IDAHO FALLS – The Idaho Falls FamilySearch Center is hosting a series of classes and activities this month to help members of the community learn about their pioneer ancestors.
The classes started on Monday and cover a variety of topics. One of the classes, “Pioneer Ancestors in Eagle Rock,” is about the people who settled what is now the Idaho Falls area.
Center volunteers will be teaching these classes, but other members of the community will teach classes as well. A retired nurse has a class about diseases and medical conditions early pioneers encountered along the Oregon Trail and other places.
Other classes cover how to research for information about your ancestors. Additional classes about specific families and individuals who played a role in settling the area, along with the routes they took, will be available. Activities for youth and families are happening as well.
Classes can be attended in person or via Zoom.
Becky Freeman, a center volunteer who helped organize these classes, tells EastIdahoNews.com the purpose of this event is to reach out to the community and help people get to know their ancestors.
“We don’t want to focus on just one group. We want to focus on all people that might’ve come,” Freeman says.
Exhibits
The family history center is managed by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. July 24 marks the anniversary of the Latter-day Saints arrival in Salt Lake where the church’s headquarters are today.
While there is a large population of Latter-day Saints in the Idaho Falls area, Freeman notes numerous exhibits on display throughout the center are about the city’s early pioneers, most of whom were not LDS. Among them is Rebecca Mitchell, a baptist missionary who was instrumental in the building of the first school in town, as well as the construction of the first church building and public library.
Another exhibit showcases Ed Winn, a prominent businessman and lawman in the early days of Idaho Falls.
“We don’t how many gunfights he was in, but he always won,” Freeman says. “His reputation alone helped control (the crime).”
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There are other stories on the center’s walls submitted by members of the community.
Freeman notes one she thought was particularly interesting. It’s about Larry Stevens, a first-generation Idahoan who came to Idaho Falls from California in December 1972. He’d been in the Navy for about 18 months and had been transferred to the Nuclear Power Training Unit on the desert near Arco.
In the display, Stevens recalls arriving in town with his 1966 sky blue Ford Mustang during “the worst cold spell in modern history.”
“The temperature was 32 degrees below zero,” Stevens says in the written account. “My California-maintained car had been parked outside overnight and as you can expect it did not start.”
He ended up catching a bus ride to the facility and was surprised to learn it was even colder out there.
“It was -42 degrees with a wind chill of -105 degrees,” Stevens says.
Although he was wearing multiple layers of clothing to stay warm, Stevens said it was “a miracle we (the rest of the Navy crew) didn’t freeze to death.”
He left the area after his assignment, but came back years later. He made Idaho Falls his permanent home when he retired from the Navy in 1991.
Freeman also has a story about one of her ancestors that’s on display. Her great-great-granparents, John and Rachel Radford, joined the LDS Church in the 1880s. They initially settled in what is now Star Valley, Wyoming.
John died and was buried there in 1889. His wife moved to Shelton to be closer to her family and passed away in 1894. She was buried in the Ririe-Shelton Cemetery.
Freeman explains in the display that the family wanted to move John’s body from Wyoming to be buried next to his wife in Ririe, so they dug it up. It was in a wooden box and they wanted to see what the body looked like.
“When they opened the box, he was exactly as he looked when buried, but when they touched the box, he dissolved into dust,” Freeman recalls.
Family history research is the No. 1 hobby in the world, according to Freeman, and it’s because people are interested in knowing their heritage and who they are.
That’s why she says family history is important. Her goal is to make it an annual event and she encourages the public to attend these classes.
“Knowing our history helps us to live better,” says Freeman. “Learning about our ancestors helps us to know more about who we are.”
Classes
Pioneer Classes in July
- Tuesday, July 15, 10-11 a.m. – “Pioneer Diseases and Mortality” by Kim Jardine-Dickerson
- Wednesday, July 16, 1-2 p.m. – “Pioneer Ancestors” by Anna Sweat. Learn how to research your pioneer ancestors.
- Friday, July 25, 11:15-12:15, “Pioneer Travels” by Joy Price
Pioneer Day, Thursday, July 24
- 11 a.m.- noon – “The Vanguard Company” by Hyrum Boone. Learn about first pioneer company to enter the Salt Lake Valley in July 1847 (repeat of July 8 class).
- 1-2 p.m. – “The Nebeker Family: Illinois to Bear Lake” by Bill Patterson
- 3-4 p.m. – “Pioneer Ancestors in Eagle Rock” by Becky Freeman (repeat of July 7 and 9 class)
The Idaho Falls FamilySearch Center is at 750 West Elva Street in Idaho Falls. The center is open Monday, Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Tuesday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
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