The Hadwen Family of Lancashire

George Alfred was a gentle giant with a big, tender heart. He cried when he had to kill the baby lambs from one of his sheep herds in order to keep them from starving when the mother sheep could not feed them after the prairie fire burned their teats.

GEORGE ALFRED HACKING George Alfred Hacking was born at Cedar Fort, Utah, April 5th, 1876. He was the son of John Sampson Hacking and Jane Clark, the tenth child of a family of 14 children. He had large brown eyes and black curly hair, a robust, healthy, handsome child. Being the tenth child, he was always teased as being the tithing for the family, and for this reason he didn't like the bishop. However, he was always a favorite of his mother. He well remembers when his mother first took off his dresses and put him in pants to make a real boy of him. He also recalls his first trip to Salt Lake City in a Democrat with his father. It was a real thrill.His older brothers and sisters taught him to read and write before he started school so that when he entered school, the teacher wanted to put him into grade two, but he wouldn't go. His first teacher was Attena Rodgers Bennett, who was still alive and residing in Lethbridge in 1953. George went to see her frequently.Reminiscing with father over his boyhood days, he recalls many of the highlights such as playing in the Old Fort, playing ball, using his father's 22 rifle to go shooting rabbits, getting his first rifle when 12 years of age, costing $2.75, and going hunting and killing his first deer. What a thrill for a youngster. He well remembers when the big barn was being built and his brother Henry fell and was knocked unconscious and they thought he was dead. About the same time, George gave his mother an awful fright when he walked the inch wide ridge pole.George earned his first money when he was 12 years of age by helping his brother, John, during lambing and received a $20 gold piece. He took the money home and gave it to his mother. After that, John always hired George to help him during lambing and haying.George was baptized at Vernal, Utah on September 25, 1884 by Eli Bennett and was confirmed September 28, 1884 by S. A. Wilcox. The baptism took place at the Wilcox place. He was now a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Soon after this time, George received his patriarchal blessing from Patriarch Brimhall, although he thought George was too young at the time to understand. Years later at Hillspring, Alberta, he received another blessing from Patriarch Fisher.When 14 years of age, George recalls being very sick and couldn't keep anything on his stomach. When 15 years of age, he first went into business for himself and purchased 500 head of old ewes from his brother, John, with the money he had saved. For many years he carried a six shooter as a protection against the cattle men. The first year, George didn't have such good luck with his sheep. The next year, he, together with his brothers Joseph and Henry, borrowed $5,000 from Bill Beardshaw and bought a herd of sheep at $300 per head. They really had tough luck as the next year; sheep were only worth 75 cents. Henry went to work at a mining camp, hauling ore, while George tended the sheep. After four years of hard work, the boys had paid for the sheep, had a herd built up of 2500 sheep and each had $300 in the bank. The brothers now broke up partnership.George wanted to continue his schooling, so in 1898, he rented his sheep of 1250 head and went to school. He attended the Vernal Academy for one year taking business. The next year, he went to Brigham Young University at Provo, Utah also taking business. He had enough money for his board and clothes, but no spending money, and says he carried the same dime in his pocket all winter. That Spring, he met his future wife, Frances Harriet Briggs of Lehi, Utah. After leaving school, George worked at Cedar Fort, buying hay and cattle and selling them to mining camps, thus saving $700 with which to get married. Prior to this time, he had done considerable traveling for a young man, having made three trips East to sell sheep for his brother John. He had been to Kansas City and St. Joseph, Missouri as well as Omaha, Nebraska.

When 24 years of age, George Hacking married Frances Briggs, June 20, at the Briggs home in Lehi, Utah. The ceremony was performed by Elder John Evans of the Stake Presidency. Frances Harriet Briggs Frances Harriet Briggs was born at Lehi, Utah on July 10, 1878, daughter of Emma and Samuel Briggs. There were 12 children in the family. She was the fifth daughter. Her parents were good, honest, industrious people. They were also good Latter-Day Saints. As there were five girls before any boys, the girls were needed to help in the fields. Many times, Frances tells of going to Salt Lake City in a buggy with her mother to peddle fruit and vegetables. She resented these trips to Salt Lake, where they sold their produce from house to house. They would sleep in the Tithing House on the hay and would have bread and cheese to eat. Also, as a young girl, she recalls she and her sister, Mamie, helping during the haying season, weeding the garden, packing water, drying fruit, churning butter, and sewing carpet warp. In fact, they had to sew so much carpet warp before they could play. Frances had her schooling through grade eight at Lehi, Utah. She next went to Mrs. Joe Hamer, for eight months, to learn dress making. After she was married and came to Canada, she took a full Kiester Course in sewing from Miss Cotchner and won first prize at the Fair on a dress. She was an outstanding cook and seamstress. Her daughters were among the best dressed girls in Magrath, Canada. She drove a car until she was nearly 80 years of age. For 50 years, she served as a Relief Society teacher. She also served as a counselor in this organization to Olive Bradshaw at Mountain View. While in Magrath, she and George were active in the community, serving on committees for the Old Folks parties and the 17th of March celebrations. Her big concern, while raising her family, was to give them every opportunity she could. For several years, the two oldest children, Edith and Reed, were taken to Lethbridge to take lessons - Edith on the flute and Reed on the violin. Reed later went to Raymond for lessons. For five years Lexie, Wayne, Beth and Dorothy took piano lessons from A. T. Hensen, who came to their home. Lexie also took lessons on the mandolin. Married Life The day following their wedding on June 20, 1898, the newlyweds drove to Provo, Utah in their new buggy to have their picture taken. A few days later, they left on a honeymoon to Vernal, Utah and took Lizzie Briggs, sister to the bride, with them. They made the trip in a new wagon George had bought and slept three in a bed under the stars. It took five days to make the trip of 200 miles. As they planned to make their future home in Vernal, they purchased 40 acres of land, bought some furniture in an auction sale at an army post, and then returned to Lehi.In October, they went to the Salt Lake Temple to be sealed, and while there, purchased more furniture at Dinwoodie Furniture Store - the clerk being the late E. J. Wood. They then returned to Vernal to make their first home.

Their first home was made of logs, with a lean-to for a kitchen. It was located about five miles from Vernal. That first winter, George helped his brother John with the sheep, cleared brush off his land, built fences and a dam for irrigating. One fine Sunday morning the next April, George and Frances left their house after breakfast to go see the dam. They hadn't been gone long when Will Johnson and his boy came running to tell them that their house was on fire. They were too late to save anything but their bikes which were on the outside of the house. They got on their bikes and rode to George Merkley's house who was a brother-in-law. The storekeeper, Mr. Collthrope, gave George a suit of clothes. Frances washed wool and made eight quilts and a 25 pound mattress. They lived in a sheep wagon until lambing was over, then Frances went to Lehi. George rented his sheep that fall of 1901 to George Merkley, and then joined his wife at Lehi, feeding cattle that winter. Their first child, a daughter named Edith, was born November 24, at the Briggs home at Lehi. The Hacking family, now of three, went to Cedar Fort, rented a house, bought more furniture and planned to make their home there.At this time, there was considerable talk about going to Canada. Land was cheap and there were many opportunities. The Bradshaw brothers, Dick and John, were especially enthusiastic about the new country, so in February 1901, George went to Canada with ten men from Lehi. They all purchased land in the district N. W. of Magrath which became known as the Lehi Field. George was very impressed with this land and purchased a quarter section. He stayed only two weeks then returned South. In the spring, he went to Cedar Fort. He purchased an engine to run a Separator owned by his father and did custom threshing at Cedar Fort and Camp Floyd. As it had been a dry year, he only threshed 4000 bushels of grain. In the fall of 1901, George brought his threshing outfit to Canada, together with 40 head of cattle. He threshed grain in the Magrath and Raymond districts. He decided to stay in Canada, so he fixed up a granary for living quarters on farm land he had purchased and sent for his wife and daughter. They arrived by train just before Christmas, but Frances was not very impressed. That spring, they built a one room house on the quarter section two miles north of Magrath. They recall a terrible snow storm in May. They put quilts on the horses and cows to save them and brought the chickens in the house. There was 18 inches of snow and it got 40 degrees below zero. They lost all their cattle, but a cow and three calves.In the fall of 1903, the Hacking family moved into Magrath and rented the Harris house. Their first son, Reed, was born there in November of 1903. The next spring, they moved back to the farm, then that fall, they purchased the Taylor house in Magrath. It was a comfortable three roomed house with a porch and it was in a good location. They later built on an additional room. George bought a new threshing machine and farmed and did custom threshing for several years. He continued to buy land until he owned three quarter sections. Another son, Grant, was born in August 1907, but died with pneumonia three months later.In the fall of 1907, a brother to Frances, Azer R. Briggs, who was making his home in the Lehi Field, left for a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to the Eastern States. A month later, George Hacking was called to the same mission. His farewell was one of the largest gatherings ever held in Magrath and they collected over $800. George spent a lonely Christmas in New York City. Frances and her two children went back to Lehi, while George was gone. The farm was rented to George's brother, Henry Hacking, while George was absent. Elder Hacking spent most of his time in Providence, Rhode Island, Pawtucket, Rhode Island, New London, Connecticut and New Haven, Connecticut. His Mission President was Ben R. Rich. As funds were running low and there had been poor crops back home, George had to cut his mission short. He returned and helped to keep Elder Briggs in the field. The first day home, John Heninger offered George a job running an engine at $5 per day, which was good money and a break for the Hacking family.In 1911, the Hacking family moved to the John Bradshaw farm with the idea of purchasing it. Mr. Bradshaw was returning South with his wife who was in poor health. August 1, 1911, a son, Earl, was born at the Taylor house. September 16, 1912, a daughter, Lexie, was born at the Bradshaw farm.In the spring of 1913, Azer Briggs married Emelia Osterloh of Lehi, Utah, in the Salt Lake Temple, and then came to the Lehi Field to make their future home. The Briggs and the Hacking families were always closely associated.January 13, 1914, another son, Wayne, was born at Magrath. The next summer, Aunt Hattie and Grandfather Hacking came to Canada to visit from Cedar Fort. They brought five grandchildren with them. October 1, 1915, a daughter, Beth, was born, the only dark child in the family. While a small girl, she drank Lysol and nearly died.

In the fall of 1916, George Hacking had a bumper crop and threshed over 20,000. He sold his land to J. L. Whitt and bought sheep. He now spent considerable time away from home with the sheep. One year, he spent in Edmonton District, when feed was short in the South. The oldest daughter, Edith, attended Brigham Young University at Provo, Utah for one year. In the fall of 1917, George sold $20,000 worth of wool and built one of the finest homes in Magrath. It was later sold in 1929 to Al Norton, who in turn sold it in 1941 for a community hospital. It is now owned, at time of writing (1959), by Richard Bradshaw.George has always owned a car and purchased the first glassed-in car in Magrath. He always favored the Dodge. He drove a car right to the time of his death at age 79.On December 2, 1919, a daughter, Dorothy, was born in the new home. When just a year old, she suffered internal stomach trouble. Mrs. Eleanor Spencer treated her, avoiding an operation.So George could be at home more, he sold his sheep and went into the hardware business in Magrath with Bert Taylor. He later bought out Mr. Taylor and added groceries to his business, which was known as "Hacking’s Cash and Carry Store".In 1905, George took out his third class steam engineer papers and since that time frequently operated steam engines. He operated an engine for a roller mill at Magrath, threshing machines, engines for the canneries both at Brooks and Magrath, and at the Municipal Hospital at Cardston in his later years. While operating an engine at a saw mill in the Beaver Mines District, he had his clothes ripped off twice, but fully recovered.In 1926, George took over the managing of the Monarch Sheep Ranch which is located fifty miles north of Medicine Hat, and left the store to be managed by his daughter, Edith, who had just returned after filling a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Kansas. The year of 1928 was disastrous for the Hacking family. That spring, fire swept the prairies and ruined the herds at the Ranch. George lost heavily as well as Horne Brothers. That same summer, the store burned down at Magrath. After all debts were paid, there was only about $2,000 left from the insurance. In the spring of 1929, George purchased a ranch from H. P. Heninger at Beazer, which proved very disappointing. In August of the same year, George and Frances traded their home for the Al Norton ranch in the Caldwell District, about 15 miles west of Cardston. The children and Frances all felt terrible in leaving their lovely comfortable home at Magrath. Lexie stayed on the next year to finish grade twelve, then attended Normal School at Calgary. She then taught school a year and a half at Caldwell. Beth and Wayne finished grade twelve in Cardston. Every week, Frances would bring cooking into town to last them the week, driving in the car when possible, but many times she had to come in a sleigh or a buggy. Beth and Wayne both fed a calf one year. Dorothy spent one year with her sister, Edith, in Kaysville, Utah, but was glad to get back home.The years on the Norton Ranch were very unhappy ones. They were depression years, with crops and prices very poor. George sold wheat for 24 cents a bushel on Christmas to get some money. The family lived on the cream money from the cows to mostly buy groceries. Lexie taught school there, but only got $5 in cash a month. It was impossible to pay the installments due on the ranch, so with Mr. Norton always hounding for payments, George decided to let the ranch go. He only got out of the deal his small herd of sheep, some milk cows and the small Norton home at Magrath. The Hacking family then moved to Glenwood, where George took up farm land and bought a modest home there. He rented his sheep. In the fall of 1947, with the children all married and settled, they retired from the farm and move into Cardston, renting an apartment in Smith and Scott's.In June of 1950, this fine old couple celebrated their Golden wedding anniversary. The occasion was marked at the Earl Hacking home, their son, in Cardston. All children and grandchildren were present. Many friends called during the day to congratulate them.

While in Magrath, George Hacking was active in the community. In the early days, he was on the Amusement Committee together with Peter Clark and Dan Fowler, who were in charge of all the amusements for Magrath. He was chosen as the first secretary of the first U. F. A. when organized, with R. W. Bradshaw as President. He was one of the original stock holders of the Magrath Trading Company, and was a secretary and director of the company for many years. He was a member of the first town council in Magrath and also served on term as Mayor, about 1923. He served as a school trustee, at Magrath, Caldwell and Glenwood. In 1944, he was appointed as a delegate for the Southern Alberta Wool Growers and went to the Canadian Convention at Toronto. However, he took seriously ill and spent most of his time in a hospital there. His wife accompanied him on that trip.George has always been friendly toward the Indians and frequently hired them when he lived at Magrath. His Indian name was "Suskinny" meaning "Big Voice".George was a Seventy in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the 121st Quorum in the Alberta, Canada Stake.George Hacking passed away at 7 a.m. Sunday, November 13, 1955. He had been failing the previous year and had spent about two months in the hospital. Funeral services were conducted in the Alberta Stake Hall, with Bishop Robert Low of the second ward conducting. Interment took place in the Magrath, Alberta, Canada Cemetery. All children were home for the services. His age was 79.Frances moved to the Cook apartment following George's death, and now at the age of 80 is still active and keeps up her own home, enjoys shows and T. V. Sketch by Lexie Hacking, daughter. George A. Hacking A few thoughts about my Dad, George A. Hacking: He was a good man who loved everyone and everyone loved him. He seemed happiest when he was on Main Street talking to other people. He had a sheep dog that he loved dearly. He once gave up five acres of city property rather than lose his dog. It would follow his hand signals from a mile away.Dad was handy. He seemed to be able to fix anything. Most of all he loved sheep. He owned them from the time he was a young boy until he died. He knew how to cook mutton better than anyone I know. He was a great hunter. When he lived in Cedar Fort, he would take men from Salt Lake City deer hunting. He had an old single shot rifle and the men from Salt Lake had fancy repeaters. He would wind up filling them up with their deer. I once took his shot gun and a box of shells to go duck hunting. I came back with no ducks and only three shells left. He took them and came back a short time later with five ducks, a rabbit and a coyote. I asked him how he could do that with only three shells. He said that he never shoots at only one duck, but waits until they cross and shoots several with one shell. He once came in from the sheep and there was a turkey shoot going on. The turkey was put in a box with only their heads sticking out. The object was to hit the head from 100 yards away. He asked if he could use his own gun and they let him. After hitting five birds without a miss, they barred him from competing. I was once with him driving from Lethbridge. He suddenly stopped the car and got his 22 from the back seat. A jack rabbit was running through the field. He took one shot and dropped it. He liked to fish, but he only took me with him once that I can remember. He always got up early. I remember once coming home from a date and he was already busy with the chores. Sketch by Wayne Briggs Hacking, son.