J. Willard Marriott Library Special Collections
Jacob Myers, Sr. papers
Myers, Jacob, Sr., 1782-1867
ACCN 2505
2.5 linear feet
5 boxes
1801-2009
The Jacob Myers, Sr. papers (1801-2009) consist of correspondence, documents, meeting minutes, autobiographical and biographical materials, articles, and photos. A considerable portion of the Myers papers focuses upon the Haun's mill massacre of 1838. Included in the collection is a handwritten record of the Freedom Illinois branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Due to the physical condition of the materials, reproductions are not allowed. Please access the digitized materials on the Digital Library.
English
.
Jacob Myers, Sr. was born on 11 August 1782 in Northumberland county, Pennsylvania. At the commencement of the nineteenth century, Myers moved to Belmont county, Ohio where he married Sarah Coleman and began to raise a large family of fifteen children. By 1819 the Myers family had settled in the town of Newville which was located in the southern part of Richland county, Ohio. Jacob and his family remained in this north central Ohio community until they migrated westward to Caldwell county, Missouri in 1836. Professionally Jacob was a millwright who was involved in the construction of several mills in Ohio, Missouri, Illinois, and Iowa. One of the grist mills which Jacob built was the Haun's mill which was situated in Caldwell county. Subsequent to the visits of Sidney Rigdon and Joseph Smith Jr. to Newville, Ohio in the early 1830s, Myers converted to the Mormon faith in 1834 and eventually was elected president of the Freedom, Illinois branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in 1842. Jacob's service to the L.D.S. church included acting as a bishop and participating as a member of the quorum of High Priests in Nauvoo. Myers died in Richland county, Ohio on 17 October 1867.
The Jacob Myers, Sr. papers (1801-2009) consist of correspondence, documents, meeting minutes, autobiographical and biographical materials, articles, and photos. A considerable portion of the Myers papers focuses upon the Haun's mill massacre of 1838. Included in the collection is a handwritten record of the Freedom branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The person who played a seminal role in the development of this collection was Dwight Wesley Garber, a resident of Richland county, Ohio and a distant relative of the Myers family. After acquiring the Myers papers in 1949, Garber commenced a multi-decade investigation of the life of Jacob Myers Sr., aspiring to write a biography of this nineteenth century millwright and Mormon migrant. Within a few months following the purchase of the collection, D.W. (as he identified himself in his correspondence) contacted Dr. Bertha Ellis Booth, who had received a doctorate in classical literature from the University of Chicago in 1915. Booth lived in Caldwell county, Missouri, the site of the infamous Haun's mill massacre of 1838, and had been engaged in the research and the writing of a manuscript entitled "Driven Out of Zion," an account of the expulsion of the Mormons from that part of Missouri. She shared her considerable knowledge of the Haun's mill episode with Garber whose interest in the history of mills and the exploits of Richland county Mormons led him to collect materials pertaining to the Haun's mill murders and the Mormon Battalion. By 1969 Garber had written a ninety thousand word manuscript entitled "Jacob Myers, the Mormon Miller and the Massacre of the Mormons in Missouri." The existence of this manuscript is unknown. According to Garber, ninety per cent of Dr. Booth's books and papers were removed from her home before she died in 1964. Garber believed that a portion of these materials was donated to Drury College which is located in Springfield, Missouri. The Bertha Booth papers can be found in the Western Historical Manuscript Collection which is housed in the University of Missouri's Elmer Ellis Library. See Garber's letters to Richard Price and the correspondence between Garber and Booth, all of which can be found in Box 1. Several primary source materials related to the infamous Haun's Mill Massacre are located in boxes 2 and 3. Some of these documents have been published in Beth Shumway Moore's book, "Bones in the Well," which appeared in 2006. Several photos pertaining to the Myers family and historical sites are filed in box 5.
Click here to view digitized materials from the collection or visit ArchivesSpace for a container level list of digitized materials.
Twenty-four hour advanced notice encouraged. Materials must be used on-site. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.
The original boxes have been removed and placed in Reserve. Access must be given by the Manuscripts Curator and by appointment. An archivist must remain with the items if being used. Digital copies are available for research use.
The library does not claim to control copyright for all materials in the collection. An individual depicted in a reproduction has privacy rights as outlined in Title 45 CFR, part 46 (Protection of Human Subjects). For further information, please review the J. Willard Marriott Library's Use Agreement and Reproduction Request forms.
Due to the physical condition of the materials, reproductions are not allowed. Please access the digitized materials on the Digital Library.
Collection Name, Collection Number, Box Number, Folder Number. Special Collections, J. Willard Marriott Library, The University of Utah.
Processed by Roger V. Paxton in 2012.
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Myers, Jacob, Sr., 1782-1867--Archives
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Freedom Branch
Haun's Mill Massacre, Mo., 1838--Sources
Mormonism (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)
Correspondence
Minutes (Records)
Articles
Photographs
Descriptive Catalog and Correspondence
Due to the physical condition of the materials, reproductions are not allowed. Please access the digitized materials on the Digital Library. The original items from box 1 have been removed and placed in Reserve. Access must be given by the Manuscripts Curator and by appointment. An archivist must remain with the items if being used.
Descriptive Catalog of Collection
2009
1
1
Correspondence: Lydia McBride to Bertha Ellis Booth
1938
1
2
Correspondence: Agnes Dummer to Bertha Ellis Booth
1940
1
3
Correspondence: D. W. Garber and Utah Genealogical Society
1949
1
4
Correspondence: D. W. Garber and Horace Cutler
1949-1950
1
5
Correspondence: D. W. Garber
1949-1969
1
6
Correspondence: George A. Foote and D. W. Garber
1950-1953
1
7
Correspondence: D. W. Garber and Lillian F. Petersen
1950-1964
1
8
Includes pedigree charts of Warren Foote and Artemsia S. Myers.
Correspondence: D. W. Garber and Nancy Wrigley
1950
1
9
Correspondence: D. W. Garber and Lauritz Peterson
1950
1
10
Correspondence: D. W. Garber to Arvilla Vogel
1950
1
11
Correspondence: D. W. Garber and Bertha Ellis Booth
1950-1957
1
12
Correspondence: D. W. Garber and Edith Coleman
1951
1
13
Correspondence: D. W. Garber and Caroline Thornton
1951
1
14
Correspondence: D. W. Garber and the Office of the L. D. S. Church Historian
1952
1
15
Correspondence: Agnes Dummer and D. W. Garber
1953
1
16
Correspondence: D. W. Garber to Mr. and Mrs. F. G. Anderson Sr.
1954
1
17
Correspondence: Victor Gondos to D. W. Garber
1954
1
18
Correspondence: D. W. Garber and John Blackmore
1954
1
19
Correspondence: D. W. Garber and Library of Congress
1954
1
20
Correspondence: D. W. Garber and Leora Gurney
1962-1963
1
21
Correspondence: Stanley B. Kimball to D. W. Garber
1963
1
22
Correspondence: D. W. Garber and Isabel Bohnet
1963
1
23
Correspondence: D. W. Garber and Charlotte Singley
1963
1
24
Correspondence: D. W. Garber and Leslie Pospisil
1963
1
25
Correspondence: D. W. Garber and John Cumming
1963
1
26
Correspondence: D. W. Garber and Richard S. Brownlee
1963
1
27
Correspondence: D. W. Garber and Stanley B. Kimball
1964-1970
1
28
Correspondence: H. L. Simmons and Robert A. Carter
1966
1
29
Correspondence: D. W. Garber and H. L. Simmons
1966
1
30
Correspondence: D. W. Garber and Richard Price
1968-1970
1
31
D. W. Garber's Notes and Questions for Richard Price
1969
1
32
Testimony of Alonzo Odell Concerning Haun's Mill
1969
1
33
Interview: Alonzo Odell
1969
1
34
Correspondence: D. W. Garber and Huntington Library
1969
1
35
Correspondence: D. W. Garber and Vergil Webb
1969-1975
1
36
Correspondence: Lauren and Pearl Schlehuber
1969
1
37
Correspondence: D. W. Garber and Sandra Tanner
1969
1
38
Correspondence: D. W. Garber and George F. Tate
1970
1
39
Corespondence: D. W. Garber and Ruth Nelson Reeve
1970
1
40
Correspondence: D. W. Garber and Eunice E. Nelson
1970-1977
1
41
Assorted Materials: Haun's Mill Massacre
Due to the physical condition of the materials, reproductions are not allowed. Please access the digitized materials on the Digital Library. The original items from box 2 have been removed and placed in Reserve. Access must be given by the Manuscripts Curator and by appointment. An archivist must remain with the items if being used.
Correspondence: Bill Powell to D. W. Garber
1972
2
1
Correspondence: Kent B. Johnson to D. W. Garber
1972
2
2
Correspondence: D. W. Garber and Ronald Romig
1977
2
3
Ronald E. Romig, "Jacob Myers of Richland County Ohio Millwright, Pioneer and Latter Day Saint"
1977
2
4
Ronald E. Romig, "Sidney Rigdon and the Latter Day Saints of Richland County, Ohio in the 1830s"
1977
2
5
Corespondence: Michael C. Cullen and Grant A. Anderson
1987
2
6
D. W. Garber, Sources and Notes
2
7
Jacob Myers Sr. and Family
2
8
David Evans
2
9
Henry Evans
2
10
Warren Foote
2
11
Daniel Garn
2
12
Charles Jameson
2
13
Joseph Knight
2
14
Isaac Laney
2
15
Benjamin Lewis
2
16
Tarlton Lewis
2
17
Thomas McBride
2
18
Parley Parker Pratt
2
19
William Price
2
20
Hiram Rathbun
2
21
Franklin D. Richards
2
22
Charles R. Ross
2
23
Amanda Barnes Smith
2
24
Willard Gilbert Smith
2
25
Thomas and Laura Steed
2
26
Luther Terry Tuttle
2
27
Catherine Foutz White
2
28
Orson Moroni Wilson
2
29
Charles Wood
2
30
John Young
2
31
Joseph Young
2
32
Seymour Bicknell Young
2
33
Assorted Materials: Mills
2
34
Haun's Mill Massacre
2
35
Notes and List of Haun's Mill Residents
2
36
Daniel Ashby, Statement of the Battle at the Mill
1838
2
37
Ellis Eames, Haun's Mill Narrative
2
38
Warren Foote, Haun's Mill Narrative
2
39
James McBride, Haun's Mill Narrative
2
40
Artemisia Sidnie Myers, Haun's Mill Narrative
2
41
Amanda Smith, Affidavit re Haun's Mill
1839
2
42
Joseph Young, Haun's Mill Narrative
2
43
"Memoirs of David Lewis" and Assorted Materials
1839-1874
2
44
Leland Homer Gentry, "The Haun's Mill Massacre"
1965
2
45
Chapter XI of Gentry's doctoral dissertation.
Assorted Materials
Due to the physical condition of the materials, reproductions are not allowed. Please access the digitized materials on the Digital Library. The original items from box 3 have been removed and placed in Reserve. Access must be given by the Manuscripts Curator and by appointment. An archivist must remain with the items if being used.
John Hammer, "Reminiscences of Latter-Day Saints"
1888
3
1
John and R. J. Hammer, Sketch and Short History of Austin Hammer and Wife Nancy Elston
1948
3
2
Warren Foote Journal
1841-1889
3
3
Warren Foote, "A Record of the Freedom Branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints"
1842-1850
3
4
Transcript of "A Record of the Freedom Branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints"
1842-1850
3
5
Correspondence: Warren Foote and Redman L. Davis
1884
3
6
Thomas Morris Journal
1849-1850
3
7
James McBride Autobiography
1874
3
8
"Reminiscence of Sister N. J. Tharpe"
1918
3
9
Major Reuben S. Holcombe, "The Haun's Mill Massacre"
1920
3
10
Biography of Fannie Myrick Kofford
3
11
Biography of James Standing
3
12
"Times and Seasons"
1840
3
13
"Journal History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints"
1840-1843
3
14
Articles and Newspaper Clippings
1841-1976
3
15
"The Contributor"
1881-1886
3
16
Rollin J. Britton, "Early Days on Grand River and the Mormon War"
1919
3
17
Charles H. Babbitt, "The Old Pottawattamie Mill"
1925
3
18
Frank Golder, "The Mormon Battalion"
1928
3
19
Mormon Battalion Materials
1950-1954
3
20
Thomas Morris Autobiograpy
1799-1871
3
21
John D. Lee, "The Mountain Meadows Massacre"
1955
3
22
"Salt Lake City Messenger"
1969-1976
3
23
Ohio Mormons of Richland and Ashland Counties
3
24
"List of Lands in Missouri"
1924
3
25
Map of Adams County, Illinois
3
26
Map of Caldwell, Missouri
3
27
Map of Cedar County, Iowa
3
28
Map of Pottawattamie County, Iowa
3
29
Map of Pulaski County, Indiana
3
30
Documents and Correspondence
Due to the physical condition of the materials, reproductions are not allowed. Please access the digitized materials on the Digital Library. The original items from box 4 have been removed and placed in Reserve. Access must be given by the Manuscripts Curator and by appointment. An archivist must remain with the items if being used.
Indenture Sale of Land from David and Jane Wallace to Jacob Myers
1815
4
1
Receipt for Payment of Taxes to Jacob Myers
1820
4
2
Deposition Case of Bastardy
1822
4
3
Receipts for Payment of Taxes to Emir Barret and Abraham Holmes
1822-1826
4
4
Indebtedness Problem and Bastardy Case
1822
4
5
Receipt for Payment of Taxes to Jacob Myers
1823
4
6
Petition for the Construction of a Road from Mansfield to Mount Vernon, Ohio
1824
4
7
Indebtedness Problem
1824
4
8
Receipts for Payment of Taxes to Jacob Myers
1824-1841
4
9
Guardianship Bond
1825
4
10
Guardianship Bond--Jacob Myers
1825
4
11
Guardianship Bond--Jacob Myers
1825
4
12
Receipts for Payment of Taxes to David and Elizabeth Koontz
1828-1830
4
13
Indenture Property Lease
1846
4
14
Property Abstract
1850
4
15
Letter: Jacob Myers to Franklin Allen
1851
4
16
Court Proceedings
1851
4
17
Letter to Jacob Myers
1853
4
18
Settlement between James Huston and Jacob Myers Senior
1856
4
19
Invoice to Jacob Myers
1856
4
20
Property Lease to Jacob Myers
1860
4
21
Receipt for Purchase of Grave Stones
1863
4
22
Article of Agreement for Land Purchase by Jacob Myers
1816
4
23
Invoice for Millwright Work
1817-1818
4
24
Bond and Note
1801-1802
4
25
Note
1804
4
26
Receipts
1817
1819
4
27-28
Bond and Receipt
1818-1823
4
29
Bond
1820
4
30
Indenture for Apprenticeship
1822
4
31
Bill
1827-1828
4
32
Letter
1845
4
33
Goods and Services
1842-1843
4
34
Article of Agreement for Mill Lease
184
4
35
Indebtedness
1843
4
36
Receipt
1843
4
37
Payment for Services
1843
4
38
Receipt
1843
4
39
Payment of Debts
1844-1848
4
40-41
Grain Records
1843-1845
4
42
Note
1845
4
43
Payment of Taxes
1850
4
44
Sale of Property
4
45
Note
1850
4
46
Promissory Note
1852-1853
4
47
Power of Attorney for Jacob Myers
1852
4
48
Letter: Lewis K. Leedy to Jacob Myers
1852
4
49
Bill of Sale
1852
4
50
Estate Appraisal
1853
4
51
Receipt
1853
4
52
Letter: J. W. Eldridge to Jacob Myers
1853
4
53
Payment to Jacob Myers
1853
4
54
Inheritance Payment
1854
4
55
Letter: Eldridge and Hedges to Jacob Myers
1854
4
56
Receipts
1854
4
57-58
Letter: Samuel Myers to Nancy Price
1891
4
59
Letter: Samuel Myers to Nancy Price
1891
4
60
Letter: Samuel Myers to Nancy Price
4
61
Letter: D. B. Boyd to Nancy Price
1902
4
62
Letter: D. B. Boyd to Nancy Price
1902
4
63
Freedom Illinois Branch of the LDS Church meeting minutes book
1845
4
64
Access to this item is restricted. Please contact the Manuscripts curator for more information.
Correspondence and Photos
Due to the physical condition of the materials, reproductions are not allowed. Please access the digitized materials on the Digital Library. The original items from box 5 have been removed and placed in Reserve. Access must be given by the Manuscripts Curator and by appointment. An archivist must remain with the items if being used.
Marriage Certificate
1863
5
1
Letter: J. M. Simmons
1863
5
2
Letters: J. M. Simmons to E. M. Simmons
1863-1865
5
3
Letter: J. M. Simmons to Mr. and Mrs. Price
1866
5
4
Letter: J. M. Simmons to Nancy Price
1867
5
5
Letter: G. W. Hartrum to Abe Price
1890
5
6
Letter
1859
5
7
Letter: Catharine Miller to Brother and Sister Price
1864
5
8
Promissory Note
1872
5
9
Statement
1873
5
10
Letter: Rebecca Allen to Delilah Leedy
1877
5
11
Letter: Rebecca Allen to Delilah Leedy
1878
5
12
Promissory Note
1882
5
13
Letter: Maggie Simmons to Alda Price
1889
5
14
Letter: Ella Fisher to Caleb Price
1889
5
15
Promissory Note
1891
5
16
Letter: G. W. Simmons to Alda Price
1891
5
17
Letter: Jacob Simmons to Alda Price
1891
5
18
Letter: A. H. Cassel to Abraham Price
1897
5
19
Letter: L. A. Leedy to Nancy Price
1902
5
20
Letter: E. M. Simmons to Abraham and Nancy Price
1902
5
21
Letter: Sarah Johnson to Nancy Price
1914
5
22
Letter: Nancy Richardson to Nancy Price
1918
5
23
Letter: Sarah Johnson to Abraham Price
1918
5
24
Letter: Caleb Price to Elijah
5
25
Letter: G. W. Simmons
5
26
Jacob Simmons
1870
5
27
Recipe for Cough Syrup
5
28
Photo: Jacob Myers Sr.
5
29
Photo: Samuel Myers
5
30
Photos: Warren and Artemisia Sidnie Myers
5
31
Photo: Delilah Myers Simmons Leedy
5
32
Photo: Lewis K. Leedy
5
33
Photos: Paul E. Kofford and Fanny Myrick Kofford
5
34
Photos: Orson Pratt, John Smith, Ezra Taft Benson, and Albert Carrington
5
35
Photos: Two Married Couples and Abraham H. Cassell
5
36
Photo: Map of Iowa
1854
5
37
Photo: Myer's Mill
1879
5
38
Sketch of Haun's Mill
1886
5
39
Photos: Grave of Brigham Young and The Empty Pillow
1889
5
40
Photo: Looking West on Fifth Street, Ogden, Utah
1889
5
41
Photo: Great Salt Lake Pavilion Looking North
1890
5
42
Photos: Salt Lake Temple under Construction and the Interior of the Salt Lake Tabernacle
1890
5
43
Photo: View of Fort Douglas
1890
5
44
Photos: Haun's and Myers' Mills
5
45
Photo: Gravestones of Jacob and Delilah Myers
5
46
Prints: Salt Lake Temple and Unidentified Scene
5
47
Photo: Envelope of Jacob Myers' Letter to Franklin Allen
1851
5
48
High Priest Certificate: Jacob Myers
1845
5
49
Massacre of Mormons at Haun's Mill
1851
5
50
Certificate of Baptism: Aldie Price
1889
5
51
Report Card: Abraham Price
1889-1890
5
52
Assorted Materials
5
53