This story of Agnes Reece Webster was written by Olive M. Maxwell, her
niece.
Agnes Webster, daughter of
Francis and Amelia Reece Webster, was born Sept. 6th, 1886. She was blessed
when one month old by Robert W. Heyborn. She had poor health from childhood.
Her stomach was affected by something given her to extract a tooth, and she
always had stomach trouble after that.
She was very diligent in her
school work and always wanted everything to be done perfect. She attended
grade school in the old Branch Normal school in Cedar City. While in her
teens, she took the prize as the most beautiful girl in Cedar City.
Agnes was married to Joseph B.
Bess in the St. George Temple on the 19th of November 1907. They had five
sons; George, John, Willard, Ambrose and Claude. Claude died when a few days
old, and George when he was teenage.
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Standing: James Willard Bess
George Bess, John Williams Bess
In chair: Ambrose Bess |
She spent her summers at the
dairy on Cedar mountain. Her children and friends remember her as a perfect
housekeeper; she always had everything in order. She played the guitar a
little and had many friends.
Her
health was always poor, and as she had her family, it grew worse. She died
about a week after her last baby was born, on the 29th of August 1919. She
was buried in Cedar City, Utah.
Joseph Benjamine Bess was born on October 5, 1884 at Virgin, Utah. His
parents were William Henry and Emma Smith Bess. The family later lived in
Cedar City, where Joseph received his education at the public school and at
the Branch Normal School. In 1907, Joseph married Agnes Reece Webster.
Agnes died after the birth of
their fifth child. Joseph later married Elsie Mosdell, and this second union
was blessed with 10 children. For a number of years, he was active in the
sheep business (in partnership with his brother Lawrence), but by occupation
he was a barber. He was well liked by the townspeople, and he was an avid
sportsman.
Generations of Websters, Amy L. Van Cott and Allen W.
Leigh, Thomas Webster Family Organization, Cedar City, Utah, 1960, pp. 122-123.
Minor changes made.
