Wednesday, August 26, 2009

TABLE MADE BY GEORGE KIRKHAM

This table appears in one of the houses in the Pioneer Park at Lagoon. It is one of two tables made by George Kirkham, one for each of his two wives. It is pieced with scraps of wood he brought home when working on the Salt Lake Temple. It has been said he made some railings in the temple. Some of the pieces look like they could have been cut from railing scraps.

GEORGE KIRKHAM ROCKING CHAIR


This rocking chair is in the Lehi Museum and was probably made by George Kirkham. We know that George was a master craftsman. If anyone has pictures of other items he made, please post them.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

KAREN KIRKHAM TUFT

The following is background information for Karen Kirkham Tuft and how she ties into the Kirkham Wrigley Ancestors.

Background info: My dad: Robert Stoddart Kirkham
His parents: Birdie Stoddart - Joseph Hyrum Kirkham
Birdie's parents: Ada Lucy Steel - Robert Stoddart
Joseph Hyrum's parents: Joseph Kirkham - Tyresha Cragun

Joseph Kirkham was a widower for many years.Ada Lucy Steel Stoddart was a widow for many years with her unmarried daugher Mary Jane (nicknamed May) living with her and taking care of her. When Joseph Hyrum and Birdie met and married, his father Joseph Kirkham met Birdie's sister Mary Jane Stoddart. The two of them subsequently married. But that would have left Ada Stoddart alone, so she moved in with Joseph and May.

When my dad was a little boy, his family would travel from Garland, Utah down to Lehi to visit his grandma, his grandpa, and his Auntie May. In his child's mind, he couldn't figure out why his grandma wasn't married to his grandpa, especially when they all lived in the same house! ( Actually, his Grandpa was married to his Aunt.)

The relationships in the house:
His Grandma STODDART
His Grandpa KIRKHAM - married to -
His AUNTIE May Stoddart Kirkham (and step-grandma)

TEA SET OF KAREN KIRKHAM TUFT

The following was written by Karen Kirkham Tuft about this tea set. To tie this to the blogspot, Ada Lucy Steel was the mother of Edward Wrigley, who was the father of Sarah Kirkham. Therefore Edward is a half brother of Anna Forman Stoddart Barlow and Anna is an aunt of Sarah Wrigley Kirkham.





















Anna Forman Stoddart Barlow was the youngest child of Ada Lucy Steel and Robert Stoddart. Her sister Birdie Stoddart Kirkham was my grandmother. (Joseph Hyrum Kirkham was my grandfather.) . Birdie died when I was five months old, so I never knew her. Aunt Anna never had children. She was a widow for many years, and worked as a bookkeeper at the old Mormon Handicraft on South Temple, retiring at the age of seventy-eight. My father, Robert Stoddart Kirkham, played the role of son for Aunt Anna and took care of her until her death. She was my "adopted grandma". When I turned seven, she gave my a toy tea set that she said she'd gotten at the age of seven. Since she was born in 1892, that would have been in 1899. She told me that she had taken very good care of it (it is only missing the lid to the sugar bowl), and made me promise that I would, too. The set includes six 2" cups and saucers, a teapot, sugar bowl, and creamer, each showing scenes of children at play. It appears to be earthenware, with printed decals, apparently a common practice at the turn of the century. It has a surprisingly delicate design, compared to some I saw online that look a lot more sturdy and kid-durable. Karen Kirkham Tuft