Item Detail
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Olson, Myra Elizabeth Henrie
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1852-1936
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MSS SC 872
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Biography
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Myra Elizabeth Olson Henrie was born January 27, 1852 in Manti, Utah to Daniel Henrie and Amanda Bradley Henrie. Myra met John Olson in Moroni, Utah at a dance. She had come to Moroni to visit with her grandmother Betsy Bradley. Of their meeting Myra said, 'He looked at me and I looked at him, and it was love at first sight.' They were married December 12, 1870 in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City. They settled in a two-room log house in Duck Springs, which was on the northwest end of Moroni. Myra and John were the parents of 12 children: Amanda, John Henrie, Loretta, Daniel, Euphemia, Jerome, twins Edna and Ethel, Emerson, Effie, Jeff, and Ellis. They worked hard to establish their farm, and sold butter and other items to the people living in mining towns in Nevada. John was very involved in church and civic activities, and it sometimes seemed to Myra that he was never home with her and the children. When he was called to move to a settlement in Arizona, he could not settle all of his affairs in time and instead completely outfitted another man to take his place. He and Myra always felt sorry that he was not able to go. In 1882, John was called on a mission to Sweden. While he was gone, Myra was able to live frugally and raise money to support him and the children. He returned after two years. John died May 3, 1896 at age 51 after an extended illness caused by frostbite to his ear, leaving Myra with eight surviving children. Myra later adopted a neighbor girl, Anna Anderson, whose mother had died in childbirth. Anna was a comfort to Myra in her old age. Myra died on February 6, 1936 and was buried beside her husband in the Moroni City Cemetery.
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This collection contains several biographies written by Callie O. Morley. Myra is mentioned in her husband's 14-page biography, 'History of John Olson.' The biography focuses largely on John's life and his ancestors; however, Myra is mentioned beginning with her and John's first meeting. There is not any genealogical information on Myra in the biography. Rather, Morley records stories from Myra's life and gives the reader a sense of her personality. For example, when church leaders were promoting plural marriage, John asked Myra how she would feel about his taking another wife. Myra replied, no, that one wife ought to be enough for any man. Morley often begins her sentences with 'Myra remembered. . .' and then talks about an event or situation. Morley also describes in great detail how Myra and John set up their farm. Each fall, Myra fed the threshers and hired hands that came to help with the harvesting. Myra often delivered babies in the absence of 'Aunt Art,' the town midwife. She was known for her herbal home remedies and the canker medicine that her grandmother taught her to make. Myra and John both loved to dance and socialize. At community gatherings, the older children would tend the younger children while the parents danced and enjoyed themselves.
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1815-1851