My Dad’s Side of the Family
From this information, I am assuming the Williams line immigrated from England in 1633 and settled in the New Hampshire area. My GGGG Grandfather was Samuel Williams. He lived and died in New Hampshire and his son, Samuel A. Williams, Sr., my GGG Grandfather lived in New Hampshire during his lifetime; his son, John Williams, my GG Grandfather, was born in New Hampshire and died in Ohio; his son, Charles Wesley Williams, my Great Grandfather was born in Holmes Co, Ohio and died in Fox, Grant, Oregon; and his son, Horatio Lee Williams, my grandfather, was born in Marion Co, Ohio and died in Vale, Malheur, Oregon.
My paternal great grandmother was Rachel Buckmaster (my Dad’s grandmother on his father’s side) was born 8 September 1822, Salt Creek Twp, Holmes, Penn, and died on 31 Jan 1887, Fox, Grant, Oregon. She married my great grandfather, Charles Wesley Williams, Feb. 2, 1842. The Buckmasters came from England. Seven generations back in 1666, the Buckmaster name was changed from Buckminster to Buckmaster after immigrating to the American British Colonies. Nine generations back, Thomas Buckminster (28 Sept. 1656), immigrated from England to the British Colonies sometime after his marriage to Margaret Cossen on 2 July 1618. He died in Middlesex, MA. Another three generations back all lived in England ending with Christopher Buckminster who was born in 1475 in Poynton, Cheshire, England.
My paternal great grandfather, Wilson Devalson Branch, (my Dad’s grandfather on his mother’s side) was born 7 January 1836 in Cumberland, Tennessee and died 24 April 1884 in Salem, Marion, Oregon. In Family Search, it states that he is the son of Levi Branch and Nancy Branch. I have the probate on Levi Branch stating that he died in December of 1824. Wilson was born in 1836. He was given the last name of Branch as well as an older brother, John Carrol who was born in 1830. However, in considering this further, we know that Nancy Branch took Eli Evans to court to get child support for her illegitimate son, John Carrol Branch, in 1830 because of the following information given to me through an email from Vern Branch a descendant from John Carrol Branch (a brother of Wilson Devalson Branch) dated April 7, 2017. He received this information from Dawn Branch King (dawnbranchking@yahoo.com) on Feb. 20, 2016.
Madison County
page 186, May 5, 1830
"Eli Evans was charged as reputed father of Nancy Branch's "bastard child" and was ordered to pay $55 in 3 annual installments, $20 first two years and $15 third year towards the "support and maintenance" of this child.
Link to the Court Minutes where this information was gathered
This email further stated that while this 1830 date does not correspond with the date of John Carroll Branch's date of birth of 1834, Dawn Branch King thinks he or she may have fudged the birthdate. In the 1850 census William Branch is 27, Wilson is 17 and John is listed as 20 years old for a birthdate of 1830. In subsequent years, he seems to adopt the birthdate of 1833 or 1834.
Dawn further states that “this is our Nancy Branch. She was in a household alone with her children in Madison TN. But Stephen Massey (who seems to be perhaps her uncle was the guardian of her children's estate) lived nearby. Stephen Massey married Elizabeth Branch who is documented as the daughter of Archelaus Branch of Duplin NC. Stephen Massey's sister Susannah was the wife of Benjamin Branch of Cumberland County. Benjamin died in Duplin NC but I'm not sure where his widow ended up. I really believe that Benjamin was Nancy's father who posted the bond for her 1813 marriage to Levi Branch. It makes sense that Susannah's daughter Nancy named her first daughter, Susan.” Therefore, at this point, we really don’t know who Wilson’s father was. However, since Wilson’s mother, Nancy, gave him the last name of Branch, Wilson Devalson was sealed to Nancy Branch (1794-1845) and Levi Branch (1792-1824) on January 8, 2016 in the Bountiful, Utah Temple.
My paternal great grandmother, Polly F. Hopkins (my Dad’s grandmother on his mother’s side), was born 12 November 1839 in North Carolina and died on 17 March 1872 in Redfield, Bourbon, Kansas. She married Wilson Devalson Branch on 5 November 1857 in Fort Scott, Bourbon, Kansas. The Hopkins family originated from England. The last record we have is for William Hopkins, Sr. born in 1605 in England. His son, William Hopkins was born in England in 1625 and died in Roxbury, Suffolk, Massachusetts. The next generations lived in Rhode Island, Kentucky, South Carolina, Missouri, New Hampshire, Ohio, and Tennessee. My Great-Great Grandfather, Isaac Hopkins, was born about 1800 in Tennessee and died in Franklin Co., Kansas before 1870. He was the father of my Great Grandmother Polly F. Hopkins who was born 12 November 1839 in North Carolina.
It is sad to say, but I don’t know any personal stories about any of these people except for my grandfather, Horatio Lee Williams (14 November 1865 - 27 September 1924) , and my grandmother, Arminda Jane Branch (Feb 2, 1870 – Sept. 13, 1947), whom I will discuss in the next section. I don’t remember my Dad telling me any stories about his grandfathers or grandmothers and he passed away in 1988 and so I can’t ask him anything about them now.
My Mother’s Side of the Family
My maternal great grandfather, Parley Mormon Grigg, Sr. (My Mother’s grandfather on her father’s side), was born the 24th of October 1845 in Quaker Gap, Stokes, North Carolina. Concerning his progenitors, I received the distinct impression to look in the book, Five Generations of Mormonism: Five Generations of Mormonism: A Grigg Family Genealogy Embracing the Ancestry, Life and Descendants of Dr. Anderson Irvin Grigg, written, edited and compiled by his great-granddaughter Cleo Grigg Johnson, Boise, Idaho. Printed by the Deseret News Press in 1956. In this book, Cleo Grigg Johnson describes the origin of the surname, Grigg. She writes: “Gregor became a surname when Gregor Alpin, third son of King Alpin, founded Clan MacGregor, 750-800. He was a descendant of Scottish King, Fergus Mor Mac Earca (about 500) in the male line and the Pictish Royal line in the female line and his ancestry can be traced to Adam. Clan MacGregor was characterized by strong leaders with aggressive personalities who kept the Clan feuding in the Highlands. In the year 1633, King Charles prevailed upon Parliament to abolish Clan MacGregor. It was not termed a felony to murder a MacGregor. It was not lawful to use the name on any contract and the ministers dared not baptized a babe of that name. Because of the stringent act of parliament, the MacGregors took such names as Gregg, Greig, Grigg, Greer, Gregor, Grigar, Greg, Gregson, and Grigson.”
The surname Grigg also originated in England and was first noticed in the 1200s. This line had no connection to the Gregors from Scotland. We really don’t know if our line descended from the Scottish or the English as of this date.
The Grigg family
immigrated from Otterford, Someret County, in SW England in the 1600s to
Jamestown, Virginia. William Grigg I (also known as William Grigg the
immigrant) was born in 1643 in England and died October 1688 in Bristol
Parrish, Prince George, VA. He was Christened in Jamestown, VA. He
married Elizabeth Frances Burwell (1645, Surry County, VA – 1715,
Bristol Parish, Prince George, VA) about 1660 in Charles City, VA. Four
generations lived and died in Virginia. Moses Grigg was born in 1748,
at Aarons Creek, Lunenburg, Virginia and died before 1830 in Tate’s
Fork, Surry County, North Carolina. His son, Dr. Anderson Irvin Grigg
(my mother’s great grandfather on her father’s side) was born in Grayson
County, Virginia. He joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints and on the 18th of March 1868, and the Surry County Branch with
Dr. Anderson Grigg as Presiding Elder was organized. In July 1869, Dr. Grigg immigrated with some of the Saints to Utah by railroad from New York City to Ogden, Utah.
They were the second known group of immigrants to come west by rail.
They arrived in Ogden the 29th of July 1869. Teams and wagons came from
Payson to get them. They arrived in Payson on the 6th of August, but
many of them were sick and dying from the black measles. Despite their
best efforts, Dr. Grigg and his wife, Casandria, lost three of their
grandchildren from the epidemic. They settled down in Payson and spent
the rest of their lives there. My GG Grandpa, Dr. Anderson Irvin Grigg,
passed away on June 15, 1886 in Payson, Utah. I have always loved the
story of Dr. Anderson Irvin Grigg’s conversion story. It is taken from
the book, Five Generations of Mormonism: A Grigg Family Genealogy,
written, edited and compiled by Cleo Grigg Johnson, 1956. It reads,
“Casandria (Dr. Andy’s wife) and three of her daughters were converted
and it is reported that the first time Jedediah Grant called a meeting
and preached a sermon, Casandria was the only one in the audience to
rise and seek baptism. And from that day until the day of her death she
never wavered or doubted. But Dr. Andy, busy with his patients, could
not bring himself to believe in miracles of healing and revelations from
God in this modern age.One evening Elder Grant read the passage in the Book of Mormon to the Grigg family which promises that if one will ‘ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.’ (Moroni 10:4)
Dr. Grigg was deeply impressed and began to read the book. He weighed in his heart the many things he read. One night he came upon the verse Elder Grant had pointed out to him. He went to his room, closed the door, knelt down and prayed vocally, asking he Lord to give him a testimony of the truthfulness of the new book. After praying he lay in the darkness pondering on his reflections.
Glancing toward the table on which lay the Book of Mormon he saw that it was lighted up with a white brilliance that lighted the dark room.
The Book of Mormon was ever afterward a symbol of light to him. He asked Elder Grand for baptism and the ordinance was performed for him in February 1841. Today many of his descendants hold the Priesthood of God and rejoice in the light which caused them to share in its blessings.”
My maternal great-grandpa (my mother’s grandfather on her father’s side and Dr. Andy’s son), Parley
I remember my mother telling me how much she loved to go to her
Grandma and Grandpa Grigg’s home because there was always plenty of
food! She said that Grandma Grigg always buttered the loaf of bread
first and then sliced it off for her to eat.My maternal great-grandmother, Amanda Catherine Oyler (my mother’s grandmother on her father’s side), immigrated with her family to Utah in 1870 where she met and married my great grandfather, Parley Mormon Grigg, Sr., who was also a convert to the church. In fact, he was baptized in Stokes County, North Carolina by the same missionary, Elder Henry Boyle, who had baptized Amanda and her family.
My mother’s cousin, Cleo Grigg Johnson (her father was Ammon Anderson Grigg who was Parley Mormon Grigg, Jr.’s younger brother. He married Mary (Maida) Pratt Gardner who was Thankful Halsey Gardner’s sister. So, two brothers married two sisters), wrote about her grandmother, Amanda Oyler Grigg. She said, “Grandmother, Amanda, was in the height of her glory when she saw one of her four sons or five sons-in-law coming in a cloud of dust, or through deep mud or a snow blizzard, driving the team lickity-split toward her home. She knew they were coming for her and a new grandchild was about to be born. She had her bag well packed…for any emergency. Of the hundreds of babies she delivered, she never lost a mother or a child. Amanda was on hand at the birth of nearly all of her sixty-eight grandchildren and many of her great-grandchildren. She always spent ten days in the home of each new arrival. She cooked up good things for the family and prepared delicacies for the new mother, humored the new father, tended the new baby and comforted and amused the older children.
Amanda was a tiny person, full of “know how”, thrift and energy. Nothing ever went to waste in her home. As a young girl, I (Cleo) spent a great deal of time in the home of my grandmother, Amanda Oyler Grigg. I was an avid listener to her stories of her birth in 1853 on a tobacco plantation in Franklin County, Virginia. I loved to hear her tell of her Pennsylvania Dutch parents, and of the darkies on the place, and of her sheltered life until the War of the Rebellion came and ruined it all. Her father, Ammon Oyler, and brothers fought for the South and lost everything they had to boot. The youngest brother, Michael Valentine Oyler, was killed in the first battle of Bull Run.”
Amanda told her granddaughter Cleo of the time when she met President Abraham Lincoln and what a fine man he was. She told her the story of her conversion to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints by the Mormon missionaries, and how “she was reviled and spit upon by her friends and neighbors for joining such an unpopular church. But nothing could shake her faith in the true gospel of Jesus Christ.”
Cleo goes on to write, “Amanda and Parley suffered every hardship known to mankind in rearing their large family and pioneering their homes out of the rough – first in Payson, Utah, then in Wayne County, Utah, and later near La Grande, Oregon. Their final home was in Nampa, Idaho.”
Cleo relates how her grandmother, Amanda, was a great southern cook who had been taught by her mother, Delilah, who taught her among other things how to utilize the large pans of skimmed milk by making Dutch cheese.
My maternal great grandfather, John Gardner (my mother’s grandfather on her mother’s side), was
John secured passage to American on a sailing ship, Falcon, by working for his passage. He officially came with a group of Saints. The record doesn’t tell us how he got from Keokuk, Iowa, to the Salt Lake Valley in 1853. (Taken from the book: Family History and Temples Including Grigg and Related Family Genealogies by Dick Grigg, 2011) John Gardner married Julia Houston Pratt, born 1847 at Winter Quarters, Nebraska, on 1 June 1860 in Salt Lake City, Utah. They had my Grandmother Thankful Halsey Gardner who was the tenth of fourteen children born to them.
My maternal Great-Great Grandmother, Ann Knox Gardner (my mother’s great grandmother on her
Four years later, Ann Knox Gardner and her five children took advantage of the Handcart Plan and the Emigration Fund to come to American on the ship Enoch Train which arrived in Boston on May 1, 1856. After leaving the ship, they went to New York by train and then to Iowa, City. Ann Gardner was a member of the Daniel D. McArthur Handcart Company. It was one of the first two handcart companies in history, one made up of Scots and the other of English. There was intense rivalry between the two companies to see who would reach the Salt Lake valley first. Two of Ann’s sons, James and Alexander, took off on a run with their handcarts at the end to keep their pledge to beat the English company to Salt Lake. The Scots’ Company were credited with being the first handcart company to reach Salt Lake City (Dick Grigg, 2011).
In the Book, Gardner Cousins, by Blane Gardner, we read that Ann Knox Gardner and her children were sent to Tooele, Utah and then settled in Goshen when it was established. Ann was a midwife and a nurse for 30 years to this community. Ann Knox Gardner always said she was a direct descendant of John Knox the Scot reformer. Her Grandson, Blane Gardner, found a pedigree of John Knox The Reformer of Glasgow Scotland, in the Salt Lake Genealogy Library in 1942 and after 42 years was able to trace the ancestry of Ann Knox back eight generations to connect with the early pedigree of John Knox making a direct line back to the early 1300s. Blane had the privilege to do much of the Temple work for those people. The early Knox’s lived on large grants of land and are termed Landed Gentry and all the branch lines run back into Royalty. The temple work on those lines is done back into the 1400’s. The Knox line runs back before the time of our ancestor William the Conqueror who ruled England around the ten hundred’s. Blane Gardner entered those early names on family group sheets in 1979 and was two years getting them cleared for Temple work. In 1981, there were about fifty names cleared and when Blane opened the envelope, he felt their presence and knew that many of them were ready and waiting for their work to be done. Ann Knox Gardner received her Endowments on 25 November 1865.
The Gardner ancestry seems to have centered around the vicinity of the John Knox Monument in Glasgow, Scotland. The Gardner name stems from the Gordon Clan who had the great Duke of Gordon for its head. (Blane Gardner, Gardner Cousins 929.273 GI746)
We have considerable German heritage on both the Grigg-Oyler and Gardner-Pratt sides. They immigrated to Colonial American in 1700-1800. Our line of the Oylers eventually settled in Franklin County, Virginia, and it was here that they joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and immigrated to Payson, Utah by railroad in 1870. Our Olyer line comes down from Conrad Oyler to Ammon Oyler, his daughter, Amanda Catherine Oyler who married Parley Mormon Grigg Sr. and down to us. (Grigg, 2011)
My maternal Great
Grandmother was Julia Houston Pratt (my mother’s grandmother on her
mother’s side and John Gardners wife). She was the daughter of Parley
Parker Pratt and Sarah Houston. Going back 30 generations from me on
the Pratt line, Osbern Preaux France and Marie Preaux France immigrated
from France to England. Osbern was born abt. 1066 in Normandy, France
and died in Devonshire, England in 1156. For 20 generations, the Pratts
resided in England. Then William Pratt who was born on June 6, 1609 in
Hertfordshire, England immigrated to Colonial American sometime during
his lifetime. He died 20 February 1670 in Hartford, Connecticut,
British Colonial American. The next four generations lived in
Connecticut. Obadiah Pratt Senior was born on September 14, 1742 in
Middlesex, Connecticut and died in Columbia, New York on 2 March 1797.
The next two generation, Jared Pratt and Parley P. Pratt, were born in
New York.
My maternal great, great grandfather, Parley
Parker Pratt (my mother’s great grandfather on her mother’s side)
married Thankful Halsey on September 9, 1827 and they moved to Ohio. He
first learned of the restored gospel in the summer of 1830, “when he
was shown a copy of the Book of Mormon. ‘I opened it with eagerness,
and read its title page. I then read the testimony of several
witnesses
in relation to the manner of its being found and translated. After
this I commenced its contents by course. I read all day; eating was a
burden, I had no desire for food; sleep was a burden when night came,
for I preferred reading to sleep. As I read, the spirit of the Lord was
upon me, and I knew and comprehended that the book was true, as plainly
and manifestly as a man comprehends and knows that he exists. My joy
was now full, as it were, and I rejoiced sufficiently to more than pay
me for all the sorrows, sacrifices, and toils of my life.’” (The
Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt, 1938, 1985, Deseret Book Company)
Parley was baptized as soon as he could arrange it on September
1, 1830 by the Apostle, Oliver Cowdery, in the Seneca Lake, in western
New York. Parley P. Pratt was a faithful member of the church and was
one of the 12 apostles of the Lord from 1835 until his death in 1857.
He wrote an autobiography of his life that was first published in 1874.
In 1938 it was republished with added genealogical information. It
contains one of the most significant histories of The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints. (Parley P. Pratt, 1938)
Parley’s first wife, Thankful Halsey, died a few hours after giving birth to their first child, Parley P. Pratt, Jr. on March 25, 1837. She was buried in the churchyard near the Temple in Kirtland, Ohio. Parley wrote, “My grief, and sorrow, and loneliness I shall not attempt to describe.” After his wife’s death, Parley went to Canada and then on a mission to the City of New York. It was here that he wrote the book, “Voice of Warning.” Among Parley’s most lasting contributions to the Church have been several hymns beloved by the Saints for generations, including “The Morning Breaks,” ”An Angel from on High,” ”Come, O Thou King of Kings,” “Jesus, Once of Humble Birth,” and “As the Dew from Heaven Distilling.”
Parley Parker Pratt married Sarah Houston on October 15, 1845 in Nauvoo, Illinois. Their first baby, Julia Houston Pratt (my mother’s grandmother on her mother’s side), was born at Winter Quarters, Nebraska on 1 April 1847 while they were immigrating west.
My mother told me of this event when I was growing up. She told me that my great grandmother, Julia Houston Pratt, was born at Winter Quarters, Nebraska and had traveled to the Salt Lake valley in the back of a wagon in a shoe box. I often wondered how a baby would fit inside a shoe box. My husband and I do living history of the Civil War and pioneers. It finally dawned on me that the women of the time wore high top boots and so it must have been a boot box that she rode to Salt Lake in.
On October 12, 1965, my grandmother, Thankful Halsey Gardner Grigg wrote about the life of her
Julia weighed 4 ½ lbs. at the time of her birth. The first months of her life were spent in a covered wagon, crossing the plains. The family went through many hardships after reaching Utah.
As a young woman Julia went out as a nurse and took care of sick people; it was her privilege to take care of a young man from Scotland, who had his feet frozen. Her expert attention and good sense saved him from having his feet amputated. That man was John Gardner.
John fell in love with her and they were married. Julia now had time to rest and enjoy life. They were very happy. They lived in Goshen at this time and Julia was the life of a crowd of young married people She was very pretty and a good dancer, and John was proud of his charming bride.
As time went by they had a
large family. When the ninth child, Lizzie Belle, was a baby they moved
from Goshen to Prattville, Sevier Co., Utah and joined what was then
known as the “United Order.” From there they moved to a homestead on
Sevier Co. They lived in a small house on the “never Sweet” canal.”I must go back in my story to explain that after Julia’s father, Parley P. Pratt, died, her mother Sarah married a Jewish convert by the name of Lewis Tousic (Louis Taussig). She bore three children, the last of them William Tousic (Taussig) was raised by John and Julia. Will was like a son to them and helped them on the homestead. He was never adopted but went by the name of Gardner and raised a large family who live near the old homestead.” [my note, William was born just three weeks before the death of Julia and John’s second baby’s death. Sarah was too ill to care for her youngest child, William, so Julia and John took him and raised him.]
Julia Houston Pratt Gardner and John Gardner received their endowments and were sealed for time and eternity in the Salt Lake Endowment House on the 25th of November 1865. They were always active and loyal to the church. Julia died April 17, 1903, at age 56 having raised a very fine and large family. All of her children raised a very fine and large family following her example. She was the mother of 15 children and 94 grandchildren.
After reading about the lives of my paternal and maternal progenitors several generations back, I have been struck with what wonderful lines I have been blessed to come through. People who were hard-working, tenacious, and spiritual.
What stories do you know about them?
My mother always told me that Dad’s mother, Arminda Jane Branch, and my Dad were always very close. Mom said everyone wondered if Minnie Jane was going to accompany them on their honeymoon.
In the book, Heritage Treasures, I found information about my paternal grandfather Horatio Lee Williams, or “Rush” as he was called because he was always in a hurry. Horatio was the son of Charles Wesley Williams and was born in Marion Co, Ohio and died in Vale, Malheur, Oregon. Rush married, Arminda Jane Branch, or Minnie, on the 3rd of July 1887 and set up housekeeping in a log house on a ranch out of Dayville. He would tell Minnie how his folks had come West to Oregon from Ohio, Iowa and Texas. Rush was ambitious, hard-working, and honest. He was not an especially religious man but he believed in God. He would hold their babies on his chest while he was lying down and pat and sing to them, a custom that my Dad, Otis, carried on with his children. Rush and Minnie’s 6th out of 10 children was Otis Harland Williams (my father). He was born in Dayville, Grant, Oregon on January 25, 1902. He was the first in his line to accept the gospel and join the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Dad’s older brother, Charles Wesley, joined the church as well on December 17, 1964. As far as I know, none of Dad’s other siblings joined the church or any of their descendants.
In the spring of 1936, Dad met my mother, Julia Kathryn Grigg, and it was love at first sight to hear my mother tell it. Dad was a staunch member of the Christian Church. After meeting Mom, he studied about the L.D.S. Church. He stayed up all night reading the Book of Mormon with my mother’s brother who was a returned missionary the night before he got baptized. He was baptized September 4, 1937. He married my mother, Julia Kathryn Grigg, on December 24, 1937 in Jerome, Jerome, Idaho. They were sealed together for time and all eternity on April 18, 1938 in the Salt Lake Temple.
My paternal grandmother, Arminda Jane Branch (Feb. 2, 1870, Fort Scott, KS - 13 Sept. 1947, Vale, OR), was the daughter of Wilson Devalson Branch and Polly or Mary Hopkins, the above-mentioned ancestors.
My Grandpa Parley Mormon Grigg, Jr., was born in Payson, Utah on December 13, 1878. After serving a mission to the southern states, he came home and met Thankful Halsey Gardner. It was love at first sight. They were married in the Manti Temple in July 1902. That autumn they moved with his parents to Cove, Union County, Oregon. In 1909, they moved to Nampa, Idaho, and took up farming. On the 7th of May 1916, Parley was set apart as bishop of the Nampa Ward, by Orson F. Whitney. He served in this capacity for nine years. In the autumn of 1932, he moved with his family to the mountains of Smith’s Prairie, Idaho, after having gone broke in the depression. Then they moved to Vale, Oregon to live upon a hilltop in a beautiful forty-acre farm with a small orchard, garden, and livestock overlooking the valley and city of Vale. Grandpa Grigg passed away in Vale, Oregon on 25 October 1970.
Who was the oldest relative that you knew?
My paternal grandparents had both passed away by the time I was born. So, I didn’t have the opportunity to know them. However, my maternal grandparents, Parley Mormon Grigg and Thankful Halsey Gardner, didn’t pass away until 1970 and 1971, respectively. They died within three months of each other. Grandpa Grigg was 91 and Grandma was 90 at the time of their deaths.
What do you remember about him/her?
I remember that we went to visit them each Sunday because we lived in Ontario, Oregon and they lived in Vale, Oregon. I remember them being at my baptism in 1960. My Grandpa Grigg has a distinct look in my memory. He is wearing a white shirt and dark pants held up by suspenders. I know he liked to paint and he had a room in the back of the house where he would go to paint. He was quite a good painter and I have a painting he painted of Grandma when she was young. I remember that Grandma was usually in bed when we would go to visit. She was quite heavy and I’m sure having 13 children had had a great effect on her health. I would go and talk to her in her bedroom where she was in bed. She always knew me and had a sharp mind up until the day she died. She knew all her posterity and I definitely knew she loved me. After we moved to Burley, Idaho in 1960, we weren’t able to visit them as often. We had a large family and we couldn’t all fit into the car. We must have made trips because I remember being relegated to ride on the floor of the car beneath my older sibling’s feet. Nathan, my younger brother and I would play down there. I have the deepest love and respect for my grandma and Grandpa Grigg. The more I read about them, the more this love and respect grows.
Is there anyone "famous" among your ancestors?
My Great, Great Grandfather is Parley Parker Pratt on my mother’s side. He was one of the first 12 apostles of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. John Howland,Parley P. Pratt’s sixth great-grandfather, came to America on the Mayflower. His wife, Elizabeth Tilley, was also on the Mayflower. The Knox line runs back before the time of our ancestor William the Conqueror who ruled England around the ten hundred’s. I have also been told that I am related to Charlemagne, the Emperor of France. However, I can’t document this at this time.
Do you have any objects that belonged to an ancestor?
Yes, I have a painting of my Grandma, Thankful Halsey Gardner Grigg, that was painted by my Grandpa, Parley Mormon Grigg, Jr., in 1959 from an old photo taken approximately in 1902.
Did you have a family tradition, celebration or a recipe that has been handed down for generations?
After reading the stories about my Grandpa Parley Mormon Grigg, Jr’s mother, Amanda Oyler Grigg, I realized that the tradition of Amanda being at the birth of nearly all of her 68 grandchildren, staying to help about 10 days in the home of each new arrival, cooking, tending the new baby, and helping with the older children has been passed down for generations. My mother always came to help me after the births of each of my children and I have been able to help after each of the births of my 17 grandchildren.
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