Friday, February 28, 2014

Lewis House Fires

The Siney Sr and Elizabeth C Lewis household had the misfortune of suffering through more than one house fire.  The post covers their life history in that context.


The following is an excerpt from the Life History of Mary (Lewis) Hatch (written by herself, and found in the personal albums of Glen Hatch) regarding one of the house fires they experienced:

"...Another disastrous thing that came to us when I was a child was our home being destroyed by fire.  Houses in those days were more or less fire traps- logs with factory stretched over them.  All homes were about the same then, to freshen and clean them, the factory was whitewashed occasionally.  This would cause the factory on the ceiling to bag down with the weight of the whitewash on it.  If we could go into a house like that now, we would never forget it.  As soon as material became available, Mother started to persuade Father to lathe and plaster the house, but like all men, he’d say, “I can’t see anything wrong with it.”
Every morning, Father would get up early, make a big fire in the kitchen stove, then go out to do his other chores.  We children were in the front of the house dressing.  I could smell smoke.  I looked out a little south window and could see the smoke coming out of the crack over the door.  I screamed, “The house is on fire.” I ran to the door leading into the kitchen, threw it open, and the flames darted at me like a great red tongue.  We were all out of there in less than two minutes.
Children don’t suffer too much from events like that and it’s a good thing.  It’s the parents.  I stayed at Nonie’s, Mother and Father went down to Siney’s until the house could be rebuilt.  To have to start from the bottom- no dishes, no dishtowels or sheets or towels, no cooking utensils and, worst of all, no money to buy more.  The poverty and hardships people went through!..."


Newspaper article: 
SOURCE: Vernal Express 1906, Nov 10, p.1
Newspaper article:
CRUEL FLAMES!
LEWIS FAMILY LEFT HOMELESS AGAIN.
For the Third Time Within Two Years, Fire Destroys Belongings of Siney Lewis.
For the third time in the brief period of two years Siney Lewis has been burned out.
The conflagration occurred Thursday night, or more correctly speaking, very early Friday morning.  The cause of the fire was undoubtedly a few pieces of kindling wood, placed on the kitchen stove to dry.  The heat form the range it is thought, ignited these, from them fire was communicated to the floor, the flames making great headway before the inmates of the house awakened.
Every possible effort was made to save the contents of the house and extinguish the flames, but without success, so far as the latter part of the proposition was concerned, as the building was totally destroyed.  Most of the contents of the front part of the house were removed but those of the kitchen were entirely lost.
Two of the children were almost suffocated and had a narrow escape.  This is the third heavy loss Mr. Lewis has suffered from fire.  The first fire occurred two years ago, when the steam thresher set his stack afire, causing the loss of all his hay, grain, stables, stackyards etc, later on his house with all his household effects were totally destroyed by fire and now comes this fire, for the second time rendering the family homeless.  The house had just received the finishing touches and the family confidently expected to enjoy their home this winter.  It is needless to say the family are justly entitled to substantial public sympathy.
*Spelling and punctuation corrected wherein I was aware.

Newspaper follow-up:
SOURCE: Vernal Express 1906, Nov 24, p.3
Newspaper follow-up transcribed:
Siney Lewis wishes to thank those who came to the assistance of his family, and have made it possible for them to build another house this winter.

Newspaper follow-up, II:
SOURCE: Vernal Express 1907, Jan 5, p.1
Newspaper follow-up, II, transcribed:
The county commissioners have appropriated 1,000 feet of lumber to assist Siney Lewis in the erection of a new home.


From the "History of Charley Lewis" (recorded by Charles Lewis himself to his daughter Lenore in 1975 who transcribed the document found in the personal albums of Patty Stewart) we have this account:
"... The first fire we had I was about 8 or 9 years old.  I was sleeping on the floor right next to Frank.  He was on a cot.  In the night I heard something popping and sounding like a fire burning and it woke me up.  As I looked into the other room, into the kitchen, I could see the fire just coming up over the edge of the door.
 It scared me so that I woke Frank up right then.  He woke the rest of the family.  We started getting things out of the house as fast as we could and one of the neighbors came over, but the house was so engulfed in smoke and fire that we didn’t get very much out of the house.
 It started by Mother putting some kindling on the back of the stove to dry it so it would be dried by morning.  There was enough fire in the stove that it ignited the wood and that caused the fire.  It burned the house down.  That was the first fire.
 ... The second fire they got the framework all up and [were] getting along there pretty well with it and the ceiling on the top there.  They had run the chimney right up [through] the house and got it too close to the wood.  That was the second fire.  It ignited right from the top of the house.  In a little while, the whole house was in flames.  I remember that Joe Carroll was one of the big helpers.  He had done a lot of the work and contributed some of the material.  He was Annie’s first husband...
 That was in the wintertime.  We had kind of dug out a big cellar at the back of the house that we used to keep our fruit and stuff in, and we had to use that a lot there for some of our living.  Siney had just got married and was living down [through] the fields and had built a house there [for] he and Lena.  We used to go down there to live quite a little bit, until our house was so that we could live in that.  Some of us slept in that cellar.  I remember distinctly when we were living down there we’d milk the cows up in the corral then take the milk down to Siney’s and separate it. I wasn’t big enough to carry the milk bucket so it would just slide along on the snow as I was carrying it along...."

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Nelson Jr & Keturah with group of youth photo

The following is a photo of what appears to be a youth group convened on the property of Nelson Jr and Keturah's home in Vernal, UT.
Most of these are unfortunately unidentified, but it appears to be dated around 1909, based on costume clues and ages of those identified.
Youth gathering at Merkley homestead
From the personal albums of David Ahrnsbrak
Those that I CAN identify belong to the Merkley family, off on the far right by the tree, and social butterfly Erza Merkley in the very center back row where the white sheet drapes down to the right.

Here's a zoomed in version of those that I can identify:
From the personal albums of David Ahrnsbrak
BACK: Nelson Merkley Jr
Mary Merkley just in front of him with Keturah Merkley between her and the tree
Margret Merkley in front of them with Asher Merkley next to her and leaning against the tree.

And this is a shot in the dark, but I'd say that fellow directly in front of Margret Merkley with the hat on looks an awful lot like Franklin Lewis, Asher's future brother-in-law.  I might be wrong, but then again he did live in the area and was a youth at that time, comparable in age to Asher's older brother, Ezra.

Friday, February 21, 2014

Death info on Linn McClelland

Horatio Linn McClelland was one of Birda's brother-in-laws.
He married Birda's older sister, Georgia.

There is no available photo of Linn McClelland at this time.  :(
I know, it makes me sad too.

According to this document, the following dates apply:
BIRTH: 8 Jul 1889- Cascade, El Paso, Colorado
DEATH: 25 Sept 1967- Grand Junction, Mesa, Colorado
He was 78 years old when he died.

Death notice:
SOURCE: Vernal Express 1967, Oct 5, p. 17
Death notice transcribed:
Ex-Resident Dies in Grand Junction, Colo.
Linn McClelland died at St. Mary's hospital in Grand Junction, Colorado where he had been a patient since September 5.  Funeral services were held from the Sowder Funeral Home in Rifle, Friday morning at 11:00 a.m. with the Rev. Otto B. Duckworth officiating.  Burial was in the Rose Hill Cemetery.
Horatio Linn McClelland, the son of Taylor and Margaret Jackson McClelland was born on July 8, 1889 at Cascade, Colorado and died September 25, 1967 at Grand Junction, Colorado at the age of 78.
Mr. McClelland's parents moved to Vernal when he was a small boy and there he grew to manhood.  He was united in marriage with Georgia Lewis in 1909 at Vernal.  Mr. and Mrs. McClelland made their home in various communities in Utah, including Vernal, Sunnyside and Price prior to their moving to California in 1925.  Mr. McClelland made his home in San Francisco until 1936 when he returned to Colorado where he lived in Rangely, Meeker and Rifle communities.  Mr. McClelland was a sheep rancher by profession.
Survivors include a son, Gordon T. McClelland of San Mateo, California and a daughter, Mrs. Harold Roll of Oakland, California, two grandchildren and other relatives.
* Spelling and punctuation adjusted wherein I was aware.

Because Linn died in the last 50 years, his death certificate will not become publicly available until around the year 2017... if that.  I'm not sure how publicly available death certificates are from Colorado archives, but if I can get ahold of a copy in due time, I will post it here.

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Death info on Joseph H Carroll

Joseph Hyrum Carroll was one of Birda's brother-in-laws.
He was the first husband to Birda's older sister, Annie Elizabeth Lewis.
Joseph Hyrum Carroll
From the personal albums of Howard Carroll
According to these documents the following dates apply:
BIRTH: 4 Jun 1976- Heber, Wasatch, Utah
DEATH: 13 Sept 1934- Arlington, Riverside, California
He was 58 years old when he died.

Death notice:
SOURCE: Vernal Express 1934, Sept 20, p.1
Death notice transcribed:
Valley's First Threshing Machine Operator Dies At Home in California
Word was received by DeVere Carroll on September 13 of the serious illness of his father Joseph H. Carroll at Riverside, Calif.  The family left immediately but death occurred before they arrived.  Funeral services were held at Riverside under the direction of the LDS church.
Joseph H. Carroll was born June 4, 1873 at Heber City.  He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Carroll.  He came to Ashley Valley as a boy and lived here until 1922 when he moved to California, where he has since lived.  He was married to Annie E. Lewis at Vernal.  As a resident of the Maeser ward he operated one of the first threshing machines in the valley and was well known among the people here.
Death occurred rather sudden on Thursday, September 13 in a hospital at Riverside.  He had been under the doctor's care since 1931 but not seriously ill.
Surviving are a daughter, Mrs. Afton Birch of Roosevelt and the following sons: DeVere, Darrell, Veldon and Norman Carroll, all of Vernal.  All of the survivors were in attendance at the funeral services at Riverside.
*Punctuation added wherein I was aware.

Death Certificate:
Found in the personal albums of Howard Carroll

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Family Summary- Nelson Merkley Jr & Keturah Thurman Peterson

The following is a brief summary for the family union of:
Nelson Merkley Jr.
and
Keturah Thurman Peterson

Nelson Merkley Jr.
b. 24 Mar 1857- Carson Valley, Nevada, to Nelson Merkley Sr and Sarah Jane Sanders Merkley
d. 18 Apr 1924- Vernal, Uintah, Utah

Keturah "Kate" Thurman Peterson
b. 8 Oct 1867- Hart Co, Kentucky, to Mary Elizabeth Thurman (and adopted by Peter Peterson)*
d. 2 May 1950- Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah

Nelson Merkley Jr. married "Kate" Peterson on 9 Jun 1884 in Vernal, Uintah, Utah (later solemnized in the Logan temple in Logan, Cache, Utah in 1889)*


Born to this union were the following:

Ellis Merkley
b. 2 May 1885- Vernal, Uintah, Utah
m. 17 Jun 1908- Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah to Jean Eleanor Gerber
d. 22 Mar 1976- Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah

Ezra Thurman Merkley
b. 23 Sept 1887- Vernal, Uintah, Utah
m. 15 Nov 1913- Vernal, Uintah, Utah to Alice Hacking
d. 18 Jan 1919- Vernal, Uintah, Utah

Helen Merkley
b. 9 Apr 1890- Vernal, Uintah, Utah
m. 29 Jun 1910- Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah to Byron Owen Colton
d. 22 Oct 1961- Roosevelt, Duchesne, Utah

Milton Merkley
b. 30 Apr 1893- ASSUMED Vernal, Uintah, Utah*
d. 9 May 1893- ASSUMED Vernal, Uintah, Utah*

Sarah Merkley
b. 20 Apr 1894- ASSUMED Vernal, Uintah, Utah*
d. 30 Apr 1894- ASSUMED Vernal, Uintah, Utah*

Mary Elizabeth Merkley
b. 25 Aug 1896- Vernal, Uintah, Utah
m. 6 Sept 1917- Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah to Isabrand Sander Jr.
d. 24 Oct 1974- Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah

Asher Merkley
b. 19 Jul 1899- Vernal, Uintah, Utah
m. 2 Aug 1920- Vernal, Uintah, Utah to Birda Lewis
d. 14 Feb 1974- Vernal, Uintah, Utah

Margaret Jane Merkley
b. 14 Apr 1902- Vernal, Uintah, Utah
m. 28 Apr 1927- Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah to Rulon Kershaw Hansen
d. 13 Mar 1989- Monroeville City, Allegheny, Pennsylvania (buried in SLC, UT)

Kate Merkley
b. 27 Nov 1907- Vernal, Uintah, Utah
d. 27 Nov 1907- Vernal, Uintah, Utah (stillborn)

Nelson Merkley Jr and Kate P Merkley family
Asher, Margret, Ezra, Mary, Nelson Jr, Kate, Ellis, Helen
From the personal albums of Lois Chatfield
Confirming documents for dates and places on all of these family members can be found within the posts on this blog.

*Visual copies of documentation for these life events have not yet been found.  Dates are based on family histories, newspaper clippings (such as obituaries), and database searches on familysearch.org that all seem to agree on or refer to the same dates and locations.

Monday, February 3, 2014

Asher's seldom-mentioned siblings

Asher's parents, Nelson Merkley Jr and Keturah Peterson Merkley, were the parents to a total of nine children, only six of whom lived to adulthood.  Family records indicate names and dates of these additional children who did not live much more than a week, but other than family recollection there are not many legal records acknowledging their existence.

The following are the names and dates as recorded in a family group sheet done by their surviving sibling, Mary Elizabeth Merkley Sanders, a copy of which was found in the personal albums of Doug Merkley (and scanned therefrom):

Milton Merkley (male)
BIRTH: 30 Apr 1893- Vernal, Uintah, Utah
DEATH: 9 May 1893- ASSUMED Vernal, Uintah, Utah

Sarah Merkley (female)
BIRTH: 30 Apr 1894- Vernal, Uintah, Utah
DEATH: 30 Apr 1894- ASSUMED Vernal, Uintah, Utah

Kate Merkley (female)
BIRTH: 27 Nov 1906- Vernal, Uintah, Utah
DEATH: 27 Nov 1906- ASSUMED Vernal, Uintah, Utah

BUT, there are some questions here.
This family record also shows Milton and Sarah as being born on the SAME EXACT DAY one year apart.  The odds of that are highly unlikely, so are they ballpark dates?  Typos?  Death certificates weren't too common in Utah until around 1904, so this leaves us with a bit of a mystery...

An additional family record found in the personal albums of Sarah Nielsen (a descendant of Helen Merkley Colton- another surviving sibling of those in question) had these dates recorded in a written history on the life of Keturah P Merkley:
"... After Helen, born to them was Milton, 30 Apr 1893.  He died on 9 May 1893, two weeks later.  The next year, 20 April 1894, was born Sarah.  She died 30 Apr 1894, ten days later... Kate was born 29 Nov 1907 and died 27 Nov 1909..."

See how the dates from both records don't quite match?  Some coincide, others seem a bit off.  Typos would be my guess, but it's enough to throw research off if you're drawing from only ONE source, instead of multiples to cross reference everything.

The only information we have for sure for any of these children is found in the following death certificate of "Stillborn Merkley", which corresponds close enough with the information provided for Kate Merkley.

"Stillborn Merkley" i.e. Kate Merkley death certificate:
SOURCE: familysearch.org
In a most helpful manner, it indicates that the following is the most legitimate information for Kate is as follows:
 Kate Merkley
BIRTH: 27 Nov 1907- Vernal, Uintah, Utah
DEATH: 27 Nov, 1907- Vernal, Uintah, Utah

Another helpful clue in at least acknowledging the existence of Milton and Sarah can be found in the 1900 U.S. Census that lists Nelson and Keturah's family in the Vernal area.  Upon close inspection, questionnaire column #11 indicates the number of the mother's children as "7" and in column #12 the number of children living is indicated as "5".  Thus before 1900, two additional children were present but did not live very long.  They're not indicated by NAME, but it's close enough to me to make an educated conclusion that these represent Milton and Sarah.

1900 Census:
SOURCE: familysearch.org
And following up with that, we have the 1910 U.S. census that follows the same pattern.  Column #10 indicates that the number of children born was 9, and Column #11 indicates that the number now living is 6.  They are all thus accounted for, at least in number.

1910 Census:
SOURCE: familysearch.org