This history is a combination of material written by Audrey M. Rasmussen, Winston Mower, Dean Allred coupled with material I have learned about the family through genealogical research.
Amelia Augusta Anderson was born 4 April 1864 in Snuggan, on the outskirts of Lindesberg, Orebro, Sweden. She was the daughter of Andrew Anderson and Christina Louisa Aaronson and was the fourth of six children. The eldest in the family was her brother, Peter born in 1854 who was followed by Albertina Elisabeth born in 1857, Lovisa Bernhardina in 1861, Amelia born in 1864, Albin born in 1875 and Agnes in 1879. All of the children except Agnes were born in Sweden. Agnes was born in Castle Valley, Emery County, Utah.
Audrey writes: "Our gospel was taken to Sweden in the year 1850 by Elder John E. Feragren, only fourteen years before Amelia's birth. John K. Feragren was Swedish by birth, a native of Golfe, he had gone to sea while yet a boy and had heard the new religion preached in the American port of Boston. Convinced of it's truth, he joined the Church, forsook the life of a sailor, and had gone to meet the prophet Joseph Smith in Nauvoo, Illinois. With the Mormon Battalion he had marched across desert and mountain to California. (Mexican War 1846) He then joined the Saints in Utah just in time to receive a call to carry the Gospel message to his native land, Sweden. He traveled to Denmark with Erastus Snow of the Council of the Twelve, then he journeyed to Sweden alone to preach the Gospel. He was soon joined by other missionaries."
The Anderson family joined the Church and Andrew's baptism is recorded as occurring on 1 Oct 1876, just prior to his 44th birthday. Also listening to the message of the Elders at this time was Amelia's Uncle Carl Magnuson, his wife and three daughters. This was against the wishes of Aron and Stina Lisa Johanson Swenson who were very staunch Lutherans. Amelia spoke many times to Audrey telling her of the times that she and her sister Bernhardina along with their 3 cousins walked to the Mormon Church they would have to pass the home of their grandparents. Their grandparents would be waiting for them and would turn them back, telling them to get back to their own Lutheran Church and not be foolish like their parents. Being afraid of their grandparents, the girls would turn back, then take an alternate route around their grandparent's home to attend Church.
The Mormon Church had no meeting house in that area and early meetings were held in the forest. Audrey writes about growing up in Sweden: "Her grandfather couldn't get around well, he was laid up with rheumatism, and he sat by the front window most of the time, and watched his grandchildren very closely. Amelia's oldest brother, Peter, had to live with his grandparents to help them, but he would walk home most every evening, and when Amelia saw him coming down the trail, she would run to him and he would pick her up and carry her home in his arms. She always loved him dearly.
"Amelia, had a very happy childhood. Sweden was a beautiful country with all of it's beautiful lakes and green forests. In the warm weather the children would swim in the lakes every day, until they became expert swimmers... and in the winter time when the lakes were frozen over, everyone would ice skate. Amelia was an outstanding ice skater, she always told us that she would skate like a streak of lightning across the ice." She like to skate on Lake Rasvalden.
Amelia reported that there were all kinds of shrubbery and bushes growing around the lakes and had lots of berries. The children gathered the berries which grew in abundance in the area. They also gathered willows from the area and sewed them into their dresses for hoops which were fashionable for the day.
Audrey writes: "The children had no pencils or paper to write on at school, they wrote on slates. They had very strict school masters (or teachers) and they had to memorize their lessons. If they misspelleda word in spelling class they were punished severely, as well as in their other classes. The study of the bible was a required subject and they had to memorize a scripture every day, which they would do so coming and going home from school. And you bet they were scared not to be prepared for they knew they would be punished. Sweden is a very cold climate, but the children and grown-ups didn't notice the cold as they dressed very warm. Amelia's mother was a beautiful knitter, and she knit very fast. She knit their long stockings, mittens, sweaters, caps, scarfs, and petticoats out of wool yearn, which she had carded and spun herself, which kept the whole family very warm. She also spun yarn and wove it into cloth for their dresses."
Amelia had a beautiful, clear, sweet singing voice, and she loved to sing, and she was always singing while at work. She had learned so many songs in Sweden, and she would sing those to her children in later years.
In the spring of 1876 Amelia, along with her parents, her sister Bernhardina (who was 3 years older), and her baby brother Albin, who had just turned 1 year old on the preceding February 6th, left Sweden and migrated to Utah with a large company of converted Mormons. Her older brother and sister, peter and Albertina stayed behind in Sweden, but they came to America later.
It was a long, hard trip and rough passage and many became sea sick. Amelia thought sure she was going to die, she tried to stay below deck in her bunk, but the captain of the ship forced all to get up on deck and move about or he said they would die, and that did help the sea sickness.
The ship docked at Liverpool, England for a short time and the company was able to leave the ship and they felt better. They set sail again on rough seas and eventually docked in New York. Soon they were on board a slow moving train to Salt Lake City. They were grateful for the ride, however slow, and glad not to have to walk across the plains.
Amelia reported that Brigham Young met the train of emigrants and shook every person's hand and patted the children on the head and welcomed them to power. Learning that most of the Scandinavian Church members were settling in Sanpete County, they boarded the train again and went south to Springville, where the tracks ended. From Springville, they traveled by horse and wagon to Fairview. They arrived following the route from Springville to Nephi, Salt Creek Canyon, Fountain Green, Moroni, Mt. Pleasant, and then north to Fairview.
As the family saw the never ending sagebrush and dry, rocky terrain, they were very sad they had left Sweden. Amelia's father remarked that he wished he had stayed in Sweden. This was 23 July 1876.
The group arrived in Fountain Green by nightfall where they spent the night and were all so tired and hot from riding in the hot sun. The next morning bright and early they were in their wagons and on their way again. They arrived in Fairview about noon. It was Sunday 24 July 1876 and Sunday School was just letting out. Everyone rushed outside to meet the new immigrants.
Amelia met her good friend Tilda Anderson who had come with her family the year before. They went home with their old friends from Sweden to visit. Soon the family had their land allotment and went to work grubbing the sagebrush and clearing the land. A log home was constructed for the coming winter.
Amelia's father had little money left, but bought a milk cow and the family went to work for farmers to earn hay money to feed the cow. Amelia gleaned wheat from the fields after the harvest and acquired 12 bushels of wheat in this manner, some of which she traded for a pair of shoes. The family worked for feed for the pig, cow and for themselves. They worked for potatoes dug during harvest time. They dried all kinds of fruits and went to the mountains and picked service berries to dry for the winter. That winter they slept on the floor on straw tick mattresses.
During the winter her father went to the canyon and cut trees to enlarge their home, and build sheds and fences. He bought some farm land across the road north of their home and kept busy grubbing brush and hauling rocks and fencing that ground which was planted into hay and grain. The next spring he set out fruit trees and berry bushes, planted shade trees and planted a big garden and potato patch on the lot by their home. Bernhardina and Amelia hired out doing housework for people.
When they arrived in this country the family could speak no English. Amelia taught herself English and attended Church, but understood nothing for some time.
The following summer, 1877, Carl and Carolina Magnason and 3 daughters, Mina, Hilma, and Emily came from Sweden. Amelia's older sister Albertina came with them. The Magnasons settled just west across the street from Amelia's family. Now they were neighbors again.
Bernhardina and some other Swedish girls went to Salt Lake and got employment as maids at Fort Douglas. Amelia soon went also and worked in Salt Lake also. She became acquainted with a Mr. Smith who became her boyfriend. He was older and was not LDS. He proposed marriage, but she returned to Fairview where others also had an interest in courting her. She became acquainted with John L. Mower and they were eventually married on 21 Sep 1879 in Fairview in the presence of Charles A. (Cheal) Mower and Henrietta Stewart. Cheal and Henrietta were married 2 years later on 6 Dec 1880 and lived neighbors to John L. and Amelia all their married lives in Oak Creek. Cheal and John L. were half brothers, but were raised as twins.
After their marriage Amelia lived with Elizabeth Hall Mower, while John L. was freighting produce to Frisco and Peoch, Nevada. Amelia always loved her mother-in-law dearly.
Amelia's first married home was a little log room with a dirt floor and roof, with an old warped door on 10 acres of ground which they all speak of as "up to the springs" because of a spring that sprang up from the ground that they used to water their crops. Her first baby was born here on 20 Sep 1881 and they named him John Lisbon Jr.
2 years later they sold this homeland and bought 40 acres with a big log room at Oak Creek from Hyrum Wilson. Johnny, as they called their son, was 2 years old. This one big room had a good wood floor and roof which didn't leak every time it rained.
The little 2-lid stove which she had when she lived up at the springs was given to Cheal and Henrietta and they bought a little better stove that had 4 lids and an oven that would bake. They also had to carry their water from a big old spring down a ways west of the house. There were big bunches of watercress that grew in the spring.
The Sanpitch River flowed through their farm filled with big delicious mountain trout. Amelia's husband would weave traps from willows that grew along the river and place in the river to catch the big fish. The big Stone Quarry ridge loomed up high right west of the river with rows of great rock cliffs at the top, tall pines and cedar trees. John L. cut pines for stove and fireplace wood and the cedar for fence posts. At night coyotes and mountain lions could be heard crying on the hill.
7 more children were born in this log home. Emily, Edna, Andrew, William, Arthur, Maud and Winston. Emily, Andrew and William passed away shortly after birth. Edna was a very tiny baby and just laid and moaned. They looked for her to pass away at any time. Grandma Elizabeth Hall Mower was there at the baby's birth, but had to return home. She returned 6 weeks later and could hardly believe her eyes as Edna had grown so rosy and plump. Out of Amelia's first 5 children, she had buried 3. We wonder how those dear pioneer mothers were able to take it. Every one of Amelia's 13 childrens' birth was attended by a midwife except for her last 2 children, Rollan and Fred. Fairview had their doctors at this time.
The family lived in the old house, 1 room for 15 years. Elizabeth Hall Mower came and spent the winters with them making 9 individuals in that house including Emma Jane. A new brick home was built up east. Peter Fredrickson from Fountain Green laid the brick and built the home. Amelia boarded some men from the sawmill in exchange for lumber to build the home. Most all of the lumber was paid for in this way. They moved into the new home in September of 1898.
The children were all happy for the new home, except Winston who was 2 years old, who cried and wanted to go back to the old place and said, "The cats and the dogs live up here!".
There was a 1 room brick school house in Oak Creek where the children went to school, it was used for weekdays for school, and on Sundays it was used for Church. Oak Creek was a branch of the Fairview Ward being presided over by a presiding Elder. James T. Peters was the presiding Elder until a ward was organized in 1916 and James T. Peterson was made bishop. The school had but 1 teacher at a time. The teachers were Owen Sanderson, John L. Bench, Selma Lasson Fahring, Emily Lasson Moore, and Eli A. Day Sr.
All the church parties, entertainments, dances, including weddings were held in the old brick school house. But the old historic building is no more. It toppled during the heavy snows of 1978 and there were many tears shed. It has always been Oak Creek's land mark.
Amelia's last 5 children were born in the new home. Lorna, twins Audrey and Odrey, Rollan and Fred. Amelia scrubbed all her clothes on the wash board from the time she was married until her death at age 73. They never had a bathroom or running water in the home. An outdoor privy served the family and baths were taken in a round wash tub by the kitchen range.
Amelia had 2 sons who served in World War I. Winston returned home safely, but Arthur died on 22 October 1918 of the flu. Then 4 years following Arthur's death, John L. died on 23 May 1923 of a heart attack. He had been ill for more than a year. He had recently taking his wife, Amelia to the Manti Temple where they were sealed as husband and wife.
John L.'s death left Amelia with such a great responsibility with the farm which Winston ran. On Sunday 23 Aug 1923, Amelia went out to the granary for wheat to feed the chickens. The granary steps broke and gave way letting her fall to the ground, breaking part of her heel bone off. The cord holding the broken bone contracted pulling the broken bone up the back of her leg. The doctors from Fairview and Moroni didn't understand the case but doctored her some time. She was on crutches and in constant pain, then her leg and foot became infected.
She was transferred to LDS hospital in Salt Lake where a bone specialist, Dr. Baldwin, had to operate and cut out the infected heel bone. He saved her leg, even though it left her lame, he said if she had waited much longer she would have lost her leg below the knee. She returned home from the hospital on the train the day before Thanksgiving. The accident left her lame and she never entirely got over the accident. She carried a limp and had such arthritis in her legs and feet the rest of her life.
Amelia lived 14 1/2 years following the death of John L. She died of a heart attack. She had taken this heart attack just three weeks before. She wasn't taken to a hospital, but remained bed-fast in her bedroom in her own home. She knew that her time to die had come and she was ready to go. She said, "I have a husband and family over there and so many loved ones that I haven't seen for a long time."
Her obituary appeared in the Mt. Pleasant Pyramid:
Emily Mower Passes Away
Mrs. Emily (Amelia) Mower, widow of John L. Mower, Sr. died at her home Oct. 10, 1937. She was the daughter of Andrew and Louisa Anderson, and was born in Lindesberg, Arebro, Sweden April 4, 1867. She married John L. Mower Sr. Sept. 21, 1879. She is survived by 4 sons and 4 daughters: Johnnie Mower, Fred Mower, and Mrs. Audrey Rasmussen of Oakville, Edna Brown, Magna, Maud Hartley and Winston Mower, Oakville, Mrs. Lorna Tucker, Castle Gate, and Rollan Mower, Fairview. Funeral services were held in the Fairview North Ward Chapel with Bishop Henry W. Jones presiding. The Choir sang, "Oh My Father", and the opening prayer was given by Heber Mower. The speakers were Mrs. Wilford Rasmussen, Thomas Rigby, and Bishops James T. Peterson and Bernard Lasson. The closing remarks were made by Bishop Graham. Music was furnished by the Ward Choir under the direction of Stanley Brady. Special numbers were "Mother Macree" by Floyd Young, "Tired" by Mrs. Grant Olson of Mt. Pleasant, and "Going Home" by Mrs. Ellis D. Coombs. The closing sons was "Shall We Meet Beyond the River" by the choir and the benediction was by Burns Cox, the mail man. The grave was in the Fairview cemetery and was dedicated by President H.C. Jacobson. Relatives from Spanish Fork, Provo, Salt Lake, Park City, Castle Gate, and the reservation came to the funeral.