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BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION:
History of EMELINE PHOEBE CURTIS MINER
Grandmother -----BY LAUREL MINER DICKSON.
A beautiful Dresden China figurine reminds me of my fathers
mother. Her naturally curly, jet-black hair,, always parted in
the
middles waved neatly down each side of her head and was pinned
in
a bob at the nape of her neck. She told us she had Cherokee Indian
blood in her "from way back." In her dark brown eyes
there was a
twinkle of humor mixed with tender love and affections Her satiny
smooth, skin was pallid, almost transparent. Her face mirrored
sympathy, compassion, understanding, and an inner beauty of peace.
Her clothes showed good taste and were becoming. The dresses
she wore were of the waist and skirt type, with a belt that buckled
in the front. A favorite breast pin, which adorned the high-necked
waists, was an exquisite oval-shaped cameo, a luxurious rarity
for
pioneer women. Most of her dresses were dark colored and all
of
floor length, It was quite improper to show the ankle in her
day.
An occasional white waist broke the monotony of the drab colored
Skirts. The Sunday dresses were trimmed with beading, velvet
and
lace, and rows of tiny tucks, ruffles, and frills. She was up
to
the minute in style.
Emeline Phoebe Curtis was born at Golden Point, Illinois,
Hancock County, December 6, l844. Her father was Uriah Curtis,
her
mother, Phoebe Martin Curtis. She was the youngest child of a
family of seven: Elsa Ann, Erastus, Eliza Jane, Lehi, Uriah Martin,
Mary Melinda, and Emeline Phoebe.
When she was a child of eight years old, she crossed the plains
with her parents and brothers and sisters. Her father, Uriah
Curtis
was Captain of the Sixteenth Company of Emigrants, He was in
charge
of a company of Saints from Pottawattamie County, Iowa, numbering
about 365. which had been organized by Elder Jedediah M. Grant,
June
24, 1852. A few days later they left the Missouri River, The
Company,
arrived in Salt Lake City on October 1, 1852. No information
is
found concerning their stay in Salt Lake City. The Journal histories
of 1855 states that Uriah Curtis was on the committee for the
proceedings
of the celebration of the 24th of July 1855 in Springville, Utah.
His family lived in Springville for a number of years. Then they
moved to Curtisville which was near pandtown, now known as Salem,
Utah.
The Deseret News of October 24, 1863 gives the following account
Pandtown; Uriah Curtis son of Joseph and Elsie Curtis died of
lung
fever October 18, 1863. He was born May 5, 1805 at Stephen Town,
Kenzler County, New York. He was baptized July 7, l831 by Solomon
Hancock in Fountain County, Indiana. He gathered with the Saints
to
Jackson County, Missouri in the fall of l932. They were driven
there by our enemies. He passed through all the persecutions
with
the Saints that gathered at Nauvoo, and from there to the Great
Salt
Lake City in 1852. He was true in the faith until the end."
Written
by Erastus Curtis, son of Uriah. Uriah is burled at Salem, Utah.
Grandmother grew to be an attractive brunette. Accomplished
in the practical arts, her skills were varied and many: carding
wool,
spinning, weaving, sewing, cooking, at infinitum. She had a very
beautiful singing voice and often sang solos.
An industrious, courageous, tall, light complexioned young
man
from Springville, Utah, courted the pretty brunette. On February
24, 1861, Mormon Miner and Emeline Phoebe Curtis ware married
at Springville.
They went through the Endowment House November 2,1867.
Early in the Spring of 1861 the young couple moved to Fairview
Sanpete County, Utah then called North Bend. Here they endured
the
hardships and deprivations of the early settlers. They knew what
it
was to be hungry, cold and fearful of the marauding, treacherous
Indians.
Their daily rations were often supplemented by sego lily bulbs,
thistles,
wild currants, and berries from the hawthorn bushes, which grew
wild.
They lived within the old rock fort. This was an enclosure
against
the wily Indians. A rock wall ten feet high and about two feet
thick
was built on the north, east and west sides. The South side was
started
in the summer of 1859.
There was a community, cattle and sheep herd, which fed along
the
valley as far north as Indianola. The Indians caused much trouble,
stealing and killing the animals. Several men were killed by
the
Indians as they guarded the herd.
In 1660 Mormon Miner helped guard the northern-end of the
Valley against Indians and renegade whites following Johnston’s
Army. The soldiers helped to build the road up Thistle Canyon
east
of Thistle Junction, and commemorating this service, different
places
still bear the names of Soldier’s Summit, Soldier Dugway,
and Soldier’s
Canyon.
One early morning in the Spring of 1852, the settlers awakened
to
find the Indians had driven off a large number of their horses.
A posse
was Immediately formed to find and recover them. The horses had
been
driven up Fairview Canyon., The men followed the tracks until
they came
to a place in the Canyon where the Indians had stopped to rest
and eat.
They recovered most of the horses. The Indians had cleared out,
leaving
behind one sick man huddled under a bush. Some of the white men
suggested that they kill the Indian. Grandfather said: “No
we must
not do that. We will take him home with us, and he may get well.”
This
they did. In a short time the Indian was well and was given his
freedom.
About a year later Grandfather and another man were standing
night watch inside the fort. It was after midnight, and the two
men
had made the rounds and met in the center of the enclosure as
agreed.
Both men had noticed the uneasiness of the stock. Little did
they
realize that at that very moment two treacherous Indians were
hiding
behind a "critter" with their guns leveled on Grandfather,
awaiting the
opportunity to kill him.
Grandfather said to his partner, "Somebody, must be getting
pretty
damn close."
Shortly afterward the cattle quieted down, and everything
was all
right the rest of the night.
Some years later a group of Indians came to Fairview. This
was
after the Black Hawk War, and the Indians were friendly. One
of the
Indians came to see Grandfather and asked. "You 'member
sick Indian,
white men want to kill? You do not let them?"
"Yes", answered Grandfather.
"You 'member d-a-r-k" night you guard cattle in
rock fort? You
think some one there?"
"Yes, I remember that very well", said Grandfather.
Then the Indian said: "Me and another Indian behind cow
waiting
to shoot. When you say ‘Some one damn close’ me know
your voice. you
save my life. I save you. 'we go the way we got in.”
That Indian was always grandfather’s friend.
The Black Hawk War took Its toll In Fairview. Because of the
killing
of three men in March, 1866, Brigham Young warned the settlers
of
Fairview to move to the Fort at Mt. Pleasant.
With the arrival of the State Troops in June 1866, some of
the
militia were posted in each town, and the people returned to
Fairview
in the fall of that year.
Grandfather had homesteaded and cleared the eastern half of
the
City block cater-cornered from the rock fort where the Fairview
Mercantile
Coop now stands. His property was the eastern half of the block
between Main and first streets East, and first and Second South
Street.
When it was safe to build houses outside the fort, he built
a two
room adobe house on the southeast corner facing the east. The
adobes
were made by hand; they were reinforced by mixing straw with
the clay
mud, put in wooden molds to shape them, then dried in the sun.
On the northern part of this property, facing First South,
Miner
Brothers had a general merchandise and food store. Business was
done
through barter and exchange, for the most part. Butter, eggs,
potatoes,
grain, coal, lumber, meat, and so forth were exchanged for the
other
commodities of stock and trade. An alloy metal was used for temporary
money with Miner Brothers inscription on it, When they went out
of
business, I remember father taking a leather bag of this money
and emptying
it into the fire, where it melted into fantastic shapes.
To the west of Town and about one and a half miles south.
Mormon
Miner had homesteaded 150 acres, which extended east of the present
highway and across west to the hills. The western part was swamp
land
with the San Pitch River running through it. This later was known
as
Miner Brothers Farm. There also Was a Miner Brothers Creamery
Company.
When relations with the Indians became peaceful, the family
lived
in a little shack at Indianola for a few months. While there,
Grandmother
learned the Indian language.
Emeline, as she was lovingly called, was the mother of thirteen
Children, nine boys and four girls. Of this number seven boys
and two
girls grew to adulthood, the others dying in infancy or childhood.
They
were Martin Mormon, Erastus, Albert Uriah, Phoebe Ann, Mary Rosalee,
Melvin Orson, Homer Franklin, Ernest Leroy, George Dolaze, Laurette
Emeline Lester Curtis, Lee Ross, and Louie Merle.
As the family increased, a larger home was necessary. During
the
early eighteen seventies, Andrew Christiansen and John DeFries
built
the large white rock house on the same lot where the adobe house
stood.
At that time it was the grandest home in the County, a stately,
sturdy
structure two stories high, towering above all the other houses
in the
town. The walls were about two feet thick. When a child, I climbed
up and sat very comfortably in the wide window ledges.
The beautiful white limestone rock was quarried in Stone Quarry
just north of Fairview, Stone cutter Christiansen, a skilled
rock mason,
cut, dressed, and faced each stone. Andrew Christiansen was born
in Denmark; May 15, 1842, and died in Fairview in January 1880.
Cattails
from the nearby swamps were dynamite to get the walls down, and
the plaster hung in great sheets. This stood on the corner of
what is
now 85 E. 2nd S. Street, Fairview Utah.
The warm, cozy kitchen was the largest room in the house.
It did
double duty. as It was also used as dining room, a general congregating
or family room as well as kitchen. The huge Majestic Coal Range
served
as cook stove and heater. A brightly polished copper tea kettle,
which
always sat atop the stove, sang merrily through, the years. The
kitchen
table, was large enough to seat a dozen people, and there were
chairs to
accommodate all. In front of the east window was an Invitingly
comfortable
handmade lounge. In her declining years Grandmother used this
daily.
She would often say "I feel so bad" and Aunt Louie,
a small child
would say, "I feel so bad."
A magnificent large oak bureau stood along the south wall
near a
door which led into her attractive and peaceful bedroom. At the
right
of the bureau a door opened to a long, straight, steep stairway
which
you ascended to reach the floor above. From an oblong hallway
three
doors opened into three roomy upstairs bedrooms.
The spacious parlor, located in the southeast corner of the
building
displayed an array of lovely furnishings. A carpet made of rags
that had been dyed pretty bright colors, woven in strips a yard
wide,
and sewed together by hand covered the floor from wall to wall.
Straw
was the padding underneath, and it would crunch and crackle as
you walked
upon it. At the east side of the room, under the window, was
a beautiful
red plush sofa, and two matching chairs with white china casters;
these
stood on either side of the sofa.
The north wall displayed an intricately carved table covered
with
a large white throw. On the top of the table, a large dome-shaped
glass
covered a delightful bouquet of flowers made of chenille and
wax. This
was a bright spot that gave color and cheer. In the evening the
bouquet
was pushed back, and a large kerosene lamp sent forth a bright
clear
light. The round bowl that contained the oil was decorated with
hand
painted red roses. Small crystal pendants hung from the base
of the
neck. The glass chimney was kept spotlessly clean and polished.
The
soft light from the tubular wick filled the room with golden
splendor.
On the wall above the table hung an exquisite piece of art, a
sampler
showing the result of skilled needlework. An elegant reed organ
found its place at the west side of the room. Against the south
wall
was a dignified and tall secretary, imposing in its grandeur.
A
platform rocker and a Nantucket high back rocker chair found
places in this
lovely room. From the four windows hung long, white, fancily
designed
lace curtains. This old fashioned parlor was not used every day.
To
me it was the most elegant room I had ever been in. My cousin
Ora
said to me. "0nce when I was a little girl, Aunt Louie took
me into
the parlor and let me touch each thing in the room; then we came
out,
and the door was closed," Most of the furniture was brought
across
the plains by ox team and wagons. After grandmother’s passing,
Aunt
Mary Lee, shipped this beautiful furniture to Salt Lake City
and stored
it there. The Storage warehouse burned, and all of the furniture
was
lost in the fire.
Another kitchen door opened to the east onto a large front
porch
enclosed by a carved fence railing. To the South a swinging gateway
led down a slightly winding stairs into a cool, clean cellar,
very
similar to our basements of today. Here all kinds of food were
stored
for winter.
On a long tables pans of milk were set to cool so the cream
would
rise. This was skimmed off and churned into butter. Many times
I
have helped to churn the cream by constantly pulling the dasher
up and
down from the tall barrel-shaped churn. The cool buttermilk was
refreshing
to drink. The golden butter was very tasty on grandmother’s
salt-rising bread. Sometimes we had wild currant jelly or ground
cherry
preserves to eat on the bread.
Grandmother was an excellent cook. Her pioneer dishes might
not
suit the connoisseur’s taste of today. Thickened milk, called
"lumpy
dick” was made of tiny lumps of moistened flour cooked into
Scalded
milk. It was served as first course with just plain milk, second
course with sugar and milk, or third course with cinnamon and
butter.
Butter mush, sweet soup, and vinegar pies are but a few of the
different
dishes she cooked. All were wholesome; tasty, and satisfying,
containing
no adulterations or preservatives to dull the body or mind.
Her sense of humor was piquant, refreshing and delightful;
she
was an Emily Post of her day. In a gently soft voiced way she
would
say things which never hurt, but usually brought a burst of laughter.
One day, while eating the noon day meal, Grandfather was guzzling
his
food, and in her clever, kind way, she said; "For heaven’s
sakes,
Pa, don't eat so much like a horse." Grandfather leaned
back in his
chair, and his impetuous, jovial laughter resounded throughout
the
house.
One early morning, while the family knelt in prayer, by their
chairs which surrounded the kitchen tables grandfather was saying
the
customary morning prayer. A loud knock came to the front kitchen
door,
made by the crooked cane of an old Indian Squaw. Grandfather
prayed
on long and loud. The knocking continued; grandfather persistently
praying and the Indian persistently knocking. It seemed to be
a test
of endurance. Finally Amen was said. Grandmother, whose patience
bad long since ceased, went to the door and saw the Indian woman,
who
was a busybody and who bad previously made a nuisance of herself
on
numerous occasions. There was an unmistakable ring of authority
in
Grandmother's voice as she spoke to the Indian in her own language.
She said, "We were talking to the Great White Spirit; now
you get
yourself away in a hurry or I’ll set the dog on you, and
he’ll chaw
your hinder off." The Indian's retreat was not slow. Turning
to
Grandfather, Grandmother said, "Pa, where is your reverence?
You know
that words without thoughts never to heaven go." Although
she was
not a large woman, she never minced words with any one. She had
taken
the wind out of both of their sails, and justly so.
Her quips, quotes, anecdotes, and original sayings, for which
she
shall long be remembered, always fitted the situation at hand.
When her
boys came to the door with muddy feet, a good natured reminder
was,
"Bestus, clean your boots."
"Pride is painful", she would say when the girls
complained about
having their hair curled and combed.
"When you dance you pay the fiddler.”
"Thanks be to ye, Pat, for doin’ me that."
This is the complete Irish Ditty:
“Thanks be to ye, Pat,
For doin’ me that,
May the blessings upon ye be big.
At the great judgment day
To the widder I’ll say,
Mrs. Flanagan, here's your pig."
The lack of normal intelligence was: "He was hit over
the head
with a hand spike", or, "He's a shingle or a button
short." The favored
one was, "The blue hen’s a chicken.”
Inquiring about a foul deed, she'd say: "How come Your
eye’s out
without your face being scratched?"
When Uncle Mel was about three years old, a man named John
was
pretending to buy his baby brother Frank. Mel was pleased with
the
idea, but as Johnny walked out of the door with the baby wrapped
in a
new blanket, Mel said :"Bring back the blanket Johnny."
So when
articles were loaned, it was always "Bring back the blanket,
Johnny."
"Your honey tastes of the bee-bread", was the remark
when there
was an off colored flavor to food.
On choosing associates, she said: "Remember, birds of
a feather
flock together.”
She wrote poetry of noble verse, filled, with human kindness
and
homespun wisdom.
She did not have opportunity of schooling beyond the Fifth
Reader, However, she was well versed in the three R's, Reading,
Riting,
and Rithmetic.
The wisdom she had was reflected in the wise, gentle, just
and
kind way she raised her family, showing as much refinement and
culture
as was possible in those rugged frontier days, Her sons worshipped
her and tried hard to be the ideal she expected them to be.
The young ladies of the town would say, "You might as
well go
out with the Miner boy’s mother as with them. They tell
her everything
that is done or said." One late, stormy night, perhaps it
was
early morning, two of her boys were later than their customary
time
in returning home. Upon their arrival, they found their mother
kneeling
at her bedside, praying for their safe return home. It was an
established custom for her boys to kiss her good-night when they
had
been out, then she knew if they had been drinking.
Grandmother’s greatest desire was for her children to
be honorable
and get a good education. Most of them attended the B.Y. Academy
at Provo. Five of the seven sons filled missions for the Latter-day
Saints Church.
Uncle Martin was well over six feat tall, dignified and stately.
He filled his mission in Iowa. Ernest and Lester both went on
two
missions. Ernest Miner was in the Hawaiian Mission for seventeen
years.
His wife and eldest daughter Odetta died while there. Three of
her
boys became school teachers, and one was County Superintendent
of Sanpete
Schools for two terms. Aunt Mary Miner Lee was a very successful
milliner. Aunt Louie helped her. Louie had a beautiful singing
voice, played the organ, and was very artistic in Interior decorating
and sewing.
Uncle Frank was very kind and gentle, He seemed to know just
how to help and to please his mother. He didn't go away to school,
but stayed home and helped to care for his mother in her declining
years. Uncle Ernest also helped care for her in her declining
years.
Uncle Mel was always so jolly and very spiritual. When in the
Mission
Field at Texas he was tied to a telephone pole and black-whipped,
but,
only one small black and blue mark was visible on his body.
I shall always remember Uncle George, who had such beautiful
Black, curly hair. No one in the town could play the harmonica
so
Well. At the Mormon Miner family reunion. July 24,1960, at the
age
of 82, he played two harmonica numbers.
Uncle Martin's and Father’s first suits were made of
woolen cloth.
Grandfather sheared the wool from the sheep. Grandmother washed,
Dyed, and carded the wool into rolls about the size of your fingers,
spun
it into thread, then wove it into cloth on a hand loom and tailored
their suits by hand.
At Albert (A. U.'s funeral Prof. B.F Larsen said the three
most
distinguished boys of Sanpete County were Allie (or A.U., Mel
and
Ernest Miner. Dressed in their long frock or Prince Albert coats,
white vests, cravats, and shining silk top hats, they were three
gay
young blades.
One of the highlights of my childhood days was riding in "the
surrey with the fringe on top," This pleasure carriage had
four wheels
and two seats, both facing forward. There were steps to step
upon to
get into it. The broad seats were of buttoned leather, on each
side
of the front seat was a square wrought-iron case holding a glass
lantern
which held candles. A deep Fringe hung gracefully from the top,
blowing and dancing in the wind. Two sleek horses trotted lively,
drawing the carriage along the dusty road.
In winter time, when snow was about four feet deeps dappled
grays
pulling sleighs, with sleigh bells jingling as we road over the
tops
of fences, made life merry.
When the children married, most of them lived, within a radius
of
one block from the old home. Martin and Mel lived in two houses
across the street, and to the South. Mary lived in the first
home west,
Albert in the house across the street east, Frank in the next
one east,
Ernest north one block and east. George, Lester and Louie were
not
married until after their mother had passed from this sphere
of life.
Every morning she would visit her children to see what she
could
do to help, and to give advice. She was trained in the medical
care
of the day. She expected everyone to have the house work well
under
way, if not entirely completed, by ten A.M. She was always willing
to lend a helping hand when needed.
Though Grandmother was a frail woman, she withstood the rigorous
pioneer life with courage and fortitude. She had contracted tuberculosis
of the lungs from her mother. It was not active until the later
years of
her life. At this time hired help was hard to get and difficult
to pay for,
as a result she continued to do her own
house work when she was not physically strong. She would often
say:
"I am treading on the wine press alone." a Bible
expression She was
a student of the Bible, with a deep abiding faith in God. During
the long years of her affliction, she was ever patient and cheerful.
Through her meticulous and immaculate care of herself. I know
of no
one to whom she transmitted this dreaded, infectious, communicable
disease.
As the days passed, her strength began to wane. She became
bedridden.
All medical help was of no avail Bromo Seltzer would bring
some relief. If I remember correctly, she used 66 bottles during
the
years of her Illness. On February 8th, 1905, her blithe spirit
left
her frail body and passed to realms beyond. She left a rich heritage
to her family and a large posterity. At this writing, In June
1961,
It number 13 children, 69 grandchildren, 179 great grand children,
108 great-great grandchildren, equaling a posterity of 568 descendents.
She was buried in the upper cemetery at Fairview, Utah.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Church Records; Aunt Mame-Mrs. M.0. Miner; Uncle Lester Curtis
Miner;
Uncle George DeLaze Miner; Prof. & Mrs. B.F. Larsen; Mr.
Arden F. Miner;
Mrs. Maurine Seely Miner; Mr. Glen B. Miner; Mrs. Verda M. Ashman;
Mrs.
Ora M. Snyder: Mrs. Lela De St. Jeor; Mrs. Jessie M. Colvin;
Mormon
Miner’s autobiography; My own recollection, Mrs. Laurel
M. Dickson;
Mrs. Kate B. Garter, whose husband Is a descendent of Polly Miner
Carter;
Tombstones In the Fairview City Cemeteries; Dates & Genealogy
Data, Mrs.
Floyd Miner, Journal History Dec. 31, 1852 & roster; Deseret
News, Oct.
24, 1863; Journal History - 1855, July 24; Souvenir program of
Fairview
City Centennial Celebration, June 1959. Church Emigration - 1849
60
1857 - Vol. 11.
Added, by Melvin Edwin Miner, grandson of Mormon and Phoebe
Miner, son
of Martin Mormon and Evelyn Brown Miner:
When I was a child I used to visit my grandmother Miner almost
every day. She would ask me to gather the eggs for her, and each
day
I was rewarded for my efforts with one egg, with which I was
permitted
to go to the store and buy candy. And I always received a large
bag
of candy for one egg. Sometimes I would find a nest that had
been
hidden away by the hens, and I would be rewarded, with an extra
egg for
such a find. So I spent a good deal of my time and alertness
In
trying to find the hidden nests.
I can always remember the salt -rising bread grandmother baked
every day. Many times she has torn the "heel" from
the warm bread
and filled It with butter and honey, to my great delight.
I, too, knew of her great suffering from tuberculosis, and
her
great care that she should not pass It on to those of us who
were so
near to her. She was most careful to keep small cloths In her
pocket,
and when she coughed, she did so Into one of these rags, putting
It
Immediately Into the stove and burning it.
I always felt that she had a very special and tender feeling
toward
me because I was the youngest, and so young, at the time of my
father death. My father was her eldest child.
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