1283 Logan Avenue
Salt Lake City, UT 84105
board@livingstonfamily.org
THEATER IN THE PINES ~ JUNE 17 & 18
Is that Shakespeare, Singin' in the Rain, or Cats? Nope, it's the Livingston Family Reunion 2005 to be held at the Theater in the Pines Campground in Provo Canyon. This beautiful area should lend itself to plenty of fun and a great opportunity to get acquainted with fantastic Livingston cousins!!!
Friday evening we'll have a catered dinner followed by a campfire program. We're hoping to celebrate our heritage with bag-pipers, Highland dancers, and stories of our ancestors. A short presentation will be given about sheep ranching along with a display of a sheep camp wagon. (precursor of the modern day RV)
Saturday morning we will have a scrumptious breakfast prepared by the board. Children's games will be held while adults attend a business meeting. The afternoon is open for golf, horseback riding, water play at Seven Peaks/Provo, hiking, biking at Soldier Hollow/Midway, or just pulling up a chair and enjoying the great outdoors.
Every year our numbers have been growing. Which branch of the family will be best represented this year? Make it yours! Be sure and mark your calendars for June 17th & 18th for a GREAT FAMILY EXPERIENCE!!
More details will follow.
What do you want to accomplish this year with your family history? Take a look at the list below for some ideas. Check as many as you would like to accomplish and get started today!
Livingston Family Board
Term Expires in 2005:
Janet Feeney, Vice Chairman
Ross Livingston, Website
Ted Livingston, Chairman
Term Expires in 2006:
Stott Cook, Reunion Co-Chair
Blaine Livingston, Descendancy Chair
Ann MacDonald, Reunion Co-Chair
Term Expires in 2007:
Charlene Clark, Newsletter & Mailing List
Enid Cox, Secretary/Treasurer
Nadine Curtis, Research Chair
Contact us at 801-484-2678 (Enid's) or email us all at board@livingstonfamily.org
by Hazel Jeffs Strong and Enid Jeffs Cox (Granddaughters)
compiled in 1979
Archibald George Livingston was born May 31, 1860, in Salt Lake City, Utah to James Campbell Livingston and Agnes Widdison. He married Temperance Lucinda Gillespie on August 8, 1878 in the Endowment house in Salt Lake City, Utah. They were living in Fountain Green, Sanpete County, when their first child was born. The children of this marriage are as follows:
 |
When the baby Elinore was one month old, her mother, Temperance Lucinda Gillespie Livingston died on October 9, 1889. The oldest, Agnes, was only 10 years old at this time. This was not an easy time for any of them. The baby was taken by a cousin, Agnes Crawforth in Spring City. The rest of the children were taken by their grandmother (Agnes Widdison Livingston) in Salt Lake City, who cared for them until their father remarried and moved to Castle Dale, Emery County, Utah.
A little over two years after the death of his first wife, Archibald married Hannah Amanda Adler on December 7, 1891. Hannah was born January 28, 1870 in Spring City, Utah, to Neils Bengt Adler and Elsa Hakanson. She was blessed February 21, 1870 by Louritz Larsen and she was baptized January 1878 by John F. Allred.
 |
During her young years growing up in Spring City, Hannah had a best friend, Sarah Jane Aiken. They had many good times together. They both had strong testimonies and Hannah had an especially great sense of humor. While still in her teens, Sarah Jane Aiken, along with two of her brothers, James and Charles Aiken, and Hannah and her brother Otto Adler, came to Salt Lake City at the request of Sarah's uncle, James C. Livingston, to serve as a cook for a group of men. James had a contract at the granite quarry to quarry rock for the Salt Lake Temple. They had a beautiful resort known as the Wasatch and they lived there all summer until the late fall. The girls did the cooking for the workers. Hannah did not know at the time that James Campbell Livingston would soon be her father-in-law.
Hannah was 21 when she and Archibald were married. All of us who can remember them know that they were called "Ma and Pa" by all us kids and grandkids. Ma evidently loved Pa very much to take on such a responsibility at such an early age. She had previously received a proposal of marriage from one of the LDS Apostles (unidentified) from Salt Lake City. However, she chose to marry Pa.
Archibald was 31 years old and Hannah was 21 when they were married. Money was very hard to come by in those days. The older kids were expected to work and help out as much as they could.
We don't know the exact times and dates, but we know that at one time Archibald had a saw mill in the mountains between Castle Dale and Spring City. Hannah went to cook for the men. We also know that they ran a boarding house in Schofield, Utah. Hannah's sister Emma Lund and daughter Ada went up and helped take care of the children, the cooking and other duties at the boarding house. The men worked at Schofield Reservoir. At one time Archibald was foreman over the building of the canal from Helper to Price and Hannah cooked for the men.
The children of this marriage are as follows:
Archibald and Hannah bought their home in Castle Dale in 1900. It was a five room brick home south of the rodeo grounds (or "park" as it was called).
The park was used for the County Fair, which was a gala occasion indeed. There was a grandstand in the northwest corner with the Exhibit House just behind the grandstand where all the products, handiwork and canned goods were exhibited. This building was a long, barn-like structure. It had long tables for the many luscious vegetables, fruits and canned goods. The beautiful quilts, crochet work and other handicrafts were displayed around the sides of the building in booths or sections.
Ma entered many of her articles of handiwork, flowers, vegetables and canned goods. She won many awards for these things. Pa was town marshal for many years - in the early '20s. He would guard the Exhibit House at night during Fair time to keep it from being robbed or vandalized. The large porch across the front of their house provided a ringside seat for all the family and special friends to watch the rodeo events - bronc riding, bull riding, and horse racing. It also waved having to pay a ticket and was much more comfortable than the seats on the grandstand.
Ma was a hard worker and always possessed a great sense of humor. She was very independent and could usually find a solution to the many problems which confronted her while raising her family. She always kept the house neat and clean and was always busy cooking, baking, sewing or attending to the many duties which were necessary to keep things in order.
She served on the Relief Society sewing committee - they sewed burial garments for the dead - she was also a Relief Society visiting teacher for many years. She loved good music and enjoyed dancing every chance she had.
They had none of the modern conveniences in those days. There were coal stoves in the kitchen, living room and the two rooms upstairs. The stairway to the upstairs was outside. They also had an outside cooler. This was placed outside someplace where it was in the shade. It was made of a board frame which was covered with burlap or other similar material. Then a pan would be placed on top filled with water which would drip down on the burlap and keep it wet and cool. This is where they usually kept the milk, butter, cream, etc., so it wouldn't spoil. They also had a pantry with a cupboard made with tin on the sides and doors which had many small air holes to keep things well ventilated and cool.
Ma made her own butter in a wooden churn (it was about as tall as I was). It was large on the bottom, gradually getting smaller toward the top. The lid had a hole in it which was slipped over the handle (like a broom handle) with a cross piece on the bottom. This was worked in an up and down action until the cream turned to butter. And how delicious was that fresh-churned buttermilk! Then the butter was molded into pounds with a wooden mold and paddle. The butter that wasn't used was taken to the store and exchanged for other merchandise or sold to individuals.
She made soap in a huge black kettle. They would build a fire outside to make the soap in the kettle. They heated flat irons on the stove to iron clothes and took them to bed to keep their feet warm in the winter.
Many are the fond memories that each and every one of her children and grandchildren shared and cherished for her kindness and understanding - but on rare occasions, and, if necessary, she could be very stern and strict.
The family get-togethers at Ma's and Pa's were somewhat of a tradition and always enjoyed and remembered by all of the family, young and old. All the family would gather for Thanksgiving. What memorable times those were! They always had chicken or turkey stuffed with yummy dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, usually candied carrots, all kinds of pickles, relishes, jams, rolls and pies - pumpkin, mincemeat, apple and lemon, carrot pudding and fruit cake and cookies. Everyone would furnish something - but Ma would spend hours and hours cooking and baking for days before the big event. There would always be two or three tables (one table at a time). The kids were always the last to eat. It was fun being with all the relatives reminiscing and playing games. If it was nice weather the younger ones would always play outside - ball, "no bears out tonight", hide and seek and "mother may I".
Pa owned a big herd of cattle. They also had pigs, horses and chickens. It was quite a job feeding and caring for all the animals and poultry. He had to keep the coops, shed, etc., clean. They gathered and cleaned the eggs, did the milking, separating the milk with the separator and then washing it. They had three coops for the chickens - one for the older laying hens, one for the young pullets and one for the fryers. Ma would set hens in the spring which would hatch out baby chicks for "spring frys" and pullets for layers. The eggs were sold to individuals or taken to the store and exchanged for merchandise.
They had a shaggy, long-haired dog. He was grey and the hair hung down in his eyes - I wondered how he could see where he was going. He was an excellent watch dog and when Ma would turn the cows out they would graze over in the "park". At night when it was time to milk, all she did to get the cows back was to call the dog and tell him to "go get the cows". He would round them all up together and then head them for the corral.
It was a most exciting time in the fall when Pa and his boys would ride up on the mountain and round up the cattle. They would bring them down to Pa's corral which was one of the largest corrals around. They could "cut" them out, or separate the different ones which belonged to other individuals. Sometimes it was a very grueling task to locate all the cattle with the new calves and drive them down the canyon. It was quite an adventure for everyone who assisted.
Pa owned a farm out northeast of town between the forks of the road that went over the "bench" and the point of the hill that came into town. He raised a great crop of alfalfa, oats, wheat and corn. They put the hay in stacks with a derrick, pulled by a horse. There was hay fork which picked up the hay from the wagon, and as the horse was driven, the fork would take the hay from the wagon and as it was brought over the stack, someone would jerk a rope, swinging the hay down on the stack. It was considered a great privilege to be given the job of guiding the derrick horse. The hay was hauled on a wide, flat-bedded wagon with a rack, called a "hay-rack" pulled by a team of horses. The oats and wheat were threshed and used for feed for the stock and the wheat was taken to the mill and ground into flour.
Threshing time was quite exciting but involved a lot of hard work for everyone concerned. The threshing crew - which generally included from eight to twelve men - would take the threshing machine around to the individuals home or farm. These individuals were required to prepare meals for as long as it took to get the grain threshed. At any rate, cooking for them was quite a project.
The new straw was piled in stacks and the grain was either put in bins, loose or in sacks. The wheat was taken to the mill and ground into flour. There was some kept to feed the chickens. Then the oats and corn were fed to the stock - cattle, pigs and horses.
Ma was an excellent cook. Her food was "fit for a King". Especially her chicken with homemade Danish dumplings. Also her pies and cookies were delicious - not to mention that luscious "red mush" made with tapioca and currant juice.
Pa was a stalwart, handsome, distinguished person that automatically demanded respect and admiration from anyone who knew him. He was a good carpenter and kept everything around the home in good repair. He made a cupboard and table for Hazel which was her pride and joy - this was when she was about five years old, 1920. The cupboard had two shelves in the top and glass doors. There were two shelves in the bottom part with wooden doors. The cupboard is still intact (although a little careworn) 59 years later.
Pa ruled with a firm but gentle hand. His word was law! He liked to read and owned quite a library or books: all of Zane Grey's books and Edgar Rice Burroughs, Tarzan books. He loved music and played the phonograph whenever he could. His favorite tune was "Whispering Hope". Their phonograph was quite a proud possession.
Pa died with cancer March 11, 1927 - just seven months after his son Arnold was killed in the Mohrland mine August 5, 1926. Pa was 67 years old when he died. He was serving on the ward and stake Genealogical Committee at the time of his death. Following is a copy of the resolution, and also a letter which tells of their plans for the summer which were interrupted by death.
Pa's death was a difficult pill for Ma to swallow. But she had learned to face life's problems and tragedies. Her strength and faith kept her going and she carried on the same as always. They had lost their daughter, Hazel, who died at age 20, January 12, 1915, then a son, Arnold, was killed in the mine tragedy.
After Pa's death, Ma took in boarders, mostly school teachers. About 1929 their daughter, Ethel, and family moved in with her and lived there until the mid or late '30's. This was George and Ethel Jeffs. They had a daughter, Enid, born to them while still living with Ma. She was born on March 25, 1935, right in the "old home". Then the Jeffs bought the old Collingham home east of town owned by Byron and Della Johanson.
On August 26, 1937, Hannah Livingston was called to serve a mission in the Manti Temple. She was called by J. Frank Killian, Stake President of the Emery Stake. Ma was independent and determined, almost obstinate. She cared for herself and kept her house up until she was well along in years, cooking her own meals, cleaning, etc. She and her friends enjoyed their later years by getting together very often and playing a card game called "500". These ladies were Harriet Hickman, Minnie Ungerman, Isabel Kofford and Emma Dickson. She made hundreds of patchwork quilts. She crocheted tablecloths, doilies, furniture covers, etc. She crocheted a bedspread and donated it to the Church. It was auctioned off for $100.00. That was a lot of money then. She was always faithful about paying her tithing. Ma finally had to trade her old home for a home across the street from her daughter Ethel. They thought this would be better for Ma to be close where Ethel could keep an eye on her.
Every summer she looked forward to a nice visit from her children. Clarence's family and Leander's family came to visit from California every summer. LeRoy's family came from Price and Arnold's widow and family came down from northern Utah. Agnes' family lived right in Castle Dale. Ma loved for them all to come.
Ma was active and did a good job of keeping care of herself until she fell out of bed and broke her shoulder. From then on she gradually went downhill. She became quite a care to her daughter, Ethel, who cared for Ma for nine years.
Ma maintained her sense of humor right to the end. She was 90 years old when she died on February 13, 1960. Sandra Strong, a granddaughter, and Ethel, her daughter, prepared Ma's body for the mortician. Sandra was 16 years old at the time. The "old home" has since fallen down, and what didn't fall down, burned down. The property was purchased by Jack Magnuson. All of Ma's and Pa's children and grandchildren will forever remember and cherish the many happy hours spent in their home and will love them always.
Items referenced above:
