Hegsted's Mission Week 82
18-February-2024-Sunday
Another payday! Our Rutland experience was as great as usual. We left at 11:45 and had no issues getting to the site by 12:45 for our opening. The Neilsons were there and very excited to have given their first tour before we arrived. Good for them. They were service missionaries giving tours outside St. George at the Brigham Young home, the Tabernacle, and the Jacob Hamblin home, so they felt comfortable.
We had the traveling nurse we met 4 weeks ago return to the site. She was a different person. She had skipped church that Sunday but came to visit us. She was seeking something and hoped to find it with us. Dede spent a great deal of time with her, and in the end, I challenged her to meet with her Bishop and return to activity. So much has happened since then. She met with the Bishop, who gave her assignments to return to activity such as attendance and tithing. She went to Montreal, purchased more garments, and felt happy to wear them again. Her countenance is so different. Her contract was canceled, but she has a job in Milwaukee that starts in 10 days. She is heading West today and will visit the other Church sites. But she had to stop and thank us. We do not often see positive results from a visit, but God has blessed us with two this week. We hope she can hold on to her new fervor for the gospel with all the changes and return to total activity. We know her father is praying for her. How kind is our God to allow us to be the ones here when she came in and to watch the power of the Spirit change His daughter's life. Another tender mercy.
19-February-2024-Monday
Happy President's Holiday. We were blessed with people on Saturday and Sunday due to the holiday weekend and people traveling. Hoopes at three people. We were almost skunked until the last minute when Dede was outside. She noticed two men walking around the monument and talked with them.
We had good meetings this morning. I feel for the Neilsons as they are trying to understand their roles as site leaders. Their training was spiritual preparation and not practical. It makes sense because every site is so different. But it is hard on them. They will be great.
Tomorrow, we find out if Olivia received her call. If so, we will meet her at the site to open it. If not, we will go to the temple. If not the temple, we will go up to Burlington.
20-February-2024-Tuesday
The day after a holiday is often slow, so it was today at the site. However, at 1:10, a wonderful lady came in for a tour. She is a pilot for Raytheon and was purely delightful. We started the tour, and the Neilsons hung out with us. It was fun, and we left her in good hands with the Neilsons as we finished our shift.
The day was bright and sunny, and Dede suggested we drive up to Tunbridge to see how frozen the First Branch (of the White River) was. When we got to Tunbridge, she suggested we go to Chelsea and eat French Fries at the 110 store. With added strength from the fries, we drove north up VT-110 through Washington and over to Barrie. We have not driven that section of road. We then came home through Williamstown on Rt-14. It was a beautiful trip.
Despite being bright and sunny, it was still cold, and Dede took some great photos of the ice along the highway and in the river, as shown below. The pictures lack perspective, but the ice is about 20 feet tall. Water weeps from the granite along the roads, forming these beautiful ice flows. Similar to Crystal Ice Cave in Idaho but more prominent and accessible to see.
Olivia received her mission call yesterday, so we stayed in town to watch her open her call. First, however, we went back to the Tunbridge Town Clerk's Office. We hoped to find evidence of Polly Chambers' birth and Samuel Smith. The records do not go back far enough for Polly Chambers, and apparently, the Smiths did not go into Town and record Samuel's birth. Darn! It was still lovely to read through records about the town and learn about it. Dede took more stunning pictures of the First Branch in Tundbridge and the area where Steven Mack had his mills.
Olivia came late, but we were glad we stayed for her. She brought two friends with her, so the crowd was relatively small. Dede made up for the number of people with her enthusiasm and hugs. Olivia will be a member for one year in April and receives her endowment in May. She is assigned to the Vancouver, Washington mission and starts on 8 July 2024. We admire her courage. Her dad has occasionally attended church with her, but her mother does not know what to think about her daughter's decision. Pictures of Olivia and Dede after she read her call to us.
We grabbed a sandwich and other food and headed to Burlington to visit Lone Rock Point on the shore of Lake Champlain. We hiked over 3 miles along cliffs that look over the lake. It was stunningly beautiful. It was also slick, and "Yours truly" went down twice with a thud. I should have worn tennis shoes with a tread or my boots. Luckily, nothing was broken, and Dede was kind and did not snicker but expressed loving concern. I would not expect anything different from her. I am grateful she did not fall and put me into temptation's path. We walked and stopped to view the beauties and walked and stopped some more. We were so glad we went there. Obviously, I took pictures. We will miss Vermont and its varied landscapes. I keep telling Dede that pictures with her would be easier as I block the background in ourselves, but she has a different (perhaps wrong?) opinion.
Stopped at a nice restaurant in Montpelier for dinner. Good food and reasonably priced. We walked in just before the dinner rush and were seated immediately, but by the time we finished, there was a waiting line. I had chicken marsala. Almost as good as Dede's, but she did not need to cook or clean, so it was a win.
22-February-2024-Thursday
I spent several hours in the Royalton Town Offices this morning. I was looking for evidence of the Macks and Smiths in Royalton. I did not have high hopes as professional researchers have looked for the same. Daniel G. Mack may have lived in Royalton with his mother. Lucy says Royalton, but it is not clear. I reviewed the land records without any references for Daniel G. Mack or Stephen Smith, Joseph Sr.'s brother buried in Royalton. That does not mean they did not rent in Royalton but did not record a land deed. There is nothing in the records about Lydia Mack's death to provide information on where she might be buried.
Furthermore, Lucy says two children were born in Royalton, Ephraim, who died within days of his birth, and William. Neither is recorded in the vital records. I searched the catalogs and went through three books to find an entry. I am not surprised. Births and deaths were recorded when someone came into town and registered them with the Town Clerk. In Tunbridge, we have the marriage of Lucy and Joseph because the Town Clerk married them. They did not have the Town Clerk record their first child, who died at birth. Alvin is recorded separately, but Hyruam (spelled Hirum on the record) and Sophronia are recorded on the same day, even though their birthdays are 2-3 years apart. Samuel Smith is not recorded at all. If one lives out of the village, it is not surprising that they might not come into the Village to register a birth, especially that of a stillborn, or if the family was moving soon, as was the case with Samuel and William. I must return to the Sharon Town Clerk, look for Joseph's birth record, and see if Daniel G. Mack had land in Sharon. The various Town Clerks have been very kind to Dede and me.
In the morning, I had great success. I am looking for the parents of Polly Chambers, who married John Mudget(t). (I put a parenthesis around the second t of Mudgett because the first Tunbridge record has one "t" in Mudgett. This changes later on. I will call him Mudgett from here on.) I found a record in the Royalton History of Sally Chambers, from Tunbridge, who married a Reuben Coy from Royalton. I have the names of her children and husband, and then the book says they moved away. I found Sarah Chambers with the same husband and children. A little research has told me that Sally is a diminutive of Sarah, so I can add that record to her.
The timing of the marriage is very close to the timing of the marriage of Polly Chambers and John Mudgett. In the Tunbridge records, John Mudgett marries Polly Chambers, both of Tunbridge. They then show a son, Ira, who is the son of John and Polly Mudgett. The following entry for John Mudgett is his death. In the same entry (they delineate entries by drawing a line, so it is clear that some entries were made simultaneously, even if they were months or years apart) is the birth record of Achah, daughter of John Mudgett and Mary. In another record, Ira Mudgett is called the son of John Mudgett and Mary. A little research suggests the following. A diminutive of Margaret is Mary, and Mary is often nicknamed Polly. Thus, it appears that Sarah is Sally Chambers, and Polly is Mary Chambers. Sally has a sister named Mary in Family Search, so everything seems to fit together nicely. However, in Family Search, Mary does not have a husband. Makes sense, as the marriage record calls her Polly. I have been praying about this for some weeks. I awoke this morning, knowing I needed to chase down Sally Chambers as they were probably related. The people, on the other side, want us to do their work. I know I am related to John Mudgett, the husband, and now that Polly is connected, I will also look for a relationship with her. Regardless, she is my cousin's wife. I have not entered this newfound information into FamilySearch. Hopefully, that happens today.
We had four people, two different groups, come for tours. It was a great day, and we were busy between tours and walking, so I did not get much FamilySearch work done.
23-February-2024-Friday
A much different day than yesterday. We worked the entire shift without having any visitors. Nevertheless, we were busy and happy. I started the shift by walking 2 miles. This is 6 laps around the road surrounding the monument. President Nielson then brought in a newspaper article that was sent to him. Written in 1989 by a person in Chelsea, 10 miles north of Tunbridge, it recounted the monument's building. He did a great job. He had some errors, but I was impressed by his work, as he probably read a single source for his article. He often referenced "Mormon Luck," which allowed Junius F. Wells to prepare the monument for dedication on Dec. 23, 1905. I would call it God's intervening hand, but I was grateful that the author could find a way to describe something foreign to him. I photocopied the article to have it for my records and took pictures as well.
I got Mary Polly Chambers correct in FamilySearch by merging her with an existing Mary Chambers, thus connecting her to her parents. Further research using Ancestry revealed that her dad was probably born in the USA, not Scotland, and her grandfather was also. This will add more people to the family record. I am not related to Polly, but I am to her husband. I have prayed to find Polly and her family. Initially, she stood alone with one child and no parents. Now FamilySearch has two children, grandchildren, and parents and will soon have grandparents. There can be no doubt that Polly and John wanted to have their lines identified.
I feel guilty that I do not accomplish as much as I did in the past. I realize I have increased my exercise time as well as my scripture study time. Honestly, I am merely trying to get back to where I was before I allowed the document to consume me. Regardless, I want to finish everything and still get to bed on time. Foolish me.
After our shift, we went to VINS to watch them feed the raptors. They have eagles, hawks, owls, crows, and ravens, which they feed. All have an injury and cannot fly and live in the wild. Good for them to take care of these animals and allow the public to see them up close. We hiked up the forest canopy walk. It is unique to see the forest from this height. We could hear the roaring of the falls, so we had to go there on the way to Lebanon. It was fantastic with the ice and the water flow, so you get more pictures.
We went to Lebanon and shopped. Dede is so speedy-quick, we finished long before our dinner reservation. We drove to the Packard covered bridge near Lebanon. We had been there in the dark and wanted to see it again. I know you want pictures. It appears this bridge was rebuilt using older methodologies. It has a truss system often used for heavier train bridges. The sides are open, so it is easy to see the trusses. The stonework for the buttresses is impressive. Glad to see we have not lost the art of this type of dry (no mortar) stonework.
We ended the evening dining with the Nielsons at Jesse's Steak House. The food was fantastic, but the company was better. God gave us three beautiful couples as site leaders for our mission. We are so blessed.
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