ADA MARION WILLIAMS (MILLER) 1877-1953

Four generation pose in Oakland, California: (from left to right) Lula Miller McCarthy, Ada, Margaret Lorraine McCarthy, and Sarah Rogers Williams.

Ed and Ada celebrated their Golden Wedding 11 March 1945 at Lula's home in Oakland.

Ada looks smug, while Ed looks perplexed.

Ada and Ed with Ada's mother, Sarah Porter Rogers Williams, in Oakland, California, 1937.

Ed always made a wonderful "Santa Claus."

The Miller family at work in the hop fields of Oregon, summer of 1931. Ada (the small figure at center) is leaning over a basket while her daughter Edna stands beyond her. Papa Ernest is virtually hidden on the opposite side of the vines from Edna. Ada's youngest daughter Lorraine was normally Ada's partner, but took a moment to take this photo.

Ada's sons Ellis (left) and Harold (right) pose with Ada's mother Sarah Williams in front of a hot pie shop undoubtedly operated by Ada and Ed. (This is possibly the shop Ada and Ed operated in Los Angeles.)

Ed with his boys in Oregon, summer of 1931. Left to right: (rear) Harold, Ed Sr., Ellis, and Ed's son-in-law, Gail Fjelstrom; (front) Lester, Ed Jr., and son-in-law Oscar McCarthy.

Ada and Ed's family gather together in Oregon, summer of 1931. Left to right: (rear) Ellis, Ed Jr., Lester, Harold, and Ed Sr.; (front) Evelyn Paterson Miller (Ellis' wife), Verna, Lula, Ada, and Lorraine.

Ada's daughters, Lula (front) and Verna (rear), share a ride on the Juab County dry farm with Ada's youngest sister, Ivy. Lula and Ivy were the closest of friends.

On the dry farm about 1914: Ada's husband Ed Miller stands far left while Ada's father, James Clark Williams, holds the donkey for Ada and her mother, Sarah Porter Rogers Williams. (The photo may have been taken either on Ed's homestead in Juab County, or on the Williams' homestead which adjoined Ed's farm at the time.)

One of Ed's Salt Lake City streetcars in the early 1900s. Conductor Ed Miller stands to the left; his unidentified driver is to the right.

The Miller family camping out with Grandpa and Grandma Williams, about 1912. Left to right: James C. Williams, Ed Miller Jr., Verna May Miller, Lester Williams Miller, Ivy Rachel Williams, Lula Vera Miller, Harold William Miller, Ellis Marion Miller, Ada Williams Miller, and Sarah Rogers Williams.

Ada's children: (left to right) Lula Vera, Edward Ernest, baby Ellis, and Verna May. After snatching the satchel, a disillusioned Lula refused to come and see baby Ellis.

A proud Ada poses with husband Edward Emerson Miller, daughter Lula, and baby Verna in 1899.

Ada, shortly before her 1895 marriage to Ed Miller.

Even after marriage, Ed would always play the fiddle for the Saturday night dances.

Ada (right), age 5, with her sister May, age 3.

[Ancestral Link: Harold William Miller, son of Ada Marion Williams (Miller).]

THIRD GENERATION
ADA MARION WILLIAMS (MILLER)(Daughter of James Clark Williams and Sarah Porter Rogers)

Ada Marion Williams was the first child of James Clark Williams and Sarah Porter Rogers. She was born 14 July 1877 in Wanganjui, Wellington, New Zealand. She spent her early childhood in Auckland, New Zealand. In 1880, when Ada was two years old, her parents out of curiosity attended some meetings held by newly arrived Mormon missionaries. Her parents investigated the teachings of the missionaries and were baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 18 March 1880. About that same time, the Thomas Levis Cox family also became
members of the fledgling LDS branch in Auckland. A particular closeness developed between the Williams and Cox families.

In 1882, Ada's father traveled to Utah intending to prepare the way for the rest of his family to follow; upon his arrival in Salt Lake City, however, he was asked to return to New Zealand as a
missionary. After James Williams completed his mission in New Zealand, the family immigrated to Utah, leaving Auckland 9 November 1884 and arriving in Salt Lake City on 14 December 1884. Ada was seven years old. The James Williams family settled in American Fork, Utah, where Ada attended school. Shortly afterward, the Cox family also emigrated from New Zealand and settled in Logan, and then Ogden.

The Williams family enjoyed singing and camping together. All of them sang in their ward choirs. The Williams girls were all fleet of foot and almost always won any footraces. (Ada even took first place in a race when she was a young mother.)

When Ada was 14, an attempt was made by her parents and their close friends, Thomas and
Hannah Cox, to encourage a closer bond between the two families. They tried to foster a potential courtship between Ada and a younger son in the Cox family, John William Cox. Accordingly, Ada was invited to spend some time with the Coxes at their home in Ogden.

The conspiracy between the parents, however, did not work. As Ada's mother Sarah later reported, "Johnny[Cox] was a fine and good young man ...Ada said she liked Johnny real well as a friend, but he was altogether too good and serious for her at that time. She preferred someone with a little more nonsense and spirit about them. So, that was that." (Johnny Cox died not long afterward of tuberculosis of the bone.)

When Ada was eighteen years old, she did meet someone with just the right blend of fun and nonsense: She went to Shelley, Idaho, with Mrs. Sabina Robinson Allen to work for her during the summer. Sabina was a dear friend of Ada's mother. In November 1894, Ada attended a missionary farewell in Shelley. There she met a jovial young man named Edward Emerson
Miller. Ed had become of age two years before and had bought 80 acres of land in Taylor, Idaho, filing on it as a homestead. Ed had built a log house on the property and now happened to be looking for a wife. Ed and Ada were introduced, a mutual interest was sparked, and they were married the next spring on 11 March 1895. They were the first couple to be married in Shelley. They made their home on Ed's homestead in Taylor, Idaho.

Ada and Ed worked hard. Ed fenced 80 acres and broke ground to plant wheat, alfalfa, oats, and potatoes. Ada worked side by side with Ed as they planted a half-acre vegetable garden along with patches of corn and watermelon. They planted a full lawn with plenty of flowers and with shade trees along the front.

During the first summer of their marriage, Ada and Ed made several recreational trips to the
canyons, spending a few days at a time. On one trip coming home from Wolverine Canyon, they
were warned that an Indian outbreak from the nearby Blackfoot reservation had occurred. The Indians had been on the warpath over conflicts with the cattlemen in the Big Horn Basin, but the soldiers from Fort Hall quelled the trouble. Ed and Ada had been camping right on the Indian trail while in the canyon, not knowing they were in any danger.

Their first child, Lula Vera Miller, was born on 6 February 1896. Augusta Wadsworth was the midwife who cared for Ada.

Ada and Ed loved to attend the local dances. Ed usually played his fiddle for the dancers while Ada held the baby. An organ and violins would accompany many of the songs they sang at the dances. In winter, they would hook up the bobsleigh and bundle up with warm patchwork quilts to travel to the dances.

When Lula Vera was eighteen months old, she came down with pneumonia. Ada hung blankets at all the doors and windows of their cabin. She put a poultice of flax seed on the baby's chest every fifteen minutes and kept the baby bundled up and away from open air until Lula was well.

During their first year of marriage, the federal government was sponsoring the construction of the Snake River Reservation Canal for the Fort Hall Indian reservation. Ed was an experienced canal excavator, and he averaged about six dollars per day working on the canal. He also worked on the Cedar Hollow and Foothill canals in return for water rights stock.

Ed traded some of the water stock for a nice gentle cow for Ada to milk while he was away working. At that time, there were no fences to contain the cows or other livestock; however, when milking time came each day, all Ada had to do was to tap soundly on the milk pail, and the cow would come running home for her bran mash.

Ada and Ed lived one and one half miles north of the LDS meeting house. Most of the time, they walked both ways to church. Ada was secretary of the Sunday School, while Ed taught the deacon boys. Ed was ordained an elder on 1 February 1897 and was set apart the same day as a stake missionary. Since the stake at that time was 40 miles long, Ed had to ride horseback to visit the different wards. His companion was his brother-in-law, George E. Larson. This was only the first of several stake missions Ed would serve in his lifetime.

When Ed was released after six months, he sold his homestead in Taylor, and the family moved to American Fork, Utah. Ada traveled with her husband and three-year-old Lula in a camp wagon with a white top. They stopped at Beck's Hot Springs in north Salt Lake for a meal of ham and cornbread, then continued to American Fork where they settled in. On 6 December 1898, Ada gave birth to their second child, Verna May.

In 1900, the family was quarantined with scarlet fever. Verna was eighteen months old and Lula was four and a half. This was Thanksgiving time, and the Church sent the quarantined family a basket filled with chicken, apples, oranges, and candy.

The Miller family lived in American Fork for two years and four months when their first son, Edward Ernest, was born 8 April 1901. Exactly one month afterward, Ed, Ada, and their children were sealed as a family in the Salt Lake Temple.

About the same time, Ed signed a contract to build a pole fence over the mountain to contain the cattle on the Thomas E. Jeremy ranch. On 10 May 1901, the Miller family moved into a new caretaker's house that had been built for them. It was a frame house with two rooms and a nice porch. A few feet away, a big river rushed by. In the heat of the summer, the river would be so low that the family could wade out into the holes and pick up the big fish. The girls carried the huge fish home in their aprons. On the opposite side of the house was a steep, wooded hill with tall pine trees and a cold spring of water.

Ed and Ada milked eight cows and sold the butter to the railway section men at Gorgorza. They also traded butter to the sheep men for mutton and lamb. Once, Ed and Ada put a milk can with a tightly fitting cap in the stream to stay cool. When they returned for the milk, they saw a big brown bear mashing and mauling the milk can in the mud. The bear picked up the can and hiked over the hill, where he tipped it up and drank from it. When he was finished, he tossed the can aside and continued over the hill.

When Ed was faced with the problem of coyotes killing the sheep, he put three lambs in a corral with a mean heifer that was hard to milk. At first, the heifer tried to kick the sheep across the yard; but soon, the heifer would roam about with them all day and even let them nurse her. She became very good at protecting the lambs.

On one camping trip, the Millers took along Ada's younger sister, Amy. Amy was eighteen at the time and was staying with them. Ed was teasing her with a porcupine quill and accidentally stuck her in the leg. When he couldn't tug the obstinate quill out, Ed finally resorted to his pocket knife and cut it out. Shortly after, a sudden electrical storm took them by surprise. Everyone was frightened and dashed to some kind of shelter. The children were temporarily separated from their parents. Amy, Lula, and the baby took shelter under a big clay ledge and watched the rain pour over the ledge like thick cream. Everyone stayed in their respective makeshift shelters
until the storm was over. Afterward, to add to the comedy of mishaps, the already wounded Amy wrenched her arm as she tried to help Verna over a ditch.

On one occasion, Ada's parents, Jim and Sarah Williams, hosted a family party at Saratoga, near Lehi on the shore of Utah Lake. It was a great place for swimming and picnicking. Ed tipped Ada's sister, Lou, out of a hammock right into a muddy ditch. She had on a fine white dress. Lou gave chase, and Ed escaped her ire only by running fully clothed out into the lake. On the way home, Fred, Ada's youngest brother who was about three years old, fell through the hayrack which they were using for transportation. No one in the family missed him until they had gone a mile or so. They fearfully turned back, full of concern, but when they found Fred, he was
unhurt and sound asleep in the road.

In October 1901, the family moved to an isolated farm at North Point, west of Salt Lake City, beyond Saltair. Although known as the "Harris place," the farm was owned by Thomas E. Jeremy. Ed had taken the farm on shares, half and half. The farm had a large house surrounded by poplars and included a large barn. Ed bought Ada a beautiful "Home Comfort" range for her kitchen with lots of pots and pans to go with it. The people on the farm before them had left behind several rabbits; consequently, the property was now alive with wild rabbits of almost every color and mixture. The rabbits would constantly dart out of one hole almost under their feet and dive out of sight into another hole.

Ed drove into Salt Lake City twice a week to visit the Hotel Utah and other hotels and restaurants in order to obtain swill for the pigs. The children couldn't wait for his return so they could scour through the swill for silverware, dishes, or other treasures the restaurant workers had negligently tossed out with the swill.

During their entire stay in North Point, the family felt isolated with no close neighbors. The next year, 1902, they moved to Salt Lake City. Ed got a job driving a team for the People's Forwarding Company, owned by E. E. Rich. Ed worked there for eight months, then took a job in the roundhouse at the Oregon Short Line Railroad shops. He worked at this job almost two years

In 1904, when Ada was about to have her fourth child, she went with her children to American
Fork to be with her mother. Ada's daughter, Lula, later related how, when the birthing time arrived, the children watched the midwife arrive in her buggy. All of the visiting kids-Ivy, Verna, Fred, Verda, Irvin, little Ed, and Lula-gathered around the midwife while she tied her horse, and they eyed an important-looking satchel which the midwife had set on the ground.

Each of the children knew who the midwife was and vaguely understood that she was the one
who brought the babies. They were disappointed when they didn't see a baby on the scene, and eight-year-old Lula forthrightly demanded, ''Where's the baby?" The midwife smiled and whispered, "Be quiet and run away, or you'll wake it up-it's in the satchel!" Lula didn't believe her and instantly snatched up the satchel. She ran down the hill with all of the rest of the children following after. When she opened the satchel, of course there was no baby. It was quite a shock for the young children. When Ellis Marion Miller was born 14 April 1904, Lula was so peeved, she refused to come see the baby!

The family's next move was to the E. E. Rich farm in Farmington. This farm had rolling hills, big trees and a river. The meadow had lots of tall green grass and an abundance of colorful "darning needle" dragonflies which the girls like to catch and pin on pictures. Ada's sister, May, spent a lot of time with them. After a fresh rain, the mushrooms grew thick in the meadow. The girls took their baskets in early morning and gathered mushrooms. The family enjoyed numerous picnics in the meadow.

They had a mean rooster on this farm. Every time he saw the girls with bare legs, he would fly at them and peck their legs until they would bleed. The farm also had an old turkey and a duck who were always fighting. The turkey would peck the duck's head and eyes until they would bleed, and the duck would pluck the turkey's breast feathers all out, most of the time taking all the skin off, too. It was hard to tell which side won any of the fights.

While living on the Farmington property, Ada and Ed had a third son, Lester Williams Miller, born 9 August 1905. When Ada knew Lester was due to be born, she packed lunches for all the kids and sent them for the day to Lagoon. They returned late in the day to a new baby brother. Lester was blessed in the 17th Ward, Salt Lake City.

The following October, the Millers moved back to Salt Lake City. They moved from Center Street into a home on Seventh West. It was an old brick house with no plumbing, but with an outhouse in the back yard. The outhouse had a tin drawer in the bottom which once a week was cleaned by the city in the middle of the night. Forever afterward, the children felt it was a privilege anytime they were able to use an inside bathroom.

While living on Seventh West, little three-year-old Ed drank a bottle of Castoria cough medicine and it drugged him. Ada called the doctor. The doctor told her not to let him go to sleep, but to keep him in the open and moving. So Ada and May walked him up and down the sidewalk until the doctor came. The doctor gave Ed a hypodermic shot in the arm to make him vomit. Ed was
sick for a long time afterwards.

In February 1906, Ed got a job as a conductor with the streetcar company in Salt Lake City. He stayed at this job for twelve years. Ed swung along the running board and collected the fares.
When it stormed, he and the motorman unfurled the flapping canvas side curtains to cover the open sides. When a passenger got off, he raised the canvas and climbed down. If an electrical storm started, the motorman stopped the car. The conductor would get off and grab a long pole with a hook at the end. The conductor would then reach the pole above the trolley's roof and use the hook to pull the electric conducting rod away from the overhead wires that supplied the trolley's power.

Sometimes, mischievous boys would tie objects together and toss them over the wires in order to snag the trolley conducting rod and kick it away from the electric power. With the electrical circuit broken, the trolley would stop. The conductor would have to step out with his pole and use it to carefully guide the conducting rod back to the power line and reconnect the circuit. To the delight of any watching boys, some unusual language might accompany the process ...

Saturdays were picnic days, and everyone would crowd onto Ed's street car: women in peekaboo shirt waists and bird-trimmed hats; mustached young men in striped jackets and derbies with shoe boxes full of sandwiches and deviled eggs; and, often, someone with a mandolin. They would sing "In the Good Old Summer Time," "The End of a Perfect Day," and other currently popular songs. The girls wore starched white dresses. Young boys always wore short pants and long black stockings.

The Miller family and the Bills family shared the same house, each having their own side in a duplex arrangement. On one occasion, one of the Bills children contracted smallpox; consequently, all of the occupants of the house, including the Miller family, were placed under quarantine. Ed was fumigated and allowed to leave the house so he could work, but he could not return inside the house. He was allowed to bring the groceries just to the gate. None of Ada's family got smallpox, but they had to endure the inconvenience of the quarantine.

One day, Ada suddenly collapsed. Lula ran to get Mrs. Bills who called the doctor used by Ed's streetcar union. Dr. Benedict had Ada on the operating table within twenty minutes. She had a tubal pregnancy, and her tube had burst. There were no blood transfusions then, and as Lula later related, the hospital staff had to put five gallons of salt water through Ada's veins. Ada was very ill and remained in the hospital for a long time. She was still nursing one-year-old Lester, and to make matters worse, all of her children contracted whooping cough while she was
hospitalized. Ed worked nights so that he could be home with the children during the day. Mrs. Astor, a neighbor who lived on the comer, helped by bringing oranges and bananas. Lula did most of the household chores and cared for the younger children.

On a later occasion, while Ada was writing letters at night, her children scared some mice from the hallway. While the children were chasing the mice, Ada suddenly give a loud scream and
collapsed in a faint on the floor. The children found Ada with one hand clenched tight against her dress at her thigh. When Ada came to, she called for Lula to quickly help strip her clothes from her legs. There, right next to her skin where Ada had slapped it, was a mouse squeezed flat and mashed. Ada almost fainted again.

Ed and Ada maintained a chicken coop. They would trade eggs for wieners from the butcher and candy from a little candy store. Indians would also visit them and ask for "peechy," suga," and anything else they could think of. Ada always filled their bags and sent them happily on their way.

Ada's parents, James and Sarah Williams, lived on Grape Street (now named Almond Street, just north of the present-day LDS Conference Center). Grandpa Williams made Scotch meat pies and had a small restaurant on First South street. He had a large oven built into the hillside by his home. Ada's boys would load up a red wagon with pies and big cans of broth and pull the wagon and goods a block or two down to their grandpa's shop.

Ed bought a house on Roosevelt Avenue just south of Liberty Park and built a small house. At that time, this was considered ''way out in the country." The next spring, 1911, Lula became seriously ill after a play practice at school. When she arrived home, she was shivering, so she sat on the large oven door to get warm. Still she shivered, then she lost consciousness with a high fever. She was put to bed with double pneumonia for almost three weeks. Ada made a poultice of Denver mud and put on her chest. Her hands were tied to the bed so that she would not scratch her chest. The doctor told Ed and Ada nothing more could be done. It was Thanksgiving day when Grandpa James Williams came into the bedroom and laid his hands on Lula's head and gave her a blessing. He said, "You will get well. You are to bring to earth some of God's choicest spirits and you will have a long and wonderful life." Lula said she heard every word of the blessing. Lula did recover and lived a long life. However, during the illness, Lula lost all of her hair. Ada made her an Indian headpiece out of braided black silk stockings, and Lula was still able to be Pocahontas in the school play.

In January 1912, Ed took an option to buy 120 acres of dry farm land located in the southernmost part of Tooele County, just two miles directly south of the Lofgreen train station on the Union Pacific route. This was part of an area that had once been full of lush grass, but overgrazing by cattle ranchers in the late 1800s had turned the land back into pure desert. Experimental dry farming in this area had recently shown that wheat and lucerne crops might be successfully grown to replace the sage and juniper that now predominated. Ed's interest was piqued, and he thought he might succeed as well. Within two years, Ed and Ada signed a promissory note to Matilda Harding to take formal possession of the Lofgreen property. About the same time, Ed and Ada acquired an extra 80 acres adjoining the first property through a $200 patent obtained from the state of Utah. A few months later, Ed raised some needed
cash by selling the 80 acres to Ada's sister and her husband, Lucy and Angus Price, for $550.

Ed and Ada were also trying to develop an additional 80 acres of homestead land south of the Tooele County line in Juab County, about 10 miles southeast of the Lofgreen properties. Ed and Ada's immediate neighbors in Juabe County were Ada's parents and Ada's brother-in-law and sister, Mel and Olive Wiseman, whose families were attempting to homestead adjoining properties.

Ada and the children moved onto the farmland, but only stayed the summers while Ed remained in Salt Lake. He sold their Salt Lake home to finance the Lofgreen farm and rented another house in the city. At the end of summers, the family moved back in time for school in September. They lived in Forest Dale in Salt Lake until 1918 . During this time, Ada and Ed had three more children: George Lee Miller was born 29 November 1912, but died the next day; Edna Maxine was born 21 September 1915; and Lorraine Beth was born 29 August 1917. Ed and Ada had nine children in all.

Ed and Ada found that the success that previous dry farms had enjoyed in Tooele and Juab Counties had been a transitory mirage. Drought conditions now prevailed, and farmers in the area were fighting a bitter battle with the stubborn desert environment.

In the fall of 1921, Ed traded the 120-acre Lofgreen dry farm for a small farm in Uintah, Utah, at the mouth of Weber Canyon. They raised white turkeys, ducks and chickens. Ed also managed a dairy farm in connection with the Miller Fox Farm. Ed and Ada farmed there for ten years. During that time, Ed served in a number of positions in the Mount Ogden Stake, including stake missionary. He was ordained a high priest in the LDS Church on 23 December 1923 by Fred G. Taylor.

Between 1927 and 1929, Ed and Ada took a hiatus from their farm in Uintah, Utah, and moved to Los Angeles, California, where some of their married children were living, and tried a new enterprise. They opened a small restaurant and pie shop. Their specialty was hot meat pies and fruit pies.

In Ed's younger days, his hair was thick and black, but his hair started to tum grey when he was only 27 years old. By now, it was pure white, making it hard to otherwise obtain jobs. Once, he let his daughter-in-law dye his hair. This was rather a joke, as his hair turned more orange than dark.

In 1931, Ed and Ada sold the farm in Uintah and moved to Silverton, Oregon. There they rented a home for five months. They kept open house for the Mormon missionaries having two with them for much of the time. To help ends meet, the family worked as pickers in the nearby hop fields during the summer harvest. Their next move was to Salem, Oregon. The depression was on, and two married daughters, Lula and Verna, and their young families all came to Salem. They rented a large house for $10.00 a month and went into the baking business. Their three youngest children were still with them, and with grandchildren, 17 people lived together in the large nine-room house.

At first, they didn't have a stove, but they made do by using heavy foil and baking bread on an
old fashioned round flat-topped heater. Finally, they bought a wood range stove for $12.00.
After buying the range, they used Grandpa William's recipe to make Scotch meat pies and
sold them. Soon there were more orders than they could fill. They even catered some parties.
Ed cut the wood while Ada and the girls kept the oven full. They made about 20 loaves of bread
and 30 pies a day. Ada also did sewing to help out. While living in Salem, Ed served in the branch presidency and Ada was the Relief Society President.

Although times were tough, Christmas that year was wonderful with so many family members present. The day after Christmas in 1933, the two sons-in-law left for employment in Oakland, California. The following April, Lula and Verna, with their children, followed their husbands to Oakland. Ada's children Harold and Edna also went to Oakland to get work. Ed and Ada, with their youngest daughter, Lorraine, stayed the summer with their son Ellis on his dry farm about 35 miles southeast of Salem, Oregon.

In the fall of 1934, Ed and Ada also moved to Oakland. Work was still scarce, and Ed had a difficult time finding employment. For about six years in succession, he was the Santa Claus of choice for the H.C. Capwell Company in Oakland. Ed, always cheerful and personable, enjoyed
children and always had a good story. He had a round and chubby build, and with his jovial personality, he was a natural Santa without need of any padding.

Ada was actively engaged in doing genealogy work, spurred in great part by a dream she had one night. In the dream, Ada entered the spirit world and encountered a number of white-clothed spiritual beings. Ada expected to receive a warm greeting; instead, however, she saw each of the spirits coldly and disdainfully tum their backs to her. Ada was dismayed. When she awoke, she took the dream as a warning that she had neglected the temple work of many people, and she decided to make amends.

In 1939, Ada wrote: " ...I have my permanent genealogy book finished up to date. It is grand. I wish you could see it. I mean all the records [are] up-to-date, and now the thing is, get busy and do the work that is unfinished, and keep adding sheets, and work them out in a complete chain ...I wake up in the night doing genealogy. I feel like this is to be the rest of my life's work now, and I am not going to shirk my duty and privilege."

During World War II, Ada and Ed moved to San Jose, California, to be near their daughter Verna while her husband was overseas. They moved again to Oakland in 1944 to be with their daughter Lorraine when her husband was at sea.

On 11 March 1945, Ed and Ada celebrated their Golden Wedding anniversary. Their oldest daughter Lula, marked the celebration by giving them an open house at her home in Oakland.

In October 1945, Ada and Ed moved nearby to Alameda, California, and established a permanent home. Ed and Ada were called to be LDS stake missionaries in November 1946. They served faithfully in many callings in the Dimond Ward.

Ada died 24 April 1953 in Oakland, California, while staying at her daughter Lula's home. Ada was 76 years old. She was buried 29 April 1953 in the Bountiful, Utah, Cemetery. Ed survived Ada only five months, passing away on 26 September 1953. He was 81 years old. He was buried beside Ada in the Bountiful, Utah, Cemetery on 1 October 1953.
*******
Ada's patriarchal blessing, given 10 August 1923, is recorded as follows:
Mount Ogden Stake of Zion.
Ogden, Utah
August 10, 1923

ADA MARION (WILLIAMS) MILLER.
Daughter of JAMES CLARKE WILLIAMS, and SARAH PORTER (ROGERS) WILLIAMS. [Born] JULY 14TH, WANGANUI, NEW ZEALAND

SISTER ADA WILLIAMS MILLER.
According to the request and in the authority of the Holy Priesthood I lay my hands upon thy head and give unto thee a Patriarchal Blessing that you may rejoice in the Lord thy God, who has watched over thee and preserved thee all thy days until the present moment of time, that you may receive every blessing that has been promised to His faithful children. For you were numbered among the spiritual Israel before this world was, and was among them who choose the right way before our Father, and have come to earth to receive these gifts and blessings which belong to the chosen seed, as you are of the seed of Abraham thru the lineage of Ephraim, a true daughter of Israel, and will receive every blessing that will enable thee to overcome and sit down in the kingdom of heaven. I bless thee as a mother in Israel endowed with every womanly virtue, worthy of the trust that the Father has reposed in thee by sending thee choice spirits that call you, mother, which is the greatest gift that God can bestow upon His worthy daughters in Israel, to be mothers of his trust and responsibility in the Kingdom of God, workers in Zion, and to their generations there will be no end.

I bless you with the spirit of wisdom, and the desire to comprehend the principles of Eternal Salvation both for thine own good and the blessing of others. Your talent and ability will be greatly enlarged among the people of the Lord, and your influence for good and righteousness will be felt with those with whom you labor among the little ones, and it will bear fruit in their lives in days to come to the honor of our Heavenly Father, as thy teachings will be as an anchor in their souls, and the Lord will accept of this thy labor and crown it with success for His name sake and glory.

I bless thee with the temporal blessings of life to feed thy family and comfort others in their need and help build up Zion. Continue to put thy trust in the Lord and he will overrule all things for thy good, and thy days will be prolonged that you may see the salvation of Zion for the time is near when the Prince of Peace will come to earth to reign in righteousness. The spirit of Elijah will rest upon thee that you may joy in the redemption of thy kindred, who were worthy men and women, who waited for the hour of redemption which has come to this dispensation thru the ordinances of the everlasting Gospel which you and thy family can perform for them in the temples of the Lord.

Listen to the Still Small Voice of the Comforter and it will enlighten thy mind, open thy understanding, and reveal the truths of salvation, and be an anchor to thy soul in all thy trials and afflictions, while the mighty purposes of the Lord in this generation will be made known to thee for thine own good and the blessing and preservation of thy family, for the spirit of discernment will rest upon thee and you shall know the path of duty and safety, and have courage to walk therein, for thru thy faithfulness and integrity the Lord will never forsake thee until you are brought back with thy companion and family into his eternal presence. And when the destroyer passes over the earth, he will pass by thy abode and leave thee and thy family in peace, as he has promised to his faithful ones.

I seal this blessing upon thee with all others that the Father sees will be for thy good and happiness, and enable thee to fill the mission with honor to thyself and the glory of our Heavenly Father and seal thee up to Eternal Life to come forth in the morning of the first resurrection, a savior among thy kindred and friends.

This I do in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Thomas A. Shreeve

Resource: Autobiography of Edward Emerson Miller, 1950
Autobiography of Lula Miller McCarthy
Family records of Bernita Tanner McCarthy
Family records of Lucy Williams Price
Family records of Anna La Vona Cox Topham
Family records of Marilyn Brady Elkins

ALBERT ANDERSON 1879-1962

[Ancestral Link: Marguerite Anderson (Miller), daughter of Albert Anderson.]

Handwritten recipe for the cure of corn beef written by Albert Anderson who was a butcher.

Obituary

Albert Anderson Services in L.A.

Funeral services will be held in Los Angeles for Albert Anderson, who died today in a local hospital following a short illness. He was 83.

Mr. Anderson, (can't read address), was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and a veteran of the Spanish American War.

He is survived by one daughter, Mrs. Mary L. Stover, of Albuquerque.

Strong-Thorne is in charge of arrangements.

Albuquerque Tribune, July 27, 1962.

Spanish American War

According to United States Veterans Administration records

 Born 3-16-78 He enlisted on 8-8-99 Was discharged on 4-17-01 Private, Volunteer, Infantry

HANNAH ANDERSON (JOHNSTUN) (ANDERSON) 1886-1953

[Ancestral Link: Marguerite Anderson (Miller), daughter of Hannah Anderson (Anderson).

Married on Monday.

Bishop Horsley last Monday evening united in marriage Jared Almon Johnstun of Harper and Miss Hannah Anderson of Price. In the evening the bride and groom gave their wedding dance at Town Hall, it being very largely attended and one of the most enjoyable affairs of its kind for a long time. The groom is the son of Don C. Johnstun of Nine Mile, the bride being the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Erastus Anderson of Price. A host of friends throughout Carbon county extend congratulations.

found on ancestry.com

JARED ALMON JOHNSTUN OBITUARY

The following story appeared in the Eastern Utah Advocate on 26 Nov 1903.
"ALMA JOHNSTUN PASSES AWAY VERY SUDDENLY"
(Should read Jared Almond Johnstun)

"J.A. Johnstun Died in this city last Friday about noon of diphtheria, aged about 23 years. The burial took place Saturday noon, but on account of the nature of the disease from which the young man passed away, no funeral services were held. The deceased was married only about three months since to Miss Hannah Anderson of Price, and leaves a widow to mourn the untimely taking off of a devoted husband and an exemplary young man. Deceased was the son of Don C. Johnstun of Nine Mile section and had been practically reared in Carbon county.

Hundreds of friends throughout Eastern Utah extend their deepest sympathy to the afflected ones."
found on ancestry.com

Hannah Johnstun Remarries

30 November 1905, Price, Carbon, Utah, USA

The following appeared in the Eastern Utah Advocate on 30 November 1905.

"Since our last issue County Clerk and Recorder Holdaway has issued the following licenses to wed. Albert Anderson and Mrs Hannah Johnstun, Price."
found on ancestry.com

Baby Born to Mrs Hannah Johnstun
19 May 1904, Price, Carbon, Utah, USA
The following appeared in the Eastern Utah Advocate on 19 March 1904

"Mrs. Alma Johnstun (should read Mrs. Jared Johnstun) is the mother of a bright little son that came to her home a few days ago. It will be remembered that Mr. Johnstun died but recently of diptheria."

The little boy (born on 12 May 1904) was named George Almon (or George A.J. Johnstun). The boy was later adopted by Albert Anderson, Hannah's second husband.

found on ancestry.com

JAMES CLARK WILLIAMS 1854-1925

[Ancestral Link: Harold William Miller, son of Ada Marion Williams (Miller), daughter of James Clark Williams.]

If James and Sarah wanted to strike a "heroic" pose in this photo taken during their homesteading years in Utah, they were certainly entitled!
James' last view of the Cherry Creek homestead cabin, after lockup of the cabin in October 1923.

James and Sarah with daughter, Lucy Ellen Williams Price, (standing left) and grandchildren (left to right) Velma, Ralph, and cousins Marjorie and Keith Cox, in front of Jim's "starter" dugout cabin at the Cherry Creek homestead, July 1921.

Jim sights a possible dinner at Lofgren, near Tintic, Utah.
A 1911 picnic in the foothills of Salt Lake City behind Jim's home. Left to right: Jim, granddaughter Florence Wiseman, Sarah Williams, Ada Williams Miller (holding baby Harold Miller), Ellis Miller, Edward Miller, Lester Miller, Lula Miller, Olive Williams Wiseman, and Ivy Rachel Williams.

Above: The interior of James William's "Hot Scotch Pie" shop at 61 West 100 South in Salt Lake City. Right: James' son-in law Angus Price stands in front of the shop. Both photos taken about 1907.

Jim accepted office as Justice of the Peace in American Fork in 1902. As Justice, he conducted the marriage of his daughter Amy to her husband, Charles (Charl) Brems.

The present-day entrance to the Pheasant Hollow residential area, located between American Fork and Highland, just off Highway 74. The estate sits entirely within the 40-acre farm once operated by James and Sarah.

George Frederick Williams at age 2 1/2. Fred died at the age of seven in 1905.

James poses in a Park City studio sometime after moving to Utah.

Jim finds a rare moment of relaxation in front of "Spring House," his Cherry Creek homesteader's cabin, in the West Tintic area of Juab County. The cabin was built to take advantage of a natural spring located by Jim with a divining rod. (After Jim died, the cabin was moved to property owned by his son-in-law, Arnold Ekker.) Photo taken in 1922.

Jim and Sarah at work to get rid of the tall sagebrush at the Cherry Creek homestead. Daughter-in-law, Marie (Jay's wife), is helping.

Beginning in the summer of 1918, and continuing until at least 1922, the extended Williams family conducted an annual family camp out at Grandpa and Grandma Williams' Cherry Creek ranch. Provisionally identified in this 1918 photo are (left to right to the rear): Jay and Maria Williams, Charl and Amy Brems, James C. Williams, Ed and Ada Miller, Olive and Fred Wiseman, Ivy Williams, Sarah Rogers Williams, "Sadie" Williams Cox, Nephi Cox, Lavona Cox, Clarence Cox, Lester Miller (in tie), and Mel Wiseman. In front are Merle Wiseman (?), unidentified, Florence Wiseman (holding sister Marjorie), Mildred Brems, and James Cox. (Some of these identifications, especially of the children, are uncertain.)

James Clark Williams, Scotsman turned frontiersman, in front of his self-built log cabin on the Lofgren, Utah, homestead, about 1917.

James and Sarah set up "Winter Quarters" in the Lofgren dugout cabin. Jim later built a log home over the dugout. About 1917.

A Williams family gathering believed to be 1912. Left to right: Ed Miller, Fred Wiseman, Lucy Williams Price, Clarence Cox (with hand to brow), Amy Williams Brems (to rear), Florence Wiseman (partly obscured holding doll), Mel Wiseman (wearing cap), Olive Williams Wiseman, Ivy Williams (beside Mel), Lula Miller (holding baby, believed to be Ralph Price), Sarah Rogers Williams, May (Mabel) Williams Fox Duncombe (behind Sarah), Verna Miller (in plaid), Clarence Nephi Cox, Ada Miller, Sadie (Sarah) Williams Cox, Ed Miller Jr., and Angus Price.

James and his helper, "Sam," at work for the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad in Salt Lake City.

James C. Williams was proud of his Scots heritage. He and his family were staunch supporters of the "Thistle Club" in Salt Lake City. Here, Jim stands on the club parade float, in bowler hat with hand to chin. His youngest daughter, Ivy, dressed in her Scots plaid, stands tall below Jim, second from right. This parade appears to have taken place on Main Street about 1906, and possibly took place on the 24th of July as part of the Pioneer Days celebration.

James Williams' "Hot Scotch Pie" Recipe (as provided to Angus and Lucy Price by James while operating his "Hot Scotch Pie" restaurant in Salt Lake City, circa 1907)
James stands near his home at 765 West 100 North (now 200 North), Salt Lake City, in his baker's garb. Jim's daughter Sarah ("Sadie") and her husband Nephi Cox stand in the background.

Jim has a successful hunt in Idaho, 1904.

Part of the pleasant 40-acre farm property once owned by James and Sarah Williams. Pheasant Hollow Park occupies the south edge of the estate development located just east of Highway 74, 2 1/2 miles north of American Fork.

James with daughter, Lucy (left), and wife Sarah Rogers Williams, probably about 1898.

The James Clark Williams Family, about 1894. Back row: May, Ada, Lucy. Middle row: Sarah Porter Rogers Williams (holding baby Jay), Amy, James Clark Williams; front row: Olive and Sadie. (James' beard later disappeared, but the mustache and Scots brogue stayed.)

James poses in a Salt Lake photo studio, possibly about the time he was called as a missionary to New Zealand.

James with Sarah in Auckland, New Zealand, about 1882. Daughters Ada (standing) and May are to the left, while Sarah holds Lucy.

James about the time of his immigration to Auckland.


Birth: October 15, 1854, Kirkcaldy, Scotland
Death: June 13, 1925, Union, Salt Lake County, Utah, USA
Parents: Alexander Williams and Catherine Clark, both born in Scotland
Married Sarah Rogers
Death Certificate State of Utah
Spouse: Sarah Williams Rogers Denny (1858 - 1945)
Burial: Salt Lake City Cemetery, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Utah, USA -
Plot: O_10_16_1_EN2
found on findagrave.com


JAMES CLARK WILLIAMS(Son of Alexander Williams and Catherine Clarke)

James Clark Williams was born 15 October 1854 in Kirkcaldy, Fifeshire, Scotland. He was the son of Alexander Williams and Catherine Clarke. When he was fourteen, he left school to go to work for his uncle, John Buchanan Williams, who had a large bakery business and several retail shops. His desire was to learn to be a baker. He served five years as an apprentice and became a journeyman baker. Jim worked in Edinburgh as a foreman for a year and nine months. He got first-class references from both places and became a master baker.

In later years, Jim enjoyed telling his grandchildren about his early life. As a young apprentice, Jim would be assigned to stand in his bare feet on a big table. Helpers would place a huge amount of dough on the table, and Jim would step into it and move his legs up and down to mix the dough. Helpers would stand at each corner of the table to flop the dough back to the middle as Jim continued to mix it with his feet and legs. The loaves were then molded by hand and baked in large rock ovens.

Jim always chuckled when he told the story about a time when he was a young boy delivering bread. Bread was delivered very early in the morning while it was still hot, and the loaves were carried on a board supported on his head. It had been raining the night before, and the streets were muddy and slippery. He took a large step over a puddle and slipped, spilling the bread loaves in the mud. Knowing that there wouldn't be any more bread baked until the next day, he took a penknife and scraped the mud from each loaf and proceeded to deliver it to his customers.  Jim was always fond of travel, and when he was nineteen years old, he decided to start a business of his own in another country. He attended lectures about New Zealand with a pal, "Alick" Cameron. James made his decision and left Scotland on 18 March 1874 as second steward on the ship "Dunedin," bound for Canterbury, New Zealand, with 400 immigrants on board. (This was the first of a total of six trans-oceanic voyages Jim was to make in his lifetime.)

The ship being short on skilled labor, Jim was appointed assistant to the chief steward, serving the first class cabins and officers. The chief steward was too fond of his liquor, and as the cruise continued, most of his duties descended on Jim. When the ship arrived at Port Littleton, New Zealand, on 3 July 1874, the Captain offered James the position of chief steward if he would make the return trip to Scotland, but James refused the position and uniform. He wanted to stay in New Zealand.

Jim and his companion Alick traveled over most of the north and south islands. They were both sincere members of the United Brethren church, and when they were miles away from anyone else, they used to meet together on Sundays and have their Sabbath meetings alone. Finally, Alick went to Auckland. He later sent for Jim, stating that he had a job for him. Jim joumeyed to Auckland and made his home there. He took letters of introduction with him to the Cook Street Christian Brethren church.

In Auckland, James met Sarah Porter Rogers, and "Jimmie" and Sarah were married 11 October 1876 by Reverend W. McDonald, a Scotch minister of Episcopal denomination. Their first child, Ada, was born 14 July 1877, and on 4 July 1879, their second child, Edith Mable ("May"), was born.

Sarah also belonged to the Christian Brethren church in Auckland. In 1880, when Mormon missionaries arrived, a few of the Christian Brethren went to some of the LDS meetings out of curiosity and looked in on the formal public debates held at that time between the Christian Brethren and the Mormons. The result was that several families joined the LDS church in March 1880, among them James and Sarah. They were baptized 18 March 1880 in the graving dock in Auckland by Elder John P. Sorenson. Jim Williams was ordained an elder on 6 June 1880 by John P. Sorenson.

[Note by James Clark William's wife, Sarah:]
It was my husband's custom to always rise early, and when he worked at the biscuit factory in Auckland, he had to be at work at 7:00 a.m. He would get up soon after five, as he had a long walk of several miles to his work. He would make the fire and get some water boiling for his "burgoo." Burgoo is a Scotch breakfast dish made by pouring boiling water in a bowl half full of course steel-cut oatmeal. He would put a good sized lump of butter in the middle and some salt, then stir until of the right consistence. Ada and May were very fond of that and would get up in their nighties to have some of day's burgoo before he went to work. He would also help prepare the older ones for bed while I took care of the baby. Then after prayers, he put them in bed. He then had them sing with him, "Oh Ye Mountains High" and others, but that seemed to be the
favorite. And how those dear little one could sing - Ada could sing up and down the scale before she could talk, and the others came along in due time. [End of note.]

Shortly after joining the Church in Auckland, James was set apart as first counselor in the local LDS branch under President Nicholas H. Groesbeck, of Springville, Utah. Although there was no active persecution of Mormons in Auckland, Jim Williams and other new LDS converts now found it difficult to find new employment, and they frequently heard the refrain, ''We've no place for Mormons!"

Jim decided to join the company of Saints which Elder Groesbeck was organizing to immigrate to Utah. They left 18 March 1882, two years to the day from when Jim and his family were baptized. James left his family behind, fully expecting to prepare a home for them in Utah before he sent for them. However, after his arrival in Salt Lake City, James came to the notice of the LDS Church Presidency. After he had been in Utah about six months, they had a conference with him, with the result that James was called to return to Auckland as a full-time missionary. He was set apart by George Q. Cannon who promised that he would go in safety and return in safety with his wife and family. This was verified in every detail. Jiin left Utah in September 1882.

In those days, missionaries traveled without "purse or scrip." James had money to pay his way to San Francisco and enough more for room rent for three days before the ship sailed. He figured he had barely enough left over to pay the first $50 towards his ticket, but he would have to work to pay for the rest of the passage. He contacted the captain of the ship and tried to make arrangements to work his way as a chef, but the captain replied they had a good chef, and all the other jobs on the ship were filled. When James told the captain he was a Mormon missionary, the captain brought his fist down on the table and said, "I wouldn't take you if you paid me $100?" Very disappointed and worried, James went back to the hotel, but he could not sleep. He knelt down and prayed earnestly to his Heavenly Father that he would be able to go with that ship. A voice came to him and said: "Trouble yourself no more. You will go with that ship." He had received the conviction he would sail on that particular ship. Putting all worry behind him the next morning, he went out to Golden Gate Park to spend the day.

While sitting in the park, a well-dressed man approached James and asked if he would like employment at a good salary. James refused, saying that he was going on a mission to preach the gospel. The man tried to discourage James from going on the mission and urged him again to accept the job offer, but James held to his purpose. The man finally left. Jim turned to watch him go, and discovered that the man had entirely disappeared. It seemed that every effort was made by Satan to entice him not to go.


On 22 September 1882, James spent some time at the courthouse in San Francisco. He filled out an application for United States citizenship, signing the required Declaration of Intention as "J.C. Williams." By signing, James officially renounced "all allegiance and fidelity to all and any foreign Prince, Potentate, State and Sovereignty whatsoever, and particularly to Victoria Queen of Great Britain and Ireland." James' commitment in favor of his new country was definitely set.
(However, it would be another 10 years before James would become a fully naturalized citizen.)

Before he left the hotel on the morning the ship was to sail, Jim went to label his trunk for Australia. A voice said, ''Label it for New Zealand." He hadn't been near the ship since the captain said he wouldn't take him. Jim paid his hotel bill and went to the wharf. He arrived at the dock about an hour before the sailing time, and the first man he met was the captain. The captain said, "I have been looking all over for you Since yesterday." The second steward had suddenly taken ill, and the captain now wanted Jim to work for him for the full passage.

The ship was a passenger boat, and Jim had many opportunities to preach the gospel. The ship didn't dock at New Zealand, but in order to leave the mail there, a packet boat would come out and pick it up. The ship would then go on to Australia where the passenger would take a return ship to New Zealand.

The day before the ship was due at Auckland, James had just finished preaching a sermon to the passengers, when the captain, who had taken quite a liking to him, stood up and announced that Jim Williams had a wife and three children in Auckland, New Zealand, and the captain would pass the hat around for donations to help Jim on his way. There was about two hundred dollars in the hat when it was given to James. The captain later privately told James, "Mr. Williams, I'm going to let you off at New Zealand, a thing I don't do very often-but don't say a word to Billie!" (Billie was the head steward.) Later, Billie came to James and said, "Mr. Williams, I'm going to let you off at New Zealand-but don't say a word to the captain!" Thus, James was allowed to leave the ship in New Zealand.

When he reached his family in Auckland, he found everyone well and happy. After spending a few days with his friends and relations, he and his companion, Alma Greenwood, of Fillmore, Utah, went on their way, preaching the gospel among the Maori tribes.

Jim preached mostly in the vicinity of Auckland, where he was branch secretary for the Saints and later became Presiding Elder. (Many years later, after the construction of the New Zealand Temple, a plaque would be placed on the site honoring the early LDS missionaries in the area, including James' name.)

The Williams family had many spiritual experiences which further strengthened them as a family. One occurred at the Williams home in Auckland. A man with a long flowing beard came to the door one day and asked for a drink of water. They gave him one and he thanked them kindly and went out and shut the door. It occurred to Jim that the man might be hungry too, so he opened the door with the intent of calling him back. It was just a few seconds later, but the man had disappeared. There was a long lane leading from the house to the street and nothing to hide behind. After searching all around and not finding the stranger, Jim was impressed that they had just had a visit from one of the three Nephites.

On 25 July 1883, Amy Catherine Williams, their fourth child, was born to James and Sarah. James was honorably released from his LDS mission in October 1884, and the following month, Jim and his family set sail for the United States. James, his wife Sarah, and their four children sailed from Auckland on 9 November 1884 on the steamship Zealandia. They were accompanied by Sarah's father, George Whitmore Rogers, and Sarah's 19 year-old brother, David George Rogers. (Although Sarah's sister Ann Porter Rogers Drysdale) remained behind with her new husband, Ann later wrote that she was "one" with the LDS converts; however, her health was so frail that she was afraid the shock of baptism might be too much for her heart and might hasten her death.)

It took one week to get to the island Tutuila, another week to get to Honolulu, and still longer to get to San Francisco. LDS records indicate the Zealandia arrived in San Francisco 14 December 1884 carrying 3 elders and 11 immigrants bound for Utah. After completing this voyage, James had traveled nearly 35,000 miles by sea during his lifetime.

The Williams family remained in San Francisco only a few hours, staying at the Brown hotel, then boarded the train for Salt Lake City. Upon their arrival in Salt Lake City, they spent the night in the old Tithing House. The next day, the family took a train for American Fork, Utah, where they were to make their home for 19 years. Jim and Sarah were given a recommend to go to the Logan LDS Temple by Bishop W. B. Smith of the American Fork Ward, and on 4 November 1885, they were sealed as husband and wife and had their four little girls sealed to them for time and all eternity:

Ada Marion, born 14 July 1877
Edith Mabel "May," born 4 July 1879
Lucy Ellen, born 5 September 1881
Amy Catherine, born 25 July 1883

Five additional children were born in the covenant to Jim and Sarah while living in American Fork:

Sarah Hanna, born 7 October 1886
Olive Beretta, born 29 March 1889
James Buchanan, born 13 March 1892
Ivy Rachael, born 7 April 1895
George Frederick, born 21 September 1898

James' first property of record in American Fork was a city lot on east Main Street that he purchased 6 March 1886 for $175 from James Spratley. It contained a little more than an acre and a quarter, located on the southwest corner of Lot 2, Block 2, Plat A, and fronted Main Street from the northeast corner of 200 East eastward for over 320 feet. James sold the lot to Henry T. Adamson for $195 in February of 1888. (A Wells Fargo bank and several other businesses occupy the property today.)

Meanwhile, James had been looking toward going into business for himself. In 1888, he went into temporary partnership with Harry Morrison in Salt Lake City to market James' Hot Scotch Pies. (These pies later became famous as "Morrison's Meat Pies" and are still sold as such.) Jim would work in Salt Lake City during the week, then walk to American Fork to spend Saturday and
Sunday with his family. James found the weekly separation from his family too taxing, and the partnership with Morrison was suspended. (In later years, Jim would work with Morrison again while living in Salt Lake City.)

In December 1888, James and Sarah took out a mortgage to pay for a 40-acre farm located by the Mitchell Water Ditch, about 2 1/2 miles directly north of downtown American Fork, just east of present-day Highway 74. The property had been owned by Aleda A. DeHaan, of Salt Lake County. The purchase price of $500 included surplus water rights from the Mitchell Ditch, plus 9 acres of bench water rights. James and Sarah also had a 1/12th interest in a surplus water ditch constructed by William D. Robinson, Oscar Hunter, William Hunter, and A. Winn. The property had easy access to water and was in a pretty location. Two years after James and Sarah bought the farm, the assessed tax value had risen to $950. (The farm site now comprises virtually the whole of what is today known as the Pheasant Hollow residential development, immediately north of the Tri-Cities Golf Course.) While farming on the side, James worked for seven years as clerk in the American Fork Co-op store and also as a clerk in a butcher shop. By 24 May 1894, James and Sarah had paid off all indentures against their beautiful 40-acre farm.

On 28 September 1892, James Clark Williams received his cherished Certificate of Citizenship in Provo, Utah Territory. Jim had first applied for his U.S. citizenship papers while in San Francisco on 22 September 1882. Over the years, Sarah and the children lost their English/New Zealand accents, but James would retain his sharp Scottish brogue until his death .

The Williams family had their fun times in American Fork. They enjoyed sleigh riding, buggy riding, and going to the lake for a swim. At times, Jim and Sarah would take their family up the canyon to stay overnight. They would also take them out to Utah Lake. They would pile lots of hay and quilts on the wagon for the outings, and the children would happily laze or nap all the way home.

In 1894, James was called by Bishop William D. Robinson as ward clerk of the American Fork Ward and served for several years before the town was divided into four wards. He was secretary of the Ecclesiastical Board and Sunday School superintendent. He loved singing in the church choirs. Jim was eventually ordained to the priesthood office of a seventy by Abram H. Cannon. (Abram H. Cannon's line of authority as a seventy was through Wilford Woodruff, who was ordained a seventy by the Prophet Joseph Smith.) James continued to make repeated sacrifices in behalf of his Church, both financial and otherwise; his service was so enthusiastically offered that it got to the point that Jim's quorum leader told him, "Brother Williams-stop! You have done ~ore than your share."

James served in public office four years as the Assistant County Recorder. Afterward, he declined the entreaties of the leading political leaders in Provo to run for Recorder. However, while remaining in American Fork, Jim consented to serve a term under Mayor Joseph J. Jackson as the Justice of the Peace, and he became "Judge Williams." While serving as City Justice from 1902 to 1904, he officiated over the marriage of his daughter Amy to her husband, Charles "CharI" Joseph Brems, on 18 June 1902.

James and Sarah had sold their beautiful farm sometime before 1900 and had been renting a home in American Fork City. About 1904, James and Sarah left American Fork to travel to Taylor, Idaho, where they stayed the better part of a year to help their daughter Lucy and her husband Angus Price run their new farm.

By 1905, James and Sarah had permanently moved from American Fork to Salt Lake City to operate a restaurant. James and Sarah at first shared a house on 274 East and Fourth South with their daughter Ada and her husband Ed Miller. In December 1905, James and Sarah paid $1400 to buy two city lots from William and Emma Jones; one carried the address of "76 West 100 North" (present-day 200 North); the other, "17 Grape Street," (now 117 North Almond Street). The Williams house was set about 40 yards up the hill from First North street. Two doors to the west was the home of LDS apostle John Henry Smith whose children often played with the Williams children. President Joseph F. Smith, President of the LDS Church, lived just around the corner to the west and north, barely a block away.

Jim had a large oven built into the hillside by his home and went into the pie factory business selling his famous Hot Scotch Meat Pies. He opened a pie shop at 61 West on First South (located across the street from the present-day entrance to Crossroads Mall in downtown Salt Lake City.) As Jim's grandson Irvin Fox later remembered, "The shop was next door to Baer's Saloon, and a door had been cut between the two establishments to permit Baer's bartenders to pick up hot pies to serve with their beer." Jim sold all kinds of cakes, cookies, candies, ice cream, bread, and soda water. He made his own bread, cakes, and ice cream (with a lot of help from his wife Sarah and the girls), He also had an ice house and sold ice which he put up in the winter and would sell in the summer.

Jim's daughter Olive was the assistant baker. His small son Fred and some of his grandsons, such as May's son Irvin, or his daughter Ada's boys, would load up a red wagon with pies and big cans of broth and pull the wagon the two blocks from his home down to the shop. Several other family members helped out with the baking, and James was able to provide employment for some of the family at the shop.

While living in Salt Lake City, James and Sarah took in their widowed daughter May (Edith Mable Williams Fox) and helped raise her two children, Verda May Fox and Irvin Fox. On Sundays, James would wait at his pie shop for his grandchildren to come, then he would take their hands and walk with them to church. Jim was very fond of his grandchildren. He often would take as many of them as he could fit on his knees and tell them stories about his youth. Jim was also fond of playing tricks on others: somehow or another, the Master Baker's pranks would often involve targeting the victims with generous portions of flour!

Tragedy struck the James Williams family when George Frederick "Fred" Williams, the
youngest child, contracted pneumonia and died at the age of seven on 30 December 1905. In sorrow, Sarah gathered up all of Fred's Christmas toys and locked them away in a trunk.

James and all the family belonged to the Caledonian Society and to the Scots "Thistle Club." James' daughter Ivy had a fine plaid costume and cap made by her mother Sarah, and Ivy learned all the Scots dances and jigs. To rehearse, James would whistle the tunes for her while Ivy practiced her dance steps. She danced such numbers as the "Sailor's Hornpipe," "Irish Washerwoman," and the "Sword Dance." Ivy performed to the bagpipe bands at all the Caledonian and Gaelic celebrations. James, naturally, furnished all the meat pies and other bakery goods. Family members also remembered that James played the bagpipes. Many good times were had at Saltair, Lagoon, Liberty Park, or Wandamere Park. Wandamere in those days was a recreation park with a dance hall that had a live twenty-piece orchestra, a bowling alley, a motorcycle and bicycle race track, a merry-go-round, and all the arcade games.

In 1908, James' downtown restaurant was relocated to the corner of Third East and Third South. James and the family moved to 373 North Fifth West (present-day 473 North and Sixth West). His son, Jay, was helping by this time as a waiter. Jim appeared to have other things on his mind, however, than just baking: Jim wanted property of his own, and it was in February of 1909 that Jim made his initial application with the Department ofthe Interior to obtain a homestead, although he did not seem to successfully act upon this plan until six years later. In April 1909, Jim sold his city residential property for $1200 to George and Jane Whetman.

By 1910, Jim was working again with Morrison and Sons, baking and selling the Morrison Meat Pies. Jim and Sarah were living at yet another location, at 303 North Third West (present-day 403 North and Fourth West).

In 1911, James' granddaughter, Lula, became seriously ill after a play practice. When she arrived home, she was shivering so she sat on the large oven door to get warm. Still she shivered. She lost consciousness with a high fever. She was put to bed with double pneumonia. She was unconscious for almost three weeks. Her mother Ada made a poultice of Denver mud and put on her chest. Lula's hands were tied to the bed so that she would not scratch her chest. The doctor told the family nothing more could be done. On Thanksgiving day, Grandpa James Williams came into the bedroom and laid his hands on Lula's head and gave her a blessing. He said, "You will get well. You are to bring to earth some of God's choicest spirits and you will have a long and wonderful life." Lula said she heard every word of the blessing. She did recover and lived a long life. However, during the illness, Lula lost all of her hair. Ada made her an Indian headpiece out of braided black silkstockings, and Lula was still able to be Pocahontas in the play.

Between 1912 and 1916, James and Sarah lived at 343 West Rosella Avenue (present day Reed Street). It may have been about this time, living near the railway yards, that Jim accepted employment at the Denver and Rio Grande Railway shop.

In February 1915, Jim began to seriously follow through on his plans to obtain a homestead.  Government land in Juab County was available to homesteaders who filed for entry. The homesteaders had to annually live seven consecutive months or more on the chosen property and significantly improve and cultivate it over a period of three years. Jim chose a 320 acre plot near Lofgren, just south of the Tooele-Juab county line and east ofthe West Tintic Mountains, and filed claim. Between 1915 and 1916, Jim and his family built a dugout home and cleared 80 acres of sagebrush in an effort to establish a dry farm on the west desert property. Two of Jim's sons-in-law, Fred Wiseman (Olive's husband) and Ed Miller (Ada's husband) had also filed claims on property immediately to the east of Jim's claim.

By this time, Jim was over 60 years old. Homesteading was hard work, and Jim's health and stamina were not what they used to be. By June of 1919, Jim had given up trying to convert his stubborn waterless desert claim into farmland. Instead, he now had his eye on a different property just 10 miles away, located on the opposite side of the West Tintic Mountain range in the Cherry Creek area. Already, he and his family had held family gatherings on the property, and he found it compatible with his needs. The property was near the ranch where his daughter Sadie (Sarah) and her husband, Clarence Nephi Cox, were working at the time. Not far to the south was a series of sand dunes (now known as the Little Sahara Recreation Area).

Jim wrote to the Secretary of the Interior requesting permission to relinquish the Lofgren homestead in favor of the other at Cherry Creek. His letter stated that he lived upon the Lofgren tract during the summers of 1915 and 1916, that he constructed a good dugout costing $125, cleared 80 acres of sagebrush, cultivated 10 acres, fenced 2 1/2 miles with cedar posts and net wire, built corrals, and did other work. Jim advised that he abandoned the claim, after all of the fore mentioned effort, on 1 April 1919 because there was no water. Jim had wanted to make it a permanent home, but there was no place fit for a well and no culinary water available. He wrote, "I find it an unprofitable proposition to live on a piece of land and have to haul water 2 1/2 miles for culinary and domestic purposes. " He added that if could not have a homestead with culinary water on it, he would rather go entirely without a homestead.

Jim's application to return the Lofgren homestead back to the government was at first denied, but apparently approved upon appeal. The same day Jim applied for relinquishment, he had applied for a second homestead entry on 321.32 acres of new land near Cherry Creek. The Cherry Creek property had surface water up to 10 feet deep and good soil. At the same time, Jim's son-in-law, Clarence Nephi Cox, filed a similar homestead claim on adjoining land to the east. Jim's application was approved 12 June 1920, and in mid-August, Jim established residence at Cherry Creek.

Jim's new land was choked with huge sagebrush plants-an indication of good soil, in Jim's estimation. He wanted a well, so he used a divining rod to find water. What he found was a natural spring that flowed continually and always had ice-cold water. He built a wood frame cabin to incorporate the spring water and called the house Spring House. There was a running creek nearby where Jim and his grandchildren built a dam and created a deep swimming hole.

As early as 1918, the Cherry Creek property had became the designated place for all of James and Sarah's extended families to gather for summer camp outs or for the annual deer hunt. The families would arrive and set up their individual tents (some of which became semi-permanent dugout-type abodes), and then enjoy each other's association for several days at a time.

Jim was now only one mile away from the home of his daughter Sadie (Sarah) Williams Cox and her husband Nephi. Unfortunately, on 3 March 1920, Sadie died of childbirth, along with her child. Before and afterward, Sadie's children frequently stayed with Grandpa and Grandma Williams at Cherry Creek. They were often joined by their cousins.

There was no road from the house to the main road on the sagebrush laden property, so when Sadie's older children came to stay, Jim would give the youngsters an axe and pace off a certain amount of road footage to be cleared of sagebrush. The children would energetically attack the bulky sagebrush which often towered twice their height, knowing that when they had cleared the assigned footage, they were free to go to the nearby creek and play in their self-built swimming hole.

The relative isolation of the homestead made it difficult to attend LDS Church meetings. After spending the winter months in Salt Lake City, James would generally return to Cherry Creek in March and stay until early November. James and Sarah were now members of record of the relatively new West Tintic Branch during the summer months. Although they had been unable thus far to attend any of the meetings, they looked forward to participation with the branch members. It was with dismay, then, in spring of 1921, that they read in the Deseret News that a church court had been held in the Tintic Stake. Five members of the West Tintic Branch had been excommunicated, seven had been disfellowshipped, and the branch had been dissolved. Jim learned that a self-appointed prophet named Moses S. Gudmundson had been forming a communal society on Gudmundson's West Tintic homestead, comprising about 60 followers, mostly from Springville. The group had strayed into polygamy, and the Church had taken action.

James promptly wrote a letter to Robert Wilkins, the Tintic Stake clerk and inquired where he and Sarah were to attend meetings now. He wrote, :•••I never heard or knew a word of their misdoings till it was made public, and myself and wife feel very sorry indeed, also disappointed, as we have looked forward to being able to meet with them." Jim enclosed several tithing receipts from his Salt Lake City ward as evidence of his constant loyalty to the Church and sent a contribution of $60 and a roll of fencing wire for the Church meetinghouse fund.

By the end of 1921, Jim had cultivated 25 acres of his Cherry Creek homestead, planting and harvesting 10 acres of rye and a combination of wheat, oats, corn, alfalfa, and potatoes. He had built a house valued at $500, dug a well and a cellar, built a stable and a chicken coop, and had done considerable fencing. He was now 67 years old and feeling every year of it.

The summer of 1922 was difficult for Jim. Although he planned to extend his cultivated land (necessary to meet homestead requirements), it was all he could do to maintain the 25 acres he had already developed. His rheumatoid arthritis, always constant, became aggravated, and he left the property early that fall to return to Salt Lake City and seek medical help. He and Sarah moved into a small frame house next to the home of their daughter, Lucy, and her husband Angus Price, on Angus' farm in Union, Utah. Jim's Church records were forwarded from the Tintic Stake to the Salt Lake 14th Ward, then forwarded again in February to the Union Ward, Jordan Stake.

Jim's daughter Lucy and her brother Jay helped take care of Jim and Sarah over the winter of 1922-1923. In February 1923, Jim was still ailing. Worried that he would be unable to comply with a homestead requirement that the prospective owner could not be away from residence on the property for more than five months, he wrote to the Department of the Interior, requesting a four week's extension of the residence time due to illness. The Department responded that Jim was in no danger of having his ownership contested in this case, since he had always "complied with the law in every particular. "

Jim was finally able to return to his cherished Cherry Creek ranch in April. Shortly after returning, he received word that his daughter, May (Mabel), ill with cancer for several months, was failing. May died in Salt Lake City, 16 May 1923.

Jim wanted to extend his cultivated acreage in order to comply with homestead requirements, but his health and personal matters constrained him, and by summer's end, he had managed to cultivate only the same 25 acres he had improved earlier. He returned to his daughter Lucy's home in Union in November of 1923. Because of his advanced arthritic condition, he would never return.

Jim's patent on the Cherry Creek homestead was due to expire unless he could prove his claim. He corresponded with the Department of the Interior indicating the health disability which had prevented him from fully meeting the three-year requirements for cultivating the land. On 2 April 1924, Utah Senator Reed Smoot forwarded a letter from the Land Office to Jim confirming that Jim's ownership of the homestead could still be patented in his name if he provided proof of his disability. Jim's notice of intention was filed according to law during the month of May in the local Juab County newspaper, the Eureka Reporter, and Jim was able to submit final proof of disability before a Salt Lake notary the next month.

On 31 October 1924, the Department of the Interior notified Jim and Sarah that his cultivation of 25 acres during the years 1921-1923 was deemed "satisfactory compliance" for the requirements of ownership. Jim's homestead ownership patent was approved. He was now the owner of the 321.32 acres (legally identified as Homestead Entry, #024429: Lot 4, SW 1/4, NW 1/4, SW 1/4, Section 3; N 1/2, NW 1/4, Section 10; Township 12 South; Range 5 West.)

Unfortunately, Jim's advancing age had taken its toll, rendering him unable to return to the property he now owned outright. Jim and Sarah continued to stay in the small house on the farm belonging to Lucy and Angus in Union, Utah. Both would remain there until their respective deaths, although Sarah would eventually remarry and outlive Jim until 1945. (Their Cherry Creek homestead land would be maintained by his daughter Ivy Williams Ekker and would eventually become part of the Ekker family holdings.)

Jim Williams attended the Union Ward meetings in the Jordan Stake. Jim would be called to the stand on several occasions to share his experiences of faith. After hearing Jim preach on one such occasion, one woman in particular was impressed by his words, and she went to thank Jim with tears in her eyes. Her son had been called to go to New Zealand on a mission, and she had been greatly troubled about it. She told Jim that through his preaching, she felt comforted and was now full of joy and thankfulness for her son's call.

Although he was physically ailing, Jim remained full of his usual good humor. Jim would often regale his grandchildren with stories of his early years. Sometimes he recounted some of his missionary experiences, such as the time when he and his companion were traveling in the outback areas of New Zealand without purse or scrip. On one occasion, during a driving rain storm, he and his companion found refuge for the night in a haystack. After they made comfortable burrows, and as they were sleepily congratulating themselves on finding such a snug and warm sanctuary, they began to realize the haystack was full of other life-in fact, the whole haystack was an infested rat's nest! Their night wasn't so comfortable after all.

On another occasion, still in the outback traveling without funds, James and his companion had not gotten along too well that day and remained at odds over some inconsequential matter. As evening approached, they were fortunate to be invited to stay the night at a large house. When their host told them they could either share a room or each have a separate bedroom, the two Mormon elders were still feeling a spirit of contention, and they decided to spend the night apart to cool their differences.

Jim later related that during the night, he became aware of footsteps entering his room. Although he saw no one, an unseen force immediately began to violently shake the bed! Now fully awake, Jim leaped out of the bed, but found no one. He decided maybe he should spend the night with the other elder, after all, and he went into the other room.

As he and the other elder were sharing the remaining bed, they were again attacked by an invisible influence. This time, there was a violent upheaval, and the two missionaries were abruptly tipped to the floor with the bed and mattress dumped on top of them! At this point, the elders forgot their differences; they joined together in prayer and invoked their priesthood to rebuke the influence.

Jim forever afterward took this experience as an object lesson, teaching that it is always necessary for missionaries to stay in tune with the Holy Ghost and avoid contention and acrimony.

James had a chance to tell more stories when his family held a celebration at the Price farm for his 70th birthday on 15 October 1924; however, his health continued to falter. Finally, after a full and rewarding life, not of worldly possessions, but with a great legacy received from diligently serving his Heavenly Father and being a faithful husband, father, and friend, James Clark Williams died in Union, Utah, 13 June 1925. He was buried 16 June 1925 in the Salt Lake City Cemetery. His wife Sarah survived him for nearly twenty years and was buried by his side in June 1945.
*************
DeseretNews, Monday, 15 June 1925, p. 6
"Former Utah County Officer dies at Union"

UNION, June 15
James Clark Williams, 70, died at the family home Saturday.

Mr. Clark was born in Kirkcaldy, Fifeshire, Scotland, Oct. 15, 1854. He sailed for New Zealand in March, 1873 as second steward on the ship Dunnedin andfinally settled at Auckland where he married Sarah Rogers. They joined the Church in 1880, and he came to Utah in 1882. He soon went back as a missionary and was a branch president when released in October, 1884.

The family settled in American Fork where he was ward clerk and Superintendent of the Sunday School. In civil life, he was active in politics, having been justice-of the peace and also county assessor.

The family came to Salt Lake in 1903, where he was in business, but some years moved into this section [Union Fort, Utah].

Funeral services will be held Tuesday, June 16, at 3:30 p.m. in the Union Ward chapel. Interment will be in the Salt Lake City Cemetery.
*******
PATRIARCHAL BLESSING GIVEN TO JAMES CLARK WILLIAMS
American Fork
Utah County
August 11th 1885

A Patriarchal Blessing by Zebedee Coltrin upon the head of James C. Williams, son of Alexander Williams and Catherine Clark. Born Oct. 15th 1854, Kirkcaldy, Fifeshire, Scotland.

Bro. James Clark, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, I lay my hands upon your head and seal upon you a Patriarchal Blessing.

Thou art of the seed of Abraham, the House of Joseph and the lineage of Ephraim. I seal upon thy head a Father's Blessing for thou art a lawful heir of the Holy Melchizedek Priesthood.

In as much as thou wilt keep all the commandments of the Lord, thou shall attain unto all the blessings of eternal lives, and the choice blessing of the Heavens shall rest down upon you and the light of the Lord. Thou shall attain unto all the blessings of eternal lives, and the choice blessings of the Heavens shall rest down upon you, and the light of the Lord shall dwell with you, and every organ of your mind shall be filled with the inspiration of the Lord, for thou was called and chosen of the Lord before the foundations of the earth were laid to come forth in this dispensation to assist in building up a Holy Zion upon the earth, and thou shalt be able to go forth among the nations of the earth and shall be enabled to bring many to a knowledge of the truth, for the mighty power of the Lord shall rest upon you, and proclaim the Gospel among the inhabitants of the earth and proclaim unto them the principles of eternal life, and thou shall have power to do a great and mighty work upon the earth, for thou wast raised up and came forth upon the earth for this purpose to assist in building up a Zion of the Lord upon the earth, for those shalt be enabled to preach the Gospel in the courts of the kings and amidst the nobles of the earth, and thou shalt be enabled with the voice of a trumpet to proclaim the Gospel with a power among the inhabitants of the earth, being filled with the mighty power of Jehovah, and many of the wicked shall tremble before thee, and kings and rulers shall bow in thy presence, for thy voice shall be so powerful that the highest shall tremble before thee, for the faith that once rested with the Brother of Jared shall rest down on thee, and the mighty power shall attend thy works, and the elements shall tremble before thee, and the winds and the seas shall obey thy voice.

And thou shall become the Father of a mighty people and the Holy Priesthood of the Lord shall rest down upon them throughout all their generations, and thy sons shall become mighty men before the Lord, and the power of the Lord shall rest down upon them and many of them shall become apostles and prophets, seers, and revelators, and shall be kings and priests unto the most high.

They shall become a great and a mighty people dwelling in the midst of the Zion of the Lord, and thy daughters shall become mighty women before the Lord, filled with wisdom and intelligence of the most High, and shall become mothers of a multitude of men and women who shall become sanctified, dwelling in the presence of the Lord God of Israel, whose posterity shall be as numerous as the stars in the Heavens, and unto their generations there shall be no end, and great shall be the rewards in the Heavens.

And thou shall have power to receive all the blessings and sealing powers that shall be given in the Holy Temple of the Lord, and shall behold the Lord when he shall come to his Temple, and thou shall be enabled to do a great work upon the earth bothfor the living and the dead. Thou shall assist in the redemption of thy father's house, and thou shall become a mighty prophet in the midst of the sons of Zion, and the angels of the Lord shall administer unto you, for thou shalt converse with them face to face as one man converses with another, for the day will come when the angels of the Lord will be thy daily companions, for thou art of the pure blood of Jacob and have a right to all the blessings of Joseph, and thou shall gaze upon the visions of the Heavens and shall be clothed with salvation as with a garment, and thou shalt remain upon the earth until thou art satisfied with life, and thou shall become a man of mighty faith before the Lord, and there will be no miracle too great for thee to do when it shall be for the salvation of Zion, and thou shall be numbered with the Lord's anointed and shall become a king and priest unto the most High, and no hand that is lifted against thee shall prosper, and peace shall dwell in thy habitation throughout all thy days upon the earth, and thou shall behold the Lord when he shall come in the clouds of Heaven and thou shall receive an everlasting inheritance when the ancient of days shall sit, and shall have power to come forth in the morning of the first resurrection and shall be numbered with the sanctified before the Lord.

And now Brother, I seal all these blessing upon thy head from thee up and to all the powers of exaltation and thrones and dominions and powers of eternal lives, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Resource: History by Charles Irvin Fox
History by Lucy Williams Price
Family records of Marilyn Brady Elkins
Family records of Calvin and Margaret Price
BOOK

Utah Death Certificates, 1904-1956 for James Clark Williams

Name:	James Clark Williams
Titles and Terms:
Death Date:	13 Jun 1925
Death Place:	Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah
Birthdate:
Estimated Birth Year:	1855
Birthplace:
Death Age:	70 years 7 months 28 days
Gender:	Male
Marital Status:
Race or Color:
Spouse's Name:
Father's Name:	Alexander Williams
Father's Titles and Terms:
Mother's Name:	Catherine Clark
Mother's Titles and Terms:
Film Number:	2259476
Digital GS Number:	4121018
Image Number:	1393
Certificate Number:	920

found on familysearch.org

Question... Was James the individual who brought over the Scottish Meat Pie from Scotland and worked with Thomas Morrison of Salt Lake City who formed the Morrison Meat Pie company - claiming to be founded in 1888? Yes.
James Clark Williams was born in 1854 in Kircaldy, Scotland. He was the son of Alexander Williams and Catherine Clarke. When he was fourteen, he left school to go to work for his uncle, John Buchanan Williams, who had a large bakery business and several retail shops. His desire was to learn to be a baker. He served 5 years as an apprentice and became a journeyman baker. Jim worked in Edinburgh as a foreman for a year and nine months. He got first-class references from both places and became a master baker.
In later years, Jim enjoyed telling grandchildren about his early life. As a young apprentice, Jim would be assigned to stand in his bare feet on a big table. Helpers would place a huge amount of dough on the table and Jim would step into it and move his legs up and down to mix the dough. Helpers would stand at each corner of the table to flop the dough back to the middle as Jim continued to mix it with his feet and legs. The loaves were then molded by hand and baked in large rock ovens.
Jim always chuckled when he told the story about a time when he was a young boy delivering bread. Bread was delivered very early in the morning while it was still hot, and the loaves were carried on a board supported on his head. It had been raining the night before, and the streets were muddy and slippery. He took a large step over a puddle and slipped, spilling the bread loaves in the mud. Knowing that there wouldn't be any more bread baked until the next day, he took a penknife and scraped the mud from each loaf and proceeded to deliver it to his customers.
Jim was always fond of travel, and when he was nineteen years old, he decided to start a business of his own in another country. He made his decision and left Scotland on 18 March 1874 as second steward on a ship bound for Canterbury, New Zealand, with 400 immigrants on board.
In Auckland, James met Sarah Porter Rogers and they were married 11 October 1876. Their first two children Ada Marion and Edith Mable were born in Auckland. They were then introduced to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and were baptized. James left his family behind, fully expecting to prepare a home for them in Utah before he sent for them. However, after his arrival in Salt Lake City, James was called to return to Auckland as a full-time missionary. They had two more children during this time. Amy Catherine and Sarah.
In November 1884, Jim and his family finally set sail for the United States. Upon their arrival in Salt Lake City, they spent the night in the old Tithing House. The next day, the family took a train for American Fork, Utah, where they made their home for 19 years. Having 5 additional children.
Meanwhile James had been looking toward going into business for himself. In 1888, he went into temporary partnership with Harry Morrison in Salt Lake City to market James' Hot Scotch Pies. (These pies later became famous as "Morrison's Meat Pies" and are still sold as such.) Jim would work in Salt Lake City during the week, then walk to American Fork to spend Saturday and Sunday with his family. James found the weekly separation from his family too taxing, and the partnership with Morrison was suspended.
By 1905, James and Sarah had permanently moved from American Fork to Salt Lake City to operate a restaurant. The Williams lived barely a block away from President Joseph F. Smith. Jim had a large oven built into the hillside by his home and went into the pie factory business selling his famous Hot Scotch Meat Pies. He opened a pie shop at 61 West on First South. "The shop was next door to Baer's Saloon, and a door had been cut between the two establishments to permit Baer's bartenders to pick up hot pies to serve with their beer." Jim sold all kinds of cakes, cookies, candies, ice cream, bread, and soda water. He made his own bread, cakes, and ice cream (with a lot of help from his wife Sarah and the girls). He also had an ice house an sold ice which he put up in the winter and would sell in the summer.
While living in Salt Lake City, James and Sarah took in their widowed daughter May (Edith Mable Williams Fox) and helped raise her two children, Verda May Fox and Irvin Fox.
Another tragedy struck the Williams family when George Frederick "Fred", the youngest child, contracted pneumonia and died at the age of 7 on 30 December 1905.
Finally, after a full rewarding life, not of worldly possessions, but with a great legacy James Clark Williams died in Union, Utah, 13 June 1925. (See a more detailed history under stories in memories-stories)