Painting by Monte Smout
(The information for this life history comes from three documents: “A History of Little John Tolman” written by Laprele Tolman Harmon, “A Life Story of Little John Tolman” remembered and written by Mondell Tolman, and “My Valley, My Town Fairview” a book compiled and written by Elinor M. Brown.)
Little John Tolman was born in Eureka, Utah, 8 Sept. 1864, the second son of Margaret Eliza Utley and Cyrus Hewitt Tolman. When he was nine years old John was obligated to work in the mines at Eureka, Utah as the family was very poor. He was a hard worker and saw that his mother was taken care of. He never had but one month of schooling in his life. He could write his name and that was about all, but he was very good with figures as was proved by the way he managed his affairs.
Little John was married to Jane Huntsman, daughter of Isaiah Huntsman and Emma Mellissia King, on 25 Dec. 1885. He continued working in the mines where he met Richard Johns who became a good friend for many years. Little John and Jane’s first son, John Carlos was born on September 26, 1887 in Rush Valley, somewhere near Grantsville, Utah. He died young and is buried in Fairview, Wyoming.
Little John knew of a valley in Wyoming just over the Idaho line where there was plenty of grass to raise cattle. He had been in Star Valley a few years before, with a Sheriff’s posse to get a bunch of horse thieves, and liked the looks of the country. He disliked mining so decided to move to Star Valley. Little John Tolman’s family moved to Star Valley, Wyoming between 1887 and 1890 as their first daughter Margaret Emma was born on September 22, 1890 in Star Valley. (Mondell Tolman says it was probably in 1888 or 1889. He reasoned, “I don’t think they would travel that far, where there were no decent roads, with a sick woman and winter that near.”)
Little John homesteaded and built a cabin north of what became the town of Fairview, Wyoming. This homestead later became the farms where Vernon Hoops, Wayne Hoops and the Ericksons lived. Little John also owned a cattle ranch over on the west hill, where Byron Hoops later lived, and some land down below the road by Crow Creek.
Little John Tolman and Jane Huntsman had eight children. They were: John Carlos, Margaret Emma, Wilford Milton (Dick), Madelin, Laprele, Mondell, Jane, and Alice.
Little John Tolman was a hard worker and a good manager and soon became one of the richer men in town. He was a good provider and the family always had plenty to eat and good clothes to wear. He always wanted the best for his children, although he had money he didn’t want his children to grow up and not know how to work or to know the value of a dollar.
Frank Tolman, Little John’s younger brother had come to Star Valley about the same time as Little John. Before long, more of their family moved to Star Valley. The year after Little John and Jane Tolman moved to Star Valley the government was rounding up all the polygamists in Utah so John’s mother, Margaret Eliza Tolman, had to move. According to Mondell Tolman, Little John went and helped her and her youngest son, Orson, move up to Star Valley. Margaret Eliza’s husband didn’t go with them at first because, as Mondell put it: ”Granddad and Dad didn’t get along too good. Dad didn’t like him coming just to take what she had saved up and then leave her pregnant again. So Grandpa only went to see her once in Star Valley before she died.” (Margaret Eliza Utley Tolman died of dropsy and asthma. The doctors didn’t know much about treating either disease at that time.)
Maggie Porter, Little John’s younger sister, says, “Father came from Goose Creek, Idaho and my brother Frank came from Star Valley, Wyoming to help mother, me and Orson, move. Little John stayed in Star Valley and gleaned wild hay along the river.” (No matter if Mondell or Maggie was right, the family got moved to Fairview.)
Little John Tolman was the first mail carrier in Fairview. He and his mother had a contract to carry the mail form Montpelier, Idaho to Star Valley, Wyoming. Orson, Margaret’s youngest son, took care of her part until he died a couple of years later from some kind of stomach ailment, probably diphtheria. After that she had Chancy Bassett carry her part of the deal. (Chancy Basset was Frank Tolman’s brother-in-law.) They used to carry the mail fifty miles on horseback in summer and on snow shoes and/or skis in winter. That’s how Little John got started in the cattle business. He would buy one calf every payday.
Jane Tolman, Little John’s wife, ran the first Post Office in Fairview. All it consisted of was a roll top desk with 16 pigeonholes. She was the one who suggested the name Fairview. When the town was named, she submitted ‘Fairview’ and it was chosen for the name of the Post Office and the town.
One trip when Little John was gone to deliver mail, he had a whole hog stolen from a meat barrel in a small lean-to. When his next trip came up, he started out and then came back and sent Chancy Basset in his place. About midnight Little John heard the tub rattling on the meat barrel, so he got his shot gun and stepped out in time to see a man running with a ham in each hand. He hollered “Stop!”, but the man didn’t until Little John fired. The man fell but before Little John could get to him, he was up and running minus the hams. The next day Little John took the mail. When he got to Montpelier he went to Dr. Paynter and found out that one of his neighbors had came in and had more than a dozen shot taken out of his back and butt. He never lost any more meat.
The first thing Mondell remembers his Dad talking about was a fight he had on May 19, 1901, the night Mondell was born. This is what happened in Mondell’s words: “Dad (Little John) was in the Linger Longer Saloon and Gambling House owned and operated by Slim Oakley at Afton, Wyoming. He was playing stud poker with Jack Merrill and Jim Splaun. Dad had been winning consistently all evening and was doing ok, about 2 thousand dollars ahead of the game, when Uncle Frank Tolman called up and wanted to talk to him on the phone. Merrill pulled a gun on Dad and told him if he didn’t stay until he (Jack) won back all he had lost he would shoot Dad. As Merrill had killed Si Davis only a week or so before, Dad took him at his word. When Jack wouldn’t let Dad leave the game, Slim Oakley talked to Frank and told him what the situation was. Frank got on his horse and went to Afton to see what he could do. When Uncle Frank came in the door, Merrill looked up to see who had come in. Dad took advantage of that, vaulted over the card table, and hit Merrill in the neck just below the ear knocking him out. He was out for about 8 hours. The Sheriff locked Dad up in jail as they thought Merrill was dead; but turned Dad loose when they saw Merrill come too. Dad and Merrill carried guns after that for 3 or 4 years but never did use them. Merrill finally married a woman who had worked for Dad keeping house for us for a few months after Mother died. Merrill died that same year after they moved to Woodvill, Idaho, between Idaho Falls and Shelley on the opposite side of the river. It was rumored that Merrill’s wife done him in; she was capable. Her name was Harvey before she married Jack Merrill. Dad said they sure deserved each other.”
Little John used to like to tease anyone he could embarrass especially someone who thought they were smart. He would pull the same old gag on his brother-in-law, Emery Barrus. Emery was quite religious, so Little John would take a chew of tobacco and offer some to Emery. Emery would always say, “Why do you do that John, you know very well I would rather chew pig manure”. And Little John would always come back with this, “Oh well, I suppose it’s all in what a man gets used to.”
There were 4 or 5 brothers named Burton who lived in Afton, Wyoming. Two of them farmed and the others ran a General Merchandise Store. After a few years they built a Creamery and bought milk and cream and made cheese and butter. In 3 or 4 more years they had two creameries and 3 farms raising dairy stock and hogs. They hired 3 brothers who had just come from England, by the name of Billings; then they hired another English immigrant by the name of Wrackstram, who was an accountant. Mondell tells this story about Little John and Arthur Burton: Arthur Burton, the oldest brother, was completely bald, not even any eyebrows. He was always teasing Little John about the way he went around with his shirt unbuttoned and sometimes his pants. So Little John bided his time until one day there were eight or 10 ‘well-to-do’ men talking to Arthur and Dad (Little John) asked one of them if he ever heard how Arthur happened to lose all his hair. This man, one of the Bermion boys, said “Nooo, I can’t say I did.” Dad told him that one time he and Arthur were on the train taking stock to Omaha to sell and they got ‘lousy,’ which was a common occurrence in them days. So Dad told Arthur to mix a little flaxseed oil with Castor oil and rub that in his hair and he would be rid of the lice by morning. Arthur did and the lice got the diarrhea and pulled all Arthur’s hair out to wipe on. Then Mondell said, “Ma didn’t think that was funny, and neither did Arthur. It didn’t really happen, just in Dad’s mind as he told the story. They were always ribbing each other.”
Little John also used to argue with his older brother Mit (Milton) Tolman who was very religious. Mit’s worst swear word was ‘blast your melt’; the next in line was ‘gosh all hemlock’. Mit was always razing Little John about losing his temper. He’d say, “Hold your temper Johnny, hold your temper!” And Little John would come back with, “Hold, hell! I’m holding more temper now than you ever knew or dreamed of.” Another time Mit was quoting from the Bible on taking the Lord’s name in vain and Little John said, “So you like to quote the Good Book, huh? Well, I can do that too.” He started to quote from Psalms. Mondell didn’t remember the verse right off, but he said it went something like this, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I fear no evil; for I can whip any three evil S.O.B.’s in the Valley.”
Little John seldom found time to attend church as he had a large cattle ranch and there was too much work to be done, but he always insisted that his children attend church. He always paid his tithing and was one of the first to pay when donations were asked for, and usually paid more than anyone else. He was kind to widows and orphans and was always doing some kindness for them. He seemed to think it was his duty and his privilege to see to it that no one would take advantage of, or abuse, anyone unable to take care of themselves; whether it be physically, mentally, or for whatever reason.
Mondell talked to President Osmond one time when they met on the street in Afton. (He was the Stake President in the Star Valley, Afton, Fairview, Wyoming area. He was the Great Grandfather of the singing Osmonds.) President Osmond sure thought the world of Little John Tolman. He told Mondell that his Dad had done more to help the poor and those who were really in need, like widows and the mentally deficient or otherwise handicapped, than all the rest of the people in the Ward. He also told Mondell that his Dad always paid his tithing but he didn’t want anyone except President Osmond to know it as he didn’t take kindly to some of the Bishops that had served in Fairview, namely Frank Tolman, John Dewey, and Charley Porter.
Little John was always willing to help the Ward in buying band instruments and baseball uniforms or buying material to replace someone’s house that had burned down. He was a big help when the new frame meeting house was built in Fairview, he furnished all the nails used in its construction. Square nails were used at that time. He also helped with the new brick school house.
Dan Lynch, the President of the Afton Bank told Mondell one time that quite often when people would come to him for a loan and had neither collateral nor credit, he would send them to Little John Tolman and he would help them.
Little John gave Mrs. Shumway, a widow, a piece of ground to build a cabin on and helped the Ward build her cabin. When he needed to hire help he would hire her boys so they would have a little cash to help with the living. When he hired Ebb Richardson, he said he wasn’t much of a worker but he needed someone to cuss.
Little John was in the cattle business most of his life. He used to buy and sell many cattle each year and ship them either to Omaha, Nebraska; Kansas City, Kansas; or Chicago, Illinois. If anyone wanted to send stock with him thinking they could get a better price, all he would charge was the cost of feed on the railroad.
Mondell tells of one time Nettie Moffet, a widow in Smoot, Wyoming had a cow she wanted to sell. He says, “Dad thought Nettie asked too much and advised her to keep the cow and feed her some grain for a month or so and she would bring a better price. Nettie kept the cow until one day another cattle buyer came along and talked her into letting him take the cow and pay her when he came back. When the cattle buyer came back he told Nettie the cow had died on the train so he didn’t pay her anything. Nettie called Dad and asked him if he would stop in sometime. Dad went to Smoot and talked with Nettie and she told him what had happened. When Dad got back to Fairview he went to talk to this other cattle buyer and gave him hell. They had a fight and when that was over, Dad told him he better have the money for that cow to Nettie by the next day or he would rattle his bones again. Dad also told him he was so damn crooked he would steal manure from a blind dung beetle and if he ever pulled another deal like that he would see he got all the law would provide.”
Little John was very ambitions and hard working. He believed in the old saying, ‘Early to bed and early to rise; makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.’ Laprele said, “We always had breakfast at seven, dinner at twelve, and supper at six. Meals had to be on time at our home.”
Little John loved children, especially boys. He always said he wouldn’t give two cents for a boy that wasn’t mischievous. He loved to dance, and in his younger days he won several prizes for the waltz.
Little John Tolman was a good father but very strict. He would never allow his children to talk back. He always taught them to be honest and he abhorred a liar. Laprele said, “I have heard him say many times that he would rather see one of his children dead than to lose their virtue”.
Laprele remembers when her Mother died of cancer on October 20, 1906 leaving her Dad with seven children. She said, “I was only seven years old, but I can remember that he never took his clothes off for several days and nights after my mother was buried. He would walk around the farm for hours until he was exhausted, then come in the house and sit with his face in his hands. We had quite a time getting someone to come take care of the children.” Alice was sent down to Swan Valley to live with her Aunt and Uncle, Calvin and Mable Tolman.
Mondell thought he got to know his father, Little John, better than anyone else in the family as he grew up ‘in the shadow’ of his Dad. He said, “Dad took me with him rain or shine until, and unless, I was in school as my oldest sisters didn’t want to have me around the house; neither did the housekeeper. Dad tied me in the saddle in the afternoons so I wouldn’t fall off, but the old horse would try to scrub me off against the trees and bushes or just try to shake me off like I was a horse fly.”
After his wife died, Little John had a number of girls hired to help care for the children. After four years he finally married Victoria Peoples Vail, a widow with four children; Marvin, Calvin, and twin girls Wanetta and Oletta. (Oletta later died of diphtheria.) To John and Victoria were born six or seven more children: Ornette (Bus), Corwin (Con), Deloss, George C. (Bish), Jack, Vincent, and Laura. (Laura was born after Little John’s death.)
Mondell remembers when his Dad let Charley Porter have money to buy a saw mill which he moved up Spring Creek. Charley was supposed to pay the money back in lumber which he did until the Forest Service caught up with him and had him arrested for cutting, sawing and selling lumber without a permit. They (the Forest Service) took Charley to court in Cheyenne, Wyoming and fined him several hundred dollars and forbid him ever to cut timber in any forest.
Mondell says, “Porter sold his place which was heavily mortgaged and left Dad the saw mill which wasn’t only a small part paid for. Dad also was out the money he had to loan Charley to pay his fine. Porter moved to Ovid, Idaho a short way from Montpelier. Then Dad let one of the Hoganson boys from Thayne, Wyoming, have the saw mill with nothing down and a mortgage on 20 acres of willows and little pasture. About 4 or 5 acres of this 20 was timber of a sort, quite small logs. Mr. Hoganson died the same year. Mrs. Hoganson sent word to Dad to stop in and she would give him the deed. Dad and I went by there the next day and Mrs. Hoganson handed Dad the mortgage and was about to sign the deed when Dad tore up the mortgage and handed her a check for two thousand dollars. Mrs. Hoganson almost fainted and would have fallen if it hadn’t been for Nels Hemmert who was with her and caught her. Dad told Mr. Hemmert to take the mill and sell it if he could, so I never knew what happened with the mill.”
Mondell went on to say, “Dad had a similar experience with Steve Geen who he loaned some money to get squared with the Watkins Products Co. that he had got in debt too. Mr. Geen lost his ranch in Etna, Wyoming. Lester Bagley (not related to Muriel Margaret Bagley) finally got the Geen Ranch. The Geens moved away and I never did know where to. Dad wound up paying Geen another $500.00 and got their house in Afton, which he rented to Albert Barrus a brother to Uncle Emery. He was still renting when Dad died but had the deed not long after. Uncle Emery Barrus and Bob Hillstead were the executors of the estate and never did explain this deal as far as I know.”
Little John had another experience with William Wilford Pead who got in debt to the Raleighs outfit and couldn’t make it. He had to give him $1000 plus a loan for $1500 and got the Pead place. There was also another loan to Will Gomm of Smoot which was not fully closed at Little John’s death. Victoria wound up with the Gomm place.
Mondell said, “I could name a dozen or more men who still owed Dad money when he died and more than that who were milking cows Dad let them take. There wasn’t a town in the two valleys that didn’t have someone milking some of Dad’s cows. Most were honest and appreciated having them, except 2 brothers in Afton who were milking 15 or 20 cows of Dad’s; one time Dad and I caught them stealing. We were feeding about 500 head on the Alf Anderson place about one mile from the two brother’s place which made it real handy for them. One morning we seen where someone had walked from the road into a bunch of willows so Dad and I followed the tracks and found a cow hide. It was Dad’s cow. Dad went and got the Sheriff and a search warrant and went to these two brothers place and found the carcass hanging in a small shed near the house. They went to court and were given a jail term but President Osmond talked Dad out of forcing the decision of the court, but he did get his cows.”
Mondell says another reason his Dad was always grateful to President Osmond was because he talked him, and about a dozen other men, from lynching a resident of Fairview. This man had taken two of his daughters to the Yellow Stone Park one summer and when they came back both girls were pregnant by their father. Mondell says, “Dad and about a dozen others were going to lynch him when President Osmond talked them out of it; so they had a tar and feather party instead of a lynch party. Then they rode him out of town on a rail (pole) and warned him to never come back to Fairview or any other place in Star Valley.”
Mondell tells of one incident concerning an old man some people called the Hermit. His name was Ed Leaver, a brother-in-law to Clark Ames. Little John loaned him some money to have his wife operated on. Mondell wasn’t sure if this happened before his time or not, all he could remember is “the man lost his wife and child but he would always thank Dad for giving him the money to try to save them and was always grateful. Dad would have him come and stay with us once a year for a few days. They did most of their talking when they were alone, but I sure liked old Ed even if I couldn’t see his face for hair. He at least was kind and thankful for a friend.”
There is another story Mondell doesn’t think his Dad ever told anyone but him. He stumbled onto some of it by accident when he overheard Little John tell a man who was working for them that he would have to move on as he and Mondell’s sister Margaret were seeing too much of each other. He says his Dad told him the story, at least enough of it to satisfy his curiosity. “The man working for us was using the name of John Duke (which Dad said was not his real name). His real name was Elmer Jensen. He was the son of a Mormon Bishop in a little town of Manila, Utah, somewhere south and east of Saline. An outlaw named Butch Cassady had been working for this Bishop Jensen and stealing anything he could on his days off and at night. Cassady got Gaurd Jensen to join him in some rustling and robbing. Finally they robbed a bank (Dad didn’t say which one) and Cassady got shot but got away and a posse member got killed.
A few days later Cassady died some place near Flaming Gorge, Utah and young Jensen took the name of Cassady so as not to embarrass his folks anymore. Dad met Jensen when he went into Star Valley the first time with a Sheriff’s posse after some horse thieves. They caught them near Auburn, Wyoming near the Big Butte which was on the Old George Walton place. The posse was supposed to deliver the thieves to Lander, Wyoming, but Dad overheard some of the posse talking about faking an escape so they could shoot them rather than cross that rough country. When they were camped near Fountainell, Wyoming, Dad let Cassady loose, then Cassady turned two more loose. It was later reported that Cassady went to South America and got killed in 1909, but he was drilling a well for us in 1913 or 1914. Another Hole-in-the-Wall gang member worked for Dad, his name was Walt Cahn. He helped feed cattle for us one winter in Turnervill with another old timer Bill Carpenter who Dad brought back from Bighorn when he and I went after the sheep. Walt and Bill had a fight so Dad told Walt he would have to go too. In 1965, Cassady’s or Jensen’s (whichever) sister had a story in the True West Magazine and it told almost exactly as Dad told it to me.”
Little John Tolman made most of his money speculating. For a time besides the cattle business, he and his brothers were in the sheep business. Once they had a meat wagon and would go from town to town selling fresh meat.
In 1898 the Sheep and Cattle Wars broke out in Star Valley. Under the direction of Little John Tolman the cattlemen of Star Valley met and decided the range would have to be divided between the sheep and cattlemen equally. The next day Will Covey representing the sheepmen helped Little John, George Lemmon and Chester Sessions stake off the range.
One time when Little John went to Chicago to ship cattle, he brought home the first phonograph that was ever in Star Valley. People would come from miles around to hear it. He was the first in Fairview to have water piped into the house and a modern bathroom. He also owned the first car in Fairview and one of the first in the Valley.
He had two burnouts in his life and had to build new houses. The last one before he died was built over by the west hills in Fairview. Mondell thinks it was in 1914 when the house was moved onto the west side of the place on the west side of the Valley. He said, “Dad built a new house, or rather had it built. It was a five bedroom house and some barns.” Little John was very proud of this home and took pride in fixing it up as modern as possible.
Mondell Tolman said: “I think Dad had the biggest heart and the hottest temper of any man I ever seen, especially before he quit drinking. I suppose there were a lot of people who never knew Dad had quit drinking but he did quit about three years before he died. Dr. West told Dad if he didn’t quit he would live a year and if he quit right off short, all at once, he may not survive the withdrawal. Dad said he couldn’t quit a little bit at a time and that if he had been damn fool enough to get himself in that shape he would just die quitting. He almost did die quitting. I’ve seen him walk the floor night after night with the sweat running off him like he had just come from a steam bath. Sometimes he would get on his horse and ride to Afton for whiskey and come home without it. I guess he almost lost his mind at times. This went on for 3 or 4 months and finally the withdrawal period was over and he looked and acted like a new man. It was too bad he didn’t do it (quit) years before.”
Little John Tolman had pneumonia three times in his life which weakened his lungs. In 1918 he took a load of cattle to Omaha, Nebraska and came home sick with the flu. His sister Mattie Barrus helped to nurse him and, by using cloths soaked in formaldehyde solution over the nose and mouth, kept if from spreading through the rest of the family. After the flu developed into pneumonia Little John only lived three days. He was determined he wouldn’t stay in bed, and died while being held up on his feet by his son Mondell and his son-in-law. He was buried in Fairview cemetery. He was fifty-four years old when he died on October 21, 1918.
When Little John knew he was not going to get better, he made out a will but didn’t have all the kids listed. Emery Barrus and Robert Hillstead were executor’s so they had to divide the property. According to Elinor Brown, Alice, the youngest daughter, must have gotten a small inheritance along with the log house across the road south of the Fairview church. This house had once belonged to Frank Tolman but was owned by Little John at his death.
Victoria was left a widow again with a large family and a cattle ranch to take care of. The older boys who were not married and Ebb Richardson took care of the place. Ebb, who was fifteen years younger than the widow, married her.
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