Thorpe-Dayton-Bird-Bricker-Gray-Wyant-Family History

Times of London Opens Digital Archives

The Times of London has opened its digital archives going back to 1785 for a free trial for searching.  Of course, history buffs will want to read the Times' take on special days or on specific topics.  

You and I, however, may be most interested to learn if there are any tidbits included about our ancestors.  Out of this sense of curiosity, I have prepared this list of 320 of my sons ancestors who lived in England after 1700.

Download people_who_lived_in_England.pdf

Devin's 1971 Honda 600 Sedan in 1982

Today, we visited my folks who recently moved to a new, smaller home.  They were unloading things they don't want any more, including some old photos.  This is a photo of my sister, Tiffany, and me, alongside my 1971 Honda 600 Sedan.  This car predates the first Honda Civic.  It featured a 600 cc motorcycle engine that delivered 35-45 mpg.  The car would run at freeway speeds, though barely.  It had front wheel drive, with a 4-speed, dash-mounted manual transmission, power brakes, and 10 inch wheels.



I bought the car for full asking price of $600.  I loved the car, but broke it within 30 days by popping the clutch all the time, which somehow damaged the transmission.  Months later I sold the car for $100, which I thought was much better than paying the junk yard to come get it.

I found a recent sale of this model car on the web today for almost $8,000.  I imagine that there are not many of these babies around anymore.

What was your first car?  How much did you pay for it?  How long did it last?

Bird and Bricker Family Group Sheets

Today I'm posting the cascading family group sheets for up to 30 generations back for the Charles Reid Bird family line and the Marian Bricker (Bird) family line.

Please take a look at what you see there.  Over the last several weeks, I've now posted cascading family group sheets for all of my son's ancestors.  If you print it all (and I don't recommend this necessarily) it will require nearly 3000 pages.

I owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to the countless people who've worked on this family history before me.  I've contributed very little to the research that has been done--I rather think of my role as the publisher.

What information do you have about the Birds and the Brickers that I may not have?  Please comment below to share what you know!

Sarah Ann Gardner Burr Derr

Sarah Ann Gardner was born February 13, 1807 in Wilmington, Delaware to James and Hannah Gardner.  We know little else about her genealogy, but Wilmington had been settled first by Scandinavians and later by English settlers. 

Her early life may well have been defined by the War of 1812, which played out its drama in the Atlantic Ocean to the East and Chesapeake Bay to the West.  Readers will recall that the British sacked Washington, DC, destroying the White House and other public buildings in 1813.  Following the raid on Washington, the British attacked Baltimore by sea, shelling Fort Henry.  When the 25 hours of shelling ended, the Star Spangled Banner still flew over the fort, inspiring Francis Scott Key to write what became the National Anthem.  One can only surmise that the Gardners were focused intently on these battles in their region.

Sarah Ann Gardner married Samuel H. Burr, likely in 1826.  Together they had five children, three boys (Edward-1827, George-1830 and Westley-1833) and two daughters (Anna-1829 and Elizabeth-1831).  Samuel and his wife and two children were recorded as living in Wilmington for the 1830 census.  For the 1840 census, only the two daughters are noted with their parents.  Family records do not include death dates for the boys, leading one to wonder if they died between 1830 and 1840.  Later generations of the family were diagnosed with ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency (OTC deficiency), which takes the lives of untreated male carriers.  Of course, if that is what happened, at the time there would have been no diagnosis and no treatment for the boys.  We can only imagine the heartbreak and anguish those parents would have suffered watching their boys die.

The next decade was pivotal in Sarah's life.  Though no family or other records seem to indicate how or when exactly it happened, Sarah apparently joined the LDS Church, but Samuel did not.  Ultimately, Sarah went to Utah without him.

At age 45, Sarah married William Derr on April 20, 1852.  They were sealed together in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City two years later on April 4, 1854.

While it is not clear from family records whether her oldest daughter, Anna, came out West, Sarah's younger daughter, Elizabeth did come.  In fact, Elizabeth also married William Derr on February 10, 1865 at age 33.

Sarah and William did not have any children together, but Elizabeth and William had four children, presumably allowing Sarah to be unusually close to her grandchildren.

Sarah died at age 75 on February 15, 1882.  She is apparently buried in the Salt Lake City Cemetery, but I cannot find a grave marker for her.

Thorpe Family Christmas Party

Well, on December 23, 2007, the Thorpes all got together at Natalie's place for dinner.  The group including all of the descendants of Phil and Linda Thorpe, being the first time in many years that we have all been together.

Here are the photos:

Jane Lucas Bricker

Jane Lucas Bricker is an enigmatic figure in family history in that she played a key role in the family.  She is the earliest member of the LDS Church in her family line.  Her husband, a weaver named Job Bricker, did not apparently join the church.  She remained with her husband in England, but at least two of her children also joined the Church.

Born in about 1794 in North Bradley, Wiltshire, England, she married Job Bricker on October 7, 1810.  They had six children, the second oldest and youngest of whom joined the LDS Church in 1850, four years after Jane did.  Charlotte, the oldest daughter in the family joined the church and remained in England, apparently dying within about a year of her baptism.  William George Bricker, however, came to Utah before 1867.

(Read more about the history of the shire here.)

William is the grandfather of Marian Bricker (Bird), my grandmother.

Jane lived to be 82 years old and died in the town where she was born.

Salt Lake City Cemetery

The following table presents a list of relatives buried in the Salt Lake City cemetery.  There are many Bricker-related ancestors and a few Bird-, Thorpe-, Dayton- and even Gray-related folks buried there.  This list is not complete, but it does include (where I could find them) photos of the headstones.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Name	Location	Family Name	Photo
Evans, David Minshall	Salt Lake City Cemetery, B_8_8_3_E	Bird
Court, Jane Owen (Evans)	Salt Lake City Cemetery, B_8_8_4_E	Bird
Holding, Mary (Evans)	Salt Lake City Cemetery, B_8_8_4_	Bird
Derr, Erma	Salt Lake City Cemetery, C_7_5_5_	Bricker
Houston, Isaac	Salt Lake City Cemetery, F_10_14__	Dayton	Did not locate
Davis, Alma Hyder       Holmes, Sophia ( Davis )	Salt Lake City Cemetery, F_9_8_1_W	Bird
Davis, Thomas Stafford       Van Cott, Olive	Salt Lake City Cemetery, F_9_8_1_WN2R	Bird
Timpson, George Derr	Salt Lake City Cemetery, G_1_7__	Bricker	Did not locate
Timpson, John Raymond	Salt Lake City Cemetery, G_1_7__	Bricker	Did not locate
Timpson, Albert Smith	Salt Lake City Cemetery, G_1_7__	Bricker	Did not locate
Timpson, Matthew	Salt Lake City Cemetery, G_1_7__	Bricker	Did not locate
Gardner, Sarah Ann (Burr) (Derr)	Salt Lake City Cemetery, G_1_7__	Bricker	Did not locate
Derr, Anna Eliza	Salt Lake City Cemetery, G_1_7_1/2_S	Bricker	Did not locate
Timpson, Emma	Salt Lake City Cemetery, G_1_7_1_CTR	Bricker	Did not locate
Derr, William	Salt Lake City Cemetery, G_1_7_1_E	Bricker	Did not locate
Burr, Elizabeth Lippincott (Derr)	Salt Lake City Cemetery, G_1_7_3_E	Bricker	Did not locate
Timpson, Louis or Lewis	Salt Lake City Cemetery, G_1_7_4_W CTR	Bricker	Did not locate
Kilpatrick, James Pierson, Sr.	Salt Lake City Cemetery, G_1_7_5_E	Bricker
Cook, Mary Francis "Molly" (Kilpatrick)	Salt Lake City Cemetery, G_1_7_5_	Bricker
McLachlan, William   Caroline Filer (McLachlan)	Salt Lake City Cemetery, G_3_6_1E_N2	Bird
McLachlan, Lucile	Salt Lake City Cemetery, G_3_6_1E_
Free, Absalom Pennington	Salt Lake City Cemetery, J_16_6_1/2_S	Bird	Did not locate
Timpson, George William, Jr.	Salt Lake City Cemetery, J_22_6__	Bricker
Timpson, Vera Eldora	Salt Lake City Cemetery, J_22_6__	Bricker
Timpson, George William	Salt Lake City Cemetery, J_22_6_1_E	Bricker
Strickland, Sarah Elizabeth (Timpson)	Salt Lake City Cemetery, J_22_6_2_E	Bricker
Smith, Elizabeth Fordham (Timpson)	Salt Lake City Cemetery, J_22_6_4_W	Bricker	Did not locate.
Evans, Edward Holding	Salt Lake City Cemetery, K_2_14_1_E	Bird
Timpson, John Herbert	Salt Lake City Cemetery, K_21_1_1E_N2	Bricker
Hamer, Janette or Jeanetta Ann (Timpson)	Salt Lake City Cemetery, K_21_1_1E_N2	Bricker
Jarrold, Sarah (Free) (Hyder)	Salt Lake City Cemetery, M_2_1_3_W	Bird
Hyder, Sarah Elizabeth (Davis)	Salt Lake City Cemetery, M_2_1_	Bird
Davis, Edward William	Salt Lake City Cemetery, M_2_1_	Bird
Evans, Ernest Isaac	Salt Lake City Cemetery, O_12_11_1E_S2	Bird
Tennant, Mary Belle (Evans)	Salt Lake City Cemetery, O_12_11_2_ES2	Bird
Timpson, Mary Jane (Bywater)	Salt Lake City Cemetery, P_14_3_2W_S2	Bricker
Bywater, Robert Willard	Salt Lake City Cemetery, P_14_3_2W_S2	Bricker
Derr, George Westley	Salt Lake City Cemetery, PARK_16_15_1_E	Bricker
Bitner, Anna (Derr)	Salt Lake City Cemetery, PARK_16_15_1_E	Bricker
Kent, Charles	Salt Lake City Cemetery, R_34_14_3_E	Dayton	Not located
Morrison, Emmeline (Kent)	Salt Lake City Cemetery, R_34_14_4_E	Dayton	Not located
Kent, Alton   Jack	Salt Lake City Cemetery, R_35_3_1_W	Dayton
Hicken, Florence Cummings (Kent)	Salt Lake City Cemetery, R_35_3_2_W	Dayton
Adams, John Winfred	Salt Lake City Cemetery, U_14_4_3_W	Bird
Timpson, John William	Salt Lake City Cemetery, WEST_3_64_1_E	Bricker
Whitney, Helen (Timpson)	Salt Lake City Cemetery, WEST_3_64_1_E	Bricker
Snow, Perry Gardner (M.D.)	Salt Lake City Cemetery, X_1_68_4_E	Bird
Rosenkrantz, Claude	Salt Lake City Cemetery, X_2_3_5_W	Bird
Gray, Cleda May (Underwood)	Salt Lake City Cemetery, X_3_117_2_E	Gray
Underwood, Louis Morgan	Salt Lake City Cemetery, X_3_117	Gray
Underwood, Velma May	Salt Lake City Cemetery, X_3_117	Gray
Underwood, Mary Lucile	Salt Lake City Cemetery, X_3_117	Gray
Lund, Carrie Elizabeth (Larsen)	Salt Lake City Cemetery,   X_4_104_4_E	Thorpe
Larsen, Alma LaVor	Salt Lake City Cemetery, X_4_104_5_E2	Thorpe
Larsen, Duane W. (Ens.)	Salt Lake City Cemetery, X_4_104	Thorpe

William Derr

William Derr, the great grandfather of Marian Bricker Bird (my grandmother), was born 194 years ago today (October 28, 1813).  He married at least three times, though I only have records of his having children from one wife,  Elizabeth Lippincott Burr.

He married Eliza Ann Bright on April 11, 1839, just more than a year before he joined the LDS church on May 12, 1840.  It is possible that he and Eliza split over his joining the church as I have no record of her bearing children or coming to Utah.

William served in the Nauvoo Legion in Nauvoo, apparently playing in the Third Regimental Martial Band of what was quite a large military force.

By 1849, William was living in Utah and was serving actively in what was still called the Nauvoo Legion, though now it was organized to defend the Territory of Deseret.  The photo at left has the following caption:  L. to R.: Dimick B. Huntington, Andrew Gray, Ebenezer Beesley, William Derr, Edwin
Rawlings, John Mattocks, Peter Worthen, Charles Hardy, James Glade, Joseph Rawlings,
Henry Grow, Charles Halley, James Woods, Richard Collett, Joseph Hicks, Milton Hardy and
Charles Tester.  It appears, however, that there are more men in the photo than names on the caption, begging the question, which one is really William Derr?

On April 20, 1852, at age 39, he married Sarah Ann Gardner, who was 45 years old.  Sarah had previously been married to Samual H. Burr.   Burr apparently did not join the LDS Church or come West to Utah.  William and Sarah had not children together.

By the late 1850's, William's connection to music led him to the earliest efforts at theater in Salt Lake City.  He did the lighting for the shows at the old Salt Lake Theatre (1st South and State Street) using oil lamps.  In 1872, a transition to gas lamps in the theater was completed.  Later, his son George would take over as the electrician to help install electric lights in 1880.

William was a tradesman.  After the start of the American Civil War, Utah sought to prove its allegiance to the United States by celebrating Independence Day, July 4, 1861, like never before.  Among the celebrations was a parade, in which William marched.  He was part of a group of tradesmen representing their respective trades.  William represented comb-makers.

On February 10, 1865, William married Sarah's youngest daughter, Elizabeth Lippincott Burr, who was 33 years old at the time.  Together William and Elizabeth had four children, Sarah, George, John and Ann.

William died on October 25, 1897, just three days before his 84th birthday.

Thorpes' Humanitarian Service Mission to Russia

For 18 months, beginning January 2004, Phil and Linda Thorpe served a humanitarian service mission from their assigned home of Moscow, Russia.  They coordinated humanitarian service activities throughout most of Eastern Europe and Central Asia from their offices in Moscow.

The video below provides some highlights from the humanitarian service aspects of the mission.

1998 Trip to Argentina--Mission to Get Bricker

In August of 1998, Bricker Thorpe was completing his LDS mission in Argentina.  He had served in the Buenos Aires South Mission where I had served a decade earlier.  Gail, Dayton and I visited Argentina and came home with Bricker.

At the time, I took a crummy camera and then made a poor choice regarding development of the photos and had them developed digitally back when such a thing was almost unheard of.  As a result, the photos from the trip are disappointing. 

Dayton, who was nine at the time, did the narration for the photos and we recorded him.  The narration makes this a real treasure (for his parents).  With Dayton now off to college, his in our thoughts all the time but not in our home so it seemed like a good time to dust off this little gem. 

I hope you enjoy this just a fraction as much as we do.