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- M. J. BENSON "My Life Story by Marcus Joseph Benson"
My life started the 23d day of April in 1865 at Lehi, Utah. My father, Jense Peter Benson, came across the plains in 1853 with his parents (Jeppe and Maren Kofoed Benson) from Aaker, Bornholm, Denmark. My mother, Kersten Erickson, came in 1857 with her parents from Dokkedal, Mov, Aalborg, Denmark, traveling by train from Philadelphia to Iowa City. They left there 11 June 1857 pulling handcarts. My mother left her parents at Florence, Nebraska, for they could not stand the long ordeal.
They waited there for relief teams. Mother pulled the cart along with others, the number being 541.
When they left Iowa with 100 carts and 1 wagon, Johnston's Army passed them on the east side of the mountains. When they came within 100 miles of Salt Lake City, there were relief teams to meet them, so that they could walk without having to pull the handcarts. Mother walked all the way and reached Salt Lake on 13 Sep 1857.
Soon after arriving in the valley, Mother became very sick and wasn't expected to live. She was married to my father while she was still very sick. She became better later. They lived in Salt Lake for several years, then moved to Lehi for 11 years. They moved to Clarkston in 1869 and lived there until 1876; then we moved to Newton where we have been ever since.
I received my first schooling in Clarkston, and my first teacher was Betsy Griffin. Next was Joseph Slater from Lehi; Third, was Mary Crockett of Logan; and Fourth, Robert Smith, who later married Miss Crockett.
Our first home in Clarkston was in the Fort, just east of the present location. Later, the town was laid out as it now stands. Father built a new home one block south of the public square. I remember much of my early life while in Clarkston, and remember going with my father to the home of Martin Harris after his death. Father took the measurements of his body so he could make the casket to fit. That is all I remember of Martin Harris.
My father farmed about twenty acres of land in Clarkston. He used to cut the wheat with a cradle and I raked it into bundles. My two older brothers, Peter and Alma, bound it into sheaves.
After moving to Newton, I received my schooling from A. P. Welchman, James Low, and Charles England. I had much to do with the pioneering of Newton. The reservoir is one thing I had much experience with.
It broke out several times and required a lot of work to be done on it. There would be a group of us camped there for weeks at a time scraping and repairing it and building a dike to stop the water from flooding some farm lands. That was a failure, as the water would raise behind the dike as high as the front.
I did much canyon work. The hills and mountains used to be covered with wood; Cedar, Mahogany, and Pine.
On one occasion, there was a group of us building a bridge across the Logan river up at the Tab Hollow. We had five long logs that would span the river while we were working there. The water was high in June and was running swift. Below us were swift falls. I rode a horse through for something and crossed all right. Going back, my horse fell under the sp water and I held the reins. As the horse got up, the swift current sent me under the horse. I let go and I sure did go; I grabbed for a bunch of willows. I missed it. Then I grabbed for another bunch and just did get hold of a twig soon enough to save my life. The men thought I was going over the falls, for no one could help me because the current was too swift.
I worked on the Utah Northern narrow gauge railroad. (The first one that came into Cache Valley in the fall of 1880.) The grade was built through Battle Creek. I was there with my father until 1881.
I took a team and went up into Montana with a large group of boys and worked for Thomas Ricks who holds a large contract on the Jefferson River, between Butte and Helena. There were the prettiest turtles there that you ever saw. During the first of November, we moved to Silver Bow, a few miles on this side of Butte, and helped finish up some of the grade so the track layers could lay the track into Butte that fall. When we got to Logan, there was snow all over the country. President Garfield was shot by some crank in 1881.
I was baptized on 15 August 1875, ordained a Deacon at 12; at fifteen I was ordained a Teacher, and I was ordained a Priest at Seventeen.
In November 1889, I was ordained an Elder and a Seventy in 1890.
I was married to Magna Olga Larsen on 21 November 1889 in the Logan Temple. We were re-baptized before marriage. We went down to the river and cut a hole in the ice, and James A. Hansen baptized us.
From this union we had five children: Hazel Naomi, Norma Olive, Mildred Minnie, Mark Royden and Helen (stillborn).
I was called on a mission in 1905 to the Northern States Mission and was assigned to labor in Michigan. I labored the first part of the winter of 1905 in Detroit, and the latter part in Port Huron. All of 1906, I was in Detroit. I worked in the country in the summer and was released in August 1907. My wife died 19 December 1921.
I have served as a Ward Teacher for about thrity years, was one of the Seven Presidents of the Quorum of the Seventies, and was Justice of the Peace for some time. I was one of the directors of the reservoir, a school trustee, a member of the town board several times, and chairman of the Newton Ward Genealogical Organization. I am a farmer and a stock raiser at the present time.
--M. J. Benson
Grandpa was ordained a High Priest on 20 September 1928. He loved the church and was a faithful temple attender. He read the scriptures every day in his big rocking chair by the stairway. He was a wonderful storyteller and we grandchildren begged for stories every night. He told stories from the scriptures, Indian tales, Pioneer stories, stories from his experiences up Logan Canyon, from his mission, and early memories. We loved all of them.
He was extremely patient and always had encouraging words for everyone. He helped our mother and Aunt Hazel in caring for the home and family in every way he could. He continued to be helpful with the animals, farm chores, and garden all his life. If a nail or screw came out of something, he fixed it immediately. He believed in taking care of things. He was very neat in appearance and would never, never track dirt in from outside or leave a mess of any kind anywhere.
He had many friends with whom he would attend the temple, play checkers, and visit. His brother from American Falls, Idaho, Samuel, came to visit occasionally and he loved those visits. He rode his horse, Old Whiskey, down to visit his brother, Nephi, who had a small store and gas station two blocks east and one block south of our home. He had a great respect and love for all his family and was a kind and loving neighbor as well.
In going through some old books in the house, we saw where he was certified as a horseman and veterinarian. He enjoyed family history and wrote many letters for that purpose. He had many fun little "sayings" and was fun to be around. He could peel a whole apple without breaking the peeling. He collected the "Church News" issues and always kept the "juvenile Instructor" and "Improvement Era" magazines. He loved going to General Conference. He had a great respect for the Bishop and other Church authorities.
He said his prayers aloud each night and morning, and was so humble and sweet. One morning, when he was 82, he did not come down for breakfast. Glen went to his room to see if something was wrong and found him lying on the cold floor, too weak to go any farther. He was taken to the hospital by ambulance and treated for double pneumonia. He was placed in an oxygen tent and was in critical condition for several days. Our prayers were answered and he recovered. Two years later he became ill and started choking on his food. Doctor Randall, who had great respect for Grandpa, found he had a growth in his esophagus. He lived two or three more months and passed away 13 June 1949 in his home in Newton.
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1865 - 1949 (84 år)
