Showing posts with label J. Golden Kimball. Show all posts
Showing posts with label J. Golden Kimball. Show all posts
Friday, October 15, 2010
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
An Index to the History of the Southern States Mission, 1875-1888
John Hamilton Morgan was one of the first missionaries called to serve in the Southern States Mission, and he subsequently served as President of the Mission for many years. In an attempt to grasp the details of his missionary service, I typed up and posted the histories of the Southern States Mission from the Latter Day Saints Southern Star.
After Ben Rich was called as president of the mission in June 1898, he began a mission newspaper called the Latter Day Saints Southern Star. The Southern Star featured reports from the various areas of the mission, news items, talks, devotionals, and letters, and also featured a regular history of the Southern States Mission. It is not clear what sources were used to compile the histories, but they were probably written by a succession of missionaries who served as editors of the paper. The first editor was David P. Felt, followed by Ray Ashworth and his assistant, Ariel F. Cardon. When these missionaries were released, Lewis R. Anderson, mission bookkeeper and a member of the mission presidency, ran the paper until George E. Maycock arrived from Utah and took over.
Here are links to each of the sections, and a brief explanation of the contents. The histories included on this blog stop with the end of John Morgan's service, although he continued to be mentioned in the mission history from time to time. If time permits, I will return and finish the series.
After Ben Rich was called as president of the mission in June 1898, he began a mission newspaper called the Latter Day Saints Southern Star. The Southern Star featured reports from the various areas of the mission, news items, talks, devotionals, and letters, and also featured a regular history of the Southern States Mission. It is not clear what sources were used to compile the histories, but they were probably written by a succession of missionaries who served as editors of the paper. The first editor was David P. Felt, followed by Ray Ashworth and his assistant, Ariel F. Cardon. When these missionaries were released, Lewis R. Anderson, mission bookkeeper and a member of the mission presidency, ran the paper until George E. Maycock arrived from Utah and took over.
An Introduction to the Latter Day Saints Southern Star
More on the Southern Star
Lula Falls, Lookout Mountain, Georgia.
Part 1
Beginning of the mission 1875-77 under President Henry G. Boyle, with the mission containing the states of Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Virginia.
1877. Missionary efforts extend to Texas. Over 240 converts move to Arizona, Utah, and Colorado.
1878. President Boyle released and John Morgan called as president of the mission. Headquarters moved to Rome, Georgia. Missionary work, yellow fever, first report of mob activity.
January-July 1879. Missionary work in Georgia. Fields of labor opened in other states including North Carolina. Church members move to Colorado. Rudger Clawson and Joseph Standing arrive in the mission. Mobs gather.
July 1879. Mob violence toward missionaries. Joseph Parry beaten by a mob. Joseph Standing murdered by a mob. Rudger Clawson's life spared.
Pilot Mountain in North Carolina.
Part 6
August-December 1879. The aftermath and trial for the murder of Joseph Standing. Missionary efforts in Georgia. Converts leave for Colorado.
February 1879 (?)-March 1880. Henry Barnett and Mathias Cowley preach in Kentucky and Virginia. Henry Barnett and Seth Langton continue working in Virginia while Mathias Cowley and Frank Benson preach to people who had heard Jedediah Grant preach many years before. Many converts.
Links to the article “The Martyrdom of Joseph Standing” by John Nicholson.
January-May 1880. President Morgan and Matthias F. Cowley hold conferences and open up new areas of the mission. Saints emigrate to Colorado. Baptisms in Tennessee due to the influence of the mysterious preacher, Robert Edge.
June-November 1880. Sarah Church serves in the mission in Tennessee and Mississippi. Other missionaries come to the mission. Many new branches and converts and some persecution. More information on the mysterious Mr. Edge. The Saints from many branches, including Henderson County, Tennessee, emigrate to Colorado.
An old church in Neshoba, Mississippi.
Part 11
November 1880-July 1882. Saints move to Manassa, Colorado. Mathias Cowley and John W. Taylor preach and baptize in Georgia. Elder Cowley and others preach in St. Louis and publish in the local papers. Anti-Mormon sentiment in St. Louis. More Saints move to Colorado.
January-June 1881. Debate in Wilson County, Tennessee. April 1881 Mission headquarters moved from Rome, Georgia, to Nashville, Tennessee. A bright period of success followed by mob threats and violence in Alabama.
July 1881-March 1882. Due to the success of Elders Cowley and Parkinson in St. Louis, the 1881 Mission Conference was held in that city. Much success in the end of 1881 but 1882 began with much agitation against the church and missionaries in the population and press. Persecution particularly bad in Georgia so several missionaries were released home. Many elders threatened and persecuted and shot at. Very heavy rains in March flooded much of the mission and made work difficult. Emigrants led to Colorado by President Morgan and Elder Cowley. West Tennessee Conference opened.
July-November 1882. Mission conferences help keep the morale up. Threats of mob violence in Kentucky delay the Conference meeting. A marked increase in baptisms reported with 204 the first half of 1882. President Morgan arranges with the railroads for better fares for emigrants. Mission headquarters is moved from Nashville to Chattanooga on October 10, 1882. President Morgan released as Mission President after arranging the Fall emigration. [His service actually continues until 1888.]
November 1882-June 1883. One hundred Saints and eight elders leave for Colorado and Utah. New Elders arrive in December and another party of emigrants leaves North Carolina. In January a new set of Elders arrive from the Colorado settlements and are assigned to labor in their native states. New missionaries arrive each month. In March, John Morgan and 166 Saints and 12 or 15 missionaries leave for Utah and Colorado. Elder B.H. Roberts begins his service as Assistant President of the Southern States Mission.
A winter scene in Tennessee.
Part 16
June-September 1883. Elder J.T. Alexander is beaten by a mob. More mob violence. Meeting of the Mississippi Conference. Conference in Alabama sparsely attended due to violent threats. Other Conferences held, and one was actually held without threats of violence in South Carolina. Missionary work begins among the Catawba Indians. President Roberts continues to hold meetings. Mission statistics reported. Elder Charles E. Robinson dies in the mission field.
October 1883-May 1884. Elder Robinson's body taken home by Elder Easton. Missionaries receive transfers and releases and arrive in the mission. President Roberts holds meetings. President Morgan comes to accompany a party of emigrants to the West. Many baptisms. More emigrants leave the South. A new Northwest Tennessee Conference organized. Judge Stark given particular notice due to his support of religious liberties. Tensions continue to build.
May 1884. Missionaries chased out of Etowah County, Alabama. Elder Charles Flake has tar poured on him in Mississippi. The Mississippi Conference meets.
June 1884. President Roberts meets with the missionaries in Alabama and advises them to go to quieter areas. Missionaries harassed in Tennessee. The church building in St. Clair County, Alabama, burned by arson.
July 1884. A mob kidnaps and severely beats Elders Joseph Morrell and John William Gailey in Neshoba County, Mississippi.
A historic photograph of a rail fence in Saint Clair County, Alabama.
Part 21
August 1884. Elders John Henry Gibbs, William H. Jones, William Shanks Berry and Henry Thompson met in Cane Creek, Lewis County, Tennessee. They planned to hold meetings on Sunday, August 10th at the home of the Condor family. On his way to the meeting Elder Jones was detained by a mob and was being held in the woods when he heard shooting from the Condor home.
The other missionaries had arrived earlier at the Condor home and sang some songs as they waited the start of the meeting. The mob rushed upon the home and seized Brother Condor who called to his son Martin Condor and step-son J.R. Hudson for aid. Elder Gibbs, Elder Berry, and Martin Condor were killed by the mob and then J.R. Hudson was killed but not before killing mob leader David Hinson. Elder Thompson escaped.
The mob continued to shoot into the house, wounding Sister Condor. The mob left with Hinson's body. The other bodies were washed and buried. Elder Jones, who had fled the area, met J. Golden Kimball and enlisted his aid. They traveled toward Cane Creek and encountered Elder Thompson who related the bad news. The three men went immediately to a telegraph station to notify President B.H. Roberts of the events. Roberts wired to President Morgan for assistance to remove the bodies to Utah but not wanting to wait, Roberts approached a Mr. Moses in Chattanooga for a loan to cover the costs of caskets and transportation.
The Cane Creek Area was in a furor and it was not considered safe for the missionaries to enter the area, so President Roberts disguised himself and with the assistance of J. Golden Kimball, a Brother Emmons, Robbin Church, Henry Harlow, William Church, Robert Coleman, and other local Saints, he removed the bodies of Elders Berry and Gibbs to Nashville where they were taken to Salt Lake City.
A discussion about the causes of the murders in Cane Creek and efforts to seek justice. Notes about the missionary service of Elders Berry and Gibbs.
A blackjack oak, a species of tree mentioned by B.H. Roberts in his account of the events at Cane Creek.
August-September 1884. Violence and threats continue through the end of August. Elders Woodbury and Fuller were staying at the Jenkins home in Alabama and Elder Fuller was beaten by a mob. Sister Jenkins, who had been in poor health, almost died of the stress of the event but was blessed to return to health by the missionaries. Many missionaries were taken very ill in September. The South Carolina and North Carolina and Virginia Conferences meet.
October-December 1884. The year ended much more quietly although threats continued and members had to leave the Cane Creek area. A large company of Saints emigrates in November. While B. H. Roberts was absent at various times during the year, J. Golden Kimball took charge of the mission. John Morgan and B.H. Roberts met in December and advised church leadership on the state of the mission. President Wilford Woodruff and his counselors advised the mission leadership to continue missionary work but to immediately leave contentious areas.
January-April 1885. President Morgan visited the mission in January and sent B.H. Roberts home for a "much needed rest." A company of Saints emigrated in February. Elder Wilson was staying in Putnam County, Tennessee, when he was kidnapped and beaten before being released with a warning to leave the county. In March President Morgan returned from accompanying some Saints to Utah. He released Elder J. Golden Kimball. President Morgan returned home in April for the funeral of his young daughter Flora.
May-June 1885. Elders Garner and Christensen arrested and charged with violating a state law against the preaching of polygamy. They awaited trial in prison in Elizabethton, Tennessee, until President Morgan arranged bail, at which point they continued their labors in the mission. Elders Cragun and Fraughton were staying outside the Catawba Reservation when they were shot at and beaten.
July-December 1885. Georgia Conference meets in Haywood Valley. The case against Elders Christensen and Garner returned to court and Elder Christensen was indicted but Elder Garner was not. Work progressed in East Tennessee. In August Elders Christensen and Garner were sent home and President Morgan visited Elizabethton and found that their bail bond had been recorded as $5 rather than $500, so Elder Christensen was only liable for a sum of $5. Two Catawba members of the church were called to serve a mission to the Cherokee Indians. The year ended quietly.
Seneca Creek, West Virginia.
Part 31
1886. Emigration. Preaching the gospel. President Morgan tours the mission and holds conferences. Elder Harper arrested and taken to Stanardsville where he was acquitted.
October 1886-May 1887. Mission conferences in Georgia and Tennessee. Elders harassed. President Morgan visits at home then returns to lobby in Nashville against a bill prohibiting the preaching of polygamy. Bill tabled. Emigration. Successful work. Mission to the Cherokee Indians. More use of printed materials for public relations.
June-December 1887. President Morgan returned from the West and immediately prepared and led a company of 120 emigrants to the West. Mob violence directed against missionaries resulting in threats, kidnapping, and beatings. Many missionaries sick during the summer. Baptisms increase as the summer ends. Conference held in Mississippi then Tennessee. President Morgan attacked at the West Tennessee Conference held in Cowpens Creek, Alabama. The Alabama Conference split and work started in Northern Florida. Conference held in Georgia followed by the East Tennessee Conference. Middle Tennessee Conference created. Maryland split from Virginia. West Virginia Conference followed by the North Carolina and South Carolina Conferences. Large emigration in November. Elders Tate and Hendricks threatened and injured by buckshot. A generally successful year.
January-July 1888. Wilford Woodruff releases John Morgan as president of the Southern States Mission. William Spry begins his service as president on January 4. Missionaries arrive and depart. In April 177 members emigrate under the direction of John Morgan and William Spry. Mobs organized and violence threatened. Elder Shipp beaten, Elder Wright almost lynched. President Spry returns and holds conferences and encourages the missionary work and cautions the missionaries to be careful during the most violent season in late summer.
Part 35
July-September 1888. Quiet summer. Elder Edmund Z. Taylor dies. Elder Stookey or Stucki of the mission office retrieves his body and sends it to Ogden. President Spry holds Maryland Conference in West Virginia. Mob violence targets Elders James Douglas, Thomas Holt, Asahel Fuller, and their host James Brooks. They are severely beaten.
Additional Southern States Mission Content
He Being Dead, Yet Speaketh
The Faucett family provides the mission publication with some letters written by murdered missionary Joseph Standing. See follow-up post on Ancestral Ties.
The First Relief Society in the Southern States
Newspaper clipping from the Deseret News. See additional information at Amateur Mormon Historian (The First Relief Society Presidency in the Southern States) and Ancestral Ties (The First Relief Society Presidency in the Southern States).
Burned the Church (Introduction—Part 1—Part 2—Part 3)
1895. The Saints and missionaries in the West Virginia Conference at Two Mile, Kanawha County, organize a conference. The church meeting was burned. The community rallies and provides support to finish the conference.
Southern Star Obituary for John Morgan
J.G. Kimball: "I picked up a Chattanooga Times one morning, and I was very much delighted to see in print these words, speaking of Elder John Morgan. It said: 'To shake his hand was to be his friend.' I have never forgotten it. When you shook John Morgan's hand and he looked into your face you always knew that you were his friend."
Pictures of the Cane Creek Area
Missionaries are still visiting this area to pay tribute to the fallen.
The photos are from the Southern Star, www.flickr.com/photos/brent_nashville/116196125/, www.flickr.com/photos/skrobotic/21197208/, www.flickr.com/photos/nataliemaynor/149312252/, www.flickr.com/photos/sminor/387003576/, www.flickr.com/photos/lonecellotheory/519362995/, www.flickr.com/photos/dwineman/153502758/, and www.flickr.com/photos/auburnuniversitydigitallibrary/2925082092/, courtesy of the Auburn University Libraries.
Monday, March 15, 2010
The 19th Century Presidents of the Southern States Mission
Henry Boyle (October 1875–January 1878)
Henry Green Boyle was born March 7, 1824 in Bluestone, Tazewell, Virginia. He died September 8, 1902 in Pima, Graham, Arizona. The date that he began his service comes from the first installment of the History of the Southern States Mission in the Southern Star. Here is a short biography of Henry Boyle. Several years' worth of Boyle's diaries including 1877 are available on the Mormon Missionary Diaries site. Search for "Boyle" in this link for an interesting story, although Boyle is actor Clint Eastwood's great-great uncle, not an ancestor like the site claims. Autobiography (c. 1831–1846) at BOAP. Served in the Mormon Battalion, Company C.
John Morgan (January 1878–January 1888)
John Morgan was born August 8, 1842 in Greensburg, Decatur, Indiana. He died August 14, 1894 in Preston, Franklin, Idaho. He was raised in Indiana and Illinois and served as a soldier in the Civil War. He traveled to Salt Lake City where he joined the church and was later called as a missionary and then Mission President in the Southern States Mission. He was one of the seven presidents of the Quorums of the Seventy. He was an educator, first and foremost. Here is a summary of the many posts about and links to sources on John Morgan. Here is a short biography.
B. H. Roberts (Assistant President, March 1883–late 1884 or early 1885)
Brigham Henry Roberts was born March 13, 1857 in Warrington, Lancashire, England. He died 27 September 1933 in Salt Lake City. After a colorful childhood, he emigrated to Utah and was later called as a missionary. He began his service in the Southern States Mission in December 1880. B.H. Roberts was going to succeed John Morgan as Mission President in November 1882, but due to Roberts' youth, John Morgan remained as president of the mission and Roberts served as Assistant President from March 1883 until sometime in early 1885. He was called as one of the seven presidents of the Quorums of the Seventy. Many issues of the Southern Star devote space to reports and editorials on the hearings about whether B.H. Roberts could take office as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Here is a short biography.
William Spry (January 1888–July/August 1891)
William Spry was born January 11, 1864 in Windsor, Berkshire, England. He died on April 19, 1929 in Washington D.C., while he was serving as Federal Commissioner of Public Lands. Spry was the third governor of Utah (1909-1917). Here is a biography in the Utah History Encyclopedia. Spry was only 23 or 24 when he became mission president. Here are some mentions of him in the Southern States History and John Morgan's diary.
J. Golden Kimball (July 1891–May 1894)
Jonathan Golden Kimball was born June 9, 1853 in Salt Lake City. He died September 2, 1938 in a single-car accident in the Nevada desert. He had served in the mission several years before his call as President. J.G. Kimball was a son of Apostle Heber C. Kimball and his tenth wife Christeene Golden Kimball. J. G. was famous among the Saints for his humor and pithy sayings. In 1927 he reminisced about his service in the Southern States: "I was in the South three years, presiding over the mission, under the greatest hardships and the greatest difficulties I have ever endured in all my life...yet I have had the greatest joy and the greatest peace and happiness."
Elias S. Kimball (May 1894–June/November 1898)
Elias Smith Kimball was born on March 30, 1857. He died on June 13, 1934. He was the other son of Heber and Christeene Golden Kimball. He hosted a visit to the Mission by Apostles Matthias F. Cowley and Francis M. Lyman in 1897. They visited every Conference of the mission. J. Golden and Elias were business partners their entire lives, starting at a young age. There is a biography of Elias on the Brigham Young Academy High School site, but it will not link and requires a new search in the alumni directory.
Ben E. Rich (June 1898–May 1902; July 1903–July 1908)
Benjamin Erastus Rich was born on November 7, 1855 in Salt Lake City. He died on September 13, 1913 in New York City. He was involved in the printing business and, as Mission President, began the publication of the Latter Day Saints Southern Star. The Ben E. Rich Papers at the University of Utah contains a scrapbook with many materials about his tenure as a mission president. Here is a biography.
Ephraim H. Nye (May 1902–May 1903)
Ephraim Hesmer Nye was born in England, joined the Church in Australia, and emigrated to Utah. He served as mission president in California, then in the Eastern States Mission, then was transferred to serve as president of the Southern States Mission when Ben Rich was called to start the new Middle States Mission. He suffered a heart attack while helping a missionary who had been severely beaten and died on May 15, 1903. President Rich was called back to the Southern States and the Middle States Mission was dissolved. Nye's papers are at BYU. Here is a short but comprehensive biography.
Ephraim Hesmer Nye was born in England, joined the Church in Australia, and emigrated to Utah. He served as mission president in California, then in the Eastern States Mission, then was transferred to serve as president of the Southern States Mission when Ben Rich was called to start the new Middle States Mission. He suffered a heart attack while helping a missionary who had been severely beaten and died on May 15, 1903. President Rich was called back to the Southern States and the Middle States Mission was dissolved. Nye's papers are at BYU. Here is a short but comprehensive biography.
Early Mormon Missionaries noted that Harris served as mission president from 1903–1903. It was during the brief period after Ephraim Nye's death and before Ben Rich returned from the Middle States Mission. Nathan John Harris was born in Harrisville, Weber, Utah Territory, in 1864, and was a great-nephew of Martin Harris. He was a graduate of the University of Michigan Law School and was working as a lawyer when he was called the Southern States Mission. After he finished his mission and returned to Utah, Governor William Spry, a previous president of the Southern States Mission, appointed him as a district judge. He died in 1936.
Later Mission Presidents: Ben E. Rich was succeeded as president of the Southern States Mission by Charles A. Callis in August 1908. Callis served for 25 years. LeGrand Richards was called as mission president in October 1933 and arrived in the mission in January 1934. He served until June 1937.
Note: John Brown (1867/8–1869) is occasionally listed as Mission President, but I have never seen proof, and his autobiography does not include any such claim; the mission histories consistently call Henry Green Boyle the first president of the mission.
Sources
Berrett, LaMar C. “History of the Southern States Mission: 1831–1861.” Master’s thesis, Brigham Young University, 1960. BYU ScholarsArchive: Theses on Mormonism (Paper 4525).
Berrett, LaMar C. “History of the Southern States Mission: 1831–1861.” Master’s thesis, Brigham Young University, 1960. BYU ScholarsArchive: Theses on Mormonism (Paper 4525).
Brigham Young Academy High School. Alumni Directory. "Elias S. Kimball."
Brown, John, and John Zimmerman Brown. Autobiography of Pioneer John Brown 1820-1896. Press of Stevens and Wallis, Inc.: Salt Lake City, 1941.
Brown, John, and John Zimmerman Brown. Autobiography of Pioneer John Brown 1820-1896. Press of Stevens and Wallis, Inc.: Salt Lake City, 1941.
"Southern States Mission: Founded 1876," Early Mormon Missionaries, database online, Church History Library, Salt Lake City.
Eliason, Eric A. "The Life and Lore of J. Golden Kimball—Mormon Folk Hero." Meridian Magazine.
Eliason, Eric A. "The Life and Lore of J. Golden Kimball—Mormon Folk Hero." Meridian Magazine.
Hardy, Jeffrey S. "Ephraim Hesmer Nye," Mormon Missionary Diaries, BYU HBLL Digital Collections.
Lee, John D. Journal, 1842 March–1843 August, Church History Library, MS 2092.
Lewis, William O. Grampa Bill's G.A. Pages.
Lee, John D. Journal, 1842 March–1843 August, Church History Library, MS 2092.
Lewis, William O. Grampa Bill's G.A. Pages.
Madsen, Truman G. Defender of the Faith: The B.H. Roberts Story. Salt Lake City, Utah: Bookcraft, 1980.
New Family Search
"Ephraim Hesmer Nye," [copy of photograph], FamilySearch Family Tree, courtesy of "BurtonWilliamHarry1."
"Nathan John Harris," [copy of photograph], FamilySearch Family Tree, courtesy of Deborah J Bayles-Hampton.
Parshall, Ardis. Comment to "Belching Out a Tirade," Keepapitchinin: The Mormon History Blog, April 15, 2014.
"Ephraim Hesmer Nye," [copy of photograph], FamilySearch Family Tree, courtesy of "BurtonWilliamHarry1."
"Nathan John Harris," [copy of photograph], FamilySearch Family Tree, courtesy of Deborah J Bayles-Hampton.
Parshall, Ardis. Comment to "Belching Out a Tirade," Keepapitchinin: The Mormon History Blog, April 15, 2014.
Rich, Benjamin. Latter Day Saints Southern Star. Chattanooga, Tenn: Southern States Mission, 1898-1900. (Volumes 1 and 2.)
Seferovich, Heather M. "History of the LDS Southern States Mission," 1875-1898, BYU Masters Thesis, 1996.
Southern States Mission manuscript history and historical reports, 1832–1964, LR 8557 2, Church History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.
Seferovich, Heather M. "History of the LDS Southern States Mission," 1875-1898, BYU Masters Thesis, 1996.
Southern States Mission manuscript history and historical reports, 1832–1964, LR 8557 2, Church History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.
Webpage about Clint Eastwood's religious background on Adherents.com.
Monday, June 1, 2009
History of the Southern States Mission, Part 16: Labors Continue under B.H. Roberts
[Continued from the previous installment. “June, 1883.—On the 1st inst. Elder J.T. Alexander was attacked by three masked men near Adairsville, Ga. He was taken by them into the woods, brutally kicked several times, and shot at by all three of the party, who then fled, supposing they had killed him, but fortunately he was not injured by their shots. One bullet passed through the crown of his hat, another through his coat, the third narrowly missing him.”]June, 1883.—The moment the shots were fired Elder Alexander lost all consciousness. On recovering from his stupor, he made his way to the house of Brother Reid, one and a half miles distant. From there he was taken to Haywood Valley by Elder Parrish and Brother Barber, a local Elder, but as he did not seem to recover Elder Parrish brought him to Chattanooga, Tenn. From that point they started for his home, arriving in Salt Lake City on the night of June 11th. The press made light of this matter as did also the people in the vicinity where the outrage was perpetrated. On the 1st, 2d and 3d of June the Mississippi Conference convened at Central Academy, Panola county, Miss., with eleven Elders present. The instructions given to the Elders were interesting, instucting [sic] and caused them to rejoice in the good work. Elder T.H. Merrill, of the West Tennessee Conference, was released to return home, having fulfilled an honorable and faithful mission. Our next Conference was held on the 15th, 16th and 17th, near Springville, in St. Clair county, Ala., with fifteen Elders present. The meetings were sparsely attended, owing to the fact that they were but little advertised, because of violent threats which had been made by enemies. The Elders had been severely mobbed previous to this time, in August, 1881. The Saints and Elders enjoyed the Spirit of the Lord, and valuable instruction was imparted. During this month several baptisms were recorded, and a spirit of enquiry among the people seemed to be increasing.
July, 1883.—On the 1st the Georgia Conference was held in Haywood Valley, Chattoga county, Ga.; seven Elders from Utah were present; much valuable instruction was given and all present enjoyed the blessing of God. The meetings were held without molestation, notwithstanding threats were made, and notices were posted up near the place of meeting warning the Elders to leave that part of the State. The Saints and Elders prepared themselves for defense. A good time was had, and all felt to rejoice. Instructions were given in regard to emigration; also time announced as to when the next company expected to depart.
The only Conference to convene so far this season in the South where threats and violence were not made by enemies was in South Carolina. This was held near King’s Mountain on the 13th, 14th and 15th days of July; seven Elders were present. Elders C.E. Robinson and H. Miller reported an opening in York county among a remnant of the Catawba Indians. The reports from the Elders in this Conference clearly showed the work to be spreading, and that more extensive openings were being made.
The next Conference was held in North Carolina on the 27th, 28th and 29th of July, at Hollow Springs Church, Surry county, thirteen Elders being present. A good spirit prevailed during the whole of the time, and much good instruction was given. Several baptisms were reported during the month.
August, 1883.—The Virginia Conference was held on the 10th, 11th and 12th of this month in the beautiful spot known as Burke’s Garden, Tazewell county, Va.; eighteen Elders were present; several changes were made in the Conference. Elders N.W. Kimball and Joseph Smith were called to go into the northeastern part of the Old Dominion State to labor, while Elders J. Golden Kimball and C.A. Welch were appointed to travel and labor in the eastern part of West Virginia; Elders J.E. Woolley and companion, G.A. Biglow, were assigned to the southeastern part. Instructions were given to these brethren to open up new fileds [sic] of labor. During this month there appeared a number of editorials in The Chattanooga Times manifesting considerable bitterness. A reply was made to them, which was followed by editorials more vicious than the first. Again a reply was made to these, but the editor refused to publish it in his paper.
September, 1883.—On the 9th of September a party of six Elders, accompanied by Sister Haws, arrived from Utah and reported for service. Sister Haws came to join her husband who was laboring in the office at Chattanooga. On September 15th President B.H. Roberts visited East Tennessee and held a two days’ meeting in Union county. A large congregation was present, and much good was accomplished.September 16th a party of ten Saints left Chattanooga en route for Colorado points. September 20th a statistical report was forwarded to the First Presidency in Salt Lake City, of which the following is a copy: For past six months ending August 31, 1883, 97 traveling Elders in the mission; 10 organized Conferences; 26 branches; 27 local Elders; 20 Priests; 10 teachers; 772 members; total, 779; number of souls baptized, 115; number emigrated, 91; children blessed, 31. The sad intelligence was received of the death of Elder Charles E. Robinson, which occurred at 1:15 o’clock on the morning of the 26th. Elder Robinson’s home was in Montpelier, Bear Lake county, Idaho. He died near Whitaker, York county, S.C.
Latter Day Saints Southern Star, Vol. 1, No. 19, Chattanooga, Tenn. Saturday, April 8, 1899, p 145.
The image of the "S.D. Darrough rail fence. St Clair Co.", Alabama, (1925) is the property of the Auburn University Libraries and is intended for non-commercial use. For information about obtaining high-resolution copies of this and other images in this collection, please contact the Auburn University Libraries Special Collections & Archives Department at archive@auburn.edu or (334) 844-1732. http://www.flickr.com/photos/auburnuniversitydigitallibrary/2925082092/
The image of the upside-down text from the Southern Star is a little curiosity from the days of hand-set type.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
The John Morgan Monument
John Morgan died in August 1894 at the early age of 52. His death was a shock to his wives and children and associates. He left his families in impoverished circumstances and they were not able to afford a gravestone to mark his grave. The missionaries who served under their beloved mission president took up a collection to put a monument on his grave. Unfortunately, there is no picture of the marker in findagrave. The University of Utah photo collection has a photo but it is not online. Anyone in Salt Lake City want to take a nice springtime drive to the cemetery to locate the grave?
This letter was published in the Deseret News (February 18, 1899 and November 25, 1899) and the Southern Star (March 4, 1899).
The John Morgan Monument
For some years there has been more or less talk among the Elders who labored in the southern states under the presidency of the late Elder John Morgan, of erecting a monument over his grave as a token of their esteem for the man they learned to love. At last the matter has taken definite form, as will appear from the communication addressed by the brethren signing it to the Elders who labored under Elder Morgan’s presidency:
To all Elders Who Labored in the Southern States Mission Under the Presidency of Elder John Morgan:
Dear Brethren—For some time past a number of prominent Elders connected with the southern states mission during the long presidency of the late Elder John Morgan have been considering the propriety of manifesting in some way or other their regard for him and perpetuating his memory to future generations. Recently it became known to some of them that the First Council of Seventy contemplated the erection of a tombstone over his grave, and that they had made an appropriation for that purpose. The amount appropriated by the council was the same as that appropriated for a like purpose in the case of other such presidents who have died. But as this amount would only be sufficient for the erection of the plainest kind of a tombstone it was thought by some of the Elders who had labored in the south under Elder Morgan’s presidency that if it was only known that a tombstone was to be erected over the remains of their beloved president that they would not only be willing but anxious to make a contribution that in the aggregate would so swell the amount appropriated by the First Council of Seventies as to erect a more pretentious monument to perpetuate the memory of this great missionary president. Accordingly it was determined to afford them such an opportunity; and after consultation with, and approval of those rightfully concerned in the case a committee was appointed to take the matter in hand.
B.H. Roberts, J.G. Kimball, William Spry, Elias S. Kimball and Ben E. Rich were made the committee.
The plan of procedure of the committee is very simply. The object is to give all the Elders who labored under Elder Morgan in the south—from January, 1878, when he took the oversight of the mission, to January 4th, 1888, when he was honorably released—an opportunity to express their regard for the man under whose direction and wise counsel so many hundreds labored in the southern states mission during those years that were so fraught with many dangers to the servants of God and bitter prejudice against the message with which they were commissioned.
A letter, therefore, setting forth this purpose has been sent to as many of the Elders who labored under Elder Morgan’s presidency whose present addresses can be ascertained, asking them to contribute what they may seem proper for the purpose of erecting a suitable monument over his grave.
Elder J.G. Kimball has been appointed treasurer of the fund, and all remittances should be promptly forwarded to him. His address is No. 36 East First North street, Salt Lake City. After a reasonable time has been granted to afford all an opportunity to contribute, such funds as may have accumulated in the hands of the committee will be employed in the erection of the monument contemplated.
We do not feel called upon the [sic] urge the worthiness of the late Elder John Morgan to be thus remembered; his lasting friendship and devotion to the Elders who labored with him in the south are remembered by all those who were so fortunate; and to afford them this opportunity to perpetuate his memory in the way proposed is all sufficient to secure the necessary response.
In consequence of so many of the Elders who labored under Elder Morgan having changed their addresses since they were released from the South, this letter is published in the “News,” and all those who become acquainted with the matter in this way, but who may fail to receive a letter upon the subject because of the inability of the committee to locate them, we ask them to consider this published letters [sic] addressed to them personally and respond accordingly.
Truly your brethren,
B.H. ROBERTS,
J.G. KIMBALL,
WM. SPRY,
ELIAS S. KIMBALL,
BEN E. RICH.
Latter Day Saints Southern Star, Vol. 1, No. 14, Chattanooga, Tenn. Saturday, March 4, 1899, p 112.
This letter was published in the Deseret News (February 18, 1899 and November 25, 1899) and the Southern Star (March 4, 1899).
The John Morgan Monument
For some years there has been more or less talk among the Elders who labored in the southern states under the presidency of the late Elder John Morgan, of erecting a monument over his grave as a token of their esteem for the man they learned to love. At last the matter has taken definite form, as will appear from the communication addressed by the brethren signing it to the Elders who labored under Elder Morgan’s presidency:
To all Elders Who Labored in the Southern States Mission Under the Presidency of Elder John Morgan:
Dear Brethren—For some time past a number of prominent Elders connected with the southern states mission during the long presidency of the late Elder John Morgan have been considering the propriety of manifesting in some way or other their regard for him and perpetuating his memory to future generations. Recently it became known to some of them that the First Council of Seventy contemplated the erection of a tombstone over his grave, and that they had made an appropriation for that purpose. The amount appropriated by the council was the same as that appropriated for a like purpose in the case of other such presidents who have died. But as this amount would only be sufficient for the erection of the plainest kind of a tombstone it was thought by some of the Elders who had labored in the south under Elder Morgan’s presidency that if it was only known that a tombstone was to be erected over the remains of their beloved president that they would not only be willing but anxious to make a contribution that in the aggregate would so swell the amount appropriated by the First Council of Seventies as to erect a more pretentious monument to perpetuate the memory of this great missionary president. Accordingly it was determined to afford them such an opportunity; and after consultation with, and approval of those rightfully concerned in the case a committee was appointed to take the matter in hand.
B.H. Roberts, J.G. Kimball, William Spry, Elias S. Kimball and Ben E. Rich were made the committee.
The plan of procedure of the committee is very simply. The object is to give all the Elders who labored under Elder Morgan in the south—from January, 1878, when he took the oversight of the mission, to January 4th, 1888, when he was honorably released—an opportunity to express their regard for the man under whose direction and wise counsel so many hundreds labored in the southern states mission during those years that were so fraught with many dangers to the servants of God and bitter prejudice against the message with which they were commissioned.
A letter, therefore, setting forth this purpose has been sent to as many of the Elders who labored under Elder Morgan’s presidency whose present addresses can be ascertained, asking them to contribute what they may seem proper for the purpose of erecting a suitable monument over his grave.
Elder J.G. Kimball has been appointed treasurer of the fund, and all remittances should be promptly forwarded to him. His address is No. 36 East First North street, Salt Lake City. After a reasonable time has been granted to afford all an opportunity to contribute, such funds as may have accumulated in the hands of the committee will be employed in the erection of the monument contemplated.
We do not feel called upon the [sic] urge the worthiness of the late Elder John Morgan to be thus remembered; his lasting friendship and devotion to the Elders who labored with him in the south are remembered by all those who were so fortunate; and to afford them this opportunity to perpetuate his memory in the way proposed is all sufficient to secure the necessary response.
In consequence of so many of the Elders who labored under Elder Morgan having changed their addresses since they were released from the South, this letter is published in the “News,” and all those who become acquainted with the matter in this way, but who may fail to receive a letter upon the subject because of the inability of the committee to locate them, we ask them to consider this published letters [sic] addressed to them personally and respond accordingly.
Truly your brethren,
B.H. ROBERTS,
J.G. KIMBALL,
WM. SPRY,
ELIAS S. KIMBALL,
BEN E. RICH.
Latter Day Saints Southern Star, Vol. 1, No. 14, Chattanooga, Tenn. Saturday, March 4, 1899, p 112.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
The Latter Day Saints Southern Star
The Southern States Mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints published a weekly periodical, the Southern Star, in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Volume 1 includes the years 1898-1899. The first several issues contain a history of the mission during the period that John Morgan served as mission president. Here is a portrait of John Morgan. If you search for his name, you can read various anecdotes and stories about him throughout the Southern Star.Here is a paragraph from a conference address by Jonathan G. Kimball, one of the missionaries who worked with John Morgan. You would probably recognize him better by the name he went by later, J. Golden Kimball:
I desire to call your attention to an incident that occurred when I was laboring in the Southern states, in 1884. I went there in 1883. The year 1884 was a time of a sad experience in that mission. It was then that some of our Elders lost their lives by mob violence. It seemed we had but few friends. I was at the office in Chattanooga under Elder Roberts at the time. I picked up a Chattanooga Times one morning, and I was very much delighted to see in print these words, speaking of Elder John Morgan. It said: "To shake his hand was to be his friend." I have never forgotten it. When you shook John Morgan's hand and he looked into your face you always knew that you were his friend.
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