Proxy – Our responsibility

In my last blog, I described an episode in my young life in California. I prefaced my story with come comments about my father. I grew up without a father at least beginning from the time of normal remembrance. Because of my father’s separation from his children by his choice, neither by me nor by my mother, I and my siblings lost the blessing of a righteous father’s love and example. My mother had a good religious background and made great efforts to bring up her children in love and righteousness, but the influence of the father was not there. My father was in love with having a good time filled with worldly adventures and experiences. In many different ways he offended his children. I have never held a hateful thought in my heart for him, although, I have seldom had a thought of him. Yet, recently he has been upon my mind. I’ve wondered about his present feelings in the spirit world where he now resides. Gospel ordinances have been vicariously preformed for him that would take him back to the presence of our Father-in-Heaven, providing he accepts them. However, on the other hand, ordinances are gifts and blessings which when acted upon bring about promises related to those gifts and blessings. We know that the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ brings about forgiveness through repentance and baptism. Furthermore we know that this life is the time for repentance and that the spirit that we take with us as we go into the grave is the same spirit that will possess us when we enter the spirit world.

A scripture has recently come to my attention (D&C 98) “If the children shall repent, or the children’s children, and turn to the Lord their God, with all their heart and with all their might, mind and strength, and restore for all (the) trespasses wherewith … their fathers have trespassed or their father’ fathers, then …vengeance shall no more come upon them … and (those) trespasses shall never be brought any more as a testimony before the Lord against them”.

It seems to me that after vicarious ordinances for the dead are performed in the temples of our God, and as a proxy are living with full purpose of heart, repenting, sacrificing, might, mind and strength, our repentance can have vicarious ramifications. As we restore for sins or trespasses of our fathers, or as we ourselves repent of sins that have been passed down to us from our fathers, or where our fathers have no chance to make things right, it seems that we can help to save our fathers from responsibility they otherwise would have had for suffering caused by their sins. Through both proxy work and the work of our own repentance, which itself is a vicarious work, we are “response-able” i.e. positioned and able to perform a saving labor on behalf of our families.

“Dearest father: Because of your absence in my early life, I fell into grievous sin and missed out on becoming a faithful member of the lord’s kingdom and did not serve my Lord faithfully. Even though now I still fall short, I trust that my repentance will serve you that your trespasses may not be brought up before the Lord. May you know that I am dedicated to His service for I know that He suffered for our sins and through our repentance we are made whole by Him. Perhaps, I can assist in bringing to pass a glorified house, even the house of Israel, that eternal great family, where you will be included. For we are all his sons and daughters ; brothers and sisters, through the atonement. The atonement is the great central proxy ordinance of time and eternity.”

Anyone who believes in the atonement of Christ, whether he knows it or not, believes in vicarious work for the dead.

As with “The Brothers Karamazov’ by Dostoyevsky, the dying brother Markel with no bitterness at all in his voice told his little brother, “Run and play now, enjoy life for me too” Indeed, the spirit of proxy work was illustrated by the author.

“Go my son, repent for me and do what I should have done there and all will be well with me.”

Family, Family, Gratitude, Gratitude may they be our lot.

RHB

A Story of the Past

Dear Readers

From time to time, I plan to recall stories from the past and let you have a look at them. Some of these you may have heard previously and some may be new to you. I've been writing a family history of the Warren family and I have found that there are few stories that reveal the past. Maybe you will contribute something to this blog since you are all authors.

Life on North Main Street

In the year 1939, my mother and father divorced. I was about 12 years old. My father didn’t seem to care about the children that were left for my mother to care for, as he made no effort to contribute to our financial support, let alone emotional support. From that time forward, my father was not part of my life nor of my siblings. I did not see him nor did we have any contact with him the balance of his life with one exception. That divorce was literally a divorce from the Brooks side of the family. I never made contact with my grandmother Brooks nor any of my Brooks aunts or uncles until late in life when I became interested in my family history. It is interesting to reflect back upon a period of time after I was married and moved back to the town that I was born in and where the Brooks family lived. I lived there with my family for a period of five years and not at any time did I visit my grandmother Brooks. I guess it illustrates how deep the divorce was between the Brooks’ and my mother’s side of the family, the Gibson’s.

At the time of the divorce of my parents, there were four of us children and the country was in the midst of a depression. My mother finally got a job working for Riverside County. With the help of her siblings, Aunt Martha and Uncle Jim and Aunt Bertha and Uncle Bill, my mother rented a small house with some acreage on North Main Street in Riverside. This was a happy time for us we were able to acquire rabbits and chickens and to have a garden area. In fact, about one acre was planted in tomatoes. All of this was through the help of my Mother’s siblings. As mentioned we were happy here. I rode the bus to school. I was called “Indian” by my school friends and I could run like the wind and there was not one that could catch up to me in running. Oh, how I loved to run.

When I would come home from school, mother would frequently ask me to slaughter a rabbit or a chicken for dinner. I learned how to do this early after living there from my uncles. I learned to dress rabbits and chickens and use an axe to decapitate the head of the chicken and then scald them in hot water to remove the feathers. I never quite got used to killing rabbits. They would have to be skinned and the dressed by hanging the by their hind legs for the cleaning. In fact even now, it is difficult to eat rabbit because of that memory.

My brother, Loren, was a very entertaining boy at that time and still has that attribute to this day. During the times mentioned above, he was about 6 years old. We had a large round dining table in the kitchen. The house was very small; several bedrooms with a large kitchen and back porch. Radio was our favorite pass time of listening to mystery programs, like the “Green Hornet”, comedy like the ” Amos and Andy” show and many others. My brother, Loren, would at times locate himself under the dining table around the center pedestal and act out the radio announcer or other persons that he heard on the radio. I remember setting with my mother and getting the biggest laughs of the day listening to him chatter playing “Radio”.

How long we lived on North Main Street, I’m not sure, but our next move was to live closer to my Grandma and Grandpa Gibson and my Aunt Bertha and Uncle Bill. Since we were living near to them when war was declared against Japan on December 8, 1841, we probably only lived on North Main less than a year.

Kimberly's new baby girl, Kaylee Brianne McAdams shown above. (see phpGedview).

RHB

Family Dinner Jan 2011

Mentally, I’ve made some goals for the New Year, but that is dangerous because at my age the brain deteriorates and it may be hard to keep on top of my goals. But, so be it. For more than 20 years now I’ve kept a day planner in order to plan each day and to set goals. It was very effective during those years of international work before retirement. But now, my day planning is not like it used to be, so I’m looking for a different devise to keep track of appointments and record significant events that occur only on occasions.
A recent event that occurred here in Charbonneau was the visit of our son, David and his wife, Taunya, from Utah. Since he is my oldest, I tend to rely upon him for advise and help in matters relating to technology. He has been of great help and their visit was much appreciated. Taunya worked here in our home most of the time she was here in cleaning the house from stem to stern; another great blessing to us both.
On Sunday, January 16, the family, all of our children and their spouses were invited to a family dinner to become better acquainted and catch up on family news. We prepared the meal which included a prime rib roast, a gratin potatoes, brussell sprouts, and a slaw salad, all very nutritious but not very fancy. Of course, rolls were on the menu courtesy yours truly. It was a delightful occasion and the first time we were all together since our 60th wedding anniversary.
In addition to all of our children being present, our granddaughter, Jennifer and her husband Terry and their two children, Ethyn and Natasha (newly born) as well as Blake, Kathleen’s son. In this blog are some of the photos taken during and after the dinner which you may find interesting especially as to how we are all appearing at middle aged people.
History takes place in all our lives and it is up to us to record it for future generations.

Remembering Parents

I got to thinking about letters, which no one writes any more, and how letters are often used to remember events, circumstances, things that have happened in the past that need to be expressed or that you remember most about someone else. I would like to issue a challenge to all of you that read this blog to pick up on this idea and express some things that you remember most about your parents or your in-law parents or both. Some of your parents are living and some are not, it doesn’t matter. But, what I would like you to do is to contribute your expressions by using this blog page. Don’t put it into a “comment”. You each have the privilege of an author, so make it your blog as an author to my Family History Blog. I’ll begin this by expressing the things I remember most about my parents.

My father, Royal Harvard Brooks, married my Mother 26 may 1926 in Riverside, California. The problem with my remembrance of my father is that my acquaintance with him was only over a period of 6 years. My first recollections of anyone occurred when I was about 6 years old and my father and Mother divorced when I was 12 years old. After the divorce I have no remembrance of a relationship with him.

However, I remember that my father was a generous man. He took me to his used auto parts business at one time. The business was one in which he purchased autos that would not run or were considered as junk cars and then the parts were removed and sold as parts to restore or fix used cars. To illustrate his generosity, I remember that persons would come into the business seeking an auto part and he would answer, “ yes, the part is out there on _________, help yourself.” They would bring in the part to pay for it and if they had no money or wanted to pay later. “That’s Ok, pay me when you can”. No records were kept and eventually, the business failed. Another example: When family or friends came to visit, you would not leave without a gift of some kind for you to take home. It might be canned fruit, canned tuna, a box of oranges, or whatever he had on hand, but you would always leave with something.

My Mother Hazel Vanessa Gibson

If there ever was a saintly women, she was that person in deed and personality. In my previous blog I copied a letter from her to me where she extolled my virtues. I never took sufficient opportunities to express how I felt toward her like I should have. I have published her autobiography which some of you have read. The greatest remembrance I have of her is her great desire to keep the family together and to maintain relationships with each other. Her sacrifice for me and my siblings was constant. She always found ways for me and my siblings to have close relationships with the extended family. Our trips to the beach in southern California were always highlights. Chop suey at Grandma Gibson’s house made by Uncle Jim, bar-b-que’s at Aunty Martha and Uncle Jim’s home, gardening with Uncle Bill on Sunnyslope, all of this occurred because of her unselfishness in making my childhood such an enjoyable experience. After I was married, she was very generous in helping us get established. Our first purchased home was obtained because of her generosity to us. She is gone to the other side of the veil now and I miss her and the ability to share confidences with her.

Think back my authors! Do yourself a favor.

RHB

First post on Grandpa's Blog!

I didn't realize we could post here. I thought I'd share a quick family photo of Andrew (11) Benjamin (8) and Nicholas (7 mo). You can check out our family happenings here. We had a great Christmas and hope you all did too.

Happy New Year!
Love - Charlet Mallett & Family

Letters: A Great Source of Family History

I recently came across a letter written to me from my Mother in 1972, nearly 40 years ago. It revealed to me a decision that I made in 1946, sixty four years ago while on board a ship headed up the Atlantic coast toward New York.
Although letters are no longer written between family and friends, those that have written letters from the past should be cherished and held onto as a great treasure for they reveal thoughts and impressions that make family history exciting and interesting. If you have them you may want to share some of the content with your posterity.
I will share the above mentioned letter with my authors and readers of this blog that perhaps it may provoke you to write to a loved one more often. This letter brought back a memory in my life that I had forgotten and which I will attempt to share with you here.
In my own personal history, there is a chapter devoted to a period of time in my life when I attempted to become a merchant seaman. Due to the efforts of my sweet mother, I was selected to attend a four year educational program to be trained as a merchant seaman and become a Midshipman in the Navel Reserve which included three months of basic training, six months at sea on board a merchant vessel and three years in the Academy at Kings Point , New York. There were two options for training, engineering and seamanship, the latter would eventually lead toward becoming the Master (Captain) of a ship while the former would lead toward being the Chief Engineer on a vessel. I had chosen the latter.
After basic training, I had been assigned to a new vessel that had just been launched from the shipyard in Portland, Oregon. The ship was called the Marine Marlin and it was operated by Matson Navigation Company. I was in Portland for about two months while the ship was being outfitted for use on the high seas. The Deck Cadet assigned to the ship along with me as an Engine Room Cadet was a cadet from Texas by the name of Herman I. Moskowitz. His father was born in the US but his grandfather was a Russian Jew born in Russia. I was grateful for his companionship because he neither drank nor smoked and he seemed to live a virtuous life.
The Marine Marline was a Type IV troop carrier and by November of 1945 we were ready for a maiden voyage to Yokohama, Japan. The details of this voyage are given in my personal history and they are not repeated here. It is sufficient to say that I had severe motion sickness and it was difficult to work while at sea. After six months of assignment to this vessel and after three or four voyages we put into the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina.
Back at home in Upland, California, during my absence from home while serving as an engine room cadet as noted above, my Mother had been faced with numerous problems at home with my two sisters among other things. During my absence, she became lonely, depressed, and needed assistance with the family. I guess I had provided more support and help than I realized during my high school years. When I was in high school, she worked at Cal-Aero, a flight training school for the U.S, Air Corps in Chino, California and during summer months she arranged for me to work as a mechanic’s helper at this facility in Chino which supplemented our household income. It was not until I reread the letter mentioned above that I realized how much she depended upon me for emotional and financial support.
So, when we put into the Charleston Harbor, I went to the Office of the Secretary of the Navy and requested a discharge by resignation of my appointment. As a cadet, I held an appointment as Midshipman in the U.S. Navy Reserve as well as with the Merchant Marine Reserve. It was thus necessary to go through the Secretary of the Navy to be released from my appointment. I knew I was needed at home and I also knew that my life as a merchant seaman which I had experienced during these months at sea was not a life I wanted to pursue. I also knew that I had a record of extreme sea sickness each time we put out to sea and so I used that record as the reason for my resignation. My resignation was accepted after a court hearing and I flew back to California.
My mother and her sister Ethel Webb had been in communication during my absence wherein my Aunt Ethel invited us as a family to move onto their farm where there was a dwelling, rent free, and they would help us reestablish our family in Oregon and where there was a strong branch of the Church wherein we could become involved.
Within a few days after my arrival home from Charleston, we packed all of our belongings and moved to Goshen, Oregon to begin a new life with my Mother, Phyllis, Vivian and Loren. That decision to resign and move to Oregon was a life altering decision that was prompted by the gift of the Holy Ghost given as a constant companion to those who accept Him. Not only did that decision alter my life, but the lives of everyone in our family.
Recently while searching for family records in Ancestry.com, I came across a “List or Manifest of Aliens Employed on the Vessel (Marine Marlin) as Members of Crew”. The list was for the voyage of the Marine Marlin from Yokohama, Japan to Tacoma , Washington; leaving Yokohama on December 25, 1945 and Arriving in Tacoma, January 6, 1946 at 5:20 pm. It was a three page Manifest giving the names of all crew members starting from the Master (Captain) to the least crew member . The page for the engine room employees is shown above where I am listed as the Eng. Cadet. I had forgotten the name of the Deck cadet assigned to the ship in Portland, but this manifest gave his name, age, height, weight and physical marks as it did for all. The manifest shows that most employees began their assignment to the ship on November 29, 1945 in Portland, Oregon as was for myself which was the day we left Portland. Since the voyage from Portland to Japan took 21 days, we must have arrived in Japan about December 20 and left for Tacoma on December 25, 1945 (Christmas day). Through census research, I found that my companion and deck cadet, Herman Moskowitz, had a family in Texas and that his grandfather was born in Russia and probably was a Russian Jew. The list of crew members also reminded me of some of the engine room engineers and staff. It was latter during a voyage to the Philippines on a similar troop transport ship while serving in the U.S. Army that I met my old friend and Chief Engineer, George Cobb, who was working on our troop carrier as a First Assistant Engineer. He invited me to his quarters to talk and to use a shower of fresh water if I wanted to use it. Showers for the GI’s aboard ship were salt water showers and few GI’s ever used them.
With this as background, I have copied the letter from my Mother to me which gave me some insights that I had not had before and I hope it illustrates the point of this Blog. Learn from history who you are.
(The photos above are of the two cadets visiting Mt Hood, Oregon in 1945)

"My Dear Son, Royal
May 7, 1972

I want to tell you a few things that have been in my heart for years now on your 45th year of your life.
When the nurse laid you in my arms on May 7, 1927, I guess I was the happiest Mother in the world and your father was also very proud and happy to have a son to carry his name. We had planned and waited for this day for nine months. We were very happy and I was very much in love with your father. We often talked about how many children we would have and as all parents we had great plans for your future.
You have filled every dream we could have had for you that day. You are a fine, clean, honest man who has acquired an education for yourself without any help from your parents.
I shall always remember what a comfort you were to me as you were growing up, you seemed to understand my problems, and I could depend on you to assist with the other children while I was away from home working.
When you graduated from high school, I knew it was time for you to get away with men. I had done the best I could as mother and father, and I knew the draft would soon take you.
You were selected for the Merchant Marine cadet school and soon left home. My heart was broken to let you go. But I knew you had to leave the protective care of a mother and learn to take the hard knocks of the outside world. I loved you so much and missed you so much, as now you were a grown man, and it would have been nice to have you home with me. I had depended on you so much. I looked forward to your letters and the one or two visits we had with you before you left the west coast.
I became ill, discouraged and lonely for you, so you came home, maybe it was the wrong decision, but you did come home for a few months – little did I realize the draft board would grab you so soon.
But you were home when I really needed you, I was desperate. You assisted me in moving to Oregon and helped me for a few months until I could get work up there. How I hated to give you up again, but your country called and you left us once more.
I treasured all the wonderful letters I got from you, pictures and phone calls. It seems all my life I am waiting for news of my loved ones who have grown up and left home. I guess it wouldn’t have been so bad If I’d had a husband to help share this with.
Thank you for your thoughtfulness during your absence in those far- away lands, when so much was going on in the world. We Mothers do worry over our sons when they are in the service of their country. God was good and you did return home again.
Our desire was for you to go right into college, so soon you were enrolled in school; again. I’ve been proud of you all these years and felt so ashamed that I couldn’t be more help to you.
I was proud that you married such a fine LDS girl in the Temple of God and that you have led an active life in the Church. You inspired me to be a better person. I was happy to attend your graduation from Colorado State with a PhD degree, for I know that all the years you spent in school; were hard, but you stuck it out and completed your education.
Your invitation to attend the International Association for Hydraulic Research Congress held in Leningrad, Russia was such a thrill for me, and I was happy to be in your home when you left on that trip.
I know you have suffered great sorrow, had many difficult problems in your life, but you were strong and God has blessed you because you have been faithful and active in His Gospel. You are blessed with a keen mind, you have strived for knowledge, you have lived near your Father-in-heaven, and your Mother has always prayed for your continued love for the Gospel and your family.
You are the father of sven children that God sent to you to raise to the best of your ability. They are part of that little boy I held in my arms 45 years ago. I was very happy then and still so proud and happy now 45 years later.
You know that happiness now as you too have held a child of your own in your arms and prayed to God that they will be a joy to you in your retiring years of life.
You have been a good son, husband and father. Continue your work in research and your church and God will continue to bless you always.
I thank you for being my son, I love you very much and wish you a happy 45th birthday.
Love,
Mother"

A Sunday Thought

A Sunday Thought
I continue to struggle with the matter of communicating with the family. My initial thinking was to use this Blog as a way to keep the family abreast with famil;y history. Also, I have published on the Internet a PhpGedView site that shows how we are all related and connected both presently and in the past. I have tried to keep up with the family
information at least from my perspective and I hope it has been of some interest. However, it seems to me, that most of you either do not understand that family communication is a two way process or you do not want to communicate. Or, perhaps some do not understand the power of this particular method of communicating which makes it relatively easy. This Blog has been set up with a restricted list of readers and authors (which can be expanded without limits). An author means that you can prepare a Blog page with photos and text communicating to others on the list family historical events. Yet, during the time that this Blog has existed, no one has contributed an event of any kind. Finally, you simply may not have time to communicate with the family. The day has long past when letters were written to family members. It seems we are caught up in the gadgetry of cell phones, email, and Ipods or pads for personal communication. Or, we use it as an excuse. Of course, this communication is one of them, but with two way power.

This past month, a new event has been the birth of a new great grandchild, Natasha Ruh, the first child of the Terance Ruh and Jennifer Brooks marriage. I mentioned the event earlier via the PhpGedView email list.

Kathleen had a party last night to see the baby and to get better acquainted. As you know, Natasha has coal black hair and lots of it. I mentioned earlier, also, that she reminds us of our first daughter, Vivian Rae, when she was born nearly 60 years ago. I presented at the party to Natasha a Seth Thomas Mantel Clock exactly like the one that my grandpa Brooks presented to his wife when he got married 110 years ago. That clock was presented to Shawn Brooks a number of years ago and who will eventualy pass it along to one of his descendants. The clock I presented to Natasha has a time capsule in it that should not be opened until Natasha is married. The parents have been given custody of the clock until
that event occurs.

Earlier on Friday, we visited the cemetery in Eugene and took flowers to the grave sites. Anita is shown standing at the grave of Vivian Rae. It is a beautiful area and we were grateful to be there.

RHB

Newport Oregon Experience

July 24, 2010 we received a call from Matt Loe indicating that he would be in NewPort, Oregon over the week end with his family. He is a Bishop in one of the Delta Wards in Delta, Utah. Actually their were two families traveling together. The other family was Wendy's brother and his family, plus Brandon and his wife, the son and daughter-in-law of Matt and Wendy.


Matt's family had grown so much since we last saw them that they were unreconizable.
After church on Sunday, we drove to Newport and registered in the same motel in which they were staying, We arrived about 5:30 and went to Moos for dinner. Matt and his group were out on an excursion when we arrived, but after dinner we met and became requainted with everone.
The reason I am including this visit to Newport to see Matt and his family in this Blog is that we eventully got onto the subject of family history and the question of how far back does the family know of their ancestors. If any of you who are reading this Blog are related to the Lee's and Loe's, you may be interested in the internet site that Matt referred us to as we visited about that subject. If you'll go to the following address http://genforum.genealogy.com/loe/messages/100.html you'll find some interesting information concerning Willis Loe and Keziah Lee and Benjamin Lee Loe. Abtracts of Wills and estates and other interesting bits of information. Another internet page that Matt referred to http://lewis187.home.mchsi.com/Campbell/Lee-98.htm was the will of Jesse Lee Sr. 1816 along with other interesting facts. The reading of these wills and estates were interesting to me and perhaps they will be to you. In conclusion we had a wonderful visit with the Matt Loe family including their new daughter -in-law, Brandon's new wife.

Family History Experience Revisited

Sconce Family Reunion and Research

A Blog regarding a family history experience was posted on May 24th 2010. It concerned some volunteer research that I conducted and reported upon for the Sconce family, some descendants of which are still living in the area where we live. Several weeks ago, I received a phone message from Elynda Winter Stevenson, to whom I had given my report earlier at the cemetery. She indicated that my report had inspired her to hold a family reunion for descendants of Robert H. Sconce that lived in the Northwest. She invited me and Anita to come and meet the family and say a few words concerning my research. We graciously accepted the invitation as the reunion was to be held at her home in Tualatin a few miles from our home in Wilsonville. At the designated time we drove to the Stevenson home and became reacquainted with some of the family that had visited the Rock Creek Cemetery as reported in the earlier blog as well as others that we had not met previously. A wonderful lunch was served and we were shown some family pictures that I had not seen earlier. I visited with various family members regarding how I got involved and told them about some new findings that I discovered after the report was written. I mentioned that as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints of which I was a member have an obligation to learn of our ancestors. One of the Sconce descendants, who is a fisherman, had just returned from Alaska where he successfully fished for salmon. He mentioned they were returning for another trip and a person that I might know would be joining them. His name was Dale Murphy, of the baseball hall of fame. He was well acquainted with Dale and knew of his Mormon standards and he said his standards were the same. It was a wonderful afternoon and we came away feeling blessed for what ever impact we had on the family
The data was published in Ancestry.com and very often I receive word from persons that are connected to the family that they have added some of my research to theirs. In all, this was a great experience and we have been blessed by it.

The two top pictures are Tom Sconce and his wife Kate Wyland and the Odekirk Family. The relationship can be seen from the pedigree chart also shown above. The photo dated May 22 are Elynda Winter Stevenson and her husband with Robert (Skip) Sconce, her cousin (The fisherman). The other photos were taken at the reunion at the Stevenson home.

RHB

A Discovery Story

A recent experience was posted concerning a community service project on the Rock Creek Cemetery, near Needy Oregon. The project included doing some family history work for some selected families in the cemetery. I choose to develop a history of the Sconce family some of whom were buried there. In a recent conversation with my son, Randy, I related to him the experience I had in doing this work as he does not have access to the internet where the experience was published.

Headstone for Nancy E. Jones (1846-1880)

He said that my experience was interesting and related to that he told me

about a private family cemetery plot in the area where he usually walks his dog. He lives on Central Road on the outskirts of Veneta, Oregon. The area is very rural with a few farm houses along the country roads. He remarked that I should come down sometime and take a look at this family cemetery which was about 10 feet square and maybe I could find out something about the people buried there. I took the invitation seriously.

Later, I made an appointment for an interview with a 91 year old lady from Albany, that descends from the Warren family in Brownsville. We decided to contact Randy after the meeting and to have dinner with him and then return home. During the dinner, Randy reminded me of the grave site and so we decided to go to the site after dinner as it was only a short distance to where he lives on Central Road. The graves were all contained in an area about 10 feet square with a rickety fence around it. Most of that area was covered with a concrete slab with a few headstones laid in the concrete. Only two were legible, but there were several that appeared to be small stones broken off above the slab. We suspected that they were markers for children. The names on the stones were for a Jones family. I had my camera and took pictures of the legible stones. The stone most legible was for: “Nancy E. , wife of Richard Jones, born Oct 12, 1846, died Oct 30 1880, aged 34 years , 18 days”
I inquired about a possible family connection with the land owner where these graves are located, but according to Randy, the land owner had no idea who these people were nor had he any connection with them. The area surrounding the grave site is covered with dense fir tree growth with only a few open areas. We returned home with a commitment to investigate the family that is buried there.
Within a few days after returning home, I began to look at the census records for Lane county beginning with the 1870 census. The 1870 census shows Richard and a wife by the name of Aley Ann, age 24 and with 3 children of ages 6, 4 and 1, all born in Oregon. This indicates that Richard came to Oregon after 1860 and perhaps before. However, the 1880 census records a Richard Jones with a wife Nancy E. and the same children as in 1870, but now there are two more children, ages 2 and one year, all born in Oregon. The census was for Spencer Creek Precinct in Lane County. The children of the family at that time consisted of three sons and two daughters. The first three children had the mother Aley Ann while the last two children had the mother Nancy E. Richard’s first wife, Aley Ann, probably died before 1875 and then he married Nancy about 1877. In 1880, the youngest daughter, Clara had just been born a few months before the census was taken and her mother died a few months later. Richard, age 47, was a cook, probably for an adjacent saw mill. The loss of his wife at that time left him with five children to care for. However, the oldest daughter, Mary was fifteen and probably able to fill in for her step mother. The oldest son, William, was 14 years old and he would have been helpful to his father in supporting the family. A follow up on the son, Arthur Jones, that had been born prior to the 1870 census, resulted in finding him in the 1900 census in the Elmira Precinct within a few miles of where the above mentioned cemetery is located. He had married about 1897 to Mary Etta. She was 19 years old while he was 30 years old in 1900. They had a daughter, Eva, that was a year old. By 1910, Arthur and his wife Etta were living in the Cheshire Precinct with their daughter Pearl Eva, age 11. In 1920, Arthur is 50 years old and they have another daughter, named Buela, age 7 and they owned their own home. All of these above mentioned census records were obtained through “Heritage Quest”. Since Heritage Quest does not have an indexed 1930 census, I went to Ancestry. Com to determine if Arthur was still living and had children at home.
The result was that Arthur Jones was still living at the same location as in 1920 with his wife Mary E. and his daughter Buelah, age 18. In addition to this information from Ancestry, there was information that a person had a private family tree which included the Jones pedigree. At that time, I communicated with the owner of the tree that I had found information about the death of Nancy E., the wife of Richard Jones. Hopefully, that will be of interest to their family along with a photo of the headstone of Nancy E. Gatchell ( the name given on the family tree which belongs to “Walker Family”).
RHB

An Experience in Family History

Rock Creek Cemetery; Sconce graestones in foreground and Chapel in background

Pedigree of Ralph Sconce II

old Sconce farm Home on Kaufman Road

An Experience in Family History
A message and Experience
For
My Children and Grandchildren

Fishing River
Our local Wards have been involved in community service projects for several years helping the community as neighbors. It is called "Neighbor to Neighbor" and it usually is a project in which community buildings, parks, or other facilities are made better or improved. The entire community is invited to participate in completing the goals of the project. For this particular year, 2010, the Rock Creek Cemetery, a rural cemetery in Clackamas County, was selected with the goals of: (1) restoring parts of the old Methodist church building (new siding was needed on parts of the building, along with the repair of the flooring in the chapel), (2) cleaning up of the grounds (removal of weeds and moss from around the graves and cleaning the head stones, (3) Gathering genealogy and family histories on some of the old prominent families that have been laid to rest from the early beginnings of the cemetery. Those in the Wards unable to contribute physically to the project ere asked to contribute to the family history aspects of the project. I felt like I fit into this category so with the list of all those who have been buried there we were asked to select family or families that we would like to gather histories for. It was suggested that I look at one or two groups of grave stones and begin. For reasons unexplainable, I was drawn to a group of headstones marked by the name "Sconce". As I began this research into the Sconce family, I began to see how easily it seemed to fit together and how elated I became in learning about this pioneer family that arrived in Oregon in 1853.
Robert H. Sconce arrived in Clackamas County to file on a Donation Land Claim for 320 acres. He arrived with one daughter and his wife Darthulia Noblitt. The daughter, Margaret, was four years old. This small family came with other family members from Missouri in Ray County. I learned that Robert volunteered as a teamster for duty in the Mexican American War of 1848, the same war where the Mormon Battalion was recruited as they traveled to the Salt Lake Valley. Robert married Darthulia in Missouri after the war and they may have been living in the Fishing River Township of Ray County, the county seat of which is Richmond. A phenomenal event occurred fifteen years earlier in the adjacent Clay County, when the Fishing River , a tributary to the Missouri, became a barrier to mobster that were trying to drive the Saints from Missouri. Zion’s Camp was formed in Ohio to assist the Saints in Missouri. As they traveled to Missouri and were camped near Fishing River, a severe storm caused the shallow river to rapidly rise to a depth of more than 30 feet, which protected Zion's Camp from an attack by mobbers.
Zion's Camp consisted of about 200 volunteers asked to assist Church members in Jackson County, who had been driven from their homes by mobs. They walked about 1,000 miles from the east to Missouri.
Due to the disobedience of some camp members, Joseph prophesied a scourge would occur. Cholera broke out near the end of the journey. 70 people were stricken, and 14 died.
Zion's Camp was disbanded several days after arriving here in late June 1834. They were unable to provide the assistance they anticipated. Some complained, but Joseph received a revelation explaining God's perspective. Whether the Sconce family realized it or not, Fishing River would be an important event and it would have an impact upon them from descendants unknown.
As I dug into the records for Robert Sconce, I decided to see if he was connected to the new.familysearch. Much to my surprise, I found that all the temple ordinance work had been done for both he and his wife in 1989. However, only one child was connected to the family, Margaret, their first born but whose temple ordinance work had been done also in 1989. As my research continued, I found that 6 other children were born into the family after Robert and his wife arrived in Oregon. Here in the records of the Saints was an incomplete family, children who were unknown to the contributor of the Robert Sconce family in new.familysearch. Was this a reason why I was drawn to this family? In retrospect, five generations of descendants were put together for Robert, perhaps not all complete, but for the most part they were.
It is difficult for many of us to understand the situation of the spirits of men, women and children in the spirit world after they leave this life. I suspect that we do not realize the predicament that these spirits of men find themselves in without the ordinances of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. The scriptures indicate that they are in prison, which to me, indicates that they are restricted in what they can do and in the advances that they could make. Those that do not partake of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus
The Rock Creek Cemetery; Sconce gravestones in foreground and Chapel in background
Christ while living must wait in the spirit world until some kindly relative who has received these ordinances while living and who has turned his heart to them and saved them by performing, vicariously, sacred ordinances which free them from prison. Strangers to the family cannot perform these ordinances. They must be a descendant relative. How anxious do these spirits become because they had no chance to receive these ordinances in life and must wait for subsequent generations to save them? All of course due to the priesthood restored to the earth through the love and mercy of our Savior. Communication between the spirit world and this mortal world is far greater than we may realize. I believe this illustrates how very important it is to receive these saving ordinances while living so that not only blessing come to us in mortality but also continue as we pass into the next life. Thus, missionary work must go forward with the same vigor as family history work for the dead.

I had the opportunity to meet the 5th generation descendants from Robert H. Sconce and presented them with a history of a second great grandfather that they knew little of. I had invited them to the picnic lunch which was prepared for those doing the physical labor at the cemetery, youth and adult. It was a cold blustery day, but without rain. After the guests arrived we went into the old non functioning Methodist chapel to discus their family and to see where they fit into the descendant picture. There was a wonderful spirit there and they were most appreciative. I presented each with a prepared and bound history of their grandfathers and a large decendency chart. We visited the graves and viewed the extent of the number of their family that were buried there.
In conclusion, I feel so very grateful for the blessing and privilege I had of having researched this family and to have met descendants. I have a great testimony of this holy and sacred work and I know it is part of His plan to save his children. I hope all of you will take advantage of the time you have left in this world; to prioritize your lives and become worthy to receive the blessings that are available to you.
Your loving father