m. Susan Rose Cheney
m. Agnes Berglot Bostrom
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Lester Utah Barton was born April 11, 1888 in Salt Lake City, Utah. He was
the youngest son in a family of five born to Hyrum Barton of Saint Helens,
Lancashire, England and Georgina Calder Crabb of Cincinnati, Ohio. As the
story goes, he was given the name Utah because he was born in Utah.
Lester was born in the 18th ward at 135 Second Street in a large adobe house. Two weeks later his father and mother bought a lot and house on the corner of 3rd North and Main, then known as Plum Street and Oak Street. to which they moved. Lester was a sickly little baby and was not expected to live, but he grew stronger as he grew older. When Lester was young his father had a barn where he kept his horse and cows. His brother Lawrence had a pony which Lester wanted to ride. Lawrence, who had three cows to milk, said, "You milk one of my cows and I will teach you and let you ride the pony to take the cows on the hill." Though Lester was only five years old, he learned to milk the cow by the name of Rosie. Once he learned, it became his duty to do it all the time and help feed and tend the cows. Oldest brother Hyrum Jr. or Hyde as he was called did most of the herding and Lawrence helped him. Hyde started a herd by taking watching the family's cows and those of other people in the area. For this he received one dollar a month. His father took hold of the money and bought each of the boys a horse so they could gather the cows. The herd they ran was called the Barton Herd. Other boys such as Joe Pepper, Ben Pepper, Moroni Thomas, and Mat Ockwal ran a herd called the Big Herd. Lester's father Hyrum was a real estate man, but the boom had settled and the land that he bought went down in value, so the herd was a great help to all the family. The cows produced milk which was sold to the neighbors. Lester, Ivy, and Alberta carried the milk while Hyde and Lawrence did the milking. Lester's father died when 13 years old. Three months after his father's death, Lester got a route delivering the Salt lake Tribune. He would get up at four o'clock in the morning. He would finish his route by seven, milk the cows, then be off to school, never stopping for breakfast. He later also had an afternoon route with the Telegram. In 1903 Lester managed to save enough money to take a trip with his mother to California. His mother Georgina died in 1912 when Lester 24 years old. In 1915 at the age of 27 he married Susan Rose Cheney or Rosa as she was called. They had five children. Rosa died at the end of 1934. He married Agnes Berglot Bostrom the following year and had two more children. Agnes had the difficult job of raising a family during the Depression and help manage the family apartment house. Lester was an engineer, builder, accountant, and businessman. He was a very hard worker, a trait which he instilled in his children. He could swear a blue streak, a carry over from his youth as a cowboy, and had a temper, but was a religious man and attended church regularly. He had a soft spot for animals. He had a sense of humor and could tell a good story. He developed prostate cancer and bravely endured considerable pain before he succumbed on September , 1964. |