Day 7- Leaving Nauvoo for Winter Quarters

I'm not going to bother uploading a bunch of photos since they are all posted on FB and I've made a book of our trip...so check them out there.

Anyway, Allen and I started off the day by going to do an endowment session at the Nauvoo temple and got to see John and Jane Coons again coming in and leaving, so that was fun...also got to be the witness couple. The temple is beautiful of course. Then we packed up and I wanted to see to more things, Brigham Young's home and the memorial by the river to those who died on the trek west. After that we drove through Iowa to Kanesville or Council Bluffs to see the Kanesville Tabernacle, which was built to house the meeting where Brigham Young, Willard Richards and John Taylor were sustained as the new First Presidency.

There was also information there about the Mormon Battalion. The Sister Missionary asked us if we had any ancestors who were in the Mormon Battalion. I'd heard that I one of my ancestors had been one of the four women who made the entire 2000 mile march with the Battalion, but I didn't know who it was, so I called Dad who filled me in and then the Sister gave me information about her and her family.

She was Susan Davis, wife of Captain Daniel Coon Davis who led E Company on the march. Susan came along as a laundress for the Battalion. Daniel Coon Jr. (4) also went on the march.

"Daniel and his wife Sophronia were early converts to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They were among the Mormons in Missouri who were driven from their homes. On 6 January 1840 Daniel wrote a petition detailing his persecution in Far West, Caldwell, Missouri (Johnson, Missouri Petitions).

He moved to Nauvoo, Hancock, Illinois, where he supported his family by working on a ferry boat on the Mississippi River. Church leaders asked Daniel to move to Keokuk County, Iowa Territory, in 1842. In Keokuk County, his wife Sophronia contracted cholera and died in childbirth. Daniel then married Susan Moses, a woman who had cared for his children prior to Sophronia's death. Following his second marriage he was ordained a seventy and endowed on 30 December 1845 in the Nauvoo Temple. He and his family left Nauvoo and moved to Iowa Territory in 1846.

In Council Bluffs, Daniel enlisted in the Mormon Battalion. His wife, Susan, and his youngest son, Daniel, accompanied him on the march. The other children were left in the care of Brigham Young and Daniel's daughter, Ann Davis..

Daniel marched with the battalion from Council Bluffs to Ciudad de los Angeles. On 18 October 1846 he wrote to Brigham Young supporting the motion that Lieutenant Andrew Jackson Smith lead the battalion to Santa Fe. On the battalion march he was reported ill in Nov 1846. Despite his continued illness, Daniel persuaded Lieutenant Colonel Cooke to allow Susan and a few other women to continue the march to California.

When his battalion service ended on 16 July 1847, Daniel enlisted as Captain of the Mormon Volunteers. In this capacity he received orders to march to San Diego on 25 July 1847. On 6 Aug 1847 he issued his own orders to the men under his command:

1. A daily detail of four men and one non-commisioned officer, will be made for police, whose duty it shall be to clean the quarters and the yard in front, also the parade ground.

2. Strict attention of all must be given to cleanliness of person and clothing, as well as a proper regard for decorum of conduct.

3. In no case will playing at cards be allowed in quarters, either by the men belonging to the garrison or others visiting it, and all non-commisioned officers are hereby required to report immediately any violation of the above regulations.

Daniel was musterd out of the battalion on 14 March 1848 in San Diego. After his discharge he migrated to the Salt Lake Valley and settled a little south of Farmington, Davis County. There he and his wife were reunited with their children. Eliza R. Snow wrote a poem of that event entitled "The Mother's Salutation," centering on Susan's preparation of a feast inviting a few friends to join with her family in a day of rejoicing.

Daniel remained at his home near Farmington until 1850, supporting his family by operating the Heber C. Kimball Mill. In 1850 he was asked by Church authorities to regulate Church business in the east and to organize a migration company. He became ill on the journey east and died from cholera. Susan and two of his children continued east, while other family members returned to Farmington.

Daniel was one of the original settlers of Farmington and Davis County was named for him. A monument has been erected near the county court house in his honor.

Anyway, cool to know and I put it in here so the rest of you Danas can see it. I can't find a photo of them, but his bullet pouch is in the Church Museum of History. I've seen it there before.

Kanesville Tabernacle

Next we crossed the river into Nebraska and checked out the Winter Quarters visitor's center and the temple. We had planned on doing a session but didn't make it in time.

A couple photos of the temple.

We finally stopped for dinner at about 9:30 p.m...it was a LONG day and the next day was even longer!