William Leonard Carlson
An obituary tells you nothing substantive about a person. Grandpa Len was born December 9, 1887 in Clifton, Idaho to Charles Merrick Carlson and Mary Cordelia Henderson. He died April 30, 1965 in Downey, Idaho. In between things happened.
Len married Laura Lloyd Croshaw on February 17, 1909 in Pocatello, Idaho. He was the father of six children: Ruth, Earl, Grant (“Swede”), Wilma, Coral, and Leonard C. (died at birth). These are the facts, but these are not the things that made the man. It was all the things that happened to him between birth and death that made Grandpa Len who he was.
Let’s start with his parents, Charles and Cordelia. Charles was born in Stockholm, Sweden in 1861. He emigrated from Stockholm on June 2, 1866 with his parents, Nils and Ingra Carlsson, along with a younger brother, Isaac. The ship departed Hamburg, Germany on June 2, 1864 and arrived in New York Harbor on June 14, 1864. It was in New York Harbor aboard the ship that Ingra gave birth to a third son, John.[1]
[1] Source Citation: Staatsarchiv Hamburg; Hamburg, Deutschland; Hamburger Passagierlisten; Microfilm No.: K_1711
Source Information: Staatsarchiv Hamburg. Hamburg Passenger Lists, 1850-1934 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2008.
Original data: Staatsarchiv Hamburg, Bestand: 373-7 I, VIII (Auswanderungsamt I). Mikrofilmrollen K 1701 - K 2008, S 17363 - S 17383, 13116 - 13183.
Note: The sources cite the passenger list for the ship the Humboldt; however, that ship sunk near Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1853. There is a second reference and passenger list for the S.S. Albino showing the family’s passage.
Also, the passenger list shows Carl at age 4. I have to assume this was Charles, as there was no Carl. All other records appear to be correct.
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| Figure 1 Flag of Sweden 1865 |
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| Figure 2 U.S. Flag 1865 |
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| Figure 3 S.S. Albino New York Harbor |
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| Figure 4 Passenger List from the S.S. Albino 1864 |
The family was not part of a regular Mormon Emigration group coming from Sweden. They most likely stayed in New York until the next spring to head west to Salt Lake with a large contingency of Saints, which arrived in Zion as late as November, 1865. The records are unclear.
What is known is that the family was sent north by Brigham Young with a group of Latter-Day Saints to settle the Cache Valley. Nils and Ingra settled in Clifton, Idaho at the base of Oxford Peak and began farming. Nils, Len’s grandfather, passed away 1906, but Ingra lived on until 1921.
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FACTOID: Ingra was four years older than her husband Nils.
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| Figure 5 Cordelia and Charles Carlson |
That left seven orphaned children ranging in age from 12 years, Charles Arnold, to baby Coral Dixon, age 3 months. Nils and Ingra, already in their sixties, were unable to care for 6 children, so their grandchildren were farmed out to other relatives across the west.
Grandpa Len was sent to live with Samuel Marion Lee Jr. and Louise Bingham Lee in Clifton at the age of 10. Samuel and Louisa were the parents of Harold B. Lee, a future President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The Lee’s already had 4 children of their own, but they raised Grandpa as one of their own.
The 1900 U.S. Census shows Leonard Carlson living with Calvin and Rachel Bingham in Clifton. Rachel was a Henderson before her marriage and was Grandpa’s aunt (Delia’s sister.) He must have lived with his Uncle Calvin and Aunt Rachel for a couple of years before being taken in by Calvin and Rachel’s daughter, Louisa Emeline Bingham Lee, Grandpa’s cousin. [2]
Louisa had married Samuel Lee. They lived in Clifton as well and already had two sons when they took grandpa in. Louise was grandpa's second cousin. The Lee's sons were Samuel Perry and Harold B. Lee, the past president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. This was the actual family connection Grandpa Len had to the Lee's.
Louisa had married Samuel Lee. They lived in Clifton as well and already had two sons when they took grandpa in. Louise was grandpa's second cousin. The Lee's sons were Samuel Perry and Harold B. Lee, the past president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. This was the actual family connection Grandpa Len had to the Lee's.
Two older children Charles Arnold and Mary Elaine were sent to live with their Uncle John Howard in Pocatello, Idaho. A younger child, Coral, was also raised by their Uncle John. Violet was sent to live in Los Angeles with her Aunt Mary. Two other siblings, James Wesley and Grace Dorothy, were sent to Cardston, Alberta, Canada to live with their Uncle Isaac.
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[2] Detail Year: 1900; Census Place: Clifton, Oneida, Idaho; Roll: 234; Page: 13B; Enumeration District: 0093; FHL microfilm: 1240234 Source Information Title 1900 United States Federal Census
Author Ancestry.com Publisher Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.Original data - United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Twelfth Census of the United States, 1900. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1900. T623, 18
Uncle Isaac was part of the Mormon Expansion of Deseret from the Montana mines up into Alberta, Canada. Grandpa Len was particularly close to his sister, Grace, and we made many expeditions to Cardston and Calgary to visit her.
I didn’t know any of Grandpa Len’s siblings, except Aunt Grace. She had married a man by the name of Robert Dickson Maxwell Oliver, in Cardston, Alberta. He was the Indian Agent outside of Lethbridge. When we visited, we stayed in a large two-story white house with green trim. Uncle Bob was very British and so was the household. Grandpa Len preferred going to Calgary during the time of the Stampede because he and Uncle Bob could get away from the women-folk and drink beer at the rodeo.
Grandpa’s younger brother, James Wesley, had moved to Helena, Montana, and married. We would stop on our way through Helena to visit James’ wife. I never knew her name. James had died in 1949, but by the late 1950’s, his wife lived alone in a ramshackle tar paper house. The woman scared me and I spent my time outside so I didn’t have to be around her. She was a loud woman, probably because she was deaf, and blind as a bat. Grandpa didn’t much care for his sister-in-law either, but Grandma would insist that he stop and pay his regards.
My mother, Wilma, told a story about one of their trips north to visit Aunt Grace and Uncle Bob. Mom and her sister, Coral, accompanied Grandpa and Grandma on the trip. Grandpa had his usual route he would drive to get to Cardston on the old U.S. Hwy. 91 North. Starting early in the morning, the foursome left Pocatello headed for Butte, Montana, were they stopped for lunch. Grandpa had a lead foot when driving and somehow missed the turn to Hwy. 91. After a few hours of driving, Grandpa realized that they were lost, but he didn’t want to worry the girls, so he drove on. Soon they were on a gravel road and he finally stopped at a mining camp named Bear Gulch.
Grandma was upset with Grandpa for getting lost and Coral and Wilma were scared because the small town was sort of rough and tumble, mostly bars and brothels. Grandpa told the girls to stay in the car and lock the doors while he found somebody for directions back to Helena.
It was getting late in the day, the sun was going down, and Grandpa still hadn’t returned to the car. Coral and Wilma decided to go looking for him. They found him in a saloon standing at the bar drinking a beer with some miners. Upon seeing his daughters, Grandpa rushed back to the car after them. Not another word was said about the incident, but they had to spend an extra night in Lewiston, Montana (the closest town to Bear Gulch).
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| Figure 7 Sally Rand Playbill |
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| Figure 8 Shamrock Club Handbill |
When I asked about it, Mom said to mind my own business, but my Dad told me the story of how that program bill got into that scrap book.
In 1942 during the war, a fan dancer, by the name of Sally Rand was taking her revue on the road across the west. Her train from Seattle and Portland went through Pocatello and Ms. Rand’s manager had arranged for a one-week show in Pocatello at the Shamrock Club.
As I wrote at the beginning of this biography, an obituary tells you very little about a person’s full and wonderful life. Those facts live on in the memories of those of us who follow.
by Kim Helmandollar Colaianni, 2019
Dad never said who got the tickets for the show, but I would assume it was either Uncle Earl or Uncle Dean (Royter). Anyway, as Dad told it, the women didn’t know that the show was a burlesque act. Grandma, Coral, Isabell, and Wilma got a shock when Ms. Rand come out wearing pasties doing her fan dance. Dad said that Grandma was disgusted with Grandpa and his hooting and hollering.
I don’t mean to give the impression that Grandpa was a rounder. He really wasn’t. He was a good church goin’ man, but he also loved to laugh and have a good time. My mom always said that Grandma Laura was such a lady, but she had fallen in love with a rough ol’ cowboy.
Grandpa and Grandma Carlson were married in February of 1909 in Pocatello. In April, they took the train to Salt Lake City and were married in the Salt Lake Temple. They lived in a small house on the farm in Oxford where they had their first three children: Ruth, Earl, and Swede. Then, in 1915 Grandpa was able to homestead a 160-acre dry farm on the hills behind Red Rock Pass (between Downey and Swan Lake, Idaho.)
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| Figure 8 Painting Courtesy of Rod Carlson |
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| Figure 9 Red Rock Pass at Oxford Cut-Off |
Before and during World War I, grain prices were sky rocketing, calling into production as much land as possible. Dry farming is an iffy proposition. No rain and the crops wither and die. Too much rain and the crops drown. No snow pack, you can’t plant. Too much snow, you can’t plant until it’s too late in the year. However, Grandpa Len was able to make the dry farm productive.
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| Figure 10 Photo Courtesy of Jacque Christensen |
They originally lived in a one-room cabin on the farm. This is where my mother, Wilma was born. Eventually, Grandpa added an additional room. Grandpa Len bought a home for their growing family in Swan Lake close to the railroad tracks. It was a nice house with gray stucco, green shingles, two bedrooms upstairs and a full basement. This house is where Coral and Leonard (Junior) were born. Junior only lived until the age of 2. The house eventually was moved to a location behind Thomas Mercantile.
Grandpa was the sheriff in Swan Lake for several years, but I never heard any stories of misdeeds in the small town. In 1938 Uncle Swede (Grant Carlson) married Wanda Royter. They lived next door to Grandpa and Grandma and Uncle Swede helped grandpa run the farm, while also working at Pet Milk in Downey. The 1940 Census shows that Grant, Wanda, and daughter Myrna Lee living with Grandpa and Grandma.
I can find no proof, but Mom told me that Grandma Laura’s father, Thomas Croshaw, worked for Union Pacific Railroad in Pocatello as a switch-man. One night while switching cars, he got his leg caught in a coupler and his leg was crushed. After that he stayed with Grandma and Grandpa until his death in 1911. Grandma Laura’s mother, Louisa, also lived with them for a while. Mom said her grandmother always wore a white dust bonnet and a white apron around the house. She would get aggravated at my brother, Ron, and chase him around the kitchen with a broom until he would hide under the table.
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| Figure 11 Oil Painting of the Carlson home by Isabel Stocking Carlson |
Uncle Swede and Uncle Earl worked the farm with Grandpa Len with teams of horses to plow, plant, and harvest. The grain, when harvested, was threshed into a wagon and hauled down the steep narrow road from the fields to the railroad siding in Swan Lake. Later there was a co-op grain elevator built at that location.
When Uncle Earl got typhoid fever and was in the hospital for a very long time. Wilma was a sophomore in high school (1932) and dropped out to help Grandpa and Swede run the farm. She could harness a team of horses and plow right along with the guys. She told me that the only thing she hated doing was driving the wagon down that dug-out road off the hills because she had to keep the horse-team steady with the reins in one hand and use the handbrake with her other hand.
In later years, when things were good on the farm, Len frequently bought a new car. I remember him telling a story about going to Pocatello to buy a new Chevrolet. He hadn’t bothered to change his clothes and was wearing a pair of overalls and work boots. The salesmen ignored him, thinking he was a hayseed with no money. Grandpa was angry and went to Hill’s Brother’s Buick where he was treated very nicely. He pulled out his wallet and paid cash for the new Buick. He never owned another Chevy.
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| Figure 12 Photo courtesy of Jacque Christensen |
My first time traveling to Canada with Grandpa and Grandma Carlson was when I was 4 years old. Grandpa had made arrangement with my mother to help share the driving as everyone else was working. There was no one to watch me as my father was working, so I had to go along. Grandma couldn’t drive because she was mostly blind.
It was on the occasion of Robert and Grace Oliver’s Golden Wedding Anniversary in 1958. I don’t remember the trip getting there or returning, but I do remember being at the Oliver home on the Indian Reservation for the party. Because my mom called her Aunt Grace, so did I. Grace’s daughter, Roberta, and her daughter-in-law, Racille (Rae), took care of me while my mother visited with her extended family. I ended up staying with Rae and Aunt’ Grace’s son, Darrald (my second cousin), during our stay.
Our next visit to Calgary was in 1964 when I was 10 years old. Grandpa Len had gotten a call from his nephew, Darrald, the evening of July 12th telling him that Uncle Bob (Oliver) had passed away. Grandpa drove his 1961 Buick LaSabre. Since I got car sick I had to ride in the front seat with Grandpa while Grandma and Mom rode in the back seat. The car had no seat belts and no cruise control. It did, however, have a speed alert. You would set your top speed with the knob on the dashboard and if you drove over that speed an alarm would sound. Grandpa pretended like he could hear, but he really couldn’t.
The new Interstate 15 had been mostly completed all the way to the Canadian border at Sweetgrass Port. Grandpa set the speed alert to 70 mph, which was the posted speed limit. Grandpa, however, had a lead foot. The speed alert was constantly going crazy, but Grandpa couldn’t hear it unless I tapped him on the shoulder and pointed at the speed indicator.
This visit to see Aunt Grace was a much more solemn occasion. When we arrived at Aunt Grace’s house in Calgary, Darrald and Rae were there. Over the years, Rae and my mother had become quite close and they shared letters, pictures, and telephone calls. I remember that Rae offered to make tea and Grandpa Len saying, “Make mine black. I don’t want any of that damn English tea. It’s weak as water.”
Darrald and Rae took me to their house to stay while we were in Calgary. They had two kids close to my age, my second-cousins once removed, Doran and Patty. Doran was actually four years older than me, but he took me under his wing. Rae had seen to it that she placed a piece of paper in my shirt pocket with their address and phone number in case I got lost. My mother was horrified when she later found out that Doran and I had been traveling all over Calgary on the city buses. The day of the funeral Grandpa Len sat next to his sister and held her hand as she cried. He too shed tears during the services.
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| Figure 13 Laura and Leonard Carlson 50th Wedding Anniversary 1958 |
Those of us who are decedents of this man owe him a debt of gratitude for giving us so much and our only way to pay him back is by paying it forward to those who follow after us. Pass on these stories to your children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren so they can know from where they came – that great pioneer stock.
by Kim Helmandollar Colaianni, 2019
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