Roberts Roots & Branches

Ninety-nine years ago today, 136 coalminers reported for work and by 8:30 a.m. after the second trip car carried miners into the mine, there was a terrible explosion.   Residents saw an ominous plume of black smoke coming from the mine entrance.   By noon, over a thousand people gathered at the mine entrance from Kemmerer and Frontier, whose combined population was only about 2,200 people. Ninety-nine years ago today, 99 men lost their lives in the Frontier Mine No. 1 in Frontier, Wyoming.   Ninety-nine families grieved the loss of their loved ones.   The IOOF hall was lined with sheet covered deceased bodies as families came to identify their coal miners.   The Kemmerer City Cemetery and volunteers prepared three mass graves and numerous other gravesites throughout the cemetery.   Dignitaries and officials arrived in the small town.   Investigations began as rescue efforts proved futile.

BIG shout out to everyone who helped and came to the Memorial Day open house. Big shout out to my cousin who traveled from out of state. Big shout out to my sister who stayed the weekend and helped me out. Thank you everyone who attended.  I hope you enjoyed the displays and I hope that you were able to learn more about your family.   Here are some photographs for those who were unable to make it.  We missed you! I had a display table with a funeral guest book, calendars, several scrap books, a Sagebrusher yearbook, and a binder of all of the Roberts Roots & Branches Newsletters I wrote. Books for sale, unidentified photographs, and guest folders. One of the display tables.   Display of photographs, certificates, and documents. Frontier Mine No. 1, 1950 map of the town. Full display. Good food. . . bars & cookies!

I have been busy getting everything ready for Memorial Day weekend.  I have tagged all the flowers for the Roberts family members and for the Frontier Mine No. 1 coal miners.  This is a fun tradition I look forward to every year.  I enjoy paying tribute to our ancestors and to the Frontier Mine No. 1 coal miners who died in 1923.  It is my hope that anyone visiting these graves who have not been in contact with me, will contact me. This year I decided to "permanently" tag and identify all of my heirlooms.  Each tag contains a description of the item, who the item belonged to, and the line of ownership of each item.  All items will then be stored with these tags and labels.  There were a couple of logistics that had to be considered.  I wondered how to label framed photographs without harming the photograph.  I decided to slip the labels into the frame on the outside of the glass.  Another problem I ran into was, how to mark a year book a...

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 equi...

 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 rea...

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 ...

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...

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 t...

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 ...