Alexander Campbell Thompson and his wife, Amanda Caroline Williams – parents of Ida Ann Thompson.

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Annie Christine Johnson Eggleston

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Annie Christine Johnson Eggleston

Annie Christine Johnson Eggleston

Christine’s Early Life

Annie Christine Johnson Eggleston was born November 7, 1864 in Salt Lake City, a daughter of Peter Johnson and Ane Maria Madsen. Her parents had immigrated from Denmark separately just a few years earlier. They married September 27, 1862 in Salt Lake City. Annie Christine was their second child and was born before they moved to Eden. She was known as Christine, probably because her mother was Ane Marie and her older sister Annie Marie. She grew up in Eden on the family farm. Her father died in 1878 when she was 14 years old. She probably helped to care for her seven younger siblings.

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Joseph S. Eggleston’s Autograph Book

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My father has collected a lot of stuff during his life. He has also inherited a good deal of family history records and memorabilia. I have gone through boxes of stuff at his home a number of times. On one occasion, we found this little Autograph Album which had belonged to my grandfather, Joseph Smith Eggleston. His sister Mattie May apparently gave it to him in January 1901, though his mother’s entry was dated December 26, 1900. His parents and sister were the only ones who wrote in it, but their sentiments are precious. It is also a treasure to have something in their handwriting.  It was probably May who added the decorative stickers.

Cover Page and inscription: Presented to Joseph S. Eggleston by his sister May Eggleston Afton, Jan 19th 1901

Joseph’s Father gave him an interesting warning.

Afton, Wyo. Jan 20th 1901 “My Son, forget not my counsel Enter not into the path of the wicked and go not in the way of evil men. For the ways of the wicked are darkness Your father O. H. Eggleston

Joseph’s Sister Mattie May with Friendship and Love

AFton Jan 19th 1901 Dear Brother Joseph Amongst those of most esteem be sure Your place forever is secure Your dear Sister May Eggleston

Simple thoughts from his Mother

Afton Dec 26th 1900 May happiness be forever thine Your Mother Christine Eggleston

The Life of Joseph Smith Eggleston

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A life sketch of Joseph Smith Eggleston adapted from one written by his son DeLoss which was included in my book.

Joe’s Birth and Childhood

Joseph Smith Eggleston was born on the July 5, 1885, in Eden Weber Co. Utah, to Annie Christine Johnson and Orson Hyde Eggleston. There was some question as to the date, maybe because the 4th of July was often celebrated on his birthday. His father Orson’s journal and his death certificate place it on the 5th.

Birth of Joseph Smith Eggleston

Birth date of Joseph Smith Eggleston in the middle of the right page.

Joseph was the second son of Orson and his third wife Annie Christine Johnson. The first child, David Orson was born June 15, 1883 and died November 3, 1884. Annie’s father, Peter Johnson, was a counselor in the bishopric with Orson. He also was working on the bridge over the Ogden river at the head of Ogden Canyon. He got caught in a storm and came home cold and wet, caught pneumonia and died December 17. 1878. Orson lived in a home they bought from Richard Ballantyne.

Orson H. Eggleston’s home in Eden, where Joseph may have been born

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Talitha Cuma Cheney Eggleston

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My grandmother, Talitha Cuma Cheney Eggleston died at a young age. At least from my present perspective it seems a very young age. I never had the privilege of knowing her. When I was compiling histories for the Cheney Wilson Family History Book, I realized that she was the only member of that family no one had written about. So I set out, as one who had not known her personally, to write a history of her life. This is taken largely from that account, with some additional photographs.

Early Life in Jackson Hole, Wyoming

Talitha Cuma Cheney was born May 3, 1893 in South Park, Wyoming. She grew up as on only daughter, with several brothers, all but one older than her. Her parents, Selar Cheney and Mary Alice Wilson, had another daughter Mary Ellen, but she had died as a child in Wilsonville, long before Cuma was born.

family of Selar and Mary Alice Wilson Cheney

Talitha Cuma is sitting on her father Selar’s lap. To the right of her is her grandmother Talitha Cuma Garlic Avery, whom she was named after. Other family members are Howard, David, Mother Mary Alice holding Fleming, and Selar Sylvester and Ralph standing in the back.

Talitha Cuma was named after her grandmother, Talitha Cumi Garlick Avery Cheney, though she went by the name “Cuma”. In some places it was written Cumi or Cumy, though her daughter Alice said she preferred Cuma to Cumy.

Fleming, Talitha Cuma and Howard Cheney

Cuma with her brothers Fleming and Howard

At the time Cuma was born, the South Park community consisted mostly of her extended family, so her childhood would have been spent with her brothers and several cousins.

Education was very important to this family. The first school was organized in Jackson Hole in 1896. Cuma was too young to attend when the school first started, but was privileged to have this available from the time she was ready to start school. A 1899 souvenir card of School District No. 37 in Jackson lists 16 pupils with Cumy Cheney listed last, as she was probably the youngest.

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Joseph Eggleston’s Postcards from Jackson Hole

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A handful of postcards from Jackson Hole give us a glimpse into life on Mormon Row a century ago.

Joseph S. Eggleston grew up in Afton, Wyoming. In about 1910 he went to Jackson Hole where he homesteaded in a place known as Mormon Row. He sent these postcards from Jackson Hole during that time. There are no addresses, stamps or postmarks indicating when and to whom or where they were sent. They may have been inserted into packages sent back home to his family in Afton. Or possibly, since Joe carried the mail on a postal route in Wyoming at that time, he did not need to address them. He could have carried them himself to Afton or included them with other mail.

Cousin Don shared these postcards with me. They had been with boxes of photographs he inherited from his mother, Evelyn Barbara Stock Lee. She got these from her mother Mattie Mae Eggleston Stock, who was Joseph Egglestons’s sister.

These cards were produced showing scenes from the area. Joe may have purchased a number of these. We had another one of this family skiing, but there was nothing written on it. The view from Joe’s homestead would have been very similar. He apparently knew this Sheffield family.

Sheffield family Moran, Wyoming

 

skiing Jackson Lake

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Family Reunion 1952

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I inherited photographs of an Eggleston Family Reunion which I did not attend. These are dated 1952 and are of a gathering of the family of Joseph S. Eggleston.  I assumed the occasion was Grandpa Joe’s Birthday and/or the Fourth of July – they were celebrated together. We have come a long way with photo-documenting such events, both with the number of pictures we take as well as the quality. These photos are poor quality and identifying people has not been easy. I have not been able to identify everyone and may not have the ones I have identified right. It does look like they all enjoyed a good meal.

Wesley and Margaret are sitting on the left then Lola. Grandpa Joe is sitting on the right back. It might be Phil standing with the child. Joan and DeLoss are standing in the back. Stella is standing on the right side of the table.

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