Joseph Machin

When my parents came out this summer, they brought a couple of binders filled with our family history. I went through them and photographed each page and now I'm typing all of the stories. It's not surprising that at some point many of my relatives were in Utah. As I read about where they were, I have been figuring out where they were and then we go visit those places.

Joseph and Sarah Machin  (he later changed the spelling to Machen) emigrated in 1869 and were able to take the train to Utah because of the completion of the transcontinental railroad.

Promontory Summit where the transcontinental railroad was completed.

They lived in Minersville for about a year or two after that. I'm assuming that he worked in the mine in the area. When he was living in England, he learned how to work in a smelter and he was probably working in a mine before that.

My favorite part of visiting the mine was looking out to the mountains. They haven't changed very much since my great-great grandparents were looking at those same mountains.

After a few more moves, they ended up in Sandy. There Joseph worked in the Mingo Smelter along with farming and other odd jobs. I found out that there is a plaque and a little mine car where the smelter used to be.

After working in the smelter for 15 years, the family moved up to Idaho for a brighter future for their children.

I am so grateful that my great-great aunt took the time to compile the stories and that I now have the opportunity to visit the same places that my ancestors once lived. There are still more places to find and I look forward to visiting them.