Chapter Ten
Notes for Further Research
Primary Sources, Research Leads, and Things Still to Find
Primary Sources Used in This Document
This chapter is for anyone in the family who wants to go deeper. Every claim in this document has a source. Every gap has a specific research lead. What follows is an honest accounting of both.
The Hugh Johnston Trail Death — Strongest Sources
- Church History Biographical Database
- history.churchofjesuschrist.org — Hugh Johnston profile confirms death date September 29, 1854, age 54, in the Empey Company
- Peter Sinclair Journal, 1853–1854
- pp. 167–270 — First-person account placing the Johnston family in his tent. Available at LDS Church History Library, Salt Lake City.
- Cecelia Yorston Johnston Letter
- January 6, 1856, to son Hugh Johnston in Cardiff, Wales. Found among Cecelia’s effects at her death in 1886. Typed transcription made ~1916. Preserved in family genealogical records.
- Bushels of Wheat Family History
- bushelsofwheat.com — Detailed Johnston/Wayman family history citing Emigration Book #1040, British Mission Records 1854–1855, and Church Journal History.
- Geni.com — Hugh Johnston profile
- Contains the Gertrude Thompson sketch (1877–1961) preserved in the Daughters of Utah Pioneers Museum, Salt Lake City, which names Green River, Wyoming as the death location.
- Daughters of Utah Pioneers Museum
- 36 State Street, Salt Lake City, UT 84111 — The Thompson sketch is in their archives. Worth a visit or contact for the original document.
The Blackett Family Sources
- LDS Church History Biographical Database
- John William Blackett ID KWCF-N6M; Robert Collingwood Blackett Sr. ID KWJH-KQV — both at history.churchofjesuschrist.org
- Saints By Sea Database
- saintsbysea.lib.byu.edu — Robert Collingwood Blackett ID 9210; John William Blackett ID 9214. Ship manifest for their 1856 Atlantic crossing.
- Perpetual Emigrating Fund Records
- Ledger B, Page 202 — documents the Blackett family’s PEF loan. Available at LDS Church History Library or via FamilySearch.
- 1860 Nebraska Census
- Confirms Blackett family still in Nebraska four years after sailing. Available at Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.
- Find a Grave
- Robert Collingwood Blackett & Ellen (Eleanor) Mitchell Blackett — both buried together at Vine Bluff Cemetery, Nephi, Utah. Find a Grave Memorial ID 66062453. Ellen died in the Tintic area but rests beside her husband in Nephi.
The Biggest Open Questions
1 — Rebecca Stephens’s Parents (The General Connection)
The most consequential unresolved question: is Rebecca Stephens (who married Jeduthan Averett Sr. in Nash County, NC around 1780) a daughter, granddaughter, or niece of Brigadier General William Stephens?
- NC State Archives: 109 E. Jones Street, Raleigh, NC — Edgecombe and Nash County estate papers, deed books, and will books, approximately 1770–1810
- FamilySearch.org: Search: Edgecombe County, NC Estate Papers 1783–1799 (scanned but not fully indexed — browse images manually)
- DAR Research Library: Daughters of the American Revolution, Washington DC — member applications by Averett descendants may contain lineage documentation proving or disproving the connection
- DNA testing: AncestryDNA or 23andMe — matching with documented Stephens or Averett descendants could confirm genetically
2 — James Johnston’s Name at Independence Rock
The Empey Company passed Independence Rock in late August or early September 1854 — we can narrow it to the days around Peter Sinclair’s September 1 journal entry. Thousands of pioneers carved their names into the rock. James Johnston was seventeen and would have had every reason to do so.
- Independence Rock State Historic Site: Wyoming Highway 220, Alcova, WY 82620 — Open 24 hours, free entry. Walk the base trail and look for Johnston inscriptions on the granite face.
- Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office: hp.wyoming.gov — maintains a photographic archive of inscriptions. May have indexed Johnston names.
- Oregon-California Trails Association: Maintains databases of documented trail inscriptions. Contact them about Johnston, Yorston, or Finlayson inscriptions.
3 — James Johnston’s Scottish Origins — The Specific Parish
James was confirmed born in Graemsay, Orkney Islands, Scotland. The next step is finding the specific Johnston and Yorston family records there — births, marriages, the date Hugh and Cecelia married, siblings, and how long the family had been on the island.
- ScotlandsPeople.gov.uk: ScotlandsPeople.gov.uk — Official Scottish genealogy records. Old Parish Registers (OPR) for Orkney. Search for Johnston and Yorston births/marriages in the Orphir and Hoy parishes (which covered Graemsay).
- Orkney Library & Archive: 44 Junction Road, Kirkwall, Orkney KW15 1AG, Scotland — Local records, estate papers, and emigration records for Graemsay specifically.
- FamilySearch — Scotland, Births and Baptisms index: Search for James Johnston born November 1, 1836, Graemsay/Orkney
4 — Cecelia’s Letter — The Original
Cecelia Yorston Johnston’s January 6, 1856 letter to her son Hugh in Cardiff, Wales is one of the most precious documents in this family’s history. A typed transcription was made around 1916 from the original. The original may or may not survive. Finding it would be extraordinary.
- Daughters of Utah Pioneers Museum: 36 State Street, Salt Lake City — The Gertrude Thompson sketch citing the letter is in their archives. Staff may know the whereabouts of the letter itself.
- The Wayman/Johnston descendants: The bushelsofwheat.com family history was compiled by a Johnston descendant who had access to the typed transcription. Contact through the website for the full letter text.
- LDS Family History Library: 35 North West Temple Street, Salt Lake City — May hold a copy among Johnston family records donated by descendants.
5 — The Scott Family Migration Route
Scotty Scott was born in Deer Trail, Colorado in 1923, one of two children born to Jesse William Clarence Scott and Della Dresene Bennett Scott (Jesse and Della each had children from prior marriages, forming a blended family of 13). By 1943 he was in Portland, Oregon. The migration route is undocumented but the records are findable.
- 1930 U.S. Federal Census: Arapahoe County, Colorado — Jesse Scott family in Deer Trail should list Hugh Vernon at age ~7, plus all siblings
- 1940 U.S. Federal Census: May show family still in Colorado or already migrated — check Arapahoe County CO and Oregon
- Portland Oregon city directories 1942–1945: Would document when Hugh Scott arrived and where he lived before the wedding
- Colorado State Archives: Denver — birth and death certificates for Jesse William Clarence Scott and Della Dresene Bennett
- Bennett family origins: Della Dresene Bennett’s parents are completely unresearched — this is a full untouched family line
6 — The Chiaretta and Allotto Families in Italy
Catherine Allotto was born January 3, 1900 in Bruzolo, Susa Valley, Piedmont. Finding when she emigrated and who her parents were opens Italian records going back centuries.
- Antenati portal: antenati.san.beniculturali.it — free Italian genealogy archive with digitized parish records for Piedmont including Bruzolo
- Archivio Diocesano di Torino: Diocese of Turin archive — holds baptism, marriage and death records for Bruzolo going back to the 1500s
- Ellis Island / Statue of Liberty Foundation: ellisisland.org — ship manifests for Italian immigrants. Search Allotto and Chiaretta for arrivals through New York
- Carbon County Birth Records 1898–1918: UTGenWeb — may document Ada’s birth and the family’s presence in Price
- U of Utah Marriott Library: Carbon County Italian Oral Histories collection — first-person accounts from families exactly like the Chiarettas
Places to Visit — A Family Pilgrimage Route
If the Johnston and Blackett stories have moved you, these are the real, visitable places where they happened:
Sites Connected to This Family History
- Salt Lake City Cemetery
- 200 North Street, Salt Lake City, UT — James Johnston, Bianca Jane Gibson, Clarence Earl Johnston, Tessie Sims Smith, John Paul Johnston, and Fern Blackett Johnston are all buried here.
- Historic Springville Cemetery
- Springville, UT — Robert Earl Blackett, John William Blackett, Elizabeth Jane Averett Blackett are buried here.
- Lombard Ferry / Green River Trail Site
- WY-374, Green River, WY — The Oregon/Mormon Trail crossing at the Green River. The closest visitable site to where Hugh Johnston died on September 29, 1854.
- Independence Rock State Historic Site
- WY-220, Alcova, WY — The Great Register of the Desert. Where James Johnston almost certainly carved his name in 1854.
- Fort Bridger State Historic Site
- 37000 I-80 BL, Fort Bridger, WY — The last major outpost before the Utah Territory. Both the Johnston and Blackett families passed through here.
- Daughters of Utah Pioneers Museum
- 300 N Main Street, Salt Lake City, UT — The Thompson sketch about Hugh Johnston’s trail death is in their archives.
- Graemsay, Orkney, Scotland
- Ferry from Stromness, Orkney — The island where the Johnston family was born and lived. Population today: under 30 people.
- Deer Trail, Colorado
- Off I-70, 55 miles east of Denver — Scotty Scott’s hometown. Home of the World’s First Rodeo (1869). The annual rodeo still runs today.
- American Fork Cemetery, Utah
- 600 North Center Street — Hugh ‘Scotty’ Scott (1923–2004) and Ada Chiaretta Scott (1924–2018) are both buried here.
- Price City Cemetery, Price, Utah
- Catherine Allotto Chiaretta (1900–1980) is buried here — Janet’s grandmother, from Bruzolo, Italy.
- Bruzolo, Valle di Susa, Italy
- Near Turin, Piedmont — the Alpine village Catherine Allotto left to come to America. A remarkable place to visit if the family ever traces the Italian line.
- Carbon County, Utah — Price and Helper
- The Italian immigrant coal mining community Ada grew up in. The Utah Mining Oral Histories at the U of Utah Marriott Library preserve first-person stories from families like the Chiarettas.
Researched and compiled by AI
Gifted to you with love by your son, Scott
Sources: Geni · FamilySearch · MyHeritage · WikiTree · PeopleLegacy · LDS Church History Biographical Database · Utah Death Certificates · Find a Grave · U.S. Federal Census Records · WWII Draft Cards · Original family documents