Record of Members Collection (1836-1970)
This collection of baptismal records available in the Church History Catalog provided the basis for all research. Searching through these records allowed the identification of each baptized member and their genealogy. They also mostly provided initials or partial names of the missionaries who baptized and confirmed the first members. This allowed for an expanded search in other databases listed below to identify these missionaries. This foundation resulted in the beginning for all research and the completion of the final list of the Smoky Mountain Saints and their missionaries.
Southern States Mission Index
This 434-page index available in the Church History Catalog identifies all missionaries who served in the Southern States Mission from 1832 to 1956. The particular benefit of this database is the identification of the date and the conference in which the missionary was serving at a given time. For the purpose of this research, the East Tennessee Conference was of import.
Church History Biographical Database
This database available in the Church History Catalog was used after missionary names were completed to help identify and confirm them from baptismal records, baby blessing records, mission journals and more. The database provides links to each missionary’s Family Search page. When a missionary was identified and confirmed, a link was provided for them in journals and other pages of the website.
The Elders’ Journal
The Elders’ Journal available in the Church History Catalog was a publication subscribed to by missionaries around the globe from 1903 to 1945, publishing names of missionaries, arrivals, transfers, departures and more. Missionary photos also became more common in later publications. The Elders’ Journal was accessed to find stories of the missionaries who served in the East Tennessee Conference. One publication even noted the early death of Cora Woody due to tuberculosis, and the missionary, Elder Gus Williams, who spoke out her funeral. A few missionaries who did not have photos available in Family Search were also first identified in a Liahona publication. For additional information about the Elders’ Journal, see the history of the publication in the Church History Library.
The Southern States Manuscript History
This collection available in the Church History Catalog pre-dates the records of The Elders’ Journal and includes news clippings from The Southern Star and The Deseret News about missionaries in the Southern States Mission from 1832 to 1978, to include specifically the East Tennessee Conference.
Family Search
Family Search provided the opportunity to find most of the first Smoky Mountain Saints and their missionaries. Dozens of friends and hosts of the missionaries were also identified in mission journals and linked to their Family Search profiles. Hundreds of photos, journal entries for baptisms, baby blessings and more were added to each individual’s Memories as they were found. There were several mission journals also found within Memories of missionaries who either served in Blount County or in the East Tennessee Conference. Family Search also has a book digital library in which archived genealogical data has been uploaded. For example, books, transcribed oral histories and even journals that are not uploaded in Memories are available in this digital library.
Church History Catalog
This database was useful to discover documents, journals and photos through general search queries. For example, Elder Thomas Sutton carried a camera on his mission in 1917-1918. He took photos of members and missionary companions while serving in Blount County. These photos included high quality photos of JC Garland as well as the last-known photos of Elder Charles Flake before he was killed one year later in WWI. These photos also helped identify the only extent photos of several missionaries who served in the East Tennessee Conference, to include a photo of Elder Loren Blain who fell ill on his mission and died shortly after returning home to Arizona. This database also provided some of the first journals of missionaries who served in Blount County, to include that of Elder Robert Young, Elder William Hayes and others, which helped identify members who were baptized and did not have baptismal records in Church collections. The missionaries included excellent genealogical records of their baptisms to help in finding them on Family Search. This database also included many mission acceptance letters written to George Reynolds, Wilford Woodruff and Joseph F. Smith. Their humility and desire to serve an unsolicited mission is expressed in these handwritten letters.
Chronicling America
This collection of newspapers is offered for free by The Library of Congress that allows users to search by key terms in specific newspapers. For example, in Elder Robert Young’s 1893-journal, he noted writing an article to the Maryville Times in response to false accusations and slander that were being printed during the summer and fall of that year. Elder Young’s article was published in Maryville November 22, 1893. His testimony in the printed press ended slanderous propaganda against their efforts in Blount County. The Chronicling America database was helpful in identifying articles about the first members of the Church and for an understanding of “anti-Mormon” atmospherics in Maryville during these first years of church growth.
Wilford Woodruff Papers
This database offered a few mission acceptance letters written to Wilford Woodruff that were not available in Church History Collections.
Contacting Living Relatives
Contacting relatives of the missionaries and members has been rewarding. The living relatives of members of the Smoky Mountain Ward provided much needed context, stories and information on the first members. Reaching out to living relatives of the first missionaries has also been fruitful. For example, the son of Thomas Gibby found his father’s mission journal after a phone call and provided a digital copy. This journal provided a first-hand account of Ether Harmon’s baptism and Rachel Tucker’s baptism. He also provided a photo album with labeled names of the missionaries that ultimately was given to the Church Historical Department and helped to identify missionaries with previously-missing photos. Melvin Randall’s relative was contacted and he mailed a book he wrote about Elder Randall, which offered a first-hand account of Alexander Garland’s death and funeral.
Smoky Mountain Ward 