Ella Dalton Miner was my mother's mother. She was a tough old lady! She was born in 1877 and died in 1947, age age 69. She was always known as "Ella" - first Ella Dalton, daughter of  Simon E. and Jane E. Huntington Dalton, and then Ella Miner. She was raised in a family of seven children, all but one of whom survived to adulthood. She was the eldest and told of having to do much to not only help her mother about the house, but also to do many of the farm chores. One of my favorite stories is of her having to run in and change clothes for a date with Med Miner after milking the cows.

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She and Med were married when she was 17 years old. They had courted as they traveled back and forth to Provo to attend Brigham Young Academy. They were married in the Salt Lake City temple shortly after its dedication and stayed the night before the wedding with Aunt Zina Card - Brigham Young's daughter. Ella was a strong woman, with strong opinions on people and events. She was well-known for her home-based maternity hospital.

 

She gave birth to seven children - Marian was the youngest and somewhat unexpected. Her closest sibling, brother Gene Miner, was ten years older. Only Vanda, Arlean, Gene and Marian survived as adults. Glenn and Ralph died as babies, Nancy died at 15 in the great Flu Epidemic in 1918; Arlean died at 25 from complications after surgery, Gene died of lung cancer at age 45. Marian died at 75 from cancer; Vanda died at 86.

 

She wrote her own life story, with the help of Phyllis Jensen (Chipman), her granddaughter. I sorted through hundreds of photos and attached/enclosed them with the story many years later - but still long before it was an easy thing to do. Just so ya know... but the story makes for fascinating reading.