Abigail Lodicia Tanner

Abigail around 1874

 A Recollection of Grandmother Thompson

by James L. Gwilliam, Sr., A Grandson (cousin of Gloria Thompson Foster)

ABIGAIL LODICIA TANNER, born 18 March 1858 at Farmington, Utah, daughter of Nathan and Persis (Tippets) Tanner. Married 23Decembr 1872 in the Endowment House at Salt Lake City, Utah to Frederick Christian Thompson, son of Neils and Karen (Nielson) Thompson. He was born 27 June 1847, at Copenhagen, Denmark. She died 21 May 1938 at Salt Lake City, Utah. He died 10 August 1923 at Farnum, Idaho. Source: “Descendants of Nathan Tanner, Sr.” published by the The Nathan Tanner Family Association 1968 p. 558 16-B.

 Abigail and sister Hattie as children.

Abigail as a young woman.

My first actual recollection of Grandma Thompson was in the early Fall of 1918. My mother had taken me from Park City, Utah to Southern Idaho, hoping to avoid exposure to the dreaded influenza epidemic raging at the time.

The grandparents with their grown sons were operating a large dry farm on the rolling hills between Farnum and Chester, Idaho. The Fall River and the Snake River were nearby but none of the water was available on the high rolling hills. Their home was an unpainted two-story frame house – two rooms upstairs (kitchen and living room, called a parlor) two bedrooms upstairs connected by a steep stairway as narrow as a ladder. The kitchen had a large cooking stove which provided the only heat for cold weather except a small kerosene-burning heater which could be carried from place to place to provide some small comfort, but much smoke, on cold days or nights.

The landscape was bleak. No trees or grass grew in the yard. The grain fields extended right up to the house. This was a pioneering venture. The Thompson's were of pioneer stock capable of meeting the rigors of cold, wind, snow and summer heat. The First World War was coming to a conclusion. Because of the war, grain prices were good; therefore, an element of prosperity was evident as the harvest began.

Grandmother prepared meals for ranch hands, fed chickens, gathered eggs, and did the laundry out in the yard using tubs, buckets, and an old-fashioned scrub board. Water was hauled by wagon from the river. Wooden barrels were placed on the wagon bed to be hauled into river. The water was dipped into the barrels. This process required the efforts of two or three people, and took the greater part of a day. Usually, time was taken to catch fresh trout from the stream to supplement the food supply at the ranch.

Abigail in center with daughters. Rose is on left.

I was present to witness the threshing “bee” in the Fall of 1918. The huge iron-wheeled, self-propelled steam engine rumbled into the yard, pulling the separator, or thresher, a wagon loaded with tools, equipment, and fuel, followed by a large wooden water tank. This was all in tandem, like a train. The separator was positioned between the stacks of bundled grain, the engine some distance away, with a wide leather belt connecting them to provide the drive power. The threshing was a cooperative project. Each rancher provided workers to assist with the work at each farm until the harvest was complete. Grandmother provided meals for workers during the week it took to complete Grandpa's crop. The sons (my uncles) then moved along with the crew, to repay for help received, in kind. The owner of the machinery took his pay in a percentage of the grain as it was threshed. No money changed hands in the process, but everyone made a gain.

It seems that all the men were glad to sit at Grandma's table, because of the abundant and delicious food she prepared.

Following the harvest, the “boys,” including my brother Russell, dug a well near the back of the house. This was dug by hand, with the dirt hauled to the surface by windlass and bucket. It was a call for rollicking fun when the water started to appear. The boys scuffled with grandmother, and insisted she be lowered into the hole to dip the first cup of water. With much laughter, she finally stood in the bucket, held onto the rope, and was lowered down to touch the water. When she was back to the surface, she threw cups of water into the faces of her tormentors.

The days of the long haul each week to the river was ended.

My family moved from Park City to Cottonwood, south of Salt Lake City, in the spring of 1920. Grandmother came down to visit early that summer, which gave me an opportunity to get more closely acquainted with her. During this visit, she made me aware of the small adobe house where she was born. This was located on the northeast corner of Vine Street and Thirteenth East in South Cottonwood. She told me of the large holdings and the several homes her father had built in South Cottonwood, including a large structure known as Tanner Hall. Grandmother also related to us, and especially to me, the efforts of Grandfather Tanner to develop the Tanner Ditch Irrigation Co., and the dairy, livestock, and lumber industries in the canyons east of the valley.

My father had purchased a small pigeon-toed horse, and light buggy. Mother and Grandmother decided to go on a shopping trip to Murray some three or four miles West of our home. Taking along a supply of fresh eggs, and several pounds of sweet cream butter (Mother's specialty), they started on the journey. Both these women were quite buxom, nearly twins as to size. As they stepped into the carriage, it tilted almost to the point of capsizing until they balanced their weight on the seat. All apparently went well on the trip into town, but when they started home, the poor little pony refused to budge. The women had to dismount, lure the horse forward with candy, and finally had to lead him the entire distance. The two blond, fair-skinned women were hot, sunburned, and weak from laughter at their own misfortune. A hearty chuckle, a smile, and hearty laughter, were characteristic of Grandma Thompson and her oldest daughter.

Aunt Rose Lindsay (daughter), Lodicia, Aunt Mel Morse

After Grandfather's death, Grandmother liver with her daughter, Amelia (known to all of us as “Aunt Mel”). This home was on Commonwealth Avenue, near Fifth Easts in Salt Lake City. This made it possible for me to visit many times with her, and have her recall her earlier life experiences. She recalled her early marriage and the new family's efforts to make a living in a pioneer environment. They were farming in Granger, in Salt Lake Valley, and also were operating a ranch at Parleys Park (later Snyderville) near Park City, Utah. Grandfather would leave some time ahead of Grandmother. Later, as spring progressed, she would load a wagon with supplies, hitch up the team, and drive with her children the thirty miles or so through Parleys Canyon to the meadow ranch lands near Park City.

Apparently, this happened for several years, until they decided to enter business in Park City, to take advantage of the economy in the booming mining camp. The time was in the early 1880's.

She told me of the disastrous fire in Park City in 1898, which wiped out their business. The building, stock, and money was all burned in the fire. For several years my Mother had a melted ball of gold and glass which was said to have been the remains of Grandfather's gold watch, all that was left of a thriving business.

My sister Mary (Mary Brunyer) has vivid and fond memories of our grandparents during the Park City era. A snapshot is in her possession, showing Grandmother on the porch of a large home with some of her children. The fire disaster did not deter them from re-establishing themselves in business. Mary also describes clearly the departure of our grandparents and their family to re-establish themselves in Southern Idaho. The journey was made in a large, white canvas, covered wagon, loaded with household goods, food supplies, and their children. Such a journey, taking most of the day in an automobile today, would surely have used up an entire week, or more, at that time, with the necessity of camping along the way for rest and meal preparation. It was at their ranch that I came to know the Thompson Family personally when I was but six years old.

Shortly after the death of Grandfather, I had occasion to go with Grandmother and my mother to visit with Grandmother's ailing brother “Uncle” Stewart Tanner. He was very ill, confined to his bed, hardly able to speak. But one could tell from the increased rise in spirit, and sparkle to his eye, that he was delighted to see his sister, “Dicy.” As they were talking with each other, the grandmother expressed the hope that she would never become so enfeebled or infirm as to become a burden to someone else. Uncle Stewart clasped Grandmother's hand, and in a quiet but firm voice, said to her, “Dicy, have no fear, you will never taste of death.” I guess I was much too young to catch the significance of such a statement, but it did remain in my memory until a later event brought it fully to mind.

In about 1931, the Park City Relief Society was arranging for the anniversary of the founding of the Park City Group. Knowing that Grandmother had been the first president, and knowing that Sister Mary was a granddaughter, they asked her to review her history. Mary asked me to write something from which she could make such a presentation.

I made another special trip to visit with Grandmother in Salt Lake, and during the course of the interview, I learned that she was not only the organizer of the Park City Relief Society, but had also organized and become the first President at Granger, and also the the Primary Associations in each community.

Mary and I regret that we did not retain a copy of this valuable information as Grandmother told it to me. Otherwise, it would not be necessary to make this belated recall of fading memories.

To conclude this brief recollection of Grandmother Thompson, I extract a short portion of my own life story in a Chapter entitled, “Some Women in My Life.” Included in this listing, along with my mother, a surrogate mother, Grandma Bagley, and my wife Alice, is the following resume regarding “Grandma Thompson.”

“The second woman in my life was Grandmother Thompson. Depending on which generation was referring to her, she was 'Mother', 'Aunt Dicy', 'Grandma', or 'Toppy'.

“I guess my mother inherited many of her traits from her mother, for Grandma Thompson possessed the same virtues as Mother.

Aunt Hattie, Aunt Sarah and "Dicy"

“From her I learned the story of Grandfather Thompson, who had begun life as a Danish Cabin Boy, sailing the seas. She told me of his ability to swim completely around his ship holding a brick in each hand. But, mostly from her sweet attitude toward life, I learned something of patience and forbearance.

“Grandma was of the pioneer era. She could harness and drive an ox team, or a team of several horses. She was a helpmate to her husband. They made and lost several fortunes. She lived to see many of her children (including my mother) pass to their graves ahead of her. She had known hardship and ease, she had seen much of sorrow and death, but at no time was there an expression of remorse or bitterness.

“I recall, as she was living with a daughter named Aunt Mel, she would find her way by streetcar around Salt Lake City, calling on her 'girlfriends,' as she called them—women younger than she, who had grown old, and were homebound or ill. Grandmother always seemed to find a way to get to them and cheer them up.

“When we called on her on the occasion of her eightieth birthday, she said to me, 'Oh, how I would like to live another eighty years! I have seen so many good things happen, it would be wonderful to stay another eighty years!' Such is representative of her attitude and philosophy of life: 'All things are good.'

“She feared only of getting old and sick, as to be a burden to someone in her old age. She was spared this fear, as one morning, as was her custom, she went to the front door, brought in the morning paper, spread it on the table to read, and as she sat down in her chair, she lowered her head to the table, and in the flash of a second, transpired to a realm somewhere, to a joyful reunion with loved ones, and to a just reward for a lifetime of hard work, service, and devotion to her Christian ideals.

“My life has been richer, in that she was spared long enough to transmit to me her philosophy of life, and to aid in assuaging the loss of my mother.

“ 'She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.' [Proverbs 31:26]”

*More details available by grandson Keith Thompson.