Biography of Joseph Wilfred Markham Document Number: 118
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, Joseph Wilford Document Entry Number: 1
Transcription: Joseph Wilfred Markham was the third son and ninth child born to William Don Carlos Markham and Sarah Ann Warner . He was born January 29, 1894, in an adobe house located on the north- east corner of the family property located about a mile west of Spanish Fork, Utah. The house was built by William Don Carlos' oldest brother, Orville. Orville sold the house to Don when he moved to Eureka, Utah. Sarah Ann's pregnancy with Joseph was very difficult from both a physical and emotional standpoint. She stated that she could not kneel down to pray but that she was prone to swear a lot more than usual. One day when Joe was a very small lad, his mother heard him swear, and she felt responsible for his language, due to her experience during her pregnancy. The family prayers are remembered by all of the family for the many spankings Joe received from his father both during and after prayers. Later in life Joe said, "I like a good prayer, I like a good prayer, but father prayed all day. " Tell always said, "I held my breath, just hoping that we could get through the prayer without Joe getting a licking." Joe thought they had prayed long enough. He was bored, so he got up, moved around the room, and sometimes teased one of the girls. It is rumored that at one time he even caught a mouse. When Joe was four, in 1900, William Don Carlos was called to be the Bishop of the Leland Ward. Again, special stress was placed on the family. When he was five, he sat on the ditch bank, in front of the family home watching his Aunt Emily and Uncle William McKee as they loaded their belongings for a long move to Vernal, Utah. The McKee's had a young colt, and realizing that the trip was too long and hard for the young animal, they gave it to Joe. He was one happy little boy, and he took very good care of it. The pony grew up and Joe's father sold it and applied the money to buy a new church organ. Joe was only six when Cox's army of about 500 men, marched along the railroad tracks in front of the family home on the way to Washington D.C. He was greatly impressed and recalled the event clearly all of his life. Joe started school in a small, one room school house by Isaac Park. It was about three fourths of a mile from his home. His sister Tell remembers that he was afraid of no one, and as a result, he was usually in a fight morning, noon, or at recess. Usually there was a crowd enjoying the excitement. Tell always felt concern for his welfare, but he seemed to be able to take care of himself very well. One day his teacher asked who was the governor of Utah. Joe raised his hand and answered, "John C. Cutler". His teacher was impressed because it was not something they had studied. He asked how Joe knew the answer, and Joe told him he learned it at home, when his father read aloud to the family, from the newspaper. Joe was an excellent speller and often helped his friends who needed assistance. Terry Bower said Joe was his best friend because he was always helpful. His formal schooling was limited. He only went as far as the eighth grade at the Central School in Spanish Fork, Utah. Joe was endowed with a keen mind which he utilized to continue learning all of his life. He was particularly sharp with numbers, and could add in his head as fast as most people could on a machine. In 1906, when Stephen was called on his mission, Joe was only 12, but he shouldered a good share of the farm work. His Father was beginning to suffer from Bright's disease. To make matters worse, Joe's father had just purchased their first herd of Holstein cattle. This meant milking night and morning, and also the regular farm work. For that reason, school had to be replaced with hard work. That tilling of the soil, watching the crops grow over the years, developed in him a great love of the land. On May 9, 1908, when Joe was only 14, his father passed away. Besides missing a very loving father, they found that they were in very heavy debt. Their father was a fine man but his efforts to help others put him deeply into debt. At his death, the bills came from all over. They learned that they even owed the Spanish Fork Co-op $800.00 for groceries. The three boys, Stephen, Joe and George, were determined to pay off all of the debt as soon as possible. They sold everything they could get along without, to assist in this matter. As a result the family was very poor for a while. In 1910 the family was still in such a strained financial condition, that on Thanksgiving Day they had nothing to eat, not even sugar or flour. During these difficult times, Joe drew strength from his patriarchal blessing, received at the hands of George Wilkins when he was nine... "and you shall be blessed in your young days upon the earth with the spirit of light and truth, and you shall be a blessing to your parents. You shall have the spirit of wisdom to guide and direct you, inasmuch as you put your trust in God. You shall be blessed with the spirit of love and obedience to your parents..." Joe's mother was ashamed of the appearance of their house, so Joe started to repair the house for her. He added a porch on the east side which improved the appearance considerably. He and George put on a new roof and plastered the entire outside. After they laid sidewalks and removed twenty trees, the house looked really attractive. Joe dearly loved his mother and was always very thoughtful of her. He checked on her daily, and he continued to care for her throughout her life. Joe and George adored their sister, Effie, so when she decided to attend beauty school, they financed her education, and set up a shop for her to work in. It was at this time, when the boys had virtually saved the day that Sarah Ann decided to divide the farm land between the three boys and herself. Joe and George continued to farm together and managed very well. While George served on his mission, and in the army, Joe and Stephen took care of his land. At that time the girls, Ora, Tell, and Nean also worked hard in the beet fields to help out. They even grew beets on pasture land which was a very unusual thing. As a boy Joe also found time to play. He managed a great trip to Timpanogos where he climbed up and then slid down the glacier. Joe always enjoyed sports. His favorite was baseball. He was a good pitcher, and played on the ward team. The games were played on the Utah Idaho Sugar Company property, and the family always enjoyed going to watch the ward team. Later on in life he was an avid TV sports fan and knew professional players and teams by name. He was a faithful BYU fan and followed all of their games. When George returned from the war, both he and Joe bought a classy buggy and pony. They spent many hours cleaning and polishing them. When they had them just right, they headed for Spanish Fork to catch the eyes of the girls. Later when George moved to Oregon, he sold his part of the farm to his brothers. Joe's pony and buggy were very special to him. Each week end he attended the dances held in the town's pavilion, which was the hub of the town social activity. One night as he was watching the dancers, he spotted a very pretty young lady. His heart told him immediately that she was the girl for him. He had never met her, but he watched her all that evening. On the next weekend, Joe arrived at the dance hall early, and made an arrangement with a friend to introduce him to this girl who had stolen his heart. Her name was Iva Christena Robertson. Joe asked her to dance. Although Joe was not the best dancer, he was courteous and polite, and he made a good impression on Iva. When he asked to escort her to her home, after the dance, she accepted, and that was the beginning of their courtship. They spent the next two years getting better acquainted. Joe and Iva were married in the Salt Lake Temple on March 14, 1917. On the 13th, they rode to Salt Lake on the Orem electric train which ran between Payson and Salt Lake City. They stayed at the home of Joe's sister Ann, while in Salt Lake. After the wedding, they visited Dinwoody's furniture store and bought furniture for their new home. Joe had purchased, for $700, the house Larmon and Mary Chadwick had built. Joe improved it with paint and a new closet and he and Iva went there to begin their married life. Iva's parents had prepared a nice chicken dinner for the members of the Robertson and Markham families to celebrate the happy occasion. Iva's father gave them a Book of Mormon for a wedding gift. Iva had hoped for a gift for her home and really didn't appreciate it very much. During those early days, eggs sold for 20 cents a dozen, steak for 29 cents a pound, and gasoline for 29 cents a gallon. Farm work was accomplished by horses and wagons. Cows had to be milked early morning and evening by hand. It all required long hard hours. Joe was so familiar with this world, he was able to tell the time, just by looking at the position of the sun. Joe was a young man when electricity came to Leland. The Strawberry Power Company built the lines and Leland supplied the manpower. Many of the residents worked on the lines to pay some of the expenses to have the electric service connected to their homes. One day as an assigned man came to work., the boss said, "I want Joe Markham, because he is an excellent worker." Joe earned money working on the project until it was completed. Joe bought Iva the first electric stove in Leland. He was well repaid over the years, because Iva was an excellent cook. She prepared delicious meals for the family and Joe was always appreciative. He was thankful and ate whatever food was placed before him. He never forgot to give his thanks to his Heavenly Father even if it was only bread and milk. The early years of their marriage were difficult. But they willingly struggled, sacrificed, and worked to get ahead. They made butter and sold eggs to make extra money. Joe always enjoyed working with cattle, and during his peak years of milking, he had about 65 head. He was the first farmer in Leland to have an electric milking machine. He was also the first to set up a program so he could qualify for grade A production of milk. Gladys was born on Christmas Eve in 1917. It was a great Christmas present for both Iva and Joe. Beth was born October 9 1919, Eliza was born February 27, 1923, and Barbara Ann was born June 23, 1925. Joe loved his little girls, and went about whistling as he worked even though he did not have a little boy with whom he could share his love of the land. His joy was full when Lee Wilfred arrived March 15,1933. As the family increased in size, there was a need for a larger house. They built a large brick house just south of the two room frame house. It was completed in 1929 with many nice luxuries unknown to the family before. During the depression years while the family was young, it was again a struggle to make ends meet. The bottom went out of produce prices, but with good management and utilizing the resources of a farm, they were able to get along. As the children grew up, Joe spent many hours reading aloud to them. They took every opportunity to do things together as a family. The kids remember Blackhawk Days, many 24th of July parades, and family reunions. When they went out to celebrate, Joe gave each of them a dollar to spend as they saw fit, and they remember always having a great time. During the years when the children were growing up, Joe purchased land from Heber T. Robertson. He called the land his banana farm, mostly, because Iva would send him off each day in his yellow chevy with two bananas and a jar of ice water. Joe spent many hours leveling it, fertilizing it, and working it. Today it is a choice piece of land west of Spanish Fork near the stock yards. Joe always enjoyed a good cold drink of water. He liked to load up the family in the car and head up Spanish Fork Canyon to a Cold Spring. The water there was especially cold. He also liked fresh fruit, and he would take the family many miles to buy crates of strawberries from the McCormick's farm. Everyone loved the outings. The first really big sadness came to the family at the end of 1935 when Barbara Ann contracted scarlet fever, and passed away from complications from the disease on December 20th. Gladys graduated from Utah State University with a degree in special education. She married Marv Bell in 1942. Beth graduated from BYU with a degree in clothing and textiles, and filled a mission in the East Central States Mission. She married Jefferson Zane Marsden in 1950. Eliza graduated from the LDS School of Nursing. She married Clyde Hansen in 1944. On August 13, 1943, great tragedy struck the family again. Lee contracted Poliomyelitis and died. Lee's death hit Joe very hard. After Lee's death Joe never whistled as he worked again. Joe's love of the land continued to give him great purpose in life. Beth's son Clifford, who spent a summer helping Joe on the farm, stated, "Granddad doesn't have a lot of land, but he is an exceptional farmer, and he did a great job with what land he had. He utilized it to it's best advantage. His ditches were always clean. He would not tolerate weeds. He worked very hard in the spring, and it saved him a lot of time later. Granddad was a great manager." As the children matured and no longer needed close attention, Joe and Iva began to have special Saturday night dates. They went dancing and enjoyed their good friends in Leland. The days were rich and full. They also took the opportunity to do a little more traveling. They visited Hawaii, the east and west coasts of the United States, and many points of interest about the history of the church. On a trip to the East, Joe visited places in New York State where the Markham family had lived. He was able to talk to people who knew about the history and that excited him very much. He loved to visit and to share those experiences with other relatives. A high point of his visit to the East was seeing his boyhood friend Ray Tuttle. They visited Canada and also Mexico, and extensively in the state of Utah. They toured Yellowstone, attended the Seattle Worlds Fair, and went sightseeing in Arizona, Idaho, and Colorado. Joe was active in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints all of his life. He attended regularly until his death. He held many different positions, but his favorite was that of a Home Teacher. He took great pleasure in the accomplishments of his children and grandchildren, and took great joy in going to their weddings and other celebrations. He had good health nearly all of his long life. At 79, he had to have a complete hip replacement, but he made such a remarkable recovery that his doctor took him around the hospital to show other patients what could be done. He was diagnosed as a diabetic after his trip to Hawaii, and he needed regular injections of insulin the rest of his life. Joseph Wilford Markham was a good man. His word was his bond. He paid his bills promptly, and had a reputation for being honest. He paid those who labored for him a fair wage. He was an extremely hard worker himself. He did not like weeds in his field or garden and so he spent a lot of time with a hoe in his hand. He was a good neighbor. He would help anyone at any time they needed him. He always supported community and church projects. On June 18, 1983, Iva suffered a carotid aneurysm which required her to have continual assistance. As a result, their daughters took four month turns, having their parents with them in their homes, to fill these needs. It was hard on Joe, but he made the best of it. Joe passed away peacefully while they were staying at the home of Gladys Bell on August 31, 1984. The funeral service was held in the Benjamin-Leland ward chapel. The land, work, and family and friends fulfilled the needs of the very special person who was Joseph Wilford Markham. Thomas Jefferson said, "Those who live and labor on the land are the chosen people of God.." When we read it we think of Joe. Decendents of Joseph Wilford Markham d.m. Iva C. Robertson 1-Gladys R. m. Marv R. Bell A-Colleen m. Theodore K. Davis a-Kevin b-Scott c-Todd B-Barbara m. Charles H. Fluke a-Ann b-Clay
2-Beth m. J. Zane Marsden A-Joseph Lee m. Sandy Tracy a-Gregory b-Nathan c-Spencer Joseph B-Clifford Zane m. Cheryl Taylor a-Steven b-Adam Lee c-Daniel Scott C-Dennis Ray m. Kathy Wight a-Julieanne b-Debi c-Laura Elizabeth d-Michael Joseph e-Benjamin Ray D-Mauree Markham m. Keven Call a-Wendy b-William c-Amy Gwen E-Gwen d. m. Kim Cooper
3-Eliza R. m. Clyde F. Hansen A-Gregg M. m. Paula K. Christiansen a-Rebecca b-James Lee c-Elizabeth d-Kristine B-Kaye m. David J. Bjorkman a-David James b-Michael Hansen 4-Barbara Ann d. 5-Lee Wilford d.