Elizabeth Monson History, Introduction

MY LIFE’S HISTORY

BY ELIZABETH MONSON

By example I’ve tried,

Not with silver or gold

To make my life more worthy,

To belong to Christ’s fold.

Like a panorama of pictures,

My life passes before me.

So here is what I’ve written,

Read it then you’ll agree

There have been many changes,

During my life history.

May what I have written

Within these few pages

Be of a great interest

Down through the ages.

INTRODUCTION

In attempting to write my life’s history, I have to trust to memory except for a few events and dates I have taken from a bound volume called Historical Record Volume 5 and 6. I have not kept a diary, for which I am sorry now because many important things I shall pass by. Memory is a strange thing. Just certain events will remain while others will not register in our brain, so these events I shall write about may not be in chronological order. I am no story writer so perhaps many of the happenings I will write about will not be grammatically worded. I will in my simple way write some of the things that are important to me and have happened in these 85 years of my life.

I was born the fourth day of August 1876 at Sandy, Utah--a little community about 12 miles south of Salt Lake City, Utah. I was given the name of Kjersti Elizabeth. I was nicknamed Betsey.

During my life many changes have taken place. Into the simple life of the pioneers, a life of luxury and ease has arrived. This machine age and atomic have been ushered in and progress in inventions and comforts of every kind have been made. Rural districts are up to date, electricity, radio, telephone, television, automobile and airplane have made it possible for them to keep up with the cities. The simple entertainments and home life of the pioneers have passed away and a different pleasure loving life has arrived. What a change from the kerosene or coal oil lamp to the electric light. The horse and buggy day to the automobile and airplane for transportation. A few hours and we are across the continent which took the pioneers months to cross. How thankful we are for these inventions.

Think of Salt Lake City and valley as a mixture of sand covered with sagebrush, not a green tree to be seen. Snakes and other reptiles crawling everywhere upon the baked ground. Compare it with what it is today.

Salt Lake City was only 29 years old when I was born. As a little girl I can readily remember the muddy street in winter and the dusty streets in summer. There were no paved streets, no electric street cars, no gasoline busses. You would perhaps see horses and wagon or maybe a yoke of oxen trudging along the street. Water troughs were seen along the street for watering the horses when out driving. There were hitching posts found in front of stores and homes who had horses, to tie them to when shopping or visiting as the case may be.