Penrose Family Reunion

The Penrose Family Reunion was held on 18 July 2013 in Utah.  It was held at Mark and Shelly Evans beautiful home in the east Salt Lake area.  This is the second bi-annual reunion and I am SO glad I got to go this year!!  I drove out to Utah with Rebecca and Katrina, and my mom was able to come this year too!!  (She won the prize for having travelled the farthest, from Alaska!)

Cousins!! - Kristen Castle Dean, Jennifer Castle Critchlow, Lora Marshall Nehring, and Laurel Castle DeGroot

It was great to see my cousins and meet so many new ones!  I even found out that I have the "Penrose toe"!  (That is when your second toe sticks up farther than your big toe.)  Who knew?!

The reunion is a gathering of the descendants of the "Great Eight" - the children of Frank and Ruth Penrose: Marjorie, Dixie, Mil, Penny, Lu, Ann, Bud and Jean.  There was great food, swimming, prizes and lots of good conversation and catching up!

To see all the photos that I took at the reunion, click HERE.

The children of the Great Eight:

back row: Lloyd Drecksel (Dixie), Robyn Thompson (Penny), Sheila Penrose (Ann), Samuel Penrose Thomas (Jean), Larry Penrose (Bud), Jeff Thomas (Jean). front row: Kathryn Berkowitz (Lu), Marjorie Castle (Lu), Peggy Smith (Mil), Kathy Jones (Ann)

And the children of the children of the Great Eight:

back row: Lora Nehring (Lu), Shelly Evans (Ann), Patricia Kingston Quirk (Mil), Phyllis Vetter (Ann), Merb Jones (Ann), Erik Kingston (Mil), Kait Kingston (Mil). front row: Kristen Dean (Lu), Julie Smith (Mil), Jennifer Critchlow (Lu), Laurel DeGroot (Lu).

When we were taking this photo, someone directed that the people that were 45 and up had to stand in the back.  At first I was kind of bummed to be old enough to stand in the back row.  Then I looked around at the company I was standing with.  All these amazing, gorgeous women!  I suddenly felt very privileged.  We all have all inherited those great Penrose genes!!  (Erik too! : )

Here are the descendants of Dixie:

Alex Drecksel, Jill Drecksel, Paul Drecksel, Debra Howard, Gary Howard, Lloyd Penrose (attended but not pictured: Willie, Linda,  Tristin, Hilary and baby Jaxon)

Mildred:

back row: Ray Kingston, Vicky Kingston, Erik Kingston, Jim Quirk; middle row: Sha-Sha Kingston, Lauren Quirk, Sarah Quirk, Patricia Quirk, Julie Smith, Kait Eckman; front row: Gaylon and Peggy Smith

Penny:

Robyn Thompson, Terri James, Cloe James and Summer Thompson

Lu:

back: Nyle Critchlow, Marjorie Castle, Brent Castle, Kristen Dean, Tyler DeGroot, Laurel DeGroot, Kathryn Berkowitz, Lora Nehring. middle: Jennifer Critchlow, Tate DeGroot, Braxton Dean, Beckham and Brooklyn Dean (twins), Kaitlin Dean. front row: Dallin DeGroot, Brady Critchlow, Max Critchlow, Lucian Critchlow, Parker DeGroot, Katrina Nehring, Rebecca Nehring

Jennifer made these pedigrees of the family members who were there at the reunion

Ann:

Mikey, Mai-Mai, Phyllis Vitter, Gunther, (I don't know, sorry), Merb Jones, Kathy Jones, Sheila Penrose, Shelly Evans, Kelsey, Mark Evans.  (attended but not pictured: Sally and Bill Knowles)

Bud:

Kathy and Larry Penrose

Jean:

Samuel Thomas, Jeff Thomas, Linda Thomas, Wendy Thomas

(I didn't leave Marge out, she didn't have any children.)

We were all asked to bring any Penrose photos, documents, stories, etc. that we could share, as there would be a scanner there.  I had loaded up all my info on a memory stick before I left Kerman, and at the reunion, I went to hand it to Nyle, who was scanning away, and when I opened my thumb drive, I was startled to see only the case!  I traced my steps back to the car and searched it too.  I called home, and Kevin checked the computer, and sure enough, there it was sticking out of the back of the computer!  D-oh!!  So, Kevin loaded it all onto Google Drive and I was able to retrieve it to add it to the mix. : )  Thanks sweetheart!! 

Kevin took this photo of my memory stick, still in Kerman

It was a wonderful evening and I am so proud to be a member of such a great group of people!! 

Earlier in the day, the girls and I had been on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, and we took a tour of the Conference Center.  We went through a room that had portraits of all the Apostles and then into a room that had busts of all the prophets.  As we stood there, I could see another room, beyond where we were standing, that had more paintings in it.  I asked our tour guide what was in that room, and she said it was portraits of all the modern-day Apostles.  I said, "my 2nd great-grandfather is in there," and she said, "Go!"  The girls and I hurried down the hall and found the portrait of Charles W. Penrose, and took a couple of pictures.  Perfect timing! : )

Direct line ancestry -->  Charles W. Penrose and Louise Elizabeth Lusty --> Frank William Penrose and Ruth McQuarrie -->  Lu Penrose --> Kathryn Bond -->  Lora Marshall Nehring

Lu Penrose Bond - 28 October 1912

Today would have been Gma Lu's 100th birthday!  What a marvelous milestone!!  Yet, she would have been unfazed.  Haha!  She was a very regal woman, and just took things as they came. I miss her.

Lu Penrose Bond - 1983

I lived with Gma for a year in 1991.  I want to quickly share the story of that came to be.  I was going through a time in my life where things were not going the way I was hoping they would.  I was kind of stuck and I wasn't sure what I should be doing.  I was living in Tucson, AZ, going to school at the University of Arizona.  I had been praying about what I needed to be doing, and one day, as I was walking to work, I was in the middle of an empty parking lot, outside an abandoned building, and I heard a voice say very clearly, "move to Fresno."  I was so startled and I looked around to see who had said it.  There was no one anywhere.  It would never have occurred to me to move to Fresno!  I thought of Fresno as, and I quote (keeping in mind that I was young and stupid), the "armpit of California."  Nevertheless, I got to work, and called Gma Lu.  I asked her if I could come to stay with her.  She said yes, and within two weeks, I had finished everything up in AZ, and moved to Fresno.  I know I was supposed to be there, with my Gma, for that period in time! 

I joked for a long time that all my friends in Fresno were little old ladies, as I took Gma to DUP, The Silver Belles get-togethers, etc..  We would sit at her dining room table and I would ask her questions, and she would tell me stories, and I wrote them down as quickly as I could.  She told me about her youth, about her parents, about her marriage.  All wonderful memories to be preserved.

I remember that she always had a "round robin" going with all of her siblings.  They would send a manilla envelope with letters and photos in it from one person to the next.  You would read everyone's things, add your own, and take out what you had put in previously, then send it on to the next person.  I thought that was so cool, and wanted to do that with everyone when we got older, but by then there was email and digital photos, etc., and it didn't seem as necessary.  Kind of a shame.

For me, it was the WAY she told stories. I have very specific phrases that come to my mind, and I hear them in my head in HER voice.  When I am having nasal issues, I hear her voice saying, "By dose is rudding a streab."  She told the story about her father who always had such amazing sandwiches in his lunches and one day (at the other man's request) traded sandwiches with a co-worker. As he bit into the peanut butter sandwich he had been given, he yelled out, "Help!  I've been poisoned!!"  I remember how she called people "ding-a-lings" when they did something she didn't like.  I loved it when she told me the story of how after she and Gpa had gotten married, he shaved his mustache.  When he came out of the bathroom, he asked, "How do I look?"  Gma said, "Clean."  He said, "Yes, but how do I look?"  She looked at him harder, trying to figure out why he kept asking, and said again, "Clean."  As she was telling me the story, Gma took her hand and waved it over her head and said, "Woosh!"  That just cracked me up!

I remember sitting watching her paint her nails.  I always thought her nails were so beautiful, always long and thin.  I remember how she always sat up straight, no matter where she was.  Even sitting on a couch.  I remember what a prolific reader she was!  Always reading something!  I remember giving her two rolls of Certs for Christmas one year, and she treated them as if I had given her something very important.  I remember the "ACK!" sound she would make when she was telling a story where she had been surprised or startled.  I remember how the air felt and smelled and I would step out of her house onto the back porch.  That is how Fresno is supposed to feel and smell.  I can't describe that any other way.  

Last year, I did a post about her birthday as well, which can be seen HERE

Gma Lu was a special lady.  An old friend of Gma's calls my oldest daughter, "Little Lu".  I am glad to have that frequent reminder in my life of how much she meant to people.

I hope that we can always continue to share these wonderful stories of our family members so they continue to live on with us!

Happy Birthday Gma Lu!!  I love you!

Direct Line Ancestry: Lu Penrose Bond --> Kathryn Bond Berkowitz --> Lora Marshall Nehring

Preserving Our Heritage

I believe I have mentioned that I am a member of the Daughters of Utah Pioneers.  I will have been a member for twenty years in November of this year.  Our District's annual Convention was in Fresno this year, and I was in charge of the decorations.  I wanted to share the idea that I had for the decorations, as it had to do with my family history.


Using the theme, Preserving Our Heritage, I went with preserving.......preserves......canning......and this is the end result:

Several other people, including Carol, Kevin's mother, provided a great deal of the preserves and canning equipment for the centerpieces.  The photos in the jars are of many of my ancestors who crossed the plains themselves, and many others from mine and Kevin's families that were pioneers in coming to this country.

I used photos from my family history in the jars.  The invitations were done by another person and went perfectly with the decorations!

I also did a table showing different ways to preserve histories, including scrapbooks, Book of Remembrance, personal histories, journals, shadow boxes, scanning photographs and documents, blogs, and detailed artifact inventory.


I am applying for the DUP Honorary Heritage pin, as my grandmother, Lu Penrose Bond and my great-grandmother, Ruth McQuarrie Penrose, were also members of DUP.  I am honored to be in an organization that works so hard to preserve the heritage and histories of our beloved ancestors.

Memorial Day 2012

For the last many years, we have always gone to the Memorial Day Ceremony at Fresno Memorial Gardens in Fresno, CA.  We love the Avenue of Flags that they have there, we "visit" Gpa Bond, and we attend the ceremony.

Amanda and Rebecca at Richard Bond's grave at Fresno Memorial Gardens - Memorial Day 2005

Katrina at Richard Bond's grave at Fresno Memorial Gardens - Memorial Day 2006

Katrina and Kevin with one of the many American flags in the Avenue of Flags at Fresno Memorial Gardens - Memorial Day 2006  (I love this photo!)

Amanda, Katrina and Rebecca at Richard Bond's grave at Fresno Memorial Gardens - Memorial Day 2007

Amanda, Rebecca and Katrina at Richard Bond's grave at Fresno Memorial Gardens - Memorial Day 2009

Katrina, Amanda, Rebecca and Lora at Richard Bond's grave at Fresno Memorial Gardens - Memorial Day 2010

Katrina places the flag at Richard Bond's grave - Memorial Day 2010

Rebecca, Amanda and Katrina at Richard Bond's grave at Fresno Memorial Gardens - Memorial Day 2011

The bagpipe corps that played at the Fresno Memorial Gardens Memorial Day Ceremony 2011

Over 1600 flags are displayed at the Fresno Memorial Gardens - 2011

This year we did something a little different.  When my Gpa, Richard Marshall, was buried in October of last year in the San Joaquin National Cemetery, my Aunt, Lindi, donated his flag to their Avenue of Flags.  This year we drove to Santa Nella, CA to the cemetery for Memorial Day.


We went to see my grandfather's grave first.  The grass has been put in since the last time I was there and it looks nice.

Richard Marshall's grave at the San Joaquin National Cemetery - 2012

Rebecca, Katrina, Lora and Amanda at Richard Marshall's grave at San Joaquin National Cemetery - Memorial Day 2012

The Avenue of Flags at the San Joaquin National Cemetery.  Somewhere in there is the flag that covered my grandfather's casket. - Memorial Day 2012

The Avenue of Flags at the San Joaquin National Cemetery - Memorial Day 2012

The San Joaquin National Cemetery Avenue of Flags with the pavilion in the right background that is near my grandfather's grave - Memorial Day 2012

 I was very glad that we could drive to Santa Nella and visit my grandfather's grave on Memorial Day.  There were so many people there honoring those they love!  It was wonderful!

Today I had the unique experience of being able to go out to Fresno Memorial Gardens and help other volunteers to fold and sort all the flags.  There were six volunteers who were folding the flags (several of whom were Blue Star Moms) and I was sorting the rolled-up flags into all the containers that were for each of the different areas in the cemetery.  It was very enjoyable, and I am glad that I was able to find that way to serve.

Charles William Penrose - Life History: Part 1

I mentioned in a previous post that my great-great grandfather, Charles William Penrose has never had a book written about him.  I found that amazing, as he had a very full life, and he was somewhat famous in Church history.  There is a dorm named for him at BYU after all. : )

When I was on my mission I was in a missionary conference and my Mission President was speaking about Charles W. Penrose.  He asked if anyone had heard of him, so I raised my hand and told him that he my 2nd great grandfather.  My Mission President asked what I could tell everyone about him, and put on the spot like that, my mind went completely blank, and I couldn't remember a THING about Charles W. Penrose.  I was so embarrassed!  I didn't ever want to be in that spot again!

A picture of me, Sister Marshall, on my mission.  I was leaving for the Australia Melbourne Mission and my Gma Lu Penrose Bond, Aunt Marji Castle and Uncle Brent Castle met me at the Salt Lake City Airport to say good-bye.  December 1993

So, I want to compile all I can find about Charles W. Penrose.  I will compile his history the best I can.  And, with it all in one place, hopefully I won't ever go blank again if anyone asks me about my great-great grandfather.

Let's start with the basics.  Charles was born on 4 February 1832 in Camberwell, London, England to Richard Penrose and Matilda Sims Penrose.  Charles was Christened on 31 May 1837 at St. John Parish, Waterloo, Lambeth, London, Surrey, England.

A copy of Charles William Penrose's christening/baptism certificate

A photo of Matilda Sims Penrose (no date)

He was the second child, and only son, born to Richard and Matilda.  His older sister was Juliana, and his younger sisters were Matilda, Emma and Elvira.

In a talk that I gave in 1983, I wrote: "On February 4th, 1832, Charles W. Penrose was born to a well-to-do family in Camberwell England.  By the time he was four he was already reading the Bible.  He heard the Mormon missionaries when he was eighteen years old and when he joined the Church, he was disowned and disinherited."  He was the only member of his family to join the Church, being baptized on 14 May 1850, and my grandmother said that as far as she knew, he never talked to any of his family again after that.

I don't have any photos of Charles as a young man, but I think of all his sons, that Herbert looks the most like him, so I am going to say that this is probably what Charles looked like as a youth.

Herbert "Herb" L. Penrose

Next post I will write more about Charles W. Penrose's mission in England.

Direct line ancestry: Charles William Penrose --> Frank William Penrose --> Lu Penrose Bond --> Kathryn Bond Berkowitz --> Lora Marshall Nehring

Rolf Wallace Bond

Or perhaps, Wallace Rolf Bond.  Or, Rolfe Wallace Bond.  Or Bonde.  Between several documents he is listed in different ways.


Not all family stories are Happily Ever After.  Sometimes the people in our families do not always act with integrity and honor.  Sometimes people are selfish.  Sometimes people walk away from their families.  People's motives, especially after their deaths, are a matter of memory of those they may have wronged.  There are two sides to every story.  The purpose of my blog is not to right wrongs or prove anything one way or another, it is to present the history of my family.  Good or bad.


That being said, this is my great-grandfather, Rolf Wallace Bond.

I have always been told was kind of a loser.  He left his family when my grandfather, Richard Bond, was fairly young.  Pre-teen anyway.  No one seems to remember why.  My grandfather didn't talk about him much, so my mother doesn't remember much about him either.


This is what I do know. . .


Rolf Wallace Bond was born in Cheyenne, Wyoming on 28 July 1887 to Frank and Henrietta Wallace Bond.  This photo was taken in front of their home in about 1891, making Rolf about 3-4 years old.

Henrietta, Rolf and Frank Bond

This photo was taken of Rolf in the spring of 1895, just before he turned eight years old.

The next time Rolf shows up is on the 1910 United States Federal Census, living with his parents in Washington DC.  He is on line 29 and his age is 22 years and his occupation is listed as a Surveyor.

It is not clear at this point how Rolf ends up clear across the country, but on 10 March 1914 he is marrying Miriam Griffiths in Twin Falls, Idaho.  On the Marriage Certificate, his name is written as Wallace R. Bonde.  He was 26 and Miriam is 21.

This is an undated photo of Wallace/Rolf and Miriam.

This photo was taken in 1914, and on the reverse it read: "To Mrs. Miriam Bond, from your Devoted Husband, All Yours and Yours Alone.  Wallace R. Bonde"

Wallace/Rolf Bond's Military Registration card, dated 5 June 1917

Now Wallace/Rolf is a married man, and within three years of their marriage, they have two children.  The oldest is my grandfather, Richard Griffiths Bond, born 26 December 1914 in Twin Falls, Idaho, and the youngest is Evalyn Ruth, born 17 August 1916 in Salt Lake City, Utah.  On his Military Registration card he lists his wife and two children.  He describes himself as being tall and slender with gray eyes and dark brown hair.  He lists his occupations as Clergyman, and a Laborer for the Oregon Short Line, North Yards in Salt Lake City, Utah.  He was 29 years old.

Ruth, Wallace/Rolf, Miriam and Richard Bond taken 18 August 1918

There is virtually no information on Wallace/Rolf, until his death in 1947.  He is mentioned in a affidavit in 1945 where a Sereno B. Tuttle swears, deposed and says that he knew Rolf when he was born and knew him all his life and that he is a citizen of the United States, etc.  It is unclear what the affidavit was for.

Rolfe W Bond's death certificate

Rolfe/Wallace/Rolf died in Santa Rosa, Sonoma, California on 16 March 1947.  If anyone can decipher the writing to see what he died of, I would be grateful.  Any doctors out there?  To me it looks like he died of Shork due to Pulmonary mumblemumble.  I don't know, I can't tell. Haha!

Interestingly enough, he is listed as separated from his wife, Miriam, but she had remarried twice before his death, the second time being prior to February of 1945.  It is unclear where the hospital got that information, so either there was a divorce in there somewhere, or Miriam remarried without a divorce.  (My mother thinks that is entirely a possibility.)

Rolf/Rolfe/Wallace/Rolf was cremated and buried with his parents in the Rock Creek Cemetery in Washington DC.

A little over a week ago, the 1940 Census became available and I am interested to see if I can find Rolf there to find another small piece of the puzzle of his life.

Direct Line Ancestry: Rolf Wallace Bond --> Richard Griffiths Bond --> Kathryn Bond Berkowitz --> Lora Marshall Nehring