William Henry Stevens: Store

The picture above is of the sporting goods store run by my 2nd great grandfather William Henry Stevens.  He is standing in the doorway of the store with his 4 children to his left (the youngest is my great grandfather George Earl Stevens).  The store was located on 25th Street in Ogden, Utah.

Guessing at the ages of the children from the picture, I would guess this photo was taken around 1885.

I'm not sure how prevalent photography was at this time but all the bystanders seem fascinated by the camera.

John Fell Squires (1846-1933): Gravesite

The is the gravesite of John Fell Squires, my 2nd great grandfather. These photos come from the findagrave.com website.

He is buried in the Logan City Cemetery in Logan, Utah.

The following paragraph is included in the website:

John Fell Squires was the 2nd child of John Paternoster and Catherine Harriet Fell Squires. The family was converted to the LDS church in 1853 and left for America on the ship the International the same year. It took ten weeks to reach New Orleans, and from there they traveled up the Mississippi river to Iowa and on to the Salt Lake Valley. John met his future wife as a small child traveling in the same pioneer company across the plains. Alice Penn Maiben and John were married 7 Aug 1868 and had 12 children together, 9 of which grew to adulthood. John was a colorful and witty man, a writer and teller of exaggerated and entertaining stories. He was the first Cache National Forest ranger.

Alice Penn Maiben (1847-1920): Gravesite

The is the gravesite of Alice Penn Maiben, my 2rd great grandmother. These photos come from the findagrave.com website.

She is buried in the Logan City Cemetery in Logan, Utah.

The following paragraph about her life is included with the website:

Alice Penn Maiben Squires was the oldest child of Henry and Caroline Penn Maiben. Her parents were converted to the LDS church in 1851. The family left for America in 1853 and arrived in Salt Lake Valley. She walked most of the way across the plains. She married a young man who was in the same pioneer company as her John Fell Squires on 7 Aug 1868. They had 12 children together. Her descendants remember her as being a wonderful cook and lovely lady. Heber J. Grant spoke at her funeral in the Logan Tabernacle.

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.

Morman Overland Trail Database: Part 5

This is the 5th post on the Mormon Overland Pioneer Database.  The 4th is here.

This post is about the family of James Sheen Sr, my 4th great grandfather.  The Sheen family crossed the plains in the Edmund Ellsworth Company in 1856. This was the very first handcart company to cross the plains.  They left Iowa City, Iowa on June 9, 1856 and arrived in Salt Lake City, Utah on September 26, 1856.  Traveling with the family were the following (and the information in the database is quite confusing):

James Sheen Sr.
Son Robert Sheen
  -Robert's Wife Eliza Elizabeth Taylor Sheen
  - Child Mary
  - Child Louisa ??
  - Child Annie
  - Child Emma (Died en route)
Son James Jr. (my 3rd great grandfather)
  - James' wife Mary Shields Jaynes (3rd great grandmother)
  - Child Annie Eliza  ?????
  - Child Sidney (Died en route)
Daughter Hannah
Daughter Ellen


Questions:
1.  Who is Louisa a child of?  I guessed Robert and Eliza but I'm not sure.
2.  James Sr. wife, Maria Loveridge, came across on the ship but isn't listed here.  My genealogy records indicated she dies on June 9, 1856 (the same date the handcarts set out from Iowa City) but no mention is made of this anywhere here in the Mormon Overland Pioneer Database.  Need more info on this.
3.  Annie Eliza.  This is apparently my 2nd great grandmother.  However her death certificate, obituary, and headstone all show her as having been born in 1860 in Utah.  There's something going on here that I need to sort out.  Maybe this Annie Eliza isn't the daughter of James Jr. and Mary (as is indicated in the database) but of someone else.

Below is a journal entry that mentions the death of Sidney

23^rd Came 14 miles to 4 mi. Creek 4 mi. from the Fort Des Moin[es] town. burried a litle child Sidney Chein [Sheen] 3 mos & 14 days old[.] suposed to have ben lain on by its mother during the night[.] I burried him about 30 yds South of the Bridge on the E. Bank

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.

James Edwin Sheen (1830-1927): Gravesite

James Edwin Sheen was my 3rd great grandfather.  The photo above can be found on the findagrave.com website.

James is buried in the Smithfield City Cemetary in Smithfield, Utah.

His wife, my 3rd great grandmother, Mary Shields Jaynes had died in 1866.  They had 4 living children when she passed away, including my 2nd great grandmother, Annie Eliza Sheen.  2 other children had died as infants.

James remarried after the death of Mary.  Her name was Saarah Gardner.

Neriah Thomas Moore (1858-1943): Gravesite

The photo above is from the gravesite of my 2nd great grandfather Neriah Thomas Moore Jr.  I got the photo from the findagrave.com website. 

Neriah is buried in the Ogden City Cemetary in Ogden, Utah.  He is burind next to his wife Annie Eliza Sheen.

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.

Annie Eliza Sheen (1860-1945): Gravesite

The photo above comes from the findagrave.com website.

Annie Eliza Sheen is buried in the Ogden City Cemetary in Ogden, Utah.  Her husband, Neriah Thomas Moore Jr. is buried right next to her.

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."

Annie Eliza Sheen (1860-1945): Obituary

This is the obituary for my 2nd great grandmother, Annie Eliza Sheen.  She was married to Neriah Thomas Moore Jr.  I believe this came from the Ogden, Utah paper.  She passed away on June 20, 1945.

This second image came from a church newsletter following her death.

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.

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.

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.)

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.

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?