N. Eldon Tanner was born May 8, 1898, in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Nathan William Tanner and Sarah Edna Brown Tanner. Most of his life was spent in the Mormon colonies in Alberta, Canada. His parents' first home was a dugout—a one-room shelter cut out of the side of a hill and reinforced with logs—six miles south of Cardston. However, Eldon was not born there, as his mother had returned to Salt Lake City to be with her mother for the birth of her first child. Even as a youngster he assumed responsibility beyond his years. At one time when the entire family was ill with smallpox he was the only nurse. For two nights and three days he had no sleep as he attended the sick. None of the neighbors dared come in because of the dread disease. At an early age he learned the virtues of self-reliance