Undrafted, still an All-Star

My wife wanted to do something special for Remembrance Day, so she went to the family history center and looked up any military information about our ancestors. She came back with HV's Draft Registration card. The US entered the war on HV's 17th birthday. By the time he reached 18 Allied forces were just beginning their first successful offensive of the war. The war only lasted until November, though, and he never left the country. Recently I was privileged to read a copy of "Life Begins at Eighty." He lived an interesting life and raised two stalwart boys. His legacy continues with us. Although never drafted, Henry Vernon Hall was definitely an all-star.

HG Returns - Mission Completed

I met with a young man to release him from his mission a little while ago. He had served in the Raleigh N. Carolina Mission, so I asked him if he'd ever made it to a little town called Ash, because my father had served there on his mission. He said yes, only Ash isn't really a small town, it's a big city now. I told him my Dad was asked to build a chapel in that town, and though I knew it was no longer used as a chapel, I think it is still there, being used as some kind of storage facility.

His eyes got big and he smiled and said: I know that building! I was there just a few weeks ago. An elderly woman, a local member, lives there now. Your Dad built that?

I assured him that others assisted, but that he was in charge of the project (the general contractor for lack of a better title), and showed him the photos below. He said, yep that's the place. It's actually on what is now a major road and everyone sees it coming and going.

So I've added some pictures from HG's mission journal, and a couple of pertinent letters. Who knows how our paths will cross, and with whom - but one thing is for sure - its a small world in the Church.

                          

                         

In 1988 Dad and Mom took a trip back through the South to some places where they had lived and where he had served on his mission. One of their stops was the old chapel he'd built in Ash. Below is a photo from that trip.

And finally, some letters from his mission president regarding the assignment to build, and the dedication of the building, which took place just two  months to the day after he left the mission field and returned home.

Ralph Ashton Richards

Born: 28 February 1903, Salt Lake City Died: 18 October 1993, age 90 years 9 months (what’s 10 days over that span?)
Ralph was born to the third of his father’s wives, as each of the first two had died shortly after the births of a couple of his older siblings. In fact, some of his older brothers and sisters had already left home by the time Ralph was born.
The family moved to Oakley when Ralph was about one and a half. He was essentially a pioneer there, clearing sagebrush and planting trees with his father and brothers as he grew. He is said to have been a dead shot with a flipper and sling and small varmints avoided him. Larger varmints, coyotes for instance, were scared off by the scarecrows he and his brothers made and stationed around the property.
Ralph played on the South Summit High School basketball team all four years. As a senior the team took their division and went to the state tournament. He was also the student body president in 1921-22 and sang bass in quartets and choruses.
He was called to and served in the Southern States Mission, mostly in the Alabama Conference. He gave his oldest son the middle name of Sterling, because one of his companions was Sterling W. Sill.
When he returned, he married Ida Naoma Laney, a high school classmate who had waited for him, on 4 September 1925.
Back in Oakley, Ralph made $2.50 a day as a foreman on Rob Young’s Ranch, and it wasn’t your eight-hour a day, five days a week job. In June of 1929 (Ralph was 26), he was ordained the Bishop of the Oakley ward. He served there for five years (age 31), until they split the stake and he was called as the second counselor in the new  South Summit Stake Presidency. He was set apart in this calling by his former mission president, who was then an apostle. He became the first counselor to a new Stake President in 1938, set apart by Joseph Fielding Smith. He continued as first counselor to another president in 1942, set apart by President George Albert Smith. Then in February 1954 Ralph became the President of the South Summit Stake, serving until 1971 (for a total of 37 years in the Stake Presidency). He offered one of the prayers at the afternoon session of General Conference in April 1964. He was later made a patriarch and served in that calling until his health would no longer allow it.
In addition to his family and church duties, Ralph served on the school board, helped organize the Kamas Valley Livestock Show, served as the Lion’s Club President and as Director of the Weber Basin Water Conservancy District. He received the Silver Beaver Award from the Boy Scouts of America on February 12, 1968. His son Sterling and son-in-law Howard Hall also earned the Silver Beaver.
Ralph was not easily provoked and was always a calm and cool-headed influence. I recall him always calling me (and the other grandchildren) “pal” and when he said it, you really felt like you were his pal.
I stolen most of this from a more complete biography written by Florence Saxton (a sister). There is also a recording of him talking about his life that he gave at a fireside in Orem.

Raona Richards

June 30, 1930 Oakley, Summit, Utah
Still with us
Born in the house at Young’s ranch and grew up with two older brothers and four younger sisters in the cozy little house on the Weber River near the South end of Oakley. Delivered papers on horseback.

Convinced HG that he better go on a mission. Worked at Church offices in Salt Lake City in the late forties.

Married Howard Gallatin Hall October 30, 1950.

I don’t really have a good grasp of the details on this story, but when she was young-ish (10-12), she was run over by a loaded hay wagon. Medical practitioners indicated she would not have children due to that. Bore seven children and raised eight: Michael, Joseph, Richard, Peter, Jacqueline, Steve, Wesley, and Suzanne. So what do doctors know, they’re just practicing.
Served multiple times in just about any calling you can think of in the Stake and Ward Primary and Relief Society. Sang in the choir. Also did extractions, Stake Histories, served in elections and at the county historical society.
Holds the family record for keeping journals and maintaining correspondence. A position she is not easily going to be unseated from.
Currently she has outlived her oldest brother and one younger sister as well as her husband.
Raona Quotes: “MICHAEL DEAN HALL!“ “Straighten up or I’ll boot you into the middle of next week.”

Triple-Chocolate Cookie Balls

I don't make candy. I tried. I even bought a candy thermometer. However, I just couldn't make myself do it. I am sure you have all heard of cake balls, and they are delicious, but these are easier and extremely tasty. Here is how you do it.

Triple-Chocolate Cookie Balls

1/2 cup cold milk

1 pkg. (3.9 oz.) JELL-O Chocolate Instant Pudding

36 OREO Cookies, finely crushed (about 3 cups)

1-1/2 (8 squares each) BAKER'S semi-sweet chocolate (12 squares) melted

1 square BAKER's white chocolate melted

1. Stir milk and pudding mix in medium bowl with large spoon just moistened. Immediately stir in cookie crumbs; mix well.
2. Shape into 42 (1-inch) balls. Freeze 10 min. Dip in semi-sweet chocolate; place in single layer in shallow waxed paper-lined pan.
3. Refrigerate 20 min. or until firm. Drizzle with white chocolate refrigerate 10 min. or until firm.

That is all it took I did get it from this http://www.kraftbrands.com/Jello/recipe.aspx?ID=129221 website. There is a short video there. They were to easy. You should try them.

Anyone Have a single pic with all in it?

A Place to Start

 

Yes, here are the two we can all thank for the Hall and Richards branches in our family tree. For at least eight of us who read this blog, this is THE common nexus, for the wider circle of readers, it only amounts to half, or a quarter (although unless my older 2-3 grandchildren have picked it up, this site doesn't have that reach yet).

Howard Hall and Raona Richards have left us a great legacy in their own right. In addition to the wide selection of "how I lost my leg" stories, and similar input from Good Ol' HG, there is the continuing nurture and concern and care of Mom for us all, now three generations deep, sixty years and counting. But they also brought in, genetically as well as attitudinally, a large number of other characters and characteristics.

Up until now I have randomly posted interesting (to me) information about the ancestors out on the limbs and branches of this Hall-Richards tree. Today in Stake Conference I was prompted to proceed in a more orderly manner and see if this blog can be resuscitated.

Howard Gallatin Hall

February 6, 1928 Bozeman, Gallatin County, Montana

May 22, 1997 Yuba City, Sutter County, California (age 69)

Grew up during the depression in Montana, Utah, Wyoming, and Idaho.

Served in the Central Atlantic States Mission (mostly in North Carolina).

Married Raona Richards October 30, 1950 (roughly five weeks after returning from his mission)

Attended Officer Training School in Fort Belvoir, Fairfax County, Virginia and became a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Stationed in Korea, where he continued to spread the gospel to both Americans and Koreans.

Returned home to Raona and two sons to settle in Yuba City, CA and work for the California Department of Highways (which eventually morphed into CalTrans).

Bishop, High Councilor, Scoutmaster, Seminary Teacher, and most of all father to Michael, Joseph, Richard (initially without the s), Peter, Jacqueline, Steve, Wesley, and Suzanne.

After a rather trying set of circumstances, ultimately resulting in the loss of his leg, he retired, traveled rather extensively with Mom (including to the Holy Land), and served a mission with her in Alabama. There was a significant amount of temple work in his schedule as well. He also worked with his cousin Victor Hall to wrap up as many loose ends in the genealogical efforts of his father after he passed away.

Howard lost his mother when he was only about five and was raised by his stepmom/aunt (more on this when we get to his parents). He survived his father by only about six and a half years and preceded his mom Eleanor in death by about four years. His only brother, Charles, is also gone.

HG Quotes: "There is a time and a place for everything." "If we don't get on the ball, we'll all be killed."

My hope is to do a summary of each individual with what I know or can gather and work my way back, seeing how far I get before I run out of material. Not being a great one for formality and structure, the content is likely to lack consistency although I hope to at least improve considerably on the consistency of posting.

James Lewis and Emily Jennison Holman

The couple we are speaking of are those to the far right in this cut down photo pedigree. Third (my generation), fourth, or fifth great grandparents depending on which generation you are in.

[Notes: I have the full photo pedrigree picture if anyone wants it. Email me. I wrote a bit about Emily Jennison Holman in this blog way back in February 2009. Check the archive.]
Last Sunday, we in Utah County and atleast some of Wasatch County had a regional conference. Elder Holland (a Southern Utah boy) was one of the speakers. He referred to both the Muddy Mission and the Hole-in-the-Rock story that took place out in San Juan County. I thought it would be a good thing to note that James Lewis, our forebearer in focus today, was in both of these places. In the Lord's work, there is nothing better than being able to be counted on; and you could count on James Lewis, Brigham did a number of times. And Emily supported him every step of the way.
James Lewis' life highlight reel:
As with many of our illustrious ancestors, he came from New England where the Lewis family had been living for around 150 years already when we became a nation. Our New England ancestors were politically and religiously active and although many of the generation immediately prior to those who joined the church were not happy with their children taking up with the 'Mormons' I expect they have in the afterlife seen the light and understood how misguided public opinion [and pernicious disinformation] in their day was. But I digresss.
James wandered out West on his own in his late twenties and ended up encountering the church in St. Loius about the time the Saints were making Nauvoo a going concern. He sympathized with them in their persecutions and "hearing the doctrine taught by them, being the same as taught by Jesus Christ and his apostles for man's salvation, that all men had the right to worship God according to his own conscience, I sought diligently to know the truth, comparing the principals taught with the bible. ... I cast my lot with the Saints and was baptized at Keokuk, Iowa, by Elder McAllister [ed. we do not know which McAllister this might have been, but at this time only John D T Mcallister was a member. James had a granddaughter who became a McAllister in Kanab much later as the pedigree attests.] and confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and ordained an Elder at the same time by Bro. Abraham O. Smoot."
James was serving a mission back East and being banned from his father's house when Joseph and Hyrum were martyred. He returned from his mission and worked in a publishing house in St. Louis.
He had not married yet, but before heading West in 1849, in a company headed by Williard Richards, at the age of 33 [almost 34], he married Emily Jennison Holman [Jedediah M. Grant performing the service.]
The year after arriving in the Salt Lake valley, he and Emily were called to go to Southern Utah and helped give Parowan its start. They were making do in a dugout and eating corn and local weed greens in 1852 when James was called to go on a mission to China. He left Emily and the two and one-on-the-way children and answered the call. It did not go well. He and a couple of companions spent a few short months in Hong Kong, but could not communicate with the Chinese (who were also hostile to foriegners) and were totally ignored by the British military and merchants and harassed by both protestants and catholics. He returned home $100 in debt in 1854.
He stayed put for the next ten years while serving as the probate clerk for Iron County. Then he was called again to go to Dixie (hmmm, Parowan is almost there already) and moved the family to Harrisburg. From there he was called to do legal work for the Saints who were getting double taxed and pushed off their land in what was to become Nevada. While there he taught school in Panacha to send money back to the family in Harrisburg.
From there they moved to Kanab in 1871 and traveled back to St George to work in the temple in the winters of 1879 and 1880. During this time he also was elected a County Commissioner for Kane County and worked at the court back over in Toquerville.
Then in 1882 he was called to the San Juan. His son was the blacksmith for the company that created the Hole-in-the-Rock and the famliy followed after James and son had helped create the famous 'road' down to the Colorado River. They lived with hostile indians and meager pickings in Taylor, AZ until 1891 when Erastus Snow released them and they returned to Kanab.
He was made a patriarch in September 1895.
He died and was buried in Kanab in May 1898 [age 84].
A story:
His father was a Methodist minister and greatly opposed to the Mormons.  In June of 1843 James wrote his father giving several reasons for his belief in the Church.  But he also stated in the letter, “I have fancied you will rather consider I am, as it were buried to all my friends.”  He was correct in his fears.  During James’ trip to the east he visited his parents and later told his children and grandchildren of his last visit with his parents with his father shaking his fist and telling him "to never darken their door again."
A better version of the picture:

Leftovers

It seems that the most enthusiastic responses I get on blog posts is from "reminiscences" although I always figured old people rehashing their history is not a great crowd attractant. Here is a little story I have told a great deal over the years, it was a stock part of my remarks anytime I had to say something at an Eagle Court of Honor.
It is possible to draw several morals from this same set of circumstances; another reason for its frequently being pulled from the bag.
I went through my Scouting experience with the Adams twins, Bruce and Brent, Gene Adair, Dave Payne, Dave Remund, and others. Five of us got our Eagle Award together at age 13 and a half (or at least the twins and I were. Dave Payne and Gene were something shy of a year older, and I don't recall where Dave Remund fits in. We had an Eagle board of review the December Bruce, Brent, and I turned 13 (1964), but they felt we were a bit too young, so they made us wait six months. I don't think getting your Eagle even at 13 and a half would be remotely possible today.
Earlier in 1964 as I recall it, we were needing to finish up our Hiking merit badge with a 20 miler. At the time, HG was working out of Emigrant Gap on the final piece of I-80 over Donner Summit. We wanted to do something different and hike somewhere we hadn't been. Dad came up with a great plan (lesson one: make your own plans). On Thursday night he would drop us off and we would camp over at the troop's site at Donner Mine Camp. Friday while he was at work, we would start from there and hike up the valley and over to his office at EGap, or something roughly like that. He told us it would meet the 20 mile requirement. We believed him. He was the one who was going to sign off on it, so good enough. I think it was just the twins and Dave Remund and I, not sure if I remember it totally correct. I know there were only four of us.

We figured we could make pretty good time and that HG couldn't take us home until after quitting time anyhow so we had all day. It was a good thing (lesson two: don't dwadle). We wandered along the bottom of the valley heading East and explored old flumes going to the mine until the valley ended. Then we began an ill-advised climb out supposedly hitting the road somewhere up the slope (lesson three: take a map). Thinking back on it, I am pretty sure HG expected us to simply exit Donner Mine Camp, get on the road, and stay on the road.
The climb out of the valley was arduous, occurred during the middle of a sunny, summer day, was primarily going up a bare, trackless, scree slope, and somehow failed to intersect with the road. Fortunately we still had the presence of mind to calculate that the road was going to be on our left, South of us and head in that relative direction. In the wisdom of youth, we split up into two teams and the first one to find the road would holler to the other (right).
The brothers took off and Dave and I eventually found the road, but couldn't find where the twins had gone. We hoped they too had or would find the road and continued on. No sense all of us wandering around in the woods if that was where they still were. Fortunately they also found the road somewhere and we all met back up at the end, although I am pretty sure it wasn't before that. And it was definitely past quitting time for HG. Perhaps Sabrina should try to verify some of these "facts" with her father. But perhaps he has put it out of his mind.
Sometime, for grins, check out the elevation gain on this 20 miler. Hiking 20 miles is great exercise and a fairly defining moment for a twelve year old. Twenty miles uphill virtually all the way was definitely a character building experience. And that's what it is all about, eh?

Howard Gallatin Hall - February 6, 1928

82 years ago.

For all that you did with us and for us, we are grateful. For what we are we hope you are pleased.

Looking forward to seeing you again. We love you.

Roughly 150 Years Ago

In 1861, John C. Hall, with about 15 other families, including some Terry Crawford folk who were to get mixed up with the Halls in the next generation, settled on land in what was called Adventure, Utah (later Rockville), along the Virgin River. There was nothing there but dirt, muddy water, and indians. Adventure was an appropriate moniker. Beyond the confines of this and the other small settlements in the area there are to this day only dirt and muddy water.
A history of Washington County, written for the 1996 state centennial (sometime between 1991 and 1996), indicates that the US census of 1880 showed approximately 40 percent of those listed in a local census of 1864 were still living in the county. By that time Saint George, actually one of the last cities to be set up in the area, had a large tabernacle and a temple, dedicated in 1877. It surprises me that they managed to stay alive those 15 or so years, let alone thrive. I am not sure I'd have been in that 40 percent.
About 40 years after the Halls arrived, Alf and his large family of mostly boys had helped create the 7.5 mile Hurricane Canal and the family moved onto the land watered by that ditch.Victor still lives in one of the houses. There are still Halls in Hurricane and the surrounding area, although possibly more in the cemeteries than elsewhere.
I suppose that I have always felt the crossing of the plains by my ancestors was relatively easy. One even remarked that it was an unremarkable trip. But when I visit southern Utah and think of what it entailed to make a go of things there, I am truly amazed. In spite of the conveniences of air conditioning and such, I would likely not choose to live there. But it is nice to visit (in the spring or fall).

Here's an example of the problem

Luetta McAllister Hall was born in 1904, married Henry Vernon Hall in the St. George, Utah, temple in 1923, and was killed in an automobile accident in 1933 near Rawlins, Wyoming. She is buried in the Hurricane, UT cemetery.
Various people have submitted misleading and incorrect versions of this information. According to the submissions (you can get on Family Search and check this out yourself) resulting from a search, she is married to Vern Hall and to Richard Heaton (one of her sisters actually married Richard). She died some time between 3 and 10 September 1933 and is buried in a variety of places in Utah and Wyoming. WORSE YET, she has had her temple work, that she did herself while alive, done again by proxy over the last few years (hopefully to the correct person, but judging from the submitted information, likely not).
How do we prevent this?
Perhaps it is too much to think that we can eliminate the shoddy research and sloppy submissions of others. But here is where we can have an affect. We can submit GEDCOM files with the truth AFTER carefully documenting the key dates and information. We can share the information we upload and eventually the weight of our well-done submissions will pull searches in the right direction. And possibly we can start spending time in the temple doing work for people that have not yet had the chance and need it.
It will be fun to meet Lue. She was the oldest in Richard Samuel's "second" family (he had married and had two daughters before his first wife died and he went on a mission). After meeting at Dixie College, their courtship was conducted primarily via post as Vern herded sheep for money to go to school and then headed to Logan. Since she was four years younger than him, she would address her letters to "Dear Old Vern."

Alfred Lorenzo Hall and Cars

(from Victor Hall's Pioneers of Rockville and Hurricane Utah)

Alf [ed. 1858-1934] purchased at least three new cars. His first wa a Model T Ford that he bought in 1917. It's unknown how he learned to drive although the dealer may have taught him. Making the transition from live horses to horsepower wasn't easy. Harvey recalled that during one of Alf's early driving forays he needed to stop in a hurry. "Whoa!" he yelled and jerked the "reins" so hard he pulled the steering wheel completely off its mounting. Two of his purchases were Chevrolets, the last one in 1928. Cars of the day were started with a hand-crank that engaged the front of the crankshaft. Cranking an engine could take a lot of muscle, particularly on cold mornings. A teakettle full of hot water poured over the manifold before attempting to turn the engine helped get its circulation going. ...
Alfred and Julia enjoyed a number of long trips and many short ones. They went twice to Wyoming to visit Vern and they attended the Mesa Temple dedication. ... A trip they didn't take was to the ocean. It was a dream of Alf's to see it, but somehow he never did.
=====
Seems odd that someone has never seen the ocean, particularly a great grandfather. That does not seem so far back.

Samuel Lorenzo Adams

Our Stake President is named Thad Adams. He's a born and raised Utahn, so I had to ask if he had any ancestors from southern Utah (St. George in particular). He didn't know, but did say he had some Cedar City connections. I am guessing that might be close enough to connect up.

Our Samuel Lorenzo Adams was born in Tipton, Staffordshire, England in 1833. He joined the church at the age of 15 or 17, depending on which account you read. He returned to his native land several times as a missionary, had three wives and 14 children, eight of whom lived to adulthood. His oldest daughter (the surviving one of a set of twins), Eleanor Jackson Adams, married William James Frazier McAllister. She became the mother of Richard Samuel McAllister, the father of Luetta and Eleanor.

Here is part of an experience he wrote to a grandson who was on a mission in England. A copy of this letter is in the Church Historian's Library in SLC. I thought we had a digitized copy of the book Eleanor McAllister Hall wrote on that includes this story, but I can't find it right now. When I do, or when I get it digitized, I will post it on my rootsweb pages: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~goodoldhg/
---
In the month of June, 1865, diptheria raged in the city of St. George. Two of our children, John H. Adams and Minerva Adams, fell beneath its heavy stroke inside of 24 hours. As naturally may be expected, this cast a heavy gloom over our home. One of the most devoted mothers mourned as none but mothers can, and like Rachel of old, refused to be comforted. ...

Our next door neighbor was Apostle Erastus Snow, who occasionally came in to speak a word of comfort and try and change the trend of dispairing thoughts. Seeing the condition of things upon one visit he said, "Sister Emma, you must desist from this course or these little children will soon have no mother, and as the Lord has taken part of your children you had better try and make the best of taking care of the balance." With this she burst forth with, "Oh, that God would only lighten my heart with knowledge of where my children are, or if anyone has care of them. To me they are gone. I see them in my mind in a fathomless abyss from whence they may never return to me." [Apostle Snow said,] "Sister Emma, I want you to desist from encouraging this despondent feeling and rely upon God your Father, and if you will do so, God our Father shall give you  a witness of where and by whom your children are taken care of."

It was late in July or early in August, the sun had set. The mother [Emma] said to her eldest daughter (about 12 or 13 years old), "Eleanor go to the bedroom and get me Ettie's night dress." The girl obliged and started through the dining room (for Mother was on the East porch) to the bedroom door. No sooner was the door pushed open than she, in a transfixed condition, beheld one of the most lovely sights the eyes of mortals ever beheld. A lady, dressed in white apparel with long dark flowing hair hanging over her shoulders and with the most pleasant, happy countenance, smiled upon her, and having two children upon her arms. Fear had fled from the mind of the little girl and she looked til her mind was satisfied. She identified the two little children, she had cared for one of them about two years, and the other a few months.But there was another personage whose age and face she could not comprehend. The vision presently passed away. She returned to her mother in a very excited condition, saying, "Oh mother, I know you will not believe me, I can not tell you what has happened." She continued in this mood until about nine o'clock the next morning when to our joy she disclosed the foregoing story. After telling of John and Minerva she said, "Who was the little girl holding the skirt of the young lady and appeared to be about 12 or 13 months old?" We immediately informed her that she once knew the little girl but had forgotten her as she died at 13 months old and was her twin sister. She described the suit she was dressed in even to the narrow satin ribbon her shoes were tied with, so that her mother could not fail to know it was her little darling Emma.
---
Note: The young lady holding the children was Ellen Emma Lishman Adams, a niece of Samuel Lorenzo who had joined the church about the same time he had joined, but who died before she could emmigrate to Utah.

Cemetery Photos - but not because its nearly Halloween

To find the Richard Wesley McAllister family plot in the SLC cemetery:
Enter the cemetery through the northern entrance, on 11th Avenue(this entrance puts you on the cemetery's Center Street, which runs N-S).
The plot is at the corner of Center Street and 310 North.
The plot is located at the northwest corner of that intersection.
The McAllister plot is not readily seen from the road because right next to the road is a grassy knoll (I was given these directions in these terms - let's leave conspiracy theories out of this). You have to walk over that knoll before you see the Richard Wesley headstone.

Looking East















Up Close















Landmarks along the way:
A huge granite headstone with the name OTTINGER about ten yards north of the McAllister plot.

Bonus Material:
The piper from the reunion

If you have read the Christmas Box, here is the angel

McAllisters

This is Elizabeth Thompson McAllister, wife of William James Frazier McAllister. They were parents of John D.T. and Richard Wesley. I am pretty sure the painting was done from the photo, but I prefer the photo. the painting makes it look like someone dislocated her jaw.




This is William James Frazier McAllister. He died before the rest of the family joined the church. Well, J.D. T. had joined, but none others yet. Shortly after Lincoln was elected, but before the Civil War got well underway, the family accepted the gospel and went West, a safer place to be during the war.




Richard Wesley moved to Salt Lake City and made shoes for Brigham Young's family, no small feat (hee, hee). H also sang in productions and during intermissions at the theatre. Apparently one of the crowd favorites was Believe Me, If All Those Endearing Young Charms, a song that I actually quite like myself. He remained in SLC until he died and is buried in the SLC cemetery, actually not very far from Pres. Hinckley.

And this is Richard's son, William James Frazer McAllister. He drove a wagon to Utah at the age of 16 ans after moving to Kanab, he was a beekeeper and kept a hotel where some of the very first tourists to the Grand Canyon stayed (including a certain Teddy R.)
One of WJF sons was Richard Samuel McAllister (are you seeing the naming pattern here?) who in turn was the father of Luetta and Eleanor, who married Vern and there you Hall it.
Aye hope you've enjoyed this wee bit of family history.

Alfred Lorenzo and Julia Elzina Hansen Hall

I was trying to find some material for a caller from Minnesota who thought I might have some details on Nils Hansen. He was right, I found a bunch of stuff HV had collected and written up.

Well, in the search I also ran across some good stuff on Julia Elzina Hansen (Nils Hansen's and Marilla Terry's youngest daughter) who happened to marry our great grandfather Alfred Lorenzo Hall. So here are some cool pictures and some random details about these fine folks.
First, some pictures of them as young people.














































Alf and Julia (according to some of HV's writings, she was nicknamed "dude" ...) had ten children, HV being ninth. Here are some pics of the growing family. That's HV on the ground at right (in the bottom picture) about 7 years old. The nice looking young man seated just to the left of Alf is Roy, the second oldest, who would die of typhoid fever on his mission in the Southern States about a year and a half after this picture was taken. The oldest, a boy named after his father, died in infancy/childhood (about age 3).





























I thought it was interesting that Alf and Julia deeded some of their property in Hurricane to Luetta after her marriage to Vern. I do not know the current disposition of that property, but I assume it was disposed of long ago. My understanding was that Vern turned over pretty much all of his holdings in Southern Utah to brothers and their families.


These two were fine looking people, and I may be wrong about this, but I think that what I have usually thought of as the "Hall" look, based on these photos, may be more the "Hansen/Terry" look. And not many of us can sport a cookie-duster like this one.



















I scanned two letters, one from Alf and one from Julia, to Vern and Luetta written in 1929, but I don't think they are going to work out in this blog (so you can read them). I will upload the JPGs to the My Family site.

It will be fun (I think, if they don't box my ears) to meet these ancestors one day. They would have some interesting tales to tell I'm sure.

McAllister Reunion 2009

Friday night we had a vast and varied banquet (well, Chuckarama has variety) and then several of us went to the Jordan River temple. It was pleasant and we got to meet some distant cousins. Would you believe we have a third cousin who is named Teuila Tana (and if I was a betting man, I'd have bet she was Tongan - but only her husband is).

Saturday morning about 100 McAllister cousins got together in a chapel in Sandy for the main event. There were presentations on JDT McAllister (not our direct ancestor) and Richard Wesley McAllister (he is ours) plus some interesting insights into some of the problems with extending the line backward (so far we are unsure of JDT and Richard Wesley's grandfather and there are three different camps/opinions. Interestingly enough, although this grandfather would have been born around 1700, he was born in the States. One theory actually goes back another two generations to get to an indentured servant who came from Scotland in the early 1600's. But where in Scotland, if that line is correct, is debatable. And one other theory has the name Collister rather than McAllister.

I gave the presentation on Richard Wesley (notice how our parents avoided naming any of their children for ancestors) and it was well received; likely because the JDT presenter had waaaay too much and simply had it all on the slides, which he read (zzzzz). JDT is Richard Wesley's younger brother and the family member who first joined the church in October 1844. He converted his brother and family and mother and sister in Philadelphia in 1860 (they were all baptized on January 1, 1861 -- nice New Year's change). JDT was then on his second mission with Orson Pratt as his companion, headed to England. Richard Wesley, who had been a lay preacher in the Methodist Church and a staunch Abe Lincoln supporter, had just been sanctioned and forbidden to preach any more for teaching that unbaptized children were not damned (and apparently some other "heresies" that sounded a lot like Mormon doctrine). They sold all their goods and hopped a train for St. Louis, steamboat up the river and wagon over to Florence, Nebraska where they took off in two separate wagon companies and arrived in SLC later that summer. The father and oldest brother of the family had died in 1858.

JDT is actually quite interesting church-wise, having served as Temple President of both the St. George and Manti temples at different times. Of course all know the story of Wilford Woodruff grabbing JDT and them doing the work for the founding fathers and other eminent men (and women, with help from some). Richard had two wives and JDT had 10 (I think) so there are far more JDT descendants. But we had about 25 % of the crowd at this reunion. I also heard something that was new to me, that JDT and Richard Wesley were pretty good size, in the 6 foot to 6 foot 3 range.

In the business meeting (poorly planned for after lunch so most of the crowd slipped out), I was elected President of the organization, which I had dreaded but figured on. We did get a good President-elect to take over from me though. He is about 30. We kept the Secretary-Treasurer. So now I am officially what I have been for the last year unofficially. We'll see if that changes anything. I am suspicious that a number of the older attendees will not make it to the next reunion.

I have pretty much glossed over the whole thing, but if you want to know more, call me or email me and I'll fill in any details you ask about. I also have files of family stories and pictures from the Richard Wesley side that I can get to you. I sent some successfully to Wes tonight, but the other (better) set of files I think is going to have to be burned onto a CD. Even compressed it is about half a Gig.

Richards Reunion 2009

Here are some photos from the reunion. I wasn't too energetic about taking any this year, but got these two angles, the photographees and the photographers.

And here is a bonus picture of Kimberly Nicole Hall, my oldest grand daughter (10). She came over to help her dad help her grandpa weed the garden this morning (in hopes of scoring some corn and grapes at a future date).









Maybe this should have gone on my personal blog, but it started out as a reunion posting. OK, here's an ancestral tidbit. 90 years ago Albert Damon Richards (father of Ralph Ashton, grandfather of Raona) was working for the Forest Service in the Unitas and from his dairies, having a "great time" with the flies.

Rhoda Byrne Jared Young ... twice

I always think of this particular ancestor on Memorial Day, perhaps because she is buried in Provo, and that's close, relatively speaking.

Rhoda was from Tennessee (no tangents here, we're not headed for the barge on the marge of Lake LeBarge), and we know why she left her home, she and her first husband joined the church in 1843 and went to Nauvoo. She had two husbands, both Youngs, themselves first cousins. Adolphia Young was her first husband, they married in 1836. After returning to Tennessee and regrouping from being driven out of Nauvoo, they started west in 1852, after a few years growing crops for others headed west. But Adolphia made it ony 100 miles out of Winter Quarters, dying near the Wood River. She got to Utah however and married his cousin, Alfred Douglas, as a second or third wife, and they moved to Provo. From what I tell, they lived about 5th West and only a couple blocks up from Center.

From Provo, they were called to live on the "Muddy", then moved over to Kanab when that area was declared a part of Nevada instead of Utah. She was visiting children in Provo in 1899 and passed away while there.

And now the real reason Rhoda Byrne Jared Young is a special ancestor; often stated, so if you've heard this part, you're free to leave. Her 7th child (first husband) was Brigham Lawrence Young, my second great grandfather. Her 3rd child (second husband, 10th child overall) was Adolphia Young, my sweetheart's second great grandfather. (these two half brothers managed to marry two of the Lewis sisters, so there are two combo-connections in this line - Emily Lewis has already been featured here).

Brian David Hall > Michael Hall > HG Hall > Luetta McAllister Hall > Ida Young McAllister > Brigham Lawrence Young > Rhoda Byrne Jared Young
and
Brian David Hall > Martha Ellen Hall > Grace Elaine Jepson Qualls > Zilpha Johnson Jepson > Rhoda Emily Young Johnson > Adolphia Young > Rhoda Byrne Jared Young
(making my children brothers and fifth cousins to each other)