When FamilySearch Makes Changes

John Morgan's FamilySearch Family Tree entry is blocked from changes because he was a Latter-day Saint general authority. FamilySearch blocks changes to certain notable people whose entries tend to become the target of either malicious changes or adoring but not genealogically significant content.

In order to make changes to a closed entry, you have to contact FamilySearch, and I've never bothered sending in information on John Morgan. Someone did recently, so he is better sourced than he was before.

However, FamilySearch just made an unfortunate change at someone's request. John Morgan had one legal wife, Helen Melvina Groesbeck, two plural wives, Annie Smith and Mary Ann Linton, and at least two women sealed to him after their deaths including Mary Elizabeth Kilgore.

The given explanation when someone removed Mary Elizabeth Kilgore from the family is "Incorrect relationship. Not married in life."

Severing the relationship without understanding the history and adding an explanation of the temple work done by the Morgan and Kilgore families to preserve the family connection certainly is not malicious, but it is ignorant in a way that ends up being malicious.

It's truly unfortunate that the change was requested without also adding something to document this familial link, and it is doubly unfortunate that FamilySearch agreed to the change and made it without also documenting what happened.

Ignorance all around.

If you see these kind of Latter-day Saint connections where families had someone sealed into their families — their form of adoption — please preserve the relationships, either in the Family Tree or in the Memories sections for the people involved. Please do not vandalize entries without understanding what was happening.

Here is what you would read to understand the nineteenth century practice of Latter-day Saint adoptive sealings.

Stapley, Jonathan A., "Adoptive Sealing Ritual in Mormonism" (Summer 2011). Journal of Mormon History. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1885588

Mea culpa. I believed Wikipedia.

Wikipedia said that the 123rd Volunteer Illinois Regiment was at the Battle of Stones River, and I didn't think to double check.

The battle was December 31, 1862 to January 2, 1863, and at that time the Regiment was chasing the raider John Morgan (not our ancestor) through Tennessee, and were in the general area but not at the battle. John Morgan (yes, our Morgan ancestor from Coles County, Illinois, later Salt Lake City) was a member of the 123rd, and several years ago I listed the battle among his service. I will correct that.

Here is a detailed description of the actions of the 123rd Regiment.

123rd Regiment, Illinois Infantry 

OVERVIEW: Organized at Mattoon, Ill., and mustered in September 6, 1862. Left State for Louisville, Ky., September 19, 1862. Attached to 33rd Brigade, 10th Division, Army of the Ohio, to October, 1862. 33rd Brigade, 10th Division, 1st Corps, Army of the Ohio, to November, 1862. 1st Brigade, 5th Division, Centre 14th Army Corps, Army of the Cumberland, to January, 1863. 1st Brigade, 5th Division, 14th Army Corps, to June, 1863. 1st Brigade, 4th Division, 14th Army Corps, to October, 1863. 3rd Brigade, 2nd Division, Cavalry Corps, Army of the Cumberland, to November, 1864, and Military Division Mississippi, to June, 1865. 

SERVICE: Duty at Louisville, Ky., till October 1, 1862. Pursuit of Bragg into Kentucky October 1-12. Battle of Perryville, Ky., October 8. March to Munfordsville October 12-18, and duty there till November 30. Expedition to Cave City October 31-November 26. Moved to Bledsoe Creek November 30. Pursuit of Morgan to Bear Wallow December 26, 1862, to January 2, 1863. March to Nashville, thence to Murfreesboro, Tenn., January 3-10, 1863. Duty at Murfreesboro till June. Action at Woodbury January 24. Expedition to Auburn, Liberty and Alexandria February 3-5. Cainsville February 15. Expedition to Woodbury March 3-8. Breed's Hill March 4. Vaught's Hill, near Milton, March 20. Expedition to Lebanon, Carthage and Liberty April 1-8. Expedition to McMinnville April 20-30. Regiment mounted and armed with Spencer carbines May 6. Attached to Wilder's Mounted Brigade, Smithville, June 5. Middle Tennessee (or Tullahoma) Campaign June 24-July 7. Big Spring Branch June 24. Hoover's Gap June 24-26. Occupation of Manchester June 27. Estill Springs July 2. Occupation of Middle Tennessee till August 16. Expedition to Columbia and Centreville July. Expedition from Decherd, Tenn., August 5-9. Passage of the Cumberland Mountains and Tennessee River and Chickamauga (Ga.) Campaign August 16-September 22. Ringgold, Ga., September 11. Lee and Gordon's Mills September 11-13. Leet's Tan Yard (or Rock Springs) September 12-13. Alexander and Reed's Bridges September 18. Pea Vine Creek September 18. Crawfish Springs and Dyer's Ford September 18. Battle of Chickamauga September 19-21. Operations against Wheeler and Roddy September 30-October 17. Hill's Gap, Thompson's Cove, near Beersheeba, October 3. Murfreesboro Road October 4. Near McMinnville October 4-5. Farmington October 7. Sim's Farm, near Shelbyville, October 7. Camp at Maysville, Ala., October 19-December 21. Moved to Pulaski December 21, thence to Mooresville, Ala., January 12, 1864, and guard Tennessee River till April. Moved to Columbia, Tenn., thence to join army near Dalton, Ga., reporting May 11. Atlanta (Ga.) Campaign May 11-September 8. Battle of Resaca May 13-15. Near Dallas May 24. Operations on Pumpkin Vine Creek and battles about Dallas, New Hope Church and Allatoona Hills May 25-June 5. Near Big Shanty June 9. Operations about Marietta and against Kenesaw Mountain June 10-July 2. Noonday Creek June 19. Powder Springs, Lattimer's Mills, Noonday Creek, June 20. Noonday Creek and assault on Kenesaw June 27. Nickajack Creek July 2-5. Rottenwood Creek July 4. Chattahoochie River June 5-17. Stone Mountain Station July 19. Garrard's Raid to Oxford and Covington July 22-24. Garrard's Raid to South River July 27-31. Snapfinger Creek July 27. Flat Rock Bridge July 28. Siege of Atlanta August 1-13. Operations about Chattahoochie River Bridge, Pace's and Turner's Ferries August 26-September 2. Occupation of Atlanta September 2. Operations against Hood in North Georgia and North Alabama September 29-November 3. Near Lost Mountain October 4-7. New Hope Church October 7. Dallas October 7. Rome October 10-11. Narrows October 11. Coosaville Road, near Rome, October 13. Near Summerville October 18. Little River October 20. Leesburg, Blue Pond, October 21. Ladiga, Terrapin Creek, October 28. Dismounted November 1, and ordered to Louisville, Ky. Refitting at Louisville till December 28. Moved to Gravelly Springs, Ala., December 28, 1864-January 20, 1865. Wilson's Raid on Selma, Ala., and Macon, Ga., March 22-April 24. Selma April 2. Montgomery April 12. Columbus, Ga., April 16. Macon, Ga., April 20. Moved to Chattanooga, Tenn., May 23; thence to Nashville and duty there till June 27. Mustered out June 27 and discharged at Springfield, Ill., July 11, 1865. 

Regiment lost during service 3 Officers and 82 Enlisted men killed and mortally wounded and 1 Officer and 133 Enlisted men by disease. Total 219.

(The original source for this list seems to be Frederick H. Dyer, A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion (Des Moines, Iowa: Dyer Publishing Company, 1908), 1098.)

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. 

Notable Relatives: General Authorities and General Officers of the Church [updated]

Since General Conference is coming up, here's a list of the general authorities and officers of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who are descended from the ancestors featured on this blog. If you know of others, please leave a note in the comments so I can add them to the list.

The first nine mentioned are relatives of Wallace Tanner (Francis Marion Lyman through Delbert Stapley). The next three are relatives of Maxine Morgan Tanner (her grandfather John Morgan, as well as Frank Gibbons and Timothy Dyches). The last four are relatives of Beverly Glade Wessman (Marion G. Romney, Royden G. Derrick, LeGrand Curtis Jr., and May Green Hinckley).

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.

Fascinating Follow-up on Elder Standing and John Morgan

Don't miss Bessie's amazing follow-up to the post the other day about Elder Joseph Standing.

Here's her post: Joseph Standing. He Being Dead Yet Speaketh!

He Being Dead, Yet Speaketh: Elder Joseph Standing Writes to the Faucetts

Tunnel Hill. As Elder Joseph Standing criss-crossed Whitfield County in the months before his murder, he may have walked through the old railroad tunnel in Chetoogetta Mountain. In this picture, you can see through the newer 1928 tunnel. The 1850 tunnel is to the right of the newer one, and is partly covered by brush. You can still walk through the 1850 tunnel. Picture used under a Creative Commons license from SeeMidTN.com (aka Brent). 

This is the continuation of an occasional series with some Morgan-family related content from the history of the Southern States Mission. Previous content is listed in the Index to the History of the Southern States Mission, the list of Presidents of the Southern States Mission, and the index tag "Southern States Mission." [March 19 — Don't miss the follow-up post from Bessie on Ancestral Ties, "Joseph Standing. He Being Dead Yet Speaketh!"]

———

He Being Dead Yet Speaketh.

EXTRACTS FROM LETTERS WRITTEN BY ELDER JOSEPH STANDING A SHORT TIME BEFORE HIS MARTYRDOM.

Morgan's Commercial College

After John Morgan decided to stay in Salt Lake City on his cross-country post-Civil War trip, he opened a school called Morgan's Commercial College. Google Books now has a copy of an advertisement for the college. (View and download here.)

The advertisement includes a list of the students at the college with many notable names among them. One person I noticed in particular is John Morgan's future beloved colleague, J. Golden Kimball. With the exception of the Cannons and the Youngs who are rather underrepresented, the list reads like a "Who's Who" of Salt Lake City.

[Update: See further notes about this pamphlet on Bessie's blog. John Morgan's Commercial College.]

Adding Information about John Morgan's Wives to His Grave Marker

Bessie at Ancestral Ties is heading an effort to add information about John Morgan's wives to the back of his grave marker. The missionaries from the Southern States raised money to have this marker engraved and placed on their former mission president's grave.

See Bessie's post about the project (John Hamilton Morgan gravestone, October 2010) and her post about donating to help fund the project (John Morgan Salt Lake Cemetery Plot).

John Morgan and the History of Manassa, Colorado

Here is an article my brother sent. He found it in a book he inherited from my grandparents. Thanks, Jared!

The Sunstone Review, June 1982, p. 15.