Arlin Henry Bates
by Thora Bessire

Arlin Henry Bates was born 14 February 1851. He was the seventh child of Ormus E. Bates and Phoebe Mariah Matteson.

Ormus and Phoebe were making their home at this time in Kanesville, Iowa along with a group of Mormons that had come from Winter Quarters, Nebraska.  Kanesville was later known as Council Bluff.

Arlin's oldest brother Orson would be 15 on the 5th of March.  Erin turned 13 the 25 of December, Laverne Emerette had turned 10 the 4th of February, Ormus Elias would be 4 on the 11th of April and his second sister Orrissa had turned 3 on the 8th of January.  He also had a half brother Orville K. who would be 4 on October 21st as his father Ormus E. had married a second wife Marilla Spink 23 December 1844.

His father also had another wife, Matilda Reeves who he had married in 1847.

We can probably gather then, that Arlin Henry was born into a family of loving families and also a busy family.

The family tended and cared for cattle and horses for the church that were reserved to equip the trains for migrating saints and they had a considerable number of stock of their own.

21 June 1851, when Arling was but 4 months and 7 days old, the family left this last outpost.  They landed in Salt Lake City, Utah that same year.

The family remained in Salt Lake valley during that winter and in the spring of 1852 Ormus E. took his family and herds westward around the Oquirrh range of mountains to Tooele County, Utah.  Here, Ormus built a house and began the erection of an adobe fort for protection against Indian raids.

Later on, because of better growing conditions, he moved part of his family to the East Canyon Creek later called Bates Creek and now Ophir Creek.

Most of the food was raised on the ranch.  They had a good orchard for fruit and they also had pigs, chickens and beef.  Wild game was plentiful.  A cistern filled from Ophir creek was their water supply for family use.  They had their own ice that was cut in the winter and stored in a house shaded by willow trees.  The ice lasted all summer for it was covered with sawdust.

The boys hereded sheep, tended cattle, rounded up and busted broncs, trapped coyotes and wild cats and sold their hides.  The girls helped their mother cook, keep house, wash and card and spin wool to make their own clothes.

Arlin Henry was but 9 years old when his Father was called to serve on a mission.

At the age of 21, with these influences in his life, Arlin Henry grew into manhood well prepared to take on the responsibility of a wife.

He married Levena Abigail Adams who was 16.  She was 5'5" tall, dark brown hair and grey eyes.  Arlin was 5'9½" with light brown hair and weighted around 170 pounds.

Their first child, a beautiful girl they named Phoebe Emmerett, was born 21 January 1873.  The first she remembers about her father was the ox team he had and how he worked in the mountains above Tooele getting out timber for the Norton Tuttle Lumber Mill.  On weekends Emmerett enjoyed sitting on her father's knee and singing little songs that her mother had taught her.

The following eight years 4 more children were born into this family; Arlin Henry 30 October 1874, Sarah Angeline 18 February 1876, Ida Elmyra 18 December 1878 and Luella 10 April 1881.

At this time a call came out from Brigham Young asking the saints to go and settle the country around Oakley, Idaho.  Arlin, leaving his family behind, joined others and left Tooele County Utah early in the spring of 1881.  Arlin chose 160 acres in the beautiful Oakley Valley near the settlement of Marion Idaho.  He cleared sage brush, ploughed ground and planted grain and a good garden.  He went to the hills and cut logs brought them down to build a nice two room log house.  The cracks between the logs were filled with pieces of wood and mud daubing.

Arlin then returned to Tooele and traded his oxen for horses and brought a nice new wagon with a canvas on top.  In this he placed boxes of clothing, bedding and provisions.  This made a nice place for the 5 children to ride.  On the back was a box with twelve chickens and behind trailed a cow.

Each morning and evening they all enjoyed the delicious warm milk.  As they could not drink it all, the rest was put in bottles and with the jiggling of the wagon the butterfat was turned into golden balls of butter for their bread.

They passed through Ogden on the 24th of July and enjoyed watching the parade.  They enjoyed all seven days that it took to reach their new home.  With excitement growing they arrived to view the work their loving father had worked hard to prepare.

The next few months were very busy.  They dried corn and made pickles and as the beans ripened they pulled the beans, piled and dried them.  They then threshed them with sticks and the strong wind would blow the trash away.

Arlin rode the hills and brought back fresh venison.  This was salted down in jars and some dried.  Cattle and hogs were raised to make this farm complete.

Arlin was termed a successful farmer and known as a very warm and generous hearted man.  He was the first counselor to Bishop Adam G. Smith in the Marion Ward.  He donated land for the church house and helped to buiild it.  He also donated ground for the tithing yard.  Luvena, his wife, boarded the masons free of charge while the chapel was being built.

Six more children blessed this union; Luvena Vilate 24 December 1882, Elvira 16 January 1884 (she died when 1 year and 5 months old), William Ernest 28 October 1886, Estella May 23 October 1888, Lyman Lester 17 November 1890, Lloyd Burl 31 July 1893.

Before leaving Tooele, Luvena had been given a roll of Desseret News newspapers.  She wallpapered the inside of the cabin covering the old logs and it made choice reading.

Before their first Christmas the children were told there would be no Santa Claus.  But Christmas brought each child a token of love tucked away in the toe of each sock and some homemade candy.

Each fall Arlin would drive to Brigham City to bring back a year supply of groceries.  One trip he made, he came back with a beautiful organ.  It had a high ornate back.

Many wonderful evenings were spent around the organ singing and when out on picnics Arlin played the accordion or took the top off the organ, taking it to the grove or to church for different programs.

Arlin was a great lover of music and passed it on to his children.  Luella and three sisters formed a mandalin and guitar quartette.  Ida Elmira loved the piano and became very accomplished on it.  She was always in demand and her musical talents were appreciated wherever she went.

Arlin and Luvena had a happy, busy family.  They studied well, worked and played together.  They held up under their sorrows; the loss of Elvira at age 1 and in 1900 the loss of William Ernest, he was just four.

Arlin and Luvena were both active in the community as well as the church, administrating to the sick and the poor, faithful in fulfilling their church callings.

On 24 February 1893, Arlin did not feel very well.  He insisted on going to choir practice but the family noticed that he did not join in the singing.  Sometime during the night Luvena awakened, Arlin lay at her side and could not be awakened.

Luvena was left carrying a child, due in about 5 months, and 7 children still at home.  Phoebe Emmerett had been married about 3 years.  Their son Arlin was 19.

The legacy that Arlin Henry Bates left his wife and children was far more valuable than silver or gold (though there was plenty for their needs.), he left them a wealth of love, understanding, friendship and compassion values of hard work and a joy for life itself.

                        My thanks goes to Delora Dummer for a lot of material, Goldie Tolman for Emmeret Bates Tolman's history and to Rhea Stanfield Marr for the history of her mother Luella Stanfield.  Also to my daughter Patsy Twitchell and the patience and help of my husband Glenn A. Bessire in compiling this information.

                        If there is anyone who has other information or different, I will appreciate getting hold of it and making this a more complete history.

                                                                                    Thora Bates Bessire