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Garden Grove, Iowa: from Mormon Way Station to Permanent Settlement, 1846-1852

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Garden Grove, Iowa: from Mormon Way Station to Permanent Settlement, 1846-1852 Brigham Young University BYU ScholarsArchive Theses and Dissertations 2010-11-29 Garden Grove, Iowa: From Mormon Way Station to Permanent Settlement, 1846-1852 Jill N. Crandell Brigham Young University - Provo Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd Part of the History Commons BYU ScholarsArchive Citation Crandell, Jill N., "Garden Grove, Iowa: From Mormon Way Station to Permanent Settlement, 1846-1852" (2010). Theses and Dissertations. 2375. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/2375 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. Garden Grove, Iowa: From Mormon Way Station to Permanent Settlement, 1846-1852 Jill N. Crandell A thesis submitted to the faculty of Brigham Young University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Kathryn M. Daynes, Chair Richard E. Bennett Susan S. Rugh Department of History Brigham Young University December 2010 Copyright © 2010 Jill N. Crandell All rights reserved ABSTRACT Garden Grove, Iowa: From Mormon Way Station to Permanent Settlement, 1846-1852 Jill N. Crandell Department of History Master of Arts When the Mormon people began evacuating Nauvoo, Illinois, in February 1846, they intended to leave the United States and build a home for themselves in the West, where they could practice their religion without persecution. However, as Brigham Young led thousands through severe rain and mud that spring, he soon decided that too many of the Saints were unprepared for the long journey to the mountains. Mormons built way stations across Iowa, places where they planted crops, raised log cabins, and obtained the necessary food and supplies. After the Saints moved on to Utah in following years, many of these way stations became permanent towns in Iowa. As the first way station Mormons established in Iowa, Garden Grove created a pattern for the other way stations that followed. An exhaustive study of over three hundred sources has provided the information necessary to create a database of the settlers of the town from 1846 to 1852. This study has found that the mortality rate was high the first year, but death was not a significant problem later. The fertility rate was exceptionally high, demonstrating that the way stations were heavily populated by families awaiting the birth of a child. The nativity of the people showed that the LDS and non-LDS settlers came from the same cultural background, mostly New England and the Midwest, and further study revealed that those not of the Mormon faith were friends and family of the Saints. Economically, the original Garden Grove settlers were the poorest of the Mormons coming out of Nauvoo, but by 1870, their mean wealth was above the average wealth of pioneers in Utah. The Garden Grove Saints created a settlement to help themselves and other Mormons. In the process, they improved trails and supplied food and services to overlanders that assisted in the settlement of the American West. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Conducting a detailed study of an entire town is no small task, and it has not been accomplished alone. Many have willingly shared their time and expertise, and I sincerely appreciate the support I have received. When I visited several Mormon way station sites, local historians provided tours and shared with me their research and knowledge of the area. I thank Karla Gunzenhauser in Garden Grove, Bob Brown in Mt. Pisgah, and Gail Holmes in Council Bluffs for sharing their love for the history of the area. The knowledge they shared has been invaluable. In locating journals and personal accounts of the people who lived in Garden Grove, I have been assisted by numerous archivists and librarians from Illinois, Missouri, Nebraska, and all across Iowa and Utah. Barbara Bernauer at the Community of Christ Archives in Independence, Missouri, and Bill Slaughter at the Church History Library and Archives in Salt Lake City, Utah, were particularly helpful in allowing the use of fragile documents. In addition, I received friendly service throughout my research at the Garden Grove Public Library, State Historical Society of Iowa, Utah State Historical Society, and L. Tom Perry Special Collections in the Harold B. Lee Library at Brigham Young University. The efforts of many have streamlined the research that allowed this study to be conducted. My greatest appreciation goes to Kathryn Daynes, the chair of my graduate committee. She has been tireless in her mentoring and support of my research and writing that stretched out in time far longer than was originally anticipated. Her encouragement has kept me going. She and the other committee members, Richard Bennett and Susan Rugh, have given valuable feedback to focus my project, yet expand the boundaries of my thinking. I also appreciate the comments and suggestions by Clayne Pope on an early draft of chapter three. Finally, no effort of this size can be accomplished without the love and support of family. My mother, Jeri Nelson, has been the greatest traveling companion and research assistant I could have asked for. My husband, Bill, has given his unending love and support in spite of all the hours I sat at the computer doing data entry and writing. My children, Nathan, Nelson, Melissa, Janina, and Jacob, have been my greatest cheerleaders. Education is a journey, and I express my thanks to all who have shared mine. CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................................... vi LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................................ vii Chapter 1. Establishing a Way Station ........................................................................................... 1 The Beginnings of Garden Grove ............................................................................................... 3 Chapter 2. Demographics of Garden Grove Settlers, 1846-1852 ................................................. 14 Population Growth Patterns ...................................................................................................... 15 Persistence Rate of Settlers in Garden Grove ........................................................................... 20 Nativity of the Garden Grove Settlers ...................................................................................... 26 Fertility in Garden Grove .......................................................................................................... 29 Mortality Rates in Garden Grove .............................................................................................. 37 Male Occupations and Persistence in Garden Grove ................................................................ 42 Demographic Summary ............................................................................................................ 44 Chapter 3. Economic Issues and Solutions ................................................................................... 46 Leaving Nauvoo ........................................................................................................................ 47 Conditions in Early Garden Grove ........................................................................................... 55 Feeding and Providing for Thousands of Exiles ....................................................................... 59 Wealth Comparison of the Garden Grove Settlers to the General Utah Population ................. 75 Chapter 4. The Impact of Mormon Way Stations ......................................................................... 84 The People of Garden Grove .................................................................................................... 84 The Mormons ............................................................................................................................ 91 The Settlement of Iowa ............................................................................................................. 92 The Settlement of the American West ...................................................................................... 98 Appendix 1. Mormon Settlements and Comparison Communities, 1855 .................................. 102 Appendix 2. Garden Grove Prosopography ................................................................................ 103 Appendix 3. Method of Calculating the Average Annual Population of Garden Grove ............ 108 Appendix 4. People Who Lived in Garden Grove for at Least Two Months, 1846-1852 .......... 109 BIBLIOGRAPHY ....................................................................................................................... 131 v LIST OF FIGURES 1. Samples of midwestern county population growth, 1850-1870. ............................................ 18 2. County population growth in areas of LDS settlement, 1845-1870 ....................................... 18 3. Population growth of Garden Grove, Iowa, 1846-1870 ......................................................... 19 4. LDS vs. non-LDS Garden Grove population growth, 1846-1852 .......................................... 19 5. Nativity of Garden Grove LDS settlers, 1846-1852 ............................................................... 28 6. Nativity of Garden
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