| Rachael Crompton Sims By Ronald Sims, Grandson |
| Evanston, Uinta, Wyoming |
Contributed By Bonnie Jo Bertagnolli Zehrung Rachel Crompton was born November 20, 1860 at Kearsleymoor, Lancastershire, England. She was the fourth child of William Crompton and Hannah Hobson Crompton. When she was six years old they came to the United States. They crossed the plains with ox teams and covered wagons. Dorothy Proffit tells us that Rachel and Annie Marie Spencer, her Grandmother came across the plains in the same company. - Upon reaching Utah they settled in Coalville, where they lived in a dugout in the hill. During this period William married the sister of his first wife Mary Hobson, in polygamy. She died in childbirth and is buried at Coalville. They started for Oregon, but upon arriving at the Snake River found the water high and the river impassable. They turned around and come to Utah. They settled at Santaquin for several years, as two children were born there. - William Crompton together with his brother George helped to build the Railroad. William then moved to Almy, where he had a saloon. - Grandmother’s oldest sister , Jane, married David Rees. They lived at Coalville and Woodruff, Utah. - Her brother, David, married Elizabeth Kennedy and they lived in Almy, where the Ted Crompton now lives. - John married Matilda Johansen. He died in a fire at the railroad depot at Almy. - Joseph Crompton married Elizabeth Browning and his family lived at Ogden, where Uncle Joe was Justice of the Peace. He use to visit my Grandmother and take the boys on walks to show us where this and that place was located in the past. - William Crompton married Mary Parry and lived most of life in Montana. - Mary (Polly) married a man by the name of Orin Burleigh. They had one son Glen Burleigh, who was quite a rounder. He worked for my Dad and his brothers. She later married William Armstrong, who was a carpenter. He built the cement block house for my Grandmother. I was raised in this house from the age of nine years. I raised my family here. My son, Michael now lives in the house. - Walter Crompton, married Elizabeth Hiller. (should be Miller) He was a rancher and a banker all of his life. He lived in Evanston. One daughter, Helen Carlton still lives in Evanston (since this writing Helen has passed away) - Squire Crompton married Lillian Hutchinson. They lived where Jim Crompton now lives in a large brick house. This was the original Crompton home. The bricks were made from clay that was dug on the ranch. They were colored with blood of the beef from the slaughter house. - Two girls, Sarah Ann and Lily died as children. - The youngest member of the family - Carrie - married Frank Halverson. They lived around Ogden. - Aunt Polly use to say she had blue blood in her veins. I remember my Grandmother telling me that she thought she was a cut above the rest of the family. She married Orin Burleigh, who was considerably older than she. He was an old tyrant, who completely dominated her life. - Grandmother Sims grew up and lived most of her life in Almy, not far from where I now live. She was baptized June 16, 1872 by Samuel Pike. She married William Henry Sims at Almy on February 7, 1879 at the home of her father William Crompton by James Bowns. To this union was born the following children. Mary Ann - born January 5, 1880 (still born) Elizabeth - born July 7, 1881 (she lived to be 16 years of age and died November 18, 1897 - it was thought that she suffered from diabetes) Phoebe Ann - born May 5, 1883 (died November 14, 1883 at the age of 6 months) George - born August 27, 1884 (married Mary Estelle (Aunt Mae) Nixon and died November 20, 1944 of heart trouble at the age of 60) Amy - born July 30, 1886 (she married Harold Heward) She is still living at the age of 94 in 1980 (she died November 8, 1984, 98 years old) Grover - born August 15, 1888 (married Ethel Heward, sister of Harold, and died September 9, 1938) William Henry, Jr. - born August 7, 1890 (died August 12, 1891) John Osborne ( Pie) - born April 29, 1892 (married La Fern Nixon, sister of Aunt Mae and died September 20, 1945) Nina - born October 4, 1894 (she died July 20, 1900) Rachel Marie - born April 24, 1897 ( she died December 18, 1908) Louella - born August 30, 1899 , she runs the Sims Hotel and is still living at the age of 81. ( Aunt Lou died March 14, 1984) The Sims Hotel has since been demolished to make way for the new Evanston Post Office. Nellie - born May 5, 1905 (she married Morgan Taggart and died July 18, 1972) Aunt Nellie also had diabetes - it was thought that some of the other girls who died at a young age might have been affected with this disease also. - Here were twelve children with only six of them living to maturity. How very hard it must have been for Rachel to bury that many little ones. - I remember my Grandmother as a stout woman with white hair. She was very proud of her hair and spent much time grooming it. She would brush it and pile it high. It was very beautiful. When they came across the ocean she became lousy. They shaved her head to get rid of the lice. Imagine the shame and agony for a small child. - Grandmother was known to everyone as “Auntie Rache” and she was loved by all that knew her. She had arthritis and this coupled with being a large woman, made it difficult for her to get around. She lived rather like a bohemian. She might move her bed into the living room or sleep outside. She use to have a chair that the back would fold down. She would prop it up with another chair and sleep in it, sort of adventure with her. When she was quite old George bought a Buick car with a fold down seat. She went out and slept in it. She decided to learn to drive the car, but wound up in the blue clay down by the old Almy church. This was the end of her driving. - Rachel’s mother was a very tidy person. Grandmother was just the opposite. Things would keep until she got around to doing them. - She was much in demand as a “mortician” . I don’t know whether or not she had the only ironing board suitable for it, but when someone died, they dressed them and layed them out on her ironing board. They sat up all night with the body, which was surrounded by jars of ice. They put the body in the coffin or wooden box only for burial. - She never took her children to church as she thought that was the duty of the father. As he didn’t take them, they never went to church. She always claimed that she was a Jack Mormon. - She often left her home taking one of the children with here to care for the sick. She always stayed until they were able to take care of themselves. She also took food in to people, who were ill or did other kindnesses. However, she did not go to many funerals . Her belief was to do a good turn while they were alive. - One of her delights was to be surrounded by her family. She kept them very close to her. They were devoted to her and took good care of her in her later years. - If you went to her house she would say there was nothing in the house to eat. Still she would always come up with a little cheese, tucked away here and something else tucked away there. Before you were through, she would sent a bounteous meal before you. She liked to get lunch for the grandchildren, who went to school. It was great fun to go to her home and get lunch, while we went to school We did most of the work, but when you helped my Grandmother it was fun. She made wine out of her fruit that did not seal. I believe she made it out of some that did. When we went to see her with my father, she would produce fruit cake and a small taste of wine of some kind of fruit, which she had made. - She like to go out and pick up pieces of wood, bring them in a burn them. Sometimes she would put a long piece of log in the end of the stove, support it with a chair, and shove it into the stove as it burned. - She was always partial to Bill Sims, who was handicapped. She always taught him that he would be boss. We boys had different ideas about that, but Bill had the idea instilled into him until he thought that would be. - I remember a small blue colored dish Grandmother kept soda crackers in it and it was always on her table. I thought it was most beautiful. It would have been a cherished keepsake for me, but it was never given to me even though I asked my aunts for it. - Aunt Lou came home from Denver and lived with Grandmother in her later years. She was a nurse and she took very good care of her mother. - Rachel carried on the business of ranching with her three sons under the partnership of Mrs William Sims and Sons. She passed away January 5, 1935 at her home in Evanston. She is buried in the Evanston City Cemetery. |
| Rachael Crompton * William Henry Sims |
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| PARENTS: William Crompton 1832-1900 Hannah Hobson 1835-1903 |
| PARENTS: John Sims 1830-1914 Mary Ann Phillips 1831-1904 |
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