John Rowe Moyle and Phillipa Beer were married on Guernsey ... I am still shocked !!!! Divine Design?

(Before I start, note that I did not correct grammar or spelling error from the original documents. They are just as they were written)

When we were sent here we knew nothing about Guernsey.  I knew that there were Guernsey cows,   and I am not sure how I knew that, but it was tucked away in some recess of my mind. I had never learned about Guernsey, or any of the other Channel  Islands or never knew I had, and certainly would never have suspected any ancestral tie to Guernsey. My brother Len told me about the German occupation of the Channel Islands, but we obviously weren't prepared with any Guernsey historical data. We have a new appreciation  for the Island of Guernsey.  When we were in England for the Senior Zone Conference, the beginning of September, we had some additional  time to spend in South Devon. We had not explored Steve's Cornwall and Plymouth Moyle ancestors, so I thought I would give them some time. It is hard to give families other than my South Devon family time, but we have always had a great respect for John Rowe Moyle and the Moyle family, so it was an  opportunity for me to reread Moyle history and see if we could pinpoint a few places. Please note, Steve did not read or reread any of his history, it was me that did the reading, although in a hotel one night I strongly gave him information to read so he would appreciate what we were going to see. What I came upon the first day, I had never known before, or never paid any attention to before because I had no idea about Guernsey or the Channel Islands. I couldn't believe it;

My mother and father were married on one of the Channel Islands, I believe it was the Island of Gurnsey in the year 1834. My father was employed as stone cutteron the improvements being made then on the sea wall. He then went to Plymouth and from there to St. Blazey, where my mother soon followed him, and where I was soon after born. (Reminiscenses of James Moyle, June 8, 1886, written in solitude) 

And as was often custumary with the young people when getting married, they went of over to one of the Channel Ilands & was married on the Iland of Gurnzy. (Remininiscenses o f Henry Moyle).

 

 John  Rowe Moyle and Phillapa Beer were married on the Island of Guernsey!! We live on the Island of Guernsey. At that time we had lived here for five months. This man and this couple that we have heard so much about and revere were married on Guernsey ...... We have a connection to Guernsey. Is it Divine Design that we are here on Guernsey? We were both shocked. I went to familysearch and yes, there it was ... they were married, on Guernsey. Two different records and two

Town Church in Guernsey where John Rowe Moyle and
Phillipa Beer were married.

different theories, but they were married in St. Peter  Port, Guernsey. We live in St. Peter Port, Guernsey. I know I have been repetitive, but we were stunned! Since then I have gone to the Prilaux Library on Guernsey and obtained  a copy of their marriage certificate (above). I almost missed it because I couldn't find "Moyle" and it was written  as "Moile," so I searched for  Phillipa's name and found it.

We were staying in Exeter for the conference and visiting various sites, mostly outside of Exeter. We did tour Exeter Cathedral the first day and then branched out to Buckfast Abbey, Cockington Village and Dartmoor, all preceded by a zone meeting and dinner at the church in Exeter Thursday night.  There were some other tourist sights that we didn't have time  to get to on Saturday, because we had to get back to London to catch our flight. We only made that because the office elders met us at the airport to pick up the car. (We left them money for ice cream and brought them rice krispie treats the next time we were there). But we did have short pieces of time for family history in South Devon for both of our families.

I remember when two of the latterday Saints elders come to our home at Mellbrok Cottages & ask the privelege to hold meeting in one of our roomes, & my father gave his consent. Our house was No 12 a first or sacond cousin Simon Moyle lived in No. ??? me & I believe the Elders names ware James Caffall, &Chares Phelps. And I remember the meeting they heald I belive it was On Sunday, & although I could not have been more than seven yearss of age, yet I verly belived what they said was the truth. & I remember father & mothers was convinced that what the Elders Preached was the truth. and my Father was baptized by James Caffoll 13th Aug 1851 My Mother allso was Baptized Soon after in the same year. MyBrother James was allso Baptized by Elder Caffal in Feb 1852.We the Family next moved back to Keyham for a short time & then Jubelle Street Plymouth.

 "I well remember Mill Brook Cottage, about one mile from Davenport and the same distance from Plymouth, which was a very pleasant location. I was taken ill from dropsy when I was five years old and I was not expected to live and my mother took me to Grandmother‘Beers home at the head of Mount Street in Davenport. Here I received treatment for a month from a very prominent doctor by the name of Rowe. I then remember about two years later that two D.L.S. Elders came to our home and asked the privelege of holding a meeting in one of our rooms. My father gave his consent a after hearing their message my father and mother were convinced that what they said was true. My parents and my brother James were baptized some time late. At Christmas time 1853 some Elders were at our home and promised to do what they could in getting my brother James to Utah by the next spring as he was a proficient stone-cutter and would be a great help on this temple and in so doing could help the rest of the family in getting to Zion.

 Millbrook Cottages on the left. Note that there is not much around  them at the time	Upper Millbrook Cottages
Lower Millbrook Cottages	Steve in front  of Millbrook Cottages

I searched at the Exeter Historical Archives for maps that would help us find these homes. We were able to find one that showed where Millbrook Cottages were, although they were much farther out than I thought they would be. The man in the archives told me that these were old buildings and would have been the Victorian ones that were here when the Moyles lived there, so I knew we weren't looking for a building that had been torn down and rebuilt. We also found an old map that would be able to help us find the home on Waterloo Street near the Stoke Church, where the family also lived. This home was either built by or owned by William Beer, the father of Phillipa Beer Moyle. We were running out of time, as we needed to be back in Exeter for our meeting and meal, but we did get to Millbrook Cottages and tried to find the Waterloo Street house, but didn't even come close. My phone doesn't get google maps in England and I was so frustrated. Two days later we returned with better directions and found the Waterloo Street house, we think. Maybe another trip we will find even more.

"I see from my Brother James, writing that my parents shortly after their marriage wen from Devonport, to Plymouth, for a short time & from thare to St Blasdale, Cornwall & while in Cornwall my eldest Bro. James was Born Oct 31th 1837. & my sister Elizabeth was Born Jan 12th 1837. Booth Born at a place called Rosemelin, in Cornwall.From here they moved Back to Devonport, & lived in a house of GrandfatherBeers, at the bottom of Watterloo Street ...

 "I have been told that he (William Beers) built the house on what is now or was then called Waterloo street where I lived. A street that runs west from Old Stake Church Devonport. Grandmother Beers maiden name was Elizabeth Cook. I have heard that her father made lots of money by smuggling ..." (Reminiscenses of James Moyle, June 8, 1886, written in solitude)

"Soon after this they moved to Devonport and lived in a house of my grandfather’s. It was the first house at the bottom of Waterloo Street on the right hand side as you commence to go up from Stake (Stoke) Church and it was a two story house with a garden at the back. It was while living in this house that my first brother Henry was born and the first thing that I can remember was at the time of his birth, when Grandmother sent me down stairs and would not let me see my mother. I could not have been much over three years. (Reminiscenses of James Moyle, June 8, 1886, written in solitude)

Actually the second house as you go up Waterloo Street from Stoke Church, but an old map said the building next doorwas a pub, so I think this was probably it.	Old Stoke Church (now Stoke Damarel Church)
First house up Waterloo Street, but an old map said that this was a pub and it doesn't face Waterloo Street.	The lane (that was probably a road) that led from Stoke Church to Waterloo Street.

John Rowe Moyle and his family were members of the first Mormon Handcart Company that crossed the barren plains of the United States. He eventually settled in Alpine, Utah and worked as a stonecutter, under his son James on the LDS Temple in Salt Lake  City. When a collision with a cow caused the amputation of his leg he fashioned himself a wooden leg and made the trip to Salt Lake City each week, walking on his wooden leg. At the end of the week he would walk home.

John  Rowe Moyle and Phillipa Beer were married in the Town Church on Guernsey! John worked on the seawall here. I pass it many times a week, even in a day, and I have a new appreciation for it .... a family appreciation!

Guernsey Sea Wall, St. Peter Port John Rowe Moyle worked on  the sea wall Guernsey Sea Wall, St.  Peter Port

Guernsey Sea Wall,  St. Peter Port Guernsey Sea Wall,  St.  Peter Port

They brought FIVE to Europe and to See Us!!

Arriving at the St. Peter Port Ferry Terminal

Anthony, Taylor, Sadie and  now announced two little babies ... twins ...  in utero, visited us early in October. They really took on quite a trip to come to Guernsey and then to England. First of all they bought tickets through Paris when they thought we would be in England, and ultimately had to adjust their plans when we were sent to Guernsey. A long flight, a short train ride from Paris to St. Malo  and two ferry boats from St. Malo to Jersey and then from Jersey to Guernsey, the first one being a very "wicked" ride got them here in the evening, when they had landed in Paris in the early morning. They had been in  transit for almost two days. I still can't believe they came and  got here with our sweet little 11 month old grandbaby. Tears to my eyes and to my heart. We picked them up at the ferry terminal and quickly got them to the house so they could get settled, fed and rested. The next day Anthony and Taylor spoke in church, (If you visit you speak in Church) and Taylor accompanied the missionaries in a multi-lingual version of, "If the Savior Stood Beside Me," while Sadie slept upstairs most of  the time. The advantage of having church in the same place where you live.

Anthony and Sadie on our wonderful wooden 
swing in the backyard of La Fonteneele.

After church on Sunday we explored Guernsey from the cliffs, to the beach and settled home for dinner, a 1st Birthday Party for Sadie, as we wouldn't be there for the real celebration, and another catch up night of sleep. One  of  her gifts was a Leap Frog dog, Scout. When we assembled Scout and turned it on we were surprised that Scout spoke with the accent of the Queen. It never even dawned on me that it wouldn't be an American accent.  How naïve of me! So everything British for Sadie, a British dog, a British tea set, two British hand knit sweaters made by the grandmother of the woman who owns a local art gallery, Sula, and who hosts our weaving and spinning groups, and a little sheep cake, that reminded me of the sheep in the fields. They didn't have a Guernsey Cow Cake or that would have probably been the choice. And yes, we did find out that Sadie was going to have "a" new brother or sister. Sunday was a beautiful day and we went to Pembroke Bay, which has a long, long, beach and Sadie loved the water, but loved sitting in the sand even more. Monday was Castle Cornet, High Street and Crabby Jacks for dinner, where Sadie proceeded to rearranged all the chairs on the upper level. It actually kept her entertained for a long time. I can now order and feed her ice cream, which makes me happy because it makes her happy to be with me. We had waited to go to the Castle and we know it is more entertaining in the summer but the history is amazing and I am glad we waited  to go with someone.

At Pembroke Bay with her stylish gold bow.	Taylor, Sadie and Anthony at Pembroke Beach.
At Castle  Cornet waiting for the noon gun to go off.	Sadie at Castle Cornet. She has become quite the walker!
Leaving Little Chapel through the trail in  the leaves. A sweet "little" family.	On  the cliffs - Icart Point, Guernsey. Disclaimer ... there are a few days when my hair works ... most days NOT! I apologize for informal attire. These cliffs can be very windy and not a place for skirts.

Simon Joseph Tayler - "Once a Mormon Always a Mormon"!

I have a new hero! Dale and Ann  Jenkins were here in September. Dale was a missionary here fifty years ago and one of the first two missionaries called to reopen the Island of Guernsey, after a fairly significant break in missionary work. He had also compiled some of his journal entries of his time on Guernsey into a booklet,  that he would  bring with him. We had communicated with them for a couple of months prior to their arrival and planned to have them speak in church.  I had also felt that this would be a great missionary opportunity if we could have the local press cover his visit, so I proceeded, with some of Ashlyn's resources to contact all the local television and press outlets. I wrote a nice press release with a template Ashlyn had sent me and contacted only editors, as she had advised. No response, until a couple of days before their arrival and I got a phone call and an email from a woman at the Guernsey Press, the largest newspaper on the island and the one I wanted to cover the event. Yes, they would like to send a reporter out to interview the Jenkins. I must insert a little back story. Dale is from Ucon, Idaho, a small community near Rexburg and his companion  at the time, Roger Sparks, was from  Wyoming. Dale and Ann now live is Washington state. When he served here he, his companion  and missionaries from Jersey formed a basketball team, in order to meet people. Their missionary efforts, the opposition they faced, as well as the basketball team were covered by the Guernsey Press, which is why a follow up with the Press seemed appropriate. Score one for the team, apparently they thought so also. 

So my  hero, is Simon Joseph Tayler. When Elder Dame  Jenkins and Elder Roger Sparks were tracting in the Parish of Vale ...

This is Dale's story in his own words. I posted in in familysearch so that the Tayler family in America could know of Simon. I  did contact one person who was researching  the Tayler family and he had no further information, but thanked  me for adding Simon's picture and the story on family search.

What a tremendous day! Today was truly one of the best daysof my mission because of the experiences that we had. It all started off by going out to Vale again to tract, which is the area we are working right now on the island. The first house we knocked on started it all off. They invited us in and then told us that they were related to a Tayler family in Salt Lake City. We had a wonderful visit with them and they asked us all sorts of questions about ourselves and our mission. Then they took us over to Ken Tayler's home and introduced us to him. We talked with him for about 2 hours. He had been working in his greenhouse and he was just as pleasant as he could be. He told us that he had attended one semester at BYU in 1958 and really enjoyed Provo and the school. He said he lived the standards of the church while he was a student and was very impressed with the church and all the LDS people that he had ever met. He said he even stopped drinking tea while he was at BYU, and he found it interesting as to how easy it was to give it up while he was there. He is very well to do, owning a lot of greenhouses, land and equipment. After we had visited with him for awhile he said that he had an uncle, Simon Tayler, who was thought to be the only Mormon on the island. We about dropped right there! He said he lives at 11 Bouet, and as soon as he gave us that address we knew exactly what development his uncle lived in because we had tracted that area a few weeks ago. We finished our conversation with Ken Taylor and then we road our bikes as fast as we could to get to his uncle's home. As God is my witness, the following is true. The area where Simon Tayler lived was the most run-down government housing on the entire island. As we rode our bikes to the address a feeling of dread came over me, as a few weeks before we had tracted this area and it was dead, in terms of finding any prospect or anything being productive. In fact, I distinctly remember coming to his gate, which was locked, and seeing the front yard filled with dead weeds as high as your waist Well, here we find ourselves back at that exact spot that I had said we should skip. This old house, where we had just been told that a member of the church lives. So, we walked around the back and knocked on the door. We could see an old man in the kitchen, but he didn't hear us, so we knocked even louder. This time he came to the door and he thought we were a couple of salesmen trying to sell insurance or something. We tried to introduce ourselves, but he was so hard of hearing that he wasn't paying attention to us as he pulled a pouch of tobacco from his coat pocket and began to pack his pipe. We still couldn't get him to understand who we were, so I bent over and yelling as loud as I could into his ear I said, "We're Mormon missionaries." You should have seen the look on his face! It was like a light went on, instantly! He immediately began trying to put his tobacco back in his pouch and into his shirt pocket, and we could see the excitement on his face. He turned to us and said," My bit o' baccy is me only bad habit, mate. Glad to meetcha, glad to meetcha, and put out his hand out and was so excited to shake the hands of two Mormon missionaries! Elder Sparks and I just stood there, not believing what had just happened, when I was the one who had told Elder Sparks, "Let's just skip this one." I will never forget that feeling. The only member on the island and we didn't knock on his door. We found out that Simon Tayler (Taylor) is 87 years old and joined the church when he was a small boy, probably eight or nine (church records I just researched said about 20 years). Evidently some elders stopped off in the Channel Islands as they were returning home from their mission somewhere in Europe, and they decided to spend more time in Guernsey. This had to be the late 1800's when this occurred, since Simon Tayler was now 87 years old and we were meeting him in 1965. Those elders baptized his parents, and his brothers and sisters, including himself, and eventually they all immigrated to Salt Lake City, but Simon chose to stay on Guernsey. As we were standing there taking this all in, Brother Tayler bore an incredible, powerful testimony of the gospel. Even though the church had not been there for decades and he was baptized when he was a small boy (possibly 20 years of age) he said, "Once a Mormon, always a Mormon. and I'm proud of it." He is a little old man, and can't be more than 4'10" and about 90 pounds and 100% Mormon, all the way through. It was such a choice experience to see his face light up when he realized we were Mormon missionaries. He and his wife adopted a girl, who was now 17. We met her and she said she is going to start coming to church with him also... (NOTE: I (Sharon Hewlett) have researched the records here in Guernsey and can find no marriage of Simon Tayler, and Dale Jenkins says her doesn't remember meeting his wife, but the daughter/adopted daughter/family member, Gaye Tayler, was baptized about two months later). We went to our Sunday meeting ... Just as we were singing our opening song, in walks Brother Tayler (Taylor)! He was in a suit and tie and so excited to be there. We had told him when our Sunday services were held, but we had no idea that he had any intentions of coming to church. But, there he was! He sat there with the most contented look on his face and we knew he couldn't hear a word that was said, but he was so happy to attend our meager little Sacrament meeting. We talked to him after the meeting and he said he had to catch 3 different buses and it took him over 3 hours to get to church, because the bus schedule on Sundays isn't very good. He said he will be here next Sunday as well. NOTE: This was Elder Jenkins last Sunday on Guernsey. Elder Sparks stayed another two months. Elder Jenkins said that Simon never missed a meeting. "

According to my research Simon died two years later, "A Mormon to the end!" I am still looking for information on the girl he adopted and who joined the church. Last week as I opened up my hymnbook I noticed an inscription on the inside front cover that read, "I need to find this family, Maybe some are still  on Guernsey.

We had a delightful Saturday evening dinner with the Jenkins and President John Crew at Le Gouffre Restaurant, which is one of our new favorite restaurants. We love President Crew and the other members of our Stake Presidency. Both they and President Crew spoke the next day in our branch conference. President  Crew challenged us all to fast the next week, beginning at noon, to find places that the missionaries can tract and people that they could contact.

One of the original  articles in the Guernsey Press highlighting the new missionaries on the island.	An additional 1965 articles in the Guernsey Press.
I had requested information from the Church Historical Department on Guernsey and as I read this 1900 document it mentioned the impending baptism of Mr. Tayler. It could be Simon or his father or another family member, but Simon was baptized before his father.	The 2017 Guernsey Press  article featuring Dale and  Ann Jenkins and his missionary work in 1965 ... a full two pages.

The West Show .... Almost the Demolition Derby

We have only been here about three months, but there has been a South Show, a West Show and a North Show this weekend. We thought the West Show was like a "Wild" West Show, but it was more like a Carnival/County Fair/Demolition Derby. We had arranged to meet Neil McEwen, the visitor from England there and James, the investigator (I should call him James, the non-Mormon)  whose children and wife had entered exhibits/contests at the show and we wanted to see them. As we drove close we were shocked at the traffic and there were multiple large fields filled with parked cars. We even had o pay 2 pounds for parking. Steve had been at the Rotary luncheon previously and he said they even held the meeting to one hour as people wanted to go to the Show. We were basing possible attendance on the attendance at the circus on the same spot a couple of weeks ago. There was no attendance then! But this was a huge event ... many BIG tents, games, food, music (old fashioned organ) rides, animal, products of animal (eggs), baked goods, vegetables, art judgings. The tents had booths with sale items and a commercial products tents. What captivated my attention when we went in was a monster truck pull. That event could be added to the Kamas Demolition Derby.  There were no logs and sand to protect us and when they raced it was just a short distance, so not much of a race. We also watched a model airplane/drone demonstration, and didn't stay for much more excitement. We had a wonderful visit with Brother McEwen and again talked missionary stories. He is full of enthusiasm and spirit. As a young man he played basketball and also was involved in the church basketball league. I don't know if I added this somewhere else,, but when we were having lunch with him the next day I had brought transcripts of some pages of Grandpa Clawson's diary when he served as Bishop of the Halifax branch in  northern England. It was is relation to his and Anona's senior mission. he said he though he remembered Grandpa and when we were at lunch he called an older woman that he home teaches and she said she also remembered Irwin Clawson. Crazy, the design of our lives.