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

Nauvoo Connections

Cousin Kevin Thorpe shared the following with me this week:

I just got back from a trip with my wife to Nauvoo and a bunch of other church history sites.  Before I went, my parents gave me some links to some family history sites you have made.  I looked around on those and then looked those people up back in the midwest.  You probably know all of this already, but I was shocked how much information there was about a couple of our ancestors.  Since I got the original info off of your site, I thought I'd let you know what I found.  

At the Visitor's Center in Council Bluffs, there is a tribute to the Mormon Battalion.  In the video they show there, they mention Wilford Hudson, our great-great-great grandfather on Grandbe's line, a couple of times.  I found the video on  youtube and here are the links to the three part movie.  It is about twenty minutes total and the second part is the one that talks about our ancestor.  I enjoyed the whole movie though because it was extremely interesting to see how big of a role our direct ancestor played in the gold rush as far as discovering the gold and then helping build the road that almost everybody going to the gold rush ended up using.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iaglCPoubpM  (Part I)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFP6NSdp90k (Part II)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKG6QW78azQ (Part III)

 Growing up here in California, we studied a ton about the Gold Rush, but I had to go to Iowa to learn my family's involvement in such a big event in our nation's history!  I also learned that there is a plaque here in Northern California honoring him, and the carving they mention in part II of the movie is also in a museum in Northern California.  It was pretty exciting to learn all of this.  

In addition, we looked up Hiram Dayton and Susannah and I were able to locate several of the places in Nauvoo where he owned land while the Saints were there.  I attached a few photos of the land that he had owned  

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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?

Family Group Sheets for Phyllis Dayton Thorpe

This week, I'm posting the family group sheets for the Phyllis Dayton (Thorpe) family line back 30 generations.  This PDF file is almost 1500 pages long.

Click here to view the file. 

Please let me know if you see anything missing or in error!

Thomas and Christina Sutherland Edmonston

Both born in Whitburn, West Lothian, Scotland, Christina Sutherland and Thomas Edmonston married on March 27, 1819.  Christina (who is sometimes recorded as Christian) was born in 1798 or 1799.  Thomas was born November 27, 1797.  Thomas and Christina are the great, great grandparents of Phyllis Dayton Thorpe (my grandmother).

A form of census was taken in Whitburn in 1796.  There were about 500 people in the town at that time (about 12,000 today). 

At the time of their births, agriculture was the primary industry of Whitburn.  By 1801, the population of the town was recorded at 1537.  By 1828, however, there was a thriving cotton weaving industry in the region, with at least 150 cotton fabric looms in operation.  By 1838, this number had increased to 218.  Thomas was, not surprisingly, a cotton weaver.

On October 28, 1839, Christina and her nine year old daughter Margaret were baptized members of the LDS Church. 

Thomas and Christina raised their family in Scotland, ultimately having eight children:  Kenneth (1826), Ann (1828), David (Ann's twin, 1828), Margaret (1830), James (1832), Alexander (1834), John (1836) and Christina (1844).  The youngest was not counted in the 1851 or 1861 census, suggesting that she did not live much past birth, but the others were all counted at least once in a census.  (The church at right was built in Whitburn in 1857.)

Margaret married George Bonner, II, and in 1861 immigrated to the United States and settled in Utah with their five children (their first child born in Utah was given the name Deseret).

In 1871, Christina received her LDS endowments in the Endowment House and was sealed to her husband.  This work may have been done vicariously as I can find no other indication that either Christina or Thomas immigrated to the United States or lived in Utah.  Given that Christina was a member of the Church and Thomas was not, it strikes me as a possibility that after Thomas Died, Christina may have come to Utah (after the railroad was complete) to live with her daughter.

Margaret and George are buried in Midway, Utah.

Alvah and Phebe Houston Alexander

Alvah and Phebe Houston Alexander were the great, great grandparents of Phyllis Ednal Dayton.  Alvah was born on March 12, 1799.  Phebe was born on June 4, 1804. 

They were both born in Acworth, New Hampshire and were married there on May 9, 1822.  Together, they had five children (Henry, Louisa, Mariah, Alvah, and Orpha). 

Acworth is about 50 miles, using modern roads, from Sharon, Vermont, where Joseph Smith, the founder of the LDS Church, was born on December 5, 1805.  Acworth is about 120 miles from Boston, the city that both today and in the 19th century would have been the economic center of the New England.

Though no record of Phebe's baptismal date has been found, Alvah was baptized a member of the LDS Church on April 3, 1841.  It is not known when Alvah and Phebe moved to Nauvoo, but they were sealed together and received their endowments in the Nauvoo temple in 1846.  The photo at the left would have been taken within weeks of their endowment (the temple was severely damaged just months later and was not completed much before).

It is not clear when, exactly, Alvah and Phebe came to Utah, but there is a record of their oldest son coming in 1849 and again in 1853, suggesting he may have returned to help the pioneers with their preparations for the trek in Council Bluffs. 

Alvah and Phebe settled in East Millcreek in the shadow of Mount Olympus on the east side of the Salt Lake Valley.

Before Phebe's death in 1861 at the age of just 57, Alvah married a second wife, Caroline Limpert.  Following Phebe's death, Alvah married two other women, Sarah Brentlinger and Katrina Nilson.

Alvah and Phebe are both buried in the Salt Lake City Cemetery.

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:

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

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.