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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