Sarah Melvina Quigley McClelland (1870-1937)

Daughter of Andrew Quigley and Elizabeth Ellen Miller

Married Washington McClelland, 21 April 1885, Swan Lake, Bannock, Idaho

Children - Raymond McClellan, Janie Melvina "Janey" McClellan, Addie Elizabeth McClelland, Lucy McClellan, Anna Elmira McClellan, Fannie Levere McClellan, John Steele McClellan, George Washington McClellan, Andrew Q McClellan, Verna Naomi McClellan, Thelma Susie McClellan, Jesse Dwight McClellan

Married David Albert Banks, 3 March 1920, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah

History - Sarah Melinva Quigley was born 12 January 1870 in Clarkston, Cache Co, Utah the eighth child of Andrew Quigley and Elizabeth Miller. The Quigley family had lived in Farmington, Davis Co, Utah, where the first six children were born, then had moved to Clarkston, Utah, where four more children were born, before they moved to Swan Lake, Idaho, where two more children were born.

This was a pioneer family and they all had to contribute with their own efforts to the efforts of the family. Her Father was engaged in most of the activities of the community. It was during her early life that Andrew Quigley contributed to the effort of a settlement of the people in Lemhi Valley at Salmon, Idaho (known as Fort Lemhi) and was wounded by Indians in their upraising.

Sarah was a girl of large stature for age and contributed much to the activity of early farm life that had been established by her Father in this new place. She helped with the herding of the cows and milking, along with much of the other work.

When she was eleven years old she was baptized on 6 September 1881 by Elder Hyrum H. Byington, a member of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and was confirmed a member of this same church on the same day by Elder Charles Thorton. She began her education in the public school at Swan Lake, Idaho.

She became acquainted with Washington McClelland, who was a man nine years older than her, and came into the activities of the community with other young men and her brothers by coming over the mountains from Gentile Valley, where he was working. They were married 21 April 1885 b A.F. Caldwell at Swan Lake, Idaho, where they lived for a time in a room on the Andrew Quigley home, where the first child was born 2 August 1886.

They established a home for themselves in a log house about a block west of the old Quigley home. They lived for a while in Oxford, Idaho where her husband was working at the harness and shoe making business. They also filed on farm land near the mountains about a mile east of the Quigley homestead.

While they lived at Swan Lake, a daughter Janie Melvina was born on 7 December 1887, and also a daughter Addie Elizabeth was born on 29 September 1889. During the summer of 1891 the couple moved to Dempsey, Idaho, later known as Lava Hot Springs, and filed a homestead on 120 acres near and south of the farm of Elias and Fannie Wilson Quigley, a half sister of Sarah.

They built a log house, with a dirt roof, on the north side of the land in a hollow. The main road was established on the section line east and west between their land and the Wilson land. Their home was about ¾ miles south of the Portneuf River, from which at the first they had to haul water for their use.

Years later when they were able to find water in a well which was dug on the east side of their farm, to which they moved their buildings. The social life was limited to visit with neighbors who at the time consisted of names like: Elisa Wilson, Andrew Hooper, Lee Merrick, Jason Palmer, George Bower, Wm Fife, Theo Monroe, Morris Bells families, Hans Peterson, several Higgins families, the Boyingtons, Avery Godfrey, Potter, McQuinn, or Cannon, James Hall and his parents Wm. Cooper, C.A. Warner, Johnie Symon, etc…

They raised several children in the first log house on the place which included: Lucy, Anna Elmira, Fannie Lavere, and John Steele, and George Washington. Andrew Quigley was born in the new house on the east side of the farm, also Verna Naomi, Thelma Sussie and Jessie Dwight.

On 30 September 1892 they went to the Logan Temple and received their endowments and blessings and were sealed to their first three children. They received their second endowment in the Logan Temple 25 July 1901. During this time her husband was acting as a counselor to Bishop C.F.Potter, he was set apart for this on 20 Jan 1895. Her husband was set apart as Bishop of the Dempsey Ward on 19 July 1897.

Sarah Melvina was counselor in the YWMIA, President of the Primary, President of the YWMIA, Secretary of the Relief Society and President of the Relief Society. Later she was an aid, the a counselor to Mrs. Gwen Redford in the Stake Relief Society of the Bannock Stake on 21 May 1910. She was sustained as President of the Stake Relief Society of the new Idaho Stake on 2 Decenber 1916, a position which she held for several years.

She received a Patriarchal Blessing from Hyrum G. Smith and from Williams Sterrett.

Her life on the farm was no easy task, when we consider the present convinces. Raising a family in a one room log house that leaded in bad weather. When the coal old lamp came into use, then the round wick, and later the gas lamp were great stepping stones of advancement and convenience. The matter of living off the things that could be raised and having some grain from which to make bread and cereal was always a great problem for them.

After they moved to the home on the east side of the field and built on to the home, conditions were much improved by a good cellar and a pump on a well for drinking water. During most of this time her husband was the Bishop of the Dempsey Ward which added much to her responsibility in the home.

After they purchased the store and took over the post office from Hans Petersen in 1902. They built a store building on the NE corner of the farm and she helped operate the store and post office. This continued after they moved the store to the Lava Hot Springs townsite. A picture of Lava Hot Springs made in 1906 show only the store, which was also the post office, the Jim Hall store and the home of the Hall family, as being the only buildings in the place.

She gave birth to 14 children, including a pair of twins, who died at birth and Andrew Quigley who died at just one month.

They obtained some land near North Canyon, which is NW about four miles from Bancroft, and lived there for a time, later moving into Bancroft, where they were operating the Toolson Hotel at the time her husband died 28 Feb 1917. She continued there and then at the Harris Hotel for about three years with the children that were left at home.

She was married to David A. Banks 3 March 1920 and went to live with him on his ranch near Central and then some time later they moved into Grace and lived there until her death on 27 August 1937.

She was buried in the cemetery at Bancroft, Idaho in the family plot on 29 August 1937.