tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26453796311355479972012-01-29T16:12:45.911-06:00A blog exploring Mormon history from my vantage point in rural Tennessee.BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.comBlogger4601100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-56354012383731325432012-01-23T07:00:00.002-06:002012-01-24T10:20:29.502-06:00

Many of the saints who emigrated from Tennessee during the late 19th century, ended up in Colorado. Recently I found a site which is collecting photos documenting this. The collection is sponsored by the Alamosa Public Library System at their Southern Peaks Public Library [SPPL] building. Old Mormon Trails, Colorado SPPL received a grant from the Colorado Digitization Program (CDP) for a scan

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-44629128119986648532012-01-16T07:00:00.002-06:002012-01-16T07:00:02.159-06:00

In my chosen hobby, good sources are a valuable treasure. In that regard I have been fortunate. While researching Tennessee LDS history, I have run across several really good missionary journals. But I have also run across several abysmal ones. They have been so bad, that I have reflected on my missionary journal and just how much better I could have made it. I wish I had been given some examples

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-13444070723071243452012-01-09T07:00:00.000-06:002012-01-09T07:00:10.045-06:00

What do you think of when I say Mormon horses? If you put the two words into a search engine you will likely find arguments about horses in the Book of Mormon. But when I hear those two words I think of Tennessee. Yes, Tennessee. Moses Martin Sanders Sr., born 17 August 1803, came from a wealthy family in Maury County, Tennessee. The details are lost to history, but he and his wife were

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-23670605515441993742012-01-02T07:00:00.042-06:002012-01-02T07:00:07.683-06:00

In 1825, Henry Jolley and his wife Frances Manning took their family from their prosperous plantation in North Carolina to Weakley County, Tennessee. They were wealthy enough to own slaves and they brought several with them. There was a big move to settle this part of the Tennessee Valley, in part because the land had been opened following the end of the War of 1812. Henry served in that war in 

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-29987687075045716102011-12-26T07:00:00.001-06:002011-12-26T07:00:04.228-06:00

Recently I was speaking with a missionary, Elder Miller, who in May of 2011 was serving in Pikesville, Bledsoe County, Tennessee. Elder Miller spoke excitedly about his time there, in part because of what the people of Pikesville told him. According to the members he met there, sixty years earlier, a couple of LDS missionaries were chased out of Pikeville. Elder Miller and his companion were the

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-41488198088220751572011-12-19T07:00:00.003-06:002011-12-19T07:00:18.926-06:00

One of the things I like about doing historical research on Tennessee is that I am in Tennessee. Among other things, it means I can visit the places I read about. Regular readers will recall a post about William S. Berry and his visit to Wilson County just before his death. Recently I was helping a friend pick up somethings he bought on Craigslist. Our travels took us to Wilson County along the

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-61344398092071788502011-12-05T07:00:00.002-06:002011-12-05T07:23:07.903-06:00

A few weeks ago I visited the owner of a place that is today called Talley Hollow on Cane Creek. In 1884, it was called the Conder Farm. The log home where the massacre happened once stood in this hollow.(See note 1.) Today there is only a graveyard to remind the casual visitor of the bloody past. That is, unless you look around carefully. And that is just what the current owner's grandfather did

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-48119512751922373152011-11-28T07:00:00.039-06:002011-11-29T22:44:02.383-06:00

In Elder Jensen Jenson's Encyclopedic History (1930), there is a slightly cryptic entry about missionary work in Tennessee just prior to the Civil War. In 1857 Elders Hyrum H. Blackwell and Emanuel M. Murphy were appointed to gather up scattered saints in Tennessee and arrange for their migration to the Rocky Mountains. I can see it now. Two Elders traveling to the known branches of the Church

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-65318555852605244152011-11-21T07:00:00.012-06:002011-11-21T07:34:41.042-06:00

This letter was published in the Southern Star on December 23, 1899. Magnolia, Tenn Editor Southern Star If you will give me space in your paper for a few lines I desire to say a few words in regard to what I have learned about the Mormons and their doctrine. It was in the month of December 1886 when two Mormon Elders called at our house to inform us that they would preach at the school house

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-79393384562155460062011-11-14T07:00:00.003-06:002011-11-16T06:55:53.674-06:00

Isaiah Thomas Garrett, aka Tom, was the very first person to invite the LDS missionaries to speak on Cane Creek, Tennessee. He invited Elder Edward Stevenson Jr. to make the journey to his cabin in the hills. But Stevenson was released and went home before he was able to make the trip. His replacements, Joseph Argyle and Thomas Higham, made the trip instead. The place they preached was Tom's home

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-18381118171203684572011-11-07T07:00:00.002-06:002011-11-10T23:27:28.939-06:00

It isn't very often that I find mention of Mormons in the various county records in Tennessee. And sometimes what I find can be less than correct. From a 1935 edition of a History of White County I found the following: Mormons The first Mormon who came to White County for any length of time was named Miller. He preached here and in adjoining counties all summer, but when autumn came, his dead

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-69778442485031153512011-10-31T07:00:00.002-05:002011-10-31T07:00:12.759-05:00

While trying to find information about which Ward my grandmother attended I came accross the following page at FamilySearch.org https://www.familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/LDS_Historical_Geography Most of the sources are only available in the library, though some have an online version. If you are really hard up for the information, you can pay to have the microfilm sent to your local Family

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-51629915422025078612011-10-24T07:00:00.022-05:002011-10-27T01:43:38.971-05:00

[So I am close to submitting a manuscript for consideration. I don't have a literary agent, so I'm learning as I go. One of the new steps for me is the query letter. I have tried to follow the suggested format I have found in books and online, staring with just the title and a one sentence hook paragraph. Then a second paragraph with a slightly more detailed summary followed by a short bio with

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-10982077309250413352011-10-17T07:00:00.016-05:002011-10-17T07:00:11.641-05:00

In addition to keeping an eye out for stories from LDS history in Tennessee, I like to keep my eyes open for stories from within my own Stake. Often I will meet people from all over the Stake and I get  to tell people who live near where the story happened about the rich history around them. One such story I'll quote here. President James W Grant [1879-1938] of the Middle Tennessee Conference

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-26468419407400575312011-10-10T07:00:00.003-05:002011-10-23T21:39:35.436-05:00

[Updated with photo below Oct 13, 2011] On Tuesday, July 18th, 1922, Allen S. Crow went down to the Covey-Ballard Motor Company to buy his first car. The car dealership was owned at the time by Stephen M. Covey (1869-1959) and Melvin Russell Ballard Sr.(1897-1982). It was probably not the really big showroom at 464 South Main that was later turned into a dance hall. That did not open officially 

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-59161455312626269902011-10-03T07:00:00.000-05:002011-10-03T07:00:16.314-05:00

News traveled more slowly 167 years ago. It was in July 1844, that Elder Smoot finally hears the news of the prophet's death. He has stopped for a few days in the area of Shady Grove, at the home of Abraham Church whose son, Haden Wells Church, had joined the Church in Nauvoo in 1840 and was now serving a mission. July 05, 1844 On the 5th, traveled 6 miles in the forenoon, arrived in Murry

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-84544303573428180012011-09-26T07:00:00.009-05:002011-09-26T08:15:48.333-05:00

A few weeks ago my father sent me a handful of papers belonging to his father, Allen S. Crow. These were papers that my uncle had saved after my grandfather had passed away in 1993. My grandfather was a meticulous record keeper. He saved every paper that at one time was important, or at least he tried. His wife, my grandmother, balanced out his tendency to save paperwork by encouraging him to get

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-49333720360176768832011-09-19T07:00:00.006-05:002011-09-19T07:00:06.436-05:00

Last Friday night I had the opportunity to speak at a Father and Son outing. There were estimates of over 90 people there, but it sure seemed like a lot more than that. I would have guessed twice that. There were 12 from my ward that I know of (we are a small ward) and many many more from several other wards. I was asked to speak about the history of the LDS Church in the area and specifically

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-2439646289096868502011-09-11T12:43:00.376-05:002011-09-18T07:47:52.166-05:00

William was born near Paris, in Henry County, Tennessee in 1838 to Sidney Bennett Aden (1806-1879) and Delilah H. Brown (1809-1889). He was handsome, six feet tall with blue eyes and dark hair. When he was a young man, a Mormon missionary came through town by the name of William Laney (1815-1891). While Elder Laney was preaching in front of the court house, William Aden and a few of his friends,

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-33174332229920276352011-09-05T07:00:00.007-05:002011-09-05T07:00:09.976-05:00

[A reader, Leanne Law, sent in an autobiography of her grandmother. She joined the church with her family in Tennessee. Because of its length I have taken just some excerpts from it.] I, Marilla Wagner Foulger, was born in Sequatchie, Marion Co., Tennessee to Christian W. Wagner and Anna Augusta Scheef on December 2, 1892, the ninth child of a family of fifteen children. My father was a

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-73542409522460110822011-08-29T07:00:00.001-05:002011-08-29T07:00:09.608-05:00

The first Church activity concerning Dyer County was actually in Nauvoo, Illinois during an Elder’s Conference on April 10th 1843, when Elders F. D. Wilson and G. W. Branson, were assigned as missionaries to Montgomery and Dyer counties, Tennessee. There was no report back so very little is known of who they spoke to but by Jan 20th 1844, according to the Southern States Mission Manuscript, there

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-83380579329894424442011-08-22T07:00:00.012-05:002011-08-25T18:51:52.464-05:00

Last week I received an email asking how Nauvoo, Tennessee got its name. I had some notes on this, based mostly on a 1973 Ensign article by Stanley B Kimball describing a number of towns in the U.S. named Nauvoo. Nauvoo, Dyers County, Tennessee, was apparently named by a Mr. Belus Whit in the 1890s. Mr. Whit was a schoolteacher in the area who, though not a Mormon, was alleged to have been

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-5852586899675334842011-08-15T07:00:00.010-05:002011-08-15T08:34:51.267-05:00

There are few different versions of the Cane Creek Massacre and how it went down. There were various newspaper accounts that came out in the first week after the shooting. Most were incomplete and slightly unreliable (see Betty Webb's account of the massacre). The most complete version was written about a week afterwards and was jointly written by two eyewitnesses with some missing details added

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-2173150604382831372011-08-03T07:00:00.008-05:002011-08-03T07:00:01.589-05:00

Most of what I really need to know about Mormon history, I learned at Keepapitchinin. Wisdom was not at the bottom of a stack of esoteric theology books, but there on the internet in a faith friendly environment. These are the things I learned: Provenance is everything. Anything that happened before 1847 is prehistoric. Mormons knew nothing about Marijuana in the 20th century. Sugar is good

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-651978337420874952011-08-01T07:00:00.007-05:002011-08-01T07:00:19.252-05:00

A few weeks ago I was canoeing near Short Creek. My canoeing partner had grown up in the area and had been to more than a few "youth conferences" at the Short Creek Chapel. He gave me directions to exactly where the chapel was, but he wasn't sure it was still standing. So after we finshed our trip, I took a detour to see if it was still there. Sadly, there was nothing. Not even evidence that it

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-51568650458199308232011-07-27T07:00:00.008-05:002011-07-27T07:00:06.695-05:00

For those who don't remeber, Thomas Young Conder was the brother of Jim Conder. His tragic tale of adultery, murder and capital punishment can be found in a series of posts here. But by chance I came across his photo the other day.

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-24005747351897187462011-07-25T07:00:00.144-05:002011-07-25T07:00:21.593-05:00

Crossville is a city in east central Tennessee which today has about 11,000 people. It sits at what was the crossroads for Nashville-Knoxville traffic and Chattanooga-Kentucky traffic. Its "on-the-beaten-path" location meant it was hard hit by the depredations of the Civil War from both sides. Elder Parley Pratt Jr. and his companion Daniel Stuart undoubtedly passed through in 1878 on their

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com0Crossville, TN, USA35.97271634978644 -85.0159150718749935.910017849786435 -85.07592457187499 36.03541484978644 -84.95590557187498tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-47625732188490807082011-07-22T07:00:00.004-05:002011-07-22T09:27:53.592-05:00

Trail Builders Class at Nashville, Tenn. Sisters Velma Mortensen and Lydia Gibbons, Teachers Circa 1930. Sometimes I run across photos like this with no names or explanations. The sisters are obviously not in the photo. You can learn more about the Trail Builder program here from Ardis.

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com2Nashville, TN, USA36.1658899 -86.784443235.94703440000001 -87.05410069999999 36.3847454 -86.5147857tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-35258241427445287632011-07-20T07:00:00.005-05:002011-07-20T07:00:09.818-05:00

A few weeks ago I was tracing the travels of William S. Berry for the several weeks before his death. One of the interesting side trips he took was to Wilson County, where he visited with his mother's relations. During that visit he went to see his the home his parent had lived in when he was born in a place he called Dresdon. But no such place exists in Wilson County, at least not on records

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-12636182821784695992011-06-27T07:00:00.018-05:002011-06-27T07:00:03.133-05:00

This post could be entitled "Don't believe every thing you read on the Internet." More on that later. For my birthday I received  a couple of books that are out of print. One of them was a book on a Civil War era unit titled "Holding the Line: The Third Tennessee Infantry, 1861-1864." This particular unit was of interest to me because of its rosters included several people who were connected

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-40459456794695581142011-06-22T07:00:00.022-05:002011-06-22T07:47:06.536-05:00

 A couple of weeks ago, I received an email asking me about a photo. A woman in Colorado was going through her father's things after he passed away. Among them was a photo album, the origin of which she was unsure. She believed it belonged to her grandfather but it may have been older than that. It included several photographs of Merriner Wood Merrill (of the Quorum of the Twelve) and probably

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-63698629667455564172011-06-17T07:00:00.003-05:002011-06-17T14:16:39.756-05:00

In the Fall of 1940, our nation was under the threat of war. Yet the work went on. Tennessee was split between two districts, which at the time were portions of the East Central States Mission. Below are two exceprts from the Liahona, The Elders Journal. The names of these missionaries are recent enough that some of you may know them. TENNESSEE WEST DISTRICT - September 24, 1940 We now have

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-38518982341074303952011-06-15T07:00:00.005-05:002011-06-15T07:00:00.551-05:00

[This is a continuation of a series on Parley P. Pratt Jr.] Not to be dissuaded by a little persecution in Columbia, Elder Pratt and Stuart went on to the next town. Passing on some eight miles south into the Cullecka [Culleoka] district, school-houses were opened to us and we were even invited to preach in their churches; but as soon as we began to get influence with the people, the wolves in

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-75873375049872063132011-06-13T07:00:00.002-05:002011-06-13T07:00:24.370-05:00

[This is a continuation of a series on Parley P. Pratt Jr.] Returning to middle Tennessee, Elder Pratt notes a little bit of local history. The Gospel trumpet was first sounded in this place [Shady Grove] over 45 years ago by David Patten and Warren Parish and the people in the immediate vicinity for many years past have had many strong testimonies of the truth of the great Latter-day work.

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-82021135515309745362011-06-10T07:00:00.004-05:002011-06-10T07:00:06.964-05:00

[This is a continuation of a series on Parley P. Pratt Jr.] After 5 weeks of work in Tennessee, the pair took six weeks and traveled to Haywood Valley GA for a mission conference with John Morgan. They also had some trouble with their horses, an event that will be long remembered by the horses owner: Uncle Robbins Church. On one occasion in North Georgia, our animals were stolen from the

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-8096908811473725332011-06-08T07:00:00.007-05:002011-06-08T13:41:38.681-05:00

Elder Parley P. Pratt Jr. served more than one mission for the Church. In 1878 he was serving alone in the north western states (Iowa and Missouri) when he learned that Elder Edward Stevenson Jr. was also serving his mission alone in Tennessee. So in May he headed south to join him, thinking they would be better off serving together. Taking steamer for 200 miles up the Cumberland river, I

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-41010290133305334452011-06-06T07:00:00.006-05:002011-06-06T09:32:43.469-05:00

OK so maybe just one pet peeve per post. Not long ago I came across a photo of two men. It was a partially labled photo, so I was having trouble naming the people in it. All the caption said was "dedicated by Elder Charles A. Callis", but it didn't say who was who. I figured out the one on the left right looks a little like Charles A. Callis. Kind of.  Below is a different photo of him.

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-57182138898941149822011-06-03T07:00:00.016-05:002011-06-03T07:00:02.855-05:00

Today, and for the next couple of days, I will be taking our local BSA troop canoeing down the Buffalo River. The Buffalo runs though Perry County, Tennessee, where Jim Conder took his surviving family after the massacre. Perry County is where the Cedar Creek Branch was, and descendents of those who stayed in Tennessee ather than emmigrate to Zion still live on the Buffalo River today. I was

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-25964516201568040722011-06-01T07:00:00.003-05:002011-06-01T07:00:16.583-05:00

I love that we are a record keeping church. In the day and age before our lives were meticulously recorded on every computer, we kept meticulopus records on paper, sometime in very good handwriting too. The record I am looking at spans seven years until 1888. And the same clean handwriting is used until March of 1884. More important than the handwriting is the wealth of information. Nearly

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-37675833366725781482011-05-27T07:00:00.005-05:002011-05-27T07:17:00.822-05:00

[This is part three on a presentation I gave about Cane Creek and local Mormon History. You can read the other two parts about the Church Family Cemetery and the places we stopped along the way.] At Charles Talley Road the asphalt gave way to chert, a local rock used for gravel roads. We drove on the twisted path, keeping off the private driveways of the several homes now on what was once the

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-35764857375928598302011-05-24T07:00:00.002-05:002011-05-25T11:02:56.096-05:00

[This is part two on a presentation I gave about Cane Creek and local Mormon History] From Shady Grove we piled into our several cars and headed towards the home site of Sam Hoover. There is nothing remaining of the home, and site is overgrown with trees and brush [and poison ivy]. So standing in the shade on the road side we talked about the site. Sam had married one of Abraham Church’s

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-62161139707976689372011-05-22T07:00:00.002-05:002011-05-22T07:00:00.332-05:00

A couple of weeks ago I was asked to take a group of temple missionaries around to see the site of the Cane Creek Massacre and other places of interest. My Bishop was really the organizer behind it, and it is hard to tell him no. Not that I was even tempted to turn him down. So I spent Saturday afternoon, visiting some of the more historic LDS sites in middle Tennessee. It was really fun, though

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-3200254188710054932011-05-17T07:00:00.001-05:002011-05-17T07:00:09.564-05:00

Off and on for the last year I have been working on a book about the massacre. At each point in my research I come upon oddities that I can’t explain. As I work through the details I have been finding simple explanations that fit perfectly. William S. Berry’s visit to his father’s home in Dresdon, for example, makes no sense unless you agree he lived in Wilson, instead of Weakley County. Another

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-21703485998054608542011-05-12T07:00:00.011-05:002011-05-17T00:27:16.636-05:00

So on May 21st I am giving a presentation of the Cane Creek Massacre to a group of temple missionaries with some time off because the temple has shut down for two weeks. My bishop and I have come up with a plan. We’ll start at Shady Grove, where B. H. Roberts put on his now famous “hobo disguise.” The house is long gone, but the family cemetery is still there. If there were any place where the

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-32007384759097089292011-05-10T07:00:00.001-05:002011-05-10T07:07:38.776-05:00

It seems I can't escape. And I mean that in a good way. In the last couple of weeks the south has been hard hit with weather. Rain and tornados, now flooding from the Mississippi, yet through it all I still find myself pulled toward Mormon history. Last weekend I took my daughter to Sipsi, Alabama to help with clearing trees and other Tornado damamge. As nightfall brought and end to the first day

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-17176972352909947442011-04-25T07:00:00.002-05:002011-04-26T15:40:57.876-05:00

[What follows is a talk my eight year old son gave in primary. The words are his. I typed as he spoke and checked the spelling.  And changed the order a few sentences. But the words are his.] Jesus is my savior and redeemer because he died for me and he is the son of God. He lived his life so I would know how to do the right things. He got baptized so that I would know I should get baptized. He

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-16257566352139734972011-04-22T07:00:00.001-05:002011-04-23T12:39:53.473-05:00

[This the final installation of my series on Elders being attacked with eggs instead of guns. See earlier installments here 1, 2 , & 3] Oct 1900 Elders T. S. Karren and J. M. Redd went into the little city of Milan  (pronounced "MY-lunn"), Gibson county, Tenn. They interviewed the Mayor, and from him obtained permission to canvass the city and preach on the streets. The Elders at once proceeded

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-79536994646369451552011-04-20T07:00:00.002-05:002011-04-20T07:00:10.118-05:00

[This is a continuation of a series of posts on Elders being attacked with eggs instead of guns] In April 1900. During the past week Elders F.W. Karren, R. R. Humpherys, Charles McNeil and Thomas S. Karren, who are laboring in the city of Jackson, Tenn., have been doing much good. They have been holding street meetings with much success. To be sure they have met opposition, and that in an

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-17159155091453558462011-04-18T07:00:00.003-05:002011-04-18T07:00:04.497-05:00

[This is a continuation of a series of posts on Elders being attacked with eggs instead of guns. The following occurred in August in 1899.] Elders George A. Smith and F. P. Hammond came to Sweetwater to fill an appointment made the week previous. They had seen the Mayor, Mr. "Bob" Beardshear, who said, "yes, gentlemen, go ahead and preach all you want to." It was Saturday afternoon, and as many

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-50144942017671488582011-04-15T07:00:00.002-05:002011-04-15T07:00:12.278-05:00

[A Survey of Mobbings in the Southern Star revealed a pattern; a shift from using guns in the 1880's to using eggs in the 1890's. Since the Easter season approaches, I thought we might enjoy a few examples. There are four in this series.] March, 1898 During the latter part of March, Elders James Larson and R. G. Archibald entered Cookeville, Tenn., to canvass, preach, etc., but met with a very

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-47072667032042105362011-04-13T07:00:00.007-05:002011-04-13T07:00:16.864-05:00

[The below biography was printed in the LDS Souther Star.] Among the earliest settlers of the now prosperous state of Utah, but then the heart of the American desert, were the forefathers—the great-grandpa rents and grandparents—of Elder J. Urban Allred. Sixty-eight .years ago they were gathered in the Gospel net, and left their home in Marshall county, Tennessee, to share the lot of a

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-49585437107859720092011-04-11T07:00:00.006-05:002011-04-11T07:00:09.595-05:00

From Nashville Banner, Oct. 7th, 1899 A little incident occurred last night at the corner by the Tulane hotel that might have turned into a combat royal between two rival preachers of different religious sects. For the past week or two Elder J. Urban Allred, of Lehi, Utah, an evangelist of the Latter Day Saints, or Mormons, has been in the city and has been preaching in different localities,

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-39172932797229259182011-03-28T07:00:00.006-05:002011-03-28T07:00:09.582-05:00

This is a story in which I almost make a fool of myself. But before I do, I want to let you check my work. I started out trying to track the travels of Elder William Shanks Berry just prior to his being killed in Aug 10, 1884. One aspect that confused me was that he noted that he was visiting his relatives and that he went to see his father’s old cabin in Dresdon, Tennessee. But at no time could

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-37618821410467923252011-03-21T07:00:00.009-05:002011-03-21T07:00:03.129-05:00

My educational background is in political science. I have been trained when I write to be careful to present only facts, or at least what can be presented as facts. It was politics after all. So as an historian, amateur or otherwise, I am hesitant to report rumors as they can be misinterpreted as fact. Not that I think that my readers are too unsophisticated to distinguish fact from rumor, but

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-43747069683532080522011-03-14T07:00:00.013-05:002011-03-14T07:00:18.396-05:00

Some people collect stamps, I like to collect photos and articles about events in Tennessee Mormon history. Often I have been given these by friends or readers (sometimes by those who are both). Often what I get is tangentially related. But even if they are, I find there is something new in it. Recently I was given this image. It was dated 1964 and showed Robert Coleman and Horace Cooper "Bud"

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-54832671728188942062011-03-07T07:00:00.002-06:002011-03-20T16:56:27.976-05:00

Last week I reported that the historical marker for the Cane Creek Massacre had gone missing. Well, here is what is left. And soon even that will be gone. The Tennessee Department of Transportation is goin to remove the pole and someday, but not this year, it will get replaced. To give you an idea of scale the post is about 4 inches thick. The sign was made of cast iron, and appears to have

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-18703281809831161842011-02-28T07:00:00.002-06:002011-03-20T16:56:27.980-05:00

Yesterday, I spoke with a friend who lives on Cane Creek Road in Lewis County. She told me that the historical marker for the Cane Creek massacre is missing. Now, there are a few possible explanations. It could have been knocked or blown down. Tennessee does have tornado problems. But there hasn't been a tornado through there and there is no damage to the surrounding area. Plus the post is still

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-84564977921977719132011-02-18T07:00:00.001-06:002011-02-18T07:00:17.330-06:00

[Bruce’s note: This letter was printed in the Putnam County Herald. The clipping was undated but based on the editor's note it was probably printed in about 1929.] Editors note: The following letter was written nearly 85 years ago to the great grandmother of Mrs. S. Hayden Young. Her daughter and family went with the Mormons via Illinois to Utah in the Covered Wagon exodus of that period. Mrs.

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-45724373574546373802011-02-16T07:00:00.005-06:002011-02-16T11:39:53.192-06:00

Yesterday, while I was on my way to pick up my daughter from school, she called me saying she wanted to stay late and have pizza with friends. I was in Nashville already and it wasn't practical to drive home and then back into town, So very unexpectently I had some extra time. To make the most of it, I dropped into the Tennessee State Library and Archives. There was still about 90 minutes before

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-19492686046679834962011-02-11T07:00:00.002-06:002011-02-11T14:33:35.013-06:00

One of the possible sources for research is public records. There are many kinds of public records and their usefullness varies from area to area. But I found an odd one that surprised me just how useful it was in one particular case.:Legislative Acts. The site of the Cane Creek Massacre is very close to the counrty line between Lewis County and Hickman County in Tennessee. So close that when

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-61684661183119626152011-02-09T07:00:00.001-06:002011-02-09T11:42:37.857-06:00

One of the resons I like a blog as a medium for sharing Mormon history is that it encourages feedback from readers. Well, this was a week for feed back.  Solomon J Hinson  One reader sent in two photographs of his ancestors who, according to family tradition were among the vigilantes who attacked the Conder home in 1884.  The two were father and son Solomon Jordan Hinson and John

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-38305632547007906172011-02-04T07:00:00.001-06:002011-02-04T07:00:00.731-06:00

James Henderson Scott was born to William Carroll Scott and Savel Luvenia "Sarah" Jones on November 15, 1845, in Henderson County, Tennessee. He went by his middle name, Henderson, with friends. Although he was old enough, he does not appear to have served in the Civil War. On September 7, 1865, he married Margaret Delaney Rhodes, also from Henderson County. Although Henderson could read and

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-28371472883127372702011-02-02T07:00:00.080-06:002011-02-02T13:58:47.748-06:00

 Sirenious Reed was born on Nov 9, 1839 in the town of Lone Elm, in Henderson County, Tennessee. He was the grandson of the first settler of Henderson County Joseph Reed. Even today, the name of Joseph Reed is remembered and respected in Henderson County. With the outbreak of the Civil War, Sirenious enlisted in the 7th Tennessee Cavalry. He was given the rank of Corporal and assigned to

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-54826167921354815572011-01-31T07:00:00.013-06:002011-01-31T07:00:15.997-06:00

[This is a continuation of my research into the Smithites of Decatur County.] One approach to this kind of research is to track the people. The idea is that if I know where the various  followers of Robert Edge spent their lives, I can verify whether the rumor is true. So I started out by reviewing my documents for the names of the converts from among Robert Edge’s followers. Elder Bean

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-46874432992437757662011-01-28T07:00:00.012-06:002011-01-28T07:00:20.063-06:00

Earlier this week I started looking at a rumor passed to me about a colony of people called Smithites who once lived in Decatur County, Tennessee and their reputed origins among the followers of Robert Edge. I started by reviewing the documents I already have on Mr. Edge and found a reference in the writings of W. W. Bean to the fate of some of the converts. It read... In a short time two

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-90117759403201484122011-01-26T07:00:00.008-06:002011-01-26T07:00:06.857-06:00

I was attending a Eagle Scout Court of Honor at a local Church of Christ in Chapel Hill, Tennessee last week. While I was waiting for things to get started, I picked up the hymal and began thumbing through it. I was curious because a friend of mine told me that if I ever got the chance to hear a Church of Christ congregation sing, that I should do so. The members of the Church of Christ, once

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-60384647383963995432011-01-24T07:00:00.010-06:002011-01-24T07:00:14.558-06:00

Part of historical research is being willing to listen when people tell you stories. What follows is hearsay. I heard it from a friend, who heard it from a friend who was told this story. But this week I am going to start digging into this to see what I can find. There was a member of our local ward (Chester) who has since passed away, who joined the church later in life. He liked to fish on the

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-42460031653281565692011-01-19T07:00:00.001-06:002011-01-19T07:00:09.245-06:00

When the Clinton Branch was formed in 1992, the Church purchase property I-75 and the Anderson High School on which to build a chapel. But for a little while theny met in a storefront on Clinton Highway. Described as a "shoe store" members were determined to make it feel like a chapel. The membership came from two other established wards in Grove Park and Oak Ridge, each with beautiful chapel of

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-37424842798248622432011-01-17T07:00:00.001-06:002011-01-17T07:00:09.061-06:00

The subject of this sketch is an Idahoan, having made his advent into this world at the town of Weston, in Oneida county. April 8th, 1872, was the memorable day in the Dawson household. When he became old enough to labor the farm was awaiting him, and soon his muscles became hardened and his complexion bronzed in the sunshine and rain of farm life. He, in common with a great part of the Elders in

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-13639622289565812642011-01-14T07:00:00.005-06:002011-01-14T07:00:17.461-06:00

The following is a continuation of a previous post. Another Church Burned. Clinton, Tenn., April 3, 1899. By Elder W. E. Dawson. To the Southern Star. Our dear little church here at Hart's Chapel was burned yesterday (Sunday) morning, and at day-break the Saints assembled to find their hopes of worshiping God in their dearly cherished church blasted. They gathered on the spot at 9:40 a. m. and

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-32546975652446759472011-01-12T07:00:00.007-06:002011-01-13T08:39:29.423-06:00

What follows is a letter from Elder Dawson, President of the East Tennessee Conference, to the Latter Day Saint Soutthern Star. East Tennessee Conference By Elder W. E. Dawson. To The Star. Milligan, Tenn., March 2, 1899. It was with great pleasure we greeted our beloved President, Ben E. Rich, with his ever smiling countenance and words of kindness and fatherly advice. Our session or

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-8298137351048258382011-01-06T07:00:00.010-06:002011-01-06T08:45:57.367-06:00

[The following article about Samuel Baugh Thatcher appeared in the Latter Day Saint Southern Sar February 25th, 1899.] This week The Star presents, under "Our Conference Presidents" Elder Samuel B. Thatcher, who presides over the East Tennessee conference. President Thatcher was born on the 11th day of January 1872 at the beautiful city of Logan where he acquired a good education, and at

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-22123948416803642882011-01-03T07:00:00.005-06:002011-01-03T07:00:01.496-06:00

I noticed the other day an entry in the Latter Day Saints Southern Star. It was a historical note about a sister sharing her testimony through the South. History of the Southern States Mission June 1880. Sister Sarah Church of Utah visited the south and while thus engaged made a number of appointments to preach bearing her testimony to the Gospel as revealed through Joseph Smith. She traveled

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-66369800708676154452010-12-31T07:00:00.001-06:002010-12-31T07:00:12.222-06:00

It occurred on the night of June 3 [1899] at Salem Church, James county, Tennessee. We had an appointment for meeting, but when we reached the designated place we found the doors of the church locked. A good modern Christian (?), one who superintends the Baptist Sunday school and sits in the "amen" corner at their periodical religious hurrahs, had performed this heathenish deed and skulked away

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-46755771991806088682010-12-29T07:00:00.001-06:002010-12-29T07:00:11.738-06:00

Biographies of Conference Presidents. This Biography was written in 1898 of a then currently serving missionary. Notice the flourishing style and the classical references. We just don't write like this anymore. Elder Fletcher Bartlett Hammond. Environments have as much to do with a man's destiny and character as his lineage. Noble, pure parentage, associated with auspicious surroundings, bid

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-22850905521653395762010-12-27T07:00:00.000-06:002010-12-27T07:00:04.034-06:00

In Putnam county, Tennessee. February 14th, 1885, Elders Joseph Franklin Miller and George Wilson were at the Rutledge home helping them prepare for emigration to Zion, and had just finished nailing the last packing box shut. Elder Miller decided to go to the Samples home for “some pop corn and a popper to help pass the night away.” As he left he heard the neighbors’ dog barking and thought it

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-54342585864489775362010-12-24T07:00:00.062-06:002011-06-01T02:15:12.665-05:00

Shadrack Holdaway was born October 15, 1822 in Rochester, Hawkins county, Tennessee. He was the son of Timothy Holdaway and Mary Elizabeth Trent. In 1883 he moved with his parents from Tennessee to Indiana, and it was there that he heard about the church. Shadrack Holdaway was baptized by Jefferson Hunt on November 30th, 1843. He was the first member of his family to join the Church. He joined

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-63073529719697982702010-12-22T07:00:00.000-06:002010-12-22T07:00:00.452-06:00

In the front yard of a house just south of Ripley, in Lauderdale County, Tennessee is a small nearly forgotten cemetery. Only seven gravestones remain, the other stones were removed by a previous owner to make the property more sellable. One of the surviving markers, however, belongs to Harvey Jackson Haynes. Harvey was born on March 12th, 1819 in Tennessee to Abraham and Sarah Haynes. Abraham

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-19290556777088006752010-12-20T07:00:00.033-06:002010-12-20T07:00:05.761-06:00

Elder George J. Woodbury writing from Venus, Lawrence Co., Tennessee, April 19, 1884. The Venus post office opened in August 28, 1882 and closed down in May 31, 1906. I couldn't locate the exact site of the old post office, but one guide suggested that it was the unoffical name for Pea Ridge. The town of Pea Ridge was very close to the Knob Creek Branch, only a couple of miles away as the crow

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-53349162089148511442010-12-15T07:00:00.001-06:002010-12-15T15:22:31.405-06:00

Parley Parker Pratt was a missionary in Tennessee. No, not that P. P. Pratt. His son! His grandson was only 17 at the time so I don't think it was him. He wrote home to the Deseret News periodically and they dutifully printed his letters. It one of them he describes some healings in Tennessee. Shady Grove, Hickman County, Tenn., Dec 5th, 1878 Editors Deseret News: [There are several

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-42119853720830875262010-12-14T07:00:00.052-06:002010-12-14T22:02:27.131-06:00

It is December 1843. In the Nauvoo the saints have gathered in the homes of friends and family to celebrate the birth of the savior. At the Prophet's home there was feasting, dancing, and an unexpected guest in the person of Orrin Porter Rockwell. In December 2010. In the Tennessee countryside a ward Christmas party was held where there was also feasting (OK, the fare was pretty simple to be

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-82168162962087968632010-12-11T07:00:00.004-06:002010-12-11T07:00:01.790-06:00

"The day after I arrived, as I had some business to transact with the Prophet Joseph, I went and had an interview with him and William Clayton. I felt good. I went up to the Nauvoo Temple and saw there was work for me, but my dress and general appearance did not bespeak that of a working man. I enquired for those in charge. Reynolds Cahoon presented himself and some others. They tried me very

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-76626190769733220312010-12-10T07:00:00.000-06:002010-12-14T00:49:09.406-06:00

Originally from Sumner County, Tennessee, Jonathon moved to Quincy, Illinois where he was opened a gun shop and was elected Justice of the Peace. There he met Mormons escaping Missouri and was favorably impressed. Increasingly curious about the Mormons, he made a trip to Nauvoo. After meeting Joseph Smith he converted to Mormonism and moved his gun shop to Nauvoo. As a young man he had

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-78652558286203875162010-12-09T07:00:00.001-06:002010-12-09T07:00:10.046-06:00

We stayed a short time in Quincy and then Father moved about 22 miles up the river, about two miles above Seyma and fourteen miles below Warsaw in Hancock County. A committee was appointed by the Saints to find a location for the Saints’ headquarters. They found a place above Warsaw about eight miles that was called Commerce. It consisted of three stations or dwellings. This was a very sickly

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-39048565161915578902010-12-08T07:00:00.002-06:002010-12-08T23:31:18.728-06:00

Father bought a piece of land in a field and built a shanty to live in until he could build a house. He went away one afternoon and didn’t get back til late in the night. While he was gone a big thunderstorm came up. It happened that a young man named Henry Snelson was plowing in the field. It rained so hard, Mother got him to come into the house. The storm was so bad he stayed all night

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-71585280156330152562010-12-07T07:00:00.002-06:002010-12-07T07:00:14.535-06:00

[This is one of a selection of stort snippets about Nauvoo residents we are using for our ward party.] Esaias Edwards served a mission in Tennessee with Elder Alexander Williams. After I returned home I found my family enjoying tolerable health. I then in a short time went to Nauvoo and contracted for a lot on the bank of the Mississippi River and began to improve it by getting out

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-33116420559546707582010-11-29T07:00:00.006-06:002010-11-29T07:00:12.075-06:00

My ward is having a Christmas Party with a Nauvoo 1843 theme. We're supposed to come in costume and we have a host of activities that are meant to enhance the experience. different auxilaries have "booths" that correspomd to spots in old Nauvoo; a bakery, the Red Brick Storehouse, and more. I suggested we make little posters that tell a brief history of some one there, perhaps relatives of ward

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-9186626901497566642010-11-25T07:00:00.009-06:002010-12-25T13:55:56.374-06:00

I was reading though my great grandfather's mission journal and found a list of the missionaries that went with him. I found the list fascinating, and thought you might as well. My great grandfather is first on this list. I recognized one other name in this group. Are there ones you recognize? Joseph F. Miller - Farmington, UT - Bairds Mill, TN Joshua Hawks - Franklin, ID - Duck River, TN John H

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-18710601580358463862010-11-15T07:00:00.002-06:002010-12-14T00:40:43.132-06:00

In the Spring of 1842, Elder J. D. Lee, a missionary in Tennessee, came upon a branch of the church at Indian Creek in Putnam County organized by two brothers, William and Alfred Young. The two had joined the Church elsewhere in Tennessee and had been ordained Elders. They decided to return to toen they grew up in and share the gospel with their relatives. Having done this they moved on to Nauvoo

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-89274552028003584762010-11-12T07:00:00.004-06:002010-11-12T07:00:03.430-06:00

You've heard of early pioneer women who were doctors and midwives. And you recognize the names of Zina Young and Patty Sessions. Well, how about Louisa Obray? No? Let me tell you about her. When looking back on her life, Louisa Obray had a great deal of which to be proud. In 1890, at the age of 35, she attended the Columbia Hospital for training as a nurse. She had already trained in Utah as a

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-13128625174492544582010-11-10T07:00:00.003-06:002010-11-10T14:29:10.163-06:00

When I moved into my new home, I learned that one of the people who lived relatively nearby that I had been hoping to talk with had recently passed away. It was disappointing. An entire perspective on the past - her perspective- is now only to be had second hand. Well, just the other day I learned another person I had hoped to talk with has passed away as well. Charles Hinson was a descendent of

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-88668501901006786262010-11-08T07:00:00.001-06:002010-11-19T09:46:34.643-06:00

I was checking my notes on some of the photographs I have collected and I noticed that I have a photo for which I have not identified a key figure. As time goes on, it become harder and harder to track down just who is in any given photo. So one of the things I have been trying to do is get names to add to the faces of the dozens of  photos I have collected before it is too late. This photo

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-8606685804925494602010-10-26T07:00:00.016-05:002010-10-26T09:08:07.095-05:00

I have been working recently in Atlanta, and as a result I have been driving back and forth a couple of times a week through Chattanooga. Each time I drove through I thought to myself  "There is a monunment to Elder Standing somewhere around her. I should find out where and stop to see it." Weeks go by, but I usually drive by at dusk, far too late for this sort of thing. For those who

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-55582533714297583572010-10-22T07:00:00.002-05:002010-12-14T00:51:08.265-06:00

A friend of mine recently discovered members of his family in Tennessee had earlier contact with the LDS Church than he originally thought. In Eliza R. Snow's biography of her brother President Lorenzo Snow, she included a brief bio of (President Snow's grandson?) Alphonzo Snow. Alphonzo served a mission in Tennessee and Kentucky from 1881-1883, and for a while was president of the East Tennessee

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-22955637866599544492010-10-20T07:00:00.002-05:002010-10-20T09:50:19.362-05:00

I had the chance to read through portions of Truman Madsen's biography of B. H. Roberts the other day. I have always had a place in my heart for Truman's work. This one in particular helped me get further into the mind of B. H. Roberts. I think my next stop is to read his diaries. But I was a little disapponted with one error in his chapter on Roberts tenure as acting mission president. Roberts

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-41245306223006527152010-10-18T07:00:00.000-05:002010-12-14T00:39:58.450-06:00

[Elder Frank E. Douglas, President of the East Tennessee Conference wrote the following report to the mission office. The report made it into the Liahona.] While Elder Garfield and I [Elder Douglas] were laboring in Scott County [Tennessee] a short time ago [probably 1925] we had a rather thrilling experience. We had received permission to preach during the noon hour at a large mill just out of

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-8921025724040583762010-10-15T07:00:00.001-05:002010-10-28T09:34:48.269-05:00

Among the trials of serving a mission is the health issues sometimes accompanying living in a climate and eating the food to which you are not accustomed. Elder Jonathon Golden Kimball was particularly ill during his first mission to the Southern States. When B. H. Roberts returned to Chattanooga as acting Mission President, he found Elder Kimball in such dire ill health, that he relieved him

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-77684160983315704782010-10-13T07:00:00.003-05:002010-10-13T07:00:00.444-05:00

When I was in high school I read book called Megatrends by John Naisbitt. Part of his reasearch methodology involved newspaper analysis. The author described the origin of that process, which was first used during World War II to assess enemy casualties. The official reports from Germany often under represented the scope of the negative effects of the war. But local newspapers proudly reported

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-53143125096852591072010-10-11T07:00:00.003-05:002010-12-09T23:31:40.872-06:00

In the spring of 1905, two Elders of the Mormon Church working near the town of Bybee, Tennessee were approached by potential converts asking for baptism. Baptisms were rare in Tennessee, so as you might expect, they were happy to oblige. The baptism was scheduled for a few days later at a spot commonly used for baptisms by all the local churches. As luck would having it, a local Baptist

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2645379631135547997.post-59816230627673560102010-10-08T07:00:00.004-05:002010-12-09T23:33:06.763-06:00

It never fails. Just as I finish a post, someone sees it and says "I have something you want." And so it is with this photo. Dated 1909, this photo of the Northcutts Cove Chapel at Larsen Tennessee, (just north of Altamont, Tennessee) may have been taken at the dedication which was in October of 1909. Part of me thinks I can see Charles A. Callis in the photo. He spoke at the dedication and at

BruceCrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01543519825711760773noreply@blogger.com3