George Alvin Taylor (1891-1937)
Revised and updated February, 2014
George was the youngest of three sons born to the young family. His older brothers were Elmer Warren Taylor, born on September 29, 1897, in Harrisville, Weber, Utah and Horace Wilbert Taylor, born June 28, 1889. . Both Horace and George were born in the family’s humble home in Lewisville. They were a happy family.
In the fall of the year of 1892 tragedy stuck the young family. Warren and two other men, Will Gerard and Dave Gould, made a trip to the south fork of the Snake River with a wagon pulled by a team of horses, named Tom and Night to get a load of logs to use for buildings and fence posts. They were gone four or five days working hard to cut trees and prepared the logs for transport back to Lewisville. When the wagon was loaded and tied onto the wagon with a large rope, they began their long journey home with Warren apparently riding the load and driving the team. Along the trip home, they had to go down a steep hill. As the wagon descended down the hill, Warren could see that the load was starting to shift, so he grabbed the rope and pulled on it, but it rubbed on the front of the hind wheel. The stake that the rope was tied to would not hold and it broke. The other two men hollered for Warren to jump out of danger, but he stayed the load of logs down the hill. The brakes failed on the wagon and as the runaway team and wagon rounded a turn in the road, the logs were thrown off with Warren underneath them. The tongue of the wagon broke and ran into the ground stopping the wagon, but the frightened horses broke loose and ran on and were not hurt badly. Warren was killed instantly with a broken neck. The date was October 10, 1892. The two other men took his body home to his heartbroken wife and sons. Elmer was only five years old, Horace was nearly three years old, and George was nearly one year old. For three years, Sarah and her little family struggled on without their husband and father.
Welby Holmes Walker also lived in Lewisville and when his wife passed away in 1894, he was left a widower with three daughters, Lyle, Veda, and Theo, and one son, Roy. On October 10, 1895, Sarah and Welby were married, thus combining their two families for a total of seven children. To this union seven more children were born: Violet, Fay, and Verna were the daughters, and Oral, Mayor, DeCarl and Eugene were the sons.
In addition to the total of fourteen children in this home, Sarah’s brother, Jake Hegsted, lived with them. He had been badly crippled by polio and was also deaf and dumb. Jake was a pleasant person and the family enjoyed having them with them.
As a child George worked hard in the fields driving a team of horses. He attended school in the large grey rock building in Lewisville which was torn down about 1977. It is unlikely that George was able to attend school much beyond 8th grade (if that far,) as each family had 160 acres that needed the labor of all family members if they were to survive in that newly settled area. Most would start work on the farm as soon as possible in the spring and work on the farm until winter set in, so time for school was limited.
George learned farming well. He also enjoyed hunting and especially fishing. Often he would come home with a great many fish which were salted and preserved for food. The rabbits were very numerous and the boys liked to go hunting for them. They also enjoyed deer hunting and the meat was welcome in the family. George and his brothers slept out on the barn roof on a stack of straw during the summer months, as it was cooler there. However, occasionally they would be shocked out of sleep when they slid off the roof.
For entertainment, the boys would play baseball, ride horses, have rock fights, swim in the canals, and shoot rabbits on the knolls southwest of Lewisville. They also liked to explore the caves in the lava rocks. Lewisville always celebrated the 24th of July with a rodeo, ball games, programs, a dance, a speaker and everyone would congregate to visit and enjoy picnic lunches together.
George attended church in the Lewisville Ward where everything was held in one large room that had a pot-bellied stove in the middle of it for heat. For classrooms they would pull curtains on wires, thus dividing up the space. George was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on June 2, 1900.
George’s oldest brother, Elmer, recounted the following experience about a near tragedy with George:
“Among the things that stand out in my childhood is a near tragedy that happened to my younger brother, George Alvin. The event happened one time when my mother and stepfather were away visiting for about three days with our people in Rexburg and Sugar City. A group of us boys got together and decided to go after a load of wood down on Old Beams Flat, which was straight west of Lewisville.
“We got in the wagon and went out there with the axes and everything that we needed to load the wood. There was one place where the river was just a little bit high, where it hits the obsidian that comes out on the west side of the river which had ice on it as it was along in February. As we came along there, we noticed a lot of driftwood had piled up on the bank. By picking up a willow here and a log there and by traveling and pulling around with the sleigh, we secured a pretty nice load of wood. I had a shotgun, being about 14 then, and had killed some rabbits on the way down. I had a big coat on with big pockets and I put the shotgun shells in my pockets on both sides. While I was working, I took my coat off. George, who was about eight or nine years old, was walking around and he was cold, so I put my coat on him. He was so short that it almost touched the snow. I was not paying any particular attention and George began walking around on the ice and was soon out about a hundred yards. None of us were paying attention because we were all busy getting wood. All at once, I heard him call, and I looked up to see him sitting on the ice. I could see what had happened. He had slipped through the ice with his feet up to his knees in cold water and he was sitting on the ice as if it was a seat. The ice was very, very thin and was very near breaking and letting him on through. I hollered “Don’t you move! Don’t you move! Don’t try to get up! Stay right there ‘till I get there.” And so he stayed right there and never tried to move. I slipped up behind him and grabbed hold of the coat and pulled him out backwards with those heavy shotgun shells in the pockets. If the ice had broken, he would have been carried away by the cold water under the ice. We made a fire and changed his clothes and did what we could.”
Sometime in his childhood, George suffered from Rheumatic Fever, which left him with a weakened heart. This condition caused him poor health at an early age and contributed to his death when he was only 45 years old.
George probably spent his teen years odd jobbing and working on farms. His brother, Elmer, learned the painting business and at some point George started working with him, thus learning the business for himself. It was in the spring of 1915 that he and Elmer were working in Ririe, Idaho and while there, they stayed in a boarding house. Meanwhile, pretty, 22 year old Fern Wride came to Ririe for a vacation with two friends, and while there they took six week jobs working at the same boarding house. When George saw Fern with her laughing eyes and long dark hair, he was smitten and he began courting her. He would take her to movies and dances in Elmer’s old Model T. Ford with no top on it. Fern said, “It would run when it thought about it, but we had lots of fun and enjoyed riding in it anyway, as it chugged along.”
When Fern returned back to Provo for Decoration Day, George missed her and came to Provo to see her over the 4th of July. He stayed two days at Provo, and they went on a picnic with family and friends. During the two day visit, George asked Fern to become his wife. On his way back to Idaho, he stopped in Salt Lake City and bought her a nice ring with her birthstone, the turquoise and pearls.
Fern and George wrote every day to each other and were married Wednesday, December 15, 1915, in Provo at the home of Fern’s parents by Bishop Lars L. Nelson at 12:30 noon. They had a medium sized wedding for friends and relatives. On Friday, December 17 they left to make their home in Rigby, Idaho where George was still employed by his brother, Elmer in the painting business.
Their first home was a small, flat-roofed, square, five-room, red-brick house about one-half block, north of the very northwest corner of Broulim’s parking lot (about 75 North State Street.) They only enough furniture for two rooms, but they were cozy and very happy. As time passed, they became the parents of a lovely baby girl, Helen Fern, born on April 1, 1917.
In 1917, George purchased an 80 acre farm located three miles south and west of Rigby in Garfield. The home on the property consisted of three large rooms and was comfortable. The Garfield community was mostly devoted to farms, but it also had a schoolhouse, a small store across the street from the schoolhouse and a meeting house for the Garfield Ward, which served as a gathering place for many events in the community. It was a white frame building, sort of oblong in shape, with a stage on the west end with a canvas curtain that rolled up when they put on entertainment. When they had Sunday School or Primary there, they would have to draw the canvas curtains that were hung on wire and this would divide the one big room into smaller classrooms. .
The family lived and worked on the farm for five years. Those years were filled with happy memories for the family. The ground was very rocky, but they worked very hard taking care of the garden, looking after the pigs and chickens, and keeping the house spotless while George did most of the farming. Because of his heart condition, he hired some help. Aldon and Asael Tall were two teens who worked for George and they later became doctors of medicine and practiced in Rigby. George also took in an Indian boy who worked for a summer. George gave him a pony and one day the boy got on the pony and rode away, not saying a word of goodbye and did not return. George felt sad that he had left that way.
On February 4, 1920, George, Fern and baby Helen traveled to Salt Lake City where their marriage was solemnized in the Salt Lake Temple and little Helen was sealed to them. Another sweet daughter, Lucile, was born on September 9, 1920 in the Garfield home. This day was also Fern’s grandparent’s golden wedding day. Two years later, their home was blessed with a fine son, Max Alvin, born September 9, 1922, also born in the Garfield home.
Christmastime held special memories – hauling in the wood and preparing the fire to be lit early on Christmas morning, the stockings hanging on the mantle – the children’s stockings filled with one orange, peanuts, and candy and sticks of kindling wood in the stockings of Fern and George. However, there were always two presents under the tree – one for Mouser and one for Popsicle – who must have been Fern and George. In the early years, the Christmas tree would be a cedar tree decorated with wax candles.
About 1922, George’s health began to fail, so the farm was rented to Oral Walker, a half-brother to George. The following year Walt Hicks rented and then later bought the farm. The family rented a home in Rigby located at 284 West 2nd South. George then took up the lighter work of painting and decorating, a trade he and his brothers, Horace and Elmer Taylor, pursued for many years, often working together along with their half-brother, Oral Holmes Walker.
About 1924, George decided to go to California where the weather was milder and he could work all year. George, Fern and their three little children traveled in their new Ford Model T with two seats and curtains of black material with snaps and glass windows. They camped out in a tent during the trip as there were many places to stop. George loved to munch on Fig Newton cookies as they traveled. During the trip Helen and Lucile broke out with chicken pox and when they would stop, they would scratch their backs on the bark of trees. The roads were quite narrow and dusty, often with lots of bumps. They finally arrived in Santa Monica, California where they rented a home with a small play yard in the back. George found work painting there until Helen finished second grade, which must have been the spring of 1925 when they returned to Rigby and George return to painting in that area. They again rented the home located at 284 West 2nd South in Rigby. It was in this home that another sweet daughter, Mary Lou, was born February 23, 1927, thus completing their family of four children.
In about April of 1927, Walt Hicks purchased their Garfield farm, so George and Fern bought a home located at 134 South 2nd West in Rigby, which was the family home for the rest of their lives. George had a garage on the property that he used as a paint workshop. Their lot was also large and covered quite a lot of the city block, and the family raised a very good garden with George to oversee their work and teaching them how to garden. They always raised more fruits and vegetables than they needed for eating and canning, so the children used to put things in a fairly large red metal wagon and peddle them about the neighborhood. There were large ears of yellow corn, early red potatoes, and colorful carrots. This little business gave the children considerable spending money and they also learned from George about hard work and its pay offs. George was a good provider, and his family always had what they needed in spite of his heart problems.
For his painting business, George bought a 1929 Model A Ford Roadster. He took the rumble seat out and had a box built in there to haul his working tools. Because there was so much paint that was around that wooden box, a fair amount ended up all over inside the box and sealed up any cracks that might have been in the wood. The box was open on the top. It had isinglass curtains on the side that you could roll up. George took great pride in this car and painted the body maroon with black fenders on the front and back. To set it off, he painted the spoke wheels yellow. It had a black vinyl top that folded down. This same vehicle also took the family on many adventures.
George and Fern enjoyed taking their family on camping outings, particularly to Warm River Campground, Swan Valley, Lemhi Valley, and Lost River Mountains. George would hunt pheasant, sage hens, and fish for trout. Fern would lead the children in picking wild berries, which she would make into delicious jams and jellies for the cold winter months.
Christmastime held special memories – hauling in the wood and preparing the fire to be lit early on Christmas morning, the stockings hanging on the mantle – the children’s stockings filled with one orange, peanuts, and candy and sticks of kindling wood in the stockings of Fern and George. However, there were always two presents under the tree – one for Mouser and one for Popsicle – who must have been Fern and George. In the earlier years, the Christmas tree was a cedar tree with candles on the branches. In later years, it was a pine tree with colorful electric bubble lights and lots of icicles.
George’s daughter, Helen, had this to say about her father: “A French proverb states, “The most important part of being a good father to a daughter is to love and respect her mother,” and this my father did. He showed his consideration and love for her when he would take her to a dance or to eat out. He was a gentle and kind man. He would get up at night and rub my legs when I had bad leg aches.”
George had been in poor health for several years and passed away April 8, 1937 at ten minutes to three in the afternoon at age 45. At the time George passed away, Helen was married to Leonel Howard Anderson and their daughter, Frances Arlene, was three months old. George held little Arlene for a very short time on the day he died. She was his only grandchild at the time. Lucile was sixteen years old, Max was fourteen, and Mary Lou was ten years old. He was a wonderful husband and a very devoted father to his children and his memory is loved and honored by his family and all who knew this wonderful man.
Descendants of Fern Wride Taylor Call and George Alvin Taylor:
Helen Fern Taylor married to Leonel Howard Anderson
Children:
Frances Arlene Anderson married to Vaughn Thomas Hawkes
Grandchildren: Susan Hawkes married to Joseph Ferris Wheeler
Great-grandchildren: Daniel Thomas Wheeler
Richard Vaughn Hawkes married to Julie Rodgers
R Harrison Hawkes married to Katelyn Camille Johnson
Hannah Hawkes
Diane Hawkes married to Kelvin Jones Foutz
Tyson Buddy Foutz married to Jessica Bingham
Hayden Kevin Foutz Jan 22, 2014
Kelsi Foutz (Engaged to: Eric Pande to be married May 23, 2014, SLC)
Quentin Vaughn Foutz
Katelin Foutz
Pamela Hawkes married to Richard Brent Tobler
Nathaniel Brent Tobler
Sarah Tobler
Jacob Thomas Tobler
Benjamin Richard Tobler
Catherine Tobler
Cynthia Hawkes married to Steven Michael Rees
Hunter Thomas Rees
Jessica Rees
Tyler Michael Rees
Rachel Rees
Daniel Harvey Hawkes married to Kari Nicole Bowers
Joseph Daniel Hawkes
Leo Morgan Hawkes
John David Hawkes married to April Nadine Clinger
Genevieve Nicole Hawkes
Ella Fiona Hawkes
Preston Thomas Hawkes
Cecelia Hawkes
Scott Michael Hawkes married to Natalie Halladay
Brooklyn Hawkes
Sydney Hawkes
Boston Scott Hawkes born Oct. 31, 2013
Robert Leonel Anderson married to Patricia Zundel
Richelle Dawn Anderson divorced from Richard Roecker
Nicole Roecker
Myah Roecker b. 11 Nov 2009
Whitney Roecker
Landon Cook b. 22 Mar 2011 (Father is Joshua Cook)
Robert David Anderson married to JoEllen Cottle
Jake Lyle Anderson married to Chelsi Dawn King m. 11 Nov 2011 Idaho Falls
Trent David Anderson
Travis Daniel Anderson
Randy Jo Anderson
Steven Taylor Anderson married to Lori Kristof
Merideth Dawn Anderson married to Jason McElprang
Eilish Jade McElprang
William Kruckow McElprang
Cyndel Leena McElprang
Samuel Merlin McElprang b. 2 Oct 2008
Enoch Jason McElprang b. 20 Feb 2013
Ashley Anderson married to Jeff Martinsen
McKenzie Martinsen
Dawson Martinsen
Landon Jeffrey Martinsen b. 3 Sep 2008
Trevan Taylor Martinsen b. 14 Nov 2012
Piper Anderson married to Luke Prizer
Jenna Marie Prizer
Miriam Paige Prizer b. 29 Sep 2008
Anderson Grant Prizer b. 10 Oct 2013
Matthew Anderson
Sharol Lyn Anderson married to Bradley Duane Foster
Kara Jo Foster married to Steven Keith Holmes
McKenna Leone Holmes
Jack Steven Holmes
Sydney Marie Holmes
Melissa Lyn Foster married to Jeremy Allen Livingstone
Hayden Bradley Livingstone
Halle Paiga Livingstone
Elise Abigail Livingstone
Graham Rojahn Jeremy Livingstone
Erica Ann Foster married to Ben Dansie
Con Benson Dansie
Kylie Ann Dansie
Allie Lyn Dansie b. 26 Mar 2009
Michelle Dawn Foster married to David Chapple
Reese Olivia Chapple b. 4 Aug 2008
Paxton Kirby Chapple b. 1 Jul 2011
Chloe Belle Chapple b. 18 Oct 2013
Lucile Taylor Lund Maloney married to Glen Janus Lund and George Maloney
Glen Bradford Lund married to Vicki Williams (divorced)
Marshall B Lund
( 2nd marriage) Glen Bradford Lund married to Suzann Potter
Taylor Tyson Lund
Conner Brad Lund
Craig Lee Lund divorced from JoNell Ball
Travis George Lund
Rachel Clara Lund (mother is Kim)
Shannon Lund married to Todd McDole
Hunter Kian McDole
Ryan Craig Lund
Sierra Akylar Lund (mother is Trina Rodriguez)
Aspen Nyah Lund mother is Trina Rodriguez)
Mason Lund
Girl Lund (mother is Ronda)
Girl Lund (mother is Ronda)
Michael Maloney married to Kathy Lynn Merrill
Sarah Ann Maloney married to Sione Taulanga
Samuela Michael Taulanga
Tyler Tavita Taulanga
Luisa Ann Taulanga
Emma Lynn Taulanga
Susan Lyn Maloney married to Shane David Marlowe
Olyvia Irene Marlowe
Jared Michael Marlowe
Michael James Maloney married to Julissa Ivette Browning
Penelope Ivette Maloney
Maximillian Maloney
Gabriel Maloney
Thomas George Maloney married to Kimberly Suzanne Cronin
Emily Rose Maloney
Alyssa Christine Maloney
Charles Thomas Maloney
Amanda Jo Maloney (twin)
Holly Jayne (twin)
Patrick Maloney married to Irene (Rene) Mary Peterson
Jennifer Lyn Maloney married to Christopher Todd Hansen
Samantha Beatrice Hansen
Jonathan Patrick Maloney married to Hailey Elizabeth Forsgren
Molly Elizabeth Maloney
David Michael Maloney married to Wendy Nicole Cowen
Lily Maloney
Jeffery Robert Maloney
Merri Ann Maloney married to Dennis Weaver
Jacob Douglas Weaver married to Briana Corinne Fearing
Olivia Grace Weaver
Ava Joy Weaver
Nathan Rex Weaver
Deborah Joy Weaver married to Benjamin Lyle Frantzen (deceased 2013)
Lillian Nora Frantzen
Anna Lorraine Frantzen
Benjamin Mckay Weaver married to Paige Hanny m. Apr 2012
Katherine Ann Weaver married to Joshua Jolley m. Dec 2011
Max Alvin Taylor married to Corene Johnson
Rodney Taylor (deceased)
Teresa Taylor married to Daniel Cripe
Michelle Teresa Cripe divorced from Joseph Limbong
Jasmine Rose Limbong
Jackson Limbong
Michael Joseph Cripe
April Marie Cripe married to Preston Heath Shearer
Michael Ray Shearer
Carri Marie Shearer
Crystal Corene Cripe
Regie Taylor divorced from Maureen Jane Francis
Sherrie Jayne Taylor
Treena Taylor married to John Erickson
John Taylor (J. T.) Erickson
Jordan Kyle Erickson
Mary Lou Taylor Evans married to McKay Evans
Georgia Lou Evans married to Lloyd Coles (divorced) and Bob Mousaw
Jeffrey Lloyd Coles married to Holly Dee Mallard
Carly Dee Coles
Triston Jeffrey Coles
Alexis Paige Coles
Dustin McKay Coles married to Sheryl Lyn Crank
Kenadee Morgan Coles
Skylee Mckie Coles
Clair Evans (unmarried)
Mary Kay Evans married to Dick Jenkins
Stepchildren: Robyn Jenkins Price married to ? Price 5 children, 10 grandchildren
Gina Jenkins Ziegler married to ?Ziegler 3 children, 1 grandchild
Thomas Jenkins married to ?, 4 children
The above history of George Alvin Taylor has been compiled by his granddaughter, Frances Arlene Anderson Hawkes. Since there seems to be no known written history for him, I have combined information gleaned from various sources, mostly personal histories containing recollections of George from his brother, Elmer Taylor, his wife, Fern Wride Taylor, his daughter, Helen Fern Taylor Anderson, his son-in-law, L. Howard Anderson, and from stories and events told to me. I have tried to make the information contained above as accurate as possible and it is my hope that it will help the posterity of George and Fern to know them better and to honor their memory. The first version was written May 10, 2008. I have now added some information I have learned and updated the descendant chart as best as I know at this point.
Frances Arlene Anderson Hawkes
February 20, 2014
