Harvey Woodyatt

  Harvey Woodyatt, my great grandfather, came to the United States at the age of 17. He was not a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, but had taken some of the missionary lessons in his native England. He came to stay with his uncle, Robert Holmes, his mother's brother. Robert had joined the church in 1840 and emigrated to Nauvoo, Illinois, and eventually settled in Willard, Utah.
   Harvey was christened in the church of England and at the age of 10 was asked to join the choir at St. James church of West Malvern. He enjoyed going to Sunday School and considered himself to be a religious boy. At the age of about 13 or 14, he had an unusual experience before going to bed.
   
   "I knelt down by my bed side and repeated the Lord’s prayer and at the close of the prayer for the first time I added to the Lord’s prayer by asking the Lord to show me how to live the way that would be acceptable to him and also to make me a good boy. I got into bed and was lying on my back when I saw the heavens open directly in the center of the sky, one part going to the north and the other to the south, I saw a host of heavenly beings, but what impressed me most was I saw God. There were no words spoken, but he was in the very form of man, and although there was a great number there, yet it was so impressed upon my mind, and the vision was so clear that I   knew beyond any doubt which being was God. They were all in the form of man, yet I was able to distinguish our Heavenly Father from all the others, whether it was through the spirit of the Lord that this was made so plain to my understanding, I don’t know. But one thing I do know - that my simple childlike prayer had been answered and when I think that God our Heavenly Father would condescend to notice one so insignificant as I, I am almost overwhelmed with gratitude and I think of the words of the Prophet Isaiah - “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” In the 88th Section of the Doctrine and Covenants 63rd verse, the Lord says - “Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you; seek me diligently and ye shall find me; ask, and ye shall receive, knock and it shall be opened unto you.” I had proof beyond a doubt that the promises of the Lord are sure."
  
   Not long after arriving in Utah, Harvey became homesick and intended to return to England. In the spring of 1880, he left Willard and went to Salt Lake City, where he got a job with Joseph F. Smith.  In about two months he was converted to the church and was baptized. Harvey died in 1935, in Willard, Utah.  

For a more complete history see:

Personal History of Harvey Woodyatt

Historic House, Brigham City, Utah

    My great-great grandfather, William Lampard Watkins, was born in Islington, London, England, in February of 1827. He joined the Mormon church in 1841 and immigrated to the United States in 1842 and settled in Nauvoo, Illinois.

   William and his wife, Mary Almina Hammond Watkins, crossed the plains and arrived in the Salt Lake Valley in 1852. They stayed there until 1861, when Lorenzo Snow asked him to move to Brigham City and teach school.  William became a prominent figure in the town as well as in the church. He died in 1911 in Brigham City.

    This is the house William and his family lived in.

    A while ago, I found online the registration form to put this house on the National Register of Historic Places. The description below is from Section No. 8 Page 1:

"The Watkins House is architecturally significant under criterion C as the only example of a Gothic Revival-style cross-wing residence in the city and also as an example that has received very little alteration from its original construction. The Watkins House is also one of the largest historic residences in the city."

For more information about the house and the life of William L. Watkins click this link:

(Scroll down several pages for description and biography.)

http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NRHP/Text/01000471.pdf

Sweethearts

    Mom and Dad were dating when he was called to serve in the Swiss-German mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Mom was sad to see him go, but proud of the service he would give for the next 2 ½ years. When Dad left in June of 1933, he told Mom that he wanted to know everything she did. Mostly he wanted to know who she was going out with, what they did, and where they went. After four months with all the details of Mom’s dating life, Dad begged her to stop; he couldn’t concentrate on his work. After that Mom’s letters took on a newsy, supportive tone, never letting on about all the fun she was having.       
    As Mom’s 21st birthday approached in September of 1933, Dad sent Mom this postcard from Germany.

               (I didn't know that Dad could be so effusive.)

Grandpa's Fishing/Hunting License

Grandpa Owens (William W. Owens, 1888-1969), started hunting when he was big enough to carry a gun. His father's repeater shotgun carried one shell in the barrel and five in the magazine. The limit was 50 ducks per day; the most Grandpa got was 18, the fall he went on his mission. He was the only one in his house who liked eating duck, the others didn't even like the smell of them cooking. In Grandpa's history, he mentions hunting sage hens, ruffed grouse (see picture), and Chinese pheasants.

Sometime after 1931 only certain varieties of ducks could be hunted, and because of other restrictions that had been implemented, Grandpa gave up hunting. He gave his shotgun to his son in 1964.

The fishing license grandpa bought in 1908 cost $1.00. Here are today's (August 2010) prices: http://wildlife.utah.gov/dwr/license-permit.html

(Original in possession of Elaine Riddle)

James Michael Andersen

This was written by my grandmother about her father.

I remember my father as a very gracious man. He never scolded or shouted. He was called a peace maker by his neighbors and was always called to arbitrate community disputes.

He had a good bass voice, singing many solos and participating in the ward choir for many years.

He was an eloquent speaker and was asked to speak at almost every funeral in Lewiston during his life time.

He had a marvelous sense of humor. At one time he visited us in Mendon. A woman with an extremely long hooked nose called on me. After she left, Father said, "She won't have to remain out side for want of a handle to put her in."

When Father came to America at the age of eleven, he knew how to keep books, and was always an efficient bookkeeper. He was a self educated man, being an avid reader.

He was a school trustee for a number of years. When the Lewiston 2nd Ward was organized, he was sustained as first counselor, a position which he held for many years.

He passed away with a heart attack at the age of 64, and was buried in the Lewiston Cemetery. The date of death was July 19, 1919.

Written July 1957, by Laura A. Watkins

Dad's Award

Dad was an honest and respected business man. He 1994, he received this award from the American Farm Bureau Federation.

He was the Secretary-Treasurer and Chief Administrator and Secretary of the California Farm Bureau for over twenty-one years. Dad said, "I rode the tiger through thick and thin, through praise and criticism and my basic feeling is that I left the CFBF a much better organization than it was when I became the top staff executive." He spent three and one half years in Chicago with the American Farm Bureau as Chief Administrator and Secretary. After retiring and moving to Utah, he became a consultant to the board of directors of the Utah Farm Bureau.

About the award:

My Mom Was a Beauty

One of my dad's favorite stories was about my mom winning 1st runner up in the Rocky Mountain Bathing Beauty Contest.
It was during the early years of the Great Depression, and my mother's father was forced to sell their house, because his business debtors were unable to pay him. Mom desperately wanted to go to college, but there was no money. She tried to get a job, but no one was hiring. She was miserable, and trying to figure out how to get the $75 she needed for school. After a couple of weeks, she read in the evening newspaper that a local department store was looking for a girl to sponsor in the Queen of the Rocky Mountain Bathing Beauty Contest. The top four girls would go on to compete among 150 girls at Saltair in Salt Lake City. The prizes were the best part - $25, $50, $75, and $100 for the winner. Mom was excited. Her parents were not. The thought of their daughter parading around on a stage in a bathing suit was unthinkable, but mom persisted and they relented. She also received tips from a silent screen star, Wanda Hawley, who told her to look over her shoulder and wink at the judges. The day of the contest came and mom took Miss Hawley's advice. She walked briskly down the steps with a wide smile on her face and winked at the judges. As the winners were being announced she held her breath, nervously waiting. Finally, her name, Margaret Watkins, was called as first runner-up. She had earned her $75 for college that year. (More details in Margaret's autobiography, "Stop Me If You've Heard This Before".)