Jane Ogden and Ivo Gledhill

This is a story that needs to be told. It is a story of great personal sacrifice and courage and at the same time is so very tragic .

John Ivo Gledhill and Sarah Jane Ogden were married in the Salt Lake Temple on Aug 17, 1910. Ivo was the son of Edward and Betty Gledhill and also the elder brother of Herbert Gledhill whose story was told in an earlier posting. He is therefore a cousin of my mother’s grandmother Violet Gledhill. Jane is a step-sister to my grandfather, Josh Ogden, and a daughter of Thomas Ogden and Anne Marsh, making Jane and Ivo somewhat special in my family history.

The newlyweds made their home in Vermillion where the Gledhill’s had settled after arriving from England in 1868. They acquired land and Ivo soon became known as an industrious and hard working farmer. A daughter, Melba, was born to them in 1912 followed be a second daughter Ivie in 1914. Ivo was the third child born to his parents, the oldest Thomas Ray, graduated from medical at the University of Chicago and retuned to Richfield in 1913 to open his medical practice. It did not take long for the country doc to more than a little busy caring for the residents of the county. The second son Hugh Lafayette or “Lafay” as he was called also pursued his living by farming the land.

In 1911, after having been married a little over one year, Ivo was called to serve as the bishop of the Vermillion ward. He was but 26 years old, but his hard work and dedication soon endeared him to those that he served. His wife Jane served equally well and proved to be her husbands equal in many ways.

In the summer of 1917 Bishop Gledhill’s health began to suffer from an undiagnosed ailment and he worsened over a period of time until surgery was performed to remove his diseased appendix. He rallied for a time following the operation but died on July 31, 1917 leaving his wife Jane and the two little girls now ages 5 and 3. Not just Vermillion, but the entire area mourned his passing. The local paper reported that the town had lost a wise Bishop, a kind friend, and a worthy man.

Jane and the girls moved to Marysville where she took employment as a salesperson in a local store and soon made may friends throughout the area. In 1919 she returned to Richfield just as the great flu epidemic was reaching its peak. She immediately set to work caring for and nursing those most seriously impacted by the disease. The Spanish flu, as it came to be called, was one of the most virulent strains of virus ever to prey upon mankind. In a most unusual manner it had the greatest impact and effect on those who were in the prime of life and normally so healthy such sickness passed them by. Jane Ogden was one such healthy young person and contracted the virus the first week of the year 1919. She died on Jan 7th, very close to a year and a half from the date of her husbands death. The two little girls came to live with ??