Your heritage

 Dear Oliver, 

It has been way too long since I've written to you here. I want to share an experience we shared last night. Sometimes on Sundays I like to open the FamilyTree app and read about some of our ancestors. Yesterday I read about a boy named Thomas Roberts, your great, great, great, great grandpa. I told you about his parents, Samuel and Mary Roberts. Their home was a "lodging house," kind of like a bed and breakfast or small hotel. Missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints stayed in their home and taught them the gospel while they were there. (I'm grateful they did. I'm grateful for their courage in sharing the gospel so that we can have the gospel in our lives.) The family joined the church. At this time, Thomas was ten years old, just a little younger than you. They saved for five years until they had enough to travel by boat with their five children to America. After arriving in New York, they took a train to Nebraska and met up with the Saints who were crossing the plains to Salt Lake City, Utah. They crossed the plains by foot when Thomas was 15 years old. Shortly after arriving, his 18 month old sister got sick and died. Later, his mom had another baby and the baby and Mary both died on the day he was born. Samuel, Thomas' dad, worked at the local newspaper shop and Thomas did an apprenticeship with his dad there for two years before getting hired to work there as well. When Thomas was 19, he married Sidione Eliza Constance Bunot. Eliza was born in Switzerland and lived in France as a little girl. Her parents joined the church and made plans to move to America to meet up with the Saints as well. Sidione was an only child and the only grandchild. When her grandparents found out, they wanted her to stay with them in France. In Sidinoe's history she writes that she remembers always having one of her parents with her or being locked in her room to keep her safe from those in her grandparent's family who wanted to kidnap her to keep her in France. Sidione's family also traveled by boat to New York, then to Nebraska, then across the plains to Salt Lake City, Utah.