Her parents were Nancy Jane Radford and Thomas Morgan. Her father had emigrated to Utah from England...and her mother and father both had crossed the plains with the pioneers.

When Martha was eleven years old her family left Leamington and emigrated to Star Valley, Wyoming, where Etna is now. The snow that winter was over five feet deep on the level. Martha remembers how the families used to get in their sleighs and go to the home of Thomas Lee, who was the school teacher. They would dance until about midnight, then have supper. Venison was usually one of the main things served. Mrs. Lee would then make beds for the women all over the house, but the men stayed up and talked until morning when they would go home. They had staked out willows by the side of the roads, so they could follow them in the deep snow.

From Star Valley the family moved over many high mountains until they reached the brow of the hill overshadowing the eastern portion of the Snake River Valley. There was little to be seen then except the river with its beautiful green banks and the hue of the purple sage, dotted here and there with the log cabins of the early pioneers. This was in the spring of 1891, and Thomas Morgan homesteaded a 160-acre tract in the east end of the valley at Poplar.

It was here that Martha Morgan met and later married John H. Riley on February 27, 1895. Two children were born to this union, namely Julia and Mary.

John brought some of the first thoroughbred sheep to the Poplar section and during the Grover Cleveland administration the sheep were sold for $1.50 per head and the wool for five cents per pound. Then he purchased 440 acres of land [near Poplar], and he [with others] built a canal with which to water his land. The headgate of this canal was about three miles above the present Anderson headgate and was [is] called the Riley Ditch.

After about five years of marriage John Riley became ill with typhoid fever and pneumonia. He never fully recovered, and after a lingering illness [tuberculosis] of about six years, he passed away on February 10, 1906.

Martha, now a widow with two children, sought employment and was soon engaged as a cook on a farm near Ucon, Idaho [about 11 miles northeast of Idaho Falls]. There she met the foreman of the ranch, Samuel Thomas Eames, who was himself a widower with two children. Romance blossomed and on March 3, 1907, these two were wed.

Martha and Samuel Eames then purchased a farm in Milo [about 15 miles northeast of Idaho Falls] and went to live there in November, 1907. [While] there, three children were born, namely Ruth, Elaine, and Morgan. There also they worked hard on their own farm and in the community. Martha was chosen to work in the [LDS] Primary Association. Samuel was made president of the [LDS] Young Mens Mutual Improvement Association...Later, Martha was made president of the Young Womens Mutual Improvement Association. A dramatic company was organized and several plays were staged. A ball team was organized. Holidays were celebrated and many dances were held in the recreation hall of the old church.

The young girls would canvas the ward and get a cup of sugar from most homes, from which candy was made; also homemade ice cream and lemonade. These were sold at the refreshment stand to defray expenses.

In 1917 Martha was sustained as first counselor to Julia Huffaker in the Relief Society and in 1921 was made president. She was never too busy to leave her work to visit the sick and needy.

In 1924, the Eames moved from Milo. They resided one year at Taylorville [southeast of Idaho Falls], then moved to Osgood, Idaho [five miles north of Idaho Falls], where they resided until the death of Samuel on February 7, 1950.


The following was taken from "Samuel Thomas and Martha Morgan Eames" by their daughter Ruth Hansen. Published in "The Pioneer History and Development of the Milo Ward, 1880 to 1960." Idaho Falls, 1960, pages 107-109.