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.