(SCOFIELD) James Clayton

{This is one of four posts about my children's ancestors named James--one James from each grandparent's ancestral line.}
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According to familysearch.org, James Clayton was born around 1780. In 1798, he married Elizabeth Price. Their 8 children were born in North Carolina in the early 1800s.

At that time, North Carolina was sparsely populated. The State consisted principally of farms and very small towns. The majority of North Carolinians, probably including the Claytons, were not slaveholders. There was little industry—raw goods were typically processed out of state. There were no public schools.1 

The State lacked good roads, many farmers used outdated practices, and poverty and ignorance flourished.2 

North Carolina made so little progress during this era that it became known as the “Rip Van Winkle State.”3

During the first half of the 19th Century, many people emigrated from North Carolina “due to a struggling economy, indifference to education, resistance to taxation for any reason, and general backwardness.”4 “In 1834 a Raleigh newspaper reported that 'our roads are thronged with emigrants to a more favored Country.'”5  

Despite all this, the James Clayton family remained. James's descendants lived in the State for several generations, and his posterity, including his 6th great grandson, are thriving today.
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Line of descent:
James Clayton, born 1780
Deborah Clayton, born 1803
Susan Myrick, born 1826
Mary Elizabeth Shearin, born 1851
Claudia Helen Reid, born 1889
Clara Lavon Cheshire, born 1915


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Sources:

1 - aam.wcu.edu/projects/farrands/history1800s.htm
2 - www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/nchist-newnation/4389
3 - www.secretary.state.nc.us/kidspg/history.htm 
4 - www.carolana.com/NC/1800s/nc_1800s_overview.html
5 - www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/nchist-newnation/4389

(ROBERTS) Jerry and the Rhubarb

One night in the 1950s, or thereabouts, little Jerry Roberts was walking home. 

El Monte area, California

His family lived on Fawcett Ave in South El Monte, California. Although the area is now urban, at the time it was surrounded by fields and a hog farm called Durfee's Ranch.

South El Monte, showing Legg Lake and Fawcett Ave (the red marker)
Notice also Durfee Ave, named after the ranch that used to be in the area

As Jerry walked home, he noticed the fields of rhubarb near Legg Lake. He happened to have a grocery bag with him, and he happened to like rhubarb, so he started to pick some.

Next thing he knew, a cop was pulling over. 

"What are you doing?" the officer asked. 

"I'm just picking some rhubarb," Jerry replied. 

"You can't do that," he was told.

Reminiscing on the story 50 years later, he added, "I don't think I even got to pick any" before the cop arrived.


The family larder was not filled that night, but a simple story was created that has become a beloved part of my family's lore.

Little Jerry Roberts :)
Don, Jack, Jerry, and Diana Roberts at their Uncle Curtis Laws' house,
circa 1954

(SMITH) Alice Zemp's border crossings

Before officially immigrating to the United States, Alice Zemp visited several times. From her home in Alberta, she traveled to Utah to see her sister, Cleo.

Records of her border crossing can be found on Ancestry.com. Apart from naming her parents, traveling companions, and destination, the documents also list fun details such as height (5 ft 1.5 in), distinguishing marks (wears glasses), father's Canadian naturalization date (Oct. 1927), and her LDS blessing date (Jul 5, 1925).

I've attached the images below for your perusal. A map of the locations mentioned is at the bottom. Enjoy!

This immigration card gives information about 2 of Alice's siblings'
admission as US citizens. It also provides information about Alice's
blessing in the LDS Church.

This immigration card includes information about Alice's father's Canadian naturalization.

The map below shows Alice's border crossings in 1940 and 1945.
Babb and Sweet Grass were ports of entry in Montana.
Lethbridge and Raymond are in Alberta, Canada.
Ogden and Spanish Fork are in Utah.

(LUKE) Thoughts on a new baby

In October 1923, Jennie Constance Adamson married Rudolph Edwin Lang. A few months later, her brother, George, departed for a two-year LDS mission to England. George and Jennie exchanged letters while he was gone. Perhaps the most interesting letter George wrote, penned in September 1924, was in response to a letter informing him that he was now an uncle.

"So I am an uncle eh! Well I could be worse things. Congratulations and my love to both of you and the baby. From what I can gather from your letter and mother's, it certainly must be a very fine, wonderful and pretty baby. If it looks anything at all like its uncle George it certainly is a good looking child. ... I'll bet you that it isn't one-half as fine as I will have when I get married? Of course it must be a fine baby, but then a man with a wonderful Physical body such as mine is bound to have better children than a man with a constitution such as Rudolph's. Now my wife will be better looking than Jen. ...
"All foolishness aside I think that it must be a very fine baby and I only wish that I could be there to see it. If you are ever in doubt as to how to fetch it up why just ask me and I will tell you. The care of babies is just my line."

Although it is doubtful that Jennie asked her 20-year-old bachelor brother for parenting advice, she must have enjoyed his letter, which was written in his usual humorous tone. And she certainly enjoyed her new baby: Zenda Constance Lang.

Zenda Lang, 1924

(SCOFIELD) Thomas & Elizabeth Bennett family migration

Since its beginnings, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been a missionary church. In the 19th century, tens of thousands were converted in the British Isles.

Thomas Bennett’s family were among the first Welsh converts.1 Thomas married Elizabeth Williams in 18752 and they began raising their family in Newcastle, England.3 But they did not stay long. It was a time of gathering. “During the 19th century, ‘gathering’ to Zion was the second step after conversion. … The gathering had two major purposes. First, Zion needed to be built up. Repeatedly persecuted and driven, the Church needed a strong, permanent base with a strong population to occupy the territory [of Utah] and make it economically self-sufficient. Also, the pure in heart needed a place of refuge from persecution and sin.”4 A fundamental part of the spiritual refuge was temple access. At that time, there were temples only in Utah.5 Persecution certainly did not end in Utah, but it was probably easier to bear when one could draw strength from the surrounding group of believers.

Like many others, the Bennett family emigrated somewhat piecemeal. Elizabeth and five of the children departed together. Thomas followed shortly thereafter, and the oldest daughter, Sarah, apparently traveled a few months later. This story follows Elizabeth, but her husband’s and daughter’s passages would have been quite similar.

Elizabeth and the children left Liverpool on Saturday, June 14, 1884. They traveled with 525 other Latter-day Saints: 406 from Scandinavia, 94 others from Great Britain, and 25 returning missionaries.6 

The SS Arizona, from norwayheritage.com

They sailed on the SS Arizona. “The Arizona was a record breaking British passenger liner.” The ship took about 8 days to reach New York from Liverpool, rather than 10. “One nautical historian called Arizona ‘a souped up transatlantic hot rod.’” The Arizona began sailing in 1879. That same year, she hit an iceberg and sustained heavy damages. However, she underwent repairs and continued sailing until 1897. The steamliner was then purchased by the US Navy, renamed Hancock, and used in the Spanish American War and World War I.7

“After a pleasant and speedy voyage the mighty vessel arrived in New York on Monday, June 23rd, and the same day the passengers landed at Castle Garden.”8 

Me at Battery Park/Castle Garden, October 2012.
The Statue of Liberty (slightly visible in background)
was placed a few years after the Bennetts' arrival.

Around 1808, due to “increasing tensions with the British, American harbor cities began building forts for protection.” New York City built four: one, named Southwest Battery, was on Manhattan Island. Southwest Battery was fortified during the War of 1812, though it never saw action. In the 1820s, the site was given new life as an entertainment center/opera house and was renamed Castle Garden. In 1855, the facility became the nation’s first “immigrant landing depot," giving newcomers like Elizabeth Bennett a safe place to rest and make further travel plans. After Ellis Island opened in 1890, Castle Garden was converted to an aquarium. Today, it is a national monument.9

Castle Garden was well organized.  Upon disembarking, people moved through

“Mormon Emigrants Landing on the Wharf at Castle Garden
from Ocean Steamers,” 1878 ¹⁵

“a narrow passageway” while “being subjected to medical inspection. …When the inspection was completed, the emigrants were herded into Castle Garden proper and marched up to a square enclosure in the center [to be registered]. Barriers were installed on each side to ensure that all were registered….Each emigrant moved along the alley, stopped before the registering clerks, and then proceeded on.” Castle Garden contained “two washrooms, each fifty by twenty in size. … An abundance of towels was conveniently hung about, and soap was not only handy but also required to be used. Every emigrant landing at Castle Garden was washed clean before he or she was permitted to leave.”10

Castle Clinton National Monument, formerly known as Castle Garden.
I took this picture in October 2012.

Clerks inside Castle Garden helped emigrants plan the rest of their US travel, whether by boat or train. Latter-day Saints, however, had their own emigration agents who purchased tickets for them. “Mormons avoided much of the stress suffered by their countrymen who passed through the Garden. The majority of Latter-day Saints [including the Bennetts] were escorted by leaders who were Americans by birth or had previously emigrated to the United States. … They were also schooled ahead of time on the latest news that had arrived from America and were given detailed letters of instruction….Normally [as was the case for this voyage], a Mormon agent received the emigrants and walked them through the registration process.”10

On the evening of their arrival (Monday, June 23), the emigrants left Castle Garden, New York, for Jersey City, New Jersey. From Jersey City, the emigrants traveled in 11 cars on the Erie Railroad. At Salamanca, New York, they switched to the Chicago & Atlantic Railroad. 

This 1884 map of the Erie Railroad lines shows the extent of Elizabeth Bennett's travel on that line -
from Jersey City to Salamanca. The location of Susquehanna is also noted.¹⁶

This depiction is from an 1882 album of views along the Erie RR. Passing through this area might have had some significance for Elizabeth, as the first baptisms in this dispensation occurred in the Susquehanna River.¹⁷

They reached Chicago, Illinois at 8:30pm on Wednesday, June 25. The immigrants were given two additional railroad cars and transferred to the Chicago & Western Railroad. They departed Chicago at 12:30am, headed for Council Bluffs, Iowa.

The party reached Council Bluffs at 11pm. They transferred to the Union Pacific Railroad, and were also transferred into different railroad cars.  For Elizabeth Bennett, traveling with 5 children under the age of 5, all these late-night transfers must have been difficult.

Ogden, Utah, 1875, from www.history-map.com

On the morning of Sunday, June 29, the train reached Ogden, Utah, the Bennetts’ final destination. We don’t know Elizabeth’s first impression of her new home, but her thoughts about the train depot might not have been favorable. At that time, “the local press was filled with complaints about the dark and gloomy depot, with its quarter-mile of wooden sidewalks across swampy mud flats…that served as the embarrassing entrance to Ogden. The complaints included calls for the carriers to erect permanent buildings and workshops, and to 'go to work like substantial corporations, instead of dickering around in shanties.'”11  

In just 14 days, Elizabeth and her five small children traveled about 5,500 miles across the globe. They joined a substantial group of immigrants: at that time, about 30% of Utahns were foreign-born. 

Americans had differing opinions on the value of immigration. “An 1881 Harper’s article denounced the Church for consisting of ‘foreigners and the children of foreigners …fresh serf blood from abroad.’”12  Some were more positive. Another article stated, "by the work and activities of the emigrants many barren regions have been turned into fertile and civilized nations. The New World and particularly the United States has profited from the European migration.”13 


Like other LDS immigrants, the Bennetts probably thought of Isaiah as they transformed the barren Great Basin: “The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.”14 



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Line of descent: 
Thomas Edward Bennett (1854 - 1935)
Sarah Ann Bennett (1876 - 1942)
Clara Lavon Cheshire (1915 - 2007)



Notes:

This entire post, and especially the section dealing with railroad travel, relies heavily on from 4 accounts of this voyage available at http://mormonmigration.lib.byu.edu/Search/showDetails/db:MM_MII/t:voyage/id:40/keywords:thomas+bennett

1 – Obituary, Salt Lake Telegram, 27 Nov 1935, http://udn.lib.utah.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/tgm18/id/74959/show/75315/rec/45

2 – https://familysearch.org/tree/#view=coupleRelationship&relationshipId=MZ8N-2WT Relationship information about Thomas and Elizabeth, accessed 2 March 2014.

3 – Newcastle is the Conference listed on their passenger lists: http://mormonmigration.lib.byu.edu/Search/showDetails/db:MM_MII/t:voyage/id:40/keywords:thomas+bennett  and http://mormonmigration.lib.byu.edu/Search/showDetails/db:MM_MII/t:voyage/id:37/keywords:thomas+bennett, and see Thomas’s obituary, cited in footnote 1

4 – “Coming to Zion: Saga of the Gathering,” William G. Hartley, Ensign, Jul 1975, https://www.lds.org/ensign/1975/07/coming-to-zion-saga-of-the-gathering?lang=eng 

5 – http://www.ldschurchtemples.com/chronological/

6 – see http://mormonmigration.lib.byu.edu/Search/showDetails/db:MM_MII/t:voyage/id:40/keywords:thomas+bennett 

7 – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Arizona

8 – “A Compilation of General Voyage Notes, Liverpool to New York on the Arizona (14 Jun 1884 - 23 Jun 1884)” http://mormonmigration.lib.byu.edu/Search/showDetails/db:MM_MII/t:account/id:88/keywords:thomas+bennett

9 –National Park Service website, Castle Clinton National Monument, History & Culture, http://www.nps.gov/cacl/historyculture/index.htm, accessed 2/24/2014

10 – “Castle Garden, the Emigrant Receiving Station in New York Harbor,” Don H. Smith, http://mormonhistoricsites.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/NJ10.1_Smith.pdf, quotes are from pages 4-9

11 – “Ogden Union Railway & Depot Company,” http://utahrails.net/ogden/ogden-ourd.php

12 – “Coming to Zion: Saga of the Gathering,” William G. Hartley, Ensign, Jul 1975, https://www.lds.org/ensign/1975/07/coming-to-zion-saga-of-the-gathering?lang=eng

13 – “Castle Garden As An Immigrant Depot 1855-1890”, Dr. George J. Svejda, 1968 http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/elis/castle_garden.pdf p. 2

14 – Isaiah 35:1, https://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/isa/35.1?lang=eng#primary

15 - Picture from http://www.mhsarchive.org/FullImages/CACL00249-03239-jpg635004195780000000.jpg

16 - Map from article at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erie_Railroad article, map alone at http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e9/1884_Erie.gif

17 - Picture from http://www.erierailroad.org/web_documents/erie-railway-album_1882.pdf

(ROBERTS) My first slave-owners! (Although I use the term "owners" loosely)

After 13 years of family history research, I have finally found some ancestors who owned slaves. I have long been proud of my Northern roots and my family's lack of involvement in slavery. And, after discovering this couple, I am still proud.

Rev. Simon Peter

Simon Peter married Elizabeth Hannah Hughes in 1822. They were both born and raised in "slave states": he in Kentucky, she in Tennessee. Simon was a minister for the Methodist Episcopal Church. After their marriage, he preached in the area for six additional years, at which point the couple "removed..., with a view of locating somewhere on the free soil of Illinois."1 According to one source, Simon left the South "because of his bitter opposition to slavery"2.

And so we come to the slave "ownership." A book documenting prominent Tennessee families includes this comment:  “Elizabeth Hughes, who married Rev. Simon Peter... removed to Illinois, carrying with them several valuable slaves and emancipating them because they were convinced the institution of slavery was wrong. It need not be added that the courage to do right under such

Elizabeth Hannah Hughes Peter

temptations sustained them in a life of usefulness and great prosperity.”3

Elizabeth's third cousin was also opposed to slavery, famously so. In 1864 he wrote, "If slavery is not wrong, nothing is wrong."4 Shortly thereafter, he worked with Congress to pass the 13th Amendment, abolishing slavery. His name? Abraham Lincoln.5 [Incidentally, we are also distant cousins of Mitt Romney through the same line.] 

Simon and Elizabeth had closer relatives also involved in the Civil War. Two of their sons "yielded to the voice of conscience, and their country's call"6 and served on the Union side. Both gave their lives fighting for the country they loved, and for the freedom of millions. Sadly, one died in battle in his mother's own home state--Tennessee.

In every article I have read, Simon, Elizabeth, and their children, are praised for their uprightness, their community service, and their devotion to doing right. They are among my noblest ancestors, and I am proud to be descended from Simon and Elizabeth Peter.


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Line of descent:
Simon Peter (1792-1877) [my 4th-great grandfather]
Simon J Peter (1836-1923)
William H Peter (1868-1923)
Earl Raymond Peter(s) (1893-1963)
Dolores Mae Peters Roberts (1927-1992)

Notes:
1) "The Story of the Peter Family in America," compiled by Stephen B. Peter, p. 21, Carlinville obituary. Available from the Family History Library as a PDF download, see https://familysearch.org/search/catalog/oclc/866000813?availability=Family%20History%20Library [Hereafter cited as "Peter Family"]
2) "Peter Family", p. 23, quoting "There the Heart Is, A History of Brighton, Illinois," by Martha A. Bentley, 1965, p. 53
3) Sketches of Prominent Tennesseans: Containing Biographies and Records of Many of the Families who Have Attained Prominence in Tennessee (Google eBook), p. 231 [I am well aware that this implies that Elizabeth's parents owned slaves, and I still love them and think they're wonderful. I certainly don't have any living relatives who are perfect, so I don't expect that from the dead ones either. :) ]
4) http://www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/speeches/hodges.htm
5) This chart, showing the relationship between Elizabeth Hughes Peter and Abraham Lincoln is from "Peter Family," p. 27

6) "Peter Family," p. 44, "Letter to the Editor"

(SMITH) From having maids to living in poverty--leaving it all for the gospel

Peter Zemp was born in Escholzmatt, Switzerland, a breathtakingly beautiful hill-and-valley area that is now part of the UNESCO Entlebuch Biosphere Reserve.¹

Peter Zemp was born in this farmhouse, called "Ruetihus," according to
contributors at familysearch.org.² 

Peter Zemp was born in the middle house, obscured by the trees in this 2008 photo.²

As a boy, Peter moved to La Chaux-de-Fonds, a Swiss city close to the French border. Peter and his family were watchmakers. To this day, the prosperity of La Choux-de-Fonds "is mainly bound up with the watch making industry. It is the most important centre of the watch making industry in the area known as the Watch Valley."³ La Chaux-de-Fonds is also a beautiful place, and is now a UNESCO World Heritage site.3

La Chaux-de-Fonds, from opentravel.com⁴

As watchmakers, Peter and his wife, Elisabeth Neuhaus Zemp, were somewhat well-to-do. They apparently owned their own business and employed four girls. They also had at least one housemaid, and Elisabeth did no housework for years. Elisabeth "had maids to tend the children and...even comb her hair."5

On January 1, 1879, Peter and Elisabeth Zemp were baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.⁶ They decided to emigrate to Utah. They were disowned by family and sold their business at a loss.5

The Peter and Elizabeth Zemp after emigration. Pictured with
their children Pierce, Alfred, and Amelia.²

"[I]n Utah, [Peter] could not make his living as a watch maker, as the people were poor.  He met with one disappointment after another.  He settled first in Salt Lake, then in Logan.  He would do any kind of work he could get."5

Eventually, things improved for the family. Peter became a foreman for a railroad company, built his own house, and again established himself as a watchmaker.5

Peter Zemp's home in Logan, Utah, which is no longer standing ⁷

"Peter was very religious....The gospel was his all."⁵ Being able to see his children grow up with the blessings of the gospel probably far outweighed any material sacrifices he had made. He seems to have lived by the command: "thou shalt lay aside the things of this world, and seek for the things of a better."8

Peter's obituary verifies that he understood the things that matter most: "He was honest, industrious and true to his friends and his convictions, and will certainly receive the plaudits of the Master when he shall meet Him on the other side, for being a man of deeds rather than words"⁹.

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***This post relies almost completely on research done by others. I have NOT verified the accuracy of the genealogy or the facts of Peter's life, but I do believe them to be correct.

Line of descent:

Alice Zemp, 1925-2000

William Zemp, 1886-1942

Peter Zemp, 1837-1909

Sources:

1: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escholzmatt

2: Photos taken from familysearch.org/tree on Peter Zemp's page. Peter Zemp's identifier is KW81-66K. This is a link to the first picture: https://familysearch.org/photos/images/2654441?returnLabel=Peter%20Zemp%20(twin)%20(KW81-66K)&returnUrl=https%3A%2F%2Ffamilysearch.org%2Ftree%2F%23view%3Dancestor%26person%3DKW81-66K%26section%3Dphotos

3: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Chaux-de-Fonds

4: http://opentravel.com/img/ted/switzerland-1985-12720_3.jpg

5: These paragraphs rely on two sources, "Life of Peter Zemp" and "Part of a letter written by Aunt Emily - May 14, 1942," available on Peter Zemp's familysearch.org page: https://familysearch.org/tree/#view=ancestor&person=KW81-66K&section=stories

6: According to the Ordinances section on his familysearch.org page, https://familysearch.org/tree/#view=ancestor&person=KW81-66K&section=details (and the same section on her page)

7: From https://familysearch.org/photos/images/849179?returnLabel=Peter%20Zemp%20(twin)%20(KW81-66K)&returnUrl=https%3A%2F%2Ffamilysearch.org%2Ftree%2F%23view%3Dancestor%26person%3DKW81-66K%26section%3Dphotos

8: Doctrine and Covenants 25:10

9: Obituary under "Death of Peter Zemp in newspaper" at https://familysearch.org/tree/#view=ancestor&person=KW81-66K&section=stories