Exploring our family legacy through travel and extended family communication gives us the opportunity dig deeper and share meaningful discoveries.
2006 - Maxine Bernheisle talks about the Trounson family history in Utah.
Mining the Hedges' Utah Legacy
Park City, Utah
June 2020
Carolyn Sellmeyer
When I was in Park City last week, I was on a mission to locate the home our great grandparents, George and Jessie Hedges built and lived in Park City. Margo a few years back told me she was so mad at Maxine for dying and not telling her the address. I told Margo I knew which house it was since dad always showed us the house when we were in PC, also reminding us that grandma May and grandpa Charles were married in that house.
Grandma May's (Hedges) Family Home
Over the years almost all of the historic houses above main street in PC have been rebuilt or remodeled to the point of not looking like the original, also trying to remember which street it was on was a challenge- I thought it was two blocks up from main which it is. I luckily found a picture I had taken of dad years ago with him standing in front of his grandparents home. Thank goodness with the house number behind him, which is the same as today but updated.
From there I decided to find the house and found it right off even though I did not know the street name. The house still looks the same from the front even though there has been major remodeling to the porch and garage and inside through the years. We stopped the car across from the house on the narrow street and I was getting ready to take some pictures and this lady just happened to walk out on her patio. I went over to the house and told her my great grandparents had lived there. She was so nice and came down the steps to meet me and I showed her the picture I had of dad and she agreed it was her house. She asked me if I wanted to go inside and see it- so with a mask on I went in and saw this magnificent home. It is a big house with all the living areas inside and off the back. It actually has a small yard in back with the original coal shed. There are very few pioneer homes in PC which had any backyard since they are built on the mountain side. I am still amazed Debbie the owner just happened to walk out the front just when I got there. Debbie said the house was built in 1886 - so George and Jessie did build the house. - where grandma May grew up. May had a brother Horace who is Margo and Maxine's dad.
Whenever you get to Park City you can go see the home and visit the historic pioneer cemetery.
Address of the Hedge's home: 633 Woodside Ave.
George Hedges was head engineer for the Silver King mine (there were a few mines on the mt. so not sure which one) and Jessie was a principal of the high school and a teacher. (I think dad told me she was superintendent of schools too- just not sure if that was in PC or Ogden) It is pretty amazing they both were college educated at the turn of the 19th century.
For your information the house is valued at over 2 million now. Bill said our great grandparents sold it too soon!!! I am so happy Margo does not have to be mad at Maxine any longer!
Cemetery
For that morning Bill and I were at the Glenwood Cemetery ( which is the pioneer's cemetery from the silver mining days). Three of the Hedge's children died from pneumonia and tuberculosis, which must have been devastating for our great grandparents but also grandma May since she was older, being born in 1888. ( Wallace was 6, Gladys 11, Edith 9 yrs old) Every time I am in Park City I go to the cemetery and clean the grave - highlight their names in black marker(which dad always did) and put flowers on graves. Dad always said what beautiful children they were, from pictures grandma May had.
The Glenwood cemetery: It is hard to find the Hedge's children's graves unless you know where to look. There is only one entrance into the cemetery, go straight back and you will see a wooden shed- which actually has a book listing everyone buried in the cemetery and info about that person. The children's graves are to the left, back behind where Bill is standing, towards the center. I also sent another picture from a different time visiting Park City, easier to see the grave stones in the area of the Hedges.
