Williams Washington Camp

Williams Washington Camp was born December 11, 1800, in Georgia. His unusual given name comes from his mother's maiden name; Margaret Williams. This did not prevent many people from using his name incorrectly.

While traveling in Alabama he met Diannah Greer, a wealthy Southern Belle. They married there in 1822 and later moved to Tennessee in 1832. They had a large home near Dresden Tennessee on 95 acres. They, with the help of many slaves, raised cotton, cattle and ran a blacksmith shop. He also joined the Campbellite church and soon became a preacher there.

Various biographies disagree on the details of his conversion. One claims that while living in Alabama, they heard of the Mormon Church, but they did not join the church until after they moved to Tennessee. Another says that they first heard about the church in Dresden, Tennessee where Williams saw two missionaries holding a street meeting. Williams approached the missionaries when they were done and asked to know more. He arranged for them to speak at his church.

Williams decided to be prepared in case there was any trouble and he placed an armload of hickory saplings just inside the door. When it came time for the meeting, Williams took his place by the door. Only a few came to hear the preaching. The meeting was just beginning when there came a knock and as Williams opened the door he could see a troublesome mob with pails of tar and several bags of feathers. The leader, which was one of his own Campbellite members, said in a burly voice that they had come to give those "blankety blank" and "you too" a little dose of real religion. Williams said they better not try it. As the leader stepped through the door, Williams soundly tapped him with a hickory stick and he fell to the floor as if he were shot! Others tried but each was treated to the same firm tap. After eight or ten unsuccessful tries, the mob took their stunned leader and their pails and feathers and left with their little dose of real religion. (Shauna S Pusey, History of Williams Washington Camp)

Williams was baptized "right after the meeting" on August 1st 1841.

Each of the biographies have problems. One claims David Patten and Joseph Smith visited the Camp home in Tennessee. However, Patten had been dead 3 years by the time Williams joined the Church and Joseph Smith never visited Tennessee. Others disagree on the date of his baptism, sometimes by years.

Williams' wife Diannah waited about a year to be baptized on 12 May 1842. I find it interesting that that same summer Williams Camp assisted Amasa M. Lyman on his mission to collect money for building of the temple and the Nauvoo house (Amasa Lyman's Journal, MS, No. 4 1842, p 32-34). Perhaps it was Elder Lyman's visit which prompted Diannah to join the church. One biographer, however, wrote that it was during a visit to Nauvoo that Dianna was baptized by John Taylor.

Brother Camp shows up in Abraham Smoot's mission journal beginning on May 14th 1844. Brother Camp offers shelter to  the missionaries, opened his home for for preaching, accompanied Elder Smoot, preached himself at least once, and even provided armed protection for the next 30 days.

Abraham O Smoot May 18, 1844
... I had secured ready a subject to my congregation before the truth of it was witnessed. A pistol was fired at the window like a thunder storm and was followed in quite succession by a shower of brick bits against the window glass. The congregation seemed much frightened & immediately began to leave the house. I hastened to inform them that if they wished to stay that I would protect them, from the fact that I knew had such mobs would abscond as soon as they had executed their diabolical designs. Brother Camp too offered the people protection by standing guard around the Court-house, while I would preach the words of eternal life, which I did in as plain manner as possible, for the space of one hour, then closed and returned to Brother Camp's house and spent the night. (Abraham O. Smoot, Missionary Journal, p 195)

Also Brother William Camp, ... somewhat noted as a fighting character, arose and called on the fleeing people to stop. He told them if they would only sit and listen to the preaching he would go out and look after the persons who were creating the disturbance. About two thirds of the audience again became seated, and he went outside and procured a shot-gun with which he patrolled around the court-house the remainder of the evening,... (A. O. Smoot, "Early Experiences of A. O. Smoot," Early Scenes In Church History, Eighth Book of the Faith Promoting Series. p 23)

The next night at another meeting at the same court house, an unnamed lawyer tried to stop the service. But after being prevented from doing so by a number of Freemasons in the crowd, he was forced to listen to the entire sermon in silence.

...at the close of the meeting Mr. camp took vengeance on the lawyer by knocking him down and kicking him around the courthouse yard (C. Elliott Berlin "Abraham O. Smoot, Pioneer Mormon Leader" p 32)

On May 27th Williams Camp was appointed Joseph Smith's elector for the district in the upcoming presidential election (Time and Seasons, Vol. V, No. 12, p 574).

On June 14th, Williams Camp made his last appearance in Smoot's journal. Williams sold a horse to Smoot for him to use for the remainder of his mission that summer. Smoot left for Benton county, and never returned to Dresden.

Williams was a blacksmith by trade. Just before the family moved to Nauvoo, he was fixing a wagon with the help of Ike, one of his slaves. His daughter Catherine was there as well. According to Catherine a mob of 15 men arrived with panted faces. They said they were there to give him some tar and feathers. William responded by first throwing or swinging the hammer he was using at them, which reportedly knocked down two of them. Then he picked up hot "irons in every direction and went after them." Ike and Catherine hid behind the bellows. In short order Williams had routed the mob and returned to the shop. When he got back he said

"Ike, you black rascal, why didn't you help fight those men?" Ike didn't look up but said, "Well, Massa William, I thought you was enough for them few men." My father laughed but said no more to him. (Catherine Ellen Camp Greer, Autobiography, BYU)

Williams' relationship to slavery appears to be more complex than stereotypical. His daughter Catherine recalls he offered Ike and his family their freedom if he helped him make it to Nauvoo. Yet, Ike shows up in one family story that happened at Nauvoo. When the family went to Salt Lake they reportedly took only three slaves with them, leaving the rest behind. One biographer wrote that he freed the slaves, telling the ones with him in Salt Lake that they should consider themselves free. Another wrote he sold some and sent the rest to the home of his father-in-law. On a later trip from Salt Lake to Tennessee, the family returned with four more slaves. The exact fate of each of Williams' slaves is a subject for another day, perhaps by someone with experience in this field. (Yes, I'm talking about you, Amy)

Some sources claim that Williams took his family to Nauvoo in 1843. Another says that as early as 1842 he had two homes, one in Nauvoo and another in Tennessee, and that he moved back and forth for a few years. Another says the Camps arrived in Nauvoo in the midst of the turmoil surrounding Joseph's death. According to Williams' daughter they spent two summers in Nauvoo (probably 1844 & 1845) and then resettled in Iowa.

In June 1850 they joined a wagon train heading for Salt Lake City, arriving in September of the same year. On a trip back to Tennessee in 1852, Diannah went to settle her father's estate while Williams served a mission to Texas. Diannah became ill delaying their return. It took them two years to get back to Utah. Williams spent the rest of his life in Salt Lake where he died on November 21st 1875.

Mary Redd Holt and her husband

A sister missionary serving in my ward here in Tennessee commented that her family originally joined the Church in Tennessee in 1843. Always ready to pounce on a possible story I pestered her for names and she obliged. She also shared other details she had heard which were obviously not true. This post is the result of some digging to sort out the specifics.

Mary Redd was born in in 1792 in Snead's Ferry, Onslow County, North Carolina to Whitaker Redd and Nancy Cary. Mary's mother died when she was only two years old, leaving her to be raised by her father and two successive step-mothers. One of family biographers claimed that Mary did not feel especially loved by her second step mother, but she was close to one of her half brothers, John H. Redd. It was when he returned from service in the War of 1812 that he brought home with him a friend, John Holt. He was a seaman who enlisted about August 1, 1813, and served on Captain John C. Manson's Gun Boat No. 7.  It wan't long before Mary took a liking to this young man and the two were married (November 1814) shortly before his discharge in December 1814.

We know She moved to Rutherford County, Tennessee between 1818 & 1820. Six of their children were born there. There is a hint that Mary and her husband were in Alabama for a time. Court records of a land sale on her behalf lists their home as Alabama in 1830. But it is just as likely that the court records were incorrect. Like most people of the time the Holts farmed but they had to supplement it with something else. Family records claim John was a carpenter, but there are hints that he may have turned to the ministry.

In 1843, LDS missionary John D. Lee made his way to Rutherford County upon the request of "Captain John H. Redd." There had been a branch of the LDS Church in Rutherford County as early as 1841, but by 1843 enough of the converts had moved to Nauvoo, Illinois or had returned to their previous churches, that the branch was defunct. Elder Lee met John Redd and John Holt at his first sermon. He described Mary's husband as a "Parson of the Christian faith." Whether that was an indication of a denomination, or just a general description is unclear.

Parson John Holt had heard about the Mormon Elder from Capt John H. Redd and agreed to travel the 17 miles to where he was preaching to hear what he had to say. Both were impressed enough to invite the missionary back to their side of the County to preach some more. Elder Lee gladly consented.

In his journal on June 6, 1843 Elder Lee wrote...
"I assisted to make a dam across a stream in order to prepare or collect sufficient quantity of water to baptise, and at 2 o'clock I baptised John Holt and Mary his wife. Returned to his house and confirmed, and under the same administration ordained him an Elder, for thus I was commanded in a vision to do."

He later baptized the Redd family too and on August 6, 1843 Elder Lee added...
"At 4 p.m. called the members together. Partook of the Lord's supper and organized them into a branch, and called it the Friendship Branch of Rutherford. Set apart and ordained the following officers — Brother John Holt, an Elder; Wm. Holt, lesser Priest; Brother John H. Redd, Teacher and Clerk."

William was certainly Mary and John's adult son who had been baptized - according to Church records - a year earlier. It may have been him from whom the family first heard of the Church.

Exactly when the family left Tennessee is unclear, but it might not have been until 1847. They certainly traveled with Mary's brother John H. Redd, who took his family to visit Nauvoo in April of 1844. There they received the Patriarchal Blessings.

On April 14, 1844, John was set apart to serve a mission back to his native North Carolina. Elder Holt was part of a large number of missionaries called not only to preach in the south, but also assist in Joseph Smith's presidential bid. This mission came to an end with Joseph Smith's death.

After his mission, John returned home (probably still Tennessee) where the family eventually prepared to follow the saints west. They made it to Council Bluffs/Winter Quarters. Mary's son William joined the Mormon Battalion, and headed to California. John headed west "alone" with an unknown early company of saints. He may have been in the same company as his brother-in-law, John H. Redd, though there is no evidence of it. His name shows up as an early settler of Spanish Fork and is named as a counselor to Stephen Markham along with his brother-in-law, John H. Redd.

Sometime around then he married a second wife, Martha Ann Dorrity, though Mary's biographers do not believe she knew about it. The efforts to keep plural marriages secret were so successful in this case I have not been able to locate any record of it. I do see a record that Martha was baptized (probably re-baptized) on 25 Sept 1852, most likely after she arrived in Utah with her brother. Family search also indicated she was married to John Holt on the same date. LDS records do not clearly indicate his second marriage was sanctioned by the Church as a plural marriage. Honestly, the records are a mess. Many dates are clearly estimates. Some are assigned to the wrong person. Sorting it out will take far more work.

Martha Dorrity has evaded my attempts to clearly identify her. Her parents and siblings lived in Illinois, but only her brother joined the church in 1846. She may have joined the Church at the same time, but I can find no proof. She does not appear in the Pioneer Overland Travel database. Her brother Dennis Dorrity, shows up in the 1852 John B. Walker Company. When she does get baptized in 1852, she already has three children presumably with John Holt. There were no temple ordinances recorded for her or husband until after their death. The couples' first four children were reportedly born in "Deseret, Utah Territory" in 1848, 1849, 1851, & 1853.  Though if she really did arrive with her brother in 1852, then the first three are certainly wrong. They had three more children in California. None of their children were ever baptized in the LDS Church.

While John helped found Spanish Fork, Mary stayed in Iowa for a year and a half. Family records indicate she was too sick to travel, and it was believed she would not live long. When her son William returned from California, he and his mother and his siblings joined the James W. Cummings [1] company in 1851, with the intent of joining John in Spanish Fork  According to one biographer...

"When Mary came out, she found that John Holt had married a second wife, and she quit him. He took the other wife to California and spent the rest of his life there. She, of course, stayed with her family in Spanish Fork."

Mary lived the rest of her life with William and his family. She passed away in 1875 at the age of 83.

[1] One biographer said it was Captain Cardin's company, but no such company is listed.

Lizzie Garrett: Photos You Don't Know Exist

Somewhere buried in the deep in the Church History Archives is a photo I never knew existed. The photo has been there for years, but the means by which it is cataloged is perhaps what is keeping it hidden. If you go into the Church History Catalog and search for it by her name you will never find it. Try it. Her name is Lizzie Garrett. She won't come up. But rest assured her photo is in there.

Biography
Lizzie Garrett was born Elizabeth Candice Garrett on 30 December 1857 in Cane Creek to Isaiah Thomas Garrett and Martha Jane Lankford. Lizzie was a bright young girl. Her father was a successful farmer and an Constable of the Lewis County Court. Despite her relatively affluent upbringing - by Lewis County standards - she wasn't coddled or pampered. She performed the farm chores with her father's servants. But she also had the opportunity for an education. She was bright, perhaps gifted, but certainly literate. By the age of 24 she was attending school - probably in Columbia - to learn to be a teacher.

A couple years earlier she met missionaries from the LDS Church. Her father had heard them preach at the home of Sheriff Carroll, and had invited them to come to his home. That was most likely where she heard them preach for the first time.

A string of missionaries came and went through the Garrett home. You might say they were almost perpetual investigators. In August of 1881 - presumably at the beginning of the school year - she told one missionary that she would get baptized after she was done with school. By August 1884, other missionaries wrote about her as though she had already been baptized. Her actual baptism date is a mystery, but so are others who joined the church in 1882 at Cane Creek. Her ordinance work was redone in 1988 and so that date now shows on Church Records.

She also got married, on 3 December 1882, to George C. Baker. Her husband was educated too. He was a trained physician. Oddly enough, after the shooting at the Conder home on 10 August 1884, no one sent for Dr. Baker. and Lizzie was living at home with her father. Was he still attending medical school in Nashville? Was he seeing patients in another county? The record is silent.

Lizzie's was helpful in getting Elder Thompson out of Lewis County unharmed,finding him in the woods and going for help. Her father was key, actually driving Elder Thompson out in a buggy with a blanket over him. For this Tom Garrett was driven out of his home. He fled for his brother's home in Illinois.

Sometime in 1885, Lizzie and her husband traveled with her mother Martha to Illinois where they joined Lizzie's father. There they resettled and raised their family. George practiced medicine, while Lizzie parents tried to rebuild all they lost by abandoning their farm in Tennessee. In 1887 Lizzie's mother died and her father never remarried.

Lizzie and George had six children, four of whom lived to adulthood. George passed away in 1903, and soon Lizzie's father moved in with her. Lizzie does not appear to have continued her membership in the Church. Though her father did write at least two letters clearly indicating he wished he could once more have contact from the missionaries. Lizzie died on September 5, 1935 and was buried in Zion Church Cemetery in Greenville, Bond County, Illinois.

As for the photo? It was taken in about 1880. One of the missionaries who taught her took the photo home with him. Sometime between 1966 and 1972, the missionary's daughter donated her papers to the office of the Church Historian. The papers are indexed under the missionary's daughter's name. But they include journals, photos and other things from her father's life, including this photo of Lizzie Garrett.

Yes, treasures abound in the Archives. But they are not always easy to find. 

Harriet Conder Tells about the Massacre

On January 15, 1949, Harriet Lendora Brakefield Conder shared with her granddaughter what she knew of the Cane Creek Massacre. Harriet was 93 years old when she made this recording. She was not an eyewitness to the shooting, but her husband was the brother of Jim Conder who owned the home where the shooting took place. Presumably she got her information from the Jim and Malinda Conder. Since Blogger does not allow the uploading of audio files, I added the audio to a photo of Harriet and uploaded it as a video to YouTube.

  

[Start]

Grandaughter: Alright … grandma, I want you to tell me the story of the martyrdom of the Elders at Uncle Jim’s Conder's place.

Harriet: Well, it was three Elders went to Jim Conder's and one was, was on his way. And, and there’s a man met him, they, the mob met him and left a man to guard him. And uh, and uh he talked so to the man and the man beat him up. And just shot up. And the man got away.

Grandaughter: The Elder got away.

Harriet: The Elder got away. And the Elder got away. And then they, they come on then …

Grandaughter: The mob went on?

Harriet: The mob went on, to Jim Conder’s house. And when they got to the house, they, they killed two of the Elders, and one of them got away.

Grandaughter: Well, uh, what did they do? Uh, were they all masked? And uh, now, uh, Uncle Jim was holding a cottage meeting or was there someone to be baptized?

Harriet: Yes, it was Sol Hinson’s boy, they claimed they wanted to kill them because they were gonna baptize Sol Hinson’s boy.

Grandaughter: Uh-huh.

Harriet: And uh

Grandaughter: And uh, now these Elders, were they in the house when the mob came up?

Harriet: Yes. The two of them, well there’s three of them. One of them jumped up and left the house when they come in shootin’

Grandaughter: Well, where did he go?

Harriet: He got out of sight, that one did.

Grandaughter: Down in the orchard?

Harriet: In the orchard.

Grandaughter: Well, and, didn’t you tell me that one of the Elders was upstairs reading the Bible?

Harriet: Yes, he was reading the Bible when they come in on him. There Jim ...

Grandaughter: Was the mob masked? Or did Uncle Jim know who they were?

Harriet: No, he didn’t know them. They were just drunk … drunk men.

Grandaughter: Yes.

Harriet: I don’t think there’s masked at all, cause he didn’t know the man John Riley killed.

Grandaughter: Well, now, who was John Riley?

Harriet: John Riley was Jim Conder’s step son.

Grandaughter: And uh, when this mob came up, Jim Riley, uh, what did he do?

Harriet: Well, John Riley and Martin Conder was out in the orchard and when they come in shootin’ the Elders, they run to the house. And uh, they, Martin just run in and went knocking them down and they shot him.

Grandaughter: And Killed him?

Harriet: Killed him, Yes, they killed Martin.

Grandaughter: Martin Conder.

Harriet: Killed Martin Conder and then they shot his mother, Martin’s mother, And they said … John Riley said, “Are, are you hurt mother?” And she says “Yes, John, I’m hurt and hurt bad” And he just went upstairs and got the gun and come down and shot Dave Hinson … dead.

Grandaughter: Well, was he one of the mob leaders?

Harriet: He was the mob leader. He was the captain of the mob.

Grandaughter: Did they, uh, hurt this boy who shot him? What did they do to him?

Harriet: Killed him.

Grandaughter: Killed him?

Harriet: Killed him.

Grandaughter: And then they buried the two boys out in the orchard, you say?

Harriet: They buried the two boys. And they come and took the Elders back to Utah.

Grandaughter: The bodies?

Harriet: Yes, the bodies.

Grandaughter: Well they had to slip in and get the bodies, though. The mob wouldn’t let them take them out.

Harriet: Mm-mm.

Grandaughter: Well, now did this boy who was going to be baptized, did his father object to him being baptized?

Harriet: Oh yes, yes.

Grandaughter: Oh he, he was the one who was killed, is that it?

Harriet: Yes, he…

Grandaughter: He was the leader.

Harriet: Yes, Dave Hinson was the leader, and he was, was killed

Grandaughter: He didn’t want his son to be baptized.

Harriet: No, that was his nephew was going to be baptized.

Grandaughter: Oh, his nephew.

Harriet: Sol Hinson’s boy, was going to be killed, was going to be baptized.

Grandaughter: Well, and Sol Hinson’s boy, was old enough to know his own mind.

Harriet: Oh yes, he’s married.

Grandaughter: Well, they, uh, they just objected to the Mormon Elders preaching their religion, then.

Harriet: Oh yes. That’s they all objected to. And this one that was guardin’ him ya know, and he, he talked to the one who’s guardin’ him. And he told him to get away and shot two straight up.

Grandaughter: After the Elder had talked to this mob?

Harriet: Had talked to one of the mob. So he got up and left. The Elder did, and the man come on back to the house.

Grandaughter: Well, about when did this all happen, about what date?

Harriet: Well it was, I think it was eighteen and eighty. Eighty….

Grandaughter: Four?

Harriet: Four! Eighty four, yes.

Grandaughter: In August you thought?

Harriet: In August. I’m pretty sure it was August.

Grandaughter: Well, this is all of our record. So we’ll have to sign off now. Was that all of the story?

Harriet: That’s all that I can remember. All. Mm-mmm.

[End]

There are a few noteworthy things here. First, I love to  hear the voices. The accent, the inflection, the tone, even the errors, all come across differently when it is heard instead of just read. Second, Sol Hinson [actually Solomon Hinson, Dave Hinson's uncle] has been connected to the Massacre by others, but never in this way. I'll look at that in a future post. Third, there was no hint of a planned baptism at the meeting from other sources. But spur of the moment baptisms were not uncommon. Or perhaps the baptism was planned for another day and Harriet misremembered that detail. She wouldn't be the first.

Harriet Lendora Brakefield Conder

Harriet was born April 3, 1855, in Linden, Tennessee, the daughter of Mary E. Dickson and Lemuel Brakefield. When she was 6 years old, her father enlisted in the army to fight in the Civil War. While he was in the army he contracted measles and pneumonia and died. Her mother remarried in 1865 to John Kirkpatrick.

On 30 Nov 1872 in Perry County, Tennessee, Harriet married George "Henderson" Conder. Though he went by Henderson, his close friends and family called him Henry. The two settled on a farm along Spring Creek.

On 21 February 1881, Henry and Harriet were baptized into the LDS Church by Elders Hyrum Belnap and James Eardley.[1] Harriet's brother had joined on a few weeks earlier, and Henderson's brother Jim had joined two years earlier. Eventually several of the Conder brothers joined the Church, and Harriet's mother and stepfather joined too.

Most of the Conder brothers lived in Perry County, except Jim who lived just across the county line in Lewis County. In 1883 three of the brothers moved to Obion County, Tennessee, to take advantage of work there; Anderson, Thomas, and Henderson. Of course Harriet went with them. Three of her children were born in Obion County. When one of the brothers, Thomas, was hung for murder in 1889, the family decided it was time to move on. Harriet's mother and step father lived in Sanford, Colorado, and many of the saints from Tennessee had gathered there too. So they decided to join them.

They only lived there for a short time before they moved across the state line to Aztec, New Mexico. They eventually bought land in 1897 and after Henry passed away in 1915, Harriet continued living on that land with her son, Boyd, who had never married.

Her grandchildren fondly remember her love of horses. She owned a side saddle and a beautiful white horse, that even when she was old she'd ride it to visit her grandchildren. No one recalled how she got on the horse, but when she arrived, they'd rush to help her off of it. After she died the saddle was donated to the community museum in Aztec.

She was a kind and sweet grandmother. She kept her hair up most of the time as was the style at the time, but took it down to let her grand daughters comb it. They described it as sandy brown, long enough for her to sit on, and silky smooth. The texture she claimed was from her homemade soap.

When Boyd died she moved to American Falls, Idaho to live with her daughter, Della Baker.[2] It was while living with her daughter in 1949 that she made a recording describing the events of the Cane Creek Massacre which took place at her brother-in-law's home in 1884. Her granddaughter Dessie helped prompt her for the 4 minute and 44 second recording.


Henry, Matilda (their youngest) and Harriet Conder in 1902

In 1953, at the age of 98, Harriet passed away. She had been ill for sometime. Her remains were flown by plane to Aztec, New Mexico, for burial near her husband.

[1] This date comes from the Autobiography of Hyrum Belnap. New Family Search has a confirmation date of 1 January 1880.
[2] In all they had eight children.

The Elusive Rachel Smith

Last week, I published the name Rachel Smith in a list of baptisms by John H Gibbs. I wanted to look at  the ages of the converts and see if there was a pattern. There wasn't much to tell, but In the list were a few for whom there was no birthdate. Without a birthdate, I couldn't tell how old they were so I figured "how hard could it be to figure out a birthdate?"

Most of the names without a birthdate were easy. These were members of the LDS Church after all. We keep great records, most of the time. I should say, if there is a record, we will keep it. Sometimes there isn't one. That was the case with Rachel Smith.

I've had some luck with common names. Brown comes to mind. But this one was giving me trouble. First what did I know? Her name: Rachel Smith. Who baptized her: Willis Eugene Robison. Batismal Date: 27 April 1884. She was confirmed by B.H.Roberts on the same day. Parents: Wm Jerramgan and Rachel Davidson.  The spelling for Rachel's father's name perplexes me a little. It is hand written in the baptismal record and some of the letters are non descript wiggles. But at least I know she is, or was married.

But here I am fortunate. The missionary who actually performed the baptism kept a journal. Maybe he wrote down more about her. I checked the entry under Rachel's baptism date and found this...

Sunday April 27th 1884

Weather very Rainy and wet this morning looked like it might continue all day but about ten oclock the Sun came out and we had a beautiful day. we all met in the woods this morning and recieved a great deal of instruction relative to our future labors. Went to our meeting and found about Sixty people there had a good meeting and adjourned until one Oclock when we held another meeting after which a Lady by the name of Rachael Smith applied for baptism which we attended to. I baptised her.
OK, so maybe I won't get any help here. No clue to her age, her birthplace, nothing. It almost sounds like he didn'tknow her. But at least now I know where she lived. Elder Robison and Elder Roberts were attending a conference that day in Blue Creek, Humphreys County, Tennessee. B. H. Roberts diary will be no help. There is a big hole in 1884 where he didn't write at all in his diary. Yeah, I know. Of all the years he decides not to write, it is the one I would love the most to see. Sigh.

So I go back to the census for Humphreys County. I find a couple of Rachel Smiths, but nothing obvious to single one out. One is married to James Smith, the other to Thomas Smith. Could be either one, or niether one. No William Jerramgan. No Rachel Davidson.
Then I have an idea. If Rachel had decided to get baptized, it was likely she had already met the missionaries, perhaps with her husband. So I go back to Elder Robison's journal. About two weeks before the baptism Elder Robison stayed at the home of Thomas Smith where he and his companion were well received.

April 11, 1884
...about the middle of the afternoon we came to the house of W. Thos Smith where we stoped until morning. We found Mr S. and family very friendly toward the L.D.S. and passed a very enjoyable evening talking to them on doctrinal points, also sung quite a number of songs, sat up until a late hour.

Could this be the same Smith family? Using Thomas' name I go back to the census. I recall that there was a Rachel Smith married to a Thomas Smith in Humphreys county. The odds are beginning to stack in favor of this being the right person.

Then I had another idea. Her father's name could be Wm Jernigan. But that was not really much help. There were dozens of Wm Jernigans, including all the varient spellings. A few were widowed, but only one had a wife named Rachel, and none had a daughter named Rachel. I tried Rachel Jernigan and no matchs with the right parent names.

I'm close. But not close enough. I know my evidence is circumstantial. But when is circumstantial evidence close enough.

John H. Gibbs' Tennessee Converts

The following names were recorded by John H. Gibbs as being baptized while on his mission in Tennessee either by himself or by his companions: John Styler or W. E. Robison. They range in dates from September 6, 1883 to May 26, 1884. The locations range from Houston County to Lewis County, Tennessee and match Elder Gibbs proseletizing area.

Gibbs was 31 years old and had been working with the young men prior to his mission. Professionally he was a teacher. Among his missionary finding activities was to issue an open challenge to a game a marbles. All this made me wonder about the age of his converts. Turns out he was older than 68% of his converts and half were more than 10 years younger than him. One was even 7 years old, though only by a few weeks. In each case where a very young person was baptized, I have been able to find at least one parent who was a member as well, with the exception of James Prewett. Still looking.  That is even true of most of the teenagers too, with the exception of Fannie Willis (age 15). She joined with her 18 year old brother. But they had a 39 year old uncle who had joined earlier that year.

In fact the young ages of Gibbs converts had more to do with his focus on part member families. He baptized mostly spouses, and children of existing members,and a mother in one case. Less than 10 of his 44 converts were unrelated to existing converts.

There was nothing significant about the sex of the converts; 21 of 44 were female. I'm no statistician, but that seems pretty close to half. All but five were married or were too young to be married. Of those five at least two never married. If it were a ploy to get women for polygamous marriages, it was pretty much a failure.

Age Name
8     Archie H. Region
53   Zachariah Evans
39   Phebe Jane Evans
13   Rebecca Evans
11   David Roger Evans
8     Zachariah Evans Jr.
31   William S. Wood
30   Sarah V. Wood
20   Julia Ann Lockheart*
27   John Riley Hudson
50   Malinda Conder
17   Rachel Ann Conder
8     Jesse Whitfield Lancaster
53   William Winters
29   James Harrison Wood
28   Francis Josephine Sanders
45   Eliza Ann Talley
16   Jennette Love
7     William Jackson Love
9     James Samuel Prewett
14   Robt. Emmonds Bryant
60   Green Berry Corner
73   Gile Baker
39   William Sealy
24   Mary Ann Sealy
53   Lucretia Winters
13   Lupherty Catherine Winters
18   Josie Turner
46   Rachel Smith*
18   William W. Willis
14   Andrew Jackson Talley
15   Fannie Martha Angeline Willis
15   Lewis Sherman Winters
20   Joel Winters
13   George Thomas Talley
20   William Martin Conder
13   Levisa Jane Rebecca Conder
43   Eliz. Matthews Seals*
48   Feneby Fitzgiles
24   Laura Rebecca Grey
24   John Thomas Carroll
45   Banester Talley
45   Sarah Jane Carroll
26   Juda Clemant Carroll

The three converts with a * after their name were baptized by a companion of Elder Gibbs.

Moses Sanders and his Mormon Horse

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 converted the Gospel of Jesus Christ and was baptized on 28 Jan 1835. They gathered with the saints in Far West, Missouri in 1836, and then later in Nauvoo, Illinois. Moses worked as a policeman in Nauvoo, as well as on the building of the Temple. He was ordained a Seventy and lived very near the home of Joseph Smith. Like many in Nauvoo, Moses knew Joseph personally.

Moses owned a beautiful horse. It was spirited and unruly. Even his wife feared to take care of the horse when Moses was away. Then one day Joseph said to Moses, “Brother Sanders, give the horse to me and I'll promise that you will never lose by it." Moses Martin replied, "I would, but I am afraid that he may hurt you." Then the Prophet said, "No, he would never hurt me." So Moses tossed him the rope and said, "He is yours." Joseph rode that horse on parade in the Nauvoo Legion. And the painting we often see today of the Nauvoo Legion is one of Joseph riding “Joe Duncan.” The story goes that he was named, not respectfully, after Joseph Duncan, the governor of Illinois from 1834 to 1838. So the next time you see this image, think of the Tennessean horse on which he rode.

The Jolley Family of Dresden Tennessee

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 the 2nd Regiment of the North Carolina Militia under Captain George. He served from September 1814 to March 1815. Henry and Frances had eight chilren. As their children married they stayed nearby and worked together growing tobacco and cotton.

In February 1842, Henry and his two sons met two missionries from the LDS Church. From his autobiography we can read about his conversion.

One rather warm February afternoon my sons and I were working in the field when our attention was drawn to two distinguished looking gentlemen who were approaching us. They wore black Prince Albert suits and tall smoke stack hats. We rested on our shovels and waited for them to reach us. They introduced themselves as Elder McIntosh and Elder Wilson, Mormon missionaries. After the usual exchange of greetings, they stated their mission, and told us how the boy prophet, Joseph Smith, had beheld a vision of God the Father, and His Son Jesus Christ. They told us about the Mormons at Nauvoo and the persecutions that were being heaped upon the Prophet and his people. We were especially interested in the new Book of Mormon which gave a history of the ancient inhabitants of America. We were so impressed with their message that we invited them to return and see us again. They left us a Book of Mormon and promised to see us again in about two weeks. I said to my sons, "No more work today. We must tell your mother and your wives of the glad tidings." I could think of scarcely anything else for days except the strange story about the Nephites and the Lamanites as told in that wonderful book.   As promised, in about two weeks our Mormon friends returned and we sat in awe until the wee hours of the next morning listening to an explanation of the Principles of the Gospel. On the morrow I was ready for baptism...

By February 18th, Henry along with his oldest son and his wife, Reuben and Sarah had been baptized. Most of the rest of the family soon followed.Frances, however, was not convinced. Before the end of April 1842, they sold their land and their slaves and headed to Nauvoo. Three of their daughters stayed in Tennessee with their husbands.

After meeting the prophet, Frances too was baptized. Being farmers, at first they settled on land north east of town, but the only stayed ther long enough to raise one crop. With the growing troubles they moved into the city. Then the Prophet and his brother were killed. It was a trying time for the saints and the Jolley family. A few months later the family matriarch, Frances Jolley, grew ill and died too. In the midst of this, the family did all it could to help finish the temple.

Eventually, the saints had to leave Nauvoo. The Jolleys went too. But the family continued to scatter. The oldest son, Reuben died in Iowa. Their daughter Lina fell in love and married a local boy in Iowa. It was with great sadness that they parted ways, knowing they would not likely see each other again.

Once in Utah they settled at what would become Pleasant Grove in Utah County. There, Henry finally ended his journey. After completing their new home, Henry contracted pneumonia and died in 1850.

Emanuel Murphy warns Tennesseans of the Civil War

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 in Tennessee, telling the saints who had not gathered to Zion yet that now was the time. It was only a few short years before the devastation of the Civil War. I love a good prophetic forewarning. But is it real?

It isn't that I don't trust Jensen's work. It's just that I like to get more than one version of the story. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. That's why I just love it when I find just such confirmation. In the Autobiography of Hyrum Belnap I found the following story. While it isn't a slam dunk match, it does give me a possible new avenue to search.

The next day [Oct 21, 1879] was spent in advertising our appointments in that vicinity, and while in the northwestern portion of the neighborhood, we met an elderly lady by the name of Mary Ann Hickman. We soon learned that she was a Mormon and it had been many years since she had seen an elder of our faith. She was baptized in 1847 [probably 1843] by John D. Lee. Her knowledge of the church at present was very limited, but her recollection of what was taught in the early days of the Church was very distinct. She told us of many prophecies of the elders and very earnestly related the fulfillment of some of them, one of which I will relate.

While they lived in [Rutherford] County, if I remember correctly, one of the elders told her of a few other scattered members, whom the elders had told that if they did not emigrate to Zion then, the time would come when they would be glad to have gone to Zion barefooted. The elders also said that not many years afterward there would be a war between the North and the South and that a battle would be fought where they lived. At the time, these sayings were little heeded. Ere long the rebellion broke out and surely enough, one morning they heard the roar of the cannon and soon horses came rushing by, some had riders and others had none. On every side could be heard the groans of the dying and wounded. At this point the old lady grew nervous and exclaimed, “Then we remembered the saying of the elders and would to God we had obeyed them”

In truth, it is little more than just a second after-the-fact version of this story. Hindsight is oddly accurate at predicting the past. But I'm hoping that one of these stories will lead me to a verifiable contemporary story.

Emanuel Masters Murphy was born on 15 September 1809 in South Carolina to Mark Murphy and Holly Duke. The family moved to Tennessee sometime after 1832. While there, they were introduced to the gospel by his cousin Randolph Alexander. Emanuel Murphy joined the church on 8 September 1835. His wife Nancy was baptized a few days later on 12 September 1835. Emanuel's brother Jeremiah joined the Church too and his family entered history in their own way.

Emmanuel and his family decided quickly to move to Missouri and their next child was born in Far West in 1837. But then they did something strange. They moved to South Carolina and then to Georgia. The story goes that he was told by Joseph Smith to warn the inhabitants of South Carolina about the impending war (the Civil War). By the time the Church sent their first missionary to South Carolina, many people had been prepared by Brother Murphy.

According to Jensen, in 1857 Emanuel M. Murphy and Hyrum H. Blackwell made a similar trip to Tennessee. Although Jensen never says a warning of the impending Civil War was part of their message, Murphy's history of doing the same in South Carolina and Georgia does suggest he might share a similar message.

Later in life Emanuel moved to Salt Lake City where he was called to serve on the High Council. After a long and distinguished life, he died in Salt Lake County on July 23rd, 1871.

Marilla Sophia Wagner Foulger (1892 -1981)

[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 carpenter and cabinet maker by trade and was born in Binnign, Baselland, Switzer1and, October 28, 1849 to Jacob Wagner and Barbara Eicher. My mother was born July 2 1859 in Chicago, Cook Co., Illinois to Gottlob Frederick Scheef and Barbara Kohn of Germany.

[Marilla’s parents married in Minnesota in 1879 and lived much of their early married life in South Dakota. But eventually the family took an opportunity to move to Tennessee, first to Cleveland, then Sequatchie, and finally Tracy City all within a 20 mile radius of Chattanooga.]

My father had a little planing mill in Sequatchie where we lived. We moved away when I was about 7 years old to a large fruit farm on the rolling hills of the Cumberland where my father owned a large tract of timber land. Our home was a large two-story house set in the middle of a yard of beautiful flowering trees and bird houses. It was made of rustic logs with large rooms and a huge fireplace at one end of the living room. I loved the winter evenings around the fireplace. There was always singing and sometimes stories until we were sent to bed. The kerosene lamps were filled every day and the chimneys were sparkling and clean.

We weren’t members of any church but always went to Sunday School at the Methodist Church. I loved stories and was given pictures of Jesus which I prized dearly. One of my sisters joined some church when she got married. At one time we children all learned the ten commandments from memory.

Father would never join any church because he I couldn’t find what he was looking for until about 1902 when he heard of some young missionaries in our community. He went to hear them explain the principles of the gospel. He became interested at once and invited them to our home. They were treated dreadfully by other people. One was ridden on a rail and thrown in the river. There were threatened with tar and feathers but ended up being pelted with eggs and tomatoes.

After several months we were baptized. Father, Mother and seven children were all baptized on November 12, 1902 in Foster Falls near Tracy City, Tennessee. From that time on we had Sunday School, Sacrament and Fast Meetings in our home. There we learned the principles of the gospel. In the mission field you really feel the spirit of the gospel. A few of our friends and neighbors came to Sunday School but they didn’t belong to the church until after we left Tennessee.

My oldest brother, William, and sister, Mamie, came to Salt Lake a year before we did. Mamie married a missionary, Ernest Harker, from Taylorsville, Utah. We came to Salt Lake in [August] 1905.

My father sold his beautiful home and possessions and barely received enough money to pay for our train fare. The man who bought it never paid what he owed and father had nothing to fight with so he lost it. He said many times that he was much better off than the man who cheated him out of his money.

[The Tracy City News, wrote an article about the family and their decision to moved to Salt Lake City. The editor attributed their decision to three successive years of crop failure due to frost. He went on to say Chris Wagner was an “A-1 carpenter” and possessed sturdy qualities that would have made him an excellent town builder had he chose to stay. He estimated it cost the family $400 in train fare to get to Utah.]

My brother, Will, met us at the station where we stayed until he and father found us a place to live at 122 West 2nd North. It was so beautiful. We were tired from our trip and it had a lovely bath tub. We lived in the 19th Ward and Washington school district.

I was 10 years old at this time. I worked for the lady next door, washing and preparing vegetables for dinner. She paid me 75 cents a week. Then I took care of her daughters children too. She paid me in tithing money so I couldn’t buy much of anything there so I saved until I had enough money for shoes. I always seemed to find some little job to do to get money to buy my shoes. From the time I was 10 my father never bought my shoes, which made me very proud of myself.

[Marilla must had a beautiful singing voice. From 1912 to 1915 she was a soprano with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. On July 14th 1914 she married Clarence Adelbert Foulger, and they had several children. At least one joined the Mormon Tabernacle Choir as an adult. Clarence died at his home Dec 7th 1945. Marilla passed away July 23rd 1981 at Holy Cross Hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah.]

The Religious Odyssey of Sirenious Reed

 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 Company A. His enlistment began on 28 August 1862 and ended on 9 August 1865.

After the war ended he married Sarah Ann Wallace on 11 January 1866 and the two would eventually have twelve children together.

Professionally Sirenious practiced law and eventually became a judge, a title he carried for the rest of his life.

Then in 1878, he met and became a follower of Robert Edge. The details of Robert Edge’s ministry are beyond the scope of this post, but I have written about it elsewhere. After Robert Edge’s departure, Sirenious was one of the leaders of the followers Edge left behind. It was in Sirenious Reed’s large bible that Mr. Edge made drawings and annotations.

Sirenious and Sarah named their seventh child, a daughter, Patra Olena Edge Reed. Born in 1879, their naming choice obviously influenced by the 1878 ministry of Robert Edge. In 1880, it was Sirenious, who along with his cousin, James Henderson Scott who sought out the LDS missionaries. He was one of the first two to get baptized (April 21, 1880) and when the Haley’s Creek branch was organized in June 1880, the same two were ordained and set apart as presiding Elders.

Late in 1880 they moved to Colorado. It was after the Census in June where they were listed as living in Henderson County. But before the birth of their next child: Franklin Erastus Reed. The name Franklin may have come from one of the LDS missionaries who taught them: Franklin Spencer. This son was born in December 1880 in Colorado and tragically died a week later. The emigrant companies organized by the Southern States Mission usually travelled in the late fall, after the last harvest.

Two years later the Reeds are still in Colorado for the birth of their daughter Esther Naomi Reed in 1882. But by 1884 when Ocie Ola Reed was born they had moved back to Henderson County Tennessee.

The photo on the left would have been taken between 1887 and 1889. Top L-R Patra, Zinnie, Mary Frances Middle L-R Sirenious, Arthur, Sarah (Sallie) Bottom L-R Elvin, Esther, Ocie.

In 1889 their oldest son – James Sherman Reed - married Rittie Ann Levina Scott, the daughter of James Henderson Scott, showing that he still had close contact with them. Mr. Scott appears to have developed an interest in the reorganized LDS Church and and Sirenious may have shared his interest.

In 1890 he appeared on a registry for Civil War veterans, and is living in Henderson County. Sometime between 1890 and 1894 they re-settled in Newburn, Dyer County, Tennessee. Dyer County is on the west end of Tennessee, along the Mississippi River across from the Missouri, Arkansas border. Many of the Reed children settled down in Dyer county. Several are buried there or in nearby Memphis.

In 1898 Sarah died. From there, I cannot seem to find Sirenious or his family in the 1900 census. He may have already joined a commune then in Augustine Ohio. This religious sect, called the Israelite House of David, did not believe hair should be cut or shaven, similar to the Nazarenes of the old testament. But they also practiced celibacy and were vegetarians.

In 1903 the religious group moved to Benton Harbor, Michigan. Sirenious shows up in this undated newspaper clipping where he was named as Judge Serenais Reed. His hair is not yet long so I must assume he had only recently joined the commune. He appears in another post card with longer hair. And a longer beard. He is also holding a pennant that read Eden Springs, the name of the commune.

The commune made its money by building an amusement park with miniature train rides and the like. But their biggest success was a barnstorming baseball team which played exhibition games. The big draws were the long hair of the players and the tricks they would do with the baseballs.

Sirenious was not the only follower of Robert Edge to end up here. Ephraim Reuben Reed, a brother of Sirenious, died and is buried in Benton Harbor too, leading to speculation that he too was drawn to this religious commune.

But Sirenious eventually left the commune. The leader, Ben Purnell, was accused of inappropriate relations with minor girls on several occasions in 1910, 1914, 1922 and 1923. So whether it was just while visiting his family or because he was disillusioned with the House of David, Sirenious is back in Dyer County when he passes away, in 1924, at age 86.

Shadrach Holdaway died 108 years ago today

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 the saints in Nauvoo and was among the first groups that followed Brigham Young to Iowa in 1848. He was selected as one of the Mormon Battalion and placed in Company C where he served as Teamester for Company all the way to California. In California he was part of the group that discovered gold. He took the opportunity to prospect for gold and came away with $3,000 worth of gold dust. After rejoining the saints, he married Lucinda Haws and the two of them went back east with others to obtain wool carding equipment. He returned to Provo with the machinery and became very successful. His work kept him away from home a great deal building roads, canals and ditches, or up in the canyon working at the sawmill. His wife would complain about it from time to time.

It was in the fall of 1902 that Shadrack drove into the yard of the old home in Provo and announced he had come home to stay. He immediately began cutting down the big apple trees so that he could have room to build a shop. The last week of his life he cut down twelve of the big apple trees on his place, but he caught a cold which developed into pleura-pneumonia and in less than a week he passed away on December 24, 1902. The funeral was held Saturday, December 27, 1902 at 11:00 A.M. in the Provo Tabernacle and he was buried in the Provo City Cemetery.

Harvey Haynes: a forgotten member in a forgotten grave

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 had moved his family to Tennessee immediately following the war of 1812, and may have fought in the war. He could have received land in Tennessee as payment for his service or perhaps he moved there to take advantage of the new opportunities created by the land grants.

Harvey was a young man of 24 or 25 in Rutherford County, Tennessee when he met the Mormon missionaries. It was in 1844 that he was baptized, and most likely before Joseph Smith was killed in June of that year. He went to Nauvoo with the intent of joining the saints, but when they evacuated the city in 1846, Harvey did not follow. Instead he returned to Tennessee.

In the 1850 Federal Census, Harvey shows up back in Rutherford County (poorly transcribed as Harry J Haynes) living with his mother Sarah Haynes and his future wife Julia Posey. Harvey’s father had passed away 12 years earlier in 1838. A few years later Harvey and Julia are married, according the state records, on November 8, 1856. The Haynes family records show it was December 9, 1856, but do not have a source for the alternate date. It may be that the marriage license was obtained in November, but the wedding itself was not until December. At the time the state did not require couples to report back the actual marriage date.

On November 5th, 1858, Harvey’s mother passed away. And by 1860, the couple had moved to Lauderdale County in the far west end of Tennessee. They owned some land and there were some other Haynes family members in the area. It is likely he moved west with a few of his siblings. Harvey’s name is again poorly transcribed as Henry Haynes in the Federal Census.

In 1860 Harvey’s brother Mack William Haynes Sr., “...donated two acres of land to be a public burial ground.” The first to be buried there are three of Mack’s children: Emily, Susanna, and Robert, who all died at the same time.

Harvey and his wife had four children. In 1861 Julia had a daughter that they named Sarah J Haynes, after Harvey’s mother. On September 24, 1864 they had another daughter they named Virginia Barbara Haynes. In 1867 they had a son which they named John Joseph Haynes. John did not live long . He died on October 24, of the same year. He was buried in the cemetery his brother created. Family records show a fourth child, Robert Haynes, but Robert never shows up in the federal Census. It is likely he did not live very long either.

In 1870, Harvey is listed (mistranscribed as Harvey Hames) with his wife and two daughters ages 9 and 6. Sarah moved out at age 17 when she married Egbert G. Brogdon in 1878. The 1880 Census shows them with just Virginia and some boarders. On December 12th, 1882, Virginia married J. W. Glimp.

In 1896, Julia passed away leaving Harvey a widower at the age of 77. They buried her in the same cemetery with her son John. Harvey moved in with his daughter Virginia where he shows up in the 1900 Census.

Harvey remained faithful to the LDS Church, although there wasn’t always a church to attend. When missionaries came around again he remembered his baptismal covenants. “He never denied his testimony to the divinity of the mission of Joseph Smith.” In 1908, Harvey’s health took a turn for the worse. On October 6th, 1908 “...he died a member of the Church. Funeral services were conducted by the elders” Harvey was buried in the same cemetery with his departed wife. It reads...

H.J. Haynes born Mar 12, 1819

Died Oct 6, 1908

our father & grandfather

Over the years the graves were forgotten. The rest of the Haynes family moved on to Texas and Arkansas. Wthout constnat care, bushes and weeds covered some of the stones. And others were quietly removed to prepare the land for sale. Eventually the property was sold, in 1965, to the Mills family without their knowing it had a cemetery on it. They built a house on the property in 1968. But while clearing some brush near the road, they found some old stone markers. Realizing what they meant, Leonard Mills cleared away the underbrush and planted flowers and shrubs. He located the remaining stones which included Harvey, his wife Julia, and one of their children, John. Other markers were for their son-in-law J. W. Glimp and two grandchildren. All the other stones had long since been lost.

Today the Mills family takes care of grave makers in their front yard, and in tribute to the love and care for this nearly forgotten cemetery, when one of their own grandchildren passed away in 1990, they buried him alongside the others.

Jonathan Browning

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 started earning a living as a blacksmith and later switched to become a lock and gunsmith. He invented several kinds of repeating firearms, but his son, John Moses Browning, became the more famous gun maker. After leaving Nauvoo, the Browning family settled at what would become Ogden, Utah.

The Family of Charles Houston Church

A few months ago I ran across a photo I just loved. I had to find out more about them. Oddly enough I had no problem finding their names.

Charles Houston (or Hayden) Church was born on June 20, 1836. Some genealogists say he was born in Franklin, Williamson County, Tennessee. His parents certainly lived in Williamson County at one point, but whether they were still there in 1836, I have not been able to determine. Eventually they moved to Shady Grove in Hickman County where their log home was one of the first built in the county.

Charles certainly grew up in Shady Grove and on August 18th of 1859, he married Dollie Mullens (1837-1874). They had a son (born in 1857 or 1858) they name Utah Church (one census recorder wrote "E. Church"). I take the name they chose to imply that Charles they may have been converted before that date, though I have no proof. The LDS baptism dates I do have are much later.

They lived in Tennessee in 1860 and 1870, showing up in the Census both years. Each census showed just the two of them and one son.

Dollie's first recorded baptism was on January 1, 1872 with Charles being baptized several weeks later on 13 April 1872. I don't know where the baptism took place, but he and his wife, Dollie, were then endowed (20 May 1872) and sealed (27 May 1872) in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City, Utah. Had they emigrated to Utah? Or were they just there to have their temple work done? Either way, it is likely that when they made the trip to Utah they were "re-baptized" upon their arrival.

Then in 1874 Dollie died. The date comes from several family trees in Ancestry, but in each case it is unsourced. In addition I haven't been able to pin down whether she died in Utah or in Tennessee. Did they return immediately to Tennessee or did Charles stay until after Dollie died?

On November 1, 1874, Charles married Sarah Eliza Voss (1854-1917) in Tennessee. The two had seven children.  By 1880, They were living in Colorado. Utah Church was living nearby and had married. But they didn't stay long. They do not show up in the 1885 Colorado State Census and by the 1900 Federal Census, they are back in Tennessee. A carefull look of the 1900 census reveals that a son, Hayden, was born in Colorado in 1881, but their next child, Mary, was born in Tennessee in 1883. All of their remaining children were also born in Tennessee. One was a son they named Parley P. Church who was born in 1897.

Their situation was not unique. Many saints who emigrated from Tennessee to Colorado found the conditions untenable. The weather was harsh and they still had to endure persecution from the many non-mormons living in the area. Several chose to return to the land they knew, often to the very homes they were unable to sell when they left Tennessee in the first place.

Although I can't find original records to prove it, family records show that both Sarah and Charles died the same year in 1917 in Maury County, Tennessee. Sarah passed away in April, and Charles died a few months later in November.

The Shipman family "just picked up and left the country."

Another exceprt from the autobiography of Mary Jane Miller. She writes that immediately after the massacre at Cane Creek, residents of Cedar Creek in neighboring Perry County were understandably concerned for their safety.

The people were so wrought up that none of us were at ease of mind. I remember my brother [John] and me went to those people, Shipmans, the people that he came to when he came home. They were old friends of ours, but they had just recently joined the Church, and her people were very much opposed to the Church. It was her brother Howard Bunch, whose mask Mother snatched off at our place. That night, after we had gone to bed and been asleep, she came and woke us up and said they were afraid someone was coming to mob us, and we had better go out in the woods. We all took our quilts and went to the woods. This was my first experience sleeping with the skies as my only cover. I didn’t know then that it was her brother that came to our house but supposed she did, for I believe it was her own folks she was afraid of. They got so worked up they just picked up and left the country. Where they went or what became of them we never heard of more.

Mary Jane may not have known what happened to them, but historical records abound. A little digging turned up their names: George Washington Shipman (1844-) and Mary Jane Bunch (1850-). Both were baptize on 28 May 1884 in to the Cedar Creek Branch. A little more digging and I found them on the 1900 Census (and the 1910 and 1920 as well). They are living in Johnson, Oregon County, Missouri. Their married chilldren are living nearby and one grandchild was born there in 1894. I wonder about about what made them choose Missouri, and so I looked for evidence of others from Tennessee there. I also looked for evidence of non-LDS Mormon groups her. I found none on both counts.  Whether they stayed in contact with the church or just quietly kept the faith, they found a place they could call home in peace.

Special thanks to Patricia R. Major Miller for sending the excerpt from Mary Janes' autobiography

Phoebe Church: Convert at 18, and then what?

From Elder Hyrum Belnap's journal we read about the baptism of a young girl named Phoebe Church, age 18.

Monday, November 3, [1879] we gathered at the water’s edge, near Garden’s Ferry, Duck River, where I had the pleasure of baptizing Phoebe and Paralee Church, daughters of Bro. Emmons Church. Although these girls were the first persons I ever baptized in my life all went off pleasantly.

Later that year Phoebe showed perhaps a little interest in the young, and single, Hyrum Belnap.

Sunday, September 26, [1880] I went to E[mmons] Church’s. Obtained my change of clothes from the girls. Sister Phoebe Church also presented me with one of her photos.

Tuesday September 28, [1880] Gave Sister Phoebe one of my photos in return for hers.

I bet you think you know where this is going. But you would be wrong. It isn't always obvious at any one point how one's life will turn out. But lets start back at the beginning, Phoebe Ellen Church was born on March 17, 1861* at Duck River, Tennessee to Isaac "Emmons" Church and Mary Ann Miller.

In 1884, Phoebe makes an appearance in the writings of B. H. Roberts. She runs an errand for him to bring back the young Mr. Coleman so that he could help drive the wagons to retrieve the bodies of Elders Gibbs and Berry.

She may have been a part of the exodus of Mormons from Tennessee following the Cane Creek Massacre, because on February 25th, 1885 she was in Utah where she went through the St. George Temple. But she didn't stay there long. For reasons that aren't clear she returned to Tennessee. Could she have left after being asked to enter into a polygamous relationship? Could she have left after the Manifesto made her marriage prospects dimmer? Maybe she just hated the climate. I don't know. But she still had relatives in Tennessee.

Once back home on December 15th, 1892, at the age of 31, she married Joel Ray Hicks, who was 4 years her junior and was not a Mormon. Joel was a widower who owned his own farm free and clear. He had a daughter from a previous marriage; one year old Emma C. Hicks. Together they had two sons of their own; Isaac Emmons Hicks and Joel Craton Hicks. In the 1900 census she noted she also had two other children that had by then passed away.

In the 1910 census they were living in Justice Precinct 6, Grayson County, Texas, where they rented a farm. Her name was mispelled Puebia Maks, but this was only a transcription error. The names and ages of her husband and children, as well as an examination of the original handwriting confirm this was indeed her. In addition, her Tennessee LDS membership records in 1910 have a note next to her name "gone to Texas - Reported July 09"

Farming in Texas obviously did not work out well for them. By the 1920 census they had moved to Tunstall, Pittsylvania, Virginia, where Joel found work in a cotton mill. He was a textile worker of some kind, and their younger son lived with them and worked with his father in the same mill. A two year-old granddaughter lived with them as well.

There was no evidence any of her children were baptized in the LDS Church, though with as frequently as they moved around, it would be a project to track down.

Phoebe died in February 15th, 1929 in Draper, North Carolina. Again her name was poorly transcribed, but the death certificate could be easily read if you knew what you were looking for. Her father's name is scribbled but recognizable. The cause of death is equally scrawled, looking something like "Mitral Regurgitation", a condition where a heart valve does not close properly. A secondary condition listed was senility. She was 67 years old. Phoebe was survived by Joel Hicks, who was either her husband or her son, who filled out the death certificate.

*Her death certificate said she was born in 1862.

"Lost while traveling to Zion" or "Have you seen this child?" 1883 Edition

[I have heard of stories where parents in Mormon Pioneer companies whose children had wandered off and had to be left behind. To me this is the Tennessee equivalent. It comes frm the autobiography of Mary Jane Miller Bailey. She and her family joined the LDS Church in Tennessee]

So in the fall of 1882 my father started to the West with his family. Having a sister [Applane Steffon] whom I have mentioned before in Evansville, Indiana, he figured on staying there for a while, then selling his stock that he was bringing with him and coming on West.

[The family stayed in Indiana for a couple months to earn more money to go west. Besides, winter was no time to travel]

My brother John was 14 in January [1883]. He was working at a plow factory at $2.50 a week. One Sunday he went out, and when evening came he never came home. We were uneasy, so next day we went to both of Emiline and Uncle William DePriest [who] had moved to Evansville, but none of them had heard or seen him. Father appealed to the police for help in locating him, but to no avail. Imagine the sorrow, grief and pain that brought to the family--more especially my mother who gave birth to my sister Lottie [Charlotte Angeline] the following March 3, [1883]. We never knew whether he was drowned in the big Ohio River which people always went down to for their sports, watching the boats and going out in small boats for rides. That was a terrible blow, so we decided to go back to Tennessee instead of coming West. ...We went back hoping and praying our brother and son would come back to us or that we would hear from him. I don’t think I ever failed to pray every night and ask God to send him home or care for him if he was alive

[In July 1883 Mary''s older brother Nicholas went to Colorado, and then in the following March 1884, Mary's father Philip took three of the children to Colorado to prepare a place for the rest of the family.]

In July [1884] one Saturday evening I had gone to the neighbors to take home a mule I had borrowed. I hadn’t been there long ‘til a neighbor boy, Jimmy Shipman, said, “I came after you.” “What for?” He said, “John's come home.” I believe I went up that big hill at two jumps. He had come to those neighbors [Shipman’s], and she sent her two boys home with him and told one of them to go ahead and let Mother know he was coming. We were so happy that the prodigal son had returned. [John was just a couple of years younger than Mary Jane.] He had worked on farms and stayed around and had never heard of the family--supposed we had gone on West. He came back to our grandmother [Mary Ann DePriest Davidson] and found out about the family and came home.

[Mary didn't explain exactly what happened to John that Sunday he went missing. Maybe they never asked. Special thanks to Patricia R. Major Miller who sent me this story.]