"I was born in Summit, Iron County, Utah, January 10, 1864, and came to
Panguitch the latter part of March the same year. I was my mother's
baby. My parents were called here by President Brigham Young to help
settle this country. Father helped make the roads, ditches, and helped
to build the fort which the people lived in to protect themselves from
the Indians, who were very hostile and on the warpath.
There were in our family: Mother, Father, brothers - Orson, Thomas, and William R, sister Lydia, and myself. We were very poor as were all the settlers. The settlers grubbed the brush and planted crops. We stayed here in Panguitch for 4 years when the Indians became so bad we had to leave. We went to Circleville to help strengthen that place against the Indians, and could go no place to live except the Meeting House. There were 7 or 8 families cluttered in there together. The President told father in answer to a letter that he was at liberty to go where he pleased to make his home.
We then moved to Beaver City, Utah where we remained until I was 14 years of age. While in Beaver I was baptized in a river. It was such a small stream that a dam was made with rocks to back up the water so that it would be deep enough. I shall never forget the day or the place. It was where you cross the bridge at the edge of Beaver. I was 8 years old and was baptized by a man by the name of Jones. He was commonly known as "Tinner Jones" because he was a tinner by trade. I taught in the kindergarten class in Sunday School when I was still very young. I used to sing when I was so tiny that I had to stand on the table. I worked in the fields during the summer and learned to braid straw into hats.
We didn't have very good schools. People had to pay the teacher so much a quarter. I once went to a teacher by the name of Pratt. She lived in a little house where she taught school during the summer months. During the winter, she held school at the school house. She used to have a little stool which was known as the 'dunce stool' and when we were unruly, she made us occupy this stool with a tall paper cap on our head. I used to help her with her work to pay for my schooling.
I used to accompany my mother to Relief Society meetings, and on work meetings, would thread needles for those who were unable to see to thread their own. I was always doing something, and my happiest days as a child were those that were spent in Beaver.
I was born with faith in the Gospel and have always had a testimony of it. I have worked in the church organizations since I was old enough and have sung in the choir since I was 12 years of age.
We didn't have money to spend such as children do today. When we went to a dance or a theatre or participated in any sort of amusement, we used to take potatoes, corn, eggs, or whatever produce seemed available for our tickets. Traveling troupes of entertainers traveled by team and would tarry over and accept food for themselves and horses. But these were the happy childhood days. No one was rich and few were poor -- everyone was more or less independent. While in Beaver, I used to go to the field to work and help my father plow, rake, and haul the hay and grain. This was all done by hand.
At the age of 14, we again moved to Panguitch, and this has been my home since that time. My 13 children were reared in Panguitch, all having been born here with the exception of Mary who was born in St. George. Mary was also baptized in the St. George Temple.
When I was seventeen, I was married to Robert Church of St. George in the St. George Temple. We came to Panguitch and settled on our land where we lived for a number of years. Most of my children were born there. My husband would farm in the summer time, and during the spring and fall would shear sheep. During his absence, I would carry on the work on the farm. When we started life on the farm, we had one cow, a little gray mare, and fifty cents. Our first home was a log stable fixed up as best could be. The door was homemade with an iron latch that was raised up with a buckskin string. It opened toward the outside.
In one side of the hut was a fireplace made of cobble rock. In the east side, looking toward the river, was a window with 6" x 10" glass. This was the only window in the house. The roof was of dirt and the floor was made from small pieces of board that we could pick up. Our furniture consisted of a very small stove, a second-hand table with one leaf, two backless chairs , an old rocking chair, and an old corded bedstead made by a man in Beaver when I was a little girl. Our cupboard was made by boring holes in the wall with birch pegs placed and boards laid across. Scalloped newspapers were used to make the shelves look nice. I had a new rag carpet that was given as a wedding gift from Grandmother Church. The only pictures I had were some I had earned at Sunday School. I was as proud of my home as I would have been had it been a brick one, as young people were happy regardless of their meager circumstances -- looking forward toward a brighter future."
(The above autobiography was written by Charlotte Church)
Added sketches on the life of Charlotte Emily Talbot Church:
Charlotte helped her father in the fields. Her mother was a cripple so Charlotte had to help take care of her and the family. They went to St. George each fall to get a load of fruit. They would load up their wagon with a load of butter and cheese which they had made in the summer to trade for the fruit. They always had a cellar full of fruit.
When her children were too small and too young to go to town, Charlotte help Primary in her home for the neighborhood children. At that time she was president of the Primary. As the children grew older and went to school in the winter, they would rent a house in Panguitch. Charlotte would spend about a week white-washing and scrubbing the old house.
Charlotte cut and made the first dress she wore when she was 12 years old. A seamstress, Mrs. Hankins, stood over her and showed her how to make it. She made her own clothes and did the family sewing after that. She made her clothes by hand until her father bought a second-hand Singer sewing machine. Se used that machine until after Sarah Ann was born. Rob, her husband, then bought her a new sewing machine. They wore denims for everyday wear and delane for winter. Homemade shoes without lining and eyelets were what they wore for shoes.
One of her granddaughters added the following to her biography:
My grandmother gave birth to 13 children. All but four of the children lived to raise families. Every act of her life was to render service to someone. She was not strong in body; she was tiny boned and very thin. She had beautiful brown eyes and velvet skin. She was very strong in the faith. She suffered a great deal and would not have been able to physically accomplish all the good she did had it not been for her unusual courage and her desire to be of use to her fellow men.
She
was left a widow April 15, 1915, so she moved to St. George where she
worked in the temple for 4 years. Then she moved back to Panguitch.
She was very independent and never accepted charity. She sewed,
knitted, or took in boarders for a living.
She always paid a full tithing. She was always the first one up in the morning and worked late into the night. In her personal appearance, as well as in her household activities, she was immaculate. She loved her children dearly, and others too. She was loved by all who knew her. She loved music, and her voice was beautiful in her late years. She suffered a long time before she died October 7, 1933. In my memory, she will always live as one of the dearest, finest women this world has ever known.
There were in our family: Mother, Father, brothers - Orson, Thomas, and William R, sister Lydia, and myself. We were very poor as were all the settlers. The settlers grubbed the brush and planted crops. We stayed here in Panguitch for 4 years when the Indians became so bad we had to leave. We went to Circleville to help strengthen that place against the Indians, and could go no place to live except the Meeting House. There were 7 or 8 families cluttered in there together. The President told father in answer to a letter that he was at liberty to go where he pleased to make his home.
We then moved to Beaver City, Utah where we remained until I was 14 years of age. While in Beaver I was baptized in a river. It was such a small stream that a dam was made with rocks to back up the water so that it would be deep enough. I shall never forget the day or the place. It was where you cross the bridge at the edge of Beaver. I was 8 years old and was baptized by a man by the name of Jones. He was commonly known as "Tinner Jones" because he was a tinner by trade. I taught in the kindergarten class in Sunday School when I was still very young. I used to sing when I was so tiny that I had to stand on the table. I worked in the fields during the summer and learned to braid straw into hats.
We didn't have very good schools. People had to pay the teacher so much a quarter. I once went to a teacher by the name of Pratt. She lived in a little house where she taught school during the summer months. During the winter, she held school at the school house. She used to have a little stool which was known as the 'dunce stool' and when we were unruly, she made us occupy this stool with a tall paper cap on our head. I used to help her with her work to pay for my schooling.
I used to accompany my mother to Relief Society meetings, and on work meetings, would thread needles for those who were unable to see to thread their own. I was always doing something, and my happiest days as a child were those that were spent in Beaver.
I was born with faith in the Gospel and have always had a testimony of it. I have worked in the church organizations since I was old enough and have sung in the choir since I was 12 years of age.
We didn't have money to spend such as children do today. When we went to a dance or a theatre or participated in any sort of amusement, we used to take potatoes, corn, eggs, or whatever produce seemed available for our tickets. Traveling troupes of entertainers traveled by team and would tarry over and accept food for themselves and horses. But these were the happy childhood days. No one was rich and few were poor -- everyone was more or less independent. While in Beaver, I used to go to the field to work and help my father plow, rake, and haul the hay and grain. This was all done by hand.
At the age of 14, we again moved to Panguitch, and this has been my home since that time. My 13 children were reared in Panguitch, all having been born here with the exception of Mary who was born in St. George. Mary was also baptized in the St. George Temple.
When I was seventeen, I was married to Robert Church of St. George in the St. George Temple. We came to Panguitch and settled on our land where we lived for a number of years. Most of my children were born there. My husband would farm in the summer time, and during the spring and fall would shear sheep. During his absence, I would carry on the work on the farm. When we started life on the farm, we had one cow, a little gray mare, and fifty cents. Our first home was a log stable fixed up as best could be. The door was homemade with an iron latch that was raised up with a buckskin string. It opened toward the outside.
In one side of the hut was a fireplace made of cobble rock. In the east side, looking toward the river, was a window with 6" x 10" glass. This was the only window in the house. The roof was of dirt and the floor was made from small pieces of board that we could pick up. Our furniture consisted of a very small stove, a second-hand table with one leaf, two backless chairs , an old rocking chair, and an old corded bedstead made by a man in Beaver when I was a little girl. Our cupboard was made by boring holes in the wall with birch pegs placed and boards laid across. Scalloped newspapers were used to make the shelves look nice. I had a new rag carpet that was given as a wedding gift from Grandmother Church. The only pictures I had were some I had earned at Sunday School. I was as proud of my home as I would have been had it been a brick one, as young people were happy regardless of their meager circumstances -- looking forward toward a brighter future."
(The above autobiography was written by Charlotte Church)
Added sketches on the life of Charlotte Emily Talbot Church:
Charlotte helped her father in the fields. Her mother was a cripple so Charlotte had to help take care of her and the family. They went to St. George each fall to get a load of fruit. They would load up their wagon with a load of butter and cheese which they had made in the summer to trade for the fruit. They always had a cellar full of fruit.
When her children were too small and too young to go to town, Charlotte help Primary in her home for the neighborhood children. At that time she was president of the Primary. As the children grew older and went to school in the winter, they would rent a house in Panguitch. Charlotte would spend about a week white-washing and scrubbing the old house.
Charlotte cut and made the first dress she wore when she was 12 years old. A seamstress, Mrs. Hankins, stood over her and showed her how to make it. She made her own clothes and did the family sewing after that. She made her clothes by hand until her father bought a second-hand Singer sewing machine. Se used that machine until after Sarah Ann was born. Rob, her husband, then bought her a new sewing machine. They wore denims for everyday wear and delane for winter. Homemade shoes without lining and eyelets were what they wore for shoes.
One of her granddaughters added the following to her biography:
My grandmother gave birth to 13 children. All but four of the children lived to raise families. Every act of her life was to render service to someone. She was not strong in body; she was tiny boned and very thin. She had beautiful brown eyes and velvet skin. She was very strong in the faith. She suffered a great deal and would not have been able to physically accomplish all the good she did had it not been for her unusual courage and her desire to be of use to her fellow men.
She always paid a full tithing. She was always the first one up in the morning and worked late into the night. In her personal appearance, as well as in her household activities, she was immaculate. She loved her children dearly, and others too. She was loved by all who knew her. She loved music, and her voice was beautiful in her late years. She suffered a long time before she died October 7, 1933. In my memory, she will always live as one of the dearest, finest women this world has ever known.
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