Notes
1. Julia Ann Sessions, patriarchal blessing given by Isaac Morley, transcribed by Perrigrine Sessions, photocopy of original in possession of editor.
2. Today a carefully structured, supervised system manages the thousands of missionaries throughout the world. The plan of salvation as available through the Atonement of Christ is the central message, and the Book of Mormon is actively employed to declare and explain that message.
3. His companion on this first mission, Duncan McArthur, joined the Church in 1833; moved to Kirtland, Ohio; then to Far West, Missouri; to Quincy, and later Nauvoo, Illinois; and, finally, across the plains to the Salt Lake Valley in 1848. Being almost the same age as Perrigrine’s mother, McArthur left a sizable family behind when he served a mission to Maine. Daniel Duncan McArthur, Duncan’s son, served a mission to England in 1852, as did Perrigrine. James Burnham served a mission in Great Britain from 1840 to 1842 and died at McHenry, Illinois, on October 18, 1843, of consumption, contracted while he was serving as a missionary to the Eastern States. He left a wife and young children. Amos Jackson was a member of the Kirtland camp, which departed Kirtland for Adam-ondi-Ahman in 1838. He was among the Saints expelled from Missouri and he later served as a Seventy.
4. Although more Latter-day Saints lived in Missouri than in Ohio during much of this period, Kirtland was the headquarters of the Church and Joseph Smith’s main residence from 1831 to early 1838. He received more revelations here than any other place, and this was the site of the first latter-day temple. Growing opposition against the Saints climaxed after the bank that Church leaders tried to establish, the Kirtland Safety Society, collapsed during the Panic of 1837. Joseph Smith and other Church leaders fled Kirtland in January 1838, and Saints soon followed, including five hundred who left in a 59-wagon train on July 5, 1838. By mid-July more than sixteen hundred Saints had fled, leaving only the dispirited few that Perrigrine found. See Milton V. Backman Jr., “Kirtland, Ohio,” in Encyclopedia of Mormonism, ed. Daniel H. Ludlow, 4 vols. (New York: Macmillan, 1992), 2:793–98.
5. Perrigrine’s copied version gives the date as August 1, lists the place as Providence, Rhode Island, and spells the name “Konklin.”
6. Perrigrine repeats himself in one of his memoir pages, mentioning the same persons but with different locations. The most logical sequence and places were determined from the map and Perrigrine’s dates. Again, his copied version gives the date as August 2 and the location as “Munro,” which is likely Moreau, New York.
7. They stayed wherever they received hospitality. For Perrigrine, having so many relatives in the area was a real boon, as can be seen by his entries. Also the names indicate how many people were probably related to Perrigrine’s immediate relatives.
8. Likely a relative of Windsor P. Lyon, who was the husband of Perrigrine’s sister Sylvia.
9. Martha H. Smart of the Connecticut Historical Society checked reports from 1839 and found no record of a happening on the date mentioned by Perrigrine, August 12, 1839. However, according to the carefully kept meteorological journals of John Cotton Smith (1765–1845), a “remarkable meteoric display” occurred September 2, 1839. John Cotton Smith was a lawyer, judge, U.S. Representative, lieutenant governor from 1811 to 1813, and governor of Connecticut from 1812 to 1817. He was the first president of the Connecticut Bible Society from 1831 to 1845, and he was president of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions from 1826 to 1841. Connecticut General Assembly, “John Cotton Smith,” April 4, 2002, <http://www.cga.state.ct.us/hco/smith.htm> (May 1, 2002).
10. Matthew 7:24–25 reads: “Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.”
11. John 3:4–5 reads: “Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”
12. Married to David Sessions’s sister Sally.
13. Patty Sessions’s half brother.
14. Julia Ann’s father.
15. Patty Sessions’s uncle.
16. Julia Ann’s brother.
17. Julia Ann’s brother or father.
18. Married to Julia Ann’s sister Sally.
19. Julia Ann’s brother.
20. Patty Sessions’s brother.
21. Julia Ann’s brother.
22. Patty Sessions’s brother.
23. See Varney, Gazetteer of the State of Maine, 104–5. Head of the Tide is located three miles from the mouth of the Passagassawakeag River, or as far as the river is navigable. It is near the city of Belfast, which is on the northwestern angle of Penobscot Bay.
24. David Sessions’s brother.
25. Asa’s wife, Betsey Littlehale.
26. Married to David Sessions’s sister Rachel.
27. In 1881, Albany boasted ten schoolhouses and, according to the 1880 cencus, a population of 693. Varney, Gazetteer of the State of Maine, 66.
28. “Letter B,” originally surveyed in 1792, became the town of Upton, Maine, in 1860. See Charles Errol, History of Upton, Maine (Bethel, Maine: By the author, 1973).
29. Married to Patty Sessions’s sister Aphia.
30. Julia Ann’s brother.
31. Patty Sessions’s brother.
32. Windsor Lyon, Perrigrine’s sister Sylvia’s husband.
33. Married to Patty Sessions’s half sister Olive.
34. Mark 16:16 reads: “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.”
35. Luke 6:46 reads: “And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?”
36. Galatians 1:8 reads: “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.”
37. Hebrews 11:6 reads: “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”
38. 2 John 1:9 reads: “Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.”
39. Acts 2:38–39 reads: “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.”
40. Patty Sessions’s brother.
41. Patty Sessions’s sister Lydia’s husband.
42. 2 Timothy 3:12 reads: “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.”
43. After the Pilgrims’ first winter when 46 of the 102 passengers who sailed on the Mayflower died, the survivors were grateful for the harvest of 1621. They feasted with ninety-one helpful Native Americans. The next celebration of Thanksgiving occurred in June 1676 when the governing council of Charlestown, Massachusetts, issued a proclamation, setting June 29 as a day of “Solemn Thanksgiving and praise to God.” On October 11, 1777, all thirteen colonies joined in a thanksgiving celebration. George Washington wanted to proclaim a National Day of Thanksgiving in 1789, but discord prevented it. In 1817, New York adopted an annual Thanksgiving Day, and by the mid-1800s many other states had done the same. In 1863, Abraham Lincoln proclaimed the fourth Thursday in November as Thanksgiving. He was persuaded by letters and editorials from Sarah Josepha Hale, an editor who championed the cause in Boston Ladies’ Magazine and Godey’s Lady’s Book. Franklin Roosevelt set the date one week earlier to allow more time before Christmas, but he succumbed to public outcry and changed the date back. Jerry Wilson, “The Thanksgiving Story,” 1997, <http://wilstar.net/thankstr.htm> (September 30, 1998).
44. Romans 8:28 reads: “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
45. Acts 3:12–20 reads: “And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk? The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go. But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you; And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses. And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all. And now, brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers. But those things, which God before had shewed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled. Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you.”
46. The title of Parley P. Pratt’s tract A Voice of Warning is taken from Doctrine and Covenants 1:4. The “voice,” especially through missionary efforts, proclaims the gospel of Jesus Christ and calls for the repentance of those who hear. Pratt wrote the pamphlet in 1838 while he was presiding over Church affairs in New England and the middle states and while living in New York City. He was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, a fervent missionary, and in 1847 a westward-bound pioneer in the same second ten of the Daniel Spencer company. Perrigrine was captain of the first fifty. Susan Ward Easton, comp., Pioneers of 1847: A Sesquicentennial Remembrance, typescript in Church History Library, 24.
47. Galatians 1:8–9 reads: “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.”
48. Acts 3:19–21 reads: “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you.”
49. Ephesians 4:11–13 reads: “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.”
50. 2 John 1:6, 9 reads: “And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it. . . . Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.”
51. Julia Ann’s father.
52. Mark 16:16–17 reads: “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues.”
53. Julia Ann’s brother.
54. Acts 3:9 reads: “And all the people saw him walking and praising God.”
55. Patty Sessions’s sister Namah’s husband.
56. Mark 1:17 reads: “And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.”
57. Mark 1:15 reads: “And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent ye, and believe the gospel.”
58. Hebrews 11:9 reads: “By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise.”
59. “Jim Crow” was an anonymously written song of the early nineteenth century, and the term was a way of expressing racist feelings and condoning segregation of blacks. In 1832, Thomas D. Rice (Daddy Dan), who called himself Jim Crow, performed a song-and-dance act that presented a stereotyped view of African Americans. The term came to mean Negro. It took until 1896 for the principle of “separate but equal” to be legitimized. Civil rights laws ended segregation in the 1960s, but the editor would observe that the issue of “inalienable rights” still troubles the social structure of the United States. Perrigrine may have held a Jim Crow attitude toward African Americans, since he used the term in conjunction with devils and Baptist preachers, both of whom he denigrated. His statement is not clear.
60. “When Constitutional government began, the American postal system had about seventy-five post offices and 1,875 miles of post roads to serve a population of three million. Stagecoaches were used on the main lines, and men on horseback covered what is now Maine, the South beyond Maryland, and the ‘cross posts,’ i.e., inland branch routes.” Postage rates were high into the 1840s, fees being calculated by distance and weight, with the recipient being required to pay the charges. By 1845, Congress reduced the rate. In 1847 the government authorized the use of stamps, and by 1863 distance no longer figured into the price of postage. Gerald Carson, “A Zip through History,” American Heritage 25 (October 1974): 34–40, 76–81.
61. He was married to Patty Sessions’s half sister Thankful.
62. The Sessions cabin in Nauvoo has been reconstructed, although not exactly to the specifications given by Perrigrine; the modern version boasts a chimney, a floor, and a tight roof.
