It's a Small World

As we have been reading the histories of our ancestors, we have come to realize that several of the Barber and Thorpe ancestors undoubtedly knew each other. We have already referred to the families that were in Nauvoo at the time of the exodus in 1848 that were likely acquainted – the Knight, Egbert, and Loveless families (Mom’s ancestors) and the Casper, Bennett, and Durbin families (Dad’s ancestors).

James and Eliza Stratton and William and Elizabeth Casper were among the families called to the “Muddy Mission” in about 1870 to help colonize the region around the Santa Clara River in Southern Utah. The Caspers were there for about one year and the Strattons were there until Eliza died in 1871.

The Bennett (Dad) and Egbert (Mom) families were among the first families to settle in Kaysville, Utah. The James Bennett family settled there in 1852 and lived there the remainder of the parents’ lives. The Joseph Egbert family settled in Kaysville in 1854 and lived there until 1887. Both became quite prosperous and their histories both refer to the homes they built that were quite large for that era and looked very similar to each other.

Fortunately none of our ancestors married each other. Mom and Dad could have ended up cousins instead of husband and wife.

James Bennett Home



Joseph Egbert Home