Autobiography  

This short autobiography of Mary Ann Nicholas Hansen was transcribed from a tape made just a few weeks before her death in October 1974. 

I was born in Elkhorn, Idaho, a little place in the mountains. It’s a very beautiful place with streams of water and lots of alfalfa fields and lots of wild roses and all kinds of vegetation. 

We had a little red school house about two blocks from where I lived. All the grades were together in one room. We just had one building. We had an old-fashioned school bell that was rung at noon and at recess. We had many happy times. It was up on a hill and in the winter time we had a big sled and we would slide down the hill. 

In the spring, we girls picked the crocuses and wild flowers. 

We had very choice teachers. Most of them were from the east–none of them were LDS. In this little community where I was born there were very few LDS people. But they used to have what they called Literary Night. It was similar to our Family Home Evenings. The people would show their talents. My mother used to recite very beautifully. I remember her reciting “Little Brown Jug.” 

I think my first school teacher was raised in New York. She was one of the choicest ladies. She had very poor health but was a real teacher. She played and sang a lot on the organ. We had a little tiny organ–very small. She sang hymns too. 

Then at Christmas time we had a beautiful Christmas tree–a family Christmas tree. That was a great event. It was decorated so beautifully. The only thing was the children had to stay home while the grown-ups prepared for Santa Claus. We couldn’t understand why they went and we couldn’t. But it was because Santa Claus was coming. The first Christmas I remember when Santa Claus came in I was so frightened. I got some nice gifts, a beautiful doll and rocking chair. My brother got a beautiful rocking horse. 

My mother’s name was Margaret Evans, of Welsh descent. She was born in Wales. Her mother came over here with five children, for the Gospel’s sake, without her husband. Two of the children couldn’t walk. She had two sisters that came ahead of her and they helped her take care of the children when she went out and did washing. People didn’t have much money in those days. They paid her in cheese, meat etc. Once while coming home, some wild deer took after her. She was carrying a piece of meat on her head (this was a popular way of carrying things) and when the deer charged toward her, they must have smelled the blood from the meat because they turned away from her and left her alone. She felt the meat had saved her life. 

She finally persuaded her husband to come here and they settled in Malad, Idaho. His name was Benjamin Evans. He joined the church but was a very happy-go-lucky man and was never very active, but my grandmother was. She had ten children and raised them all in the church. When he came here, they had practically no money. They walked barefoot from Cartage (Portage?), Utah, to Malad, Idaho. They settled on a little farm and lived in a cave, dug out of a hill for the first year or two. In the years to come, they dug wells, about 21 flowing wells and as the years progressed, they became quite well to do. 

My mother was a member of the church but my father never was. I was a member but not baptized until I was 17. My mother married a man out of the church. His father came across the plains and he and Brigham Young had a misunderstanding and that kept four generations out of the church. There is only me and one nephew that are members from my father’s side of the family. It shows what a little contention can do.  

When I was thirteen, I went to live with an aunt. She was a member of the Reorganized Church but did not influence me. We did go to their Sunday School. The minister spoke against Brigham Young and his wives. My mother was very upset and said many times she regretted not getting up and walking out but she never went back again. 

My grandmother on my father’s side never left the church. Her name was Mary Ann Nicholas. Even though her husband became inactive (he never actually was cut off from the church–just became inactive), he really supported his family and left them a wonderful heritage. But it did have its effect on the family–it’s surprising like today it’s there and you can’t move it. 

Then I started going to school in Malad and met a Mormon girl from Murray, Idaho, a town close to Malad. We became very close friends. We had boyfriends and some were Presbyterians. I had two enjoyable years at the Presbyterian Church, going to Sunday School and Christian Endeavor. One Easter I asked Sarah to go with me to the Presbyterian Easter Service. By this time my brother and I were sharing an apartment and Sarah was living with her grandmother who was a very devout Mormon. When she asked her grandmother, she flew into a rage and loving Sister Jones as I did, I told her it didn’t matter, I would just as soon go with Sarah to the Mormon Church for Easter.  

At that time the Ward wasn’t built and they had a small Branch. We went there and there was a missionary and he gave quite a testimony. He had been to Japan. This impressed me and I thought about it. When Spring Conference came, there was an Apostle named Martin, I think, and he just captured me–he was a dynamic speaker and to this day I am a Mormon. I was baptized. 

When I was about sixteen, I met a boy from Hyrum, Utah, and of course they were devout Mormons. He helped influence me too, I think. I talked kiddingly about the Presbyterians. He told me to keep going to Sunday School and keep going with Sarah. He knew Sarah was a good influence. I finally married him! His name was Edgar John Hansen. We were married in the Logan Temple. 

We had six children. The oldest died at birth and I raised five. I’ve also raised two grandchildren. My oldest son was killed when he was 26 and his wife died when the little boy was only thirteen months old. He has been my boy ever since. I have 26 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren. 

I’ve been in Los Angeles for 33 years. My boys were all great athletes. My grandson’s father was a great football player. After he finished college, he wouldn’t play pro-ball because they played on Sunday. He really lived his religion. He went up to Edmonton with one of his friends to play rugby–it was a very rough game but they didn’t play on Sunday–and made fabulous money. He came down to get his little boy and my two daughters. Neva was going to teach school and my youngest daughter was going to keep house for him. That was the year his wife died. They had an accident and were all hurt very badly and his oldest boy was killed.  

Later he was killed in a mountain climbing accident. I never allowed myself to grieve too much because he and his wife were so happy. I’ve been so grateful to my Heavenly Father for letting me raise his boy. My husband died quite early in his life and so I pretty much raised my family myself. I’ve enjoyed my family. I never remarried. 

My other boys were baseball players–played on big teams until they got married. My sons are really active in the church, both of them. One of them is in Orem, Utah. They have a big family of eight children and the other son is in LaMirada. They have five children.  

When I left Los Angeles, I went to Ontario. Dennis and I spent eight years there. We built a lovely home. I boarded college students and missionaries. That was a very happy time of my life. Then my son left for Utah and we felt it best that Dennis go up there and live with them. It would be a good family life. He lived with them for a couple of years. I moved there for a year but I liked California better and when my daughter became ill, I felt she needed me so I returned to be with her and have been here ever since.