Item Detail
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Hunter, Salome Smith
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1901-1976
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MSS SC 1101
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Life History
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Salome Smith Hunter was born October 11, 1901 in Glendale, Kane, Utah to Jacob Nephi Smith and Margarett Ellen Carpenter. Salome's parents bought her grandparents' home where Salome was born and spent her first 13 years. Salome was the oldest of 8 children and assumed much responsibility for her younger siblings. Her mother always had a small baby or was expecting another which left Salome to tend babies and help the hired girls with other chores. Salome wrote about her childhood memories of the home and farm in great detail. She learned to milk a cow before she was 10 years old, loved their many fruit trees, planted corn and potatoes with her father, and enjoyed many other experiences. The family moved to Cedar City in 1915 just before Salome's 14th birthday. After Salome graduated in 1920, she went to work at the Cedar Sheep Association, a multi-purpose store. She was married to Lamont (Mont) Williams Hunter, who worked for her father, on December 14, 1921 in the Salt Lake Temple. Shortly after their marriage they moved to Cedar City where Salome gave birth to their first daughter, Maria, on October 11, 1922. Maria only lived for 16 months when she was suddenly struck with pneumonia and died very quickly. Salome's family was directly affected by WWII during the years of 1941-1946. Mont was sent to California and Oklahoma with the National Guard where Salome followed him until they moved back to Cedar City. Their oldest son, Bayne, was drafted into the navy and spent three years in the war on the battleship New Mexico. He was in Okinawa and many other battle sites, and he received a purple heart. Later, in 1955, Salome and her family moved from Cedar City to Salt Lake City where most of [their] pleasant and happy memories [were].' Salome was involved in family history and blessed the lives of her family through this work. Mont and Salome were the parents of 5 children. Salome passed away October 26, 1976.
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Salome's 7 page typed biography is located in the Lamoureux Family Papers. Salome was most likely included in the collection because of her great-grandmother, Deborah Lamoureux. Salome's biography is descriptive and delightful, full of details about her childhood. She remembered names of teachers from her two room school house in Glendale, and her larger schools in Cedar City. She described herself as a tomboy sort, and was found playing tricks on her teachers more than once. In the 5th grade, she wrote a poem about her teacher, a 74 year old man, and passed it around for her classmates to read. He caught her, read the poem out loud, and sat her at his desk for the remainder of the day. Salome recorded faith promoting experiences from her childhood which helped her develop knowledge of a loving Heavenly Father and the power of faithful prayer. Her father became very ill after his appendix burst, and was told he would not live. The Elders administered to him, Salome's faithful mother wouldn't give up, and although the recovery was long and hard, he became well again. Salome wrote of her childhood on the farm in great detail, and her love of that sweet time is evident throughout her record. She loved to visit her Grandmother and Grandfather Carpenter's home and wrote of the long treks through very deep snow and mud to the school house. Salome wrote of her teenage life in Cedar City and the hay rides and other activities in which she was involved. Salome also recorded some of the trips she took in her later life with her husband and family to Alaska, California, and all around Utah. Salome's biography is cheerful and descriptive. Frontier Utah, Genealogy
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1845-1896