FATHERS DAY 2015

To the best father's in the world....A special tribute to my grandson's and new father's to be, Aaron and new, already father, Michael. All my wonderful father's that have been faithful in your lives, for the honor you show your priesthood, for the wonderful way you raise my grandchildren, the example you are to my daughters and granddaughters. To my own father and grandfather's, especially to my Father in heaven, for the blessings and love that is given to each of us, for restoring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the earth at this glorious time, for the privilege we have of being a part of this wonderful Gospel. To my special son's, you are choice in my life. Mikie Jr, Reggie, Lance, you stand above anyone, your faithfulness and example in leading your families in righteousness is a special thing to me. To my special grandson's, how wonderful you are, how blessed we are to have you in our family...Darren, Michael, Taz, Aaron, Ryan, Michael, Thank you for being the kind of person a grandmother can be proud to call her own. Nothing on this earth will ever equal being able to take your family as yours for eternity. Always stay true to the Gospel, do your duty's that you are called to do with a glad heart. I love you all with all my heart.

MOTHER'S DAY 2015

A special tribute this year is to my new mommy to be and my old mommy to be. Alex and Jenny, I hope and pray all the wonderful blessings in this world will be yours as you bring the precious children of Heavenly Father into this earthly life.
So many special mother's in my life bring insurmountable blessings to me, the special daughters and granddaughters that are mothers, each of you are special and the light of my life. Stay true to your temple covenants, live so that others know you are a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and that your proud of being allowed this privilege at this time of your mortal lives.
A special pray I leave to my 29 mothers and will be mothers in the future that are my granddaughters, May the Lord bless you in your everyday lives with love, patience, and understanding of those things He would have you do. Learn and teach how to return to Him so He can say to you "Well done, my true and faithful servants.
I love you all.

Kalena Kilfoyle-My beautiful granddaughter

Today, Oct 4th 2014 my granddaughter had the privilege of singing in General Conference in the afternoon session. She looked beautiful, and was close to our beloved Prophet. Her talents are numerous and she is the mother of 10 children.

A Tribute to all the WONDERFUL FATHER'S in my life-Father's Day 2014

In honor of the most wonderful Father of all, My loving Heavenly Father, for all the wonderful blessings my son's and grandson's are and for the love they give to my daughter's and granddaughter's. As each of you strive to live a worthy life and help to take your family back to live with Heavenly Father...you will be blessed.
My earthly father's starting with my grandfather's, Samuel Graff and John Dennett, who gave me precious memories, will live forever in my heart. My father,  I love him and hope to live with him again someday. My wonderful husband, the father to my children, I will always be grateful for, for providing us a good life, for being a man of honor and caring for others. To all the other wonderful father's that I love with all my heart...Reggie, Mikie, Lance, thank you for loving my daughter's. To the most wonderful and cutest bunch of father's in my life...my grandson's. Darren, Michael, Taz, Ryan, Michael, Tommy and Kyle. Thank you for giving me my 23 great grandchildren. To all my grandchildren that have come to our family in other ways, I love you. Bo, Paul, Mitchell, and one grandson in Georgia. Happy Father's Day. Thank you for my granddaughter's and your children. To grandchildren I do not know, I love you. You were brought into a loving family by your father who loves my daughter. May the Lord bless you always.
To my son's...continue to love your wives, cherish them, make their lives happy, Lead your families by the power of the priesthood, always be mindful of who we really belong to. The greatest happiness will be in living the gospel, stay strong and your family will follow.
Happy Father's Day to the one's I love most in the world...

MOTHER'S DAY 2014

Today is Mother's day and I have a lot of wonderful mother's in my life. My Grandmothers, Martha Jane Henderson Graff, Malinda Hepworth Dennett. I was privileged to know my Grandmother Malinda but Martha died 3 months before I was born but from all I have heard about her, she was a super woman. My own mother Indra Henderson Graff Dennett was the most amazing women and it was said about her that if there were Saints on this earth, she was one of them. The other wonderful and dear to my heart are my children and grandchildren that have the privileged of being mothers, Linda Lorena, Kathryn Diane, Andrea Jeanine and Anne Marie. Then comes my special girls, Kalena Marie, Kristen Michelle, Amanda Elizabeth, Nichole Leigh, Jennifer Diane, Cassie, and Carla Marie.
Great is the work you are doing in rearing families in this day of problems. As long as you are rearing your children in the Gospel of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, you need not fear the future. Your faith will help you along. Trust the Lord with all your hearts and feed on his words as they will ever be true. I love you all dearly.

Eleanor of Aquitaine (1122-1204) This is a grandmother on the Dennett side

Eleanor was a duchess and a queen successively of France and England. She was born near Bordeaux about 1122. She was the daughter of Duke Williams X of Aquitaine and Aenor (Eleanor) of Chatelleraut.
When Duke William died in 1137, Eleanor became the feudal ward of the dying King of France, Louis VI who sent his young son Louis to marry her.
Louis and Eleanor were known as the Duke and Duchess of Aquitaine at Poitiers and then they returned to Northern France as the new King Louis VIII and Queen.
Louis loved his wife passionately even though the marriage was for the great principality of Aquitaine under royal control.
In 1147, after the birth of their first child, named Marie, they left France on a second crusade. Louis and Eleanor had their second daughter, Alix, after which they agreed to a divorce. A French ecclesiastical granted the divorce on March 21 1152 (note the year of the divorce)
Eleanor moved to Poitiers where in mid-may, she married young Henry Plantagenet (Our Grandfather), Duke of Normandy and Count of Anjou, to whom she was almost as closely related as she was to Louis.
In 1153, a son was born and only lived a short while. Henry was in England fighting for the English crown to which he had a claim through his mother. A few months after Henry and Eleanor were crowned King and Queen of England, in December 1154, they had a second son, Henry.
During the years Eleanor traveled between the domains of England, Normandy, Anjou and Aquitaine she gave birth to the following children: Matilda 1156, Richard 1157, Geoffrey 1158, Eleanor 1161, Joan 1165, and John 1167.
In 1168 Eleanor ruled in Aquitaine where she directed the affairs of her son Richard, who was the Duke of Aquitaine.
In 1173 Eleanor and her sons rebelled against her husband Henry II Henry captured and imprisoned Eleanor and put down the uprising without difficulty. Eleanor was imprisoned ten years and then her husband allowed her to go out in public when it served his policies. She was kept under close surveillance until Henry died in 1189. Her son Richard became King and ordered his mother released. At this time Eleanor was in her late sixty's.
In 1190 Eleanor took a princess with her to Sicily to marry her son Richard. After Richard was captured on his return from Syria, Eleanor raised the money to pay the ransom demanded by the emperor of Germany.
John, who had conspired to overthrow Richard, was brought to terms through Eleanor's mediation. In 1194 Eleanor retired to the convent of Fontevrault, near Poitiers. Richards death in 1199 brought Eleanor back to support John against her grandson Arthur, In 1200 she journeyed to Castile to arrange the marriage of a granddaughter to the heir of France, as part of a treaty between John and the French King Phillip II.
In her own day and in the centuries to follow, legend pictured Eleanor as a figure of romance, passionate, jealous, seductive and inconstant. These stories may or may not be true but when Eleanor was close to eighty yeas old, she showed that she could still play an active part in political affairs, a woman of determination and remarkable vitality, she had survived two husbands and all but two of her children. She died at or near Fontevrult, March 31 (or April 1) 1204.

Ceawlin...Grandfather-Note Date 593- Dennett side)

Ceawlin was the King of West Saxons, or Wessex, from 560 to 592, who drove the Britons from most of southern England and carved out a kingdom in the southern Midlands.

Ceawlin helped his father, King Cynric, defeat the Britons at Beranbyrg (Barbury) in 556. In 586, eight years after he assumed the West Saxon kingship, Ceawlin and his brother Cuta severly defeated King Aethelberht I of Kent.

Ceawlin's victory over the Britons at Deorham (Dyrham) in 577 led to the capture of Gloucester, Cirencester, and Bath, The valley of the lower Severn River was thereby opened to West Saxon colonists, and the Britons of Wales were cut off from their kinsman on England's southwestern peninsula.

Nevertheless, a king named Ceol seized at least part of Ceawlin's lands in 591. After being defeated by Ceol at Woddesbeorg (or Wodnesbeorg; now Adam's grave in Wiltshire) in 592 included him in his list of seven successive rulers who were overlords (bretwaldas) of all the lands south of the Humber.

FUNNY ANTIDOTES FROM AN OLD TIMER (A.J.Hansen- many greats grandfather-Dennett side)

A.J. Hansen (a grandfather) stated that the coldest night he ever spent sleeping on the East Fork between his two wives. One was in Tropic and the other in Panguitch.

The name Tropic was suggested by A.J. Hansen. On the East Fork about two miles distant, the climate was about like the Klondike but within the town fruits such as peaches and grapes could  be raised.

Wilford H. Halladay, who had served time for killing a man, jokingly said he guessed he would have to shoot someone to start the new cemetery. His son was the first person buried there.

A Tropic resident working near the rim of Bryce Canyon, was asked by a tourist who had been looking east and saw Tropic in the distance and the bare surroundings, "What can you ever grow in a place like that?" The Tropic resident replied, Wormy apples and kids."

One old-timer said "I saw a coyote walk across a flood in the Paria". Another answered, "He's right, I was watching the flood a quarter of a mile down stream and saw the tracks."

Claude Sudweeks was talking to Ruby Syrett, telling him he should see Bryce. Ruby asked, "What is it?" Claude replied, "Oh, just a hole in the ground, but you should see it."

In 1889 A.J. Hansen purchased the Bryce Canyon water from John Hatch, who had bought Bryce's holdings. It was purchased for $350.00 secured by a note payable any time before Resurrection Day.

Verdell Denntt- (Written by him) My Dad

I was born the 8th of April to John Fabin  and Malinda Hepworth Dennett in Springdale, Washington County, Utah.
I attended Springdale School eight years before joining the CCC at Zion, where I was sent to Bryce Canyon Camp in the summer of 1935. While stationed at Bryce I met Indra Henderson Graff, daughter of Samuel T. and Martha Jane Henderson Graff, who were living in Cannonville, Utah. Indra and I were married the 19th of October, 1935.
Indra and I are parents of eight children, all born in Cannonville, except Kenna Lou and Wenda Marie, who were born in Panguitch, Utah. Their names are as follows: Ardell, Janet, Martha Jane, Linda Carol, Kathryn, Stewart Kent, Kenna Lou and Wenda Marie.
Indra died the 14th of January 1956. On September 28, 1957 I married Rose Drollinger in the Saint George Temple.
(Part left out about Rose, by me)I live alone on a small farm, just outside and North of Cannonville, where I raise cows, horses, sheep, goats, pigs, turkeys, chickens, geese and guinea hens. I also raise alfalfa, wheat, a large garden and many varieties of fruit trees and berries. I am now 81 years old and I keep young and healthy by taking care of my small farm, and I enjoy visits from my children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Richard Stout-Dennett Side) 9th great grandfather to me

Richard Stout was born in 1604, (other account says 1615) In Nottinghamshire, England, he was the son of John Stout.
Richard ran away from home,  because his father was unhappy about a relationship he had with a woman below his standing. Richard joined or was impressed into the British Navy where he served for seven years. At New Amsterdam (now New York City area) he left his ship and through bearing arms became a Netherlands subject.
In 1643 Richard owned a plantation that covered a large section of New (East) Jersey. Richard married Penelope Van Princess in 1644, in Gravesend, New Jersey. At the time of his marriage he was about 40 years old and Penelope was 22. They left New Amsterdam in 1645 and took up their home at Gravesend, Long Island, New York, and became prominent land holders. Their  final change was in moving to New Jersey with other settlers and who together founded the village of Middletown. They became important citizens.
In the early days after their move to Middletown, Richard became one of the purchasers of the Monmouth Tract of land embraced between the Raritan and Sandy Point. Richard and Penelope had 10 children, seven boys and three girls. 
At the time of their move to Middletown area, there were six families theirs included. They became rich in prosperity and children. Alice, John, Richard, James, Mary, Peter (Our line), Sarah Elizabeth, Jonathan, David, Benjamin.
Penelope's last name was Kent but she married a man names Van Princess. Parents to Richard Stout are John (born, 1580- Nottingham) and Elizabeth Bee (born 1590- London). One record shows Richard as being born in Sherwood Forest...that should interest those of you who have learned about Robin Hood.
Richard died on 23 Oct 1705 in Perth Amboy, New Jersey.

Malcolm II King of Scotland-a grandfather-Graff Side

Malcolm II was born B.C. 954. He was the King of Scotland from 1005 to 1034, the first to reign over an extent of land roughly corresponding to much of modern Scotland.
Malcolm succeeded to the throne after killing his predecessor, Kenneth III, and allegedly secured his territory by defeating a Northumbrian army at the Battle of Carham (c. 1016), he not only confirmed the Scottish hold over the land between the rivers Forth and Tweed but also secured Strathclyde about the same time.
Eager to secure the royal succession for his daughter's son Duncan, he tried to eliminate possible rival claimants; but Macbeth, with royal connections to both Kenneth II and Kenneth III, survived to challenge the succession.
Some children of Malcolm II are Edgar, Alexander I, David I.  Malcolm died 25 Nov. 1034.

Children and Grandchildren

My dearest children and grandchildren...you have been given the privilege of being members of the ONLY true gospel upon the face of the earth-The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This gospel has given you the rights to all blessings the Lord has promised to everyone that has or ever will live upon the earth. You are blessed with a living Prophet who leads you in all righteousness and numbers of righteous and wonderful people to lead you every moment of everyday. You have the privilege of having wonderful leaders in your homes and with all the love you have in you, you are given the blessing of having the most wonderful children in the world. Each of you need to hold strong to the Gospel of Jesus Christ as it is the only truth and safety on the earth. Hold close those you love most and be the best mom's, dad's and children you can be, be an example to all those around you by being kind and loving to those you meet in your daily walks of life. Listen closely to the words of the Prophet, Thomas S. Monson, (He is the Prophet for all the earth, not just the members of the Church), teach your families the importance of heeding his words as they are always right, he can never lead you astray. The lord and his Son, Jesus Christ loves you far and beyond more than you will ever know here on the earth, hang tight to the Gospel, let it be your life line as it has always been mine. I love you all more than you know, but the Lord loves you more because he let you be born into a family of members of this great and wonderful Church. You have a large family of ancestors that joined this wonderful Church as soon as it was re-established here upon the earth in the 1830's. Love it, live it, cling to it, that is the only way to true happiness.  I love you

Plantagenet...Dynasty...Grandparents

The Dynasty which ruled England from 1154 to 1485 includes the Angevin kings (Henry II to Richard II), the Lancastrian kings (Henry IV, V, and VII and the Yorkist kings Edward IV,V, and Richard III). The name "Plantagenet" was originally the nickname of Count Geoffrey of Anjou (1113-1151) who wore a spray of bloom (in French "Plante genet") in his cap while hunting.
Geoffrey married the widow Empress Matilda, daughter of Henry I of England and their son Henry II became England's king at the death of King Stephen in 1154.
Two of the sons of Henry II and his queen, the fiery Eleanor of Aquitaine, succeeded him in turn.
The elder, Richard I, (1189-1199) was a poet and the musician as well as king. Richard was known as the "The Lion Heart." The younger brother was John. (1199-1216)

Henry II King of England (A grandfather) (Dennett Side)

Henry II, King of England, was born at LeMans, Normandy, March 5, 1133. The son of Count Geoffrey Plantagent of Anjou and Matilda, daughter of Henry I of England.
He was to young to play any part in his mother's unsuccessful war with her cousin Stephen for the English crown.
In 1150, Henry became Duke of Normandy and, on his father's death in 1151, Count of Anjou.
In 1152, he married Eleanor of Aquitaine and so acquired the duchy of Aquitaine.
When Henry became King of England, at Stephen's death in 1154, he ruled over one of the most extensive realms in western Europe, and in 1171 he was accepted as Lord of Ireland.
The early years of his reign he spent in bringing order out of the chaos of Stephen's misrule, in re-establishing the royal power, and in recovering the northern English countries from the Scots.
Henry's later years were largely taken up with the squabbles of his four sons, Henry, Richard, Geoffrey and John, over power in France.
His greatest achievement were the drawing up of laws and the organizing of courts to administer them; by this means he reduced the power of the barons and kept stern and efficient order.
Possessed of amazing vigor, of a violent temper not always under control, of a passion for hunting, and of a real love for learning, he gave England peace and more justice than the country had previously known.
Broken by the attacks of his sons, he died on July 6, 1189, at Chinon, France.

Robert Henryson (Henrisen) Lord Burgess (Henderson Side) Grandfather

Robert Henderson, (Herryson, Henrisen, Henryson) a Scottish poet, Born in Edinburgh, flourished during the last half of the fifteenth century. He was born about 1430, he married Jonet or Janet, about 1449, she was born about 1415, they had 3 children. John, James (Our Grandfather) and George. No dates in his life have been established , but there is plausible evidence that he was a schoolmaster in Dunfermline. His poetry shows that he was a searching critic of his times, and in his identification of himself with the poor, he was virtually unique in an age during which authors devoted themselves to the imitation of foreign models of an allegorical nature.
Henryson, as he was known, is best known as the author of the first English pastoral, "Robene and Makyne," and the composer of a sequel to Geoffrey Chaucer's "Troilus and Criseyde," entitled "The Testiment of Cresseid."  His best piece, and nevertheless, is probably his excellent version of "The Moral Fables of Aesop."
Henryson is generally  credited with the authorship of a third long poem, "Orpheus and Eurydice, " and thirteen shorter poems. In modern times, his reputation has grown steadily. He died about 1486 in Inverkeithing, (I think that is Scotland altho his son James was born in England.)

I wonder if you might be able to find some of his work in your public libraries. I found something once in the Library in Martinsville Ind.

Henry 1, King of England (1068-1135) Dennett Side

Henry 1 was the son of William the Conqueror, he was born at Selby, Yorkshire, England. His education was considered so excellent that he was nicknamed Beauclec.
He received on his fathers death L5,000, but no land, and kept in a position of inferiority by his elder brothers, Robert of Normandy and William Rufus of England.
On the latter's death in 1100, Robert being absent, Henry seized the royal treasury, and the nobles chose him as king. He at once issured a charter of liberties of great importance, conciliating his English subjects in order to gain their support in his struggles with the Norman nobles, whose power he steadily opposed. This charter later served as the basis for the Magna Carta.
In 1106 he defeated Robert at Tinchebrai, France, captured and imprisoned him, and took possession of Normandy. Robert remained in prison until his death in 1134.
In England Henry ruled well, though sternly: it was characteristic of his love of money that the Royal Exchequer was organized during his reign.
In 1100 he married the Anglo-Scottish Princess Edith, renamed Matilda, but he had many mistresses and illegitimate children.
Matilda died in 1118, and three years later Henry married Adelaide, daughter of Godfrey, Count of Louvian.
He was devoted to hunting, a sound soldier, and master of astute and often dishonest diplomacy. He died near Gisors, France, 1 Dec. 1135.

Duke William the Conqueror...A Granfather-Dennett Side

Duke William was born in Normandy about 1028, and was the son of Robert 1, Duke of Normandy, and Herleve, a girl of Falaise of uncertain parentage. He married Mathilda, daughter of Count Baldwin V of Flanders.
Although illegitimate, he was nevertheless a direct descendant of Rolf the Viking and had a good claim to the throne. His claim was all the stronger when his father went on a pilgrimage in 1034 and died on the return trip, making William duke in 1035 at the age of 7. Before leaving, Robert brought forward William and had him recognized as his heir.
Upon  hearing of  Robert's death, a number of notables, including the Archbishop of Rouen (who was Roberts brother), moved to protect and defend the young boy. His minority was a period of grim disorder. Several of those close to William were assassinated. His tutor took to sleeping in the same room with the boy in order to protect him. A number of times William had to flee in the night and hide out in peasent cottages.
When William was 18 he became duke officially, with no tutor or regent. This led  immediately to a rebellion as the barons sought to test their new lord's strength. He crushed the rebellion and firmly established himself as being of age and in charge.
William returned to Normandy after Salisbury, for he was at war with the King of France again. He fell ill and was taken to a monastery at Saint-Gervais, where he died on Sept. 9, 1087.
After William's death, all the great lords, including his son William Rufus, hurried back to their estates to better guard them, leaving the body of William to be guarded by lesser attendants, The chronicler Orderic Vitalis says, "Observing that their masters had disappeared, they laid hands on the arms, the plate, the linin, and the royal furniture, and hastened away, leaving the corpse almost naked on the floor of the cell". Williams body was then brought to Caen. The funeral procession was interrupted when a fire broke out in the town. Those carrying the coffin put it down to go and fight the fire, then returned when the fire was out and continued the procession.
The procession finally arrived at the abbey church. A lovely service was held. The eulogies were disrupted, however, when Ascelin, a local man, rose to protest that he was the owner of the ground in which the king was to be buried. He complained that he had not been paid and loudly demanded his rights. Someone came and settled him down, paid him, and the services resumed.
As the body was being placed in the stone coffin, the attendants accidentally broke one of the limbs, releasing such a foul stench that the priests had to hurry the services to an undignified close. The Cathedral quickly emptied.
Williams memorial was beautiful, at least. Chroniclers tell us this, In 1562, Calvinists (Huguenots) completely ruined it, looting the tomb. The body disappeared at this time. Eighty years later, a new monument was built, likewise beautiful. In it was re-buried what was left of William; a thigh bone that a priest claimed had been rescued from the Calvinist sack.
The new monument was destroyed in its turn during the revolutionary riots of 1793. Today, William has only a stone slab to commerorate him. Local tradition asserts that the thigh bone is still under the slab.

Cannonville

Serving as the gateway to Kodachrome Basin State Park, Cannonville is located in the upper Paria Valley at almost 6,000 feet. The first group to use the land for grazing livestock was in 1874 when 2 people arrived to establish homes in the vicinity of where Henrieville Creek empties into the Paria. The following year other settlers came to the area. The residents called the town Clifton (Cliff Town) because of the view of the pink cliffs and other rock formations.The uncertain water supply made it difficult for the early settlers to survive. During July and August 1877 water came down the stream bed only at night in the upper Paria Valley. The people scooped the water from small pools into barrels for the next days use. They hauled water from the Bryce Spring also.
In 1877 the residents still in Clifton decided to relocate their town site about 1.5 miles upstream. Settlers dismantled their homes (basically ten log cabins) and their school/meetinghouse and reassembled them at the new location.They named the new community Cannonville after LDS apostle George Q. Cannon. Some have said that the town should have been called "Gunshot" because it was to small for a cannon.
The following families, Littlefield, Bliss, Bryce, Thompson, Brigham, Orson, Samuel, Packer, Spencer, William Jasper Henderson Sr, Ingram, Dickson, Clayton, Mecham and Laramie were living in Cannonville.
Altho the new town site proved more promising than the first site, the pioneers still faced obstacles over and above those normally associated with establishing settlements in Virgin Territory's. After the drought conditions they had previously known, the water they were able to bring from the Paria River was plentiful but the soil in the upper  valley washed out easily.
It would be a decade before the residents of Cannonville would have a more dependable water supply.
A rumored gold rush within Cannonville's first two years presented residents with another challenge. Prospector's came to the region in large numbers and an early winter caught them unprepared and they were without food. The Church instituted a program to which the residents contributed from their already meager stores. William Jasper Henderson Sr. seen the need for a store. He built a one room structure of sawed logs from the saw mill Joel Hills Johnson had established in Hillsdale and used stone for the foundation. He made pine shakes for the roof. After completing his store, he drove a wagon pulled by four-horse team to Parowan for supplies. The journey took 8 days to complete. Without banks nearby, William formed his own coins from a set of dies he owned. (I have one of these coins I found when I moved here)When residents could build their permanent houses they used limestone and sand for their mortar by burning the plentiful limestone in adobe kilns the settlers had a ready supply of lime for the mixture. The early settlers made their own nails from hard wire or square metal bar stock. They also used wooden pegs and dowels to hold the buildings together. The key to survival in Cannonville was self-sufficiency.In addition to dances, the settlers amused themselves with horse racing, horse shoe pitching, and marbles. Some settlers would go to Seaton's still located down river in one of the canyons where Seaton had built a dugout. He grew hops, barley, corn and rye for his beer.
Clifton became a branch of the Panguitch Ward in 1876, with Jonathan T. Packer as branch president. The following year, Cannonville Ward was organized and Packer served as its first bishop. Henrieville, Tropic and Georgetown became branches of the Cannonville ward.
When Drucilla Johnson married William Jasper Henderson and set up housekeeping in Cannonville, summer days dictated that she rise very early and went to the fields to plant corn, potatoes, or whatever else was necessary. 11 o'clock brought her back home to prepare the noon meal, after which she again returned to the fields. At night she stayed home to catch up on household duties.
Life in Cannonville was not easy but the people mustered the energy to do what had to be done and still find time to enjoy themselves.

Town of "JOHNSON" in Kane County, Utah

Johnson was settled in the spring of 1871 by four brothers, Joel Hills, Joseph Ellis, Benjamin Franklin, and William Derby. The town is situated Northeast of Kanab, Kane County, in a canyon bordered on both sides by sand bluffs. A short distance below the settlement, the canyon opens out into the broad desert which bordered on the south by Buckskin Mountains (Kanab). Joel Hills Johnson writes in his journal: "On January 23, (Grammys birth date) 1871, I was in the home of President Brigham Young in Saint George. About that time the President suggested to us that the Johnson family have what was called Spring Canyon Ranch twelve miles north of Kanab, for a stock ranch and for all the family who wished to settle there and requested us to go and look at it, which we agreed to do as soon as we conveniently could".
"On January 23, 1871, I started for home and arrived late in the evening having previously made arrangements to meet my brothers and some others at Virgin City on our way out to look at Spring Canyon Ranch, near Kanab, agreeable to the request of President Young. We accordingly went out and found a beautiful canyon half a mile wide and several ,miles long covered with grass. With small springs coming out at the foot of bluffs on each side and a small beautiful stream running from the mouth of the canyon, with plenty of building rock, fence timber, and fire wood, and plenty of excellent grass for meadow and stock range extending for miles around.
We were highly pleased with the place and concluded to accept the President's offer. Therefore we made arrangements for some of us to move there in the spring and start a c0-operative association for herding stock and dairy  purposes.
In March, Joel moved his wife, Susan, and their two boys Joel and Almon to Johnson. His brother William moved his family while brother Joseph sent out three young men. His two boys Nephi and Sixtus moved part of their families. Then with the tools, grain and seeds of every kind for gardening, they went to work. They planted trees, vineyards, and built cabins. Others began plowing and planting gardens.
In October word came from Kanab that the Navajos were going to make a raid and the Johnson's moved to Kanab. The Navajos came, but only for a friendly visit, so the people moved back to Johnson, found water had dried up and they became discouraged; hence, they decided to go to raising stock. Later they began digging out the springs and found they had plenty of water. The land became very productive, other families began moving in and Johnson became a town. A brick schoolhouse was built which was used for church as well as social gatherings. From the time of the settlement until August 7, 1877, Sixtus Ellis Johnson, son of Joel, presided over the branch. Then he was made bishop, succeeded in 1879 by William Derby Johnson.
By June 1901 only a few families remained in Johnson. At the present time, (1959) only a few ranches are scattered through the canyon.

Martha Jane Stratton (Great-Great Grandmother, Johnson side)

Martha Jane Stratton was born March 20, 1848, to Anthony and Martha Jane Layne Johnson. Her parents were crossing the Plains when Martha was an infant. After they arrived in Utah, they located in Provo for three years before they got the call to go to Southern Utah to help settle the area. They went first to Cedar City and build up that area then they located in a small town called Virgin City.
The settlers would grow cane and grind the seeds for flour to make bread. In 1858, while the Stratton's lived in Virgin City, Martha became acquainted with Seth Johnson. She was a very faithful church worker and attended all her meetings every Sunday. Martha had a mild, quiet, patient disposition. She was the type that would make a good wife and mother and these were the virtues that attracted Seth and he tried to get Martha to be his 2nd wife. In 1865 Martha decided to marry Seth and they were sealed in the Endowment House.
Seth's 1st wife Lydia loved Martha because Martha was so kind to her and the children. Martha never complained about the hardships the family went through while living in Hillsdale. In 1886 Martha and her family moved over the mountain east of Hillsdale and located in a spot 3 miles south of Cannonville. It was during this time that the U.S. Marshall's were hunting men who had plural wives. It became necessary for Martha to hide and keep out of their reach. She had lived in many out of the way places under adverse conditions. She was in almost constant fear of being caught and taken to prison, this lasted for several years.
After Martha's 11th child was born in 1890, she had a very heavy load caring for her children, yet she was able to find time to care for the sick and to help others.
Seth called her an "unselfish, self-sacrificing woman." At times when food was scarce, she had been known to take only a piece of dry bread and drink water and save the rest of the food for the family. She was so tender-hearted that she could not be content if she knew of someone in trouble or stress.
Her motto, "Let's speak of all, the best we can."
Martha treated Lydia's children as her own. She made clothes for all the children. She would tell the children stories in the evenings. She kept the family united and she always knew how to make ends meet.
Martha had 12 children and numerous grandchildren. On the day of Martha's funeral, as they lowered her body into the grave, it was a warm day with not a cloud in the sky, a rainbow arched over her grave.
The Stake President stepped forward and said, "This is a sign of a most righteous woman who has lived her live with other folks in mind." Martha died 13 October, 1910 and is buried in Shelly Idaho.

 (I wish we could all be as kind and loving to others as grandma was, what a great tribute the Stake President gave her)