I recently finished a project that had been floating around in my mind for years. I had a vision of a wall in a our house dedicated to pictures of our ancestors. We have a wall in our dining room here that I thought would be perfect so I finally got started. I originally planned on doing one of those amazing gallery walls you see on Pinterest, but when I found these photo collage frames at Ikea I realized that was much more feasible for me. I really hate to measure when I'm hanging things up and I'm terrible at arranging things to look nice so this was perfect.
I wasn't sure how to get a hold of the pictures until I went on the new family search site a while back and discovered tons of pictures there. That made it so much easier! Most of the pictures I found were from there, although I had some help from family, too. I also printed out our fan charts from that site. I love having those up, too.
Once I jumped in and started researching I was hooked! I've caught the family history bug. It was seriously addicting looking for pictures and stories of my family and Joe's family. I would get started and the next thing I knew, the morning was gone and Nate had been watching way too much TV :). I think it was for a good cause, though.
I learned a ton and read a lot of amazing stories. Here are some of the things I learned through my research:
-After months and months, when the wall was almost done, I happened to be looking up at it while eating breakfast and I realized something that I had missed--Joe and I are related! I know what you're thinking...that explains so much :). I kind of expected to find a connection since we both have a lot of Mormon pioneer ancestry but it was so weird actually seeing it in writing. We have the same great great great great grandparents which would make us fifth cousins! Yikes.
The mother in the center is our common ancestor:
Her son and daughter that we are each descended from both died in their 20's so they are not in the picture.
I like to think of us as a modern day Mary and Matthew:
That makes inbreeding seem a little more glamorous, right?
-That wasn't the only connection I found between our ancestors, though. I was reading the personal history of one of Joe's ancestors when I found a reference to one of my ancestors. Joe's ancestor was writing in her history of how poor they were soon after their arrival in Utah. She said she had some kind of sores on her feet and her neighbor Walborg Nielsen brought her some pork that she could put on her feet to help them. But, she wrote that she was so hungry that she just decided to eat the pork. I remembered the name Walborg since it is so unique and sure enough that was my great great grandmother!
Here she is:
-I learned more about what countries my ancestors came from. I always thought I was only English and Danish but I found out I have Norwegian and German roots, too.
This man was born in 1758 in Massachusetts but his grandparents, I believe, came from Germany in the early 1700's:
He was actually married in the Trinity Church in Boston on Christmas Day in 1777. What a time and place to begin a life together! I don't know if he fought in the Revolutionary War or not, although I have other ancestors who did.
-Joe's ancestry is similar to mine--a lot of English and Danish but he also has Swedish, Scottish and German ancestors. During my research, I discovered that he has an ancestor who came to the US from Poland in the 1600's. I was amazed! I guess I didn't realize there were immigrants coming to America from Eastern Europe at that time. Plus it was cool to find out that my kids have some Polish in them. Here's a little blurb I found about him on a different site:
Zaborowski, Albrecht (Olbracht)
Early settler. Born in Pokrzywna, Poland about 1638. In 1662 settled in New Amsterdam (New York City), became acquainted with the language of the Indians and soon after acted as their interpreter. Through his marriage and successful transactions came into possession of large tracts of land in northern New Jersey on the bank of the Passaic River, N.J. In 1682 commissioned first justice of the peace for the Upper Bergen County, N.J. Died in 1711 in Hackensack, N.J.
-I loved reading the personal histories of our ancestors that converted to the church. Joe and I both have a pretty deep Mormon history. When I read all of their stories of faith and sacrifice for a cause they believed in with their whole hearts, despite persecution and sometimes estrangement from their families, it strengthened my own faith. I am in awe of their commitment to the truth they felt resonate in their minds and hearts. It carried them through long journeys across oceans and plains, times of hunger and deprivation, and even difficult doctrines that I'm sure were at times challenging to their faith.
One of my ancestors, Elizabeth Simpson, came from a fairly wealthy family in England. She joined the church when she was about 32, after her first husband died and she was left with two children. She married a man who was also a member of the church but then he died 5 years later leaving her a widow again with now 5 children. She wanted so much to come to America and join the other Saints which she was finally able to do in 1856. From her history it says this:
The opportunity came, and in May, 1856, she found herself and five children, ranging in age from six to nineteen, aboard the ship Horizon ready to set sail for America. While they were waiting in the harbor at Liverpool, a row boat was seen to approach the ship, and soon her two brothers came aboard to make one more effort to persuade her to remain in England. They pleaded most earnestly and said, "Elizabeth, don't take these little children at this time of the year and go to those God-forsaken Mormons and to such a despised place as Utah." They promised her she would never want for anything money could buy, as they were financially wealthy and would gladly care for her and her children. She turned to them and said, "I am going to Zion. The gospel is true, and Joseph Smith is a prophet of God." Her brothers returned home and she started on the voyage of six long weeks in a sailing vessel.
Little did she know the troubles that were ahead of her. She ended up joining the ill-fated Martin Handcart Company to cross the plains to Utah. But, the miracles weren't over either. I could go on and on about her but I won't here. She and all of her children did make it Utah alive. You can read her history here.
I found myself particularly drawn to the stories of women who were in polygamous marriages. I wanted to learn more about them and their lives. I found a story of a woman whose first love died soon after their marriage. She became a 2nd wife to a man who took good care of her and had a large family. Another ancestor, after having a child and after her first husband died of measles, became a 2nd wife to man who then ended up also marrying her sister. Sounds like an awful situation, right? I'm sure it was tough at times, but once polygamy was outlawed in the territory of Utah their husband ended up moving to a house down the road and living alone for years. He said he didn't want to separate the sisters who had lived together peacefully for so long. Some women defended the practice until they died. I myself have never felt that it was some kind of expression of sexual deviancy, as many have argued, but I've never felt comfortable with it either. The fact of the matter is, as my dad always says, if it weren't for polygamy, I wouldn't be here. You can read more about polygamy in our early church history here.
I learned that marriage was a lot different back then. It was often more about practicality and survival than love. Also, so many died at a young age that it was rare to find a couple that lived long lives together. Anyway, I really appreciated the insight into different times and places.
-I found a lot of awesome pictures...
I'd always been told that my grandpa weighed 12 pounds when he was born, but it was hard to imagine since he was a pretty slight man when I knew him. So, I loved finding this picture of him as a baby, with his mother and sister:
One of my ancestors, Elizabeth Simpson, came from a fairly wealthy family in England. She joined the church when she was about 32, after her first husband died and she was left with two children. She married a man who was also a member of the church but then he died 5 years later leaving her a widow again with now 5 children. She wanted so much to come to America and join the other Saints which she was finally able to do in 1856. From her history it says this:
The opportunity came, and in May, 1856, she found herself and five children, ranging in age from six to nineteen, aboard the ship Horizon ready to set sail for America. While they were waiting in the harbor at Liverpool, a row boat was seen to approach the ship, and soon her two brothers came aboard to make one more effort to persuade her to remain in England. They pleaded most earnestly and said, "Elizabeth, don't take these little children at this time of the year and go to those God-forsaken Mormons and to such a despised place as Utah." They promised her she would never want for anything money could buy, as they were financially wealthy and would gladly care for her and her children. She turned to them and said, "I am going to Zion. The gospel is true, and Joseph Smith is a prophet of God." Her brothers returned home and she started on the voyage of six long weeks in a sailing vessel.
Little did she know the troubles that were ahead of her. She ended up joining the ill-fated Martin Handcart Company to cross the plains to Utah. But, the miracles weren't over either. I could go on and on about her but I won't here. She and all of her children did make it Utah alive. You can read her history here.
I put these two pictures of Elizabeth side by side on our wall--
One from her youth in England, and one from her later years:
I found myself particularly drawn to the stories of women who were in polygamous marriages. I wanted to learn more about them and their lives. I found a story of a woman whose first love died soon after their marriage. She became a 2nd wife to a man who took good care of her and had a large family. Another ancestor, after having a child and after her first husband died of measles, became a 2nd wife to man who then ended up also marrying her sister. Sounds like an awful situation, right? I'm sure it was tough at times, but once polygamy was outlawed in the territory of Utah their husband ended up moving to a house down the road and living alone for years. He said he didn't want to separate the sisters who had lived together peacefully for so long. Some women defended the practice until they died. I myself have never felt that it was some kind of expression of sexual deviancy, as many have argued, but I've never felt comfortable with it either. The fact of the matter is, as my dad always says, if it weren't for polygamy, I wouldn't be here. You can read more about polygamy in our early church history here.
I learned that marriage was a lot different back then. It was often more about practicality and survival than love. Also, so many died at a young age that it was rare to find a couple that lived long lives together. Anyway, I really appreciated the insight into different times and places.
-I found a lot of awesome pictures...
I'd always been told that my grandpa weighed 12 pounds when he was born, but it was hard to imagine since he was a pretty slight man when I knew him. So, I loved finding this picture of him as a baby, with his mother and sister:
I love this picture of my great grandma and grandpa.
I knew my grandma since she lived to be 100.
Speaking of that same grandma, I love these 5-generation pictures I found recently (the 2nd was meant to imitate the first):
(The baby in the top picture is my grandma. The baby in the bottom picture is my cousin.)
I loved finding this next picture of my great-great grandparents and their family (my great grandma is in the back row, second from the right). I'd always been told about how this family had found a baby on their doorstep and had raised her as their own (the baby in the picture). But, I didn't know that their 16 year-old son had died that same year after being hit by a train. He had apparently been up all night irrigating and they think he may have fallen asleep on the tracks while waiting for the train. The baby ended up being a great comfort to the mother in her grief. That baby lived a wonderful, faithful life and my mom was named for her and remembers her well.
Do you see how they added the picture of their son who died? It was probably the most recent one they had.
-The biggest thing I felt while doing this is that I need to leave my own record! That means writing in my journal and also writing here on this blog. I want my own grandchildren to know about some of the things that I experienced--the good and the bad. I want them to know of the faith I have too. I'm so thankful for the strong men and women that I come from. They surely had their own weaknesses and faults but they tried to live good lives. I'm grateful for the legacy they left me and especially for my faith that families are eternal.
I'll finish this very long post with a quote I love by Hodding Carter:
There are only two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children. One of these is roots, the other, wings.
2 comments:
this is awesome! how exciting for you
Love the wall! Related huh!? That's too funny!!! Love you guys!
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