.. • • ~ FRANK WHITEAR and SARAH ALICE BOYDEN WHITEAR Eli Frank Whitear was born March 13, 1857, in Farmington , Utah, the oldest son of Eli 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 8 months old. When Eli Frank was 7 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 21 children of the three wives. On his 22nd birthday Eli Frank mariied 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 born 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 1st counselor and ---ctor Bohman as 2nd 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 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 6, 3 and 2 years of age. She herself was expecting a 4th 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 famil y . - 1- - • • 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 because 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 the encouragement of friends she learned to walk again but spent much of her time in a wheel chair and walked with a cane. She was often in pain. She had diabetes for many years and had to take insulin each day by .,i~ n,._je ction . On the evening of December 9, ~938, Alice was taken i l l. Her son Robert and his wife Doris were away af a school program in Morgan, and Doris' niece, Ione Marchant, a young woman in her twenties, was tending the children. Ali c e asked to be helped t o the couch where she lay down and held to !one's hand. She asked that she not be left alone . After a time she said, "Look, there is Frank." Ione 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 . -2-