Life history of John Nielsen [microform]: 1948

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  Life history of John Nielsen

  Manuscripts

  Typescript of John Nielsen's life history, probably recorded in or around 1885. The volume traces Nielsen's childhood experiences in Denmark, including prejudices faced by Mormon converts, and his family's plan to travel to the United States in 1866. It continues with notes on their voyage to New York, their travel by rail and boat to Florence, Nebraska, and their journey on foot to Salt Lake City. It concludes with reminiscences on Nielsen's life in Utah, including a grasshopper invasion in 1869.

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  Life history of George H. Rothrock [microform]: 1924

  Manuscripts

  Microfilm of a typescript of George H. Rothrock's autobiography, written in Glendale, California, in 1924. Rothrock describes his childhood, including the death of his infant brother by fire; his father's trips to California in the early 1850s; of traveling to California by way of Aspinwall and crossing the Isthmus of Panama in 1854; of sailing to Sacramento and arriving in Marysville; and of his father's vineyard, orchard, and cattle ranch in Marysville. Much of the account recalls Rothrock's many travels throughout California, Nevada, and Arizona while he worked as a miner (including at the Soledad Mine and in the Mesquite Mining District), sheep and cattle herder, and teamster. He also describes trouble with Indians at Fort Apache in 1881, being placed in charge of the head of the Arizona Canal in 1905; of moving to a ranch in Lehi in 1915; and of settling in San Diego in 1920.

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  Short sketch of the life of John F. Nash [microform] :

  Manuscripts

  Microfilm of John F. Nash's autobiography, written in about 1927. Nash recalls his childhood around the California gold mines, including his friendship with a nearby "Company of Chinese" over whom he "held arbitrary jurisdiction;" his family's move to Ventura County and his first experiences of attending school; and of his father's loss of a land grant after oil was discovered on their property in 1874. Nash then describes traveling toward Texas driving livestock, of his experiences in Woodruff and Snowflake, of the theft of his family's livestock, the family's settlement in the Gila Valley, encounters with Indians "on the warpath" and fear of ambushes, and his acquiring of a teaching license. He then describes his conversion to Mormonism in 1888 following his experiences at the Matthews settlement, his 1890 trip to Salt Lake City, his decision to attend the Brigham Young Academy, and his experiences teaching in Loa, Wanship, Pima, the St. Joseph Stake Academy, and the Thatcher Junior High School. He briefly recounts his joining of a local national guard and a mission to retrieve fellow soldiers from a saloon. Nash also recalls his mission to Australia, where he primarily preached in Sydney and Brisbane, and his clash with "Reorganists" there.

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  The story of my life as affected by polygamy [microform], 1948

  Manuscripts

  Microfilm of two drafts of Mary Bennion Powell's The Story of My Life as Affected by Polygamy. The first, shorter draft describes the polygamous past of Mary's family, including the plural marriages of her grandfather John Bennion, which she writes led to much unhappiness in her father's childhood, and the story of her mother's widowed mother Mary Ann Frost and her plural marriage to Parley Pratt and the monogamous marriage of her grandparents Oscar Winters and Mary Ann Stearns (Mary describes that Mary Ann, pressured by the Church, convinced her husband to enter a plural marriage with her mother Mary Ann Frost, which was quickly annulled). Much of the document focuses on "the struggle with the horror of polygamy," and particularly of Mary's hatred of her father Heber Bennion's third wife Mayme Bringhurst, who he married after "an unfortunate experience" and "ensuing scandal" between her and his brother. Mary writes scathingly of "this creature" Mayme and the disaster she brought on the family (Mary ascribes the deaths of her sisters and mother to polygamy) and that when she found out her father had married Mayme he became "a monster hideous beyond description." The second draft was written for the Sociology Department of the University of Wisconsin in 1948, to be used as "case material in a study of Mormon sex mores." The content is similar to the first draft although includes more writings on Heber's childhood, his resignation as bishop of Taylorsville over polygamy issues, Mary's indictments of the Mormon Church's approach to polygamy, and more of Mayme's infamy, including her dressing "like a prostitute" and behaving as a "kept woman." Mary concludes the draft with the note "Please, sirs, will you tell me why I can't stop hating them, after all these years." Also included are various letters Mary wrote to the University of Wisconsin regarding the project, as well as a letter to T.C. McCormick in which she enquires about libel laws.

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  Life sketch of Mons Larson [microform]: 1935

  Manuscripts

  Microfilm of a typescript biography of Mons Larson, written by his granddaughter Violet Elaine Alt in 1935. The biography traces Larson's early life his Sweden, his conversion to Mormonism, his decision to immigrate to the United States, his sailing to New York and traveling by train to Florence, Nebraska, his overland trip to Utah, his settlement in Tooele, his decision to enter into polygamy, his colonization of Snowflake, his moves to Pima and Mexico, and his death in Arizona in 1890. It also includes a long account of a return journey from Utah to Snowflake with the Silas S. Smith company, which took a difficult route near the Green River and got stuck near Hole-in-the-Rock. It also describes Larson's wife Olivia giving birth in a blizzard during the ordeal.

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  Life sketch of Simon Baker [microform]: 1952

  Manuscripts

  Microfilm of the typed life history of Simon Baker by Melba Dolores Hogenson. The brief autobiography traces Baker's childhood, his conversion to Mormonism, the death of his wife and his marriage to Charlotte Leavitt in 1845, his move to Utah, his trade with gold miners in 1849-1850, his various mission and colonization trips in Utah and Nevada, and many notes on his personality and personal anecdotes. The autobiography is preceded by five manuscript pages identified as "journal before 1848" (it is not clear if these pages refer to Baker).

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