biographies & obituaries
A THROUGH G
- A. FRED ANDERSON. A. Fred Anderson is a farmer and also
the secretary of the Standard Horse & Mule Company of
Grantsville. These connections indicate the breadth and extent
of his business interests, which place him with the leading
and substantial citizens of his section of the state. He is a
native son of Tooele county, his birth having occurred at
Grantsville, March 27, 1872, his parents being Andrew and Anna
(Okerberry) Anderson, who were natives of Sweden. They became
residents of Utah in 1865 and the father here followed the
occupation of farming. He was an earnest Christian man, active
in the work of the church, and in every relation of life he
commanded the respect and confidence of those with whom he was
associated. He had a family of ten children: Charlotte, Alfred
F., Ella, Angeline. A. Fred. Joseph R., Parley T., Ethel,
Clarence, and Harold. Charlotte, Ella and Joseph R. have
passed away.
A. Fred Anderson pursued a common school education at Grantsville and afterward had the benefit of a year's study in the Brigham Young College at Logan, while for one year he was a student in the University of Utah and also advanced his education through study under the direction of the International Correspondence School, taking a course in chemistry. He has thus been well qualified for life's practical and responsible duties by a liberal education. In 1907 he went upon a mission to Sweden, remaining in that country for two years. An active business career has brought him many experiences. He was with the Albert Dickinson Company of Chicago for a period of six years, engaged in buying seeds, alfalfa, clover, timothy, etc., in Utah and Idaho. Since leaving the Dickinson Company he has been engaged in farming and cattle raising and in 1918 he sold a large farm, retaining only fifty acres. He devotes some time to work at Burmester for the Salt Lake Chemical Company, being employed by that corporation as an electrician. He is also the secretary of the Standard Horse & Mule Company.
On February 19, 1896. Mr. Anderson was married to Miss Helen Wrathall and they have become the parents of eight children. Lucile, the eldest, is the wife of Gordon W. Clark, a brother of J. Reuben Clark, who is in General Crowder's command. He served in the Medical Corps of the United States army and is now in France. Lucile is a graduate of the high school of Grantsville and has pursued summer-school work in the University of Utah. Rhea, also a high school graduate, is teaching at Lake Point Tooele county. Sterling and Varlan are high school pupils. Louise and Eva are at tending the graded schools and Helen and Winifred complete the family. Mr. Anderson is a member of the Seventy and was secretary of the Elders Quorum for several years. He has always been an active worker for the church, doing every thing in his power to promote its growth and extend its influence. His political alleg iance is given to the republican party and he has served as deputy county assessor, also as a member of the city council of Grantsville and was federal sheep inspector for three years, while for five years he occupied the position of state sheep inspector, doing excellent work in that connection, his labors constituting an important foundation element in the live stock and agricultural development of the state.
~Source: Utah Since Statehood: Historical and Biographical, Volume 2, by Noble Warrum, 1919 - GUSTAVE ANDERSON. Gustave Anderson has a notable record of
public service, having for nearly twenty years been a member
of the city council, while for four terms he was mayor of
Grantsville. He has also made for himself a substantial
position in business circles as a farmer and sheepman and
through his connection with commercial and financial interests
of this section of the state. He was born January 5, 1850, in
Sweden, a son of Anders and Kajsa Anderson. He came from his
native country to the new world in 1862 with the Captain Horne
Company. The family established their home at Grantsville,
where his father became actively interested in farming.
Gustave Anderson was reared upon the homestead farm and early
became familiar with all the duties and labors incident to the
cultivation of the crops. He obtained but a meager education
in the schools but was a close student of nature and has been
a wide reader and has kept abreast with the times, so that
reading and experience have made him a well informed man. In
the early part of his life he herded sheep. As the years have
passed his carefully directed business affairs have brought to
him a measure of success that is gratify ing. He is today the
owner of large flocks and he has been one of the stockholders
in the Richvllle Milling Company and also a director of the
Cooperative Store. He is now a stockholder in the Tooele
County State Bank and has served on its board of directors.
His success achieved in former years now enables him largely
to live retired, enjoying the fruits of his previous toil.
In 1873 Mr. Anderson was united in marriage to Miss Emily J. Hunter. To them were born eight children. Gustavt Edward, who was on a mission to Boston, Massachusetts, from 1900 until 1902 and is a farmer now living in Grantsville, married Vinnie A. Clark, a daughter of W. J. Clark, and to them have been born four children: Hazel, Florence, Marjorie and Joseph. William H., the second of the family and a representative farmer of Grantsville, married Lillian Halladay and has six children: Gwendolyn, Wesley, Frank, Emily, Mary and Dorothy. William H. Anderson has also served on a mission, being sent to the northwestern states. Jennis resides at home with her father and served on a mission to the northern states for two years. Ethel M. is the wife of George Sidney Clark, son of W. J. Clark, mentioned elsewhere in this volume, and they have four children: Bernice, Pratt, Saul and Claude. Lewis E. married Bertha Shelby and their children are four in number: Camille, Irene, Beatrice and Lynn. George N. lives on a ranch in the Rush valley in Tooele county. Sarah V. is a teacher of music in the Grantsville schools. Mira Magdaline is the wife of Kimball Young, a grandson of Brigham Young and a teacher in the Latter-day Saints College of Salt Lake. They have one child, Helen. Mrs. Anderson passed away in 1911, her death being the occasion of deep regret not only to her immediate family but also to many friends.
In the work of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Mr. Anderson has taken a helpful part. He has served as first and second counselor to the bishop of his ward and also as high priest. From 1882 until 1884 he was on a mission in Sweden. In community affairs he has also taken a deep and helpful interest, giving his political allegiance to the republican party, which has on many occasions elected him to public office. He served for nearly twenty years as a member of the city council, exercising his official prerogatives in support of various plans and measures for the public good, and for four terms he was mayor of Grantsville, giving to the city a progressive administration. He has witnessed the transformation of Tooele county from a wild and barren waste into a prosperous locality and has borne his full share in the work of upbuilding and development.
~Source: Utah Since Statehood: Historical and Biographical, Volume 2, by Noble Warrum, 1919 - OWEN H. BARRUS. The history of Owen H. Barrus is closely
interwoven with the annals of Grantsville and Tooele county.
He has been connected with the development of the agricultural
resources of this section of the state and he has also figured
prominently in connection with public affairs as a member of
the board of county commissioners and as mayor of Grantsville.
He was born December 28, 1853, in the city which is still his
home, his parents being Emery and Huldah Abigail (Nickerson)
Barrus. The Barrus family has been represented in America
since the early part of the seventeenth century, the first of
the name coming to the new world with the early colonization
of New England. Ebenezer Barrus was born in Attleboro,
Massachusetts, about 1682 and was a representative of one of
the earlier generations of the family in the new world. The
grandmother of Mr. Barrus of this review was a member of the
Stebbins family, long connected with the history of New
England. The first of that family in America was Rowland
Stebbins. who came to the new world about 1634. . The earliest
mention of the Stebbins family in England is found in the
Doomsday Book at about the date 1080 A. D. and they are
believed to be of the same family as mentioned in King
Alfred's Doomsday Book, compiled in 900 A. D. It was in the
year 1853 that Emery Barrus, father of Owen H. Barrus, came to
Utah, casting in his lot with the pioneer settlers of this
section of the country. He was born in Chautauqua county, New
York. April 8, 1809, and made the journey across the plains to
Utah with the Appleton Harmon company.
Owen H. Barrus acquired a common school education while
spending his youth ful days under the parental roof. He was
early trained to habits of industry and economy and early
learned to correctly judge of the values of life and its
opportunities. He was married to Miss Olive Deseret McBride, a
daughter of James and Marlon (Ridden) McBride, pioneer
settlers of this state, her father being one of the founders
of Grantsville, to which place he removed in 1849. To Owen H.
and Olive (McBride) Barrus were born six children. Owen L.,
the eldest, married Maud Cook, a native of England, and they
now reside in Burley, Idaho. They have three living children,
Myrtle, Hamilton and Ross. George William, the second of the
family, born in Grantsville, wedded Maud Jibon and they reside
in Salt Lake City with their family of five children, Leola,
Olive. Brant, Ula and Edward Max. Henry Francis died when
three years of age at Deep Creek, Tooele county, Utah. Bertie
married Tina Rydalch, of Grantsville, where they make their
home and are rearing their three children, Verlan, Alma and
Woodrow. Nellie is the wife of Frank Smith, of Grantsville,
and they have two children, Frankie and Ross. Edna is the wife
of Eugene Anderson, of Grantsville, where they make their
home, and they have three children. Amy, Junius and Marion.
For his second wife Mr. Barrus chose Mary Ann Hunter, a
daughter of Bishop Edward Hunter, who was a nephew of Bishop
Hunter, prominent in the church in the early days of Salt Lake
City. Her father was born March 29, 1821, at Newton, Delaware
county, Pennsylvania, and came of Quaker ancestry. He removed
to Utah in 1847 and was a member of the Mormon Battalion. His
second wife Martha Hyde, the mother ot Mrs. Barrus, was born
in Adams county, Illinois, a daughter of Rosel and Mary Ann
(Cowles) Hyde. She came to Utah with her parents in 1849 and
was reared in Sugar House ward of Salt Lake City. Mrs. Barrus'
father was for eleven years bishop of Grantsvillc and was not
only very prominent in the work of the church but a most
influential and honored citizen who exerted a most beneficial
influence over public thought and action. Mrs. Barrus was the
sixth in order of birth in a family of eleven children born of
her father's second marriage. These were: Rosel H., Louisa,
Heman. Ida, Davis, George Albert, deceased, Mrs. Barrus.
Edward, Edna, Martha and J. Austin. The mother is still living
at the advanced age of seventy-eight years, mak ing her home
at Grantsville. and she has seventy-eight grandchildren and
fifty great grandchildren. She also adopted an Indian girl,
whom she reared with her children and who passed away at the
age of 'twenty-five years. The girl's father and mother died
and other Indians sold the child for a blanket, which Mrs.
Hunter gave for the little one. To the second marriage of Mr.
Barrus were born ten children. Edward Hunter, the eldest, who
enlisted September 19, 1917, in the United States army,
becoming a member of the Three Hundred and Sixty-second
Infantry of the Ninety-first Division, was killed in action in
France September 29, 1918, while participating in the
never-to-be-forgotten battle in the Argonne forest, where, in
the face of an unceasing rain of machine gun bullets, the
American troops advanced and aided in turning the tide of
battle, thus causing the retreat of the Germans, who were then
kept on the march toward their own country until the armistice
was signed. Edith, the second of the family, became the wife
of Samuel Dew, a resident of Tooele, and they have one child,
Deloris. Arthur enlisted in the marine service at Mare Island,
being a member of the army from November, 1918, until March,
1919, and he is now on a mission in the northwestern states.
Esther and Amy are at home. Leah is a high school pupil.
Austin and Wesley are pupils in the graded schools of
Grantsville. and Marvin and Ralph complete the family.
The activities of Owen H. Barrus have been of a most varied character and have contributed in substantial measure to the development and progress of the community in which he lives. He has been the secretary and treasurer of the South Willow Irrigation Company and has also been water master for that company. His time and energies are devoted to general agricultural pursuits and upon his place he has a full equipment of farm tools and machinery, including modern appliance that assists in the development of a farm according to the progressive methods of the twentieth century. There are good farm buildings and his home is situated only a half mile east of the postoffice at Grantsville. Upon the place he has artesian wells for supply ing all domestic needs and everything about the farm indicates the practical and progressive spirit of tlie owner. He makes a specialty of raising sugar beets and is equally successful In the production of other crops. While a most successful and enterprising business man, farming represents but one phase of the activities of Mr. Barrus, however. He is interested in all that pertains to the welfare and progress ot the community in which he makes his home and also in everything that pertains to the upbuilding of the state. He has adhered to the faith of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and went on a mission to Deep Creek, Utah, spending six and one-half years in teaching the Indians. This covered the period from 1883 until 1890 and he had his family with him when residing in that district. In 1906 he went on a mission to the eastern states, which occupied him for two years, during which time his headquarters were at Albany, New York. He has served as a member of the high council of the stake, as assistant superintendent of the Sunday school and now holds the office of high priest. His political allegiance is given to the democratic party and his fellow townsmen, appreciative of his worth and ability, have called him to various public offices. He is serving as county commissioner, being Fleeted in 1916, has also been mayor of Grantsville, and for several terms was a member of the city council. He has likewise been trustee of the school board for a number of years, and the cause of education has ever found in him a stalwart champion whose efforts in its behalf have been far-reaching and resultant. Both he and his wife are representatives not only of prominent and honored families of Utah but of New England as well.
~Source: Utah Since Statehood: Historical and Biographical, Volume 2, by Noble Warrum, 1919 - BISHOP ISRAEL BENNION. No history of Tooele county would
be complete and satisfactory were there fail ure to make
extended reference to Bishop Israel Bennion, who for many
years has been closely associated with the development and
upbuilding of this section of the state. He is one of the most
prominent and progressive agriculturists of the district and
he has long been an acknowledged supporter of all those
interests and activities which are of worth and benefit to the
community and to the individual. He is one of the oldest
bishops in Tooele county and has ever been untiring in his
labors to advance the interests of the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints. At the same time he has followed the
most progressive methods in his farm work and is today engaged
extensively and successfully not only in general farming but
also in the raising of very high grade cattle.
Mr. Bennion was born in Taylorsville, Salt Lake county, June 2, 1860, a son of John and Esther (Birch) Bennion, the former a native of Wales, while the latter was born in England. They came to America in 1847 and made their way at once to Utah. Settlement was made at Taylorsville and there the father lived and died but was the owner of a large ranch in Tooele county upon which his son Israel now resides. The father was bishop of Long valley, in Lincoln county, Nevada, in 1869, but after be ing there a short time, Indian troubles caused the abandonment of the settlement.
Israel Bennion acquired a common school education and afterward spent one year as a student in the University of Deseret. He was reared to ranch life anfl after reach ing man's estate concentrated his efforts and attention upon ranching and farming at Benmore and in Castle valley. He is today the owner of twenty-two hundred acres of land at Benmore, mostly devoted to dry farming. For two years he has occupied his present home and has erected a good residence and substantial barn upon his place. His farm is supplied with all modern equipments and accessories, including a seventy- five horse power Caterpillar tractor. He raises cattle, feeding all of the crops which he produces. He makes a specialty of thoroughbred Hereford cattle, feeding one hundred and fifty head in the winter, and it is his purpose to raise only full blooded stock to sell for fancy prices. He has a well twenty-five feet deep which pumps seventy-five gallons per minute continuously. He is digging another well ninety feet long, four feet wide and twenty-five feet deep, which will pump two hundred and fifty gallons per minute. This experimental well is something new in the way of digging wells. In his farm work and business affairs he has ever been actuated by a most progressive spirit. For many years he lived upon the place now occupied by N. Parley Jensen and he put all of the improvements upon that place, including good buildings of all kinds necessary for the shelter of grain and stock, and likewise erected a brick residence there. He is actuated in all that he does by a spirit of determination and enterprise and has set the standard for agricultural development in his section of the state.
In 1884 Mr. Bennion was united in marriage to Miss Jeannette Sharp, who was born in Salt Lake, a daughter of Adam Sharp, a pioneer of Salt Lake, who was a quarryman in the early days and afterward engaged in ranching at Vernon. Mr. and Mrs. Bennion became the parents of the following children. Jean, the eldest daughter, is at home and is the mainstay of the house and of the community. Mervyn is a lieu tenant commander in the navy on the battleship New Mexico. He went to Annapolis in 1906, was graduated from the naval academy there in 1910 as midshipman and is now demobilizing army war contracts. Howard is a lieutenant colonel in the Engineers Corps in France. During the war he was chief of the camouflage section of the United States forces abroad. He is a graduate of the West Point Military Academy of the class of 1912. He was graduated No. 1 and was captain of an Engineers Corps in the Philip pine islduus before America entered the war. Glynn, who was exempt from military service on account of his agricultural work, married Lucile Cannon, a daughter of George M. Cannon, and they have one child, Colin. Glynn Bennion is engaged in farm ing at Benmore and is handling about four thousand acres of farm and ranch land, giv ing his attention to dry farming and to the raising of cattle. Kenneth, now at home, was in France with the One Hundred and Sixteenth Ammunition Train as a wagoner, being connected with the army from November 3, 1917, until March 13, 1918. Lowell was a member of the Students' Army Training Corps at the University of Utah. Muriel was the last of the children of Mr. Bennion's first marriage. In 1888 he was again married, his second union being with Matilda Pierson, a native of Vernon, by whom he has four children, namely: Angus, Rulon, who was a member of the Students' Army Training Corps at the University of Utah; Judith; and Ruth. All reside with their mother on the farm at Vernon.
Mr. Bennion has been very active in the work of the church and served as bishop at Vernon from 1900 until 1915. He is now bishop at Benmore, which was formerly part of the Vernon district. The church at Benmore was built in 1915. Since 1893 Mr. Ben nion has been patriarch in Tooele stake. His children are also active in the church, Glynn being choir leader, Muriel organist, while Lowell is ward clerk at Benmore and Angus is ward clerk at Vernon. Mr. Bennion is one of the oldest bishops of Tooele county, both in age and in years of service. His political allegiance is given to the democratic party. His sterling worth, his fidelity to principle, his unfaltering enter prise in business and his devotion to all that he believes to be right are the marked characteristics that have made him numbered among the honored and esteemed citi zens of Tooele county, . where the greater part of his life has been passed. He is a brother of Harden Bennion, the present secretary of state of Utah.
~Source: Utah Since Statehood: Historical and Biographical, Volume 2, by Noble Warrum, 1919 - BISHOP RICHARD NELSON BUSH. Richard Nelson Bush, bishop of
the Clover ward, Tooele stake, in Tooele county, Utah, has
been prominently identified with events which have had much to
do with shaping the history of the state for many years,
contributing to its material, intellectual and moral progress.
He is a representative business man, a reliable citizen and a
most active and faithful worker for the upbuilding of the
church. Born at Farmington, Utah, August 2, 1850, he is a son
of Richard and Maria (Pettit) Bush. His father was a member of
the Mormon Battalion and was born in Ulster county. New York,
March 2, 1826, his parents being John M. and Jane (Osterhoudt)
Bush. Richard Bush re mained under the parental roof to the
age of fifteen years, when he entered upon an apprenticeship
to learn a trade, but this proved utterly uncongenial to him
and in order to escape these conditions he left home. He
became a convert to the faith of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints and about the year 1841 was baptized. He
then made his way westward to Nauvoo, Illinois, where he
worked on the farm of the Prophet Joseph Smith. He later took
part in the exodus from Nauvoo and on his arrival at the
Missouri river enlisted as a member of the Mormon Battalion
and marched with that famous body of men to Santa Fe, and then
joined the cavalry and went on to California, where he was
discharged in 1848. He was at Sutter's Mill when gold was
first discovered in California in January, 1848. Later, having
joined his people at Salt Lake City, Utah, he there met Maria
Pettit, whom he married on the 10th of May, 1849, and they
became the parents of three children, Richard Nelson; John P.;
and Ellen E., who died in early childhood. It was through his
own persistency of purpose and lix? defatigable energy that
Richard Bush acquired the competence that blessed his labors.
He became the owner of considerable property in Utah and
passed away in Salt Lake City, June 21, 1883, when fifty-seven
years of age.
The son, Richard Nelson Bush, was but twelve years of age when his mother died. The father was a partial invalid, so that it was necessary that the boy should provide for his own support. He had limited educational opportunities but made the best pos sible use of every advantage that came to him. In 1865 he drove a four horse team from Salt Lake to Los Angeles and then a six horse team from Los Angeles to Salt Lake City, the trip being a very hazardous one, for travelers along that route were in constant danger from Indians. On one occasion, while herding the horses at night, he and his traveling companions were attacked by a band of Indians, and although no lives were lost, two of the animals were killed by poisoned arrows. The period of his boyhood and youth brought him many experiences which were common to the frontier. Later in life he worked for President Brigham Young and subsequently assisted in building the Union Pacific Railroad through Wyoming. In 1868 he drove a large herd of cattle belonging to his uncle, Lorenzo Pettit, to Tooele county, Utah, for winter pas turage and spent his time in the care of the herds as a cowboy.
It was at Tooele, on the 31st of October, 1870, that Mr. Bush married Miss Hannah Maria Green, who was born at Newport, Monmouthshire, Wales, August 3, 1850, a daughter of Richard W. and Ann (Phillips) Green. She emigrated to America with her mother in 1853, crossing the Atlantic on the sailing vessel Martha Whitmore, her father having sailed with the three other children on the ship International in February, 1853. After residing in Missouri, Iowa and Nebraska, she emigrated to Utah in 1862, cross September 22, 1862. She located at Shambip, now Clover, and there became acquainted with Mr. Bush, their marriage being celebrated October 31, 1870.
Following his marriage Mr. Bush began to acquire land and devoted his attention to the occupation of farming and stock raising. In 1884 he drove a team to Phoenix, Arizona, to visit his brother, John P. Bush, and while on the way fell in with a com pany of emigrants, who made him their captain. For a year he remained in Arizona, during which time he was employed by the United States government in carrying mail, on tours of exploration and in various other ways. During one of these trips he was ordered by the commander to take a young lady school teacher from Fort McDowell to the Tonto basin, through the Mezetelle mountains, where they were belated. Having missed the station, they camped out all night The next morning upon investigation they discovered that all the people of the station, including the cowboys, had recently been killed and they saw the graves of the dead where they had been buried by com rades. Returning to his post and reporting to his commander, Mr. Bush was informed that he was the first white man to make that trip with a wagon without an escort of troops. Thus on various occasions he faced dangers as well as hardships. On several occasions he had narrow escapes from drowning and there is no phase of pioneer life with which he is not thoroughly familiar.
Returning from Arizona to his home in Utah, Mr. Bush also visited California but maintained his residence in Clover, Tooele county, where he served as constable for a period of thirty years. He also held the office of school trustee for nearly forty years and acted as registration agent. In November, 1914, he was elected county commis sioner of Tooele county for a four years' term and thus he has taken active and helpful part in promoting the welfare of the community in which he has lived. He continues the owner of excellent farm and ranch property in this section of the state, giving his attention to agricultural pursuits and stock raising, in which he is meeting with ex cellent success.
The children of Mr. and Mrs. Bush are as follows. Richard Randolph was born March 27, 1872. Charles Clarence was born July 5, 1873, and was married December 8, 1897, to Martha M. Isgreen, by whom he had eight children: Charles E., deceasd, Marvin E., Emily L., Anna F., Richard A., Clarence C., Martha H. and William Sterling. John Wesley, born March 5, 1875, was married March 3, 1897, to Hannah Spence and their children are: Wesley M., who was married June 19, 1919, to Violet Cheshire, of Black foot, the ceremony being performed by his grandfather. Bishop Bush; and Janet R., who married Earl Bush, no relation, and they have one child, Virginia. Daniel Donovan, born October 17. 1876. was married December 31, 1899, to Ada Rice, from whom he afterward secured a legal separation, and in June, 1908, married Naomi Petti- grew, whom he later divorced, and married Alice Anderson. To them have been born two children, Donovan D. and Dean. The children of the first marriage were John Rice, deceased, William R. and Roscoe R. Marinus Marion, born April 11, 1878, was married June 18. 1902, to Mary Ann Arthur and their children are Gladys G., Lillian B., Marinus A., Mary Ann, John A., Beatrice, Loa and Alice. Hannah Rosamond, born December 25, 1880, married Thomas G. Steele on the 1st of October, 1902, and their children are Lynn E., Thomas A., Stanley V., Ethel S. and Max L. Lorenzo Lionel, born May 29, 1883, was married June 15, 1909, to Jessie Dunn and they have six children: Alice M., Lionel J., Wanda J., Fern, Wesley A. and Charles V. Laurel Lillian, born June 3, 1886, was married December 19, 1906, to John E. Isgreen and their children are Edward E., Richard T., Ralph K., Arnold T. and June. Edwin Earl, born May 15, 1888, was married October 6, 1905, to Rachel Lythgoe Dearden and their children are Lllla E., R. N., Earla R., and Stephen, deceased. The youngest of the family, Ivor Walter, was born September 25, 1896, and died at birth.
In early manhood Mr. Bush was ordained to several positions in the priesthood and labored faithfully under the direction of Bishops George W. Burridge, John I. Child and Francis De St. Jeor. On the 1st of January, 1913, he was ordained a bishop by i Francis M. Lyman and set apart to preside over the Clover ward. His family, reared in the faifh of the church, have also taken active part in its work. Four of his sons have gone on missions to foreign lands, Charles C., Marinus M. and Edwin Earl having served on missions to Hawaii, while Lorenzo L. was sent to Australia. Mrs. Bush has also been most active in the work of the church, serving as president of the Clover Ward Primary Association for four years, as secretary of the Ward Relief Society for ten years and since February, 1914, as president of the Relief Society.
Such in brief is the history of Richard Nelson Bush, a man whose active and well spent life has been of great benefit to the communities in which he has lived. He is now serving for the second term as county commissioner, having been reelected in 1918 for another four year period and was unanimously selected as chairman. Today the owner of one thousand acres of land, he has placed good improvements upon it, also all kinds of small fruit and has planted nearly three hundred acres to winter wheat. The place is pleasantly and conveniently located a mile west of Clover postoffice and he certainly deserves the material success which has come to him by reason of an upright life and devotion to the welfare and upbuilding of the community in which he makes his home.
~Source: Utah Since Statehood: Historical and Biographical, Volume 2, by Noble Warrum, 1919 - PAUL DROUBAY. The student of history cannot carry his
investigations far into the records of Tooele county without
learning what an important and helpful part has been borne in
the work of upbuildine and development by those who bore the
name of Droubay. Such is the record of Paul Droubay, who is
one of the most extensive sheep raisers and leading farmers of
the state. His home is at Erda, and he is the owner of
valuable farm property in Tooele county, while his extensive
flocks give him rank with the most capable and successful
sheepmen of Utah.
Mr. Droubay was born at Cambrai, in the north of France,
January 28, 1862, a son of Peter A. and Josephine (Blondiaux)
Droubay, who became residents of Utah in 1864. After a year
spent in Salt Lake City they removed to Buena Vista, where
they lived for three years, and then took up their abode at
what is now Lincoln, remain ing at that place for seven years.
Their next removal took them to Erda, where their son Paul now
resides. The father was a farmer and sheepman, active and
energetic in business, possessing sound judgment and
indefatigable enterprise. He passed away in the year 1883, and
in his death the community lost a valued and representative
citi zen. He had served as justice of the peace for a number
of years and his decisions were strictly fair and impartial.
He also enjoyed the reputation of being the fastest longhand
writer in the state. He was the first man to raise alfalfa in
Tooele county and he also raised fall wheat, securing the seed
originally from France. This is known as Droubay wheat and is
now extensively cultivated throughout Utah. Thus it was that
Peter A. Droubay initiated many movements which have been of
material benefit to the state along the line of its upbuilding
and advancement.
Paul Droubay had little opportunity of attending school but has always possessed an observing eye and retentive memory and has thus added greatly to his knowledge as the years have gone by. After his father's death, which occurred when Paul Drou bay was but twenty-one years of age, he" took charge of his father's business interests and has since been prominently known as an extensive farmer and sheepman. He is today the owner of seven thousand head of sheep and in Tooele county he has twelve hundred acres of land devoted to dry farming. In addition he owns a sheep range in Summit and Morgan counties of Utah of eighteen thousand acres and has altogether three thousand acres where he lives in Erda. He irrigates about fifty acres of his land and has raised as hieh as eight thousand bushels of wheat in a single season. His sheep raising interests have placed him in a position of leadership among the representatives of the sheep industry in Utah. He owns a sheep-shearing plant and a corral, and the plant is thoroughly modern in every particular. He shears upwards of forty thousand head of sheep upon his place each season. His plant is valued at seven thou sand dollars and is one of the best and most modern plants of the kind in the state. In 1910 Mr. Droubay erected a fine modern brick residence upon his place. It is two stories in height and is supplied with the latest improved comforts and conveniences.
In 1886 Mr. Droubay was united in marriage to Miss Harriet F. Rowberry, a daugh ter of Bishop John and Harriet (Gallaher) Rowberry, of Tooele. They have five chil dren who are still living, while six of their children reached adult age. Corina is the wife of Ellis P. Lowe, a farmer and fruit raiser living at Willard, Utah, and they have four children: Alma, Paul, Peter and Helen. Parley, who lives near his father and is associated with him in business, married Lola McEchern and they have two children, Dorothy and Margaret. Elma Belle is the wife of George S. Nelson, living at Ovid, Idaho, where he is engaged in farming, and their two children are Clinton and Nedra. John R., who served four months in the United States army and was honorably dis charged in 1918, and Donald P. are at home. The eldest son, Leonidas R., was married and resided at Erda until his death, which resulted from an attack of influenza in the fall of 1918, at the age of 19. He was on a mission of about one year in the western states with office at Denver, but returned on account of illness. The son Parley spent one year in the Agricultural College at Logan and all of the other sons are high school graduates.
Mr. Droubay has always been a stalwart supporter of republican principles and was one of the first county commissioners of Toolele to be elected on the republican ticket. He filled that office in 1893-4. He is much interested in politics and does every thing in his power to promote the success of the party, but private business affairs preclude the possibility of his taking as active a part in political interests as he would like. He is a deep thinking, far-seeing man who holds many original ideas and whose opinions are formed as the result of close study and experience of times and condi tions. He never hesitates to express his honest opinion, and his position upon any vital question is never an equivocal one. He will sacrifice popularity to honesty at any time and ever stands loyally by his principles, so that if others differ from him in opin ion they always entertain the highest respect for the integrity of his course. He belongs to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and is one of the elders in his dis trict. People have learned to know that what Paul Droubay says he will do — that he will back his utterances by his acts — and no one questions his integrity nor his fidel ity to the principles which he espouses.
~Source: Utah Since Statehood: Historical and Biographical, Volume 2, by Noble Warrum, 1919 - PETER A. DROUBAY. One of the widely known business men of
Utah was the late Peter A. Droubay, who in most substantial
measure contributed to the development and upbuilding of the
state. His labors were of a most practical character. He
demonstrated what could be accom plished in the reclamation of
the western desert and the wild canyons for the uses of
civilization. He was one of the first, if not the first to
demonstrate the possibility of raising winter wheat and also
of raising alfalfa in Utah, and in these directions as well as
in many others the state is greatly indebted to him. Mr.
Droubay was a native «f France. He was born in the Village of
Wallencourt, September 25, 1855, and was a boy of but nine
years when his parents came to the United States, crossing the
plains with an ox-cart train of immigrants. They arrived in
Utah on the 27th of October, 1864, and their first camp in
Salt Lake was on the public square where the City & County
building now stands. The boy Peter walked the entire distance
from Council Bluffs, Iowa, for the wagon used by his parents
was also utilized by two other families. The Droubay family
settled first at Granger and in 1867 removed to Lincoln,
Tooele county.
Peter A. Droubay remained at home with his parents until he
reached the age of twenty-two, when he was married, and with
practically no capital save his energy and determination he
located on a ranch and success came to him from the first. His
inde fatigable industry and energy overcame all difficulties
and obstacles. He early displayed rare business acumen, keen
foresight and business courage of high order. His property
holdings rapidly increased and in time he became the owner of
a large ranch of twenty- five hundred acres, all fenced and
improved and stocked with cattle and horses. It was also
equipped with flsh ponds and none of the accessories of the
model farm property was lack ing upon his place. He possessed
that laudable ambition which could never be content with
present accomplishment but must reach out into other and
broader fields and, moreover, his labors were ever of a
character that contributed in very large and sub stantial
manner to the upbuilding of the districts in which he
operated. He established, in 1888, a mercantile business in
Tooele which, like his ranching interests, grew steadily from
its inception until it became known as the best store in
Tooele county. Mr. Drou- bay continued actively in mercantile
interests at Tooele until 1906, when he retired and turned the
management of the store over to his sons. He then removed to
Salt Lake, where he had large property interests as well as in
Tooele county, and there devoted his attention to the
management of these. He was seldom, if ever, at fault in
matters of business judgment and his keen sagacity and clear
discernment enabled him to take advantage of conditions and
opportunities which others passed heedless by.
Mr. Droubay was married first to Hannah B. Gollaher, who died in 1907, the mother of the following children: Peter G.; Oscar A.; Luella, who is wife of William Hardy; Roscoe C.; Elise, wife of Joseph W. Silver; and C. Edson. Mr. Droubay was married second, in 1908, to Mrs. Martha J. (Dunn) Bramet, widow of Frank Bramet and daugh ter of Joseph M. and Susannah E. (White) Dunn. By her first marriage she is mother of two children, Edith Madeline and George M. Bramet. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Droubay are John W., Marcus McKinley, Beatrice, Virginia H. and Cynthia.
In his political views Mr. Droubay was a republican on national issues and stood high in the councils of his party in the state, but locally he maintained an independent course, voting for the men whom he considered best qualified for office regardless of party ties. He always took a deep interest in civic affairs and readily supported every meas ure for the public good. His sudden death, which occurred June 16, 1914, came as a great shock to a very wide circle of friends. Death often removes from our midst those whom we can ill afford to lose and such was the case when Peter A. Droubay passed on. A writer has said of him: "He accomplished much with little and demonstrated what a good mind with energy and will power could do in a few years. The fact is given that he put up more houses, made more ditches, built more fences and bridges by his own efforts (and besides worked in canyons, in mines and on railroads) than any other-man in Tooele." Not only did he accomplish marvelous things in a business way but he also had the reputation of being the fastest longhand writer in the state. In business he seemed to make no false moves but readily discriminated between the essential and the non-essential. He was a man of strong natural intellect and his advice and coun sel in business matters were widely sought and much respected. He possessed a fine per sonality and made friends rapidly and moreover retained the friendship and warm re gard of all with whom he came in contact. He had a high sense of business honor, his word was as good as his bond and both were unquestioned. He did a large part in the development of Tooele and the impress of his individuality and accomplishments is written large on the pages of the history of the communities in which he resided.
~Source: Utah Since Statehood: Historical and Biographical, Volume 2, by Noble Warrum, 1919 - JAMES DUNN. One of the notable figures in the history of
Tooele county is James Dunn, editor -md publisher of the
Tooele -Transcript. He was born at Kirkintilloch,
Dumbartonshire. Scotland, on the 12th of July, 1837, a son of
John and Jean (Stirling) Dunn. Both followed the weaver's
trade, the father being a cotton manufacturer of his native
country.
In the public schools of his home locality James Dunn pursued his education but his opportunities for attending school were very limited. He is practically a self- educated as well as a self-made man and it has been by reason of a studious disposition that he has made constant progress along intellectual lines. He, too, learned weaving, the occupation which had engaged the attention of his parents. There were no unusual events in his early life record, for he began acquainting himself with the weaver's trade when but eight years of age and his youth was ever a period of earnest and un remitting toil. Before he was sixteen years of age he ran away from home and joined the British army, and, following a varied experience, came to the United States in 1857, landing at New York. For two years he remained a resident of the east and then made his way to Utah, joining the Nauvoo Legion, as the Utah territorial militia was called. Later he obtained a captaincy of one of the Tooele companies. Every experi ence of pioneer life in the new and undeveloped west is familiar to him. Five times in nine years he crossed the plains bringing Mormon emigrants to Utah and sharing in all the hardships and privations of such a trip. He also became identified with the agri cultural development of the state and devoted his attention to farming up to the time when he acquired the Transcript. In the meantime he had acted as correspondent and writer for several papers and he always found in journalism a congenial field of labor. A fellow member of the journalistic profession in the Publishers Auxiliary recently wrote of James Dunn as follows:
" 'Eighty-one years young' can very well be taken as an expression of the virile strength and energy of James Dunn, editor and owner of the Tooele Transcript, for he is still the active head of a live weekly paper, doing a large part of the multifarious duties always to be found in a newspaper office, his only assistants up to this time have been his wife and one of his daughters. And this is not the only remarkable thing about Mr. Dunn, for he did not begin his newspaper career until sixty-two years old, a time when most men are planning retirement from active business. And perhaps there is a third remarkable thing which might be mentioned and that is that the Transcript was a run-down, poorly paying proposition when he was induced to purchase it on time. And since 1898, when he took hold of the problem, he has labored so faithfully and ably that he has long since brought the paper to a paying basis."
On the 17th of March, 1863, Mr. Dunn was married to Mary Jane Madden and their children were: John, who was born in March, 1864, and married Maggie Scott; Mary, who was born in May, 1866, and became the wife of John McKellar; James, who was born in April, 1870, and married Susie Colman; Martha, who was born in January, 1872, and assists her father in the publication of the Tooele Transcript; Maggie, who was born in February, 1874, and is the wife of Farnham Kimball; and Ada, who was born in February, 1876, and is the wife of Charles Alvin Orme, mentioned elsewhere in this work. Mr. Dunn's second wife was Jean Frazier, a childhood playmate of his in Scotland. Mr. Dunn's third wife was Jessie Young, whom he wedded in June, 1883 Their children are: Archibald Y. Dunn, who was born February 12, 1885; Robert James, born December 27, 1886; Marion Y., born November 29, 1889; Jessie, born June 20, 1891, and now the wife of L. L. Bush; Catherine, born in April, 1894, and now the wife of William Thomas Manning; and Alexander F., who was born July 20, 1895. He has just returned from a three years' mission in the central states, laboring prin cipally in Oklahoma, and has taken charge of the publishing business, which will give his father a chance to retire. Mr. Dunn's second wife is living, the others having passed away.
It will be interesting to know that Mr. Dunn began writing for newspapers in Scot land when but ten years of age, thus early entering upon a field of labor that for many years has claimed his entire attention. He has been a large contributor to Salt Lake papers upon current topics and matters of state. He is the possessor of one of the larg est private libraries in Utah, having over five hundred square feet of books. This in cludes no fiction. He is the possessor of many rare old volumes, some published three hundred years ago, which are very interesting and valuable. His religious faith has always been that of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In politics he is independent and for a two years' term served as alderman and at all times he has been the champion of public progress and improvement.
~Source: Utah Since Statehood: Historical and Biographical, Volume 2, by Noble Warrum, 1919 - JAMES GOWANS. James Gowans, filling the office of
postmaster at Tooele for the second term, was born November
21, 1860, in that city, a son of Hugh S. and Betsy (Gowans)
Gowans. The father was a native of Perth, Scotland. He was
born on the 23d of February, 1831, and came to Utah on the
24th of October, 1855, making the trip with the Milo Andrus
com pany of Latter-day Saints. The father became a very
prominent pioneer settler and citi zen of Tooele county and
was again and again called upon to serve in positions of
public honor and trust. He filled the office of county
assessor, was also county collector, mayor of Tooele, probate
judge of Tooele county and president of Tooele stake. He
contributed in marked measure to the material and moral
development of the community in which he lived and his name is
indelibly impressed upon the pages of its history.
James Gowans was the fourth in order of birth in a family of nine children born to Hugh S. and Betsy Gowans, the others being Barbara, Robert M., Hugh, Andrew, Betsy, Ephraim, Alonzo and Charles. Ephraim Gowans, who is state superintendent of public instruction and a prominent educator, is represented elsewhere in this work. For his second wife the father married Elizabeth Broomhead and they had five children: Barbara, Edward N., Thomas E., George H. and Albert H.
James Gowans, whose name introduces this review, acquired a common school edu cation and after his textbooks were put aside turned his attention to the occupation of farming. At different periods he followed agricultural pursuits, also prospecting and mining and was associated with a trading company, handling lumber for them until appointed postmaster of Tooele on the 29th of June, 1914. He has since continued in this position serving now for the second term, his reappointment coming to him in 1918. He has made a most excellent record by the prompt and faithful manner in which he has discharged his duties. The work of the office is most systematically performed and he is popular with the public by reason of his obliging manner and unfailing cour tesy.
On the 12th of February, 1885, Mr. Gowans was united in marriage to Miss Alice De La Mare, a daughter of Philip De La Mare, who was a son of Francis and Jane Esther (Ahrer) De La Mare. Philip De La Mare was born April 3, 1823, at Groovil Par ish, Island of Jersey, and in 1852 came to Utah as captain of his own company. He married Mary Chevalier, who was born on the Island of Jersey, February 20, 1823, and was his second wife. It was their daughter Alice who became the wife of Mr. Gowans. To this marriage were born ten children. Beatrice, the eldest, is the wife of John G. Marsden, residing at Wells. Nevada, and they have one child, Ronald. Hugh J. is deputy assayer and tester for the International Smelting Company at Tooele. He married Bee Beckstill, of American Falls, Idaho, and they have one child, Marjorle. Maud is a clerk in the postoffice at Tooele. Frank resides at Kanab, Utah, and married Persus McAllister, of Kanab, by whom he has one child, Harriett. Anna is the wife of Glen Frank, who enlisted in the United States Navy in October, 1917, and is at present on the battleship New Mexico. They have one child, Gwenna. Delia and Cerole are high school pupils at Tooele. Lucile is teaching school. Ross is also attending high school and Floyd is a pupil in the Junior high school.
Mr. Gowans has taken a very active part in public affairs in his section of the state. He served as marshal of Tooele, has also been deputy county clerk, has filled the office of recorder and has been a member of the city council. He is now acting as post master for the second term, discharging his duties wth the same promptness and fidelity that he has displayed in other relations. He has been very active in war work, espe cially in promoting the sale of War Savings Stamps and Liberty bonds, the Tooele post- office selling one hundred and forty thousand dollars in War Savings Stamps in 1918, this postoffice being the distributing office for the entire county.
~Source: Utah Since Statehood: Historical and Biographical, Volume 2, by Noble Warrum, 1919