SARAH (SADIE) ELIZA BURNHAM DUSTIN
1879 - 1963
By her loving sister-in-law Lucy S. Burnham

Sarah Eliza Burnham was born January 21,1879, in Richmond, Cache County Utah. She is the daughter of George Franklin Burnham and Betsey Barnett. Sadie (as she has always been called by her family and friends was born in a one-room log house, and as January was a very cold time of year, she remembers hearing her mother tell how, at the time of her birth, the only water they had for household use was melted ice. A stave barrel was kept in one corner of the house near the cook stove, and it was kept filled with ice, chopped from an irrigation ditch. A bucket of ice was always to be found on the stove, and as it melted, it was poured into the barrel. On the night of her birth, her grandmother Barnett was kept busy melting ice and heating it for sterilizing purposes.
Sadie was the fourth child in a family of five children; the first two children, girls named Emma Almira and Charlotte Lois died in infancy. Her brother, older than she was was christened Abenadi Sylvester, but was always called "Ben" years later her brother Roy Barnett was born.
In January 1884; Sadie's father was called to join the Mormon settlers in northwestern New Mexico. The little town was called then, as it is today, Fruitland, and was situated on the northern bank of the San Juan River. The river was the boundary line at that point of the Navajo Indian Reservation. It was very much a pioneer country, and it took courage in both men and women to take their children into such an apparently hostile settlement. But George Franklin Burnham did not hesitate to answer the call made of him by the authorities of the Church, then or after.
When George Burnham and his family arrived in Fruitland, it was very cold, and the San Juan River was frozen over solid from bank to bank. Freighters were crossing on the ice with wagons loaded with coal they had to sell from the mines nearby, or produce, or whatever to the pioneers living in the small town of Farmington, as there were fewer hills to climb by their weary horses on this route. Sadie's family made the trip from Richmond, Utah, to this far country by team, and the cold hardships of that journey are still remembered.
They lived for a time with her father's brother, Luther C. Burnham family, in a log house near the river. Luther C. Burnham was the Bishop of the small ward, and made his brother and family very welcome, and though crowded, they passed the cold winter in comfort and peace. With spring, a threat of danger came to the two families housed there. The ice melted in a sudden thaw, and the great river overflowed its banks, lapping steadily toward the sturdy log house. Sadie remembers the excitement of those days, the anxious eyes of her Uncle and father, as they watched the rising flood. Bedding, clothing food, and movable furniture were carried to higher ground, and one day they all left the log house, and from safe places, watched their only shelter being washed away by the raging torrent of water. However, no lives were lost in this flood. The river had threatened and it had carried out its threat and subsided in sluggish triumph,
The two Burnham families now took refuge in the log stockade fort built on the old Walter Stevens ranch. The old fort consisted of several rooms, and was built of posts standing upright, with a roof of logs chinked with mud, which kept out the cold and sun, but never the rain. The floor was of mud, and was sprinkled with water daily, and with the tramping of many feet, it kept hard and almost dustless. It was built in an "L" shape and always housed newcomers until they might become better located. Luther C. Burnham built another log house farther back from the river banks and as soon as it was finished, moved his family there. George F. Burnham and family lived in a dugout home, though Sadie is not sure just where it was located. But be it a log house, a dugout in the side of a hill, or a tent, her mother always made a home of it, and the place was as neat and clean as strong hands could make it.
In the fall of 1885, her father moved the family to Moab, Utah, another pioneer town struggling for existence. Sadie first attended school in Moab. Her teacher was Cynthia Burnham. In the year of' 1887 the family moved back to Fruitland. New Mexico and their home now was a three-room log house standing about where Jack Cline's home now stands. That same year, Sadie was baptized by her father, in the San Juan River. Her first school teacher in Fruitland was Lydia Taylor, mother of President Elmer F. Taylor. The first school was held in Lydia Taylor's home. Then a one-room adobe school house was built by the few settlers, which was used for church meetings as well as school. Sadie remembers the small adobe church and school house to which another room was later added, and the building was stuccoed and painted white, with reverence and love. It has since fallen in decay, and nothing remains on the spot to mark its historic value and the loving remembrance of the children. School only lasted from three to four months then, in this part of New Mexico, but Sunday Schools, Sacrament meetings, Primaries, and social gatherings kept things lively, and the paths were trodden free from weeds in summer, and patted hard with snow in winter.
When Sadie was not in school, she was busy helping her mother with the house work, for everything was done the hard way. Clothes were scrubbed white and clean on a wash-board, in water softened with lye and homemade soap, and carried from a nearby well or irrigation ditch. It was a back-breaking job at best, and as soon as Sadie could reach the tub by standing on a wooden box, she relieved her mother by washing her share. Sad irons were heated on the stove, to iron the clothes. The walls of their home were kept sanitary and clean by applying white slacked lime with a brush. This lime solution was very strong, and often ate holes in their fingers before the job was completed. But, oh, the clean, wholesome odors, the dazzling white walls, were worth the sore hands and aching back. The living room floor was carpeted by yards and yards of home-made carpet. Some of their spare time was always spent in tearing carpet rags, sewing them together, winding into large balls, then they were ready for the loom. Sister Abigal Stevens was the weaver for the little community. She was also mid-wife, general doctor and nurse. The kitchen floor was of pine boards, and was scrubbed clean every day, on the knees. Kitchen floors reflected ones housekeeping ability in those days.
As a child, Sadie had a calm dignity of manner, which marked her later years. She held herself proudly erect, a heritage from her father, and one she must have appreciated, and claimed at once. I did not know her personally as a child, but I did know her in young womanhood, and her queenly manner and sense of humor drew my admiration and held it through the years to come.
Her childhood playmates were the three daughters of her Uncle's: Camera, Fannie and Flavilla Burnham, and Lilly Taylor. Sadie says that the joy of her life was to be in her Uncle's home, to mingle with his large family in their happy family life. Sadie loved her two brothers, but her life with them was never too peaceful, for what boy does not love to tease a girl, even his sister.
But after the teasing had gone on long enough, the sister retaliated with sufficient show of temper to make her brothers realize they had gone far enough. Later, when they were teenagers and the brothers escorted her to parties and such, she enjoyed and sensed the advantage of brothers. Ben, being the older, took the responsibil1ty of taking care of his sister more than Roy, and it was Ben who usually took Sadie to the recreational affairs when there was not a boy friend to out shine him. Both boys were devoted to Sadie, and proud of her.
The parties were as humble as the Iives of these early day pioneers. They consisted of corn husking bees, quilting bees, candy pullings, and occasionally a good old dance. I asked Sadie about the music for these dances, and she replied. "The music I remember was a violin, sometimes two of them. Later a violin and mandolin accompanied by an organ. I remember Al and Bert Hubbard played on some occasions one a violin and one a bass cello, other players were Charlie Kennon, a dancing teacher, she played a violin to perfection. Clint Burnham, John Black, Will Evans, and Elmer F. Taylor also played for our dances at times. To me, the music was grand, and I would thrill to my toes, as we approached the old adobe building where we danced. Oh, those heavenly waltzes; the few we were allowed to dance."
Sadie remembers one night during a dance, Costino, an Indian of Apache blood, but raised by the Navajos, now very arrogant with drink, came into the dance hall, brandishing a large knife, challenged any white man to attempt to put him out. To use Sadie's own words, "Villa Burnham and I were so scared that we jumped out of an open window, and ran every step of the way to the Tom Bryan home, where Villa was staying. We crept into the house, and got into bed as carefully as possible, so as not to awaken Mrs. Bryan who was ill, and there, with the pillows to muffle the sound, we laughed off the scare. My mother had understood that I would spend the night with Villa, so they were unaware of our great adventure, until the next morning. We found out later that, Clabe Brimhall had fearlessly accepted the challenge, and had put Costino in safe keeping for the night. The dance went on, but without Villa and me.
Sadie always attended Sacrament meeting, Sunday School, and Primary, and when she was 14 years of age she attended Relief Society meeting with her mother and soon became a member of that organization, and has been a faithful worker ever since. Morning and evening prayer were as regularly solemnized in their home, as breakfast and supper. Her father was a very dignified man, of few words, and they were well chosen, and he believed in following the leaders of the Church, without question. Her mother was a religious woman, also. She may have questioned the wisdom of some of their moves to make new homes, but never-the-less, she stood faithfully by her husband, and by her thrift and hard work, she lessened his economic problems, and made life more secure for their children
As Sadie was her mother's helper, in those days, she naturally absorbed her mother's thrift and talent in home-making, which has been a blessing to her husband and children in later years, and was a factor in their present financial success. Her early religious training has made it easy for her to live righteously. She has handed these fine traits to her children, who will hand them on to their children thus, life goes on, children reaping benefits from experience gained by the parents, by contact with the wholesome mother earth and pioneer hardships not always pleasant, but enduring.
Sadie does not remember of ever having fear of the Indians though in those early days in Fruitland, they greatly out-numbered the white people. The Indians came to their home daily, to beg or trade. Often the fireplace in their front room, gave warmth through the night to Navajo Indians wrapped in blankets, lying relaxed and peaceful. Her mother was very patient with the Indians ways, when they were seeking shelter or food. She never turned them away. What Sadie remembers is that life in that pioneer community was wholesome, and good, for they were united as one family by the bonds of uncertainty and danger against the elements, as well as the Indians. If one family prospered, all prospered; when want threatened one, it threatened all, and they ate their scanty rations with thankful hearts.
In 1893, when Sadie was 14 years of age, she attended the dedication of the Salt Lake Temple with her mother. What a rare pleasure and spiritual experience it was for this serious-minded girl. It was something of value long to be remembered. After the dedicatory services, Sadie and her mother continued on to Richmond to visit her grandmother Barnett. It was the last visit they had with her for she died five years later.
While they were away on this trip, Sadie's father moved to Jackson, and started a new home with the help of Ben and Roy. Jackson, a small farming district, consisting then of seven or eight families, was situated on the La Plata river, and George F. Burnham was called to preside over the small Branch. Their new home was built of lumber, and consisted at that time of two rooms, but later a lean-to kitchen was added. Her brothers, Ben and Roy, set out some poplar trees which are still standing as a monument to their interest in making a home on the new location. The land at Jackson was very fertile, but scarcity of irrigation water soon became a. problem. The farmers banded together to build a reservoir to catch the flood waters in the spring, but it took lots of hard work and both horses and men must be fed while working, so the farmers gave way to discouragement, and began to drift off in search of greener pastures. Sadie's father was loathe to give up his little farm, and stayed on, raising a crop when water was plentiful, moving to Fruitland when water was scarce. Life at Jackson at this time was lonely for Sadie; so she found work in Farmington, and elsewhere, where she might find companionship with young people.
Ben, too left the farm, working for a while at Mancos, and finally going to Telluride, Colorado, a mining town where he secured work. Then came big strike, and Ben was thrown out of employment. He was not a member of the Union. Ben stayed on in Telluride, as it was thought that the trouble with the Union would soon be settled. On July 3, 1901, as he left his cabin early to get water from a spring nearby, he was shot by a Union man. He died of the wound July 4th in the hospital in Telluride. Word was sent to his family, and they met the body in Mancos, Colorado, where he was buried. This tragedy brought great sorrow to all his family. To Sadie, it seemed incredible that death should come to her brother in this way. Ben was never aggressive he loved all mankind he never had an enemy. He loved life, and people; he sang his way into all hearts with his sweet tenor voice, and gay guitar. ‘Why, oh why should he be taken thus", the sister cried. But there was no answer. And as if to test the endurance of Sadie and her family, on the 15th of September of the same year, her father was killed by falling from a wagon loaded with timber. This accident occurred in Mancos, Colorado, and as there was no eye witness to the accident, it was never known how it came about.
The father was buried in Mancos, at the side of his son, Ben. I will mention here, as I have neglected to do so before, that Sadie's father was very gifted in music; he read music as easily as most people read books; he had a good baritone voice; and always led the singing in the church meetings. In early days, when there was no musical instrument in the church house, he carried a tuning fork to pitch the songs, and most of the choir practices were held in his own home. Celebrating the 4th of July was never complete without George Burnham singing "The Star Spangled Banner", as a soloist. Now he was gone, people realized the wonderful all church activity, talent he had, and they missed him in all church activity.
Left desolate, and their mother numbed with shock and grief, Sadie and her brother Roy must bear the burden of life and hold themselves above the shock and grief for their mother's sake. They thought it wisest to move from Jackson, where she must of necessity be so much alone. So they built a little home for her in Kirtland, and moved there as soon as the two-room house was completed. That year was doubly hard on Sadie, for she must put her own grief aside, and stand ready to comfort her grief stricken mother.
For three years, Sadie's life was lived with her mother's comfort uppermost in her thoughts. On June 26, 1902, her brother Roy was married to Lucy Stolworthy, of Kirtland. This was pleasing to Sadie, as she and Lucy were very dear friends, but it left the burden on her shoulders, of keeping her mother contented, and she was tied closely at home now. She arose to the occasion as she always did, when put to the test, and on January 21, 1904, she was married to Burton Dustin, and her mother made her home with them.
On November 14, 1904, a baby girl came to them, and they named her Verna. Verna was much like her mother, and a source of joy and comfort to her. Sadie's husband was a good provider, and seemed to have the knack of making money. At first, he rented and tried his hand at farming with more successes than most men. While he was farming, he also freighted as a side issue. Sadie's first home was in Fruitland, a white stucco house once called the "Della Allen home. Then her husband bought a ranch East of Kirtland, and built a two room brick house on it. Here Sadie's second girl was born, March 1. 1910, and she was given the name of Dixie. These were the days with her two lovely daughters around her, and her mother with her a large part of the time. Life seemed good and supreme happiness for Sadie.
Although a good provider, a financier, her husband was not naturally religious, so the burden of creating a religious atmosphere in the home for her daughters, rested solely upon her shoulders. But Sadie was very determined in this matter and walked straight ahead, living her religion without faltering in the least, her church became her very bread of life.
In the year 1912, Sadie's husband purchased the Tees-Nos-Pos Trading Post, and took his family there to live; they lived there for four years. These years were hard for this spiritual minded woman; she missed her meetings of the church, and contact with friends, which had been so great a part of her life for so long, contented herself as best she could with her house work, and taking care of her two little girls. It was a grand treat, indeed, when some of her relatives and friends would take time to drive the fifty miles to see her and her family, as the trip must be made with team and wagon, and could hardly be made in one day. But circumstances that are not so pleasant, change with the years, as do good things as well, and Sadie was soon back in her hometown, and in a remodeled, lovely home with many comforts around her.
Prior to her moving to Tees-Nos-Pos, August 1909, she was called to preside over the Y.W M.T.A, of Kirtland Ward. This was a lovely experience for her, and the happy, busy year flew by. In the year 1919, a greater call came to her, when she was called to be Relief Society President. To be a good Relief Society president meant giving of one's self continually. If there was sickness, the Relief Society president was called instead of the doctor, and she must be nurse, as well, and oh, so many, many times, she must be the undertaker too. The poor and the needy must be cared for, without the help of the Church Welfare. Day after day, you would see Sadie out on duty; sometimes she drove a car; when it was not available, she would saddle up faithful pony, and when the pony could not be used, she walked. When the Flu raged so badly in 1919, and hardly a home was spared the suffering of that epidemic, this faithful woman went from house to house, doing all she could for the sick and helpless, not sparing herself in the least, and God blessed her according to her faith, and her tender care and prayers saved many.
In my own home, she came when we all lay too ill to care for ourselves; from bed to bed, she went, giving nourishment and comfort, and it was in our home that she was finally taken ill with the Flu, and had to go to bed herself
Another time, a small girl was stricken with typhoid fever, and Sadie was nurse and doctor through the long trying weeks of her illness. The girl's name was May Slaughter and her grandmother had a long illness after the granddaughter was better. Sadie was again nurse until the grandmother's death
I could not tell even a small part of her service to humanity, in the years she presided over the Relief Society in Kirtland. But service brings a rich reward and she shall surely reap a blessing. She was a counselor to Sister Gerda Hendrickson in the Relief Society before she became president. In fact, she was called to fill Gerda Hendrickson's place, and later on, when Sadie was released as president. I was called to take her place. But I felt very humbly that I could not fill it adequately she had left too fine a record.
Sadie was always active in the church; as a girl she sang in the choir; and as a woman, her deepened voice gave beauty to the singing. In later years, she sang in the Singing Mother's Chorus, and lullabies to her grandchildren.
About 1924, Sadie went to live in Salt Lake City, so that her daughters could attend school. She enjoyed the privileges that living in a city brought her and her girls. She enjoyed being with them while they were finishing their education, and attending a session in the Temple now and then. But she regretted that her husband must stay with his business, and she missed having her mother with her.
The winter of 1928, her mother went to Salt Lake City to visit her, and on May 15th of that year, she died and was buried there. When her girls had graduated from college, they returned to Fruitland, to make their home again. And indeed a lovely home it was; a large house with every comfort, and a fine farm adjoining it. Her husband loved farming and they seemed to feel that life was good to them.
In September 1929, their two daughters, Verna and Dixie were called to the Canadian Mission. Their farewell party was held September 7, 1929. They left home together and went to the Mission Home at Salt Lake City together and on to Canada. But here they were separated, and assigned to different districts in the Mission. Because I realized the great care Sadie had given her daughters, the spiritual atmosphere she had created for them in her home, and because of the loneliness that would be hers in their absence, I wrote a poem especially for her "The Gift" The girls were gone two years and came back filled with the fine spirit that characterizes most missionaries.
On November 1, 1932, Dixie was married to Clinton M. Taylor, in the Mesa Temple, they moved to the Taylor's flower mill in Red Mesa Colorado for nine months. On December 14, 1933, Verna was married to Clem Hilton, a widower with two little girls. Since Sadie's daughters had married splendid young men with like experiences of serving as missionaries, and had laid the foundation of their future homes on the principle of faith and spirituality, she tried to bravely meet the portion of loneliness that was hers in her home life. As grandchildren came, her life was gladdened and full again with four granddaughters and one grandson who had been born to her daughter Dixie. Verna had not been blessed with any living children of her own, but raised very unselfishly, the two daughters of her husband's former marriage.
In 1943, Sadie and her husband sold their farm and lovely home in Fruitland, and moved to Farmington, where they were soon located in another nice home, in which Sadie soon began to feel at home. Dixie and her husband sold their property in Kirtland four months before and moved to Farmington. Her parents settled near them. It was a blessing that they did, for Sadie's health broke, and she spent several years of illness. During these years, Dixie found the time, in her busy life of caring for her children, to do many lovely and helpful things for her mother's comfort. Verna and her husband lived in Albuquerque for several years and then she moved with her husband and children to Denver.
June 9, 1946, Sadie's husband died of a heart attack. She awoke one morning to find him dead. This was a terrible shock to her, and as her home was a constant reminder of the tragedy, she sold it and bought another house near the church building. As the years went by, her health increased, and she began to enjoy life again.
In November 1948, Sadie went to live with her daughter Verna, for a time, as Verna was expecting a baby, and needed a mother's care. Although Verna had been in very poor health, her doctor held out every hope of her giving birth to a normal child. When her time arrived, they could not get the doctor in time, and her husband and mother were alone with her at the time of the birth of a lovely son, who only lived for a few hours. Sadie and Clem were alone with the small son when he passed away. When Sadie tried to speak to me about this ordeal, she could not do it, so great was her sorrow and I begged her not to try to say more. Sadie was near 70 years of age when this heart-breaking experience to her, yet she was able through her noble character and faith, to stand by her children, and to do all that could be done for them, in this great hour of trial. In March, she returned to her home accompanied by her daughter.
In March, she returned to her home, At the time of this writing, Sadie is 70 years old. She lives quietly in her comfortable home with friends and loved ones around her to cheer her days. She is rich in means, and seemingly has all her heart desires in earthly and material comforts, being rich in unselfish experiences, in love of friends and neighbors, and rich in her love and faith in the Gospel. When I asked her what her hopes for the future, she said, "I hope to do good as long as I live"
A faithful woman, with this great desire, can do good so as she keeps that desire alive in her heart and mind. Her home is a haven of peace and spirituality, and all who cross its threshold feel the influence of the tall, stately woman who makes it home. Her face is calm and peaceful; the storms of life have written a story there, but as the story recorded are beautiful and full of character, so is her face beautiful and full of character.
To the one who writes these tributes, the one who has known Sadie as I have known her she is much to be patterned after. I think of the girlhood years I shared with her; of our early married years, when we lived side by side in very humble homes; when our children mingled and played together; of our later years, the years in which we both knew we were growing old; of the years when we both came to know that our love for each other would live beyond this earthly life, and bloom again in eternity. From the fact that only words of love flow from my pen today, lays the greatest tribute I could pay to Sadie; these words of love speak of her goodness, her gentleness, and fairness. Now, as I reread this story of her life, incomplete as it is, I see by the pattern of her life that God has loved her very much; that He has guided and directed her days for her own good, and for a blessing to all who touched her life.
I feel impressed to add a few lines at another writing, August, 1956. Sadie is now 77 years of age, and somewhat afflicted at present, but I know God is still mindful of her, of her loyalty to Him, of her charitable acts to His humble children here on earth, of her purity of' thought, of her good desires, and He will not leave her comfortless. Sadie has many blessings and all the comforts money can buy, and many things money could not buy. Verna and her husband are living in Farmington now, so she has both daughters and grandchildren and great grandchildren around her.
The background of her life was set in pioneer living, in endurance, in courage born of faith and love. These things will endure and live to bless her days to come.