Brigham City, Utah
May 26, 1916
Mr. James E. Hart
c/o Hon. Chas H. Hart
1015 Kearns Bldg.,
Salt Lake City, Utah
Dear Brother:
According to my promise and your request I enclose a brief
statement of my experience in obtaining the genealogy of my
father’s family and also the American collateral branch.
Kindly excuse apparent delay, as I have been very busy since
I saw you last; of necessity, I must be brief and concise,
omitting perhaps many very interesting details for the sake
of brevity.
To commence with: will say that from my earliest experience
in the Church, I have been ever profoundly impressed with
the work for the dead. The vast, compre¬hensive nature of a
scheme of salvation embracing all the generations, past,
present and future, always appealed to me, as one of the
greatest evidences of the divinity of the great Latter Day
work.
Consequently, I have taken the greatest pleasure in Temple
work, and received from time to time, most convincing
testimony of its efficacy and power. For some years we had
desired to get the genealogical record of a collateral
branch of the American Holton family, but without success.
During the year of 1899 and 1900 I was a law student at the
Columbian University, Washington, D. C. While there as a
student, I did the larger parts of my research work in law,
and kindred topics at the Congressional Library.
One reason was economy, -- it was only by the strictest
economy I could pursue my studies; hence at the Library I
had free access to every book on law and every other related
subject without the necessity of buying books. Some time
during the months of October and December, 1899, while
diligently studying my law course, and looking up cases in
the Library upon the subject of Criminal Law; which as you
know is anything but an inspiring study, I found that one
morning against my will, my mind would continue to drift
from the subject and run upon the lines of Temple work, and
Genealogical work, with special impress upon the American
branch of the Holton family; this occurred so frequently
during the course of the morning as to be remarkable; and
again and again, by an effort of will, I would drive the
subject from my mind and apply myself again to my law study,
but as often the subject of temple work would recur, until
at last almost in despair, I threw down my law book, and
exclaimed, ''What does this mean? Why does my mind this
morning so persistently dwell upon genealogy despite my
efforts to control it?"
As I asked the question to myself, I heard plainly and
distinctly, a voice which pierced me to the center, and
seemed to penetrate my whole being repeat these words, "It
means that right here in this Library is the record of the
American collateral branch of the Holton family, you have
desired so long to obtain." I was startled, and astonished,
it was my first experience of this kind, and involuntarily I
turned in the direction of the sound, but of course saw
nothing. But even then, although profoundly moved, I did my
best to dismiss the matter from my mind and turned again to
my law books, and tried to concentrate my mind upon the
topic, but without success. Try as I would to dismiss the
matter, it would persist, and repeat itself again and again,
and now with the added experience of the strange voice. It
was no use I could not study; and again throwing down my
book, I said, ''What does this mean anyhow?"
In a tone which thrilled my very soul, the same voice
replied, "It means that the records you have long been
seeking are here, and NOW GO, and ask the Librarian for
them." There was no mistaking it this time; it was the voice
of command and rebuke; and impressed me beyond expression. I
approached the Librarian and inquired of him, wether or not,
they had in the Library any genealogical records of the New
England Holton family?
As I spoke the librarian looked me searchingly in the face,
and asked my name. I told him, in reply my name was Holton.
"Then give me your hand," said he - I did so, and he clasped
it in an iron grip. ''What does this mean," said I.
"It means," said he, "That the best friends I have on earth
are Holtons and anything on God's earth I can do for a
Holton, I will do." I was certainly astonish¬ed by his
warmth of manner, and by the strange coincidence, and told
him; he could render good service to a Holton now, if he
could put me on the track of the records I desired. In brief
he made search through the catalogues, and in a few minutes
sent his assistant to my desk with a large book; which upon
examination to my great joy, was the record of the
collateral branch of the family we had so desired to obtain.
It was round in Chart Form, and contained the "radical
chart" system of genealogy, with text matter between the
charts, for more complete biography and his¬toric matter.
But mat impressed me most at the time, was the printed
statement on the TITLE PAGE of why and how the work came
into being.
I read these remarkable words - "Mrs. Miriam Holton Brown,
feeling impressed that hereafter, some relative of the
family will enquire for this record, for some important
purpose, WHICH PURPOSE SHE KNOWS NOT, leaves a bequest in
her will, that at her death, sufficient of her estate be
used to compile, and print this genealogy that it MAY BE
HERE WHEN HE ASKS FOR IT!" - as I read these words - the
spirit of God thrilled me through and through, and filled me
with joy and divine testimony, I am unable to fitly express,
and right there and then, I received one of the most
striking and remarkable testimonies, concerning the work for
the dead, it had ever, previous to that, been my food
fortune to receive.
“Certainly,” I thought, “I am here, asking for that very
record, being directed by a voice to ask for it; certainly
the use and purpose I shall put this record to, was unknown
entirely to the good woman, whose means were instrumental in
having it compiled and published, and certainly too, I am a
relative of the family, God in my very soul for this
singular and beautiful testimony and truly I reflected "He
moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform."
To be brief dear brother: I will say that I was profoundly
affected, and natur¬ally looked closer into the family
history for details, when I found that this good woman, in
her will, had appointed her brother Dr. David Parsons
Holton, a surgeon of New York, as executor with a special
injunction upon him to pay diligent heed to the genealogical
part of the work. To make a long story short, I found that
although an expert surgeon in love with his profession,
having taken the full course of the New York College of
Physicians and Surgeons and also four years advanced work in
the hospitals of Paris and- Berlin, yet no sooner was he
made executor of his sister's will, that he immediately
turned his attention to genealogy, and the love of it grew
so strong with him, that he largely abandoned his practice
and put the whole of his time and fortune, eventually into
the work besides using his sister's bequest for the purpose,
and being a man of wealth, he accomplished a wonderful work
in this direction. I
He invented a system of "radial charts" or genetic zones;
and his work was ¬highly commended by skilled genealogists,
he published before his death four large volumes of the
Holton and collateral families including the Parsons,
Winslow and Farwell families, and had arranged the data, and
gathered the biography and genealogies of over three hundred
and fifty great-great-grandparents, whose records ancestral
and decedents he had collected. In this connection, it is
interesting to note, that the original ancestor was Deacon
William Holton, who in 1634 came to Massachusetts from
Ipswich, England, when only 23 years of age. He was one of
the early pioneers of Hartford, Conn. and also of
Northampton, Mass. His daughter Ruth married in 1678 Thomas
Lyman of Durham, Mass. and his grand-daughter Abagail
married John Lyman, son of Richard Lyman, of Northampton,
Mass; -from a conversation had sometime ago with Judge
Stanley Hanks of Salt Lake City who is a grandson of Apostle
Lyman, I find these Lyman’s were of the same line as Brother
Lyman. Need¬less to say Brother Hart, we had great joy in
performing the Temple work, for these good people whose
record came so wonderfully to my hand; we have made progress
but, of course, the work is almost exhaustless.
It was after the lapse of some years when I was District
Atty. of the 1st Judicial District, to be more exact on the
23rd day of May, 1908, that again, in wonderful manner, the
Father blessed me with additional light and knowledge
pertain¬ing to my genealogical work. After making fairly
good progress on the American branch, and exhausting all our
known English record, I had a great desire to obtain
knowledge of our English ancestry, even to the earliest
ancestor. I knew it was by the power of God I had obtained
the American collateral records, and I knew the Father was
just as able to open to my view the English records. So,
after several days of earnest prayer, that the Father might
reveal to me the English records from the earliest ancestor,
I was blessed just before dawn of the 23rd day of May 1908,
with a wonderful and vivid dream or vision. It made a great
impression on my mind at the time, and, even although years
have since passed it is just as vivid and plain NOW as it
was then.
In fact in my experience, I have noticed that whenever the
Lord manifests any¬thing to His children by dream or vision,
it is most CLEAR, VIVID, AND STRIKING, and seems to BURN
itself forever upon the very inmost soul; thus differing
from ordinary dreams, which fade almost before the dawn.
But to resume: In my dream I beheld a large man who stood
before me, and announced his name as Blethlyn de Hulton, and
he talked to me as one man to another. He said he came
originally from Normandy with William the Conqueror, and was
one of His Knight's and assisted in the conquest of England;
he said after the conquest William divided out the land in
large part to his followers and the surnames were called
after the names of the estates granted, as he spoke, I saw
England as it was in the time of William, and saw the estate
granted to this man was called De Hulton, in Lancaster,
England. I saw also that his same plan was followed with
others, thus I saw the estate of Courtenay, and DeLacy and
De Standish, and many others.
Resuming his conversation with me, he stated that from 1066
to the present time, the estate of Hulton had always
remained in the Hulton family, and that the present owner of
it was named for his great progenitor Blethlyn. He further
said ¬that as the years passed the name was frequently
written Holton instead of Hulton; but that Hulton was the
ancient way of spelling it. Now said he, "I will show you my
posterity, and the scene changed, and I beheld an almost
innumerable multitude of persons marching past like a great
army, and I further noticed that they early members were
clad in the mailed armor of the feudal times, in ancient
style, but that as the procession passed, gradually the
persons attire changed, until the later ones, were clad in
modern style. As I looked I marveled at the immense number
of persons represented. And I thought, "Now is it possible
that this vast host can come from one pair; but he said,
"Remember it was said to Abraham that his seed should be as
innumerable as the stars of heaven, or the sand on the sea
shore for multitude; and now behold the multities of my
posterity, and see how great and mighty is the work for
these countless dead.”
I said to him, “But this is merely a view of your posterity
but I want the records; how can I obtain the records.” He
replied, “They will be shown you.” At this point the scene
changed and I found myself in an immense room, filled with
records from floor to ceilings. Looking around I saw a
personage clothed in white robes seated at a long table that
stood in the center of the room; addressing me, he asked me
what I desired and I told him I desired the records and
genealogy of the posterity of Blethlyn Hulton; I had just
beheld in vision. He said, “Be seated and you shall see
them.”
At this I seated myself at the table beside him; and he
handed me volume after volume of the records of the Hulton's,
and said, "Behold, here is the record of your Father's
house." I eagerly took the volumes in my hand and turned
them over; and to my great joy found the early founder of
the family was truly named Blethlyn De Hulton as he had told
me, and arranged in orderly manner. I found his generations
carefully catalogued, and arranged in the order of their
generations from the first founder to the last generation,
and I marveled at the number and beauty of the record. I
noticed also the families and how they blended with other
ancient families of England thus I saw they intermarried
with the DeLacy, the Courtenay, and the De Standish
families, as I had seen in vision, and I marveled.
"Now," said the personage who handed me the records, "These
are the records of your father's house, but I want to
impress upon you that these things are not shown you to
gratify curiosity, that the Lord does not nor will he reveal
the past simply to satisfy curiosity, but these things are
shown you that you may know that it is your work and mission
to perform a vicarious work in the Temples of our God, for
all the generations you saw, for it is your birthright so to
do, as you are the eldest son of your father's family and
entitled to do this great work. And remember - he continued
- impressively, that when knowledge is given it brings
responsibility, and from this time it is your work and you
are responsible to see that the Temple work is done for all
you saw in a vision, for the hearts of the Fathers must be
turned to the children and the hearts of the children must
be turned to the fathers that the great plan of Salvation
may be carried out as God designed."
I said to him, "But this is a vision. I know I am now in the
spirit but where can I, in reality, get the records of my
father's house?"
He answered, "Turn to the title page of the volume you hold
in your hand." I did so and saw it was part of a record of
the Herald’s England. He said, "You will find the records by
searching through the Visitations and Inquisitions, made in
the different reigns of the Kings of England." As he spoke I
saw these words in large letters of Gold around the walls of
the room. "Now," he said, "you know where to look for the
records and remember to be true and faithful to what you
have seen and heard."
As he spoke, another messenger, took me by the hand and
said, “Now, I will show you the House of Holton," saying
which, he brought me to where I saw an immense building,
towering up several stories and seemingly filled with
people. I noticed over the large entrance the letters - in
gold - of immense size - the word "Holton."
"Now," said he, "look within."" I did so and saw large
numbers of people, of all ages and degrees. I looked closer
and saw that while they appeared to be well clad, yet they
appeared cold and uncomfortable and unhappy. I said to the
messenger, "Who are these people and why are they apparently
so unhappy?" Said he, "They are all of the house of Holton
and are of the hosts you saw in vision, but they are unhappy
because they have progressed as far as they can in their
present state and they cannot make further progress until
the work is done for them in the Temples of our Lord." -
continuing, he said, "You have the keys of your father's
house and it is your right to unlock those doors; and do the
work for these dead that they may go on to their exaltation
and glory, and this is why these things are shown you, that
you may have perfect knowledge of the work for the dead, and
henceforth be faithful and active in laboring for your
ancestors and acting as a savior upon Mount Zion."
Again he looked upon me and repeated impressively, "Now you
have been shown the generations of your father’s house you
have handled the records and know where to obtain them, you
have also beheld that the spirits of the dead cannot advance
to full knowledge and glory until a vicarious work is done
by the living for the dead, henceforth remember your
responsibility and be faithful to what you have seen and
heard."
At this the vision faded and I awoke, and it was dawn. But I
lay awake rejoic¬ing with great and exceeding joy at the
wonderful vision I had beheld, and thanking and praising my
Father that he had so answered the desire and prayer of one
of his humble children.
After which I arose, and while the spirit of the vision was
yet fresh upon me, made a record in my diary of what I had
seen and heard, that I might preserve it as a witness to
hand down to my children and their children’s children and
this writing is a brief abstract of that record.
About one year after this vision, I was interested in
noticing that our Utah Genealogical Society had been
successful in purchasing some reprints of the old English
records, and the thought occurred to me - I wonder if among
the books and records purchased they have any of the
reprints of the "Visitations and Inquisitions" made under
the order of the English Kings, and the desire came to me to
look into the matter, so I attended the April Conference of
1909 and took my diary with me containing the account of my
vision of my forefathers.
Between the meetings of the Conference I visited the
Historian's office; and going upstairs to the Genealogical
room I inquired of Apostle Joseph F. Smith, Jr., whether
amongst the recent purchase of English Records, the Society
had purchased any reprints of the "Visitations and
Inquisitions" of the reigns of the Kings of England. He
replied, brother Holton, I will search for you and in a
short time he brought me an armful of books.
"Now," he said, "You can sit down and be happy. I am going
to one of our meetings of the Apostles but you can sit down
and peruse these records at your leisure." I thanked him,
and took the books and began my search; and to my great and
exceeding joy as I handled the books I found the
"Visitations" of Lancaster, and the record of Blethlyn De
Hulton, and his descendants. I quickly saw I was on the
right track for I saw the connection by marriage of the
Holton and De Lacey families as well as the De Standish and
Courteney families and others, and then I saw at once why
these family connections were shown me in vision, in order
that when I handled the real records, I would know at once I
was pursuing the correct line of descent. I found also that
the present holder of the old family estate bore the name of
the first ancestor Blethlyn de Hulton, and from this start I
have been able to learn that from this first ancestor there
originated the Holtons that eventually swarmed into almost
every County in England and also originated the Holton stock
to America.
Now when Brother Joseph F. Smith, Jr. said to me, "Brother
Holton, you can sit down and be happy," I doubt if he had
the smallest conception of the unlimited happiness and joy
that would come to me by the perusal of the records of my
Father's house. For it is not given to any man to fitly and
correctly portray the grandeur and beauty and majesty of the
Spirit of God as with transcendent power he fills the soul
to overflowing, with living testimony when the great
vouchsafements of God are thus verified by actual
demonstration and absolute proof; Where was doubt? Where
could there be doubt in my mind in relation to the great
work of God?
All doubt was fled, in the light of fulfillment and I shall
ever look upon these testimonies of my Father concerning the
great and vicarious work for the dead with joy, gratitude
and emotion, and I humbly trust by faithful devoted work and
humble endeavor to ever prove worthy and true to the work
committed unto my hands.
I can say Brother Hart, our joy has been full in performing
labor for these kindred dead, and I write these my
experiences not in any boastful spirit, not as feeling that
I am better than others because the Lord has given me such
beautiful testimonies, but rather with a feeling of
gratitude, humility and rejoicing that one so unworthy as I
feel to be, in many respects, should have been so signally
favored.
I feel however, that these same experiences are the right of
every member of our church, for ALL are entitled to seek the
Father and receive for their individual needs and personal
work, and the Father is ever ready, and all who come in
faith nothing doubting will find that “Everyone that seeketh
findeth" and "to everyone that knocketh it shall be open."
The Lord is ever ready and willing to reward to the
uttermost, those, who with faith and full purpose of heart
seek His face, and the light we receive from God will be
exactly in proportion to our worthiness and capacity to
receive and obey.
Well, I am afraid, I may weary you by this lengthy account
already much more than I intended to write, but still a very
brief account of my experience in this matter.
With sentiments of esteem and brotherhood, I remain your
brother in the covenant of peace.
(signed) FRED J. HOLTON.