18 months old - 1948
1950--------------------------1954
1956
1962-----------------------------1965
September 14, 1967
The summer highlights of 2011
Showing posts with label Our roots. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Our roots. Show all posts
Monday, June 6, 2011
Summer highlights
I was actually born a blonde. I was even blonde as a three-year old. But by grade school and on to high school my hair was a natural brunette. First half of marriage—still a brunette. Then in my mid forties, the grey appeared. First I covered the grey with a matching brunette. Now in my mid-60’s I am advised I should go lighter. Thus, the highlights. In these pictures, you can actually see a mix of grey, brunette, and my beautiful new highlights. Slowly going back to my birth-roots: a blonde.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Surprise at a cemetery
I recently made a trip to Scott County to search out Sexton geneology information. To my surprise I found that one of our living Knoxville family members already has his name on a tombstone. Look closely at the middle column, third from the bottom.
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Shown above is the back of the gravestone for David's grandparents, Oswell and Rema Sexton, in Botts Cemetery in Scott County.
Posted by Dad
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
I Love to See the Temple................
On Saturday, April 10, we attended the Nashville Temple with our three daughters and their husbands.
It's amazing how hard it is to schedule this with 13 grandchildren needing to be tended while we are all gone. The Nashville Temple is a three-hour drive from where we all live. But with the grandchidlren getting a little older, we hope to do this more often.
Childhood memories came flowing back of when our girls were "little" girls and singing the primary song, "I Love to See the Temple."
"I love to see the temple. I'm going there some day, to feel the Holy Spirit, to listen and to pray. For the temple is a house of God, a place of love and beauty. I'll prepare myself while I am young; this is my sacred duty."
It's amazing how hard it is to schedule this with 13 grandchildren needing to be tended while we are all gone. The Nashville Temple is a three-hour drive from where we all live. But with the grandchidlren getting a little older, we hope to do this more often.
Childhood memories came flowing back of when our girls were "little" girls and singing the primary song, "I Love to See the Temple."
"I love to see the temple. I'm going there some day, to feel the Holy Spirit, to listen and to pray. For the temple is a house of God, a place of love and beauty. I'll prepare myself while I am young; this is my sacred duty."
Monday, November 30, 2009
Visiting the dead
While on our Utah road trip, we visited the gravesites of 45 ancestors. Below are examples of the headstones we photographed and a little about each ancestor.
William Casper – Born in Knox County Ohio in 1784. Family originally from Germany. He was with the Saints when they were driven out of Missouri to Nauvoo. He died in 1846 and buried in the old Nauvoo Cemetery. His headstone is one of the very few that still exist and can be read.
Lydia Knight – Born in New England in 1812. Her first husband abandoned her. She married Newel Knight in 1835. Their marriage was the first performed by Joseph Smith. She was also with the Saints when they were driven out of Missouri to Nauvoo and with the Saints when driven out of Nauvoo. Her husband Newel died in Nebraska leaving her a widow with seven children and pregnant with an eighth. She spent three years in the Winter Quarters area before finally being able to come to Salt Lake in 1850. After an unhappy marriage of five years with John Dalton, Lydia married James McClellan and moved with him to Santa Clara Utah. After his death, she moved to St. George where she worked in the temple for several years until her death in 1884. Her headstone in the St. George Cemetery is very unique, being a round granite ball.
Alexander Dawson – Born in Scotland in 1838. At age 13 he went to sea as a cabin boy and lived the life of seaman until age 21. He jumped ship in South Africa and was thrown in jail. Here he met his wife when she brought food to the prisoners. After his release from jail Alexander and Elizabeth married in 1860 and sailed to America to join with the other Saints. They settled in present day East Layton and became quite prosperous, owning over 700 acres of land. He died in 1918 and was buried in the Kaysville Cemetery.
Eliza Briggs Stratton – Born in England in 1836. Emigrated with her family at the age of 18 to the United States to join the Saints in Utah. Her family were members of the ill-fated Martin Handcart Company that was caught in the early snow and freezing temperatures in Wyoming in 1856. Her father and one brother died near Martin’s Cove and a sister died before reaching the valley. Her feet were badly frozen and she walked in pain the rest of her life. She became the plural wife of James Stratton and in about 1870 went with him to the Muddy Mission is Southern Nevada. Here she died and was buried in 1871, after giving birth to her 8th child. James came back later to what is now Overton Nevada to place the headstone on her grave.
Joseph Egbert – Born in 1818 in Sullivan County, Indiana. Was with the Saint
s driven from Missouri to Nauvoo. Worked for three years on the Nauvoo Temple. Left with the other Saints in 1846 and drove the first wagon into the Salt Lake Valley as part of the advance party of the Vanguard Company that entered the valley on July 23, 1847. He married Louisa Taylor Warrick as a plural wife in 1852. Her husband had gone to the California gold fields in 1849 and died there. The Egberts settled in Kaysville and became very prosperous. Joseph died in 1898 and was buried in the Kaysville Cemetery.
William Wallace Casper – Born in 1821 in Richland County Ohio. He was with his parents when they were driven out of Missouri to Nauvoo. In Nauvoo he married Elizabeth Bean and fled with the other Saints in 1846. He volunteered for the Mormon Battalion in Winter Quarters and left his wife and baby daughter in the care of his 16-year-old brother in law. After walking 2000 miles with the Battalion to California, he was released and joined his wife and child in the Salt Lake Valley in October 1847. He settled in the Mill Creek area south of the main city. In 1854 he married our ancestor, Anne Ericson (also known as Elizabeth Ann Erickson but that’s another story). She was a recent immigrant from Sweden. She became the mother of nine children, including our ancestor, Luella Victoria. William died at the age of 87 in 1908 and was buried in the Mill Creek Cemetery (now known as the Elysian Burial Gardens).
Posted by Russ
William Casper – Born in Knox County Ohio in 1784. Family originally from Germany. He was with the Saints when they were driven out of Missouri to Nauvoo. He died in 1846 and buried in the old Nauvoo Cemetery. His headstone is one of the very few that still exist and can be read.
Lydia Knight – Born in New England in 1812. Her first husband abandoned her. She married Newel Knight in 1835. Their marriage was the first performed by Joseph Smith. She was also with the Saints when they were driven out of Missouri to Nauvoo and with the Saints when driven out of Nauvoo. Her husband Newel died in Nebraska leaving her a widow with seven children and pregnant with an eighth. She spent three years in the Winter Quarters area before finally being able to come to Salt Lake in 1850. After an unhappy marriage of five years with John Dalton, Lydia married James McClellan and moved with him to Santa Clara Utah. After his death, she moved to St. George where she worked in the temple for several years until her death in 1884. Her headstone in the St. George Cemetery is very unique, being a round granite ball.
Alexander Dawson – Born in Scotland in 1838. At age 13 he went to sea as a cabin boy and lived the life of seaman until age 21. He jumped ship in South Africa and was thrown in jail. Here he met his wife when she brought food to the prisoners. After his release from jail Alexander and Elizabeth married in 1860 and sailed to America to join with the other Saints. They settled in present day East Layton and became quite prosperous, owning over 700 acres of land. He died in 1918 and was buried in the Kaysville Cemetery.
Eliza Briggs Stratton – Born in England in 1836. Emigrated with her family at the age of 18 to the United States to join the Saints in Utah. Her family were members of the ill-fated Martin Handcart Company that was caught in the early snow and freezing temperatures in Wyoming in 1856. Her father and one brother died near Martin’s Cove and a sister died before reaching the valley. Her feet were badly frozen and she walked in pain the rest of her life. She became the plural wife of James Stratton and in about 1870 went with him to the Muddy Mission is Southern Nevada. Here she died and was buried in 1871, after giving birth to her 8th child. James came back later to what is now Overton Nevada to place the headstone on her grave.
Joseph Egbert – Born in 1818 in Sullivan County, Indiana. Was with the Saint
s driven from Missouri to Nauvoo. Worked for three years on the Nauvoo Temple. Left with the other Saints in 1846 and drove the first wagon into the Salt Lake Valley as part of the advance party of the Vanguard Company that entered the valley on July 23, 1847. He married Louisa Taylor Warrick as a plural wife in 1852. Her husband had gone to the California gold fields in 1849 and died there. The Egberts settled in Kaysville and became very prosperous. Joseph died in 1898 and was buried in the Kaysville Cemetery.
William Wallace Casper – Born in 1821 in Richland County Ohio. He was with his parents when they were driven out of Missouri to Nauvoo. In Nauvoo he married Elizabeth Bean and fled with the other Saints in 1846. He volunteered for the Mormon Battalion in Winter Quarters and left his wife and baby daughter in the care of his 16-year-old brother in law. After walking 2000 miles with the Battalion to California, he was released and joined his wife and child in the Salt Lake Valley in October 1847. He settled in the Mill Creek area south of the main city. In 1854 he married our ancestor, Anne Ericson (also known as Elizabeth Ann Erickson but that’s another story). She was a recent immigrant from Sweden. She became the mother of nine children, including our ancestor, Luella Victoria. William died at the age of 87 in 1908 and was buried in the Mill Creek Cemetery (now known as the Elysian Burial Gardens).
Posted by Russ
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Road Trip
We had a wonderful trip to Utah, driving 5,190 miles through 14 states and visiting the graves of 45 ancestors in 11 cemeteries along the way. We left for our marathon driving trip to Utah to attend the baptism of Silas and to see our newest grandson and Cara’s baby. We drove instead of flying primarily so we could take all of Brad’s “stuff” to him. Since we were driving, we determined to do some sightseeing both coming and going. We traveled to Utah basically following the pioneer trail from Iowa City to Winter Quarters to Wyoming to Salt Lake City after a quick stop in Nauvoo to attend the temple. We had a wonderful experience at Martin’s Cove near Devil’s Gate Wyoming as we remembered the experiences of Eliza Briggs and her family who were part of that handcart company. In Utah we enjoyed our time with Brad and Joel and their families. We enjoyed being pampered as we stayed in the Joel and Jenica’s new home in Lehi. It was great to have time with our Utah grandsons. We especially enjoyed the alone time we had with Hale and Andrew and it was very special to participate in Silas’ baptism and see baby Samuel. While we didn’t get to see Cara’s baby since he had already left for the Stanford Medical Center (see her blog for details), we did enjoy spending time with Cara. We also got to visit other family members and friends, including Sue and Ramon Sanft in Provo who again provided us with their free bed and breakfast and the Godfreys in Logan, as we delivered the three-generation histories and visited cemeteries. We enjoyed being with Brad and Joel at the BYU football game but didn’t enjoy the game. But by going out earlier than originally planned so we could see the game, we did avoid getting stranded on I-80 which was closed by huge snow storms a couple of days after we passed through. Before leaving Utah, we were able to walk through Brad and Susan’s partially-constructed house. The highlights of our trip back to Tennessee were our visit to the Grand Canyon (truly amazing to view) and a quick stop to see the Oklahoma City memorial to the Federal Building bombing. Seventeen days after leaving we finally arrived home, exhausted but grateful for the wonderful trip and visit with our Utah families and friends. Below are photos of a few of the highlights of our trip.
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Martin's Cove Wyoming
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Joel, Russ, Brad, and Sharlene at BYU football game
A proud Grammy with 19th grandchild
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Andrew, Brad, Sam, Sharlene, Russ
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With Silas right before his baptism
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Barber families after Silas' baptism
Brad and Susan's home after four days of framing
Sharlene at grave of Eliza Briggs Stratton in Overton Nevada
Nauvoo Temple
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Martin's Cove Wyoming
Joel, Russ, Brad, and Sharlene at BYU football game.JPG)
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A proud Grammy with 19th grandchild
Andrew, Brad, Sam, Sharlene, Russ
With Silas right before his baptism
Barber families after Silas' baptism
Brad and Susan's home after four days of framing
Sharlene at grave of Eliza Briggs Stratton in Overton Nevada
Russ and Sharlene at Grand Canyon
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
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
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
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Ancestors endowed in Nauvoo Temple
After the martyrdom of Joseph Smith, the Saints continued to put forth a very dedicated effort to complete the Nauvoo Temple even though they knew they would soon have to abandon it and go west. Once the temple was ready for ordinance work, the Saints worked around the clock to give and receive the temple ordinances. Based on my research, at least eleven of our ancestors (four on my side - William Casper, Arvilla Durbin, and James and Ellen Bennett) and seven on Mom’s side - Joseph, Newel, and Lydia Knight, Joseph, John and Susanna Egbert, and James Loveless) received their endowments in the Nauvoo Temple. Joseph Knight, Newel Knight, and Lydia Goldwaite Knight were endowed in mid December of 1845. William Casper, James Bennett and his wife Ellen Pincock Bennett, and Joseph Egbert were endowed in late January of 1846.On February 3, 1846, Brigham Young announced to the throng assembled at the temple that they would not be able to continue performing ordinances since the brethren needed to leave Nauvoo before their enemies prevented them from leaving. He recorded in his journal the following. “I also informed the brethren that I was going to get my wagons started and be off. I walked some distance from the Temple supposing the crowd would disperse, but on returning I found the house filled to overflowing. Looking upon the multitude and knowing their anxiety, as they were thirsting and hungering for the word, we continued at work diligently in the house of the Lord. Two hundred and ninety-five person received ordinances.”
Four of our ancestors were among the 295 persons that received their endowments in the Nauvoo temple as a result of this continuation of ordinance work. Arvilla Durbin Casper who was the mother of William Casper, John Egbert and his wife Susanna Hahn Egbert, and James Loveless were all endowed on February 7, 1846.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Family History Trivia
As many of you know, I have spent considerable time the last several months researching our roots. In addition to using the church sources, I also subscribed for a month to Ancestry.com and found tons of information. I plan to subscribe again, but wanted to first compare the information I obtained from their website with information I previously had and that on the church data base. One thing I have looked at is where our roots are, so I looked at where our great grandparents were born. The following is a little trivia I found interesting.
Of the eight great-grandparents on my side, only one was born in the United States, while on Mom’s side, all but one were born in Utah. Obviously, Mom’s roots in the church go much further back than mine.
Of my great-grandparents –
- Barber, Crowhurst, Bennett, Ellison were born in England
- Dawson was born in Scotland, Fowle in Wales, and Erickson in Sweden.
- Casper (my grandma Barber’s father) was born in Ohio and two generations back the Casper line goes to Germany
- Joel discovered that a branch of the Casper line (Durbin and Litton) goes back to the early 1600s in Maryland before coming from England.
Of Mom’s great-grandparents -
- White was born in Wales
- As stated above, the rest were born in Utah but all but one trace back to England.
- Thorpe, Bradshaw, Stratton, and Brown came to Utah from England in the mid 1800s
- Knight and Cheever were in New England for many years and go back to 1600s before coming from England
- The Egbert line goes back to Indiana, New Jersey, and New York, but I could not determine when the first person came to the US. The last Egbert I have was born in 1604 in Flatbush, New York.
Below are pictures of three generations of my line including the 8 great grandparents and pictures of Mom’s great grandparents Newel James Knight and Eliza Stratton with their children (Mom’s grandmother Maude Brown is in the front right) and Mom’s great grandparents John Brown and Mary Cheever.
Of the eight great-grandparents on my side, only one was born in the United States, while on Mom’s side, all but one were born in Utah. Obviously, Mom’s roots in the church go much further back than mine.
Of my great-grandparents –
- Barber, Crowhurst, Bennett, Ellison were born in England
- Dawson was born in Scotland, Fowle in Wales, and Erickson in Sweden.
- Casper (my grandma Barber’s father) was born in Ohio and two generations back the Casper line goes to Germany
- Joel discovered that a branch of the Casper line (Durbin and Litton) goes back to the early 1600s in Maryland before coming from England.
Of Mom’s great-grandparents -
- White was born in Wales
- As stated above, the rest were born in Utah but all but one trace back to England.
- Thorpe, Bradshaw, Stratton, and Brown came to Utah from England in the mid 1800s
- Knight and Cheever were in New England for many years and go back to 1600s before coming from England
- The Egbert line goes back to Indiana, New Jersey, and New York, but I could not determine when the first person came to the US. The last Egbert I have was born in 1604 in Flatbush, New York.
Below are pictures of three generations of my line including the 8 great grandparents and pictures of Mom’s great grandparents Newel James Knight and Eliza Stratton with their children (Mom’s grandmother Maude Brown is in the front right) and Mom’s great grandparents John Brown and Mary Cheever.
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