AUTOBIOGRAPHY
OF
ALICE ORESSA HUNT YOUNG
Excerpts from her biography

I am writing my life story from birth as I have gathered it from family records and what I remember. I am at Blanding Utah. This is April 8, 1953.

/s/ Alice

I was born in Richfield, Utah, the 12th day of April 1888. My father was Joseph Hunt, born May 9, 1837 at Caldwell County, Missouri. He died September 2, 1916 at Monticello, San Juan County, Utah. My mother was Cynthia Adelaide Hammer Brown Hunt, born the 7th day of July, 1853 at Farmington, Davis County, Utah. She died at Bluff, San Juan County, Utah, May 21, 1912. My father and mother are both buried at Bluff, Utah.

At the time of my birth, I had two brothers, Joseph Anthony and John LaRay; and two sisters, Louisa Adelaide and Maud Essa. The latter died the year before I was born, so I was their fifth child. And my mother has told me I was the ugliest child she ever had.

My parents moved to Canada when I was a baby and were there for eight years. My other three brothers, Marion Perle, Ozro, and Parley, and my other sister, Ada, were all born in or around Cardston, Alberta, Canada.

My father and mother had both been married before. Father was divorces from his first wife, who was Catherine Ann Conover. They had four daughters who were Hariet (died), Celia, and Ina, the latter two both married Bean brothers. And Ida, who married Albert Magley.

Mother had been married to George C. Brown, who died and left her with four small children. Two boys, George Albert Brown, and Richard J. and two girls, Elizabeth and Annie.

When Parley was a little over one year old, my parents left Canada (We lived on a ranch 5 miles west of Cardston) and moved back to the United States. They sold their little ranch, and as I remember, we had two wagons and teams, and when we got into Montana my mother took very sick. As I was too small I don’t know just what the trouble was, but I remember we had to get a house for her and layed over there two or three weeks or until she was able to travel again.

We then took up the long journey again, and went as fas as Aunt Mary Black’s home in Idaho. She was my father’s sister. Father left all of us there while he, Aunt Mary and Uncle Dave Black all went to Salt Lake City, Utah, to the Golden Jubilee, which celebrated the 50th Anniversary of the pioneers in Salt Lake City. They came back in a week or two and we took up our long journey again.

Next stop was in Oxford Idaho to visit my father’s half-brother, Jim Hunt. Then on to my sister, Elizabeth Holland, in Box Elder, Utah. She was mother’s oldest daughter, whom I had never seen to remember. She had three children. We visited her and mother’s Aunt Rebecca Thorn, who had raised my mother, as her parents had both died when mother was very small. Mother had one brother, Josiah Hammer. He was living at Cardston at this time. Josiah was Bishop there for a number of years.

From Box Elder we went to Salt Lake City, Utah. We stayed for about a week with my half-sister, Ida Nagley, father’s youngest daughter by his first marriage. She had always stuttered as she talked and we could hardly understand her. Ida had 3 or 4 children and we had a very nice visit with her for about a week.

From there we went on down to visit another half-sister of father’s, Olive Pratt was her name, I think. She lived in Springfield, Utah. Then on down to Manti, Utah and hit the Salina Canyon which took us on over to Castle Valley, where we settled on a ranch northeast of Huntington. There was my first school days. This was in 1896

We lived at the ranch for about a year, and then, we moved over into Huntington. The kids became sick with scarlet fever and diphtheria and were quarantined for several weeks. When we were all well, my father decided to go again, we went over the mountain to Richfield, Utah. There is where my two half-sisters lived, Celia and Ina Bean. We lived there about two years, I guess it was, and we kids went to school there. While in Richfield, Marion was sick with typhoid fever and about the same time Ozro had paralysis and both came near dying again.

In the summer of 1899 we moved to Fruitland, New Mexico, lived down on a ranch by the San Juan River that belonged to Cerril Collier. I think we lived there a year or two and went to school in Fruitland. [ Measles struck the family that winter and Louisa died ]. My father farmed and worked here and there and did anything he could. My mother always worked hard and always kept us children clean, and was a good housekeeper.

In the spring of 1891 my father decided to make another move to Gila, Arizona. We left Fruitland in March sometime. I got very sick on our way before we got to Gallup, New Mexico. We had to lay over at George Bryant’s Trading Post. I did’nt seem to get better. So they decided I would have to be taken to the doctor. They got things ready to go and went to put me in the wagon, I fainted and fell back in my father’s arms. This is the only time I remember fainting. But they took me on to the doctor in Gallup. We went on to Snowflake, Arizona and stayed there with my Uncle John Hunt, who was bishop there. [While there 4 of the kids got mumps] We also visited Uncle Marsh (Marshall) Hunt at Taylor Arizona. We left 10 days later for the Gila. When we left, Uncle John, I remember him telling dad to be careful when crossing Black river as it was a very bad river when it was high.

The road was a mere trail as I remember it. It was late in the afternoon when we reached the river, and it was real high. We made camp on the hill and father and the boys went down to water the horses. Dad came back and said "It was pretty high" But he thought if we stayed all night we could cross in the morning. So that night dad had us all kneel down and say our prayers for he did have lots of faith in prayer. Even if he did drink and do lots of things he shouldn’t do, the Lord would hear and answer his prayers. The next morning we had our prayers and breakfast and drove down to the edge of the Black River. Dad said he would try the river on a big brown horse we had, and he went over and back 2 or 3 times, and the water was way up on the horse’s sides. But he said "I think we can make it". Dad wanted to take the wagon over and leave mother and all us kids to ride the old brown horse, but mother said "no" that she would take her chances with him in the wagon, that she could not ride the horse. We had 4 horses and 2 wagons this time. So dad gave me all the money he had, left the 2 lead horses and the other children with me and said, "Now, if anything should happen to ma or me, you ride back to Fort Apache with the kids and report it." So dad and mother got in the wagon and started to go across. We kids were all crying and all scared. They got almost to the other side and it looked as though it was going to turn over but they got over safely. Dad came back and got each one of us and took us one at a time. He took Parley, Ozro, Ada, and I all in that order (also Marion). Ada almost fell off but dad grabbed her leg and pulled her back on the horse. I think this was the most dangerous and most exciting experience I can ever remember. I was 12 years old at the time.

We went on to Hubbard, Arizona near Thatcher Arizona. We were only there for a few months when dad turned around and went back headed for Farmington, New Mexico. But we went around the rivers this time. While in Farmington, mother took in washings and I worked at Frank Allen’s Hotel washing dishes at $1.50 a week and room and board. This was my first job. Dad hauled coal, and worked around doing different things. But he got to drinking pretty bad. So…they decided to move on over to Montezuma Valley and rent a ranch. [here smallpox hit the family except for dad]

Dad decided to go back to Richfield, so back we went again. While there I stayed with my half-sister Ina Bean and went to school. We were there 2 years then dad decided to go again and we landed back in Montezuma Valley, Colorado.

[From this point in her history she centers on her life with William Young and their trials up to her divorce from W. Young. Very little is mentioned from here on about her parents, Joseph Hunt and Cynthia Hammer Brown.]