Moses Worthen Mecham was born February 18, 1804 in Grafton County, New Hampshire. He married Elvira Derby on November 8, 1827. She was born November 6, 1811 in Grafton County, New Hampshire. She is suppose to be a descendant of the royal Derbys of England.

The earliest ancestor of Moses Worthen Mecham that we have any record of was in Boston, Massachusetts in 1613, and came from England. Their descendants came westward after leaving Boston, and were among the first of the early pioneers to the West. We find them next in Mercer County, Pennsylvania, Delaware township in 1831 to 1833. This was Moses Worthen Mecham. From there, we find him in Ohio in about 1838.

Here, Moses heard the wonderful stories of the beautiful, fertile Oregon country, so he took his family and started westward. On a branch of a creek in Missouri, they were camped one night; and a group of refugee Mormons were camped in the same place. There, they heard the campfire singing of the Mormons, along with a sermon and prayer.

That night, Moses Mecham said, "These people are doing the work of the Lord: We will cast our stakes with them." Moses and his wife were baptized into the Mormon Church in 1839 in Nauvoo.

When Nauvoo received its charter as a city, Moses Mecham was appointed as a policeman the first day. He also acted as one of the bodyguards to the prophet, Joseph Smith. While serving in this capacity, he often stayed all night at the prophet's home on guard. At the time of the martyrdom of the prophet and his brother, Hyrum, Moses Mecham and his wife were present.

At the time of the Transfiguration of Brigham Young, (his appearance as the prophet, Joseph Smith) Moses Worthen Mecham and his wife were present; and later testified that Brigham Young in no way, resembled Joseph Smith, neither in speech nor stature; and yet, at the meeting, the whole countenance of the prophet fell upon him.

Moses Worthen Mecham and his family - Clinton, Seriah, Emily, Polly, Samuel, and Martha were in Nauvoo during all the terrible persecutions of the Saints, and suffered with them.

When they were preparing to leave Nauvoo and go west, Moses Mecham was placed in charge of ten men to go down to Missouri to work for corn to send with the first company. They were requested to be back in Nauvoo by May 15, 1846 to prepare for their journey. On May 19th, the mobs came upon them, and they were compelled to leave without making preparations.

Their next stop was at Des Moines, Iowa. Brigham Young called Moses Mecham to remain at Council Bluffs, Iowa to help raise crops for those whom would be following on their journey westward. He remained there until 1852. That year, he was counseled to go to Salt Lake Valley.

He started with two wagons, and two yoke of oxen; but his loads were too heavy for his teams, and he was obliged to load all he could in one wagon, and hitch both teams to it, leaving the other wagon.

While traveling, a dust cloud was sighted in the distance, which was reported to be made by Indians coming toward them. The captain ordered the company to make a corral. They did so, and immediately prepared their guns and ammunition for battle. The Indians rode up and demanded flour. It was decided that each man would give one sack of flour, and that was placed at the head of the corral. When this had been done, the Indians demanded more flour. Moses Mecham said, "I would rather my family died here fighting, than to starve to death out on the Plains!" and the others felt the same way, so they took up their guns, ready for battle. Moses Mecham's wife came out of their wagon with a butcher knife in her hand, and stood by his side, ready to assist in defending their lives and provisions. From there to Salt Lake Valley, they had no more serious trouble with the Indians.

Moses Worthen Mecham and his family settled in Provo, Utah in 1857. Here they made their home until they passed away. They were the parents of 17 children. Both were firm in their testimony that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God.

Moses kept a journal of many of their early experiences, from which this history was compiled.

Copyright 1999