George W Brandon writes a Letter.

On July 6, 1842, George wrote the following letter in Nauvoo. George was an early convert to the Church in Tennessee (in 1835?) and he eventually became a local leader in the branch and was called as a missionary there before he emigrated in 1842 to Nauvoo.

[To put this letter in context, let's talk a little bit about memory. George Brandon wrote that he was baptized on 25 March 1835 by Wilford Woodruff and that his wife was baptized by Elder Woodruff in September 1835. Assuming his "autobiography" was indeed an autobiography - of which I am not convinced - there is at least one issue. Brandon's claim is certainly wrong since on the 25th of March 1835, Wilford Woodruff was mucking through mud in Arkansas, no where near Henry County. He would not arrive in Henry county until the 9th of April. Does that invalidate the whole account? Not really. Well, maybe. If he didn't really write it, then yes. But assuming that he did I would start by believing it was his memory which was at issue. Either he got the date wrong or the person wrong. It happens. As malleable as memory is, either is possible. With that example of an already proven faulty memory I present something else he wrote, from memory. -  BAllen]

This 1845 map is the closest I could find to 1842, the date of
Geo W Brandon's letter, that correctly showed Benton County
which until 1836 was part of Humphreys County. It also shows
the location of the Cumberland Irons Works which he names.

Dear Brother:
In as much as I have lately arrived at the place from Tennessee, I feel it a duty that I owe to God and myself and also my brethren to give you a short account of the state and condition of the Church and brethren in the counties of Henry, Stewart and Mongomery, Tennessee, as far as I have knowledge of their standing.

I will give a short account of the Charity Branch which branch was raised up by myself in 1839, and was organized with seven members, some of whom lived in Henry County and some in Benton County. Our most usual place of holding meetings was in a few hundred yards of the county line between the aforesaid counties and near to where they cornered.

My labors since I was ordained an Elder have been extended from Joseph Chunness on Blood River, Henry County, through the northeast corner of Benton County, thence across the Tennessee River in a southeasterly direction to Wills Creek, thence north across the Cumberland River at the Cumberland Iron Works. Thence a little east at north nine miles to Nathaniel Abners, in Montgomery County . . . My labors were extended, as before stated from Blood River, Henry County, to Montgomery County, Tennessee. Although Benton and Stewart Counties, making a circuit of 80 miles in length.     

Throughout this circuit I have preached all I could. My circumstances being very limited I suppose I have preached about 500 sermons in the last three years and baptized some 26 persons. My circumstances have been such that compelled me to labor all the while for the support of my family and not only this, I was near $200 in debt, which I had no way of paying only by my labors, which I have paid, excepting a few dollars that was given to me this last spring by my sister, Abigail Brandon. I suppose she gave me as much as $15 in money. A good many of the poor sisters and brothers have helped me to a little provision as they could spare. I have suffered some loss by the mobs of Benton and Henry Counties, Tennessee. But out of all these troubles the Lord has delivered me, for which I thank and adore His name. . .

And here is where the letter, at least the copy I have, ends. George was eye witness to the early days of the Church in Tennessee. Had he lived longer, he might have written about those early days and we'd know more of what he remembered. But he died in 1849 in Iowa, earning money to make it to the Salt Lake Valley. His widow, Keziah Brandon made it a couple years later. Now if only Keziah wrote something....

Elders Eardley & Camp Strike Out On Their Own

The following is a letter written to John Morgan. Two of the incoming missionaries got tired of waiting for instructions and struck out on their own. One of them [Richard Camp] having relatives living in the area who had not joined the church, they decided to go find them. The other [James W Eardley] wrote this letter.

Dresden Tennessee

December 14, 1880

John Morgan

     Elder John W Taylor and myself arrived at St. Louis on time. We stopped four days and no tidings of Brother [Matthias Foss] Cowley. In the meantime Brothers Camp and [Abraham O.] Smoot rejoined our party, and thinking proper Brother C[amp] and myself wended our way to Dresden. Brother C[amp] found many who was acquainted with his parents but no relatives nor have we found any saints. Immediately after arriving, I wrote Bro. [Lorenzo] Hunsaker, Benton Co., but up to the present time, being five days since our arrival I have received no reply. Notwithstanding our delay we have not been idle; by conversing with this family and that, we found a great spirit of inquiry in regard to the Latter-day Saints. They visited us and a great many seemed very anxious, even requesting us to hold a meeting, although we felt that a little experience would be of great service. Still under the circumstances we felt the duty resting upon us.   We engaged the Court House, the largest building in the town, places up a few notices, and soon after the appointed hour, to our surprise, the house was full, with the humble and the meek and aristocracy, men and women. You may imagine that with comparitively(sic) speaking no experience, we felt our weakness, and we needed to rely upon some one beside ourselves, and I can assure you we were assisted. They paid the utmost attention. We entertained them about an hour and a quarter. At close of service by request, I gave away over thirty tracts, which I had with me, and had calls for more, and could have sold several Books of Mormon if I had had them. Brother Camp has loaned several of his books to inquiring parties. Notwithstanding this spirit of inquiry, there is an opposition spirit; the Methodist minister is greatly opposed to us; another party threatened us, "should we have a meeting we should be tarred and feathered." but the opposition comparatively speaking, amounts to nothing.
     Brother Camp having and inclination to go to Paris, Henry county, 25 miles east, to see some of his relatives, I have concluded to travel with him. We will travel on foot, taking it slow, and advocating our principles as we journey.

[Post Script]
I imagine they got retroactive permission for their initiative since they continued preaching in the Weakley and Henry county area for three months before returning by way of Carroll County. "In Huntington, Carroll County, they had obtained a hall and held a meeting with a good attentive audience." Afterwards the two were split up, Eardley going to Perry county and Camp going to Kentucky. Elder Cowley arrived in St Louis shortly after Camp and Eardley struck out on their own. Cowley and John W Taylor went on to Dawson, Georgia.  Abraham O Smoot went to Owen County, Kentucky.

Academy Tennessee Branch

Academy Branch took its name from the educational academy in which the early saints met. It was about 10 miles from Paris, Tennessee and was near the home of Colonel Solomon Copeland, possibly in a town called Sandy.

The first clear reference was in Wilford Woodruff's journal on May 17th 1835. "Preached at the Academy to A large congregation Also in the evening at Col Copelands." The reference is manner-of-fact, as though it was already a well known location. Woodruff had indeed been to Col Copeland's home the prior month (April 21-22) when he and Warren Parrish administered to Mrs Copeland, following which she recovered from her illness. It is likely that during their visit they arranged for the use of the academy building for their sermon three weeks later, and asked the Copelands to spread the word of their coming.

Woodruff returned to the Academy to preach a little more frequently than every month. In 1835, he and Elder Parrish were there on June 14th, and then by himself on July 12th, August 9th & 23rd, September 6th, October 11th, and December 13th. In each case Woodruff preached to a crowd and spent the night at the Copeland home.

Although Woodruff does not specify the organization of the Academy branch or people being baptized into the branch, by February 26th, 1836 the branch has 8 members. Abraham O Smoot, the only other source for the history of the Academy branch, described meeting twice in April 1836 at the Academy near Col Copeland's home. By May 28th there are 10 members.

Near the end of his mission in Tennessee, Woodruff included more names in his daily journal. On September 2nd, 1836 he recorded that "President Patten represents the sulpher well Academy Branch in good standing. Two been added since last Conference Lewis & Robert Copeland & one been Expeled from the above named Church by the name of Emily Dyer." 

That gives me the names of three converts:

Lewis Copeland
Robert Copeland
Emily Dyer

Although I can only approximate the baptism dates (summer 1836) for the Copeland men, Emily Dyer must have been baptized before that in order for her to have been expelled over the same time period. As for Solomon and his wife (Sarah Tippett) there is no indication either ever joined the Church. It is clear in 1844 when he was approached to be Joseph Smith's running mate, that Solomon was not a member. But the membership list is only one of the mysteries. The actual location of the Academy branch remains unknown. But I have a theory.

I knew it was about 10 miles from Paris. Missionaries of the period were great about recording how far they traveled and 10 miles was the distance given again and again. I also knew it was near the home of Col Solomon Copeland, and based on the journal entries of Abraham O. Smoot it was near a town called Sandy.

On Sunday, the 3rd, [April 1836] rode 11 miles to fill an appointment in Sandy, at the academy; spent the night at Col. Coperland's house. (Abraham Owen Smoot Journal, p 34)

There is however no town by that name in the area today. I thought that Sandy may refer to the community of Big Sandy, on the Big Sandy river near where it flows into the Tennessee River. It is a little further than I expected, being almost 14 miles from the center of Paris. But within an acceptable margin of error, I guess. But its location is set by the current shoreline of Kentucky Lake, a man made lake that did not exist in 1836. Could the original academy, and the town of Sandy, be today under water?

Woodruff, provided another clue. In his journal, he used the name Sulpher Well Academy, a name he used only one other time. Sulphur Well turns out to be somewhat famous, or at least it was at the time.

Sulphur Wells, Tennessee.
Could one of the buildings in the background be the Academy?

Henry County's first tourist attraction, Sulphur Well, was created by accident in 1821, when an artesian well of sulphur water was struck in an attempt to locate a large salt bed on a former Chickasaw reservation. Eventually a summer resort was erected at the site to accommodate the large numbers of people who came to drink the water, which was believed to have health benefits. Many sought refuge at Sulphur Well during the 1837 yellow fever epidemic. In 1944 Sulphur Well was covered by the Tennessee Valley Authority's Kentucky Lake, the largest man-made lake in the United States and the second largest in the world. (http://www.henryco.com/municipalities/history.htm)

Pre 1944 historical references place the well "near the bottom of the Big Sandy River, and nine miles from its mouth." (State Board of Health Bulletin, Vol.4, No.12, 15 July 1889)

Although I could find no reference to a town being flooded at the same time, there most certainly were communities along the river that were inundated like Sulphur Well.

I did find a road in Henry county named "Sulphur Well Academy Road." It runs for about a mile toward Kentucky Lake, stopping about half a mile short of the shore. At its terminus is a church, named Sulphur Well Church of Christ. It is no where near old enough.

To cement the deal, I dug up a map of the civil district of Henry county from before 1944. Situated clearly on the map was civil district 15 with the town of Sulphur Well hand written near the center. Using that map I can place Sulpher Well on a modern map. And you guessed it: very much underwater. I guess I'll cross this one of my list of historic LDS branches to visit.

Converts from Paris, Tennessee - circa 1834

With the sad state of official LDS records from 1834 in Tennessee, it is impossible to know who the first converts were in this state. Oh, we know a little about them. They lived in or near Paris, a small county seat in west Tennessee. We know there were at least seven of them.

By the time Wilford Woodruff arrived, we start to get better records. Not official ones yet, but at least some details. Woodruff wrote almost daily in his journal. Sometimes with great detail, sometimes with average detail. We know that by the time Woodruff arrived David Patten and Warren Parrish had baptized 50 people. That's not a indefinite round number. 8 in October 1843, 16 in November 1834, 11 in December 1834 and January 1835, and 15 in March 1835. That the number adds up to 50 is just chance.

What we don't know is all their names and all the dates. Through some deduction and careful reading I've come up with the names of five saints from the Paris, Tennessee area who had been baptized prior to Woodruff's arrival in the mission. Were they part of the original seven? Who knows, but it's the closest I've got.

Johnston F Lane
Matilda (Kelly) Lane
Isaiah Benton
Lucinda Benton
Brother Sants

A couple of these names we have talked about before. Br & Sis Lane were the recipients of a blessing by David Patten, which made so much of an impression upon them that they named their first born son David Patten Lane.

The Bentons (Isaiah and Lucinda) lived on both sides of the state line. They appear to have owned some kind of shipping company, ferrying goods and people along the Tennessee River. Their route went from Henry County, Tennessee to Padukah Kentucky. Census records appear to catch them in different places along that route. I'll write more about them later.

As for Brother Sants, I have so far found nothing. No clue about his first name. And nothing outside of Woodruff's journal.

Richard C. Camp Reports from Weakley County Tennessee 1881

On this day in 1881

March 22nd 1881

Elder R[ichard C.] Camp writes of his experiences doing missionary work in Kentucky and Tennessee. He and companion, James W. Eardley, had made a circuit through Weakley, Henry and Carroll Counties in Tennessee recently. They were unable to obtain houses in which to hold meetings, officials making different excuses for refusing the Elders. In Huntington, Carroll County, they had obtained a hail and held a meeting with a good attentive audience. Elder [James W.] Eardley was sent to Perry County, and Elder Camp labored for a time in Kentucky. Shortly after returning to Dresden, he was joined by Elder D[aniel] R. Bateman of West Jordan, Utah . Elder Camp reports that they had held a number of meetings, and friends had been raised up to them in time of need.

Vice Presidential Candidate Solomon Copeland

In keeping with the upcoming presidential election, I thought I would bring out a little piece of Tennessee's connection with the first Mormon who ran for the office. I'm speaking of Joseph Smith and his second choice for the VP position. Solomon Copeland.

Colonel Solomon Copeland. Perhaps one of the most prestigious friend of the church from Tennessee that you've never heard of. But he was well known to the leaders of the church. When Joseph Smith was picking a Vice Presidential candidate, one of the names on his short list (and closer to the top that Sidney Rigdon), was Solomon Copeland of Paris, Henry County, Tennessee. According to Joseph Smith's own notes, he was not a member of the Church. In the interest of full disclosure, Joseph had to pick someone who wasn't a resident of Illinois, since the U.S. Constitution forbids both the Presidential and Vice Presidential Candidates from being from the same state.

Colonel Copeland appeared in a couple other places in the Mormon historical record. When David Patten returned to Tennessee in April 1836, following the dedication of the Kirtland Temple, Wilford Woodruff notes that he is at Solomon Copeland's home. Then in July 1836, when Patten and William Parrish are arrested in Benton County, Woodruff receives the news while staying at the Copeland home. Sometime between July and September of 1836, two young men, Lewis and Robert Copeland, were baptized in the Academy Branch by David Patten, the same branch in which Solomon Copeland lived. It isn't clear from the record how they were related, but it is likely they were.

By the time Joseph was considering Solomon for the VP position, the church leader who knew him best, David Patten, had since died. But Wilford Woodruff knew him too. So it was he who, on March 8, 1844, was asked by Joseph Smith to write a letter to Colonel Copeland requesting that he come and visit the Prophet in Nauvoo, with the possibility of joining the presidential ticket. Woodruff completed the letter and showed it to Joseph Smith almost two weeks later on the 20th. No specific answer is recorded, but we can assume the answer was not a positive one, since attention is soon directed toward Sidney Rigdon instead, who accepted the nomination.

Solomon appeared in a few non Mormon records, but none after the 1840 census. He was certainly a wealthy man, and a prominent citizen. And perhaps had he accepted the position, we might know more about him today.

William Allen Aden: Artist and Adventurer

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, secured a small canon and set it up on the other side of the building. Without warning they set off the canon, with the intent of surprising the missionary. It was more successful than they had hoped, Laney was so sure that an armed mob was upon him that he immediately fled the scene. On his rush out of town, he ran into William's father Dr. Sidney B. Aden who assured the Elder that he would protect him. Only after taking the missionary to his home was the truth of the prank fully revealed, including William's participation.

William was an artist. In addition to painting, he wrote poetry and played the banjo "tolerably". Letters from his father and brother, however, both describe him as an artist, and from their descriptions and the jobs he took, he was quite good. To earn a living he painted signs, but he was interested in so much more. So when the opportunity arose, he set off for California in search of adventure.

While in Wyoming, he met a member of the Provo Theatre Company who recognized William's talent and offered him work painting scenes for the theatre. William seemed to like the idea. He wrote his father telling him he was going to spend the winter in Provo painting for the theatre and continue on to California in the spring.

When he arrived in Provo, however, something changed his mind. Perhaps he heard rumors of the coming war. So instead of staying to work he joined a group of Mormons heading south. He hoped he would catch up with a wagon train heading to California.

At Parowan he caught up with the wagon train while they were camped outside the town walls. The town was under orders not to trade with any wagon train, except for small amounts of grain. While they were making their trade, William recognized a man from his past, Elder Laney, who his father had sheltered in Paris, Tennessee a few years earlier. William identified himself. Laney, who remembered it all, invited William to his home inside the fort. Laney was polygamist and at the time had two wives and they both lived in the same home. During the visit, William noticed some onions growing in the garden and asked about purchasing them. Laney, eager to repay the kindness William's father had shown him, immediately had them harvested and presented them to William as a gift. Laney later said he was beaten by town authorities for trading with the wagon train against specific orders. His life was saved by his two wives who dragged hin into the house away from the thugs.

The details of what happened to William after he left Parowan starts to diverge based on who is telling the story. From the various versions William appears to have been accepted into the wagon train, led by Alexander Fancher. Yes, the Fancher Party. The full story of what happened to the Fancher Party is beyond the scope of this post, but a day or so after the initial "Indian" attack, William was shot and killed by William C. Stewart. William Aden's murder and that fact that a witness made it back to the rest of the wagon train, was one of the pivotal events of the Massacre at Mountain Meadows.

William's family, and most particularly his father, spent years trying to track down William, even offering a reward of $1,000. They hoped that perhaps he was merely captured by Indians. It would be 1874 before William's family was convinced he had joined the Fancher party and was certainly dead.

Fast forward to the spring of 1884. While Elders John H. Gibbs and William H. Jones were traveling somewhere in west Tennessee, the two missionaries were accosted by two men with clubs who said they were angry about the death of a relative at Mountain Meadows. Jones, who spoke about the event with a newspaper reporter, had no idea who that relative might be. But in this case I believe it was William Aden they were angry about.

There were several people among those killed at Mountain Meadows who were born in Tennessee. In most cases, their parents had settled in Tennessee briefly before continuing on west to Arkansas. Plus nearly all of them were from counties east or south of Nashville. But William's  family still lived Tennessee. In addition, Aden's home in Henry County, Tennessee was very close to where Gibbs and Jones spent the first couple of weeks of their west Tennessee tour. 

The full extent of the attrocity at Mountain Meadows wasn't widely known at first, and even today more is being discovered. But certainly after John D. Lee published his book in 1877, most Tennesseans who knew about it at all would have correctly believed that it was perpetrated by the local Mormon residents in southern Utah. That a couple of relatives of William Aden's would have made a connection between two Mormon missionaries and William's death does not seem far fetched.

Others of the Fancher Party born in Tennessee:
Captain Alexander Fancher was born in Overton Co., Tenn., but left when he was a young man. He still had relatives there but many of them joined him when he settled in Arkansas.
Milum Lafayette Rush was born in Rhea Co., and lived in Meigs Co., Tenn. before he moved to Arkansas
Three of the Huff Children were born in Meigs Co., Tenn., before their parents moved to Arkansas
Mary M. Wharton & Nancy Jane Wharton were from Lawrence Co., Tenn., before they moved to Arkansas
Jesse Dunlap, Jr. was born in Warren Co., Tenn., before he moved to Arkansas
Cynthia Tackitt was born somewhere in Tennessee before she moved to Arkansas
Armilda S. Miller Tackitt was born somewhere in Tennessee before she moved to Arkansas
Silas Edwards born in Hickman Co., Tenn., before he moved to Arkansas
Charles Roark Mitchell was born somewhere in Tennessee before he moved to Arkansas
Allen P. Deshazo born in Hickman Co., Tenn., before he moved to Arkansas

Will the real Johnston F. Lane please stand up

One of the problems in researching people is that often you only have a small amount of information to go on. Take Johnston F. Lane, for example. My first clue to his identity is the healing of his wife and their subsequent baptism in 1834. From there, however, it is difficult to be sure whether every person with that name is the same person. It is entirely possible that I have two or more people with the same name, who joined the same church, and yet for whom no documented activities overlap.

Johnston F. Lane was born in Virginia in 1801 or 1809. His wife Matilda Kelly was born in Tennessee in 1815. In 1834 near Paris, Tennessee, Mrs. Lane, who had not been able to walk for 8 years, heard about Elder Patten and sent her husband to bring him back. Elder Patten wrote

I took her by the hand, and commanded her to arise in the name of Jesus Christ, and be made whole; and she arose, and was made whole every whit.

They were immediately baptized and during the confirmation Elder Patten promised she would have a son, which had been previously impossible due to her health. The Lanes did have a son shortly thereafter and named him David Patten Lane. Brother Lane was called to serve as the Clerk of the Tennessee Conference and at the same time was ordained an Elder. In some places this is date September, 2, 1836 and in other it is dates December 2, 1836. Patten never names Mrs Lane. And so the only connection between some of these events in the name Johnston F. Lane. In some cases it is spelled Johnson F Lane. And sometime the iddle initial in E and sometime P. If only research were only more clear cut.

In 1836, the Lanes moved from Paris Tennessee to just across the state line into Kentucky. In 1838, Brother Lane signed a petition sent to congress asking for redress for the depredations in Missouri. Not everyone who signed the petition actually lived in Missouri. Soon they moved to Nauvoo, Illinois. They buried a one year old child in Quincy, Adams County, Illinois on August 17th, 1839. Between 1841 and 1844 he shows up in Nauvoo Tax records. In 1845-47, he shows up in Ward 3 at Winter Quarters.
Johnston then joined a community of saints led by Charles B Thompson, also known as Father Ephraim, who started the settlement of Preservation, Iowa in the fall of 1852. Under Elder Thompson’s leadership, they held all property in common. Johnston F. Lane was selected as the first sheriff of Monona County in the election on April 3rd, 1854. He was also the first to die in the settlement in April of 1855. The community eventually dissolved when Elder Thompson left for Philadelphia to avoid a confrontation with them members of his church over the disposition of the common property.

Sister Lane died in Chase County, Nebraska on March 30th, 1886.

Problems? After his birth, probably in 1835, David Patten Lane is never mentioned again. A biography of the Lanes names four children: Clara Melissa, Joshua M., Francis E. and Joseph, but also notes that she had two other unnamed children that did not survive her. That same biography never mentions Tennessee as one of their homes, claiming they moved from Virginia straight to Illinois, but doesn’t explain how Matilda, who was from Tennessee, met Johnston. I'm not sure which events belong to the Mr. & Mrs. Johnston F Lane who were baptized by David Patten. It is possible all of them describe the life of the same couple. But I may never know for sure.

Wilford Woodruff & Warren Parrish

This is a continuation of Wilford Woodruff's mission to Tennessee

Wilford Woodruff did not stay in Memphis very long. Presumably he left on March 28^th, 1835, the day after he preached at the Josiah Jackson's Tavern. From there he followed the roads east to the town of Somerville in Fayette County and then to Bolivar in Hardeman County. From there Brother Woodruff turned north, arriving at Eagle Creek  in what is today Benton County. The trip from Memphis to Eagle Creek was about 140 miles and took about a week. Wilford appears to have been heading to meet two Elders already working in the area; David W. Patten and Warren Parrish. The two were probably the first to preach the restored gospel in Tennessee, having arrived in October 1834.

Wilford arrived at Eagle Creek on April 4^th 1835, a couple of months after Elder Patten had returned to Kirtland, Ohio. Brother Woodruff and Elder Parrish preached together for the next three and a half months. Their circuit included branches at Eagle Creek, Chalk Level, Cypress Branch, Blood River, Academy, Paris, and parts of Kentucky that were also along the Tennessee River.

Their companionship came to an end when they received a letter on June 23^rd from Oliver Cowdery asking Warren Parrish to return to Kirtland and leave Brother Woodruff in charge. The two spent the next four weeks putting things in order and preparing for elder Parrish's departure. On June 28^th, 1835, Elder Parrish ordains Wilford Woodruff an Elder.  He also ordains some Deacons over specific branches. Caswell Medlock over the Eagle Creek Branch and Able B Wilson over the Chalk Level Branch.

On July 23^rd, 1835, Warren Parrish departs  for Kirtland, Ohio. While serving together they baptized forty people, according to Elder Woodruff's estimate. From then until the following December Elder Wilford Woodruff would be the only LDS missionary in Tennessee.

David W. Patten's first mission to Tennessee

David Wyman Patten and Warren Parrish, were probably the first two missionaries to preach the restored gospel in Tennessee. Elder Patten described the historic events.

I started in company with brother Warren Parish to go into the world to preach the Gospel, travelled through Upper Missouri, preaching by the way. At La Grange I took steamboat for St. Louis, and from thence by steamboat to the mouth of the Ohio, where we landed October 2nd [1834], and proceeded to Paris, in Tennessee; where we tarried about three months, preaching the Gospel in that vicinity and the region round about, we baptized twenty, during which time several instances of the healing power of God were made manifest, one of which I will mention, which was wrought upon the wife of Mr. Johnston F. Lane, who had been sick for eight years, and for the last year had been unable to walk, she hearing of us, and the faith we preached, prevailed on her husband to send for us: I went with him immediately and taught them the Gospel, showing what power was exercised by the Lord upon those who had faith; she believed with all her heart all the words which I spake unto her; and I laid my hands upon her and said, "In the name of Jesus Christ I rebuke this disorder, and command it to depart." I took her by the hand, and commanded her to arise in the name of Jesus Christ, and be made whole; and she arose, and was made whole every whit. I then commanded her to go to the water and be baptized; she walked down straightway the same hour, and was baptized. After I had baptized and confirmed her I told her she should amend and gain strength, and in less than one year she should have a son (she had been married some twelve years, and had no children,) which came to pass according to my words, and the parents called the child David Patten; she afterwards bore several children.

This and many other events contributed to Elder Patten's reputation as a healer in the South. His first mission lasted only 3 months. It would not be his last mission to Tennessee.

[Try as I might, I could not find any other records of Johnston Lane, his wife, or the son they named after Elder Patten].

Margaret Tittle

In Wilford Woodruff's journal, we learn of a Tennessee convert named Margaret Tittle. The year was 1836, and Wilford Woodruff was joined just a month earlier by David W. Patten. Elder Patten had recently returned from Kirtland Ohio where he received his endowments, in the Kirtland, Ohio Temple.

May 17th, Brother Patten and myself laid hands on Margaret Tittle, who lay at the point of death, and she was instantly healed through the power of God. Brother Patten had preached faith, repentance and baptism to her, and she covenanted to be baptized; but after she was healed refused to attend to that ordinance. Brother Patten told her she was acting a dangerous part, and the Lord would again afflict her if she did not repent.

We pursued our journey, and on our return found her very low with the same fever; she begged us to lay hands upon her and heal her, and she would obey the Gospel. We again laid hands upon her, and she was healed, and went down to the water and I baptized her.

I have looked far and wide for other references to Margaret Tittle; Newspapers, Census records, LDS Church histories, journals of other misionaries in Tennessee, etc. So far no luck. I'm not ready to give up yet. But given her earlier reluctance to even get baptized after having received a miracle, I wonder if shortly after these famous missionaries left, she fell away from the church. Perhaps she contracted her fever a third time and died before the next U. S. Census. Perhaps her husband died and she remarried. We may never know. Some people have simply slipped through the cracks.

If you know of something that might help me find her, I'm all ears.

William E. McLellen

[This is one of a series on Early Church members from Tennessee.]

William E. McLellan was the son of Charles McLellan. He was born 18 January 1806 in Smith County, Tennessee and married Cynthia Ann 30 July 1829 who died before 1832. William was a school teacher in Paris, Tennessee, in 1831 when he was contacted by Harvey Whitlock and David Whitmer in July of that year. Impressed with the church he went to Independence, Missouri, to meet Joseph Smith but just missed seeing him. He was baptized while he was there, probably on 20 August 1831 and ordained an Elder 24 August 1831.

Left Independence for Tennessee with Hyrum Smith 25 August 1831. Preached first sermon as elder 28 August 1831. After arriving in Paris, Tennessee, left with Hyrum Smith for Kirtland; arrived 18 October 1831. Met Joseph Smith 25 October 1831. Through Joseph Smith received revelation 25 October 1831; instructed to take mission to "eastern lands" with Samuel H. Smith. Did preach in Pennsylvania, but mission short-lived because of disobedience and sickness. Appointed by revelation 25 January 1832 to preach in "south countries." Preached in Middlebury, Ohio, 25 February 1832 but did not continue on mission because of illness. Remained in Middlebury until April 1832.

He served a couples of missions, but both were cut short due to illness. His first wife had passed away, though I can't find the date, and he married Emeline Miller (born 4 September 1819 in Vermont) 26 April 1832 while recovering from illness following his second mission in Hiram, Ohio.

William was frequently a critic of church leadership. Regardless he held many positions of responsibility. He was a high councilor in Clay County, taught in the School of Elders in Kirtland and was an original member of the Quorum of the Twelve.

In 1838, in Far West, Missouri he was excommunicated for publicly opposing Church leaders. Afterwards he took up practicing medicine. He lived in Illinois, Ohio, and Michigan.

In 1869 he briefly joined the Henrickites. But left after less than a year. His wife joined the Reorganized LDS Church and they moved to Independence, Missouri in 1870. He would spend the rest of his life trying to get David Whitmer to organize a new Church. He died in Independence, Jackson County, Missouri, on 24 April 1883.

http://byustudies.byu.edu/indexes/BioAlpha/MBRegisterM.aspx
http://byustudies.byu.edu/Products/MoreInfoPage/MoreInfo.aspx?prodid=1443&type=7

Early Branches in Tennessee

I came across a document by Lyman D. Platt listing the early branches of the Mormon Church from 1830 to 1850 which is basically the pre-Utah period. Of course branches at the time functioned more like the way Stakes do today. I pulled out just the ones that were Tennessee.

ACADAMY, HENRY, TENNESSEE
26 Feb 1836, 8 members in good standing. 29 May
1836: 10 members. By 27 Apr 1837, 200 members of the
church in some forty wagons left Tennessee and Kentucky
for Far West. This branch was undoubtedly included in the
group because of the residences of some members that have
been identified. (WWJ 159: So. States Ms.: AOS:17)

BLOOD RIVER, BENTON. TENNESSEE
Mar 1835, organized with Abraham 0. Smoot as the
branch president although only a deacon. Members
included his step-father, Levi Taylor, and his mother, Ann
Rowlett. 20 Feb 1836, Abraham 0 . Smoot ordained an
elder. 29 May 1836, 10/11 members of the branch in good
standing.
By 27 Apr 1837, 200 members of the church in some
40 wagons left Tennessee and Kentucky for Far West. This
branch was included in the group. Mrs. Margaret T.
Adkinson, who was in the caravan; became the wife of A.
0. Smoot. (AOS:10,1 1.17,19 ; WWJl:59,60; JHC. 29 May
1836)

CHALK LEVEL, BENTON, TENNESSEE
2 Jul 1835. branch organized by William Woodruff at
the home of Seth Utley. Warren Parish ordained Abel B.
Wilson a deacon. 26 Feb 1836, 21 members in good
standing. 27 Apr 1837, 200 members of the church in
some forty wagons lei1 Tennessee and Kentucky for Far
West. This branch was undoubtedly included in the group
because the residences of some members have been
identified. (WWJ1:36,59; AOS: 17)

CLARK'S RIVER, TENNESSEE
Brother Thomas led there. 24 Jan 1836, Wilford
Woodruff blessed 2 children. (WWJI :56)

CYPRUS, BENTON: TENNESSEE
26 Feb 1836, 9 members in good standing. By 27 Apr
1837, 200 members of the church in some forty wagons
left Tennessee and Kentucky for Far West. This branch was
undoubtedly included in he group because of the residences
of some members that have been identified. (WWJI:S9;
AOS: 17)

DRESDEN, WEAKLEY, TENNESSEE
18 May 1844, William Camp, a member. May 1844.
a conference was held here. Jun 1844. 9 members baptized.
(AOS 3 1,33.34; So. States Ms., 26 May 1844.) [This is the
branch from which Elder William Shanks Berry's family
came - Bruce Crow]

DUCK RIVER, HICKMAN, TENNESSEE
In the 1840s, there was a branch there. (So. States Ms.,
Aud 1883) [This branch was called Shady Grove at the
time of the Cane Creek Massacre. - Bruce Crow]

DYER COUNTY, TENNESSEE
20 Jan 1844, about 13 members. (So. States Ms., 20
Jan 1844)

EAGLE CREEK, BENTON, TENNESSEE
6 Jun 1835. Wilfbrd Woodruff preached at the meeting
house of Eagle Creek. Baptized 2 persons the next evening
at Brocher Fry's place. 28 Sun 1835, Warren Parish
preached his farewell sermon. Elder Calvin H. Nicholson
was present. Wilford Woodruff was ordained an elder by
Warren Parish. Waswell Medlock was ordained a deacon
over the branch by Warren Parish. 29 Jun 1835, 1 person
baptized at Squire Ivins place. Brother Walker was a
member.
2 Feb 1836, 15 members in good standing. By 27 Apr
1837, 200 members of the church in some forty wagons
left Tennessee and Kentucky for Far West. This branch was
undoubtedly included in the ,group because of the residences
of some members that have been identified. 9 Jun 1844, 17
members, including Robert Petty, elder; Sea Velie,
president; and B. B. Barnett, teacher. 22-23 Jun 1844, Elder
Abraham 0. Smoot organized a branch of 17 members and
baptized 4 new members. (lWJ 1 :31,33,36.58.59; So.
States Ms., 9 Jun 1844: AOS: 17,34)

EBINE COUNTY, TENNESSEE
20 Jan 1844. about 13 members in the branch. (So.
States Ms.: 20 Jan 1844) perhaps this is supposed to be Obion County

GIBSON COUNTY. TENNESSEE
20 Jan 1844, about 13 members. (So. States Ms., 20
Jan 1844)

HENDERSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE
20 Jan 1844, about 13 members. (So. States Ms. 20 Jan
1844)

JACKSON COUNTY. TENNESSEE
11 Dec 1839, 21 baptized. (So. States Ms. 1 1 Dec 1839)

MADISON COUNTY, TENNESSEE
20 Jan 1844, about 13 members in the county. (So.
States Ms. 20 Jan 1844)

MCNARY COUNTY. TENNESSEE
Aug 1839, 14 members. 1 Mar 1841 , 28 members.
(So. Stares Ms. 26 Dec 1839, 1 Ma 1841)

OVERTON COUNTY, TENNESSEE
1 1 Dec 1839, Julian Moses baptized 17. 12 Jun 1840,
65 members. (So. Stares Ms. I 1 Dec 1839, 12 Jun 1840)

PUTNAM COUNTY, TENNESSEE
18 May 1841. branch organized. (So. States MS. 18
May 1841)

RUTHERFORD COUNTY, TENNESSEE
May 15 1841, 30 or more members in the western
part of rbe county. 29 O ~1L879 . Elder Joseph Argyle wrote
that in Williamson County, Tennessee, he met a sister Mary
Hickman, who told him "chat her husband. William R.
Hickman. and she were baptized by John D. Lee in
Rutherford County, Tennessee in the year 1843. She s t a d
that there was an organized branch there. all of whom
gathered with the main body of the church except her
husband, herself and one sister." (So. States Ms. 15 May
1841, 29 Oct 1879)

SHELBY COUNTY, TENNESSEE
1 Mar 1841. a branch organized in the county at that
time. (So. States Ms. 1 Mar 1841)

SMITH COUNTY, TENNESSEE
15 May 1841, a branch organized. (So. States Ms. 15
May 1841)

TENNESSEE
Nov 1839. George W. Gee and Julian Moses were in
Tennessee in DeKalb. Overton and Jackson counties. There
were 51 members in six counties. (So. States Ms., Nov
1839)

WHITLEWILLE, JACKSON. TENNESSEE
Nov 1839, about 30 members. (So. States Ms. Nov
1839)