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Show Monument to Honor Samuel Pollock The second annual gathering of the Samuel Pollock descendents will have special meaning for the group this year with the erection of a monument honoring their pioneer forefather, A fourth generation granddaughter of the pioneer settler, LuAnn Pollock Lundquist, initiated the first family reunion last year in Kanarraville, Utah on July 4. Mrs. Lundquist, after a long search for the complete story of her ancestor, an-cestor, testifies to the per-severence per-severence required in the sometimes challenging and emotional experience of tracing one's roots. Her reward will be the thrill of seeing the monument erected to him on a remote spot, believed to be his gravesite in the Kanarraville cemetery this week. The dedication of the engraved granite stone will be the culmination of years of research which precipitated the writing of Mrs. Lundquist's biography, Samuel Pollock, The Quiet of his early descendents. Since I've found what a legacy he's left all of us, I've realized that he deserves to be remembered. His legend has trujy been silent until now." Interest in the printing of this biography was generated during the first reunion of Samuel Pollock's posterity last year. The gathering, which Mrs. Lundquist hoped would draw a dozen or so "kinfolk", swelled into more than one hundred persons. (An interesting in-teresting sideline story: Descendents of one of the sons of Samuel Pollock happened to be passing through Kanarraville enroute to a vacation spot and noticed the poster, announcing the reunion, in the window of the town mercantile there. They delayed their trip to attend the meeting and another "branch of the tree" was revealed.) During the July 4, 1977 pilot meeting, a family organization body was begun with officers named as follows: Verl Pollock, which the pioneers believed to be their permanent home when they settled there in 1862. In 1866, a relentless storm literally uprooted them with wind which covered their dwellings with sand and uncovered the caskets in their burial spot, followed by floods that carried the remains of some of their deceased downstream. The settlers were forced to move a mile southwest to Kanarraville's present site. Samuel Pollock was among this group. 1 le was one of the men who later transported the battered caskets to their resting place in the Kanarravile cemetery near the location of his monument. Much of the history of Kanarraville is told in the booklet written by Mrs. Lundquist--a history in which Samuel Pollock played vital part in the struggle for its survival. He served as Recording Clerk in the new town during its first years. Ironically, all of his records were lost when the community building, which served as general meetinghouse, church and schoolhouse, burned to the ground with all of its contents. con-tents. Legend has it that a child set the fire "so she wouldn't have to go to school anymore." The loss of these early records caused an irreplacable loss to the community, and to the posterities of its gallant settlers. Mrs. Lundquists diligence in pursuing leads into scattered records has uncovered un-covered many facts about her progenitor's life. Gratitude has been expressed ex-pressed by many family members who have discovered that Samuel Pollock's story has finally been unveiled by his young granddaughter's work. The monument was erected in time for inspection in-spection before the reunion which took place at 5 p.m., July 3 at the Kanarraville LDS Ward Cultural Hall. LuAnn Lundquist and other family members will be there to greet all those in attendance and to answer any questions. Legend. The monument is being purchased with the proceeds from the sale of her booklet and other contributions con-tributions from family members. What started as a college thesis paper four years ago accelerated into an in-depth search over a period of two years, weaving ravelled threads of evidence together to form a poignant story of sacrifice, dedication and romance. Her story traces the life of the young Irish lad, the sole member of his family to join the Mormon faith and leave his homeland and all family ties to migrate to America in 1843. Upon inquiring about her book's title, LuAnn explained, ex-plained, "During my research I discovered that Sam's life story, his accomplishments, ac-complishments, even the old sandstone marker on his burial spot-all these had been lost with destroyed records and with the passing president ana luajm v. Lundquist, secretary and treasurer. At that meeting, subsequent reunions were tentatively scheduled to take place on the July 4 holiday each year in Kanarraville. The site where the Pollock monument will be erected has its own story. The little-known little-known history of Kanarraville, a town with many beginnings, is a turbulent tur-bulent one. Just inside the gate of the cemetery, a mile west of town, is a long row of worn sandstone markers. The crude printings carved into them are barely legible on some, on others, completely com-pletely erased by more than a century of wind and harsh weather. The "trench" of graves there is evidence of just one of the hardhsips endured by the original settlers. The common grave was created after wagon loads of battered caskets were hauled on horse-drawn wagons from "Old Kanarra," to the spot on |