The Big Robinson Reunion

Now about July 15. I meant to finish this yesterday, but worked on Eprhaim’s “I’m a Child of God” plaque. (I don’t have much time left to finish it and get it framed befor his first birthday.) We went to Soda Springs to the what we call the BIG Robinson Reunion. It is the gathering of the descendants of Fred David & Ethel Sophie Kesler Robinson. There were probably 100 people there. We were the only ones from our family. All of Grandma Robinson's children were there except for Fred. However, none of her grandchildren were there. I hadn't seen Gene & Dot for about three years I think. Not Dot anyway. It had been at least two since I'd seen Gene. I hadn't seen Jewel for more than a year either. It had been a year since we'd seen Stan and Kathy too and Kent too. Grandma R didn't know what time it started and we were never told. We were figuring it started around noon. We found out later that it wasn't to start until 1:00 so our getting there at 12:45 was just right. It was good to see everyone.

Eric Frazier told us about a Website at Grandpatellme.com where families can post family information, family history etc. One must be invited in so when I get the invite for it I will invite each of my children. It sounds like a good thing to aid in family history searches, general info about the family etc. I’ll have to investigate and see about setting up something for my side of the family too. It also enables you to keep track of all the decendants of e.g. Fred & Ethel Robinson or to whomever the family belongs. I’m excited about it. As I sat there Saturday, I tho’t how much imput can I have; I’m only a Robinson by marriage then I tho’t again: I’m sealed to these people so I DO belong. So I interrupted them just before they went out to play the children’s games. I asked them if they remembered who John and Priscilla Mullin Alden were…no one seemed to know. So I told them the story of how they came over on the Mayflower, Miles Standish was their leader and he had a fancy for Priscilla but I guess must have been kind of shy or something. He asked John to ask for Priscilla’s hand in marriage for him. When John did in Miles Standish’s behalf, Priscilla stated, “Why don’t you ask for yourself John?” Which he did and they were married and had 11 children. I said to the people there, “Everyone of you here who are decendants of Fred and Ethel Robinson are also descendants of John and Priscilla Alden.” As I related their story I could tell that many of them were familiar to their story but had no idea that they were their descendants. It was fun telling them that. I told them that I was matching and merging on my PAF program a year or so ago and decided to start up at the A’s for a change instead of the W’s where I usually started. I noticed the name of John Alden and tho’t, “Could this be the John Alden?” So I found his sheet and sure enough it was. I noticed that he and Priscilla had been sealed in the Manti Temple in 1889. I followed back and found out that they were on my husband’s side. (Initially I wasn’t sure if it was my side or his) and that Maria Wood, the first wife of Joseph Lee Robinson, was also their descendant. When I told my mother-in-law this after finding it, she asked if I were related to John & Priscilla Alden. I replied, “No but my husband and children are and you can say the same thing!”

We also discussed with Eric and a couple of other people at the reunion about Frederick Kesler, Ethel’s father and grandfather. Jr. is her father, Sr. is her grandfather. Bryan had sent us some information via e-mail just the night before and I printed it off and took it with. In this information Bryan stated that Fredrick Kesler Sr. ..Here is the info on Frederick Kesler that I spoke of. His three wives are not listed in this article, but I have them in another document which we copied: He married Emeline Parker May 20, 1836 in Augusta, Iowa and had 11 children with her; married Jane Elizabeth Pratt (daughter of Orson Pratt) March 20, 1854 in Salt Lake City and had 13 children with her (Frederick Kesler Jr was #5); and married Abigail D. Snow April 21, 1857 in SLC and had 6 children with her.

Notice that his info states that Frederick Kesler Jr. was the child of Frederick Kesler Sr. and Elizabeth Pratt, daughter of Orson Pratt. That was news to me. I checked it out yesterday on my PAF and my information has Emeline Parker as Frederick Kesler Jr.’s mother. So we need to do some investigating and make sure he is with the right mother. So my husband and children may not be a descendant of Orson Pratt after all. That would be a neat distinction. But we need to have it right.

I don’t know where I got the information on either John Alden or Frederick Kesler for sure. My guess on the John Alden part that Bryan sent it to me after finding it when Sandy worked in the family history center when they lived in Albuquerque. That’s the only thing I can think of because even Uncle Eben had no idea that he was a descendant of John and Priscilla Alden.