“Venus is the only Redd slave whose entire life is documented by Redd family historians… Venus died in Spanish Fork in 1876, a faithful member of the LDS church and without any scandal connected to her life—a faithful “mammy” figure, remembered as “Aunt Venus” by the family.” She was also a respected midwife and nurse in her community. DNA tests have proved that her son, Luke Redd, was fathered by her master, John Hardison Redd.*
From findagrave, Professional Golfer. Casper was a Hall of Famer who won two U.S. Opens and a Masters. He won 51 PGA Tour events and played on eight U.S. Ryder Cup teams. His 51 tour wins ranks seventh on the all-time list, and from 1964 through 1970 his 27 victories topped every player in the world. He totaled two more wins than Jack Nicklaus, 13 more than Arnold Palmer and 14 more than Gary Player. He was PGA Tour Player of the Year twice, 1966 and 1970, and led the tour in scoring average five times. He scored more Ryder Cup points than any American in history. Casper’s three major victories came in the 1959 U.S. Open at Winged Foot, 1966 U.S. Open at Olympic Club, and 1970 Masters. His Masters victory was forged in a playoff over fellow San Diegan Gene Littler. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1978. Casper, who received the 2010 PGA Distinguished Service Award in recognition of the work done by his charitable foundation, the Billy Casper Youth Foundation, died of a heart attack after suffering from pneumonia.
“I, EDWARD LLOYD PARRY, was born August 25, 1818, at or near the village of St. George, Denbighshire, North Wales. My parents’ names were Edward and Mary Lloyd Parry. My early childhood was passed in the village of St. George. My mother died when I was but four and one-half years old, leaving three children, two girls, Margaret and Mary, and myself. My sisters were taken care of by a nurse to whom my father paid three shillings for each child each week. He and I went to live with his parents.
My father was a well-to-do stonemason and bricklayer, as were my grandfather, and great grandfather. I attended school until I was twelve years of age when I went to work with my father at the mason trade. I received one term of school again at the age of fourteen and also attended night school at the age of twenty-four and twenty-five.
Being naturally inclined to religion, I frequently attended the Church of England, and also went to hear Ministers of other dominations preach but could not be converted to join any one of them as their teachings did not appear to me to be consistent, in harmony with the gospel as taught by the Savior and His Apostles. But instantly on hearing an Elder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints preach, I was converted to the truth and wondered why I had not understood the Gospel in that light before. I was baptized on the 9th of March 1848 by Elder Abel Evans and confirmed at the riverside.
I left Liverpool with my wife and eleven converts from the same branch on the 5th of February 1853 on the sailing ship Jersey, commanded by Captain Day and with Elder George Halliday in charge of the Saints. We were six weeks to the day coming from Liverpool to New York to New Orleans. We took a steamboat from New Orleans to Keokuk, Iowa where we arrived on the 1st of April 1853 and remained there eight weeks.
We arrived in Salt Lake City, 10th of October 1853 and settled in the 16th Ward. We moved to the 15th Ward in 1854. I paid my debt to the Perpetual Emigration Fund in less than one year after arriving in Utah. We moved to Ogden in the fall of 1855. In February 1857, I was called by Brother Heber C. Kimball to move to Salt Lake City to work on the Temple. He placed his hand upon my shoulder in his good old-fashioned way and said, “Brother Edward, I want you to pull up your stakes and come to the city to live and go to work on the Temple, will you do it?”
I said, “I will if you say so.” “Well,” said he, “Don’t I say so?”
In three weeks after, I had moved down and reported myself for work, and continued work there and on the public works while in Salt Lake City. I was present when the Treasure Box was laid in the foundation of the Temple and spread the mortar for it.
In April 1862 I was called to go to St. George in Southern Utah to settle. I had charge of the mason work of the St. George Hall, the Tabernacle, Brother Erastus Snow’s Big House, the County Court House, raised the Washington Factory one story higher, built a great many residences for private parties, among them one for President Brigham Young, and was Master Mason of the St. George Temple, the four corners of which I laid without the usual ceremonies, the Authorities not being able to be there at the time and President Young was very desirous of having the work hurried along. I also assisted President Young and others in setting the Treasure Box in the walls of the St. George Temple.
In April 1877 I was called to go to Manti to take charge of the mason and stonework of the Manti Temple, where I arrived with a part of my family in company of President Young, 24 April 1877. The rest of my family came on to Manti in October of the same year.
We were about two years leveling the hill, building the terrace walls, and getting ready to lay the cornerstones of the Temple, which were laid 14th of April 1879. The southeast corner stone contained the Treasure Box that I assisted in setting in the Temple.
In connection with my sons with whom I am present (1895) in business in the stone mason and building vocation, I took up a stone quarry near Ephraim, known as the Sanpete White Oolit Company, from which the large stone from which the Annex building of the Salt Lake Temple is built, which we provided by contract.”
Edward Lloyd Parry married Elizabeth Evans, 16 August 1848, in North Wales and Ann Parry, 19th February 1857, in Salt Lake City, Utah.
When two daughters, Hattie and Emma visited the St. George Temple in September 1911, Brother Pickett who was then the door keeper at the Temple, showed them through the temple, taking them up to the roof where he told them an incident connected with their father.
One time when the Temple was being built about the roof, he (Brother Parry) saw a bad stone being placed in the wall and said to the builder, “Take out that stone, my boy, and put in a good one.” The man said to him, “What will it matter. There will be no weight on it and it will be plastered over and no one will know it.” Where upon Brother Parry said, “My boy, three persons will know it. You will know it, I will know it, and God will know it. That is three. My boy, take it out.” This shows how particular and conscientious he was to have the work done right. He died 26th August 1906 at the age of 88 years, and was buried in Manti, Utah.
Folk Figure, Actor. A former scout, Confederate soldier, newspaper correspondent and pop figure of his day, “Texas Jack” Omohundro was a friend of William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody and James Butler “Wild Bill” Hickok. In 1872, Texas Jack and Buffalo Bill, both famous figures from dozens of dime novels, created a stage show featuring the well-known scouts as live actors. Popular dime novel writer Ned Buntline wrote the first script for “Scouts of The Prairie” in about four hours; Wild Bill Hickok later joined the show. Just a month before his 34th birthday, Texas Jack got pneumonia and died in the thriving mining town of Leadville, Colorado. “Texas Jack” was posthumously elected to the National Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City, and received the Wrangler Award in the Hall of Great Western Performers for his career as both a working cowboy and actor.
