Item Detail
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MSS 417
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Levi Savage Diaries
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Savage, Levi
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1852-1903
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Handwritten diaries. The original items are housed in two boxes while the photocopies of these materials are housed in three. There are many gaps in the entries including a sixteen-year gap from 1861 to 1877. Savage writes about his mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to "Siam" (Thailand) from 1852 to 1856. He travelled to Rangoon from Salt Lake City, Utah, by way of San Francisco and Calcutta. He returned by way of Calcutta, England, and New York City. He was one of the leaders of the ill-fated Willie handcart company in 1856 and presents one of the most important and detailed accounts of that disaster. Savage lived in Toquerville, Utah, was a polygamist, and served time in prison for having more than one wife.