Item Detail
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MSS 415
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George Henry Abbott Harris autobiography
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Overland Trails - Diaries
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Harris, George Henry Abbott
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1851-1892
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Handwritten autobiography. The manuscript includes excerpts from diaries and copies of correspondence. The autobiography and letter copying were begun in the 1880s. Harris writes about his youth in England, his conversion to the Mormon Church in 1849, his immigration to the United States in 1851, and the overland journey to Utah in 1852. Harris describes travelling conditions, the nature of the trail, and his work as a teamster. Harris settled in Pleasant Grove, Utah, where he married two polygamous wives. They divorced him in 1873. Harris moved to Salem, Idaho, in 1888 and served as a Mormon bishop there. Included are minutes of Mormon Church meetings, minutes of the Salem Library Association, and patriarchal blessings of family members. Consists of 9 volumes.