Friday, May 29, 2009

A Second Look at the John and Annie Morgan Photo

Not only did I get the time frame wrong, I also got the identification of the children wrong. Bessie found an entry in John Morgan's diary which identified the likely date that the picture was taken. Also, I would like to send you over to take a look at Bessie's new blog, Ancestral Ties. It looks great! She already has a post up about John Morgan and his trip to the dedication of the Logan Temple, and two lovely posts about John and Mellie's grandson John Morgan Rex, who died in the South Pacific during World War II.

Here is the latest information Bessie sent on this photo.

1890
June 19
Passed LaJunta in the night. Pueblo about daylight and arrived at Denver at 10:32 a.m. Went to Chapiots Hotel. After washing and changing clothing, we went to Marshall's Gallery and had our pictures taken. During the day visited a number of places of interest about the city. In the evening visited Wonderland Museums and witnessed a Minstrel performance.


I worked my way backwards from Myrtle's death date, somewhere in my readings I'd gotten the impression she was sickly. I wanted to see where. I still want to substantiate that. She was surely sick the week before she died. The child in the picture with the x on her dress looked ill to me from the beginning.

When all I had to go on looking for information about that family was the red book, I'd noted that Annie's first baby weighed 12 lbs at birth, because Uncle Nick [Nicholas G. Morgan] included that in his book [The Life and Ministry of John Morgan] on page 399. There is so precious little about the family in the book.

Prior to June 19 John Morgan had spent several weeks in Manassa preparing a 2nd house to move Annie and her children into. As soon as he got them into the house they went on a vacation.

On June 19, 1890 Annie Ray would be about 5-1/2; Myrtle is a small ill looking 3 yr old, and John Albermarle would be about 16 months old. Perhaps they cut both of the little girls hair for the trip/and planned picture? [Or the girls could have been ill; in those days the hair was sometimes cut during illnesses.] If John Albermarle was born healthy, like Annie Ray at 12 lbs, he could be the chunky healthy baby, of about 16 months, on Annie's lap.

Thanks, Bessie!

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

John Hamilton and Annie Smith Morgan


This picture of John Morgan and his wife Annie Smith Morgan was sent by John and Helen Melvina Morgan descendant Bessie S. What an exciting addition to the information about the family.

The child marked with the "1" is identified on the back of the photo as daughter Annie Ray Morgan Heislet. (The name is also seen as Heiselt or Heisalt in other sources, and she is listed in the family records as having one daughter, Ivy Heiselt Deem.)

Here is a list of the family taken from the Conejos County Church Records of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Members List 1909 (Book 1-M). The ward records of the church are an underused genealogical and family history resource. (If you look at the list, you will see that some of the information found in this record is not correct, for example "John C." instead of "John H." Morgan. This is common to such records and a reason why genealogists prefer to use multiple sources to reconstruct families.)

NAME, PARENTS, BIRTH DATE, BIRTH PLACE, DEATH DATE
Morgan, Annie G.M., Joseph Smith/Sophia Perry, 7 Mar 1863, Penkridge, Staffordshire, Eng.,
Annie Ray Morgan, John C. Morgan/Annie G.M. Smith, 14 Dec 1884
(12 lbs-p399), SLC, Salt Lake Co., UT,
Myrtle Morgan, John C. Morgan/Annie G.M. Smith, 3 Jun 1887, Manassa, Conejos Co., CO, 28 Jul 1890
John Albermarle Morgan, John C. Morgan/Annie G.M. Smith, 27 Mar 1889, Manasssa, Conejos Co., CO, 18 Mar 1935
Ivie Morgan, John C. Morgan/Annie G.M. Smith, 25 May 1891, Manassa Conejos Co., CO, 17 Jul 1940
Joseph Smith Morgan, John C. Morgan/Annie G.M. Smith, 27 Dec 1893, Manassa, Conejos Co., CO, 17 Jul 1948

My children and I went through the list and tried to identify the members of the family and the probable date of the photo. Myrtle died in 1890, so we assumed that the photo was taken after her death. We also assumed that the child marked as Annie Ray was correctly identified (despite the short hair cut), and that the other two children were John and Ivie (or Ivy). It's hard to tell from the fashions of the time whether Annie Smith Morgan was expecting in this photo, and it's also hard to tell the ages of the children, so we guessed that the photo was taken in late 1891 or 1892. Perhaps the Morgan diary would mention when John Morgan was in Colorado or if this family visited him in Salt Lake City at some point and had the photo taken there. We would appreciate any more information.

As a sidenote, we first carefully compared the picture of John Morgan to make sure that it really was him. Here is a picture from about that time and the features are the same in every particular:

And here is a picture of Annie Smith Morgan from the same time (she is identified in the Morgan biography as the woman in the top row, second from the left):

And a closer look (despite the poor resolution):


The last three photos are from the Richardson biography of John Morgan.

Thanks for sending the photo and information, Bessie!

Friday, May 22, 2009

Morgan Family Gravestone Locations

Happy Memorial Day!

In memory of John Hamilton Morgan and his wives, here are the locations of their graves in the Salt Lake City Cemetery, as well as several of the Groesbeck family.

John Hamilton Morgan
Helen Melvina Groesbeck Morgan
Maria (Polly) Bovee Groesbeck (Helen Melvina's grandmother)
B_10_16_2_NW2R

Nicholas Groesbeck (Helen Melvina's father)
Elizabeth Thompson Groesbeck (Helen Melvina's mother)
J_21_10_2E

Annie Mildred Smith Morgan
S_42_16_3_E
Center Street and 445 North
Go east from Center Street six headstones
Go north from 445 North 33 headstones

Mary Linton Morgan
X_3_42_5_W
1150 East and 355 North
Go north from 355 North ten headstones
Go west from 1150 East 22 headstones

Thanks to Morgan descendant Bessie S. for sending this information and the photos of the family markers. For the other photos, see the post Morgan Family Gravestones.

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Morgan 4: Notes from Church Chronology

Today I will mention an interesting source with anecdotes from the published history of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the nineteenth century. It is called Church Chronology: A Record of Important Events. Assistant Church Historian Andrew Jenson compiled notes on church callings, ward and stake reorganizations, deaths, imprisonments for polygamy, various church-almanac-type data, and other items of interest. For example:


Here are the notes relating to John Morgan.

The demise of Elder Wm. W. Taylor, Aug. 1, 1884, caused another vacancy, [in the First Council of Seventies] which was filled Oct. 7, 1884, by the ordination of John Morgan as one of the First Seven Presidents.... Elder John Morgan died at Preston, Idaho, Aug. 14, 1894. At the following October conference, Edward Stevenson was chosen to fill the consequent vacancy in the council. (Page xv.)

1879
March
Fri. 28.—A company of Saints from Georgia and Alabama, in charge of Elder John Morgan, arrived at Alamosa, the end of the railroad track, and proceeded by wagons to the camp of the Saints, near Los Cerritos, Conejos Co., Colo., where they arrived the next day. (Page 103.)

1886
June
Fri. 25.—On this and the following day, the 92nd quorum of Seventy was organized by John Morgan in the San Luis Stake of Zion, Conejos Co., Col., with Christen Jensen as senior president. The members of the quorum were mostly young Elders from the Southern States. (Page 134.)

1889
June
Mon. 3.—The body of Alma P. Richards, of Morgan County, Utah (murdered about the 2nd of August, 1888) was found near Russell Station, on the A.G.S.Ry, Mississippi. It was exhumed, placed in a metallic coffin and shipped to Utah, where it arrived in charge of Elder John Morgan, June 8th. (Page 175.)

1891
September
Sun. 6.—At the Stake conference, held at St. Johns, Ariz.,the 104th quorum of Seventy was organized by John Morgan, with Charles G.D. Jarvis, Samuel D. Moore, W.C. Davis, Frithoff G. Nielsen, J.W. Brown, A.E. Cheeney and W.D. Rencher as presidents. (Page 194.)

1894
August
Tues. 14.—John Morgan, one of the first Seven Presidents of the Seventies, died at Preston, Idaho. (Page 207.)

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

The John Morgan Monument in Salt Lake City


Description of the monument sent by John Hamilton and Helen Melvina Groesbeck Morgan descendant Bessie S.

My mother had an eight-page pamphlet published by the Utah State Historical Society and the John H. Morgan Memorial Library on the occasion of the unveiling of the original John Hamilton Morgan monument.

Included in the pamphlet are tributes from Nicholas G. Morgan, Sr., D.H. Christensen, given February 20, 1947, and one from President B.H. Roberts, no date given.

The pamphlet includes John H. Morgan’s “Life in Brief,” a picture of John H. Morgan in later years, a copy of an invitation to the Morgan Commercial College Young Men’s Re-Union Ball for Thursday Evening, January 26, 1871, and a picture of the monument and plaque (below).

On the cover it says:

In Memoriam
John Hamilton Morgan
Soldier, Educator, Statesman, Churchman

The monument was unveiled and presented to Salt Lake City at 7:30 p.m., May 8, 1959. It is located at 257 South Main Street.



The plaque reads: Morgan Commercial and Normal College, Organized January 1868. On this site John Morgan, noted Civil War veteran, educator, LDS missionary, and Church Leader established the first successful educational institution in the territory of Utah. Here was established in the Morgan College in 1870, Utah’s first free public library and reading room, and here many of the future pioneer merchants, bankers, educators, and church leaders received their educational training.

April 30, 2009. This is the spot where the monument stood, with its drinking fountains, outside of Kress in the 1960s.

When I first saw this insert on the side of the monument, I thought, “How nice they included Mellie as she went off to school as a young student and later became the teacher’s wife.” There is a young man (a missionary, I think) pictured on the opposite side of the monument.

Thank you for the information and photos, Bessie!

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

A Trip to Lookout Mountain

A short excerpt from the diary of Levi James Taylor, a missionary in the Southern States Mission.

October 22, 1882

This morning as soon as I came down from my room I had an opportunity to purchase a morning paper containing the peace written by the reporter who visited us last evening and it contained a very fair inspartian account of our interview and which I think will do much good as the paper has a wide circulation It is known as the Chattanoog Democrat I sent a coppy of the paper home. ...

Left twenty dollars ($20.00) in care of Pres J Morgan After returning to the Hotel and taking breakfast we all started for the top of of lookout Mt. a distence of 7 miles. where we could have a very extended view this Mt. is in the St. of Georgia or at least a portion of it.

From this Mt. Bro Morgan showed us several battle fields there was a very noted one on the Mt which we visited called in History The battle of Mt. Lookout here we saw some of the breastworks huts &c occupied by the armies we were also shown the location of the battles of Chickamauga Mission Ridge and Chattanooga

Also herd many tales of interest concerning the proceedings of the war

Bro Morgan related the circumstances of a companion being shot by his side snare through going through a pouch on his breast going through his body and also through an other pouch at the back and yet he recovered. after visiting verous object of interest and taking dinner at a hotel on the Mt. we returned as we went by carriages which we had in the city[.]

You can review the history of John Morgan's Civil War service in this post. (Click on link.)

Picture of Lula Falls on Lookout Mountain, Georgia, from www.flickr.com/photos/brent_nashville/116196125/.

Monday, May 11, 2009

Looking Up a Couple of Southern States Missionaries

Recently, someone googled the Southern States Mission and the name of the missionary who converted his ancestors and ended up at this blog wanting to know more about the missionaries.

The names of the missionaries were "W. J. Packer" and "Walter Scoot" and the question was about their service in Floyd County, Georgia. An elder W.J. Packer was mentioned in one of the installments of the Southern States Mission history as found in the Southern Star.

I first took another look at the Southern Star, both volumes, but did not find any mention of either missionary. I assumed that the name of the second missionary was Walter Scott, probably named by his parents after the Scottish novelist and poet. But I searched for both "Scott" and "Scoot."

There were no more references to Elders Packer or Scott in either Volume 1 or Volume 2 of the Southern Star.

The next stop was at the Millennial Star, the publication of the British Mission. Bound editions were published each year and are available in their entirety at Google Books. Contents include conference reports, sermons, obituaries, snippets of local church history, and what we are interested in: mission calls for the entire church.

The Millennial Star from 1880 reports that Wm. J. Packer of Brigham City, Utah, was called to the Southern States Mission. It also reports that Walter Scott of Provo, Utah, was called to serve in the Southern States Mission. (The church called thirty other missionaries at the same time as Elder Packer, including Matthias F. Cowley. Other missionaries called at the same time as Elder Scott include Albert Thurber, George Bean, William Bean, Joseph Keeler, Henry Boyle, George Pitkin, Peter Nebeker, William Clark, and Nicholas H. Groesbeck.)

A quick look at Rootsweb shows that William Jefferson Packer was born in 1848 in Salt Lake City and died in 1905 in Safford, Arizona. He was a great-uncle of President Boyd K. Packer.

Rootsweb shows that Walter Scott was born in 1853 in Provo, Utah, and died in 1914 in Provo. He had just married a second wife when he was called to the Southern States Mission.

I haven't been able to find a biography of either of these two missionaries online. In fact, googling their names brings me back to this blog. But they are just a representative sample of the hundreds of missionaries that served during John Morgan's tenure. Statistical information and a general description of their service is available in the Seferovich thesis on the Southern States Mission. Neither Packer nor Scott have diaries available at BYU's collection of Mormon Missionary Diaries, but several other missionaries of that era do. (See tomorrow's post.)

It is curious that Packer died at age 56 and Scott at 60. Did their service in the Southern States shorten their lifespan as it seemed to do for John Morgan, who died at the age of 52?

Photo of Floyd County Marker from www.flickr.com/photos/auvet/179789864/. Floyd County is the location of Rome, Georgia, John Morgan's early mission headquarters.

Friday, May 8, 2009

Mother's Day John Morgan Civil War Letter

Sunday Evening
Maysville, Ala Dec 21st 1863
Mrs. E. Morgan

Dear Ma: it has been so long since I had a friendly chit chat with you that I feel as though at any price no difference how costly I would purchase that pleasure.

A mother's love is not purchased by either gold or diamonds; in camp, on the march, the bloody field of strife or the chill bivouac the soldiers veneration for his mother remains the same. Falling on the Blood drenched Battlefield or stricken down by sickness, his last words are invariably: My Mother My Country! often have I seen an unbidden tear spring to the eye of the rough soldier that had braved death in a thousand different shapes. Whose cheek was unblanched & nerve steady amid the roar of Battle Whose voice was as clear and ringing on a charge as the bravest of the brave. I have seen such men moved to tears on receiving a simple short letter from a mother.

Did I ever tell you about the first letter I received from home? I guess I didn't. I don't know of anything I can write that would interest better. We had been two days on the march from Louisville, I had a woolen blanket, weight 4 lbs., gun, 16 lbs., canteen full of water, 3 quarts; haversack with 2 days rations, about 8 pounds, making in all about 35 lbs. We marched 25 miles during the night and day; pouring rain all the while—not a dry thread on me; camped about 11 o'clock; laid down on a bunch of wet fodder to keep me off the ground—my wet blanket over me. About that time of night, I began to feel a sort of squeemishness about the region of the shirt bosom, thinking about home and friends. Just then I got a letter from home. I read it and what do you think I did? Would you believe it, I crawled into a mule wagon and took a long hearty cry. There, laugh if you will, it is even so. The next morning we were again on the march and amid the varied scenes of a soldier's life, I soon took to my new employment with pleasure.

There is a pleasant little village close to camp and I have formed some pleasant acquaintances there. There is one particular friend, a Mrs. Hall. It appears more like home than anywhere else that I have been in the South. I have passed several pleasant evenings there and the little Yankee soldier boy always receives a kind and polite invitation to call again. Well, besides that, Miss Jennie Hall and her piano are not the least of the attractions of this kind family.

Don't let this foolish talk of mine give you the least uneasiness in regard to its interfering with my duty—not a bit of it. I haven't lived long, but I think long enough to not make myself ridiculous in the eyes of my brother soldiers.

As regards my habits, I neither smoke, drink liquor or play cards. I have plenty of reading matter and duty to keep me busy.

I get letters frequently from Will. Reced one from Lu last evning also one from Morg. Kiss Jap for me. I would give a thousand dollars to see. Is Lon studying any now. Tell him to improve his time above everything else. Let novels and such trash alone. Let him have something solid and something that will give him information to read. Knowledge is more than gold and silver. Poor Jimmie. I am sorry his jaw troubles him yet. He is a good boy and has the go aheaditiveness about him to make a man of himself one that will make his mark.

Tell Pa that I wish I was home to help him but as long as there is an armed foe to my country at large, I will be found in the ranks of the Patriot army. It is getting late and I must close.

Goodby John

Reproduced in Richardson, Arthur M., and Nicholas G. Morgan. The Life and Ministry of John Morgan: For a Wise and Glorious Purpose. [S.l.]: N.G. Morgan, 1965, pp 14-17. The letter was transcribed in its entirety and also heavily edited. Part of the introduction and closing of the actual letter is reproduced in the book, and since I prefer the original to the edited version, I have revised the letter to match the original as much as possible.

The photo of the soldiers is a picture I took at a Civil War reenactment at Pennypacker Mills in Pennsylvania.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

History of the Southern States Mission, Part 15: Mission Calls and New Persecutions

On November 16, 1882, a company of one hundred Saints, accompanied by eight Elders, left the Mission for Colorado and Utah points, all arriving at their destination in safety, Elder A.H. Snow taking charge of the party en route to Colorado.

During the early part of December a company of nine Elders arrived at headquarters and were assigned to their various fields of labor.

December 16th Elder Charles J. Brain left North Carolina for Zion with a number of Saints. Counsel was given to Conference Presidents, and traveling Elders throughout the Mission, urging them to branch out and endeavor to open new fields of labor that had not yet been visited. A spirit of quietness prevailed throughout the Mission, in contradistinction to the intense excitement that had prevailed for the past twelve months, agitated and kept alive by politicians and professed ministers. The year closed indicating encouraging results from the labors, as reported by the various Confernces [sic].

January, 1883.—On the 10th day of January six Elders, who formerly lived in the South, reported to the Mission for duty, coming from the Colorado settlements. They were assigned to labor in the States where they originally came from. Much good resulted from the labors of these Elders among their relatives and friends; a great number of meetings were held; Elder John E. Woolley reported thirteen meetings held during this month in a new district in the State of Virginia. The reports from Elders and Conference Presidents marked rapid progress being made in the opening of new fields. Elder A.H. Snow had general charge of the Mission for three months, during the absence of President John Morgon [sic]. A number of Elders contracted sickness during the malarial season, and some few were compelled to return home. A number of baptisms were reported at this time.

February, 1883.—The inclemency of the weather during this month retarded the work somewhat in the field, but considerable fireside preaching and conversation was reported; many tracts distributed. Thirty new Elders received their call from the First Presidency of the Church and reported for duty at the Mission.

March, 1883.—On the 3d day of March President John Morgan and twenty-one Elders from Utah arrived in the Mission. The Elders were soon installed in their respective fields. A large number of Elders received notice of their release to return home with the spring company of emigrants. But a few baptisms were reported during this month. On the 29th of March a party of Saints, numbering 166, in charge of President John Morgan, and twelve or fifteen Elders, left the Mission for Utah and Colorado. Elder B.H. Roberts, of Davis County, Utah, was called and set apart as Assistant President of Southern States Mission.

April, 1883.—In the beginning of this month letters of general instruction and counsel were sent to the several Presidents of Conferences. On the 14th inst., in charge of Elder B.H. Roberts, twenty-six Elders arrived in the Mission. The Elders were soon assigned to the field. During this month some opposition was met by the Elders by way of disturbances at their meetings; and in one case the house of Brother Robison, of South Carolina, was burned to the ground. The Kentucky Conference was held at Caneyville, Grayson County, Ky., on the 20th, 21st and 22d of April. There were seven Elders present. A goodly spirit prevailed and much valuable instructions were imparted; a fair congregation being in attendance at the meetings. On April 29 Elder James G. Wood, from Utah, arrived and was called to labor in the State of Virginia. During this month a number of baptisms were reported, and the people throughout the states manifested an increased interest.

May, 1883.—May 4th to 6th the East Tennessee Conference convened at a place known as Baird’s Mills, Wilson County, Tenn. Ten Elders were present from Utah; the meetings were well attended; an excellent feeling prevailed; timely instructions were imparted and faithful testimonies were borne; some few baptisms were performed. Elder Ball, of the Virginia Conference, was honorably released to return home, and Elder Geddes was transferred to the European Mission. Six Elders arrived in the Mission on the 19th inst. On May 25th the West Tennessee Conference was to have been held at Bench Creek, Wayne County, Tenn., arrangements having been made to hold the meeting in a mill shed belonging to Mr. Harold. On the night of May 24th some parties burned a school house where it was understood the Conference would be held. Mr. Harold fearing that his mill property would meet with a similar fate requested that the meeting be held elsewhere; therefore the Conference was postponed until May 26th, when it was held in a grove on the property of Mr. Grimes. An effort was made by Parson Bennett, of the Baptist faith, to raise a mob to drive the Elders from the county; he boasted that 100 men had promised to assist him; he, with about twenty followers attended the meeting on the morning of the 26th, but no disturbance was made. There were nineteen Elders present from Utah; the Word of God was made plain, a large number of people being present at the meetings. The Conference was the means of making many friends. During this month some persecution was reported from different parts of the Mission; threats were made, but no violence was resorted to.

June, 1883.—On the 1st inst. Elder J.T. Alexander was attacked by three masked men near Adairsville, Ga. He was taken by them into the woods, brutally kicked several times, and shot at by all three of the party, who then fled, supposing they had killed him, but fortunately he was not injured by their shots. One bullet passed through the crown of his hat, another through his coat, the third narrowly missing him.

(To be continued.)

Latter Day Saints Southern Star, Vol. 1, No. 17, Chattanooga, Tenn. Saturday, March 25, 1899, p 137.

Photo of Kentucky from www.flickr.com/photos/anneh632/2691048983/
Photo of Kentucky mill dam from www.flickr.com/photos/rjzii/412047967/. On the right side of the photo you can see the old mill foundation.

Friday, May 1, 2009

Where did John Morgan Die?

In Matthias Cowley's home in Preston, Idaho:


As I understand it, John Morgan went to Preston, Idaho, to visit his third wife, Mary Morgan, who was in hiding there due to the polygamous persecutions of the time, and to see their three sons, Linton, Harold, and one-month-old Mathias Cowley Morgan. Mary must have been staying with the Cowleys.

While in Preston, Morgan suffered an attack of “Typho-Malarial fever”, probably a relapse of malaria due to infection during his service as a Union soldier in the South or during his time as President of the Southern States Mission. He died at the age of 52, leaving three families, one in Salt Lake City, where he had established his college; one in Manassa, Colorado, where he had settled so many converts from the Southern States Mission; and the family in Preston, who returned at that point to live with Mary’s parents in Nephi, Utah.

Matthias Cowley served as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve from 1896 to 1911. He was removed from the Quorum for opposing the Manifesto (termination of the practice of plural marriage). Almost a decade after John Morgan's death, Cowley reportedly performed the post-Manifesto plural marriage of Morgan's widow Mary Linton Morgan to David King Udall. I have seen the location of this marriage listed as being performed either in Preston, Idaho, or in Mexico.

(The information on the Cowley home is thanks to a reader's comment on my very favorite Mormon history blog and subsequent email communication from the commenter and kind blog owner. The address of the Cowley home is 110 South 100 East. The commenter also mentioned that John Morgan's infantry unit "barely missed going with Sherman on his march to the sea." [Email communication, April 30, 2009.])

Who is Annie Mildred Smith Morgan?

(Besides being John Morgan's second wife.)

Depending on where you look, you can find many different dates for Annie Mildred Smith Morgan's birth:
  • 7 March 1860 or 1862 in Pinkridge or Penkridge, Staffordshire, England (from a record compiled by Mary Ann Linton Morgan)
  • 1844 in Greensburg, Decatur, Indiana (from Ancestral File)
  • 7 March 1863 in Preston, England (from rootsweb)
  • 1844 with her name listed as Adalinda Annie Mildred Gwendoline Smith (from new.familysearch.org)
  • 1864 (the headstone on her grave)
Unfortunately such a situation is not uncommon in genealogy. We will explore this problem a bit. First stop, the U.S. Census.

Here is the page from the 1900 census of Manassa, Conejos, Colorado that shows the widowed Annie and her four living children, Annie Ray (15), John (11), Ivy (9), and Joseph (5). It shows her birth date as March 1864 in England. Add another option to the list.


Next stop: the IGI.

The first search on Adalinda Smith finds the following records:

Adalinda Annies [sic] Mildred Gwendoline Smith born 7 March 1863 in Preston, England, married to John Morgan, born 8 August 1842 Greensburg, Decatur, Indiana. No date is given for the marriage.

Source: Sealings of couples, living and by proxy 1851-1889 Endowment House (Film or fiche #183402, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.)

Adalinda Annie Mildred Gwendoline Smith born 7 March 1860 in Penkridge, Stafford, England, to Joseph and Sophia Pickstock Perry Smith. It shows a marriage date of 25 January 1884 and a death date of 3 April 1935. In this record, her father Joseph Smith was born in 1830, married in Lancashire, England, and died in 1912 in Manassa, Conejos, Colorado. Looks like we might be able to reconstruct her family.

Source: Sealings for the dead, couples and children (includes some living spouses and children) 1943-1970; heir indexes, 1943-1965. Salt Lake Temple. (Film or fiche number 457240, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.)

Adalinda Alise Mildred Gwendoline Smith born 7 March 1863 Preston Hill, Stafford, England to Joseph and Sophia Perry Smith.

Source: Endowments of the living, 1851-1884, Endowment House. (Film or fiche number 183408, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.)

The first question I will ask is whether any of these places are real or near each other. Google maps shows that Preston Hill Farm is located in Penkridge, Staffordshire, England. Looks like the location is actually fairly consistent.

Now I will take a step back and google the name of Annie's parents together with a location of Manassa. This comes up with the cemetery records for the Old Manassa Cemetery. Of interest are a child of John and Annie and Annie's parents:

Morgan, Myrtle 3 Jun 1887 28 Jul 1890
John Morgan Anna Smith

Smith, Joseph 1829/1830 14 Oct 1912 Sophia Perry
Joseph Smith

Another record: the 1911 Manassa Town Directory lists Mrs. Anna M. Morgan and also John A. & Eva Morgan (rancher) (her son John Albemarle Morgan and his wife Eva Block Morgan). Also Joseph Smith, her father, with no profession listed.

So what do I know now? That she gave her name as Anna, that her parents were Joseph and Sophia Perry Smith, that she was married to John Morgan in the Endowment House probably on 25 January 1884, and that when she was endowed (the earliest of all these records), she gave her birthdate and place as 7 March 1863 Preston Hill, (Penkridge,) Stafford, England. She died in 1935 and was buried in Salt Lake City, Utah. As far as I'm concerned, for my current purposes, this information is "good enough."

I would love to know more, so if any descendants of this family happen to see this post, I would be interested in more accurate, documented information.

The picture of Manassa farmland is from www.flickr.com/photos/slvnative/1415144929/.