Early Mormon Missionaries: John Morgan

The entry for John Morgan in the Early Mormon Missionaries database is deceptively simple since it does not capture any details of his service, including the fact that he served as mission president for many years. It does, however, show that he was set apart each time he headed from Utah Territory back to the South.

Here is a summary of the resources on John Morgan:

Important John Morgan Posts

Here is a list of the presidents of the Southern States Mission:

Presidents of the Southern States Mission

Here is a summary of John Morgan's time as president of the Southern States Mission, as captured in the Southern Star:

History of the Southern States Mission

• • •

John Morgan was set apart October 11, 1875 by Joseph Young.

Joseph Young (1797–1881), President of the Seventy.

He was set apart January 25, 1878 by Orson Pratt.

Orson Pratt (1843–1881), Apostle.

He was set apart March 29, 1881 and again March 29, 1882 by George Q. Cannon.

George Q. Cannon (1827–1901), First Counselor in the First Presidency.

He was set apart January 4, 1890 by unknown; information not complete in this entry.

• • •

His entry shows his parents as Gerrard Morgan and Ann E Hamilton.

Garrard Morgan (1806–1889).

Eliza Ann Hamilton Morgan (1815–1901).

John Morgan was born August 8, 1842 in Greensburg, Decatur, Indiana, and baptized November 24, 1868 by Robert L. Campbell. Summary of resources on Robert L. Campbell.

Robert Lang Campbell (1825–1874), Territorial Superintendant of Schools.
Picture from FamilySearch Family Tree, couresy of "Katherineandreasen2."

Keeping the Saints Informed: John Morgan and the Southern States Mission

While he served as President of the Southern States Mission, John Morgan or his missionaries sent regular letters to the Deseret News keeping the Saints in Utah Territory up to date about the missionaries and converts. Here is a letter I saw today while looking for something else.

The letter is written from Covington, Indiana, December 1879. Morgan describes the immigration of the Southern converts to Manassa, Colorado, both a company that left in November and one scheduled to leave in March. Negotiating with the railroads was an important part of his mission, and he mentions a detail or two about that. He mentions specific missionaries and encourages those missionaries called at Conference to show up: "...it would lighten the burden on the rest of us materially, and be the means of doing much good; thousands and thousands of people in this mission have never met an Elder and are in absolute ignorance of what we teach."

He tells about a visit to St. Louis, and, "Passing through Illinois, I called to see my parents, whom I had not met with for four years; a church house was opened for me and I was invited to preach, which I did to a crowded house who paid close attention." He met Elder George Nebeker in Covington, and was planning to head immediately to Kentucky.

Asking an interest in the faith and prayers of Israel, that our missionary labors may be crowned with success, I remain your brother in the Gospel of Christ,

John Morgan.

Guest Posting: Heber J. Grant Recalls Two Excommunications

Posted and being discussed at Keepapitchinin: The Mormon History Blog.

The following recollections come from a 1937 letter of President Heber J. Grant to the family of John Morgan (1842-1894), a Civil War veteran and one of the Presidents of the Seventy. Paragraphs have been added for readability. [I've never blogged the whole letter here, because some of it — yes, the Three Nephites story — requires additional explanation.]

In early days the Bishops with their counselors were permitted to have trials and excommunicate men from the Church. One of my nearest and dearest and best beloved friends was excommunicated by the Bishopric of his Ward, and I considered it nothing short of an outrage. I desired to be present to testify in his behalf, but was not permitted to be at the meeting. I sat on the outside of the meeting house on the top of a high post. A fence was being built around the meeting house and the boards of the fence had not been put on, but the posts were set up and I climbed on top of one of these posts and could see and hear the people in the second story of the meeting house, and I heard the whole proceedings.

To many of the questions that were asked of my friend, I answered: “No, I would not do any such thing,” and I felt so mad at the Bishop’s counselor who was asking the questions of my friend and it was many years before I could have any respect for him. He was a very devoted Latter-day Saint, but he was not charitable. The thing that outraged me was that my friend was put in with a crowd of boys who were really no good, and they were all excommunicated at the same time.

It happened in early days that charges were made against John Morgan in the Thirteenth Ward, and the late Bishop Edwin D. Woolley and his counselors had a trial and excommunicated him. A ruling has since been made that the Bishoprics cannot excommunicate men holding the Melchizedek Priesthood, they can only disfellowship them and pass up their cases to the High Council for a final decision. The day following the excommunication of Brother Morgan he met President George A. Smith, and said:

“Well, President Smith, they cut me off the Church last night.”

“Did you deserve it?” said President Smith.

“No.”

“Have you appealed your case to the High Council?”

“Oh, if they don’t want me in the Church they don’t need to have me.”

President Smith said: “Brother Morgan, do you know the Gospel is true?”

“Yes,” said John Morgan.

“Well, if you want to go to hell, go to hell.” And he walked off without any further comment.

John Morgan was a natural born fighter. Anyone who really knew him knew he was as full of fight for the Church of anything he believed in, as the saying is, as an egg is full of meat. He and Brother [B. H.] Roberts were both first class fighters in the mission field for the cause of truth.

Brother Morgan, after the remark of Brother George A. Smith, decided to appeal his case to the High Council of Salt Lake Stake. The Salt Lake Stake at that time included all of Salt Lake County. Brother Morgan being very popular, the Council House, which was located where the Union Pacific Building is now, where the trial was held, was filled by his pupils during the trial. The old Deseret University was formerly held in the Council House, which was located where the Union Pacific Building is now.

When the decision was rendered by President Angus M. Cannon, he announced that no matter what the audience voted it would not change the decision in the least, and said, so I was informed, “We should like very much to have an expression, however, from those who have attended the hearings in this case, as we have never had such a large audience before in any case that was ever held before the High Council. A vote was called, and it was practically unanimous.

Bishop Woolley was one who voted in favor of sustaining the decision of the High Council and expressed his great pleasure that the decision of the Bishop’s court had been set aside because of additional evidence that had been produced and it showed that the Bishop had made a mistake. Brother Cannon asked for those who were opposed to the decision to manifest it, I have forgotten whether it was by holding up their hands or by standing. I believe it was a standing vote, but I would not be sure.

Of course this entire statement that I am making comes from hearsay. My recollection is that [it was] Brother Hamilton G. Park who told me the story originally. I used to go around as a youngster in my teens with Brother Hamilton G. Park as a Teacher. He did all the teaching, by the way, and I simply made a report at the monthly meeting of the Bishopric and the Teachers. To my mind one of the most inspirational men I ever knew was Hamilton G. Park.

As I recall it there were six men who felt and voted that John Morgan should be excommunicated. They were Willie B. Godbe who I think was first counselor to Bishop Edwin D. Woolley at the time, Godbe’s brother, Anthony, James Cobb, E.L.T. Harrison, William Sherman, and Eli B. Kelsey. They have all since apostatized. Inasmuch as Bishop Woolley was the one who cut Brother Morgan off the Church he no doubt wanted to make amends as far as possible after Brother Morgan was reinstated and after he became the President of the Southern States Mission, and I recall that Brother Morgan many times was asked if he would come to the Thirteenth Ward and speak when he came to General Conference.

The pictures are Heber J. Grant; John Morgan, courtesy of Karen M.; and the Council House in 1869.

John Morgan Collection Now Available Online

Bessie at Ancestral Ties broke the news a few days back (but it took me until today to see it since my RSS feed in Apple Mail tends to be temperamental!) that the John Morgan collection has been digitized by the University of Utah Marriot Library. This is exciting for anyone working on the history of the Morgan family or the Southern States Mission.

See Bessie's post at Ancestral Ties (John Hamilton Morgan Collection available at the Mountain West Digital Library MWDL) and the collection, viewable at the Mountain West Digital Library. (Collection: John Hamilton Morgan Papers.)

As an example of the holdings in the collection, here are the first and last pages of a letter written by John Morgan to Matthias F. Cowley in 1879. What a treasure to have this collection available online!

“Violence at Wolf Creek”

Don't miss Bruce's story today at Amateur Mormon Historian about John Morgan and Wep Gilbert.

[Wep] then pulled out a knife, but he was prevented from getting close to President Morgan by other missionaries in what would best be described as a stand off. For several minutes he brandished the knife yelling threats... ("Violence at Wolf Creek")

Picture: J. Stephen Conn, "York Grist Mill on Wolf Creek," [Sgt. Alvin C. York Historic Park, Pall Mall, Fentress County, Tennessee], Flickr, used under a Creative Commons license. 

John Morgan and Joseph Standing Mission (1876)

Don't miss Bessie's series at Ancestral Ties about John Morgan and Joseph Standing's mission travels:

• January 11, 1881
• April 9-13, 1876
• April 14-18, 1876
• April 19-23, 1876

The first linked post also contains links to her other posts about the two men.

* * *

Additional note: John Morgan didn't ever seem to go by the name "John Hamilton Morgan" or "John H. Morgan." I have only looked at about a dozen vital records, but one of the first pages of The Life and Ministry of John Morgan notes that he may have been christened as "John Hamilton Morgan." No proof is given, though, so I am considering switching over the labels on my posts about John Morgan to reflect the name he used throughout his life. 

However, the "Hamilton" name can be useful in distinguishing him from thousands of other John Morgans, as in the case of his Wikipedia article, so I'm really of a mixed mind about this.

A similar case of a similar era involves the Apostle Erastus Snow. After his death, some people started calling him Erastus Fairbanks Snow since he seems to have been named after Erastus Fairbanks, but his family has been making an effort in recent years to stamp out the use of the extra middle name.

Another case involves George Jarvis. At some point many years after his death, someone called him "George Franklin Jarvis" somewhere and the use of the false middle name spread like wildfire. I'm still trying to put that one out. Here's the post I've written about it. [Did George Jarvis Have a Middle Name? No.] My dad put a link to the post in George's FamilySearch Family Tree entry, and so far no one has tried to change his name back.

Theoretically I could give John Morgan the same treatment, but there are too many more pressing items on my to-do list, so I'll just have to raise the question here and then leave it.

Garrard and Eliza Morgan's Children [Updated...Again]

This post is from September 8, 2009. My father just sent a question about the 1880 Census, since Luella's name is transcribed "Love" in online resources although the census taker wrote her name as "Loue." Besides adding the 1870 and 1880 Census to this post, there are a number of different resources that have been found on the Morgan family since I put up this post in 2009, many due to the ongoing efforts of Morgan cousins Bessie at Ancestral Ties and Karen Matthews. See Ancestral Ties or Ancestry.com for more information.

* * *

In an 1863 letter home to his mother during his Civil War service, John mentions several of his brothers and sisters:

I get letters frequently from Will. Reced one from Lu[ella] last evning also one from Morg [Perhaps Morg Hamilton buried in South Park Cemetery in Greensburg, Indiana]. Kiss Jap for me. [His dog?] I would give a thousand dollars to see. Is Lon [Leonidas] studying any now. Tell him to improve his time above everything else. Let novels and such trash alone. Let him have something solid and something that will give him information to read. Knowledge is more than gold and silver. Poor Jimmie. I am sorry his jaw troubles him yet. He is a good boy and has the go aheaditiveness about him to make a man of himself one that will make his mark.

John Morgan's Military Service: Indiana or Illinois?

Everything I've read about John Morgan's service in the Civil War places him in the 123rd Illinois Infantry. I just saw a source the other day which was a bit confusing. This is a record called "Veterans with Federal Service Buried in Utah, Territorial to 1966," and it lists his enlistment as December 14, 1863 in Rush Co., Indiana, and his regiment as Co E, 123rd Inf.

I would have assumed that this record was accurate — why wouldn't it be? — but this is a case of "don't believe everything you read." The John Morgan who enlisted in Rush County on December 14, 1863, was a John F. Morgan from Richland, Indiana, who belonged to the 123rd Infantry Regiment Indiana, Company E. (See the company roster.)

Our John Morgan served in the 123rd Infantry Regiment of Illinois, Company I.

Here is his entry in the company record. It is the last one on the top page. It shows that he was from Mattoon, Coles, Illinois, that he enlisted on August 1, 1862, that he was mustered in on September 6, 1862, and that he mustered out on June 28, 1865 as a sergeant. 

Reece, Jasper N., and Elliott, Isaac Hughes, 1837-1922. Report of the Adjutant General of the State of Illinois, Vol. 6. Springfield, Illinois:Journal Company, Printers and Binders, 1900, 412. (Link.)

Here is another record I saw, John Morgan's entry in the 1890 Census of Union Veterans and Widows of the Civil War (Utah).

The reason I looked up these service records is because I am a Boy Scout Merit Badge Counselor, and I was doing the Citizenship in the Nation merit badge with my two sons yesterday. As part of one of the required discussions, I decided to pull out my biography of John Morgan and read them from some of his letters including the following excerpts:

Tell Pa that I wish I was home to help him but as long as there is an armed foe to my country at large, I will be found in the ranks of the Patriot army. It is getting late and I must close. (Letter to his mother, as edited in The Life and Ministry of John Morgan, 17.) 

It makes me a little riley to hear of good staunch administration men turning from their allegiance to their Government and supporting on of the most God forsaken projects (as the present Peace Party claims to be) that was ever invented. 

Were it possible I would wish that Lincoln could assume the power of a dictator for 12 months and would hang every man that dared utter one word in favor of the rebellion or peace.

Congress and Northern Legislatures and northern traitors are doing more for the cause of the Rebellion than all the Southern Army: they are discouraging the Federal Army and encouraging the Rebels as much as lay in their power. 

We of the army are in for nothing but the subjugation or annihilation of the South and if we cannot accomplish it in three years we can in six but that it can be done we are satisfied and that we are the Army that can do it we are also satisfied. 

I am in as good health as I ever was in my life. My back is as strong as all outdoors. I can march 25 miles in a day—drink 2 pints of coffee; eat some fat pork and wrap myself in a blanket and sleep sounder than I ever could at home. (Letter to his father, also edited in The Life and Ministry, 11.)

For more information on John Morgan's Civil War service, see the military posts listed in Important John Morgan Posts, and the information on Bessie's blog including John Hamilton Morgan (1842-1894) and his son, John Hamilton Morgan (1894-1982).

John Morgan Gravestone Update -- Photo Added

Bessie at Ancestral Ties headed an effort to add information about John Morgan's wives to his gravestone, since they are not all buried in the family plot. That project was finished several months ago, and here is her description. (John Morgan Gravestone Project completed.) Thank you, Bessie!

[Original post July 30, 2012. Update September 29, 2012—My mother found a photo she took of the newly completed gravestone during a recent visit to the Salt Lake City Cemetery and I have included it here. Many thanks to her for sending the photo!]

A Field Trip to Manassa, Colorado

Don't miss Bessie's series at her blog, Ancestral Ties, about her springtime trip to Manassa, Colorado. 

Manassa and other towns in the San Luis Valley were settled by converts to the Southern States Mission. Mission president John Morgan helped the settlers establish their new homes, and he lived in the town from time to time with his wife, Annie Smith Morgan.

2012 Springtime Visit to Manassa, Colorado

The picture to the left is John Morgan with Annie Smith Morgan and three of their children.

John Morgan on Religious Liberty

My children live far from Utah and have only been there on brief visits. 

Last year, one of my children took place in an elementary school musical play. He played the part of William Bradford and other children played other figures throughout American history. 

One child was Brigham Young, and he stood up and said: "Brigham Young led the Mormons to Utah to preserve our religious liberties. He said, 'I will make the desert blossom like a rose.'" 

The line from the play echoes John Morgan's comments given in the Tabernacle on September 16, 1888. 

A clip from the report about a meeting held at the Salt Lake Tabernacle on September 16, 1888.

Salt Lake Herald, Tuesday, September 18, 1888

AT THE TABERNACLE.

——— 

Elders Kelson and Morgan are the Speakers.

——— 

SERVICES ON SUNDAY LAST.

——— 

Preaching Without Purse or Scrip—Evil Forces at Work—Etc., Etc.

———

Divine services were held in the Tabernacle on Sunday. The choir and congregation sang:

Our God, we raise to Thee

Thanks for Thy blessings free

We here enjoy.

Prayer was offered by Elder George F. Gibbs.

The choir then sang:

Oh, God, th' Eternal Father,

Who dwells amid the sky!

The sacrament was administered by the priesthood of the Nineteenth Ward.

ELDER JOHN H. KELSON,

who arose to address the congregation [...his comments, which I will not include here...]

ELDER JOHN MORGAN

also spoke. He asked that he might be enabled to say something that would benefit those present. He desired to add his testimony to that of the previous speaker. He knew that Joseph Smith was a true prophet and that the Kingdom of God was established upon the earth never more to be thrown down.

About half a century ago the Lord revealed His will to a humble youth and it was predicted that his name should be good and evil spoken of throughout the earth. Many of the predictions of Joseph Smith have been literally fulfilled as well as the predictions of the ancient prophets. It was revealed that men's blood would be shed and their lives sacrificed in the promulgation of the truth. These things tended to the accomplishment of the designs of God upon the earth and the bringing about of that liberty which men wish to enjoy. The time will come when men will have truth and liberty throughout the land. Through the sufferings and toils of the Latter-day Saints, shall these results, in the providences of the Almighty, be brought about. The speaker also referred to those who, under an oppressive system of government, are deprived of liberty and who feel the tyranny to which they are subjected. The time, however, will come when the law will protect men in their religious worship, whether they be weak or strong.

The choir sang an anthem, after which Elder Stayner pronounced the benediction.

Busy -- Back Soon

Sometimes life intervenes, and blogging moves lower on the list of things to do.

This is one of those times.

I will return to the Tanner Daguerreotype series soon.

Also coming up:

A Post About John Morgan's Dream

More "Eminent Women" posts on Keepapitchinin.

More Glade family research.

 A biography of Mary Ann Linton Morgan.

The U.C. Case File for George Frederick Jarvis

Ann Prior Jarvis and the London Cholera Epidemic

Newspaper article shown to the left: One of John Morgan's first contributions to the Deseret News, November 17, 1869, page 8.

Happy First Day of Spring!

More John Morgan Articles

From the Deseret News, August 18, 1894, pages 9 and 14. A bit of irony for anyone who read the newspaper closely that day.

John Morgan's Death as Mentioned in the Salt Lake Herald

Death of John Morgan.

A Well Known Citizen Passes Away at Preston, Idaho.

John Morgan died of typhoid malaria at 5:30 p. m. Tuesday, at Preston, Ida. His death was the culmination of a severe illness extending over more than a month.

He was a prominent figure in politics and in educational movements, and was held in high esteem by those of his own and other faiths. Many will  mourn in his passing away the loss of the truest and best of friends.

He was born in Greensburgh, Ind., Aug. 8, 1842, and was the son of Gerard and Eliza A. H. Morgan. He served with distinction in the Union army during the war of the Rebellion. At the close he came to Utah and since that time he has been a resident of this city. He was one of the instructors in the Utah university in the early history of that institution and, later, he opened the Morgan commercial college in the building now known as the Morgan hotel. He has been identified with the Mormon church since 1867 and has served it in the capacity of president of the southern states mission and one of the first seven presidents of the seventies, which latter position he held to the time of his death.

He leaves a wife [three wives] and several children.

The remains will arrive this morning and the funeral services will be held at the Salt Lake assembly hall at 4 p.m. today.

Salt Lake Herald, August 16, 1894. (The information in the article, like many things in the newspaper, should be taken with a grain of salt.)

More Details about John Morgan's Dream

Bessie put up a post yesterday on Ancestral Ties about the identity of the woman mentioned in the story of John Morgan's dream.

Here is her post complete with links: John Hamilton Morgan and Serepta M. Heywood.

Here is Serepta Blodgett Heywood's Findagrave entry. Her gravestone says "A Most Perfect Woman," which matches her role in the John Morgan story.

Here is the Heywood family website. Serepta's husband was Joseph Leland Heywood, and he spent much of his life in Utah living in Southern Utah.

There is not a picture of Serepta available online or at the Daughters of Utah Pioneers Museum. Her husband's diaries are available at the Trails of Hope: Overland Diaries and Letters, 1846-1869 database.

And an additional note: there is a chance that the story of John Morgan's dream, as later told by others, was a combination of two different stories about his mission in the Southern States.

Southern States Mission Conference, Haywood Valley, Georgia, August 1878

Deseret News, September 11, 1878, 7.

Ed. — Thanks to Bessie from Ancestral Ties for adding a couple of links to provide more context to this article. Here is a post at Amateur Mormon Historian and one at Ancestral Ties, "The First Relief Society Presidency in the Southern States."

150 Years: The Battle of Fort Sumter and the Start of the Civil War

It's been 150 years since April 12, 1861, when South Carolina fired on the U.S. Army stationed in Charleston Harbor. John Morgan's family, living in Coles County, Illinois, would have followed the events closely and with much interest. They had attended at least one of the Lincoln-Douglas Debates, and they lived close to Sarah Bush Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln's beloved stepmother.

The Civil War would alter John Morgan's life in many unforeseen ways. He joined the Army on September 6, 1862 along with many other Coles County young men. John's red-headed brother Will also served in the Army.

Since I have already detailed John Morgan's service in the war, I will not retell it here. You can read the Civil War-related posts on this blog:

Early Life and Civil War

This post lists all the battles John Morgan fought in and gives more details about his service including the following: "After the Battle of Selma, Captain Owen Wiley wrote that, 'Our loss was one officer killed; six wounded; seven men killed and forty-two wounded. All did their duty, and so deserve the highest praise. Color Serg’t. John Morgan, Company I is deserving the highest credit for his gallantry in action in being the first to plant a flag upon the Rebel works, and for being in the supreme advance until all the Rebel Forts were captured, planting our colors upon each of them successively.'"

A Letter to his Mother, 1863

"Tell Pa that I wish I was home to help him but as long as there is an armed foe to my country at large, I will be found in the ranks of the Patriot army."

A Letter to his Father, 1863

"There is a perpetual skirmish fight going on all along the line in front; some of them terminating in an engagement that would have been counted bloody in the beginning of the war."

A Trip to Lookout Mountain

This is a letter from a missionary who went on a day trip to Lookout Mountain with John Morgan who was then serving as President of the Southern States Mission. "From this Mt. Bro Morgan showed us several battle fields there was a very noted one on the Mt which we visited"

John Morgan Funeral Address by B.H. Roberts (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3)

"In his youth the great civil war broke out. He joined the Union army and fought through all the years of the great rebellion, serving in honor in the armies of this country. Many a time I have walked with him over Missionary Ridge, where a great battle was fought; along Chickamauga Creek, where the Confederates won a great victory; around the cities of Chattanooga, Franklin, Columbia, Murfreesboro, Knoxville, and throughout the northern part of Alabama."

In addition, here are some posts on Ancestral Ties:

John Morgan Attends the Grand Army of the Republic Parade in Washington DC, 1892

"At the Rigg’s house met uncle Dave Hamilton, here attending G. A. R. Reunion. He came up and had dinner with me. Met a number of old acquaintances."

A Newspaper Clipping about Similar Letters Home from John Morgan during the Civil War and His Son, John Morgan, during World War I

"Congress and northern legisletures [sic] and northern traitors are doing more for the cause of the Rebellion than all the Southern army. They are discouraging the federal army and encouraging the rebels as much as lay in their power. We of the army are in for nothing but the subjugation or annihilation of the south, and if we cannot accomplish it in three years we can in six, but that it is to be done we are satisfied, and that we are the army to do it we are also satisfied!"

John's Brother William Morgan's Veteran Papers (Filing for Disability)

And, finally, here are a few songs that would have been very familiar to John and his fellow soldiers.

Utah Common Schools, 1868

When John Morgan reached Utah in 1866, he was befriended by Robert Lang Campbell. The Church History Library in Salt Lake City recently digitized Robert Campbell's Annual report of the Territorial Superintendent of common schools for the year 1868.

You can read or download it here. It is addressed to the Utah Territorial Legislature and it seems quite progressive for a frontier school system. Campbell's note about the incomplete statistics for the previous year is curious:

The collection of school returns, which hitherto has been attended with much difficulty, has this season been almost impossible, in consequence of the absence of so many of the Trustees, who have been engaged directly or indirectly in the construction of the great national railroad.

The list of county school superintendents also provides some historical context:

Campbell includes a lengthy explanation of the methods of instruction into the English language in the schools and mentions the Deseret Alphabet system.

The statistical report provides some information about the operation and make up of the schools at that time.

It is not much of a stretch of the imagination to assume that John Morgan would have been very familiar with this report and the legislation printed in the report, since he would have been very interested in the quality and training of the students who showed up at his Commercial College in Salt Lake City.

-

J. Golden Kimball on Malaria

Don't miss this fun post at Amateur Mormon Historian.

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.

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.

Part 2

1877. Missionary efforts extend to Texas. Over 240 converts move to Arizona, Utah, and Colorado.

Part 3

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.

Part 4

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.

Part 5

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.

Part 7

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.

Part 8

Links to the article “The Martyrdom of Joseph Standing” by John Nicholson.

Part 9

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.

Part 10

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.

Part 12

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.

Part 13

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.

Part 14

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.]

Part 15

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.

Part 17

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. 

Part 18

May 1884. Missionaries chased out of Etowah County, Alabama. Elder Charles Flake has tar poured on him in Mississippi. The Mississippi Conference meets.

Part 19

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.

Part 20

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.

Part 22

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.

Part 23

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.

Part 24

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.

Part 25

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.

Part 26

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.

Part 27

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.

Part 28

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.

Part 29

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.

Part 30

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.

Part 32

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.

Part 33

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.

Part 34

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.