Comments on: B.H. Roberts in Water Valley, Mississippi, 1884

By: Ardis E. Parshall

Ardis E. Parshall — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 19:21:37 +0000

Just discovered a letter written by Charles L. Flake to John Taylor, 28 February 1886, reporting his mission. He says:

“On the 16th of May while waiting in Water Valley for Prest. B.H. Roberts I was tar[r]ed by a mob,and then had to ride until 3 next morning before I could wash or change.After this we received notices to leave from every side, but we felt that there was yet a good work to be done in that part. Soon after this, things took a change for the better,and we made many friends, and were enabled to hold meetings every Sunday and sometimes during the week.”

That’s the way his whole letter goes — he reports some difficulty, brushes it off cheerfully, and then reports something upbeat.

By: Researcher

Researcher — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 17:38:45 +0000

Thanks, Steve. I'll have to check that out. Taylor: try Patrick Mason's recent book The Mormon Menace: Violence and Anti-Mormonism in the Postbellum South, or his dissertation, which you can download here: Sinners in the hands of an angry mob: Violence against religious outsiders in the U.S. South, 1865-1910.

By: Steve C.

Steve C. — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 17:08:50 +0000

Researcher: Sorry I didn't get back to this sooner. Slipped my mind until I talked about it in class yesterday. A book you might find interesting on the Russian Intervention is The Ignorant Armies by E.M Halliday.

By: Taylor

Taylor — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 16:47:37 +0000

Having served in the area where missionaries Rudger Clawson was attacked and Joseph Stadnding was killed, I can say that I am glad that the era of lynch law is history in the South. I would be very interested in learnign more about the application of violence and intimidation against non-black minorities in the reconstruction era south. I know that Jews were also targeted…

Anyway, That being said, at least a white mormon of the period could 1) go back west, and 2) blend in with a crowd during this period. Some things to be greatful for.

By: Researcher

Researcher — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 21:33:59 +0000

Thanks!

By: Kent Larsen

Kent Larsen — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 20:08:19 +0000

Researcher, the “Russian Intervention” is described on Wikipedia here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allied_intervention_in_the_Russian_Civil_War

By: Ardis E. Parshall

Ardis E. Parshall — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 00:14:36 +0000

Marianne, thanks for sharing your family papers that way — we all benefit. And I, too, love seeing the connections among people of the past. We all have networks of personal relationships today, and finding them in the past makes that past all the more real, doesn’t it?

By: Marianne Egan

Marianne Egan — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 23:52:46 +0000

Elder Flake is mentioned several times in my ancestor’s mission journal. I sent a portion of it to Amateur Mormon Historian which he published in his blog at the following link. It is always great to be able to put people of the past together and imagine their interactions.

http://amateurmormonhistorian.blogspot.com/search/label/Songs%20and%20Poems

By: Maurine Ward

Maurine Ward — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 02:18:38 +0000

Grant, I grew up with some of B.H Roberts’ descendants in Centerville. Ardis keeps throwing out tidbits of his life. He was a fascinating character.

By: Researcher

Researcher — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 19:12:33 +0000

Okay, sources please! I know this is a threadjack, but where can I find out more about the Russian intervention, Steve C.? Evidently my great-grandfather, a World War I soldier from the Little Colorado area of Arizona, was in Russia at that time. I don’t know how long he was there or what his experiences were.

Let me think if I have anything to add to the original post. Technically speaking, Roberts was the acting president of the mission, but that was largely a technicality and is entirely irrelevant to this story, so I probably shouldn’t mention it. : )