Morgan Pioneer History Binds Us Together Eli Frank Whitear and Sarah Alice Boyden Whitear Eli Frank Whitear Eli Frank Whitear was born March 13, 1857, in Farmington, Utah, the oldest son of Eli Whitear and Susan Maria Brooks Whitear. His parents were converts from England who crossed the plains in 1854. A baby son had been born the year previous, but had died in infancy, and three sons were born after Eli Frank: James, Eugene, and Freddy. The mother died a few weeks after Freddy's birth and Eli Frank's father remarried in a short time to Annie Maria Hall. The baby Freddy passed away when eight months old. When Eli Frank was seven years old the family moved to Milton, Utah. In time, his father married Annie Maria's sister in polygamy. Both wives had large families and in all there were twenty-one children of the three wives. On his twenty-second birthday, Eli Frank married Lydia Melissa Rich of Richville. When their daughter Lydia was born, both the mother and baby died within a few days. Eli Frank was a widower for many years until he met Sarah Alice Boyden of Peterson. They were married June 28, 1893, in the Salt Lake Temple, the same year it was dedicated. The couple lived with Alice's mother, Mary Boyden, and Eli Frank ran her farm. Four children were borne to them, Charles, Frank, Robert and Mary. At quarterly conference in June, 1898, Joseph B. Robbins was called to be bishop of Peterson Ward. He chose Eli Frank Whitear as First Counselor and Brother Bohman as Second Counselor. At that time Church meetings and school were held in a building which stood about where Bishop Russell Rock's home now is at the top of the hill near the Whittier Sarah Alice Boyden Wliitear home. Eli Frank served in the bishopric until his death from typhoid fever October 28,1900. Bishop Robbins served until 1906. After moving from Peterson, they kept in touch with Alice. They sold their store in Peterson to Fingal Bohman and in Salt Lake they owned the Keeley's Ice Cream Parlor. His son, Dr. Bertus Robbins, was a cancer specialist in Salt Lake. Her husband's death left Alice with added responsibilities for the farm. Her mother was aging and her three small boys were six, three and two years of age. She herself was expecting a fourth child. On the day the baby arrived, she did her daily chores as usual, fed and milked the cows and then returned to the house and gave birth to her daughter, Mary. The foundation of a new home had been laid, but construction halted when Eli Frank died. Her children remembered playing on this foundation for some years, but eventually Alice was able to have the large grey sandstone home built where she finished raising her family. Alice hired Axel Pearson, a Swedish immigrant, to run her farm. He worked in the Frisco (near Milford, Utah) and Park City mines and walked with a cane becasue of a broken leg which hadn't healed properly. He hauled timber and built a large hay and milk barn on Alice's property. Although this man answered the necessity of a farm hand and worked hard, some aspects of his character were difficult to cope with. Alice was a lovely lady and good church member, and felt Axel's crude ways and bad language set a poor example for her children. When she became elderly, Alice broke her hip. With great difficulty and trie encouragement of friends, she learned to walk again, but spent much of her time in a wheelchair and walked with a cane. She was often in pain. She had diabetes for many years and had to take insulin each day by injection. On the evening of December 9, 1832, Alice was taken ill. Her son, Robert, and his wife, Doris, were away at a school program in Morgan, and Doris' niece, lone Marchant, a young woman in her twenties, was tending the children. Alice asked to be helped to the couch where she lay down and held to Ione's hand. She asked that she not be left alone. After a time she said, "Look, there is Frank." lone thought she referred to her son, Frank, and said, "Frank is milking cows at the barn." Alice said, "No, I mean my Frank." Then she passed away. It is felt that she thought she saw her husband. 235