Connor Creek Massacre

Four miles east of Elba, Idaho is a junction called Connor Creek, which was named after General Patrick E. Connor who established Ft. Douglas in Salt Lake City. His assignment was to keep the mail safe.

General Patrick Edward Connor

Irish to the core, he was born in County Kerry, Ireland.  He enlisted with the US Army after arriving in America and served in many states. He lead a group of California soldiers and especially did not like the Mormons. The non-Mormon Governor of Utah sent him to Idaho to kill the Indians.

The tale dates back to January in 1863. A group of Shoshone Indians near Franklin, Idaho had settled in for the winter next to the Bear River. They often raided or begged for food from the Mormon settlement.  

They approached the pioneers in that area begging for food.  Another account said that some drunken Indians came into town and one tried to run over a woman with his horse.  Another man shot the Indian and things began to heat up.  The settlers had nine sacks of wheat stored for planting in the spring. Because these Indians were threatening the settlers and about to steal their grain, the settlers sent word to Utah that they needed help.  Just as the Indians were taking off with sacks of grain, the soldiers came into sight. General Connor had strong horses and beat the Indians to their hideout.

Chief Bear

It was said that some 250 Shoshone were killed, including Chief Bear Hunter and sub Chief Lehi.  A small band of Indians took off west and General Edward Connor sent soldiers to kill the Indians.  At Connor Creek another battle ensued. All of the Indians were massacred and 16 soldiers died.

Connor Creek Ravine

There seems to be a variety of tales about both massacres and one might be related to the other but in other stories, it is not.  It all depends on who wrote the histories.

New additions to the jewelry line can be found at Dians Earrings.

Sterling Silver Temple Earrings

Feather Earrings

Awesomeness

Do you ever think that you are awesoME? Each individual has talents that makes them awesome. I have trouble thinking that I am awesome even though I have accomplishments that I never dreamed of doing.


I published a book called "Eames and Edwards Lineage". It grew and grew and after seven years of research and gathering, it became over 1,000 pages long.


I traced my lineage back to the 1600s in Poland.


I learned to translate Polish records although I never mastered Russian records.

Alcan Highway - Mostly Dirt when I Drove It

I drove the Alcan Hiway through Canada and into Alaska by myself and lived in Alaska for 7 years. The only part that was scary was the Northern Lights.  It spooked me because I had never seen them.

I had three beautiful babies. I lived through the death of two of my children. I think about those poor pioneers who lost babies and children in trekking across America and had to bury them in the prairies.

I took Scuba Diving Lessons with my daughter when she was in college. The youngsters in the class thought it was cool that a mother was taking a class with her child. When it came time for certification, we did not go.  Two reasons come to mind:  I was not ready and needed more time in the pool and they wanted the class to go in March with six inches of snow on the ground to a lake near the Nevada border to some lake that was dark and mirky to certify.  There was a hotpot in Midway that was clear and 30 feet deep - that would be my chosen place to certify but we never got that far. Both of us did finish the class, however, and I got we both passed with a B+.


Some of my new creations are found in Dians Jewelry Shop on Zibbet.

These earrings are about 2.5 inches long.

One of my favorite colors: Cobalt Blue Bracelet on magic memory wire. I have earrings that match.

These earrings are almost 3 inches long.

The Elba Store

When I lived with my grandparents at age 10, I learned how to wait and serve customers who came into the store. I greeted them, took their money and made the correct change.  My grandfather had a calculator in his head; I never met anyone who could add and calculate like he could. I even pumped gas for customers.

I learned two other skills in grandpa's store: He had two pool tables in the back of the store.  There were no sidewalks in this small country town so I learned to roller skate around the pool tables. I learned how to shoot a pretty good game of 8 ball too. Now my grandfather, J. Roy became quite an expert player - after all he made extra money playing pool.  It was a quarter for each game whether he won or not.

J. Roy Playing Pool

He and I were both ambidextrous - we could shoot pool with either the right or the left hands.

J. Roy Eames Mercantile

The two story red brick store had a wood floor which was swept clean every day and then J. Roy would put oil on the floor which soaked right in.  It was never slippery. I guess that is the way they used to renew a wood floor in the early 1900s.

On the right side as you walked in was a soda pop counter with padded stools that spun around.  It was a real treat to buy a bottle of pop. These bottles had long necks but just enough room in the neck so that if you wanted, you could put peanuts into the soda pop to watch it fizz.   Back then a soda once or twice a week was the norm. My favorite was cream soda but grandma liked lemon drop, which was yellow in a clear bottle; they probably don't make it any more.

Behind the counter was a cooler which kept the pop cool.  It tasted oh so good on a hot day. Next to the counter was a 6x5 foot glass candy display. It was candy by the pound or penny and it held so many varieties of candy and chocolates that I couldn't name all of them. It just made your mouth water.

He had a gold cash register that was similar to the one in the above photo.  It probably got burnt in the fire. It sure was a dilly. He used to sell baloney and cheese sandwiches to go with the soda. One neighbor said that he could slice that baloney and cheese thinner than anyone in the county. He used one of those large slicer machines.

In the back of the store, there used to be a big pot bellied stove.  

It looked a lot like this one.

Elba, Idaho

As a single parent, my mother went back to school at Boise Junior College so that she could get a better job to support us kids, especially after finding out that her second husband had lied to her - he was still married to his first wife.  What a scumbag he was!  I have no nice words to describe him. So Freddie and I lived in Elba with Grandpa and Grandma Eames for a couple of years. 

Elba, Idaho Schoolhouse

If you look close, you can see the bell on top of the school. The old red brick schoolhouse in Elba had four large rooms, one hallway, one bathroom for the girls and one for the boys. 


Right smack dab in the middle of the building hung a rope that was tied to the bell that hung at the top of the building.  When it was time to go back to class from recess, the teacher rung the bell. The first room was the kitchen which was no longer used. 


Only the room on the left was used - each row of students (no more than 5 in a row) was a different grade.  There were only four of us in the third grade.  One teacher taught all five grades.

There was only one block in Elba and each dirt road on the block was a mile long. While walking up the road, you had to be careful because that large stick lying in the road was usually a rattle snake.  I found a snake in grandma's rock garden.  After telling her about it, she grabbed a shovel and I'll be darned if she didn't just chop off its head. It was just a little garter snake but who knew.


My grandfather owned the only store in town which was on the north corner of the block.  The LDS church was on the south corner of the block and kiddy corner from the church, Mrs. Hurd's place housed the post office.  On the west end of the block was the park and rodeo grounds.

Elba is still a very small town. The store was sold in the 1960s and later it burned down. The owner turned the old red bricks that were left standing into a garage so there is no longer a store in Elba. The only paved road was the hi-way that was just east of the store which connected Elba to Almo. 

Many of the older homes that have survived harsh years are the old red brick Victorian style like the one in this newspaper article.  Notice that there is a door at the second level that walks out to emptiness. I'd hate to be a sleep walker! Why was a door put there?


My cousin Betty used to live in this house and I have actually slept there.  It's seen days of wine off the vine and roses near the cow pasture - no one has maintained it to its former glory. As kids, we had to go to the east cow pasture to do our duty in an old wood outhouse.  The house had no indoor plumbing at all.

Inspiration from the Book of Kells

My inspiration to make spiral earrings is Irish born. I do have a 4th great grandfather Thomas Meguire who came from Ireland in 1757 and settled in Philadelphia.


The ancient Celtic spirals were carved on rocks and jewelry.  The whole concept blows my mind.  If you have ever seen the Book of Kells, it is totally awe inspiring. It is an early book of the New Testament.  Those dedicated monks gave their lives to making grandiose drawings and unusual lettering making sure that the life of Christ and his Apostles were not lost. They were not afraid to use color and used nature as the ultimate example to blend magnificent colors in their art work.

Two men who are pulling one another's beards and at the same time making a letter. Very clever in adding a bit of humor - they were true artisans.

I would love to have just one tenth of the talent that they had in designing and making of the Book of Kells.


These tiny adorable earrings can be found in my Zibbet Shop: Dian's Jewelry

Learning Movement

My sweet little grandbaby is having a hard time - she's got the feet and legs in the right position but she hasn't learned how to get her head off the floor.  If she moves her head up, then her belly falls.  She has, however, learned to roll from back to side and to tummy so that she maneuvers around the room and she scoots.  Perhaps, her little arms are just not strong enough but I am sure it won't be long and she will be crawling all over the place.


Notice that she has a little blue car in her hand - that is not real helpful if you want to crawl.


Comments are always welcome.

Wooden Boxes

I have no idea in the world the age of these wooden boxes.  I just know that they don't make them like this anymore and the craftsmanship is beyond how they make wooden objects today.

 This box is 6 1/2 x 4 1/2 inches.

The Carpet Tack box with its multi-compartments is a about 12 x 18 inches. I've had them a long time and it has finally dawned on me that they are very old and you really don't see them anymore. 

My grandmother had a treadle Singer sewing machine that was in a real wood case. She used in back in the 1940s and 1950s. I had my very first sewing lessons on this sewing machine. I made a tea towel from a bleached flour sack and won a blue ribbon from it at the county fair because I was in 4H. I had it for a long time not realizing that it was valuable because of its age. 

My cousin, who is a user and at the time I did not know that she was a user, wanted something that belonged to grandma so I gave her this wonderful old sewing machine.  Well, the first thing that she did was sell it.  So now, it is not in the family anymore because my cousin sells everything that she can get her grubby chubby hands on. I am sure she had no idea the value of it and sold it for a pittance.

It looked a lot like this machine. How I wished I had kept it.

Tiny Little Adhesive Tin

 One inch tall tin - my favorite little tin.

 Lid of the tin.

Notice that back then, everything was made in the USA. I miss finding items in stores that are made in the USA.

Mid September

 Waist floater for aerobic class.

Hats off to the ladies in my deep water aerobics class.  We all cinch up a blue rubber float device around our middles so that we can jog, bicycle, go cross country and do other exercises in deep water. 

With one exception, a lady named Adele uses no device at all and swims around in the deep water with us.  

Janalee has the most pleasing personality - she literally glows and last week I found out that she is pregnant.  So pregnant in fact that she is due in one week. We were all doing that pretend hackie sack game using the inside of our feet to kick one up to each hand - I asked her if she could actually do that one being one week away from delivery and she said it was a bit difficult.  How about impossible! 

I did a little swimming when I was pregnant with my daughter but it was in Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean.


Some of my new fun earrings for the upcoming holidays are glitter poms:

Have a look at Dians Earrings

or at Dians Jewelry.

Genea-Musings: Tuesday's Tip - Use Ancestry.com's Free Offerings

Genea-Musings: Tuesday's Tip - Use Ancestry.com's Free Offerings

Poland is Tops in Doll Collection

This little lady representation of a doll in costume comes from Krakow.  She is actually on a card. I have not seen other countries with this type of cards.  Have you? It my be that I have not really looked.

 This little guy is not porcelain but is from Brazil.

From his fancy hat, hang all these wonderful multicolored ribbons.

 My little lass from Poland is sewing away.

 I love her long braided blonde hair.

She is not shy but just busy sewing. Even though she is made of wood and cloth and not porcelain, she has a place in my heart.  As she sits on her wooden bench, I am reminded of the time that I learned to embroider pillow cases when I was a teen. One of my dear friends who has been to Poland several times, brought her back for me.

Sarah Ann Eames Became a Polygamist

Cabin in Eden, Utah where Sarah Ann lived after she married John Carver. John Carver's first wife was Mary Ann Eames (Sarah's Aunt). Mary Ann died before Sarah married her husband but John Carver also married a third wife. Sarah used to kid her brothers in letters saying that she could see herself having more than one husband. They, of course, were very upset about who she married and that she kept the Mormon faith when they did not.

Letters were kept by Sarah Ann Eames Carver as keepsakes from her three brothers – two of whom she never saw again.

A letter written from Henry Eames to his sister Sarah Eames who was living in Plain City, Utah:

November 1868

Dear Sister,

I take the opportunity of writing a few lines to you in hopes of finding you well as it leaves me at present.  You complain of not getting any letters but you have no reason if the letters don’t come to you. We cannot help it, we have sent the 6^th letter to you and that is more than you have sent to us. You say your Brothers do not write to you.  It is a sad mistake of yours.  I write to you as often as my Sister writes to me and it is but seldom that I send half a sheet half written.  I care for and feel for my Sister today as fresh as ever. Although if you had come with us, we would have done as well as possible for you, who would or could have done anymore.  Let me know when, I shall be glad to flee to those mountains in their virtue in them. You sent to know who was the sick son. Well the sick Son was he that was so ill before he left England. Ill all the way to New York and has been ill a good part of the time since.  It was that Grandfather was down upon every day when I scare knew which way I turned my head and for why, because I would not believe in such falsehood. For why should I be run down because of that; I stood as much as I could bear if he had kept on a little longer, the grave would have been my doing.  Dear Sister, I am glad to hear that you are so well and happy without. George, he is pining himself away very fast so I have heard. Dear Sister, let us have another letter as soon as possible. I have more to write but I cannot send it in this letter so no more from your affectionate Brother.

Henry Eames

I wish you a merry Christmas when it comes.

John and Hannah Eames family who came from England all at one go.  Back row: Edwin S. Eames, Henry Eames (grandfather Samuel Eames) James Eames (who went back to England) Jessie Davis, Sarah Ann Eames and Mary Eames.

Front: George Eames, John Eames holding William and John Eames, Hannah Jenkins Eames holding baby Eli and Elizabeth Eames