While the Westra siblings knew Great-Grandma-Bohne, her first husband, and our ancestor (Grandma Zada's father), passed away shortly after Grandma Zada and Grandpa Rex got married. So Mom/Margie never met her grandfather (Nelva had been born, and was two months old when Sylvanus died).
He went by his middle name, Sylvanus. Of course there is quite a bit about him mentioned in Great-Grandma Bohne's life history (The Life Of Hannah Lucinda Hurst Howell Bohne) but ... some of it isn't exactly complimentary, and she doesn't delve into his childhood history at all. On Family Search, there were two write-ups of Sylvanus's life, one by his daughter Bertha Howell Brady, and one by a granddaughter, Cheri Lynn Howell Maude (one of Berthell's daughters) who did some additional research. So taking from all three sources and Family Search details, I wrote up a little life history to showcase here on the blog. There were some slight discrepancies here and there, and not all of the info is included, so check out the original write-ups for a more complete picture.
The Life of Edmund Sylvanus Howell
Sylvanus was born August 19, 1878 to Elias Willis Howell and Mary Jane Sanderson. He was the fourth of thirteen children born to this union. Elias had been married previously, to Martha Jane Rigby and had four daughters, a son (died in infancy) and a step-daughter. Brigham Young had instructed Willis (he also went by his middle name) to divorce Martha Jane after she had been unfaithful. Willis still supported his daughters and Martha Jane was still present in their lives.
Sylvanus grew up in a little red brick house on the corner of second east and second south in Fairview. The second floor of this house was later used as a carpenter shop, where Sylvanus learned that trade. He was a skilled craftsman with woodworking and carving. He made furniture for the home, doll furniture for his girls, fancy shelves and ornaments for the town Christmas tree. He grew up loving the outdoors and enjoyed hunting, fishing and hiking. Sylvanus liked to sing and play the harmonica. The family had a little pump organ. He liked art and would sometimes paint into the night.
After Sylvanus finished high school, he attended Snow College. He then went on to serve a 27-month mission in Colorado from (June 1901 to Jan 1904). After his return, he lived in Salt Lake City, where he worked on the trolly system for several years. He saved his money and was able to purchase his own farm "up the creek" East of Fairview. There was a two-room house with acres of land where he planted and cultivated all kinds of fruit trees, livestock and bees.
In 1912, he was asked to serve as a "corpse-sitter." In those days, after the deceased was prepared for the funeral, friends or family would sit with the body so it was never left unattended. Younger single people were often asked to be corpse-sitters, so that others could take care of related family responsibilities. This was how Sylvanus and Hannah met, both corpse-sitting for her father's half brother. Despite the 13+ year age difference, the two continued to be thrown together in various church activities and were soon going together steadily. They married in the Manti temple June 4, 1913.
Before they knew it, the couple had four little girls with hardly any place to put them. One slept in a trunk, one in a drawer, and one at the foot of the bed. Sylvanus purchased another house and moved it with a team of horses to attach to the original house with a stairway in between. This more than doubled the space they had, and after that, the children slept upstairs in the addition. Three boys were added to the four girls and the family was complete.
The Great Depression began in 1929. In 1930, there was a severe drought. Times were tough and cash was almost non-existent. Sylvanus went to work in the mines over the mountains for a time. He peddled popcorn, vegetables, apples and sold what honey he could. The town lacked a butcher, so he stepped up and filled that role. A little later, he took a job working on the roads under Roosevelt's WPA (The Works Progress Administration was an American New Deal agency, employing millions of job-seekers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads.) When the girls were old enough, they would help shoulder the responsibilities at the farm, and also worked outside the home to bring in a little extra.
During this time, Sylvanus had been struggling with his health. In 1935 he was very sick and in a lot of pain. They scraped together a little money and went to Salt Lake. The doctor agreed to operate and told them they could pay the rest when they could. Sylvanus was diagnosed with urinary tract cancer. The summer of 1938 was spent going to Salt Lake for various treatments, but Hannah was told they had been unsuccessful and that they should just return home to care for him the best they could. He was given less than a year to live.
The three older girls were married by this time. Bertha was attending Snow college, Berthell was 17, Demont not yet 12, and Kenneth was 10. Sylvanus's condition continued to deteriorate and it was a very difficult time. The doctor processed paperwork which allowed the family to receive $33 a month on welfare for which they were very thankful for.
Sylvanus passed away on May 20, 1939, just shy of 61 years of age.
No comments:
Post a Comment