Samuel James Gordon (1903 – 1986) &

Jane Matilda Allen (1903 – 1974)

Samuel James Gordon. I was born in Smithfield, Utah, 24th of December,

1903, at the home of my Mother, Harriet Louisa Meikle Gordon. My Father

was Samuel Arthur Gordon. My parents lived in Driggs, Idaho (North of

Idaho Falls) at the time. When I was three years old we left Driggs and came

back to Smithfield where for four years my father worked at various jobs.

About 1908 Father took a team and supplies and went north to Idaho Falls

where he planned to homestead a farm. It was a rugged beginning and took at

least a year to get things up there to start farming. Father worked for many

farmers and all his extra time he spent building a home and getting ready to

plant a crop of turkey red wheat at the dry farm. About 60 days after Father

left to go north to get to Idaho Falls with his team, Mother and four children

boarded the train to go north to get to Idaho Falls. We lived in a little cabin in

the southeast part of Taylor, Idaho, Taylor being named after a great potato

grower named Joe Taylor. I started school in this district at 6 in Taylor,

Idaho, and for four or five years up in that area there were three of my brothers and sisters born, Hazel,

Vern and Erma. When Erma was about one year old we moved back to Smithfield and there secured a

farm on which we lived for several years.

(Taylor Creek is 15 miles SE of Idaho Falls in Bingham Co., Idaho)

I was in the fourth grade when we left Taylor, Idaho, and while at Taylor my grandfather Meikle came

up to visit with us and he came to the dry farm. My grandfather baptized my brother Harold and myself

in the Taylor Creek which ran by the dry farm home. We also went to Primary at the home of some of

the Saints in Taylor. There people were named the Lawrence family. There were some young ladies and a

couple of boys in the family. These people took charge of the Primary work. The Church members were

not too plentiful there in this area, but I remember the effort made to teach us.

In Smithfield I was made a Deacon. I used to walk to Priesthood

meeting with Father and my brother on Monday nights. Grandfather

Meikle was very serious about us doing our duties in the office of the

Priesthood and the Church and would severely scold us if he saw

indifference while we lived in Smithfield. We lived here for about five

years.

Then Father moved his family to South Jordan, Utah, down in south

Salt Lake County. In South Jordan I was ordained a Teacher and

when we lived in Salt Lake I was ordained a Priest. During this time

of my life I heard quite a few of the General Authorities speak in

Conference both stake and general. I was impressed with their

messages. They used to almost scare me with the strength of their

testimonies.

In South Jordan we raised sugar beets and milked cows. We did the

farming on 56 acres of land and became part of the community there

for about four years. Some of my-brothers and sisters started school

in South Jordan. Father sold out the farm and moved back to Salt

Lake City, and we lived on 2118 Green Street between 8th and 9th

East, south of 21st South. We lived here about 2 years.

At this time I worked at various jobs and went to the Henagers, Business College in the winter. In the

Spring of 1922, I went looking for work out in the south end of the valley, feeling I didn't like the

confinement of the city life. I came to Draper. It was the first time I had ever been to Draper.

I found employment for a day or two. Then for a period of time I was back in the city. Shortly after that I

decided I would engage myself with some sheep firm and work right out in the desert for the summer

time.

I went back out to Draper and was instructed to see three different people whom I contacted. I did this

and the last one was A. P. Allen, a brother to J. R. Allen in Draper. He employed me to go to Cedar

Valley to help them there with the operation of Spring lambing. I worked out there for two months, then

when the sheep were taken to the summer range, I was transferred back to Draper farms where I worked

till September of that season.

It was in July that I met Jane Matilda Allen, the daughter of J. R. Allen. After leaving the Allen farm

and going back to Salt Lake I became employed with the railroad and going to night school. I worked

that way until the next spring at which time I again decided to go out into the country for the summer.

I got a job with the employment agency for the US Mining and Smelting people who had a silver mine at

Vipoint, Utah. This job frightened my father. He said he was very concerned about this move because of

the environment and the danger attached to the work. However, I went up to Vipoint just inside the Utah

state line from Oakley, Idaho. I worked this job for four months and they closed the mine because of the

silver prices. I saved more money in this period than any like period in my life up to this time.

When I got home, Father had traded his place in Salt Lake for a farm in Cornish, Utah. I helped him get

ready to move up there. Before I left I got my girl friend, Jane, to come and see the family. Then I didn't

get to see her for about 10 months. I was in Salt Lake in August and went to Draper to see Jane. After the

harvest that fall, I tried again to get employment in the mines. This time I went to Eureka, Nevada, where

I stayed during the winter. Then again went home to farm in the spring. After that season I went to the

Bingham Canyon, Utah mines for the next winter.

I did my best to court Jane that winter. Jane was going to the

University of Utah, and I went to Salt Lake maybe once a month.

After leaving Bingham, I went back to Cornish and helped my folks

with their spring work on the farm. Then in 22 May 1925, I went

back to Salt Lake and Jane and I were married and I started to

work for her father on the farm in Draper.

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Her father was not very much church minded and to please him it

was hard for me to do my church work. But after we became an

entity of ourselves and moved down on State Street on a farm where

the State Prison is now located, we began to get active in the Ward,

taking part in some of the activities and auxiliaries and helping to

push the work along. In 1932 after our four children were born, on

23 of May, 1932, we were married in the Salt Lake Temple and had

our children all sealed to us.

In 1935 they divided the Draper Ward and I was chosen second

counselor to Heber J. Smith who was the Bishop. I held this position

until 1942 when we were released and had our Ward building dedicated up in east Draper on 13th East

and 128th South. Three months before we were let out, we had the dedication services. Then my special

calling was with the High Priest Quorum and for fifteen years, I was engaged with the High Priests both

in the Ward and Stake. And I was a counselor in the Mount Jordan Stake for about fifteen years.

On April 9, 1926, our first son was born, and we were still at the home of Jane's father and mother.

When he was about six weeks of age, we moved down on

State Street and began to farm. This was on a large portion

of J. R. Allen's estate. We moved into the poultry business,

building one coop and getting 400 hens. We had no lights,

no water, no electricity, no newspaper, no telephone, and no

nothing hardly. We were just pioneers down there.

We gradually developed there until the second year there

we built four more coops. We thought by getting a method

of using our farm production and the egg business would be

the best way to progress. We had four coops the third year

filled with birds, but no electricity which made it very very

difficult to get very heavy production during the winter. But

in the spring and during the summer we would really

produce a lot of eggs. We discovered that we needed to help

organize a marketing agency. We could see that the

salvation was to get the most return for our product.

The poultry business was very interesting in the community

because it employed many egg farms and the largest

number of hens that we had on our place at any one time

was 7,000 hens. We ran into periods of extreme high prices

and extreme low prices, and it moved along with the

economy of the country. We ran into this great 1932

depression when grains were 40 cents a hundred pounds and eggs were about one penny apiece. Then

from there we moved into an area when eggs were 65 cents a dozen or 5 cents apiece. Those various

extremes made the business very interesting.

We finally expanded until we had 7,500 hens down on this farm. Then the egg business sort of flattened

out to some extent, but we had in this period of time organized a real marketing program, an

organization which embraced many many little farms of egg people throughout the state. We had at one

time as many as one carload of eggs a day leaving Draper, going out into the markets of the country and

it was a very lucrative business for most of us and we were so thankful that we controlled our own

business. It was the very thing that made the business survive as long as it did.

However, there were changes that came in economics as people began to feel hired labor was too

expensive and they would start to integrate their operations on their own

farms and so, in 1962, after 30 years of operation, we dissolved our own

company and merged with the Intermountain Farmers. Then my term

expired and I was released because I had withdrawn from the egg

business. Our efforts on this farm were more or less feeding beef and

farming activities here.

In this interval of 20 years, the Stake and Church had grown

considerably in this area. Then in 1950, the Mount Jordan Stake was

divided and the Sandy Stake was created, leaving the Mount Jordan

Stake with seven wards. I was made President of the High Priest

Quorum in the new Mount Jordan Stake, LeGrande Smith and Leslie

Fairbourne as counselors and Henry Cox as secretary. This lasted until

July 1961. Then I was placed in the High Council and labored in that

capacity for 10 and a half years until January, 1972. Then I was released.

I served as Director of the Draper Irrigation Co. for 20 years, having

been in touch with the town growth. I noticed much change in the need for and the pressure for culinary

water increased and the Board of Health insisted that we become an improved system, so in 1971, we

dedicated a one and a half million dollar treatment plant to serve the community.

Our family consists of two daughters and two sons, and at this time,

1972, we have 19 grandchildren and 9 great grandchildren.

We are proud and happy for our children. They are all doing just fine

in Church work and community work.

In the year 1950, on October 17th, I was called to serve a mission in the

Northern California Mission. I was on my mission for six months and

was released in April, 1952. During this time my wife and family really

tried. Our brooding coop burned right to the ground. Jane's health

wasn't the best, she suffered a slipped disk and several other things

happened that tested our faith, but I am happy I went and served the

Lord. I have been blessed all my live and give thanks to Him.

On March the 9th of this year, 1972, I suffered a heart attack and I'm

going to slip out of this beef business and let my sons and son in law

handle the business and just sort of retire from the basic push out here.

This more or less concludes our activity up to this time. We both have a testimony of the divinity of our

Lord and Savior. We hold these things very precious in our lives.

At this time I am 69 years old. About 1972

By: Samuel James Gordon

Jane Matilda Allen Died: 6 Feb 1974

Burial : 10 Feb 1974, Draper, Salt Lake, Utah

Samual James Gordon Married

Mary Jane “Jennie” De St Jeor Allen: 4 Dec 1975

Samuel James Gordon Died: 10 Jun 1986

Burial;: 13 Jun 1986, Draper, Salt Lake, Utah

Mary Jane “Jennie” De St Jeor Allen Died: 5 January 1987

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1910 James Gordon in household of Samuel A Gordon, "United States Census"

Name: James Gordon

Event Place: Taylor, Bingham, Idaho, United States District: 58

Gender: Male Age: 6 Marital Status: Single Race: White Race (Original): White

Relationship to Head of Household: Son Relationship to Head of Household (Original): Son

Birth Year (Estimated): 1904 Birthplace: Utah

Father's Birthplace: United States Mother's Birthplace: Utah

Household Gender Age Birthplace

Head Samuel A Gordon M United States

Wife Hattie Gordon F Utah

Son Harold Gordon M 8 Utah

Son James Gordon M 6 Utah

Daughter Hattie Gordon F 4 Utah

Son Roy Gordon M 2 Idaho

Daughter Velma Gordon F 0 Idaho

Velma = Vera

https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/M8P8-8NW

1920 Samuel J Gordon in household of Samuel A Gordon, "United States Census”

Name: Samuel J Gordon Event Place: Precinct 9, Salt Lake, Utah, United States District: 57

Gender: Male Age: 16 Marital Status: Single Race: White Race (Original): White

Can Read: Yes Can Write: Yes

Relationship to Head of Household: Son Relationship to Head of Household (Original): Son

Birth Year (Estimated): 1904 Birthplace: Utah

Father's Birthplace: Utah Mother's Birthplace: Utah

Household Gender Age Birthplace

Head Samuel A Gordon M 40 Utah

Wife Harriet L Gordon F 40 Utah

Son Arthur H Gordon M 18 Utah

Son Samuel J Gordon M 16 Utah

Daughter Harriet M Gordon F 14 Utah

Son Foster L Gordon M 12 Utah

Daughter Hazel Gordon F 10 Utah

Son William V Gordon M 7 Utah

Daughter Phylis E Gordon F 5 Utah

Daughter Vera Gordon F 3 Utah

Daughter Ethel G Gordon F 0 Utah

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1930 S James Gordon, "United States Census"

Name: S James Gordon, Event Place: Draper, Salt Lake, Utah

Gender: Male, Age: 26, Marital Status: Married, Race: White

Birthplace: Utah, Birth Year (Estimated): 1904 Relationship to Head of Household: Head

Father's Birthplace: Utah, Mother's Birthplace: Utah

Household Gender Age Birthplace

Head S James Gordon M 26 Utah

Wife Jane Gordon F 26 Utah

Son A Jack Gordon M 4 Utah

Daughter Lois Gordon F 2 Utah

Daughter Norma Gordon F 1 Utah

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1940 S J Gordon, "United States Census" name: S J Gordon

event place:Election Precinct 8, Salt Lake, Utah, United States

gender: Male age: 36 marital status: Married race (standardized): White

relationship to head of household (standardized): Head

birthplace: Utah estimated birth year: 1904 residence in 1935: Same Place

Household Gender Age Birthplace

head S J Gordon M 36 Utah

wife Jane A Gordon F 36 Utah

son Arthur J Gordon M 13 Utah

daughter Lois Gordon F 12 Utah

daughter Norma Gordon F 11 Utah

son Lynore J Gordon M 8 Utah

Your tombstone stands neglected and alone.

The name and date are chiseled out on polished, marbled stone.

It reaches out to all who care. It is too late to mourn.

You did not know that I exist. You died and I was born.

Yet each of us are cells of you in flesh, in blood, in bone.

Our heart contracts and beats a pulse entirely not our own.

Dear Ancestor, the place you filled so many years ago.

Spreads out among the ones you left who would have loved you so.

I wonder as you lived and loved, I wonder if you knew

That someday I would find this spot and come to visit you.

Author Unknown

FIND A GRAVE

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=10473946

Samuel James Gordon

Birth: Dec. 24, 1903

Death: Jun. 10, 1986

Burial: Draper City Cemetery Draper, Salt Lake County, Utah

Plot: B-52-7

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=10473941

Jane Allen Gordon

Birth: Jul. 29, 1903

Death: Feb. 6, 1975

Burial: Draper City Cemetery Draper Salt Lake County, Utah

Plot: B-52-6

Prepared by J.E. Anderson for Uncle Samuel James Gordon & Aunt Jane Matilda Allen