Autobiography of Clarissa Isabell Wilhelm
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==Part 1== | ==Part 1== | ||
| - | I was born in [[Rockville, Utah|Rockville]], [[Washington County, Utah|Washington Co.]], [[Utah]] on [[March 27]], [[1870]]. My parents were [[Bateman Haight Wilhelm]] and [[Lydia Hannah Draper|Lydia Hannah Draper Wilhelm]]. I had six brothers and sisters, three brothers and three sisters, seven of us in all. I also had one half-brother and five half-sisters, as my father was a polygamist. My mother and father was married five years before he took his second wife, [[Grace Tippett Jose|Grace Tibbits (Tippets) Jose]]. My father and Mother were very happy until this woman came into their lives. I was the first child born to mother after my father took the second wife. I had one brother and one sister older than myself. My mother's parents names were Zemira Draper and Amy Terry Draper. We lived in Rockville until I was 3 years old and then we moved to a little town called Mount Carmel. My father’s mother and his oldest sister | + | I was born in [[Rockville, Utah|Rockville]], [[Washington County, Utah|Washington Co.]], [[Utah]] on [[March 27]], [[1870]]. My parents were [[Bateman Haight Wilhelm]] and [[Lydia Hannah Draper|Lydia Hannah Draper Wilhelm]]. I had six brothers and sisters, three brothers and three sisters, seven of us in all. I also had one half-brother and five half-sisters, as my father was a polygamist. My mother and father was married five years before he took his second wife, [[Grace Tippett Jose|Grace Tibbits (Tippets) Jose]]. My father and Mother were very happy until this woman came into their lives. I was the first child born to mother after my father took the second wife. I had one [[Bateman Haight Wilhelm, Jr.|brother]] and one [[Lydia Isora Wilhelm|sister]] older than myself. My mother's parents names were Zemira Draper and Amy Terry Draper. We lived in Rockville until I was 3 years old and then we moved to a little town called Mount Carmel. My father’s [[Clarissa Harden|mother]] and his oldest sister, Aunt [[Susan Clarissa Williams|Susan]], moved there also. We lived there until I was 4 years old. Then the church started the United Order and they called father to help head the Order at [[Orderville, Utah|Orderville]], where we moved about two miles from Mount Carmel. A little while after we moved to this place, I had a little sister born. She was named Amy Elnora. She lived until she was 21 months old and then she died of indigestion. Mother was unable to get proper food for her. She was a sweet, little golden-curly headed doll like kid. At this age of 4 I started to school, I will always remember the book I was supposed to read part of it was the Doctrine and Covenants. I can think of trying to read with horror. I forgot to state that father was put in as first councilor to the president of the stake. I will try to tell as near as I can how the Order was carried on. |
They built the houses in fort shape and right in the center of the square of buildings, was built a large kitchen and dining room. They would select a set of 12 women to work for six weeks as cooks in the kitchen and one man helper and at the end of six weeks, they would choose another 12 women, and so on. There were enough women so they would only have to go into the kitchen every three months. But while our mothers were working, we children would have a good and lonesome time of it, for a home without a mother in it is a pretty lonesome place for little kiddos, especially. Mother would go at 4 o’clock in the morning and probably wouldn’t get home until 10:00 o’clock at night. That made the days pretty long. In the dining room, they had three long rows of tables, the length of the dining hall. I don’t remember the length of the hall, but it seemed very large to me then. In the mornings, they had a bugle call to call every one out of bed and they had one to call the grown people to their meals. The tune "Hard Times" was used to call people to arise of a morning and the tune "Do What is Right or The Old Oaken Bucket". for the meals. Then they would clear away the dishes and wash them and call the young people over 12 years of age to eat and the tune was "Oh, Come, Come away from Home" a school song. Then came the children’s turns under 12 years of age and their tune was : "In Our Lovely Deseret" and it has always sounded like something to eat to me since then. They had nice old ladies to help serve us children. We always called them Auntie. I remember Auntie Harmon, and Auntie Blackburn (the name now a little spoiled) and Auntie Clarage. Of course there were more of them but these were My Aunties that waited the tables where us children ate. There was also a man that walked up and down in the aisles between the tables to keep the children quiet. I remember of how I have been hit a lick on the side of my head with a roll of papers for whispering to some child eating near me. It would sure make one’s head ring when a lick came unexpected. They also had little girls 9 years, well I said little girls I should have said little girls over 9 years old, none younger and oh my, I did so want to be old enough to help wait on the tables. But I was Baptised in the summer and we left there in the fall, that same year, so I never had the pleasure of waiting tables before we left there. | They built the houses in fort shape and right in the center of the square of buildings, was built a large kitchen and dining room. They would select a set of 12 women to work for six weeks as cooks in the kitchen and one man helper and at the end of six weeks, they would choose another 12 women, and so on. There were enough women so they would only have to go into the kitchen every three months. But while our mothers were working, we children would have a good and lonesome time of it, for a home without a mother in it is a pretty lonesome place for little kiddos, especially. Mother would go at 4 o’clock in the morning and probably wouldn’t get home until 10:00 o’clock at night. That made the days pretty long. In the dining room, they had three long rows of tables, the length of the dining hall. I don’t remember the length of the hall, but it seemed very large to me then. In the mornings, they had a bugle call to call every one out of bed and they had one to call the grown people to their meals. The tune "Hard Times" was used to call people to arise of a morning and the tune "Do What is Right or The Old Oaken Bucket". for the meals. Then they would clear away the dishes and wash them and call the young people over 12 years of age to eat and the tune was "Oh, Come, Come away from Home" a school song. Then came the children’s turns under 12 years of age and their tune was : "In Our Lovely Deseret" and it has always sounded like something to eat to me since then. They had nice old ladies to help serve us children. We always called them Auntie. I remember Auntie Harmon, and Auntie Blackburn (the name now a little spoiled) and Auntie Clarage. Of course there were more of them but these were My Aunties that waited the tables where us children ate. There was also a man that walked up and down in the aisles between the tables to keep the children quiet. I remember of how I have been hit a lick on the side of my head with a roll of papers for whispering to some child eating near me. It would sure make one’s head ring when a lick came unexpected. They also had little girls 9 years, well I said little girls I should have said little girls over 9 years old, none younger and oh my, I did so want to be old enough to help wait on the tables. But I was Baptised in the summer and we left there in the fall, that same year, so I never had the pleasure of waiting tables before we left there. | ||
