Out of Nowhere

I realize it has been a long time since I blogged on here. I admit I haven't being doing much family ancestry over the summer. Several weeks ago I started reading a book and it took several weeks to get into it. I am 2/3 done now and it sparked the light in me again. The book is "The Price We Paid" about the Willie and Martin Handcart Companies.
For those that don't know, these were completely separate companies. They were only in the same location once for about 3 days.
There is so much to say but I don't want to get bogged down with too many words. A good resource for those that want a good overview is the movie The Sweetwater Rescue.
The reason I am so excited is that I have learned something about my ancestors this week. My mom's paternal great great grandparents (below is my great great great grandfather) were in the Willie Handcart party and my mom's great great grandmother was in the Hunt Wagon party which traveled just behind the Martin Handcart party. That's 3 great great great grandparents for me. I decided it was time to track down relatives from the paternal side and I found one! I found a descendant the same generation as I am but from a different child. He in turn helped me to know that the name I have always known was not the name she went by while in Scotland (or that is how it seems). This opened up all sorts of information for me. Catron (formerly Catharine) is no longer a dead end! I now have a photo of her father (photo below is my great great great great grandfather)and hope to find one of her.
When I started this book, I just planned to learn more history about the groups. I did know my ancestors were involved but they usually aren't mentioned in books. Which in fact reminds me, The grandmother in the Hunt party married one of the men who was involved in the organization of the handcart parties. I didn't realize prior to reading this book that he was so involved. I mentioned it to my mom and she knew but it goes to show, if you don't talk about things, no one will know.

Roots

Since I love both family and photography, I like to blend the two from time to time. I have photos gallore of ancestors and headstones. My family teases me that I always have my camera ready to go. A photo adds so much to the story. Whenever possible, when writing about a person, I try to add photos of them and that event if possible. I am on a quest at the moment to find a photo of my great great grandfather and grandmother. Once I have them I will have a completed collection of photos of my ancestors for the 6 generations! Above is my great great grandmother who immigrated from England to Utah. She was part of the Hunt Wagon Company which was directly behind the Willie and Martin Handcart companies. (I have a great great great grandfather and grandmother who were in the Willie Handcart company.)
Another by product is that I think about family trees all the time which in turn causes me to be more aware of trees around me. This morning I was able to take photos of some ice covered trees with a clear blue sky above them.


As you go about your life, remember that a photo can help jog the memory and it also helps a person be just that, a person!