The Life of Amos Milton Musser

153 Pages·2016·10.31 MB·English

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Theses and Dissertations
1961
TThhee LLiiffee ooff AAmmooss MMiillttoonn MMuusssseerr
Karl Brooks
Brigham Young University - Provo
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Brooks, Karl, "The Life of Amos Milton Musser" (1961). Theses and Dissertations. 4558.
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/4558
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LIFE
THE OF AMOS MILTON MUSSER
ylxam
zam
yl
XAm 71
J
thesis presented
A
to the
bo
history
department of
young university
brigham
partial
in fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree
master
of of science
by
karl
brooks
october
1961
aacckknnoowwlleeddggemmeennttss
I would like to thank certain people for the
1
help they have given in the preparation of this
me
thesis
0
poll
dr richard for his patience help in
and
it ger-
suggesting to organize construct to
and
how
locating
trude richards for her assistance in
M
material and in use of the resources in her possession
all
to burton musser for loaning the diaries
and
me
W
papers he has in his ccccoooolllllllleeeecccctttitioioioonnnnoso to my parents for
encouraging to complete this to
me go on and work and
mother for her help in editing material construing
facts ppprrroooooofffrrreeeaaadddininggo
and iinngsoo
karl
brooks
date october
1961
5
14
iiliii
ioklii
oki
1
TABLE OOPF CONTENTS
chapter page
I 1188001851
LIFE 1118883530001851
1 EARLY 1851 1
0 0 0 Is 0 0
II preparations
11 MISSION 22
t
CI O0 0 14 0 0 0 0 6
iillil
III
111 MISSION TO INDIA 366
0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
10
IV
RETURN TO THE VALLEY 55
V BUSINESS AND CHURCH LIFE 111888555881881117818871 722
0 0 0 0
VI 111188887777111121212.888888888800000 90
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 W 10 0 0 0 0 IV 0
vil
VvviillIoeI 1188880011889966 106
0 a a a 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
43
VIII
LIFE 1188996611990099 126
LATE YEARS AND FAMILY
bibliography 18
138
0 a 0 0 6 a 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0
.0
I
141
APPENDIX 1
a
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
IV
I
CHAPTER 1
LIFE
EARLY
for more than half a century amos milton musser
was a cccooonnnessppicccuuhooouuusss ffilgeuurree in the esspooeeciaall rnnreeeelllliiligsiloouues and
1 1
9 9
life
business of utah he was a good pppeeenrimmmaaannn and his
fitted
fluency in address agreeableness in manners
and
ror
ffoorr business contact in the commercial wwwooorrrllddldyc heeliibbs
him
HR
S
unusual abilities to egsaaattthhheeerrr information relative to the
territory
development of the resources in the of utah
positions inthe
placed hhiinmiinn of prominence both in the church
him
etate
ssdtteaatrtaeetooe his natural well fitted for
and endowments so him
Siness
business dealings that in high places wweerreeqquuiicckk to
men
bt
UL
give zent
given him eemmppllooyyment
part busyllliiifrfeee filled
of his busy he two missions
As
9
ffrooarrr jjjeeebssuuuess christ llaatttteerrddaayyzsaaiinnttss
the church of of day was
ghteen
for eeaighteen years traveling bishop for the cchhuurrcchhy served
as superintendent ffoorrthe deseret telegraph office as
fon the
fish and game commi sisssiliooonnneeerrr as assistant church historian
comm
secretarytreasurer
secretary treasurer
directors
and was on the board of and
organization
of several other business organizationssoo he was onaee of
0
original incorporators salt
the of the and of the
ZCMI
lake rrrraaaaiiiillllrrrrooooaaadddos always alert for improvements intro-
ad he
9
utah
duced the telephone and phonograph into uittaahhoo
1
2
musser
amos milton was the second son and fourth
child anna barr musser his father
of samuel and born
september 4 1800 was the only child of christian and
elizabeth musser his mother born december 4 111888000353wwaass
the daughter of christian and susanna bbaarrryr the seventh
in a family of thirteen these two were married on
january set their in donegal
january27 27 1824 and up home
township lancaster county pennsylvania all their
where
1
children
were born
little
musser except brief
of samuel we know a
description written by his wife anna barr musser
qualities
though she said nothing of his personal she
pictured him as fiflliaaaa slender built man about five feet
tall
eleven inches and weighing around one hundred and
fifty
pounds his hair and eyes were dark but his
fair healthy erect
complexion with-
was he was and and
out a physical blemish he had a medium sized head
hand and foot he had a good common school education
2
profession
and was a farmer by
0
is type illness
no word said of the of which took
this to perfect physical sappeeccii
man who seemed be such a
it
to father
man but would seem have been sudden my
year
was taken sick in the 11883522 and died on the 14th day
1atthhiiss
informati
ttthhhliiees iinnffoorrmmaattiioonn copied from the family bible
gertrude
is in a sescccrrraaapplbbbooooookkk owned by mrs richards
M
grove it
pleasant utah gives the bbbbiliirrrrtttthhhhddrdaaaatttteeeessss oooofdfrtttthhhheeee
I
1
musser children as elizabeth susanna
december 1824
7
9
february
september benjamin
1826 28 1828 and
2 Bbo
amos milton may 20
11885300
2b2 iibbiidd
ibid hereafter cited as rrrriiiicccchhhhaaaarrrrddddss1oes scrapbook
scradbook
1
53
that year years
of march same aged mmmooonnnttthhes and
5311 5 lliaaabbs
9 9
z
3
days ao musser later wrote in his diaarryyo
diario
25 A mMo dd3a
left
alone with four small children the oldest
only seven years old anna musser probably
had some
9
financial difficulties after three years
of
widowhood
to bitner
she was married on may 12 11885355 abraham a
129
9
twentyone years
twenty older than these
man one she two made
their in the small town of washington pennsylvania
home
5
on the susquehanna reriilvvveeerroor here two additional children
were born a son brenneman and a daughter died in
who
infancy
infancyo
during these years the urge to west in
move
opportunity
search of land and was everywhere among the
try
people the bitners decided to to improve their
and
condition by going aaaaallllislessooooooo in they disposed of their
11883588
holdings collected such things as they could take along
set all probaabbiilliittyy
and out for the west in Drob fffooollllllooowwwisinngg
the national road over which most of the emigration from
president
pennsylvania pppaaasssssseaedddoo authorized in 1806 by
I1
jefferson
originally
thomas and cccaaallllll6eaddd the cumberland
tbF flfe
lftftsy
r
14 D
its r Y ItV
road route lay tzi cumberlaanndd to
4neml l C umb e 1 AGEs 0
columbus ohio thence to indianapolis indiana and on
it
to vandalia illinois to ssiixxttyytwo feet
was be two wide
surfaced with stone covered with gravel with stone
bbrriiddggeessstttoooess
bridges sppaann the streams and gentle slopes around the
bo
hills travel safety
a road on which wagons could with
z
aa
3a musser dbbdiiliaaaarrrry vvooli I this is in
mo volo 1 ppo 21
A M
eEiiurton
urton
the possession of his son burton musser salt lake
wo
W
city uuittataahhhoo hereafter cited as mmmjuuuussssssesseererodor
4
carry
fast express
and coaches could the mail by by
first
11885388 some of the sections were almost worn out
last
before the stretches were completed
at trip
this require
the best wagon would be-
tween three and four months for the bitners could not
travel more than 20 miles a day and must stop often to
replenish their store to let their
of food and animals
rest
family six children that they
of would mean
A
must secure wild berries nuts or any other pro-
milet game
9
vision they in addition to they pur-
could what could
chase in the settlements sometimes few and far between
tthheeyyaarrrriivveedd at the mississippi river in the fall
and
cured
ss ecured holdings about five miles from the village of
illinois
quincy where they took up land for a farm
t
they were there only a short itimmee bbbeeeaffoorree mr
bitner began to have trouble with one of his eyes
it
cataract
they that
decided must be a which was im-
pairing his vision and since he could get no medical
baaltlllieeeyyy
help here and was acquainted with dr an eminent
treat-
oculist in pennsylvania decided to back for
he go
ment leaving his wife to manage as she could without
him he set out after several weeks under the pro-
aaatllllieeeyyy
ffeessssiioonnaall care dr returned to quincy only
of
he
to afflicted with another cataract his other eye
be on
wiy
third
in the meantime his wwiirfeee had borne him a
child a daughter they martha now with the
named
whom
husband illness growing more acute and with good
husbands
to sell their property to advantage they decided
chances
5
to to pennsylvania their relatives
go back where and
friends lived they of the mormons with
how much knew
later part
they to not
were be so a
whom much we do
left great
know although they might have before the
kknnoowwod
influx of the early 1840s these refugees began
1840 when
to arrive by the hundreds they must have heard some
latter
rumors of the troubles involving the day saints
across river
which were going on the in missouri
the church of jesus christ of latter dbdaaayyj saints
originated in western new york but esoooont caught
had sooil was
5
its
up in the westward movement and transferred center
to kirtland to distant frontier
ohio then the
and
across mississippi river state
the in the of missouri
hheaearrreee they settled first in jackson county desiiggnnaatted
and ddeebs ed
it
to be the center of the new zion they were about to
establish but such frictions developed between them
and the earlier citizens frictions which grew out of
political
both and religious differences that at
county
last the mormons were driven from the countyo perhaps
else did they suffer physical punishment in
nowhere more
the form of whippings and tarring and ffeeaatthheerriinnggss than
hbeerree
they did
hbeerrccoo
the citizens of clay county to the north out of
sympathy for their plight gave temporary
human them
refuge but would not allow them to settle in this
county eemiiittthhheeerrroo so they on into caldwell county
moved
aest
and made the ccceeennnttteeenrr of their activity at far wweesstot now
in the majority the mormons decided that they would
6
strike back at any attacked them they would never
who
aggressors their rights
be the but they would defend
9
ilitary organizat
witthh tthhis in they mmiilliittaarryy oorrggaanniliozzaaatttion
s n minndd formed a iloonn
W 1 1 1 m 1
M
nites
which became known as the dcDaaanniitteess or mounted bands of
activities called forth increased activity
horsemen whose
from the missourians until the whole area was in such a
governor
state
civil that lilburn
of war boggs
wo
W
try
called out the state militia to to establish peace
the hauns mill massacre the battle
and of
governor
crooked river followed by orders from the to
the effect that the mormons must be exterminated or
state
driven from the caused joseph smith and several
of the other leaders to give tttthhhheeeemmnmsssseeeelilvvvlveeeess up to be taken
jjaalill
to jailo citizens to relinquish
the mormon were forced
r
aaallli tthheeir land and improvements to give up their arms
1
L
state
and leave the en masse in an organized exodus
under the leadership of brigham tylooouuunnnggg and eighty four
mississippi illinois
others they crossed the back into
and purchased the area comprising the town of commerce
ter
near qqquuuiiinnncccyyyoe tthhiiss wwaass in the wialiltnnnetder of 11883588 11883599 anndd
w
witthhiinn the year following they established their
had
wi
city legislature illinois
nauvoo applied to
cl and the of
for a charter so moving was their presentation that the
including lincoln
lldaaawww mmmaaakkkeeenrrsss the young abraham who was
first it little
serving his term passed by vvvoooiliccceee with
4
discussion or ddddeeeebbbhaaaatteetteeod
4i4ffoorr ttaaillleedd
ffoonr a detailed account of this period see william
del
story
linn the of the mormons new york the macmillan
A