Sarah Laverna Isom- My Great Great Grandmother

 "At the early age of thirty-nine my father traveled through the portals of death Dec. 6, 1885. Only six weeks had passed since he and mother buried their little daughter Josephine. He was up and dressed every day till the day he died. That evening as Mary and Kate bid him, -- “Good night God bless you” (before going to stay the night at Grandma and Grandpa Parkers’, who were getting old and needed company) Saying, “I hope you’ll be better in the morning.” He said, “I shall. Good night God bless you.” Those were the last words he ever uttered. Immediately after the childrens [sic] arrival at grandpa’s, one of the young men sleeping at our house while my father was sick came with the word my father had died. Two weeks from that sad night, Dec. 21, 1885 I was born." So begins the story of Sarah LaVerna Isom.

Baby LaVerna

Sarah LaVerna was called LaVerna. One relative said that because she was the youngest and her father had just died, that her mother Alice never taught her the "essential" things like cooking.

When LaVerna was eight years old her mother took the five younger members of her family to Provo to the Brigham Young Academy. The three years spent at Provo were some of the happiest of her childhood. She completed the second to sixth grades inclusive while attending the Academy. The two following years she attended school at home, taking all the highest lessons given in school as it was ungraded.

 After this, her mother sent her to the Branch Normal School of the University of Utah at Cedar City, Utah. Here she remained three years, graduating in May 1903. The next winter, with her mother and an older sister, she went to Salt Lake City where she entered the University of Utah. She graduated from the University of Utah Normal Teachers' Training School, June 5, 1904. Graduation exercises were held in the old Salt Lake Theatre and her diploma was awarded her on the stage of this historical old building. LaVerna taught grade school in Cedar City in 1904 and 1905. She was offered the same position the next year, but accepted a position at Moccasin, Arizona at a higher salary.

LaVerna and her students

Now, Moccasin Arizona is about 27 miles south of Kanab, Utah and there is not much there. She went to teach at a ranch. While she was teaching, she met the older brother of some of her students. His name was Fred C. Heaton and they fell in love, got married and had 8 children. They remained in Moccasin until eventually moving to Kanab. Their oldest child is my Great Grandmother, Edna. Her wish was that all of her children graduate college- and all but one did. (The one decided after a year that he was happier on the ranch and did well for himself.)

Drawing by LaVerna

One daughter wrote, "Mama worked very hard all her years on the ranch. She always was completely dressed before leaving her bedroom in the morning. She would wear a starched cotton full apron over a cotton house dress, always hose and laced shoes. She would clean her teeth, brush, comb and braid her hair, and drink a glass of warm water (to wash out her alimentary canal) before beginning to cook breakfast and take care of the morning work. During the day there was cooking which she never enjoyed. She had to manage three meals a day cooking on a wood-burning stove, which was unpredictable, and also without refrigeration, using a water cooler or the basement for cooling. She often said if she had to cook three meals a day in heaven she wouldn't be in heaven, but that other place! Her cooking was basic - meat, potatoes, vegetables, fruit and bread. She spent long, hot hours canning hundreds of jars of fruit and vegetables in season and also beef. Mama reluctantly sewed for her family, but with six girls and two boys there was little choice. She was always wary about letting the girls use the sewing machine for fear it would get out of adjustment and she wouldn't be able to continue using it. Mama had no mechanical skills and it made her nervous whenever the children wanted to adjust any appliance. It was always fun when Mama had a quilting bee and invited her sisters-in-law to come and quilt with her. She would set up a quilt in the carport and the women came when they could and stayed as long as they could. In this way they helped one another make the needed quilts. Mama was a lovely quilter, taking small, very even stitches. I wondered about her having that skill when sewing was so difficult for her."

Family Reunion 1958

Fred and LaVerna

She loved art and was active in the church. She passed away on 20 September 1967, two years after Fred. 

I wish I could have known her. She seems like and incredible woman.