52Ancestors52Weeks Week 13 Theme: Music; Pianos, Pianos, And More Pianos (Boothby/Hansen/VanDuzer/Alden)

My son Casey playing the 1940 Acrosonic piano Nevada City, California 1987.  He inherited musical talent from both sides of his family which he continues to use. 

    

The theme this week is...Music.  I chose not to focus on any particular ancestor this time, but I am instead putting the spotlight on our family pianos. There were several!  My Mom, Margaret Hansen Boothby, helped with this post by sharing her memories of all the pianos that she could remember.  Music has been a constant thread woven throughout both my maternal and paternal sides of the family for several generations.  Our pianos are a part our family stories and  have provided us with many memories that need to be shared. 

  I remember seeing this first piano that my Mom wrote about in my Auntie Claire's living room in Angels Camp, California in the summer of 2012.  Mom and I  were helping to clear the house so that Auntie Claire and Uncle Dwight could move to a Scottsdale  nursing home for much needed care.  It was just a little upright piano, somewhat plain,  but looked like it had an interesting history of its own as I could tell the finish had melted in certain spots.  Here is the story written down by my mother.....

"The first piano I remember was a spinet, purchased by my father (Harold Hansen) shortly after he and my mother (Betty) were married in 1939.  They lived in a little apartment on Church Street in Grass Valley.  One day, someone came down the street, playing a piano on the back of a truck.  Of course, my father had to see what was going on and ran outside.  The piano was for sale, my father promptly bought it and had it brought to the apartment, and we had it all my growing up years.  In 1950 our house burned down, but some workmen ran up to the house and asked my mother if they could save anything for her.  She told them the piano and her cedar chest, so they ran into the house and got those two things.  The music rack and front of the piano were singed by the fire's heat.  Years later the music rack had become smooth due to constant use, but the rest of the front and one side were still rough where the finish had started to melt.  The piano was taken to Nana's house where it stayed in the dining room.  It went with us to a couple of other moves and then to the Lidster Avenue house where it stayed until it was given to Claire and she moved it all over the state as they were assigned different PG&E locations".  

  That little piano was used by my grandparents, my mother and my aunt, as well as my aunt's children.  I don't know how many moves it endured after my Grandfather purchased it off the back of that truck.  Unfortunately, the piano had to stay with the house in Angels Camp when my aunt and uncle moved.  So, I hope that a new family is getting some use out of the little piano that has quite a history behind it! 

  The next piano Mom remembered was purchased by my Great Grandmother, Emma King Hayes Van Duzer  on the 15th of October in 1925.  I do not have any memories of this piano, but my mother does...

"Nana had a player piano which we (she and Claire) found fascinating.  It was moved into her living room when our little piano came to live in the dining room. (The house had TWO pianos!)  The piano had a little sliding door on the front which you could open to watch the rolls go around and it would play by itself.  It was run by pumping pedals near the floor.  The piano bench was unusual in that it had a back to it which you could fold up to make your back more comfortable.  I've never seen a bench like that since.  Eventually the player mechanism was removed (I don't remember why) and I don't know what happened to it when Nana moved to town". 

   

Nana probably purchased the piano from  Sherman Clay and Company either in Oakland or San Francisco.  She did not play.  I don't know how much piano playing my grandmother did, but she did sing and read music.  Her sister Dorothy (Dot) wasn't a singer so she probably didn't play the piano, either.  Her sister Fran and Fran's husband Joe had a piano; their children Joan and Don took lessons. That piano was handed down to  Richard, Joan's son.   Joan's daughters both have pianos, and the tradition of piano lessons continued on with their families.  

The receipt for the Aeolian piano purchased by Emma L. Hayes in 1925.  $675 was a lot of money to spend at that time.  

  The next piano is still in the family and is a beautiful example of a turn of the century Chickering Upright Grand Piano...

"The large upright grand piano that was at Grandma Hansen's (Vere Burrows Hansen) was what my dad learned to play on (Harold Hansen).  It got a lot of use!  The house at 418 W Main Street had two stories on the side of Main Street hill and that piano weighed in excess of 700 pounds, so my grandfather (John H. Hansen) who was well versed in rope mechanisms devised a block and tackle arrangement attached to a plum tree in the back yard and several men hoisted that piano up to the second floor.  It stayed in the house where Claire and I would play it from time to time and my dad would sit down on a Sunday afternoon after dinner and play away from memory.  The piano was taken down the front stairs by a moving company after Uncle Jack died in 1986 (that's how I know how much it weighed) but the piano was so heavy it caused the front 2-story stairs to sway and creak.  The moving men were scared to death the stairs were going to give way!  They rolled (or rather chased) it down the hill to School Street where they could load it into the moving truck.  It then went to our house in Nevada City where it lived in the dining room next to our piano for quite a few years. (The house had TWO pianos!).  Dad and I played some 2-piano music on it and Mary Lou Langguth (the pastor's wife, church organist and family friend) used to come over for a good time doing the same thing.  When our house was remodeled, the piano went to Casey and Ali's house where Fox has been exploring it and hopefully will take lessons one day.  It is now over 100 years old and must have been at the ranch house before the Main Street house was built.  Grandpa and Uncle Jack learned to play on it." 

  The serial numbers put the piano's beginning at sometime between 1895-1900, so it was probably at the ranch off of  Idaho Maryland before being moved to West Main Street.  All three Hansen brothers either played piano, or sang.  Uncle Bob sang with the Grass Valley Cornish Choir and both Grandpa and Uncle Jack sang with their church choirs (Methodist and Episcopal) as well as the Cornish Choir.  The Bob Hansen children took piano lessons and carried on the tradition of music in Reno, Nevada. 

The house on West Main Street, Grass Valley.  The piano went down these stairs in 1986!

John Hansen (seated) with Uncle Jack before he left for service in WWII,  1941. 

  There was another piano that I do not have any memory of, but I did hear it as a baby being played while my Mom worked on her Music and Teaching degrees from the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California in the early 60's.....

"When we were in college we rented a very tiny little spinet so I could practice accompaniment music for opera students.  I could get 1/2 credit each semester just for accompanying.  I had previously taken you to practice rooms at the college in your carrier, but when you got too big for that, we rented the little piano to have at home.  The other people who lived in our apartment building said they loved listening to my practicing.  I hope so because I did a lot of it!  You grew up always having piano music in your ears, whether it was me playing or when you took lessons on your own.  Couldn't escape that!".   

  No, I couldn't.  I took piano lessons for many, many years and through high school as did my sister! 

  The next piano was the one both my sister and I learned how to play.  So many memories of hours and hours of practicing!  "Play it again!" was the familiar phrase from the kitchen or sewing room.  We even had a piano recital right in our dining room one year for all the students of  our piano teacher, Mrs. Rockwood.  My mom still uses it...

"The piano I now use is a 1940 Acrosonic (made by the Baldwin Company) purchased by Nino and Pop (Terry and Sterl Boothby, my paternal grandparents) before your dad was born because Nino wanted to be sure her expected baby would be musical.  Dad learned to play it (I think Kent took some lessons, too) and then you and Stephanie took lessons.  It has had a LOT of use over the years.  I still practice on it 3 or 4 times a week.  It's as old as I am!  It has entered the tech world, in a manner of speaking, as I use it for church music on Zoom...".  

  Yes, our piano made it into memories of the COVID-19 Pandemic of 2020/21.  

"July 3, 1941 10 weeks old"

Nino (on right) holding Dale Richard Boothby (Dad) in front of the new 1940 Acrosonic piano.  I'm working on verification of the lovely lady on the left. 

"Dale 4 1/2 years and Kent 7 weeks Nov. 1945" 

Dad used to play two piano duets with my Mom, and they even played in church together!

    

  

Me, at around age 8 or 9? The familiar 1940 Acrosonic piano is in the background with Michael Aaron practice books on the music stand.  And look at that.  A piano birthday cake!  The cake was made by my Great Aunt, Dorothy Hayes Arthur.  She was a very talented cake baker and decorator who made all of our birthday cakes. 

  Mom also wrote..."When I was growing up, or when previous generations were around it was a sign of solid middle class status to have a piano in your home.  Everyone I was friends with in school took lessons. What kind of piano you had mattered--a player piano or a grand piano were tops on the list.  When we visited someone of the older generation, I was always asked to "favor us with a number".  Good thing I memorized well.  Now, you can hardly find a modern home with a piano in it and most kids who take lessons do so on electronic keyboards.  Times have changed."

Well, I look around my house and I see...a Chickering Anniversary Baby Grand Piano from the 20's  (that very sadly needs a tuning and more playing time than it gets..) and a 120+ year old pump organ that still works and was handed down in the Alden family.  The Chickering is a more recent addition, as my children learned piano on an older upright piano that we eventually sold. I have memories of moving that piano during a March snowstorm to our new house.  Hopefully, the tradition of piano playing and piano music will be carried down many more generations in our family.  We do have an electric piano in the garage that needs dusting off, too! 

Relationship Reference:  

Me->Mom->Harold Hansen (brothers Bob/Jack)->John and Vere Hansen

Me->Mom->Betty Hayes Hansen( sisters Dorothy/Fran)->Emma King Hayes VanDuzer

Me->Dad (brother Kent)->Sterl and Terry Boothby

The Hurd Family: Valuable Heirlooms Donated To Bowers Mansion (Hurd)

 

An excerpt from the article published in the Nevada State Journal 7 March 1951

  Imagine my surprise when I found this gem of an article in the Nevada State Journal!  As I did more research, I learned that more than 500 families have donated period furnishings that are now housed in Bowers Mansion.  Within this story is a mention of the famous Steinway that was moved from the Meacham house to the Piper Opera House the night Emma Nevada gave her concert in Virginia City (3 December, 1885).  The Hurd and Powers families were very proud of that piano.  

Bowers Mansion taken in the 1860's Nevada Magazine July-August 2014

  Bowers Mansion was built by Sandy and Eilley Bowers who made their fortune in silver mining on the Comstock.  They chose to build their grand home at the base of the Sierra Nevada Mountains overlooking Washoe Lake in 1862.  By 1868 the silver mines had played out and before Sandy could sell his mine he died of a lung condition. Eilley turned the mansion into a public resort to help pay the bills.  She advertised the mansion as having fine baths, a piano, an extensive library, a billiard table and all the comforts of home. Two manmade ponds were available for use and there were landscaped grounds to enjoy. By 1873 the Mansion had become a premier destination with picnickers and "Pioneers" who came every year to reminisce about the early days on the Comstock.  Sadly, by 1876 Eilley lost everything at a public auction, but for the next quarter century owners and managers opened the mansion to the public.  The V &T Railroad offered affordable excursion tickets allowing locals to swim, dance and picnic as they did in the past. (Nevada Magazine July-August 2014). 

  The  Historic Bowers Mansion continues to be a summer respite for locals, as it is now located within Bowers Mansion Regional Park (Washoe County, Nevada). You are able to take tours of the home,  picnic, swim, play and enjoy the grounds May through October.  School tours are very popular, also.  

 Here is the article as it appeared in the paper.....

Original Bedstead, Other Valuables Given To Bowers By Hurd Family

 "Last week, Mrs. B.R Addenbrooke, curator of the Bowers Mansion, received some precious heirlooms that were part of the mansion's original furniture." 

  "They were gifts of the 'three Hurd girls', two of whom are living today in Reno.  Mrs. Annie Hurd Smith and Miss Edith Hurd, two of the well known 'three Hurd girls' in Virginia City in the heyday of the Comstock, live at 120 Stevenson St. in Reno.  Unfortunately many of the pictures of those historic days which the sisters had were destroyed in the flood last winter."  (The Thanksgiving Flood of 1950)

  Piano Cover

  "Now, on the piano in the Bowers Mansion is the piano cover that covered the Steinway piano sent around Cape Horn to James Fair, one of the 'Big Four' of those early days. This is a gift of Alta Powers, of Oakland."

  "It is a large cover, 6x7 feet, of beautiful tapestry. Its colors are blue and tan, and completely around the cover is a deep fringe. The piano was purchased by Robert Meacham, the only coal and wood dealer in Virginia City at that time, and by him given to Alta Powers, his granddaughter, a daughter of Mrs. Ina Powers Sample, of Pasadena, California. (Correction:  Ina was Alta's older sister, not her mother). Mrs. Sample died a few years ago, and the piano was disposed of, but Alta Powers kept the piano cover, which is now the property of Bowers Mansion."

Other Gifts

  "From Mrs. Annie Hurd Smith and Miss Edith Hurd, the mansion received some exquisite pillow slips, bordered in crocheted lace seven inches wide, with insertions set between clusters of hand run tucks.  At the same time Miss Hurd and Mrs.  Smith gave Bowers Mansion some pillow shams, less ornate, embroidered in turkey red thread, and some splashers, fringed and embroidered in turkey red hem are handmade, indicating that the women of that day had much time to spend on work of this kind."

  "But probably the most valued gift received from the members of the Hurd family was one of the original bedsteads that was purchased for the mansion by Eilley and Sandy Bowers, bought from them by Robert Meacham and in turn turned over to the Hurd family. The chair, table and bureau of the early days that were part of the bedroom suite are in Pasadena, but the original bed has never left Nevada, and in the spring will be placed in a suitable room in Bowers Mansion."

 Former Teacher

  "Edith Hurd, who came from Pennsylvania to Virginia City when she was six months old, knew the 'Big Four' of that era very well.  She taught school later in Virginia City.  Her father, William Hurd, was a mining engineer in Virginia City and her brother, John H. Hurd, ran a hoist in the old C and C Mine."

  "The 'Three Hurd Girls' are the survivors of a family of 11.  Their father, William Hurd was killed in an accident in Virginia City.  Mrs. Hattie Hurd Powers was one of the three sisters and Alta Powers is her daughter."

  "Both Miss Gloria Mapes, president of the furnishing committee, and Mrs. Addenbrooke, curator of Bowers Mansion, were very happy yesterday when they got the history of the old bedstead, one of the original pieces of furniture in the mansion.  The response of the 'old timers' who wish to see the mansion restored to its original splendor has been remarkable, and the work of completing the job has been speeded up through the cooperation of many to whom the early day history of Nevada has become highly important."

  All genealogists have to do lists.  Making a phone call to the curator of Bowers Mansion in May (they are currently closed) is now on my list of things to do.  I would love to see if they have any of these items still in their possession, and determine exactly which bedstead belonged in our family.  With COVID restrictions being lifted, I may even get to take a tour!  I have to admit; I have lived in this area for almost 40 years and I have not yet been inside Bowers Mansion.  Now, I have an extra special reason to do some exploring.  Field trip!!

  There are several interesting articles and videos on the Bowers Mansion website through Washoe County.  I especially recommend the article from Travel Nevada entitled Legendary Nevadans: Eilley Bowers of Washoe Valley and the video from Wild Nevada (Episode 509) where you can see the furnishings and accessories inside the mansion.  The clip is about 8 minutes into the video.  The site can be reached at: 

https://www.washoecounty.us/parks/specialty_facilities/bowers_mansion.php

  These are just more tidbits of information I have found from my research that remind me everyday of what a unique connection my family has to this area I have called home and have loved for 36 years.  I hope my grandchildren down the line will  appreciate this also.  I bet my Great Grandmother Hansen never once thought about having a great granddaughter of the future who would be so interested in learning about where she came from and the people that helped get her there!

Relationship Reference:  Me->Margaret Hansen Boothby->Harold Hansen->Vere Burrows Hansen->Elizabeth Jane Hurd Burrows.  

The "Three Hurd Girls" were Elizabeth Jane's younger sisters.  Her sister Hattie Hurd Powers was the mother of Ina and Alta Powers. 

The Hurd Family: A Night with Emma Nevada, a Relic of Historic Import and Sentimental Treasures from the Comstock (Hurd)

 

 Emma Nevada in Paris circa 1880 from Nevada Magazine March-April 2020

26 November 1885 Nevada State Journal

  Emma Nevada has several connections to the Hurd family, oddly enough.  She was born Emma Wixom February 7, 1859 in the Alpha Mining camp near Nevada City, California.  The Hurds were living in Nevada City at the time.  Emma's father moved to Austin, Nevada a few years later where Emma's singing talent was discovered when she was just 5 years old. She went on to study voice and language at Mills College in California.  Her beautiful soprano voice took her from Oakland to Europe.  In 1880 she changed her name to Emma Nevada and began an illustrious European career singing in prestigious operas and performing for royalty.  In 1885, she returned to the US and performed in Austin and Virginia City.  In 1902 she performed at her Alma Mater Mills College, as well as in Nevada City.   She died in 1940 at the age of 81, the pride and joy of Nevada. (excerpts taken from Nevada Magazine March-April 2020 issue by Eric Cachinero).  

  An article written in the Reno Evening Gazette 31 July, 1943 gives some insight into the other connection to Emma Nevada.  The family piano is part of the story, and I am sure the Meacham and possibly the Hurd families were in attendance at the opera house on November 26, 1885 to hear the great Emma Nevada.  The family must have been very proud of this event, as it comes up in several stories related through the years.  The article also gives us a  glimpse of what kind of art and furniture was found in Hattie Powers' home!  It is a long, flowery article, and I have condensed it a bit,  but is worth the read.  

ARTS AND ARTISTS

"A relic of historic import and many sentimental treasures which whisper of yesterdays on the Comstock lend special interest to the home of Mrs. Hattie L. Powers, 120 Stevenson Street, Reno." 

 "Strains of 'Tis the Last Rose of Summer', 'Home Sweet Home', and other loved old-time melodies stir one's mind while viewing an impressive large square Steinway piano whose solid ivory keys still gleam their whiteness.  In the early days of Nevada's history, it was shipped from New York, traveling the long distance around Cape Horn to grace the home of James G. Fair, one of the 'Big Four' on the Comstock. Later when Fair's household furnishings were being sold, it was purchased by Mr. Powers' step-father, Robert S. Meacham, pioneer lumberman of the Comstock, who began supplying lumber to the mines in the late 60's  and lived there until 1912."

  "The piano was once used on the stage of Piper's Opera House for it so happened that when Emma Nevada came to Virginia City to sing, those many years ago, there was no Steinway piano for her accompanist.  Since this famed Nevada singer would have none other than a Steinway, Meacham's piano was moved into the opera house for her performance."

 

  "In the Powers' parlor are old time paintings by Mrs. Meacham and by another member of the family, Carrie A. Hurd, sister of Mrs. Powers. There is also a flower study in watercolor by Kate Mansfield, a Comstock painter of the Gay Nineties.  We remembered reading in the Comstock's famous newspaper, 'The Territorial Enterprise', under the date of November 27, 1895, an item which read, 'Miss Kate Mansfield has opened a studio on the corner of B and Taylor streets in the Mallon building and is prepared to give lessons in all kinds of art work, also a special class in drawing for children.  All kinds of decorative work done reasonably.  Portraits in oil, watercolor and crayon.  For particulars, call at the studio.' "

  "........Attracting attention in the dining room is a very interesting oil painting by Mrs. Meacham painted under the tutelage  of Kate Mansfield..it depicts a dining table  spread with embroidered white cloth and laden with various fruits and dainty cakes."

  "In the bedroom is a sturdily constructed marble-topped dresser of the Civil War period, brought down from the Comstock, which boasts a secret drawer. A fine desk in the dining room is a Virginia City relic which has happily withstood the wear of many years."

 

  "Adorning a bedroom in the Powers' home is a large plate glass mirror whose very wide silvery frame displays the joint artistry of Kate Mansfield and Mrs. Meacham in the form of a lovely spray of chrysanthemums painted in oil, a few of whose autumn tinted blooms extend onto the mirror. It is a charming example of home decoration in the Gay Nineties."

  "In those 'oil-lamp' days, it was the mark of a lady to follow some artistic pursuit and Grandmother Meacham painted on china as well as canvas. Her many fine articles of hand-painted china attest to her marked aptitude for the work.  Whole sets of decorative china, some of which are the exquisite, fragile 'egg-shell' have been handed down to her granddaughters, Miss Alta Powers of Reno and Ina Powers Sample of Pasadena, California. Unique indeed to the present generation is a kidney-shaped set of 'bone' dishes used to receive bones from meat courses and there is a score of butter pats bearing charming decorations by this pioneer Comstock mother who sought beauty for her home in this frontier community." 

 "Mrs. Meacham devised a design which included the Meacham monogram and this was used on a set of silverware made at Schreve's in San Francisco from bullion she had sent down from the Comstock Lode."

  "Mrs. Powers possess a necklace whose pendant is a five-dollar gold piece marked on one side with Grandfather Meacham's monogram R S M."

  "Still another heirloom which has descended to one of the granddaughters is a quaint heart-shaped locket on which is pivoted a gold nugget taken from the Ophir Mine on the Comstock and it is surrounded by tiny turquoise stones and chip rubies.  A token of affection, it was presented years ago by Grandfather Meacham to Grandmother Meacham." 

  

 According to Alta Powers in her memoirs (previous post) the piano was handed down to first Alta, and then went to Ina's house in Pasadena. After Ina's death, Alta sold the piano to a "Pasadena lady whom I knew would treasure it and take care of it".  I hope she did.  

  Schreve and Company is still in business in San Francisco on Post Street.  They have been in business since 1852.  By the 1860's they had established their reputation as the finest silver and goldsmith in America, and became one of the more elite jewelry businesses in San Francisco. Their building on the corner of Post and Grant was a brand new "earthquake proof" building which opened in March of 1906, and was one of the few buildings to survive not only the earthquake, but the fire on April 18, 1906.  After the earthquake the company reopened and eventually  introduced their first line of  flatware, as well the publication of  their first series of illustrated catalogs. (shreve.com/our-story).  Grandma Meacham died in 1912, so she could have devised her design for the set of silverware from Schreve's after 1906.  

  If you have lived in or visited Reno or Sparks you may remember this Golden Rooster from John Ascuaga's Nugget.  It is solid (not hollow) 18 carat gold. Weight is 15 pounds.  Newman's Silver Shop of Reno and Schreve's of San Francisco teamed together to create this masterpiece for the Nugget Casino.  It was auctioned off in 2014, selling for $234,000.  (Reno Gazette Journal  27 July, 2014). 

What a unique connection to the treasures of Grandma Meacham!

  

The Hurd Family: Stories From the Comstock During the Turn of the Century (Hurd)

Ina and Alta Hutchinson Virginia City, Nevada Circa 1900  Shared by Mimi Swaney on Ancestry.com

  Ina and Alta Hutchinson were the daughters of  Hattie Hurd Powers and Avery Rhodes Powers.  They were both born in Virginia City, Nevada.  Ina was born in 1895 and Alta was born in 1899.  In 1900 the family lived on the east side of "C" Street with Robert Meacham and Altana Powers Meacham.  Robert Meacham was the step father to Avery, and owned the local lumber yard in town.  Avery also worked at the lumberyard as an accountant.  

                                                     Ina Powers circa 1897-8 shared by Mimi Swaney on Ancestry.com

  Ina attended the Fourth Ward School and graduated in 1912 in a class with 6 students.  She went on to graduate from the University of Nevada, Reno, and then taught at Southside School before continuing her education at the University of California, Berkeley in 1932.  She worked as a speech therapist, and as a teacher of the deaf.  She was affiliated with the John Tracy Clinic for the Hard of Hearing.  She also taught at Pasadena Junior College.  She passed away in 1948 at the age of 53.   

  

Ina Powers before 1920 shared by Mimi Swaney on Ancestry.com

  Alta Powers worked as a telegraph operator, a stenographer and a bookkeeper in Reno, Nevada.  She lived with her parents in Virginia City and then later with her aunts Annie and Edith in Reno.  She lived with her mother in Reno when her parent's  marriage ended and Avery remarried.  Later in life, she moved to California, living in Oakland and Pasadena.  She led a very busy social life, and was a member of several social and business groups.  She and her friend Lois Cloud were mentioned in many newspaper snippets during the 30's and 40's.  She loved to travel and was an amateur photographer.  She was even on a basketball team in 1932...

13 February 1932 Nevada State Journal

  Alta was also a keeper of the family stories.  I was fortunate to find her typed memoirs on Ancestry.com.  These are priceless, as they really give a feel for living on the Comstock at the turn of the century.  Pay attention to the story of the piano, as it comes up later in the story of the Hurd girls.  This is the second set of Memoirs; I cannot find the first set.  This was shared by an Ancestry member named azbombero in 2014.  

  

    

Alta Powers as a young lady shared by Mimi Swaney on Ancestry.com

Alta Powers shared by Mimi Swaney on Ancestry.com

  Alta passed away in 1999 at the age of 99, and is buried in Inglewood, California. It looks like she and her friend Lois Cloud were residents of a residential care facility in Jackson, California towards the end of their lives.   Alta was buried in the same mausoleum section as Lois at the Inglewood Park Cemetery. 

Relationship Reference:  Me->Margaret Hansen Boothby->Harold Hansen->Vere Burrows Hansen->Elizabeth Jane Hurd Burrows.  Hattie Hurd Powers was the second to youngest sister of Elizabeth Jane.  

  What's next? .....Alta was also a keeper of "the stuff".  What happened to the Hurd belongings?  And where was Harriet Hurd buried?