Silas Thales Smith

Silas Thales Smith was born at Manassa, Colorado, November 14, 1891, the second son of Jesse Joel and Margaret Ann Haskell Smith. He was named for his two grandfathers-Silas Sanford Smith and Thales Haskell. The first ten years of his life were spent in the San Luis Valley, Colorado; in the summer at a ranch near Blanca Mountain twenty-five miles east of Alamosa, where his father kept his stock, and winters in Manassa, where the family attended church and school. He was six when his father left for a two-year mission to the Eastern States Mission, and “remembers well the courageous efforts of my mother and older brother to make a success of our father’s affairs while he was away.” As young boy, he loved to play marbles. He wore his pants out in the knees until his mother made him promise to be careful. The family sold their property in Colorado and moved to Wyoming in 1902. Along the way, his older brother became ill and died. After arriving in Wyoming and settling on some land, Thales’ father, Jesse, passed away in 1905, leaving a fourteen-year old Thales, mother and two daughters to work the land. He was able to sell feed for horses to the C.B. and O. Railroad and earn good money for his mother and sisters. In the winter of 1909-1910, his mother took the family to Provo, Utah, to attend Brigham Young Academy, where Thales attended the first year of high school. The next winter, he attended Big Horn Academy. Thales spent very little time in school because he worked in the spring, summer and fall on the ranch, but he was able to attend enough school to get education. As his nineteenth birthday came and went, he lost interest in school and his mind was on ranching and the cattle business. He also was interested in a lovely young woman named Elvena Sessions. In August of 1911, the stake president called him and interviewed him in regards to going on a mission for the church. Thales already had plans to work his mother’s ranch and marry Elvena the following spring. In his life history he writes, “However, all the reasons why I should not undertake a mission at this time did not seem to justify a refusal to accept such an opportunity and all concerned agreed that I should begin preparing as soon as I was officially called.” As indicated by his call, he was in Salt Lake City on November 7, 1911, endowed on the 8^th, and on the train at 4:30 pm to Chattanooga, Tennessee, to the Southern States Mission. He was assigned to the North Carolina Conference. He says, “…in spite of being exposed to persecution and abuse and our motives largely misunderstood, still the knowledge that we were in the service of our Redeemer brought a joy and satisfaction to our hearts that cannot be experienced any other way. I will forever be thankful that I decided to accept the call to missionary service.” He married Elvena April 3, 1914 in the Salt Lake Temple. The children that came to their home were Thales Sessions, Jesse Byron, Arthur Callis, Scott Haskell, Thelma, and Ida Mae. Thales and Elvena built up their ranch holdings, raised cattle and grew crops to feed them. He served his community and the state in many capacities including superintendent of a water division for the state, member of the school board, director of the Cattlemen’s Association, Round-up Foreman, president of local Farm Bureau, secretary of county Farm Bureau, and director of an irrigation system. He was called on a short term mission to the North Western States, working in Oregon during the winter of 1929-1930. He also served a short term mission with Elvena from December, 1952 to June 1953 to the San Fernando Valley with headquarters in North Hollywood. He supported their four sons on their missions and all their children married in the temple. The two set up a missionary fund that helped many of their grandchildren serve missions. His church assignments included serving on stake high council from 1937-1954, in the leadership of the stake high priest quorum, stake missionary, ward/home teacher and ward high priest group leader. Thales was a loving, peaceful man, who was steadfast in his principles of righteousness and integrity, with a great sense of humor and love for his fellowman. He passed away several years after his wife in July, 1981.

Taken from records written by Silas Thales Smith in the possession of Darrell and Sherilyn Smith.