A History of James Brooks Wasden

James Brooks Wasden 1949

History as posted in Sons of Utah Pioneers

Submitted by Philip A. Wasden (grandson)

Pioneer's Information

Type of Pioneer: Early Pioneer

Pioneer's Name: Wasden, James Brooks

Birth Place: Scipio, Millard, Utah USA
Date of Birth: Sat, 16 Jul, 1870
Date of Death: Sun, 25 Feb, 1966

Father: John Brooks Wasden 
Mother: Anna Sophia Olsen 
Spouse: Tilda Christena Christenson 
Other Spouses: 

Arrived in Utah: Sat, 16 Jul, 1870

Education: Elementary level
Profession: Farmer
Honors: Honored by Governor Hunt of Wyoming as Wyoming Pioneer; Grand Marshal in Parade
Civic Activities: Community Leader; director in the Elk Canal Company, was elected road supervisor for District No. 3, Park County, Wyoming on November and was reelected in November 1916.
Church: Bishop for 16 years of Penrose Ward; Superintendent of the Penrose Sunday school from the time of its organization, December 24, 1905 to October 19, 1913.

Authentic Mormon Pioneer: No (Age criteria not met?)

Pioneer's Pictures
Excerpt from Pioneer Story

Early day settler and pioneer of Northern Wyoming; Built the first house in Penrose, WY; Bridge builder in Yellowstone National Park; Met U.S. President Teddy Roosevelt; Lacked formal education however, excelled as a scriptorian and a prolific reader.

Full Pioneer Story

A HISTORY OF JAMES BROOKS WASDEN

Submitted By: Philip Asay Wasden

History of James Brooks Wasden

Transcribed by Philip A. Wasden. Phil is the grandson of James Brooks Wasden and Tilda Christena Christensen.

James Brooks Wasden, son of John Brooks and Anna Sofie Olsen Wasden was born July 16, 1870, at Scipio, Millard County, Utah. His mother gave birth to twin boys and named them James and Peter for her two brothers. Peter died soon after birth and seven days later the mother passed away.



Anna Sophie Olsen Wasden

His Father's first wife, Nancy Arrilla Herron Wasden, took James to raise as her own child. This was the woman he knew as Mother, and the bond between the two could not have been deeper or more lasting. He was sickly and skinny and there was despair for his life. Through the special care and determination of his parents, he survived.

There was a real struggle in central Utah in those days to find the wherewithal to keep body and soul together. The family moved about a great deal in trying to provide the creature necessities of life. They lived at Brooklyn (named for James' father), back at Scipio; then to Glenwood and finally to Gunnison. As it was necessary for his father to work much of the time away from home, James, the oldest boy in the family, felt it his duty to take care of the chores and work around the home. When he was about six years old, his mother made him a suit of clothes out of cloth. This was to replace one she had made from buckskin that he had ruined by wading in the water. The buckskin first stretched and then shrunk until he could not get into it. As soon as he was old enough, his father took James with him on freighting trips, railroad grading jobs, timbering, or whatever work was available.

The frailties of childhood seemed to plague James through life, yet he was an individual of tremendous endurance and physical ability. When he was fifteen he went to work for his uncle Orson herding sheep. At that time, wages for a man's work were twelve to fifteen dollars per month. He was taken out to the camp wearing one shoe and one boot. They unloaded his tent, a skillet, sourdough starter and a few meager supplies and for six weeks, he did not see another human being. One day, the following spring, another band of sheep was driven near his and in trying to keep them from mixing, he became overheated. He drank from a cold stream, which made him very sick. He was unable to work for some time after that.

By Winter time he was feeling better but not well enough to work, so he went to school for a short time. This was his only formal education. In spite of this lack of schooling, he became well read and searched constantly for information of the world about him.

The following Spring (1887), James and his father left Gunnison for western Colorado, having heard of railroad work to be had there. While they took provisions with them for the trip, they were able to buy eggs for five cents a dozen in Emery County, Utah. The Rio Grande was building the railroad from Denver to Salt Lake at the time. They worked on the grade, freighted to Glenwood Springs and did other jobs that were available.

Sickness was James' lot again that first summer in Colorado. Home remedies did not give much relief from the trouble. His father gave him a team of horses as he wished James to stay with him. Wages were low, but he sent part of his earnings home to his mother to help with the family. After the work shut down for the winter, they finally got a contract for getting out timber that lasted until nearly Christmas in 1888, when they returned to Gunnison.

(A note on the Colorado job: "While we were in Colorado hauling wood for the C.C. & I. Company, it was a cold winter with temperatures of 25 to 35 degrees below zero. Lottie (a sister) cooked for us and stayed until the job was done. Then we went to Lake Ivanhoe and contracted to stock a sawmill. We moved into some quarters that had been made by some woodsmen when the Midland Railroad first built through from Leadville to Aspen, under the Maughn tunnel. The quarters were built from ties.")


Grandma and Grandpa Wasden possibly Gunnison Utah

When James arrived back in Gunnison, he built a log house for his mother. It was only two rooms but much more than she had before. While working on this project, the ax slipped, cutting the inside of his leg near the ankle very badly. His mother took care of him and did all she could to heal the cut.

Next, they bought some cows and went to Grass Valley to operate a dairy, making cheese. In the fall they sold out and secured work on the railroad south of Milford that was being built from Salt Lake into Nevada. This road was built by Clark of Butte as the Salt Lake, Los Angeles and San Pedro. Later, it became part of the Union Pacific system.


James Brooks Wasden

The following summer, work was found in Spanish Fork Canyon. The Rio Grande railroad was changing its track from narrow to standard gauge. Then there was work in a stone quarry East of Salt Lake and in the brickyards at Bountiful.

In the fall of 1899 the depression struck the country so severely that employers were able to pay only a small part of wages due with money. James managed to get some merchandise and clothes to send home. He then left for Butte, Montana, hoping to get work in the mines. He found them closed. His time was then spent in Montana, Northern Wyoming, and Yellowstone Park until work shut down for the winter of 1896 for lack of funds. The search for employment then took him into northern Idaho near Bonner's Ferry. While working at a log camp some forty miles up the river, he received a letter telling of the serious illness of his mother. He walked to town and took the train for home, arriving a few days before his mother passed away on March 22, 1897.

 James went to Butte until the following spring when re returned to Gunnison for his marriage to Tilda Christina Christenson at Manti, Utah on March 9, 1898. To this union, seven children were born: David John, December 6, 1898; Sofe Christine, May 27, 1901; Brooks Fulton, November 27, 1903. These three children were born at Gunnison, Utah. The four youngest, Minnie Arrilla, October 4, 1906; Elna Tilda, September 15, 1908; James Orvil, May 27, 1910; and Lucinda, August 20, 1913, were born at Penrose, Wyoming.

James Brooks and Tilda Christena Wasden

James was baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints when he was twelve years old. He had a deep and abiding faith in his religion that sustained and supported him through the trials of life. A week after his marriage, he left for a two-year mission for the Church in the Southern States Mission, spending his time in southern Georgia and northern Florida. While there, he contracted malaria and the chills and fever almost brought about the end of his existence. He estimated the cost of the Mission at about $300, a sizable sum for those days.

James Brooks Wasden 104 Missionary
Set apart by J. Golden Kimball 16 Mar 1898



Letter of Acceptance of Mission Call
 written to President Woodruff.



Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day-Saints Missionaries - 1898
James Brooks Wasden - Gunnison, Utah top row 3rd from left

Upon arriving home in April of 1900, he went to work getting material to build a house of sawed logs. This was their home until the fall of 1904 when he moved his family to the Big Horn Basin of Wyoming. Farming was not profitable, for while land was plentiful in central Utah, water for irrigation was scarce and uncertain. Other jobs were hard to come by with wages of a dollar for an eight to twelve hour day. So, in the summer of 1901, James returned to Yellowstone Park as road foreman, a position he held through the season of 1905. This was the last season spent in the Park until the summer of 1921 when he was a foreman on the East road. For this work, it was necessary to take a Civil Service examination, which he passed with a grade of 97.  

James B Wasden Letter  dated 1903

During the summer of 1904, he made inquiry as to the possibility of establishing a home in the Big Horn Basin. A number of communities had been started by then. On the Stinking Water, later called the Shoshone River, the Mormons had taken out a canal and started the towns of Byron and Cowley. When work shut down in the Park for the winter, he drove his team to Byron, looked the country over and decided to try for a home there. He went to Gunnison by train, disposed of the house and loaded an immigrant car for Wyoming. There were the household effects, a cow, chickens and some farm machinery that had belonged to his father-in-law. His wife and three children followed by train, going by way of Denver, Alliance, and Toluca to Garland, arriving there on December 6, 1904. The first winter was spent at the little town of Byron.

One hundred and sixty acres of land under the Elk Canal was purchased from two men from Burlington. They gave a quitclaim deed and the Wasdens' homesteaded it. The East forty acres were later sold to a neighbor. So lots 38 D.E. & H., Section 24., Township 55, Range 98 West became the family home for half a century.

Water rights were secured by doing construction work on the canal. Logs were hauled from the mountains fifty miles to the West to build a house. A town site called Penrose was laid out and each settler was entitled to a lot for each eighty acres. The ones chosen were in the southwest corner just across the street from the farm. Here the house was built.

May 1, 1905, was moving day from Byron to the new home, although it still lacked some of the final additions such as daubing between the logs and dirt on the roof. The weather obliged with a typical Wyoming blizzard, rain mixed with snow, bone chilling, cold and miserable. Pieces of canvas were spread on the roof in an effort to keep at least part of the house dry. Even so, Tilda held an umbrella over the cradle as she rocked the baby to sleep.

A small patch of alfalfa was planted, a garden plot prepared, and then James went back to the Park for the summer. When he returned home in the fall, his brother, Isaac, came with him. Together they brought logs from the mountains for a barn and donated the first load for the building that was to serve the community for school and church purposes.

Photo of Isaac Wasden

James was always interested in the well being of his neighbors, giving of his time and substance for community betterment. He served two terms as school trustee of the Garland district, of which Penrose was a part. He was elected three terms as Road Supervisor of the Powell District and served many years on the Elk Canal as Board member and Secretary. When a branch of the Church was established at Penrose in the fall of 1905, he became the first Superintendent of the Sunday School. He held this position until October 1913. From May 1915 to 1928, he served the church community as leader in the office of Bishop. He always championed the cause of right, as he saw it, and thus, at times, become unpopular and lost so-called friends. The following story, which illustrates this, is worth repeating. A young banker in Garland was accused and convicted of embezzlement. He was sentenced to serve a term in the State penitentiary. James was convinced that he was innocent and that the evidence against him was perverted. He talked to officers, wrote letters and did all he could to get a reversal of judgment, but to no avail. Excerpts from a letter written by the young banker in prison show the kind of a person James really was.

"Kind Friend Mr. Wasden:
I assure you my silence is not due to unappreciation--I couldn't brace up enough to write. The hardest hearted men oft times have a soft spot. Well, I want to tell you that when I went to you (after having been turned down by my own church Pastor) and you proved to me how the strong arm of friendship could reach across the chasm that separates creeds and religious sects and give me a helping hand in time of trouble--then and there you touched my soft spot. Probably the Good Samaritan was considered a heathen, but then he offered a helping hand to the man who was down and out. He gave to the world a practical demonstration of real honest to goodness religion. Whenever I hear a wise acre criticizing the Mormon faith, I shall rise up and call you blessed and defend the kind of creed that teaches the Samaritan brand of religion. Mere words can never repay, and I do want you to believe me when I say I do thank you most sincerely for the several kindnesses you have shown me. I understand you have just recently written a letter in my behalf, which only increases the obligations that I fear are beyond my power to repay. Thank you for the unselfish, unalloyed friendship you have so graciously shown me.
Very sincerely your friend,
E.S. Dabbs"

There seemed to be more down than ups in the family fortunes at Penrose. The farmland was very rough and required a great deal of leveling by team and scraper. Therefore, after water was applied to the land, it began to bog. It was a long tedious process to get the community to unite in a drainage program. It was frequently necessary, during that time, to find employment away from home on various construction jobs. As the land was returning to productivity, a serious heart condition indicated that James should at least partially retire. Some time was spent in the hold home area in Utah recuperating. The farm work was carried on, mostly through the help of the youngest son, James Orvil, until he died in a fire in his home in 1943. The farm was then rented until it was sold in 1955, James, and Tilda moved to a small home in Lovell.

One of the highlights of later years was an invitation to take part in a Pioneer Day celebration at Powell on October 28, 1950. James and Tilda prepared a covered wagon as authentic as any that broke a track in a virgin wilderness. It was complete with household utensils, plow and chickens, followed by a milk cow. They were the stars of the parade and were personally congratulated on their long Wyoming residence by Senators Joseph C. O'Mahoney and Lester C. Hunt, who had canceled previous important engagements to pay honor to the early pioneers at Powell.

After the passing of his wife, Tilda, on July 3, 1962, James' health declined quite rapidly, and so he entered the Old Folks' ward of the North Big Horn Hospital at Lovell. Death came at seven o'clock in the morning on Friday, February 25, 1966, at the age of 95 years, 7 months and 11 days. He was survived by six of his 7 children, 35 grandchildren, 92 great-grand children, and 2 great-great grandchildren.

Funeral services were held in the L.D.S. Church at Lovell on March 1, 1966, at 10:00 A.M. with Bishop Scott M. Welch officiating. Pallbearers were grandsons of the deceased: Mark and Newell Sorensen, Stanley and Verne House, John and James Orvil Wasden. Burial was in the family plot in the Penrose Cemetery beside his beloved wife and companion of over three score years.
A granite stone marks the resting place of these two stalwart pioneers.
Additional Information for James Brooks Wasden

James Brooks Wasden, Bishop of the Penrose Ward (Big Horn Stake), Park county, Wyoming, was born July 16, 1870, at Scipio, Millard county, Utah, the son of John Brooks Wasden and Anna Sophia Olsen. He was baptized in June 1882 by Isaac Pierce; ordained a Deacon in 1882; ordained a Priest January 1, 1898, by Bishop Christian A. Madsen of Gunnison, Sanpete county, Utah; ordained an Elder March 1, 1898, by Thos. Nielson; ordained a Seventy March 16, 1898, by Jonathan G. Kimball; ordained a High Priest by Jesse W. Crosby Jr.; called to act as Bishop of the Penrose Ward, Big Horn Stake, in April 1915, and ordained a Bishop May 23, 1915, by Apostle Rudger Clawson and set apart to preside over the Penrose Ward, which was then organized. He filled a mission to the Southern States, leaving Salt Lake City March 17, 1898, and returning April 6, 1900. During this mission, he labored principally in the Florida conference. At home for fourteen years he was engaged in road building in the Yellowstone National Park; after his arrival in the Big Horn country in 1904 he has followed farming as his chief avocation; He built the first house at Penrose. Since 1905, he has acted as a director in the Elk Canal Company, was elected road supervisor for District No. 3, Park County, Wyoming on November and was reelected in November 1916. He also acted as superintendent of the Penrose Sunday school from the time of its organization, December 24, 1905 to October 19, 1913. On March 9, 1898 brother Wasden married Tilda Christine Christensen of Gunnison, Sanpete County, in the Manti Temple; his wife has borne him seven children. Namely, David John, Sofe Christina, Brooks Fulton, Minnie Arrilla, Elna Tilda, James Orvil, and Lucinda

Source: B.Y.U. Documents in the archives
James left for his mission on Wednesday March 23, 1898 at 6:10 pm from Central Depot in the company of Elders David Elton Horton, and Wixom. They arrived Thursday March 24, 1898 at Wood Bine. Stayed here for thirteen hours because of “our mistake.” Boarded the train again at 8:10 pm and arrived in Jacksonville, Florida at 10:37 am Friday March 25, 1898. Elder John Z. Brown of Pleasant Grove, Utah met them. They stayed at brother Mauns and walked three miles to a meeting. Elder Wasden spoke of the Gospel and bore testimony along with his companions. On Thursday March 24, 1898, Elder Brown, Wasden, and Wixom gave a Priesthood blessing to Elder Horton for his eyes.


James Brooks and Tilda Christena Christensen Wasden
Penrose, Wyoming Circa: 1920's

Sources:
First person transcription to son David Wasden, and grandson Philip Asay Wasden
Virtues: Hardship, Difficulty, Trials, Honor, Integrity, Leadership

The History of Tilda Christena Christenson



Tilda Christena Christenson Wasden 1949

History as posted in Sons of Utah Pioneers

Submitted by Philip A. Wasden (grandson)

Type of Pioneer: Early Pioneer
Pioneer's Name: Christenson, Tilda Christena

Birth Place: Gunnison, San Pete, Utah
Date of Birth: Sat, 21 Jan, 1871
Date of Death: Tue, 03 Jul, 1962

Father: John Christenson
Mother: Christena Akeson
Spouse: James Brooks Wasden
Other Spouses:

Arrived in Utah: Sat, 21 Jan, 1871

Education: Elementary level
Profession: Housewife; Mid-wife
Honors: Governor Hunt honored her as early-day Wyoming Pioneer; Grand Marshal in Parade
Civic Activities: A Pioneer family in Penrose, Wyoming
Church: Nearly every position a woman could hold in every auxillary in a Ward

Authentic Mormon Pioneer: No (Criteria perhaps based on age?)

Excerpt from Pioneer Story

Raised in Gunnison, UT; Mid-wife for over fifty births; Husband left on a mission only one week after being married; worked in the Manti Temple to support husband; early day Wyoming Pioneer.
Full Pioneer Story

THE HISTORY OF TILDA CHRISTENA CHRISTENSON

Submitted By: Philip Asay Wasden

History of Tilda Christena Christensen Wasden

Transcribed by Philip A. Wasden. Phil is the grandson of James Brooks Wasden and Tilda Christena Christensen.

The following are some of the incidents that Tilda related in her own words of her early life:
"I was born in Fort Gunnison, Sanpete County, Utah, the daughter of John and Christena Christensen, at two p.m. on Saturday, January 21, 1871. The Fort had been built as protection against the Indians. However, the raids were diminishing, and at this time, the people were building on lots further east that had been surveyed for a town. Father's lots were a mile from the Fort, located on Main Street, and had been planted to crops in the summer of 1870. On this Saturday morning, Mother went up to the town lots, got a sack of corn for the pigs, came home, scrubbed the floors, cleaned the house, and was ready for the event at two o'clock.
"Father built a rock house on the town lots in 1872 and it was my home until I was married.


Tilda Christena Christensen

 "My first recollection of anything sad happening was the sickness and death of my oldest sister, Caroline Josephine, who was eight years older than I. She had typhoid fever, was sick for three weeks and passed away in October 1877.

"I was baptized in the Sanpitch River by my father on June 2, 1879. At that time, Fast Day was held on the first Thursday of the month, so Elder Hansen, father of my friend, Maria, confirmed me on June 5.
"Travel was by ox team. In the winter time, father would hitch the ox team to the sleigh, place heated rocks or adobe bricks and straw in the bottom, and with heavy quilts over us, we'd be ready for the seven mile ride to Mayfield to visit mother's particular friend on December 1st, or First Day of Winter, as they called it.

"It was the job of my sister Emma and me to gather the eggs, take care of the chickens, and herd the cows. When feed was short, we drive the cows above town to graze on the brush. If they did not come home, it was up to us to go find them. In the fall, after the grain was harvested, we took the cows to the farm to herd. The nearest farm father owned was a mile from home, so we took our lunch and stayed for the day. We had to keep our cows on our own land and, as there were no fences, we were kept quite busy. We used to tell our younger sister Hannah about the good times we had. We told her that we had a way of getting to the farm without walking. When we started out in the morning, a car would meet us at the bottom of the hill. (We called it a car.) It had a platform and wheels. The cows would step on and away we would go to the farm, and at night it would bring us back. Hannah would watch for us at night, but we would always get the cows into the corral before she saw us. Finally, she got permission to go with us one day and of course, there was no car. We told her the car would not come if anybody was with us and that she was the cause of us having to walk. This was about 1879 and we had never heard of such a thing as a car or any vehicle going without horses or oxen to pull it. We did have imagination!


Grandmother Wasden's Primer 1864

"At the age of four, I attended my first school. It was held in a neighbor's home. A peddler came through Gunnison and Mother bought a book from him. It was a first reader, which I took to school and everybody used it. It was the only book in that school. At school, we had to furnish our own books and slates to write on. Sometimes we would get some brown wrapping paper and make it into books to draw maps on and to write some of the things we wished to keep. In addition, we had to pay tuition. The older children usually went in the wintertime after the farm work was done. Then in the spring when farm work started again, the younger children would to school. Often the teacher was crowded for time and would ask me to take the 'chart class.'



Flyleaf from Grandma Wasden's Primer

"In the fall of 1890, my sister Minnie, brother John and I decided to go to school and made arrangements to go to the Sanpete Stake Academy at Ephraim. It was later known as Snow College. Minnie and John stayed until April Conference, but I stayed until school was out in May. I went to Provo to summer school, and then taught in Mayfield from January until June. I had all grades from beginners to Fifth Readers." (Mother kept a careful account of all her finances. Here are some entries while at Ephraim: October: Two photographs, $2.00; Slate, 15¢; Bible, 25¢; Set of bookkeeping books, 50¢. There are two entries for tuition: November 11: $3.00 and January 5, 1891, $4.00. There was a grand total of $17.95 for the term! -- David John Wasden)

"The amusements were mostly dancing. A dance was held every other Friday night. Sometimes a play would be staged to get finances to carry on. I think two winters the 'Home Dramatic Club' put on a play every other Friday night, alternating with the dances. It was the custom, in those days, to have an escort to the dances. A girl never thought of going to a dance without a partner. Sometimes a boy would take two or three girls to a dance and then each girl would dance with anyone who asked her. We were only allowed a certain number of round dances. The rest were quadrilles. Dances started at 7:00 p.m. and closed at midnight. We always had a good time.


Hank of Yarn

"The pioneer homes had to be self sufficient, not only in providing food but clothing as well. I never crocheted or knit a lot, but one summer my sister Emma and I had as our job herding cows on the hills outside Gunnison, so we took our knitting along like a couple of old ladies. I made several pairs of socks for brother John and several pairs of long hose for myself. Our hose all came well above the knee. We also made our own yarn. We washed and cleaned the wool and took it to people in Manti, fifteen miles away, who made it into rolls about two feet long. Then Mother spun the rolls into the yarn we used or into finer thread to be woven into cloth, the commonest being called 'linsey'. Mother had a large spinning wheel at which one had to stand and walk back and forth to operate. She used this one a great deal. She also had a small one she used on smaller amounts of yarn. It took so many knots to make a hank and then the yarn was washed and dyed. Some dyes were bought, but local material, such as the bloom of rabbit brush for yellow, was sought out and used. Then it was ready for knitting or, if for weaving, it was taken to a neighbor, Mrs. Harris, who had a loom and did much weaving. My most beautiful dress came from her loom. It was woven, one thread of red, and one thread of black, giving a small striped appearance that went around the dress. Mother brought the cloth home and I thought it was beautiful I liked it so much that she made my dress. She had no sewing machine, so it was all done by hand. I loved the dress and was so proud of it. It was my very best dress.

"Another job for the younger children in those early days was to glean the fields. The grain was cut with a cradle and bound by hand. The children gathered the stray heads that had been missed, putting them into sacks. All the grain was then taken to a threshing floor to be flailed out and winnowed."


Tilda Christena Christensen

In 1887, Tilda obtained her parents' consent to go to Salt Lake City to do house work where three of her sisters were already working. The wage of $2.50 a week offered there seemed high compared with the local wage of one dollar. In addition to the regular housework at Gunnison, one was also expected to do the washing and ironing and any outside work that needed doing. Her brother John took her to Juab, some twenty-five miles distant, to take the train for the city. Altogether, she spent several years in Salt Lake, doing housework for various families. The wages seem to have come up some, as entries in a ledger after 1890 indicate a weekly wage of $3.50. There are entries indicating that money was sent home in $5.00 amounts and gifts were sent to a brother who was on a mission in Sweden. Here are some expenditures, evidently in 1893: March 15, dress, $2.80; April 8, oranges, 20¢; April 22, hat, $3.50. Stockings were listed from 20¢ to 35¢; a pair of gloves, $1.00; waist, 55¢ and corset cover, 75¢. There are entries for bananas for 10¢ and 40¢. Even in those day's weight seemed to be important to women. On one page is recorded Tilda's weight: June 6, 1891, 139 pounds. From there, it fluctuated down to 125 pounds in July 1896 and to a high of 143 lbs. on April 5, 1897. 

Penrose Relief Society Tilda Wasden, President

The lives of those early settlers in Utah were centered completely in their religion. It dominated all their activities. Throughout Tilda's life, from childhood on, the doctrines and teachings of the Latter-Day Saints were the impelling force to action. There was scarcely a time in her long life that she did not hold one or more offices in the various organizations of the Church. Before she reached her teens, she was Secretary in the Children's Primary. She served in the Sunday School, Relief Society, Primary and Mutual, variously as teacher, President, Secretary or in any capacity where she was needed. At the age of 88, she had a perfect attendance record in her Ward Relief Society. She was always ready and willing to give of her time and talent to help those who were sick and distressed. After moving to Wyoming, she assisted in some fifty births, many of them without the help of a doctor.



James B. and Tilda C. Wasden

On March 9, 1898, she became the wife of James B. Wasden at Manti, Utah. He left a week later for a two-year mission for the Church in the Southern States. She supported herself, during that time, with work at the L.D.S. Temple at Manti, where she had spent the two previous years. With what she was able to earn, the help of family and some minor contributions from friends, the mission was financed. The only money borrowed was for James' return railroad fare.


Manti Temple

Upon his return, they began the making of a home at Gunnison where their three oldest children, David John, Sofe Christine, and Brooks Fulton were born: In the winter of 1904-1905, they moved to Wyoming, settling at Penrose the next spring. Here four more children were born: Minnie Arrilla, Elna Tilda, James Orvil, and Lucinda.



Cindy, Minnie, James Brooks, Tilda, Orvil and Edna

Tilda always cooperated and tried to carry her full share of the load in raising the family of seven children. The first summer in the new home at Penrose, she was alone with the children while James was working in Yellowstone Park. There were other times when it was necessary for James to work away from home to provide for the family and Tilda had the responsibility of the home. The problems and aspirations of these two people were of mutual concern throughout their long life together.

In early May of 1954, she suffered a severe fall on the ice covered steps of her home. She was a long time recovering from this accident, and it was a contributing factor in the decision to sell the farm and move to Lovell where she was closer to medical help. In January 1962, she suffered a stroke, and while she recovered speech and mobility, her strength was greatly depleted. She passed away on the morning of July 3, 1962.

Funeral services were held at 10:00 a.m., July 5, 1962, in the Lovell L.D.S. Church with Bishop Scott M. Welch officiating. The pallbearers were six grandsons: Grant Wasden, Calvin Johnson, Stephen Blood, Verne House, Julian Sorenson, and Philip Wasden. Interment was in the Penrose cemetery.


Funeral Costs 1962 Tilda Wasden

 [Transcribed from writings of David J. Wasden, Cody, Wyoming - December 1966, by Philip A. Wasden]

Sources:
First person: Son David Wasden and Grandson Philip Asay Wasden

Virtues: Faith, Hardship, Difficulty, Trials, Love, Charity

Anna Sophia Olson Wasden



Anna Sophia Olson
abt 16 years old in Denmark

 “Show me the manner in which a nation or a community takes care of its dead and I will measure with mathematical exactness the character of its people, their respect for the law of the land and their loyalty to high ideals.” –William Gladstone


Anna Sophia Olson Wasden

 Close of the Scipio Pioneer Cemetery

"On January 21, 1894 a meeting was held to consider the propriety of closing the old graveyard for interments. The ward has the title to it I having got it from Brother Croft last summer." - Thomas Memmott, Vol. 1, page 182 (1/21/1894)


Scipio Pioneer Cemetery
Picture taken by Phil Wasden 8/7/2006

Today, 11-27-07, I helped install a beautiful memorial marker in the Scipio Pioneer Cemetery. I feel a peaceful "closure" to memorializing great-grandmother Anna Sophia Jensen Olson Wasden and her twin-son, Peter. The marker is located next to her brother-in-law, Frederick Wasden. Eighty-two people were buried before the Cemetery was closed in 1894. Over the years, residual numbers have been added by way of spouse and family members. Only a few have a marker of any kind to identify the deceased. Rocks, bottles, and boards are used to indicate where "someone" may be buried. Only a few have a marker with an inscription of any kind. A large portion of the graves are "unmarked." For over one hundred and thirty-seven years, Anna Sophia and her son Peter, have laid in unmarked graves in a sadly neglected Scipio Pioneer Cemetery. I suppose that a flat rock inscribed with her information using a SharpieÔ marker, lobbed into the Cemetery, would satisfy the basic requirements for a memorial. I determined to undertake this project without jeopardizing my level of support to any other obligations. Should you be in the Scipio area, visit the Pioneer Cemetery and ponder some of the stalwart pioneers buried there particularly, Anna Sophia and Peter. Whether anyone visits or not, they will be remembered!

I love you more!
Dad, Grandpa, Uncle, and Phil