History of Joseph Arthur & Josephine Lunn Birt

More great work by Grandma Barton with family history. This tells a bit more about her parent's early life. I love the story of Uncle Ben lighting the bonfire in the drive to deter Joseph from taking Josie out!

My mother, Josephine Lunn Birt, and my father, Joseph Arthur Birt, were real hardworking people. Being farmers, they earned their living by tilling the soil, and making it produce many crops which they either sold or used for their own living.

Mother’s mother died when she was just nine years old, so she was sent to live with an aunt and uncle, Benjamin Bright and Aunt Josephine. Mother named me after this aunt. They lived in South Weber, Utah, where she went to school. My father, Joseph Birth, lived in South Weber and went to school there also, so they knew each other as children.

When Joseph and Josephine grew up to be teenage or early twenties, they started dating. Josephines’ Aunt Josephine died when Josephine was about nineteen or twenty, and so Josephine stayed with her Uncle Ben, helping him on the farm and as his housekeeper.

The story is told of how one night Josephine had a date with Joseph and her Uncle Ben started a big bonfire in the driveway thinking to stop Joseph from coming to see her. Uncle Ben was afraid she was going to marry Joseph and he would lose his helper. But Joseph was not stopped, so they were married on November 22, 1921.

For the first 5 or 6 years of their marriage, they lived and farmed in South Weber where Verla was born in September of 1923, and Arthur was born in September of 1925. Then, they moved to Roy, Utah where they farmed for about 2 or 3 years. LaVern was born while they lived there in November of 1927.

Then came the year of 1929 when the stock market crashed and the banks went bankrupt. Joe and Josie had bought a small ten-acre farm in Clinton, but they lost their savings at this time and had to ask Joe’s father to help them so they would not lose their farm.

Another daughter was added to their family in September of 1930, named Ileen.

This ten acre farm in Clinton, however, couldn’t supply enough income to support their growing family, so they rented land from others, sharing the profits with the landowners. Joe rented farms in the town of Clinton, Sunset, and Roy. The main crops he raised on the farms were tomatoes, sugar beets, potatoes, hay, and grain. He also raised beans and cantaloupe.
Joe and Josie worked these farms with the help of their children and an occasional hired hand, and at this time most of the farming was done with horses.

Joe had a team of Clydesdale horses that he farmed with, and he had a love for horses all his life. He supplemented their income from the farm by working in the gravel pits and helping to build roads with the horses. He acquired a horse trailer that he used to transport his horses back and forth to work.

At one time he worked in the gravel pits in the mountain road in Kaysville, Utah, which was a distance of about 11 miles one way.

I can remember seeing my father leave home real early in the morning with his horses in the trailer and the fog would be very heave and mother would be so worried because the fog was even heavier up on the mountain road.

Another son was added to their family in 1936 on Memorial Day. A red headed boy, and they named him John Sheldon. He brought joy to the family as we all were pleased to have a baby brother to spoil and love.

Well, the years rolled by, and the children grew up. Then, in 1941, our United States was attacked by Japan and several of our ships were sunk at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.
Arthur was drafted into the Army in 1943 and had to leave soon after Verla was married. This left Joe and Josie with only 3 children at home, Sheldon being only 7 years old at the time.
These war years were hard years working on the farm with only LaVern and Ileen to help them, where Arthur had been such a help before, however, Verla’s husband, Bill Barton helped them wherever he could. Ileen and LaVern worked very hard these war years. Josie went to work at the Ogden Arsenal to help the war effort and to help them financially. Josie also worked at canning factories for several years during the canning season.

After LaVern graduated from High School, she got a job in Seattle, Washington, so that left only Ileen and Sheldon at home.

Arthur returned home from the service in 1946 and was soon married that same year. Then LaVern married the next year in 1947.

Things were somewhat easier by now as Sheldon was 11 years old and able to help some on the farms. Ileen was married in 1950, leaving Sheldon the only sibling at home.
Arthur helped Joe and Josie and they farmed together for several years, then in 1949 or 1950, Arthur moved to Morgan, Utah to farm his mother in law’s farm up there.
Joe and Josie continued to farm with Sheldon’s help and also help from their sons-in-laws whenever they could help. Sheldon was married in 1957 and built a home on the farm next door to Joe and Josie.

Joe and Josie enjoyed their grandchildren as they came along, and they enjoyed going to visit LaVern and her husband, Jim, in California, especially the Christmases they spent there with LaVern and her family.

They spent their lives providing for and teaching us chilildren to be honest and hard working adults. And in death, as in life, they were never separated for long, both of them leaving this earthly life in 1970. Father the 1st of October and mother, just ten days later on the 11th of October.

I am very thankful that they were my parents and hope that they have found happiness beyond the veil.

Verla Birt Barton 1999