Comments on: Abigail Smith Abbott: Mormon Battalion “Widow” http://timesandseasons.org/index.php/2007/01/abigail-smith-adams-mormon-battalion-widow/ Truth Will Prevail Thu, 24 May 2012 18:26:30 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Jenae http://timesandseasons.org/index.php/2007/01/abigail-smith-adams-mormon-battalion-widow/#comment-250591 Jenae Wed, 20 Feb 2008 21:47:02 +0000 http://www.timesandseasons.org/?p=3657#comment-250591 I dont really understand! Im doing a Biography Poster for school and I decided to do her ans I just cant find anything inportant that she said! I think Im not going to make a very good grade on this. Oh well at least I tried. I dont really understand! Im doing a Biography Poster for school and I decided to do her ans I just cant find anything inportant that she said! I think Im not going to make a very good grade on this. Oh well at least I tried.

]]> By: Aeneas http://timesandseasons.org/index.php/2007/01/abigail-smith-adams-mormon-battalion-widow/#comment-216671 Aeneas Wed, 17 Jan 2007 00:10:18 +0000 http://www.timesandseasons.org/?p=3657#comment-216671 It’s impossible to say without examining all the relevant original sources, of course, but the fact that the customary qualifications one would expect of a balanced account (e.g., “Abigail later asserted that. . .”) are missing from claims like “No arrangement had been made to send a wagon back for Abigail,” and the out-of-hand dismissal of Mami’s references to mitigations and plausible defenses of Captain Brown’s behavior as “family legends,” leads me to suspect that this account of Abigail’s travails isn’t exactly an objective one. Nor does the remarkable pairing of Brown with Abigail’s own daughter—which one could hardly explain if Brown were as a black a figure and Abigail as much a saint as is here suggested. Yes, Abigail had a hard time of it. But was Brown’s constant service to the Church and extended separations from all his loved ones, not just his spouse, any less trying? This “modest” account would have us think so. Why is that? It’s impossible to say without examining all the relevant original sources, of course, but the fact that the customary qualifications one would expect of a balanced account (e.g., “Abigail later asserted that. . .”) are missing from claims like “No arrangement had been made to send a wagon back for Abigail,” and the out-of-hand dismissal of Mami’s references to mitigations and plausible defenses of Captain Brown’s behavior as “family legends,” leads me to suspect that this account of Abigail’s travails isn’t exactly an objective one. Nor does the remarkable pairing of Brown with Abigail’s own daughter—which one could hardly explain if Brown were as a black a figure and Abigail as much a saint as is here suggested.

Yes, Abigail had a hard time of it. But was Brown’s constant service to the Church and extended separations from all his loved ones, not just his spouse, any less trying? This “modest” account would have us think so. Why is that?

]]> By: tom http://timesandseasons.org/index.php/2007/01/abigail-smith-adams-mormon-battalion-widow/#comment-216419 tom Thu, 11 Jan 2007 18:19:12 +0000 http://www.timesandseasons.org/?p=3657#comment-216419 dear A.P. ---i love these stories. have you ever come found any history about games or toys that children might have had? also when did cats and dogs show up in uath? a dog may walk along with a handcart or wagon but it is almost impossible to walk a cat please keep up the insights dear A.P. —i love these stories. have you ever come found any history about games or toys that children might have had? also when did cats and dogs show up in uath? a dog may walk along with a handcart or wagon but it is almost impossible to walk a cat
please keep up the insights

]]> By: mami http://timesandseasons.org/index.php/2007/01/abigail-smith-adams-mormon-battalion-widow/#comment-216127 mami Thu, 04 Jan 2007 22:22:36 +0000 http://www.timesandseasons.org/?p=3657#comment-216127 Thanks Ardis! I have no family connections with these people. I do find them fascinating! I don't think people will get too defensive about dead people we don't know--even if they are our great-greats... It's interesting to hear all sides of the story, it's hard to interpet history from bits and pieces of journal entries, letters, etc. I really love these--please keep posting them! You seem pretty fair--I don't see you demonizing anyone:) I admit, when I read these I always think, "I couldn't do that," and I really don't think I could. Thanks Ardis! I have no family connections with these people. I do find them fascinating! I don’t think people will get too defensive about dead people we don’t know–even if they are our great-greats…
It’s interesting to hear all sides of the story, it’s hard to interpet history from bits and pieces of journal entries, letters, etc.
I really love these–please keep posting them!

You seem pretty fair–I don’t see you demonizing anyone:)

I admit, when I read these I always think, “I couldn’t do that,” and I really don’t think I could.

]]> By: mami http://timesandseasons.org/index.php/2007/01/abigail-smith-adams-mormon-battalion-widow/#comment-216126 mami Thu, 04 Jan 2007 22:16:30 +0000 http://www.timesandseasons.org/?p=3657#comment-216126 Here is her photo. http://www.brownhistory.org/zCJBphotosWives.htm and more info: http://www.brownhistory.org Here is her photo. http://www.brownhistory.org/zCJBphotosWives.htm

and more info:
http://www.brownhistory.org

]]> By: Ardis Parshall http://timesandseasons.org/index.php/2007/01/abigail-smith-adams-mormon-battalion-widow/#comment-216125 Ardis Parshall Thu, 04 Jan 2007 22:15:09 +0000 http://www.timesandseasons.org/?p=3657#comment-216125 Aargh. I knew that if this veered off into a discussion of why Abigail was on her own that I would either offend Brown family members (who are a numerous and faithful Mormon clan) or run afoul of family legends. The reports of James Brown's concern for Abigail's family are found among the descendants of Abigail's daughter Phoebe, the one who married Capt. Brown. Those stories are not found among the other branches of the family. The claim that Capt. Brown left money with Abigail to get herself and family to the Valley is flatly contradicted by Abigail's 1852 account of her experiences -- she states in so many words that she was left in Nauvoo expecting Capt. Brown to return for her when she received the unexpected news of his enlistment in the Mormon Battalion, and that thereafter she was left entirely to her own devices to support and move her family, except for the help she eventually received from Edward Bunker, her son-in-law. In fact, $28, if Capt. Brown did provide that to Abigail, was a laughably trivial sum for supporting a large family for two years and fitting them out for transcontinental travel -- cattle for pulling wagons cost $60-$100 each during the 1850s-60s, for instance. And I have been unable to find evidence of a divorce -- there may have been one; divorces in plural marriages were easily obtained at the request of the wife; but BY's records of divorces granted are an exceptionally tightly held set of records at LDS Archives. But again, let me emphasize that the point of this article is not that the absent husband was a bad man. I don't know that he was, and there would be no point in announcing such a thing even if I had indisputable evidence of it. Even with the best of intentions on the part of all parties, Abigail did unexpectedly find herself responsible for providing for her family and getting them to Utah, and she rose to the task in magnificent style. Sometimes I hear people say, "Oh, I could never have been a pioneer!" I suspect we could, were we to find ourselves in that position, as long as we approached it with the right attitude, and one step at a time. Aargh. I knew that if this veered off into a discussion of why Abigail was on her own that I would either offend Brown family members (who are a numerous and faithful Mormon clan) or run afoul of family legends. The reports of James Brown’s concern for Abigail’s family are found among the descendants of Abigail’s daughter Phoebe, the one who married Capt. Brown. Those stories are not found among the other branches of the family. The claim that Capt. Brown left money with Abigail to get herself and family to the Valley is flatly contradicted by Abigail’s 1852 account of her experiences — she states in so many words that she was left in Nauvoo expecting Capt. Brown to return for her when she received the unexpected news of his enlistment in the Mormon Battalion, and that thereafter she was left entirely to her own devices to support and move her family, except for the help she eventually received from Edward Bunker, her son-in-law. In fact, $28, if Capt. Brown did provide that to Abigail, was a laughably trivial sum for supporting a large family for two years and fitting them out for transcontinental travel — cattle for pulling wagons cost $60-$100 each during the 1850s-60s, for instance. And I have been unable to find evidence of a divorce — there may have been one; divorces in plural marriages were easily obtained at the request of the wife; but BY’s records of divorces granted are an exceptionally tightly held set of records at LDS Archives.

But again, let me emphasize that the point of this article is not that the absent husband was a bad man. I don’t know that he was, and there would be no point in announcing such a thing even if I had indisputable evidence of it. Even with the best of intentions on the part of all parties, Abigail did unexpectedly find herself responsible for providing for her family and getting them to Utah, and she rose to the task in magnificent style.

Sometimes I hear people say, “Oh, I could never have been a pioneer!” I suspect we could, were we to find ourselves in that position, as long as we approached it with the right attitude, and one step at a time.

]]> By: mami http://timesandseasons.org/index.php/2007/01/abigail-smith-adams-mormon-battalion-widow/#comment-216124 mami Thu, 04 Jan 2007 22:13:25 +0000 http://www.timesandseasons.org/?p=3657#comment-216124 Here is the link, correcting the mistakes I made from memory and showing even more details. http://www.bunker.org/abigailstory.html Here is the link, correcting the mistakes I made from memory and showing even more details.

http://www.bunker.org/abigailstory.html

]]> By: mami http://timesandseasons.org/index.php/2007/01/abigail-smith-adams-mormon-battalion-widow/#comment-216123 mami Thu, 04 Jan 2007 21:45:27 +0000 http://www.timesandseasons.org/?p=3657#comment-216123 Actually-- I want to jump in here. There is a website for the Brown family (Abigail's second husband). I will put up a link as soon as I find it for anyone who wants to read all the details. The real story is much better. Abigail's first husband and her second husband were best friends. They both agreed that if anything ever happened to one, the other would take care his firends family. This is precisely what happened. Cptn. Brown, her new husband, actually took very good care of her. When Abigail left her first home and sold her farm, she got about $10 for all of it. Her second husband gave her about $28 when he left to get herself and the family to the Valley--this was not a small sum of money. That is how she was able to procure wagons, etc to travel. They were very good friends. Captain Brown was constantly working for the church--and even in the Salt Lake Valley running back and forth between CA and UT for Brigham Young. The two actually did divorce when he rejoined her in the valley. The reason: Captain Brown married Abigail's oldest daughter, infuriating Abigail. She remained close to her daughter the rest of her life, but would only visit when Cptn. Brown was not at home. When he passed away--the mother and daughter pair spent much time together. It all makes much more sense now, doesn't it? Actually– I want to jump in here. There is a website for the Brown family (Abigail’s second husband). I will put up a link as soon as I find it for anyone who wants to read all the details. The real story is much better.
Abigail’s first husband and her second husband were best friends. They both agreed that if anything ever happened to one, the other would take care his firends family. This is precisely what happened. Cptn. Brown, her new husband, actually took very good care of her. When Abigail left her first home and sold her farm, she got about $10 for all of it. Her second husband gave her about $28 when he left to get herself and the family to the Valley–this was not a small sum of money. That is how she was able to procure wagons, etc to travel. They were very good friends.
Captain Brown was constantly working for the church–and even in the Salt Lake Valley running back and forth between CA and UT for Brigham Young.
The two actually did divorce when he rejoined her in the valley. The reason: Captain Brown married Abigail’s oldest daughter, infuriating Abigail. She remained close to her daughter the rest of her life, but would only visit when Cptn. Brown was not at home. When he passed away–the mother and daughter pair spent much time together.
It all makes much more sense now, doesn’t it?

]]> By: Matt W. http://timesandseasons.org/index.php/2007/01/abigail-smith-adams-mormon-battalion-widow/#comment-216121 Matt W. Thu, 04 Jan 2007 21:14:00 +0000 http://www.timesandseasons.org/?p=3657#comment-216121 Oh! Ardis, that just makes me ache all over! Oh! Ardis, that just makes me ache all over!

]]> By: Jim F. http://timesandseasons.org/index.php/2007/01/abigail-smith-adams-mormon-battalion-widow/#comment-216120 Jim F. Thu, 04 Jan 2007 21:10:27 +0000 http://www.timesandseasons.org/?p=3657#comment-216120 I'm repeating what I've said before, Ardis, but thank you for these stories of extra-ordinary ordinary Saints. Many of us need these stories more than we need the stories of those who were merely extra-ordinary. Knowing about these people strengthens my faith and gives me hope. Thanks very much. I’m repeating what I’ve said before, Ardis, but thank you for these stories of extra-ordinary ordinary Saints. Many of us need these stories more than we need the stories of those who were merely extra-ordinary. Knowing about these people strengthens my faith and gives me hope. Thanks very much.

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