Alfred (Fred) Romrell and Alba Burbank
By Alfred E. Romrell
Early Life:
Alfred was born 13 February 1872, in the Lynn Ward in the north part of Ogden, Utah. It took place on what is now Fourth Street on the west side of Washington Avenue. He was the seventh child of George Romriell and Patience Swingewood Romriell.
Alfred's parents were humble pioneer Latter-day Saints with deep religious convictions. They sacrificed much for their faith and their family. For this they were very blessed with a close, devout, and happy family. The children grew up in a happy home with a good religious background.
The family most often called Alfred "Freddy". Later, he was almost always known as "Fred." We shall call him "Fred".
Fred's youngest brother, Hyrum, describes their home life as follows: "I was born of humble parents in a humble cottage--a log cabin with a fireplace. It stood in the most beautiful surroundings that could be seen anywhere. It faced east, looking toward Lewis Peak and Waterfall Canyon. There were nice dirt sidewalks, smooth and hard. There were lovely trees on the outside of the walk, with a new picket fence on the other side where the older children used to run and have lots of fun.
"My father was very neat in his work as was Mother. He built a double gate and a smaller one to walk through. They were made quite fancy with square posts. There was a driveway that went straight toward the house, then turned and went north around the house to the granary and then to the barn. The sidewalk from the house to the street was lined with flowers on one side and cobble rock on the other."
Three years before Fred was born, the railroad came to Ogden. Immediately his father, George, went east for fruit trees and berry plants. A niece, Lettie, said that the Romriell's were among the first in Weber County to raise peaches, apples, plums, blackberries, strawberries and raspberries. At that time fruit was a rarity and sold for a high price.
One of Fred's early jobs was picking fruit. The boys all knew where the best fruit in the trees grew and would climb to the very top to get the ripest, largest, and sweetest. They had some early apples and some late ones for cider from which they made vinegar to sell. Hyrum named seven varieties of apples that they raised. They also had pears and apricots. Each year they dried hundreds of pounds of fruit including peaches, apples, apricots, pears, and plums. They also raise sugar cane and made a few barrels of molasses each year.
They raised nearly a half acre of strawberries and these sold for three dollars a case. With this money they built a brick home and later built a larger frame home which was one of the finest homes then in Ogden.
In later years Fred told his family: "When we had strawberries and other fruit to sell, I used to take it to town in a buckboard with one horse. One day when Mother was with me, a run-away team pulling a dray wagon ran into our outfit, and Mother was thrown out of the buckboard. From then on she was somewhat deaf and started to go blind. The family (part of whom were in Idaho) held a fast for her. Her eyes never got any worse."
Fred said of his early life: "I spent the first twenty-four years of my life in Five Points. I had curly black hair and was almost always hatless and barefoot. I spent most of my early years herding cows about a mile west of Five Points in an unoccupied meadow land-that reached from Ogden to Harrisville.
"One day I was driving the cows out to these meadows, throwing marbles as I went. Some young girls came out in the street and captured part of the marbles. Of course, I stopped to regain my treasures and when I looked for my cows, they were nowhere in sight. I ran all the way out to the meadow thinking they had gone ahead; but they were not there. I didn't know which way to go next. Then I started back home thinking I would get a horse. However as I came to the path leading home, I changed my mind. A large tree stood near by and I knelt down there and prayed. After that I was impressed to go up to The Points (Five Points). As I
Fred 1
neared The Points, I heard Mrs. Norquist driving the cows out of her Lucerne (alfalfa) patch.
While coming from the meadow one day I met a large group of Indians gathered around an old historic tree. I went up to an old Indian and asked, "How old are you?" He answered, "Maybe so a hundred." I thought I was brave to do this. Luckily they were friendly Indians. Ofttimes the Indians came to our house for biscuits or bread, milk, etc. There were no Indian reservations then.
Fred sometimes cleaned and put away the eggs. At Easter time, he saved some to sell for candy. One time the boys found a nest full of eggs where a hen had hid her nest. They took them to town and sold them for candy.
Their land had to be cleared of sagebrush. They started from scratch putting in long hours during the busy season. Everyone was helping as soon as they were old enough to work. There was always plenty to do. The wheat and oats were cut first with a scythe. Later they built a rack or cradle on it. George Jr. did the cutting, finishing as much as a halfacre of grain a day. At first they used the flail to thresh the grain. Later, the horse-powered thresher was invented. Not having twine, they tied the bundles with a handful of unthreshed grain straw. Fred and Joe did the tying. Later Fred taught his sons how to do this.
This was before the days of the steamer or gas tractor. Some of their very first plowing and farming was done with oxen and a hand plow. They made a hand corn-and-bean planter that worked very well. They could plant an acre a day with it.
Their home was heated by a fireplace. In those early days when the fire went completely out, they would send one of the boys to Five Points for another start. They carried it on a fire shovel and kept it alive until they got home. They also kept starts of yeast and would sometimes have to borrow a start from a neighbor.
Fred's maternal grandmother lived back in their field a little way, down the lane. She kept a neat little log house with flowers around. As a little fellow, Freddy slept there at night and helped to take care of her. He loved her very much. Later he often spoke of her, calling her Grandma White (Jemima Baker Swingewood). When she was old and became ill, she was moved into the Romriell home for care until her death in 1885.
Fred was baptized by A.0. Perry, June 2, 1881 and confirmed by James Field. He was small for his age and started school at eight. Schools were not graded then. One could take what subjects he wanted if they were given. Some did not go to school at all. The school went to about what would be the fifth or sixth grade. Then Fred went to the Weber Academy with his sisters. He learned much from the school of hard knocks.
While going to Weber Academy some professor asked Lizzie and Fannie Romriell why they didn't change the spelling of their French name to something more English like Romrell. This they did. From then on, their name is always spelled "Romrell." Now all descendants of George Romrell, their father spell the surname this way.
Fred told of earning his transportation to Weber by working with a team on the tramway (street car). He earned forty dollars worth of tickets. Later Lizzie, Fannie, and he rode to school on the tramway.
In telling about the tramway, Hyrum said that it was pulled by mules on the tracks. One time the mules ran away and tipped a car over. A few years later they got a steam driven engine called "The Dummy." It had a whistle that told when it was coming. One could ride all over Ogden for five cents using transfers. Later the cars were changed over to run by electricity. These old tracks are still buried beneath the pavement in the Ogden streets.
In 1884 the Logan Temple was finished and dedicated. The Romrell's first attempt to be sealed in the temple was not successful. George, Jr. was in Idaho and could not make the trip. However, on 30 November, 1887, they were all there and were sealed together. This was a very important and special event in their lives.
From 1883 to about 1885, there were ten children at home--ten at the table at once. Patience, their mother, along with her family washed, carded, and spun and then wove forty yards of wool cloth in one year to fill the needs of the family. It was said that she made her husband's first dress suit and he was proud of it. Fred's
Fred 2
suits were also homemade. Patience knit socks, sweaters, mittens, caps, and hoods for her children. She churned butter and sometimes went without butter on the table using it to make soap.
Brother Harrop was the Sunday school superintendent. He needed an organist and told Fred's sister, Elizabeth, he would give her music lessons if she would learn to play the songs for Sunday school. The family talked their parents into buying a new organ. Fred went with Elizabeth for her lessons which sometimes were three times a week. At these lessons Fred sat in and listened. Then he went home and did the practicing, too. He became proficient on the organ and piano. Later he played for Brother Harrop who was a vocal soloist. Lizzy said that Fred had but five music lessons of his own in his life.
When he was thirteen, he was playing for priesthood meeting. At this time in the Lynn Ward, the deacons were assigned as caretakers of the chapel. They had to sweep out the building, replace the chairs and dust, fill over a dozen lamps and clean the chimneys of each one. In the winter they made fires in the three stoves.
One day while Fred was cleaning the church, he was closing a window when the top window came down on the fingers of both hands and pinned him. It was some time before anyone came near enough for him to attract attention and be freed. So with skinned fingers, he did his duty and played. His hands were still so small that he could hardly reach the octaves. Music then was written in four staffs, which made it harder to read.
Another day he was hurrying home, after making fires in the chapel, to dress up for his meeting. He cut through a field and ran across some ice that broke with him and he got wet. The bishop came along and took him back as he was. They had no one else to play for priesthood meeting. Fred would go to his meetings early to get the music ready.
Lizzy said, "Freddy was cheerful and had such a sunny disposition that everyone loved him. He was modest and quite bashful, and was very much embarrassed when his bishop praised his good works and faithfulness, as he often did before a crowd of young folks." He carried himself well, and was very active. When he went somewhere, he went in a hurry.
Hyrum tells of what good times they had together. Sometimes they would gather around the organ while Elizabeth or Fred-played and the rest sang. Fanny and Josephine had very good voices. They often sang together. Everyone loved to hear them. The young people of the ward often met together in the Romrell home and danced the square dances while George Jr. played the accordion. They had good times together at work and in the evenings. Fred got to be the best player. He put his whole soul into whatever he played so people loved to hear him. He was very careful to select music to fit the occasion.
In speaking of their home life, Lizzy said that it was a habit for the family to gather around the table in the evening, taking turns reading the Book of Mormon. Each would read a few verses and their father would explain, making of it a beautiful story. Many times their eyes would fill with tears and they were impressed with the truthfulness of the Gospel.
Lettie said, "Family prayer was an established custom and so was the blessing on the food. We were taught the principles of clean living, the observance of the Word of Wisdom, and the importance of choosing their companions from within the church. Because of the good training, all of those who grew to maturity married in the temple and were all active Latter-day Saints. Four sons and two daughters went on missions. Almost all the grandchildren are faithful to the church and have married in the temple. Thus you see grandchildren carrying on the traditions of their forefathers and living up to the good name given them."
In 1888, when Fred was sixteen, Elizabeth married. She said, "Fred, you'll have to take over now. I'm moving from the ward." She wrote of Fred that he worked hard and accomplished what he did through his own effort. His special talent seemed to be music. He had a way of playing that impressed people. He put lots of feeling and pep into his music.
When Fred was eighteen, he was called from Weber to take a twenty week M.I.A. course at B.Y.U. under Professor Brimhall. Fred often spoke of this wonderful man. He had a big influence on Fred's life and he loved him. He often spoke with great respect for President Carl G. Maeser, too.
Fred 3
Fred and his brothers had lots of fun on the old homestead. One day they went to a circus, and saw the riding stunts done there. They came home to try about everything they saw. Their father kept three or four fine horses. One was Dolly who was gentle and easy to handle. They seemed to think she was the best horse in the world. She could outrun any horse they knew of. "The Pride of Utah," they often called her.
The boys loved to have horse races with each other and the boys of the town. The corral in back of their home was their circus ground. They rode single, standing up, backwards, and Roman style. (This was standing up on two horses, one foot on each horse.) Around the corral they sped. Although small (he stood five feet, seven inches), Fred could stand behind a horse and leapfrog upon its back. He could also start a horse out at a full run and by grabbing its mane, swing himself up astride the horse.
Billy was a tricky horse and would buck them off. Ren and some others were afraid to ride Billy. Two of Fred's cousins tried to ride this bronco and were thrown off. Hyrum was thrown off and was hurt. Fred was determined to keep trying and finally rode him.
During the summer the boys used to swim at noon in Cordon's pond. One time Fred saved his little sister Josephine, from drowning. Another time he saved their home from burning.
Hyrum recalled, "Ya know, Fred was always so nimble. There was a board fence up to here. (He held his hand to the top of his bib overalls.) Fred stepped back and cleared it without touching". (It was at least five feet high.)
Hyrum also tells of Fred's activity in the Five points Brass Band: "When he went to join the band, he was too late to get the instrument he wanted, so he took one of the big bass horns. When the leader wasn't there, he used to teach the others how to play their instruments. He could play any of them and could read music better than their leader. When they played for dances, Fred played his big horn.
"One Christmas day the band was out serenading the different homes in the ward. People treated them with one thing or another. One man gave ten dollars. When they came to the Romrell place, they played two or three numbers. Brother Fred jumped out of the sleigh, grabbed a large bucket, ran down the cellar and filled the bucket with large red apples. When the band people saw what it was, they were tickled. They said it was the best treat they had had. You ought to have heard them yell, thanks!"