claudius victor spencer diary 1845

8/6/2019 Claudius Victor Spencer Diary 1845

1/10

THE 1845 DIARY OF CLAUDIUS VICTOR SPENCERMaurine Carr Ward

One year ago, a small diary was purchased by theSpecial Collections Department ofUtah State University.Actually, it was only two months of a diary--25 Jammy1845 to 18February 1845-and it appeared to have beentom from a larger account No name is attached to thediary; however, some clues as to its author are evident.'

Tbe content of tbe ournal suggests that it was writ-ten by a young man in his late teens or early twenties.OnFriday, 7 February, be penned these words: " w e n t toMajor Roes. Told his Wife that My name was Spencerthat I came from Nauvoo." Young Spencer livedwithhisfather and mother and, apparently, with a brother orsomeonenamed Gilbert.TheSpencerFamilies in NauvooSo the author of the diary could be determined, theSpencer familiesliving in Nawoo during the time of thediary had to be identified.

Daniel Spencer and his wife, Chloe Wilson, we=from West Stockbridge, Berkshire, Massachusetts.Theirson, Daniel Jr., was the first to become interested in th:strange, new Mormon sect When he chose to join withthis reuon, his father and mother and Baptist ministerbmther, Orson, chose not to associate with him further.Daniel Jr. continued to tell them of his beliefs, though,and soon baptized 01son andanother brother,Hiram, ndtheir families. Eventually, Daniel Sr., Chloe, and thefamilies of their three sonswere all in Nawoo, Il lh is .Chloe died in Nawoo in 1843.Her husbanddied there inNovember 1844.

All three of the Spenoersonswere involved inbuild-ing not only the Church but also the cities where theSaints resided. Hiram2 died in August 1846 near Mt.Pisgah, Iowa Daniel Jr. paid tribute to Hiram while

describing his death:3Iwish here to make affectionateand honorable men-tion of my bmther Hyrum, whose life before associ-ationwithour people, and his devotion and loyaltyafter joining them, were worthy of the highestpraise. He was as brave in spirit as hewas pow eh linphysique. He left Nawoo withthe first out-goingSaints as captain of fifty in the company o munder my presidency. During the journey fromNawoo to Garden Grove he organized the laborforce of the camp, arad took contracts from the set-tlers bordering our route of travel, to chop timber,split rails, etc., thereby procuring sustenance for thecamp and acquiring other much needed means forthe feeble and ailing. The next morning after hisanival at Garden Gmve he voluntarily startedbackto Nawoo. Through great efforts he succeeded inemigrating several poor families,and also sold someof the property left by the thm Spencer bmthers,takng payment in stock cattle. Immediatelytnunped up writs and attachments were issued tohold theproperty until tbe mob which was gatheringshould come into Nawoo. By almost superhumanexertions he escaped with the cattle and means-crossing the Mississippi sixty miles above Nawoo,whilethe sheriff and posse were waiting to intercepthim fortymiles below the city-and al l but reacbedthe camp of the Saints at Mount Pisgah; &ugh hedid so as a martyr, his exposures, anxieties andlabors havingkilled him He diedsomemileseast ofthe settlement, and the body was brought there forburial.Orson SpenceI4was amte from Union College

in Schenectady, New Yo*. He became a school teacberand alsobegan to study law--but insteradfound an inter-

MAURINECQRR WARD is the editor of The Nawoo J o d . She is also the editor of Mnter Quarters: The 184&1848 Lije Writings ofM ary Haskin Parker Ri fla rh , theffirstn a series of writings by frontier women, published byUtah State University Press.


2/10


3/10

He was married five limes. His firstwife was hiscousin, Maria Antoinette Spencer, daughter of Himmand Mary Spencer. His other wives were GeorgjanaKing, S usan na . Francis Neslen, Louisa King, andMatildaPrice.

Claudius built a large home, known as the "SpencerHouse," at 252 South State Street in SaltLake City. Thehouse laterbecame the home of many of the ederal offi-cials in the valley and was a point of interest for tourists.His home for twenty-nine years was on Social HallAvenue, less than a quarter of a mile from his first home.He was eighty-six when bedied there on 5 January 1910.This skeletal history of Claudius is brief and does

not disclose his personality and character. Following arefour more ietimate, ersonal accounts from his life. Thefhst is the two-month journal written in 1845 fromNawoo.

Journal of Claudius Spencer, 25 January-18February 1845Jaxumv 25th 1845Rose Early in the M o r n i n g 4 Weather mild.Went to Fillmores12 With Hayt Hendrix and w HS p e m r to get Wood and Timber for to Fix theBridgs on the New LaharpRoad the Supe nisor notbeing thm wee coded not accomplish our objectwent to Pattent Land and got a Load of Wood whenI returned found Mr Sperryl3 at our house, BrotherBrigham Young Called in the Evning and took teawith us Paid Father 2 Soverings, left anAppointment to Preach at the Musick Hall, on theMorrow

dav 26thRose Early in the Morning, TheWeather mild donemy chres , attended Meeting at the Musick Hall.heard instructions from P h a r c h John Smith-alsofromH[&r] Kimble they spoke of theNesessity ofUnion, in Families, and exhorted Parrents to beeaggreed inall thingsand teach theirchildren to Pray,exhorted members to treat their Presidents withrespect, in the afternoon I heard h m Mr Houstenand Tailor14 that the Charter was repealed.remarked that it was a good Licence for the Mobwent to the ConcertHall inthe evningls

Mondav 27thThe Weather Cold and Cloudy-spent the Day indrawing sand for the Temple; had much sport withthe Workmen, Last Load the men nearly filled myBox--told them it was tomuchL oad must throw outsom Mr. Weldon took out nearly a Pint and said[inserted above line] the onier was obeyed. I droveit to theTemple. %&Alpheus Cuttler remarked thatI always [unclear] drawed big loads. in the EveningAlpheus Cuttler[,l Reynaids Cahoon[,] 0. Spencerand thier Wives visited at our house. I had thePleasure of Waiting on them made this book in theEvning

Rose early in the morning. the Weather Cold andPleasant, Got the Team Ready for my Father to Goto Carthage in Company with John WilliamsO[rson] Spencer. D[aniel] Hendrix and Mr W wfor the Purpos of having my Grandmothers16 WillProved." Spent the for em on inStudy- in theafter-noon carried Mother and Lowesa Hendrix-toDeools IDeuel's]. Kep t house allone. MiFillmore[,] [Samuel] Bent called to kw k @amw?]wat action wouled be taken in regard to the CharterMr Fillmore tbought that if wee wer to ac t ti+&without an immediate [inserted above the line]appeal that Warrents wouled bee issued for theMayor Alderman and C o u n c e l o 1 ~ 4f not givenUPThe Weather Clearand oole. went to the Farm withTeam+hwed 35 Rails, Mr. Sperry went out andlooked at the Farm. wee got home bout 1.O.C. [oneo'clock] spent the after part of the Day in study. inthe Evening Borrowed a grammar of L Hendrix shetook tea at our house. W fi am Hendrix hurt his armplaying with Gilbert Gilbert and Father Went toBrewsters to Meeting; 28th took one pair of SheepSkin Mittings of James He& to apply on what heowed us.Active T h c it iv e Vexbs Govern the objective Case.A Vexb must aggree with its Nomuitave Case inmunber and personT h e 0thThe Weather Pleasant Drawed 5 Loads of Wood


4/10

Claudius Kctor SpencerfromRigins18Lot,called to see Wfiam Hendrix--had an ~ u c t i o no Mr and MissesMore. heardthe report concerning the Wetherbeing collord likeBlood. 15 Doogs wer killed in the City so reported.City Councilmet in the aftemon Resolved to support the Charter* by evexy Legal and ~owrablemeans. Fatber and Mother went to Cahoon toMeeting. (2d quorum of 70i- meet at the ConcefiHall. Mr Speny staid with us. Retired to -100Clock)Fridav 31stThe Weather Cold and Cloudy. h w e d on LoadWood for Colton from Hunters Lot RetumedLibrary Book. Notes on Mexico. Drawed the Lifeof Napoleon. Finished Hauling Wood from RiginsLot-in the Evning Mother Went to Meeting atHoustens. Lowesa Hendrix[,] Jane Coner[,]lg MrSperry and Daniel Hendrix took Tea with us, in theAftelnoon.In the Evening helped Father Write a Letkr to M

&&& Feb 1st 1845Rose Early in the Morning Went to Drawing Hay.Hauled 3 Loads Before Noon Mr Phineas RicbardsTookDinarWith us-saw Mr Shumway21Who hadjust Returned from his Mission to Brown Comiy.he thought ther was noDanger from Mobbers inthatCounty. Staid one Night With aMobercrat who saidthat ther Was 4000 men signed to Drive theMormons in the Spring. S e a l Meetings Wer heldMillimy Balls so Called Wer beld at Warsaw NoLadies allowed to bee Present. in the Aftemaondrawed Load of Hay took a Ride with D an[d] ACahoonSundavZdWent To Musick Hall heard Brigham Young Preachinto the EvningWent To Orsons to Borrow Baggs.Betsy Hen-,] Miss Fora and Miss Chase wasthare. had an h td u d io n to Miss Chase attendedSinging Schoolreturned home at intermisionMonday 36Staaed for Warsaw at 1127 anived at about 110Clock. spent about 2 112 horn in purchishingBran,P had some co[n]versation with a Gentlemanconseming the Death of Joseph andHyrum Smith heappeard to think it did not concern him. Bought27bushel of Shorts8* per bushel--8 bmL] 5 bushelof Shipings--16h per bush started for Nawoo 11210 Clock anived at about 6 in the Evening. C iElection was held 845 btes Poled for 0 SpencerMayor Daniel SpencerAlderman MrHarrisMrRichandWhitneyl&gjav 4thTheWeather veny cold, mendedbaggs. heard of theDeath of MrWhw Purchased 6 h Worth ofCamphor of Judah called at James He* foundCakrinmucha c t e dwiththeHeadxh RetumdBaggs that was borrowed of Clark and 0 Spencer.also a History thatbelonged to Chloe Spencer

Drawed 1Load of Wood forMr Calton also 5 loadof Stone for Arsenal-Went to Quorum meetingSigned 4 dollars for the Building of PresidentYoungs House


5/10


6/10

and supper with us. took a horse to keep forMrLancaster Gibbext [Gilbert] carried the HistoIy ofNapolian Bonapart to the Library for me also oneBook for Orson I spent the Eveningat home&&g&v Feb 15th 1845The Weather cold my health improved Gibbert andFather drciwed 2 loads fiom leTver:upper steamMillfor ~enkins~~,n the afternoon Gibbert drawedStone for Amasa Lyman, which finished Paying upthe $5,00 Subscription I attendedFencing School.kept by E. Elsworth Spent the Evening at home instudy---heWeatherVerrypleasant Attended Meeting at theSweake COncert Hall heard a discourse FromOrson Pratt on the Previous l%stmm of Man,Mr

Prattthought It might be Posible thatMan had a Lawgiven him and that he had free agency to Obey orDisobey that Law, and that Penalties wer affied.did not know but the different Situations in whichwee see Manloind Situated might bee owing to thedifferance of conduct in the previous stake ofExistauceMonday 17th 1845The Weatherwarm Bought Leather forBoots PaidMrHorn $1,00 inMoney. in the afternoon attendedMechanics Meeting28 Brother Taylor said that foronehewantedtoseethepeopleofNawoofnx. Iftheywas persecuted by Mobs without he wanted tosee them free from embamsment at home-?his ises he statement as near as I can nxolect spent theEvening atD. Cahoons&&y 18th 1845The Weather Warm and Pleassant workd at homecleaning out yards and sawing Wood-Sq[ui]r[e][Daniel] Wells and his Mother tookDiner with us.Henriet Rice Mr Wright and Lady took Tea withus-at about 112 Past 6 O.C. P.h4 [unclear] attendedConcert in the Evening-

S t o r k from the Reminiscences of C ~ ~ U ~ N SpencerThe next three stories by Claudius are from his"Reminiscences" thathe m t e n 1901 to teach his chil-dren that he heavens were not sealed from revelatioeas claimed by Protestant religions. He concludes his

typescript with thewords, I affhm that the events I havewritten are and I have placed my signahm heretothis second day of April, four o'clock p.m, being thehour and theday of themonth on which I was born, sev-enty seven years ago." His signature thenfollows: C. VSpencer, S L City, April 2d 1901W

AWise Choice-lp.51 In the fallof 1845 BrighamYoung set me apart for an express mission I filledthe mission with good success, returning in thespring of 1846. When the steamer on which1cameback struck the landingat N a m jumpedashoreand started for our old home east of the Temple. Onthe way up I mticed there was a change, that I didnot meet anyone I knew. When I reached the houseI found it closed. After a time got a stick of timberand beat in the kitchen door got the front door openand while leaning on the front gate I saw three mencoming across the square that fronted our home.One of them leading a pony, another one a coil ofrope on his shoulder. When they got in hailing dis-tance one hollered "Are you a g-.d..Mormonn Ianswered back "It's mne of your business what mypolitics or religion is, I amfreebornandwhite" Oneof them said "I canunderstand youre the son of theold M o m n cuss we run across the Mississippilastwinter. Now if you will sign an agreement to giveup Momn ism we willguaranteepeaceableposses-sion of this home and you will dothat or get on thismare pony and strike out for your Momon camps orclimb that cotton wood tree over there at the end ofthis forty foot rope and pulling out his watch said,you've just got fifteen minutes." This home was agood wo stov brick, nicely furnished, with easternfurniture,a barn ontbe premises counted amongthebest in the state ofhis. This property was by anarrangement made with me by my father build withmoney willed to me when a young boy. I acceptthese men's offer of their p o w and there and thenmade my start for SaltLake City. In riding througha little burg in Iowa I asked three men to place a fairvaluation on the pony which they k e d at $15.00That is eveIy centI have ever mxived for houseandwhat left in it and a nice conrer lot.Convincing the Ship Captain--[pd] In comingfrom England in 1853 with something over fourhundred Saints,on the ship "Golconda" we werebecalmed off the "Banks" and to break the monoto-


7/10

ny theCaptaingaveus theuseof the "Quarterdeclz'for a dame. It was a warm sun shiny day, andwewere avery merryparty, but in themidst of our mer-riment a restless, gloomy foreboding influence tookstrongholdofme so muchsothat Ileftthepartyandwent by myself and asked theLord to tell me whatit meant, and if it was not a waming to take the feel-ing away, but it increased, after a little season I lift-ed my hat and said "Father in Heaven, if trouble isimminent, let peace come to me when I state to thecaptain to t a k~n sail" I had not taken five stepsUntitIlaaewIwasgoingright Ifoundthecaptainsitting by the helmsman arad told him "I wanted himhim [sic] to excuse a cowardly landlubber and takein some sail" He jumped to his feet and asked"Whose luMingthis ship, him or me." I answered"You're runningthe ship but I am looking after thepeople." He got his speaking inmpet, hollered tothe mate in the fo~ ca stl eCrack up two more sailsg.d.quickm At that time we had over two h d dSaints on the main deck, some singing somesewing, enjoying themselves thebesttheycould anda large rmmber of us dancets on the quarter deckThere was not wind enough to filla sa& not a cloudtointimatea stom When the captaingave the orderto themate I told those around me to get below deckas quick as you can, there's trouble coming. TheyaU started exceptMrs.HannahT. King, strongmind-edwoman, new n the work, not used to pmmpto~yorden. I had to personally press her to move. Shewas the last one to go and her feet were on the bot-tom step of the stairs when the first mast fell, justg m er head In the meantime I bad jumpedfrom the quarter deck and NU to the mid ships andordered every man, woman and child to wait fornothing, but get below in a hurry. In ten minutesevery mast was tom out of the ship. We had beenshuck by a spent hunicane, off from the Islands [p.7J ithout any earthly waming. Iour people hadremained above deck it would have been a temblescene of suffering. As soon as the excitementwasoverseveral of us waited onthecaptain, told himwehad two or t . ea captains aboard, several sailorsand that with the masts and rigging careening theship to nearly an angle of forty we were liable tosink at any moment a wind or swell struck us, butwith his permission we believed we could save theship. He turned overthe key of the carpenter shopand the whole management to us. Thenext morning

when I met thecaptainwith tears stwmingfmmhiseyes he asked "What does such hings mean" "I toldhim it meant God was gathering Israel in tk lastdays and sent his servants with them to care forthem" He said "Mr. Spencer, you canrun his shipto New Orleansn And heused to comeregularly dayby day and ask me "If everything was right, or if Ihad any suggestion o make." Afterthecaptaingaveus control we soon cut loose masts, and riggingandwe saved enough timber to make "jury mastsn andafter about seven weeks nzached New Orleans.Obtaining Funds and Supplies for UtahEmigration30-[p. 81 I went on a mission toEngland f a , 1860. On account of ill health wasreleased to return spring, 1861. Appointed to takecharge of ship load of Saints. In going up theMissouri the President or Business Manager of theOverland Stage route to San Francisco was aboardourboat. Just before we nzached Omahahe came tome and complinaented me very highly for my kind-ness to the emigrantsinmy charge and gave me animitation so soon as I unloaded my people atFlore~lceo comeback toOmahaand be his guest toSalt LakeCity, tating thathe had a magnificentout-fiffine stage coach hunting horses, fishing tackleand every paraphernalia for a right royal trip. Itboughthis a big thingfora Mormon elderand whenI had unloaded and bused my Saints I called onElder Gates, who was presiding to bid him goodbye. He said to me "Don't be in a hurry, take a seafI want to read you a letter" which he d id It wasfrom Pmident Brigham Young, authorking BrotherGates to stop any retuning Elders to be his assistantor council lo^; and after reading it said, I choose tostop Elder C. V.Spencer. The Saints I brought overwere mostly "Independents" and had paid to theGeneral Ofiiceat Liverpool for their outfit to crossthe plains and expected to find tents, wagons, cov-ers, etc. at Florence on their anival, but throughsome mistake there was nothing to shelter them orfeed them and in a few days grave dissatisfactionwas shown, some of them going to the lawyers,judges, doctors, etc. to make complai~~&~nd it rest-ed very heavy on me and BrotherGates, so much soon him that it made him ill. I used to go up nightson to the highst hill, dressed in a certain way andsupplicate for some elief to be opened up. At oneof these times it came to me as plain as any voice


8/10

"Go to Mr. Creighton, who is building the OverlandTelegraphLineand hire a l l your surplus men and getthe pay in advance and with it buy your emigmtstheirfit-ouL" I immediately went to the house,up toBmther Gates' bedside, buthe seemed to thinkI hadzeal without lmowledgeand asked me if1had gonedazedover the matter. b.91I finally persuaded himto let me have Zera Sabin and an outfit to go intoMissouri to buy cattleand we would go to Omaha toCreighton and if successful keep on our trip, if notsuccessful we would come back fromOmaha andnot much harm done. I fomd Mr. Creighton in hisoffice and our men were just what he wanted and Imade a good bargain,he taking two hundred poundsfreight per eachhand he hired. At the conclusion ofthe tenns I said "Mr.Chighton, I want their pay inadvance" He jumped from the seat, walkedup anddown the room quite excited and in turning to mesaid "Have Ibeendoing business with a crazyman"I answered "Perhaps so, it looks like it, formy part-nerasked me this morning just about the same ques-tion" He then asked me if I knew what telegraphscrip was worth? I told himNo and he said "It wasworth twelve cents on the dollar. I could have thewages advanced in scrip at one hundred cents." Itold him "I would see him n a short time againnNow at this time there was a man in Omaha almostthe acsimile of our JohnKay,who had come to mebefore we got to Omaha and said I've fallenin lovewith you for the patience and kindness you showyour poor emigrantsand if I can do a q t h h g for youwhile you're at Florence, call on me. I said to him"Suppose I callyou on a mission" He answered"Allright" Now just after I left Creighton's ofice I metthis man and slapping him on the shoulder said"You're the man I want, I want you to go on aMormon mission" He said "All ight, Spencer, I'llgo-I then told him that I wanted him to go to K o mBrothers, Bankers, and get them to cash so manythousanddollars telegraph scrip atpar. He took it asa joke, but when I pressed the matter begged of menot to askof him to do such a fool trick. I toldhimI had two motives, one was to test his word, theother to learnhim there was a power in Mormonism.He accepted the missionand soon came back statingthatKounbz Bms. and he force of the bank were in

a mar of laughter and @.lo] ountze, Sr. said hewould like to see the man who proposed such afroancialact I said to him very well. We went atone to the bank. When I enteredthebankerwantedto know what I meant. I answered"Mr. GateswhomI represent, is agent of the Mormon emigration, hewill have some thirty five thousand dollars inEnglish sovereigns and there will be that amountormore in the hands of our emigrants to spend at somepoint on the riverandwe supposedthatcapitalistsinOmaha would be anxious to have it spent in theirtown, that I was not asking any cbanty for our pea-ple, thatperhaps no one knew better than he did thata month after the first telegram passed from SanFrancisco to New Yo& that telegraph scrip wouldnot only be par, but ten per cent abovethatn I sim-ply asked him tomakea good investmentandsecureour trade for his town, that I was confident I coulddo this at Nebraska City,and if not successful withhim we should move our headquarters to that citywithin forty eight hours. By this time he hadbecome seriousand said Spencer, Iwill have aconference with my brothen" He soon came outand offered to cash thescrip atpar if Iwould pay thedifference of exchange between Omaha and S tLouis. I answered No sir, not one cent. Its a cleanface value or nothing. We closedthedeal. When Igot back to Creighton and accepted scrip and toldhim what I had do=, he was dumbfounded, and Iwas recognized in tbat town as something of afioancier, but I canied my bead low, feeling thatGod could compel results through a bumble weakman that would follow the leadings of the Spiritwhere he could not use an able strongman sowellI and Brother Sabin started immediately forMissouri for cattle. We found a berd of twelve hun-dred head of oxen I purchased four h u m i d headfor cas4 four huodred head on credit. As soon as Ireceived the cattle I began to retail and sold manyyoke onthe mad to camp for s evew five dollars. Ifmy memoxy is right, the purchase price was fifty twodollars. While arranging b.111 the scrip deal atOmaha a man offered me a lot of wagons thatbelonged to a Chicago firmwho had failed and hewas anxious to be rid of thesewagons before theywere levied o n I think his price was sixty five dol-lars and I believe my offer was fifty. I gave him anhour to telegraph to Chicage. He brought telegram


9/10

to my mom and sitting some way from me read "Weauthorize you to sell for so much" I said to him "Iwilld he balance of the message with my eyesshut" If you can't get the figure, ake tbe Mormon'soffer spot cash He exclaimed "Those are the verywords, I believe you f o b are wizardsn I got tbewagons, sentword to Brother Gates to move them atonce to Florence; we were off for the cattle and tbeM e c t i o n in camp was healed and from that timeon success crowned our labor. Every emigrant thatwas to come by handmzts that was able to workearned wages of Creighton and fared we ll Theirf d e s ame by wagons, comfortable, without onecent exha expense to the church No handcartswerepded that year and I don't think any have beenpulled s i m . We left no debts forh hurch to paybut tbe morning we were starting fo r home the sher-if of Omaha served a writ of attachment on our out-fit for a debt of Joseph W. Youug, threehundred dol-lars, which we paid.

ConclusionWhat importance should be placed on a two-monthportion of a young man's d i q ? Onemight argue that itcontained nothing new or earthshaking and was notworth the time and effod to identify tk writer. h b a b lynothing, previously unknown,was learned abo utN aw o0in his words.

However, each life has a story that needs to betold.The history of Claudius is well known in his lateryears. 'Ihe 1845 diary shows developing personalitytraits thatbecame mportant to Claudius as an adult. Hisacceptance of hard work shows in his accounts of haul-ing wood, timber, hay, and stone. Notice his pride inrecording Alpheus Cutler's comment that Claudiusalways drew big loads. Claudius shows an undemtamhgof spiritual gifts when heasks his father for a blessing torelieve a sick headache.His dependability and maturitystand out when he is sent to Warsaw to purchase bran orwhen he goes to "Mack QueensMillnto rade goods andbuy corn. Claudius is interested in education and inlearning about and history. He attends ecturesand discourses on lofty subjects such as the previousexistence of man. He exhibits a sense of humor that isdepicted in his exchange with tbe workmen at the sandpit His sense of adventllre surfaces in his adm ission ofgoingto fencing school. Young Claudius is interested intheaffairsof the Churchand of the c o d t y . He could

converse easily withthemen and women who visited athis pmnts' home.By printing and digesting Claudius' diary excerpt

and reminiscence stories, we add one small portion toone life of the Naw oo period. That one life can now beadded to thousands of otber live- enriching ourknowledge of early M o m n d o mNotes

1. The journal went tom private possession through twodocument dealers before being purchased by Utah StateUniversity. No more information is h w n as to who the previous owner was or if there was any relationship between &atowner and the Spencer family.

2. Hiram Spencer was born 30 November 30. He wasmamed first to Mary Spencer, who died in 1840 in WestStockbridge, Berkshire,Massachusetts. They were the parentsof nine children He next mamed Emily Shafter Thompson in1843.

3. Orson F. Whitney, Histary of Utah, vol. 4, 89-90(GeorgeQ. Cannon& Sons Co., 1892-1904).

4. Onon Spencer was born 14March 1802. He marriedCatherine Curtis. After her death, he mamed five more times.

5. Andrew Jenson,LDS Biographical Eneylopedio,vol. 1(A. Jenson History Company and Destret News, 1901-36),337-339.

6. Daniel Spencer Jr. was born 20 July 1794. His firstwife, Sophronia EIiza Pomeroy, died in 1832 in WestStockbridge, Massachusetts, leaving one son, Claudius Victor.Among Daniel's five subsequent wives was Emily ShafterThompson, the widow of his brother, Hiram.

7. Whitney, 87-90.8. Daniel Spencer Jr., "Diaries 1845- 1857," LDS

Historical Department, Archives Division.9. Information on Claudius V. Spencer is taken from his

obituary found in The D e m t Evening News,Wednesday' 5January 1910; the Ancestral File, LDS Family History Library'Andrew Jenson, Church C h l o g v , 2nd ed. (Salt Lake City:Deseret News, 1914), 12 January 1854; Kate B. Carter, ed.,Our Pioneer Heritage, 20 vols. (Salt Lake City: InternationalSociety, Daughters of Utah Pioneers, 195&1977), vol. 5, p. 11,vol. 6, p. 260, and vol. 12, p. 477; and the diary of his father,Daniel Spencer Jr.


10/10

10. GilbertH. Spencerwas born 2 August 1827, in AlbanyCounty, New York11. Joseph Smith Jr., Hhtory qfthe Church o f J e w Christof h r - d o y Soinis, vol 5, chap. 17, B. K Roberts, ed. (SaltLake City: Deseret Book, 1980), 320-21.12. Possibly Daniel Babcock Fillmore, who was sent toWisconsin to obtain lumber for the Nauvoo buildings.13. Daniel Spencerwrote on Saturday the 25% 'Spent theday principly at home in company with Mr. Speny."14. Probably John Taylor.15. Daniel Spencer wrote on Sunday the 26th, "Attendeda Meeting at the Music Hall preaching by Elder Kimbl & pres-

ident John Smith . . . . [A]ttend[ed] high priest meeting atmusonuk hall was informed that the Nauvoo Charter wasrepealed by the legislature."16. Chloe Wilson Spencer.17. Daniel Spencer wrote on Tuesday the 28% We nt incompany with Br Orson[,] Hcndrix[,] J. Willie [John Williams]and J. Wilkey to Carthage. Proved moth[er]s Will[.] br Orson

as one of thetrustts."18. Sidney Rigdon19. Jane Channock Connerwas the wife of William James

Conner.20. Daniel Spencer wrote on Friday the 31st, "Mrs.Hendrix&MrsConner& D. Hemdrix took Supper at our houseMrs. Shumw[ay] attended meeting at Mr. Hustins Spent theEvining at home with Claudius & Gilbert wrote a letter to J M

Rees."

21. Probably Charles Shumway.22. Daniel Spencer wrote on Monday the 3rd, "Claudius

& Gilbert went to Warsaw for Bran returned at 6 oclock"23. Daniel Spencer wrote on Thursday the 6th, "Attendedthe funeral of Br Whitney full House preaching by B. YoungSpoke at lengt on the resurection an the exaltation."24. Daniel Spenccr wrote on Friday the 7th, "Pleasentmorning Claudius Started up the River for Corn at 7 oclook."25. Daniel Spencer wrote on Tuesday the 11% 'Weatherquite warm Claudius drawcd a load wood from Rigons lotdelivered it at the Sevmtys hall . . Neard of the ams t of arnrElliott for the murder of J. Smith trial set for tomorrow."26.Daniel Spencer wrote on Friday the 14th, WeatherCloudy and rainy Claudis rose d y ick lade hands on himbefore out of bead obtained some releaf."27. Daniel Spencer wrote on Saturday the lSth, "Gilbert&Self drcwd 2 loads fmm B. Jenkins.". . .28. "The Mercantile and Mechanical Association . ..wasan attemptto muster all forces for group action . The actionhere enabled the leaders to press into use wagons, teams, orgoods as they were needed for the group benefit, either fordefense against their enemies or for making the move west,"according to Juanita Brooks, ed., On theMormonFrontier:TheDiary of Hosea Shut 1844-1861, vol. 1 (Salt Lake City:

University of Utah Press,Utah State Ristorical Society, lW) ,18.29. Claudius Spencer, "Reminiscences," LDS Archives.30. This account is also found in Carter, ed., OurPioneerHeritage, vol. 5, pp. 27-28.

claudius victor spencer diary 1845

Documents