Sarah Monson Whitehead Marriage- Alberta Part 4

I was married very young-just one month past 17.  I married William J. Whitehead Jr. who had been an  admirer of me and I of him for all our school days.  To this union we were blessed with five children:   Ross Monson, Connel Monson, Hazel, Willard DeLyle, and Boyd James. My life was never easy.   We came to Canada with my husbands folks in 1908, leaving all my people in the States.  The country  was new and we had nothing but ourselves and our dear baby boy Ross 1 1/2 years old.  There would be times when I felt I could not stand it or go on another day, however, I tried to  encourage my husband to stay with it and give it a fair trial, but in less than a year he had made  arrangements with a Mr. Johnson who came when we and his folks did and were leaving to return  to their old home in Idaho Falls.  I did not know of it until his plans were all made-so we parted  with all our earthly possessions and left with them by train for Idaho, me taking the whole blame  for him leaving.  We left here in February and went to our home town, Franklin, Idaho.  On the  28th of May the same year our second son Connel was born.  Ross being then 2 years and 9 months old.   It seemed like each baby brought all the love of heaven with it to our home and for me I asked no  greater blessing and could have been content with the material things of life as the Lord chose  to bless me with. We had a very cold winter following.  My husband walked 3 miles to work in the  Lewiston sugar factory and home at night.  We moved to a small 2 room apt.(lean-to) of a widows  home when Connel was 3 months old.  I shall never forget two things that happened there.  She  had at the back an old fashioned shanty, which most people did in those days- to use for a summer  cook kitchen while their families were all at home.  Sister Merrick used this for a store place to just  “put things in to get them out of the way”.  In the winter some kind person gave her a lovely fresh  ham when they killed a pig.  Of course it was kept in this shanty and was frozen so we would have  to cut a slice off for her when she needed it.  One morning as my husband was leaving for work at  5:30(very dark) I went to the door with him as I always did and noticed right away the door of the  shanty was open(there was no lock on it).  Later in the morning I went around to tell her about it and  I will never forget the look of suspicion  on her face as she said “Are you sure you don’t know who took  it?”  If she had sun a knife through my heart, she couldn’t have hurt me more.  I said, “Sister Merrick  surely you  don’t think we did.”  She said, “It has never happened before and you were the only ones  that knowed I had it.”  I think I cried the rest of the day.  She came in and found me that way and  tried in feeble way to cover up but she didn’t have love for anyone so it still hurt.  We had some member  of the bishopric come and investigate later in the day and where it was there was a showing in the snow  where the meat had been dragged thro the snow and traced it to the Bill Cherry home.  That was one  time I looked over something I never tho’t I could but I remember I never bought a bit of fresh pork for  a very long time.  She had the mane of being “nasty” to everyone. One night not so long after that she  knocked on the wall and ask me if I would bring the children in and she would make us a bed on her  Winnipeg couch in the kitchen.  It was bitter cold and the children were in bed(my husband was working  night shift).  I was a bit reluctant to disturb them but couldn’t refuse her, she seemed disturbed and  said she tho’t we would be warmer on such a cold night.  I consented and took my little ones (after  going around and making our bed in her kitchen) one by one, wrapping them in the flannelette sheet  they had on their beds and we took refuge in our new sleeping quarters.   As everyone else, or most  everyone did, she let her fire die out with kindling wood and coal ready to relight it in the morning.   Around 2 a.m. I was awakened by a faint call for help, a gurgling sound also.  I finally realized where  AI was and that Sister Merrick was trying feebly to awaken me.  I ran to her bedside and found her  gasping for breath in a choking manner.  I did what I could for her and then she became a little easier  and ask e to go for Ellen.  Ellen was a midwife and everyone’s nurse (Ellen Morgan).  I told her I would  make the fire first and put some water on to heat.  She wanted me to go but seemed reluctant to let  go of my hand.  I started out, it was a bright moonlight night when every star seems to stand  out alone.   I could hear my footsteps squeak in the hard snow path and just a bit lonely and fearful I made my way  to Ellen’s as quickly as I could.  I thought I should never be able to awaken her.  My pounding on the  door echoed thro’ the big empty house(I say empty as they had neither carpet or linoleum and very little  furniture in their home) the door was loose and rattled back and forth as I pounded.  I at last was  rewarded with a faint “Whose’s there?”  I gave her my message and she ask me to wait a minute .   The door was unlocked  so I entered and  told her I would have to hurry back, my responsibilities there  were urgent.  I was afraid the children would waken and not know where they were become panicky.   Also Sister Merrick needed me or may, and then my freshly lighted fire might not be just right so I  hastened back.  Everything was under control.  Ross was awake, he was a few mo. over three years  but as always he was lying there quietly wit his arm around baby Connel never making a sound of  complaint, as was his nature.  When he saw me he said “Where was you mama, I was afraid you was  lost.”  Ellen stayed thro’ the rest of the night, and as usual the Lord answered my prayers.  Tho’ I had  a patient on my hands for a few days  and a difficult one.  But she felt more her accusation of the meat  night.  We moved from her house in the spring to Brigham City, Utah. I liked living there very much.   The people were so friendly and hospitable.  That is where I met Lettie Cheney-Clin her husband and  my husband worked for the same orchard Co.  We lived in a duplex house and enjoyed our days together.   Her eldest child Glenn was just 3 or 4 months younger than Connel. Hazel was born when Connel was four  years old and then it was no question my happiness was complete.  Two fine little boys and now a girl.

If we could have looked at life the same way, their dad and I , no greater happiness could have been  me.  But life isn’t like that for me it seems. When Hazel was 2 months old, we moved a mile south of  Brigham City, rented a large orchard and there we lived a bout 2 years.  When the “moving bug” bit once  more and we were on our way back to Franklin, Idaho once more.  It proved to be as all other moves,  fruitless, as far as contentment and settling down were concerned.  So when Hazel was almost three  years old, 2 1/2 to be exact, Grandpa Whitehead come down to be with his mother during her last few weeks on earth, and he tho’t it best for us to come back to Alberta.  So we were on our way once more.  At that time I was taking care of my invalid mother and have many times regretted leaving her.   What greater mission could I have had.  But the teaching of wives cleave unto thy husband, which is in the Bible, once more prevailed.  I am a believer of that, if all try to make it worth the cleaving.  I also believe in “husbands cleave to thy wife”.

Teaching the Youth

https://lds.org/youth/family-history?lang=eng

Yesterday I had the awesome opportunity to teach over 140 youth aged 12-18 about how to research their family history.  It was great to see these youth trying to find their roots.  Many of them did not know the names of their great grandparents.  They were able to log in to newfamilysearch.org and access the records of their families if there had been names already entered.
Family history research is for all ages.
When I presented Elder Bednar's presentation to the youth one of his main points was that if you know where you came from, you know more about who you are.  Amen!!

Sarah Monson Whitehead Youth to Marriage Part 3

Similar to what Sarah would have experienced.

This is just an idea of what the school would look like. After the death of my father we lived on the home place for a few years and then moved to town.   My brother Ezra was the eldest, he was married at that time, we all put what ever little  there was left from father’s estate, for us, in a lump sum.  Ezra paid the rest and we bought  mother a home with it, in Franklin, it was no palace but to us it was a mansion.  We only  had 2 blocks to walk to school, where as before we had a mile and on the coldest mornings  I remember how my face would feel sometimes with tears frozen on it when I reached the  one roomed school house where four grades were taught and the grades from 5 to 8 were  taught in another small room nearby. Aug 16, 1958-  It has been a long time since I have written anything in this book of my  life’s history and many things have happened to me since then, much sorrow, and  sometimes it is very hard to continue on, when ones heart is so sad but I have always  wanted to write my life’s sketch so will try to add some to the already few pages. My school days were the average kind all children had in those days.  There would  be as I said four grades in each room.  I think I only disliked one of my many teachers. The others were something or someone very “special” to me and I always got on very  nicely with them. We had one school dress each year.  We always wore a print apron  or black sateen to protect our dress.  We had one Sunday dress in the winter (new for Xmas) and one for summer new for the 4th of July.  My new dresses were  usually made from one, one  of the three older sisters had out grown.  But  they were new to me and I was very happy to have them.  My two older sisters  were very good dressmakers so they were always created into a dress like  new, I remember the first Xmas dress I had made from honest to goodness  cloth that was folded in a parcel and my sister Eva would measure it with  her “nose” she said.  It was purple wool with a black figure in it and she  trimmed it with a purple and green changeable taffeta silk. I was always  happy by nature.  I enjoyed my life as it came and never envied the rich,  even tho’ I wished many times I could have some of the things they had  and I couldn’t have but it never made me unhappy.  I was happy with  what I had and with the parents, brothers and sisters I was blessed with , especially my mother as my father died when I was 8 yrs so my mother  was very dear to me up until her death.  She lived to be 78.  Her memory  is still one of my priceless memories, always patient and kind as she always was.

Correction on William Whitehead Sr Where He Came From

I would like to update some information that I had previously posted about where William Whitehead Sr grew up.  One of the perks of the Internet is to be able to connect with people all over the world.  Early in August of this year I was contacted my a 'cousin' in England who grew up and lives where William was from.  He was able to send me a description of the mill that the Whiteheads owned at some point.  This information clarifies some of the information that we had.

http://www.hamandbud.co.uk/industrial_valleys/denshawvalepw.html

I am hoping to get more info as time goes on.

I invite any one who happens upon my blog and can provide further insight and info to contact me.  Thanks for the input.

Common Trend in Researching Our Family Lines

One of the troubles with doing family history research is that there are many struggles in verifying information, finding information and keeping up the 'courage' (as they say in French) to keep plodding through even though it seems so difficult to find anything!!!

Many years ago my mother was valiantly writing letters, connecting with cousins and doing all she could to research her grandfather George Walter Morton's line.  She then rekindled the fires and spent many hours at research libraries trying to continue her search.  This can get discouraging.  With the onset of my quest to share stories and help my children know their roots, my mother decided it was time for me to take on the task.  She sent me her binder of all the info she has gathered in the past 30 years.  I am grateful for this binder.

Here is the lineage to my story:
Diane Morton (my mother born October 3, 1943)
Jack Winston Morton her father 1914-1982
George Walter Morton (1882-1979)- his parents were Robert Morton (  )and Eliza Aurelia Hall (1847-1921) (I love that name!)
Eliza Aurelia Hall's parents were George Hall and Emily Jane Chisholm (also a very sweet name)
Emily Jane's parents were Alexander Chisholm and Elizabeth Gilbert
* The Chisholm's were United Empire Loyalists who came from Scotland to establish Canada under British reign.  I just discovered a website of a researcher who has recently disproved the family lineage once thought accurate for years.  He researched land petitions, military records, census records, and Loyalist records.

I am still trying to wrap my head around all of the details, but I found myself enthralled in this discovery. I even discovered that one of my ancestors, Colin "a b'Oige" Chisholm who was born February 01, 1749/50 in Middle Knockfin Scotland and died January 18, 1781 in The Battle of Cowpens, North Carolina of the Revolutionary war.


Immediatley I called my five year old and we set right to researching the battle.  We searched the web and discovered stories, battle strategy, maps, diagrams and pictures. What 5 year old boy doesn't think that this is cool?  I love that even when we don't always find exactly what we are looking for there is always something that will help us feel closer to our family and understand where they have been.

An image of a reenactment I found on www.battleofcowpens.com

Also on the site I found this to be quite interesting: social media mixed with history.  I don't think that I'll watch another Americian Revolution movie the same again!




The Battle of Cowpens earned General Daniel Morgan the reputation of a master strategist. Because such detailed strategies were rarely used in 18th century warfare, The Battle of Cowpens is still studied at Westpoint Military Academy for its strategic significance.
Had Daniel Morgan and his Continental forces lost the Battle of Cowpens, it is likely that General Cornwallis would have been successful in crushing the rebellion in South Carolina and beginning his move into North Carolina. The victory at Cowpens gave the militia and patriots a renewed since of optimism and belief that the war for independence could be won. Note: The final battle scene in the 2000 movie The Patriot, with Mel Gibson, is based on a combination of the Battle at Guildord's Couthouse and the Battle of Cowpens. Gibson's character is a combination of Fancis Marion (the Swamp Fox) and Daniel Morgan. 

How Much Do Our Genes Effect Who We Are?

I think that this is going to be an on going discussion and area of research for me in my family research and blog.  I am going to use a small example:

Yep the discussion is about pickles.  When my mom was a school girl she and her friend Sandra Peterson would pool their lunch money and buy themselves a jar of pickles.  They'd eat the pickles for lunch and drink the juice afterwards.  They sure loved pickles.  This love affair with pickles for my mother.  Whenever we were at a fast food place she would always order 'extra' pickles.

This past summer we were celebrating my five year old's birthday and he wanted pickles and popcorn for lunch.  We had just returned from Costco and bought the super size pickle jar.  Before I knew it the four of my kids ate the ENTIRE jar of pickles and enormous bowl of popcorn.


Today I bought a regular 1 litre jar of pickles and they managed to eat the whole thing for their after school snack.  


This love of pickles seems a bit extreme.  


I will report back on my genetic findings. 

Sarah Monson Whitehead Childhood Sugar Tooth and Celebrations Part 2

Any candy we had between the 4th of July and Xmas, we took an egg to the store to buy it and we got as much as we do for 39 cents now.  You see our money had more value then, even our egg.

Speaking of the 4th of July and Xmas also Thanksgiving.  The 4th of July was our summer vacation.   We really had an honest to goodness nickel.  I would go to the refreshment stands to see where I could get the most for my nickel, had to hurry and spend it before I lost it or it burned a hole in the corner of my handkerchief where it was tied.  I usually settled for  candy (sugar dobs as we called them) so I could take some home at night for tomorrow and would carry the sack twisted tightly at the top. In those days the would place the old benches from the “meeting house” out under the beautiful trees and all the mothers, father or who wanted to could sit and visit and watch the children’s races and tug-o-war etc.  I usually joined the foot races.  Rachel couldn’t run. She was too fat and not such a fun lover as I.  I won many prizes which would usually be a bar of popcorn with a fan attached.  Oh the joy of that.  Mother also held that.  One race I won a nickel.  I was really a millionaire then.  Oh no I didn’t spend it that day-it would go for a new hair ribbon later.

This is just a photo that I found that shows how Sarah and Her sisters would have been dressed like when she was a girl.

This is a random picture of a group of people in the 1880's having a picnic.

One day I was more than usual candy hungry, I teased my mother for an egg. (I think at that time she was beginning to hide some away for Easter, so we could all have plenty on that eventful day, so she was a little reluctant to give it to me.  She by nature was very gentle and kind-it was hard to say “no” when she knew we were so eager) so she finally said “Oh run out and chase a hen up a greasy board and maybe she will lay you an egg”, so I went out thinking I was licked, but I finally saw an old black hen singing away as she picked away in the grass, I tho’t it wouldn’t hurt to try just chasing her “around” so I started my chase.  She finally ran for the “coop” and as she hopped up on the step, my chase was rewarded with success and I'd go and get my candy.  

We always went bare footed in the summer to save our yearly pr of shoes which were of a coarse leather and firmly riveted as well as sewn to ensure their life. (quite a difference to the ones of today, which seem to be just glued).

We had an artition well on our lot, a pipe which continually flows a stream of very cold water.  The waste water formed a slough at the back.  I can hear the frogs yet singing or croaking at night each in its own pitch, high, low and medium.  It was music to sleep by and I missed it very much when we left the old home where so many happy days had been spent.  It is needless to say there were “pollywogs” also many of them and now you have guessed, we waded in the water and caught them  by the can full.  We would take them to the large sawdust pile, empty the can and watch them crawl around and get covered with sawdust.  They looked so funny.  Oh no, we did not kill them we loaded them back and put them back in the water where they would wiggle happily away-(I could not touch one of the slimy creatures today if I were paid).