Aurilla Jane Richardson Born: 15 November 1879, Woodland, Utah Married: Henry Watkins Smith- 20 September 1905, Salt Lake City, Utah Died: 1 August 1948, Pleasant Grove, Utah Buried: 4 August 1948, Pleasant Grove Cemetery, Pleasant Grove, Utah

The first of nine children born to John Wearmouth and Marie Dorothy Anderson Richardson, Aurilla Jane was born November 15, 1879 in Woodland, Summit County, Utah. Their home was located on the Provo River, fifteen miles from the head of the river. Aurilla’s father was born in England and emigrated to Utah, arriving in Salt Lake City September 20, 1864. Her mother was born in Salt Lake City, the daughter of Danish emigrant pioneers. Aurilla was blessed by Willit Harder on February 28, 1880.

The family lived in a two-room log cabin in the river bottoms. John worked at the sawmill in Provo Canyon, so he was away from home much of the time. Marie took care of the cows and most of the farm work. Aurilla was a great comfort to her while she was alone so much. On October 12, 1881, Nicholas was born to the family. Aurilla enjoyed this little brother. When she was four years old and “Nicky” two, she remembered tearing carpet rags with him. It was a very sad time for the family when little Nicky contracted pneumonia and died April 7, 1884. The ground was still covered with snow and the men pulled Marie, Aurilla, and the little casket on a sleigh to the Kamas Cemetery where the baby was buried. Another son, Gilbert Wearmouth, was born to the family April 27, 1884. On December 24, 1886, Ovey Albert was born.

When Aurilla was a baby, her mother carried her to town along with the butter to sell and returned with their groceries. As she grew older she helped her mother care for the milk, making butter, and making cheese. She learned to help make candles and card wool to make clothes and quilts. As she grew older, milking the cows became her job and she had to milk them whether her brothers did or not. She told of boyfriends coming to see her and having to wait for her to finish milking before she could get ready to go out with them. She disliked this job so much that when she had daughters of her own, she would not let them learn to milk cows.

Aurilla worked in the church organizations, sang in the choir, and participated in the dramatic productions. One evening when she was taking part in a play in which she was to be shot, she insisted that they check the gun before she went on stage. To show her that everything was alright, they pointed the gun at the ceiling and shot it. It was loaded and shot a hole in the ceiling. This made her very gun-shy the rest of her life and she would never have a gun in her home.

In about 1888, the Henry Smith family moved into Woodland, Utah, and Aurilla and their son Henry became very good friends. They went to school together and spent most of their Sundays together. Henry was such a scholar that Aurilla was often envious of him. He was always the last one standing in a spelling bee. Spelling was difficult for Aurilla and Henry often teased her about it. Aurilla didn’t enjoy reading very much, but Henry read everything he could find. The Smith family moved to Chester Idaho in 1897. In 1903, Henry left his home and went to Farnum to homestead 120 acres of land. He had always talked about going back to Francis to get his “sweetheart.” Two years after proving up on his ground, he went back to get Aurilla. They were married September 20, 1905, in the Salt Lake Temple.

They made their way immediately up to Idaho and began their life together. They lived in a home which they built themselves out of the few materials they had. It was a small home with a dirt floor and dirt roof and homemade furniture. Their first neighbors were the squirrels, for they found their way in and out of the house as they chose. They became so bad that they destroyed the crops. Because of this, most of the men in the area had to find work away from home. Henry was sometimes gone for two or three weeks at a time. The neighbors were four or five miles apart, so Aurilla was very lonesome. At first, she was very frightened to be alone and pushed furniture against the doors at night. She decided, though, that if this was to be their way of life, she must put aside her fear. She never again, throughout her life, even locked her doors.

On April 14, 1907, their first baby was born. He was named Archie Henry Smith. He and all their children were born in the little log cabin home. There were no doctors available. A neighbor lady came to help with the delivery. This little baby, so eagerly awaited for, lived only five months. He died September 20, 1907 and was buried on a little knoll on one of the dry farms nearby. This then became the cemetery for the small community. On May 16, 1908, another son, Lorin John, was born. He was a seemingly healthy baby and was the joy of their life. One day, when Aurilla was washing clothes, she heard a voice plainly say, “You can’t keep that baby.” She thought she must be imagining the voice because the baby was playing happily on the floor. Again she heard the voice and yet a third time. This warning only partly prepared her for the death of their beloved baby on March 22, 1909. Aurilla was devastated and for a time could not be comforted. She said that she could not even cry, but felt only a deep bitterness. Little Lorin was buried beside his brother Archie and again, the couple was alone.

George Clinton was born August 15, 1909. For a time, he was not very well and they feared their sorrow would be repeated again. He gained strength, however, and became a healthy child. Their first daughter, Avera Maria, was born March 2, 1912. Milton Claudious was born October 17, 1913. A second daughter, Lydia, was born August 5, 1915. All of the children were welcomed in the small log home.

Henry was called to be the bishop of the Farnum Ward in October, 1909. The ward was small, but scattered, so he was away from home often. A Diphtheria epidemic hit the community and all who contracted the disease died. It was Henry’s duty to bury those who had died. Aurilla feared that he would bring the disease back to his family, but Henry had such great faith that he felt, since he was doing the Lord’s work, he and his family would be protected. None of them contracted the disease. In 1918, the Influenza epidemic hit the little community with a vengeance. There was hardly a well person to take care of the sick. All of the Smith family except for Milton were very ill. He was only five years old, but he waited on the family until they were improved. He contracted the disease after the rest of the family recovered. World War I was declared in 1918. Many were sent off to serve their country. Aurilla’s brother Milton was called and died later as a result of an injury at Fort Lewis, Washington. Aurilla kept busy taking care of her family, working in the church, knitting stockings, and sewing for the soldiers.

Pictures of grandparents hung on the walls of their home. Every evening was family home evening. Stories were read from the few books in the home. They played “Rock” and “Flinch”, the popular card games of the time. The girls were taught to use a needle and thread for sewing. Aurilla loved to make quilts and continued to make them for herself and others all her life. She had a treadle Singer sewing machine which came on a freight train. They were told that it was at the station. They went to Ashton to get it. It was rusty and in bad condition, but they oiled it and fixed it up and Aurilla used it all her life. They never received a bill for it.

There were many blizzards in the winter in that northern Idaho area. One night, the family went to a party at the church. It began to snow, so Henry took the wheel base off the wagon and put sleigh runners on. They took hot rocks and quilts to keep warm. Before the evening activities were over, a blizzard started and no one was able to go home. The children were put to sleep on the benches, wrapped in the quilts that they had brought. The adults danced until they were tired, then visited through the night. When morning came, they felt that they could make it home. They started, but when they came to a gulch that was filled with snow, they missed the bridge and went down into the drifts. Henry unhitched the horses and let them loose to go home, making a trail in the snow to follow. They carried Lydia and Milton, and Clinton and Avera followed behind. When they arrived home, the children were put to bed to keep warm until they could get a fire built to warm the cold house. Milton’s fingers were badly frozen and were very sore for a long time.

Henry became ill following a sunstroke and was never able to do all of the farm work afterwards. Aurilla shouldered much of the responsibility. One day, while she was out working on the binder, there was an eclipse of the sun. The children became frightened and ran out to her. She took Lydia up on the machine with her to look at the eclipse. In 1920, the family decided to move back to Utah. Henry stayed in Salt Lake at his mother’s home to get medical help and Aurilla and the children went to Francis and stayed in two rooms of her mother’s house. Henry later joined them. Aurilla and the children worked as janitors at the church and at the school to make money to live on. They rented the Idaho farm and received a check each fall after the harvest. The children helped herd the cows and do the chores. During this time, Aunt Drusilla, Aurilla’s only other sister, died soon after the birth of her third child, Leland. Grandma and Aunt Veta went to Idaho and brought Lloyd and Leland back with them. Later, Carl, the oldest, also came to stay. These boys became an extension of the Smith family.

The boys took care of the farm and they all worked at harvesting fruit as well as working in the cannery. The children were able to buy their own clothes and pay their expenses at school, but there wasn’t a lot of spending money. They all learned to be very frugal and to appreciate whatever they had. One morning, Clinton made the fire before going out to milk the cow. When Aurilla got up, the roof was on fire. They didn’t have a chimney and the pipe had gotten too hot. She ran out and called for help. Soon, the neighbors were there in full force with their buckets, some even full of milk. By the time the fire department arrived, the fire was out. All of the furniture was saved and only a few dishes were broken.

Henry died September 30, 1929 in Provo, Utah at the hospital. His funeral was held on October 3 in the Windsor Chapel. He was buried in the Pleasant Grove Cemetery. The children completed their schooling at the Lindon Elementary School and the Pleasant Grove High School. Clinton tied for first honors. Avera was the Class Valedictorian. Milton was one of the three highest in his class and Lydia was on the honor roll. Avera began teaching at the Franklin School in the Provo District. Clinton went to work for the Utah Poultry Producers in Provo. Milton and Lydia worked in the fields while they finished High School. All used their money for the needs of the family. The family was always active in the church and attended regularly.

One day, the Bishop came to the house and told Aurilla that he wanted a missionary from her family. She asked which one he wanted. He said that Clinton was her breadwinner, Avera was almost finished with her school and could help financially, and Lydia was too young. So Milton was the choice. Aurilla agreed to let him go, even though he seemed very young. He was called to the Czechoslovakian Mission. It was necessary to have a certain amount of money to take with him as well as to pay for his transportation. Aurilla saved the money as she could and tucked it away in several hiding places. When it came time to get the travelers checks, she counted the money and was still twenty dollars short. She went to the dresser drawer for something and there lay a ten dollar bill. Where it came from, she never knew. When she took the money to the bank, the teller counted it and the full amount was there. She told him that she thought he had made a mistake, but he recounted and there was enough there. The Lord had provided because of her faith and prayers and willingness to sacrifice for the church. Milton filled a very honorable mission in Czechoslovakia among the last missionaries in that country. He stayed three years and the family always had the money he needed. Some people told Mother that she was very foolish to send a missionary when her economic position was such as it was. She never in her life shirked any church responsibility and was always blessed for her service.

During the time from 1929 to 1933, Aurilla had four operations. She had her tonsils removed and, shortly after, had a gall-stone attack. She was extremely ill and was rushed to the L.D.S. Hospital and had an emergency surgery. For five days she hovered between life and death. The doctors did not expect her to live, but a dedicated nurse and dear friend, Lucille Fowlke, worked with her all night, every night, and she pulled through. It was a trying time for the children as they insisted that they stay with her at the hospital. During the next few years, she had her goiter removed. It was toxic and had caused heart problems. Then she had a hernia operation. From then on, her health was very poor. Aurilla always had a desire to live until her children were grown and married in the temple. She was granted that desire and lived to see several grandchildren. Shortly after the three older children were married, Aurilla became very ill. It was found that she had diabetes. She also had a tumor removed from her uterus. The tumor was cancerous and she had several radium treatments, but was never cured. In April 1948, she awakened one morning and was unable to get out of bed. Avera took her to her home where she stayed for four months. She was never able to walk without help. Her family and many of her Relief Society and Ward friends visited her and helped in her care. She died quietly in her sleep Sunday afternoon, August 1, 1948. She had wanted to go home, so the children went out and cleaned her house so that the viewing could be held in the home she had loved so much. She was buried in the Pleasant Grove Cemetery beside her husband.

Aurilla lived a life of service to her family, her friends, her neighbors, and to her church. She worked hard all her life. Her family missed her, but felt that she had earned a rest and felt that there was a great reunion on the other side with her husband, parents, two little boys, and others who had preceded her in death.