Emma Amelia Barker Willden (1866-1941)

Parents:Joseph Barker and Mary Ann Doidge Barker.

Children:  
Mary Pearl, January 3, 1885
Joseph Franklin, Oct 20 1886 (lived only three months and twelve days and died of pneumonia on Feb 2, 1887 and was buried in the old Mormon cemetery on the hill on Guymon’s farm)
Charles Stanford, January 21, 1888 (died at 10 months old from pneumonia, buried by the side of Frankie)
Catharine Arabelle, January 21, 1889
Oscar William*, January 8, 1892
Ethel Amelia, April 11, 1894
Elmer Ernest, August 17,1896
Ray Barker, April 14, 1901
Vernon, October 13, 1903

Emma Amelia Barker Willden   

By daughter Mary Pearl Willden Evans

This is the story of a woman who knew poverty and discouragement all her life but who rose above those conditions to raise a large family who are all faithful in the Gospel, and to leave a heritage of courage and devotion for all of us who follow.

It is the story of Emma Amelia Barker, who was born on the 22nd of July 1866 in the little pioneer town of Parowan, Iron County, Utah.  Emma is the name of her mother's sister and Amelia is the name of her father's sister.

When Emma was born there were already two girls in the family, Sarah and Mary.  She was blessed by Jessie Smith on the 5th of August 1866.  When she was three weeks old she had whooping cough and nearly died.  The doctor said there was no hope but Grandpa Barker remembered the wonderful blessing she had received when she was named.  She had been promised that she would live to have sons go a on a mission.  She recovered from the illness and the promise come true in later years. She was taught very young to work and help the family in their struggle for existence.

Her father, Joseph Barker, freighted back and forth to Pioche, Nevada.  Often he took the girls on these trips, which they enjoyed very much.  Emma was only eight years old (1874), when her father made his last trip to Pioche . He never came back and years later the family learned that he had been burned to death in Eureka, Nevada.  He was a good religious man.  Emma’s mother and the other girls were left alone and now began the struggle to make a living.  They gleaned in the fields in the fall, shucked corn to earn a pan of flour and a cup of molasses, and often had only bread and onions for lunch. In the winter Grandma taught school and took in washing.  Emma was baptized by Thomas Davenport on the 16th of August 1874.  Soon after she was placed in the home of some people named Hewlett, who lived in Summit, Utah, in order to earn her own living.  She received only a bare living and had to work very hard both with the outside chores and all the household duties.

A year or so later her mother married James H Dunton, a man much older than herself.  Their first boy was born in April of 1879 and was named John H.  When he was a year old (1880) the family moved to Mancos, Colorado taking the two smaller girls with them.  Sarah, Mary, Emma and Kate followed in 1882.  Emma was now sixteen and she worked in various homes in Mancos to support herself there, as there was no room for the older girls at home. On May 19, 1884 Emma, who was a girl of medium height with brown hair and blue eyes, married Joseph William Willden in Mancos, Colorado by Mr. Sampson, Justice of the Peace.

Their first home was a small log cabin in the Perkin’s field, west of the old log meetinghouse. William and Emma had very little to keep house on and very little to eat. Emma worked all the time, even before her children were born, in order to help with the living. She worked and bought the layette for all her children and saved the $10 fee for the midwife, Aunt Hannah Perkins. Her first child Pearl was born on January 3, 1885, in the above mentioned log cabin. William played his violin for all the dances for which he received a small fee. They moved very often and it is impossible to remember all the difference place in which they lived, but it was in the one-room house on the south-east part of Charles Willden Jr. farm in Webber that she gave birth to Joseph Franklin and Charles Stanford, both died as babies.  One can only wonder about what inner strength kept Emma going during this time after losing two babies in such space of time and with the hard work going on day after day. On January 21, 1889, Katherine Arabelle was born.  After losing the two boys Emma watched and prayed that Bell, as they called her, might live. The struggle to make a living continued with William working at any kind of work he could get (threshing, playing at dances, etc.) and the living being helped by having a cow and some chickens. When others got to go to town to the circus or other big events, the family never had the money for it. But Emma always worked hard and tried to make the home as pleasant as she possibly could. She sewed for own girls and husband’s sister. The family did have one long remembered holiday each year and that was the fourth of July. Emma always managed to have new dress for Pearl and Bell and she always cooked pies, cakes, chicken and other good things, which they took to Mancos town. There they met with other friends on the riverbank and participated in the program, ball game, races and etc. Three years after Bell was born, Oscar William was born (January 8, 1892). A short time later they moved to the Barney ranch, which they had bought. He sold this for a team and wagon harness and they moved seven miles farther south in Webber canyon.

Several more moves were made further down this desolate canyon, with William building either one or two-room houses on each place. Many Indians lived in the canyon and they often stopped and begged for things to eat. Emma was very good and always wanted to help those in need. It was on this farm that William built a larger house with a large living room and two bedrooms downstairs and an upstairs. The upstairs never did get finished but Pearl and Bell slept there and felt quite rich to have such a house. It was in this house that Ethel Amelia was born April 11, 1894. They always raised a large garden and once a week they gathered vegetables, washed and bunched them and went into Mancos and sold them door-to-door. Then Emma would buy the week’s worth supply of bacon, sugar, flour, etc with the money. As a treat she always bought a five-cent bag of candy. In the summer the trip to town and back in a wagon with no shade was extremely hot and on one of these trips when Ethel was only a few months old, the sun was too much for her and she became very ill with brain fever. Emma had a large doctor book, which she used to treat not only her own family ills but all the neighbors as well. The book said to crush cabbage leaves and put on the patient’s head. This she did and Ethel recovered, but she was never very strong. Emma always taught her children to pray and have faith in God. Living down the Webber canyon so far they couldn’t get a doctor easily so they had to depend upon the Lord in any sickness and trouble and their prayers were usually answered. They always prayed also that their father would quit smoking and go to the temple, but he was 65 before this happened. In this same house in Webber, Ernest was born on August 17,1896 Soon after they moved to a one-room house on the old Lemmon place so the children could go to school. William stayed on the ranch most of the time and took care of stock. How they ever managed with seven in one room is hard to imagine. In the fall of 1898 William sold the Webber place and they moved to a log cabin on the North side of what they called Ghost Hollow. There, Ralph Edward was born on Feb 1, 1899. When Ralph was ten months old the children had either measles or scarlet fever. Ralph was recovering but one day while crawling over the drafty floor he took the croup and died within a few hours. Ethel and Ernest also took the croup, which turned into membrane croup and both were very ill. We believe it was this illness which affected Ernest’ hearing and made him quite deaf, because his hearing had been good up until this time. Neither, Ernest or Ethel ever completely recovered from this terrible illness and both had deficiencies in speech. About November of 1900 they moved into a five-room house William had built in Stump Alley in Webber. Much saving and scrimping had gone into building this home, but they enjoyed it very much. Ray was born there on April 14, 1901. They moved a great many times about this time, one summer living by Emma’s mother, up in the mountains. Several summers William rented farms and they would live there for the summer, moving back to Webber for the winter. It was back in Webber that Vernon was born on Oct 13, 1903. Pearl was married to John Evans on the 27th of May 1906 and on August 18, 1907 their son Paul, Emma and William’s first grandchild, was born. He lived only a few weeks and died September 22, 1907.

About a year later, 1908, they moved to Redmesa, Colorado where John filed on 120 acres of land, which was divided between William and John.  They built homes on adjoining lots and farmed in the summer and in the winter John and William worked in the mines in Durango and Mancos.  A few years later William built a large house on this farm.  This was the nicest home the family ever had, and it was in this home that William and Emma lived until their death.  Over the years Emma’s family grew up and were married. Bell married Clarence Slade and they have seven children.  Oscar went on a mission, which was interrupted by World War I as he was called home to go in the army.  When he returned he married Della Ball and they had six children.  Ray spent three years in the army – doing a great deal of missionary work while serving his country, and returned to marry Lilly Zufelt and they have had boys. Vernon fulfilled a mission and returned and married Dove Slade and they had four children.  During all this time Emma worked very hard to earn the money for the boy’s missions.  In 1931 William quit smoking and he and Emma and family went through the temple.  He died in November of 1934.  Bell died on Mother’s day, May 8th, 1938.  At this time Emma was not very well and her health gradually became worse and on Oct 11th 1941 she died in the home that she loved and cared for so diligently.  In the last 12 years of her life Ethel was her constant nurse and companion and cared for her with love and devotion.  Emma was a wonderful woman. All her life she studied and worked to educate herself, and was a very good student of the Bible. She taught her family the Gospel and set an example for them in her own life.  She was a good neighbor and friend, and when she was laid to rest in the Redmesa Cemetery, not only her family, but also the whole community felt deeply the loss of “Aunt Em.” She had always worked in the church along with her other duties: in Sunday school, Mutual, Primary, and Religion Class, both teaching and as a leader.