Albert Edmond Mills by Grace Mills Pace

History of Albert Edmond Mills

8 November 1874-12 November 1942 

Written by his daughter Grace Mills Pace

Albert Edmond Mills was born in Hoytsville, Utah, 8 November 1874 in a log cabin. The home was located on the southwest side of the valley. The Weber River ran through the center of the valley so there was definitely and East and West side to the community. Later, a railroad was built through the center of the valley. The train ran from Ogden, Utah to Park City, Utah.

Albert's parents were Charles Edmond Thomas Mills born in Allbrook, Winchester, Hampshire, England, 14 January 1838, and Eliza Harriet Bailey of Fareham, Hampshire, England, born 22 Sept 1838.

Albert was the eighth child of Charles Edmond Mills and Eliza Harriet Bailey Mills.

     Charles Frank Mills 14 Dec 1861 Kaysville, Utah

    Alonzo Alvin Mills    31 August 1863 Kaysville, Utah

    Eliza Jane Mills      23 Aug 1865 Kaysville, Utah

    Mary Ellen Mills      4 June 1867 Kaysville, Utah

    Samuel James           2 Oct 1869 Kaysville, Utah

    Ella Louise            5 Oct 1871 Hoytsville, Utah

    Maud Elizabeth         6 April 1873 Hoytsville, Utah

    Albert Edmond          8 Nov 1874 Hoytsville, Utah

    Walter Louis           18 July 1876 Hoytsville, Utah

    Ezra Thomas            15 Jan 1878 Hoytsville, Utah

    Amy Clara               9 Nov 1879  Hoytsville, Utah

Charles Edmond Thomas Mills and Eliza Harriet Bailey were married 26 Jan 1861 at Southampton, Hampshire, England. Little is knows of their life in England other than the history of the family written by Charles' sister Louisa Harriet Mills Palmer.

The Charles Edmund and Frances Farr Mills family heard the gospel of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from Elders William Wilde and Charles B. Savage. George Q. Cannon advised the converted saints to gather to headquarters of the Church. Accordingly Charles Edmund Thomas, his wife Eliza Harriet Bailey and his sister Mary Ellen left for America in 1861. They traveled across the plains in different companies.

After arriving in Utah, Charles and wife Eliza went to work for George Peterson in a small town north of Morgan, Enterprise, Utah. Later they moved to Kaysville, Utah where their first five children were born. In the spring of 1870, they moved to Hoytsville, Utah.

Charles Edmund Thomas and Eliza Harriet Mills bought a building lot for $150 from Alonzo Winters. They bought a log cabin from William Holt. This cabin had been moved into the Fort of East Hoytsville because of Indian troubles and later moved back to the west side. Charles hauled coal to Salt Lake City to get money to pay for the lot and cabin.  It was in this cabin where Albert Edmond (my father) and his last three sisters and two brothers were born.

When Albert was in elementary school, he attended a school held in the top of the Hoyt Grist Mill. It was called the Blue School and I think was staffed by the Methodist Church. He probably walked the two miles from where he lived. His brother Alonzo Alvin Mills went to Kansas State College to get higher education and served on the first faculty of what is now Utah State University.

Charles was active in the Church. He served as a counselor to Bishop Alonzo Winters, Sr. and other Church callings. We do not know what happened, but the family became inactive in the Church.

Charles was a prosperous farmer and bought land to farm. He had a two-thirds interest in a large reservoir in the mountains that filled in the Spring from Alexander Creek. The Creek was surveyed and built by Andrew Peterson and sons. It was a masterpiece of surveying around steep mountain peaks and canyons. That reservoir is still used to water our farm land today. The other one-third of water was used on a farm south of our land. Some of the farm land was a mile away.

The log house where Albert and family lived had a cellar underneath with a door on the south end. In the cellar were shelved built where bottled fruit was stored. There were bins for potatoes and other garden vegetables were stored for winter use.

Grandfather had apple trees, a large area of tame currants (red, black, and yellow) that made delicious jelly, pies, puddings, etc. Also wild currants grew nearby.  Grandfather also grew horseradish and rhubarb. His yellow roses, honeysuckles, lilacs, clematis vines, peonies, and many other flowers were grown in profusion and people came from far and near to get starts or roots. 

There were two rows of cottonwood trees that grew as borders to the path to his home. Also a large pine planted by him still stands. The cottonwood trees are gone.

The farm bench land grew alfalfa and grains. The meadow land by the river grew meadow hay and the range land was used as summer range for sheep and cattle.

Albert Edmond, along with the rest of the family, were not brought up in the Church after their early years in Utah. We do not know what happened to cause this problem. As a young man, Albert smoked. When he started to court my mother, Martha Ann Wilkinson, she influenced him to go back to Church. He quit the bad smoking habit and they prepared to be married in the Salt Lake Temple.

Albert Edmond Mills and Martha Ann Wilkinson had lived a mile apart. Albert lived on the South Hoytsville Lane and Martha Ann Wilkinson lived on the Central Hoytsville Lane.

(There was also a North Lane.) They decided to be married in the Salt Lake Temple 27 June 1906. I think they had to travel by horse and buggy. Albert always had fine horses and was proud of them. He also had a special love for dogs He liked to read about them and could tell great dog stories. As children, we liked to hear these special dog stories.

Albert and Martha, my parents, decided to build a home south· and west of my grandparents. My father had decided to farm as a partner with grandfather. They had dairy cows and sheep and other farm animals.

My mother had graduated from LDSU in Salt Lake City. She earned money to put herself through school and graduated 1904. Walter M. Boyden, who was superintendent of Summit County School District, offered her a teaching job at school before she graduated, but she decided to get her degree.

She taught in the Hoytsville Elementary School in a large red brick building built East of the highway.

I was born 27 April 1907. My folks lived in a house rented from Charles Williams and Sarah Ann Brown Wilkinson, mother's Uncle and Aunt. It was half way between the South and Central Lanes of Hoytsville's west side.

Again Mother was asked to teach school in the district. I was four months old when Mother and Father moved to Grass Creek. They hired a widow Mrs. Alice Pope Robinson to tend me while Mother taught school and my father worked in the coal mine at Grass Creek. Mother was nursing me, so she would take care of me at noon and, if needed, was close by in a house. They said I was a good baby and was loved so much by Mrs. Robinson. She even gave me a little tea, as she was English and liked her tea. Mother had asked her not to give it to me, but she could see stains of it on my bibs and dresses.

The year's work of my father and mother helped them have money to hire a carpenter Mr. Fitch from Oakley, Utah, and his helper to start our new home. They had planned the new home during their hours off from the mine and school.

Also, Mr. Fitch had plans to help Father and Mother purchase two tents to set up on the lawn south of my grandparents home. Our home had to be built quite a ways west of the road so not to shut off view from my grandparents home.

They soon found out that Mr. Fitch and helper were alcoholic drinkers and could not be kept on the job, so another tent had to be set up so they didn't go home weekends.

The two-story house plan called for a kitchen, pantry, dining room, and living room and one bedroom on the main floor. There were three bedrooms upstairs with closets to each bedroom and three hallways. Later a bathroom was built off the main bedroom downstairs. Also, later, a cement fruit and storage room was built on the west side of the pantry. The upper rooms were not completed at this time, but could be used for storage. There were completed while I was in high school.

Culinary water for our home and Grandfather's was from a well with a rope pulley and an old oaken bucket. It had a covering built over it with spout. Water had to be carried for all household use. Later, my father put an electric pump that put water in the house. During my married life, water was piped to a cistern from Bradbury Canyon for culinary and yard use. Now we water yards and gardens from irrigation water from mountain reservoirs. The reservoirs were built by Grandfather and my father.

Mr. Fitch was an excellent carpenter and did lots of fancy wood art work for decoration on the outside of our home. He built many homes in the North and South area. Coal and wood stoves heated the home.

The rest room was in the back yard a distance from the house where the last year's Sears and Montgomry Ward Catalogs were there to use and read as you sat in the cold or heat of the season. Lights were furnished by kerosene lamp with glass chimney that had to be cleaned almost every day. The wicks were lighted with a match to bring a flame that didn't light very far. After the kerosene light, we had gas lights with fragile mantels. Air had to be pumped into them and a match used to bring a much better light to read by. In 1921 electricity was brought to East Hoytsville homes. We got it later in West Hoytsville.

The water for washing clothes had to be hauled from the well and heated on the coal stove. Clothes were then sprinkled and set in baskets to be ironed. To iron the clothes, a metal iron with a wood or iron handle had to be heated on the coal stove.

Everything had to be ironed as wash-and-wear material was unknown.

Albert and Martha had six children. 

 Grace Bernice Mills 27 April 1907

married George Edward Pace 11 Sept 1929 SLake Temple

Alice Afton Mills 15 Sept 1908/died 28 March 1915

             Emma Mills          18 Sept 1910

married DeWilt Card Harding 29Aug 1934

             Albert Paul Mills    4 March 1916/died 9 March 1916

             Martha Mills        30 Sept 1918/died·2 July 1920

Fay Wilkinson Mills 7 March 1922

married Elda Garfield 14 Sept 1943

My folks were happy to have a son to carry on the Mills family name.

Mother also raised her sister's baby, Estella. Estella's mother, Estella Pearl Wilkinson Trone, died from childbirth. When Estella was eight months old, her father Guy Trone asked my mother if she would raise Estella. She married Wilford Everett Thatcher.

My father and mother were both very active in the Church and civic affairs of the town. My father was head of West Range Company and active in Farm Bureau. He also was an officer in YMMIA and Sunday School at times in the Church. The whole family went to our Church meetings together with horse and buggy. Mother was ward Relief Society president two different times and stake YWMIA president and taught in all Church organizations. My father was active in his Priesthood duties and as a home teacher. He held offices in other organizations, but I do not know which.

George and I were married 11 Sept 1929. My folks asked us if we would like to live in the two north rooms of their house and share the bathrooms. George was working full-time with my father. We bought a bedroom set, kitchen set, table and chairs, stove, and a day bed. On October 28, having only been married about six weeks, the bottom went out of the Stock Market which sent America into the Great Depression. There were "lean" years ahead. However, we always had food on the farm.

We lived with my folks until 1937, eight years. We had remodeled a brick home across the street and moved in that summer. In 1996, I still live in this home. LaMar, JoAnn, and Gary were born in my folk's home.  We did use some bedrooms upstairs.

My Grandmother Eliza Harriet Bailey died 28 May 1910, so I do not remember much about her. I was only three years old. After she died, my father fastened a bell to Grandpa's house so if he needed any thing, he could ring the bell and it could be heard in our home. After Grandmother's death, Grandfather ate most of his meals at our house. Grandpa had a stroke causing paralysis (as he was eating his night meal at our home). He was ill for some time and stayed at our home. Mother said he was very patient and did not want to. bother her. He passed away 6 Jan 1916 at our home in Hoytsville.

After my mother came into the Mills family, Grandpa Charles Edmund Thomas Mills did not go to Church meetings, but he always had to the horse and buggy ready for my mother to go to her many Church meetings, if my father was busy.

My father donated and erected a tall flag pole at the local school in Hoytsville so the flag could be flown each day of school. He was always active in any ward projects, or if someone needed help in town. He was a very hard worker.  In later years his health was not good. He had a heart problem, but in the last week of his life, he was in a coma and his heart would not give up.

When Gary was four years old, I decided to teach school again. I taught 1st and 2nd grades in Hoytsville Elementary School. We had moved into our home early in early summer that we had remodeled across the street from my folks home. Each night (after my father was in a coma) I would go to check on his health before I retired. On November 12, 1942, Alvin Pace and Lyle Brown had come to stay with my father so Mother could get some rest. That night as I went to my father's bed, I could see he was dying. Alvin and Lyle were in the next room. I told them to call Mother as she had gone to an upstairs bedroom. He was gone when she got to the bedroom. I was happy I had gone to check on him. He passed away 12 November 1942 and was buried in Hoytsville Cemetery 15 November 1942.

He had lived a good life, worked hard, and left a good farm He loved animals and always had a good team to drive. He was a charter member of the HiLand Dairy Association; his Holstein dairy herd was among the best in Summit County. From the Albert Mills dairy, milk was cooled in a spring vat in 10 gallon cans. It was taken by wagon to be put on Union Pacific Train to be taken to Park City for sale at the Samuel Mills Dairy Ranch. The train stopped at the middle lane crossing to deliver mail and pick up milk or other things. There was a station built there with an open front roof. Sometimes we shipped sacks of green peas to the markets in Park City. The mail was taken to Hoytsville Post office at the home of Heber Gunn. Some milk on the farm was separated and the cream was made into butter at the creamery located in the middle lane. The skim milk was fed to farm animals. My Father also had his range form sheep herd which were tops. A herder was hired during the summer months t herd the sheep.

As I was the oldest child, I worked with Father a lot, milked cows, drove stacker horse, and raked hay, and helped with all farm chores.

My Mother died 8 March 1984 at my home. She was buried 12 March 1984 in the Hoytsville Cemetery.