The families left behind in England

     Before taking the Hepworth/Fletcher families across the plains towards the Great Salt Lake Territory I decided to do more research in England on their families.    

Marriage record for Samuel Fletcher and Anne Jackson
19 Apr 1804  St. Annes, Liverpool, Lancashire, England

       In my search I  was very pleased to find a marriage record of Mary's and Francis Amelia's paternal grandparents! My fourth great-grandparents. 
     This is the year of 1804.  And, this is the  actual digital image out of the Liverpool, Lancashire, England record book of marriages posted on Ancestry.com. Couples were usually married in the bride's parish and in the case it is the parish of Richmond St. Anne.
     It reads like this;
Samuel Fletcher of the parish of Liverpool, Cabinet Maker and Anne Jackson of the same parish, Widow, married in this Church by Licence this Nineteenth Day of April in the year One Thousand Eight Hundred and four by me Wm Blundell Minst. 
     This marriage was solemnized between us,
                                                                             Samuel Fletcher
                                                    the mark x of Anne Jackson
       In the Presence of Tho' Holden

   Notice the signature of 'Samuel Fletcher;" beautiful and notes that he is educated where Anne cannot write and more than likely cannot read.  

     Sam is a cabinet maker which is very important in research; there are lots of Samuel Fletcher's but, maybe only one that is a cabinet maker which would be 'my guy.'  Anne is recorded as a widow which makes me wonder; is her maiden name 'Jackson' or is this her last marriage name?

(I'm thinking it is her maiden name, yet to be proven)

     Sadly, I cannot find them in the 1841 England Census.  I even sent this information to my friend Tony in England.  Tony knows his stuff in genealogy research and he could not find them in the 1841 Census either.    It's most likely neither are alive in 1841.  Guessing they were in their  twenties or older when they married they would be in their  fifties or early sixties in 1841 when life expectancy was only in peoples early forties. 

                            

      RENEE

Hepworth family lose sight of the shore.

     On the 10^th of January 1852 my Great-Great-Grandparents boarded the ship Kennebec to cross ‘the pond’ for a new adventure.  Thomas Hepworth was twenty five years old, his bride of three years, Mary Fletcher was nineteen years old, she  celebrated her twentieth birthday at sea.They had one child Sarah Julia  who was ten months old. Mary was three months pregnant.  

     
     Traveling with them was John Hepworth, Thomas's older brother age twenty eight and John's bride of almost two years Francis Amelia (she was known as Amelia on most all vital records) Fletcher; sister to Mary.  Amelia was twenty three almost twenty four and is four months pregnant with her second child.  John and Amelia's first child Samuel died 10 months ago at age seven months of pneumonia. 
    
      Thomas and John left behind; parents, Samuel and Sarah (Jackson) and several brothers and sisters.  Mary and Amelia's parents; James Fletcher and Julia (Lightfoot,)I don't know if they were living or dead because at this writing I do not have death dates for them.  I do suspect Julia had died.  Also, I have not found any other children in the John Fletcher family other than Mary and Amelia.    Both Thomas and John were butchers by trade and could read and write as well as Mary but, I find Amelia uses an X as her signature.    

     i don't know of any personal histories written by the Hepworth family so the following information about their voyage across the sea and about the happenings right after they arrived in New Orleans comes from others that traveled with them. 
http://mormonmigration.lib.byu.edu/Search/showDetails/db:MM_MII/t:voyage/id:207/keywords:Kennebec#.UE9lOmPNlGU  
    
      The Kennebec was described as a "unusually spacious and commodious vessel."  On board were three hundred and thirty three Saints.   Sixty--nine Saints were the very first who immigrated by the means of the Perpetual Emigration Fund. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perpetual_Emigration_Fund    The Hepworth's paid their own way.  I do have ancestors who did leave England with help of the Perpetual Emigration Fund so I find this fact very interesting that it was on this voyage with the Hepworth's were the very first Saints using these funds. 

     Several Saint's account of this voyage write; "a number of Irish emigrants on board who were not supplied with sufficient provisions to last them till the end of the voyage;but in order to lay a sufficient supply, they stole all they possibly could from the Mormon emigrants, who consequently had to go short themselves, and were compelled to subsist on half rations the last four or five days before landing."   But, I guess there was no hard feelings;  "Peace and harmony prevailed among the latter as a rule." 
   One account is about the Scotch Saints and the English;" provisions and water were good, and wholesome, and included oatmeal and pork; but as the English did not like oatmeal and the Scotch could not relish Pork, they exchanged these articles of food with each other, with the great satisfaction of both parties."  There was one incident where an Irishman was washed overboard and was saved. The weather was mostly stormy which "produced much seasickness among the passengers indeed it seemed at one time that nearly every person was sick."   Another account writes that the voyage throughout "was safe and pleasant with the exception of one terrific hurricane, which swept the deck clean of cook houses, water barrels, and everything else that could be washed overboard."  After two months and nine days at sea the ship anchored off the shore of New Orleans on March 19, 1852.
     From New Orleans the Saints continued their journey on board a small boat called The Pride of the West, to St. Louis, Missouri.  I am unsure how long the Hepworth's stayed in St. Louis before traveling to Council Bluffs to get ready for their journey crossing the plains for the Utah Territory.  A number of Saint eager to get to Council Bluffs "took passage on an old dilapidated steamboat, the Saluda."  Sadly this steamboat met with disaster around the town of Lexington when the "engineers carelessly let the boilers get dry"; the results was the boilers burst to pieces with a tremendous explosion.  "The explosion, which was heard and felt in every part of the city of Lexington, completely wrecked the whole boat."  The boat sank ten minutes later. "We have not heart to attempt a description of the scene, writes the editor of the Lexington Express. 'Twenty-six mangled corpses collected together, and as many more with limbs broken and torn off, and bodies badly scalded - wives and mothers frantic at the loss of husbands and children - husbands and bereaved orphans engaged in searching among the dead and dying for wives and parents - are scenes which we can neither behold or describe, yet such a scene was presented to the citizens of Lexington on Friday - good Friday - a day forever memorable in the annals of Christianity as the day that witnessed the redemption of man from endless death, and which will long be remembered by the passengers on that ill-fated Saluda as a day of sorrow and privation."  
     I can imagine the gratefulness of Thomas, Mary, John, and Amelia that they escaped such a disaster and the sadness felt for the families that died and the  survivors of their great sorrow. 

Next:  Crossing the plains.

      

Celebrating 50 Years; Earl and Renee 3 Aug 2012

Mr. & Mrs. Earl F. Petersen
Friday 3 Aug 1962

Truly, hard to believe that Earl and I have been married for fifty years; 3 Aug 2012

In 1962 the No. one song was

Roses are Red by Bobby Vinton.  

Another popular song;

 I can’t stop loving you by Ray Charles. 

No. one movie was; 

To Kill a Mocking Bird.  A favorite movie today!  Also the movie;

What ever happened to Baby Jane?   

No. one and two top TV Shows; 

The Virginian – The Alfred Hitchcock Hour.    

Popular songs and movies have changed in a BIG way.

What hasn't changed is that we have been there for each other and will continue on.

We will celebrate at a later date with our family by going on an Alaskan Cruise.   

Dad and me in 1977.

Vern W. Tomlinson & Renee Tomlinson Petersen
July 1977

   




 Dad is sporting a dark mustache but his sideburns are gray.  His hair is thinning on top.  Isn't that typical of men when they start loosing their hair they grow hair on their face? Dad never lost all his hair.  I can't remember if Mother approved of his new look or not but, I don't think he sported the mustache for long or the sideburns.  He will soon be sixty five years old when this picture was taken in 1977 on a visit with our family in Richland.  He has been enjoying his retirement for one year.  
    Dad died at the early age of seventy eight.  Today he would be ninety nine years old. Miss you Dad; think of you often. 
  2 Aug 1913 - 13 Sep 1991.

                                                                Renée

Helping with the 1940 Index

     Posting about helping with the 1940 Index is an idea I got from one of my favorite bloggers, Nancy. She posted "and I helped."  I only know Nancy from blogging but, I feel I do know her.  Don't you love those kind of people?! 
      I have been trying to help with this indexing through the organization TCGS or Tri-city Genealogical Society but, it hasn't been easy since I do it at night before bedtime and find my self asleep with my hands on the keyboard.  But, I am helping and encourage others to do the same. 
     I see changes in this blogger.com since I last posted anything and guess I'd better get more acquainted with it.  I also noticed that my past signature "Renee" is now a big black blob with a / through it.  Wonder why that is?
Very unattractive and I don't know how to correct it or get rid of it.  Anyone have any ideas?  Please let me know.  

     Thanks for stopping by, 

In honor of Ralph H. Hepworth World War ll

Missing Pilot's Plane Sank

      Transport and Cargo Vessel

  (Editor's note:  The following dispatch from the U.S. Navy arrived one day after Times-News announcement that Lieut.(j.g.) Ralph H. Hepworth, Albion is missing in action in the Pacific.)

          SOMEWHERE IN THE PACIFIC - Lieut. (j.g.) Ralph H. Hepworth, USNR, whose parents, Mr. and Mrs. C.V. Hepworth, live in Albion, Ida., was co-pilot of a navy Privateer search plane which recently sank a Japanese transport, a merchant ship and probably destroyed two Jap fighters planes during an anti-shipping patrol in the Pacific. 

     His four-engine search plane, out on reconnaissance patrol, entered an enemy harbor where two merchant ships and one transport were sighted. 

     Flying only 15 feet off the water the pilot made a strafing run over the three ships, the gunners plastering the transport and a merchantman with machine gun fire, circling around the Privateer came back in again, dropping four bombs.  One hit squarely on the deck of the transport, blowing the bow off, and the ship sank rapidly.  Before the big search plane left the area the transport and disappeared from view as had the strafed merchant ship.

     Turning to sea, the Privateer was immediately jumped by six Jap fighters which made a total of eight runs.  The turret gunners scored repeated hits on two of the fighters and one of the planes broke off, smoking badly.  Another Jap started a run from high above, but the gun crew boresighted him all the way.  The navy plane was flying only 50 feet off the water when the nip fighter dived.  He was on his back and burning when last seen. 

     In 1946 Ralph's family received this letter from the President of the United States

Harry Truman.   

President of the United States  Harry Truman

IN GRATEFUL MEMORY OF

Ralph Huntington Hepworth

WHO DIED IN THE SERVICE OF HIS COUNTRY

Attached to Patrol Bombing Squadron 124, Asiatic Area, 25 July 1946 (Presumed)

HE STANDS IN THE UNBROKEN LINE OF PATRIOTS WHO HAVE DARED TO DIE

THAT FREEDOM MIGHT LIVE, AND GROW, AND INCREASE ITS BLESSINGS.

FREEDOM LIVES, AND THROUGH IT, HE LIVES-

IN A WAY THAT HUMBLES THE UNDERTAKINGS OF MOST MEN

(SIGNITURE OF HARRY TRUMAN)

President of the United States Of America

We will never forget you.  

Memorial Day 

is a day when we pause to give 

Thanks

 to the People 

who fought for the things we have. 

Thanks for stopping by,

Renee

Ralph Huntington Hepworth

Picture taken abt 1925(age4) and 1942 (age 21)

     Ralph Huntington Hepworth was born to Charles Vern Hepworth
(my grandmother Hepworth Tomlinson's older brother)   and Mabel Ann Duffy in Salt Lake City Utah on 30 April 1921.  He was the third child of five, one older sister Yvonne who is still living, and three brothers all deceased.   

In 1928 the family moved from Salt Lake City to Albion, Idaho.

     I just found out today(24 May 2012) that the name Huntington is not a family name as I had assumed.  He was named after a place, Huntington Beach California.   Charles purchased some property in Huntington and it seem like a good name for the Hepworth's second born son.  

     Ralph grew up to be a hero, a young hero. 

Ralph Hepworth - Lieut G.E. Miller Long Beach, CA- Robert Littmann San Mateo CA. 

     I wish I had a better picture of Ralph with his Navy buddies G.E. MILLER and LITTMAN but, this is better than no picture.  All were lost at sea on 24 July 1945. 

     Today I will post  about what happened on
July 2, 1945.

This letter explains part of what happened.     

THE SECRETARY OF THE NAVY

WASHINGTON

     The President of the United States takes pride in 

presenting the 

DISTINGUISHED FLYING CROSS 

posthumously to 

LIEUTENANT RALPH HUNTINGTON HEPWORTH

UNITED STATES NAVAL RESERVE

for service as set forth in the following

     CITATION:

     "For heroism and extraordinary achievement in aerial flight as Co-Pilot of a Land-Based Patrol Bomber, attached to Patrol Bombing Squadron ONE HUNDRED TWENTY FOUR, during a search patrol over enemy Japanese-controlled waters between Korea and Kysushu, on July 2, 1945.  When the entire underside of the fuselage of his plane was ripped out during a bombing attack on an enemy merchantman, Lieutenant (then Lieutenant, Junior Grade,) Hepworth rendered invaluable assistance to his pilot in preventing the plane from crashing and in flying the severely crippled aircraft back to base.  His expert airmanship and unswerving devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service."

                                       For the President

                                        (signature)

                                       James Forestal

                                        Secretary of the Navy 

This story was in the Newspaper's all over the world. 

I think this article was in the Twin Falls Times with the headlines;

Albion Pilot's Mangled Plane Back With Chunks of Ripped-off Jap Mast. 

   Okinawa, July 4 (U.P.)   An American Privateer search plane, its belly ripped out and it crew hanging from its sides like trapeze artists while its pilot fought to reach home, brought back two chunks of the mast of a Japanese freighter attacked in the Tsushima straits between Kyushu and Korea. 

"We came home on prayer and hope." said Lieut. G.E. Miller, Long Beach, Calif., the pilot.

Miller's Privateer with another piloted by Lieut. D.E. Ellis, Kalamazoo, Mich., flying wing to wing pounced on a freighter and began spraying the decks with machinegun fire.  

    Esign Robert A. Littmann, San Mateo, Calif., the navigator reported:

"We started to pull out when there was a terrible rip-tearing noise going through the plan--it was the mast of the ship.  We hit with the nose of the plane and were ripped 25 feet through the whole belly.  A marine photographer was injured in the nose as the mast hit and took out the deck.  The crew were just hanging onto the sides from straps."

     The Privateer turned up on end as Miller pulled out only five feet above

the water.  Lieut R. H. Hepworth, Albion, Ida., co-pilot, said: 
 "The plane was shaking all over and felt like it would fall apart.  All the instruments were lost except an airspeed indicator and a magnetic compass.  With everything gone it was still possible to get it back."

     In the wing plane co-pilot Ens. Henry M. Page, Grosse Ile, Mich., signalled Ellis to turn around and assist the stricken Privateer.  Below them the Japanese freighter blazed and smoked.  With nearly 500 miles to return to Okinawa the plane shook loose hundreds of small parts as the crewmen stuck to their posts hanging over the white-capped ocean-four engines kept them in the air. 

     A few miles from Okinawa, Miller ordered the crewmen to edge 
forward and jam themselves around the flight deck.  They piled around the injured marine bobsled fashion to absorb the shock of wheels-up 
crash- landing. 
     Miller brought his plane down perfectly, the nose slightly up, the ripped bottom sliding about 200 yards along the coral runway.  None were hurt. 
     Inside the plane were found two pieces torn from the top of the mast-one hunk two feet long, the other about one foot-- several Japanese ammunition boxes which flew up into the fuselage and a piece of cloth, apparently a signal flag.  

Under Ralph's picture it reads:

Lieut. Ralph H. Hepworth

.........he and his fellow navy air crewmen his their enemy target, 

but they were moving so fast that 

the mast of a Japanese freighter

tore through the belly of their 

ship, leaving the Americans clinging

to straps far above the sea. 

They made it in to Okinawa, but

it is a flight they will never forget. 

The next article printed with this article dated July 5  ALBION, is more about  Ralph. 

     The vigorous school athletics in which he participated must have been a contributing factor to Lieut. (j.g.) Ralph H. Hepworth's being alive today. 

     Friends and relatives here, reading of the grueling experience Lieutenant Hepworth and fellow members of a Privateer air crew encountered after attacking a Japanese freighter, remembered that both in public school, the State Normal and at the University of Idaho he took an active part in football basketball and other sports.  

     The son of Charles V. Hepworth, the lieutenant has been service three years taking boot training in both California and Texas.  He has been overseas for a year. 

     Lieutenant Hepworth, who was president of the Albion student body, has two brothers, First Lieut. Charles M. Hepworth and S 1/c Merle Hepworth, serving somewhere in the Pacific. 

     The Privateer, of which Lieutenant Hepworth was co-pilot had attacked and enemy freighter and swept so low that the mast of the vessel ripped through the bottom of the fuselage.  That forced the American occupants to hang to sides of the plane like trapeze artists high above the ocean. 

      The plane was shaking all over and many of its parts were torn off and fell into the sea. 

     They were nearly 500 miles from Okinawa, but while the perilous fight was nearly over-the greatest danger of all was yet to be faced....a crash landing. 

     The men edged their way arm over arm to the flight deck and huddled about a marine photographer who had been injured, supporting him so that he would not be further harmed when the plane bellied flat against the surface of the landing field.  

Thanks for stopping by;

Renee