Life Sketch of Frank Andrus
Benson
by Eleanora Benson Allen
Seventh Child
Before I start the life story of my father, Frank Andrus
Benson, I would like to begin with a short sketch about his father, Ezra Taft
Benson, given to me by Margaret R. Benson:
The Saints, under desperate, terrifying conditions, had
been expelled from Nauvoo. In their hour of distress, the Lord, through Brigham
Young, gave them instructions and comforting counsel for their journey. (Sec 136
D & C) The section begins: “The Word & Will of the Lord..and calls Ezra
T. Benson and Erastus Snow to organize a company of Saints and lead them to the
West. (136-12) Ezra T. Benson came to this assignment highly qualified. He was
a member of the Council of the Twelve. He had joined the church in 1840 after
laboring as a farmer, businessman, postmaster, and hotel keeper in the East. A
restlessness stirred him constantly until he moved west and came in contact
with the church. Once a member, positions of responsibility came quickly.
Within a year he was ordained a High Priest and appointed Second Counselor in
the Stake at
Ezra Benson worked on the temple in Nauvoo and stood
guard at night to keep off the mobs. In 1846, after expulsion from Nauvoo,
while at
—
Frank Andrus Benson was born in
Aunt Pamelia, the first wife of Ezra Taft Benson, and
Adeline, his second wife, were sisters. Pamelia joined the church first, in
Quincy, Illinois, July, 1840. Grandfather Ezra T., joined later in the same
month. They moved to Nauvoo in 1841. Adeline joined the church after her sister
and husband had left Mass. Adeline had a young man that she had gone with for a
number of years. When she joined the church, he couldn’t believe in her faith,
so their courtship ceased and she left Mass. for Nauvoo to be near her sister,
and where the head of the church was located. She became the second wife of her
older sister’s husband April 25, 1844. Only two years later they were forced to
leave their beautiful red brick home in Nauvoo at the threat of death. Both
sisters were expecting babies at that time but they were forced to go the
pioneer trail in search of a new land and peace. (When my son, Benson, was in
Nauvoo some years ago, he was shown the Benson home and it is still very
lovely) Most of the homes in Nauvoo at that time were made of red brick.
To this age of concern over civil rights and individual
freedoms, it is difficult to realize that these freedoms were not always
guaranteed to all in our United States.
When Frank was nearly three years of age, his father was
called to go on a mission to Europe, with Orson Pratt. They left Salt Lake City
in April, 1856, and returned to Utah in Jan 19, 1858. Father said that this was
the first time he had any recollection of whom his father might be.
When the Bensons had been in Utah but eight years, in
1855, they built diagonally opposite the Temple block on the southeast corner,
a most beautiful two-story adobe home, located on the Benson homestead. This
home cost $12,000 to build, which was a small fortune at that time. This home
was destined to play an indispensable role in the building of Salt Lake as a
metropolitan city. Eventually the home was replaced by the Central Hotel, then
Templeton Hotel Bldg., the Zions National Bank, and now the towering Kennecott
Building is located there.
They had just finished and moved into their new home; the
apple, pears, plum, and cherry trees had been planted in the orchard, or garden
as they called it, when Ezra Taft Benson received a call to move to Cache
Valley and become the presiding authority of this young community. Elder Pratt
said of Grandfather at that time, “Ezra Benson will go anytime or anywhere he
is called to go by church leaders.”
I am sure it was hard for Ezra Benson to leave Salt Lake.
In history, we read so much about the hardships and great things the pioneer
men were called to do, but little is written about the heartaches, trial,
disappointment, hard work, and sorrow of our pioneer women. Imagine what this
move must have meant to the two sisters. Father said he remembered how his
mother Adeline and Aunt Pamela cried in Salt Lake at this time, and for years.
We must remember, they had been driven from their home in Nauvoo; crossed the
plains; each had given birth to babies on the trek; and they had lived in log
cabins again in Salt Lake. Now they were called to move from a lovely home and
go back to pioneer life with its hardships and lack of comforts the new home
would provide. The trials and work were theirs again in making a new home.
Their home in Salt Lake was sold to Daniel H. Wells. It became the home where
the elite were entertained when they came to Utah.
The Bensons arrived in Cache Valley in March, 1860. Young
Frank was just seven years old. There were near 150 families in Cache Valley
when they arrived. The settlements in the valley had been previously named and
renamed by Ezra Taft Benson and Orson Hyde.
Young Frank received all of the education that was
possible to receive from the schools of that day and that an educated mother
could give him. I don’t think there were many words that he could not spell or
give the meaning of, or any arithmetic problems he could not work. He learned
so many lessons by song or verse, especially his Geography and History lessons.
He also made the most of his opportunities. Father would become quite disturbed
when his children would make mistakes in their English, and would not stand for
the crude or vulgar words to be said.
Following are a few stories related by Frank A. Benson to
his oldest granddaughter, Helen H. Passey:
F.M. Cowley and Frank A. Benson, while on their mission
to the Southern States in Virginia, had an appointment to hold a meeting at the
Birch Schoolhouse. When they arrived at the school to conduct the meeting, a
Methodist minister was holding a service with the congregation that had
assembled. Elder Cowley and Elder Benson were astonished, but not wanting to be
outdone, they decided on a plan. There was a large oak tree a short distance
from the schoolhouse. The missionaries found some boards and set them up as
seats, then they started singing “High On the Mountain Top”. Both boys had
beautiful voices and the congregation, a few at a time, filed out of the
building and took seats under the shade of the tree, and the meeting continued.
A short time later, a group who were anti-Mormon, tarred and feathered the tree
and posted a sign stating that the Elders might expect the same treatment if
they should return to hold another meeting. Shortly after, lightening struck
the tree and splintered it to bits. This was a testimony to these young men.
They knew they were being watched over and cared for by a stronger power than
man.
In the Spring of 1915, at the Benson home at 141 W 1st
So. In Logan, Utah, we had a visitor from West Virginia. This man had been a
Baptist minister whom Frank and his companion had converted to the church many
years before. He came to go to the Temple and visit with that boy who had
brought the Gospel message to him, and to tell him of the happiness it had
brought into his life.
Adeline Benson, wife of Elder Ezra T. Benson and mother
of Frank, and Sister Hendricks were camped at Garfield, boiling salt for their
winter seasoning. This was a routine chore. While they were performing this
task, the men were in the canyon cutting wood. Busy at her work, Adeline
glanced at the rocks a short distance away and saw a large animal crouching
there. She walked over to the wagon and told Sister Hendricks, “We have
company.” The animal crawled stealthily through the rocks toward them. The
women took their babies to their arms and started to sing. When they stopped
singing, the animal would get up and start toward them. While they continued
singing the animal would lie down quietly. They sang for two long hours, and
all at once the animal was gone. When the men returned, they examined the
tracks left on the ground and found them to be those of a large mountain lion.
Adeline had a cow tied to the back of the wagon, when the lion appeared the
frightened animal broke loose and left. They didn’t find her for months.
When Salt Lake City was in its early stages of settlement,
Adeline Benson was taking good care of three small potatoes that she planned to
plant in her new garden. She cut each in four pieces, making twelve sets. Three
of the plants died and nine matured. From the nine hills she dug a large
dishpan of potatoes. They ate some and kept the rest for planting the next
spring. From this pan of seed, she raised ten bushel. That Fall Apostle Benson
returned to Salt Lake with some of his family, and they all ate from the
harvest of potatoes. One day Adeline told them that they had better save the
potatoes that were left for seed the next spring. Elder Benson went to the trap
door where the potatoes were kept and told Adeline there were plenty left, and
there was no reason why they couldn’t continue to eat them. They used them for
awhile longer. Adeline then closed the trap door, saving she had known hunger
and she was going to save the rest. Her husband said, “Let’s eat what we have,
and I’ll buy seed when spring comes.” Adeline refused. The next spring seed
potatoes could not be purchased anywhere, for any price, but this gentle woman
had enough seed so as to have a good harvest in the fall.
The following is told by Franks daughter, Edna B. Ward.
When Frank was a young boy, the Indians were constantly
on the warpath, causing trouble for the settlers, The last fight between the
settlers and the Indians was at Battle Creek near Preston, Idaho. After this
battle a number of Indian children were left orphans. The relatives of these
children sold them to the settlers. Apostle Ezra T. Benson, father of Frank,
bought an Indian boy and an Indian girl. He paid fifty pounds of flour for each
of them. They named the boy Sam and the little girl Nellie. Ezra T. Benson
brought these two children home to Adeline, Frank’s mother, and they were
reared by her. They were sent to school and both learned to read and write.
They both grew to adulthood. The always thought that they would sometime marry.
Nellie was a sweet, kind girl, and she became very much in love with her foster
brother, Frank. He considered her just one of the family. When he brought his
bride, Amanda Eliason, to his widowed mother’s home to live, it was too much
for Nellie. She left her home and went to live with another of the Benson
families. Nellie didn’t live long after Frank’s marriage. She is buried in the
northeast corner of the Benson plot in the Logan cemetery.
The fall father was eighty years of age, he helped haul
all of the beets on the farm. One day, as he was returning home, he met a man
walking towards town. Father stopped his team and asked the seemingly old man
if he would like a ride. As the man climbed into the beet wagon with great
effort, he said, “I tell you son, when you get as old as I am you will find out
how hard it is to get into a wagon.” “Yes”, said father, “No doubt I will. Just
how old are you Mr.?” “I am 65 years old”, the man replied. Father looked at
him with a twinkle in his eye and said, “you see I will be 80 years old in one
more month.” His passenger couldn’t believe that a man of father’s age could be
so active.
As a young man, Frank was always noted for driving the
fastest and best teams of horses in town. On Sunday evening, as he and his best
girl were driving along the main highway north of Logan, a driver came out of
the side road and gave chase to them. His girlfriend kept telling him, “Oh
Frank, please slow down your horses I think are trying to tell you something.”
Frank replied, “If he has anything to say to me he can say it when we get to
Logan.” To his surprise, when he stopped in Logan the other party did have
something to say to him. He had been racing with the County Sheriff. He was
fined for fast driving along a public highway.
Father told me of a time when he and Sam, the Indian boy,
went to Corinne, Utah, to get salt. While they were there Sam was able to get
liquor. Frank tried to get him to stop drinking and he became angry. Sam was
much larger and a little older than Frank. He began to beat Frank, and if the
men hadn’t come to Frank’s aid, Sam would have killed him. Shortly after, Sam
left Logan and went to the Salmon River country in Idaho. They never heard from
Sam personally again.
It was a common thing for the Indians to gather on the
Logan Tabernacle Square. They would exchange their furs and hides for cash, and
then they would buy liquor, if possible. When they were able to obtain liquor,
the settlers became very much afraid, as the Indians would start their blood
curdling war calls and shouts that echoed over the small community of Logan.
Elder Ezra T. Benson, as leader in the valley, had told
the people to give the Indians what they asked for, to keep the peace. They
would demand so much flour, so many beans, salt, and sweets. Foods were scarce
in the valley but the food was fathered together and given to the Indians, even
if the settlers had to do without. The sweets were mostly sorghum, which was a
poor grade of homemade molasses. One evening during a visit of the Indians to
the Tabernacle Square, Grandmother Adeline was alone with the two young boys,
George and Frank, when a drunken Indian with his face covered with war paint,
came to their kitchen window and pressed his nose against the window pane. The
boys were terrified. But Adeline, the pioneer woman that she was, went to the
window and shook her fist in his face and made him understand that she was not
afraid. He stood there looking at them for awhile, with his nose pressed
against the window, then turned and walked to a pile of wood a short distance
away and sat down and moved his head back and forth, with Adeline still at the
window. Finally he arose and walked drunkenly away. Our grandmother was only a
fraction over five feet in height. One realizes that protection from above was
ever near these pioneer families.
When Ezra T. Benson returned from trips out of the
valley, he often brought little gifts to his children. These gifts were very
special to them. One time, he brought sticks of candy to each child. Young
Frank took his to school so his friends could have a taste. This was a very
special treat to children who had very few sweets, and most of them had never
seen a stick of candy before. Another time, Frank’s father brought home some
matches or “pop sticks” as they were called. Frank was given a few of the
mysterious pop sticks and his first thought was to show his friends what he
could do with them. They gathered at the lot at Main and Center street in
Logan, where the first Security Bank is now located. There was a hay yard at
this corner and they gathered a little pile of hay, intending to have just a
small blaze, just enough to show the boys what the pop sticks could do. Father
lit one of the matches, and it wasn’t many minutes until all of the hay was
ablaze. This was told to me by Ezra Ricks, a lifetime friend. He was one of the
boys that came to see Frank’s pop sticks. Fires were started by flint and
steel, or borrowing a few coals from a neighbor.
Frank said his father brought an orange for each child
one time. He always remembered his first orange and said never in his life did
he taste anything so delicious as his first orange.
The summer Frank was 13 the men of Logan were improving
the road into Logan Canyon. This became necessary so they could bring logs and
rock to build fireplaces and homes, and the need for more wood to burn to keep
their homes warm. Frank and another boy were to do the fishing for the camp.
One day a mother bear and he two cubs came into camp seeking food. The men
killed the mother bear and captured the two small cubs. They gave one to each
of the boys. The boys had many happy hours with the cubs when they were not
fishing. Father said they were as playful as puppies. Frank brought his cub
home and had it for some time, but it soon became larger and the neighbors
became concerned about having the bear around. Frank took the bear into the
canyon and turned it free. He said there were tears shed, and he continued to
look for the bear every time he went to the canyon.
We used to go to the canyon with father when we were
children in the 3-seated bedlow, or white-topped covered wagon. He would tell
about things that happened in the canyon when he was growing up. One time they
were making the road at the point in the road near where the Logan City dam is
now and dug into a rattle snake den. The men killed over 200 snakes of all
sizes with shovels, sticks and stones. The boys removed some of the rattlers
from the tails of the larger snakes and put them on strips of hide to take home
to show the other boys.
There was the large, lazy fish they could not tempt. They
tried every kid of fly, bug, worms, and grasshoppers every day but nothing
would tempt it. There was a story or happening for every turn we too in the
road and the river.
Ezra Taft Benson would often take one of his boys with
him when he went on trips to Brigham City, Ogden, and sometimes even to Salt
Lake City. The boys were to care for the horses during their travels. The times
spent with their father were precious moments in the lives of these children,
as they had so little time with their father. He was called away from their
home so often for church duties, and government and business affairs.
On September 2, 1869, Frank left Logan with his father
and Alvin Crockett, their destination was Ogden, Utah, where they were to meet
at the Lorin Farr home. They stopped overnight at Brother Maughns in
Wellsville. Early the next morning they were on their way to Brigham City to
visit Lorenzo Snow where they had their noon meal and changed the team of
horses. Toward evening, just before they arrived at the Loren Farr home in
Ogden, one of the horses became sick with colic. Ezra T. Benson bled the horse
as soon as they could get in unharnessed. This was a common practice for both
man and animal, to be bled for any ailment they might have. It was supposed to
be a certain cure-all for everything. When Ezra T. Benson had finished the
treatment he handed the halter rope to his son, Frank, and told him to walk the
horse and not let it lie down or roll. There was a young boy standing near, and
as Ezra T. passed the picked up the boy and placed him on the horse’s back,
then he turned from the barn to go to the Farr home with Mr. Crockett and
William Turner. There was a small ditch just a short distance from the barn,
and as Frank’s father stepped across the kitchen, he slumped to the ground as
in a faint. They did everything that was possible for them to do. They carried
him into the Farr home where he died of a heart attack a short time later. That
was a terrible shock to Frank, a teenage boy nearing his 16th birthday. He said
how he had always loved and honored this wonderful father with all of his
heart. This happened on September 3rd, 1869, just a little more than 9 years
after the Bensons had moved to Logan, This was to have been a business meeting
to settle affairs with the railroad company for work these men had contracted
to do and had finished.
There were hundreds of Indians and all of the people in
the valley that could possibly be there at the funeral service for Ezra Taft
Benson, This was the largest gathering ever held in the Cache Valley up to this
time. Frank said of his father, he tried to treat all people, no matter what
color his skin might be, as his brother.
Frank’s older brother, George T., was married to Louisa
Ballif on 20 Dec., 1867, two years before his father’s death.
After Frank returned from his mission to Virginia, he
became mail carrier for the village of Benson Ward, Trenton, Clarkston and
Newton in Cache Valley. In summer he would take the mail on horseback or wagon.
In the winter he would go by bobsled or horseback. In summer he would ford the
Bear River. In winter he would cross on the ice. The snow would be so keep they
could go over the top of the fences. He always said there is nothing as cold as
riding a horse in below zero weather.
Frank owned a team of horses that were exceptional at
treading snow. That means they were able to walk on the deep-crusted snow
without stumbling or floundering. When there were blizzards, and that was
often, Frank would put the lines down on the dashboard and let the horses use
their heads. They always found their way home to Logan through the blinding
snow. When Frank had delivered the mail and was ready to return home, there
would usually be a line of men with their teams and bobsleds waiting to follow
in his tracks back to Logan. Frank’s wages were $30 a month on this job. It
seems such a little, but was a good deal of real money in those years, as money
was hard to come by.
Not all was work or calamity, however. Festivities were
enjoyed with unhibited husto. Dances were a unanimous favorite. Brigham Young
had said, “if you wish to dance, dance, and you are just as much prepared for a
prayer meeting after dancing as you ever were, if you are Saints.” The dances
started at sundown with potluck dinner at midnight and leftovers eaten for
breakfast. They always had programs and singing at these parties. The children
would stay awake as long as they could, then they would sleep through the din
on benches against the walls of the meeting house, wrapped in quilts. Music and
rhythm were provided by tissue paper put over combs and blown through, by
fiddles, mouth organs, jews harps, or anything that would twang. Another form
of entertainment was their home talent plays. Dramatic forms were very popular
and very important, and performed under real adverse conditions. There were
also sledging, picnics, wool-picking bees, candy pulls, and quilting bees–all
amusements of younger days of Frank, and how he loved to sing and dance.
It was at one of these parties that Frank met Amanda
Elliason. She had moved with her family from Grantsville, where they had
located after joining the Church in Sweden and coming west. Frank Andrus Benson
and Amanda Charlotta Eliason were married the 9th of December, 1880.
Amanda was the daughter of Andrew and Hedvig Eliason, the
oldest child of a family of eleven children, eight girls and three boys. Amanda
was a beautiful girl, with very even features and long wavy dark brown hair
that came to her knees. She had to wrap it around her arm to comb it
completely. Her complexion was so clear and fresh all of her life. She had the
sweetest, kindest smile that I will never forget, and beautiful large blue
eyes.
Frank Benson was 5 ft. 8 in. tall. He was a handsome man,
perfect profile. Dark, snappy brown eyes, and very dark brown hair. Father had
a happy, clean sense of humor. Mother was more quiet and sedate.
The Frank Benson family lived all of their lives at 141 W
1st So., Logan, Utah, across the street from the old B. Y. College. This was
the home Ezra Taft Benson had built for his second wife, Adeline, Frank’s
mother. It was a 6 room house with dining area and kitchen in one room. The
house faced to the south. There were two small bedrooms west from the kitchen.
The living room was east of the kitchen. Southeast of the living room was
Grandmother Adeline’s room, and the northeast corner was Frank and Amanda’s
room. There were three fireplaces in this home, one in the kitchen, living room
and Adeline’s bedroom. At the north side of the house was a large summer
kitchen porch, on this porch was the family pump. The cooking and canning in
the summer was done in the summer kitchen. There was also a garden east of the
house where fruit trees had been planted.
Adeline shared her home with her son Frank the remaining
years of her life, which were 16. The only time Adeline was away from it for
any length of time was when she went to Whitney, Idaho, to homestead land for
her oldest son, George T.
Near the turn of the century, electricity came to Logan.
We had one drop light put into each room in the old home. How wonderful it was
when they turned on the light. They were not very bright compared to the lights
of today, but there never has been a light more bright or more beautiful. There
were no more smoky coal-oil lamps to fill and clean or wicks to trim.
Near this time, father bought our piano from the B.Y.
College. As a family, we would gather around while mother played the church
songs and we would all sing. Some of the other songs we sang were “Tenting
Tonight”, “Two Little Girls in Blue,” “The Good Old Summer Time,” “Where is my
Wandering Boy Tonight,” “Home Sweet Home,” and others. My father had a
beautiful tenor voice. We learned to harmonize and would sing as we rode in bob
sleigh, wagon or buggy.
When Father was able to get land in Logan Canyon, our
vacations were at our summer home there. Many wonderful hours were spent going
fishing with Father. He used a long can fishing pole and could catch fish when
no one else could. In the winter time it was bob sleigh riding. Mother would
heat bricks or large rocks in the cook stove oven so we could keep warm in the
cold winter air. Father would fill the bob sleigh with his children and the
neighbor’s children that were lucky enough to have ice skates and we would be
off to the ponds or lakes. It was cold and the snow was deep, but we loved
every minute of it.
I was just one year old when Grandmother Adeline passed
away. She told Amanda before she passed away how much she loved her and what a
wonderful daughter she had been to her. She also said that if possible she
would come back and tell Amanda about over there.
I was nearly five years of age when Frank and Amanda
decided to build a new home for their growing family of nine children. They
rented a little 3-room home on the back lot of Grandmother Quinney next door.
Mother, Eva, Karl, Helen and Eleanora moved into this house. Father, Jean,
Blanche, Edna, Hedvig, Frank Jr., had their beds in the loft of our large barn
at the back of the home place. All meals, baths, washing, and ironing, were
taken care of at the rented home. Plans were made and it wasn’t long until the
old home was being torn down. The adobes in the old home were carefully taken
down one by one and cleaned and saved to line the new home. The children of our
family that were able, helped clean them. The adobes in the old house were used
to line the new two-story home up to the square. These adobe bricks were 3
inches high, 5 inches wide and 11 inches long. They made the home cooler in
summer and warmer in winter.
Plans were finished and they were ready to start the new
home the first part of May. It had a living room, library, dinning room
kitchen, pantry, and bath on the first floor. Upstairs were 5 bedrooms, 3 large
rooms and 2 smaller ones, and one bath. The house was not completely finished
when we moved in. Winter was very near and it became too cold for Frank and the
children to sleep in the loft of the barn. How wonderful it was. I’ll never
forget our first Thanksgiving in the new home. I know there never was a happier
family.
Another bright memory was when the Circus came to Logan.
Getting up at daybreak to see the Circus trains pull into town and the unloading
of them, with their circus activity and smell. Then the big parade with their
bands, animals and clowns.
Frank would take the family and a large 2 gallon can of
lemonade and we were off to the big tent. Amanda always said that Circus
lemonade wasn’t sanitary. I know our lemonade with it’s tinkling ice was the
envy of all around us. After the last big show came to pulling down of the big
tents and the loading of the trains. Each one knew just what he was supposed to
do, especially the elephants. Circus day in the summertime compared with
Christmas in the winter and the highlights of the year, with Christmas as the
happiest of the year.
We had a special supper on each Christmas Eve. For those
that had learned to like them, it was fried Eastern oysters and oyster stew. It
was always Eastern oysters. The thought of a new doll, new dress, mittens, and
other things made it almost impossible to sleep the night before Christmas.
Amanda’s sisters would always come down on Christmas Eve
with a special gift for each one of us. Frank would arise early Christmas
morning and start the fires in the kitchen stove and the large heater in the
living room. When the rooms were warm, he would come to the stairs and shake
the silver sleigh bells that were used on the horses when we rode in the
cutter. Our individual presents were placed on the table where we were
accustomed to set at mealtime. The family games were under the Christmas tree,
with candy, one orange, and nuts in our stocking. Each Christmas day we all went
to Grandfather Eliason’s home for our Christmas dinner. The Eliason home had so
many beautiful, priceless things in this big home everywhere. (So many
touch-me-nots) Home was always the happiest place to return to.
Frank had a dairy and we used to deliver milk night and
morning to his many customers. We would rise early, especially on school days,
to milk and get it delivered and home and to school on time. The cows had to be
milked by hand. We were all good milkers, except Eva and Jean, who had extra
work to do in the home. We didn’t have paper cartons, just one quart, 2 quart
and gallon cans, and they had to be washed and cleaned after each delivery.
When we had finished 8th grade we graduated from the milking and the milk
route.
In the summertime we would take our picnic and go early
to do our milking in the beautiful pasture with its wild flowers, streams,
trees, and flowing well. They were happy times. The neighborhood children were
always anxious to go with us to do our milking, and also to deliver the milk in
the one-horse drawn milk wagon.
I remember as a child, tithing was paid with produce.
When the tenth load of hay was being loaded, father would always have us tramp
it more and pile it higher. The best animal was picked for tithing. These were
taken to the tithing yard in town. That’s how we learned about tithing. Frank
believed in an honest tithe.
As children we had good riding horses. We rode bareback
until we were large enough to saddle our horse safely. We also had our bicycle
to ride. We seemed to have so many things that other children did not have.
Frank and Ezra Ricks were partners in the cattle business
for years. They raised their cattle in Cache Valley, and each spring they would
trail them to Star Valley to graze, then return with them before the first
snowfall in the fall. They remained the truest of friends all of their lives.
For years in the summertime, before the automobile was
common, men from Brigham City, Utah, would load their double box wagon with the
berries and fruits from the area and come to Logan to peddle them from house to
house. A good number of these men would stay in the corrals at the Benson home.
Frank would charge them $1.00 a night for feed for the horses and the men would
sleep in the hayloft in the big barn. They would bring apricots, cherries, and
sometimes betties in July. Later in the summer, it would be peaches, pears and
tomatoes and melons. We were always supplied with the best of their fruits.
Frank had a great love for animals, especially horses.
One evening one of these peddlers became angry with one of his horses and began
to whip it and to curse the frightened animal, using the Lord’s name in vain.
Frank told him to stop beating the animal or he would use a whip on him, and to
get off of his property because he would not stand for such language on it.
Not many years ago Alma Sonne, assistant to the Twelve
Apostles, came to the Idaho Falls South Stake for Conference. I had known him
when he was President of the First National Bank in Logan. I went up to speak
to him after the meeting and told him I was Frank Benson’s daughter. He said,
“You should be proud of that father. His word was as good as his bond.”
We had little trouble or sorrow in our home until the
10th child, Adeline, was born. I, Eleanora, went to the neighbors to play. The
children at this home were coming down with whooping cough. Their mother wasn’t
aware of it so I was exposed and came down with whooping cough. There were six
of us in the family who had not had whooping cough. When Adeline was 2 months
old she died of the disease. We all had it very hard.
Frank and Amanda decided to take us on a trip to the
mountains, as they said it would help us to be in the open air and sunshine. We
were gone 10 days and I will never forget the happy time we had. The wonderful
meals, with Father doing most of the cooking. He could make the best biscuits
in the big iron-covered biscuit pan. All of the cooking utensils were of iron
so they could be covered with coals for cooking.
Frank and Amanda were the parents of 11 children. Their
first child, Eva Amanda was born on 6 July, 1882, in Logan, Utah. She was blond
complexion with golden hair and the largest dark blue eyes. She never married.
She received her education at the Utah State College. She was one of their star
basketball players. Basketball was entirely a girl’s game at first.
Their second child was another girl named Anna Eugenia,
or Jean as she was called all of her life. She had dark brown eyes and black
hair. She resembled her Grandmother Adeline and in her grandmother’s eyes she
could do no wrong. She was born 3 Jan, 1885. As a child she was never very
well, and grandmother was sure they would never raise her. She lived to be 83
years of age and became the mother of 8 children.
The third child, another daughter was named Blanche and
called Bea. She was born 7 May, 1888, and resembled her mother in many ways.
Her hair was long, brown and curley. She had the beautiful complexion of her
mother and blue eyes. She was her father’s special daughter and she spent so
much time with him.
The fourth girl, Edna, was born 19 October, 1890, and had
the dark eyes and ahri of her father. She was petite and dainty and very
pretty, the dramatic one of the family. When she was in the 8th grade her
teacher wanted to adopt her.
The 5th daughter, Hedvig, was named after Amanda’s
mother. It was a Swedish name. She had one of the most perfect dispositions of
anyone I have ever known. She had long brown hair and eyes that one would
always remember. She was born 15 April, 1892, and had a beautiful soprano
voice.
Just 2 years later their first son was born, 30 April,
1894. Imagine what a stir he made in the family after 5 sisters. He was named
after his father, Frank Andrus Benson, Jr. His features were very much like
those of his father. His complexion was blonde like his mother. He was a
special man in many ways.
On Monday 30 November, 1896, I was born, and named
Eleanora after my mothers’ sister whom they called Nora. I was the ugliest one
in the family.
Karl Eliason Benson, the second son, was born 21 April,
1899. He became very ill when just a baby and the doctor told his parents that
he would not live. Through the care of our mother, and the blessings of our
Father in Heaven, he lived to be a joy and support to his parents and family.
Twenty months later, on 26 December, 1901, our little
Helen was born, with large brown eyes and brown curly hair. She had an ear for
music and could play most any tune she heard, by ear. One wondered how her
little fingers could reach the keys. She died 11 Feb., 1909 just a little over
7 years old, of leukemia.
The 10th child an 8th daughter was born 14 March, 1904.
He name was Adeline Brooks after Frank’s mother. She had the same coloring and
eyes as her oldest sister, Eva. She died of whooping cough of 5 May, 1904.
The last and 11th child 3rd boy, George Taft Benson, was
born 17 August, 1905. He was named after Frank’s only brother. His profile
resembled his grandfather, Ezra T. Benson. When but a child he had polio, and
as a result became a cripple with a hunched back. This was a drawback to him
the remainder of his life. He died Feb., 1942.
This is my father’s family. We were all educated at
either the BY College or the Utah State Agriculture College in Logan.
The following article was written by Serge P. Benson,
nephew of Frank A. Benson, and published in the Logan Journal.
“Looking back just 50 years, when a boy of six, my ideal
of a man was one who was strong, full of life, a lover of nature and all living
creatures. A man who was true to himself and his fellow men. Always in life,
honesty and honor have been the outstanding qualities in a man. My ideals have not
changed after 50 long years have passed.”
“I think now of my impressions at the early age of 6, of
a young man about 30 who possessed those sterling qualities of manhood. Many a
day I have ridden the mountain ranges and fished the mountain streams by his
side. I have gathered up the wilk chickens as he shot them. Many a juicy steak
of venison have I enjoyed that was brought down the mountains by this real man.
He not only fished and hunted but studied wild life. He knew where the deer
roamed at all seasons of the year, likewise did he know just what parts of the
day the fish were feeding. Many times he would be sitting by Logan River
manufacturing his own fly hook after studying the fish to see just what they
were feeding on. People often wondered why this man could catch fish when they
refused to bit for others. I have seen him walk up the stream behind other
fisherman who were not getting a raise, and he would soon have his limit.
“About the year 1890 we went up the old Cub River east of
Franklin, Idaho, for fish. We met a number of sportsmen who informed us the
fish were not biting at all. My brother and I were fearful of our man turning
back, but he said, “We will catch fish.” We went to Willow Flat. He no more
than made his first cast when out came a beautiful native mountain trout. You
may not believe it, but it is nevertheless true, that this real man of nature
caught those speckled beauties faster than my older brother and I could clean
them and he continued until he had a dishpan full. His fishing was always done
with hood and line. He never dynamited or damaged them in any way.”
“He loved our majestic mountains and their beautiful
clear streams. One of the first canyon homes in our wonderful Logan Canyon was
built by him. Many of you have seen rustic chairs and bridges across the river
made by him and his artistic family of boys and girls. Those children would be
an honor to any man and wife. All are honest, industrious, and among the best
citizenry of the west. In my 56 years of association with this man, I have
never heard him tell a vulgar story or take a drink of any of the things
forbidden by God our Father.”
“His example has been above reproach. He has held a
number of prominent positions but is of a retiring nature. If more of those who
hold positions were more like him, our people would be glad to follow and aid
in any good cause.”
“Last year I called to see an aged friend of mine. He was
being cared for by this fine man. I shall never forget the picture. With
sleeves rolled up he was administering comfort to his best friend and chum.
They were about the same ago of 79 years, and yet with almost the love and
tenderness of a woman, he was bathing and rubbing his boyhood companion. They
told me it had been 70 years since they became friends. They wee business
partners and not once in 40 years did they quarrel or speak cross words to each
other.”
“In the year 1933 we went to this good man’s 80th
birthday dinner. We found him hale and hearty, able to help in many things on
his farm. As we sat in his living room the question was asked, “What do you
attribute your long life and health to?” He answered, “I have always kept the
Word of Wisdom, with good food, plenty of work, and proper exercise, I have
kept myself fit for my work.” He took us to a back room of his home, and there
showed us an iron bar put across the top of a high doorway. He reached up, took
hold of the rod, and chinned it several times, just the same as he did as a
young man. Remember this was on his 80th birthday anniversary.”
“He said a few nights ago I felt a pain in my limbs at
about 2 a.m., caused by some overwork. I got up and went to my trapeze bar and
exercised by back and limbs and the pain was gone and I went back to bed and
rested the rest of the night”
“Do you want to live long and well? If you do, follow
this good man’s ways. Be honest in your dealings with all men. No knock at this
man’s door every startled him. He wronged no man and had no fear. Others may
speak at his bier. Not so with me–I want him to hear them while he still lives.
I want you to know him as I know him. His name is Frank A. Benson. He lived at
141 West 1st So., Logan, Utah. The following lines were written of him:
The Humble Great
He lived his life, and never knew
The work that God had fashioned him to do-
Yet something seemed to whisper all day long-
Be happy at your labor, and be strong
Humble your post, but let your neighbors see
How truly great a working man can be
Strange whispering this? And yet it held him fast.
Purse poor at first, purse poor unto the last.
He sang at his toil bright bits of song
Befriended all who passed his way along
Lived cleanly, bravely, till his fellow clan
Envied and praised his merits as a man.
He never sought by trickery to gain
The false enjoyments cunning men obtain.
He laughed and loved, played fairly and was kind,
And never let life’s bitter sour his mind
As if that voice kept whispering “Be true,
And show the world the good one man can do.”
I think of him as one God singled out,
Always in working clothes he walked about
And kept him poor of purse
yet made him wise
In all to which gold often blinds our eyes
And held him fast to be untinged that we
Might learn how fine the humble man can be.
We had very little trouble or sorrow in our home for many
years until in June of 1921. Amanda was at the home of her daughter, Eleanora,
in Nampa, Idaho, to be with her at the birth of her 2nd child, Jeanne. We
received word that her daughter, Hedvig was ill at her home in Manti, Utah, and
wanted to be brought home to Logan. Mother left for Logan that evening on the
train, to be there to help her darling daughter. Hedvig had had the flu while
carrying her second son, Keith, and it had affected her heart. She did not
improve, so was taken to the hospital and died on 29 July, 1921. She is buried
in father’s plot in Logan.
In the spring of 1922 Amanda went to her daughter
Blanche’s home in Lewiston, as she was ill. While there, Amanda became ill with
strep infection and blood poisoning set in. She died at Lewiston, Utah, 12
March 1922. I was called Sunday afternoon and took the train with my son,
Sidney, and baby daughter, Jeanne. Mother passed away at 11 o’clock Sunday
evening. Two of our loved ones had left in little more than 6 months.
Sixteen years later in the Logan paper on 7 May, 1937, it
appeared that Frank A. Benson, one of Logan’s finest citizens died at his home
Tuesday night following a long illness. He would of reached his 84 milestone on
16 October. His was a life of devotion to God and his family, and to his
friends. It was also one of varied experiences. He has known all the life that
a pioneer has known, the terror of Indians, the ache of long, hard labor, and
the endurance of hardships. He also lived to enjoy the fruits of his labor, and
all the luxuries that the average man to today enjoys. Especially has he been
blessed with great love and sincere friendship. No family could ever have been
more devoted and more appreciative of a fine father. Until the last year, this
man walked our city streets with a firm step, and erect body, a sparling eye,
and a kind smile for everyone. When we saw him we usually knew he was on his
way to visit someone in distress or someone who was lonely. Those who knew him
best loved him most. Always he had striven to be well and strong. He ate
wisely, in fact he kept the Word of Wisdom, and exercised to keep his body in
trim as he called it.
During these many years of health he worked as a tiller
of the soil, and was a successful farmer. He has also been an ardent church
working, holding the following offices. In the presidency of High Priest
Quorum, President of the first Mutual Organization of Logan; at one time
President of the Home Missionary organization or Stake and Ward Teachers; he
fulfilled a mission to the Southern States. About 2 years ago Uncle Frank, as
he was lovingly called by many friends, met with an accident which injury
resulted in the disease of cancer which claimed his life.
The great love of his children was manifest during his long
illness. In health they arranged trips and parties for him, in sickness they
gave him all that medical science, physical comfort and true love could give.
His illness has been made easier by his children and visits of many friends,
that he always greeted with a smile and was ready to crack a joke. He
appreciated the groups and also the individuals who brought their music and
singing to the home to bring him cheer. Especially the choir, choruses and band
of the High School across the street from his home. He was blessed with a keep
sense of humor. He enjoyed life.
Frank A. Benson was born in
Funeral services were held Sunday after at
(Eleanona Benson Allen)
7th child & 6th daughter
Retyped & Submitted by
Ann Benson Potter
Youngest granddaughter
November 2002