Jane Simpson (1886-1985) – she went by “Jeannie” – grew up in the town of Darwen, Lancashire, England. An educated woman, she was certainly familiar with the large public library there financed by Andrew Carnegie, the Scotsman-turned American/steelworker bazillionaire-turned philanthropist; it opened in Darwen about a year before Jeannie’s 1910 marriage to James Bleakley (1883-1959), another native of Darwen. James was also well educated, and won an appointment administering the schools, and teaching math and physics, on the island of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), off the southern tip of India. The couple moved to Colombo, Ceylon early in their marriage, with their infant son John (b. 1912); three other children – Robert (b. 1914), Joyce (b. 1919), and Deryk (b. 1923) – were born to them there.

When John and Robert were in their early teens, they were sent back to Manchester, not far from Darwen, for an English education. Jeannie joined them there in 1926 to check on their welfare and to enjoy an extended holiday with old friends and family. One of those old friends, a woman named Marion Spence Rothwell (1882- ), was at the time landlady for two Mormon missionaries. Both women became interested in the Church, and, perhaps with the encouragement of each other, they were both baptized, Marion on August 8 and Jeannie on November 5, 1926. Marion became “an ardent Church worker” in Manchester, while Jeannie soon returned to Ceylon, the only known member of the Church in that place. A testimony borne in a letter soon after she returned says,

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The Comet

By W.W. Phelps

Huzza to the comet from regions afar!
With what a celestializ’d grandeur it whirls
In etherial space, high in heaven! (not a jar)
As a “signal” to millions and millions of worlds.

Its “tail,” or white pennant is curving abroad,
In the sun’s brilliant rays far beyond mortal gas;
Transparent, a Urim and Thummim of God, –
For the glow of that world, seems a pure “Sea of Glass”:

Whose courses were mark’d on the charter of heav’n,
Ere the stars, or the planets, or sun, gave their cheers;
Light and darkness too, parted; and signals were giv’n
“For ‘signs,’ and for seasons; for days, and for years.”

Near three hundred years in its circuit away,
At two million miles every day, is a rate
That will give o’er one hundred billions, we say,
To the “where” that it started the “signal of fate.”

When man troubles man, then the sword is the law, –
But God in his wisdom sends comets on high,
To vex wicked nations with terror and awe,
That judgment will come; the great day is nigh.

(1858)

This 1858 comet was one of three known as Donati’s Comets. It was one of the most brilliant of the 19th century, and was the first comet to be photographed. Abraham Lincoln is reported to have stayed up late on the night of 14 September 1858 to observe this comet, the night before one of his historic debates with Stephen Douglas. Phelps obviously subscribed to the ancient idea that comets, like other astronomic phenomena, were messengers from God, in this case apparently a warning to the world of coming judgment.

The stories of Mitt Romney’s polygamous ancestors are largely irrelevant to the 2012 presidential election and Romney’s possible service as President of the United States, but they have become a continuing source of fascination and confusion and attempts at humor. It therefore seems better to address the subject than to ignore it. What follows is a brief guide to Mitt Romney’s polygamous ancestors.

Romney Family Polygamy Facts

Neither of Mitt Romney’s grandfathers was a polygamist.

Two of his great-grandfathers were, as well as four of his great-great-grandfathers. Five of those ancestors were on his father’s side and one was on his mother’s side.

Mitt Romney had 28 ancestors who were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and married to a member of the Church during the period that polygamy was practiced. Of those, twelve ancestors, men and women, were involved in polygamous marriages.

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A Daughter of Martha

By Ivy Williams Stone

Previous chapter

Chapter 7

Gloria had a better house now in a better neighborhood. Nancy was out of High School and had a job in an office. She ran a machine – how her fingers flew over the keys! and the keys didn’t run in order like the alphabet – they were all mixed up. The e by the r, the a next to the s. It was all strange to Gloria, but this was an age of marvels. Peter was at last free to follow his own ambition. He no longer acted as clerk of the court. He went East to study medicine. Only his hands, his health, and his head to make his way, but he rejoiced in that privilege. The twins were finishing High School, still looking alike, still confusing their friends, their teachers, their beaux. There was no longer need for Gloria to take in washing, nor to pick berries at fifteen cents per acre. The baking sales had increased until it took all her time. Some women were willing to pay fancy prices for home-made pastries.

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Previously
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Catherine Hurst comes to the rescue one more time, with answers to the Girl Queries of 1917 –

—oooOooo—

“Marjorie” – (1) Send stamped addressed envelope and I will mail you formula for pimples.

(2) It is quite correct to take a small box of candy to the theatre – just enough for two – to be eaten quietly. The empty box is left in the theatre.

(3) Act natural. Be pleasant and friendly with the boys, but do not appear eager for their companionship. Men do not admire boldness in girls or women. cultivate modesty, politeness, cheeriness and tactfulness. Be considerate of others and always speak kindly of your girl friends. Perhaps you are rather young as yet, to receive marked attention from the opposite sex. By and by some splendid boy will discover you, so try and prepare for him.

(4) If you cannot have music, there are many interesting games, as checkers, parcheesi, etc. Most boys enjoy candy making and the conversation with some good story or anecdote apropos to the occasion thrown in. Chatting over a dish of homemade candy and salted peanuts, usually detains a boy over the allotted time.

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(Previous installment)

Monday, October 8, 1900

The weather had turned off considerably cooler and left me with a light cold. Bro. S. went to Tyler with cotton. Elder H. and myself went into the cotton field and picked cotton until noon. I picked 66 and he 86, but when we got to the house he took a chill which lasted nearly all afternoon. We stayed there again overnight.

Tuesday, October 9, 1900

Breakfast was ready and they had to call us to wake us up. We were very sorry to learn that Rylie Shaddox had shot a man. He had only belonged to the church for two weeks. It seems as though he did it in self defense, as the man came at him with an open knife and he had to do it. We bid the folks goodby and came to Taylor’s. Ate dinner, after which we went down to the cotton field and teased the girls until nearly night. Bro. Taylor got back from Athens after dark.

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For background, see here
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Just a Sample

For many years Dr. Francis Patton, ex-president of Princeton University, wore side whiskers. Whenever he suggested shaving them, there was a division of opinion in the family. One morning he came into his wife’s dressing-room, razor in hand, with his right cheek shaved smooth. “How do you like it, my dear?” he asked. “If you think it looks well, I will shave the other side, too.”

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A Daughter of Martha

By Ivy Williams Stone

Previous chapter

Chapter 6

“Pears. Eels. Turnips. Elderberries. Radishes.” Gloria read and reread the cipher far into the night. That had been Peter’s promise to her — a cipher message, when a letter awaited her which had been addressed to the postmistress. She rose early and performed the household tasks with a rapidity that made Aunt Catherine gape in astonishment. Then giving Nancy full instructions for the simple dinner, Gloria went for the mail herself, taking “Prance,” who was now old and docile.

“I brought you a dozen of my choicest eggs, Mrs. Bottling,” Gloria handed over the gift preparatory to making her request. “Have we any mail?”

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