Biographical sketch

Sanpete Valley, view looking south along Clement Lane. Darius
Salem Clement's west boundary fence can be seen on the left. Raphael
was born about one-quarter mile (80 rods) west of this property in a
house that no longer stands. A number of children of Darius Albert
Clement (DSC's son) were born in that house.

How did Raphael Clement come to be born in Fairview, Sanpete County, Utah? Who were his ancestors? Where did they come from? How and when did they end up in the tiny little farming community of Fairview, Utah, so far from eastern shores? The answers to these questions lie within these pages of his life and background. Raphael realized what it means to belong to a good family with strong roots, traditions, and purposes. He has a fascinating ancestry of good people who immigrated to this country of America from its very beginnings. They were hardy, God loving people who sought a place of refuge where they might enjoy the freedom of worship and peace. As a group, they were religious revolutionaries. They came and served in civic affairs to establish, by law, the early foundation of certain freedoms in this country - a country which was eventually molded into the great country of the United States of America.

Some background study tells us that all of Raphael's ancestors immigrated from England, and almost all took part in the settling of Colonial America. They came to this country 370 years ago. Most were of Puritan and Quaker origin, some were not. They were religious revolutionaries - educated, strong minded men who went against the injustices heaped upon them and their families, and who went against a great established power. All of Raphael's family lines arrived in New England in the early 1630's. Religious persecution in England, on pain of death, was the cause of defection from the corrupted Church of England at that time. The English rulers of the time were King Charles I and Archbishop William Laud, who were out to imprison and execute by some means or other the leaders of the Puritan groups who had broken from the Church of England, and gotten a following. Many of the Puritan leaders (Ministers) escaped with their lives to New England by outwitting the English rulers.

One exciting example is about the original Braintree Company in which ancestor William Kelsey and his family left England. Their leader, Reverend Thomas Hooker, pastor of the Non-conformist Congregation of several parishes in England, fled with his congregation to escape fines and imprisonment. Bound for America, they put out of the Thames River. Being chased by English officers, Reverend Hooker (and Mr. Stone the teacher) dropped off in Holland, and sent his congregation on to Cambridge, New England. They emigrated almost in a body to Cambridge in 1632. Having outwitted the English, Mr. Hooker and Mr. Stone the teacher, arrived in Boston, September 3, 1633, rejoining their company, thus they escaped with their lives and settled in Cambridge, Massachusetts. After a few months at Cambridge, the Braintree Company moved on and settled Hartford, Connecticut, where today a monument bears the name of William Kelsey among the others of the company.

Another ancestor, John Lothropp, was not so lucky as Kelsey in that he was imprisoned in a most ruthless manner for two years. Born in 1584 during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, his life overlapped the next two kings - James I, and Charles I. After he was released from prison on bail, he escaped from England and sailed on the GRIFFIN to Boston, Massachusetts in 1634, leaving England for good.

John Lothropp has been ranked as one of the four most prominent colonial ministers in America. It is said of Lothropp that "his genius will still haunt all the pulpits in ye country, when any of his scolers may be admitted to preach." He moved south down the coast to Scituate, Massachusetts, and from there to Barnstable, Massachusetts where he settled down. The Sturgis Library in Barnstable houses the Lothropp Bible. His spiritual and political strength is evidenced in the lives of thousands of his descendants in the past four centuries. They include presidents of the United States; financiers, politicians, authors and key leaders among religious groups such as many presidents of the L.D.S. Church and many apostles. 

Raphael Clement descended from John Lothropp through John's son, Samuel Lothropp. Through Samuel's daughter Martha, then Mary Moss, then Martha Munson and on down through Rebecca Barker Foote to Rebecca's son, David Foote, who was Raphael's great-great grandfather. When sixty five years old, David Foote was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints, November 1833, by John Murdock in Geneseo, New York. Afterwards, Elders John Murdock and Orson Pratt came to David's house (in Greenwood) and taught the principles of the gospel more perfectly. A branch of the church was organized in Greenwood, New York and David was appointed as Presiding Elder. Greenwood and Geneseo are in close proximity to Palmyra, New York.

Nathaniel Foote, the immigrant, came from Shalford in Colchester, Essex, England, and settled in Watertown, Massachusetts. The first mention of his name is in 1633, when he took the oath of freeman. In 1635-36, he moved to the banks of the Connecticut at Pyquag (now Wethersfield), and was among those to whom the first distribution of land was made. Today there is a monument to Nathaniel Foote in Wethersfield, Connecticut.

Michael Griswold came to New England before 1640, as he owned lands in Wethersfield, Connecticut by that date. He was the only freeman of the name in Wethersfield in 1659.

William Lane emigrated from Dorchester, England with his adult family and settled in Dorchester, Massachusetts in 1635.

John Cox, born about 1665, emigrated from England to America, and settled in New Castle, Delaware in 1708. This particular family were Quakers.

Clement family probably emigrated from England to America, but Raphael Clement's exact line is not yet established, that is, before Darius Clement, Sr., b. 21 February 1771. At this point in time there are strong efforts being made by several researchers in the Clement family to establish this line. There are some good leads, but much work is yet to be done.

Raphael's later ancestors (at least the ones we know something about) are listed below, that we may become acquainted with their names and a sampling of their accomplishments.

Raphael's paternal great-great grandparents are Darius Clement, Sr./Mehitable Griswold of Dryden, New York. David Foote/Irene Lane of Dryden, New York.

His great grandparents are Thomas Clement/Betsey Foote Clement. Easton Kelsey/Abigail Finch. James Naylor Jones/Sarah Ann Malernee. Jehu Cox/Sarah Pyle.

His grandparents are Darius Salem Clement/Louisa Kelsey. Jehu Cox,Jr./Edith Maria Jones (daughter of James Naylor Jones). Jehu, Jr. and Edith are the parents of Mary Ann Cox.

Raphael's parents, Darius Albert Clement
and Mary Ann Cox

Raphael's parents are Darius Albert/Mary Ann Cox Clement.

All of Raphael's great grandparents (underlined below) joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints through the teachings of missionaries in the early days of the Church, except for Darius Clement, Sr. and his wife, Mehitable Griswold. However, their temple work has been done for them. The Griswold's were soldiers in the Revolutionary War.

David Foote was baptized in Geneseo, N.Y. in November 1833 by John Murdock. His wife Irene Lane was baptized later, in Nauvoo, Ill, 28 Feb. 1846. Both died in Nauvoo, Illinois and were laid to rest in the old Nauvoo Cemetery. David's father, Ebenezer Foote, and Irene's father Nathan Lane both fought in the Revolutionary Army. David's father was killed at Mud Fort, Horse Neck (now Greenwich - pronounced Grenitch), Connecticut. His mother, Rebecca married Ebenezer's comrade, Ezekiel Sanford - a most excellent man, and David was raised by him.

Thomas Clement and wife Betsey Foote Clement were taught the gospel by her father David Foote, and were baptized in Dryden, New York in 1835 by David Foote. They had 8 of their 10 children at this time, Darius Salem being the eighth, born 24 November 1834. 

Jehu Cox, Sr. was baptized in Missouri, January 1838 by Benjamin L. Clapp. His wife Sarah Pyle was baptized soon after. The Pyle's fought in the War of the Revolution. Jehu was captain of the 4th ten during the Mormons crossing the plains to the Salt Lake valley in 1848. He traveled in Heber C. Kimball's Division, Brigham Young's Company. An interesting side note is that Darius Salem Clement, his little sister Mary Irene and little brother Thomas, also traveled in this same Heber C. Kimball Division with the Isaac Ferguson family. 

Jehu Cox Sr. donated the ten acres of land for Fort Union, Utah and also helped build the fort. His two story home in Union was where the Latter day Saint church meetings were held for two years until a ward could be organized. In 1859, Jehu helped create and settle the new town of North Bend, Utah (later named Fairview). By the end of 1860 North Bend was potentially a real community, and a Branch was organized. James Naylor Jones was appointed Presiding Elder with Jehu Cox, one of his Counselors. Both Jehu, Sr. and Jehu, Jr. helped build the Fairview Fort to protect families against Indian depredations. Their names are on a monument on the southeast corner of the old fort in Fairview. He fought in the Black Hawk War of 1864-65 in and around Fairview.

Easton Kelsey was baptized in Kirtland, Ohio December 1836 by Joel H. Johnson. His wife Abigail Finch was baptized about 3 years later. Their daughter Louisa Kelsey was born in Nauvoo in 1844. Easton was a Major in the Nauvoo Legion (both in Nauvoo and in Utah). He was captain of a hundred when coming across the plains to the Salt Lake Valley in 1851.

All of the underlined above, lived in Nauvoo, Illinois except Thomas Clement, who died in Dryden, New York in 1842. Two years later Betsey Clement took her children and joined her parents outside Nauvoo, Illinois, when gathering with the Saints.

Raphael's great-grandmother, Betsey Foote Clement, left Nauvoo in May 1846, crossing Iowa with her sister Almira's family (The Isaac Ferguson's), and arrived at Council Bluffs in July. Ferguson's and Betsey's families settled on Pigeon Creek, Iowa, about 7 miles above Indian Creek where Betsey's brother, Warren Foote and wife Sidnie had settled. In November 1846, Betsey took ill. She had a pain between her shoulders and raised blood a few days before she died. On sunday morning she was much worse, and told her Sister Almira that she would not live until night. She told her what to do with her things, and who she wanted to take her three children that were left. About noon her spirit took its flight. She said she had no desire to live longer. She has seen a great deal of trouble in this world, for which she will be rewarded. She died in Pigeon Hollow, Iowa, November 8, 1846 (on the east side of the Missouri River, near Kanesville, Iowa). She was buried on a high hill beside her son Albert, near Pigeon Creek. (Warren Foote Journal). 

Darius Salem Clement and Louisa Kelsey Clement,
Raphael's paternal grandparents.

Betsey was on her way to the Salt Lake Valley when her three youngest children were orphaned in Pigeon Hollow, Iowa, but they lived to make it to the Valley with the Ferguson's in September 1848. One of the three orphans was Raphael's grandfather, Darius Salem Clement, who was 14 years old when they arrived in the Salt Lake Valley.

Raphael's grandparents Clement are described by his father saying, "My parents were saints in very deed. They met and married in Salt Lake City. They were blessed of the Lord. They kept the word of wisdom and I never did hear either of them take the Lord's name in vain, no never. They were indeed peacemakers and I have been blessed of the Lord seemingly all the days of my life."

Jehu Cox Jr. and Edith Marie Jones Cox,
Raphael's maternal grandparents

Raphael's grandparents Jehu, Jr. and Edith Cox, were always active in the church. They attended church regularly when they were living where meetings were available. They taught their children to love the Lord. Edith looked on the bright side of things. Jehu was a quiet man, but stern. The opposite of Edith.

We can see that Raphael came from family lines of dedicated members of the church, pioneer settlers and founders of towns through mission callings. For his exemplary life, we want to honor him by the publication of this book. It is not our purpose to make a saint of Raphael. He was a man with faults and weaknesses, like all of us, yet he lived his life with resoluteness and fortitude. He displayed many worthy handed-down attributes of his pioneer forefathers. Raphael cultivated his life as he did his fields of grain - the wheat being useable only after the chaff is blown away. He made an important contribution and opened the door to a better life for his descendants.

Raphael Clement is the son of Darius Albert Clement and Mary Ann Cox Clement. He was born 3 September 1899, in Fairview, Sanpete County, Utah, the youngest of four children, namely: Nancy Elizabeth, Louisa Maria, Albert Nephi, and Raphael. Raphael married Pearl Iretta Olsen, 15 August 1923, in Ephraim, Sanpete County, Utah, and was later sealed to her and family in the Manti Temple, Utah. 

So now, Raphael's life story begins with a description of his birthplace as written by his father, Darius Albert Clement.

....."After my marriage, 21 November 1888, we rented a house to the side of my father's [Darius Salem Clement] property on the south, at the mouth of Fairview canyon, where we lived approximately one year. While living in this rented house, my brothers and I built a small house on my brother Easton's property. We moved into this new house in the fall of 1889. During this winter our first child Nancy Elizabeth was born 18 November 1889. 

In the spring of 1890 we bought a 13 acre farm just to the west, 80 rods (1/4 mile) of father's northwest corner. [16 ft.= 1 rod, 80 rods = 1280 ft.] We hired my mother's brother, Orison Kelsey to build a house on it. When the house was finished in the fall of 1890, we moved into it. The remainder of our family was born there; Louisa, Albert and Raphael. A short time after the last of the children were born, we moved to the town of Fairview, living in various houses for a number of years." 

Fairview, where Raphael was born, was a bustling little farming town, located in Central Utah at the base of the beautiful Manti-La Sal Range of the Rocky Mountains. On a quiet September night, his beautiful mother gave birth to this special baby boy. He was born to have dark, naturally wavy hair, accented by beautiful light blue eyes, and fair skin. There was much love in his family, and being the youngest of four children, his parents and only brother and two sisters were sure to have guided him in his growing up. They loved him very much.

There are photos of Raphael from age 4 years on, but it's unknown of the whereabouts now of photos younger than age 4. However, daughter Barbara remembers being shown, many years ago, a photo of Raphael as an infant of about 6-8 months old. The old photo was of him alone, propped on a chair so as to exhibit his full attire. He was dressed in a beautifully hand-worked white dress (typical of the times), presumably made by his mother. His dark hair was coming in and his eyes were light. His sister Nancy was gracious in sharing photographs.

A small fountain pen that was given as a gift
to Raphael at age 4 (1903)

When Raphael was only 4 years old, he very legibly wrote a sweet little letter to his mother, which folded in half to fit an envelope size 2" x 3". He used a tiny, slender dark green jade fountain pen, about 2 1/2 " in length, with a screw-on cap. Fastened to the tip of the cap was a grey-green, loop gross-grain ribbon, 1/4" wide, designed to be long enough for the pen to be worn around a person's neck. This special little pen had been given to him as a gift and still exists (handed down to his daughter Barbara). The pen fits in its narrow rectangular black case. The small letter he wrote with this little pen is about three lines long. The lines "wandered" a little, but did well for a four year old's efforts in learning to write.

As a growing boy, starting from age 4, Raphael was out in the logging camps, in the mountains above Fairview with his father and older brother Albert, season after season. As he grew, he listened and watched the workers handle their horses.  Raphael's father was one of those workers, and Raph was obviously impressed with what he saw, for as he grew and learned, he wanted to become skilled at handling horses like them someday. And he did. When he got old enough he became skilled at handling horses, repaired harness parts and do the horse-shoeing himself. Horses love to be groomed and Dad loved to do that for them. It was a necessary thing and currycombs were used to do the job.

We know from Nancy that they went as a family to the logging camps, where Raphael's mother Mary Ann, and his two sisters, Nancy and Louisa got in on plenty of camp cooking for the logging hands. It was a community enterprise.

Cook tents at Oak Creek Canyon sawmill.Left to right, Darius Albert Clement, Mary
Ann Clement Orton, Raphael Clement. Uncle Clarence Clement is standing by his team.
September 1905.

September 1905 in Oak Creek Canyon. Sawmill of Mr. Chris Jensen. Tents in
background are where Darius Albert andMary Ann Clement lived with Nancy Orton.
"Mother and I cooked for the loggers andmill hands," Nancy wrote later.

About 1909. Likely at a work camp for cutting timber. Note braced tent with
stovepipe at right. At left is clothing hanging out to dry. Pictured are (left to right)
Raphael's mother Mary Ann, sister Nancy, an unidentified man, Raphael,
brother Albert, and father Darius Albert Clement.

In 1914 when Raphael was 15 years old, he was living with his parents and brother Albert in a two-story house at 280 North, 100 East, in Fairview. It was a red brick house with a hewn rock foundation. Nancy had married in 1907, and sister Louisa had married in 1910, so only one sibling remained - his brother Albert was still at home for a pal. They were a close-knit family always respectful and friendly to others. They always remained so. This house still exists.

It appears that Raphael's beautiful singing voice was inherited, as his mother, sister Nancy and Grandfather Clement sang in the Fairview ward choir for many years. Nancy wrote, "When I was married, Mother and I were members of the Fairview Ward Choir until Mother died in October 1928."

As far as family lore goes, we can assume Raph was a pretty normal kid. With Fairview being 6,000 feet altitude in mountain country, the mid-winter snows were generally abundant. Like kids are, winter doesn't stop them from having fun. Raph and friends were no exception. From time to time there would be the typical sled races down the Fairview Canyon Road. The canyon used to be named Cottonwood Canyon.

This road was only a block north of Raphael's home, and as a youngster, saw it as an opportunity for winter sports. Living so close to it, was very handy. Can't we just envision rambunctious young Raphael and friends in our mind's eye engaged in the following scenario:

What sports-minded boy such as Raphael was, could resist a talked-up sled race among friends. Anticipating the competition ahead of them they pulled their sleds up the canyon road with energetic gusto. After finally reaching the top they lined up at the designated starting point. The big moment had arrived. On the word "GO", they'd take a running start and slam their sleds onto the snow packed road, jump on, belly down, and go whizzing downhill, with focused concentration on only one thing - TO WIN THAT RACE! Their sleds had thin metal runners that would squeak against the hard-packed snow as they guided them with all the muscle power they could muster, in order to keep from colliding with others and getting bumped off track. Down, down, down the mile-long road at break-neck speed they went, squinting to protect their eyes against the stinging wisps of crusty snow kicked up by the sled's runners. On they sped with febrile excitement to the bottom of the canyon road. Only moments to go and they would test out to see who's sled could outrun the rest. Then the big moment - to collect the reward of satisfaction afterwards. After it was all over there would be bantering, laughter and hungry appetites to appease with hot food to go around, or sometimes just to simply go home and bask in the memory of the gleeful competition among friends.

Fairview Public School. Above is a drawing of the
school as it was when Raphael attended Grades 1-6.
The building suffered a fire in 1917. It continued
to be used as a school as shown in the lower photo
until the 1950s, when it was turned into a museum.
The roof was restored to its original status in 1999.

We know that Raphael's formal education reached to the 8th grade, the highest level offered in Fairview in his time, and that he attended school in the same hewn rock schoolhouse that his first seven children later attended. This school was built in 1900, when Raphael was one year old. At that time it had a pitched roof before a fire burned the roof off in 1917. It was repaired to be flat-roofed, and remained that way until recently, when it was restored to its original state in the year 2000. This fine old rock school building is now a popular museum which welcomes many visitors.

Together with his personal gifts, it is easy to believe he was a good student in his youth, for he grew up doing excellent work at reading, writing and managing his financial affairs in a superb way, as well as helping others to understand finance management. One of his frequent expressions was, "Your money is your own, until you give it away." He had "tight-knit" self expression, not a style of "flourishing words", when writing and speaking. He was also an excellent musician in singing, played guitar, ukelele and harmonica. 

Young Raphael no doubt threw his share of snowballs after school in the fun snowball fights. He made friends easily and enjoyed sporting with them. He loved the outdoors with a passion. And he loved everything about horses, caring for them properly after he worked or rode them. It seemed that the animal kingdom in general "belonged to him." He also loved to swim, and most likely raced with the boys. Boys like to race and challenge by nature, to show their prowess.

It is known that Raph was an excellent marksman with a gun. He would go out hunting occasionally and bring home venison for our table in Fairview. But the family preferred his home-raised beef over the course grained, strong flavored venison. He was very diligent in keeping his guns well cleaned and maintained and kept out of the reach of little kids. That was easy because he wouldn't let youngsters use any of his stuff anyway, until they became responsible enough to handle it. He was also knowledgeable about how to handle and dress the meat of a fresh kill, which, of course, included timing against exposure to warm air and spoilage.

Raphael at age 18

Raphael grew up to be a handsome, physically strong and healthy young man, six feet, one inch tall. Although he preferred the tougher sports, he never had a broken bone that anyone in the family knows of. Perhaps its because he always seemed to be acutely aware of what was going on around him. He was safety conscious at all times, especially in handling himself with farm machinery, large animals, the use of dynamite in the coal mines and the building of structures, etc. Later in life, there was one exception when in about 1948, one little slip with his power saw, cut two of his fingers pretty badly. He was very lucky that they were saved. He wrapped them up and drove himself home from Pasco, Washington, about 15 miles in that condition. The doctor stitched them and each finger was wrapped up in fat bandages. With his little grandkids, he played like they were "Rabbit Ears."  

In Raph's early 20's he went to Yellowstone Park to work in the summers. It is not known exactly what type of work he did there. An educated guess might be that it had to do with maintenance work all over the park. There would be certain cabin repairs, felling dead trees to cut up and stack, road building, etc. He was good at what he did and undoubtedly did excellent work for the Park.

He really loved participating in the old-fashioned horse pulling contests in the county. He also owned a motorcycle with a side-car, and with that kind of new power underneath him in the 1920's, he was undoubtedly a very happy young man dashing about here and there on the machine, and maybe even impressed the girls he dated.

Although serious by nature, Raph was basically a happy, organized person. He was described by his older sisters as well-liked and respected among his young friends, and later by men. According to Pearl, "Raph was always thinking". He had a sense of self and was not the timid type in any sense of the word. 

It seems that Raphael was not governed by emotional idealism, but rather by realistic reason or thought. In one of his letters to his sister, he described what was undoubtedly a norm for him when considering buying some land for a farm in Oregon. He said, "Sometimes one must take some awful chances to get ahead, but this seems safe." He was careful not to lose hard earned money, putting the safety of it first. To squander money was not in his nature. He knew how to get things done and done well. This man seemed to have a balanced, ambitious bent—not a show-off nor a laggard. 

But he had a sense of humor too which seemingly did not overstep it's bounds. He'd tease Pearl occasionally and try to "get mother's goat" from time to time, but she kind of liked that and could hold her own. She was kind of a tease herself, but when he played that way, she drew the line, and he was sure to follow up with a hug for her afterwards, because he really loved and respected her, and would not take his teasing too far.

House where Raphael grew up, 280 N. 100 E., Fairview, UT

"Work before play" was a standard rule of thumb in our family, and probably was one that Raphael grew up with. But there was recreation too. He loved both but was prone to work more than play which is better than the other way around. As his family enlarged, he still tried to keep that balance. In his later years, Raphael had more time for recreation. It was probably something he easily adjusted to after the depression and the war years ended. Money was hard to come by in those former hard times, plus his family came at a pretty steady pace. From 1924 to 1935 they had seven kids, the depression starting in 1929. With the European war starting in September 1939, Raphael could see what was coming, he was no fool. He seemed to foresee that it was inevitable that the United States would certainly be drawn into WW II, which did happen on the 7 December 1941, right on the heels of the depression. Between 1942 - 1947 they had three more children, making ten in all.

A serious attitude of hard work and responsibility was ingrained in Raphael by his parents and grandparents. He found joy in working hard, finishing the jobs in good order that he started.

Raphael called his father, "Father", when addressing him, as did his brother and two sisters, Albert N., Nancy, and Louisa. It evidently was passed down from his grandfather and grandmother Clement, since grandfather Darius Salem was also addressed as "Father." Both were of puritan New England descent, which could account for this respectful influence. At any rate, it seemed to be the respectful way of the Clement household under the roof of Raphael's parents, Darius Albert and Mary Ann Cox Clement. Raphael also called his father "Pa", which had a soft, endearing sound the way he said it. Dad was very loyal and kind to his family, but always in an unimposing way.

Raphael's relationship with his parents, grandparents and siblings was respectful, warm and close as they unfailingly emulated good will and friendship in their family circle. These qualities were consistent as a way of life and could be observed by the younger generation as a good example to follow.

As a young man, Raphael's reputation of having a beautiful tenor singing voice spread around Fairview, to his ward and throughout his extended family. He was selected to sing a solo  at his Grandmother Cox's funeral, 3 August 1921. At that time, he was one month from turning 22 years old, and two years before he married.

Raph and his father farmed shoulder to shoulder during his growing up years in Fairview and on throughout the era of his 82 acre farm period (1924-1943), also in Fairview. Together they raised many tons of grain which was in keeping with Sanpete County's early earned reputation as the "granary of Utah." 

When we lived in Taylorsville during the twice back and forth moves between Fairview and Taylorsville from 1940-43, the two of them continued their beekeeping from Fairview days. It then spanned into the Richland, Washington period to the early 1950's. In Taylorsville and Fairview they raised vegetable gardens - BIG of everything. It was a beautiful sight. The tomato plants in Taylorsville would grow 5 feet tall. Big ugly pudgy-fat tomato worms 3" long were seen on them occasionally, and would us kids ever have fun teasing each other with them. They were beautiful in color, but we'd make them crawl onto our sticks so we could carry them around. 

Since Raphael had carpentry skills as an adult, it is assumed that he learned that skill somewhat from his father and his Clement uncles in Fairview. Building private homes were always done in the early Clement family, helping one another in their house-building either for a newlywed couple, or just as a step up to a bigger or better house, etc.

Raphael's father Darius Albert wrote:

"In 1874...My brothers built a log house [for our parents] in the southwest corner of town [Fairview] at the head of a lane leading to the mill. Two years later we built a new adobe house by the old log house." 

Raphael enjoyed taking the initiative to learn how to do new things on his own. Later, he proved his carpentry skills by building a pretty and neat little white house in Pasco, Washington in 1950 for the prospect of selling it, and it did sell easily.