Heritage Trail: Welch Ancestry in Cache Valley, Utah

A couple hours north of Salt Lake in the beautiful rolling pasturelands of Cache Valley lie two small towns, Paradise and Mendon, whose current small size contrast with their large presence in our family history. My grandfather's mother was born in Mendon (now a lovely Logan suburb), as his Danish pioneer ancestors, two generations of Sorensens, settled there. And his father was born in Paradise, as his British pioneer ancestor Henry Albert Shaw was one of the early settlers. A trip to these peaceful places allowed me to get a better understanding of these ancestors.

PARADISE

Eighteen members of the Paradise ward all came from the Shrewsbury Branch of the Church in England, so I'm sure Henry felt right at home there with longtime friends from his homeland. Henry Shaw's residence was the location of the first cooperative store in the area. He was also the first instructor of a formal school class numbering fifty students by 1867; due to Indian troubles, the town was relocated a few miles north in 1868. By 1876, two schools were in session and Henry taught one of them. Henry became postmaster in 1872, and ran the post office from his home (located at 9040 S 300 W; current house there is a modern rebuild). His wife Emma also helped run the store and the post office (his other wife Elizabeth did all the mothering and midwifing; apparently the two women were the best of friends and it worked out very well for their family situation).

Although very few current businesses are in operation, Paradise still has some old store fronts standing to give a sense of its history just as you drive in along the main road on the right, which I found interesting since our folks were shopkeepers there:

peeking inside the store

The Shaw home is no longer standing, but the Welch home is at 9010 S 100 W (a block behind the church building, across from a playground). However, it's greatly changed.

Welch home in Paradise, old photo

Welch home now, current owners have gutted and remodeled, added rock facing

closeup of former Welch home

A local highlight for historians is the DUP museum on the left as you first drive into town. A distant cousin gave us a tour, and while there are no family artifacts we could identify, a helpful book there (A History of Paradise, Cache County Utah 1860-1900 by Elizabeth Allen, BYU Press 2001) was a good resource for some family details.

story of Henry Shaw with the Indians

photo of Henry's store and post office

history of Henry's marriages

Although the LDS church has been rebuilt, it still stands in the original location with a similar steeple design to the original.

The Paradise cemetery (8940 S 340 E) has our Welch people in the front section, and the Shaws in the back half (watch out for sprinklers! occupational hazard)

John and Ann Shaw Welch headstone

Henry Shaw headstone

Emma Rogers headstone

view of Henry's headstone flanked with Emma and Elizabeth on the sides--in death as in life

 MENDON

About twenty minutes' drive/15 miles away from Paradise, beneath the profile of the Mendon mountain, is a little valley town with enormous willow trees and canals on the side of the roads. This is where my mother visited as a child and has nostalgic memories, so I was grateful she came along on my road trip to share stories and identify locations! You can read lots of its pioneer histories here. Mendon is where the Sorensen family settled, and the home of Isaac and Mary is still standing. (Nicolai and Malena's home was torn down after they died, according to Isaac's history.) However, it was once covered in rock like this older house:

not ancestral home, just the old-style exterior

and so it took a phone call to my grandfather to confirm that the nice place with the three car garage was indeed the place we were looking for. This home was a community hub as Isaac was the choir director and held musical rehearsals here for decades. It has a giant tree in front, was only a block from the old town square (current LDS chapel), and faces the Mendon mountain range.

Sorensen home: 96 Main Street, Mendon, Utah

side view Sorensen home

Sorensen yard, outbuildings mostly gone

The Mendon cemetery (curve up on 200 W following the signs) rises uphill and is the resting place of several of our people, long ago ancestors as well as my mother's grandparents, aunt, and uncle.

Isaac and Mary's headstone

Nicolai and Malena's headstone

with this inscription at the base

John and Eulalia Welch's headstone

Welch headstone with mountain view behind

What beautiful land these pioneers tamed, farmed, lived, and loved! I'm grateful for their hard work settling Utah.