Third Child of Francis and Priscilla Ryset

Francis Edward (Dick) Ryset, on the right, was the oldest of the two sons. He was born 24 September 1893 and died 11 October 1963.

Portrait of the two Ryset sons. Francis Edward (Dick) on the right.

FRANCIS EDWARD RYSET

By Ellen Ryset Butler

June, 1980

Francis Edward Ryset, Frankie, Little Frank or Dick, as Grandpa nick named him was born 24th September in 1893 to Francis Daniel Ryset and Priscilla Morgan, He was born on the homestead dad filed on, on the cemetery road in Shelton. He was the third child and the first son.

Dick was 12 years older than I and I really looked up to him as a model big brother, following him around and begging to go with him. He was fun and never seemed to mind me being right behind him. I remember when the family had the measles, Mother almost left us at that time and Dick was away working on the Big Feeder, a big dam in Snake River where all the canals come out for the Snake River Valley. He came home and could not come into the house so he was talking to Mother through the window. I stole out of bed and ran outside and was broken hearted because he would not hold me.

As he became a young man and was drafted during the world war he was sent to Camp Pendleton, Washington, but was only there a short time before he was sent home because of a goiter in his throat. The family was happy but he really felt bad because he could not serve his country.

He filed on land in Tex Creek, Violet filed and so did Clarence. The Tex Creek years were bad years but also happy ones for him. Here he met his school teacher sweetheart. The boys were true cowboys and wore their chaps and had the cattle to care for, fences to fix, and the school teachers were spending summer at the Holden ranch. Cowboys and school marms had many happy trips riding horses and fishing in those mountains. There was several matches made during this time. I am afraid there weren't many fences fixed that summer. Mary and Frank were married 24 Sept 1923 and the next February Father died.

The boys still farmed together and tried to make enough money to get out of debt. I am sure that was not very easy for Mary. She was a good wife and helped Dick in every way. Two boys were born and they lived in the Albert Howard House.

I'll always love Mary for the things she did for me. She made me love good books and have better values in my life.

I always helped the boys in the fields and when they had land on Martin's Flat I went with them to help. I plowed with five head of horses and two way plow. Dick was so patient with me helping me harness the horses and when they would get mixed up or anything was wrong he was always right there to help. I remember we were going around about a mile square and Dick was ahead of me and my lead horse Queen reared and would not move when just ahead of me in the furrow was a big rattle snake. I just waited until Dick could come back and kill it.. He was never cross, always patient about those things.

When we would quit and come to the house Mary would have dinner started and she would come out and help Dick with the horses and I would go in and put the meal on the table and play with the boys while she and Frank had time together. Dick loved horses and always had good horses. He was always trading horses and would sometimes come out on the short end! He had a lot of cows and livestock, thorobred pigs. He and Junior raised beautiful purebred pigs.

Allen and I visited Venden at his home in Rupert and in speaking of his Dad he says, "How I miss him. We were two of a kind. We would sit under a tree in the shade and then he would say,'Time to get to work before someone catches us loafing.'" He bought a farm down on the country road between Bonneville and Jefferson County in Milo. He and Mary made a beautiful home there. They lived there until they bought him a home in Idaho Falls after he retired. Venden then ran the ranch.

He was a charter member of the Farm Bureau, a High Priest in the L.D.S. Church. He worked in the Sunday School for many years and with the Aaronic Priesthood. He helped haul the Rock for the Shelton Chapel from the quarry (Miskin) with Francis Bertenshaw. Mary was Primary Historian and had a beautiful book for the Shelton Ward. She worked with the boys in the Primary for many years and was the 1st woman in the Church to receive the special award for leaders working with the boys.

I'm sure when Frank comes back from his Mission he will write a more complete history for his parents.

FRANCIS EDWARD RYSET

Written by his son Francis E. Ryset Jr.

As we used to drive up past Pin Brown's toward the Shelton Cemetery, Dad used to point off to the left just before we came to the railroad track and say, "There I was born 24 Sept. 1893." The great canal had not been dug, the railroad was not in and no one had given the land for the cemetery yet. John T. Moore lived across the street, if there was a street, and Willard Moore had his place on up on the edge of the hill. The house on the 80 across from Egans wasn't built, but they were farming the upper end of the land. They farmed the land "closest to the head ditch first," he always said.

He was baptized in 1901, ordained a Deacon, teacher and Priest as his youth passed. He often said "I was made an elder at 18 and went to herding cattle." He, Violet, Nora, Clare and Grandpa all homesteaded on Tex Creek.

He was drafted and went to Fort Lewis in Washington, but never stayed 30 days. He was rejected by the army for an enlarged goiter and sent home. He always thought it was the Tex Creek Cattle Company that got him out but I have his army records from Washington, D. C. I also have the records for the other events I have listed.

He and C. J. Egan courted the two Indiana school teachers up on Tex Creek, Willow Creek and up thru Blacks (Canyon) on Bear Creek on horses. He married Mary Louise Blake at the Ryset home in Shelton in 1923, and for the next 17 years he lived close to the family home, living on rented farms, keeping the family together. He was never over an hour away from them, to feed the large string of horses, feed and milk the cows, irrigate, plant and harvest the place. When Clare was unable to work he was there to pitch in. He worked for other farmers, worked his team on W.P.A. Eldon Ricks told how Dad got the jobs on W. P. A. for his teams, then let other men in the area work them because you didn't work unless you had a team of horses. We ate canned beef in tins with no markings on them and only saw him and the horses once, sometimes twice a month.

He had been in the Sunday School Presidency when I was born in 1925 and when Venden was born in 1927. When we lived on the dry farm in 1933-35 he was in the Sunday School as Bill Moore's counseler. He gave Mary Louise a name and a blessing just before she died in 1935. We four had been to the temple in 1934 in Logan, but he didn't get to baptize Mom the year before that.

He ordained Venden and I to the Aronic Priesthood office but never ordained me an Elder in 1943. He was teaching the Elders Quorum in 1942 when I graduated from high school and went to Ricks. He would use the religion lessons I brought home (un-opened) from Ricks College to teach the Elders on Sunday.

In 1940 he bought the only piece of land he ever owned, the 80 acres in Milo. It was in Milo Ward but he wouldn't change his ward for Milo from Shelton.

While in Milo he became very active in the community. He was in the Farm Bureau and held positions all thru the county organizations, He was a leader in the Duroc Pig Breeders Association for two counties, and spent countless hours with the FFA advisory committee at Ucon, while we boys were there in night meetings. I never found out until late in the 50's how much influence he had in the leadership of the Upper Snake River Valley Dairyman's Association but I don't think he ever held an office there.

It was during 45-46 that the Bishop of Milo came and said, "We need you," so he transferred to Milo Ward and there he did one of his best works with the Adult Aronic Priesthood in the Milo Ward and Rigby Stake. The father of our Bishop in Lewiston, Idaho was one of his boys, as also the new Stake President of the Ucon Stake (as of 29 June 1980). Now there are two wards in Milo and Shelton has been combined in with Clark building.

In 1958 he retired, under protest, his oldest son insisted. He didn't want it that way and he would get up and drive from Idaho Falls to Milo and be there in time to help Venden milk. He spent one or two years as custodian of the Shelton-Ririe Cemetery and one summer he was foreman of the labor crew for Burgraff on a job in Yellowstone Park.

He fished the Willow creek, Tex Creek, the Snake River as well as Birch Creek, the Lemhi and Salmon Rivers. He took my family and I to Gibbonsville where he and Clare had spent 2 years mining before WW I for gold. The gold they got was not from the ground.

I don't know when he was ordained a High Priest, but Pin Brown said of him. "He was ordained a High Priest because of the great work he had already done not as a part of a calling he was to do in the future." Most all of us are ordained in the last category.

When Lorna and I were to be married in July of 1946, He always said I made him sell a cow so he could catch up on his tithing so he could get a recommend. After that he always had a recommend and together he and mom spent a lot of hours in the Idaho Falls temple.

There are three sayings I have used in talks, teaching and in fun that he gave to me and I hold special:

"Like Popeye, I am what I am and that's just what I am"

"There was never a cowboy who hasn't been throwed, nor never a horse that hasn't been rode."

"When branding cattle, or anytime in life, keep more than one iron hot."

Loren Marler and I were together one day during the 13 days he died. It was about day 11 or 12, he couldn't speak tho he knew what he was doing. I stood on his right holding his arm. He swung the arm and knocked the cigarettes from my shirt. I laughed and put them back, With grim determination he swung again and knocked them out on to the floor-----I left them there.

Gravestone for Francis Edward and Mary Ryset in the Shelton, Idaho Cemetery.