Pioneer Day 2013

In honor of Pioneer Day, I thought I would post the photos I took at the Historic Penrose Cabin in Farmington, Utah.  I have been to the cabin a few times, but had never been inside.  

This is me, back in the early 1990s, outside the gate at the Penrose Cabin

This last trip to Utah, we were able to get a hold of the DUP group that cares for the site and they unlocked the gate so we could see the interior of the cabin.

Our group was Marjorie Castle, Kathryn Berkowitz, Rebecca, Katrina and I.  

Charles W. Penrose left England and travelled, as a pioneer, across the plains, arriving in Utah in 1861.  This cabin was built in Farmington, Utah, for he and his family to live until another home could be built for them.  (This cabin is located behind an amazingly beautiful stone chapel in Farmington that I never remember to take a photo of, so I got this off Google Maps!)

There is basically one corner of the museum that has artifacts from Charles W. Penrose:

There are several items, including Charles' "dress suit" (which he is wearing in several photos), his rocking chair, and a portrait.

There were also many histories and photos in a binder on the front table.  To see photos of the histories, and all the photos I took at the cabin, click HERE.

It was lovely to get to see the interior of the cabin!

Rebecca, Katrina and Lora Nehring at the Historic Penrose Cabin

Direct line ancestry: Charles W. Penrose --> Frank W. Penrose --> Lu Penrose --> Kathryn Bond -->  Lora Marshall Nehring

Historic Penrose Cabin

I often complain that I don't have enough storage space for all the STUFF that we have as a family. I cannot image living in a tiny, one room cabin, yet many of my ancestors did.

In an interview with Lu Penrose Bond, recorded in 1982, she talked about her grandfather, Charles W. Penrose.



"My father's father, Charles W. Penrose, was born in England, February 4, 1832. I think that sounds right. Anyway, he came to America in about 1850 . . . . . I can't remember. When he first came to Utah, he and his first wife and a few children lived in a log cabin in Farmington, Utah, and that log cabin is in Farmington today. It has a plaque on that says he lived there."

This is a photo of me in front of the Penrose Cabin, taken in December of 1991.



The cabin was closed when I was there so I have never been able to see inside. I hope I can make it back there sometime when it is open and this time I can take my daughters to see it too.

The plaque on the cabin says:

In 1847 Hector C. Haight settled in North Cottonwood, now Farminton, followed by others and a ward of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized in 1849, Joseph L. Robinson, bishop. In 1861 this cabin, built for Charles W. Penrose by his friends, was typical of the homes of the day. It was moved log by log to the courthouse grounds, rebuilt and dedicated 1926 as a Daughters of Utah Pioneers relic hall. Returned to it's original site in 1856.

Margaret Steed Hees, historian for the Helen Mar Miller Camp, Daughters of Utah Pioneers wrote the following history about this little pioneer cabin:

"Friends and neighbors of Charles W. Penrose built this cabin for him. In those days the east winds blew fiercely, and one night one of those winds blew in the door and windows. Mrs. Penrose was in bed with a young baby and to keep them from freezing to death, it was necessary for Brother Penrose to work feverishly to nail up quilts to these openings. Soo after this, Brother Penrose left for a mission to England and while there he wrote the beautiful song 'Blow Gently Ye Wild Winds, My Loved Ones Are There. . .' . This marker was dedicated October 5, 1968." (From: Our Pioneer Heritage, DUP, Salt Lake City, UT, 1977, vol. 20, pg. 434)

I found the following undated article sometime around 1998.



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

The Fairbanks House

Way back in the Bond family line there is Jonathan Fairbanks and his wife, Grace. Jonathan was born in about 1594-8 in Sowerby, Halifax, York, England. The family included seven children, John, George, Mary, Johnathan, Jonas, George (?), and Susan. They came to America in 1633 and landed in Boston, Massachusetts. In 1636, they settled in Dedham, Massachusetts where they built a home. This home, The Fairbanks House, is still standing today, the oldest surviving timber frame house in North America.



Abbott Lowell Cummings, former Charles F. Montgomery Professor of American Decorative Arts at Yale University, says the following about the Fairbanks House:


"The Jonathan Fairbanks House in Dedham, Massachusetts, is one of the most important historic houses now standing in the northeastern part of the United States. Its value to the area and to the nation as a whole lies not so much in its claim to being the oldest house in New England but in its architectural significance... It may be said quite simply that no other house of the mid-17th century in New England has survived in such unbelievable unspoiled condition. It is extraordinary that so early a structure should preserve such a high percentage of original features. It is a veritable storehouse of information concerning the small handful of houses which survive from this early period."




All in all, eight generations of the Fairbanks family lived in the house. Over the years, the original portion of the house was extended and added on to as the family's needs changed.




Jonathan Fairbanks died in Dedham, December 5, 1668. He and many members of the extended family are buried in the Old Village Cemetery in Dedham, Massachusetts. Most of them have no gravestones, as they have disintegrated over time.

Interestingly enough, the city of Fairbanks, Alaska was named in honor of Charles Warren Fairbanks, an 8th generation descendant, who served as Vice-President in Theodore Roosevelt's first term in office.

The house is now a historical museum, open to the public. Tours are from May to October. Tours are available Tuesday - Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 .pm. and Sunday 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. The last tour of the day begins at 4:00 p.m.

One of these days I am going to go on a family history tour of America and get to see all these great places our family has been.






much more information on the Fairbanks House can bee seen at the following links:

http://www.fairbankshouse.org/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairbanks_House

(photos taken from Google images)

Direct line ancestry: Jonathan Fairbanks --> Mary Fairbanks --> Johathan Metcalf --> John Metcalf --> Bethiah Metcalf --> John Avery --> Lindamina Avery --> Avery John Bond --> Frank Bond --> Rolf Wallace Bond --> Richard Grifftihs Bond --> Kathryn Bond --> Lora Marshall Nehring