There were five W. C. Garland family members baptized in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Blount County from 1897 to 1918.
Timeline of Baptisms
14 May 1897: William Garland
1st-Generation
6 July 1902: Sealy Garland
2nd-Generation
20 Oct 1907: Elmyra Miller
1st-Generation
27 Sep 1918: Bessie Frye
3rd-Generation
William Charles Garland (1858-1923)
14 May 1897: William Charles Garland was baptized and confirmed by unidentified missionaries
Elmyra Miller (1863-1954)
20 October 1907: Elmyra Miller was baptized and confirmed by Gustavious Williams
Elder Gustavious Williams (1880-1940)
Gustavious Williams served in the Southern States Mission from 1906 to 1908 and the Western States Mission from 1925 to 1926. In his first mission acceptance letter to Joseph F. Smith, he wrote: “I will be on hand at the time specified by you.” He married in the Salt Lake Temple in 1909. They raised six children together in Teasdale, Utah. He became Bishop of the Teasdale Ward, ordained a High Priest by David O. McKay and Bishop by Joseph F. Smith. While serving in the East Tennessee Conference, the Walland School was going to be shut down in the winter of 1906 due to the absence of any teachers, so Elder Williams volunteered and taught at the school to keep it open all winter. He wanted it to be known in his last writing before he passed away that he never used tobacco or tasted alcohol. He baptized and confirmed Luther Howard Davis and William Houston Davis, in Walland, and Elmyra Miller, in Cades Cove, as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
William Charles Garland and Elmyra Miller are well-known figures in the history of Blount County. They were known for their tough backcountry manner in raising so many children during difficulties and hardships. They had 17 children, 16 who survived to adulthood, and were not without controversy as a family. Some of their children were infamous moonshiners during prohibition – even Charlie Garland. In 1924, General Harmon was killed in Cades Cove by Charlie Garland’s son, Jake Garland, who was never convicted for the murder, which was witnessed by several Harmon family members. The Garlands and Harmons were also interconnected through two marriages. However, Charlie Garland would not live to see the strained relationships and disappointment of his son’s actions as he died months before General Harmon was killed. Elmyra would bear that burden alone.
Charlie Garland is “a name still remembered by mountain people of Blount County and North Carolina. He lived in several places inside what is now Great Smoky Mountains National Park. He was a logger, mountain farmer, moonshiner, father of 16 children. He was Cherokee, English, Irish and Black Dutch ancestry. He was tough, stubborn, high-tempered, hard-working. But the thing remembered most about him is that he was incredibly strong.”
Carson Brewer of the Knoxville News-Sentinel (1983)
Journalist Carson Brewer retold, in the 1983 Knoxville News-Sentinel article, the well-known story of Charlie Garland carrying a two-hundred pound stove tied with a rope to his back over the mountain into Cades Cove. Heartland even produced a TV story about the affair that has been narrated again and again over the last century.
Charlie Garland came to know the missionaries through his friend, Joseph John Calvin (JC) Garland. After JC Garland moved to Millers Cove, he became acquainted with Charlie – who was living in Beard Cane, located between Top of the World and Tuckaleechee in Great Smoky Mountain National Park – and introduced him to the missionaries from Utah, Elder Robert Cunningham Young and Elder Thomas Watts Sloan. These first meetings were documented by Elder Young in the following journal entries of 1893:
Saturday – 22 [April 1893] Millers Cove. Mr. [Joseph John Calvin (JC)] Garland asked us to stay until afternoon, then he would go about six miles to see [William] Charley Garland, which we agreed to do. He lives up in the mountain about three miles east of the Cove Road. Mr. [William Charley] Garland is interested in our doctrine. We had quite a conversation on the gospel. We had dinner with Mrs. Samons. 7 [miles]
Saturday – 26 [August 1893] Went over to Mr. [Thomas] Heroun’s and had a bath in Abrams Creek and changed. Then read some of the news to them concerning the hard times. Then started over to [William] Charlie Garland’s. It started to rain before we got there. They treated us kind. 8 [miles]
After five months of the missionaries meeting with JC Garland, it is evident JC Garland shared the gospel while the missionaries were away laboring in other parts of the county. On November 30, 1893, at the baptisms of JC Garland, Sarah Cauble, and Alexander Garland, Charlie Garland expressed his desire to be baptized “after a while.” The “while” would be almost four years later.
Thursday – 30 [November 1893] Went over to Abram’s Creek and dedicated a spot to baptize some converts. I baptized Alexander [Harrison] Garland, son of Steven [Joseph] Garland and Betsey [Elizabeth] McKeeney. Also [Joseph] John Calvin [JC] (better known as Joe) Garland, son of Alexander [Harrison] Garland and Eliza [Jane] Nelson. Sarah Margaret [Cauble] Garland, daughter of Peter Vargary [Vardry] Cauble and Mary Ann Mosteller, and also Andrew Johnson Smith, son of Marquis Lafayette Smith and Eliza[beth Henly] Nelson. I confirmed the last named [Andrew Johnson Smith] and Sarah Margaret [Cauble Garland] and Elder [William] Ricks confirmed the other two. We held meeting at Joe’s [John Calvin (JC) Garland]. [William] Charley Garland said he would want to be baptized after a while. 3 [miles]. Total number of miles 3,106, tracts for month 235, houses visited 343, ent[ertainments] ref[used] 18, meetings held 2
On May 14, 1897, Charlie Garland was baptized and confirmed a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Ten years later, his wife, Elmyra Miller, was also baptized and confirmed a member of the Church. It took many years for Elmyra to soften her to the gospel. There is one experience in particular that helped to do so. In 1902, she had just given birth to her son, Charles Wesley Garland, when she became seriously ill. Through her faith and administration of a Priesthood blessing, Elmyra was healed. Elder Abinadi Porter related the following experience in his journal entries:
[Tuesday] - 13 May 1902 Twenty-five minutes after ten. Pres[ident Howard Hoskins] Hale and Elder [Melvin Howard] Rand[al]l just left for Marysville (sic) to take train for Hancock County to see Elders [Jedediah] Woodard, Taylor, Scott and [Thomas] Lawrence. They will go from there to Sister [Caroline] Lankford’s, then to Scalf’s. Will hold meeting there a week from Sunday. Then go by Plesant’s, Tucker’s on way to Greenville. By then Elder [Melvin Howard] Rand[al]l will be released and go home. Myself and [Othello] Roundy will go up to [William] Charles Garl[a]n[d]’s and hold meeting tonight. [Alphonzo Brigham] Murdock, Hamblin, [Othello] Roundy and myself are sitting on porch. Just before Pres[ident Howard Hoskins] Hale and [Melvin Howard] Rand[al]l left we sang some songs. Pres[ident Howard Hoskins] Hale spoke a nice piece. Elder [Alphonzo Brigham] Murdock sang some comic songs. We started out for [William] Charley Garl[a]n[d]’s at three o’clock, six miles distance. Held [a] meeting with them at night. Administered to his wife, Elm[y]ra [Miller] Garl[and]. Her baby, [Charles Wesley Garland], [is] two weeks old. She rested good all night. She had the child bad [with] fever.
[Wednesday] – 14 May 1902 We fasted this forenoon, consecrated some oil. All administered to Mrs. [Elmyra Miller] Garl[a]n[d] again. She felt better. Said she would be baptized as soon as [she] got well. Blessed four of her children and gave them a name: [Edmonson Houston Garland; Martha Garland; Henry Hampton Garland]; [and] the baby’s name is Charles Wesley [Garland]. Elder [Othello] Roundy and myself left [William] Charley Garl[a]n[d] about 1/2 after three to go to Joseph [John Calvin (JC)] Garl[a]nd’s, left Elders [Alphonzo Brigham] Murdock and Hamblin to [William] Charley Garl[a]n[d]’s. We got to Joseph [John Calvin (JC)] Garl[and]’s steam mill. Stopped with him till night, helped him start a shanty. Then rode with him home.
[Sunday] – 18 May 1902 Eleven months today I left home. It is now 12 o’clock. We held meeting here at Bro[ther Joseph John (JC)] Garl[a]nd. A[binadi] Porter, speaker, [Othello] Roundy presiding. Subject: spoke on Revelation. Elder[s] [Alphonzo Brigham] Murdock and Hamblin just came from [William] Charley Garl[a]n[d]’s been there since Tuesday. Elder [Alphonzo Brigham] Murdock has been sick while there. We started there and met them. He says Mrs. [Elmyra Miller] Garl[a]n[d] is getting along alright. I will relate her circumstance. [El]m[y]ra [Miller] Garl[a]n[d] is not a member of the Church. She being confined, the child, [Charles Wesley Garland], being ten days old. After three days, [she] tried to get up and took a back set and was very sick. In fact [it] was dangerous. Having the child [in] bed [with] fever, she had suffered for a week when we went to her home last Tuesday. Her husband, [William Charles Garland], is a member of the Church. That evening her husband desired for us to administer to his wife. He said she had been bitter against our people but …
…had repented and had faith in the ordinance. We held [a] meeting at night. After [the] meeting, we laid hands on her and blessed her, not having any oil with us. She rested good all night, which she hadn’t done for a week. Next morning we fasted, consecrated some oil and in the afternoon administered to her. Elder [Alphonzo Brigham] Murdock anointed her and I confirmed the anointing. Inside of one hour, the lady was sleeping and never felt any pain after. Elder [Alphonzo Brigham] Murdock remained there until Sunday and can testify to this and in the power of God was manifest and she says she knows she was healed by the power of God, and as soon as she gets well is going to get baptized into the Church with all her family. She has 14 children and only married 20 years. She had a dream two weeks ago, she saw in her dream her sickness and she saw a mist coming up before her. It came up until it reached her neck and it seemed as though it would smother her, but she said two Mormon Elders came and lifted up their hands, got their hands above the fog and pressed it down until she recovered.
On September 22, 1907, the first “Sabbath School” was organized at a member-owned store in West Millers Cove. This record is documentation of the first organized effort to establish a meetinghouse in Blount County for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
“22 Sept[ember 1907] Elders Gus[tavious] Williams and J[orgen] G[eorge] Jensen organized a Sabbath School in [West] Millers Cove, Blount Co[unty], Tenn[essee]. Not being able to obtain consent to hold forth in a schoolhouse nearby, the Elders, with hammer and saw, remodeled an old store building belonging to one of the members. They have the hearty support of the members [a]round them.“
Elmyra Miller promised to be baptized when she was sick in 1902. She was baptized five years later by Elder Gustavious Williams, who established the first “Sabbath School” in Millers Cove the month before her baptism. The Elders Journal reported “one convert” that month, coinciding with Elmyra Miller’s baptism, the only baptism in October 1907, according to baptismal records.
In 1904, Elder LeRoy Armstrong documented two weeks laboring in Blount County in his mission journal. He mentioned Charlie Garland in the following journal entries, including a display of humor of how far away he lived:
[Friday] – 5 Feb[ruary] 1904 Wallen (sic), Blount Co[unty]. We left [Samuel Patterson] Harmon’s and came over to W[illiam] C[harles] Garland’s, 400 miles from no where. He accused Jobe [Abraham] Harmon of stealing two hams and a side of meat. We did not do much but set around and read a little.
[Saturday] – 6 Feb[ruary] 1904 Walland, Blount Co[unty]. We left W[illiam] C[harles] Garland’s and came over to Pollie [Ann Davis Harmon]’s for dinner. We then went down to Joe [John Calvin (JC)] Garland’s and packed our grips and made ready to leave the co[unty] as there were so many measels here. We went over and spent the night with Bro[ther] John [Goulder] Harmon.
By 1911, the missionaries were regularly visiting Charlie and Elmyra after they had moved from Beard Cane to Cades Cove. Elder John Isaac Morley briefly documented some of these visits during his short time laboring in Blount County in the following journal entries of 1911:
Tues[day] – 21 Mar[ch] 1911 Left W[illia]m Manuel’s at 7 PM (sic). Canvassed uper (sic) part of Cades Cove until about 2 PM. Then walked about two miles to [William] Chas Garland’s.
Wed[nesday] – 22 Mar[ch] 1911 Went out canvassing. Invited and dinner with Mr. Oliver. After dinner canvassed until 5 PM. Come back to Bro[ther William Charles] Garland’s, held meet[ing].
Thur[sday] – 23 Mar[ch] 1911 Sawed some wood for [William] Chas Garland. Took walk around his place. Walk[ed] 3 miles to P.O. but got no mail. Held cottage meeting in evening.
Fri[day] – 24 Mar[ch] 1911 Finished canvassing Cades Cove. Went to P.O. and got letters from wife, R. Blackham, [and got the] Liahona. Came back to [William Charles] Garland’s. Held meeting.
Sat[urday] – 25 Mar[ch] 1911 Left [William] Chas Garland for Townsend. Canvassed Dry Valley [located between Old Cades Cove Road and Tuckaleechee]. On way reach[ed] Bro[ther] Job[e Abraham] Harmon about 6 PM. Had good supper and will stay with him tonight.
In 1922, Elder Thomas Gibby was serving in Blount County and documented his visit time with Charlie Garland in the following journal entry:
[Saturday] – 3 June [1922] We visited [William] Charlie Garland in the morning and had dinner with him. He told us of how mean he was was (sic), and how tough his beard was. Some tough man. We suspected him of moonshing. After dinner we went to the post office for mail. I received some good long letters from home. They sure [illegible] me up. At night I answered one or two of them before retiring.
Aside from the relationship with JC Garland and the missionaries, the Garlands were well connected with other members of the Church; however, only one of Charlie and Elmyra’s children has a record of being baptized – Wilburn B. Townsend Garland. Brother Jobe Abraham Harmon married one of the Garland daughters – Mary Jane Garland – and Joseph Franklin Harmon married a Garland daughter – Doshia Garland. Another daughter, Sealy Caroline Garland, had two children who became members of the Church, Bessie Ann Frye and Homer Frye, who moved out West. The Garland’s son, Harve, was also noted several times in journals as being a friend of the missionaries, hosting them overnight and feeding them.
11 years after the last available journal entry of 1911, Charlie Garland heard that the law was looking for him for moonshining, in 1922. He left Cades Cove with his wife and several sons for North Carolina on foot to hide out in a location where they felt they could not be found in an abandoned cabin. In 1923, while still in hiding, Charlie died unexpectedly on his 65th birthday and was buried in nearby Farley Cemetery. Elmyra lived until 1954 and is buried in the Piney Level Cemetery in Maryville. The missionaries who baptized William Charles Garland have not been identified.
Sealy Caroline Garland (1887-1908)
6 July 1902: Sealy Caroline Garland was baptized by Abinadi Porter and confirmed by Melvin Parley Miller
Elder Abinadi Wesley Porter (1865-1932)
Abinadi Wesley Porter served in the Southern States Mission and Middle States Mission from 1901 to 1902. In his mission acceptance letter to Lorenzo Snow, he wrote: “My call for a mission to the Southern States is accepted.” At that time, he already had six children at home and was working on the railroad to save money for his mission. He married in the St. George Temple in 1885. He and his wife had ten children of their own and raised another five after the death of his son. Elder Porter kept a detailed journal during mission mentioning many first members by name. He served in the bishopric for most of his life and was called the “walking Bible” while serving in East Tennessee. Elder Porter baptized Sealy Caroline Garland and confirmed Joseph Franklin Harmon a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in 1902.
Elder Melvin Parley Miller (1882-1927)
Melvin Parley Miller served in the Southern States Mission from 1901 to 1902 before being transferred to the Middle States Mission at the time the mission split in September 1902. He returned home and married Cora Brugger in Utah, in 1910. They raised seven children together. Elder Abinadi Porter documented a baptism and other efforts in Blount County in his mission journal serving with Elder Miller. Elder Miller administered to Eliza Nelson shortly after her husband, Alexander Garland, unexpectedly passed away. He confirmed Sealy Garland a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Sealy Caroline Garland was baptized at the age of 15. She married William Charles Frye the year after her baptism and had two children who would be baptized in 1918. Sealy died only six years after her baptism, in 1908, at the young age of 21. She is buried in the Tuckaleechee United Methodist Cemetery. Elder Abinadi Porter documented her baptism in his journal in the following entry:
[Sunday] – 6 July 1902 It is Sunday. Held meeting at 11 o’clock. Baptized Celia [Sealy] Caroline Garland. Sang “Behold the Lamb of God” on the banks. Elder [Claudius Eugene] Hawk[e]s dedicated the water. A[binadi] Porter baptized. Elder [Melvin Parley] Miller confirmed. Held another meeting in [the] afternoon. Went to Sam[uel Patterson] Harmon‘s, stayed overnight.
Wilburn B. Townsend Garland (1904-2000)
27 September 1918: Wilburn B. Townsend Garland was baptized by Loren Joseph Blain and confirmed by Hugh Hamilton Service
Loren Joseph Blain (1890-1919)
Joseph Blain Loren served in the Southern States Mission from 1916 to 1918. In his mission acceptance letter to Joseph F. Smith, he wrote: “I am certainly glad to know that I am worthy to be called on a mission and will be glad to accept it.” Elder Blain was released from his mission December 13, 1918 and died January 20, 1919. He fell ill and died of pneumonia after returning home to Thatcher, Arizona. He was not married. Elder Loren baptized Wilburn B. Townsend, Bessie Ann Frye, Homer Frye and Burley Lorina Harmon in Cades Cove, in 1918, and Georgia Edna Wilcox and Lila Tefeteller in Maryville the same year. Elder Loren confirmed Lona Parham in Millers Cove, in 1917, and Georgia Edna Wilcox and Lila Tefeteller in Maryville, in 1918, as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Elder Hugh Hamilton Service (1890-1942)
Hugh Hamilton Service served in the Southern States Mission from 1916 to 1919. In his mission acceptance letter to Joseph F. Smith, he wrote: “I feel highly honored and accept the call by all means.” He was born in Scotland and emigrated as a child. He married in the Salt Lake Temple in 1919. They raised two children together in Utah, Idaho, and California. In 1918, Elder Service baptized Susie Malling Sills, in Maryville, and confirmed Burley Lorina Harmon, Wilburn Townsend Garland, and Bessie Ann Frye – in Cades Cove – as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Wilburn B. Townsend Garland was baptized at 14 years old in Cades Cove, the same day as his niece and nephew, Bessie Ann and Homer Frye. In 1929, He married Mary Alice Russell. They had ten children together. He died in 2000, at the age of 96. He is buried in Sherwood Memorial Gardens in Alcoa, Tennessee. Mary Alice Russell died in 1989, at the age of 77. She also is buried Sherwood Memorial Gardens.
Bessie Ann Frye (1904-1994)
27 September 1918: Bessie Ann Frye was baptized by Loren Joseph Blain and confirmed by Hugh Hamilton Service
Loren Joseph Blain (1890-1919)
Joseph Blain Loren served in the Southern States Mission from 1916 to 1918. In his mission acceptance letter to Joseph F. Smith, he wrote: “I am certainly glad to know that I am worthy to be called on a mission and will be glad to accept it.” Elder Blain was released from his mission December 13, 1918 and died January 20, 1919. He fell ill and died of pneumonia after returning home to Thatcher, Arizona. He was not married. Elder Loren baptized Wilburn B. Townsend, Bessie Ann Frye, Homer Frye and Burley Lorina Harmon in Cades Cove, in 1918, and Georgia Edna Wilcox and Lila Tefeteller in Maryville the same year. Elder Loren confirmed Lona Parham in Millers Cove, in 1917, and Georgia Edna Wilcox and Lila Tefeteller in Maryville, in 1918, as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Elder Hugh Hamilton Service (1890-1942)
Hugh Hamilton Service served in the Southern States Mission from 1916 to 1919. In his mission acceptance letter to Joseph F. Smith, he wrote: “I feel highly honored and accept the call by all means.” He was born in Scotland and emigrated as a child. He married in the Salt Lake Temple in 1919. They raised two children together in Utah, Idaho, and California. In 1918, Elder Service baptized Susie Malling Sills, in Maryville, and confirmed Burley Lorina Harmon, Wilburn Townsend Garland, and Bessie Ann Frye – in Cades Cove – as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Homer Frye (1907-1978)
27 September 1918: Homer Frye was baptized and confirmed by Loren Joseph Blain
Loren Joseph Blain (1890-1919)
Joseph Blain Loren served in the Southern States Mission from 1916 to 1918. In his mission acceptance letter to Joseph F. Smith, he wrote: “I am certainly glad to know that I am worthy to be called on a mission and will be glad to accept it.” Elder Blain was released from his mission December 13, 1918 and died January 20, 1919. He fell ill and died of pneumonia after returning home to Thatcher, Arizona. He was not married. Elder Loren baptized Wilburn B. Townsend, Bessie Ann Frye, Homer Frye and Burley Lorina Harmon in Cades Cove, in 1918, and Georgia Edna Wilcox and Lila Tefeteller in Maryville the same year. Elder Loren confirmed Lona Parham in Millers Cove, in 1917, and Georgia Edna Wilcox and Lila Tefeteller in Maryville, in 1918, as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Bessie Ann Frye and Homer Frye are siblings baptized in Cades Cove on the same day with their uncle, Wilburn B. Townsend Garland. Little is publicly available regarding their lives after they left Blount County. Bessie and Homer are children of Sealy Caroline Garland, who is the daughter of first-generation members, William Charles Garland and Elmyra Miller. Bessie Ann Frye reportedly married and moved out West. She died in 1994, at the age of 89, and is buried in Saint Eloi Cemetery in Louisiana. In 1934, Homer married Dora Luvenia Sellers and moved to Riverside California in the 1940s, where they raised their two children. He died in 1978, at the age of 70, and is buried in San Jacinto Valley Cemetery in California.
| 1st Generation Members: |
| William Charles Garland |
| Elmyra Miller (Garland) |
| 2nd Generation Members: |
| Sealy Caroline Garland |
| Wilburn Townsend Garland |
| 3rd Generation Members: |
| Homer Frye |
| Bessie Ann Frye |
Smoky Mountain Ward 