Mary Ellen Owens
|
Mary Ellen was the ninth child of Horace Burr Owens and Sally Ann Layne. She was called May. Her father was a stone cutter. He was called to cut stone for the Nauvoo, Salt Lake City, St. George, and Manti Temple. I mention this in Mary Ellen's story because she grew up in a home where the family accepted the callings given by the church authority. They had a love and a commitment to Temple building. There must have been lots of conversations in the family about the construction, progress, and importance of Temples.
May was 17 years old when she and Edward were married in the St. George Temple. A year later, with her one-month-old baby the little family joined a group (which included her parents and a brother) that was leaving to colonize in Arizona. They arrived in Woodruff, December 12, 1882. May's uncle, James Clark Owens, welcomed them. After a visit they went to Snowflkae visiting May's aunt, Martha Layne Stratton. Traveled to Pinedale to visit her brother and sister, Medora Gardner. They then returned to Woodruff in the spring and built a home. On February 28, 1884, her first son Samuel Silas was born. May then had a severe sick spell which affected her memory and it was never very good after that time. Five more children were born in Woodruff. Three of these children died as infants: Edward 1 1/2yrs, Ira 12 mos, Vilate 2yrs. Many babies, during these years, died becasue of measles, whooping cough, croup, and grippe. Life was very hard and discouraging here. There was no way to make a living except through homegrown produce, fruit, chickens, eggs, etc. Edward then had to haul it by wagon to the railroad station (Holbrook) to peddle the produce. The trip was many miles of rough roads, crossing a river, quick sand, and wind. It was considered a dangerous trip. May did have the joy and help of her parents living in Woodruff. In the spring of 1891, the family decided to homestead a farm in Pinetop. It was a beautiful mountain location, in the pine forest. Six children were born in this home. May bore six childrne (one twin was still born) while they lived in Pinetop. In 1900, land was being developed in Mexico. Edward went down early to Col. Morelos and found a place to farm. He then had a freighter bring May and their eight children, under sixteen years o age, to Naco, Arizona, a border town, where Edward met the family. Their first home was a tent. They make adobes and had a home with dirt floor and dirt roof. Three children were born here and every thing was going good until in 1905 a flood came down the Bavispe River and washed farm, cattle, and part of home awy. Edward and married son (Sam and Estella) decided to move back to the states. They took the post laundry job at Fort Apache, Arizona. Mary Ellen's 17th child was born here. (Sam and Estella's first baby, Ruth Elzina was born here also.) The story is told that Edward would go into town (Show Low) and buy one bolt of cloth. It was used for shirts, dresses, and diapers. Same color material for everyone. Edward always grew a nice garden for May. 1909, the soldiers were taken from the fort, there was no job. The two families moved back to a new colony (San Jose, Sonora) being formed in Mexico. Starting from scratch again, land to clear, garden, fields to plant, and adobe's to make for a home (after living in the wagon bed). Ater four years of hard work the Mexican revolution started and they had to flee for Douglas, Arizona (Exodus of 1912), leaving everything behind. The U.S. government put up tents on vacant land on the outskirts o Douglas. The Gov't installed one or two water hydrants, outdoor toilets, and narrow streets with no water sprinkling. Dust was soon 12 inches dep and lots of wind. The curious public would come out to visit the colony, continually driving up and down the dusty streets. May fed the family on government rations. Conditions were terrible so people left as soon as they could make arrangements. The Government paid for transportation to resettle the people. Edward put his family on the train for Hurricane, Utah. Mary Ellen was 47 years old. She had given birth to 17 children, and buried five of them. Joseph, who was born in Col, Morelos died at age seven years in Hurricane. She had moved at least seven times and most of those moves the family had lost everything and had to start over. In Hurricane they took a farm and a nice home was built for May. It was a happy home with flowers and garden. Mary Ellen and Edward were very faithful in their religious duties. They always had family prayer, night and morning. Fast Day was held on Thursday and they always fasted from sundown to (next day) sundown. They always went to church and kept the Sabbath day holy. Worked in the Temple. Taught their children to do the same. On Christmas day 1915, May suffered a stroke, paralyzing her left side. Her limbs were always numb and her mouth drawn on the side. She kept going to the temple. The next year, 1916, as they were going to the farm on the dugway between Hurricane and LaVerkin, the team started to run away. May jumped, breaking her arm and was badly bruised. May's health had not been good since she had the stroke and she died February 7, 1919 in Hurricane at the age of fifty-five. She left two young sons, Richard ten years old and Preston fourteen. taken from the remembrance "Edward Elsey Bradshaw"
written by Anita Joy Bradshaw Reheis edited by Alice Jo Cluff Ellsworth: 1999 Story told by Samuel Silas (son)
Father built a temporary log house [in Pinetop] and left Mother with four little children [while he had to go away and shear sheep] in the practically open log room with a big plain board door and cloth at the windows. One night, Mother heard a noise and got up to see what it was. A big cinnamon bear was prowling around the yard. Al she could do was pray. Mother jumped out and ran down to the children and went to the neighbors to sleep, the men lay for the bear by the dead calf. The bear went to our house first, stood up and put his foot on the door and knocked it open, went into the house and took a shuck tick mattress out side and tore it into shreds. Then he went to the back of the house and ate the butter, took a pan of milk down and drank it [punching his big teeth through the pan which Mother kept many years for a souvenir]. The bear then went for the dead calf where the men wounded him. The next morning the men trailed three miles and killed the bear.
from writings of Ruth Bradshaw
|