#thinking of doing a birthday haul later <33< /div> Explore tagged Tumblr posts

[babydolllblogger]

its my birthday!! ꣑ৎ ⋆₊˚.˖ mine

[quaranmine]

Hello, it's me the anon who write about their thoughts, intepretation and message about your fic. I'm glad you like my thoughts and such. I deeply appreciated it. Say i have a few questions, i was browsing your blog see. And i saw that you or someone you possibly reblog linked two other fics that connected to 'The incandescene of a dying light' universe. And i wanna ask is this canon to the first fic? Because if so, that's cool that the others are being inspired to write and attempt to connect their fics to your universe fic. Also i know this is probably irrelevant but i got ask. How are Scar and Grian doing to the year 2020 on the fic? Is scar still working to shoshone national park to this year i mention or he retired a long time ago? Is there an age limit for the employees working for the national forest like at this age you be immediately or forcedly retired with small benefits package just for your safety? Also i wonder what Grian and Scar reactions to the invention of the internet and smartphones during the 1990-2010's because i just take a little research about international calls during the 1980-1990's and ugh... that's a hefty price to pay for such calls. No wonder people avoid staying too long on international calls. Because the phones bills man, it's gonna burn your wallet. Anyway that's all of my questions. I hope i didn't bother or anythin' about my questions. Have a good time, writer.

Hello, nice to see you again in my inbox!!

Yes, my story has inspired several recursive works (which is the term for a fanfic of a fanfic) and I'd like to give them a shout-out!

I Waved Goodbye to the End of Beginning by @crazypercheron is a fantastic multi-chaptered work set the year after the main fic took place. It's about Cub visiting Scar's lookout and trying to offer him comfort as he realizes Something happened last year. It has a slower pace than the main story and really expands on a lot of details about Scar's life as a lookout.

The Evergreens Enfold the Shrine by @darkaviarymc is an amazing little story that asks the question of how Mumbo's story will be perceived later, through some college students (Gem, Etho, Beef) in 1995 telling a ghost story about Mumbo.

From Embers by @honeylashofficial is a great oneshot set in the same universe (but not directly referencing the main fic) about what happens when Impulse and Skizz go hiking in the forest and get injured.

The Phosphorescence of a Glimmer in Extrimis by TotallyNotAPlant is a little crack AU in which Mumbo is just. A cryptid in the forest.

Of these, TotallyNotAPlant's story is definitely not canon since it's a crack story, but the other three are sort of....dubious canon? Half-canon? They're not fully canon because they were not written by me, and I might have made different choices. (This does not mean I dislike the choices anyone has made, it just simply means we all have our own unique styles as writers. I am thrilled that other people are finding their own meaning in my work and I don't want to dissuade them from doing so by demanding they fit my exact mental framework.) Since they are recursive works, I cannot guarantee I won't ever end up causing continuity errors if I upload something new because I do have a few other works in this AU that might get uploaded. However, I'm incredibly pleased with the work that all these lovely writers have done, and I am willing to work around what they're doing if I can!

Scar and Grian are doing great in present day! I think they'd benefit from being able to communicate more easily now. Scar may or may not be retired by now--without taking exact birthdays into account, he'd be about 64 in 2020 since he was 33 in the main fic (and 68 today.) Grian would be approx. 59 in 2020 and 63 in 2024 (but i am not incorporating exact birthdays into this.)

As far as I know there isn't an age requirement for fire lookouts, just the physical requirements like being able to hike/haul water/chop wood etc. I have seen videos/read about older lookouts. The only Forest Service age requirements I know of is that wildland firefighters must be under 37, and law enforcement officers must be under 37 when appointed. Otherwise there is not an age where you are forced out of typical federal service, just an age you're eligible to retire like all jobs.

Based on federal hiring, Scar would either be a temporary appointment (<6 months, can be rehired on a yearly basis but not guaranteed. Most common for fire lookouts) or seasonal permanent (must work minimum 6 months, guaranteed rehire with benefits and retirement.) I'd prefer him to be seasonal permanent just for his, like, quality of life but his fire lookout appointment is only 5 months so he doesn't immediately qualify. Maybe they keep him on at the office for an additional month after fire season ends. It might be most likely that he was hired as a recurring temporary employee for the first few years and then offered a seasonal permanent position. OPM has information about how this worked in the 80s but it's a bit too in the weeds for me to bother with LOL.

The real question isn't his retirement or age though--it's if the lookout is even still in service. I personally do not think it would be. There are VERY few lookouts left in the 2020s. I found an article from 2016 that said there were only 3 left in operation in Wyoming, and I don't even know if that's still true 8 years later. There's plenty of out-of-service ones remaining, and you can easily rent them for a night to sleep in on recreation.gov. But very few remain staffed. By the time the story is set, most lookouts are already out of service. I think it's likely his lookout would go out of service somewhere in the 90s. I think he'd work there til it went out of service, but I don't think this is a job he can keep the rest of his career. He might be offered a career transitional job in the Forest Service after that but I don't know if he'd take it or not. He could be an interpreter or some other seasonal job. To me the loss of a fire lookout job isn't a sad ending for him though--it's just how life and careers change :) I don't really have a clear idea of what he'd do instead. He has a lot of random skills picked up from the work he does in the off season and I think he'd pretty easily find something else to pick up.

Reactions to internet: well, Grian's going to have to learn computer stuff to do his job! Remember how Mumbo was learning computer aided design but Grian didn't know much about computers? Yeah, buddy, AutoCAD is about to become an industry staple for architects in the 90s so you need to keep up. Poor Grian with all his hand-drafting skills.

In @darkaviarymc's fic there's a bit about Scar being active on those mid-90s message boards that I LOVE. I think he totally would do that and have all this knowledge about the outdoors but also weirdly specific extra knowledge. And tons of misspellings of course.

Grian and Scar would keep in touch. The growing accessibility of the internet would only help. The phone bills...yeah there's no great way around that in the early years. I also like to think Scar goes to visit Grian in England since he's never been at the time of the main story :)

[vilonnie]

mmmmmguh thinking about ocs again. have some trivia

spice tolerance: as a fire mage marcus has a high tolerance to heat in general, but also a high tolerance for spicy foods :) he loves all kinds of spice and prefers flavors with at least some kind of kick to it i.e. his favorite tea is chai and his favorite fruits are citruses. you can give that boy a bottle of hot sauce and he will literally just chug it like a glass of beer and be fine lol. but please don't do that. on the other hand his sister nina and their friend chester have perfectly average and respectable spice tolerances. however miss katie "loses spicy food eating contests to a white boy" marrows has the world's worst spice tolerance it is so embarrassing <3 she can't put any spice on anything or she will be completely red in the face and the others love to rib on her about it (affectionately)

diets in general: marcus also has the biggest appetite among the group! he will be on his fourth sandwich and nina will be like "dude slow down" but he never does. what can he say the man loves food and needs lots of energy! ...to sit still in a dusty library all day and read books without moving ? well. katie is probably second though lol. you can find her in the kitchen in the middle of the night trying to covertly sneak a huge plate piled with pizza rolls and cheeses and meats back up to her room (and failing). the fact that she does not sleep is not healthy but she is incorrigible. in contrast chester bizarrely only eats a few times a day despite the fact that he should definitely need more fuel as an athlete. nina has to watch him hauling heavy equipment around everywhere like "why tf are you this strong all u eat is leaves."

actually most of these are binge eating because katie just plays video games for hours straight and then forgets to eat until it's stupid late/early in the morning + marcus gets really obsessive about his work and then crams in enough meals for three people all at once + chester overworks his body and then just Forgets. like he just Forgor. nina will also later develop her own overworking habits later on in the story and ironically her friends will be there to remind her to eat the same way she used to do for them :) other than that nina is the only one who's normal about it lol. except during holidays! she really goes all out because she LOVES the vibes she LOVES the carefree unity of everyone celebrating together it is so so addicting to her. if it's a special occasion you can always depend on nina to show up HARD and start feasting <33

favorite foods: nina lovessss sweets so so much! she also loves seafood :) nina also really dislikes vegetables and also oddly does not otherwise eat that much meat? and obviously as previously mentioned marcus is mr SPICE SPICE SPICE 100% >>>> but he will also eat his veggies. and unlike his sister he despises sweets lol marcus is the type of person that will fake a bite of cake at a birthday party and then sneak it to the dog under the table. he's also a soup fan, and will not eat fish, again unless the fish is in a soup. idk what it is with this boy and soup. katie's favorites are savory meats! she also has a bit of a sweet tooth herself, although for her she tends to prefer the richer sweets such as chocolates over anything too sugary. her fave flavor combo is chocolate and cheese! so obviously she's a fan of fondue. she's also known to eat a lot of junk food, sometimes she can be the "gamer girl" stereotype of "locked up in her room eating only potato chips and mountain dew"

gynawis: ok sorry I'm done talking about food lol. dlagynnawis is my (lazy, extremely barebones) conlang :) it's a foundational language that many other languages developed out of, was originally the language of dragons, can be found in many older documents and historical sites, and can functionally be considered this world's equivalent of latin* (in terms of how it is used and some of the areas in which it is studied.) gynawis is notable for it's lack of subject pronouns and emphasis on possessive pronouns, meaning that it has a different grammatical structure that doesn't make any sense if translated directly into english i.e. the common way to say "I walked through the park" would translate like "the walk through the park was mine" or sometimes just "my walk through the park" even though the latter reads as incomplete to us.

*however I do not think it can be considered a dead language

because dragons are highly respected and are still alive, although in extremely isolated communities, and because the language is still highly utilized (in science, law, religion, etc.) gynawis is a common second language taught in schools. katie is the most fluent of the group and often acts as a translator when they come across usage of it in the wild. marcus is decently fluid in it, at least enough to be comprehensible. chester is as well, but he has a heavy accent. nina's gynawis is complete dogshit lol my girl can only say like ten words <3 she was not passing that class

[entwinedmoon]

John Torrington: Made in Manchester

(Intro post here)

(FYI, I already wrote about a lot of the info in this post previously over here, but I want all my Torrington research grouped together in this series, so apologies for repeating myself. Anyway...)

When researching someone from history it’s a good idea to start at the beginning. When and where was John Torrington born? Who were his parents? What sort of family did he have?

But in order to find all that out, we need to work backwards. The John Torrington who signed up for the Franklin Expedition gave some important information about his life in the Muster and Allotments books. Also, and this might seem a bit morbid (of course, I’m studying a frozen corpse as a hobby, so what isn’t morbid about all this), we need to take into consideration the information on his tombstone. In tracking down his birth records, we have to match those records to what we know about him from his time with the expedition.

So what do we know about him? What things should we be looking for when tracking down his birth info?

There are three main pieces of information that we need to match with the Franklin Torrington to be sure that we’ve found the right guy:

He was born in Manchester

He was nineteen when he signed up in May of 1845 and twenty when he died on January 1, 1846, so he was most likely born during the latter half of 1825

His mother was named Mary.

It’s important to have as many pieces of additional information besides a name to match up the right person when combing through archives. There’s almost never just one person of a certain name born around the same time. Some names in particular are very common, and it can be hard to narrow down who’s who. For instance, John is an incredibly common name. In fact, it was the most common name on the Franklin Expedition, with 23 out of the original 134 crewmembers being named John. That is 17% of the crew, or more than one-sixth. If I were looking for someone named John Smith, I would probably have given up once the first page of results on Ancestry.com showed me millions of hits for that same name.

Luckily, Torrington is not that common of a last name. Searching on Ancestry gives me baptism registries for two likely candidates:

I’ll call this one JT1:

And this is JT2:

Looking at these two fine fellows we can see each one has some points in their favor, but each one also has some against. Let’s start with JT1.

JT1 was baptized in Norfolk on January 11, 1824. He lived in Walsoken, which is in the county of Norfolk. His parents were William (a laborer) and Mary. Now right off the bat we can see that JT1 gets a point in his favor by having a mother named Mary, but also two points against—he was not born in Manchester and he was baptized in early 1824, which means he most likely was born late 1823. That would make him about two years too old to be the Torrington on the Franklin Expedition.

Now, is it possible that the information in the Muster book is wrong? Yeah, sure, of course it’s possible. People didn’t have photo IDs and birth certificates they had to bring in to sign up for things back then. It’s possible that when they asked where Torrington was born, he said Manchester because he was living there at the time he joined up (I don’t know if he was living there or not, I’m just spitballing here). He could have gotten confused, or perhaps he just blatantly lied. The same is true of his age. He could have given the wrong age by accident, or on purpose. I’ve seen the wrong ages in records while hunting down Torrington’s relatives, and there are even known examples of the ages being wrong on records for the Franklin Expedition.

According to Ralph Lloyd-Jones, Thomas Evans, one of the ship’s Boys on Terror, was technically 17 when he signed up, but he was put down as 18 to meet the minimum qualifications for polar service. And then there’s William Braine, one of Torrington’s grave-mates on Beechey Island. He was born March 1814, which would have made him 32 when he passed away in April of 1846. His tombstone accurately records his age as such, but the plaque on his coffin says he was 33. It’s weird that the tombstone says one thing and the coffin plaque another, but clearly mixing up ages and dates can happen, so maybe JT1 put down the wrong age and place of birth and he’s the right guy. But that’s depending on a lot of ifs and buts to make it work.

Let’s take a look at the other option.

JT2 was baptized December 10, 1826 in Manchester. His full name was John Shaw Torrington and his parents were William (a coachman) and Sarah. Now, this Torrington was born in the right place, but he’s got the wrong mom and, yet again, the wrong birth year. Interestingly, his father has the same name as JT1’s, but he has a different profession. Is this the same William?

Looking further into it, William Torrington married Sarah Shaw on May 18, 1823. He was listed as a coachman on his marriage certificate, too, so this has to be a completely different William Torrington from JT1’s father (also, an intriguing fact to note, William signed his name with an X while Sarah was able to give her full signature). But how could JT2 possibly be the right Torrington when his mother isn’t named Mary? Wouldn’t that make JT1 a better fit?

Not exactly.

While yes, JT2’s birth mother was Sarah, she sadly passed away in 1833. Three years later, in 1836, William remarried (weirdly enough, he was able to sign his name now). Who was his second wife? A widow by the name of Mary Hoyle.

So JT2 did have a mother named Mary by the time he entered the Navy to join the expedition, and he was born in Manchester, which gives him two points in his favor. I've noticed when researching Torrington that it seems John Shaw has been unofficially recognized as the Torrington who sailed with Franklin. Even on Torrington's Wikipedia page, his name is listed as John Shaw, even though the reference listed for his name doesn't actually say that. After comparing his record to the only other known John Torrington who would be around the right age, I agree that he's the one.

But what about his birthdate? Wouldn’t being born in 1826 make him too young to be our guy?

Well, all the arguments I mentioned before about how dates and ages could be wrong still stand in this situation, so it’s possible he just aged himself up a bit, on purpose or not. But we also need to keep in mind that this is his baptism registry and not his birth certificate, so it could be days, weeks, or even months later than his actual birth. In fact, I’ve heard that some families would wait years before baptizing a child. Sometimes, they would wait until they had another kid or two in tow before hauling them all in to get a holy dunking. Did something like that happen here?

Maybe—because he wasn’t the only Shaw Torrington baptized on this day.

On a different page of the registry we find a record for one Esther Shaw Torrington. She was baptized the same day—December 10, 1826—and her parents were William and Sarah. William was a coachman, and while this time their surname was listed as Shaw Torrington rather than just Torrington, this is clearly the same family. That means John had a sister, but was she a twin? Or were they different ages, and one of them was hauled in when the other was born for a two-for-one baptism deal?

While I can’t find Esther’s precise birthday, her death record shows that she had to have been born after September 19, 1826 (she died September 19, 1878, age 51—she should have turned 52 that year if she was born in 1826, which means her birthday is later in the year). That means Esther was probably born sometime within a couple months before her baptism. If John were her twin, then he would have been 18 when he joined the Franklin Expedition and 19 when he died. While the age he gave to the Navy could be wrong—and subsequently, would be wrong on his tombstone—I’m inclined to think he was born a year before his sister and that the ages given in the Muster book and on his tombstone are correct.

Of course, that means we’re not anywhere close to narrowing down his exact birthdate. He was listed as 19 on May 12, when he signed up for the Franklin Expedition. For all we know, he turned 20 just days later, (although I like to think if he were that close to his birthday, they may have rounded his age up or indicated it somewhere). So the earliest his birthday could be is mid to late May, but what’s the latest date it could be? Technically, there could be as little as 10 months between John’s and Esther’s birth, which means that John could have been born in January 1826 (maybe February, if Esther were born in late November, but that’s kind of pushing it). This gives us a wide berth for his actual birthday, making it difficult to pin down.

Personally, I like to think he was born in autumn 1825, but that’s just speculation and wishful thinking (October would be the perfect month for the man whose frozen face would launch a thousand childhood nightmares of mine).

But if he were born in 1825, why wasn’t he baptized until December 1826? Were his parents saving up all their kids to get them baptized all at once? There was apparently such a thing as a baptism party, although those seem to occur when there are more than two children. Maybe Sarah and William liked the idea of baptizing all their children together. Maybe Sarah became pregnant with Esther only a couple months after having John, and they decided to wait when they realized they would need to do another baptism in several months’ time. Maybe they were just too busy when John was born to take the time to bring him to Manchester Cathedral.

Or maybe it was because William was being indicted.

The Lancashire Archives has a Recognizance of Indictment for one William Torrington of Manchester, coach driver, from June 15, 1825. I ordered a scan from the archives and transcribed it the best I could (adding in some punctuation for clarity).  [UPDATE: There was a phrase I couldn't transcribe at first ("the said," spelled with a long s), but I've figured it out since and have updated the post.]:

“Lancashire to wit.

Be it remembered, That on the 15th day of June in the sixth Year of our Sovereign Lord George the Fourth [1825] of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, etc. William Torrington of Manchester Coach Driver[,] George Calvert same place Farrier and Esther Shane same place Widow [off to the side is written Mr. Norris/Morris, perhaps the name of the Judge] severally personally came before me one of the Justices of our said Lord the King, assigned to keep the Peace within the said County, and acknowledged severally to owe to our said Lord the King the said William Torrington the price of Forty pounds[,] George Calvert and Esther Shane twenty pounds each of good and lawful Money of Great Britain, to be made and levied of their Goods and Chattels, Lands and Tenements, respectively for the Use of our said Lord the King, his Heirs and Successors, if the said William Torrington shall make default in the Condition hereunder-written.

The Condition of this Recognizance is such, that if the above bounden William Torrington personally appear at the next General Quarter Sessions of the Peace, to be holden by adjournment at the Parish of Manchester, in and for the said County of Lancaster, and then and there to answer such Bill or Bills of Indictment as shall be preferred against him [crossed out from the typed form “for an assault upon”] and in the mean Time do keep the Peace and be of good Behaviour to our said Lord the King, and all his liege Subjects, [crossed out “especially towards the said”] then the Recognizance to be void, or else remain in full force.

Acknowledged before me William Torrington To answer [crossed out “for an Assault, etc.]”

Basically, in mid-June of 1825, William Torrington was arrested but released from jail, to return to court at a later date under penalty of a fine. A couple people he knew, George Calvert and Esther Shane, backed him up, promising to cover his expenses if he failed to reappear in court.

I have not been able to find information on why he was indicted—that information would most likely be in the Indictment Roll, which I would have to go through at the Archive itself, something made difficult with an ocean between me and Lancashire. It’s also possible that there is no further information available about William’s indictment, or at least none that has survived. I skimmed through the Lancashire order book for 1825 but didn’t find any mention of William or his indictment (with a closer reading, maybe I’ll stumble upon something). However, it’s possible that the case never went to trial, and that’s why it does not appear in the order book. And considering that he had a daughter the next year, whatever outcome happened clearly didn’t keep him out of commission for long

Whether or not his case went to trial, facing legal peril has a tendency to push everything else in life to the wayside, even the birth of a first child. Any fees that he may have incurred from the indictment and any related issues may have caused a temporary financial burden on William and Sarah, making it difficult for them to have John baptized. This is of course just one of many possible explanations for why John Shaw Torrington was baptized in 1826 and not in 1825, the year it’s assumed he was actually born, but we’ll probably never know the real reason.

And now, since I have written over 2400 words analyzing just Torrington’s baptism registry, I think I’ll bring this post to a close. Next up: what little we can piece together of his life growing up, before he joined the Franklin Expedition.

<<Back | Next >>

Torrington Series Masterlist

[sadprose-auroras]

Are you still taking prompts? My current obsession is Ben topping Gwil (but I'm happy for any pairing) and I'm thinking 17 (my birthday) I don't have time for this, and 33 Is that a promise (because it sounds flirtly). They could be wonderful together

17 – “I don’t have time for this.” 33 – “Is that a promise?” – Ben Hardy x Gwilym Lee (18 + CONTENT BELOW THE CUT)

Tag ‘list’: @fake-blue-flowers – if anyone else wants to be tagged let me know xx

This was interesting to write, as I certainly see Gwil as a more dominant personality, and if I wrote this by myself I would’ve switched the roles! But thank you for being so patient, I know this has taken a million years! I also couldn’t possibly respond to this iconic request with something short, so I went OFF. I am sorry for the lack of smutty goodness, I got carried away with the first part lol. Enjoy! xx

Gwilym felt like the universe was testing him. Or maybe Ben knowingly was. He certainly wouldn’t be surprised. Every time Ben simply reached up to retrieve something and his shirt lifted up, Gwilym swore his soul left his body and his cheeks felt like a furnace. Every time Ben sat next to him, not even that close, he just wanted to grab him and kiss his gorgeously plump lips.

And now, it was getting even worse, he wasn’t even sure how he was going to refrain from letting Ben know how attracted he was to him. Because the two of them were on a trip with a group of friends, and, as they were so close, were assigned to sharing a hotel room.

Now, as they were making their way up to the room hauling their luggage up the stairs, Ben’s ass was literally in front of Gwil’s face, and he was trying his very best to look down and avoid staring too much.

He couldn’t believe the effect Ben was having on him. He usually prided himself in being quite constantly composed and put together, but around him, he found himself constantly flustered; blushing and stumbling over his words.

When they opened the door, they were both surprised to find one king-size bed as opposed to two singles. Gwilym’s heart immediately began racing, and he turned to Ben with furrowed brows.

“This isn’t ideal,” Ben sighed, dumping his bags down. “I’ll go talk to them-“

“Ben,” Gwilym cut him off. “Reception closed…” he checked his watch, “5 minutes ago.”

“Fuck,” Ben groaned, collapsing back on the bed. It was currently 3:05am, and they had been travelling for hours. “I don’t have time for this.”

Whether or not he was talking about being unable to fix the room situation or the situation itself, Gwilym was unsure. Either way, he was too tired to ask.

“Whatever, it doesn’t really matter, I guess. Let’s just share the bloody bed,” Ben said with a chuckle, and Gwilym nodded and forced a small smile, gathering his things to take a shower.

When he emerged in a t-shirt and plaid pyjama pants, Ben was already curled up in the bed, eyes closed as he breathed softly. Gwilym gulped, climbing in on the other side and settled down, desperately trying to ignore how aware he was of the heat of Ben’s body radiating from beside him. How aware of his presence he was. That’s how it always was. Gwilym found it impossible not to be constantly wondering how he was coming across to Ben; if he stared too long, if he hugged too tightly, if he spoke too highly of him.

“Hey, Gwil?” He was startled at first, rolling over to face Ben who was staring back at him, a thoughtful look on his face.

“Yeah?”

Ben opened his mouth as if he totally intended to speak, then closed it again. Like he couldn’t possible find the right words to convey what he was thinking.

“Never mind.” With that, he rolled over, grumbled and shifted around, pulling the covers further over onto his side. “Jesus, this bed is uncomfortable. And these blankets, let me have some at least. Fuck you,” he groaned, his tone teasing, as he finally stopped moving around.

Gwilym had no idea what came over him in the next few seconds. It was like he was back to who he was before he realised how much he wanted Ben. When he was just a cast-mate. How he was around everyone else in his life. Before he could process his words, he uttered with a smirk, “is that a promise?”

Gwilym had no time to regret his words, to utter an explanation, to laugh off his joke, before Ben rolled over and pulled Gwilym to him by the hips, crashing their lips together in a desperate, messy kiss.

It all happened so quickly. Before he knew it, Gwilym was desperately bucking his hips up against Ben’s, whines coming from the back of his throat, as he pawed at his shirt in a poor attempt to pull it off him. In one fluid motion, Ben pulled his own shirt off and tossed it on the floor, smirking as he reattached their lips, their tongues massaging each other’s. It should’ve been gross the way they were making out like horny teenagers, but the way Ben was making him feel, Gwilym swore he’d never been so turned on. He was so lightheaded, practically dizzy with arousal.

“B-Be-en,” Gwilym mewled, involuntarily making the one-syllable word three, his breath catching in his throat as Ben ground his hips down on Gwilym’s, kissing his neck rather slowly, but just as passionately. It was definitely a contradiction to how fast and desperate they were kissing only seconds before.

“Hm?” Ben just managed to murmur, continuing his actions as he ran his hands absentmindedly up and down Gwilym’s sides and making him squirm underneath him.

“What- christ, that feels good- what are we d-doing?”

“Whatever you want, baby.”

The nickname sounded so good coming from his lips, especially with his raspy voice as a result of the previous events.

“I want you to fulfill your promise, p-please…” Gwil attempted to keep a joking tone to his voice, but Ben’s ministrations that were moving down his chest were making it increasingly difficult. Ben ceased his actions, his gaze meeting Gwil’s and a smirk forming on his lips.

“Yeah? Do you want me to fuck you?”

Gwilym was absolutely done for.

-

Some time later, all thoughts of hotel mishaps, insecurities and exhaustion were completely gone. Gwilym was splayed out on the bed, gasping and trying his best not to writhe around as Ben thrust into him slowly and deeply, grunting with each movement. Neither man knew how long it lasted, nor cared. All they knew was that the sun was beginning to rise as they drifted in and out of peaceful sleep and held each other, sweaty limbs and sheets tangled together.

Gwilym dreamt of the man laying with him, his voice echoing in his ears;

“You look incredible taking me like this.”

“Doing so well for me, baby.”

“You’re so fucking sexy.”

“Why haven’t we been doing this the entire time?”

[caveartfair]

How the World’s Biggest Financial Scandal Ensnared the Art World

Leonardo DiCaprio with Jho Low at The Wolf of Wall Street premiere in Paris, 2013. Photo by Bertrand Rindoff Petroff/Getty Images.

In late 2018, the actor and collector Leonardo DiCaprio made a visit to Washington, D.C., where he was ushered into a federal courthouse to secretly testify before a grand jury in a case that’s electrified the financial world: the multi-billion 1MDB scandal that started in Malaysia and has led to dozens of investigations and indictments globally, including the first criminal charges ever filed against Goldman Sachs.

DiCaprio, to be clear, isn’t a culprit in the scheme. Rather, the Titanic superstar has unique insight into how the funds ended up in a variety of bank accounts in the Cayman and British Virgin Islands, because it’s through DiCaprio and his friendship with Jho Low, the flamboyant financier at the center of 1MBD, that the scandal ensnared the free-spending arena of the contemporary art world.

(DiCaprio has offered no comment to the press, apart from a sentence from his spokesperson, saying that the actor, and his environmental foundation, will “continue to be entirely supportive of all efforts to assure that justice is done in this matter.”)

Low snapped up jets, yachts, jewelry, and penthouses around the world with his embezzled billions, before investigative reporting in 2015 revealed the scheme and brought down the complicit Malaysian prime minister who personally reaped hundreds of millions and now faces criminal charges. Low also went on an art-buying spree in 2013 and 2014 that quickly tallied up to more than $200 million. And that spree largely began when his high-stakes gambling partner and Hollywood co-producer, DiCaprio, staged a charity sale at Christie’s.

Needless to say, DiCaprio and Low have since gone their separate ways. Low was formally indicted with three counts of criminal conspiracy to launder billions of dollars by the Eastern District of New York in November 2018. He is reportedly currently evading arrest by hiding out in China, where the government announced Monday that it would assist Malaysia in looking for the fugitive.

Producers Riza Aziz, Joey McFarland, and Jho Low attend The Wolf of Wall Street premiere in New York City, 2013. Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images.

But bold-faced art-world names litter the documents and criminal complaints that have amassed as investigations have ramped up in Washington, D.C. Aside from DiCaprio, art-world figures who did business deals with Low include the Sotheby’s financial services department, the Nahmad family, the private dealership SNS Fine Art, French mega-collector François Pinault, and former Christie’s post-war and contemporary chairman Loïc Gouzer.

Mystery club kid

Low first entered New York’s society pages in November 2009 when the New York Post ran an item about a Malaysian kid who came seemingly out of nowhere and allegedly began racking up $160,000 bar tabs during evenings on the town at Chelsea hotspots such as Avenue. Gawker was quick to assume that a twentysomething Wharton grad might be a front for some overseas billionaire, or up to something else shady. As one would have it, it was just before Low’s arrival in the Gotham gossip rags that the 1MDB fund was established by Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak, whose stepson Riza Aziz was an old schoolmate of Low’s in London.

1MDB was supposed to be a tranche of cash that could fund domestic cultural projects. Instead, the prime minister’s family and cronies moved the funds into Swiss and offshore accounts and found ways to invest them in high-priced luxury items. And according to the complaint filed by the U.S. Justice Department in 2017, it was in September 2009 that the first chunk of the misappropriated 1MDB funds were diverted into a Swiss bank account owned by Low, who then laundered $400 million of it into the United States.

His flashy ways got Low in good with celebrities like Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton, and after meeting DiCaprio, he started inviting the actor on lavish trips, including flying him to the 2010 World Cup final in Johannesburg on a private jet. In May 2011, Low agreed to back a new production company, founded with Aziz and the talent scout Joey McFarland, that would fully fund the $100 million budget of a movie DiCaprio was dying to make with Martin Scorsese. Major studios had backed out of funding the R-rated raunch-fest that they thought might fail to find an audience. That raunch-fest was The Wolf of Wall Street.

Bigger price tags

Low’s habit of paying for nebuchadnezzars of champagne at the club was a nice perk, but funding DiCaprio’s passion project truly endeared him to the actor; he thanked Jho Low and Riza Aziz both by name when accepting the Best Actor Golden Globe for The Wolf of Wall Street in 2014. Low was ready to support him on one other front. By May 2013, with filming on The Wolf of Wall Street wrapped, the actor returned to two of his other interests—art-collecting and environmentalism—by staging “The 11th Hour,” an auction of 33 works at Christie’s that would fund the many environmental causes supported by the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation. The sale established 13 artist records and raised $38.8 million, thanks in part to Low—he registered an account with Christie’s just days before the sale through his business associate Eric Tan, and the holding company Tan maintained for Low, Tanore Finance Corporation. Prior to that, it’s only clear that he had made a handful of private art purchases, one being the $9.2 million Jean-Michel Basquiat painting, Redman One (1982), that he purchased from art dealer Helly Nahmad in March 2013.

At “The 11th Hour”—which DiCaprio organized alongside Gouzer, then a rising star at Christie’s—Low successfully acquired Mark Ryden’s Queen Bee (2013) for $714,000 and Ed Ruscha’s Bliss Bucket (2010) for $367,500. The charity auction appeared to be a gateway drug into art collecting. Two days later, at the post-war and contemporary art auction at Christie’s, Low was on the phone with Gouzer, instructing him to edge out Brett Gorvy to snag Basquiat’s Dustheads (1982) for $48.8 million with fees—then a record for the artist. After adding two works by Alexander Calder, the total for the five-work haul acquired over three days was $58.3 million.

The price tags kept getting higher. In June 2013, Christie’s arranged for Low to purchase Mark Rothko’s Untitled (Blue and Yellow) (1954) for $71.5 million—directly from the collection of François Pinault, the owner of the auction house and one of the world’s biggest art collectors.

Opulent auction boxes

By the next set of sales, in November 2013, Low requested that Christie’s put him in one of its tricked-out skyboxes, where he and McFarland could bid in privacy while indulging in the trappings of the high life.

“It better look like Ceasar Palace [sic] in there,” one Christie’s employee emailed to another, according to the complaint. “The box is almost more important for the client than the art.”

Low bought La maison de Vincent à Arles (1888) by Vincent van Gogh for $5.5 million at Christie’s impressionist and modern art evening sale and Pablo Picasso’s Tête de Femme (1935) for $39.9 million at the equivalent sale at Sotheby’s one day later. He ended the year with a two-work private sale at Christie’s on December 20th, where he purchased Basquiat’s Head of a Madman (1982) for $12 million and Concetto Spaziale, Attese (1967) by Lucio Fontana for $36 million.

And then there were the works purchased from SNS Fine Art, a company associated with the auction vets–turned–private dealers Thomas Seydoux and Stephane Connery: among them, Claude Monet’s Saint-Georges Majeur (1908), which Low bought for $35 million in December 2013 and had promptly shipped to the Geneva Free Port. He also snapped up five works by Calder, Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, and Yves Klein from an unnamed Monegasque art dealing outfit for more than $18 million.

Low continued his buying spree into 2014, capping it with the purchase of Monet’s Nymphéas (1906), a small oil painting bought at Sotheby’s in London during the June sales; it set him back $57.5 million. And while many of the works were going to freeports, some had other destinations. Low had decided to gift a few works—the $9.2 million Basquiat bought from Nahmad, and the $3.2 million Picasso from the Monaco art dealer, along with a Diane Arbus photo purchased for $750,000—all to one person.

“Dear Leonardo DiCaprio,” read the handwritten note from Low’s associate, Eric Tan, that came with the Picasso. “Happy belated Birthday! This gift is for you.”

Project Cheetah

In 2014, Low also started sniffing around for a way to get a loan—quickly.

“Do you know of any banks, financiers who take art as security for raise bank loans for investments/acquisitions of more artwork?” he emailed an unnamed employee of SNS Fine Art on March 13, 2014. Low explained that he had around $330 million in art that he could potentially put up as collateral, and was looking to get a 50 percent line on whatever he put up.

“I think those sort of numbers would scare off Sotheby’s,” the SNS employee responded.

Protesters hold portraits of Jho Low and Paris Hilton during a protest in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2018. Photo by Chris Jung/NurPhoto via Getty Images.

And yet, it appears that, with Low’s track record of spending and that much being put up as collateral, Sotheby’s Financial Services, Inc., was not at all scared off by the request. The Malaysian, who at that point was gaining a reputation in art-selling circles as a guy to unload big works onto, had acute demands for speed and utter secrecy. As a Sotheby’s Financial Services employee emailed to colleagues on March 20, 2014:

“Just wanted to bring you up to speed on the big loan opportunity.…[The borrower] doesn’t want us to use his name in our communications, he wants to be referred to as ‘the client’ and we will refer to this transaction as project Cheetah (referring to the speed at which we are trying to move).”

Four days later, Low emailed the same executive, emphasizing the confidentiality in one email—“Most imp is that client name or if bvi borrower (then guarantor name) does not show up in any public searchable document or public accesible [sic] doc,” Low wrote. In another email, he emphasized the speed with which he needed the $107 million, saying the the funds should be dispersed by April 7th—just two weeks.

They were a few days late. Low secured a deal with Sotheby’s on April 10th, through which he would leverage 17 works held in the Geneva Free Port, valued at somewhere between $191.6 million and $258.3 million, for a $107 million loan. The loan was to be deposited in an account at the Caledonian Bank in the Cayman Islands listed as Triple Eight, Ltd.—an entity fully owned by Low.

The sum helped fund the art Low purchased in 2014 and 2015, including the $57.5 million Monet. According to Tom Wright and Bradley Hope’s 2018 book Billion Dollar Whale: The Man Who Fooled Wall Street, Hollywood, and the World, the loan also almost funded the purchase of Picasso’s Les femmes d’Alger (Version “O”) (1955), which at the time was the most expensive artwork ever sold at auction. Low was purportedly the underbidder.

According to Wright and Hope, Low bragged to friends about his near-miss, saying that his final bid on the Picasso was for $170 million. If that’s true, he would have been on the phone with his previous auction world go-between—and DiCaprio’s longtime pal—Loïc Gouzer, who was the only specialist battling against Brett Gorvy on the lot as it nosed toward its final price. Gouzer did indeed offer a bid of $159.5 million—more than $170 million with fees, but in the ballpark—but Gorvy took it up to $160 million on behalf of his client, reportedly the former Qatari prime minister Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, and the work hammered there, for a total of $179.3 million.

Selling big, going dark

After failing to win the ultimate trophy, Low began to unload. A May 2016 story in the Wall Street Journal described how, starting in February 2015, Low sold dozens of artworks for more than $200 million—even though most of the lots sold for well under what Low paid for them. The record-breaking Basquiat Dustheads painting he bought for $48.8 million? In April 2016, it went to hedge funder Daniel Sundheim for $35 million. The Rothko he bought from Monsieur Pinault for $70 million? It sold at Sotheby’s in New York in May 2015 for $46.5 million. The Monet he bought at Sotheby’s in London in June 2014 for £33.8 million ($57.5 million)? It was sold privately to a dealer in Hong Kong for €25.2 million—well below the €42.3 million equivalent he had paid.

The investigation into 1MDB was closing in on Low. Clare Rewcastle Brown, a London-based investigative reporter who focuses on Malaysian corruption, teamed with the Sunday Times to publish the first exposé on what it called the “heist of the century” in February 2015. In July, that was followed by a report in the Wall Street Journal that the current prime minister, Najib Razak—Riza Aziz’s stepfather—had taken $700 million from the 1MDB fund. He denied the allegations, and in January 2016, an ally who had quickly become attorney general—replacing the former AG due to vague “health reasons”—cleared Razak of wrongdoing. But Swiss and Singaporean prosecutors began to investigate, leading to June 2016, when U.S. attorney general Loretta Lynch announced the civil forfeiture demand, seizing more than $1 billion in assets in the form of luxury items purchased with 1MDB funds. That request lead to a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Justice Department in June 2017.

By that time, Low had disappeared—not just from the art world, but from the entire world at large. He’s wanted by the authorities in the United States, Singapore, and Malaysia, and there were reports that he was hiding out in a hotel in Shanghai evading capture through plastic surgery and a global network of tipsters. Despite the announcement this week that China would help Malaysia find the fugitive who masterminded the largest embezzlement scandal in decades, there’s been little luck thus far. Inspector-General Mohamad Fuzi Harun from the Royal Malaysian Police said that “the police are also communicating with Interpol and the status is the same.”

As for Leo’s art? In 2017, prior to offering his testimony, DiCaprio handed over to the government the paintings that the shamed financier, and former friend, had given him over the years. He even gave up the Basquiat that was gifted as a belated birthday present.

from Artsy News

[miniaturelovercollectionstuff]

George Edward Burgess

The Biography of George Edward Burgess

 By Marilee Burgess Cook

 In 1862, George Martin Burgess, along with his brothers and grandfather William Burgess Sr., was called by Brigham Young to settle in St. George.  A year later, they were called to move to Pine Valley, Utah Territory, to start a lumber mill.  This mill provided “lumber for the construction of the St. George Temple and also furnished lumber to be used in building homes for the early settlers of Pine Valley and surrounding areas.”1  

Upon arrival in Pine Valley, George immediately started purchasing property.  In 1864 he married Rhoda Ann Dykes. “ He built a large home for Rhoda on a ranch in Grass Valley, five miles west of the town of Pine Valley.”2  George and Rhoda remained in the area for over three decades.  “Their first son, George Edward, was born May 7, 1865 in Pine Valley and was the ‘apple of his mother’s eye.’ Rhoda dearly loved children, not only her firstborn, but each of the 10 children who later came into the family.”3

Being the oldest child, much of George’s childhood was spent welcoming new siblings into his home. The first of these siblings was Lillie, who was born when George was eighteen months old.  The following summer, George and Rhoda traveled to Salt Lake City and were sealed to each other in the Endowment House on June 20, 1867. Sealings to parents did not commence in Utah until 1877 in the St. George temple.4  Thus, George and Lillie were not sealed to them at this time.  Sadly, Lillie passed away on January 29, 1869 and was laid to rest in the Pine Valley Cemetery.5

George’s parents saw to it that George was baptized and confirmed only 4 days after his eighth birthday, on May 11, 1865.

By the time George turned 12, he had five living siblings; Mary Alice, Howard, Ella May, Willard, and Horace Martin.  Horace Martin only lived a year, passing away on April 14, 1879.  Seven months later, another sister, Lucy Jane Burgess was born.

In 1879, George’s parents “acquired a large home in the town (Pine Valley) close to the Chapel-schoolhouse. Thereafter the family lived on the ranch in summers and in town during the winter months.”6  During those summer months George “learned farm work as well as helping out with logging at the sawmill in the nearby mountains.”7

Two more siblings, Ruth Fowler and Ernest Hungate were born during George’s teenage years.  Ernest was almost two years old, when twenty-year-old George entered the St. George temple for the first time.  He took out his endowments and married his sweetheart, Emily Ann Jeffery on December 3, 1885.  Emily, the daughter of Thomas Alfred Jeffery and Elizabeth Cowper, had previously taken out her endowments as a young teenager on April 18, 1879.

George’s youngest sibling, Clarence, was born two months after his wedding.  When George was 21, he traveled with his parents to St. George. He and Lillie (deceased) were finally sealed to their parents in the St. George temple on January 20, 1887.

Twenty-two-year-old George became a father on December 18, 1887.   He named his daughter Lillie Jeffery – Lillie, most likely after his deceased sister, and Jeffery, after his wife Emily’s maiden name.  Shortly after Lillie’s birth, George received a mission call to the Southern States.

“Six weeks after her birth, George E. left for a two-year mission to the Southern states, arriving in Chattanooga, Tennessee 20 February 1888. He was assigned to labor in South Carolina… He gained a knowledge of the gospel which he implemented into his everyday living. He had a strong testimony of the Book of Mormon and was an avid student of the Scriptures.”8

George was received warmly by many of the South Carolina inhabitants.  However, he was mobbed twice, once in Lawrence County and once in Chesterfield County.  He and his companion received threatening letters stating that if the elders appeared there again their bodies would be “riddled with bullets.”9  Despite the threats, he was watched over by the Lord and no harm came to him.

“He received an honorable mission release and after two years, arrived back in Salt Lake City on 22 March 1890. He went by train to Juab where his wife and daughter met him, then on to Milford Station. Here he was met by his brother Howard with a team of horse and wagon. They loaded up and proceeded through the snowcapped mountains back to Pine Valley. After returning from his mission, he continued to earn a living by farming, raising livestock and doing some freighting in the fall months. He was a very religious, industrious man and set a good example for his family to follow.”10

Over the next eight years, George and Emily had 4 more children:  Edward W (1891), Herbert Alfred (1893), Aggie(1894) and Dora (1898.) “George E. held many church positions during this time including Sunday School superintendent. He was a Ward Teacher most of his life after returning from his mission.”11

George Edward Burgess moved up to a new colony in White Pine County, Nevada, called Lund.  Perhaps he was drawn to this land because the church owned it and was selling it at a very low price.  George’s daughter, Dora, explained that the move was “because of the drought in Utah and because they wanted more room for grazing and farming. The move took about three weeks time with their two wagons and furniture and meeting needs of their cattle.  They arrived on 5 November 1899.”12. George’s married sister, Mary Alice Gardner, had arrived 5 months earlier, in June 1899.  His parents and several other siblings followed in 1900.

George was set apart as a counselor to Bishop Thomas Judd of the White Pine Ward on 8 July 1900. His brother-in-law, Orrin Snow, served as the ward clerk.   In 1901, the ward was divided into three wards, and George later served as first counselor in the MIA in the newly-formed Lund Ward.

Moving from Pine Valley to Nevada was a sacrifice.  Pine Valley was green with large shade trees and orchards.  Lund was dry and virtually treeless.  The move was a big transition for the family.  Daughter Lillie, who was 11 at the time of the move, wrote of the experience.

“We lived in Pine Valley until the fall of 1899 when my father bought a small farm in Lund, Nevada and moved his family there.  We were about 20 days traveling from Pine Valley to Lund, arriving there

Nov. 5, 1899.  I cannot describe the shock I received when we arrived at our destination. Pine Valley was a beautiful little town in the mountains with large shade trees on every street and in most yards, apple orchards and other fruit trees were growing.  I just didn't understand that people lived in those big open valleys where the wind blew dirt and sand most of the time.  There were no trees except a dozen at the south end of town where a spring came up out of a hole in the ground.  I had the idea that water always came out of the side of a mountain, cool and fresh instead of so warm that in the winter one could see where the ditch was by the steam arising from the water.

The homes were built from any material available.  There were only about two dozen at the time we arrived.  Some were built of old lumber that was purchased at Hamilton and others were made of logs and there was one sod home.

The first winter we rented three rooms of a four room frame home from Moses Harrison.  The other room was the school. The first year there, we had six weeks of school, the next year we had three months and after that we had six months each year.

In the spring of 1900, my father, who wanted a brick home hired Horsley to make some brick, but there was too much lime in the soil to make a good grade of brick. However, he had a small building 18 ft. by 20 ft. made of these brick and we lived in this for one year. We had curtains to draw at night to make two small bedrooms where my parents, my two sisters Aggie and Dora, and myself had our beds. My two brothers Edward and Herbert slept in a wagon box set on the ground by the side of the house. It had a heavy wagon cover over the bows and the inside was lined with heavy wool blankets. The mattress, made of fresh straw, covered with a heavy quilt and blankets made a warm bed. In the winter they would heat bricks in the oven and take to bed with them. (A good substitute for an electric blanket). “13

George’s family lived in the large brick room for over a year.  Lillie wrote, “This home was sold and Father bought a two room rock home from B. H. Ashby. It had a dirt roof. My father immediately built two log rooms on the back of this. We lived in this home until I was married. I think our experiences and living conditions were very much like the Pioneers had when they first came to Utah.”14

Granddaughter Ula wrote about George’s life in Lund.  “Many of the hardships of pioneer life were experienced again. In Lund, the nearest store, such as it was, was 40 miles away. Money was very scarce in those days and the doctor was something they knew nothing about. But the Lord blessed these good people. At one time they went seven years without a death in their community of over 300 people”15

George kept busy with farming, hauling logs and delivering the mail.  Daughter Aggie wrote, “George E. assisted in getting logs to build the school house and church. Rock and logs were the only building materials available. It was a long way to a railroad, and for many years freight was hauled from Modena, Utah with team and wagon which took more than a week for the roundtrip.

George E. got the contract of taking the mail twice a week from Lund to the ranches 33 miles south to Sunnyside. Some winters the snow was drifted so deep he had to make the trip on horseback carrying the mail sack on his horse. To keep warm he would get off the horse often and trot along beside it. He never missed a trip.

One election year a White Pine County candidate sent some liquor to George E. to treat the Lund men to try and win their votes. When the election was over George E. returned the liquor unopened telling him he didn't drink and didn't believe in giving it to others.”16

“Aggie also recalled her father taking the family up Sawmill Canyon for several years in the fall and camping for a day or two. They always enjoyed their outings as a family. They would gather sacks of pine nuts in burrs and lots of pine gum. She doesn't remember ever having “store gum” in those days. There would always be several families camping out together. They had such fun and were so sticky from the pine gum! Afterwards they would spend several days and evenings roasting the burrs after bringing home the pine nuts.

If George E.'s water turn came on a Sunday at his farm, he always arranged it so he didn't have to miss either church meeting. In the summer after their 2 p.m. Sacrament meeting, the family would come home and change clothes, their mother, Emily Ann, would prepare an evening meal and then she and the children would get in the wagon with the food and go to the field to their father. He would change the water while Emily Ann spread a quilt on the ground, on a grassy bank under some willows. How wonderful those plain suppers tasted out there in the fields.17

George and Emily had three sons born to them while living in Lund.  Orion J (1903), Rulon L (1904), and Malin H (1907). Sadly, Rulon passed away shortly after his first birthday.

The year 1907 was a happy one for the Burgess family.  George’s last and eighth child, Malin, was born on 25 August 1907.  Lillie, George’s oldest child, married Heber Arthur Smith (Arthur).  Arthur had been hired to run the farm for George. They were sealed in the St. George temple on 27 November 1907.  Lillie and Arthur returned to Lund and made their home there.

The next year was full of challenges and changes.  Baby Malin passed away on 29 January 1908.  George’s sister, Ella, became seriously ill and passed away just 4 months later.  Ella left her husband, Orrin, and 7 children. Her youngest, Anne, was just 5 weeks old. George and Ella’s parents and relatives lived close by, and one can only imagine the help that was extended to both grieving families that year.

“George E.'s strong testimony of the Gospel kept him active in the church, honest in his dealings with others, and he always observed the Sabbath Day.  After attending a General Conference, he decided they needed a better area to raise their children. In September 1908, once again George E. and Emily Ann loaded all their belongings into two wagons and with their five children (Lillie having married remained in Lund) moved to Alpine, Utah.”18

George and Emily made their home in Alpine.  “George E felt this was a wonderful place to raise his children. They purchased the Robert Jones' home and farm located at 677 South Alpine Hwy and lived there are a number of years. They moved to the old Joe Beck home down by Dry Creek, to Bishop Fullmer's home that what is now West Center and Main. George E purchased his father's home, one that George Martin had built in 1915 when he left Lund to move to Alpine, located at 17 North Main, across from the Alpine City Hall today. Here they remained until their deaths. While living in Alpine, George E. was active not only in church but in the Alpine City community. He served two terms on the City Council, from 1914-1915 and from 1928-1929. He also served two years as Alpine's Justice of the Peace.”19

Other Burgess relatives moved down to Alpine, including George’s parents in 1915.  Two years later, a series of tragedies struck George’s son, Herbert Alfred, and his family.  Their daughter, Laura Emily, who was born prematurely, died of cholera infantum in September of 1917 at 15 months of age.  A son, Myron Herbert Burgess, was born three months later in December of 1917.  Less than a year later, due to a flu epidemic, both Herbert and his wife Della Whitby passed away. They died a day apart; Herbert on 28 November 1918 and Della on 29 November 1918.  Herbert’s son, eleven-month old Myron, was the sole survivor of his family.  

Myron later wrote of his predicament.  “Aunt Clara Stevens (mother’s sister) offered to take me and raise me, but it was decided by my grandparents, George Edward and Emily Jeffery Burgess, to raise me themselves.  As this was the result, I moved to Alpine, Utah Co., Utah.”20

One of Myron’s earliest memories was visiting his grandmother, Emily, in the American Fork Hospital.  She had been diagnosed with stomach cancer and passed away on May 21, 1924. Thus, George became a widower at the age of 59.  His youngest son, Orion, was 21 and unmarried at the time. Grandson Myron was only 6 years old.  Myron was passed along from one relative to another, but remembered that most of the time he lived with his “Grandfather Burgess.”21  

Granddaughter, Ula Burgess Hemingway fondly described George. “Grandpa George E., as I always called him, was an average sized man with light complexion and large full blue eyes that twinkled. He loved to tell stories and the bigger the tale, the better. He learned the blacksmith trade from his father. I can remember as a small child going next door north to his blacksmith shop, located in Alpine, Utah, where West Center Street is now, and pumping the billows to make our goals for him to fix or horse shoes and repair machine equipment. George E. was a good farmer and cattle horse raiser and very outstanding at horse breaking.”22

After his wife's death in 1924, George E. went on another mission to Watsonville, California. His testimony and knowledge of the gospel grew even more.  

Granddaughter Ula recalled, “He was well versed in the Scriptures. How I loved to go over to his home and help him hold up maps on his big south window as he would trace where the Nephites and Lamanites traveled and discussed the Gospel. Afterwards we would have hot homemade biscuits and dark karo syrup or molasses. Sometimes I had corn on the cob he had toasted in his coal stove oven. It was so good and chewy.”23

George chose not to remarry, but remained a widower for the next 15 years.   As his health declined, his son Orion moved his family into George’s home so that they could care for him.  After George’s death, Orion and his family remained in the home until 1947.24

“George Edward Burgess was valiant in the faith all his days and passed this great heritage on to his descendents. He departed from this life in his home in Alpine on 29 June 1939.”25 George died at age 74 of broncho pneumonia with chronic fibrosis as an attributing factor.26 He was buried on July 2, 1939 “next to his eternal partner in the Alpine City Cemetery.”27

Although he was the oldest child in his family, he was survived by only 3 of his 10 siblings; Mary Alice (Gardner), Willard Burgess, and Ruth Fowler (Gardner).  He was survived by 5 of his 8 children; Lillie Jeffery (Smith) Edward W Burgess, Aggie (Gubler), Dora (Shepherd) and Orion J Burgess, and by many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

 Endnotes

1George Edward Burgess (Typed Biography, 9 March 2014), Family Tree Orion J Burgess, Written copy privately held by Ula Burgess Hemingway, (Granddaughter).

https://familysearch.org/photos/stories/5754602?returnLabel=Orion%20J%20Burgess%20(KWC4-GJG)&returnUrl=https%3A%2F%2Ffamilysearch.org%2Ftree%2F%23view%3Dancestor%26person%3DKWC4-GJG%26section%3Dmemories

2Roach, Delbert E. and Barbara B, The Heritage of Faith in Courage: William and Violate Burgess and Their Family  George Martin Burgess ( Family Heritage Publishers, Copyright 2006), [Page].462, 463, 465, 471

3Roach, Delbert E. and Barbara B. The Heritage of Faith in Courage: William and Violate Burgess and Their Family. Rhoda Ann Dykes Burgess Family Heritage Publishers, Copyright 2006 p 471-473

4Family Search Temple Records http://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/LDS_Temple_Records

5 Utah State Historical Society, "Find A Grave," database, Lillie Burgess Find A Grave (http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=102532 : Viewed 9 March 2014), Name, Birth and Death Date, Cemetery.

6Roach, Delbert E. and Barbara B, George Martin Burgess

7George Edward Burgess (Typed Biography)

8Ibid

9"Returned Elders," Notice, Deseret News, 5 April 1890, George E Burgess Returned from Mission; Digital Image of Paper Newspaper, BYU Harold B. Lee Library Digital Collections (http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/desnews4/id/12440/rec/3 : Viewed 9 March 2014), Deseret News Collection 4; BYU.

10George Edward Burgess (Typed Biography)

11Ibid

12 Rondo N. Jeffery Janet F. Jeffery, Pearl Jeffery, Thomas Alfred and Elizabeth Cowper Jeffery Family History, Herbert Alfred Burgess, (Bountiful, Utah: Carr Printing Company, 1995), [Pages 262-263.]

13Committee, White River Valley Historical, Lillie Burgess Smith and Belva Smith Bateman. White River Valley then and now, 1898-1980: Chapter 116 -- Lillie Jeffery Burgess Smith. Provo, Utah: Melayne Printing, maybe 1980. Digital Copy. White River Historical Committee. White River Nevada. http://whiterivervalley.org/index.php/white-river-valley-then-and-now-1898-1980/chapters-100-to-119/121-chapter-116-lillie-jeffery-burgess-smith : Viewed 20 February 2014.

14Ibid

15George Edward Burgess (Typed Biography)

16White River Valley Historical Committee, Aggie B Gubler and Emily G Beck, White River Valley, Nevada – then AND Now 1898-1980: Chapter 97 -- George Edward and Emily Ann Burgess (Provo, Utah: Melayne Printing, maybe 1980), ; digital page, White River Valley Historical Committee, White River Valley, Nevada (http://whiterivervalley.org/index.php/white-river-valley-then-and-now-1898-1980/chapters-80-to-99/102-chapter-97-george-edward-and-emily-ann-burgess : Viewed 20 February 2014.

17George Edward Burgess (Typed Biography)

18 Rondo N. Jeffery, Janet Franson Jeffery, Pearl Jeffery, Thomas Alfred and Elizabeth Cowper Jeffery Family History, call number 929.273 j36 (Roy, Utah: Thomas Alfred Jeffery Book Committee, 1995), EMILY  ANN (JEFFERY) BURGESS FAMILY  INTRODUCTION, pp. 177-180

19George Edward Burgess (Typed Biography)

20Autobiography of Myron Herbert Burgess, November 1976

21Ibid

22George Edward Burgess (Typed Biography)

23Ibid

24Roach, Delbert E. and Barbara B, The Heritage of Faith in Courage: William and Violate Burgess and Their Family Orion “J” Burgess (Family Heritage Publishers, Copyright 2006), [Page 304.]

25George Edward Burgess (Typed Biography)

26George Edward Burgess, death certificate 268 (29 June 1939), Utah State Board of Health

27George Edward Burgess (Typed Biography)

 Other Contributing Sources

1. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, "Family Tree," database, George Edward Burgess Family Tree (https://familysearch.org/tree/#view=ancestor&person=KWC6-14W§ion=ordinances : Viewed 20 February 2014), Temple Ordinances; The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

2. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, "Family Tree," database, George Martin Burgess Family Tree (https://familysearch.org/tree/#view=ancestor&person=KWNV-FTR§ion=ordinances : Viewed 9 March 2014), Temple Ordinances; The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

3. Drew, Lee. "Find A Grave." Database. Emily Ann Jeffery Burgess. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=19307865 : 2014.

4. Emily Ann Burgess, death certificate 231 (21 May 1924), State Board of Health, Utah.

5. Roach, Delbert E. and Barbara B., The Heritage of Faith in Courage: William and Violate Burgess and Their Family George Edward and Emily Ann Burgess (Family Heritage Publishers, Copyright 2006), By Aggie B. Gubler; Source Lois Shepherd Beck, pp 475-476.

6. Rondo N. Jeffery, Janet Franson Jeffery, Pearl Jeffery, Thomas Alfred and Elizabeth Cowper Jeffery Family History, Ula Burgess Hemingway, call number 929.273 j36 (Roy, Utah: Thomas Alfred Jeffery Book Committee, 1995), George Edward Burgess, pp. 184-187.

7. White River Valley Historical Committee, Margaret Reid Oxborrow, White River Valley then and now, 1898-1980: Chapter 2 More Settlers -- The First Decade (Provo, Utah: Melayne Printing, maybe 1980), ; digital copy, White River Historical Committee, White River Nevada (http://whiterivervalley.org/index.php/white-river-valley-then-and-now-1898-1980/chapters-1-19/10-chapter-2-more-settlers-the-first-decade) Viewed 24 September 2014

8. White River Valley Historical Committee, Margaret Reid Oxborrow, White River Valley then and now, 1898-1980: Chapter 8 Growth of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Provo, Utah: Melayne Printing, maybe 1980), ; digital copy, White River Historical Committee, White River Nevada  (http://whiterivervalley.org/index.php/white-river-valley-then-and-now-1898-1980/chapters-1-19/16-chapter-8-growth-of-the-church-of-jesus-christ-of-latter-day-saints) Viewed 9 March 2014.

9. White River Valley Historical Committee, Dixie Judd Burgess (Granddaughter)and  Margaret Reid Oxborrow, White River Valley then and now, 1898-1980: Chapter 48 Thomas and Mary Ashworth Judd  (Provo, Utah: Melayne Printing, maybe 1980), ; digital copy, White River Historical Committee, White River Nevada (http://whiterivervalley.org/index.php/white-river-valley-then-and-now-1898-1980/chapters-40-to-59/50-chapter-48-thomas-and-mary-ashworth-judd) Viewed 9 March 2014.