


1979: Brigham Young University Officials Search for Mormon ‘Roots’
Brigham Young University conducted excavation work at the Mormon historical site of Adam-ondi-Ahman near Jameson, MO, during the summer of 1979. University personnel including archeologists, historians and graduate students spent over 8 weeks conducting a historical...
Mormons: Grave of John Whitmer in Kingston Cemetery
John Witmer (1802-1878) was one of the founders and a hotel owner of the Mormon pioneer community of Far West in Northwest Missouri. He was also a counselor of Missouri Church Presidency of Far West, LDS Church Historian, one of eight witnesses of the Book of Mormon...
Pioneers: John Doyle Lee’s Life, Eventual Murder After Leaving Missouri
In my study of John Lee, a Daviess County, MO, pioneer, I am reminded again and again of Huck Finn, and what he could have been like in later life. John, like Huck, was a Mississippi river “rat,” orphaned and unschooled. John Lee’s adventures in...
Mormons: Samuel Cox’s Astonishing 1200-mile Ride Back From Utah Territory
Years after the Mormon War forced Latter-day Saints from Missouri, troubles followed the Mormons as they settled in Utah Territory. The U.S. Army played a role in keeping track of Mormon activities as the Civil War was about to split the country apart. Samuel Cox of...
Mormons: “Massacre at Mountain Meadows” in 1857
John D. Lee, once a pioneer living in Daviess County, MO, was convicted for leading Mormon militia in the murderous “Massacre at Mountain Meadows” where at least 120 people from Arkansas en route to California were killed Sept. 7-11, 1857, in the Utah...
Mormons: Another’s View of Adam-Ondi-Ahman
How many people in Northwest Missouri realize they live less than 100 miles from the Garden of Eden? Or that here Cain slew Abel, and their father, Adam, offered sacrifices on a hilltop altar? I had seen the road signs pointing the way to Adam-ondi-Ahman (meaning...
Mormons: Election Brawl at Gallatin Turns History
Etched clearly in early Daviess County history is the name of John Lowe Butler in connection with the Mormon War in Missouri. In June, 1994, his descendants converged on Gallatin on a history trip arranged by Butler’s biographer, Brigham Young University history...
Mormons: No Scars Apparent Today After Mormon War
The Grand River area of Northwest Missouri is among those regions tagged with the homogenous “Bible Belt” label. A closer look reveals surprising diversity. Just 38 miles west of at Bethany on Highway 136 is a Basilica, a significant Catholic Abbey Church...