Ellen Melissa Barker
Occasionally her thoughts and feelings are expressed in her journals in poems she wrote. On January 20, 1916 she must have been feeling quite content for she wrote:
The night is very cold and bleak.
The shingles now they crack and creak.
I am here now in solitude
And burning up the coal and wood.
‘Tis cold mid-winter come again
With first a snow and then the rain.
But then our house is warm and snug
And I am comfy as a bug.
They’re all gone to a picture show.
They faced the frost and ice and snow.
They tramp through snow that came quite high.
To see the diamond from the sky.
(Continued)
Then she added: “(They came home and disturbed me.)”
On March 1, 1916 she received a letter from her son, Earl, living near Monticello, Utah. His letter inspired the following poem:
I have a letter from my boy.
Oh how these few words bring me joy.
It brightens up this stormy day
To hear from loved ones far away.
Father bless them still I pray
And keep them in the narrow way.
Keep them always safe from harm
Whether in the shop or on the farm.
Give them blessings great and small
For you know I love them all.
Bless all our friends so kind and true
That they will put their trust in you. wonders about the circumstances that prompted this poem.
My Feelings Today – April 27, 1916
These words are not for you now dears,
But after I am dead
When you look on this and reflect dears
You may remember what you said.
I may seem cross and crabby
Though I meant it for the best.
You will realize it better
When I am called to rest.
The Lord calls home the weary
When they seem a burden here.
Then your thoughts come fast and many
But as quickly disappear.
Many times I hide my troubles
When my heart is full of aches.
But with a prayer to Heaven
The still, small spirit spake.
It whispers words of peace and love
And comfort yet to come
The blessings of a mother
When God shall call her home.
Many times I’m weary
And my patience all give out.
I fret and scold and fuss and crow
And sometimes I may pout.
All my prayer for you forever
That from right you’ll never stray
That the spirit of our Heavenly Father
Will be with you every day.
Guide you in a world of sunshine
Keep the shadows all away.
Keep your spirit always humble
That to Him you’ll ever pray.
Her journal entries tell of days filled with the work of raising her growing children – the washing, ironing, patching, cooking, cleaning; but also show the pleasures of attending meetings, plays, dances, and picture shows, trips to Ogden by wagon, streetcar, and auto, and occasionally to Salt Lake City to conference and to visit with friends and relatives.
In 1916, Earl wrote to her to ask her to come to Monticello to help his wife, Eliza, during the birth of their second son, Lyle. Earl had homesteaded on land east of Monticello and had built a small house to which he had attached a tent over a wooden floor to use as a bedroom. In late November Ellen helped with the wedding of her son, Clyde, had Thanksgiving dinner for the family, and soon after, on December 3rd, left for southern Utah. She traveled by streetcar, train, auto, and truck to get to Earl and Eliza’s home on December 9th. Her journal entries at this time are interesting:
Sunday 24: We put building paper on two sides of the house and ran out of tacks. Snowed 16 inches that night.
Monday 25: Christmas day. We made believe all we could. And had plum pudding and beef soup for dinner. Eliza gave me a nice linen handkerchief with tatting on.
Tuesday 26: Eliza and I have been crocheting most of the day. We received Christmas parcel with nice presents for all and letters from Pearl and Nina. Earl has gone after Mrs. Nielsen. They came about 9 o’clock. We went to bed at 12 and slept some.
Wednesday 27: Did general house work. Baby born at ten to eight p.m. We all slept good all night.
Thursday 28: Wrote letters to Nina and card to Sade then washed white clothes. Earl hung them out.
Friday 29: Washed colored clothes and scrubbed floor. Blacked stove.
Saturday 30: Bathed Eliza and baby. Did general work. Sprinkled clothes. Earl made sleigh.
Sunday 31: Earl got meat and flour from Taylors. Mrs. Doyle came to see Eliza and baby. 9:20 p.m.
The old year is dying.
The new one will come.
The folks are a-snoring.
The fire does hum.
The air is so frosty
It makes the house crack.
The coyotes are howling,
The dogs on their track,
The cats are snuggled
Away in a sack,
The rabbits are hunting
A place in the stack.
Here I sit rocking
Myself in a tent.
I’m quite warm and cozy.
My heart is content.
Way out near Blue Mountain
Among the pine trees
Where they raise cabbage,
Potatoes, and peas.
But now the ground’s covered
With new fallen snow
But that is what causes
The flowers to grow.
I’m away from my home
And those I love best.
Will I ever return?
The Father knows best.
He cares for His children
Whether home or abroad.
He expects us to humble
Ourselves to our God.
To pray for His blessing,
Thank Him for His care,
I’ll close this epistle
By kneeling in prayer.
I’ll thank Him for blessings
Bestowed on us all,
Then pile into bed
Turn my face to the wall.
Ellen stayed with Earl and Eliza until February of that year and then went on to Mancos, Colorado and stayed for two more months visiting with her sisters and the friends she had left behind when she moved to Huntsville fifteen years earlier. She returned home to Huntsville in April 1917.
Ellen’s journals continue to record the events of her every day. She notes the marriages of her children and the births of her grandchildren. Her entries increasingly say “not feeling well” and make references to her heart problems. Finally, on February 20, 1924, she died in Huntsville at the age of 52. She is buried in the Huntsville cemetery.