Manuscripts

Autobiography of James W. LeSueur [microform]: 1929

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Description: Microfilm of James W. LeSueur's autobiography, completed in 1929. LeSueur includes anecdotes about his childhood, including witnessing the shooting death of Nathan Tenney (which he mistakenly dates to 1884 instead of 1882) and a trip to Fort Bridger, Wyoming, with his father. He includes some genealogy before recounting his mission to Leeds from 1898-1900 and his visit to the family's ancestral home on the Isle of Guernsey. Much of the volume relates to his business activities, including his work at the St. Johns Co-op and his work in stonecutting and land dealing in Mesa, with detailed accounts of his business accounts and savings. He also writes of his work on the Salt Lake Temple and of a situation in which he was accused of "dealing unfairly" with a widow in a land case, although he was ultimately cleared of any wrongdoing. Portions of the autobiography are partially illegible.
Type: Manuscripts(Opens in new tab)
Date: 1929
Call number: MSS MFilm 00083

Autobiography of James McBride [microform] : 1876

Manuscripts

Microfilm of the typescript autobiography of James McBride, written in 1874 and 1876. McBride traces his genealogy and family history in Virginia and Ohio, describes his family's conversion to Mormonism, and recalls their moves throughout Missouri from 1834-1836. He gives a detailed account of his father's death in the Haun's Mill Massacre of 1838 and of his own examination of the area in the following weeks. McBride describes anti-Mormon sentiment in Missouri and his family's move to Illinois, where he rented a farm near Nauvoo in 1841. He writes of traveling westward in 1846, living in Iowa until 1850, and traveling overland to Utah (including inscribing his name on Chimney Rock). He then describes his life in Tooele and Grantsville, conflicts with Indians and the building of a fort in 1853-1854, and the Utah War. Includes table of contents and index.

MSS MFilm 00192

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Autobiography and family record of James Bywater [microform] :

Manuscripts

Microfilm of the autobiography of James Bywater and related family records. The first pages of the volume contain a list of genealogies and ordinances for "The Dead" (including dates and places of births, baptisms, deaths, endowments, etc.) that appears to have been kept through 1936, a sealing record of marriages, a Bywater family record and genealogy through about 1939, and a copy of the program from the Centennial Anniversary of James Bywater in 1925. The autobiography was written by Bywater at Brigham City in 1903. In it he describes his childhood in England, his conversion to Mormonism, his travels to and from England and the United States, his journey to Utah, his life in Brigham City, his missions to England in 1873 and 1893, his polygamy trials in 1874, 1889, and 1891 and stays in the penitentiary, and the death of his wife Hannah in 1906. The last few pages of the journal were written by one of Bywater's children after his death in 1909.

MSS MFilm 00121

Diary and record book of James Madison Flake [microform] : 1887-1929 (bulk 1887-1889)

Manuscripts

Microfilm of the diary and record book of James Madison Flake, primarily focusing on his British mission from 1887-1889. The diary opens with his departure from Snowflake in 1887, his overland travels by rail to New York, and his sailing across the Atlantic to Liverpool. It then describes his mission work in Scotland, primarily in and around Glasgow and Dunfermline, and England, where he lived in Stockton. He also describes trips taken to London and Paris in 1889 and his return voyage home. There is one 1891 entry made in Snowflake. The end of the volume includes a brief autobiography of Flake, records of baptisms he performed in Arizona and Britain, and various family records to about 1929.

MSS MFilm 00253

Diaries and autobiography of Anthony W. Ivins [microform] : 1875-1899

Manuscripts

Microfilm of diaries and an autobiography kept by Anthony Ivins between 1875 and 1899. The first diary volume, dated 1875-1882, focuses on Ivins's travels throughout Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona. The second and third diaries, dated 1882-1883 and 1883-1884, describe Ivins's mission work in Mexico. The fourth (1896) and fifth (1897) diaries were also kept during a later trip to Mexico. The fifth diary is in a notebook imprinted with "U.S. Indian Service" and has the handwritten notation "Oaxaca Land Adjustment." The sixth volume contains Ivins's autobiography, which is a mix of prose and diary entries through 1897. The seventh and final volume is another diary kept in Mexico from 1897-1899.

MSS MFilm 00208

Autobiography of Edward Walker Clark [microform] : c.1820-1904

Manuscripts

Microfilm of Edward Walker Clark's autobiography, kept through 1904. Clark begins with describing his young adulthood in England, including working as an attendant for a wealthy family and as an apprentice carpenter. He traveled to London in 1840 and describes his conversion to Mormonism in 1847. He mentions working at a furniture store in 1848 before he and his family sailed to the United States on the ship Ellen. Clark arrived in Council Bluffs in 1851 and worked as a coffin maker for emigrants to the gold fields until 1852, when the Clarks traveled to Utah with the Henry Miller company (Clark's eldest daughter was killed by a wagon wheel during the trip). The Clarks settled in Provo, and in 1858 Clark was posted at Echo Canyon during the Utah War. He describes his 1874 mission to England, followed by notes on his life in Utah through 1904.

MSS MFilm 00094

Autobiography of Samuel Miles [microform]: 1881

Manuscripts

Microfilm of a typescript of the autobiography of Samuel Miles, supplied by his daughter Minnie Miles Mathis to the St. George Ward Chapter, Daughters of the Pioneers. The autobiography was kept in about 1881. It includes a brief family history and descriptions of Miles' childhood and his family's move to Freedom, New York, where they were neighbors to Miles' uncle (by marriage) Warren A. Cowdery; Mormon missionaries in the area; the family's move to Missouri, where Miles worked on his father's farm; persecutions of Mormons in Missouri; a history of the Mormon expulsion to Illinois; various accounts of Joseph Smith; the family's 1845 move to Nauvoo and Miles' work as a teacher; a detailed account of Miles' time with the Mormon Battalion, first under Captain Allen (who died at Fort Leavenworth) and then Lieutenant Smith (who was unpopular compared to Jefferson Hunt), and their overland travels to San Diego and Sutter's Fort; Miles' move to Utah; a trip to California he took in 1858; the formation of the United Order at Enoch in 1874; and various notes on Miles' teaching and farming activities. The autobiography covers the years through 1881.

MSS MFilm 00376

Autobiography of James W. LeSueur [microform]: 1929

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Autobiography of James McBride [microform] : 1876

Autobiography and family record of James Bywater [microform] :

Diary and record book of James Madison Flake [microform] : 1887-1929 (bulk 1887-1889)

Diaries and autobiography of Anthony W. Ivins [microform] : 1875-1899

Autobiography of Edward Walker Clark [microform] : c.1820-1904

Autobiography of Samuel Miles [microform]: 1881