A Rose By Any Other Name Would Smell As Sweet

Surnames

'Tis but thy name that is my enemy;
Thou art thyself, though not a Montague.
What's Montague? it is nor hand, nor foot,
Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part
Belonging to a man. O, be some other name!
What's in a name? that which we call a rose

By any other name would smell as sweet;

This is a frequently referenced part of William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet, and one of my favorite, in which Juliet seems to argue that it does not matter that Romeo is from her rival's house of Montague, that is, that he is named "Montague." The reference is often used to imply that the names of things do not affect what they really are. We know that each surname is hereditary and common to all family members. Because I have such an interest in family history, I know that a surname gives you a sense of identity and helps you discover who you are and where you came from.

There are many online sites that can help you to find information about your family name, but I am going to use the Ancestry.com surname finder to research my family names because of the many resources available for review. http://www.ancestry.com/learn/facts/ 

Firth

English and Scottish: topographic name from Old English (ge)fyrhþe ‘woodland’ or ‘scrubland on the edge of a forest’.Scottish: habitational name from Firth in Orkney.Welsh: topographic name from Welsh ffrith, ffridd ‘barren land’, ‘mountain pasture’ (a borrowing of the Old English word mentioned in 1).Source: Dictionary of American Family Names ©2013, Oxford University Press

I really love this definition, especially "mountain pasture." My family has lived in the same area of Utah in the foothills of the Wasatch Front, farming and raising sheep for 4 generations. It thrills me to have this connection to those who have gone before.
An interesting resource available on this site is the average life expectancy for Firth's chart.

Children of Robert Jackson and Frances Young Firth

The green line on the chart shows that we have a little longer life expectancy than the general public. This chart information has been proven by my grandfather and his siblings whose average death age of 8 children is 86.

Speirs

Scottish and northern Irish:This surname is derived from an occupation. 'the spier,' i.e. watchman; v. Scorer. The final 's' in Speirs is genitive. 

The Surnames of Scotland (1946) by George Fraser Black (1866-1948)

Using census records, Ancestry has been able to track the distribution of surnames in the United States, England and Wales, and Scotland. You can see how families have moved over years by checking information from each census year. I am displaying the chart from the 1851 census of Scotland which was just before my husband's family emigrated to the United States.

George Speirs

Lynn's Speirs family originated in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, Scotland. We have been there and really felt a connection in the people, the land, and the churches. There are 124 Speirs living in Ayrshire today according to Ancestry and we hope someday to meet some of them. 

There is more information available on the Ancestry.com surname site. Take some time and learn more of your surname.

Long Time Gone

On October 26, 2015 I had Rotator Cuff surgery at the Davis Surgical Center. I had been hurting for about 4 months but I thought it was something I just had to live with so I went to the Orthopedic doctor expecting a steriod shot or a pep talk about living with the pain.

I had occasional pain for about two years but 4 months ago I was leading the music in Sacrament Meeting and heard a pop and my right arm dropped about 6 inches.  I quickly lifted my left arm and continued. When I went back down to sit with Lynn he teased me about changing hands, but I knew no one really watches the chorister and didn't think much about it. My kids were horrified that I told people about my chorister injury.

The doctor I was sent to seemed to be a teenager, Dr Donigan. After checking my MRI he said  I needed surgery immediately. It was a Friday, and he hoped I could do it on Monday! It took a lot to schedule our life for the next little while, substitutes for the Library and Temple, etc. bur we made it work.

Andrea and Lynn prepping for surgery

I had a nerve block so I couldn't feel or move my arm for 2 days. It was the weirdest feeling ever to see your arm, and feel like you are moving it, but nothing happens. I was able to come home right after the surgery due to modern medical advances. 

I think the Lord sends us trials to gain experience, but he also gives us gifts and blessings to get us through. I do have the tendency to get grumpy and depressed when I feel helpless and for the first two weeks I was unable to do anything by myself! The pain associated with the surgery was nothing compared to my anger at myself for being useless. I teared up regularly in my frustration. I kept trying to do things I wasn't ready for and it usually caused more pain.

The gifts and blessings of the Lord were much more than I deserve. People kept bringing us food for meals for 2 weeks! After a week, I told Eve Carlsruh, my Relief Society President, that we didn't it anymore and she laughed when she told me she hadn't sent anyone to feed us ( do I live in the best ward or what!)

Lynn was amazing and wanted to do everything he could. I felt sorry for him for being stuck with me but his mantra was "how would you handle it if it were me?" What do people do when then don't have soul mates like mine? My love for him grows and grows. He even cut my meat and helped feed me. I know it was wearing on him because October to Decembers are always the hardest at work for him.

Lynn "watching" television

I have a pretty high pain tolerance and I seem to heal pretty quickly, or so my Physical Therapist says, and my parents and cute daughters are always willing to pitch in when things get crazy and were great blessings, so the time (six weeks) did finally come so that I could take off the dreaded sling I was forced to wear. 

First Day without the sling

So, it took me quite a while to be able to get back at the computer, but all is well now and I feel a little stronger, a little more thankful, and a little more determined to take on these trials that teach us how to progress and be a little more like the Savior. 

How to Care for the Sick in the Firth Family

My mother, Kathryn Ellison Firth was a very good nursemaid when I didn't feel well. She was willing to make special favorite foods, organize activities to keep me distracted, and spend extra time with me which was hard with her busy schedule of caring for six children and serving in various church callings. She really made the myriad of childhood illnesses; mumps, measles, chicken pox, etc. pass through each of us as pleasantly as possible. When the illness or accident became overwhelming, my mother used Grandma Mattie Firth as her back up. I have a very special memory of a time when I had been sick for several days but woke up one night with a terrible earache. My mother tried desperately to calm me down and comfort me while my dad tried to get hold of the doctor, but I was inconsolable. Within a short time I realized I could hear my grandmother's voice directing my dad to gather some items for her and then she was at my side with a large, thick, dark book. She asked me to put my head in her lap while she read from the "doctor book." I muffled my sobs because I loved listening to my grandma read, but this wasn't the type of story I was used to. She told me the book had been her mother's and they had used it many times over the years to help them in emergencies. I don't remember what she read but she soon laid a heated towel against my head while my mom held my hand. Grandma quietly told me that I had a strep infection but she and my mother would be there with me until we could get to the doctor's office. She then started telling me stories about teaching school and the students she had known. I don't remember if they gave me any medicine but the feeling of warmth of the towel and the comfort of two strong and loving women next to me is still as fresh in my mind as if it happened yesterday. I eventually fell asleep. Now that I have had my own children and grandchildren I realize that these wise women learned their comforting the sick skills from experiences they had watching wise women in their lives, and by direction of the Spirit. When I have experienced hard times, I have thought about that night and imagined those wonderful women were at my side. For a while I was worried I wouldn't have the strength or ability to be a good caregiver because of my weak stomach, but I trusted the words of my patriarchal blessing "... We bless you because of the cheerfulness of your spirit that the Lord will give to you, different than the Priesthood, but still the Gift of Healing." My own children and grandchildren did not suffer from the same childhood diseases because of advances in medicine but I have been through 4 very active and fearless children who did have their share of illness and accidents. My mother was always my backup and I always had her strength and skills to get through those scary times. I bought my own doctor book because as an adult I realized that my grandma's doctor book was published in the 19th century and practices had changed. My children knew I was serious about getting them better when I brought it out. It was time to take grandkids to get flu shots yesterday, and my daughter asked if I could come to help with crowd control and comfort. It occurred to me we were continuing the cycle of preparing a new generation of mother's and grandmother's to be great nursemaids in their own families when I asked my granddaughters to hold my hand while I got My shot. 

Tracking our Life Through Photos

1983

This photo is of my sweetheart and I on our honeymoon at Disneyland. We weren't smart enough to take any photos together so I had to put these two together. We love traveling there as a family so I thought it would be fun to see a few photos of us together on our years visiting so you can see the changes we have gone through.

2012

2015

We have had 2 granddaughters and a grandson (he didn't like it) who have gone through Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique with their own fairy godmothers.

Eva 2012

Creighton 2015

Annelise 2015

Here are a few breakfasts with characters.

Ariel's Grotto 2015

Breakfast in the Park 2012

Goofy's Kitchen 2011

Holding Tinkerbell!

Seriously? 2011

Married and Expecting 2012

The Princess they had 2015

Closing Shots 

To Eternity and Beyond

I Love My Family

Sharing Your Family Stories

One of the classes we teach at the Family History Library is called Adding Memories. It is one of the most popular with missionaries as well as with the trainers. The ability to add photos, documents, and stories came to Family Tree on FamilySearch in 2013. It was presented at Rootstech 2013 by Dennis Brimhall, then the CEO of FamilySearch. He gave us a hint of the impact stories can have on families.

"Stories have a unique ability to draw us closer to our ancestors and help us understand more about who we are. This became even clearer to me recently when I sent a photo of my grandfather to my grandchildren. The best part: he was a cowboy. They loved it—their 2nd great-grandfather was a real rootin’-tootin’ Wild West buckaroo! My grandchildren were instantly interested in his life—someone they’ve never met but that they are starting to get to know. They now have a connection to the past and a better perspective of their own family story. That is the magic of family history—bridging generations by getting to know those who came before us."

Around the same time, an article appeared in the New York Times that reiterates Brother Brimhall's statement.

The Stories That Bind Us 

Collecting and sharing family stories can change genealogy into Family History, not just because it preserves our connections to those who have gone before, but we can gain strength and spiritual power from relating those stories to ourselves.

You can add photos, documents, stories, and audio files to Family Tree on FamilySearch after logging on to familysearch.org and click on the Memories tab on a person's tab. The added bonus is that you will be able to see memories that have been attached by others as well. TIP: A story can be added directly to FamilySearch or it can be written in a word processing program, then copied and pasted into Stories.

Next to the stories section, click Add, then click:

With the ability add a photo, suddenly our ancestors come to life and our memories can be passed on to many generations.

Helaman recognized the power of sharing our stories to our children when he told his sons: 

“Behold, I have given unto you the names of our first parents who came out of the land of Jerusalem; and this I have done that when you remember your names ye may remember them; and when ye remember them ye may remember their works; and when ye remember their works ye may know how that it is said, and also written, that they were good.

Therefore, my sons, I would that ye should do that which is good, that it may be said of you, and also written, even as it has been said and written of them” (Helaman 5:6­–7).

I am so grateful to be on the earth at this exciting time in family history. The Lord has blessed us with mighty tools that will bless and strengthen our families if we take the opportunities to use them. I am going to end my blog today with photos that I plan on writing stories to attach in FamilySearch and hope that you will be inspired to start writing your story.

Happiest Place On Earth

We just returned from Disneyland with some of our children and grandchildren. I have heard some people laugh that we will need a vacation from our vacation with family. I must admit that Lynn and I did completely wear ourselves out, but we couldn't have had a better time and would do it again in a heartbeat.

Maybe it is because people let their inner child show there, or maybe because it is a safe place to let your imagination go wild, but I have many wonderful memories at Disneyland and Disney World. My parents took our family multiple times while we were growing up and combining that experience with many other trips we took are part of the reason we are a close-knit group. Lynn also cherishes the memories he has of family trips, including the time his family arrived at Disneyland August 6, 1970, the day there was a Hippy Sit In, so the park had to close. Disappointment didn't stop their bonding and sharing an important memory.

In a talk given in October 2014 by Elder L Tom Perry, he quoted President Gordon B Hinckley to give us instruction on Finding Lasting Peace and Building Eternal Families.“Women who make a house a home make a far greater contribution to society than those who command large armies or stand at the head of impressive corporations. Who can put a price tag on the influence a mother has on her children, a grandmother on her posterity, or aunts and sisters on their extended family?" Later on Elder Perry states, "Fathers build family traditions by being involved in helping plan vacation trips and outings that will involve all of the family members. Memories of these special times together will never be forgotten by their children." We are so grateful for the advice and instruction given to us by Elder Perry.

I am grateful for a sweet husband who enjoys planning for vacations with our family as much as I do. His excitement and joy in visiting the Magic Kingdom hasn't changed in our 32 years together, 4 children, and 11 grandchildren. Walt Disney's vision for a magical place where children and parents can have fun and make memories together is still a reality, and we hope in this 60th anniversary year that it will go on for another 60 years and continue to be a joyous place for our family to bond together. 

Passing On the Love of Genealogy

This photo comes from the LDS Church News in 1980. In the picture you see my sister's; Maria and Laurel, and my amazing grandmother, Mattie. It is a view that doesn't seemed staged to me because I saw my grandmother showing her book of remembrance to many people, especially her family.

My grandmother had tight, perfect, penmanship that fills the pages of her book (she was a first grade teacher.) I watched her spend long hours preparing and publishing countless documents, cutting and pasting hundreds of obituaries, and writing the stories of her loved ones with meticulous care.

The record of her love for genealogy has been left to her family in the form of her book of remembrance and many of us have our own copy so we can reread her labor often. Family History has moved ahead these days and is no longer handwritten, but the work she did then still lives on as I pass her stories along on FamilySearch.org, or send photos to my children, or reminisce in my blog.

I am so grateful for the time I had to spend with my grandma, for her love and devotion to family, and  for the things she felt were important. Whenever I miss her most, I just take out her life's work, look at the photos, and I feel her with me. May I be able to share my love of genealogy with my children and grandchildren as she did.