Building the Bridge

Do kids talk about ancestry anymore? When I was (much) younger, I can recall some sort of discussion about where you were "from" or what you "were." My answer at first was telling people I was English. Later, I figured out that I ought to add Dutch. I have no recollection, however, of how I knew this. And if I was English and Dutch, how did I end up in the United States? I'm sure I never even thought of that question.

Over the years that issue has become increasingly important to me as I look at who my ancestors are and why I'm here. 

Richard Norman

One of the reasons I am here is because of Richard Norman.  He was born 168 years ago, in 1850 in Combe Martin, Devon, England.

Copy of birth certificate

 He was christened in the parish church shortly after his birth.

There are several stories about Dick's youth. He attended school, but not for long. It seems certain that he went to work at the Nap Down mine in Combe Martin when he was quite young. He also stowed away on a ship bound for the Mediterranean. That may have been a sign of his wanderlust, as he later roamed England, Wales and Scotland working as a miner. Or it may be that he left home as a result of breaking his mother's favorite vase as reported in some other histories.

Both his experience as a miner and his wanderlust eventually led him to the United States with his brother, George. They sailed from England to the United States on the ship Limerick in 1872, thus becoming a cable on my bridge "across the pond."

Portion of the ship's passenger list

Dick and George worked for awhile in New Jersey and Pennsylvania mines, but then received a letter from home telling them that some former associates from England were in Bingham, Utah. Dick pawned a suit and his watch to pay for a railroad ticket to Salt Lake City.

Dick eventually met my great grandmother, Minnie Hansen in Mercur, Utah and they were married in American Fork in 1896.

Many years later, in contemplation of a trip to Devon, I made contact with a resident of Barnstaple, Devon, who, in enthusiastic response to my letter, wrote "I have been collecting info on Combmartin miners for well over 30 years and Dick Norman was one of the first I became interested in." I hope we will be able to meet this mining enthusiast in September.