Brigham Young Pugmire (1870-1945)Brigham Young Pugmire (1870-1945)Brigham, son of George McKay Pugmire and Maria Adelia Young, was born 30 January 1870 in St. Charles, Bear Lake, Idaho. All of his childhood was spent in St. Charles where his grandfather was one of the first settlers. As a young man, he worked as a teamster, hauling supplies from the railroad in Montpelier to other settlements in the area. He also participated in many cattle drives, some as far away as Oklahoma. He loved horses and his animals had the best of care.
Brigham married Agnes Irene True of Ogden, Utah on 3 July 1897 in Montpelier, Bear Lake, Idaho, but the marriage did not last long. Brigham married Mary Ann Hall of Bennington, Idaho on 23 August 1898 in Randolph, Rich, Utah. They lived first in the Montpelier area and then moved near Sterling, Idaho when a townsite was laid out near a new railroad station. Ten years later, they returned to Montpelier for a few years. By the mid 1920s the family had located in Pocatello where they remained. Brigham worked at farming and as a laborer on several jobs, but found it difficult to provide for his wife and twelve children.
A son recalled that although Brigham cared very little about what happened in the house, everything in the barn had to be just so. Saddles and tools had a certain place and were always returned to the proper spot. He did his own blacksmithing and had a large box that held his special tools. The toolbox was very full and had to be packed tightly, but he had all tools in a certain order. He could always tell if one of his boys had been in the box because they never could get things back in right. For the most part, he was a quiet man and didn't talk very much.
Later in life, Brigham lost the circulation in his foot and the condition eventually spread up his leg. It had to be amputated above the knee. He died in Pocatello, Bannock, Idaho on 27 June 1945, at the age of seventy-five. -Colleen Helquist
See history of George McKay Pugmire and Maria Adelia Young
Mary Ann was born 12 July 1879 in Bennington, Bear Lake, Idaho. Her mother, Rosina Wäffler (Waeffler), was a German-Swiss immigrant who had been in this country only four years. Her father, Samuel Hall, was from England. Mary Ann's growing up years were spent in Bennington and on a farm near Montpelier, Idaho. She was raised with two sisters, Kate and Rose, and with a brother, Joe.
At age nineteen, Mary Ann married Brigham Pugmire in a civil ceremony at Randolph, Utah. Together they had twelve children, including a set of twins. One of the twins died at birth and two sons died as young men in their twenties. The family moved a number of times before settling in Pocatello.
Mary was a quiet and meek woman who struggled most of her life to make ends meet. She did the best she could to raise a big family on limited income through the Depression and the first World War. After her husband's death, Mary Ann was looked after by her daughter, Katherine. At age seventy-seven, she had a stroke and spent a year in a nursing home. She died in Pocatello, Bannock, Idaho on 8 November 1957. She was buried with her husband in the Mountain View Cemetery in Pocatello. - Colleen Helquist
See history of Samuel Hall and Rosina Wäffler
Pugmire Family Photo
(Front) Velean, Mary Ann, Katherine, Brigham, Helen
(Back) Cecil, Myrtle, Bill, Tim, Connie, Stuart