Ruth Carrie Dunn

Ruth Carrie Dunn, the fourth child of Simeon Harmon Dunn and Anna Buletta Jensen Dunn, was born in Eastdale, Colorado. Her parents could never agree on the date that she was born. Grandpa said it was one day, and Grandma said it was another. Grandma said that she should know because she was there. As a little girl, Ruth lived for a time in Eastdale, but soon moved to Manassa with her family. She lived in Manassa until she graduated from high school in 1925.

She then went to LDS Business College in Salt Lake City, Utah. She also attended telegraphy school. Her two older sisters, Frances and Ethel, were in nurse's training there.

Ruth worked in Salt Lake City in the office at Utah Wollen Mills for a while and then returned to Colorado. She worked at J.C. Penney's in Antonito, and it was here she met Bill Koch. Ruth married William Emil Koch on 31 December, 1933, in San Luis, colorado. Ruth and Bill told us one day in the mountains that the day that they were married, the Sherriff was shot. His body was on display at the courthouse. Bill and Ruth had to see his body before they returned home.

Ruth and Bill moved to Alamosa and Ruth worked for Gordon Stores for 17 years. She worked for Alamosa National Bank for two years, and for Kavley's Department Store. She then worked then for 20 years as Clerk of the county court, and as clerk of the water court. Ruth has always been a working woman.

Ruth and Bill enjoyed their family and grandchildren. especially picnicing and camping on the Conejos river.

Ruth and Bill have been generous in helping extended family members, as well as their own immediate family. I would always plan on seeing Ruth at our house with new school clothes for us in the fall.

Mother (Gatha Wilson) spent some time with Ruth at her home in Alamosa a year ago this January. She moved to a nursing home shortly after that visit. There was recently an article in the Alamosa paper congratulating Ruth for celebrating her 103rd birthday.

Portions of this entry were taken foom A History of the Ancestors & Descendants of Simeon Harmon Dunn and Anna Buletta Jensen, compiled by Vera Louise Oliver and published privately in June of 1993.

Frances Edna Dunn

Rueben Gillespie Moyle, the son of Matthew and Eliza Mary Gillespie Moyle, met Frances Dunn, eldest child of Simeon Harmon and Anna Buletta Jensen, in Allturas California. After much pleading and persistent courting, they were married in Reno, Navada. In the beginning, the only dependents were Fluffy, the cat, and a dog whose name cannot be remembered. Following the birth of their third child, Gayle, Rueben became sick and spent much time in the hospital.

In order for Frances to care for her ill husband, she sent their three children, Rueben Dean, Kay, and Gayle by train with Edgar and LaVerl Dunn to stay with their grandparents, Simeon and Anna Dunn in Manassa, Colorado.

The children stayed there for almost a year. When Reuben was well enough, they made a trip to Manassa to pick up the children. At this time, the decision was made to stay in Manassa.

Frances was a registered nurse and was employed at Alamosa Community Hospital. Reuben set up a poultry business in order to stay home with the children. Prior to this time, Reuben had worked most of his life as a carpenter. Frances worked as a registered nurse for many years. The family first lived on a farm near Romeo and later they purchased a home outside of Alamosa.

Reuben passed away on 23 Jul 1970, and is buried in Manassa. Frances has been an inspiration to all of her relatives. She remains active at the age of 91 (at the time of the history). After Reuben's death, they spent sever winters in California with her father, participating in work for the dead in the Los Angeles Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Frances is now living at the San Luis Valley Care Center in Alamosa. She has remained active in the church and is still a Relief Society Visiting teacher at the age of 91. She also still does temple work whenever she gets a way to go to Denver.

Taken from A History of the Ancestors and Descendants of Simeon Harmon Dunn and Annie Buletta Jensen, Compiled and published privately by Vera Dunn Olivier June, 1993,

Simeon Dunn - The Final Years

Part 4 of 4 parts.

I was ordained a Seventy by Rules S. Wells on april 25, 1909, and a few years later was set apart as one of the Council of the 92nd Quorum. On the 24th of May, 1942, I was ordained a High Priest and set apart as a member of the High Council of the San Luis Stake by richard R. Lyman, an Apostle. I served under to Stake Presidents, John B. reed and Howard Shawcroft. During the time I was in the Seventies Quorum, I served as a Stake Missionary for about three years.

In 1940, I quit farming and went into the gas business wholesale and retail. During World War II, my wife and ran the place. She took care of the station while I did the hauling and delivering. Neither of us missed a day on account of sickness, and we had wonderful health. On January 1, 1950, I sold the business to my son-in-law, Boyd W. Pagett. I was 72 years old. I stayed and helped him for about four years.

During all this time I had been working in the Church in different positions. After my release as a High Councilor I was set apart as President of the High Priest's Quorum, where I served for about four years. I also served in the Mutual Improvement Association as Superintendent of the Sunday School for a number of years. I have served as a Wart Teacher (and Home Teacher) since I was a young man.

Our daughter, Cora, died October 11, 1944, and her husband, James Edward Bingham, died July 11, 1946, leaving a family of six children whom we helped to raise.

This history would not be complete without a word about my wife. We were married 58 years th 20th of November, 1958. She is the mother of 13 children, 11 of them we raised to man and womanhood, two died in infancy and our daughter, Cora died at the age of 36. The rest of our children are alive today. She has been a wonderful wife and mother, has taught her children honesty, thrift, to be good membeers of the Church and of the community where they live. She is loved and respected by the people of the community where she lives and all who know her. Our son, Rex was stricken with polio in 1936, when he was nine years of age. My wife never ceased working with him and spent years taking him to different doctors and hospitals. He was left with one leg that has to have a brace and he walks on crutches. As of this date (1958), we have 102 in family, in-laws and all--13 children, 43 grandchildren, 24 geat grandchildren, 80 blood descendants.

(1993 -- This history is bing finished by Semeon and Anna's daughters, Frances Gillespie, Ruth Koch, Hazel Nite, Elma Pagett, Doris Mortensen, and Ina Olsen). Anna Buletta Jensen Died October 9, 1959, at her home in Manassa. She was 77 years old. After he death, their daughter, Doris Morensen and family lived in the family home. Simeon lived with them in the summers and with his daughters, Ethel Forsyth, Ina Olsen and Hazel Nite, who lived in the Los Angeles area, curing the winters where he worked in the Los Angeles LDS temple. After five years, his daughter, Frances, rented a Temple apartment and they lived there together and worked in the Temple during the winters and went back to Manassa during the summers. The last three years of Simeon's life, he stayed in Manassa. He stayed mentally and physically active and died suddenly of a cerebral hemorrhage. He was 95 years old. He died January 10, 1973.

Better people never lived than Simeon and Anna. They are dearly loved by all of their descendants.

Taken from, "A History of the Ancestors & Descendants of Simeon harmon Dunn and Anna Buletta Jensen", compiled by Vera Dunn Olivier, Published privately June, 1993, pp 25-26

Simeon and Annie start their family

Part 3 of 4 parts

I had now been away from home two years. I was offered a job teaching school at home, in Eastdale, Colorado, so I went home and commenced teaching for forty dollars a month in a little country school where I had all the grades by myself. In the fall of 1895, I was put in as Ward Choirmaster, a position my mother held before me. On November 21, 1899, I celebrated my 21st birthday teaching school with 30 or 40 students ranging from 6 to 16 years old.

In our town, water for domestic use was drawn with buckets out of wells 80 feet deep. We had no well on our lot, so my brother, Levi, and I decided to dig one. I had a horror working underground and had never been down one of those deep wells, but by starting at the top and going down a few feet each day, I learned to work underground. I also helped on the farm some and went to summer school in Manassa, which was taught by Clifford I Goff. I stayed at the home of Stake President Albert R. Smith. After this school closed, I, with another young teacher, Ashbel Haskell, attended a short teachers' course in Antonito, and after that two weeks went to Del Norte to a Teachers' Institute. By the time this was out, it was time to start teaching another term.

School started again (1900), the students who were sixteen last year were seventeen now and one of them especially was becoming quite noticeable to me. Before school was out in the spring, her mother said she didn't think it did much good for her daughter to go to school as she wasn't studying much as she was too interested in the teacher.

On November 20, 1900 this same young lady, Miss Anna Buletta Jensen, and I were were married by Joseph F. Smith, of the Council of the Twelve, in Manassa, at the home of her father's first wife. She was 18 and I was 23. I was teaching again at Eastdale for my third year. I traded a team of horses for a house and lot where we lived for 10 years. In the summer of 1901, A.C. Neilson and I took a contract stacking hay on a cattle ranch about 35 miles from home so we camped there while putting up hay.

On August 25, 1901, our first child, a girl, Frances Edna, was born and we thought she was the sweetest baby that ever lived. In the fall of 1901, Ammon Mortenson and I rented a herd of sheep from Bishop Christen Jensen, my father-in-law, and spend the next eight years, farming, building reservoirs, and working in the ward organizations.

On the 13 of May 1903, our second child, Ethel Leona, was born. On January 6, 1905, our third child and first son, Willard Oliver, was born. He lived a littler over a month and died February 18, 1905. We were broken-hearted. On October 5, 1905, my wife and I with our two little girls went to the Temple in Salt Lake City, where she received her endowments. I had already received mine, and we were sealed for time and all eternity and our three children were sealed to us. What joy and happiness this brings to us when we know that if we are faithful in keeping the covenants we have made with the Lord, we will be privileged to live as families forever in God's kingdom. On June 16, 1906, our fourth child, Ruth Carrie, was born.

The county in which we lived was an old Spanish grant, and the people who owned it sold it to another company who wanted to get more settlers on the land. As the community of Eastdale had the best water rights on the stream, they were anxious to get it and they put considerable pressure on us to sell. The people finally sold to them, some moving to Manassa, and some to Sanford.

On the 29th of July, 1908, our fifth child, Cora Emily, was born. We now had four little girls, the eldest not quite seven. (Cora was born in Eastdale.) During the summer and the following winter, I worked for the company which bought our land and water, on the reservoirs the Eastdale people had started. After working one day, I was put in as a foreman on the dam for which I received $3.00 a day and paid 75 cents of that for board. The common laborer received two dollars a day and paid 75 cents for board. I spent the winter working on the reservoirs and in the spring of 1909, moved to Manassa.

We lived on a ranch south of town where we stayed until the summer of 1910. During the summer we built a house and granary in Manassa. We made two rooms in the granary so we could live there while we finished the house. On the 1st of September, 1910, our sixth child, Edgar Harmon, was born in the granary. We finished the house before cold weather and moved into it where we lived for several years. I spent the next few years working in company with several of my brothers-in-law with sheep and cattle.

On September 12, 1912, Ina, our seventh child, was born. Our company dissolved partnership and Ammon E. Mortensen and I started working together. We farmed together until our boys were large enough to help run the farm. For the next thirty years, I ran the farm, milked cows, raised pigs, hauled milk to the creamery, and helped raise my family. During most of the time I had good health. During the terrible flue epidemic, after World War I, I had a bad sickness with flu, but finally got well. Many friends and relatives died with flu during this epidemic.

On February 24, 1915, our eigth child, Hazel was born. On March 7, 1917, our ninth child, Elma, came and on Feb 7, 1919, Doris was born. We now had eight girls and one boy living. On the 12th of April, 1921, Loyd Jensen was born and on the 13th of April, 1925, we had a son, Keith Melford, who was stillborn. Our last child, Rex Simeon, was born September 12, 1927. This is the total of our family, eight girls and five boys, eleven living. My mother, Eunice Emily Harmon Dun, died April 24, 1922, with cancer of the liver. She was 67 years old. My father, Simeon Adams Dunn, died February 13, 1935, at the age of 84.

During the winter of 1927-28, there was an epidemic of smallpox in Manassa. Many whole families were ill at the same time. The first bunch of vaccine that people were vaccinated with was not effective and by the time the second bunch was given out, most of the people had already contacted the disease. Our whole family came down with the disease, but all recovered.

Taken from Simeon Harmon Dunn's own history found in "A History of the Ancestors and Descendants of Simeon Harmon Dunn and Anna Buletta Jensen," Compiled by Vera Louise Olivier and published privately June, 1993, pp23 - 25