NATHANIEL LEAVITT, JR.

1823 to 1896

I, Nathaniel Leavitt, was born in the town of Harley, Lower Canada, on the 17^th day of November, 1823.

When I was seven years of age, my mother died leaving six children, three older than myself and two younger.

After my father married again, and at the age of fourteen, I first heard of the Mormons.An Elder by the name of Hazen Eldridge came into our neighborhood and brought to us the Book of Mormon. He told us of the Prophet Joseph Smith—how he had found the records of the Nephites and Lamanites or American Indians and translated the records into our language, by the gift and power of God. In short, he preached to us the fullness of the Everlasting Gospel, It was the first time we had ever heard it.

A large number of my uncles and aunts and cousins that lived in the neighborhood believed and obeyed the Gospel. I think they were about thirty-five in number. We commenced at once to prepare to immigrate to Missouri. On the twentieth day of July 1837, we left our native land and started for the West. Our company was about thirty-five in number. All were uncles, aunts, and cousins. Our grandmother Leavitt was seventy-six years old. She stood the journey all the way through remarkably well and rejoiced continually that she had lived to hear the sound of the Everlasting Gospel and to see such a host of her children and grand children obey the same.

We traveled through the state of Vermont and New York. When we arrived in buffalo, my father took a notion to leave the company and cross Lake Erie to Detroit. The balance of the company went around the lake by way of Kirtland, Ohio. We hitched up again in Detroit and traveled west as far as Sturgess Prairie, St. Joseph County, Michigan. Here my father rented a farm for one year, calculating to move on west and find the church.

Two of my uncles and their families stopped in Ohio. The balance of the company came along where we were. They stopped two or three days and made us a visit and then traveled on west until they came to the Twelve Mile Grove, in Will County, Illinois, forty miles south of Chicago. Here they purchased some farms, intending to stay until they learned where the church had settled. The Mormons had all been driven from the State of Missouri by a ruthless mob.

The next summer in 1838, my father died and was buried on Sturgess Prairie. Soon after his death, my step-mother sold what we had left and took her three children and went back to Canada. She left myself, Flavilla, and John alone in the State of Michigan. She would have taken us with her if we had been willing to go, but I was a firm believer in Mormonism and was then fifteen years of age. Flavilla was twelve and John nine. I persuaded them to stay with me.  I promised that I would take care of them and that we would make our way to the church.

About one month after our step-mother left us, one of my uncles who had stopped in Ohio came along moving west and took us with them to our friends and relatives at Twelve Mile Grove.

Several Elders visited their church. Eli Chase stayed with us and held several meetings in the fall of 1839. They baptized myself and two or three of my cousins, also Flavilla and John.

They told us that the Church had settled on the east bank of the Mississippi River. They were building up a city called Nauvoo and were going to build a temple. Several other Elders called on us among whom was Franklin D. Richards. He stayed with us about three weeks and gave us a great deal of good instruction in relation to Mormonism. He was then a young, unmarried man. He was very sociable, friendly and a good talker who was well informed.

We enjoyed ourselves greatly while he was with us. The following Fall and Winter, our little company, on Sunday evenings, held regular prayer meetings and we were greatly blessed. Several of us had the gift of tongues and the interpretation of tongues. It increased our faith in the principles of Mormonism very much to see and know that the signs followed the believers according to the promises.

In the spring of 1840, my uncles sold out their land there and all excepting one family started for Nauvoo. We had buried four of our number while living at Twelve Mile Grove.

Grandmother Leavitt, my Uncle Wier Leavitt, his son Jeremiah Leavitt, and my Sisters husband Benjamine Fletcher were all in the company.

When we arrived in Nauvoo, we stopped in the east part of the city. I went directly down the street to take a look at the town, being very anxious to see the Prophet Joseph Smith. The town had been built up very rapidly. The houses were small and cheaply built, but very neat and clean.

Everyone seemed to be busy at work. After traveling three or four blocks, I came across a number of persons gathered around a buggy in which sat two men, one of which was talking to the crowd. After a little , I heard some one call him brother Joseph. I then knew that was the Prophet.I had long before supposed that a Prophet would look different than other men. But, I saw that he was exactly like other men, only considerably above the average size. He was better looking and more noble than any man I had ever seen before.

I said to myself that, “This is a man of God, and a true Prophet”. I have never doubted it from that day to this. A little further down the street, I saw a neat little building with a sign over the door, Hyrum Smith, Patriarch. I went directly to the door and rapped for admittance. Brother Hyrum came to the door, took me by the hand and led me in saying at the same time, “I suppose you have come for a blessing?” I told him that was exactly what I had come for. He led me to a chair by the table where his scribe was writing.

He had never seen me before , nor I him. But, he laid his hands on my head and asked me only one question; “What is your given name?” I told him it was Nathaniel. He then said; “Brother Nathaniel, I lay my hands upon your head in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth and give you a Fathers Blessing. For behold, Your Father is dead and your Mother also sleepeth.” By this time I knew that he was a Prophet as well as his Brother Joseph, for he had no means of knowing anything about me or my father or mother. Only that he knew it by the Holy Spirit that he was in possession of.

The following Sunday, I went to meeting in the bowery as they had no meeting house built yet. The Prophet Joseph preached to us. About one hour before the close of the meeting, he called on young men who had no families to volunteer to work on the Temple for one month. They were just then commencing to build the Nauvoo Temple.

I was the first one to volunteer. Quite a number followed and gave in their names.< I labored one month without losing a day, most of the time driving a team and hauling rock from the stone quary to the Temple block.

The next fall I was at a meeting in the bowery. Heber C. Kimball spoke to us a while. The Prophet Joseph then arose, his face aglow with the holy spirit. He spoke at considerable length of the persecution of the Saints in Missouri. He said they had been robbed and punished and many had sealed their testimony with their blood.

He said all this was accomplished by a ruthless mob backed up by the governor of the state, Lilburn W. Boggs. He then commenced to prophesy in the name of the Lord. He said Governor Boggs should be struck dumb so that he could not speak a word and that many of the mobacrats who had driven the Saints from the state of Missouri should die a fearful death and their bones should bleach upon the plains and that the wolves should gnaw them. He then spoke of the government of the United States. He said that wickedness and abomination lurks in high places and great calamities would come to the nations.

He said the north and south would be divided against each other and that a bloody war would be the result, that many thousands would be slain on both sides and that this would commence in South Carolina.

I noted down all these predictions at the time and have lived to see them all fulfilled to the very letter. Governor Boggs was shot by some unknown person. The ball took effect in his mouth which rendered him unable to speak a word. When I crossed the plains in 1850, it was the bones of a great many Missourian mobacrats that were bleaching on the plains with wolves gnawing them. They died a fearful death of Cholera. In relation to the war between the north and the south; all are too well acquainted with the facts to need any comment. Suffice to say that the war took place as predicted. The first gun was fired at Fort Sumter in South Carolina.

But, to return to my narrative, I attended school through the winter of 1841 in Nauvoo. I attended meeting on the Sabbath regular and Prayer meetings in the evenings. I went to spelling schools, debates, lectures, and Lyceums.

In the Spring of 1842, I was ordained an Elder under the hands of Joseph Smith, Heber C. Kimball, and I think, Willard Richards and joined the second Quorum of the Seventies. I was soon after called on a three month mission to the northern George Johnston. We labored three months preaching the gospel and baptized quite a number in the Church.

In the fall of 1842, I was called on a mission to the state of Ohio. I was set apart under the hands of Joseph Smith, Sidney Rigdon, and I think, Parley P. Pratt. Lyman Wight was at that time presiding over the saints in Kirtland. I took with me a letter of recommendation. My destination being Kirtland, Ohio. I traveled on foot and alone nearly all the way through the state of Illinois, Michigan and Ohio until I reached Kirtland. I held a great many meetings while traveling through the country and baptized a few before I reached Ohio.

I will now go back to my narrative to the evening I arrived at Sturgess Prairie, Michigan. It was near night and I was tired, having walked nearly forty miles that day. It did not take me long to locate the house of Mr. Jones. I went directly to the door and rapped. The old man begged me to come in. I told him I was traveling and preaching the Gospel without purse or script according to the ancient order. I told him that I belonged to the sect commonly called Mormons and asked him if he would keep me over night. He said he did not believe in Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. He considered Joseph Smith a bad man and a false Prophet. I told him my belief was far different from his, that I was well acquainted with Joseph Smith and knew him to be a good man and a true Prophet of God. He then said, “We will not argue the question any further tonight. You can stay with us and welcome. I never turned a stranger from my door yet”.

I sat down and conversed with him that evening and all the time I had to spare the next morning. I believed when I left there, they were convinced that Mormonism was true.

I must now return to my narrative. As soon as I arrived in Kirtland, I went straight to my President, Brother Wight, showed him my letter of recommendation and instructions. I found him a very kind hearted man. He requested me to stay over Sunday and go to meeting in the temple. By the first of the week, he would tell me where I had better go and commence my labor.

I met a man while on this mission and I asked him if he had ever known anyone in that country by the name of Leavitt. He said there was a family there by the name of Leavitt five or six years ago. But, the man had died there and his wife had gone back to her native land in Canada and taken her three children with her. The other three children were left here with me by their step-mother. I inquired if there were any of them here now and he said that they went with uncles to join the Mormons in Nauvoo. I was anxious for them to stay with me for I liked them very much. The oldest boy was named Nathaniel and he was fifteen, there was a girl by the name of Flavilla who was twelve years of age and a boy about nine by the name of John. He said, “ I tried to convince them to stay with me but the oldest boy was a firm believer in Mormonism so he went and took the other children with their relations. The boy said that he did not yet belong to the church, neither did his family or step-mother. I think he must have found out his mistake before this time”. I then said, “No, Mister Jones, he has not found out his mistake yet, but, has found out for certain that Joseph Smith is a true Prophet and that Mormonism is very true, that the boy is myself, Mr. Jones. I left your house as a boy and am now twenty.” He was very much astonished, but, I had of course, changed very much in five years. I talked a great deal to him.

(After returning from Ohio in 1843 to Nauvoo, Illinois, Nathanial Leavitt Jr, was electioneering for Joseph Smith at the time of Joseph’s death. He came to Utah at the same time as William Payne and located first in Salt Lake City, thence to Ogden and located in Binghams Fort. Then, to the site of Ogden City and built his residence where the first National Bank now stands on the corner of Washington and 24^th Street. At this place, he kept a store for a number of years. He was with the Salmon River expedition together with Judd Stoddard and Ephraim Hanks in April 1857. He took twelve mules and carried the mail to the east. While there, there was an effort made by the mob to kill Ephraim Hanks. They were escorted part of the way out by the soldiers probably from Fort Binder, Laramie).