Andrew
Love 1808-1890
Ralph
Otis Bradley’s Great Great Grandfather
by Estelle Love Neff Caldwell
Andrew Love was born December 2, 1808 in York District, Bullocks Creek, South
Carolina to John Love and Elizabeth Ewing. His grandparents on both sides immigrated to America from Tyrone, Ireland.
Andrew
Love‘s diary designates Louisiana, Pike County, Missouri, as the town where his
parents located when he was eight years of age.
When Andrew was in his tenth year, his father, John Love, died at this
place, September 4th, 1818.
Three months after his father’s death, his mother gave birth to twins,
John and Mary Ann, born December 17, 1818.
Now this young widow had three sons and one daughter, the eldest of whom
was Andrew, only ten years of age. When
Andrew was twenty-two he suffered the loss of his mother. She died in Macon County, Illinois,
March 1831, whereupon he assumed the responsibility of caring for the twins.
On
December 8, 1834, Andrew Love married Nancy Maria Bigelow, near Decatur, Macon
County, Illinois. She was an orphan. Her mother, Angeline Prentice Bigelow, died
when Nancy was
nineteen. Her father, Isaac Bigelow, in
a short while followed her mother to the grave leaving two younger children for
Nancy to rear, a brother of ten, James Otis, and a sister of eight, Catherine
Ann. She cared for them until she was
married to Andrew Love, just before she was twenty-one. Consequently, this young couple commenced
married life with the twins and Nancy’s
brother and sister.
Some
years later they acquired a farm in the neighboring county of Moultrie. The farm consisted of 300 acres, parts of
which were heavily wooded. Among the
trees were nut bearing varities. The
family possessed the respect and good will of their neighbors. The post office near them was given the name
of Lovington, and Andrew was appointed the postmaster.
During
the ensuing decade only one of their own children lived. She was Elizabeth Angeline, born January 21,
1842, Okaw, Macon Co., Illinois. She grew to maturity in Utah and reared seven sons and three
daughters. All except one lived to
survive their mother and blossomed into splendid manhood and womanhood.
Before
she was married to George H. Bradley a Ute Indian brave tried to make a bargain
with Andrew for the sale of his vivacious daughter, Elizabeth, because he
wished to marry her. She had acquired a
very attractive personality. Time proved
that she had the instinct as well as the very best of training for creating a
happy home. She was an efficient wife
and mother; a delightful companion.
To Central Illinois in the spring of 1844 came Elders of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
They arrived in the Love neighborhood preaching that the heavens and
again opened, that the pure gospel of Jesus Christ was re-established with its
priesthood through the American Prophet Joseph Smith. Andrew and Nancy Love believed their
testimonies, accepted the truth and were baptized members of the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, at Lovington,
Illinois, June 1, 1844.
Neighborly
affection was changed to hatred when it was known that this family had joined
the Mormons. Andrew Love and his wife
were preparing to move with the body of the church westward, but when they left
Illinois they
did so at the point of shot guns. The
rage against these settlers grew into fury about the time of the martyrdom of
the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum, June 27, 1844. They were murdered one hundred and fifty
miles away at Carthage
jail, Hancock Co. by a mob of two hundred, with faces painted as a disguise.
Other
Saints were imperiled. Andrew’s life was
saved only by the prompt action of his friends.
John Cazier, who was recognized as the best shot in the entire county, and
who stood ready to kill the first one in the mob who fired at Andrew. Charles H. Bryan, by ingenuity, succeeded in
getting Andrew away from the mob. The Bryan family were staunch
friends of this family of Mormons, though they were not identified with the
church. Even so, Charles shouted at the
mob: “If Andy Love is driven out of Illinois,
I go too.” Later, the Bryan family were baptized into the church,
also the Cazier family. Though they did
not emigrate until four years later, these families experienced the hardships
incident to crossing the plains in covered wagons and ox teams in their trek
westward. They continued fond neighbors
and close friends in the valleys of Utah
as long as life lasted.
“The
darkest blot on United
States history is the driving of the Mormons
from state to state,” said the outspoken Wendell Wilkie, shortly before his
demise.
Andrew
Love, appointed as a missionary for the church, found himself again in Illinois in the vicinity
of his old home, from October, 1869 to March 1870. While there he visited his farm. He discovered that it had been divided into
two and three acre lots, and was occupied by poor families. To clear the title if those home sites, he
gave the power of attorney to his brother, John Love, who resided at Hammond and arranged with
the probate judge of that locality to give deeds to the new owners. This he did that no injustice might be done
anyone who had purchased his land. Thus,
lost to him was this valuable farm without compensation. The gospel was his compensation, for he loved
it above all else, and felt himself forever indebted to God for giving him a
strong testimony of the divinity of the latter-day restoration. Andrew Love exhibited the invincible faith of
the saints of past ages.
The four
brothers and sisters this couple reared were grown and it is assumed that they
were married before Andrew and his wife became Mormons. Only one, James Otis Bigelow, united with the
church. He and his wife, Elizabeth
Cazier, traveled west with her family making their home near the Loves. The brother, James Love, remained at
Lovington. Andrew’s diary, 1854, makes
this statement: “Received a letter from my brother John and his wife Charlotte
who are merchandising in Lovington and doing well.”
When
Andrew and Nancy were expelled from Illinois,
they crossed the Mississippi River at Fort
Madison, arriving at Highland
(Garden) Grove on Keg Creek,
Iowa, in August, where they
passed the winter of 1846. Early next
spring Andrew went to St. Louis,
Missouri, to procure an outfit
for the journey across the plains. He returned
with three good stout wagons, teams, provisions, clothing and necessary
supplies. In June, 1847, they left Iowa for the west. After they ferried the Missouri River at
Winter Quarters, now Florence, Nebraska, and also the Elk River, a tributary of
the Platte, they camped where the companies were being assembled in
semi-military manner, preparatory to the grand exodus.*
* “The
organization into Hundreds, Fifties and Tens needs explanation to be correctly
understood. It was a count neither of
the number of wagons, nor of familys nor the total number of individuals, but
rather of the able-bodied men; those who were able to carry arms, protecting
and providing for the sick and infirm, and the women and children, handle teams
and cattle, act as guards, and perform other services.”
The Love
family traveled in the third company organized.
It comprised Captain Jedediah M. Grant’s Hundred, Joseph B. Noble’s
Fifty, and Josiah Miller’s Ten. One of
Andrew’s teams was driven by himself, the second team by Nancy and the third by the hired boy.
The
Improvement Era, December, 1943, under the caption “Pioneer Diary of Eliza R.
Snow” prints: “Sister Love is run over with a heavily loaded wagon.” This was dated Thursday, August 19, 1847. Two days later, Saturday, August 21: “This
morning I heard that Sister Love sat up and combed her hair. This is truly a manifestation of the power of
God.”
Andrew
and Nancy arrived in Salt
Lake Valley
October 4, 1847, ahead of the winter, thereby avoiding many hardships. They were among the twelve or sixteen hundred
Saints then in the valley. They located
in what is now Pioneer
Park in the Sixth
Ward. It was a walled-in space called
the Fort, built for protection against Indians.
Their first home in the west was a house made after the style used by
the Spanish, with adobes, sixteen inches long, eight wide and four thick.
For
flooring, Andrew used a wagon bed, the roof made of poles, grass and dirt. When winter came with its heavy wind, snow
and rain, the roof collapsed; again they were homeless yet undaunted.
In early
spring, 1848, they built a home of logs as well as adobe, located on a city lot
in the Seventh Ward outside of the Fort.
The log cabin measured 16 by 19 feet and the adobe room 32 by 16 feet. It was on the corner of Sixth South and West Temple.
Dimensions of Andrew’s cabin are of interest because they tell the story
of cooperative building in the community life of the Mormons as contrasted with
pioneers of New England where each man built
his own cabin. One man could handle a
log no longer than eight feet hence all New England
pioneer cabins were not wider than eight feet.
The
impressive story of how the sea gulls brought life to these pioneers, 1500
miles from food stores, is told in Andrew Love’s diary, dated February 1848:
“Ploughed land, sowed grain, early in the spring, crickets came, still we
ploughed again sowed, planted, ditched, fenced against the pests. The crickets grew fat, field after field
succumbing to the invaders. Hope seemed
to stand aloof. All of a sudden sea
gulls came and made a devastating war on the crickets. Our colony was saved, and with right good
will we acknowledged the hand of the Lord in it. I harvested that fall 1000 bushels of corn
and 18 bushels of wheat.”
The
first public duty assigned Andrew was keeper of the stray-pen. A thankless office was this, keeping animals
from unfenced green things in garden and field, because horses and cows had to
forage for a living and the pioneers need for food was desperate. Andrew confided to his journal concerning
this job. “It is a hard berth.” Later, public affairs more to his liking were
committed to his care.
Andrew
and his family were called by President Young as missionaries to go southward
with a company of settlers led by George A. Smith, later counselor to Brigham
Young, to open Iron County to habitation.
They started December 15, 1850.
It was a hazardous venture for the Loves in the dead of winter with a
baby of eight months, Mary Ellen, born in Salt Lake City,
April 18, 1850, and a little girl of eight, Elizabeth.
Andrew built a log cabin near what is now Parowan and planted and reaped
a crop of essential foods. In the fall
of 1851 all were released from this mission because the conditions were
disappointing.
Southern valley Indian tribes would steal
children from enemy tribes and sell them to the whites. Caleb was the name given an Indian boy about
nine, sold to Andrew. As savages were
cruel to such children, it was kindness to purchase them and provide for
them. This family of five traveled
northward, stopping at Provo
where they bought a cabin and spent the winter.
From Provo, Andrew made a trip to Salt Lake City and sold
his home there for one thousand dollars.
A few years later at Nephi, in accordance with his desire, Caleb the
Indian was baptized into the Church, after he had learned the first principles
of the gospel. As he grew in years he
became a valued farm helper, but his life was short. This was true of many Indians raised by the
whites, possibly because the savages had been accustomed, from time immemorial,
to open-air living, uncooked food and sunshine for clothing.
In
February, 1852, Andrew took to the road north settling in Juab County
near Nephi, now Mona, then called Clover or Willow Creek. As usual a cabin was built and crops
planted. Corn was growing tall when
along came rain and heavy winds. Next
morning the stalks were lying flat. Andrew
was discouraged, but Nancy
did not despair, instead she suggested that they try making the corn stand
again. He replied hopelessly, “It will
not grow.” She went out and began to
stand the stalks upright, tamping the soil close to the roots. Seeing her success, he went to her aid until
all stalks were upstanding. As a result
they harvested a good crop.
Mona,
then a four family farming community, was surrounded by friendly Indians, who
later became hostile. It was a wild
country, for that September, Andrew, with the aid of neighbors, killed a
grizzly bear.
In
November, Nancy
became ill. It was said to be erysipelas. She grew steadily worse and in mid-life dies
November 28, 1852. Next day under
strange skies in that desolate spot she was buried, it being Sunday. Officiating at the funeral was her Captain of
Ten, Josiah Miller. She was honored by
the presence of friends and relatives from Nephi. Her husband and children had lost their
comforter, their best friend. A press
notice of the day lauds her ready sympathy and wide-spread friendships. It said that her natural skill as a nurse had
taken her into the homes of neighbors and friends to minister unto them
whenever sickness prevailed.
“July 18th,
1853: Monday night, Indians killed a man at Reteeneet Creek, a Mormon, which
was the beginning of war. Instead of
going fishing all Clover Creek settlement packed up and moved to Nephi
(instanter).”
“July
19, 1853: Fort Nephi was put under military law with
Major Bradley as commander. I am
drilling harvesting, haying and acting in my office as commissary, butchering
and dealing out beef and sending out our cattle to be herded to keep the
Indians from stealing them.”
Another
public responsibility of Andrew’s was supervising the building of a wall to
surround the town as a Fort in order to provide a safeguard against Indian
raids.
“The
wall enclosed nine blocks. It was six
feet at the base, tapering up to two feet at the top. It was twelve feet high. A common hand could make a rod in eight
days. It was commenced June 5th,
1854, completed November 30, 1854. A
three-day celebration was held when the north and south gates were hung.”
“June 9:
Chief Walker is becoming very inquisitive about this wall.
“June
10: Continuing the wall. Walker came to the
authorities of the place and forbid the building of the wall. He said ‘We can’t shake hands across the
wall.’ I suppose an express will be sent
to Brigham Young this morning. If we
have to fight, hurrah for the fight. If
it can be all good peace. Amen.”
“June 6,
1854: Two Indians came into my house. I
requested them to leave since I could not talk with them nor them with me. They were sullen and would not go out of the
door, so I took hold of one to push him out of the way. One had a gun, the other strung his arrow,
for a battle; which necessitated my getting hold of him to push him towards the
door. Though I did this gently, he
resisted and I, being the stouter of the two, propelled him. When he got within a step of the door he took
hold of me to pull me out with him, finding him so stubborn, I took hold of his
bow and arrows with my right hand and took him by the windpipe with my left and
very nearly put my fingers around it for awhile. Thinking that the fellow had had enough of
that I slackened up a little. He then
tried for my neck, but found it no go. I
took his bow out of his hand and struck him over the head with it several times
and broke it; broke the two arrows he had in his hand and put him out of the
house. This treatment was an insult to
his dignity and he called to the other Indian to shoot, but John Cazier, a next
door neighbor and a dead shot, was there to attend to him, then both Indians
left. But they soon returned bringing
Chief Walker and all the warriors they could raise around there armed with bows
and arrows and some guns. They came to Brother (Major) Bradley to
settle the matter. They were on the war
path. This was one of Walker’s braves and to have his weapons of
death wrested out of his hands and broken over his head was too much for high
blood to stand. Walker with his armed forces acted as judge,
jury, counsel, and all. They decided
that I should forfeit a gun or my life.
They, with Major Bradley, decided that I should pay a gun to settle the
matter. This order, being compiled with,
peace, was declared and the court adjourned June 8, 1854.”
“June
15, 1854: We are surrounded by Indians.
Various rumors and reports say that Walker has twice set a time to massacre the
people of this place. There are also
stories that five or six hundred Snake Indians are in persuit of Walker traversing the
mountains near by.”
“February
4, 1855: Chief Indian Walker is dead.”
The Utah Walker war which commenced in 1853 is at an end. Walker’s
brother, Arapeen, was made chief of the Utes or Utah Indians.”
Andrew
battled mobs, wild animals of the plains, later, crop pests, drouth, and snakes
of the Great Basin. He had to fight nature for control of
mountain torrents and parched terrain, conditioning and uniting these two with
back-breaking toil that the precious seed planted in gardens and fields might
germinate and crops might mature. He had
to grow food speedily for family and animals else all would suffer pangs of
famine. At each new homesite, in four
separate localities of Utah
within the space of six years, he raised food from virgin soil and built some
sort of shelter for teams, cattle, sheep, chickens, and pigs. In Nephi he had also an adobe yard.
Though
Andrew toiled at the roughest work known to pioneering, he was recognized by
his associates as a natural student. In
every spare moment he studied -the gospel first, then law, geography, mathematics,
history. He helped to organize and was
president of the Nebo Literary and Agricultural Association. He was active in every phase of civic life, he
was never happier than when studying and expounding gospel doctrine, at
priesthood meetings, at his own fireside, or in the homes of neighbors and
friends. His priesthood quorum
activities entailed some public speaking, especially in later life, as he was
then a member of the high council of Juab Stake of Zion.
It is
interesting to note that within a period of twenty-five years, Andrew was
elected to serve his community in half a dozen offices, being in addition a
teacher, a stock raiser, a farmer, a builder.
This many-sidedness was not unusual in early-day Utah.
Its citizenry was made up of converts from the more advanced centers of America and Europe. Certainly, the planting of a modern
civilization in a remote and primitive desert required a study people with
imagination, ability, industry and stability of character. Appropriately enough the Bee Hive was
selected as a symbol for Utah,
typifying the industry of her people.
At an
election held at Nephi, November 8, 1852, Andrew, then a resident of Mona, was
elected a member from Juab County to the Territorial Legislature, Salt Lake City. He states in his diary: June 1, 1853, 10
a.m., “Utah Legislature met in joint session.
Did some business and adjourned till 2 o’clock for the legislative ball
which commenced at that hour in the Social Hall, $10.00 per couple. Two suppers and at the last, refreshments
were passed around. Everything in
splendid style.”
This
comfortable amusement hall was completed earlier that year and served the city
for social purposes the next sixty years.
From the
quotation, this social affair is easily reconstructed. Andrew left a detailed
description of another such event which continued three days. This particular festival, no doubt, lasted
fourteen hours. Guests of honor would be
Governor Brigham Young with other high ranking officials of church and
state. As was the custom, the ball
opened and closed with an appropriate prayer.
All were seated at long heavily laden tables. After grace was offered, they partook of a
well-cooked banquet during which time toasts were intermingled with vocal
numbers. Late afternoon, dancing would
commence interspersed with speeches from distinguished guests and bits of
drama. During the evening the second
feast was served and eaten amid great merriment resulting from wit, humor and
original rhymes from those present.
Dancing was resumed and continued until the wee hours, when light
refreshments were “passed around,” after which there would be more
dancing. More than likely, dawn
witnessed the last farewells. At this
party no tobacco was used neither alcoholic beverages, tea nor coffee. Gaiety there was and frolic a plenty, without
stimulants.
The next
year, Andrew was definitely busy, supervising fort building, serving as an
alderman in the city council of Nephi to which he was elected, and at the same
time acting as a trustee for the school.
Later, August 1854, he filed his bond and was sworn into the office of
Juab County Recorder. In November 6,
1855, his duty took him to Fillmore, Millard
County, to perform grand
jury service. At the time of the
Johnston Army invasion, when Utah was once
more under martial law, he was a commissary officer and saw service in Echo Canyon
during the winter of 1857.
The
Johnston Army invasion, in which two thousand soldiers were sent to Utah to put down an
alleged rebellion, is known in history as “Buchanan’s Blunder.” Brigham Young, duly elected, was serving as
governor. The magistrate, sent to Utah by federal
authorities to preside over superior and district courts, was Judge
Drummond. He was a corrupt man. Falsified statements submitted to Washington by him
affirmed that Governor Young had burned state and court records, that treason
was rife. Without the slightest
investigation an army was dispatched under the command of Col. Albert Sidney
Johnston. Fiery speeches by John B.
Floyd, secretary of war, branding the Mormons as defiant secessionists, aroused
public alarm. Senator Jefferson Davis,
later president of the Confederacy, demanded drastic action. Ironically, the three men who pushed their
country into this childish blunder shortly found themselves directing shot and
shell at the American flag in the War of Rebellion.*
*Condensed
from “History of Utah,
1847 to 1869” by Dr. Andrew Love Neff.
On June
13, 1859, Andrew received the appointment of probate judge of Juab County,
being elected to this position by the Joint Assembly of the Territorial
Legislature Eighteen years later, in 1877, he was superintendent of Juab County
schools. Voters had returned him to this
office for several terms.
So much
for Andrew’s public trusts and activities.
Turn now to his domestic affairs.
A year and a half subsequent to the loss of his wife, Nancy, he gave his
children a new mother, Sarah Maria Humphrey.
A truly good mother and grandmother she proved to be. This young lady, who was married to Andrew
Love, was a native of Toronto,
Canada, born
April 6, 1833 of a good family, her parents being Henry Humphrey and Mary Ann
Horn. They were among the early converts
from Upper Canada
and united with the church during the lifetime of the Prophet Joseph
Smith. Sarah Maria and her sister Mary
Jane Humphrey Brower, two years younger, and their brother Lamoni Humphrey,
born at Kirtland, November 19, 1837, came to Utah.
Sarah
Maria was united in the holy bond of matrimony to Andrew Love, March 8,
1854. The ceremony took place in the
“Endowment House.” Salt Lake City. The marriage was for “time and
eternity.” She stood at the alter again,
this time representing his first wife, Nancy Maria Bigelow, who thus was
“sealed” to Andrew for “eternity”, vicariously.
Six
months after his marriage to Sarah Maria, on October 8, 1954, Andrew, heeding
the teachings of his church in that day, married a plural wife, also for “time
and eternity.” She was a young French
woman the same age as Maria, having been born March 9, 1833, in Le Havre, Normandy,
France,
daughter of Jean Henry Louis Henroid and Domitile Daligne, the twin sister of
Eugene Alphonso. These two and a younger
brother, Gustave Henroid, were in a group of eleven, the first of their city to
accept the gospel and receive baptism into the restored church of Jesus Christ. It was November 1842, that President John
Taylor, then an apostle, opened the French Mission, where upon this young lady,
Henrietta Clementine, became a faithful member and left home January 31,1853,
to emigrate to America with her brothers.
“We sailed from Liverpool, February 15, 1853, to New Orleans on the ship “Elvina Owen.”
The
young girl, Henrietta Henroid, with her younger brother located at Nephi. At once she began teaching school. Andrew states in his diary: May 5, 1854, “My
children started to school. Martha
Haywood is the teacher, Miss Henroid assists her.” One month later he wrote: “Today Miss Henroid
called to see me about books, because I am trustee.”
Because
of life-long intimate contacts with children, small ones as well as half-grown,
who were not his own, but for whom he worked and was responsible , Andrew Love
had developed a great fondness for youth and understood its problems. Nevertheless he was strict. “Spare the rod and spoil the child” was the
accepted idea of parents as well as teachers.
In March
1865 Andrew opened a private school in his own home. It was held the year round. Soon it was moved across the mill race into a
log cabin owned by Father Cazier, and the last two years it was removed to the
new Social Hall of Nephi and continued in all some five years. He was absent from school six months from
October, 1869 to March 1870, during which time he was a missionary in Illinois.
In
October, 1945, an intimate of the family put this question to a life-long
resident of Nephi, Isaac H. Grace, who is nearly ninety: “Did you go to Andrew
Love’s school?” He answered: “I attended
his school by the old mill race. He was
a strict teacher. We always called him
Judge Love.”
Gracious
modes of living were familiar to Andrew’s mother in Ireland. Nancy
had possessed refinement. Henrietta from
France carried into the
desert the habits of genteel living, being born and educated near the magic
city of Paris,
then as now, an art center. This city-bred
wife had much to learn about the work of pioneering. December 1854 the diary has this interesting
note: “The women of my household have been making molasses from squash, for the
past three days.” Indeed, many types of
work went on. There was lye for soap
making to be made from wood ashes; candles for long winter evenings to be
molded from tallow, wool, from the time it left the sheep’s back to school
dress, passed through many a tedious process.
Sheared, picked over tuft by tuft to free it from burrs and grass,
scoured, dried, it was then hand-carded and made ready for spinning into skeins
of yarn. It then passed to the hand loom
for weaving into warm clothing and lastly, the pattern was cut out ready to be
hand sewn.
The
diary: “April 1855, my wife Henrietta is assisting me at school.” In the autumn of that year a son was born to
Henrietta, September 17, 1855, and christened, John Henry Henroid. He was three years old when his mother gave
birth to a little girl, October 1, 1858.
The child, who received the name, Henrietta Maria, died the same
day. Her mother suggested that she be
named in honor of Maria, “Because she has been a true sister to me.”
Twenty
days later, October 20, the radiant spirit which was Henrietta’s slipped into
eternity. Mortality among mothers and
babes was pitifully high.
From
early scenes of Andrew’s and Maria’s marriage, they had heartbreaking
sorrow. Five of their babies succumbed
at birth or at best survived but a year.
The daughter, Nancy, loveable and intelligent, was carried off by
scarlet fever at ten years of age.
Charlotte, an adorable little girl, was accidentally drowned at the age
of three. George, their ninth child,
unfortunately was born deaf and dumb, but he was blessed with an obedient,
friendly spirit. The parents’ most
earnest prayer was that God would perform a miracle in his behalf.
Andrew
Love passed from this state of existence on December 7, 1890, at the age of
eighty–two. He was just and helpful to
his wives and children, his neighbors, his church and state. Life as he lived it demanded great
determination and stern self-discipline, traits typically Scottish.
Mormons
are faithful in performing vicarious ordinances for deceased kindred who in
their life-time were denied the opportunity of baptism and endowments. Though pioneering duties were exacting,
Andrew Love found time to commence this work in the Old Endowment House and
later at the St. George Temple, the first in Utah, dedicated April 6, 1877. He and his children and grandchildren have carried
it on faithfully. Perhaps no other
member of his family did so much for the blessing of the dead as Nancy Maria
Love Neff. Upwards of thirty years she
devoted herself to the work of opening a door of progression for worthy women
among her ancestors. Two decades Nancy also served as an
officer in organizations for training children in righteousness.
Andrew
Love’s wife, Maria, lived ten years after her husband’s demise. Thirty-six years she had been his devoted
helpmate. As a bride she assisted in the
care of his deceased wife Nancy’s little daughters, four and twelve. To the three-year old son of Henrietta, she
extended a mother’s watch-care. Until
her allotted years came to an end, October 7, 1900, they and their children
were the recipients of her hospitality and motherly devotion. She grieved to be under the necessity of
leaving the burden of her afflicted son George, then thirty, to her only
daughter, Catherine Ann, who had become the wife of William Paxman.
One of
the politicians of Illinois
once put a question to Abraham Lincoln a dozen years after the Mormons were
driven from that state by mob fury: “What are you going to do about the
Mormons?” “Let them alone,” he replied. This became known as “Lincoln’s three word policy.”
Andrew
Love was not unlike the great Lincoln
in bed-rock honesty, moral stamina, and alert interest in public welfare. They were the same age, both were born in the
South. The ancestors of the two men were
adherents of the somber religions of the Quakers and Scotch Covenantors. Each lost a parent at the age of nine or
ten. Both were tall, strong men, early
inured to work of frontiersmen. In youth
they traveled north, later to settle in central Illinois.
They became postmasters in their respective districts, not far from one
another. Both were self-educated and
specialized in law. Lincoln
served in the legislature of Illinois in 1840,
Andrew served in the legislature of Utah
in 1853. Each man had a town of central Illinois named in his
honor. Both men, the immortal president
Abraham Lincoln and plain citizen, Andrew Love, were endowed with profound
spirituality. In their darkest hours,
the faith of each was manifested in a deep and sublime trust in the power and
goodness of God!
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