A short sketch of the life of Levi Jackman [microform]: c.1832-1848

You might also be interested in

• 

  Some events of the life of Levi Mathers Savage [microform] : c.1876-1935

  Manuscripts

  Microfilm of Levi Mathers Savage's autobiography, begun in 1876 and finished shortly before his death in 1935. Savage opens with a brief history of the Mormon Church, and recounts his childhood in Holden, Round Valley, Kanab, and Toquerville, Utah. He particularly writes of his father's stock business and Indian raids around Long Valley. In 1871 he went to Salt Lake City to attend Morgan's Commercial College, which he left when he was called home by his ill father. He writes of being called to help colonize southern Arizona, but when the mission was delayed he worked on William W. Taylor's saw mill in Salt Lake City instead. Savage writes of the books he read during this time and of the "great financial crisis" of 1873 that prevented him from receiving his wages. He writes of taking a school at Coalville in 1874, and of a trip to Michigan to visit his mother's relatives (this section contains extensive genealogy on the Mathers family). He writes of finally starting on the Arizona mission in 1876 and of serving with Lot Smith's United Order at Yavapai. By 1878 he was teaching school in Sunset, Arizona. Savage writes of the completion of the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad and accompanying telegraph lines in 1882 and of concurrent difficulties with the Apache Indians. In 1883 he began teaching school in Woodruff, Arizona, but by 1885 polygamy charges had forced him to flee to Chihuahua, Mexico. He helped settle Diaz and writes of an earthquake there on May 8, 1887. By 1891 he had returned to Woodruff, but in 1900 his first wife Sarah "Marintha" Wright had taken him to court with adultery charges (he had subsequently married plural wives Lydia "Nora" Hatch and Hannah Adeline Hatch). He was arrested and taken to Prescott, and he and Sarah ultimately divorced in 1901 (Savage mentions the difficult relations he had with his and Sarah's children). Much of the rest of the volume through 1919 covers Savage's life in Woodruff, including extensive notes on births, deaths, marriages, confirmations, blessings, and missions, as well as covering a 1902-1903 diphtheria outbreak and problems with the Woodruff Dam. Savage was released as Bishop of the Woodruff Ward in 1919 and writes of moving to Salt Lake City. He worked in the temple there and the volume includes various lists of endowments. He recalls a 1925-1926 trip to California, and most of the rest of the volume revolves around his family life in Salt Lake. Savage's final illness and death are noted in entries made by his wife Nora in 1935.

  MSS MFilm 00116

• 

  Short sketch of the life of John F. Nash [microform] : c.1927

  Manuscripts

  Microfilm of John F. Nash's autobiography, written in about 1927. Nash recalls his childhood around the California gold mines, including his friendship with a nearby "Company of Chinese" over whom he "held arbitrary jurisdiction;" his family's move to Ventura County and his first experiences of attending school; and of his father's loss of a land grant after oil was discovered on their property in 1874. Nash then describes traveling toward Texas driving livestock, of his experiences in Woodruff and Snowflake, of the theft of his family's livestock, the family's settlement in the Gila Valley, encounters with Indians "on the warpath" and fear of ambushes, and his acquiring of a teaching license. He then describes his conversion to Mormonism in 1888 following his experiences at the Matthews settlement, his 1890 trip to Salt Lake City, his decision to attend the Brigham Young Academy, and his experiences teaching in Loa, Wanship, Pima, the St. Joseph Stake Academy, and the Thatcher Junior High School. He briefly recounts his joining of a local national guard and a mission to retrieve fellow soldiers from a saloon. Nash also recalls his mission to Australia, where he primarily preached in Sydney and Brisbane, and his clash with "Reorganists" there.

  MSS MFilm 00127

• 

  Sketch of the life of William Morley Black [microform] : c.1915

  Manuscripts

  Microfilm of the life history of William Morley Black, probably in the handwriting of his daughter Eva Minerva Black Palmer. Black opens with recollections of the difficulties of frontier life in Ohio and Illinois, his work as a farmer and mason after his father's death, and his marriage to Margaret Bonks in 1846. While living in Illinois in 1848, Black notes that "news of the discovery of gold in California created quite a fever in our town, and I caught the fever in the spring 1849." He describes joining William Maxwell's joint stock company, passing through Nauvoo, and crossing the plains. His overland account is limited except for his notes on buffalo hunting, of which he reflected "sad indeed it was for the Sioux nation when the white man made a through fare [sic] thru [sic] their well stocked hunting grounds." The party entered the Salt Lake Valley in July 1849, and "were all on tip toe to see what kind of civilization the Mormons would exhibit." Black learned of the "martyrdom" of Joseph Smith, was impacted by the persecutions the Mormons had suffered, and was so impressed by a church sermon that he wrote "if that is Mormonism then I am a Mormon." He writes that "any desire and ambition for gold was swept away," and he abandoned the California company to remain in Utah. In February 1850 he was selected to go on a mission to the Sanpete Valley, which he was not eager to do. "I could not see just what right the President had to call me. I understood and expected them to guide me in spiritual matters, but this was of a temporal nature and beyond their jurisdiction." Black ultimately submitted to the call and writes of paying tributes to Indians on the road to Sanpete, quoting Brigham Young as saying that it was "cheaper to feed them than it was to fight them." Black describes living with a Father Morley at Manti, building a grist mill, and marrying his first plural wife. In 1851 he was finally allowed to travel back to Illinois with the J.M Grant company to retrieve his family. He broke his ribs falling into a well and was in poor condition when he arrived in South Canton in December. He writes that he was "full of enthusiasm" for Mormonism, and when he told his family about his conversion his mother-in-law was "wild with rage" and his father-in-law would not share a house with him. His wife and two children, as well as a brother and sister he converted, traveled back to Utah in October 1852. Along the way he was cheated out of wages by a Brother Leonard, but Brigham Young convinced Black to let Leonard use the money to fund a mission to China instead of paying him. Back in Utah Black partnered with a Brother Washburn in tanning and shoemaking. When local grist millers were killed during the Walker War in July 1853, Black took over the mill. He describes running various mills, including those at Nephi (he writes that with the establishment of Camp Floyd in 1858 his "wheat was turned to gold"), Ephraim, and Circle Valley, where he was held under siege by Indians (two brothers recently arrived from Illinois were killed). After abandoning the Circle Valley settlement in 1867, Black moved to Beaver before being called to a mission in Washington. He later helped John R. Young build a grist mill at Kanab. He praised the establishment of United Orders and lived at Orderville until the late 1870s. He describes moving to Mexico in 1889 "not out of choice but of necessity," and of his various homes there. He writes that when war broke out between the Madero and Diaz parties in Pacheco, his family fled to El Paso and later returned to Utah. The final pages of the autobiography contain genealogy and a note on Black's death probably written by Eva Palmer.

  MSS MFilm 00075

• 

  Auotobiography and diary of James Pace [microform] : 1832-1888

  Manuscripts

  Microfilm of a typescript of James Pace's autobiography and diary, made from the original by Brigham Young University in 1946.The autobiography covers Pace's early life in Tennessee, his move to Illinois in 1832, his baptism into the Mormon Chuch, the births of his children, serving in the Nauvoo Legion and Nauvoo police department, his mission to Arkansas (1844), fleeing Nauvoo and traveling to Pisgah (1846), joining the Mormon Battalion and marching to California, including references to traveling through Arizona, Nevada, and Idao, passing through Utah on his way back to Winter Quarters (1847), working in Missouri and finally emigrating to Utah in 1850, his mission to England (1852-1855), his being called to Wahsington County (1861), his family's move to Arizona (1882), and added notes on his death in 1888. Also included is Pace's Mormon Battalion diary (1846-1847), which includes references to his enlistment, overland travels, interactions with Mexican villagers, arriving in San Bernardino, rationing and camp life, travel to the "Spanish settlement" in Tucson, trading with Maricopa Indians, difficult travels down the Gila and Colorado Rivers, arrival at Warner's Ranch, travels to San Diego, drunkenness among Mormon soldiers, marching to the Cajon Pass, inspecting the Donner Party valley, traveling through Nevada, and setting course for Salt Lake City.

  MSS MFilm 00187

• 

  Appleton Milo Harmon's early history and journal for his travels through the United States, England, and Scotland in 1850, 1851, and 1852... [microform]: c.1842-1853

  Manuscripts

  Microfilm of Appleton Milo Harmon's autobiography and journal of his British mission from 1850-1853. The autobiography traces his childhood and his family's early conversion to Mormonism; their travels from Pennsylvania to Kirtland, Springfield, and Nauvoo; Harmon's 1842 mission to New York; his journey form Nauvoo to Council Bluffs and Winter Quarters, recalling the winter of 1846-1847; and detailed accounts of his overland travels from Winter Quarters to Utah and back. Some of the specific incidents he recounts include the violent backlash of "enemies" after the election of Brigham Young as Church president in 1845; the formation of the Mormon Battalion; and encounters with Indians, particularly the Omaha. The rest of the volume contains diary entries from Harmon's mission to England and Scotland. After a detailed account of his slow overland trip and ocean crossing, Harmon records his mission experiences in Manchester, Sheffield, Newcastle, Sunderland, Carlisle, Glasgow, and Edinburgh. Most of the entries focus on Harmon's attendance of Church conferences and notes on baptisms, births, marriage, and deaths. He also describes his trip to London (which included visits to the Thames Tunnel and British Museum) and sinful behavior he believed was caused by a "fever" for gold in Australia. The volume ends with an account of his return voyage to the United States in 1853.

  MSS MFilm 00053

• Image not available

  A sketch of Silas Harris's life, as written by himself [microform]: c.1880

  Manuscripts

  Microfilm of a typescript of Silas Harris' autobiography, written in about 1880 and completed by his daughter Sarah F. Cutler sometime after Silas' death in 1897. In the autobiography Silas writes very briefly of his childhood and conversion to Mormonism, his experiences in the Mormon Battalion, his overland travels back to Council Bluffs from California, his return to Utah, his mission work, and notes on his children. The final few paragraphs were written by his daughter Sarah, and contain reminiscences of her father.

  MSS MFilm 00132