Chesterfield, Idaho

In the summer of 2009, Taylor and I were able to go with my mom to visit Chesterfield, Idaho - a unique place that is being restored to what it would have looked like pre-1920.

I have a lot of relatives who once lived in this small community nestled in the southeast corner of Idaho.

The Chesterfield Foundation has a great website with a lot of amazing pictures - many of the names listed on the restored homes are relatives of mine - Loveland, Call, and Higginson.

We found this treasure hanging up in one of the buildings- Alzina Loveland is my great-grandmother and Hattie Jane Taylor Higginson is my great-great grandmother.

My great-grandparents and my great-great-grandparents are buried in the Chesterfield Cemetery.

William Thomas Higginson left England and traveled across the country in 1858 to arrive in Utah. Hattie Jane Taylor, his wife, was just 6 years old when her family left England in 1862 and she walked the entire way to Utah. My pampered feet have no reason to complain when I ask them to walk a few miles.



My great-grandmother Alzina died during the influenza epidemic of 1918 - leaving behind her husband and six children. Her husband, George Taylor Higginson, lived to be 100 years old - can you even imagine all the changes he would have seen between 1879 and 1979? Incredible!
My grandma was 13 when her mother died and she had to leave school to care for her younger siblings. This is where she attended school until that time. As we stood in the field near the school, I imagined my grandma and her siblings trudging through the deep snow on their way to school. Do you think she had any idea that one of her daughters would be able to earn a college degree and that all 4 of her children would also earn college degrees? Times have certainly changed and we have much to be grateful for when it comes to our opportunities to receive an education.

If you ever find yourself in southeast Idaho, take the time to stop in at Chesterfield and remember the sacrifices that people made to eke out a living in that beautiful but demanding area. I continue to be overwhelmed by all that my ancestors were able to accomplish. I have much to learn from their examples - I better stop my whining and get to work!

What's the next line?

I'm not sure how many people my age (almost 33) can state that their grandfather was born two centuries ago!! But in my case, it's true!

My mother's dad, Milton Rawlins, was born in 1898. So he barely squeezed in there before the turn of the century.

My mom was a surprise child born 12 years after her next closest sibling. That is one reason I am unwilling to tell people that we are done having children - you just never know what God has in store for you, and I'm sure grateful my mom was born!!

I never met my grandfather because he died when my mom was just 15. However, I do know that I have a trait in common with him thanks to recorded family history - my aunt wrote a short history of my grandfather in 1992 that is available on the Rawlins Family website, rawlins.org.

Apparently, the reason I can never get the words right in a song is inherited from my grandfather! I am notorious for at best knowing the chorus to a song and making up my own version of the lyrics if I can't remember how they go (and I usually can't remember). This used to drive my college roommate crazy and I remember she made me memorize the words to one of her favorite songs so I would stop messing it up when I sang. I wonder if I could still sing it right or if I've forgotten??

So sing out loud and strong and wrong, Grandpa Rawlins, I'm with you all the way!!