Annie Rebecca Seward Kennington

The
Search
Begins!

As grandchildren and great grandchildren, we all know Annie Rebecca Seward was a remarkable individual.

Let's combine our family resources and flesh out her life - everything from the mill near Kingsclere where she was born through to the settlement at Afton where she died and is buried.

Let's include her father's untimely death, her grandparents and aunts, their early involvement in the LDS Church, her mother's remarriage, living in Chelsea, working for a pawn broker, knowing Dickens, coming to the West, marriage to William Henry, early Tooele, the pioneering move to the Bear Lake area, teaching Nick Wilson to read, going to Star Valley to settle to avoid the law, teaching school, church callings, raising a large family, stepping in when her daughter passed away, etc.

We're looking for copies of everything associated with Annie Rebecca -

• Photographs (I only know of the four listed below, but there must be more)
• Letters (From England, to England, to children, to friends...)
• School Teaching items (any old report cards filled out by her in museum drawers)
• Clothing
• Momentos
• Family antidotes
• Histories
• Mentions in other peoples' histories
• Oral traditions
• Anything else you can think of...

A few examples I know of are:

• Early church membership record from Chelsea
• Immigration: recorded as a "Spinster" traveling with her mother
• Quilt from Bear Lake displayed in the DUP Museum in SLC with her signature and her mothers
• History supposedly written by her (but I think it was written by her daughters) also in the DUP Museum
• Maud at one time had some salt and pepper shakers belonging to her
• Black dress top in the Afton DUP Museum donated by Dorothy Kennington
• History written by Annie's daughters and granddaughters which is circulated in the family
• Her signature on various land records
• Some influence on the writing of Stake records while WHK was Stake Clerk
• Four photographs also circulated in the family: 1. Annie and Esther. 2. Annie in front of her home in Afton. 3. Annie and William Henry about 1885 . 4. 24th of July Float with Relief Society ladies. (see previous blog entries for these photos)

If you know of something which would add to our body of knowledge, (even if it as faint as an oral tradition or something you remember your grandparents mentioning) please email me at kkhamblin@gmail.com. I'll even come to your house to photograph or copy the material if that's easier.

Hope to hear from you soon!