By Maude W. Call
Thomas Daniels, son of Daniel Daniels and Mary Jeremy was born January 18, 1831, at Brecha, Carmarthenshire, South Wales. His wife, Mary Davis was born 22 December 1835, at Llandgwad, Carmarthenshire, South Wales. They were married in Salt Lake City, Utah. Grandfather was 21 years old and Mary, his wife, was seventeen.
When they were living in Salt Lake City, their first child was born on 15 August, 1855. They named her Mary Jane.
Then about a year or two later, they moved to Brigham City, Box Elder County, Utah. While living in Brigham City, six children were born to them:
| Thomas Daniels Jr. | born 28 Aug 1855 | |
| Daniel Moroni Daniels | born 20 Dec 1856 | |
| David M. Daniels | born 26 March 1859 | |
| Sarah Ann Daniels | born 29 April 1861 | |
| John M. Daniels | born 21 April 1863 | |
| Joseph Daniels | born 13 April 1866 | died 14 April 1866 |
Mary, his wife, and their last baby died the same day, 14 April 1866. Grandfather really had his hands full with six little children.
Grandmother, Janette Marie Thomas Dives, who had married Verulam Dives, was living at Willard, Box Elder County, Utah. Verulam Dives was born 21 February 1834, at Rye Hastings, Sussex, England. Grandmother was born 26 May 1837, at Wenroe (or Wenvoe), Glamorganshire, Wales. They were married 27 July 1854. Verulam Dives was 21 years old when they were married and Janette Marie Thomas was 18 years old. They had six children:
| William Verulam Dives | born 20 August 1855, Willard, Utah | died 5 Nov 1857, at 2 years , 2 ½ months. |
| Sarah Elizabeth Dives | born 28 July 1856, Willard, Utah | |
| Verulam Dives | born 25 September 1858, Willard, Utah | |
| Joseph Gilbert | born 17 January 1860, Willard, Utah | |
| Albert John Dives | born 7 December 1861, Salt Lake City, Utah | |
| Gertrude Grace Dives | born 22 December 1863, Salt Lake City, Utah |
Grandmother said on one occasion, she and her husband, Verlum and eleven other couples were invited by President Brigham Young to go to Fort Lemhi, on the Salmon River, in northern Idaho, in April 1857. There was a small settlement of Latter-day Saints living there and President Brigham Young wanted to go there and see how they were getting along. He had been informed that some Indians up there were giving them trouble. Grandmother said when they passed through Malad Valley, it was just a big valley covered with sagebrush, tall waving grass, wild animals and Indians. Little did she ever think then, that someday this valley would be her home.
She said President Brigham Young was so kind and thoughtful. He was always checking to see if everyone was well, if the wagons were in good shape and if the horses were all right. Every night when they camped, the men would build a bon-fire and take care of the horses and the women fixed the evening meal. After everything was cleared away, President Young would preach the gospel to them, and then they would dance around the fire. They had a wonderful time. There was always such a good spirit with them. She said she knew that President Brigham Young was truly a Prophet of God.
After grandmother’s husband passed away she had a hard life. She was a young mother with five little children to care for. Her oldest son Verulam, helped her glean in the wheat fields after the farmers had cut their grain. She raised a little garden, but she had a hard time trying to support and feed her little family. Her baby was 1 year, three months old when Verulam died.
On one occasion, President Brigham Young called to see her in Willard. He was wearing a new pair of boots. After a few minutes, her son Verulam walked in the house wearing an old worn out pair of boots. They visited for a while, then President Young said, “Verulam, what size of boots do you wear?” Uncle Verl hesitated for a few minutes and then told him. President Brigham Young took off his new boots and said, “Verulam, try on these boots.” Uncle Verl looked at his mother and President Young and finally tried on the boots. “Well how do they fit?’ The Prophet asked. Uncle Verl replied, “Ah, they are a little bit.” “Could you wear them?” he asked. “Ah, I guess I could,” Uncle Verulam replied. President Brigham Young put on Uncle Verl’s old boots and walked out of the house.
When Grandmother lived with us she would tell us about Brigham Young, what a great man and prophet he was. She would say, “If you ever hear anyone say anything against him, don’t you believe it. Someday they will know he was a great prophet.” She loved and respected him very much.
Grandmother said, sometime after she was a widow, several men called to see her. At that time men were looking for a second, third, fourth or even fifth wife. One day, she said she saw this man coming again with a new broom in his hand. She immediately ran into her bedroom and crawled under her bed. The children invited him in and they looked and looked but could not find her, so the man left with his broom. She said, “the children didn’t know where I hid myself, and many hours I spent under that bed waiting for men to leave.”
Grandmother Dives and Grandfather Daniels’ families had been very dear friends. They often visited and ate with each other although Grandfather’s family lived in Brigham and Grandmother’s at Willard.
About a year later, Grandfather Daniels came to Grandmother’s home and said, “Janette, I think I can help you with your family and I know you can help me with mine. What do you think about us getting married?” Grandmother thought about it for a while and then decided perhaps it would work out. She knew it meant a lot of hard work and worry for her, but she wasn’t afraid of work.
They were married in January 1867, in Malad, Oneida Co., Idaho.
| Janette Maria | born 13 December 1868, Malad, Idaho | |
| Elva Daniels | born 12 February 1870, Malad, Idaho | |
| Catherine Daniels | born 22 February 1872, Malad, Idaho | died 31 March 1873 |
| Henry Daniels | born 17 August 1873, Malad, Idaho | |
| George Daniels | born 23 July 1875, Malad, Idaho | |
| Theodore Daniels -Twin | born 21 February 1877, Malad, Idaho | |
| Dora Daniels -Twin | born 21 February 1877, Malad, Idaho | Both twins died in 1878 |
| Anna Eliza Daniels | born 19 April 1880, Malad, Idaho |
There were now three families. His family, her family, and their family. Grandmother said the three families, which numbered seventeen living children, got along wonderfully well together.
The little log home wasn’t large enough now for his big family, so Grandfather built the white frame house which still stands across the street. They continued to use the log cabin and later built a small kitchen and porch joining it to the white house.
The girls helped with the household work. One week a girl helped with the cooking, another girl or two did the washing and ironing, and another cleaned the house, etc. They rotated their work and each girl had her turn in learning to do all the household chores. Sometimes the girls changed work with each other, but there was never any quarreling.
Aunt Ted ironed the clothes to perfection and some of the boys always wanted her to iron their white shirts.
Grandmother taught the girls to sew. They made their own dresses, hats and sometimes coats. Aunt Elva was a beautiful seamstress. She also made beautiful hats. Sometime after she was married she owned and operated a “Hat Shop” in Malad.
The boys helped Grandfather Daniels on the farm. They plowed and planted the grain, oats, alfalfa, and other crops and helped with the cattle and horses.
My Grandparents had a large orchard back or north of the house. They had all kinds of fruit trees: apple, cherry, apricot, peaches, pear, crab-apple trees, etc. There were long rows of raspberry bushes and a large patch of strawberries, also several bushes of dewberries, blackberries, etc. Their huge garden of all kinds of vegetables, watermelons, cantaloupes, etc. was located on the east of the house. I can remember when I was a little girl, going over to the orchard with my mother and picking apples, apricots, etc., and a large pan of strawberries. The strawberry patch was along the west side of the lot, along a ditch that was on the side of a long row of poplar trees. Those trees are still there but they have really grown to be big old trees. I don’t know if my Grandfather or Great Grandfather planted those trees.
Because of Grandfather’s large family, he with some of his oldest boys freighted to Montana. President Lorenzo Snow, of the L.D.S. Church came up here and told him and some of the other men that they shouldn’t freight up there. Grandfather said because of his large family, he had no choice. So he was excommunicated from the Church. (At that time people were excommunicated for the least little thing). When President Snow was here, my mother was a little baby only a few weeks old. He asked Grandmother what she was going to name her baby. Grandmother said they hadn’t decided. President Snow said, “I have a beautiful daughter named Anna Eliza, that is a lovely name. So Grandmother named my mother, Anna Eliza after President Snow’s daughter.
Later, Grandfather and his sons took up farms about fifteen or twenty miles west of Malad. The area was named after them and today it is still called Daniels.