PREFACE

      Dry farming, the Canadian, patronymics, buggies, rheumatic fever, Pearl Harbor, and sleigh-riding are phrases that have recently become a part of my life.  Studying the lives of my ancestors has brought new awareness to my identity.  This paper focuses on the family of Ivan Jacob Rasmussen and Martha Elmina Wilde, my paternal great-grandparents.  I was just six years old when Ivan died in 1982, and though I spent some time with him, my memories have mostly faded.  The purpose of this research is to preserve the memories of this family for generations to come.

      The organization of this book is mainly chronological.  It begins with the story of how the Rasmussen family came to America. Hans Christiansen, born in Nidløse, Holbæk, Denmark in 1856, immigrated with his parents to Utah in 1870.  Shortly thereafter, he married, and moved to the pioneering district of Mink Creek, Idaho.  Ivan was born here in 1890, and his childhood is discussed.  His future wife, Martha Elmina Wilde, is then discussed - her heritage and childhood.  They were raised in Mink Creek, and married in 1911.

      The heart of the book lies in their family-rearing years.  They had seven children born in Idaho. They lived in Mink Creek until 1926, when they moved to Glencoe, four miles southwest.  Here they made their home until 1944 when they moved to the big city of Preston, the largest town in Franklin County.  In 1946 Elmina passed away, and Ivan lived the rest of his life here.