Microfilm of two volumes by Thomas S. Terry, one containing an autobiography of his life to 1856 and one containing a journal kept from 1857-1859. The autobiography describes of Terry's teenage years spent working in cotton and calico mills, his conversion to Mormonism and decision to quit his printing job and leave home in 1845, of his odd jobs throughout the mid-Atlantic, and of finally joining the Mormons in Missouri in 1847. Terry also writes of his arrival in Salt Lake City, his marriage to Mary Ann Pulsipher in 1849 (he would later marry her sister Eliza Jane), of the family's move to Little Cottonwood, of trouble with Chief Walkara's tribe, and of his departure for a mission to the eastern states in 1856. The volume also contains family blessings from 1858 and 1875, as well as genealogy of both the Terry and Pulsipher families. The second volume is a diary Terry kept while leading a company of Mormons across the plains to Utah following his eastern states mission (it is identified as "Book Number 4" and covers June 1857-December 1859). Terry writes of the death of Parley P. Pratt, of his company's progression across the plains, of meeting Jesse B. Martin's company, of moving the Springville upon his return to Utah, and of the family's move back to Cottonwood in July 1858. The rest of the diary describes Terry's daily life in Utah. The autobiography and diary (frames 63-218) are on the same reel as the diary of Jesse B. Martin and the autobiography of Mary Brown Pulsipher. All inquiries about this item should be directed to the H. Russell Smith Foundation Curator of Western Historical Manuscripts at the Huntington Library, San Marino, CA. Microfilm. San Marino, Calif. : Huntington Library Photographic Dept., 1948. 1 microfilm reel : negative 35 mm. Forms part of the Manuscripts Department's Mormon file, c.1805-1995. Thomas Sirls Terry (1825-1920) was born in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and spent his childhood in Connecticut and New Jersey. In 1841 he joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and left home in 1845. In 1847 he joined the Mormons in Missouri and, against his parents' wishes, traveled with them to Utah. Terry settled in Little Cottonwood and would later help settle Hebron, Utah. He served on a mission to the eastern states in 1856 and led a company of pioneers across the plains in 1857. Terry died in Enterprise, Utah, in 1920.
Pratt, Parley P. (Parley Parker), 1807-1857 Terry, Thomas Sirls, 1825-1920 Frontier and pioneer life--Utah Indians of North America--Utah Mormon converts Mormon pioneers Mormons--Utah--History--19th century Overland journeys to the Pacific Utah--History 1856-1859 1859 Autobiographies Utah 19th century. (aat) Diaries West (U.S.) 19th century. (aat)
Source
Mormon Manuscripts at the Huntington Library Mormonism and the West, Huntington Digital Library
Provenance
Microfilm of original loaned by Eliza J.P. Terry, April 15, 1948.
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