I have finished another book! Oh goodness, this project has brought me so much joy. Last year, I finished my first family history book (the first I hope of many, many more). I explained ALL my thoughts and feelings about this project on that post, so click HERE if you want to read more.
The project I just finished spotlights the Burton Palous Fillmore and Marvel Cloward family – one of my great-grandparents on my maternal side. This project overlapped the Moldenhauer book some, but it took me just under two years to complete.
I am so happy with how it turned out. It was ENORMOUS. It ended up being 437 pages! And there are a couple of reasons for that. For starters, the Fillmore family was large – they had eight children, and many with multiple marriages. And then there was an amazing project that took place back in 2005, spear-headed by my great-uncle (with assistance from my Mom) to have the descendents from this family each write their own life history. This was a huge endeavor, reaching dozens of people – AND THEY DID IT! And most of the life histories are very detailed. I am so impressed with what they were able to accomplish. This had all been compiled into a binder and I took everything and typed it up and put it together into my book and am now gradually adding them to Family Search so everyone can read them.
Because of those life histories – I knew this project would be particularly unique. I know I will never get that level of detail on a family again. It made it so personal and whole.
Doing these projects is addicting and I find myself wanting to spend every spare moment working on them (but it is still mostly two hours on Sunday during “quiet time”). It fills my heart and soul and I hope it brings a positive impact on those I love and care about as well.
Bert and Marvel
I wanted to share just a few snippets of the wonderful things I was able to learn about my family.
Grandpa Bert was born in Burrville, Utah in 1890. He grew up in a large family, of mostly boys, in a very small farming community in central Utah (I was actually able to go and visit this place with my parents, Jacob, and Sarah a couple years ago when we went to the Manti Utah Temple Open House). Bert’s father had a sawmill and raised cattle. Bert was known as industrious and hard working from a very young age. His mother was from Sweden and was so beloved for creating a home of love and devotion.
Grandma Marvel was born in Burrville as well in 1890 – same tiny town, two weeks apart. Her father was a farmer, but died when Marvel was only ten years old. Her family became a blended one, when her mother married a widower, who had children of his own. From a young age, Marvel was known for her cooking – particularly her pies and biscuits. She was always dressed in lacy clothes and had ribbons in her hair.
When they were both 19, they were married. Their family started to grow. After the death of Bert’s mother, they moved north to Idaho, eventually settling in Springdale (a small community in south central Idaho just outside of Burley). Their family farm also continued to grow. They took pride in their farm and their family. They worked hard.
They had eight children, however, one of their daughter’s passed away when she was only seventeen from aplastic anemia.
They were active in their faith and their community. Bert was involved in the Boy Scouts organization and always had an American flag flowing from his flagpole in the yard. He loved to hum and was quite in nature. He took great pride in his yard and garden. Marvel was responsible for the home and had a large garden, fruit trees, and was known for her raspberries. She was proud of her pioneer heritage and was a member of the Daughters of Utah pioneers. She was a talented seamstress.
With so many children, I won’t go into depth on each one, but I have felt very blessed to have spent so much time with their stories over the last two years. There were several themes that I felt throughout. Hard work was at the top. They were taught how to work hard and take pride in the work that they do and that followed them throughout their life. They had a deep love for America. All five of their sons served during World War II, some in major battles such as Pearl Harbor and the Battle of Midway. They also took pride in their appearance and putting their best foot foward. We could laugh at this being silly, but it has become an endearing trait to me. In a world where everything has become so casual, I think there is something sweet about a simple farm family, who made an effort to look their best both inside and outside of the home.
As with my prior book, learning about my family has been such a privilege. I love them and hope I have done their stories justice.
