The History of Mazie Alexander Nielson
1920-2007


Mazie was born in Altonah, Duchesne, Utah. The daughter of Robert Angus Alexander and Annie Mariah Dobson Alexander. Mazie was born in a tent on her Uncle William Zera Alexanders Ranch. She was the eleventh of twelve children. Her parents had come from Southern Utah to settle in the Uintah Basin. Robert Angus Alexander's father, Benjamin Lamoni Alexander and Catherine Malinda Kelley Alexander came to the Uintah Basin with several members of their family. Benjamin and Catherine are buried in the Maesar Cemetery, near Vernal, Uintah, Utah, next to them is buried a son of Robert Angus and his wife Annie. His name is Alden. He was born in 1905 and lived for a few months. Six of the Alexander brothers settled in the area now known as Altonah. It was Their were six Alexander brothers and originally it was named Alexandria or Alexander after this family.



This is a picture of Mazie at around four years of age and parley around two. He is the blond on the right. They have a little white dog at their feet, he was a family pet. This is probably taken in Altonah on their farm.
House Fire
When Mazie was four years old, she started a house fire. She had been watching her brother Clarence light a string on the curtain and then put it out, while her mother was reading a story to her. This fascinated her. Later,that day after her parents had left to go shopping in Duchesne. She lit a string of the curtain, just like she saw her brother do, but became to frightened by the ensuing fire to try to put it out. Her sister Verda ran outside grabbed a pail and ran to the ditch for water. She yelled to her brothers and they tried to help put out the fire. The boys had to get up on the roof and pour water down the chimney. When her mother came home she was shaken and very upset. Mazie remembered sitting in a high chair while her mother placed brand new red sandals on her feet; she remembers her saying " I hadn't ought to give these to you." (Some years later, they lost the whole house to a fire while another family was staying there. In one of these fires they lost several family pictures.
Mazie was baptized in a canal in Altonah on the 14th day of Oct, 1928. The man that baptized her was a Mr. Mecham who had lost his wife.
Mazie remembers going to school on their horse 'Maude." This horse had carried every child in the family at one time to school. Maude was dark gray with white hair. She was quite old and tired of carrying all the children up to Mother. She would untie herself from the school hitching post which is where several other children also tied their horses in the morning. Then she would stand there until it was time for Mazie to go home and as she tried to climb upon her she would back away. Then Maude would turn her head towards Mazie and look at her, then Mazie would try again and naughty Maude would trot off. Her brother Clarence came after her one day, because she couldn't catch the horse. She was crying her eyes out. He put her on his horse and took her home to the Lake Fork River where her mother was picking berries. Her dad retired the old horse after that. Maude was about twenty-eight years old. She went to a government pasture where other people also retired there horses. Eventually, the goverment stopped the practice.

As a young girl she excelled in spelling and running. Mother was in the sixth grade when she out spelled all the students of he rschool including the 8th graders. She then went on to the count y spelling contest. There were only two other young people left standing when she mispelled a word and went down. The other two were high school students.

4H club

During her life, Mazie had some very special faith promoting experiences. One time she stayed to play with friends, following a 4h club meeting, she had stayed later then usual and it was getting dark and it looked like it would rain. She climbed on Ponchito, ( the horse that took Maudes place), and headed towards home. After going for a block in one direction she had to turn and go in another direction. The sky darkened quickly and the rain came.and she had a ling ways to go to get to the Ranch. She could not see well enough to determine which direction to go. She became frightened, so she prayed to her Heavenly Father, as she rounded the next corner, she saw a light ahead of her and thinking it was a headlight from a car on a road, she pointed her horse in the direction of the light. She went straight for about three or four miles. She then went around a hill and on to her place. The light stayed in front of Mazie and guided her home all the way. It was still shining near as she arrived at home and while she went into the corrals and took the bridle and the saddle off the horse. The light was still there when Mazie, left the corral and went into the house. She always felt grateful that her prayers were answered in a very special way and shared this story with her children through out her long life.
Mazie suffered injuries to her back on two occasions, and for most of her life had back problems and resulting pain. One time mother was with her friends, Elnora and Cecilia Thompson and after a 4H club meeting,which were held at their home in the middle of town. Mazie climbed upon a pole fence, the pole she stood upon was loose and she fell and hit the back of her head on the next pole down which knocked her out. She awoke as her two friends were dragging her through the wood pile towards their home; she went unconcscious again. When she awoke, she was on a bed at her friend's house and her mother was ringing cold cloths out and putting them on her forehead.


When Mazie was about twelve years of age, her parents recieved some frightening letters from someone who threatened to kidnap Mazie. They did not know who sent them but they ahd a couple of possible suspected individuals. Needless to say, this was a very distressing matter. Grandmother was away from home sometimes caring for mother's and new babies. She would help the doctor deliver babies and stay to help the families. Mazie was watched over during this time by her father and three bachelors that lived nearby known as the Powell Brothers, She also went to stay with sister and husband in Vernal, Utah. Howard and Minnie Crapo. The family told the people of Altonah that she had gone to stay with her sister Verda in Park City, because they didn't want people to know where she was in case someone tried something. As it was, a man did show up at Verda's home asking if he could bring Mazie home as school would be starting in Altonah. Verda assured him they would take care of getting her home. He was one of the suspects. It was not long after that, Robert and Annie moved their remaining family to the Roosevelt area and built a home in Cedar view or Montwell as it is also called, a area between Roosevelt and Neola. The children now attended schools in Roosevelt.
Mazie learned to tap dance in school; one day she stayed after school to tap dance for the Lion's club. She and her friend Vida Caruth or Clark went to a movie after their performance. While they were at the theater watching the matinee, which involved a boxing match on the screen, her friend Vida kept screaming at the person she wanted to win and this may of attracted the attention of two young men that sat behind them. One of the young men kept teasing them in the theater which made the girls feel uncomfortable. The ride they had been expecting never showed up and since home was about fourteen miles out of town and much to far to walk too, the girls decided to go to school to sleep for the night. This school was located behind where the bus garage is now located in Roosevelt. Its upon the hill past where the Roosevelt Jr high is today. It was red brick building.
After the movies the young men, followed the girls in a car while they ran along on the side walk.This frightened the girls. One of the guys said where do you live? Mazie said "Right here." and walked up onto the porch of a house. After the young men left they went to the school and slept on a couch all night. This room where they slept was over the gymnasium. They went to school the next morning. After school they rode the bus home.
.

Mazie was in a play when she was participating in the young women's program at church and in this play she played the maid. The story was about a woman who had people coming to dinner. She went out and gathered mushrooms. Just to be sure they weren't poisonous toadstools she fed some to the dog. The dog seemed okay and dinner was served. The lady later, asked the maid about the dog. The maid said the dog had died. The quests and lady were very upset and thought they were all going to die too, until they asked the maid if the dog was in pain when he died. The maid replied that the dog died instantly when the car hit him. Mazie played the part of Mary for a Christmas play as a young woman at church. on plays. time she and another friend Vida Carruth (Clark) stayed after school to perform a tap dance for the Lion's club. After which they went to the movies. Sometimes she would ride a horse ten miles to school when she lived in The cedarview area.

Mazie fell in love with John Gilbert Nielson, he was five years older, she was thirteen years old. She remembered seeing him as a young 17-18 year old swinging on one of the doors of the church in Cedar View. He wasn't the only one swinging on the large doors and eventually the doors were done for.






This church house eventually burned down. it was located less than a mile from the main road after you turn off onto the Cedar view road and on the right as you travel on; pictured in this picture on the right in the middle is John's sister, Thora and her friends, one of which is Flora Parry, are on each side of her.
They had dances for the people almost every Saturday night. People would get drunk at the dances that they held there. Niels Nielson , John's father was appointed to keep the rough crowd out of the dances.

Mazie married the love of her life on February 13, 1936 in Salt Lake City in the Salt Lake Temple. Both sets of parents drove down with them to Salt Lake City. Niels and Ella Gilbert Nielson had not been to the temple and they waited outside its walls for the couple to come out. Ella wanted very much to be sealed to her husband and family in the Temple, but Niels had some word of wisdom habits that made that unlikely at the time. On the way back the car broke down and Niels had to fix it. Ella was unhappy with him and had been scolding him. His reaction was to sing in the Danish tongue. Niels only lived for another three months. He died on May 5, 1936 Rocky Mountain Tic Fever and Pneumonia.

Mother almost drowned swimming in one of the natural warm pools in Utah. A young man dived right on top of her knocking the air out of her. Her sister-inlaw Irene Nielson ( Jessop) helped rescue her from the water that day. This incident happened the day or close to the day when the Nielson family went to the Manti Temple to have their family united eternally together as a family.

Mazie delivered her first three children at her parents home in Cedarview, (Montwell)
When John Gilbert, John's grandfather died in October of 1939, John and Mazie hitch hiked to Price for the funeral with a friend John knew so they could attend the funeral.

John and Mazie moved to Washington State, where John worked in the Lumber business. Some of his brothers also came up as well as Mazie's brother Milton. They started out in a home that sat out in Puget Sound; wooden poles braced the house and held it out of the water. Puget Sound was .a large water way that rove itself between the cities in the area and went out into the pacific ocean. With three small children to care for that must have been a huge worryfor Mazie considering the safety of her children. Later they moved to Shelton, King county, Washington, now known as Mazon County. It was while living here Pearl Harbor was attacked on Dec 7, 1941, precipitating World War II. Mazie had her fourth child born during a black out at the hospital , possibly in Tacoma, a baby girl born just after Christmas. The area is surrounded by forests of trees and lots of water. The weather created a problem for Mazie as her Asthma became severe enough that the doctor recomended that for her health sake they move to a dryer climate. So they left this beautiful spot and went back home to the Uintah Basin and Utah. Shortly after returning home John was drafted and entered the Army.
He came from the Duchesne County and ended up in Texas at Fort Wolter. While he was gone Mazie had the responsibility of caring for her young family of four small children. They lived in a red brick home, just off the Neola Highway on the road to Cedar view or Montwell. Not to far from this home was a old horse trough out in the pasture. They used to hall their water from it to drink and use for what ever they needed. This house had a window on the top part that their second son climbed out of and Mazie in an effort to save his life and bring him back in hung out with just her feet holding the sides of the windows as she reached for her son on the roof. She made it back in and so did her son. But it was a precarious moment.
When John came home from the service he may of had hepatitits, The oldest three children and Mazie became sick with it. They were sick to their stomachs; Mazie was so sick she said she nearly died. Her toes turned up at one point. Her oldest daughter was very dizzy. They took her to Salt Lake City to a doctor who took blood and diagnosed the illnes as Hepatitis. John was not as sick as the rest of them, he treated himself with Epsom Salts and that may have helped. It was his source of cures!
Their oldest daughter believes they may of become sick because of the water they were drinking which they hauled from the horse trough. It still sits in the same field, only instead of being filled with water it is filled with rocks.
During the illness, Mazie's sister, Minnie Crapo came over to help while the family was so ill. Mazie was worried that her sister Minnie would become ill, but she came anyway, her husband Howard helped the family out too. The doctor put the oldest daughter on a diet consisting of no greasy foods. Howard brought over milk that he had strained would strain to free it from the cream. Eventually the family recovered.



















Mazie served as secretary of the Genealogical Committee in Idaho.Served as Primary teacher wherever she lived. Mostly taught the CTR class with the 7-8 year olds and in Sunday school too. Sunday School Superintendant in the 19th ward in Phoenix , Arizona. Taught the 13 year olds in MIA for a short time. She often worked in the Relief Society Nursery and Sunday School Nursery too. She also served as a visiting teacher for as long as she could remember at least until she turned 79 years of age.


Mazie was a woman of great faith and love, many of her ancestors were active in the early church days and had a hand in bringing this church forth out of darkness and into light. She is related to the prophet Joseph Smith, and others who served the lord during the beginning stages of the restoration
of the Gospel to the earth. Always willing to sacrifice and give to others. Her love is unconditional, all ten of her children know they are loved. She had borne her sorrows patiently and well, she has had many trials, many disapointments and challenges. They struggled all their lives to put food on the table and care for their offspring. She was a homemaker for most of her life, only working for a short time in Idaho at the potato factory, when her family was in extreme need. I am glad that she was home for us. We had family prayer in our home, good conversations around the table,I remember picnics to the desert. My mother would ride a horse ten miles to school everyday when she lived in The cedarview area. She loved to read and visit with family and friends. hugs and kisses were nightly fare and I love you's too. She had had out of darkness and into light. She is related to some of the Prophet Joseph Smith maternal relatives through her Gee line. Their were many faithful individuals who served the lord during the beginning stages of the restoration of the Gospel to the earth. Always willing to sacrifice and give to others.
Her love is unconditional, all ten of her children know they are loved. She had borne her sorrows patiently and well, she has had many trials, many disapointments and challenges. They struggled all their lives to put food on the table and care for their offspring. She loved to read and visit with family and friends. hugs and kisses were nightly fare and I love you's too. She had had many challenges with her health throughout the years, she is 76 1/2 years old.

A History of John Gilbert Nielson 1915-1993

History of John Gilbert Nielson 1915 to 1993

John Gilbert Nielson was born in Winter Quarters, Carbon, Utah. Where his father worked in Mining for the Pleasant Valley Coal Company which quit their mining operations in 1928. (See Wiki Pedia). He lived there until he was two years old. He had two older sisters living and two deceased siblings, who died and are buried in the Scofield Cemetery. The oldest child was Julia, b. July 18, 1905,

(Picture on left is of Niels and Ella Gilbert Nielson. Picture on right is Julia Nielson, their oldest child and daughter at a young age.)

The next child was a boy, James Clifford Nielson, b. August 3, 1908. He died of Cerebral Meningitis on May 28, 1909 at a Salt lake Hospital.

Elva Christina Nielson was born on Jan 9, 1910 and died April 9, 1910. She too is buried in Scofield, Utah.

Thora Ella Nielson was born on Nov 3, 1911,

and then came John.

(Picture of John Gilbert Nielson.)

Winterquarters, Utah

The bad Tom Cat

Ella tried to take extra good care of John and his health However, there was one time when from his sister Thora's personal history we learn that one day his mother left him sleeping while they visited the neighbor next door. She would send over to the window of the home to listen for signs of John awakening. They thought he was fine since they could hear no noise. However, when they returned they discovered that the cat they called "Tom" had mauled him and he was covered with cuts and blood. After cleaning up the baby, Ella saw to it that the cat met it's demise in a gunny sack and a bucket of water.

Cedar View Farm

When John was two years of age, his parents moved their family from Winterquarters, to Cedar View, Utah, near Roosevelt. On the trip over John fought his warm coverings in the wagon and caused himself a hernia which he would have until it was surgically repaired at the age of twenty. The land they settled on was covered with lots of rocks that had to be hauled away. But Ella much preferred life on the farm then in the mining town, a place she did not want to raise her family. I will always be grateful for grandmother wanting a better life for her children. One where they could grow up away from the bad influences that often if not always seem to accompany mining town’s.

Some of my mother, Mazie's memories of the Nielson Family during my father’s growing up years were; The children were required to help their parents on the farm. Julia drove the horses and the other children picked up rocks every spring to clear the land for plowing and for planting their garden and crops. Grandfather Niels had a piece of equipment which he used to thrash wheat. He grew wheat and helped other farmers thrash their wheat, with this thrashing machine.)

Grandfather Niels would grow crops and his brothers, Ed, Jim, Joe, and Great Grandfather James would come up from the Price area and load up their pick-up trucks with much of the produce and take it back to Price.

Dad's grandfatherJames Nielsen we have been told, kept his coat on year around because it kept the heat out, just as it kept the cold out.

As a little boy Daddy would run after his father down by an irrigation ditch.

When LeRoy, Stanley and Glenn came along their father had a large herd of cattle and every morning they would milk the cows by hand. They sold their cream and milk to the creamery in town.

More brothers and one sister joined the family. LeRoy,b. March 24, 1918,

; Glenn, b. August 7, 1930;

Stanley Nielson, b. Nov 29, 1922

Irene, b. Nov 6, 1924;

Calvin, b.Nov 12, 1926;

and Joseph, b. Feb 23, 1931.

The home was quite small and the boys sometimes slept outside in an old car. They raised Cows and pigs. I heard they sold the cows and ate the pigs. Which might explain how several had heart problems in their later lives?

When Julia or Thora went horseback riding with a young man, John was sent to keep them company. That was fine with Julia, but, Thora didn't like him tagging along. Sometimes a boyfriend of hers would try to slip him a candy bar to send him away with. He would eat the candy bar then catch back up with them.

When John came running home from school one day because of some problems with some boys his dad told him he better not catch him running again. he toughened up and didn't need to run away after that. In fact the story goes thatlater in my fathers life, a wrestler came into town and challenged the town’s boys to a fight. Dad bested him! Perhaps another reason he felt he had to be tough was that he was the oldest of several boys and he had to help out with them a lot. He was also the shortest of them being 5 feet nine inches. His sister Thora was five feet eleven inches. His brothers were over 6 feet tall.

Spit on it John!

LeRoy got up one morning and went out side. It was a cold day and for one reason or another he decided to lick the side of the wagon. (there must have been some frost that looked tasty on the wagon's steel rim.) His tongue stuck fast and when John came out to check on him. LeRoy mouthed the best he could the words. "Spit on it, John" (My mother thinks that dad went and got help from grandmother who may have poured water over LeRoy's tongue to loosen it from the wagon.)

John used to take the wagon and the horses and go up into the mountain to cut down the wood and bring a wagon load home. His brothers would help him chop it up. He would also herd the cattle in the foothills above their home. When he was about 16 years old, he worked with his dad helping to create the road between Roosevelt and Neola. They used teams and horses. The farmers in the area all helped build the road.

John was a member of the Future Farmers of America and they helped in the building of an building that stands close to the Duchesne County Hospital and Roosevelt Middle School today. Dad and John King, a friend of dad's went into the mountains and brought down timber to build the FAA building. (We have a newspaper article telling about their work.)

The granary on the farm served as Dad’s bedroom and part of it stored grain. Stanley made a old car into his bedroom. The home they had was quite small and they only had one room which they petitioned off with canvas. So the boys as they grew up looked for more room to spread out in.

Dances

Dad accompanied his older sisters to the dances. Julia was good to dad and would help take care of him. However, Thora, didn’t like having him around. At least when she had a boyfriend, they would bribe him to leave by giving him a candy bar to eat. Dad would eat the goodies and show right back up again. He felt it was his responsibility to take care of his sisters.

Grandfather Niels was called upon by the Bishop to be a floor manager at the local ward dances. His job was to keep the boys in line. Dad says Grandfather was the best at keeping them under control.

Dad got an infection in his hand from barb wire while out plowing. It was so bad that two doctors wanted to amputate his arm to save his life. Grandfather Niels took him to a man who was a horse doctor. He treated the animals and people. This doctor lanced his hand and told Grandfather to take Dad home and have Grandmother Ella keep his arm in a hot water soak with Epson Salts in it. After about 24 hours of this, the poisons oozed out of his hand he said the poison came out in a foot long string. The name of this doctor was Dr. Miles Whitmer. Dad went to the same grade of school as LeRoy, because he had missed too many days of school from sickness and working. He had pneumonia when he was about in the third grade and missed three months of school. He was too weak to walk and had to learn to do it all over again.

When Dad was almost 12 years old his sister Julia Nielson Perry died from Toxemia, after giving birth to her son Jules. Ella Gilbert Nielson took over his care until Loyal Perry, Julia's husband married dad's sister Thora on Jan. 1, 1931.

As a young man, Dad worked on the road that they built between Roosevelt and Neola. They were using wagons and teams of horses. Dad was kept out of school by his father to help with the construction of the road. He helped drive a team with equipment on the wagon.

Dad had a great big swelling abscess under his chin when he was seventeen. His parents took him to Salt Lake City to have it removed. It was so bad that poisons oozed from it. The poisons made him delirious; and he was placed in a strait jacket by the nurses; which he got out of, he took off and went up the hall and wrestled with the janitor trying to get away. As I understand it, the janitor also calmed him down and helped him out. He may also have been under the effects of Anesthesia and was frightened.

Dad hauled most of the family winter wood by himself, Evidently some of the trips he made were with his brother LeRoy. His mother would make them a big lunch to take with him. They used the wood to burn in the wood burning stove to cook and heat the home. They kept a tea kettle on the stove and with all its many other uses also used the water to heat the bath.

____________

My mother, Mazie Alexander was thirteen years old when she first saw my dad. He was swinging on the door at the Church house. She fell in love with him on the spot. He was five years older and they married when she was almost sixteen, and dad was nineteen, on February 13th, 1936, in the Salt Lake City Temple. Mother says they went down to the temple with her parents in their car and her parents were able to go into the temple with them. Ella was unhappy about not being able to attend and had some words with Niels. Niels dealt with her anger the best he knew by singing danish songs on the trip. He had some word of wisdom habits he had not been able to give up and she very much wanted to be sealed in the temple to him and her family. That was in February of 1936. Niels contracted Rocky Mountain Tick Fever from a wood tick on his back and pneumonia from falling into a creek and died on May 5, 1936. This was a time of great sorrow and distress for the family. Niels had worked many jobs in his life time trying to care for the many needs of his large family. Ella was left with the challenges now. Niels missed out on being here for the majority of his grandchildren. His two grandchildren that were living at his death was Jules Perry , son of Loyal and his late daughter Julia Nielson Perry, Reva Perry, daughter of Loyal and Thora Nielson Perry was his other grandchild living at this time . Many of us missed out on knowing Grandfather Niels..

Mother says that when dad was about seventeen he would go to Idaho and stay with an Uncle Thomas and Aunt Jennie Nielson Holms, during harvest time in the fall he would pick potatoes to make money. Mother thinks he did this for two years. After they were married mother went with dad up their while dad worked in the fields picking potatoes. This aunt died from bad varicose veins in the operating room.

Their children came, starting with Johna May; Theo Gilbert; Clarence Niels b.; Natalie; Robert Alexander, Leland Ray, Julia Anne, Daniel Allen; Lorna Dee,; Mark Eric. They had their children over a twenty-seven year period. Mazie was 42 and dad was 46 1/2 when they had their last one.

Their first three children were born in Montwell or Cedar View at Mazie's parents home, Robert & Annie Mariah Dobson Alexander’s. Grandmother Dobson was a midwife and assisted the doctor in their births and subsequent care to mother and child. It was only natural that she would be there for the births of her own grandchildren and help where she could. She was a lovely hard working woman whose compassion and service to others was greatly appreciated by the many people she served in the Uintah basin area.

Mother was seven months along with her pregnancy with Theo when Dad went to Salt Lake City to have his hernia operated on. The night before he was going to Salt Lake he had an appendicitis attack. They had to walk three blocks to the doctor. The doctor told dad to put ice packs on it and go on two Salt Lake and have it out. He did and two weeks later the hernia was operated on. They kept him there for another fourteen days. Then just before they let him come home they took out his tonsils.( His mother went with him to Salt Lake but was not able to stay the whole time.). While growing up on the farm the family ate a lot of pork while they sold the cows. Dad had a lot of boils on his skin those first years of marriage.

After these repair jobs on his body were made dad enjoyed really good health for many years following. He always kept Epsom salts ready for health purposes.

When Clarence Niels was born the electricity was turned on and the radio came on for the first time. The first thing they remember hearing was the question. "Is there a baby boy in your home?" They were living in a two room apartment, both grandmothers were present. The Doctor's name was Sanders. Both grandmothers helped the doctor out with the birth.

Natalie was born in a hospital in the state of Washington.

(Picture of men working in Lumber yard in the Seattle, Washington Area.)

John worked at FHA at one time and made $40.00 a month.

Because of a lack of jobs earlier in the Uintah Basin, he went to Washington state with their little family consisting of Johnamay, Theo, and Niel and worked in the Lumber field. Natalie was born their around the time of the Pearl Harbor attack in December of 1940. The windows at the hospital were covered in black paper. They lived their until the doctor recommended that they return to Utah because of mother's severe asthma attacks. due to the damp weather.

Upon his return to Cedar View. Dad was drafted. He would not have been drafted had they been able to stay in Washington, because the job he had there was felt to help out with the war effort. His brother's were also drafted Stanley, LeRoy, and Glen.

In Washington he had made $200.00 a month. Dad was 29.

Mom was left with four children to care for, She lived in a red brick house out near what they called the Holler, (The road that lead into Cedar View or Montwell, dipped down into a ravine or hollar and came back up again. They used to get their water from a horse trough that was sitting out in a field. (It is still there. My sister Johnamay believes that they became ill with hepatitis because of that water. She and my mother became very ill with it after my dad returned home from the war.).

(John Gilbert Nielson in his Army attire around 1944.)

He did get benefits from his service. When he had heart problems they helped to pay for his associated bill.

Dad served as an Elder representative in Idaho and in Sheldon Washington. He would see that the Elders got to Temple. He helped with the Scouts in Idaho. He worked as a Genealogy leader in Idaho. Dad presided over meetings on genealogy. Home teacher and he was a High Priest before he passed away. Dad was a janitor for the LDS church in Chandler Arizona, Dad went to school and trained to be a Body and Fender man in Pocatello Idaho.

Dad paid taxes on the land in Montwell for many years before they actually moved upon it. It was 60 acres. Mother said there were people who lived on that land before we did in a home. Mother said that they found old knives and forks and things. Someone had built a ditch which one of the kids or dad backed a car into. It had been filled in but was not solid ground.

Dad paid Milton ALexander's Taxes for him on the land that Milton claimed.

copy of death certificate, FGS records, John was ordained a high priest by Dennis K. Jensen, also a high Priest,on Dec 11,1983,as a member of 7th ward, Roosevelt, Utah West Stake. Dad was a hard worker all of his life, I can remember him arising around 6:00a.m. and heading out the door to work around the place. He had to have something to do. Some of the different kinds of jobs he held were; Construction he helped build a building in Roosevelt, I believe was used for a old hospital. He worked in Washington State as a lumberman, He was a cook in a bakery in Idaho. He worked at a railroad station in Idaho, janitor for church in Chandler Arizona, sugar beet factory in Idaho, farmer in Idaho, body and fender man in Arizona. Owned his own company for years known as Rocky Slopes Fire Prevention business, this job took him all over the United States and sometimes he would be gone for three months at a time. We were always happy to see him when he came home. That could not have been easy for him ormy mother. Sometimes mom went with him and sometimes one of my brothers or other family member went with him on these trips. some of my brothers eventually did this work for awhile and a brother-inlaw and some nephews also became involved in it.

When my dad had his first heart attack at the age of 65, it pretty wellcurtailed his going out and doing this work himself, some others did it, but it finally went by the way. This is what my dad did from the time I was about nine until I was married with children. Before my mission, my dad fell from on top of his dome shaped workshop, down to the ground, landing on his back in the sand. He got up and walked away. I wondered how that may of affected his health. He worked hard.

He often collected rocks on his trips and brought them home. like quartz and obsidian. He loved the land and he liked people, he told me once that he enjoyed sitting in a mall and watching the people go by. Dad had a great sense of humor, a trait he shared with other members of his family. He was a quiet man and didn't get involved in public speaking, however he did talk at my mission farewell. He was a home teacher and was known for helping people in distress he met on the highways, including scooting down a hill to help a accident victim. He also picked up several hitchhikers and gave them rides. I remember a Indian man who he gave a ride to, in turn the man gave my dad a lovely turquoise ring.

Dad even hitchhiked a few times from Roosevelt to Salt Lake and I guess back again. Scary huh!

My dad had such a happy disposition and friendly one that people responded in kind. I love my dad and miss him so much, but, I know he is happy and doing quite well on the other side.

Dad had an old Air stream trailer on the property in Cedarview where he would hide out with his magazines; usually they were about lost treasures, and he had his special equipment for detecting valuable minerals, like gold and copper pennies. Once he had me go out and hide a can of pennies. Then he took his metal detector and scanned the area, and within a short time he found the treasure. I was impressed! Dad liked herbs like goldenseal, ginseng, peppermint, comfrey. He was very much in to home remedies and before his heart attack had not personally stepped into very many doctors office for himself.

My parents lived in a apartment house with another apartment attached in Washington where dad was working in a plant that made fiber board. It emitted a terrible odor. They did not live to far away. Uncle Stanley stayed with mom and dad and worked their too. Earlier that evening the couple went for a walk and left their baby in the crib. My parents had gone out and come back and saw a fire. My dad went in on his hands and knees and searched the baby crib, luckily the babie's parents had come back earlier and taken the baby out.

They had left a cigarette on ashtray and it started a fire. Their was more smoke than fire. Dad and mom called the fire department.

One day my dad was traveling around the outskirts of Price Utah. He had a little side job selling a farm magazine to people. Just as He drove into this yard he and mother heard a big boom. Some kids had gotten some matches and were playing near a big gas tank. It blew up in this little girls face. Dad picked up the little girl and carried her to the high porch and sat the little girl on the porch no steps the door opened and a woman came to the door partly dressed. The little oriental lady came running over yelling; “vinegar and soda, vinegar and soda.” They put vinegar and soda on the little girl. Later they learned the girl lost the muscle to one of her eyelids so she could not pull it up as a result of the fire. Mom stayed in the car during this time with Bud (Theo) and Johna May while dad helped out.

Descendants on listed current on this Neal

file !Father of submitter, copy of death certificate, FGS records, Submitter Julia Anne Nielson; !Blessed and given a name on 3 Oct 1915;

John Gilbert Nielson Obituary from the Roosevelt Standard Newspaper December 1991 (Some changes made for accuracy reasons.)

John Gilbert Nielson, 76. Montwell, died Friday, December 20, in the VA (Veterans)Medical Center in Salt Lake. He was born August 28, 1915 in Winter Quarters, Carbon County, Utah to Niels and Ella Gilbert Nielson. He married Mazie Alexander in the Salt Lake Temple. He was a skilled auto body and fender repairman and painter, and in his spare time he enjoyed hunting and taking care of his fruit trees. He was an avid rockhound and liked horses but especially loved his family. He was a U.S. Army Veteran and served during World War ll.

He is survived by his wife, Mazie, Montwell; Children, Johna May West, Orem; Theo G. Nielson, Flagstaff, Arizona, C. Niels Nielson, Montwell; Natalie MacNeille, Mesa, Arizona; Robert A. Nielson, Las Vegas, Nevada; Leland Ray Nielson, Independence,(Randlett) Utah; Julia Anne Corry, Cedar City; Daniel A. Nielson, Ridgecrest, California; Lorna Dee Anderton, Montwell; Mark E. Nielson, Farmington, New Mexico; 62 grandchildren, 53 great grandchildren; brothers, LeRoy Nielson, Glen E. Nielson, Calvin Nielson, Joseph F. Nielson; and sister Irene Jessop.

He is preceded in death by brothers, James Clifford,(who died at about 10 months of age.) and Stanley; sisters, Julia Perry, Elva Christine,( who died at about 3 months of age.) Thora Perry and two grandsons, Gregory Nielson and Richard Nielson.

Funeral services were held Monday, December 23, at the Roosevelt LDS 7th Ward Church.

!Father of submitter, copy of death certificate, FGS records, Submitter Julia Anne Nielson; !Blessed and given a name on 3 Oct 1915;

John Gilbert Nielson was born in Winterquarters, Utah on August 28, 1915 to Niels Nielson and Ella Gilbert Nielson. His parents also had two living daughters, Julia born July 18, 1905, Thora born November 3, 1911. He had a brother, James Clifford born August 3, 1908 and died May 28, 1909, and sister Elva Chirstina died in infancy at about four years of age. January 9, 1910, died April 9, 1910. Both are buried in Scofield, Carbon. County, Utah. Ella tried to take extra good care of John and care for his health having lost two children already. However, there was one time when

From his sister Thora's personal history we learn that one day his mother left him sleeping while they visited next door. She would send Thora to listen for him. They thought he was fine since they could here no noise from the window next to the house. However when they returned they discovered that the cat they called "Tom" had mauled him and he was covered with cuts and blood. After cleaning up the baby Ella saw to it that he cat met it's demise in a gunny sack and a bucket of water. That was the end of Tom the cat.

When he was two years of age they moved from Winterquarters, which was a mining town to Cedar Viiew , Utah near Roosevelt. The land was covered with lots of rocks that had to be hauled away. But Ella much preferred life on the farm then in the mining town which is a place she did not want to raise her family. On the trip over John fought his warm covering in the wagon and caused himself a hernia which he would have until it was surgically repaired at the age of twenty.

When my mother, Mazie Alexander was just thirteen years old when she saw my dad swinging on the door at the Church house. She fell in love with him on the spot. He was five years older and they married when she was almost sixteen and dad was nineteen, February the 13th, 1936 in the Salt Lake City Temple. Their chidlren came starting with Johna May b. Nov. 11,, 1936; Theo Gibert, b. 29 June 1938; Clarence Niels b. February 5, 1940; Natalie, b. Dec. 26, 1941; Robert Alexander, b. August 12, 1947; Leland Ray, b. October 8, 1953; Julia Anne, b. March 29, 1955; Daniel Allen. b. Nov 18, 1956; Lorna Dee, b. March 24, 1961; Mark Eric, b. April 19, 1963. They had their children over a twenty-seven year period. Mazie was 42 and dad was 46 1/2 when they had their last one.

Their first three children were born in Montwell or Cedar View at their grandparents Alexanders home. Grandmother Dobson was a midwife and assisted the doctor in their births and subsequent care to mother and child. When Clarence Niels was born the radio came on for the first time. The first thing they remember hearing was the question. "Is there a baby boy in your home!"

Natalie was born in a hospital in the state of Washington.

More brothers and one sister joined the family. LeRoy, Glenn, Stanley, Calvin, Irene and Joseph. the home was quite small and they sometimes used old cars to sleep in. They raised Cows and pigs. I heard they sold the cows and ate the pigs. Which might explain how several had heart problems in their later lives.

Mom was left with four children. He did get benefits from his service. WHen he had heart problems they helped to pay for his associated bill.

Elder representative in Idaho and in Sheldon Washington. He would see the Elders got to Temple. Helped with the Scouts in Idaho. He worked as an Genealogy leader in Idaho. Dad presided over meetings on genealogy. Home teacher and he was an High Priest before he passed away. Dad was a janitor for the LDS church in Chandler Arizona, Dad went to school and trained to be a Body and Fender man in Pocatello Idaho.

Compiled and written

by Julia Anne Nielson Corry