I had never really thought much about family history until returning home from a summer trip to Australia. There was a family story of a relative from Australia who had immigrated to America, leaving behind a husband who jumped ship because he wasn't allowed to smoke. Nancy, a friend and co-teacher from my school (who also happens to be a fourth cousin) had jokingly encouraged me to do some family research while on my vacation. The seed was planted.
As I traveled around Australia I became fascinated by the beauty of the country. From Sydney to Tasmania...to the Outback and Caines...I remember thinking, "This is a place that I could live and be happy." On the long plane ride home I began to wonder about the story of this woman and her smoking husband. Who were they? Where did they live? Did the husband really jump ship and "swim a mile to shore" or was this just a story that had been passed down through the ages?
Upon arriving back home in St. George, Utah, I pulled out the family book that Nancy had given me. It said that Caroline Merchant had sailed to America in 1856. I casually typed the words "Caroline Merchant" into a google search. Hmmm...interesting....I almost instantly found that Caroline had sailed to America, BUT...She was the daughter of the man who had stayed behind. Elizabeth Barnes (Merchant) was the name of the woman I was looking for. "Why was the name 'Merchant' in parenthesis", I asked myself. The questions were becoming more complex. It also said that this mystery woman was buried in Beaver, Utah. I had never heard of any family members that were buried in Beaver, Utah.
On the way to Salt Lake that weekend I had this urge to pull off in Beaver. I had no idea where I was going or what I was doing (because I never stop in Beaver). I turned up a side street and decided to stop at a cool, old, historical-looking building to see if they could tell me where the cemetery was. Two older looking women saw me pull up and met me at the top of the stairs. "What can we help you with?" they asked in unison. I told them I was looking for an ancestor named Elizabeth Barnes, thinking that they could point the way to the cemetery. "Ohhhh....", they said in unison again, and herded me into a room full of old antiques and artifacts. They opened up a drawer and pulled out an old paper. None of us could read the writing on the paper because it was so tiny and there were hundreds of names on it. Finally, one of them spotted an E.S. Barnes on the list of names. It had a corresponding cemetery plot number and a UK next to it. They told me that the plot was among the first buried in the cemetery and matched the time period we were looking for.
After spending an hour or so talking with the women about Beaver's history, I drove to the cemetery in search of the plot that held E.S. Barnes. The Cemetery was a beautiful and peaceful place with a lot of big trees and a canal flowing along the western boundary. I was startled to find that the western boundary was lined with crude-looking cinder cement markers that had the word UNKNOWN etched into them. Elizabeth's plot was marked with one of them. The questions in my head began to swirl. Why was my Great Great Great Grandmother buried in an unknown grave? - Jayne
To be continued.....
As I traveled around Australia I became fascinated by the beauty of the country. From Sydney to Tasmania...to the Outback and Caines...I remember thinking, "This is a place that I could live and be happy." On the long plane ride home I began to wonder about the story of this woman and her smoking husband. Who were they? Where did they live? Did the husband really jump ship and "swim a mile to shore" or was this just a story that had been passed down through the ages?
Upon arriving back home in St. George, Utah, I pulled out the family book that Nancy had given me. It said that Caroline Merchant had sailed to America in 1856. I casually typed the words "Caroline Merchant" into a google search. Hmmm...interesting....I almost instantly found that Caroline had sailed to America, BUT...She was the daughter of the man who had stayed behind. Elizabeth Barnes (Merchant) was the name of the woman I was looking for. "Why was the name 'Merchant' in parenthesis", I asked myself. The questions were becoming more complex. It also said that this mystery woman was buried in Beaver, Utah. I had never heard of any family members that were buried in Beaver, Utah.
On the way to Salt Lake that weekend I had this urge to pull off in Beaver. I had no idea where I was going or what I was doing (because I never stop in Beaver). I turned up a side street and decided to stop at a cool, old, historical-looking building to see if they could tell me where the cemetery was. Two older looking women saw me pull up and met me at the top of the stairs. "What can we help you with?" they asked in unison. I told them I was looking for an ancestor named Elizabeth Barnes, thinking that they could point the way to the cemetery. "Ohhhh....", they said in unison again, and herded me into a room full of old antiques and artifacts. They opened up a drawer and pulled out an old paper. None of us could read the writing on the paper because it was so tiny and there were hundreds of names on it. Finally, one of them spotted an E.S. Barnes on the list of names. It had a corresponding cemetery plot number and a UK next to it. They told me that the plot was among the first buried in the cemetery and matched the time period we were looking for.
After spending an hour or so talking with the women about Beaver's history, I drove to the cemetery in search of the plot that held E.S. Barnes. The Cemetery was a beautiful and peaceful place with a lot of big trees and a canal flowing along the western boundary. I was startled to find that the western boundary was lined with crude-looking cinder cement markers that had the word UNKNOWN etched into them. Elizabeth's plot was marked with one of them. The questions in my head began to swirl. Why was my Great Great Great Grandmother buried in an unknown grave? - Jayne
To be continued.....
Reading this I felt of the desires of those that search history to know from whom they descend. I have followed the evolution of this particular journey and am excited to see where it leads. For after all, we cannot get away from our ancestors. Good luck finding the history and learning about both the living and the dead.
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