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Brigham Young University BYU ScholarsArchive Theses and Dissertations 1954 The Contributions of the Temporary Settlements Garden Grove, Mount Pisgah, and Kanesville, Iowa, to Mormon Emigration, 1846-1852 L. Robert Webb Brigham Young University - Provo Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd Part of the History Commons, and the Mormon Studies Commons BYU ScholarsArchive Citation Webb, L. Robert, "The Contributions of the Temporary Settlements Garden Grove, Mount Pisgah, and Kanesville, Iowa, to Mormon Emigration, 1846-1852" (1954). Theses and Dissertations. 5199. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/5199 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]. THE contributions OF THE TEMPORARY settlements GARDEN GROVE MOUNT PISGAH AND KANESKANESVIkanesvilleganesvilleVILLE lonaiovalovalowaICWAIOWA TO MORMON emigration 18461852184618461-182185282 an abstract of a thesis submitted to the department of religion brigham young university provo utah in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree master of science 189c10 by lynn robert webb august 1954 ABSTRACT purpopurposese of the study for years the writer has been very interested in the history of the church of jesus christ of latter day saints his work as a teacher employed by the LDS department of education has been with the youth of the church his teaching experience has taken him through a chronological consideration or sequence of events of the church from its origin down to the present however the absence of historical data during the period of 18461852184618461-185282 grew into a problem in the writerwriters mind after reading in the histories of the church a brief paragraph about garden grove and mount pisgah two temporary stopping places of the saints and a little more about kanesvilleganesvilleKanes ville iowa the writer began to wonder why so little attention had been paid to each of these settle- ments if two thirds of the exiled saints remained at these three way stations for six years from 1846 to 1821852 what did they do there what was their contribution to mormon emigra- tion during these six years it appeared to the writer that historians had either bypassedby passed or covered important details and events too briefly the illustrious and striking history of nauvoo illinois by way of comparison lasted only six years suffering and hard- ships at winter quarters had likewise been given full credence by historians the attention of readers had then been shifted 1 2 to the new mecca salt lake valley because leadership of the church had been established there after 16471847 why should the period of church history 18461852184618461-185282 be so full and eventful yet the iowa sojourn lasting the same number of years be devoid of accomplishment and color how could orson hyde with his counselors george A smith and ezra T benson preside over 10000 members of the total church population at these scattered settlements during this period without these years likewise being eventful and rich in achievement life and many contributions of these iowa settlements garden grove mount pisgah and kanesvilleganesvilleKanes ville though temporary in naturenatures had been overlooked despite underestimating these way stations in iowa they and especially kanesvilleganesvilleKanesville located on the missouri river became the funnel through which that vast stream of mormon emigration was routed to salt lake valley the things which transpired in iowa have not been fully told and in the opinion of the writer justify a more thorough study method and proprocedurecedurecedoreof stustudy the method selected to accomplish the task of further amplification of church history in iowa has been of a varied nature it has involved intensive research within the restricted period between 1846182184618521846 1821852 private diaries journals and personal and family reminis- cences have been read both at the brigham young university special collections room and at the latter day saint church historianhistorians office at salt lake city some private journals 3 letters and microfilms were used by special permission from the church Historianhistoriansts office and have added greatly in por- traying this historical problem these sources have added further information and detail to books and encyclopedias which have dealt in a general way upon this period and phase of history some other valuable repositoriesdepositoriesdepositories of information about the places under study are the journal history which gives a day by day account of the happenings within the church and the frontier guardian a semimonthlysemi monthly paper edited by orson hyde president of the branches of the pottawattamie lands of western iowa where the cormonsmormons resided which was the sole church publication in america for over a year the first copy of the frontier guardian came off the press february 7 18131849 orson hyde published this paper for three years and one month the writer has also had occasion to interview men who have in recent years visited these places of consideration these visitors have talked with old timers at these many locations and have established points of geography which when passed on to the writer helped to orient him in view of his special study the writings upon this subject of such men within the church as brigham H roberts george Q cannon joseph fielding smith and others must receive full and due credit for their help many non mormon writers have likewise contributed to this period of mormon history summary and conclusions this study has been organized 4 as follows succeeding the introduction chapter I1 presents generally the hardships and difficulties of travel encountered by the cormonsmormons as they were driven from their homes in nauvoo illinois to cross the mississippi river in the throws of mid- winter lack of complete organization undetermined objective of the trek shortage of food and clothing and manifold other aspects made this a most difficult journey chapter II11 presents the need for and the establishment of a temporary camp at garden grove iowa this center was settled especially to help the poor saints already there who because of circumstances could not proceed further and to aid those members who should come later there were approximately 50000 saints at garden grove most of the six years some were leaving but others were coming to take their places mount pisgah a similar way station with comparable objectives is the consideration of chapter liililIII111 here captain james alienailenof the united states army made his first contact with the cormonsmormons pursuant to a request from president james K polk for the recruiting of 500boo80000 men to march to california to assist in the war with mexico the people of mount pisgah as well as garden grove fenced some 1001500lo-o acres of land and planted it for the benefit of those poor saints living there as well as for others who should follow most of the poor remnant of saints being brought from the mississippi river in the fall of 1846 were left at garden grove and mount pisgah chapter IV shows the dependence of these scattered iowa saints numbering 100015000 souls upon missouriansMissourians for work 5 food and supplies barely a decade before had the cormonsmormons been expelled from the midst of these people who now were willing to hire them and thus provide them sustenance As the cormonsmormons reached the western half of iowa they encountered their first red men to more fully understand their problems in connection with several tribes about the missouri river chapter V considers the background and dispo- sition of these indians and speaks of their relationships with the Morcormonsmormonsmons an estimate of the losses the cormonsmormons suffered at the hands of these indians especially the omahasomahanqmahas was 20000 for the six year period the chapter also shows the difficulties the cormonsmormons suffered resulting from the prejudice of the indian agent in the last two chapters of the body of this study vi and VII the writer has presented the description found- ing and growth of kanesvilleganesvilleKanes ville and in general the other thirty nine settlements scattered upon a sixty by forty mile section directly adjacent to the missouri river in southwestern iowa here orson hyde with george A smith and ezra T benson im- mediately presided over more people for six years than presi- dent brigham young and his counselors did in salt lake valley during this same period their problems included those of self preservation by way of establishing mills schools recreation centers ferries roads civil governments a new- spaper religious instruction in many small settlements and the building of homes here at kanesvilleganesvilleKanes ville after three and one half years the 6 church was again organized with a first presidency the hands of the twelve in directing the church were now set free to go into the world and declare the restored gospel also at kanesvilleganesvilleKanes ville oliver cowdery again became a member of the church thus adding strength to the position of president brigham young and dispelling any doubt which some members might have had about leadership to this point of embarkation on the missouri river thousands of saints from europe canada the scandinavian countries the

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