48. A calash is a light, four passenger carriage that has a folding top and small wheels.
49. Sometimes called a cab, a cabriolet was a two wheeled one horse carriage with a folding leather hood.
50. Two churches dominated the Montreal skyline in the 1840s. Notre-Dame de Bonsecours was built between 1658 and 1678. It was destroyed by fire in 1754. It was rebuilt on the same site 1771-1775. This structure had a single tower. Commenced in 1824 and completed in 1829, the new parish church, also named Notre Dame has been described as perpendicular gothic. This second church had two towers and would seem to be the building described by Jesse. Jenkins, Montreal, 277-78.
51. In 1694 Francois Charron established the city’s second hospital. When the hospital encountered financial problems in the 1700s, an order of nuns, founded by a widow, Madame d’Youville, assumed control of the operation. Known as the Grey Nuns, this Catholic order became one of the most prominent institutions in a city known for its religious orders. By the 1840s the original structure had been tripled in size with a chapel and spire centered in the middle of the main wing of the building. Luc d’Iberville Moreau, Lost Montreal (Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1975), 141-43.
52. While Montreal had many religious orders and several convents established throughout the city in the 1800s, none of them had the designation of "Black Nuns". It is possible that Jesse is referring to the Convent of the Dames de La Congregation Notre-Dame. On the surface, it would seem peculiar for Jesse and Benjamin Brown to visit the convents. However, it seems that in the nineteenth century, male visitors to Montreal regularly called at the convents during their sight-seeing. The nun’s apparently sold various items in an effort to augment their income. Moreau, Lost Montreal, 134-40; Jenkins, Montreal, 276.
53. The distance from Montreal to Quebec is 160 miles when following the course of the St. Lawrence River. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 19:841.
54. Quebec is the center of French Canada and capital of the province of Quebec. It is located on the north bank of the St. Lawrence River, at the confluence with the St. Charles River. Quebec is 160 miles by river from Montreal and approximately 400 miles from the Atlantic Ocean. The upper town was erected on the bluff and was dominated by the Citadel. The lower town stretched out along the river below the bluff. At the time of Jesse’s visit, the capitol of Canada had just been moved from Quebec to Kingston. Mazo de la Roche, Quebec: Historic Seaport (Garden City, New York: Doubleday, Doran & Company, 1942).
55. Ibid., 197. Prescott Gate, built in 1797, was one of the six entrances in the walls to the old city of Quebec. Interestingly, It is St. Louis Gate that leads directly to the Citadel. This would indicate that either the two missionaries took a long route to reach the Citadel or that Jesse incorrectly named the gate.
56. Ibid., 196-98. The Citadel is situated on the rise above the city. It was begun by the French in 1703. Judged inadequate by the British, major improvements were begun in 1803, designed by the Duke of Wellington.
57. The Plains of Abraham is located on the top of the bluff beyond the Citadel. During the French and Indian War, this plain was the site of the battle where Quebec fell to the British. On the night of 13 September, General James Wolfe had his British forces climb the cliff face where the bluff overlooked the river, forcing the French to come out and face the British force. This ended a three month siege of the city.
58. James Wolfe (1727-1759) was the English general who defeated the French forces at Quebec during the French and Indian War. He died from wounds received during the battle on the Plains of Abraham on 14 September 1759. Quebec surrendered four days later. McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of World Biography, 12 vols. (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1973), 11:424-25.
59. Ibid., 7:483-84. Louis Joseph, Marquis de Montcalm (1712-1759) was the French general in command of troops in Canada during the French and Indian War. He was in personal command of the troops in Quebec when Wolfe besieged the city in the summer of 1759. Like Wolfe, he Montcalm died from wounds received on the Plains of Abraham on 14 September 1759.
60. Jesse is describing the city as being shabby. He was clearly more impressed by Montreal than he was by Quebec.
61. A square-rigged sailing vessel has the sails attached to yards that are rigged perpendicular to the mast. The sails are then controlled by traces or ropes.
62. Dog teams were used to pull small carts for the transportation of merchandise and supplies. They seem to have been used, like the two wheeled carriages, because of the narrow streets.
63. Three Rivers is about 77 miles upriver from Quebec. Three Rivers, being at sea level, is the upstream limit for tidal conditions. This explains the need for their vessel to have dropped anchor during flood tide when departing Quebec. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 19:841
64. Lake Temiscouata is 28 miles long and 3 miles wide. Located in eastern Quebec Province, it is drained by the Madawaska River. Columbia Lippincott Gazetteer,1891.
65. Ibid., 1112. The Madawaska River issues from the south-east end of Lake Temiscouata and flows 30 miles south-east into the St. John River. The missionaries had obviously carefully planned their route of travel. Traveling by canoe through Lake Temiscouata and down both the Madawaska and the St. John they saved themselves considerable travel time.
66. The St. John River is the largest river in New Brunswick. It travels from north-west to south-east across the entire province, emptying into the Bay of Fundy. Settlements along the St. John were principally agricultural in nature, although several served as logging centers. These settlements were principally English loyalists who had fled north after the Revolutionary War. J. Bartlet Brebner, The population of the province in 1840 has been estimated at 155,000. Canada: A Modern History (Ann Arbor, Michigan: University of Michigan Press, 1960), 190-93.
67. The Grand Falls represents a 74 foot drop in the level of the St. John River. The falls and the small settlement located there are 90 miles north-west of Fredericton near the Maine border. Columbia Lippincott Gazetteer, 707.
68. Ibid., 640. Fredericton became the provincial capital of New Brunswick in 1785. Located in York County, on the St. John River 60 miles upriver from the Bay of Fundy. Settled by loyalists after the Revolutionary War, Fredericton was both the political and commercial center of the region.
69. Kingston is situated on the Canadian shore of Lake Ontario. It is at the eastern end of the lake, near the exit of the St. Lawrence River. Jesse seems to have used this as a reference point for their travels into Canada, probably because of its proximity to Jefferson County.
70. The two missionaries seem to have focused their activities in York County while in New Brunswick. York County was located in west central New Brunswick, adjacent to the Maine border. The population centers were located along the St. John River. Columbia Lippincott Gazetteer,2126.
71. According to Benjamin Brown, these men had found an old provincial statue forbidding dissenters to hold public religious services without a written license from the governor. This ordinance had never been enforced, but they attempted to use it to drive the missionaries from the region. Brown, Testimonies for the Truth, 78-79.
72. Jesse and Benjamin Brown had been proselyting in Southampton, York County. This community was located fifty miles up the river from Fredericton. Eliza Shelton Keeler, “Autobiography” in Kate B. Carter (ed.) Our Pioneer Heritage, 20 vols. (Salt Lake City: Daughters of the Utah Pioneers, 1962) 5:285.
73. Benjamin Brown’s account of the meeting with the governor is very similar to Jesse’s. He does add that it was David Shelton who advised them to approach Judge Beardsley. Brown does add that the governor was “most terribly prejudiced against us, and very ignorant of law and gospel.” Brown, Testimonies for the Truth, 79.
74. David Booth Shelton and his wife Bethia Slason were the parents of twelve children. The eldest daughter, Ann, later became a plural wife of Jesse. Keeler, “Autobiography,” 5:285.
One interesting detail is provided by Benjamin Brown’s son Lorenzo, who recorded in his journal for December 1844 that Charles Shelton, the second son of the family, had originally been one of the mob leaders in New Brunswick. He wrote: “Father returned in December having had a prosperous mission, in New York, and New Brunswick, the latter a British Province and filled with hard customers. Here he and Brother Crosby built up a branch despite the opposition which raised a mob and left father on the ground for dead. The leader of this mob has since become a member, his name Charles Shelton.” Lorenzo Brown, “Journal,” 1:8.
75. Brown, Testimonies for the Truth, 68-70. Benjamin Brown describes this mobbing incident as follows:
“This enraged our enemies so much that our lives became endangered, and, to escape their violence, we had to sleep in the woods, and do our baptizing in night, as their determination was to mob us the first opportunity. Unfortunately one of them overheard me promise to visit one of the brethren after I had been preaching one day. This mobber, with a party of about ten others, waylaid me. Some of them held me while the rest beat me about the head with their fists; but not being able to bruise me sufficiently in this manner, one of them took off one of my boots, and belabored me about the head with the heel of it, until I was covered with blood, which ran down onto my clothes and the ground. Some of them then threw me down, and jumped upon me with their knees, until they broke several of my ribs.
“All this while I had been calling out loudly, whenever they did not stop my mouth. But it suddenly occurred to me that, if I feigned myself dead, they would leave me, thinking their murderous work accomplished, so I groaned loudly as if dying, and resigned myself into their hands, holding my breath as much as possible. This succeeded, the darkness of the night favoring my purpose, and they left me, and ran off as fast as they could. Directly they were gone, I arose, though with great difficulty, and went into a house not far from there, where I washed the blood off my person, and Elder Crosby, who also came there, laid hands upon me. The mob, however, by some means discovering that I was not yet dead, and that Elder Crosby was with me, met and resolved to attack the house that night, and, if possible, get possession of both of us, after which they purposed to cut off Elder Crosby's ears, tar and feather us, carry us out into the middle of St. Johns River, and, after tying stones to our feet,sink us both.
“The first intimation that we received of this determination was by a wooden rail being hurled against the window. The rail broke through the window, came in upon the bed where we were sleeping, and awoke us both. We immediately sprang up, and Elder Crosby rushed to the door where they were hammering to get in. He held it as well as he could, but in another moment they would have succeeded, had not Mrs. Shelton, who had been alarmed by the noise, come upon them unexpectedly with a lighted candle, and surprised them in the act.This frightened them, and alarmed lest they should be known, they fled with the rest that had been posted at the other parts of the house.
“We were quiet after this for about an hour, and Justice Shelton, at whose house we were stopping, went to alarm the neighbors, and his son who lived some distance off, so that we might have assistance in case of the mob returning. The mob returned while he was gone, having recruited their spirits with whiskey. They made a second attack upon the house, trying another door this time. But Elder Crosby held the door, with an iron grasp, and the resolution of a lion, so they were again unsuccessful.After drinking round, they tried a third time, and one of them managed to get his arm through the door opening, but while doing so he was caught round the waist in the arms of Mr. Shelton's son, who, with several others, entered the place at that moment. And thus the Lord delivered us out of their hands, for they were not long dispersing themselves after this. Several of them were recognized by our friends.”
76. Jesse’s reference here to traveling by cars could mean several things, but it most likely indicates that he traveled by carriage or wagon. Probably some kind of local hire service.
77. Settled in 1630 by John Winthrop, Boston was the cultural and commercial center of New England. Boston is located on Massachusetts Bay at the mouth of the Charles River. Boston had a population of over 100,000 in 1840. It was a center of Latter-day Saint activity in the 1840s, but little is known about the Church from that period as emigration kept the membership from stabilizing. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 3:988-992.
78. HC, 7:317. Jesse wrote a letter to the Church from Boston, reporting on their missionary activities. He wrote:
“In August, 1843, Elder B. Brown and myself (having been appointed to visit the British provinces) proceeded to western New York, where we spent the winter. We organized several branches of the church, baptized upward of 150 souls and held to conferences. After tarrying eight months we went to Montreal and Quebec, making a short stay in each of these Catholic cities, preached some and circulated some books, pamphlets, etc. We proceeded to New Brunswick, and amid much opposition, persecution and personal violence, baptized 47; organized them into two branches, both in the county of York, above Frederickston. We returned to Boston in October and have spent a few weeks in the regions round about.”
Benjamin Brown left Jesse in Boston and returned to Nauvoo.
79. In this context recruit means to replenish, restore or improve the health of an individual. Jesse uses this term several times while describing rest days while crossing the plains in 1847.
80. Located on the Merrimack River and the mouth of the Concord River, Lowell was a “Company town”. Its location chosen because of the availability of water power, Lowell was established by the Merrimack Manufacturing Company, specifically as a textile center in 1822. Columbia Lippincott Gazetteer,1088.
81. Ibid., 70. Settled in 1643, Andover is located in north-east Massachusetts on the Merrimack River. Like Lowell, Andover was a center for woolen mills.
82. The library referred to was probably the library of Philips Academy. Oliver Wendell Holmes graduated from Philips Academy in 1825. The modern library contains his papers and is named for him. It could also have been the Abbot Academy library.
83. HC, 7:420. On this date the attic story was begun.
84. I have corrected this date for clarity. The BYU typescript shows 1846 not 1840, but Jesse almost certainly means 1840. It was in October 1840 that he reported being present when the temple quarry was opened.
85. Between October 1844 and December 1845 the Quorum of the Twelve expanded the number of Seventies Quorums to over 30. Jesse’s addition to the second quorum would appear to be part of that expansion. HC 7:305, 549.
86. The correct order of seniority of the Twelve at this time was: Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, Orson Hyde, Parley P. Pratt, William Smith, Orson Pratt, John E. Page, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, George A. Smith, Willard Richards and Lyman Wight. William Smith, John E. Page and Lyman Wight would soon leave the Church.
87. Lima, Illinois--referred to by the Mormons as the Morley Settlement--is an agricultural community sixteen miles north of Quincy. In 1845 its population was almost entirely Latter-day Saints. Columbia Lippincott Gazetteer,1054.
88. Jacob B. Backenstos was the non-Mormon sheriff of Hancock County. However, he was known to be sympathetic to the Mormons.
89. Orrin Porter Rockwell and John Redding were at a crossroads when Sheriff Backenstos arrived. Knowing Rockwell and Redding were armed, Backenstos stopped and commanded the mob to stop. When the mob continued to advance, Backenstos ordered Rockwell to fire. Rockwell shot Frank Worrell dead. The mob dispersed and later retrieved the body. HC 7:446-47.
90. Franklin A. Worrell was a member of the Carthage Grays and the officer of the guard in charge of Carthage Jail on 27 June 1844 when Joseph and Hyrum Smith were murdered. Rockwell was certainly aware of this when he chose to fire on Worrell among the members of the mob chasing Sheriff Backenstos. B. H. Roberts, A Comprehensive History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 6 vols. (Provo: Brigham Young University Press, 1965), 2:320, 481.
91. Ibid., 2:122, 337, 341-42. Thomas Ford was the governor of Illinois from 1842-1846. His inability to control the mob violence in Hancock Country contributed both to the death of Joseph and Hyrum Smith and to the expulsion of the Saints from Nauvoo.
92. The General Conference met for three days beginning Monday, 6 October. HC 7:457-477.
93. Ibid., 7:458-460.
94. Nothing strange or important may have occured in Nauvoo, but on 23 November 1845 Jesse was married to Hannah Elida Baldwin by Brigham Young.
95. According to Joseph Fielding Smith, the first wagons left Nauvoo on 4 February. Bishop George Miller left on 6 February. Brigham Young and other of the Quorum of the Twelve left on 15 February. Joseph Fielding Smith, Essentials in Church History (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 173), 331-32; Roberts, Comprehensive History of The Church, 2:540-41; HC, 7:578-580.