Samuel Webster Brown
Compiled by Ruby Brown Bradfield and Della P. Ware
Samuel Webster Brown was born Alstead, Cheshire County, New Hampshire, February 1,1801 to John Brown and Betsy Webster. At age 29 or 30 he met and married Harriet Cooper, and English girl. A son, Samuel Jr., was born to them. Soon after the birth of her child, Harriet died. The Mormon missionaries called on Samuel and their message brought comfort to his wounded soul. He became a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and immediately moved to Kirtland, Ohio to be with the body of the Saints. There, plans were being made to build the Kirtland Temple.
In 1834 Samuel Brown made the memorable march with Zions Camp. The Prophet Joseph Smith had received word that the body of the church in Jackson County, Missouri was being threatened with expulsion and he had been given a revelation that they were not to be moved out. That if the “redemption of Zion must needs come by power†it must stay. He asked for five hundred volunteers of young able-bodied men to join the march to Jackson County to defend the new “Zionâ€. Zions Camp was organized and 205 men marched through Dayton, Indianapolis, Springfield, and Jacksonville, and across the Mississippi River to Missouri. They suffered many hardships on this march. As they reached the Missouri River the Prophet was given a revelation that they should not be required to fight the battles of Zion and for Joseph Smith to sue for peace with their enemies; that the armies of Zion had been to Missouri as a trial of their faith and also to give them experience which would prepare them for western emigration. Soon after their return to Kirtland the Prophet chose the twelve Apostles and the Quorum of Seventy. Many of the faithful members o Zion were chosen to fill these positions. Samuel Brown was at that time called to be a member of the First Quorum of Seventy.
In 1837, Samuel was serving as an usher in the Kirtland Temple. There he met and married Lydia Maria Lathrop. They were sealed in the Nauvoo Temple. Lydia Maria was a daughter of Grant Lathrop and Sybil Bliss. She was a woman of refinement and culture; she taught school and was a glove maker. Samuel Brown was a shoemaker. At the time of their marriage, Samuel Jr. was five years old. Lydia took him and raised him as her own child.
The stay in Kirtland was all too short. The spirit of apostasy had taken possession of many of the saints and church leaders. Brigham Young writes, “This was a crisis when all hell seemed leagued to overthrow the Prophet and Church of God. The knees of many of the strongest men in the Church faltered.â€
The persecutors of the Saints were making plans to exterminate them. Samuel was among those who were called to a meeting to make a decision of great importance - how the Saints would travel when the time of expulsion came. From this time on, ‘Samuel Brown was with the Saints in all the mobbings, drivings and persecutions.†(A quote from a sermon preached at his funeral.)
On the move westward after they were driven from Kirtland, Samuel and Lydia were in Daviess County, Missouri where their first child, Emily Sophia, was born April 16, 1838. From John D. Lee’s story, written by Juanita Brooks, we read the following:
“The first Mormon to approach the polls in the election at Daviess County, Missouri (1838) was shoemaker Samuel Brown. Brown was accosted by Dick Welding, a Missourian. He asked, ‘Are you a Mormon sir?’ ‘Yes sir, I am.’ ‘Do you believe in healing the sick by the laying on of hands?’ ‘Yes sir, we ‘do.’ ‘You are a damned liar, and Joe Smith is an imposter.’
“With that welding struck Brown with his fist, knocking him down. Immediately another Mormon sprang to the defense of Brown, which instantly brought a group of Missourians into the fight.â€
“An organization of Mormons who called themselves Danites, organized to defend their people, sprang into action. Exaggerated reports went out which resulted in Governor Boggs calling out the state militia. A Mormon company of about forty-five men set out from Far West at midnight to surprise the Missourians and rescue three brethren who were being held captive to be shot at daylight. They routed the mob and rescued the prisoners. This battle gave Governor Boggs, always willing to believe the worst of the Mormons, another chance to act officially, bringing about the ‘Extermination Orders’, and called into action the full militia force of the state. ‘The Mormons must be driven out of the state, if necessary for the public good,’ the orders read â€
This resulted in the Hauns Mill massacre.
The army immediately took position of Far West, and Samuel Brown was among those who surrendered 630 guns, consisting of hunting rifles, shotguns, a few muskets, a few pistols, and some rude homemade swords; then they were ordered to leave the state before another planting season.
After the expulsion from Missouri, Samuel Brown, his wife and two children, moved with the body of Saints to build up the City of Nauvoo. Again he assisted with the building of a Temple. Nauvoo became a beautiful city. The people were happy, robust and prosperous. Though the officials of the state of Illinois had given them permission to live in peace, the mob from Missouri crossed the state line and after a time, and persecution began again. They were determined to drive every Mormon from Illinois.
On June 27, 1844, the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum Smith were killed by a mob at Carthage Jail, and the leadership of the church moved into the hands of Brigham Young. In the summer of 1845, trouble broke out in all its fury. After a hundred homes had been burned. A meeting was called with Illinois officials. It was agreed that all violence should cease, and the Mormons should remain unmolested until the spring of 1846, when they were to sell their property and leave the state.
During the following December and January, President Brigham Young labored almost day and night assisting the Saints with their endowments in the Temple. Samuel and Lydia Brown received their endowments December 19, 1845 and Samuel had his wife and children sealed to him January 28, 1846. They received their Patriarchal Blessings at Nauvoo given by Patriarch John Smith, January 25, 1845.
By February the Missourians again became restless. This caused the Saints to hasten preparations to move. President Brigham Young made plans to seek a new home in the west. By March, with Brigham at the head, the camp moved forward. The weather was cold with snow covering the ground. After the snow stopped falling the weather moderated and it began to rain. They crossed the Mississippi River on flat boats where the river was a mile wide. Fires could not be kept going, bedding and clothes could not be dried, nor could wagons be moved. There were no roads, only trails in the soft mud made by those who had gone ahead. Samuel was very ill, and Lydia Maria lost a premature baby as a result of these hardships, as related by a granddaughter, Melissa Manwill Lewis.
Those who had outfits crossed on across land. Many did not have outfits or means of transportation and remained in Iowa settlements, not disclosing their identity as Mormons, and found employment so that they might sustain their families. Samuel Brown’s son, David Brigham Brown, was born to them in Des Moines Iowa, January 21, 1847. The State of Iowa permitted the saints to remain in the Indian lands (Pottawattamie County), where they were given the privilege of growing crops on the public lands. Prior to 1849, the Browns had joined the Saints at Council Point, Iowa. It was here that twin sons were born to them, George Austin and John A., born November 21, 1849 at Council Point, Pottawattamie, Iowa.
Seven years had passed since they were driven from Nauvoo. There had been little time for rest and relaxation. Preparation must be made for the next group of Saints who needed refuge and sustenance along the way. All were waiting for the time when they would join their beloved leaders in Zion and began making necessary preparations for the journey across the plains.
Col. Thomas L. Kane describes Council Bluffs: “In the clear blue morning air, the smoke steamed up from more than a thousand cooking fires. Each one of the Council Bluffs hills was crowned with its own great camp, gay with bright canvas, and alive with the busy stir of swarming occupants. Herd boys were dozing upon the slopes; sheep and horses, cows and oxen, were feeding around them in the luxuriant meadow of the then swollen river. As I approached the camp it seemed to me that the children there were to prove still more numerous. Along the creek, I had to cross, were women in great force washing and rinsing all manner of white muslins, red flannels and colored calicos, and hanging them to bleach on a greater area of grass and bushes than we can display in all our Washington Square.â€
The Dan A Miller Company began its trek across the plains June 9, 1853. The Samuel Brown family was with this company. The only sign posts were the tracks of wagons, each company making them deeper and more clearly marked. Dead and dying trees had been chopped down to make way for the ever-increasing caravans. Dotted here and there were graves, both long and short, bearing evidence of the deprivations and exposures of those who had been willing but could not endure.
It was over this same line of travel that Samuel Webster Brown and his family set foot facing westward toward their destination. Not many weeks passed when tragedy came to them. Lydia Maria, the wife and mother was stricken with cholera and died “somewhere on the plains.†Her body was wrapped in a piece of canvas from the cover of their wagon and laid in a shallow grave on the banks of the North Platte River.
From Ft. Laramie, they crossed the Platte River and continued over the Oregon Trail up the Sweet Water, and over the Continental Divide through the South Pass across the Green River to Ft. Bridger. They then traveled to the southeast through Echo Canyon, over the Big and Little Mountains into Immigration Canyon, and then into the valley of the Great Salt Lake.
From Treasures of Pioneer History, by Kate B. Carter: “Friday, September 9, 1853, Daniel A. Miller’s ox train company of emigrants, consisting of the last Saints from the Pottawattamie County, Iowa, arrived in Great Salt Lake City. The company consisted of 282 souls, 70 wagons, 27 horses, 470 head of cattle and 153 sheep and had left camp at Winter Quarters, June 9, 1853.
When they arrived into the Salt Lake Valley, Emily Sophia was 15 years of age, David B. was six, and the twins George and John were 4 years old. According to information left to us by other members of the family, Samuel and his children moved to Fillmore, Millard County. There, Samuel Jr. married Helen McBride. They had two children, Samuel III, and Melissa. Samuel Jr. was a United States Indian interpreter for twelve years. He was mistaken for a government spy and killed by Indians on Chicken Creek Ridge, near Scipio, while hunting lost horses. Samuel Webster Brown and family moved to Payson, Utah, to be near his daughter Emily and family, she having married John T. Manwill in Salt Lake City.
From Melissa Manwill Lewis, “Soon after taking up abode in Payson, David B. Brown married Selena McClellen. Twin George and his father lived by themselves, and John lived with sister Emily and family. John contracted typhoid fever and passed away in Emily’s home at age sixteen.â€
George went with his father to Mount Pleasant for a time where they operated a sawmill. Again, they returned to Payson. George was married to Rachel Savage January 1, 1874, at Payson Utah. In 1880, they moved to Grass Valley in Piute County, Utah, where David and family were already making their home. David later moved into Idaho, back to Payson, then to old Mexico.
In Samuel Webster Brown’s declining years, he made his home with Emily and David. He was known to be a kind, generous old man. He passed away at the home of David Brown, in Payson, Utah, September 13, 1882.
Obituary
Samuel Webster Brown departed this life 13 September 1882, at Payson Utah at the home of his son, David B. Brown. Born 1 February 1801, in New Hampshire. He was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints at the early rise and was a member of the First Quorum of Seventies, organized by Joseph Smith. He was a doorkeeper in the Kirtland Temple and a member of Zions Camp. He has been with the Church in all the drivings, mobbings, and persecutions. He traveled and preached the gospel a great deal. He was never known to falter or deny the truth. Services were held in the Payson meetinghouse, September 14, 1882. Speakers were Elders H.C. Boyles and L. A. O. Colvin who said that Brother Brown was a worthy Latter Day Saint and spent a useful life of over four score years.
Patriarchal Blessing given to Samuel Webster Brown
At Nauvoo, Illinois, January 25, 1845, by John Smith, Patriarch
Brother Samuel, I lay my hands upon your head in the name of Jesus Christ, and seal upon thee a father’s blessing, for thy father which is living has no faith in the Priesthood, but thou art a lawful heir to the Priesthood because thou art of Joseph, through the loins of Ephraim and all the power and privileges I seal upon thy head with power to go forth in the name of the Lord to gather the remnants of Jacob, even the Lamanites, and great multitudes shall obey thy voice. Thou shalt baptize them and lead them to Zion with songs of joy and gladness and no power shall stay thy hand. Thou shalt be able to do any miracle when the nature of the case requires it to further the cause of (the) Lords work. For a short work will the Lord make on the Earth in the last days. Thou shalt bring many of them into the church. Although many of them may be rebellious, thou shalt redeem them, either in life or death, for the Lord hath called thee to this end and raised thee up for this cause, that thy forefathers should be redeemed by the power of the Priesthood sealed upon thee, even back to Abel, so that there shall not be a broken link in the chain.
Thy posterity shall be numerous and shall be mighty men of war, even to put ten thousands to flight, the enemies of the Lord shall have no power over them, and thy name shall be held I high adoration among the Saints. Thy years shall be multiplied upon thine head for thou shalt stand on the earth when the Savior makes his appearance, and thou shalt enjoy all blessings and glories of his kingdom, with every good thing which your heart desires for the storehouse of Heaven and earth shall be opened unto thee, and you shall be satisfied inasmuch as you give heed to council, not one word shall fail for I seal it upon thee and thy posterity with the blessings of health and eternal life. Amen.
Albert Carrington - Clerk
Compiled by Ruby Brown Bradfield and Della P. Ware
Samuel Webster Brown was born Alstead, Cheshire County, New Hampshire, February 1,1801 to John Brown and Betsy Webster. At age 29 or 30 he met and married Harriet Cooper, and English girl. A son, Samuel Jr., was born to them. Soon after the birth of her child, Harriet died. The Mormon missionaries called on Samuel and their message brought comfort to his wounded soul. He became a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and immediately moved to Kirtland, Ohio to be with the body of the Saints. There, plans were being made to build the Kirtland Temple.
In 1834 Samuel Brown made the memorable march with Zions Camp. The Prophet Joseph Smith had received word that the body of the church in Jackson County, Missouri was being threatened with expulsion and he had been given a revelation that they were not to be moved out. That if the “redemption of Zion must needs come by power†it must stay. He asked for five hundred volunteers of young able-bodied men to join the march to Jackson County to defend the new “Zionâ€. Zions Camp was organized and 205 men marched through Dayton, Indianapolis, Springfield, and Jacksonville, and across the Mississippi River to Missouri. They suffered many hardships on this march. As they reached the Missouri River the Prophet was given a revelation that they should not be required to fight the battles of Zion and for Joseph Smith to sue for peace with their enemies; that the armies of Zion had been to Missouri as a trial of their faith and also to give them experience which would prepare them for western emigration. Soon after their return to Kirtland the Prophet chose the twelve Apostles and the Quorum of Seventy. Many of the faithful members o Zion were chosen to fill these positions. Samuel Brown was at that time called to be a member of the First Quorum of Seventy.
In 1837, Samuel was serving as an usher in the Kirtland Temple. There he met and married Lydia Maria Lathrop. They were sealed in the Nauvoo Temple. Lydia Maria was a daughter of Grant Lathrop and Sybil Bliss. She was a woman of refinement and culture; she taught school and was a glove maker. Samuel Brown was a shoemaker. At the time of their marriage, Samuel Jr. was five years old. Lydia took him and raised him as her own child.
The stay in Kirtland was all too short. The spirit of apostasy had taken possession of many of the saints and church leaders. Brigham Young writes, “This was a crisis when all hell seemed leagued to overthrow the Prophet and Church of God. The knees of many of the strongest men in the Church faltered.â€
The persecutors of the Saints were making plans to exterminate them. Samuel was among those who were called to a meeting to make a decision of great importance - how the Saints would travel when the time of expulsion came. From this time on, ‘Samuel Brown was with the Saints in all the mobbings, drivings and persecutions.†(A quote from a sermon preached at his funeral.)
On the move westward after they were driven from Kirtland, Samuel and Lydia were in Daviess County, Missouri where their first child, Emily Sophia, was born April 16, 1838. From John D. Lee’s story, written by Juanita Brooks, we read the following:
“The first Mormon to approach the polls in the election at Daviess County, Missouri (1838) was shoemaker Samuel Brown. Brown was accosted by Dick Welding, a Missourian. He asked, ‘Are you a Mormon sir?’ ‘Yes sir, I am.’ ‘Do you believe in healing the sick by the laying on of hands?’ ‘Yes sir, we ‘do.’ ‘You are a damned liar, and Joe Smith is an imposter.’
“With that welding struck Brown with his fist, knocking him down. Immediately another Mormon sprang to the defense of Brown, which instantly brought a group of Missourians into the fight.â€
“An organization of Mormons who called themselves Danites, organized to defend their people, sprang into action. Exaggerated reports went out which resulted in Governor Boggs calling out the state militia. A Mormon company of about forty-five men set out from Far West at midnight to surprise the Missourians and rescue three brethren who were being held captive to be shot at daylight. They routed the mob and rescued the prisoners. This battle gave Governor Boggs, always willing to believe the worst of the Mormons, another chance to act officially, bringing about the ‘Extermination Orders’, and called into action the full militia force of the state. ‘The Mormons must be driven out of the state, if necessary for the public good,’ the orders read â€
This resulted in the Hauns Mill massacre.
The army immediately took position of Far West, and Samuel Brown was among those who surrendered 630 guns, consisting of hunting rifles, shotguns, a few muskets, a few pistols, and some rude homemade swords; then they were ordered to leave the state before another planting season.
After the expulsion from Missouri, Samuel Brown, his wife and two children, moved with the body of Saints to build up the City of Nauvoo. Again he assisted with the building of a Temple. Nauvoo became a beautiful city. The people were happy, robust and prosperous. Though the officials of the state of Illinois had given them permission to live in peace, the mob from Missouri crossed the state line and after a time, and persecution began again. They were determined to drive every Mormon from Illinois.
On June 27, 1844, the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum Smith were killed by a mob at Carthage Jail, and the leadership of the church moved into the hands of Brigham Young. In the summer of 1845, trouble broke out in all its fury. After a hundred homes had been burned. A meeting was called with Illinois officials. It was agreed that all violence should cease, and the Mormons should remain unmolested until the spring of 1846, when they were to sell their property and leave the state.
During the following December and January, President Brigham Young labored almost day and night assisting the Saints with their endowments in the Temple. Samuel and Lydia Brown received their endowments December 19, 1845 and Samuel had his wife and children sealed to him January 28, 1846. They received their Patriarchal Blessings at Nauvoo given by Patriarch John Smith, January 25, 1845.
By February the Missourians again became restless. This caused the Saints to hasten preparations to move. President Brigham Young made plans to seek a new home in the west. By March, with Brigham at the head, the camp moved forward. The weather was cold with snow covering the ground. After the snow stopped falling the weather moderated and it began to rain. They crossed the Mississippi River on flat boats where the river was a mile wide. Fires could not be kept going, bedding and clothes could not be dried, nor could wagons be moved. There were no roads, only trails in the soft mud made by those who had gone ahead. Samuel was very ill, and Lydia Maria lost a premature baby as a result of these hardships, as related by a granddaughter, Melissa Manwill Lewis.
Those who had outfits crossed on across land. Many did not have outfits or means of transportation and remained in Iowa settlements, not disclosing their identity as Mormons, and found employment so that they might sustain their families. Samuel Brown’s son, David Brigham Brown, was born to them in Des Moines Iowa, January 21, 1847. The State of Iowa permitted the saints to remain in the Indian lands (Pottawattamie County), where they were given the privilege of growing crops on the public lands. Prior to 1849, the Browns had joined the Saints at Council Point, Iowa. It was here that twin sons were born to them, George Austin and John A., born November 21, 1849 at Council Point, Pottawattamie, Iowa.
Seven years had passed since they were driven from Nauvoo. There had been little time for rest and relaxation. Preparation must be made for the next group of Saints who needed refuge and sustenance along the way. All were waiting for the time when they would join their beloved leaders in Zion and began making necessary preparations for the journey across the plains.
Col. Thomas L. Kane describes Council Bluffs: “In the clear blue morning air, the smoke steamed up from more than a thousand cooking fires. Each one of the Council Bluffs hills was crowned with its own great camp, gay with bright canvas, and alive with the busy stir of swarming occupants. Herd boys were dozing upon the slopes; sheep and horses, cows and oxen, were feeding around them in the luxuriant meadow of the then swollen river. As I approached the camp it seemed to me that the children there were to prove still more numerous. Along the creek, I had to cross, were women in great force washing and rinsing all manner of white muslins, red flannels and colored calicos, and hanging them to bleach on a greater area of grass and bushes than we can display in all our Washington Square.â€
The Dan A Miller Company began its trek across the plains June 9, 1853. The Samuel Brown family was with this company. The only sign posts were the tracks of wagons, each company making them deeper and more clearly marked. Dead and dying trees had been chopped down to make way for the ever-increasing caravans. Dotted here and there were graves, both long and short, bearing evidence of the deprivations and exposures of those who had been willing but could not endure.
It was over this same line of travel that Samuel Webster Brown and his family set foot facing westward toward their destination. Not many weeks passed when tragedy came to them. Lydia Maria, the wife and mother was stricken with cholera and died “somewhere on the plains.†Her body was wrapped in a piece of canvas from the cover of their wagon and laid in a shallow grave on the banks of the North Platte River.
From Ft. Laramie, they crossed the Platte River and continued over the Oregon Trail up the Sweet Water, and over the Continental Divide through the South Pass across the Green River to Ft. Bridger. They then traveled to the southeast through Echo Canyon, over the Big and Little Mountains into Immigration Canyon, and then into the valley of the Great Salt Lake.
From Treasures of Pioneer History, by Kate B. Carter: “Friday, September 9, 1853, Daniel A. Miller’s ox train company of emigrants, consisting of the last Saints from the Pottawattamie County, Iowa, arrived in Great Salt Lake City. The company consisted of 282 souls, 70 wagons, 27 horses, 470 head of cattle and 153 sheep and had left camp at Winter Quarters, June 9, 1853.
When they arrived into the Salt Lake Valley, Emily Sophia was 15 years of age, David B. was six, and the twins George and John were 4 years old. According to information left to us by other members of the family, Samuel and his children moved to Fillmore, Millard County. There, Samuel Jr. married Helen McBride. They had two children, Samuel III, and Melissa. Samuel Jr. was a United States Indian interpreter for twelve years. He was mistaken for a government spy and killed by Indians on Chicken Creek Ridge, near Scipio, while hunting lost horses. Samuel Webster Brown and family moved to Payson, Utah, to be near his daughter Emily and family, she having married John T. Manwill in Salt Lake City.
From Melissa Manwill Lewis, “Soon after taking up abode in Payson, David B. Brown married Selena McClellen. Twin George and his father lived by themselves, and John lived with sister Emily and family. John contracted typhoid fever and passed away in Emily’s home at age sixteen.â€
George went with his father to Mount Pleasant for a time where they operated a sawmill. Again, they returned to Payson. George was married to Rachel Savage January 1, 1874, at Payson Utah. In 1880, they moved to Grass Valley in Piute County, Utah, where David and family were already making their home. David later moved into Idaho, back to Payson, then to old Mexico.
In Samuel Webster Brown’s declining years, he made his home with Emily and David. He was known to be a kind, generous old man. He passed away at the home of David Brown, in Payson, Utah, September 13, 1882.
Obituary
Samuel Webster Brown departed this life 13 September 1882, at Payson Utah at the home of his son, David B. Brown. Born 1 February 1801, in New Hampshire. He was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints at the early rise and was a member of the First Quorum of Seventies, organized by Joseph Smith. He was a doorkeeper in the Kirtland Temple and a member of Zions Camp. He has been with the Church in all the drivings, mobbings, and persecutions. He traveled and preached the gospel a great deal. He was never known to falter or deny the truth. Services were held in the Payson meetinghouse, September 14, 1882. Speakers were Elders H.C. Boyles and L. A. O. Colvin who said that Brother Brown was a worthy Latter Day Saint and spent a useful life of over four score years.
Patriarchal Blessing given to Samuel Webster Brown
At Nauvoo, Illinois, January 25, 1845, by John Smith, Patriarch
Brother Samuel, I lay my hands upon your head in the name of Jesus Christ, and seal upon thee a father’s blessing, for thy father which is living has no faith in the Priesthood, but thou art a lawful heir to the Priesthood because thou art of Joseph, through the loins of Ephraim and all the power and privileges I seal upon thy head with power to go forth in the name of the Lord to gather the remnants of Jacob, even the Lamanites, and great multitudes shall obey thy voice. Thou shalt baptize them and lead them to Zion with songs of joy and gladness and no power shall stay thy hand. Thou shalt be able to do any miracle when the nature of the case requires it to further the cause of (the) Lords work. For a short work will the Lord make on the Earth in the last days. Thou shalt bring many of them into the church. Although many of them may be rebellious, thou shalt redeem them, either in life or death, for the Lord hath called thee to this end and raised thee up for this cause, that thy forefathers should be redeemed by the power of the Priesthood sealed upon thee, even back to Abel, so that there shall not be a broken link in the chain.
Thy posterity shall be numerous and shall be mighty men of war, even to put ten thousands to flight, the enemies of the Lord shall have no power over them, and thy name shall be held I high adoration among the Saints. Thy years shall be multiplied upon thine head for thou shalt stand on the earth when the Savior makes his appearance, and thou shalt enjoy all blessings and glories of his kingdom, with every good thing which your heart desires for the storehouse of Heaven and earth shall be opened unto thee, and you shall be satisfied inasmuch as you give heed to council, not one word shall fail for I seal it upon thee and thy posterity with the blessings of health and eternal life. Amen.
Albert Carrington - Clerk
-----------------------------------------------------------
Samuel Brown was born February 1,
1801 in Alstead, Cheshire County, New Hampshire to John Brown (AFN:
1P3J-76) and Betsy Webster (AFN: 1P3J-8C).
He was married
twice. The first wife listed in the Ancestral File is Lydia Maria
Lathrop by whom he fathered ten children. He was also married to Harriet or
Harriett Cooper of London, England by whom he fathered one son. Grampa Bill
does not know whether these two marriages were sequential or plural.
Samuel Brown was
an early convert to the Church. Using a mathematical calculation from known,
events, it seems he was baptized in 1833. The following year he participated in
the Zion's Camp expedition to Missouri to relieve the suffering of the
persecuted saints in Zion.
Shortly after the
return from Zion's Camp, Brown became involved in matters which shortly
resulted in a High Council hearing. The History of the Church recounts
thusly: "Elder Nathan West preferred charges against Samuel Brown,
High Priest, for teaching contrary to counsel, namely, encouraging the brethren
in practicing gifts (speaking in tongues,) in ordaining Sylvester Hulet a High
Priest (without counsel) in a clandestine manner; asserting that he had
obtained a witness of the Lord, which was a command to perform the same on
receiving the gift of tongues, which gift he had never before received, but
afterwards said that he had been in possession of that gift for the space of a
year; and in undervaluing the authority and righteousness of the High Council
by charging Elder West not to say anything that would tend to prejudice their
minds, lest they might not judge righteously.
The charges were
sustained by the testimony of Leonard Rich, Charles English, Brother Bruce, Edward
Partridge, Hiram Page, Roxa Slade, Caleb Baldwin, and Sylvester
Hulet. President David Whitmer gave the following decision, which
was sanctioned by the council:
"According
to testimony and the voice of the Holy Spirit, which is in us, we say unto you,
that God, in His infinite mercy, doth yet grant you a space for repentance;
therefore, if you confess all the charges which have been alleged against you
to be just, and in a spirit that we can receive it, then you [Samuel Brown]
can stand as a private member in this Church, otherwise we have no fellowship
for you; and also, that the ordination of Sylvester Hulet, by Samuel Brown,
is illegal and not acknowledged by us to be of God, and therefore it is void.
Brother Brown
confessed the charges, and gave up his license {that is his licence to preach
or the priesthood], but retained his membership."
By the following
year, he seems to have been fully restored in the mind of the Lord and the
Church leadership for in 1835, perhaps because of his faithfulness in Zion's
Camp and the Mission he filled to Washington County, Illinois, he was called to
the First Quorum of Seventy, thus entering the ranks of the General
Authorities.
In December 1835
he wrote a report of his missionary efforts:
Dear brother:
Almost three
years have passed away since I embraced the fulness of the gospel of Christ.
During the above mentioned time, I have travelled probably not less than eight
thousand miles, and can say of a truth, that I have been receiving additional
evidences continually, that the work in which I have been engaged, is of the
Lord. Since the first of December, I have seen the addition of about 130, to
the church. Within a few months past I have baptized six, and in company with
other elders fifteen more.
The churches in
which I have labored, generally are increasing in numbers, faith, and
righteousness.
Yours in the bond of the new
covenant.
Samuel Brown.
Elder Brown
suffered in the Missouri Persecutions. We read, "An election was to be
held August 6, 1838, and members of the Church intended to exercise their
franchise. Their enemies vowed that they should not vote. The mob bully,
Richard Welding, full of liquor, made an attack on Samuel Brown saying:
"The Mormons were not allowed to vote in Clay County no more than the
negroes," and that they should not vote now. Perry Durphy sought to
suppress the difficulty and defend Brother Brown. This aroused other members of
the opposition who began to cry 'Kill him, kill him,' and this may have
happened if Riley Stewart had not struck Welding on the head and brought him to
the ground."
Elder Brown also
endured the persecutions of the Nauvoo era and went west with the saints after
Joseph's Martyrdom. He died September 13, 1882 in Payson, Utah.
The further particulars of his death
are the following: While returning from a trip north to his home in Fillmore,
in company with Bro. Josiah Call, he was waylaid by Tom Moke, Topoba,
Topanawich and Panawich, of Peteetneet's band of Utah Indians, who shot him
through the left breast, near the heart, cut his throat and scalped him,
stripped him of his clothes and robbed him of all he had. He was in company
with Josiah Call, who also fell a victim to their savage cruelties, and was
shockingly mangled. They were both found thirteen days after they were killed.
Bro. Brown's body was found covered up in the cedars by Reuben A. Mc Bride who
brought it to Fillmore. Although the weather was warm and he had laid so long
after he was killed, there was no smell or appearance of decay, till [sic] the
next day after the body was brought and laid out.
We find that
Elder Brown was somewhat of a poet and copy here one of his writings.
INSPIRED WRITINGS.
Revelations now coming forth,
Are sublime and eternal truth;
In them Jehovah's voice proclaims,
This is my church, enrol your names.
Revelations now coming forth,
Are sublime and eternal truth;
In them Jehovah's voice proclaims,
This is my church, enrol your names.
The word of wisdom's a sure guide
To all who do the same abide;
Its promises are very great.
Though I the same need not relate.
To all who do the same abide;
Its promises are very great.
Though I the same need not relate.
Enbalmed records, plates of gold,
Glorious things to us unfold:
Though sealed up they long have been,
To give us light they now begin.
Glorious things to us unfold:
Though sealed up they long have been,
To give us light they now begin.
Long since to Daniel God did say,
"Seal up the book and go thy way:
For many shall be purified,
By sacrifice they shall be tried."
"Seal up the book and go thy way:
For many shall be purified,
By sacrifice they shall be tried."
A noble man of ancient birth
Beheld the same spring from the earth:
And many more in visions saw
The books which now contain the law.
Beheld the same spring from the earth:
And many more in visions saw
The books which now contain the law.
Judah's writing and Joseph's too,
Each testifies the other's true:
They teach the same when searched thro'
Believe them both, we're bound to do.
Each testifies the other's true:
They teach the same when searched thro'
Believe them both, we're bound to do.
The Lord hath said "I'll make
them one,
As I command let it be done:
For a short work I now will make,
And Israel from the heathen take."
As I command let it be done:
For a short work I now will make,
And Israel from the heathen take."
"To their own lands on
mountains high,
I'll bring them with a watchful eye;
To them the kingdom I'll restore
And be their king forever more.
I'll bring them with a watchful eye;
To them the kingdom I'll restore
And be their king forever more.
The book of Jasher has been found,
And many more hid in the ground:
All these, with Enoch's book, unfold
And spread true light from pole to pole.
And many more hid in the ground:
All these, with Enoch's book, unfold
And spread true light from pole to pole.
Those things are true we testify,
And all who do with them comply,
Will in eternity rejoice,
That they have made so wise a choice.
And all who do with them comply,
Will in eternity rejoice,
That they have made so wise a choice.
source: http://www.gapages.com/browns1.htm
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