P2 on the family tree is Stephen Morton SHELTON, aka "Little Steve". He was born 5 Nov 1877 in Midway, Utah. He died 12 May 1945 in Salt Lake City, Utah. He is the husband of Fannie Adelia WARDLE. They have seven children.
Big Steve - Little Steve
Stephen Morton SHELTON is the last child born unto John SHELTON (b. 1839) & Mary MORTON (b. 1849). First is Mary Jane (b. 1869); next is Elizabeth (b. 1871); next is John Jr. (b. 1873); next is Margaret (b. 1875); and last is Stephen (b. 5 Nov 1877 in Midway, UT). Altho no birth certificate has been located for Stephen, his birth date and place have been verified by LDS church membership records of Midway Ward, Wasatch Stake, UT., #026184 and mini record #415454. LDS Infant Blessing is also verified by the Midway Ward Records, Wasatch Stake, Stephen was blessed by John O'NEIL of Midway.
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| Stephen Morton Shelton |
Changes started in the spring of 1879 when Stephen's dad, along with Isaak JACOBS and Moroni GERBER, entered into a contract to furnish timber for the Reynolds Saw Mill near Wanship. The opportunity looked promising. Wanship is situated at the junction of Silver Creek & the Weber River, 8 miles south of Coalville in Utah. Henry S. ALEXANDER, a relative of the SHELTONs, had built the Wanship mill on Silver Creek which he operated until 1869 when he moved to Midway. ALEXANDER had already supplied lumber for the railroad for several years prior. Perhaps Henry ALEXANDER encouraged John, Isaak & Moroni or at least shared some of his experiences in the lumber business. Henry also continued in this work. He moved from Midway to Heber & followed the saw mill business up Daniel's Canyon.
The Union Pacific Spur railway began building thru Silver Creek Canyon to Park City in 1879. At the same time a "narrow gauge track" was being built near there by the Utah Central Railroad. Mines near Wanship also needed timber. There was a great demand for the lumber Reynolds Saw Mill could provide. It was an exciting prospect. John SHELTON took his family with him to Wanship where the children were able to frolic & play during the warm summer of 1779. Mary kept house while John & other men hauled big loads of timber to the Reynolds Mill by ox team.
By December of 1879 Salt Lake City still did not have cheap & easy access to the mines at Coalville. For this purpose the new Utah Eastern Railroad line was incorporated. The proposed route was from Salt Lake City up to East Canyon Creek, across the divide to the head of Silver Creek and to Park City, down Silver Creek to Wanship & then down the Weber River to Coalville. 7 Jan 1880 Deseret News: "A contract for 60,000 ties has (also) been taken which amount is sufficient to timber twenty-one miles of track."
Even tho it was mid-winter, the coldest of times, pressure was great upon the freighters to get timber to the mill. John worked hard, long hours to help make this happen. John was not at home when Mary died. Family tradition says Mary had a miscarriage and bled to death. On 10 Feb 1880 Mary became very ill. Two-year-old Stephen probably understood little of what was going on; but the older children knew it was serious.
Mary Jane, the oldest, was only ten. Her mother, now bed-ridden, asked Mary Jane to take the three younger children into the next room & then Mary MORTON Shelton quietly slipped away. Mary Jane had previously lost her baby sister, Elizabeth, in 1871, although Mary Jane was probably too young to remember. But this day, even at 10 yrs old, MJ was the oldest. As scared as she must have been, as grief-stricken as she must have been, she still knew her younger siblings would now be depending upon her for a time. Mary Jane faithfully did as her mother had asked. She watched over the other children until her father returned home. John Jr. was then nearly 7; Margaret was 4 & Stephen was 2.
One can only imagine the horror John must have felt when he first discovered his wife was dead. He'd been away working & returned to find his four children alone with their deceased mother in the next room. John took Mary's death pretty hard, blaming himself for having moved the family into the isolated woods where it was difficult to get medical help. If only they had been in Midway, Mary Jane or even John Jr. could have run for help. It was a severe winter in Wanship that year. Mary died 10 Feb 1880. John continued with his commitment with the Reynolds Mill, keeping his family at Wanship until spring. The snow was too deep to try to bring Mary's body back to Midway for burial. John made a temporary grave for her in the snow until spring.
It is nearly thirty miles between Midway & Wanship. John knew it would be a difficult journey with the children thru the mud & rivers swollen with spring run-off. But when enough snow had melted John packed family possessions, the children & Mary's still-frozen body into the wagon and headed south to Midway. This task would have been solemn and difficult. Making things harder still, when they finally did make the trip to Midway, Mary's body fell from the wagon when they were crossing a river. John had to jump into the icy water to get her from the briskly moving spring run-off. What a horrible time this must have been for the family.
Stephen Morton SHELTON descended from Mormon pioneers. He was baptized on 2 August 194 by Jedediah WARDLE & confirmed a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints on 2 August 1894 by Peter APPLANALP.(MINI#026184) He is on "mini record" #026184 and TIB M29840,Bk7E,p993, FHL#1263387.
Stephen Morton SHELTON & his cousin Stephen Bonner SHELTON went to school together. Neither of the boys had middle names originally. Since both Stephen SHELTONs tired of having people, mail, etc., getting mixed up, they came up with the idea to give themselves middle names. Each boy took on his mother's maiden name as his middle name. Even tho Stephen Morton SHELTON was oldest, he was smaller in stature than Stephen Bonner SHELTON. The nicknames of "Big Steve" and "Little Steve" really caught on & stayed with the boys clear into their adult life. Stephen Morton SHELTON was known as "Little Steve".
An old MORTON family tree has this family, except for Stephen. It has John MORTON & Margaret CUNNINGHAM having Mary MORTON, which is correct. It also shows Mary MORTON marrying John SHELTON, which is correct. However, when it shows their children, it has Mary Jane, Elizabeth, John & Margaret. My grandfather, Stephen, is their younger brother, born after Margaret. Stephen Morton SHELTON was left out. By his own words he used to say he had no real home growing up, that he was an orphan. Could be that some folks lost track of Stephen.
Folks say that Stephen's dad was never the same after Mary died. He is said to have started drinking to try to numb his sorrow. Relatives looked after the children. They came to be known as orphans. Stephen's siblings moved in with relatives. Stephen stayed with his dad. They moved to Vernal & lived with Thomas & Nancy MANTLE. Nancy is Stephen's grandmother Abigail's daughter by her first marriage to a Mr. GOFORTH. Stephen used to say that he was raised by the MANTLEs. He probably did not remember his mother since he was so young when she died.
Stephen married Fannie Adelia WARDLE on 28 March 1900 in Ashley, Uintah, Utah. Their license is Ashley Precinct #6031596, Uintah County, Utah, Pg. 337. Witnesses were Jed WARDLE & Susan WORKMAN. The marriage was performed by John A. WORKMAN, minister. The federal land lottery of Indian reservation land offered opportunity to acquire 160 acres of land with little expense. By 1906 Provo had hundres of residents. The homestead lottery brought many to the area of Myton, Utah, as a place of new hope. "A good stand of pine" was found in Strawberry Valley. Felling trees was easing in comparison to transporting logs back to Myton.
Duchesne, then called Theodore, boasted the Strawberry & Duchesne rivers. At times, however, the water caused serious problems, even flooding the entire town of Theodore.. Spring flooding of all the major streams in the Uinta Basin was nearly an annual event. Sometimes the streams were so high water floated over the horses' backs. "Ute farmers were friendly but remained secluded from their white neighbors. ...Friendship and trust came slowly between whites and Indians; however, the extended hand of whites was often warmly welcomed by the Indians." By 1910 those who settled in the Uintah Basin were a diverse group. Many people from many places all converged. One-third would soon become discouraged and move away. Stephen was a postal truck driver in the Uintah Basin for 20 years.
Leonard Aaron SHELTON received a telegram from his sister on 12 May 1945 which read: "DAD PASSED AWAY AT NOON TELL MICKEY WIRE INTENTIONS LOVE JENNIE." Stephen was a member of the Liberty 8th Ward of Liberty Stake when he died on 12 May 1945. He has death certificate #906 from the Department of Commerce, State of Utah. It says the cause of death was "coronary occlusion". Funeral arrangements were handled thru Neil O'Donnell, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah. He was buried on 16 May 1945 in plot # 71386 of City Cemetery, Salt Lake City, Utah.
Stephen Morton Shelton's Obituary
"Steven [sic] Shelton, 67, 356 3rd E., died Saturday noon at his home after a lingering illness. He was born Nov. 5, 1877 in Wanship [sic], Summit County, a son of John and Mary Shelton. He had been a Salt Lake resident 4 years. Before moving here, Mr. Shelton was a government mail driver at Uintah Basin 20 years. He was an active L.D.S. member. Survivors include his widow, Mrs. Fannie A. Wardle Shelton; two sons, L. Aaron Shelton, California, and J. Edwin Shelton, Salt Lake City, four daughters Mrs. Clara McKendrick and Mrs. Jennie Evans, Salt Lake City, Mrs. Winona (Mickey) Casaday, Oakland, Ca & Mrs. Theora Smith, Texas, a sister Mrs. Margaret Kinsey, Midway.”
(FHL#821687; Salt Lake Tribune 13 May 1945 p8B; Deseret News 14 May 1945 p14;Salt Lake Tribune 16 May 1945 p16)
Sheila Gibson ~ SpiritHawk
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