McKean Family Pictures

                                        William McKean the immigrant

                                                 David McKean

                                              Washington McKean

                                                 Theodore Mckean

Demon Wind

December 1st 2011, probably one of the worst Davis County East winds in my memory. Up all night waiting for one of the trees in the yard to fall. Hearing cracking and crushing sounds all night and debris smashing into the house. The house rumbling when each 90mph plus gust hit. Twice the back door opened despite being securely shut and locked, filling the basement with leaves. Ten hours of category 2 hurricane gusting winds (one measured 102mph). As daylight gradually revealed the new scenery, the real damage began to become apparent, a tree down in the neighbor's yard. The other neighbor's tree in our yard. More trees down as we watched. Helpless to even watch the news on TV without setting up an indoor antenna. During the storm I kept imagining our satellite dish hovering somewhere over Wendover, Utah, people pointing and taking pictures of the UFO.
Finally at about 12 noon the wind suddenly stopped.

East winds in Davis County Utah are not uncommon. The first recorded was in 1855. The monster winds occurring on the average of about once every 2 years, some years 3 or 4 incidents and gaps of up to about 10 years. My mother told me that my grandfather used to walk the floor all night waiting for the East winds to cease. This specific storm tattered his old 150 year old barn like a bombed out World War II cathedral.

Right after the wind quit, we assessed the damage: one pine tree nearly stripped of all it's branches, three neighbor's trees hanging over our fences, the old TV antenna sheared off and no where in sight, the satellite dish pointing to that new Hades station, about seven lost shingles, a pile of debris 10 feet around and 5 feet high and a 2 foot hole under the corner eve big enough to let that obnoxious raccoon into the attic.
We fared good compared to some of our neighbors. The back yard neighbor lost 7 or 8 trees, some had their cars and houses crushed by trees. Most of the trees that fell were evergreens, beautiful spruces and trees that were 30 years old. Fences ripped up and carried a half mile away and shingles everywhere.
I spent the rest of the day fixing the roof.

December 2nd, 2011, I wandered the neighborhood like a zombie, looking for my missing house parts, to no avail. But, I did meet some interesting people.

Saturday, December 3rd, did some clean-up work, fixed antennas and cut wood.

Sunday, December 4th was amazing. Many churches let out early, and tons of wonderful people went house to house collecting debris. An empty truck and trailer would show up and five minutes later it would be full. Approximately 50 people in this group that I found myself magnetically drawn into, neighbors that I hadn't seen in years and many from blocks away. My next door neighbor, RJ, wore out at least two chains on his saw. Some ladies brought a van with hot chocolate, cookies and rice crispy squares. That chocolate warmed me up and got me to a house a quarter mile away.
Very good people that day. Humanity at its best.

‘I’d jump up in the wind, do a somersault and spin,’ -Bob Dylan

Book Review: The Great Rebellion 1642-1660

The Great Rebellion 1642-1660 by Ivan Roots

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


Good information on that chaotic time period. I'm trying to figure out how my ancestors were influenced by the politics and government switching that took place. Ivan Roots over uses the thesaurus. He must be trying to impress the reader with his great but tedious vocabulary. Not to be too niggling, but many of the words were off, slightly malapropism like. I wonder what his writing would have been like if he had wrote in English.



View all my reviews

Ubuntu OS

I have been using Ubuntu Operating System for about 2 and half years now. If you are using Windows 98 or older, you should consider a newer OS. Ubuntu is a Linux based OS and is the most popular, at least for now. Even if you are using XP, you should think about a new OS. Most Linux distributions have more up to date drivers, features and software programs. Also it is great on-line, worrying about malware and viruses is minimal. Using Firefox on a Linux OS is no different than on Windows.

The biggest draw-back is what to do for Windows programs. There is a decent windows emulator called Wine, in which many programs will run. My favorite Windows program is Ancestral Quest, a genealogy program. Unfortunately, I can only view the people and families on AQ. If I make any changes or click on any web links it crashes when I exit the program.

I haven't quite given up my XP machine. I use two machines with a KVM (Keyboard, Video, Mouse) switch. It allows me to jump back and forth between computers. Its especially good for surfing genealogy sites on my Ubuntu computer and jumping to my XP to compare family info. Listening to music on one and downloading on the other. I can do true multitasking without lagging down a single processor.

My Sweet 16 Great Great Grandparents

My Sweet 16 Great Great Grandparents

1. Ake Larsson, who was the son of Lars Olsson and Hanna Akesson, was christened 5 Oct 1820, in Ostra Grevie, Kristianstad, Sweden. He died 29 Nov 1893, in Ostra Grevie, Kristianstad, Sweden.

He was married 23 Apr 1847, in Hastor, Malmohus, Sweden to:

2. Else Nilsson, who was the daughter of Nils Olsson and Johanna Andersson, was christened 31 Dec 1823, in V. Vemmerslov, Malmohus, Sweden. She died 18 Oct 1882, in Ostra Grevie, Kristianstad, Sweden.

3. Jons Andersson Sandgren, who was the illegitimate son of Maja Jonsson, was born 16 Sep 1811, in Hallaryd, Frosta, Kronoberg, Sweden. He died 8 Mar 1887, in Djurros, Kristianstad, Sweden.

He was married to:

4. Kierstin Nilsson, who was the daughter of Nils Torstensson and Hanna Joensson, was born 18 Oct 1821, in Tjarehuset Ve, Kristianstad, Sweden. She died 16 May 1896, in Djurros, Kristianstad, Sweden.

5. Pehr Andersson, who was the son of Anders Pafvelsson and Lisa Pettersdotter, was born 3 Jul 1820, in Stora Sventorp, Holmestad, Skaraborg, Sweden. He died 15 Jul 1887 in Grantsville, Tooele, Utah.

He was married 6 Feb 1848, in Vattlosa, Skarborg, Sweden to:

6. Maria Katharine Larsdotter, who was the daughter of Lars Andersson and Maria Andersdotter, was born 17 Feb 1819, in Taglan Sannerborg, Skara Landsforsa, Skaraborg, Sweden. She died 7 Sep 1888, in Grantsville, Tooele, Utah.

7. Carl Johan Jonsson Fihn, who was the son of Johannes Jonsson Fihn and Estrid Jonsdotter, was born 5 Dec 1823, in Ulunda, Varhem, Skaraborg, Sweden. He died 21 Oct 1890, in Stenhuggarestorp, Holmestad, Skaraborg, Sweden.

He was married 19 Jan 1856, in Skark, Vettlof, Skaraborg, Sweden to:

8. Britta Johansdotter, who was the daughter of Johannes Eriksson and Katarina Larsdotter, was born 8 Jan 1832, in Kjellsbacken, Vattlosa, Skaraborg, Sweden. She died 18 Dec 1915, in Goteborg, Goteborgso’bohus, Sweden.

9. Washington McKean, who was the son of David McKean and Elizabeth Van Scyver, was born 17 Oct 1803, in Allentown, Monm, New Jersey. He died 25 Oct 1877, in Allentown, Monm, New Jersey.

He was married 11 Nov 1828, in Allentown, Monm, New Jersey to:

10. Margaret Wallin Ivins, who was the daughter of Anthony Ivins and Sarah Reeves Wallin, was born 6 Sep 1806, in Toms River, Ocean, New Jersey. She died 11 Apr 1886, in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah.

11. Henry Emery, who was the son of George Emery and Frances Rhodes, was born 5 Aug 1825, in Doncaster, York, Eng. He died 4 Jun 1881, in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake , Utah.

He was married 18 May 1851, in Kanesville, Pottaw, Iowa to:

12. Elizabeth Brewerton, who was the daughter of George Brewerton and Ann Pilley, was born 13 May 1828, in Harworth, Notts, Eng. She died 1 Dec 1906, in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake , Utah.

13. Stephen Sylvester Sargent, who was the son of Christopher Sargent and Jenny Patten, was born 19 May 1809, in Amesbury, Essex, Mass. He died 4 Sep 1875, in Payson, Utah, Utah.

He was married 3 Jun 1832, in Amesbury, Essex, Mass. to:

14. Martha Louisa Elmer, who was the daughter of Squire Elmer and Lucy Chase, was born 4 Jul 1813, in Hartford, Windsor, Vermont. She died 17 Sep 1897, in Payson, Utah, Utah.

15. George Pickering, who was the son of William Tripp Pickering and Muriel Pitts, was born 22 Feb 1821, in Newark, Notts, Eng. He Died 9 May 1892, in Payson, Utah, Utah.

He was married 16 May 1848, in Sheffield, York, Eng. to:

16. Ann Craig Wainer, who was the daughter of Thomas Wainer and Ann Cragg, was born 26 Jan 1827, in Newark, Notts, Eng. She died 7 Sep 1902, in Payson, Utah, Utah.

Nationalities

8 Swedish (50%), 7 English (44%), 1 Scottish (6%).

Fishing with my Father

My father, my uncle and my cousin, about 1943.

From my earliest memories, I remember camping by a river or stream, my father would leave the family picnicking by the old pickup truck, converted for camping, while he and my older brother would go off fishing. When I was a little older, my father dragged me along too and let me fish in the best fishing holes. Where I would usually catch a fish or two and then my fishing line would turn into a massive tangle. He would return later and patiently untangle or replace the line. Then off we would go fishing again, till the mosquitoes were biting more than the fish. Once, while it was late my father cast his line and he caught something before it hit the water. A bat had snatch his fly and his line was circling up in the air. It wasn’t till he reeled it in that he found out it was a bat.
























On opening day in the fifties and sixties, my father would wake us up at 3:00 or 4:00 in the morning where we (sometimes my sisters were invited) would crawl in the car or truck and fall fast asleep, soon to wake up at an eating establishment somewhere near a lake or stream, usually Rockport, Strawberry or Schofield. We would eat an early breakfast where other fishermen gathered on opening day shoulder to shoulder eating a hearty meal. We would then go to a lake, stumbling in the dark over rock-covered shorelines and then shiver as my father would build a small fire. By the time it was light, we would be once again shoulder to shoulder with fishermen and you could walk across the lake stepping from one boat to another.
Sometimes my father would take a shortcut to a fishing place. Once we traveled on the roughest and dustiest road ever (a lumber truck road, with 10" of dust), only to find pavement at the other end.
Whether its fly fishing a river or drowning a worm in a big pond, he taught me to be a good fisherman.
















The week before he died, he tried fishing but was in too much pain. It has been almost 20 years since my father left for a better fishing place. The fish around here are pretty much safe.

Strange Brew

Being a stickler for words when transcribing wills, I came across a group of words my ancestor Elizabeth Cooke ( Transcribed here), had given to her daughter (also my ancestor) in her registered will proved in 1618.






I first read this as ‘a stove of stax and agylefatt’.
It didn’t make much sense, then I thought ‘fove of fax’, ‘fove of flax’ and even ‘stone of flax’ (14 pounds of flax) which seemed to make more sense, but what was an agylefatt? Two months later while reading other wills (which I do quite often) I found an inventory ‘In the brew house a mashefatt and gilefatt’, (well duh, I thought the ‘a’ was connected to gylefatt) now I could determine what the meaning of the words were. It was ‘a gylefatt’: a tub for fermentation of ale. And the ‘stove of stax’ most likely was used to roast grains to make malt or boiling water for pouring in a mashefatt. The mashefatt being the tub or vat where the crushed barley or other grain was soaked. Even if the only malt that you consume is in your ice-cream. It doesn’t hurt to learn a little about medieval practices.

Word of the Week:
Gylefatt, Gilefatt = A fermentation tub for ale.