Lewis homestead in photos

The following are photos of the Lewis homestead, where Birda's parents (Siney Sr and Elizabeth) lived.  To my understanding they lived in this area for about 30 years, roughly from the 1900s-1930s.
These photos are from the personal albums of David Ahrnsbrak

"Lewis Home in Glines, UT area
Elizabeth front left, Jennie and Birda on porch, Crystal, Siney Sr"

"Lewis home in Glines area,
about 2500 W 800 S, Vernal, UT"

Photos of Annie & John Weist

Annie L. Weist was one of Birda's older sisters.

The following are a handful of photos of Annie and her third husband, John W. Weist, that have not yet been posted.

From the personal albums of Howard Carroll

From the personal albums of Patty Stewart

From the personal albums of Howard Carroll

Found on ancestry.com, Feb 2013

Asher and little kids

It's been told that Asher was fond of kids and would often take breaks from his jobs around the farm to wrestle with them or load them all up on a horse or help them bait a hook.  

The following photos show Asher in some capacity with some of the little people he loved.

"Asher on Merkley Farm with small nephew, Colton"
From the personal albums of David Ahrnsbrak

"Asher holding son Bryce on his blessing day,
Virginia holding her doll, ice house in background, 1934"
From personal albums of David Ahrnsbrak

"Asher helping child to a drink"
From personal albums of Bryce Merkley

Asher and an unknown girl
From personal albums of Tamera Lund

"Asher with granddaughter, Maureen"
From personal albums of Tamera Lund

"Asher with grandson, Rob"
From the personal albums of Tamera Lund

"Asher and great-granddaughter, Erika, 1 May 1971"
From personal albums of Tamera Lund

Siney Sr and Elizabeth Lewis in photos

Siney Lewis Sr and Elizabeth Coleman Lewis were Birda's parents.

The following are a handful of photos of just the two of them at varying stages of life, and are all from the personal albums of David Ahrnsbrak.

Elizabeth and Siney Lewis Sr
Likely around the time of their marriage

Siney Sr and Elizabeth on porch, 1927

Elizabeth and Siney Lewis, 1928

Elizabeth and Siney Sr

Rulon and Margret encouraging baby steps

Margret M Hansen was one of Asher's younger sisters.

The following photos is one of my favorites, 

pertaining to her husband Rulon, Margret, and their first baby, Lois.

"Lois on her walk out in the woods, Rulon fears she will fall"
From the personal albums of Ellen Fletcher

Young Annie Lewis in photos

Annie Elizabeth Lewis was one of Birda's older sisters.

The following are a few photos of her in her youthful days, found in the personal albums of Howard Carroll.

Annie Lewis about 18 years old,
Portrait taken in Heber, Utah

Annie portrait

Nelson Jr and Keturah Merkley family photos

 The following are a series of photos taken of Asher's parents and their siblings probably around the year 1916.

Nelson Merkley Jr & Keturah Peterson Merkley family
From the personal albums of Lois Chatfield

Enlarged version of photo above
BACK: Asher, Ezra, Nelson Jr, Ellis
FRONT: Margret, Mary, Keturah, Helen
From the personal albums of Lois Chatfield
Also found in albums of Tamera Lund

Nelson & Keturah Merkley extending family
BACK: Ezra & Alice, Ellis, Asher, Jean, Nelson Jr & Keturah, Byron Colton holding Merrill, Helen
FRONT Lorna, Aird, baby Thurman, Harold, Mary Elizabeth Merkley, Ruth Colton standing, Margret Merkley, Lula Colton standing.
From the personal albums of David Ahrnsbrak
Also found in albums of Bryce Merkley and Delores Horton

"Ruth Colton, Harold M, Aird M, Thurman M, Lula Colton, Merrill Colton, Lorna Merkley (Ezra's daughter) about 1916"
From the personal albums of Delores Horton

Lula Colton blocking Harold M, Ruth Colton, Aird M with baby Thurman M, Lorna M, Merrill Colton
Grandchildren of Nelson Jr and Keturah Merkley
From the personal albums of Delores Horton

Photos of some of Birda's siblings when in youth

The following are photos of some of Birda's siblings in their younger days.

"Some Lewis siblings- Mary, Charlie, Georgia, Frank"
From the personal albums of Bryce Merkley

"Charlie Lewis standing, unknown seated"
From the personal albums of Patty Stewart

"Green River Swimming-
Likely Jennie far left, Asher next to her, Charlie standing,
Mary with arm around husband Charles Hatch,
children and other man far left unknown"
From the personal albums of Glen Hatch

"Birda, Frank and wife Frances, little Virginia with the doll"
From the personal albums of Tamera Lund

"Frank Lewis in his store, maybe 1930s"
From personal albums of David Ahrnsbrak

"Siney Lewis Jr working in confectionery shop, maybe 1918"
From the personal albums of David Ahrnsbrak

Charles Lewis newspaper bio

Charles P. Lewis was one of Birda's older brothers.

Charles Lewis posing with artwork
From the personal albums of Patty Stewart

The following is a newspaper writeup of Charles' life in review and his contributions to the community as an art educator.  As it's rather lengthy, I won't transcribe it, but it does include some interesting details regarding his youth and references to his parents, Elizabeth Coleman Lewis and Siney Lewis Sr.  Feel free to read it at your leisure.

SOURCE: Vernal Express 1976, May 27, p.4

Ellis Merkley draft card

Ellis Merkley was Asher's eldest brother.

Ellis Merkley
From the personal albums of Delores Horton
Also found in the albums of Sarah Nielsen

The following is an image of Ellis' draft card, which appears to have been taken in Sept 1918, just as the war was wrapping up.  I don't believe Ellis had a military career of any kind, but it's still a fun document to have on hand for the minor details in his life at that point in his history.

SOURCE: ancestry.com
Direct source info is located on the bottom of the image.

Frank Lewis & Marie Hardy

Franklin C. Lewis was one of Birda's older brothers.

He married Flossie Marie Hardy (of Vernal, UT) on 1 Jan 1914- at 28 years old he was nearly 10 years her senior.

Thus she became Flossie Marie Hardy Lewis.

Marie and Frank
Cropped and photoshopped together by me
Marie's image: from the personal albums of Jalair Hoff
Frank's image: from the personal albums of Patty Stewart

Marriage license notice:

SOURCE: Vernal Express 1914, Jan 2, p.2

Marriage License:

SOURCE: familysearch.org

Photo of their wedding party, with labels below
From the personal albums of Jalair Hoff

Unfortunately, their marriage ended in divorce just a few years later.

The following is an excerpt from the personal history of Flossie Marie Hardy, found in the personal albums of Jalair Hoff, regarding their marriage and divorce:

"... She married Frank Lewis 1 Jan 1914 when she was only 18 years of age, and they lived in a little house quite close to his mother.  She was a dear old soul, and Marie loved her very much.  They were sealed in the Salt Lake Temple 3 Jun 1915.  Frank and Marie lived together two and a half years before their daughter, Frances, was born 18 May 1916.  Marie was 21 at the time.

When Frances was still quite young (3 or 4), Marie left Frank Lewis.  She said, "I left him because he was abusive with Frances.  He couldn't seem to understand that she was a small girl, and he went out with another woman when I was playing the piano at the movie shows."  When Marie left Frank, she went to her sister, Ruby's house, and stayed with her for a long time.  When the flu epidemic hit in 1918 she went from house to house nursing sick people.  Her mother took care of Frances during that year.  Frank and Marie were divorced 21 Jun 1919..."

Court subpoena:

Found in the personal albums of Dallas Workman

I waded through about 10 pages of court documents regarding their divorce, and it appears Marie accused Frank neglect, cruelty, and essentially kicking her out of the house saying he "would have kicked her out long ago if it wasn't for the baby".  Frank was given visitation rights with their daughter, Frances, and was ordered to pay child support to some degree.  BUT, descending versions of this story from both sides of the fence also indicate that Frank was fairly religious and Marie willingly played the piano in movie houses/bars/night clubs/etc and wasn't as keen to follow his pious example.  This factor may explain a lot of their early marital strife and separation.  Regardless, Frank went on to marry Frances Paxman in 1924, and Marie went on to marry Ed Taft in 1922 (later divorced), and Sam Porter in 1934.

"Frank Lewis and daughter Frances"
Additional labels below
From the personal albums of Jalair Hoff

Nelson Merkley Jr and company

Nelson Merkley Jr was Asher's father.

The following are a handful of photos of Nelson Jr in various situations.

"Nelson Jr, Byron Colton with
Merrill Colton in front, Asher Merkley"
From the personal albums of Sarah Nielsen

"Nelson Jr and a steer"
From the personal albums of Sarah Nielsen

"Nelson Merkley Jr in the snow"
From the personal albums of Lois Chatfield,
Also from albums of Delores Horton

"Charlie and Nelson Jr- brothers"
From the personal albums of David Ahrnsbrak

"Margret Merkley, little Ellen Murray, Nelson Jr, about 1921"
From the personal albums of David Ahrnsbrak
(This was posted earlier, but I couldn't resist a repost)

Georgia Lewis & Linn McClelland

Georgia Lewis was one of Birda's older sisters.

She married Linn McClelland (of Vernal, Utah) on 9 April 1912 in Vernal, Uintah, Utah.

Thus, she became Georgia Lewis McClelland.

Georgia and Linn*
From the personal albums of Bryce Merkley

Marriage License Notice:

SOURCE: Vernal Express 1912, Apr 12, p.6

Marriage License notice transcribed:

"Licensed to Wed... Linn McClelland and Georgia Lewis both of Vernal."

Marriage License:

SOURCE: familysearch.org

Wedding announcement:

SOURCE: Vernal Express 1912, Apr 12, p.1

Wedding announcement transcribed:

McClelland Lewis Nuptials

Mr. Linn McClelland and Miss Georgia Lewis have entered the ranks of the married folks.  They were united in marriage Tuesday afternoon by Bishop Hyrum B. Calder.  Miss Lewis is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Siney Lewis of Glines ward.


*Georgia had a second marriage to a Francis J. Fuller in 1949.  The photos came from a family group sheet, and as the husband pictured was not labeled and I've found NO other photos of Linn McClelland, it is assumed that the above photo is of him.