Stockland

 The Moon & Sixpence was the little B&B we stayed in at Clevedon (a small coastal community in England)  This was part of our 2 day trip to Wales to see Sister Louis.  It is all SO English!

 

 We then drove to Stockland -- a small village in the county of Devon.  It was here and the surrounding area that the Summerhays (Richard's mothers people) were born and buried.

We immediately went to the churchyard cemetary -- the burial place of several great grandparents.  We combed the graves and searched in vain for a Summerhays, only to find later that all stones that were more than 100 years old had been removed and destroyed and not recorded!  Someones cute idea of tidying up the church yard!  Such a shame!!

 We wandered in the church where once they worshiped, altho the church itself looks quite moderized.  While there we met three cute village women who had just completed their morning prayers.  We told them of our mission -- both here and in Stockland and they directed us to the home of Frank and Barbara Durrant --- the village's self appointed historians. 

We knocked on the door and this cute couple invited us into their kitchen where we chatted and shared stories.  (the neighbor was also visiting at the time).

They told us that many years ago a man in their village had moved to Salt Lake City where he had married and settled. (must have joined the church).  Eventually he inherited some property in his native village of Stockland, England.  At that time (1800's) this event was published in a Salt Lake newspaper and Mr. Durrant had a copy of that newspaper.  He promised to find it and send it to us.

 Mr. Durrant suggested we visit with Bryan and Rowena Drew who lived in the neighboring village of Membury.  So we drove a few miles  on a small single lane road across the rolling fields, around the winding bends and up and down the slopes until we arrived at the home of the Drews who kindly invited us in.  They took us into this beautiful sun room that overlooked the green valley and began to talk about the history of the area. 

Before long he had pointed out the Summerhays farm that rested on the slope below them. 

 And then he began to pull out old records.  After searching through several documents he found this one and sure enough -- right there the name of William Summerhays appeared.  This is a list of those who served in the Napoleonic Home Guard in the 3rd Parish of Stockland of 1775. He was 40 years old at the time and was a Mason by profession.

It was one of those electrifing experiences.  It is one thing to know about him, another to actually see this old document in its original form.

We discovered that Bryan Drew's grandfather was also a Mason, living at the same time in the same place.  Undoubtedly they knew each other.

 We felt an instant bond with this cute couple who were tending their grandchildren on that day.  Just a reminder that the world is full of wonderful people who need the gospel.

 As we parted that afternoon a beautiful rainbow that stretched across the sky brought to an end a perfect day.