Tag Archives: Utah

Family Reunion 1952

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I inherited photographs of an Eggleston Family Reunion which I did not attend. These are dated 1952 and are of a gathering of the family of Joseph S. Eggleston.  I assumed the occasion was Grandpa Joe’s Birthday and/or the Fourth of July – they were celebrated together. We have come a long way with photo-documenting such events, both with the number of pictures we take as well as the quality. These photos are poor quality and identifying people has not been easy. I have not been able to identify everyone and may not have the ones I have identified right. It does look like they all enjoyed a good meal.

Wesley and Margaret are sitting on the left then Lola. Grandpa Joe is sitting on the right back. It might be Phil standing with the child. Joan and DeLoss are standing in the back. Stella is standing on the right side of the table.

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The Missionary Journal of Orson Hyde Eggleston

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Discovery of the Journal

Orson Hyde Eggleston served a Mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1876-1877. He was called at the General Conference of the Church on October 7, 1876. Years ago, after learning that Orson Hyde Eggleston had kept a journal of his Mission to Michigan, I went to the Church History Library to see this Journal. This was when the Church History Library was located in the Church Office Building, before the beautiful new building was built. The procedure to view items in the Archives required checking in with ID, leaving everything I had brought with me in a locker, except a pencil and paper. No electronic devices allowed, though a cell phone with a camera was not something I even had then. Items were requested and then brought to a viewing room. I painstakingly transcribed – by hand – the entire journal. It is not a very long journal, and in a very small notebook. I then went home and typed from my notes a two page transcription of the journal.

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The Family Bible of Orson Hyde Eggleston

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Family Bibles are wonderful sources of information. I found this Bible when I visited Cousin Ruth several years ago. She indicated that it had belonged to Orson Hyde Eggleston and had been given to her father Theron Eggleston, probably by his father Orson. It appears that it may have been in the possession of Joseph S. Eggleston at some point and he may have entered at least some of this information himself. Ruth let me take this Bible to make photocopies of the Family Record entries.

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Times and Seasons Journal of Samuel Eggleston

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Finding the Treasure of an Old Book

Sometimes a old book is more than just an old book – it is a tangible trace of someone’s life – a treasure worth much more than the value of the volume.

At one point in my genealogy journey, I made contact with a second cousin named Ruth. She was the daughter of my father’s Uncle Theron Eggleston. Somehow, Theron had assumed the role of family genealogist in his time – I can relate to that. He apparently had been given his father Orson Hyde Eggleston’s records. Theron also lived in Salt Lake City near the Utah Genealogical Society and he and his wife Emily spent much time there researching during the early to mid-1900’s.

I made a visit to Ruth’s home in West Valley City, Utah and found there a genealogical gold mine. Her basement was filled with boxes and file cabinets full of records. This was before I had a cell phone which could take pictures, so we filled a box with selected documents which she let me take to make photocopies.

Journal entries of Samuel Eggleston in Times & Seasons

Times & Seasons

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Remembering Etienne

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On Valentines Day 1952, my brother was born– and died. It was never a secret. All of us kids grew up knowing that there was another baby who died before we were born. When it was mentioned, it was simply stated as a fact, but it was not really talked about. I never saw a birth certificate among those for the rest of us, and certainly not a death certificate. There was no grave to place flowers on when we made our Memorial Day cemetery visits. He didn’t even have a name until decades later when Dad finally filled in the blank space on the family group sheet. Of course, there were no photos, or even the smallest of objects kept to remember him. How strange that a life so brief and seemingly unnoticed, could have such a huge impact on generations.

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Vedia’s Postcard Book

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One Saturday afternoon in January 2011, after having lunch in downtown Ogden with my daughters, I and my youngest decided to go across the street to our favorite Antique Store (which was new then but sadly is not there anymore) before heading home. We were wandering around different areas when I heard her calling to me from upstairs, saying something about Egglestons. I hurried to her to see what she was talking about. She had picked up an old Postcard Book filled with postcards with the names of Egglestons and asked if these were our family. I did recognize many of the names and started getting really excited. This store sold things on consignment and this album was priced rather high, intended to be sold intact. There were other old postcards being sold individually and I guess they thought that this was worth the cost of all of the individual cards. Anyway, it was more than I was ready to pay for it. I did talk to the store owner and left my name and a message for the owner of this album.

album-cover

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Our Mormon Pioneer Ancestors

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July 24th is a significant day for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and for the State of Utah. We commemorate the settling of Utah by the Mormon Pioneers, the first of whom arrived in July 1847. The Pioneer Era is generally considered to span from 1847 to 1869 when the Trans- continental Railroad was completed.

Eggleston Pioneers

Our family has a large and rich pioneer heritage. Our first Eggleston ancestors to come to Utah were Orson Hyde Eggleston and his brother Reuben, along with his wife Emeline and young son.

Orson H. Eggleston

Orson H. Eggleston

ReubenB

Reuben Eggleston

 

 

 

 

 

1861

In the summer of 1861, Orson came to Utah with his brother Reuben and his family in the David H. Cannon Company.  Bartlett Tripp, who was Company Clerk for the David H. Cannon Pioneer Company in 1861, included a list of company members in his Camp Journal. Listed were Reub. B. Eggleston, wife and 1 child, Orson Eggleston, 4 oxen, 1 cow, 1 wagon. Continue reading →

Cemetery Tours – Ogden City Cemetery

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I have had the opportunity to visit the graves of many of our ancestors. I am one of those crazy people who drags family member – especially my children – to cemeteries. I hunt for graves in all kinds of weather, take lots of pictures and even make headstone rubbings. So for those who haven’t had such opportunities here is a virtual cemetery tour.

EGGLESTONS IN THE OGDEN CITY CEMETERY

The Ogden City Cemetery is located on 20th Street west of Monroe Ave. in Ogden, Utah. It is up on the hill above and south of the Ogden River. Orson Hyde Eggleston bought a family plot there. It is located just off 3rd Ave. – B-2-30 – Slightly north of halfway between Center St. and South Street. Orson’s mother Lurania Powers Burgess Eggleston was the first to be buried in this plot. Samuel Eggleston, her husband, was later buried next to her. The markers were probably upright initially, but have since been placed flat in the ground.

Lurania grave

In Memory of Lurania P. Eggleston wife of Samuel Eggleston Born Aug 15, 1808 Died July 6th 1870

Samuel E grave

Headstone for Samuel Eggleston Born Mar 30th 1804 Died May 27th 1884

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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