*Nielson Bertelsen Dalley*

Nielson Bertelsen Dalley

Born: 22 February 1861 at Summit, Iron County, Utah, USA
Parents: James Dalley and Johanne Bertelsen
Married: Mary Crosby Jones 21 February 1883 at St. George, Washington, Utah, USA
Died: 25 July 1906 at Aetna, Alberta, Canada

SKETCH OF NIELSON B DALLEY
NIELSON B. DALLEY: A MAN WORTH KNOWING In this Bi-Centennial year, when the entire United States is focusing on the ideals and principles that are associated with our country's greatness, it is appropriate to write about my father, Nielson B. Dalley, for he himself was a true patriot and pioneer who loved this great country and had a part in its discovery, exploration, and development.

He was born in Summit, Iron County, Utah, February 22, 1861, just two years after the first permanent white settlers came to this fertile valley overlooking Little Salt Lake and watered by a small stream coming from the canyon less than a mile south of the settlement.

In early spring, when there had been a good amount of snowfall in the mountains, the small stream became a roaring river for several weeks and furnished ample water for irrigation. This, of course, diminished as the season progressed.

Southern Utah attracted settlers early in the history of the settlement of the state because of the large tracts of fertile land and a relatively good water supply but, quite as important, a large deposit of high grade iron ore in the Iron Springs area west of Cedar City.

Parowan and Cedar were settled early in the history of the state. Parowan was the first settlement south of Provo. It took those courageous pioneers more than a month to cover the two hundred miles from Provo to the present site of Parowan. They arrived there January 19, 1851. Cedar, nineteen miles southwest, was settled the following year. Summit is located seven miles southwest of Parowan and twelve miles northeast of Cedar.

Father's parents were James Dalley and Johanne Bolette Bertelsen. Both were early converts to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, he in his native England and she in her native Denmark. Both were among the early pioneers who immigrated to Utah and had an important part in the settlement of Southern Utah. Grandfather and Grandmother met when they both settled at Johnson's Fort--five miles north of Cedar. Grandfather was established there before Grandmother moved to the community in search of employment. She was the first of seven sisters and one brother to come to America. Her parents came after all the family was established in this country.

Father was a member of a large polygamous family. Grandfather had three wives who bore a total of forty-four children. Only thirty of them grew to maturity and themselves became parents because of the total absence of doctors and only a very limited knowledge of children's diseases and how to treat them.

Longevity is the rule in the family. Grandfather lived until 82, grandmother lived past 85. Father was past 86 when he died. Several members of the family approached the century mark. Our sister Amy lived past 89 and our brother Ronald is now past 86.

It is significant that at that early date, and in a pioneer environment, several of grandfather's daughters, as well as a number of his sons, were college trained. Some of them were prominent in the educational development of Utah.

Grandfather was the first person to raise sheep in large numbers in the southern part of the state and to improve his herd by selective breeding. He also raised large numbers of cattle and horses and had an ongoing program of herd improvement with them. This is not surprising since the Dalley family is identified with the development of the Hereford breed of cattle in England.

Grandmother made a significant contribution to the area by being the only midwife in the valley for quite a few years. She attended more than four hundred mothers at childbirth, giving both physical and spiritual help. It was her proud boast that she never lost a mother or a baby. For her service she collected no fees.

Father was far too important to pass from the earthly scene without some record of his achievements or without his descendants knowing the kind of man he was. Five of his sons and two daughters have contributed stories and anecdotes that help to make the real person come through.

It is quite impossible to separate the lives of father and mother. I have often wondered how different his life would have been without her. He depended on her in so many ways. When she died he was lost, and never again made a good adjustment to life. He deeply appreciated her beautiful spirit, her abiding faith in the authenticity of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and her love and appreciation for all of God's Creation. If there ever was a person more sensitive to people's feelings and moods, more devoted to her family, more free from hate and envy and inner conflicts, or one who had greater love for her fellow men, I have never known one. Ronald has written a very appropriate account of mother's life and, for that reason, my main concern will be with father.

Father was of medium build, about 5' 9" tall, and weighed between 150 and 170 pounds. His eyes were bright blue; they were laughing eyes when he was telling, or listening to, a funny story. They also clearly showed sadness or disgust. His hair was light brown and had receded at the temple with a bald spot on top. During the years that I remember him best he wore a mustache plainly cropped. He always walked with his head down as if contemplating some problem or perhaps following a lost sheep's or wild animal’s track. With such a posture he found many lost objects.

He was companionable and amusing to us when we were small children, but never effusive. He taught us how to take a length of half-inch willow, cut a deep notch at one end, pound until the bark cylinder slipped off, cut a small slice from the notch to the end, then slip the bark back on. and -- behold -- a whistle! He also taught us how to make a squirt gun from the wild parsnip that grew along the ditch banks.

In our early teens he instructed us in the use of firearms. When he felt sure we could use them responsibly, we were allowed, after securing permission, to hunt rabbits by ourselves.

His hands were large for a man his size and, truly, they were hands of toil. There was no work he would shun if he thought it would give his family some opportunity or advantage they otherwise might not have.

When members of the family were ready to embark on careers or undertakings of their own, father was always on hand to help them it get started. Hazel’s first teaching assignment was in Circleville, more than a day's travel by team from home. He gladly took her to Circleville and saw her safely settled in her first position. Her next position was in Wayne County, more than twice the distance to Circleville. Father counted it no big deal to get her well situated there.

Orien speaks of the beauty of father's hands as he chorded at the piano or organ, selecting the I, IV, and V harmonies. "Almost as beautiful as John's on the violin."

Father was generally even tempered, with a keen sense of humor, and not easily upset. However, it was hard for him to maintain his equanimity when mother scolded him, as she did on rare occasions. At these times he would never say a word but laughed a nervous, self-conscious little laugh and would sometimes put on his hat and leave the house.

His only bad habit, if such it can be called, was the ease with which he dozed off to sleep. He never could read for any length of time without sleep overcoming him. Some of his sons are similarly affected.

His personal appearance when in his Sunday best was always pleasing. Mother was particular about his dress. His clothes were always clean and neatly pressed. He never learned to tie his necktie. If she didn't see that it was removed at the close of the day, he would sleep in his dress shirt, tie and all.

He was a humble, religious, patriotic man who talked very little about his deeper convictions, but we were aware of them. He believed that what one did, not what he said, was the measure of the man. He and mother were always at the forefront of church and community affairs.

The welfare of others had a high priority with him. He was generous with his parents and numerous brothers and sisters, and with strangers. During the era of horse-drawn vehicles he always visited the campground near our home. If there were particular needs, they were often taken care of, and usually without cost.

He was in the forefront of community betterment projects and, without exception, one of the biggest contributors to them, whether in money or in work. Often these contributions meant a good deal of personal sacrifice. He promoted the installation of a culinary water system for the town long before it became a reality.

Standout qualities in father were his absolute honesty, his educational and musical ambition for his family and, alas, his slipshod business practices. It is remarkable that every family member that wanted a musical instrument got it--not just any instrument, but a quality one--and that at a time when the family resources were meager. They also were given music lessons on their instruments.

Several instruments purchased with small extended payments are still in the family. The three oldest sons still have their violins. There may still be other instruments in the family as well, since at one time or another we had a clarinet, an oboe, and a trombone, besides the piano, which was probably the first one in the town. We had a reed organ long before we had a piano.

When the family lived in the Teton Basin the organ was often loaded into the back of the buggy or on a bobsled and taken as far as twelve miles, where mother and father did the chording on it to accompany Ed Beesley's fiddling for the greatly enjoyed dances. When father called for the square dances, mother would play the organ. They performed this much appreciated service when they were in Summit, too. Mother's brother, John Lee Jones, was the most outstanding fiddler in Southern Utah at that time. He lived in Enoch, just five miles from Summit. Often the townspeople of these communities got together for their entertainments. I have often heard father tell how most of the men took off their shoes and socks at these dances, partly to keep them from wearing out, but mostly because they enjoyed dancing in their bare feet.

The grace with which many of these dancers moved along the floor is still one of my very pleasant memories. The square dances were most popular, but the waltz, two-step, schottische, and Speed the Plow were also enjoyed.

Mother and father had a leading role in the music of the home church, and often in that of neighboring wards. Mother's beautiful soprano voice was appreciated everywhere.

Listening to their children sing and play was an ecstatic occasion for our parents. Amy's sweet soprano voice, Ada's splendid performances on the piano, Hazel’s rich contralto, and Stan's fine tenor touched them deeply. We had some wonderful sings together! The playing of the family dance orchestra was real fun for all of us. A musical treat was in store at every family get-together.

A well known choir director said Hazel had no peer in the contralto role of "The Messiah.” At age eighty, Stan's voice is still clear and true.

In later life father often asked members of the family to play and sing "Danny Boy", "What a Friend We Have in Jesus", "When You and I Were Young, Maggie", and "Love’s Old Sweet Song." He would join in the singing as best he could as his thoughts went back to an earlier time when he and mother sang those songs together. Mother's soprano was clear and true and with a most unusual quality. She could call us to come home, when we were children away at play, and we could hear clearly a half mile away.

In education, too, we took our parents' idealism to heart; five of us are college graduates. Two of the five were high school valedictorians. One was salutatorian, even though she had the highest grade average. Dentistry, education, and music were ably represented by the graduates.

In sports, as in education and music, father gave the distinct impression that he expected us to excel. Ronald and Orien measured up by holding the state record in the high jump. Ada was the pitcher on a boys' baseball team long before the Women's Lib movement got under way.

In politics, father was an ardent Democrat. There were only two or three others of that political persuasion in the town. He always, said that the principles of the Democratic Party favored the common man’s interests. It may be that the Democratic plank of the free coinage of silver had a special appeal to him, too. I doubt if he ever crossed party lines, even in local elections.

Because of his well known political beliefs, office seekers sometimes stopped to confer with father as they traveled about the state. It was true of William H. King in his successful bid for the U.S. Senate and also of Simon Bamberger prior to his election as Governor of Utah. It was true of others, too.

Father had a great admiration for William J. Bryan and for President Woodrow Wilson. He felt sure the Fourteen Points of the Covenant of the League of Nations would be an effective deterrent to war. He was saddened to the point of grief when the Senate failed to ratify the League. He believed Senator William E. Borah was a traitor to his country by leading the fight against ratification.

In spite of his political bias, he believed the two-party system an absolute necessity for the proper functioning of our system of government.

I suppose every member of the family admired our parents for different and unique things as well as for the standout qualities which all admired. All would concur with Hazel when she says we lived in a home where there was harmony and love and where cross words were seldom spoken by our parents. To be sure, there was sibling rivalry. There also was strong family loyalty.

Stan admires father for his marksmanship, not only with a gun but also throwing stones. He recalls one fall in the Teton Basin that father spied an elk on a hillside about a mile from our home. He quickly got the 45-90 and, with a single shot, felled the bull elk. There was great rejoicing because the meat would augment our rather meager food supply. Elk meat constituted a very important article of our food during those years in Wyoming.

On another occasion Stan had gone with father up the canyon to get a load of logs. On the way back he spotted two pine chickens and, with Stan furnishing the rocks, he got both of them, providing a very special treat for the family.

I remember father telling how he felled a bobcat with stones on his way home from seeing mother during their courtship days. He was walking the five miles from Johnson's Fort to Summit.

Orien admires father for his skill in games, even after he had passed the age of playing vigorous games. I admired him for his skill in constructing irrigation ditches without any surveying instrument except his good eyes; ditches that seemed to run uphill but along which water flowed freely. I was particularly charmed by his ability to slice bread with an ordinary case knife, slices so uniform they appeared to have been cut by a machine.

On the trail with the sheep, where lunches had to be carried, he was never hungry until younger stomachs were fairly well satisfied.

He was always a moderate eater. Any type of greediness disgusted him. He especially enjoyed soggy foods like dumplings or hot bread and all kinds of sweets. Often he would top off a hearty meal, which included dessert, with a heaping spoonful of sugar.

He was a man of few words even in his most expansive moods. We all knew what was expected of us in our behavior, and a look of displeasure from father was worse than physical punishment.

On one occasion as a teenager I stayed out much later than was the rule in our family -- so late, in fact, that father came looking for me. He said nothing about my breaking of the family rules that night, but the following morning, when reference was made to the incident, he remarked in an offhand manner, "I don't think I would do that again." And I never did.

Beginning at an early age, every member of the family had chores to do for which they were held responsible. Later, these chores progressed to work assignments which, in some cases, involved responsibilities too great for young growing bodies. These experiences had at least two positive values. They taught us initiative and responsibility--highly desirable in any generation.

On more than one occasion as a child, it was my special pleasure to go with father to take supplies to the herders and move the sheep camps. As he drove along in the wagon, he would point out places and tell what happened there--incidents always exciting to children. "I searched for three days for five markers that were missing from the herd, three bells and two blacks. They were in that bunch of cedars right at the top of that draw. There were only nine head; I expected there would be at least seventy-five with that many markers missing." Or, "I shot a coyote in the act of killing a sheep right at the top of the ridge by that lone pine. It was the last bullet I had with me."

Every time we reached the top of the "Pass Hill" where we could see the Black Point and the desert beyond, father would break into song--always the same one, "Far Away In the Unknown Desert Do We Stray."

For many years he was the only man for miles around who could successfully castrate a horse. The simple instruments which he used were of his own making. For antiseptic he used a solution of carbolic acid.

He knew marks and brands, used in determining livestock ownership, like no one else that I have ever known or even heard about. He knew hundreds of marks and brands at sight and could even determine ownership by herd characteristics without benefit of mark or brand. Every fall for many years he was hired by stockmen to pick the stray sheep that had gotten into the different herds as they grazed on the open range. The number often was as many as one hundred in a single herd.

One fall he had picked a ewe that had gotten into another herd and her lamb had been born while in that herd. It therefore did not carry the mark and brand of its true owner. Father looked over those seven or eight hundred lambs searching for the one that belonged to the ewe, for fifteen or twenty minutes. Then, pointing to a black one (the ewe was white), he said, "That's her lamb." And it was.

Adult responsibilities began for father at a very early age. His father observed his unusual ability in the management of livestock, so this became his assignment almost continuously until he was married. This probably is the main reason his formal education ended at such an early age. His schooling stopped at the fifth grade, while some of his brothers and sisters continued into college.

At age seventeen he and twenty-five other young men from Iron County were called by John Taylor, then president of the LDS Church, to blaze a trail from Southern Utah through uncharted Navajo country to the San Juan country in Southeastern Utah so that settlers would be safe in that area. He was put in charge of the cattle on this expedition. The party started in April 1879 with eighty head of cattle and some extra horses and mules that were driven along with the cattle. The route of travel was by way of Panguitch, Kanab, Lee's Ferry, Buckskin Mountains, Limestone Tanks, and Moencopi. Everything went well until Lee's Ferry. From there on there was continuous difficulty. Going over the Buckskin Mountains, notches had to be chiseled in the rocks so the animals could keep their footing. Wagons had to be held by means of ropes to keep them from tipping over. Over the barren stretches from Bitter Spring to Willow Spring, one-fourth of the cattle died from thirst. Often the cattle were moved at night to avoid the heat and make the need for water less critical.

Serious difficulties were also encountered with the Indians. By being kind and negotiating all problems, the exploring party reached the San Juan in October, having been nearly six months on the way. They had traveled almost a thousand miles and had built over 250 miles of road.

If you wonder about the location of the San Juan, it is in the southeastern part of Utah near where the States of Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico corner.

Several of the young men staked out claims and built a dam to divert the San Juan river onto the thirsty land. However, at the end of six months most of the explorers returned to their homes by a longer but better established route.

Father was drawn back to Iron County by a growing interest in a young woman from Johnson's Fort whom he had met at a dance. She was the sister of the young woman to whom his brother, William W., was engaged.

Father married Mary Jones, a girl as beautiful in appearance as in character, February 21, 1883, in the St. George Temple. To this union were born nine children. The oldest son died in infancy. The others grew to maturity and established homes of their own.
They were as follows:
Marion Nielson Dalley, born Feb. 19, 1884, died Mar. 3, 1884
Amy Jones Dalley, born Apr. 8, 1885, died July 9, 1974
Ada Lee Dalley Shurtz, born May 16, 1887, died May 30, 1952
Ronald Jones Dalley, born Aug. 5, 1889
Hazel Dalley Granger, born July 19, 1891
Otto Pidding Dalley, born Oct. 17, 1893
Stanley Jones Dalley, born Nov. 27, 1895
Jesse Ernest Dalley, born Sept. 1, 1899
Orien Emeal Dalley, born Jan. 3, 1902

Father and mother began housekeeping in a small two-room log cabin with a dirt floor at the mouth of Grass Valley Canyon near the present town of Junction, Utah. Father had a contract to carry the mail from Antimony to Junction and farmed a small acreage in his spare time.

In that first home the furniture consisted of a second-hand stove, a makeshift table, three rawhide-bottom chairs, a large wooden box for a cupboard, a slat-bottom wooden bed with a straw tick but no mattress, and a few odds and ends in dishes and utensils that mother brought to her first married home.

Here is an exact copy of a prized love letter that father wrote to mother from that home near Junction about seven months before their marriage. It is copied exactly as it appears in the letter, including spelling and punctuation:
City Creek
Piute Co.
Aug 3rd 1882
Miss Mary Jones Dear One

It is with the gratest of pleasure that I now sit down to answer your most welcome letter if I wasen't glad to hear from my dear once more if you only knew how much good it does me to hear from my Love. You said you did not like to be apart so long. I dont like it but i guess that we will have to put up with it a little longer. Any how we had a nice time here the 24 we had a splendid dance at nite but their was rather to much watzing to suit me all to gather. They had splendid musich they came from Fillmore.

Well I guess that I will Tell you something of what I am a doin I am a making dobies now I have got about half enough brick to build a house burnt and i will get the rest of them burnt this fall sometime my grain is about ready to harvest now I will have a good crop this year i have got the best grain I have seen over here their is no news particular so i guess I will bring my letter to a close for this time. You must be true to me and oh how true i will be to you girl Now take care of your self Love

Bless your old soul thats what I say if I dont love you no botty does Well i guess that i will quit this time take care of your self Love.

Write soon from your true Love

Nielson B. Dalley

Although father spent more than half his life as a dirt farmer, he was not by temperament or inclination suited to that type of agriculture. He was far more content as a sheepman and would have been prosperous in that undertaking if his business practices had equaled his skill in managing sheep. He had built up his herd so that it was considered one of the best in Southern Utah. His herd averaged three or four more pounds of wool per head than most and his lambs at market time were of superior quality.

As a consequence of poor business practices and the Depression that followed World War I, he suffered heavy financial losses which finally included his sheep and hundreds of acres of excellent grazing land.

Twice in father's lifetime he left Southern Utah and went to the Teton Basin in Wyoming in the hope of financial betterment. There had been a series of very dry years in Utah and the lure of cheap land and abundant water caused the decision to move. Driving four horses on a wagon containing all the furniture and personal effects, followed by mother driving a team hitched to a white-topped buggy in which were the five children, aged 1-1/2 to 11, father headed the caravan north. Can you imagine going on a month's camping trip with four young children and having to secure the necessities for family and animals along the way? That was the time required to reach the Basin.

The family returned to Summit in August 1897 when Ronald injured his knee, necessitating the best possible medical advice, and this was to be found in Salt Lake City. Mother stayed with Ronald in Salt Lake while father brought the rest of the family back to Summit.

The family had left the Teton Basin in such a hurry that the property had not been sold.

The family returned to the Basin in 1899 and stayed there until 1904, when they returned to Southern Utah. Father's brother urged him to return to Summit and go into partnership with him in the sheep business. Then, too, a normal school was established in Cedar. This was the real incentive for our return. When we returned to Summit the final time, the family enjoyed the luxury of traveling by train.

The four older members of the family were sent to high school in Cedar at a time when father could barely scrape together enough money to pay room and board. When the four younger members were ready for high school, that wasn't possible. So father purchased a city lot for a few dollars, moved what had been a granary from Summit to Cedar, hauled lumber from the sawmill in the mountains to the Lumber and Commission Company in Cedar, taking lumber for pay in order to get enough to build three additional rooms to the one he had moved from Summit. One of these rooms was a bathroom finally but that first year served as a sleeping space. These, with a back porch and a tent in the yard, were the living quarters for our parents and five boys that first year. One of the boys was a needy cousin who could not otherwise attend high school.

We boys had to go to Summit practically every week to bring back provisions and hay for the two milk cows. They provided all the milk we needed and two quarts to sell every day.

The soil of the lot was heavy clay which stuck to our feet in great gobs when it was wet. Despite the makeshift character of the setup that first winter, mother soon had it very "homey" and I dare say that year at school is recalled with a great deal of pleasure by all who were part of it.

By one means or another all of us were graduated from high school and those of us who applied for a college education knew that we would have to do it on our own because we knew father could give only moral support, and this he gave in full measure.

One of the two times that I ever saw father cry was when the word came from Orien, on his way to Ann Arbor to enter the School of Music, that his pockets had been picked and he had lost his hardearned savings that were intended to see him through the first year of Music School. Orien did not let that stop him. Neither did it discourage Stan or me from going to the University of Michigan.

When I left for college, I being the last to go, father was 64 years old and he and mother settled into a more leisurely routine for a few years, following their inclinations to some extent, which included one trip to Michigan and Wisconsin where the three of us who had graduated from the University of Michigan were living. Father came to Michigan twice after mother's death.

Mother passed away in August 1936, after a long illness. Father lived on until 1947, though less than a whole person for part of that time.

May I summarize for you, in verse, the life of an unusual man, a good man, and one all his children are proud to call Father?
You've seldom heard of Nielson B
I would suppose but say --
Those who know about him
Admire him today.

His school days were behind him,
When yet a lad of ten,
And from that time onward
He did the work of men.

In business strictly honest
Though successes were but few,
The way he faced adversity
Should inspire me and you;

He held no public office
And just twixt me and you
Isn't holding public office
Something great men seldom do?

He couldn't preach a sermon
Or expound the law to you,
But he aimed to raise a family
That was decent through and through;

He taught them to be honest
And self-reliant too;
He urged them to be leaders --
Now that's a lot to do;

He taught them all to honor him,
And so I wish to state
By my own assessment,
He ranks among the great.

Jesse E. Dalley
May 1976

Sources:
1 Story and photos on FamilySearch

Hole in the Rock Foundation
Bluff Fort Visitor Center

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