Microfilm of the life history of William Morley Black, probably in the handwriting of his daughter Eva Minerva Black Palmer. Black opens with recollections of the difficulties of frontier life in Ohio and Illinois, his work as a farmer and mason after his father's death, and his marriage to Margaret Bonks in 1846. While living in Illinois in 1848, Black notes that "news of the discovery of gold in California created quite a fever in our town, and I caught the fever in the spring 1849." He describes joining William Maxwell's joint stock company, passing through Nauvoo, and crossing the plains. His overland account is limited except for his notes on buffalo hunting, of which he reflected "sad indeed it was for the Sioux nation when the white man made a through fare [sic] thru [sic] their well stocked hunting grounds." The party entered the Salt Lake Valley in July 1849, and "were all on tip toe to see what kind of civilization the Mormons would exhibit." Black learned of the "martyrdom" of Joseph Smith, was impacted by the persecutions the Mormons had suffered, and was so impressed by a church sermon that he wrote "if that is Mormonism then I am a Mormon." He writes that "any desire and ambition for gold was swept away," and he abandoned the California company to remain in Utah. In February 1850 he was selected to go on a mission to the Sanpete Valley, which he was not eager to do. "I could not see just what right the President had to call me. I understood and expected them to guide me in spiritual matters, but this was of a temporal nature and beyond their jurisdiction." Black ultimately submitted to the call and writes of paying tributes to Indians on the road to Sanpete, quoting Brigham Young as saying that it was "cheaper to feed them than it was to fight them." Black describes living with a Father Morley at Manti, building a grist mill, and marrying his first plural wife. In 1851 he was finally allowed to travel back to Illinois with the J.M Grant company to retrieve his family. He broke his ribs falling into a well and was in poor condition when he arrived in South Canton in December. He writes that he was “full of enthusiasm” for Mormonism, and when he told his family about his conversion his mother-in-law was “wild with rage” and his father-in-law would not share a house with him. His wife and two children, as well as a brother and sister he converted, traveled back to Utah in October 1852. Along the way he was cheated out of wages by a Brother Leonard, but Brigham Young convinced Black to let Leonard use the money to fund a mission to China instead of paying him. Back in Utah Black partnered with a Brother Washburn in tanning and shoemaking. When local grist millers were killed during the Walker War in July 1853, Black took over the mill. He describes running various mills, including those at Nephi (he writes that with the establishment of Camp Floyd in 1858 his “wheat was turned to gold”), Ephraim, and Circle Valley, where he was held under siege by Indians (two brothers recently arrived from Illinois were killed). After abandoning the Circle Valley settlement in 1867, Black moved to Beaver before being called to a mission in Washington. He later helped John R. Young build a grist mill at Kanab. He praised the establishment of United Orders and lived at Orderville until the late 1870s. He describes moving to Mexico in 1889 “not out of choice but of necessity,” and of his various homes there. He writes that when war broke out between the Madero and Diaz parties in Pacheco, his family fled to El Paso and later returned to Utah. The final pages of the autobiography contain genealogy and a note on Black’s death probably written by Eva Palmer. 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. Forms part of the Manuscripts Department's Mormon file, c.1805-1995. Microfilm. San Marino, Calif. : Huntington Library Photographic Dept., 1947. 1 microfilm reel : negative 35 mm. William Morley Black (1826-1915) was born to a farming family in Richland County, Ohio. His father died shortly after the family moved to Illinois, and at age seventeen Black began working on a farm in Peoria. In 1843 he purchased a town lot in Cuba, Illinois, and in 1848 was elected sheriff. In 1849 he joined William Maxwell's California gold company, which passed through the Salt Lake Valley in July 1849. Black was immediately taken with the Mormon religion and decided to abandon the California company and remain in Utah. He spent most of his life as a grist miller and was part of missions and colonies in the Sanpete Valley, Ephraim, Circle Valley, Beaver, Washington, Long Valley, Orderville, Huntington, and Lehi. Black married four plural wives, and in 1889 fled to Mexico to avoid prosecution for polygamy. He spent most of the rest of his life in Mexico before returning to Utah in 1912. He died in Blanding, Utah, in 1915.
Black, William Morley, 1826-1915 Palmer, Eva Minerva Black, 1866- Young, Brigham, 1801-1877 American bison Frontier and pioneer life--Illinois Frontier and pioneer life--Ohio Frontier and pioneer life--Utah Gristmills--Utah Indians of North America--Utah Mormon Church--History--19th century Mormon converts Mormon pioneers Mormons--Utah--History--19th century Polygamy Beaver (Utah)--History Kanab (Utah)--History Mexico--History--1867-1910 Orderville (Utah)--History Sanpete Valley (Utah)--History Utah--History Washington (Utah)--History 1915 Autobiographies Utah 20th century. (aat)
Source
Mormon Manuscripts at the Huntington Library Mormonism and the West, Huntington Digital Library
Provenance
Microfilm of original loaned by Eva Palmer through Juanita Brooks, August 13, 1947.
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