| Notes |
- "MY NAME IS CLARISSA JANE WILCOX. I WAS BORN IN CARMI, WHITE COUNTY, ILLINOIS, ON OCTOBER FIRST, 1821. I HAD A TWIN BROTHER, BUT HE DIED AT BIRTH. MY PARENTS ARE HAZARD WILCOX JR. AND SARAH SEELEY [THE CORRECT SPELLING IS UNKNOWN]. MY SEELEY GRANDPARENTS WERE AUGUSTUS SEELEY AND MARY BRISBANE. MY WILCOX GRANDPARENTS WERE HAZARD WILCOX SR. AND EUNICE SABRAH WATSON. BEYOND THAT I DON'T KNOW. I DON'T KNOW HOW MY GRANDMOTHER, SARAH SEELEY, TIES IN WITH YOUR SEELY LINE, BUT THE TWO LINES PROBABLY COME TOGETHER BACK SOMEPLACE. I WAS BAPTIZED INTO THE CHURCH WHEN I WAS TWELVE YEARS OLD. I THINK THE DATE WAS MAY 20, 1833. ALONG ABOUT THAT TIME, WE WERE TOLD THAT THE CENTER STAKE OF ZION WOULD BE IN JACKSON COUNTY, MISSOURI, AND THAT WE SHOULD GATHER THERE, SO WE DID. BUT WE HADN'T BEEN THERE LONG, WHEN WE--ALONG WITH EVERYONE ELSE--THAT IS, ALL THE SAINTS, WERE DRIVEN OUT, EXCEPT SOME WHO WOULDN'T STAND UP TO THE MOB AN' THEY'D DENY THAT JOSEPH SMITH WAS A PROPHET, JUST SO THE MOB WOULDN'T BOTHER THEM.
"ANYWAY, THE MOBBINGS AND THE BURNINGS GOT TO BE SO BAD IN JACKSON COUNTY THAT IN NOVEMBER OF 1833, WE WERE COMPELLED TO LEAVE IN ORDER TO PRESERVE OUR LIVES. THE SAINTS MOVED TO NEIGHBORING COUNTIES, BUT OUR FAMILY MOVED TO CLAY COUNTY. WE (THE SAINTS) WERE FRIENDLESS AND PENNILESS, AND THE CITIZENS OF CLAY COUNTY TOOK PITY ON US AND SAID WE COULD STAY IN THEIR COUNTY UNTIL THINGS WERE SETTLED IN JACKSON COUNTY AND WE COULD RETURN THERE; OR UNTIL WE FOUND ANOTHER PERMANENT LOCATION. WELL, OUR LEADERS SPENT THE NEXT TWO AND A HALF YEARS APPEALING TO THE GOVERNOR OF MISSOURI, AND ANYONE ELSE WHO WOULD LISTEN--TRYING TO GET OUR LANDS REINSTATED TO US, SO WE COULD RETURN TO JACKSON COUNTY, BUT WE NEVER DID GET REINSTATED; NOT EVEN IN A LAND WITH A CONSTITUTION THAT GUARANTEES TO ITS CITIZENS THE RIGHT TO LIFE, LIBERTY AND PROPERTY.
"MOBS CONTINUED TO ROAM THE COUNTRYSIDE, HARASSING THE SAINTS, AND THINGS KEPT GETTING WORSE IN CLAY COUNTY. MOTHER AND I SPENT MANY EVENINGS DISCUSSING WHAT WOULD BECOME OF US. SHE WAS A WIDOW; I WAS A TEENAGE GIRL. SOMETIMES WE FELT THAT WE WERE JUST A BURDEN ON THE CHURCH. FINALLY IN JUNE OF 1836, THE CITIZENS OF CLAY COUNTY FIGURED WE HAD STAYED LONG ENOUGH. THEY WERE DECENT ABOUT IT, BUT THEY ASKED US TO MOVE OUT OF THEIR COUNTY. OUR LEADERS AGREED THAT THE SAINTS WOULD MOVE OUT. OUR FAMILY MOVED INTO RAY COUNTY IN THE SUMMER OF 1836. WE STAYED THERE FOR ABOUT A YEAR, AND THEN WE MOVED TO FAR WEST IN 1837.
"I REMEMBER WHEN THE SAINTS WERE DRIVEN OUT OF DEWITT AND THEIR CARAVAN CAME DRAGGING INTO FAR WEST. THEY WERE TRULY A PITIFUL LOOKING SIGHT. IT MADE ME CRY INSIDE TO SEE THEM. WE TOOK A FAMILY INTO OUR HOME, FED THEM, HEATED TUBS OF WATER SO THEY COULD EACH HAVE A BATH--GAVE THEM OUR BEDS AND THEN WHILE THEY SLEPT, WE WASHED THEIR CLOTHES. THEY CALLED ME AND MOTHER "ANGELS OF MERCY."
"I DON'T REMEMBER MEETING WELLINGTON OR DAVID DURING OUR STAY IN FAR WEST. IT COULD BE THAT WE ATTENDED THE SAME MEETINGS--MAYBE I EVEN SAW THEM AT A DANCE. BUT IF I DID SEE THEM, THEY WERE JUST FACES IN THE CROWD. THERE WERE SO MANY NEW FACES COMING INTO FAR WEST AT THAT TIME.
"I REMEMBER WHEN FAR WEST WAS UNDER SIEGE FROM THE MOB AND COLONEL HINKLE DECEIVED THE PROPHET AND LURED HIM OUT OF THE CITY, AND GENERAL LUCAS TOOK HIM PRISONER. I REMEMBER THOSE DAYS VERY WELL. I HAD ALWAYS THOUGHT COL. HINKLE WAS A RATHER DASHING YOUNG MAN, UNTIL HE DID THAT, AND THEN I COULDN'T STAND THE SIGHT OF HIM. I REMEMBER ONE DAY I WAS WALKING ALONG MAIN STREET, AND HE CAME ALONG RIDING HIS FANCY HORSE. I DIDN'T LOOK AT HIM, BUT HE SPOKE TO ME. IN A VOICE DRIPPING WITH HONEY, HE SAID, 'GOOD MORNING, MISS WILCOX.' I PRETENDED NOT TO HEAR HIM, AND I TURNED AWAY.
"SOON AFTER THAT WE WERE EVACUATED FROM FAR WEST AND CONVEYED TO QUINCY, ILLINOIS, WHERE WE STAYED UNTIL SPRING OF 1839. THEN WE MOVED TO CHARLESTON, WHICH WAS IN LEE COUNTY, IOWA.
"I HAD A VERY SERIOUS ACCIDENT. I DON'T REMEMBER THE YEAR, BUT WHILE LIVING IN CHARLESTON, IOWA, I CAME VERY NEAR TO BECOMING AN INVALID FOR LIFE. I WAS ACCIDENTALLY SHOT THROUGH THE TRUNK OF MY BODY. I WAS TORN UP BAD INSIDE. IT WAS GHASTLY! I WAS RIGHT NEAR DEATH'S DOOR, AND I COULD HAVE SLIPPED THROUGH EASILY. THE DOCTOR SAID THAT IF I LIVED I WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO BEAR CHILDREN. I ASKED FOR A BLESSING, AND SO THE ELDERS OF THE CHURCH WERE CALLED, AND ELDER MOSES GIFFORD ADMINISTERED TO ME. HE PROMISED ME THAT I WOULD GET WELL, AND THAT I WOULD BE ABLE TO HAVE CHILDREN. I HAD COMPLETE FAITH THAT I WOULD GET WELL, AND THAT I WOULD HEAL PROPERLY. AND I DID.
"I REMEMBER IN 1841 WHEN THE SEELYE FAMILY FIRST MOVED TO NASHVILLE AND SOON AFTER THAT WAS WHEN I FIRST MET JUSTUS WELLINGTON SEELYE. WE COURTED FOR A TIME, AND I REMEMBER THE NIGHT HE PROPOSED. WELLINGTON HAD COME IN HIS BUGGY FROM NASHVILLE TO CHARLESTON TO TAKE ME TO A SQUARE DANCE, AND I COULD TELL THAT HE WAS HAVING A GOOD TIME. HE ALWAYS ENJOYED A DANCE. HE SAID HE WOULD RATHER DANCE THAN EAT. WELL, AFTER THE LAST QUADRILLE AND CLOSING PRAYER, WE WERE RIDING HOME. THE MOON WAS LOW, SHINING LIKE A BALL OF FIRE THROUGH THE TREES.
"WELLINGTON SAID, 'I'VE NEVER SEEN SUCH A BEAUTIFUL, CLEAR MOONLIT NIGHT.'
"I BOLDLY ANSWERED, 'YES. IT WOULD BE A BEAUTIFUL NIGHT FOR A BUGGY RIDE.'
"WELLINGTON TOLD ME LATER THAT, WHEN I SAID THAT, HIS HEART JUMPED A COG. INSTEAD OF TURNING IN AT MY PLACE, HE KEPT RIGHT ON GOING OUT THE LANE TO THE WEST. IT WAS STILL PLENTY COLD AT NIGHT AND WELLINGTON HAD BROUGHT ALONG A HEAVY QUILT. I PULLED THE QUILT AROUND US, AND OF NECESSITY SLID OVER CLOSE TO HIM. HE TOLD ME LATER THAT WHEN I DID THAT HIS HEART JUMPED TWO COGS. AT THE SUGAR CREEK LANE, WELLINGTON TURNED SOUTH AND WENT DOWN THROUGH THE BOTTOMS. NOW I'M NOT GOING TO TELL YOU ALL THE DETAILS. IT'S ENOUGH FOR YOU TO KNOW THAT 'ERE WE RETURNED TO MY HOUSE WE WERE MAKING PLANS FOR A TWO-ROOM LOG CABIN.
"THE NEXT MORNING I ASKED MY MOTHER WHAT SHE THOUGHT OF ME MARRYING JUSTUS WELLINGTON SEELYE. SHE SAID SHE THOUGHT HIGHLY OF BROTHER WELLINGTON--SHE ALWAYS CALLED HIM BROTHER WELLINGTON--AND IF I WAS SURE I LOVED HIM, AND WANTED HIM TO BE THE FATHER OF MY CHILDREN SHE WOULD GIVE HER APPROVAL.
"WE WERE MARRIED IN CHARLESTON ON MARCH 10, 1842. BROTHER CYRUS WHEELOCK MARRIED US. WELLINGTON PURCHASED ONE HUNDRED ACRES OF LAND ON THE BENCH ABOVE NASHVILLE, AND THAT'S WHERE WE LIVED."
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CLARISSA JANE WILCOX SEELY WITNESSED THE OCCASION WHEN THE MANTLE OF JOSEPH SMITH RESTED UPON BRIGHAM YOUNG
"MY NAME IS CLARISSA JANE WILCOX. I WAS BORN IN CARMI, WHITE COUNTY, ILLINOIS, ON OCTOBER FIRST, 1821. I HAD A TWIN BROTHER, BUT HE DIED AT BIRTH. MY PARENTS ARE HAZARD WILCOX JR. AND SARAH SEELEY [THE CORRECT SPELLING IS UNKNOWN]. MY SEELEY GRANDPARENTS WERE AUGUSTUS SEELEY AND MARY BRISBANE. MY WILCOX GRANDPARENTS WERE HAZARD WILCOX SR. AND EUNICE SABRAH WATSON. BEYOND THAT I DON'T KNOW. I DON'T KNOW HOW MY GRANDMOTHER, SARAH SEELEY, TIES IN WITH YOUR SEELY LINE, BUT THE TWO LINES PROBABLY COME TOGETHER BACK SOMEPLACE. I WAS BAPTIZED INTO THE CHURCH WHEN I WAS TWELVE YEARS OLD. I THINK THE DATE WAS MAY 20, 1833. ALONG ABOUT THAT TIME, WE WERE TOLD THAT THE CENTER STAKE OF ZION WOULD BE IN JACKSON COUNTY, MISSOURI, AND THAT WE SHOULD GATHER THERE, SO WE DID. BUT WE HADN'T BEEN THERE LONG, WHEN WE--ALONG WITH EVERYONE ELSE--THAT IS, ALL THE SAINTS, WERE DRIVEN OUT, EXCEPT SOME WHO WOULDN'T STAND UP TO THE MOB AN' THEY'D DENY THAT JOSEPH SMITH WAS A PROPHET, JUST SO THE MOB WOULDN'T BOTHER THEM.
"ANYWAY, THE MOBBINGS AND THE BURNINGS GOT TO BE SO BAD IN JACKSON COUNTY THAT IN NOVEMBER OF 1833, WE WERE COMPELLED TO LEAVE IN ORDER TO PRESERVE OUR LIVES. THE SAINTS MOVED TO NEIGHBORING COUNTIES, BUT OUR FAMILY MOVED TO CLAY COUNTY. WE (THE SAINTS) WERE FRIENDLESS AND PENNILESS, AND THE CITIZENS OF CLAY COUNTY TOOK PITY ON US AND SAID WE COULD STAY IN THEIR COUNTY UNTIL THINGS WERE SETTLED IN JACKSON COUNTY AND WE COULD RETURN THERE; OR UNTIL WE FOUND ANOTHER PERMANENT LOCATION. WELL, OUR LEADERS SPENT THE NEXT TWO AND A HALF YEARS APPEALING TO THE GOVERNOR OF MISSOURI, AND ANYONE ELSE WHO WOULD LISTEN--TRYING TO GET OUR LANDS REINSTATED TO US, SO WE COULD RETURN TO JACKSON COUNTY, BUT WE NEVER DID GET REINSTATED; NOT EVEN IN A LAND WITH A CONSTITUTION THAT GUARANTEES TO ITS CITIZENS THE RIGHT TO LIFE, LIBERTY AND PROPERTY.
"MOBS CONTINUED TO ROAM THE COUNTRYSIDE, HARASSING THE SAINTS, AND THINGS KEPT GETTING WORSE IN CLAY COUNTY. MOTHER AND I SPENT MANY EVENINGS DISCUSSING WHAT WOULD BECOME OF US. SHE WAS A WIDOW; I WAS A TEENAGE GIRL. SOMETIMES WE FELT THAT WE WERE JUST A BURDEN ON THE CHURCH. FINALLY IN JUNE OF 1836, THE CITIZENS OF CLAY COUNTY FIGURED WE HAD STAYED LONG ENOUGH. THEY WERE DECENT ABOUT IT, BUT THEY ASKED US TO MOVE OUT OF THEIR COUNTY. OUR LEADERS AGREED THAT THE SAINTS WOULD MOVE OUT. OUR FAMILY MOVED INTO RAY COUNTY IN THE SUMMER OF 1836. WE STAYED THERE FOR ABOUT A YEAR, AND THEN WE MOVED TO FAR WEST IN 1837.
"I REMEMBER WHEN THE SAINTS WERE DRIVEN OUT OF DEWITT AND THEIR CARAVAN CAME DRAGGING INTO FAR WEST. THEY WERE TRULY A PITIFUL LOOKING SIGHT. IT MADE ME CRY INSIDE TO SEE THEM. WE TOOK A FAMILY INTO OUR HOME, FED THEM, HEATED TUBS OF WATER SO THEY COULD EACH HAVE A BATH--GAVE THEM OUR BEDS AND THEN WHILE THEY SLEPT, WE WASHED THEIR CLOTHES. THEY CALLED ME AND MOTHER "ANGELS OF MERCY."
"I DON'T REMEMBER MEETING WELLINGTON OR DAVID DURING OUR STAY IN FAR WEST. IT COULD BE THAT WE ATTENDED THE SAME MEETINGS--MAYBE I EVEN SAW THEM AT A DANCE. BUT IF I DID SEE THEM, THEY WERE JUST FACES IN THE CROWD. THERE WERE SO MANY NEW FACES COMING INTO FAR WEST AT THAT TIME.
"I REMEMBER WHEN FAR WEST WAS UNDER SIEGE FROM THE MOB AND COLONEL HINKLE DECEIVED THE PROPHET AND LURED HIM OUT OF THE CITY, AND GENERAL LUCAS TOOK HIM PRISONER. I REMEMBER THOSE DAYS VERY WELL. I HAD ALWAYS THOUGHT COL. HINKLE WAS A RATHER DASHING YOUNG MAN, UNTIL HE DID THAT, AND THEN I COULDN'T STAND THE SIGHT OF HIM. I REMEMBER ONE DAY I WAS WALKING ALONG MAIN STREET, AND HE CAME ALONG RIDING HIS FANCY HORSE. I DIDN'T LOOK AT HIM, BUT HE SPOKE TO ME. IN A VOICE DRIPPING WITH HONEY, HE SAID, 'GOOD MORNING, MISS WILCOX.' I PRETENDED NOT TO HEAR HIM, AND I TURNED AWAY.
"SOON AFTER THAT WE WERE EVACUATED FROM FAR WEST AND CONVEYED TO QUINCY, ILLINOIS, WHERE WE STAYED UNTIL SPRING OF 1839. THEN WE MOVED TO CHARLESTON, WHICH WAS IN LEE COUNTY, IOWA.
"I HAD A VERY SERIOUS ACCIDENT. I DON'T REMEMBER THE YEAR, BUT WHILE LIVING IN CHARLESTON, IOWA, I CAME VERY NEAR TO BECOMING AN INVALID FOR LIFE. I WAS ACCIDENTALLY SHOT THROUGH THE TRUNK OF MY BODY. I WAS TORN UP BAD INSIDE. IT WAS GHASTLY! I WAS RIGHT NEAR DEATH'S DOOR, AND I COULD HAVE SLIPPED THROUGH EASILY. THE DOCTOR SAID THAT IF I LIVED I WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO BEAR CHILDREN. I ASKED FOR A BLESSING, AND SO THE ELDERS OF THE CHURCH WERE CALLED, AND ELDER MOSES GIFFORD ADMINISTERED TO ME. HE PROMISED ME THAT I WOULD GET WELL, AND THAT I WOULD BE ABLE TO HAVE CHILDREN. I HAD COMPLETE FAITH THAT I WOULD GET WELL, AND THAT I WOULD HEAL PROPERLY. AND I DID.
"I REMEMBER IN 1841 WHEN THE SEELYE FAMILY FIRST MOVED TO NASHVILLE AND SOON AFTER THAT WAS WHEN I FIRST MET JUSTUS WELLINGTON SEELYE. WE COURTED FOR A TIME, AND I REMEMBER THE NIGHT HE PROPOSED. WELLINGTON HAD COME IN HIS BUGGY FROM NASHVILLE TO CHARLESTON TO TAKE ME TO A SQUARE DANCE, AND I COULD TELL THAT HE WAS HAVING A GOOD TIME. HE ALWAYS ENJOYED A DANCE. HE SAID HE WOULD RATHER DANCE THAN EAT. WELL, AFTER THE LAST QUADRILLE AND CLOSING PRAYER, WE WERE RIDING HOME. THE MOON WAS LOW, SHINING LIKE A BALL OF FIRE THROUGH THE TREES.
"WELLINGTON SAID, 'I'VE NEVER SEEN SUCH A BEAUTIFUL, CLEAR MOONLIT NIGHT.'
"I BOLDLY ANSWERED, 'YES. IT WOULD BE A BEAUTIFUL NIGHT FOR A BUGGY RIDE.'
"WELLINGTON TOLD ME LATER THAT, WHEN I SAID THAT, HIS HEART JUMPED A COG. INSTEAD OF TURNING IN AT MY PLACE, HE KEPT RIGHT ON GOING OUT THE LANE TO THE WEST. IT WAS STILL PLENTY COLD AT NIGHT AND WELLINGTON HAD BROUGHT ALONG A HEAVY QUILT. I PULLED THE QUILT AROUND US, AND OF NECESSITY SLID OVER CLOSE TO HIM. HE TOLD ME LATER THAT WHEN I DID THAT HIS HEART JUMPED TWO COGS. AT THE SUGAR CREEK LANE, WELLINGTON TURNED SOUTH AND WENT DOWN THROUGH THE BOTTOMS. NOW I'M NOT GOING TO TELL YOU ALL THE DETAILS. IT'S ENOUGH FOR YOU TO KNOW THAT 'ERE WE RETURNED TO MY HOUSE WE WERE MAKING PLANS FOR A TWO-ROOM LOG CABIN.
"THE NEXT MORNING I ASKED MY MOTHER WHAT SHE THOUGHT OF ME MARRYING JUSTUS WELLINGTON SEELYE. SHE SAID SHE THOUGHT HIGHLY OF BROTHER WELLINGTON--SHE ALWAYS CALLED HIM BROTHER WELLINGTON--AND IF I WAS SURE I LOVED HIM, AND WANTED HIM TO BE THE FATHER OF MY CHILDREN SHE WOULD GIVE HER APPROVAL.
"WE WERE MARRIED IN CHARLESTON ON MARCH 10, 1842. BROTHER CYRUS WHEELOCK MARRIED US. WELLINGTON PURCHASED ONE HUNDRED ACRES OF LAND ON THE BENCH ABOVE NASHVILLE, AND THAT'S WHERE WE LIVED."
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CLARISSA JANE WILCOX SEELY WITNESSED THE OCCASION WHEN THE MANTLE OF JOSEPH SMITH RESTED UPON BRIGHAM YOUNG
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1821 - 1908 (86 years)
