Getting this out a little later than expected. It's been a full day.
Parish Council meeting was short! We were out by 1:15. Snow was flying when Mass was over, but it didn't last long. Those two brief snows were all we got yesterday. But the temperature nose dived! The morning started at 31 and it is now 19. We need some cold to kill all the bad bugs...and I hope this does it!
My trip to Salt Lake City was fantastic. I needed to do some research, as my Bell's and Jobson's were branching out to different places in Northumberland UK. The main Family History Library on Temple Square in Salt Lake City , from now on I will use SLC, has approximately 2 million reels of microfilm and humdreds of thousands sheets of microfiche, along with volumes of books. Since I needed to pull different parish records in Northumberland, the library was the best cost-wise. I can order the films through the Family History Center here in Madison, but at $6 each, it would add up to the price of the research trip out to SLC in no time!
I was hoping for snow when I got there--nope. The temperature was actually warmer there than here in Nashville! It was great to walk around town. SLC is a beautiful city. I toured the Beehive House, the home of Brigham Young. It was amazingly huge, guess it had to be for such a large family. The early wood pieces were all pine, but hand-painted to look like oak or walnut.
Temple Square was decorated with thousands of lights and a life-sized Nativity scene. Very beautiful and thousands of people came out every noght to walk through and get into the Christmas spirit.
I did some shopping at the malls there. Also walked to the Cathedral of the Madeleine. It was built in 1909 and is a gothic masterpiece. Beautiful paintings cover the church walls and ceilings. It is dedicated to St. Mary Magdalene. I went to 6:00 pm Saturday Mass. I got there early, and vespers, Night Prayer, were going on. Never heard them done in a church before. The Mass soon started and it was High Mass. That's a term not used anymore! But it was a sung Mass. The prayers and responses during the Mass nowadays are spoken. At SLC, they were sung. After Mass, I knew I had been to Mass...that feeling of doing the right thing was there; something that doesn't always happen. Here at Assumption, and it may just be me, but there is so much fidgeting, so much noise, so many distractions, that the prayerful atmosphere is disturbed...greatly. There is so much lack of respect in church towards fellow parishioners and toward God. People have forgotten, or have just ignored, the fact that Jesus is present in the Blessed Sacrament in each and every church! It is a place of reflection and reverence and sanctity, not some building to talk and laugh and complain in.
OK, need to get off my soapbox for awhile!
So, what did I find at the SLC library?? I found that my great great great grandfather Thomas Bell, the one who died in 1840 as mentioned in previous blogs, was born and baptized in Alnwick in 1802. His father was Thomas Bell of Lesbury and his mother Mary Liddell also of Lesbury. I looked in Lesbury and found Thomas Bell baptized in 1767, the son of Robert and Elizabeth Bell, and Robert was a blacksmith. The parish records contained no earlier info on Robert or Elizabeth. Some brothers and sisters were found in the records, so I have a huge Bell family in England....somewhere!
On the Jobson side, I found that great great great grandfather Thomas Jobson was from the parish of Kyloe in upper Northumberland. His father was Humphrey Jobson and his mother was Mary Scott. They were married in 1763. No further info found on them. But I have constantly ran into records on a particular Jobson. The name has always been present in the materials I have read looking for my Jobson's. The name was Christopher Jobson. It extends through many generations, but I never had any indication he was a part of my Jobson's. Alas, I found a connection! Christopher was a younger brother to Thomas.
So on both the Bell and Jobson family's, I have gone as far back as 4th great grandparents. The records seem to wane before that. Maybe I have hit the limit on these families? I think I'll stop at that point for awhile and work on branching out the children of the families and work on some of the other families in my tree. Stay tuned for more on that process.
I flew through Kansas City going and coming back from SLC. Didn't like that airport at all! In order to check the arrivals/departures, go to the bathroom or visit restaurants and shops, you had to leave the secured area. Going back to your gate, you had to go back through security--the whole thing...remove shoes, x-ray bags, etc. It was a mess!
Tuesday, Doug drove in for a Liaison meeting for a few days. He works in our Atlanta office. We've been friends for over 10 years. I always like listening to Doug and his philosophical bent on world events. We went to dinner Tuesday and Wednesday and had a great time. We did a little beverage sampling on Wednesday night on 2nd Avenue. Hated to see him leave on Thursday...
Now I need to finish up the gift-buying and present wrapping. That shouldn't take long! Hopefully I'll be done with that by tomorrow or Tuesday. We'll decorate the church sometime this week. Mike Emrick and I usually do the garlands, lights and altars. He was absent from Mass and the parish council meeting, so I need to call him. We have all red poinsettias this year, and if you've ever been to Assumption, the church and altars are mainly white. So the contrast will be great!
Well, that's about it for me for today. Only four more workdays left before Christmas and seven more left for the year! Time is just moving too quickly. I guess it does get any slower either.
Oh, listened to Larry's new CD today. It' good, but it is a live recording so the volume changes from part to part. It's listenable, but not the greatest. I like to listen to him live at Mulligan's the best!
Have a great night and I'll be seein' ya soon!
Mark
