Tew Reunion in Salt Lake City

Last Saturday, on June 12, descendants of William Thomas Tew / Clara Elizabeth Snow Tew (my paternal grandparents) enjoyed a day together, renewing old friendships, and, in many cases, developing new ones.  The cool, rainy weather prevented us from meeting outdoors, as originally planned, so we met indoors in the recreational area of a large LDS church building, the one that Patricia (my niece) and Dan Potts regularly attend.  All in all, there were about 130 attendees.  We had plenty of food.  Brad Berntson (my nephew) and his wife, Jane, brought  a large commercial scale grill to the event in a trailer, and grilled hamburgers and hot dogs outdoors.  Louise Tew (my sister-in-law) and her daughter, Patricia, did most of the work preparing for the reunion, handling invitations, program agenda, facility reservations, decorations, name tags, meat and condiments,and so on.  They did an outstanding job and are to be commended for their effort.  There are others who substantially contributed.

We had descendants representing all but one of Grandpa and Grandma Tew's seven children who are long since deceased.  My father, 2nd youngest, died 32 years ago (1978), at age 78.  At age 62, I am the youngest living grandchild of Grandpa and Grandma Tew.  At this point, only 15 of 44 grandchildren are still alive, so this reunion was of special importance to those 7 who were able to attend.  Three of Uncle Will's 7 children are living, of which Roy and Dean were in attendance.  All of Aunt Reba's 6 children are deceased; this was the only line not represented at the reunion.  Only one of Uncle Warren's 9 children is living, namely Vivian Dredge; she and several members of her extended family were in attendance.  Three of Uncle Bird's 7 children are living, of which none were in attendance.  Two of Uncle Bryan's 7 children are living, of which neither were in attendance.  Six of my father Burton's 7 children are still living, and Burton Jr., Norma, Carolyn, and I  were in attendance.  Aunt Melba had one child who is deceased. 

We set up a large family tree for attendees to put their family pictures/information on.  Highlights of the reunion for me included the terrific lunch, a great group picture, the family tree, senior member(s) of each of the seven family lines bringing us up to date on their own family lines, and a pinata for the kids at the end.  My main regret is that I didn't get a chance to visit with my niece Heidi, who I was later told was actually at the reunion for a short time with her mother, my sister Norma.  I was also disappointed that neither my brother Fred, his wife Sandra, nor any of their 10 children were able to attend the reunion.  From our family, in addition to myself, Julie and Matt and their three children (Plymouth, IN), and Neal (SLC, UT) attended.  Alan (SLC) was in Portland and Lori and James (Loveland, CO) were unable to attend.  Judy stayed in Louisiana; we couldn't financially justify both of us going.

Extended family discoveries

One of the down sides of living far from relatives, as we did in Hawaii, is that our children missed knowing what it was like to be around cousins while growing up. I'm sure they understood it vicariously, in that many of their friends in Hawaii were surrounded by cousins.

After we returned to Utah for a brief period following our 16 years in Hawaii, our kids still didn't get to know their cousins, even though some were literally in the same town. Perhaps the closest connection was Michelle Malquist and Julie both going to Provo High. They were 2nd cousins, and probably felt some connection owing to their relatedness. Alan and Neal have been around Patricia Potts (1st cousin) and her kids enough to feel some connection there. They also probably feel a little bit of a connection to a few of their Aunt Linda's kids in Idaho. I don't think our kids feel any connection whatsoever to Fred's, Norma's, Carolyn's, or John's kids on my side of the family, and probably have no desire nor feel any reason to make a connection.

As I am gathering information the William Thomas Tew/Clara Elizabeth Snow Tew (WTT/CST) descendants, presently depending heavily on facebook and blogspot, I am struck by the obvious strong connections that exist at the cousin level in many of the family lines I am working on. I have found this project to be so fascinating. Even if this project falls well short of my expectations in obtaining all the information I am soliciting, I have already discovered so much about the WTT/CST descendants, my relatives, that the journey itself has been well worth the effort expended.

Here's just a tiny sampler of relatives (name, relation to our children, claim to fame) that caught my interest:
Kathryn Haynie (12/19/08), 2nd cousin, U. of Utah women's volleyball star on a nationally ranked team; was on the MWC All-Conference Team.
Sheldon Fisher, 2nd cousin, candidate for U.S. Congress from Alaska (Sheldon's family shown above).
Risa Tew Jorgensen, 2nd cousin, Mormon Tabernacle Choir member.
I also discovered that we have relatives, descendants of WTT/CST, in Colorado, Indiana, Louisiana, and Tennessee.

Finding out where your surname is most concentrated

If you have never run into the website, MapYourName, that shows where your surname and surnames of your friends and relatives are most concentrated, not only in the U.S. but also in country of origin, you might find it to be quite interesting and educational. You might be in for a surprise, as I was. I thought that the name, Tew, was going to show up primarily in the Inter-mountain West, but it is as common in Alabama and North Carolina as it is in Utah. Of course, if you have a name as common as Smith or Jones, this website may not be very interesting or useful. On the other extreme, you may have one of those names that is so rare that it doesn't even register. However, most of us have names that fall in between these two extremes. Not surprisingly, Cajun names commonly heard around here, such as Arceneaux, Breaux, Boudreaux, Champagne, Leblanc, Robichaux, Savoie, Thibodaux, and Zeringue lit up Louisiana. I was intrigued that the names in my home town of Talmage, Utah, names like Allred, Burton, Christensen, Ericksen, Lindsay, Frandsen, Jensen, Sorensen, and Thacker were more Utah-specific than I would have imagined. Surnames are not as diffuse as I thought, even over many generations.

Jared Tew - Putting the name "Tew" on the map

Caption: Air Force running back Jared Tew (42) scores against the Houston defense in the Armed Services Bowl. Tew rushed for 173 yards and two TDs to help the Falcons control the clock.

Air Force profile of Jared. ESPN Stats on Jared in 2009. Footage from the Armed Forces Bowl game, Dec 31, 2009.

Tew football fans originating from Utah and Idaho, including myself, became curious as to our pedigree connection with Jared Tew, who hails from Park City, Utah, after he starred in this game. I decided to make contact with Jared's father, Steve, in Park City, and he was gracious enough to get back with me. It turns out that Jared comes from a different Tew line than do the vast majority of Utah/Idaho Tews. I always thought that the only Utah/Idaho Tews were those descending from my great-great-grandfather, Thomas Tew, Sr. who immigrated to Utah in the mid-1800's having been converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in England.

Steve informed me that his grandfather (Jared's GGFather), Arthur George Tew (1903-1999), was born in England and immigrated to the inter-mountain west in his youth. He married Larue Morris from the Malad City, Idaho area, and settled down in Malad.

This is what Steve shared with me, "My grandfather was a dairy farmer most of his life in Malad, Idaho. My father [Farrell Eugene Tew] entered the military when he was 17 and went to WWII in the Navy. Following the war, he transferred to the army and we lived in El Paso, TX, where I was born. We then went to Germany for four years with the army, then back to Fort Bliss in El Paso. When my father retired from the army, we ended up in Ogden, Utah, where we would be close to my parent's hometown of Malad. A few years after I was married, we moved to the Park City area where we have been for almost 20 years. My mother did a fair amount of genealogy but never connected us closely with the other Tews we heard of in Utah and Idaho, so who knows the connection. "

We may never know our pedigree connection with Jared but I'm sure that at some generation not too far back in England, we share a common ancestor. We wish Jared well during his Senior year at Air Force. Many of the Tews from Utah and Idaho in particular, will be his fans this coming fall, and wish him well in his future military career as he serves our country.

Revisiting my French Connection -- Louis Roy

On April 6, 2008, I wrote a blog about my French connection, which went back as far as Louis Roy, who was presumably pure French, but that's as far back as we were able to go. There was plenty of speculation about where his roots went, but we didn't know for sure. On January 5, 2009, I entitled my blog, "50 things I would like to do." Number 44 reads as follows, "Determine with certainty the ancestry of Louis Roy (my great-great grandfather on my mother’s (LeRoy) side) all the way back to France."

Over the holidays, my cousin, Jayne Kerr (Phoenix, AZ), forwarded a letter she had received from another cousin, Judith (Judy) Ipsen (Willard, UT), about the success she had in discovering the roots of Louis Roy. Judy had put in a lot of hours of research, and while she did not have hard documentation, such as a birth certificate, she did have overwhelming evidence that met the list of criteria used by genealogists to go ahead and declare that Louis had to have been the Louis Roy that was associated with a specific Roy family living in the area that he lived and at the time he lived there.

I called Judy up and we had a lively conversation about old times when we as cousins used to get together and do things together, etc. She shared with me that she had prepared a 310-page book entitled, "Louis Roy, A Book of His Ancestors and Descendants," which had exhaustive documentation and many pictures that she had collected during her pursuit for information on the Louis Roy line. She said the book could be purchased for $30 (covers printing and postage costs), and that she only had a few copies left. I went ahead and purchased one for myself, so that I could see for my self what she had gathered. It is truly impressive.

So now the Roy line goes from Louis Roy to his father Louis Roy (mother, Julia Royer) to Andre Amable Roy (paternal grandmother, Francoise Chapart) to Francois Roy to Andre Roy, and finally to Jean Roy who was born in 1633 in De Marans, Aunis, France, and who died in 1676 in Lachine, Montreal, Canada. Louis Roy's mother, Julia Royer, it turns out, was half American Indian. Her father's (Nicholas Royer) mother was a Kaw Indian. Her mother's (Francoise Leduc) mother was an Osage Indian, making her half Indian, and the younger Louis (my GG grandfather) one-quarter native American Indian, and therefore not pure French as previously thought.

The Louis Roy family moved from Missouri to Oregon on the Oregon Trail in 1852. Louis was 37 at the time. Louis Roy's son, Daniel Vestal LeRoy, from whom I descend, was 12. Daniel married Sarah Priscilla Morrison and they had five children together. Then Daniel got into trouble and ended up getting a divorce. Divorce papers showed that he was guilty of petty larceny (stealing chickens) and grounds of abandonment and desertion were cited. Daniel left abruptly and didn't tell anyone where he was going. Oregon Roys descending from Daniel probably have a rather negative view of their ancestor.

The next we hear of Daniel is when he surfaces in southern Utah. LDS Church records indicate that he was baptized and confirmed into the the LDS Church in August 1873. In those records, his birth date is nine years off (1848, not 1839) and his name had changed from Roy to LeRoy. Daniel was courting a young Mormon girl named Sarah Melissa Allen, 15 years his junior, and he passed himself of as being several years younger than he really was. The name LeRoy may have been used somewhat as an alias. So that is how all of us descending from Daniel and Sarah, have the name, LeRoy, until we go as far back as Louis Roy. One final note: In the for-what-it's-worth department, the town of Roy, Oregon was named after Louis Roy's son, Lewis (my great-grand uncle), who was born after the move to Oregon

Plans through December

My agenda for the remainder of the Month of December is as follows:

Dec 6 - 12 (Sun - Sat): Making sugarcane crosses at Canal Point, FL (see last year's blog this time of year).

Dec 12 - 16 (Sat - Wed): Spending time with Lori & James, who are coming into town. We're excited.

Dec 17 - 19 (Thu - Sat): Whirlwind trip to our future home site in Tracy City, TN, meeting with Grant Miller, and other people we will be contracting work out to.

Dec 22 - 28 (Tue - Mon): Judy and I will be spending Christmas with Julie, Matt, and three granddaughters, Allison, Lauren, and Megan, the youngest of whom I will be introducing myself to for the very first time.

On another note: I am updating the book, "Tew Heritage," which is a history of Wm. Thos. Tew and his wife, Clara, and their descendants. I had conversations with descendants of each of his seven children last night, and was amazed at the level of interest there is in me pursuing this project. It will probably take several months to complete. When completed, it may very well go on line, so I may be looking for some "family" expertise.

Wendell B. Johnson's inspirational story

I am amazed that I was completely unaware of Wendell B. Johnson's life story upon learning about it this morning. What got my attention upon bumping into the website dedicated to his life, was firstly, that we are connected in several ways, and secondly, that his story is so inspirational. Wendell was a quadriplegic most of his life as a result of diving in a canal as a teenager without realizing that there was a ledge only a foot or so under the surface of the water. First, the connections. Wendell and I were born only two months apart, and started our lives in the same town, Mapleton, Utah. While not closely related, we do share a common great-great-grandfather, Edwin Whiting, making us 3rd cousins. Wendell's accident occurred in 1964 when he was only 16 years old. I had a severe diving accident that could have profoundly changed my life shortly after returning from my mission. I did a backwards dive off a diving board in Roosevelt, Utah and my neck caught the end of the board, rendering me unconscious in the water. The force of the dive busted off the wings of two vertebrae in my neck. I was told I was very lucky not to have been paralyzed. My neck was immobilized for several weeks afterward until the old wings dissolved, and new ones grew in. My mother told me of a diving accident in Mapleton that left someone paralyzed. Wendell has to be the very person she was thinking of.

Wendell Johnson took his tragedy and turned it into a positive. He was not only an artist (see gallery) but a great example and an active member of the community. He served as Justice of the Peace for six years, and later as Mapleton's mayor from 1982 - 1986, he also co-authored two books, married, fathered a child against great odds, raised his daughter, and designed the blueprints for his own home, all despite his difficult circumstances. His great lesson in life was one of patience and endurance despite challenges. He believed wholeheartedly in setting and meeting goals, and in the power we all have to achieve wonderful, positive things in our lives. He died in 1986, living considerably longer than the medical experts had predicted.

I have carried a book about Mapleton for many years that my parents gave me, and only now realize that one of its co-authors was this man. I dug the book out, re-read it, and by so doing, learned a little bit more about my roots. Both my father and grandfather were town presidents of Mapleton, and my father was the town's first mayor, according to the book. I recommend reading Wendell's biography, one of which is written by his daughter. The painting above is of Buckeley Mountain in south Provo. We lived directly under this mountain for several years after returning from Hawaii, and before coming to Louisiana.

In memory of my sister Lynette Tew

Yesterday, December 19, was Lynette's birthday. Were she still alive, she would have just turned 59 years old. Lynette was my only full-blooded sibling. She was the victim of a brain tumor that took her life at the tender age of 19 in the year 1969. Lynette had a very different personality than I did. She was very outgoing. In school, she was very popular, but always stuck up for those who were being victimized for issues they had no control over, such as ethnicity or being handicapped. Lynette was vivacious and lived life to the fullest until the time of her death. God bless her memory.

"Tew Heritage" needs updating

In 1990, a softback publication entitled "Tew Heritage" was printed by Stevenson's Genealogy Center, Provo, Utah, USA. It is, as the cover shows, "A tribute to William Thomas Tew and Clara Elizabeth Snow, their descendents, and pioneer ancestors." Their pictures shown above. The editors of this publication were three of their grandchildren, namely Merlene Tew Colarusso, Clara Allred Smith, and Helen Tew Stirland. Merlene passed away in 1999 (age 85) and Clara passed away only a month ago (age 88). As far as I know, Helen is alive and well, though she is getting along in years too (age 90). I am also a grandchild of William and Clara, and am 1st cousin to Merlene, Clara, and Helen. At age 60, I am the youngest living grandchild. Merlene was the oldest. William and Clara had seven children who grew to adulthood, 44 grandchildren, and as of 1990, had a total of 671 direct descendents. In the last 18 years, the numbers of great grandchildren and beyond have increased greatly. As the youngest, and one of the last of the old guard, I have decided to take on the task of updating the Tew Heritage, and making the information electronically available. We'll soon see whether I am way over my head on this project or not. It will obviously require considerable cooperation from extended family members.

Tew Family Crest

Okay, I've given up on the idea of restricting my posts according to what day of the week it is. Bad idea. After all, this is just a blog, i.e., whatever is on my mind. Let's just say that on the whole, since I work from Monday through Friday, it's just more likely that I will be posting something work related. On Fridays and Saturdays, I have a greater interest in the culture around me. And on Sundays in particular, the focus will be more family/church oriented. Let's just leave it at that.

A long time ago, back when I was in college, I got the genealogy bug for a while. One of the projects I tackled was to create a Tew family crest based on a written description in a book about family crests, not based on any picture, per se. I thought I had long since lost the picture I had created, but it resurfaced the other day, so I scanned it.

Speaking of family names, I found a website that actually shows where each surname is most concentrated within in the United States. In the case of the name, Tew, the intermountain west and the southeast are where it is most concentrated. The states that light up the most are Utah, Alabama, and North Carolina.

Burton Edwin Tew: 1900 - 1978

I have a few pictures of my father, Burton Edwin Tew. There may be some relatives out there who do not have access to these pictures. There may be some who have pictures I have never seen. The first is of my father as a small child, dutifully feeding piglets on the family farm in Mapleton, Utah. Take note of his attire...entirely appropriate in the early 1900's. The second is of my father as a youth. The third is a picture of my grandfather William Thomas Tew with his five sons, Bryan, Warren, Will, Bird, and Burton from left to right. If I have made any errors, please bring these to my attention.

Duns Tew, Little Tew, and Great Tew

These "Tew" villages in Oxfordshire, England can all be found on Google Earth by entering "Duns Tew, England," and so on, into the search box. The name, Tew, has many possible origins, among which a "long object," possibly referring to a long ridge, which may associate it with the long ridges in the general area where these villages are located. Great Tew has been described as one of the most picturesque villages in Oxfordshire. It is known for its thatch cottages, as seen in illustrations, and in photos such as that of The Falkland Arms, a well-known traditional English pub in the village. Great Tew has gone through considerable restoration, so that it has become an attractive destination for those traveling into the country.

Great Tew has an interesting history. At one website, reference is made to Lucius Cary, 2nd viscount Falkland, who "took up residence at the mansion of Great Tew in Oxfordshire, which was bequeathed to him by his grandfather. He succeeded as the 2nd Viscount Falkland when his father died in September 1633. During the 1630s, Falkland presided over a celebrated philosophical and literary circle at Great Tew where poets, theologians and philosophers met to discuss and exchange ideas. Members of the Great Tew circle included William Chillingworth, Ben Jonson, Thomas Hobbes and Falkland's close friend Edward Hyde." Hugh Trevor-Roper wrote a lengthy essay on the Great Tew Circle in his book, "Catholics, Anglicans, and Puritans."

Thomas Tew the Pirate

As recently as this morning, a colleague of mine asked me if I am a descendant of, or am distantly related to Thomas Tew the Pirate. Key in the name “Thomas Tew” on any search engine, you are bound to become acquainted with a rather famous pirate from Rhode Island whose activity as a pirate spanned the period of 1692 – 1695. The Pirate Soul Museum, a recently opened museum located in Key West, Florida that boasts having “the largest and most authentic collection of pirate artifacts ever displayed under one roof,” includes Captain Thomas Tew’s authentic pirate treasure chest. If you go to the photo gallery and arrow over to the very last picture, you will see his treasure chest as it is seen in the museum on display, described as “the only authentic pirate treasure chest in the world.” Some day, I intend to visit this museum. Since the pirate Thomas Tew apparently only had daughters, it would be difficult for me to claim being his direct descendant, and do it with a straight face. Here's another intriguing website, where the creation of Thomas Tew Rum in Newport, Rhode Island is described...rum made from blackstrap molasses, which in turn is made from sugarcane. So we do have a connection of sorts. Even though I don't drink alcohol, I still found the video about how Thomas Tew rum is made, rather interesting.

Another connection

The name, Tew, originates from England. My great grandfather, Thomas Tew, Jr., was the first of my direct Tew line to arrive in the U.S. The family of Thomas Tew, Sr. investigated the LDS (Mormon) Church. As teenagers and now converts to a new religion, both Thomas Tew, Jr. and his close friend Walter Bird, were sent to Utah ahead of their respective families. They were given enough money to buy steerage passage on a ship from England that arrived at the Port of New Orleans in 1850. From there, they went up the Mississippi River to St. Louis. They got work driving ox teams to the west. At the time, they knew nothing about oxen, or how to set ox bows on them to team them up to pull wagons. Obviously, over the next several weeks, they became well acquainted with oxen. They fared pretty well until they got into mountainous country, where Thomas came down with Rocky Mountain spotted fever. He became completely helpless. The wagon master told the group to leave Thomas behind for dead, but Walter sneaked his lifeless-looking body into a wagon, covering him up, and he eventually revived. Thomas owed his life to Walter. Shortly after their arrival in Salt Lake City, they were sent 50 miles south into the Utah Valley where they settled in what is now the Springville-Mapleton area. Their respective families soon followed. Thomas eventually married Walter’s sister, Rebecca Bird. As the best of friends for life, it is fitting that Walter and Thomas were buried next to each other in the Evergreen Cemetery that borders Springville and Mapleton. And now, 140 years later, the name, Thomas Tew, has come full circle, with myself returning to within an hour’s drive of the New Orleans and the Mississippi River. Every time I fly from N.O. to S.L.C., I can’t help but think about the stark contrast between my short flight and the arduous journey taken by my great grandfather. Picture taken in the late 1800's, is of Thomas Tew, Jr. (sitting, 1833-1904), with his sons, John Henry (center, 1868-1948) and my grandfather William Thomas (right, 1859-1933).

French Connection

To live in southern Louisiana is to be immersed in French culture. As in Hawaii, where the locals sprinkle their everyday vocabulary with Hawaiian words, Louisiana has a strong french connection, and their everyday conversations strongly reflect this. Counties are called parishes. It isn't unusual to hear people refer to the size of their property in arpents instead of acres. Specific laws also reflect Louisiana's French roots. For example, the principle of "forced heirship"—that a child is legally guaranteed a share of his parents' estate—comes from the Napoleonic Code and does not appear on the books in any of the 49 common-law states. Similarly, some laws governing commercial transactions in Louisiana come from the French system, putting them at odds with the parts of the Uniform Commercial Code used by other states.

My french connection, albeit weak, is my middle name, LeRoy (the king), which I can trace back through my mother (maiden name, Mary LeRoy), through three additional generations, Ammon Alexander LeRoy (GF), Daniel Vestor LeRoy (GGF), and Louis Roy (GGGF), who settled in Missouri presumably (though not positively verified) from Quebec, Canada.