Revenge

This tale is based upon the writings of my Great, Great Aunt Emma Sophia Taylor Rapp (aka Soff) who was born July 3, 1891, in Spanish Fork, Utah, to John and MaryJane Standley Taylor. She was the younger sister of my Great Grandmother Emily Francis Taylor Chase.

Potawatomi plums

It is tempting to romanticize life in the early 1900’s on the Taylor family farm which was surrounded by potawatomi plum trees, three miles from the town of Spanish Fork, Utah. 

Soff fondly remembered the mile and a half to school, and especially the trips when the snow was piled up and their father, John, took them in the sleigh which made going to school fun.

In the summers, Soff and her older sister Annie had the assignment of herding the family cows wherever there was feed. There were a lot of rattle snakes in the area which worried their father as he sent them out into the meadows, so he bought them a pony which they dubbed “Injun”. On frequent occasions when a dreaded rattler was heard, Injun would stop and refuse to move, but their dog Keno was unafraid. He would find the snake and shake it senseless until the girls could end the threat with a sturdy stick. On the back of Injun with Keno along as a bodyguard, the sisters enjoyed each summer day.

One fateful day, however, while the girls were riding in unfamiliar territory on the range herding the cattle, Injun stepped in an old abandoned well and broke his leg. There was nothing that could be done for him, so the girls faced the unbearable task of having him put out of his miserable state. It was impossible to move him, so they had to leave him where he had fallen, using the well as his final resting place as they covered him over with dirt.

Soff and Annie were more than sad at losing their trusted friend; they were furious and directed their anger at the man who had dug the well and not covered it. This man had a summer house, built on the side of the hill with poles holding up the front porch. To even the score, one day while no one was home at the cottage, the girls daringly sawed the poles out from under the porch, causing extensive damage. 

Later in life Soff could not recall the punishment they received for this act of revenge, but felt whatever sentence they suffered, it had been worth the price for avenging the loss of their pony.

While this story is an entertaining anecdote from the lives of two young sisters, how much better it would be to follow the counsel of President Gordon B. Hinckley: 

“My brothers and sisters, let us bind up the wounds—oh, the many wounds that have been caused by cutting words, by stubbornly cultivated grievances, by scheming plans to “get even” with those who may have wronged us. We all have a little of this spirit of revenge in us. Fortunately, we all have the power to rise above it, if we will “clothe [ourselves] with the bond of charity, as with a mantle, which is the bond of perfectness and peace.”  D&C 88:125

Arthur - Never Forgotten

Great Grandma Emily Francis Taylor Chase was the oldest child born to John and Mary Jane Standley Taylor, followed by three brothers whom she adored. Four youngest sisters were in a group of their own at the end of the family. 

She got along great with the boys, so when Emily married Guss Chase, her greatest desire was for a son, but her firstborn son, Alva, did not survive childbirth. 

It was three years before a second child was born, but little Sarah lived only seven days past her first birthday. 

Once again Emily's arms ached for a child, especially a son, but I'm sure she was overjoyed when a baby daughter, Stella, was born eight months later in good health. 

Five long years later the much anticipated baby son joined the family. Emily and her husband Guss were over the moon with Arthur John; so very proud. Their prayers had been answered. Arthur had been named after Emily's Uncle, her father's older brother, Arthur Taylor.

Sadly, Arthur had not been sent to stay. The following Christmas Guss, Emily, Stella and their little pride and joy traveled to Springville, Utah, for a family holiday visit. Arthur never returned to Idaho, as he passed away from a sudden illness and was buried in Utah. He had only lived fifteen short months. Emily was overcome with grief to return home without him.

Four years later my Grandmother, Lucille, was born and it was not a secret that her parents would have preferred a son. Two more daughters, Reta and Bessie came along within the following three years, as well as a stillbirth, but Emily and Guss were not destined to have another son in their home.

My Grandma grew up loving her brother Arthur that she had never known, because her parents loved and missed him so much and spoke of him often.

The name Arthur was held in great reverence and when Emily and Guss's first grandchild was born, Lucille honored her brother by naming her son Harold Arthur. This picture is of Emily and her first grandson, Harold Arthur.

The wonderful name Arthur continued when Lucille's first grandson was born to her daughter Ramona, who named him Larry Arthur Hatch, honoring both her brother and her departed uncle.

The following generation, Harold's first grandson, the son of Kevin and Marilyn McCracken was also given the name Arthur.

Wouldn't Guss and Emily be happy to know that the name Arthur is being remembered and honored.

Paul Harvey, where are you?

I envy Paul Harvey, the famous radio broadcaster who always knew “the rest of the story”. Old photographs and daguerreotypes, beautiful and descriptive as they are, still leave the viewer to his or her imagination to complete the narrative. Such is the case in this instance.

William Hyrum Standley is my Great, Great Uncle, a brother to Mary Jane Standley, my Grandmother Lucille Chase's grandmother.

Born in 1871 in Warwickshire, England, William immigrated by 1888, the year he married Elvira Jane Mooney in Spanish Fork, Utah. Isn’t this portrait of William with one of his infant children charming?

 

This daguerreotype is of the growing family only eleven years after their marriage with their children Mary Ann, Emma Jane, Charles Henry, William James, Joseph Hyrum and Nephi. Their Mormon connection is quite evident in the names chosen for their offspring.

Shortly after this picture was taken, the young mother, Elvira, not quite thirty-one years old, was killed in a buggy rollover, leaving William with the huge responsibility of caring for his young family alone, the oldest just having turned ten and the youngest only fifteen months old.

Mary Elizabeth and William

Three and one half years went by of untold challenges before William married Mary Elizabeth Hull to care for his children in 1903. She certainly looks capable of taking charge of William and his family in this photo .

A son, George Leroy, was born to this union.

Sadly, the marriage was short lived; as William passed away only five years later in 1908, at age forty-seven. He was buried in Darby, Idaho.

It is difficult to understand how Mary could have left William’s children, orphaned, taking her son George and returning to Utah, but this is the path she chose. 

Mary Elizabeth and her son George

The young widow was only thirty years old and had already experienced much toil and heartache.


By this time, the oldest daughter, Mary Ann, had married; the youngest, Nephi, was only eight years old. Emma, the second daughter married the following year, leaving four brothers to fare for themselves. The Moss family in Ririe took in at least one of the sons, Joseph Hyrum, and reared him.

Paul Harvey, where are you when I need you? I’d really like to know the rest of the story. How did the buggy roll over? Tell me about the courtships of these young couples. How did the orphaned children survive? I'd love to know more.

Mary Jane Stan"d"ley - Great, Great Grandmother

Mary Jane Stanley 1856 - 1936

This good woman is my Great, Great Grandmother, the Grandmother of my Grandmother, Lucille Chase McCracken Beard.

Mary Jane, sometimes called Polly, was born in Arrow, Warwickshire, England. She married John Taylor in Astley, Worcestershire, England, in 1873.

To begin with, let’s consider her surname, Standley. The story, whether true or not, has been handed down that the original family name was Stanley. The Stanley family was either wealthy or titled, or both; at any rate they had servants. A son married a house maid, which was considered a disgrace, so the family disowned him. That of course made him very angry, so he felt that changing the spelling of the name was a way to "get even" with them, therefore he added the “d” making his name Standley. The first ancestor with the “d” in our line is William Standley, born in 1739, so I can only guess that he was the rogue speller.

Mary Jane’s father, William (1830 – 1917) was not trained to earn a living and struggled raising a family. However, an acquaintance who had come to America and joined the Mormon faith, returned to England on a mission. He visited the Stanley’s and told them of the advantages of coming to America and the help they would receive from the Mormon Church if they would convert. Stories lead one to believe that the conversion was economical rather than spiritual, but I don’t believe it was, because William was baptized in 1851, but did not emigrate for 27 years. The Standley family embarked for America on May 25, 1878, on the ship Nevada and brought with them three children, but leaving behind three daughters, including Mary Jane who was married by that time.

Prior to her parents’ departure, on January 24, 1875, Mary Jane became the mother of a baby girl whom she named Emily Francis (my Great Grandmother).  Two more children were born to Mary Jane before the family was finally able to follow Mary Jane’s parents to America on June 10, 1882, on the ship Wisconsin. They settled in Spanish Fork, Utah, near her parents and eventually added five more children to their family, for a grand total of eight.

Mary Jane and her husband were baptized in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on June7, 1883, at Spanish Fork by Elias Lewis.

They were hard working farmers in Spanish Fork, planting wheat, hay, potatoes, and sugar cane.

In 1901, they moved to Rudy, Idaho (this town was later known as Beach and is now known as Clark). It snowed 4 inches on their first 4^th of July in Idaho and Mary Jane wanted to move back to Utah.

The following are some memories of Mary Jane by her grandsons: 

• She lived in a 2 room log house on a farm northeast of Rigby, Idaho.
• Mary Jane was short and stocky. 
• She wore her hair bobbed and was strong enough to heft a half a hog by herself.
• Mary Jane always wore a long black skirt with a fitted bodice top that had a high neck. She never left her neck exposed because was embarrassed by her neck which was deformed due to a broken collar bone.



Funnel Hearing Device

• In her later years Mary Jane became very hard of hearing and would use a funnel type instrument that she put to her ear to amplify the sound.
• Mary Jane was stern; while her husband John was easy going.
• After her husband’s death, Mary Jane lived with her children. It is hard to imagine, but while staying with her daughter Sophia’s family, this stern woman engaged in tea fights with her grandson Ezra. She would fill a spoon and with tea and flip it at him to start the fight. She enjoyed doing that and found great sport in it.
• Mary Jane hid her money in her shoe where no one could find it because she didn't want to be without money.