September 7-8, 2018 - Yorkshire and Preston

After visiting the Edinburgh Castle, we drove to Leeds where we spent the night.  The following day, we drove to several Yorkshire locations to search out sites of significance to the Burkinshaw Family.  Here's what we found:

The surname Burkinshaw is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and is a locational name deriving from the place called 'Birkenshaw' near Wakefield in West Yorkshire. The placename is recorded in 1274 as 'Birkenschawe', and means 'the birch grove', derived from the Old English pre-7th Century 'bircen', an adjective formed from 'birce', birch (tree), with 'sceaga', copse, shaw, or grove. There are a number of modern surnames derived from this placename including Birkenshaw, Burkinshaw, Burtonshaw, Burtenshaw and Birtenshaw.  There are also some where the 'r' is transposed, giving the vernacular (Yorkshire) pronunciation and therefore spelling of the name; Brokenshire, Brockenshaw, Brokenshaw, Bruckshaw, and Brigginshaw. (Surname Database)

Here is a pedigree chart showing the Burkinshaw line in yellow to provide a reference for the ancestors mentioned below.

Nine generations of the Burkinshaw Family line.

About 5 miles southwest of Leeds in the village of Birkenshaw (one of the variations of our surname Burkinshaw).  Elder and Sister Burkinshaw, Aunt Robyn, Aunt Wendy and Uncle Mark in front of the Birkenshaw Park.

Elder Burkinshaw in front of Birkenshaw Community Hall.

Saint Peter's Church in Tankersley, Barnsley in Yorkshire.  This was the church of Elder Burkinshaw's 3rd great-grandfather Francis Burkinshaw.

A side view of Saint Peter's Church, Tankersley, Barnsley.

Elder Burkinshaw with the grave monument for his 3rd great-grandparents Francis and Elizabeth Burkinshaw.

The grave monument for Francis and Elizabeth Burkinshaw located at Saint Peter's Church in Tankersley, Barnsley.  GPS Coordinates: 53° 29’ 30.5” North, 1° 28’ 25.8” West

Close-up of the Francis and Elizabeth Burkinshaw grave monument.  Their son, Joseph Williams Burkinshaw married Avarilda Williams and Avarilda was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on May 6, 1886.  Although Joseph did not join, he did agree to emigrate to Utah in July 1887 with his wife and two sons Horace Williams Burkinshaw (Elder Burkinshaw's great-grandfather) and Albert Wlliams Burkinshaw) who were also members of the Church.  They lived in Sandy, Utah.

Grave marker for Job Burkinshaw, younger brother of Joseph Williams Burkinshaw, and Job's wife Frances and their daughter Frances Elizabeth.  Job was the organist for over 50 years at Saint Peters Church.

This is the stained-glass window at Saint Peter's Church which honors Job Burkinshaw as their organist for many years.  The window symbolizes a hymn about the Lamb of God.  "Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us."
(derived from John 1:29)

Saint Leonard's Church in Wortley, which is not far from Saint Peters Church in Tankersley and another location of significance to the Burkinshaw Family.

Grave marker for Joseph and Hannah Burkinshaw, Elder Burkinshaw's 5th great-grandparents.

We believe this is the grave marker for Joseph and Hannah Burkinshaw, Elder Burkinshaw's 5th great-grandparents.  However, the marker is weathered and difficult to read and we are still searching for corroborating documents.  The GPS Coordinates for this marker are: 53° 29’ 24.7” North, 1°32’ 19.1” West

Elder and Sister Burkinshaw at the Preston England Temple.

A side-view of the Preston Temple.

This is 15 Wadham Road which has become notable as the first flat (apartment) that President Gordon B. Hinckley lived in as a young missionary.  Our tour guide shared with us a second chapter about the impact on the life of President Hinckley in his old age.

Elder Burkinshaw shared the following thought in one of our preparation meetings about 15 Wadham Road.

“One More Day”

London Temple Preparation Meeting Thought, Tuesday, October 2, 2018

   In his talk “One More Day”, Elder Taylor G. Godoy cites D&C 64:23: “Behold, now it is called today until the coming of the Son of Man, and verily it is a day of sacrifice…” and the fourth verse of the hymn Praise to the Man: “Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of Heaven.”  He then asks the question “In what ways will sacrifice make our days meaningful and blessed?” (Taylor G. Godoy, “One More Day,” GC April 2018)
   A few weeks ago, we visited Preston, our first stop was 15 Wadham Road where President Gordon B Hinckley’s first served as a young missionary.  Arriving Preston in June 1933 “he suffered terribly from allergies and the minute he stepped off the train his eyes began to water and burn.  He found the climate for missionary work rather hostile … and standing on a soapbox, singing a hymn or trying to give a message was way beyond his comfort zone. Not long after he committed to go [on a mission], the bank where he had deposited his savings failed and he lost it all [which made] financing daunting but his father assured him they would find a way.”
   “Day after day, he felt himself begin to wear down. Discouragement took hold and he thought of the financial sacrifices that were being made in his behalf by his family at home.   He began to wonder why he was there. One day, in the darkness of this personal abyss, he penned a letter home to his father stating that he was not getting anywhere and he felt he was wasting his time and their money. Perhaps he should come home.  In return he received a letter from his father simply stating, ‘Dear Gordon, I have your recent letter. I have only one suggestion: forget yourself and go to work!’”
   “He took the letter in hand and went to the small bedroom on the 2nd floor of that small house at 15 Wadham Road. He got on his knees and poured out his heart to the Lord, promising Him that he would try to forget himself and go to work. He later stated, “That July day in 1933 was my day of decision. A new light came into my life and a new joy into my heart. The fog of England seemed to lift and I saw the sunlight. Everything good that has happened to me since then I can trace back to the decision I made that day in Preston.” (Kathleen H Walker, Meridian Magazine, 21 Feb 2017)
   I am sure we have all heard this story but there is another chapter Brother Peter Fagg shared with us.  At the close of April 2004 conference, President Hinckley said the following:
“Now, my brothers and sisters, I reluctantly desire a personal indulgence for a moment. Some of you have noticed the absence of Sister Hinckley. For the first time in 46 years, since I became a General Authority, she has not attended general conference. Earlier this year we were in Africa to dedicate the Accra Ghana Temple. …We were on our way home when she collapsed with weariness. She’s had a difficult time ever since. She’s now 92, a little younger than I am. I guess the clock is winding down, and we do not know how to rewind it.
   "It is a somber time for me. We’ve been married for 67 years this month. She is the mother of our five gifted and able children, the grandmother of 25 grandchildren and a growing number of great-grandchildren. We’ve walked together side by side through all of these years, coequals and companions through storm and sunshine. … We continue to hope and pray for her and express from the depths of our hearts our appreciation for all who have attended her and looked after her and for your great faith and prayers in her behalf.” (Gordon B Hinckley, “Concluding Remarks” GC April 2004)
   Sister Hinckley died the following Tuesday, April 6 2004.  The loss of a beloved spouse was devastating as some of you here may know from personal experience.  President Hinckley said, “Six months ago, at the close of our conference, I stated that my beloved companion of 67 years was seriously ill. She passed away two days later. … My children and I were at her bedside as she slipped peacefully into eternity. As I held her hand and saw mortal life drain from her fingers, I confess I was overcome.  Before I married her, she had been the girl of my dreams, to use the words of a song then popular. She was my dear companion for more than two-thirds of a century, my equal before the Lord, really my superior. And now in my old age, she has again become the girl of my dreams.” (Gordon B. Hinckley, “The Women in Our Lives,” GC October 2004).  
   In the Church News, “John Robey, a counselor in the Preston England Stake presidency describes President Hinckley's last visit to Preston, in May 2004.
   “The day after dedicating the Copenhagen Denmark Temple (23 May 2004), President Hinckley landed at Manchester Airport, was greeted by the area presidency, "and having shed a few tears, tapped the floor with his walking stick and announced, 'There is no better place in the world than right here!’ …  The following day he asked if he could visit Preston in the morning. As we travelled around Preston he reflected on the people he knew whilst serving his mission, such as Gertrude Corless who had died a couple of years earlier. Having lost his wife just weeks before … he stated, 'I am the last leaf on the tree, and the wind is blowing hard!'
   “At 15 Wadham Road, where he had spent his nights whilst serving his mission 71 years earlier, he stopped for a photograph outside. It was here that then-disillusioned Elder Hinckley had written a letter to his father. [His father’s] reply helped him decide to lose himself in the Lord's service.” (Church News, “Preston was First Area for Elder Hinckley, 31 Jan 2008)
   What the reporter did not describe was the private prayer offered there by a weary prophet, desperately lonely after laying to rest his beloved wife and facing challenge of surmounting his discouragement at this same crucial location.  In a deeply personal way the Lord responded, and the light again came into his life. President Hinckley had often said “Get on your knees and pray, then get on your feet and work.”  And that is just what he did!  He forged ahead, sacrificed unwearyingly to bring forth the cause of Zion and for another 3½ years he “…fought a good fight, …[he] finished [his course], and… kept the faith.” (2 Tim 4:7)
   “In what ways will sacrifice make our days meaningful and blessed?”

   “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.  For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.” (Matt 16:24-25)  In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

This was the home in Preston at 3 Fox Street (corner with Wilfrid Street), near the Preston Market Place, where Heber C. Kimball and Orson Hyde stayed during their first mission to England in 1837.  It was here that they had a vision of the forces of evil that opposed them (see Heber C. Kimball and Orson Hyde’s 1837 Vision of the Infernal World)

Preston Market Place with the Obelisk in the center.  This is where the first missionaries to England first taught the Restored Gospel.  This is also where President Hinckley, as a young missionary, participated in street meetings.

Avenham Park, through which the River Ribble runs (beyond the trees) and where the first missionaries held baptisms.

This was a decorative tree planted in Avenham Park in honor of the over 100,000 English converts to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who emigrated to the America. Brother Peter Fag was our tour guide and is the one on the left, he was wonderful!!

Plaque in front of the tree honoring English converts who emigrated.

Plaque in Avenham Park which honors the first latter-day saints in Great Britain.

The Missionary Oak plaque place in front of the missionary oak tree in Avenham Park which honors the more than 20,000 missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that served in the British Isles.

Sister Burkinshaw and Aunt Wendy in front of the Missionary Oak in Avenham Park.

A plaque in the Japanese Garden in Preston's Avenham Park which states "This area has also become important to members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly known as Mormons.  Mormons are a branch of the Christian Church which began around 1820.  The first British and European baptisms took place in the River Ribble on 30th July 1837 and Preston remains the home of the oldest continuous branch of the Church anywhere in the world." 

The Japanese Garden in Avenham Park, Preston.

Sister Burkinshaw in front of the River Ribble in Avenham Park where the first baptisms in England took place in 1837.  As a reminder of where we were, it rained continuously! ;-)

It is believed that the first baptism took place in this cove along the River Ribble in Avenham Park, Preston, England.

It was a great blessing to visit the Preston area and learn about the history of the Church.  How significant were the first missions to England for the Church?  Elder Jeffrey R Holland said, "I think it’s almost impossible to overstate the significance of that first mission,” Elder Holland said. “You could say those British immigrants of the 1840s and 1850s … and later the Scandinavian Saints who joined them … probably saved the Church numerically.”  (180 Years in England)

Although we did not expect to be called to serve in England, it has been a great blessing to us, providing a view of our ancestors we could not have had in any other way.  How grateful we are to those who came before us.  We stand on the shoulders of giants.

Elder and Sister Burkinshaw