Item Detail
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Hendricks, Drusilla Dorris
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1810-1881
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MSS SC 2409
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Autobiography
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Drusilla Dorris Hendricks was born February 8, 1810 in Sumner County, Tennessee to William Dorris and Catherine Frost. When Drusilla was seven she attended school, where she learned how to read and write. In 1817 she contracted a serious ailment called "White Swelling," and the doctors took out her collarbone and other bones. On May 31, 1828 Drusilla married James Hendricks and their first child, Elizabeth, was born on May 10, 1828. In 1830 their first son, William Dorris Hendricks, was born. Their third child was born on August 2, 1832. James and Druisilla were baptized in 1835. Their home was attacked by a mob and the mob was convicted and made to pay a fine. A fourth child was born in November 1835. In 1836 the family moved to Clay County, Missouri, where their fifth child was born on March 23, 1838. James was seriously injured by the mob a week before the Hahn's Mill Massacre and was paralyzed for the rest of his life. The family moved to Nauvoo in March of 1839. Drusilla and her second daughter were on a trip to St. Louis when they heard the news of the Prophet Joseph's death, and shortly after their return to Nauvoo began the move West. On October 4, 1847 the family arrived in Utah. In 1860 the family moved to Richmond, Cache Valley, Utah. James Hendricks died on July 8, 1870. Drusilla died May 20, 1881.*
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Part of the Historical Sketch of James Hendricks and Drusilla Dorris Hendricks, this fourty-eight typescript was written by Drusilla and copied by James Roskelly. One of the first stories of Drusilla was of her great sickness and while she was very ill she said, "God almighty, but I am not going to die. I want to live and be baptized for the remission of my sins." Drusilla often had prophetic dreams, including when she was investigating the church she dreamt that she should accept the gospel or be pushed into outer darkness. Drusilla increased in her love of the scriptures as a result of her conversion to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The family was attacked in every place of residence by the mob. After the injury to her husband, Drusilla was the main provider for the family, and often the family went without necessities. When the Mormon Battalion was planning on leaving Drusilla did not want her son to go, but she knew that it was the Lord's wishes so she let him go. Drusilla never waivered in her testimony of the truthfulness of the Gospel. *Information derived from Family Search.