New Book About St. Louis Mentions Milo
June 15, 2011
A new book was published in March 2011 entitled The Best of the St. Louis Luminary. It was edited by Susan Easton Black, a professor of church history at BYU.
St. Louis was a major trailhead along the Mississippi River that attracted thousands of Mormons in the 1850s, where they set up shops, practiced their trades, formed congregations, and prepared for the journey West. It was there that Apostle Erastus Snow published the St. Louis Luminary, a weekly newspaper featuring epistles from church leaders, doctrinal treatises in defense of Mormon practices—especially plural marriage—and news and letters from the Salt Lake Valley.
The book includes an essay by Susan Easton Black about the Latter-day Saint experience in St. Louis in the 1850s and the historical importance of the St. Louis Luminary. The rest of the book is made up of highlights from the newspaper: counsel given by the First Presidency, poetry, marriage and death notices and even humor.
Milo served as the stake president in St. Louis from 1854 to 1855. Many of his speeches and letters were published in the newspaper.
In the book, Milo is mentioned in Susan Easton Black’s essay and three or four of his speeches and letters are reprinted.
The book also includes a searchable DVD-ROM of all 52 issues of the newspaper. (To see all of the references to Milo in The St. Louis Luminary, click here.)
The book is available at Amazon, Deseret Book and the BYU Bookstore.
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Map: Milo’s Property in Oxford, Idaho
June 15, 2011
View Milo’s Property in Oxford, Idaho in a larger map.
According to county records, Milo bought 35 acres in Oxford, Idaho in 1885 for $950.
See the above map for the approximate location of his property. The property would have been on both sides of the highway.
He lived here until his death in 1893.
Map: Milo’s Properties in St. George, Utah
June 1, 2011
View Milo’s Properties in St. George, Utah in a larger map.
Milo lived in St. George, Utah from 1873-1881. According to Washington county property records, Milo owned three properties during that time:
1. 130 East St. George Boulevard
From 1875 to 1879 Milo owned Lot 2 Block 27 Plat A. This is on the south side of present-day St. George Blvd. between 100 East and 200 East. It is now the east side of the Sunfirst Bank.
2. 272 South 100 East
From 1876 to 1882 Milo owned Lot 1 Block 2 Plat A.
He bought it from Miles P. Romney for $2,000. He sold it to Moses T. Farnsworth in 1882. The house on the property had two front entrances and seems to have had two families living in it. At least two of Milo’s wives, Mary Webster and Margaret Boyce, lived with him in St. George.
The house is still standing. In front of it is a plaque entitled “Romney-Andrus Home.” The plaque lists the different owners of the house from 1862 to 1936. Milo and the house are mentioned on the Washington County Historical Society website and in the booklet, “Landmark and Historic Sites,” published by the city of St. George in 2009 (pp. 45-1 through 45-2).
3. Price Farm (Bloomington, Utah)
In county records Milo is listed as the trustee for Price farm, which was operated under the United Order. This whole area was known as Price City and was along the Virgin River in what is now Bloomington Gardens in Bloomington, Utah. Price City was a farming area that never really flourished.
4. James Andrus Homes: 196 West 100 South and 164 West 100 South
Milo’s oldest son, James, from first wife Abigail Daley, moved to St. George in 1886. He had two wives, Laura Gibson and Manomas Gibson. He built a house for Laura at 196 West 100 South and a house for Manomas on the same street at 164 West 100 South.
According to the Washington County Historical Society, “James moved his families to St. George from his ranch in Canaan in 1886. He was known as the cattle baron of southern Utah. He was a pioneer, Indian fighter, bishop, businessman, statesman, and accomplished equestrian.”
Milo Andrus, St. Louis, and the St. Louis Luminary
June 1, 2011
Map: Milo’s Property in Nauvoo and the Nauvoo 5th Ward Boundaries
June 1, 2011
