by Jack Kelly
Finney, Charles Grandison, 222, 224, 225, 229, 240, 242, 261
background and education, 11–12
in Boston, 182
conversion of, 13–14, 24, 46
and evangelical millennium, 165–7, 179–84
Lectures on Revivals of Religion, 224
marriage of, 59
meeting with Miller, 210–11
in New York City, 182–4
as preacher, 57–60, 68–74
religious influences, 12–13
revival methods of, 48, 70–1, 101–4, 164, 166, 208, 221, 224, 240
in Rochester, 144–6, 151–5, 163–4, 179–81
and role of women, 186
Utica revival, 69–72
Follett, King, 244
Ford, Thomas, 236, 246–7, 250–1, 253
Fort Niagara, 22, 126, 174–8
Fox, Corydon, 176
Franklin, Benjamin, 36, 46, 77
Freemasonry
Batavia Masonic Lodge, 87
Canandaigua Masonic Lodge, 67
and Hiram Abiff, 32–4, 38, 93
members, 23, 66, 95, 139, 192
and Morgan affair, 36–8, 85–8, 123–5, 147, 174–9, 190–1
and Morgan’s Illustrations of Masonry, 38, 66, 88, 126, 129
origins of, 34–6
and politics, 66, 126, 137–9, 190–2
“The Temple’s Completed” (hymn), 98
See also Anti-Masonry
Fulton, Robert, 4, 8
Gale, George, 12, 60, 166
Garrison, William Lloyd, 211, 225, 240
Geddes, James, 8–11, 14–15, 18, 28, 33, 40–1, 82–3, 118–19, 158
Genesee River, 11, 17–18, 35, 42, 82–3, 88, 98, 104, 107, 175
Gibbs, Horace, 85
Giddins, Edward, 176
Gilbert, John, 130
Gillet, Moses, 68
Gilman, Caroline, 135
Grand Western Canal, 158. See also Erie Canal
Grandin, Egbert B., 129–30
Great Awakening, 20–2, 164. See also Second Great Awakening
Great Lakes, 2–4, 9, 78, 135, 159–60, 263. See also Lake Erie; Lake Ontario
Greene, Samuel, 66–7
Grimké, Angelina, 241–2
Grimké, Sarah, 241–2
Hale, Emma. See Smith, Emma Hale (wife of Joseph Jr.)
Hale, Isaac,90–2, 113–14
Harmon, Ellen G., 257
Harmony, Pennsylvania, 81, 90–1, 94, 113–16, 126, 130, 149, 151, 258
Harris, George W., 87, 179, 197–8
Harris, Martin, 80–1, 93–4, 113–14, 127–30, 149, 259
Harrison, William Henry, 227
Harwood, Webb, 74–6
Haun, Jacob, 216
Hawkins, John Isaac, 51
Hawley, Jesse, 10, 40, 118, 220–1, 261
and aqueduct celebration, 98
and canal inspiration, 2–4
and Erie Canal’s opening, 158–9
“Hercules” essays by, 3–4, 8, 15, 32, 98–9, 158–9
Heth, Joice, 206–7
Hill, R. H., 138
Himes, Joshua, 170–1, 208–11, 237–9, 248–9, 256–8
Hooker, Isabella Beecher, 102
Hovey, Alfred, 97–8
Hudson River, 3–4, 10, 14, 78, 95–6, 122, 160
Independence, Missouri, 173, 185, 197, 217
Irondequoit Creek (New York), 18, 81–3, 94–5, 122, 193, 206
Iroquois Confederacy, 9, 17–18, 78, 159
Jackson, Andrew, 34, 66, 123, 125–6, 138–9, 166, 173, 192, 195, 204, 225, 227, 262
Jefferson, Thomas, 4, 14, 23, 46, 160, 229
Jervis, John, 30–1, 95, 190, 220
Jewett, Ezekiel, 176
Kellogg, John Harvey, 257
Kimball, Heber, 193, 195–6, 233–4, 251
Knight, Joseph, 90, 92–4, 115–16, 149–50
Lafayette, Marquis de, 134–5
Lake Erie, 3, 8, 10, 14–15, 26–8, 79, 118–20, 131, 134, 158, 160, 171, 194, 206
Lake Ontario, 3, 9–11, 16, 56, 83, 98, 118, 126, 135–6, 159, 174, 178
Lane Seminary (Cincinnati), 221–4
Latter-day Saints. See Church of Latter-day Saints
Law, William, 228, 243–6
Lawrence, Maria, 235, 251
Lawrence, Sarah, 235, 251
Lawson, Loton, 67–8, 140, 175
Lee, Ann (Mother Ann), 55, 219
Lee, Robert E., 227
Locofoco Party, 220
Lucas, Samuel D., 216–17
Lyell, Charles: Principles of Geology, 117–18
Madison, Dolley, 22
Madison, James, 27, 32
malaria, 76, 219, 228
Marsh, Joseph, 209
Masons. See Freemasonry
Meacham, Joseph, 55–6
Melville, Herman, 202, 214
Methodism, 12, 17, 20–1, 34, 44–6, 90, 149, 164, 167, 193, 229
Middlesex Canal (Massachusetts), 3
Miller, David, 37–8, 67, 87–8, 129, 136, 140, 177
Miller, William, 26, 53, 177, 184, 208–11, 247, 256
apocalyptic beliefs, 61–2, 146–8, 165–71, 208–11, 237–9, 246, 248–50
background and education, 22–3
conversion of, 24–5
Currier portrait of, 210
Evidences from Scripture and History of the Second Coming of Christ, 169
illness of, 210
and War of 1812, 23–4, 61
See also Adventism (Millerism)
Mohawk River, 2, 9, 14, 16, 29, 119, 203, 262–3
money-digging. See treasure-hunting and money-digging
Monroe, James, 32, 192
Morgan, Lucinda (later Lucinda Pendleton Morgan Harris), 33–8, 67, 85–8, 124, 126, 136, 174, 179, 197, 233
Morgan, William, 34–8, 107, 129
background, 34–5
disappearance of, 35–8, 68, 85–9, 107, 129, 123–6, 147, 190–2, 204
and finding of a corpse on shores of Lake Ontario, 135–40
and Freemasons, 34–5
Illustrations of Masonry, 38, 66–7, 88, 126
jailing of, 67–8
monument in tribute to, 261–2
theories of his disappearance, 174–9
Morison, Elting, 82
Mormon (prophet), 127–8
Mormonism. See Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Morris, Gouverneur, 15–16, 20
Mott, Lucretia, 241
Mound Builders, 78
Mount Tambora, 26
Munro, Timothy, 137–8
Nauvoo, Illinois, 219, 227–8, 234, 236, 243–6, 250–3, 257–60
New Israelites, 52–3
New York City, 14–16, 27, 32, 114, 120, 122, 125, 158, 182–4, 187, 202, 209
New York City Anti-Slavery Society, 183
Newton, Isaac, 33, 82
Niagara Falls, 2, 9–10, 18, 21–2, 106–7, 118, 134, 146, 202, 212
Niagara River, 126, 131, 134, 136–7, 178
Noble, Joseph, 232
Oberlin Collegiate Institute, 224
Oneida Lake, 9, 14, 18, 41, 52, 82
Page, Hiram, 128, 151
Paine, Thomas: The Age of Reason, 23
Panic of 1819, 75
Panic of 1837, 220, 227
Partridge, Edward, 162
Partridge, Emily, 233–5
Partridge, Emma, 233–5
Patch, Sam (True Sam Patch)
, 104–9, 133, 144, 146, 165
Peck, Edward, 122, 185, 233
Platt, Ezra, 175
Polk, James, 237
polygamy (plural marriages), 53, 185, 188–9, 230, 232–3, 243–6, 259–60
Pratt, Orson, 179, 197
Pratt, Parley, 161–3, 179, 196, 216–17
Pratt, Sarah, 197
Presbyterianism, 21, 43, 57–60, 71, 94, 101, 122, 146, 223
Prichard, Ruth, 18–9
Puritanism, 12, 46–7, 102, 105, 119, 164, 173
Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, 260
Revelation, Book of, 61, 169
revivalism. See Finney, Charles Grandison
Revolutionary War. See American Revolution
Richardson, John, 41
Rigdon, Sidney, 161–2, 171–2, 179, 184, 196, 198–9, 215–18, 234, 259
Roberts, Nathan, 119–20, 131–2, 135
Rochester, Nathaniel, 96, 98
Rochester, New York
and Charles Finney, 144–6, 151–5, 163–4, 179–81
and Erie Canal, 81–3, 85, 96–9, 118, 122, 144–6, 261, 263
Rosetta Stone, 112–13
St. Lawrence River, 9
Second Adventist Association, 208. See also Adventism (Millerism)
Second Bank of the United States, 32, 195
second coming of Christ, 60–2, 167–71. See also apocalypse
Second Great Awakening, 20. See also Great Awakening
Seneca Falls Convention, 261
Seneca River, 14
Seventh-day Adventist Church, 257. See also Adventism (Millerism)
Seward William, 191
Shakers, 54–7, 149, 219
Six Nations, 17
Slater, Samuel, 105
slavery, 15, 46, 121, 134, 180, 182–5, 202, 207–8, 221–6, 239–43, 261–2. See also abolitionist movement
Smeaton, John, 51
Smith, Alvin (brother of Joseph Jr.), 42–4, 63, 78, 81, 89, 115, 258
Smith, Alvin (son of Joseph Jr.), 114, 172
Smith, Don Carlos (brother of Joseph Jr.), 27, 228, 232, 258
Smith, Emma Hale (wife of Joseph Jr.), 113–15, 125, 130, 149, 163, 171, 184–5, 217–9, 227
baptism of, 150
and death of Joseph Jr., 257–60
and deaths of children, 114, 172, 228
and Joseph Jr.’s multiple marriages, 188–9, 234–5, 245
marriage to Joseph Jr., 90–2
as president of Female Relief Society, 234
Smith, Hyrum (brother of Joseph Jr.), 42, 89, 93, 115, 128, 161, 186, 227, 235, 258
arrested for treason, 251–4
baptism of, 43
and Church organization, 130–1, 148, 188, 259
imprisonment of and escape, 217, 219
and Joseph Jr.’s death, 254
as Patriarch, 188, 243–4
Smith, Joseph Jr., 19, 23
birth and childhood illness, 7–8
and Brigham Young, 194–6
conversion of, 44–5
court-martial and imprisonment of (1838), 217–19, 228
death and final days, 250–4, 258–260
decision to run for president, 237
discovery of golden plates on Hill Cumorah, 63–4, 79–81
discovery of keys (Urim and Thummim), 92–3
Doctrines and Covenants, 187
early Church organization, 149–51, 161–3
formation of Nauvoo Legion, 236–7
indicted and jailed for perjury and polygamy (1844), 245–7, 250–4
and Joseph Sr.’s baptism, 148–9
marriage to Emma, 90–2
meeting with Van Buren, 226–7
and money-digging, 80–1
move to Harmony, Pennsylvania, 94
move to Kirtland, Ohio, 171
in New York City, 184
personality and physical appearance, 44, 62, 171, 228–9
and plural marriages, 185, 188–9, 197–8, 232–5, 243–6
publication of The Book of Mormon, 129–30, 198, 228
religious influences, 44, 57
retrieval of and hiding of golden plates, 92–4
and revelations, 62–4, 114–16, 141–3, 150–1, 163, 172, 185–8, 228–30, 235, 244
translating of the golden plates, 113–17, 126–7
trial for disorderly conduct (1826), 91
trials in 1830, 150
visitation by Moroni, 62–4, 78, 80, 90, 230
and witnesses to golden plates, 128–9
See also Book of Mormon; Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Smith, Joseph Sr.
baptism of, 148–9
death of, 228
early years with Lucy in Vermont, 6–8
farming and clearing land in Palmyra, 42–3
ginseng farming, 6–7
and Joseph Jr.’s discovery of golden plates, 62–4, 78–9
loss of farm, 89–90
move from Vermont to Palmyra, 26–7
Smith, Joseph III, 184, 196
Smith, Lucy Mack (wife of Joseph Sr.), 52, 92
attends revival meeting, 43
and Brigham Young, 260
and death of Joseph Jr., 258–9
early years with Joseph in Vermont, 6–8
on Emma (Joseph Jr.’s wife), 172
loss of farm, 89–90
move from Vermont to Palmyra, 26–7
Smith, Samuel (brother of Joseph Jr.), 43, 115–16, 130, 193, 259
Smith, Sophronia (sister of Joseph Jr.), 27, 43, 115
Snow, Eliza, 232–3
Snow, Samuel S., 247–8
Spalding, Lyman, 213
spiritual wifery, 232
Stanton, Elizabeth Cady, 153, 241, 243, 261
Stoddard, Calvin, 89
Stone, Barton W., 21–2
stone-walling, 139
Stowe, Harriet Beecher, 102
Uncle Tom’s Cabin, 243
Stowell, Josiah, 81, 89–92, 94, 149–50
Strang, James, 259
Strong, Ezra, 136
Tappan, Arthur, 182–3, 221, 224–5, 240, 242
Tappan, Lewis, 182–3, 221, 224–5, 240, 242
textile industry, 71, 105–8
theodemocracy, 236–7
Throop, Enos T., 140
Tocqueville, Alexis de, 20, 42, 205–6, 260
treasure hunting and money-digging, 77–80, 90–4, 129
Trollope, Frances, 101, 203, 205, 212
Turner, Nat, 225
Twain, Mark, 143
Tyler, John, 236–7, 251
Unitarianism, 69, 74, 139
U.S. Constitution, 32, 59, 236
Constitutional Convention, 15
Valance, Henry L., 125, 178
Van Buren, Martin, 125–6, 226–7, 237
Van Rensselaer, Stephen, 15–16
volcanic eruption of 1815, 26
War of 1812, 20, 22–4, 33, 122, 134, 177
Washington, George, 22, 36, 229
Washington, Martha, 229
Weed, Thurlow, 78, 107, 122–6, 129, 136–40, 146, 178–9, 191–2, 208, 262
Weld, Theodore Dwight, 72–4, 165–7, 180–1, 212, 221–6, 239–43, 261
whiskey. See alcohol
White, Ansel, 119
White, Canvass, 51, 95, 119
White, Ellen (Harmon), 257
White, James, 257
Whitmer, David, 116, 127–8, 131, 149–50, 161–2, 171, 198, 259
Whitney, John, 178–9
Whitney, Newel, 171, 184–5
Whittier, John Greenleaf, 208–9
Whittlesey, Frederick, 107, 123–4, 138
Wilkinson, Jemima, 18, 44, 55, 130, 219
Wirt, William, 192
Wood, Nathaniel, 52
Wright, Benjamin, 28–33, 40–1, 51–2, 56, 82, 84, 96–9, 119, 158, 220
Wright, Lucy, 56
Young, Brigham, 193–6, 227–8, 233, 236, 259–60
Young, Samuel, 41
Young, Thomas, 113–14
More praise for Heaven’s Ditch
“The Erie Canal was the most audacious public works project of its day, a game-changer in American history, and the stage for some wild and intriguing characters and events—including daredevils, zealots and Mormons. Who knew? Jack Kelly’s Heaven’s Ditch tells a not-to-be-missed story in a reader-friendly style. This thought-provoking book will definitely spark discussion.”
—Erica Freudenberger, Director, Red Hook Public Library, Best Small Library in America Award finalist
“Kelly’s study of upstate New York is a compelling history of ambition and religious fervor in early nineteenth-century America.”
—Dick Hermans, owner of Oblong Books in Millbrook and Rhinebeck and a past president of the New England Independent Booksellers Association
“The book is a wonderful read and really captures much of the transformation that was occurring culturally, politically and religiously in the first half of the nineteenth century and around the canal.”
—David Brooks, Education Coordinator, Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site
“A well-researched work showing Kelly’s deft ability to bring to life the strong and pivotal characters who, by will or grace, moved American history forward.”
—Susan Fargione at Merritt Bookstore in Millbrook, NY
“Compelling . . . Kelly captures the enormous excitement of these heady days. An intriguing synthesis of American cultural and economic currents in the early 19th century.”
—Kirkus Reviews
About the Author
Jeff Brouws
JACK KELLY is a journalist, novelist, and historian. He received the DAR’s History Award for his book Band of Giants. He has contributed to national periodicals, including American Heritage Magazine, and is a New York Foundation for the Arts fellow. He has appeared on the History Channel and C-SPAN and been interviewed on National Public Radio. He grew up in the Erie Canal region and now lives in New York’s Hudson Valley. Find out even more at HeavensDitch.com.
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Also by Jack Kelly
Band of Giants: The Amateur Soldiers Who Won America’s Independence
