29. Harriet Silver Dunn, 1818-1857 and Simeon Adams Dunn, 1803-1883

Letters of Harriet and Simeon Dunn, 20 April 1844, Nauvoo; 21 June 1846, Camp of Israel; 8 October 1848, Salt Lake Valley.

In the absence of diaries, these letters provide snapshots of the three phases of the Mormon movement west. The first is from Nauvoo, the second from Winter Quarters, and the third written after the arrival in the Salt Lake Valley.

Simeon Adams Dunn [1803-1883] was born in Groveland, New York on August 7, 1803. He eventually moved to Michigan, marrying his first wife Adaline Rawson in 1828. His brother James came as a Mormon missionary to his home in 1838; Simeon was baptized in April 1839. He moved to Nauvoo in 1840 with his wife and three children. He served several missions for the Church during the Nauvoo period. While in Nauvoo Simeon served as a policeman, helped in the construction of the Nauvoo Temple, and received his endowments in December 1845. His first wife died during this period. In 1845 he married Margaret Snyder, with whom he had two additional children. She died shortly after the birth of their second child. He married again, to Jane Caldwell, but the marriage was of a short duration.

When he left Nauvoo on 18 May 1846, he traveled with his four young daughters. He also served as a policeman in Winter Quarters. It was there that he met and married Harriet Atwood Silver on 3 January 1847. This new family left Winter Quarters on 16 May 1848 and arrived in the Salt Lake Valley on 28 September 1848. He served another mission, this time to the South Sea Isles, from 1850 to 1852. Following his return home, they made their home in Brigham City, Utah, and they were the parents of six additional children, including two sets of twins. Harriet died in childbirth in December 1857. Unfortunately, we lack the detail for Harriet's life that we have for Simeon.

The first item displayed is Harriet's 20 April 1844 letter to her parents in Bloomfield, Vermont. It conveys her deep faith in the religion she has accepted, and asks that her parents understand her choice.

The second item is her letter to her parents, dated Camp of Israel, 21 June 1846. It reaffirms her faith and choices.

The third item, also to her parents, but signed by both Harriet and Simeon, is dated the Salt Lake Valley, 8 October 1848. It contains a summary of their pioneering trek to the Great Basin.