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.
.
Milo Andrus, St. Louis, and the St. Louis Luminary
June 1, 2011
Milo’s Mission Journal – Liverpool England – 1849 to 1850
May 10, 2011
Impressions of Milo Andrus By Apostle Matthias Cowley
May 1, 2011
“The Life and Wives of Milo Andrus” (A Play)
March 30, 2011
Timeline of Milo Andrus’ Life (with Major Events in LDS Church History)
January 1, 2008
| Events in Milo Andrus’ Life | Events in LDS Church History | |
| 1805 | Joseph Smith Jr. born in Sharon, Vermont. | |
| 1814 | Born March 6, in Jay Township (now Wilmington), Essex County, New York. | |
| 1816 | The Smith family moved from Vermont to the Palmyra, New York, area. | |
| 1816-24 | Moved with family to Dunkirk, New York; Henrietta, Ohio; and East Norwalk, Ohio. | |
| 1820 | The First Vision: God and Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph Smith. | |
| 1823 | The angel Moroni first appeared to Joseph Smith and told him of the gold plates that would eventually be translated into the Book of Mormon. | |
| 1827 | Moroni gave the gold plates to Joseph Smith. | |
| 1829 | Priesthood restored. Translation of the Book of Mormon completed by Joseph Smith. |
|
| 1830 | Moved to Florence, Ohio. | First edition of the Book of Mormon published. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints officially organized in Fayette, New York. |
| 1831 | Joseph Smith moved to Kirtland, Ohio. | |
| 1832 | Mother Azuba Smith died. | The School of the Prophets began in Kirtland, Ohio. Recent converts Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball arrived in Kirtland, Ohio, to meet Joseph Smith. |
| 1833 | Married Abigail Jane Daley. Baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Ordained an Elder. Served two short missions in Ohio. |
Construction began on the Kirtland Temple. |
| 1834 | Marched to Missouri and back as a member of Zion’s Camp. | Zion’s Camp marched to Missouri. |
| 1835 | Ordained a member of the Quorum of the Seventy. Served mission to New York. |
The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and the Quorum of the Seventy organized. The Doctrine and Covenants is accepted as part of the scriptural canon of the Church. |
| 1836 | Helped build the Kirtland temple and was present at the dedication. Called as president of Florence, Ohio branch. |
Kirtland Temple dedicated. Saints began to settle in Far West, Missouri. |
| 1837 | Missionaries arrive in the British Isles. This is the first Latter-day Saint mission outside of North America. | |
| 1836-37 | Led Florence branch to Caldwell County, Missouri. Settled just south of Far West. | |
| 1838 | Due to mob persecution, moved from Missouri to Adams County, Illinois (southeast of Nauvoo). | Due to mob persecution, Joseph Smith forced to flee Kirtland, Ohio. He and his family settled in Far West, Missouri. |
| 1839 | Joseph Smith imprisoned in Liberty jail. | |
| 1838-40 | Served 3rd mission to Ohio. | |
| 1841 | The First Presidency issued a proclamation urging all Saints to gather to Nauvoo, Illinois. Construction began on the Nauvoo Temple. |
|
| 1842 | Moved to Nauvoo, Illinois. | Relief Society organized. Articles of Faith published. |
| 1844 | Called as bishop of Nauvoo 5th ward. Served 4th mission to Ohio. Activities included campaigning for the presidential candidacy of Joseph Smith. Helped build Nauvoo temple. |
Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum are murdered while imprisoned in a jail in Carthage, Illinois. Both men had been arrested under false charges. |
| 1845 | Received endowment in the Nauvoo temple and served as an ordinance worker. Called as president of one of the Quorums of Seventy. |
Portions of the Nauvoo Temple dedicated. |
| 1846 | Due to mob persecution in Nauvoo, moved to Council Bluffs, Iowa and then to Winter Quarters, Nebraska. | Due to persecution, the first groups of Saints left Nauvoo for the West. The Mormon Battalion began march to California. Winter Quarters established. |
| 1847 | Remained in Winter Quarters to grow crops for Saints going west. | First Pioneer Company arrived in the Salt Lake Valley. Brigham Young sustained as second Church President. |
| 1847-57 | The Saints established about 100 colonies in the American West. | |
| 1848 | Married 2nd wife Sarah Miles. | |
| 1848-50 | Served 1st mission to England. Served as president of the Liverpool conference. | |
| 1849 | Father Ruluf Andrus died. | The Perpetual Emigration Fund was established to assist Saints traveling to the Salt Lake Valley. |
| 1850 | Led his 1st wagon company of 51 wagons and 206 people across the plains to Salt Lake City. | Utah became a territory of the United States. |
| 1851 | Divorced by 1st wife Abigail Daley. Married 3rd wife Lucy Loomis . 2nd wife Sarah Miles died. |
The Book of Mormon is published in Danish, the first foreign-language edition. |
| 1852 | Married 4th wife Adeline Alexander. Married 5th wife Mary Webster. |
|
| 1854 | Sent from Salt Lake City to be president of the St. Louis stake. | |
| 1855 | Led his 2nd wagon company of 461 people across the plains to Salt Lake City. Married 6th wife Elizabeth Brooks. Married 7th wife Ann Brooks. Married 8th wife Jane Munday. |
|
| 1856 | Severe snowstorms trapped the Willie and Martin handcart companies in Wyoming. Many were saved by rescuers from the Salt Lake Valley. | |
| 1857 | Married 9th wife Margaret Boyce. Served as a Major in the Utah Militia during the Utah War. |
|
| 1858 | Served as bishop of Big Cottonwood ward. Married 10th wife Emma Covert. |
|
| 1859-61 | Served 2nd mission to England. Served as president of the Birmingham district. | |
| 1860 | Andrus halfway house built by 3rd wife Lucy Loomis at Dry Creek (now Sandy), Utah. (The halfway house was moved to Utah’s This is the Place State Park in 1981.) | |
| 1861 | Led company of 600 Saints from England to New York on the ship Underwriter. Lead company of 900 Saints to Florence, Nebraska by train. Lead his 3rd wagon company of 38 wagons and 620 people to Salt Lake City. |
|
| 1862 | Married 11th wife Francenia Tuttle. | |
| 1864 | Divorced from 4th wife Adeline Alexander. | |
| 1869 | The forerunner to the current Young Women organization was established. | |
| 1869-70 | Called to mission in the eastern states. | |
| 1873 | Sent to St. George, Utah to organize and serve as chairman of the United Order. Helped build the St. George temple. |
|
| 1874-81 | Served on the high council of the St. George stake. | |
| 1875 | The forerunner to the current Young Men organization was founded. Brigham Young Academy is established, Provo, Utah. (In 1903, the name was changed to Brigham Young University.) |
|
| 1877 | The St. George Utah Temple was dedicated. Brigham Young dies. |
|
| 1878 | The first meeting of the Primary was held. | |
| 1880 | John Taylor sustained as third President of the Church. The Pearl of Great Price is accepted as part of the scriptural canon. |
|
| 1881 | Sent to colonize Blake City (now Green River), Utah. | |
| 1882 | Moved to Salt Lake City, Utah. Appointed chaplain of the council of the Utah Legislature. |
|
| 1884 | Moved to Oxford, Idaho. Called as stake patriarch. |
Logan Utah Temple dedicated. |
| 1886 | Remarried 1st wife Abigail Jane Daley. | |
| 1888 | Manti Utah Temple dedicated. | |
| 1889 | Wilford Woodruff sustained as fourth President of the Church. | |
| 1890 | The “Manifesto” is sustained in general conference, ending the practice of plural marriage (found in Doctrine and Covenants, Official Declaration 1). | |
| 1893 | Died at Oxford, Idaho, June 19. | The Salt Lake Temple is dedicated after 40 years of construction. |
| 1896 | Utah becomes a state. |
Original Documents Timeline
June 8, 2007
From family researcher Laura Anderson:
I have a great interest in accuracy and so was excited when I located a site where there were over 200 original documents that had Milo Andrus as a name on it. I started with that information and have added things out of LDS.org and other sources. These are original source documents about Milo.
If you locate an original source document about Milo that is not on this page please send it to paffanatic10@yahoo.com and we will eventually post it here.
(Some documents may be in an abi word 2.2 format, this is the word processor I use, it is open source so free to download.)
Have fun with this!
“One of the Hardest Burdens that I Have Been Called to Bear”: The Story of Milo’s Second Crossing of the Plains (1855)
May 26, 2007
Milo led three wagon trains of pioneers across the plains to Salt Lake City in 1850, 1855, and 1861. What follows is an account of his second crossing in 1855. This account is gathered from journals and other historical records.
This was the last of the Perpetual Emigration Fund companies for 1855. Milo Andrus received the assignment to captain the train the night before the party was to leave Mormon Grove (just outside Atchison, Kansas Territory) and had just 12 hours to get himself ready. Two things made this last-minute appointment necessary: the season was very late and no one else with plains experience was available. Thus Andrus and his two assistants had an enormous responsibility. The company had few oxen, and many of these were small and unbroken, so they had to be trained en route. Part of the company left Mormon Grove on August 1; the rest left on the 3rd. Inexperienced drivers had to shuttle some wagons forward, then return with the teams to bring up others. One emigrant recalled that early on it took four men to drive one yoke of oxen. There were 461 individuals in the company when it set out.
No sooner had the company left Mormon Grove than the U. S. Marshall for Kansas Territory arrived with an order to “attach” the train for debts attributed to Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, and Jedediah M. Grant (at that time the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). Captain Andrus convinced the marshall that the train belonged not to the First Presidency, but to the Perpetual Emigration Fund Company. The lawman then tried to take Andrus back to Atchison to “get sufficient good security from amongst the Citizens there to secure the debt & cost,” but the Captain refused to leave his train. At this critical moment, the marshall “was taken with the bellyache and wanted a little brandy,” which Captain Andrus quickly supplied. He then fed the marshall supper and drove him in a buggy to his lodgings. Nevertheless, the marshall ordered Andrus and three other brethren to appear at the October 3rd term of the U.S. court in Leavenworth, and when he got back to Mormon Grove, he attached four or five Mormon-owned wagons, “a few lame cattle,” and some calves.
The Andrus train overtook Captain Allred’s emigrant company on Big Grasshopper Creek; later, both parties camped on Walnut Creek. Tired of leapfrogging his wagons, Captain Andrus decided to leave a Perpetual Emigration Company thrashing machine in the care of a local farmer (Captain Allred left five wagons with this same man at that time). Andrus now set a pace that was “as hurried as he could urge, push, and cajole, the group over the plains, up and down the mountains, through the canyons, across the rivers, and through the miles of the thick dust of the trails.” At some point, the train encountered a large herd of buffalo that “ran across our train, while in motion, and knocked down and [bore] off the horn of one of the oxen.” The Indians that the train met were friendly. At Big Blue River the train used the ferry because the river was running high. Near there the party camped just a few rods west of Captain Harper’s company. It was here that Andrus “nailed our colors to the top of the mast.” From Little Blue River, the Captain wrote: “Two wagon axles, one wheel, and several tongues broke which has caused us some delay; but notwithstanding . . . I . . . am doing all in my power to push on this camp . . . as I am deeply anxious for their welfare.” Two elderly emigrants had died. The train followed the Platte River and must have crossed the South Platte. It stopped at Ash Hollow, where Andrus learned that General William S. Harney and about 700 soldiers had “found a party of the Sioux Indians about eight miles from Ash Hollow and a battle had ensued on the 3rd of October. The General sent over word to Andrus on the 5th keep an advanced guard stating at the same time that the best information that they could get was that they had killed one hundred and twenty Indians, taken about fifty-eight prisoners, mostly women; had four soldiers killed and five wounded. He stated, also, they were going to lay out a fort a small distance below Ash Hollow after which they calculated to proceed to Fort Laramie, and from thence to wherever they could find any of the Sioux Nation.”
“A few miles from where they were encamped there were about forty Indians that were in the battle near Ash Hollow. Nothing came of this. The company passed Court House Rock, Chimney Rock, and Scotts Bluff. By September 13 the company was 12 miles below Fort Laramie. It then passed Laramie Peak, Independence Rock, and Devil’s Gate. At the latter place, on September 28, the emigrants met brethren from the Salt Lake Valley. On October 4 the train crossed Devil’s Backbone, “a most awful mounting [sic] of stone.” That night “came on a dredfull [sic] storm of snow.” On the 6th the train crossed South Pass. Near Chimney Rock 20 oxen and 2 cows died “from something the[y] had eat or drank [sic].” Upon reaching the Sweetwater River many more cattle died. There was little feed for the animals; in all, the Andrus train “lost 11 animals above 50%.”
At the fifth crossing of the Sweetwater it snowed three inches. The train
crossed the Green River on October 11 and arrived at Fort Bridger four days later. From the fort, Captain Andrus sent word to Salt Lake that he needed fresh animals and that “many of the men, women and children were almost barefoot and very destitute of clothing.” By the time the train reached the Weber River, the emigrants were running out of provisions. They crossed Big Mountain and Little Mountain. A delegation of dignitaries from Salt Lake met them at the mouth of Emigration Canyon. Here the emigrants formed a circle around the welcoming party and “sang a piece of poetry composed for the occasion”:
“Come Zion’s sons and daughters,
Who seek this blest abode,
That over plains and waters
Have come to serve our God;
Our gratitude demanding,
Let praise to Him abound,
That we are favored, standing
On consecrated ground.
Oh! This we’ve long expected,
For this we’ve prayed and sighed,
Like Israel’s sons neglected,
By Babel’s limpid tide;
And now befo
. . . When on the way to Zion,
And every heart was hope,
The means we’d to rely on
Was fastly closing up;
But as the darken’d shadows
Declared a brighter sun,
We felt a power to glad us,
Th’ Apostles would make known.
Tho’ elements did battle,
As late the season pass’d,
And weakly seemed our cattle,
We’re in the “hive” at last:
No power should withstand us,
Declared Erastus Snow;
And Captain Milo Andrus
Thank God, has brought us thro’.
We come not here for pleasures
That carnal minds can prize,
Nor seek aurif’rous treasures
Of th’ West to aggrandize;
We come with spirits fervent
To fully serve the Lord;
To hear His holy servant,
And live by every word.
And as the arms of Moses
Required bearing up,
So every soul proposes
To be our Brigham’s prop:
Tho’ late and last our carriage
Across the mountains’ brow,
We hope, like Jesus’ marriage,
There’s best wine even now.”
The Andrus train, with “upwards of 50 wagons,” arrived in Salt Lake City October 24th. Because of the lateness of the season, Captain Andrus had pushed his people hard. Undoubtedly, this is why one of the travelers described him as “a terrible bully and tyrant.” However, another emigrant wrote, “It was not an altogether unpleasant trip.” For his part, Captain Andrus had been ill during much of the journey. He said that leading this 1855 train was “one of the hardest burthens that I have been called to bear in the midst of Israel during my sojourn in mortality” this from a man who had been with Zion’s Camp, who had been in Nauvoo at the time of the Martyrdom, who had “helped watch the city by night, and worked on the temple by day,” who had gone to Carthage at the time of the indictment of the murderers of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, who had experienced the persecutions leading up to the abandonment of Nauvoo, and who had participated in the Latter-day Saint exodus westward, a man who, himself, had led several other emigrant companies.
_________________________________________________________________________________
Learn More
This account is reprinted with permission from the LDS Church’s website Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel. On this website you will find more information including a list of all the people who traveled in this company as well as related journals and historical documents.
The Lord Has Opened The Way Before Us: The Story of Milo’s First Crossing of the Plains (1850)
May 6, 2007
Milo led three wagon trains of pioneers across the plains to Salt Lake City in 1850, 1855, and 1861. What follows is an account of his first crossing in 1850. This account is gathered from journals and other historical records.
In early 1850, Church leaders advised emigrants that pioneer companies would travel on a new route on the south side of the Platte River. By taking this new route they avoided some river crossings on the north side that had proved dangerous because of high water in the previous year. They also expected to receive additional military protection on a new army supply road. This was a factor in their decision because they wanted to avoid conflict with the Plains Indians, who had been agitated during the 1849 California gold rush. The 200-mile long army road connected "Old Fort Kearny," located 50 miles below Kanesville on the Missouri River, to "New Fort Kearny" following the south side of the Platte River to the west.
Milo Debates Plural Marriage with Joseph Smith III
March 31, 2007
In the later years of his life while living at Oxford, Idaho, Milo had a public exchange of views with Joseph Smith III, the oldest son of the Prophet Joseph Smith, on the subject of plural marriage. Joseph III repudiated the practice and denied that his father had anything to do with establishing it.
Milo’s Wives: Quick Facts
March 1, 2007
Click the link below for a comparison chart of Milo’s wives—where they were born, how old they were when they married Milo, how many children and grandchildren they had, etc.
Milo’s Wives – Quick Facts (PDF)
.
Milo Andrus’ 1893 Obituary
February 21, 2007
Elder Henry B. Eyring: “On behalf of my family, I thank you.”
February 14, 2007
Tricia Seguine (Francenia Lucy Tuttle) lives in Charlotte, North Carolina. In February 2007 she attended an LDS Church stake conference where Elder Henry B. Eyring spoke. In his talk he mentioned Milo Andrus. Read on to hear what happened after his talk.
Timeline of Milo Andrus’ Life
December 29, 2006
A timeline of the significant events in Milo’s life.
Brief Biography of Milo Andrus (1814-1893)
December 29, 2006
Milo Andrus touched the lives of many people in significant ways and in a variety of activities—as a missionary, colonizer, leader of emigrant companies, church official, military leader, organizer of economic enterprises, patriarch, and as a father, friend and neighbor.
His life’s activities spanned the North American continent and the Atlantic ocean several times, in the days of ox carts and sailing vessels. He viewed life from the vantage point of the dusty American plains to London’s Westminister Abbey. In the course of events, he experienced both the practical and the sublime. By the strength of his body he conquered the raw, untamed wilderness; and by the energy of his soul he penetrated the veil of God’s presence to behold the visible manifestations of God’s glory. He was a leader of men who was addressed appropriately as Elder, as Bishop, as President, as Captain, as Major, as Chaplain, as Patriarch, and as Father.
Why I Joined the Mormon Church
December 29, 2006
Milo was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1833. In 1860, while serving a mission in England, Milo wrote an article for the church newspaper the Millennial Star entitled “Twenty-eight Years Experience Among the Latter-day Saints.” What follows is an excerpt from that article.
____________________________________________________________________________
[I] was residing in Huron County, Ohio, when the world was startled by the strange news that the Lord had, by the ministration of a holy angel, revealed that there was a record of the earlier inhabitants of the vast continent of America about to be brought forth for the benefit of mankind. I was then living on the banks of the Vermillion river, where extensive forts had once had once been filled with human beings, whose only history known to man were their mouldering mounds of bones and their ancient fortifications, which now lie in ruins.
How often, O how often have I, whilst digging out their bones and examining their skulls, wished that they would speak and let me know their origin! In consequence of my peculiar feelings, I was prepared to the subject of the new discovery.
Early in the spring of 1832, I had the privilege of seeing a man that was acquainted with Joseph Smith, who, it was said, had taken from the earth the plates that contained the history of that people whose history I was so anxious to know. He had with him the Book of Mormon, which he said had been translated from the plates by Joseph Smith. He also informed me that Joseph Smith had organized a Church, called the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and that he was an Elder of that Church.
From him I obtained the Book of Mormon. On reading this history, I found, to my great satisfaction and joy, that which I had so long desired. But then a question of much importance was before me, which was this: If the history was true, then was the doctrinal part also true? This was indeed a question of importance. How to demonstrate it I did not know.
I had read in the New Testament Scriptures, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not.” I also found that Christ had said that if any one would obey his doctrine, he should know for himself. Consequently, after comparing the doctrinal part of the Book of Mormon with the doctrines of the New Testament Scriptures, I found that they very well harmonized. It is true that in consequence of the many councils and synods that have given the Jewish Scriptures their own rendering, they have left out some of the plain and precious parts; but in the main they agree. Finding this out did not give me the knowledge that I desired. The question was, How shall I get the much-desired information?
“Obey” was the word of the Elder, who said that he was authorized to declare that I should get the “Holy Spirit” by doing so, by which I could testify of the truth as well as himself. But I was afraid of being led astray or deceived. However, after much prayer and fasting, I went into the water with as humble a heart as I has power to possess, asking the Lord to help me in the days of my much anxiety to know the truth; and, to my unspeakable joy, the Lord in his infinite goodness gave me that assurance, which has remained with me from that day to this; for which I feel truly thankful.
Milo Andrus and the Founding of Mormon Grove
December 28, 2006
In 1852, Brigham Young, the current prophet of the Mormon Church, instructed new converts to “gather, without delay, to Zion.” 1 They came in waves of hundreds. As they immigrated, various outfitting posts were selected each year where the incoming immigrants could assemble.
In late August 1854 Brigham Young directed Milo Andrus, the stake president in St. Louis, to find a place on the western frontier where the European immigrants could safely and temporarily settle before continuing on to Utah. He wanted a place that was beyond St. Louis, closer to the frontier. He specifically named Kansas as a possible settlement and outfitting location. In his opinion, the immigrants would have a better opportunity “to labor for cattle, provisions, etc. in these healthier localities.” In previous years many shiploads of immigrants had been “unhealthily crowded into rooms at St. Louis,” 2 where they found it difficult to obtain short-term work.
On February 17, 1855, Milo Andrus and others left St. Louis bound for the western Missouri River frontier. They were to find an outfitting location that could be used for the spring emigration. On March 20th, Milo reported that he had secured land in a hickory grove approximately four miles west of Atchison, Kansas, that could be used for a staging ground. 3 It was on a bend of the Missouri River 12-miles farther west than any other outfitting point, and had good grazing land and water. He named it Mormon Grove. Atchison is 50 miles north of present-day Kansas City.
Atchison, Kansas [Click to enlarge.]
In May 1855 Milo returned to Mormon Grove with 550 head of oxen and cows that the Mormons would use in crossing the plains. When emigrants started arriving they divided according to nationality and then by overland company. The camps were organized with rows of tents framing streets and alleys between them. These camps were also organized into branches that were presided over by church leaders.
As companies with several hundred people in each were readied, they moved out onto the prairies to begin their march westward. Milo himself led a wagon company of 461 people across the plains to Salt Lake City. In total, 2,030 emigrants, 337 wagons, 2,433 oxen, 319 cows, 86 horses, and 8 mules had journeyed from Mormon Grove . 4 Mormon Grove was used as a staging ground until July 1855.
The next year, in 1856, the outfitting post moved from Mormon Grove to Iowa City, Iowa. It was selected because Saints could travel there by rail, making the journey faster and more economical.
In 1986 a historic marker was erected at Mormon Grove. The interpretive sign is headlined: “Mormon Grove: The City That Disappeared.”
____________________________________________________________________________
1 "Seventh General Epistle of the Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints," Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star 14 (July 17, 1852): 325.
2 Brigham Young to Milo Andrus, August 31,1854, Brigham Young Office Files (LDS Church Archives, transcript).
3 "The Point of Outfit for Our Spring Emigration," St. Louis Luminary, March 31,1855, 74.
4 "Report," St. Louis Luminary, August 18, 1855, 155.
____________________________________________________________________________
Extracted From
"On the Outskirts of Atchison: The Imprint of Latter-day Saint Transmigration at Mormon Grove." An article by BYU professors Fred E. Woods and Melvin L. Bashore.
Barrett, Ivan J. (1992) Trumpeter of God: Fascinating True Stories of the Great Missionary and Colonizer, Milo Andrus. American Fork, Utah: Covenant Communications, Inc.
Timeline of Milo Andrus’ Life (including the births of all 57 children)
December 25, 2006
(The mother’s initials follow each child’s name. Scroll to the bottom for a key to the initials.)
|
Total Children: 57 (41 living to adulthood)
______________________________________________________________________
KEY — Milo’s Wives
1. Abigail Daley (AD)
2. Sarah Miles (SM)
3. Lucy Loomis (LL)
4. Adeline Alexander (AA)
5. Mary Webster (MW)
6. Elizabeth Brooks (EB)
7. Ann Brooks (AB)
8. Jane Munday (JM)
9. Margaret Boyce (MB)
10. Emma Covert (EC)
11. Francenia Tuttle (FT)
______________________________________________________________________
More
Timeline of Milo Andrus’ Life (including major events in LDS Church history)
“I Am Willing to Do My Duty in All Things”: Milo’s 1st Report from St. Louis (July 1854)
December 22, 2006
Milo Andrus served as the president of the St. Louis stake from 1854 to 1855 at a time when St. Louis was an outfitting center for Mormon migration to the West. In a letter to President Brigham Young, written on July 15, 1854, Milo gave a report of his activities. The original letter resides in the LDS Church’s Historical Department.
On Pioneer Missionaries by D. Calvin Andrus
December 22, 2006
D. Calvin Andrus (Jane Munday) is the great-great grandson of Milo Andrus. He delivered this address in 1997 while serving as the LDS bishop of the Sterling Park Ward in Sterling, Virginia.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Introduction
This last week we have been engaged in Stake Youth Missionary Week. Last Sunday the Young Women and Young Men went to a kick-off fireside at the Hamilton Building. While there we heard the inspirational testimony of a young man from the Leesburg Ward who was baptized about a year ago, and is now waiting for his own mission call. We also heard the story of a young woman who told of the conversions of her aunt and grandfather as the result of good examples. Finally, President Hamula, of the Washington, D.C. South Mission, told of the rescue of the Martin Handcart company, and likened the rescue of their temporal lives, to the modern day rescue of the spiritual lives of our friends and family.
On Friday evening the Young Women and Young Men of our ward participated in the rescue of our forebears though baptisms for the dead at the Temple. A number of your children had prepared for this event through genealogical research and the submission of names to the temple. At one point, Bro. Jason Mikels and I were confirming Peter Hale as a proxy for a deceased brother while Bro. Randy Hymas was recording. The room was full of other young men reverently waiting their turn. During this confirmation the Spirit bore strong witness to me that this is the Church of Jesus Christ, that these are the saving ordinances, and that these young men were doing the work of the Lord. A little later in the evening, the series of baptisms with our young men as proxies was interrupted for two patrons with three family file names. The temple workers brought out a chair so that the confirmations could be done right after the patrons came out of the water. The temple worker asked me to be the voice in two of the confirmations. At this time the Spirit was very strong, witnessing to me that these deceased people are very real and they take these ordinances very seriously.
Last night our young people went to a reader’s theater at the Hamilton Chapel. They were to invite a non-member or less active member to attend with them. Some of the young people in our ward did just that. The reader’s theater was the story of a young woman named Elizabeth who joined the church in England and migrated to Nauvoo by herself. There she met her husband, David. While crossing the plains, David left with the Mormon Battalion and Elizabeth crossed the plains by herself. David and Elizabeth were reunited in Utah. (And lived happily ever after!)
After the reader’s theater, refreshments were provided in the cultural hall, which was ringed with a number of displays by the full-time missionaries and the Stake YM and YW. Later, those 14 years and older went to the Stake Dance and had a good time.
Pioneer Missionaries
The reader’s theater reminded me of a different couple that had lived in Nauvoo. Their names were Milo and Abigail. Their story begins before Nauvoo, however. Milo and Abigail joined the church near Kirtland in 1832. They were married one year later–he was 19 and she was 18. Over the next 3 years, Milo served two missions and went on the Zion’s Camp trek from Ohio to Missouri and back. In 1836, Abigail had one child and one on the way. The three and 1/2 of them attended the dedicatory services of the Kirtland Temple. The couple also received the limited temple ordinances that were given at Kirtland. Milo, now aged 22, was called to be the branch president over the Florence, Ohio branch with the specific instructions to move the whole branch to Missouri.
The Florence branch left Ohio in the fall of 1836 and went as far as Terre Haute, Indiana where they wintered over. They reached Far West in the spring of 1837, early enough to put in the crops. While in Far West, Milo and Abigail attended the ceremony when the corner stone of the Far West Temple was laid. However, less than a year after arriving in Far West, in February 1838, Milo and Abigail and their now three children were forced to flee. They spent a very cold month in a wagon, reaching Quincy, Illinois in March 1838. Milo and Abigail moved to Nauvoo and built a comfortable house on the corner of Mulholland and Horner streets. They lost a child in the malaria epidemic that swept the city in the summer of 1839.
In the fall of 1839, just after the Apostles left for their famous mission to England, Milo–now aged 25–was called on a mission to Canada, from which he returned in the spring of 1840. In 1841 the couple attended the ceremony when the corner stone of the Nauvoo Temple was laid. Thereafter, Milo donated every tenth day to work on the Temple. By 1843, Milo–now aged 29–had served another short mission to Indiana and was called to be Bishop of the Nauvoo 5th Ward, which included the Temple site. The ward was three blocks wide and 32 blocks long. He and Abigail had two more children.
In 1844, Milo was part of the group of Elders sent out to advocate the Presidential Candidacy of Joseph Smith, and was in southern Ohio when the Prophet was killed. At the October General Conference of 1844, Milo was called into the First Quorum of the Seventy. One year later, in the fall of 1845, Milo and Abigail received their endowments in the Nauvoo temple and spent 6 weeks as temple workers there.
In the spring of 1846, Abigail was 31 and Milo was 32. They and their four living children left Nauvoo and drove a wagon to Winter Quarters. Milo and Abigail were chosen to stay behind and farm in Winter Quarters during the summer of 1847 so there would be food for the Saints who were on their way to the Salt Lake Valley. They were told that they could join the main body of the Saints going to the valley in the Spring of 1848. Just before they were to leave for the valley, Milo received another mission call–this time to England. Abigail, at age 33, took the now 5 children across the plains by herself in the Heber C. Kimball wagon train. She would not see her husband for two years.
When Milo’s mission was finished he was assigned to lead a group of Saints from England to Salt Lake. The trip took them from Liverpool to New Orleans, up the Mississippi and then across the plains. He lead 55 wagons and 206 people to Salt Lake.
Once in Salt Lake the pioneering was not over. Milo settled south of Salt Lake. Four years later, in 1854 he was then sent back to St. Louis, Missouri to be the Stake President. The next year they shut down the St. Louis Stake and Milo brought the whole stake of 880 people across the plains, arriving in October of 1855 at age 41. In 1856, members of the Martin Handcart company found their way into Milo’s home in Salt Lake. In 1859, Milo was sent back to England on another mission. When this mission was over, he led his third wagon train to Utah. This group of 337 people arrived in Utah in 1861.
After three crossings of the plains, Milo was sent to colonize St. George. (This just proves the old adage that "No good deed goes unpunished.") While in St. George, Milo helped build his third temple. After 10 years in St. George, at age 67, Milo was sent to colonize Emory County near the Green River. (And I thought I was too old to go camping.) After leaving Emory County, he settled in the Idaho part of Cache valley in 1884 at the at of 70. Milo finished out his days there as the Stake Patriarch.
Modern Day Pioneer Missionaries
So why do I tell this long story of my great, great, grandfather Andrus? Milo and Abigail were pioneers before and after they crossed the plains–not just while they crossed the plains. And their pioneering was mixed with missionary work. And both their pioneering and missionary-ing were mixed with temple work. This is the kind of experience the young men and women of our stake have had this week: missionary-ing, temple-ing, and pioneering. They all go together.
We are pioneers. Nobody before us has lived in a world like ours. It is our assignment to cross the plains of the last days to the valley of the Millennium. And this pioneering is inextricably intertwined with missionary work and temple work. May we be as faithful as those who went before us.
___________________________________________________________________________
Related Links
D. Calvin Andrus’ Website
Dr. Calvin Andrus is the Chief Technology Officer of the Center for Mission Innovation at the Central Intelligence Agency. Over a 23 year career, he has served as a regional political analyst, IT program manager, and enterprise applications architect. He awarded the Intelligence Community’s 2004 Galileo Award for his paper, "The Wiki and the Blog: Toward a Complex Adaptive Intelligence Community." He received a bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University and a Ph.D. from the State Universtiy of New York at Stony Brook. His general area of interest lies at the conjunction of intelligence analysis, innovation, and information technology. His current work focuses on the Intelligence applications of virtual world technology. He is married with 5 children.
“From the Time I First Heard Elder Andrus Speak…”: The Conversion of Henry Eyring
December 22, 2006
Henry Eyring (1835-1902) was born in Coburg, Germany. He was living in St. Louis, Missouri when he first heard the preaching of Milo Andrus, a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He later joined the church in March 1855.
The following account of Henry Eyring’s conversion and of his subsequent activities is taken from "The Journal of Henry Eyring, 1835-1902," pages 18-21.
He is the ancestor of noted chemist Henry Eyring, Camilla Eyring Kimball (wife of LDS Church President Spencer W. Kimball), and Henry B. Eyring (currently an LDS Church apostle).
____________________________________________________________________________
The summer of 1854 was very dry and hot, the river at Cincinnati becoming so low that people could wade across it without hardly wetting their knees. While in St. Louis I read at different. times articles about the Mormons, representing them to be a sot of thieves, cut-throats and the very off-scourings from the earth. Hearing that several companies of that people had come to St. Louis, I apprehended danger to the public safety and felt it hardly safe in the streets after night. On the morning of December lOth, 1854 I happened to hear that the Mormons held meetings in a chapel cor. of 4th Street and Washington Av. Feeling a curiosity to see some of these desperate characters I went to their meeting on the evening of the same day. I arrived there rather early and discovering a bench near the door I concluded to locate myself there, thinking if anything serious should happen I could readily make my escape to the street. After occupying that bench for a while and watching the people who were now coming in gradually I discovered that they were a friendly, sociable people who certainly did not have the appearance of cut-throats. Upon this I took courage and actually ventured to seat myself in the gallery.
Time for meeting having arrived the choir sang, "Who are those arrayed in white brighter than the noon-day sun?" Having been used to the slow solemn church music of Germany, I was rather unfavorably impressed with the lively tune sung by the choir and imagined to discover something fanatical in the performance.
Singing over, Elder Milo Andrus arose and opened by prayer. Here was another stunter; his lively quick manner of speech was so much in contrast with the slow, measured tone of orthodox Christian ministers that I was almost shocked at his seeming lack of piety. After singing again by the choir Elder Andrus addressed the congregation in an attractive and fluent manner. On Monday Morning Dec. llth I went as usual to my place of business. I mentioned to my fellow Clerk Hopkins, that I had been to a Mormon meeting and found it quite attractive. Win. Brown, our porter, standing by, felt pleased at my favorable mention of the Mormons and finally acknowledged that he himself was a member of the Church.
I told him I was pleased to hear it, as I wanted some further information about that people. In the afternoon he handed me a Voice of Warning by Elder P. P. Pratt, which I read through on Monday night and returned to Bro. Brown on Tuesday morning. He asked me how I liked the book. I told him there were many interesting things in it, but as to believing in angel’s visits or visions I could not do that.
I will here say that for some years previous to that time I had discarded all belief in revealed religion, had no connection with any church, but believed in the necessity of virtue, morality and honesty. Just prior to my hearing the true gospel, I had become to some extent dissatisfied with my infidel notions and I used to reflect like this: "When I was a zealous Protestant, I prayed and went to meeting and had an inward peace and joy which I measurably lost after becoming an infidel, and although I could not possibly return to my former Christian convictions, yet I felt a something lacking which infidelity could not possibly furnish me.
I was in that condition when I heard the truth and I fully believe that Providence so led me as to hear it at the right time, when my mind was susceptible to good impressions.
From the time I first heard Elder Andrus speak until now I have always attended the meeting of the Latter-day Saints, and the instances are very rare indeed, when I failed to go to meeting, it being at the same time my duty to do so.
I name this in my history that my children may imitate my example and never neglect this very important duty of assembling with the Saints.
“The Saints Are Rejoicing And Bearing Testimony”: Milo’s 2nd Report from St. Louis (October 1854)
December 22, 2006
Milo Andrus served as the president of the St. Louis stake from 1854 to 1855 at a time when St. Louis was an outfitting center for Mormon migration to the West. In a letter written in St. Louis, October 20, 1854, Milo gave the Deseret News a report of his journey east and of his activities in St. Louis and the surrounding area. His letter was published in January 4, 1855.
Andrus Half Way House Selected for Pioneer Trails State Park
December 22, 2006
While Milo was serving his second mission in England (1859-1861) he directed his family to build a hotel in Jordan Bottoms where he had filed for 160 acres of land. This area was also called Dry Creek, and is now part of Sandy, Utah.
The article reprinted below originally appeard in The Pioneer, the official publication of the National Society of the Sons of the Utah Pioneers. The article was was written by Russell Stocking and appeared in the July-August 1979 issue. The hotel was moved to Utah’s This is the Place State Park in 1981.
Laura Anderson: How Accurate is Milo’s Autobiography?
December 22, 2006
Family Researcher Laura Anderson: I feel it important to put Milo’s autobiography into historical context, as there are numerous points that are likely the way he remembered them, but not historically verifiable. He would have been about 60 at the writing, with no records to go from.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Milo Andrus, the author of this biography, is the son of Ruluf Andrus and Azuba Smith. My father is a native of Hartford, Connecticut, and my mother of Rutland, Vermont. [LA: Milo’s older brother and sister, Almon and Harriett, in an 1880 census say Ruluf was born in Vermont.] They shortly after marriage [LA: Ruluf and Azuba were married in about 1795.] moved to Essex County, [LA: In 1800 Ruluf is listed in Poultney, Vermont as "Rufus."] state of New York, where they resided until their ninth child was born–seven boys and three girls, namely: Oran, Almon, Carlo, Erasmus, Harwin, Milo and Milo 2nd. Erasmus, Harwin, and Milo 1st died in childhood, the dates of their deaths I cannot give in consequence of a fire that burnt up the records of my father’s family. The names of sisters were Sybil, Sarah, and Emily. My eldest brother, Oran, was born in 1797 [LA:10 Apr 1798]; Sybil was born in 1799 [LA: 23 Apr 1796]; Almon was born in 1801 [LA: 10 Apr 1800 in Poultney, Vermont.]; the dates of the others I cannot give.
The writer of the above, Milo 2nd, was born March 6th, 1814. When five years old, my parents moved to Dunkirk, state of New York, where they resided one and a half years. During that time there was a circumstance occurred, that seems to me to show the protecting hand of the Lord over me. I went to the shore of Lake Erie and got into a skiff on the shore and went to sleep, when the wind arose and took the skiff on the lake, and it was not seen until nearly out of sight. I was then picked up still sound asleep. I have always thought that the Angel of Peace then watched over me. [LA:The timing of this story is off, as the family moves to Brownhelm, Huron, Ohio (later called Henrietta) in the fall of 1817, which puts the 18 month time frame back to about April of 1816. This would make Milo just barely 2 when he moved to Dunkirk and 3-1/2 when he left. Perhaps the family visited Dunkirk when Milo was 5 years old.]
My parents then moved up the lake into the state of Ohio, in Huron County, township of Henrietta, [LA: Henrietta is not formed until 1827-8] where they had three daughters born, namely: Eveline Charlotte, born October 7th, 1817; Lucina, born 1819 [LA: According to the census and her family records she is born March 11, 1816, which would have been in the Dunkirk, New York era. If Milo’s date for her birth was correct she would be married and having children by age 14.]; Harriet, born 1821. At the writing of this the two eldest of my brothers are still alive and three of my youngest sisters. [LA: This puts the writing of the biography between Carlo’s death in 1870 and Oran’s death in 1874.] They have all rejected the gospel. [LA: I believe that others in the family may have joined the church and then rejected it.]
My mother died January 1st, 1832. My father died in the winter of 1848 [LA: 1849]. I shall now drop the history of the balance of the family, and give a few incidents of my own history.
After the death of my mother, I bought the balance of my time until I was twenty-one of my father, for which I paid him one hundred and fifty dollars. In the spring of 1832, I met an elder of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, though I should say, previous to this, that I had my mind much exercised about a future state, and had read the views of Alexander Campbell, and that being the nearest to the truths of the New Testament, I had been baptized by Elder Orson Hyde, [LA: We have records that the Baptist church of Henrietta with Squire Abbott at the head had united with the Campbellites in 1828.] then a minister of that section; but when I compared the scriptures with the teachings of the elder of The Church of Christ, I found that he had the truth; after trying for nearly one year, I yielded to baptism.
One month and nine days previous to my baptism, I was united in marriage to Abigail Jane Daley, whose father had been baptized into The Church of Christ about one year before. We were married February 21st, 1833, baptized April 12th, 1833. [LA: In fact according to county recrods the marriage was recorded on the 14 of Feb.] I was ordained an elder May 5th, 1833, under the hands of Joseph Wood. Started on my first mission in June, 1833, in company with Joseph Wood, traveled a distance of seventy miles preaching every day and baptized three. [LA: Joseph Wood was a church leader who later united with the RLDS Church.] We came to Kirtland where the Prophet Joseph Smith resided with his family. The quarterly conference that came off in a few days after our arrival, changed my traveling companion, and I was coupled with Ova Truman. Joseph Wood and his fellow laborer went to Philadelphia, and I with my new companion was sent to the southern part of the state of Ohio, to return in three months to the next quarterly conference. We were not very successful and baptized only two persons. After this conference, I was permitted to return home and preach among the branches until winter, when we had a call from the Prophet Joseph by his brother Hyrum to get ready and go with the company of elders to the state of Missouri, known as "Zion’s Camp." Our first daughter and first child was born November 15th, 1833. During the winter of 1833 and spring of 1834, we were instructed to labor and get all the money that we could, and to get good rifles, and make ready to start by the first of May, 1834. We accordingly started from Florence, Huron County, Ohio, on the 7th of May, 1834. These were from the Florence branch; Nelson Higgins, Hyrum Blackman, Asey Fields, and Milo Andrus. My brother-in-law, James Daley, went with us [Zion’s Camp] as far as Mansfield, Richland County, Ohio, where we met with the Prophet Joseph, his brother Hyrum and the rest of the camp from the East. Our leader was Elder Orson Hyde [LA: Orson Hyde’s cousin Rebbecca Hyde married an Ebenezer Andrews/Andrus of Milan about a mile from Ruluf’s hotel. I do not know of a connection yet, but it is interesting.].
There was one circumstance that occurred before we joined the main camp worthy of notice. As stated before, I had bought my time from my father, and had paid him the amount agreed upon, but still I was not twenty-one by ten months. On this account, and as he was so opposed to my going with the "Mormons," as he called them, he made an effort to stop me. As we had to pass his house on our way, [LA: The hotel (that we have a picture of on this site) is near Norwalk on the way from Florence. I believe this is the area that Milo is talking about.] we learned his intention to stop me at the county seat, Norwalk; and Brother Hyde had learned his plan, he went in and made inquiry about a road that we did not intend to travel, and then Brother Nelson Higgins and myself were directed to go around the city and take the road to Mansfield, [LA: Nelson Higgins is later in the First Quorum of the Seventy with Milo, and is tied into the Henrietta settlers by a tie to the Durands. Ruluf would have recognized him and gone looking for Milo.] and he and the sheriff thinking that we would move slow, did not want to overtake us until we had camped, accordingly father, sheriff and driver drank freely, [LA: Where were they drinking? Ruluf had a liquor license for his hotel in 1834. I believe the hotel in East Norwalk is where Orson Hyde found them and asked after the wrong road.] and when they started they took the road to Tiffin, that had been inquired after to mislead them, and they drove until long after dark, the team becoming tired they gave up the chase and heard of us the next morning forty miles on the road to Mansfield, and they felt as though they had been badly sold, and gave up and went home.
On the 11th of May, we joined the main [Zion’s] camp west of Mansfield, and on the 12th the camp was organized, and the law of consecration was for the first time presented and we shelled out to the last cent, and our money went into a commissary’s hands and our supplies were bought by him. I shall not try to name the particulars of this journey. We journeyed on causing considerable excitement, and receiving much good instructions from the Prophet Joseph.
After we got into the state of Missouri, or rather, before our company had crossed the Mississippi River, we went into the dense forest as a company, and there offered up to the Lord our fervent prayers, that He would spare our lives, and permit us to return to our families, and we felt that it would be so, and thanks be to the Lord not one of us were taken by the cholera that visited the camp that afternoon.
Two weeks after we landed on Fishing River, in Clay County, Missouri, where the revelation was given June 22, 1834 [D&C 105], that is recorded on page 345 in Book of Doctrine and Covenants [D&C 105]–New Edition of 1876. About this time the cholera made its appearance among us, as it had been predicted by the prophet. Thirteen of our good brethren were taken away by the dread monster. The camp broke up partly, and the Saints scattered around and the Lord turned away the scourge. After staying there three weeks, the Lord permitted us to return. We got back to our families the last of September, 1834, care-worn and much fatigued. I had the cholera on the way home, but the Lord healed me, and then we went on our way rejoicing.
The summer of 1835, I traveled in the state of New York with Nathan Baldwin, baptized several, and the following winter went to school in Kirtland, and in the spring of 1836, I was in Kirtland at the dedication of the temple and the endowment of the elders that the Lord had promised as a reward for their offerings. The blessings of the Lord were poured out abundantly. There is one thing that I would here relate, that was a great joy to me, and that was when the Holy Ghost was poured out on the elders, I saw fire descend and rest on the heads of the elders, and they spoke with tongues, and prophesied.
On our return to Kirtland from the mission in the East, I went to school in Kirtland, studied grammar, and then studied Hebrew under Professor [Joshua Seixas] of New York.
On going back to Florence, Ohio, I was chosen president of the Florence Branch, with instructions to move them to Missouri in the fall of 1836. We went as far as Terre Haute, Indiana, when being late and c
old, we put up for winter. Our eldest son, James, was a babe three months old, and we came near losing him to human appearance, but the hand of the Lord was in it. We raised up a branch of the Church in that place.
Early in the spring of 1837, we started for Missouri, and arrived in Caldwell County in time to put in a crop. In 1838, we were mobbed out of the county. We had one child born in Missouri, a girl, namely: Sarah Ann. We went to Illinois in the winter of 1838 and the next summer we lost our little girl born in Missouri.
In the fall, after I had the chills and fever for two months and not able to scarcely walk, I was sent on a mission to Canada, but owing to the Patriot War, we were not permitted to go to Canada, and I spent the winter preaching in the state of Ohio–returned home in the spring of 1840, and spent my time in laboring and preaching in the counties around Nauvoo until the spring of 1844. I was then sent to the state of Ohio with Elder John Loveless. We traveled in the south part of Ohio for two months, when we heard of the assassination of the Prophet Joseph and his brother Hyrum. We went home as quick as steam would take us, arrived in time to see their mortal remains, before they were interred. I then went to Carthage Jail, where they were murdered, and saw the floor stained with the best blood of the present generation. The people were all fleeing for fear of justice overtaking them. I called at Hamilton’s Hotel to see Elder John Taylor, who was wounded in the jail. Then went to Adams County, where my family had fled for safety. Found them well but much alarmed. [LA: We have always assumed that he meant his immediate family of Abigail and the children, but we now know that his uncle-in-law Uriah Hancock, and wife Polly (or Mary) Smith die in Adams County in 1850 and 1855 respectively. Many of the Hancock cousins live in Adams County for some years. See Hancock genealogy.]
After we had mourned the loss of our prophet and patriarch a few weeks, during which time I was chosen one of the Nauvoo police, I helped to watch the city by night and worked on the [Nauvoo] temple by day–got it so that the work of the endowments commenced in the fall of 1845 and winter of 1846. I spent six weeks of the time in the temple and was much blessed.
During the past four years, we had two more children born, namely: John D. Andrus and Millennium. After the death of the Prophet Joseph Smith, I was ordained one of the presidents of the 10th quorum of seventies. In the winter of 1846, my house, in the basement, was made into a wagon shop, and in the spring I started on our journey to the west. We overtook the main camp at Pisga, and from there went to Council Bluffs, where the government called on us for a battalion of 500 men to go to Mexico. After the battalion was started, I was sent forward with others to the number of one hundred and fifty wagons; went as far as the Pawnee Indian village, then went 150 miles to the northwest among the Ponca Indians. After staying there two months, we went back to Winter Quarters, stayed and farmed in that county in the year 1847, and in the spring of 1848, I was sent on a mission to England. Shortly before I left, Sarah Ann Miles was sealed to me, and she accompanied me to England.
We arrived in Liverpool the first of August, and on the 13th of August [1848] at a general conference, I was appointed president of the Liverpool Conference, which place I filled to the best of my ability until January, 1850, when I was released to come home. During my stay in that conference there were three new branches added and between two and three hundred added to the Church by baptism. I baptized thirty in one evening. The Lord made manifest His power in healing the sick and in blessing the Church with signs following the believers. Milo, Junior, was born in Liverpool, September 30th, 1848.
We left Liverpool in January, 1850, on board of the ship, Argo. Jeter Clinton presided over the company, we were eight weeks and three days on the ship from Liverpool to New Orleans; some sickness and two deaths on the passage. I was sick with the cholera, my wife had poor health all the way, Milo, Jr. was sick; we thought that he would die, but the blessings of the Lord brought us through. We came up the Mississippi River on board the steamer "Uncle Sam", Captain Van Dosen, master. We landed at Kanesville early in May; was organized in the first company of Saints early in June. I was chosen captain over 55 wagons. We had a good time on the plains, arrived in Salt Lake City on last day of August, having but one death on the journey, that of a stranger going to California. I baptized 15 persons on the journey. James Leithhead and Richard Hopkins were clerks of the company. A more full account of the mission to England is recorded in the 10th quorum of seventies record.
After one week’s rest, I went to work in the 19th ward and built me a house; and about the 1st of January, 1851, my wife, Jane, and I parted. In June, 1851, I married the Widow Tuttle, and the November following my wife, Sarah Ann Miles died. I married Adaline Alexander in March, 1852. In December, 1852, I married Mary Ann Webster.
In the spring of 1854, I was sent to Saint Louis to preside over the stake there. Stayed there one year, rebaptized and confirmed about 800 saints. Was sent up the river to buy cattle for the emigration of 1855, and in the fall was appointed by E. Snow and D. Spencer to bring the last company of 63 wagons home; arrived in Salt Lake City in October, and in December same year, married Elizabeth and Ann Brooks and Jane Munday. In February, 1857, married Margaret Boyce and in February, 1858, was married to Emma Covert. Was acting bishop of Big Cottonwood ward in 1858, and in the fall of 1859 was appointed to another mission to England. The first six months I was appointed to travel in the conferences; the last nine months I presided over the Birmingham District, embracing Birmingham, Warwickshire, and Staffordshire Conferences.
In the summer of 1861, I started for home with 700 saints on board the ship "Underwriter." I was appointed president of the company, had a good passage to New York; no deaths. I was then appointed to take charge of 900 to Florence, Nebraska, on the cars. Stayed at Florence five weeks, and was then appointed captain to take a company of 66 wagons across the plains, and arrived in Salt Lake City in September, 1861. In the fall of 1870, I married Francena Tuttle. In the fall of 1870, I was again sent to the states on a mission. Came back in the spring of 1871. Since that time I have been in Utah on the home missionary list, and to work with my hands for a living. At this date, January 9th, 1875, I am living in St. George, Utah.
The Autobiography of Milo Andrus
December 21, 2006
Milo wrote his autobiography in about 1873 while living in St. George, Utah. He lived another 20 years, dying in 1893.
Milo Refutes Gladden Bishop
December 21, 2006
After the death of the Prophet Joseph Smith, several apostates endeavored to lead members away from the main body of the Church. One of these was Gladden Bishop. As President of the St. Louis Stake, Milo Andrus found it necessary to repudiate the claims of Bishop. The St. Louis Luminary for February 17, 1855, carried the following discourse dealing with apostate movements and the law of tithing.
