Spence Coleman Heywood
Parents: Joseph Neal Heywood and Sarah Francelle Coleman
Birth: 19 Oct 1878, Upper Kanab, Kane, Utah
Death: 1 May 1969, Mesa, Maricopa, Arizona
Spence Coleman Heywood
By Margaret Heywood
Freestone
Mother, Nellie Bly Tate, married
her school teacher, Spence Coleman Heywood on March 30, 1905, in Central,
Arizona.
She was born at Turner’s Point,
Kaufman Co., Texas, Mach 13, 1887. Her family,
the Martin Van Buren Tates, having joined the Mormon Church in 1894, left Texas
for Utah with two wagons, two teams of horses, two mules and the bare
necessities. After spending two and one
half years in Spanish Fork, Utah, they again moved. This time to Central, Arizona.
The most harrowing experience of
the trip was crossing the Colorado River at Lee’s Ferry. Mother writes in her journal, “After the
wagon had been pulled onto the ferry boat and the animals detached, both became
so unmanageable the boat was in danger of being upset with all cargo
aboard. One animal finally became so
frantic that he jumped overboard into the river. It was a tense few minutes.
Father was born in Upper Kanab,
Utah, October 19, 1878. He crossed Lee’s
Ferry in 1880 with his father (Joseph Neal Heywood) and his mother (Sarah
Francelle Coleman) and brother Joseph Neal Jr. and his maternal grandparents
Prime Thornton Coleman (Emma Beck Evans) and other relatives. They settled in Alpine, Arizona and St. Johns
until 1898 at which time they moved to Thatcher, Arizona.
Father met mother while he was
principal and teacher at the Central School.
Six months later, on March 30, 1905, they were married. Mother recalls her first school teaching job
in 1908. It was at “Robinsons Ranch
located some three miles south of Thatcher in the foothills near the base of
Mt. Graham. My way of transportation to
school was by horse and buggy.”
After teaching for several years,
throughout the Gila Valley, father ran for Graham County School Superintendent
on the “Republican ticket in an overwhelming Democratic county. This was repeated three times making eight years’
service to the schools.” Dad also served
on the Board of Regents being named to it by Gov. George W. Hunt.
My parents since have both passed
away—father in 1969 and mother in 1973 but their roots grow deep in the Gila
Valley as does the Joseph Neal Heywoods, Prime Thornton Colemans and Martin Van
Buren Tates. All are buried in the
Thatcher Cemetery.
Mother and Dad and children moved
from Thatcher in 1924 to Mesa, Arizona where they resided the rest of their
lives. However, a grandaughter, Mrs.
Dennis Layton (Paula Freestone) has made her home in Thatcher.
Submitted for publication by Mrs. Bert (Margaret Heywood)
Freestone, daughter of Spence Coleman Heywood)
Contributor's Note: This
Biographical Sketch was found amid miscellaneous papers of Richard N. Heywood
of Tempe, Arizona. A handwritten note
gave the following information: "Thatcher, Church History ?979.154/T1 H25." The verified source title and the original repository
are not known.
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