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| William E. Madsen |
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| William standing next to one of his sheep camps manufactured by him and his sons. |
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WILLIAM EDGAR MADSEN
Written by his sister, Mina Madsen Remund 27 March 1944
Will, as he was always called, was born 18 July 1879 at Mt. Pleasant, Utah. Blessed 2 November 1879 by Wheelock. Baptized 25 June 1887 by Joseph Johansen and confirmed the same day by James Jorgensen. Ordained deacon 18 Feb 1895 by Lars P. Madsen. He was the son of Neils Peter Madsen and Wilhelmina Krause Madsen. He was born in a little house in the southeast corner of the lot, on 1st North 2nd, the place where Ras Madsen's house stands now. There was a large pear tree in front of it. Mother and her family moved down to the Bottoms on the 160 acre farm; it was located three miles west of Mt. Pleasant. Will was a month old when they moved to this desolated place; imagine a mother with six little children to live so far away from neighbors and on a place covered with brush, etc. I don't know very much about his childhood, but I imagine it was like the rest of the family, had to work hard. He went to school and Sunday School. When he was a small boy, he picked up a bridle back of the heels of a colt, the colt kicked him in the head on the side, right in the temple, making a large hole. The blood spurted out, mother thought he would bleed to death but she put soot on it, that seemed to coagulate the blood. It stopped the bleeding. Lucinda walked to town after father. He had that scar a half moon shape on his temple all his life, it seemed to have affected his speech causing him to stutter, especially if he wanted to talk or tell something in a hurry. When he got older, the boys had lots of fun. There were always horses on the farm, the boys used to go horseback riding, go skating in the winter. When Will, Eph, Edgar and Mina used to have to walk across the Bottoms to school, the schoolhouse was over on Joseph Johansen's hill (Father and Joe Johansen, etc. built the school house). In the winter, we could skate nearly all the way to school in the spring these large slews of ice would break. We would break through, go down to water or mud, sometimes we would get wet to our knees. In the winter, after a snowstorm, Will would go ahead, Eph next, then Edgar, then Mina. They would walk through the deep snow to break a trail. We would get a good trail made, then it would snow again. Many nights after school, when he got home, we had to change our shoes, stockings sometimes even our underwear. Will was always such a good-natured boy, always good and kind to his mother, brothers, and sisters. It was amusing before Easter, the boys would hide all the eggs they could find, and the first one to the coop got the eggs. Gunner (Lucinda's husband) watched Will and Eph one day. They hid their eggs. After they went, Gunner found 18 dozen eggs they had hit, he took them up the house and gave them to Mother. My the boys were surely mad at him. Easter was a great day for the young folks in those days. They would have dozens of dyed eggs, take their lunch and each have a horse, go to the Cedar Hills, or up to Nels Peters or Moroni Seelys. They all had a good time, all ate their lunch together, cracked each others eggs, would horse race, play ball, etc. Will and Eph liked to go up to Nels Peters to play with Arleas Stanis. Sometimes go swimming in the Sanpete River. One time the boys were in the river swimming, it was raining a little. They could hear a roar, they got out of the river, ran over to Nels Peters corral, just got there, a big flood came down the river. It was lucky for them they got out (they said something just told them to get out). The flood would have carried them down the river and they would have drowned. The boys all liked to come to our home to play with our boys. One time Will and Eph and Frank and Joseph Jorgensen (neighbor boys) trapped a mother coyote. They caught the mother, took her two baby coyotes. They took one coyote, our boys took the other one. We named ours Coy, they called theirs, Ote. We kept the coyote, it ran around the place like a little pup, it had the wild characteristic; it would snap or growl at us when it got older. It went in the chicken coop and killed so many chickens, mother wouldn't have it around anymore, so we gave it to Nels Peters. They had it on a chain, one day it got loose and killed so many of their chickens. They sold it to the circus. When Will, Eph, and Edgar got older, they helped farm our farm of 160 acres, we raised wild hay, some alfalfa, wheat, oats, barley and potatoes. The boys had to work hard to take care of such a big farm and such young boys. Will and Eph would pitch the hay on the load, Edgar and myself would stomp it, then we would have to lead or ride the horse on the hayfork. Then we would have to all pick up potatoes. We would raise wagon boxes full of potatoes. My that was hard work, to sort and carry all these potatoes to the potato cellar. Then in the spring, Mother helped or mostly cut up the seed potatoes. It seemed to me it was nothing but work during the week but Mother never let anyone work on Sunday. After a few years Mother bought us a home in Mt. Pleasant, the Gunner home. Then the boys went away to work, mostly for John and Frank. Then Will went as an apprentice for Peter (Tanner) Nielsen in the blacksmith shop. Mother always worried over Will but he got along better than anyone. After mother died, he lived with John, Gusta and Mina. Then Peter Simpson and Will went into business together. They had a blacksmith shop. They made sheep wagons, repaired things, shod horses, did all kinds of blacksmith work, wagons. They were in this business for years until the automobile came in. Then there wasn't much of this kind of work. Then Mr. Bitle and Will went in business together in a garage. Years before this, Will bought sheep, then he and Eph went in partnership with the sheep also. Will bought some rangeland up near Hilltop, near Eph's dry farm. They were together with this business for years. Will married Mary Woodring daughter of Dr. Will Woodring. William, their first son, was born in a couple years. Virginia was born, then Robert (Bob) was next. This little family lived so happy together until the grim reaper of death took the little mother, who was one of the sweetest, kindest and most loving wife and mother, just a perfect mother and homemaker and keeper. When the Spanish influenza (flu) epidemic came through the country in 1918 after the World War I, Mary (his wife) always said, if she got the flu she would die, as everyone was scared to death of it. Doctors or no one knew what to do for it. So Will went to Gunnison on business. Mary got sick, she phoned to Will, said she believed she had the flu. Will came right home. They got the doctor, sure enough Mary had the flu and the children; one was very sick. They had nurses, did everything for her, it just seemed after she knew she had it, she just gave up, pneumonia set in, she passed away. It was so pitiful, such a young wife and mother and Will left with three little children, his baby was two years old. Their mother was dead, he didn't know what to do, some girl kept house for awhile, then he came out to me. I told him about Annie Remund. I wrote to her, she came down, he paid her $9.00 per week. She was sure a good mother to his children. It was quite a trial for her, as she hadn't been around children very much, but she did a wonderful job, taught those children to be so neat and clean, to work, sent them to school and Sunday School, cooked, sewed, washed, put up fruit, did everything for them their own mother would have done. Then Will and Annie got married, had one son, Jay. They got along fine, although as the children got older, there were feelings of step-mother and step-children. As years passed Virginia got married to John McGougan, moved to California, then William, Jr. went to some of the Woodring relatives in Colorado to work, then he married a school teacher and lives there. Then Robert (Bob) married a girl from Fountain Green. Will and Annie have went on a number of trips to visit Virginia in California, spent the winter there. Then Will went to Colorado to visit Billy. Will and Jay went in their car to Detroit, Michigan, so trade their truck in for a nice new truck and took a trip around the United States. Then 1943, Jay got drafted in the Army, he was first sent to Texas, then different parts of the United States, then to Italy and is now in Italy at the front. He is a gunner in the airplane. Jay is surely a fine boy, it's a big worry for Will and Annie to have him at the front. Will sold his rangeland at Hilltop and Eph and he sold their sheep for $30,000 so each got $15,000. Will and Annie have always been very economical with everything, so have accumulated a lot of money, have bought bonds, and they could live on for years. They live alone in their home at 1st East 1st South at Mt. Pleasant, the home was Mary's parents home (Dr. Woodring) which Mary fell heir to. Then Will paid his children each their share as it was their Mother's estate. They have it remodeled. Annie is one of the cleanest, best housekeepers. Annie works in the Relief Society, etc. 28 January 1949 - Jay got married and is very happy. Robert and his wife have two children. William lives in Colorado. Virginia's husband died, she and her two children have lived with Annie and Will for three years. Will sold his sheep, the boys bought his place of business, so Will has retired. January 1952 - Will has been very sick (heart attack) this winter, was in Mt. Pleasant Hospital, but at this date 15 May is getting better, up and around. 10 April 1952 - William took a heart attack, passed away, was buried 14 April 1952 at Mt. Pleasant. 1957 - Virginia married a man from California, John Derr. Billy lives with them. Johann married Joe Skelton of Magna; they have a baby girl. Mary Woodring and Annie Elizabeth Remund sealed to William Edgar Madsen 18 November 1954, Manti Temple by proxy Alonzo Tidwell. Annie Elizabeth had her endowment 4 November 1954, Manti Temple.
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ANNIE ELIZABETH REMUND Written by his sister-in-law, Mina Madsen Remund 26 January 1943
Annie Elizabeth Remund was the daughter of Fredrick Remund and Elizabeth Ott. She was born 4th September 1892. Blessed by her father, who blessed nearly all of his children. Baptized by Benjamin Hair, confirmed by Geo. A. Huntington. She spent her girlhood days at Midway, Wasatch Co., Utah, attending School, Sunday School and Primary, etc. She lived with her family after her mother died. She and her sisters kept house for their father. Then years after her father married, moved to Salt Lake City, she lived with the family. She went to Mt. Pleasant, lived with Matilda, her sister, and family for a couple of years. Then she went to Mt. Pleasant to keep house for William (my brother). His wife, Mary, died of the flu and left him with three motherless children. She married William a few years later. She was a wonderful mother to these motherless children and gave them a wonderful training. She is an excellent housekeeper and cook. The children are all grown up and married now. William married a school teacher from Colorado and lives there. Virginia married John McGougan and lives in California, she has a beautiful little girl. Robert (Bob) married a girl from Fountain Green and just bought the Lourtz P. Larsen house in Mt. Pleasant. Annie had one son Jay, who is now in Texas in training. Annie is very active in Church work, is a Relief Society teacher. She is good to help those in need. Will and Jay went to Detroit, Michigan, bought a truck and rode home in it. 7 February 1944 Jay is in the Army now. Trained in Texas, then sent to Italy, then transferred to France, has been to the front, did some bitter fighting in the war. Jay married Ann Poulsen; they had two children and were divorced. William, Annie's husband, died in ___ so Annie lives alone in her home in Mt. Pleasant, so goes to California nearly every winter to live with Virginia or Jay. Virginia married Don Derr of California, 1957.
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| Maria Wilhelmina Catherine Krauss Madsen Mother and family of William Edgar Madsen William E. is middle row and far right. Wilhelmina is to his right Lucinda is in the lighter dress and front row. |
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