Saturday, April 28, 2012

Henry Maiben and Family: Emigration to the United States

This post is a follow-up to this post.

Before beginning their journey from Keokuk, Iowa to Salt Lake City, Henry Maiben, his wife Caroline, and daughter Alice had already been in a long journey to get there.

This information comes from the Mormon Migration Database.  The family sailed on a ship called the International from Liverpool, England on February 28, 1853.  There were approximately 477 passengers on the ship.  The ship was wind powered, so the journey took about 10 weeks to get to New Orleans in the United States.  They arrived in New Orleans on April 23, 1853.

In New Orleans, the ship's passengers traveled by steamship up the Mississippi river to Keokuk.

One interesting note from the voyage.  On April 6th, the passengers had a special meeting to commeration the organization of the Church.  A journal entry from one of the passengers note this about the meeting,

"One of the songs composed on that occasion was a description of the officers on the ship and as I have said nothing about them, will give the parts of the song. I do not remember all of it but will give the parts that I remember.
It was set to the tune of Yankee Doodle and you may judge when four hundred were singing with all their [-] we at least made some noise, whether it was very musical or not."

That song was composed by my 3rd great grandfather, Henry Maiben.  Below is the song.  (Caution: language used that is considered to be in very bad taste in our modern times.)

An original song, Written and Sung, by Henry Maiben [Maibin] (of Brighton) on board the ship International, on the occasion of a Festival, held April 6th, 1853, in commemoration of the organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

------------
TUNE--YANKEE DOODLE
------------

On board the InternationalAll joyful, and lighthearted, Bound Zionward, four hundred Saints, From Liverpool we started. We're English, Irish, Scotch, and Welsh Assembled here together; Resolved to do the will of God, Whate'er the wind and weather.
CHORUS Then, sing aloud, ye Saints of God, In one united chorus; Old Babylon we'll leave behind, For, Zion is before us.
We had a noble president, You'll scarce find such an one, Sirs, He stands near six feet six, in height,  And weighs near twenty stone, Sirs. But, best of all, he's full of love, He's frank, and open-hearted; And as sincere as any that From Bab'lon has departed.

Now, Elder Arthurs' counselors (I wish you all to know it) Are, Elder Lyon (from Glasgow), The celebrated Poet: And, Elder Richard Waddington, (From London's famous city) Who's been sick almost all the way, Which has drawn forth our pity.

And Elders are appointed to Take charge of wards and sections, And do all things according to The president's directions. Thus ev'ry regulations made Which is found to be needed; So that, there's not a soul on board Whose welfare is unheeded.

Then, of such fact, or incident That's worthy of remark here; We have a faithful record kept, By Elder Sims, our clerk here. [p.14 ] Amongst which you'll find, two deaths, five births, And twenty-five baptisms. Likewise (today) four marriages, But no such thing as schisms.

The Captain name is "David Brown," My muse cannot refuse its Verse, in reference to him; He comes from Massachusetts. Of course, he is tarnation 'cute,' Yet, he is honest, "rather," And must, ere long, become a Saint, And serve our Heav'nly Father.

The first mate's name is "Alfred Howes," The second mate's "Arch. Campbell," The third mate's is "John Marston," and Then, comes a sort of scramble: That is to say, a motley crew, Called sailors, or ship-riggers; Amounting to about eighteen, Swedes, Germans, Dutch, and Niggers.

The Captain's "Steward, and his wife," Next and forth our attention; Then "Richard Foulton" Captain's cook, I can 't omit to mention. And last (not least) the carpenter, "Calle Westerlind," a Swede, Sirs, The first of the ship's company T' embrace our Holy Creed, Sirs.

We've been on board five weeks and more, And have endured much sickness; We've also had headwinds and storms, T' impede the vessels quickness. Yet, we have cause, and do rejoice, Thanks to the God of Heaven! For unto us, his blessings have Abundantly been given.

Today's the 6th of April, and We now, are celebrating The glorious anniversary, With gladness unabating. And who? that could but witness now, Our festive, happy faces; But would obey the truth, to share The joy our faith embraces.

BIB: Lyon, John. Diary. (Ms 4687), pp.1-15. (CHL)

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Rhoda Caroline Knight (1839-1920): Gravesite



The is the gravesite of Rhoda Caroline Knight, my 3rd great grandmother.  The photo comes from the findagrave.com website.

She is buried in the Salt Lake City Cemetery in Salt Lake City, Utah.

A note with the picture on the website says this, "There is no stone for Rhoda. According to plot map she is just beside the small white stone."

Rhoda was married to Neriah Thomas Moore, Sr.



Sunday, April 22, 2012

Herman Fredrick Ferdinand Thorup: Mission Experience

This is a mission experince that my 2nd great grandfather, Herman Fredrick Ferdinand Thorup, had while serving a mission to Denmark in 1867.  This was written by him and appeared in the October 15, 1895 issue of the Juvenile Instructor.  You can see a scan of the original here.


 A KIND PROVIDENCE.

In the month of November, 1867, while traveling from place to place as a missionary in Denmark, I came to a small village called Dysted. It was in the South Sjaelland district, in the Copenhagen Conference. I had visited nearly every house, when it began to be late in the afternoon, and I concluded it was time to be looking for a lodging place for the night.

It was raining very fine, and had been for nearly two weeks, which made traveling very unpleasant.

I inquired at several places for lodging, but was told to go to a farmer, whose house was some distance from the road. When I saw that there was no other prospect for me than to go to that place, I started off towards the house. On arriving and stating my errand to the lady of the house, she said she could not entertain me; so I bade her good-by. I had just turned to leave when I was called back. I was told by the lady that I could stay over night, as she had seen her husband. I went inside the house, and was given a chair in the sitting-room. The lady left me, closing the door, and I was left
alone in a dark room.

One hour had passed away, and I was still alone. Suddenly the door was opened, and the lady stepped inside. She walked right up to me and asked if I wanted something to drink. I replied that I did. She brought me a glass of milk, and then left. When I took the glass in my hand I was not able to raise it so I could drink the milk; yet I could move my hand, and set the glass back on the table. I tried three times to place the glass to my lips, but could not do so. I began to feel uneasy, and believed that some poison was placed in the milk, so I threw it out of the window. I had no sooner done this than the door was opened and the lady came and asked me if I wanted some more milk. I said, "No, thanks, I have had all I want," so she left me again in utter darkness.

It was getting close to nine o'clock and every minute seemed to me to be an hour. I was busy planning how to get away, for I felt that something evil would happen if I could not escape
from that place.

Presently the man appeared with a lamp in his hand. He never spoke a word to me, but sat down on a chair opposite me. Supper was now ready, but no one asked me if I wanted anything to eat.

When the man got through with his supper he turned right towards me. His first question was, "Well, how is the mission? Are there many who believe and become members of the Church?"

I told him yes, there was quite a few. Finally a conversation was begun about the Gospel. The man was very abusive in his language toward me and I was anxious to get away.

As the clock was striking ten, a thought came to me about a family in the village near by who would like to see me at that hour, which was the time the gentleman came from his work. So I said to the man, "Now, you must excuse me, for I have promised a lady in the village to be at their house at
ten this evening."

"O no!" said the man, "it is too late. Your bed is ready," signalling to his wife to show me the place.

I took a look at the room, when to my horror I found it to be a small, square room with no window in it, and only one door which led into the room where we were sitting.

Returning to the man, I thanked him for the room and bed that I was to sleep in, but added that I must go and fulfill my promise to this lady up in the village, and if I did not return inside of one hour he should not wait for me.

Seeing that I was determined to go, he said. "Well, I will wait for your return. "

So I took my coat, satchel and hat and bade them good night.

The man and his wife both kept their seat, so I had to find my way out in the darkness. When I came to the outer door I could not get it open. By feeling with my hand, I found that an iron chain had been placed on the door so that no one could come in from the outside.

Here I stood a long time before I got the end of the chain off, for it was fastened in four places. When I got the door open I can assure you, dear readers, that I felt thankful unto my Heavenly Father that I once more could breathe the cool air of the night.

I closed the door, and off I went for the village as fast as my feet could take me. After leaving the house the dog had been turned loose by the man and was sent after me to bite me. But the dog came so swift that it passed me, and I took up a stone to drive it off if it returned to attack me.

It was getting very late, so I did not call on the people I had told the man that I was going to see, but started off to a place where lived a family who were members of the Church.

I reached my destination at midnight. Here I related my experience of the evening, when I was told that the man whom I escaped from was an ex-convict and had just returned from the state prison where he had been for eighteen years. The crime for which he was imprisoned was poisoning two young men, strangers in the land, whom he robbed and then buried in his field.

Both the family and myself were thankful to our Heavenly Father that my life had been preserved.

H. F. F. Thorup.

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Warren Azro Washburn and Emeline Judith Taft: Marriage



When I was searching for the parents of Warren Washburn, I was hoping the marriage record would list the parents.  I was sent these two images from the Vermont State Archives; marriage records, one for the groom (above) and one for the bride (below).  The marriage date is March 2, 1857 and they were married in Woodstock, Vermont.  Warren's occupation is listed as machanic.  The were married by a Rev. Moses Kidder.  The parent's names weren't listed however.  I found that out later.


Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Mormon Pioneer Overland Trail Database: Part 1

This is an interesting database for those who have Mormon pioneers that traveled across the plains by wagon or handcart.  The database can be found here.

This first post looks at the family of my 3rd great grandfather Henry Maiben.

This family traveled with the Jacob Gates Company in 1853 by ox pulled wagons.  The company left Keokuk, Iowa on June 3rd, 1853 and arrived in the Salt Lake Valley September 26-30 of that same year.

Henry Maiben, his wife Caroline Penn, daughter Alice Penn Maiben (my 2nd great grandmother), and an infant daughter Marion Maiben made the journey.  Marion was born in Keokuk.

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Warren Azro Washburn (1835-1907): One of Those Stories

Warren Azro Washburn was my 3rd great grandfather and a couple of years ago, I started out my research looking for his parents as he was the only 3rd great grandparent that I didn't have parents names for.  (All the genealogical info I had had come from others.)  I thought it would be easy but it wasn't (Which is probably why I didn't have the names in the first place.)

After about a year, I did find the names of his parents (Leonard F Washburn and Arvilla Nutting) but finding any more Washburn ancestors on the internet had seemingly come to a dead end.  There were 2 competing pedigree charts on Ancestry.com for Leonard but I didn't know which was correct.  Short of taking a trip to Vermont where they were from and digging into records there, I didn't know what to do.

Then one day, I did one more Google search on the Washburn family names and this link came up which I hadn't seen before.  It was a book scanned by Google as part of their project to scan old books in libraries (this one was in the library of the University of Wisconsin of all places.)  The book is called Washburn: A Partial History of the family from the arrival of John Washburn about 1632 ...  and it was written by none other than my 3rd great grandfather Warren Azro Washburn!  The book is loaded with genealogical information on his family and gave me the names of his grandparents and many others in the Washburn line going back to when Washburns first came to America.

Needless to say, I was stunned.  I could hardly believe that I  had found it.  I truly believe that when all doors seem closed, that's when God will be there to open one to let one's research continue.

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Axel Laures Fikstad Sr. (1865-1940): Death Certificate



The is the death certificate of my 2nd great gradnfather Axel Laures Fikstad, Sr. that I obtained from the Utah State Archives online.

Axel was born in Norway on March 13, 1865.  (The death certificate lists the city as Sanasun.  My records list the city as Sasberg.)

He died December 16th, 1940 in Salt Lake City, Utah at the age of 75.  The cause of death is listed as senility which in my mind is a bizarre choice. 

His father is listed as Hans Fikstad.  His mother is listed as unknown.  (Her name is Helena.)

Listed as widowed from his wife Hannah C. Fikstad.  I do know that they divorced in (I believe) 1912.

His occupation is listed as a merchant in the retail grocery business.


Thursday, April 12, 2012

Mary Shields Jaynes (1833-1866): Gravesite


Mary Shields Jaynes Sheen is my 3rd great grandmother.  This is a photo of her headstone that I found on the Find A Grave website.

She is buried in the Kaysville City Cemetary in Kaysville, Utah.

She died during childbirth on June 9th, 1866.  The child, named Joseph Thomas Sheen, also died that day.

Her husband, James Sheen, eventually remarried after the death of Mary.

Notice that the death date does not match the headstone.  The birthdate on the headstone is also off from what my records show.  I have her birthdate listed as March 21, 1833.

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Helena Kjeldsen (1833-1899): Emigration


Helena Kjeldsen Fikstad (my 3rd great grandmother) emigrated to the United States from Norway in 1877.  The Mormon Migration database documents her trip (as well as over 700 others) here.  Traveling with her were two of her sons, Oscar and Axel (my 2nd great grandfather.)

From the notes in the link, it sounds like a group of Norwegian converts had sailed to Copenhagen, Denmark and picked up some Danish converts then set sail to Hull, England on June 21, 1877 in two ships, the "Argo" and the "Pacific".  They arrived in Hull on June 24, 1877.  From there, the converts took a train to Liverpool.  In Liverpool, they joined converts from England, Germany, Switzerland, and Holland and boarded the steamship "Wisconsin."  The "Wisconsin" sailed from Liverpool on June 27th and arrived in New York on July 7th.  In New York they set out by train and arrived in Salt Lake City on July 14, 1877.

Some notes I have say that her husband, Hans Christian Fikstad, emigrated a couple of years later although I can't find his name in the database.  Other children also arrived later.

The impact of the train can't be ignored here.  Had they arrived just a few years earlier, the journey from New York to Salt Lake would have taken months, not the week it took Helena and her sons.

The database spells her name Helene.

Monday, April 9, 2012

Caroline Penn (1817-1864)


I found this post and the above picture on the blog All Things Ancestors about my 3rd great grandmother Caroline Penn.  She was married to Henry Maiben.

I have more information on Caroline Penn to come in a later post.

Sunday, April 8, 2012

John Fell Squires (1846-1933): News Article



John Fell Squires was my 2nd great grandfather.

I found this article in the Logan, Utah Herald Journal from 2003.  Apparently the owners of the house of John Fell Squires wanted to tear it down.  A historic committee had to decide whether to allow this or to preserve this house in Logan, Utah of a historic figure from Logan's past.  I'm not sure what was decided on the house but I found the information about my 2nd great grandfather very interesting.

Among the interesting things was that he was the first ranger Cache National Forest.  He had also worked as a barber like his father John Paternoster Squires  (although it sounds like he didn't really enjoy that work.)

Saturday, April 7, 2012

Neriah Thomas Moore (1858-1943): Obituary

Neriah Thomas Moore (Jr.) was my 2nd great grandfather.  The following is an obituary that appeared (I think) in the Ogden paper (Standard-Examiner) March 20, 1943.  He passed away on March 19, 1943.  He was 85 years old.  It's a little small so you may have to blow it up to read it.


I'm not sure what paper this second obituary came from but the date written on it is March 23rd, 1943.


These talk about various jobs he had including working as a locksmith and gunsmith, working for the railroad, and working for the Ogden, Utah fire department until he retired.

His wife's name is Annie Eliza Sheen.

Friday, April 6, 2012

Herman August Thorup (1826-1907): Death Certificate


This is the death certificate of my 3rd great-grandfather Herman August Thorup.  He was born August 11, 1826 in Denmark.  He passed away on August 20, 1907 at the age of 81 in Salt Lake City, Utah.  I got this death certificate from the Utah State Archives.

This certificate lists his father as Lars C Thorup.  My records show his father as Christian Larsen Thorup.  I guess they are both right.  The mother is listed as Johannah Holm.  My record has her name as Johanne Katrine.  Maybe Johannah is an Americanized version of her Danish name.

I wonder if his middle name comes from the month he was born?

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Ellen Jane Neimoyer (1847-1923): Biographical Sketch


I found this information on my 2nd Great Grandmother Ellen Jane Neimoyer (and her husband William Henry Stevens) in the book Utah Since Statehood, Historical and Biographical, Volume 2 at the following link:

http://archive.org/stream/utahsincestateho02byuwarr#page/654/mode/2up

The sketch has information on Ellen, her husband William, their children & their spouses, and her parents (William Neimoyer and Lucinda Romig).

Here is an excerpt:

"Mrs. Stevens and her family are numbered among the most highly esteemed residents of Ogden [UT] and here  have a circle of friends almost coextensive with the circle of their acquaintance."

I think that's pretty cool.

Crowdsourcing Family History

I have recently been thinking about getting my genealogy online for the purpose of possibly connecting with others that might been looking for information on the same ancestors I am working on. But I wasn’t sure of the best way to do that. I have seen some people put pedigree charts online but beyond names, dates and family connections, there’s not much other information to get from that. I’m just as interested in the stories behind the names and finding out what their lives were like when they were alive.

Then the other day, I ran across a family history blog with some information on a couple of my ancestors and I thought that was a great idea for sharing information. So this blog was born. I’m hoping to share what information I have on some of my ancestors and hoping others might be able to share with me. I think of this as crowdsourcing my family history efforts. So check back as I start posting about some of my ancestors and hopefully through the magic of the internet, I’ll be able to learn a lot more than I already have.