PIONEER OF 1850 MARGARET ELIZA FELT WEST Born October 6, 1849 Daughter of NATHANIEL H. FELT and ELIZA ANN PRESTON PIONEER OF 1850 MARGARET ELIZA FELT WEST (A sketch of the life of my mother, by Amy Alice West Heiner) Margaret Eliza Felt West was born October 6, 1849 in St. Louis, Missouri, the third child of Nathaniel H. Felt and Eliza Ann Preston. Her father was a native of the old Puritan town of Salem, Mass. He was born February 6, 1816. Her mother was born November 10, 1820 in Salem, Mass. They joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day-Saints in 1842. After the martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph Smith, while the saints were being buffetted around by their enemies, they moved with their family to Nauvoo. When the Saints were expelled from Nauvoo, grandfather was ill with chills and fever and was ad¬vised by Brigham Young to remain in the east, which he did, and moved into St. Louis, Missouri and there he was appointed president of the St. Louis Conference. It was the only organized conference of the church in the United States at that time and numbered from 7,000 to 10,000 Saints. Mother was born while they were living in St. Louis, Missouri. Her parents made a practice of taking the missionaries into their home and doing what they could for them. Mother was a delicate baby having weighed only 3 pounds at birth. One of the Elders who came to their home had smallpox and exposed the family, so when mother was just six weeks old she broke out with the dreaded disease. She was so tiny and had such a severe case her parents were worried for fear of losing her, and it was hard to keep her tiny hands from scratching her face which was covered with pox, so she carried the scars from them all of her life. We have often heard her tell how Golden Kimball, as a boy, would tease her by calling her "Holy Face ". The Felt family came to Salt Lake City in 1850 with the Heywood and Wooley merchandise train. Mother's father, Nathaniel H. Felt, was first Alderman in Salt Lake City and was Colonel and Chaplain in the Utah Militia. In 1852, he was also elected to the House of Representatives in the first Legislature. While on a mis¬sion to England he established a paper called the "Mormon". His occupation was a grain merchant in Salt Lake City. While living in Massachusetts he was a draper and tailor by trade. Grandfather Felt built a three story adobe house on Main Street in the block north of Temple Square. He had three wives: Eliza Ann Preston, she gave him Joseph Henry, Nathaniel Preston, Margaret Eliza, John Gillingham, Albert William, George Francis, Ada Agusta, Mary Alice, Charles Brigham, and Annette Rebecca. His second wife, Sarah Strange, gave him James Strange, Edward Hunter, Mary Ida and Eliza Ann. His third wife, Mary Louisa Pile, gave him David Pile, Nathaniel Henry, and Mary Dell. The two families, Eliza Ann and Sarah Strange, lived in the same house so mother, being the oldest daughter always had plenty of work to do. She tended the babies and younger children. We have heard her tell how she would take a baby on each hip and go out to the warm springs where it was such a nice place to play. She would also go with her companions upon Capitol Hill and dig segoes. She was quite intimate with the families of Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, J. C. Little and others living in the 17th and 18th wards where she spent her girlhood days. She attended the schools of those days and was outstanding in singing, grammer and spelling. She knew many songs and taught many of them to her family just by singing them around the home. Her hair was one of her crowning glorys. Her mother would take her to the hairdresser to have it thinned out when a very young child, and in old age a little wavey and snow white. Mother's home life seemed to be a happy one. She honored her parents and loved her brothers and sisters ardently. She always spoke of them as being exemplary and she tried hard to rear her family with the same high ideals and culture that her parents in¬stilled in her. She often told of an incident when her brother, John, frightened her very badly. The top room in their three story home was lighted by a skylight. John knew she had to go to this room on an errand so he proceeded her there and climbed out on the roof and pressed his face against the pane of glass. When mother entered the room, John made an ugly noise to draw her attention to the glass, and of course it frightened her very badly to see his face there. It affected her with fear she was never qyite able to overcome, so she always tried to impress it on her own children not to frighten young children. Some of the childhood games I have heard her tell about were jacks, which was played with rocks, hopscotch, run sheep run, steal sticks, King Williams was King James's son, etc. She also partici¬pated in the old time dances and parties at the social hall. She grew up with Salt Lake City and witnessed the building up of all the old familiar land marks; the Tabernacle, Temple, ZCMI store, Eagle Gate, Lion House, Salt Lake Theater, the Tithing yard square and others, She learned to knit and sew. Tatting was one of the fancy work arts she liked best. Her father made a comfortable living and she didn't need to go out and work as a great many young girls of those days did. Her work was in their own home so she learned to be a good housekeeper and homemaker. Mother had several offers of marriage but none suited her until my father, Thomas Charles West, came along. They were married in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City in 1873 by D. H. Wells, with her mother and father and father's parents witnessing the ceremony. They lived in a little house in the Eleventh Ward for a few years. Father had learned the plastering trade but grandfather Felt had bought some land from Mr. Cooper in Round Valley Morgan County adjoining the land owned by Bishop Edward Hunter, Presiding Bishop of the Church. None of his boys cared to farm so in 1874 he had my father come up and farm it. It was hard for my mother to leave the city, her friends and close neighbors, and go to the country where homes were few and far between, but she did it. However, she did spend quite a bit of her time in Salt Lake when father was away on plastering jobs, which he did at odd times when the farm work was not rushing. When she visited in Salt Lake she was able to do quite a bit of temple work for her kindred dead. Three of her oldest children were born in Salt Lake City. On December 5, 1875, her first child, a boy named Thomas George, was born in Salt Lake City. Father's sister, Annie Neville, had her first baby (a boy) about the same time so they dressed their babies alike for some time as they lived close to each other. The home in Round Valley was a log one built near the county road and at times bands of Indians would go by. It would frighten mother but they were always friendly and would occasionally ask for bisquits or something else to eat. The railroad was near the home and they were pestered with tramps (men begging for food). Mother was never known to turn them away and she always fed them when she could. Often they would ask if there was anything they could do for something to eat, so she would send them to the wood pile to chop some wood to cook with. While living in this little home they had four children born to them. (George, Eliza Ann and Albert Wm. born in Salt Lake ), They were Charles Henry, Frank LeRoy, Louie Mary Etta and Amy Alice. In 1886 a severe epidemic of diptheria broke out. All of the children, except me, a six month old baby, contracted the disease. Two of the children, a boy and girl, died within 4 days of each other. The boy, Albert William, died on his 8th birthday; the girl, Louie Mary Etta, was two years and two months old. This was a great trial for my parents as people were so afraid of the disease, and being in quaran¬tine, no one came in to help them out in any way. However, one neighbor, Arther Brewer, did get groceries from Morgan (3 miles away) and leave them at the gate for them. Dr. Wadsworth of Morgan was their doctor at that time. A few years later another thing happened that upset mother very much. Father took mother and baby Preston and a neighbor lady, Ann Richards, for a drive up the canyon in our "white top buggy". On the way back one of the horses, a high spirited animal, became frightened and started a runaway. They ran for some distance around curves and over rough narrow roads. Father held on to the reins with all of his might trying to quiet them, but to no avail. Finally the tugs broke and through some miraculous way the team was let free of the buggy and they ran nearly to Morgan before stopping. Father's arms were sore for weeks afterward. The women were shaken up very badly but no one was hurt seriously. As the family grew, father built another home on the opposite side of the road where the last two children were born; Alonzo David and Preston Dangerfield. Preston was given the maden name of both of his grandmothers. Round Valley was part of North Morgan Ward and mother saw to it that the children's clothes were in order to attend the meetings. Round Valley did have a Sunday School organization and mother saw to it that we attended regularly, even though she didn't go much herself. In the year of 1898, my father's health broke down and he contracted typhoid fever and never recovered from it. Mother was faithful to him through his illness and did all in her power for him. He died June 25, 1898 and mother was left with a family of seven children. The oldest boys were able to go on with the farm work. After a year or two she rented the farm to my brother, George, and moved to Morgan so that the younger children could attend school, as school in Round Valley had ceased to be. The other boys went to work on the railroad. When the cement plant was first completed, mother moved to Croydon where Preston and LeRoy were working so they could board at home. She also took in other boarders. In 1909 she moved back to Morgan and took school teachers to board. Four of the older members of her family were married by then, George, Eliza Ann, (Lida), Alonzo (Lonnie, at present we call him Al.) and Charles, she sold the farm to her oldest son, George. In 1910, mother sent her youngest son, Preston, on a mission to Australia. About this time she was asked to work in the presidency of the North Morgan Ward Relief Society and Jane Heiner and Louisa Grover. She had been a visiting teacher for several years, driving around with horse and buggy. In 1913, after her youngest daughter Amy was married, she gave up housekeeping and made her home with Amy taking turns visiting with other members of her family as she felt like doing. She was proud of her family and none of them, we hope, disappointed her too greatly. Seven of them lived to maturity and married in the Salt Lake Temple. Thomas George married Nellie Hardy of Hooper, and had five children; Eliza Ann (Lida) married Charles W. Hardy and had seven children; Charles Henry married Geneveve Knowlton of Salt Lake City, and had three children; Frank LeRoy married Lillian Judd of Henefer and had five children. She died in 1918 and he married Francis Wright of Peoa, and had one child. They were divorced and he married Martha Sparrow of Smithfield, a widow with six children and they had one child. Amy Alice married Horace Heiner of Morgan, and had six children. Alonzo David Married Lillian Hardy of Hooper and had four children. Preston Dangerfield married Geneive Mecham of Milton and had six children. Her posterity to date number 134. Mother had many friends and all who knew her loved her for her many virtues, and pleasing personality. Here are a few of the many clever sayings she would use in her jovial conversation: "Once bit, twice shy", "Never rob Peter to pay Paul:" "Where ignorance is bliss it is folly to be wise;" "What the eye doesn't see the heart don't grieve:" "What can't be helped must be endured;" "If you don't at first succeed, try, try again;" "Where there is a will there is a way;" "Stand firm for what you know to be right;" "A stitch in time saves nine;" and many others. She lived in widowhood for 29 years. On January 12, 1927 she passed away peacefully at the home of her daughter, Amy Heiner. She was In her 78th year. Her funeral was held in the North Morgan Ward Chapel under the direction of Bishop E. E. Anderson and she was buried in the North Morgan cemetery beside her husband and two children.