Key Words: Switzerland, Providence, UT; Freedom. WY; LDS Church, polygamy

Transcription

1 STAR VALLEY HISTORICAL SOCIETY HISTORICAL BOOKS INVENTORY DETAILS 1. Overview Title: Anna Barbara Schiess Author: Ruth Haderlie, Lille Bateman, annie Crook Subject: Personal History Publisher: Publishing Date: 1950 Number ofpages: 5 ID#: 518 Location: Website 2. Evaluation Evaluator's Name(s): Kent and Polly Erickson Date ofevaluation: December 2014 Key Words: Switzerland, Providence, UT; Freedom. WY; LDS Church, polygamy Included Names: Babetta, Johannes Schiess, Anna Barbara Kursteiner Jacob and Susan Schiess 3. Svnopsis She was born in Switzerland in She came to America with her family after they converted to the LDS faith in They settled in Cache Valley, Utah. She married Charles Henry Haderlie in Her sister Bertha became his second wife in Charles was called on a mission. While he was gone, the sisters lived together and helped each other. When he came back, he had to hide from the law because he was a polygamist. He took Anna Barbara and her children to Freedom, Wyoming where they faced many challenges. She had thirteen children and was a devoted mother. She died in Other *She was known as Babetta.

2 ANNA BARBARA SCHIESS affectionately known as "Babetta" Anna Barbara, also known as Babetta, was bom on the 27th ofnovember 1860 at Herisau, Appenzell, Switzerland, daughter ofjohannes Schiess and Anna Barbara Kursteiner. She had two brothers, named Jacob and John, plus three other brothers who died in Switzerland. She also had a sister, Bertha, and two other sisters who died in Switzerland. They'd been given the same name as she, so when they had their temple work done, they had to give them other names as three S ^ couldn't have the same name in one family. m Mother's people were very religious and they kept the Sabbath day strictly. Everything was done and every working tool put away on Saturday night. The cooking was also done for Sunday so there would be no need for work on Sunday. They would go to church and in between they would read the Bible. That is the way they spent their time on Sunday. They were talking ofjoining some church that would have taken them to another country, Africa, but they studied it out as her mother could not see that it was the church they wanted. So they kept going to the one they had been going to. In time the Elders came and talked to them about the Gospel and they joined the Church ofjesus Christ oflatter-day Saints. Mother got her schooling while in Switzerland. She also did a lot ofweaving ofcloth. She got to where she could do very well at it. They had a very nice home. It was a large house and a beautiful place. The yard was fixed up with nice trees, shrubs, flowers and grass. The basement ofthe home was where they had their weaving looms and that was where she spent a lot oftime. She was sixteen years old when they came to America. They went from Hearsay to Rotterdam and then on to New York. While on the ship they all became very sick. She emigrated to Providence, Utah, arriving in Providence on July 15, She went to work for Moss Thatcher, who lived in Logan. He was an apostle. She worked for them for several years and made her own way. She dated two fellows who were not Mormons, so her mother and father would not let her go with them. She soon met Charles Henry Haderlie and went with him. They were married on June 30, 1881 in the Old Endowment House in Salt Lake City, Utah by Joseph F. Smith. They traveled by team and wagon from Providence to Salt lake City, tying their team where the Hotel Utah now stands. After their marriage, they made their home in Providence for awhile. On February 6, 1882 Henry W. was bom and on May 16,1883 Lillie was bom. They were very happy. On June 16, 1884 John J. was born. The first years of their married life were happy times. Father was very good to her, but she sure had her hands full. They had to have all three babies sleep with them as there was only one room and one bed. After that, Father started thinking of taking another wife. He had his mind on two girls; one was Bertha, Mother's sister. So Mother told him that ifhe had to have another wife to choose her sister. He did, and they were married on the 15th ofapril 1885 in the Logan ^ ^ ^

3 Temple. That fall Father was called on a mission to Europe and he left on the 11th ofoctober Mother was expecting another baby soon. It was a hard thing for her to see him go and leave her, but she put her trust in the Lord. On November20,1885 David A. was, bom. Mother had to work very hard to make a go ofthings. She had a cow and some chickens and she raised a garden to help out. After Father left for his mission. Aunt Bertha, Father's second wife came to live with Mother. They had a lot ofgood times together. They would have some oftheir fiiends come to spend the evenings with them at Mother's place. The next summer on July 14, 1886 Bertha's first child, Frederick, was bom. During the next few years, they took tums going to Logan to do washings for other people. They had to do it by hand on a washboard. One would tend the children and nurse the babies, while the other was gone to work. It was a three mile walk to work and three miles back each day for only 40 cents a day. They would also knit long stockings for the McCallister's for 40 cents a pair. They would stay up halfthe night to knit and sew, and with the help ofthe Lord they came out okay. The grandparents also helped to feed and clothe the children while Father was on his mission. Father returned on June 27th, 1888 but he could only stay a week then had to leave on account ofthe marshals being after him for having two wives. Father went to the Caribou mine to work that summer and during that summer he filed on a piece ofland three and one half miles west offreedom, Wyoming (Tin Cup area). In October of1888 Mother and her family moved to Star Valley offreedom, Wyoming. They were seven days on the road. Every time they came to a bad place. Mother and the four children would get out ofthe wagon. They had two cows tied to one wagon and a box ofchickens fastened to the back ofthe other wagon. The roads were very bad. There were steep hills to climb and sometimes sliding places to go over. You might say it was just a trail. Mother often would put rocks under the wheels at the back ofthe wagons while the horses rested, so the wagon would not roll back down the hill and pull on the horses. Then they would go a little ftirther and repeat the process. The two grandfathers had been out and built a log room house for them to move into. They split up big knotty logs into long pieces for chinks then they plastered them with lime and sand. The roofwas made with small poles. Hay was put on the poles and then dirt was put on top to finish the roof The floor was just rough lumber. Grandpa Haderlie and her brother John helped move them to their new home which was about four miles fi-om the town offreedom. While Mother lived in Freedom, she went through many hardships and trials. John, her brother, stayed with them part ofthe first winter and did chores for her, as Father was away working most ofthe time. After John went home. Mother and the children were very scared of the Indians. On Febmary 20,1889 her mother passed away, and she didn't know anything about it for a month, as they didn't dare tell her. Father hid the letter telling about her death. She couldn't figure out why she never got any letters from home. For years Mother had to put the children to bed early on Saturday nights so she could wash, dry and iron their clothes for Sunday. Father had to take offhis work shirt to get it washed. Father would go to church and take Henry and Lillie with him. On April 6,1889 Luther H. was bom. Mother was a person with a kind and loving personality. She would sing and read to her children. She stacked hay the summer before Annie was bom on September 4,1890. Father only hauled a small amount ofhay and couldn't get anyone to help. As soon as he could, he built two more rooms on the one they

4 already had. One was upstairs for the older children's bedroom. The other was a bedroom for Father, Mother and the smaller children. Mother would stay up until midnight to mend and knit. She would have Lillie stay with her for company but Lillie would lean on the table and go to sleep. Then Mother had to wake her up. She hated to be alone. At one time there was no salt for butter so Mother put it in a barrel and put salt brine over it, until the next churning when she would take the brine off, put in the new batch of butter, and them put the brine back on. In the fall she made it into pound molds and Father took it to Montpelier to sell it. It sold for about 10 cents a pound. With the money he bought a few things for winter such as factory calico, a little outing flannel for the new baby, a lamp glass, blue denims, and a few other things they needed. On May 9,1892 Ida was bom. The Indians used to come and ifthey knew the men folks were away, they would go into Mother's garden, pull up her garden stuff, throw it on the ground and say "no good." Mother would say "I will call Father" and they would laugh and say "Oh no, him away off." They weren't so bold when the children got older. Henry wasn't scared ofthem so when he was there the Indians would pass by and not bother them. One time Mother had gone for the cows and when she came back there was a big buck Indian standing in the doorway. She wanted to go into the house to the children, but he wouldn't let her so she went to the woodshed and got the axe and said she would use it. He laughed at her, but he went away. What courage it took to be so brave! On November 27,1893 Lula was bom on her mother's birthday, which was a grand birthday present. On March 10,1896 Edward W. was bom. He didn't do very well. Not like the others. On November22,1897 Wilford was bom and in May 1898 the family caught whooping cough. They were a sick bunch. Edward got pneumonia and on May 31, 1898 he died and was buried above the house (northwest ofthe hill). A little choke cherry tree was planted by the little grave. Later the casket was moved to the cemetery. On December 11,1899 Austin L. was bom. He drowned on June 16,1901 in an irrigation ditch back ofthe house. Father had come from the field when he saw someone coming from town with the mail. The baby slipped out behind him as he went out. The bridge had a hole wom in it by the horses going over it and the baby fell through into the ditch. He was missed and when Father noticed the commotion, he started looking for him and found him in the ditch. The headgate had stopped the baby from going into Tin Cup Creek. They worked over him for some time to no avail. Then Mother and Father washed and laid him out. That was a very hard trial for Mother. Aunt Bertha moved from Providence, Utah to Freedom, Wyoming in the Fall of Aunt Bertha lived in the old loghouse and Mother lived in one they had built for her. Things didn't go very well. On September 15, 1903 Hazel Lavem (Fem) was bom. Mother always had to work very hard. She washed the clothes for her big family on a board. She finally got a handwasher but she never had any ofthe conveniences oftoday. Henry moved down to Snake River Valley in 1903 to live, and she sure worried about him a lot. Then David finally went, too, and stayed. Grandpa Schiess lived with Mother's family for awhile. Then when Aunt Bertha moved to Thayne, he went to live with her. On January 10,1907 Gilbert S. was bom and a few months later on April 17,1907 her first girl, Lillie, was married to Alfred Bateman in Freedom, Wyoming at her mother's home. On November 16,1907 David was married to Mary Price in Idaho Falls, Idaho. i

5 On Christmas morning 1908 Mother's house burned down. Mother heard a noise and, looking around, saw the curtain above the hall door on fire. She shut the door, then she and her two daughters, Annie and Lula, and sons, Luther and Wilford hurried and took a straw tick and some quilts out into the snow in front ofthe house where they put the two small children, Lavem and Gilbert, on them in their nightclothes while they got out as many things as fast as they could. The house was all on fire above. It was a bitter cold morning. A cold vsdnd was blowing and there was 18 inches ofsnow. Father and the rest ofthe family were away. The nearest neighbors were Mother's brother, Jacob, and his family. They lived a half-mile away and by the time they got there they couldn't get into the house. He took Mother and her family into his home. It took Mother a long time to get over the fire. There were things she always missed. She lived in one room for a week in her brother's home. Then Father got a room that Grandpa Schiess lived in at Thayne and moved it to the ranch. And he also got a sheep wagon and fixed up the woodshed for a kitchen. It was so cold that the food would get cold as soon as it was put on the plates. The family went through an awful winter with sickness and a cold house. In the spring. Father and the boys went to the canyon and got logs to build a new house before the next winter. In June 1912 Luther went on a mission to England and Mother worked very hard to keep him while he was there. He came home in the summer of On September 25,1912, her son John married Martha Lindholm and a daughter, Ida, married Phil E. Jenkins. There were married in the Logan Temple, Utah. On June 5, 1913 Henry was married to Ruth J. Ward in the Salt Lake Temple, Utah. On September 17,1913 Annie was married to William Crook in the Logan Temple, Utah. When her children started to marry, they married fast. Mother was always good to everyone. The Indians would come to her place and she would give them something to eat. She never turned even a beggar away hungry. She always tried to teach her family the best she knew and she set them a good example. On September 15,1915, two more children were married. Luther was married to Joan Lindholm and Lula was married to Raymond Jenkins in the Salt Lake Temple, Utah. On June 10,1920 Wilford was married to Fern Erickson in the Logan Temple, Utah. On August 6,1924 Lavem was married to Denzel Jenkins in Idaho Falls, Idaho. They went to the temple and had their family sealed to them on June 8,1927. All of Mother's children have been through the temple but one. She was sure proud to have them grow up to be good men and women and do work in the church. She always loved to have a nice garden and small fhiit such as strawberries, currants, and raspberries. She also loved to have flowers, trees, and grass around her home. No matter how hard things were, she never complained. She always made the best of things. Lillie had her family sealed to her on the 27thofJune Mother went with her and was so glad to go to the temple again as she hadn't had the chance to go since she herselfwas married. She only went through the temple two times in her life. She was an active worker in the ReliefSociety. She was visiting teacher for many years. Mother would walk Vi mile in the summer to do her teaching. Her youngest son, Gilbert, would take her when she had no other way to go. He took her many times. Whenever there was sickness or a new baby coming in her family. Mother would send for Sister Nelson to come. Sister Nelson was a mid-wife. Mother never had a doctor. Mother and Aunt Susan, Uncle Jacob's wife, really did enjoy one another's company. They would take some mending or sewing and go to each other's place to visit. And when Aunt f

6 Susan was to Mother's, when she was ready to go home, Mother would walk part way home with her. And when Mother was over to Aimt Susan's, she would walk part way home with Mother. They lived about a halfmile apart. They were really a comfortto each other. Ifthey had any sickness, they would help each other as much as possible. They lived there for many years and it was always the same. Uncle Jacob's family moved there a very few years after Mother came. And whenever anything went wrong at Mother's, Uncle Jacob was the one they would go for. He was always glad to lend a helping hand. Mother was very fortunate in having all her married children living not too far away. Henry and David lived the fiirthest away. They lived not too far from Idaho Falls, Idaho. On July 26,1929 Mother was operated on- the first time she had ever gone to a doctor. She was in the L.D.S. Hospital in Idaho Falls. She was not well anymore. She was sick all winter. Henry, Dave and Ruth went and saw her in March Annie took her to her place and took care of her for three weeks. Lillie, Ida and Lula helped her. Mother passed away on May 8,1930 at Annie's place in Freedom, at the age of69 years, 5 months, and 11 days. She had 11 living children, 41 grandchildren, and 1 great grandchild. Her baby boy, Gilbert, was married to Phyllis Jenkins on June 10,1931 m the Salt Lake Temple, Utah. Eleven grandsons and one granddaughter have gone on missions. Four grandsons were in the service ofour country and one gave his life for his country. She was a wonderful mother. (This life history was compiled by gathering a little here and a little there. It was written in June and July of 1950 by Henry's wife, Ruth, Lillie Bateman, and Amie Crook.)