MARY ELENOR OLSEN BOGDIN JACKSON MACKLEY

Mary Elenor "Nell" Olsen was born 28 March 1902 in Teasdale, Wayne County, Utah to Lydia Ann Adams and Martin Olsen. She was the fourth child and the third child to have lived past infancy. Nell was named after her grandmother Mary Elenor Armstrong Adams.

On 19 July 1918 Nell married George Bogdin . George was an immigrant from Hungry who found work as a miner in Sunnyside, Carbon County, Utah. Violet Olsen "Toots", a sister-in-law to Nell said that they were so much in love. [Nell was 16 and George was 25]

They made their first home in Sunnyside and almost 2 years later, on 23 May 1920, Betty, their first child was born. The family soon grew and on 16 December 1921 Deloy Lawrence was born followed by Lenora Jesse on 23 October 1923.

From here, the family moved to Kenilworth, where Vera Mildred was born on 17 December 1925. Vera lived until 14 March 1926 and was buried in the Price City Cemetery in Price, Carbon County, Utah.

George and Nell moved their family to Spring Canyon, Carbon County, Utah were George worked in the mine. Soon after on 5 February 1927, they had a beautiful baby girl, Mildred "Millie". George and Nell were only able to enjoy their little girl for 10 months. On 1 December 1927 George never came home from the mine. Nell was frantic and went to the opening of the mine to see where her husband was. There she found her beloved husband being wheeled out in a wheelbarrow. George did not survive. He was buried in the Price City Cemetery next to their daughter Vera.

In those days, if you did not have a person in the household working for the mine, you could not live in their housing. Nell was 25 years old without a place to live and a widow with 4 small children. She went to her mother for help and Lydia took on Deloy and Millie. Nell took Betty and placed Lenora in a facility for special needs persons in Provo, Utah County, Utah. [Lenora had a mental disability of some kind. She stayed at the facility in Provo until she was old enough to work on her own. Then she moved to Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Utah and worked for Deseret Industries in Murray, Salt Lake County, Utah until she died. It is said that she was a diabetic and that is what took her.]

A short time later, Nell met a man, whose last name was Evans. She became pregnant with a boy, Reese who was born 6 May 1929. Nell never married this man. It was said that the Evans man was already married and his wife was to give birth to a child the same time Reese was to be born. No one knew who he was. Lydia took and raised Reese with Deloy and Millie.

Nell later met a young man named George Edward Jackson. They feel in love and Nell was expecting a baby boy. The couple was not yet married and George's parents did not want their son to be involved with her. They took him far away (possibly Saint George, Washington County, Utah). He decided to do right by Nell and come back to the Castle Valley and marry her on the condition that he take Nell and this unborn child no one else. They were married 31 October 1930 in Price, Carbon County, Utah. He was 20 years old and Nell was 28.

Lydia raised Deloy, Millie, and Reese until her death 3 May 1942; after that Deloy went to work in the coal mines and raised the kids on his own until 4 August 1944 when he married Ruby Ora Orton [known as Ora] when they raised the children together. These children never forgave her for not keeping them with her.

George worked for the State Road and they made their home in Soldier Summit, Carbon County, Utah. Their little boy, George Loren was born 23 April 1931. There little family began to grow and Ila was born 7 November 1935, then Ilene was born 23 December 1937 in Castle Gate, Carbon County, Utah.

On 8 November 1941, George died. He is buried in Springville, Utah County, Utah.

Nell took her three children and moved in with her mother Lydia Olsen in Castle Gate. In order to provide for her small little family, she worked in a hotel in Castle Gate. It was here that she met Floyd Hyrum Mackley. Floyd was a guest at the hotel and they were married 29 March 1943 in Lawrence, Emery County, Utah. Floyd was 31 years of age and Nell was 41.

The family made their home in Castle Gate and soon Floyd and Nell had two boys: Floyd Jr. born 16 March 1944 and Neldon Hyrum born 9 June 1945.

In those days people did not have a lot of money and there were not too many things that a person could do for hobbies. However, Nell enjoyed embroidery, playing rummy, cooking (she was a good cook), and later in life watching the Looney Toons cartoons – especially Tweety Bird. She LOVED Tweety. She had a sweet, quiet disposition was very closed mouthed.

Nell and Floyd spent 27 years together spending their time working, fishing and sitting on their porch together before Floyd died 27 June 1970. During those 27 years they did also have their heartaches. Lenora died 23 January 1948, George Jr. died 21 October 1954, and their son Neldon died 3 April 1966 after accidentally shooting himself while on duty on the United States Army Base in Germany.

Shortly after Floyd's death, Nell spent some time with Ila and her family. Ila recalls taking Grandma to her first movie; it was "Paint Your Wagon". It was the only movie she ever saw.

Nell died 11 November 1972 and is buried in the Price City Cemetery in Price, Carbon County Utah next to her husband, Floyd and her son Neldon.