Rebecca Homer Costley

Rebecca Homer Costley

Rebecca was the name given to me, the third daughter and fourth child of Russell King and Eliza Thornton Homer. I was born January Il, 1868 at Three-Mile Creek, Box Elder County, Utah.

My family later moved to Swan Lake, of which I recall little as I was very young. However, I do remember something of our living in the log cabin at Swan Lake and my mother’s sickness and death. Soon after her death we went back to Three-Mile Creek to make our home and later we moved to Clarkston, Utah. I was very active as a young girl and became interested in home dramatics and learned something of Folk dancing which I did for the entertainment of the home town folks.

Passing along through the teen age, I took part in all the activities in a social way. I was active in church work, Sunday School, Primary, Mutual work and I sang in the choir.

When I was seventeen, I met a young man from Highland, Wisconsin, Richard Joseph Costley; he came West to live with his brother, Daniel J. Costley owner of a cattle ranch. With Richard’s friendly and genial disposition, he soon became a part of the social life of our community and very shortly a mutual friendship developed between us which culminated in our marriage on December 5, 1886 at my father’s home in Clarkston, Utah. We then went to live In our new home a few miles from town. He was cordially received by my family, always a welcome guest and a loved and esteemed member of the family group. We lived on the ranch at Clarkston two years, when we sold the ranch and took the cattle to John Grey’s Lake in eastern Idaho. We spent the summer putting up wild hay and the winter was so severe that the hay was gone and on March 21 Dick started to trail the cattle out of the valley on the crusted snow. I left April 1, traveling by sleigh to Soda Springs and on to Clarkston by train.

We decided not to return to John Grey’s Lake and became interested in farming, first near

Brigham City, Utah, and about four years later we located on a farm at St. Anthony, Idaho. Arriving at St. Anthony we truly pioneered. There were no ditches, no canals and no wells. All water for household and all other purposes was hauled in barrels from Snake River a distance of some miles. We received mail once a week. The closest railroad was Idaho Falls, then known as Eagle Rock, at which place we purchased our winter supplies. To get these supplies, it took three days to make the trip. In making this trip, I stayed overnight both going and coming at my Brother King’s place at Rigby. I left the children there while I went on to get the provisions. All of our produce had to be handled the same way and hauled the same distance.

There was neither telephone or telegraph service until about 1898. The first message that came over the telephone was from Clarkston, Utah conveying the message of the death of my brother David Homer, October 26, 1897.

The longest school term at that time was four months and the nearest church was at Parker, five miles away. We continued in the farming and stock-raising business. During these years, Dick was active in community affairs; two of the most outstanding offices which he held were serving old Fremont county as one of the four years and as a member of the St. Anthony Board of Education; this last position he held at the time of his death which was February 5, 1909.

I have served in many capacities of the Relief society, as a teacher, chairman of the sewing for the dead, chorister counselor, and then president.

During the first World War, I served as chairman of the cutting committee of sewing on the American Red Cross of Fremont County.

In August, 1928, two of my daughters (Margaret and Gladys) and I went to Montana to visit relatives, Dick’s sisters Ellen Costley and Nancy and her husband, James McGraw.

As we were on the way home, we met with an accident. We were run into by a railroad train. The car was demolished. Gladys was killed and Margaret and I were so badly injured that we were in the Hospital at Helena, Montana for weeks before we were able to come home.

I still live in St. Anthony and enjoy receiving and entertaining my friends and having reunions with my children and grand-children. My daughter, Margaret (who teaches school) lives with me. Grant, my oldest son, lives in Augusta, Montana. Blanche Costley Rasmussen lives near Rexburg, Idaho and Ward lives in Idaho Falls.

I have nine grand-children and two great grand-children.

Her family consists of the following:

Richard Grant Costley	Priscella King
Ward Homer Costley	Fern Bean
Blanche Costley	Aaron F. Rasmusson
Gladys Costley	unmarried
Margaret Costley	unmarried