Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
(2nd great-granddaughter)
Table of Contents
Table of Contents ii
Forward iii
Preface iv
Introduction 1
Pennsylvania 4
Michigan 6
Missouri 13
Illinois 17
Utah 29
Arizona 37
Appendix 47
Recipe- Rusk 48
List of Illustrations 49
Pictures 51
Patriarchal Blessings 54
Bibliography 62
ii
Foreward
This book about Moses Curtis was written for a required Family History class at Brigham Young
University under the direction of Dr. William G. Hartley. He has been working as a historian for almost
thirty years. He has authored countless books as a Professor and employee for the LDS Church Historical
Department. His latest project was co-authoring the Joseph Smith Papers Vol II. I feel that it was divine
providence to be in his class with his guidance and knowledge of Church History. I say that it was divine
providence because Dr. Hartley is retiring in April 2009 and I had originally planned to take this class in
September 2009, but ended up changing my plans. Being able to write under Dr. Harley’s direction was a
tremendous blessing I experienced in the process of writing Moses’s story. It was through his direction
that I sifted through some of the family legends and found evidence to prove or disprove them. These
legends include the family stories of the early missionaries in Pontiac, Michigan and Moses’s experiences
being imprisoned with the Prophet Joseph Smith.
This paper was completed in a short 4 month semester along with several other classes that all
demanded my time. Therefore, there is still research to be done that will have to be completed at a later
date. The teacher imposed several restrictions on the paper, one of which was the 40 page length. It was
not adequate to tell Moses’s story and include short bios of his wives and children. At a later date I fully
intend to expand this history and include his wives and children.
Also included in the sources of this book is a Church record for Moses’s parents in New Salem,
Massachusetts. While trying to verify birth and marriage dates for the family during this time period, I
discovered that the church records were not filmed by the LDS church. I searched the internet and found a
typescript of the church records I needed. I printed them all off without keeping a good source citation of
the location in which I found them. One week later, when I tried to return to the records on the internet,
they were not posted nor could I find any reference to them ever being posted. This was another “gift from
the other side of the veil” for this project.
The professor also discussed the usage of possessive “s” with his knowledgeable and well-
trained editors. He advised me that the new trend is to use ‘s after a word ending in s. Thus you will see
Moses name in the possessive form as Moses’s. While this may seem incorrect by most of us, I have
been assured, it is now the correct form of grammar to use.
I hope you enjoy this story as much as I have enjoyed researching it.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth A. Snow
Mapleton, UT.
iii
Preface
This is the history of Moses Curtis, a great pioneer who helped to settle many places as
his family migrated westward across the frontier of the United States in the 19th century,
ultimately settling in Eden, Arizona. He never complained but quietly did whatever he was asked
to do by the leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Moses made many great
sacrifices but his story and legacy are not being passed on to his large posterity. My purpose in
writing his life story is to create a history that will inspire his descendants. I hope that from the
example of his life experiences many will be able to feel strength in their trials as they try to
I have attempted to tell the complete story of his life. However, it has been hard to gather
information from such a large extended family. As a descendant of Moses’ second wife,
Elizabeth, I have been very successful in gathering family information from their descendants. I
have not had the same success with the descendants through his wife Aurelia. I will attempt to
complete the story with the limited amount of resources that I have obtained. I realize that there
may be gaps that still need to be filled in to complete the history of Moses. I have tried to
document what family stories we have by word of mouth that do not have a source citation. This
is an ongoing project, though, and there are still some details that need to be verified. Time and
space constraints have limited this history to mainly focus on Moses’ life while mentioning
I hope that while reading about Moses’s life, you will come to know, love and appreciate
him as I have. His deeds in life helped develop the prosperity we now live in. I hope that his
strong spiritual character, faith and testimony in the gospel of Jesus Christ will shine forth
iv
Introduction
In the 1830s in the United States of America there was much religious excitement.
People were trying to discover for themselves which religion was suitable for their beliefs and
moral values. The Nahum Curtis family was no different in this respect. In the early 1830s this
family of eleven, Nahum, his wife Millicent, and their nine children, Sophronia, Lyman, Moses,
Joseph, Mary, George, Foster, Leon, and Hyrum, lived in Michigan in a small settlement named
Sylvan Lake. It was near the town of Pontiac in the County of Oakland and in the state of
Michigan. An account by their son George age nine, tells about the family then:
In December of 1832 the prophet Joseph Smith and Jared Carter came to our place
preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The meeting was held in my
father’s house. That night after hearing the gospel preached my parents retired to their
bedroom where they were conversing about the principles they had listened to for the first
time earlier in the day. Suddenly they noticed the room started to become light. It grew
lighter and lighter until it was as bright as noon day. Then they heard a voice say, “Nahum,
the Book of Mormon is a true record of the people that lived on this continent.” They were
converted and soon every member of the family joined the church. 1
According to son Joseph, his father Nahum, promptly purchased a Book of Mormon for
the sum of one dollar and twenty-five cents for the family to read and study.
This was the family that Moses Curtis grew up in. His parents lived a quiet, moral,
religious life. They had enormous faith and strived to teach their children these principles by
their example and deeds. These attributes would appear again and again in the life of Moses and
his family.
1
Cherrel B. Weech & Nayda Luster, The Nahum Curtis Family History. p5. This story is also related in the Dora
‐
Page 1 -
M. Curtis Taylor, “History of Nahum Curtis”. She records that George dictated the story to his granddaughter
Irene Colvin. Even though George tells that Joseph Smith and Jared Carter taught the family as missionaries,
evidence shows that it was Jared Carter and Joseph Wood who actually came to Michigan as missionaries. (See
footnote # 28 for further information.)
Ancestryy of Moses Curtis
M
Moses’s parents were Naahum Curtis and Millicennt Waite. Naahum, was born
b in New
a mountaainous region
n about seveenty miles noorthwest of the
t city of
m. 3
ettlers off New Salem
M
Moses’s moth
her, Millicennt Waite wass born in Athhol, Worcestter, Massachhusetts on
The toown of Atholl is about ninne miles norrtheast of Neew Salem whhere
Nahum
m was born. Millicent was
w christeneed a memberr of the Churrch
Decem
mber 8, 17944 under the direction
d of Pastor
P Joel Foster,
F it readds-
2
Nahum m Curtis, Intern
national Geneallogical Index, FHL
F film # 103397, pg 27 enntry 16. Endow
wments for the
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Page 2 -
New
w Salem, Frannklin, Massaachusetts by Reverend Jooel
just ten
t years beffore the marriage of Nahhum and
Fig 3 - New Salem,, Massachusetts
Milliceent. He was the
t same minnister who christened
c
Millicentt and her siblings near thhe time of heer mother’s death
d in 1795. This fact would lead us to
A
According to Dora M. Cuurtis Taylor, a great grannddaughter of
o Nahum annd Millicent, at
are:
Sophronia
S 10 Feb 1810 New Salem m, Franklin, Massachuset
M tts
L
Lyman 21 Jan 18112 New Salem m, Franklin, Massachuset
M tts
P
Phineas 10 Jul 1814 New Salem m, Franklin, Massachuset
M tts
M
Moses 8 May 18816 Conneaut Township,
T Errie, Pennsylvvania
Jooseph 24 Dec 1818 Conneaut Township,
T Errie, Pennsylvvania
M
Mary 15 May 18821 Conneaut Township,
T Errie, Pennsylvvania
G
George 27 Oct 18223 Sylvan Lake, Oakland, Michigan
Foster 8 May 18826 Pontiac, Oaakland, Michhigan
L
Loren 9 May 18828 Pontiac, Oaakland, Michhigan
H
Hyrum 9 Sep 18229 Pontiac, Oaakland, Michhigan 7
N
Nahum served as a corpooral in the Unnited States military
m in thhe War of 18812. He servved
6
Dora M.
M Curtis Taylo or. History of Millicent
M Waitee Curtis. Internnational Daughtters of Utah Piioneers, Salt Laake
City.
7
C. Fernn Burrell. Curtis Family Bookk. family groupp sheet p42.
8
October 30,
3 1814 at Boston.
B Naahum and Miillicent livedd in New Sallem until som
metime arouund
nnsylvania
Pen
in Erie County,
C Penn
nsylvania. It is not knownn why they moved,
m but in
i this time period
p manyy
people were
w slowly migrating
m weestward to fiind more lannd and betterr farming. In the 1820 US
S
Fig 4 - Pennsylvania sh
howing Erie Couunty.
Connneaut Townnship is locatted in the souuthwest cornner
there:
The pioneers of the townsship were a long time isoolated from the world, and
T a no personn, at
prresent time, can have anny idea of thee privations they had to endure.
e Theeir chief suppplies
of meat were deer and gaame. Mills were
w nearly out o of reach, a cavity cutt in the top of
o a
sttump and heeavy woodenn pestle attacched to a spriing pole, waas the simplee but laboriouus
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Page 4 -
8
Taylor. History of Na ahum Curtis. p1
9
Burrelll, p42. It’s not known where Phineas
P died.
10
1820.UUS Federal cen nsus of US, Peennsylvania, Errie, Conneaut Township.
T NAR
RA Series M333_102 pg 27.
www.anncestry.com .
machine for reducing corn to meal. Maple sugar could be had in abundance by making
it, but tea and coffee were almost unobtainable luxuries. 11
In the late 18th and early 19th century, roads in the United States were not always
eventually lead to a feeder canal being built that Fig 6 - Pennsylvania- Ohio Canal
joined with the Conneaut River, but construction was not completed until about 1844 which
Moses was born on May 8, 1816 in Conneaut Township, Erie, Pennsylvania to Nahum
and Millicent Waite Curtis. He was the fourth of ten children in this family. 13 We don’t have a
lot of information about Moses’s life as a youth, but his younger brother George gives an
account about his own childhood. He explains that their mother Millicent was a very religious
women and she insisted that George read a chapter each Sunday from the Testament when he
11
Andy Pochatko, “Erie County (PA) Genealogy, Lexington and Brief History of Conneaut Township,”Lexington
and brief history of Conneaut Township, http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/...paerie/townships
Conneaut/LexingtonHist.htm (accessed November 28, 2008)
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Page 5 -
12
"Beaver and Erie Canal." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 26 Nov 2008, 02:56 UTC. 28 Nov 2008
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Beaver_and_Erie_Canal&oldid=254151104. "Pennsylvania Canal."
Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 25 Nov 2008, 18:57 UTC. 28 Nov 2008
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pennsylvania_Canal&oldid=254062638.
13
Burrell, p 42
was quitee small. He also
a relates that
t his mothher was a good cook andd she showedd love and
Michigan
Som
metime betweeen the birthh of their dauughter Mary,, in Pennsylvvania in Mayy 1821 and the
t
Sylvan Lake
L in the County
C of Oaakland in thee state of Micchigan. Sylvvan Lake is one
o of severaal
lakes cluustered in this area whichh is located in the easternn portion of the state. It is
i about thirtty
Census of
o 1820 theree are no Curttis families living
l in Oakkland
County, Michigan,
M bu
ut in the 18330 U.S. Fedeeral Census, Nahum
14
Taylor, Millicent Wa
aite Curtis History,p1. This source
s doesn’t clarify whetheer the word Tesstament is referrring
to the Neew Testament or not. Therefoore I have left the
t descriptionn as it appears in
i this cited hisstory as simplyy just
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Page 6 -
west side of the state. However, I did discover that there was a Sylvan Lake less than three miles
away from the town of Pontiac, Michigan. I surmised that it was either a simple mistake made in
identifying the residence of the Nahum Curtis family and the birth place of their younger
children or, in the early days of settling Michigan there could have been two cities called Silver
Lake and one city later changed its name to Sylvan Lake. It seems most likely that they lived in
It is not clear the location or year of this next story about a hunting excursion by Moses and
his younger brother Joseph. The most likely place would have been in Michigan because Moses
was too young at the age of five or six when the family left Pennsylvania to carry a gun and
Joseph would have only been three or four. The boys, Joseph
while. Nahum was apprehensive and was not sure it was the
best idea to let the boys go hunting without him. Nahum finally
Fig 8 - Flint Lock Musket relented, though, and let the boys go. Moses carried the gun
which was an old flint lock musket. Joseph carried the lighted torch to ignite the gun.
The family stories relate that it was a flint lock musket without any flint. This type of
musket was the most widely used gun in this time period. It was the main weapon used by
military forces, but it also worked well for hunting. In order to operate the gun you would need a
cock or hammer that would tightly hold a piece of flint. The person shooting the gun loads the
muzzle end in this order: first you pushed in the black powder, after which you put in a round
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Page 7 -
lead ball that had been wrapped in paper or a cloth scrap. You would then push it down the
17
Further research will need to be done to thoroughly verify the name of the lake as Sylvan Lake or Silver Lake.
barrel of the gun with a ramrod. The ramrod was usually stored under the barrel. Next you prime
the flash pan with a small amount of finely ground gun powder, and then you close this small lid
called a frizzen. You now have a gun that is primed and ready to shoot. Most men would carry
their guns loaded in this manner. In order to ignite the gun, you must move the cock or hammer
to cock position, release the safety lock, aim the gun and pull the trigger. This action releases the
hammer that is holding the flint. The flint then strikes the frizzen which causes it to open
exposing the powder. A spark is caused by the contact between the flint and the frizzen. It goes
into the flash pan where the powder ignites and causes a flame in the barrel that ignites the main
powder and the gun discharges its contents of powder and balls. 18 Using the musket in this
manner would not require a torch, but the family said they did not have any flint on the gun,
therefore the gun would not cause a spark to ignite and they must use the torch to light the
When the boys came to a place where they saw a deer, they laid the barrel of the gun over a
log to steady it. Moses tried to position the gun right at the targeted deer and Joseph lit the fuse
with the red hot flaming torch. The gun fired with a blast and surprisingly, the deer fell dead on
the ground where it stood. The boys were so excited they left the gun and the deer to run home
and tell their parents the good news. When Moses and Joseph finally convinced their Father and
Mother to come look at the site with them, they found everything exactly as the boys had left it.
The gun was lying over the log and the dead deer was still lying on the ground. It turned out to
be a successful hunting experience for Moses and Joseph. They shot and killed a deer with only
one shot. This was very fortunate considering how long it would take the boys to reload the
gun. 19
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Page 8 -
18
Flintlock Musket. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 2008. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flintlock_musket
19
Weech, p21.
Whiile living in Michigan,
M onn May 2, 1831, Nahum purchased
p a homestead of
o 80 acres. On
purchasee of 41.54 acrres. All of thhese propertiies were recoorded as being in the couunty of Oaklland,
land. 20 That
T was quiite a large am
mount of groound to clearr and farm, assuming
a thaat Nahum cleeared
much of it.
i It was a blessing to haave a large family
fa and
primarilyy includes th
he states Iow
wa and Illinois, but it alsoo includes paarts of Indiaana, Minnesoota,
and the liivestock are also corn-feed, which maakes them more
m desirablle. When Lyyman returneed he
was full of
o details ab
bout fields thhat were yieldding crops of
o corn betweeen eighty too one hundreed
p acre. Thiis amount waas significanntly greater thhan the cropp of Michigaan. 21
bushels per
in 1832 it
i reached Michigan.
M Thee Curtis fam
mily was taugght about thiss new religioon in their ow
wn
home as related earlier in this hisstory. Througgh a miracullous experience of Mosees’s parents,
Nahum and
a Millicentt were specifically told of
o the truthfuulness of thee Book of Mormon. Theyy
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Page 9 -
20
Land Reecords for Nahu
um, U.S. Bureaau of Land Maanagement Genneral Land Reccord Office.
http://www
w.glorecords.bllm.gov/
21
Weech, p21.
p
quickly obtained
o a sttrong testimoony of the truuth which leed to their unnwavering faaith. The entire
22
family was
w baptized into this new
wly founded Church in 1833.
1
A hiistory written
n about the early
e churchh organization in Michigaan relates this story abouut the
visit her
h nieces Allmira and Teemperance Mack.
M While there, Lucy was
Morm
mon. As you can imaginee, this statem
ment made Lucy madder than
Church, including
i his deacon Sam
muel Bent. True
T to her prediction,
p
book on February
F 9thh that Deaconn Bent was excommunic
e cated for
granddauughter Irene Colvin that Joseph Smitth and Jared Carter weree
Fig 11- Joseph Smith, Jrr.
the missiionaries that taught their family the gospel.
g Geoorge, born in
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Page 10 -
22
Weech, p21.
p
23
Hilda Faulkner Browwn, The Michiggan Mormons- Their history from
f 1831 to 1952
1 and a littlle beyond. Provvo,
Utah 19885. p1-3. The first
f branch of the
t church in Pontiac,
P Michiggan was organiized on Februaary 16, 1833.
Journal History of the Church, Decem mber 31, 1833, p5-6.
n years off age when thhis occurredd. 24 Joseph Smith
1823 wouuld have beeen a boy of nine S did visit
Pontiac, Michigan
M in
n October 1834 and younng George must
m have connfused thesee two events in
official church
c historry about the Prophet Joseeph Smith, a missionaryy, being in Poontiac, Michhigan
Joseph Smith,
S Sr. wrritten by Marrk L. McConnkie,
Mother Smith,
S with Hyrum
H and Joseph,
J visitted Pontiac, Michigan
M inn 1834. 26 It iss recorded inn the
History of
o the Church
h that Josephh Smith wennt to visit thee Saints in
Pontiac, Michigan
M on
n October 200, 1834. He made the joourney
Oliver Coowdery and Roger Ortonn. They spent some timee “teaching
24
Weechh, p 40.
Page 11 -
25
Mark L. McConkie, The Father off the Prophet- Stories
S and Inssights from the Life of Josephh Smith, Sr.
Bookcraaft Inc.: Salt Laake City, Utah,1993. p.40.
26
McCoonkie, p19 & 40 0.
27
Josephh Smith. History
ry of the Churcch of Jesus Chrrist of Latter-daay Saints. Deseeret Book: Saltt Lake City, 19978,
vol 2 p1668-169.
by Hilda Faulkner Browne, she lists Jared Carter and Joseph Wood as the missionaries laboring
in Pontiac, Michigan in January 1833, not Jared Carter and Joseph Smith. 28 She also relates that
meetings for the Mormons in Pontiac were held in a local schoolhouse. During one of these
meetings a Mary Curtis, [daughter of Nahum and Millicent] suddenly began speaking in
tongues. 29 It was recorded by Edward Stevenson who was in attendance at this meeting when
Mary was speaking in tongues. He described Mary as- “her face fairly shone, her countenance
changed, and often tears ran down her cheeks.” 30 Stevenson also related that the Prophet Joseph
Smith gave a great promise to the small congregation in Pontiac. “Joseph said, if you will obey
the gospel with honest hearts, I promise you in the name of the Lord, that the gifts as promised
by our Savior will follow you, and by this you may prove me to be a true servant of God.” 31 This
promise was fulfilled through Mary Curtis speaking in the gift of tongues.
Whatever the real details are, the fact still remains that the family of Nahum and Millicent
Curtis were taught by missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) in
1832 and 1833. Lyman records in his life history that he was baptized on 14 March 1833 in
Milford, which is near Pontiac, by Samuel Bent along with some of his siblings. 32 Moses was
baptized by William Bathbridge on this same day and confirmed by Samuel Bent. 33
In June 1834 Moses siblings Lyman Curtis and Sophronia went on the Zion’s Camp march
to the Salt River in Missouri. They left from Pontiac Michigan and were led by Hyrum Smith. 34
Later a non-Mormon resident recalled the many converts to this new religion in the Pontiac
area. He gave a list of people that he remembered joined this church. Included in the list were
28
Also in the private journal of Edward Stevenson, he says that the gospel first came to Michigan through the
missionaries Jared Carter and Joseph Woods. Stevenson, Edward. Private Journal. Dec 23, 1867.
‐
29
Browne, p5 & 11.
Page 12 -
30
J. Stevenson, p18 & 19.
31
Joseph Grant Stevenson. The Life of Edward Stevenson. BYU Press: Provo.1955, p 20.
32
Life history of Lyman Curtis, www.themorrisclan.com. p1.
33
S.C. Richardson, Sketches of the Curtis family, p29
34
Lyman Curtis history, p2
Nahum Curtis
C and hiis brother Jerremiah. Theyy were as foollows- Thadddeus Alvordd, Ezekiel
Kellogg, Seville Harrris, Jeremiahh Curtis, Nahhum Curtis, Joseph Bentt, Edward Sttevenson,
35
Temperaance Mack an
nd Almira Mack.
M
Missouri
Perssuaded by their faith andd new found devotion, whhen Moses was
w a teenagger, sometim
me
35
Cumm ming, p15. Step phen B. McCraacken, Fifty Yeears Ago and Now,
N in the Micchigan Historiccal Collectionss,
Page 13 -
14:616 (Lansing
( 1890)).
36
It was after Zion’s Camp
C March inn 1834 and beffore the troublee in Far West inn 1838. Sourcee for this
time tablle- Lyman Currtis History. ww
ww.themorrisclan.com, p3.
37
Taylor, Nahum Histo ory, p2
38
Taylorr, p2
could holld county offfices, have representatio
r on in the Leggislature, andd create a coounty Militiaa. By
o more perseecution. 40
which ledd to a time of
The Curttis family waas no exceptiion. While liiving at Logg Creek, Mosses’ mother, Millicent
became gravely
g ill. She
S died on September 3,
3 1838 at thhe age of fiftyy- one and was
w buried tw
wo
Joseph were
w called by the Propheet Joseph Sm
mith to makee a gatheringg place at thee Curtis
hom
mes. They were
w also to stand
s as guaards over them
m as protecttion
from
m mob violeence. The people who heeeded the Proophet’s counnsel
andd went to thee Curtis settleement were not harmed in the raid on
o
destroy thheir settlemeent, but theyy were adviseed there werre only a few
w women andd children
be harmeed. 42
‐
39
Page 14 -
Thomas G. Alexander. Utah, the riight place: the official centennnial history. Gibbs
G Smith. Saalt Lake City, Utah
1996. p882
40
Historry of Caldwell and Livingstonn counties, Misssouri. The Prinntery, Clinton, Misssouri,19772. p117
119.
41
Burrelll, p42
42
Weechh, p42.
Duriing this timee of great perrsecution froom belligerennt citizens of
o Missouri, the
t memberss
Februaryy of 1838 wh
here some chhurch membeers were actuually excom
mmunicated. In the Histoory of
the Churrch it says that a court prroceeding toook place at the Curtis setttlement on February
F 8,
1838. 43
In the
t short history of Moses Curtis hannded down by
b
historicaal evidence in
i the lists of prisoners with
w the propphet
before the
t Justice off the Peace about
a their loosses involved in
Fig 16- Typicall Jail Cell
the Missouri persecutions. Mosees’s list conssisted of a sw
word
$12.00, three
t weeks time
t lost froom moving thhe poor from
m Missouri for
f the cost of
o $18.00, annd
the loss of
o time in co
onsequence of
o the mobbeers of Missouuri for six months
m at $1.00 per day for
f
43
Smith, Vol. 3 p3-6.
44
Richarrdson, p29.
Hanndcock Co. State
S of Illinoois-
T may certtify that I Moses Curtis was
This w at the
Surrendeer at Farwestt in the Counnty of Calweell State of
Missourii and under a Strong guaard I was com mpell to givee up
my arms I was afterw wards taken prisoner
p by Lieutenant
L
Lakey whho marched us to Richm mond thirty miles
m after tw
wo
days I waas discharged without anny charge beeing found
against me
m and no means of Susttanance beinng found for my
support.
Signned Moses Curtis.
C (swornn before A. Monroe.
M J.PP.
45
Hancockk Co., Ill, on January 6, 1840.)
1
Fig 17- Pionneer Company
As thhis excerpt states,
s Moses was taken prisoner, aloong
soldiers to
t Richmond
d under guarrd, but were both releaseed after two days.
d This march
m to
On January
J 29, 1839, a grouup of saints met
m in Far West
W where thhey held a meeting
m and made
In December
D 1838 and Januuary 1839, thhe saints werre forced to leave
l Missouuri. A historyy of
45
Clark V. Johnson, Mormon
M Redresss Petitions. Reeligious Studies BYU: Provo, Utah, 1992, p178.
p Originall
spelling was preserved
d in the documeent.
46
Smith, Vol. 3 p200-2233.
47
Smith, Vol. 3 p250-2251.
48
Smith, Vol. 3 p253.
the icy, cold winter elements. Many people were left with no other alternative but to walk the
Illinois
During the mob violence in Missouri, the Curtis family moved with the body of the Saints to
the area of Quincy, Illinois. Mary describes their journey out of Missouri as being the first of
February when it was cold and muddy. She tells that they walked most of the way even though it
was hard to travel because of the mud. They camped outside of Quincy, Illinois for about two
weeks while the wagons and teams went to bring more Saints out of Missouri. There were about
three to four thousand people there. 50 A short time later they relocated to Commerce, which
then became known as the City of Nauvoo. While living there Moses married Aurelia Peckham
Jackman on May 28, 1839, the daughter of Levi and Angeline Myers Jackman long time friends
of the Curtis family. 51 Together they had the following seven children. Their names and
birthplaces are:
Moses’s father, a lonely widower, married Delia Byam Reed on October 29, 1839. 53 This
was thirty years to the day after he had married his first love, Millicent. Delia was a widow also
living in Nauvoo, with children of her own. The Curtis children were happy to have a new
‐
49
Page 17 -
Nahum, Mary
M oseph Curtis respectivelyy. 55
and Jo
In Nauvoo,
N Mosses served inn the Nauvooo
made to surrender
s theeir weapons to the local authorities trying
t to opppress the Moormons. Afteer all
while nonne of the guaards were loooking. He later used thiis gun on thee trek west too the Salt Laake
Valley. It
I is now in the C 57
t LDS Chuurch Historyy Museum inn Salt Lake City.
54
Weechh, p8.
55
www.earlylds.org. faamily group shheet.
56
Vernaa Colvin, The Garden
G and Hoow it Grew, Edeen 1881-1981. p199 & 200.
57
Lymann Curtis Historry, p6. Lyman’s history indicates the gun is in the DUP museum,
m but conntact was madee
with the museum curattor who could notn find any reecord of it in thheir collection. Therefore, wee think it
‐
Page 18 -
additional Seventies. 60 It was at this time that Moses was ordained to the priesthood office of
Seventy.
Moses and his brothers were sent to find lumber from the Mississippi River in Wisconsin,
northwest of Nauvoo, to help build the fast-growing city. There was not a readily available
lumber supply in the early 1840s when the Saints in Nauvoo were trying to build many houses,
the temple and the Nauvoo House. During the years 1841-1845, a church guided lumber
operation was underway in the Wisconsin Pineries. It is reported that during these years the
Latter-day Saints harvested “an estimated one-and-a-half million board feet of milled lumber,
over two hundred thousand shingles, and an undeterminable number of loose logs, hewed
timbers and barn boards. This was enough lumber to build about 215 three-bedroom houses of
The Curtis brothers had many adventures trying to guide the lumber down the river. One
such experience happened to Lyman and Moses. They were gathering lumber for the Nauvoo
Temple on this particular trip. They had tied the logs together with wooden pins and hickory
withes to make a type of crude wooden raft to carry themselves and their supplies. (A hickory
withe is a green tree branch that has all the twigs trimmed off. Then you carefully bend the
branch until it is very pliable so you can use it as a type of fastener much like a rope.) At one
point while stopping to gather supplies, Moses guided the raft close to the river bank. Lyman
took the rope and jumped ashore to wrap it around a young tree close to the shore. The tree was
weak and bent by the strong current of the water. This bending action took Lyman under the
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Page 19 -
60
William G. Hartley. “Nauvoo Stake, Priesthood Quorums, and the Church’s First Wards”. BYU Studies. Provo
Utah 32, 1992, p71.
61
Dennis Rowley. “The Mormon Experience in the Wisconsin Pineries, 1841-1845” BYU Studies. Provo Utah 32,
1992, p121.
water. Lym
man hung on to the rope tightly
t and when
w
like a boom
merang and was
w able to geet free. This
mbering tripss. 62
received its name beccause they camped in the area often on their lum
preparingg to return to
o his home from
fr the lum
mber businesss on
densely wooded
w areaa or to go aroound on the road.
r He waas
him and said, “Don’tt go that wayy.” He turnedd to see whoo had
walk throough the treee. This time he couldn’tt ignore the voice
v i said, “Donn’t go that way.”
when it
62
Ida Bllum, Nauvoo- Gateway
G to thee West. Journall Printing Co.: Carthage Ill. 1974. p27-28.
63
Weechh, p19-20.
gentle whisperings of the Holy Ghost. But he became well known as a man who lived close to
Another time he was in the blacksmith shop where some men were fixing a muzzle loading
rifle. A voice told him to move, he listened and quickly backed away right before the gun went
off and shot right through the place he had been standing. Moses was prompted many times in
The Curtis family was greatly saddened when the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother
Hyrum were killed by a mob in Carthage Jail on June 27, 1844. Moses describes the Prophet
Joseph as “having a halo of light around him and Moses always felt joy in his association with
the Prophet.” 65 Moses’s brothers Lyman and George, members of the Nauvoo Militia, were once
again given an important responsibility to stand guard over the bodies of Joseph and Hyrum after
their death because there was a reward offered for the head of Joseph Smith. 66
Moses’s oldest sister Sophronia taught school while they lived in Nauvoo. Her husband
Patrick Norris drowned when returning from a mission in 1844, leaving her a young widow at
Life in Nauvoo was hard. They were plagued by sickness because of the swamp and
mosquitoes. The life expectancy at this time was thirty-eight years for men and forty years for
women. 68 Most people upon arriving in Nauvoo had to live in their wagon box, a tent or a
dugout while they built a more permanent shelter. 69 Their food source was largely what they
grew themselves or found while hunting. Farming was not easy in Nauvoo, but they tried a
64
Weech, p21.
‐
65
Page 21 -
farming helped
h with the social asspect of livinng during
chickens, a vegetablee garden andd possibly ann apple, Fig 22 - Building thhe Nauvoo Tempple
assumed to be near th
he Temple site. There was
w no place in
i Nauvoo thhat could hoouse the num
mber
71
of peoplee for a Sundaay church meeting.
m Inn the later years of Nauvooo, they buillt a bowery to
t
meet in. 72
7
A bowery is an open air
a structure with
w posts foor supports and
a a thatcheed roof. A
bowery could
c provid
de shelter forr up to a thouusand peoplee depending on its dimennsions. It waas
E
Everyone in Nauvoo,
N inclluding Mosees and his fam
mily workedd tirelessly too finish theirr
beloved temple.
t Mosses’s father and
a brothers worked poliishing stones. They wouuld put one large
l
moving the
t stones arround they were
w able to polish
p the boottom stone. 74
7
‐
70
Page 22 -
Givenns, p1.
71
Givenns, p146-147
72
Richarrdson, Sketchess of the Curtis Family, p13.
73
http://www.thisistheplace.org/. Weebsite of a repliica of early Sallt Lake City. They
T have a repplica and
explanattion of a bowerry. (accessed on
o November 29, 2008)
74
Givenns. p44.
O June 26, 1845,
On 1 Mosess and his wiffe Aurelia booth received their Patriarrchal Blessinng by
T
Thou shalt haave power too gather the remnants
r of Jacob by thoousands & establish them m in
the citiess of the saints; as thy privvilege to go whithersoevver thou wiltt, thy callingg is more
particularrly among th he Lamanites, thou shaltt bring thoussands of themm to a knowlledge of the
truth; thoou shalt be ab ble to speak the languagge of any peoople whereveer thy lot is cast,
c or to doo any
76
t wisdom will direct for
miracle that f the prosperity of the great
g work of
o the Lord… …
N
Nahum and his
h wife Delia were the first
fi family members
m to receive
r their temple
endowmeent in Nauvo mber 18, 18445. 77 Moses’s sister Maryy and her huusband Calviin
oo on Decem
Februaryy 2, Moses, his w his wifee Sally Ann all received their
h wife Aureelia, his brotther Joseph with
The Nauvoo Temple musst have been very speciall to all thosee who workeed hard to seee its
Fig 23 - Nauvoo
o Temple
75
Churcch of Jesus Chrrist of Latter-daay Saints. Early
ly Church Inforrmation File, FHL film # 17550670. Moses #500
‐
Page 23 -
Fig 24 - Tombstone off Nahum Curtis (Nauvoo) his horsess drowned, but
b a kindly unknown
u
gentlemaan gave him money to buuy a new horrse. 80 Mary Curtis Reed,, Moses’s sisster, along with
w
episode two
t of their oxen
o drowneed. 81
F 25 -The Nauvvoo Exodus
Fig
March 9,, 1846. The family is noot entirely suure where he is buried buut it is probabbly whereveer he
died on thhe other sidee of the riverr. There is a grave markker in Nauvooo with his name
n on it. 82
‐
Page 24 -
Nahum was
w a stalwarrt member of
o the churchh. He gave service willinngly and quietly. His
80
Lymann Curtis Historry. p3.
81
Richarrdson. Sketchess of the Curtis Family, p14-15.
82
Weechh, p52.
patriarchal blessing says that “he will be held in honorable remembrance by his descendants and
perpetuated by them for his sacrifices; spiritual blessings shall be multiplied upon his head and
for the integrity of his heart in which there is no guile. This is a blessing of promise upon you
Moses and his brothers, Joseph and Lyman worked together to build wagons big enough
to carry each family’s belongings on the journey west to the Rocky Mountains. Due to the
persecution and being forced to leave their homes, the Curtis family lost their mother, and father.
But they must have been comforted by the new found knowledge of temple ordinances that
sealed families together for eternity. At the time of the exodus of the saints from Nauvoo in
1846, the cities population was roughly about 17,000. This was in comparison to Chicago,
Illinois in that same year whose city population was about 10,000. 84
The Saints did not make the long trek to the Rocky Mountains in the year of 1846 when
they were driven out of Nauvoo, because many were not prepared for the long journey. Some
had been forced to leave with very few provisions. Instead, under the direction of Brigham
Young they formed settlements along the trail from Nauvoo to provide shelter and food for the
travelers. They also helped those who were not prepared to make the trek yet. The first camp was
at Sugar Creek, Iowa Territory nine miles west of Nauvoo across the Mississippi. It was at Sugar
Creek that the leaders of the church formed a plan and made a decision which trail to follow to
their ultimate destination in the Rocky Mountains. They remained in this camp for the entire
month of February 1846. 85 It took a little more than three more months for this large body of
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Page 25 -
83
Weech, p54.
84
Richard E. Bennett. Mormons at the Missouri, 1846-1852 “And Should We Die”. University of Oklahoma
Press, 1987. p15.
85
Bennett. p25-26.
Saints to cross the Io
owa Territoryy. They trekkked throughh mud, rain
and snow
w which caussed them to move
m slowerr than originnally
A
Along the trail some of thhe men weree called to join the
Mormon Battalion. On
O June 26, 1846 while camped by the
t
to enlist recruits
r for the
t Battalionn. This groupp included Moses’s
M Fig 266 - Foster Curtiss
D 87 The Mormon
for. Fosteer is listed ass a Private inn Company D. M Battaalion was a group
g of 5000
Mormon soldiers enllisted by the United Statees governmeent to help inn the Mexicaan War in 18846.
Althoughh at first this endeavor seeemed to be a huge sacriifice for the families of those
t that weere
Inn Septemberr 1846, Brighham Young and the otheer church leaaders decidedd to make a
By Septem
mber it was too late in thhe season to
86
Benneett. p45.
87
Mormmon Battalion Trek.
T http://www.mormonbatttalion.com/histtory/roster.htm
ml. (accessed
Novembber 29, 2008).
88
Alexannder. p92-93. Bennett.
B p51.
89
Benneett. p58.
M
Moses with his
h wife Aureelia and theirr young children Moses Monroe, Anngeline, and
Fig 28 - Joseph Curtis wennt back to Miissouri to buuy enough coorn to last thrrough the winter.
M of the houses
Most h in Winter Quarterrs were smalll single room
m structures having
to have tiime to build a shelter maay have beenn asked to shhare with thoose less fortuunate. 92
T next yearr April 14, 1847, when thhe first grouup of pioneerrs left on theeir journey too the
The
Rocky Mountains,
M Moses
M and hiss brother Josseph discussed the welfaare of their families.
fa Thiss
vanguardd trip westwaard would bee physically rigorous forr the companny and there were still soome
to come. Together th
he brothers decided
d that Joseph
J woulld go with thhe first groupp while his
90
Winteer Quarters Projject. www.winnterquarters.byuu.edu/pages/W
Ward3.htm (accessed October 24, 2008).
91
S.C. Richardson,“M
R oses Monroe Curtis,
C Pioneer””, Improvemennt Era, 1923.
92
Benneett. p78.
in the Rocky Mountains. Moses’s brother Lyman also remained in Winter Quarters with his
family. 93
Life was full of ups and downs, happiness and trials, and births and deaths. Sadly,
Moses’s young daughter Angeline died January 1848 at age five and was buried in the Winter
Quarters Cemetery. 94 Then on April 22, 1850, Moses and Aurelia welcomed a new little
Before returning to get his family in Winter Quarters, Joseph Curtis built two houses, one
for his family and one for the family of his brother Moses. 96 In the spring of 1850 while
preparing for their trip to the west, Moses and Lyman went into Missouri to obtain supplies for
their trip. They wanted to purchase a barrel and the store clerk gave them a heavy one without
checking the contents. When they returned home and opened the barrel, they found it had brown
sugar filling about one-third of the barrel. The children were elated for this was a very rare
treat. 97
Sometime between the twentieth and twenty seventh of June 1850, Moses left Winter
Quarters and began the trek west along with his family, and his brothers Lyman and Joseph and
their families. They were part of the Stephen Markham Company of fifty wagons. 98 In Pioneers
and Prominent Men, it says that Moses drove two yoke of oxen and two yoke of cows across the
plains. 99 In Lyman’s history it tells about the journey. It says they ate buffalo meat along the
way. Wood was scare and so they used buffalo chips for fuel. There were a few Indian scares,
93
Weech. p57.
94
www.winterquarters.byu.edu/pages/Ward3.htm (accessed October 24, 2008), cemetery record.
‐
95
Page 28 -
Burrell, p47.
96
Weech, p57.
97
Lyman Curtis history, p7.
98
Mormon Pioneer Overland Trail. http://www.lds.org/churchhistory/library/pioneercompany/0,15797,4017-1-
191,00.html (accessed Oct 2008).
99
Frank Esshom. Pioneers and Prominent Men. Utah Pioneer Book: Salt Lake City, Utah,1913. p833.
but no onne was hurt. A few people died from
m cholera. Thhe company arrived in Saalt Lake Cityy on
Utah
worked hard
h to build
d a nice homee for his fam
mily. In the 1850 Federall Census of Utah
U it says
Moses agge 11, Francis age 5 and Emeline age 1. It also states he had real propertty worth fiftyy
that Moses
M couldd be in the 18850 census even
e though they arrivedd in
Salt Lake
L City inn October 1850.
Moses’s brother
b Lym
man records thhat when theey first moveed to
that was very botherssome and keept getting innto their foodd. Emma Cuurtis, the wifee of their broother
100
Lymaan Curtis Histoory, p7
101
Esshoom, p 833. Eveen though this history
h says that Moses helpeed set up the first telegraph frrom Provo to Salt
S
Lake Citty, Moses lived d in Salt Lake City
C until 18533 at which timee he moved to Provo.
P The tellegraph didn’t come
to Utah until
u the 1860ss. This informaation was accesssed on
http://hisstorytogo.utah..gov/utah_chappters/pioneers__and_cowboys/thetelegraphw wasinformationnhighwayofthe11860s.
html . Thhis web page references
r Mirriam B. Murphyy, “The Telegrraph Comes to Utah,” Beehivve History8 (19982).
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Page 29 -
Moses may
m have helpeed with the teleegraph after he moved to Utahh County, whicch would have been the correect
time period.
102
US Federal Census Office. 1850 Federal
F Censuss for Salt Lake City, Utah Terrritory. (accesssed at
www.anncestry.com) Seeries M432, rolll 919, p133.
103
Alexaander, p118. Utah
U was considdered part of thhe United Statees before it wass recognized ass a territory, soo they
would noot have been obligated
o to carrry out the censsus in that regioon.
George, had made some cheese with liquor in it to act as a preservative. They used this cheese in
a trap to catch the bear. The bear was scrambling in the trap, but before he could break loose,
Moses caught him by the foot while Lyman knocked him out and then killed him with an axe.
The bear meat was shared with many of their neighbors. 104
The decade of 1850 began ten years of one trial after another for the settlers in Provo. A
few years earlier, Indian troubles were so bad in Provo that they had to build a fort to protect the
houses and the settlers. During this time Moses worked on the Provo River, cutting down timbers
and floating them back down the river for the first big adobe meeting house in Provo. 105
In the LDS Bishop’s report of 1852-1853, Moses and his family lived in the Provo First
Ward. His brother Lyman lived in Salt Lake City Ninth Ward. His brother’s George and Joseph
both lived in Utah County in the Payson Ward at this time. 106
Moses Monroe, the oldest son of Moses and Aurelia relates a surprising happening in
Provo in the year 1852. The settlers had very little sugar and the people were becoming crazy to
have something sweet. One morning they woke up and the trees were all covered in something
sparkling white. It looked as if a snow storm had come, but after careful examination the
pioneers discovered it was actually sugar. They gathered limbs from the trees, some of which
had broken from the weight of the sugar on them. Then they rinsed the white residue off and
boiled it down so they could carefully store it for use in the future. 107
In Provo during the year 1853, one evening just after dark, two small children were found
to be missing. Many times they would ride out alone to find their father working in the field and
‐
104
Page 30 -
worried when
w they co
ouldn’t find their childreen. The tow
wn people weere called to look for them
m.
to gatherr at one of th
he homes to have
h a prayeer. After theyy were finishhed praying, Moses was told
brotherr and she repplied that shee thought he had gone hoome,
F 30 – Typicall cornfield
Fig but a feew rows over, Moses fouund her brothher lying aslleep
O October 5,
On 5 1853, Mosses along witth his wife and
a children were called to go to the
for food from the setttlers at Fort Utah (Provoo), accidentaally shot
himself and
a then blam
med it on thee white folk.. Shortly afteer this
‐
bonnnet
108
S.C. Richardson,“A
R A Pioneer Inciddent in the life of
o Moses Curtiis”, Improvemeent Era, 1923.
109
Churcch of Jesus Ch
hrist of Latter-dday Saints Histoorical Departm
ment. Journal History
H of the Church,
C 5 Oct 1853.
110
JH, 31
3 Mar 1858 an nd 29 May 18552.
incident, another Ind
dian group was
w exchanginng flour for fish when thhe husband of
o an Indian
constant Indian Raids. These fighhts with the Indian didn’’t stop until after
a the deaath of Chief
Walker. His brother then declareed they shouuld have peacce with the Mormon
M setttlers. 111
pioneers were
w left witthout food foor the winterr. The winteers of 1855 and
a
original 2600
2 head off cattle survivved the
Fig 32- Grasshopper
G
winter. In Springville, directly souuth of Provo,,
the peoplle were recorded to be eaating sego bulbs, thistle roots, and pig
B
Brigham You
ung and the other
o churchh leaders couunseled the
Fig 23 - The Sego Lily
‐
Page 32 -
111
Marillyn McMeen Miller.
M Provo, A Story of Peopple in Motion. BYU Press. Prrovo. 1974. p155-16.
112
Milleer, p17.
113
Paul H.
H Peterson. The
Th Mormon Reeformation. PhD D Diss. Brighaam Young University,1981) p42.
p
memberss that they neeeded to be more
m righteoous and havee a
at this tim
me, which beegan a time of
o rededicatiion and com
mmitment
these triaals.
Sometime aro
ound 1857- 1858,
1 Mosess moved his family furthher south to a small
communiity named Pondtown, whhich today iss called Saleem. This wass just before the great exxodus
governm
ment and its citizens.
c Nonnetheless, thiis migration to Provo invvolved thirtyy thousand
115
people who
w came by wagon and formed a larrge camp in the city of Provo.
P
114
Milleer, p18.
115
Milleer, p19.
116
US Federal
F Census 1860, Utah. Pondtown,
P Utahh, Utah Territoory. Series M6553, roll 1314, p961.
p
117
dollars annd his person
nal wealth was
w three hunndred fifty dollars.
d M
Moses had sloowly been
building up his propeerty to make a nice homee for his wiffe and childreen, many off which had now
Pondtown is located
l fifteen miles souuthwest of Prrovo. It wass settled in 1851 but manny of
gave to his
h father to live
l in. It waas thought too be one of thhe nicest houuses in the toown. The naails
119
used for its constructtion cost sixtty cents per pound.
p
Inn Pondtown,, Moses met an immigraant from Enggland named George Hannks. He workked
came to Utah.
U She had
h been bapptized on Maarch, 20, 18668 in Englandd by her unccle William
117
US Federal
F Census 1870, Utah. Pondtown,
P Utahh, Utah Territoory. Series M5993, roll 1612, pg259.
p Moses’s
second wife
w Elizabeth was in the houusehold and listted as keeping house. The cennsus was takenn that year on July
J
29, six months
m after their marriage.
118
Holzaapfel, Richard. A History of Utah
U County. Utah
U Historicall Society. p65.
119
Weecch, p81.
Lake City he never contacted her. Not knowing what else to do, Elizabeth moved to Salem with
her brother George and met her brother’s employer Moses Curtis. By 1869 George had started a
family of his own which included a wife and small baby. He convinced Elizabeth to marry
Moses as a plural wife, which was legal in Utah at that time. On January 11, 1870, Moses and
Elizabeth traveled to Salt Lake City, where they were sealed in the Endowment House. Moses
was thirty six years older than Elizabeth who was eighteen. At times it was difficult because
Moses had three children older than Elizabeth. He was very good to Elizabeth and tried hard to
make her happy. 120 Together they had eight children. Their names and birthplaces are:
Sometime later when Elizabeth’s fiancé came to Salem to find her, she was already
married. She told him that she had made eternal marriage covenants that she was not willing to
break and he would have to find another woman to love and marry. Elizabeth was a great
example of taking marriage covenants seriously and of how to honor those covenants her entire
life. 122
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Page 35 -
120
History of Elizabeth Hanks Curtis.
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~hanks/histories/elizabethhankscurtis.html)
121
Personal family group sheet, possession of author.
122
History of Elizabeth Hanks Curtis. p3.
M
Moses and Ellizabeth’s olldest son Geoorge died at the age of eighteen monnths. This was
w
M
Moses’s neph
hew Samuel,, son of his brother
b Lym
man Curtis, teells that one day Uncle
travelingg to Payson to
o visit cousins. Moses would
w
oxen to see
s how fast he could prood them to go.
g Moses being a kind and
a gentle man
m didn’t
could be easily
e fed froom the river coming dow
wn
Spanish Fork
F Canyon. They triedd to get the
communitty involved in
i the work, but no one
123
Persoonal family gro
oup sheet, in poossession of auuthor.
124
Richaardson, Sketches of the Curtis Family, p8.
Curtis brrothers were serious, theyy began to reeceive more help. The canal
c took thhree years to dig.
It ended up
u to be two
o feet deep, eight
e feet wiide on the boottom and tw
welve feet wiide at the topp. It
125
was seveen miles long
g and had thee capacity too irrigate twoo thousand acres.
a
Ariizona
and his sons were callled to movee to Arizona to be part off the settlem
ment in Brighham City along
126
with manny other fam
milies from Utah.
U The town
t was firrst known ass Ballenger, but the name
was an exxperiment in
n living the United
U Orderr. It is not known exacctly when Moses and hiss
family made
m the trek
k, but it was sometime
s beetween the birth
b of daughhter Eliza Jaane who wass
born on November
N 1876 in Salem
m, Utah and daughter Mary Sophronnia born in Brigham
B Cityy,
difficult to
t grow crop
ps well. Theey camped on the Little
125
Richaardson, Sketchees of the Curtiss Family, p22-223.
126
Journnal History of the
t Church, 7 April
A 1877.
127
James H. McClintocck. Mormon Seettlement in Arrizona. LDS Arrchive Publisheers: Grantsvillee, Utah,
reprint 1997, p145.
128
family
ly group record d Moses Curtiss and Elizabethh Hanks, in posssession of the author
dining haall 20 by 25 feet. In the dining hall the
t whole caamp ate togeether at a lonng table. Mooses
directly outside
o the fort
fo wall, witth the two Moses
M t fort. 130
Curtis houses being closest to the
Erastus Hancock,
H a future
fu son-inn-law to Mosses, said thatt Moses was responsible for the garddens
pleasurabble. He remembers that they had pleenty of milk for drinkingg and to makke cheese andd
family. 132
the process
p of making
m yarn with
w the spinnning wheel. She said thhat
129
Charlles S. Peterson
n, Take Up Your Mission: Mormon Coloniziing Along the L Little Coloradoo River
1870-19900. University y of Arizona Prress: Tucson, Arizona,
A 1973, p20.
p
130
Colviin, p9.
131
Spenccer Palmer. Thhe Life and Anccestry of Erastuus Elijah Hanccock. Wuerth Letter Shop:Berrkeley,
‐
Page 38 -
Californnia,1958, p7.
132
Palmer p8. This acccount of the abuundance of graass for the cow
ws doesn’t reallyy coincide withh the histories that
report thhe ground of alk
kali and being so hard to groww crops the unnited order wass disbanded by LDS Apostle
Erastus Snow.
S membrance toldd to Spencer J. Palmer by his grandfather Errastus E. Hancock
Howeveer, this is a rem
himself who
w lived there. The success of the dairy heerd is also conffirmed in the history
h of the arrea written by C.
Petersonn, Take Up You ur Mission. p1111.
tree bark or leaves. The dying process would be a combined family effort. Sometimes they
While living in Brigham City, the Moses Curtis family had a tragic event. On July 3,
1879, their six year old son Joseph Alfred drowned in the Little Colorado River just three days
before his seventh birthday. He was buried in a little cemetery by the settlement located in what
On October 27, 1880, Apostles Erastus Snow and Brigham Young, Jr., came to observe
how the settlement was working. They found the people in a meager situation. They had not
had one year of good yielding crops because of flooding and bad soil. The Apostles released the
members of the United Order and advised them to move to greener pastures where they could
more easily make a living and feed their families. 135 A poem was written about early pioneer life
in Arizona, describing the type of country that the deserts of Arizona were:
133
Eliza Jane Curtis Palmer. The First Families to settle in Curtis in 1880. copy in possession of author.
‐
134
Page 39 -
state of Arizona.
A Theey set up a caamp on the North
N
Monroe who
w was already in the area.
a In the beginning
b
covered wagon.
w Thiss was toppedd with a bowery made
of their camp
c on the ground. Eveeryone workeed hard on thhe task to clear land andd build shelteers
changed the name off Curtis to Edden. The members of thee Curtis settllement begann to be sick
Elizabeth made
m a lot off suits by hannd with a neeedle and thrread
for the menn in Curtis annd the surrouunding townns. She also made
m
Fig 31- Needle and Thhread for
quilting m
many quilts to
t keep out thhe cold wintter air with their batting
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Page 40 -
137
Colviin, p24.
made froom wool. 138
Inn 1881 theree were many Indian probblems in Curttis. This caaused the Cuurtis family too
was durinng one of theese Indian sccares that Ellizabeth gavee birth to theeir daughter Joanna. Thee
family was
w staying in
n a cottonwoood shed thatt was usuallyy used as ann animal shellter. Moses
cleaned it
i up and they
y were tempporarily “cam
mping” theree while waitiing for the Inndians to stoop
A
After ten days, the men reeturned to thheir homes too find that thhe Indians haad killed all their
digging an
a irrigation canal
138
Colviin, p24.
139
Colviin, p24.
140
Colvinn, p24-25.
wn family. 141 The year off 1881 was thhe worst for Indian troubbles. The
to butcheer for his ow
families of
o the Curtiss settlement were forcedd to build a tyype of stockaade. They dug
d a trench
impendinng danger. At
A night, the men
m would take
t turns standing guard in case of Indian attackks or
people off the Gila Vaalley had to work hard clearing the land
l to grow
w enough crops to supporrt
that tim
me using the timber from
m the local
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Page 42 -
cottonwoood trees wh
hich grew in abundance on
o the river bank
b of the Gila
G River. After
A erectinng the
141
Colvinn, p 25.
142
Colvinn, p25-26.
143
Colvinn, p200.
walls with logs, they would then put mud between the cracks of the logs to keep out the
elements. This process was called “chucking”. Most of the logs were not straight and therefore
the homes were not very straight, neither did they have glass for the windows. They used cloth to
hang over the opening. The roofs were made of reeds from the river and mud, and then they
would put hard dirt. This crude construction gave an easy access to rodents, insects and
snakes. 144
Frances Elizabeth, oldest daughter of Moses and Elizabeth, remembers watching the
Indians take a bag of flour from their home that was full of weevils and bugs. The Indians didn’t
even grimace as they ate the flour by handfuls bugs and all. They had discovered that they could
steal food from the settlement instead of having to grow their own. Elizabeth and Moses always
tried to share their food with the Indians and befriend them. 145
In December 31, 1882, the LDS Relief Society was organized in Eden under the direction
of Moses. He called his wife Elizabeth H. Curtis to be the first president with Martha Curtis and
Adeliah Coons as counselors, Josephine Curtis secretary and Octavia G. Sabin treasurer. 146
On August 12, 1883, Moses and Elizabeth had a son whom they named Joseph Lyman.
Sadly, he died four days later. Two weeks after that, Moses’s first wife Aurelia died on August
30, 1883 at the age of sixty two. After Aurelia’s death, Moses built a new two story brick home
outside the stockade. He lived there with Elizabeth for the remainder of his life. 147
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Page 43 -
144
Colvin, p27.
145
Colvin, p25.
146
Colvin, p75.
147
Weech, p23.
T first churrch meetingss held in Currtis were in the
The t home of Moses Curtiis which was
operty to thee church andd they still ussed the cabinn to hold meeetings. 148
1883, he gave the pro
B
Before comin
ng to the Uniited States, Elizabeth
E hadd been emplloyed in the home of a
Elizabethh’s interest in
i music andd medicine. The family had
singing voice,
v a talennt which shee shared her entire life.
Slowly the
t doctor tauught Elizabeeth medical techniques
t a
and
let her asssist him witth his care foor his patiennts. When shhe
came to Utah she used this skill many times. By the tim
me
dollars a delivery. This cost included the dellivery and thhen care of thhe mother annd baby alonng
river to go
g to a deliveery. On thesee occasions Moses woulld stay at hom
me and care for their fam
mily
M
Moses contin
nued in his paattern of devvoted servicee to the churrch for his enntire life. Hee was
called to serve on thee High Counncil in the St.. Joseph Stakke on Marchh 28, 1885. 1550 Then on
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Page 44 -
148
Colviin, p196.
149
Histoory of Elizabeth
h Hanks Curtiss.p5.
150
Fentoon W.Taylor. The
T 25th Stake of Zion, 1883-1983. St. Josepph Stake, Thatccher, Arizona. Phoenix,
Arizona::Thatcher Arizzona Stake Pressidency, 1983. p365.
February 7, 1898, he was ordained to be the Patriarch of Eden by John Henry Smith, a member
of the Quorum of Apostles at that time. 151 In December 1900 in the Eden ward minutes, they
recorded that the ward was comprised of two hundred fifty six members, which included forty
five families, twenty four Elders, twenty Deacons, one hundred twelve lay members and eighty
nine children under eight years of age. As you can see it was a fairly small ward with many
In the Eden Ward minutes, there are two excerpts about Moses. The first on Sunday
“Brother Moses Curtis said when he first heard the gospel he felt
testimony, saying- It has been my rule for the last sixty years to
Fig 45 - Man tanning leather attend all kinds of meetings and respect the Sabbath Day.” 153
Moses had many talents, one of which was tanning leather for the local shoemaker Soren
Nelson Ensthrum. Moses was known for tanning hides in every community that he lived in
On May 10, 1907 at the age of ninety one, Moses Curtis passed away. 155 He left behind
his wife Elizabeth and a large posterity. Even though his physical body was gone he left to all
‐
151
Page 45 -
F. Taylor, p372.
152
Colvin, p197.
153
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, “Eden Ward, Arizona. Record of Ordinances, 1883-1899, Minutes
of Meetings, 1897-1899”. Genealogical Society of Utah: Salt Lake City, 1966. (FHL film # 450471). p6 & 9.
154
Colvin, p29.
155
Colvin, p200.
who knew him a legacy of true unwavering devotion to the religion that he found in his teenage
years. This devotion led him on a pathway that had taken him from Missouri to Illinois, then
Iowa, Utah and finally Arizona; a place where he spent his final years enjoying his family and
‐
Page 46 -
APPENDIX
Page 47 -
‐
Recipee from thee Nahum Curtis Faamily-
Rusk
Make corrnmeal breadd according to your favoorite recipe. After
A it has cooled,
c allow
w to dry for
several days
d then bak
ke slowly in a warmed oven
o until it is
i thoroughlyy dry and sliightly brownned.
Grate it on
o a coarse grater
g or crum
mble it with a rolling pinn. It can be eaten
e with crream and suggar,
h milk and honey poureed over it. This makes a tasty, quickk mush. (Reccipe used by the
or with hot
Nahum Curtis
C family
y at Nauvoo..) New Era » 1973 » Deccember
31- http://comps.fotosearch.com/comp/LIQ/LIQ113/native-american-indian_~vl0009b008.jpg
32- unknown location
33- http://www.fs.fed.us/wcnf/unit/eco/SegoLily.gif
34- http://www.bethelhistorical.org/Brigham%20Young.jpg
35- http://www.ldschurchtemples.com/endowment/
36- http://www.saskschools.ca/~gregory/oxen.html
37-
http://www.salemcity.org/index.php?module=pagemaster&PAGE_user_op=view_page&PAGE_
id=2&MMN_position=2:2
38- drawn by Robert C. Snow, Mapleton, Utah.
39- unsure of source
40- http://www.sbwagonco.com/wagon_main.html
41- http://labelmeclothing.com/Pictures/1repair1.jpg - sewing
42- http://www.ace-clipart.com/clipart/animal_clipart/pig4.gif - pig
43- http://image63.webshots.com/63/3/86/59/2291386590083931530wtJGat_ph.jpg - log cabin
44- http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~hanks/people.html
45- http://serc.carleton.edu/images/woburn/issues/historical_leather_tanning.png
46- http://greekproducts.com/images/icons/rusk.jpg
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Page 50 -
A young Moses Curtis Middle‐aged Moses Curtis
51
51
Moses, 2nd wife Elizabeth and a daughter. Moses Curtis with son Moses Monroe, grandson
Page
Francis Osro and his baby Floyd (Nov. 1903)
Back: Frances, Eliza Jane and Sophronia ; Front: Della, Parents, Moses and Elizabeth Curtis and Joanna
52
Page
Grave markers of Moses and 1st wife Aurelia (Erelia) Jackman located in the Eden, AZ cemetery.
Eden, Arizona home of Moses and Elizabeth Curtis. Elizabeth is on the porch with daughter Della.
53
Page
Elizabeth Curtis – 2nd wife of Moses Curtis Grave marker for Elizabeth Curtis (Eden, AZ)
Patriarchal Blessing- Nauvoo, Illinois 1845
Page 54 -
June 26, 1845 given by Patriarch John Smith (uncle to Joseph Smith, Jr.)
June 26th A Blessing by John Smith Patriarch upon the head of Moses Curtis son of Nahum &
Milicent, born, May 8th 1816, Erie Co. Pennsylvannia. Br. Moses, I lay my hands upon thy
head for & in behalf of thy father, & seal upon thee a patriarchal or father's blessing in the
name of Jesus Christ; thou art a lawful heir to the priesthood which is after the order of the
only Begotten, the keys of the mysteries of which shall be committed unto thee in the house of
the Lord, when you receive your anointing & endowment with your companion, for all
mysteries shall be revealed which have been kept hid from before the foundation of the world;
thou shalt have power to gather the remnants of Jacob by thousands & establish them in the
cities of the saint; as thy privilege to go whithersoever thou wilt, thy calling is more
particularly among the Lamanites, thou shalt bring thousands of them to a knowledge of the
truth; thou shalt be able to speak the language of any people wherever thy lot is cast, or to do
any miracle that wisdom will direct for the prosperity of the great work of the Lord; thou shalt
also be a counseler in the house of Israel forever & shall be able to do the business acceptably
in the sight of the Lord & of all the saints; thy mind shall expand as wide as eternity & this
blessing & priesthood shall be perpetuated to thy progeny through all the generations of
Joseph; thy days & years shall be according to thy faith & thy possessions shall be exceeding
great, & thy desires shall all be realized, & thy name shall be written with the names of the
sanctified never to be blotted out; & inasmuch as you abide in faith to the end thou shalt
receive a crown of eternal life which I seal upon you in common with you companion &
children & no power shall take it from you, even so. Amen
Page 55 -
Patriarchal Blessing- 1979- Eden, Graham, Arizona pg. 1
Page 56 -
Page 57 -
Page 58 -
Brigham City Arizona Territory
March 5, 1879
A Patriarchal Blessing by S. H. Hatch upon the head of Moses Curtis son of Nahum Curtis and
Milicent Wait – Born Connaught town Erie Co. Pennsylvania, U.S.A. May 8th 1816
Brother Moses in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth I place my hands upon thy head and seal upon
thee an patriarchal and father's blessing. Thou art through the loins of Ephraim; therefore thy life
hath been spared to rear up thy sons and daughters in the fear of the Lord. Your admonitions have
been timely, and thy faith and prayers come up in an acceptable manner into the ears of the Lord of
Sabaoth. Thou hast been permitted with many of thy house to come forth as pioneers of the gospel
unto the remnats of Lehi. This is the day in which the work of the Father shall commence among all
the nations of the earth. It is also a day of judgement and wrath upon the wicked. Thy course hath
been pleasing unto thy heavenly Father; behold how often thy life hath been preserved by thy
guardian angel who has had charge of thee from thine infancy. It is in fulfillment of prophecy that
thou art here in this land. Through your prosperity shall the work of redemption continue to go forth
until all shall be redeemed of thy kindred except those who have forfeited their rights. Lift up thy
heart Bro. Moses and praise the Lord. Bear testimony often unto thy brethren and sisters and your
name shall be had in honorable remembrance among your posterity and the saints throughout all
generations through time and all eternity. Thou shalt have dreams that shall comfort thee. I seal all
thy former blessings upon thee and thou shalt live as long as thou desirest it. I seal thee up to come
forth in the morning of the glorious reserection, to have part in the Celestial Kingdom, with thy
A Blessing by Wm McBride Patriarch upon the head of Moses Son of Nahum & Millisant
Waite Curtis Born May 8th 1816 in coniatt Erie Co. Pennsylvannia State.
Bro. Moses in the name of the Lord Jesus I place my hands upon your head and by the athority
of the holy priesthood I seal upon thee a patriarchal blessing and I comfirm upon thee all the
former blessings and ordinations & I bless thee with life with health & wilh strength that
thy life maybe perlonged for the Lord is well pleased with thee because of they faithfullness
for thou was called chosen & set apart before the foundation of the Kingdom of God upon
the earth and to bring in the reighn of peace and turn the government into the hands of the
just onto this end thou wast born for thou art of the house of Israel by lineage & promise and
if thy faith fail thee not thou shalt live to see the day when thou shalt have the privelage of
worshiping god according to the dictates of thy consience and none will dare to molest thee
or make thee affraid thou shalt receive an everlasting inheritance for thy self thy children &
Friends and a crown of eternal lives and thy part in the morning of the first resurection with
all that are near & dear unto thee and thy children shall build upon the foundation that thou
hast laid for the redemption of thy fathers house for many generations back that thy work
may be complete for I seal these words upon thee in the name of Jesus Amen
Page 61 -
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