Edited
from a history written by Eliza Green Hurd, a story written by Edna Hurd Draper,
a Green Family history and information from Heber Anderson, and a story written
by Carol Wynder
The 7th child of
Martha and John Hurd was Albert, born in Middleton, Yorkshire, England on 26 Apr
1865. Albert was 11 when he
ventured to Brigham City and about 18 when he moved to Snowville.
Albert married Eliza Green, a sister to the same Green family you met in
Mark’s story so I think it only fair tell you a little about the Green family.
Charles and Mary Ann Green first settled in American Fork.
When Eliza was about 11 her family decided to move north. Her father was in search of some good location to farm.
He had checked out Cache Valley and then was heading north into southern
Idaho when they met up with a man who told them such glowing things about
Snowville that they decided to turn around and check it out.
They camped just outside of town on land that bordered William Hurd.
They decided to
make a home and farm on land just north of Snowville. There was much work clearing the land of sagebrush.
The men went for logs that fall and it was the following year before the
house was ready for the family.
Eliza only attended school for a short time because her family needed
what little income she could make by working out.
When she was 13 she made about a dollar a week working for the Jensen
Family. As it turned out, farming in Snowville was difficult.
After several crop failures her father went to explore other options in
Idaho the summer of 1886 but came back and decided against moving further north.
The summer he was gone she and her brother, Charles, helped their brother
in law, Mark with his wheat harvest. She
became better acquainted with Mark’s younger brother, Albert.
Of her courtship Eliza wrote, "Albert
and I had become quite attached to each other and spent many pleasant hours
together during the following winter. We
attended such entertainment as our ward afforded and the occasional stroll
together. We often spent quiet hours in conversation seated on the old rock oven
built by my father. On one of these
memorable occasions in the spring of 1887 while seated in this much-favored spot
came the moment that thrills every girl. When he proposed marriage to me, I
accepted."
As they were
planning for a wedding in the fall, Eliza's father became ill and passed away on
18 Aug 1887. This brought a
terrible hardship to the family. Eliza's mother, Mary Ann decided to make the
move to Star Valley with Mark and her daughters.
In October 1877 all the families headed to Logan where Eliza and Albert
were married on the 19th. Of this event Eliza wrote, “We were always very
congenial and loved each other devotedly."
Albert and Eliza headed back to Snowville while the others headed on to
Wyoming. "Our first home
was a two roomed log house with a dirt roof, located just west of the town of
Snowville on a 160 acre farm. We
had a cow and also a few horses with which we went to [work] to build up our
home."
The following
summer while on a visit in Star Valley, Eliza went into premature labor and
their first son, Wilford Albert, was born.
He only lived a couple weeks and was buried in the Afton Cemetery.
They headed back home to Snowville in October.
The next year due to water problems brought on by drought, Albert worked
out for others and farmed only a little of their acreage.
That August a little girl was born to them but she was also premature and
lived only 16 days. They buried her
next to her Grandpa Green in Snowville Cemetery.
The next summer a little son, Wallace, was born to them and he was
healthy and brought much joy to his parents. Eliza’s mother and family came
out to visit family that fall and during that visit Mary Ann’s brother, Sam
died. He left his home to her so she moved her family from Grover
to Riverton, Utah.
The next spring
Albert decided to move 10 miles up the creek where they cleared the land of
sagebrush. They planned to irrigate the lowlands for hay and then try dry
farming for the rest. They lived
about a mile and a half from Albert’s brother John and family.
Albert’s sister Martha and her family moved to the Stone district,
making them quite close. Albert’s mother and youngest brother, Fred, were still in
Snowville as was William and his families.
On this farm another son, Leslie, was born and then in 1896 a little
daughter came to bless their home. Eliza
went into Snowville and stayed with her mother-in-law for the birth.
Martha Edna was named after her grandmother but went by her middle name.
Another daughter, Edith Veneta, was born the next year. It was that same spring that the farmers on the lower end of
the irrigation district petitioned the court for more water which they
considered their right since they had farmed there longer than the new settlers.
The court granted their request leaving Albert and others upstream
without enough water.
Due
to continued water problems, the farm just wasn't producing.
Albert decided to make a trek to Canada where a new settlement was in the
making.
[Albert's
daughter, Edna, later wrote that for her father, a cattleman at heart, the tales
of fields of waving grass as tall as a saddle horses shoulders in Canada,
sounded very alluring.] Albert’s brother, John, had already headed that
direction. Martha, his sister, and
her family were also making the move. Fred
went along to help both families with the loose horses.
Of this journey
Eliza wrote, “I sat in the front of the wagon in a small rocking chair and
drove a team the entire journey. We
cooked up a supply of food before leaving, then did the remainder of cooking on
very small stoves in the wagons. Bread
had to be baked daily. On our
second day out just before coming into Blackfoot, Idaho some Indians stopped us
and told us we couldn’t cross their reserve.
After some argument they decided we could go across if we paid a sum of
money. Fortunately an agent came to
our rescue. He told the Indians to
go home. They didn’t have a right
to collect fees from travelers and we were allowed to go on our way.
West of Blackfoot we joined the Richard Low Family with whom we traveled
for three days and became well acquainted.
They were going at a slower speed with cattle so we said good-by for the
time being and went on ahead. We
had a very successful trip. No
trouble at all, and only one morning we were delayed a short time waiting for
the horses to be found.”
When they got to
Cardston on 17 August 1898 they found conditions very challenging. Eliza wrote,
“We pulled our outfits to Aetna. The
men looked over the district but found nothing to their liking.
So we went back to Cardston and moved into a small log house in the west
end of the town. The Olson’s in
one part and us in the other made it necessary to use the covered wagons also
for our houses. The men got logs
for our houses from McCleod. As
soon as the house was closed in we moved into it and visited back and forth with
the Olsons. Cardston was in its
pioneer state at that time. There
was no railroad, no electric lights; no water except what we carried from the
hand dug wells. Everything had to
be hauled from Lethbridge by team, a four days journey, including the mail.”
Eliza was homesick but knew that they had sold everything to make this
move so she decided to be patient and wait out the long winter to see what the
future in Canada would hold for them.
The following year another son was born to them.
They named him Frederick Earl. Albert
decided to get into the cattle business. He
rented fields to use for pasture. They
were able to make improvements to their home.
Albert took a homestead in the Boundry Creek district and bought another
piece of ground adjoining the homestead. Things
were going well for them and they were beginning to prosper.
Edna said her dad would buy the young calves and take them to the
homestead and “Let them grow into money.” He marketed some of the beef he
raised at a butcher shop on Main Street run by William Wood.
While Albert was at the homestead he was stricken with appendicitis.
By the time they got help for him at the Lethbridge Hospital, his
appendix had ruptured. Peritonitis had spread and he died 20 Sep 1904.
He was buried in Cardston. Of
this tragedy, Eliza wrote, "His going was more than I could bear at times
it seemed, but with 5 children (the eldest 14 and the youngest 4 years of age)
to be provided for I took up my task of father and mother and found that hours
of toil were relief to hours of grief. My
mother came from Riverton and spent the first lonely winter with me."
Edna
shared a few tender memories of her father as recounted in a story written by
her granddaughter, Carol Wynder. She
recalled her and Edith sitting on the arms of the rocking chair with their dad
holding the baby and singing church hymns together.
Sometimes he would bring home surprises for the children.
They would search his pockets to find the treat.
Another time he had a bag of hazel nuts.
He threw the bag up in the air. When
it hit the ceiling it burst sending the nuts everywhere.
He laughed as the kids scrambled around collecting the treat. She remembered a time when her dad rescued a young lad from
drowning in Lee’s Creek. She
could still remember the last time she saw her father alive.
They carried him on a couch to a waiting buggy to take him to the train
station. She said she knew as well
as anything that her father would never come home to them again.
Her heart was sad for a long time and it was almost too much to see her
mother suffer. She awoke some
nights to hear her mother sobbing but she was also proud of how her mother
worked through her grief and provided for their family.
Eliza’s mother,
Mary Ann Green had been widowed with a large family too.
When she got word of Albert’s death she wanted to go to them but she
was having some difficulties with one of her sons and couldn’t see how she
could make the journey just then. One
night in a dream she was sitting by a stream of water unable to cross.
Albert appeared and held out his hand saying, “I’ll help you.”
The problems with her son were soon settled and she made the long journey
by train to Cardston to lend support and comfort to the grieving family.
Even more remarkable is the fact that Grandma Green was blind but that
didn’t stop her from going where she was needed.
She also advised Eliza to stay in Canada.
When the price of cattle dropped, Eliza couldn't afford to hire help to
run the business so she took the advice of her Stake President and sold the
homestead property and bought a farm near Hill Spring, about 16 miles north west
of Cardston. They moved to that
farm in the spring of 1909. Eliza hoped to get her sons started and established in the
farming industry. Wallace was
called on a mission to the Central States so she hired help as needed and had a
barn raised.
About this barn and his grandmother, Heber Anderson writes, "The
sturdy, rustic barn that houses the Great Canadian barn dance, stands in the
beautiful foothills with the blue Canadian Rockies clearly visible in the
background. The building itself is a symbol of the vision and dreams of a
pioneer family. The old barn
reflects the personality of the family that built it.
It is especially a tribute to a noble and courageous widow who
established a farming operation on the former Cochrane ranch where neighbors
were miles apart. She insisted on
two things: that the farm buildings be built on elevated land so she could enjoy
the beauty of the countryside and watch the development of the neighboring
farms; she also wanted the buildings well built.
The old barn reminds us of our grandmother, steadfast and strong. She was a woman that was honorable, honest and stood the test
of time, a grandmother we all loved for the love and compassion she showed to
her family."
The Barn built between 1910-1913, is still standing today where they regularly hold social activities for the surrounding communities. It should be noted that this barn dance is very popular and draws people from all parts of Canada and even other countries. Eliza's youngest son, Earl, worked the farm until his health made it impossible. Then Wallace incorporated the farm into his operation. After Wallace died the farm was sold outside the family to Jack Ady.
Getting
back to the story, a ward was organized in Hill Spring.
Eliza served in the Relief Society as second counselor.
In 1911 an early snow made it impossible to harvest so they burned off
the land and struggled on. She was happy when Wallace returned home from his mission to
the states in Oct. 1912. Things
went better with the farming for the next several years.
They were able to pay off debts incurred during the first few years.
Eliza's children grew and married.
There were hard times to endure such as the flu epidemic of 1918.
Eliza helped her daughter, Edith with her first born son, Heber, during
this flu bout.
The following year a granddaughter was born to Wallace and his wife Rae. Peritonitis set in and for several weeks they cared for Rae. Eliza stated, “By the power of the Priesthood and by the kindness of the Lord our faith was rewarded and Rae’s life was spared.” That winter was a long one. Snow came near the end of September and stayed until the end of May! The summer had been dry and the winter so long that they ran out of hay for the animals and had to pay high prices to get hay. The depression years were hard too but through it all Eliza had her family, the church and her testimony of the Savior to sustain her. One special event was the dedication of the Alberta Temple on 26 Aug 1923. Eliza was pleased that all of her children and grandchildren were present for this momentous occasion. Extended family also came, making this quite a reunion.
Eliza was
reluctant to say anything to Edith since they were right in the middle of beet
harvest and didn’t need the extra chore of driving her to and from doctor
appointments. As soon as the family
realized her plight they got her right to the doctor. Finally she was down in bed so Edna came to help Edith look
after her needs. She died 13 July
1944 at the hospital in Taber and is buried next to Albert in Cardston.
Naida Draper Payne, said of her
Grandmother, Eliza Hurd, “She was
completely honest, kind and generous. She
was a faithful Latter Day Saint and seemed to hold malice toward no one.
No wonder her daughters-in-law could live with her, and love her and she
them. She was not fast with her work but was meticulous, no matter
what it was. Everything from the
way she did her housework to the way she set her hose had to be just so.
I never quite knew if this was just her nature or if some of it came from
being alone and doing for herself for so many years but to me she seemed about
perfect.”
1. Wilford
Albert 18
Aug 1888 - 4 Sep 1888
2. Mary
Alberta 13 Aug 1889 - 29 Aug 1889
3. Wallace
18 Jul 1890 – 26 Nov 1963
4. Leslie
Samuel 30
Apr 1893 – 18 May 1981
5. Martha
Edna
3 May 1896 – 1 Apr 1986
6. Edith
Veneta
29 May 1897 - 13 Jul 1993
7. Frederick
Earl 22
Nov 1899 - 18 Nov 1940
