happy 200th birthday dear Lorenzo Hill Hatch!

(Sylvia turns 200 in November so this was her moment too)

Lorenzo Hill Hatch is one of my top five favorite ancestors. I was so thrilled to celebrate him last night with a family gathering he would have loved. We watched a video about him, had hymns and reminiscences (just as he'd recorded enjoying for his 75th birthday), and marveled at what a life he lived.

account of his 75th

Then we sang happy birthday and ate a celebratory cake with dozens of descendants. He frequently referred to relatives as "dear Sylvia" and "dear Nora" etc, so singing to "dear Lorenzo" felt very appropriate.

Some fun journal excerpts I'd enjoyed from him this week:

We were also celebrating the life of my aunt Ann Pearson, and imagining what a heavenly party those Welches and Hatches were having together. 

My gift to Lorenzo this year (although it may take more than a year) is to type up excerpts from the hundreds of typewritten journal pages into some more defined categories descendants will enjoy, such as miracles, family details, humorous moments, pioneer life tidbits, testimony, and so on. We also donated money to an organization helping Zuni youth in his honor, as he worked so hard with those people.