I, Thomas Martin Grover, was born at Morgan, Morgan County, Utah on the 27th of November 1866, the son of Thomas Grover and Elizabeth Heiner Grover.
At the age of three years I went with my parents (who were called by President Brigham Young) to the Muddy Mission in Lincoln Co., Nevada. This was a hardship indeed, as related by Uncle Dave Sanders; who also was called. "In the company of ten others, we left Morgan with teams and wagons, the fifth of November 1868 on our perilous journey. At St. George, Utah we rested for two days at the home of Aunt Lydia Knight in Santa Clara for one day. At Virginia Hill, Indians swooped down upon us in the night and drove off 34 of our mules. We were on the desert and 100 miles from our destination. There were women with little children clinging to their skirts." Finally teams were sent to us and we reached our Colony without delay or further mishap. Father and Uncle Dave Sanders built a two room house together. It was made of adobe, with clay floor over sand. The roof was made of small poles covered with green willows, cattail flags of homemade carpet covered the door opening.
The weather was extremely hot, but they worked hard and were rewarded with good crops. The Indians harassed them continually. To their dismay they found that their home was not in Utah as they had supposed, but it was in the State of Nevada. The taxes were so high they had little left for themselves. In 1871 President Brigham Young visited them and when he saw their hardship, he released them to go back to their homes or any place where they could do better. My sister Hannah was born in Lincoln County, Nevada. We moved next to Kagle Valley, then back to Farmington for a short time. President Daniel H. Wells advised Father to go to Nephi, Juab Co., Utah and we did and lived there for ten years. My sister Adelgunda (Dell) was born in Nephi and brother Wells was born on our farm just outside of Nephi. Here Father served as blacksmith and town constable and took part in many town activities. He was called to preside over the Mounds Branch North of Nephi and here he built a large adobe house, doing all the work himself. He raised grain and sugarcane; ran the molasses and milked several cows. From this point he also hauled freight to Pioche, Nevada and brought back silver bullion to the U.C.R.R. terminal at York, about 12 miles from Nephi.
Afer ten years there, we moved back to Morgan. We lived at the Heiner Ranch (which we had interest-in) in the summer and in the winter we lived in North Morgan. My brother Freeman Tupper was born 6th Aug. 1882, and six hours later Mother passed away and the baby died on the 21st of August. Mother had also lost a little girl, Pauline, at the ranch on the 10th of August 1880.
The year after mother died, I was riding a horse after cattle with Mother's brother. My horse fell in a badger hole and broke my leg when he fell on it. The frightened horse ran away. My foot was caught in the stirrup so I was dragged. My shoulder was broken and all the flesh town off my back. When my uncle found me my clothes were all torn off and he thought I was surely dead. He administed to me; covered me with his coat and rushed me to the ranch 15 miles away, returning with the buckboard in which he took me back to the ranch. All of the doctors came and looked at my leg and said it could not be saved. Our family doctor, W.B.
Parkinson of Logan was determined to save it. He made three trips to the ranch and many more to our home in Morgan. He only charged $25.00. He was a wonderful friend and to him, and my Fatherin Heaven, I owe my life.
After this accident, we lived on our grandfather's farm in Farmington. The crops were good and I was able to get me a team and wagon, I got out of a set of house logs. My father helped me and we hauled them from lost Creek to Stoddard on land that was my mother's inheritance. Alexander Robinson who later married my half sister Winnie, built the house complete with floor, roof, and partitions. It consisted of two rooms 15' x 15' x 9 ft. with a shingled roof. I together with my sisters Evelyn, Hannah, Adelgunda, and my little brother Wells moved into this house. Here we knew many hardships and many heartaches. Our father had two other wivesd and several more children. But we were blessed and preserved and all grew to manhood and womanhood, and are blessed with wonderful families. We were able to get a little schooling at the Morgan Stake Academy. It was founded by Brother Carl G. Maeser.
James Mason was our teacher. It was the custom of the young people to gather at the Switch (railroad station) on a Sunday afternoon to watch the train come in for fun and ompanionship. On one of those occasions I had my hand in a bandage after receiving injuries in a moving machine. Belle Hogg, a pretty girl from South Morgan helped me untie my horse, so I took her home in my cart, which was considered in those days to be a sporty rig. This was the beginning of a romance that ended in our marriage on the 29 June 1892 in the Logan Temple.
When we had been married for six months, I was called to fill a mission in the Southern States. After I had spent eight months I was stricken with malaria fever. I was given an honorable release to return home. The rheumatism had also set in my old injuries. While I was away Merle, our first daughter was born 9 April 1893, at the time of the dedication of the Salt lake Temple.
At this time the community was granted a school, district, and I was appointed chairman of the building committee for the new schoolhouse, and also one of the trustees. A nice brick school building was erected and at the end of the year, school was opened. Soon after the schoolhouse was finished, Bishop O. B. Anderson came and organized a Branch of the Church. I was sustained as the Presiding Elder and superintendent of the Sunday School. I held these positions for twleve years. While in this place, I engaged in farming.
In 1900, I went to Idaho to look for the possibility of obtaining more and better land. Many of my relatives, including Evy, Dell and their families and Hannah (she was one of the first teachers at Ricks College (Academy)), father's half brothers; Enoch, Marshall, Henry A., Edward and others had all gone to the Snake River Valley where they all had good farms. I was very favorably impressed and purchased 160 acres on fine land in Salem, Fremont County, Idaho for myself and brother Wells who was on a mission to the southern states at the time.
We, my brother-in-law, Bog Hogg, and myself left Morgan about the middle of March with two teams and covered wagon containing seed grain, machinery, and sundry goods. We also had a white top buggy full of things. We drove 12 head of cows and 4 head of corses. We arrived in Salem, 3 miles north of Rexburg, on the 2nd of April about 2 p.m. The weather was fine that day, but we had a lot of rain later that spring. My wife Belle and the four oldest children arrive by train and I rented a house of hans Hegsted's.
We hauled logs from 50 miles away and hewed them. I hired a good carpenter to help me build a good sized house with two rooms, shingled roof. It measured 16'x32' with a 9' ceiling. It looked very much like the one we left in Stoddard. The carpenter was Hyrum Bell.
In August, I was called to be Second Counselor to Bishop Victor Hegsted. I held this office for 11 years. I engaged in farming while building our home. With the help of Belle's father, who was a professional gardener, I planted fruit trees, berries, lawn and flowers. Our home became one of the prides of this new and wild place. We built a large barn, machine sheds, grainier, and chicken house. Later we added three more rooms of red brick and Bob Hogg stoccoed the front part and painted it like red brick.
Our second son, Angus followed by Norma, Roscoe, Isabell, and Elva were born in this house. During our stay in Salem, a large rock meetinghouse and two story frame schoolhouse were built.
In the year 1912, we sold our home in Salem, and bought a fine home in Sugar City. This was the old Summerhays and Wm. Bassett home. The two story house of frame consisted of four bathroom and several closets, also a large rock cellar and milk house. The grounds were beautifully planted. We raised sugar beets, peas, grain and hay. We had horse, cow, pigs and chickens. (Remember when some skunks got into the chicken house and we the Japanese, Charlie and Joe to shoot them and Merle's beau wouldn't come around for a log time?) We also ran a large dry farm on the Newdale bench. This was during World War I and we were on the alert for German sabotage as this was an area of the largest grainarie in the the world. We lived in Sugar City for six years. Morgan and Grant were born here. In 1914 Merle married Ellis Preston Wilding and Leo married Lizzie Leone Wilding in 1917.
In 1918, we bought 200 acres of land in Teton Basin. This was a stock farm and cattle ranch. We moved into a large two story unfinished house. It was like pioneering all over again, but we thought we were going to realize great things and have land for the children and maybe b able to develop a cattle and livestock business. The first blow came when Ellis, Merele's husband died on 22 Sept. 1918, leaving her with two small children. Ruth, the baby only three weeks old. Their finances were in the hands of his people and she found herself destitute, except for a few head of yearling heifers without feed for them and a place to keep them. Hay was 40 dollars a ton if you could get it. We gathered up the heifers off the range and took care of them for her, but when we all came down with the flu, she came home to live. She never took the disease and was a great deal of help to us during that terrible time. We all survived and thanked God for the miracle. That fall we bought the Covert and a lot of beef cattle. This was the DEPRESSION, and like most everyone else we lost our shirts.
Thinking to better ourselves we were induced to go to Draper, Utah on a chicken, dairy, and fruit farm. Through the dishonesty and intrigue of McCuin and Carlquist, we were swindled out of all our possessions and were penniless. We managed to get back to Teton Basin where we began again from the bottom.
As this sketch was being dictated to us girls, we were taking care of father during his terrible illness, he became to ill at this point to continue, so we will have to finish the rest of this history for him.
(by Merle) There was never a better father lived and I felt that I had added to his trouble at a very critical time. He was a very good provider. He was a hard worker, prompt in all his commitments. He was honest an believed in keeping his word. He trusted others too much and here he was deceived.
Angus had married Sharlotte Hambin in 1924. After the loss of the Draper home, Father and Mother, who still possessed indiminativle perseverance, returned to Teton Basin. They reclaimed the old Covert and made once more a clean, comfortable home in which to live. In the winter Father moved into the Tipson place so the children could be close to school, and he traveled back and forth to do chores.
Isabelle married David Earl Simmons 25 Feb. 1927. Elva nad Eldon Winger were married 2 April 1930. Grant and Leona Josephine Nelson were married 2 Oct.
Father purchased the Chestie Henry House in Driggs and they set about making another home. It was stuccoed and painted white. Large windows, replaced small ones and an extra bedroom and porch were added. Water and electricity were put it. Mother took over there and succeeded in making one of the loveliest places in town. Father fenced the large corner lot and put in a nice wrought iron gate.
Mother added flowers of all kinds. I see her now as she watered, fertilized, and sent bouquets to the neighbors. They always kept a vegetable garden, small fruits, and we had meat, eggs, cream, butter, and cheese. There was lots of wood on the farm for the kitchen stove. They installed an oil heater in the living room. On cold winter days, you could see them, if you look back, Father settled with the paper, Mother hooked a lovely rug or cutting quilt blocks, Lizzie searched out Largo on the piao. A smile come on your face for you know they are not beaten. The kids are all settled, working in the Church, rearing large families and doing a good job of it.
In 1920, Mary married, Alma Able Kunz, on Oct. 14, in the Logan Temple. In November, Norma and Evan B. Floyd were married in the Logan Temple and in December Merele married Solomon Fullmer.
Father was ill for such a long time during 1947-48. We girls cared for him with Mother's help until he died on 22 September, 1948.
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