In the News

In an article written the 24 July 1884 in the Utah Journal[1], we discover much about Robert and Jemima and their life as it was in Hyde Park. The article starts out with the settlement in the dugout.

Meetings were held 

The families went to work and helped each other out in building homes, first rough log homes and then framed houses. Their meetings were also held in a dugout and later moved to a log meeting house. When the meeting house became to small to hold the blossoming community of Saints, Bishop Hyde put the people to work building a rock meeting house. The new meeting house was finished in 1865 with a seating capacity of 550.

Picture posted with the kind permission of Dale Z Kirby.

After the death of Bishop William Hyde, Robert was appointed the second Bishop of Hyde Park. Jemima was made a counselor in the Relief Society. The family was actively involved in leading the church in Hyde Park. 

Robert, as well as William my great grandfather, were involved in managing the Co-op.

Picture posted with the kind permission of Dale Z Kirby.

The character of Robert was articulated well at the end of the article, " The people respond readily to any call made upon them, and all bear witness to the efficient manner In which Bishop Robert Daines acts as leader and adviser, as well as the universal esteem to which he is held."

[1] "Hyde Park, Facts and Figures Connected with this Thriving Settlement, Its Origination, Early History and Present Existence" Utah Journal, 1886-07-24, Utah Journal Co. (1882-1889) Digitized by: University of Utah, Utah Digital Newspapers  ark:/87278/s6281ms1, accessed 24 Oct 2015.

Family History Field Trip

What a great day! We arrived in the morning at Pat and Dwayne's  home where she had invited one of her brothers, John Daines and his wife Elaine to join us, and we just started to talk. It seemed like we had only been there a short time and when we looked at our watch, 3 hours had gone by. Pat and John were so kind and knowledgeable about the family, I'm already trying to find time in my schedule to return. 

After sharing stories, we piled in the cars and went to see the sites, our first stop was the cemetery.

Daines Family marker, Hyde Park, Utah
from left to right, Amy Wallace, John Daines. Elaine Daines, Pat Chadwick, Dwayne Chadwick

Pat's father had always told her a story about the Daines marker. He told her it was styled this way as a representation of Robert's life. How he started out a rough stone in England but the gospel changed him and molded him into who he became here in Utah.

Robert Daines Headstone Hyde Park Cemetery, Utah

Jemima Seamons Daines Headstone Hyde Park Cemetery,Utah

Next we went to the Daines property. Robert had owned several acres and worked the land. Some investigating will have to be done about how much land he owned and where his home was, but Pat showed us the home of Lydia, Robert's oldest daughter, owned and ran a post office out of. It has obviously been remodeled but the post office was run out of the white addition (now a garage) off the house.

Our next stop was the spring. When Robert and Jemima came to Cache Valley,they first stopped in Logan, but the Bishop told them the land had already been distributed but there was some land available about 5 miles North. They and a few of Jemima's male cousins came up and set-up camp by this spring.

The men then proceeded into the mountains to find wood for building, leaving Jemima with her two and a half month old son by the spring. She was truly a pioneer, there were hostile Indians in the area. She was left alone, with the baby, for a few days while the men went to get building materials. The first homes were actually dugouts. There was a small hill just east of the spring so they dug rooms into the side and covered the opening with quilts. 

Hyde Park put up a monument in honor of the first settlers of the area.

Hyde Park Monument 

Listed here are Robert Daines and his mother Lydia Daines Wilkinson. 

The whole day was amazing. It reminded me of being with grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, etc. With all my grandparents and parents gone and only two uncles left still alive, it was wonderful to feel that connection again. The connection to my family roots. Life gets so busy and I push things off because you always think it will be there, and then you look around and its not. Thanks Pat, Dwayne, John and Elaine for helping me to connect with what is most important.

Cousins

Today I am really excited because I did something that is very hard for me. I called one of my father's cousins and asked questions. While this may not seem like much to some, it is very difficult for me to have courage and call someone who I don't know and start a conversation.

The cousin I called was Pat Chadwick in Logan, Utah, she is the daughter of one of my grandfather's siblings, from the second wife. What a delightful conversation, she shared her condolences about my father's passing last year and said how happy she was that I reached out because there are a lot of cousins I need to know.

Steve (my husband) and I are going up to Franklin, Idaho next week to visit my parents grave, so Pat said she would love to drive me around to see all the historical sites for the Daines family. We're going to the place Robert and Jemima first lived in the valley, and the cemetery, as well as several other sites pertaining to William Moroni (my great-grandfather). It's a family history field trip.

What a treasure history is and finding those who lived it. One of my regrets was while my parents were living in my home I did not learn more from them. They moved in with us July 2013 and Mom passed Oct 2013, age 72, and Dad passed June 2014, age 75. We and they thought they had years left, and now I have boxes of stuff, and much of it I don't know anything about. Maybe the hand of providence is stepping in and helping me connect with Pat, so I can unravel some of the mysteries.

What an amazing journey this life is, the connections we make and the learning we gain. I am grateful everyday for my life.

Tune in next week for pictures and stories from my Family History field trip of Hyde Park, and Logan, Utah , as well as, Franklin and Preston, Idaho.

Robert and Jemima

Robert and Jemima are now both in New Jersey, and after working and saving up, the New Jersey Saints are prepared to go West. According to the recollections of their children, Robert and Jemima's courting began in New Jersey, continued on their travels to Nebraska and upon their arrival in Omaha, on May 1, 1859 they were married.  Robert was 30 yrs old and Jemima was 21 yrs old.

Nebraska was just half-way to their goal, but many of those seeking to go to Utah needed to find work to earn enough money to fund the rest of their journey. As luck would have it, after a few short months, a company led by Captain Little came from Salt Lake City needing supplies taken back to the Utah. Robert and Jemima were hired as part of the crew to return the supplies to Salt Lake. Robert was to drive two span of mules hitched to a large carriage, and Jemima was to cook for the company of nine men and two women.

Jemima only missed cooking one meal the entire journey due to illness, unfortunately Robert did not have the same experience. Soon after leaving he became sick with chills and fever and was unable to drive the wagon, leaving the job to Jemima. She was too short to drive from the wagon seat so she had to walk along side the mules to keep them inline. By the time Robert recovered from his illness, Captain Little's son became ill and Jemima was recruited to take over his duties, while Robert resumed his team. It was recorded by her children that she walked most of the 1,000 mile journey while pregnant with their first child.

Crossing the plains was always an arduous journey, fraught with danger. The newlyweds were not left untroubled. One day while crossing the plains a thunderous noise was heard and the ground began to rumble. Captain Little had them circle the wagons quickly, but a large herd of stampeding Buffalo could have easier run their small company through. It is not mentioned in recorded journals of their children, but I believe many prayers went up at that moment in pleas for protection. What is recorded, is that the head Buffalo stopped in front of them and stared at them for several minutes, then shook his head, and turned and led the buffalo off in another direction.

They arrived in Salt Lake City, October 8, 1859, after their three month journey.

I always wonder, if I had been born during their era, would I have done the same? When we talk of the pioneers we are often challenged with the mantra, "I can do hard things." It is not always "Can I?" but maybe, "Would I?" Reading of their challenges strengthens me, it makes me grateful for their sacrifice and helps me to overcome the challenges that have been placed in my path that are designed to help me become who my Father in Heaven already knows I am.