James Grandison Rencher
Written by Barbara Truman Price, Oct 2000

James Grandison Rencher, Sr. was born 2 March 1848 in Raleigh, Sumpter County, Alabama to Umpstead Rencher, Jr. and Elizabeth Jemima Philpot. He was the 2nd of 13 children born to this couple.

After their third child was born, Umpstead and Jemima took their family and moved to Liberty, Texas on the Trinity River. The lived in a little two-room house with a porch on the front. It was here that their fourth child was born.

A very heart-warming story is told of an incident that happened while they were living in Texas. Large angry dogs guarded this little house but one day when a stranger appeared at the door, the dogs lay undisturbed. Mother Rencher was startled, yet surprised that this stranger had reached the house without even awakening the dogs. His answer to her question about that was, “Dogs never disturb me.” This stranger was entertained overnight and had very interesting conversations with the family explaining many truths that since have been proven to be doctrines of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. After breakfast the next morning, this stranger disappeared mysteriously as he came. Later the LDS Missionaries found the Rencher family and their doctrine was the same as the stranger had preached. Their hearts were receptive to the truths and in 1853 Umpstead and Jemima, were baptized. The Rencher family accompanied Elder Washington Jolley to Utah, because he was from there. James (or Jim as he was called) was baptized in May 1857. The Rencher family settled in Lehi, Utah County, Utah and there a son was born to them there in 1855.

James accompanied his family when they were called during General Conference of April 1857 to settle in Southern Utah on the Rio Virgin River to what was called the Cotton Mission. They were to raise cotton for church members. Jim’s father built the first fire in Washington, Utah - the settlement along the Rio Virgin River.

Cotton raising did not prove successful and so Umpstead began taking care of cattle for the people of Washington moving them to the higher country of Dammeron Valley, then to the area north of Veyo (known now as Brookside-2000) and then on to Grass Valley which is north of Pine Valley, Utah. Not only did he take care of the herd of cattle for the people of Washington, but he soon acquired cattle of his own and homesteaded in Grass Valley building a large home for his family and developing a wonderful ranch. It was here in these beautiful surroundings that Jim was raised.

He met a wonderful young girl, Mary Lorena Snow, from Pine Valley and after a courtship they were married 28 February 1878 in the St. George LDS Temple by Temple President Wilford Woodruff. They began their married life on the ranch in Grass Valley and it became their home for the rest of their lives.

When Jim’s family left the ranch to return to Texas in 1880, Jim took over operation of the ranch and eventually all of his family left and he became owner of the property. It was in this beautiful valley they raised (for the most part) their children: Rosa Lorena, Lilly Maud, Dora Belle, James Grandison Jr. (died in infancy), Mason Snow, Annie Charlotte, and twins, Benjamin and LeGrande (died in infancy).

Five other families moved into the Valley and a village was formed with a schoolhouse being built that not only served for school but also for Sunday School. Jim was the Superintendent of the Sunday School, which he held for many years and then served as a teacher of the Book of Mormon for as long as the school continued.

Jim was a deeply religious man, being converted to the Gospel through reading the Book of Mormon and by having his eyesight restored by being administered to by Robert Gardner. He read the Scriptures constantly and was well versed in them. He was methodical in paying his debts and tithing to the Church and owed no man.

He owned a winter home in St. George and Lorena and the children would come to town for school each winter. This left him at the ranch alone for considerable periods of time and would go down only to take supplies needed by the family. He had livestock that needed to be taken care of so he kept busy while he was without his family.

One day as he was returning from St. George in his wagon, he met a man walking on the road before he reached Pine Valley. As recorded in From Heart Throbs of the West, (by Kate B. Carter. 1941 Vol. 3, pg. 351) comes James Rencher's description of an unusual experience:

"My hobby was fine horses and I always drove a fiery spirited team of which I was very proud.  I frieghted a great deal over Utah and Nevada, but I made it a rule never to ask strangers to ride with me -- my horses didn't like them and neither did I.  One day in the early spring, while I was on my way from St. George to the ranch at Grass Valley, a man suddenly appeared beside the road. My horses didn't notice him or seem to be frightened at all, which was unusual, so I stopped and asked the stranger to ride with me, a thing I had never done before.  He readily accepted and climbed into the seat beside me.  We immediately began to chat about the weather, etc.,  and then our conversation drifted to politics, religion, books and people, and no matter what subject came up, I as amazed at the wealth of knowledge the stranger displayed.  He conversed intelligently on everything and he answered a lot of questions for me that I had pondered over a great deal.  As we rode along I got out my lunch and asked the stanger to have a sandwich with me, but he declined, saying he wasn't hungry. Then as we drove through the little town of Pine Valley, no one saw this man sitting beside me although different ones saw me drive through."

"We traveled together several hours and chatted amiably all the while until along about sundown the stranger asked me how far it was to the next town (Pinto) and I told him it was nine miles, and as it was getting late and quite cold, I invited him to come up and spend the night with me.  Again he graciously refused, simply saying he had work to do.  But I insisted that it was far too late for him to make the next town before night and I assured him I would enjoy having a longer visit with him, but he quietly declined, saying "My friend, I have other work to do."

"As he got out of the wagon a flock of quail flew up out of the brush, frieghtening my horses, and my attention was diverted to them for a minute, and as I turned to look for my 'friend' he was nowhere in sight." (This was in an area that is quite open and flat.)

Uncle Jim believed, from the unusual knowledge the stranger displayed and the wealth of information he gave, and also the fact that he refused to stay overnight with him, that he had the privilege of seeing one of the Three Nephites.

In speaking about this incident later, Jim said: “My, what marvelous things that man told me about the Book of Mormon and I believe he was one of the Three Nephites who are still on the earth.” He later inquired of those people in Pine Valley who had seem him go through, if they had seen the stranger with him and to his surprise, not one of them had. This further convinced him that this was one of the Three Nephites. This incident was a vivid memory and an inspirational reward for the courage of his convictions.

He was never a profane man but he did have certain words or phrases peculiar to his use, which seemed to stand him in good stead when in need of explosive expression. “Geminy” was what he used often in his moments of stress.

He was known for his vegetable gardens, especially his cabbage bed that he took such good care of because in the fall of the year, he would depend on the sale of his cabbages for some ready money. When he got his first catalogues in the-spring, he would begin to plan his garden and then all summer he would take such care of it because the produce was needed for his family during the winter months. His children well remembered his cabbage-bed and the care given it.

He was an expert at curing meat and his ‘home cured’ hams and bacon were an honor and a delight to be served. He had the Southern generosity and hospitality that made him many friends, and their home in the summertime was a place where young and old congregated to partake of the warmth of his home. His pasture was often full of horses belonging to visitors as those visitors filled his home and yards. Aunt Rene (as everyone called her) was always by his side entertaining those who came to visit whether they were family or just friends. They seemed to be such a complete couple.

Jim was never too busy to respond to a request of one of his girls when they wanted to be taken to Pine Valley to visit a cousin or a friend. And they didn’t have to ever explain why they wanted to go. He had such patience with his family and their wants and desires. Occasionally, he would take his family to St. George during the summer in a covered wagon, which took two days to do down, and two days to return but, again, he was as patient as he could be and loved to do for his family. His children, also, remember when it was milking time and they would go with him to milk the cows so he could fill their tin cups with warm foamy milk which they loved and remembered long into their lifetimes.

Jim usually had ‘hired’ help at the ranch and they were treated as family members. His children were taught that they were as good as one of his own children and they were to never forget it. Uncle Joe Cunningham (as Jim’s children called him) was one of those who lived at the ranch and worked for Jim as along as they both lived.

It was a highlight in Jim’s life when he would draw up a chair in the parlor and listen to his own and neighbor children sing and tell jokes. Every family had an organ and all the girls could play the popular songs and all the hymns. He use to say that he didn’t have a fine ear for music so if they sang out of tune, it didn’t bother him. He just enjoyed it.

He died 31 July 1920 in Enterprise, Utah and was buried in Pine Valley cemetery by his younger brother Benjamin. At his funeral it was told of him that honesty and integrity characterized his conduct, thoughts, and speech; that he was strictly honest and very loyal to his many friends, as well as family, trustworthy always and a man of his word. In other words, he was a good man.

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An Early Account

His brother-in-law, Mason Levi Snow, gives this account about Jim from his early life.

He (Mason) next worked for James Rencher, a brother-in-law, who had married his sister Mary Lorena on 28 February 1878. Mason later told of the first case he had seen of healing by faith. This is his account of that experience:

It must have been in the fall of 1881 or 1882, for I was a kid of about 19 or 20 years. Jim and I were careless, disbelieving don’t-give-a-hang sort of fellows, with few worries and but very little faith. Jim’s eyes began to get sore one day, and by night they were paining him terribly. The next morning they were worse, and that day the pain increased and the soreness became so bad that he had to remain in a dark room. And all that night and through the third day the pain continued to increase until it was all over his head. During the third night, after I had gone up to bed, Lorena came and told me that Jim was out of his head and suffering terribly. When I had dressed and gone downstairs she said that she wanted me to stay with Jim while she went for Brother Robert Gardner to administer to her husband. I told her all right that I would stay, but I had no faith in this administering business. I had seen it done time and time again with no visible results. But she went for the man just the same, and I remained, feeling that it would do Jim just as much good to throw a bucket of cold water on him as to administer to him. When she returned with Brother Gardner, he immediately administered to Jim. Then I said that I would go outdoors and get some wood while he was there to stay with her and the sick man. When I returned to the room, Jim was sitting up talking with Gardner. He was perfectly rational and he said the pain had all gone. That is the most miraculous case of healing I have ever seen. And it was probably a real turning point in both my life and Jim’s. It gave us faith in the place of disbelief.

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A Poem of Rememberance

In 1927, Irma Nelson Thomas (granddaughter) wrote the following poem:

Seven long years have passed away
Since dear old "Pa" was here,
Many days both sad and gay
Days of laughter and tears.

But thru these all we can''t forget
The times that used to be
When he jogged along in his old white top
His children all to see.

He didn't mind the weather much
Whatever it might be.
he drove along behind Jack and Perl
All the way from Grass Valley.

We loved to go and meet him -
Sometimes we'd walk for miles,
Or wait for him beside the road
And greet him with our smiles.

And tho' he roade for hours alone -
"Ma" could not always come -
He'd have a right big merry load
When he drove into town.

And then I love to think of him
In beautiful Grass Valley.
Every hour we ever spent there
Was filled with ecstasy.

A quiet farmer's life he led
With his garden and his kine
And when our cups he'd fill with foam
To our young hears 'twas wine!

The cows he'd bring from the pasture
And sometimes he'd let us go,
And we'd trail behind them gaily
Calling, "So Boss, So Boss, So!"

And when we'd reach the corral gate
They'd enter one by one,
And we'd all ren to get our cups
To be filled with the warm new foam.

"Pa" didn't care how many heads were
Looking thru the bars,
He didn't care how many times
The cups came back for more!

With a quiet little chuckle
He'd fill them one by one
And continue with this process
'Till the milking was all done.

And I just know how tickled
He was to see us run
In ecstasy to the milk house
Where the separating was done.

There we'd watch the milk gush out
In a large and snowy stream,
And none of us failed with the question of,
"And is this little one the cream?"

Of course we'd beg to turn it too,
But that was impossible quite
For as Pa would say, each time we'd ask,
"Why you're just a little mite."

And then we'd watch him feed the pigs
That grunted hungrily
And my, oh my, how fat they grew!
We could really almost see!

Then we'd all troop to the kitchen
Where Ma had prepared just right
The ham and the light fluffy biscuits
For she knew all our appetites!

But those glad days are over
And no more his face we'll see
When we drive in a the big front gate
At his home in Grass Valley.

But still we have the memory
Of those happy days of yore,
And memory ne'er forsaking
We'll live them o'er and o'er.

Again we'll see his smiling face
As we drive in at the gate
And Ma will have our supper on
Whene'er we come - tho' late.

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Mary Lorena Snow Rencher
Written by Barbara Truman Price, Oct 2000

Mary Lorena Snow Rencher was born on 3 January 1860 in the old Mud Fort at Lehi, Utah County, Utah, the daughter of William Snow and Jane Maria Shearer Wines Snow.

When she was six years old, she moved by ox-team to Pine Valley, Washington County, Utah to join the rest of her father’s family. It was wonderful for Lorena (or Rene as she was called) to be in Pine Valley because she was now living across the street from her half-sister, Celestia, and their friendship was resumed again since Celestia had moved to Pine Valley sometime before. The love and devotion lasted a full lifetime for these two women.

There was little chance for much schooling and Rene went but a short while but she was not an uneducated woman. She was very quick to learn and had a marvelous memory. While she was in school, here writing and spelling were hard to equal. She never misspelled a word and could write verses for every occasion. Being gifted in the line of elocution, she was always invited to read and entertain in many social functions. Along with her material gifts, she always brought good cheer to everyone because she had such a wonderful personality.

As a young girl, she helped in the housework and in her spare time she spent considerable time knitting and one of her dearest hobbies was quilting. She made many beautiful quilts during her lifetime and some of the are shown with pride by her posterity. She has two quilts on display at the DUP Historical Museum in St. George, Utah. One of them is a green and white quilt that she quilted when she was just 16 years old and is still in beautiful condition.

She met a wonderful young man, James Grandison Rencher, from Grass Valley which is about 6 miles north of Pine Valley. They courted for a time and on the 28th day of February 1878, President Wilford Woodruff married them in the St. George LDS Temple. What a happy couple they were as they began their married life at the Rencher Ranch in Grass Valley with his folks. To this couple were born the following children, Rosa Lorena, Lilly Maud, Dora Belle, James Grandison, Jr. (died in infancy), Mason Snow, Annie Charlotte, and twins Benjamin and LeGrande (both dying in infancy).

When Jim’s family left to return to Texas, Jim became caretaker and later owner of the Ranch. He, also, provided a home in St. George for his family to live in during the winter as the older children were in school Rene would take the children to St. George and care for them until spring when they would all go back to the ranch for the summer and how wonderful it was to be at the ranch, again.

After Rene was married and during their residence in St. George, she became very much interested in the Relief Society Organization as well as other Church activities which they didn’t have while they were at the ranch. She also served as County Captain of the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers for some time as their 3rd Captain. She had many traits of her father, William Snow. In the Relief Society she visited the widows and destitute giving liberally of her means to the poor. Many who were hungry were fed from her hand. She never let her left hand know what her right one was doing and so the children would often see our own clothes on other children less fortunate than they were. They never questioned her generosity and wisdom, and in this she and Jim shared equal honors and it can very well be said that they both were liberal to a fault in this regard.

The family lived in moderate circumstances that didn’t provide too many luxuries but the children never felt improvised or deprived. The women made their own soap and Rene became an expert at this often going to a neighbor friend to help them when their soap absolutely refused to mix properly and form soap. This was just one of the many things that was done by the women at that time.

Rene was an excellent cook and her sour cream biscuits and doughnuts were thought to be the best. Her dinner rolls were sought after and they never did last very long after they came out of the oven. When someone once asked her how she made a custard pie and kept the crust on the bottom and the custard on top, she said, “I don’t know for I never had that happen.”

When the family was at the ranch (and when they were in St. George, too) they ate lots of cabbage, turnips, carrots, as well as potatoes, beans, bacon and ham. The vegetables came out of their garden and Jim who was an expert on doing it cured the meat. Because they ate so many vegetables, they didn’t seem to be sick very often. It was a family tradition to eat a lot of baked beans. In fact, it was a custom handed down from the past, or from ancestors to posterity, without written memorials, and as a matter of habit or custom, the family always had ‘baked beans’ and salt-rising bread for their Sunder Dinner!

When the children were old enough that they needed more education than was offered locally, Rene took the children to Provo for them to attend Brigham Young University. Jim rented a house for them to live in and she would take in boarders to help take care of the expenses. She did this for several years.

When her daughter Annie Charlotte (Anne) lost her husband, in 1926, and had three small boys to care for, Rene went to her rescue and would stay with them during the winter and then take the boys with her back to the ranch during the summer. Her Jim died 31 July 1920 so it was good for Rene to have someone to care for to help her to bear her loss. Another heartbreak came when Anne’s baby (Stanford) died at the age of 2 while at the ranch in September 1920. Another loss came to her when Anne’s oldest son, Blaine died when he was just 14 years old in October 1928. Because she had taken care of these grandchildren, their loss was particularly painful for her.

Cleanliness was very important to Rene and every Saturday, without fail, the house was cleaned from top to bottom. She taught her girls how to clean as they grew up on the ranch. The knives and forks were scoured as was the brass milk buckets. The buckets were scoured with vinegar and salt until they were beautifully bright and shiny. Lamps were cleaned, trimmed and filled and the bare kitchen floor scrubbed until you could almost see yourself in it. She never did get over having everything clean and in its place.

After the day’s work was done, the family would draw their chairs near the lamp light where Jim would read from the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants and Rene would do her mending. The children would then talk and life was full of fun at the Rencher home.

Rene, along with her husband Jim, lived a life of devotion and were ever loyal to each other and to the Church. They left a priceless heritage to their posterity, as they were an example of courage, loyalty and industry.

Mary Lorena died in St. George, Utah 25 April, 1937 and is buried in the Pine Valley cemetery beside her beloved husband. “Like all of us, she beheld the dawn; toiled at high noon and watched the shades of evening deepen on the hills of that secluded valley that was her childhood home.”

Her family loved her and to all of her grandchildren she was known as “Ma”, showing a great love and respect to a woman who had few equals.

Here is a poem written by her daughter Maud:

Sleep dearest Mother, so still and calm.
Peace on your soft white brow.
Grief will not harm you or cause you pain
For you are with your loved one now.

Rest dear Mother, your tired hands
That soothes our every care
Are folded now on your quit breast
As if in silent prayer.

Dear willing hands so cold and still
Helped us all our days.
Dear tender smile that cheered us
Through all our childish ways.

Gone from this world of tears and woe
Gone to a home of rest.
Freed from a home of pain and toil
At home, with the loved and blest.

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