Biography of Mary Warner Markham Document Number: 110
Author Group: Various Children of William Don Carlos Markham and Sarah Ann Markham, as compiled by Beth Ann Markham Richmond, fourth child of George Reynolds Markham (ID#98) and Anna I. Anderson (ID#97). Classification: COMPILED: FamilyHistory Location: USA, Utah, Utah, Spanish Fork Biography of MARKHAM, Mary Warner Document Entry Number: 1
Transcription: Mary Warner Markham was the first of twelve children born to William Don Carlos Markham and Sarah Ann Warner. She was born in the Leland area just west of Spanish Fork, Utah. She was born two months premature, and was a very delicate child, but though she remained a small woman, she was able to work very hard all of her life. Mary had very little formal schooling. At the time when she would have been attending school, her father filled a mission in the south, and Mary's mother, who was in rather poor health, needed Mary to help on the farm and to help care for the younger children. Mary worked at home to help out until she was old enough to go out and work at cleaning and cooking for others, and she took the money home to buy shoes and clothing for all of the family. She did not read very well, and she did not spell well. She was very self-conscious about her spelling and as a result she would not write to most people. Her daughter Lillian reports that her letters were a delight, because it was as if she were sitting there talking to you. She never put in any punctuation and she spelled just as it sounded to her. She felt a little cheated in later life. She realized that she could have enjoyed many things more if she had had the opportunity to go to school as much as her younger brothers and sisters had. Mary was quite a young woman, but because of her hard work schedule, she had had very few experiences of the 'world'. One day she went to town to go to the bank with Ora. She was very excited because she had never been to a bank. She thought at last she would get to see how you put money in, and take money out of the bank. How disappointed she was when Ora asked her to hold the horse while she went and did the banking, and Mary still didn't get to see the banking process. She was working on the Lewis ranch in Spanish Fork Canyon when she met Larmon Chadwick. Larmon was an older son of Aaron Chadwick and Ida Viola Winder of Milfork, Utah, a whistle stop in Spanish Fork Canyon. He was also working on the Lewis ranch in order to help out family finances. Larmon liked pretty little Mary, and went to Leland to visit her. It was on October 1, 1902, they were married in the Salt Lake Temple. They made their home in a small house on the Markham farm and helped on the farm. They were to get a share, but they, got no share and so Larmon had to go out and find work at the local sugar factory, working nights. He worked there until 1908. It was especially hard on Mary, because she feared someone would break in while he was away. While they were living at the Markham farm, their three children were born. David Larmon was born July, 29, 1903. Larm must have been very excited. Here was a son to enjoy hunting and fishing with. Little Ida Ann was born May 22, 1905. Then January 23, 1908, Lillian Mary put in an appearance. David was always a happy go lucky kid and every one loved him. Ida was a cute little girl but also a bit of a free spirit. It was with Lillian that Mary found great stability all the days of her life. In the summer of 1908, Larmon got a job firing for the railroad, and they moved to Thistle, Utah. They lived in the railroad housing called 'the row', this was a row of houses all built close together. Later they were able to build their own house, which had a garden spot and a pasture on a hill to feed the horse they bought. The horse was to pull their one seated buggy and supplied the transportation for the family. This made it possible for them to go and visit their parents on the weekends when Larmon didn't have to work. An innovation on the Chadwick ranch was a chicken house with an upstairs for the roosts. People came from all around to see the new chicken house. While living in Thistle, they were often visited by the gypsies and the Indians. As gypsies and Indians came down the canyon, they stopped and begged for food. Mary was afraid of them so she tried to give them what they wanted if she had it. One day they came in the middle of the day and they wanted a chicken. Mary wanted to give them one off the nest so it would be easy to get, but they didn't want anything to do with that, because they thought it was a setting hen and they had superstitions against that, so they had to chase one down. It turned out to be quite a task, but the gypsies got their chicken. Larmon worked on the railroad for eight years. Aunt Nean recalled pleasant summer visits she and her Mom took to visit with Mary in Thistle. Because Larmon was away much of the time, Mary continued to work hard. She always took good care of the children. She made sure they got to church every week. They had good reason to know that our Heavenly Father was watching over them. One time as Larmon was firing on the train, he heard a voice say 'jump'. He obeyed the voice and jumped off the train immediately, and where he had been standing a part of the engine was torn away. Another time he was scalded all over his back. Mary nursed him faithfully for many weeks before he was able to return to work. In the summer of 1916, they got passes on the railroad to go to rural Ontario, Oregon. They went to visit an old friend from their early days of marriage, Hazel Dingham. She had lost her husband in a farm accident. Larmon fell in love with the area and was sure he could earn a fortune farming there. They bought fifteen acres of land at one hundred dollars an acre and rented the 5 acres belonging to Hazel which was located right next to it. The move was planned for the next year. In January, Lillian got the measles and they nearly lost her, so when it was time to go, Mary had to stay behind at her mother's in Spanish Fork until Lillian was strong enough to make the trip. Larmon went on ahead. He made arrangements to move their belongings by railroad car. He loaded in all the household furnishings and a cow and his horses. The rest of the family joined him in March of 1917. Hazel Dingham returned to Spanish Fork to keep house for her uncle, so the Chadwick's moved into her house. When Hazel decided to sell her house, the Chadwick's were not in a position to buy it, so Larrnon built a two room house for them to live in. They were crowded, but they got along. To make extra money, Larmon got a job working on a large farm south of them belonging to the Dorman's. While he worked there, Larmon caught typhoid fever and he was ill for a long time. Everyone else in the family was vaccinated, and so no one else got the disease. Ida was very ill just from the shot, so they expect she might really have been sick if she had caught the disease. After Larmon recovered from typhoid he became ill again, and this time he had to have an operation to remove his gall bladder. The doctors were not sure if a person could survive without a gall bladder. They did not give him very much hope for survival .The doctors felt that if Larmon had not had good health habits he would never have survived the surgery. Mary was a person who exercised great faith in time of illness, and she knew it was Heavenly Father who blessed him because of the power of the Priesthood. Mary's brother George had come to be with them to help them, and he gave Larmon a priesthood blessing. From then on Larmon gradually began to improve. Mary was a very spiritual person and she wanted the best for her children, especially spiritual things. She always made sure their clothes were ready on Saturday night and she made a picnic so they could make the 9 mile trip to church and then stop somewhere on the way home to eat lunch. Mostly she taught the gospel by the way she lived. This was a very trying time for the family. They were very poor, and the church brought them coal and flour, and Grandma Markham sent money and clothing for the children. Mary was a good manager and brought them through this tough time. She didn't read very well, but she was good at figuring the crops and how best to use the money. She raised a raspberry patch and sold the berries. She liked to figure what money she could expect. She was very disappointed when she didn't do as well as she had figured on. Dave was starting his first year of high school during the time of his dad's extended illness, and to help out, he picked apples. Unfortunately, Dave got blood poisoning in his hands from picking apples and he suffered from skin problems the rest of his life. They raised rabbits to help out, and they had about 150 of them. They were able to pay off part of the hospital bill with the rabbits. Finally as Larmon began to be himself again, they had the chance to rent a 90 acre place near by. They did real well on this place. There was a house with more room, and they were able to raise more saleable produce. By 1924 they were able to buy a Model T Ford. They were very proud of their car, and so they decided to take a trip to Utah to see the relatives. In 1925 Ida and Lillian graduated from high school. With high school, they took a teacher training course, which allowed them to teach for two years without further training and that is what they did. By the end of the two years Ida had found a husband and so she married Iven Wilson in May of 1927. The Chadwick's continued to prosper and they were able to buy ten more acres. It had a better house, so they fixed it up, moved in, and gave up the rented farm at this time. During all of those years, they had no electricity, no indoor plumbing, no phone, but Mary did not complain. When Larmon's father died he received a little money as his part of the estate. With that money, Larmon had a well drilled and got water and electricity into the house. The year was 1928 or 1929. Mary was quite disappointed when they sent her one dollar as her share of the Leland home place, and gave the farm to the three boys in the family. No doubt she remembered the many years of labor she put in for the benefit of the family. The only reason she didn't complain was because she remembered the help she had received during Larmon's long illness. David married Lela McMillan in July of 1929. Both Ida and Dave lived near by and Mary and Larmon were able to enjoy their grandchildren. Lillian married Willie Glasson in 1933 and they brought more fine grandchildren. Mary was an excellent cook, but her sewing skills were of the more practical nature. She did make baby dresses for the grand advent of Lillian's twin girls. She was a fine gardener, and she loved to raise chickens. Some said she fed them with a spoon. She also loved and spoiled her pets in later life. She was always generous and willing to share with others. One day when Lillian came home she found a single bed set up in the living room for a distant relative, with a baby, who was having trouble getting over a bronchial condition. They lived on the 10 acre place and milked cows until they were unable to do it anymore. In 1949, they sold the cows and bought bonds for the children. They were always ready to give their children a helping hand if they needed it. After Larmon's tragic death on December 9, 1954, Mary lived on in their home alone. Ida and her husband moved in with Mary the last few years. In May of 1958 she went to the Nyssa hospital for a week of tests to see why she was having so much gas. She came home May 28th, ate her dinner and passed away later that evening. She is buried in the Rosedale Cemetery.
The descendants of Larmon and Mary Chadwick are:
1-David Larmon Chadwick d. m. Lela Maxine McMillan A-Melvin David d,m.Alice J. Boyce a-David Neil b-Steven Wayne c-Malinda Jean m. Donnavon i-Joey ii-Nicholas d-James Vallen B-Nephi d at birth C-Maxine Marie m. Jack Wayne Edmondson D-Areal d. Young E-Daniel Joseph m. Linda Lou Shaw F-Susan m. Thomas Herbert King a-James Bryan b-Kimberlie Suzanne c-Karen Elizabeth 2-Ida Ann d.m. Iven Wilson A-William Iven 3-Lillian Mary m. Willie Glasson A-Mary C. m. Don W. Royse a-Leah Ann rn. William David b-Ronald Daren d. c-Linda B-Marie Stella m. Evan H Walton a-Lane m; Laury i-Casey Lane b-Ann C-Ruth Ann d. D-June m. Warren J. Thurman a-Warren Grant b-Kent Levi c-Angela Ruth