Sketch of the life of Thomas Durham
Scope and Contents
Photocopy of a microfilm reproduction of a typed manuscript. The item is a biography of Thomas Durham. He lived in England, joined the Mormon Church in 1850, married Mary Morton in 1852, and migrated to Utah in 1856 with the Martin handcart company. He soon went to Parowan, Utah, where he led the local choir for 62 years. He married a second wife, Mary Mitchell, in 1860 and took a third wife, Carole Mortensen, in 1867. Durham made a living as a furniture maker. Alfred M. Durham describes his family life when he was growing up. He writes that the three wives lived in the same house, that life was happy, and that everyone seemed to get along well. Thomas Durham took the Parowan choir to Salt Lake City, Utah, where it sang for the General Conference of the Mormon Church and also sang for General William T. Sherman in 1870. Thomas Durham had to hide from federal marshals to avoid arrest for polygamy, and he had a number of dreams about the Book of Mormon late in his life.
Dates
- Creation: 1936
Creator
- Durham, Alfred M. (Person)
Language of Materials
Materials are in English.
Conditions Governing Access
Open for public research.
Conditions Governing Use
It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances. Permission to publish material from Sketch of the life of Thomas Durham must be obtained from the Supervisor of Reference Services and/or the L. Tom Perry Special Collections Board of Curators.
Biographical History
Alfred M. Durham was the third son of Thomas and Caroline Mortensen Durham.
Extent
1 item (6 p.)
Custodial History
This item was photocopied from reel 1 of the 920 microfilm collection.
Appraisal
Utah and the American West and LDS cultural, social, and religious history (20th century Western and Mormon Manuscripts collection development policy, 5.VII, 2007).
Subject
- Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Organization)
- Sherman, William T. (William Tecumseh), 1820-1891 (Person)
- Edward Martin Emigrating Company (Organization)
- Durham, Thomas, 1828-1909 (Person)
Genre / Form
Geographic
Topical
- Title
- Register of the life of Thomas Durham
- Status
- In Progress
- Author
- Andrea Wyss
- Date
- 2011 February 18
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English in Latin script.
Repository Details
Part of the L. Tom Perry Special Collections Repository
1130 HBLL
Brigham Young University
Provo Utah 84602 United States