Vedia Eggleston was born July 17, 1897 in Afton, Wyoming. She was the daughter of Orson Hyde Eggleston and Mariett Farley. Vedia received many postcards in her early life. She preserved these in a Postcard Book which was miraculously acquired by the family some years ago. These are Birthday postcards to Vedia.
A life sketch of Joseph Smith Eggleston adapted from one written by his son DeLoss which was included in my book.
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 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
A virtual Cemetery Tour of the South Park Cemetery, the resting place of many of our Wilson and Cheney ancestors.
My first visit to the South Park Cemetery in Jackson, Wyoming was in August 2002. Our family had enjoyed vacationing in Jackson Hole for years before I learned enough of our family history to search out graves of our ancestors. For this particular trip, my father joined us. Because he is an early riser and my husband and children are not, nor were they interested in being drug through a cemetery at any hour, Dad and I went alone early one morning.
The cemetery sits on a hill, south of the town of Jackson, in the area known as South Park where Sylvester Wilson settled in 1889. There are spectacular views from this point. The cemetery itself is not large and most of it was rather overgrown. A fence enclosed many of the Wilson family graves.
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.
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.
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.
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.
As Spring began to bring new life back to the earth and people prepared to celebrate Easter, festive greetings were sent through postcards to friends and family who were away. These cards from Vedia Eggleston’s Postcard Book contain Easter Greetings.
This card was sent to Vedia in Afton from her sister Lettie with wishes for a good time on Easter. The postmark is smeared, but appears to be 1914 from Deweyville.
Ephraim Johnson and his twin brother Jacob were born March 20, 1876 in Eden, Weber, Utah to Peter Johnson (Jorgensen) and Ane Marie Madsen. Their father, Peter Johnson, an immigrant from Denmark, had a farm there. Peter died in December 1878 after he was caught in a snow storm and became ill. Thee twin boys were just over two years old when their father died. Their younger sister Agnes was just a baby.
Ane Marie Madsen Johnson with her younger children, twins Jacob and Ephraim and daughter Agnes
Jacob Johnson and his twin brother Ephraim were born March 20, 1876 in Eden, Weber, Utah to Peter Johnson (Jorgensen and Ane Marie Madsen. Their father, Peter Johnson, an immigrant from Denmark, had a farm there. Peter died in December 1878 after he was caught in a snow storm and became ill. These twin boys were just over two years old when their father died. Their younger sister Agnes was just a baby.
Ane Marie Madsen Johnson with her younger children, twins Jacob and Ephraim and daughter Agnes
Constant Ann Stephens Eggleston
Constant Ann Stephens was born February 17, 1849 at Council Bluffs, Potawattamie Co. Iowa, the daughter of John Stephens and Elizabeth Briggs. She was the ninth of twelve children.
Constant’s father had a farm at Council Bluffs. She crossed the plains at the age of two, arriving in Utah October 14, 1851. Her father was a Captain of ten in the Orson Pratt Company. The family resided in Weber County. Her father built the first reservoir in Weber County in 1856.
In the early 20th Century Valentines were sent thought postcards to special people who were far away. Vedia Eggleston’s Postcard Book contained several Valentine postcards.
Vedia’s sister Lottie was good to remember her on Valentines Day. The written messages were not very newsworthy. They were probably continuations of other conversations sent through postcards and letters. The intent was to keep in touch. A a colorful card with a message was a special remembrance.
The First Christmas in Jackson Hole was celebrated with elk steaks, doughnuts fried in bear grease, music and dancing.
Sylvester Wilson had settled in Emery County, Utah in 1877 at a place that became known as Wilsonville. After almost 12 years in this drought stricken area, Sylvester Wilson decided to move and start again somewhere else.
Sylvester Wilson
Mary Wood Wilson
Sylvester and his family left Wilsonville at the end of May 1889. The group included Sylvester and his wife Mary, 9 unmarried children (the youngest being three) and two married children and their families. Mary Alice had married Selar Cheney August 10, 1879. They had four children, but one died before they left. Ervin had married Mary Jane Davis June 26, 1888 and she was expecting their first child as they left. Their son James was born September 12 in St. Anthony, Idaho.
The family left Wilsonville with 5 sturdy wagons and about 80 head of cattle. They also had at least 20 race horses, which Sylvester had taken as partial payment on their Wilsonville property. The trip to St. Anthony, Idaho was over 400 miles. They averaged about 10 miles per day, trailing their livestock.
