I have been negligent in producing a feature about Sarah Jane Burwell Westover. I have been wanting to defer to those who are her descendants and I have spoken with some of them over the years. There are many who want to know more about her. Sadly, there isn’t much out there outside of her […]
My wife, Sandy, is a twin. Her sister, Cindy, married a man named Bud Blazzard. Several years ago, visiting the grave of grandmother Electa Beal Westover in Washington City, Utah for the first time, I turned to leave, looking down at the ground as I left her headstone. To my great surprise, within just a […]
Shoal Creek, the far southwest Utah location that became the settlement called Hebron, was sought after for its tall grasses. Though not abundant, it became something of an oasis in the desert for those keeping sheep. Our family connection to Shoal Creek is through Edwin Westover, who was called to serve a mission for the […]
Meet Henry W. Bigler, not-so-famous Mormon pioneer who lived from 1815 to 1900. From what I can tell, we have no relation to this fine man. But, I think it is important to learn his story and to appreciate his life. While he’s not family he sure connected to many of our Utah pioneer ancestors […]
If I were to start over writing our family history I would start with the women. The wives, mothers and grandmothers are difficult to research because their names are missing from a lot of vital records. As women, they were counted more by surviving stories than by census records, marriage, birth and death records. In […]