It's been exactly three years since a very important milestone happened to me. It all started Fall semester in 2016 where I took my first family history-genealogy class at BYU.
We had to search through our family tree to for our semester project. I came across this infant who didn't have a first name or a gender. All I knew was the infant's last name- Potter.
I saw my cousin, Chelsie who had found the gravestone of his birth and death in 1893, along with the child's parents names. She searched diligently, but couldn't find Potter's name or gender. We both felt like he was a boy, but had no record of it.
I searched countless microfilm church records in Omaha, Nebraska in hopes of finding a christening record, but no luck. I felt defeated, but Potter always came to the front of my mind as I did family history each time. I knew that he desperately wanted to be together with his family. There would be random times throughout the week where I would hear a voice pop into my mind pleading, "Don't forget about me!" I vowed that I wouldn't.
The semester came and went with no progress. During the next semester, I was reminded the census records sometimes show the street where families lived. Unfortunately, the 1890 U.S. census was burned. Therefore, I had to rely on the 1900 U.S. census instead. I prayed that the parents hadn't moved in those 7 years after his birth.
I was in luck! I found out where the parents lived, and started to search for churches that were established before 1893 and within a one mile radius of where the Potters lived. There was one particular Catholic church that fit those two requirements. I emailed them with the information that I had, and patiently waited.
By the time I had given up on the search a couple months later, I received an email from them when I was in one of my history classes. I read the email explaining that they had found a record of a boy named Lewis Potter, the ancestor that I had been looking for. There was a burst of joy inside my heart, and I wanted to shout it to the world! Unfortunately, due to being in class I was unable to.
A couple days later on 16 February 2017, Spencer, Chelsie, her husband Dylan, and I went to the temple to seal Lewis to his parents- Michael and Viola. The feeling that we had in that room was so indescribable- full of love and happiness. I hadn't felt that much joy since I was sealed to Spencer. I felt the Potter's witnessing their son to be sealed to them forever. I couldn't hold back the tears because I could feel the immense joy of this family. I knew that Lewis Potter was so grateful for all the hard work and effort I had put into finding him.
This experience made me decide to change my major to family history that same evening. Lewis Potter is a kindred spirit. He left such a big impact on our lives, Spencer suggested the name the day we found out we were having a boy. I hadn't even thought of Lewis as an option, but it felt like a good way to commemorate my ancestors. I can't wait to meet him in the spirit world. I bet my son had already met him before he came to this world.
And that's why I to graduated in Family History-Genealogy. To bring together families and create joy. Without this experience, I'm not sure Spencer and I would have agreed on a name together. But thankfully this experience also led us to name our son Lewis Wesley Hoffman, after Lewis Potter. We couldn't have come up with a better name for him!
