LAMONI TOLMAN
14 Mar 1858 – 19 Feb 1904
Son of Judson & Sarah Lucretia Holbrook Tolman
Lamoni was born 14 March 1858 at Bountiful, Davis, Utah, the eighth child and fourth son of the fourteen children of Judson and Sarah Lucretia Holbrook Tolman. On 30 December 1880 he married Agnes Emmorette Call, a daughter of Chester and Agnes Malissa Loveland Call.
Lamoni spent his early days in Bountiful, where his parents had settled in the early days. About 1880-1881 a group of young married people were called by Brigham Young, through Anson Call, to settle the Chesterfield County, a district ten miles north of Bancroft, Idaho. Among these settlers were the Calls, Hatches, Lovelands, Adam Yancey and others, including Lamoni and his two brothers, Judson Adonirum and Joseph Holbrook Tolman.
Lamoni homesteaded 160 acres of land and took up dairying, stock raising and farming. He also worked at carpentering, assisting the building of the Chesterfield meeting house and benches. This meeting house is still standing and was large enough for the community in the 1950s. He also worked at the blacksmith trade and was the village dentist. James Yancey, his sister’s son, tells how he once got one of his front teeth broken off by a fall and as it became swollen, his father told him to go to Uncle Lamoni’s (he was about ten or twelve years old) and have him pull this tooth. Uncle Lamoni was mowing hay and he sent James to the house for the forceps, had him get up on the mower seat and out came the tooth regardless of the pain.
At one time while living there in Chesterfield their home burned down with all their belongings, set fire by an overturned coal oil lamp. About 1888 Lamoni and Chester Call took a contract for the Union Pacific Railroad and moved to Green River and Aspen, Wyoming for a year or so but returned to Chesterfield.
Lamoni was a great hunter, he would load his family into the wagon and go hunt dear and pheasants, then share them with the neighbors. He was very kind-hearted. No stranger was ever turned from his door, but was made welcome and fed.
He had one of his big toes which hurt and bothered him a lot. So becoming disgusted with it, one day he took a chisel and putting his foot on a block of wood cut off the offending toe. Who says this would not take a lot of courage.
On 22 July1895, he with his sister’s husband, Adam Yancey left to fill a mission for the church in the Southern States, being assigned to Texas, arriving there in the hottest summer months they soon after took down with chills and fever or malaria, and as their health did not improve they were later released to come home before their missions were ended.
In 1901 a number of families, due to drouth and early frosts, left Chesterfield and moved into a community now called Groveland, four miles west and north of Blackfoot, Idaho. Here they bought a farm with a large house on it, near what was then John Oborn’s store. The property was later owned by Ronald Bitton of Blackfoot.
Lamoni and Agnes had a family of nine children, seven sons and two daughters. Two sons died in infancy. Chester Lamoni, the oldest son, married Nancy Caroline Hurst and they moved to Carey, Idaho. He died 7 August, 1946. His wife and family still live at Carey.
Shortly after their arrival here Lamoni had the misfortune to break his leg or ankle, through a part of the mower falling on it. This laid him up for 3 or 4 months and from this accident and perhaps from the shock of cutting off his toe, he developed diabetes from which he suffered much and thinking his health would be better where it was warmer they moved to Caldwell, Idaho in 1903. There he died 19 February 1904 and was buried in Chesterfield, Idaho.
Their youngest daughter Belva writes on as follows: “I remember very little of father as I was hardly two years old when he died. I have heard my mother say that father did a man’s work at 12-14 years old, as his mother died when he was young and he worked in the timber and took his place as another man. Chester and Rufus, his sons, did the same thing. Rufus took a job at Oborn’s store when he was14 and helped provide for we younger ones and was like a father to us. The only holiday I ever remember him taking was one 4th of July when we enjoyed a family picnic in the park. Carleon also took his turn at being father and head of the family with mother supervising. We lived on a farm north of Smith’s Nursery about 1905 and I remember getting a sound spanking for making a noise in church. One thing I admire my mother for, she kept discipline and order in the family, unlike the modern children today.”
While we lived at Caldwell my only sister, Agnes Lavon married Lewis Hudson and she died when her second child was born. We lived on the Buckland place until about 1910 when mother felt we needed more farm land. Mother had been doing washing and ironing to help with the living and we all had our daily chores. When we moved to Riverside our house was small and not very warm but we all worked hard. About 1913 mother’s health began to fail and I was obliged to take over the cooking for the family. My brothers were very good to me and would not let me help in the fields, which I felt I would like to do.
In 1917 Carleon was drafted in the army. Chauncey enlisted in the Navy. Rufus was also drafted. Anson, mother and myself were left to operate the farm. As mother’s and Anson’s health was not the best we sold the farm and moved into Blackfoot in 1918. The depression came, the boys came home and we had no farm and jobs were hard to get. On 12 December, 1919, Carleon married Gertrude White and in 1921 we moved to Kimball, Idaho and bought another farm which Carleon helped operate, but the land was poor and the boys got discouraged. We lost the farm and moved to Pocatello in 1922 where Chauncey went to work for the railroad.
On 23 October, 1921, I married Golden V. Jones and we had a son and daughter. I was divorced from Mr. Jones, 7 August 1929. Chauncey married Alberta Zagga, 7 December 1929 and mother lived with them until her death, due to a heart ailment and neuritis, 21 October 1934. She was an honest woman. Her wit and humor made our days cheerful through many trying times. She spoke what she thought good or otherwise and if she disapproved of anything she was quick to tell you straight from the shoulder.
Chauncey was on a merchant ship and traveled to almost all countries in the world. Through these experiences and study he had a wealth of knowledge but was a very quiet man. They have two beautiful talented girls. He was president of the railroad brotherhood until he met with a serious automobile accident 7 April 1947 which left him in very poor health and he was obliged to quit his work on the railroad.
Anson having left the farm about 1922 went to work for Mike Barclay on a cattle ranch where he stayed for many years, I don’t know where he is now as I have not heard from him for fourteen years.
Rujus married Sylvia Ruth Harper of Parkersburg, West Virginia 18 April 1919 and they have two sons. They have lived most of the time near Blackfoot and in Grove-land. Later bought a farm at Wapello, where they were living at the time Rufus died. He had suffered a lot from stomach ulcers and was at the Veterans hospital in Boise several times. His wife and boys still live on the farm at Wapello.
On 28 August, 1948, I, Belva, married Rudolph Peterson. I have taken care of myself since I was 14 years and have helped care for my mother and others. I raised my two children alone without help financially from anyone. My children have been my complete life, and the Gospel is my anchor. I have a good husband whom I love dearly. I have worked for the telephone company, dry goods store, as pastry cook in a big hotel and at a bakery in Idaho Falls, while taking care of my two children and my home and Sunday School work.
(Compiled by Bertha Y. Jensen and Belva Tolman Peterson in1950. Edited by Loraine T. Pace)
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