Item Detail
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Fillerup, Moneta Johnson
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1882-
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MSS SC 545
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Autobiography
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Moneta Johnson Fillerup was born 29 January 1882 in Kanab, Kane, Utah, to William Derby and Charlesetta Prescott (Cram) Johnson, who were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In 1885 her family was called by the LDS Church to settle in Colonia Diaz, Mexico. There her father was sustained as first bishop. Moneta had various callings in the Church while growing up. She learned to play the organ when she was ten years old and had the calling as organist for many years. Charles Richard Fillerup received a mission call to serve as principal of Colonia Diaz Academy, the local school, in 1896. There he taught Moneta and soon thereafter began courting her. They married on 1 June 1898 in the Salt Lake Temple. After the new couple married they went on a two-month honeymoon to Oregon and California; her father went with them. Over a ten year period, the Fillerups had several children while Charles continued teaching at the Academy. In 1910 the Mexican Revolution began, which started to cause problems for the Saints in Mexico. Things got so bad that the people in the colony had five hours to pack all their belongings and then traveled all day to cross the border into the United States by night fall. They successfully crossed the border but were sad when they found out in 1912 that Colonia Diaz was entirely destroyed; many thought they would be returning. Moneta, her husband, and children settled in Arizona; there they had more children, making a total of thirteen. Charles became the County Agricultural Agent for Apache and Navajo Counties in Arizona, a job he had until his death in 1936. Charles died unexpectedly of a cerebral hemorrhage, which devastated Moneta. Moneta moved several times after her husband's death, staying mostly in different areas of Arizona. Her family continued to expand as each of her children married and had children. Her children and grandchildren kept her going and she frequently visited them.
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This manuscript is fifty pages long, copied from the original. There are three pages of copied photos, which appear faint. She includes a lengthy list of her descendants and also talks briefly about her ancestors, including a pedigree chart. She mentions the closeness of her family and their move to settle in Mexico. Throughout her autobiography she repeatedly implies the important role the LDS Church played in her life and in the life of her family. She always spent time with family (immediate and extended) and emphasizes through the entire manuscript when the family would celebrate birthdays and holidays with large family parties, particularly when they lived in Mexico. At the beginning of the manuscript Moneta begins by calling her husband Papa. This is confusing at first because one may think she is referring to her father. Moneta writes much about her early years living with her family and the first years of her marriage, giving many details, particularly about family gatherings. She lists when and who her children marry and notes the birth of each of her grandchildren. At the end of the autobiography, she tells various faith promoting stories that she wants her descendants to be aware of and gives her testimony for posterity as well.
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1858-