Source: Lyman Omer Littlefield, Reminiscences of Latter-day Saints

Lyman Littlefield Reminiscences (1888), p.102 - p.103

With an aching heart I watched his form, already beginning to bend under the effects of a life of weary toil, and discovered in the halting movement of his limbs the growing effects of that rheumatic affection which, though hereditary at first, had now been inflamed because of the exposures and extra toil forced upon him by a relentless mob. And that shapeless hut was his present abode, and the tyrannical edict was that, before he could again enjoy the sheltering consolations of a comfortable home, he must build it under the protective sympathies of a more loyal people.

Lyman Littlefield Reminiscences (1888), p.103 - p.104

A little from that improvised abode was a warmer and more comfortable house, a farm where eighteen acres of splendid Missouri corn and other products had been raised by him that season. All the conveniences there were rightfully his. He had acquired a lawful privilege to possess it in peace. But the cavalry of the mob had trampled down the nutritive substance of his fields and wasted the remunerative increase of the summer toil. He had ventured back under the cover of night--his dreary way being lit by the dim moon--and stole away a few loads of his own corn. This furnished him with bread which kept his family from starving while he remained there. To accomplish this, he dried the corn, shelled it from the cob, and ground it in a large hand-mill which he was lucky enough to have in his possession. This was the only kind of bread he was able to provide for his family under such straightened circumstances; but this, with milk, butter and sometimes with meat or the stewed pumpkins purloined from his own enclosure, because quite palatable food. The family was thankful to obtain it, for it kept the deadly wolf from their humble door. Rude and tasteless as was the fare, still I partook of the plain repasts with a thankful heart, because it gave nourishment and strength to my aged father, mother-in-law, and my brothers and sisters. But the thought that pained me was intensified by the reflection that soon those loved ones must vacate even the comforts afforded by those sheltering logs, and travel the drifted roads of winter to some more humane and hospitable people. In a little time they took their departure and patiently buffeted the storms and endured untold hardships in connection with the many hundreds who fled during the memorable exodus.

Lyman Littlefield Reminiscences (1888), p.104

Immediately upon the breaking out of the trouble, the firm of Graves & Littlefield notified the firm from whom their goods were purchased that they were obliged to suspend business and wished them to come and take possession of the merchandise and indemnify themselves with the assets to the best possible advantage. This was done and those gentlemen were entirely satisfied that they had been dealing with honest men.

Lyman Littlefield Reminiscences (1888), p.104

Such were the gloomy prospects under which I found my father and family, and the future was ominous for them and the retiring Saints. I bid them good-by with a multitude of crowding emotions and returned again to my employment in Liberty. Mr. John Rodgers, one of the editors of the paper, advised me by all means to remain there, as the people knew me and I would not be interfered with. In giving this advice, Mr. Rodgers spoke his friendly sentiments, but my friends and brethren were exiles and in trouble and I was anxious to share their fortunes.

Lyman Littlefield Reminiscences (1888), p.104

One day at noon, I was the first of all the employees to return from dinner. While near a "standing galley," from which I was about to lift some type for distribution, a voice, clear and distinct, said, "You must go to Illinois and marry a young widow." This was indeed strange and excited my surprise, as no person was visible in the room. I knew not how to understand it. Neither did I know a "young widow" in that state. However, after a few days, the circumstance passed out of mind.

Lyman Littlefield Reminiscences (1888), p.104 - p.105

Soon after I purchased a pony, (Santa Fe by name) a saddle and bridle, and, with a few dollars in my pocket, started upon my journey to Illinois. My brother Josiah saddled his horse and rode with me about ten miles, when he turned back and I pursued my journey alone. Since that parting, Josiah and Lyman have never met, and the only tidings I have had concerning him is that he, soon after our separation, went in company with a Mr. Strode to Texas.

Lyman Littlefield Reminiscences (1888), p.105

Solitary and alone, Santa Fe and his rider plodded along the weary road, meeting with nothing but kind treatment, but of course the people were not informed that I was a Mormon. When within about forty miles of Quincy, I found that Santa Fe's back was too sore to endure the saddle and rather than be detained several days so near my friends, I offered a young man the outfit if he would take me immediately to the Mississippi River opposite the city of Quincy, which proposition he accepted. Saddling two fresh horses we mounted them and one day's ride landed me at the place agreed upon. My escort returned and I crossed the river where I was soon made happy in the society of many of my exiled friends. I found my father and family quite comfortably situated on a farm he had rented, about one and a half miles east from the city. The account of suffering to which they were subjected after their departure from that temporary Missouri cabin, was painful for me to listen to. It is needless to recount those hardships now. Suffice it to say they were much similar to those experienced by most other families of the Saints who endured the constant succession of perils incident to a compulsory march of so large a number of people, ill provided for during those cold winter months. I found temporary employment in the office of the Quincy Argus.

Lyman Littlefield Reminiscences (1888), p.106 - p.107

Among many other acquaintances, I found Lysander Gee, who had been a Far West associate. Enquiring of him of the whereabouts of many friends, I asked concerning the residence of our friend Samuel Kingsley. Said he, "He has been dead a few months and his wife and sisters are living but a few blocks from us." Accompanied by him, I soon made them a call. Mrs. Kingsley had a babe then about five months old. She informed me she had buried her husband near Beardstown, on the Illinois River, and being left among strangers, she concluded to remove to Quincy and live with her sisters-in-law. I called several times at that residence. That lady and myself attended a few parties together and, not to be circumlocutional, right here it might as well be told the reader in plain words that, in due time, Mrs. Kingsley, at my suggestion, consented to substitute the name of Littlefield for that of Kingsley. This arrangement being confirmed with the usual covenant and agreement, we took a trip about twenty miles to a little place called Liberty, in Adams County, and at the residence of her uncle, Benjamin Andrews, the marriage ceremony was pronounced which constituted us lawfully husband and wife by Elder Elisha H. Groves, a preacher of the gospel in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. For a legal permit, or license, authorizing this act of matrimony, I had previously taken my father to the clerk of the county court at Quincy, and took out a marriage license--it then being the state law there that a minor could not obtain a license without the consent of the parents. An examination of the records of the county court of Adams County will verify the truth of this statement. The marriage took place about 11 o'clock in the forenoon, when we stepped into a sleigh and drove back to my father's home. Singular enough the occurrence of my hearing the voice in the printing office in Liberty had not occurred to me until that prediction thus had its fulfillment.

Lyman Littlefield Reminiscences (1888), p.107

The all-absorbing question then was how and where were we to live? We were both poor; I was out of a permanent situation in business; but we were young and willing to employ our energies in the accumulation of the comforts of life. Just at that time I saw in a newspaper an advertisement stating that a printer was wanted at Rushville, Schuyler County, to take the charge of and print a Democratic paper in that place, the office and material being then in position for immediate operation. I told my wife that was our opportunity. She was of my opinion, as is always the case with a devoted wife during the honeymoon period. Leaving her at my father's home, I took the stage for Rushville, where Hon. Mr. Richardson, the proprietor, made an agreement with me. A paper had been printed there entitled The Illinois Republican, and I continued it, retaining the same title.

Lyman Littlefield Reminiscences (1888), p.107 - p.108

In a few weeks the stage brought Mrs. Littlefield and little Samuel Omer. We rented two rooms in the same building of the office, bought furniture, and in a few days our home presented a comfortable and cozy aspect. My little stepson was a treasure, daily developing new indications of sprightliness, to all of which his mother called my attention in sentences of lavish panegyrics, such as are employed by most young mothers. I grew extremely fond of the boy baby and named him Samuel, for his father, and Omer for his stepfather. That appellation, the name of Samuel Omer Kingsley, has since become quite familiar to those who delight in witnessing exhibitions of skill in the execution of daring feats of horsemanship. Ere that boy grew to manhood he had won the applause of thousands of admirers who had assembled under the broad canvasses stretched upon American soil, as well as that of many countries in Europe. It was he who rode the female character of "Ella Zoyara" through the "old world," creating an immense sensation, when Mr. Spencer Q. Stokes filled his lady costume with glittering stones, put diamond rings upon his fingers and caused the admiring multitudes to believe he was really as Mr. Stokes represented: a young lady of rank and station among the very nobility of those regal lands. He was caused to ride from city to city in magnificent carriages, drawn by richly caparisoned steeds, and being attended by liveried servants. Periodicals have paraded fine cuts to illustrate his matchless horsemanship. One of those asserted that he was of French parentage, and a writer who gives a lengthy account of his career in the New York Sun, states that he was born in Louisiana. Both of these statements are erroneous, innocently made by the writers alluded to, for the want of the real facts. He was born of "Mormon" parents in the city of Quincy, Illinois, as already related. In later years he became a partner in the Wilson Circus, which has performed several times in Salt Lake City, in Ogden, and in Logan, Utah. He went with this circus to India where he died at Bombay, April 3, 1877.

Lyman Littlefield Reminiscences (1888), p.108

Our residence in Rushville terminated in about one year, during which time my mother passed a few pleasant months at our home. After leaving there we resided a short time in Quincy, but not being contented short of Nauvoo, we moved and took up our abode there.

Lyman Littlefield Reminiscences (1888), p.109

Chapter VIII

Lyman Littlefield Reminiscences (1888), p.109 - p.110

As has been already shown, the Prophet Joseph Smith, his brother Hyrum, and their fellow prisoners, reached in safety their families and friends in Quincy, Illinois, after having suffered a most unjust and cruel imprisonment for about six months in the state of Missouri. The joy resulting on consequence of such a meeting cannot be fully described by my poor pen. The actors themselves were alone able to comprehend it because it was their immediate cup of joy that was filled to overflowing. The full sympathies of their hearts were enlisted in those tender ties which ever bind closely together family unions. In sympathy with them was also that brotherly love of the Saints which was stronger than death blending in that happy reunion, which had been permitted in the providences of the Supreme Ruler who eventuates for good the joyful seasons allowed to those who trust in His providences. Husbands and wives, parents and children, met with that enraptured thrill of delight which none can describe by the use of words. Brethren and sisters, of like precious faith, grasped the trusted hands with eagerness and warmth that gave evidence of that undying confidence that outlives the periods of oppression and defies the chains and edicts of tyrants to annul. Prayers of faith had gone up to the Father of mercies for the liberation of those noble men during their incarceration, and thus were they answered. The fetter that had kept back the captives from the ranks of the fleeing exiles, were struck from their manly forms, and they were once more free to seek the pursuits of happiness and the welfare of the human race.

Lyman Littlefield Reminiscences (1888), p.110

That was a meeting where each heart was stirred to the depths with emotions sacred within their recesses--emotions which the presence of strangers could not have awakened. Those identical persons were necessary there, for none others had the right to claim and call forth, from the pent-up fountains, those treasures of affection that had been so long and faithfully garnered for an occasion like this, and fondly cherished by the brightest anticipated hopes of those very parties, during many months of cruel separation. Those wives and children had prayed for this meeting while treading paths through the drifted snows that led them to the friendly shores of Illinois; and those faithful men, while imprisoned captives, and when the blazing torch of suffering was industriously swayed by the persecutive hand of relentless oppression, they too, in faith and confidence, had asked the Supreme Ruler for deliverance, that they might be permitted, in a friendly land, to hail their friends where family associations were respected and where the obligations of reciprocal friendship were fostered.

Lyman Littlefield Reminiscences (1888), p.110 - p.111

Blissful moments of exultant joy! Who can measure the full volume of that love--stronger than death--that pours from the hidden fountains of the heart! Who can fix limits to that divine emotion which "casteth out all fear;" that love which emanates from the Divinity, the very incipient germs of which are rooted in a soil consecrated to the production of those fruits which are destined to blossom, mature, and be perpetuated through an eternal existence beyond the grave. We see even the wicked influenced by its benignancy, and nations swayed by its potency. Its mild tapers glow around the altars happified by domestic felicitude. Its beacon fires send out the cheering blaze of hope to the weary toilers of the imperiled bark; and where the clang of war tells of death and slaughter, prayers of the wounded and dying are breathed for the remembered dear ones sheltered beneath the connubial roof where cluster the tenderest ties known to the heart of mortals.

Lyman Littlefield Reminiscences (1888), p.111

Yes, the wicked--they who obey not God--are obedient to this all prevailing influence; but they understand not fully its divinity or why its powers hold dominion in the hearts of the children of men. They often yield to its sway without consulting the prompting of wisdom or the teachings of correct principles to control its indulgence. The writer once read a beautiful poem written by a young lady to her affianced who was then in prison convicted of murder. Two lines of it were:

Lyman Littlefield Reminiscences (1888), p.111

"I ask not, I care not, if guilt's in thy heart, I but know that I love thee whatever thou art."

Lyman Littlefield Reminiscences (1888), p.111

This couplet showed the depth of this lady's affection for the man who had chosen for her husband, but, poor girl, what would have been her reflections if she had consulted these few words of divine inspiration: "No murderer hath eternal life abiding in him."

Lyman Littlefield Reminiscences (1888), p.111 - p.112

The parties of whom I have been writing had not fixed their attachments upon unworthy objects. A far-seeing Providence had directed their union. Their choice was founded upon the revealed and immutable principles of Jehovah. The ties that bound them together in their various relationships were destined for an eternal duration, and neither bonds or imprisonment had power to render them void. They were united for this life with the expectation and knowledge that if they proved faithful to God and his cause, those attachments would be perpetuated and have an eternal existence through the eternities to come in the bright realms of the great hereafter. In this happy meeting can be seen the fulfillment of the words of the Lord to Joseph in the Liberty Jail: "My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; and then if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes; thy friends do stand by thee, and they shall hail thee again, with warm hearts and friendly hands; thou art not yet as Job; thy friends do not contend against thee, neither charge thee with transgression as they did Job."--D&C 121:7-10.

Lyman Littlefield Reminiscences (1888), p.112

On the third of May, six of the Twelve Apostles met Joseph Smith near Quincy. On the 9th of that month, Joseph left Quincy with his family, and arrived at Commerce on the day following.

Lyman Littlefield Reminiscences (1888), p.112 - p.113

The Prophet was naturally a man of ceaseless energy and at that time his anxiety was so great concerning the situation of the Church that he could not find but a brief period to devote to visiting and associating with his family and friends. He commenced at once the task of arranging for a location where the Saints could gather, and for this purpose purchased the tract of land where Commerce then stood of a Mr. Galland, the improvements of which, at the time of the purchase, consisted of of one stone house, three frame and two block houses.

Lyman Littlefield Reminiscences (1888), p.113

Thither the Saints began to gather and build up the place. In a short time it was an astonishment to look upon a people so comfortable after having been driven from their homes and stripped of the most of their property. But they were industrious and frugal and the Lord blessed them. This place seemed to have been reserved for the then poor and persecuted Missouri exiles, who fled, for conscience sake from the fury of mobs and the vengeance of a corrupt executive.

Lyman Littlefield Reminiscences (1888), p.113

In addition to the land procured at Commerce, the Church purchased the town of Nashville, in Lee County, Iowa Territory, and twenty thousand acres of land adjoining, and Joseph advised that a town be built upon the tract, opposite Nauvoo, to be called Zarahemla.

Lyman Littlefield Reminiscences (1888), p.113

Commerce was surveyed off in excellent order, which covered a very large area of ground, extending from the river far back in an easterly direction beyond the gradual rise of ground that overlooked the country for miles around. The majestic Mississippi flowed down from the regions of the north and swept around its western edge, while on the opposite shore was Zarahemla and the undulating prairies of Iowa.

Lyman Littlefield Reminiscences (1888), p.113 - p.114

When, in the providences of the Almighty, Joseph was enabled to shake from his manacled body the chains of a cruel imprisonment and flee from his oppressors, he stepped upon those hospitable shores imbued with the realities of experience that enabled him to comprehend the full value of freedom. He had been made to feel how bitter is the cup that tyrants can place to the lips of innocent men when, within their hearts, the lamp of justice is extinguished and the night of bigotry gives forth no beacon lights from the hallowed altars of mercy. This created within his sensitive nature new stimulants which gave almost superhuman impetus to his wonderful energies, enabling him to overcome many obstacles in order to plant his people in that goodly spot, where economy and toil, thanksgiving and the worship of the Supreme Being, already blended together in mutual endeavors to garnish their new place of refuge and make it desirable for all the oppressed and down-trodden who might seek after a sheltering place from tyrants. Under these stimulating influences the city sprang up and was being built with astonishing rapidity, and once more the Latter-day Saints were happy.

Lyman Littlefield Reminiscences (1888), p.114

In their cruel expulsion from Missouri, the exigencies of their situation rendered it impossible for the Saints to adopt any organized system governing their order of travel. That systematic skill in organization, which ordinarily governs their movements, was necessarily dispensed with in this instance. The mob and governor of that state had fixed the early part of the month of December for the Saints all to leave Daviess County and none were permitted to tarry longer than April in the county of Caldwell. For fifteen thousand people, including families with children of all ages, to be forced from the limits of a state during those cold months is truly a merciless and heartrending picture for enlightened people to contemplate. Families and individuals took their course according to the best wisdom they possessed, many hardly knowing their destination; but Illinois seemed to possess every mind as being their "city of refuge." Go they must, as the consequences to them, according to the conditions of the governor's order, was "extermination!"

Lyman Littlefield Reminiscences (1888), p.115

The noble David Patten, an apostle, had been slain, many other men had been imprisoned, maltreated and slain, and instances have been already shown where the chastity of defenseless women had been violated. While thus adverting to those Missouri scenes the heart sickens and all sensibilities of humanity are shocked and we feel that the exit of the Saints was perhaps not too quickly commenced and not too speedily ended.

Lyman Littlefield Reminiscences (1888), p.115

As our people stepped upon the soil of Illinois they felt that they were freed from their pursuers, for the people there reached out the friendly hand and gave those who needed it shelter and sustenance. But as long as chains were upon our brethren and leaders in the prisons of Missouri, a cloud overshadowed the Saints, and now that those captives were freed and the Prophet of the Lord was in their midst, they thanked God and took courage. He was the great leader, and the Lord, through his instrumentality, soon prepared a gathering place, as we have seen.

Lyman Littlefield Reminiscences (1888), p.115

1839.

Lyman Littlefield Reminiscences (1888), p.115

Lyman Littlefield Reminiscences (1888), p.115

About the 11th of June, [1839] the first house erected on that location, by the newcomers, was raised by Theodore Turley, and up to June 1, 1840, about 250 houses had been built.

Lyman Littlefield Reminiscences (1888), p.115

For a considerable time the Saints were afflicted by sickness, principally chills and fever, and Elijah Fordham and others were instantly healed under the administration of Joseph Smith.

Lyman Littlefield Reminiscences (1888), p.115 - p.116

After more than seven months' imprisonment without conviction, Parley P. Pratt and Morris Phelps escaped from the Columbia Jail, Boone County, Missouri, and arrived in Quincy, Illinois, after days of dreadful suffering from hunger and fatigue. King Follett, who also tried to escape, was retaken. He was retained until October when he had his trial, was acquitted, and made his way to Illinois.