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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-00031Newsletter, published by the Township of Pickering Historical Society, 16 pages, winter edition, volume 8 numbers 1 & 2. What’s Inside >This issue of Pathmaster is devoted almost entirely to the Mormon mission to Pickering Township in the 1830’s. While the Mormon presence was limited for the most part to a mere three years (1835-1838), the impact it had on the township was far greater than that short span would suggest, and the consequences for the history of the Mormon Church also far outweigh the brief association. Highlighted here are the families of Edward Lawrence, John Lovell, and Justus Azel Seelye. >Our “Traveller”, Ross Johnston continues his tour of Pickering Township, this time in the south along the Broken Front Concession. >We congratulate Allan McGillivray, Curator of the Uxbridge Historical Centre, for receiving the Ontario Historical Society’s Carnochan Award for 2006. The Mormon Mission to Pickering Township in the 1830s By John Sabean The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (more informally known as the Mormon Church) was organized on 6 April 1830 in Fayette, New York. Its founder was Joseph Smith, Jr., to whom is ascribed the translation and publication of the Book of Mormon, which is the basis of the Mormon faith and treated as Scripture. In June 1832 the first church elders were sent to Upper Canada for the purpose of doing missionary work.1 See the accompanying item regarding the plaque erected near Bath (formerly Ernestown), Ontario, to commemorate this event. By 1836, the Mormon expansion had reached Pickering Township in the person of John Taylor, then a recent convert to Mormonism, but destined to be one of its leaders. 2 Taylor had been introduced to the church by Parley P. Pratt, a church elder from the United States. As Pratt himself described it in his Autobiography, in April 1836 he received a visit to his home in Kirtland, Ohio, from Elder Heber C. Kimball. Kimball prophesied: “Thou shalt go to Upper Canada, even to the city of Toronto, the capital, and there thou shalt find a people prepared for the fullness of the gospel, and they shall receive thee, and thou shalt organize the Church among them, and it shall spread thence into the regions round about, and many shall be brought to the knowledge of the truth and shall be filled with joy. 3 Pratt soon set out on a mission to Canada and having arrived in Hamilton, was given a letter of introduction to John Taylor in Toronto. Although Taylor was not satisfied with the current teachings of his Methodist faith as he understood it, he was at first resistant to the new teachings he heard from Pratt. Taylor’s wife Leonora, however, was immediately receptive and persuaded her husband to continue to study. In time he, too, was convinced and John and Leonora Taylor were baptized on 9 May 1836. Shortly after his baptism Taylor was ordained an elder in the Mormon Church.4 That same spring Taylor came to Pickering Township to preach. There he received a fair hearing from families such as the Lawrences and the Lovells, so much so that, according to John Lovell (see accompanying story), he moved to Pickering Township with his family in the fall. Along with him another Mormon Missionary, Almon Babbitt, also moved to Pickering Township with his family. 5 As John Lovell related, over the winter of 1836-1837, several families converted to Mormonism – the Lovells, the Lawrences, the McCauslands, and the Harts – in all about 18 - 20 people. 6 Ed Lawrence and his wife, Margaret Major, the daughter of John Major of Majorville (later Whitevale), appeared to have been at the centre of a growing community of Mormon converts. 7 Thus when the prophet himself, Joseph Smith, Jr., visited Pickering Township in August 1837, he stayed with the Lawrences. With Smith were John Taylor, Almon Babbitt, and Sidney Rigdon, all of whom were to play a large role in the development of the Latter Day Saints (LDS) Church.8 Smith and his fellow churchmen organized a conference to be held in Ed Lawrence’s barn. Many attended and, according to B.H. Roberts, “The Spirit of God was present, the hearts of the saints were made to rejoice, and many who were out of the church believed.”9 At his conference in Pickering Township, and another held shortly after in Scarborough, as well as at other services and through personal contact, quiet a few residents of Pickering and the surrounding areas of Whitby and Scarborough were converted to the Mormon faith. We know the names of some of the converts through John Lovell’s diary (see above). 10 We learn of other through other sources. William Wood quotes the Minutes of the Brougham Christian Church from the month of May 1837. “Manr Thoreton Absented himself from the ch by jonen a seck that Call them Selves mormens. John Lavens Absented himself from the Church by jonen the mormens.”11 Leo Johnson, in his history of the County of Ontario, mentions several area families who joined the Mormon migration – the Magahans, Seeleys and Lamoureux. 12 He goes on to relate a story pertaining to the Lawrence family. When William Gordon came to Upper Canada in 1838, he was able to purchase a farm very cheaply because a family of Mormon converts was preparing to follow Joseph Smith to the west: “[Gordon] bought a large farm in Pickering…two hundred and fifty acres and almost entirely cleard, with the same house as stands there today and which was counted as a very fine one at that date; he bought also horsed, two spans, cattle, wagons and every thing else just as they stood. This purchase was mad from Mr. Lawrence with whom Joe Smith, the famous Mormon leader lived. My mother often told me about it, that grandfather paid cash (L1, 000) …and that upon receiving the money. Mr. Lawrence just handed it across the table to Joe Smith. This was sometime in the summer of 1838 and immediately after Joe Smith and all the Mormons left for the states.” 13. This picture corresponds to a declaration that Smith had made that every Saint moving to Missouri would have to give his money to the church, which would then allocate land and goods to families based on need.14 Having sold their Pickering property and turned the money over to Joseph Smith, the Lawrence family headed west to gather with other Saints at Zion. At this time (1838) the family consisted of Edward; his wife Margaret; daughters Maria (age 15), Sarah (age 12), Lettice (age not known), and Nelson (age not known), and Henry William (age 2). Before they arrived at their destination Edward died. Despite the donation that Edward had given to Smith back in Pickering apparently he left behind a considerable estate. Of the inheritance Margaret was to receive one third; the rest was to be split among his children. But to receive their shares, the children, all minors, needed to have a guardian. 15 By June of 1841, the Lawrence family had moved to Nauvoo, Illinois, which was at that time the headquarters of the Mormon Church. In Nauvoo they became closely associated with Joseph Smith to the extent that he was appointed guardian of the Lawrence children and trustee of the estate. In 1841 or early in 1842 Margaret remarried- to Josiah Butterfield – a widower who was a high church official. Josiah and Margaret presumably expected that the Lawrence estate would now be transferred to them. But apparently Smith had other ideas and this led to a quarrel between Butterfield and Smith. In his ‘History of the Church’, Smith wrote: “Josiah Butterfield came to my house and insulted me so outrageously that I kicked him out of the house, across the yard, and into the street.”16 Maria and Sarah at some point moved into the Smith house. In the late spring of 1843, Joseph Smith is said to have married both Maria (age 19) and Sarah ( age 17), reportedly as his 24th and 25th wives. the practice of polygamy is a hotly debated issue in the history of the Mormon Church. Smith always denied that he either believed in it or practiced it. But it was one of the major factors in his undoing. He was challenged on the issue by a disaffected Mormon. William Law, a Canadian who had known the Lawrence’s since their Canadian days.17 Law had been a high counselor of Smith’s, but became alienated from the prophet especially over the issue of his alleged polygamy. Law chose the marriage of Smith to Maria Lawrence as a test case with which to prosecute Smith for adultery. On 23 May 1844, he filed suit against Smith in the Hancock County Circuit Court at Carthage, Illinois, charging that Smith has been living with Maria Lawrence “in an open state of adultery”. 18 Smith’s response was to deny that he was married to Maria, and in turn had his counselors sue Law for slandering her. Law, along with other disaffected Mormons, on 7 June 1844 published the Nauvoo Expositor; which attacked Smith on several issues, including an accusation against the prophet for practicing polygamy. Smith, as mayor of Nauvoo, ordered the Expositor press to be destroyed. In turn Smith was then accused of violating the freedom of the press. Charges were brought against him and some of his associates and he submitted to incarceration in Carthage. With Smith in the Carthage jail were his brother Hyrum, John Taylor, and one other. On 27 June 1844, a mob stormed the jail killing Smith and his brother and severely wounding Taylor.19 Some reports say that Maria was sealed for time (i.e. married) to Brigham Young in October 1844 (as his 16th wife.) If she did marry Young, she soon parted from him. She did, however, marry Almon Babbitt, the now high church official who had once lived in Pickering as a Mormon missionary. Maria and Almon had one child. She died in Nauvoo in 1847. She had not gone west with the body of the saints because Babbit had been assigned to stay in Nauvoo after the mass exodus to wrap up the affairs of the church. One Woman (Mary Norman) wrote of Maria: “Maria Lawrence died of consumption or one might more truthfully put it of a broken heart. My Aunt Lacey visited her and felt great sympathy for her. She said to Aunt one time ‘That if there was any truth in Mormonism she would be saved for said she My yoke has not been easy nor my burden light.’ As to what was the cause of Maria’s deep sorrow I do not exactly know…She suffered her doubts, her fear, her uncertainty as to whether she was acting right or wrong, for she had a conscience [sic] and wanted to be right. All these things told on a sensitive nature.” 20 To that Todd Compton added: “So died one of the least documented of Joseph [Smith]’s certain wives, suffering from a deep sorrow of unknown cause, nameless doubts, and ethical uncertainties. Despite her obscurity, Maria, as the named female party in the adultery case levelled against Joseph Smith by William Law, played a significant part in the history of Mormonism and its founder.”21 Meanwhile, Sarah Lawrence married Heber C. Kimball, another well-placed churchman, reportedly as his 13th wife.22 But the marriage did not work out and she asked for a divorce, which was granted in June 1851. Two years later, she married Joseph Mount, a divorced man who had made his fortune in the Californian gold fields. In 1854, Sarah and Joseph moved to the northern California – in Napa where Mount owned a farm with large orchards and vineyards, produced wine, and operated a tavern. Both are reported to have abandoned their Mormon faith and practice. Sarah died of uterine cancer in San Francisco on 28 November 1872, at age 46. At least one of the Lawrence sons did well in the west. Henry William Lawrence, Edward and Margaret’s sixth child, was 15 years old when he arrived in Salt Lake City with his mother. He was one of the early merchants of the city doing business under the firm name of Kimball and Lawrence. As an entrepreneur in finance, mining and real estate, he amassed a great fortune. He also served as a Salt Lake City councilman. Gradually Henry came to challenge the LSD Church’s monopoly of the press, commerce, and laws against mining. He helped to break the monopolies and filed numerous mining claims around Utah Territory. These actions led to his excommunication from the LDS Church. He died in 1924 in his ninetieth year.23. Notes: 1. David R. Crockett, “History of the Church in Ontario, Canada,” available on line at www.crockett.clan.org. 2. John Taylor (1808-1887) eventually served as the third president of the LDS Church from 1880 to 1887. The standard biography of Taylor is: B.H Roberts, Life of John Taylor (1892). See now: Samuel W. Taylor, The Last Pioneer: John Taylor, a Mormon Prophet (1999). 3. As quoted in Crockett, p. 7. 4. Parley E. Pratt (1807-1857) was an apostle and early Mormon missionary. The best source for his life is his Autobiography. Available on line at mldb.byu.edu. 5. At the organization of the first quorum of Seventy in 1835, Almon Whiting Babbitt (1813-1856) was ordained a Seventy. He was later the president of the Kirtland Stake of Zion from 1841 to 1843. 6. See below, p.24. 7. The Lawrences lived on Lot 7, Broken Front. Edward Lawrence (1796-c1840) had live in Pickering Township since at least 1818 when he is recorded as serving as a Pathmaster and as purchasing 50 acres of BF Lot 7. He later served again as Pathmaster in 1825 and 1830 – see the Pickering Township Council Minutes. He is listed in George Walton, The City of Toronto and the Home District Commercial Directory and Register (Toronto, 1837) on Lot 7, BF. 8. Sidney Rigdon (1793-1876) was an early convert to the LDS Church. He served as First Counselor to Joseph Smith and was one of his closest friends and advisors. After Smith’s death, however, he was thwarted in an attempted to take over the church’s leadership. He was later excommunicated for the church. 9. As quoted in Todd Compton, In Sacred Loneliness: The Plural Wives of Joseph Smith (Salt Lake City, 1998), p474. 10. In addition to those named above, Lovell also names John Lawrence, Edward’s brother, as one of the earliest area converts. John lived on Con. 7. Lot 19 (Walton, 1873). He was Pathmaster in 1811 and 1815 (Pickering Township Council Minutes). 11. William Wood, Past Years in Pickering (Toronto, 1911), p. 123. Joseph Thorington [Thornton] is listed in Wood,(p. 120 as a founder of the Brougham Christian Church in 1824. He had lived in Pickering since 1807 (Alexander Fraser, Twenty-First Report of the Department of Public Records and Archives of Ontario, 1931, p. 112) In Walton (1837) he is listed on Con 9, Lot 14. In 1817, he leased Crown Reserve lot (Con. 5 Lot 28); standing surety for him was John Major (Pickering Township Papers 656 Reel 394). Thornton does not appear in any Pickering records after 1837. There were Leavens living on Con 2, Lot 13 (Walton, 1837), but there is no record of a John Leavens in any official document. 12. Leo A. Johnson, History of the County of Ontario 1616-1875(Whitby, 1973), p. 167, The McGahans (various spellings) were among the earliest settlers in Whitby Township. See Brian Winter, Chronicles of a County Town: Whitby Past and Present (1999), p. 14; and the Illustrated Historical Atlas of the County of Ontario, Beers, 1877, p. viii. There were Lamoreaux in both Scarborough and Pickering. The Seeleys lived in Pickering. For the Seeleys see the article below, p.28. Pedlar Papers (Oshawa Archive), Frame 197: “In 1842 Joe Smith preached Mormon doctrine in McGrigor’s Grove, just where W.H. Thomas’ residence now is. Lamoreaux , the MacGahans, and the Seeleys went off with the Mormons from here at that time. In 1879 Tho[mas] Conant was in Salt Lake & met one of the young MacGahans, who urged him to go 12 miles south from Salt Lake along the valley to see his folks, who came from Canada, and offered to drive him out there and back again. But Mr. C. declined being afraid of the Mormons, and afraid to leave the protection of the U.S. troops at Camp Douglass at Salt Lake. “See also Thomas Conant, in Upper Canada Sketches (Toronto: William Briggs, 1898,) pp. 97-99. It is not certain who among the McGahan family went west with the Saints. One who did, however, was Asa McGahan (1810-c1857), a son of Whitby pioneers John McGahan and Rachel Smith. About 1826, Asa married Sarah Ann Seelye (1817-1895), daughter of Justus Azel Seelye and Mihitable Bennett. Both Asa and Sarah died in Illinois, however, so they could not have been the McGahans referred to in the Pedlar Papers. They left behind 8 children who probably did move on to Utah, possibly with the Seelye family. 13. The comment was made by Gordon’s granddaughter, Mrs. Christiana Gordon Ross. Johnston cites his source as the “Gordon Papers” at the Archives of Ontario. It took me a long while to track these manuscript down because they are no longer recorded in this fashion. The “Gordon Papers” can now be accessed by using the reference code F775, Box # MU 2143. However, Ross’ notes are not now to be found with the rest of the papers. I have not been able to determine which property Gordon purchase from Lawrence. 14. Richard Abanes, One Nation Under God; A History of the Mormon Church (New York, 2002), p. 101. 15. For much of the later life of the Lawrence family I rely heavily on Compton (1989). See the chapter entitled “Dark Sisters”, pp. 473-485. 16. As quoted in Compton (1998), p. 475. Josiah Butterfield (1795-1871) was president of the first quorum of Seventy in 1837. Margaret and Josiah separated in 1850. Margaret eventually made the trek to Utah with her children (including 2 by Butterfield). Sometime before 1853 she died leaving the care of the younger children to Sarah. 17. William Law (1809-1892) was a Canadian convert to Mormonism through the efforts of John Taylor and Almon Babbitt. 18. As quoted in Compton (1998) p. 476. 19. Taylor would survive and succeeded Brigham Young as the third president of the LDS Church. 20. As quoted in Compton (1998), p. 497. 22. Heber Kimball (1801-1868) was one of the original 12 apostles of the LDS Church. He served many years as First Counselor to Brigham Young. 23. Henry William Lawrence (1835-1924). Information about Henry may be obtained through the University of Utah’s J. Willard Marriott Library – The Henry W. Lawrence Papers MS0309. The Diary of John Lovell The only record of John Lovell’s sojourns in Pickering Township comes from the diary below. His name is not to be found in any official records of the Township – from the Registry Office, township record, censuses, or directories. He would have escaped our notice had not DeLene Holbrook showed me the diary and allowed me to copy it. Lovell’s diary led me in turn to research other Mormon converts from Pickering Township, several of whom are the ancestors of Mrs. Holbrook. I thank Mrs. Holbrook for allowing us to publish the diary in Pathmaster. I John Lovell was born March 6th 1812 in Worrell (Worle) in England. My father was a Blacksmith he moved to Whare (Weare) in the same County in the Year 1814 my Father was a Wesleyan Methodist he use to take me and my Brother George to meeting twice every Sunday. I therefore was brought up in the strictest form of the Sect of the day. When I was Ten or Twelve years Old I was blind in the Summer Seasons for three Years. My Father and Mother use to hold me down on the bed while they poured Drugs into my eyes. This blindness was in consequence of Inflammation. Through my having this blindness my Father thought it no wisdom to make me a Blacksmith so I was to work in the field and attend to his business until I was 19 years old. When my Father requested me to hire out, business being very dull in consequence of the late war with France and my Fathers family becoming numerous. About this time my sister Grace died of Consumption and was buried at Upper Whare Church of England. I hired to Joseph Harress in the Parish of Brisom (Briddisham) three miles form Whare. He was a Farmer and Dairyman I receiving 10 pounds that is $50 a year with board and washing. I stoped with him 3 years when he offered to raise my wages of $60 if I would take charge of the plantation and dairy. During the three years I was with Mr Harris I Early Latter-Day Saints in Upper Canada (Plaque erected near Bath,Ontario, by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, in 1997) The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized in 1830 in Fayette , New York. Its unique message was that the original gospel of Jesus Christ had been restored through a modern prophet, Joseph Smith. The Church became know as the Mormon Church because of its belief in the Book of Mormon, a book of scripture which was translated from gold plates by Joseph Smith. The Book of Mormon provided another testimony of Jesus Christ and is used by Church members as a companion to the Bible. The new religion grew rapidly in the northeastern United States, and missionaries soon began teaching in other areas as well. In June 1832 six Latter-day Saint missionaries entered Canada, preaching in Ernestown and Loughbrough Townships. This group of missionaries included Phineas and Joseph Young, Eleazer Miller, Elial Strong, Enos Curtis, and a sixth man whose name is not known. During their six weeks of preaching they converted several families and formed, in Ernestown Township, the first branch of the Church outside the United States. Other Latter-day Saint missionaries followed, and branches of the Church and surrounding areas. The Prophet Joseph Smith, first president of the Church, visited areas in Ontario to preach the gospel in 1822 and visited Canada again in 1837. Another missionary was Brigham Young, brother of Joseph and Phineas, who became the second President of the Church after the death of Joseph Smith. In July 1833 Young led a group of converts from Ernestown and Loughborough Townships to join the Saints in Kirtland, Ohio, headquarters of the Church at the time. He later led the Mormon pioneer exodus to Utah. During the 1830s and 1840s many more missionaries came to Ontario. One who had outstanding success was John E. Page, who preached in various communities along the Rideau Canal and converted over 600 people between 1836 and 1938. Among those who heard Page preach was Ira Nathaniel Hinckley, whose grandson, Gordon B. Hinckley , later became the fifteenth President of the Church. The new faith was embraced by hundreds of Canadian in Lennox and Addington, Frontenac, Leeds and Grenville, and Lanark Counties as well as in the Toronto and Brantford areas. Many of these early converts left Canada to join the main body of the Church in the United States, but in the twentieth century, strong permanent congregations become established here. court Anne Parsons unknown to the Harris Family. I returned home to my Father and rented land and prepared for housekeeping I hired 2 acres of land. I put half in with Potatoes the other half into (unreadable) but owing to the dry Season they did not come. The Potatoes were very small I had to pay $37.50 for the Rent per Year for the 2 acres. I worked with my Father all the spare time I had. So my Father paid the rent of the land in Blacksmithing I next rented 6 acres of my Grandfather there were 4 acres in Orchard and 2 for wheat and Potaotes with house and outbuildings. I was to have all the fruit for my use and the grass in the orchard for $40 or eight pounds a year. I rented this in view of housekeeping this land was at Bristom (Biddisham)2 miles from Whare. I intended to be married in February Map of part of Somerset, England 1835 seeing the poverty and distress among the working classes I spoke upon the wesame to my Father and concluded to go to a new country before I got married having two Uncles in Canada I concluded to go to Canada. So as soon as I concluded to go. I went to see Ann Parsons and told her of my resolution she wishes me to be married and stop one Year in England but I would not consent I reasoned with her and told her the little money we had would go so that we then could not go if we wished. She then consented to be married at the set time and for us to go to Canada. In February Ann Came to my Fathers house and on the 15th of February 1835 we were married at the Church of England at Britsom Somersetshire. We went to Bladon (Bleadon) and spent a few weeks with Ann’s Mothers Family. We also visited Bristol. My Father gave Ann Some cooking utensils. On our return home we prepared for our journey to Canada. We went to Bridgewater fifteen miles from Whare and took our passage on board a lumber Ship. Captain Samson I paid 1 pound advance. We sailed on the 25th March 1835. Previous to sailing Father hired a cart I went with it to Comich (Combwich) with my baggage. My Father and Mother and Ann came to Comich by the Coach on Sunday. Father returned the same night Mother staid till the Ship sailed. My Father before he returned put $40 in gold into Ann’s hand, he counseled me on my arrival in Canada to join some Church no difference what Church it was. He believing they were all the same. That is he believed a man or woman could be saved by any of them. We spent the afternoon at a hotel in Cormich (Combwich) enjoying ourselves with the good things of life. We then took an affectionate farewell of each other. Father with tears requested me write and he would do the same often. We sailed as I said before on Monday morning the 25th of March 1835. The Ship was beating about all day and we had to return back into the mouth of the river and anchor. Next morning we weighed anchor and sailed having a fair wind. I got sea sick about 9 P.M. The sailors call on one to look at the last lighthouse on the English coast but I was too sick to go on deck. I recovered in 2 or 3 days and my health after was good all the way. My wife was sick and the Captain said if she lived to get to the St. Lawrence she would then recover but he was afraid we would have to throw her overboard. We saw at distance with the glass a ship disabled through a storm we had not storm when on the banks of Newfoundland there was a calm. The sailors went a fishing and caught 5 or 6 codfish. The wind arose and continued favorable untill we arrived at Quebec On May the 6th 1935. I saw precipice which General Wolfe took the English up on the taking of Quebec. When we first saw Quebec it had the appearance of a Lake. The Houses and Church roof’s were covered with Tin the sun shone upon them which gave them that appearance. We landed in the afternoon and the ship Carpenter being acquainted with the City went with me and my wife to show us the City and also the Garrison from this place we could look down on Quebec and see for miles around Steples Towers and Shipping we returned to the Ship in the evening next day the same man went to the English Church with us. I saw there the Governor of Quebec come into the Church. He wore a three cornered hat and rich apparel The galleries were for the Soldiers. We visited the Catholic church. I there saw every person that went in put their finger into the bason that attached to the wall and cross their foreheads. I went to look at the bason there was nothing in it. My attention was by 20 men dressed in white with staves in their hands and candles on the top walking and paying homage. After leaving this Church and passing through the streets we heard music and dancing in the housed. We returned to the Ship in the evening. Next morning I went into a Wine Merchants Store he was an Englishman he gave me some good council which put me in mind of my Father. By this time the ship was unloaded of the brick which it brought over for a Gentleman. Next morning the Ship was towed by a Steamer to Montreal. The Captain till this time was always very kind he used to send from his Table something nice for my wife. He gave me good counsel when we left the Ship. I then hired a passage to Port Hope we went aboard d Durham boat. I engaged one end and before I got back with my luggage two Irish Families took possession of it and swore that I should not have it. I then went to the man I engaged of and he came and ordered them out. They then left and got drunk and said they would take revenge upon some person meaning me I suppose. I arrainged my boxes and my bed and went o bed after which they began to fight my wife was scared I told her it might be some trap so I would not interfere. The men of the boat came told them if they would not be quiet they would put them in the water they then were quiet. This boat was towed by Horses we were sometimes on canals lakes and Rivers. In steamboats and canal boats going us the long Sew. The tow rope was cut twice. The Third time we went over cutting the rope to save the Horses was the only danger I saw since leaving England. We arrived at Port Hope June 30th 1835. I took my luggage out of the boat put it in a Store house on the warf I took lodging at a Hotel I got up early and started for my Uncles 7 mile got there and took breakfast mu Uncle was glad to see me but did not believe I had a wife. Some portion of my Uncles Family was Sick. My Uncle took his team to fetch my wife and luggage from the Hotel and returned the same evening. While I was absent going to my Uncles home. My Wife got up as usual and took a walk in the Streets to see the City when a man kept askin her questions wishing her to take a walk with him outside the City which she refused after a good deal of trouble she got rid of him. We stoped at Uncle Jesse William about a week first up. William Hayes arrived at my Uncles while we were their he invited me to return to my Uncle James Salters me and my wife and James Salter started on foot 40 miles to my Uncle Salters. It took us two days. Uncle and Aunt received us with kindness we felt like being at home. Uncle Salter was a Methodist Preacher. I hired Richard Moon for twelve dollars to go and fetch my luggage. Uncles Family was all well and doing well, I had about $20 when I arrived at Uncle Salters. The expense of travel from Cormish England to this place was 16 pounds or $80. I got to my journey end July 15 1835. I hired for two months to Thomas Pasto for $12 per month in cash.2 My work was clearing land rolling logs burning logs and preparing land for Wheat. I followed the counsel of my Father by joining the Methodist Church They had me six months on trial. I never was received as a lawful candidate the reason was this. I asked my Uncle questions and other Ministers about the doctrine taught by the Apostles and they never satisfied me with their answers. My Wife stoped with my Uncle while I was working for Mr. Pasto. After my two Months was up Mr. Eanon Missionary preacher from England to the township of Pickrum (Pickering) told me Mr. [Edward] Lawrence of Pickrum [Broken Front, Lot 7] wanted to hire an Old countryman as Plowghman and recommended to go up to see him. 3 He recommended as a steady man so I went up and hired with him for $160 a year he was to put up a house close by his Home to board me I stayed there three week then returned to my Uncles. I returned back to work. I returned back again to my Wife 22nd November 1935 I found my wife in Labor. She had a son whom named after his Uncle George my wifes brother George Parsons. I stayed home a week or two my wife done well. I returned to work again and sometime in December I fetched my wife and son to Pickerum. Mr. Lawrence put us in a large log cabin about a mile from his house it was very cold. My wife took cold and had bad health for serveal weeks. I had to go for a phiscian ten miles. He came and told me that it would lead to consumption if not stopt. The next morning I went to Wilby (Whitby) to Thomas Pasco to receive some mony owing me for my labor, I wanted to get some things for my wife, I received $4.95 cents out of the $24 due me. I owed Uncle Salter $4 I asked him if he would have the kindness to wait till I gor some more pay for Pasco as I wanted the $4.95 to get some thins for my wife. He said he wanted the mony so I paid him and had to return home without anything. Next morning I went to McDonalds Store I told him I had been to Whitbey to get some pay but I could not get any to bring home, I told him that my wife was very sick and I wanted to get some things for her.4 He asked who I worked for I told him He then asked wheir I lived. I told him it was at Pickrum. He than said Mr. Lovell you can have any thing you want, so I got about $10.00 of goods. I never saw Mr. McDonald before this so I found this Stranger better to me than my Uncle. On my return I found my Wife still very sick. In about 3 or 4 weeks my wife recovered. As I could not work steady while my wife was sick Mr. Lawrence and myself agreed that the remainder of the year I should work by the job which did till the spring of 1836. I then rented a farm of Widow McCasting [McCausland, BF, Lot 7] of 40 acres half grass the other half to crop she found team and half of the seed and I found the other half seed. I was to have half of what I made. I then moved on the farm and Mrs McCasting rented me one cow and some Sheep. The cow to be doubled in three years, I put in 8 acres of Wheat but the fly or weavle got into it and destroyed most of it. my Potaotes were good. The rest of the land I summer fallowed. Mr John Eanon preacher at Pickring I attended his meetings also the orthodox meetings. About this time John Excein visited Pickring of the same Church. John Excein stopt at my house to inform me that the Bible Society of London had sent over a quantity of Bibles for the poor of Canada he asked me if I had one I told him I had none. He than promised that he would give me one. I went about this time to see Edward Lawrence his brother John was there and told us a new sect had come into his place and he had received the truth. His Brother Edward said he would like to hear them preach and would give his house to preach in. he was one of the School trustees and said they should have the School house to preach in. About two weeks after John Taylor came and preached myself and Wife went to hear him preach. He preached upon the firs principles of the Gospel. My wife believed the same. I like the doctrine better than the Methodist. The next evening I met Mr. Taylor at Mr. Lawrence’s. Mr. Taylor had a lot of Blank butter prints which he used to cut with small knives on evenings which took my attention. I thought it strange for a servant of God to have to do the like for a living. He told me as when he had cut a lot he would sell them to the Stores for clothing. He told us of Joseph Smith also about the Priesthood, the Plates, persecution of the Saints. This was a new doctrine to us. In the fall I cut my hay and got 15 tons, I payed 15 tons to a man to help me Mrs. McCsting had 30 tons. My Uncle Jess Williams hearing I had plenty of feed brought me a Yoke of cattle to winter and moved to Whitby and entered Land. About this time his wife died and left 6 or 7 children. The Spring after he came for the Oxen and told me he could not pay me I let him take them. The amount was $8.00 for wintering them. About this time I took a job to clear land for Mrs Casting at $11.50 cents per acre with a good fence ready for Wheat after the job was done it was to be inspected by two or three of the neighbors. John Taylor and Almon Babbit moved their families to Pickering in the fall of 1836. 6 I cleared 10 acres fenced it and put it in Wheat in this year of 1836. Mrs Casting paid me for clearing the land as follows the cow I rented for $25 a three year old heifer $14 one yoke of 3 year old Steers $50 the rest in sundries. In the winter of 1836 18 or 20 joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. me and my Wife was of the number. Edward Lawrence and Family. Mrs McCasting and Family B Hart and Family. 7 we had a deal of opposition from the Christians. About two weeks after I was in the Church I prayed much for the gift of tongues. Two weeks after John Lawrence came and preached to us he knowing I had the gift of Tongues asked me if I would like to speak in Meeting if he would give me the privilege. I told him I would. He wanted me to speak for the strengthening of the Brethren. I arose and bore my testimony to the truth of the work and spoke in tongues gave the interpretation. Spoke in tongues again and took my seat. I was filled with the Spirit I arose again and gave the interpretation and then took my seat again. This caused excitement in the congregation. The President bore testimony that the Tongues was the gifts of the Spirit and then dismisses the meeting. Those who were apposed to the truth when they went out formed two lines from the door about two rods long cursing me. I expected at every step to be knocked down. On Monday I went to Mr. Wise to thrash there was a man thee also who came to help thrash named Logan he was a Scothcman.8 while the men was fixing the horses. He abuse me about my Religion he was at the meeting on Sunday he came to me and told me he could talk in Tongues as well as I could. I told him if he could talk in tongues to speak in Tongues to the Gentlemen present. He than gibberaged to them. I told the Gentlemen that it was no tongue at all for any of them could say the same without the Spirit of God. His reply to this was I was a damn’d deceiver and a liar and abused me he came up to me clenching his fists. Mr Wise came up and said Mr. Logan if you cannot left Mr Lovell alone and enjoy his privileges to go home. Mr Lovell is a honest man he believes this is a free country and has the right to believe what he pleases. Mr. Logan cooled down and went to work. About this time Almon Babbits child died. I went about two miles and dug a grave. I returned home me and one of the brethren took a pole and carried the child to the grave Almon Babbit went with us. About 3 weeks after Joseph McCasting had the gift of tongues spoke at a meeting bore testimony that he received the gift from the Lord. Joseph Smith the Prophet, Sidney Rigdon, John Taylor and Almon Babbit came in a carriage from Toronto on Saturday evening. They stopt at Edward Lawrences. I went on Sunday to see Joseph Smith the Propher this was previous to my Baptism. When I first saw Joseph Smith he was talking with Mr. Lawrence about how he Joseph had obtained his horses at Kirtland Ohio. The others were washing and blacking Boots I had been brought up so strict to the religion of the day that I thought it impossible for a prophet to talk about horse trades on Sundays. Joseph Smith and company went to the township of Whitby on the base line. Sidney Rigdon preached a splended Sermon. Joseph Smith arose and said he has seen in a Newspaper the day before that old Joe Smith was dead. He said he was the same Joseph Smith he spoke a short time. They than returned to Edward Lawrence and preached in the barn a 4 Oclock. John Taylor and Almon Babitt preached. Joseph Smith spoke again a short time. They than returned left for Toronto.9 Previous to my baptism Almon Babitt told me that all those who were honest had the privilege of knowing by testimony of the truth of the work. So I prayed to the Lord to give me a testimony, when I was in a deep sleep I heard a voice say see this. I than saw a light in the Northwest corner of the room I passed to the opposite corner and passed out. I was then satisfied and went and got baptized. About February 1837. Sister McCasting related the following dream to me. She dreamed she saw a swarm of Bees fly over some lighted she partook of their honey they all passed of to the West. She told me that she was so old that she could not gather with the Church and would have to lay her body down there which came to pass a few months after she went the wasy of all the earth. Almon Babbit gave out there would be a conference held a Scarborough some 16 miles. never having been at a conference four of us went in a one horse wagon. We arrived at Brother Homes (or Hornes) next morning in driving from Joseph Homes house I drove the wagon against the root of a tree and smashed one wheel. I took the Horse to Br Homes and we walked to the meeting. The Conference. The Conference met at 10 O clock after singing and prayers, Almon Babbit arose and spoke upon the Business of the Conference, he said he knew nothing to hinder us from having a Penticostic feast with the outpourings of the Spirit of the Lord. Brother John Taylor arose and made a few remarks and dismissed the conference. We then returned home. I paid Mr McDonald 150 Bushels of Ashes I got in clearing the Land of Mrs McCasting I got 28 cents per Bushel I went to Pasto to get the remainder of the money, he paid me. I went to my Uncle Salters the same evening bore my testimony to my Uncle of the work of God. While I was bearing my testimony my Aunt shed tears. My Uncle thought it beneath his dignity to hold controversy with me. While I was bearing my testimony I told them I could not be deceived for I have the gift of Tongues. I spoke a few words in Tongues. My Uncle said there was no need of the gifts of the Spirit. I wanted to show by Paul’s testimony in the 14 chapter of 1st Corinthiams, but he would not he was a Methodist Preacher. He sent his boy unbeknown to me to fetch Mr. D Clark to attact me on the Book of Mormon. Mr. Clark arrived with the book of Mormon, this was the first time I saw the book of Mormon. He tried to show the absurdity of the book but it made no impression on me. He continued all the evening but accomplished nothing. The next morning my Uncle said to me Mr. John Clark got the upper hand of you. I said no Uncle Salter he proved nothing, its true he said that tongues and prophecies should cease, but that was not until perfection should come. I then asked my Uncle if he had forgot to make a pair of shoes, if not knowledge had not ceased so I wished them good morning and returned home. About this time John Excean came and preached in the School House he brought the bible for me I was at the meeting. He saw me and asked me if I wanted the Bible. I said yes sir. He said I thought you did not need a Bible. I said Sir I believe more in the bible than I ever did before. Then he gave it to me. The next Sunday John Eanon and wife came to my house. They being two preachers of the Gospel to bring me back to the Methodist Church. John felt very sorry for me he sat with his hands to his face and groan’d continually. inwardly and outwardly but brought nothing forth. John told me that my Uncle Salter was writing a letter to my Father in England. He said it was a blessed letter for it contained all the lying reports of the Newspapers about Joseph Smiths walking on the water and the default of the Kirtland Bank. When my Father received said Letter he wrote to me and told me not to write any letters with anything about Religion in them. I did not receive any letters from my Father until the Saints left Winter Quarters for the Vallies then my Father told me to direct my Letters to my Brothers. Mrs Eanon asked me how it was I could not believe in the sayings of the blessed good man David. I told her I did as far as I knew how I said that David had not ascended into the heavens in Peters day and I did not believe he had yet she jumpt up clasping and wringing her hands crying that blessed man David walking the floor, and saying what will my Father and my Uncles say. Me bringng disgrace upon my Family, all this time John had his face in his hands like a possum but he groaned, they arose and left me to my fate. When my wife was sick with Sylvia I hired Betsy Combs to wait on her she was with us about four weeks I paid her the household furniture, me and my wife went to her wedding at Anos McCastings her Brotherinlaws we enjoyed ourselves the evening jumping over candlesticks and seeing them safe to bed, so we returned home highly gratified. About this time there was a Rebellion in Canada the cause of the Rebellion was the government of England wanted to extend the established church to the Colonies and thus bring more taxes upon the people. The Rebellion was most in Lower Canada. Thus Martial law was proclaimed, with a view of stoping Americans from taking part with the Rebels, which stoped immigration from Canada to the States. The people was in great excitement throughout the Country. McKensey was the head of the rebels in upper Canada. The rebels gathered their forces on an Island on the North side of Lake Erie. McKensey appointed Officers of the Rebel-army to go through the Colony to gather forces promising those who fought valiantly that they should have a portion of the Government property and land. They made stump speeches and set a time to meet, one portion of the Rebel army went into Toronto by Young Street. The other portion was led by Peter Marshas [Matthews] Brother in law to Edward Lawrence they passed by the draw bridge after crossing they set it on fire. When the Rebels arrived in the City the Governor called out the Military who fired blank cartridge over them or over the rebels heads. The Rebels than broke and ran, every man to his home, some fell and broke their noses other lost their guns. A negro killed two or three men, that was all the blood that was shed. The Government took all the principal men of the Rebels and put them in prison, the prision was fill they had not room to lay down, Peter Mathas and Bronks [Samuel Lount] were taken and shortly hung This Rebellion caused great distress men were obliged to lie out for fear of being taken their families suffering at home. The Officers from Toronto and destroyed Brother Seeley’s Schooner for taking some Rebels to the States.11 I received two letters from my Father. I sold my portion of fall wheat for $50.00 sold 1 yoke of oxen and 1 cow for $60.00. I sold my sheep 9 head at $2.50 each. About the last of June 1838 the Martial law was abolished. About the first of July Br Lawrence In the winter of 1836 18 or 20 joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Put ½ dollar into my wifes hand and said buy some tea with that and then went away. I hired a wagon and went to the fall of Niagara which was 6 miles from Weston. Tool passage by the Railroad to Buffalow, then took passage on board a Steamboat for the City Erie. I arrived here in two days from Pickrum Canada. Stopt at Erie until the latter part of September I dug and hauled with an ox cart clay for Seven hundred Thousand Bricks, While diging about 12 Load of clay fell and knocked me down and partly buried me and tore my pantaloons. I was obliged to go home. The landlord asked me to loan him $5.00 which I did he din not pay me the mony but gave me a pair of dead mans pantaloons. About the latter part of September the Bilious fever broke out in the house and one woman died. My wife had an attact of said faver she was under the doctor for several days. I took the fever a few days after and was very sick About 3 days after I was taken sick I got two sticks and walked about 20 rods and hired a passage for my family to Cleveland. I returned home and went to bed. Sent for a dray to take my Luggage to the boat the same evening. The boat started about 8 P.M. for Cleveland and me and my wife were more dead than alive. We made our bed on the boat, and went to bed, we were 2 nights and one day going to Cleveland, during the passage my wife got quite well again. I began to get well as soon as the boat started. On my arrival at Cleveland I hired passage to Portsmouth (Ohio) distance 309 miles at 1 ½ cents per lb for my luggage on a canal boat the Grandville when we got half way the Captain put us ashore and took the boat up a branch of the canal he was gone a day and a half on his return the rest of the passengers of the boat tackled the Captain and Crew and abused me because I would not help them We camped out this night. I hired some brad mad. The woman made it out of corn meal. This was the first dogger I ever tasted. The next evening the boat came up and I hired again to Portsmouth at 2 ½ cents per mile for 100lbs of luggage when the boat arrived at the Ohio at 8 O clock P.M. it rained very fast. The captain ordered us ashore and said not a dam’d soul should stop aboard that night. The Captain wanted the boat night for his accommodation with a Lady. After I had seen my luggage safe me and my wife and children crossed the stote river on a day we walked about an hour and a half in the rain before we could obtain lodgings. We got a bed at a Hotel the next morning I found there were eight beds in the room and all sorts of folks this was on the 12th of October 1838. I fetched my luggage over the same day a boat was passing I hailed it it came in I put my things aboard and hired my passage to Cincinnata we arrived at our destination in three days the 15th of October 1838. I put up at a Hotel in water Street. I got up next morning before day left my Family in bed and went five miles seeking work. I was told by a man to go the Mark Landon. I went and saw him. He told me he would give me work if I went to Shapsburgh to a family residing in his house the man I was to go to was Mr. Corns to see if Mr. Corns was willing for me and my family to live in the same house. When I arrived at Mr. Corns they were all out. I saw through the window the Supper things were on the table. I thought they must not be far off so I waited for them. After a while they came with much coolness they invited me into the house. I told them I has see Mr Landon and my business and told them if they would give me part of the house Mr Landon would give me work. They would not give consent I stopt and pleaded with them. I kept them from supper for about ¾ of an hour. I then asked them if I could stop with them that night as I was a stranger and had left my family in Cincinnata that morning. They then invited me to take supper with them. While at supper I thought they were religious so I asked if thee were any Baptist church in the settlement the Old Lady told me there was. We than talked about religion. They told me I might stop the night and also I might have the upper room. They the apologized to me for their coolness and told me there was so many thieves and bad men about, so that I might have been one of the. So religion got me the room I wanted. Next morning I went to Mr. London and told him Mr. Corns had given consent for me to have the room. He told me to hurry to Cincinnata to 4th Street Market and enquire for Joseph Landon his son and to tell his son to take my family and when passing his Uncles to get 86 lbs of Flour for me. I went and found his son and he fetched us to Mr. Corns. The same evening when I got to Mr. Corns I had $1.50 left this was in the fall 1838 the winter was very wet. I worked some in the winter enough to live on. 1838 12 Sylvia took cold on the boat going to Cincinnata and was sick all the winter. I bough some furniture and when I brought it home in the house and stood the bedstead against the wall little Sylvia went to it and pulled it over it fell across on her and broke a rib bone which caused her death. She died March 21st 1838.12 John Lovell’s diary ends at this point and we have to turn to other sources to continue the story. 13. Because Lovell was forced to work his way west, they did not reach Nauvoo, Illinois, where the Church was then centred, until 1843. A year later, when Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were murdered in the Carthage jail, the Lovell’s named their new-born son (the first male child born after the “martyrdom “), Joseph Hyrum. In spring of 1845, the Lovell’s left Nauvoo in the general exodus fo the church. Thy spent six years in Winter Quarters (Nebraska). Ann died there in December 1851. John married again in 1852 to Elizabeth Smith. The couple, with John’s children travelled to Salt Lake Valley, in what would later be the Territory of Utah and eventually the State of Utah, settling in Fillmore. In Fillmore, they met a Danish couple by the name of Anderson. When the husband, Jens Anderson, died a year later he left a widow who could not speak English and 3 small boys. John married the widow in 1857 – with the consent of Elizabeth. Before they were sealed, Ane Anderson stood proxy for Anne Parsons to be sealed to John. Moving to Deseret, John and his sons helped build the fort and dam the Aevier River. John was named a High Priest and First counselor to President Jacob Croft. When the dam broke they were forced to move once again – this time, to Oak City, where they were among the earliest of the settlers. John built two homes, one for each wife. Lovell was appointed the first Presiding Elder of the ward and was later chosen First Counselor to Bishop Platte D. Lyman in Oak City. He was well known for the gift of haling. John Lovell died on dropsy (edema), 13 January, 1881, and was buried in Oak City Cemetery. Notes: 1. The diary is contained within “Visions from Time: The Life History of John Lovell and his wives Ann Parsons, Elizabeth Smith and Ane Anderson,” compiled by Rebecca Freeman, who added explanatory notes and documentation. 2. Thomas Pascoe lived on Lot 20, Con 5, in the area to the southeast of Columbus, which in the 1830s was known as “English Corners”. See Pedlar Papers (Oshawa Archives), Frame 247. Pascoe’s wife died 9 August 1859 at age 61 years and was buried in the St Paul’s Columbus Anglican Cemetery at the corner of Thornton and Columbus Roads (Ontario Genealogical Society records). In the Whitby Archives is a letter written by Thomas Pascoe to his father and sister back in England on 18 January 1836 (printed in the Canadian Statesman (Bowmanville), 8 & 22 February 1888). While he does not mention John Lovell, he does tell them what his success was in the previous year raising crops and livestock. See “Thomas Pascoe Correspondence” in The Whitby Book of Letters 1830-1870. 3. In the letters referred to above, Pascoe makes mention of John Eynon, a preacher of missionary of the Bible Christian Church or “Bryanites”. 4. It is not certain whether MacDonald’s store was in Pickering or Whitby. Pascoe (see letters referred to above) says that there was in Whitby in his day a “very extensive” store. Among the “extensive general stores…carried on in the early days of Whitby’s history”, as listed by J.E. Farewell, County of Ontario (1907), p. 63, is one run by Greene McDonald, Another possibility is the business conducted by Andrew Skeane MacDonald in Whitby in the 1830s (he died in 1836) – see the file in Whitby Archives. 5. William McCausland purchased 72 acres of Broken Front, Lot 7 in 1815 from Anthony Rummerfield (Registry Office, Abstract Index). He served as Pathmaster in 1815, 1820, and 1827 (Pickering Township Council Minutes). It is not clear if any of the McCausland family followed the Mormons Saints westward, as the family still occupied the land in 1877 (Beers Atlas, and Wood (1911), p. 266, says William’s grandson was still living on the farm. 6. George Walton, the city of Toronto and the Home District Commercial Directory and Register (Toronto, 1837), lists a John Taylor of Toronto. William Wood, Past years in Pickering (Toronto, 1911), p. 298 refers to a John Taylor who came from Norfolk, England in 1836, and settled on Con 2, Lot 23. 7. I have not been able to identify the B. Hart family. 8. Walton (1837) places Robert Wise on BF, Lot 5. Later, however, he patented part of Lot 8, BF in 1866 (Abstract Indices, Registry Office). James Logan was on FB, Lot 9 (Walton, 1837). 9. For another first-hand account of the visit of Joseph Smith to this area see the accompanying article: “Mormons Visit Oshawa 1838 or 1839.” 10. It would appear that Edward Lawrence and Peter Matthews were married to sisters – Margaret and Hannah Major – daughters of John Major and Sarah Reynolds. The evidence as we now have it, however, is not conclusive. Adele Robinson, a Major descendant, is compiling a genealogical history of the Major family. 11. This could be a reference to another Mormon convert, Justus A Seelye. According to the Seeley Genealogical Society, Justus had been a sailor at one time in his life. See www.seeley-society.net/biojustussazelseeley.html. See below, p. 28. 12. The date should read 1839, not 1838. 13. There are several histories of John Lovell available on lime that all contain pretty much the same information. Mormons Visit Oshawa 1838 or 1839 1 Pedlar Papers (Oshawa Archives), Frames 292-294 In the year 1838 of 1839 Joseph Smith the Mormon leader, also his associates, Babbit, Taylor, Rigden, Oliver, Cowdrey visited Oshawa. 2 Joseph Smith, Babbit, Taylor & Ridgen came from Niagara Falls in a beautiful carriage drawn by a fine team of bay houses, driven by a colored man. They drove to the McGregor wood near the Union School house south of the village, on Sunday and placed their carriage in the centre of the campground used by the Methodists every year. Rigden who was the chief orator of the Mormons held forth before a vast concourse of people of all denominations. At the close of Rigden’s speeches he gave liberty to Clergymen present to ask questions but as none of them did son George Munro, an Oshawa innkeeper raised his hand and said, “If there are no Clergymen here who wish to ask a question, I desire to do.” Ridgen the Mormon speaker rising in the carriage said, “All right, sir.” Munro the innkeeper then said, “Is Joe Smith here?” A tall handsome man in the carriage rose and replied, “My name is Joe Smith, Sir.” Munro then asked, “Are you the Joe Smith that God appeared to and ordered you to dig up certain plates and translate and publish them to the World?” Joe Smith replied, “I am that Joe Smith, Sir.” Munro then asked, “Will you please tell me how God appeared to you?” To which Smith said, “God appeared to me by night and told me to go to a certain place, a sand bank, and dig for these plates. I did so, and found them.” Smith holding the Mormon Bible in his uplifted hand said. “This Bible is the translation from these plates.” Munro asked. “So you pretend to perform miracles, Sir?” Smith replied, “I do, Sir.” At that moment a man named Calkins who was much deformed through rheumatism appeared to be very much agitated over Smith’s statement about performing miracles, and forcing his way through those standing close to the Mormon carriage he demanded to be healed. Smith asked him, “Do you believe I can heal you, Sir?” Calkins replied, “Yes, Sir. Or I would not be here.” Smith then said. “I can’t heal you here sir, but will appoint a place where I can meet you and will heal you.” Calkins replied, “I want to be healed now, sir. They used to heal the people before the multitude,” This answer did not satisfy the crown and while they kept good order up to this stage of the proceedings, they shouted and jeered the occupants of the carriage, going so far as to threaten their persons. The Mormons through the kind assistance of the morea orderly made a hasty retreat. Joe Smiths’s apostles, or Preachers, had been preaching in various places in the vicinity previous to this visit of himself. He was induced to come thinking it would result in a large ingathering of converts, but this expectation was far from being realized. The visit did more harm that good. Had the preachers contrived to proceed separately and quietly they would have succeeded better. While some converts may have been won over to “Mormonism” from East Whitby, this well conceived but bungled conspiracy against the religious conscience of the people was never repeated. 3 Notes: 1. The actual date of Joseph Smith’s visit was August 1837. 2. Almon Babbit, John Taylor, Sidney Rigdon, Oliver Cowdery. 3. Thomas Conant, in Upper Canada Sketches (Toronto: William Briggs, 1898), pp. 97-99, tells a similar story, probably based on the account in the Pedlar Papers. He also has a picture painted by E. S. Shrapnel, “Mormon attempt to raise the dead.” p. 228. Justus Azel Seeley: Another Mormon Convert from Pickering Township By John Sabean Justus Azel Seelye (1779-1859) was the son of United Empire Loyalist Justus William Seelye (1745-1812). As a Loyalist, the elder Seelye had had his Connecticut property confiscated during the American Revolutionary War and moved his family to Saint John, New Brunswick. About 1790, the Seelyes returned to the United States, settling in the Susquehanna River valley in Pennsylvania. Sometime prior to 1810, the family moved to Upper Canada. Justus Seelye, Sr., died in York in 1812. 1 In June 1819, Justus Azel Seelye, who had been born in Litchfield, Connecticut, and followed his father first to New Brunswick, then to Pennsylvania, purchased the north half of Lot 23, Concession 6, Pickering Township. 2 We do not have enough information to follow his moves precisely, but we know his first six children were borne in Lucerne. Pennsylvania. The seventh, William Stewart Seelye, was born in Whitby in 1812. Justus Wellington Seelye and Sarah Ann Seelye were both born in Pickering Township, in 1815 and 1817 respectively. The tenth and last child was born in Port Whitby, although the Seelye home was still in Pickering. Very little is known about the Seeley family’s residence in Pickering. In July 1811, Seelye served on a Grand Jury along with a number of prominent Pickering (and Whitby) residents including Thomas Hubbard, John Major, Thomas E. Matthews, Joshua Wixon, Hawkings Woodruff and Jabez Lynde. 3 In 1824 Seekye’s name appeared as one of the founding fathers of the Brougham Christian Church. 4 In August of the following year, Seelye sold the north half Lot 23, Concession 6 6o Cornelius Churchill. However, he still seemed to be living in Pickering Township in 1828, as he and his some William are recorded on the Militia list of that year – in the 5th Company of the 2nd Regiment East York. A5 From Leo Johnson’s History of the County of Ontario (1973), and from the website of Justus Axel Seelye Family Organization we learn of Seelye’s conversion to the Mormon Church in the 1830’s. In 1838, the Seelye family followed Joseph Smith to Nauvoo, Illinois, and later joined the Mormon trek to Salt Lake City, Utah.6 Notes: 1. Justus Azel Seelye Family Organization (JASFO) website. 2. Abstract Index to Pickering Deeds. See Township Papers 658 Reel 394, #s 1244- 1245, re Con 6, Lot 20. 3. Alexander Fraser. Twenty –First Report of the Department of Public Records and Archives of Ontario, 1932, p. 188. 4. William Wood, Past Years in Pickering (Toronto, 1911) p. 121, where his name is given as Jestua Seeley. 5. Men of Upper Canada: Militia Nominal Rolls, 1828 – 1829 (Toronto: Ontario Genealogical Society, 1995) p. 206, Justus was 49 years old; William was 16. 6. Leo A. Johnson, History to the County of Ontario 1615 – 1875 (Whitby 1973). P. 168; JASFO Memorial stone of Justus Axel Seelye in Pleasant Grove Cemetery, Pleasant Grove, Utah Portrait of Justus Azel Seelye Portrait of Mehitable Bennett Seelye Memorial stone of Mehitable Bennett Seelye in Pleasant Grove Cemetery, Pleasant Grove, Utah Traveller Comes to South Pickering In 1883 In our continuing saga, out intrepid “Traveller.” Ross Johnston, a salesman for the Whitby Chronicle makes his way along the Broken Front Concession in south Pickering in 1883. Traveller, “Our County,” Whitby Chronicle 25 (Friday, 9 November 1883) South Pickering; Frenchman’s Bay A sacred Sabbath – On the road again – Dogs and kindness, a word to the boys – Pickering cheese factory – A modern Jordan – Frenchman’s Bay, its harbour , elevator and young sea serpent – Another happily written letter. Pickering, Nov. 3 – The longer I live the more I am convinced that the men who would rob us or our Sabbath are not benefactors of their race. The Divine plan is doubtless the best, and proves its divinity by its adaptation to human want. Refreshed in mind and body by its sacred rest I commenced another week of toil; buckled on my wargear, slung quiver and arrows over my shoulder, and bow in hand went forth to conquer. Nay! This is all out of character, I am a man of peace, I simply took my pilgrim’s staff in hand (consisting of an old umbrella) and with portfolio under my arm went forth on my peaceful mission among peaceful people. Made numerous business calls along the outer circles of Pickering Post Office, and met with uniform good treatment from man and dog. By the way, let me tell you here that the dogs and I are on the most friendly footing wherever I go. We seem to understand one another. I have a great respect for the canine race, and for the animal races generally, and think with H.W. Beecher, that a good horse has a much better chance of getting to heaven than a bad man. 1 Whence arises this instinctive sympathy between man and beast? Is there some underlying Truth in the Buddhist’s idea of the transmigration of soul? Is there kinship between us and the lower animals? In one sense yes. We are all the offspring of the same infinite mind, and the subjects of the same infinite care and goodness. But to come back to dogs for a minute or two. Some People are terribly afraid of dogs, and if his dog-ship comes up with a run and a growl, in accordance with his nature, and in performance of his duty, they at once put themselves in an attitude of self– defence and shake a stick at him. This is the worst thing possible. The dog in such case is sure to go for the man, and is hardly to be blamed. My plan is just to let him come along, greet him with a cheerful countenance and a few kind word, speak to him in a familiar way as if her were an old acquaintance, and go right on. In most cases Doggie, when so treated, will soon become quiet friendly , wag his tail , and end by coming up and rubbing his nose against your hand. The latter set is both a test and a token of friendship. If the hand is jerked away in fear he spots you as unworthy of his confidence, but if you allow him to sniff at your fingers and rub his nose against them without showing signs of being afraid his friendship is as much a settled fact as if you had smoked the peace–pipe with the Red-man. Here and there a dog is treacherous. You may generally tell him by his looks. Keep your eye on him, and if he goes behind you, turn round and look steadily at him, when he will generally sneak off. Some dogs are very amusing, and perform curious antics. As an illustration, on arriving at the residence of our long known and esteemed friend. Stephen K. Brown, I went towards the barnyard in search of him, but was headed off by his dog with much apparent vehemence. 2 Doggie soon succumbed to my usual treatment however, and in a little while approached me with a piece of corn-silk or corn-leaf in his mouth. Being at a loss to know the meaning of this enigma, I enquired of Mr. Brown, who informed me that it was the dog’s usual declaration of friendship. I accepted the tokens of course, and we were at once on the best of terms. Your may think the foregoing is a very doggeral [sic] production. Well, your boy readers will not dislike it on that account, and some of them may learn a useful lesson as to the treatment of dogs. Next day I called at the new cheese factory, just a little east of Pickering village, and took a hasty look through it. The building seems to be well planned and neatly and well constructed. A fair commencement has been made. A few fine looking cheese are on the shelves, and the presses, vats and other apparatus seem in thorough order. The intention is to get everything ready for spring operations. I quenched my thirst at the whey-tank and moved southward, making numerous calls, and was most hospitably entertained for the night at the residence of friend James Richardson, in whose esteemed partner I discovered a former acquaintance, or to speak more correctly she made the discovery first. 3 Started early next morning and had a fine sniff of the lake breeze as I wound my way among the farmsteads along the shore until I drew up suddenly on the premises of Thomas Field, Esq., whose farm, one of the finest to be found in the County, is bounded on the south by the lake and on the west by Duffin’s Creek. 4 How to get across the creek, and thereby save some miles of travel in retracing my steps and going round by the usual road, was a question of no little importance. I propounded the solemn problem to my fiend, Mr. Field, and he solved it right gallantly. “I’ll row you over in my canoe,” says he, and away we went in search of his craft. But on coming to the mouth of the creek, we found to our surprise that the creek, like the Jordan of old, could be crossed on dry land. Owing to the high southerly winds of the previous two or three days, a wide bar of sand and gravel was washed up entirely along the outlet of the creek completely hemming it in, and wide enough for a team to go over without difficulty. Thanking my kind friend, and bidding him good morning, I passed over dry-shod. I found the potato crop a general failure all along my line of travel. Halted and took dinner on kind invitation of Thos. Marquis Esq., whose fine brick residence, standing on a high position near the lake, commands an excellent view of both land and water, and can be seen from a great distance. 5 Went westerly to the termination of the road in that direction, then northerly a short distance, and took a short cut across the fields, and along the edge of the marsh lying to the east of “Frenchman’s Bay.” Saw an immense water snake, the largest I have ever seen.6 Tried to capture him, but he glided from off the old log on which he lay sunning himself, with great agility, and disappeared among the reeds. Finally landed at “Frenchman’s Bay,” and viewed the big elevator now owned by W.D. Mathews & Co., Toronto, and under the careful management of Mr. W.W. Sparks, whom I believe to be a man of thorough honor and integrity. A considerable quantity of grain, mostly barley, is coming in; but I learn far below the usual amount. It is hinted that the scarcity of purchasers here has something to do with this, as well as the scarcity of crops. I found Capt. Jas, Hilts busy at work with his men loading his schooner with stones to be taken to the piers at Toronto. Must close for the present. Good night. Don’t let the snake story disturb your sleep. It was not a Sea-serpent” proper, only some 14th cousin. Sorry I missed him. Traveller. Notes: 1. Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887) was a prominent liberal Congregational clergyman, social reformer, and abolitionist in 19th century America. 2. Brown’s residence was on Con 3, Lot 11. 3. Richardson’s residence was on BF, Lot 10 4. Field’s farm was on BF, Lot 13 5. Thomas Marquis: BF, Ranges 2 & 3, Lot 19 6. Most likely a Northern Water Snake (Nerodia sipedon). These non-poisonous reptiles have long been expatriated from Frenchman’s Bay and , indeed, from the lower Great Lakes – except for a population near Pelee Island in Lake Erie. Hard At It. – The Pickering Cheese Factory has now been running for two or three weeks, and quite a number of excellent cheeses have been made. Look Out Below! – What is the Matter? Our coal shed is going to fall unless we remove the coal and repair it. In order to do this we propose to sell the balance of coal in this shed at $5.80 per ton. What is our loss will be your gain. We extend this offer to our many customers, thanking them for past patronage, and ask for a continuance of the same. Respectfully yours W.W. Spears Agt. for W.D Matthews & Co. Pickering Harbor, Jan. 16, 1894 The Northwest, Capt. James Hilts. Artist unknown Pickering Harbor Notes. Capt. Hilts mad some quick time this week. On Monday morning he loaded his vessel with stone and proceeded to Toronto, unloaded and returned, and again re-loaded and was back in Toronto on Tuesday night. The Ontario Medal for Good Citizenship PTHS president John W. Sabean was honoured to receive the Ontario Medal for Good Citizenship in an awards ceremony at Queen’ Park in Toronto, on January 25, 2007. The presentation was made by the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, James Bartleman, assisted by Minister of Citizenship, Mike Colle. Dr. Sabean, who now gets to add the letters OMC after his name, was nominated for the award by Dr. Brian Osborne, Professor Emeritus of Geography at Queen’s University in Kingston. Thirteen persons were so honoured from this year’s list of about 250 nominees. Nineteenth-Century Date Cipher We recently received this “perpetual” calendar from PTHS member. John Dunbar, a descendant of William Dunbar, the founder of Dunbarton. It was created by William Dunbar, Jr., about 1865. By choosing a year between 1809 and 1945 from side on and applying its corresponding letter to side 2 you can calculate the day of the week for every date in those calendar years. The Ontario Historical Society Honours and Awards Carnochan Award, 2006 PTHS President, John Sabean, is also the 2nd Vice-President of the Ontario Historical Society, and its Honours and Award Chair. As he has in the past two year, Sabean presided over the Awards ceremony at the OHS’s Annual General Meeting in St. Catharine’s in June 2007. One of the more prestigious awards that the PHS gives annally is the Carnochan Award, which this year went to our neighbour to the north, Allan McGillivray, curator of the Uxbridge Historical Centre. It was a fitting tribute to McGillivray who retired in the fall after more than 35 years of promoting Uxbridge’s history. Presentation of the Carnochan Award: Henry D’Angela, Mayor of Thorold; Allan McGillivray; John Sabean Citation: Carnochan Award for 2006 The Ontario Historical Society’s Carnochan Award is intended to honor “an individual who has contributed many years of service to the heritage community.” Allan McGillivray, presently the Curator of the Uxbridge Historical Centre, for over 35 years has been researching , interpreting and communicating the history of Uxbridge Township. He is a founding member of both the Uxbridge-Scott Historical Society and the Uxbridge-Scott Museum. It is largely through his initiative and leadership that the museum has grown from a single building on a small property to the Historical Centre of today with ten building on over ten acres. Uxbridge’s mayor has stated that “without his vision, guidance and historical knowledge this site would not be the success we believe it is.” Mr. McGillivray is the author of several books on the history of Uxbridge Township, including Decades of Harvest: A History of Scott Township 1807-1873, for which he was named Citizen of the Year in Uxbridge in 1986, and Tales from Uxbridge Valley, A Millennium project. In addition, he contributes a biweekly newspaper column “On Heritage Trails” for the Uxbridge Cosmos. On commenter says of McGillivray: “His vast knowledge of, and passion for, the history of Uxbridge and the preservation of its cultural heritage are without equal. His many years of service to the Township are a matter of public knowledge and record.” The Ontario Historical Society is pleased to give the Carnochan Award for 2006 to Allan McGillivray of Uxbridge Township in recognition of his impressive record of service in the compilation, presentation and dissemination of the heritage of his community.