Manuscripts
Mary Ann Hafen reminiscences
Image not available
You might also be interested in
Image not available
Mary Ann Standlee's reminiscences of life in Southern California
Manuscripts
The author's recalls life in Southern California where she first lived on the Ballona or Malaga Ranch where her father was a sheep and cattle rancher. When she was four years old, they moved to San Gabriel and lived on the estate of De Barth Shorb when her father was appointed overseer of the Benjamin D. Wilson Ranch. She describes the ranch, its inhabitants and the San Gabriel Valley. In 1868 her parents bought land from John G. Downey in Los Nietos Valley near what is now Pico Rivera. Their ranch home was on the banks of the Rio Hondo River across the river from one of the Able Sterns ranchos. Standlee describes pioneer life; agriculture including orange, lemon and walnut orchards; dairy farming; stock ranching, schools and the coming of the railroads. Mrs. Standlee documents her marriage to Joel W. Standlee and the birth of her children. Some place names mentioned are: Los Angeles, Wilmington, San Gabriel, [Pico] Rivera, El Monte, Pasadena, Montebello and Downey.
mssHM 27978
Image not available
Mary Minerva Dart Judd autobiography, (bulk 1879-1885)
Manuscripts
This is the original handwritten manuscript of Mary Minerva Dart Judd. The bound volume consists of Judd's reminiscences of her life; family records such as births, deaths, and baptisms; and poetry and songs. The subjects covered include Judd's recollections of her move to Utah, her marriage to Zodak Knapp Judd, their movement between various Mormon settlements, and her descriptions of her life as a woman pioneer. She also provides accounts of the births and deaths of her children, relationships with Native Americans, frontier and pioneer life, the purchase of Native American children, and the various activities of Jacob Hamblin (1819-1886)
mssHM 66416
Image not available
Mary Ann Storrs McCarty diary of an overland journey from Omaha to Carson City
Manuscripts
Portion of a diary kept by Mary Ann Storrs McCarty as she traveled overland from Nebraska to Nevada. The diary opens with the McCartys' departure from Omaha on May 6, traveling with a company that would eventually come under the leadership of J. Marvin. They forded the Loup Fork at Council Bluffs, and Mary Ann describes the difficulty of getting wagons and supplies over the various bluffs and hills they had to climb. While in Nebraska on May 14, Mary Ann observed "a very singular phenomenon" above the evening horizon, which first had the shape of a "rod" before taking on a "snaky appearance, [which] appeared to crawl up from the horizon...[and] lasted about half an hour." By the end of May they had reached Chimney Rock, and shortly after had the first of two broken wagons that had to be left behind, both ultimately replaced by "a Mormon...who was going after emigrants." Mary Ann writes of Pawnee Indians visiting the wagon camp, and although they were peaceful the emigrants were "all frightened" about their presence. In early June the party arrived at Fort Laramie and camped near La Bonte Creek and Deer Creek, usually close to outpost stations of soldiers. On June 12 the McCartys' were left behind when their wagon broke, and when P.V. went to look for the rest of the party Mary Ann stayed behind. It was dark and she wrote that "[there is] no person near me for miles...all around is hills and rocks. Where will the end be?" (June 12). Two days later they had rejoined the wagon train and camped near Devil's Gate, where Mary Ann described the scenery as "strangely, wildly beautiful." While camped near the Sweetwater River on June 18, Mary Ann wrote of her exasperation with her traveling companions, stating that "I am so very tired of the company, they are all so dreadfully profane...My heart years for quietude and the society of Christians." Mary Ann got her wish to be separated from the party when the McCartys' wagon was irreparably broken near the Sweetwater Station and they were left behind to find a new one. After being aided to the Green River Crossing, the McCartys joined a new emigrant train from Missouri. They passed through Echo Canyon and came within sight of Salt Lake City on July 1. Mary Ann described with some admiration the homes, agriculture, and irrigation systems of the Mormon homesteads she could see. She often walked on alone without the rest of the company, occasionally causing a panic when they thought she had been lost. By July 4 they reached Camp Floyd, and in mid-July crossed 23 miles of desert to the Nevada border. After passing the Diamond Station the McCartys left the wagon train to take a cut-off, which turned out to be a "terrible road." In Nevada they traveled through Clifton, along the Carson River, Fort Churchill, and Dayton before arriving in Carson City on August 12. Mary Ann's diary ends with an account of a fire that broke out shortly after their arrival. Also includes a typed transcript of the diary made by Mary Louise Warren, a letter to Mary Ann from Helen L. Taylor (1899), and photographs of P.V. McCarty and an unidentified daughter.
mssHM 79952-79956
Image not available
Biographical sketch of Mary Elizabeth Rollins Lightner
Manuscripts
This is a typescript copy of a biographical sketch of Mary Elizabeth Rollins Lightner written by her granddaughter Elsie E. Barrett. Barrett covers her grandmother's life from her early childhood to her settlement in Minersville, Utah in 1863. It describes Lightner's early conversion to Mormonism, which in 1830 came at an early stage in the development of the religion. The subjects covered include persecutions, frontier and pioneer life, and the Haun's Mill Massacre (Mo.), 1838. People discussed in the typescript include Joseph Smith (1805-1844) and Heber Chase Kimball (1801-1868)
mssHM 66419

Ann Jordan album; or selections from many authors; interspersed with drawings and poetry, 1828-approximately 1885
Manuscripts
An illustrated commonplace album with transcribed verses, watercolors, and drawings; the album was a gift to Ann Jordan from her brother W. P. Jordan in 1828. The album contains 27 watercolor illustrations including flowers and butterflies (the latter usually cut and pasted to various leaves), and nine pencil sketches. Also included are poems by Thomas H. Bayly, Mary Ann Browne, Lady Byron, Lord Byron, Benjamin Franklin, Oliver Goldsmith, Peter Pindar (whose real name was John Wolcot), Ann Radcliffe, and George R. Sims. The album contains a number of blank pages and is bound in contemporary red half morocco; the corners and spine are worn and damaged.
mssHM 84113
Image not available
Hafen, Mary Ann, 1854 -. Typescript, Grandmother Hafen's Life Story
Manuscripts
This collection consists of typescripts of interviews and diaries collected by Kimball Young (1893-1972) in regard to his research into the Mormon practice of polygamy. The information he gathered was to be used for his book, Isn't one wife enough? (New York : Holt and Co., 1954).
HM 63752