Bertha Mariah Lewis &
Samuel Edwin McClellan
See Funeral for Joseph McClellan, son of Bertha & Samuel
I was born in Panguitch, Utah, 5 April 1875. My father was Samuel Lewis, and my mother was Sarah Jane Huntsman.
One of my earliest memories is of a ducking I got in the river in Panguitch. Sarah, my sister, and I were walking across the river on a log bridge and when we got almost across I fell in, Vira jumped in and pulled me shivering on the bank while she went for mother.
We left Panguitch to come to the Gila when I was about five years old. I remember the girls singing the night before we left the old home.
When we got to the Colorado River, we crossed at Lee's Ferry and had to take things over on a flat boat. I wanted to go with every load, but mother only allowed me go twice as Lula made such a fuss, she was afraid I would be drowned.
When we got to Pima we had no place to live, except in our wagon boxes, so father built of logs, a house with two rooms and a shed. One night a Mr; Wikersham from Solomonville came to see my sister Malinda, so we children had to stay in the other room so they could talk. Our beds were in the room they were in, and I got sleepy and probably dozed off. When I woke I asked if Mr. Wigglersham was gone, so I could go to bed. They always teased me about calling him Mr. Wigglersham.
Father went up the wash and found a piece of land, which he fenced and raised a garden on. He had a tent pitched there so he could stay over night if he wanted too. He would come back and forth to his home in Pima, which was seven miles from the farm. One day Vira and I went with father to the farm, while he was working around the farm, we decided to go home. So we walked all the way alone. Mother was quite put out with us because she was afraid father would worry about it but he never did say anything about it. I guess he must have known where we went.
One Saturday, Father went into Pima on a mule, it became frightened and father was thrown off. His leg hurt so bad he didn't go back to the farm. On that Sunday, the Indians cams to his farm and cut the wire, tore down the posts and destroyed his tent. They took what they wanted of his produce and destroyed the rest. They even chopped down the orchard.
Later we moved to Thatcher where father homesteaded some land south of the canal. When we first came and were proving up on the land, we lived on the bank of the canal in a tent and a wagon box. Later father built a one room lumber house. We still carried all our water from the canal, for drinking and all of our other purposes, I used to take the washing down to the canal under a large mesquite tree, I had a large can I could put up on the rocks and build a fire under it. Then I washed everything on the washboard, and hung them up to dry on the mesquite trees. When they were all dry I would gather them all up and take them back to the house.
Lula worked out quite a lot when we lived in Pima. She worked for Polly Whipple and later when Polly's children had scarlet fever, my sister, Mary Judd, who was married and had six children of her own went to help Polly, she took the fever home to her own children, and little five year old Diana died from the complications left from the disease.
I did not work out much, I only remember of doing a few washings for Mrs. John P. Lee, after we moved to Thatcher: I did help my sister, Malinda quite a lot. She had a large family of small children, and I liked to be with them, so I often went and stayed with her and helped her with dishes and washing.
In January 1891, when I was fifteen years old, my father and I made a trip to the colonies in Mexico. We were going to visit my sister, Keturah, who was married and living the colony, Juarez. My father wanted to look the country over. We stayed all spring and into February. I started to school and attended until it was closed for the summer.
Sometime during the latter part of February, I went to a molasses candy pull at the Martineau home and on the way to the party, a young man named Ed McClellan began to notice me--in fact he took me home from the party. While we were together, he made a date with me to go to a wedding dance on the first of March. That was the first date I had with the man that was to become my husband. From then on we went to everything together, in the way of entertainment.
After school was out, I went to work in the home of Isaac and Clara Turley and helped with the new baby and a big family of children. I really worked hard that summer. I used the money I earned, two pesos a week, to buy my wedding dress and outfit.
My sister, Keturah, was working in a store in the town of Casa Grande, McFarland's store. She bought the cloth for me for my wedding dress. It was pale blue muslin trimmed with lace. Keturah's husband's other wife, Luana, made it for me, and a slip to go with it. She also curled by hair and cooked my wedding dinner, and made a nice wedding cake, she had to use Mexican sugar, which had to be pounded and rolled to make it fine enough for a cake, but she frosted it with white frosting and decorated it the best she could.
We were married in front of Keturah’s house on the porch roofed with brush--on Sunday afternoon, September 27, 1891, by Bishop George W. Seavy, who had married Keturah and Alfred when he was Bishop in Panguitch, many years before.
We went to live with Ed's folks, in a two roomed house. One room for the family and one for the boy's room: In this bedroom we built a partition and Ed and I had half the room for our bedroom and George and Charles occupied the other half. Our bed was one that Ed had made, built of four posts, with boards on the four sides, with holes drilled and laced both ways with a rope. We made a mattress or "bed tick", as we called it then, of factory or muslin, and filled it with straw. Each of our families gave us a guilt, and a sheet, and Keturah gave us a pillow, so did Ed’s mother. People couldn't go buy things then like they can now, and we had to share what we had with one another, and that is the way they did with us.
At this point, I would like to tell a little about my husband and his family. Samuel Edwin McClellan, my husband, was born in Payson, Utah. July 23, 1867. His father, William C. McClellan, was born in Bradford, Tenn. on May 12, 1828. He was a member of the famous Mormon Battalion. Ed's mother was Almeda Day and she was born in Leeds, Canada on November 20, 1831. As I remember it, William and Almeda crossed the plains with an ox team when their first baby was four weeks old. She said the baby would sleep all day while the wagon was moving but would cry all night. They were later called to go into the United Order, in Sunset, Arizona, when they had seven children. They originally had 12 children but one little boy had died before coming to Arizona. After leaving the Order in Sunset, they went to Pleasanton, Utah. From there they had to go to Mexico to escape persecution for polygamy. William's death was 28 April, 1916. At the time of the Exodus from Mexico, Elsa went back to Utah to live. Almeda lived in Mexico until a few years before she died. Then she went back to Salt Lake City, and lived with her children until her death 23 June, 1935. She was past 102 years old, and lacked five months of being 103 years old.
Ed remembers living in the Sunset Order, when he was about a Deacon. They worked hard and had many hardships. When it broke up and the family moved to Pleasanton, Utah, he and his brothers, that were old enough, got jobs and helped to recoup the family finances. He went to Mexico with the family, and there he went to work as carpenter, which later became his trade for as long as he lived.
We lived with the McClellan family for seven months. During which time Ed built a one room brick house and we moved in. It was here that Gladys, our eldest daughter was born 23 September 1892. In March 1895 our next daughter, Sylvia, was born; and on March 24, 1897, our third girl, G1enna, was born. When Glenna was six months old, Ed was called on a mission to Iowa, with his headquarters in Des Moines. Before he left, he built a kitchen on the house, so we had a little more room,
While my husband was gone I had to work at anything I could get to do: I worked in the cannery that had been set up in Juarez. Brother Hawkins was a tinsmith and he made the cans and we sealed them with resin. I also did washing and ironing for people. I had two cows when Ed left (he had to sell some of them to get money to go) and I made butter and sold it and kept chickens and sold eggs. Ed had a hard time for money because we didn't have enough to send him. He often went hungry because he didn't have the price of a meal, and no one invited him to eat. He was gone 27 months.
We had previously gone to the temple at Salt Lake City and had our endowments, and were sealed, when Gladys was a year old. We went on the train and took the baby with us.
When Ed came home from his mission, he took a correspondence course in architectural drawing. When he finished the course, President Anthony W. Ivans came to him and told him they were going to build an Academy in Juarez and they wanted him to be the architect and builder. He said, "Oh, Brother Ivins, that is too big a job for me." But Brother Ivins said, "Well, you can do it Ed, just buckle in and do it." He said; "Well, if you think I can, I will try." He drew all the plans, made all the blueprints and supervised the building, doing much of the work himself.
Our first son, Edwin Lewis, was born 9 November 1900. In the meantime Ed had built onto our house, and added five more rooms, two bedrooms were upstairs. When Edwin was three months old his daddy had a bad accident which affected his whole life. He was planning lumber to make boxes. The lumber split and his left hand slipped into the plainer. He lost his little finger entirely and the one next to it was injured in the knuckle joint so that was always stiff and bothered him in his work. He suffered greatly with this hand until it healed:
Two years later, on September 28, 1902, our son Joseph was born. His dad had to go to Carrolitis Mines to work shortly before Joseph was born, and did not return until he was five months old. During the next few months and years we were blessed with three little girls. Bertha was born 5 November 1904; Lula was born February 16, 1907; and Cecile was born 23 January 1909.
Four days before Jasper was borne Gladys wanted to take us riding in her buggy, daddy had bought from President Ivins, when he was leaving to be an apostle. She hitched up our little mare and we rode out on the flats before Juarez. Gladys wanted to go faster so she whipped up the mares, but the horses got excited and started to run away. I grabbed the lines and tried to stop her but she whirled around in a circle and Gladys, Cecile and I were thrown out onto the ground. None of us were hurt, and the mare ran into town kicking until she kicked herself loose. The harness was torn to pieces and the buggy was wrecked. Brother Spillsbury came along with a load of lumber from the mountain so we got a ride into town with him. Four days later, Jasper was born, January 9, 1911. Uncle Charles always called him "The Trip Over Baby."
On July 22, 1912, it was a day long to be remembered. The insurrection in Mexico had begun and was serious that the rebels had demanded all the guns of the colonists. Being left without protections it was thought necessary to send the women and children and old people to the United states for protection. The special train that we boarded was filled to capacity; with people and baggage. It was hot and the train was dirty. We finally arrived in E1 Paso, and went to a big unfinished building where we were allowed to stay two to three days. The government of the United States told us we could go anywhere in the United States we wanted to and they would pay our fare. Aunt Lula and Uncle Oscar sent word for us to come to Thatcher so we all came to their place. We had nine children and Lula had nine, and we all lived in her little four roomed house. The children slept on the floor, and outside on the lawn or anywhere they could find room. Fortunately it was summer. About two weeks later daddy came and he borrowed a tent from Seth Hoopes and set it up between Oscar's and Winifred’s places. Later Seth let us move into an adobe house that belonged to him. Daddy tried but he couldn't find a job. He finally went to E1 Paso and got a job from a contractor. He boarded with Sister Olive Stowel until he could save enough money to pay rent for us an apartment. When he sent for us we took the train at Thatcher to Bowie, where we had to change trains for E1 Paso. Apostles David 0. McKay and George A. Smith had been visiting in Thatcher for conference and were returning home on the train to Utah. We rode the same train as far as Bowie. He shook hands with each of the children, and asked their names and did everything he could to be helpful and kind.
We left the three oldest girls in Thatcher to live in a room of President Kimball's home and go to school. Edwin and Joseph got jobs in E1 Paso, Edwin in the White House store and Joseph in Popular Dry Goods Company. While we were living in E1 Paso, Ione was born 30 June 1914.
We felt we should return to our home in Mexico at this time. Many of the colonists had returned, so I took the children and went back to put the children in school. When we got there a Mexican and his family, Cornelio, whom daddy had left in charge of the place, was living in our home and refused to move out.. He claimed that the place had been given to him, and that it belonged to him. We moved into Aunt Ria's until daddy could come down later. He finally came and by then another faction of the insurrectionists had come into Juarez and dad went to the general and explained the situation. He accepted dad's story and told Cornelio he would have to move out. Dad paid him 100 pesos just to make him feel better toward us. We then moved into our own home and the children attended school that winter. Daddy continued to work in E1 Paso that winter before he moved home again.
Two weeks before the family moved back to Mexico, Gladys and Joseph went to Juarez to put up fruit. They lived in Aunt Ria's house and did the fruit canning. After the family came down, Gladys went back to E1 Paso where Sylvia had stayed because she was working and Gladys got work also.
During this time Daddy was still in E1 Paso. Poncho Villa, the Mexican bandit, made a raid across the border into Columbus, New Mexico, and robbed the stores and killed some people. General Pershing was sent by the United States Government to try to overtake and capture this party of bandits. The word came to the colonies that Villa was coming through the mountain to avoid contact with the U.S. Army and that he had vowed to annihilate all the Americans in the colonies. The town was alerted, and guards were posted the night he was expected to come. All were warned to put out their lights so that he would not be guided to the town. For some reason we were not told and knew nothing of all this until the next day. However, Villa did not come through Juarez but did come close to Dublan. The people of Dublan had also been warned to keep lights outs and posted guards. When Villa approached the town and saw all the bright lights it was reported that he and his men saw the town lighted up so brightly they thought it was Pershing's army camped there so skirted the town and went on down to Mexican towns further south. The people always felt the Lord had caused Villa to see the lights and draw this conclusion to protect them:
It was felt Villa might return again at any time so there was a second exodus, to get the people out of his path: We sent Grandma McClellan, Aunt Rhoda, Glenna and Ione to E1 Paso on the train. Gladys had been married in the meantime (Sept. 1914) to Henry Mickelson, and was living in E1 Paso. She and asked for Ione to come stay with her for awhile so that was why Glenna took her out (of Mexico) Daddy and I couldn't decide to leave until the train was gone so we stayed home. Fortunately we were not molested and most of the people who had gone out soon returned.
Many incidents happened that were frightening at this time. Dealings and brushes with the bandits, red flaggers, rebels etc : but always the colonists were protected, and able to escape without harm, There are many incidents of this time given in the book "Colonial Juarez", by Nellie Spilsbury Hatch, so I won't go into detail with this story.
The next year Sylvia came home and went to school, but in the Spring she decided to go to Thatcher, and in June 1916 she married Joseph Claud Foster. She stayed on after her marriage. Ruth was born soon after Sylvia left 14 April 1916.
On September 7, 1917, Hugh Day was born to make our family of 12 children. Along the first part of August in 1921 there was an epidemic of typhoid in our town, and Bertha or Berta; as we called her took it. She went to Pachecho to visit her friend, Mary Johnson. They were using water from a stagnant pool because of the shortage of water. We thought that was where Berta got the fever. She was sick about three weeks. We did everything we could for her but there was no doctor in town. We had only a midwife and nurse to help with her: She finally passed on 30 August 1921, and was buried in Juarez.
Edwin had been in Logan at this time Berta died. He came home a week after her death. While he was at home he received a letter from Box B, calling him on a mission. He had no money and he walked the street trying to decide what to do. He finally said, "Dad, I don't know what to do, I can't go on a mission, I haven’t any money and neither do you." Daddy said, "You go on your mission and take care of that end of it and I will care for this end." Daddy wondered many times how he was going to keep that promise, as he had no job or any promise of any. Only a few days after this, Brother Mecham came over and asked Daddy if he would teach Manual Training in the school half days for $50:00 a month. Dad said, "There's my answer." After paying the tithing, his money was sent to Edwin each month and it kept him on his mission. During the summer when school was out, dad was asked to rebuild the meeting house in Pacheco. He took Joseph with him and they earned enough to pay Edwin's expense during the summer.
While Edwin was traveling in Mexico City he got caught in a heavy rainstorm, in the middle of winter. He took a heavy cold and it developed into Bronchial Pneumonia. He got worse and the Mission President put him in the hospital with a doctor in attendance. He was administered to and in spite of the doctor's treatment he got worse. One of the missionaries, Harold Pratt came out to E1 Paso and from there sent a telegram telling us of Edwin's illness. He also notified the missionaries at headquarters in E1 Paso. Thy held an all day fast and prayer meeting for Edwin. The doctor could see that Edwin was becoming worse and he told the nurse he couldn't last until morning. But the next morning when the doctor came in Edwin was propped up in bed and eating a light breakfast. We all felt that he had been healed by the faith and prayers said in his behalf. He served two years and nine months and then was released to come home.
In 1924 Joseph went to Logan to school. While there he met Tillie Mortensen, who he later made his wife in July 1926.
Soon after he finished high schools, Jasper was called on a mission. He served a Spanish Mission in the United States. He was on this mission about two years. after he returned he went down into Mexico to get work.
In the meantime, Lula had met and married Calvin Croft, on 22 May 1932. They had two children, Mack and Mary and she came down to Mexico on a trip. They brought Rula Price, as a passenger she had been on a Mexican mission and wanted to visit Mexico City. They picked up dad and took him with them, and left Mack with me. While on their trip they visited Jasper and that was when Rula and Jasper first met. They were married on September 3, 1937. Ione married Lamar Taylor on the 22 August 19321 and Ruth married Ashton Longhurst, 17 October 1936.
Sometime after he graduated from high school, Hugh was called on a mission to Mexico City. He served two years. After he came back he met and married Dorothy Bowman on the 3 of May 1944.
After the children left home things went along about the same way from day to day, until the Spring of 1956 and daddy didn't seem to feel very well. In April he was hurt by an animal that crushed him against the manger. He had some ribs broken and was bruised and shaken up. He never really got well after that. About the first of October he had to go to bed, and got gradually worse after that It was decided that he had cancer, and though everything that could be done was dope for him he got steadily worse, until the end came on the 17 April 1957.
After daddy went, I made up my mind to go to Mesa and work in the temple, and arrived there on the 10th of September 1957. I got a little apartment from brother and sister Jarvis across the street from the temple and I have been working there ever since whenever I could, from that time to the present. All my children have been very good to me and have done everything they could to make me comfortable and happy. Edwin is looking after the place and doing my business and since that, I have the money I need to live on. At 85 I am still able to take care of myself and do the Temple work which I enjoy so very much.
P.S. I, Laura Smith, copied this from the story my aunt Bertha told to her daughter-in-law, who wrote it as Aunt Bertha dictated it to her, while she was staying with her son, Joseph, in Thatcher, Arizona. I loved aunt Bertha very much, and was quite close to her. She was such a wonderful woman and did so much good in this old world. She was interested in Genealogical work. She gave us quite a bit of money for research work, and her children helped a lot, especially Glenna and Hugh and Ione. She has written me so many letters especially since my mother passed on. We go to see her every time we go to Mesa, but will see her no more. She came to see me with Lizzie Crandall last February 1962, while I was in bed at Ne11o's ( my son's place), after I got out of the hospital in Boulder City with a broken leg in cast, which we got in a car accident going over an embankment down a canyon: Well, she sat by my bed a long time and showed me her bad leg, and talked a long time. I didn't know then that would be the last time I would see her here on this earth. I couldn't go to her funeral. She does have a wonderful family and we all loved Aunt Bertha.
Laura Smith, June 16, 1962 Pima, Arizona
PERSONALITY PORTRAITS
By: Jac
Joe McClellan is a carpenter who knows how to get the most out of a saw. Not only does he use it to saw his boards for cabinet making; but he makes music with it.
Yes music--it sounds the same as a violin. In fact Mr. McClellan draws the enchanting strains from his saw with a violin bow. He can Also do it with a wooden mallet or cello bow.
The art intrigued him the first time he ever saw it done. This was when he was a young man attending Agricultural College at Logan, Utah. There was a priesthood social for young Mormons, and someone demonstrated the playing of the saw. McClellan hurried back to his room and gave it A try--he had some musical knowledge from playing the trombone in high school and sure enough, the sound resembled a tune.
Joe could hardly wait for a very special person. He played it for her and all the while Tillie Mortensen said, "My goodness! What is it?" She later became Mrs. McClellan; for forty years now she has accompanied him as he plays at Church socials, school parties, Boy Scout gatherings, wedding receptions and just about anywhere they gather to have fun.
One of their five children, Dennis, is on a mission in Argentina for the L.D.S. Church and has also learned a little about playing this unique instrument. His mother says he has a lot of practicing to do yet.
McClellan said slow music brings the best results from his carpenter hand saw. Among the type of music he enjoys most is Hawaiian; but his very favorite tune is "Danny Boy". Friday Jan. 25, 1963 Click on Danny Boy to hear Judy Garland sing it for you. If these words are not the ones you remember, then please let us know where to obtain them. Send e-mail to Gary Foster
THATCHER, ARIZONA: Funeral service for Mr. Joseph Ether McClellan, 77, were conducted at 10 a.m. July 29 in the Thatcher First Ward Chapel of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with Bishop Ladd Mullenaux officiating. He died July 16, 1980 in the Mt. View Nursing Center.
Organist for the service was Ann Woods and chorister Gena Noake. Opening hymn done by the Relief Society Chorus was "Sometime We’ll Understand." The prayer was read by Refugio Ochoa, followed by an organ medley consisting of "Perfect Day," "Danny boy" and "Somewhere My Love."
Elden Palmer gave the life story and a male quartet, composed of Gary Clawson, Vick Steward, David Player and Lawrence Maloy, sang "Going Home." The sermon was by Kenyon Udall. The closing hymn, presented by the Relief Society Chorus was "Peace I Leave With You," and the closing prayer was by Cory Mullenaux. Interment followed in the Thatcher cemetery, with Dennis McClellan, giving the dedicatory prayer. Casketbearers were: Eddie, Dennis, Jasper and Steven McClellan, Cory Mullenaux and Gene Prock. Honorary bearers were: Borge Anderson, Kenneth Blain, Eddie Williams, Lamar Taylor and Hugh McClellan.
McClellan was born Sept. 28, 1902 in Colonia Juarez, Mexico, the son of Samuel Edwin and Bertha Maria Lewis McClellan. He grew up and received his schooling in Mexico, graduated in 1920 from the Juarez Stake Academy, then attended agricultural college at Logan, Utah in 1924. He then attended the Gila Academy at Thatcher during 1925-26. He married Mary Matilda Mortensen on July 19, 1926 and they established a home in Thatcher. He began a career as a carpenter, doing both finished carpentry and cabinet-making, having worked for nearly every contractor in the Gila Valley. He was active in the LDS Church, having held various positions and serving a Stake mission.
He is survived by his wife, Tillie McClellan of Thatcher: three daughters, Josephine Whittaker, Penryn, Calif., Lola Williams, Beaverton, Ore., and Sylvia Mullenaux, Sedona; two sons, Eddie of Prescott and Dennis of Tempe; six sisters, Sylvia Foster of Prescott, Gladys Mickelson, Glendale, Calif., Lula Craft, Rem, Utah, Ione Taylor, El Paso, Ruth Longhurst, Colonia Dublan, Mexico. Cecil Bollschweiler, Washington, Utah; two brothers, Jasper of Colonia Dublan, Mexico, and Hugh of Salt Lake City; and 22 grandchildren.