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Membership

The 1861–62 Roll of Membership

The men and women baptized into Joseph Morris’s church at South Weber, Utah Territory, in 1861–62, as printed in San Francisco in 1886.

A work in progress. The names are checked against the printed pamphlet (a photocopy, November 2, 2026). FamilySearch links, notes and later paths are added as sources turn up, so the counts below will grow. Last updated November 4, 2026. Know something about someone on the roll? Write to contact@morrisite.org.

178 names link to FamilySearch (114 probable). Tap or hover over a link, dot or bar for the evidence; 117 names have a notes button with what the sources say about them. 81 men are marked 1862 prisoner: they are on the list of men taken at Kington Fort and brought before Judge Kinney (Deseret News, June 25, 1862). 2 are marked held at the fort: men the Morrisites themselves had captured and held in a log house that spring, whose detention brought the posse. 37 names have a full page with sources. About this roll

What became of them? The later paths of the 59 people traced so far, and ages, birthplaces, families and where they died, are on Who they were.

Families on the roll (30 so far)

People on the roll who were related by birth or marriage, from Family Tree and the sources. Tap a name to find it on the roll. Know of a connection not shown here? Write to the editor.

  • Christoffersen, Hanson and Anderson (South Weber; Soda Springs; Deer Lodge): and (probable) (Abelone Andersdatter) with their children , (probable) (Mary), , (probable) and (probable). and with their children (probable), (probable), (probable), (probable), (probable) and . Marriages: Matilda and Lars; Christian and Bertie; Andrus and Christiane Marie (Christian Hanson); Christine Amalia Christoffersen and Hans. Mary married at Soda Springs in 1863; Ida married Lieutenant Francis Marion Shoemaker of Fort Connor.
  • Park, McCue and Parker (Carson Valley, Nevada; Walla Walla, Washington): (probable) and (probable) (Ann Brooks) with their children (probable), (probable), (probable), (probable) and (probable). David Jr. married (probable); her sister (probable) is also on the roll, and their father and brother, both named Peter Lamb McCue, are probably and (which is which is not settled). The younger Peter married Olive Fanny Parker, daughter of (probable); their son was born at Walla Walla in 1873.
  • Cowan and Bull (Slaterville, Utah; Carson Valley, Nevada): (probable) and (probable) with their sons (probable) and (probable) and their daughter Agnes, who married (probable) and is on the roll as (probable).
  • Diethelm and Bar (South Weber; Soda Springs): The widow , killed at Kington Fort on June 13, 1862, with her sons and and her daughter (probable), who in 1863 married , whose first wife, (probable), was killed in the same attack.
  • Dove (Nevada; San Francisco): and with their son , publisher of the roll in 1886. Family Tree connects (probable) to George Dove.
  • Farley (South Weber; Nebraska): , his wife , his stepdaughter (probable) and probably his mother, .
  • Eliason (Soda Springs; Deer Lodge): and (Karin Caroline), whose son John Eric was born at Soda Springs in 1867.
  • Lee (Utah): and .
  • Firth (South Weber): (probable) with his sons (probable) and (probable).
  • Bright (South Weber): (probable) with his son .
  • Garrett (Blackfoot, Idaho): (probable) with his son (probable); (probable) and (probable) are connected to them in Family Tree.
  • Chamberlain (Utah): (probable) (Mary Allen) with her children (probable), (probable) and (probable).
  • Lorentzen (Nevada; California): (probable) with his children (probable) and (probable).
  • Magee (Nevada): (probable) with his daughter (probable).
  • Trolsen (Nevada): (probable) with his son (probable).
  • Sorensson (Walla Walla): (probable) (Bror) with his daughter (probable).
  • Rodgers (Omaha): (probable) with his son (probable).
  • Cook and Holt (South Weber; Carson Valley, Nevada): The brothers and . John's wives were (Margaretta Greatrix) and (probable) (Sarah Rostron); (probable) is given in Family Tree as a third wife of John, but the 1860 census lists her, with her two small children, in Richard's household. Richard's wives were (probable) (Ellen Haworth) and (probable) (Hannah Peek). Sarah's children by her first husband, James Cooper Holt, were (probable), (probable), (probable) and (probable).
  • Brooks (South Weber): (probable) and his wife (probable) (Betty Smith). Ann Brooks Park (see Park, McCue and Parker) was born in Scotland to another family and was not related.
  • Davies (Walla Walla, Washington): (William W. Davies, later the prophet of the Walla Walla community) and his wife . , a grown man held after the siege and a missionary in 1865, may be a relative; he is not their son Hugh Henry, born in 1860.
  • Bowman (South Weber; Nevada): (probable) and his wife (probable) (Agnes Patton), probably.
  • Moss (Davis County, Utah; Austin, Nevada; Idaho): (probable) and his wife (probable) (Mary Brabin), Lancashire converts who came to Utah in 1856, with their children (probable) (Peter John), (probable), (probable), (probable), (probable) and (probable) (Hyrum Ralph). (probable) is not yet placed in the family.
  • White, Jones and Harris (Weber County, Utah; Carson Valley, Nevada): (Rhoda White), widow of William White, came to Utah in 1855 with her children , and Sarah, who is on the roll as (probable), wife of (probable). About 1860 Rhoda married (probable), who precedes her on the roll. William J. White married (probable) in 1862; their children and Rhoda's last years were in the Carson Valley, Nevada.
  • Klingbeck (Moroni, Utah; Idaho): (Jacob Carl Klingbech) and his wife (Karen Marie Christensen) with their son , Danish emigrants of 1859; how the roll's other Klingbecks are related is not yet known.
  • Higham (Slaterville, Utah; Idaho): and his wife (Jane Thompson), English emigrants of 1854.
  • Nutter (Utah; Nebraska): (William Nutter) and his wife (Dinah Ingham), English emigrants of 1860.
  • Mather (Utah): Probably (probable) (John Ogilvie Mather), his wife (probable) (Mary Magee) and their daughter (probable) (Helen), Scottish emigrants of 1855. How (probable) and (probable) are related to them is not settled.
  • Astle (Utah; Montana): Probably (probable) (Joseph Astle) and his wife (probable) (Esther Bamford), English emigrants of 1852.
  • Nash (Utah): Probably (probable) and (probable) (Maria Mitson), English emigrants of 1860.
  • Loosli (Utah): (Hans Kasper Loosli) and his wife (Anna Elisabeth Hunsperger), Swiss emigrants of 1860.
430 names

A B C D E F G H J K L M N O P R S T W

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

R

S

T

W

Officers marked in pencil

These annotations are in pencil, by an unknown hand, in the copy Larson transcribed; Wikipedia places an annotated copy in the Community of Christ Archives. They are not part of the printed roll.

  • John Banks — “Prescy.” (Presidency)
  • John Cook — Apostle
  • Richard Cook — Presidency
  • James Cowan — Apostle
  • James Dove — Apostle
  • John R. Eardley — Apostle
  • Mark Hill Forscutt — Apostle
  • Gudmund Gudmundson — Apostle
  • William Harris — Bishop
  • Niels Jacobson — Apostle
  • John E. Jones — Apostle
  • William Kendell — Apostle
  • R. J. Livingstone — Apostle
  • James Mather — Apostle
  • John Parson — Apostle
  • Abraham Taylor — Apostle
  • John Trolsen — Apostle

Notes

  1. Christofferson, Maria 2: The roll numbers a second person of the same name. ↩
  2. Firth, Authur: Printed so; Arthur. ↩
  3. Jensen, Andrea J.: Initial hard to read in the copy transcribed. ↩
  4. Joramsen, Niels: Printed so. ↩
  5. Rosser, Jenkins: Printed so, among the R’s; probably Rosser Jenkins. ↩
  6. Smith, Emily R. Melly: “Melly” may read “Nelly.” ↩
  7. Sorenson, Kar M.: Printed so; the given name appears truncated. Larson read the initial as H. ↩
  8. LeBaron, Sarah: not linked. Alonzo LeBaron had three family members named Sarah in 1861–62: his wives Sarah Jeffs (1831–1864; FamilySearch KWJZ-5WF) and Sarah Margaret Tew (1837–1884; MXMM-PVM), and his daughter Sarah Agnes (1851–1943; KWCX-FMD), then about ten. Sarah Jeffs married Edmund McLatchie in Salt Lake City on July 18, 1863. Which Sarah the roll means is not known. ↩
  9. Farley: during the editor’s lecture for the Community of Christ Historic Sites Foundation on May 25, 2023, a participant reported that a Community of Christ member in Wisconsin descends from a Morrisite named Farley who moved to Nebraska and joined the RLDS Church (Zoom chat record, courtesy of Barbara B. Walden). Which of the four Farleys on the roll is meant is not known. Robert E. Farley fits the report: Robert Esam Farley moved from Utah to Omaha in 1864 and to Wisner, Nebraska, in 1867, and was baptized into the RLDS Church in 1870, and a Mary Farley born in Kent in 1793, probably his mother, joined it in 1869 (Susan Easton Black, Early Members of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, vol. 2). Information from the family is welcome. ↩
  10. Thomas, David: In the printed roll, between W. P. Thomas and Griffith Thomas. Missing from Larson’s transcription and from this list until November 2, 2026; with him the roll has 430 names, matching the pencil total. ↩
  11. Kundson, Hans: Printed so; probably Knudson or Knudsen, as Larson transcribed it. ↩
  12. Cornish, Hannah: The photocopy checked reads “Comish”; probably Cornish, as Larson read it. ↩

Roll of Membership: Names of Persons Baptized into the Fulness of the Gospel

USHS PAM 9569c1
Published
San Francisco: Geo. S. Dove & Co., May 1886. 8 pp. Subtitle: “Names of persons baptized during the administration of Joseph Morris, at South Weber, Utah Territory, in the years of 1861 and 1862.”
Copy
Utah History Information Center (Utah State Historical Society), Salt Lake City, PAM 9569c1; gift of William Mulder. Larson’s transcription also records the words “Reorganized Church Library,” probably a library mark on the copy.
Compiler’s note
“All the names that we found in the record book are in this list. We feel assured that there were many persons baptized whose names were not recorded.” Absence from the roll does not show that someone was not a member.
Pencil notes
In the copy Larson transcribed, someone has totaled the names in pencil at 430 and marked the church’s officers (listed above); a further pencil note reads “174 Scan names,” apparently a count of Scandinavian names. The roll has 430 names, matching that total; Larson’s transcription had left out David Thomas (note 10).
This transcription
Made from David A. Larson’s transcription of the Utah State Historical Society copy (MORRISITES-L mailing list, RootsWeb, March 25, 2007), then checked name by name on November 2, 2026, against a photocopy of the printed pamphlet in the editor’s files. The check restored one name (David Thomas) and corrected fourteen spellings to match the print. Names follow the order and spelling of the roll; where a name repeats, the roll adds “2.” Notes on doubtful readings are numbered.

Links to FamilySearch Family Tree

178 linked, 114 probable
What they are
Where a person on the roll has been identified with confidence in FamilySearch’s Family Tree, the name carries a link to that record. Hover over a link to see the basis for the identification and who supplied it. Links open FamilySearch’s public page for the person, which needs no sign-in; a free account shows the full record and its sources. Family Tree is open to editing by anyone, so check those sources before relying on it.
What counts
A shared name is not enough. A match needs something tying the person to the Morrisites or to South Weber in 1861–62, or a name rare enough in Utah Territory then to leave no other candidate. Matches that rest on circumstantial evidence, such as a husband and wife both on the roll and a likely place, or a family whose members on the roll all match one family in Family Tree, are linked but marked “probable”; corrections are welcome. Cases with more than one candidate are explained in the notes instead.
Contribute
If you can identify someone, send the FamilySearch ID and your evidence to contact@morrisite.org. Contributions are credited.

Families on the roll

Updated as evidence is added
What it shows
People on the roll who were related by birth or marriage, grouped by family, with the places they lived after 1862. The groups come from Family Tree, membership records and published histories; a relationship that rests only on a likely guess is left out until it is checked. Many Morrisite families stayed together after the siege and married into one another at Soda Springs, Deer Lodge and in the Carson Valley, so a descendant of one family may find related families in the same group.
Contribute
If you know of a connection that is not shown, write to contact@morrisite.org.

What became of them

Updated as evidence is added
How it is counted
Each person counts as “not yet known” until a source shows where he or she went: the RLDS Church (Reorganized Church, now Community of Christ), back to the LDS Church, one of the later Morrisite groups in Idaho, Montana, Nevada, California, Washington Territory or Iowa, or death at Kington Fort during the siege of June 13–15, 1862. Many Morrisites joined the RLDS Church only after years in the groups at Soda Springs, Deer Lodge, Carson Valley or Walla Walla; when a source shows both stages, the person is counted as “stayed Morrisite, later joined the RLDS Church,” with a half-green, half-blue dot. The sources are RLDS and LDS membership records, FamilySearch, and published histories. Where the source names someone who is probably, but not certainly, the person on the roll, the evidence begins “Probable identification.” A colored dot beside a name shows the category; hover over it, or tap it on a phone, for the evidence. Send additions or corrections to contact@morrisite.org.

Reading the roll

  • Spellings vary, especially for Danish and Swedish names: search under Hanson and Hansen, Peterson and Petersen, Christiansen and Christensen, Sorenson and Sorensen. The roll itself spells some families two ways (Peterson and Petersen; Lorensen and Lorentzen).
  • In its own text this guide names people as the roll spells them, or by the fuller name on their person page (Peter C. Klemgard; Sven Olasson Hägg, the roll’s Svend Hegg). Where it quotes or summarizes a document, it keeps the document’s spelling, so the same man may appear as Klemgaard in the Deseret News or Swen O. Hagg in a court file.
  • The roll records baptisms in 1861–62. It does not show who remained in the church, who left before the siege of June 1862, or who later joined the Soda Springs, Carson Valley, Walla Walla, or Montana groups.
  • Later rolls, including those of the Montana church, which existed until 1969, are cited in Repositories but not published here.

Cite this page: Rogers, Eric Paul, ed. “Roll of membership, 1861–62.” Morrisite.org. https://morrisite.org/roll.html. Add the date you consulted it.