Roberts Roots & Branches

My main motive for moving to Rock Springs is to research, so while looking at new houses, it was the main focus;  where would my library and research room be located.  I have always been very concerned with water, so I have been hesitant to have my research room in a basement.  Here are the photographs of the transformation of the library: Unfortunately, this was the only before picture I took!  Yes, the wall color is purple.   It is pretty, just not for my library walls!  The room is all painted and ready for carpet.   The carpet was installed a couple of days after I finally got internet! Notice the printer on the floor on the left hand side of the photograph.   What do you do with one of your most valuable piece of equipment?   I didn't pack it, I actually kept it with me as it was one of the last things to leave my old house, along with my laptop and monitors.  While I was between homes, the printer  and equipment stayed in the RV until it got too cold and then I moved the prin

 Towards the end of October 2020, before the snow started to fall and the roads closed, I was able to travel to Colorado to visit a relative.  On the way there, I stopped by the Wyoming State Archives to look up a death certificate, and request a court docket.    I set out early in the morning and this was my view.  Sorry, it is such a crummy picture, but it was a beautiful Wyoming sunrise.  I love taking research trips.  This was going to be a short trip, but one I desperately  needed to take, and I am so glad I did! My first stop was the Wyoming State Archives in Cheyenne.  I love this place!  Everyone is so helpful and kind.  I always wonder how much I need is stored here in this building or off-site! I had a really difficult time in the microfilm room, as I was suddenly missing my father.  He was my research buddy at the Wyoming State Archives.  He happily, even though he was in pain and tired, sat at the microfilm reader for hours looking for death certificates or newspaper articl

In December, I headed out to locate the burial of Jane Hamilton.  Yes, she has a headstone with her husband in Rock Springs, Wyoming, but she is buried in Phoenix, Arizona at the Greenwood Memory Lawn Cemetery.   Jane Roberts Hamilton(15) and Andrew Hamilton's(45) in Rock Springs, Wyoming My grandson was under quarantine from school, so he accompanied me to the Greenwood Memory Lawn Cemetery, and helped me locate Jane's grave. Notice that temperature on a December day already by noon! Jane Roberts Hamilton's gravesite in Phoenix, Arizona Jane's grave is located right across from the office and was not too difficult to locate.   This is the section where Jane is buried.   Notice the sinking of the ground in the middle of the photograph below.   This is the sad reality of cemetery properties.  Hopefully this will be taken care of quickly by the sexton.   This monument caught my eye and I had to snap a photograph, while trying to miss getting sprayed by the sprinklers!  Ma

I was able to stop by the Washington Heights Cemetery in Washington Heights, Utah.  It was at the end of a very long day.  I ended up walking much of the section to locate the graves I needed, because I could figure out the numbering system.  After searching almost three quarters of the section, I noticed the spray painted numbers on the curb and was then able to located the needed headstones.   I snapped my photographs, recorded my GPS reading, sketched my map and the took some various pictures of the cemetery.   This statue of Christ is lovely and brings much peace to the cemetery.  Notice the bird at the end of the wall on the right hand middle of the photo.  There were so many birds around this section of the cemetery, making it all the more beautiful and peaceful. A few days after I got home from my research trip, I was documenting and recording my information I gathered at the Washington Heights Cemetery, when I realized, I had missed a grave!  I knew the grave had to be close as

One of my favorite cemeteries to visit is the Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Boulder City, Nevada.  The morning that my daughter and I stopped by was humbling.  There were about 40 members of the military in civilian clothing armed with weed eaters and leaf blowers busily cleaning up every single headstone in the cemetery for the upcoming Veterans Day.   Here are just a few pictures I snapped during my visit. There are no words for the symbolism of this flag that sits in the middle of a round-about at the Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Boulder City, Nevada. This beautiful sprawling cemetery is a green oasis in the brown and red desert.  The grounds are neat as a pin and there is not even a blade of grass out order here.   The morning we were here there were several planes flying overhead and I was able to snap a photograph.   The planes were so loud it sounded as if they were going to land right on top of you and they pierced the quietness of the serene cemetery. One of my favorite thing

The following are some recaps and photographs of the visits to the cemeteries I took between August and December of 2021, while field researching for "Where Our Roots Rest, Vol. III". Mountain View Cemetery in Salt Lake was stunning just as the seasons were changing.  It is a quaint little cemetery with beautiful views throughout the property.  Here are some of my pictures. . . Before traveling to the Mountain View Memorial Cemetery, I called and asked the office if they could give me directions to a grave.  I was told to come into the office and they would be able to point me to the location of the grave.  When I got there, I was escorted to the gravesite in a golf cart!  Never have I ever had such luxury in locating a grave! I have searched in the rain, snow, wind, cold, heat, and I have walked up and down hundreds of rows  of headstones, so this was a real treat!  This picture is stunning with all of the beautiful flowers in full bloom.  I did not need to do any editing or

Many people made major life altering decisions during and because of the pandemic.  I am no different!  The great blessing about doing genealogy during the pandemic and writing “Where Our Roots Rest” volumes I and II, is cemeteries are virus free!   I spent many days during the pandemic walking the cemeteries in Wyoming and Utah.   I also spent many isolated days writing.   A couple of months after the first lock down on one of my drives home from Kemmerer and Rock Springs, I began to ponder what it would look like to move closer to where I research.   As I drove along the Wyoming highway, my mind wandered and contemplated the idea of moving.   Throughout the next few weeks, this idea was percolating in my thoughts.   After almost a year, I decided to move forward with the idea, and began packing up my house for my new and exciting research adventure. I sold my house in Utah and put my belongings in storage while I searched for a home.  Closing was very slow process in Wyoming be