(Information for this history was contributed by Royal Clifton Young and Veola Young Grover,
children of Elizabeth Louisa Wilcock Young)

Elizabeth Louisa Wilcock, the eldest daughter and second child of Christopher Wilcock and Mary Ellen Mitchell, was born on March 21, 1879, at Parowan, Iron County, Utah. Her mother was a native of Parowan and her father was an immigrant from Lancashire, England. Elizabeth had six brothers and three sisters. In order of birth, they are as follows: Christopher E., born at Parowan on May 13, 1877; William Clarence, born at Parowan on November 5, 1880; Mary Madora, born at Huntington on June 23, 1883; John Ralph, born at Huntington on October 5, 1886; Thomas Melvin, born at Huntington on September 4, 1888; Mabel, born at Huntington on July 30, 1890; Annie Mae, born at Huntington on March 2, 1892; Edward Angus, born at Huntington on August 9, 1894; and Don Alvin, born at Huntington on September 2, 1899. John Ralph, Thomas Melvin, and Don Alvin all died in childhood or infancy. The other children all lived to marry and raise families of their own.

On July 3, 1879, Elizabeth was taken to the Mormon church in Parowan where she was given her name and a blessing. Though named Elizabeth, she was probably more often know as Lizzie throughout her life. She spent only about the first two years of her life in Parowan because her father purchased some farmland near the town of Huntington, in Emery County, and the family moved there when Elizabeth was too young to remember the time. Thus, all of the memories of her childhood and her teenage years were of Huntington. She was an extremely pretty girl with a slim figure and fine features, inherited from both her handsome father and lovely mother. She had hazel eyes and brown hair and she was always clean, neat, and attractively dressed.

Elizabeth's family lived in extreme poverty for the first few years of her life, but after moving to Huntington, her father became a good farmer and manager, and life was considerably more endurable and enjoyable. Elizabeth had to work hard in the home and on the farm and, as a result, she became a very self-reliant person. Even as a child, she had experiences that showed her strong character. Once, when she was alone in the little cabin home with the first two children of the family, a strange man appeared at the door. She immediately grabbed a rifle and was able to frighten him away. On May 5, 1887, Elizabeth was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormon) and, in 1895, her father left for England to serve a mission for that church. At that time, it was necessary for Elizabeth to shoulder heavy responsibility, being her mother's primary assistant in caring for the home and helping on the farm. She was an able housekeeper and she remained so for all of her life. She received all of her schooling in Huntington, probably only completing the lower grades of school.

While Elizabeth was still in her mid-teens, she met a young man by the name of John Royal Young, a native of Glendale, Kane County, who had been living with his brother in Huntington for a number of years. He seemed to possess all of the qualities that Elizabeth admired in a young man and, at the age of seventeen, she accepted his proposal of marriage. They were married at Huntington on September 15, 1896, and Lizzie began her life as a farmer's wife - an occupation for which she was already ably suited.

The first years of Elizabeth's married life were difficult ones. It was necessary for Roy to go away from home a great deal to work and herd sheep and it was while he was away that her first child was born. Guila was born at Huntington on January 9, 1898. She was a beautiful child and her parents were so proud of her. Three other children were born to the family at Huntington. Royal Clifton was born April 9, 1900; Maude on March 25, 1902; and Dee Christopher on March 15, 1904. After Dee Christopher was born, Elizabeth and Roy began thinking seriously of going to the temple and they were married and sealed in the Salt Lake Temple on June 7, 1906, having all of the children sealed to them at that time.

When the family farm turned swampy, Elizabeth and Roy realized that they must make some kind of change in their lives. Roy had been talking to a man who had described the Idaho country in glowing terms and some of Elizabeth's brothers who had lived and engaged in freighting operations in Eastern Idaho encouraged them to take up some farming or grazing land there, so their minds were finally made up to move northward. The baby was only two weeks old and Elizabeth was not strong, but she never hesitated or complained as she began packing for the trip. When her parents decided to make the journey with them, she was delighted, and when they were ready to go, two other young men, Frank Guyman and Bert McKee, decided to go along and find jobs there. So, they had plenty of company. They made the four-day trip to Provo by wagon and then loaded their belongings onto the train for the rest of the journey.

The family went first to Ashton and St. Anthony, but the weather and farming conditions seemed better further south. The family finally settled near the little town of Goshen where Roy secured some grazing land and a herd of sheep. They lived there for about seven years. Goshen was a nice community with a church, amusement hall and lots of close neighbors, located only seven miles from the town of Shelley. Elizabeth had a Hamiltonian mare and a splendid buggy while she lived there. She belonged to a club called "Larkins" and Clifton remembered going with her many times to meetings and parties, with other ladies from Goshen and Shelley. One of the proudest times in Clifton's life was when he became old enough to mild the two family cows and to harness his mother's horse for her. Roy was away from home a lot of the time and, until Clifton was old enough, Elizabeth had to do the chores and harness her own horse. The family had a good home and a big garden with fruit trees and raspberries. They had plenty of cream and butter and other good food and Elizabeth stocked the basement every year with home-canned fruit, vegetables, jellies, jams, and pickles. Elizabeth was a good cook and loved the time she spent in her kitchen. The children all remembered a special time when their father brought home a whole stalk of bananas to hang in the root cellar.

Five more children were born to the family at Goshen; the twins, Wilford C. and Mildred, on June 13, 1906; Lloyd W. on February 24, 1908; Ferra B. on December 8, 1909; and Veola on September 17, 1913. The twins both died in infancy, Mildred at birth and Wilford on May 5, 1907. After seven years at Goshen, Roy and Elizabeth sold out and bought a farm near Shelley, Bingham County, where they lived many years, until retirement. Elizabeth gave birth to her last child, a son, at Shelley. She was named Wendell K. and he was born on March 23, 1919. In all Elizabeth had ten children.

According to her children, Elizabeth was a true pioneer woman during her lifetime. Veola remembered how she loved to make quilts and would cut and piece the material in the evenings, preparing for the quilting bees to which all the neighbor ladies would be invited. She also cooked for shearing men and put in many hard years on the farm, taking care of her man and her children. She was an extremely thrifty person and always exercised good judgment. Though slow and deliberate in making decisions, she always found it best to stick by them once made. She was a physically active person, though not always healthy, and she once made $1500 cooking for sheepherders in one season, a considerable amount of money for those times. With the money, the family was able to build a two-story home in 1915. Clifton remembered the fun he had driving nails in the new house.

Elizabeth was an easy person to know and she had many friends. She spent a great deal of time with her children and enjoyed her home more than anything else. Her home was her hobby. One of the things that her son Clifton remembered most about his mother was how her hands mixed and baked eight loaves of bread every other day. Elizabeth was always neat, clean, and well dressed and she tried to keep all of her children the same way. She always made it a point to teach them neatness and good manners. She also had a large flower garden and especially loved roses. She worked very hard in her garden.

Although a very proud woman, Elizabeth was quite shy and retiring. She never wanted to put herself forward in any way. And, although a hard-working individual, her health was not the best, particularly during the last twenty years of her life. She had a great love and loyalty to her children and they all remembered the huge dinners she would prepare when the married ones came home for a visit. She loved the visiting around the table when the family was all together.

The time finally came when both Roy and Elizabeth felt that the farm life was more work than they could handle. They decided to sell the farm to their youngest son, Wendell, and, on January 22,1945, they moved to Idaho Falls. Life was easier for them there, but their health did not improve. Elizabeth developed an aneurysm which caused her death on March 3, 1951, just shortly before her seventy-second birthday. She was buried at the cemetery at Shelley. Roy survived her, living eight more years. He died at Rexburg on October 6, 1959, and was buried in Shelly, next to Elizabeth.