An 1840s British visitor to Illinois noted that “among the novel discomforts of the West, that of insects is one of no trifling character. The whole earth and air seems teeming with them….” [1] A big bunch of them, including mayflies, teemed at Nauvoo. (more…)

In a post earlier today, Chris asked about instances when Mormons defended polygamy by attacking sexual relations between races. I have been working on racial construction by Mormons and non-Mormons in the late 1880s to 1890s and happen to have two pieces ready to go. They would be too long for a comment, so I’m posting them here. (more…)

Fraternity with monkeys was (and remains) a standard trope of racializing discourse. So, in my ongoing efforts to (a) understand late nineteenth-century Mormon identity construction and (b) graduate, I poked around for comparisons between Mormons and animals in the 19^th century. I was pretty excited when I found a baboon labeled “mormon.” I thought that, together with Mormon crickets, I had a high-protein entrée for my thesis. I mean, if I were manufacturing monstrosities for 19^th-century anti-Mormons, it would be hard to beat the prolific, ravenous, cannibalistic Mormon cricket and a certified Mormon, polygamous baboon. (more…)

Almost everyone with the least smidge of north-of-the-Rio-Grande Mormon exposure knows that, in a Mormon context, “Happy Valley” means… well, not everyone agrees. (more…)

Apropos of nothing: some numbers about millennial temples. To justify its place at JI, let’s call it an exercise in evaluating an agent’s perspective. (more…)

At the MHA conference a few weeks ago, an associate asked if I, as a never-married LDS male, were “hyper-aware” of single women at MHA. [1] I gave my standard spiel: I want to marry; feel strong social pressure to do so; and am into my third decade of post-pubertal celibacy and therefore am always aware of who does and does not wear a wedding/engagement ring. (more…)

Merry Christmas, happy holidays, jolly new semester, usw. to all. I’m still working on (read: doing stuff higher on my priority list at the expense of) the last installments of the “Reading Like a Conspiracy Theorist” series. In that direction, however, I give you a “cage match”: I put two articles in a steel cage with suitable quantities of folding chairs and then observed the results. (more…)

As an academic historian (in training), when I write about the dead for work or for the Juvenile Instructor, I don methodological goggles, like naturalism, skepticism, how-will-this-affect-my-careerism, and any-color-but-rose-ism. When finished, however, I remove those goggles, storing them safely on my utility belt for future use. Today, in this time of thanksgiving, I approach the blog and the dead we study with a set of lenses I normally use only in private or at church. (more…)

As I explained in earlier posts, I’m not the first to discover that Mission President James G. Duffin married Sister Missionary Amelia B. Carling in 1902 while she was still a missionary. D. Michael Quinn identified Duffin as a polygamist in 1985 and B. Carmon Hardy did so in 1992. This post will update details of both publications. (more…)

I’ve put together the “case” for the Duffin-Carling polygamy as an exercise in diary reading. (For the previous installment, see here.) (more…)

The old news: Some “orthodox” polygamy continued after the 1890 Manifesto. James G. Duffin, president of the Southwestern/Central States Mission from 1900 to 1906, and Amelia B. Carling, one of the early full-time, full-length single-sister missionaries (1901–1902), married polygamously in 1902. [1]

The new news: Duffin and Carling courted while she was a missionary under his supervision; their marriage took place before her release or immediately thereafter. (I assume Quinn knew it, but I haven’t found a publication pointing out this (more…)

Since I’m writing and you’re reading this for free, I figure I can throw in some random stuff at the end just because. (more…)

Last weekend I joined Mormons and neighbors in Sabine Pass, Texas, removing debris. I did the same after Rita three years ago but back then a Mormon family lived there. Not anymore, and I’d be surprised if one moved in any time soon. On the other hand, reconstruction brought new members to the local ward—as it seemingly brought the Coquats to Galveston in 1900. Drawing clean lines between the storm and future events or circumstances is difficult, but I think we can reasonably identify some consequences of the 1900 Galveston storm, particularly its influence on where people live, that are still with us. (more…)

Earlier I wrote about Mormons who found evidence of God’s mercy or of His one true church in the 1900 Galveston Hurricane. A parallel thread in those documents was that the Lord was also vengeful, or at least millenarian. (more…)

Missionaries and other church members detected God’s will in the 1900 Galveston Hurricane’s destruction and in the Elders’ preservation therefrom. (more…)

In many senses, the event that is a “storm” lasts far longer than the storm itself. Thus, hurricane Ike (2008) found some houses in my home ward with roofs still tarped from Rita (2005). Likewise, psychological and social changes can persist far longer than floodwaters. 1900 was no different. (more…)

Preparation, information gathering, and relief efforts figure prominently in present-day discussions of Mormons and natural disasters. Just last conference President Eyring spoke of those who praise the church for “know[ing] how to organize to get things done” but don’t always recognize that “the miracle lies not in organization alone, but in the people’s hearts” [1]. Elders who experienced some part of the 1900 Galveston Hurricane recorded evidence of concerned hearts; their dairies also provide glimpses of a nascent organization. (more…)

Like many Elders in the American South, and like many of the people they visited, Elder Brooks and companion, Elder Decker, were both suffering from malaria in September 1900. Although they had some success in their counties near the Louisiana border, flooding and disease took a heavy toll on their enthusiasm and their bodies. In fact, Elder Decker requested release from the mission on September 03. (more…)

Hurricanes have been on my mind of late—and more literally in my yard and in a great many houses. Instead of writing about recent storms, however, I’d like to discuss the 1900 Galveston Hurricane that nearly obliterated the city of Galveston, Texas, before smashing its way into the continental interior. Estimates vary, but the modern consensus centers around eight-thousand dead. Four Mormon missionaries and one member (presumably) were in Galveston that night and a hand-full of Saints and other missionaries—probably less than a hundred—encountered the storm before it disintegrated. Over the next few days I will examine elements of the Mormon experience of, response to, and interpretation of the storm. This page will function as a homepage of sorts, with links added as the posts become available. (more…)

I reckon I better start earning my keep around these parts and post more often. James G. Duffin presided over the Southwestern States (later Central States) Mission in the first years of the twentieth century. Below I’ve reproduced his diary entries dealing with an abortion case brought before a church court. (more…)