TAYLOR, Bert b. 22 Dec 1882 Newbury, Berkshire, England d. 11 Jan 1950 Ogden, Weber, Utah, United States

1882 - 1950 (67 years)

Name	TAYLOR, Bert
Birth	22 Dec 1882	Newbury, Berkshire, England [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]
Gender	Male
Death	11 Jan 1950	Ogden, Weber, Utah, United States [6]
Burial	14 Jan 1950	Fort Bridger Cemetery, Uinta, Wyoming, United States
WAC	30 Mar 1951	SLAKE
_TAG	Reviewed on FS
Headstones	Submit Headstone Photo
Person ID	I49642	Joseph Smith Sr and Lucy Mack Smith
Last Modified	19 Aug 2021

Family ID F25270 Group Sheet | Family Chart

Family WRIGHT, Mabel , b. 4 Feb 1887, Millcreek, Salt Lake, Utah, United States Millcreek, Salt Lake, Utah, United Statesd. 31 Jan 1958, Lyman, Uinta, Wyoming, United States (Age 70 years)

Marriage 23 Jan 1906 Millburne, Uinta, Wyoming, United States

Children

+	1. TAYLOR, Lester Oran , b. 3 Feb 1914, Millburne, Uinta, Wyoming, United States Millburne, Uinta, Wyoming, United Statesd. 13 Jun 1981, Ogden, Weber, Utah, United States (Age 67 years)

Family ID F5080 Group Sheet | Family Chart

Last Modified 24 Jan 2022

Photos At least one living or private individual is linked to this item - Details withheld.

Notes

Bert Taylor
Mable Wright Taylor
Bert Taylor was born December 22, 1882 at Newbury, Berkshire, England to Albert and Dorcas
Wernham/Whornham Taylor. He was the 4th of twelve children, and had a twin sister, Nellie Marie who
died March 17, 1883. He married Mable Wright on January 23, 1906. Mable was the daughter of John
Prodger and Ann Elizabeth Rynearson Wright. She was born on February 4, 1887 in Millcreek, Salt
Lake, Utah, and was the youngest of four children.
Bert’s parents joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in England in 1888. Their
families disowned them, so they decided to leave England to pursue their religious conviction. They
came from England aboard the ship Wisconsin. The ship’s manifest listed Bert as being age 4. Passage
was much less expensive for a child under the age of 8. On the manifest, all of the children, except the
baby, were listed as several years younger for cheaper passage. At that time, Bert was really 7 years old.
The steamship, Wisconsin, departed from Liverpool, England, with 142 Saints on board, including eight
returning missionaries on May 18, 1889. Mayhew H. Dalley was in charge of the company and they
arrived in New York on May 29, 1889. They traveled by train to Salt Lake City, Utah, arriving on June
4. They left Salt Lake and traveled to Beaver, Utah, where his uncle, Thomas Whornham, lived. Bert
spent most of his childhood in Beaver, Utah. His father was a carpenter and built the home they lived
in. Shortly after the turn of the century, the family moved to Wyoming to acquire homestead property in
Millburne, Uinta, Wyoming.
Mable’s father, John Prodger Wright was born in Wales. He emigrated to America as a young
apprentice with Thomas Jones learning the trade of a tailor. He married Thomas’s daughter, Eliza, who
died within a few months. John married Isabelle Wardell in 1864. They had fourteen children. He took
Mable’s mother, Ann Elizabeth Rynearson, as a second wife in polygamy in 1879. Ann had been a
servant in the Wright household. John and Ann Elizabeth had four children, Elvina, Martha, Charles,
and Mable. Both Elvina and Martha died from diptheria as young children. It’s been passed down
through the family that Ann Elizabeth left John P. Wright because she didn’t want to live in polygamy
anymore. She divorced him on August 9, 1892. Ann married Oscar Orlando Stoddard on April 11,
1894. To this union six children were born. Oscar & Ann moved to Wyoming in 1898 and acquired
homestead property.
When Bert started dating Mable, her stepfather, Oscar Orlando Stoddard, didn’t think much of
him. They decided to get married and Bert came to pick her up in a buggy. Someone distracted Oscar
until Mable could run out, get in the buggy and they took off as fast as the horses could go. Oscar took
out after them on horseback to stop them, but wasn’t able to catch up to them.
Bert and Mable had nine children, all of them being born in Millburne, Uinta, Wyoming. All the
children were born at home, most by a mid-wife rather than a doctor. Their children were Melvin Bert,
Stella, Marvin Edward, Lester Oren, Velma Mable, Vera May, Elizabeth Dorcus, Ida May, and Lorna
Irene. Bert and Mable lost only one of their children in childhood. Ida May Taylor was born December
20, 1924. She died from pneumonia on July 13, 1925. She is buried in the Fort Bridger Cemetery next
to her grandparents, Albert and Dorcas Taylor.
Bert’s occupation was a rancher for the most part. He was road supervisor for a period of time.
This brought in actual spending money, which was very needed. Most of their existence was derived
from what they could grow on the ranch and use as barter to trade for other things they needed.
Finances were limited, but they made do with what they had available, and didn’t seem to suffer from
the lack of worldly possessions.
Bert was fairly tall with large hands and long arms. He wore his hair parted in the middle.
Dorcus remembered when his hair was dark but then it turned grey. His eyes were grayish green.
He played the banjo, accordion, and harmonica. Bert called for the square dances. There were
ribbons given for the best dancers and Bert and Mable won them often. They used to go to Evanston
with neighbors to the waltz contests.
Bert called Mable “Mabe”. Dorcus remembers one time that Bert walked over to where Mable
was sitting. He rubbed her shoulder and said, “Mabe, you’re really swell.” If Mable was talking to the
kids about their Dad, she referred to him as “Bert”. There was very little affection shown between them
in front of their children.
Bert didn’t have much of an education, but he could read and write. He had an English dialect
and would leave the “h” off some words and add it where there wasn’t one, which was curious because
he had left England as a young boy. He was never a harsh spoken man, but he would express his
feelings when he thought someone needed to hear them. Lee Bullock remembered one time he had a
date with Dorcus, and by the time he had his chores done and arrived at the Taylor house, it was dark.
There were no lights on, and Lee wondered if he had nerve enough to knock on the door because it was
so late. Lee knocked and Bert came to the door in his long nightgown type sleepwear. Lee was scared
to death, but he asked if Dorcus was there. Bert said, “You’re kind of late haren’t [aren’t] you?” Lee
said he went through his song and dance about why he was late getting there and how long it had taken
him to come from the ranch in Lonetree to Millburne. Bert said, “Good hell, when I was your age, I
used to ride from ‘ere [here] to Burntfork horse back and get there sooner than you’re ‘ere [here].”
Bert was fussy about the machinery and the tools. He didn’t like things to be out of place. He
was thrifty and took care of the things they had. He kept the fences mended and boards stacked neatly.
Bert got an old Model T Ford. They were all so excited to go for a ride. He took them for a ride
up around the Bridger Butte. Mable kept saying, “Bert, be careful. Bert, you’re going too fast.” He
went too fast around a curve and ran off the road into the ditch. After he got back home he parked the
Model T, and that was where it sat. They didn’t use the Model T much after that. They relied mostly on
their older boys or one of Bert’s brothers, who had a car to take the family where they needed to go.
When Albert and Dorcus would go to the store for groceries or to town for something, they would stop
by Bert and Mable’s to see if anyone needed anything. Occasionally one of the kids would get to go and
it would be a special treat. Albert and Dorcas had a big Buick. Automobiles were very expensive and
not many people were able to afford them. Melvin or Uncle Clarey [Clarence] always seemed to have a
car. They would stop by and take Mable to the store or bring things there that the family requested.
Sometimes Stella would stop and take Mable to the store in Mountain View or the Cox Store in Fort
Bridger. Occasionally a neighbor would stop by and take Mable to Evanston if they had to go to the
courthouse, dentist or somewhere else not available in the valley.
The men often played cards. Rummy was one of the games they played. Bert and his friend,
Dan Watson, and some of the other men would play Solo. They used beans for anti. Dorcus said,
“Uncle Bill [William] was a cheater. He would peek at cards and sneak cards in because he always
thought he had to win.”
Dorcus said she didn’t ever remember Bert cussing at or being mean to anyone. He could swear,
but not generally around anyone but the family. He was also particular about the actions of those around
him. “One time we were eating and I was going to have a little piece of pie. I took a pie plate and
turned it over to use the bottom and put the piece of pie on it. I never did that again. I got in trouble.
My Dad said, ‘You don’t do things like that. This family minds their manners.’ ”
After Bert had passed away, Dorcus was looking though some of their books. Inside of a book
were forgotten receipts showing where Bert had paid hospital bills, or purchased needed items for some
of the ranchers in the area. Dorcus said she always thought they were as poor as could be, but Bert had a
big heart in him. He apparently had quietly gone about his good deeds, and even his children didn’t
know of some of them until after his death.
Mable had eyes “blue like the sky”. Dorcus remembered when she had dark thick heavy hair.
She would braid it and pull it back into a knot on her head. Whenever she went to town she always
wore a hat. Mable was quite a bit shorter than Bert. Mable had an average build. She was kind and
generous. She was beautiful. She never complained. Dorcus said, “I never heard my Mother say she
was tired. She never rested during the day. She worked from the minute she got up until she went to
bed.”
Mable cheerfully went about all the tasks that needed to be done. She baked several loaves of
bread every day, except Sunday, to feed her large family. Many evening meals were just bread and
milk. Mable bartered eggs and sewing for other grocery items. She had to work harder than most
women because she had to help keep the ranch running also. She milked the cows every day, separated
the milk, and herded the cows. She fixed fences, retrieved livestock, and irrigated their fields. Dorcus
said they really didn’t suffer during the depression. They always had food to eat and a little money
coming in from Bert’s road supervisor job. They sold a few head of livestock as needed to supplement
their income and purchase things they needed.
Once the boys were grown and gone from the house, it fell to the girls to help do the chores.
Mable did many jobs on the ranch because of Bert’s health and his job as a road supervisor. Vera &
Dorcus helped milk cows and separate milk. Dorcus said, “We always had to go get the cows and bring
them in because they were in a separate field. We had to help throw the hay off the stacks. We had to
help feed the pigs and the chickens. Mom raised baby chicks. She would boil up eggs, mash them, and
put a little pepper on them. That was what she fed the baby chicks. Don’t ask me why, but that was
what she fed them.” Mable gave Dorcus a dish of mashed eggs to take to feed the baby chicks. Dorcus
sampled the mashed eggs on the way and wound up eating the whole plate of mashed eggs. She
wondered what she was going to tell her Mom. She got back to the house with the empty dish and said
to her Mom, “Well, here’s one for the chicks…”. Mable knew there was a story coming about the
empty dish. But she didn’t get mad at Dorcus; she just found something else to feed the chicks that
time. Another chore was to feed the baby lambs from a bottle. They also had to split wood and haul
water from the well. “We would go pick gooseberries and Mom would make jam or pie. We also picked
currants. She always praised her children when they had done well. She was a real teacher who taught
with love, compassion, and patience.” Dorcus remembered.
Mable was always busy taking care of the ranch and the family. She didn’t have much time for
handiwork other than the necessary sewing projects. Mable sewed most of the clothes for the family.
She would take old coats and make them over for her girls. She was a very good seamstress.
Mable was very meticulous about the laundry. She did the laundry in big round tubs and on
washboards. She always made her own lye soap. She sorted the clothes and laundered them so the
whites stayed white. Mable would scrub the clothes and rinse them twice. Finally she got a Maytag
washing machine and it made wash day much easier. The hose from the exhaust on the Maytag washer
had to be outdoors. Mable would put the hose over the door so none of the fumes would be in the house.
She warned the girls that if they touched the end of the hose it would be hot and might burn them.
Dorcus said the washer made a “put-put” noise and washday was very exciting. Dorcus said the girls
were just spellbound watching the whole process, especially after using the tub and washboard. Mable
was very particular about how she hung the laundry out to dry. She hung all the pillowcases together,
all the towels of the same size, all the shirts, all the socks, etc. The laundry, and her family’s neat clean
appearance, was a source of pride for Mable. There were other families in the neighborhood that just
threw their wet, dingy laundry over a fence to dry. To Mable that was unhealthy and slothful.
She loved and planted many flowers. They had a big window and it was full of pots of
geraniums. In the yard, there was a garden and more beautiful flowers. Mable had petunias, roses, and
other perennials that came up every year. They planted peas, turnips, carrots, potatoes, and radishes.
The growing season was short in Millburne. Mable didn’t bottle (can) vegetables. They ate vegetables
mostly fresh, as they were ready. The carrots were put into sand and that allowed them to be stored
longer. The produce peddlers from Utah would come with fruit and some vegetables. Mable bottled lots
of fruit and also made pickles and pickled beets. After the potatoes were dug in the fall, the kids enjoyed
walking barefoot though the soft dirt.
Mable was deathly afraid of snakes. One day she was out digging in the garden or flowerbeds
and they heard her scream. Vera ran over and there was a whole mess of little baby snakes. There were
a lot of water snakes where they lived in Millburne.
They generally ate beef, pork, mutton, chicken or turkey for meat from their own livestock.
Grandma Dorcas Taylor kept geese as well. They would butcher a pig and send part of it to Rock
Springs to be made into ham and bacon. Mable sometimes made her own sausages. The girls
remembered one time there was a sow that had a new litter. They thought the baby pigs were so cute.
They got their Mom’s metal washtub and put some of the piglets in it and packed them around. They
squeaked, squealed, and wiggled around. But the mamma pig didn’t seem to mind they were messing
with her babies. Each day fresh hay and straw was placed in the pigpen, so it didn’t smell bad and was
kept fairly clean.
A typical dinnertime would have been meat, potatoes, gravy, bread, and vegetables or fruit.
Dorcus said, “We always had a variety of foods. We enjoyed meat, ham, & sausage. Sometimes she
made stew. I remember Mom would boil kidney meat for our Dad. We kids couldn’t stand it, but he
liked it and she seemed to think it was good for his stomach. She made some casserole type dishes with
potatoes and gravy. She made soups. She baked excellent bread and it was available at every meal.
She also made biscuits, cinnamon rolls, and rice pudding. We didn’t have a waffle iron but she made
pancakes. She always made fruit cake at Christmas time and it was so delicious. Meals were just
ordinary food, but of course it was all home cooked. Mom made the most delicious bread pudding, it
was the best in the world.”
Birthdays were celebrated with a dinner and a special birthday cake. Vera said, “We would
sometimes have candles on the cake and happy birthday would be sung. We very seldom received a
gift. Most of the time extended family members were invited for dinner and cake. It was a very exciting
time to be the center of attention and to have your favorite foods and cake or pie for dinner. Mom was
an excellent cook.”
They always had a decorated Christmas tree and the traditional Christmas dinner. The Christmas
tree was decorated with candles that clipped onto the ends of the branches. They had to be so careful
because Mable was afraid of fire and the house burning down. As the girls got older, they did have
some electric lights on the tree. Dinner was usually turkey with all the trimmings, and also plum
pudding. They usually went up to Grandma Dorcas Taylor’s for Thanksgiving and sometimes for
Christmas. They would always get an orange for Christmas and that was probably the only time all year
they had one.
The whole family would go to dances and Mable would bake cakes and take with them. It was a
family and community event that happened often. The community would get together and spend time
visiting, dancing, and eating. Bert would call for square dances and play at the dances.
Mable loved people. Velma, Dorcus, and Vera said if ever there was an angel on earth it was
Mable. Dorcus remembered how Mable would tell them to look for the beauty in things. “I remember
how in the early spring we’d go out and see the little spring flowers. Mom would say, ‘Oh my, isn’t that
beautiful? Oh look at this one, isn’t it beautiful?’ She taught us there was always something beautiful
in everything and everyone. She taught us to be kind to one another. If you couldn’t say something
good, then be quiet. We had a happy life.”
Mable never spoke badly of anyone. She also never complained about any situation she or the
family was in. She cheerfully accepted and dealt with what life gave her. Velma remembered that her
mother, Mable, was the sweetest, kindest, most patient person she had even known. Mable never raised
her voice, never said a cuss word, and just took everything in stride.
Dorcus remembered Mable giving the children tasks and reminding them that they needed to do
it right the first time, because they didn’t have time to do it over. She taught her children to have a good
work ethic. She told them to tackle the hard projects first, get them out of the way, and the work would
seem lighter. Mable said, “There will come a day my child, when you will do this your way. It might
not be the way that I’ve taught you and it might be easier your way. But today let’s work hard together
and finish it.”
They eventually had a telephone, but it was on a party line. When a certain sequence of long and
short rings came, you would know the call was for your household. Since it was a party line, most
people eavesdropped on other people’s conversations. Mable would not eavesdrop on the phone and
told the other family members they shouldn’t do it. She thought it was important to live the “Golden
Rule”.
The house on the corner Bert & Mable lived in had a very large kitchen area. There was one
large bedroom downstairs. The upstairs was partitioned off for three bedrooms and a room where they
had storage. There was a pantry under one corner of the stairs. The house partially burned because of a
lightning strike. They moved into another house, which the Marvin Taylor family now has.
Bert didn’t go to church with Mable, but she was active and took all the kids with her. She
always held an office in church and was Primary President for quite a while. Mable had a beautiful
singing voice and enjoyed worshipping. Dorcus liked to sit by her in church because of Mable’s
beautiful voice. All the kids were blessed as babies and then baptized in the Millburne ward. At that
time, the Millburne Ward was part of the Woodruff, Utah Stake.
The following information is from the Millburne Ward records:
1. Melvin Bert Taylor: Blessed September 1, 1907 by Alvin Thompson; baptized July 15, 1916
by Samuel B. Wright.
2. Stella Taylor: Blessed September 6, 1909 by Bishop Joseph Horrocks; baptized August 3, 1918 by
J. F. Thompson.
3. Marvin Edward Taylor: Blessed December 31, 1911 by J. F. Kilburn; baptized July 17, 1920 by
James Sharp.
4. Lester Orin Taylor: Blessed April 5, 1914 by bishop J. F. Kilburn; baptized August 12, 1922 by
Wm. Dean.
5. Velma Mable Taylor: Blessed July 2, 1916 by Alvin Thompson; baptized July 19, 1924 by
James Sharp.
6. Vera Mae Taylor: Blessed May 25, 1919 by Samuel B. Wright; baptized July 3, 1927 by James
Sharp. Vera said James Sharp baptized her down in the creek in a big hole and then brought
her back up the hill.
7. Elizabeth Dorcus Taylor: Blessed April 2, 1922 by James Sharp; baptized July 19, 1930 by
Myron C. Stringer.
8. Ida May Taylor: Blessed February 1, 1925 by Bishop W. A. Stringer. The ward records state
Ida died on July 13, 1925 from “Bronchites, Tonsolitus”
9. Lorna Irene Taylor: Blessed July 4,1926 by James Sharp; baptized July 1, 1934 by Vene Collett.
Bert died from heart problems on January 11, 1950 in Ogden, Weber, Utah. He is buried in the
Fort Bridger Cemetery. Mable died from cancer on January 31, 1958 in Lyman, Uinta, Wyoming.
Through it all she never complained, you would have never known she was sick or suffering. She is
also buried in the Fort Bridger Cemetery. She was such a special person. The girls said Mable was by
far the most kind, gentle, and beautiful person inside and out that they have ever known.
Bert and Mable lived good lives. They worked hard and provided a good home for their family.
They left many lasting memories for their children and grandchildren. As descendants, we are blessed
with their legacy.
The following are short excerpts remembered about
growing up as children in the Taylor household:
When Bert and Mable’s daughter, Stella, was born, she was given the name of Elizabeth Dorcas,
named after both grandmothers. Bert wanted her to go by Dorcas. Mable wanted her to go by
Elizabeth. They couldn’t agree upon the name for their first daughter, so they put those names aside and
called her Stella. In 1922, Bert and Mable had another daughter, which they named Elizabeth Dorcas.
Years later when Stella Hysell sent to Cheyenne, Wyoming to get a copy of her birth certificate, she
received two; one with the name Elizabeth Dorcas and one with Stella. Stella called her sister, Dorcus,
when she received the birth certificates and sent a copy to her. Dorcus said she always felt very special
to have been named for both grandmothers. She also said that she had brown eyes and resembled her
Grandmother Dorcas Taylor. (Dorcus Bullock changed the spelling of her name from Dorcas to
Dorcus.)
Vera said they told her when she was first born, she cried and cried almost non-stop. They
blessed her a few days later and she stopped crying all the time. Dorcus remembered when Lorna was
born. She said they all peeked through the keyhole, (a little broken part on the stairway) hoping they
could see what was going on. She remembered Mrs. Sharp taking pans of hot water into the bedroom
and before long they heard Lorna’s little cry.
Sometimes the girls would get a doll for Christmas. Velma remembered one Christmas Mable
went to Rock Springs to buy dolls for the little girls. Dorcus remembered one of the dolls the girls
received. It came with only one little outfit. They played and played with the dolls until they were
about worn out. Vera enjoyed sitting at the sewing machine and making lots of outfits for her doll.
Dorcus said she was sort of a tomboy and didn’t care that her doll only had one outfit.
The girls remembered they had a happy life growing up. Some of the games they played were
hide and seek, Annie-I-Over the roof, hopscotch, and tag. The brothers were older and didn’t play with
the younger kids. Virginia Watson was a playmate that spent much time with the younger girls.
The kids played in the granary. They liked to jump in the corn and wheat and roll around. One
evening close to dusk, Vera and Virgina Watson locked Dorcus in the granary. Vera and Virginia got a
couple sheets and put over their heads and pretended to be ghosts. They started circling around the
granary and making scary ghost noises. There were cracks in the wood and Dorcus could see them. She
was so frightened and screamed and screamed. Finally they let Dorcus out. They put their arms around
her shoulders and walked her back to the house. They knew they were probably going to be in trouble.
Dorcus said, “They promised me the world if I wouldn’t tattle on them.”
Because of Bert’s road supervisor job, they had all kinds and sizes of culverts piled near their
home. The kids would crawl through and play on them. Each culvert had a different sound when hit by
a stick. When company dropped by with their children, the kids would get sticks and serenade the
neighborhood with their unique band.
Vera liked to pretend she was teaching school. Dorcus said that Vera had a pointer that she used
when she was teaching school, and if you didn’t behave, she used it. Vera said that one time Dorcus,
Lorna, and Virginia Watson were upstairs and Vera was the “teacher”. She was teaching a lesson when
a bad lightning storm came. It flashed several times and lit the whole upstairs up. Of course it scared
the girls, they screamed and headed downstairs. Bert having heard the screams, ran upstairs to see if the
girls were all right. Everyone was fine and the lightning hadn’t caused any damage to the house.
The children from oldest to youngest were separated by quite a few years. It’s only reasonable
that they played and grew up together in smaller groups near their own ages. There was a seven-year
age difference between Stella and Velma. Consequently, Velma’s playmates were more often Marvin
and Lester. Velma was definitely a tomboy and could hold her own with her rowdy brothers.
Marvin & Lester knew they would get into trouble if they picked on someone or started a fight.
However, if they could coerce Velma into doing it, that would be a different story. They taught her to
box (with and without gloves) and she developed some pretty tough fighting skills, for a girl. Marvin
and Lester were bullies. There was one boy in particular they went out of their way to pick on. His
name was Cecil Hayward and he was a tall lanky boy with red hair and freckles. Marvin and Lester
knew fighting with Cecil was frowned upon. They thought if they could get their little sister to deck
him, it would serve as an end to their means, as well as be amusing. Velma remembered the coaching
Marvin and Lester gave her. “If he moves this way, you do this…if he does this; you hit him here”. Of
course, they also told her how important it was for her to help them by fighting Cecil. Finally the day
came at school for her to prove her worth, and see if she had learned what they’d taught her. It was
arranged that one of the boys would get Cecil to the side and Velma would come in and fight him.
Velma remembered how nervous she was about remembering all the things they told her to do. She
said she wasn’t the least bit scared, but felt “invincible and 9 feet tall”. Lester had Cecil over to one
side, and of course the other school kids had all gathered for the “event”. Marvin turned to Velma and
said, “Go get him Sis, hit him hard, give him a bloody nose!” Velma picked up the hem of her dress,
doubled up the other fist, and went into “battle” for her big brothers. She walked up to Cecil, pulled her
arm back, and swung. Poor Cecil didn’t even know what hit him! He was flat on the ground with a
bloody nose. Someone summoned the teacher, and she quickly put things back in order. Conveniently,
Marvin and Lester had disappeared, ran home, and left Velma to face the consequences alone. Cecil
was all right and the teacher politely explained to Velma that young ladies didn’t throw punches. Velma
could hardly wait to get home to talk to Marvin and Lester. The plan hadn’t unfolded quite like it was
supposed to. There hadn’t been a fight; Cecil hadn’t even tried to defend himself. At this point, it needs
to be mentioned that Velma may have been coerced in the beginning, but she was not an innocent victim
in some of their later adventures. They continued to have her throw punches for them, knowing they
probably wouldn’t get into trouble, and being a girl she wouldn’t either. This continued for some time
until someone in the community mentioned it to her Mom and Dad. Mable sat Velma down and
explained what girls did and didn’t do. Bert took Marvin and Lester on a short visit to the wood shed.
In later life, Velma was embarrassed at her tomboy behavior and how she had thrown punches for her
brothers. She said that Cecil Hayward and “Pink” Timothy, (who was their cousin) were very nice boys
and she shouldn’t have hit them. They were perfect gentlemen, who stood there, and took it because
they wouldn’t have dared hit a girl. Velma said, “I should never have listened to Mar and Les. People
thought I was meaner than hell. My reputation preceded me, people thought twice about crossing me.”
Dorcus Bullock said, “There was a big difference between Velma growing up without a sister
close to her age and how the younger girls grew up together. Velma’s life was completely different
from ours. She grew up with the boys. She used to tell me how she didn’t want her boys to be sissies.
You didn’t see many males that would pick up a baby, show any kind of emotion, or be very sensitive.
If you were a boy, you had to be tough and that was about the only instructions your father told you.
Most of the time it was the mother that disciplined the children. If a horse misbehaved, the man in the
family took care of it. If a child misbehaved, it was the mother that took care of it. In some families,
discipline was handed out using a belt or a razor strap. But when it comes right down to it, if you have
children, even the father should tell them he loves them, be proud of them, and praise them when they
do something. Unfortunately that didn’t happen much during our childhood, men just didn’t do that
then. I think it’s much better now a days.”
Velma remembered taking a frying pan out of the kitchen and meeting Marvin and Lester up in
the willows. The boys would catch a mess of frogs and Velma would fry up the frog legs. Velma talked
about how the frog legs would sort of “jump” in the pan as they cooked.
Teaching Velma to fight and be tough would come back to haunt Marvin at least once. One time
Velma was on her hands and knees scrubbing the wooden kitchen floor. Marvin walked in with muddy
boots from the barnyard. She told him to take his boots off or get out. He smarted off to her and
continued on across the floor, leaving a dirty trail. Velma reached up on the table and grabbed the first
thing she found…a three tined dinner fork. She threw the fork and the tines stuck into his leg. A lesson
was learned; he didn’t walk across one of Velma’s newly mopped floors again. Dorcus also ventured
across a floor as Velma was mopping. Velma told her if she did it again, she would wrap the mop
around her head. Apparently Dorcus took her threat seriously and didn’t do it again either.
Like all siblings, Marvin dished out plenty, but also had to put up with pranks from his little
sisters. Marvin liked to go into places that had punchboards. [Punchboards were a form of gambling.
They were a bit less than a foot square, with many holes drilled through them. The bottom side was
covered by a plain piece of paper. The holes were filled with rolled up slips of paper containing a
win/no win message. The top of the board was covered by a printed sheet that named the board, and
indicated where the holes were. You could purchase a number of punches with a dime or a quarter.
You punched through the holes to get the rolled up message. With most of the punches you didn’t win
anything, but occasionally you were lucky.] Over time, Marvin had won several boxes of candy playing
the punchboards. The girls had all asked him for candy and he wouldn’t give them any. One night he
came home and stated what a wonderful day he had had. Dorcus said, “He went on to say something to
the effect that nothing in the world could make him mad or ruin his day.” Dorcus and Vera decided to
sneak into Marvin’s stash of candy and help themselves. They carefully unwrapped one of the boxes
and each took one piece out. It was so wonderful! They decided to have one more piece. They wound
up eating the whole box and they knew there would be trouble. They carefully wrapped the box back up
and put it on the bottom of the stack of candy boxes. When Marvin discovered the empty candy box, he
was not happy with them.
Just as Marvin, Lester and Velma formed a close sibling relationship; Vera, Dorcus and Lorna
did the same. With the boys and Velma gone from the home, it was a much “gentler” place. Dorcus and
Vera reflected, “In the evening, especially in the summer time when the chores were done, there would
be a slight breeze, the front door would be open; and maybe the bay window would be open. Dad would
sit on the chair next to the stove with his long legs crossed and sometimes he would play the banjo and
sometimes the little button accordion. He also played the harmonica. He would play and play.” Vera
and Lorna weren’t the cut ups that Dorcus was. Vera was more reserved. Dorcus would dance, perform,
and mimic people. Sometimes Dorcus would climb up on a chair and comb and braid Mable’s hair.
Mable had such patience. “I could braid three or four braids and stack them up on her head while she sat
there patiently reading her Relief Society magazine. We really had a happy life. Usually Vera was
sitting at the sewing machine making her doll a new dress. Lorna usually sat and read.
Almost every weekend some of the girls went up to their Grandma Dorcas’s house to stay. It
was quite a distance for the girls to walk but they felt protected along the way. They had to go past
Davidson’s post office and then Kay Davidson’s home. There were people along the way that noticed
and watched out for the girls. Dorcus remembered that Velma wasn’t afraid to do anything. There was
a horse in someone’s field and Velma decided they were going to catch it and ride up to Grandma’s
instead of walking. Velma got a rope and put it around the horse’s neck. She pushed Dorcus up on the
horse and then Velma got on. As soon as she got on, the horse reared up and both girls slid right off
onto the ground. They weren’t hurt, but they had to walk to Grandma’s after all.
Vera and Dorcus remembered one time a band of gypsies came through. They asked Bert for
money and he told them he didn’t have any. The gypsies told him they could see his future and that he
was lying. He told them that if they could answer some questions correctly, he would give them a little
money to send them on their way. He asked them what his wife’s name was, and they told him
correctly. He asked them other questions and they didn’t answer correctly. When he told them they
were wrong, they told him he was lying, trying to cheat them, and they would put a curse on him. They
told Bert that he would suffer from bad health for the rest of his life. The gypsies told him that if he
borrowed money to anyone or signed papers for anyone, he would be sorry. Vera said that sometime
later Bert borrowed money to someone and didn’t get it back. Along with that, and his failing health, he
was afraid the gypsies really had cursed him. So after that he wouldn’t allow any of his family to talk to
the gypsies or have their fortune told. Vera said she has always enjoyed getting her fortune told and felt
guilty when she remembered her Dad forbidding it.
Vera told about a time when she worked at Hill Field Air Force Base in Utah. She and a couple
friends decided to go into Ogden and have their fortunes told. The reader told Vera that she saw her
father by a horse with a lot of water around him. She said Vera needed to warn him that he was going to
be kicked or seriously hurt. The reader told Vera about Marvin being overseas in the military and about
Bill, who Vera was dating. Vera went back home and called to warn her Dad about irrigating with the
horse. Bert was not happy with her and told her that he had said not to ever have her fortune told
because of what the gypsies had said to him years before. Vera said several days passed and Bert rode
the horse to go irrigate. He was being careful but something startled the horse. Bert barely turned away
in time so the horse didn’t kick him. Vera felt like the fortuneteller had saved her Dad from being hurt.
When Stella lived in Carter, the younger sisters would go stay and help Stella with her family.
Velma remembered pulling Stella’s boys in a little wagon back and forth by the train tracks to entertain
them. She remembered how hot and dry it was at Carter and how she was always glad to get back to the
willows and river bottoms in Millburne. Dorcus remembered one time Stella had canned milk in the
pantry. Vera and Dorcus kept making excuses to go into the pantry and take sips out of the opened can
of milk. Dorcus said she was sure Stella had to know what was going on, but never said anything to
them if she did. Dorcus and Vera said it sure did taste good. It was a treat they didn’t have at home.
The kids worked at odd jobs to help the family. Stella and Vera cleaned schoolhouses during the
summer as a way to earn a little extra money. They also helped their neighbors many times without
compensation. It was a close community and help was readily given.
Velma and Vera used to enjoy going into stores and trying on hats and shoes. During that time
period, women’s hats were elaborately decorated and most had a sheer veil to cover part of the face. As
they tried on hats they would model, act out scenes, and giggle “until they almost wet their pants”.
Vera said Marvin was with them a couple times and couldn’t believe his two little sisters could be so
silly.
Information about Bert & Mable’s children:
1. Melvin Bert Taylor, born 27 Jun 1907, died 5 Feb 1977 in Lake Havasu, Arizona; married
1. Helen Viola Niznick, 2. Grace Garner.
2. Stella Taylor, born 4 Jul 1909; died 2 Jan 1999 in Reno, Nevada; married Henry Hysell.
3. Marvin Edward Taylor, born 7 Oct 1911; died 29 Jan 1994 in Salt Lake City, Utah; married
Lila Hysell.
4. Lester Oren Taylor, born 3 Feb 1914; died 13 Jun 1981 in Ogden, Utah; married 1. Maude
Workman, 2. Velma Wall
5. Velma Mable Taylor, born 3 Jun 1916; died 28 Nov 1997 in Rexburg, Madison, Idaho;
married 1. Heber Wall, 2. Gideon Webb Bullock, 3. Lawrence Michael O’Neil
6. Vera May Taylor, born 20 May 1919; died 31 Dec 2010 in Englewood, Colorado; married
William Henry Lee, Jr.
7. Elizabeth Dorcus Taylor, born 2 Jan 1922; currently living in Centenniel, Colorado; married
Alan Lee Bullock
8. Ida May Taylor, born 20 Dec 1924; died 13 Jul 1925 in Millburne, Wyoming
9. Lorna Irene Taylor, born 2 Jun 1926; died 13 Dec 1998 in Ridgecrest, California; married
1. Thomas Edward Cantlin, 2. Laray D. Becker
[This information was compiled from stories and personal interviews with Velma Taylor O’Neil,
Vera Taylor Lee, and Dorcus Taylor Bullock. Information was also provided by the descendants of

Sources

[S203] Ancestry.com, Unknown, (Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.Original data - Fourteenth Census of the United States, 1920. (NARA microfilm publication T625, 2076 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Rec), Year: 1920; Census Place: Election District 11, Uinta, Wyoming; Roll: T625_2029; Page: 9A; Enumeration District: 99; Image: .
Birth date: abt 1882 Birth place: England Residence date: 1920 Residence place: Election District 11, Uinta, Wyoming
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=sse&db=1920usfedcen&h=80831917&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt
[S215] Ancestry.com, Unknown, (Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002.Original data - United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1930. T626,), Year: 1930; Census Place: Millburne, Uinta, Wyoming; Roll: 2625; Page: 1A; Enumeration District: 12; Image: 365.0.
Birth date: abt 1883 Birth place: England Residence date: 1930 Residence place: Millburne, Uinta, Wyoming
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=sse&db=1930usfedcen&h=113253143&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt
[S83] Ancestry.com, Unknown, (Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006.Original data - Thirteenth Census of the United States, 1910 (NARA microfilm publication T624, 1,178 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Wa), Year: 1910; Census Place: Clear Fork, Marshall, Kansas; Roll: ; Page: ; Enumeration District: ; Image: .
Birth date: 1886 Birth place: England Residence date: 1910 Residence place: Clear Fork, Marshall, Kansas Arrival date: 1908 Arrival place:
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=sse&db=1910uscenindex&h=8078271&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt
[S838] FreeBMD, England & Wales, FreeBMD Birth Index, 1837-1915, (Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006.Original data - General Register Office. England and Wales Civil Registration Indexes. London, England: General Register Office. © Crown copyright. Published by permission of the Contr).
Birth date: Jan 1883 Birth place: Berkshire, Hampshire, United Kingdom
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=sse&db=freebmdbirth&h=54117987&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt
[S226] Ancestry.com, Unknown, (Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005.Original data - United States, Selective Service System. World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Admin), Registration Location: Uinta County, Wyoming; Roll: 2022322; Draft Board: 0.
Birth date: 22 Dec 1882 Birth place: Residence date: Residence place: Uinta, Wyoming
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=sse&db=ww1draft&h=24244340&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt
[S85] Ancestry.com, Unknown, (Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010.Original data - Bureau of Vital Statistics. Utah Death Index, 1847-1966. Salt Lake City, UT, USA: Utah Department of Health. View Complete Source List.Original data: Bureau of Vital St).
Birth date: abt 1883 Birth place: Death date: 11 Jan 1950 Death place: Weber Residence date: Residence place: Utah, United States
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=sse&db=utahdeathindex&h=226475&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt
[S32] Unknown, (Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members.), Ancestry Family Trees.
http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=32128504&pid=9592

TAYLOR, Bert[1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]

TAYLOR, Bert^{[1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]}