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Mark Hill Forscutt papers

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: Vault MSS 811

Scope and Contents

Contains the journals of Mark Hill Forscutt from June 1855 to May 1900. They illustrate his religious conversions from membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, to a follower of the Morrisite movement, and finally to a leader in the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (now the Community of Christ). The collection also contains some miscellaneous material such as copies of The Saints' Harmony and The Saints' Harp, as well as photographs and other material.

Dates

  • 1855-1900

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Originals condition restricted.

Conditions Governing Use

It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances. Permission to publish material from Collection must be obtained from the Supervisor of Reference Services and/or the L. Tom Perry Special Collections Board of Curators.

Biographical History

Mark Hill Forscutt was born June 19, 1834 in Godmanchester, England. He became a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1853 and later immigrated to Utah. There he served as secretary to Brigham Young for a short while before he left the Church to join a group called the Morrisites, led by Joseph Morris. He was given several leadership positions within the Morrisite group. However, when a prophecy given by Morris about the date of the Second Coming went unfulfilled, there was an uprising and Morris was killed. A few years later, Forscutt joined with the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (renamed The Community of Christ in 2001), where he became good friends with Joseph Smith III. Forscutt also had significant musical talents from which he wrote, directed, performed, and composed numerous hymns. Forscutt died on October 18, 1903.

Extent

9 boxes (4.5 linear ft.)

Language of Materials

English

Other Finding Aids

File-level inventory available online. http://files.lib.byu.edu/ead/XML/VMSS811.xml

Custodial History

The materials in this collection were donated in separate installments by three different donors. Several of the journals were donated by Bill Drescher, the husband of Marcine Faunce, a great granddaughter of Mark H. Forscutt, in July 2002. The rest of the journals and several miscellaneous items were donated by Edward L. Faunce, a great grandson of Mark H. Forscutt, in May of 2002. A folder of miscellaneous documents was also donated by Eric Paul Rogers. Those items were given to Rogers by Virginia Job, a great granddaughter of Mark H. Forscutt, in 2000.

Appraisal

19th Century Western and Mormon Manuscripts.

Existence and Location of Copies

Transcription available in Box 10.

General

The collection contains 26 journals of Mark Hill Forscutt, covering the period of June 1855 - May 1900. Also includes several books, including copies of The Saints' Harp, The Instructor, The Book of Mormon, and The Doctrine and Covenants.

General

Acquisitions; Bill Drescher, Edward L. Faunce, and Eric Rogers. (2002)

Title
Register of Mark Hill Forscutt papers
Status
Completed
Author
Leslie Evens
Date
2011 November 17
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
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

Contact:
1130 HBLL
Brigham Young University
Provo Utah 84602 United States