Friday, April 4, 2008

Preparing for the Trek: A History Lesson of My Family!



Last night Brian and I had to go to a Trek Meeting. We have been called to be a Ma and Pa for the Stake Trek this year. I am so grateful for this opportunity because it has really lit the fire within for my genealogy work and to find out all I can about my ancestors.

One of my favorite ancestors is Patience Loader. I am not in her direct line, I come from her little brother's Robert Loader's line. Robert was only 9 years old when the Loaders came across the plains in the Martin Handcart company. Patience was 23 years old and along with her brother in law John Jacques, they documented a ton of history in their journals documenting the horrible trek with the Martin Handcart Company.

Every time I go to these meetings I bawl. I was fine until I found out that I had actual family that had to endure this voyage. Now, I cry all of the time. I have been studying their stories and trying to find out all that I can about them. To me, they are more than just names, they are real people that did an incredible thing and I want to know them.

So after my meeting, I came home and Joyce had given me a book called "Women's Voices." It is the accounts from Latter-day women from 1830-1900. I instantly looked for the Loaders and there is a ton of stuff from Patience.

So my family who reads this blog, I will from time to time share some of our history to you, so you can get to know them also.

Here is a short paragraph Patience Loader wrote from her journal:

"I will say we traveld on all day in the snow but the weather was fine and in the midle of the day the sun was quite warm. Some time in the afternoon a strange man appeard to me as we was resting as we got up the hill. He came and looked in my face. He sais is you Patience. I said yes. He said agian I thought it was you. Travel on. There is help for you. You will come to a good place. There is plenty. With this he was gone. He dissapeared. I looked but never saw whare he went. This seemed very strange to me. I took this as some one sent to encurage us and give us strength."

5 comments:

Ann Marie said...

I feel almost giddy to see you get into your family history! The trek experience could be one of your most spiritual experiences! Lucky you!! I have always had a baby when they do it in our stake. It's funny you have a patience in your line. I have a kindness. :)

See you tonight! Love ya, Ann

Jenice Henrie said...

Suz--Remember Aunt Patience was the person Granny was always talking to when we would visit her in the care center. Do you have any idea what she looked like? Granny said she was a fisty woman.--I read every day and I will try to comment as often as I can. p.s. the annonymous BYU was Bobbo

Suzanne said...

Yes I have pictures, but they are awfully dark to scan. I will see what I can do. I wondered who the anonymous was!

JENNIFRO said...

You are SO LUCKY you get to do this. I'm in Stake YW and we lobbied hard to do a trek--but the YM (can you believe it!) weren't into the idea. I would love to have this experience. It will be the best memory ever.

Robert, Melanie and fam said...

Hi my name is Melanie. I swear I'm not some crazy blog stocker or anything. I have a copy of Patience Loader's journal it's over 300 pages because we are related to her too. So I just decided to type in her name in google and your blog came up. I'm sorry I got on and started reading! I just found it really cool that you had posted some stuff from her! I want to share a story I read just this morning. I'm sorry if you already know this story but it's while they where traveling over to the United States on boat the boats name was John J.Boyed (sp? It's really hard to read her handwritting). It has been a very rough time and there was a really bad storm. Her mother thought they were going to perish..."the ship was tossing and rolling the worst. I opened my eyes we was all in darkness, but in a moment the curtains opened and a beautifull lovely figure stood there. oh such lovely countenance I had never seen before in all my life and the light was to bright around him that I could see the colour of his eye's and hair he had brown eyes and lovely borwn hair and he spake the words to me as I looked at him he said, fear not you shall be taken there all safe then he left and the curtains was again closed and I called to my dear father and mother in the next berth. I told them what I had seen and for them not to fear....for I believed I had seen the saviour..." I think this is such a great idea of yours to post little stories from her. I'll probably do this on my blog as I read her journal. Feel free to check out our blog it is www.robertandmelanie.blogspot.com after all we are related! : ) Again I'm sorry to pop on like this...maybe it was suppose to be! : ) (It might be a week or so until I post)

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