WEST NY | BATAVIA | ROCHESTER | PALMYRA | EAST NY |
1829-31 | 1829-31 | 1829-31 | 1829-31 | 1829-31 |
1832-33 | 1832-39 | 1832-33 | 1832-33 | 1832-39 |
1834-39 | 1834-39 | 1834-39 | ||
1840-46 | 1840-46 | 1840-46 | 1840-46 | 1840-46 |
Vol. LXIII. Rochester, N. Y., Monday, February 26, 1900. No. ?
REVELATIONS OF THE MORMONS
In the course of some investigations into the origin of Mormonism, the writer has had placed in his hands some carious and interesting documents. No one of them has added much to what is common property, in the various histories of this movement, but some of them have a local color and contemporary freshness which gives them special interest. Among these have been several old and rare papers which contain much concerning the Mormons at Nauvoo, Ill. |
Vol. ? Palmyra, N. Y., Saturday, August 18, 1900. No. ?
A JOE SMITH INCIDENT.
...This reminds us of a story Septimus Sanders tells. It seems that in the early days of Joe Smith, the prophet, a comely handmaiden of Joseph became mysteriously and unbeknownest to anybody, save perhaps Joseph, who, if the truth be told, was no "Joseph," in an interesting condition. Uncle Joe finally announced it to be another case of celestial conception, the coming of the second Messiah, but much to the disgust of the self-appointed prophet, and to the amusement of the bystanders, the production was only that of a small urchin of the female persuasion -- "a little she-Jesus" -- as Tim says. |
Vol. LXIII. Rochester, N. Y., Wednesdy, November 07, 1900. No. ?
SOME CLOSE RANGE SIGHTS OF MORMONISM.
There lives in this city, at No. 300 Mt. Vernon avenue, in what was formerly the old Gregory homestead, a large and handsome country residence, but upon whose fertile acres the city has encroached until it is now a charming suburban home near Highland park, a remarkable old gentleman who, if he lives till the 25th of this mouth, will be 88 years old. He is Hon. Lewis E. Smith, and his father was one of the early pioneers of Livingston county, where the son was born and reared. He practiced law in that county till compelled, on account of ill health, to seek a more active and out-of door life. For some time he traveled for General Wadsworth, locating lands in the West, which later have added wealth to the already large estate of this pioneer family. |
Vol. XXII. Syracuse, New York, Sunday, January 20, 1901. No. 1,076. ...JASON ESTY... Geneva, Jan. 19. -- The inhabitants of the three counties, Wayne, Ontario and Seneca all know Jason Esty, who makes his headquarters in Palmyra, but who spends much of his time traveling over the adjacent counties, always on foot and always carrying his violin. |
Vol. XXII. Syracuse, New York, Sunday, March 3, 1901. No. 1,082.
OLD CHURCH WHERE BRIGHAM
Canandaigua, March 2. -- Mormonism had its birth in Ontario county, a few miles northeast of Canandaigua, in 1827, when "crazy Joe Smith," as he was known by his neighbors, dug from the earth, at a point now known as Mormon hill, the plates, Urim and Thummim, from which he claimed to formulate the Book of Mormon. In Ontario counity and the town of Canandaigua Brigham Young embraced that belief and taught and preached it in this locality for some time. When Brigham Young declared for Mormonism he was a common day laborer, employed by Capt. George Hickox, and at the old Hickox homestead near Canandaigua are found relics of the great Mormon, in the shape of furniture and other examples of his ingenuity. The chair on the piazza, in the picture, was made by Brigham Young. |
Vol. LXIX. Rochester, New York, Sunday, March 10, 1901. No. ?
EARLY DAYS OF BRIGHAM YOUNG.
Although many people are aware that Mormonism had its birth in Ontario county, a few miles northeast of Canandaigua, the county seat, when in 1827 "crazy Joe Smith," as he was best known by his neighbors, delivered the bowels at the earth at a point now known as "Mormon Hill" of the mysterious plates, Urim and Thummim, from which he claimed to have formulated the text-books of Mormonism, few persons know that it was also in Ontario county and the town of Canandaigua that Brigham Young, the great Mormon leader, the founder of Salt Lake City and the greatest modern polygamist, adopted the tenets of that religion, and taught and preached it in that locality some time before he and others of the faithful took up their pilgrimage in search of the "land of promise," where they sought to shut themselves off from the rest of the world. |
Vol. XV. Watertown, New York, Saturday, April 13, 1901 No. 42. Brigham Young's Widow. The Salt Lake City Tribune of April 4 publishes a picture and a sketch of Zina Diantha Huntington Young, one of the surviving widows of Brigham Young, the former famous head of the Mormon church. She is a native of Watertown and a sister of the late Dr. John D. Huntington. She was born at Watertown, Jan. 31, 1821. She was descended from revolutionary stock, and her father, one of the first physicians in New Hampshire, fought in the war of 1812. When 15 years of age, Zina Huntington embraced the gospel of the Latter-day Saints, and soon after went to Kirtland, O., with her father's family. Later she moved to Nauvoo, where she married a man named Henry Jacobs, but this not proving a happy union, she was divorced from her husband. In 1841 she was sealed to the Prophet Joseph for time and eternity. After the martyrdom of Joseph Smith, she was united in marriage for time to Brigham Young, becoming his 20th wife, and with the Saints left Nauvoo in the month of February, crossing the Mississippi on the ice. In May, 1848, began the journey to Utah, arriving there in September of that year. |
Vol. LIV. Utica, New York, Saturday, October 19, 1901. No. 147.
Lorenzo Snow, the Fifth Mormon President.
The death last week, at the Beehive, in Salt Lake City, Utah, of Lorenzo Snow, who has been for several years President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, as the Mormons style themselves, removes from the activities of life a man who was obstinate in his faith, persistent in his polygamy, able in the discharge of his executive duties, and a father in Israel; as he died at 87. |
Vol. XXI. Auburn, New York, Tuesday, January 7, 1902. No. 2. The Monster Abomination. Rev. Solomon Spaulding was for some time in poor health, and to while away the time he wrote a preposterous religious romance. One Joseph Smith somehow got hold of that book before it was printed, and published it as a revelation of heaven, calling it the "Book of Mormon," and from that publication came Mormonism, the monster abomination of the earth. Rev. Solomon Spaulding might have been, better engaged than writing that book of falsehoods. However much time we have, we never have time to do wrong. Harness January for usefulness, and it will take the following months in its train. Oh, how much you may do for God between now and the 31st of next December! The beautiful "weeping willow" tree was introduced by Alexander Pope into England from a twig which the poet found in a Turkish basket of figs. He planted that twig, and from it came all the weeping willows of England and America; and your smallest planting of good may under God become an influence continental and international.... |
Vol. LXXIII. Albany, New York, Wednesday, October 29, 1902. No. 22,431.
THE EVENING JOURNAL'S ANSWERS
The popular supposition is that American polygamy was the outgrowth of the faith, doctrine and practices instituted by Joseph Smith, the putative founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which was organized April 6, 1830, in the state of New York. The object of this paper is to correct this popular supposition so far as the facts warrant conclusions as to ts origin. |
Vol. LVIII. Syracuse, New York, Saturday, December 6, 1902. No. 290.
MORMONS AT RESCUE MISSION.
Elders George W. Bruce and Erastus F. Rose, the exponents of Mormonism, attended a meeting at the Rescue Mission in State st. last evening. Elder Bruce was introduced and gave his testimony, as did others. He did not touch upon Mormonism, but said although a stranger in the city he was not a stranger to the Spirit. |
Vol. LXXV. Syracuse, New York, Friday, February 13, 1903. No. ? New Light on Book of Mormon.
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Vol. ? Geneva, New York, Tuesday, April 5, 1903. No. ?
THE EARLY DAYS OF MORMONISM
Palmyra, N.Y., April 5. -- The testimony now being presented before the Senate committee appointed to investigate the eligibility of Apostle Reed Smoot, proving the continued prevalence of the practice of polygamy among the Mormons of Utah is bringing that sect into increased notoriety and their picturesque history is being dug up by lovers of the mysterious and bizarre. |
Vol. XL. Oswego, New York, Wednesday, September 23, 1903. No. 213.
THINGS TO THINK ABOUT.
Eighty years ago -- September 22d, 1823 -- was discovered the Mormon Bible on which the Church of Latter Day Saints base their belief. Within fifty miles of Oswego --as the crow flies -- Joseph Smith claimed that the tables were delivered to him by an angel. Smith was born in Vermont in 1805, and at the age of fifteen moved with his father's family to the old homestead in what is now Wayne county. From all accounts he wasn't much of a fellow, illiterate and adverse to work. He claimed that on the night of September 21st, 1823, the angel Moroni appeared to him three times, informing him that God had a work for him to perform and that a record, written on gold plates, giving an account of the ancient inhabitants of America and the dealings of God with them, was deposited on a particular hill in the neighborhood. With the records were two transparent stones, in silver bows, called the Urim and Thummim. Looking through these silver bowed stones, the plates became intelligible. September 22d, 1823, the angel of the Lord placed in Smith's hands the plates, with the Urim and Thummim. They were thin plates, a little thinner than common tin, 7x8 inches in size and about six inches in thickness, bound by three rings running through the whole. From these plates Smith read off the book of Mormon, or Golden Bible, to Oliver Cowdery. It was printed in 1830. Appended to it was a statement signed by Cowdery, David Whitmer and Martin Harris, who testified that they knew of their own knowledge that the book was inspired. Afterwards they quarrelled with Smith and repudiated their testimony. Smith and his followers went to Missouri, were driven out of that State and went to Illinois, where was built up we city of Nauvoo, which reached a population of several thousand people. In 1832, Brigham Young, a painter and, glazier, from Vermont, dropped into the camp and after Smith was killed he took command and the Mormons went to Utah. It is alleged that Smith organized within the ranks of the Mormons the Danites. It until 1838 that Smith introduced the practice of polygamy. It is now stamped out by law, excepting in our new possessions in the far East, where General Sumner says it is practiced by the Mormons. Smith and Young both became rich out of their Mormon connection. John Alexander Dowie is not the only one who knew how to play the game. |
Vol. 24. Syracuse, New York, Sunday, October 11, 1903. No. ?
Onondaga Academy....
It will be less than another decade before Onondaga Academy celebrates its one hundredth birthday. For nearly a century the venerable institution of learning has lain peacefully in the beautiful valley, its bell ringing out the call to study, its stone walls sheltering hundreds of eager boys and girls preparing themselves to become worthy and helpful citizens and to fight the battle of life strongly and well. Every citizen of Onondaga county takes a pride in the historic old academy, and is rejoiced to be able to subscribe to the claim made by its trustees and its teachers, that never has it been so prosperous as at the present time. |
Vol. 24. Syracuse, New York, Sunday, October 25, 1903. No. 1,220.
VOTED SINCE 1824.
SHORTSVILLE, Oct. 24. -- Few, if any, men now living can boast of a voting record as remarkable as that of Dr. John Stafford, now of Rochester, but formerly a resident and practitioner of the town of Manchester. |
Vol. XLIII. Watertown, New York, Saturday, November 28, 1903. No. 282.
A Visit to Mt. Cumorah.
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AND DAILY GAZETTE. Vol. LVI. Utica, New York, Saturday, November 28, 1903. No. 13.
CRANK DEMING'S VISIT TO UTICA.
Dr. E. J. Stephens was much surprised this morning when he found that he had been given as a reference by Arthur B. Deming, the crank who succeeded in getting by the guard of the President at New York yesterday and handing him a letter. This letter was as follows: |
Vol. LIX. Syracuse, New York, Wednesday, December 2, 1903. No. 287.
HAD TO DEMAND ARREST OF CRANK.
NEW YORK. Dec. 2. -- Arthur B. Deming, the charcoal cure crank, who managed to get past President Roosevelt's bodyguard of police on the occasion of James K. Gracie's funeral, and who handed to the President a long manuscript, telling of the wonderful cures his medicated charcoal could affect, was released yesterday in the custody of his friends by Supreme Court Justice Fitzgerald on a bail bond of $500 being furnished. Deming was brought to court on a writ of habeas corpus and his counsel, W. H. Wingate, told Justice Fitzgerald that Deming was not dangerous. He might be enthusiastic on the subject of charcoal, but he was harmless otherwise and his friends were willing to take him over to Jersey City and care for him. |
Vol. 82. Auburn, N. Y., Wednesday, February 17, 1904. No. 7,463.
IN THE DAYS OF
In view of the extreme cold of last night the meeting of the Cayuga County Historical society Ionded and proved a most interesting and enjoyable one. Two papers were read, the first being "Incidents in the Lives of Three Prominent Men Who Lived in Cayuga County." It was prepared by William Hayden, of Unadilla Forks, who formerly resided at Port Byron. The greater portion of it was devoted to Brigham Young, who formerly lived near and afterwards in Port Byron, and he is well remembered by the author of the paper. Because of the inability of Mr. Hayden to be present, the paper was read by Lewis E. Lyon, as was also the second paper on "The Aboriginal Cayugas," which was prepared by Eugene Lindsay Finn, of New York, formerly of this city. Mr. Hayden's paper was as follows: |
Vol. XXII. Shortsville, New York, Friday, March 11, 1904. No. 11.
Manchester in the Early Days.
As was stated in the preceding article, the Smith family were firm believers in the truth of various legends which designated Mormon Hill as the depository of large deposits of untold treasure. Night after night had the father and sons, Alvah and Joseph, delved and dug in different spots, but so far as the outer world knew their search was never rewarded with success. Occasionally they would tell of important discoveries, but these stories were always related to some person whose pecuniary or other substantial assistance they desired, and so their marvelous tales soon came to be received with many grains of allowance, and finally were greeted with the cold stare of unbelief. They claimed to have in their possession a miraculous stone which although it was densly opaque to ordinary eyes, was still luminous and transparent to the orbs of Joseph, Jr. This stone was one of the common horn blende variety; some of which may be picked up any day on the shores of lake Ontario. It was kept in a mysterious box, carefully wrapped in cotton. |
Vol. LXIX. Rochester, New York, Tuesday, March 15, 1904. No. ?
CLOSE TO THE CENTURY MARK.
Dr. John Stafford, of No. 27 Byron street, will celebrate to-day his ninety-ninth birthday, surrounded by relatives and intimate friends, at his home. Though nearly 100 years old, Dr. Stafford is in good health and has been looking forward with a good deal of pleasure to spring, that he may plant his garden. Dr. Stafford has a plot of about a quarter of an acre that he has worked for a number of years. Four years ago he planted peas in the little plot two days before his birthday, but, in the words of one of his family, "he didn't attempt it this year." |
Vol. LXXII. Rochester, New York, Wednesday, March 16, 1904. No. ?
KNEW FOUNDER OF MORMONISM.
All yesterday friends of Dr. John Stafford were calling at his home, No. 27 Byron street, to congratulate him upon reaching his ninety-ninth birthday. The aged physician had recently been suffering from the grip, but yesterday found him in good condition. For years his family has held a reunion on his birthday. |
Vol. ? Geneva, New York, Wednesday, March 16, 1904. No. ?
GRAND OLD AGE OF DR. STAFFORD.
Shortsville, March 16. -- Many old acquaintances throughout this section will be interested to learn that Dr. John Stafford of Rochester, formerly of Manchester, celebrated his ninety-ninth birthday yesterday, March 15, 1805. Dr. Stafford was born on Stafford street, in Manchester. He was one of a family of seven, five being younger than himself, and is now the only living representative. His boyhood was passed in the same neighborhood with Joseph Smith of Mormon fame, and he witnessed the first Mormon baptism. On reaching manhood he concluded to acquire a more thorough education and entered the Palmyra academy. Later he took a course in Hobart college, Geneva, and finally completed Hs medical studies in the office of Dr. McIntyre of Palmyra. He then located in Manchester village, where he practised medicine for many years. In 1845 he was united in marriage with Miss Nancy Hurlburt of that village, who is also living. In 1824, when John Quincy Adams was a candidate for the presidency, the polls for the town of Manchester were located in a cider house at the rear of the King house on the Clifton road, midway between Shortsville and Clifton Springs, and Dr. Stafford, then a strapping youth of nineteen, broad and hearty with a stubby beard, went to the polls with some older friends to see the fun. In those days a hat was passed for the ballots, and as the bearer paused in front of the youth, his friends urged him to vote, too, saying he looked old enough. Acting on their suggestion, he cast his first vote for John Quincy Adams. |
Vol. LX. Syracuse, New York, Thursday, March 17, 1904. No. 66.
CHURCH WILL TELL SMOOT TO
The first real active step against Mormonism and the inculcation of its doctrines in Syracuse was taken this afternoon at the Brown Memorial Church in Davis St., when the Rev. D. H. Bays, who some time ago left the Mormon faith, which from a child he had been taught to believe, held what he called a "conversation." Many [residents?] of Syracuse were present and asked the former elder many questions pertaining to the Mormon belief: Tonight at the church he will deliver a [lecture] on "The Mormon Church and Why I Left It." |
Vol. LX. Syracuse, New York, Friday, March 18, 1904. No. 67.
PASSED THE LIE AMID HISSES AND
The lie was passed in the Brown Memorial church last evening when amid heartless hisses and jeers, in the face of united opposition and with indignation blazing from his eyes, Elder Jesse S. Misener of the Mormon church stood for 20 minutes near the pulpit of the church and refuted the statements made by the Rev. D. H. Bays, a former Mormon elder, who during a long speech had arraigned Mormonism and the Strangites in bitter terms, laid bare some of the horrible practices, told of the blood curdling oaths and denounced the Mormon church, and its disciples in good round terms. |
Vol. XXVIII. Syracuse, New York, March 18, 1904. No. 8357.
A REORGANIZED MORMON.
The Rev. D. H. Bays, who was brought-up a Mormon and who for more than twenty years was a minister in one branch of the church, spoke last night at the Brown Memorial M. E. church against Mormonism and in the interests of the work of the Federation of Christian Women, which has undertaken to drive the Mormon elders from Syracuse and to combat proselyting by the Mormons. Mr. Bays was rather a disappointment because it transpired that he was never in Utah and never a member of the polygamous church. |
Vol. XXII. Shortsville, New York, Friday, March 18, 1904. No. 12.
Manchester in the Early Days.
The appointed night again came on and the same party was again assembled in the best room of the Smith mansion, but outside the door might have been heard the occasional jingling of a bell, which told that the black bell wether was on hand, prepared and ready for the sacrifice. The same performance of hat gazing was again gone thro with, and once again they started forth. At length they arrived at the designated spot, far removed from the former one. Again the same cautions as to silence were uttered, again the stakes were planted and once again the magic circle was drawn. The wether led by the hand of his master was brought to the circle, and as his mild eyes rested confidently upon the group, he received the death dealing stroke. His throat was severed, as per directions of the horn blende pebble, and as his life blood welled forth, he was led around the ring pouring it on the ground as he staggered and stumbled along. The single revolution was at length completed and poor bell wether was left to expire as best he might, while his cruel and avaricious executioners seizing their implements commenced eagerly to throw out the earth. Will you believe it, dear reader? They didn't find a dollar; there was no money there, nor no pot to put money in. How long they worked is unknown, but it was until the prophet in embryo had again consulted the stone, and so gave to his dupes some reason for their failure, which undoubtedly was as simple and foolish as the whole proceeding had been. But now a singular circumstance occurred; Mr. Stafford on looking for the carcass of his black bell wether, undoubtedly having in view a broiled leg of mutton, was somewhat nonplussed to find that it had disappeared as mysteriously as the coveted riches; he also made the farther discovery, and a singular coincidence it was, that the seer's paternal progenitor was also missing. The fact was that while Stafford had dug, Smith had dressed the carcass, and when its absence was discovered was far advanced on his homeward route. When Mr. Stafford learned, as learn he did, that for a few days the Smiths had regaled themselves on mutton chops, &c., he lost all faith in human nature, the scales fell from his eyes and he saw that he had been victimized. It may be that the investment of the black bell wether in the course of time proved to be a profitable one, as it assuredly did, if thereby he was saved from a belief in the Bible hoax. They might have made a Martin Harrisof him, but knowing that a hooked fish is not apt to bite the second time, they never attempted to hoodwink him again. |
Vol. ? Elmira, New York, Sunday, March 20, 1904. No. ?
THE BIRTHPLACE OF MORMONISM
In view of the recent investigations concerning Senator Reed Smoot, of Utah, who is charged with being elected through the agency of the Mormon church, and therefore an upholder of polygamy, it may be interesting to note that it is a fact of which we are not particularly proud, that Susquehanna county harbored Joe Smith at the period when he was engaged in the compilation, or, rather, the translation, of the Book of Mormon. |
Vol. LXXVI. Syracuse, New York, Sunday, April 10, 1904. No. ?
BRIGHAM YOUNG AT CANANDAIGUA.
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Vol. I. Binghampton, New York, Thursday, April 14, 1904. No. 4.
MORMON'S RELIGION HAD ITS BIRTH
Broome county has the distinction of being the first place In which Mormonism was accepted as a religious belief. It was the home, for a time, of its founder, and here was formed the nucleus of the band that has grown into an organization world-wide in its scope. |
Vol. LXXII. Rochester, New York, Thursday, April 28, 1904. No. ?
THIS SECTION SCENE OF THE
Geneva, April 27. -- The Smoot hearing in Congress has revived interest here in the early history of Mormonism. since Mormonism had its birth but a few miles from here, just across Seneca lake. To be exact, the Mormon church was first organized at the house of Peter Whitman, a Pennsylvania German farmer, residing upon a farm in the southeastern part of the town of Fayette, Seneca county, April 6, 1830. |
Vol. LX. Syracuse, New York, Thursday, April 28, 1904. No. ?
MORMONISM HAD BIRTH AT FAYETTE GENEVA. April 28. -- Mormonism had its birth but a few miles from here, just across Seneca lake. To be exact the Mormon church was first organized at the house of Peter Whitmer, a Pennsylvania German farmer, residing upon a farm in the southeastern part of the town of Fayette. Seneca county, April 6, 1830. |
Vol. XXII. Shortsville, New York, Friday, April 29, 1904. No. 18. Some Old Manchester Families. In Captain Brown's valuable series of articles, "Manchester in the Early Days," which the Enterprise has been republishing, no mention is made of the fact that the Pratts were closely related to the McLouths and Peirces. These families play such a prominent part in the early history of the town, and are so widely "connected" that a few words to their genealogy ...... history. |
Vol. I. Binghampton, New York, Friday, May 20, 1904. No. 35.
QUEER STORIES TOLD ABOUT
There is a curious temptation for many communities to pepper local history with traditions of Joseph Smith, founder of the Mormon religion, and the little village of Afton is only one of many others in the state which claims to be the original spot where the Lord buried his divine word for an unknown man to dig up. They tell of many things that Mormon Joe did during the few years in the early part of the past century in and about Afton, while eking a miserable existence for himself. The same is true up in Seneca county, this state, and down in Susquehanna county, Pa. But Afton outclasses them all. According to the chronologists of that locality, Joe Smith arrived at Afton in February, 1826 [sic - 1827?], on an eloping tour, his companion being a young woman named Emma, or Eliza Hale, the daughter of a farmer down in Harmony, Pa. They first made their appearance at the home of Deacon Stowell, tradition says, and one of Deacon Stowell's boys with his two girls took the strangers in a sleigh, and crossing the river at Stowell ferry drove to the house of Zachariah Tarbell, Justice of the peace, who tied the matrimonial knot. This account is confirmed, they say, by Noble Buck, who was one of the witnesses to the ceremony. Then followed the "career" of Mormon Joe, who divided his time between Afton, Harpersvllle and Nineveh, which caused people to talk. Another thing has been discovered exclusively by Afton people. There were two Joe Smiths. |
Vol. 73. Binghampton, New York, Saturday, June 4, 1904. No. 50. WILL THE SHAD COME BACK? The Deposit Courier announces that six pound to eight pound shad have suddenly appeared in the river at that village, after being absent for many years. When the Delaware and Hudson canal was constructed a high dam was built for it at Lackawaxen, which effectually shut out the shad. The canal to now in a state of dilapidation, and part of the Lackawaxen dam has been washed out. That enables the shad to reach the spawning waters of their ancestors. In Indian days shad came up the Susquehanna river and were plentiful as far north as Otsego Lake. There are a few people in Binghamton who can remember when shad were caught here. There were many such people here twenty-five years ago, but a quarter of a century has thinned the ranks of the pioneers. One of the incidents remembered at Susquehanna of Joseph Smith, the first Mormon prophet is that he indulged in shad-fishing and too much whiskey at the same time. A few years ago there were several pioneers who retained distinct recollections of Joseph Smith and his shad-fishing exploits. |
Vol. LXXII. Rochester, New York, Friday, November 11, 1904. No. ?
SET TYPE ON
Palmyra, Nov. 10. -- Franklin P. Rogers, a former well-k,own resident of this place, and who was undoubtedly the oldest practical printer in the state, died at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Lucy Rogers Hill, at Charlton City, Mass., on Tuesday, and his remains were taken to Pultneyville, this county, for burial to-day. |
Vol. LXXII. Rochester, New York, Saturday, November 26, 1904. No. ?
DEATH AT CANANDAIGUA
Canandaigua, Nov. 25. -- After a lingering illness, Dr. Charles A. Foster, well known in Canandaigua, died at the Memorial Hospital, shortly after noon to-day, of apoplexy. Deceased was a man of considerable importance and usefulness to his adopted country in his yonger years. He was born in Warwickshire, England, September 1, 1815, and was brought to this country at a tender age, by his parents, who located in Palmyra, Wayne county. |
Vol. II. Binghampton, New York, Monday, December 12, 1904. No. 53.
MORMONS TO BUY
Susquehanna, Pa., Dec. 12. -- There is a report that the old McKune homestead, at West Susquehanna, in which Joseph Smith, assisted by Harris, Coudery, et al., "translated" the Book of Mormon, or "Mormon Bible," will be purchased by the Mormons of Salt Lake City, to be placed in their great museum. |
Vol. LXXIII. Rochester, New York, Saturday, February 25, 1905. No. ?
OLDEST PHYSICIAN IN
Dr. John Stafford, probably the oldest physician in the United States, died yesterday morning at 6 o'clock at his home in this city, No. 27 Byron street. Had he lived until March 13th he would have been 100 years old. He had been ill about two weeks, contracting a cold that resulted in pneumonia. |
Vol. ? Geneva, N. Y., Saturday, February 25, 1905. No. ?
LIVED NEARLY A CENTURY.
Shortsville, Feb. 16. -- Dr. John Stafford, for many years a very prominent practitioner in this vicinity and a resident of the village of Manchester, died at his home in Rochester at 6 o'clock yesterday morning, after an illness of two weeks. He attained an age which few people reach -- ninety-nine years, eleven months and nine days, and had he lived until the fifteenth of March, would have completed a century. |
Vol. LXIX. Rochester, New York, Monday, March 13, 1905. No. ? OLD RESIDENT OF MANCHESTER. Shortsville, March 12 -- Mrs. John O'Tier, one of the old residents of this town, died at her home on Stafford street very suddenly on Saturday, aged 71 years. She was apparently in her usual health until the moment of her death, and was quietly sitting in a chair when the end came. Mrs. O'Tier lived on the old Stafford homestead, where Dr. John Stafford, the centenarian who recently died in Rochester, was born. She is survived by her husband and three sons, Frank O'Tier, of Rochester, Jacob O'Tier, of Farmington, and John O'Tier, of East Palmyra. |
Vol. ? Montrose, New York, Thursday, June 29, 1905. No. ? As to Joe Smith. William Smith, brother of Mrs. McIntosh, is a very interesting personage to converse with. He has lived in this vicinity nearly all of his life and remembers many of the personages who figured so largely in the early settlement of the tovvn and neighboring districts. As a boy he remembers of seeing Joseph Smith, who afterwards became head of the sect known as the Mormons, who founded Salt Lake City in Utah. Mr. Smith remembers too of seeing Emma Hale whom Joe Smith married, says she was often a visitor at his father's house and his recollection of her is that she was a very pretty girl. He remembers of seeing the "peeping stone" which Joe put in his hat and pretended to discover money by so doing. The stone was similar to the speckled stones which are still to be found along the river shore. Mr. Smith's father, Jonas Smith, built the house once occupied by Joe Smith, which is still standing near Oakland, this side of Susquehanna. This is the house which the Mormons talk of purchasing and removing to Salt Lake City. Mr. Smith remembers also of seeing the painting on the rocks something over a mile up the river, which is now effaced, and that it was the picture of on Indian Chieftain in his canoe. Mr. Smith says that both Indian and his canoe were quite plainly to be seen. |
AND OGDENSBURG WEEKLY JOURNAL. Vol. LXXV. Ogdensburg. New York, Wednesday, July 19, 1905. No. 41.
DON'T FORGET THE
While various opinions are held by press and public as to the proposed Mormon monument tp be erected in Royalton, Vt., the birthplace of Joseph Smith, the founder of the sect, the utilitarian view, says the St. Albans Messenger, appears to be the most popular among the great majority that, while utterly repudiating with disgust and indignation the fradulent character of Mormonism as a revealed religion, nevertheless see in the establishment of this shrine an opportunity for "substantial financial benefit to the people of Randolph and Sharon in inducing an increase of summer visitors." |
Vol. XX. Clyde, N. Y., Wed., Sept. 6, 1905. No. 29.
BIG PRICE OFFERED.
A special dispatch to The Rochester Herald from Newark says eighty-three years ago Sunday Mormonism as a faith was given to the world by Joseph Smith, familiarly known in Palmyra, where he lived, as Joe Smith. Joseph Gilbert, of that village, and a prominent lawyer of Newark and Wayne county, lived for 38 years in sight of Mormon Hill, or "Bible Hill," as it is called, and many times had occasion to direct pilgrims to the Mecca of Mormonism. |
Vol. LVI. Clyde, N. Y., Thurs., Sept. 14, 1905. No. 87.
MORMON BIBLE WANTED.
Eighty-three years ago Mormonism as a faith was given to the world by Joseph Smith, familiarly known in Palmyra, a small village west of Newark, where he lived, as Joe Smith. Joseph Gilbert, a prominent lawyer of Wayne county, lived for 38 years in sight of Mormon Hill, or "Bible Hill," as it is called, and many times had occasion to direct pilgrims to this Mecca of Mormonism. This wonderful hill is located about four miles south of the town of Palmyra, in the town of Manchester. At the north end of the hill, and near the top is a barren spot where it is claimed Smith found the gold plates for the Mormon Bible. The original manuscripts of Joseph Smith's "Book of Mormon," the Bible of the Mormon Church, is kept in the bank vault in Richmond, Mo. The elders of the Mormon Church in Utah made different attempts in past years to get possession of it, but failed. Once they offered $100,000 in cash for the old yellow manuscript, but its keeper, David Whitmer, one of the founders of the church, refused the offer, because he believed the Utah branch of the church wished to get by forgery a clause that would authorize and sanction the practice of polygamy. |
Vol. ? South Dayton, New York, Thursday, August 16, 1906. No. ?
[Beginning of article missing] ... In the history of this county, the axe will always play a prominent part. Through its instrumentality, the forests have been razed, the desert has been made to "bloom and blossom as the rose," savagery has been made to give back before this emblem of higher civilization, and communities and cities have strung into existence. It is not a bad suggestion once made in congress that on the coat of arms of the United States be blazoned an axe, rampant, on a field, green. |
Vol. XLVII. Watertown, N. Y., Sat., Mar. 23, 1907. No. 87. "Book of Mormon." The "Book of Mormon" proved to be a literary plagiarism, being a free paraphrase of a romance written by the Rev. Solomon Spalding in 1810, the manuscript of which came into the possession of Joseph Smith, and he. sitting behind a curtain, dictated it to Oliver Cowdery, who, seated out of sight of the reader, wrote the matter as it was given him. Smith pretended that the book was discovered to him by revelation and dug up from the side of a hill not far from Palmyra, in the county of Ontario, N. Y. The claim was made by Smith that the writing on the plates was engraved in "reformed Egyptian," which he was unable to read until magic spectacles, which be called his Urim and Thummim, were given to him, enabling him both to read and translate into English. The spectacles and the plates have disappeared, and the story of the dictation makes tolerably clear the manner in which the "Book Mormon" had its origin. |
Vol. XXX. Binghampton, N. Y., Fri., June 21, 1907. No. 61.
STORIES AND INCIDENTS OF
Some 82 years ago a tall and strong young man of llgrht complexion and quick, furtive expression. came to the settlements along: the north side of the Susquehanna river, about one and one' half miies below the present borough of Oakland, to locate and dig for hidden treasure. He came with several illiterate adventurers, whom he had deluded into believing that the Spaniards had centuries before buried vast quantities of gold and silver in that vicinity, which he could locate for them. |
Vol. XXXVII. Palmyra, New York, Thursday, July 11, 1907. No. ?
SOME EARLY MORMON HISTORY.
Manchester, July 5. -- Since the recent pilgrimage of the Mormons to "Gold Bible Hill." two miles north of this village, to view the place where Joseph Smith claimed to have discovered the golden plates, upon which Mormonism was founded, the oldest residents of Manchester here been recalling incidents connected with the founding of this religious sect, many of which are of an interesting nature and to the outside world generally unknown. |
Vol. ? Palmyra, New York, Thursday, March 19, 1908. No. ?
MORMONS BUY PALMYRA HOUSE.
Certain fond hopes of all Latter Day Saints were lately realized by the official purchase of the home in New York State where the revered prophet and founder, Joseph Smith, entertained the angel who "tipped him off" on the construction of a new religion. The house at Palmyra ha been a Mecca for Saints for the last thirty years, and now, as the property of the church, acquired at an expense of $23,000, it will be furnished with suitable relics and kept in good condition to receive augmenting bands of pilgrims from distant Utah and all parts of the earth. There will possibly be an admission fee for Saints or Gentiles or both. |
Vol. ? Syracuse, New York, Sunday, June 6, 1909. No. ?
JOSEPH SMITH'S YOUTHFUL
A Tow-headed young man, dull of eye and sallow of complexion, once upon a time loafed on the streets and sat upon the cracker barrels of Palmyra, a village about fifty miles west of Syracuse. |
Vol. XXXIII. Utica, New York, Sunday, August 29, 1909. No. 17. JOSEPH SMITH MONUMENT. The announcement that the dedication of the monument to Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, at Sharon. Vt., is to be made a sort of state occasion, the Government officials lending the dignity of their presence to the ceremonial. while United States Senator Reed Smoot will deliver an address, has aroused some natural indignation in the State. A monument to Smith may seem appropriate in Sharon, as he may have been the most illustrious son of that village, which, indeed, does not figure conspicuously in American history: but he was a brutal, illiterate impostor, scarcely to be comprehended as the victim of self-delusion, and the State of Vermont should have nothing to do, officially, with the dedication of his monument. |
Vol. LXVI. Syracuse, New York, Thursday, September 8, 1910. No. 215.
Will Mormon Church Succeed in Ambition
The current issue of Pearson's carries a striking letter by Richard Barry, entitled "The Political Menace of the Mormon Church," in which is set forth the story of the alliance between the Mormon Church and the Republican party. This story tells how Jos. F. Smith, the present head of the church, threw practically the whole Mormon vote, normally Democratic, to the Republican party in exchange for the admission of Utah to statehood, and how the alliance made at that time has been renewed at various times since. |
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Vol. ? Fairport, New York, Wednesday, November 8, 1911. No. ? The Source of the Book of Mormon. The foundation of the Mormon faith and the source of the Book of Mormon may be stated briefly as follows: |
Vol. XXXIV. Binghampton, N. Y., Friday, February 16, 1912. No. 262.
LANESBORO M. E. SOCIETY IS NOW
Susquehanna, Pa., Feb. 16. -- The Lanesboro M. E. Church will celebrate its centennial on March 3, 4 and 5, next. Sunday will be devoted to centennial services, the Rev. Dr. O. L. Severson preaching the centennial sermon. |
Vol. ? Geneva, N. Y., Tuesday, November 12, 1912. No. ?
RELATES MORE
To the Editor of the Times: |
Vol. LXIX. Syracuse, New York, Friday, February 7, 1913. No. 33.
TEXAN RESIDENT IS SURVIVOR
MARSHALL, Tex. Feb. 7. -- W. T. Baker, 56 years old, living at Leslie, six miles south of here, is the younget of the 17 surviving children of the Mountain Meadow massacre, which occurred in Utah, in September, 1857, when 120 men, women and children from Arkansas were waylaid and brutally murdered by Mormons and Indians. His father, mother, oldest sister, several aunts and uncles were killed, and two of his sisters escaped. |
Vol. LXV. Utica, N. Y., Tues., March 11, 1913. No. 97.
MORMONISM.
That Mormonism was founded on fraud, that it has flourished on avarice and lust, until it has become a menace to the United States, was the statement of the Rev. F. S. Eastman of New Hartford, in an address at a meeting of the Utica Clerical Union in Grace Church yesterday. The speaker declared that the "Book of Mormon" published by Joseph Smith, as a revelation found written on tablets of stone unearthed by him, was proved to have been taken verbatim from a romance written by Solomon Spalding. |
Vol. LXIX. Syracuse, N. Y., Fri., Dec. 19, 1913. No. 302.
DECLARES MORMON BIBLE WAS FOUND NEAR WATERTOWN.
ST. LOUIS, Dec. 19. -- A story that "the original copper [sic] plates from which the Second Book of Mormon was written were 'planted' in an Indian mound in Pike County, Ill., in the '40s by the father of W. D. Fugate, 1926 Obear av., St Louis, in a plot to trick the Mormon leader, Joseph Smith." was assailed by George W. Schweich of Richmond, Mo., an authority on Mormon history. Schweich said there is no Second Book of Mormon. |
Vol. LXIV. Troy, New York, Saturday, November 14, 1914. No. 121.
MORMON RELIGION.
The Mormon religion was the subject of an interesting address by Rev. Dr. Mitchell Bronk in the First Baptist Church last night. He said that he was peculiarly adapted to speak on the subject, as he was born and reared near Palmyra, where the Mormon religion first attracted attention. It was on the Hill Cumorah, near Palmyra, where Joseph Smith found the gold plates and Bible, which formed part of the material which led up to the religion. Rev. Dr. Bronk spoke of the unsuccessful efforts of Joseph Smith to obtain converts to the new faith. He also related several stories which were told by his grandfather concerning the early part of the religion. Rev. Dr. Bronk said that of the many histories of the Mormon religions the one written by Pomeroy Tucker was probably the best, because Mr. Tucker worked in the printing house where the first Mormon Bible was published. |
Vol. ? Syracuse, N. Y., Sunday, March 12, 1916. No. ?
MORMONS SPREADING THEIR
Watertown. March 11. -- The recent arrival here from Utah of two Mormon elders charged with spreading in this region the doctrines of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, is not the first effort to "plant a stake of Zion" in this locality. Upwards of a century ago some of the most famous prophets of the faith proselyted here with such zeal and power that from several north country communities went forth long wagon trains of converts to join the colony ruled by Joseph and Hyrum Smith at Nauvoo; while at a later date from this section went recruits to the reorganized church established by Joseph Smith, Jr., in the old temple built by his father at Kirtland, O. The prophet Strang drew a few North country converts to his island kingdom at Beaver Island, in Lake Michigan. Two of the prophets of the new religion took as wives daughters of Jefferson county, and from Jefferson went to join the saints battling against the Gentiles in Illinois, the giant blacksmith known as Captain Fearnaught," who sealed his faith with his blood, being literally hacked to pieces by a Gentile mob. |
Vol. ? Syracuse, N. Y., Sunday, April 9, 1916. No. ?
WATERTOWN MAN TELLS OF
Watertown, April 8. -- The fact that a resident of this city once dwelt on the old Joseph Smith farm homestead among the mountains of Vermont, where was born the country boy who as revelator and prophet was destined to influence the lives of over a million people during the century since his birth and to found a church that boasts a living membership of over 400,000, may be of interest just at this time, when the doctrine and practice of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is attracting such wide attention here owing to the recent arrival of two Mormon elders to spread the tenets of their faith in this community. Watson L. Palmer, a carpenter boarding on Main street, this city, spent several years of his boyhood on the old Smith farm lying partly in the township of Sharon and partly in the town of Royalton, Windsor county, Vt., and is possessed of much interesting information regarding the Smith family and the boyhood of the founder of the Mormon Church. |
Vol. XLV. Fairport, N.Y., January 24, 1917. No. 43.
WHEN JOE SMITH HATCHED MORMONISM.
That period in Wayne county when the Erie canal was dug, and which started the prosperity of the western portion of the State is also notable as the period when "Joe" Smith of Palmyra hatched out his Mormon religion. The remarkable rise of this religion in Wayne county is a peculiar circumstance, and its early history in the county in the region of Manchester and Palmyra is worthy of careful note. Although Smith claimed to have dug up the plates from which the Mormon Bible was translated, and although the printing of the Bible was done at Palmyra, yet it is to the credit of Palmyra that people that they did not "take" to the doctrine, and aside from Martin Harris and a few others the local converts were few in number. |
Vol. LXXIII. Rochester, N. Y., Sun., Mar. 18, 1917. No. ? MORMON BIBLE. From time to time various prophets have arisen whose cleverness has been the means of calling to their standard a sufficient number of followers to make their revelation imposing. The most striking example in our country was Joseph Smith, who came to be known as "the Mohammed of the West," the founder of the Mormon States. |
Vol. LXXIII. Buffalo, N.Y., Mon., Mar. 4, 1918. No. 42. Origin of Mormonism. Editor Buffalo Express. -- In her address on Mormonism on February 10th at the Richmond Avenue Church of Christ, Mrs. Luis L. Shepard demonstrated good knowledge of the subject as it relates to the Utah Mormon church, which is an [apostate] church, having departed from the original teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Its members, led by Brigham Young, migrated west from the banks of the Missouri river into Utah, via the "cart brigade," taking all of their effects in a two-wheeled hand cart[s]. Arriving in Utah, Brigham rebaptized and reconfirmed all of his adherents out of the original church into what is known as the Mormon church. Brigham took the name of the original church for his organization, adding doctrines of his own to those which are taught in the Book of Mormon -- the Adam-God worship as set forth in the temple endowment service, the blood atonement, polygamy and the doctrine of revelation (Matt. xvi. 17), which is the corner-stone of the Mormon church. Brigham at once put this doctrine into practice by having a revelation and taking Lamech, Abram, Jacob (Gen. iv. 13; xvi., xxix), David and Solomon as his authority; took upon himself more wives, encouraging his adherents to do likewise. The Book of Mormon, which he pretended to follow, denounces polygamy in Jacob ii. 23-27, in these words: "Behold David and Solomon truly had many wives and concubines, which thing was abominable before me, saith the Lord. Wherefore, my brethren, hearken unto the word of the Lord; for there shall not any man among you have save it be one wife, and concubines he shall have none." |
Vol. LXXIII. Buffalo, N.Y., Mon., Mar. 10, 1918. No. 48. Origin of Mormonism.
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Vol. XL. Elmira, N.Y., Sunday, August 11, 1918. No. 15.
BOOK OF MORMON WRIT THERE
Susquehanna, Pa., Aug. 10. -- Just why two young women should select the home of Mormonism for a short summer vacation, I cannot, perhaps, satisfactorily explain. But let me say, in all this nation, at this time of the year, there is no prettier place than this. During the present warm spell one can not find a lodge in any vast wilderness so cooling and so soothing as the banks of the Susquehanna -- some twenty odd miles above the Great Bend. This is the river that is so familiar to us at Wilkes-Barre. We have frequently followed these waters from Wilkes-Barre to where the river enters the Chesapeake bay. But that is another story. I am writing this letter on the river bank, in front of the cottage of Ed Searl, former clerk of the federal court that sits now and then in the city of Scranton. This cottage is in Oakland and Oakland is the place where the Book of Mormon was written. The building in which that famed book was written is still standing and is near the saw mill of Captain Buch [sic - Buck?]. We have visited the house in which Prophet Joseph Smith wrote his mysterious revelations. We have seen where the excavations were made, where the tablets of stone were hidden and unearthed on Turkey Hill. We are told that after the excavation came a quarrel between Smith and the witnesses and then the plates were transferred to Manchester, Ontario, county, New York, and re-resurrected there. We are told the present followers of Smith have it that on the memorable night of September 21, 1832 [sic], the Angel Mormon appeared to Smith thrice. Each time the angel informed Smith that God had a special mission for him to perform; that there had been previously written, upon gold plates, an account of the ancient inhabitants of America and God's dealings with them, which was deposited in a hill near Manchester, N. Y.; that with these plates were two transparent stones in silver bows. The angel informed Smith the stones were anciently called Urim and Thummim, and that on looking through the stones the writing on the gold plates would become decipherable. |
Vol. ? Cuba, New York, Friday, September 17, 1920 No. ?
CRADLE OF CREEDS
The village of Friendship claims a distinction which the greatest city of the country might envy, namely, that it was the birthplace of the Republican Party. A recent editorial of the Jamestown Post has recalled this to mind. It remarks that the origin of the party is generally traced back to the great meeting "under the oaks" at Jackson, Mich., on July 6, 1854. The following quoted from the bulletin of the Republican National Committee, seems, however, to indorse the claim of Friendship to the honor. |
Vol. XXXVII. Buffalo, N.Y., Sun., Sept. 26, 1920. No. 2.
G. O. P. FOUNDED IN FRIENDSHIP,
Cuba, Sept. 25 -- Residents of Friendship, Allegany county, contradict the theory that the origin of the Republican party may be traced back to the great meeting under the oaks at Jackson, Mich., on July 6, 1854. The Republican national committee indorses the claim of Friendship to this honor... |
Vol. ? Cuba, New York, Friday, October 8, 1920 No. ?
SIDNEY RIGDON'S SECRET.
The following interesting story appears in a recent issue of the Friendship Register: |
Vol. ? Geneva, N. Y., Friday, April 8, 1921. No. ?
Birthplace of Mormon Church
Waterloo, Apr. 8. -- History tells us that the Mormons, who are at present generally believed as a majority to be situated in tne vicinity of Salt Lake City, Utah, really originated in the neighborhood of Waterloo and Fayette, and later migrated west under the oppression of the more firmly established religious sects which were at that time located here. |
Vol. LXXXIX. Rochester, N. Y., Sun., July 17, 1921. No. ?
Farm House Where Joseph Smith and Five Converts
The upper picture shows the old Whitmer homestead in the town of Fayette, two and one-half miles south of Waterloo, Seneca County, where in 1830 Joseph Smith and five followers organized the Mormon Church. The lower picture shows Thomas creek, near the farm house, in the waters of which the first converts were baptized by Joseph Smith. |
Vol. XXVIII. Geneva, N. Y., Thursday, April 26, 1923. No. 271.
BURIED PLATES CALL
Rochester, April 26 -- Two itinerant evangelists, Charles E. Driver of Jamison City, Pa., and Melvin M. Lawton of Philadelphia, profess to have discovered two metal plates on Mormon Hill, four miles south of Palmyra, where Joseph Smith, founder of Mormonism, received, as he alleged, from an angel nearly 100 years ago, tablets whose inscriptions were made the basis of Mormonism. Instead of being a continuation of the Smith revelation, the two evangelists say, the latest discoveries refute the Mormon belief. |
Vol. 41. Shortsville, New York, Thursday, May 10, 1923. No. 19.
MUCH ADIEU
Recently daily papers were carrying big stories about the discovery of more plates on Mormon Hill, about four miles north of this village. Although much was said, yet few were impressed by the find. The following story is copied from a recent issue of the Palmyra Journal, and is reprinted by us only as a matter of record: |
ST. LAWRENCE WEEKLY DEMOCRAT. Vol. LVII. Ogdensburg. New York, Thursday, July 26, 1923. No. 30.
JOSEPH SMITH AT
It is not generally known that Joseph Smith, one of the founders of the Mormon church and the one who claims to have found the plates of gold revealing Mormonism, once lived in Potsdam. But such is a fact and was told George A. Cameron of Evanston, Ill., an Ogdensburg boy, by George L. Albert Smith, an apostle of the Mormon Church and a grandson [sic] of Joseph. Smith. He lived in the Sandstone Village two years, going from there to the home of his father in Palmyra, N. Y. It was here that he claims to have had the vision and where he found the plates of the Mormon bible on Sept. 22, 1827. The book was printed in the office of the Wayne Sentinel, a convert defraying the expense by mortgaging his farm. Brigham Young lived in Canandaigua and the first Mormon society was formed in Fayette in 1830. From Palmyra Joseph Smith went to Nauvoo, Ill., where he was killed by a mob. |
Vol. XLI. Shortsville, New York, Thursday, November 7, 1923. No. 45.
A SHORT HISTORY
J. W. Williams of Palmyra has written the following account of the birth of Mormonism, making an interesting if not strictly true story of an event of 1823: |
Vol. 92. Rochester, N. Y., Wed., September 17, 1924. No. ?
Mormon Hill and Bible Proofs, Not Mentioned in
Palmyra. Sept. 16. -- The death of Pliny T. Sexton has aroused speculation as to what disposition will be made of Mormon Hill and printer's proofs of the first Mormon bible, which he owned. The Mormon Church reveres the hill as the birthplace of the Mormon faith and the faded proofs are regarded as a relic of great historical value. Information given to the public concerning Mr. Sexton's will does not include mention of this property. |
Vol. LXI. Oswego, N. Y., Wed., Sept. 17, 1924. No. 220.
MORMONS WILL SEEK TO GET
PALMYRA. Sept. 17. -- The death of Pliny T. Sexton has aroused speculation as to what disposition will be made of Mormon Hill and printer's proofs of the first Mormon bible, which he owned. The Mormon Church reveres the hill as the birthplace of the Mormon faith and the faded proofs are regarded as a relic of great historical value. Information given to the public concerning Mr. Sexton's will does not include mention of this property, but the executors are authorized to dispose of all property not specifically bequeathed, so it is assumed that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, otherwise the Mormon Church, will endeavor to obtain possession of the hill and the bible. The latter is officially known as The Book of Mormon, upon which the Mormon faith is founded. The hill is known to the Mormons as Hill Cumorah, and is located six miles south of this village near the village of Manchester. |
Vol. ? Adams, N. Y., Wednesday, Dec. 10, 1924. No. ?
HISTORY OF THE TOWN
Paper prepared and read by Frances Littlefield Wood, at the D. A. R. meeting, Nov. 20. |
Vol. ? Syracuse, N.Y., Sunday, April 5, 1925. No. ?
Onondaga Valley Home May Have Housed And it came to pass that after we had sailed for the space of many days we did arrive at the promised land; and we went forth upon the land, and did pitch our tents, and we did call it the promised land. |
Vol. XLIII. Shortsville, New York, Thursday, September 17, 1925. No. 38.
Dr. John Richmond Pratt Dies at
Dr. John Richmond Pratt, one of the best known and oldest men in Western New York, died at his home in Main street, Manchester, shortly before 10 o'clock on Monday morning, after an illness of less than 24 hours, aged 99 years, four months and twelve days. |
and ROCHESTER HERALD. Vol. 94. Rochester, N. Y., Sunday, April 18, 1926. No. ?
WAYNE COUNTY OBSERVES 103D YEAR
Clyde, April [16]. -- (Special Correspondence) -- Wayne county to-day is celebrating its 103d anniversary. The last century has seen the county grow from a semi-wilderness to one of the most progressive sections in the state. Facts for the following sketch were culled from local histories and furnish an interesting perspective of the history of the last century. |
Vol. ? Oswego, N. Y., Thursday, Dec. 23, 1926. No. ?
Prophet Joseph Smith, Founder of
Joseph Smith, the Mormon prophet was born in Sharon, Vermont December 23, 1805. When a lad of ten years his parents removed to Palmyra, Ontario (now Wayne) County, New York, and four years later settled in Manchester, a few miles distant. |
Vol. LV. Cape Vincent, New York, Thursday, March 31, 1927. No. 7.
Mormon Leaders Failed to Establish
Under date of March 26, a Watertown correspondent writes as follows to the Syracuse Post-Standard: Visitors to the thriving little village of Theresa in Jefferson county to-day find a bustling country community, located in a rich agricultural territory. Growth over a long period of years has been small as in the case with similar communities, yet there were days when, but for the turn of fate, Theresa might have been in the east what Salt Lake City war, in the west. |
Vol. 95. Rochester, N. Y., Sunday, August 21, 1927. No. ?
Joseph Smith Discovered 'Golden Plates' of
A high point in Western New York history is that touched by the uncovering of the "Golden Plates" and the organization of the Mormon cult in [1830]. This gave the region a place of national fame, if not of national importance. |
Vol. LXVII. Watertown, N. Y., Thurs., Jan. 26, 1928. No. 230.
Founder of Mormon Church And Fate
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and ROCHESTER HERALD. Vol. 97. Rochester, N. Y., Sun., May 19, 1929. No. ?
Masque to Commemorate Event in
Ordination of Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery (depicted in painting above) will be celebrated May 15, the 100th anniversary). Inset, statue of founder of Mormonism at Salt Lake City. |
Vol. ? Syracuse, N.Y., March 9, 1930. No. ?
FIRST MORMON WORKED HERE. This part of the country, tho it is far from Utah, is interested in the centennial of Mormonism or the founding of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, for the founder, Joseph Smith, was a farm-hand at Onondaga Valley when he was a youth. |
Vol. ? Lowville, New York, Thursday, April 3, 1930. No. ?
JOSEPH SMITH, MORMON FOUNDER
This part of the country, is far from Utah, is interested in centennial of Mormonism, or the founding of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, for the founder, Joseph Smith, was a farm-hand at Onondaga Valley, near Syracuse, when he was a youth. |
Vol. 50. Syracuse, New York, Sunday, April 6, 1930. No. 2585.
Joseph Smith, Mormonism Founder, A century and 10 years ago, a youth of possibly 20 summers, professing to be able through the employment of "divining rods" to locate hidden treasure, made his appearance in Onondaga County. |
Vol. 133. Canandaigua, New York, Thursday, July 24, 1930. No. 173.
Centennial of Mormonism
Discussion of the "Book of Mormon" will form a large part of the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, beginning today and lasting through Sunday... Because April weather usually is inclement, celebration of the 100th anniversary was postponed until July 24, the natal day of Utah. |
Vol. XLIX. Shortsville, New York, Thursday, May 14, 1931. No. 20.
BRIGHAM YOUNG, FAMOUS LEADER
Before Brigham Young turned Mormon and had eighteen regular wives, numerous spirtiual wives and fifty-eight children, he worked at odd jobs in various towns of the Finger Lakes region for a dollar a day and wooed his first love in a cabin home along the old Genesee turnpike west of Auburn. |
Vol. LI. Shortsville, New York, Thursday, July 27, 1933. No. 30.
Story of Mormonism Closely
Nearly two hundred Mormon missionaries arrived Saturday at the Joseph Smith farm to attend the annual three-day conference of the Eastern States Mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The conference commenced on the sixty-eighth anniversary of the entry of the Mormons into Great Salt Lake City. |
Vol. 116. Batavia, New York, Thursday, January 25, 1934. No. 4.
Sensational Disclosures
The investigation of the William Morgan affair which so excited Batavians in the year 1826 is gradually drawing to a close. The findings of one of the most amazing and certainly one of the most far-reaching investigations into American historic matters are perhaps the most sensational that have ever appeared in regard to the Morgan story since he disappeared from Batavia, 107 years ago. |
Vol. LII. Shortsville, N.Y., Thursday, February 21, 1934. No. 5.
Manchester Baptist Church -- a Retrospect.
(The following explanatory message was sent to the congregation of the Manchester Baptist church, as a greeting during the observance on Wednesday of this week of the 138th anniversary of the founding of their church. Rev. Bronk is a former resident of Manchester, and that he was closely connected with this church in his early life is readily attested by this message. -- Editor.) |
Vol. 116. Batavia, New York, Thursday, September 13, 1934. No. 37.
What Became of Lucinda Morgan
Among the many perplexing problems connected with the so-called "Morgan Affair" of more than a century ago, none has proved more puzzling than the final fate of Mrs. Lucinda Morgan, wife of William Morgan, whose sudden disappearance from Batavia, in September, 1826, at which time he was engaged in writing an alleged "expose" of the Secrets of Freemasonry, gave rise to the long period of anti-Masonic excitement. |
Vol. ? Rochester, New York, Sunday, March 17, 1935. No. ?
ONCE THRIVING SENECA COUNTY VILLAGE
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Vol. LIII. Shortsville, New York, Thursday, June 20, 1935. No. 25.
A New Birthplace Found for Mormonism.
Ernest U. Smith, writing in the last issue of the Honeoye Falls Times, has the following to say, which makes interesting reading, if true: |
Vol. LIII. Shortsville, New York, Thursday, July 4, 1935. No. 27.
Another Birthplace Found for
In our issue of June 20th, we copied an item from the Honeoye Falls Times in which Ernest U. Smith says, "the town of Mendon is the scene of the origin of Mormonism." The followng article, copied from a "Historical Souvenir of Waterloo, N. Y." published in 1903, apparently disputes this statement. We quote: |
Vol. LXV. Canton, New York, Tuesday, June 1, 1937. No. ?
EARLY MORMONS RESIDENTS
Although Mormonism is usually connected with Utah it succeeded in getting quite a foothold in Hopkinton and Nicholville back in 1843. Joseph Smith, founder of Mormonism, was a cousin of Royal Smith, [of] Nicholville, near Hopkinton, which may have influenced Mormon apostles in seeking converts in that locality. |
Vol. ? Rochester, New York, Wednesday, January 11, 1939. No. ? Scene of Anniversary Supper. Members of First Baptist Church in Manchester will observe the 142nd anniversary of the church society, with special events in the church tonight. The Rev. Leon L. Swarthout is the present pastor. Thirty have served church. Manchester Baptists Plan 142nd Anniversary Fete Manchester -- The First Baptist Church of Manchester today will celebrate the 142nd anniversary of the founding of the society in the village. |
Vol. 107. Rochester, New York, Mon., Apr. 10, 1939. No. ? Mormonism Born 109 Years Ago in Fayette.
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Vol. LXVII. Canton, New York, Tuesday, April 18, 1939. No. 3.
Joseph Smith, Latter Day Saint.
The sect of Mormons, or Latter Day Saints, originated with Joseph Smith, who was practically illiterate, being scarcely able to read or write even the simplest of words. Smith, it is said, was a rank impostor of the blackest order. It is possible that he was partly the dupe of his own outrageous delusions, for hypocrisy is seldom found unmixed, and the most atrocious deceivers are usually, in some respects, fooled by their own antics. |
Vol. ? Syracuse, N.Y., Sunday, September 23, 1945. No. ?
HISTORIC HOME IN VALLEY
Far out in the Valley, called for many a year, Onondaga Hollow, sits the Meachem home which has a history of the most romantic sort. Its exact location is 9 Academy Green, just off Seneca Turnpike, and it nestles back among the trees with a quiet, satisfied air. |
Vol. LXVI. Shortsville, N.Y., Wednesday, February 4, 1948. No. 5.
THE BAPTIST CHURCH AT
In 1815 the Ontario Association, organized the year before, met at Manchester. Thirty-five churches were represented, with a total membership of 1790. The moderator was Thomas Tuttle, and the preacher of the opening sermon, William Roe. |
Vol. ? Rochester N.Y., Sunday, November 18, 1951. No. ?
"The Mormon Exiles"
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ns Vol. I. Belmont, New York, Thursday, April 16, 1959. No. 42. Friendship Man's Secret Unknown. We are indebted to O. O. Mulkin of Friendship for bringing the following clipping from the Olean Times Herald to our attention: |
Serving the Wayne County Towns of Palmyra, Macedon, Walworth and Marion Vol. XLVI. Palmyra, N. Y., Thurs., Aug. 6, 1959. No. 18.
MORMONISM: ITS HISTORY, DOCTRINE,
Since America was first heralded as a land of religious, freedom, it has become the home of a multitude of various religious sects. Almost every American sect had its origin in Europe, and grew in strength and popularity here in America. Every American, regardless of race or color, it allowed to follow his own religious beliefs, according to the Bill of Rights. A vast system of churches stretches across our country. Protestant and Catholic believers dwell in every section of our land. |
Vol. ? Binghamton, N.Y., Sunday, July 17, 1960. No. ?
Susquehanna's First Settlement
Great Bend, Pa. -- Great Bend, which last night began a week-long centennial celebration of its incorporation as a borough, was the first settlement in Susquehanna County. |
Vol. ? Utica, N.Y., Thursday, August 8, 1963. No. ? 21st Hill Cumorah Pageant Opens Oneida County may well have played host for a short time to a modern Moses; a man many believe was directed by God to transcribe buried plates into what is now the Book of Mormon.... |
Vol. ? Belmont, New York, Thursday, May 20, 1965. No. ? Friendship Man's Secret Unknown. Due to the work in research of the publicity division of the Sesquicentennial much information on our past residents has come to light. Among some of our elder settlers was one Sidney Rigdon and his wife, Phebe. |
Enterprise Vol. 92. Shortsville, N.Y., Thursday, January 5, 1967. No. 51.
Manchester Baptist Church
The First Baptist Church of Manchester will celebrate the 170th anniversary of its founding next week at a "Reunion and Rededication Sunday" on January 8, and at the annual church meeting on Wednesday, January 11th.... |
Vol. ? Rochester, N.Y., April 25, 1974. No. ?
Palmyra Cave Mormon 'Holy Ground?'
PALMYRA -- A cave that may have been used by Mormon prophet Joseph Smith about 150 years ago is being uncovered by a local farmer. Smith, who was born in Palmyra founded the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon). Children discovered the cave about 11 years ago, but eventually mud and dirt blocked the entrance. Bulldozers have cleared the cave opening after the farmer decided last week to investigate the 20-foot long cave, |
Vol. ? Syracuse, N. Y., May 1, 1974. No. ? Mormons Find No Cave Link PALMYRA -- Authorities of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City announce that no apparent record has been found to indicate a cave recently uncovered near Palmyra was dug by Mormon prophet Joseph founder of the Church. Hill Cumorah is two miles south of the cave uncovered on Miner's Hill by Andrew Kommer, a Palmyra farmer. A spokesman for the church -- [the] church's historian could not find any apparent record of Joseph Smith ever having dug such a [cave]. He said the only reference to such a cave in Church history was made in a speech by Brigham Young in 1877. Young said he was told that the gold plates on which the Book of Mormon was written were contained in a cave on Hill Cumorah, now the site of this church's annual pageant. A local history written in the 1920s and an article which appeared in the New York Herald in 1893 said there was a cave on holy ground on Miner's Hill. The reporter said he visited the cave. According to those reports, [the] Mormon angel Moroni instructed Smith to dig a cave at the hill and to translate the plates there. |
Serving the Southwestern Wayne County Towns of Palmyra, Macedon, Walworth and Marion Vol. XLVI. Palmyra, N. Y., May 1, 1974. No. 18. Cave Dug by Mormon Prophet, Church Founder PALMYRA -- Mormon leaders in Salt Lake City, Utah, are playing it down, but Palmyra dairy farmer Andrew Kommer says he thinks he's "got something" and has already begun taking measures to protect it. Last week Kommer brought bulldozers to a site on Miner's Hill, on Miner Road, to uncover a cave that he says was dug by prophet and founder of the Mormon Church, Joseph Smith, 150 years ago. |
Vol. ? Syracuse, N. Y., July 12, 1977. No. ?
Pageant in Palmyra Nears
Again this [year] the pageant will be under the direction of Dr. Harold I. Hansen of Brigham Young University. This will be his last year after directing every pageant since its humble beginning in 1937. It has been hailed as most elaborate religious outdoor pageant in the Brilliant staging and lighting have combined with music of such majesty as to thrill hundreds of thousands. The outdoor stage with its open cover of stars literally comes alive. The pageant begins with a with a little-known but fascinating story of Christianity in ancient According to Mormon the events portrayed in the pageant began in 600 B.C. the records of those events lay hidden in Hill Cumorah until until 1827. These records first came to light when a young Joseph Smith unearthed the plates. He translated and published the ancient records. The Book of Mormon. The records tell of a people who left Jerusalem about 600 years before the time of Christ. Following a prophet of [God] they made their way to a new and unknown the American continent. |
Herald [ ] American Vol. ? Syracuse, N.Y., Sunday, July 17, 1977. No. ?
Mormons answer challenge
PALMYRA -- Three southern California researchers recently have claimed they have new evidence challenging the authenticity of the Book of Mormon. |
Herald [ ] American Vol. ? Syracuse, N.Y., Sunday, January 15, 1978. No. ?
New book revives
The Book of Mormon," divine revelation or literature? |
Herald [ ] American Vol. 100 Syracuse, N.Y., Sunday, July 6, 1980. No. 5204
New interest in Mormon legend
The 150th anniversary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) has revived, interest in an old legend concerning the one-time presence in Onondaga Valley of its founder, Joseph Smith. |
Vol. ? Syracuse, N.Y., July 14, 1985. No. ?
A Small Chocolate-colored Stone Gave him
Joseph Smith was the son of a farmer. He lived near Palmyra at a time when myths were believed. He had this hardened piece of the earth he carried in his britches. It was called a seer stone by [some, and] a peep stone by others. Joseph said him the gift of seeing hidden treasures in the bowels of the earth in its [-------] it would reveal the most enduring of treasures for Joseph. Some people said they remembered the day in 1822 when the stone showed [up]. A [man ----- ----] was engaged in digging a well. I employed Alvin and Joseph to assist me after digging about 20 feet below the surface of the [ground] we discovered a singularly appearing [stone] which excited my curiosity. I brought it to the top of the [well] and as we were examining Joseph put it in his hat and then his face into the top of [his hat]. The next morning he came to me and wished obtain the alleging that he could see in [the stone]. |
Herald [ ] American Vol. 105 Syracuse, N.Y., Sunday, March 9, 1986. No. 6600
A debate swirls about a manuscript
The old house at the southern end of Syracuse has seen a lot of history. And there is some history it may not have seen. |