Sharp

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Meredith – Graham Wedding

William and Mary Graham are pleased to announce the marriage of their daughter Damey Catherine Graham to James Thomas Ross, son of James Meredith and Nancy Shepherd.  James and Damey were married 9 August 1887 in Hiwassie, Pulaski, Virginia.

I am stepping into a bit of a minefield in writing this biography because there is such a wide variety of opinions on the history of this family.  The stories I have were handed down and cannot be verified.  Some claim to have documents but I have been unable to obtain copies of these documents for various reasons.  These purported documents are family records and the public records I cannot find.  Therefore, hopefully documentation will come forward and this post will be altered as that information presents itself.  Poor Damey, not much conversation is available about her because there is so little controversy.

The picture above is of James Ross Meredith, or I assume he was called that at that time.  James Thomas Meredith was born to Nancy Adeline Shepherd 22 September 1869 in Snowville, Virginia.

In 1951, a few months before his death, James was interviewed by his granddaughter, Donna Beachell.  She indicated his mind was very clear.  He indicated to Donna that he was born out of wedlock and that his real father was James Meredith.  He said he was born in Snowville, Virginia.   He also said this James Meredith adopted him when he was about 4 years old and raised him.  He said the courts gave him the name James Thomas Ross Meredith.

The records of Pulaski County indicate this:

“Order Book 5, page 25
September 2, 1873
On the motion of Anderson Linkous, Overseer of the Poor for High Wassie Township for an order to bind James Ross aged 3 years son of Nancy Ross who has become a county charge and it appearing to the Court that said James Ross is now a county charge.  It is ordered that said Overseer of the Poor bind out according to Law to James Meredith the said James Ross son of Nancy Ross aged 3 years until he attains the age of 21 years and besides teaching him reading, writing and arithmetic said Meredith shall be required to pay the said James Ross upon his attaining the age of 21 years the sum of 100 dollars.”

The courts recognized him as James Ross, probably after his mother’s married name.  I have been unable to locate a birth record for him under either name.

He was almost 5 years old when Nancy Ross went into the poorhouse, or at least when the county gave little James to old James Meredith.  I am not sure why they thought he was 3.  Although some records have him born in 1869, and if this was correct, he was just shy of his 4th birthday.  But I will stick with the birthday that he gave during his life.

The county placed James Ross into the charge of James Meredith until he was 21 years of age.  Unfortunately, nobody seemed to ask when this James Meredith was born.  We also do not know when this old James Meredith died, or if he raised him until he was 21 (and paid the $100).  After James and Damey married, John Phibbs (brother-in-law to Fanny Ross) remembered visiting the family in West Virginia and that James’ mother, Nancy lived with her son and daughter-in-law, James and Damey, for much of the time the family lived in West Virginia.    Apparently Nancy was strong enough to carry in heavy sacks of coal and potatoes by herself.  This probably would have been the turn of the 20th century since they were in West Virginia.  No mention is made of old James Meredith who was the father and supposedly raised him.  Nancy must have kept contact through the years, lived close enough, or even got little James back.   We have so many holes to fill with information that we will likely never have.

Clarita Morgan, a researcher in Pulaski County in the 1970’s wrote to Donna and told her it was not uncommon for ladies to be placed in the poorhouse for having a child out of wedlock.  These women were considered a menace and a burden to the community.  At any rate, Nancy Shepherd Ross lived an especially hard life.  It is hard to put ourselves into their scene or time without many more facts.

When James married Damey, the marriage certificate has J. R. Mearideth.  Yet, when all the children were born, James and Damey gave them each the Ross name (or so it seems).  Damey died under the Ross name and no records indicate she ever went by the Meredith name.  James is listed as a farmer.

When James went to the LDS temple on 20 June 1935, he gave his name as James Thomas Ross born 22 September at Snowville, Pulaski, Virginia.  He gave his father as James Thomas Ross and mother as Nancy Shepard.  He also gave his baptismal date as 17 April 1898.  Nothing in any of the records provide any evidence of a James Thomas Ross to be his father, and either the recorder at the Temple put the wrong last name, or James made a mistake because he seems to have clearly known his father was James Meredith (was his father’s middle name really Thomas?).  When Fanny went to the LDS temple on 20 June 1923 she said her parents were James F Ross (misread?) and Damy C Graham.

Now, having said all that, one of the difficulties is that there are tons of James Merediths who lived in Pulaski County, Virginia.  In the 1880 Census, little James Meredith is living with elder James Meredith who was born in 1804 and the family lived in Hiwassie.  It is not uncommon for a 65 year old man to have a child.  However, elder James Meredith has a family of 10 children with his wife.  In that census, only elder and little James are shown as living together.  Elder James’ wife, Sarah (Sallie) Jane Bell Meredith, is “ill” and living with their daughter Sarah Jane Meredith Elkins.  I want to speculate but will not.

For years it was thought that James and Sarah Meredith’s son, James Anderson Meredith, was the father of our James Thomas Meredith.  But this was easily resolved in that James Anderson Meredith died in 1864 in a battle at Lexington, Lexington, Virginia, four or five years before little James Meredith was born.  Others thought that James Meredith, the son of Hugh Meredith Jr elder James Meredith’s brother, was the father.  He is four years older than Nancy and their ages seem more conducive to a relationship.  But, we are unable to track him down and prove anything for certain.  But one thing is sure, elder James Meredith told the census taker in 1880 that little James Meredith was his son.  I guess we have to move forward with that record as the basis for our assumptions.  Would the Uncle (elder James Meredith) of James Meredith (Hugh Jr’s son) ruin his good name by claiming little James Meredith as his own to save the name of his nephew?  I just do not know, but the census gives documentation of a relationship (we all know how terrible the census records are for accuracy other than names of family members and location of living).  (Some of my original research and ruminating on these issues can be found here.)

This begs the question of why 27 year old Nancy would have intimate relations with 65 year old and married to another elder James.  Ms. Morgan above said it was not uncommon for servants living in the home to be taken advantage of by the homeowner.  But we have no evidence that Nancy was a servant in their home.  If he did this and kicked her out, it could account for her being in the poorhouse and his reclaiming the child in court.  But we have nothing to support the notion Ms. Morgan suggests.

Well, if this is not enough to confuse the matter, lets jump back in time before James was born to where Nancy married Harvy D Ross 7 June 1860 in Pulaski, Pulaski, Virginia.  She married Harvy at 19 years old. On 9 September 1861, Harvy enlisted in Company F, 54th Infantry Regiment Virginia for the Confederacy.  He left for military service and we have few details of when he returned.  She bore James Meredith in 1868 and as far as we know, Harvy had not yet returned from the war.   By 1870 Harvy was back living in Alum Ridge, Floyd, Virginia after the Civil War. We do not know when he left Virginia for the “west”.  William Andrew Ross was born on 10 October 1873 in Snowville.  The birth index for Pulaski County lists William as a bastard, but his death certificate lists Harvy Ross as the father!  (Death certificates are highly unreliable for parental information.)  But why they were not back living together in 1870, we do not know.  He was back in the area and could very well be the father of William.  I just wish we had more information.  He supposedly moved to Tennessee or Kentucky and passed away there, never having anything to do with his son William, if he really is the father.  William was raised by Nancy and was told by her that Harvy was his father.  William never had a memory of meeting his father.

Now that I have given more history of Nancy Adeline Shepherd in this biography of her son and daughter-in-law, we can move on.  Our documentation is weak of who little James Meredith’s father is and where he was until he married Damey.  Although, I should mention that a cousin, Jim Ross, who claims he is in possession of the journals of James Meredith (or Ross) indicates that he was raised by elder James Meredith to believe that elder James was actually his father.  Well, rephrased, he never had any doubt elder James Meredith was his father.  Therefore, we move forward on that assumption even though I have only hearsay from a cousin (as I cannot get a copy of the book) and an 1880 census record.

Damey Catherine Graham was born 25 November 1874 in Pulaski, Pulaski, Virginia to William and Mary Graham.  William, her father, was a laborer on farms who moved to the mines.  As a miner he moved where the best paying jobs for mining were located.  In Virginia, the family worked in the iron mines.  Damey met James and probably knew him and his family growing up.  Hiwassie appears to be a very small town, even today.  I cannot imagine that James and Damey did not know each other growing up.    The two married in 1887 and began to raise their family.  All four children were born in Virginia.

Robert Leonard Ross was born 25 April 1888 in Draper, Pulaski, Virginia.

John “Jack” William Ross was born 2 September 1890 in Pulaski, Pulaski, Virginia.  Read more about John at this link: Ross-Sharp Wedding

Fanny Elizabeth Ross was born 18 November 1893 in Reed Island, Pulaski, Virginia.  Read more about Fanny at this link: Calvin and Fanny Phibbs

James Thomas Ross was born 19 October 1895 in Radford, Montgomery, Virginia.

Damey chose to be baptized into the LDS faith 27 February 1898 (a few months before James).  Family tradition holds it was in West Virginia but does not seem to hold up with the rest of the story.  James and Damey were supposed to have followed her family to West Virginia to the mines.  James and Damey do not seem to appear on the 1900 Census but Damey’s family were still in Hiwassie on the 15 June 1900.  Damey’s family moved shortly after 1900 to West Virginia to work in the coal mines of McDowell County.  James and Damey (and James’ brother, William) followed and were living in McDowell County, West Virginia for sure in 1906 when Fanny married Calvin Dickerson Phibbs in Welch, McDowell, West Virginia.  The first three children all married in McDowell County.  James Jr returned to Mayberry, Carroll, Virginia in 1913 to marry his wife.  On 10 May 1910, James and Damey were living in Big Creek, McDowell, West Virginia.

James and Damey Ross left Pulaski County about 1913 or 1914 and headed to settle in Rupert, Minidoka, Idaho.  James confirmed his brother a member of the LDS church 26 October 1913, so it had to be after that date.  As mentioned above, Fanny had married Calvin Phibbs and most of the Phibbs family of Virginia had moved out to Rupert in 1912.  The opening of the new farm land in Minidoka and Cassia Counties, a new sugar factory at Burley, Cassia, Idaho, and an economic downturn in McDowell County propelled the move for both families. Robert, John, and James Jr followed later as it does not appear any of the children went with James and Damey when they left.

James & Damey Ross

James & Damey Ross

James and Damey set up house in Rupert for a time probably living with Calvin and Fanny until they could find and afford a suitable place to live.  We do not know exactly where James and Damey lived for much of their time in Idaho because they appear to have rented.  Robert listed his parents as living in Idahome, Cassia, Idaho when he registered for the World War I draft in 1918.  That fall, James and Damey apparently moved to Paul, Minidoka, Idaho to work on the first sugar beet campaign of the newly built sugar factory in Paul.  They remained there until about 1926.  Robert married Rose Sanders (nee Clawson?) in Burley, Cassia, Idaho in 1919.  John met Ethel Sharp Streeter in Paul while visiting his parents in 1919 and married her in early 1920.  James and Damey somehow fail to appear on the 1920 Census, or their names are transcribed incorrectly.  James settled in Vernal, Uintah, Utah and attempted a short move to Rupert in 1922-23 to be closer to family before moving back to Vernal.  Milo Ross, James and Damey’s grandson, remembers his grandparents living on the north side of the tracks in Paul when he lived there 1925-1926.

In 1925, James and Damey’s daughter-in-law, Ethel Sharp Ross passed away.  John, their son, sought work and James and Damey took in all four of the children of Ethel.  The baby, Earnest Jackson Ross, died in September in Rupert, where he was being tended by the Phibbs.  By the spring of 1926, James and Damey were impoverished enough that they asked Ethel’s family to come get the children from Paul.  Apparently shortly after, the family moved again.

By 2 April 1930, James and Damey had moved to Bend, Deschutes, Oregon.  Robert apparently lived in the area and Robert’s son, Orson Lee Ross, was also living with James and Damey.  Robert is in Portland but appears to not live there, so this home in Bend may have been Robert’s or James and Damey were tending Orson, who was 9.  Robert later died in Bend in 1944.

Beulah and Damey

Beulah and Damey Ross

James’ journals indicate they lived in Merced, Merced, California for most of the 1930’s.  Damey passed away in Marysville, Yuba, California 3 February 1933 of colon cancer.  Her death notice in Rupert indicates she died after an operation for cancer of the stomach.  She had been in the hospital for five months previous to that.  The obituary also mentions that John lived in Manteca, San Joaquin, California, James in Lapoint, Uintah, Utah, and Robert in Marysville.  Fanny was still living in Rupert.

James returned to Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah and on 20 June 1935 he was endowed, saw Damey’s proxy ordinance work was completed, and was sealed to her.

By about 1936, James was back visiting family in the east.  He spoke at a Conference of the LDS church that had met in Grundy County, Tennessee.  James spoke that morning to the assembled crowd.  That same day, James’ nephew, Howard Ross was baptized.  These conferences were a big deal because it was an all day event for James’ brother’s family to travel all the way from Gary, West Virginia to Tennessee, spend the day in meetings, and then go home.  Howard remembers meeting “Uncle Jim” for the first time that day.  Many people enjoyed the sermon he gave and came up to give their commendation to William and Sarah on his fine speech.  William’s wife, Sarah, had to set them right, that it was William’s brother, James who delivered the sermon.  Howard did not hear the sermon because in those days unbaptized children were not allowed into the meetings and even though he was to be baptized that day, he was not baptized yet.

“Uncle Jim” returned with the family to West Virginia and stayed for a couple of weeks.  James was so disappointed that the family did not have a cow for milk that he went out and purchased one for the family while he was there.  When James left, he took and sold the cow too.  The family recalled how rare it was for them to have milk, and it was many years before they would have it again.  James was also noted by the family for his girth and the sheer capacity to each large amounts of food.  Howard thought he must have pushed to near 300 pounds.  Howard also remembers that Uncle Jim was missing a finger and upon asking, James indicated that he had been bit by a spider and that the Dr. took off the finger to save his life because the finger had started to rot.

The story goes that James married while he was visiting the family in West Virginia.  Family history records have James marrying Etta on 6 June 1936 in Snowville, Virginia.  However, later information indicates this was Henrietta Fountain who was born in Sacramento, Sacramento, California and died in Phoenix, Maricopa, Arizona.  How she met James and why they would have married in Virginia does not add up, especially where she was from the west.  A cousin has the marriage in Sacramento which seems much more accurate.  A death certificate at some point will rest the case.  Her full maiden name was Henrietta Fountain and she was a widow of Charles Henry Lowell in 1925.  She died in 1946 according to the memories of Milo Ross and he is accurate.

James and Etta relocated to Lakeport, Lake, California after their marriage.  Lakeport was a town for the wealthy and Ms. Etta must have brought the money into the marriage.  It was here that James applied for Social Security 4 November 1937.  Due to the requirements he use his legal name, James went by James Ross Meredith the remainder of his life.  He began receiving his benefits 6 January 1938.  On 21 April 1938 he received a letter indicating he would have to have been a resident of California 15 years to receive the payments and no further payments were made.

James then married a widow by the name of Nora Brewer.  Her full maiden name was Martha Elnora Cackler and her late husband, Daniel Gordon Brewer, had passed away in 1943.  James and Martha were married in Fresno, Fresno, California 14 July 1947.  She had been born in 1877 in Iowa and died in Fresno in 1974, just short of 100 years old.

James lived until 13 April 1951 when he passed away in Fresno.  He was buried in Belmont Memorial in Fresno.  The last few years of his life, he took back the Meredith name.  Milo Ross, his grandson, indicates this was for Social Security benefits which had to be claimed under the birth name.  Either way, his tombstone reads James R Meredith.  His last letter to Donna Beachell was signed James Ross Meredith.

When he passed away in 1951, he was living at 344 Theta Street in Fresno the home of his widow.  One last thing, apparently while living in Fresno, he served as a Bishop of the LDS church.  We do not know when or where, but several lines of the family were all aware of this.  More information will be needed to share more.  The fact he was called upon to speak at a conference of the church in Tennessee seems to show he held some position but we don’t know anything more.

Update, we visited James’ grave in 2019.

Paul, Aliza, and Hiram Ross at the grave of James Thomas Ross, aka James R Meredith

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1895 Plain City Student Body

Back (l-r): Eva Edwards, Ada Skeen, Isabell Skeen, Unknown Rogers, Cecile Richardson, Grace Draney, Aseal Ipson, Beatrice Cottle, Ethel Garner, Josie Bramwell, Edna Garner, Unknown Rogers, Amanda Olsen, Rachel Garner, Freda Wheeler, Murald Hodson, Alfred Skeen. Middle: Frank Vause, William Knight, Clarence Richardson, Grant Hansen, James Hunt, Delwin Sharp, William Skeen, Chester Davis, Ace Draney, Lee Boyd, Eli Lund, Richard Bates, Alfred Coy, Parley Hansen, Edward Folkman, Jesse Lund, Charles Bramwell, Stella Hodson, Etta Lund, Ella Hodson, Luman Green, Walter Maw. Front: Charles Maw, Ruby Stoker, Annie Cottle, Edna Hansen, Susie Boyd, Gertrude Knight, Hazel Spiers, Rose Liljenquist, Nellie Maw, Martha Hansen, Mabel Ipsen, Maude Marriott, Daisy Coy, Alminda Lund, Joseph Skeen.

Here is a picture of the Plain City, Weber, Utah school student body in 1895.  Apparently this was the entire student body and this photo was reproduced in the 15 March 1959 copy of the Ogden Standard-Examiner.  I have a couple of relatives in the picture and that is probably why my Grandpa and Grandma Ross pulled it from the paper and have kept it with their possessions.  The names all come from that same paper caption although both of the unknown Rogers just have Miss.  If anyone knows where to get a clearer scan of the photo, I would appreciate it as this 60 year old paper isn’t the best version.  I do not think the school in Plain City had another name besides the Plain City School.

I looked up the information for each individual.  I found most of them, except for a couple whose names were just not in Plain City or they must have only been there a short time.  Sometimes with those old clippings whoever gave them the names might have put a married last name rather than a maiden.  Hopefully someone can correct the rest of the names.  The two principals I could not nail down because of the difference in age I could not define and there were so many with the same name within 30 years of the age of most of these students.  I put the one I think is most likely but welcome corrections.

Eva Edwards (?-?)

Ada Myrtle Skeen (1885-1977) married Daniel Popple Williams (1881-1919) and Edsin Byrum Allred (1881-1960).

Isabell Electa Skeen (1889-1963) married Thomas Etherington Charlton (1887-1956).

Unknown Rogers (?-?)

Cecile May Richardson (1888-1975) married Robert Clyde Hellewell (1887-1967).

Grace Elizabeth Draney (1887-1972) married James Burt Atkinson (1880-1935).

Aseal Andrew Ipson (1889-1981) married Lucy Isabell Knight (1883-1989).

Mary Lew Beatrice Cottle (1887-1971) married Claud Leslie Kimball (1885-1958).

Ethel Garner (1886-1968) married Ephraim William Manning (1884-1970).

Josephine “Josie” Trena Bramwell (1887-1973) married Joseph Herman McCowan (1886-1964).

Mary Edna Garner (1888-1948) married Horace William Wayment (1885-1969).

Unknown Rogers (?-?)

Amanda Christine Olsen (1888-1968) married George Daniel Moyes (1889-1958).

Rachel Ann Garner (1889-1980) married George Leo Sandberg (1887-1949).

Freda Wheeler (?-?)

Murald Vinson Hodson (1887-1970) married Elda Herriot Barnett (1895-1979).

David Alfred Skeen (1885-1969) married Bertha Kerr (1885-1976).

Francis “Frank” Freedom Vause (1883-1974) married Vera Jaquetta Child (1885-1961).

William Thomas Knight (1881-1973) married Eliza Alzina Taylor (1886-1963).

Clarence Richardson (1883-1976) married Louie Marie Rawson (1881-1982).

Martin Grant Hansen (1883-1925) married Alice Maud King (1881-1951).

James Hunt (?-?)

Delwin Sharp (1884-1969) married Violet Grieve (1881-1964).  Obviously related to my Sharp line.

William Delbert Skeen (1884-1940).  Not sure this is the right William Skeen, but pretty sure.

Chester Davis (1883-1948) married Nellie Clark (1891-1950).

William “Ace” Hamilton Draney (1885-1979) married Ethel Skeen (1883-1979) and Vera Ann Toombs (1895-1977).

Levi “Lee” Alfred Boyd (1883-1972).

Eli Edgar Lund (1884-1955) married Mary Millie Hutchins (1882-1947).

Thomas Richard Bates (1884-1969) married Dora Evaline Taylor (1885-1981)

Alfred Jonathan Coy (1882-1957) married Mabel Adella Ipsen (1885-1954).

George Parley Hansen (1886-1968) married Criesta Zenobia Anderson (1889-1979).

George Edward Folkman (1885-1914) married Florence Evaline Maw (1888-1969).  Florence’s mother was a Sharp.

Jesse Leander Lund (1886-1918) married Myrtle John Hawkley (1895-1960).

Charles Bramwell (1885-1971) married Annie Myrtle Shupe (1888-1968).

Estella Dora Hodson (1887-1981) married Parley Paul Taylor (1886-1974).

Etta Letitia Lund (1887-1968) married Robert Alfred Witten (1873-1937).

Ella Doris Hodson (1887-1968) married James Earl McFarland (1889-1951).

Luman Peter Green (1886-1980) married Veda Jane Walker (1888-1981).

Walter Maw (1887-1912) married Della Neal (1888-1961).

Charles Maw, I think this is Charles Edward Maw (1875-1950).  Principal.

Ruby Stoker (1885-1965) married George Angus Spears (1878-1943).  She is a relative through our Stoker line.

Annie Jane Cottle (1881-1974) married Joseph Pierce Stock (1878-1954).

Edna Rebecca Hansen (1884-1958) married John Elmer Robson (1884-1930).

Susan “Susie” Emma Boyd (1885-1969) married August Steiner (1874-1949).

Gertrude Knight (1886-1970) married Hyrum Ezra Richardson (1886-1962).

Hazel Spiers (1885-1941) married Austin Tracy Wintle (1884-1977).

Rose Liljenquist (?-?)

Millie Maw (1884-1951) married Charles Joseph Buckley (1884-1959).

Martha Catherine Hansen (1887-1963) married Henry Merwin Thompson (1885-1976).

Mabel Adella Ipsen (1885-1954) married Alfred Jonathan Coy (1882-1957).

Maude Marriott (1880-1972) married Wallace Ridgeway Bell (1881-1947).

Daisy Louise Coy (1884-1968) married Hyrum Parley Hogge (1883-1941).

Alminda Drucella Lund (1881-1966) married Harold Waldermar Johnson (1888-1967).

Joseph Skeen, I think this is Joseph Lawrence Skeen (1857-1915).  Assistant Teacher.

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Stoker-Eames Wedding

Elizabeth and the late Thomas Eames are pleased to announce the marriage of their daughter Emma to William Edward Stoker, son of Thomas Stoker and the late Ann Nightingale Stoker.  William and Emma were married in St. Johns Church of Wembley, Middlesex, England 29 July 1849.

I have not seen the records, but apparently William Edward Stoker was born 9 January 1827 in Crateford, Staffordshire, England.  I am unsure where Crateford exactly is since the online map services do not list it as a town.  I know it is near Brewood, Staffordshire, England and can find the Crateford Road outside of town to the northwest, but I am not sure much more is available without actually visiting the area.  He was baptized/christened 4 February 1827 in Brewood.  His father, Thomas Stoker, worked as a coachman and remained so until he became too old to work.

Emma Eames was baptized/christened 21 February 1830 in St. Mary’s Church of Harrow on the Hill, Middlesex, England.  She is the third of at least 5 children we know of.  The only other sibling we know much about is her brother Thomas.  Her father, Thomas Eames, was listed as a wheelwright at the time Emma was born.  By the time Emma married to William her father is listed as a servant.

William and Emma would have six children together. William worked as a saddler, leather-worker, and harness maker throughout his life.  I do not know why the family moved around so much, probably for work, but they do not seem to have been too poor.  Staffordshire, Shropshire, Middlesex, and Berkshire were all homes of the Stoker family.

William Thomas Stoker born 4 June 1850 in Alperton Hollow, Middlesex, England.  He died 21 October 1908 in Plain City, Weber, Utah.  He would end up marrying three times to Fanny Amelia Tucker, Ellen Hemmings, and Callie Oliver.

Alice Stoker born 21 September 1851 back in Brewood.  She died 11 September 1869 in Ogden, Weber, Utah.  Per family notes she never married, though she was sealed by proxy to James England in the Logan Temple in 1887.

Jeanette Stoker born 3 February 1856 in Wolverhampton, Staffordshire, England.  She died 5 February 1941 in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah.  She married Charles David Rogers in 1875.  I posted a picture and quick biography at this link: Jeanette Rogers.

Alfred Stoker born 21 September 1859 in Hendon, Middlesex, England.  He died 3 November 1927 in Pocatello, Bannock, Idaho.  He married Elizabeth Branson in 1881.

Mary Ann Stoker born 24 February 1861 in Reading, Berkshire, England.  She died 6 May 1935 in Plain City.  She married Milo Riley Sharp in 1879.  I have written previously about this family at this link: Sharp-Stoker Wedding.

George Stoker born 28 October 1862 in Reading, Berkshire, England.  He died in March 1863 in Reading, just weeks before his mother Emma.

Emma contracted tuberculosis (listed as phthisis on the death certificate) and passed away 28 April 1863 at 18 Albert Street within St. Mary’s Parish after a year struggle with the disease.

Emma joined the LDS church on 7 August 1856.  William Thomas joined 5 December 1860.  William Edward and Alice joined the LDS church 27 May 1863.

The family wasted no time in gathering to Zion.  The Stoker family departed from London on a ship called “Amazon” 4 June 1863.  George Q Cannon dedicated the ship which was entirely of Saints (880+) headed for Zion.  It was this same ship that Charles Dickens wrote that the Mormons were not taking misfits and scoundrels, but the “pick and flower” of England.  Even George Sutherland, future U.S. Supreme Court Justice was on this ship.  Here is a link to the story by Charles Dickens: The Uncommercial Traveller.  The LDS church also tells of the story that day at this link: Amazon Departure.  The ship sailed to Liverpool before finally heading out for America.  Elijah Larkin, who would help found Larkin Mortuary, noted that on the 16th and 20th of June, Thomas Stoker was administered to due to a sickness since leaving Liverpool.

The “Amazon” landed at Castle Gardens, New York, New York on 18 July 1863.  The Saints took rail to Albany, Albany, New York and then to Florence, Douglas, Nebraska through Detroit, Wayne, Michigan.  From there they hoofed it on to Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah Territory arriving 3 and 4 October 1863 (depending on which of the two companies), just in time for General Conference.  Several of the company wrote of Brigham Young coming out to greet them and giving them advice.

William moved almost immediately to Ogden, Weber, Utah and set up shop working with leather.  William wasted no time in remarrying to Eliza Sinfield in Ogden 18 May 1864.  While Mary Ann is listed as a child for William and Eliza on the 1870 Census, she was actually living with the Musgrave family and Jeanette with the Garner family.  Additionally, the other children from this first marriage were also being raised by other families.  I just cannot tell for sure since the families sometimes listed these children as their own with their own last name.  Family lore indicates that William and Eliza could not afford to raise these older children and farmed them out to families that could afford to take care of them.  Other evidence points that they were not all that poor, but it is not likely we will ever really know.

Eliza Sinfield was born 24 January 1842 in Eversholt, Bedfordshire, England.  She and William married 18 May 1864 in Ogden.  They lived there the rest of their days.  I cannot tell for sure where they lived.  The 1880 Census puts them on 6th Street, but then this address is near Franklin Street, which is now located 20 blocks or more away.  The next page of the census has the Academy of the Sacred Heart which is also near 25th street in Ogden.  Therefore, another 6th street once existed in Ogden, or the census taker jumped all over town, which is unlikely.  The 1870 Census does not give street addresses, so we have no leads there.  At any rate, William and Eliza had six children.

Emma Stoker born 24 March 1865 in Ogden and died 10 October 1878.

Agnes Stoker born 1 October 1866 in Ogden.  She married George Shields in 1885.  She died 6 September 1921 in Ogden.

Henrietta Stoker born 10 October 1868 in Ogden.  She married Simon Heber Weston in 1885.  She died 10 June 1942.

Eli Benjamin Stoker born 9 July 1870 in Ogden.  He married Sarah Jane Thomas in 1899.  He died 17 May 1952 in Silverton, Shoshone, Idaho.

Albert Stoker born 12 May 1873 in Ogden.  I do not know of a marriage for him.  He died 8 February 1949 in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah.

Victoria Stoker born 28 May 1878 in Ogden.  I do not have a marriage for her either.  She died 20 November 1888.

William and Eliza continued to live in Ogden until he passed away 12 April 1899 in Ogden.  He was buried in the Ogden City Cemetery, along with most of his already deceased family.  Later family members would also be buried near him.  Eliza died 3 April 1912.  Here is the only other picture we have of William Edward Stoker as a much older man.  You can see the tuft of hair in the middle that has not changed.  The increased bag lines under the eyes and the same man greatly aged.  If you look, you can see some of the resemblance in his sons.

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Jeanette Stoker Rogers

Since I just wrote about Milo Riley Sharp and Mary Ann Stoker (Lilly)(link here: Sharp-Stoker Wedding), I thought I would share a photo or two that surfaced in relation to Lilly’s sister, Jeanette.  Her name comes up in various forms Janetta, Jeanette, and Jeanetta.  However, her death certificate and other official documents all list Jeanette.

The 1861 census lists her as born in Brewood (pronounced Brood or Brude), Staffordshire, England.  The same place her father, William Stoker, was born.  Other individuals, their sources unknown to me, list her birth location as Kinver or Wolverhampton, both in Staffordshire, England.  Wolverhampton and Brewood are about 20 minutes away, so at least we know for sure which neck of the woods we are in.  Either way, she was born 3 February 1856.

I mentioned in the link mentioned above about how her family joined the LDS church, traveled to Utah, and how William Stoker farmed out the children from his first marriage to other families.  Jeanette was raised by Lewis and Catherine Garner in Plain City, Weber, Utah.  Jeanette is listed with both her father’s family and also the Garner family (as Janet) on the 1870 Census.

She married Charles David Rogers (17 March 1850 – 2 September 1914) on 22 December 1875 in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah.  To them were born 9 children: Charles David Rogers (1878 – 1880), Frank Rogers (March 1880 – 1900), Lawrence Edward Rogers (1 February 1882 – 29 May 1905), William Rogers (6 Dec 1884 – 27 July 1890), Agnes Delene Rogers (19 May 1886 – 22 March 1937), Catherine Hester Rogers (19 November 1887 – 7 February 1945), Maybelle Rogers (5 June 1890 – 4 February 1980), Louise Irene Rogers (24 April 1892 – 25 November 1956), and Loretta Camilla Rogers (7 June 1895 – 5 May 1985).

Charles passed away in 1914 and Jeanette remained a widow until she passed away 5 December 1941 in Sandy, Salt Lake, Utah.  She was buried 9 December 1941 next to her husband in the Sandy Cemetery.

Here is a picture of Jeanette with her grandson Joseph Andrew Christopherson probably around 1917 or 1918.

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More of the same; Life

Time keeps ticking by too quickly sometimes.  I have so much to write but not as much time as I would like to do it in.  Such is the limitations in the probationary game.  There are plenty of achievements to report though in the past week or two.
This evening I spoke with Gerald Neuffer in Columbia, Missouri.  In a most random turn of events, I noticed that a Jenna Neuffer became friends with my friend, Kami Lowe on Facebook.  With a name as rare as Neuffer, I knew all odds were in my favor of having a near shared ancestry.  I sent Miss Neuffer a message and asked for her Grandfather’s name and phone number.  Which she supplied.  Come to find out, I even had Gerald already in my family history.  I just had his first name Myron (Gerald is his middle name but he goes by it.  Probably due to remove confusion with his father’s name being Myron).  He knew the Andra’s well and said he remembered Millie, who was just younger than him.  Funny how small a world it is.  He went to get his PhD and never left Columbia after moving there in 1947.  We conversed for a little while he dug for information verifying I was not this total stranger calling for his family history for some other sinister reason.  He sounds like a good guy.  He asked if I was doing genealogy.  I confirmed I was and that I was the family historian.  He then happily related he was basically that for the Neuffer/Nuffer family.  I was definitely glad to hear that.  What is the chances of the Andra historian running into the Nuffer historian in Columbia Missouri?  Very far removed from Preston, Idaho!
I received a phone call from Jacqui yesterday about the Phibbs/Ross/Beachell family.  I tried returning her call and spoke with her mother for a few minutes.  I am glad she finally returned my message.  I only left it in May!  That was before we moved!
In other news, there was an e-mail that found its way to me from Robert in Fresno, California.  A most interesting question.  He asked if I knew of any of the siblings of my Constance Jorgensen.  I always felt Constance most likely had siblings but was never able to find any.  Between her parents marriage and Constance’s birth, there is twelve years.  I was sure there were other siblings.  Olavus and Hanna Mathea Jorgensen immigrated with Constance and settled in Richmond, Utah.  Constance married Ole Christiansen and gave birth to my Great Great Grandmother Martha Christiansen who is the mother of my Lillian Coley.  Constance died in Portland, Oregon while visiting and was buried there.  In the whole episode, I knew some day I would have to do some research in Norway to find the rest of this family.  Well, Robert e-mailed me asking me if his grandmother, Amanda Jorgensen Swensen could be a child of Olavus and Hanna.  He produced a copy of a hand written copy pedigree she had produced in 1935.  Sure enough, everything lined up.  Well, Amanda was born another 12 years after my Constance (24 after the marriage of the parents).  She immigrated to Utah a good 10 years after her parents and sibling came over and settled in Logan, Utah.  By the time she arrived her parents were both deceased and her sister had married.  It seems that she never knew she was only 15 miles from her parent’s graves and her sister.  The exciting news is that Amanda gave us the names of her siblings, none of which made it to America to her knowledge.  We added the 5 siblings.  Don’t know their ages, but definitely gives some more to go from.  That will give us much more to go from when the time for the Norway research begins.
I am happy to report I completed the New Testament this evening.  I am one day late.  If I had read the one chapter a day, I would have finished yesterday.  Last weekend put me just off enough that I did not catch up in time.  I completed the Book of Mormon on schedule this year on August 27th.  Now I can go through some General Conference talks and some other reading for the year.  Next year is the Doctrine and Covenants which you can almost read three times in a year.  I think I will just do it twice though.
The ward continues to blossom when it comes to family history.  It seems like people are doing their homework, research, and compiling regularly.  I have e-mails at least once or twice a week for help on something.  That is an indication something is going on.  That is definitely something which is a good thing.
Online the family history work continues to reveal new and interesting things.  I received an e-mail from a Homer Mason.  He was inquiring concerning the Jonas family in Washington State.  Come to find out, Anna Jonas is his Grandmother.  Anna was the daughter of William Jonas who was the brother to my Joseph Jonas; father to my great grandfather Joseph Nelson Jonas.  He knows very little so it has been fun introducing him to the family.  I have especially enjoyed his research on a line of the family I have not been able to crack.  It has proved not to be an easy line for him, but with his living in Yakima, he is much closer and capable of doing the work than I can.  I really hope I am accepted to the University of Idaho for Law School.  Then I could work on the Jonas, Ross, and Sharp lines in Washington State.
Stepping back to the Andra family.  This past weekend Amanda and I took a trip to Washington DC for our monthly temple visit.  But a new aspect as emerged.  My Great Uncle and Aunt, Donald and Lolane Andra, are now serving a mission in the temple.  We went up Friday night and stayed with Amanda’s Uncle and Aunt in Springfield.  Saturday we picked up Don and Lolane and made our way to Mt. Vernon.  They thoroughly enjoyed themselves.  It was the 18th Century Fair so there were masses of people.  Don and Lolane are good and quick on their feet.  Despite being in their 60’s they move well.  Don reminds me so much of my Great Grandpa.  I get a kick out of both of them.  We were limited on time as they had to be to the temple to work later in the afternoon.  We did probably the fastest walking tour of Mt. Vernon I can imagine.  We zoomed all over the grounds, through the fair, and then back up to their apartment to change and attend the temple.
On a side note, as I went into the endowment room, I noticed the officiator’s name was John Whatcott.  I looked at him and asked if he was from Kanosh.  He looked a bit surprised at me and said he grew up there.  I told him of the Whatcott’s I knew.  After the session he asked me to remain in the celestial room so we could visit.  We had a great visit.  Come to find out he knows Don and Lolane from St. George.  Small world.  Don knew which session we were on and waited for us to leave the celestial room.  He walked us down to the next floor and we parted again.  I met Don’s Home Teaching companion, Elder Toronto, while picking up Amanda’s Aunt’s glasses from the temple lost and found.  Funny how interlinked the world is, at least in the church.
I have not made mention of it yet, but I am going from contractor status to full associate status at Bank of America.  Meaning, I will be an employee of Bank of America and not an at will person filling a seat.  Many companies now do the contractor business as they can then hire on employees after they have shown their worth.  I must have done well enough for them to offer me employment starting October 1.  I am excited.  Business has been picking up.  I don’t know if it is from the crunch in the market or what.  Bank of America definitely stands on higher ground than those feeling the squeeze or sinking under the housing market.  One thing is for sure, with this rate cut, we are expecting the next month to be hectic.
My birthday came and went just like every other day or the year.  I am back to being congratulated for it being my unbirthday.  I received all sorts of e-mails (which will take me a good week to respond to them all), many messages on Facebook, and a couple of cards and gifts.  Amanda and I enjoyed a nice big meal at Chili’s for dinner.  We joked about it being our triannual beef night.  It is birthdays or anniversary that I get to eat a steak.  Monday was a 12 oz Ribeye.  Mmmm, so good.  That is of course not mentioning the Idaho potatos.  Amanda got me a shirt, a jump drive, and something else which slips me at the moment.  I also received a journal, a few checks, and some other random memorabilia.  I honestly don’t feel any different now than I think I did when I was 19.  Except the fact my knee was reconstructed in 2004 and doesn’t give me the issues it did at 19.  So I guess I feel better than at 19.  I have filled out in stature, even added a little padding in the middle,  and perhaps a little wiser.  Life is good.
My blessings continue to flow despite my inept nature.  I continue to be given the little peaceable things of the kingdom from time to time.  They make the living and endurance all worth it.  Line upon line right?  Sometimes I wish it was more page upon page, but alas, I am not the one running the show.  Church goes well.  I feel spiritually well.  Not the muscular behemoth I would like to be spiritually, but I feel strong enough to do what needs to be done and any forseeable adventure.
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Playing in the Atlantic

Yesterday was a day Amanda and I took to head to the beach.  We went with Matthew and Sarah Harris to play at Virginia Beach.  You will notice I put up a couple of pictures in the Virginia Living from our day away.  Amanda is in pain today from her burns.  I did get some minor burning but nothing that is causing any pain.
I added a couple of photos to the Sharp Album.  Raymond and Celia Draper went to Plain City and visited Grandpa and Caroline.  Raymond is the son of Ruth Sharp who is the daughter of Milo Ray Sharp.  Milo Ray Sharp is the brother of Grandpa’s mother, Ethel Sharp.  That makes Grandpa and Raymond 1st cousins 1 time removed.  That makes Raymond and Caroline 2nd cousins.  For an interesting photo, they are behind the tombstone of Milo Riley Sharp and his wife Mary Ann Stoker (Lillie M) and his mother Mary Ann Bailey.  So this shows Grandpa’s grandparents and his great grandmother.
Dad continues to do well.  He spent an entire day in surgery the day after the initial surgery.  They thought he was draining too much blood.  It proved to be nothing.  On the good side, they found a bile duct they needed to secure more securely.  Apparently they would have had to go in to correct it later so it was a good thing they caught it this time.  They took his feeding tube out the day after the second day of surgery.  When I spoke to him this morning they had removed all his IV’s and the only thing he still had on him was an oxygen tube.  Apparently he will be in for a few more days before he can go to the little apartment nearby.  He has to visit the hospital daily for the first week, then every other day for another week, then every three days the next week, and then weekly for a few months or something like that.  He will be in Utah for a few more weeks before they will make it back to Idaho.  I have loaded a picture of Dad the day after the surgery in the Virginia Living Album as well.
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Killed a hen

There is a big whopping achievement I want to report.  It has been an entire year in the process.  It would not have taken so long if I would have really knuckled down to do it.  It probably would have only taken three months.  I finished typing up my Great Grandmother’s journals!  Well, there are only three years worth, 1961-1963.  I have been told there are more, many more, but nobody seems to know where they are.  Well, actually I have been told they are located in the missing trunk that I reported on here some months back.  I don’t know if this trunk really holds all these treasures, of if it is to blame for the loss of family priceless jewels.  I hope someday we can find out.  The journals amounted to roughly the equivalent of 120 typed pages.  Yea, I know, it doesn’t sound like much, but it was a long process.  I really enjoyed the walk through time.  The death of my Great Great Grandmother is in there although a small, undetailed account.  The assassination of President Kennedy was another interesting read.  While she records no emotions on the death of her mother, for days afterward she is sickened by the assassination.  She comments seeing Mr. Oswald being shot by Mr. Ruby and how horrible that felt to her.
I learned quite a bit about myself in the process.  Every week contains some reference to my Grandparents, Norwood and Colleen Jonas.  Sometimes it is as common as every day for a week.  There are references to operations on my Grandmother, Colleen and her having what was believed to be a cancerous mole removed.  There are references to my own mother losing her finger, which story I have also included in past postings.  Grandma Lillian references babysitting often my Aunt Jackie.
All in all, I gained a greater testimony of daily journal entries.  Her example is powerful.  The most mundane of activities are in some ways completely foreign to us 40 years later.  She visit teaches 10 (!) different households every months the entire three years.  What is more, she comments about it the beginning days of nearly every month, meaning it was done early and regularly.  It is strange to hear of the chickens being killed for Sunday dinner.  That is something you never hear of someone just deciding to kill the chicken for dinner that evening.  Telephone calls are still referred to as a novelty.  The insurance was incredibly cheaper.  I don’t know of anyone who mops the whole house every Saturday.  I don’t know anyone who regularly bakes several loaves of bread and puts up literally dozens of jars of goods every fall.
So I am glad that is completed.  I will return these three journals to my Aunt Lillian when I am visiting Utah in the beginning of April.
This week has been Amanda’s Spring Break but it hasn’t been much of a break.  She has been going to all these different schools telling the children how to take care of their teeth.
This week I was informed we found the marriage date and place for my Great something Grandparents.  William Sharp and Mary Ann Bailey Padley were married at Laurel Loup, Nebraska Territory 10 Jul 1853.  Leanne Maynes got a copy of the divorce papers which gave the information.  I am glad to have a copy of the papers and the marriage date.
I also applied to George Mason University Law School this week.  That leaves only William and Mary to apply to.  Their deadline is the 1 of July, but I hope to get it in within the month.  No point of waiting and have it surprise me the day before.  So far I have applied to Washington & Lee, University of Virginia, and George Washington.  I didn’t even see the point of applying to University of Richmond.  They required several additional documents and I don’t have any desire to go there.  I am not impressed with them at all.  I will tell you, it is an expensive process applying to these schools!  Anywhere from $70 to $90 a school!  I will have to make sure I save some money for applying this coming year.  If I apply to 10 schools, and they each charge that range, that is $700 to $900!  The good thing is some of them do not charge.  LSAC does for the report to send to them, but that is only $12 per school.  That is much more feasible.
Temple cards continue to trickle in from all over the world.  I have forgotten where so many of these cards go.  I have to leave it completely in the hands of the people who have them to return them.  I got some from a lady a month or two back from Seattle!  I wrote to her asking where she got them from.  She gave me the name of a woman who I did not know so the chain is longer than I have the capacity to follow in some instances.  This week I received about 30 completed cards that were first baptized in 2002.  I don’t have many cards that old out there anymore.  But they still are!  I fear some cards may have been lost forever.  I hope not.
Last week I taught the first lesson of the latest string of family history classes.  It went very well.  I am excited for this class and group of students.  They all came prepared and have actually done some work.  I don’t have to try to light the fire of family history in them, they already have it.
Time to sign off.  Life goes well.  Just wish I didn’t have to sleep.  How much more could I accomplish in a day!?
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Sharp tragedies

It seems in order that I give some more stories I have found out recently concerning the Sharp Family History. 

Someday I will have to back up and do a history or outline for other family lines that I have learned so much about.

It is the stories that are most memorable, which are quickly passed down and remembered. Sadly though, they are the ones that are most traumatic. The Sharp line is one that certainly has not been immune to tragic tales.

Robert Ford Hunt, grandson of Victorine Mary Sharp and Robert Edward Maw; son of Ruby Ada Maw and Joseph Herbert Hunt is the first of our line. He was driving a farm truck when he failed to stop for a train near Marriott. He was 19 in 1931.

Paul Ross, the son of Ethel Sharp and John William Ross was taken to live with Victorine Sharp (Ethel’s sister) and Fred Hunt. In 1932, near the age of 10, he fell out of the loft of a barn in Plain City. He passed away three days later from a concussion. For an interesting note, he was born in Paul, Idaho.  To read more about this family, follow this link: Ross-Sharp Wedding.

Bert Fredrick Hunt, son of Fredrick Lawrence Hunt and Victorine Sharp, and Bert’s son Robert, were both electrocuted in 1960 in a Plain City dairy barn. Grandpa (son of Victorine’s sister, Ethel) told me that he was there that evening and helped them with their duties in the barn. When he grabbed the milk cooler it zapped him. It wasn’t very bad but he turned off the breakers and told Bert and Bob about it. We don’t know if they did not heed and turned it back on or what, but that same cooler would electrocute the two that evening. The milk man found them the next morning. Grandpa made the comment that it could very well have been him lying there. Grandma was apparently with him and both could have been part of the tragedy.

Edna Louise Sharp (she went by Louise) was the daughter of Edward and Lillie East Sharp. She married Ralph Anthony Blanch. They went to Othello, Washington for a missionary farewell in 1968.  In their rush of the morning, they were hit head on in an automobile crash. Both of them died in that automobile accident.

Florence Sharp, daughter of Edward and Lillie East Sharp, married Leonard Neilson. They had a son named Douglas Ray Neilson. Grandpa said they were going north through Willard in 1940 and there was a line of traffic. It was raining that day and the rains of previous days caused some washing out of the mountains. At this point in the road at Willard only a few cars were allowed to follow the grader as it would clean the mud and water off the road which kept reappearing from the rains. It was in this environment that Grandpa and Doug were in the back of the truck while Ed was driving. They finally started moving forward and Grandpa went to the passenger side of the vehicle. Doug went over to tell Ed something. When he leaned down towards the cab, putting his hand on the cab, he slipped (the old rounded top cabs). He slipped down between the cab and bed of the truck falling right in front of the wheels. It was the people in the car behind that flagged Ed down neither he nor Grandpa realizing Doug had fallen out. He was pronounced dead at Brigham City.

Marjorie Lillian Sharp married Farrell Clontz. His family had an old mine claim in Montana near the Canadian border. He was contacted at some point and told something along the lines that they needed to do some work on the mine or the claim would fall through and not be valid or something to that effect. So, that summer in 1955 he took his brother in law Milo Riley Sharp (differentiated from his grandfather by the same name) and they went to work the mine some. They took Farrell and Marjorie’s daughter, Nelda to help with the domestic side of life. Farrell was teaching Milo how to do the packing and loading of dynamite. We obviously don’t know what exactly happened. They did not come down for dinner so Nelda went up to find them. Calling out for them, nobody answered. Entering the mine, she found the lower portions of their bodies with nothing remaining of the rest.

Sherry Sharp, daughter of Edward Junior Sharp and Delores Salter, in a complete moment of irony, fell out of the car in the hospital parking lot. In the moment of rushing her mother to the hospital to give birth she fell from the car and was run over. She was flown to Seattle where she passed away days later from the trauma on Halloween, 1956.

Edward and Delores had another daughter whose plane went down on a berry picking trip in Valdez-Cordova, Alaska. She left behind a husband and daughter.

Anyhow, there are some other stories, but I have less information with them so they would be more speculative.

But for the sake of keeping track,

Milo Ray Sharp’s family would move to Sunset, Davis County to farm.

Delwin Sharp would remain in the Plain City area all his life.

Austin Sharp would move to Washington State.

Ernest Sharp would remain in Plain City.

William Edward Sharp moved to Washington State.

Victorine Sharp and her husband Fred Hunt would remain in Plain City.

Mary Irene Sharp would marry Oscar Childs Richardson and move to Tremonton.

Edith Sharp would marry Clements Richard Martin and move to Southern
California.

Ethel Sharp would move to Idaho returning to Plain City. There she would
have her last child which birth would take her life.