Hazle Blackett Lowry Barton 1894-1972

                   

Hazle Blackett was born to Agnes Hannah Edwards and John William Blackett Jr. on November 19th, 1894 in Greenville, Utah.  Agnes was from Greenville, so when she was ready to have Hazle, she went home to have her mother help with the delivery.   Hazle grew up in Springville, Utah.  She was the 1st of 7 children.   Judging from the entries in her autograph book, she was well liked and happy during her high school years.  Hazle's mother passed away in 1910, which left Hazle to help her father care for the younger children.  

 Hazle met Gerald Hansen Lowry at BYU and fell  madly in love with him.  She married Gerald on August 23, 1916.  They moved to Arco, Idaho so Gerald could become a teacher and that is where their son  Gerald Blackett Lowry was born on October 16th, 1917. 

                                  Gerald Hazle and Gerald Jr. Barton
Sometime between 1918 and 1920, stories tell that  Gerald moved his family to West Tintic, Utah  and sometime after they arrived there they were involved with a Mormon fundamentalist group.  The group wanted to live what they called "The United Order" where they shared all things in common.  Gerald returned home from a meeting and said that they were going to share everything even their wives.  He apparently had a woman with him that he said was his new wife, given to him by the "Elders"  ,and that Hazle was to be someone elses's wife.  It was at this time, broken hearted,  that she left the group even though she was pregnant with her 2nd child and had to carry Gerald who was only 2 years old.  She walked 50 miles in a snowstorm to her father's home in Springville, Utah.  Hazle gave birth to Agnyssa Lowry in Springville on July 15th, 1920 but the baby only lived 2 days.  Stories tell that Hazle's 50 mile walk had to do with Agnyssa's death.   At this time, Hazle's father John W. Blackett Jr. helped her file for divorce from Gerald. 

Hazle married Jesse Horton Barton on June 28th, 1923 in St George, Utah.   Jesse was a widow and had 3 children, Jessie, Mart and Lena with Margaret Elizabeth Barton who died in 1916.    Jesse and Hazle were blessed with two children, Keith and Norma Nell Barton.  In the book of Beaver County history "Monument to Courage", it lists Jesse as the postmaster on October 19th, 1920 and then Hazle as the postmaster on February 19th, 1923.  Hazle also ran a small store from her home.   Jesse died from Nephritis on June 20th, 1932 and was buried in the Greenville Cemetary.  Hazle was an accomplished pianist and had a very pretty voice.  Hazle's son Gerald said they used to spend their evenings with Hazle playing the piano and Gerald on the violin and everyone singing.

When Gerald  was 16 he entered BYU and his mother moved the family to a small upstairs apartment in Provo while school was in session and they returned to Greenville during the summers.  At this time, Hazle was a single parent and trying to support her son going to BYU and take care of the other children.  She was struggling with what little she made at her store in Greenville and what she made at the Ice Cream shop she ran in Springville.  There were concerts in the park and after the concert, business was good but it was still a struggle to provide for her family.

Hazle married Stephen Fletcher Barton on May 10th, 1944 in Greenville, Utah.   She cooked on an old wood fired stove in the Beaver home until around 1962 when she finally got electric appliances and a hot water heater.  She was a happy person and lifted all those around her.  Hazle died on January 7th, 1972 and was buried next to her 2nd husband, Jesse Barton in the Greenville Cemetary.  On November 28, 1975, Fletcher died.  He was buried next to his 1st wife Lelia in the Mountain View Cemetary in Beaver, Utah.

              Blackett Children: Front row Blaine, Wilda and Bill   Back row: Ferrell, Dona, Dora and Hazle

(I could not find any formal personal History for Hazle Blackett. The information below is gathered from www.ancestry.com, www.familysearch.org and from stories of Hazle's life from Thelma Hansen Twitchell Goodwin and from Hazle's grandson W.Blaine Barton. It is also noted that Hazle did not like her name spelled "Hazel" although some records show it spelled that way. Also, stories tell of Gerald going to school to become a teacher, but all the Census records found listed him as a Laborer/Dry Farmer.  Stories state they moved to West Tintic and census records show them living in Mammoth, Utah January 27th, 1920.  Hazle did not like to speak of her first marriage.  She was deeply hurt by the events after their move.  Hazle continued to receive periodic letters from Gerald H Lowry most of her life and it is reported that he died on January 14th, 1966 in Riverside, California. The little ice cream shop that she ran in Springville was still in business until 2010 and was demolished to make room for the new Springville Library.)