Twinkle and Binkle, The Starr News: Gary Allen Starr has a birthday February 28, 2013

Gary has a birthday February 28. Happy Birthday Gary. I'm sure Hiromi and the kids will make it a great day for you and we will see you on Saturday. (We did see them and we all went to eat at a new restaurant just opening in Spokane. It was very good.)

For your page on this blog I've chosen to include a few paragraphs from your great great grandpa Alexander Baird's autobiography. Genealogy line=Lanny=Nola Hopkins Starr=Alexanderina Baird Hopkins=Alexander Baird.

Alexander was quite a colorful character, full of grit and determination. He was born in Scotland, went to work at the age of seven, ran away from home to go to sea, returned home and shortly after left again for the sea. On one of the ships he was working on, cargo was hauled to Missouri, USA and while there he met and married Grace Barr. Shortly afterward he became a citizen of the United States and joined the United States Navy. He served over 6 ½ years in the Navy. He immigrated to Utah where he lived out the majority of his life. He was a polygamist before Congress enacted a law forbidding polygamy, and had four wives and twenty-two children. He almost always had some kind of employment and also helped build a theater and performed on stage in Brigham City, Utah. This following experience we are sharing occurred while he was in the Navy.

Alexander wrote: “In the spring of 1852 when ships were putting out for the Japan expedition, our station was to be Japan, so thus I was drafted for the first ship that went on the Japanese expedition. Well, I think it was the second or third of May, that we sailed from New York bound for Hong Kong, China...We left Hong Kong and went up to Shanghai and from there to the Lone Choe islands...We then went up to Jeck Bay in Japan and went to a harbor called by us sailors, SeeSall. We lay there nearly six months. No other ship in all that time was near us. The yellow bill sparrows built nests under our masts, hatched and had little ones.

In the spring of that year, Commodore Perry arrived there. A sorry looking sight he was. They had been caught in a typhoon on the way up and looked pretty ruffled. There was the steamship Mississippi, freighters, ships of war and some others. We all assembled in the Bay of Ascke. After a time we got under way altogether and started up the Bay of Judo. We sighted the great city of Jeboh (Edo, later changed to Tokyo) and we then anchored in a place called Hakedudo (Hakodadi) or something like that...

Shortly we got assembled in a fleet. All in regular order – first the large steamers, then the other ships of war, then store ships, and up the bay toward Jeddo we went. Before we came there we stopped to anchor at some island in the bay, all in a half circle, broad side to the shore. On shore we could see guns lining the shore, all aimed at the fleet. This was to be the great signing of the treaty with Japan and Commodore Perry in behalf of the United States. We lowered all boats, formed a half circle, the Commodore in the center, and away we all went to shore. There were thousands of people there and a large pavilion for the signing. The commodore landed with the American flag... We landed after him and began to look around. The battery on shore turned out to be a painted one, on cloth, about the height of a circus wall, with here and there a small gun.... We spent nearly all day on shore looking around at the strange sights to be seen...At last we got on board and all returned to our ships. We were ordered to Hong Kong where we got liberty for the first time. Then we got orders to sail for home. This was some time in the later part of 1854. I had been nearly three and a half years in the service.”

(The signing of the treaty was done at Kanagawa 31 March 1854.)

Gary and his family spent a couple of years in Japan not too many years ago. He taught school while there and shared pictures of his family and the countryside. Prior to this he served two years as a missionary in Japan.