Sideline Stories

One of the things I do in connection with genealogy is connect families together on the website Findagrave.com.  In a previous post, I explained Findagrave memorials and how family members can be connected by creating electronic links.  For example, If you click on the name of the parent on the links, it will take you to the parent's memorial.  I have found out quite a few interesting stories in the process.

Picture by Sherril Henrie Findagrave.com

One example is my grandma's oldest sister, Sarah Ipson gave birth to triplets in 1930 in Panguitch, Utah.  They were the first triplets born in that town.  Two of the babies lived a few hours, but one baby lived about three weeks.  I found a Panguitch newspaper story about the babies.  Click on Garfield County News to read the story.  (If it doesn't go to the right story, the directory at the left has the story listed and you can click on "First Triplets Born in Panguitch")

Sarah lost five children in all, only two of her children grew to adulthood.  When her sister, Verda was killed in a car accident in 1932, Sarah took two of her sister's orphaned children to raise.  Sarah's mother, Charlotte Emily Talbot Church took Verda's daughter, Barbara. My grandmother, Bell Cooper took another.  Click on Verda Church Kenney to read the story of Verda's accident and death.

Verda's husband had died five years before her death.  Her children were about 9, 7, 2 and 3 months when their father died of liver trouble after an illness of several months.  Verda's obituary said that she was a clerk at the Southern Utah Equitable (the S.U.E.) store in Panguitch.  The obituary says, "The whole town mourns with the bereaved family in the passing of Verda as she was a bright, lovable woman and was widely known through her work in the store.  And especially was she a devoted mother to her little children.  She will be greatly missed by all and the sympathy of the community goes out to these orphaned little ones, to the aged mother and brothers and sisters."

 My grandma talked about Verda's accident and death in a recorded interview done sometime in the 1970's when she was staying with us.  She said Verda was moving to California to be near her sister Mary and to educate her son Brye.  She had hired someone to move her there when there was an accident 25 miles west of St. George.  Her back was broken in the accident.  Grandma said her son Bob was also hurt.  They took Verda to the St. George hospital.  She lived for 11 days.

Grandma said,  "She wanted to go down there (to California).  We all thought it was bad at the time. I’ll never forget how awful sad Brye was. My sister Sarah and her husband Parl (Ipson) and I went to St. George.  That was the pitifulest thing there ever was.  We hated to have her go so bad. She said, 'If I’d have listened to you folks, I wouldn’t be in this situation.'  They moved her from downstairs to upstairs, the day she died.  I stayed at the hospital with her.  She said to me just before I left to go get my dinner,  'You know, Bell I know what’s here, but I don’t know what’s on the other side.  Will you go up stairs and bring my shoes up to me?' I did and I held them up to her.   She said, 'They’ll be a lot different style when I can wear those shoes again.'

While I was out for dinner at the home where I was staying, I heard the phone ring, ringing hard.  I thought, 'Oh dear I hope that’s not Verda.'  It was. They said your sister just died. Oh my goodness, that was a terrible thing.  We nearly had a fit when she left. She was dear to me, such a sweet thing."

Verda Church Kenney

Verda's children:  George Brye Kenney died in 2005, Robert Church Kenney died in 1987, John Harold Kenney died in 1974 and her daughter is believed to still be living.