Martha

I don't know much about Martha Champlin, I probably never will, at least not in this life. At this point it's unlikely anyone will ever know very much. She was four years old in 1870, at least according to the censes in southern Mississippi of that year. I've never found any other documentation that she ever existed. She was the oldest child of Zachary Taylor and Virginia White Champlin, who happens to be my great-grand parents. If I figured it out correctly that makes her my great-aunt. Normally to be a great aunt you would have to shower someone with a lot of love and treats, or be quit old, Martha didn't have the opportunity to do either one, not even my father knew she existed. In the 1880 censes, Zachary and Virginia were listed as the parents of four children - William, Margaret, Nellie and my grandfather Walter. Martha was no where to be found. She could have gone to live with relatives, but more likely she passed away. Being a Latter-day Saint the linking of my ancestors is a important responsibility, we believe that families can be together forever. The binding of the fathers to the children's and the children's to the fathers. This binding is possible by the power and authority of God through the priesthood. This power is what the Savior gave to Peter in Matthew chapter 16, - "whatsoever thou shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven." When my father joined the LDS church, one of the first things he did was make sure that the temple work was done for his extended family. Making sure that the saving ordinances of salvation were preformed for his forefathers. He had the access to the 1880 censes, the records of the life of this family, except Martha. For 75 years this family seemed complete. In August of 2011, I was in a training meeting with Elder Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve. He encouraged us to find our ancestors and take them to the temple. I sat there knowing that I had never found someone to take to the temple. I had a strong impression I needed to change that. Not knowing how to do that didn't slow down my resolve. Under the heading of Zachary T Champlin I found the 1880 censes that was available to my father so many years before. There was the family we all knew and have known for decades, but no Martha. About a third a page below the link to the 1880 censes, was listed a 1870 censes with the heading Zach Champlin. Computers now can make the decision to find similar possibilities, a event not possible to my father so many years before. That link was indeed to my great grandparents small families' information, but the oldest child was Martha, someone none of us had heard of before. At first I thought there was a mistake - that was quickly replaced by excitement. She was the first of what has turned out to be hundreds of names that we have been able to find. When I called the temple to set up an appointment to do Martha's baptism - they asked how many names I had, I told them just one. I guess I could imagine they may have laughed, but they treated us like royalty as I took my twelve year old daughter to do the work. I envision for all of those years Martha was prayed and anticipating the time someone would find her name and help her to receive the ordinances of salvation. Allowing this family to be complete.