Talk by Susan Davis
“Tell me again the story about my Granfauddar’s that were killed in Jail,” little 3-year-old Steven asked
as he crawled into our bed between Dad and me early one morning. Steve had a hard time saying his
letter “R.” We had recently returned from a family cross-country trek. Dad was the Chairman of the
Wasatch Front Regional Council was attending a national conference at Niagara Falls. Instead of Dad
just flying out to New York to attend the conference, we decided we would drive and make it a family
vacation. We packed up our blue van with James (6,) Missy (5), Steve and Grandma Smith to make our
trip. Mindy and Cindy, not quite 2-year-old, were left home in the care of my wonderful sister Zella
Jeanne Jensen Jones who surprised us by potty training the girls while we were gone. (I was eternally
grateful to Aunt ZJ for taking on this daunting task with twins!)
It was all about having an adventure along the way. We loved our new little blue van that we had
recently purchased from the Mayor of Murray, LaRell Muir’s, son. His son had purchased a new, basic
van and “bougeed” it up into a fun custom vehicle. The whole van was finished in fine blue upholstered
walls, deep well cushioned carpet, cupboard, small sink, refrigerator and in the very back was a U-
shaped foam, upholstered seat which surrounded a pop-up table during the day which could be made
into a double bed as needed. In the front of the van was a Captain seat for the driver and one for the
front seat passenger. To accommodate my mom, we added a large, sturdy, uncomfortable wooden
barrel chair placed between the space of the back of captain’s seat and the rear table with surrounding
foam cushion seat. It saddled up near the fridge and cupboards. Right between the two front Captain
seats was a small space, just big enough to fit a small Oscar cooler perfectly. Sometimes one of the kids
would come up front and sit on the Oscar cooler. And sometimes, the Oscar was used as a “time out”
seat for someone that needed a space for “contemplation.”
As we crossed into a new State along the way, we made it a point to drive a little out of our way to visit
as many State Capitols as we could along the way.
After Dad finished his conference at Niagara Falls, we planned to meet up along the way with Uncle
David and Aunt Carolyn Read’s family. They were driving up from their home in Memphis Tennessee.
Together our goal was to visit some of the Church Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Historical sites along
the way. In the city of Nauvoo, we visited the Historical Nauvoo Mansion House, the graves of the
Prophet Joseph Smith, his wife Emma Smith and our Great, Great Grandfather, the brother of Joseph
Smith, Hyrum among other places. Then we drove to the town of Carthage Illinois about 30 minutes
away from Nauvoo.
It was in the Carthage Jail where Joseph and Hyrum Smith were martyred – killed by a mob of people
storming the building forcing their way up to the 2 nd floor where Joseph and Hyrum were being held. We
wanted to see this historical site and share the importance with our young children.
Joseph and Hyrum voluntarily went to Carthage, the county seat, to answer charges of Civil Disturbance.
They were being held in Carthage Jail pending their trial and were guaranteed protection from any mob
violence by the governor of Illinois.
Joseph, Hyrum, John Taylor and Willard Richards were in the jailer’s upstairs bedroom when the mob
stormed the jail. John Taylor was wounded, and Willard Richards escaped unharmed.
We looked into the bedroom where Joseph and Hyrum were martyred, Dad and I carefully pointed out
the blood of Hyrum staining the wooden planks of the floor. Proudly, benevolently we told our little
children the story of how their Grandfather Hyrum Smith and their uncle, Joseph Smith were killed in jail
by the mob at Carthage Jail.
We recounted the story of the mob shooting rounds of musket balls as they raged up the stairs and shot
through the bedroom door. Hyrum, trying to protect his younger Joseph, tried to secure the door. Shot
in his head, Hyrum fell backwards without moving his feet exclaiming: “I am a dead man!”
Joseph Smith, standing by the window, was hit by two musket ballet balls. The strength of the musket
balls was so great it caused Joseph to fall from the second-floor window to the ground below. We took
our 3 little children outside the building to proudly show them the spot where Joseph Smith’s dead body
landed. We wanted them to know their heritage of their grandfather and uncle who sealed their
testimony of the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ on earth with their blood. We were and ARE
extremely proud of our jailed, martyred family and wanted our little children to know and be proud too.
We come from an extensive line of prominent religious dissenters. They were scrutinized, arrested,
persecuted, and banished because they would not take the oath of loyalty to the Church of England or
other religious sects. They believed in freedom of conscience, separation of church and state and the
freedom to worship as they pleased.
Banished for their religious belief to Holland, the Pilgrims’ sought religious freedom in the new English
Colonies. The 105 passengers on the crowded Mayflower ship traveled 2 months by stormy sea to reach
the new world. Through the violent storms of their crossing, they landed November 11, 1620 near Cape
Cod MA. However, the fierce winds of the area forced them to seek refuge in the northly bay of what
would later be known as Plymouth Massachusetts. Half of the group died during the first winter due to
malnutrition and the harsh New England winter.
On the Smith/Farr family side we had 8 direct grandparents that were passengers on the Mayflower that
arrived in Massachusetts in 1620!
John Tilley – 10 th Great Grandfather (1592-1672)
Joan Tilley – 10 th Great Grandmother (1568-1621)
John Howland – 9 th Great Grandfather (1592-1672)
Elizabeth Tilley – 9 th Great Grandmother (1607-1687}
Edward Fuller – 9 th Great Grandfather (1575-1621)
???? Fuller - 9 th Great Grandmother (1581-1621)
(There is not an accurate name for this grandmother on record. Some have referred to her as
Ann. She traveled with her husband on the Mayflower. Both Grandmother Fuller and her
husband Edward, passed away the first winter in the American Colony.)
Samuel Fuller – 8 th Great Grandfather (1612-1683) Samuel was only 11 years old when he
traveled with his parents on the Mayflower. When his parents passed away the 1 st winter,
Samuel went to live with his Uncle Samuel Fuller, the Mayflower ship’s doctor. The two are
often confused in searching genealogy. Other Fuller siblings were left behind in England and
came later.
We are related to all the above grandparents through our Great Grandmother, Lucy Mack Smith.
Richard Warren – 10 th Great Grandfather (1590-1628) (We come through Winslow Farr on my
mother’s side.)
On the Davis family side, William Brewster, Dad’s 11 th Great Grandfather (1568-1644) dissented against
the teachings of the Church of England. He became the religious leader for a group of people who also
struggled with the teachings of the Church and were banished from their homes. William Brewster led
the Pilgrims before their immigration, on the Mayflower and continued to act as their religious leader in
the new British Colonial America Colony. Both William and his wife, Mary (last name unknown) traveled
on the Mayflower with two of their children. Jonathan (1593-1659), the Brewster’s oldest son, Dad’s
10 th Great Grandfather immigrated to the Colonies a year later in 1621 after his first wife and baby died
in 1620.
Reverend John Lothrop, my 9 th Great Grandfather (1584-1653) educated with advance degrees from
Queens College and Cambridge created many problems for the Archbishop of Canterbury and the
Church of England. He taught his followers that the Church had long fallen away from true principles
and there should be a separation between the church and state. Lothrop was tortured and imprisoned
for his message. As a condition of being released from prison, he was banished; exiled to the British
Colonies. He preached religion and the government should be separate from each other. Lothrop’s
direct contributions helped establish religious freedom and liberty for all. He arrived in 1634. He was
the principal founder of the town of Barnstable Massachusetts, where many buildings and a cemetery
are named for him.
My Great Grandfather, George Renyolds (1842-1909) was asked to serve as the Church representative in
a test case that eventually went all the way to the Supreme Court. The case is known as Renyolds vs.
United States.
George Renyolds was one of the “most learned” men in the church. As a young man he served in the
Office of Brigham Young and as his assistant. Later he was a City Council member, Regent for the
University of Deseret and on many Boards of Governor’s for many businesses.
Soon after he was called to enter Plural marriage and to take a second wife, my Great Grandmother,
Amelia Jane Schofield (1852-1908), The Morrell Act was passed by the United States Congress. It
prohibited Plural Marriage, making it illegal. The leaders of the Church regarded the Act
unconstitutional as it prohibited religious practice. To test the constitutionality, the U.S. Attorney for
the Territory of Utah and the Church Leaders agreed to invite a “test case.” Great Grandfather was
asked to be the defendant.
To the surprise of all, the Supreme Court in 1879 ruled against the Church and George Renyolds. He was
sentenced to 2 years of hard labor in a Federal Penitentiary! After some petitioning, his sentence was
reduced to 18 months without the hard labor.
During the time he was imprisoned, George Renyolds zealously studied the scriptures focusing on the
Book of Mormon. He decided the Book of Mormon needed a Reference Concordance and began tying
scripture citations together. Upon his release, he had completed over 25,000 citations and references.
These are just some of our ancestors who went down in history. There are more that were Kings,
Queens, Presidents of the United States, Prophets, an Indian Chief, Supreme Court Justices, Famous
Writers, Poets, Scientist, and others. We have a wonderful and great family history!
To our little 3-year-old Steven; to all our children and grandchildren, we honor our heritage of our
religious dissenter Grandfathers that were jailed and martyred. Be proud of our heritage!
Know, remember, share again and again the stories of our “Grandfaudders and Grandmauders,” our
ancestors of principles who were willing to give their all. They did hard things in their sacrifices, prison
and death for their convictions. The blood of these ancestors runs through our veins. When things get
tough, we too can-do hard things too because of their example and courage. Remember who you are
and remember the family motto: We can do hard things!
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