Reminiscences of John Langston [microform] : 1877

You might also be interested in

• 

  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

• 

  Life sketch of Lemuel Hardison Redd [microform]: after 1891

  Manuscripts

  Microfilm of Lemuel Hardison Redd's brief autobiography, recorded at White Pine, Nevada, sometime after 1891. Redd briefly describes his early life and journey to Utah, but mainly focuses on his life in Utah after 1850. He describes settling in Spanish Fork, where his father helped build the first saw mill (it was destroyed during the Walker War in 1853), and briefly describes his experiences during the Walker War, his marriage, his mission to Nevada, his participation in the Utah War, and helping colonize New Harmony as part of the Dixie Mission in 1862. Redd also mentions buying the John D. Lee homestead in 1870, helping establish the United Order at Harmony, and moving to San Juan County and later Mexico to avoid polygamy charges. The account also describes in some detail the various activities of Redd's children.

  MSS MFilm 00379

• 

  Diaries of John B. Fairbanks [microform] : 1877-1902

  Manuscripts

  Microfilm of nine diaries kept by John Fairbanks from 1877-1902. The first diary opens in Payson in 1877, and recounts Fairbanks's mission to the southern states, including Alabama and Tennessee, in 1883; the second opens with a list of subscriptions for the Zion's Cooperative Mercantile and Manufacturing Institution in Payson (1869) and also includes an 1881-1882 diary kept at Payson and on the southern states mission; the third diary opens in 1881 when Payson was traveling to St. Louis and tracks his mission through 1882; the fourth diary is a continuation of the third diary; the fifth diary is another notebook and diary kept during his mission from 1882-1883; the sixth diary is also from 1882; the seventh diary is undated but also appears to be from the southern states mission; the eighth diary is dated 1890 and was apparently kept in Utah; and the ninth diary was kept while Fairbanks was traveling in Central and South America, including to Mexico, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Colombia, in 1901-1902. It closes with a brief biography by an unknown author tracing Fairbanks's artistic endeavors from 1914-1917. Also included on the reel is a typescript by an unknown author entitled "South America Trip," which recalls Fairbanks's travels there.

  MSS MFilm 00063

• 

  Autobiography of John Powell [microform]: c.1849-1901

  Manuscripts

  Microfilm of the autobiography of John Powell. Powell begins by recalling his early life in England, including his conversion to Mormonism and his mission to Stratford in 1849. He then describes his family's immigration to the United States, sailing from Liverpool to New Orleans on the ship Ellen. The family rented a room in St. Louis, and Powell describes the sickness and poverty that prevented them from starting for Salt Lake City until 1856 (in the interim he mentions his mission to Calhoun County in 1855). He describes the family's overland journey to Utah, including meeting with Indians near the Platte River. Once in Utah Powell joined the Utah Territorial Mormon Militia, and he briefly describes his experiences in Echo Canyon in 1857. The rest of the autobiography focuses on Powell's life in Fillmore, Utah, and includes references to his work on the settlement at Deseret, his furniture store in Fillmore, his trips to St. George in 1877 and 1884, and his time in the Utah Penitentiary after pleading guilty to unlawful cohabitation in 1889. Also included in the volume are descriptions of Powell's visions and dreams; copies of letters; transcriptions of blessings and articles from the Deseret News; and transcribed texts of the Constitution of the State of Utah, The Edmunds Bill (also known as the Edmunds Anti-Polygamy Act of 1882), the Declaration of Principles from the People's Convention (1882), and the Origin and Destiny of Women by John Taylor (1897). The volume ends with lists of local births, deaths, and blessings given; some Powell family genealogy; and a list of the residents of Fillmore in 1858.

  MSS MFilm 00066 item 02

• 

  Diary of William Nelson [microform] : 1877-1900

  Manuscripts

  Microfilm of the diary of William Nelson, kept in St. George from 1877-1900. The first several frames contain a family record for William's grandparents, James Nelson and Sarah Alcock, and a biography of his father Aaron Nelson (1823-1908) and his second wife Selina Palfreyman Nelson (1843-1930). The biography describes Aaron and William's journey to the United States, their work in Salt Lake City, and Aaron's involvement in the Black Hawk Indian War in Sanpete County. William Nelson's diary includes very brief daily entries made from February 1877 to October 1900. He writes of his work shoemaking and of traveling around Cedar Ridge and Parowan playing music, often with his father. Most of the entries focus on his daily activities such as digging ditches and attending choir practice at the St. George Temple, the weather, and news about various family members and acquaintances. The final page of the diary includes notes on William's children.

  MSS MFilm 00086

• 

  Diary of George Laub [microform]: 1874-1877

  Manuscripts

  Microfilm of the third volume of George W. Laub's diary, identified as Journal of St. George and covering the years 1874-1877. The inside of the front cover is inscribed "journal prefaced & bound in this city [Salt Lake City] 1858" and notes that the volume belonged to George W. Laub of Logan, Utah, in 1916. The first page of the diary includes an incomplete entry on the Civil War. The second page picks up on January 1, 1874, when Laub was living in St. George. He writes throughout of working at a cart house, doing agricultural labor, hauling lumber, selling livestock, working on the Santa Clara ditch, visiting Pine Valley and Diamond Valley, camping along the Santa Clara River, and working on the St. George Temple. Laub often attended the Tabernacle, where he listened the George A. Smith and Brigham Young, who spoke of the necessity of building a temple, as well as discussing the inscription for a monument stone to Joseph Smith to be placed at the Kirtland Temple (January 11, 1874). Laub also writes of interaction with Navajos in Pine Valley and with what he describes as "Lamonites of the Sebech Nation" (March 1875), and worries about the state of affairs in the United States, writing that he continually reads in the newspapers of "fires, murders, shipwrecks, and treachery of all kinds," as well as violence between former slaves and the "white population" in the South (1875). The diary ends in August 1877. Included at the end of the volume is some family information.

  MSS MFilm 00084