Short sketch of the life of John F. Nash [microform] : c.1927 | Collections | The Huntington

Short sketch of the life of John F. Nash [microform] : c.1927 | Collections | The Huntington

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Sketch of the life of Mary Minerva Dart [Judd] [microform]: c.1840-1881
Manuscripts
Microfilm of Mary Minerva Dart Judd's autobiography, covering the years from approximately 1840-1865 (some brief notes and genealogical accounts continue into the 1880s). The account opens with reminiscences of Mary's childhood in New York and Connecticut, and with an account of her family's wagon travels to Council Bluffs in 1849 and to Utah in 1850. It recalls the Dart family's settlement in Parowan, where they had an encounter with Indian Chief Walkera (c.1808-1855), and Mary's marriage to Zadok Knapp Judd in 1852. Mary subsequently describes moving to Santa Clara in 1856, traveling near St. George, living in Harmony in 1857, and settling in Eagle Valley in 1865 (a genealogical note includes reference to the family's life in Kanab in the 1880s). Mary also writes of her father's mission to San Bernardino, of her cotton manufacturing, of the 1862 Santa Clara River flood, and of the death of George A. Smith, Jr. (1842-1860), who was apparently shot to death by a Navajo Indian. The account also references Indian children purchased by the Judds, including a boy named Lamoni who died while in their service, an unnamed girl who was purchased in 1858 and died in 1861, and a second girl named Nellie who was purchased in 1862 and in 1867 married a "wild Indian" and left to live with his family (she returned to the Mormon settlement as a washer woman). Also included is some genealogy and hymn lyrics.
MSS MFilm 00106
A short sketch of the life of Levi Jackman [microform]: c.1832-1848
Manuscripts
Microfilm of Levi Jackman's autobiography and diary, which begins with an account of his childhood and conversion to the Mormon faith. He also gives an extensive account of mob violence in Missouri in 1833 and of his journey to Kirtland by way of Louisiana. He describes his missionary work in Illinois from 1835-1836, writes of the death of Joseph Smith in 1844, and mentions his work on the temples at Kirtland and Nauvoo. Much of the volume is a detailed diary account of his overland travels to Utah with the first company of Mormon pioneers in 1847. He gives a daily account of scenery and landmarks passed, as well as an account of camp life. He specifically describes Pawnee Indians, passing through a prairie dog town, sighting buffalo, and meeting Sam Brannan on the trail near the Salt Lake Valley. Jackman also writes of his reaction to his first sighting of Utah, declaring that "like Moses on Pisgah's top we could see a part of the Salt Lake Valley, our long anticipated home. We did truly rejoice at the sight" (July 19, 1847). The remainder of the volume includes Jackman family genealogy and a brief continuation of the autobiography, in which Jackman describes his life in Utah from 1847-1848, including a mention of the Mormon Battalion. Portions of the text are very faint and may be partially illegible.
MSS MFilm 00071
Reminiscences of John Langston [microform] : 1877
Manuscripts
Microfilm of the autobiography of John Langston, covering his childhood through 1875. Langston recalls growing up in England and briefly moving to the United States before his father's interests failed and the family returned to England. Langston worked at iron works in Staffordshire and Wales before returning to the United States at the age of sixteen. He writes of working at iron works in New Jersey and Pittsburgh, and of spending the early 1840s looking for work in Missouri, Illinois, and Kentucky. He eventually got hired as a steamer fireman in St. Louis and settled in Independence, Missouri, in 1844. Langston then describes a serious illness he suffered and his subsequent decision to join the Carmelite Church. He briefly covers his time in California, his journey to Council Bluffs, and his decision to join the Mormon Church after much internal debate over the practice of polygamy. After briefly writing of his overland journey to Utah, Langston focuses on the Utah War of 1857-1858, including his time in the Alpine militia at Echo Canyon. He believed that the U.S. Army was "sent out ... with the intent of hanging and killing all the leading Mormons." The last few pages of the volume trace Langston's move to Rockville and his cotton growing experiences through about 1875.
MSS MFilm 00124
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Diary and autobiography of Christian N. Lund [microform] : c.1860-1921
Manuscripts
Microfilm of Christian N. Lund's diary and autobiography, which covers the years from the 1860s-1920. The microfilm consists of two reels. The first reel opens with Lund's extensive family genealogy, notes on his childhood in Denmark, his family's conversion to Mormonism (which he initially opposed, noting "I was very unfavorable [sic] impressed [with the Mormon Church], and felt indignant almost that my mother should bring this disgrace upon us"), and his time as a "traveling elder" in the mid-1860s. He then recounts immigrating to Utah in 1868, marrying his Danish fiancée, and settling in Mount Pleasant. Lund recalls that he first worked at picking potatoes and in the Flagstaff mine in Little Cottonwood Canyon before being called as a "home missionary" for the Sanpete Stake in 1872. He worked as a store clerk from 1873 and was a secretary and director in the United Order before it dissolved in 1877. Lund recalls his mission to the northwestern states from 1879-1880, the death of his wife following childbirth in 1882, his election as mayor of Mount Pleasant in 1884, and the death of his eldest daughter from typhoid in 1885. He recalls the election process preceding his selection as bishop of the Mount Pleasant South Ward in 1890 and of his appointment as U.S. Court Commissioner in 1894. Shortly after exalting in Utah's admission to statehood ("O glorious day!" he wrote), Lund recalls his reluctance to depart on a mission to Europe, where he served from 1896-1898. He gives a lengthy account of his time as a missionary in Denmark, as well as recounting visits to Norway, Sweden, Germany, England, Scotland, the Netherlands, and Belgium. Much of the rest of the first reel consists of diary entries from 1898-1913, including his attendance of Church conferences; the marriages, births, and deaths of family and acquaintances; and his impressions of events such as the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake ("The greatest calamity perhaps that has ever occurred in the Country") and the 1907 Reed Smoot case. The second reel consists of Lund's journal from 1913-1920. He specifically recalls his election as a patriarch in 1916 and injuries he sustained after being hit by a car in the same year. Lund concludes the volume with a chronology of his important life events, a list of his "Activities in Civil Life," and "Days Notable in My History." The volume contains several newspaper obituaries on Lund's death in 1921. Scattered throughout both reels are various family photographs, letters, newspaper clippings, texts of blessings, certificates, and other ephemera.
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
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.