A History of Elaine Smith Pitts As Written by Her Mother.

My mother was named Elaine. Actually, she was named Jessie Elanie but was called only Elanie. Because she was such a young woman when she died, not many of my children know much about her. 

(The following was written for Myrna by Vivian Christene Pritchett Smith, Myrna’s grandmother, when Myrna was in the seventh grade. It was a school project. Myrna added a few things as she and her grandmother talked. Myrna still has the original in Grandma Smith’s writing.)

Jessie Elaine Smith, born Jan. 2, 1920, in Huntington, Emery, Utah. She was blessed March 7, 1920, in Huntington, and was baptized in the Huntington River on July 1, 1928 by Arly

Marshall and was confirmed by Lar Black. She was sealed to her parents, along with her

sister, Renee, following her father’s death of cancer. He was baptized on 14 July 1935, a short time before he died. He died 4 Aug 1935. The sealing took place on 3 Aug 1936 in Salt Lake Temple.

She was married on 3 Dec 1939 to Howard Thomas Pitts. They had one daughter, Myrna

Rae Pitts, born on Dec. 24, 1940 in Price. Elaine was killed as the result of an automobile

accident, which occurred on Carbon Avenue in Price. She died Nov. 24, 1941. (The 11-month

birthday of Myrna.) Elaine was endowed the 14 of Nov 1945.

Elaine was the daughter of Raymond James and Vivian Christene Pritchett Smith. She has one older sister, Vivian Renee Smith Childs, who was born Oct. 26, 1918.

Elaine was born about 4 o’clock in the morning after a big fire that burned down almost all of the Huntington business district. Her mother and father, Vivian and Ray, were visiting at Elaine's Grandfather John Pritchett’s home (father of Vivan Christene). A great fire on New Year’s Eve burned Grandfather’s drugstore, home, an apartment, a barbershop, a pool hall, a feed and grain store and a hotel.

After all of that Myrna’s mother, Elaine, was born. Everything burned but the clothes her folks

had on so it was a bad time for a baby to come, but things straightened out after a time. Her

grandfather’s store stayed in Huntington and her father opened up a meat and grocery store.

Elaine went to school there. Her best friends were Verna Robbins, Belle Gunderson, Lilas

Green and Madaline Grange. She graduated from high school in 1939. She graduated with honors, receiving a block H. She was a member of the girl’s trio, Pep Club and the Mask Club (speech and drama). She was leading lady in the Junior and Senior plays and also entered meets for the speech class for those two years. She was rated superior in the region speech meet for Dramatic Reading and Excellent in oration. She also was a member of a ballet dance group that gave several exhibitions. She and her partner, Roland Gardner, did exhibition dancing for the Green and Gold Balls all through the county. The dances were original waltzes and the ones sent out by the state and church.

Elaine was a beautiful girl and was well liked. She had lots of dark hair, eyes that were so

brown they were almost black and a fair skin. She was Miss North Emery High and won

several other beauty and talent awards. She graduated from LDS Seminary the same year and gave several short speeches at stake conferences. She was very active in Sunday school and Mutual. She received her patriarchal blessing.

Howard, Myrna’s father, and Elaine, her mother, met at a dance in Emery County. Elaine sang

with a trio of girls that night but she also liked dancing. Howard saw her standing on the

sidelines and asked her to dance. After that, they had eyes only for each other. Elaine had told her mother, earlier, when she had seen Howard dancing, "That is the man I am going to marry." [As an aside, Howard had also told one of his friends at the dance, "That is the girl I am going to marry."] That is just what happened.

Elaine loved singing. Howard also enjoyed singing. Elaine sang many times with other girls

and after meeting Howard, the two of them sang at various events in Carbon and Emery Counties. Two of their favorite songs were: “When Smoke Gets In Your Eyes,” and “Stardust.” Their voices were compatible and they sounded very good together.

After she married Thomas Howard Pitts, she went to Price to live. Myrna was born the night

her father had come down with pneumonia. He was sent to his folk’s home to get better because Elaine was so close to giving birth to Myrna. That night, Elaine had to call her brother-in law, Morgan, to drive her to the hospital in Price. He took her in a dump truck.

Myrna was, basically, a baby when her mother died. Elaine was buried on her mother’s,

birthday, Nov. 26. Myrna has lived with her grandmother (her mother’s mother), Vivian

Smith, ever since.

(As young as she was, Myrna really missed her mother and would not go to sleep. For days, at bedtime, she would cry and fuss. Finally, in desperation, her Grandmother Smith took her to

bed with her and then they both slept. She would not drink from her bottle either and weaned

herself to a cup.)

Her father enlisted in World War II and served as a Sea Bee in the Navy in the Pacific islands.

Grandma Elaine’s History

It has been suggested that each month we feature a history of a family member. I (Grammy) chose my mother, Elaine, because not many of you know much about her. Next month, we will have LHT do his mother’s story. Then I will get Grandpa Pitts to do his story. We will see how it goes.

(The following was written for Myrna by Vivian Christene Pritchett Smith, Myrna’s grandmother, when Myrna was in the seventh grade. It was a school project. Myrna added a few things as she and her grandmother talked. Myrna still has the original in Grandma Smith’s writing.)

Jessie Elaine Smith, born Jan. 2, 1920, in Huntington, Emery, Utah. She was blessed

March. 7, 1920, in Huntington, and was baptized in the Huntington River on July 1, 1928 by Arly Marshall and was confirmed by Lar Black. She was sealed to her parents, along with her sister, Renee, following her father’s death of cancer. He was baptized on 14 July 1935, a short time before he died. He died 4 Aug 1935. The sealing took place on 3 Aug 1936 in Salt Lake Temple.

She was married on 3 Dec 1939 to Howard Thomas Pitts. They had one daughter, Myrna Rae Pitts, born on Dec. 24, 1940 in Price.

Elaine was killed as the result of an automobile accident, which occurred on Carbon Avenue in Price. She died Nov. 24, 1941. (The 11-month birthday of Myrna.) Elaine was endowed the 14 of Nov 1945.

Elaine was the daughter of Raymond James and Vivian Christene Pritchett Smith. She has one older sister, Vivian Renee Smith Childs, who was born Oct. 26, 1918.

Elaine was born about 4 o’clock in the morning after a big fire that burned down almost all of the Huntington business district. Her mother and father, Vivian and Ray, were visiting at Elaine’s Grandfather John Pritchett’s home. A great fire on New Year’s Eve burned Grandfather’s drug store, home, an apartment, a barbershop, a pool hall, a feed and grain store and a hotel.

After all of that Myrna’s mother, Elaine, was born. Everything burned but the clothes her folks had on so it was a bad time for a baby to come, but things straightened out after a time. Her grandfather’s store stayed in Huntington and her father opened up a meat and grocery store.

Elaine went to school there. Her best friends were Verna Robbins, Belle Gunderson, Lilas Green and Madaline Grange. She graduated from high school in 1939. She graduated with honors, receiving a block H. She was a member of the girl’s trio, Pep Club and the Mask Club (speech and drama). She was leading lady in the Junior and Senior plays and also for the speech class for those two years. She was rated superior in the region speech meet for Dramatic Reading and Excellent in oration. She also was a member of a ballet dance group that gave several exhibitions. She and her partner, Roland Gardner, did exhibition dancing for the Green and Gold Balls all through the county. The dances were original waltzes and the ones sent out by the state and church.

Elaine was a beautiful girl and was well liked. She had lots of dark hair, eyes that were so brown they were almost black and a fair skin. She was Miss North Emery High and won several other beauty and talent awards.

She graduated from LDS Seminary the same year and gave several short speeches at stake conferences. She was very active in Sunday school and Mutual. She received her patriarchal blessing.

Howard, Myrna’s father, and Elaine, her mother, met at a dance in Emery County. Elaine sang with a trio of girls that night but she also liked dancing. Howard saw her standing on the sidelines and asked her to dance. After that, they had eyes only for each other. Elaine had told her mother, earlier, when she had seen Howard dancing, “That is the man I am going to marry.” That is just what happened.

Elaine loved singing. Howard also enjoyed singing. Elaine sang many times with other girls and after meeting Howard, the two of them sang at various events in Carbon and Emery Counties. Two of their favorite songs were: “When Smoke Gets In Your Eyes,” and “Stardust.” Their voices were compatible and they sounded very good together.

After she married Thomas Howard Pitts, she went to Price to live. Myrna was born the night her father had come down with pneumonia. He was sent to his folk’s home to get better because Elaine was so close to giving birth to Myrna. That night, Elaine had to call her brother-in law, Morgan, to drive her to the hospital in Price. He took her in a dump truck.

Myrna was, basically, a baby when her mother died. Elaine was buried on her mother’s, birthday, Nov. 26. Myrna has lived with her grandmother (her mother’s mother), Vivian Smith, ever since.

(As young as she was, Myrna really missed her mother and would not go to sleep. For days, at bedtime, she would cry and fuss. Finally, in desperation, her Grandmother Smith took her to bed with her and then they both slept. She would not drink from her bottle either and weaned herself to a cup.)

Her father enlisted in World War II and served as a Sea Bee in the Navy in the Pacific islands.

Grandma T. Personal History (Continued from last month)

Dad is upset with me for leaving so much out of my history. I told him I was not writing a book. That is a longer history and is being written. I don’t plan on publishing it but it already numbers more than 20 pages. However, he did think I should mention that I have had a life-long love of learning and that, even when we were “poor as church mice” students at BYU we managed to arrange for me to take a few night classes: one in children’s literature (which our neighbor taught) and other English, journalism

and writing classes. It is something he is proud of. (So why didn’t he put it in his history? Ha, ha.) 

He also wanted me to mention that I have had many positions in the church. I began

teaching Jr. Sunday school when I was 16 years old. I also was the Sr. Sunday School Secretary (a job I hated because of the monthly reports) and was the editor of the ward newsletter. I held that job and the one as teacher until Dad and I, as a married couple, moved from the ward. Since then, I have served in every organization: Primary (as a teacher and as the inservice leader), in Jr. Sunday school as a teacher, in MIA

as the stake speech director, in the Relief Society as a teacher for 25 years and as the president for eight. I am now back in the Primary. Incidentally, all of my R.S. presidency, still in the ward, is now in the Primary with me. Larraine is in the presidency. Dianee and Norma are teachers. Verna lives in California. The next

president, Janet, is the music leader, and her counselors are teachers. Primary must be the place. OK, LHT, enough!

Fun with kids

Kids play. Make organizing and cleaning fun for kids by turning their chores into games. Set a timer for 10 minutes and have your kids put all of their toys away before the timer sounds. Give out small rewards, like stickers, based on the amount of toys they've managed to put away before the timer went off. If you are into rewards for good behavior, the stickers could be pasted on a chart and redeemed for a prize. Another game is 'Organizing Statues.' Put some music on as everyone is cleaning up, but put somebody in charge of turning the music on and off, unexpectedly, at intervals throughout the cleaning session. When the music stops, everyone has to freeze, like a statue, in a funny position-- like with one arm out and one foot in the air. As each person moves, they are eliminated. The last person to stand without moving wins. Then, put the music on again and start over until the project is done.

Buzz’n Joneses

Dear Family,

We hope that your month has gone well. We are doing great here in Nephi. This past month we have had the opportunity to spend time with Braden. Mary and I took him to the Scottish Festival in Payson. We apparently went on the wrong night. It was a bit boring. We also got to go fishing at Ferron Reservoir. It was Jim's and Mary's first time there. They both loved it. Jim, Grandpa, and Braden caught a ton of fish. We will be eating them for a long time. We also got to take Mary to the carnival. It was kind of a bust since the only ride she can go on was the Merry-go-round. I think after a few times

around she was a little bit blue in the face.

For our anniversary, we planned a family outing to the Hogle Zoo. It was a lot of fun. We took a stroller but Mary wouldn't ride in it. She had to walk the whole way. Mary loved the building with the birds and the smaller mammals. The funnest part was showing her the animals in their cages. We would point at them and say, "Look." When she finally!saw them she would smile and yell, "Hi!" We then went to the Lion House Restaurant for lunch. (That is the one by Temple Square, not at the zoo.) Afterwards we went to the Church History Museum. They have a great display about the printing of the Book of Mormon. Another cool feature at the museum is the children's play area. Mary loved the toys they had there, especially the little soapbox cars. It was a lot of fun for her. Unfortunately, we believe it made her sick because two days later she was diagnosed with herpesangina. It is a horrible virus which causes sores in the mouth and throat. She was in pain for quite a few days. But, she has finally kicked it and is back to her normal self.

Our garden is growing well. The!peas are about done and Jim is itching to pull them out and plant some more for the fall. The green beans are just coming on. (We have a hard time keeping Grandpa T. out of them.) The best news for Mary is that the everbearing strawberry plants are reproducing like rabbits. She can count on 3-4 red, ripe strawberries each day. I think it is her favorite time of day. We will go out there and pick the ripe ones. She will take one strawberry, regardless of its size, and put the whole thing in her mouth. Immediately the red juice will begin to run down her chin and drip onto her shirt.! She will smash it around with her gums until it is all gone, and then it's time for the next one. It is quite a sight to see. When she is done, she looks like a little orphan, but she sure is happy.

The bees are doing well. Jim is enjoying his time repairing boxes and frames while the bees do their last bit of honey making for the summer. We hope the break does them both some good.

That is the news from the Land of Nephi.! We hope you are all doing well.

Love,

The Tres Nephites

The Late but Always Great Waites

What a crazy, great month was July!

The Waite family enjoyed all 1600 miles we put on the rental car in Boston, NY, Maine and Canada with the Bolton Clan. We all loved every minute of our time together. The girls already miss Mikaela and playing, playing, playing. We loved the greenery, the scenery, and camaraderie. This was Jared's first trip to the East coast and he took in everything. He's already determined to go back and see the rest of what we didn't get to this time, and I'm all down with that. I enjoyed all that jazz, but you know for me, I'm happy as a lark talking and hanging upside down off of beds to make sure gravity

pulls my wrinkles back the other way (Mel will get that one. ;-)

We got back to Colorado just in time for the nice heat wave to come through. I still don't understand the whole "no air-conditioning because it's cool enough here not to need one" attitude here. What's up with that?!! I think 97-100's are pretty darn hot, even without humidity (and I'm pretty sure you Utah folks would agree with the last couple weeks you've had, as well.) Jared came back and went back to work. He's back to busy season (why is it that everyone wants to get in to see the dentist right before school starts? -- another thing I don't understand. You really can go any time of year as long as it's every six months--other than the whole pulling your kids out of school thing.) I got back to busy season, too: Girl's Camp, personal progress focused activities, swim lessons, baby-sitting, life.! It's been a fun and crazy month.

The best thing about summer is seeing all of our friends and family. Within five weeks time, we've had Todd and family, Jared's family, some friends (and their kids) from Texas, and David and family visit us -- No guilt trips for the rest of you (AnnMarie's the only one with a good excuse). Just kidding. Actually you all will get your chance to be very sick of us, as we will be in Utah starting August 11 and leaving Labor Day. Yes, all you Utah folks will be very fortunate to have the great honor and privilege of having the Waites join and bless your annual Labor Day campout. Don't worry, I'll make sure

to bring some potato salad.

Another great milestone this month was that our baby, Emma, turned two!! She's still a stinker, like always, and no significant changes in attitude with her two-year-old birthday -- Whitney woke up grumpy on her two-year-old birthday, and hasn't changed much since -- the apple doesn't fall far from the tree some would say.

We are very excited to come meet AnnMarie's new little one -- when she comes. And tour and visit the rest of you. Jared will be leaving on the 14th and will fly back in Thursday before Labor Day.

So by the time you're reading this, we will be reading alongside you in Utah (except Mel and Todd, of course, and they'll just have to be jealous of the rest of you).

TTFN,

The Waites

The Magnificent Seven (Almost)

The Howard's have continued to enjoy the summer. Time would not allow for a summer vacation so we have been trying to keep busy around here. We like to go swimming at Seven Peaks and our local pool. We also just made our annual trek to Lagoon. The kids enjoyed tennis lessons again and each have improved a lot over last summer. We go to the movies (of course Mom approved only). They each just completed the summer reading challenge for our library and have kept their brains "alive" through reading each day. We have had fun with cousins from Massachusetts, Ohio, Colorado, Layton, St. George, Nephi and Payson. The kids just had videotaped auditions for another short movie (5 minutes)!to be made for BYU (this is different than the one Matthew auditioned for last month). Even though none of them have had acting lessons, the writer was impressed with the two oldest. And, we are well on our way to completing the Book of Mormon by the end of the year like President Hinckley challenged each family and individual to do.

Brandon is still Bishop and since nothing is happening on that front, we will still be here for many months to come. I am still in the R.S. Presidency even though everyone else was released.

The baby is going to be born on the 16th at 9:30 a.m. at Timpanogos Hospital in Orem. Since they won't give out patient information over the phone anymore (thanks to Congress), we will try to call you as soon as we can, or you may call mine or Brandon's cell phones (801) 735-7437 and (801) 735-7438.

The Butcher, The Baker, and the Mammograph Taker

What to say? Not too much has happened in the last month. The kids are still playing hard. Each week there is improvement in their swimming. 

David did have his birthday. He was able to add to his Magnetix collection as well as spend some money at the dollar store. Who would have known that $5 at the dollar store could make a kid so happy?

Jason is anxious for school to start because he’s “board.” He’s started reading the new Harry Potter book though, so maybe that will hold him off until August 23rd. Jason has continued to help Eric in the basement. He’s also a lot of help for mom.

Madilyn is also anxious to start school. She is ready for first grade, but still talks about her friends at Starbright. I don’t think that she’s realized that they won’t be in the same school as her. We’ve told her that she’ll be going to the same school as the boys, but who knows sometimes what’s going on inside their heads.

What to say about AJ? He is still a delight and still a challenge. The child does what he wants to; everything he wants and only what he wants to. This often gets him into trouble. He is quick to say, “I sorry,” but it doesn’t change the fact that the next time the impulse hits he is gone again. We can be right there, but the kid is fast and has no fear. Two seconds without a parent looking is all he needs. Any ideas?

Eric is still busy trying to figure out the electrical for the basement. We think that he is about done. I think that he will also be happy when it cools off and he doesn’t have to mow the lawn anymore.

Amy’s sinus woes are back and she has to go back under the knife on the 25th. Hopefully they can take care of it for good this time. 

Hopefully we will still be up for camping over Labor Day. Eric’s boss has said he could have the time off.

Boston Baked Boltons

July was an amazing month for the Bolton family. We had some really fun times, some trying times and some aha moments. It has been very hot here, thus we have truly earned the name, Boston Baked Boltons.

Howard left on the 29th of June for a long trip around the world. He arrived home on the 15th of July. It didn't seem like he was gone so long to those of us who were here in America, because we had so much going on, but it seemed much longer to Howard as he did it in the reverse that he normally goes. Howard was in England, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia. He came home tired and glad to sleep in his own bed. He was also missing golf.

Siovhan has been diligent and determined to not let work get her down. She has worked 40-hour workweeks almost as long as she has been home. She has made a new friend in the ward, who calls her to do things, but she always seems to be doing other things and they can't quite connect. She is still following the Red Sox and thinks that Manny is a baby, and no one wants him. Good luck Manny Ramirez. Siovhan had a great time with the Waites here, but she was jealous that we got to go and do things while she was at work. She did come with us to New York, and she saw some friends from our ward while she was there. While in New York, she found out that her best friend from High School, Holly, is engaged to someone Siovhan had introduced her to. Siovhan is in fact counting down the days to when she is back in Utah (as she calls it: "Back Home"). Sixteen days as of this writing, and counting. She is going to have a dental appointment for wisdom teeth issue, but she will have to wait until Christmas for the surgery, which reminds us of Kirsten's fun surgery Christmas present. Siovhan's last day at work is August 5th.

Braden is finally home after spending 24 days of July in Utah. He loved being in Utah and doing all the family things. He fell in love with BYU and wants to be able to attend there when he graduates from High School. He gutted his first fish, ate tons of new things, made a DVD of the pictures that he took in Utah and set them to music, rode a bike around Nephi, stayed up late talking to Grandma, took naps in the afternoon, stayed at a friend's house in Sandy and just chilled. Braden has assumed his roll at home and thinks that he needs to take control of everything when Dad isn't home, because he is the second tallest in the house for now. He has adapted to the time change and seems to be up earlier than he needs to be.

Benjamin was a great help to his mother while Braden was gone. He would do things around the house without even being asked. He was always asking Kirsten if he could help push Ema in the stroller or if he could be with them. Uncle Jared had brought a DVD player to use in the car on the way around New England and New York, and I thought Ben would be the first to volunteer to go in their car, but he didn't want his Mom to be alone, so he went with her and they had a great time talking. Ben helped baby-sit some children who were in the process of moving to Texas, while their mom was packing things in boxes. Ben played with the little ones and they loved him. He also went to Scout Camp at Camp Squanto, near Plymouth, Massachusetts during the hottest week of the year. He had fun testing for his swimming test to take his canoeing class. He then worked on his environmental science merit badge, his archery badge, and his canoeing badge. He tells me to let you know that archery was his favorite. He didn't like the food at camp and existed on cottage cheese and croutons, supplemented with chocolate bars that had melted in his tent, but were still edible, and slushies. He is glad to have Braden home, but is not looking forward to having Siovhan leaving.

Mikaela has been kept busy during the summer break. She loved having Emaree and Whitney here. She thinks Auntie Kirsten is amazing and she liked hearing Uncle Jared laugh. Whitney and Mikaela love the same things and Mikaela loved to hear Auntie Kirsten read stories at night. She wished that we could have all our cousins live closer. She has taken a scrap booking class and gymnastics. Mikaela loves gymnastics and she seems to do well at it. The teachers are encouraging and helpful, which is a great thing when you aren't so sure of a new sport. Mikaela loves the uneven parallel bars and the balance beam. She wasn't so sure that the balance beam was going to be one of her favorites, but she now has the "flamingo" down and can dismount without landing on her bottom. She has had many play dates and has actually played with Benjamin on a few days. She missed Braden and Howard and was constantly asking to call them on the phone. She seems to be more of a socialite than even Siovhan was at that age.

The family went to Mystic Seaport in Connecticut for a Saturday excursion. We go several times a year. This year we learned some fun things about the whaling industry and we even took a steamboat ride down the river to the bridge. It is a beautiful port. We had a great time. We met another LDS family while we were there, we could tell, because the Grandparents had missionary nametags on. It was fun to talk with them and their grandchildren.

I, Melanie, have been very busy getting things done for the children. I have been reading while running, but I don't seem to have any other time for it. I still manage a book every two weeks. I love reading! I finished the Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince book last week, just in time, as Siovhan was just finished reading Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I am still trying to find someone to help me out with my children while I go to Girl's Camp in August. My counselor was going to help me, but she has decided to take a last minute drive across America, with her husband and six children, to California. I also had the great pleasure of having a newborn in my house for almost a week. It was fun to hold the not so little eleven pounder, then hand her over for the feeding and the night times. I held her during the days while her mom slept (her Dad was in New York). 

We are grateful to all those who help our children out. We are grateful for the sacrifices that others made in Braden's behalf. Thank you for your time, your patience, your money and your love.

Ben found some Dumb Blonde Jokes this month that were very amazing. His favorite ones are:

Q: What do you call a Dumb Blonde in an Institute of Higher Learning?

A: A Visitor.

Q: What do you call a Dumb Blonde who dyes her hair brunette?

A: Artificial Intelligence.

(Melanie didn’t expect to see this in the newsletter. It is a thank you from her to Grumpy Gramps LHT and Grumpier Grammy MRT. However, two paragraphs of the six were just too good to keep to ourselves.)

When I was younger, I had the wonderful opportunity to spend time alone with my Grandparents in Kenilworth. I know that it was a good thing for me. I remember specifically the time that I got homesick. I cried because I just wanted to see you (Dad) and Mom. Grandma was a little upset with me for being so sad. Grandpa took me in his arms, comforted me, then told me the best thing to do was to write a letter. He took me over to the forbidden desk, got out some paper, a pencil and some crayons and showed me how to write a letter. He then showed me how to put it in an envelope and address it. He gave me a stamp from the stamp container on the desk and walked with me the whole distance to the post office (I know he could have watched me from the front yard, but he walked with me). We then went in and mailed the letter. After that, it was sweets from Jewkes’ and a swing on the front porch. He was so kind to me. That is the kind of thing that turns the hearts of the children to the fathers.

I wish I had been older before Great Grandma Smith died, as I have very few memories of her, but all my memories are the ones that I remember that she was holding me on her lap, and I felt good when I was with her. Of course, we all remember Grandma and Grandpa Pitts and their stories and the fun times. They were very

young grandparents.

The Fabulous Four

David, Bree, Erin and Donovin went for a visit to Colorado the first week of August. They visited the Hohnstein grandparents in Cañon City. Bree and the kids have been there one time without David when they went for a funeral. Bree’s Dad did come and visit one time but this is the first time in a year and a half that they have seen the Colorado grandparents. Kirsten and family are a 45-minute drive away and they planned on surprising her. They forgot to tell Grammy that it was a surprise and so she had spilled the beans. They still had a nice visit, went out to eat, and went shopping. (David also helped fix the cable for the Waite family). On the way back to St. George, they will stop Erin and Donovin at the Nephi grandparents for a few days’ visit. David has 80-days of unused vacation time and, since the cable had a number of problems (the increased the power of the system but it is more fragile) and since he was tired of being overworked, he decided now was the time for a vacation. They are all planning on being at the Labor Day campout.

David took Erin and Donovin to get their booster shots. Erin needed hers to start school this month. Bree stayed home and packed. She doesn’t like it when the kids cry so she let David do the job. Donovin was brave right up to the time the needle got near to his leg. David kept saying, “Are you sure you want to watch?” Donovin kept saying he did but then the bravery evaporated when the needle went in. Erin was freaking out for days before the appointment came to have the shots. She is looking forward to going to Kindergarten which starts Monday, August 15. She is ready to learn to read and enjoys writing, coloring, and crafts. Donovin will still go to daycare while his mom works. Both kids stay with Grandma Barbara (Erin’s “my Grandma”) after daycare until David or Bree pick them up.

Bree loves her work. She needed a vacation and so did David so they decided to go to Colorado for a few days. Bree is still going to her NA meetings. She has been trying to go to 90 meetings in 90 days. That doesn’t give her a lot of time with her children but David and the kids are bonding.

One night, recently, there was a fire behind the apartment. There have been so many fires because of the high temperatures, the dry vegetation and the dry lightning storms. For days and days the whole area was blanketed with heavy smoke from the many wildfires. On this particular night, David woke Bree up to see the fire that was so close by. She looked but then went back to bed because she had to be up early the next morning for work. “Just wake me up if we are evacuated,” she said. The kids were in bed. It was about 11 or 12 p.m. David and the next-door neighbor stayed up for awhile and watched the fire through binoculars. The fire was fast burning but the firefighters managed to get it under control by morning.

David is busy at work. There have been many cable users who have lost service because of the new system changes and he has been busy reconnecting the lines. That is why he is glad to take a vacation.

The Runnin’ Utes

It’s hard to believe July is over! We had so much fun!! We missed the fireworks and the parade, but we had a great time at the Woodbage/Family Camp at Camp Bartlett in Idaho the week of July 4th. The kids each had their own classes/activities daily—Nursery, Pioneers, Trappers, Mountain Women and Troupers. We did fun things, like hiking, swimming, river rafting, horseback riding, singing, scrapbookking…. We were all so busy, that we didn’t have a lot of time to notice that Shawn was doing his own program. (Shawn was a Bobwhite [a type of quail] – which Shawn is proud of because he considers it a good LNT [Leave No Trace] animal.) The kids had fun and were so busy that they all fell asleep, as soon as they climbed in their bags. In fact, one night Shawn asked Dane what he had done that was fun that day; Dane said one thing and promptly fell to sleep. Shawn fell to sleep also, started snoring, then awoke and asked Dane what else he had done that was fun. When he got no answer, Shawn said, “Oh, I guess he fell asleep” and Shawn went back to sleep also. 

Brigitta went on two overnighters, one hiking and the other horseback riding. (This kind of made up for Girls Camp—since she was sick that week.) She had told Shawn before the camp that she did not want to go because he would be busy and she would never see him anyway. Shawn kind of turned the comment on her after she had been gone for two-and-a-half days, only being glimpsed a few times by anyone in the family.

The camp was well planned, and as Spouses (Troupers) we could be as busy or as free as we wanted to be. I can’t remember the last time I went river rafting—I think it was before college. And I didn’t feel guilty, as the kids all had their own activities and they were having so much fun. Sorina has about five songs she can sing really well. We would all go again.

We had a week break after camp in which Shawn prepared for his camp to Loll, up near Yellowstone, and I took 7 kids to Lagoon by myself on the hottest day of the year. Shawn went to Camp Loll and the kids and I hung out at home and did a few fun things. Toren took swimming lessons, I got to take four kids to the dentist, Dane to the doctor twice, and Brigitta spent time with Alyssa and Grandma and Grandpa Trauntvein. Shawn came home from camp enthusiastic because all four boys that he took stayed all week – of course they were in a cell-phone hole and were also over five hours away, so Shawn wants to take the scouts back to the same camp next year (its kind of an all or nothing decision then.) Dane wanted to take swimming lessons but had a little accident/injury on the first day, so he’s taking lessons in August.

This week has been eventful also. Shawn and the boys wanted to go fishing on the 24th holiday. Kimberly drove and blew the tire on the van. We were also skunked on the fishing, but Lady got to swim in Lost Creek Reservoir, so she had the fun. The boys had fun trying different kinds of lures and baits because nothing was working. Brigitta opted to go to a swim party with a friend, so she missed the trip. Sorina didn’t appreciate fishing much. 

We went to Aunt Helen’s Christmas in July Lunch and noticed how many of our family have moved or are serving in various Church callings. We had a nice visit and appreciate Aunt Helen for this family tradition and all that she does for the family. We also visited friends and got to ride horses later on Saturday (after Aunt Helen’s party.) Shawn was quite impressive on the cutting horse (thanks dear, but you should point out that I was riding in a large corral, and did not get past a fast gallop.) Kimberly and all of the kids also had fun riding the smaller horse (she is about the same height as Little Lou was.) Sorina wanted to play with the horses and ended up in a face plant in the corral when she crawled through the fence, and as mom tried to grab her to curb her enthusiasm. Bless her little heart, Sorina keeps trying to like black licorice, but she just does not like it. But she keeps trying. Oh, and we now have a Dane and a Toren in our family, instead of two Danes; Sorina has finally started calling Toren “Toren” instead of “Dane.” This means, though, that Toren now gets his fair share of the blame. Toren has similarly evolved. Toren used to call our neighbor Mister Gowers, who is constantly in his garage doing bodywork on wrecked cars (to sell), Mister Garagers. But I guess Toren finally figured out that the two names were different, kind of like Mister Screwdriver doesn’t sound quite the same as Mister McGuire. Dane starts football in August and the boys start school on the 15th of August and Brigitta on the 24th of August. Soccer is also looming at the end of August, so our Saturdays are planned for a while. Summer is winding down and it is kind of sad, but we’ve had a great month and look forward to having a wonderful August, as well.

Now, my vote is that you give us a bit of family history on your parents and then whomever and then we can move onto information on your children's spouses!!! By the way, I am keeping all of these newsletters.

We are so glad to have the old Trauntvein family piano. (It is the one Grandpa Henry and Grandma Gladys bought for the aunties to learn on.) We bought it from cousin Linda because she and Mike are moving to a smaller place. Shawn sat down to play “Twinkle, Twinkle” (with one finger) last night with Sorina--one of her favorites. She sang and clapped. Then she wanted him to play “Popcorn on the Apricot Tree.” He was more than a little challenged. So he hit a few keys and she sang happily.We love the piano. Shawn has polished it up nicely. He is asleep and I need to be too. Goodnight. (I understand that it is full of memories--good ones. Enjoy! Love, M)

The Pink Hat Club (Sorina actually believes one of these hats belongs to her Daddy and she tries to get him to wear it often. Kimberly) If you think the picture looks funny, then you should have seen Sorina and Sahwn outside the other day. We were going to walk down to a neighbor’s house, and she put on her hat and brought me the matching one and put it on my head. I wasn't sure about wearing it outside, so I took mine off. Well, she then took hers off too. So I put mine back on and she put hers back on too. Well, I started walking down the street and saw a car coming, so I took mine off (and you know what follows), she took hers off too. Then I just went ahead and put mine on (which she copied) and we wore them the rest of the way down to the neighbor’s house. I did not want to scare the neighbor we were visiting, so we took

off our hats at the door. On the way back home we wore our hats. One other neighbor saw us on our way home (one we don't know well), as they were coming out to get in their car. They did not need to say anything; the looks on their faces said it all. I could not think of much of an explanation, so we just continued on our merry way. About all I can think of that I might have said, which probably wouldn't have helped, is "You see the hat ... I am Mrs. Nesbitt." Unlike Buzz Lightyear, however, I was not in a state of depression and disillusionment.

-Shawn

Oh! Hi! Oh!

Well, here we are at the end of the month and I am actually going to get this in on time for once. Todd said it was my turn to write so I hope don't forget anything important. It was so great to see everyone while we were in Utah last month.! Thank you for making the effort to come to Michael's ordination. It meant a lot to us to have you come. The kids sure enjoyed spending time with their cousins down at Grandma's, camping, July 4th etc. They had a lot of fun and are now missing you all terribly. (Todd & I also.) And maybe that is why we just can't stay away. We will be flying in to Utah on Friday September 23 sometime early afternoon. Tyler's baptism will be on Saturday the 24th at 4:00 pm in Nephi. Tyler asked his Grandpa Trauntvein to baptize him so it will be pretty special to witness. We will also have a light meal immediately following, also at the church, provided the building is available. Please note the time change as my sister and her husband are sealing their baby to them in AF temple in the morning so Todd and I could be there. Also the Women's Conference is in the evening at 6 pm so we will make sure to be done before that time for those who want to attend. We will be in Utah for a little over a week, and will be flying out early Sunday morning.

This summer has gone by so quickly, I can't believe we're already school shopping. The kids and I have gone swimming quit a bit since we've gotten home, because I want to get it out of their systems while I still fit into my swimsuit. They have also been playing a lot with neighbor friends going back and forth between our trampolines, swing sets and sprinklers. We really have so many children in our neighborhood that the kids can always find someone to play with which I like. When we found this house, Todd and I prayed for the kids to find some good friends out here and we have been abundantly blessed. Everyone is so nice and all the kids are great kids.! Michael has even been organizing night games with the older ones around which he used to do in Utah every summer with kids from our ward. Yesterday, Todd and I took the kids to the Columbus Zoo. It was a lot of fun even though the humidity was getting to me a little and I kept making them sit down in the shade with me. They were all being very patient with their poor pregnant mother who isn't tolerating this hot humid stuff too well.

Todd's new position in his company is going very well. He has been quite busy putting a lot of extra hours in getting new projects started up and being given many new responsibilities. His new bosses really appreciate his knowledge and work ethic and I think word is getting around because he was offered a position in Chicago at their headquarters. If it weren't for me, he probably would have accepted since he enjoys the Chicago area and it's a higher position than what got him out here to Ohio. I'm just too pregnant and stubborn to make another move this soon.

We are all very excited and grateful to our Heavenly!Father for sending us our own little miracle this December. Emily just can't stop asking about the baby and making sure I'm feeling good. We took them all to the ultrasound and they got so excited to be able to see the baby before it was even born. I think it made it a lot more real to Tyler and Emily that a new baby is coming to our family. The doctors say everything is looking great and from what they can tell, we are having a little girl although they want to do another ultrasound in another month or so when the baby's a little bigger and more developed to make sure. So tentatively we are thinking girl right now which makes Emily ecstatic.

Michael, Tyler and Emily are all doing well and enjoying what's left of summer. Michael is liking young men's and enjoys having his dad as his scoutmaster. He's been reading a lot and emailing friends from Utah who are keeping in touch with him (even a couple of girls!). Tyler is still finding new friends and keeping our house decorated with his artwork. He has even drafted house plans for his "dream" house when he is a "rich and famous artist" (his words). Emily is still our little social butterfly with more girls calling on her than she can find time for. She can't wait for school to start just so she can see all her girlfriends everyday.

Well, I think this wraps it up for now until next month. We miss you all so much and just know were only a plane ride away for you to come see us. :)! We love reading about everyone and what your all up to. And we also like to get emails and phone calls too.;) 

We love you all!

Todd, Amy, Michael, Tyler, Emily and Baby

The OLD folks at home

I may have survived the summer (Mom) and the constant allergies but I am not certain about Dad. I think the house painting may still be the end of him. He has come up with this terrifying way of painting the front of the house. I cannot help him. It makes me ill to even look at how high up he is. I know I am weak but I comfort myself that only one person will fit on the contraption he has rigged up. He takes Jim’s forklift, hooks a pallet to it, and then hooks the ladder to that with bungee cords. Yipes!!!! The front of the house is about done and I am glad we chose the color we did. It is called almond and almost matches the lighter brick in the array that makes up the house. The trim is cream. We still have some brown because the garage door is brown and the metal around the windows in the great room are also brown.

We had Braden with us for a couple of weeks. He was fun to have around although I teased him about having “teenhimers” which is something like Alzheimer’s but is a passing phase. We did a lot while he was here. We took him to EFY and got him settled in. We bought lunch there. AnnMarie took him to buy ice cream at the BYU Creamery. She also picked him up on Saturday. We then went to the Pitts family reunion in Price, bought ice cream at the “Y”, attended the Ute Stampede (and parades) and the Mormon Handcart Pageant. Did I mention that we bought ice cream at BYU? We went to the 4th of July fireworks and had some of our own, thanks to Todd. We also went to the Spanish Fork parade on the 24th and, along with AnnMarie and family, went to the park there for Navaho tacos. Did I mention that we bought ice cream at the “Y”? We then had a picnic with Joneses and watched “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.” Braden and Jim did the sparkler thing. The fireworks at Mona the night of the 24th were even better than the 4th of July fireworks in Nephi. We were all impressed. We went fishing at Ferron, went to the Manti Temple grounds, the Provo Temple grounds and Salt Lake Temple Square. Gramps and Braden had dinner at Brick Oven. We also ate dinner at our local Mexican Café. We also had visits from cousins, ate too many treats and stayed up too late (well, not Gramps, he doesn’t do late). I am proud to say that I did not gain any weight though I didn’t lose any either. Julie helped Braden learn to make a DVD of all his photos which he set to music and 

The Pitts reunion was shy just one living brother, Uncle Morgan. Aunt Pat was there, as were Bob and Dad Howard. Of course, Aunt Bea and Uncle Ken are both dead. Uncle Morgan was not able to be there. (Just so you know, Aunt Pat says that I would not go to sleep unless I held on to someone’s neck. They then had to talk the whole time. If they stopped talking, I would open my eyes and then the process would have to start all over. She thinks I liked to feel the vibrations of the talking. She said she used to get tired of talking. I don’t know if I believe that. She is, after all, a Pitts by birth. As far as I can tell, all Pitts folk like to talk.)

LHT and MT went to “The Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square Present A Celebration of Life!” We could not take Braden because we already had tickets, supplied by Auntie Helen, before we knew what days he would be with us. He was visiting a friend in Sandy so we just picked him up afterward. It was a thrill to be at the event billed as “an evening of music and spoken word to honor President Gordon B. Hinckley, President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, on the occasion of his 95th birthday.” We went to the dress rehearsal so Gladys Knight was not there but another girl, blond, sang in her place. She was quite wonderful. Donny, good sport that he is, took the stage to sing “Danny Boy,” in place of the opera star who could not be there.

We have enjoyed visits from many of the family members and have had quite a bit of fun. We are looking forward to visits from the Waites and from Erin and Donovin. We have a wonderful daycare going and, according to AnnMarie, the attorney, it is legal. One sad note: The garden looks terrible! Dad was down at the wrong time of the year to do any weeding and I couldn’t keep up on my own. Jim and Julie devoted some time to the project but we have all decided it is a loosing proposition. We do have a few pumpkins growing amid the weeds so they must be hardy. The apricots are now all jam. That means summer is nearly gone. One day, while we were jamming, I dropped a jar (hot) as I was putting the lid on and had to clean up and Dad, the same day, dropped a pan of paint and had to clean up. Now you can call us the cleaner-uppers. 

We hope to have a final visit from some of you before school starts.

Happenings

Remember the Labor Day (weekend) campout. We are looking forward to it and can hardly wait to spend time together. (Anybody have any fun ideas?)

Grandpa Pitts has his test to determine whether he has lung cancer or not on Sept. 8 at 4:30 p.m. in Provo at the Doctor’s Plaza. Uncle Bob is driving him to the appointment and is going in with him.

Time for a laugh

Another of my priceless (blond) moments...Last year I replaced all the windows in my house with those expensive, double-pane, energy efficient windows. But this week, I got a call from the contractor complaining that his work had been completed a whole year and I had yet to pay for them. Boy, oh boy, did we go around! Just because I'm blonde doesn't mean that I am automatically stupid. So, I proceeded to tell him just what his fast-talking sales guy had told me last year... that in one year the windows would pay for themselves. There was silence on the other end of the line, so I just hung up, and he hasn't called back. Guess he felt really stupid, huh???

A stingy old lawyer who had been diagnosed with a terminal illness was determined to prove wrong the saying; "You can’t take it with you." After much thought and consideration, the old ambulance chaser finally figured out how to take at least some of his money with him when he died. He instructed his wife to go to the bank and withdraw enough money to fill two pillowcases. He then directed her to take the bags of money to the attic and leave them directly above his bed.

His plan: When he passed away, he would reach out and grab the bags on his way to heaven. Several weeks after the funeral, the deceased lawyer’s wife, up in the attic cleaning came upon the two forgotten pillowcases stuffed with cash. "Oh, that darned old fool," she exclaimed. "I knew he should have had me put the money in

the basement."

Read the Book of Mormon

In a July 25, 2005, letter read to all congregations: The First Presidency invited members to read the Book of Mormon by 2006. President Hinckley suggests that members could read or reread the book by the end of the year if they read just slightly more than one and one-half chapters per day. "We live in a day of rationalization; people want to discount spiritual experiences, and they deny themselves revelation. What happened to the seeking mind, the open mind, the inquiring mind—one seeking to know truth and knowledge? We tend to rely on our own rational powers. The Lord wants us to be sensitive to the Spirit."--Elder Ronald T. Halverson

Grandma's County Style Snap Beans

Country Style Snaps (Grandma Smith made these when the green beans were ready for picking. Great Grandma Pitts also made them.)

Break green beans into short pieces and wash thoroughly. You will need four quarts of beans. Place in a Dutch oven and cover with cold water; add salt to taste and a pinch of sugar. In a separate pan, cook 1/4-onion in a little butter until golden. Add cooked onion to bean pan. Cook bean mixture with a small hunk of salt pork, bacon or ham until the beans are done. Serve with warm bread and butter. A small amount of garlic can be added while cooking, if desired. (Manti Temple cafeteria workers still make these.)

Recipe of the Month--Alyssa’s Fudgy Bonbons

1 package (12-ounce or 2 cups) semisweet

chocolate chips

1/4-cup butter or margarine

1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated)

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup finely chopped nuts, if desired

1-teaspoon vanilla

60 milk chocolate candy kisses, unwrapped

2-ounces white baking bar or vanilla chips

1 teaspoon shortening or cooking oil

Preheat oven to 350. In medium saucepan, combine chocolate chips and butter; cook and stir over very low heat until chips are melted and smooth. Add sweetened condensed milk; mix well. Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup; level off. In medium bowl, combine flour, nuts, chocolate mixture and vanilla; mix well. Shape one tablespoon (use measuring spoon) of dough around each candy kiss, covering completely. Place one inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 6 minutes. Cookies will be soft and appear shiny but become firm as they cool. Do not over bake. Remove from cookie sheets; cool. In small saucepan, combine white baking bar and shortening; cook and stir over low heat until melted and smooth. Drizzle over cookies. Store in tightly covered container. Options: caramel filled kisses and mint flavored kisses may also be used. May top with mint chips instead of white chocolate. May melt white chocolate in a Ziploc bag, cut off one corner to drizzle the chocolate over the cookies.

As Busy As a Bee.

*Bees produce honey by gathering nectar from flowers with their long tongues and storing it in honey stomachs.

*When the honey stomach is full, a bee will return to the hive and regurgitate the nectar into an empty cell in the hive.

*Worker bees then add certain enzymes to the nectar, and as the water evaporates, it becomes honey.

• A typical beehive contains one queen bee, a few drones and thousands of worker bees. The queen is the female bee that lays the eggs. Workers are unmated female offspring; drones are male offspring.

• During the mating flight, several drones will deposit as many as 90 million sperm in the queen's oviducts. The queen then stores and uses the sperm when laying eggs. She determines the gender of her offspring by deciding which eggs will be fertilized.

• Bees build a honeycomb — a mass of six-sided cells made of wax — at the center of the hive.

• A queen can lay as many as 1,500 eggs during a 24-hour period.

• The honeycomb is used to raise young bees and to store food. The center of the comb, known as the brood nest, is where eggs and developing bees are kept. Honey and nectar are stored in cells around the brood nest.

• When a hive becomes overcrowded, the queen's egg-laying ability diminishes and worker bees build cells for new queens.

• The old queen and many of the workers will leave the hive as a swarm, leaving some workers behind to care for the new queens and larvae. The swarm will cluster around a post or a branch while scouts look for a suitable location for a new colony. Beekeepers will try to provide that location with an empty hive.

• Bees in each hive have their own special odor. Guard bees are stationed at the door of the hive to prevent bees from other hives from entering. Bees also alert other workers in the hive to good locations for gathering nectar by doing a type of "dance" that indicates the direction and the distance.

• Modern beehives are wooden boxes that contain removable, drawer-like sections that hang 3/8-inch apart. Bees can pass through the sections to all parts of the hive, and sections can be moved around as they get filled with honey.

• A typical colony can include up to 60,000 bees. Bees protect themselves by stinging their foes.

*A sting can be life-threatening to people who are allergic to bee venom.

*The venom sac pumps a mixture of melittin, histamine and other enzymes to the stinger. As the stinger pierces the skin of a person or animal, the pump goes to work. A barb anchors the stinger in the victim's body, and as the bee

pulls away, the bee leaves the stinger and venom sac behind. The abdominal rupture this causes, kills the bee. When bees sting other insects, such as a honey plundering moth, the stinger pulls through the insect's body and remains intact. Thus, the sting is not fatal to the bee. The first beekeepers used hollow logs, pots or upside-down baskets as their hives. European farmers began building straw "skeps" that looked like upside-down baskets, and that is the origin of the beehive symbol we know today.

Honey history facts:

• Fossilized bees as much as 80 million years old have been found trapped in amber.

• Honey has been used and appreciated since ancient times. The ancient Egyptians are believed to have used honey in embalming.

• The Bibles promises the Israelites a land "flowing with milk and honey."

• A jar of honey on the table was once considered a status symbol and a sign of great wealth.

• Researchers say honey-producing bees originated in Africa. In 1848, the beehive was chosen as the temporary emblem for the State of Deseret. In 1959, Utah officially declared the beehive as its state emblem because it symbolized industry, Utah's Motto.

More About Smith History

I (Donnette Smith) recently saw this notice on the Oxford list. "There was no automatic right to a [military] pension just for service, disabilities allowed you to claim one."

I suddenly remembered that your ancestor, Thomas Carr, had a pension and lost it for moving into France, and then had quite a time getting it again. I looked in the records and found I didn't put the reason he got a pension into his biography.

Norma Bean Tanner wrote 7 Nov 1963: "My father said that his Grandfather Carr was injured in an accident on a boat while in the English navy. He lost a finger when lowering an anchor. He was drawing a Hospital pension from Greenwich Hospital. When he moved to the Islands [and then to France] he lost his pension and was a long time getting it back. While he was waiting for his pension he went to work as a merchant seaman."

Interesting.

Howard Shearring in England is still keeping me interested in William Bean and his sister, Sarah Bean Shearring. I sent him my notes of early LDS British Branch membership records which show their address and ages at baptism. As their mother died in 1850, a year after they were baptized, Sarah went to live with "an aunt". And later she married Howard Shearring in 1861 in Bermondsey. Howard had been trying to figure out when and how the two met. He had thought she had lived in Poplar in the Isle of Dogs which is a loop of the Thames River until her marriage. The LDS church records show how they moved around in the next year after the mother died. I had checked an index to those records years ago but now have ordered a film of the original records to see if I can pinpoint where Sarah was. 

We never have figured out who raised her. But there are a couple of records I have which say: Minnie Margett's File: a card index of the early British LDS church membership records: 

1.Sarah Bean - bap 13 Aug 1849 by Z. Derrich, Poplar, London Conf., British Mission, Age 9, res. Poplar Book 458 pg 687 line 126

2.Sarah Bean - Branch Walworth, London Conf., British Mission [no date on this]

Single - resident Smith Buildings Book 425 pg 283 line 81

3.Sarah Bean [the daughter]- Branch, Isle of Dogs, London Conference, British Mission Rec. From Poplar Feb 21, 1850 Bk 458 line 365 line 9

4.Sarah Bean - Limehouse, London Conf., British Mission Single Received from Poplar Feb 21, 1850 Removed to Bermondsey Nov 8, 1852 Bk 425 pg 161 line 4

I had no clue where Walworth was or anything about the Smith Buildings. I saw Sarah's records were sent to Bermondsey in 1852. I don't know whom she lived with. I would love to go through the 1851 census to see if I can see her. But that isn't indexed or online.

Howard said: "Walworth is south of the Thames, about a mile south-west of Bermondsey and Shearing Territory. Check the biography [of the Mayor, Sarah's son] and you will see that her son, Patrick Henry was born at Smith's Buildings, Bermondsey in1861 so she could have been very close to Henry Shearing about a decade earlier than thought. There could be more than one Smith Buildings but it is too much of a coincidence to ignore."

The next day he wrote: "In 1861 there were 4 such buildings of which we can safely ignore one. This leaves the Bermondsey one; another at St Olave Southwark which I think we can ignore and then 1 at Camberwell. Now I would not accept Camberwell is Walworth BUT it is right next door to it so remains a possibility. I think you will find these places on the photocopied map I sent you with the biog....they are all very close to one another (by US standards they are on top of each other)"

Howard

I also asked Howard how you pronounce "Bermondsey". He said all three syllables have equal stress and sometimes the D is left unspoken. 

So. Howard is still interested in keeping in touch with me in spite of the LDS connections. He sent me a copy of his great-grandfather's biography which he wrote, William Shearring son of Sarah Bean Shearring, but is revising it and he says he will send me a new copy about Christmas time. He has given me permission to give the family copies. In the meantime I'm trying to help him get details corrected and he is really helping me know more about that family.

If you have forgotten about this story - here it is again. If you want to see the picture of the Mayor and his family look at the CD of the Beans I gave you. There are two pictures of Sarah Bean Shearring with the early British pictures. Also the one of the Mayor is under the group: Are these Beans? as the family group picture. Those of you who haven't received the Bean CD yet, let me know and I'll try to get you a copy at Christmas when I can put Howard's biography of

the Mayor on it, too.

Cynthia is a little confused about the correspondence I have been having with Howard Shearring. I will try to explain it a little better for everyone.

Richard’s great grandfather (and Raymond James Smith’s), William Bean was born in 1834 in the outskirts of London. His father died in 1846 after suffering TB for at least 3 years. In 1848 William’s mother joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, then the next year William and his sister Sarah (age 9) were baptized. The next year, 1850, the mother died, also of TB, leaving William and Sarah and their little 5-year old brother as orphans. William took little Alfred on his back, across London to live with his grandfather. Little Alfred died of TB three years later. His grandfather was so against William being active in the LDS Church he made him leave the home. So, at age 16, William had to go out and work and rent a room. He later married an LDS woman, Elizabeth Carr. They had to stay in England to care for her father, Thomas Carr, as Thomas had to stay in England to keep receiving his pension from the British Government for having been in the navy. The Bean family finally sailed to America and came to Utah in 1877 after Thomas Carr died.

When she was orphaned, the sister, Sarah Bean, went to live with an aunt, we are told, and didn’t have any more contact with the LDS Church. She married Henry Shearring in 1861. Sarah kept in touch with her brother, William Bean, and wrote to him and his children until her death in 1924. William Bean’s son, George Bean, had about five letters that came from Sarah Bean Shearring during World War I. I have a transcription of them and sent a copy to Howard who was excited to receive them. He said that Sarah must have dictated the letters, as she was illiterate.

In those letters Sarah told William’s family about her children and grandchildren, many of whom were fighting in the war. Her eldest child was William Shearring who became the Mayor of Bermondsey. This last winter Stuart helped me find Sarah and some of her children and grandchildren in the British 1891 and 1901

census.

When we were looking at the census, I got wondering about William Shearring being mayor, and posted a query on a genealogical list. I received word from an archivist there, that William Shearring had been Mayor in 1917-18. Now, several months later, Howard Shearring of Kent, England, found my query on Google and wrote to me. He is writing a biography of his great grandfather, the Mayor, William Shearring, and is going to send me a copy. Howard told me that most of his family pictures were lost during WWII. When I sent him a copy of a picture of his great-great grandmother, Sarah Bean Shearring taken about 1900, he was overjoyed. And when I sent a copy of a picture of a family I was only guessing at, (because the picture was with the Bean pictures and there were the parents, one son and six daughters taken about 1905) he was stunned as he recognized the father of the group as the Mayor, William Shearring. Just looking at it at work where his computer is, he was guessing that the young man and woman in the back were his grandfather (he hadn’t had a picture of him taken before 1950) and the grandfather’s wife, Matilda. But after Iaking the picture home and looking at his records and thinking about the ages of the children, he decided that as his grandfather wasn’t married until 1908, it had to be just the Mayor and his wife and seven children. (As William wasn’t the mayor yet in 1904, Howard called him “The Future Mayor”.)

I hope that clarifies the story. It is pretty interesting!!! It is super exciting to me that Howard recognized that picture which we inherited from Grandpa Herbert W. Smith. I am praying I can say the right things to Howard so he won’t be shocked about having Mormons in the family. I hope this can soften his heart toward the church. I also hope Howard can fill in for me more of the names, dates and places of descendants of Sarah Bean Shearring.

Donnette Smith