Fredrick Thomas Smith

Sheila's Corner

All I have listed for my grandfather, Frederick Thomas

Smith is he was born on the 28th of December 1865 in

St. Thomas, Nevada. He married our grandmother,

Sarah Ann Higbee on the 8th of January 1886. They

were married by W.R. Funk, First Counselor to Bishop

Thomas S. Smith in Wilford, Idaho. Frederick Thomas

was re-baptized on 13 Oct. 1891 and he and Sarah Ann

were sealed 29 Oct. 1891. They moved to Sandy Creek

in 1893. He served there as Superintendent of the

Sunday School. Where Sarah was President of the

Primary in Aug. 1895. They moved back to Wilford in

the Spring of 1898. Fred was secretary of the Mutual in

the first or almost first Mutual in Wilford. Fred and

Sarah Ann were in the first ward choir that was

organized in Wilford, Idaho.

The remainder is from the memory of Sadie

Collet:

Mother told me that the first dance she

went to when they moved to Idaho she met

my dad After she went home that night,

her brother asked her if she met anyone

interesting. She said, "Yes, that black,

curly headed Smith boy." And they did end

up getting married. She was not quite 17

when they got married.

The Sn-If'"bthoys all were musical. They

just about had an orchestra. Someplayed

violin, a lot played the violiti. Someplayed the

accordion.

What I remember is after I was born, of course. They

lived in Idaho, around St. Anthony. They had crops and

did well because they had irrigation. They knew exactly

what crop they had and how much they could grow

because of the irrigation. Then all his brothers and his

mother movedto Canada. They all convincedhim it was

a really good move. That was in 1910.

I was born in 1911 so I was the only one born in Canada.

I was such a little thing. I remember my father at the

table would show me goblets (the glasses with the long,

.- -"""~

skinny handle) and say, "That's just about how big you

were." He used to tell me I must have been special to

live. I was only 3 1/2 pounds when I was born. They

,-used to feed me with an eye dropper. This isn't really

about him, but it's what I remember him saying to me.

My dad loved to dance. He was a heavy man, but a

good dancer. We loved to sing. Sunday evening,the

family would all get together and do part singing. One

brother would play the accordion, I had 2 brothers that

would play the violin. Ersel played the piano. He

could chord to anything! And we would sit together and

do part singing. We really enjoyedit. My dad had the

best bass voice. My Bruce sounds just likehim! I'd

never heard him sing part singing before until one year,

when he lived in.8irni, I sat next to him in

church. He was singing bass, and I looked

over at him surprised, because he sounded

just likemy dad! I couldn't believe it,

Another thing, about the time I got

married, the folks sold the piano to buy a

radio. I remember my dad would stay up

and listen to it, and you could hear him tap

dance to the music. A real dancer!

After we moved to Canada, they had so

many years of no crops, it about broke

him. His brothers told hi.mhow great it

was so he bought a whole bunch of land

and rented more. They had 3 dry years where they just

about didn't get seed back. That's when I was born, on

the farm in Raymond. When I turned 4 we movedto

Cardston. They bought a farm on Lee's Creek and they

had to do mixed farming. The land wasn't good

enough to just farm, so they had pigs and cows. He got

a barrel wagon to haul buttermilk in. He would take

the milk to the creamery. He'd sell the cream and bring

home buttermilk for the pigs. I don't know ifhe just

got the buttermilk back or if he had to pay for it.

During the time we lived there, the people nicknamed

him "Buttermilk Smith" because of that. We lived

there 2 years. That's where Johnny died. When we

were living there.