Product Description
by John J. Hammond (Author)
This is the seventh volume of an epic series on family and Mormon history, covering the first two and a half years in Nauvoo, Illinois. After the Mormon expulsion from Missouri in 1838 and early 1839, Joseph Smith, despite the resistance of some Mormon leaders, insisted that they again concentrate in one location. Unfortunately, the site he chose was marshy land along the Mississippi that was teeming with malarial mosquitoes. Many Mormons died over the next several summers and Smith squandered the generous initial welcome by Illinois residents, making foolish political decisions, building up a huge Mormon army, establishing a theocracy, and secretly introducing polygamy among Church elites. During this period the author's Spencer and Knowlton ancestors became Mormons, and thousands were converted in Great Britain.
Author Biography
John J Hammond was born and raised near Blackfoot, Idaho, and earned both a bachelor's degree (with a minor in history) and a master's degree in political science at Brigham Young University in the mid- 1960s. After teaching political science at Southern Utah State College, he was awarded an additional MA and a PhD in political science at SUNY/Buffalo. He taught political science and philosophy at Kent State University in Ohio for thirty-five years, retiring in 2007. For the past fourteen years he has been deeply engaged in historical research and writing.
