A Tennant Family

My mother, Emma Housley Nuttall, was the tenth child and seventh girl in a family of twelve children. The daughter of George Frederick and Maria Christina Jacobsen Housley. She was born 15 August 1878 in Paradise, Cache, Utah. She attended Sunday School and Primary and received her education and grew up in this community. Although her mother was an invalid and spent most of her time in bed, she taught her to be an excellent cook, to sew, and do the house work well. She also taught her the gospel correct principles and gave her a lot of good advice. She was baptized 14 March 1887.

Her mother passed away in March 1896, and about twenty one months later, mother and dad, Emma Housley and James Dennis Nuttall, were married in the Logan Temple 8 December 1897. I think their first home was in Paradise, Cache, Utah as that is were I, Emma Nuttall Speth, was born 7 May 1898. He was herding sheep at the time.

Then they moved to college ward Cache, Utah, where two more children were born. James Leo was born 12 December 1899, and Elizabeth LaVern was born 1 November 1901. In this same year shortly after her birth, they moved to Lewiston, Cache, Utah second ward. Dad farmed at that time. On the 9 August 1903, twin boys were born to them. Their names were George Vernal and William Virgil. George Vernal died that same day. While they were still living in the second ward, another son Thomas Ervin was born 23 March 1905. When he was 18 months old, mother was in the shanty making some jelly and it boiled over. She took the kettle off the stove, and as there was no table in the shanty she sat it on the floor and turned to wipe the jelly from the stove. Just at that time, Ervin came in and he was riding a stick horse which caught in the door, and he fell backward into the hot jelly and was burned very badly. They took him up town to the doctor. Then stayed with Uncle Christian and cousinBertha Jacobsen. While he was so bad, pneumonia set in. He did not live long as he died in September 1906.

They next moved to the third ward of Lewiston. We lived in what we called the little green house next to Wisers. I think Dad was working for Mr. Wiser at the time. Asel LeRoy was born there on the 31 October 1906. Some time after that, they purchased a city lot in the first ward and built a new modern Bungalow house. Dad got the mail job. He was the first RFD mail carrier to carry the mail around the route in Lewiston. At first he carried it in a saddle bag on a horse. They later furnished him with a little covered wagon or it may be called a buggy. It had four wheels and a seat for one. As time went on and more homes were built along the way and there was more mail to be distributed, he bought himself a car and often times it was so full when he started that he hardly knew where to place it. Mother was put in to be the substitute carrier, and she would go whenever dad could not. She would go in all kinds of weather and all conditions to help make a livelihood. This job they had for 13 years.

Five more children were born to them while they were living in Lewiston. Morris Artel was born 29 October 1908; Quenten Glen born 20 January 1910; Bertha Gwen born 7 December 1911; Dennis Don was born 29 September 1913, and Ben Earl born 2 August 1915. They were parents of 12 children 9 boys and 3 girls.

It was while he was still carrying the mail and writing life insurance that he sold the home and then rented and lived around in several different homes in Lewiston. As the boys grew older, they would work for the farmers Bishop Hyer and others. This also helped out.

Dad loved sports of most kinds. He liked to hunt and fish and he really enjoyed a ball game. He made mention several times that he had 9 boys and was sorry that they did not live to become a ball team.

After living in Lewiston for 18 years, they moved back to College Ward in 1920. A while later, they moved to Logan, Utah.

Another sad experience they had was on 21 February 1935. In the evening as their son Quentin Glen was returning home from work, he was accidently killed when he was hit by a train. He was buried in the cemetery in Smithfield, Utah. He left a wife and three small children.

They moved to Salt Lake City and mother was Relief Society Block Teacher there. After that they lived in California for a while then moved back to Salt Lake City and later out in Holliday, Utah. Dad worked on the railroad for a while and with his boys in cafes.

Mother had a kind and loving disposition, and people loved to be in her company. She tried to instill a testimony of the gospel into the hearts of their children and taught them to live honest upright lives. She had a hard life, but was ever ready to bare her testimony to the truthfulness of the church to which she belonged. Mother passed away 20 March 1945 in Holiday, Utah. Her funeral was held in College Ward, and she was buried in the cemetery at Lewiston, Utah.

Dad was born 25 July 1879 in Brigham City, Boxelder, Utah. He was the son of James D and Elizabeth Bowden Nuttall. He was baptized 6 October 1884.

Three years after mother died he married Emma Day in the year 1948. They lived most of the time in Brigham City, Utah where he died 23 April 1955. His funeral was held in College Ward, and he was also buried in the Lewiston Cemetery.