Louisiana

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Remembering Amelia

I wanted to share these clippings my Grandmother, Gladys Donaldson Ross. Not sure if they were all the same time, likely. I don’t know if Amelia was a role-model for my Grandmother. I do recall her mentioning Amelia Earhart in at least one conversation with her, but do not recall the context. Grandma would have been 15 at the time Amelia went missing. Whatever the reason, Grandma clipped these and kept them. I am posting these in honour of what would have been her 103rd birthday this week, 20 September 1921 to 20 September 2024.

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Open primaries bill introduced in Congress

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Elizabeth Cartwright Sharp written by Annie Thompson (27 August 1957)

I came upon this history and thought I would share it.  Elizabeth Cartwright Sharp is the mother of my William Sharp.  She was also the mother of Isabella Sharp Carlisle, Elizabeth Sharp Quayle, and James Sharp.  I don’t know where she got all of her information, hopefully from being passed down.  I will enter some updates in brackets.

LIFE HISTORY: Elizabeth Cartwright Sharp, written by Annie Thompson, (August 27, 1957).

“Elizabeth Cartwright Sharp was the daughter and only child, of George and Ann (Matthews) Cartwright, and was christened at Misson, Nottinghamshire, England, 20 December 1803. She died in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, probably late in the year 1850 [17 February 1851].

Elizabeth grew up a tall young lady, reared in an atmosphere of wealth and refinement. At the age of 17 her father died (burial 27 February 1820, age 46) and three years later, on 4 June 1823, her mother remarried to a widower named George Beighton. Little is known of this marriage except that George Beighton is purported to have gambled away at the races at Doncaster, the money belonging to Elizabeth’s mother.

On 29 December 1823, Elizabeth Cartwright was married at Mission to Thomas Sharp, and they became parents of eight children, four of whom died young in England; the other four, William, Isabella, Elizabeth and James emigrated to this country with their mother:

George Sharp, chr. 11 Nov 1824, Misson, Nottinghamshire, England
Mary Sharp, chr. 27 Nov 1825, “,”,”
William Sharp, born 10 Dec 1826, “,”,”
George Sharp, chr. 13 May 1826, “,”,”
Isabella Sharp, born 22 Dec 1831, “,”,”
Elizabeth Sharp, chr. 11 June 1834, “,”,”
Ann Sharp, chr. 29 July 1838, “,”,”
James Sharp, Born 7 Jan 1840, “,”,”
(Extract from the history of Isabella Sharp Carlisle)

Misson is a little town in the northern part of Nottinghamshire, in what used to be the Sherwood Forest, (made famous by the stories of Robin Hood). As well as having a historical setting, the place, at the time of Elizabeth Cartwright’s birth, was one of beauty, with its green pastures a bloom with cowslips.

Thomas Sharp died in 1841 at the age of 45 (buried 15 Jul 1841, Mission), leaving Elizabeth to care for the children.

Sometime about 1848, the LDS missionaries were preaching in the vicinity of Mission, and Elizabeth Sharp joined the LDS church, together with her eldest son, William, who was baptized 20 Jun 1848.

Elizabeth’s home was opened to the missionaries, and among the elders who stayed there was Elder George Emery.

Elizabeth Sharp decided to emigrate with her family to Utah, but her folks tried hard to discourage her from taking the hazardous trip; they told her if you leave for the west, “A red Indian will eat ye.” But Elizabeth’s determination prevailed, and in 1850 the family, consisting of the mother and her four children, booked passage for America. (The price of the ticket being twenty-five pounds sterling). They set sail from Liverpool, England, bound for New Orléans, Louisiana, USA, on 2 October 1850, on the sailing vessel “James Pennell”, commanded by Captain Fullerton. The voyage was a rough one and it took six weeks to reach their destination.

From New Orléans, they traveled by boat up the Mississippi River to St. Louis, Missouri, a trip that was not a healthy one.

Shortly after the family reached St. Louis, the mother took sick and died, and was buried there. This left the children on their own. They found employment and Elizabeth and James married and stayed in Missouri.

William Sharp married Mrs. Mary Ann Bailey Padley, a young widow who had joined the church in England.

Isabella Sharp was baptized into the church while in St. Louis, and Joseph Carlisle. Elizabeth Sharp married John Quayle, and settled around St. Louis, and had a family of three children.

James, who was about twelve years old when his mother died, made arrangements to come to Salt Lake City, but the company he was to travel with finally turned back. He then found employment with a meat-packing concern in St. Louis (in which he later became a partner), and married Eudora Mann and had a family of five children.

Elizabeth Sharp Quayle and James Sharp never joined the church.

Both William Sharp and Joseph Carlisle were good athletes, and while in St. Louis, they challenged anyone to a wrestling match that cared to accept. They became well-known in this respect and they had few who accepted their challenge.

In 1853, both William Sharp and his family, which now consisted of his wife Mary Ann, his step-son Lorenzo Padley, and daughter Annie. Elizabeth who was born in St. Louis, and Joseph Carlisle and his wife Isabella Sharp Carlisle, started their journey across the plains. They drove a wagon for Williams Jennings, a Salt Lake merchant and freighter, (whether they drove one wagon or two is not known). They came in the Moses Clawson Co., arriving in Salt Lake City about September 15, 1853. (Journal History, Aug 18, 1853, pg. 5-7; Church Emigrations Vol. 2, 2, 1851 to 1863).

Joseph and Isabella Sharp Carlisle settled in Mill Creek, Salt Lake County, Utah; and William and Mary Ann Sharp settled in Plain City, Weber County, Utah.

Annie Thompson
August 27, 1957

My relationship: Elizabeth Cartwright- Thomas Sharp
William Sharp
Milo Riley Sharp
Edward William Sharp
Edward Junior Sharp

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Shadows

Yesterday was a day that will forever live in my memory.  I was privileged to follow and shadow an United States Senator in all that he did.  It was my privilege to attend his meetings, listen to his conversations, and personally visit with him throughout the day.  At one point I even got to go on the United States Senate Floor.  That is a rare honor as it is only reserved for Senators and other  selected individuals.  He had to ask permission for me to be on the floor.  If he had not inserted his talk into the record, my name would even be a part of the Congressional Record.  What an honor it was to follow and visit with him.
It was my honor to see him visit with a couple of other Senators.  They visited about budgets, amendments to budgets, and plans in relation to upcoming votes.  He even visited with Senator Vitter about the costs of rebuilding Louisiana.  That was interesting.
Going to the floor was something I will never forget.  It was electric.  It was fun to be on the floor rather than up in the gallery looking down.  There were three of us there, all with our special little passes, and watched the Senator give his little 7 1/2 minute talk.
After coming back to the floor, and since we had missed some of the commerce committee meeting, he visited with me in his office for almost an hour.  I asked him a series of questions.  Everything from ANWR to Garrett, his son.  We discussed Garrett for a little while and the effect it has had upon his life.  He told me about the every day life of being LDS and serving as an  Oregon representative.  He told me about his contacts with the church and how that relationship is structured.  He told me about some of their latest interactions.  I asked him about spiritual  interactions with Garrett which was interesting, especially about some of the interactions with other members of the family.
The rest of the day was in meetings with a variety of groups on a variety of topics.  It made me tired just thinking about it.  We went from bio-diesel to environmental issues, car production to timber, and French movies to the election of governor in Virginia.  It was an exhausting sphere and round of conversations.  It was all very enlightening and impressive that he knew about each of these subjects.  I loved it.
Looking back I really appreciate the time he gave me.  It was very interesting to spend time with the man all this revolves around.  What is more, the father of a dear friend of mine.  It helped  change some of the frustration I had struggled with in not knowing who I represented.  While I still think he is pretty aloof and not totally in touch with reality, it was great to get to know him one and one.  It was an honor to be given the time for such an opportunity.  I loved it.  It was very instructive to him and his personality, especially in relation to the church and politics.  It was a distinct privilege I shall never soon forget.
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Interesting Days

It is strange how coincidence seems to play into our lives. Even I, a low staffer, an Idahoan, who is of very little importance in the realm of all men who have walked upon the earth have the privilege of meeting such amazing men. There are giants around us and we very seldom realize it. Most of those will never be  recognized or accredited for what they do. However, today I wish to pay tribute to the common man (men and women, you know what I mean…man is not without the woman, and woman not without the man). There are souls around us who affect us so deeply that they forever change our course. Most of them are the every day run of the mill who humbly go about doing their duty. Many men do what they can to get by, others in service to others oblivious and often doing more damage, but then there are those who know what they need to do and do it well. Those who seek to do what they do well, live their lives to the best of their capability who influence the most.This week I met a man by the name of Mehmet Ali Talat. He paid a visit to Senator Smith. He is the president of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. It definitely is not every day that we meet the President of a small country. What is more, one that is a bit more questionable in the eyes of many nations. Besides that, he is a very powerful man. He came with his entourage and sat in the office for a while (the Senator was meeting with the President of Starbucks…how ironic) and then left to visit with the Senator in his office. I do not know the culture, I do not know the man, but he seemed very deliberate and almost unhappy. The whole group seemed almost dire in many ways. While I can boast that I met the man who leads another nation, he left little or no influence upon me.

The same day, I met a man named Bob Livingston. A representative from Louisiana that served in the house for over 20 years. If I remember right, he was even Speaker of the House of the United States for a short time. A powerful man in the United States who served for a third of most people’s lives. (While there are hundreds of people in the U.S. government and I have come to learn it is just another job, it still holds a mystique) He sat with me for a few moments and was so concerned about his blackberry he couldn’t even visit for a whole five minutes. Another man who influenced millions of lives, but in lasting tribute will have little more than name recognition to go with his face in my life. Do we recognize the influence we could have on people, but due to our own concerns and selfishness do not take the opportunity to reach out more often.

If you would not know it, I was giving a tour this week and while explaining the Capitol Ceiling (which is always accompanied with my looking around while explaining rather than peering up a dozen noses) and I recognized a man sitting on one of the benches on the outer parameter. I excused myself from my tour group for a moment to go say hello to the Governor of Idaho, my beloved home state. I walked over, shook the hand of Dirk Kempthorne, and introduced myself. He looked pensive and contemplative. I somewhat regret having visiting with him as he seemed almost melancholy, but I was thrilled with the opportunity. Here was a man who took a few moments to say hello and learn a little about me. He did not brush me off and seemed somewhat interested. This man, while definitely with his own thoughts, took a few moments out to focus on the one. He will have a much more lasting influence than the President of a small nation or Speaker of the House. Nevertheless, many don’t like the Governor, but he seemed much more willing to care about other people than the first two.

In that tour group that I excused myself from was a former Senator of the State of Oregon. Neil and Mary Bryant were a different breed though. They were engaging, willing to share of themselves and learn of others, and even reached out to meet others. They and their friends Neal and Linda Huston were fun to take on the tour as they were so willing to get along and be a part of society. They are good individuals who loved to learn. He tried to stump me on historical facts of the United States of the Pacific Northwest (which my knowledge is not very good, I just got lucky that I knew his answers). They were by far the best people I met that day. While not as impressive in stature of the world, they left an impression that will be much more lasting.

With all that said, I want to recognize some of those who have affected my life the most. Colleen Jonas. Father in Heaven. Jesus Christ. Milo Ross. Sandra Jonas. Amanda Hemsley. Brad Hales. Kathy Duncan. Ted Tateoka. Kevin Orton. Nicole Whitesides. Laurel Hepworth. Marie Lundgreen. Kathryn England. Anna Badger. Chris Horsley. Megan Duncan. Dustin McClellan. James Cazier. Tom Kunzler. Altan Hardcastle. Warren Crane. Gene Hansen. Lorn Duff. I am sure there are more, many more. Thank God for good souls who reach out and connect with people. Who care more for others than they do for themselves. May God forever bless those who have affected my life and may I return the favor to all I come in contact with.

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Dear Journal

I don’t know if this is a good thing or not.  In many cases, I think this little blog can remove some of the excess and useless from my hand written journal.  While I have become increasingly slack in hand writing, I find this is much more easy to type on my break at work or to throw out a few ideas from time to time.  Perhaps the time consumption of writing useless ramblings and thought testing in the hard copy can be removed.  I don’t know if the posterity would have appreciated this maintained in the journal or not, but we will have to see.  I could hope, but I don’t think what I am writing now could last through the centuries as perhaps a book could.  But by that time, the day to day concerns and mundane thoughts will not be of value anyhow.  They will probably be so foreign to most that they would find it utterly boring.  Unless of course, they are steeped in the traditions of our day and understand a glimmer of what it was I thought was somewhat important.
We never hear of the concerns or latest political ramblings of Rome.  I have no idea if they ever passed a CAFTA of sorts, something that is taking up mega amounts of time for me here at work.  Idaho does not want CAFTA.  Minnesota does not want CAFTA.  They both have the sugar beet industry to lose.  Florida and Louisiana don’t want it either for it causes blows to their sugar cane industry.  However, I do not think that is enough to stall it in the House.  While there are problems with tribunals in the pact, and other problems, I think it will end up going the way of a passing vote.  It is always so interesting.  I find myself in the midst of a terrible battle.  One that is not just political, but goes further.  It extends to the parts of the soul, and the age old questions of what is good and right.  I know many people say that this is something that really doesn’t matter in the long run, but it does.  There is nothing temporal which is not also spiritual.  Temporal is only an extention of spiritual.  The principle behind these issues is still very real, and one that extends to the dawnings of time.  The question is this.  We are to be independent as far as we possibly can.  In all things.  Hence comes the conservative slant.  We believe in being sustained as much as we can individually, then to help out our families and communities.  After that, it extends to the state, and then to the whole world.  Families are organized together into communities, and communities in this country into counties.  However this order of things has been diminished and is now the state moreso.  States (in the US) combine to form the United States, one large state.  Nation seems to have the wrong definition, something I would apply more to the community or county.  The culmination of all these creates the populace of the world and our interactions.
The market works purely in this form, trade breaks down barriers, and all things are governed according to need and the invisible hand.  You can sense some of my political theory background coming out here.  This would be considered the far right, the purist, and those who are basically libertarian.  Everything is to work from the base up.  The forming of a state, and of these united states are a social compact for the benefit of all.  From my understanding, government is only to do for the people what they grant it power to do for them.  Therefore, government is not to do something that the people are not willing to do for themselves.  I would protect my life.  Government has that capability to do that for me so I don’t have to worry about it.  I would protect my property, those things I can claim as my own.  Therefore government may do that for me as well.  There is always the sticky idea of defining property and regulating who gets what, but I think that was pretty well defined by the market and to some degree still is.  That is the roll of government.  To aid in those things, communication must be preserved, transportation enabled, and forces which would undermine the happy association with my peers.  Everything beyond is out of the scope of government.  I think most of the problems we are facing today deal with the overstepping of those bounds.  That would be the ideal world.  Yep, there would be inequality, but you know, it would be taken care of on the community level.  If it is community wide, the counties or states would reach to help out neighboring and so forth.  I do believe humans are naturally good.  If there is greed, I believe the market would help remove it and if not, they would find themselves destitute and poor.  However, our audacity to believe we understand things better than the laws of eternity have caused us to stick our fingers into the pots and undermine everything.  Now the other side is that humans are not capable of taking care of themselves and need a big brother.  I obviously am throwing the other side of the spectrum out.  It is our job to reach out and make sure each are living their life to the fullest.  It takes a few who are well learned and understanding to say what those things are because they know best.  Therefore all must be told what to do, how to do it, how often, and in all the details.  This is a very centralized theory, while the other is decentralized.  One claims all understanding, the other claims each knows for themselves.  One states that human kind is naturally ignorant, the other that humans have certain innate gifts of understanding.  The poles are great and hard to mix.  These two far opposites battle in the middle for the ground and neither is ever quite winning.
I believe in the conservative, free market, libertarian, decentralized mode of things.  I think free trade is a great thing.  Something to be lauded and heralded to the world.  It will serve more to break down the barriers of culture and religion than anything else I can think of.  Now where government has already become involved we have adapted and don’t like drastic change.  The market does provide constance and change is incremental and small.  The authoritative approach brings drastic and painful changes.  We have relied on government so much that the removal of these barriers will affect broad spectrums of our society.  Where if we had not messed with these things, we would not be facing this issue.  Nobody ever heard the wagon maker union calling for subsidies and high taxes on autos because it was ruining their way of life.  Nobody ever heard the candle and lantern makers posing for special incentives and help of the government.  New inventions, new ways of life, the future was bright and great opportunity awaited them.  The wheel makers moved on to auto wheels or were left destitute.  The market required a continuing education, and did not allow for stagnant individuals.  You had to work or you had none.  If you could not work, then those who could help if it was obvious reached out their hand.  If you had no hope, many took their own lives or pined away in misery.  Those who have faith and hope march forward ever into uncharted territory.  Whether for themselves or for others.  Electricity has revolutionized the world.  Those who were destroyed by electricity either adapted or they were left behind.  Yes, it might be painful, but life itself is painful.  Learn to grab the bull by the horns and wrestle it to your benefit.  Have a classic back yard bar-b-que when you have worked things in your favor.  Yep, that bull might be big, it might be a mean one, but call on family and community.  There is nothing that is too big that concerted effort cannot conquer.
Somehow the bull is always to be slaughtered by the community now.  And when it is not, we cry foul.  We avoid the pain of work and endure the pain of hunger.  The pain of work is much less nagging and can actually be enjoyable, much more than the pains of hunger ever were.  Yet somehow we cry and bring about our pity party.  I did not have the opportunity to have first pick of the last killed calf.
So what about specialization.  That is all great.  I believe if someone else can kill the calf and butcher it better than me is more than allowed to do so.  But to receive of their work and effort, there must be something I can be doing that would be of value to them.  Now I understand money has made this bargain much more easily made, but there is something I can do.  Whether I am good at it or not, maybe it is just something nobody else wants to do.  There is always work to do, and that pain we might as well do.  Whether it be low or high, it needs to be done, so why whine, get to it.  If you are the best darn nose picker in the world and somebody else wants those ores, then you will be rewarded for your job.  Do it well, and the better the reward.
So here we are, back in Idaho.  Free trade will remove the old no longer useful or efficient occupations and require ingenuity for those who would like to work.  In saying all that, I hate to see the complete uprooting of an entire way of life.  Granted, it exists because of government, but it is my life.  It is the way I grew up.  It is how life is.  My allowing CAFTA will destroy all I have ever known and break apart the communities and way of life.  Some of my best friends will be left destitute and without hope of a future, partially because of their own unwillingness to adapt and learn.
If all this rambling on theory is not enough, this is what is worse.  That we have the capability to determine these things.  Our government and we as a people have allowed government to get to this stage.  Yep, you and me.  I suppose much more on our ancestors, but we allow and even perpetuate this way of life.  Not just for ourselves, but in our government.  What ever is to be done?  Must we wait for great grievances or even the failure of our system before we make true amends?  Anyhow my break is well over.  Whatever shall we do.  I am afraid most people don’t care enough to worry about it, so I suppose those who believe we are dumb ride for the day.  While those who believe in the independence of the individual either must be obvious or watch with a degree of terror.  Perhaps we deserve to be ruled by the few and an elitest group, after all, we allowed it.