Discover your Family

Left to Right: Ellen, Adam,mother Elizabeth, Jean and father Adam Hunter
Taken about 1869

I saw a video a while ago promoting the use of the Family Search galleries to comment and share with others about the photos and memories found there. I have shared the video at the end of this post.  Because of it, I have been intending to spend some time in looking at what others have added in Family Search. But just this week,  I was notified that a comment had been added to a photo posted a while ago that added some wonderful context to the picture.

Hunter Family in front of their home - 6 April 1893 on the occasion of the dedication of the Salt Lake Temple.

The following comment with the information that references this photo was posted yesterday.

The Hunter Home Hunter Home at 703 East 1st South, Salt Lake City, the day the Salt Lake Temple was dedicated. Adam built the adobe part in 1852. New part was built during the 1860s also a lean-to on back of part I, and the front porch. This home was sold in 1901. All the children after the twins were born here. All 12 children were married from here. Baby George and Adam died here. On the Porch, Uncle Dave and Aunt Jean Mulholland, Uncle Will and Aunt “Dell” Ellen Cameron, Margie Hunter, Grandma Hunter, Uncle Will Hunter, (Will C. and Will H. helped put Moroni on the Temple). By the fence, David Mulholland, Bell & Jim Brown, Bessie Mulholland, the 3 little Cook girls (Aunt Betsey’s), Bessie Brown (Ramsey) & Uncle Jim Brown, back of fence Aunt Teina & Tot Brown.

I imagine it was an exciting day to see their beloved temple finally dedicated to its sacred purpose. The temple had been under construction for 40 years and this family had seen members participating closely with the building process.  They had participated in the quarry, with father Adam as the foreman there, preparing the stones for the walls and hauling these back to the temple site. They had been there cementing Moroni onto the capstone one year earlier after the capstone had been set. The Deseret Weekly wrote few words about the day that began "It is done.  In the history of the people of God, as in the experience of individuals, there are periods of supreme joy and exultation; there are times when the mind is more than usually filled with the contemplation of things divine, and the spirit within feels the relationship with the Father above and the affiliation with the home beyond."  The day had come and Father Adam had not lived to witness it alongside his family but I'm sure that they had no doubt that he was there in spirit. I'm sure the emotions on this day were such as described in the Deseret Weekly. It is wonderful to understand more behind a picture of a family gathered on the steps of their family home. 

I look forward to finding many other treasures shared in the Memories section of Family Search. It is a free tool for anyone to use to research ancestors, share photos and documents and make connections with relatives known and discovered.

A tale from the trek west

In honour of Pioneer Day today, I thought I would share a snippet from an account along the trail west.

This account is from the Diary of Elijah Larkin - summer of 1863. Hannah Webb was only 17 years of age and traveled with the Larkins.  Her aunt Sarah and maternal grandparents had all previously tried to make the journey and had died enroute. Her other aunt Martha had also followed but had lost her husband before setting out with the ill-fated journey of the Willie handcart company. Hannah's journey was a successful crossing and Elijah includes many accounts of the beauty of the scene.  

I find his writing so descriptive - including painting a picture of the scene, sharing details of clothing, food, landscape and the animals and plant life along the way. He is also careful to document when there are events such as illness or death in the company along with the weather reports and hunting parties. His trade was originally as a baker but in later years he became a policeman in England and I imagine he wrote up careful reports in his profession. 

Ruth, Hannah[,] my Son Geo. W & self climbed the highest Bluff & had a Splendid view of Laramie & the country around presenting the most beautifull Picture we ever beheld. the Bluffs were covered with the most beautfull & varied colleurd [colored] Stones some of which I broke & preserved small portion of them[.] after we had crossed a half dozen Bluffs we came to a beautifull table land dotted all over with choice plants & flowers. the beautifull scenery on the East, the River North & the camp passing between—The trees on the sides of the Bluffs[.] up one we saw an Eagle perched. the Beautifull Mountainous Scenery, & the Varied tints of the Horizon as the Sun declined caused reflections to pass through my mind long to be remembered[.] just after Sun set we came down from the bluffs which were rather a dificult task as the sides were verry Steep & Craggy, as we were passing down in the deep ravines the Trees had been torn up by the roots & large stones & Rocks lay accross our path as though at some period of the past there had been a mighty convulsion of the Earth in the past....

 Just at the Mouth of the Kanyen, on the right side the Rock[y] Mountains were verry high & of Red Sand Stone, with two large masses of gothic shape Sand stone at the top, & all around Ceeders [cedars] were growing between the two masses of Stone above named[.] the Moon was going down & oposite the Sun had risen above the Mountains reflecting its bright Rays on the High Rocks oposite presenting the most beautifull Picture imaginable.

Pioneer Heritage Revisited

It is coming up on the time of year when I figuratively dust off my pioneer website to share in honour of the ancestors in the family that crossed the plains to settle in the Utah Valley.  

I created a site with as much information as I could find back in 2010.  It has had some edits and additions over time but as I looked at the calendar and visited the site, I realized it is part of the soon to be defunct wikispaces. This will be the last year to view the site I had created here.

 https://ourpioneerheritage.wikispaces.com/home

So that means it is time for an upgrade - to something more stable. There isn't much that can be depended upon in terms of technology - I've had my share of beloved sites and google services come to an end. But I don't want all the work to be lost. 

You will find the answers to questions like this: 

Do you know which ancestor followed along on their own at the age of 17 even after previous family members had died trying to make the same journey? This ancestor also crossed the Atlantic on the ship that Charles Dickens visited before it left port.

Do you know which ancestor brought a cello across the plains and was a successful musician in the Valley?

Which of our ancestors had to break up their journeys to earn money in St. Louis?

Which ancestor became very ill on the journey and promised to work to build the temple if the Lord preserved his life?

There is lots to learn and explore on this site!  So I have opened the site for one month and will be exporting what I can.  I'm happy to do  but if there is anyone keen to get involved, they would be welcome to help or take it on!  This was a Personal Progress project I did when I was a leader in the Young Women's organization of my church. I loved learning about the families and crossing the timelines as I prepared all the charts and information.

For anyone in my immediate Puzey family, there is a Pioneer scavenger hunt that you could do with your children for a Family Home Evening.  If you only share one side of the family line (Toone or Puzey only), you can always adapt the activity.  

How will you honour your ancestors this historic weekend?  

Phrenology Reading of David Mulholland

Phrenology Model

Somehow I ended up with a few pages in the genealogy archives that are the documented visit of David Mulholland to have a reading of the shape of his skull for the pseudo-science of phrenology, popular in the 19th century.   The proponents of phrenology considered their work to be scientific—an effort to study mind, personality, and character objectively, quantitatively. Some of its assumptions were that mental phenomena have causes that can be determined; that anatomical and physiological characteristics have influence upon mental behavior; and that the mind is not unitary but is dependent upon localized functions of the brain. It is easy to see, perhaps, that such an approach to the study of human personality seemed an improvement over the highly impressionistic, subjective approaches of the past. Moreover as one writer pointed out, "It was the first system that permitted detailed analysis of the human brain without the inconvenience of an autopsy."

David Mulholland (1856-1922)

David was with good company in his interest. Check out some well known members of the church who also participated in this.

Mormons who received phrenological readings between 1840 and 1891 included Joseph Smith, Hyrum Smith, Wilford Woodruff, Willard Richards, Brigham Young, George A. Smith, Heber C. Kimball, Orson Pratt, John E. Page, Alfred Cordon, Elias Smith, James J. Strang, Matthias Cowley, James Bunting, James S. Brown, Joseph C. Rich, George Reynolds, Amasa Lyman, Charles C. Rich, N. V. Jones, George Q. Cannon, O. S. Clawson, E. L. T. Harrison, Edwin D. Woolley, Christopher Layton, Christopher M. Layton, William Blood, Jesse N. Smith, Sanford Porter, Andrew Jensen, Elizabeth Williams, John D. Lee, Orson F. Whitney, Franklin S. Richards, J. B. Toronto, James H. Moyle, William S. Godbe, William Spry, Daniel Wells, and Abraham H. Cannon.

You can read the actual phrenology report done for David Mulholland at the link below.

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B6KBE88seim7N0Y1QWdXdW9OM3M/edit?usp=sharing

This link will take you to a bit of history on the enthusiasm surrounding phrenology amongst the Mormons.

http://www.dialoguejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/Dialogue_V09N01_44.pdf

The Story of Us: the Root Family

Jasper and Lillie Root on their 50th Wedding Anniversary.

Ernie, Margie, Ray, Glen, Russell, Gordon, Viola, Jessie, Jack with their parents Jasper and Lillie Root. 

An amazing collection of stories and history of the Root Family compiled by Roy, Leon and others making contributions. You can order the books from the Lulu self publishing website.

"In the Beginning"  The history of the Root family and Gray family from their beginnings in England, and their role in the early history of the United States and on to Canada.  This is volume one with 247 pages.

http://www.lulu.com/shop/roy-root/the-story-of-us/hardcover/product-21364556.html

"Alberta: a time to reflect"   The stories of the family of Jasper and Lillie Root collected through interviews, photos and documents.  This is volume two with 515 pages.

http://www.lulu.com/shop/roy-root/story-part-2/hardcover/product-21386578.html

Family History Goals: a reboot

I'm back for a weekly shift at the Family History Centre. This is something I enjoy doing but it was something of a "there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven" situation. I took a break while I was working with the young women in my church and thoroughly enjoyed that opportunity but I am no longer doing that and so I can return to my Tuesday nights virtually digging up relatives. The time to once again make doing this work a part of my week has come again.

I have struggled to have clear research goals or a consistent plan for addressing the gaps in my family tree.  I also have been remiss in sharing what I have both in terms of records, photos and research alongside updates on my activity. There is so much to do but for so long I only worked on the low hanging fruit. A lot of the easiest tasks are done. Or so it may seem, but I know there is still much to do to link sources, add images and stories and make connections. It is much harder to find new people to add to the families but there are many opportunities to do that as well. I need a plan!

It helps to know that there are others who don't have the time but who enjoy seeing the pictures or learning about the stories when I get to post. I appreciate those comments and the extensions people add to the conversation.

So here we are again. I have a number of posts in various stages of development in my draft folder. There are posts about Salt Lake City Then and Now, the Griswolds, The Story of Us published, Phrenology Readings and David Mulholland, and posts about new tools and training for doing family history. But all of these need more details or better pictures or a lot of research to complete the story. So it may be a while before you get to learn about Dousabelle or how David Mulholland was told his many fears were groundless.

So I will try to post weekly. Try to do some research regularly. And then to share with others what I am learning.

If you want to join the party, come visit the Family History Centre on Tuesday nights. Or post a comment, ask a question, set up a tree on FamilySearch. What would you like me to share? What is a question you have wondered about? Do you have a shoebox squirrelled away with some treasures?  I enjoy doing this no matter who is paying attention but how much more fun it is when someone else is interested in it as well.