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Taggart Family Newsletter
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| CHANGES IN FAMILY ORGANIZATION | At the most recent Taggart Reunion, held in
Logan, Utah in August 1996, Spencer L. Taggart
(James-Clarissa) and others of his generation voiced the
hope that those of us who follow would continue with our
family organization. Subsequently, Steven Laird Taggart
(Ted-Henry Milton-Clarissa) began experiencing strong
promptings that he should offer his help in whatever
capacity that might be. Finally realizing resistance was
futile, he called Spencer. Steve received the peace he
longed for, but immediately became Coordinator of the
George Washington Taggart Family Organization! The October 1982 Newsletter reported that Lloyd W. Taggart (Lloyd-George Henry-Fanny) succeeded Hal S. Taggart (Grant-George Henry-Fanny) as Treasurer and Family Membership Chairman. We wish to express our appreciation to Lloyd for his many years of service. Despite the fact that Lloyd is fighting leukemia, he came to our last reunion. (Please see article on Lloyd in Newsletter, Vol.VIII, No.l, pp.12-14.) Lloyd has asked Hal's son, Chris Taggart (Hal-Grant-George Henry-Fanny), to be our Family Membership Chairman and Treasurer. Spencer L. Taggart began this newsletter and has served as its editor for the past seventeen years. This July he will be 86 and is now going to take over the role of "Advisor." Rather by default, Eileen Taggart Robinson (she's Spencer's daughter) has been asked to edit the newsletter. More than 150 years ago on January 30, 1844, Hyrum Smith (the prophet Joseph's brother) told George Washington Taggart in a Patriarchal Blessing: "You shall be blessed in lineage of your posterity, and your name shall be commemorated unto the latest generation . . . " (see Newsletter, Vol.1, No.1, p.5). Those of us who have recently agreed to help keep our family organization going, feel a sacred responsibility to keep this wonderful promise alive. We sincerely hope each of you knows you are important to our family and we seek your help and any suggestions, submissions to the newsletter, etc. you might offer. Could we suggest every family member be a Taggart Newsletter Reporter. Please let us know what your families are doing. |
| FAMILY FUND | We wish to express our sincere appreciation for
the financial support you give to us. Your contributions
help sustain our newsletter, reunions, genealogical
research and other family projects and activities. Please
send contributions to: Chris Taggart Box 2936 Cody,Wyoming 82414 Following is a list of recent contributors: Colleen Bliss, LuJean Marsh, Rhea Goodrich, Beth White, Charlotte Taggart, Jay Dee & Adelle Karren, Vern & Jane Bush, Paul & Juanita Taggart, Rick McConkie, Clarissa Beutler, Jane M. Poll, LaVella T. Burt, Dyan M. Welch, Athlene M. Allred, Delwin & Kathryn Pond, Elaine Branch, David & Sheila Lewis, Dorothy M. Bird, Edis Taggart, Valeria Crapo, Mac Taggart, Harriet Brytus, Sydney Heiner, Gayle Taggart, Dan Taggart, Shirley Wright, Linda T. Montrose, Jay B. Taggart, Dick Taggart, Spencer & Ila Taggart, Tricia Nelson, Lloyd W. Taggart, Steven L. & Judy Taggart, Jani Ashment, Jeff & Eileen Robinson. |
| THE 27TH GEORGE WASHINGTON TAGGART FAMILY
REUNION Held Saturday and Sunday, August 24-25, 1996 Glen L. Taggart Student Center, Utah State University, Logan, Utah |
Lloyd M. (Tag) Taggart (Lloyd W.-Lloyd-George
Henry-Fanny) conducted our Saturday afternoon program.
Harriet Byrtus (Lloyd-George Henry-Fanny) directed the
music and Jenny Humble (Eileen-Spencer-James-Clarissa)
accompanied on the piano. We enjoyed two excellent talks
given by Jay B. Taggart (C. Jay-James-George Henry-Fanny)
and Marilyn Taggart Giles (John-Charles Wallace
Jr.-Charles Wallace-Fanny). The text of their talks
follows this summary of the reunion. Kori Taggart, who is
married to Timothy Taggart (Steven Laird-Ted-Henry
Milton-Clarissa), sang two beautiful songs. Rulon
(Cleone-Rebecca-George Henry-Fanny) and June Crosby
treated us to a toe tapping medley of fiddle and guitar
music. The closing prayer was given by Gigi Taggart
(Mac-Lloyd-George Henry-Fanny). Saturday evening there was a dance with a six piece band and Joann McKena at the piano. Richard Boyce (Norean-Alice-Clarissa) was in charge. The Sunday Sacrament and Testimony Meeting was conducted by Sydney Heiner (Horace-Jane-Clarissa). Harriet Byrtus again served as chorister and Jenny Humble as pianist. The opening prayer was offered by Mac Taggart (Lloyd-George Henry-Fanny) and the sacrament was passed under the direction of F. Edis Taggart (Frederick-Clarissa). Sheila Taggart Lewis (Spencer-James-Clarissa), her husband, David, and their sons, Ryan and Chris, sang "Lord, I Would Follow Thee." A talk was given by Tippy Taggart (Tag-Lloyd W.-Lloyd-George Henry-Fanny), who had recently returned from a mission to Georgia, and then Sydney Heiner opened the meeting for testimony bearing. Leon Hardcastle (married to Alice Boyce-Norean-Alice-Clarissa) offered the benediction. |
| WHAT'S IN A NAME Address
given by Jay B. Taggart (C. Jay-James-George Henry-Fanny) |
I would like to talk about our name
"Taggart" and what it means to me. Taggart, as
you probably all know, in Gaelic means - son of a priest
- even though marriage of priests was technically illegal
after the 12th century. Our motto is Dum Spira, Spera -
which means, "While I breathe, I hope." A number of years ago, I remember running for a minor office and having a friend say, "Oh, you will win because of your name." "Why is that?" I asked. "Because it has such a good sound and a great ring to it. It is a winning name," he said. I won the office. I have a niece, Kristy Taggart Bush, who hated to give up her last name when she got married and really felt her husband should take the Taggart name. She didn't think it was fair when her brother got married and her new sister-in-law got to change her name to Taggart. I love her for her Taggart feelings. I remember when my eldest daughter came to U.S.U. and we hadn't made previous arrangements for housing. Glen (James-Clarissa) was then president of the University. They said all housing was gone, but they would take my name. When I gave it, they said, "Are you related to President Taggart?" Seeing a good thing and full of the usual Taggart B.S. I said, "Yes. He's my father." They quickly found a room for Nancy. That Taggart name will take you far. What's in this name? Let's look at it. The first part of Taggart is Tag. How many Tags have we in this room? I was called Tag all through high school and through my time in the service because I didn't want to be called Little Jay. It wasn't until I was older that respectability brought me the name Jay. I still miss the name Tag. One of the meanings of "Tag" in the dictionary is "to follow closely." As I look at our family from George Washington Taggart to the present, I see a family that has followed closely Christ's invitation to "Come Follow Me." When I read George Washington's letters to his wife Fanny, it makes me want to do more to follow in the footsteps of the Savior. Let me read one of his letters to Fanny from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas while in the Mormon Battalion: " . . . I feel concerned for fear I have left you to suffer, but I feel at the same time as though I was justified in the course I have taken inasmuch as I have forsaken all things as it were for the time being in accordance with the Council of the Church to fulfill the mission that I have now undertaken. One thing I am confident of and in that I shall be comforted on my journey . . . and that is that your faith and patience is such that you will not murmur or complain at any hardship that you may have to undergo by reason of any sacrifice that I have or may make for the salvation and the rolling on of the Kingdom of God. I feel Fanny as though I have made as great a sacrifice as I could well make, in that I have forsaken for the time being my possessions, my family and at the risk of my life start for Mexico as a United States soldier with 500 of my brethren in order to show that the blood of my grandfathers who fought and bled in the Revolutionary War and that the spirit of liberty and freedom still courses in the veins of some of their posterity that are called Mormons. I go forward in this expedition with full faith my life will be preserved and that I shall again have a joyful meeting with you and Eliza Ann and enjoy a long, happy life here upon the earth. Continue, therefore, in the path of virtue, beware of flattery and deceit and my prayers shall be unto the Lord in your behalf that you may be blessed with health and the spirit of the Lord and with food and raiment." Talk about a great follower of Jesus. George Washington and his wives Fanny and Clarissa are buried in the South Morgan Cemetery. I now live in Morgan and I go up often and sit with my great-great grandfather in that beautiful spot and talk to him. I ask him questions and ponder what he would answer. I asked him about our name and I think he said, "Well, Tag is a label. What kind of a label do you want to have?" The one I wanted was: honest, hard working, faithful to God's work, sense of humor, musician, craftsman, when I do it, it's done more than right, not afraid to speak for right, loves our language and learning, good husband and father. I believe if he were here he would say, "You as Taggarts, carry my Tag, or label, and I expect you to live up to it . . ." The last part of our name is Art. Not Ert. I have an Ert file on the wall in my garage. Awards and certificates that I have been given that are misspelled with ERT instead of ART. I once received a national award from the Kennedy Center for the Arts. When the Vice President's wife, Mrs. Mondale, handed it to me I looked down at the inscription and my name was spelled ERT. On TV and everything I couldn't help it, I really made a face. It's in the garage with the other ERTS. They even did it to George Washington in San Diego in the Mormon Battalion Visitors Center. It took us 10 years to get it changed. We are not Erts. We are Arts. The word art in our name shows our other side - our feeling side. We love to sing. A gathering of Taggarts is a choir in the making. I sing in the shower almost every morning. My father had a beautiful voice and when in the hospital sang to the nurses. I think he knew every hymn in the hymn book by heart. My grandfather Jim was known as Singing Jim. He played the guitar and banjo and played the clarinet in the Morgan Dance Band. Great grandfather George Henry made musical instruments and played them. George Washington played in the Nauvoo Band and wrote beautiful poetry. When I asked him what his favorite tune was, the answer I got was, "Think about it." And I've decided it was, "The Spirit of God Like a Fire is Burning." We have all kinds of artists in the family in colleges and public schools: paintings and sculptures in colleges and universities, in temples and churches - painted or commissioned by Taggarts. I love my collection of teacher art. We let love flow through art. Because we have been on missions all over the world we have a world wide appreciation for art and for languages. I speak French. I have sons who speak Spanish, Italian and one with a Scottish brogue. We love the fine arts because we have as Taggarts that extra level of feeling. We are a family of teachers both in our homes, in our church and professionally. This ART or feeling side lets us show our love for others, our family and our religion. We have really been blessed with great talent in our family. Let me sum it up quickly: T-A-G-G-A-R-T. Give me a T. T is for Thought, Thinking and Thoughtfulness and for "Temps pis," which in French means, "It isn't so bad, it will all work out." Give me an A. A is for Art which gives life. That which is beautiful: music, painting, sculpture, writing, language, conversation and even a little T.B.S. Give me a G. G is for Grand experiences we have as Taggarts and for Good as Gold. Which is what we are. Give me another A. A is for Audacious. Which means bold, daring, original, inventive, lively, unrestrained, forward and dauntless. Give me an R. R is for right and righteous and for the three R's. And for redundancy: Two T's, two A's, two G's, and that R to remind us it's worth repeating. Give me a T. T is for Teaching and Teachable, for our Tears of Trial, for Talent and for T.N.T. which is dynamite. Which as a family we are. Dum Spira Spera - While I breathe, I hope |
| ON POSSESSION OF BOOKS Address
given by Marilyn Taggart Giles (John-Charles Wallace
Jr.-Charles Wallace-Fanny) |
"A good book is the precious lifeblood of a
master spirit, embalmed and treasured up on purpose to a
life beyond life." John Milton I have a peculiar childhood memory that I return to again and again for comfort like a thumb or a friendly blanket. This memory is a vivid recollection in an otherwise dim part of my childhood, and I make regular mental pilgrimages to one particular scene. In it I am three or four, newly bathed, still sticky wet, engulfed only in a towel and I run down a hardwood floor hall to the living room. I reach for a music box, wind it, and to the tune of the Blue Danube, I laboriously haul a massive twenty pound book onto my lap as I clamber into an oversized armchair. I open this encyclopedic wonder, leaf past the entries on countries, burn treatments and hog husbandry to a small well-worn and loved section devoted to children and there I stop. I can even now visualize Peter Rabbit buttonless and one particular story about a wishing locket. That book didn't survive the repeated family exodi. However when I came of age, I once again realized the sweet intrinsic value of a book in my lap. I recall the exact time, location, and even attendant weather of the moment when a light switch of pure glee turned on and I could read. From then on I haunted libraries. In fact, when I return in my memory to the numerous small towns I inhabited during my youth, my memories of the libraries are still perfectly intact. I braved any and all kinds of inclement weather to feast at the library. And feast I did. I also hid under stairwells and in backseats of parked cars, I hunched in tiny dark spidery holes in a garage to escape with a book and to avoid interruptions. This joy of being able to read was only surpassed by the addition of books to my own possessions. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is forever kindred because he said, "It is a Great Thing to start Life with a small number of Really Good books which are Your Very Own." I became a full-fledged biblioholic. Not only did I collect and read voraciously, but I arranged my library almost daily, did some crude cataloging and even placed a few would-be check out slips in my books. Someone once tampered with my library. In the vain attempt to de-chaos my possessions, my mother rather innocuously boxed my books up and removed them to the cellar. I was not charmed. A children's literature expert of sorts later explained to my mother that these books were friends and one certainly did not box friends and banish them to the basement! My library has grown and evolved over the years. Sir Francis Bacon revealed, "Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested." My collection is anything but static. Some books have been nibbled, passed on, and somewhat forgotten. My "swallow" books are pulled off the shelf and repeatedly handled. Like an old friend I can pick up some of my books and drop back in time. We reminisce together. Some of my books I read annually. These are the vital life-sustaining books that are the heart and circulatory system of my library. In Spring I read Steinbeck's Travels with Charley. Summer is time for Ray Bradbury and Dandelion Wine. I annually read Betty McDonald's The Egg and I for pure delight and charm of style. My book friends purge me of all that is foreign to my soul and return me to my true self. I languish in the rhythm of old friends and familiar dialogue. To paraphrase John Milton, my books contain a potency of life as active as that soul was whose progeny they are, nay they do preserve as in a vial the purest efficacy and extraction of that living intellect that bred them. A large collection of books has been cumbersome to my gypsy lifestyle. My home base collection consequently has, of necessity, spent time in garages. In my satellite locations, however, I have lovingly boxed booksale treasures and yard sale jewels to be sent back to the "mother ship." I have also stubbornly moved my entire library to Indiana and home again and to Texas and home again and to New Jersey and home again. I have shelved it temporarily in pine crates and, of course, the traditional cinder block shrine. In Texas a New England-bound midwife sold me a whole section from a disbanded food co-op market for $20! All my books in one glorious eight foot shelf stretched across a complete wall! I have never been so poor that I had no money to buy a book. Henry Ward Beecher said, "Where is human nature so weak as in the bookstore?" I am weak indeed but never more in my element than when I'm dusting off ratty old volumes and excusing myself as I brush past other bibliophiles in crowded used bookstores. Something about an old bookstore with a little bell that rings above as you enter, diminutive English women clerks in sweaters, and blind golden retrievers raised from puppyhood among Balzac and Seneca feeds a very vital part of me. Bagels with cream cheese and a day long leisurely tour of Greenwich Village bookstores is all I require of New York for a perfect day. Leave me alone in the 900's as you wander through psychology in the 100's and we can be eternal soul mates. Give me a gift of a book and I am at your mercy. Make a personal entry in it and we are bound. Truly Shakespeare said that his library was dukedom large enough. Charles Lamb admitted to a pure love of losing himself in other people's minds through a book. Jonathan Swift dubbed books the children of the brain and John Wilson candidly admitted that he yearned for a book and a shady nook. Emily Dickinson sang of books as frigates and described pages as coursers that traverse and bear the human soul by chariot. I too have been kindly "victimized" by books that had their way with me. I have succumbed and given myself over to the spell of many books and lost days, weeks, and months to them. Admittedly I have even spent food money on books. I do then agree most assuredly with Shakespeare that my library is dukedom enough for me. Perhaps someday the patron saint of libraries will smile my way. Then maybe I can house my collection in a warm maple set of cases. Possibly my books will be covered by a sliding glass door that is rimmed in matching wood. Perhaps at the side of my library will be an overstuffed hassock for my feet. Overhead I would hope that there would be a friendly light and to my side perchance a small table on which a cup of lemon verbena tea could rest. I might wind a music box. My remarks today would certainly carry more clout if I were a CEO or even a homeless bag lady. But because I am an English teacher one would "guess" that my remarks would be book-ish. But actually my leanings were book-ish long before I ended up in education. I, like Einstein, "have no particular talents but am merely inquisitive." Books have fostered, placated, fed and piqued that inquisitiveness. Elouise Bell concurred when she said, "I say no culture will make much headway in philosophy, art or human advancement generally until a critical mass of its people learn to lie in hammocks for long stretches of time, reading and reflecting with every bit as much sense of pride in right-doing as those who are busy with carpentry, canning, or computing." I am most happy to contribute to the advancement of society by reading from a hammock. Please allow me to make that sacrifice. Throughout my sojourn I have been delighted to find bits of my soul hitchhiking about in books. My delicious quest has been to seek out these soul puzzle pieces and lock them firmly in place. Because I took the admonition of President Dallin Oaks at BYU to always "have a book going," I met James Herriot and his animal kingdom in the BYU Bookstore during finals week as a freshman. A nonchalant clerk said I might "like" it. I continue to "infect" people with Herriot. I have discovered soul books as I peer voyeuristically over shoulders on a bus and into backpacks and briefcases of strangers, question friends, read reviews, browse stores, wander through private libraries wherever I go, haunt book sales, generally as I nosey my way through life. I have been guided in this search. Of this I am sure. On one occasion, a spontaneous trip to the Deseret Industries yielded an out-of-print book about rustic life in Maine that I had been on the prowl for for about 3 years. I, like Thoreau, have dated a new era in my life from the reading of a book. I hope that my judgment day will consist not only of kind bishops, stake presidents etc. but also librarians of the 11 libraries I have made home. Libraries are still the best bargain of modern culture. In the words of John Holt: "It (a library) does not say we must use it, or that bad things will happen to us if we don't, or wonderful things if we do. It is simply there, for us to use if, when, and how we want. If we want to use it, it does not test us at the door to see if we are smart enough, or claim it is better than other libraries because only the smartest are let in. It does not tell us what to do once we are in. It does not test, grade, rank, or keep files on us." Libraries are great equalizers. I brought the Big Boys to back me up today. From Hugh Nibley's life-changing essay, "Educating the Saints," I quote his quotes from Brigham Young: "The treasures of the earth are merely to provide us with rooms and board while we are here at school, being 'made for the comfort of the creature, not for his adoration.' They are made to sustain and preserve the body while procuring the knowledge and wisdom that pertain to God and his kingdom, in order that we may preserve ourselves, and live forever in his presence." and "The Holy Ghost, the ultimate teacher, has no other effect than pure intelligence. It is more powerful in expanding the mind, enlightening the understanding, and storing the intellect with present knowledge . . . it is . . . the pure light of intelligence." and "What are we here for? To learn to enjoy more, and to increase in knowledge and experience. Learning in our proper calling: We shall never cease to learn, unless we apostatize . . . Can you understand that? God has given us mental and physical powers to be improved . . ." and along with them "our senses, if properly educated, are channels of endless felicity to us . . ." All systems are "Go" for expanding mind: Let us not narrow ourselves up; for the world, with all its variety of useful information and its rich hoard of hidden treasure, is before us; and eternity, with all its sparkling intelligence, lofty aspirations, and unspeakable glories, is before us. The news is all good--forever. First and last, the gospel is learning unlimited." and "After suitable rest and relaxation there is not a day, hour or minute that we should spend in idleness, but every minute of every day of our lives we should strive to improve our minds and to increase our faith in the holy Gospel." and from a letter to Parley P. Pratt describing the new territory-- "Here we can cultivate the mind, renew the spirit, invigorate the body, cheer the heart and ennoble the soul of man. Here we can cultivate every science and art calculated to enlarge the mind, accommodate the body, or polish and adorn our race; and here we can receive and extend that pure intelligence which is unmingled with the jargon of mystic Babylon." and by way of chastisement-- "All who do not want to sustain a co-operation and fall into the ranks of improvement, and endeavor to improve themselves by every good book are invited to leave the community. The Greatest and most important labour we have to perform is to cultivate ourselves." and "Learn everything that the children of men know. Every true principle, every true science, every art, and the knowledge that men possess, or that they ever did or ever will possess, is from God. We should take pains and pride to rear our children so that the learning and education of the world may be theirs. Every accomplishment, every grace, every useful attainment in mathematics . . . in all science and art belongs to the Saints, and they should avail themselves as expeditiously as possible of the wealth of knowledge the sciences offer to the diligent and persevering scholar." In this particular essay Brother Nibley in his unique way chides us. I wish I had time to highlight his other you-won't-sleep-as-well-after essay, "Work We Must But the Lunch is Free." Get them and read them. They are guaranteed to make us squirm. Finally I quote from Isaiah who must know us, sympathize with us, and appreciate our distractions because he saw them so clearly: "Wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times." May I close with a tribute to those living and dead who have written and write to me now. I have awe for the written word. In no particular order, Thank you Nephi, Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, Robert Fulghum, Neal Maxwell, E. B. White, Sir Francis Bacon, Shakespeare, Lowell Bennion, Moroni, Anne Tyler, Spencer W. Kimball, M. Scott Peck, Ayn Rand, Eugene England, Madeleine L'Engle, King Benjamin, Bailey White, Bruce R. McConkie, John Holt, Bruce Hafen, LeGrand Richards, Stephen Robinson, Paul, Hugh Nibley, Anne Frank, Ray Bradbury, Wordsworth, Dave Barry, Moses, Stephen Covey, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, Mormon, Willa Cather, Ralph Waldo Emerson, John Steinbeck, Annie Dillard, B. H. Roberts, Cleon Skousen, James Michener, C. S. Lewis, John McPhee, Richard Bach, Chaim Potok, and Alma and others. You saw it clearly and wrote well. May we come wisely and humbly to the end of our time here full of zest for the next sphere, anxious to move on having sucked all the marrow from the bones of this life and pray to our Father as a 7-year-old girl did at the end of a family day, "Thanks so much! We've had a good ol' time! |
| OUR PIONEER LEGACY Written by Spencer Laird Taggart (James-Clarissa) on July 24, 1980 and reprinted in honor of the sesquicentennial of the arrival of the pioneers in the Salt Lake Valley |
I II III IV V VI |
| MAC TAGGART AWARDED DISTINGUISHED CITIZEN
AWARD
|
Congratulations to Jesse "Mac" Taggart
(Lloyd-George Henry-Fanny) for receiving the
Distinguished Citizen Award from the Wyoming Council of
the Boy Scouts of America. A scouter for more than 30
years, Mac has received the highest scouting awards
including the Order of the Arrow, Silver Antelope Award
and the Silver Beaver Award. He serves on national
advisory committees and on the Wyoming state council as
well as on the local scouting level. Mac has been
described as "fearless, curious, adventurous,
precocious, creative, daring, clever, irascible and
fun." He has oft been quoted as saying, "Never
get so old you forget what it was like to be a kid."
His kindness and service have touched the lives of many. Tributes from some of his friends: "You could always depend on Mac to give of his time, his resources, and his great leadership abilities . . . He enjoyed being with boys. He knew and cared about each of us as individuals. He always asked about us and kept track of us even after we left Cody for missions and college and jobs far away." Bruce Hawkins "I have worked with Scouting activities all my adult life and once in awhile I meet a rare Scout worker who is excellent enough to remind me of Mac. They are always in the background but you can count on them to get the work done quietly, promptly and efficiently. They are not there for attention or glory, but they are dependably there when you desperately need them to donate transportation, or find a place to camp, or manage the logistics of an activity. They are on hand to make the impossible possible. I remember when I was scared about preparing for my review with the board concerning my Eagle Scout award. (Mac) took time to help me. He advised me on how to answer the questions, and he went with me to the interview, and then he rejoiced (with tears) at my success. Mac doesn't like the limelight on himself but he likes to put it on others." Joe Hawkins "Mac and I have known each other since early childhood. We are the same age and graduated from Cody High School the same year, 1937. (Mac was our Senior Class President.) Of all the many friends I have had during my 76 years Mac is "President" of them all." James R. Lawson "To Mac: A kind, generous and gentle man--Thanks for making Cody such a special place." Lynn and Andy Andrews "Mac, our very good friend of many years, is truly a wonderful man, in essence of all that the word implies. Good adjectives describe his indomitable spirit!" Bill and Vera Poe Mac was born in Cowley, Wyoming but moved with his family to Cody when he was 12. He married Janet Blackburn, who passed away in June of 1995. They have four children: Leslie, Jim, Frank and Gigi and as of November 1995, 8 grandchildren. |
| TIM TAGGART TO SERVE AS MISSION PRESIDENT
|
Congratulations to Timothy L. Taggart
(Edis-Frederick-Clarissa) who has been called to serve as
Mission President of the England Bristol Mission. Tim was
born in Lewiston, Utah to Fred Edis and Mary Lambert
Taggart. He served an LDS Mission to the Australia South
Mission. He received a bachelor's degree in history and
political science and a master's degree in instructional
technology from Utah State University. Among his numerous
church callings, Tim has served as varsity scout coach,
high councilor and stake president. He is married to
Gloria Shaffer, daughter of Don West and Carol Hadley
Shaffer. Gloria was born in Sun Valley, Idaho and also
attended Utah State University. Gloria has served in the
Primary, Young Women's, Sunday School and Relief Society
organizations of the LDS church. Tim and Gloria have two
children: Elizabeth (19) and Joseph (15). Tim is presently Director of Audiovisual Production Services for the LDS Church and he and his family reside in Taylorsville, Utah. For six and a half years Tim taught Seminary in Grace, Idaho. For the last 15 years Tim and Gloria have used vacation time to serve as tour guides for church history tours. They have been all over the U. S. to all the church history sites and also several times to Israel, Mexico, and the Carribean. Tim and Gloria will be entering the MTC on June 23rd. They will arrive in England on the 29th. About their new calling Gloria says, "It's exciting, scary, and humbling all at the same time." Tim’s comments were, "This is one of those experiences that is impossible to accomplish on your own, but with the Lord’s help you can accomplish anything he asks." |
| MARY LOU MELLOR CALLED TO SERVE MISSION IN CALIFORNIA | Congratulations to Mary Lou Hatch Mellor (Beulah-James-Clarissa) who will serve a one year proselyting and family history mission in Riverside, California. Mary Lou enters the MTC on May 7th. Mary Lou, who is married to Joel Kimball Mellor (deceased), lives in Spokane, Washington. They have five children and twenty-two grandchildren |
| TEMPLE TAGGART IS MISS UTAH USA
|
Congratulations to Temple Taggart (Tag-Lloyd
W.-Lloyd-George Henry-Fanny) for winning the title of
1997 Miss Utah USA and for being fourth runner-up
(highest placing ever for a Miss Utah) in the 1997 Miss
USA Pageant! Temple lives with her parents in
Centerville, Utah. She's 21 years old, 5' 9'' tall and a
model. She has attended Utah Valley State College and
plans to enter the University of Utah this Fall to study
architecture. Her first love, however, is singing and she would love to become a country singer. The vice president of CBS told Temple her impromptu rendition of country singer Shania Twain's "Any Man of Mine," was the highlight of the Miss USA Pageant. Temple's friends include Kay Malone, a former Miss Idaho and wife of Karl Malone of the Utah JAZZ. Temple greatly admires Mother Theresa and would like to follow in her footsteps by making her own community a better place to live. She believes that if we can prevent child abuse and domestic violence in the home, we can stop abuse and violence in the streets. Temple takes a very humble attitude about her new celebrity status. At heart she still feels like the same tomboy who didn't feel glamorous enough to enter a beauty contest. "I don't ever think of myself as any different than anyone else," she says. "I'm no better than any one of those (homeless) people who sit on the street in front of the mall, and no matter what level of success I attain, I think I'll always remain the same type of person I've always been." |
| NEW UNIVERSITY CENTER NAMED FOR SHARWAN SMITH
|
Stanalie Sharwan Smith
(Hyrum-Ruth-Pauline-George Henry-Fanny), a 1994 Southern
Utah University graduate in Spanish, was killed on May
18, 1995 at age 24 in a rollover on Interstate 15 near
Cedar City, Utah. In March of 1997 the new Sharwan Smith
Center - the largest single facility on the SUU campus
encompassing the existing SUU Centrum Special-Events
Center and Student Center - was dedicated in Sharwan's
honor. This is the first time a building on a university
campus in Utah has been named after a student. While at SUU Sharwan served in numerous student body positions including activities vice president. She is the daughter of Hyrum and Gail Smith. She graduated from Viewmont High School in Bountiful, Utah, was named Days of '47 queen in Salt Lake City in 1990, and served an LDS mission to Argentina. |
| WE NEED YOUR HELP! | Timothy L. Taggart (Edis-Frederick-Clarissa) and
Steven L. Taggart (Ted-Henry Milton-Clarissa) have joined
together in a project to duplicate and preserve on
Photo-CD (CD-Rom) disc any original historical
photographs, sketches, documents and stories that relate
to George Washington Taggart and his three wives. Information
as described above that is available from Scotland,
Ireland, and anywhere in the USA including early
photographs or sketches of his children would be
appreciated. The goal of this effort is to preserve in
one place this priceless information for our family
history and to ultimately prepare a video documentary
of the life of George Washington Taggart. We also
have a goal to eventually establish our own family Web
site on the Internet which will make our story and
information available to our family world wide. Since Tim Taggart and his family are going to be busy with his calling as a Mission President for the next three years, Steve Taggart will carry on until Tim's return. Please contact Steve Taggart at P.O. Box 70282, Salt Lake City, Utah 84170-0282 to participate in this exciting project. You may be assured that your valuable documents and photographs will be handled very carefully and returned to you unharmed. If we all work together we will be successful in the creation of a great tribute to the founder of our family. |
| SPENCER LAIRD TAGGART (JAMES- CLARISSA) |
This article will be restored as soon as possible. |
| BOUND EDITION OF ALL PREVIOUS NEWSLETTERS | Thirty more copies of Taggart Family Newsletter (1980-1992), edited by Spencer L. Taggart, are going to be printed and will be available for the cost of fifty dollars each. If you would like to order a copy, please contact Steve Taggart, our coordinator (for address see Who Are We? page). |
| IN MEMORIAM | (Editor's note: As it has been five years since a
Taggart Newsletter was printed, we know the following
list is not complete. If you would like information about
your family, i.e. births, deaths and marriages as well as
other news, included in the newsletter, please send to:
Steven Laird Taggart, P.O. Box 70282, Salt
Lake City, UT 84170. Also please be sure to note
the genealogy back to one of George's wives for any names
submitted. And please send any corrections for
information that is inaccurate in this present
newsletter. We are new at this and would be grateful for
your suggestions, etc.) Marva Bright Tibbitts Karren (Alice-Clarissa), wife of Floyd Tibbitts (deceased), George Rufus Karren (deceased). Born September 29, 1892, Lewiston, Utah. Died December 26, 1995. Luana Rae Davis Taggart, wife of Renold L. Taggart (Henry Milton-Clarissa) (deceased). Born November 14, 1914, Burley, Idaho. Died January 15, 1997, Midvale, Utah. Renold Laird Taggart (Henry Milton-Clarissa), husband of Luana Rae Davis. Born August 7, 1909, Salt Lake City, Utah. Died July 1, 1996, Salt Lake City, Utah. Charles Welch Taggart (Lloyd-George Henry-Fanny). Born January 24, 1932, Billings, Montana. Died January 29, 1996, Salt Lake City, Utah. George Taggart Frost (Rebecca-George Henry-Fanny), husband of Myrtle Summeril, Myra Taggart. Born November 4, 1907, Cowley, Wyoming. Died January 9, 1996, Ogden, Utah. |
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