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set. He had been married before so some of his children came to live with us part of the time. One day one of his sons went to find our horses. He found them, was riding on one horse, leading another, when lightning struck them and kill all three.
"My baby brother Ernest was born in Richfield on the 29th of March 1882. It was nice to have a baby brother, as my other brother had died before I was born.
"We then moved to Union, where my sister Julia Pearl was born on the 16 March 1884. Then my brother Vasco Savoy, 4 Sept. 1886.
"My mother used to knit and write poetry. She took us to Sacrament meeting and sent us to Sunday School. She used to make clothes over and they would look like new clothes."
Maud also recalled: "The next I remember was when my stepfather stepped in to our lives. He made many nice promises to my mother, who could not support us girls as it was very hard for a woman to get work those days. About all there was for a woman to do was washing and house work and very little pay. So she married him, thinking he would provide for us."
Now a Widow
Because of the age difference, Anne was soon widowed. Her husband, Louis Samuel Presset, a native of Switzerland, died Dec. 2, 1895, and was buried in Woodside, Utah. Anne was now left with 4 children to raise: Ernest, age 13, Julia, age 11, and Vasco, age 9. Maud was 17 at the time. Leah had married at age 15 and had mothered 2 children by then. Maud married the year after Mr. Presset died.
The 1900 Census shows Anne living in Juab, Utah, with her 13 year old son, Vasco. She had not been employed for most of the year, but listed her occupation as a "book agent." She was living in a rented home.
Poet Laureate
Anne developed a reputation through the years for her poetry, and was often called upon to write a poem for a special occasion. She had a style reminiscent of the great poets of that century. In 1901, her daughter, Julie Presset James paid to have many of these poems published. The book was called, Cherished Thoughts in Poem and Sketches. There were 500 copies printed and she sold all but a few she kept for family.
Losing a Grown Son
On Nov. 19, 1905, her son, Ernest Presset, suffered a heart attack and died at the tender age of 23. As he had never married, Anne had his temple work done on May 11, 1916.
Moving East
May 21, 1907, found Anne living with her 20 year old son, Vasco, on 501 W. 132nd St., New York City, N.Y. , from where she wrote to her daughter, Maud in Mona, Juab Co., Utah.
"My Dear Daughter Louisa,
"Your loving and welcome letter came safely to hand and many thanks dearie for the money order of $21.15 cents which it contained. I think that you've done very nicely about the sale of my things and am perfectly satisfied.
"I don't remember now just what I told you about the quilts but you did all right with the sale of them. I notice what you say about the medicine tablets being spoiled. That is all right dear, and I would not think of having you pay for them, so don't worry. Of course you did not think of them spoiling and I am very glad that you have done as well with the things as you have, and am very glad to receive the money for them, as I worked so hard to get them together.
"I notice what you say about being so comfortably fixed for your journey and hope that you will have a nice time and grow strong. Your letter was very interesting and was read with pleasure. I think you will get along fine by doing as you say and am sure James will do all he can to help you and make every thing pleasant for you.
"Pearl [Julia Pearl] has been here for a week so got her letter from you at the same time that I got mine. She will write you tomorrow. Vasco will also write soon. He is at work every day as he has gone into the shops now. But his wages will be small for quite awhile. We are all keeping well, which is a great blessing. Pearl is expecting to leave here for Florida in about 48 hours so you see her stay here has been short and she won't be back before August. But it cannot be helped as it is business before pleasure. She and Vasco send love to you all. Pearl says she has been writing you nice long letters, so they must have miscarried.
"I am real sorry, dear Louisa, that your have been feeling so badly, but be comforted for I think as you do that the journey you are about to take will fix you all right in no time. Give my love to Aunt Lena [Selina?] and tell her that I will write very soon. And XXXXXXX the dear children for me. Am glad baby is doing well. May God bless you all is the prayer of your loving mother. XXXXX Anne L. Presset"
Separated from Family
Leah said that she and her mother seldom saw each other over the years. They arranged to meet at the World's Fair in 1904, after which Leah may have never seen her mother again. But they did keep up a regular correspondence for decades.
Maud could not afford to travel to the mid-west to visit her mother.
Vasco ended up marrying Isabel Noda in Cuba on Feb. 28, 1917 and settling in Florida.
Julia married on Jan. 1, 1909 and she and her husband, lived in Cuba most of their married life.
Ernest and Sebastian died before they could marry.
Except for occasional visits, Anne spent many years living alone in a care home.
The Maria Joseph Home
After raising her brood, somehow Anne ended up living the last decades of her life in the Maria Joseph Home in Dayton, Ohio. There, despite a heart ailment, which required assisted living, she prided herself on both her looks and her figure.
On Feb. 1, 1937, she had turned 79. She thanked Louisa for her birthday letter and card and handkerchief. She said, "Nobody takes me to be near as old as I am. they judge me to be 63 or 65 at most and my hair is beautiful, they all praise it so much. I bobbed it myself and keep it curled, have had it that way for more than a year. Yes I go to Dayton on the bus alone and attend to all my business without any help, 14 miles counting the return, am doing all my laundry, sewing and mending and take full care of my room. Only on cleaning day they do the hardest work. My body is very straight and I walk as fast as ever I did. I am the spryest of all the tenants here, the rest of them years younger, so am pretty well satisfied with myself. But I have to sleep and rest a lot, or my heart gives out. I weigh about 140 lbs. and my shape is as good MORE
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