My Grandpa, Nathaniel Cooper's Family

My mom always told me that they didn't know much about the her dad's family, the Coopers and Henries.  In fact, I had been given the impression that there wasn't much worth knowing.  But I discovered the opposite. One of the first surprising facts I discovered was that Grandpa's mother, Mary Henrie was the daughter of a polygamist with three wives.  As I mentioned before, I had spent a lot of time in Panguitch while growing up, and I had never heard anything about an ancestor being a polygamist.  Grandpa's mother was one of 30 children.  Her father, James Henrie, was the first Stake President of Panguitch.  Mary's grandfather, William Henrie, had lived in Nauvoo near the prophet Joseph Smith.  They arrived in the Salt Lake Valley in 1848 and settled Sessions in present day Bountiful, Manti, then returned to Sessions. The Henrie family was later called to settle Panaca, but William Henrie chose to not follow the call.  He felt he was old and had moved enough.  He decided to stay in Bountiful alone where he died and is buried.  His wife Myra Myall Henrie went with her sons to Panaca and then to Panguitch.  Mary's father, James Henrie and his brother owned the first saw mill, tannery, shoe shop, and the Myers and Henrie Store in Panguitch in addition to owning much livestock and fine horses, fine farmland and ranches in the area.  Mary came from a well-to do and well-respected family.

Because I had been told that we didn't have information on my grandpa's family, I started to research both the Henrie and the Cooper families.  One of the first very useful sources of information I found was the website Findagrave.com.  I did a search on the internet for the name "William Henrie."  I found a link to the Findagrave website where there was a complete history about James Henrie. 

Findagrave is a website that provides free access to a database of cemetery records.  The website contains listings of cemeteries and graves from all around the world.  Cemeteries in America are organized by state and county, and many cemetery records contain maps (with GPS coordinates supplied by contributors) and photographs of the cemeteries. Individual grave records sometimes contain some or all of the following data fields: dates and places of birth and death, biographical information, cemetery and plot information, photographs (of the headstone, the individual, etc.).  A basic memorial will only display the name and dates of the person and have a picture of the cemetery where they are buried. 

One reason I like this website is that you can find biographies and pictures of the person.  Another reason I like it is that there is a link on each memorial that, if the information has been provided, you can go from the person by clicking on the link, to their father or mother and children.  For example, you can search for my mother's grave by entering her name, birth and death dates, and burial location. To see how this works, go here.  This is the basic search site.  If you want to see my mom's memorial, go here.  From there you can go to my dad's memorial, to my brother Lynn's memorial or to either of my mom's parents. 

Over the last couple of years I have entered or have become the manager for many graves of my ancestors.  I have tried to add biographies and/or pictures to my ancestor's memorials. I have also tried to link children to parents through the electronic links on the memorials. I think this is a great way for families to learn about their ancestry and connect with other family members.