Anna Barnhart Morgan Life History

In the picture above is Sarah Anna Barnhart Morgan as a child. She was born 22 Dec 1900 to William Daniel Barnhart and Sarah Ann Mower. She was the last of nine children.

In the picture above are Sarah Anna Barnhart and all her sisters. Anna is fourth from left. The first born was Anna Estella Spillett Jackson, born 23 Nov 1884. She married George Spillett [Divorced]. Married Hugh Jackson. Next was Mabel, born Nov 1886, died 1888. Next Drucilla Spalding, born 4 May 1888, married Joseph Hilary Spaulding, died 7 March 1985. Next Lorene McKown, born 20 July 1890, married Lon E. McKown, died 25 March 1984. Next Eugene George (Not in picture above) born 4 April 1892, married Edith Morgan. Next Ethel Johnson Sweetwood born 12 March 1895, married Reuben Samuel Johnson and [2] Harold Sweetwood, died 19 April 1966. Next Loupy Valdez (Not in picture above) born 10 March 1897, died 23 February 1906. Next Alvaretta Stahl born 7 November 1899, married Henry Jacob Stahl, died 29 August 1989. Next Sarah Anna born 22 December 1900, married Alvin Elmer Morgan, died 25 April 1983.

Loupy Valdez was named after a very good Spanish friend of the family that also lived in Rockland and rode a white horse.

When Sarah Anna was one month old her mother, Sarah Ann Mower Barnhart, died from childbirth complications. Her father, having eight other children, the next oldest only a little over a year old, took Anna to Elizabeth Hatch Shirtliff Stewart to raise. He asked her not to raise Anna as a Mormon. Elizabeth was a close neighbor and a very fine lady who had raised children of her own. She was also a good Latter Day Saint and she did raise Anna as a Latter Day Saint. Mrs Stewart first lived in Landing, Idaho, when she took Anna to raise. Mrs. Stewart's husband died in 1898 before she took Anna.

Not much is known of Anna's early years except that the Stewart family moved to Clinton, Utah (near Clearfield) and Anna Spent most of her first 16 years growing up in Utah. I, Vada, remember her telling about working in the fruit harvest, working in a cannery, and other jobs while living with Mrs. Stewart, as my mother always referred to her.

Mrs. Stewart had sons that taught Anna to dance. She earned money to buy a piano, but she told me that one of Mrs. Stewarts son's ended up with the piano even though she had paid for it (but not sure she paid for all of it).

Drucy told of going to the Stewarts for parties while they still lived in Idaho. It seemed to be a place where the young people liked to go for entertainment. They would dance, play games and many times stay all night as the Stewarts would prepare straw matresses for everyone to sleep on. She said they had some fun times there.

When Anna was 16 Mrs. Stewart died (March 22, 1916) and she went back to Rockland to live with her father and family. Her father had remarried to an old girlfriend (Mary Bell Church Deann, born 13 Sept. 1857) that he knew before marrying Sarah Ann Mower. I remember her and she was a wonderful woman and the only grandmother I ever knew. She was wonderful to all the children and they loved her dearly. It would have been no small task to have raised the Barnhart children.

I am not sure when Anna met and became engaged to a fellow by the name of George Friedel (his nickname was "Frenchie"). I remember her telling about how he was killed in the 1st world war in France and he named her as beneficiary of his life insurance. She was not able to collect it, however, because she had not married him.

Drucy also told of a time when Anna had returned to live with the family that Anna had found a job as waitress in a restaurant and when her dad found out about it, he did not like her working there, so he went to the restaurant and took hold of her ear and led her out of there. That was the end of that job.

Mary Bell also had three children of her own. I only remember Louise Deann who married Sid Oliver and later she married a fellow with the last name of Brazel. She lived in Los Angeles, California, when I was visiting there in 1932. Mary Bell's other children were Nellie, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Mary Irene of San Francisco. Mary Bell was married in 1880 to Jacob J. Deann and do not know what happened to him. Louise and Sid Oliver both died in California. Mary Bell's father was Fredom Henry Church and her mother was Mary Jane Porterfield.

I remember Mother was always close to the Stewart family and she was close to her daughter, Nina Draper. Nina treated Anna as a little sister as two of her own sisters had died in their youth. She also was befriended by Vesta and Mildred, who were daughters of Nina. I remember her visiting in Utah with the other children of Mrs. Stewart but do not remember their names. I remember we used to see the Drapers often and we shared many meals with them at our home and also theirs. I, Vada, was left with Nina when Joyce, my younger sister, was born. Nina's daughter, Bernice Draper Lloyd, gave me one of my first hair perms. She lived in Idaho Falls, Idaho and still lives there (2001).

We visited with Aunt Susie Bevin who was a sister of Sarah Ann Mower in Pocatello, Idaho many times and remember that they raised honey bees. Aunt Susie had a beautiful kitchen painted canary yellow and it always looked so bright and cheery. I loved to go there. She would have us eat with them when we visited. She would send us home with a fresh honeycomb of delicious honey.

As told in Alvin Elmer Morgan's history they were married and through the years Anna always raised a beautiful garden of vegetables and beautiful flowers. We lived on the produce that was raised and the fruit she canned and ate jam and jellies from the berries she raised. Anna made wonderful home made bread and we would love to come home to the smell of bread baking.

Mother always made crepe paper flowers for our home and for Decoration Day when families visited the cemeteries and had family reunions there and a huge picnic after placing the flowers on the graves of families. Mother was a very good cook and would take cakes, pies, ect. for the picnic.

Anna was a visiting teacher for many years and I remember her helping many a sister. She was talented making crafts and made many nice things for our home. I know that Anna, my Mother, had a very strong testimony of the gospel and she was a good example to her family be the way she lived the gospel, especially in all her efforts of doing her research of her ancestors.

I am not sure when she and Alvin began taking Genealogy lessons and began doing research on both their families, but it was in the early 1930's and they both became very dedicated to the work. I, Vada, went to many classes with them. They both did continual correspondence to learn more of their ancestry. It would be difficult today for anyone to start our family history if it were not for their efforts of doing temple work and gathering all the many names of families. This was really a bonding time in their lives to do temple work and research together.

In 1949 Anna had been very ill and was taking a medication prescribed for her by a Dr. H. Ray Hatch of Idaho Falls for pain she was experiencing because of her gall bladder. The pain medication was later referred to as "LSD" a mind altering drug which affected her mentally the rest of her life. She became confused about reality and never was able to do much research after this time. She did, however, live to be 83 years old and was able to care for herself, her home, garden, ect. until she developed diabetes and other ailments. She died in a nursing home in Idaho Falls, Idaho. Anna was always a sweet natured person, a loving mother, a good cook, and pleasant to be around. She worked hard all her life as they always lived on a farm. She doctored her family thru illnesses. I remember the broth she would cook for us and also the many mustard plasters she would make to help break up a chest cold.