Eliza Ann Barnes Wilding #2

[Two days were spent trying to sort through many records and get them organized because I was getting frustrated going back many times trying to find histories in many, many books!! Mission accomplished! Low and behold I ran onto a history Eliza Ann Barnes wrote of herself in the middle of a Barnes History. It's a very delightful addition to the other information already posted on her. Enjoy!!]

Eliza Ann Barnes Wilding born 21 August 1890 at Downey, Bannock Co., Idaho (Woodland Ward) went to school in District 12 of Bannock So. from the first through the eighth grade which was as much schooling as I got. I went to tend babies for people when I was seven years old and as I got old enough to help with the work I helped the same people at heading and threshing time. At first sometimes they would give me 25 cents a week and sometimes 50 cents and when I got to be a little more help I got $1.00 and so on until I got $4.00 a week before I got married. I also worked in the telephone office at Downey - it wasn't like the telephone offices now. It was just a little witch board not more than 18 inches square. And I worked in the store of Wm A. Hyde & Co. which was a store that had all the goods needed in a community - from groceries to horse shoes, and all the clerks worked in all departments. We would sell groceries, bacon, butter etc. then dress goods - silks etc. or hardware or anything called for and there wasn't even a place to wash our hands from the time we left home until we got back. But we enjoyed the work and the company of the good people we worked with. Some of them were Geo. T. Hyde, John S. Hyde, Swen J. Johnson and Fred Bowers and the wives of these men would come in and we all enjoyed the work very much. Then I worked at the hotel in Downey several times when they needed extra help. The hotel was owned and operated by Mr. & Mrs. Wm Lawrenson. I liked that work but didn't do any work I liked so well as the store. My first boy friend was when I was 15 years old, he was an Englishman with black hair and my mother liked black hair so he was alright but he went away and I quit writing to him and she didn't like that. But I got a date to go to a dance with another fellow and mother said I couldn't go he was no good and I hated to fool him when he came so I asked her why he was not good she said "well his father owed your father eleven dollars and never paid it and he is dead now he never will get it. I didn't like that and she got disgusted with me and said go and stay I don't care if you never come back. So I went but I told him not to come back because mother didn't want me to go with home, so he said "well I'll come up to Downey to the next dance and if you can you come too and we will meet there." So that is what we did then he went away and we wrote to each other and he took me home from a dance once when he happened to be there and I got my last letter from him the day I got my diamond ring from the man I married. He also married a good girl and has a family and so have I.


I married Joseph A. Wilding on October 19, 1909 at Pocatello, Idaho and went to the Salt Lake Temple November 10, 1909. We went to Salt Lake to live that winter but was only there two months and that was enough town life for me so we came back and stayed with my folks part of the time and with Joe's brother Heber part of the time and in April we moved into our own house on his homestead. We only had the house partly built, we had part of the floor down, it was a two room house but we didn't have any lining or petition in it and no doors nor windows and I had material to make my first baby clothes so I tacked some on the windows and we hung a wagon cover up to the door and lived that way until we could get it finished. We lived there nine years but it was not a good dry farm and we had no water for it so we moved to Rexburg on the 11 November 1918. We lived there until spring then bought a place at Archer and lived there one year, then sold that and went back to Rexburg. We moved from there to Milo Idaho on March 7, 1921. We bought the place by the Milo Church known as the Bybee place and we found out we couldn't make out on it so we rented it for a while then we moved on to Parley J. Davis' place and rented there for a few years and did pretty good there then Mr. Davis got a new renter and we bought the Al White place and are still living here and trying to keep up our payments. We have had 10 children. (listed in Joseph Abraham Wilding history)

[The pictures above were taken of Joseph Abraham and Eliza Ann in 1909 the year they got married. Joseph age 33 and Eliza Ann age 19.]

Eliza Ann Barnes Wilding - 1890-1957

Eliza Ann Barnes was born 21 August 1890 at Downey, Woodland Ward, Bannock, Idaho. December of 1916 she described herself with blue eyes, brown hair, height 5 ft. 3 inches, weight 120 lbs., chest 38. Vocation housework.

A written history of her was not left but found where she wrote: "Was operated on for tumor and had the appendix removed 19 Feb 1929 at the LDS Hospital and had left breast amputated 1 Aug 1938 with Dr. H. Ray Hatch for both operations. I had my right breast amputated 7 June 1951 at the LDS Hospital in Idaho Falls, Idaho by same doctor.

She did leave a listing called:

Personal Record of Eliza Ann Barnes Wilding

Name in full - Eliza Ann Barnes Wilding

Father's name: John James Barnes; Mother's name: Hannah Eliza Douglass

Born: 21 August 1890 at Downey, Woodland Ward, Bannock County, Idaho

Blessed 30 January 1992 by John Gooch

Baptized - 5 May 1899 by Bishop Henry H. Wakley at Downey, Woodland Ward, Bannock County, Idaho. Confirmed - 5 May 1899 by William W. Woodland

Married - 19 Oct 1909 to Joseph Abraham Wilding by Stake Pres. William A. Hyde at Pocatello, Pocatello Stake, Bannock, Idaho

Patriarchal Blessing - 10 November 1909 by John Smith, Salt Lake City, Utah

Endowed and Sealed - 10 January 1910 in Salt Lake Temple

All these positions she held in the Milo Ward: Counselor in Primary; President of Primary; Relief Society Visiting Teacher; Relief Society secretary; 1st counselor in Relief Society; Relief Society President twice Feb 1930-Oct 1932 and Oct 1937-1940; R.S. work and business class leader; secretary of the Genealogical Society.

Moved to Idaho Falls in July of 1943 and resided there until time of death.

Her children are listed in her husband, Joseph Abraham's history and a family group picture is in her son Harold Joseph's history. Her patriarchal blessing follows.

Salt Lake City, Utah - November 10, 1909

A blessing given by John Smith, Patriarch, upon the head of Eliza Wilding, daughter of John James and Hannah Eliza Barnes, born in Downey, Bannock County, Idaho, August 21, 1890.

Sister Eliza Wilding: As thou hast desired it, I place my hands upon thy head, and as the spirit shall direct, pronounce and seal a blessing upon thee. Thou art numbered among the daughters of Zion who were chosen at their birth to labor in the vineyard of Our Father. It has been thy lot to labor in the interest of improvement among thine associates. It has been thy privilege to have a care among the younger of thy sex. It is thy duty to sit in council among the older. It is thy duty to teach and to exhort. Therefore, I say unto thee, strive to inform thy mind, through the study of books, by listening to council, and thou shalt learn much by observation. Thou shalt reflect often upon the past, and thereby gain knowledge through experience. Although as it were in thy youth, thou hast learned somewhat of the ways of the people and thereby enabled to council wisely among thine associates. Thou are of Ephraim and an heir to the blessings, gifts and privileges of the new and everlasting covenant. Thy name is written in the Lambs Book of Life, thy children shall grow up around thee, be a comfort unto thee and bear thy name in honorable remembrance. Thou shalt have joy in thy daily associations, and as you gain experience thy faith shall increase and as you advance in years, thou shalt study the laws of nature and be healthy and strong in body and mind, wise in council among thy sex and in thy habitation. Thou shalt give unto the needy, comfort the hearts of the fatherless and cheer up the bowed down, and for thy kindness thou shalt be remembered in after years.

Remember to look always upon the bright side, to be cheerful in thy deportment. Cheerfulness will often turn aside anger, restore peace and gain friends and influence among the people. Therefore, look forward to the future with pleasure. This blessing I seal upon thee in the name of Jesus Christ and I seal thee up unto eternal life to come forth in the morning of the first resurrection with many of thy kindred and friends, even so. Amen.

Eliza passed away at age 66 on 25 Jan 1957. She was survived by three daughters and five sons. Her husband and two sons preceded her in death. At her passing she had 26 grandchildren and three great grandchildren.