Item Detail
-
Duke, Christina Lindsay
-
1873-1963
-
MSS 989
-
Autobiography
-
Christina Lindsay Duke was born March 5, 1873 to James Lindsay and Agnes Watson Lindsay in Heber, Wasatch, Utah. She was born in a one-room log cabin with her grandmother Clegg serving as her mother's midwife. Soon after Christina was born, the family moved into a new home with her Watson grandparents nearby. Later, they moved into a home Christina's father built in Heber. On Christina's sixth birthday, they moved to Cedar Creek by horse-drawn wagon. There, the four children in the family slept together in a straw-tick bed on the top floor of the home. After this time six more children were born into the family, and Christina attended school. At age 14, Christina went to live with her Watson grandparents. They were quite ill, and Christina's grandfather was blind, so she did all the chores herself. While living there, Christina met Jonathan (Dick) Murdock Duke. They were married on July 24, 1891 in City Creek. The new couple lived with Dick's mother for a time, and Christina gave birth to their first child, Minnie. Dick worked from early morning to nine or ten at night, and Christina began cleaning wealthy people's homes for extra money. When Dick became ill with inflammatory rheumatism, Christina started cooking for wedding receptions and banquets. They moved into a new home on March 3, 1899, where Christina raised their six children: Minnie, Vic, Harold, Carl, Jean, and Maybell. Christina began selling wallpaper for the Western Wall Paper Company, and continued to do so for the next 40 years. In 1919, Christina bought the Duncan Hotel. After several months of being in business, she sold the hotel for a profit and used the money to pay back some loans. Then she ran a bakery for three and a half years. She sold the bakery to Walter Seiter, but he was called on a mission and asked her to continue running the bakery. Six weeks after she took over, the Depression hit and she had to take out extensive loans to save the bakery. When Walter finally returned, he took the bakery and the loans over. However, Christina's family was still left with financial difficulties. They ran a small cafe with rooms in the back for boarders, and after a long time, all their loans were paid off. Christina began to buy and sell homes, making money to help support her family. Then, Dick became very ill, and was in bed for a month. The doctor diagnosed him with a bad heart, but Dick began to feel better. As soon as he began to feel well, he began losing his mind. Five years later Dick was walking back from Aunt Mag's home, and apparently got lost. He was missing for eight days, from October 4th through the 12th, until their son Carl found his body. Christina broke her arm right before the funeral, making the whole situation more miserable; she missed her husband very much. Christina died on May 30, 1963 and was buried in the Heber Cemetery.
-
Christina's autobiography is a 35-page handwritten document written in a spiral bound notebook. The autobiography is legible, but is in fragile condition: several pages are coming out. Christina records many events in her life but does not include very many feelings or thoughts on these events. She does recall that when she was young she liked to skate on a frozen pond with her friends. One day while they were skating, Christina was pushed over by a young boy, Dick Duke. She was very angry, but within the next few years they became sweethearts, and courted for three and a half years before they married. Christina loved to dance, and would stay out until three in the morning dancing with her friends. Once, her father would not allow her to go to a party in Heber for the 4th of July until she had picked two and a half acres of peas. She worked hard for three days and finally finished in time for the party. When she was young, Christina loved to climb trees, play ball, and dress up to entertain others. Christina worked hard her whole life to support herself and her family, and she spends much of the autobiography relating the different jobs she held. When Dick asked her to marry him, she worked in Park City so she could buy herself a wedding dress. Christina experienced a great deal of sadness in her life, especially during the flu epidemics in her area. So many people died that there were multiple funerals held daily. Christina sat up with the sick, cared for them night and day, and helped prepare the bodies of the dead. She was so tired some nights that she would cry, but still helped those she could. At the end of the autobiography Christina says she is very proud of her large family. Her children raised their families of their own, held good jobs, and were happy and good people.
-
1868-1869