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Note: MARTHA ESTER WILLIAMS CALL Ester Williams was born 20 March 1869 in Springfield, Utah Co., Utah, daughter of George Williams and Emma Stevensen.
Ester was nine months old when her parents moved from Springville to Goshen where they lived until she was 13 years old, at that time they moved to Provo, Utah. They were members of the Mormon Church. They had ten living children, five boys and five girls.
Ester was baptized and confirmed on the 20 March 1877 by Elder Peter Okelberry of the town of Goshen, their southern home.
In those days children assumed responsibility at an early age. A family of nine young children to support was a problem and each member did all they could to help whenever and where ever there was a chance to learn. They would hire our to do washing, ironing, cleaning or anything they could find to do.
Ester was only 11 when she first "worked out" to help buy her clothes. Her first job was at Cisco camp. From here she went to Mrs. Cordling, who at the time was living in Spanish Fork Canyon where about 25 men were working getting out railroad ties. Aunt Ester Grange was cooking for the men and little Ester could be such a lot of help. She worked three months and started for her Goshen home five days before Christmas. The first night she stopped at Grandfather Stephensen, who had been bedfast for over two years and that was very ill. Ester stayed to help her grandmother and two days later he passed away. She and her grandmother were alone with him when he died, it was her first experience with death and she was only 12. Brother George and Sister Ann came for her, and after grandfather Stephensen's burial on Christmas Day she continued her journey home with them.
The family moved to Idaho on the 27th of April, 1885 in company with the John James family. There were eighteen people in the company. They had four wagons. It was a pleasant journey which took them two weeks to complete. Their first stop was at Onida, Bingham Co., Idaho; here the company separated, Ester's family went to Chesterfield where they lived in the home of a friend, Will Higgson, who had two wives, Hattie and Christina. These families lived together until Esther's father got some land and built a dirt roofed cabin for his family to live in.
Ester soon grew to womanhood. She was happy and very attractive. She was an efficient worker and helped meet the crying demand for family help and was a comfort and blessing to many neighbors and over worked mothers with their little families. Hospitals were unknown in that country and so a midwife and home care was the way of life. Esther often helped these courageous mothers in their homes and it was on one of these kindly services that Joe and Isabel Call found in her a kindred spirit, and although she was young in years, just turned 17 she seemed wise in experience. So she entered into plural marriage with Joseph Call on 9 June 1886 at the Logan Temple with W. Merrill officiating. No more happy carefree life for Ester, so young, so beautiful and so trusting. I wonder how Ester found the courage, when all around them, men and women were being hunted, driven and jailed for this law of plurality of wives. No home or place for safety. The first year of her married life she was on a "skif" as they called it. Her baby was to arrive in August. She must have care and safety. Mother Lucy Barlow (Isabel's mother) of Bountiful took her in her home and cared for her. Most of her days were spent in the corn field in hiding for fear someone would come to the house and then tell the sheriff where she was. Here August 23, 1887 Emma Ethel, a dear little bright eyed girl with luxuriant black hair came as a recompense for her long hours of sacrifice and homesickness. Still there was no comfort or place of safety for either Isabel or Ester and only loniness and anxiety and no home life or even hope of any. When baby Emma, was three weeks old she had to leave Bountiful, Utah. She went to Omar Call's home in Willard, Utah to help. Later she went back to work for Mrs. Cording at Cisco Pump Camp. She stayed here until her husband sent for her to come to Clarkston, Idaho.
It was the autumn of 1868, after his fourth trial for unlawful cohabitation at Soda Springs, Joseph, with team and wagon made the eight day trip to Clarkston and returned with Ester and beautiful year old baby Ethel. It was October 24, 1888. He met her there and took her to Afton, Uinta Co., Wyoming. It was a state and polygamists could live there and not be disturbed in a state. Utah and Idaho were both territories
Winter came early that year and although the threatening snow clouds hung low, they braved the storm which started with snow almost as soon as they started to travel, and for four long cold days, Joseph with his two tired teams, heavily loaded wagons, filled with all their earthly belongings, including his two wives and five children, he entered Afton, Wyoming. Here his elder brother Anson was peacefully located in a comfortable two room frame house and a log room which he had previously used as a house now used as a carpenter shop. This they soon arranged as a shelter for the pioneer family, and from here their lives merged into one.
Their lives passed peacefully for the next few years. As the town grew these worthy people made friends, built comfortable homes, raised useful, capable families and partook of the joys and sorrows incident to pioneer life.
As a friend and comforter, Ester was among the first to go where help was needed. Often where there was sickness, suffering or death, she was there with kind efficient hands and an understanding heart. She helped more than 100 mothers with their babies. Many are the times she went to the home of the mourning, comforting the sorrowing and tenderly, yet skillfully laying out their dead. She was much loved as a dear friend and she was an efficient nurse.
In 1902 she was chosen and set apart as second counselor in the Relief Society to President Lizzie Gardner, which calling she faithfully fulfilled and on May 5, 1907 she was made president of the Afton Relief Society, set apart by Bishop Osborn Low. Artemecia Call was first counselor and Eliza J. Cazier was second. Later Artemecia Call was released and Isabel Stocks was sustained in her place. Ester faithfully and successfully filled this responsibility until 19 November 1911, when she was honorably released.
In the autumn she made a prolonged visit to Idaho associating with her family. Ester decided she like to live in Blackfoot. She sold her home in Afton, took her two daughter, Edna and Martha and moved to Blackfoot, Idaho to live with her mother and care for her. On the day she arrived in Blackfoot, her mother passed away. So Ester bought her mothers home, a small two roomed house just across from the Blackfoot High School.
Emma Ethel had married Walter Eggleston on 17 July 1905 and was living somewhere in Northern Utah. Ester was happy to be among her own family again. She added two more rooms and a bath to her little home so she was comfortable and she went out nursing, this paid her a fair living. She had made many friends for she was a kind, thoughtful neighbor and capable and efficient help to any and all, and many there were those who called her blessed for her hands were capable and her heart was understanding. She loved her work, she brought relief to the sic and comfort to the sorrowing. Her life was one of sacrifice for others.
Edna married John Henry Jensen of Blackfoot, Idaho and lived nearby. To this union were born eight children, four boys and four girls.
Martha married Isaac H. Jensen and they lived at Austin's sheep ranch at Soda Springs. Now that Ester was alone she rented her two rooms and went to help Martha cook for the ranch hands in the summer. During the summer they would cook for as many as 25 to 45 men in one day, three meals. Often they would cook a large mutton for two meals and occasionally the Austin boys would bring in large salmon trout by the tub full to be cooked, then they would hunt sage hens and bring in dozens at a time.
Ester carefully nursed all her grandchildren and after fire destroyed all the property that Martha and Isaac had struggled so long and hard to get, they moved to Brigham City.
In the intervening years, Emma Ethel and Walter had made a home in Cornish, Utah and were raising a fine family of girls and boys when on 23 October 1922 she died in childbirth leaving a family of eight, two sons and six daughter, one stillborn son preceded her in death and another was buried at her side. Later Walter married Lillian Loraine Baxter and she proved herself a good mother to those motherless children.
Ester sold her home in Blackfoot and bought a little house in Brigham City just a block south from Martha's home. Here again she made many friends and often went about doing good for her friends and neighbors. All her life she was a faithful Relief Society teacher in whatever community she lived.
Martha's twins were born in 1930 and Ester was mother, grandmother, nurse and whatever was needed in that home of ten children. Martha moved to Mantua and here two more babies arrived, with Ester at the helm. When the last one, baby Stanley arrived, he was her constant care and he felt that she was all he needed. As a mother of 12, Martha was much in need of the help her mother so kindly and efficiently gave. But her health had been failing for some time. She had developed a heart ailment in her later years. In October the doctors orders were that she stay in bed, so Martha had her taken to her own home at Mantua where she gave her constant care. In November she had a slight stroke and could not talk for a time. They had her up for Thanksgiving dinner but she fainted and was weaker than they had realized. About a week before Christmas, Edna came from Blackfoot to help care for her.
She gradually became weaker from day to day and on Christmas Eve at 5 o'clock she passed peacefully away. In their 26 years of married life this was the first Christmas spent without mother and it was indeed a lonely Christmas.
Services were held in Brigham City Fifth Ward on December 27, 1938, and they buried her in the Afton Cemetery beside her husband at her own request.
Aunt Isabel, Joseph's first wife and her family had arranged for the service and burial in Afton. Everything was very nice. She also took care of the grave and cemetery expense. She and her children did so much to make things easier for Esther's family.
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