BYU Library - Special Collections

Scope and Contents Photocopies of handwritten and printed certificates, letters of appointment, letters, an invitation, and a patriarchal blessing. The materials include a missionary recommendation dated 1851 when Smoot was called on a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Britain; a patriarchal blessing from Joseph Smith, Sr., the father of the first president of the Church, Joseph Smith, Jr.; two appointments as an agent for the Perpetual Emigration Fund for the Church; a letter...

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Correspondence, diaries, and a family history. The correspondence is between Van Cott and family members. Also included are handwritten and signed letters from Brigham Young, second president of the Mormon Church, to Van Cott. The diaries cover the time when Van Cott served as a missionary for the Mormon Church from 1852 to 1856 and from 1859 to 1862. He was in Iowa City, Iowa, when the first handcart companies left for Utah.

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Letter from Brigham Young, Richardson Point, Camp of Israel, to his wife, Harriott Cook, Nauvoo, Illinois, 15 March 1846. Nauvoo looks like a prison to him, so he will continue West. Joseph B. Noble is to bring her over. Asks her to go visit Mary and Margaret Pears. Desires to see her and "the little boys." They are feeling happy in the camp. Edwin Little has been sick. They plan to move from their current position on next Wednesday.

Scope and Contents Photocopy of a handwritten and signed letter, dated November 3, 1859, and addressed to George Q. Cannon. Young writes about the arrival of pioneers to Utah, comments positively on the economic impact of the Johnson's army at Camp Floyd, Utah, states the advantages of the territorial legislature meeting in Salt Lake City rather than in Fillmore, Utah, and infroms Cannon of his appointment to the office of an Apostle in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to fill the vacancy made...

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Handwritten and signed letter dated March 25, 1846 and addressed to Harriet Cook Young, one of Brigham Young's wives. Brigham Young writes about the prospects of the Mormons migrating to the West.

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Photographs of a handwritten and signed letter which was composed in Provo, Utah, dated February 27, 1868, and addressed to Oscar B. Young. Brigham gives his impressions of Provo, advises Oscar on Indian problems the Mormon settlers had along the "Muddy River," and comments on politics.

Scope and Contents Handwritten and signed letter dated 27 Feb. 1853 and addressed to Samuel W. Richards in Liverpool, England. The item was composed in Salt Lake City, Utah. Young reports on the condition of Utah at the end of a severe winter during which the Utahns received no mail from outside the territory. Young also writes about the sugar industry in Utah, the progress on buildings and machinery of the Deseret Manufacturing Company, the excavations on the foundation of the Salt Lake Temple, the...

Scope and Contents Contains photocopies of two handwritten and signed letters dated December 17, 1845 and addressed to William L. Marcy, Secretary of War for the United States. The two items are identical in content, but one appears to be a rough draft of the other. Young petitions the federal government for funds to aid in the westward migration of Mormons from Nauvoo, Illinois, with Vancouver Island as a possible destination. Young requests money to build block houses and stockades on the Oregon Trail and...

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Photocopy of two handwritten letters with a microfiche copy. The second of the two letters was started on the same page as the first. The items were dated 20 April and 4 May 1847. Young writes to his wife, Mary Ann Angell Young, while she was in Winter Quarters, Nebraska. Young informs Mary about his experiences while on the initial trek of Mormon pioneers to Utah.

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Photographs of handwritten letters addressed to "Hariot Cook," "my dear wife." The items were written when Young was in Iowa moving west as leader of the Mormons. Young urges Cook, who was still in Nauvoo, Illinois, to join him in Iowa.