HISTORY OF SUSAN CHARLOTTIE TEMPLE NANNY HUNT
Written in longhand by Roxie Charlotte Leavitt Memmott

Susan Charlottie Temple Nanny the seventh child of Mother Winfield Nanny and Nancy Parker Williams, was born 20 of April 1843 at Muhlenbery Co. Kentucky

Both of her parents died before the census of 1860 but were alive at the census 1850. Thus Susan was between 12 and 15 years of age when they died; and the youngest child, whom she always called Scot was very young. I remember her telling me how she had carried him on her hip while she worked.

At her parents death grandmother said that their property was sold to pay Dr. bills and burial expenses, so very little was left for the children. The two oldest girls were married in 1850 so there were 10 orphans left at home. They were taken into homes of relatives or friends.

Grandmother worked for a Dr. and his wife for quite a while and loved them very much. She told me about having pneumonia and the way they treated pneumonia then made all of her teeth loose.

She loved the beautiful country where she lived. It was a wooded country where there were all kinds of wild birds, peacocks and guinny hens, and nuts and berries grew everywhere.

Everyone marked their pigs and turned them loose to fatten on the nuts. Then in the fall they had what they called hog-killing time, when the pigs were gathered in; each man took his own and there was a real celebration when the pigs were killed and the meat was taken care of to be used during the winter. I can remember how grandmother used to cure the meat and smoke it in a special place by burning dry corn cobs.

She remembered the Civil War, though not many slaves were owned around where she lived. She said an uncle of hers owned some slaves. Two of her brothers, twins, were in the army and died of some disease in 1868. She said many times the fighting was so close they could hear the shooting.

The Hunt family lived in the same part of the country at this time great grandfather John Jung and great grandmother Jane Coats joined the Mormon Church and moved to Utah, also their three boys; Wilson, Amos and Bradford. One son Enoch and a daughter Betsy who married a Mr. Bradford joined the Josephites and moved to Iowa. One daughter Cene married her cousin Jefferson Hunt also joined the Church and moved to the middle west for a while, then returned and made their home in Kentucky.

Jonathan Hunt, the youngest son also joined the Church and married Nancy Davis. But when. their first child, John, was born, both the baby and mother died, the baby died Feb. 4th, 1863 and the mother Feb. 10, 1863.

Two years later Nov. 13, 1865 Jonathan married Susan Charlottie Temple Nanny. Grandmother was always industrious and had quite a few things saved of her own when. she was married. She mentioned a side saddle and feather mattress and pillows. I heard her say that she had picked the feathers from the geese that went into the mattress and pillows.

In mother's history she says they lived in the back woods in a lumber house. Grandfather had cleared a small tract of land which he farmed and owned a small lumber mill. Susan had never seen a Mormon missionary but Jonathan immediately began teaching her the gospel and converted her, then began making preparations to join his parents and three brothers in Utah. He wasn't well he had contracted a lung trouble similar to T.B.. In July 1875 Jonathan sold their farm and all they owned for $300.00 and started for Utah, taking only their clothes and a few personal belongings. Susan's relatives were very much opposed to her leaving, partly because of Jonathan's poor health. Grandmother told me that grandfather gave her all the money they had to keep so that if he shouldn't live until they got to Utah she would have it.

They had three children at this time Idella nearly 9, Parley 7 and Udora would be 5 the coming November. Uncle Parley who was 7 remembered their trip west in detail so I will tell it as he told it in his history.

Uncle Jefferson Hunt took them with a team and wagon from their home to Rochester, where they boarded a steamboat and sailed down the Green River. When they reached the Ohio River they turned up stream to Evansville where they saw a train for the first time. Here they boarded the train for Council Bluffs, Iowa. They stopped here for two weeks and visited with grandfather's brother Enoch and sister Betsey Bedford.

Grandmother told me that they tried to get grandfather to stay there, they would give him a farm and help him. Grandmother said she almost felt like it might be the best as grandfather was sick and they had nothing. But grandfather was determined to get his family to Utah while he was alive.

From here they went on the train to Ogden where his brother Wilson lived. They lived with his brother for a while until they found a small house to rent and Jonathan was able to get odd jobs enough to buy the bare necessities.

Here Oct. 11, 1865 their third daughter Milinda was born. That same fall his brother Amos came up from southern Utah, bringing his son Amos and daughter Linda and their sweethearts to be married in the Endowment House. Mother says Linda gave the baby a dress and persuaded them to name the baby Melinda after her.

The next spring they rented a small farm three miles from Ogden from a Mr. Hall and walked back and forth the three miles to prepare the land and plant corn. They were very poor. Parley remembers that one day all they had to take for their lunch was a handfull of boiled potatoes. While they were out working Sister Hall slipped some biscuits into their lunch bucket.

That summer in July 1866, Susan, Idella and Parley were baptized into the church in a stream near Ogden.

That fall his brother Amos's son Jimmy came with four horses and a wagon to buy a new wagon. Bro. Hall gave Jonathan his share of the crop raised and he drove one of the teams and the family moved down to Hebron where Amos lived. Amos and John Pulsipher helped the family some until Bishop George Crosby, who had a contract to maintain the telegraph line from Parowan to Pioche, Nev., gave Jonathan a job cutting cedar posts, which were set in the ground to support the telegraph poles.

By this time Jonathan's father had passed away and his mother was living with Amos so they enjoyed seeing her and visiting with her.

Here at Hebron July 11, 1877 their son Nephi was born. They remained in Hebron for two years when Amos helped the family to move to Gunlock where they were able to buy a small piece of land. Here they raised corn and melons. Grandmother boiled the melon juice down and made a syrup which was used with a berry pudding made from berries gathered along the creek. They gathered greens from the fields (called pigweeds) which were quite good. Sometimes the neighbors gave them some skimmed milk and sometimes buttermilk and a small piece of butter in it. There was practically no money and clothes were hard to get. Mother remembered grandmother making she and Linda each a dress out of flour sacks. While they were playing around a bonfire Linda's caught on fire and ruined it. But through it all grandmother never complained.

Parley was getting old enough so he could help some and they enjoyed it very much here at Gunlock in spite of their poor circumstances. There were parties and dances, special celebrations on the Fourth and Twenty Fourth of July besides Sunday School and Sacrament meeting and mutual one night a week.

In. the winter Jonathan with other men cut wood for Bishop Crosby, who had a contract to furnish wood for the Lubich mine, which processed the ore from the Silver Reef mine. But Jonathan's health grew steadily worse and he was only able to cut one card of wood a day for which he got $2.00. He also did some work on the county road.

Here at Gunlock Oct. 6, 1880 their youngest son George was born and Jonathan passed away Jan 18, 1881 leaving Susan with six children to care for alone.

After their father passed away the family moved their small house down into town. Parley was 13 years old now and had the chance to go to school for 3 months, the only schooling he ever had. But he said he learned to read and write, learned all of the multiplication tables and some simple fractions.

Susan did everything she could to help make a living for her family, even taking the children in the grain field to glean grain, after the grain was cut. This grain had to be cleaned and hauled to St. George before they could get any money from it.

Mother told me about one time when they were gleaning, Uncle George, who was quite young, was left in the shade. He got some grain and ate it, as he wasn't able to chew it well, it swelled in his stomach and caused a clog there and was very sick.

On April 14, 1881 Idella married Weir Leavitt, one of Dudley Leavitt's sons and soon they and all of Dudley's family moved down on the Virgin River in southern Nevada.

In the fall of 1882 Weir came and took Susan and her family down to Mesquite where they picked cotton on shares for Dudley Leavitt and Myron Abbott. After they were picking cotton they returned to Gunlock.

Parley was now 14 years old began trying to assume the responsibility of his father's family. He said it never entered his mind whether he should take this responsibility, but rather how he should make his young licks count the most. At one time he herded cattle and did chores for George Brinkerhoff, in Rabbit Valley, who ran a large dairy, for which he received his board and $10.00 a month.

Then they moved to Leeds where they felt Susan would have a better chance to get work and the children could get something to do. In mother's history she says Uncle Weir took them when they moved to Leeds and they stopped in St. George to do their temple work and have the children sealed. The Temple record shows that grandfather's endowments was done 21 Jan. 1881 and grandmother's had her endowments and had the children were all sealed Nov. 2, 1882. This agrees with mother's history.

Here Susan tried for awhile to cook for some of the men who worked for the Silver Reef mine, but she didn't have money to buy food, so she had to give it up. Then she washed on the board for people several days a week and everything else she could do.

Udora and Linda helped in homes tending babies, washing dishes. Udora said at first she got 75 cents a week and later $1.00 a week besides their board which was a help to Susan: Udora said one time she had saved enough money to buy her mother a pair of shoes which she needed badly. How proud she was when she walked from one end of town to the other to take them to her.

All the time Parley was doing everything he could.. One time he organized a cow herd, he herded the milk cows for 6¢ a head making $1.20 a day. Later he sold their small farm at Gunlock for a team, wagon and harness and hauled freight from Milford to Leeds and St. George.

One fall they all had measles and were sick a long time. Susan took the measles, then had pneumonia afterwards. There was noone to care for her except the children. There was a long time none of them could work and when Christmas Eve came, Susan was still unable to get up and there was nothing to eat. So she asked Parley if he wouldn't go and ask the Bishop if he would help them a little until she was able to work again. Parley felt like he just couldn't go and ask for help.. Then Susan had them all kneel down around her bed and she humbly asked the Lord for help.

She had just finished praying when. a knock came to the door and two Relief Society sisters came in bringing a bucket of milk and other good things to eat.

Later Bishop Crosby sold out at Leeds and moved to Arizona and advised Susan and her family to move to Bunkerville, Nevada.

They went first to Mesquite on the east side of the Virgin River where they farmed a small farm but they didn't have money to fence it, so stray cattle ate most of their crop.

Then they moved to Bunkerville and bought some land from Bishop Edward Bunker, a piece of land from Steve Bunker and another piece from Orange Leavitt with a small house on one piece.

While at Mesquite Udora met Alonzo Thomas Leavitt, son of Dudley Leavitt and Mary Huntsman Leavitt and they were married Nov. 16, 1887 and 2 years later Oct. 16, 1889, Melinda married Franklin Leavitt, Alonzo's brother.

Parley was now 20 years old and Neqhi (sp?) and George were getting old enough to be quite a help and they were good  workers.

Susan had had a hard time all her life and didn't know what it was to give up. She braided straw and made hats for the boys and did everything else that she could.

With all of them working together it wasn't too long until they had a very prosperous farm and although she always worked hard she began to be very happy.

But when Melinda's second boy was nine days old she passed away 28 March 1893. Then on Jan. 18, 1899 Idella passed away when her youngest child was born. She left six children the oldest girl Ellen was about 16 or 17 years old.

These two deaths were a great blow to Susan. She told me that she was afraid she would lose her mind. There was such a long time she couldn't even close her eyes.

In 1897 Parley at the age of 29 was called on a mission. Before he came home he was able to go to Kentucky and meet all their relatives. They were all happy to see him and treated him very well, but his mother's folks were not interested in Mormonism. I remember, Aunt Cene (his father’s sister) sent a big cake and some other things to Grandmother when he came home.

In 1907 after Neqhi was married he went on a mission and after George's children were grown, 1943 he went on a mission and was also able to visit the old home and relatives in Kentucky.

The first I can really remember Grandmother was when our sister Inez was born. Ralph, Agnes and I stayed at Grandma's and Uncle George came and told us we had a baby sister at home. I remember when they still lived in their first house at. the top of a low hill with their fields joining at the foot of the hill.

Grandmother was a tall thin woman with Clack hair and snapping black eves. She was industrious, never contented unless she was busy. She was cleanliness personified. When they lived in the .old house, not only was house kept spotless but the yard and clear to the bottom of the hill if she had to sweep it with a broom made of brush.

She always loved to see things grow –and always had a :good garden. I never remember being at her home in the summer that there wasn't: long white radishes and onions in a dish of cold water. There were always flowers around her home. I remember the stalks and old fashioned pinks how sweet they smelled.

She longed to hear the guiney hens and see the peacocks that they had in Kentucky and had some of her own the only ones I ever saw when I was young.

She raised the only cotton I ever saw growing and had a chance to help pick. We children thought it was a real treat.

As I remember Grandmother seldom missed a Stake Conference at St. George and did a lot of Temple work for her ancestors. They would go by wagon and team and stay in St. George several days at a time.

Grandmother loved people and went to everything even after she was quite old even the dances. Always wanted her children and grandchildren to come to her home for every special occasion as Christmas, Thanksgiving and birthdays.

As Grandmother got older they had a four room rock house near the main road. We older granddaughters used to stay with Grandmother at nights when Uncle Parley was gone anywhere. How we did enjoy it, she was such a good cook, and in the evening she talked about Kentucky and the good times she had there and how she would like to go back just once more.

The youngest son, George, married Christina Hansen Sept. 5, 1906. When their fourth child was very young, his wife died leaving him with three small boys and a baby girl. So Grandmother and Uncle Parley moved in with him to help him with the family.

At this time Grandmother was suffering with cancer but never quit doing everything she could to help. But her condition grew steadily worse and she passed away May 23, 1919 at the age of 76.

(Typed by Marie Sandberg Memmott March 1999. The original is in long-hand and not signed, I am sure it was written by Roxie Charlotte Leavitt Memmott, daughter of Alonzo Thomas and Udora Hunt Leavitt. I, Marie S. Memmott am married to Merrill Gwynn Memmott, son of Calvin and Roxie Charlotte Leavitt Memmott .)