Charles Edward Worthington

Born 26 October 1874 in Nephi to Thomas Worthington and Susannah Pass
Married Mary Eliza Anderson 12 August 1896
Charles Edward-Eudean-Earl
Died 25 April 1966 in Provo
Buried in Emery

1880 Census
1900 Census
1910 Census
1920 Census
1930 Census 

Son of Thomas Worthington and Susanna Pass. He has six brothers and four sisters. Played with the neighboring children, Astell Neff, Lizzie Scofield, Addie Scofield, Fred Chappel, and Charles Morris, are the teachers who taught him. The boys and girls would take the benches out of the school house and dance. They also had theaters there. We used to dance on Ostlers porch. His first sweetheart was Nettie Ostler. We danced by harmonica.

The Nephi boys were great serenaders. The people used to treat the boys to cake, beer, and other delicacies most every night; and always invitations to come again.

Charles was a high soprano singer. Gus Henroid a musician trained ten of the group one winter and they put on a minstrel show and traveled in a wagon, and put the show on in all the neighboring towns.

When he was 14 years of age, he went with a team loaded with wool from the boulder mountain, it took 21 days. It seemed like months, this being the fist trip away from home. At 15 years of age he went to Spanish Fork Canyon to herd sheep, the first 15 days he was so home sick and couldn’t eat a bite.

Then for three years he worked for a farmer. Then Father Worthington purchased a farm so he worked with him farming. One of the things the gang got sport from was horseback riding and foot racing. He was one of the fastest in Nephi.

He and the children used to glean wheat, then thresh it with a flail then blow the chaf out and buy shoes to wear to school. Everyone had to work.

Somehow he liked to step out with Fountain Green girls who worked at Nephi. How they danced and he was getting the gang to serenade them. He was in great fun riding from Nephi to dances in Fountain Green.

Much as he had decided to always be single and enjoy life as old batches do, one of those girls persuaded him to marry. So, August 13, 1896 he was married to Mary Eliza Anderson of Fountain Green.

Bishop Warner married them in Father Worthington’s home. A dinner for all relatives and a dance at night for all. They rented a three-roomed house which he had remodeled and with a bedroom suite, a dining room suite, and a cook stove, and the wedding presents, one a nice rocking chair, another a small table and a nice cover for the table, two paintings framed ready to hang up, everything was in readiness for house keeping. His greatest desire was to provide for his loved ones. He felt that he was the happiest man going.

He had a job making adobes, but as the cold weather came on he went on the west desert herding sheep. His brother George always was with him. George took his guitar and they would have great times singing together. All the herders in that district would gather in one wagon to tell jokes and sing. All the fellows were waiting patiently for spring to meet their wives and the good times in Nephi.

On May 17, a darling baby girl was born to treasure, to love, and care for. He stretched himself and said, “Awe me, I’m a father, that means more herding sheep.” So on he went for six more years. July 8, a baby girl was born, two lovely girls to love and train to be worthy children to serve. How happy this little family were regardless of hard work. April 31, another baby girl was born. He was home just one day when this baby was born. She had black hair and blue eyes. They were happy to welcome this darling to their family.

He decided not to go away with those sheep again. Then he went to Wyoming and cut timber. It was a nice change. He bought a home in the center of Nephi. They were very glad to have a home of their own. He planted peach trees and a garden. Then he got a team and got work. He decided he would like to farm.

January 6, another baby girl came to bless their home. She had black hair and brown eyes. He decided that only girls were in the market. He really would like to have a son to help him to care for his loved ones.

October 22, he loaded a few household goods on two wagons, and went on their way to Emery, Emery County, Utah. It was not easy to leave that home and their friends. At Emery he rented a farm and all the family worked. Farming land in that vicinity is poor so it took much work and small profit.

Then a son was born. They all loved and cherished him, he had black eyes and hair, such a pleasant lovable child. He would wake the family singing every morning. He loved every living thing, never wanted anything killed. He only lived six years and seven months. So many plans were made for his future. So it was indeed a blow when he passed into another sphere. He will be a great pleasure to meet and rear him in eternity. What a blessed privilege if one is worthy.

In his striving to support and educate the children, he sacrificed much. Wanting to be more successful, he bought farming land with borrowed money. Indeed all worked on this farm. Girls worked like men in order to pay for the place and make a living.

We were happy nevertheless and great opportunities were there for the saints. He was ordained an elder and went to the temple and had his wife and children sealed to him for time and all eternity. Another bright link was added to his group. A baby girl born April 22. She also had brown eyes and auburn hair. She too worked with him on the farm. But work makes people happy, and many blessings have come from having the lovely family of girls. The greatest is that they all try to serve in the church. They have all married very fine men all latter-day saints and have been married in the temple for time and for all eternity and are now rearing families of their own.

He had 15 grandchildren, 5 great grandchildren. He now lives in Manti, Utah, and loves to visit with his children and grandchildren. It’s really the greatest privilege to have a family.


Biography of Charles Edward Worthington
Compiled by Cleon Olsen Killpack

Charles Edward Worthington was born October 26, 1874, to Thomas and Susanna Pass
Worthington. He had fine black hair and brown eyes. He was the fifth child in a family of 11 children.

Thomas and Susanna were of English descent, as was recognizable by the hurry and scurry of Susanna’s every movement in keeping her home, yard and children spic and span. To aid her in doing this, she had acquired a habit of polishing off molasses-covered faces, or furniture, with just a dab of spit. She used this with accuracy.

Thomas was calm, understanding, gentle, kind and a hard worker. He was a Railroad Engineer, guiding the one and only train on this line to Eureka area. This helped him acquire a comfortable home for his wife and family. The home was located in the middle of the block at Eighth South and Main Street, Nephi, Utah. It was a large one-roomed adobe with a lean-to, or shanty, as they called it. The furniture consisted of a big cast iron “Charter Oak” coal cook stove, a handmade four-legged table, ten stools, one cane bottom rocking chair and two wooden beds. The beds had ropes for springs with a tick filled with corn husks for a mattress. This was stirred and fluffed up every morning when the bed was made. The father and mother slept in one bed and the older girls in the other. All the other children slept on quilts on the floor. During the day these were rolled up and placed under the beds. They were hidden by a ruffle which hung all around the framework of the bed.

The first childhood memory Charles recalls was about Tom Gaston, known as “The Bad Man.” An Indian came running to their home, yelling, “Tom Gaston, the badman.! Tom Gaston, the badman!” The Indian placed his face up against the window, pleading to be let in. His mother and brothers and sisters were there alone, so they did not let the Indian in. As Tom came running, the Indian fled still screaming, with Tom right at his heels.The Worthington family lived very economically and simply. They always had a good cooked dinner; which, incidentally, never varied in time, five minutes one way or the other, as was the rule for every meal. The one Charles remembers best and loved most was breakfast which always consisted of light dough dumplings made by dropping chunks of light dough in to boiling water. They were considered very delicious.

The molasses was bought in five, ten and 40 gallon barrels and they always had plenty of pork and flour. Each child had a sego root stick, which they were trained to use expertly in digging the flavorsome roots. This stick was about 18 inches long and as big around as a broom handle, whittled very sharp on one end.

The children were also trained to gather mushrooms, which grew under straw or weeds. Every child could distinguish the mushroom from toadstools by shape and color. The mushrooms were steamed and added to good milk gravy.

The Worthington children would walk 18 blocks to buy a gallon of molasses skimmings, which cost them 15 cents. The molasses was boiled until it formed a hard ball when a teaspoonful was dropped in a cup of cold water. It was then poured into a greased container and cooled until it could be pulled. Many candy pulls were enjoyed by the family and their friends.

The clothing for the family was all designed and sewed by their mother. Charles wore pants that came just above the ankle. These were always made out of his sisters’ old coats. His shirts were made of colorful calico.

The clothing for the entire family was handed down from one child to the next as they grew into them. They wore hog-hide shoes which cost 25 cents a pair for children and 75 cents for adults. These shoes were kept shining by using a little water and soot from under the stove lids. The shining was a Monday morning ritual at their home. Their mother acted as shine boy.

Charles attended school five years in Nephi. It took one year to go through one reader, thus the grades were referred to as first, second or third reader. He owned a double slate and speller. He loved this speller and as a result became the best speller in the school. When they had spelling matches, he was always chosen first and always spelled everyone down. One day he had spelled the entire school down, then his teacher, Charles Morris, challenged him. Hell Foote, another teacher, gave out the words. She came to the word tmesis and pronounced it mesis. Both Charles and his teacher missed the “t”. Charles never forgot this word. Even in later life he recalled this experience.

At recess rock fights were the most popular sport. The one throwing straightest and who could open up the most wounds or raise the biggest bumps on an opponent’s head was considered the champ, and I don’t mean chump. They also played Steal the Stick and Run Sheep Run. His schooling terminated after completing the fifth reader.One of his fondest memories was of his father’s ox team. The following story is an experience he remembered well:

When the railroad was being laid into Nephi, Charles and his brother, Tom, were sent with the ox team and wagon to get a load of bark from the railroad ties to be used for fuel. This particular day on their way home they met a crazy woman who started chasing them. The ox, Old Jerry, was very tame while the other, Old Patty, was a “temperamental cuss”. The woman frightened the oxen. Tom really had to “pour on the leather” to get Old Patty to cooperate, but they finally outran the woman. Two very frightened little boys returned home with fuel to last a week.

Charles also helped his father haul wood with this ox team. They would go into the cedars between Nephi and Juab with other men with their teams of horses. The oxen were used to pull over the dead cedars, because they could get them to go anywhere and into any position. The men and boys would trim the trees to be loaded into the wagons. It took two days to get the wood and return to town. This ox team was the last one in Nephi.

At the age of 15, Charles shucked grain for 50 cents a day right along with the men.

The friends he ran around with were Alec Pace, Ren Pace, Wallace Mangram, Charles Balchelor and Tom Crawley. By the time he was 19 years old he belonged to a serenading gang consisting of Charles, his brother, George, Will Arme, Alf Stout, Harry Kendall, Ern and Will Henroid, Ki Carter and Pete Anderson. This group could really sing and love to entertain. They had invitations to come and entertain the townspeople at any hour that was convenient for them. They serenaded on an average of five nights a week from 8 p.m., to 2 a.m., in the morning. They invited an officer of the law to go with them. They would stand under windows and sing. The people always got out of bed, lit the candle or kerosene lamp, and invited them in for refreshments, usually cake. They also sang in church and at dances. They put on minstrel shows for Nephi, Levan and Mona. George, Will and Ernet Henroid played the guitars. Charles was the director of the group and as he said, “And I’ll tell you George was a Cracker Jack of an accompanist.”

Another fellow, Gus Henroid, played the violin. He would play the new songs through for Charles, and he in turn would teach them to the group. He could sing from memory 115 songs, and at the age of 92, he still knew them along with many others.

His first steady girl friend was Jeanette Ostler, but the first time he saw Lide a block off, he knew and said, “There’s the girl I’m going to marry.” It was love at first sight. They danced every Friday night, most all night to the music of a violin, bass fiddle, cornet, clarinet, drums and piano. The serenading group would hire John Ostler, violinist, and Pete Anderson with the banjo, once a week and would go to different homes. The furniture was moved outside and everyone danced.

Charles courted Lide diligently for five years. During this time, he many times rode his little blue speckled horse to Fountain Green, danced all night and rode back to Nephi in time for work the next morning.

On August 13, 1896, Charles Edward Worthington and Mary Eliza (Lide) Anderson were married at Nephi, Utah. They were married by Bishop William Warner at the home of Charles’ parents at 4 p.m. Apublic dance for the entire town was given that evening in the Miller Dance Hall. Mr. Miller gave them the use of the dance hall that night free, for a wedding present. They received a few gifts for the home.

Their first home was located across the street from the Worthington home on 8th South and Main Street. It was a three-room adobe home. Eudean, their first child, was born there. They then moved into Andrew Blacket’s old home. Ruby was born there. They then decided to buy a little three-room home on 3rd South between Main and 1st East. Dessie and Edna were born there.

Charles herded sheep for 21 years on the west desert for $25 a month to support his wife and children. While herding sheep he had many interesting experiences. About the richest experience was when he and Harry Payne were working for McCrane at Indian Peaks. They each had a camp; Charles in the cedars, Harry’s up higher where the Indians hunted deer. An old buck Indian visited Charles every week and ate dinner with him. One day he said to the old buck, “I’ll shoot with you, John.” The Indian took him up on it immediately because he was a wonderful shot. He never missed the target once and always shot with both eyes open. The Indian said, “keep one eye on the target, the other on the sight of the gun.” He asked who owned the camp, and Charles said, “Sanpete man.” A short time after this the dogs of the Indians killed three sheep. Harry got mad and shot one of the dogs. When the Indians came to see about their dog, they asked Harry who had done it. Harry said, “Grass Valley man kill’em. No, Sanpete man kill’em.” So Charles got the blame. Harry rode down and told him what had happened. Just at dusk here came three Indians along the side hill toward Charles’ camp. He took his field glasses and directed Harry where to shoot. He shot about two feet away from them constantly until they finally turned and left. The next night the camp tender who had been to town for supplies returned to camp. Harry told him to put the wagon right up by the Indian camp about fifty yards from the wickiups to prove to the Indians they weren’t afraid of them. After this was done all the men went to the lower camp in the cedars to wait and see what developed. The Indians moved away from their camp, so all ended peacefully.

On another occasion his brother, Oscar, was herding with him. The sheep started to go from camp. Charles told Oscar to run and head them back. It happened that an old bear had lived here on Nebo Creek. Each morning after the sheep had left the bed grounds she would come in and eat all the dead lambs and then disappeared for the day. As Oscar ran along the path he went to jump over a fallen tree. This old dead tree was the hideout of the bear. She reared up in front of him. The dog which had followed Oscar nipped the bear and scared her away.

At this same camp a lion paid Charles a visit on the exact day two weeks apart, month in and month out. On one of his visits Charles found the lion right in the middle of the sheep herd, ready to make his kill. He called his brother to bring him his gun. The lion sprang right over the backs of the sheep and was gone. He never returned to the camp again.

The summer of 1905, after Dessie’s birth, he decided it was time to throw away his cigarettes and pipe, never to touch them again. He quit his job sheep herding and went to Kemmerer, Wyoming to cut trees and saw them into different lengths for props to be used in a mine. It was at this camp he learned to make his notorious star creations of “zephyr” (colored yarn) on felt. He made pin cushions, soft pillows, dresser scarves, and one beautiful table cover he auctioned off for $55.00.In the spring of 1906 he decided to buy a team of horses and a wagon. With these he worked with the cement contractors in Nephi, hauling sand and gravel. He also worked at the Nephi Plaster Mill.

In 1910 they decided to move to Emery, Emery County, Utah. He owned five fine horses, one wagon, and a white-topped buggy. Horses were scarce in Emery so he expected to really make the money with them. They packed all their belongings in the wagon, tied the old red milk cow, “Curly” behind it, loaded the family and cat in the buggy, and started on their journey.

The first day they made it to Little Salt Creek, south of Levan; the next, Centerfield, the next, Sinperses, east of Salina. Each night they would camp out, make their beds on the ground and cook over a fire. At Salina he was advised to turn back because Salina Canyon road was so narrow and dangerous. Very few people could get through with a wagon, but he had a good team and felt he was an expert teamster, so they continued on their journey.

As they neared the tunnel in the canyon the road became very steep and huge rocks three and four feet high had to be crossed over, so they decided to go along the railroad tracks. The railroad had not been used for a long time, and the grade had washed out under the ties. This road was 15 feet above the creek. He had fastened the buggy behind the wagon and had all four horses pulling on the wagon, one wheel between the tracks, the other out on the grade. They struck a washed-out spot and both wagon and buggy slipped off the grade and nearly tipped over. He unhitched Old Sis, his beloved bay mare, fastened her to the high hub of the wagon with only three feet of ground to stand on. The mare put all four feet in this spot and lunged her body right over the embankment and pulled the wagon back up on the grade. He said, “Old Sis acted with superhuman intelligence, not just then, but all through her life.” He hitched her back on the wagon and they continued on. It took them seven days to reach Emery, four of those to go through the canyon, a distance of 60 miles.

In Emery, they lived in a little log house with one big room and a lean-to kitchen which belonged to Lide’s mother. They were very comfortable. Here Theron, the only boy, and Leta were born. Charles leased three farms; the Andrew Buttermilk farm southeast of Emery, Pete Nielsen’s and Nephi Williams farms for half the crop and they furnished the seed. He worked very hard and made a good living.

After living in the little log house until 1915, they moved into another home. He paid a team of horses, harnesses, and a wagon for this home to Arthur Blackham. The family lived in this home for one year. This home, after a year, was sold to Dorian Christiansen for $400 and they bought the Louis Jorgensen farm and home in 1916 for $3,800. This was a 74-acre farm. The house was a two-story building. There were two large adobe rooms with three new rooms and a pantry added on. This gave the family three nice bedrooms, a living room (parlor), kitchen, dining room, pantry, and two storage rooms upstairs. Most all the time there would be a complete year’s supply of flour, salt, sugar and cereal stored upstairs with a bounteous supply of bottled fruits and vegetables in the “north room.” A potato cellar down by the chicken coop stored many bushels of potatoes and carrots. There was always an abundance of milk, cream, butter and cottage “dutch” cheese. They had a large barn and Holstein cows. They raised their own turkeys and one was always roasted for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

He always enjoyed his animals, especially horses. He liked to make a horse trade and was a shrewd trader.

In 1918 their son, Theron, died with complications following the influenza epidemic. This was a great trial for them.

Charles sang for many programs and parties in Emery. Ettie Williams was his accompanist most of the time, and Niels C. Hansen would sometimes play chords on the piano for him as he sang.

The crowd this couple ran around with, consisted of the following: Dall and Nenie Petty, Earl and Ettie Nelson, Niels and Carrie Hansen, Al and Liddie Hansen, and Pete and Emma Jensen. This group went to most every dance that came along. After the dance they partied, ate, sang songs, and played games–namely; “Walk the Cedar Swamps”, “Grease the Sulky Plow”, and “Go to Rome”. In this day, we refer to the later as plain old “Post Office”. They were all kissing games.

If any couple failed to attend the dance, the gang would go and pull them out of bed and make them cook the breakfast. Often they had not had their fill of dancing, so they would go to one of their homes, move all the furniture outside, pull up the rug, and dance until morning. The Worthington home saw its share of this sort of thing.

Every winter evening after the children had finished their lessons, he would read a few chapters to the family. The most loved books were Harold Bell Wright’s “On the Bend of the River,” and Zane Grey’s “Riders of the Purple Sage.”

He was soon able to buy shares in a sawmill. It was a good day’s drive from Emery with a team of horses and wagon to reach the sawmill, up a treacherous, steep road to the very top of the west mountain. There was a tent house there, large enough for two double beds. A coal cook stove and a big table and six chairs stood under the shady trees. All meals were cooked and eaten there.

Charles was good at taking care of his animals and had some remedies that worked. Plain old Watkins Linament diluted with warm water and a little sugar was always given when horses got colic. This linament made the horses burp. Colic, by the way, was caused by horses being over warm from work or running and being allowed to drink too much cold water before they were cooled off. He had the same idea about people, and insisted when his family was overly warm, perspiring and thirsty, when they would lay on their stomachs to drink from a stream, they always submerged their hands up to the wrists in the stream for a few minutes to cool them off before drinking. Then, they were to drink slowly.

In 1942 they sold their farm and home to Lloyd Jensen and their bench farm to Dermus Jensen and moved to Manti. Their home was a small two-room building at the foot of temple hill. They enjoyed their association with Uncle Ed (grandma’s brother) and his wife, Aunt Georgia. In 1957, they moved to Provo because Edna had moved there since her divorce and Leta was there. Ruby had moved to Salt Lake City.

He died April 25, 1965, at Edna’s home. His wife died March 2, 1960, at Provo. They were brought to Emery for burial. They were endowed June 19, 1913 at Manti Temple.

This was taken from a history written by Edna Pack. I am sure the stories were told her by her father while he lived with her before he died.He was a man who liked to sing and he liked to farm. I am sure he missed having a son to follow in his footsteps. My Mother was his oldest child. He and my father did some farming together. Their farms joined out on what we called the bench. They shared a tractor and worked together a great deal of the time. I always remember him as being a lean, sparse, tall man with snowy white hair. He had lots of livestock and I thought his barn was the largest building in town.

VOCATIONS OF CHARLES EDWARD WORTHINGTON
by Joseph Grenalch

Worked on father’s farm. The first time upon leaving home went to herd sheep and got so homesick it was hard to stay. Then herded sheep and went on the west desert many years. He was a good hand with an ax. He went into Wyoming to cut props for the mine. He hauled twenty-one props and grain off the ridge.

He had seven head of horses and went to Emery. He rented two farms. Then later he bought two farms. He farmed for thirty-two years.

He broke his leg and was unable to care for the farms. He sold them and moved to Manti where he bought a three-room house. He worked feeding turkeys and pouring cement. He also had a few pigs to care for and a garden. He was a dear lover of horses. He always had splendid teams while on the farm.

In the evening he and the girls would sit and sing forgetting the labor of the day. He gets up singing and makes it pleasant for all around him.

He made many fine friends in Manti. He knew nearly every man, their business affairs and where they lived.

He also had an invalid wife [at the end of her life] that he took good care of. It was his pleasure to work and do everything possible for all his relatives and friends.