Missionary Journal of Elder Forrest Whitham Memmott
1906-1908
[This journal redacted to clarify the message. Some
spelling, grammar and punctuation have been modernized.]
April 23, 1906 to May 1908
Southern States Mission
Virginia
Forrest Memmott around Mission age
{His parent’s home in the right
background}
Missionary Journal of
Elder Forrest Whitham Memmott
1906-1908
Inside cover of first journal – Elder F.W. Memmott home
Scipio, Millard Co., Utah
Bought in Salt Lake City on April 23, 1906
Mr. Forrest Memmott
Scipio
Millard Co. Utah
April 20, 1906
Elder Forrest Memmott
West Radford
Montgomery, Co. Virginia
May 29, 1906
Diary:
Mr. Forrest Memmott travels and works while on a
mission. Left Scipio on the 21st
of April 1906. Went to Salt lake City
and stayed until the 25th of April.
Then started by the way of the Union Pacific on the 25th of
April 6 P.M.
Traveled through the city or Ogden, Rawlins, Laramie,
Cheyenne, Wyoming, Denver, Kansas City, St. Louis.
Arrived in Chattanooga on the 29 of Apr was set apart to
labor in Virginia. Went to Richmond was
sent to labor in the county of Halifax Co. Started my labor on the 4 day of
May.
Elder Bishop and I revisited families and had a very joy
able time was entertained Cread Taylor Cody and was treated fine I canvass too
houses which I enjoyed very well and left them some pamphlets to read. I got some what tired walking but after I ate
some dinner I felt much better We, I & Elder Bishop, stop at CR Roland and
I enjoyed myself fine there was a shower came up in the afternoon Elder Bishop
& I very near got wet. We held a meeting in the evening on the 5th
day of May 1906.
I spoke a few minutes on the truthfulness of the gospel and
bore my testimony. We had a very good
time to gather Elder Bishop give a very nice speech.
On the 5 May 1906 Elder Bishop & I held Sunday School at
C.R. Rowland had a very good attendance & enjoyed our selves fine We had a testimony meeting most all bore a
testimony to the truthfulness of the gospel
In the afternoon we held a meeting and had a very good attendance I
spoke a few minutes on the truthfulness of the gospel & told some of my
testimony I had received.
We stopped at James Woodson and enjoyed ourselves fine. On our way I fell over a log and made a
swelling on both of my legs I did not get very sore but I was lame for a few
days.
May 8, 1906 – It looks very much like storm this morning but
Elder Bishop and I are going to leave for Brites We started and on our way we meet a man and
he directed us wrong we went the way he told us and got lost we walked for a
long ways we came to a farm the man told us which way to we was all right We went to Mrs. Kuns and ate dinner their
started for Brites we walked very long while until we came their at last I was
a little tired We stopped to T.T. Adams
and was treated fine after supper I felt fine and was not very tired then Brother Adams daughter played organ Elder
Bishop & I sang a few songs then we retired for the night.
May 9, 1906 – Elder Bishop and I stayed to Sisters Adams
while she done some washing for us. I
was some what lonesome for I had nothing to do only read & my eyes would
get tired I enjoyed my self fine We had
Sacrament meeting and I enjoyed my self fine
it was a cold day the wind was blowing very hard.
May 9, 1906 – It looked like storm this morning and is very
cold We left Bro Adams for Ajax is a
long ways to go We crossed Joig river on
a large bridge and meet several men and talked some on the gospel we arrive to Bro Blankspif about sun down and
was very nicely treated
May 10, 1906 – There was a very heavy frost and it was very
cold Elder Bishop and I started for
Tailors Store from Ajax is a long distance so we had to walk very hard we
walked until dinner time and I was going to ask for dinner we went to a house
and I told them who we was and Elder Bishop he was standing listing to me
talk She ask us in and he all right and
Elder Bishop ask for some dinner so I very near came asking for some after
dinner we started for Tailors Store. We
walked until I was very near give out We
go to Tailors Store about a hour before sun down we got out mail and I got a
letter from Elder James Memmott and was very glad to here from him we heard of
some saints about two miles away we walked out here and got their about sun
down I had all the walk I wanted we had come 20 miles They had turned away from our religion said
they wanted nothing to do with us They let us stop with them and was treated
very well There names were Crouch
May 11 -- Elder
Bishop & I walked from Mr. Crouch to Tailors Store there was some pamphlets
& other packages there We had our
grips full & they a little
heavy We left Tailors Store and walked
about 3 miles and called to a house and got out dinner After dinner we walked for a short distance
and went out in the woods and rote some letters
it was getting nearly night so we started to find a place to stop we
came to a man & a boy plowing He
invited us to come and stop with him his name was J H Fisher.
May 12, 1906 – We called in a few houses and canvass them It
was getting very warm so Elder Bishop and I went into the woods to sit in the
shade and read It did not take long for
it to come dinner time It was my turn to
ask for dinner we went to a house & I ask for dinner & they to us to
come in that pleased us. After dinner we
walked for a few miles and went in the woods for to read and to wait until it
got cool when it got cool we started to walk we walked a short distance and
Elder Bishop went to find out the right road he ask the man if we could stay
with him He said yes he was a Drunkard
preacher his name was Bonvan.
May 14, 1906 – It was Sunday and a very fine day the
gentleman where stopped was going off on Sunday morning so Elder Bishop and I
had to travel We walked a short distance
and went into the woods for we did not want to walk on Sunday we spent most of
the day in reading and writing letters about four oclock we started to find a
place to stop we walking about five miles before we found a place to stop. We stopped E.C. Akers he said we could stop
but he did not want us to talk about religious matters.
May 14, 1906 – It is the first of the week Elder Bishop and
I am enjoying our selves as we travel to wards Montgomery co. I enjoy my self listening my companion talk with
the ministers I don’t have much to talk
about on religious matters but I am trying learn to talk on it some We had a
large Mt to climb over and it was very warm.
We got our dinner to a widows We
traveled over the top of the Mt and it look like it was all hills in
Virginia we walked along until it came
night and stopped to J.D. Reed. He
treated us very nicely.
May 15, 1906 – We left the place where spent the night and
started for Huffwill we came to Grove and Elder Bishop had a gospel
conversation We walked until we came to
John Conner. He invited us to eat dinner
with him after dimmer he wanted to hold a cottage meeting after meeting started
for one of our saints about a mile away we got there. and after supper they wanted us to hold a
meeting we held a meeting and had a very enjoyable time we spent the night with
our saint and had a very nice time her name was Mary Lizziebeth Conner.
May 16, 1906 – Elder Bishop and had to lay over and wait for
our mail we spent most of our time in reading in the morning After dinner we went to the office and got
some mail we went back and read the news
the rest of the day. The San Francisco
news had just came out and we wanted to see how had come out we stopped to a
Saint named Mary Lizzibeth Conner.
May 17, 1906 – We left Sister Conner’s after dinner and went
the office & got our mail I was very glad to get some letters from home for
I had been away about 3 weeks and had not heard from home I got five letters it took most of the day to
read them we had a little difficult in getting a place to spend the night we was refused four times I tried it and got refused Elder Bishop he got refused he said I could
try this place he said it looked good to him.
I ask and the man said to come in he would to the best he could we said
that was good enough
May 18, 1906 – We left the place where we stopped very early
we walked until about ten oclock and went into the woods until it got a little
cool when it came noon we went to a store and told him who we was and would like
to have some dinner he said he would
give us a lunch out of the store we told
him that was all right of we ate our dinner we started on our way we past
through Floyd the Co seat we waked until
night and came to a place and ask for entertainment he said all right to come
in his name was J.D. Howell.
May 19, 1906 – We was going to try and get to one of our
saints for Sunday so we had quite a walk
we ate dinner about two miles from the saints where we was going to
spend Sunday. Elder Bishop knew the people.
They had moved from where they was living when he saw them we got their
about five oclock and it started to rain in a few moments after we got there so
we was lucky There names was T.S.
Ayers. We had very enjoyable time.
May 20, 1906 – Elder Bishop & I had a very good time we
was at one of our saints we held a
meeting I the afternoon and had a good congregation Elder Bishop spoke for about ah hour
explaining the gospel we stopped to
Sister Ayers.
ONE MONTH
May 21, 1906 -- Elder
Bishop and I have been half soiling our shoes
I walk over to the store for some tacks we made a very neat job. In the evening we held a meeting and had a
very good time we wanted to rest up for we was getting a little leg weary and
my feet was getting sore We stopped to Sister Ayers.
May 22, 1906 – I had a horse back ride I road about 9 miles after a watch
crystal it made me so sore I could
hardly walk. After I got back we went
over and help on some new ground We did
baptize one person in to the Church at night we held a sacrament meeting the one we baptized was Ona Ayers.
May 23, 1906 – We left sister Ayers for Montgomery Co it looked very much like storm We walked until noon an got some dinner we
had walked 11 ½ miles and I was little tired
after dinner I felt a lot better we went on our way we walked until sundown and go refused a few times but
there was a place provided for us & we stopped to a mans named J. C.
Bishop.
May 24, 1906 – We started early for we had a long walk
before us We walked until noon and got
some dinner after dinner we started for
Radford we got their about 4 oclock We stopped to sister Pain Elder Bishop went after the mail The line got down so the car stopped running
& he had to walk back
May 25, 1906 – Elder Bishop & I are going rest for a few
days for we have been traveling for about three weeks and are some what tired
we walked out to East Radford to see one of our saints he was feeling in the gospel on our way back we stopped and saw a negro do
some slight hand trick. We came back to
sister Pains to spend the night with her Elder Bishop thinks he is big cause he
has go a new pair of pants.
May 26, 1906 – We wanted to go and visit some of our
saints. We went to West Radford shortly
after we got to one of our saints it started to rain it rained most of the
day. It was very dry and dusty. We went and saw pipe manufactory.
May 27, 1906 – It was Sunday and very stormy it rained most
of the day. Elder Bishop and I went to
East Radford to hold meeting with Bro & sister Furrows we had a very good
time after dinner we went across New River to see sister Waddell we got there about three oclock and stopped
with them all night.
May 28, 1906 – Elder Bishop & I was going to start to
labor today but it is very stormy and the winds are blowing very hard. We have decided to stay to day and see if it
wont get a little better weather. We
stopped at sister Pains and read most of the day. We walked down to the Post Office and to the
store for we wanted some things
May 29, 1906 – We left Radford to start to labor we ate
dinned with bro Ferrow we left his place and started for Christainburg we walked about nine miles and had little
difficult in getting a place to stay but we found one his name was H. C.
Christman. I had the Rheumatism in my
right leg it is very hard for me to walk but I get along very well.
May 30, 1906 – We are busy at work canvassing through the
Country. We find some of the people a
very bitter to-wards us We have some
difficult in getting places to stop but the Lord always provides for his
servants I cannot travel very well on
the account of my leg but we get along very nicely.
May 31, 1906 – We got our mail at Bigtimel and I was very
pleased to here from home we are at work tracting the homes of the people in Montgomery
and we find some of them very bitter. We
came down the road by the Tide water RR there was many people working there as
we was coming along they was blasting and a rock struck in front of us we came
to a stream & washed our feet for they were getting sore then it came
evening we had some difficult in finding a place to stop but there is always
some good people that will keep us we came to a man and ask him and he told us
no but we teased him a little while and he let us stay with him.
