Item Detail
-
17304
-
1
-
0
-
English
-
Copy of diary and missionary journal of William Kilshaw Barton, pioneer of 1852
-
Salt Lake City
-
Alden K. Barton
-
March 16, 1858 to September 2, 1862. Barton writes mostly of his daily labor, church/civic meetings, and the weather. He records his personal preparations for the Move South and his choice to permanently settle in Manti. He also notes his attempts to make whiskey and beer, plays he has seen, family news, and practicing astrology. In an unusually emotional entry, Barton recounts his first wife's illness and eventual death, writing of his overwhelming grief at this turn of fate. May 12, 1873 to October 19, 1873. The second journal is a diary kept by Barton while serving a mission to England. Most of the entries describe his travel, paperwork, attempts to reactivate former members, and sight-seeing. He records organizing many public meetings, trying to persuade members to immigrate to Utah, and the obstacle polygamy posed to attracting converts. Many of the entries describe Barton's leisure activities such as fairs, cricket matches, magic shows (revealing how a popular illusion worked), plays attended, visits to a race track, and wax works. At the wax works show, he takes note of an image of Brigham Young and his forty-seven wives on display, and offers his thoughts on the piece. Barton also tours several factories, including an iron works, giving a description of the process each used. Later, he is able to visit several relatives and finds his lost brother, offering an account of the latter's adventurous life. The diary ends when Barton receives his release and prepares to return home.