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Show • • • JPEG-Bk13 . .. ··TIT.LE PIONEER (full name) BIRTH (date and place) DEA TH (date and place) ·PARENTS . MARRIED (who and date) ARRIVAL IN UTAH (date) (Company arrived with) HISTORY (who wrote) (date written) (who submitted) (address) .. 2s, · PAGE . Lev:i Alfred Carter 16 ~January 1876 Morgan Co. 8 FE~bruary 1958 Porterville, Morgan Samuel Carter •' . . ·Sarah Davis 1 7 Jlrng 1905 Clara Pellow Porter · Virginia Carter ·Baer v{rginia c. Baer CAMP & COUNTY SUBMITTING S,o_u_th_M_or-=-ga_n _______ ,Camp Co. M_organ_ ______ _:__ ____ County. ( Camp Historian & address ) __G; ::;.:;::.le=n~n.::::a........:a.:R:..s,___....P...:.o~r...it...:1.e. .r ..___ ________ County Historian & address)_ ___n ,_e_n_a_c_._R_i c_h_ __________ SOURCE OF INFORMATION & PAGE NUMBERS: • • • 2S2. A HISTORY OF MY FATHER By Virginia Baer My father, Levi Alfred Carter, was born in a log house in Porterville, Morgan County, Utah on January 16, 1876 -- the eighth child born to his parents, Samuel Carter and Sarah Davis. He was the first child born to his mother after moving to Porterville. His half-brother Daniel was born in an adjacent log house four months earlier. His father had built identical homes for his two wives with only room for a wagon road in between. Dan and Alf were very close to each other during their entire lives; and, as boys, often ate and slept together in each other's homes. There were twenty-four children in the two families, four of which died in childhood. The homestead land was covered with oakbrush, sagebrush, and willows. Much time was spent in clearing land, planting, and raising crops to produce enough food for the large family. A reservoir was also made to provide water for crops in summer . During the early years there, they raised sheep to provide meat, and wool for clothing. The family made their own clothing from the wool. Cows and chickens were also raised. There were horses to provide transportation and help with the farm work. Fruit trees and berries were planted along with hay, grain, and a large vegetable garden each year. They preserved the food in all ways possible at that time. Much of the food was dried. They built their own houses from logs which were 'chinked' with a cement type mixture which they made from materials available. The homes were not watertight at first. They also made their own furniture. Here they suffered all the hardships of early pioneering, but they worked together as a family and improved the home and furniture equally in both homes. Grandfather lived alternately in each home a week at a time. The two wives worked as a team, supporting and helping each other in sickness and health. They truly lived the law of plural marriage the way it should be lived. In 1887, during the raid on plural marriage, Samuel Carter served a four-month prison term and paid a $300 fine rather than desert his second wife, Sarah and her family. Father learned the important lessons of life from his parents. He was taught hard work, integrity, honesty, love, compassion, and family solidarity through living their principals at home. They were a close-knit family. Grandfather was chosen as counselor to Bishop Thomas Brough of the West Porterville Ward on March 18, 1877 and then as Bishop in 1883. Here he served until the two wards were joined on August 27, 1897, making twenty years in all. So father received a very good religious background. JPEG-Bk13 - Page 1 - • • • When the Porterville wards were joined, father was called to be a Sunday School teacher. He was 21 years of age. In his class was a young lady, Clara Follow Porter, who was later to be his wife. She was almost twelve years of age. Father often said he chose her then, and waited for her to grow up. When she was fifteen, he asked permission to take her home from a wedding, and then take her to a dance afterward. That was the beginning of his courtship. In 1893, his brother Hyrum was called to serve a mission in South Carolina. Fourteen months later on October 22, 1894, he died in the mission field. His death was caused by illness and a beating by a mob. He was brought home in a sealed casket. His father, Samuel Carter, died on June 21, 1898. Father received a call to the Southern States Mission in March, This was difficult for his mother to accept, but she gave her consent. As he left for his mission, "Aunt Ellen" his father's wife said to him; "Good-bye my boy, I will never see you again". died on November 4th of that same year. 1903. other She When father left for his mission he asked mother to wait for him. She did not wish to be engaged, but told him she would not marry until he returned. Father did not encounter the same prejudice that Hyrum did on his mission. However, in March 1905, his mother became ill and he was called home shortly before finishing his two years. While on his mission, he was Counselor to the Conference President and later became Conference President. Upon his return to the Porterville Ward, father became President of the Elder's Quorum . A year later he was sustained to the bishopric where he served seven years. He was Ward Clerk and Recorder for seventeen years under four Bishops -- H.K. Porter, Thomas Cater, Daniel Carter, and Howard Durrant. He was a Sunday School teacher for fifteen years. Prior to his return, all the brothers and sisters of both families were married . Father and mother were married later that year on August 17, 1905. After his marriage, father worked with his father-in-law, Charles Graves Porter, and his brother-in-law, George Brough in 'C. G. Porter and Sons'. Their business was raising garden crops which consisted principally of cauliflower, pickling onions, horseradish, and cabbage. These were shipped to pickling companies of the state. The public at that time had not accepted cauliflower as a table vegetable as it does now. In 1907, father's youngest brother, Ben, died. So in November , 1907, father moved the family to the old family home in the canyon area where he was born. He secured a mortgage on the farm and took it over. The interest rate was 10% and it took almost all he could get in money for a number of years to pay the debt. JPEG-Bk13 - Page 2 - • • • There were two children in the family. They were myself, Virginia, one and one-half years of age and a baby, Alice, age one month and weighing only five pounds. Here the home was shared with his mother and a niece, Cecile, whose mother had died. His brother, Tom, owned land adjoining his on the south; his brother, John, owned property to the west, and to the north was a nephew, Walter Carter. Father and Torn were especially close to each other and were always available when help was needed in either family. There was no electricity in the home and, of course, no indoor plumbing. There was a cook stove with a water reservoir on one side to keep warm water available, and a tea kettle of water was always kept hot on the front of the stove. The water was carried in buckets from an adjacent well which had earlier served the two families. After a few years, father installed a pump, which was a big improvement over the bucket and rope. The well could also be closed in. A wood box for fire wood, and a coal scuttle and shovel for use in the winter stood by the stove. The house was heated with the cook stove, and "Coles Hot Blast", a heater, in an adjacent room. The lights were kerosene lamps which could be carried form room to room. They needed to be refilled, the wicks trimmed, and the shades cleaned each day. When the kerosene was all gone, as it occasionally was, a dim flickering light was made by lighting a small cloth in a dish of tallow or oil . The outhouse was a distance from the house, on the edge of a scrub oak-covered hillside. It was furnished with Sears and Roebuck catalogues for paper which also afforded reading material. In winter, very short stops were made. There was a telephone in the house . People rang their own local numbers by using a certain sequence of long and short rings. One long ring alerted the entire town, and news traveled quite fast, which sometimes was an advantage and a blessing. Neighbors were always willing to help each other. We were very thankful for the telephone. During the years, other ways of making some 'cash' were developed to help pay the mortgage, and buy the few needed supplies. A cheese factory was built in Morgan and milk or cream was hauled from the farms each day in ten gallon cans. Part of the time milk was sent and whey returned to mix with other foods for the pigs which were raised for food and market. Later, father bought a cream separator to separate the cream from the milk and the cream was sent. This was turned by hand. The milking and separating was a big job morning and night. The buckets, strainer, cans, and separator parts had to be washed and sterilized each morning and night. JPEG-Bk13 - Page 3 - • • • Father made a 'slop' or feed container, which could be pushed from the house and grain bins to the pig pens some distance away, by mounting a large barrel on a frame between two wheels. One summer he raised many carrots which he kept in a pit. Each evening Alice and I had the job of washing and cutting a large boiler full of carrots, These were cooked and added to the mixture of food scrapes, shorts, bran and other ingredients to feed to pigs. We were really happy when the job was finished. There was a large apple orchard for raising several kinds of apples that did well in this cooler climate. There were Pearmain, Greening, Blacktwig, Baldwin, Astrikan, and others. Each fall picking and sorting took much time. Many of the apples were stored and sold later. And oh there Pearrnain apples tasted good in the winter evenings, when we usually had a bowlful on the table to eat. One winter they were stored in a cellar rented from Uncle Torn where an oil burner was used to keep them from freezing. During one evening, the flame was somehow extinguished and the burner smoked all night. The apples were covered with black, sooty smoke . and the taste of the oil penetrated the apples. All of the toil and effort were for nothing! When the pea canning factory was built in Morgan this made another cash crop available. So father raised a crop of peas each year. The peas were watched very carefully and had to be watered at specific times. A factory representative would inspect the field to determine the exact time for cutting in order to get the best flavor and maturity. Then the peas had to be cut, loaded on hay racks, and rushed to the viners before they could heat up. This always happened in July and was a very busy time indeed. On year, father decided to raise peas on a large rented field. But because of lack of sufficient water, the vines were small and could not be cut with a mower. So he hired a group of boys and girls to spread across an area, crawl forward together in a line and pull the peas. Mother brought a chicken dinner and a ten-gallon can of lemonade for us to drink. Nothing ever tasted better. Father also cut and hauled Christmas trees to Salt Lake City for extra money. One of the prettiest was always put on a stand for the family and decorated. Many happy hours were spent stringing macaroni and cranberries or popcorn, which was always used later. Deep red apples were also polished and hung. Christmas was a wonderful time for the family. In December of 1908 a son, Charles Alfred, was born. Father was so proud and happy to have a son. Charlie learned to crawl early, and would stand and hang on to father's leg as father was turning the separator. In July he contracted a disease called Manilla Cholera, which took the lives of many babies. He died September 22, 1909 after six weeks of suffering. This was a real blow to my parents. Alice almost died also . JPEG-Bk13 - Page 4 - 2ss • • • During the time the family lived in the iJld log home, four more children were born -- Marian, Ireta, Vivian, and Ralph . Whenever there was a good opportunity, m1Jre sagebrush was grubbed or rocks were picked up from the fields and thrown into a slow-moving wagon to be piled at the edge of the field. Often after clearing sagebrush and piling it, we would have fun with a bonfire and p icnic. Eggs, which had been coated with a thick layer of mud, and potatoes were baked in the bonfire and eaten. Mother seemed always to be able to put some fun into even hard tasks. One of the special times for the family was threshing time. After the grain was cut and shocked, it was hauled into the barnyard. There it was stacked in round stacks: wheat in one, barley in one, and so on. These were placed close together. The heads of the bundles were t urned in to the center of the stack to protect them from the weather, where they stayed until the threshing machine was available. The threshing machine would usually start at one end of the valley and go from farm to farm. Each farmer would help his neighbors and they, in turn, would help him. It took a number of men to run the thresher. There were two to throw the bundles to the shelf on the thresher, one to cut the strings on the :bundles and feed them into the machine, two to stack the straw, two to hold and tie the sacks of grain, and one to drive the horses around and around in a circle to power the machine. The re was always one sack in ten put aside for tithing. This was later hauled to the tithing shed. Several of the neighbor ladies brought dishes and helped prepare and serve really scrumptious meals. The men ate three meals a day at whatever place the thresher was working. This was a very exciting time for the children. Alice and I learned a very valuable lesson on •tree agency' on one occasion. We had always observed the 'word of wisdom' and knew that tobacco was not good for the body. One ,of the men who was helping with the threshing rolled his own cigarettes, When he went in for dinner , he left his cigarette papers and sack of 'bull durham' on the window sill. We thought we would just help him out by taking them away. However, when he could not find them after dinner, father called us and asked if we had seen them. We explained what we had done but found out in no uncertain terms that we were not to take other p e ople•s property for any reason. Each person had freedom of choice for what he did. We did have to :return the confiscated items and apologize, which was punishment enou9h. I think father did some apologizing, too. Following the threshing, a load of grain was taken to Cl ark • s Grist mill in Morgan to be made into white flour, whole wheat flour, cracked wheat, germade (cereals), shorts, bran, etc. The mill wheel was turned with a stream of water which was diverted from the Weber River. JPEG-Bk13 - Page 5 - • • • Father took each child in turn to see the grain being ground. It was exciting to go with him. We would go to the top floor to see the grain begin its journey down and then see the different products emerge on the lower floors. Brother Clark would show us through the mill. The feed was stored in separate bins or sacks in the granary; and the winter supply of flour and cereal, in a large bin in the pantry. This room also held rows of bottled fruit and sacks of dried vegetables. There were also crocks of preserves, sauerkraut, pickles, and whatever else could be preserved for winter. A very busy time of year was when fruit and tomatoes were brought from "the other valley" as it was called. It was too cold in Morgan to raise apricots, cherries, peaches, pears, and tomatoes. So father would take the wagon and make a trip to the area south of Ogden to get a load of fruit. It always took several days and he gave each child an opportunity to go with him. We would take quilts and pillows -- there were no sleeping bags then -- to make a bed in the orchard. We drove down, sitting on a spring seat at the front of the wagon. Although we took food, I think we children ate a good amount of fruit. After picking the fruit, father would drive us home in the wagon loaded with bushels of fruit covered with a canvas. There was always enough fruit for mother, her sister Bessie, and her mother. Sometimes they would all bottle fruit together. In the fall, several pigs were killed and preserved for winter use. {I always ran into the bedroom and covered my head with a pillow while the pigs were being killed.) After the pigs were killed, they were dipped in and out of large barrels which had been filled with scalding water, This was to make the bristles soft enough to scrape off. The bristles were then scraped off with large knives and the pig was hung and cleaned out. This process requited two men . Nothing was wasted. The heart, liver, and sweetbreads were very special treats. The leaf lard was saved. Lard was rendered; the ham, shoulders and bacon were cured; headcheese was made; and sausage was made and preserved in crocks covered with lard. And oh, those spare ribs did taste good. Father's specialty was chopped liver and onions baked in a shallow pan which was lined and covered with leaf lard. During the winter months "papa" would cut wood in the canyons for use in the summer. This would be brought home in wagons and cut and stacked near the house. Machinery was also repaired during this time. The beef was usually killed in the winter. There were also chickens for eggs and meat. Father went hunting and fishing also. There were sage hens, pine hens, quail , pheasants, rabbits, and deer. He was a good fisherman and could usually catch enough trout for a meal anytime. We girls began fishing with a bent pin in woods creek, and when we were older we loved to fish in East Canyon Creek. Father's sister Alice and niece Cecile were both avid fishermen, and would often come JPEG-Bk13 - Page 6 - 257 • • • and stay with us for a few days and we would go fishing . Father loved nature. He would often come in from the fields with a handful of lilies or other flowers for mother. (He had a pet name for her, 'Caddie', which he used often. It was taken from a child who tried to say 'Clara'.) The only means of transportation for a number of years was by wagon, sleigh, riding a horse, or walking. In the winter father would put straw in the wagon bed which had been put on sleigh runners, This we would cover with quilts, put in bricks which had been warmed in the oven for our feet, and snuggle down with just our mittened hands and stocking-capped heads showing. Then we would ride to church or for the mail while listening the the jingling bells on the harness and the trotting feet of the horses. Sometimes father would let us ride on the back runners or run behind for a few minutes. On October 31, 1920, mother's mother died leaving her father alone in the old family home. So in 1920 we moved from the log home in East Canyon to the Porter home in town . Father still worked the homestead, though it meant traveling quite a distance each day. But, here, there was electricity, even though there was no indoor pluming as yet. The family had all been vaccinated for smallpox while living in the log home, but father's didn't take, and he neglected to get another one. As he was getting a haircut in Morgan one day, he sat next to someone who came down with smallpox a few days later. Surely enough, father contracted the disease. Alice and I went to stay in the old home to take care of the livestock, and to milk the cows which were kept for the families own milk supply. Each day we would harness the horse and deliver the milk to the front walk, where mother would get it and take it i~ -for their use. This we did until father recovered, and the house was fumigated. As father had no sons able to help him, the daughters learned early to help with many farm tasks. We could catch and harness the team, hook them to the wagon or mower, pile hay, milk the cows, hoe the garden, etc. Father never let us do any heavy lifting, but we could drive the mower or rack. Sometimes when the peas grew tall, we would turn the vines back with a pitchfork, ahead of the mower so the peas would not be cut from the vines. During these years in the summer when we would go with father to work on the farm, mother would cook our noon meal and deliver it hot to us with the horse and buggy. It was so good to see her coming, since we would always be hungry and tired by that time. After moving to the Porter home, three more children were born. Bessie was born a year to the day after grandmother's death. There there were two more sons, Samuel and Walter, though Samuel lived only four days . JPEG-Bk13 - Page 7 - • • • In the fall of 1924, I went to live with my mother's brother Ralph who was Dean of Medicine at the University of Utah. This was to help Aunt Vivian a little, and make it possible for me to attend college the next year. Life here was very different from the 'fun' life at home. They were good to me but I was very homesick. One of my happiest memories of my father is during this period. He came down to church conference, and spent one evening taking me to the old Salt Lake Theatre. We sat in the top balcony and saw "Smilin' Through" and he bought me a box of cherry chocolates. This was a very special time for me; I had my father on a one to one basis when I really needed him. From this time on the family were seldom together except for summers and holidays. I went to the BYU at Provo the following year, and Alice came down in the fall of 1926. During the winter of 1925-26, father sold the homestead to his brother Tom and purchased a farm from Ernest Porter. It included a large barn and a small house, and was located next to, and north of the C. G. Porter farm. It extended from the road to the East Canyon River (Creek) and was good fertile bottom land, including a pasture area next to the creek. This was very different from the o l d homestead. From then on the crops were mostly lettuce, cauliflower, cabbage, and some hay and grain for the cattle. All of his daughters learned to work in the fields, but as Ralph grew up, father depended on him more and more, even though he was frail in his young life. The youngest son, Walter, was a strong and especially observant child. In February of 1935, he contracted Encephalitis or 'sleeping sickness•. This required a great deal of care which continued for years. In 1937, he also contracted Meningitis. In 1932, father's eyes were giving him a great deal of trouble, and on September 26, 1934 his eyes were operated on in the LOS Hospital in Salt Lake City. However, he gradually lost his sight in spite of all that could be done. He also suffered from diabetes, being on a strict diet, and sometimes swinging from insulin to sugar and back. He had to have insulin shots, which mother gave him, and always had to carry a little candy in his pocket to use in case of emergencies. In 1935 during the depression, my husband, Walter Baer, and I went to Peoria, Illinois to find work. Then in June 1938, Alice and Paul Staples, her husband, took mother and father to the southern areas where father went on his mission. Although he could not see, it was a very enjoyable trip for them, and one of the very few they took after their 'honeymoon'. They came home by way of Peoria and brought me and my two children home with them for a visit. They also came by train once to Peoria to spend Christmas with our family. Later they went to visit Alice and Paul in Seattle, Washington. Here they took their first airplane trip and reached Seattle before the family got back to Morgan through a bad snowstorm. JPEG-Bk13 - Page 8 - .. , ' • • • During the forties, they moved with Walter to Idaho on a farm in Rupert near Vivian and Ke nneth Burke. Mother felt that Walter needed an opportunity to operate a farm on his own. Ralph had now taken over the one in Porterville. But after a few years, they came back to Morgan where they lived in the old Porter home with Marian and Bill Fisher until they died. In 1957, father had an operation from which he never recovered . A hospital bed was set up in the living room where he was cared for by mother, marian and Bill. He gradually got weaker until he was v e ry weak and emaciated. But he appreciated every little thing that was dome for him. The family all tried to help out as we could, taking turns in staying with him over night so the others could get some rest. I was taking my turn when he died. He worried so that he would make work for anyone. I reassured him and gave him a drink of water during the night. His last words were, "Thank you, my darling." Soon after this he struggled to sit up, fell into unconsciousness and died a few hours later with Mother, Ralph, Marian and myself with him . He died February 8, 1858 at age 82. !9Si While writing the foregoing history of my father, I have tried to be objective and a c curate as to dates and events and have expressed very little of my personal love and feeling for him. He has always been a great inspiration to me, and an ideal to f ollow. Our family prayers, always a r ound the breakfast table, while sometimes seeming long and a little frightening (when I was asked to take my turn leading} were a great comfort to me when I was away from home. I knew I would always be remembered in those prayers. I felt loved and protected by that knowled ge. I have a letter my father wrote me when he was blind; giving me courage and strength when I needed it mos t. It is kept with my Patriarchal Blessing . He had a strong testimony and was always among the first to bear it . When I left for Illinois, just before I boarded the train, father put his arms around me and said, "good-bye little gir l , remember who you are." I think he always remembered who he was, and he was an example of it before the world. I loved him very much . JPEG-Bk13 - Page 9 - |