MORE ANCESTOR CARDS,

ROBERT STODDART - MORE

Posted by Carolyn J. Christensen

Carolyn - Doris Johnson - Sarah Kirkham - Edward Charles Wrigley -

Adah Luch Steel md. Robert Stoddart

Robert Stoddart

(See other posts for history)

To Zion!

              (In memory of Robert Stoddart, in the first handcart company)

I was in the first group -
The great experiment
To bring the poor
To Zion!
The trial of our faith, we were told.
It hadn’t been done before –walking all that way, pulling our belongings
To Zion!
We needed Courage, Determination – we were told.
I was 17 - and came in my family of nine.
I pulled…and got strong,
Saw great bison herds…and was amazed,
Reveled with my peers…and gained lifelong friends,
Danced at night fires, galloped vast prairies of tall grass,
Splashed thru refreshing streams, forded daunting rivers,
And learned love for my companion travelers.
We did have Courage, Determination.
We learned to face adversity – we realized we shouldn’t give up,
We found we could rely on God.
We arrived in Salt Lake – exhilarated –
To the sound of bands and welcoming shouts from crowds of waving
           settlers.
We had grown strong in our beliefs.
The great experiment was a success – a new way to come
To Zion!
Our faith was rewarded – we were told.

But then, it was late – too late in the season.
I, already a 17 year old trail made man, went back to help them,
To dig their freezing, starving bodies (those that lived) from the snow.
They, too, were pulling their belongings
To Zion!
Part of the great experiment!
Did the great experiment fail? Did it die with those dead of exposure?
Survivors arrived in Salt Lake City – almost dead –
To Brigham mandated pudding and tender care.
To murmurs and tears of sympathy.
They exceeded Courage, Determination.
They lived adversity. They did not give up.
They gave themselves to God.
They, (along with their dead), arrived
In Zion –
Walking with angels.

CJ Christensen

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)