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Show j i ft ..'"'. i 1 ' ' . - " i :f i t Nn ' ...... ' ' ' ' t f ! 1 s M i X i i V i . i I - 1 U; CHARLES DECKER DAVIS, who will be 100 years old May 3, celebrates his birthday and is honored at an open house. Couple celebrates 100th birthday and 77 years Probably the oldest living couple in the west and the longest married couple, Charles Decker Davis, who will be 100 years old May 3, and Orletta Decker Davis, who will be 95 years old on Aug. 30. will celebrate their 77th wedding anniversary an-niversary June 27. An open house in honor of Charles' 100th birthday was held Saturday, April 13 at the Wanship Ward Cultural in Wan-ship. Wan-ship. Utah. The couple was married in a small but very family oriented home wedding in Vernal June 27 1906. The marriage was later solemnized in the Salt Lake Temple. Orletta was the daughter of Jeremiah Hatch and Henrietta Clark. Her father was one of Brigham Young's right hand-, ed men and helped many pioneers come across the plains. He was the first settler of Vernal. He was the first bishop and was stake president at the time of his death. Orletta was from a polygamist family. fami-ly. She had 29 brothers and sisters. She was her father's 24th child. Only nine were her full brothers and sisters. She still has one sister living in Salt Lake City. Ci-ty. Odile Price. 101 years old. They are the only two living children of Jeremiah Hatch. Charles is the great grandson of Brigham Young. He is the only living great grandchild of Brigham and Mir-riara Mir-riara Works. She was Brigham Young's first wife. His grandmother was Brigham's second daughter, Vilate. His mother, Mirriam, was the second daughter of Vilate and Charles Decker. His father George Benton Davis was a bookkeeper for the mining company in Park City. Charles' mother died when he was four years old. His father was unable to care for the children and put them in an orphanage. or-phanage. Someone had given the orphanage or-phanage some bad meat and they fed it to the children. Many died from this. At this time the orphanage went against his father's wishes and let the Youngs adopt him. He was legally adopted by Brigham's brother, John. He went by the name of Charley Young until his marriage mar-riage when he took his father's name. They had an interesting life but not an easy one. They raised ten children of their own and a brother and sister of Orletta's. Eight of their own children are still living. , Charles said Orletta was a pretty and conceited girl but this did not deter him when he decided to claim her for his wife. He states that "it was not his money nor his looks but his winning ways that won her.' They said every time they go to the doctor he is amazed at how well they take care of themselves and at what they eat. For breakfast they always have a cooked cereal, a fruit, eggs and bacon or ham, toast or biscuits. Sometimes potatoes and milk or juice they add to their meal. They have a very large dinner din-ner consisting of several meats, three or four vegetables and always pickles and jellies, a dessert and a drink. Their evening even-ing meal consists of bread and milk. The Davis' are still very active. They aren't able to attend church any more because of the hard benches and the length of the meetings, but they still attend at-tend family functions. Charles takes care of their big lawn and flower beds. Their place is a show place of Wanship. They have 8 living children, 42 grandchildren. 118 great grandchildren and 45 or more great great grandchildren. Orletta is known for being a good cook and famous for her Sunday dinners where everyone was welcome. She passed pass-ed on her talents to her girls. Education was a top priority for their family. Her daughters all attended business schools and their sons are college col-lege graduates. With a visit to their home, they can entertain you with many tales of the past, and they also keep up with the present. They haven't missed a voting since they were old enough to register. They have many missionaries, college graduates, beauty queens, and successful careers among their descendants. Charles attended the dedication of the Salt Lake City Temple and also the dedication of the Jordan River Temple. He dabbled a little in politics, and served serv-ed as Summit County Assessor for several years. Charles and Orletta's children are Marie, Alice, Kate, Genevieve, Gwendolyn, Gwen-dolyn, Jess, Bill and Guy. Their deceased deceas-ed children are Rya, Lueen, Sisson and Fontella. |
