Keturah's quilt

The following photos are of an inherited quilt with a history to it.

Apparently, this quilt came across the plains with Keturah Thurman Peterson as a young girl.  Her daughter, Mary M Sander, took this quilt off of Keturah's bed after she passed away and passed it down her family line.  Upon last inquiry, this quilt was in the possession of J. Haugosen.

Pretty, isn't it?

More Diamond Mountain photos

The following are additional photos of the Diamond Mountain homestead I have not yet posted.

1926- Diamond Mountain Homestead
Isabrand Sander, Margret M Hanson, Asher, Mary M Sander, Birda holding son,
FRONT Virginia Merkley looking at her mother
From the personal albums of David Ahrnsbrak

Asher and Ray/Roy Merkley, 1929
Diamond Mountain and dog, Six
From the personal albums of David Ahrnsbrak

1931- Buffie Hatch and Virginia Merkley on Calico
up at Diamond Mountain.
From the personal albums of Tamera Lund

"Asher on the way with sheep to Diamond Mountain,
May 22, 1936"
From the personal albums of David Ahrnsbrak

Asher with nieces and nephews at Diamond Mountain
(Aird Merkley is recognized on far right)
From the personal albums of Tamera Lund

Homesteading on Diamond Mountain
Sander girls in photo
From the personal albums of Shannon Andersen

"Keturah's Diamond Mountain Cabin"
(Likely grown Sanders girls and Virginia M Hacking, 2nd from right)
From the personal albums of Tamera Lund

Merkley Mother's Day photo

"Mother's Day, 1918"
Keturah, Helen, Margret, Mary kneeling

Grandmother Merkley's home

Keturah Merkley was Asher's mother.

The following are photos of her home in later years and the surrounding garden, which many of her grandchildren speak fondly of.

The following excerpt comes from the history of Keturah P Merkley, a written document found in the personal albums of Sarah Nielsen (written by Sarah Nielsen):

"... Nelson died April 18, 1924, in the old home in Ashley Valley.  In a year or two Kate and Ellen moved into town (Vernal) to a home Kate had had built.  They lived there until 1940 when they moved to Heber..."

The following excerpt comes from the written document, "Memories of Birda L Merkley" (p2) written by Bryce Merkley and found in the personal albums of Bryce Merkley, regarding the building of this home:

"... Upon Nelson Jr.'s death, Keturah continued living in her home for a while.  Asher had decided to build a new home for Birda.  They had chosen a location at about 1000 West Main Street.  They had hauled in cobble rock to build a foundation and had logged lumber out of the mountains and had them sawed into "sawed logs" which meant they used solid timber to form the walls for the house.  About this time Nelson Jr. passed away and so the family decided that Asher should take over the farm, the homestead, and the "sawed logs" should be taken to a site at 141 West 1st South in Vernal to build Keturah a new home...."

"Grandmother Merkley's Home, Vernal, Utah"
From the personal albums of David Ahrnsbrak

"1931"
Back states: "Merkley home in Vernal after grandfather's death"
From the personal albums of Sarah Nielsen

"Grandmother Merkley's Home" (and garden)
From the personal albums of David Ahrnsbrak

"1933"
Back states: "L-R Dorothy Ann Whitbeck, Carolyn Sander, Kathleen Merkley, June Sander-
in Grandmother Merkley's flower garden"
From the personal albums of David Ahrnsbrak

"Kate, Ellen, and bunch of kids, 1936"
From the personal albums of Ellen Fletcher

"Sander girls at Diamond Mountain-
Buffy with Carolyn in front, Kathryn with June in front"
From the personal albums of Jane Haugsoen
*Due to the amount of vegetation, I doubt this was taken at Diamond Mtn
but instead taken from Keturah's flower garden.

"LEFT Buffie with Carolyn in front, Kathryn with June in front"
Appears to be on side property of Keutrah's home
From the personal albums of Shannon Andersen

"Keturah's home in Vernal"
From the personal albums of Delores Horton

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.

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.

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

Nelson Jr and Keturah Merkley family photos

 The following are a series of photos taken of Asher's parents and their siblings probably around the year 1916.

Nelson Merkley Jr & Keturah Peterson Merkley family
From the personal albums of Lois Chatfield

Enlarged version of photo above
BACK: Asher, Ezra, Nelson Jr, Ellis
FRONT: Margret, Mary, Keturah, Helen
From the personal albums of Lois Chatfield
Also found in albums of Tamera Lund

Nelson & Keturah Merkley extending family
BACK: Ezra & Alice, Ellis, Asher, Jean, Nelson Jr & Keturah, Byron Colton holding Merrill, Helen
FRONT Lorna, Aird, baby Thurman, Harold, Mary Elizabeth Merkley, Ruth Colton standing, Margret Merkley, Lula Colton standing.
From the personal albums of David Ahrnsbrak
Also found in albums of Bryce Merkley and Delores Horton

"Ruth Colton, Harold M, Aird M, Thurman M, Lula Colton, Merrill Colton, Lorna Merkley (Ezra's daughter) about 1916"
From the personal albums of Delores Horton

Lula Colton blocking Harold M, Ruth Colton, Aird M with baby Thurman M, Lorna M, Merrill Colton
Grandchildren of Nelson Jr and Keturah Merkley
From the personal albums of Delores Horton

Keturah with grown posterity photos

Keturah P Merkley was Asher's mother.

The following photos appear to be a gathering at her home with all of her grown children and their spouses.  They were found in the personal albums of Tamera Lund unless otherwise stated.

Keturah and her in-law children:
Byron Colton, Jean M, Isabrand Sander, Keturah, Birda M, Rulon Hansen, Clair Fletcher

Keturah and her daughters:
Mary, Helen, Keturah, Ellen, Margret

Generational shot with Keturah, son Ellis (rt), grandson Aird (lft), and Aird's kids

"Four generations:
Keturah standing, Aird with Glade, Ellis with Delores,
about 1937 in Vernal, UT"
From the personal albums of Delores Horton

These photos also seem to coincide with THIS post of family photos as well, as noted by the similarities in clothing and background.

Photos of Keturah P. Merkley

Keturah or "Kate" Merkley was Asher's mother.

The following are a handful of photos of her individually.

From the personal albums of Delores Horton

From the personal albums of Sarah Nielsen

From the personal albums of Sarah Nielsen

From the personal albums of Lois Chatfield

"Keturah Merkley with Ellen Murray Merkley"
From the personal albums of Delores Horton 

"Grandmother Merkley"
From the personal albums of David Ahrnsbrak

From the personal albums of Delores Horton

From the personal albums of Sarah Nielsen

"Keturah Merkley and her lovely flowers"
From the personal albums of David Ahrnsbrak

Death info on Keturah P. Merkley

Keturah Peterson Merkley was Asher's mother.

Photo from the personal albums of David Ahrnsbrak.

According to these documents, the following dates apply:

BIRTH: 8 Oct 1867- , Hart County, Kentucky

DEATH: 2 May 1950- Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah

Buried in the Vernal Cemetery, Vernal, Uintah, Utah

She was 82 years old when she passed away.

Obituary:

SOURCE: Deseret News 1950, May 3, p.A-14

Obituary transcribed:

Keturah P. Merkley

Mrs. Keturah P. (Aunt Kate) Merkley, 82, pioneer of Ashley Valley, Uintah County, died Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. in a Salt Lake hospital from causes incident to age.

A resident of Vernal until ten years ago, she resided at the time of her death with a niece, Mrs. Lula Fletcher, 3103 Mountair Dr.

A daughter of Peter and Mary E. Thurman Peterson, Mrs. Merkley was born in Hart County KY, Oct. 8, 1867.  She was well known as a practical nurse.

At the age of 12 she moved to Ashley Valley with her family from Cedar Fort, Utah County.

Mrs. Merkley served as Relief Society president six years in Vernal First Ward, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

She was married to Nelson Merkley Jr. June 9, 1884 in Vernal.  The marriage was solemnized two years later in the Logan Temple.  Mr. Merkley was for 37 years a patriarch in Uintah Stake.  He died in 1924.

Surviving are two sons, Ellis Merkley, Salt Lake City, and Asher Merkley, Vernal.  Three daughters, Mrs. Helen M. Colton, Roosevelt, Duchesne County; Mrs. Mary Elizabeth M. Sanders, Heber City; and Mrs. Margaret Jane M. Hansen, Salt Lake City.  A niece whom Mrs. Merkley reared from infancy, Mrs. Lula Ellen Murray Fletcher; a sister, Mrs. Alice Koane, El Monte, Calif; three brothers, James O. Peterson, Neola, Duchesne County; David J. Peterson, Salt Lake City, and Henry Peterson, Ogden.  31 grandchildren and 32 great-grandchildren.

Services will be held Thursday noon at 260 East South Temple St. where friends may call Thursday after 11 a.m.  Additional services will be conducted Friday at 1 p.m. in the Vernal Third Ward chapel where friends may call prior to the funeral time.

Burial will be in Vernal Cemetery.

*Spelling and punctuation corrected inasmuch as I was aware.

Funeral announcement:

SOURCE: Vernal Express 1950, May 11, p.5

Funeral announcement transcribed:

Funeral Held Friday for Keturah Merkley

Bishop Orion Jones conducted funeral services for Mrs. Keturah P. (Aunt Kate) Merkley last Friday at 1 p.m. in the Third ward chapel.  Prayer in the home was offered by Fred G. Bingham.

Invocation was by Aird Merkley of Beaver. George Roth, Chellus Caldwell, Mrs. Harold Lundell and Mrs. Leo Hacking sang, "Oh My Father", "Abide With Me" and "Lead Me Gently Home Father" with Mrs. Mable Stagg at the piano; Mrs. John Jorgenseon sang "Just a Wearin' For You" accompanied by Mrs. Stagg.

Speakers were Pres. Archie Johnson, Harmon S. Sowards and Mrs. DeGraff of Heber City.  Benediction was by B.O. Colton of Roosevelt.  Ellis Merkley of Salt Lake City dedicated the grave.

Pallbearers were Leo E. Hacking, Warren, Amos, Ward, Bryce and Sid Merkley.  Burial was in the Vernal City cemetery under the direction of the Swain Funeral Home.

*Spelling and punctuation corrected wherein I was aware.

Death Certificate:

SOURCE: familysearch.org