MARCH 1997 NEWSLETTER
This month I received a letter from David W. Smith of Rochester, Indiana. He is a member of the Church who has been helping write a church history of Boone and Clinton Counties during the 1830's and 1840's.
He contacted me some time ago asking for information about Henry Mower Sr. who was one of the first missionaries to bring the gospel into that area. There are now several stakes in that area and the members have wanted a history written about those who first embraced the gospel in Indiana. I sent David what information I had and have since sent him more information.
I received a copy of the history in the mail this month and thought I would share what is in it regarding our common ancestor, Henry Mower Sr. Here is David's letter:
Dear Mr. Mower, Nice hearing from you. Every once in a while a letter comes along with a surprise. Appreciate the copy of the letter (that Henry Mower wrote to Joseph Smith). That letter is referred to in the Church History and in the manuscript history. Enclosed is the publication which resulted from the effort at documenting Church activity.
I think Henry Mower's original letter had a slash or ampersand between Clinton and Boone County, but that it has been deleted ever since. You see, the two names are of two separate counties adjacent to one another. The town of Clinton, Indiana is in another county today, and was then. I have a postal history book, and there was no other town with a similar name.
I suspect Henry Mower baptized the Christian Beard family as Harriet Beards baptism was recorded by her line and was in Feb. 1843 when Henry Mower was in the county.
Brother Dominicus Carter recorded staying in Boone County with an Elisha Cragum (various spellings exist of his last name--- but the name today is Cragun). A brother, Creggum went west and his family is still active in the church.
In the early 1830's there was a John Benson who was baptized in Clinton County and who went west. Circumstantial evidence points to his being the John Benson who had a son named Sidney Rigdon Benson, and who died in Iowa in 1866. The Church has no records on most Indiana events as records were lost or perhaps in their zeal missionaries did not record their ordinances.
The various spellings of his name are mentioned in the Clinton County section of the book enclosed. In the History of the Church, Vol. 6, page 337, he is referred to as Henry Mouer going on his Pennsylvania mission. In Vol 5, page 300, he is E.H. Mower in Clinton County Indiana. (Elder Henry Mower).
Mary Ann Yerigan was probably the daughter of the Yerigan who is in Clinton County in the 1840 US Census. Hope this information is a help to you and your studies. Happy hunting, David W. Smith
Elders Serving Missions in the Indiana Area
1831 Solomon Hancock and Simeon William Carter, organized the Shawnee Prairie Branch. 1831 Hyrum Smith and John Murdock, Cass, Carroll, Tippecanoe, Fountain and Warren Counties. 1832 Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon in Fountain County. 1838 Joseph Rose in Shawnee Prairie 1840 Richard Hewett, same 1840 Luman Andrus Shirtliff, Fountain, Montgomery, Warren and Tippecanoe Counties. 1842-1843 Henry Mower, Clinton County 1842-1843 Alva Lewis Tippetts, Clinton, Carroll, White Counties, organized the Jackson and Rock Creek Branches. 1842-1843 Ezra Strong, Clinton and White Counties (Ezra born 4 Apr 1820, Wales, Erie Co., NY. to Ezra Strong and Olive Lowell) 1842-1843 McGaughey, Rock Creek branch 1842-1843 George Brown, Branch President Rock Creek 1843 Dominicus Carter, Lockport Conference 1843 Wilber J. Earl, Carroll and Clinton Counties 1843 John Gregg, Clinton County 1843 Nathan T. Porter, Clinton County
There were some others listed, but I listed these as they might have been missionary companions to Henry Mower Sr. The history goes on to record conversions in Clinton County:
Christian Beard and family. John Benson and family, who were baptized in 1830 and 1831, the first in the Lafayette Stake. An unknown number of converts were baptized at Sugar Creek. Henry Mower reported the missionaries of his area baptizing between Sep. 1842 and Mar. 1843 the number of 32 converts.
Henry Mower is reported to have married Abraham Beard to Mary Ann Yerigan in Middle Fork, Clinton Co., Indiana on 2 Jan 1843. Alva L. Tippetts was married to Caroline Beard, same place the next 19 Sep 1843. Wilber J. Earl was married to Harriet Beard same place on the same day with these two marriages performed by John Gregg. Ezra Strong and Maria Louisa Beard married the same place on 12 Oct 1843 with the marriage performed by Nathan Porter. Since each of these men served with Henry Mower in the same area at the same time, they might have been missionary companions of Henry.