Ida Chase

History of Ida Bennion Chase

by Evan Boswell

Ida Bennion Chase was born in Eagleville, Nevada on 2 June 1873. Her father was John Bennion and her mother was Esther Ann Birch Bennion. Eagleville was a temporary home of John and Esther Ann while they were on a mission for the Church to help settle the territory. They were sent there by Brigham Young.

They later moved back to Vernon where they owned a ranch. This is where Ida grew up. She met John Henry Chase there and on 9 December 1896 was married to him. In their early married life they went to Roosevelt, Utah to establish a farm. Farm life meant taking care of animals, weeding gardens, cooking on a woodstove, carrying water from the ditch, scrubbing clothes by hand, driving a team and wagon for transportation, all with a bunch of kids to take care of.

A few years later, they moved to Nephi, Utah where the children could have better opportunity for schooling. On 7th North and 5th East they purchased a two room brick home. (A two bedroom home). There was not enough bedroom space in the house for all of the children so some of them slept outside in the top part of the cellar.

Her husband, John, worked for sometime on his brother's ranch and then was called on a church mission to the southern states. [This statement by Evan is in error because John was called on the mission to the southern states before they moved to Vernal.] Ida and the children milked the cow and took care of chores while he was gone. She played the piano with a dance orchestra to help support the family and John while he was away.

Such was the strong testimony of the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ that they as a family had and a willingness to serve the Lord. When John returned home she, of course, continued her family duties as a mother of a large family.

In her later married life, she had a very bad ulcerated sore leg that wouldn't heal. She kept sulfa medicine and bandages on it and much of the time would elevate it. She would kneel on the chair and push it around the house, as she needed to move around.

It was very late in life when medicine was found to completely heal the sore so she could comfortably walk on it. She made delicious homemade bread and would have her sore leg kneeled on a chair as she did so or took care of other work.

When she was young to middle age she had long black hair reaching to her waist which she combed with a large comb and then wound it into a bun pinned on the back of her head. She was well educated, much of it self-taught. She had a high school education. She had a nice handwriting. She liked to read, and to write letters to her family, and in later life, spent a lot of time on doing genealogy work.

She had many grandchildren, and was proud of them all and loved them. During the years of World War II she constantly wrote letter to her son, Arthur, who was in the Army in Europe and to her grandsons.

She spent her later years visiting among her children as she traveled from place-to-place. She was a great strength to her family of children and grandchildren. She taught them with great strength to love Heavenly Father and the Savior and to stay strong in the Church.

She died February 16, 1946 in the home of her daughter, Laurel, in Ogden and was buried in Nephi. She was a grand lady.

What I remember, loved, and respected her for, was her testimony and belief in the Savior and that the gospel was true and that Joseph Smith was a prophet. She was very strict about her family living correctly. She raised twelve children and had a lot of grandchildren. Her grandchildren really loved her.

She loved family history and genealogy work and left a great legacy in this work. She shared it with me and took it with her from family-to-family as she visited her children.

When my mother died, my sister as a little girl went to live with her, at about eight years old as I remember, for several months or a year and I lived with Grandma Boswell - until our father could take care of us. My sister and I would visit each other at our grandparents' place -walking back and forth - as they, both lived in Nephi. I used to float a small wooden boat I had made, in an irrigation ditch in front of their place. Their home was a small red brick one. They had a large yellow rose bush on the front corner of their place. My mother loved yellow roses and I did, too.

One day as I was visiting - I was about 12 yrs old - I swore taking the Lord's name in vain, Grandma Chase heard me and took after me. I ran in back of the house and over the cellar pit but Grandma caught me and furiously shook me until my teeth rattled. Ever since then I have tried hard not to swear. How I love that woman for that lesson.

When I was in the Navy overseas in the Solomon Islands during World Was II she wrote me a letter every week and once in a while sent me a box of raisin filled cookies. By the time I got them, they were usually mashed but tasted awfully good and filled with love.

When I got home, she did a lot to encourage me while I was trying to re-establish and put my life together. She was a grand lady. I loved her so much.

Short History of Ida Bennion Chase

Written by Esther C. Boswell

Ida Bennion Chase was born 2 Jan 1873 Eagleville Nevada. Her parents were at that time on a mission in what was called Dixie Country. She was the eighth child and only girl in a family of nine children. Her parents were released and returned to Taylorsville, in the fall of 1873 where they lived for three years.

The family moved back to Vernon, Tooele County, Utah. It was here in Vernon she went to district school and later she spent two years in Latter-Day-Saint college in Salt Lake City where she was prominent as a student and in all activities. She loved music, and had a special talent with it. She studied hard and her teachers recognized her ability. Evan Stephens was one of her teachers. She played the organ and sang alto. She made good use of this talent all through her life, playing for church, choirs, choruses, and quartets.

Her knowledge of music and her ability to sing all parts made her sought after everywhere she went in the wards and stakes. She was also Sunday School and primary teacher. Even near the age of seventy, she taught a class of Trail Builder Boys in Nephi. At the end of her second year in college, her mother had a serious illness, and for the next three years, she spent her time at home caring for her mother and as a clerk in her brother, Israel's store.

She loved horses and as her brothers were sheep and cattlemen with plenty of horses around, she learned to ride and drive a team as well as any man.

She married John Henry Chase of Nephi in the Manti Temple the 9th of Dec. 1896. Their first home was in Vernon Utah. It was from there her husband was called on a mission to the Southern States. He served for one year and six months and was released because of ill health. Ida went to Salt Lake and stayed with her ½ sister until after her second baby, Esther, was born. (This was just two months after her husband left for his mission.) She then went back to Vernon; where she played for dances and did janitor work to support John in the mission field.

In 1903 with four small children, the family moved to Vernal. Here the family lived for eight years. They were hard years for the family which had grown to eight children. Here her knowledge and ability for music was put to use again (she was stake organist) and she played for Jane Bennion (wife of Enos Bennion) who was a soloist. She said she liked Ida to play for her to sing because she played soft so she could be heard.

Their ninth and tenth child were born in Maiser, a ward just north of Vernal. Their small farm at Vernal was traded in 1911 for a larger one in Bennett in Uintah County. Ida was made president of the Primary and ward organist. They lived here for three years. This was a new settlement and schools not the best and with eleven children, they decided to move to Nephi, John's old hometown. It gave the children better educational advantages.

Here Dec. 25, 1915 their twelfth child and seventh son was born. One by one the family scattered. Business interests and marriages took them other places, Ogden and into Idaho. Her husband did 2 June 1930, and she was alone, no not alone, she had her music, books and neighbors. It was not uncommon to have a child call and say "Sister Chase will you please help me prepare a 2 ½ minute talk for Sunday School". She later moved to Ogden to be near a daughter, where she died the 16th of Feb. 1946. She was buried in Nephi, Juab Co. Utah cemetery.

=====================================================================================

JOHN HENRY AND IDA BENNION CHASE

John Henry Chase was born 29 August 1864 in Moroni, Utah. He was the first of eight children born to Amos and Eleanor Coolidge Chase. The family moved to Payson Utah and then to a farm on the Sevier River south of Mills, Utah.

When John was 16 years old, his father drowned in the Sevier River on 26 May 1880. This left his widow with seven children. The eighth child was born two months later. The family moved to Nephi, Utah to be close to family. John stayed on the farm and operated it for several years with a hired man. The farm sold 14 years later.

After the sale of the farm, John was involved in another farming venture with two of his brothers in Vernon, Utah. It was in Vernon he met and fell in love with Ida Bennion.

Ida Bennion was born on 2 January 1873 in Eagleville (now Ursine), Nevada. She was the only daughter of John and Esther Ann Birch Bennion.

John and Esther Ann were serving in the Muddy River Mission at the time of Ida's birth. When released from the mission they moved back to Taylorsville, Utah for a short time and then to a homestead south of Vernon. Ida lived on the homestead or in Vernon until she married John. She developed a musical talent and owned an organ. With her organ taken to dances and church in a wagon, she provided the music at these events.

John met Ida in the Bennion Store in Vernon where she was working for her brother, Israel. After a courtship, they were married on 9 December 1896 in Manti, Utah. Twelve children were born to them. They lived in Vernon for a few years, and then moved to the Unitah Basin. They lived in Vernal, Maeser, Roosevelt, and Bennett. After the birth of the 11th child, the family moved to Nephi in 1915. Their 12th child was born in Nephi.

All twelve children lived until adulthood. The children were Sula who died in 1930, Esther, Ferron Bennion, Laurel, Amos Bennion, Nephi Bennion, Ida who died in 1931, Ina (Ida and Ina were twins), Ellis Bennion, Arthur Bennion, Ernest Bennion, and Wilford Bennion.

During this time, John farmed on several different places. When they arrived in Nephi John went to work for his brothers on the Chase Ranch south of Levan, Utah leaving the family during the week in Nephi. Later he rented a farm a short distance west of Nephi and farmed it. He worked the swing shift as a watchman at the plaster mill east of town while farming during the day.

John died 2 June 1930. He had literally worked himself to death caring for the family. During a one-year period, Ida lost her husband and two of her children, Sula and Ida. She had four boys who were not married and no income to support them. Two of the boys lived with an uncle for the next school year. Within a couple of years, Ida was alone in Nephi.

All family members were very kind and helped her as much as possible. She visited and stayed with several of them until she passed away. At the time of her death, on 16 February 1946, she was living with Laurel in Ogden. Ida and John are buried side-by-side in the Vine Hill Cemetery in Nephi, Utah.