Manuscripts

The Lyman Wight colony in Texas, 1846-1858

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Description: Typescript of a history of the Texas Wightites compiled by Heman Hale Smith (1887-1962). The essay traces the origins and development of Wight's Mormon community in Texas from its founding in 1846 through Wight's death in 1858. The essay draws on a variety of secondary sources and also includes transcripts of original correspondence. With bibliography.
Type: Manuscripts(Opens in new tab)
Production date: before 1962.
Call number: mssHM 27981
Creator: Smith, Heman Hale(Opens in new tab)
Provenance: Purchased from Zion Bookstore, April 9, 1965.
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Diaries of Azariah Smith [microform] : 1846-1912

Manuscripts

Microfilm of the diaries of Azariah Smith, covering the years from 1846-1912. The first volume opens with some brief autobiographical information on his family's life in Nauvoo and persecutions against the Mormons in Missouri. The journal begins in 1846 and covers Smith's time with the Mormon Battalion, his arrival in Salt Lake City in 1848, and a daily record of his life in Salt Lake, the Sanpete Valley, Ephraim, Provo, and primarily Manti through 1887 (page 224 includes a sketch of Smith's homestead). Following the diary are some loose notes and diary pages, a marriage certificate for Smith and Sevilla Mitchell (1903), some genealogical notes, and a list of names of women sealed to Smith. The second diary volume covers Smith's life in Manti from 1888-1912.

MSS MFilm 00314

Autobiography of George Pectol [microform] : 1858

Manuscripts

Microfilm of the autobiography of George Pectol, covering the years from approximately 1846-1858. Portions of the volume are missing, but it opens with George's examination of the Book of Mormon and his decision to travel to Nauvoo, hearing Mormon preachers, and deciding to join the Mormon Church. He also writes of performing baptisms and preaching the gospel around Jackson County, Missouri, of anti-Mormon experiences in Missouri, of his overland travel to Utah, of leaving home in Iron County due to Indian attacks, of moving to Sanpete, and of life in Washington to 1858.

MSS MFilm 00195 item 01

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Weitere Untersuchungen die Electrolyse des Wassers betreffend: page proofs of essay

Manuscripts

Page proofs of essay by Hermann von Helmholtz originally written in 1887; the essay discusses the topic of the electrolysis of water that he had initially explored in his 1883 essay, On the Thermodynamics of Chemical Processes. The typescript is in German, with corrections and emendations by the author in German and marginal annotations by an unidentified person in English. One annotation in English is signed by an unidentified editor at the publisher, Taylor & Francis.

mssHM 83096

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Amasa M. Lyman diary

Manuscripts

Typescript of Amasa Lyman's diary, covering the years 1847 and 1858-1863. The first part of the diary is dated April-September 1847 and describes the overland travels of Lyman and his company of Mormon pioneers. It begins with their departure from Winter Quarters, Iowa, and describes camping near the Platte River, finding an abandoned Pawnee village, sighting buffalo, crossing the North Fork above Laramie, and camping in the Salt Lake Valley. On August 9 the diary notes, "city named 'Salt Lake City, Great Basin, North America'." The 1847 diary was recorded by Albert Carrington and refers to Lyman in the third person. The second part of the diary, identified as Journal #16, covers 1858-1863 and describes Lyman's travels from April 18-July 2, 1857, along the California Road and Indian Trail from the Rio Virgin. It continues with his participation in an exploratory party that traveled south from Cedar City, Utah, to Las Vegas, the Vegas Fort, and the Mojave Desert from January-May 1858, and also charts its return to Salt Lake City. References are made to Hyatt's war with the Apaches and Lyman's encounters with an Indian chief he calls Oat-sen-a-wantz. The final section of the diary, kept from December 1862 to April 1863, describes Lyman's daily life near Farmington, Utah, including his attendance of the local theatre, a listing of the books he was reading, and his encounters with John Taylor. Includes a description of the original diary.

mssHM 27980

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Lyman Belding autobiography

Manuscripts

The autobiography begins with Belding's childhood in West Farms, Massachusetts (near Amherst College). He recalls his early days of school, camping at a nearby lake, and his first crush on a girl. Of his life in Wyoming Valley, Pennyslvania, Belding talks about his bout with typhoid fever in 1846 which led his doctor to advise him to go on a sea voyage. He talks about his first voyage on the ship Zion and his first long voyage on the whaling ship Uncas (going to the Arctic for whales). Of his voyages, Belden talks about the conditions of life on the ship, their food and drink, stops along the way, sea animals they saw, and the whales they killed. Belding also talks about hunting in the Sierra Nevadas, a meeting with Mark Hopkins, and a bird collecting trip he took to Baja, California.

mssHM 75097

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Mission San José: a pen sketch of the days of the old mission

Manuscripts

This manuscript is an account of early California history and in particular the Mission at San José. Bishop writes in poetic terms about the beauty of early California, and traces the origins of the Mission back to Junípero Serra. Of the site of the Mission, which he describes in great detail, Bishop writes: "If this was not an earthly paradise, then such could not be found on the face of the globe." Bishop not only describes the Mission physically, but also the general routine of daily life there in the days following its founding in 1776.

mssHM 19064

The Lyman Wight colony in Texas, 1846-1858

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Diaries of Azariah Smith [microform] : 1846-1912

Autobiography of George Pectol [microform] : 1858

Weitere Untersuchungen die Electrolyse des Wassers betreffend: page proofs of essay

Amasa M. Lyman diary

Lyman Belding autobiography

Mission San José: a pen sketch of the days of the old mission