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| Shortened version published in Folksonline, May, 1999 |
Kings, Polygamists, and Man Eating Lions
 Samuel and Sophia Jewkes home restored at "This is the Place" Park |
My gggreat-grandfather, Samuel JEWKES, was born in England, joined the Mormon church, traveled to the United States, and settled in Utah. He promised his fiance he'd build a house and send for her. When he sent the money, he didn't know she had died. His parents gave the money to another woman, Sophia LEWIS of Dover, Kent, England, and sent her to America, along with her ten-year-old son, John Lewis -- my ggrandfather. Sophia and John arrived in New Orleans and went across the plains by foot, pushing a handcart all the way to Utah. Samuel went to meet his sweetheart, not knowing of the substitution. When he found Sophia, he wrote in his journal, "I had to marry her to protect my investment!"
Images of the courageous Sophia inspired me. Her blood courses through my veins. What were her thoughts as she sailed from her homeland into unknown adventure and the possibility of rejection at journey's end? My questions to my brother, Dave, sent him on two journeys of his own: one back into time to the homestead of Samuel and Sophia; one on the Internet to establish a Kemsley mailing list and website. Little did we know how fascinating the results would be.
Soon I was receiving email from Idaho. Dave's opening salvo had my complete attention: Were Samuel & Sophia Jewkes polygamists? "(Dad) said Sophia came over around 1855 and was on one of the Mormon handcart companies. If the emigration records are correct, she arrived in the US in 1851 -- five years before the handcarts started (1856-60), BUT definitely during the time Brigham Young was moving the members to Utah (1846-70).
"Samuel and Sophia were married in Missouri in 1851. They must have traveled with the Mormons to Utah before 1855 -- when Samuel married TWO women on THE SAME DAY -- BOTH were named Mary. Therefore, Sophia could not have come across the plains with only John via a pushcart to surprise Samuel in Utah...Sam and Sophia were probably part of those Mormons who were persecuted, forcing them to move from Nauvoo IL to Utah starting in 1846." Records indicated still a fourth wife and Samuel was a leader chosen by Brigham Young to settle new towns.
 Rocky Mountains by Currier & Ives |
In the meantime, Sophia Jewkes paid them a visit and made the suggestion that Mother enter plural marriage by marrying her husband Samuel Jewkes. When he proposed mother said, "But what would I do about my mother?" He replied, "Don't worry about her. I'll take care of her." And so a happy married life began for my parents and Aunt Sophie. No distinction was ever made between the children of my parents and Aunt Sophie, but all lived in perfect harmony under the same roof and we loved Aunt Sophie always. Father had previously been married but had lost his wife and their six children by death in St. Louis, Missouri, before marrying Aunt Sophie. He had made quite a stay in that city so as to assist his old friend Elias Morris buy cattle for the sugar company which was, no doubt, the pioneer factory at Lehi, which was built under the direction of Brigham Young, who sent John Taylor to England to buy equipment for the manufacturing of sugar.Dave's quest continued to bear fruit. "The Jewkes have skeletons in their closets.... my ggrandmother, Rebecca THORNTON, was married, widowed, had a baby and remarried all within one year... AND she was both Samuel Jewkes' sister-in-law and daughter-in-law... after marrying Samuel's adopted son, John Lewis Jewkes. Such skeletons seem to be the basis of the Jewkes blood line disowning our adopted bloodline. "
The Salt Lake Tribune carried an article on pioneer village at This is the Place State Park where a complete village is under construction including restored homes of pioneers.
Among the buildings now in place are Brigham Young's Forest Farm House, a blacksmith shop, a bowery, the Andrus House-Store, the Mary Fielding Smith House, the Fairbanks House, Social Hall, the Jewkes House, the Rich House, Gardiner Cabin, Riter Cabin, Roberts House-Carpentry Shop, and several other barns, cabins, sheds, granaries and outbuildings.Dave contacted several Kemsleys online, asking them to join a discussion list. They not only responded; they added new information. The online "cousins" found a common heritage back to Kent, England, even when we could not make an exact link. Many were engaged in research from distant parts of the world. James Kemsley, of Australia, knew of a lone book chapter on Kemsley history titled Threads in the Tapestry, which traced our heritage back to the Vikings circa 903.
 Cover of Thorton Castle brochure |
Among our online discoveries was additional information concerning Lord Kemsley (nee BERRY) and Kemsley Newspapers, who printed Kemsley Manual of Journalism, with an introduction by Viscount Kemsley. This is Ian Fleming's, Foreign Manager of Kemsley Newspapers, first book appearance. Viscount Kemsley is mentioned in MI6: Inside the Covert World of Her Majesty's Secret Intelligence Service, pp. 864-907. Lord Kemsley has a Coat of Arms, as do two other family branches. Cousin Keith, in South Africa, revealed theirs was brought along when his ggrandfather immigrated to South Africa in 1843. The late Sir Colin Thornton-Kemsley, whose castle is in Scotland near Muirfield, was the author of Kentish Kemsleys and their Descendants, that contained Threads In The Tapestry. He described Kent as a Kingdom. When he was knighted, he received his own Coat of Arms.
Sir Thornton-Kemsley was a Conservative Member of Parliament from 1950 to 1964. Aunt Amy, Dad's sister, visited Sir Thornton-Kemsley when she travelled to Great Britain in the early 50s. She regaled us with vivid descriptions of the MP after her return. He was a warm, genuine person who welcomed her gladly. The purpose of Amy's trip was genealogy. Her visit was the inspiration for the research included in Kentish Kemsleys, published in 1980. Our family is listed on page 58. Charlie Allan, whose Farmer's Diary was published by the Gazetteer for Scotland lamented changes in the 1,000 acre Thornton Farm, including selling the 120 cow herd, after the death of Nigel, Colin's son:
I have known of the Thornton estate since I was a small boy. It was the grand seat of Sir Colin Thornton Kemsley, who was the Member of Parliament for Kincardineshire in the days when the Tories in the North-east gave the nod to a local laird, the farmers all touched their forelocks and we had an MP for life.According to a travel brochure, Thornton Castle,in the Kincardine and Deeside District of the Grampian Region in Scotland, dates back to the 14th Century:The MP's son, Nigel, was not that sort of politician, but he sat on the college board of governors, the Royal Highland & Agricultural Society, the Romagnola Cattle Breed Society and I don't know what all else.
 The Meeting on the Turret Stairs by Fredric William Burton |
The Estate of Thornton lies at the northern end of the Vale of Strathmore in the fertile Howe o' the Mearns, an area of one time strategic importance since it commanded the approach to the Cairn-a-Mounth pass over the Grampians to Deeside and the North. The castle, which lies midway between the market town of Laurencekirk and the village of Fettercairn.... Early photographs show that the exterior of the castle, with the exception of the battlements and corbelling and the massive buttresses, was at one time faced in white. Today the stonework, with its blue and grey mountain boulders and the contasting pink of the sandstone, can be seen in the warmth of its original texture. The parks in front of the castle and the gardens, now much reduced in size, are studded with fine old trees notable among which are two ancient yews reputed to be over 600 years old.One of the meanings of Kemsley might come from the old English "Cyme," lovely or fair to look upon, and "ley," an area of enclosed ground. A second alternative is a combination of the Angle Saxon "Caempa," a knight or champion, and "ley." A man, such as the headman of a forest, who owned or cleared food-bearing land was looked upon as a community leader.But not all Strachan lairds were models of propriety. Sir Alexander Strachan, a Commissioner of the Exchequer and 1st baronet of Thornton, scandalized the whole country when he conveyed the gladly consenting Margaret Ogilvy, Countess Marischal, and with her a priceless dowry of plundered heirlooms, jewelery and furnishings, to live with him at Thornton while her famous husband, George Keith, 5th Earl of Marischal, lay dying in his sea-girt stronghold of Dunnottar.
 Lion by Annrika Mccavitt |
From ancient royalty, we moved to modern celebrities, when cousin John Jewkes from Oregon disclosed a family link to Clark Gable. African cousin, Martin, told of his gggrandfather who survived the Boer War only to be eaten by a lion. Old and unable to hunt, the lion began to prey upon Kemsley cattle. It was wounded before it ate the cattle-farmer-turned-lion-hunter. The lion was later found and killed--the last wild lion in the province of the Orange Free State. One of the more bizarre findings is a common physical trait of webbed toes, which Kemsleys around the world admitted to possessing. This trait is normally found in only 1% of the population.
The cousins wove their information into a series of web pages. Kemsley Cafe became the main site.
Organizing Your Heritage Online
Linking your family online via discussion lists and websites is easy and can be done for free. Free discussion lists and chat rooms are found at Yahoo groups and Topica. Both offer a variety of features, including instructions for private discussions and restricted membership.
Advertise your list using Internet Scout and by a public listing at the host site. Announcements should include the name of the list, its purpose, how to subscribe, and the contact person. Use these sites to search for lists or newsletters to help publicize your information. Add the list information into your email signature file.
Free websites can be found at Geocities, Angelfire, and Tripod, among others. Most paid email accounts also have website privileges. All of these sites offer help sections, links to free graphics, and HTML coding. Web Teacher is a complete site for learning about the Internet and has a self paced online tutorial for creating web pages.
Register your web site with search engines using the free service at 123 Register. Search engines will lead people right to your site, which should have an email link for sharing information. If you don't want to publicize your personal email address, visit Net Forwarding for an email address which will forward all mail received.
Now you are ready to search for others with the same surname. Use your browser to find email directories and telephone listings. Map Quest has online maps. Using a standard letter, ask if they want to contribute their time to the project. Some may not. Many will. The fun begins when everyone begins reveal their family legends.
