One of the very earliest men to come to Arbon Valley was my grandfather. David M. Daniels, who settled in the valley in March of 1885. As a cattleman and rancher, he sought an area that would be conducive to ranching, and in the northern end of the valley near the present reservation boundary, he found such an area.
After getting established, he filed for water rights on West Fork and Bannock Creek on March 9th and March 15th, 1889. He implanted a copy of his water claim on a stake about three-fourths of a mile above the forks of the main and west fork of Bannock Creek. The old ranch as it was called by the family, was bordered on the north by the Fort Hall Indian Reservation, and on the west Fork and Bannock Creek. After his homestead was established, the deed was filed in Washington, D.C. and signed by President William McKinley. His wife, Gertrude Dives Daniels, later homesteaded 316 acres on June 12, 1908 with President Theodore Roosevelt signing the deed.
David M. Daniels was born March 26, 1859 at Brigham City, Utah Territory to Thomaas and Mary Davis Daniels. His father moved later to Malad and was among the first families to settle in the Malaad Valley in the 1860’s. After moving to Malad, he became a widower with 5 children and knew he needed a home for his family. A short time later he met and married Janette Thomas Dives who herself had been stricken with tragedy by losing her husband and having 6 children. With the marriage of Thomas Daniels and Janette Thomas Dives, a family of 13 sat at the first breakfast table.
The new large family lived in a large 2 room house with a dirt roof in Malad. There was also a large granary close by with bins and beds on top where the boys slept at night. The girls slept with straw ticks on the floor of the house, and during the day the beds were rolled up neatly. The family was a happy one, where each member had their job to do and all were taught to work and enjoy it at the same time, which sometimes was no double difficult to do.
The children of Thomas Daniels were: David, Daniel, Thomas, Sarah and Mary Jane. Janette Dives’ children were Verleem, Sarah, Joseph, Gertrude, John, and William. To the union of Thomas and Janette Dives Daniels more children were born and they were Janette, Elva, Catherine, Henry, George, Annie, and twins Theodore and Dora. The twins and Catherine died when they were young, but the other members of the family lived to adulthood.
(pictures of the residence of David M. Daniels, Malad and a picture of David M. Daniels and son-in-law Bert Eliason.)
Two of Thomas Daniels’ children from his previous marriage later married two of Janette Dives’ children from her previous marriage. They were my grandparents, David M. Daniels and Gertrude Dives and the others were Thomas Daniels and Sarah Dives. Later this became a joke to the family that 2 brothers married 2 sisters. One sister Mary Jane later married William H. Jones, and they were the parents of boys named Ralph and T.D. Jones who became attorneys in Pocatello. Another sister also became the mother of the wife of Dr. Fred Ray of Pocatello.
(Picture of Henry and Lizzie Daniels, John and Martha Daniels Elva Reese, Catherine Daniels, George Daniels and Ted Jones)
Grandpa Dave and Grandma Gertrude had 8 children; Walter Daniels, David Daniels, Eli Daniels, LaMar Daniels, Mrs. Bert (Anna) Eliason, Mrs. John (Mary) Tuttle, Mrs. J. Clark (Jeanette) Sellars, and Mrs. Willie (Mabel) Buchanan., My Aunt Mabel, (Mrs. Willis Buchanan) of San Marino, California is the only surviving child of this family today.
After Grandpa was established, his brother George Daniels homesteaded up West Fork, and then later moved to Daniels which is a settlement near Malad. Another brother, Donam or John Daniels and his wife Martha lived up in West Fork but later moved to Boise. Henry Daniels and his wife Lizzie also homesteaded up in West Fork, and then later moved to Long Beach, California. Thomas Daniels homesteaded in the Pauline area and it today is the Sod Williams ranch. His wife Sarah, filed a homestead below the Pauline store across the creek, and their two sons, Raymond and Theodore, homesteaded later in the Crystal area. Also there were Earl Daniels, Thomas Daniels, and William Daniels who lived in the West Fork area.
It seems hard to imagine that the vast expanse of sagebrush which now exists in the old ranch area was once so full of life and activity. Huge fields were all around with posts and barbed wires nailed tightly and neatly to the posts. A long log cabin with 3 rooms was on the ranch. One room was extremely long, with the second one smaller, and the third one being quite small. It was used as a bedroom. Later a lumber room was added to the back of the cabin, and a small distance away was a bunkhouse where the many hired men stayed.
The higher elevated west side of the ranch raised wheat and the level east side was all in alfalfa hay. It was all so pretty and green during the growing season with an abundance of water that came from Bannock Creek which had beautiful green willows along the banks. The water for culinary use was obtained from a big spring near the ranch house.
A number of hired hands stayed on the ranch working hard loading hay racks and using a fork to build hay stacks. Cattle were everywhere, as well as horses, pigs, chickens, and even a few wandering coyotes. With all of this activity there at one time, it is so hard to imagine that today as one gazes on the land that once was called the old ranch.
The family stayed on the old ranch during the summer months, and then moved to Malad during the winter months so that the children could receive an education. They also owned a very nice home in Malad which was a center of activity during the long winter months.
In 1895, the Dave and Tom Daniels families, along with the Bolingbrokes and Lusks attended the Meadow Ward Church which was centrally located in the valley for so many families. All enjoyed the fellowship they received from the congregation.
One day on the ranch there appeared a little old Frenchman seeking work. He was hired on the spot when it was learned he was a carpenter, as so much building was needed on the ranch. His name was Alec Nault, and he later built a house for himself across the road from the old ranch. He lived alone in Arbon, and then later moved to Pocatellos during his elderly years.
My father, Eli Daniels, worked for a few years with Grandpa Daniels. He married Lilly Bishoff of Arbon in 1913, and they had 3 children. They are Arlo Daniels of Pocatello, Mrs. Eph (Zella) Bolingbroke of Arbon, and Richard E. Daniels (now deceased) of Pocatello. My mother had a lot of work to do, especially cooking for the hired men. The ranch was sort of a halfway house since so many transient workers were on the ranch from time to time. A very nice young Indian lady, named Annie Elk, used to help my mother with the children when they were young. We all liked her very much and have many fond memories of her. One day while my mother was caring for her children, she heard someone making noise in the kitchen and looked to see a young woman searching through things for food. After receiving some, she left and my mother felt relieved.
When I was a small girl, around 3 years old, I used to roam around on the ranch with two young pups, and I can remember to this day running through a large herd of wild horses in the corral, but fortunately none of them harmed me and needless to say my mother was so relieved to get me unharmed.
We spent a winter or two on the Dennison place which is now in the river bottoms under the waters of the American Falls Dam. It was a meadow land area that had frogs everywhere around in the spring until the water went down. The winters were quite mild on this place, and my father and others helped feed the cattle that wintered on this place. L.L. Evans also ran cattle on these bottom lands, and became very good friends of Grandpa Daniels. Dave Lusk and John Bolingbroke, as young men, worked for my Grandpa and L.L. Evans in caring for their cattle.
The house on the Dennison place was lumber and everyone had to be on guard as a pack rat would constantly carry off things from the place. I remember when I was around 4 years old how Grandpa and I had a little pet mouse that used to come out of a knot hole and eat cheese that we had left for him. He would quickly eat the cheese, and then dart back into his hole, and as a result received the name Speedy. Of course, there was never any contact with him, and to a child it was quite a thrill to watch him move so rapidly.
My father homesteaded up in West Fork, and built a nice lumber house, but we only lived in it for a short time, when it burned up from a fire one night. After a few years, we moved to Pocatello where I and my brothers went to school.
I can remember how the old ranch was a scene of much visiting by neighbors, and how many people had many nice dinners. Many of the people went to the dances taking their children with them. It was enjoyed by all who attended these gatherings.
Grandpa Daniels enjoyed his cattle ranching greatly, and built a very large herd. He later leased government land near Fort Hall where he could keep many of the cattle, and then he had other herds up near Soda Springs. One year he shipped a large number to Omaha, Nebraska, and made a lot of money.
After a number of years, he sold his place in Arbon, and moved to Pocatello where he bought a home on South 6th Avenue. He and Judge Stanrod of Pocatello went into partnership and built the Yellowstone Hotel, and later Grandpa invested in several other property holdings, in Pocatello.
Grandpa and Grandma Daniels later moved during the winter months to California and both lived long enough to celebrate their 66th Wedding Anniversary, which is quite rare today. Grandma died before Grandpa at the age of 83, and Grandpa then stayed with his daughters, Mabel and Jeanette, in California until his death at the age of 93. He never had been seriously ill or in a hospital during his entire life. People who knew him well noticed his great sense of humor and keen memory that he had until he died.
The life of my Grandpa and Grandma Daniels is thoroughly involved in the history of Arbon Valley, and they were considered among the very earliest pioneers of the area.
Written by Zella Daniels Bolingbroke