Original by Amy Alice West Heiner

Thomas Charles and his father got work in 1868 at Promontory Point digging and hauling fill dirt for a Mr. Brighton. Mr. Brighton would not pay Thomas Charles enough for such hard work so he went to work for a John Sharp driving mules on a dump truck on the same project at Promontory Point. He received good pay for this work. It was dangerous work and among a rough class of men. When the job was finished he and his father went to work for Brigham Young. They did all kinds of odd jobs such as gardening, orchard work, harvesting in the fields, etc. When President Young obtained a contract to furnish lumber for ties for a street car company, they worked up City Creek cutting, hauling lumber out of the canyon. They also worked on the Tabernacle and Assembly Hall. In their spare time they worked on their own home which they were building on a piece of land Charles Henry had purchased in the Tenth Ward, hauling rock and sand for the foundation, setting out fruit trees and berry bushes, and etc.

Thomas Charles, now working for the Gibson Lumber Company, took his pay in lumber for the new home. His next job was with George Chandler, a Salt Lake butcher. On this job he was kicked by a mule and severely injured. The doctor gave little hope for his recovery. Through faith, prayer, administration of the Priesthood and his mother’s excellent nursing care, he soon recovered and was able to resume his work. During this time he met Margaret Eliza Felt, loved her and wanted to marry her. In 1873 his father gave him part of his building lot on which he built a two room adobe house. He learned the plastering trade and became very good at it.

Margaret Eliza Felt, (Maggie as she was called) was the third child of Nathaniel Henry Felt and Eliza Ann Preston. She was born in St. Louis Missouri, 6 October 1849. She weighed only three pounds at birth and was a very delicate baby. Her father, Nathaniel Henry Felt, was born 6 February 1816 at Salem, Essex County, Massachusetts, the son of Nathaniel Felt and Hannah Reeves. He was a draper and tailor of Salem, Mass. Eliza Ann Preston was the daughter of Joseph and Rebecca (Peele) Preston and was born 10 November 1820 in Salem, Essex, Mass.

Nathaniel had three wives: Eliza Ann Preston, mother of Joseph Henry, Nathaniel Preston, Margaret Ann, John Gillingham, Albert William, George Francis, Ada Augusta, Mary Alice, Charles Brigham and Annette Rebecca: Sarah Strange, mother of James Strange, Edward Hunter, Mary Ida and Eliza Ann; Mary Louisa Pile, mother of David Pile, Nathaniel Henry and Mary Dell.

The two families of Eliza Ann and Sarah lived in the same house. Margaret Eliza, being the oldest daughter, had plenty of work to do. She tended the babies and younger children. She dug segos with her companions on Capitol Hill. (She was intimate with the families of Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, J. C. Little and other members of the 17th and 18th wards where she spent her childhood.) She attended school and was outstanding in singing, grammar and spelling.

Her home life was a happy one. She honored her parents and loved her brothers and sisters. Her father made a comfortable living so she did not have to go away from home to work as so many young girls of those days. Her work was at home where she learned to be a good housekeeper, homemaker, to sew, to knit and to tat which was one of the fancy work arts she liked best.

She also enjoyed the games of childhood as played at that time; Jacks played with rocks, hopscotch, run sheep run, steal sticks, King William was King James Son, etc. She participated in dances and parties at the social hall. She grew up with Salt Lake City and witnessed the building of the familiar land marks, Tabernacle, Temple, ZCMI store, Eagle Gate, Lion House, Salt Lake Theatre, Tithing Yard Square etc. She had several offers of marriage but none suited her until she met Thomas West.

Thomas Charles West and Margaret Eliza Felt were married in the Salt Lake Endowment House 10 November 1874 in the presence of their parents.

They started housekeeping in the two room adobe house built by Thomas Charles on the part of the building lot given him by his father. In 1875 they moved to Round Valley, Morgan County Utah to live in a small log house on a farm that Nathaniel Felt had purchased from a Mr. Cooper. None of Nathaniel's boys cared to farm. It joined the farm of Bishop Edward W. Hunter Presiding Bishop of the Church. It was some distance from any neighbors and three miles from Morgan. It was hard for Margaret to leave the city, her family, friends, and close neighbors to live in such a lonely place.

The families who lived in Round Valley then were Edward Hunter, Andrew Black, Neils Nielson, O.B. Anderson, later a bishop, Evan Richards and Arthur Brewer. Round Valley became part of the North Morgan Ward when it was organized in 1877.

The farm was divided by the tracks of the Union Pacific Railroad (1868-1869) A large spring was on the upper end but their land was too high to use it for irrigation so they used it for drinking and household purposes. It was used by other settlers for household and irrigation purposes. Thomas Charles made a pond of the spring and planted fish; later he made another pond for boating. The watercress grew very profuse in the ponds during the summer. The County Road, (later it became the highway) ran close to the house and travelers would stop to get a cold drink of water. Bands of Indians would go by, some stopped. It would frighten Margaret, but they were always friendly and occasionally they asked for biscuits or something else to eat. Tramps from the railroad pestered her for food also. She never turned them away and always fed them when she could. They often asked what they could to earn some food and she had them chop wood to cook with.

Thomas Charles fenced his land, built a barn, chicken coop, granary, vegetable cellar, etc. He planted an orchard of apples, pears, plums, raspberries, red English currants and gooseberries. He had several colonies of bees, a small herd of sheep and other necessary farm animals of that time. He was a handy man, able to do most anything he set out to do. He even made some of their furniture. (A chest of drawers that he made out of dry goods boxes was still in use in 1960.) When farm work was not pressing he worked at his plastering trade. He plastered most of the houses around Morgan from 1875-1985. He also plastered in Summit County as far a Peoa and Oakley. Before the advent of wallpaper he would white wash for customers. He was a good workman and guaranteed his work. Occasionally when he was away on these jobs Margaret spent the time in Salt Lake City. She went to the Temple often to do work for her kindred dead.

On 5 December 1875 their first child, Thomas George, was born in Salt Lake City. (About the same time Annie Neville, Thomas Charles' sister, had her first baby, also a boy. She and Margaret dressed them alike for a while, as they lived close to each other at the time.) On 16 October 1877 their second child, Charles Henry, was born in the little log house in Round Valley. On 12 October 1878 Albert William was born in Salt Lake City as was Eliza Ann on 1 July 1880. Three more children were born to them in the log house: Frank LeRoy, 3 May 1882, Louie Mary Etta, 31 August 1884 and Amy Alice, 13 May 1886.

In the fall of 1886 a severe epidemic of diphtheria broke out. All of the children came down with the dreaded disease except six-month old Amy Alice. Dr. Wadsworth quarantined the family and everyone was afraid to come near them except their neighbor, Arthur Brewer. He would come as far as the gate with their food and supplies. Albert William died on his eighth birthday. Four days later Louie Mary Etta passed away, two years and two months old. Thomas Charles and Margaret had to prepare their children for burial themselves and he had to make the coffins. They had a short graveside service with no one allowed to come and comfort them. This was a trying and sorrowful time for them.

A short time after this, Thomas Charles built a frame house connecting it to the granary and vegetable cellar he had built earlier. It had three rooms. Two children were born in the new home, Alonzo David, 20 December 1887 and their last child, a boy, 10 January 1890. They gave him the maiden names of both his grandmothers, Preston Dangerfield.

They had a near tragedy shortly after the birth of Preston. One of Margaret's brothers was a shoe salesman and canvassed the country with horse and buggy in the summer when the roads were in good condition. At other times they would bring the horses to the farm for Thomas Charles to care for and to use as he wished. This time Thomas hitched the horses up to the white topped buggy to take Margaret and baby Preston to visit the Brewer family who had moved up the canyon to the (R. R.) tunnels , where Mr. Brewer was a watchman. They invited a neighbor, Ann Richards, to go with them. On the way back the horses became frightened and being high-spirited, started running for some distance over narrow-rough roads and around curves, Thomas Charles held onto the reins with all his strength until his muscles ached, pulling and tugging to stop them, but to no avail. They ran into a big rock and the buggy came to an abrupt stop then the tugs broke and the horses ran on nearly to Morgan before stopping. The women were shaken up, bruised and badly frightened but no one was hurt. Thomas Charles' arms were sore for weeks.

About 1896 Thomas Charles drew up plans for a two story brick house. With the three older boys helping, he laid the foundation, put in rafters and joists, made adobes for the lining, etc. He bought the brick from Bishop Charles Turner of South Morgan and hired a good friend, Brigham Robinson of North Morgan, to lay the brick. He over worked during this time building the new home, along with all the other work required of him. In his run-down condition he contracted typhoid fever. Dr. C. F. Osgood from the East and newly out of training with the help of Lucy Baker, a graduate nurse, attended him. Margaret did all in her power to help him. The fever subsided, but complications set in and the doctor had to perform surgery. He died on the 25th of June 1898 at the age of forty-five. His funeral was held in the Morgan Stake House. The building was filled with relatives and friends.

Thomas Charles was active in civil and Church affairs. He was influential in getting a grade school in Round Valley for the twenty-five students living there at that time. He was appointed School Trustee and hired the teachers.

He was also active in helping to get a Sunday School organized. He acted as Superintendent, teacher and music director. He was choir leader in the North Morgan Ward and would ride a horse or walk the railroad tracks if his horses were too tired from a day of farm work to attend rehearsal of the choir, or one of the musical programs or operettas he organized and presented. Often the choir members did not show up but he was patient and never gave up.

Anna Smith Dickson, organist at that time, said years later that it was through his efforts that the Ward got it's first organ. He also got an organ for his family the winter before he died by trading a cow to Nephi Hardy for it. He hauled the cow down in the sleigh and brought the organ back.

He was a stake missionary and held many positions. His children attended their meetings regularly too. Margaret saw to this by always having their clothes in order and getting them ready to go, even though she seldom went herself.

Thomas Charles was humorous and witty and was usually the life of the party in the games and entertainment. In those days they had parties and dances in the homes. He was a good singer and liked to sing humorous songs as well as the sacred ones. He teased Margaret by singing,

"By and by there won't be room for Father,

By and by a half-dozen more

Father'll have to sleep in the floor"

Other favorites were "Old Dan Tucker", "Hard Times Come Again No More", "Keep Your Courage Up and Your Spirit Alive", "Miss Cooper's Boarding House". He had a trick game he liked to play at parties if someone new was present, it was called. "Brother I'm Bobbed".

He was handy and helpful when any of the children or farm animals got hurt, knowing what to do and never getting excited, like Margaret did. He enjoyed having friends and relatives visit the farm for an evening or for a few days. One year when the family reunion was held there he made a whirlygig and a teeter-totter for the young children, and a horizontal bar and boat for the older ones. He could knit stockings and piece quilts. He pieced almost enough blocks for an entire quilt his last winter. He had cobblers tools and kept his family's shoes in repair. He was never idle. He was strict in discipline but kind and loving in correcting the wrongdoings of the children.

Margaret stayed on at the farm for a year or two. The older boys were able to do the farm work. Then she rented the farm to the oldest boy, Thomas George, and moved to Morgan so that the younger children could attend school. The school and Sunday School in Round Valley had been closed down. When the cement plant was first completed near Croydon she moved there so that Frank LeRoy and Preston, who were working there, could board at home. She also took in other boarders. She moved back to Morgan in 1909 and took in schoolteachers to board.

By this time Thomas George (George), Eliza Arm (Lida), Alonzo David (Lonnie or Al), Charles Henry and Frank LeRoy (Roy) were married. She sold the farm to George. In 1910 she sent Preston on a mission to Australia. She was busy in the Presidency of the Relief Society of the North Morgan Ward, working with Jane Heiner and Louisa Grover. She had served as a visiting teacher for several years, driving around to the homes with a horse and buggy.

After Amy was married in 1913 Margaret gave up housekeeping and made her home with Amy, taking turns visiting with the other members of her family as she felt like doing. She lived twenty-nine years a widow. She had many friends and all who knew her loved her for her many virtues and pleasing personality.

A Few of the many clever sayings she would use in her jovial conversations: "Once bit, twice shy", "Never rob Peter to Pay Paul", "Where ignorance is bliss it is folly to be wise" "What the eye doesn't see the heart doesn't grieve"; "What can't be helped must be endured", "If you don't at first succeed try, try again", "Where there is a will there is a way", "Stand firm for what you know to be right", "A stitch in time saves nine", and many others.

She passed away peacefully in her 78th year at the home of Amy, 12 January 1927. Her funeral was held in the North Morgan Ward Chapel under the direction of Bishop E. E. Anderson. She was buried beside Thomas Charles and their two children, Albert William and Louie Mary Etta, in the North Morgan Cemetery.

Clarification: None of Nathaniel’s boys cared to farm, so they stayed in Salt Lake City.