Etta May Morgan Skinner Autobiography

By Etta May Morgan Skinner

I was born in Georgia at Fish Creek, Polk County, on May 13, 1874. Fish Creek is not far from Rome, Georgia. The house in which I was born was built of logs and had four large rooms, two downstairs and two upstairs. It was a colonial-style home and its location was very picturesque, situated on a large hill overlooking a small town. There were many beautiful trees and shrubbery, native to that country. I was sent to this home to bless two noble souls whose hearts had been saddened by the loss of their firstborn baby, two years before. I was nurtured most tenderly and caused my parents great concern because of the loss of their first baby, whom they loved so dearly.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Palmyra Publishing
• Release date: Apr 13, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463513781

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Copyright ©2019

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced by any means in any form, photocopied, recorded, electronic or otherwise without the written permission from the publisher.

ISBN: 978-0-9717391-2-3

Palmyra Publishing, LLC, P. O. Box 1194, St. George, Utah

Printed and bound in the United States of America.

The Autobiography of

Etta May Morgan

Skinner

Introduction

Etta May Morgan is our paternal grandmother. Her handwritten autobiography was left with her youngest son and our father, Earnest Morgan Skinner, to preserve her firsthand account of the sacrifices and blessings she and her family experienced by embracing the gospel of Jesus Christ. We have worked diligently to research and clarify her writing to allow her descendants to better appreciate their heritage.

It’s our hope that this publication of her autobiography with clarifications and minor corrections will help the reader gain greater appreciation of who Etta May Morgan was and the many challenges she endured to be in position where she could fall in love with Nephi Aaron Skinner, our grandfather; marry in the temple; and raise a family with him in the beautiful Nounan Valley of the Bear Lake area of southeastern Idaho.

It was no accident that Etta May was sent by her parents to Paris, Idaho, a distance of more than 1,800 miles northwest from where she was born in Fish Creek, Polk County, Georgia. It becomes clear in her writing that the introduction to the restored gospel through the Book of Mormon to her mother and family was by divine intervention. As result of the family’s conversion to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the persecution by their family and friends, Etta May’s parents had to exercise extraordinary faith and trust in their Heavenly Father to send her traveling alone to Zion at the tender age of eleven to live among people whom she had never met. She arrived in Idaho in March 1886.

Included in her autobiography is some of the history of her parents, which has allowed us to acquire a greater appreciation for them and a better sense of who they were. She reminisces about the natural beauty of the South and friends she had to leave behind. She also gives some details about how the family of William Harrison Morgan and Jennie Stockton first came in contact with the Book of Mormon, which led to their conversion and baptism into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1885 in Georgia.

We trust you will gain a better understanding of Grandmother Etta May Morgan through her autobiography and that it will instill a deeper appreciation for the sacrifices that she and her family have made for each of us.

We invite each of you to read and cherish her written account of her personal experiences that attest to her love and testimony of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and the blessings that come through obedience.

Sincerely,

E. Morgan Skinner Jr. and Joel M. Skinner

January 2019

The Autobiography of

Etta May Morgan

Skinner

I was born in Georgia at Fish Creek, Polk County, on May 13, 1874. Fish Creek is not far from Rome, Georgia.

The house in which I was born was built of logs and had four large rooms, two downstairs and two upstairs. It was a colonial- style home and its location was very picturesque, situated on a large hill overlooking a small town. There were many beautiful trees and shrubbery, native to that country.

I was sent to this home to bless two noble souls whose hearts had been saddened by the loss of their firstborn baby, two years before. I was nurtured most tenderly and caused my parents great concern because of the loss of their first baby, whom they loved so dearly.

I grew rapidly and was a great comfort and joy to these dear parents. We lived at the above-described home for three years, and then we moved to one of the places on my grandfather’s plantation. This was a most beautiful place, consisting of 1,600 acres of rich bottom land. It was still the home of many Negro families, who, when freed, were not required to leave their home after slavery was abolished. Grandpa Morgan divided a lot of his land and gave the dear old Negroes enough for a home. He treated the Negroes very kindly and they loved him dearly for it.

I was now five years old and rather