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Tuesday, March 5, 2019

Lloyd Prestwich (Part 2)


by Denyce Cribbs

My last post was about Lloyd Prestwich, and how his niece had preserved an oral history of his life and transcribed it for future generations.  A couple of questions remained.  Lloyd mentioned that his parents had nine boys and two girls, but he only ever described eight boys including himself.  Had one of the boys died as a child??  I decided to look on Ancestry to see what else I could learn about the family.


The list here is what you can quickly find on Ancestry about George Prestwich, Sr.’s children.  Each person’s data is backed up by birth, death, marriage, and military records.  Even the missing child is shown on several Ancestry trees.  He is shown as Randall Prestwich (1889-1891), so indeed the ninth boy died in childhood.  What the Ancestry records can never get at is what these people were like as individuals, and how they were remembered by their family.  Margie Prestwich’s interview with her uncle (Leslie) Lloyd Prestwich, the transcription of which was donated to our library, sheds some light on these siblings’ individual personalities.  Read below for Lloyd’s descriptions in his own words.



My older brother, George, was a small man in size more like Mother.  He was a quiet person but had a great talent for carving and painting.  He would take a board about 12-14 inches wide, carve any kind of animal one desired, wild or tame, and then paint them.  These he usually made into comb cases and sold.  If he had lived where his work could have been displayed he could have easily have become famous in himself and made considerable money.

As I recall, my brother Wesley had his talents mostly in being a good farmer and having large well-matched teams of horses.  He won many pulling contests with his teams and he loved to have the harnesses decorated with celluloid, different colored rings, and silver buttons.

My brother Mert was foreman in the sugar mill and this and his family was his interest.  He kept a neat yard and garden at his home.
               
Ernest was a farmer and spent his time in this.  As for my sisters, they both married and beyond knowing they were good housekeepers, wives, and mothers, I can give no more detailed information.
               
Clarence was a hard worker, was wounded in WWI.  When he married, lived in Delta, Utah, where he ran a transfer trucking company.  He suffered sunstroke while working in the sun which caused his death.  He left a large family but one which worked and played together.  Under the guidance of their mother, they all received a good college education through family cooperation.
                
Newell, just older than I, was one of my mother’s favorites.  This perhaps because he was the most helpful with the housework.  He could do any of it, knew how to cook, sort the washing and other things usually pertaining to the housekeeping.  He was a gentle man, thoughtful and considerate at home and this carried over into his married life.  His wife became very crippled with arthritis so Newell in addition to his daily work at the mill, did most of the housework.  Newell was active in church work all his life. 
               
Osmer was younger than I was and, as the baby, was pampered more than any of the rest of us.  I had married and had my own home while he was still a teenager.  In his mature years he became an excellent electrician.
              
A year after I was married I was called to serve in WWI and returned home.  I soon went to work for the mill and then after a few months I got a job in Idaho Falls and moved there.  The work there was in the Preston E. Blair Auto Company as their service manager.
             
My brothers’ paths and mine didn’t cross too often after my marriage.  I remember them as all being honest hard-working people.  A family their parents could be proud of.
 
Mr. Lloyd Prestwich himself passed away in 1982 in California.  Many thanks to him and his family for sharing these rich memories of his “ordinary family.”  I hope you’ll consider interviewing your family members and preserving the memories of your heritage.


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