Autobiography of Joseph Grafton Hovey, compiled by M.R. Hovey [microform], 1953 | Collections | The Huntington

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Manuscripts

Autobiography of Joseph Grafton Hovey, compiled by M.R. Hovey [microform], 1953

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Description: Microfilm of a typescript version of Joseph Grafton Hovey's autobiography, adapted from his journals by his grandson M.R. Hovey in 1953. The volume opens with a note on "The Hovey Book" and a page tracing Joseph Hovey's descent from Daniel Hovey, the "First American Progenitor of the Hovey Descendants." The autobiography begins with as account of Hovey's childhood in Massachusetts, including the death of his father, his move to Boston, and his interest in religious revivals. It then describes his move to Illinois and conversion to the Mormon Church, includes Hovey's critical reaction to John C. Bennett, and describes the days leading up to and following the death of Joseph Smith at Carthage. Hovey then gives an account of Sidney Rigdon's departure from the Church, of Hovey's own ownership of shares in the Seventies Hall, and of his departure from Nauvoo in 1846. He then writes of traveling to Winter Quarters with Joseph Young and of his experiences there from 1846-1848, including the death of his wife from illness in 1847. The first part of the account ends with a description of his overland journey to Utah and his colonization of Iron County through about 1854. The rest of the volume consists of portions of Hovey's writings from about 1855-1856, which cover his life in Palmyra, Utah, and his mission to Provo. This portion of the volume is annotated by M.R. Hovey. The volume concludes with a portion of Hovey's wife Lusannah Hovey's record of the family's move to Cache Valley in 1860 and of Joseph Hovey's death in 1868. Also included is some Hovey family genealogy.

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