The first ten years of my childhood was spent in Tranent but because of being a "Mormon" I was not permitted to attend the schools and so was entirely deprived of schooling while in the old country. During pioneering there was little opportunity of education. During those ten years our family enjoyed the association of the Elders and Saints. My father was President of the Edinburgh Conference for a number of years and we were always glad to receive them. Many times I went to bed hungry in order to give my meal to the visiting Elders.
On April 17th, 1856 we left Liverpool for America.
We feed the elders in our home frequently, but do not have to go hungry because of this service. But, the children probably have fewer toys because of our service in the church.
Later while crossing the plains as a 13 year old Margaret was soley in charge of the family cow - milking, feeding and driving across the plains. Despite being deprived of schooling in her youth she taught herself to read later in life.
When looking for further information for the kids today I found the following on-line at Heritage Gateways:
I also discovered that we are only 13 hours away (not counting ferry time) from her birth place in Scotland. I'd say it's definitely worth the trip and there is most definitely a youth hostel in the area somewhere.
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2 comments:
That's really exciting. I hope you enjoy planning the trip and then taking it.
I went to Tranent on my way home from my mission and looked at the huge slag heaps from the coal mines where her father worked and we walked down to the ocean where she was baptized. It really gave me a feeling of connection with the past. My mother knew Margaret McNeil very well and lived a few doors down from her in Logan when she was a girl so she was a real person to me although she dies long before I was born. I am glad to see the kids taking an interest. If you do go to Scotland, look up some of the places where Robert Gardner and his family were, too. Grandpa Gardner went to some of those places while he and Sylvia were on their mission.
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