in missouri in the : early 1830's. .. ·----- · area of jackson county, missouri is from...

MISSOURI MORMON

FRONTIER FOUNDATION

NEWSLETTER

Number 2 Jackson County, Missouri Winter 1994

Visiting Historian Series, VI H. Dean Garrett

Tuesday, 17 August 1993 RLDS Temple

Topic: The Lamanite Mission

Dean Garrett and his son Brian were in Independence to do research on the 1831 Mormon mission to the Indians bordering Missouri. The Garretts had spent the day with Ron Romig at the RLDS Archives and touring Lafayette County.

Most of the contemporary information that we have today on the 1831 Mormon mission to the Indians in the area of Jackson County, Missouri is from Parley P. Pratt's writings. Five Mormon missionaries arrived in Independence in mid-January 1831, namely, Sidney Rigdon, P.P. Pratt, Oliver Cowdery, Ziba Petersen and Frederick G. Williams.

No one had asked permission for them to visit Indian Territory to preach to the Indians. Isaac McCoy, who had established a mission to the Shawnee Indians under government authority, was one who was not pleased to see them. While Parley P. Pratt went to St. Louis to seek permission, which was denied due to the Indian agent's letter ahead, and to Ohio and New York to confer with Joseph Smith, the rest stayed in Missouri. They turned their attention to converting the settlers already in this area of Missouri.

Letters indicate they were being successful in converting white settlers in Jackson and Lafayette counties. Familial relationships seem to appear between the converts. A news article of October 1899 based on information from Mary Bums states that 44 were baptized in the Lexington area. Who were they and what happened to them? A few names are Charles Hopper, Rebecca Hopper who married Ziba Peterson, Thomas Hopper (uncle of Mary Burns), and William Jennings who married Elizabeth Hopper.

A connection also seems to appear in names of early converts or their families and people who were later

active in driving the Mormons from Jackson County and Missouri. There is much to be learned about the Mormons in Missouri in the early 1830's.

--------� : � .. ·-----

The 1993 Annual Meeting of the John Whitmer History Association was held in the RLDS Temple on September 24-26, 1993. A sufficient supply of MMFF Newsletterswere available to introduce the MMFF organization toother potentially interested persons. It seemed to attractquite a bit of attention.

MMFF vice president, Ron Romig, presented a paper on the Lamanite Mission at the John Whitmer Association Annual Meeting.

Visiting Historian Series, VII

Roger L annius Thursday, 23 September 1993

RLDS Temple

· Topic: Alexander Doniphan

· Roger Lannius is the historian for NASA. He hasbeen asked to write on Alexander Doniphan for one in a series of books on famous Missourians. He was selected due to a short published monograph he wrote about Doniphan.

He shared his knowledge about this famed Missouri military leader and statesman who took on the task of seeking justice for the Mormons. He presented some theories about why Alexander Doniphan was willing to defend the Mormons. Roger welcomed any information about Doniphan and about repositories with significant Doniphan research material that the audience had to share.

MISSOURI MORMON FRONTIER FOUNDATION

PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE Ronald G. Putz

This past year we put The Missouri Mormon Frontier Foundation on a firm footing. We went from almost no members to over 60. We sponsored a number of interesting speakers. We published our first newsletter. We incorporated as a Not-for-Profit Corporation in Missouri. We completed all requirements to apply for tax-exempt status with the IRS.

We are ready for more progress in 1994. We plan to publish at least three more newsletters. We wish to retain those members we already have and add many more. We will continue to sponsor speakers as they become available. We also will be forming interest groups of persons who wish to pursue specific areas of interest which relate to our purposes. We also will be

··publishing a Early Independence, Missouri "Mormon"History Tour Guide of early Independence.

Our February meeting (advertised in anothersection) will focus on forming interest groups. Theseinterests can be as diverse as camping ( on LDS /RLDS historical sites), artistry, memberships, longrange plans, publicity, period clothing, periodarchitecture, fund raising, newsletter, abstractinghistorical documents, scholarly research or any othersubject that our members would like to participate in.

The Tour Guide features ten sites in Independence. Some of these are well known, others are more obscure though not less important. Ron Romig, RLDS Archivist, furnishes fascinating text about each site. Henry Inouye, a gifted local artist provides many riveting illustrations. At a later date, pending permission from local jurisdictions and sufficient fundraising, we will mark each site. Publishing this booklet raises an immediate need.

It will cost about $1,000 to publish 1,000 of the 44 page booklets. We have arranged a loan from one of our members to get the booklet in print before summer. However, we need donations to pay off the loan. This is a good arrangement because it enables us to get the booklet into your hands, still leaving time for contributions. The booklets will then be sold for $1.00 or $2.00 each to provide funds for reprints and expanded editions.

Tour Guide Donation form on page 7.

--------------------

Newsletter editor: Annette W. Curtis

Number 2, Winter 1994


is a duly organized GENERAL NOT FOR PROFIT CORPORATION

under the Laws of Missouri The Missouri Mormon Frontier Foundation is a

nonsectarian organization dedicated to collecting and preserving information related to the Mormon experience in western Missouri during the l 830's.

The purposes ofMMFF are stated in the By-Laws as follows: 1. To promote the research, documentation,

verification, renovation and restoration of events andsites associated with the Missouri Mormon Frontier.

2. To preserve documents, photographs, artifacts, sitesand other historical memorabilia associated with thatperiod.

3. To facilitate the gathering and preservation ofgenealogical information from the affectedgeographical area.

All meetings, including Board meetings, are open to everyone.. You are invited to bring other interested people to any of our meetings.

First Annual Meeting The First Annual Meeting of the Missouri Mormon Frontier Foundation was held on Tuesday evening November 9, 1993 at 7p.m. in the Mormon Visitors Center. By-Laws were approved and officers and

board members were elected as follows: Ronald G. Putz - President Ronald E. Romig - Vice President William J. Curtis - Secretary Jesse E. Ehlers -Treasurer Board Members - Annette Curtis

Alta Short

Henry Inouye Drew Henson

Some readers may have noticed that the word "Mormon" was missing from the MMFF incorporation certificate printed on page 2 of our first newsletter. That was noticed and corrected. The second certificate was for the "Missouri Morman Frontier Foundation". The third one got it all right. We are now duly and correctly incorporated. Papers are now being prepared for tax exempt status.

MISSOURI MORMON FRONTIER FOUNDATION Number 2, Winter 1994

Early Independence, Missouri "Mormon" History

Tour Guide

It is coming! See the "President's Message" on page 2.

A sample of the artwork by Henry Inouye that will appear in the Tour Guide. The Guide promises to be both an attractive and an informative booklet.

----------...: .... -�----------

Who's Who in MMFF

Henry K. Inouye, Jr.

Henry K. Inouye, Jr. holds a B.A. degree in art and art history from the University of Hawaii and an M.A. in religion from the School of Theology atClaremont. He is a professional artist in bothcommercial and fine arts. His interest in aestheticsranges from theory to practice, from theological

studies to landscape design and beautification. Hegrew up in Independence and is married to a wonderful lady named Helen.

Henry Inouye is:

• Honored with the Independence Beautification .award - 1993 and the Neighborhood Council'sBeautification award, 1993.

• Currently writing a book on Roy Cheville to bepublished in the winter of 1995 by HeraldHouse. This is part of a series to be called"Makers of Church Thought" edited by PaulEdwards.

• A volunteer at the RLDS archives.• An instructor in the RLDS temple field school.• A board member of MMFF and contributing the

art work for a walking tour guide to Mormonsites in Independence.


THEY LIVED IN ZION

Vignettes of Mormons in Jackson County 1831-1833 by Ronald G. Putz

SOLOMON CHAMBERLAIN

Solomon was from Connecticut. He was born in Tolland, July 30, 1788. His father died when he was 8, his mother died about 10 years later. He states in his autobiography that he lived a very wicked life from the time his father died until he was 19 years old [about 1807]. That year he had a vision of hell which alarmed him into reforming his ways. Then he had another vision, this one · ..... of three heavens, and their glories, and the third one, far exceeded the others." Now he truly wanted to be saved and looked for someone to tell him what he must do. He asked for help from a Presbyterian minister but wasn't satisfied. Later he joined the Methodists.

REMARKABLE VISIONS

He states that in 1816, "The Lord showed me in avision, that there were no people on the earth that were right, and that faith was gone from the earth, excepting a few and that all churches were corrupt. I further saw in vision, that he would soon raise up a church, that would be after the Apostolic Order, that there would be in it the same powers, and gifts that were in the days of Christ, and that I should live to see the day, and that there would a book come forth, like unto the Bible and the people would [be] guided by it, as well as the Bible. "

About 1829 he felt that the time was drawing near for the Lord to bring forth his church. At this time he lived about 20 miles east of Palmyra, N.Y. and began inquiring if there was any strange work of God going on. Nothing was reported. He began a trip to Canada, taking a boat that passed through Palmyra. He was told by the Spirit to leave the boat, travel south about three miles and stayed overnight at a farm house. The next morning his benefactors asked him if he had heard of the Gold Bible. A power like electricity went through his body when he heard it. He was now only 1/2 mile from the Smith home.

THE FIRST MISSIONARY?

When he arrived he met Father Smith, Hyrum Smith, Christian Whitmer and two others, probably of the Whitmer family. He· states: "I then opened my mouth

and began to preach to them, in the words that the angel had made known to me in the vision, that all churches and denominations on the earth had become corrupt, and no church of God on the earth, but that he would . shortly raise up a church that would never be confounded nor brought down and be like unto the Apostolic Church. They wondered greatly who had been telling me these things, for said they, we have the same things wrote [written] down in our house, taken from the Gold record, that you are preaching to us. I said, 'The Lord told me these things a number of years ago. " I then said, "If you are a visionary house, I wish you would make known some of your discoveries, for I think I can bear them.' They then made known to me that they had obtained a gold record, and just finished translating it here. Now, the L_ord revealed to me by the gift and power of the Holy Ghos__t that this was the work I had been looking/or."

After two days with the Smiths he went with them to the Palmyra printing office where he procured 64 pages of the manuscript and continued his journey to Canada. He preached what he had learned to all who would listen.

As soon as the book was printed he returned to Palmyra, took 8 or 10 copies, traveled for eight days and sold one copy. He attended a conference of his former Methodist church and attempted to convert some of their ministers, but to no avail. Brigham & Phineas Young were at this conference and did not oppose him. On the way home he preached to a large congregation of Free Will Baptists, many of whom accepted the work, but since the Church had not yet been organized there was no one to baptize them.

A few days after the Church was organized (April 6, 1830), Solomon was baptized in Seneca Lake by Joseph Smith. That same spring he moved to Kirtland, Ohio and in the fall of 1831, emigrated to Jackson County, Missouri.1

In a petition dated Jan 6, 1840 he states that he moved to Jackson Co. with a ton and a half of house

1Chamberlain, Solomon, 1788-1862. Autobiography (1788-1850) Source: Autobiography of Solomon Chamberlain, copy of holograph, BYU. [This account was written by Solomon Chamberlain at Beaver City, Utah, July l l, 18�8,] From: Milton Backman, Early Members Writinss,

BYU.

I


furniture. He was driven from Jackson, Clay and Caldwell counties. He lost seven houses and two or three plantations plus much else during his sojourn in Missouri. 2

He stated in another petition that he lost his inheritance when driven from Jackson County and that his crops were left on the ground, two houses were burned and some cattle were lost. He estimated the value of these losses at $2,000.3

He became very upset at being expelled from Jackson County. He was 45 years old and should have known better but while camped in Clay county he decided to re-cross the Missouri and clean out the mobocrats ofJackson County single handed.

He armed himself with a rifle, three pistols, a broadsword and six dirks. He put on a full suit of buckskin and a wolf skin cap with the ears on and called himself "old buckskin." He then crossed the river, apparently wandered around the county a day or two without food or sleep. Before he could hurt anyone he was captured by the mobocrats who took him prisoner and said they were going to kill him. He told them that if they would give him a good supper and a good bed they could kill him in the morning. When he woke, he told them that he was ready for his fate, but they had been drinking and carousing all night so they just damned him and sent him on his way.4

He lived through this experience and continued through all the trials in Missouri. He went to Nauvoo, emigrated to Utah and died in Washington Co., UT in 1863 at age 74.

Though never prominent in the Church, he is one of the most colorful characters of the early days, and one of my favorites.

- Ronald Putz

2Mormon Redress Petitions, Clark V. Johnson, ed. 1992, Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University. pp. 428-9.

3Mormon Redress Petitions, Clark V. Johnson, ed. 1992, Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University. p. 159.

4Jenson, LDS Biographical Encyclopedia, 2:605-6.


MMFFINUTAH

During a mid-November trip to Utah, while participating in the Mormon History Association Council meeting, Ron Romig had an opportunity to speak to a gathering of LDS scholars and Brigham Young University History professors. The occasion was a weekly Brown Bag Lunch Lecture sponsored by the Joseph Smith Institute on the BYU campus. Historian Bill Harley hosted the session. Ron presented a slide show talk about the RLDS Library-Archives. The assembly heard an overview of the history of the RLDS Library-Archives and a review of historical material in the RLDS Archives.

Present in the audience was Professor Susan Easton Black, who during research visits to Independence has twice shared her knowledge as part of MMFF's Visiting Historian Series. Many thanks to Susan for her success in encouraging a number of BYU colleagues to join MMFF. So, though many in the room were already members, Ron took this opportunity to share a bit more about the foundation and distributed copies of the September 1993 newsletter. We are very pleased to have these many friends in Utah as a vital part of MMFF.

Ron enjoyed the gracious hospitality extended by Susan Easton Black and her husband Harvey as a result of an invitation to stay at their home. During his week in Utah, Ron also had an opportunity to meet with Scott Duvall, BYU Chair of Special Collections, and Archivists from the LDS Church to consider issues of mutual interest in hopes of facilitating scholarly research on the church's Missouri experience.

ADDITIONS & CORRECTIONS Your editor neglected to include the date of the event which commemorated the explosion of the steamship, Saluda. The commemoration ceremony was held September 19, 1991 at the Machpelah Cemetery, 20th Street and Jefferson, Lexington, Missouri. Following the ceremony, a reception was held in the Hall of Honor at Wentworth Military Academy, where those attending had a chance to mingle, visit and enjoy refreshments. Special thanks are due to Lindii Dc1y for many things, including the table decorations, steamship replicas

in paper. Also see: Frank Haight Jr.s "Residents research explosion of Saluda" The Independence Examiner, June 9, 1992, page 3.


MMFF ABSTRACTING PROJECT

The Missouri Mormon Frontier Foundation has adopted as a project the creation of abstracts of relevant published and unpublished materials dealing with historical evidences of the "Mormon" activities in Missouri. This project is an important part of MMFF's goal of promoting and publishing scholarly writings to advance understandings of the early "Mormon" experience in the larger culture of the State of Missouri.

Every member has the potential to contribute their own unique perspective and understanding to our mutual endeavor. Important historical information often pops up in the unlikely places or circumstances. As members encounter · and record these historical "gems," a significant compilation of data will occur over time if MMFF develops a systematic way of gathering and arranging this information.

This abstracting project is an important step in achieving the organization's larger goals in that it invites iv1MFF

members to participant as fully as their time and opportunity allows in the creation of a valuable body of resource materials about the period. As an ongoing project, MMFF may eventually publish the accumulation of these abstracts in book form which will provide improved access to important historical data to all interested researchers.

A good abstract is a concise summary of the substance of an article or work focusing on the essence of its thesis, narrative, scope, and conclusions. An abstract, "Includes enough supporting detail to present the summary as a complete thought to the reader ... And, it mentions important aspects of the article, [significant or] newly discovered primary sources utilized, and unusual methodology, reprints of original documents, or the like," [Peter S. Quimby, Managing Editor of America: History and Life and Historical Abstracts].

Brevity is recommended to promote consistency and minimize editing. MMFF abstracts should include: The names of people, places, events, organizations, etc. Date and time span indications. Locations. A summary of the main thesis, argument, opinion, reminiscence, conclusion, etc. Source citations.

Members and friends of the organization are invited to pre-pare and forward all abstracts of interest to MMFF

'i\a R,m Romi�, RLDS Archives, -P .o. Box 1059,

Independence, Missouri 6405 \. -re-r


A LITTLE GEM

Pertinent information is often found in strange places. They are unindexed and only found accidentally. The following excerpt is a case in point. While indexing a scrapbook, Annette Curtis found an article from the Independence Examiner of 17 November 1899. It was headlined "Visit from Martin Rice: The Bard of Lone Jack in Independence.--Oldest Teacher in Jackson County."

Martin Rice, the aged bard of Lone Jack, his mind as clear and logical as when a pioneer. .. was in Independence Monday . ...

Martin Rice will be eighty-five years of age next Wednesday and completed in October his sixty-third year in Missouri. ...

The article goes on to quote Martin Rice, who refutes the 'earliest teachers in the county' mentioned in a recent article titled "Pioneer Teachers" in the Oak Grove Banner.

"Sometimes [sic] during the summer of 1833

when I was yet in Tennessee the few settlers in the vicinity of the Lone Jack, thought it advisable to start their children to school and a teacher was soon found in the person ofa Mormon elder, Tibi Peterson by name, one of the first five emissaries it was said that had been sent west to prepare the way of the saints in the New Jerusalem. The teacher found, a house in which to teach was hurriedly built by the neighbors coming together, cutting a few hickory houselogs and splitting them so as to make two out of one and notching them up, making a pen twelve or fourteen feet square, and five or six in height, covered it with clapboards, ribs and weight poles; cut a door in one side and the first schoolhouse in that part of the county was finished; but the school progressed for

a few weeks only. Everybody knows that in the fall of that year the Mormons bade adieu to the county of Jackson and the Mormon teacher bade adieu to his school.

"One year later when I proposed to teach their school, it was resolved to move the site and build a house a little larger. The school, however, commenced in the same little pen with the dirt floor which stood in what is now J. D. Kreeger's woods pasture, and at the end of the first week the teacher and the larger boys, on Saturday cut another set of logs and with a yoke of oxen dragged them together at the new site, near where Wesley Yankee's fine residence now stands, and on the next Saturday, after another week of school, we met and raised the house, covered it with the boards from the old one, cut out a door, and that house was finished and school commenced in it the next Monday morning and continued until, for want of a fireplace or a stove, the cold weather m October -put an end to it ... .''

awe


EVERYONE CAN BE INVOLVED

The MMFF Board is calling a public meeting of members and friends in February to facilitate the formation of Interest Groups. This member interest meeting will be the third Saturday of February, 19 February 1994, at 9 a.m. at the Mormon Visitors Center, River and Walnut streets in Independence, Missouri. Charter membership certificates will also be distributed at this meeting.

Last year the Board surveyed the membership and found that many would like to serve on various committees with various interests. You may be wondering why the board has not already contacted you or invited you to participate in these specific ways. Organizing and planning, setting up Visiting Historian meetings, and our first special project, the walking tour guide for Independence, have kept the board occupied. As much as your help is needed the mechanism is not in place to use the creative energy of the membership. We believe that Interest Groups will allow all of our members to talk and work together in both small and the larger groups toward accomplishing the Foundation goals.

For example: The walking tour guide book is nearly ready for press. Before going to press, the illustrations ought to be as historically accurate as possible. This is not as easy as it might seem. Since there are no period

photographs, and very few accurate pictures, each drawing must be carefully researched and refined. RLDS archivist Ron Romig and Independence Artist Henry Inouye would like to see an Interest Group

working to develop a collection of descriptions of appropriate period clothing and building styles, i.e. develop a visually descriptive history. In a related vein, the guide book could get into print much quicker if an Interest Group were working on soliciting donations

for the guide book and alternative fund raising

opportunities for MNIFF projects. Other possible interest areas: * plan and facilitate

the placement of appropriate markers for the walking

tour, * plan other tours throughout western Missouri, * continue development of a master plan for future MMFF goals and projects, * facilitate the abstracting

project, * prepare biographical profiles of MMFF members and their interests for the newsletter, * solicit and prepare articles for the newsletter, * scholarly

research, * publicity, * tour and travel, * camping for families to experience the historic sites. Other interests may emerge from our February public meeting. Come and express your interest.

-re-r


MMFF MEMBERSHIP MEETING Saturday, 19 February 1994

9 a.m.

Mormon Visitors Center River & Walnut, Independence, Missouri

PURPOSE: To F �rm Interest Groups

All members and friends are invited. See the

article on page 3 for details. Call Ron Putz at (816) 228-3512 to say you are coming so we canarrange enough space and "donuts".

Special for BYU Students LeMar C. Berrett

Wednesday, 26 January 1994

Mormon Visitors Center

Topic: Mormons in Missouri


1994 Membership Dues It is time to renew memberships for the 1994 calendar year. Thanks to all who supported MMFF with Charter Memberships. Get your Certificate

on the 19th! Any Charter member who did not

receive the first newsletter, please let us know.

L • .J-----··. :::=:::::::::. ··-----

' -�

POSSIBLE UPCOMING EVENTS Get Involved - Help Make Them Happen

.,. Memorial Day Weekend - participation in

Spring Rendezvous around the Independence

Square. .,. MMFF tee shirt fundraiser. .. Camping trip to area such as Fishing River

with 1830's crafts for the kids.

in missouri in the : early 1830's. .. ·----- · area of jackson county, missouri is from...

Documents