Manuscripts

Statements on Oliver Cowdery and a Mormon pioneer company [microform]: after 1844

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Description: Microfilm of two brief statements on Mormon history made by Samuel W. Richards. The first gives a short account of Oliver Cowdery. The second describes Richards's learning while he was at Nauvoo in 1844 of the formation of a pioneer company intended to "find a suitable place for the Saints to move to where they could rest for a time from the constant harassing and persecutions to which ... [they] were then being subjected." Richards writes of council meetings involving Hyrum Smith and Sidney Rigdon and of the pioneer company's intentions to travel to California and Oregon, "if deemed necessary," since it was "thought Lower California would offer the greatest inducements for locating a city for the Saints." The whole is addressed to B.H. Roberts, Salt Lake City.
Type: Manuscripts(Opens in new tab)
Date: after 1844
Call number: MSS MFilm 00166
Creator

Diaries of Samuel W. Richards and Mary Richards [microform] : 1839-1876

Manuscripts

Microfilm of about seven diaries kept by Samuel Whitney Richards and Mary Richards between 1839 and 1876. Some of the diaries are multiple pieces or are written on loose pages. The first diary was kept by Samuel Richards at Richmond, Massachusetts, from 1839-1840. He writes of going to work for his uncle William Richards, including growing potatoes, putting up fences, plowing, harvesting hay, and other farm work, as well as working in a saw mill. The volume also contains an autobiography which recounts events in Illinois from 1843-1844, particularly regarding the Nauvoo Legion and Joseph Smith, and chronological notes from 1846 recalling departing from Nauvoo and traveling to New York City before sailing to Liverpool. That volume is followed by two diaries kept by Mary Richards at Nauvoo in 1846-1847 and 1848, while Samuel was away serving on a mission to Great Britain. Mary describes her daily and family life as well as events surrounding the Mormon Church. Those diaries are followed by a volume kept by Samuel Richards in 1848, when he was preparing to leave Missouri. It then skips back to his departure from England, a list of Scottish Saints, and an account of traveling up rivers to Winter Quarters. His 1849 diary describes his travels from Iowa to Salt Lake City, and his 1855-1856 and 1876 diaries recall his life in Utah.

MSS MFilm 00164

Richards family letters [microform] : 1837-1896

Manuscripts

Microfilm of fifteen letters sent between various members of the Richards family between 1837 and 1896. The reel contains two letters written by Franklin D. Richards to his cousin Edwin D. Peirson, and sent from Kirtland in 1837 and Cincinnati in 1842; a letter from Samuel W. Richards to his parents, dated Manchester, Vermont, 1843; a letter to Samuel from his father Phineas Richards, dated Richmond, Massachusetts, 1843; a letter to Mary Atchison signed E.R.W. (probably her sister Elizabeth Walson), sent from Missouri, and dated 1874 (probably 1847); a letter to Mary H. Richards from Rebecca M. Jones dated 1847; a letter to Franklin and Samuel Richards in Liverpool, probably sent by Nancy Richards Peirson from Richmond, Massachusetts, in 1847; a letter to Samuel Richards from Robert and Elizabeth Walson, dated 1849; two letters to Phineas Richards dated Salt Lake City 1850, and possibly signed William Richards; a letter from Phineas Richards to his wife Wealthy Richards, dated Sanpete Valley, 1850; a letter to Samuel Richards from his sister Sophy, dated New Orleans 1863; a letter to Samuel Richards from John N. Pike, clerk of council in Salt Lake City, dated 1873 (as well as Richards's reply to Pike); and a letter from Samuel Richards to Franklin Richards, dated Brooklyn, New York, 1896.

MSS MFilm 00165

Three essays on Mormons in Arizona [microform] : after 1913

Manuscripts

Microfilm of three typescript essays by Evans Coleman, and which primarily trace the history of the Alpine, Nevada, area. The first essay, entitled "Firsts in Alpine," describes early events in shaping the settlement, including the arrival of the first settlers and the introduction of agricultural implements, a school, and mail service. The second essay, "Land Transactions in the Eighties," is a brief account of the influx of Mormon pioneers to the Alpine area and the decision of the first settler, a non-Mormon named Bush, to sell his land in the area. The final essay is a biography of Coleman's mother, Emma Beck Coleman (1840-1913). The account reads like an autobiography and is written in the first person as Emma. It describes the nomadic lifestyle Emma and her family were forced to lead as they faced persecution in Illinois and Missouri, and describes the hardships of traveling in wagons, specifically focusing on the discomfort suffered by the pack animals and Emma's recollections of going hungry. It briefly traces Emma's life in southern Utah, her move to Alpine, Arizona, in 1881, and her eventual settlement in Thatcher in the Gila Valley in 1899.

MSS MFilm 00128

Essays on pioneer life in Arizona [microform] : approximately 1930

Manuscripts

Microfilm of a variety of essays and notes by Evans Coleman, primarily recalling pioneer life in Arizona. The essays and notes include "No.7 Pioneer Reunion, August 1930" (recalling "big reunion of the Apache County pioneer," which Coleman attended with W.W. Pace and others), "1880 Springerville (Round Valley) Horse Racing," "A Pioneer Incident II, 1884" (story about "Old Mase" Slaughter), "Along in the '90s: Do You Remember the Thrills of Yesterday?", "The Apache County Treasury Robbery," "Alpine School House" (photograph and summary), "The Firsts in Bush Valley," "Thatcher, Arizona, in 1899," "Incidents in Thatcher in 1899," and miscellaneous notes and photographs. The reel also contains the diary of Coleman's father Prime Thornton Coleman, recalling his daily life in Upper Kanab, Utah, in 1879.

MSS MFilm 00235

The general trends and characteristics of Utah pioneer dress from 1847 to 1875 [microform] : 1947

Manuscripts

Microfilm of a thesis entitled "The General Trends and Characteristics of Utah Pioneer Dress from 1847-1875," written by Fairfax Proudfit Walkup for her M.A. from the University of Utah in 1947. Based on research from the Utah Pioneer Costume and Manners Research Project, the paper set out to "discover in what particulars Utah pioneer dress followed the prevailing general lines and characteristics of current fashions and why it did so". The study focused on women's dress, including "whole costumes ... to items of women's underwear- chemises ... corsets, drawers ... nightgowns, petticoats, and stockings; and to certain items of children's clothing." Includes illustrations and bibliography.

MSS MFilm 00215

Diaries of Samuel W. Richards [microform] : 1851-1909. Reel 6b

Manuscripts

Microfilm of forty diary volumes kept by Samuel Whitney Richards from 1851-1909. The first three volumes, dated 1851-1852, 1853, and 1854, were kept during Richards's mission to Great Britain. The fourth diary, dated 1857-1858, was kept in Utah and includes commentary on the Utah War. The fifth diary, dated 1869-1870, was kept while Richards was traveling through Utah and also includes some poems and genealogy. The fifteen diaries dated 1870-1889 were kept yearly (excluding 1873, 1875-1878, and 1887) and include almost daily entries on Richards's life in Utah, specifically the Ogden area, and focus on his temple work, agricultural and farm labors, visiting friends and relatives, church news, the weather, and his health. The three diaries dated 1895-1897 were kept during Richards's time on the Eastern States Mission, primarily in New York (mainly the Nassau County area) and New Jersey. The remaining seventeen diaries, dated 1898-1909, also describe Richards's daily life in Utah. The diaries are arranged on eight reels as follows: Reel1 - diaries dated 1851-1879; Reel 2 - diaries 1880-1885; Reel 2(b) - diaries dated 1886-1889 and 1895-1897; Reel 3 - diaries dated 1890-1894; Reel 4 - diaries dated 1898-1898; Reel 5 - diaries dated 1900-1904; and Reel 6 - diaries dated 1905-1909. Reel 6(b) contains miscellaneous diary fragments from 1854, 1870, 1882-1883, 1890, 1895, 1897, 1902-1904, and 1909.

MSS MFilm 00193

Statements on Oliver Cowdery and a Mormon pioneer company [microform]: after 1844

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Diaries of Samuel W. Richards and Mary Richards [microform] : 1839-1876

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Three essays on Mormons in Arizona [microform] : after 1913

Essays on pioneer life in Arizona [microform] : approximately 1930

The general trends and characteristics of Utah pioneer dress from 1847 to 1875 [microform] : 1947

Diaries of Samuel W. Richards [microform] : 1851-1909. Reel 6b