Interesting information on the Hulets

I found some interesting information in a blog about the Hulets.
This one shows the Native American ancestors which are disputed by others. It also has histories of many of the Hulet ancestors.

Hulet line

This one has a video of the Charles Hulet farm area and the Sylvanus Hulet grave headstone in Ohio. (Click on the First LDS Member
link)

Gardner Blog

How Many of Me?

Our librarian at work is always sending out links to interesting web sites. This is one she sent today.

www.howmanyofme.com  

Did you Know?

• There are 2,626,763 people in the U.S. with the first name Richard.
• Statistically the 8th most popular first name.
• 99.77 percent of people with the first name Richard are male.

• There are 141,834 people in the U.S. with the last name Lawrence.
• Statistically the 219th most popular last name.
• Famous people with the last name Lawrence:

• • Brian Lawrence
  • Francis Lawrence
  • John Lawrence
  • Marc Lawrence
  • Martin Lawrence
  • Quentin Lawrence
  • Ray Lawrence

There are 1,211 people in the U.S. named Richard Lawrence.

Letter

It has been quite a while since I posted anything. I started to post an old letter that I found among Grandpa Wilkinson's things from William Wilkinson last week. I am not sure how he is related. I wanted to post a transcript with it but I found that my eyesight is not as good as it used to be and I couldn't get it all transcribed in a reasonable time so I will post it anyway and maybe we can make it a group effort. Anyone who is interested can add to what I have. This is what I have so far.

Old England
Cawthorpe, Novr 15, 1853

My Dear Brother, Sisters, Nephews, and Nieces,

With great pleasure I have again written a few lines to inform you that I received your kind and welcome letter of the 22nd of September and myself and family were very glad to hear of you and yours being thankfully well and we hope this will find you all still in the enjoyment of good health. I feel truly thankful to our Heavenly Father for his preserving care over me and mine to the present moment of time and that through His mercy I am ___________ to say we are all in good health for the present. And I think I shall not be wrong in saying all our relatives are tolerably well. I have not heard anything to the contrary lately. I was over at Birmingham and .........

Living room

Its been so long since my last post, I thought I would let you all know what has kept me so busy. I have been obsessed with getting the living room done before school started so we could get our furniture off the patio in case it ever rains here again. (Actually we got 1.5 inches at our house last week the day we got the last of the furniture in, thank goodness.) Here are a few pictures of the almost finished product. I still have to put in the trim (stair nosing and transitions to the tile floor in the family room), replace the closet and pocket doors and put the mirror back up.

For those who remember what the living room was like, this is the area were the half-wall was that we removed. (notice the open closet without a door)



This one gives an idea what the ceiling looks like after we scraped the popcorn off and re-textured, thanks to Jenny's technique and Janet's help.


The floor is a bamboo laminate. We decided to go with that rather than the vinyl plank we were planning to use. Finishing up the details on this and the laundry room/downstairs landing will occupy my spare time for the rest of the year. We also need to get an area rug and window curtains/drapes.

New York

I had a great time in New York last week. Got to visit with Jenny and Nina and some of the in laws and with Spencer, Lila and Miriam. So far I have seen Miriam at yearly intervals. Nina wanted to do everything with Grandpa for the first 3 days or so and then the novelty wore off. She is learning about family relationships and enjoyed telling me that I should tell my daughter things. One of her little friends from the neighborhood stopped by when we were outside and the topic of who I was came up. She said O he's just an old grandpa.

We had fun going to the zoo in Rochester and Stony Brook State Park for a picnic and playing on the playground. It was a welcome break from the heat wave here in San Antonio. For most of the time I was there it was cool and rainy and every thing is very green as opposed to hot dry and brown here. One would think we had moved to Arizona or that Arizona moved here except the humidity is higher. This is our 5th day in a row over 100 for highs and the 11th day over 100 for the month. It's usually not this hot even in July and August. Average high for this time of year is about 10 degrees cooler.

Still Alive

I haven't posted in a while so I thought I would let everyone know I am still alive. My summer has been busy so far. It's surprising how much time and attention one tree falling in the front yard can occupy. I spent the first week of summer break attending continuing education seminars and hauling off tree limbs. We called the city to estimate how much they would charge to haul away the debris and they wanted about $200. Since I have a broken down old pickup and a little time off, I decided to do it myself. Turns out when I started digging through the pile that the guys we hired to cut it up also left another tree on the curb along with ours. This is the wimpiest of the 8 loads I hauled away to the brush recycling center



and this is the pile of chunks that are bigger than the recycling center will accept (nothing over 6" in diameter). They will remain in our driveway unil it is our turn for brush and large item pick up again (sometime in Sept - Nov). The fine is something like $2000 a day if you leave stuff on the curb when it is not your turn.




The big chunks from the live oak tree that they left along with ours were hauled away by Carolyn's (Suzanne's boss) husband for firewood.

No one wants our tree for firewood because chineese pistache is a relative of poison ivy, poison oak and poison sumac and the smoke and fumes from burning it are irritating to those sensitive to the poisonous plants.

Things I hope you will teach my grandchildren

A new wrinkle on an old scripture. The oft quoted scripture in Moses 1:39 "For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." sounds a lot like service. I don't remember who it was for sure, but I think it was Marion G. Romney, Counselor in the First Presidency, who said something like "Service isn't something we endure in this life so that we can have Celestial Life in the eternities, it is what Celestial Life is".

Service is what God does, it is his work and his glory. What little we do here is only practice for Celestial Life, and the attitude we have towards service here is an indication of how far along the path towards that goal we have come. Small wonder then that Christ told his disciples "But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant." (New Testament | Matthew 23:11)

Sometimes old isn't so bad

There are some advantages to being old. This from a Reuters news story.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The new H1N1 flu virus appears to be fairly widespread in the United States and seems to be hitting mostly younger people, with very few cases reported in people over 50, U.S. health officials said on Sunday.

"We think very few of the cases we have confirmed are in people over 50, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Dr Anne Schuchat told reporters in a telephone briefing."

My hypothesis is that the oldsters have been exposed to a virus that is close enough to confer some cross immunity that younger people haven't seen yet.

Big Brother at work?

OK, I'm old but I consider myself moderately "technosavvy" for my generation. I am blown away by the technology that is available today. I have a friend who works for the Census Bureau. Next year is a census year, by the way. Right now they are sending people out to canvass the entire US house by house to record GPS coordinates for each address. They go to the front door of the house or apartment and record the coordinates on a GPS device then at the end of each day they upload the data from their hand-held computers to the Census office. These data are coordinated with all the people who live at that address. Scary to think what that data could be used for.

I also recently found a free website where anyone can upload address data in excel format and it will give you your data back with columns of GPS coordinates added. It then plots the data on a google-earth map that can be viewed in map mode, satellite mode, or hybrid mode complete with color coding for whatever groups you want to divide it into. The map can also be posted to a web page and the data can be downloaded in several different formats for use in other programs.

From their website "Street level geocoding is available in United States, Canada, and the following European Countries: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, England, France, Finland, Germany, United Kingdom (UK), Luxembourg, Netherlands, Ireland, Norway, Portugal, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Wales, and Italy. Country, State, and City level geocoding is available for Europe, Asia, Central and South America. We expect Yahoo! will continue to expand coverage of their street level data to the rest of the world soon, keep checking back! The name of the coordinate system used is WGS84, this is the decimal degrees version of the coordinate system commonly used in GPS devices. "

They have a paragraph on the technology used for those who are more technosavvy than I am.

The Cowles Family

There is also a Cowles book online that has Suzanne's ancestors in it.

A picture of Samuel Bringhurst, father of Wm. Augustus, from the book

History of the Bringhurst Family with Notes on the Clarkson, De Peyster, and Boude Families By Josiah Granville Leach

A clip about 'Wm. Augustus Bringhurst from the book.

""

and a picture from the book


Another version, perhaps easier to read from the American Library

History of the Bringhurst Family with Notes on the Clarkson, De Peyster, and Boude Families By Josiah Granville Leach

I found the Bringhurst book online for those who may be interested. It has a history of the Bringhurst family from a couple of generations before they came to America down to when they came to Utah.

"

laser capsulotomy - Google Video

laser capsulotomy - Google Video

Yea for YAG Laser Capsulotomy

After my cataract surgery, my vision deteriorated till it was very annoying. The doctor said that I had posterior capsule clouding, a common complication of cataract surgery. They can never get all the old lens cells out and sometimes some of them start to grow on the back of the lens capsule that is left in place to help hold the new lens. The treatment is to zap the capsule with a laser to basically destroy the back part where the cells are growing. It takes about 2 minutes and is basically painless. They do it in the doctor's office and there is no recovery or drops, etc. In actuality, the eye is irritated because of a contact lens they stick on it with a gel during the procedure,

so it is uncomfortable and waters for some time afterward. Small price to pay for much improved vision. I can now see much better again.


I don't know how to insert a video from YOU-tube or if that is legal or possible but the next post has a link to one that shows the procedure for those interested.

Missionary Service

I found this information in Grandpa Wilkinson's book of remembrance. I didn't remember hearing about this short-term mission before. It is one of several missions he served for the Church.

Tis is the official Call letter from President Grant


At the time (Nov 16, 1925) Grandpa was about a month away from his 36th birthday. He was married and had 4 children ages 11, 8, 5, and 3 years old. I don't know what his occupation was at the time, but probably some sort of sales.

Elder S.R.W. Wilkinson

Grandpa Wilkinosn

I don't remember if I posted these already.  I went back and looked through the posts briefly and didn't see them.  Too bad these are not in color so you could see his red hair.  I am told it was very red when he was young though by the time I knew him it was gray.

Its official

I was sustained and set apart today as High Priest Group Leader with Sandy Norman and Larry Marwedel (for those who know the ward) as assistants

End of an Era

Well it is officially over now. I was released in Stake Conference today as Stake Clerk. No more 6 am Thursday or Friday presidency meetings and no more Tuesday and Thursday evening meetings. No more driving to the Stake Center 3 or 4 times a week (only once a week for choir practice). After 16 years of stake callings, it will be a change to be back in the ward again. When I have been sustained, I can let you know what my new calling is.

Another choir

To show that I am not the only old man singing in a ward choir.

A new choir experience

As I was getting ready to go to Ward Choir practice this morning, I thought about my experience with the stake choir last Sunday. They are putting on an Easter Oratorio complete with Orchestra accompaniment. I have never before seen such organization. As we came in we were directed to a table where we signed up and checked out music in a black binder complete with practice schedule and performance list in the front and a pencil in a baggie for marking the music and a pronunciation guide for the one piece that we are doing in Latin. There was also a list of things to mark in each piece. We also checked out a practice CD with the piano accompaniment and parts played along with some sort of electronic keyboard so we could practice at home. The practice was very professionally run with no wasted time. Should be a neat experience.


The program is:
Prelude - Did Jesus Really Live Again - children's choir
Prelude - I Believe in Christ - solo or ensemble
Prelude - He Sent His Son - solo or ensemble
Prelude - When He Comes Again - solo or ensemble
Prelude - Easter Hosanna - youth choir
Oratorio
Behold the Lamb of God - adult choir and orchestra
Come Unto Christ - solo or ensemble
Oh Savior, What Are These Tears? - solo or ensemble
Did You See Him in the Garden? - adult choir and orchestra
For Me Alone by Sassy DeFord - solo or ensemble
O Divine Redeemer - solo or ensemble
Gethsemane - solo or ensemble
I Stand All Amazed - solo or ensemble
Sheep May Safely Graze - solo or ensemble
Crown Him With Many Crowns - Adult choir and orchestra
How Great is the Miracle - solo or ensemble
Alegria Vida Allelulia - combined youth and children's choir and orchestra
O Magnum Mysterium - Adult choir a capella
This is the Christ - Adult Choir and orchestra
Christ the Lord is Risen Today - Adult choir and orchestra

Things I hope you will teach my grandchildren

At the end of the year as we were finishing out study of the Book of Mormon, I was thinking about the situation of Moroni, left alone to fend for himself and try to stay away from the Lamanites who would have killed him if he did not deny Christ. We don’t know if he was eventually caught by the Lamanites or translated or died alone in the wilderness. I thought that his situation was in some respects like that of the Willie and Martin handcart companies. They were pushed to the extreme as well. I wondered how I would respond in such a situation. Would I be strong enough to stay faithful? We all can say and hope that we would remain faithful and endure well, but until we are put in that situation how do we know? Our real natures would be revealed only when we are pushed to our limits. I think that all of us will at some point be tried in that way in the pre-earth life, in this life or in the next - not for the Lord’s sake, I think he already knows how we will react – but for our sake, so we will know. Think of the power and confidence that knowledge that we are faithful even when pushed to our limits could give us.

President Hinckley told a story about the Martin Hand cart company ………“Years later, a group in Cedar City were talking about her and others who were in those ill-fated companies. Members of the group spoke critically of the Church and its leaders because the company of converts had been permitted to start so late in the season. I now quote from a manuscript which I have:

“One old man in the corner sat silent and listened as long as he could stand it. Then he arose and said things that no person who heard will ever forget. His face was white with emotion, yet he spoke calmly, deliberately, but with great earnestness and sincerity.

“He said in substance, ‘I ask you to stop this criticism. You are discussing a matter you know nothing about. Cold historic facts mean nothing here for they give no proper interpretation of the questions involved. A mistake to send the handcart company out so late in the season? Yes. But I was in that company and my wife was in it and Sister Nellie Unthank whom you have cited was there too. We suffered beyond anything you can imagine and many died of exposure and starvation, but did you ever hear a survivor of that company utter a word of criticism? Not one of that company ever apostatized or left the Church because every one of us came through with the absolute knowledge that God lives for we became acquainted with him in our extremities.” (Our Mission of Saving, Ensign, November 1991)

Verily I say unto you, all among them who know their hearts are honest, and are broken, and their spirits contrite, and are willing to observe their covenants by sacrifice—yea, every sacrifice which I, the Lord, shall command—they are accepted of me.

9 For I, the Lord, will cause them to bring forth as a very fruitful tree which is planted in a goodly land, by a pure stream, that yieldeth much precious fruit.

(Doctrine and Covenants | Section 97:8 - 9)

M.J. Stapely and her children

These two pictures are of Mary Janet Stapely Bringhurst and her children.  This one is of her with her sons (l to r) Marias William (will), Charles, Samuel, and Leo.

This one is of her and her daughters (l to r) Arvilla, Vera, and Veda. (Taken about 1926 so Grandma would have been about 38 years old)

 

The children in order of age were Will, Veda, Samuel, Vera, Leo, Charles and Arvilla.  For our children who remember Julia Blake who lived in our ward and her cousin who lived in the North Stake, they are descendents of Leo.

50th Wedding Anniversary

OK Since I posted a picture of Lynda that she didn't like, I'll post my least favorite picture of me. That was an awkward age. I don't have many fond memories of my early teenage years. As the caption says, this is a picture from my grandparent's 50th wedding anniversary celebration. All of their descendants at the time were gathered there. The year was 1962 and they were married December 24 but I'm quite sure it wasn't the anniversary of the actual wedding day that the celebration was held. So Lynda was 18, I was 15, Kathy was 14, Carol Ann was 12 and Barbara was 9. As to the names, I will try to identify all, but may not be correct on some. W&L is wells and Lorraine, W&M is Willard and Marian and W&W is Winifred and Wood. Left to right seated in front Neal (W&L), Jayne (W&M), Janice (W&L), Jeffrey (W&M), Emile (W&L), Douglas (W&W). Seated L to R on the couch Susan (W&M) Grandpa, Lyle (W&W) Grandma, Barbara. Standing next to Susan on left Karen (W&L), on right Marsha (W&L), Standing behind Barbara, David (W&L) and to the right of Barbara in front of Kathy, Kevin (W&W) . Standing across the back L to R, Lynda, Lynne (W&M), Craig (W&M), Carol Ann, Woodrow holding Lorna, Winifred, Willard, Marian, Aubrey, Sibyl, Wells, Lorraine, Steven (W&L) Joanne (W&L), Kathy, Richard. Wells and Lorraine's youngest, Rachel, was not born yet. Feel free to correct if that is incorrect.

Aubrey and Sibyl Lawrence children

Thought the kids and grand kids might be interested in this one. It is a collage of photos from our family at various ages put together by Grandma.

New Format

Got tired of the old format, so I decided to change it. Hope you like it.

Clowning around

One more picture.

This one is of Grandma and some of her brothers, cousins, and friends. L to R, half brother Lorenzo Bringhurst, cousin Clifford Wallace, Heber Naegle, and brother Will. I am not quite sure how Clifford Wallace is related, but she labeled him a cousin.

Children

This picture is of Henry Bringhurst (half brother of Veda), Veda, and Will (Marias William, Veda's older brother) at ages about 10, 5, and 3. Henry is William Augustus' child by his first wife Selinda. I think it is interesting that Grandma referred to her as Aunt Selinda when labeling the picture.
Tis one is Veda and Will. I am assuming it is at a younger age.

Thanks

Thanks to all who contributed to the Lowes gift card and to Jocelyn. Combining the two, I got this saw for Christmas. It works great and was a big help cutting the moldings for the family room.