I Found 'Em!

Wah-hooo!!!! Break into your "Happy Snoopy Dance" everyone - I found em!

After a long time of searching for an inconsequential piece of genealogical information, I think I have finally found what I have been looking for: The ship that John Wilson, the first person in my direct line to come to America, came over on. I still have to verify it on the actual ship's passenger list, but I'm 90% sure it is them (meaning John and his mother Eliza).

Why am I so sure? Also on that ship is a Mercy Miller, which is the married name of John's younger sister and a William A.S. Miller, who is Mercy's son. Yeah, I'm pretty sure it is them - but I still want to see the actual passenger list. I got the info off a website I just came across.

Anyway, here is my tentative timeline of John Wilson's life (some details I will leave out for brevity's sake):

1828 - John born in Ingleby Cross, England

1853(?) - John's father, Robert, dies

1 March 1856 - John baptized (and I always thought he was baptized after he came to America)

18 April 1856 - John boards the ship Samuel Curling at Liverpool with his mother, Eliza, his sister, Mercy, and her son William (possibly others, but we won't worry about that right now)

23 May 1856 - The Samuel Curling arrives in Boston, USA

26 May? - The Mormon pioneers from the Samuel Curling board a train and travel to Iowa City (need to verify this one)

15 July 1856 - John, Eliza, and Mercy (and her son) join the James G. Willie handcart company (yeah, one of the doomed ones) and leave Iowa City

September(?) 1856 - Upon reaching Florence (now Omaha), Nebraska, John and Eliza drop out of the company and stay there for the next four years (Good for John and his mother, not so good for Mercy and her little boy who continued on. She survived, not sure if he did or not)

30 May 1860 - John, according to the 1860 Census,was working as an upholsterer when he and Eliza join the Warren Walling handcart company and leave Florence

9 August 1860 - The Warren Walling Company arrives in the Salt Lake Valley

There is more, but that is the time frame I've been working on. For some reason, I just wanted to know the details of exactly how John and his mother got from England to Utah.

Now that that is settled, I really would love to do some more research into the area of England John was living in prior to immigrating. I've always thought it would be neat to write a book about his life. Even though I couldn't write specifically about what he did (as he left no written record that I know of), there should be enough about the period of time, areas, and travel companions that could fill a book.

Let's see, how many descendants of John are there? Multiply that by the price of a book and I could make enough money for my family to starve. Still, it would be an interesting project and perhaps quite valuable for someone in the future.

Up-To-Date Updates

Random (and probably incomplete) update on the family:

Just had an open house at the kids school this last week. They are both doing just great and their teachers - while having extremely different teaching styles - seem to be doing a good job. Mary (now in 3rd grade) is starting to bring home regular homework so I sit with her for a half-hour every day (or 45 minutes if she is feeling ornery) and do math, geography, spelling, grammar, and reading. Actually, she does the reading on her own - I just nag at her to do it.

Isaiah is just...himself. He has a VERY freeform 1st grade class. They don't even have assigned seats (during the open house I wasn't even sure if they HAD seats). No homework yet, but he brings home papers that he has done in class and he seems to be doing quite well.

Rebekah has hit that stage where she thinks nobody loves her - especially when she doesn't get her way. I've started to chant my "I love you no matter what" mantra that the older two kids repeat back to me when I get grumpy with them. She will grow out of it just like the older two did - it's just a matter of time.

Emma is an ornery little bugger (yeah, and who in this family isn't?). She insists on watching "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" every second of the day. She calls it "Jo-Jo." It's a good thing that I absolutely love the music. She is also the new resident nudist - Rebekah gave up the position quite some time ago. Even though it is getting colder, she refuses to stay dressed - or even diapered, which causes some "surprises" around the house. We did manage to slip "Sleeping Beauty" in the VCR today and Leslie caught her giving kisses to Prince Philip! Being the father that I am, I'm going to have to sit this Philip boy down and have a talk with him.

I don't know if I ever mentioned this (I'm too lazy to go back through all my old entries), but Leslie is pregnant and doing well. The new bundle of personality-plus is due (wait for it...) early March. Can that month get any more crowded with birthdays and anniversaries?!? Kinda makes me wonder what makes the month of June so different from the rest of the year.

Apparently last year when Isaiah came home from kindergarten, he and Leslie would watch a show on Nickelodeon called Avatar: The Last Airbender. I had seen maybe a total of five minutes of it - usually because I was busy or just passing by on my way to do something else. Anyway, the whole first season just came out on DVD and Leslie got it for her birthday. Now that the whole family has started watching it over the past few days, I have to admit that it is fun to watch. It has a great story-line and some of the dialogue/animation is fantastic. We are only about halfway through right now. I'm interested in seeing how it all ends up.

I recently found a DOS emulator for my Macintosh. I still had a few DOS games floating around and got them loaded up and, while a little slow at times, they run great. Turns out it was actually MUCH easier to get them to run on my Mac than it used to be to get them to run on Windows. Go figure. So I've been wasting time playing nostalgic games like X-Com: UFO Defense, Master of Magic, etc. It's not like I have much else to do right now.

Which brings me to the job hunt. I apply. I get a few interviews. And, for reasons completely unfathomable to me, I get rejected. I mean, come on...I've been in management before, I have great references, I'm a hard and organized worker, I have a college degree...ah, my college degree. Why do I have the feeling that my Anthropology degree is somehow sabotaging me? Apparently I'm not qualified to do anything that pays well (in spite of my experience), but I'm "overqualified" for jerk-work. But I haven't completely given up hope. I'm going to fast and pray tomorrow and see if I can get a little help from the Big Man. Anyone who wants to join me is sure welcome to. It'll be...fun.

Speaking of church, I got called to teach Sunday School again. 13-14 year olds...the whole surly lot of 'em. Actually they are a great group of kids. I love teaching that age group because once you get past the "14-year old attitude" that every kid has, it is fun to watch their eyes light up when they make a connection with the scriptures. This year was the Old Testament which, I admit, can be quite tough for that age group (or any age group for that matter) to grasp. I've taught it several times now and really enjoy the historical aspect of it as well as the spiritual side. Starting January, we'll be in the New Testament, but I don't know how many of these kids will move up to an older class. It's nice to be back in a comfort zone.

Alright, enough rambling for now. The time/date stamp on this entry is correct and I'm starting to get blurry-eyed.

Night Terrors

I finally figured it out this last week. Isaiah has been suffering from night terrors. He had them in the past several times, but he didn't have any problems during our travels this last summer (thankfully). However, they have started up again, and I have finally figured out what to call them and what to do about it.

I tell ya, it has been frustrating and (I have to admit) a bit (or a lot) annoying. While I don't think he has a lot of anxiety, he probably does have a lot of scary images floating around in his head (I've attempted to remedy this over the years by thinning out our movie/tv/dvd collection). More importantly, there is a study that mentions breathing irregularities having something to do with night terrors. I can readily believe this since Isaiah had RSV as a newborn and probably has all kinds of breathing irregularities.

Even if there isn't much I can do for him (other than having his tonsils and/or adenoids removed), at least I can be a little more rational about the situation.

Thoughts on Powdered Milk

Yeah, yeah...strange topic. I know. My family and I have been using powdered milk exclusively for the past three years. That's right. No "regular" bottled milk. Here are some thoughts:

It's cheaper

With two adults and four kids, we go through about 3 quarts a day (see above)

It really doesn't taste as bad as you might remember - just refrigerate it overnight

Look for powder that has a bigger "grain" - the fine powders clump up terribly and that does taste bad

Brand-names (Carnation, Milkman, etc.) = expensive and annoying little pouches

Flavorite brand = good

Western Family brand = better (and you can buy it in 10 pound boxes)

Safeway brand = bad

The kind you can get from LDS canneries = horrible (read above about clumping)

The suggested one year supply of powdered milk for my family is 83 pounds (whoa)

That's about 21 boxes of the 20 quart size

That's 420 quarts

At three quarts a day - that's only 140 days

Therefore, we'd need 1095 quarts for a year...

...54.75 boxes...

...219 pounds...

Egad!

9 / 11

So here this country sits, five years after the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. I'm not really in the mood to make a big long rant about the proper role of government or anything like that. I just feel a bit sad that things like that happen and some people don't think it is noteworthy anymore or not worth dwelling on.

I disagree.

Granted, I don't think we should be thinking about it every day or living in fear/anger/whatever for the rest of our lives. We should, however, remember that that event changed (or should have anyway) everything - similar to how the bombing of Pearl Harbor changed everything for the people back then. The difference between then and now, I think, is that we have become so jaded with a life of luxury.

I mean, come on. I'm unemployed but I still have a TV (no channels, but still), a VCR/DVD player with a bunch of movies to watch, a mini-van that is completely paid for, a computer (and a half) with a connection to the Internet (a dial up one, but still), and still plenty of food in the cupboards. We live in a four-bedroom house with a fenced yard, with an air-conditioner (which I don't turn on, but still), located in a great neighborhood with an elementary school for my kids to attend only four blocks away. I have a credit card and enough of a credit limit (not to mention a great credit score) to purchase just about anything I could possibly want AND have it delivered to my home without even breaking a sweat. I have books, games, a college education, family, religious values, clean water to drink, cook, bathe, and flush my toilet with, electricity, clothes washer and dryer, a refrigerator/freezer, and green grass (sort of).

And what do people in developing and war-torn countries have? Perspective. A firmer grasp on the realities of life. A belief that they aren't "entitled" to the "basics" of everyday American life.

Whew...I really didn't think I was in a mood for a rant. At least it wasn't about government. Don't get me wrong, I love my country. I've even been debating on trying to get an officer commission in the Air Force (have to wait until March for that one though...long story). I just get pent up when I hear people whining and complaining about all the crap other people aren't doing for them - especially when they have more than I do at this point.

What ever happened to, "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country"?

Blog-a-Log (or: No-New-Is-Bad-News)

The job search is going crappy...thanks for asking. I apply to 2 or 3 A DAY - no takers yet.

Unemployment sucks.

But enough about that. On to more exciting stuff. I'm adopting a cavalier (adj.: showing a lack of proper concern; offhand) attitude and am going to make up some exciting stuff to write since there is a distinct lack of excitement in the aforementioned life of job hunting.

I've always been big on imagination and making up stories. Heck, I've been known to indulge in role-playing games from time to time. With the excess amount of free time I've had lately, I've been looking around at some simple role-playing games (RPGs) with which to introduce my kids into the hobby. Please, no charges of Satan-worshipping...save that for any ill-concieved ignorance you may have for my chosen religious views.

I had two main requirements for any RPG I would play with my kids: 1) VERY simples rules. 2) Free. While #2 almost always trumped out #1, I have to admit I found one that I was extremely tempted to buy: The Secret Lives of Gingerbread Men. Little cookies, big secrets. Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!! "Oh no! Not my gumdrop buttons!" I'm going to be smiling about this one for days. Why didn't I buy it? I don't think it is available any more...but I didn't look too hard. It might still be around somewhere.

In the end, I decided to start them off on a game called Shadows. The name sounds spooky and possible not a game for kids, but just click on the link and read. Yeah, it's for kids. The basic plot I have in mind for them (the three older kids that is: ages 8, 6, and 4) starts as a sleepover at their aunt and uncle's house here in town (which is huge, by the way) when they are awaken by Ka-bree-is (no idea how they spell it - she is one of their dogs) barking at something and go from there. I'm curious to see what they come up with. Since they will be "adventuring" together, I expect we'll have some interesting dynamics.

Once we do that (if we do it at all) a couple of times, I'll probably switch them over to Risus which is a pretty bare-bones system that I think they will grasp easily (well, the older two at least).

I think they might take to role-playing quite well - based on what I hear when they play together...at least before the arguments break out. Besides, Isaiah loves playing with my Heroscape board game and Mary has recently discovered the Magic Tree House book series. Rebekah might still be a bit young for it, but there will be severe consequences and repercussions if she doesn't get to play with the others. Besides, it might provide some good role-playing opportunities for the older two as they look out for Little Sister.

I came across some other good games for kids, but they cost money, and most of the other free ones are still a bit beyond their age group...at least until they grasp the concept of "make-believe with set rules."