GEORGE HENRIE, 6th child of Samuel & Hannah Isabella (Ellis) Henrie, was b. 12 June 1873, Panguitch, Utah [bapt. 3 Aug. 1882, end. 23 Feb. 1898], d. 1950s, Tremonton, Box Elder Co., Utah, hospital, and was bur. 15 Dec. in Salt Lake City Cemetery. He m. (1) 23 Feb. 1898, in Manti (L.D.S. Temple), to Lovinnia May Clayton, dau. of William Heber & Mary Ellen (Elmer) Clayton. She was b. 3 May 1879, Glendale, Utah [bapt. 6 July 1887, end. & S.to H. 23 Feb. 1898]. She d. 1930s, Garland, Utah, and bur. 11 June in Salt Lake City Cemetery.
George m. (2) Helen Ortentia Whitman, dau. of Isaac Newton & Helen Mary (Leonard) Whitman. She was b. 9 July 1877, Farmington, and m. (1) Ursel Stephen Rose. After she died, he m. (3) Lillie Hancock, widow of Roy Clayton. She was a dau. of Cyrus Mortimer & Martha Ann (Bracken) Hancock, and a sister to the wife of George’s brother, Samuel Erastus Henrie. Lillie was with George at the time of his death.
The following histories of George Henrie and his wife Lovinnia were submitted by their children: Veryl Clayton Henrie and Erma (Henrie) Summers.
GEORGE HENRIE spent his early life in Panguitch, with his nine brothers and sisters, assisting with the chores and farming. His opportunities for schooling were not the best, as he was privileged to attend only a few months each year. He gained some valuable experience in the mercantile business when he worked as a clerk in a Co-op store in which his father had a part interest. Through his ingenuity and industry, he turned the tide of an almost sure business failure into a thriving enterprise.
When he was a young man, he was asked to accept a position as school teacher at Spry, a small settlement north of Panguitch. He often laughingly said, “It wasn’t because I knew much, but I was big and a pretty good fighter. They needed someone who could handle the unruly boys and pound some sense into them.”
He was a lover of outdoor sports and participated in foot races, boxing and wrestling, and remarked that he made his spending money playing marbles. He especially enjoyed working with race horses and devoted a good deal of time to training and running them. He was not a gambler but did enjoy a modest bet on the races.
Like the other brothers of the Henrie family, he loved his jokes and played as many on the others as they did on him. They were a congenial bunch of boys and long after each married they all met at family gatherings and would tell of the same pranks over and over, from year to year, and laugh just as hilariously as when the incidents happened. Everyone present enjoyed the tales as much as the brothers did.
George enjoyed telling about his wedding trip to Manti to be married to Lovinnia in the temple. As heretofore mentioned, horses were his pride [p. 358] and joy and he owned some very good animals. He chose his best team for the trip, polished and cleaned the surrey buggy till it shone like new, and started out full of pride and happiness. They were several days going. One night one of the horses kicked the other so badly that he could not be used for the remainder of the trip. It was almost impossible to hire another animal suitable to go with the one good horse, and he had to settle for a rangy, lean, shaggy-maned creature, with a tail full of cockle burrs–one that looked as if it had never known the touch of a curry comb and brush. The horse walked with its head hanging low, with no spirit or life; it moved along just because it had to. “Pride goeth before a fall” was George’s lot as he finished the trip with his mismatched team.
They made their home in Panguitch for a while. Then George went into Old Mexico to try and find a suitable place to locate. He scouted about for four months and during that time had an unusual encounter with one of Mexico’s most desperate outlaws. However, George was released unharmed and the outlaw said George was a very brave man and he would not harm him because of it.
In the fall of 1898 George received a call to fill a mission for the L.D.S. Church and departed in December for the Eastern States, with headquarters at West Virginia. In February of 1890 his baby daughter died, which was a blow hard for him to take. A few months were required for him to reconcile himself to the truth that, “the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away.” He was district president for a time, and received a letter of commendation for work well done from Pres. John G. McQuarrie. After his release he returned to Salt Lake City, where his wife awaited him, and they returned to Panguitch by wagon and team. When he left the mission the Elders gave him a gold watch and chain, which he prized very highly.
Making an adequate living in Panguitch in 1903 was difficult; and when word was received that a sugar factory was being built at Garland, Utah, and that a new farming district was being opened, he and his wife decided to join her father and brothers who were already located in Garland. George had thought some of going on into the Oregon country, but when he realized the possibilities of the Bear River Valley, and his desire to be near the Church, he decided Garland was good enough and established residence there.
He found employment with A. R. Capener, a prominent farmer of that region. He bought a 10 x 14 ft. tent for $30.00 and pitched it on the east of the sugar factory. Vinnie boarded some of the workers of the factory. Here they lived till they were financially able to buy a building lot near the center of town, from Calvin Mayfield.
George found employment at the sugar factory, unloading the railroad cars of beets, and served as foreman of the job for about 12 years. One day while unloading one of the cars, the ratchet broke and the huge bar he was using swung around, striking him under the chin and throwing him into the air. He was dropped about 25 or 30 feet from the trestle into the beet flume below. His men called for help, and after receiving first aid at the factory, he was taken home on a stretcher. A doctor’s examination revealed that his thigh had been pulled out of the hip socket and had been pushed upward toward his shoulder. His head and body were badly bruised, and the doctor said he would not be able to go back to work and would probably be a cripple for life. [p. 359]
George requested administration of the hands of the Elders of the Church. A. R. Capener and a companion officiated; and George often bore testimony that while the ordinance was taking place, a burning light seemed to start from the top of his head and the soles of his feet and went through his body, centering in his hip. His recovery was rapid and complete, and in a few weeks he was back on the job; and he never suffered from any after effects of this accident.
Seeing the growth of the valley, George and Vinnia decided to build a hotel and restaurant to room and board the factory help and those who were working on the railroad and telephone lines being built to Malad, Idaho. The venture was a successful one and served the purpose for which it was built. Later it was remodeled and converted into a millinery and ladies ready-to-wear store, which they operated for a number of years. About this time they were able financially to purchase a 40-acre farm north of Garland and a 10- acre farm west of town, and George was serving as town marshal.
In 1912 George purchased a half section of land at Blue Creek, a few miles from Garland, and began the difficult task of clearing the sagebrush, and preparing the soil for farming. He had to work with horses and a single plow, hand pulling and grubbing the brush from the ground. For many years he hauled water with his team a distance of about 14 miles, from Blue Creek Spring. He spent thousands of dollars trying to get a deep well, and when he finally struck water his joy was unbounded. At times he had as many as 16 head of horses to harness and care for before he could go to work.
Later he bought another half section of land to the north of his own, from a Mr. Hurdy. He had raised a bounteous crop on the land he previously owned and now the task of hauling the wheat to market, a distance of 18 miles, making a round trip of 36 miles in a day with a team, was no easy task for man or horses. The dust of the dirt roads became so deep and the air so dense with it that the drivers at times could not see their horses. The animals became sick, runaways and accidents were frequent and costly, but by persistent effort he succeeded in paying for the farm.
In 1918 he built a large brick home on the lot originally purchased in Garland. It was difficult to pay for this venture, as building materials and labor were high and depression years followed–altogether it was a costly venture.
He next purchased a piece of land east of Tremonton, known as Indian land. It was not considered valuable because it was very unlevel and people did not think it could be made level enough for irrigation. But George was not a man to stop at a few obstacles and was not afraid of work. After his fall work was done, he brought his horses in with four head pulling a scraper, and by pure perseverance he moved practically every foot of soil on that farm and leveled it for irrigation. It is now one of the most valuable pieces of property in the valley. It is known as the Cross Roads Farm, because two main highways verge at the northwest corner of the land.
George always had an inborn testimony of the truthfulness of the Church, as shown by an early incident of his life. He became ill, a doctor was called, and his condition was pronounced serious. Although a mere child and [p. 360] too young to fully understand, he asked for the men to come who put their hands on people’s heads and prayed to the Lord. His simple faith was rewarded, the disease was checked, and his recovery was rapid.
He had always been active in church and civic affairs. In 1914 he was asked to serve as a counselor to Bishop A. R. Capener in the Garland Ward. In 1916 he was called to the Stake High Council in Bear River Stake, and served in this capacity until 1927. He became an able public speaker and his services were required in various wards, and many times he preached funeral sermons for friends and neighbors. In 1935 he and Vinnie were set apart to work on the Bear River Stake Genealogical Committee, he as assistant to the stake supervisor and she as a committee woman.
Civic appointments were many. He was on the finance committee when the Stake Tabernacle was constructed, the finance committee when the Garland Ward Recreation Hall was built (which was dedicated in 1935 by Pres. Heber J. Grant). When the Garland Ward was assigned the responsibility of obtaining a permanent welfare project, he was mace chairman of the farm committee, with Sam Capener and Hyrum Marble as assistants. They had much to do with the purchasing of the ward farm, which Pres. Wood said had paid for itself several times. When the need arose for a building to be used for stake and ward welfare projects, George was again called in and given the responsibility of the supervision of the structure and preparation of the building.
He was a member of the Lions Club for years and served on the committee to organize the National Wheat Growers’ Assn., a co-op organization to assist farmers in selling their wheat at a more equitable market price.
At his funeral, the president of the stake, C. S. Smith, paid him this tribute: “This community will miss George Henrie, more than any man that has lived here or any man that lives here at the present time. He was so useful, he was so faithful, he was so willing to serve God and to serve his fellow men.” Speaker A. R. Capener said of him: “The service of the Lord was his first thought, and his personal things came second.”
His services were held in the Bear River Stake Tabernacle at Garland; interment was in the Salt Lake City Cemetery, by his wife Lovinnia.
LOVINNIA MAY CLAYTON. The early life of Lovinnia (Vinnie) was one of continuous pioneering and hardships. Her father had been called to help settle in different places and she realized what new settlements took in the way of sacrifice and hard work
The family moved to Kanab, Utah, when Vinnie was about one year old. Her father was manager of the Co-op store. Then they moved 12 miles north of Kanab to what was called Three Lakes.
She told of an experience that happened when she was six years old:
My father was a violinist and played for entertainments at different parts of that country. In order to keep his hands soft and pliable, he washed them in a mash of bran and milk. I was a proud little minx and I tried to keep my hands soft and white by doing the same thing. [p. 361] A large barrel, used for feed for the pigs, was kept full of bran and buttermilk. The barrel had been sunk into a hole to make it more accessible to dip up the feed. One day I went to wash my hands and saw my sister Ruth’s heels sticking straight up in the air, her head and shoulders buried in the mash. I became very excited and screamed for mother to come quick, “Ruth is in the mash barrel.” She was rescued, and none too soon. She was black when she was drawn out of the barrel. She, too, had tried the milk and bran treatment for her hands. After this incident the barrel was restored to ground level, out of the reach of little hands.
There was little recreation for Lovinnia and the other children after they again moved to Kanab. One thing, however, they reveled in was spreading peaches in the sun to dry. The Indians were hired to pick peaches and apples; the older people cut the fruit and made it ready for the children to spread in the sun on boards prepared for the purpose. The children vied with each other to see who could spread the most fruit, high honors going to the one who won. The fruit had to be turned every day till it was sufficiently dry to sack and store for winter use. There was no canning as we do today. Money was very scarce, so the fruits and stored vegetables were traded with the Indians for pine nuts, venison, pine gum, and anything they could get in return.
She attended school in Panguitch, but not for long. Her mother was ill and it fell to Lovinnia’s lot to care for her and a new baby brother. She had always worked doing chores designed for one older than herself, so was prepared for this new task. When too small to make bread without standing on a box, she mixed while her mother directed. This was only one of her many duties.
In the winter of 1886, while the family was living in Juab, cattle froze to death standing. Her father had to walk a mile to his work and the children took turns watching through field glasses for his return at evening for fear he too would freeze and they would not know until too late. Jack rabbit meat was their principal source of food that cold winter. The boys hauled wood and killed them on their trips.
One of the outstanding Christmas events of her life was that year when her grandmother, Ruth Moon Clayton, sent the family a box containing various articles of food. It was about this time that germade or cream of wheat was being talked of as a breakfast food. In the box was a package of the cereal and she never tasted anything so good in her life as that mush. There were raisins, some candied fruits, an orange for each one, and a bottle of prune preserves. With such luxuries they had a wonderful Christmas.
She could not remember when she first met her future husband, George Henrie. On one occasion she went to a dance with her brother Jean. George bragged to the boys that he was going to take Lovinnia home. She said, “No, thank you, I came with Jean and I can go home with him.” He thanked her and turned back to the crowd, taking the razzing they gave him. George did not lose interest in her, however, and the following spring as he was going to his father’s ranch in the Blue Spring Valley, he happened to stop at the Elmer Ranch, where he found the maiden and her brother snubbing and milking cows. [p. 362]
In 1895, Lovinnia went to Salt Lake to live with an aunt and go to school, but again it was not for long. Her aunt’s children contracted scarlet fever and she was quarantined with them. In the meantime her parents moved to Provo and she went there to help her mother, as she had more than she could do.
Before going to Salt Lake she had gone to parties and dances with George Henrie and had corresponded with him while away. In 1898 they were married in the Manti Temple. They were living in Panguitch at the time and it took them 4 days to make the trip. The first stop was at Junction, where they stayed over night with a cousin of his. The second night they stopped at Richfield at the Mayfield Hotel; the last lap of the trip took them to Manti. She had become ill the last day and it seemed their marriage would have to be postponed, but she recovered and the marriage took place as planned.
Their first place of residence was in a 2-room house. Later they moved to George’s father’s home, as he was moving to the ranch at Panguitch Lake. Lovinnia became ill with typhoid soon after moving into this home and in September George also had the fever. He had hardly recovered when he went to Old Mexico to see if the prospects were favorable for establishing a home there. During his absence she went to Beaver, or rather Old Ft. Cameron near there, to stay with her parents. George returned in April of the next year and they returned to Panguitch, bought a lot, built a house and barn, and moved into it the following September. Soon after moving into the new home, George was called on a mission. She closed the home and returned to Beaver, where their little daughter, about 8 months old, died of pneumonia and spinal meningitis. She was buried in the Samuel Henrie lot in the Panguitch cemetery. This was a hard blow to her father in the mission field.
After his return from his mission, they located in Garland, Utah, and Lovinnia worked in every way she could to help make a start in a new country, cooked for boarders and working hands, managed and operated a millinery and dress store, ran a rooming house and cafe, and did a great deal of sewing. Together they did a flourishing business and prospered.
In 1915 she was sustained 2nd counselor in the presidency of the Y.L.M.I.A., was later made president of that organization; she was also secretary and later president of the Relief Society; was a member of the genealogical committee in both ward and stake; and did much temple work.
She died June 1938 at her home in Garland, as the result of a blood clot in her heart. Thus came the end of a life filled from the beginning with rigorous experiences of pioneering. She faced all these trials with un-erring courage. Through it all she found time to school herself. Her home was the stopping place for families and friends. Her generosity was known to all with whom she associated. By her request, she was buried in her father’s lot in the Salt Lake City Cemetery.
George and Lovinnia had 5 children:
1. Vera Henrie, b. 1 June 1899, Panguitch, Utah, d. 18 Feb. 1900.
2. Clytia Henrie, b. 26 Jan. 1903, Panguitch; m. George Lavor Gunn; m. (2) Chester Arthur Crowley; m. (3) LeRoy Dockstader. [p. 363]