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The Life of Cornelius P. Lott
By Gary Ford
2005
ii
Contents
Page
Prologue……………………………………………………………………………………. iii
Chapter
1. Birth, Beginnings, and Background………………………………………………… 1
2. Joining with the Latter-day Saints…………………………………………………. 4
3. General Lott and the Missouri Conflict……………………………………………. 8
4. Superintendent of Joseph Smith’s Nauvoo Farm………………………………….. 14
5. Camp Leader on the Iowa Trail……………………………………………………. 28
6. High Councilor at the Missouri River……………………………………………… 30
7. Captain Lott and the Trek West……………………………………………………. 41
8. Senator Lott in the Territory of Deseret…………………………………………… 49
Timeline of the Life of Cornelius P. Lott………………………………………………….. 54
Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………….. 58
iii
Prologue
I wrote a thesis for Brigham Young University on Cornelius P. Lott and his role in caring
for the livestock at Winter Quarters and the importance of that work. Every time a person would
ask me what I was writing on, I had to explain who Cornelius P. Lott was. Unfortunately, the
most well known story of Lott has to do with his conflict with Mary Fielding Smith while
crossing the plains, which does not put him into a very favorable light. The account came from
Joseph F. Smith, remembering back to the trek when he was nine-years-old. When I was telling a
descendant of Joseph F. Smith about Cornelius P. Lott and my thesis, she smiled and said, “Oh
yes, he’s considered a villain in my family!”
In spite of that reputation, here was a man who worked closely with and was loved by
Joseph Smith. He later developed a close relationship with Brigham Young as well. He very
much gave his life for the gospel of Jesus Christ. This work is not to debate Lott’s character, but
rather to tell the story and allow the reader to come to know the man. I am one of Lott’s
descendants and hope that many others of his descendants will be able to read this come to
appreciate the life of our great-great-great grandfather.
Sincerely,
Gary Stan Ford
1
Chapter 1
Birth, Beginnings, and Background
The Lott Family
A native of New York City, Cornelius Peter Lott was born on September 22, 1798, and
baptized five days later in the Reformed Dutch Church as an only child to Pieter Lott and Mary
Jane Smiley Lott.1 Cornelius’s daughter wrote, “His parents taught him to be fair and honest in
his dealings with others, and he in turn taught his own children the same principles when they
came along.” She further explained that he “was taught to work with his hands, and taught also
that hard work helps to build a strong character. He learned at an early age to be obedient.”2
Cornelius P. Lott came from a religious family that actively supported the Reformed
Dutch Church. His grandfather, Cornelius Lott, born in New Jersey in 1738, set an example of
religiosity and patriotism for his posterity. In 1766, grandfather Lott joined part of seventy heads
of families of the Dutch settlers in the Millstone Valley of New Jersey to petition for the building
of a new church. Records indicate that in December of that year, said Lott donated ten pounds
and ten shillings for the building itself and an additional fifteen pounds to the “Consistory of the
Church.” Further, grandfather Lott continued to support the church for the next number of years
and was listed as one of the trustees for the farm where the Millstone Church had been built in
1774 and had also donated fifteen pounds for the last payment on the parsonage on March 6,
1777.3
In addition to his contributions to the Dutch Reformed Church, said Lott supported the
cause of freedom for the American colonies as he served as First Lieutenant during the
Revolutionary War from 1779 to1783. After the war, Lieutenant Lott became part of a
committee to solicit help in order to rebuild the Millstone Church that had been ruined during
battle.4 The man died in Millstone, New Jersey, in 1816, after a life of service toward church,
country, and fellow men. His legacy certainly had an impact on the life of his family, including
his grandson, who received his grandfather’s name.
Cornelius Lott the Farmer
Raised in New York and Pennsylvania, Cornelius P. Lott “learned to love animals and
took great pride in them. He also loved the soil and liked to farm.”5 According to his daughter,
farming was “the kind of work he loved and was best suited for.”6 As far as his physical
1 See A. V. Phillips, The Lott Family in America (Trenton, New Jersey: Traver’s Book Store, 1942), 36.
2 Alzina Lucinda Lott Willes, “Personal History of Cornelius P. Lott,” TMs (Lehi, Utah: by Martha Joella Lott
Baum, [before 1910]), 1. 3 See Phillips, The Lott Family in America, 32.
4 See Phillips, The Lott Family in America, 33.
5 Willes, “Personal History of Cornelius P. Lott,” 1. All citations appear as found in the original text.
6 Willes, “Personal History of Cornelius P. Lott,” 11.
2
appearance as a young man, “He had black eyes and black hair.”7 Joseph Smith III, the Prophet
Joseph Smith’s son, would later describe Cornelius as “a very strong man of sturdy build and
medium height” and that he had “a fine, very high-pitched voice. . .”8
Figure 1 Sketch of Cornelius P. Lott
Marriage and the Beginning of a Family
On April 27, 1823, Cornelius, age 24, married the seventeen-year-old Permelia Darrow at
Bridgewater, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. Their daughter, Alzina, described Permelia as
“quiet, well mannered and well educated, and young. She came from a very prominent family,
being the daughter of Joseph Darrow and Mary Ward Darrow, and the granddaughter of General
Ward, 1728-1800, and Captain Darrow. They were both of Revolutionary War fame.”9 Children
blessed their home: Melissa was born in 1824 at Tuckhannock, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania;
John Smiley in 1826 at Springville in Luzerne County; Mary Elizabeth in 1827 at Susquehanna,
Susquehanna, Pennsylvania; Almira Henrietta in 1829 at Bridgewater in Susquehanna County;
Permelia Jane in 1832 at Bridgewater; Alzina Lucinda in 1834 at Tuckhannock; and Harriet
Amanda in 1836 at Tuckhannock.10
During those years, the Lotts “were desperately poor and
7 “History of Cornelius Peter Lott,” TMs, submitted 26 June 2001, Daughters of the Utah Pioneers, Salt Lake City.
8 Joseph Smith III, The Memoirs of President Joseph Smith III (1832-1932), ed. Richard P. Howard (Independence,
Missouri: Herald Publishing House, 1979), 22. 9 Willes, “Personal History of Cornelius P. Lott,” 1-2. George Darrow fought in “the Battle of Bemington Heights,
Stillwater and Saratoga, and in the campaign of Quebec” (Rhea Vance Lott, Descendants of Cornelius Peter Lott,
1798-1972 (Providence, Utah: by the author, 1972), 72). 10
See Lott, Descendants of Cornelius Peter Lott, 24, 29, 37, 42, 50, and 60. Also see Willes, “Personal History of
Cornelius P. Lott,” 2. The United States 1830 Census shows that Cornelius and his family lived in Bridgewater,
Susquehanna, Pennsylvania, with a household of six (see United States 1830 Census: Bridgewater Township,
Susquehanna Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, p. 79, available from Ancestry.com; Internet).
3
constantly on the move.”11
This compelled Cornelius to take employment wherever he was
able.12
11
Alzina Lucinda Lott Willes, “Personal History of Alzina Lucinda Lott Willes,” TMs (Lehi, Utah: by Martha Joella
Lott Baum, [before 1910]), 1. 12
See Alzina Lucinda Lott Willes, “Personal History of Permelia Darrow Lott,” TMs (Lehi, Utah: by Martha Joella
Lott Baum, [before 1910]), 1.
4
Chapter 2
Joining with the Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints In 1834 the Lott family was baptized and became members of The Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints.13
Alzina noted that the restored church was what her parents “had been
searching for” and both of them joined at the same time. She wrote, “They gained a strong
testimony that never left them.”14
Cornelius and Permelia were the only two of their respective
families to unite with the Church. After being baptized, Cornelius and his family moved to
Kirtland, Ohio. This they did “to be near the body of the Saints and obey council.”15
Disfellowshipped
In the beginnings of 1836, the Kirtland High Council disfellowshipped Cornelius with
three others for having insulted Cyrus Smalling of the First Quorum of the Seventy and for
speaking wrongfully against the Church. The notice read, “We the high council of Kirtland,
hereby inform Jacob Shibley, Daniel Brownwell, Peter Brownwell and Cornelius P. Lott, that we
have withdrawn our fellowship from them for disobeying the commandments of the Lord, until
they make satisfaction. JOHN SMITH, Ch’n, CYRUS SMALLING, Clerk.”16
A few months later, only
four days before the Kirtland Temple was to be dedicated, Cornelius acknowledged his faults
and petitioned for reinstatement. His statement reads in the following manner:
Agreeable to the decision of the High Council of Kirtland, held March 8th, 1836: wherein Cornelius P. Lott
and others were put on suspense; this is to all whom it may concern, that I confess the decision of the
13
There is a discrepancy regarding when the Lott family joined the Church. One family record asserted, “Cornelius
and Permelia became interested in the Mormon Church in 1836 and they were baptized on December 13, 1836”
(Ferril A. Losee, Jana K. Hardman, and Lyman A. Losee, The Losee Family History: Ancestors and Descendants of
Lyman Peter Losee and Mary Ann Peterson [Provo, Utah: n.p., 2000], 17). Alzina, on the other hand, claimed that
her family had joining the Church in 1837 (See Willes, “Personal History of Alzina Lucinda Lott Willes,” 1).
However, the Messenger and Advocate made mention of Cornelius as a Church member in Kirtland as early as
February 1836 (See Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate, ed. Oliver Cowdery [Kirtland, Ohio: Oliver
Cowdery & Co., 1836], 2:271). Others have asserted that the Lotts joined the Church as early as 1833 (See Lyndon
Cook and Milton Backman, eds., Kirtland Elders’ Quorum Records [Provo, Utah: Grandin Book Co., 1985],
biographical appendix; Dale Hatch, Hatch Family Pioneer Stories & History, 2 vols. [Idaho Falls, Idaho: Snake
River Valley Publisher, 2002], 2:124; Todd Compton, In Sacred Loneliness: The Plural Wives of Joseph Smith [Salt
Lake City: Signature Books, 1997], 596; and Richard Neitzel Holzapfel and T. Jeffery Cottle, Old Mormon Nauvoo
and Southeastern Iowa: Historic Photographs and Guide [Santa Ana, California: Fieldbrook Productions, 1991],
176). Hosea Stout, who joined the Church in 1838, noted that Cornelius Lott had “been a member of this church
nearly from its rise” (Hosea Stout, On the Mormon Frontier: The Diary of Hosea Stout 1844-1861, ed. Juanita
Brooks [Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1964], 373). Permelia Lott’s obituary in 1882 is the best source
concerning the Lotts’ baptism, stating that she “joined the Church with her husband in 1834” (“Died,” Deseret News
[Salt Lake City], January 18, 1882, p. 816). 14
Willes, “Personal History of Permelia Darrow Lott,” 1. 15
Willes, “Personal History of Permelia Darrow Lott,” 1. 16
See Messenger and Advocate, 2:271. Also see Messenger and Advocate, 2:336.
5
Council to be just and righteous; and that we were in a wrong spirit and were led to say many things that
were wrong concerning brother Cyrus Smalling and the church, for which I ask the forgiveness of those
who, in so doing, I have injured; and I will endeavor to live hereafter by every word that proceeds from the
mouth of the Lord.
CORNELIUS P. LOTT.
Kirtland, May 23d, 1836.17
His repentance must have been considered sincere, as he received his elder’s
license shortly thereafter on August 6, 1836.18
In addition, the following year, he attended an
Elders Quorum meeting in the Kirtland Temple where Church leaders anointed him and others
with oil on March 31, 1837.19
Patriarchal Blessing
Some time during the Kirtland period of Church history, Lott received a patriarchal
blessing under the hands of Joseph Smith, Sr., who then served as the Church patriarch. The
blessing was as follows:
Brother Lott in the name of Jesus Christ I lay my hands on thy head I ask my heavenly father to shew thee
the corruption of thy heart, of the world, and of the branch of the Church where thou does reside. Thou
shalt have power to defend the cause of truth and nothing shall stay thee. Thou shalt see the Savior if
faithful, and angels shall minister unto thee. And I seal upon thee the fathers blessing even long life, and
eternal life. Thou shalt receive the blessings of the Priesthood in all its fullness, also thou shalt bless thy
family and teach them righteousness. Thou shalt stand when the heavens shall rend and thou shalt have the
riches of the Earth, and of eternity. This for thee and for thy posterity to all generations. Thou art sealed up
unto eternal life even so, Amen.20
The Kirtland Safety Society Anti-Banking Company
Towards the end of 1836, the Prophet Joseph Smith began to organize the Kirtland Safety
Society Anti-Banking Company and shortly thereafter invited the Latter-day Saints to invest
stock in the enterprise.21
On January 2, 1837, Cornelius complied with the Prophet’s invitation
17
Messenger and Advocate, 2:336. 18
Cook and Backman, eds., Kirtland Elders’ Quorum Records, biographical appendix. Also see Messenger and
Advocate, 382. In the early days of the Church, leaders gave licenses to all priesthood holders and missionaries so
they could verify their authority among those whom they served in their travels (see Donald Q. Cannon, “Licensing
in the Early Church,” BYU Studies 22 (Fall 1982): 96-106. 19
Cook and Backman, eds., Kirtland Elders’ Quorum Records, 28. Concerning the anointing with oil, two modern
scholars explained, “In January 1836, two months before the dedication ceremonies, Joseph Smith introduced
among the leaders an ordinance of washing and anointing with oil, which symbolized the spirituality and cleanliness
they desired” (James B. Allen and Glen M. Leonard, The Story of the Latter-day Saints, 2d ed. [Salt Lake City:
Deseret Book, 1992], 109). 20
Joseph Smith, Sr., Blessing of Cornelius P. Lott who was born in the city of New York, A.D. 1798, (vol. 2, p.
85), Historical Department Archives, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City. 21
See The History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 7 vols., ed. B.H. Roberts (Salt Lake City:
Deseret Book, 1980), 2:473. Joseph Smith and other leaders of the Church organized the Kirtland Safety Society
Anti-Banking Company in Kirtland, Ohio, in a time when the Church faced financial hardship. Unsuccessful in
obtaining a bank charter from the state of Ohio, Church leaders established a joint stock association, appointing the
Prophet as treasurer, to fill the purpose of banking in Kirtland. Through possible acts of embezzlement from one of
the tellers, Warren Parrish, coupled with a nation-wide financial crash that occurred in 1837, hitting Ohio especially
hard, the Kirtland Safety Society failed. The failure caused a great deal of bitter feelings against Joseph Smith, both
6
and became a member of said society.22
Alzina explained her father’s motivation for being
involved in public affairs, saying that he was “always ready and willing to do what he could to
help build a better community and help protect the interests of the Saints.”23
Lott pledged to
invest six shares of stock at fifty dollars each, making a total of three hundred dollars. However,
he only paid a fraction of that amount, with two dollars on January 5, 1837, and fifty cents on
March 10, 1837.24
Cornelius was part of the two-thirds of the members of the Kirtland Safety Society that
were present at the special meeting held on January 2, 1837. On the occasion Sidney Rigdon was
called to the chair and Warren Parrish became the secretary. Rigdon explained that the object of
the meeting “was – 1st, to annul the old constitution’ which was adopted by the society, on the
second day of November, 1836; which was, on motion by the unanimous voice of the meeting,
annulled. 2nd
, to adopt articles of agreement, by which the ‘Kirtland Safety Society’ is to be
governed.”25
The Kirtland Apostasy of 1837
Though 1837 proved to be a year of strife and apostasy in Kirtland, in great part because
of the Panic of 1837 and the demise of the Kirtland Safety Society. Nothing indicates that
Cornelius wavered in his dedication to Joseph Smith during that time. Due to the persecutions,
the Prophet and other Church leaders fled to Missouri by January of 1838. The Lott family also
had to suffer through the difficult times. Alzina Lott Willes commented, “We were actually
driven from our homes by the mobs who were in themselves obsessed by hatred for us. . . . We
only had a few things in our possession when my family loaded our wagons. These possessions
consisted of bedding, clothing and food. The rest of our possessions had to be left as plunder to
the mobs who were to take possession of our homes.”26
Alzina reported that from Kirtland, the Lotts made the journey to Missouri, where they
settled near Haun’s Mill.27
She asserted that her family left Ohio with the Kirtland Camp.28
from in and out of the Church (see Scott H. Partridge, “The Failure of the Kirtland Safety Society,” BYU Studies 12
[Summer 1972]: 437-454). 22
See Messenger and Advocate, 3:475-477. 23
Willes, “Personal History of Cornelius P. Lott,” 2. 24
See Stock ledger and index [microform], 1837-1838, 213, from the “Mormon Collection” of the Chicago
Historical Society, 1837-1838, available at L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Brigham Young University, Provo,
Utah. Also during this time, Lott made some purchases at the Newel K. Whitney Store. On February 17, 1837, he
bought shirt buttons for 21¢, nails for 13¢, and snuff for 6¢. A couple of weeks later, on March 7, he bought15 ¾
yards of calico for $3.30 and paid $3.50 to someone named Cheney. Four days after, on March 11, he paid an order
of $1.25 for Cheney (Newel K. Whitney Store ledger). 25
History of the Church, 2:470. 26
Willes, “Personal History of Cornelius P. Lott,” 2-3. 27
See Willes, “Personal History of Cornelius P. Lott,” 4. Also see Compton, In Sacred Loneliness, 596. Note:
Alzina asserted that her family left Ohio with the Kirtland Camp (See “Personal History of Cornelius P. Lott,” 4).
The Kirtland Camp consisted of a group of over 500 Saints, many of which were the poor, frail, or elderly, who
departed from Kirtland on July 6, 1838, and arrived at Adam-ondi-Ahman in Missouri on October 4, 1838, under the
direction of the seven presidents of the Seventy. The purpose of the Camp was to aid those who need the assistance
to make the long trek from Ohio to Missouri (See Gordon Orville Hill, “A History of Kirtland Camp: Its Initial
Purpose and Notable Accomplishments” [Masters thesis, Brigham Young University, 1975], 131-132). However,
Alzina, who would have only been four years old at the time, may have been in error since the Lott family does not
appear on the list of those who subscribed to be part of the camp (See History of the Church, 3:91-93). Furthermore,
Cornelius himself could not have been part of the Kirtland Camp since journal entries began to make mention of him
7
in Missouri as early as July 1838, the time that the Kirtland Camp had just begun to set off (See Elders' Journal of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Vol. 1, Number 4, Far West, Missouri, August 1838, 60. L. Tom
Perry Special Collections, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah. Also see Elijah Averett, “The Averett
Narrative,” Transcription of the Averett Family ledger book, TMs, comp. Murray Averett (1972), L. Tom Perry
Special Collections, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah). 28
See Willes, “Personal History of Cornelius P. Lott,” 4.
8
Chapter 3
General Lott and the Missouri Conflict
The Far West Temple Shortly after Joseph Smith’s arrival to Far West, Missouri, on April 26, 1838, the Lord
charged the Latter-day Saints, “Therefore I command you to build a house unto me, for the
gathering together of my saints, that they may worship me. And let there be a beginning of this
work, and a foundation, and preparatory work, this following summer; And let the beginning be
made on the fourth day of July next; and from that time forth let my people labor diligently to
build a house unto my name;…” (Doctrine and Covenants 115:8-10). Cornelius Lott responded
to the Lord’s call to build the temple. Elijah Averett noted, “On July 4, 1838 the foundation of
the temple was laid by Brother Joseph Smith and his Council. Elisha Averett, my brother,
Demick Huntington, and Cornelius Lot quarried rock for the temple, Elisha, being chief mason
laying the foundation that day.”1
The Latter-day Saints put on an Independence Day celebration in Far West on July 4,
1838. As part of the festivities, they held a procession, which led to the temple lot where they
performed a ceremony for laying the cornerstones for the Far West Temple. Among the officers
at the celebration were Joseph Smith, President of the day; Hyrum Smith, Vice President; Sidney
Ridgon, Orator; Reynolds Cahoon, Marshal of the day; Colonel George Hinkle and Major
Jefferson Hunt, Assistant Marshals; George W. Robinson, Colonel for the day; Philo Dibble,
Lieutenant Colonel; Seymour Brunson, Major; Reed Peck, as Adjutant; Jared Carter, Sampson
Avard, and Cornelius P. Lott, Generals.2 Of that occasion, Joseph Smith wrote, “The day was
spent in celebrating the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America, and also
by the Saints making a ‘Declaration of Independence’ from all mobs and persecutions which
have been inflicted upon them, time after time, until they could bear it no longer; having been
driven by ruthless mobs and enemies of truth from their homes, and having had their property
confiscated, their lives exposed, and their all jeopardized by such barbarous conduct.”3
The War Against Mobocracy
In spite of Joseph Smith’s “Declaration of Independence” against mobocracy, the events
of August 6, 1838 proved to worsen the Latter-day Saints’ circumstances in the state of Missouri.
That day, being election day in Gallatin, Daviess county, turned sour as “Mormon” settlers were
refused their rights to vote. One Missourian, being drunk, commenced to bully the Latter-day
Saints, resulting in a riot. Rumors of the incident from both the Latter-day Saints and the
1 Averett, “The Averett Narrative,” 1.
2 See Elders' Journal of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Vol. 1, Number 4, Far West, Missouri,
August 1838, 60. L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah. 3 History of The Church, 3:41.
9
Missourians caused the rift between the two to escalate dramatically. In honor of the men who
fought for their rights in Gallatin, Joseph Smith exclaimed, “Blessed be the memory of those few
brethren who contended so strenuously for their constitutional rights and religious freedom,
against such an overwhelming force of desperadoes!”4
On August 8, two days after the Gallatin incident, between nine and ten o’clock in the
morning, Adam Black, a justice of the peace in Daviess county, recalled that Cornelius Lott
joined Colonel Lyman Wight with about 17 others, to call on him with the request that he sign an
agreement to protect the Latter-day Saints’ rights. According to Black, he declined to sign the
agreement and tried to persuade Wight to go through the proper court system, but that Wight
refused because the government would not defend the Latter-day Saints, as had been the case
when they were driven from their homes in Jackson County. Black claimed that Wight made a
threat that the “Mormons” would take matters into their own hands. As the men mounted their
horses, he said to them, “Gentlemen, I don't want you to go off and say that I refused to issue you
civil process.” In response to his petition, “Cornelius Lott turned on his horse, and one or two of
the others saying, ‘You black son of a _______, don't you impeach us with lying.’” Black replied
that “he was not impeaching them with lying, but only requesting them not to lie,” to which Lott
responded, “you mob, you black son of a _______, shut your head, or I'll cut it off, or take your
head.” Finally, Black ordered them to leave, telling them he did not feel he should be insulted in
that way on his own property.5
The Latter-day Saints, of course, have their own account of the incident to which Adam
Black referred. They recorded that a committee of five or six men, including Sampson Avard,
Lyman Wight, and Cornelius Lott, were appointed to call upon Black in order to promote peace.
Upon visiting Black, the men found him to be unfriendly towards them and “refused to give
them any satisfaction. This, tended to confirm the report, that he was head of a mob – it created
some uneasiness.”6
The Latter-day Saint account indicates that there was quite a large company of their men
that were near Adam Black’s house throughout that day of August 8 because of a spring where
they could drink and also give water to their horses.7 In this company were about 154 men,
including Cornelius Lott.8 Not long after the first visit, Sampson Avard, “and a number of others,
went into his house and again interrogated him respecting the mob, and some angry words
passed between them.” At this point, Black requested that he speak with Joseph Smith.9
In his own account, Black contended that the men surrounded his house and blocked up
the doors. He reported that Sampson Avard approached him threatening to “cut him down, or
4 History of The Church, 3:59.
5 See Document containing the correspondence, orders, &c. in relation to the disturbances with the Mormons and
the evidence given before the Hon. Austin A. King, Judge of the Fifth Judicial Circuit of the State of Missouri, at the
courthouse in Richmond, in a criminal court of inquiry, begun November 12, 1838, on the trial of Joseph Smith, Jr.,
and others for high treason and other crimes against the state (Fayette, Missouri: Boon’s Lick Democrat, 1841),
161. L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah. 6 An Appeal to the American People: Being an Account of the Persecutions of the Church of Latter Day Saints; and
of the Barbarities Inflicted on them by the Inhabitants of the State of Missouri, 2d ed., (Cincinnati: Shepard &
Stearns, 1840), 19. 7 See An Appeal to the American People, 19.
8 See Journal History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, August 28, 1838, Historical Department
Archives, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City. 9 See An Appeal to the American People, 20.
10
shoot him down” if he did not sign the affidavit. Shortly thereafter, Black met Joseph Smith and
“a considerable argument ensued between them about the propriety of witness signing the
obligation.” Black still refused to sign and called on the “Mormons” to be Christians and after
some discussion, they agreed to allow him to write his own affidavit to support the United States
Constitution, stating that he was not affiliated with a mob. Some of the men insisted that he add
that he would not molest the Latter-day Saints any further inasmuch that they would not molest
him. Once he signed it, they appeared to be satisfied.10
Joseph Smith’s account of the transaction greatly differs. He recorded that they “politely
requested him to sign an agreement, but being jealous, he would not sign it, but said he would
write one himself to our satisfaction and sign it, which he did,…”11
According to the Prophet,
Black then wrote a document stating that he would uphold the Constitution and would not molest
the Latter-day Saints so long as they would not molest him.12
Twenty days later, Adam Black signed another document before William Dryden, also a
justice of the peace in Daviess county, which accused the “Mormons” of carrying weapons and
threatening his life if he didn’t cooperate.13
Concerning Black’s statement of August 28, Joseph
Smith observed that the document showed Black “in his true light – a detestable, unprincipled
mobocrat and perjured man.”14
Throughout the next couple of months, antipathy between the Missourians and the Latter-
day Saints escalated beyond threats and into warfare. The Latter-day Saints maintained that they
were simply protecting their freedoms.15
Benjamin F. Johnson recalled, “Patriotic spirit never
enthused man than that which animated our leaders in this just defense of our rights.”16
Certainly
influenced by the Church leaders and possibly moved to action in remembrance of his
grandfather’s participation in the Revolutionary War, Cornelius P. Lott played an active role in
the Latter-day Saints’ cause of defense against the Missouri mobs. Hosea Stout recalled that Lott
“was commander of the Horse in Far-West at the time of the surrender in which corps I
served.”17
At a quarterly conference on October 6, 1838, Lott volunteered to serve a mission in
Kentucky along with James Carroll, James Galliher, Luman A. Shurtliff, James Dana, Ahaz
Cook, Isaac Decker, and Alpheus Gifford. President Thomas B. Marsh instructed them “to go in
the spirit of meekness, and preach repentance.”18
Yet, due to the conflict with the Missourians,
the men were unable to serve the mission at that time.19
In fact, later that month, Cornelius Lott
and his family were present during the tragic massacre at Haun’s Mill that occurred on October
10
See Document containing the correspondence, orders, &c, 161-162. 11
History of the Church, 3:59. 12
See History of the Church, 3:59-60. 13
See History of the Church, 3:64-65. 14
Journal History, August 28, 1838. Also see History of the Church, 3:64-65. 15
See Parley P. Pratt, Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt, revised and enhanced edition, ed. Scot Facer Proctor and
Maurine Jensen Proctor (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2000), 217-218. 16
Benjamin F. Johnson, My Life’s Review: Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin Johnson (Provo, Utah: Grandin
Book Company, 1997), 33. 17
Stout, On the Mormon Frontier, 373. 18
History of the Church, 3:153-155. 19
See Luman Andros Shurtliff, Biographical Sketch of the Life of Luman Andros Shurtliff (Provo, Utah: Brigham
Young University, 1956), 38.
11
30, 1838. Alzina Lott, only four years old at the time, later recorded of the event, “Our parents
played down the occurrance when we were young.”20
Benjamin F. Johnson, reported that shortly after the tragedy at Haun’s Mill, Cornelius
Lott led a company of about twenty men on horseback, of which Johnson was part, to the home
of one Taylor on the Grand River, who supposedly held arms and ammunition for anti-Mormon
mobs. The Taylors denied the accusation, but were compelled to allow the men to search their
place. Lott’s company informed them that if they found no weapons, they would leave the place
in peace, but if any were located, they would burn them out. Unable to find the weaponry within
the houses and barns, Lott ordered his men to search the cornfields, wherein they indeed found
the arms and ammunition. The Latter-day Saint band, though allowing the residents to quickly
take from their home what they could carry, then plundered and burned the Taylor’s house.
Benjamin Johnson noted, “And here I might say there was almost a trial of my faith in my pity
for our enemies, even those who were plotting our destruction. . . . My sympathies were drawn
towards the women & children, but I would in no degree let them deter me from my duty.”21
Not long after the incident, Benjamin Johnson was arrested and incarcerated. When taken
before the justice of the peace, who happened to be Adam Black, Johnson was pressed to
disclose the name of the man who had led the company to the Taylor’s. Johnson replied that he
“had heard the man called Capt. Cornelius, it being Cornelius P. Lot.”22
In connection with all the events of the summer and autumn of 1838, Cornelius Lott,
along with Joseph Smith, Lyman Wight, and James Worthington, was indicted for larceny by the
Daviess Circuit Court in 1841.23
The record of March 18, 1841 stated, “And Cornelius P. Lott,
was indicted at the same term of our said court, for horse stealing; and Jos. Smith, jr., was
indicted at the same term of our said court for receiving stolen goods.”24
The Danites
Because of Lott’s participation in these events, questions arise as to his affiliation with
Sampson Avard and the Danite band.25
Reed Peck, once a Danite himself, testified of the
following:
A short time after Cowdrey and the Whitmers left Far West, (some time in June,) George W. Robertson and
Philo Dibble invited me to a Danite meeting. I went; and the only speaker was Dr. Avard. . . . The Danite
oath was administered to about 30 or 40 persons at this meeting. Philo Dibble told me who the head
officers of the Danite band were: that George W. Robertson was colonel, that he (Dibble) was lieutenant
20
Willes, “Personal History of Cornelius P. Lott,” 4. Haun’s Mill was a small mill on Shoal Creek, owned by a
Latter-day Saint named Jacob Haun. The small settlement consisted of some thirty families. On October 30, 1838,
between 200 and 250 Missouri men, under the command of Colonel Thomas Jennings, brutally bombarded the
settlement and murdered eighteen Latter-day Saints (See Allen and Leonard, The Story of the Latter-day Saints,
137). For a more comprehensive study on the subject, see Alma R. Blair, “The Haun’s Mill Massacre,” BYU Studies
13 (Fall 1972), 62-67. Also see Alexander L. Baugh, A Call to Arms: The 1838 Mormon Defense of Northern
Missouri (Provo, Utah: Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History: BYU Studies, 2000), 115-127. 21
Johnson, My Life’s Review, 29-30. 22
Johnson, My Life’s Review, 35. 23
Document containing the correspondence, orders, &c., 155. Note: In the original, Lott’s name was mistakenly
written as “Cornelius D. Lott.” 24
Document containing the correspondence, orders, &c., 157. 25
Todd Compton asserts that Lott “was actively involved in Danite activities during the troubles” (Compton, In
Sacred Loneliness, 597). Also see D. Michael Quinn, The Mormon Hierarchy: Origins of Power (Salt Lake City:
Signature Books, 1994), 524.
12
colonel, and Seymour Brunson major, and that I was chosen adjutant. After that, I had a talk with George
W. Robertson and Philo Dibble together, in which I was informed who the officers were, as above; and
further, that Jared Carter was captain general of the band, Cornelius P. Lott major general, and Sampson
Avard brigadier general. This is as I recollect it.26
Historians today vary in their views of the Danites. Some wrote, “It is probable, however,
that, except for those who followed Avard, the group was not as secret or insidious as some
critics have argued. Rather, it was formed to protect the Saints and to perform community
service for them.”27
In addition, many members of the Church at the time, including Joseph
Smith, believed that they should fight in defense of their families and religious freedom.28
A
contemporary of Lott named Luman Shurtliff explained how he viewed the Danites, saying,
“About this time I was invited to unite with a society called the Danite society. It was got up for
our personal defense, also for the protection of our families, property and religion. Signs and
pass words were given by which members could know the other wherever they met, night or
day.”29
Many scholars maintain a distinction between the Danites and the Mormon militia
troops.30
The History of the Church states, “And here let it be distinctly understood, that these
companies of tens and fifties got up by Avard, were altogether separate and distinct from those
companies of tens and fifties organized by the brethren for self defense, in case of an attack from
the mob.”31
The History of the Church further attests that Avard had formed “a secret combination by
which he might rise a mighty conqueror, at the expense and the overthrow of the Church.”32
Avard held secret meetings daily and bound his followers by oaths. He deceived many into
believing that leaders of the Church had given him authority as a spokesman to build the
kingdom of Jesus Christ on earth through violent acts of robbery and plunder. However, in one
such secret meeting, where Avard lectured on how to organize their attacks, the Danite officers
revolted against him saying, “such proceedings would be in open violation of the laws of our
country, would be robbing our fellow citizens of their rights, and are not according to the
language and doctrine of Christ, or of the Church of Latter-day Saints.”33
One historian argued
that Joseph Smith knew and at least tacitly approved of the Danite activities during the summer
of 1838, but that he was unaware of Avard’s secret teachings until after the fact.34
26
Document Showing the Testimony Given Before the Judge of the Fifth Judicial District of the State of Missouri, on
the Trial of Joseph Smith, Jr., and others, for High Treason and Other Crimes Against that State. (Washington, D.
C.: U. S. Government Printing Office, 1841), 17. Note: Peck identified one of the participants as George W.
Robertson. This is undoubtedly a mistake, since other testimonials of the same document identified the man as
George W. Robinson. 27
Allen and Leonard, The Story of the Latter-day Saints, 130-131. 28
See Allen and Leonard, The Story of the Latter-day Saints, 132. Also see History of the Church, 3:67-68. 29
Shurtliff, Biographical Sketch of the Life of Luman Andros Shurtliff, 33. 30
See Baugh, A Call to Arms, 41; Stephen C. LeSueur, The 1838 Mormon War In Missouri [Columbia, Missouri:
University of Missouri Press, 1987], 125-125; and Leland H. Gentry, “A History of the Latter-day Saints in
Northern Missouri from 1836-1839” (Ph.D. diss., Brigham Young University, 1964], 326-330). 31
History of the Church, 3:181-182. 32
History of the Church, 3:179. 33
History of the Church, 3:181. 34
See Baugh, A Call to Arms, 42-43.
13
The Church excommunicated Sampson Avard on March 17, 1839, under the direction of
Brigham Young in Quincy, Illinois, after the Latter-day Saints left Missouri.35
Lott must have
been among those who rejected Avard’s doctrine since he was not excommunicated, but rather
went on to follow the Church leaders to Illinois and serve as a loyal member of the Church.
The Latter-day Saints’ Evacuation from Missouri
Once the Prophet had been imprisoned and the Far West Latter-day Saints had fallen to
the Missourians, it became apparent to Brigham Young and the Quorum of the Twelve that they
would have to evacuate the state. Hence, on January 26, 1839, Young formed the Committee on
Removal in order to expedite the Latter-day Saints’ departure.36
Cornelius Lott had already left
four days earlier for Quincy, Illinois, in the company of Samuel Bent, Alvey Keller, Henry
Jacobs, and Jonathan Dunham.37
In addition to the difficulty of the times, Cornelius’s wife
Permelia delivered another son, Joseph Darrow Lott, on February 18, 1839.38
35
See History of the Church, 3:284. 36
See History of the Church, 3:249-250. 37
See George Henry Abbott Harris, Autobiography, 1854-1892, AMs, 352-354, L. Tom Perry Special Collections,
Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, available from http:// catalog.lib.byu.edu/
uhtbin/cgisirsi/cj3J8DidBu/103470006/9; Internet. 38
There is a discrepancy concerning the whereabouts of the Lott family in 1839. Most family group sheets record
that Joseph Darrow Lott was born in Kirtland, Ohio. In fact, one historian has asserted that the Lotts returned to
Kirtland, Ohio, after leaving Missouri, and then made their way to Nauvoo by 1842 (See Cook and Backman, eds.,
Kirtland Elders’ Quorum Record 1836-1841, Biographical Index). One family history even claimed, “The Lott
family was still in Kirtland in 1839 when their eighth child, Joseph Darrow Lott was born” (The Losee Family
History: Ancestors and Descendants of Lyman Peter Losee and Mary Ann Peterson, 17). The latter claim is quite
unlikely since plenty of the foregoing evidence supports the fact that Cornelius Lott lived in Missouri at least from
July 1838 to January 1839. In addition, Alzina made no mention of her family returning to Ohio for any period of
time.
14
Chapter 4
Superintendent of Joseph Smith’s Nauvoo Farm
The Lotts in Pike County, Illinois Little is recorded about the next four years of Cornelius’s life, except that after leaving
Missouri, he and his family settled in Pike County, Illinois.1
It is not clear exactly when Lott fulfilled the mission he had volunteered to serve in
October 1838, yet his daughter recorded that he did indeed serve a mission.2 Luman A. Shurtliff,
who was one of the other men that volunteered to serve in Kentucky later wrote, “I felt anxious
to fulfill my covenant with the Lord, that was to preach the Gospel as long as I lived. I had
volunteered in Far West but the war prevented one, so I knew it was my duty to go when I
could.”3 Shurtliff went on to serve a mission first to Ohio and eventually to Kentucky.
4 Since
Lott’s circumstances paralleled those of Shurtliff, it is probable that Cornelius went to preach the
gospel some time during 1839 to 1842.
One record indicates that, as an elder, Lott signed a certificate, along with Elder Eleazer
Miller, for a member of the Church named Richard Woolsey of the Vandalia Branch in Illinois
on October 12, 1840.5
Nauvoo
Upon moving to Nauvoo in 1842, Cornelius built a temporary shelter made of boards for
his family. Alzina later wrote that shortly after their arrival, “a terrible snow storm arose one
night and we awoke to find ourselves in a desperate plight. Our house was full of snow.
Everything was soaking wet, our bedding, our clothing, everything! Someone came and rescued
us, by sheltering us first in a wagon and then taking us to brother Joseph’s house in the city.” She
continued, “We stayed in his home for about two weeks eating at his table and enjoying his
hospitality. Words cannot express our gratitude to him for his kindness to us at such a crucial
time and the kindness shown also, by his wife, Emma and their children.”6 That same year, the
Lotts added yet another son to the family. Peter Lyman Lott was born November 2, 1842,
making a total of nine children for Cornelius and Permelia.
Superintendent of Joseph Smith’s Farm
The relationship between the Smiths and the Lotts continued as Cornelius became
employed as the superintendent of the Prophet’s farm just outside of Nauvoo about three miles.7
1 See Willes, “Personal History of Cornelius P. Lott,” 6 and Lott, Descendants of Cornelius Peter Lott, 7. Also see
United States 1840 Census: Pike County, Illinois, p. 46, available from Ancestry.com, Internet. 2 See Willes, “Personal History of Permelia Darrow Lott,” 2. Also see Lott, Descendants of Cornelius Peter Lott, 19.
3 Shurtliff, Biographical Sketch of the Life of Luman Andros Shurtliff, 38.
4 See Shurtliff, Biographical Sketch of the Life of Luman Andros Shurtliff, 62.
5 Available from http://www.wrightsonline.net/tng/ getperson.php?personID=I4860&tree=WS; Internet.
6 Willes, “Personal History of Alzina Lucinda Lott Willes,” 1.
7 See Willes, “Personal History of Alzina Lucinda Lott Willes,” 1.
15
The Lotts lived in an eight-room house that had four rooms on the main level and four upstairs.
They also had a “barn suitably equipped with all the essentials.”8 The home still stands today on
the north side of the road across from the old Nauvoo cemetery. Alzina reminisced, “The
homestead was an admiration of the Prophet and a special attraction to the many travelers
passing through. . .”9
Figure 2 Lott's home on Joseph Smith's farm outside of Nauvoo.
The Lotts enjoyed a close relationship with the Prophet Joseph Smith. Alzina related,
“Almost every day the Prophet came to visit the farm, resulting in constant association with our
family. We were always happy to see him and nearly always ran to meet him when we saw him
coming.” She further attested that “there was a warm neighborly feeling” between her family and
the Smiths.10
Of this relationship, John R. Murdock, who lived with the Lotts as a hired hand,
later reminisced that Joseph Smith “often brought his family to the farm, for his family and
Father Lott were on terms of great intimacy. We all passionately loved and revered our Prophet.
He used to relate to us many instances of his life.”11
Joseph Smith’s oldest living son, Joseph III, recollected these visits as well. He noted,
“This Cornelius P. Lott and family occupied the farm east of town until the break-up occurred. I
became well acquainted with them all – his older son John, the daughters Melissa, Mary, Martha,
and Alzina, and the little son Peter. It was always pleasant to visit their place where everything
was interesting to me and everybody busy and kind.”12
8 Willes, “Personal History of Cornelius P. Lott,” 6.
9 Willes, “Personal History of Cornelius P. Lott,” 6.
10 See Willes, “Personal History of Cornelius P. Lott,” 6.
11 Tanner, A Biographical Sketch of John Riggs Murdock, (Salt Lake City: Deseret News, 1909), 54-55.
12 Smith, The Memoirs of President Joseph Smith III, 22.
16
Concerning the effect that the Prophet’s visits had on her family, Alzina related, “The
Prophet visited our home often and our Testimony of the Gospel grew and became stronger after
each visit, and we became more humble.”13
In his own records, Joseph Smith mentioned making trips out to the farm frequently.
There he visited with the family, dined with them, and worked.14
Cornelius’s daughter elaborated
on such events saying, “The farm was a haven of rest and refuge for the Prophet so he spent as
much time there as he possibly could. He enjoyed doing hard, physical labor, working side by
side with my father, Cornelius, hoeing potatoes or any kind of work that needed to be done.” She
continued:
It was in the fields that Cornelius’ testimony was strengthened that Joseph was truly a man of God. The
two of them had many long talks together while they worked. Cornelius said many times that when a
person was with him, he would have to know that brother Joseph was a true Prophet of God because you
could feel his wonderful influence when you were with him, as he was so humble, yet so dynamic.
Cornelius, my father, gained a Testimony, from this association that never left him.15
In addition to the Prophet’s visits to the farm, a couple of the Lott girls found
employment working for Emma Smith. Mary Elizabeth lived with the Smith’s and took care of
their children.16
Lott’s oldest daughter, Melissa, also “chaperoned the smaller and younger
children of the Smiths and at times made her home with the Prophet’s wife, Emma.”17
Alzina also
had a unique relationship with Joseph Smith. She recounted how both she and the Prophet had a
“mutual deep interest in his beautiful horse named Charles, a coal black, magnificent animal that
was an especial favorite of his.” She explained that the Prophet would go out to the farm to ride
the horse. On occasion, when Charlie was out of hearing range as the Prophet called for him,
Alzina “would go to the pasture, catch him, put the bridle on him and mount him with the aid of
a fence. Then I would ride Old Charlie up to the house which seemed to please Brother Joseph
very much. As I was the only one besides himself who could catch the horse, it made him notice
me more that way than he would have done otherwise.”18
On one occasion, Joseph Smith, being pursued by a mob, came to the farm while
Permelia Lott was alone, and asked for her to hide him. She parted the straw in the mattress and
had the Prophet climb in, after which she covered him with straw and proceeded to make the bed
as normal. When the mob arrived and observed that only one bed was made, they inquired
whether that was the first bed she had made that morning. She replied, “Yes, do you want me to
take it apart so you can see it?” Embarrassed, they declined and went on to search the other
13
Willes, “Personal History of Cornelius P. Lott,” 7. 14
See Journal History, June 6, 1842, June 16, 1842, January 27, 1843; History of the Church 5:26, 58, 66, 82, 182,
307, 358, 369, 500, 511, 515, 523,525, 527; 6:35, 46, 356, 427; and The Papers of Joseph Smith, Volume 2: Journal,
1832-1842, ed. Dean C. Jessee (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1992), 389. 15
Willes, “Personal History of Cornelius P. Lott,” 7. 16
See Lott, Descendants of Cornelius Peter Lott, 38. Also see The Losee Family History: Ancestors and
Descendants of Lyman Peter Losee and Mary Ann Peterson, 3. 17
Willes, “Personal History of Cornelius P. Lott,”6. 18
Willes, “Personal History of Alzina Lucinda Lott Willes,” 1. Also see Lott, Descendants of Cornelius Peter Lott,
61.
17
rooms. After finding no one in the house, they gave up and left, whereupon the Prophet came
from his hiding place.19
The Nauvoo Legion
Joseph Smith III related that shortly after the organization of the Nauvoo Legion, his
father, the Prophet, declared that the first man to provide a pair of epaulets would be named the
captain of Joseph’s personal bodyguard. Joseph III recalled:
On the morning when the guard of sixty men reported for drill, this old man Lott came in and, in a very
quiet, unostentatious manner called Father to one side and showed him a pair of epaulets, which had been
his to wear in some company elsewhere…. He seemed rather shamefaced about them, declaring he did not
wish to be captain and was not qualified to act in that capacity. Father insisted that he should take the office
and retain it for a time at least. This he did, but did not wear the epaulets very long and kindly gave the
gaudy trifles to me.20
Besides supervising the Smith farm and being involved with the Nauvoo Legion,
Cornelius “showed great interest and helped physically with all the important projects in building
the City of Nauvoo. He labored faithfully in helping to erect their most beloved structure, the
Nauvoo Temple.”21
The Wrestle with the Prophet
Cornelius also had a rather jovial side to his personality that was demonstrated in an
amusing wrestling match with the Prophet. Joseph Smith III recounted how his father was once
in the Red Brick store in Nauvoo, after having beat a number of men in wrestling matches, when
Lott entered carrying a blacksnake whip. He recalled, “Hardly had he entered when Father said
in a jolly tone, ‘Here! I have thrown down pretty nearly everybody about the place except
Brother Lott, and I believe I can throw him down too.’ The old man stopped, swung his whip
under his left arm and said, in his high, piping voice, ‘Well, my boy, if you’ll take it catch-as-
catch-can you can’t throw old man Lott!’” After agreeing upon the match, the men went outside
where Joseph Smith and Cornelius Lott “ran together several times,” yet the Prophet was unable
to beat him. Joseph III noted that after a while, “He gave up his efforts to throw the sturdy old
fellow and much good-natured banter at his expense was indulged in as he gave up the struggle.
In the midst of the jibes I heard the old man pipe out again, ‘I told you, my boy, that you couldn’t
throw old man Lott!’”22
19
See Willes, “Personal History of Permelia Darrow Lott,” 1-2. Also see Lott, Descendants of Cornelius Peter Lott,
18. This event likely occurred sometime following the false accusation against Orrin Porter Rockwell and Joseph
Smith in attempting to murder Lilburn Boggs in 1842. In the late summer and early autumn of that year, Joseph
Smith went into hiding around the Nauvoo area (see Allen and Leonard, The Story of the Latter-day Saints, 194;
Church History in the Fulness of Times, 267; and History of the Church, 5:157). 20
Smith, The Memoirs of President Joseph Smith III, 22. 21
Willes, “Personal History of Cornelius P. Lott,” 6. 22
Smith, The Memoirs of President Joseph Smith III, 22. Lott frequented the Red Brick Store on various occasions.
On Saturday, June 25, 1842, he bought 27 lbs. of bacon for $1.35 and paid an order to William Parker of $3.25. On
Thursday, June 30, he purchased a steel spade for $1.50. On Saturday, July 2, he bought 36 yards of cotton fabric for
$5.76 and a set of knives and forks for $2.00 (Roger D. Launius and F. Mark McKiernan, Joseph Smith, Jr.’s Red
Brick Store [Macomb, Illinois: Western Illinois University, 1985], 53, 57, and 73).
18
Plural Marriage
Plural marriage was one of the doctrines that Joseph Smith carefully guarded.23
Joseph
Smith recorded an explanation of the doctrine on July 12, 1843, now found in Doctrine and
Covenants section 132. A couple of weeks prior to that, on June 29, 1843, Eliza R. Snow, an
alleged plural wife to Joseph Smith, penned, “Thurs. 29th
. Took a ride to br. Lot’s in company
with Mrs. Whitney, Mrs Durfee & Mrs. Holmes. Before we returned, it was announced that a
messenger had arrived bringing the joyful intelligence that the prophet would arrive in a few
hours.”24
Of this journal entry, one scholar asserted, “Most likely their destination was actually
Joseph Smith’s farm, where Cornelius Lott was foreman. That this is Eliza’s wedding
anniversary, and that her companions were all involved in plural marriage by this date, suggests
the chief topic of discussion.”25
Only three months after this meeting at the Lott home, on
September 20, 1843, Cornelius and Permelia Lott gave their nineteen-year-old daughter, Melissa,
to Joseph Smith as a plural wife, Hyrum Smith solemnizing the ceremony.26
Though the
Prophet’s record does not mention the event, it does confirm that both he and his brother Hyrum
visited the farm that day.27
After the marriage ceremony, Melissa “spent most of the following winter with his
family, going to school in the so-called brick store. The Prophet’s children, Joseph, Fredrick, and
Alexander, went to the same school under the immediate watchful care of Melissa.”28
Since the
Prophet was not practicing plural marriage openly, he exhibited some confidence in Cornelius to
23
James B. Allen and Glen M. Leonard noted, “Because of the controversial nature of this doctrine the Prophet
initially taught it to only a few of his closest associates. Historical evidence suggests that he understood the principle
as early as 1831 and may have begun taking plural wives as early as 1835. The first documented plural marriage
came in 1841 when Louisa Beaman was sealed to the Prophet by Joseph Bates Noble. Then, after the Twelve
returned from Great Britain, Joseph took them and other close associates aside individually and taught them the
doctrine.” They further explained, “Though several prominent men were sealed to additional wives, the practice
remained confidential. Nevertheless the widening circle of persons taken into the Prophet’s confidence and the
increasing numbers participating in the practice led to rumors and speculations” (Allen and Leonard, The Story of
the Latter-day Saints, 185-186). 24
Eliza R. Snow, Personal Writings of Eliza Roxcy Snow, ed. Maureen Ursenbach Beecher (Salt Lake City:
University of Utah Press, 1995), 78. 25
Snow, Personal Writings of Eliza Roxcy Snow, 272. Another scholar made a similar assertion saying that the four
women “rode to Cornelius Lott’s farm in the country, perhaps to counsel teenaged Melissa Lott on her upcoming
marriage to Joseph” (Compton, In Sacred Loneliness, 548). 26
See Willes, “Personal History of Cornelius P. Lott,” 6; Johnson, My Life’s Review, 86; and Smith, The Memoirs of
President Joseph Smith III, 245. Nearly sixteen years later, on 20 May 1869, Melissa Lott Willes signed an affidavit
before notary public James Jade with this statement: “Be it remembered that on this 20th
Day of May AC 1869
personally appeared before me James Jade a Notary Public in and for County of Salt Lake, Territory of Utah,
Melissa Lott Willes, who was by me sworn in due form of law and upon her oath, said that on the 20 day of
September AD 1843 at the City of Nauvoo, County of Hanncock, State of Illinois she was married and sealed to
Joseph Smith, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints by Hyrum Smith, Presiding Patriarch of
said church according to the laws of the same, regulating marriage, in the presence of Cornelius Peter Lott and
Permelia Lott” (As cited in Lott, Descendants of Cornelius Peter Lott, 27-28. Also see Joseph Fielding Smith, Jr.,
Blood Atonement and the Origin of Plural Marriage: A Discussion [Grantsville, Utah: Archive Publishers, 2000],
72). Furthermore, in the same year that Melissa signed the affidavit, Apostle George A. Smith confirmed that the
Prophet did indeed get married to Melissa Lott (See Journal History, October 9, 1869, 7). 27
See History of the Church, 6:35. 28
Lott, Descendants of Cornelius Peter Lott, 26-27. Joseph Smith III recounted an interview he had with Melissa
years later, wherein he claimed that Melissa confessed to never having lived with his father as a wife (see Smith,
The Memoirs of President Joseph Smith III, 245).
19
approach him on such a matter. Also, on September 20, 1843, the same day of the marriage
between Joseph Smith and Melissa Lott, Cornelius and Permelia Lott were married for time and
eternity “By Presadent Hyrum Smith with seal of Presadent Joseph Smith.”29
Other Sacred Ordinances
During this time, Lott became a recipient of other ordinances as well. On December 9,
1843, Wilford Woodruff recorded that Cornelius Lott, William W. Phelps, and Levi Richards all
“Received their Anointing” in the Red Brick Store.30
With reference to the occasion, Brigham
Young simply noted that those three brethren “received ordinances.”31
Less than two weeks later,
on December 23, Cornelius’s wife Permelia, along with Phebe Woodruff, Bathsheba Smith,
Catherine Spencer, and Sally Phelps, “received their Anointing” as well.32
It was on these
occasions that both Cornelius and Permelia Lott first received the temple endowment.33
Toward the end of Joseph Smith’s life, he spent a great deal of time teaching the Latter-
day Saints and revealing significant doctrines. The Lotts benefited from the Prophet’s sermons.
In fact, on the afternoon of January 7, 1844, he rode out to the farm, “& Preached at Bro. Lots.
also D Spencer & Reynolds Cahoon preached.”34
Cornelius’s daughter recalled that her parents
“had many visits with Prophet when he taught them the Gospel and their souls were full of peace
toward all men even though their journey with the Saints was filled with sorrow as well as joy.”35
On February 4, 1844, Cornelius and Permelia received an additional ordinance. Of that
event, the Prophet Joseph Smith wrote, “Evening at the prayer meeting [at the] Brick Store.
Cornelius P. Lot and wife present [and anointed].”36
Wilford Woodruff noted, “I met with the
29
Lott family Bible (Historical Department Archives, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake
City), microfilm. 30
See Woodruff, Wilford Woodruff’s Journal, 9 vols., ed. Scott G. Kenney (Midvale, Utah: Signature Books, 1981-
1984), 2:331. This anointing differed from that which Lott had received in the Kirtland Temple in March 1837. The
anointing Lott received in the Red Brick Store is the equivalent to the endowment that Latter-day Saints may receive
today in their sacred temples. Joseph Smith administered the first of these endowments to a very select few in May
1842. Such an endowment consists of special washings, anointings, sacred covenant making, and instructions
regarding God’s plan of salvation for mankind (see Allen and Leonard, The Story of the Latter-day Saints, 184). For
further detail of the ceremony, see Leonard, Nauvoo: A Place of Peace, a People of Promise, 258-260. From the
time Joseph Smith first administered the endowment in 1842 to the time of his death in 1844, only a few small
groups received the ordinance (see Allen and Leonard, The Story of the Latter-day Saints, 184). In fact, not until
after Brigham Young dedicated the council chamber in the attic of the Nauvoo Temple toward the end of 1845 did
the endowment ceremony become available to the general adult Church membership (see Leonard, Nauvoo: A Place
of Peace, a People of Promise, 261). 31
Young, Manuscript History of Brigham Young 1801-1844, ed. Elden Jay Watson (Salt Lake City: Smith
Secretarial Service, 1968), 156. 32
See Woodruff, Wilford Woodruff’s Journal, 2:332. 33
See Endowments of the living, 1845-1846, AMs (Family History Library, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-
day Saints, Salt Lake City; Salt Lake City: Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1958, 1974), microfilm.
Also see Holzapfel and Cottle, Old Mormon Nauvoo and Southeastern Iowa: Historic Photographs and Guide, 176. 34
Joseph Smith, The Words of Joseph Smith: The Contemporary Accounts of the Nauvoo Discourses of the Prophet
Joseph, Andrew F. Ehat and Lyndon W. Cook, eds. (Provo, Utah: BYU Religious Studies Center, 1980), 317. Also
see History of the Church, 6:171 and Journal History, January 7, 1844. 35
See Willes, “Personal History of Permelia Darrow Lott,” 2. 36
Joseph Smith, An American Prophet’s Record: The Diaries and Journals of Joseph Smith, ed. Scott H. Faulring
(Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1989), 445. Concerning the brackets, Faulring explained, “Inadvertent omissions
of words or letters are enclosed in square brackets (for example, curse [them] and). . . . In some instances,
particularly in the Nauvoo Journals, I have relied on Joseph Smith’s History of The Church to complete sentences in
20
quorum in the evening Br & Sister Lott was present we had a good time in prayer. Br Joseph
gave us good instruction in meekness & humility. The revelator John remarks was quoted to in
the evening Concerning the 144000 of the tribes of Israel. /Cornelius P. Lott & wife Received
their 2d Anointing & sealing.”37
For two or three weeks prior to Cornelius and Permelia
receiving this ordinance, a number of the Quorum of the Twelve and their wives also received
the same from the Prophet. Brigham Young recorded that among those receiving the ordinance
included his wife Mary Ann and himself, Heber C. and Vilate Kimball, Parley P. Pratt, Orson
Hyde, Orson Pratt, Willard and Jenetta Richards, and Wilford and Phebe Woodruff.38
The Council of Fifty
Another privilege granted to Lott was his appointment to an organization known as the
Council of Fifty.39
Information on Lott’s involvement in this council is scant, yet being part of
the council certainly afforded him another opportunity to associate with and be recognized by
Church leaders. In fact, in 1845, because of Lott’s participation in the Council of Fifty, Brigham
Young assigned Lott and others to each select and organize a company to lead in the Mormon
exodus from Nauvoo.40
The Road to Carthage
Lott joined with the group that accompanied the Prophet on horseback to Carthage on
May 27, 1844. Joseph Smith noted, “Monday, 27. – About 8 a.m., I started on horseback with a
few friends, went by the Temple, and pursued my course towards Carthage, thinking it best for
which the meaning would have otherwise been completely lost to most readers. These editorial insertions are
enclosed in brackets and are not italicized” (xix). 37
Woodruff, Wilford Woodruff’s Journal, 2:348. Regarding the practice known as “second anointing,” little is
written, presumably due to the sacredness of the ordinance. The ordinance has also been known as “the crowning
ordinance of the fulness of the Melchizedek Priesthood” (Leonard, Nauvoo: A Place of Peace, a People of Promise,
260). Joseph Smith explained that this ordinance confirmed promises that faithful men and women could become
kings and queens and priests and priestesses (see Leonard, Nauvoo: A Place of Peace, a People of Promise, 261 and
Andrew F. Ehat, “‘It Seems Like Heaven Began on Earth’: Joseph Smith and the Constitution of the Kingdom of
God,” BYU Studies 20 [Spring 1980]: 255-256). 38
See Brigham Young, Journal of Brigham, comp. Leland R. Nelson (Provo, Utah: Council Press, 1980), 67. 39
Though records indicate that Joseph Smith had the idea of organizing the Council of Fifty as early as April 7,
1842, the temporal establishment of the council did not take place for another two years on March 10, 11, and 13,
1844. The council served under the direction of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve. The main
purpose of the Council of Fifty was to symbolize the political kingdom that would be established during Christ’s
reign on earth during the Millennium. It also served to protect the Church in civil and religious liberties (see
Leonard, Nauvoo: A Place of Peace, a People of Promise, 326). In spite of these purposes, one researcher asserted
that the Council of Fifty seldom functioned and was, for the most part, a symbolic formality when it did function
(see D. Michael Quinn, “The Council of Fifty and Its Members, 1844 to 1945,” BYU Studies 20 [Winter 1980]: 163-
197). However, another historian contested that the council played an active role in seeking redress for the Latter-
day Saints’ losses in Missouri, defusing political tension in Hancock County, and assisting in the Mormon exodus
(see Leonard, Nauvoo: A Place of Peace, a People of Promise, 327).
William Clayton identified Lott as part of the council on April 18, 1844, when the council was declared full (see
Clayton, An Intimate Chronicle, 129-131). 40
See Clayton, An Intimate Chronicle, 184. Others with the same appointment included Samuel Bent, Alpheus
Cutler, Reynolds Cahoon, Shadrach Roundy, Joseph Fielding, Peter Haws, Daniel Spencer, and Isaac Morley. Lott
later filled that assignment and led a company of pioneers across Iowa (See Journal History, July 5, 1846. Also see
Samuel Hollister Rogers, Diaries and Reminiscences of Samuel Hollister Rogers, 1841-1886, AMs [photocopy], box
1, file 4, p. 74, L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah).
21
me to meet my enemies before the Circuit Court, and have the indictments against me
investigated. After I had passed my farm on the prairie, most of the following brethren joined my
company, and the remainder soon after my arrival in Carthage – viz: . . .Cornelius P. Lott,
Jonathan Dunham, and other friends.”41
On this trip to Carthage, Joseph Smith learned of a
conspiracy against his life. The Prophet, being charged for perjury, confessed being anxious for
the trial to take place, yet as it turned out, the trial was postponed and the men returned home to
Nauvoo that evening.42
One month later, Joseph Smith prepared to leave Nauvoo for the last time to make his
way to Carthage, Illinois. Upon leaving Nauvoo on June 24, 1844, the Prophet passed his farm
where Cornelius Lott lived and worked. Here the Prophet bade his last farewell to Cornelius and
his family.43
Alzina Lott recalled, “He bade a fond goodbye to the sorrowing employees, whom
he had so often visited and learned to love and gave encouragement to.”44
He then paused and
looked upon the farm for a long time. After having left it, he turned and looked back several
times, which caused some of the company to make comments about his action. The Prophet
wistfully replied, “If some of you had such a farm, and knew you would not see it any more, you
would want to take a good look at it for the last time.”45
Three days later, on June 27, a mob murdered the Prophet and his brother Hyrum in the
Carthage Jail. Of Joseph’s death, Alzina Lott later mourned that her family had “not only lost a
personal friend of long standing but my sister, Melissa had lost a husband of just nine months.”46
Alzina further recalled having seen the Prophet’s body after the martyrdom.47
The day before the church membership was to meet in order to listen to both Sidney
Rigdon and Brigham Young address them on the issue of church leadership, William Clayton
noted, “Wednesday 7th. This morning the Committee and myself went out to Lots to take the
invoice of Joseph property.” After the Prophet’s death, Cornelius Lott continued working the
farm. In regards to the meeting that would take place the following day, William Clayton added,
“Brother [Alpheus] Cutler said that in the council yesterday he drew out from [William] Marks
that Sidney Rigdon was to be president and Marks Patriarch.”48
The Leadership of Brigham Young
Cornelius and his family attended the meeting on August 8, 1844, when President
Brigham Young was transfigured before the members of the Church, thus being established as
41
History of the Church, 6:412. Those listed in the group included Aaron Johnson, John Bernhisel, Joseph W.
Coolidge, John Hatfield, Orrin P. Rockwell, Lorenzo Rockwell, William Walker, Harrison Sagers, Hyrum Smith,
John P. Greene, William Richards, Shadrach Roundy, Theodore Turley, Jedediah M. Grant, John Lytle, Joseph B.
Noble, Edward Bonney, Lucien Woodworth, Cornelius P. Lott, and Jonathan Dunham. 42
See History of the Church, 6:413-414. 43
See Tanner, A Biographical Sketch of John Riggs Murdock, 65. Also see The Losee Family History: Ancestors
and Descendants of Lyman Peter Losee and Mary Ann Peterson, 19. 44
Willes, “Personal History of Cornelius P. Lott,” 7. 45
As cited in B. H. Roberts, A Comprehensive History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 6 vols.
(Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Press, 1965), 2:250. 46
Willes, “Personal History of Cornelius P. Lott,” 8. 47
See Willes, “Personal History of Alzina Lucinda Lott Willes,” 3. 48
Clayton, An Intimate Chronicle, 141.
22
the new leader in the minds of many of the Latter-day Saints, including the Lotts.49
Only an eight
year-old at the time, Alzina Lott recalled witnessing the event. She recounted, “Among others,
Brigham Young addressed the great multitude of Saints assembled there. He spoke with great
power. When he first arose to speak, we were greatly astonished. President Young stood
transfigured before us and we beheld the Prophet, Joseph Smith and heard his voice as plainly as
ever we did in attendance. I turned to Mama and said ‘Mama, I thought the Prophet was dead?’
Mama answered and said ‘He is, Alzina, and this is the way our Heavenly Father has told us who
is to be our next leader and Prophet.”50
In another account, Alzina confessed, “I was very much
disappointed the next time I saw him that he bore no resemblance to the Prophet at all. Of course,
I was deeply impressed by this incident.”51
The Lotts remained faithful to President Young and
the Quorum of the Twelve over the course of their lives.
On September 30, 1844, Permelia Lott gave birth to their tenth child, Cornelius Carlos
Lott. Sadly, the boy only survived little over three months and died on January 6, 1845, this
being the first death in the Cornelius Lott family.
After the martyrdom of the Prophet, Cornelius Lott continued a close association with the
leaders of the Church and, on January 22, he received his ordination to the office of High
Priest.52
During this time, the practice of plural marriage continued without general public
knowledge. Lott resumed his support of the doctrine, though by this time he had not as yet taken
to him another wife. On January 9, 1845, William Clayton took Diantha Farr as a plural wife,
though she may have had some reservations about the arrangement. On January 14, Cornelius
accompanied Clayton to the Farr residence where Clayton conversed with his new bride Diantha.
He indicated that he “was with her until 12½ and accomplished the desire of my heart by gaining
victory over her feelings. May the Lord bless her until her cup shall run over and her heart be as
pure as gold.”53
For the first time since the death of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, the Council of Fifty met
again on February 4, 1845 at the Seventies Hall in Nauvoo. At the meeting, the men reorganized
the council and unanimously sustained Brigham Young as successor to Joseph Smith as the
standing chairman. Cornelius Lott was not present at this meeting, however, along with others
who were absent, he was sustained as a member of the new organization. Other former members,
such as apostates Sidney Rigdon, William Marks, Lyman Wight, and others were dropped from
the council. Because of those that had been removed and those who had died, the council then
consisted of forty individuals. However, they planned to fill the council again to fifty at a future
date.54
Almost a month later, March 1, 1845, the Council of Fifty met again at the Seventies
Hall. Of the meeting, President Young recorded, “We decided to send nine brethren westward, to
49
See Willes, “Personal History of Cornelius P. Lott,” 8. For further information on the subject of Brigham Young’s
transfiguration, see Lynne Watkins Jorgensen and BYU Studies Staff, “The Mantle of the Prophet Joseph Passes to
Brother Brigham: A Collective Spiritual Witness,” BYU Studies 36 (Winter 1996-1997): 125-204. 50
Willes, “Personal History of Cornelius P. Lott,” 8. 51
Willes, “Personal History of Alzina Lucinda Lott Willes,” 3. Also see Lott, Descendants of Cornelius Peter Lott,
62. 52
See Willes, “Personal History of Cornelius P. Lott,” 8. Also see High Priests of Nauvoo and Early Salt Lake City,
comp. Nauvoo Restoration from early Salt Lake Records, 78, Church Archives, Historical Department, The Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City. 53
Clayton, An Intimate Chronicle, 155-156. 54
See Clayton, An Intimate Chronicle, 157.
23
search out a location for the saints; many eloquent speeches were made on the present position of
affairs: had a good meeting, which continued all day.”55
On September 9, the Council of Fifty, or
“General Council,” met and resolved to send a company of 1500 men to travel to the Salt Lake
Valley to gather information.56
Second Patriarchal Blessing
On March 20, 1845, Lott received a second patriarchal blessing under the hands of John
Smith, Joseph Smith’s uncle and the Church patriarch after the death of Hyrum Smith. Albert
Carrington recorded the blessing:
Bro Cornelius I lay my hands upon thy head by the authority of the Priesthood, in the name of Jesus Christ,
& seal upon thee a father’s blessing; thou art of the house of Joseph, through the loins of Ephraim, &
lawfully entitled to the Holy Priesthood with all the powers & benefits which shall be revealed unto thee in
the house of the Lord for thou shalt receive thine endowment with thy companion, & all the mysteries of
the kingdom of God shall be manifested unto thee; thou art called to officiate as a counselor in the house of
Israel, & to travel & preach inasmuch as it is thought wisdom according to the counsel of the servants of
the Lord, thou shalt have wisdom to counsel in righteousness & thy voice shall be obeyed; thy name shall
be had in everlasting remembrance among the Saints for good; thy posterity shall continue to increase to all
eternity; thou shalt have an inheritance in Zion with the sons of Joseph, & possess it again in eternity; thou
shalt also have great possessions, flocks & herds of evry kind & all kinds of the fruits of the Earth, which
are desirable, for thou shalt be an husbandman in the house of Israel, have multitudes of Servants to do thy
business, & they will delight to follow thy teaching; they days & years shall be according to thy faith, &
inasmuch as this ungodly generation desire to exterminate the Saints, thou shalt live to see them all swept
off from the face of the Earth, & the Earth inhabited by a righteous people & thou shalt be numbered with
the 144,000, who are spoken of by John the Revelator to stand on Mt Zion in the last days, finaly thou shal
enjoy all the blessings & glories of the Redeemer’s kingdom forever & ever, amen.” 57
The Suitor James Monroe
Cornelius’s oldest daughter, Melissa, now left a widow, became acquainted with the
Smith family tutor, James Monroe. The young man made attempts to courting Melissa, before
her father intervened. On May 29, 1845, Monroe wrote, “I arose at 5 ½, saddled Old Charley and
went to Mr Lotts after Melissia, but her father would not let her come. He talks wonderfully
snappish and crabbed, but I presume it is his way and I had not ought to mind it.”58
Mob Persecution Returned
In the fall of 1845, mob activity against the Latter-day Saints once again increased. The
mobs burned down numerous homes that belonged to the members of the Church. The sheriff of
Hancock County, Jacob Backenstos, a friend to the Latter-day Saints, tried to stop the mobs’
55
History of the Church, 7:379. Also see Young, Journal of Brigham, 87. 56
See History of the Church, 7:439. 57
John Smith, A Blessing by John Smith Patriarch upon the head of Cornelius P son of Peter & Jane Lott, born
Septr 22d 1798 New York City, (vol. 9, p. 52, No. 166), Historical Department Archives, The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City. 58
Diary and Journal of James M. Monroe, AMs (Utah State Historical Society, Salt Lake City), microfilm, 132.
Also found in the Illinois Historical Society. The original is at the Yale University Library, New Haven,
Connecticut. See also Compton, In Sacred Loneliness, 598-599.
Also during this time, on May 21, 25, 30, June 14, and July 10, 1845, Lott bought several pairs of shoes from
Jonathan H. Holmes (Jonathan Harriman Holmes, Account Book 1837-1863 [L. Tom Perry Special Collections,
Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah]).
24
attacks. On September 16, 1845, the mobs chased the sheriff with intentions of murder. With the
outlaws not far behind him, Backenstos met up with Latter-day Saint men, Orrin Porter Rockwell
and John Redding, who asked the sheriff what the matter was about. Backenstos deputized the
men and commanded the enemies to stop. When they did not, the sheriff ordered Rockwell to
fire, which he did. One of the mob members, Frank Worrel fell off his horse from the gunshot,
which proved to be fatal.59
The day after the incident, Cornelius Lott became involved in these events because of the
strategic location of his homestead, being just three miles out of town on the road to Carthage.
Hence, on September 17, Captain John Kay of the Fifth Regiment received the assignment “to
guard near Lotts Farm – with orders to let no man except he prove himself a friend if a spy bring
him into Town.”60
A few days later, on September 21, General Charles C. Rich recalled the
regiment that was stationed near Lott’s home.61
Only three days later, on September 24, several of the Latter-day Saint men went to
Carthage on arrest, including Daniel Spencer, Orson Spencer, Willard Richards, John Taylor,
William W. Phelps, Charles C. Rich, Alpheus Cutler, Reynolds Cahoon, John Scott, Hosea
Stout, Edward Hunter, and William Clayton. As it turned out, the men were discharged and
began on their return journey to Nauvoo. On the way, they stopped at the home of Albert G.
Fellow, whose house had been burned down to the ground along with some fifteen bushels of
grain. “There was not a stick left of either house or barn; all that was left was the brick chimney
and oven. Soon after leaving this scene of desolation, the brethren met Cornelius P. Lott with a
letter from Newel K. Whitney, stating that a committee of seven men had arrived from Quincy,
and that the governor had ordered five hundred men from Sangamon County to Hancock
County.”62
One of those present, Hosea Stout, recorded, “When we had came about four or five
miles from Carthage we met an express, Br. C. Lott, by which we were informed that a
Committee of the Citizens of Quincy had arrived in Nauvoo ‘requesting us to communicate in
writing our disposition and intention at this time, particularly with regard to moving to some
place where the pecular organization of our church will not be likely to engender so much strife
and contention as so unhapily exhists at this time in Hancock & some of the adjoining
counties.’”63
Plans for the Exodus
On the heels of these foregoing events, the Council of Fifty met again on September 30,
1845, to discuss plans for the Latter-day Saints’ exodus to the west. Samuel Bent, Alpheus
Cutler, and Reynolds Cahoon presented lists of the families they had selected to be in their
company of one hundred families for the trek. In addition, “Pres. Young also appointed S.
Roundy, J. Fielding, C. P. Lott, P.Haws and Daniel Spencer to select and organize each a
company. Isaac Morley has got his company about full.” While the meeting was in session, the
council received a report that an army were just outside of Nauvoo. Brigham Young sent Charles
C. Rich to surmise what it was the army wanted. Not long after, Rich returned and reported that
some troops led by one General Hardin had arrived in Nauvoo, bringing with them a Judge
59
See History of the Church, 7:446-447. 60
Stout, On The Mormon Frontier, 65-66. 61
See Stout, On The Mormon Frontier, 70. 62
Journal History, September 24, 1845, 2. 63
Stout, On The Mormon Frontier, 72.
25
Douglas, who had gone to John Taylor’s home to meet with the church leaders. President Young
immediately closed the meeting and took the Twelve to Taylor’s house to meet the judge.64
The Nauvoo Temple Earlier, in 1841, the Lord had commanded the Church to build a temple in Nauvoo. He
instructed, “Let the work of my temple, and all the works which I have appointed unto you, be
continued on and not cease; and let your diligence, and your perseverance, and patience, and
your works be redoubled, and you shall in nowise lose your reward, saith the Lord of hosts”
(Doctrine and Covenants 127:4). In response to the Lord’s command, the Latter-day Saints
continued building the temple in spite of the knowledge they had that they would soon leave the
holy edifice behind. Records indicate that Cornelius Lott took part in building the temple as well,
donating some fifty-seven and one-quarter days.65
By November 30, 1845, the attic story of the Nauvoo Temple was ready for dedication.
Cornelius P. Lott joined with a select group where Brigham Young dedicated that story of the
building.66
Of the special occasion, William Clayton, who also attended the meeting, wrote, “We
then offered up the signs of the Holy Priesthood and repeated them to get them more perfect. I
was requested to keep minutes. President offered up prayers and dedicated the Attic story, the
male room and ourselves to God, and prayed that God would sustain and deliver from the hands
of our enemies, his servants untill they have accomplished his will in this house.” John Taylor
then sang “A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief,” after which the company again offered up the signs
and Heber C. Kimball prayed “that the Lord would hear & answer the prayers of his servant
Brigham, break off the yoke of our enemies and inasmuch as they lay traps for the feet of his
servants, that they may fall into them themselves and be destroyed, that God would bless his
servant Joseph Young, heal his wife and bless his family, that God would bless and heal Elder
Kimballs family and put the same blessings on all our families which he had asked for Joseph
Young and himself.”67
Just a few days later, Heber C. Kimball listed Cornelius and Permelia among those who
were “members of the Holy order of the Holy Priesthood having Received it in the Life time of
Joseph and Hirum, the Prophets…” Those of that order attended a meeting in the temple on
December 7, 1845. At that time Brigham Young gave the group a tour of the rooms, after which
the men and women clothed at 1:30 p.m. The meeting began at two o’clock, with a prayer and a
hymn, and the group was favored to hear instruction from Apostles John Taylor, Heber C.
Kimball, and Orson Hyde. The meeting ended as the congregation partook of the sacramental
bread and wine.68
President Kimball recorded, “…then Elder B. Young said, this quorum should
64
See Clayton, An Intimate Chronicle, 184. 65
See Newel Kimball Whitney papers, AMs, comp. Hyrum L. Andrus, Chris Fuller, and Elizabeth E. McKenzie (L.
Tom Perry Special Collections, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah), box 3, folder 2, microfilm. 66
See History of the Church, 7:534. Also see Journal History, November 30, 1845. Among that group were the likes
of “Heber C. Kimball, Willard Richards, Parley P. Pratt, John Taylor, Orson Hyde, George A. Smith and Amasa
Lyman of the Quorum of the Twelve; also Newel K. Whitney and George Miller, Presiding Bishops; John Smith,
Patriarch and President of the Stake, Joseph Young, President of the Seventies, Alpheus Cutler & R. Cahoon,
Temple committee, Cornelius P. Lott, Levi Richards, Joseph C. Kingsbury, Orson Spencer, Wm. W. Phelps, Isaac
Morley, Lucien Woodworth” (Young, Journal of Brigham, 109). 67
Clayton, An Intimate Chronicle, 192. 68
See Heber C. Kimball, Heber C. Kimball’s Journal, November 21, 1845 to January 7, 1846, 19, Church History
Library, Salt Lake City.
26
meet here every Sabbath and partake of the sacrament.”69
Of that occasion, Brigham Young
simply wrote, “I met with the Twelve and others in the Temple. We partook of the sacrament,
exhorted each other and prayed.”70
Finally, on December 10, 1845, Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball commenced
administering the ordinance of endowment at 4:25 p.m.71
Within the hour, at five o’clock, Isaac
and Lucy Morley, Joseph Fielding, Joseph C. Kingsbury, and Cornelius P. Lott entered.72
After
the prayer, Lott left the temple and went home to Permelia in order to go through the endowment
session the next day with her.73
Though he had previously received the endowment on December
9, 1843, he and his wife were again endowed in the Nauvoo Temple on December 11, 1845.74
Though Cornelius and Permelia Lott had been sealed together on September 20, 1843, by
Hyrum Smith, they entered the Nauvoo Temple two and a half years later to be sealed again.
President Brigham Young performed the ceremony at 1:50 p.m. on January 22, 1846, with John
D. Lee and Phineas H. Young as witnesses.75
Lott Entered into Plural Marriage
One hour before the sealing between Cornelius and Permelia took place, Cornelius stood
in as a proxy for the Prophet Joseph Smith in being married to the fifty-four year old Elizabeth
Davis Durfee for eternity, after which Cornelius entered plural marriage and was married to
Elizabeth for time. President Young performed the ceremony and Franklin D. Richards and
Phineas Young acted as witnesses.76
Elizabeth crossed the Iowa trail with Cornelius, but after
arriving at Winter Quarters, she left both him and the Church and returned to Quincy, Illinois.77
That same day, January 22, 1846, Cornelius also entered into plural marriage with some
other women with his wife’s consent.78
Brigham Young also officiated in these marriages. One
of the women was Charity Dickinson, the sixty-nine year old mother of Apostles Parley P. and
69
As cited in Helen Mar Whitney, A Woman’s View: Helen Mar Whitney’s Reminiscences of Early Church History,
ed. Jeni Broberg Holzapfel and Richard Neitzel Holzapfel (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1997), 290. This “quorum”
consisted of Brigham and Mary Ann Young, Heber C. and Vilate Kimball, Orson and Marinda Hyde, Parley P. and
Mary Ann Pratt, John and Leonora Taylor, George A. and Bathsheba Smith, Willard Richards, John and Clarissa
Smith, Alpheus and Lois Cutler, Reynolds and Thirza Cahoon, Newel K. and Elizabeth Whitney, Cornelius and
Permelia Lott, Isaac and Lucy Morley, Orson and Catherine Spencer, William and Agnes Clayton, George and Mary
Catherine Miller, Joseph Young, (Sister) Lambson, Levi Richards, Mary Fielding Smith, Joseph Fielding, William
W. and Sally Phelps, Joseph Kingsbury, L. and Phebe Moodworth, and John Bernhisel (See Kimball, Heber C.
Kimball’s Journal, November 21, 1845 to January 7, 1846, 17-18). 70
Young, Journal of Brigham, 110. 71
See Journal History, December 10, 1845. 72
See Young, Journal of Brigham, 112. 73
See Willes, “Personal History of Cornelius P. Lott,” 7. 74
See Journal History, December 11, 1845. Others that received the endowment with the Lotts on this occasion were
Isaac and Lucy Morley, Orson and Catherine Spencer, Joseph Young, Alpheus and Lois Cutler, Reynolds and
Thirza Cahoon, William and Ruth Clayton, Mercy R. Thompson, and Lucy Mack Smith (See History of the Church,
7:543-544). 75
See Nauvoo Sealings and Adoptions 1846-1857, Book A, 381-382, Special Collections, Family History
Library,The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City. 76
See Nauvoo Sealings and Adoptions 1846-1857, Book A, 505-506. Note: Though the ceremony took place 22
January, it was not recorded for another couple of weeks on 7 February 1846. Also see Compton, In Sacred
Loneliness, 264. 77
See Compton, In Sacred Loneliness, 265. 78
See Willes, “Personal History of Permelia Darrow Lott,” 2.
27
Orson Pratt. Her husband Jared Pratt died in Michigan in 1839. Charity’s marriage to Cornelius
did not last long either, ending in divorce, and she died shortly thereafter in St. Joseph, Missouri,
on May 20, 1849.79
The other was a young sixteen year-old girl named Rebecca Fausett.80
Alzina Lott
explained, “She was a lovely young girl but she was still in-love with the man she had been
engaged to, and wanted to be sealed for eternity to him, so her marriage to Papa did not last long.
She left my father and went back to live with her parents. Their marriage and sealing was later
dissolved. She had one son, who she named Isiah Barkdull Lott, but my father never did see
him.”81
Isaiah was born November 12, 1846 at Winter Quarters in the back of a wagon.82
Another source claims that when Cornelius and Rebecca were married, the girl, who did
not want to enter into plural marriage, understood that Lott was only standing as proxy for her
deceased boyfriend, but as it turned out, Cornelius deceived her and did indeed get married to
her.83
One other record corroborates that claim and indicates that Rebecca did not discover that
she had married Cornelius until after the sealing had been done. However, the same source also
attests that her father had given his consent for the union. Once they had told her what had
transpired and that she had become a wife to Cornelius, she was devastated.84
Two weeks later, on February 7, Cornelius took another sixteen-year-old girl, Jane
Rogers from Scotland, as his third plural wife. Heber C. Kimball officiated the marriage at 8:15
p.m. in the Nauvoo Temple. John D. Lee and J. W. Bell stood as witnesses to the ceremony.85
Records do not indicate that Cornelius had any children with Jane. After Cornelius’s death in
1850, she remarried a man with the last name of Randall in 1851 in Utah.86
79
Available at Familysearch.org, internet. 80
See Nauvoo Sealings and Adoptions 1846-1857, Book A, 381-382. 81
Willes, “Personal History of Cornelius P. Lott,” 8. Also see Lott, Descendants of Cornelius Peter Lott, 85. 82
See Lott, Descendants of Cornelius Peter Lott, 22-23. 83
See Susan Ward Easton-Black, comp. Membership of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 1830-1838,
50 vols. (Provo, Utah: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1984-1988), 28: 472. 84
See Lott, Descendants of Cornelius Peter Lott, 22-23. 85
See Nauvoo Sealings and Adoptions 1846-1857, Book A, 385-386. 86
Available at http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/frameset_search.asp; Internet.
28
Chapter 5
Camp Leader on the Iowa Trail
President Young Announced the Exodus On October 8, 1845, President Brigham Young sent an epistle abroad for all the Latter-
day Saints in the United States with the official announcement that The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints would be leaving the country to find a new place in the west to escape “bigotry,
intolerance and insatiable oppression.” He admonished the members of the Church the prepare
for the journey: “Therefore dispose of your properties and inheritance, and interests for available
means, such as money, wagons, oxen, cows, mules, and a few good horses adapted to journeying
and scanty feed.”87
On February 4, a man named Samuel Rogers wrote of his preparation for the Exodus,
saying, “I went to C. P. Lott's and got some wheat.”88
On February 11, 1846, the same Samuel
Rogers made a conditional contract to be married to Melissa Lott one week later, though the
contract was annulled the following day.89
Crossing the Mississippi River
With the first group of Latter-day Saints to leave the city of Nauvoo, Cornelius and his
family crossed the Mississippi River in February1846 with a team of two cows and two oxen.
Alzina, who was age twelve at the time of the departure, later remembered, “Our new homes
were to be tents or covered wagons or any make shift covering to keep us out of the storms and
protect us from wild animals.” The Lotts had been staying for a short time at a temporary camp
at Sugar Creek, Iowa, when on February 22, “a raging blizzard struck the Mormon Pioneers
leaving a foot of snow.”90
The temperatures dropped so low that the Mississippi River froze. In
spite of the hardship the storm imposed upon the Latter-day Saints, Brigham Young
acknowledged how it facilitated the pioneers’ crossing of the river, which he felt compensated
for the delay in departure.91
While at Sugar Creek, Cornelius Lott assisted in the Latter-day Saints’ evacuation of
Nauvoo. On February 24, Horace K. Whitney wrote, “Father Lott with his team left Nauvoo with
the women and children, crossed the river on the ice, and took them to the camp. I accompanied
them on horseback.”92
Three days later on February 27, Emmeline B. Wells noted, “Mrs.
Whitney Sarah Ann and myself crossed the river to go to the encampment of the saints. Br. Lot
and his wife took Mrs. W. and myself in their carriage. We crossed the river a part of the way on
87
History of the Church, 7:478-480. 88
See Samuel Hollister Rogers, Diaries and Reminiscences of Samuel Hollister Rogers, 1841-1886, AMs
(photocopy), box 1, file 4, p. 67, L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah. 89
See Rogers, Diaries and Reminiscences of Samuel Hollister Rogers, box 1, file 4, p. 68. 90
Willes, “Personal History of Cornelius P. Lott,” 8-9. 91
See History of the Church, 7:597-602. 92
As cited in William G. Hartley, “Winter Exodus from Nauvoo,” in The Iowa Mormon Trail: Legacy of Faith and
Courage, ed. Susan Easton Black and William G. Hartley (Orem, Utah: Helix Publishing, 1997), xvi.
29
foot, and then went on to the encampment about 1 mile beyond; . . .”93
Brigham Young recorded
the temperatures of February 27, to be 5 above zero at 6:00 a.m. and 21 at 6:00 p.m.94
That
same day, Helen Mar Whitney wrote, “Friday, the 27th
of February, I bade my last adieu to our
home and city and re-crossed the Mississippi with Bishop Whitney’s family, whom he sent to
camp in charge of Father C. R. Lott, the bishop remaining behind to see his own and church
teams over, and he came to the camp next day.”95
The Trail across Iowa
Though the departure from Nauvoo caused the Latter-day Saints great difficulty and
heartache, some still found joy as they made their way across Iowa. On April 5, 1846,
Cornelius’s son John Smiley married Mary Ann Faucett.96
The first part of the Latter-day Saints’ journey across Iowa was painfully slow. By
Sunday, June 28, 1846, Cornelius Lott and his company arrived at Mount Pisgah.97
A week later,
on July 5, Lott met up with Brigham Young at Council Bluffs.98
Within a week after that, Lott
had set up camp at Keg Creek. It was there that Brigham Young dined with the Lott family
around one o’clock on Sunday afternoon, July 12.99
93
Emmeline B. Wells, Diaries of Emmeline B. Wells 1844-1920, AMs, 27 February 1846, p. 21 (L. Tom Perry
Special Collections, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah), microfilm. Also in Carol Cornwall Madsen, comp.,
Journey to Zion: Voices from the Mormon Trail (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1997), 113. 94
See Young, Journal of Brigham, 134. 95
Whitney, A Woman’s View, 333. (Note: Though the transcription here referred to him as “C. R. Lott,” this
undoubtedly is an error). 96
See Lott, Descendants of Cornelius Peter Lott, 31. 97
See Rogers, Diaries and Reminiscences of Samuel Hollister Rogers, box 1, file 4, p. 74. 98
See Journal History, July 5, 1846. 99
See Journal History, July 12, 1846.
30
Chapter 6
High Councilor at the Missouri River
Lott Assigned to Care for the Animals As President Young began to organize the encampment at Council Bluffs, on the
Missouri River, he soon made use of Cornelius Lott’s expertise with the care of animals. On July
17, the president wrote, “I instructed Bishop Whitney to gather up all the Church cattle and let
Father Lott take them up the river to winter.”100
Having received the assignment, Lott joined
with the leaders of the Church that same day, July 17, to scout among the river bottoms and find
a place for the cattle.101
The next day, July 18, Lott went fishing on a stream. Wilford Woodruff noted, “I went
fishing And Br. Lot caught one white shad.”102
A few days later, the church leaders instructed Cornelius Lott, in writing, “to cross the
river and get five or six teams to take loads to Grand Island; and have Andrew H. Perkins go to
Savannah and procure a carding machine and fixtures and furnish funds to pay freight. Bro Lott
was instructed to take his flocks and herds to Grand Island.”103
Lott crossed the Missouri River on July 30, 1846. Horace Whitney wrote, “Father Lott
came up today, bringing considerable church property, with some cattle and sheep, etc.”104
Plans to move the camp to Grand Island for the winter did not last long as scouts found
better pasture up the river.105
In addition, George Miller had learned from the Ponca Indians that
“the Pawnees wintered their horses at Grand Island, and that our [the Mormons] immense herd
would eat up all the feed before winter would be half gone, and when the Pawnees came in from
their summer hunt they would kill all our cattle and drive us away.”106
100
Young, Journal of Brigham, 171. Also see Journal History, July 17, 1846, 1. 101
See Journal History, July 17, 1846, 2. Also see Young, Manuscript History, 263. The entire group included
Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, Wilford Woodruff, Parley P. Pratt, Orson Pratt, Willard Richards, John Taylor,
George A. Smith, Amasa Lyman, Newel K. Whitney, Jedediah M. Grant, Cornelius P. Lott, Andrew H. Perkins,
John Scott, Jesse C. Little, James M. Flake, and Chauncey W. Webb. 102
Wilford Woodruff’s Journal, 3:61. 103
Journal History, July 22, 1846. Upon the recommendation of Captain James Allen, leader of the Mormon
Battalion, Church leaders began to make plans to move their herds to Grand Island, sixty miles west of the Platte
River. Plans to move the camp to Grand Island for the winter did not last long as scouts found better pasture up the
river (see Richard E. Bennett, We’ll Find the Place: The Mormon Exodus, 1846-1848 [Salt Lake City: Deseret
Book, 1997], 44). 104
As cited in Whitney, A Woman’s View, 392. 105
See Richard E. Bennett, We’ll Find the Place: The Mormon Exodus, 1846-1848 (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book,
1997), 44 106
As cited in David R. Crockett, Saints in the Wilderness: A Day-by-Day PioneerExperience, Winter
Quarters and Mormon Battalion March (Tuscon, Arizona: LDS-Gems Press, 1997), 46.
31
Cutler’s Park and the Municipal High Council
Church leaders searched for another location where the Latter-day Saints could camp for
the winter. Coming to a suitable spot on August 7, Brigham Young proposed that they stop there
and organize a city. He asked those present whether they accepted this proposition or if they
preferred looking further. He also asked them “whether they should settle together, or every man
for himself.”107
The camp historian noted, “Cornelius P. Lott, Reynolds Cahoon and others spoke
in favor of following the counsel of the Twelve.”108
With the common consent of those present,
Church leaders established that location as the winter encampment, known as Cutler’s Park.109
Heber C. Kimball motioned that a municipal high council consisting of twelve men be
appointed to oversee the settling of the town. The Twelve called Lott to be part of that council.110
With Lott’s previous experience, his appointment to the council was a natural fit since caring for
livestock held an important place in establishing the community.
Ten days after being sustained to the Municipal High Council, on August 17, Brigham
Young assigned Cornelius Lott and Lorenzo Young to gather “the old cattle belonging to the
Church and place them in charge of Father Lott.”111
On August 21, Brigham Young rode out to
Lott’s, though the historian did not reveal the nature of the visit.112
Church leaders decided to fatten the old cattle to be slaughtered for beef in order to
preserve the young to work as draft animals for the trek the following year.113
In council on
August 27, Church leaders determined that upon the slaughter of the old cattle, the owner would
receive the hide and tallow and then receive “meat at intervals as he might wish,…”114
Brigham
Young concurred that the men in camp should fatten their old cattle and proposed that a
committee be formed “to buy, butcher and sell them, and find out by Bishop N. K. Whitney
what can be had for hides delivered at this point, . . . ”115
Hence, the Twelve and the Municipal
High Council voted that Lorenzo D. Young, Alpheus Cutler, and Cornelius P. Lott serve as the
beef committee.116
The work of butchering began the next day.117
In a council on September 22, a question arose for as to whether Cornelius Lott should be
permitted to tend his own beef cattle with the Church’s. The council voted and determined that
Lott should be permitted to do so.118
107
Journal History, August 7, 1846, 1. Also see Young, Manuscript History, 297. 108
Journal History, August 7, 1846, 1. Also see Young, Manuscript History, 297. 109
Cutler’s Park was located about five miles south of the Saints’ next settlement, Winter Quarters. 110
See Journal History, August 7, 1846, and Bennett, Mormons at the Missouri, 264. Also see Andrew Jenson,
comp., Church Chronology: A Record of Important Events, (Salt Lake City: Deseret News, 1914), 30 and Young,
Manuscript History, 297-298. The other high councilors were Alpheus Cutler, Winslow Farr, Ezra Chase, Jedediah
M. Grant, Albert P. Rockwood, Benjamin L. Clapp, Samuel Russell, Reynolds Cahoon, Daniel Russell, Elnathan
Eldredge, and Thomas Grover. 111
Journal History, August 17, 1846, 2. 112
See Journal History, August 21, 1846, 4. 113
Journal History, August 27, 1846. Also see Young, Manuscript History, 351-352. 114
Journal History, August 27, 1846. Also see Young, Manuscript History, 351-352. 115
Journal History, August 27, 1846. Also see Young, Manuscript History, 352. 116
See Woodruff, Wilford Woodruff Journal, 3:72; John Lyman Smith, John L. Smith Papers, AMs (photocopy),
box 1, folder 2, page 21, L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah; and Journal
History, August 27, 1846. 117
See Crockett, Saints in the Wilderness,131. 118
Journal History, September 22, 1846, 2.
32
Soon, the difficulties that the Latter-day Saints had experienced in the exodus from
Nauvoo and the trek across Iowa, coupled with their scanty provisions and the new climate on
the Missouri River, began to take toll. Sicknesses from malaria and pneumonia to tuberculosis
and scurvy made their way through the Latter-day Saints’ settlements.119
By the end of the first
winter, over seven hundred people had died.120
In a meeting on September 9, 1846, Heber C.
Kimball reported that the Lucian Woodworth family was suffering from illness. Cornelius Lott
volunteered to care for them.121
Establishing Winter Quarters
Cutler’s Park was on disputed land between two native tribes, the Omaha and the Otoe.
On August 28, Brigham Young met with Big Elk, the chief of the Omaha nation, to discuss the
matter. By allowing the Latter-day Saints to stay on their land, the Omaha expected to receive
protection against the feared Sioux.122
In exchange for permission to stay on Omaha land, Young
offered, “We can do you good. We will repair your guns, make a farm for you, and aid you in
any other way that our talents and circumstances will permit us . . . . ”123
Big Elk answered, “I
am willing you should stay . . . . I hope you will not kill our game. I will notify my young men
not to trouble your cattle. If you cut down all our trees I will be the only tree left . . . . We heard
you were good people; we are glad to have you come and keep a store where we can buy things
cheap. You can stay with us while we hold these lands.”124
Not wanting the Otoe to make claim on any benefits from the treaty, Big Elk
recommended the Latter-day Saints move further north to be on undisputed Omaha territory.
Unwilling to move as far as Big Elk advised, they moved further north to a location still on
disputed land that better served their needs. The Twelve officially selected the site on September
11, 1846, known as Winter Quarters.125
A False Alarm
Though the Latter-day Saints had left their homes behind with the hopes to also leave
their enemies behind, rumors of pursuing mobs continued to keep the refugees on the alert. One
such alarm sounded on September 21, 1846, while the Lott family was enjoying a baked goose
dinner.126
Hosea Stout explained that Albert P. Rockwood of the Municipal High Council went
around the wagons in the camp that night calling the men to arms to prepare to defend
themselves from their oncoming enemies. The alarm caused great excitement as the men began
to gather. It was Brigham Young and Willard Richards that brought the warning to the Lott
camp. In the end, the report had turned out only to be a false alarm.127
119
See Church History in the Fulness of Times, 319-320. 120
See Richard Edmond Bennett, Mormons at the Missouri: A History of the Latter-day Saints at Winter Quarters
and at Kanesville, 1846-52 (Oklahoma City: University of Oklahoma Press, 1987), 140. 121
See Journal History, September 9, 1846. 122
See Bennett, Mormons at the Missouri, 71. 123
Young, Manuscript History, 353. 124
Young, Manuscript History, 354. 125
See Young, Manuscript History, 377. 126
See Eliza Maria Partridge Lyman, Diary of Eliza Maria Partridge Lyman, 1846-1885, TMs, 12 September 1846,
L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah. Also in Journey to Zion: Voices from
the Mormon Trail, 102. 127
Stout, On The Mormon Frontier, 195.
33
The Wayside Stations
With his various responsibilities, Cornelius Lott must have done some traveling among
the various camps along the trail in Iowa. His daughter, Alzina, recalled that her father spent
time “helping at the wayside stations.”128
Most likely the Church made use of Lott’s expertise in
farming to raise crops along the trail for Latter-day Saints who had camped on the way and for
others who were to follow later. Alzina explained, “The skill in farming and handling the prairie
soil that my father possessed detained there our westward travel for the years of 1846-47.”129
Allen J. Stout, who was about 120 miles from the Missouri River, wrote a letter on
October 23, 1846 to his brother Hosea, who was at Council Bluffs. Allen penned, “Lorry Ann is
dead and Milton also there next to the youngest son Martha was so low that they did not think
she would live an hour the old man is going to bring old father Lott on with him so br. Cooly told
me if the old man brings the Lott tribe he may bee too heavy loaded to take me but I am well fixt
for winter.”130
Hosea, who received the letter on November 8, 1846, commented, “Got a letter
from A. J. Stout all well at Garden Grove yet.”131
Perhaps Lott was traveling between the
“wayside stations” as Alzina had mentioned.
High Council Meetings
As part of the Municipal High Council, Lott took part in discussions concerning
misconduct among the Church members. On November 5, one man by the last name of Beers
had been abusing his family and had kicked his wife out of their tent. Upon hearing of the matter
the next day, President Young called for a meeting with the council that evening to discuss the
issue. That same day, the president had been dealing with another man named G. W. Harris who
had also been guilty of similar offenses. President Young had “found him to be a mean,
disagreeable, willfull incoragable man and regardless of peace and good order and the council
and authorities of the church.” The council then met at 5 o’clock “on the Point overlooking the
North End of the City.”132
Of the meeting, Hosea Stout explained, “It was proposed what to do
with those who were in our midst whose bodies were tabernacles for devils that is rebelious
wicked ungovernable men who are breeding a continual disturbance & exciting others to
discontent &c It was unanimously decided to have the Law of God put in force on them &c.
There was much said and but one feeling on the subject.”133
Of the same meeting, Brigham
Young noted, “I related a dream and proposed some question(s) to the brethren…”134
To sit in
these councils with such experienced men must have provided Cornelius with tremendous
opportunities for growth.
At another meeting a couple of weeks later on November 18, the Twelve and the
Municipal High Council met to discuss whether the High Council should be taking care of the
128
Willes, “Personal History of Cornelius P. Lott,” 10. 129
Willes, “Personal History of Cornelius P. Lott,” 10. 130
Allen J. Stout to Hosea Stout, October 23, 1846, TL, Hosea Stout Papers 1832-1875, Historical Department
Archives, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, microfilm. 131
Stout, On The Mormon Frontier, 209. 132
Stout, On The Mormon Frontier, 208. Those present included Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, Amasa
Lyman, Orson Pratt, Willard Richards, Alpheus Cutler, Reynolds Cahoon, Cornelius P. Lott, Albert P. Rockwood,
Thomas Grover, Jedediah M. Grant, Newel K. Whitney, Hosea Stout, and William Clayton. 133
Stout, On The Mormon Frontier, 208-209. 134
Journal History, November 6, 1846.
34
Church’s property. This, of course, affected Cornelius Lott since he had been tending the
Church’s livestock. As a result of the discussion, Lott received the assignment, along with Newel
K. Whitney, Albert P. Rockwood, William Clayton, and John Scott to “ascertain the situation
and condition of the Church property in camp.” 135
Herding Sheep
In the shepherding work, Cornelius Lott and Charles Bird became the key figures136
At
Winter Quarters, the sheep were kept east of the city on the banks of the river.137
In addition to
the regular challenges associated with shepherding, there was a shortage of help, just as there
was with cattle herding. Exasperated, Charles Bird called on the sheep owners to provide help in
tending the flocks. He also declared that if anyone were delinquent in paying the fee for
watching the sheep, he would take the owner’s sheep as payment. The Church historian also
added, “C Bird and C P Lott use their discretion in controlling the bucks.”138
Having observed the situation, on November 21, 1846, John D. Lee commented, “Bro.
Lott has taken quite a No. of sheep to take care of for the brethren. while they could be hearded
on the prairie the sheep done well enough, but now they certainly would do better in smawler
No’s. I would recommend those that have sheep to take them back and pay him for his
trouble.”139
Less than a month later, the council met on December 19, when they decided to
award Cornelius one hundred dollars in goods from the store in consideration of his farming and
herding for the Church.140
One man named Peter Wilson Conover recalled how Cornelius “agreed to take out sheep
and take care of them and bring them to the mountains for one-half of them. Brigham and Heber
had about two hundred head and I had about ninety head. There came a big snow after he took
them, and snow fell about two feet deep. The big white wolves came down and killed one
hundred in one night, and kept on killing until the old man came and begged us to come and get
what was left. Out of ninety, I had seventeen left. I soon got rid of them and have never owned a
sheep since.”141
135
Journal History, November 18, 1846. 136
See Journal History, September 5, 1846. Also see Young, Manuscript History, 367. 137
See Bennett, Mormons at the Missouri, 74. 138
Journal History, September 5, 1846. Also see Crockett, Saints in the Wilderness, 145 and Young, Manuscript
History, 367. 139
John D. Lee, Journals of John D. Lee 1846-47 & 1859, ed. Charles Kelly, (Salt Lake City: Western Printing
Company, 1938), 19. Note: Lott kept a record wherein he logged the names of all those for whom he tended sheep
and how many sheep they had. The list of people include Albert P. Rockwood (1), Henry Brooks (10), Ezra Chase
(36), William Jennings (30), Franklin J. Davis (2), Augustus Stafford (4), William Kimball (1), Samuel Rolf (2),
Mary Jones (3), Jonathan Herrington (number crossed out), Joseph Murdock (6), Charles Avery (5), Peter Conover
(12), Jackson Redden (21), Nancy Buchanan (11), Nathum Bigelow (8), Gustuvus A. Perry (10), Temple (190),
Horace Eldredge (2), Isaac Grundy (10), Alpheus Cutler (21), Eames Hunter (29), John Taylor (8), Thomas
Mendenhall (8), Abraham Hoagland (7), Heber C. Kimball (25), Gardner Clark (13), Samuel Shepherd (21), Richard
Spencer (11), Samuel Snyder (16), Job Barnum (10), Julian Van Orden? (9), Simeon Holmes (3), Caleb Haight (28),
Joshua S. Holman (took home), William Fawcett (9), William Robinson (3), Charles Bird (17), and Elizabeth Vance
(62). (See Cornelius Peter Lott, Daybook 1843-1852, AMs [Historical Department Archives, The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City], microfilm). 140
See Journal History, December 19, 1846. 141
Peter Wilson Conover, Autobiography of Peter Wilson Conover, TMs, p. 3, L. Tom Perry Special Collections,
Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah.
35
Lott’s Testimony
Being a member of the Municipal High Council, Lott had greater opportunity to speak to
the Church members. On December 13, 1846, he and President Brigham Young spoke to the
Latter-day Saints in their Sunday meeting.142
Having attended the meeting, John D. Lee wrote:
Elder C.P. Lott addressed the meeting. Spoke with reference to the duty of the Saints in their several
capacities, places and stations. Bore record that we now have a prophet in Iseral who declared while in the
Temple of the Lord last winter that we (the Saints) would escape in the wilderness and that wickedness and
abomination and corruption and blasphemy would be the doings of those who were left behind. The
Temple which we have built unto the Most High God for the endowment of the Saints and the furtherance
of his cawse, shall be turn into a mony changer and the habitation of thieves.143
Another in attendance, Mary Haskin Parker Richards, penned, “went to meetting. heard a raugh
discourse. delivered by Bro [Cornelius Peter] Lot, and afew remarks by Bro Brigham. spent the
rest of the day at home. reading, &C.”144
Following Lott’s discourse, President Young spoke to the wives of those who had been
recruited as part of the Mormon Battalion. He reprimanded them for murmuring against the
Church leaders because they didn’t have enough to live on.145
Fulfilling Duty
At the beginning of the year of 1847, Cornelius left to go to the herds of one named
Lathrop.146
As the weather turned bitterly cold, President Young sent a letter to Lott
recommending that he return.147
Indeed, the temperatures had dropped lower than they had all
winter. On January 9, Hosea Stout noted that the day was a “clear cold windy day” and recorded
the thermometer at “9 degrees below zero.”148
The following day, Brigham Young reported,
“Thermometer 13 degrees below zero.”149
The Word and Will of the Lord
January 14, 1847 marked a significant day for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints, being the date on which Brigham Young received the “Word and the Will of the Lord,” a
revelation that later became the 136th
section of the Doctrine and Covenants. The day after,
President Young met with the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles at the home of Ezra T. Benson to
present the revelation for their approval. Then they decided “that the Word and Will of the Lord
should be laid before the councils of the Church.”150
Hence, on January 16, at about 12:30 p.m.,
142
See Young, Journal of Brigham, 196. Also see Journal History, December 13, 1846. 143
Lee, Journals of John D. Lee, 33. 144
Mary Haskin Parker Richards, Winter Quarters: The 1846-1848 Life Writings of Mary Haskin Parker Richards,
ed. Maurine Carr Ward (Logan, Utah: Utah State University Press, 1996), 101. Note: In regards to the brackets, the
editor, Maurine Carr Ward, explained, “Approximately five hundred individuals are mentioned in Mary’s writings.
Where necessary for clarification, the identities of these persons are further specified in the text in brackets” (51). 145
See Thomas Bullock, The Pioneer Camp of the Saints: The 1846 and 1847 Mormon Trail Journals of Thomas
Bullock, ed. Will Bagley (Spokane, Washington: The Arthur H. Clark Company, 1997), 106. 146
This herd, under the care of Asahel Lathrop through the winter of 1846-1847, lived in the rush bottoms on the
banks of the Missouri River about seventy miles north of Winter Quarters (See Young, Manuscript History, 524). 147
See Journal History, January 8, 1847. 148
Stout, On the Mormon Frontier, 223. 149
Young, Journal of Brigham, 203. 150
Journal History, January 15, 1847.
36
the Municipal High Council assembled at the home of Horace Eldridge where Apostle Willard
Richards read the revelation.151
The council responded in the following manner:
Reynolds Cahoon moved that the communication be received as the Word and Will of God; Seconded by
Isaac Morley.
Alanson Eldridge approved of the same: it was plain to his understanding.
Isaac Morley approved of it.
Reynolds Cahoon said it was the voice of righteousness.
Winslow Farr said it reminded him of the first reading of the Book of Mormon; he was perfectly satisfied
and knew it was from the Lord.
Cornelius P. Lott was perfectly satisfied.
Daniel Russell said it was true; felt as he did after the first Mormon sermon that he heard.
Ezra Chase was perfectly satisfied.
Geo. W. Harris was so well satisfied that he wanted to say, Amen, at once.
Thomas Grover felt that it was the voice of the Spirit. The vote passed unanimously.
H. T. Eldredge felt to receive it as the Word and Will of the Lord and that its execution would prove our
salvation.
Hosea Stout said if there is anything in Mormonism that is the voice of the Lord to this people, so is the
Word and Will of the Lord. He meant to live up to it. Council adjourned.152
In his own record, Hosea Stout observed, “The council recieved it as a revelation with joy and
gladness.”153
The minutes of the meeting gives further detail of Cornelius Lott’s response, saying
that he was “perfectly satisfied – it give peace.”154
Administering to the Sick
Due to the illnesses that plagued the Latter-day Saints during their time at Winter
Quarters, many were called upon to exercise faith and to give Priesthood blessings to those who
had fallen ill. Cornelius Lott, as a high councilor, was also called upon to administer to the sick.
In February 1847, a man named Job Smith was suffering from what he termed the “black
scurvy.” In his diary he related how the Church patriarch, John Smith, “was very kind to me
during all my sickness, and I felt under a deep obligation to him. after he left me the enemy
seized upon me and it did seem for a time as though I should die for certain. I sent for Father
Smith again in my distress, and he brought with him C. P. Lott, and Abel Butterfield – they
prayed for me – rebuked the destroyer – and said I should live. From that time I began to amend.
I felt the power of God to operate upon me, and I can bear testimony that I was healed by the
power of God.”155
151
See Journal History, January 16, 1847. 152
Young, Journal of Brigham, 204. Also see Journal History, January 16, 1847. 153
Stout, On the Mormon Frontier, 229. 154
“Muncipal High Council Minutes of Winter Quarters,” January 16, 1847, in the Brigham Young Collection,
Historical Department Archives, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, as cited in Lyndon
W. Cook, The Revelations of the Prophet Joseph Smith: A Historical and Biographical Commentary of the Doctrine
and Covenants (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1985), 297. Also see Journal History, January 16,1847. 155
Job Smith, Job Smith Diary and Autobiography, 1849-1877, AMs, 66-67, L. Tom Perry Special
Collections, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, available from http:// contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cgi-
bin/docviewer.exe?CISOROOT=/Diaries&CISOPTR=7670. Internet.
37
Additional Plural Wives
During his stay at Winter Quarters, Cornelius Lott took additional plural wives. When he
had left Nauvoo in February of 1846, he had entered into plural marriage with Rebecca Fausett,
Charity Dickinson, Elizabeth Davis, and Jane Rogers. On March 30, 1847, at 7:00 p.m.,
Cornelius was married to the fifty-four year-old Eleanor Wayman of Maryland by Brigham
Young. Willard Richards, Ezra T. Benson, and Thomas Bullock stood as witnesses of the
ceremony. Also that evening, Cornelius was married to Phoebe Knight, the widow of the late
Joseph Knight. Since she had been married for time and eternity to her first husband, Phoebe was
married to Cornelius for time only.156
Departure of the First Pioneers
As the first group of Latter-day Saints prepared to make the trek west, the Church leaders
held a special conference on the clear, cool morning of April 6, 1847.157
The members of the
Church sustained Cornelius P. Lott as part of the high council in Winter Quarters. Since the
previous August, when Lott accepted the call to serve on the high council, a number of changes
had occurred in the make-up of the council. Those sustained in the April conference were
Alpheus Cutler as the president, George W. Harris, Isaac Morley, Reynolds Cahoon, David
Russell, Alanson Eldredge, Thomas Grover, Henry G. Sherwood, Cornelius P. Lott, Winslow
Farr, Ezra Chase, and Phineas Richards.158
Though a few of the vanguard company left for the Salt Lake Valley the day before the
conference, Brigham Young with the main body did not make their start until April 16, leaving
Orson Hyde as the presiding officer at the Missouri River.159
Lott remained at the Missouri River
as well.
Horace Whitney, age 23, and his brother Orson, age 17, joined Brigham Young’s pioneer
company. On April 8, Horace related, “Before starting, Father Lott blessed Orson and myself,
and gave us many good promises of health and safety – that we should return to our friends
again, etc., etc.”160
Trouble with the Omaha
During that previous winter and into the spring, a Native American tribe called the
Omaha had been driving off and killing the Latter-day Saints’ cattle. The dilemma became
increasingly sore. Because of Cornelius Lott’s responsibilities for overseeing the Church’s cattle,
this would have been one of his primary concerns. On April 19, 1847, the leaders of the Church
held a special meeting at the home of Samuel Russell to take immediate action in order to
resolve the problem. Hosea Stout remarked, “Much was said after which a committee was
appointed to go and have an interview with Big Elk on the subject where upon President Alpheus
Cutler Daniel Spencer, C. P. Lott and W. W. Phelps were apointed to go and complain of our
grievences. The Feeling of the Council & also of Elders Taylor and Pratt were indignant at the
conduct of the Omahas and the prevailing sentiment was to stop them if it had to be by harsher
156
Nauvoo Sealings and Adoptions 1846-1857, Book A, 741-742. 157
See Stout, On the Mormon Frontier, 246. 158
See Journal History, April 6, 1847. 159
Church History in the Fulness of Times, 331. 160
As cited in Whitney, A Woman’s View, 441.
38
means.”161
The men met with Big Elk on the April 21, and reported that the Omaha confessed to
putting their young men up to the trespasses. The tribal chiefs “seemed willing to stop them.”162
On April 24, three days after the meeting with Big Elk, John D. Lee wrote in his diary
some extra information regarding the situation, wherein he mentioned more about Lott’s
involvement. He recorded, “About 11 Bro. J. Busby, G. Laub, D. Davis, Dalton and Potter
started for W. Q. and about 5 evening C. P. Lott with 9 men arrived on their way to meet and
protect the heards from this Co. We learned that a proposition had been made by the chiefs of the
Omaha to let us remain this season by hauling them 600 bus. corn purchased by government and
that we should have 30 bus. out of that amount to feed our teams while hauling, and report says
through the press that an engagement took place about 2, 3 and 4 of Feb. between Gen. Taylor
and Santa Ana in which about 1000 of Taylor’s men fell and 2000 of Santa Ana’s men. Evening
pleasant.”163
Unfortunately, on May 7, the “Omahas made another breach on the cattl.”164
This, of
course, caused greater friction between the Latter-day Saints and the Omaha. Eighteen days later,
on May 25, a group of Omaha led by Young Elk, the chief’s son, rode up to the Latter-day
Saints’ camp to return some horses they had stolen previously in exchange for money, though
they had intentions of making peace with the Latter-day Saints. In observance to Parley P. Pratt’s
orders, Hosea Stout and the other watchmen did not allow them entrance since the Latter-day
Saints in general felt quite hostile towards the Omaha for their treachery. Finally, after some
debate the guards consented that Young Elk and two of his men could go in. As it turned out, six
of the chiefs and braves went in, while the others stayed behind. Hosea Stout escorted them to
the camp and while the Omaha waited outside, Stout went in and explained the situation to Elder
Pratt, who refused to see them and ordered Stout to tell Young Elk that the Church leaders were
angry with their tribe and that he didn’t want anything to do with him.
Hosea Stout then went to Apostle John Taylor who supported Elder Pratt’s sentiments.
Elder Taylor referred Stout to Cornelius Lott, who happened to pass by at the moment. Lott,
echoing the feelings of Elders Pratt and Taylor, replied he didn’t wish to get involved, to which
Stout angrily replied that he didn’t either. Elder Taylor overheard this exchange and asked
Cornelius to go with Hosea Stout to hear Young Elk’s report. Cornelius obeyed. While all of this
had transpired, Young Elk and his men had returned the stolen horses and received their pay.
Lott and Stout returned with Young Elk and his small group to the other Omaha who had
not been permitted to enter. They formed a regular council, with the Omaha on one side and the
two men on the other, facing one another. In the council, Young Elk stated he was ready to hear
what the Latter-day Saints had to say. Cornelius “replied very angrily that we had said heretofore
all we had to say & they would not live up to their agreements & if they had nothing to say it was
no use talking &c.” In his diary, Hosea Stout commented that he felt Cornelius’s response was
“very hostile” and “unreasonable.” Young Elk remained calm and explained how he had been
sent by his father to establish peace. He expressed his disappointment in the treatment he and his
men had received from the Latter-day Saints in trying to return the horses. He further explained
how he had to contend with his own people to give up the stolen horses. He then vowed that his
people would no longer steal horses and expressed his desire for peace. Finally, Young Elk
161
Stout, On the Mormon Frontier, 250-251. 162
Stout, On The Mormon Frontier, 251. 163
Lee, Journals of John D. Lee, 156. 164
Stout, On The Mormon Frontier, 253.
39
spoke sharply and quipped that if Brigham Young had been there, they would have been treated
more kindly. Stout wrote, “Br Lott’s wrath abated & he talked reasonable in a short time & we
all verily believed they were sincere in their words.” After this, Young Elk insisted that the
Latter-day Saints give a definite answer regarding the situation and asked for presents to take to
his father. The Latter-day Saints were not able to give any gifts at the time, but promised to relay
the words of the council to Alpheus Cutler, the president of the high council.165
On May 20, Cornelius Lott joined with Orson Hyde, Parley P. Pratt, John Taylor, John
Smith, Newel K. Whitney, George W. Harris, Winslow Farr, Isaac Morley, John Young, and
Joseph Young in sending out a notice concerning stray animals. They announced, “All stray
cattle not claimed on that or the following day, shall be used by the authorities on the present
mountain expedition and shall still be held as strays for the owners, as this people are all bound
for the mountains.”166
On June 19, 1847, relations between the Latter-day Saints and the Omaha worsened. On
that day, a tragedy occurred when Jacob Weatherby, Alfred Lambson, Nancy Chamberlain and
Almira Johnson had left the Elkhorn River that morning on their way to Winter Quarters. Three
Omaha men, who had been hiding in the grass, approached the wagon with rifles raised and
stopped the oxen. Jacob Weatherby ordered the men to leave, but received no response. At that
moment, both Weatherby and Lambson, who were unarmed, attacked a couple of the braves with
the intent to disarm them. In the mean time, the remaining Omaha man, about fifteen feet away,
shot Weatherby through the hip and bowels. Once he fell, the Omaha fled. The oxen were
frightened by the gunshot and Nancy Chamberlain whipped them to drive them back to the
Elkhorn River. Since Weatherby was not in a condition to travel, Lambson left him in the care of
the women while he went ahead to get help from Winter Quarters, some five miles away.167
Three or four hours later, Lambson returned with Alpheus Cutler, Cornelius P. Lott, and
Newel K. Whitney in carriages. When the rescue party found them, they put the injured Jacob
Weatherby in Cornelius’s carriage and headed towards the Elkhorn. They soon found the oxen
and wagon that had been driven off, and Alfred Lambson took the two women back to the camp.
Lambson commented, “Father Cutler, Bishop Whitney, and Bro. Lott left me and hurried their
horses to the camp. I thank those High Councillors for their kindness.” The next morning,
Cornelius Lott gave Lambson a ride to where his family was.168
Jacob Weatherby died that same
morning, hence, Cutler, Lott, and Whitney took his body with the intent to have him interred at
Winter Quarters. However, “he mortified and smelt so bad they buried him in a buffaloe robe
near the liberty pole.”169
The next morning around nine o’clock, Cornelius Lott joined company with Newel K.
Whitney, Alpheus Cutler, Charles C. Rich, and William Kimball to travel by raft on the Elkhorn
River to the main camp on the Platte. Here the party met with the leaders of the companies that
were just departing for the Salt Lake Valley.170
Lott then returned to Winter Quarters. On June
165
See Stout, On The Mormon Frontier, 256-257. 166
Journal History, May 20, 1847. 167
See Journal History, June 19, 1847, 3-6. Also see Patty Bartlett Sessions, Mormon Midwife: The 1846-1888
Diaries of Patty Bartlett Sessions, ed. Donna Toland Smart (Logan, Utah: Utah State University Press, 1997), 85
and Lee, Journals of John D. Lee, 179. 168
See Journal History, June 19, 1847, 5. 169
Sessions, Mormon Midwife, 86. Also see Journal History, June 20, 1847, 2. 170
See Journal History, June 21, 1847, 2.
40
21, Hosea Stout noted, “The main camp has all started on to the West & all the brethren who had
gone to the Horne has returned.”171
The Church leaders called a meeting for the evening of June 22. Hosea Stout noted that
the purpose for the council “was to consider upon a letter just recieved from Elder Hyde stating
that there was to be a demand made by Mitchel, the Pottewattamie Agent, upon the Omahas for
the man who shot Wetherbee & that 100 men would be raised at the Point to cross over to Bel-
vue on next Thursday morning and desired 50 men to be raised here and put under my command
and met them at 9 o’clock A. M. with the intention of making war on the Omahas in case they
did not give up the murder and also the one who killed the man found dead on the Horn by our
people.”172
A Return Trip to Missouri
On June 30, 1847, one man named Ellis Mendenhall Sanders indicated that Cornelius
Lott made a trip to Missouri with him. He recorded, “Got an order from Wm Kimball for
crossing the River on 30th - started to Missouri in company with Bro. C.P. Lott, Boulton Porter
& Davenport all went with me to Oregon on their way to the East, Davenport & I went three
miles below Oregon & bought a load of corn...”173
Though it is not clear what Lott’s purpose was
in going to Missouri, perhaps his mission was similar to that of Sanders’s, that is, to purchase
supplies for the Latter-day Saints.
Tragedy in the Lott Family
Tragedy struck the Lott family towards the end of that year. Alzina Lott wrote, “Sadness
came to my parents when in October of 1847 they lost two of their children in ten days. Harriet
Amanda died Oct. 5, 1847 at the age of eleven years, and Joseph Darrow died Oct. 15, 1847 at
the age of nine years. Mama and Papa had had two children born to them and now had lost three
children in the time they had been on the plains. They also lost one grand-child, son of John
Smiley Lott and Mary Ann Fausett Lott.”174
Hence, today at the Winter Quarter’s memorial site,
one will find the names of the Lott children listed among those who died in that place.
Little information is found concerning Cornelius through the winter of 1847-1848. On
February 10, 1848, “Pres. Brigham Young and Elder Wilford Woodruff spent part of the day
with Cornelius P. Lott in the Historian’s office, at Winter Quarters.”175
Then, six days later, on
February 16, Hosea Stout noted, “Wed Feb 16th
1848. Occupied in distributing corn to the police.
Procured another cow of Lott on picket guard tax.”176
171
Stout, On the Mormon Frontier, 262. 172
Stout, On the Mormon Frontier, 262. 173
Ellis Mendenall Sander, Ellis Mendenhall Sander's journal, 12 Jul 1844 to 10 Nov 1858, copied by Sarah Ida
Wiltbank Foremaster (1935), available from http://www.softcom.net/users/paulandsteph/ ems/journal.html; internet. 174
Willes, “Personal History of Cornelius P. Lott,” 10. 175
Journal History, February 10, 1848. 176
Stout, On the Mormon Frontier, 302.
41
Chapter 7
Captain Lott and the Trek West
The Departure for the Salt Lake Valley As part of Heber C. Kimball’s wagon train, Cornelius Lott took his family and started the
trek west for the Salt Lake Valley, leaving in the summer of 1848.177
Before the journey, Mary
Fielding Smith, the widow of Hyrum Smith, approached Cornelius Lott to seek assistance in
preparation for the trek since he had charge over the cattle of the Church. Mary’s son, Joseph F.
Smith, recalled, “When we started out from the Missouri River, we had only about one-half
enough teams to haul our wagons.” Cornelius did not feel her outfit was up to the challenge of
crossing the plains. President Smith explained, “But after diagnosing our case, considering the
number of wagons we had, and the helplessness of the whole company, he very sternly informed
the widow that there was no use for her to attempt to cross the plains that year, and advised her
to go back to the river, to Winter Quarters, and wait another year, when perhaps she could be
helped out.”178
Cornelius then warned Mary, “If you start in this manner, you will be a burden on
the company the whole way, and I will have to carry you along or leave you on the way.” Mary
replied, “I will beat you to the valley and will ask no help from you either,” to which Cornelius
retorted, “You can’t get there without help, and the burden will be on me.”179
Mary Smith
returned to the Missouri River and was able to borrow enough cattle in order to make the trek,
promising to return them once they had arrived to the Salt Lake Valley.180
Mary Smith’s brother, Joseph Fielding, who made the journey with her, admitted that he
also was not fully prepared to make the trek. His account may give greater background into
Mary’s predicament. He wrote, “Bro. Terry, who had (been) engaged to drive a Team to the
Valey and to bring one back to take his own Family, was quite discouraged, and said it was great
Folly to attempt to go as we were fixt.”181
He further explained the situation, “At the close of the
last Winter I commenced repairing my Sister’s Waggons, etc. to prepare her for her Journey to
the Valey, but as I saw no possibility of going myself I bought the Improvement of five Acres of
Land and sowed it with S (spring) Wheat, but still felt a desire to go if the Way should open, and
as I was a Member of the Council, I was advised by Bro. H.C. Kimball to try and make a Start. I
sold my Claim, borrowed some Corn, and did my best for Starting, but both my Sister and
myself found it very difficult to get off.”182
On June 6, 1848, Cornelius Lott, Joseph Fielding, Mary Smith and their respective
families had been expected to arrive at the Elkhorn camp shortly after dinnertime. When they
delayed in their arrival, those in the camp began to feel concerned for their welfare. Heber C.
177
See Willes, “Personal History of Cornelius P. Lott,” 10. 178
Joseph F. Smith, “A Plucky Pioneer Mother,” Improvement Era, June 1918, 756. 179
Joseph Fielding Smith, comp., The Life of Joseph F. Smith (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1938), 148. 180
See Joseph F. Smith, “How One Widow Crossed the Plains,” Young Woman’s Journal, Feb. 1919, 165. 181
Joseph Fielding, Diary of Joseph Fielding, TMs (Salt Lake City: n.p., 1963), 148, L. Tom Perry Special
Collections, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah. Also in Journey to Zion: Voices from the Mormon Trail, 299. 182
Fielding, Diary of Joseph Fielding, 148. Also in Journey to Zion: Voices from the Mormon Trail, 298-299.
42
Kimball sent ten armed footmen to find the party and give them aid if necessary. Lott’s group
finally arrived safely at five o’clock, although they had a broken axle and were “very short of
team.”183
William Thompson, the camp clerk, wrote on June 6, “About one o'clock Brother C. P.
Lott [Cornelius P. Lott] and family come in sight. He drove up his teams and gave Sister Mary
Smith 2 yoke of cattle that Brother Egan [Howard Egan] had procured for her by the command
of Brother Heber. C. Kimball.” Shortly after this, they met a man named Jesse Brailey, who had
just had an unfriendly encounter with an American Indian. Thompson continued, “We then
hitched up our teams about 1 o'clock and prosecuted our way in company with Brother Lott and
family.”184
Lott as a Captain of Ten
On June 8, John Pack called the camp together to elect officers. William Burton, who
served as Henry Herriman’s clerk, noted, “The officers were all accepted according to their
previous appointment: Henry Herriman, Captain of Hundred; John Pack, Captain of the 2nd
Fifty;
Caleb Baldwin, Captain of the 1st Ten; William Burton Captain of the 2
nd Ten; Cornelius P. Lott
Captain of the 3rd
Ten; Francis McFerson, Captain of the Guard, and William Burton, Clerk.
Various instructions were given to the brethren; one thing was enjoined upon them: ‘To offer
supplication to the Most High, twice a day.’ The hand of God was manifest in our midst, peace
and union prevailed in our company.”185
By June 16, Lott’s company arrived at the fork where the Loup and Platte Rivers join.186
Around this time, Jane Wilson, a woman in Mary Fielding Smith’s group went ahead to catch up
to her mother who was traveling in Newel K. Whitney’s company, so she could get some
“snuff.” Since the companies were traveling so near each other, she intended to return to Lott’s
camp that evening. Joseph F. Smith’s son, Joseph Fielding Smith, wrote that Lott, “knowing that
Jane had gone ahead, concluded to camp in the middle of the day, and the result was that the
advanced company pulled further away as they traveled during the afternoon.” Lott, seeing that
Jane had not returned by the late afternoon, called the camp together and asked “in a very and
excited manner, ‘Is all right in the camp!’” Each group responded to the affirmative. He finally
turned to Mary Smith and asked if she was all right. After she had answered that all was well,
“he exclaimed: ‘All is right, is it, and a poor woman lost!’” According to Joseph F. Smith, his
mother answered, “Father (Lott), Jane is not lost, she has gone to see her mother, and is quite
safe.” Cornelius reportedly countered, “I rebuke you, Widow Smith, in the name of the Lord!
She is lost and must be sent for at once.” Mary consented and sent her fifteen year-old son, John,
“traveling in the night through droves of ravenous wolves, fierce for the flesh of dead cattle
strewed along the road, howling and even snapping at him on every side, their eyes gleaming in
the dark.” After arriving, he found Jane Wilson “all snug and comfortable with her mother.”187
Lott had been in charge of Joseph Smith’s farm in Nauvoo and overseer of the Church’s
livestock for a time at Winter Quarters. As would be expected, he resumed such responsibility
183
Journal History, June 6, 1848, 4. 184
William Thompson, William Thompson Journal, June 6, 1848, available from http://www.lds.org/
churchhistory/library/source/0,18016,4976-5528,00.html; Internet. 185
Journal History, September 24, 1848, 3. 186
See Thompson, William Thompson Journal, June 15, 1848. 187
Smith, The Life of Joseph F. Smith, 149-150.
43
while on the trek across the plains. On June 18, 1848, “The vote was unanimous and Cornelius P.
Lot was chosen Captain of the Herd.”188
According to one clerk, the company consisted of “64
wagons, 179 souls, 21 horses, 16 mules, 19 oxen, 93 cows, 27 loose cattle, 74 sheep, 28 hogs, 71
hens, 22 dogs and 5 cats.”189
On the warm and beautiful morning of June 21, Heber C. Kimball called a meeting
together consisting of nine men, including Cornelius Lott. In his journal, William Thompson
wrote, “Brother Kimball said that there must be some arrangements made so that all things may
be done in order. He mentioned the fact of the cattle, that the camp left the day previous and said
that he wanted every 10 to furnish 1 hand to help drive loose stock. To this the brethren agreed.
He then spoke to the brethren about order. He said that this must be observed in order to be able
to get along in harmony. He said that we were as peaceable a company as ever was known to
travel together. There was several remarks mad by Herriman, Pack & Lott about law and order,
&c. The meeting was closed by prayer by Henry Herriman, and the meeting was dismissed.”190
Being a captain over ten, Lott was able to speak to the Latter-day Saints on various
occasions. At twelve o’clock noon on Sunday, June 25, he had one such opportunity. William
Thompson noted that Lott “made several good remarks about order, diligence, reverence, &c.”191
Eleven days after Lott had been appointed Captain of the Herd, he expressed his desire to
be released from the responsibility. On the evening July 29, the company leaders called a
meeting to discuss the matter. After the motion had been made for Lott’s release, the vote was
unanimous. Heber C. Kimball then motioned “that each fifty take turns in driving the herd, every
other day.” His motion was carried and “the meeting was dismissed with Bro Kimball blessing
the people.”192
While camped a mile east of Rattlesnake Creek on the Platte River on the evening of July
6, Cornelius Lott called his company together to Mary Smith’s fire. They opened the meeting by
singing the hymn “How Firm a Foundation,” after which Lott himself offered the invocation.
The clerk recorded that Lott “then adressed the meeting on the importance of the work we are
now engaged in. He spoke of us being the people that Jeremiah spoke of. We were going to
establish the house of the Lord on the top of the mountain &c. He exhorted the brethren to
diligence & faithfulness in garding in herding in keeping all the commandments of God &c.
Brother Bartholomew [Noah Willis Bartholomew] then exprest his satisfaction at our meeting
togather. He said it would give us a chance to know what was in our hearts, &c. The meeting was
then dismist by Brother Joel Terry.”193
On the morning of July 15, not far from Chimney Rock, Noah Bartholomew had the
point box off his hind axle break, which damaged to the point of the axle. Once Cornelius
learned of the mishap, he stopped his company and took William Thompson with him to help
mend Bartholomew’s wagon. Lott and Thompson spent two hours aiding in the repair, after
which they continued on their way.194
188
Journal History, September 24, 1848, 4. 189
Journal History, September 24, 1848, 3. 190
Thompson, William Thompson Journal, June 21, 1848. 191
Thompson, William Thompson Journal, June 25, 1848. 192
William Burton, William Burton Journal, June 29, 1848, available from http://www.lds.org/
churchhistory/library/source/0,18016,4976-5487,00.html; Internet. 193
Thompson, William Thompson Journal, July 6, 1848. 194
See Thompson, William Thompson Journal, July 15, 1848.
44
A few days later, on July 21, Heber C. Kimball halted his company for a day in order to
give rest to the cattle and for the women to wash. President Kimball also took the opportunity to
instruct his camp about law and order. He then sent out some scouts, including Cornelius Lott, to
find wood and a place to feed the livestock. That evening, Lott and the others returned with the
report that the feed was poor. Later, Orrin Porter Rockwell came to President Kimball’s camp
from the Salt Lake Valley “bringing despatches of June 21.”195
Weakening Cattle
By the time the Latter-day Saints had passed Fort Laramie near the end of July, the lack
of feed for the cattle became a considerable dilemma due to a drought that year. On July 25, the
company clerk noted, “One of Brother Lotts & one of Brother H. C. Kimball's cattle give out to-
day on account of the long drive without feed. Our cattle looked very weak & empty this
evening, although they pulled well & traveled well through the day.” That same day, Heber C.
Kimball came riding up to Lott’s company in his buggy looking for a place to camp for the night.
Cornelius, along with Titus Billings, requested that President Kimball set up camp next to theirs,
which he did.196
The following day, the leaders of Heber C. Kimball’s company decided to divide into
smaller companies due to the scarcity of feed for the livestock. President Kimball and John Pack
with their respective companies moved ahead for search of better feed, while Billings and Lott
with their companies stopped on Dead Timber Creek. Thompson recorded, “The brethren in C.
P. Lott's 10 counseled togather after the other camps went off & appointed Brothers C. P. Lott &
Noah W. Bartholomew to go a few miles west to see if there was any better feed for cattle; they
returned in 2 hours and reported that there was none except what the brethren had taken up.
Drove up our cattle and chained them up for the night. About 8 p.m. it commenced raining &
rained nearly all the night moderately.”197
The situation grew worse as the Latter-day Saints pressed on, as they were still unable to
find sufficient feed for the cattle. On July 28, several cattle in Lott’s company gave out as well as
those in other camps, afflicted with what the camp historian termed “the blind staggers.” That
night they camped at a dry riverbed.198
The following morning, Lott took his carriage up to Heber C. Kimball’s camp to get
some water. Upon his return, they divided the water among the families. After breakfast, Lott
called his company together for prayer before they resumed the journey.199
A couple of days later, on Sunday, July 30, the camp gathered together at eight o’clock in
the morning to hold the Sabbath day meeting. After praying and singing a hymn, Cornelius
spoke to his company “on the subjects of faithfulness and diligence, &c.”200
On August 2, the camp historian commented, “The brethren was all wornd out with the
cattle.” At nine o’clock that morning, the camp gathered and Joseph Fielding prayed. However,
for an hour they were delayed in setting off because one of Lott’s cows had wandered off.201
195
Thompson, William Thompson Journal, July 21, 1848. 196
See Thompson, William Thompson Journal, July 25, 1848. 197
Thompson, William Thompson Journal, July 26, 1848. 198
See Thompson, William Thompson Journal, July 28, 1848. 199
See Thompson, William Thompson Journal, July 26, 1848. 200
Thompson, William Thompson Journal, July 30, 1848. 201
See Thompson, William Thompson Journal, August 2, 1848.
45
Still beleaguered because of the lack of feed for the animals, the camp turned to the Lord
for help. On August 3, the clerk noted, “Our camp met together this evening after sundown for
the purpose of calling upon the Lord to bless & strengthen our cattle; to harden their feet, &c.”
Lott “made a few remarks concerning our position & circumstances, faith, &c.”202
In the evening of August 7, Cornelius Lott called the brethren to gather at his campfire
for a meeting. Lott addressed the men in regards to President Kimball’s counsel on the matter of
faithfulness and diligence. After his remarks, William Thompson spoke on the subject of
forgiveness.203
The following Sunday morning, the camp met for Sabbath day worship at nine
o’clock. Again Lott had the opportunity to give “good instruction,” followed by words from
Titus Billings and Joseph Fielding.204
During the middle of August, while the company traveled between the Platte and
Sweetwater Rivers, one of Mary Fielding Smith’s “best oxen laid down in the yoke as if
poisoned and all supposed he would die.” At this point, according to Joseph F. Smith, Cornelius
Lott “came up and seeing the cause of the disturbance he blustered about. . . as if the world were
about at an end. ‘There,’ said he, ‘I told you you would have to be helped and that you would be
a burden on the company.’” However, at Mary’s request, her brother Joseph and a man named
James Lawson administered to the ox with consecrated oil, after which the animal immediately
rose and continued on as if nothing had happened. This act amazed the others in the company.
After a short time, another of her oxen collapsed, but after receiving the same treatment as the
other, it regained strength and resumed its journey. Finally, this occurred yet a third time with
another ox with the same results. Joseph F. Smith noted that Captain Lott was put out that the
oxen recovered.205
Lott’s Gratitude
Around this time Cornelius Lott became quite demonstrative in his gratitude to the Lord
for preserving his camp. Upon arriving at Devil’s Gate around one o’clock in the afternoon of
August 17, Cornelius and his wife joined with Mary Smith and William Thompson to climb
approximately four hundred feet to see the view from the top of the cliffs. The company then set
up camp about four miles west of Devil’s Gate on the bank of the Sweetwater. Out of
gratefulness, Cornelius raised a small standard with the inscription: “Standard of thanks to the
God of Israel for the preservation of our camp. Titus Billings, Cap. C.P. Lott, Cap. of 10, Joseph
Fielding & family, Mary Smith & family, N. W. Bartholomew & family, Thomas Harrington &
family, J. S. Lott & wife, William Thompson.” That evening, Lott called the camp together.
William Thompson recorded, “After singing a hymn, Brother C. P. Lott said he felt he would
like to have the camp meet togather that we might sing a little & pray or do anything the Spirit
might dictate. Brother Joseph Fielding engaged in prayer. Brother Lott then arose & expressed
202
Thompson, William Thompson Journal, August 3, 1848. 203
See Thompson, William Thompson Journal, August 7, 1848. 204
See Thompson, William Thompson Journal, August 13, 1848. 205
Smith, The Life of Joseph F. Smith, 150. In another account of what may be the same incident, President Smith
wrote, “We journeyed on, meeting with mishaps, losing our oxen, etc. At one time, I remember, one of our oxen,
‘Old Buck’ was taken sick and the captain said: ‘It will die, unyoke it, and leave it,’ closing his remarks with, ‘I told
you that you would be a burden to your company.’ The widow went to her wagon, brought a bottle of consecrated
oil and with the assistance of Brothers Fielding and Terry used it. ‘Old Buck’ jumped to his feet and we went on our
way rejoicing. Later the captain met with the same misfortune, the widow offered help but her assistance was
declined” (As cited in “How One Widow Crossed the Plains,” Young Woman’s Journal, Feb. 1919, 165).
46
his feeling that we had been thus far blest. He exhorted the brethren to attend to the sayings of
Brother H.C.K. and pray for their cattle relying on the word of that they would be heeld &c.”206
On the morning of Sunday, August 20, the men in the camp gathered for prayer at ten
o’clock. After Titus Billings had offered the prayer, Cornelius took occasion to speak. William
Thompson wrote, “This morning Brother Lott made few remarks to the brethren concerning the
preservation of our camp. He said he believed if we would call upon the Lord we might have
more milk, for He was as able to bless our cows that they would give us milk although they have
to work, as he was to bless the raw meat that the Nephites eat & give suck to their children,
&c.”207
Later that same day at four o’clock, the camp met together for worship services. Captain
Lott “said the brethren might improve their time as they felt disposed.” Following that, Joseph
Fielding spoke “at some length” on the principles of faith, Noah W. Bartholomew spoke about
union, and William Thompson instructed the camp on the same subjects. After those three gave
their remarks, Cornelius “spoke to the brethren & sisters, expressing his satisfaction of the
meeting. He said that we had been talking on the same principles that President H. C. Kimball
had been talking to the brethren about & he was glad to know that the same spirit was among us,
&c.”208
Within a couple of weeks after, around September 1, the company arrived at the last
crossing of the Sweetwater, when three of Captain Lott’s oxen and his best mule died. Joseph F.
Smith reported that Lott “was obliged to get help for himself before he could proceed.” President
Smith continued:
I heard him say, ‘It looks suspicious that four of my best animals should lie down in this manner
all at once, and die, and everybody’s cattle but mine escape!’ and he then insinuated that
somebody had poisoned them through spite. All of which was said in my presence and for my
special benefit, which I perfectly understood, although he did not address himself directly to me. It
was well for him that I was only a stripling of nine years of age, and not a man, even four years
would have cost the old man dearly regardless of his age, and perhaps a cause of regret to me. My
temper was beyond boiling, it was ‘white hot,’ for I knew his insinuation was directed or aimed at
my mother, as well as I know that such a thing was beyond her power even had she been capable
of such a deed. All of which he knew as well as I, and all the camp. At this moment I resolved on
revenge for this and the many other insults and abuses he had heaped upon my mother, and
perhaps could have carried out my resolutions had not death come timely to my relief and taken
him away, while I was yet a child.209
Joseph F. Smith elaborated that part of the reason that he felt Cornelius Lott held a vendetta
against Mary Smith was because she did not allow her nine year-old son to stand guard at nights.
President Smith shared an incident related to this particular conflict, saying that one night Lott
“terrifically” shook the wagon in which Mary Smith and her family were sleeping and raised a
false alarm with a “loud hoarse whisper shouting ‘Indians! Indians! Get up quick , Widow
Smith! We’re beset by Indians!’ Mother replied, ‘Why don’t you arouse the men, I don’t see
206
Thompson, William Thompson Journal, August 17, 1848. 207
Thompson, William Thompson Journal, August 20, 1848. 208
Thompson, William Thompson Journal, August 20, 1848. 209
Smith, The Life of Joseph F. Smith, 151.
47
what I can do.’ At this he went to the next wagon where some of the family were asleep, shaking
it rather mildly, and then slinked off, not wishing to carry his alarm any further.”210
Cornelius again took the opportunity to speak to those in his company on September 17,
at another camp meeting. William Thompson related, “Brother C. P. Lott spoke for some length
concerning the unity of the Saints, &c. He said that H.C.K. instructed Father Billings & him to
move on and have a meeting of thanksgiving & dedicate and consecrate ourselves to the Lord
afresh. Whereupon C. P. Lott called a vote to see if it was the minds of the meeting to do as
H.C.K. instructed us. Unanimous. Brother Thompson, Ryle, Billings, Lawson & others followed
with remarks concerning the work we are engaged in etc, etc. The meeting was good. The Spirit
of the Lord was with us. All felt well. The unity of the Spirit prevailed.”211
The Final Advance to the Valley
On September 22, 1848, the company camped within a day’s journey from the Salt Lake
Valley. The following morning, Captain Lott gave the word to gear up and head on. According
to Joseph F. Smith, the Widow Smith’s cattle “for some reason had strayed away, and were not
to be found with the herd.” Lott ordered the camp to leave without her. Part way up the hill
leading to the entrance to Parley’s Canyon, a violent storm broke out so that “the captain seemed
forced to direct the company to unhitch the teams, turn them loose, and block the wheels to keep
the wagons from running back down the hill.”212
One described the storm as a “hard rain & wind
which extended over the valley.”213
As the storm raged, the animals scattered. Yet shortly
afterwards, the storm passed and Mary Smith and her group, now ready to travel, were able to
ascend the hill and overtake Lott’s company. Joseph Fielding asked his sister, “Mary, what shall
we do? Go on, or wait for the company to gather up their teams?” She replied, “Joseph, they
have not waited for us, and I see no necessity for us to wait for them.”214
With that, she took her
small group and proceeded to enter the valley on Saturday, September 23, leaving Lott and the
rest of the company behind. The next day, Mary Smith and her clan bathed and attended a
meeting where Presidents Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball addressed the Latter-day
Saints. Joseph F. Smith commented, “On our way home, we met the captain, tired and dirty, just
entering the fort, thus proving the truth of the widow’s words: ‘I will beat you to the valley and
ask for no help either.’”215
These incidents between Mary Fielding Smith and Cornelius Lott made a deep
impression on Joseph F. Smith, who was only nine years old at the time. Sadly, years passed
before he resolved his bitterness against Lott. In a letter to his brother, John, in 1861, he wrote
the following:
I wish you would write to me. You must excuse me for writing so much, and talking as I have done. the
Truth is John if we say what we think, there is nothing hidden, and then if difficulties arrise we have the
satisfaction of knowing that we did our best to prevent it, The surest way to prevent “feelings” is to have a
good understanding about everything, You understand what I mean, and my motto is, have the Spirit, to
resent a wrong, and a heart to forgive it. Not that you have don wrong or that I think so, but that is the
210
Smith, The Life of Joseph F. Smith, 151-152. 211
Thompson, William Thompson Journal, September 17, 1848. 212
Smith, The Life of Joseph F. Smith, 155. 213
Stout, On the Mormon Frontier, 327. 214
Smith, The Life of Joseph F. Smith, 154-155. 215
As cited in Smith, “How One Widow Crossed the Plains,” Young Woman’s Journal, February 1919, 171.
48
principel, that I work on, The hardest thing for me to forgive is wraped in the memory of C. P. Lot! Yet
even that I forgive, tho’ I never will forget it. My memory is keen upon these things, So no doubt is yours,
but I shall try and never mention anything of this kind again. I begg pardon for what I may have done
wrong, and humbly ask forgiveness.216
Regrettably, the only known account of the relationship between Mary Smith and
Cornelius Lott comes from the one-sided perspective of a boy who was no more than nine-years-
old when the incidents occurred.
216
Joseph F. Smith to John Smith, January 20, 1861, ALS, Joseph F. Smith Papers, Historical Department Archives,
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City.
49
Chapter 8
Senator Lott in the Territory of Deseret
Settling in the Salt Lake Valley Upon arrival to the Salt Lake Valley, Cornelius, whose wife was eight months pregnant,
built a “very primitive” two room cabin “on the corner of third south and what is now State
Street.” Alzina Lott recalled, “It was made with rough hewn logs with openings between the
timbers daubed with chinking and mud.”217
Referring to her mother, Alzina also wrote, “The
same hands that tidied the eight room dwelling where the Prophet sat, talked and visited now
swept with a sage brush broom, the dirt floor of our new cabin.”218
In spite of the difficult
circumstances, they “were just happy to be together and have a safe place to call home at last.”219
Shortly after building the little home, Cornelius’s daughter, Mary Elizabeth, married
Abraham Losee on November 12, 1848. Losee had become acquainted with the Lotts in Nauvoo
when he worked on the Smith farm under Cornelius’s direction. Only four days after the
marriage, Permelia delivered Benjamin Smith Lott on November 16.220
The Council of Fifty Reconvened
Early in the month of December 1848, Brigham Young called the Council of Fifty
together to discuss the problem of those who had let their cattle and horses roam free in the
valley, exposing them to the “ravages of the wolves & Indian(s).” They decided to appoint a
committee that would round up the animals for their safety. This committee consisted of Amasa
Lyman, John D. Fuller, Orrin Porter Rockwell, John D. Lee, and George D. Grant. Once they
had done their duty in driving the animals to the fort, a few individuals became angry because
they had to retrieve their livestock that had been driven there. Some used harsh language against
those of the committee. Amasa Lyman requested to be released because of the insults. Brigham
Young opposed the motion that any of the committee be released, since they would only have to
find replacements for them anyhow. Concerning those who let their animals roam freely,
President Young declared “that natural feelings would Say llet them & their catle go to Hell, But
duty Says if they will not take care of there catle, we must do it for them. We are to be saviours
of men in these last days. Then don’t be bluffed off by insults or abuse.” After his statement, the
president moved that the committee remain in place and that they add more men to the
committee. Among those added were Cornelius P. Lott, Newel K. Whitney, Jedediah M. Grant,
Daniel H. Spencer, Charles C. Rich, Erastus Snow, and Shadrach Roundy.221
217
Willes, “Personal History of Cornelius P. Lott,” 10. 218
Willes, “Personal History of Permelia Darrow Lott,” 2. 219
Willes, “Personal History of Cornelius P. Lott,” 10. 220
See Willes, “Personal History of Cornelius P. Lott,” 10-11. 221
See Lee, A Mormon Chronicle, 80-82.
50
The War against Vermin
Near Christmastime that year, the Latter-day Saint settlers launched a war against various
wild animals that plagued them by destroying their grain and livestock. John D. Lee referred to
them as “wasters and destroyers” and listed such animals as “wolves, wildcats, catamounts, Pole
cats, minks, Bear, Panthers, Eagles, Hawks, owls, crow or Ravens & magpies.” He asserted that
thousands of dollars worth of grain and livestock had already been destroyed. To curb the
problem, Brigham Young nominated John D. Lee and John Pack as captains to oversee the
extermination of the animals. The captains decided to turn the hunt into a competition, each
captain choosing one hundred men to hunt the vermin. The wings of the various birds and the
skins of each animal were worth a certain number of points. A raven wing was worth one; the
wing of an owl, hawk, or magpie was worth two; an eagle’s wing, five; the skin of a wolf, fox,
wildcat, or catamount was worth ten; the skin of a Pole cat or mink, five; and of a bear or
panther, fifty. The captains agreed that the company that attained the fewer number of points by
February 1, 1849 at ten o’clock would provide a meal for both parties and their wives at a social
dinner at John Pack’s home after the competition. Cornelius Lott was chosen to be part of John
D. Lee’s company.222
During the month of January 1849, the hunters destroyed such a large number of vermin,
especially the wolves and foxes, that Lee and Pack felt the competition should be extended for an
extra month, to which the council agreed.223
Finally, on March 5, the hunt ended and the men came in with literally thousands of
wings and skins to be counted. John D. Lee recorded, “At 4 P.M. poles closed, giving J. D. Lee a
majority of two thousand five hundred & 43 skelps. The entir No. brought on both sides was
estimated between Fourteen & Fifteen Thousand.” Lee concluded, “The hunt resulted in good.
Many 1000 dollars worth of catle were Saved in this move.”224
A Visit to the Sessions
Shortly after the hunt had begun, on January 7, Patty Sessions recorded in her diary,
“Sunday 7 Br [Cornelius Peter] Lott came here talked with Mr Sessions.”225
That evening at a
high priest quorum meeting, Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, and Newel K. Whitney
disfellowshipped her husband, David Sessions, for a “breach of covenant”.226
A week later,
however, Brother Sessions acknowledged his faults and was received back into fellowship.227
Lott’s involvement in the case remains uncertain.
The Territory of Deseret
As the new territory of Deseret began to develop, Cornelius Lott took part with the
Council of Fifty for its establishment. On February 17, 1849, the council discussed which system
of weights and measures the territory would adopt. At the meeting, Albert Carrington, who
served on the “commity of weights & measures,” reported that after examining the various
systems, he found the French to be the simplest and most correct. To this, John D. Lee, noted,
222
See Lee, A Mormon Chronicle, 82-84. Also see Journal History, December 24, 1848, 1-2. 223
See Lee, A Mormon Chronicle, 87. 224
Lee, A Mormon Chronicle, 100. 225
Sessions, Mormon Midwife, 126. 226
Journal History, January 7, 1849. 227
Sessions, Mormon Midwife, 126.
51
“C. P. Lott said that he was entirely oposed to adopting the System of any Nation, that we should
be a paron [pattern] to the world instead of our folowing their rules, weights & measurs.” To this,
Brigham Young expressed his opinion that the territory of Deseret should take on “the most easy,
simple, plain System that could be had.”228
Continued Association with Brigham Young
Cornelius continued to enjoy a close association with the president of the Church and the
other leading officers. That spring, Brigham Young assigned Cornelius as supervisor over his
own Forest Dale Farm, in keeping with his previous responsibilities with farming and ranching.
Alzina wrote, “He was once again doing the kind of work he loved and was best suited for.”229
Lott hired John Riggs Murdock, who had worked for him as a boy on the Smith farm in Nauvoo.
In reference to Murdock, one historian noted, “…it was therefore quite natural that Father Lott
should want him to assist in the development of this large and important farm.”230
This
arrangement would be of particular interest to Lott’s daughter, Almira, who later that year would
be married to the young man.
On May 10, 1949, President Young visited with Cornelius and gave him instructions.231
Three days later, the president and his wife, along with Thomas Bullock, visited the Lott home
and married Ira J. Willes, a former member of the Mormon Battalion, to Cornelius’s oldest
daughter, Melissa.232
The marriage was for time only since she was sealed to the Prophet Joseph
Smith six years earlier as a plural wife for time and eternity. The young couple lived another year
in the Great Salt Lake Valley before moving to Lehi to farm.233
At ten o’clock in the morning on Sunday, June 3, 1849, Cornelius P. Lott and William W.
Phelps had the opportunity to speak to a congregation of Latter-day Saints at “the stand” in Salt
Lake City.234
Unfortunately, the topic of Lott’s address remains unknown.
On the fifth anniversary since Joseph Smith’s martyrdom, Eliza R. Snow, a widow to the
Prophet, visited with Cornelius and Permelia. She wrote, “Wed. 27th
This day is 5 years since
Joseph’s death! I rode in the forenoon with br. & sis. Lott. in the afternoon read Joseph’s lectures
to a circle of ladies.”235
One historian asserted that “The ‘circle of ladies’ would likely have been
Joseph Smith’s widows now living in the Valley, and the ‘lectures’ were most probably the
published ‘Lectures on Faith.’”236
It may be that Lott had this contact with Sister Snow that day
because his own daughter, Melissa, had been a plural wife to the Prophet.
The Territorial Senate
July 2, 1849 marked a significant day in the history of the Church when its leaders
organized the Deseret Territorial Senate.237
Previously, the general council, or Council of Fifty,
228
Lee, A Mormon Chronicle, 92. 229
Willes, “Personal History of Cornelius P. Lott,” 11. 230
Tanner, A Biographical Sketch of John Riggs Murdock, 103. 231
See Journal History, May 10, 1849, 1. 232
See Journal History, May 13, 1849. 233
See Lott, Descendants of Cornelius Peter Lott, 26. 234
See Journal History, June 3, 1849. 235
Snow, The Personal Writings of Eliza Roxcy Snow, 229, as found in the orginal. 236
Snow, The Personal Writings of Eliza Roxcy Snow, 298. 237
See Constitution of the State of Deseret, with the Journal of the Convention which Formed it and the Proceedings
of the Legislature Consequent Thereon (Kanesville, Iowa: Orson Hyde, 1849), 13.
52
had chosen the First Presidency to become the political leaders of the provisional State of
Deseret. Brigham Young was to be governor with Willard Richards as the secretary of state and
Heber C. Kimball as chief of justice.238
The territorial senate consisted of Newel K. Whitney as
president, Thomas Bullock as clerk, John Scott as “Sergeant-at-Arms,” and Isaac Morley,
Reynolds Cahoon, Newel K. Whitney, John Smith, Phinehas Richards, Shadrach Roundy,
William W. Phelps, John Young, Daniel Spencer, Joseph Fielding, Cornelius P. Lott, David
Pettigrew, Abraham O. Smoot, and Charles C. Rich as members. After each had presented his
credentials and were qualified, they took their seats. The following day, July 3, “Senate met
pursuant to adjournment. The journal being read, upon motion of Senator Morley, a committee
of three, namely, Daniel Spencer, Joseph Fielding and Cornelius P. Lott, was appointed to notify
the Lieutenant Governor of their organization, and to wait upon him to the chamber of the
Senate.”239
Hence, Lott continued in active public service and became one of the founding
fathers of what would eventually become the State of Utah.
Later that year, John R. Murdock, son of early Church missionary John Murdock, took
Almira Lott to be his bride. Heber C. Kimball performed the ceremony in the Lott home on
November 12.240
Their marriage would have been solemnized exactly one year after Mary
Elizabeth was wed to Abraham Losee.
Sacred Meetings with the Apostles
Just as Cornelius Lott had opportunity in Nauvoo to take part in sacred meetings with the
leading brethren of the Church, so he did in the Latter-day Saints’ new mountain home. On the
evening of February 26, 1850, in the upper room of President Young’s home, Cornelius had the
privilege to clothe and pray with Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, Willard Richards, Parley P.
Pratt, George A. Smith, Ezra T. Benson, and Samuel W. Richards.241
Again, on the evening of
April 2, in the same place, Lott met with Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, Willard Richards,
George A. Smith, Ezra T. Benson, and Thomas Bullock to pray.242
Chase’s Mill
Lott not only took part in the organization of the State of Deseret, but also in the building
of the new city. In May of 1850, Cornelius became involved in supervising the building of
Utah’s first sawmill, Chase’s Mill, which was located in what is now Liberty Park.243
Lott’s Demise
In the summer of 1850, Cornelius contracted a bowel disease that would soon take his
life. A hired-hand on the Forest Dale Farm recalled, “I worked on the farm another summer and
we raised about seven thousand bushels, and after the wheat and hay and other crops were cared
for, our foreman, Cornelius P. Lott, dying, we were called up for a settlement, and adjudged $20
238
See Church History in the Fulness of Times, 342. 239
Constitution of the State of Deseret, 13. 240
See Tanner, A Biographical Sketch of John Riggs Murdock, 102-103. Also see Lott, Descendants of Cornelius
Peter Lott, 43. 241
See Samuel W. Richards, Diary of Samuel Whitney Richards, 1824-1909 (Provo, Utah: Brigham Young
University Library, 1946), 87. 242
See Journal History, April 2, 1850. 243
See Journal History, May 25, 1850.
53
a month for our labor, and take flour at $10 per hundred for pay.”244
Alzina explained that her
father had contracted dysentery “because the food was so course and poor, nothing we could do
seemed to help him.”245
Finally, after a struggle with the illness, Cornelius P. Lott passed away on July 6, 1850, at
the age of fifty-one.246
He was buried in the Salt Lake City cemetery “where a specially prepared
red sandstone marker, the first of its kind was placed in his memory.”247
Since Lott had served as a member of the territorial senate, his passing left a vacancy.
Hence, upon his death and the death of fellow-senator Newel K. Whitney, Governor Brigham
Young appointed Apostles Charles C. Rich and Wilford Woodruff to take their place on
December 4, 1850.248
For the next few months, Permelia continued to live in the Salt Lake Valley with her
children, Permelia Jane, Alzina, Lyman, and Benjamin. Alzina recalled, “By the early spring of
1851 it became very clear that the absence of the father required new arrangements.”249
Since
some of the Permelia’s married daughters had already moved to Lehi with their husbands, she
soon decided to take her four children and move there as well.
In Memory of Cornelius P. Lott
Lott’s daughter, Alzina, recalled, “He was a very big man in the hearts and thoughts of
his family and friends…”250
One of his most admirable attributes his loyalty to the leaders of the
Church. One historian wrote, “‘Father Lott,’ as he was familiarly known in his family, was a man
who evidently enjoyed the confidence of the Church leaders, as he was trusted both by Joseph
Smith and Brigham Young with their leading farming operations.”251
May the words of Lott’s patriarchal blessing be fulfilled, when he received the
pronouncement, “thy name shall be had in everlasting remembrance among the Saints for good;
thy posterity shall continue to increase to all eternity….thou shalt be numbered with the 144,000,
who are spoken of by John the Revelator to stand on Mt Zion in the last days, finaly thou shal
enjoy all the blessings & glories of the Redeemer’s kingdom forever & ever, amen.” 252
244
Charles S. Hancock, Sr., A Short Sketch of the Hancock and Adams Families (n.p., 1890?), 47, Historical
Department Archives, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City. 245
Willes, “Personal History of Cornelius P. Lott,” 11. 246
See Journal History, July 6, 1850. In the Lott family bible are penned the words, “Cornelius P Lott died July the
6th
1850 in the Great Salt City Aged 51 years 9 months and 9 days” (Lott Family Bible). The newspaper read,
“Senator Cornelius P. Lott died this morning at 6 1-2 o’clock, aged 52 years” (Deseret Weekly News, 6 July 1850,
31). Hosea Stout noted, “C. P. Lott died last night of a long illness. He has been a member of this church nearly
from its rise. He was commander of the Horse in Far-West at the time of the surrender in which corps I served”
(Stout, On the Mormon Frontier, 373). Apostles George A. Smith and Ezra T. Benson, while speaking of Lott’s
death, referred to him as “Bishop C. P. Lott” (Journal History, September 29, 1850, 2). However, he never actually
served as a bishop (See Ronald G. Watt and Rachel Whitmore, LDS Bishop’s Directory 1848-1890 [n.p., n.d.],
Historical Department Archives, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City). 247
Willes, “Personal History of Cornelius P. Lott,” 11. Also see Tanner, A Biographical Sketch of John Riggs
Murdock, 106. 248
See Stout, On The Mormon Frontier, 384. Also see Journal History, December 5, 1850, 2. 249
Willes, “Personal History of Permelia Darrow Lott,” 2. 250
Willes, “Personal History of Cornelius P. Lott,” 11. 251
Tanner, A Biographical Sketch of John Riggs Murdock, 106-107. 252
John Smith, A Blessing by John Smith Patriarch upon the head of Cornelius P son of Peter & Jane Lott, born
Septr 22d 1798 New York City, (vol. 9, p. 52, No. 166), Historical Department Archives, The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City.
54
Timeline of the Life of Cornelius P. Lott
1798 Sep 22 Born at New York City
Sep 27 Christened in the Reformed Dutch Church
Pennsylvania
1823 April 27 Married at Bridgewater, PA
1824 Jan 9 Daughter Melissa was born at Tuckhannock, Luz, PA
1826 Mar 23 Son John Smiley was born at Springville, Luz, PA
1827 Mar 9 Daughter Mary Elizabeth was born at Susquehanna Co., PA
1829 Dec 15 Daughter Almira Henrietta was born at Bridgewater, PA
1830 Census: household of 6 at Bridgewater, PA
1832 Oct 2 Daughter Permelia Jane was born at Bridgewater, PA
1834 Mar 4 Daughter Alzina Lucinda was born at Tuckhannock, PA
Date unknown Joined the Church in Pennsyvania
Kirtland, Ohio 1836 Mar 8 Disfellowshipped by Church leaders
Mar 23 CPL wrote apology to Kirtland High Council
Mar 30 Daughter Harriet Amanda was born
Aug 6 Received elders licence
1837 Jan 2 Joined Kirtland Safety Society
Jan 5 Paid $2 into Kirtland Safety Society
Feb 17 Made purchases at Whitney Store
Mar 7 Made purchases at Whitney Store
Mar 10 Paid 50¢ into Kirtland Safety Society
Mar 31 Anointed with oil in the Kirtland Temple
Missouri
1838 July 4 Named a general in Independence Day festivities
July Quarried rock for the Far West Temple
Aug 8 Visited Adam Black’s home
Accompanied Joseph Smith to Black’s home
Oct 6 Volunteered to serve a mission in Kentucky (
Oct 30 Present during Haun’s Mill Massacre
Oct-Nov Raided Taylor’s home & found weaponry
1839 Jan 22 Left Far West & went to Quincy, Illinois
Pike County, Illinois
1840 Feb 18 Son Joseph Darrow born
Farming in Pike Co., Illinois
55
Oct. 12 Signed a certificate for Richard Woolsey in the Vandalia Branch
1841 Mar 8 Indicted in MO for horse stealing
Nauvoo, Illinois
1842 June 6 Joseph Smith dined with the Lotts
July 16 Joseph Smith dined with the Lotts
Nov 2 Son Peter Lyman born
1843 Jan 27 Joseph Smith dined with the Lotts
June 29 Eliza R. Snow & others visited Lott’s
Sept 20 Malissa married Joseph Smith
Sept 20 Cornelius & Permelia married for time & eternity
Dec 9 Received his endowment in Red Brick Store
Dec 23 Permelia administered to by Emma Smith
1844 Jan 7 Joseph Smith taught a sermon at Lott home
Feb 4 Receieved 2nd
Anointing
Apr 18 Listed party of Council of Fifty
May 27 Accompanied Joseph Smith to Carthage
June 24 Joseph Smith’s last farewell the Lotts
Aug 7 Clayton & others took invoice of Smith farm
Aug 8 Present when Brigham was transfigured
Sep 3 Lott’s name on list of Anointed Quorum
Sep 30 Son Cornelius Carlos born
Nov 30 Attended dedication of Nauvoo Temple attic
1845 Jan 6 Cornelius Carlos died
Jan 14 Accompanied Clayton to the Farrs
Jan 22 Cornelius ordained High Priest
Mar 1 Met with Council of Fifty
Mar 20 Received 2nd
Patriarchal Blessing
May 29 Rejected daughter’s suitor James Monroe
May 21-July 10 Bought several pairs of shoes from Jonathon Holmes
Sep 17 5th
Regiment set guard near Lotts
Sep 21 Post guard set up near Lotts
Sep 24 Brought letter from NKW for discharged brethren
Sep 30 Appointed to select a company to go west
Nov 30 Present when Brigham dedicated attic of temple
Dec 7 Met in temple with the Anointed Quorum
Dec 11 Cornelius & Permelia received endowment
1846 Jan 22 Sealed in Nauvoo Temple
Jan 22 CPL entered plural marriage w/ Rebecca Faucett
Jan 22 CPL entered plural marriage w/ Charity Dickinson
Jan 22 CPL entered plural marriage w/ Elizabeth Davis
Feb 4 Samuel Rogers got wheat from Lott
Feb 7 CPL entered plural marriage w/ Jane Rogers
Feb 11 S. Rogers & M. Lott: conditional contract marriage
Feb 25 Took women & children across River
Feb 27 Took Emmeline Wells & others in carriage
56
Iowa Trail
Feb 27 Whitney family joined camp in charge of Lott
Apr 22 Whitney traded Lott’s horses for Durphy’s oxen
June 28 CPL on “this side of Pisgah”
July 5 Met with Brigham
July 12 Brigham dined with Lott family at Keg Creek, Iowa
July 17 Brigham instructed CPL to take cattle up the river
July 17 BY & CPL & others went to find a location at Kanesville, Iowa
July 22 CPL instructed to take flocks to Grand Island
July 30 Brought considerable Church property over the Missouri River
Winter Quarters
Aug 7 CPL appointed to the Municipal High Council
Aug 17 CPL appointed to gather & be in charge of cattle
Aug 21 Brigham visited with Cornelius
Aug 27 CPL appointed to buy & sell beef
Sep 1 Agreed to put cattle under care of Lott & others
Sep 5 Bird & Lott to use discretion in controlling bucks
Sep 9 CPL volunteered to care for Woodworth family
Sep 21 Eliza Lyman dined with Lotts (baked goose)
Sep 22 Voted Lott could herd his cattle with the Church’s
Oct 23 Lott family to join with Stouts? (Garden Grove)
Oct 23 Elizabeth P. Lyman & family visited Lotts (Winter Quarters)
Nov 6 Brigham in council related a dream
Nov 18 CPL appointed to ascertain situation of property
Nov 21 CPL had large number of the brethren’s sheep
Dec 13 Lott gave a sermon with Brigham Young
Dec 19 Lott given $100 for compensation for his work
1847 Jan 8 B. Young wrote to CPL to return home for weather
Jan 16 D&C 136 read to High Council – CPL sustained
Feb 2 Eliza R. Snow stayed with the Lotts
Feb 3 Bro. Markham visited with the Lotts
Feb CPL w/ two others gave a blessing to Job Smith
Mar 30 Lott married to Eleanor Wayman & Phoebe Knight
Apr 6 Lott sustained as high councilor
Apr 8 Gave Orson Whitney a blessing
Apr 19 Lott & others appointed to meet with Big Elk
Apr 24 Lott came to protect herds & gave news at Summer Quarters
May 13 Eliza Lyman borrowed a wheel from Lotts to spin
May 20 CPL appointed to committee to handle strays
May 25 CPL & Hosea Stout sat in council with Young Elk
June 20 CPL & others buried Weatherby
June 21 CPL accompanied others on Elkhorn River
June 30 CPL started for Missouri in company with others (Oregon, MO)
Oct 5 Harriet Amanda died
57
Oct 15 Joseph Darrow died
1848 Feb 10 Spent day with BY & WW in Historian’s office
Feb 16 Stout procured another cow from Lott for tax
Crossing the Plains
Summer Left for Salt Lake Valley
June 6 Made it to “the Horn”
Jun 18 Lott chosen Captain of the Herd
Salt Lake Valley
Sep 23 Entered the Salt Lake Valley
Nov 12 Mary Elizabeth married Abraham Losee
Nov 18 (16?) Son Benjamin Smith born
Dec Lott put on committee to herd cattle
Dec 24 Extermination against ravens, hawks, owls, etc.
1849 Jan 7 CPL met with D. Sessions who was disfellowshiped
Feb 17 CPL gave input on weights & measure system
Mar 3 CPL prayed at Council of Fifty meeting
Spring In charge of Forest Dale Farm
May 10 Visited by B. Young & given instructions
May 13 Malissa married Ira Willes
June 3 Lott & WW Phelps addressed congregation
June 27 Eliza R. Snow rode with the Lotts
July 2 Territorial Senate organized – Lott chosen as one
July 3 Appointed to notify Lt. Gov. of organization
Nov 13 (12?) Almira Henrietta married John Riggs Murdock
1850 Feb 26 Prayed in B. Young’s upper room w/ brethren
Apr 2 Prayed in B. Young’s upper room w/ brethren
Apr 26 Due bill on Lott – 5 bushels of wheat: $15.00
May 25 Left Big Canyon Creek & went to Chase’s Mill
Jul 6 Died of a bowel disease
58
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