STAR VALLEY HISTORICAL SOCIETY HISTORICAL BOOKS INVENTORY DETAILS 1. Overview Title: Seth Broadbent Nield Author: Sarah Lindsay Subject: Personal History Publisher: Publishing Date: Number of Pages: 8 ID#: 371 Location: Website 2. Evaluation Evaluator's Name(s): Kent and Polly Erickson Date of Evaluation: December 2014 Key Words: Meadow, Utah; Halfway House, Crow Creek, Nield String, WWI, Included Names: John Nield, Sarah Broadbent, Mary Jolley Jensen, Elizabeth Walton 3. Svnopsis He was born in Meadow, Utah, in 1875. In 1887, he went some of his older brothers to Star Valley. He helped move the family and their belongings to Star Valley in 1888; here they took up homesteads. The Nield brothers carried the mail between Star Valley and Montpelier for 20 years. He married Mary Jolley Jensen in 1896. After her death, he married Elizabeth Walton. 4. Other *List of children born to Seth B. Nield & Mary J. Jensen
Seth Broadbent Nieldl Seth Broadbent Nield In the small town of Meadow, Utah located In the southern part of the state. Seth Broadbent Nield was bom, July 2 1875, to John Nield and Sarah Broadbent. He was the youngest child bom to them. There were eight boys and two girls in the family. He grew up as a normal boy and started school at the age of six. He went to school until he was 13 years old. He often spoke of watching his father make sorgum or molasses made from sugar cane. He helped raid many water melon patches in the summer. He said, 'They only took what could eat and did not destroy the patch except one." Ben Goddard, their schoolteacher, kept them in school one night. Sothat night they raided his watemneion patch and put broken melons on his picket fence. His father was John Luke Nield. He taught school in the winter, but in the summer he would take thewagon and horses and sell books and pictures from door to door. My father, Seth Nield, usually spent the summers with his father selling books and camping out at night. When he was ten years old, he was with his father on one of these welling trips. He went along to keep him company and to drive the team while his father was calling at the homes. One night they camped and turned their horses out. The horses got loose and started through the gills for home. They searched all day until nearly night, without dinner. They found their tracks and followed them until it got so dark they couldn t see. They built a fire and stayed there until morning. When it got light they took up their tracks again. The sun got awfully hot asit was through a sand hill country. By ten or eleven they were getting terribly thirsty. It wasn't long after that they found one of the horses. He had gotten tangled up in his hobbles and was down and almost dead. This didn't help them much as they couldn't ride him. The other horse went home and they arrived home about eight o'clock the next night. They were out for two days and one night without a drink of water in the hot sun. The next day they went back to the wagon and finished the trip.
Seth Broadbent Nield2 Father's older brothers John, Joe, and Tom and a brother In law, Abe Taysom, went to Star Valley In the year 1887 to look for a new home. While they were there he went with his father on another trip to Eureka, Utah. While there he got a telegram from the boys In Star Valley saying that his brother Joe was terribly sick and not expected to live and wanted their father to come at once. They were about thirty miles from the railroad, but his father decided to go. They started out that night with the team and wagon to get his father off on the train. This would leave my father alone with the horses and wagon and one hundred miles from home. He was about 12 years old. The hadn't got very far out of Eureka when his father asked him, "Do you ever pray?" He answered "once in awhile." So his father said, "Stop the team we are going to pray now." They got out of the wagon and knelt down by the wheel. When they got up his father said, "IfJoe is alive now he'll live and I'll bring him home with me." His father got in the wagon, but it seemed that father hesitated and stood by the wheel for a few minutes looking into the hills. He said to his father, "Can you see that man upon that side hill?" His father looked and said, "Yes, he believed he could see a man on a horse. Father spoke, "I can see him plain, it's Jim (His brother) he's tuming this way and he's on Goddard's pinto horse." He came straight to the wagon. They waited until he reached them. It was his brother Jim. He said they had trouble trying to find them, so his mother had sent him out to find them to deliver the message about Joe's illness. Jim said the people he had stayed with the night before told him about a cut off that would save him several miles. He got lost on the trail, so decided to ride to the top of the ridge. When he got to the top he could see straight to them. They started to the railroad station. His father had spent all his money, but he was determined to go anyway. He filled his brief case with books and little things he had to sell. He got on the train without a ticket. By time he got to the next station he had money enough for his ticket. He traveled this way selling books on his way until he reached Star Valley. He found Joe much improved; he had taken a turn for the better about the time they prayed and waited for Jim. He stayed in Star Valley for two weeks and brought Joe back to Meadow, Utah in the wagon.
Seth Broadbent Nieid3 My father, Seth, and Jim reached home safe with the horses and wagon. The rest of the brothers stayed in Star Valley until fall. They took up homesteads and built two log cabins, but returned to Meadow for the winter. When he was thirteen years of age, the spring of 1888, he moved with his family to Afton, Wyoming riding most of the distance of five hundred miles on horseback, driving cattle. He rode back about half of the time. They took tums using the saddle. They had three trailer wagons and one single wagon. It took about six weeks to make the trip. They had a lot of fun and a good many things of sorrow. It was in June when they left Montpelier, Idaho going to Afton, Wyoming. There was still a lot of snow on the road. They shoveled through a snow sliced in Snow Slide Canyon to get through. They had very bad roads of mud and snow. When they arrived in Afton, Grandpa Nield and the rest of my father's brothers took up homesteads west of Afton. Theyspentthe summer building two cabins and fencing around them. There were two families that lived in each cabin during that first winter. The boys Jim, Tom, and Seth (my father) slept in a wagon box covered with a wagon cover. The snow was about five feet deep over the wagon box, which kept them from freezing. They made a tunnel through the snow to get in. They went all winter with very little food. They had no guns, but the deer were so thin they set dogs on them and it didn't take long to get some meat. This was known as the hard winter, because of the heavy storms, long winter, and shortage of feed for the cattle. Many of them died. The Nield family lost all of their cattle but two head. They turned their stock out on Crow Creekfifteen miles south west of Afton. The each tookturns shoveling trails from place to place and carrying grain to them. They saved most of their horses. In the spring of 2889 father started to work on a ranch in Sage Valley, Idaho for Wilson Brothers. He worked there for two years. The Nield Brothers started to carry the U.S. Mail from Afton, Wyoming to Montpelier, Idaho in the year 1891. They did this for two years making three trips a week. Then they were given a contract to carry daily mail. This they did for twenty years. They were faithful to their job no matter what, rain, snow or
Seth Broadbent Nield4 sunshine. 'The mail must go thru." Sometimes they would go with team and wagon or sleds, other times horse back and many times they carried it on their backs on snowshoes or on foot. They had many experiences with snow slides, which were dangerous. Sometimes they froze their feet, and hands and ears. I remember once of father telling about getting stranded and was without food. So he went to a farmhouse and asked if he could have dinner with them. He said the meat was very good, so he asked them what kind it was. They told him it was squirrel meat. He said it made him sick and he lost his dinner. In the year 1896 he met my mother, Mary Jolley Jensen. Her family lived a Fairview, Wyoming. They went to lots of dances and had ten cents worth of hard tack candy or had a candy pull at one of the homes. Making candy out of molasses. Father, mother, his brother Jim, and his wife (Mary Ann Retson) were married Christmas Day, 25 December 1896, by their father, John Nield. He was the Justice ofthe Peace of Afton, Wyoming. The 15^^ of September 1897, they went to the Logan Temple and were sealed for time and all eternity. The children of Seth Broadbent Nield & Mary Jolley Jensen: 1. Mary Ethel Nield, bom 11 Nov 1897, died 27 Feb 1918. 2. *Seth Horace Nield, born 18 Mar 1899. 3. William Edward Nield, bom 6 Jul 1900. 4. LaVar Broadbent Nield, bom 17 May 1902. 5. Otho Floyd Nield, born 12 Dec 1903. 6. Sarah Ann Nield, born 3 Oct 1905. 7. Willard Earl Nield, born 6 Dec 1907. 8. Myrtle Grace Nield, born 11 Aug 1909. In the year 1912 he went to Snake River to work in the grain and potatoes. While he was there he was called home because of sickness. He contracted typhoid fever and was very sick when he arrived home. He was in bed for six weeks. It was three months before he could do any work. They lived in a four-room log house for many years. On the place that Grandfather Nield had first homesteaded. All of the brothers had homesteads side by side. They were a very devoted family. The street now in the year 1961 in still called Nield Ave.
) Seth Broadbent NieldS Father had to go to Crow Creek to get some mild cows. Father and mother decided to make it a little vacation. They took all of us children with the white top buggy and camped out over night. The next day they had stopped for dinner. Father took the smaller children with him to fish, Bill stayed with mother to help prepare dinner. Her skirt caught on fire and was blazing so bad she jumped into the river. The saved herface from being bumed. Father got herout of the water, took some of his clothes off and put on Mother and then wrapped her in a blanket and brought her home. She was very badly burned on her body. It was very painful, but soon healed. In the year 1917, World War 1 was very bad and father was worried about being called to war and leave the family. His two oldest sons had registered and were waiting for his classification. On the morning of 11 November 1918, Father got up and said he had had a dream. He related the dream to us at the breakfast table. He said, "It seemed he and his brother Jim were standing by the stack yard fence when the heavens opened. They looked up and frying pans, kettles, hammer, and almost everything imaginable came falling to earth. One more minute it the old white-topped buggy came tumbling down and in it was a big red rooster with the most beautiful red comb he had ever seen. He was crowing very loud." Father turned to his brother and said, "Red means victory the war must be over. After breakfast father got on the horse and went to town, since there was no quick way of carrying news those days. When he got there he learned that the Amiistice had been signed, that the War was over. February 27 1918, his oldest daughter Ethel died after having pneumonia. The folks were on their way to Star Valley to celebrate mother's parents, Ole A. Jensen's, golden wedding on the 28^ of February. This occasion was postponed for a few days. Father built an eight-room house on the same land. They lived in it one winter and didn't have it all finished when his wife, Mary died on the 10^*^ of May 1920. They enjoyed much happiness in their married life of twenty-four years. A picture given to them by his Mother at marriage inscribed, "Welcome to all" was placed in their home. This motto that they strived for was certainly
Seth Broadbent Nield6 enjoyed by the young as well as the old. Their home was a playground for children. Christmas was a very happy occasion. It seemed that dad and mother knew just what to do to make us happiest. In December when it was very cold there was a lot of frost on the telephone lines. Father told us this was Santas telephone lines that were attached to the stove in the house and that Santa Claus could see or hear every thing we did. So at Christmas time we were extra good. Finally on Christmas Eve before going to bed, we all gathered around the stove. Father would go thru a lot of maneuvers to get Santa's attention on the lines connected to the stove. One by one we would each tell Santa the things we really wanted for Christmas. After we were thru father would tell him if he couldn't bring him $1,000.00 he didn't need to come. We children would look at the large Christmas tree we had spent most of the day trimming with pop corn, cranberries chains and four or five dozen was candles in holders, and wonder if Santa would really come. In the morning bright and early we would find every thing we had wanted on the Christmas tree. We weren't allowed to touch anything until father and mother were up to light the candles. They would often use the dining room for wrestling. The smaller ones would wrestle first. Then the best wrestler of the boys would wrestle father last. There were always cookies for treats. In the summer time there were swings, whirl-a-gigs, ball games and other sports. After mother's death, father was mother as well as father to his family. He was very sad and lonely. He would usually go with the older children to the Friday and Saturday night dances ratherthan stay home along. In May 1923, I was planting garden and father came out with a serious look on his face. He wanted to know how I felt about him getting married again. I knew he was lonely and knew if he could have a companion he would be happier. On 24 May 1923 he married Elizabeth Walton and to their union was born two children, Hazel born 27 June 1924, died at birth, and Lenna born 18 January 1926. Their married life was saddened by the prolonged illness of his wife. His outstanding character was shown by his love and devotion to her until her death on 22 July 1946.
Seth Broadbent Nield? When his sons were old enough to help haul the mail, he and his sons and his brother had another contract to haul the mail from Afton to Montpelier. They also had a stage line and hauled passengers with a covered sleigh with a stove in it to keep warm. They had changes of horses along the way. They always stopped at the half way house which was run by Noen Wilkes and bought their dinner there. They carried the mail this time for twelve years. Shortly after his second marriage each of his children started choosing companions and were soon all married. *Horace married Vietta Bruce Walton Sarah married Alpheus Lindsay William married Viola Laughter LaVar married Rhena Wilkes Myrtle married Ross George Willard married Loma Hurd Floyd married 1 ^Lositta Hinck, 2"^ Delia Turner Lositta died at the birth or their first child who also died. Some years later Lenna married James Sharp Jr. One of the things he rejoiced over most that he as well as all of his children was married in the Logan Temple. After his health started to fail him and he wasn't able to run the farm any more he sold the farm to his oldest son, Horace. He bought a place up town and moved up there, but the farm was always where his heart was and spent much time down there on the fann. The doctor in Salt Lake said he had an enlarged heart and his working days were over. He went to visit his children in Montpelier, Pocatello and Las Vegas, but he didn't stay very long. He couldn't get use to city life, so he wasn't content until he was near the farm. Lenna and her husband "Bud" lived with him. He enjoyed having them with him.
Seth Broadbent NieldS He died of a heart attack Sunday 15 May 1949 at Afton, Wyoming. The funeral was held in the Afton South Ward. He was buried in the Afton Cemetery 19 Mary 1949. Seth Broadbent NIeld built a firm foundation of high ideals for his family to follow. Written by his daughter, Sarah Lindsay