Henry Maiben (1819-1883): Gravesite

The is the gravesite of Henry Maiben, my 3rd great grandfather. The photo comes from the findagrave.com website.

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

This short paragraph about his life is included on the website:

Born in England, Henry worked with his father's business as coach maker/ painter and was educated at Eton and Oxford Colleges. He married Caroline in 1845 at the Parish Church of St. George in London. They were baptized into the LDS Church in 1851 and came to America in 1853, settling in Salt Lake City. Henry was a lead actor in the old Salt Lake Dramatic Company, a poet, lyricist, dance master, and painter. He moved to Provo for a while with his second wife Flora and eventually settled back in Salt Lake City where he passed away and is buried next to Caroline and Flora.

Joseph Knight Jr. (1808-1866): Gravesite

The is the gravesite of Joseph Knight Jr., my 4th great grandfather. The photos come from the findagrave.com website.

Joseph is buried in the Salt Lake City Cemetery in Salt Lake City, Utah.  There is a discrepincy between the 2 stones.  One says he died in 1865 and the other in 1866.  My records show that he died in 1866 so I'll stick with that for now.

Mormon Overland Pioneer Database: Part 4

Part 3 of this series is here.

This post talks about the family of William Andrew Neimoyer, my 3rd great grandfather.

His family traveled with the Henry W. Miller Company.  This company traveled by wagon starting in Florence (now Omaha,) Nebraska on August 5th (or 8th).  They arrived in Salt Lake City, Utah on October 17th and 18th of that same year.

Traveling with William was his wife Lucinda Romig and children Pauline, Jacob, Ellen (my 2nd great grandmother), Mary, George, and Emma.

Caroline Penn (1817-1854): Gravesite

The is the gravesite of Caroline Penn, 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.
The following paragraph about her life is included in the website:

Caroline was born in Brighton, England to Thomas Penn and Sarah Edwards. As a young woman Caroline was head dressmaker in a large dressmaking establishment in London. She married Henry in 1845 in London and joined the LDS church in 1851. They traveled to America in 1853 settling in Salt Lake City, Utah. Caroline made the costumes for the old Salt Lake Dramatic Company where her husband was a lead actor. She died at age 47. Brigham Young spoke at her funeral and Eliza R. Snow wrote a poem in her memory and gave it to the family. She is buried next to Henry in the Salt Lake City Cemetery.

Mormon Overland Pioneer Database: Part 3

Part 2 of this series is here.

This post is about the family of Joseph Knight, Jr., my 4th great grandfather.  They traveled in the Benjamin Hawkins Company.  This company traveled from Kanesville (now Council Bluffs,) Iowa on June 5, 1850.  They arrived in Salt Lake City, Utah on September 9th, 1850.  This company traveled by wagon.

Traveling with the family was Joseph Knight Jr., his wife Betsey Covert, Martha, Mary, Rhoda (my 3rd great grandmother), and Ellen.

Mormon Overland Pioneer Database: Part 2

This is the second post on the Mormon Overland Pioneer Database.  This first is here and is about the Henry Maiben Family.

This post concerns the family of John Paternoster Sqiures, my third great grandfather.  This family, like the family of Henry Maiben, also crossed the plains with the Jacob Gates Company in 1853. The company left Keokuk, Iowa on June 3rd, 1853 and arrived in the Salt Lake Valley September 26-30 of that same year.
Traveling with the family was John Paternoster Squires, his wife Catherine Harriet Fell, and their children Mary, John Fell Squires (My 2nd great grandfather), Richard, and Henry.  Their son Richard died along the trail on September 12th about 200 miles from Salt Lake City.

This except from the life of my 2nd great grandfather John Fell Squires that can be found in the database is interesting as it talks about meeting his future wife (He was 6 or 7 years old on the trip.).

"There was a little black eyed curly headed girl [Alice Penn Maiben] under six years of age. Her Father’s [Henry Maiben’s] wagon was next to ours most of the way. She was gritty and tougher than myself. She truged along day after day walking nearly the entire distance from the Missouri River to S.L. City.

I used to watch her at this and I might say kept my eye on her until we grew up and became husband and wife. Since then she has kept her eye on me."

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.

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TUNE--YANKEE DOODLE
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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)

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.

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.

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.

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?