Item Detail
-
Mitchell, Elizabeth Ann Blyth
-
1859-1919
-
MSS SC 794
-
Biography 1949
-
Elizabeth's father was John Law Blyth, an immigrant from Scotland. She was born in 1859, in Nevada, Nevada County, California. On April 25, 1878, she married Thomas Houston Mitchell. Thomas was the son of Benjamin Thomas Mitchell and his sixth wife Susannah Houston. Elizabeth and Thomas had seven children: Thomas Houston 'Howy,' Pearl Elizabeth, John LeRoy, Louie Christmas, Lila Margaret, Blythe Law, and Wallace Woodruff. Elizabeth died on April 13, 1919.
-
The history is twelve pages long and legibly handwritten except in a few places where the print has faded making it difficult to read. It was written by Elizabeth's daughter Pear M. Boyce and dated 1949. Elizabeth's parents had joined the LDS Church prior to her birth. In 1860, her family moved from California to Salt Lake City where Elizabeth grew up. Elizabeth received a good elementary education and, when old enough, attended the University of Deseret. During her youth Elizabeth was trained to be a seamstress and became a professional button hole maker. Elizabeth also worked at the cocoonery and silk factory. After her marriage she and her husband lived in the Salt Lake Third Ward. Because she had often eaten molasses as a sweetener during her childhood, she grew to hate the very thought of molasses and refused to even have it in her home. Elizabeth made wax fruit and wool or hair flowers to decorate her home. In 1885, Elizabeth and her family moved to Ashley Valley in Uintah County, Utah to establish a new community. They traveled in company with her brother-in-law and his family. In Ashley Valley, they set up a store and her husband became the postmaster. Elizabeth worked in the store in addition to her household duties. They later named the community Vernal. Elizabeth's eldest son Howy was killed in an accident with a horse. In 1891, Elizabeth separated from her husband, taking her children with her to live with her father in Salt Lake City. The following April, her father died. Elizabeth and her children then went to live with her mother on her mother's dairy farm in Taylorsville, Utah. Elizabeth's husband rejoined the family that fall. Elizabeth and her family then moved to Salt Lake City. In 1894 Elizabeth and her husband separated again. Elizabeth bought a farm in Granite where she raised her children. In 1903, she adopted and raised her sister's four orphaned children. The history contains some interesting insights into pioneer celebrations and amusements.
-
-