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Uriah Albert and Beatrice Perkins Nielson
Uriah Albert Nielson
Born: 3 August 1877 at Cedar City, Iron, Utah, USALIFE SKETCH URIAH ALBERT (U.A.) NIELSON
by Kimberly Marie Eubanks
As near as I can recall, my first remembrance of Dad was when he and Mom returned from the World's Fair in San Francisco [1915]. I was three years old. Probably the reason I remember, it was the fact that I received my first hair cut while they were gone. Mom's sister, Aunt Violate [Vilate] had come to Bluff to take care of the family and she and Inez decided it was time to cut my hair. After it was off, they were rather skeptical of how Mom would react. She must not have been upset, because I don't remember any punishment.
I don't recall much of my life before starting to school. However, one thing I do remember will horrify you kids, but it's the truth. We didn't have bathtubs and all the modern conveniences when I was a child, and a bath once a week, Saturday night, was the rule. Mom would put the big teakettle and dishpan full of water on the old wood stove to heat, and then get out the No. 3 tub. Sometimes she would squeeze both Kirk and U.A. in the tub together. Their legs had to fit just right for both to get in at the same time. After they were scrubbed clean it was my turn. Now get this, no clean water, just a kettle full of warm water was added. ( Ugh) I suppose the older kids each got clean water. What I started out to say was because bathes were not an every day occurrence out feet got a little dirty. Have you ever cleaned the dirt out from between your toes after a long hot day playing in the dirt? well, money in those days was scarce and this is how I earned my spending money. I would get a clean wet wash cloth and clean the dirt from between Dad's toes, can you believe that! Ten cents was usually the maximum wage but occasionally I got a quarter for over time.
Dad's mother died when he was three years old. Grandpa had left her in Cedar. He brought his other two wives to Bluff, but Grandma never joined him because of illness. Later they went over and got Dad and Uncle Freeman and Aunt Net and Aunt Elsie, that was one of Grandpa's wives, they raised Dad and his brother and sister. I remember one time Dad saying that he loved Aunt Elsie, he really thought a lot of her and how good she was to them. Grandpa Nielson, of course, had a rather pronounced accent when he talked. Dad had done something one day, I don't recall what it was, but anyway Grandpa was mad and he said he spanked him and said, "now what do you tink, I know what you tink, you tink damn you old Dad, now I'll spank you for that." And he got another spanking. I guess they had kind of a hard childhood because like I said, their mother died and Aunt Elsie raised them, but she was good to them according to what Dad has said. I remember too that Dad's half-sister Aunt Julia lived just across the fence from us and going over their and she used to tell us lots of times about her childhood and what it was like and she was really a good old lady. I thought a lot of her, she was Calvin Butt's grandmother.
Kent's wife, was telling me that some of the early recollections that she had was of mother taking Inez and Clyde out to Cottonwood Wash to meet Dad when he would come home from the range. They would wait for Dad to come in with the cattle and then as they were waiting they would play in the sand banks of the Cottonwood Wash. Then when Dad would arrive, he would get off the horse and put the kids on the horse and they would ride the test of the way from Cottonwood on to town on the horses.
Speaking of Dad riding a horse, I've always remembered how he liked his horses, how he liked to have good horses and how he liked to ride them. I will always remember that as he rode a horse he was just as straight and tall as a tree, her never stooped over even when he was walking or riding and that's always been one of my recollections of him.
Kirk's not sure we should tell this little story on Dad, but I think honesty is the best policy. The men spent a lot of their evenings and sometimes early mornings playing pitch. If you kids don't know what pitch is that's what they play with spot cards. They didn't play for very high stakes but the next morning we could always tell how lucky Dad had been because he'd bring home a whole box of candy bars, and at that time I didn't know why momma was so upset about it. I thought that was real neat to get up the next morning and find all those candy bars there that Dad had brought home, but it really did upset Momma. I guess that's where we all got our rotten teeth, was from Dad's winnings.
The only telephone in town was at Aunt Julia Butts' home. I remember on several occasions Dad would have me go over to Aunt Julia's with him and he'd call the banks down at Moab to borrow money to pay his tithing. I use to think how funny that was that he didn't have the money. But in those days it seems like they had one or two paydays a year, in the spring or fall when they sold their cattle. When they were out of money they had to go to the banks and borrow it to hold them over till payday came again with the sale of the cattle. I do remember of going over and calling the bank for Dad because he couldn't hear very well on the phone, so he'd call and he'd tell me what to say and we'd borrow the money for him to pay his tithing.
Dad was immaculate in keeping is premises clean. Kirk says every leaf of hay had to be accounted for and cleaned. Dad was also the town barber and cobbler, which is a shoe repairer. Dad was presiding Elder at Bluff for a number of years at the same time Mother was Relief Society President. It fell to them to also assume the position of janitor of the meeting house.
Dad had a Ford car. Nearly ever evening he would take us for a ride, shall I call it dragging main? This was about our only recreation. Gas was about 25 cents a gallon, so not much expense was involved in our fun.
At one time their were 19 missionaries (from Bluff) in the mission field at the same time. Dad was one of these. He went to the Southern States I remember him telling us about eating some kind of raw fish, taking them right out of the water and eating them, maybe it was oysters. While on his mission, his mission companion had typhoid and died. Dad was sent on the train with the body to the elder's home town, just how far that was I don't know.
Sources:
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Uriah Albert and Beatrice Perkins Nielson