FLYING FROM DALLAS TO ATLANTA AFTER JACKSON'S BAPTISM

Image as taken on my NIKON 60. No processing.

049 Tuesday to Tuesday (Mar. 25-31, 2015)

049 Tuesday to Tuesday (Mar. 25-31, 2015)

Last week in March. We will return home in less than a year now. Sounds like a short time, and as each week quickly passes, it is a short time.

The relatives I want to introduce are on my Grandma Walton’s side. She was a Perry before marrying a Walton. Her ggrandfather was Solomon Perry. Family tradition has it that his grandfather, Solomon, and brother, John, came from England landing in New York. They later settled in western North Carolina where they were some of the first white settlers.

I have not found any evidence of Solomon Sr. and John, but I do know about Solomon the grandson. He was born in 1805 and married twice. His first wife was Elizabeth Ham. Very little is known about this family. They had seven children that I’m working on now.

The second wife was Tobitha Ham. She was born in 1848. They were married in Ashe Co. on December 23, 1863. Their marriage record gives her nickname of Bithy. When they were married, she was 15 and he was 58. I’d call that robbing the cradle.  It was reported that they were happy, and she adored him. They would take into their home older people who had no one to take care of them. They lived in the Horse Creek area of Ashe. It was a common sight to see them walking to church, he walking with a cane in one hand and leading a small child with the other. Tobitha often had a small baby in her arms. Solomon was a successful farmer and gristmill owner. 

Seated are Tabitha Ham Perry and her daughter Millie. Standing is Etta Sheets, daughter of Millie.

Solomon died in 1891 and is buried in the Ham Cemetery. There is no marker. After he passed away, Tobitha remarried a couple of years later but had no children. She married a third time, but they only lived together a couple of months. She did not carry this man’s last name and went back to the name of her second husband.

Solomon and Tobitha’s son, James Gentry Perry, was my ggrandfather. I would like to say I vaguely remember meeting him. However, I guess it’s the power of suggestion that I feel this way. He died the year before I was born. I believe that he was living with Grandma and Grandpa Walton when he died. 

James Gentry and Elzina Senatta Miller Perry, parents of Solomon Perry

The 25^th of March (Wednesday) was transfer day. That morning we had Denise’s team meeting. She was not happy with them before we got there, and the meeting was worse than we thought it would be. She was determined to tell them what for, meaning she did not like how she perceived she was being treated. She has until July to move out of her place, but she told them she was moving earlier. WOW! We shall see what happens.

That afternoon we went to the Chapel where the transfers were taking place. Again, Craig and I had to organize the cleaning party. This time, we had it ready to go. They got onto it, and it was great. That evening we went to the Mission Home to give a send off to the 24 Elders and Sisters that were leaving the mission field. They are a fine group of your men and women. They we went back to the Chapel for Testimony meeting and finally got home around 10:30. What a marvelous way to spend the day!

On Thursday, we spent the time with Victor. We took him to see two of the homes he had lived in when a young man in Milwaukee. He got really emotional seeing them and remembering his mom and grandma living there. Then we went to the Catholic Basilica downtown. It is a beautiful building. Victor’s grandma went to Church there. He was emotional there also. We took pictures so he could put them in his family history. We had a wonderful time with him.

That evening we had Pathway. The students are reading a book (they had several to choose from) that helps them relate the managing of their finances with the Gospel. On top of everything else that they do, this is keeping them busy. They will report on the book on the last evening of class.

On Friday, we met with Brother and Sister Rutowski regarding Pathway. We were meeting to get to know each other better and to bounce around ideas on how to promote the program for next year. We had Thai food, and it was good as usual. He used to be a member of the Nauvoo Temple Presidency. He indicated that since we wouldn’t be here all next year, we might need to be replaced. I hate that idea. Their younger cohort is now down to 2 students, one of which doesn’t come regularly. You can’t learn together if you have no one to discuss ideas with and to get opinions from.

Denise found an apartment. We get a call that she has found one. We can’t believe it and want to hold her back. If she moves, she will lose all the support of her counselors, social workers, etc. that she has had for 4 years. I don’t think she realizes how much support they give her. She will know on Sunday or Monday if she gets it.

That night Craig and I asked the Armstrongs (Dave and Virginia) to go to a hamburger place to eat. We had coupons that cut the cost in half, and we like that. We enjoy being with them. She is not a member, and she confessed while there that she does not want to give up her coffee. If she had a testimony, it would be no big thing. I think she is afraid of getting a testimony for that reason. Yet, she comes to Church regularly with him, and they are living all the other commandments. We will continue to be friends because they are good people.

On Saturday there was a pancake breakfast at our Parkway Ward. We had told Denise we would pick her up, but she said her sister would bring her. She had her three oldest kids with her also. The next morning, Denise called to say that her sister wouldn’t do it. So we had to go and make two trips to get her family to the Church. Because of it, we were the last group there about 15 minutes before it was over. We still had a good time. The boys found some friends to play with, and Denise got to meet new people.

That evening was General Women’s Conference. I had to take a dessert so I called upon Sam’s little brownies to do the trick. So clever! What a marvelous conference, if it is a prelude to what is coming, this will be a spiritual conference next weekend.

Sunday is always a good day. It is wonderful to be able to go to Church and renew our covenants with the Lord. When we keep our covenants, we are blessed and our lives are so full. Afterwards, we took the Elders home. It was a great day!

Denise did get the apartment. She has to be moved by Wednesday. We will have to help her but we have some things to do also this week.

On Monday, we have an appointment with an Elder Lifferth who left a container of his stuff here until he could come back and get it. At 1:00, he planned to come by, so we decided to go to Denise’s house to help her pack. I ended up packing the kitchen and cleaning most of the cupboards. I would not clean her dishes up and she wanted to pack all her food, so I left a couple of things for her to do. Craig packed other things. She was getting rid of so much stuff. She got rid of all of Timmy’s books. She said she didn’t read them to him, and she wouldn’t have room for them in the new apartment. Evidently, it is a tiny apartment, one bedroom, kitchen and living room together, and one bath. She is so excited she can’t stand it, but she is also going nuts because of all she has to do.

The last day of March came and went. We will never have an end to March in Wisconsin again. How sad is that!  We finished a week inspecting missionary apartments; then a district meeting; and finally, a couple of hours of math practice. We stayed busy, and it was a good day. This is a good way to finish the month.

Our Scripture for March is from Doctrine and Covenants 68:4 -

          And whatsoever they shall speak when moved upon by the Holy Ghost shall

be scripture, shall be the will of the Lord, shall be the mind of the Lord,   

shall be the word of the Lord, shall be the voice of the Lord, and the power 

of God unto salvation.

Elder and Sister Lenhard

048 Tuesday to Tuesday (Mar 18-24, 2015)

Years ago I sent all of my children an invite to come to Ancestry.com. I really wish you would do so. You could add some info and help with the work. It is truly a work of love.

Thought I would give you some Military Service information about family.

MILLER, HARRISON BAKER, 17, 1860 Ashe County Census HH#254. Musician, Co. A, 26th NC Inf., Enl. 5/17/61 in Ashe Co., NC, age 19. Pres. until taken POW 7/5/65 on return from Gettysburg, PA. Sent to Fort Delaware, DE where held until transf. to Point Lookout, MD 10/18/63. Paroled 2/18/65, sent to Boulware's Wharf for exchange 2/20/65. Res. Smyth Co., VA postwar, Primitive Baptist Minister. D. 2/8/1935, buried in the St. Clair's Bottom Primitive Baptist Church Cem., Chilhowie, Smyth Co., VA.  Harrison was actually the bugler. I believe he was at Gettysburg during the battle there.

Information gotten from Civil War Soldiers from Ashe and Alleghany County, North Carolina found on http://www.newrivernotes.com/ashe_alleghany_military_cwsoldiers.htm

MILLER, GEORGE WASHINGTON, 40, 1860 Ashe County Census HH#254. B. 1/31/1818 D. 5/3/1865 Ashe Co. NC killed by bushwackers passing through the area of his farm. George was away from home when the thieves came. It was hypothesized that there were as many as 15,000 men who after the war went into the mountains of North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. They would swoop down on the farms in the valleys looking for food and anything they felt they could use. When they got to the Miller farm, they took his horses. After George got home, he had an older horse that he wanted to take and trade with the men for a younger one that he needed on the farm. He took out on horseback and when he didn't come home later in the evening; he was found by his wife and daughter lying in the road with a gunshot in his back.
His grave has never been found, but it is assumed that he was buried on his farm somewhere in Ashe County, North Carolina.

Information from Civil War Soldiers from Ashe and Alleghany County, North Carolina found at http://www.newrivernotes.com/ashe_alleghany_military_cwsoldiers.htm

The 18^th was busy. We started out at the gym, and we really do love going. My knees get stiff if I don’t go 2 to 3 times a week. We had to get a new clicker for the garage – why do all the electronic gadgets go out at one time. We have two light bulbs go down – one for the refrigerator. I guess that’s a total of three things so we shouldn’t have any other problems. That evening we had dinner at Denise’s. We had to pick up a pie to take and prepare a salad. Then we got all the way over to her apartment to get a call from the Elders asking for a ride. It meant we had to come all the way back across town to pick them up. Of course, we were supposed to be there at 5 and they called at 4:45. Fun, fun. We had a good time that night. Denise really liked listening to Elder Mann, a missionary from England. He is so funny, and I enjoy listening to him. He gives me a hard time about my southern accent. 

Elders McMoore and Mann, Denise and Timmy, and Elders Goodale and Lau.

We moved into Thursday with a full day of Pathway work. We are almost finished for the semester. It is taking a lot more time than we thought it would. We had some work to do for a meeting that we would attend the next day at the Mission Home.

Friday was the beginning of a weekend that would bring several  General Authorities, Elder Perry and two members of the Seventy.  At 10:00 we went to the Mission Home to meet with all the Senior Missionaries in the Mission. We found out that morning that Elder Perry was not coming. We heard the rumor that since President Monson and Elder Packer were both under the weather, Elder Perry is next in line and was, therefore, in charge of General Conference which was coming up. It was disappointing not to have Elder Perry with us, but it was fun to meet with the Senior Missionaries and share our experiences. At 3:00, we were going to the Temple. We got to do a family name (Craig did), and I took a name that an elderly sister in the Ward was unable to take. I had taken it once before but only got the baptism done. It turned out that I was unable to take it through, so I had to leave it for someone else to complete it.  After the Temple work, we all went to eat at a Cracker Barrel.

Saturday found us involved in a missionary meeting that lasted until 1:00.  Elders Christiansen, Johnson, and Ward, all members of the Seventy came. There were so many things that we learned. Sister Cutler reminded us that the Lord often leads us into the wilderness in order to give us time to grow. Our wilderness is in Wisconsin. President Cutler reiterated that Immortality will be glorious. It will be even more glorious when eternal life includes our family. We aren’t just spending time preaching the Gospel, we are gathering Israel.

Elder Christiansen stated that the real teacher is the Holy Ghost. The Book of Mormon is different from other Scriptures in that it is a book with a promise. The promise is that if you read with real intent and ask if it is true, you can know for yourself.

There are four aspects of the Atonement: (a) death or the separation of man from God; (b) consequences of sin – repentence is a conditional gift, it brings forgiveness for sin when we forsake our sins;  (c) Christ can heal us from all we suffer in this life; and (d) the empowering nature of God – grace – is beyond ourselves that gives strength and power to do what we need to do.  Our focus should always be on the Atonement. It will bring us closer to Christ.

At 1:00, Craig and I had to take a missionary home to south Chicago. It was such a nice ride. He was a Spanish missionary and had been released a few days early to attend his sister’s weeding on that Saturday night. We have enjoyed working with him. He had such a sense of humor. His Bishop met us down there to release the Elder. We talked with him a little, and he said we would have one of his numbers for a discount from Ford which is were he worked. Maybe when we leave the mission?????

We ended this special Conference on Sunday. It was very uplifting. We were encouraged to develop a deeper relationship with Christ. If we love Him, we will feed his sheep!

On Monday, I spent some time to prepare for Pathway tutoring the next day. Then we had a FHE that night at the home of a Sister whom we helped move a couple of weeks earlier. We couldn’t believe what she had done to the home we moved her into. It looked like an old home that no one would be excited about, but she knows how to decorate. It was a great time. The other missionaries who had helped move her were there also.

Tuesday is all about Math Practice. We didn’t have district meeting that day because transfers were on Wednesday.

We love our work here. Every day is something new.

Our Scripture for March is from Doctrine and Covenants 68:4 -

            And whatsoever they shall speak when moved upon by the Holy Ghost shall be scripture,

            shall be the will of the Lord, shall be the mind of the Lord, shall be the word of the Lord,

            shall be the voice of the Lord, and the power of God unto salvation.

Elder and Sister Lenhard

Victor Kaufman feels the Spirit!

Just a little fun in Cedarburg Wisconsin!

047 Tuesday to Tuesday (Mar 11-17, 2015)

Time for a history lesson:  Grandpa (James Gentry Perry) and Grandma (Elzina Senatta Miller) Perry, Ada Emogene’s (my grandmother’s) parents, were farmers. He was also a Primitive Baptist Preacher and often preached in the area of Grayson, Smyth, and Washington counties, Virginia.(Odd note: He had bad eczema on his hands.) They came from Ashe County, NC, between White Top Gap and Lansing, near Big Horse Creek. He would haul produce from their farm to Bristol, Abingdon, and Chilhowie to sell.  He usually had a route staked out.  Elzina died of high blood pressure on Christmas Day in 1940. She used garlic for medicine – not sure what else they may have had back them to take care of this.

My daddy (nicknamed Billy) remembered another Christmas (he was the one that got scared over the big teddy bear). His daddy came home and pulled the car into the barn for the night. It was Christmas Eve. Billy saw his daddy carrying a bag over his shoulder like Santa. He ran to the kitchen thinking his dad would come through that door, but he came through the front door. For Christmas, Billy got a coconut, a pair of socks, a harmonica, and a little bag of peanuts. What a difference in the presents our children get today.

I once “interviewed” Grandma Ada (my sister is named after her) Walton and asked her some questions. So here are a couple of facts about her. She met Granddaddy Booker Walton on the second Sunday in March 1920. Later, Ada had gone with her granddaddy to Troutdale, Virginia, where Booker lived. They spent the night with Booker’s family and he asked her to walk to Church with him on Sunday morning. When they had to leave and return home, she thought she would never see or hear from him. The next week she got a letter, and the second week she got another and he asked her to marry him. In total, they exchanged 9 letters. The third time she met him was when they were married. They were married the second Sunday of June at her Granddaddy’s, Harrison Baker Miller, house above Riverside, Virginia. Riverside was very close to the St. Clair Primitive Baptist Church that the Waltons attended for Church. It was the first Primitive Baptist Church built in that area (in the late 1770s), and it may have been the first in Virginia.  Harrison was also a Primitive Baptist Preacher, and he married them. They were married for 43 years, and she said that we should not ever say that there isn’t love at first sight. (Another odd note: Riverside High School was were I went to the 4^th grade, Anita to the 6^th, James to the 3^rd , and Ada Jo to the 1^st. 

When Ada first met Booker, she thought he was the best looking man she’d ever met, but he didn’t talk. When he did, whatever he said he meant. Grandma thought my daddy was like him. After they were married, Booker’s mother told Grandma that the Saturday night or Saturday evening after Church that they stayed with the family, Booker followed his mother to the spring house and said, “Ma, I’ve met my wife. I’ve waited 25 years for her, and I hope she will have me.” Grandma said she and Booker never had any harsh words with each other, he was so good to her and was crazy about his children. 

Ada Emogene Perry and Wilborn (spelling wrong on picture) Booker Walton before they were married.

Booker passed away in 1963. I still remember how they came to tell mom that he had been sitting on the porch and had a heart attack at home. I believe Uncle Wallace and his family was there and took him to the hospital in Abingdon where he died. We were at our home, just down the road from where they lived, when someone came to tell us he was at the hospital. He had passed away before my parents could get there. Later, they brought his body back to the house where people came to visit before the funeral. He was laid out in the front room, where several years before Anita and I sat and watched the Wizard of Oz when it came on for the first time on TV. All of the cousins where there, and we would go around talking about what had happened, death, and how we would miss him. There was a bird’s nest in a tree on the side of the house, and we got up to see the little baby birds. We breathed on the babies, and someone told us they would die because of it and the ants would eat them. I was so worried about those little birds dying also.

Booker was my granddaddy, and he was a good man. Once, he and Grandma were taking me and Anita to a Church member’s house for singing (they did that in their Church). As we drove there, I must have said a word (not a cuss word), but something that was like “gosh” or “darn”. Granddaddy quietly corrected me and said that I should never use words like that to express myself. I wanted to please him, and I thought I never would. (Sure forgot that when I grew up.)  Grandpa and Grandma Walton also took Anita and I to see “Old Yeller,” and we cried buckets at that movie. It was in a drive in, and we sat in our car. It is funny what memories come to us when we are reminded of little things from the past.

Grandma married Leonard Davis several years after granddaddy died. He was the father of their daughter’s (Sybil) husband (Melvin). She said that she still missed granddaddy, and although she had married Leonard, she could never love him like she did Daddy (what she called Booker). Leonard was a wonderful man too and was good to her.

Enough about the past!  Let’s get to the present. Please share this with my grandbabies. As I work, I want them to know about their family.

The beginning of the week (for me) was on Tuesday. We began our day by driving north to a place near Port Washington called Grafton. Another small clean town but not much there. It was so very peaceful and a nice drive to get there. We went there to inspect missionary apartments. What a hoot! They had done a pretty good job. We enjoy getting to do this. I usually do the looking and writing of the report, Craig keeps them talking so they stay away from me. I go through all the cabinets, closets, rooms, etc. Man, they are really just boys in so many ways. It is amazing to me that some have been on a mission for 18 months or more and never had their apartments inspected. We are trying to do a better job about getting them to keep it conducive to the Spirit.

That night we attended the PAF genealogy group. It is such a well oiled machine, and it gets the information to the members. These people are so into their family work, they are professionals. We love going to their meetings, and we learn something every time we go.

On Thursday, we went to the gym, and for a lot of the day prepared for Pathway. There aren’t many weeks left in the program, and I am going to miss the math; however, I will also be glad to free up the hours I’ve spent trying to keep up with the students and their work. 

Friday came around, and I felt a sorry for the passing of Aunt Peggy. She was buried on Friday the 13^th. They buried her next to Uncle Blaine in the Dowell Cemetery off Fall Branch Road. She was a good lady, and so much like mom in so many ways and yet, not like her at all. I shall miss talking with her and asking her endless questions.

Aunt Peggy and Uncle Blaine

That morning we went with the missionaries to talk with a new member, Dave Meltun. He is in a program to become a chef and has had a hard time coming to Church. He is a black man, but I think he looks Italian. He has three children, and I can’t tell if they live with him or not. There are several people who live in the house, and the woman (maybe his sister) who owns the house does not like the Elders coming around. So we went with them. He had asked me several questions regarding the need for baptism for the dead. He is very smart, and we do not want to lose him.

Later that evening, Craig had to go with the missionaries to talk with someone about employment opportunities. He was gone for several hours, and I spent my time as usual working on family history. I’ve been working for a nonmember on scanning in all her documents so she can get rid of her paper trail. She and her husband have been in Florida for the winter and should be back soon. They were unable to sell their home before they left, so they can’t move to Florida for good until they get rid of the house. I had one notebook left when they went to Florida, and I’ve been working on it forever. It takes a lot of time to scan in dozens of documents. When I finish, I’m going to get back into scanning our pictures. I have so many to do, and I’m constantly finding more. At the same time, we found out earlier in the day that Dave Armstrong had pneumonia. I spent several hours getting the Priesthood on the phone to get someone over to their home to give him a blessing. I don’t think they had even thought of it. I wasn’t sure how she would react, but she was all for it.

Saturday found us hunting out some new sights in Milwaukee. We had an appointment that afternoon that was cancelled at the last minute. That night we went to Waukasau to attend a meeting with an author who had written a book about the Blacks and the Church. Can’t remember his name now, but it was very interesting, very positive. He is working on a doctorate and has done extensive research on the subject. He had some access to many resources in SLC. We learned from his presentation.

Sunday found us at Parkway. It is a nice building, but small in some ways. We usually have a full Sacrament, such a difference from City Branch. This group is much more well-to-do also. There is a different feeling here, and we find ourselves missing the City Branch. They are good people, but there isn’t the closeness we felt before. It is practically a new Ward, so it will take a while to come together. The Bishop, his counselors, RS leaders are top notch. We don’t know the Primary workers or youth leaders yet. It will take a while to get to know them.  After Church, someone in the Ward brings all these bread and goodies for members to take as they need. I picked up some cinnamon rolls, and we took some by the Armstrongs to check on him. He did not look good. We didn’t stay because when we got there someone (a man) was leaving their house. He quickly went back inside and disappeared. We figured it was their son who doesn’t like the Church. So we left after checking with them.

On Monday, after going to the gym, we got cleaned up and went by the home of a Sister who has been sick a lot and we haven’t seen her in a while. She was not home when we got there so we headed out to Costco. We had our refund check with us and so got several things to put in storage. We also picked up a rotissori chicken for the Armstrongs (and one for us) to take by their house that night. We are worried about Dave. When we took it by, Dave looked like he was so tired that it was all he could do to stand up. Again, we didn’t stay long because he didn’t look like he needed visitors.

Tuesday brought around the regular oil change. While there, Craig ended up getting two new back tires (ouch!) and the information that the front tires will need changing soon.  We also inspected two missionary apartments, and one of them was a mess. Only one of the missionaries assigned to the apartment was there. The other was on exchanges. We then met him when we went to the Mission Office. He asked if they passed. I wanted to laugh. So silly!

We didn’t have a District Meeting on Tuesday because we would have transfers the next week so we had math practice all afternoon. Craig has to entertain himself when I’m tutoring. He is very good about doing things that need to be done. Again, I’m ready for these hours to be finished.

Our Scripture for March is from Doctrine and Covenants 68:4 -

            And whatsoever they shall speak when moved upon by the Holy Ghost shall be scripture,

            shall be the will of the Lord, shall be the mind of the Lord, shall be the word of the Lord,

            shall be the voice of the Lord, and the power of God unto salvation.

Elder and Sister Lenhard