Sketch of the Life of Ralph Collings (by his daughter Nelma COLLINGS Kersey with notes added.)
Ralph Collings, the son of Samuel Willard Collings and Elizabeth Bertelson, was born on the 26th of August in the year 1879. He was born in Monroe, Sevier County, Utah. He was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints on July 3, 1890.
(He was the oldest of three children. His sister, Emma Mabel was born on December 31st, 1882 and Alice was born in 1885, both in Coyote,Garfield County.)
When he was about a year old his parents moved to the small town of Coyote, Utah. When he was about seven years of age, his mother died (29 Oct 1886 at Antimony). At this same time he started school. He had to walk about three miles to get to the school.
(His father married Emma Jensen on the 21st of February 1890.)
His family then moved again to Monroe, Utah, when he was eleven. He was again able to go to school. Here he went until he had graduated from the eighth grade. He was unable to get any further education for some time after this. When he was twenty-four, he went to the Snow Academy at Ephraim, Utah, where he took a missionary course. He graduated from this course, but never received his mission call. Instead,(at the age of 27) in 1906 he married Nellie Elida Hunt, the daughter of Moroni Hunt and Emily Casto. They were married in the Temple at Manti, Utah, on the 10th of January, 1906.
The children they had were as follows: Dallin Richard Collings, Nelda Collings (died young), Ward Lawrence Collings, Nelma Divine Collings, Ralph Willard Collings, Burton Hunt Collings (died young), and Blanche Collings. Amy Collings was their first born.
Ralph started being a garage mechanic in 1912, that is he began his interest in cars at about that time. He brought the first car into the southern part of Utah. He didn't really become a mechanic until about 1917, when he went back to Kansas City, Missouri, and took a course in auto mechanics. On his return from Missouri, he helped to start the first garage in Monroe, Utah. He stepped out into his own business about that same year.
In 1923 he and his family moved to Gunnison, Utah, a town about forty miles away from Monroe. He went into the garage business there too. This time he went into business with another man named Ed Morgan. He stayed there a year then moved about two miles to the south to a little town called Centerfield. He went on with his business in a little garage there, but then there was a detour put in the road and the white fly was very bad. So, he went into debt very deep. The family lived there for about three years, when he decided to leave the garage business and go into farming.
He moved his family to a little town, Henry, Idaho, and tried to buy a dry farm there. There was a question of who was to pay the delinquent taxes on the place, and Ralph didn't give in. So, the family moved again. This time they moved to Wendell, Idaho. They lived the winter through with Lyman Collings, Ralph's Uncle. They lived in one of his places from November until about the middle of March, and then got a chance to rent a farm east of Wendell about six miles. This place was rented on the crop-payment plan. They remained on this place for about two years and the man who owned the place was forced to move onto it. The family then took up a forty-acre piece of sagebrush just to the south. They made many improvements on this place. It was to be their home for a good part of the life of Ralph Collings and Nellie Hunt.
Ralph Collings was a very versatile man. He mastered many trades, but never stayed with one to reap all of the benefits that were due him. But his talents were not wasted. He was always a handy man around his home. He usually kept the furniture in repair and other things in good working order.
Among his accomplishments were the occupation of farmer, garage mechanic, carpenter, sheep-shearer and general handyman. He started sheep-shearing when he was seventeen years of age and never missed a shearing season until after he had sheared for forty years. In the line of carpentry, he once worked as carpenter on a railroad in the central part of Utah.
(Some of the previous information was taken from the records of Ralph Willard Collings, revised.)
I remember Grandpa Collings as working and puttering in the sheep shed. He would sing as he worked. He sang some English tunes and could sing the alphabet backwards, but he said Zed or Zelum instead of Zee.
He liked old chairs and would go to the dump to pick up old broken chairs to fix. After he fixed them, then he would sell them for fifty cents each at the market.
Grandpa wore bib overalls with a white shirt and tie and suit jacket to church. There were many men in the farming areas who dressed in that manner.
When he heard or said something funny himself, he would put his tongue in his cheek to keep from laughing and then stick it out slightly. I thought that was very funny when I was a child.
Grandpa died in January of 1962, just four months after his wife. S. Crow
Ralph Collings, the son of Samuel Willard Collings and Elizabeth Bertelson, was born on the 26th of August in the year 1879. He was born in Monroe, Sevier County, Utah. He was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints on July 3, 1890.
(He was the oldest of three children. His sister, Emma Mabel was born on December 31st, 1882 and Alice was born in 1885, both in Coyote,Garfield County.)
When he was about a year old his parents moved to the small town of Coyote, Utah. When he was about seven years of age, his mother died (29 Oct 1886 at Antimony). At this same time he started school. He had to walk about three miles to get to the school.
(His father married Emma Jensen on the 21st of February 1890.)
His family then moved again to Monroe, Utah, when he was eleven. He was again able to go to school. Here he went until he had graduated from the eighth grade. He was unable to get any further education for some time after this. When he was twenty-four, he went to the Snow Academy at Ephraim, Utah, where he took a missionary course. He graduated from this course, but never received his mission call. Instead,(at the age of 27) in 1906 he married Nellie Elida Hunt, the daughter of Moroni Hunt and Emily Casto. They were married in the Temple at Manti, Utah, on the 10th of January, 1906.
The children they had were as follows: Dallin Richard Collings, Nelda Collings (died young), Ward Lawrence Collings, Nelma Divine Collings, Ralph Willard Collings, Burton Hunt Collings (died young), and Blanche Collings. Amy Collings was their first born.
Ralph started being a garage mechanic in 1912, that is he began his interest in cars at about that time. He brought the first car into the southern part of Utah. He didn't really become a mechanic until about 1917, when he went back to Kansas City, Missouri, and took a course in auto mechanics. On his return from Missouri, he helped to start the first garage in Monroe, Utah. He stepped out into his own business about that same year.
In 1923 he and his family moved to Gunnison, Utah, a town about forty miles away from Monroe. He went into the garage business there too. This time he went into business with another man named Ed Morgan. He stayed there a year then moved about two miles to the south to a little town called Centerfield. He went on with his business in a little garage there, but then there was a detour put in the road and the white fly was very bad. So, he went into debt very deep. The family lived there for about three years, when he decided to leave the garage business and go into farming.
He moved his family to a little town, Henry, Idaho, and tried to buy a dry farm there. There was a question of who was to pay the delinquent taxes on the place, and Ralph didn't give in. So, the family moved again. This time they moved to Wendell, Idaho. They lived the winter through with Lyman Collings, Ralph's Uncle. They lived in one of his places from November until about the middle of March, and then got a chance to rent a farm east of Wendell about six miles. This place was rented on the crop-payment plan. They remained on this place for about two years and the man who owned the place was forced to move onto it. The family then took up a forty-acre piece of sagebrush just to the south. They made many improvements on this place. It was to be their home for a good part of the life of Ralph Collings and Nellie Hunt.
Ralph Collings was a very versatile man. He mastered many trades, but never stayed with one to reap all of the benefits that were due him. But his talents were not wasted. He was always a handy man around his home. He usually kept the furniture in repair and other things in good working order.
Among his accomplishments were the occupation of farmer, garage mechanic, carpenter, sheep-shearer and general handyman. He started sheep-shearing when he was seventeen years of age and never missed a shearing season until after he had sheared for forty years. In the line of carpentry, he once worked as carpenter on a railroad in the central part of Utah.
(Some of the previous information was taken from the records of Ralph Willard Collings, revised.)
I remember Grandpa Collings as working and puttering in the sheep shed. He would sing as he worked. He sang some English tunes and could sing the alphabet backwards, but he said Zed or Zelum instead of Zee.
He liked old chairs and would go to the dump to pick up old broken chairs to fix. After he fixed them, then he would sell them for fifty cents each at the market.
Grandpa wore bib overalls with a white shirt and tie and suit jacket to church. There were many men in the farming areas who dressed in that manner.
When he heard or said something funny himself, he would put his tongue in his cheek to keep from laughing and then stick it out slightly. I thought that was very funny when I was a child.
Grandpa died in January of 1962, just four months after his wife. S. Crow
Sketch of the Life of Ralph Collings (by his daughter Nelma COLLINGS Kersey with notes added.)
Ralph Collings, the son of Samuel Willard Collings and Elizabeth Bertelson, was born on the 26th of August in the year 1879. He was born in Monroe, Sevier County, Utah. He was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints on July 3, 1890.
(He was the oldest of three children. His sister, Emma Mabel was born on December 31st, 1882 and Alice was born in 1885, both in Coyote,Garfield County.)
When he was about a year old his parents moved to the small town of Coyote, Utah. When he was about seven years of age, his mother died (29 Oct 1886 at Antimony). At this same time he started school. He had to walk about three miles to get to the school.
(His father married Emma Jensen on the 21st of February 1890.)
His family then moved again to Monroe, Utah, when he was eleven. He was again able to go to school. Here he went until he had graduated from the eighth grade. He was unable to get any further education for some time after this. When he was twenty-four, he went to the Snow Academy at Ephraim, Utah, where he took a missionary course. He graduated from this course, but never received his mission call. Instead,(at the age of 27) in 1906 he married Nellie Elida Hunt, the daughter of Moroni Hunt and Emily Casto. They were married in the Temple at Manti, Utah, on the 10th of January, 1906.
The children they had were as follows: Dallin Richard Collings, Nelda Collings (died young), Ward Lawrence Collings, Nelma Divine Collings, Ralph Willard Collings, Burton Hunt Collings (died young), and Blanche Collings. Amy Collings was their first born.
Ralph started being a garage mechanic in 1912, that is he began his interest in cars at about that time. He brought the first car into the southern part of Utah. He didn't really become a mechanic until about 1917, when he went back to Kansas City, Missouri, and took a course in auto mechanics. On his return from Missouri, he helped to start the first garage in Monroe, Utah. He stepped out into his own business about that same year.
In 1923 he and his family moved to Gunnison, Utah, a town about forty miles away from Monroe. He went into the garage business there too. This time he went into business with another man named Ed Morgan. He stayed there a year then moved about two miles to the south to a little town called Centerfield. He went on with his business in a little garage there, but then there was a detour put in the road and the white fly was very bad. So, he went into debt very deep. The family lived there for about three years, when he decided to leave the garage business and go into farming.
He moved his family to a little town, Henry, Idaho, and tried to buy a dry farm there. There was a question of who was to pay the delinquent taxes on the place, and Ralph didn't give in. So, the family moved again. This time they moved to Wendell, Idaho. They lived the winter through with Lyman Collings, Ralph's Uncle. They lived in one of his places from November until about the middle of March, and then got a chance to rent a farm east of Wendell about six miles. This place was rented on the crop-payment plan. They remained on this place for about two years and the man who owned the place was forced to move onto it. The family then took up a forty-acre piece of sagebrush just to the south. They made many improvements on this place. It was to be their home for a good part of the life of Ralph Collings and Nellie Hunt.
Ralph Collings was a very versatile man. He mastered many trades, but never stayed with one to reap all of the benefits that were due him. But his talents were not wasted. He was always a handy man around his home. He usually kept the furniture in repair and other things in good working order.
Among his accomplishments were the occupation of farmer, garage mechanic, carpenter, sheep-shearer and general handyman. He started sheep-shearing when he was seventeen years of age and never missed a shearing season until after he had sheared for forty years. In the line of carpentry, he once worked as carpenter on a railroad in the central part of Utah.
(Some of the previous information was taken from the records of Ralph Willard Collings, revised.)
I remember Grandpa Collings as working and puttering in the sheep shed. He would sing as he worked. He sang some English tunes and could sing the alphabet backwards, but he said Zed or Zelum instead of Zee.
He liked old chairs and would go to the dump to pick up old broken chairs to fix. After he fixed them, then he would sell them for fifty cents each at the market.
Grandpa wore bib overalls with a white shirt and tie and suit jacket to church. There were many men in the farming areas who dressed in that manner.
When he heard or said something funny himself, he would put his tongue in his cheek to keep from laughing and then stick it out slightly. I thought that was very funny when I was a child.
Grandpa died in January of 1962, just four months after his wife. S. Crow
Ralph Collings, the son of Samuel Willard Collings and Elizabeth Bertelson, was born on the 26th of August in the year 1879. He was born in Monroe, Sevier County, Utah. He was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints on July 3, 1890.
(He was the oldest of three children. His sister, Emma Mabel was born on December 31st, 1882 and Alice was born in 1885, both in Coyote,Garfield County.)
When he was about a year old his parents moved to the small town of Coyote, Utah. When he was about seven years of age, his mother died (29 Oct 1886 at Antimony). At this same time he started school. He had to walk about three miles to get to the school.
(His father married Emma Jensen on the 21st of February 1890.)
His family then moved again to Monroe, Utah, when he was eleven. He was again able to go to school. Here he went until he had graduated from the eighth grade. He was unable to get any further education for some time after this. When he was twenty-four, he went to the Snow Academy at Ephraim, Utah, where he took a missionary course. He graduated from this course, but never received his mission call. Instead,(at the age of 27) in 1906 he married Nellie Elida Hunt, the daughter of Moroni Hunt and Emily Casto. They were married in the Temple at Manti, Utah, on the 10th of January, 1906.
The children they had were as follows: Dallin Richard Collings, Nelda Collings (died young), Ward Lawrence Collings, Nelma Divine Collings, Ralph Willard Collings, Burton Hunt Collings (died young), and Blanche Collings. Amy Collings was their first born.
Ralph started being a garage mechanic in 1912, that is he began his interest in cars at about that time. He brought the first car into the southern part of Utah. He didn't really become a mechanic until about 1917, when he went back to Kansas City, Missouri, and took a course in auto mechanics. On his return from Missouri, he helped to start the first garage in Monroe, Utah. He stepped out into his own business about that same year.
In 1923 he and his family moved to Gunnison, Utah, a town about forty miles away from Monroe. He went into the garage business there too. This time he went into business with another man named Ed Morgan. He stayed there a year then moved about two miles to the south to a little town called Centerfield. He went on with his business in a little garage there, but then there was a detour put in the road and the white fly was very bad. So, he went into debt very deep. The family lived there for about three years, when he decided to leave the garage business and go into farming.
He moved his family to a little town, Henry, Idaho, and tried to buy a dry farm there. There was a question of who was to pay the delinquent taxes on the place, and Ralph didn't give in. So, the family moved again. This time they moved to Wendell, Idaho. They lived the winter through with Lyman Collings, Ralph's Uncle. They lived in one of his places from November until about the middle of March, and then got a chance to rent a farm east of Wendell about six miles. This place was rented on the crop-payment plan. They remained on this place for about two years and the man who owned the place was forced to move onto it. The family then took up a forty-acre piece of sagebrush just to the south. They made many improvements on this place. It was to be their home for a good part of the life of Ralph Collings and Nellie Hunt.
Ralph Collings was a very versatile man. He mastered many trades, but never stayed with one to reap all of the benefits that were due him. But his talents were not wasted. He was always a handy man around his home. He usually kept the furniture in repair and other things in good working order.
Among his accomplishments were the occupation of farmer, garage mechanic, carpenter, sheep-shearer and general handyman. He started sheep-shearing when he was seventeen years of age and never missed a shearing season until after he had sheared for forty years. In the line of carpentry, he once worked as carpenter on a railroad in the central part of Utah.
(Some of the previous information was taken from the records of Ralph Willard Collings, revised.)
I remember Grandpa Collings as working and puttering in the sheep shed. He would sing as he worked. He sang some English tunes and could sing the alphabet backwards, but he said Zed or Zelum instead of Zee.
He liked old chairs and would go to the dump to pick up old broken chairs to fix. After he fixed them, then he would sell them for fifty cents each at the market.
Grandpa wore bib overalls with a white shirt and tie and suit jacket to church. There were many men in the farming areas who dressed in that manner.
When he heard or said something funny himself, he would put his tongue in his cheek to keep from laughing and then stick it out slightly. I thought that was very funny when I was a child.
Grandpa died in January of 1962, just four months after his wife. S. Crow
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