NIELSON MAY JONES

MAY NIELSON

and

 PETER JONES

by Norma Jones Oreno

corrected and approved

 by Merle Jones Mellen

May Nielson Jones was born October 20, 1883 to James Nielson and Christina Smith Nielson in Richfield, Sevier,, Utah, where her grandfather Jorgen Smith was sent by Brigham Young to colonize.

May's young life was spent in Richfield where she attended school until the eighth grade, having to quit and help her mother with the younger children.  She being the eldest girl of 15 children and just having one brother Niels, older.

May spent a lot of her time with her grandmother Smith, (Christine Marie) who having been set aside by her grandfather at the time of the manifesto.  She slept at her grandmother's home at night so she wouldn't have to be alone until the time of her grandmother's death.

In her early teens her family moved to Winter Quarters, Utah, in Carbon County where her father worked in the coal mines.  There she met Peter Jones.

Peter Jones was born August 2, 1878 in Santaquin, Utah.  A son of Zachariah and Alice Mary Wall Jones, who were farmers.  Peter, one of 12 children, 8 of whom died and only 4 grew to maturity, grew up on the farm.  He attended a small one-room school where six grades were in one room and taught by one teacher.  He finished six years of schooling and then went to work on his dad's farm or helping other farmers in the vicinity.  As he got older he got tired of farm and he and a cousin decided to go on a venture which ended up in Carbon County. 

There he met May Nielson and one of her girl friends and struck up quite a romance.  His cousin married the girl friend and Peter and May became engaged.  They were married in the Salt Lake Temple 29 May 1901.  Peter worked in the coal mines and they settled in Spring Glenn Canyon where a daughter was born to them on 22 November 1902.  This daughter was named Verda.  She lived only six weeks and died of pneumonia.  A second daughter Beatrice was born to them 27 December 1903.  When she was just a baby they left Carbon County and went to Santaquin where they resided with the parents of Peter Jones for one year.  Peter was quite a cut-up and played the banjo and sang.

Peter went up to Eureka and obtained employment in the mines and moved his family up therein a small two-room house owned by the Dave Russell family.  May became pregnant and they decided to buy a home.  The bought the home of Alma Mitchell who had just built a new home next door to it for his wife and family.  They were in the process of moving when his wife died and they had to stay in the old house until after the funeral and all their affairs were straightened out.

May's mother died in 1906.  Shortly after Peter and May got situated in their home, another daughter, LaPreal, was born to them on June 5, 1907.  A son, Kenneth, was born 7 June 1910; a daughter Norma, 11 June 1912; a daughter, Merle, 13 May 1918.