Samaria, a new family history spot

 After our visit to Malad for the Welsh Festival, we traveled 8 miles southwest of Malad to Samaria which was also settled by pioneers from Wales.  Brigham Young Mansfield lived here with his second wife and family for many years.  This is a picture of him taken in England when he returned as a missionary to his birth place in 1903 leaving his family in Samaria while gone.  He is my newly discovered great great grandfather and his oldest son, Gervis named after his grandfather, was my great grandfather and father to my grandpa, George Ostler who did not discover this lineage until a father himself in about 1935.  His birth parents had separated when he was just a toddler and he was then adopted by his mother's second husband, Milo Ostler.  It has been fascinating to learn more about this family.  Learn more here.

We found the cemetery on a hill on the west side of town.

And thankfully, almost immediately found Brigham Young Mansfield's grave marker.  His first wife died after child birth leaving behind two older living children.  Not long after, Brigham married a young woman from Wales and joined with the Williams family in Samaria where 13 more children were born.

I had hoped to find the home he had built.  We drove around town but found nothing.  After arriving home and doing a bit more research I found pictures of his home.  This is a picture as it was while the original log cabin.

Many years later the logs had been covered and chimneys and entrance changed.

This last picture was taken in 1987 and it easy to see that it had not been inhabited for many years.

Located on this same site was a picture of his second wife, Elizabeth Ann Williams, with her daughters and daughter in law.

I found the log cabin as well but not in its original form.  The logs had been re purposed as the lower wall of this "new" home.

We found a "new" old cabin open for visitors on the way out of town.  This cabin had been taken apart and moved to this new location where other cabins are also being rebuilt.

This cabin has a bit of a history.

It was the first home of the Osmonds' mother Olive.  This is a brief history of this home's builders and owners.  It listed a Williams family.  I don't know if it is a connection as the surnames of Wales are used over and over.

The whole Osmond Family was present for the dedication of this family place.

I always feel like these homes, while small, are also so welcoming and cozy.

Books related to the family and this home.

Olive in a picture as a child.

Water pump out back.

Picture taken from the small front parking lot.  This was a great addition to our little trip and gave me a feel for the home of Brigham Young Mansfield.