I have gone to many holy places. Felt the quiet embrace of an Iroquois longhouse, the Vatican on Easter morning. Was blessed by a Hindu priest in India. Stood outside Muslim and Buddhist temples, walked among the graves in a Jewish cemetery in Poland. I have taken something from each place. Peace and acceptance. To me, it seems natural. I feel the connections between all of it and me. “Be not afraid” is repeated 365 times in the New Testament. I am not afraid. And so I drove to the Mormon Church in Watertown.

A deer watched me from the perimeter of the almost empty church parking lot. A car drove towards me from the far corner. Two smiling women stopped and asked if I needed help. I explained my desire to learn about Nauvoo on Fort Drum and thought that someone in their Church might have some information. They told me to come back on Tuesday afternoon, and that a lady named Donna, the head of the church library, would be able to help me. I found out later that the two girls were missionaries named Lilly and Megan. As far back as 1831, the Mormons had sent out people all over the world to grow their church.

Donna became both a friend and a wonderful source for my research. Mormons believe that all members of a family, past and present, will be united after death, so it is very important to them to know roots and branches!

Donna has access to the Latter-day Saints’ computerized ancestry bank and has helped many find the story of their families. She had done her own family tree and found that her family had been close to the Watertown Huntingtons, who were active Mormons in its early days. Pictured above, Zena Diantha Huntington, born in Watertown on January 31,1821, was the 3rd General President of the Mormon Women’s Relief Society. Donna helped me find the genealogy of the people who lived in Nauvoo. She also shared that she had heard the stories of her father, who worked on the birth of Fort Drum when places like Nauvoo were depopulated and demolished

I have been reading and researching early American history for over a year. My house is filled with books. Many times, I have felt like a TV series detective. I have been tempted to turn one of my walls into a bulletin board of suspects, crime scenes, and mysterious documents, all connected with different-colored twine.

And so this particular journey began. I have been fortunate enough to travel to many places around the world. The process has made me aware of the uniqueness of each and every place, situation, and person. No one story explains it all. America’s history was founded by the lives of individuals who wanted to create something new. Their success came from a strong sense of self-determination.

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