I just pulled the printed book from the library shelf (the online version doesn’t have illustrations) and yes, the images in the 1966 book seem identical to those used by the Church History Library to make the copies they were passing out. The angles of the not-quite-straight photographs are the same.

The source could very well have been the 1948 photographs, but I don’t see anything that states that explicitly. If the library never had, or had lost by 1966, the original paper, the 1948 photos would be the only plausible source for these images.

(I wish we knew whether, in fact, the library ever held the copy received by Henry Ballard, and if so, when was the last time it was recognized for what it was. The 1966 book claims that the 1948 photos were compared to the original paper and found to be identical — was the original paper really in existence at that time for a comparison, or is that assertion a modern (1966) accretion to add credibility? The description is just vague enough for me to be suspicious. Did the 1966 biographer know from direct experience that the original paper was in the library at that time, or was he just repeating an assumption reported to him by somebody else?)

A representative of the family visited the office of the Newbury Weekly News in 1948, and saw and handled that office’s copy of the issue of May 15, 1884. The entire issue was then photographed on the spot and a signed statement completed certifying that it was copied at its place of publication in England. Comparison reveals that the photographed copy is identical with the copy handed to Henry Ballard on May 18, 1884, which now rests in the Church Historian’s Library in Salt Lake City.

My bad. I need to read more carefully.

Do you think that I am correct in assuming that the image of the newspaper in the book and the scan in your post are from the photograph taken in 1948?

You readers have certainly found some interesting things to say, despite the ragamuffin jumble of a post. Thanks.

I should clarify that I am all in favor of retelling all the old but true stories to new generations of church members. It’s part of our heritage and deserves to be passed on. I just wish we would broaden our repertoire: If we only talk about the Martin and Willey companies, we risk creating the false idea that those pioneers are the only ones who really sacrificed for their religion. If we only talk about three 18-year-olds at the Sweetwater, we risk marginalizing the selfless efforts not only of the other handcart rescuers, but also the legions of men teamsters on the down-and-back companies of later years, the bishops who greeted new emigrants in Salt Lake and made sure they were fed and absorbed into existing communities, and all the others who exerted themselves to bring new people to Zion. If we only talk about missionary activities in foreign lands, we overlook the local members who supported the missionaries and lived faithful lives in their own right.

I don’t want to *not* tell Henry Ballard’s story; I want us to tell other stories, under appropriate conditions, that show that the Spirit of Elijah continues to work, that it wasn’t a phenomenon of the early days alone.

The paragraph you quote in #12 is the most confirming evidence given for the paper’s not being post-dated. I did not quote it, though, because I had no way to verify it myself. It is probably accurate, but there’s one thing that raises a caution flag for me: the sloppy, vague citing of the evidence to “Official Somerset House records.” That’s like citing to “records in the Mormon library at Salt Lake City,” a phrase I see often in online genealogy sites — a sure sign of an amateur who doesn’t know how to cite evidence, and something crying out for verification before relying on it.

Great post, and interesting commentary. I’d never thought of the re-telling of older inspirational stories in this light (that continued re-hashing of them might hide the importance of more recent happenings). Thanks.

As for the statement that Henry Ballard’s copy of the paper is apparently not housed in the Church History Library, all I have to say about that is maybe we haven’t hired the right research team yet to find it. I think this calls for the help of Benjamin Franklin Gates!

By Official Somerset House records the family confirmed the death of a prominent citizen, recorded on the same page as “Wanderer’s” articles, as May 8, 1884. Bells rang in the parish church “last Sunday,” as the death notice states, must have been rung on May 11, only seven days before the newspaper was delivered in Western America. The point is conclusive. (18)

I quickly reread the section and I couldn’t find that it claimed that the paper was housed in the LDS Church History Library. It states, however: “Small wonder that the newspaper, now yellowed and somewhat ragged with age, has always been regarded as a sacred treasure by the Ballard family.”